MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame is seeking nominations for prominent buildings made of Medina Sandstone that are well-maintained and architecturally significant.

Since the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame was created in 2013, the society has inducted churches, public buildings, private buildings and other ornamental buildings/structures, such as the Civil War Memorial at Mount Albion Cemetery.

The Hall of Fame has inducted 27 structures into the exclusive club. There are plaques for the inductees inside Medina City Hall at the main meeting room.

The Sandstone Society accepts nominations each year. So far, 54 places have been nominated. Don Colquhoun, one of the Hall of Fame Committee members, said many other prominent sites worthy of induction have yet to be nominated.

People can send their choices for induction directly to the Hall of Fame Committee of the Medina Sandstone Society by mailing the nomination to the Medina Sandstone Society, PO Box 25, Medina, N.Y., 14103. Or a nomination may be sent electronically using the online address: www.sandstonesociety.org/hof-nominations.

This year’s class could include nominations from previous years not already selected, and any new nominations received by July 31, Colquhoun said.

He is on the Hall of Fame Committee with Dave Miller and Jim Hancock. They will research all nominations and make a site visit. Criteria for consideration shall include age, beauty, longevity, structural soundness, and architectural uniqueness. If possible nomination information should have full background and documentation, and, at the very least, should give a name and phone number to be contacted for further information or a website.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Batavia is one of many churches in Western New York and beyond made of Medina Sandstone. Batavia is home to one Hall of Fame structure: the Richmond Memorial Library.

‘He stayed close with everybody. He was a social butterfly. Floyd was the center of everybody’s social circle.’

Floyd Hanes

HOLLEY – Floyd Hanes was a key player in Holley’s state championship boys soccer teams in 1990 and 1991. He was intense, and wasn’t afraid to mix it up with the other team.

Off the field, he was a different person, with a quick smile and many friends.

Hanes died unexpectedly at age 43 on May 24. Many of his grieving friends and family have raised more than $4,000 for a memorial scholarship in his name.

Hanes wore number 12 for Holley as the team’s right wing and striker. His friend Ben Schiavone urged people to donate $12 in honor of Hanes for the scholarship. Many gave $12. Some gave $48, to represent $12 multiplied by the four years he played on varsity.

Others gave $112 with one donor at $512. The school district will award two scholarships at the June 29 graduation. The scholarships re $512 each and will go to graduating seniors who played soccer in a manner like Hanes, a fast and ferocious style of play.

“He played so hard,” said Schiavone, his Holley teammate for two seasons. “He was the enemy of the other team. He was so intense.”

Hanes played soccer for two seasons after Holley at Monroe Community College. He continued to play in soccer leagues and also for a semi=pro football team in Florida.

After about seven years in Florida, he moved back to Holley to be closer to his family.

“He stayed close with everybody,” Schiavone said today. “He was a social butterfly. Floyd was the center of everybody’s social circle.”

Sam Zelent, a school social worker, graduated in 1993, a year before Hanes did from Holley. They remained friends after school. She has been helping to collect the money for Hanes’ scholarship

“I have been getting money from people that I have not heard from in over 20 years, but were impacted by Floyd’s death,” Zelent said. “Floyd was truly one of a kind. He was so incredibly sweet and he loved soccer.”

The scholarship donations continue to climb, with Zelent providing updates on her Facebook page

“That is amazing to me, and a testimony to the generosity of those who loved him,” she said about the donations. “Floyd was loved by so many. This is so noticeable with the amazing amount of money collected for the scholarship in his name.”

The description of the new Floyd Hanes Scholarship says it was created in loving memory by friends and family of Floyd, a 1994 Holley Graduate who proudly wore number 12 on the Soccer Field. “It will be awarded to the senior who best represent all aspects of Floyd: his loving and caring nature towards others and his intensity and fire on the soccer field.”

To donate to the scholarship even at $12, checks to the scholarship can be mailed to Penny Cole, Holley Central School, 3800 North Main St., Holley NY 14470 or to Jeana Hayes at 16480 Telegraph Rd., Holley NY 14470, through Venmo @samantha-zelent, or PayPal at Szelent@holleycsd.org.

