By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 September 2019 at 8:15 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Members of the robotics team through the Orleans County 4-H program made a presentation on Wednesday to the Orleans County Legislature. Jack Finley, left, and Zachary Neal showed the county legislators how the robot works, how it can pick up discs and balls.
KNOWLESVILLE – The robotics team through the Orleans County 4-H program will have an open house today from 3 to 6 p.m. at the 4-H Fairgrounds on Route 31. The public is encouraged to check out the robot in action and other team displays.
The program is in its 9thyear in the county and is looking for more participants, mentors and sponsors.
The Orleans team is known as “Hardwired.” It competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition and is also known as team, FRC 4093.
The team has a $15,000 to $20,000 annual budget with sponsors, including Xerox, helping to cover those costs.
“We’re looking to develop more local partnerships,” Jody Neal, one of the team’s mentors, told county legislators during a presentation on Wednesday. His sons, Zachary and Jayden, are both on the team.
The program is part of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). There aren’t many robotics teams from rural areas. Many of the teams are from suburban school districts with full-time staff working with students. The Orleans team is all-volunteer.
In March “Hardwired” competed with 50 teams in the Finger Lakes Regional competition at Rochester Institute of Technology. The Orleans County team finished with a 5-5 record and was ranked 26th overall. The team was 13th for its offensive points.
The five wins is the most since the team started competing in 2012, and the 13th ranking in offense also set a new record for the team.
Each year the team officially starts in January and has six weeks to build a robot. Team members also program the robot. This past season they had to design attachments that could pick up balls and disks. They had to cut metal, run wires and program electronics for the robot. They did a lot of trial and error to build a robot that could accomplish the tasks. They used BCA Ag Technologies on Route 31A as a base of their operations.
The team is looking to have a new base of operations at the fairgrounds with an addition on the Curtis Pavilion. That would be a STEM Shop with space and equipment for the 4-H Robotics program. The STEM Shop would also be available for Extension staff and other programs.
That shop would also be helpful for the team which wants to meet year-round, Neal said.
“They are very dedicated,” Neal said about the team, which currently has nine members.
By Matthew Ballard, Orleans County Historian Posted 28 September 2019 at 7:18 am
“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 37
This photograph, taken some time in the 1860s by an unknown photographer, shows Philetus and Eliza Bates of Jeddo; an inscription on the reverse reads “Bates and wife, storekeeper at Jeddo.”
The Bates family was well known in Ridgeway near the Niagara-Orleans County Line thanks, in part, to Philetus’ father. An early settler of Orleans County, Orlando Bates constructed the first mill at Jeddo Creek and the location was quickly referred to as “Batesville” in honor of its pioneer founder.
On the surface, the life of Philetus Bates appears relatively uneventful. An obituary published in the days following his death on November 26, 1913, notes that he was a successful merchant at Jeddo and Middleport. At the close of the Civil War, his business suffered, and he turned to hotel proprietorship in order to make a living. Upon his departure from the earthly realm, he was laid to rest next to his wife and daughter in the West Ridgeway Cemetery. However, with a little digging, Philetus Bates’ reputation was marred by unprincipled and immoral behavior.
On November 9, 1853, Philetus married Eliza Southworth just two months after the death of her father, Harmon Southworth. From all accounts, the two lived a normal life together, although the posing and facial expressions in this photograph might indicate otherwise. In the January 31, 1882 edition of the Rochester Union and Advertiser, an article entitled “A Medina Bigamist” appeared on the back page of the paper. A nearly identical article appeared two days later in the Medina Register under the headline “Bates’ Indescretion (sic).”
According to the articles, Bates deserted his wife several years prior, sold most of the furnishings from the Medina House where he was landlord, and disappeared. Upset and ravaged by the stress of the situation, his wife became ill and was forced to earn her own living by sewing and taking in boarders. Philetus would occasionally return to Medina to sell jewelry and celluloid goods as a traveling salesman, but his stays were short in an effort to avoid his wife. Eliza became even more confused when she received a letter from Philetus asking her to send bedding and a bedstead to Chicago where he planned to make his “future home.”
