‘The elimination of these agencies and programs would be devastating.’ – Renee Hungerford, executive director of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee

Press Release, Community Action of Orleans & Genesee

ALBION – Several national news stories are circulating about Health and Human Services (HHS) cuts in the proposed federal 2026 budget.

The proposed cuts include the elimination of Head Start, LIHEAP (energy assistance), and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) which is the foundational funding that enables Community Action Agencies to exist.

Last month, Renee Hungerford, CEO of Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, spent a week in Washington, DC, to meet with members of Congress and their staff to discuss the critical importance of the Community Services Block Grant, Head Start, and LIHEAP.

“I am grateful to have received words of support, from both Republicans and Democrats, for our programs,” Hungerford said. “Any one of us can fall into a situation of economic challenge. Our programs are designed to help people through those difficult times and reach self-sufficiency.”

It is important to note that the federal budget has not yet been approved by Congress and constituents are urged to contact members of Congress, with concerns, before the budget is presented to Congress.

The contacts for the area’s House of Representatives member and two U.S. senators include:

• Congresswoman Claudia Tenney  (Click here for contact information)

• Senator Kirsten Gillibrand  (Click here for contact information)

• Senator Charles Schumer  (Click here for contact information)

“In 2024, our agency assisted nearly 5,000 individuals with programs that improve health outcomes and financial stability,” Hungerford said. “This includes over 240 children in Head Start programs. In addition, we provide meaningful employment which supports our local economy. There are one thousand Community Action Agencies in the US providing similar programs.  The elimination of these agencies and programs would be devastating.”

For more information, please contact: info@caoginc.org or visit www.caoginc.org.

ALBION – The Main Street lift bridge will close again tomorrow (April 21) so crews can finish an extensive rehabilitation of the bridge.

The closure is expected to last up to six weeks. Detours will be posted.

The bridge was initially closed on Nov. 14, 2022 for what was expected to be about 18 months for a major rehabilitation. That project stretched to more than two years when the bridge was reopened just after Christmas on Dec. 27, 2024.

But there was still some more work on the deck and with additional testing, Village Trustee Joyce Riley said.

The original bridge from 1914 has been extensively rebuilt with new steel now over about 80 percent of the structure.

LYNDONVILLE – A historic country store is about to undergo a change in its more than 135-year existence.

Bruce Spencer, owner of The Country Store at 10204 Roosevelt Highway, has decided to put the business up for sale.

“It’s always best to leave when everything is intact,” Spencer said.

Bruce Spencer looks at a notebook full of articles and pictures about the historic Country Store, which was built in the 1890s.

He bought the store in 2016. One of its previous owners were his late aunt and uncle LaVerne and Marilyn Lartz of Lyndonville, but it had sat empty for three years when Spencer decided to buy it.

The store’s history dates back to the 1890s when it originally sat across the street and was part of the parsonage. When the railroad came in 1875, the post office relocated to Millers and the store was built.

W.H. Garland bought the store in the 1880s from Mrs. Carrigall. In 1885 it was sold to Hiram Vaughn and Garland then bought land across the street to build Herman’s Grocery, which was completed in 1886.

The store was owned by Marshall Todkill in 1901-02, and newspaper accounts say he “occupied the house, ran the store and sold shoes, laces, nails, general merchandise and groceries.” There was a blacksmith shop at the back and a barn for apples and molasses in barrels.

Ray and Ona Downey owned the store from 1920 to 1944,  when William and Bertha Herman bought it and ran it with their daughter Hazel until November 1966. Next owners were the Lartzes, who owned it from November 1966 until March 1985.

Two more owners were Eddie White in 2003 and Tim Payne in 2005 until 2013, when it closed and remained empty until Spencer and his brother Brian purchased it.

Shortly after, the pandemic hit but Spencer persevered with help from a friend Ed Fura and his Aunt Marilyn, who came in nearly every day to help. He has successfully run it (with some snags along the way) until now, when he decided to sell to concentrate on helping several relatives with health issues.

“I never wanted to sell, but I want to be able to help my relatives,” he said.

One of the store’s most popular features is their Friday night fish fries, Spencer said. The store has a bakery and deli counter, where they sell subs, pizza and wings. Gas pumps are installed in case the next owner wants to sell gas.

Currently, Spencer’s sister Barbara Lamont helps in the store every day. Business booms in the summer when cottagers move in at the lake.