Assemblyman also asks Trump to renegotiate Plan 2014 after flooding from Lake Ontario

Press Release, State Assemblyman Steve Hawley

Following another tour of the flooding along much of Lake Ontario’s southern shore last week, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) has joined a delegation of assemblymembers who represent communities impacted by flooding in writing to Gov. Cuomo asking for a relief package to be implemented before the end of session.

“The lake levels are a foot and a half higher than they were last year at this time…Like Hurricane Sandy destroyed downstate property, the continuous Lake Ontario devastation deserves the same response of funding and assistance,” Hawley wrote to Gov. Cuomo.

“As we witnessed firsthand on Tuesday, flooding along the shoreline is reaching disastrous proportions and we need to act now to secure a relief package for our homeowners and businesses,” Hawley said. “I applaud state leaders for taking preliminary steps to mitigate flood damage, but the reality is that the lake will likely exceed 2017 water levels in the near future and sandbags and barricades are becoming useless. Securing a flood relief package is my top priority in these last few weeks of session.”

Members of the National Guard in the Air Force based at Niagara Falls unload sandbags from a boat on Sunday. Park Road in Carlton was washed out so sand bags were delivered to the site by boat. A payloader from the Carlton Highway Department also delivered pallets of sandbags.

In addition to efforts at the state level, Hawley has asked President Trump to renegotiate Plan 2014 that many believe is the root cause of much of the lake’s flooding. The treaty was signed into law by President Obama only a short time before he left office.

“I am writing, once again, imploring you to renegotiate Plan 2014 and also make available mitigation assistance funding for residents, businesses and municipalities…I repeatedly fought the IJC’s Plan 2014 believing that it would threaten property…I am deeply disheartened, seeing first-hand, another year of destruction of homes, businesses and property, due in no small part to the IJC’s Plan 2014,” Hawley wrote in the letter to President Trump.

He was joined in that letter by other Assembly members including Mark Johns, Mark Walczyk, Peter Lawrence, Michael Norris and Brian Manktelow.

“Plan 2014 is a debacle that has perpetuated much of Lake Ontario’s disastrous flooding, and I have written to President Trump asking him to renegotiate this plan immediately,” Hawley said. “This was signed into law by President Obama during the waning days of his presidency and we need to address the root cause of flooding to prevent these conditions from occurring in future years.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Rev. Aleka Schmidt, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Albion, prays with students before they enter the church on Sunday evening for a baccalaureate service.

That program is voluntary for students to attend. About half of the class attended the religious program, which is organized each year by the Albion Ministerium.

Many communities have stopped doing the church service for graduates, but Albion continues to do the event, with the churches wanting to give students a blessing as they begin the next stage of their lives.

Trellis Pore, a 2001 Albion graduate, was the featured speaker. He is a pastor at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Batavia. He works as a firearms instructor for the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Pore also is an active musician who grew up performing with his family, the Cooper Family Singers.

Pore shared about David and Goliath, how David beat a much larger warrior, a shocking defeat for the giant, which is described in 1 Samuel in the Bible.

The graduates will face many Goliaths in their lives, Pore said. There will be self doubt after a failure, grief, financial stress and lots of “haters,” people who are jealous and don’t want the grads to reach their dreams.

“You will face multiple Goliaths in life,” Pore said. “You will get through one and then there will be another.”

Pore urged them to not run from their Goliaths.

They won’t be alone in facing a challenge.

“Jesus Christ will never leave you or forsake you,” Pore said. “Remember who you are.”

He shared the verse, Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Matthew Kovaleski sings, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

The senior class officers lead in reciting The Lord’s Prayer. The officers include, from left: McKenna Boyer, Harrison Brown, Kate Krieger and Kirk Ellison.

Myles Brewer lights a candle with some assistance from the Rev. Aleka Schmidt. After the service, the graduates took their candles with them and were urged to keep them nearby as a reminder of the love and support from their families, friends and God.

Brylie Hapeman sets her candle on a table with the candles of her classmates.

Two classmates who passed away while in elementary school were remembered. Evan Ferchen and Brandon Parker both would have graduated with the Class of 2019. Gwen Ferchen is Evan’s mother. She lit a candle in his memory. The parents of Brandon also lit a candle in his honor.

