Governor Kathy Hochul has announced two free snowmobile weekends for all out-of-state and Canadian snowmobilers to rev their engines and explore what New York has to offer.
New York State will waive registration fees for out-of-state snowmobilers Feb. 28-March 2 and March 7-9, encouraging out-of-state visitors to come ride the more than 10,000 miles of snowmobile trails in New York State.
“New York is home to more than 10,000 miles of snowmobile trails, making it the perfect place to explore everything from snow peaked mountains and endless forests to pristine valleys and the Great Lakes,” Governor Hochul said. “I encourage everyone to take advantage of the beauty our state has to offer, and we’re making it easier with free snowmobiling weekends for adventurers to see it for themselves.”
During the weekends, the registration requirement in New York is waived for already properly registered and insured out-of-state snowmobiling enthusiasts. Participants in these free snowmobiling events must operate a snowmobile that is registered in their home state/province and must carry any applicable insurance as required.
Outside of this promotion, out-of-state and Canadian snowmobilers are required to register their snowmobiles with New York State before hitting the State’s trails — from the Hudson Valley to the North Country to Western New York.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 February 2025 at 8:28 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – There are 65 teams playing indoor soccer Friday and today at the Ben Kirby Memorial Tournament. The top photo shows McKinley Knight of Albion trying to get the ball past a Brockport player in the high school gym.
There are teams from Albion, Attica, Batavia, Brockport, Buffalo, Canandaigua, Holley, Newark, Pavilion and Warsaw in the tournament. That is approximately 500 players from grades 3 and 4 up to adults in the open division. With other spectators, well over 1,000 people are expected for the tournament, which also includes games at the elementary school gym.
Some of the volunteers at the tournament include from left Peter Borello, Kyler McQuillan, Wendy Kirby, Stacey Braley and Nisi Beltran Roblero.
Borello coaches and coordinates the tournament. He said Albion’s location in between Rochester and Buffalo helps bring in the out-of-town teams.
The Albion Soccer Club organizes the two-day tournament which honors the memory of Ben Kirby of Albion. He was a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology when he died in a car accident on Nov. 6, 2017. He was 21 at the time, in his senior year majoring in software development. Kirby played youth soccer for Albion and also on the school teams.
Some of the proceeds go towards a $500 Ben Kirby scholarship given to a student nominated by one or more of the teachers in the Albion High School. Three of the scholarships are awarded each year.
The tournament includes sponsorships from Kirby’s Farm Market, A & J Kirby Farms and Oak Orchard Health.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 February 2025 at 9:48 pm
The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a winter weather advisory for Orleans County from 10 a.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. on Monday.
There are 4 to 7 inches of snow and sleet expected and ice accumulations around three tenths of an inch. Winds will gust as high as 50 miles per hour, the Weather Service said.
Much of upstate New York is under a weather advisory for the weekend.
The high and low temperatures in the forecast in the coming days include 32 on Saturday with an overnight low of 29, followed by a high of 3 3on Sunday with a night-time low of 15. On Monday, the high is forecast to be 20 with an overnight low around 8 degrees. Tuesday will get up to 16 with a low around 8.
BATAVIA – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) continued his annual Valentines for Veterans program this Valentine’s Day, connecting local students with veteran residents at The New York State Veterans Home at Batavia.
Hawley collected handmade valentines from students at Jackson Primary School and personally delivered them to the veterans.
“This event is a great opportunity every year to show my appreciation for our veterans and all of the sacrifices they have made to keep us free,” said Hawley. “As a veteran myself, I know the hard work and dedication these brave men and women have given over the years, and I hope events like this can serve as a way to give back.”
Hawley’s day began at Jackson Primary School, where he visited Mrs. Vaccarella’s Kindergarten class, discussing veterans and the six branches of the military before thanking the students for their heartfelt cards. He then visited a joint classroom for Mrs. Wolff and Mrs. Conroy, where students also created valentines and performed a special Valentine’s Day song for the veterans.
Finally, Hawley delivered the valentines to the residents of the NYS Veterans Home at Batavia, personally thanking veterans for their service.
“This program connects students with our veterans, and in turn, our veterans receive messages of gratitude, such as ‘Thank you for your service,’” Hawley added. “It’s a truly rewarding experience for everyone involved.”
OSWEGO – Four students from Orleans County have been named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester at SUNY Oswego. These students have attained grade-point averages between 3.3 and 3.79 while carrying at least 12 academic credits.