The Country Store is the “go-to” place for cottagers at the lake during the summer months. Owner Bruce Spencer is hoping to sell it soon to pursue retirement.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 15

Corporal John H. Stevens of Knowlesville, a member of the 151st Regiment, had the distinction of several interactions with President Lincoln.

While we were busy celebrating the Bicentennial of Orleans County on April 15, we overlooked April 14, 1865, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, 160 years eariler. Remarkably, one young man from Orleans County was among the audience of approximately 1,700 in attendance that night at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.

John H. Stevens was born in Knowlesville on Sept. 23, 1839, the son of Andrew Stevens and Sophronia Harding. Andrew Stevens had moved to the area in 1816 and was one of the earliest settlers in what was then a wilderness. A farmer, he benefitted greatly from the opening of the Erie Canal.

In the summer of 1862, additional recruits were needed for the Union cause. Captain Hezekiah Bowen of Medina received authority to recruit a company of riflemen. John Stevens was one of the one hundred who quickly enlisted, mostly sons of well-to-do farmers. They were nicknamed the “Top Buggy Company,” since many of them could afford to take their young ladies out in top-buggies, then considered an item of luxury.

They bought their own guns, Sharp’s Rifles, each paying over forty dollars apiece for them. The ladies of Ridgeway presented them with a silk flag embroidered “Bowen’s Ind. Rifles.”

Stevens was mustered in as a Corporal of Company A, 151st N.Y. Volunteer Infantry on October 22, 1862. He was wounded at the Battle of Mine Run, Va.  on November 27, 1863, receiving a bullet wound to his right thigh. Following his recovery, he was placed on duty at the Medical Purveyor’s store in Baltimore on March 4, 1864.

In June of that year, Stevens received a ticket to attend the Republican National Convention from Senator E.D. Morgan of New York. Stevens was present when Lincoln was nominated for the second time.

Stevens voted for Lincoln twice, on Nov. 6, 1860, and Nov. 8, 1864.

He was transferred to work at the Medical Bureau of the Provost Marshal General’s Office in September 1864. He attended church on Thanksgiving Day, 1864, sat in Senator Morgan’s pew and at the end of the service, walked down the aisle alongside President Lincon.

On January 1, 1865, Stevens attended the Annual Meeting of the Christian Commission, listened to a speech given by Lincoln and afterwards, shook his hand.

John H. Stevens in later years

On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Stevens was seated in the front center seat of the dress circle at Ford’s Theater. He saw Booth leap from the box after he shot the President. Stevens was unable to see Lincoln’s remains lying-in-state because of the crowds, but he did witness the funeral procession.

Stevens was discharged on May 11, 1865. He returned to Knowlesville, and married Alice Andrews in 1866. They had two children, George and Avery. Alice died in 1875. Avery died in 1881, aged 11. Stevens married Mary D. Clapp in 1876, they had two daughters, Florence and Mary.

Stevens was an active member of the G.A.R. and a member of the S.J. Hood Post 91 for many years. He attended reunions of the 151st Regiment and liked to recount his encounters with Lincoln.

Stevens died on February 15, 1919, at the age of 80, in the home in which he had been born, having fulfilled his wish of living to mark the centenary of that home which had been built by his father in 1816. He is buried in Tanner Cemetery in the Town of Ridgeway, NY.

Photos by Marsha Rivers

GAINES – About 50 people were up early today for a sunrise service at the pavilion of the Gaines Carlton Community Church on Ridge Road. Several churches held services at dawn on Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The attendees at Gaines Carlton sang “We Welcome Glad Easter,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” and “Because He Lives.”

These young people performed a drama, “And Now He’s Gone.” The participants include Clara Bergeman, Madalyn Ashbery, Brody Collyer, Olivia Andrews, Lindsay Crawford, Kelsey Crawford, Owen Collyer and Mallory Ashbery.

Kendyl Collyer shares a reading, “Easter Blessings.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – These kids take off for the Easter egg hunt around noon today at the Courthouse lawn in Albion. The Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries organized the event for the fourth year.

About 400 to 500 kids were at today’s egg hunt. They were separated into three age groups: (1-5), (6-9) and (10-14).

For the second straight year Ben Rowcliffe, 9, of Medina got a golden egg. Inside was a ticket for a free bike. There were two golden eggs in each age group.

These younger kids hunt for eggs. Since the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries started the egg hunt in 2022, it has grown from 3,000 the first year to 10,000 in 2023, 12,000 last year and now 15,000.