There was a collection for the memorial scholarships in honor of Evan and Brandon and $1,835 was raised with $835 collected during the service on Sunday and another $1,000 from the proceeds of the Ghost Walk by students last September at Mount Albion Cemetery.

Brennan Moody, left, and Enoch Martin sing, “Found/Tonight.” Other students performed solos, including Arella Ives with “Holy City” on the flute, and Nathaniel Gramatico with “Amazing Grace” on the saxophone.

The senior chorus sings, Go In the Grace of the Lord.”

Flowers in the foyer are pictured while the chorus sings in the church sanctuary.

The Rev. Richard Csizmar, pastor of Holy Family Parish, shared the benediction and asked God to bless the graduates.

The Class of 2019 who attended Baccalaureate are pictured outside the First Baptist Church before the service on Sunday evening.

National Guard, local and state governments praised for response

Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – Members of the National Guard have been in Carlton today, stacking sandbags to protect two homes on a peninsula that are very vulnerable to flooding. The houses are on Park Road and are surrounded by water on three sides, from Lake Ontario and Johnson Creek.

The Town of Carlton Highway Department uses a payloader to carry pallets of sandbags across a washed out section of Park Road.

A chunk of Park Road washed out about three weeks ago. Residents at three houses have to walk through the washed out road to reach their houses. John DeFilipps, an Orleans County legislator, is among the residents on the peninsula that is no longer accessible to regular traffic.

DeFilipps and his wife Donna bought their house by the lake in 1998. They experienced flooding two years ago and rebuilt their breakwall. Some of that wall with smaller stones has been knocked loose as the lake levels rose and the waves got stronger. The DeFilipps couple has spent several hours this weekend picking up driftwood and rocks that were heaved into their yard from the strong waves.

“Our cellar is a swimming pool now,” Mr. DeFilipps said.

He estimated about 16 inches of water is in the basement.

These National Guard members wade through water on Park Road. A section of the road is now underwater.

The DeFilipps house has been popular today as a bathroom break for about 40 members of the National Guard.

DeFilipps reached the house today by rolling up his pantlegs and walking in flip flops down the washed out road, hanging onto trees so he didn’t fall into the water.

He said the Johnson Creek Peninsula, just north of the Kuckville hamlet on Route 18, is a striking location.

“It used to be a peninsula, but now we’re an island,” DeFilipps said about the rising water that cut through the road.

He commended the local governments and state agencies for their efforts in getting sandbags and AquaDams in place for residents in the past month. The state also has paid to fortify many of the break walls along the lake since the 2017 flooding.

Some of those break walls, however, have been knocked apart, DeFilipps said, especially with the smaller stones. The waves can easily lift the light rocks up and heave them off a breakwall.

The National Guard members unload and stack sandbags around a cottage owned by Gary Hudson.

Family feared century-old cottage would be lost

Gary Hudson, 72, is thankful to see so many National Guardsmen. He owns a cottage from 1922 that has been in his family for nearly a century. He feared it would be ruined from the invading water.

He praised the efforts of the National Guard, the Carlton Highway Department and Dale Banker, director of the Orleans County Emergency Management Office.

“I appreciate the hell out of these guys,” Hudson said today, watching the National Guard stack sandbags around the cottage.

Hudson’s nephew Todd Hansler was worried the cottage would be destroyed by the water. He called Banker on Wednesday. Banker had state officials check the site and they approved having the National Guard come in and stack sand bags.

A New York Naval Militia patrol boat approaches with pallets of sandbags to be placed by the edge of the shore to help protect the homes on park Road.

It was difficult to get the pallets of sandbags to the site because the road is washed out. The Carlton highway department used a payloader with big tires to move the pallets to the site.

A New York Naval Militia boat also brought in sandbags. That boat has been busy on the southshore, most recently at Sodus in Wayne County. Today the sandbags were loaded onto the boat at the state boat launch on Archibald Road and then taken by boat to the Park Road site.

The pallets hold 40 sandbags that each weigh about 40 pounds, for about 1,600 pounds total.

The New York Naval Militia boat pulls into Johnson Creek so the sandbags can be unloaded.