Eliza wrote to friends in the Chicago area, asking them to dig deeper into her husband’s whereabouts. The response she received was infuriating, as she received word that Philetus had married another woman while roaming the countryside in the Midwest. Eliza wrote to the minister, John Crabbs, who allegedly married Philetus and his second wife. Crabbs responded in the affirmative, that he married her husband to a woman named Bertha Poucher in the village of Moronci, Michigan on September 22, 1881.
Additional research reveals that a bond for marriage license, affidavit, and marriage license were all filed in Crittenden County, Arkansas on February 4, 1882 for the 48-year-old Philetus Bates and 21-year-old Bertha Poucher. The reason for this “duplicated” marriage is unknown, but the newspaper articles closed by saying, “Philetus is still roaming about the country having, as we are informed, deserted number two and is probably looking for new worlds to conquer.” Clearly his interest in his second, younger bride passed quickly. His behavior was, however, not surprising to many in the Lyndonville community. It was reported that “Bates’ morality would not bear inspection and that he kept one or two girls of a loose character ostensibly as help but in reality as mistresses.”
After the death of Eliza on March 10, 1884, Philetus returned to Orleans County to operate hotels in the Lyndonville and Ridgeway area. His penchant for illegal activity remained as he was charged on several occasions for selling liquor at his establishments without a license. On one particular occasion in November of 1885, he was charged in connection with the death of J. Mahar, who committed suicide soon after consuming liquor purchased from Bates. In 1887, Bates pleaded guilty to a similar crime, spent 30 days in the Orleans County Jail, and left for Niagara County upon his release.
Press Release, U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. – Western District of New York
BUFFALO – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Anthony Allee, 28, and Tashira Allee, 36, both of Medina, NY, with maintaining a drug-involved premises, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, unlawful possession of a short-barreled shotgun, and unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle.
The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life. In addition, Anthony Allee is charged with possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, marijuana, hydrocodone, and cocaine, unlawful possession of a machinegun, and unlawful possession of a stolen firearm, which carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum of life.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin G. Bish, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment and a previously filed complaint, on July 22, 2019, a search warrant was executed at the defendants’ residence on Ridge Road in Medina. Investigators seized 11 firearms, numerous articles of property reported as stolen, marijuana, pills believed to be controlled substances, ammunition, scales, bags, and other items of evidence including Tashira Allee’s cell phone. The firearms included a Taurus Judge pistol that had been reported stolen in the Town of Tonawanda.
Investigators also searched a barn located behind the main house. Inside, a safe was located. Within the safe, officers recovered prescription pill bottles containing pills, and a loaded Colt .45 ACP pistol. Also seized from the barn were digital scales with white powder residue, plastic bags, ammunition, an SKS rifle and magazine, a Ruger model 10-22 carbine, and marijuana.
The defendants were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. Tashira Alee was released on conditions. Anthony Allee continues to be detained.
“Under federal law, individuals engaged in drug trafficking activities may not lawfully possess firearms,” stated U.S. Attorney Kennedy. “When they do, however, and when the firearms possessed include stolen guns, machine guns, and sawed-off shotguns and rifles, it suggests that not only are such firearms possessed for an unlawful purpose but for a nefarious and extremely dangerous one as well.”
“Drug trafficking and gun violence are a menace on our communities and will not be tolerated,” said HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly. “The dismantling of a drug-trafficking operation and seizure of high-powered weapons have a direct, immediate, and positive impact on the quality of life here in Buffalo.”
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Randy Bower; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; the Niagara County Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff James Voutour; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James B. Devito; the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Edward Kennedy; and the Orleans County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Joseph Cardone.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Often times, you are poisoned by lead you can’t even see! According to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), children under six years old are more likely to be poisoned with lead than any other age group.
Most often, children are poisoned from breathing in or swallowing dust from old lead paint that gets on floors and windowsills, hands and toys. Only a small amount of lead is needed to harm a child’s growth, behavior and ability to learn. Most children poisoned by lead do not look or feel sick, so the only way to know for sure is to get tested. New York State law requires that every child must be tested for lead at the age one and again at the age two. Providers should also be assessing a child for risks of lead exposure regularly through age six.
NYS has both the nation’s greatest number (3.3 million) and the highest percentage (43.1%) of housing stock built before 1950. Houses of this age are much more likely to contain lead paint, the leading cause of childhood lead poisoning.