Pastor Al Wilson said Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries wants to be a blessing to the community, “sharing the love of Jesus.”

Colt Tumia, 8, of Albion gets a Pokémon ball painted on his face by Candace Casey.

Divina Cifunetes of Batavia, 5, was happy to meet the Easter Bunny. (Rose Friedl was in the costume as the Easter Bunny.)

These kids are happy with the eggs they collected. Students from the Iroquois Job Corps spread out the eggs on the courthouse lawn. Within minutes they were all scooped up.

The Masonic Lodge in Albion served 500 hot dogs and about 120 pounds of French fries of free. Shown here cooking are Steve Pawlak in front with the hot dogs and Markus Ruffin in back with the fries.

The Albion Lions Club and Rotary Club also both contributed $300 towards the Easter baskets.

The Easter Bunny visited and greeted Lori Laine, who was at the event with her grandchildren.

Carlitos Lopez, a barber with the Barber Republic in Brockport, gives Gio Ristuccia, 4, of Rochester a haircut. Four barbers were on site giving free haircuts, up from two last year when the lines were long to get a hair cut.

Tony Greene, a barber from Brockport, gives Sebastian Vallejo Morales, 7, of Albion a haircut.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Mike Zaidel, a leader at Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship, carries the cross from City Hall to the next stop of the “Cross Walk” on Good Friday in Medina. Zaidel and Kevin Lawson, pastor of The Vine Church, carried the cross to Rotary Park.

Neil Samborski, a member at Glad Tidings Missionary Baptist Church, is dressed as a centurion, a Roman soldier.

About 35 people were part of the Cross Walk, an annual tradition in Medina organized by the Medina Area Association of Churches and the Medina Clergy Fellowship.

The churches will have a sunrise service at 7 a.m. Sunday at Boxwood Cemetery.

The Rev. Dan Thurber, retired pastor at Oak Orchard Assembly of God, gives an opening prayer outside City Hall. At each stop the group read passages from the Bible and sang a hymn.

John Weaver, front, and Jarred Saj carry the cross down East Center Street.

Mike Zaidel holds the cross steady during a stop at the Canal Basin.

The Rev. Randy LeBaron, pastor of the New Hope Community Church (First Baptist Church in Medina), and the Rev. Dan Thurber carry the cross from the Canal Basin to the next stop outside the Medina Historical Society on West Avenue.

Provided photo: Nick Mroz, director of Orleans County Veterans Service Agency, hands out Easter hams to veterans in front of the office on Friday.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Nick Mroz, director of Orleans County Veterans Services Agency, holds a poster he distributed advertising free Easter hams for veterans.

ALBION – Since taking over last fall as director of Orleans County Veterans Service Agency, Nick Mroz has been busy planning various events to benefit veterans, the latest being giving free hams to veterans for Easter.

On Friday, Mroz and assistant Jackie Lonnen handed out hams to 100 Orleans County veterans.

The hams were purchased from Tops with a grant Mroz received from the Dwyer Peer to Peer program started by Earl Schmidt when he was director of Veterans Services several years ago.

Mroz said he advertised the hams on social media, by e-mails to Post commanders and with flyers in Tops.

The purpose of these programs is to get veterans in the community together and talking with one another, Mroz said.

“We are trying to promote healing and encourage veterans to share experiences and network with one another,” he said. “A lot of veterans in the county don’t know each other, and our goal is to get them together and talking about their experiences.”

Mroz has already arranged an afternoon of bowling for veterans in February and is planning a barbecue in the summer and a golf outing in August.

Provided photo: A grant from the Dwyer Peer to Peer program covered the cost of the 100 hams which were given out Friday.

Press Release, Arc GLOW

Photo courtesy of Arc GLOW: Self-Advocates Julie Johnston and James Gibbs stand in front of the Capital Building in Washington D.C.

WASHINGTON D.C. – “Save Medicaid!”

That was the message from Arc GLOW and over 900 advocates, allies and professionals during the 2025 Disability Policy Seminar in Washington D.C. to support the intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) community.

“For me, Medicaid provides my home, transportation, staff, medication and doctors. … Because of my Medicaid, I attended a college experience program at SUNY Geneseo,” said Julie Johnston, an Arc GLOW self-advocate, during a meeting with staff from Sen. Chuck Schumer and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney’s offices. “I learned so much, and gained so many skills. I now have a job at SUNY Geneseo washing dishes. If Medicaid is cut, I would lose my house, my job and my independence.”