‘It’s the most fantastic thing ever, having them out here helping us’

Pat Cummings has the house right at the end of the peninsula. Two years ago the cottage suffered lots of flooding damage. Cummings had a new breakwall put in, raised the main door by six inches, and sealed openings to help keep out the water.

Cummings said the place is better fortified for flooding this time. But she worried as the lake level kept going up, now higher than the peak in 2017.

Pat Cummings takes a photo of the approaching New York Naval Militia boat. She appreciates the efforts of so many to help protect her property from flooding.

She and her family hauled sandbags to the site by themselves in 2017. It was slow and exhausting.

She tried again to move the sandbags herself this week. They are heavy.

The National Guard is far faster.

“It’s the most fantastic thing ever, having them out here helping us,” she said.

Cummings has owned the cottage since 2011.

“In normal conditions it’s the best spot in the world,” she said. “It’s my paradise.”

The National Guard members are from the Air Force in Niagara Falls and the Army in Rochester.

The National Guard has been in Orleans County for about a month, first filling sandbags and now stacking them at properties along the lake. Many of the National Guardsmen are working five days and then getting two days off, before another five-day shift.

The National Guard worked with local officials to get the sandbags in place before an increased chance of flooding is expected, beginning at 6 p.m. today. That flood warning from the National Weather Service continues until 8 a.m. Tuesday.

The water from Johnson Creek is right up to the cottage owned by Gary Hudson. The National Guard would build a wall of sandbags to help protect the property.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – It was a big day on the Deerfield County Club golf course for Medina High junior Melanie Green who captured a second straight state championship. At left she putts on the 18th hole and at right she tees off on the 12th.

Making a successful title defense, Medina High junior Melanie Green scored a one stroke victory at the state golf championship today at Deerfield Country Club near Brockport.

Green lines up her final state title clinching putt.

Interestingly it was a repeat of last year’s 1-2 finish as Green completed the two day event with a one over par total of 145 to edge out Bailey Shoemaker from Section IV, who posted a 146 total, for the title. Last spring Green bested Shoemaker for the crown by two shots.

“There wasn’t one key spot, I just played steady throughout,” said Green. “All week I was confident.”

Green fired an even par 72  during Saturday’s opening round 18 holes to hold a one stroke lead over Shoemaker.

She extended at advantage to three shots this afternoon after making a birdie on the 12th hole and par on the 13th as Shoemaker pared 12 and bogeyed 13.

Bailey Shoemaker from Section IV finished a close second to Green for the second year in a row.

A birdie by Shoemaker at 14 did cut the deficit back to two as Green made par on the hole.

However, Green then matched Shoemaker with pars on 15 and 17 and a birdie on 16 to maintain a two stroke lead heading into the final hole.

A par on the 18th hole then was just enough to earn Green her second straight state championship as Shoemaker made birdie.

She qualified for the state tournament by winning the Section VI championship for the third year in a row.

Green becomes just Medina High’s second two time state champion. The first was JR Roberts who captured back-to-back state wrestling championships in in 2001 and 2002.

Melanie is shown her with her parents, Ron and Melissa Green after locking up the title.

Green tees off on the scenic 17th hole.

 Green and Shoemaker check their scorecards in the clubhouse at the end of the match.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a lakeshore flood warning from 6 p.m. today until 8 a.m. Tuesday, and includes Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, northern Cayuga and Oswego counties.

A warning means the weather event is imminent or has already begun. In this case its lakeshore flooding, due to the combination of very high lake levels and moderately strong west to northwest winds.

That will result in greater wave action and an increase in lakeshore flooding on the southern shoreline of Lake Ontario, the Weather Service said.

Photos courtesy of Mike Beach

ALBION – Charlie Ward, a member of the Barre Cubs, tosses the ceremonial first pitch during Saturday’s opening day celebration for a new season of the Albion Midget League.

Charlie, 9, threw the first pitch in honor of his father, Scott Ward, who passed away at age 45 on Oct. 13. Scott was a long-time Barre Cubs coach.

The season got off to a late start due to all of the rain and wet fields in April and May. Opening day was scheduled for May 4.

The Albion Midget League formed in 1956 and remains an annual tradition in the Albion community. Barre is one of the original teams. The Cubs have won the league title the previous four seasons.

Members of Sandstone Park make their introductions. The team is led by head coach Dan Bartlett.