Governor Cuomo’s 2019 budget is responding to this public health threat by lowering the acceptable blood lead level from 15 micrograms per deciliter of blood (µg/dl) to 5 µg/dl. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took that step in 2012 and has since been enacted in several states, including, Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and Vermont. These states made their decision to move to the lower CDC guidelines based on the evidence that supports early intervention as the primary way to prevent the serious health effects suffered by victims of lead poisoning.
“Effective October 1st, 2019 a child whose blood lead level is 5 µg/dl or more will be contacted by their local health department who will help families identify sources of lead and create plans to remove it by conducting home inspections,” stated Paul Pettit, Public Health Director.
Pettit explained, “Lowering the blood lead action level will increase home inspections greatly. The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments are prepared for this change and have hired a Lead Coordinator to be dedicated to this workload for both counties.”
If a child blood lead level is 5µg/dl or more, the health department nurse will report to environmental department. There will be an inspection done at the house by the Environmental Department from the local health department to check for lead exposure, and an educational prevention approach by the nurse from the local health department will be done with the family to decrease the lead level in the child’s bloodstream.
Lead is a metal that is harmful to both children and adults when it enters the body. There are many sources of exposure according to the NYSOH. Subscribe to the Consumer Product Safety Commission to learn about consumer products recalled for lead violations.
Sources of lead
Paint (older homes, old toys, furniture, crafts)
Air / Dust
Soil
Water (leaching of lead solder on plumbing)
Folk medicines and cosmetics
Children’s jewelry and toys
Workplace and hobbies;
Lead-glazed ceramics; china; leaded crystal, and pewter
Imported candies or foods
Firearms with lead bullets
Foreign made mini-blinds
Car batteries and radiators
Lead can harm a young child’s growth, ability to learn and may be linked with tooth decay/cavities, hearing loss, behavior problems, even to the point that Early Intervention services are needed.
Early Intervention is the term used to describe services and support that are available to babies and young children and their families with developmental delay and disabilities. Lead can also be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy. Although lead poisoning is preventable, it continues to be a major cause of the problem among children.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 September 2019 at 1:41 pm
ALBION – A tow truck driver has been found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Albion native Matthew Gardner.
Kevin Lupiani was driving a tow truck for A & M Automotive and Transmission in Murray when he went through a stop sign at about 10:30 p.m. on July 24, 2018 at the intersection the intersection of Fancher Road and Route 31A in Clarendon.
The tow truck hit the driver’s door of the 2013 Chevrolet Silverado truck driven by Gardner, who was killed.
Lupiani was on trial this week for criminally negligent homicide. He faced up to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison if found guilty.
His attorney, George Muscato, argued in court that the crash was an accident and wasn’t the result of gross negligence on behalf of Lupiani.
“People are human, they make mistakes,” Muscato told jurors during his closing argument this morning. “If we are going to start charging people for criminally negligent homicide for driving a vehicle, we are all in trouble.”
Orleans County Sheriff’s Office investigators said Lupiani was driving 61 miles per hour when he hit Gardner. Muscato hired a forensics engineer to analyze the crash. Martin Gordon, an RIT engineering professor and owner of Gordon Engineering PC, did an analysis of the accident and determined Lupiani was going 54 mph, while Gardner was going 56.
Gordon also studied photos from the scene that showed the stop sign was off by a 15-degree angle which he said reduced the reflectivity by 20 percent. There also should have been a sign 990 feet from the intersection, warning drivers there was a stop sign ahead, Gordon testified on Thursday.
He also said bushes by the road were a visual obstruction, and the driving conditions were further challenged by the darkness, rain and patchy fog that night.
Robert Zickl of Genesee County served as special prosecutor in the case. He said the weather conditions should have caused Lupiani to drive well below the speed limit, which was 55 mph.
A reasonable person would have gone much slower, especially when driving an 11,660-pound tow truck, Zickl said.
Gardner’s vehicle weighed 5,426 pounds, less than half the tow truck.
Zickl said Lupiani should have been extra cautious as a professional driver with a very heavy vehicle.
“This accident took place because Mr. Lupiani drove an extremely heavy vehicle at an extremely high rate of speed into someone else’s lane,” Zickl said during his closing arguments. “If you’re operating a vehicle that weighs 11,660 pounds, we have a right to expect you’ll be more careful.”