“Going to Washington was an opportunity of a lifetime,” said James Gibbs, an Arc GLOW self-advocate. “We talked about the importance of Medicaid. I liked advocating and I felt like they were listening to me when I spoke.”

Arc GLOW representatives including Vice President of Public Relations Lisa Bors, Vice President of Day and Employment Services Kellie Kennedy, Board of Directors President Cheryl Englert, Direct Support Professional Gabby Root, and Self-Advocates James Gibbs and Julie Johnston met with representatives from Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney to advocate for continued federal support to the IDD community.

“We are pushing lawmakers on Medicaid, education and disability funding,” said Bors. “We need to keep pushing the federal government to protect the most vulnerable members of our community.”

Arc GLOW Team: The Arc GLOW advocacy team; top row: Vice President of Day and Employment Services Kellie Kennedy, Self-Advocate James Gibbs, Direct Support Professional Gabby Root; second row: Self-Advocate Julie Johnston, Board of Directors President Cheryl Englert and Vice President of Public Relations Lisa Bors.

Arc GLOW is asking community members to contact local representatives now to tell them:

• Reject any effort to block grant, cap or cut federal spending in Medicaid.
• Oppose work requirements in the Medicaid program.
• Congress should reject any cuts to Social Security or SSI, including any proposals to cut benefits or limit who can qualify.
• Fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• Oppose laws that reduce the rights of children with disabilities to secure a free, appropriate public education.
• Ensure that students with disabilities in higher education receive the accommodations that they need.
• Pass budget and appropriations laws that provide funding to support people with disabilities in the community.

Each call and message can make a difference. On Wednesday, 12 Republican Congressional representatives sent Speaker Mike Johnson a formal letter opposing any cuts to Medicaid including for people with disabilities; four of the 12 members were New York representatives.

Arc GLOW is a public, non-profit organization founded by parents and friends of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities serving Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties. For more information, visit ArcGLOW.org.

MEDINA – A group of Medina teachers showed up at the Medina Railroad Museum on Wednesday, ready to scrub graffiti off vandalized rail cars.

The rail cars were targeted last week with red paint. A social media post and letter to the editor from a museum volunteer made the public aware of the problem, and a stretched-thin group at the museum that now had to deal with it.

Medina schools are off this week due to spring break right before Easter. One of the graffiti messages referenced a Medina staff member. Teachers value the work from that staff member and wanted to get that message off the rail car, as well as help the museum with the cleanup of the other cars, said Joe Byrne, Medina Teachers’ Association president.

The 26 teachers spent about an hour wiping off the paint on a chilly day with temperatures in the 30s.

“This was something that was senseless and not derserved,” Byrne said about the graffiti. “It was cool to turn a negative thing into a positive.”

He said Medina teachers are committed to service.

“We’re not just people in the classroom,” he said. “”We’re people in the community.”

A train from Genesee Valley Transportation passes by the volunteers while they work on getting rid of the graffiti. Jeff Lewis, Medina Railroad Museum executive director at left, thanks Medina teachers for getting rid of graffiti off railcars on Wednesday afternoon.

AE Washing in Lyndonville provided water and hoses for the cleanup, while the museum had sponges and soft Brillo pads. The teachers showed up with buckets and a gusto to tackle the challenge.

“They did a bang-up job,” said museum executive director Jeff Lewis. “That is the kind of community support we appreciate.”

The museum is often plagued with graffiti and vandalism, including people breaking windows and sometimes sneaking into railcars to spend the night.

“It is an ongoing problem that hopefully will improve,” Lewis said.

Byrne said the experience has better connected teachers to the museum. He envisions having experts from the museum in the schools to discuss the impact of railroads on the local community.

“This could lead to a better partnership at the school,” Byrne said.

Teachers spent about an hour on a cold day cleaning the graffiti off the rail cars.

MIDDLEPORT – Officers and brothers of Masonic Towpath Lodge #1193 held a special service Wednesday night to honor one of their own.

Pritchard “Jim” Anderson, an 11-year member of the Towpath Lodge, was presented with the Masonic Dedicated Service Award, an honor reserved for those who go “above and beyond” in service to their lodge.

Scott Mason of Medina, secretary of Towpath Masonic Lodge in Middleport, and master Matt Flammger of Albion explain the Dedicated Service Award to lodge members Wednesday night, before bestowing the honor to treasurer Pritchard “Jim” Anderson of Middleport.