The Vets make their introductions. This year they are led by new head coach, Jesse Colmenero.

The Rotary Lions team, sporting new uniforms, pass the microphone during introductions. Greg Bennett returns as the head coach for the team that advanced to the finals last year.

Carlton has a lot of players. The team is led by Ben Narburgh.

The high-powered Barre Cubs will try to win the title for the fifth straight year. Mike Beach is the head coach.

St Mary’s, another of the original teams from 1956, is back for another season. Chris Kinter is the head coach.

Photos courtesy of John Heise

HOLLEY – The Holley community celebrated its June Fest today with activities throughout the day, including a parade from the school through the Public Square.

The top photo shows a group from Enchanted Princess Parties of Rochester. The characters were available to pose for photos after the parade.

This was the first time the group joined in a community parade.

“We had so much fun,” said Jennifer Norton, owner of Enchanted. “The kids were all so happy. The town did a great job with the event.”

Kerri Neale, center, joined the Holley Rod and Gun Club in promoting the club’s 100^th anniversary this year.

Cub Scouts toss candy to spectators along the parade route.

The combined Holley-Kendall Marching Band gave an energetic performance.

The Myron Holley Garden Club was among many community organizations in the parade.

The Kendall Lawn Chair Ladies remain a popular presence in the local parade.

The Heads Over Heels dance group joined the parade processional.

After the parade, there were many activities at the canal park and trail, including wine and beer tasting, bands, a climbing wall, face painting, balloon twisting, a chicken barbecue and other craft and food vendors. Fireworks were scheduled to cap the day.

The festival began with yoga at the falls followed by the annual 5K Jim Ferris Memorial Race.

Hits proved hard to come by as top seeded Lyndonville was upended 1-0 by No. 7 Bolivar-Richburg in the Section V Class C2 championship baseball game this afternoon at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia.

Bolivar-Richburg scored the game’s only run in the top of the seventh inning on a bases loaded walk. Two other walks and a single loaded the bases to set up the threat.

Lyndonville left runners stranded at second and third with less than two out in both the fourth and fifth innings.

The contest was a pitchers duel as Bolivar-Richburg’s Logan Bess allowed only 2 hits and struck out 17 while Lyndonville’s Zach Johnson, who went six and two-thirds innings, gave up 3 hits and struck out 14.

Lyndonville finishes the season at 17-2.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina catcher Austin Mosher puts the tag on Roy-Hart’s Gavyn Boyle, who soars high to try and avoid the tag,  during first inning action of the Mustangs Class B championship win over the Rams this afternoon at Canisius College.

Avenging a pair of regular season setbacks and a loss in last year’s Class B2 title contest, Medina romped past Niagara-Orleans League rival Roy-Hart 15-4 at Canisius College this afternoon to capture the Section VI Class B championship and earn a berth in the state playoffs for the first time since 2003.

Improving to a school record mark of 20-2, Medina will now face the Section V Class B champion (either Batavia, LeRoy or Wellsville) in the Far West Regional at Lockport next Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Mustangs took charge at the outset exploding for 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Chris Goyette went the distance on the mound for the Mustangs.

A three-run double by winning pitcher Chris Goyette ignited that marathon uprising which also featured a two-run single by Matt Saj, an RBI single by AJ Seefeldt and an RBI double by Goyette which capped off the decisive surge. Two errors and a wild pitch plated the other three runs.

A leadoff double by Brian Fry and two walks quickly loaded the bases to set up the decisive uprising.

“That’s what you want to do get the jump on the other team early,” said Medina Coach Jon Sherman.

The Mustangs kept rolling in the second inning plating four more runs on a three-run triple by Fry and an RBI sacrifice fly by Nate Sherman to balloon the lead to 14-1. A hit batter and error and a walk loaded the bases to set up the threat.

Saj completed the Mustangs scoring parade with a solo home run blasted over the right field fence in the fourth inning to make it 15-2.

Seefeldt finished with 3 hits as Goyette, Fry and Saj each had 2.

Goyette went the distance on the mound scattering 7 hits and striking out 7.

“Chris was gutsy. He threw a lot of pitches,” said Sherman in noting that a sore arm has limited his time on the mound of late. “It was good to have him back.”