Lupiani was headed to Geneseo to deliver batteries to another tow truck driver. Lupiani didn’t testify during the trial. Muscato, his attorney, said Lupiani wasn’t impaired by alcohol or drugs, and wasn’t using his cell phone. He blacked out when he drove through the stop sign, Muscato said in court.
Zickl challenged that, saying Lupiani recalled the phone number at the scene for Tony Manno, A & M owner, and was able to answer questions from deputies.
Zickl also said Lupiani was very familiar with the intersection through his job driving for A & M.
Muscato said he was sympathetic to Gardner’s family and loved ones. But Muscato said the accident should be considered an “accident,” not a crime.
“This does not rise to the level of gross conduct,” Muscato said.
The jury of 12 included 8 men and 4 women. They started deliberations at about 11:30 a.m. today and announced their verdict at about 1:15 p.m.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 27 September 2019 at 8:38 am
Busy schedule includes Homecoming, Mud Run, Walk to End Alzheimer’s, PLAY/GROUND, and event at Colonnade
Provided photo: A Chinese Dragon Dance will be part of a concert from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Colonnade, 229 West Center St. The World Life Institute and the Voice Gavel Club of Toronto are hosting the event.
MEDINA – It will be a busy weekend in Medina. Although the popular Ale and Autumn has been cancelled for Saturday, there are still many community events are on the schedule.
• Today, Medina concludes a busy homecoming week with an afternoon pep rally at Vet’s Park. Click here to see the schedule.
• The former Medina High School is hosting a three-day art show and cultural event, beginning this evening. PLAY/GROUND returns for a second year with 34 art installations at the school, 324 Catherine Street.
The activities today at the school with a preview party from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. The party includes theatrical performances, and a variety of food and drinks. PLAY/GROUND continues Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day with family friendly activities in the former gymnasium and live music curated and presented by Revolution Gallery. For more information, click here.
• Saturday morning Medina hosts the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, with a ceremony starting at 10 a.m. at State Street Park, 343 East Center St.
The walk gets underway by 10:10 a.m. About 250 people are expected to attend, most wearing purple or special T-shirts that designate a family or corporate team. Each participant gets a nylon pinwheel flower and generally chooses a color that represents why they are walking.
• The Orleans County YMCA will have a 5K Mud Run on Saturday with 15 obstacles that begins at 10 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Club. The race continues to Gallagher’s Farm, the towpath and concludes at the Sacred Heart Club.
Registration is at the Orleans County YMCA on Pearl Street. Click here for more information.
• The annual Cobblestone Tour of Homes also is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A bus for the tour is full but self-drive tours are available.
The 10-site tour includes two stops in the Medina. Click here for more information.
• The World Life Institute is teaming with the Voice Gavel Club in Toronto for the fourth annual “Leaves of September” concert, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Colonnade, 229 West Center St.
The Voice Gavel Club is a youth leadership program, and an affiliation of Toastmasters International. Those students will perform with local musicians.
The concert is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the sophisticated sounds of the Er-hu, Pipa, Piano, Cello, Flute, and traditional guitar, as the concert ends with a thematic composition of poetry and song. The Toastmaster’s Gavel Club will be accompanied by international musicians from Toronto to Medina, and for the first time ever, bringing you the artistic performance of the traditional Chinese Dragon Dance.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 27 September 2019 at 7:58 am
Photo by Ginny Kropf: Dean Bellack, director of United Way of Orleans County, waves a document informing him that his agency will be receiving $50,000 from a Monroe County benefactor to distribute to an appropriate organization which assists clientele who can’t afford suitable housing. Here, he meets with staff of Community Action, the agency United Way chose to receive the funds. From left are Amy Lester, Finance Operations Assistant with Community Action; Michelle Figueroa, case manager; Annette Finch, director of Community Services; Bellack; and Ed Fancher, executive director of Community Action.
ALBION – When Dean Bellack, executive director of United Way of Orleans County, received correspondence from United Way of Greater Rochester early in the summer that his organization would be receiving $50,000 from a Monroe County corporate donor to help with housing needs in Orleans County, he was amazed.
The gift came with the stipulation that United Way must determine the most suitable agency in Orleans County to benefit from this donation. After some careful research, Bellack, who is on Community Action’s FEMA board, chose them and met with staff on Aug. 23 to discuss how this would be implemented.