Formerly the Cataract Lodge #295, Towpath Lodge was formed through a merger with Medina and Lyndonville lodges.

Most recent recipients of the Dedicated Service Award are the late Allan J. Kropf of Medina in 2014, the late Douglas Hedges from Lyndonville in 2007, Frank Berger of Medina in 2004, the late Orren Roberts of Medina in 2000 and Fulton Rogers Jr. of Medina in 1989.

Wednesday’s presentation began with a moment of silence for Allan Kropf, who died March 20.

Lodge secretary Scott Mason read an explanation of the Dedicated Service Award, created in 1974 by then Grand Master Most Worshipful Arthur Markewich. This award program enables lodges to obtain Grand Lodge recognition for brothers and past masters who continue, year after year, to support their lodges and their district with their presence, time and talent by attending lodge and district meetings and participating in degrees and programs, with or without holding an office, Mason explained. To be eligible, a brother must be a member of the fraternity for at least 10 years.

Anderson became a member 11 years ago at the invitation of the late Herb Koenig.

“For many years before that, I would drive by and see the men going in the door with suits on and wonder what was going on, but I never had the nerve to stop and ask,” Anderson said. “Herb had been my teacher in Middleport school, so when I went into business fixing computers, I went to his house to fix his. He asked me then if I had ever thought about becoming a Mason. Two weeks later I was signed up.”

Anderson said he joined to be helpful, and since has met so many nice people which he never would have enacted with otherwise.

“These are people you can trust, and I appreciate that,” Anderson said. “The tenets of Free Masonry are in line with the kind of person Herb wanted to be and that’s the same with me. When I got my Third Degree it was at Old Fort Niagara and more than 100 people were there, who gave up their day to support me. That truly impressed me.”

Towpath Lodge Master Matt Flammger of Albion said the Dedicated Service Award is the greatest award any Mason can receive. It takes commitment to this fraternity above and beyond what anybody could do, he added.

In presenting the award, Flammger said in Anderson’s 11 years of Masonry he has inspired, mentored and led the brothers of Towpath Lodge through his willingness to volunteer his time to all aspects of the lodge.

“Specifically, he regularly cares for the lodge as an extra trustee on his own time, cooking, cleaning, repairing, painting and decorating the lodge for brothers and guests as needed,” Flammger said. “He mentors to new brothers on their schedules and currently is treasurer for the lodge. He will fill in any of the other chairs as needed. He has been invaluable to this lodge through his unselfish example of what the true meaning of Masonry is.”

Anderson was overwhelmed by the award, saying it was completely unnecessary but much appreciated. He admitted he is not one to ask for help in anything, but so many Masonic brothers have given him help without him asking.

“That reflects the kind of people this lodge is,” he said.

Also present for the award presentation were the Very Worshipful Andrew Conroy, assistant Grand Lecturer from Red Jacket Lodge #646 in Lockport; Right Worshipful Barry Wallace Jr., Grand Steward, from Niagara Lodge #375 in Lockport; and Anderson’s wife Barb and sister Deborah Loke.

Loke praised her brother, saying she has always looked up to him as her “older brother,” even though he is seven years younger.

“He is an amazing brother, husband and father,” she said.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Three crosses on the front lawn of the First Presbyterian Church welcome worshipers on Easter weekend. A Cross Walk will begin at noon today for Good Friday.

MEDINA – A re-enactment of Jesus carrying the cross has been a tradition in Medina for at least 25 years, according to the Rev. Vincent Iorio, retired pastor of Calvary Assembly of God and vice president of Medina Area Association of Churches.

Residents are welcome to participate in the walk which will begin at noon at City Hall with readings at several stops along the way.

From City Hall, the walk heads to the First Presbyterian Church on Main Street, then Rotary Park, the Canal Basin, Medina Historical Society on West Avenue, Cooper Funeral Home on West Center Street, First Baptist Church at West Center and West Avenue and back to the Presbyterian Church.

The Rev. Iorio said everyone is welcome to participate in the Cross Walk, and if they are unable to walk, they may follow in their vehicle. Some have even taken part using their walkers, he said.

Also on Good Friday, Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation (PACT) will sponsor a service at 6:30 p.m. at Harvest Christian Fellowship on East Main Street in Albion, with Kevin Lawson, pastor of The Vine Church in Medina, as speaker.

The public is also reminded of a sunrise service at 7 a.m. Sunday in Boxwood Cemetery.