The students from Orleans County include:
Brandon X. Boyce, Medina, majoring in psychology
Miles W. Hartway, Medina, majoring in wellness management
Alex E. Stahl, Medina, majoring in operations management and information systems
Isabella R. Zasa, Knowlesville, majoring in public relations
Official photos for Congresswoman Claudia Tenney and President Donald Trump.
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today introduced the Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day Holiday Establishment Act to officially designate June 14 as a federal holiday to commemorate President Donald J. Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day.
Born on June 14, 1946, President Donald J. Trump’s birthday coincided with Flag Day, which is observed annually and recognizes the anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official US flag in 1777. This legislation would permanently codify a new federal holiday called “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day” on June 14 to honor this historic day.
“No modern president has been more pivotal for our country than Donald J. Trump,” Tenney said in a news release. “As both our 45th and 47th President, he is the most consequential President in modern American history, leading our country at a time of great international and domestic turmoil.
“From brokering the historic Abraham Accords to championing the largest tax relief package in American history, his impact on the nation is undeniable. Just as George Washington’s Birthday is codified as a federal holiday, this bill will add Trump’s Birthday to this list, recognizing him as the founder of America’s Golden Age.
“Additionally, as our nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, we should create a new federal holiday honoring the American Flag and all that it represents. By designating Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day as a federal holiday, we can ensure President Trump’s contributions to American greatness and the importance of the American Flag are forever enshrined into law.”
Provided photo: Matthew Sweeney, Roy-Hart Agriculture teacher and FFA advisor, welcomes retired Ag teacher from Barker School, Matt Costello, and his wife Fran, at the recent Roy-Hart Ag Foundation Pancake Breakfast at the Middleport Fire Hall.
MIDDLEPORT – At Middleport High School, the first Future Farmers of America (FFA) Club began during the 1939-1940 school year, when an addition was built onto the school which opened the agricultural field of study to the high school students.
The chief purpose of the club was to carry on studies and experiments supplemental to the agricultural course. The Middleport yearbook states, “Thus the F. F. A., newly formed this year, has made remarkable progress, and has created a field of diverse activity for Middleport students from rural communities, and so promises to become one of the school’s leading organizations.”
Despite protests from district farmers and community members, the Agriculture classes and FFA were eliminated from the school’s curriculum in 1987. In 2016, Agriculture classes were reinstated with Matthew Sweeney as the teacher and FFA advisor.
In 2020 the Royalton-Hartland Agriculture Foundation was established as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit entity to support the rapidly expanding agricultural education program benefiting students from K-12. The foundation conducts fundraising events and seeks donors to support the program.
Over the last nine years, the Roy-Hart students and Sweeney have had great success in community service work, honors and awards at the local, district, state and national level.
It was 85 years after the first Roy-Hart Agriculture class was taught, and with the support of the Roy-Hart Board of Education and administration, Royalton-Hartland Agriculture Foundation and Roy-Hart school community, groundbreaking for the first outdoor learning lab was held.
Jill Heck, Superintendent of Schools stated, “This is a three-year journey and reaching agricultural excellence has been designed to help hundreds of K-12 students who are exploring and learning about agriculture.”
Royalton-Hartland is the sole Niagara County school-based agriculture education program. Many of the accolades from the 2024 school year were on display at the Pancake Breakfast which featured local grown and produced foods. Over 700 people were served and more than 80 baskets/cards contributed to the success of the 3rd annual Pancake Breakfast to support Roy-Hart Ag Education.
Program being offered in Orleans for first time since 2019
Photos courtesy of CCE in Orleans County: The MFP Training course is a combination of classroom lectures and hands-on preservation activities.
Press Release, Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension
KNOWLESVILLE – Orleans County CCE is offering a free Master Food Preserver Training from March 18 to April 6 on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons from 12 to 4 p.m.
The Master Food Preserver Core Training has not been offered in Orleans County since 2019. The goal of the training course is to obtain new volunteers in Orleans County who are passionate about home food preservation and motivated to extend their experience and education to the public.
Colin Butgereit, a Master Food Preserver volunteer, explains how to safely use a pressure canner.
In the past, this training course has only been offered by CCE statewide educators who travel around the state, leading the training in various counties each year. Host counties typically needed to charge participants a higher fee to offset the cost associated with contracting with those educators and to cover the cost of the supplies and materials used in the class.
This year, the course will be taught by the Orleans County CCE Master Food Preserver (MFP) Volunteers Karen Desjardin, Colin Butgereit, Eileen Sorochty and Kate Hardner, with CCE Horticulture Educator and MFP Coordinator Katie Oakes overseeing. The instructors offering the course this year have a combined 45 years of experience within the CCE Master Food Preserver program.