“I was speechless, but extremely happy when Dean told me,” said Annette Finch, director of Community Services at Community Action. “We experience so many clientele who can’t pay their security deposit. This is going to allow us to help some of the homeless people living in their cars or under bridges.”
“This will greatly reduce the number of people we have to turn away,” said Ed Fancher, executive director of Community Action.
The yet unnamed donor has made $450,000 available and chose United Way to administer these funds. The money will be spread to United Ways in Monroe, Orleans, Ontario and Livingston counties. These funds are targeted for rental assistance and can also be used for security deposits. The administration of this funding will be using the United Way Guidelines for ALICE – Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
“They are using United Way as their most trusted partner to distribute the funds throughout Western New York,” Bellack said.
Finch said applicants for assistance will have to adhere to strict guidelines, most of which are already in place at Community Action.
Fancher said they often get requests for assistance from individuals who fall through the cracks, like the working man who doesn’t make enough to pay for an unexpected expense, such as a car repair. He needs his car to go to work, but paying for the repair would mean he couldn’t meet the rent payment. These funds may be able to help, he said.
The funds will be received in two payments of $25,000 each, with the first payment made on Sept. 1. Agencies will have one year in which to use all the funds.
Press Release, Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orleans County
Photo courtesy of NYSIPM staff: A Spotted Lanternfly adult is about an 1 long.
There is an invasive insect wreaking havoc in southeastern Pennsylvania, and the risk of it spreading to New York is high.
Spotted Lanternfly is native to Southeast Asia and was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014. It is a sap-sucking insect, inserting its mouthparts into the trunks and stems of various plants and feeding off of the sap flowing beneath the bark surface.
The preferred food source for this insect is Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), an invasive and problematic tree also native to Asia. While Tree of Heaven is the preferred food source, Spotted Lanternfly will feed on over 70 plant species. This puts many native, ornamental, and crop species at risk if or when Spotted Lanternfly becomes an issue in New York State.
Spotted Lanternfly can cause significant damage to apples and grapes – crops that are valued at over $350 million annually in New York State. Feeding damage can kill plants or weaken them significantly, leaving them vulnerable to attack from other deadly insects or diseases.
Photo courtesy of NYSIPM staff: Spotted Lanternfly adult females cover freshly-laid egg masses with a putty-like substance.
The insect secretes a clear sticky residue called “honeydew” as it feeds. This honeydew can reduce market value of crops in addition to creating a favorable environment for black sooty mold to grow.
In addition to severely impacting the fruit crop and ornamental plant industries, Spotted Lanternfly has hindered the quality of life of residents of Pennsylvania where the infestation is highest – honeydew covers plants, sidewalks, vehicles, or anything else beneath the feeding sites of the insect.
New York State DEC is working with the Department of Ag and Markets as well as USDA to try to slow the spread of Spotted Lanternfly and perhaps prevent it from invading New York. There are several things that New York residents can do to help.
First, if you are travelling from or through Pennsylvania, inspect vehicles and belongings thoroughly for any Spotted Lanternfly hitchhikers. The adults are large (about 1 inch long), with light gray spotted wings folded over their backs.
They are laying egg masses this time of year, and will lay them on any surface – including vehicles, tree trunks, potted plants, etc. Egg masses are brownish gray and mud-like. Spotted Lanternflies do not fly long distances, so their spread is directly linked to being inadvertently transported by people.
Photo courtesy of NYS Department of Ag and Markets: This shows a Tree of Heaven seed cluster.
The DEC is also urging NY residents to be aware of and report the presence of Tree of Heaven trees. These trees have long pinnately compound leaves (similar to Black Walnut leaves). They have yellowish-orange seed clusters at this time of year which are visible on the tree from a distance. The leaves also emit a foul odor when bruised or cut. Some native look-alikes are Black Walnut, Sumac, or Ash. Being aware of where Tree of Heaven species are located will allow officials to monitor and survey for Spotted Lanterfly.
If you find Tree of Heaven (or any other invasive species), you can record data on invasive species right from your smartphone by using iMapInvasives, New York’s invasive species database, available for iOS and Android. Click here to learn more about the app or to find a training hosted by your local Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM).