Roy-Hart’s only lead was 1-0 in the top of the first inning as Charlie Bruning singled and came home on a triple by Gavyn Boyle. However, a nifty relay throw by the Medina defense got Boyle out at home for the final out of the inning.

The Rams also scored once in the fourth as Noah Hardy tripled and came home on a wild pitch, once in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Tom Russo III and once in the seventh as Karl Darling tripled and came home on a single by Charlie Brigham.

Roy-Hart had edged Medina twice during the N-O season by margins of 5-3 in eight innings and 1-0 in nine innings. The Rams also trimmed the Mustangs 4-2 in last year’s B2 championship game.

Mustang players Brian Fry and Matt Saj celebrate the championship victory.

Medina players hoist the sectional championship plaque high.

Photo by Tom Rivers: These sculptures from the “Rogers Groups” are part of an opening day exhibit at the Cobblestone Museum today. The exhibit is in the bottom floor of the Cobblestone Universalist Church on Route 104.

GAINES – The Cobblestone Museum is opening for the season today and will unveil the museum’s new “living history” program. “A Day in the Life” is complete with costumed re-enactors and heritage demonstrations from noon to 4 p.m.

Visitors can step back in time in many of the museum buildings and “meet” people from the past who lived and worked in Orleans County in the 19th century. Blacksmiths and printers, along with other re-enactors who will portray school teachers and preachers will be on hand to entertain.

The museum will also serve up a complimentary slice of strawberry pie at the conclusion of the tour today.

The museum today at 4 p.m. will also have an official opening for the newest exhibit, “Rogers Groups,” which features a dozen works of statuary art by 19th century sculptor, John Rogers.

Known as “The People’s Sculptor,” Rogers sculpted in plaster instead of bronze to make a product that was affordable by the masses. Cobblestone Trustee Bill Lattin has loaned his personal collection of statuary to the museum for this special exhibit.

The opening will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., with remarks by Lattin at 5 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. The Rogers Groups Exhibit will be on display in the museum’s Danolds Room throughout 2019, located in the lower level of the Cobblestone Church.

Press release and photos from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County

Eric Andrews and Louisa Shiffer are shown with the tree they donated to Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension.

KNOWLESVILLE – Johnny Appleseed may not have originally planted his apple trees in Western New York, but Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension now has an original Appleseed tree on its grounds thanks to a donation from Albion native Eric Andrews.

The Cooperative Extension on Tuesday and Wednesday hosted Conservation Field Days, where every 6th grader in the county cycles through various ecologically themed stations. Andrews presented at one of the stations on Tuesday, introducing the students to the life and legend of Johnny Appleseed, then heading outside to have each class help dig and plant the apple tree.

“Our original idea was to create a scholarship program with these Johnny Appleseed trees as the award,” Andrews said. “First we wanted to see if there would be any public interest in the project, so we thought of Orleans CCE as a central location for planting the first one.”

Andrews is a local history and botany enthusiast, with a focused interest on heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables.

“Eric is so passionate about the history and preservation of these heirloom varieties,” said Louisa Shiffer, Andrews’ long-time partner and co-presenter at Conservation Field Days. “He grows acres of some of the most obscure varieties of fruits and vegetables, saving seed each year to make sure these varieties are not lost.”

Andrews purchased the tree from Raintree Nursery in Morton, WA. The nurserymen at Raintree were able to trace the roots of this particular variety all the way to an old homestead in Ohio, where the original tree was planted by Johnny Appleseed sometime in the 1820s. Cuttings were taken from this original tree and grafted onto rootstocks to enable exact copies of the variety to be sold to anyone interested in a piece of the history and legend of Johnny Appleseed.

“We live in one of the best areas in the world for growing apples, and we should be proud of that,” Andrews said. “We thought with this project that we could generate interest in something that we do really well in Orleans County. Technology, computers, movies can happen anywhere, but we can grow the best apples in the world right here in Western New York.”

The tree is planted in a recently renovated area of a garden just east of the OCCCE office on Rt. 31 in Albion. A plaque describing the history of the tree will be placed next to it so fairgoers and participants can get a glimpse of the legacy of an early American icon.