In addition to utilizing local instructors, Orleans CCE secured a nutrition-based grant that will cover the cost of all materials and supplies. Because of those advantages, Orleans County CCE is able to offer this training for the first time at no cost to participants.
“We have such great volunteers already in the program who have so much experience, but our volunteers can only give so much of their personal time to offering workshops to the public,” said long-time Master Food Preserver volunteer Colin Butgereit, “The demand is there in the county for these types of classes, and we would love to expand what we can offer.”
Each year, the Master Food Preserver volunteers offer workshops to the public that offer in-depth education on a wide-range of food preservation topics. The classes fill quickly and often have waitlist of ten or more people hoping a spot will open up.
“We are hoping to increase our Master Food Preserver volunteer base so we can better serve our county residents who are interested in improving this important skill of home food preservation,” explained Eileen Sorochty, another long-time Master Food Preserver volunteer. “More certified Master Food Preserver volunteers will mean more educational opportunities for our community members.”
Following the core home food preservation training, participants log and document 40 hours of diverse food preservation experience (usually done on personal time using information learned in the training), complete long-term volunteer paperwork including background check, and then receive certification to extend research-based food preservation education to the community as a CCE Master Food Preserver volunteer.
The overall goal of the Master Food Preserver program is to help more Orleans County residents gain experience in preserving their own food at home, an important skill for those interested in relying less on traditional food systems.
“What we are trying to do is help people shorten the food chain and be more self-sufficient in their homes and kitchens,” said Kate Hardner, a MFP trainee who completed the course in Niagara County in 2022.
The Master Food Preserver training will be held at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds, 12690 State Rt 31, Albion, NY – in the Education Center of the Orleans CCE office building on Tuesday and Thursdays and in the Trolley Kitchen for the Sunday hands-on classes.
To be considered for the class, please complete the Orleans County MFP Training Intake Application (found on the Orleans CCE website). Application deadline is Feb. 21 and participants will be notified if they are accepted into the course by March 1. Class size is limited, and preference will be given to those who are intending to serve as long-term volunteers through the Master Food Preserver program in the future.
Call 585-798-4265 ext 125 or email klo54@cornell.edu for more details. Once accepted, participants will be expected to attend all nine class sessions.
Participants in the 2019 MFP Training prepare tomatoes for preservation.
Local historians love to hear the phrases “We found these in the attic” or “We found these in the barn.”
Many charming Valentine’s Day cards from the 1920s were discovered in the attic of a home near Kenyonville Road and were donated by Duane and Pat Payne of Medina. One cannot but marvel at the fact that they survived critters, weather and time.
“Ephemera” is the term used to describe paper items that have short-term usefulness – receipts, bills, cards etc. We can appreciate why these cards were not thrown out, they have a lasting visual appeal and no doubt they held a sentimental value for the person who put them aside.
According to the Greeting Card Association, Valentine’s Day is second to Christmas as the most popular holiday for people to send greeting cards. The city of Worcester, Mass. became, by chance, the center for the printing of commercial Valentine cards after Esther Howland was inspired by European lace-layered cards in the 1840s. She used her father’s printing business to create her own multi-layered card creations and developed a very successful business.
The cards in this donated collection were produced by the Whitney Valentine Company, also located in Worcester, Mass. In the late 19th century, George C. Whitney purchased Howland’s firm as well as other Valentine card companies. He developed mass-produced greeting cards which were very popular.
Valentine postcards from the Payne collection.
Valentine’s Day postcards were also popular and just required a 1-cent stamp. The design and verse were on the front, message and mailing address on the back. The sender’s message could be read by everybody. The handwritten message on one postcard written by Joyce and sent to Ronald reads “If you think a lot of a person, why isn’t Valentines Day a good time to say so?”
But where could you purchase cards to mail to your Valentine? Stationery supplies were sold at drugstores. The 1903 Directory of Orleans County lists the following suppliers under the heading Stationery:
BISHOP, FRANCIS M. – Public Square, Holley
CENTRAL DRUG STORE – Main St, Albion
MILLENER, WILLIAM S. – Public Square, Holley
WRIGHT & ROSS – Main St., Lyndonville
Generally, the images and greetings were polite, this one is a little saucier.
Do you save cards? If you read this column, chances are you do! Why not put some aside in an attic or barn to tantalize future generations?