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 26 September 2019 at 6:19 pm
Provided photos: Medina native Colin Huwyler, center, accepts a $1 million check from Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul Wednesday at Binghamton University. Huwyler, who founded Optimus Technologies in Pittsburgh, was announced as the winner of NYSERDA’s 76West Clean Energy competition. From left are Southern Tier Regional Economic Council co-chair and president of Binghamton University, Harvey Stenger; Hochul; Huwyler; New York State Energy Research and Development Authority president and CEO, Alicia Barton; and Judy McKinney Cherry, executive director of Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development.
BINGHAMTON – When Colin Huwyler got the call to be in Binghamton this week, he was hoping, but definitely not expecting to be named the winner of NYSERDA’s 76West Clean Energy competition.
When the awards were announced Wednesday at Binghamton University, Huwyler, however, was the winner of the $1 million first prize.
“I can’t even comprehend a million dollars,” said Huwyler’s mother Bobbi Huwyler of Medina, after learning of her son’s honor. “He knew he had won something, but he is very humble and was happy just to be one of the six finalists.”
Huwyler became interested in clean energy while still in Medina High School. His first endeavor while still a teenager was to purchase a diesel car and convert it to burn used salad oil.
He went on to found Optimus Technologies, which today is recognized as a leader in the field of designing and manufacturing biodiesel fuel systems for medium- and heavy-duty diesel trucks, enabling them to operate on up to 100 percent biodiesel, thereby reducing fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 percent.
Medina native Colin Huwyler is interviewed Wednesday by television crews in Binghamton after he was announced as the top winner of $1 million in NYSERDA’s 76West Clean Energy Competition. More than 160 companies worldwide entered the competition, which was narrowed to six finalists.
With his million dollar prize money, Huwyer plans to establish a company in the Binghamton/Ithaca area. He will be focusing his attention in the coming months on leasing a facility and setting up a growth plan for the Southern Tier region. He said his first hires will be in manufacturing, followed by engineers and technicians.
He expects to be operational in the Southern Tier by early 2020.
“This award will definitely have an impact on my business,” Huwyler said. “I am really excited to be working with NYSERDA. They are putting New York state at the forefront of renewable energy and clean technology. Hopefully, other states will take notice.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2019 at 5:36 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: The top of St. Louis Catholic Church in Buffalo is an open work lattice spire that reaches 245 feet high. It is the tallest open-work spire ever built completely of stone in the United States. This church was inducted into the 2014 Class of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.
MEDINA – A new class of buildings will be inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Oct. 17 during a 2 p.m. ceremony at Medina City Hall.
The Medina Sandstone Society will induct four members into the Hall of Fame, which was created in 2013. The Sandstone Society has inducted churches, public buildings, private buildings and other ornamental buildings/structures, such as the Civil War Memorial at Mount Albion Cemetery.
There are currently 27 structures into the exclusive club. There are plaques for the inductees inside Medina City Hall at the main meeting room.
A Hall of Fame Committee – David Miller, Jim Hancock and Don Colquhoun – researches all nominations and they make a site visit.
Criteria for consideration includes age, beauty, longevity, structural soundness and architectural uniqueness.
Representatives of the four new inductees are expected for the ceremony on Oct. 17, Colquhoun said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2019 at 12:52 pm
MEDINA – The Medina Village Board wants to have a Facebook page for the village government but first will develop a policy for what type of news and events will be shared, and if comments will be allowed.
If comments are allowed and some seem like personal attacks or uncalled for criticism, the Village Board will consider whether there will be a threshold for removing those comments.
“I question the removal of negative comments,” said Trustee Owen Toale.
He said he is often shocked at how nasty and mean-spirited people can be on Facebook. He worries about that on an official village social media page.
The Medina Fire Department and Police Department each have their own Facebook pages.
“They get tons of positive comments,” said Mayor Mike Sidari.
He wanted the village to check if negative comments can be allowed or if that is considered a form of censorship.
Todd Bensley, a village trustee, said the village should either have a Facebook page that doesn’t allow comments, or allow them all – including all of the negative comments. He thinks deleting comments would be considered censorship by the community.
The board said it will continue to look at options. It wants to use social media to help get information out about the village government.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2019 at 10:32 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: Jim Hancock, chairman of the Medina Tourism Committee, said the Visitor’s Center at Rotary Park had a 17 percent increase in registered visitors this past summer.
MEDINA – The Medina Visitor’s Center at Rotary Park welcomed 220 registered guests from Memorial Day to Labor Day, a 17 percent increase from the previous season.