Sixth graders from Clifford Wise Middle School in Medina break ground for the new apple tree.

The group fills in the hole after the tree is placed.

“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 21

Photo courtesy of family: Ken Owen was a medic with the 82nd Airborne and was taken prisoner by Germans. He escaped and returned to the Allied forces.

This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings, which took place on June 6, 1944. The passing of this particular milestone serves as grim reminder that our veterans, particularly those who served during World War Two, are disappearing quickly and with them passes the stories of their service. While the Orleans County Legislature commemorated this anniversary on May 22, I received a note from Graydon Owen containing two photographs and a brief write-up of his father’s service during the war. I found Kenneth Owen’s story to be quite interesting and thought it should be shared with the community.

Kenneth Richard Owen was born in the Town of Shelby on September 15, 1924, the son of George and Cora Rock Owen. Upon reaching the age of 18, he enlisted with the U.S. Army on May 21, 1943, which assigned him to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As a new recruit, he volunteered for service with the 82nd Airborne Division, the first division of its kind in the history of the U.S. Army, and commenced training with the unit. Kenneth’s first jump with the unit came in July of 1943 when Allied forces utilized parachute regiments to assault Sicily; his second jump came two months later with the assault on Salerno in September of 1943.

As Supreme Allied Command prepared for Operation Neptune, the largest amphibious operation in modern history, the 82nd Airborne prepared for “Mission Boston.” Nearly 6,500 paratroopers jumped from over 350 C-47 aircraft at 1:51am, June 6, 1944. Between the 101st Airborne and 82nd Airborne, the latter experienced fewer landing mishaps including fewer missed landings, minus the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (which included Medina native James Campas). The overall mission of both divisions was to land on the Cotentin Peninsula and block German progress towards Omaha, Utah, Juno, and Sword beaches.

Owen was a medic with the 82nd Airborne, suffered a sprained shoulder when he landed in the early hours of June 6, and was taken prisoner soon after. German soldiers stripped him of his gear, including food and medical supplies that would have allowed him to treat his injuries. For two days, they kept him without food while he suffered the effects of his injuries. On the third day, Owen attempted an escape, crawling under barbed wire and wading through three-foot-deep water. Despite being shot in the leg by his captors, he managed to find his way to the home of two French women who provided him with food, milk and wine. He was then taken to the home of an elderly French woman who provided him with money to make it back to U.S. troops.

When Allied forces pushed through the area, Owen was rescued and sent to a hospital in England where he received appropriate medical care. Remarkably, he was present with the 82nd Airborne in September of 1944 for Operation Market Garden in an effort to seize several roads and bridges of strategic significance. He remained with his unit through December of 1944, when the 82nd Airborne fought on the frontlines during the Battle of Bulge.

According to his son, Kenneth returned to Medina after the war where he married Marion Anna Maxwell. Ken worked at Abex Corporation for nearly 30 years, retiring in 1985 and remaining in Medina until his death in 2012. Graydon and his wife wrote, “Ken never spoke often or publicly of his war experiences, except, occasionally with his sons and grandsons. But, he always remained devoted to and proud of his military history. Ken kept this time of his life close to his heart. This is the first public telling of his personal story.”

Provided photos: The American Red Cross sets up for a blood drive today at the Ridgeway Fire Hall.

RIDGEWAY – A blood drive today in honor of Ridgeway firefighter Glen Busch II resulted in 59 pints of blood. That came from 47 donors, including 12 who were double-red givers.

This is the second blood drive in honor of Busch. The first one on Nov. 30 included about 70 donors.

Busch, 36, has been promoting the blood drives. He said he is thankful for donors because he needed 178 blood transfusions last year while battling serious health issues.

Busch has mostly recovered from a splenic artery aneurysm, a stroke, a pulmonary embolism and a collapsed lung.

The blood drives at Ridgeway included many donors who are firefighters, and also members of the Crusaders Motorcycle Club. That club has its races on Culvert Road in Ridgeway. The season opens on Sunday.

Busch returned to work in February as a social welfare examiner for the Orleans County Department of Social Services. His wife Valerie works at Baxter Healthcare in Medina and also is an active Ridgeway firefighter.

This sign promotes today’s blood drive in honor of Glen Busch II.