CORTLAND – Four students from Orleans County are on the Dean’s List for the fall semester at SUNY Cortland. The Dean’s List is the highest ranking for undergraduate students in their respective academic areas of the university. Students must earn a minimum 3.3 grade point average for the semester to make the list.
The following from Orleans made the Dean’s List:
Paige Derisley of Waterport – Major: Physical Education K-12
Olivia Morrison of Albion – Major: Anthropology
Xander Payne of Medina – Major: Sport Management
Nathan Sherman of Medina – Major: Business Economics
ALBION – Pastors Jovannie and Melisa Canales were installed as the new lead pastors of Harvest Christian Fellowship in a special service on Sunday, January 26th.
Pastor Jovannie had been serving as the church’s associate pastor since mid-2024. Previously the husband and wife served as pastors of Oasis Church in Medina.
Tim Lindsay began Harvest in 1987 and has served as the senior pastor for the past 37 years. Pastor Lindsay will continue to serve the church in this new season and is excited about the transition. He will be assisting Pastors Jovannie and Melisa with pastoral care, teaching, mentoring and in other ways.
Church leaders pray over Melisa and Jovannie Canales as they are installed as the new lead pastors.
When Jovannie and Melisa made the commitment to accept this new call, the church leaders at Oasis began to explore the possibility of merging the two congregations. Last April the congregation of Oasis voted unanimously to move forward with the merger and the two churches have been together since June 2024.
Oasis Church had seen consistent growth over the past seven years under the leadership of Pastors Jovannie and Melisa. Additionally, it hosted the “Family Fun Day” in Medina, which now takes place annually in Albion on the second Saturday of August.
“I am confident that this is the direction that God has for us, and I believe that Jovannie and Melisa will do a great job,” said Pastor Lindsay.
Harvest has been involved in numerous ministries in the county over the years; helping in the formation of the Care Net Center of Greater Orleans, the Orleans County Christian School, Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation, Orleans Koinonia Kitchen, and Trade 180 (a mentoring program for young men that also provides transitional housing), to name a few.
The church meets on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. as well as conducting mid-week Bible studies, children’s Sunday School, home fellowship groups, and other outreaches.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 February 2025 at 1:41 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers
MURRAY – Firefighters pulled some of the siding off a house at 3388 Groth Road so they could get water directly on an electrical fire that was smoldering just after noon today.
The electrical fire started at the service entrance cable, firefighters said at the scene.
They were able to keep the electrical fire from turning into flames and causing more damage. National Grid also happened to be in the area and one of the Grid workers was able to shut off the electric from the meter, helping to keep the fire from spreading, said Bob Freida, the Clarendon fire chief.
Murray firefighters were assisted in mutual aid by Clarendon, Kendall and Hamlin.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 13 February 2025 at 8:38 am
CHILDS – The second in a series of virtual presentations to benefit the Cobblestone Museum has been announced by assistant director Sue Bonafini.
“The Greatest Act: Ulysses S. Grant and Civil Rights” will be presented on Zoom video conference at 7 p.m. Feb. 27, featuring Ben Kemp, operations manager for the U.S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site, as speaker.
The U.S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site is located in Gansevoort in the Adirondack Mountains. It was in that cottage, owned by Joseph W. Drexel, where Grant died of throat cancer during a six week stay there in 1885 to complete his memoirs.
This is a fitting program during Black History Month, which highlights a very difficult but promising period of the Civil Rights struggle and Ulysses S. Grant’s role in it, Bonafini said.
Throughout his early life, Grant lived among pro and anti-slavery factions. His views on the rights of Black Americans would evolve due to transformative experiences and an abiding sensitivity to injustice. This virtual presentation will provide information on Grant’s journey from living on a slave plantation to signing the most significant civil rights legislation of the 19th century.
Participants will learn about Grant’s efforts to protect the rights of the formerly enslaved and the significant challenges he faced. Those who log in to this presentation will discover how Grant’s commitment to civil rights left a lasting legacy that continues to protect the rights of all Americans.
Reservations are required by contacting www.CobblestoneMuseum.org, or calling (585) 589-9013. A sliding scale donation is greatly appreciated using PayPal or a credit card on the Cobblestone Society’s registration page. Anyone needing assistance or wishing more information may contact Bonafini at volunteers@cobblestonemuseum.org or call (585) 589-9013.
Virtual attendees will receive a Zoom link during the week of the program.
Sponsor for this virtual presentation is Pat’s Auto Repair of Albion.
Local historians love to hear the phrases “We found these in the attic” or “We found these in the barn.”