Jim Hancock, the Tourism Committee chairman, shared the news with the Medina Village Board on Monday.
The center is staffed by volunteers from Monday through Friday. This was the second season at Rotary Park. Previously the volunteer had a welcome center at City Hall.
Hancock said the Rotary Park location is more ideal. It’s closer to the canal where boaters and cyclists often stop to see the downtown business district.
Hancock said adding signage on the main thoroughfares, directing people to the Erie Canal and public parking lots, would likely get more people to stop in the downtown.
“Many of the visitors don’t realize there is a parking lot behind Main Street,” Hancock told the Village Board. “There is also no sign on Center Street or Main Street pointing to the canal.”
Mayor Mike Sidari said the state Department of Transportation has told the village it already has too many signs on Main Street.
Village officials however have a plan to add signs as part of the Medina Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. A committee with input from the community developed a plan to improve the waterfront areas surrounding the Erie Canal, Glenwood Lake and Oak Orchard River.
Sidari said the village expects to receive state funding to implement components of the plan, including signage for local attractions.
In the short-term, Hancock said smaller sandwich signs could be put on sidewalks directing people to the parking lot, canal and other attractions.
Hancock also said some of the cyclists who pass through the community would like a spot to pitch a tent for the night. He suggested State Street Park have designated camping spots, and those people register with the village so the police are aware of their presence.
Sidari said camp sites are included in the waterfront plan.
Hancock encouraged the village to work on that, even if there isn’t state funding.
The Tourism Committee welcomes more volunteers next year, and would like to expand to Saturday, Hancock said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2019 at 9:13 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature on Wednesday approved 5-year lease agreements for new communication towers in Lyndonville, Holley and Kendall.
The county won’t be paying to have the towers on the land, but will share 50 percent of any revenue if telecommunications companies co-locate on the towers.
The towers are part of a $6 million project to upgrade the emergency communication system in the county. The state awarded Orleans a $5,897,141 grant for four new towers, accompanying communication shelters, technology to connect separate radio systems and new radio channels. The project will strengthen communications between multiple jurisdictions and agencies.
Three of the towers will be 180 feet high and they will be located by the Public Safety Building on Route 31 in Albion, Millers Road in Yates near the water tank, and at the Kendall Central School near the bus garage.
The other tower will be 150 feet high and will be near the Holley water tank on Route 237.
The tower near the Public Safety Building is on county-owned land and doesn’t require a lease. With the others, the county has leases with the Village of Lyndonville, Village of Holley, and Kendall Central School.
The lease agreements include options to extend at no county cost for four five-year periods, or another 20 years.
Because the towers are under 200 feet in height, they won’t be lighted, said Dale Banker, the county’s emergency management director.
The County Legislature on June 26 approved a $452,019 bid from Patriot Towers in Scottsville to supply communication shelters and UPS (uninterruptible power source) for the four sites.
The Legislature also approved a $181,200 bid from Fred Nudd Construction in Ontario, NY for four communication towers.
The new towers should be up by late 2019 or in early 2020.
The new towers and equipment are part of an upgrade to the emergency communications system, which serves firefighters, law enforcement, highway employees, probation and some other municipal workers in the county.
The system currently has poor coverage in the Holley area, along Lake Ontario and some other isolated locations in the county, especially in buildings with thick walls.
The county was successful with a grant application through the 2018 Statewide Interoperable Communications Targeted Grant through the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Office.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 26 September 2019 at 8:23 am
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature voted to have the words, “In God We Trust,” be displayed in the new legislative chambers next to the county seal.
“Whereas, the County desires to display this patriotic motto in the Legislative Chambers as a way to solemnize public occasions and express confidence in our society,” the resolution states.
The Legislature has been meeting in the new space since June. The body moved from the County Clerk’s Building at Courthouse Square to an addition on the County Administration Building on Route 31.
The walls in the room are mostly bare right now, except for the large county seal that includes an image of the Courthouse dome.
Photos of the County Legislature, and its predecessor – the County Board of Supervisors – will be added on a side wall in the chambers.
County legislators approved the “In God We Trust” resolution, saying those words have been the national motto since July 30, 1956, adopted about a decade after the end of World War II.
“In God We Trust” also has been used on U.S. currency since 1864, according to the county resolution.
The four words also are engraved above the entrance to the Senate Chamber and the speaker’s dais in the United States House of Representatives.
“Whereas, in both war and peace, these words have been a profound source of strength and guidance to many generations of Americans,” the county resolution states.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 September 2019 at 8:59 pm
Last year’s debut of PLAY/GROUND attracted about 2,000 people
MEDINA – Artist have been transforming rooms, hallways, stairwells, even locker rooms and closets in the former Medina High School.
PLAY/GROUND, an immersive art experience, is back at the former school from Friday through Sunday. PLAY/GROUND debuted last year and attracted about 2,000 people to the show.
This year’s show will be bigger, with 34 artist installations, up from the 29 last year.
Talis Equity and the Hungerford family have worked to put on the show.
“For three days this building will be the center of art world in our area,” said Michael Hungerford, one of the leaders of the project.
Keith Lemley created “Symmetry Breaking” which combines geometric objects with light and architecture. Lemley hopes people who see the installation will think about everyday materials in new ways.
Hungerford and Talis Equity have teamed with Resource: Art, which includes three Western New York art curators – Anna Kaplan (Anna Kaplan Contemporary), Elisabeth Samuels (Indigo Art) and Emily Tucker (Benjamin Gallery).
The curators didn’t want traditional art – paintings, sculptures and framed photos.
Nate Hodge of Brockport created this abstract painting, “Medina Green,” in a locker room. Hodge will be covering every inch of the room with acrylic, house paints, salvaged wood and panels, inks and aerosol.
“We want you to think about art in a different way,” Tucker said Monday evening, giving a walk-through of the school.
It sounded like a construction zone with hammering, sawing wood and drilling screws.
“It’s fun to see it all come together,” Hungerford said. “Some of the rooms are done and it’s so much better than we imagined.”
Hungerford, a regional director for Takeform in Medina, read about a similar as PLAY/GROUND a couple years ago in a vacant warehouse in New York City. Last year, Hungerford pushed for the former Medina school to host an immersive art experience.
Michael’s uncle Roger is planning to turn the building into apartments. While it is vacant, Roger Hungerford agreed to give artists free rein to paint and create inside – and even some spots on the outside. (Look for a sailboat on the side of the building this weekend.) Hungerford also is paying the artists for their work.
Emily Tucker, one of the curators, said the funding and exposure through PLAY/GROUND has been appealing to the artists. Often artists are asked to work for free or on a very low budget. Or, they aren’t given full latitude to be creative. PLAY/GROUND urged them to push the envelope and create multi-sensory art work.
Tucker and Hungerford expect to top last year’s attendance. PLAY/GROUND will be running shuttle buses from Buffalo for the opening night celebration and preview party.
Tucker also said the event has been talked about since last year, with much more anticipation among in the arts community now that people know it’s such a unique experience, having so many artists in one building, with wildly divergent work.
Highlights of the three-day event include:
Friday – PLAY/GROUND opens with a 21 and over preview party from 7 pm – 11 pm. General Admission Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the door. There are also ticket options which include a shuttle ride to and from Medina leaving from Hotel Henry at 6 p.m.
Included in the price of the tickets to the September 27th PLAY/GROUND Preview Party is a performance from Torn Space Theater. The avant garde theater group known for their site specific performances at Silo City, has created a new work, Auditorium, which will be performed at two different times during the preview event. The party will feature a variety of food and drinks including small bites prepared by Chef Lionel Hydel of the soon-to-open Harvest Restaurant, associated with Bents Opera House in Medina. There will be a cash bar by Mile 303 and kombucha from Bootleg Bucha and Snowy Owl Kombucha.
Saturday and Sunday – the event costs $10 ($5 for all students with ID). PLAY/GROUND is geared towards families for these weekend days. The site can be visited from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, and children 12 and under are admitted free of charge. There will be family friendly activities in the former gymnasium and live music curated and presented by Revolution Gallery in the Auditorium.
Rich Tomasello made “Safe Space” out of cardboard and white plaster. More than 150 students from Kenmore, Tonawanda and Starpoint schools helped create the artwork. The installation addresses the anxieties of growing up in American schools where lockdown drills are commonplace.
This photograph, taken some time in the 1860s by an unknown photographer, shows Philetus and Eliza Bates of Jeddo; an inscription on the reverse reads “Bates and wife, storekeeper at Jeddo.”
