Honors include first place awards for Visitor’s Guide and Community Directory

ALBION – The Lake Country Pennysaver won seven awards on Friday in Albany during the Free Community Papers of New York’s annual state-wide graphics awards competition.

The Pennysaver won two first-place honors for the Orleans County Visitor’s Guide and the annual Orleans County Community Directory. Those publications won the top awards for “Separate Publication – Division A magazine” and “Separate Publication – Division B magazine/heavy or glossy.”

The Lake Country Pennysaver also won second place for general excellence tabloid in Division B.

Other awards include second place, sales presentation; second place, best institutional ad Division A black and white; third place, best grocery ad for Division B in color; and third place, best institutional ad for Division A in black and white.

The Pennysaver and the Orleans Hub are both part of Lake Country Media. Karen Sawicz is the owner/publisher of the both the Pennysaver and the Orleans Hub, which are based out of 170 North Main St., Albion.

More state aid, joint bus contract help contain tax impact

Photo by Tom Rivers: Joe DiPassio Jr., Lyndonville school district business administrator, goes over the proposed $14.1 million budget on Monday.

LYNDONVILLE – The school district last month was projecting a 2 percent tax increase for the next school budget.

However, the district business administrator shared good news with the Board of Education on Monday. State aid came in higher than projected, and a joint busing contract also will save Lyndonville money.

Those factors are resulting in a budget with a 1 percent tax increase. Lyndonville also won’t have to use as much money from reserve funds, giving the district a bigger cushion in the future with those accounts.

The budget includes 5 new full-time positions, with 2 full-time special education teachers, a full-time elementary intervention teacher at $52,000; and two full-time aides at $50,000.

The Board of Education on Monday adopted a proposed $14,171,700 budget that will go before voters on May 21 from noon to 8 p.m. The budget increases spending by $165,000 or 1.2 percent.

The 2019-20 budget will rely on $4,352,341 in the tax levy, which is up 1 percent or $43,092 from this year’s budget.

The district is projected to get $9,290,748 in state aid, which is up $160,402 from the governor’s number in January.

District officials were concerned Lyndonville could be facing a $$250,000 to 300,000 increase in busing costs. But Lyndonville decided to do a joint bid with Roy-Hart and Barker for out-of-district transportation. Busing costs will be up, but the increase is $122,064 or 17.4 percent, from $701,300 to $823,364. The 5-year contract will then increase 2.6 percent annually from years 2 through 5.

Other highlights of the budget include:

• Instruction costs are up by $419,363 or 6 percent from $7,035,469 to $7,454,832. That includes contractual salary increases of $235,000; 2 more special education teachers, $90,000; $50,000 for two teacher aides; $45,000 for elementary intervention teacher; $35,000 for two classroom aides; $50,000 for BOCES support for in-service training, occupational education, technology and other services; $20,000 for equipment and $15,000 for grant writer to be shared with Medina.

• Lyndonville also is saving $193,000 in instruction with four teachers retiring to be replaced by new teachers at lower salary and benefits.

• Bond payments down from $1,407,000 to $840,700, a $566,300 reduction after the district paid off a serial bond last year.

• Health care rates are up $152,000

• Social Security and other benefits are up $59,000

• The teachers’ retirement system payments are down $62,000

The May 21 vote will include the following propositions:

• School budget

• 3 board seats

• Transportation purchases, not to exceed $260,000. That includes one new 64-seat passenger bus, not to exceed $125,000 (which will replace a 2007 bus with 137,000 miles); two new passenger vans, not to exceed $46,000 each (replacing one from 2010 with 167,000 miles and one from 2014 with 150,000 miles); a new vehicle with room for four or five people to transport staff and students, at a cost not to exceed $43,000.

• Allowing one student to serve as ex-officio, not-voting member of the Board of Education.

• $103,750 for Yates Community Library, up from $2,832 or 2.8 percent which is within the library’s allowable tax cap.

File photo by Tom Rivers: These deer are pictured in March 2015 on Route 98 in Gaines, south of 104.

The number of deer harvested in Orleans County continues to rise since it became legal for hunters to use rifles for deer and other big game hunting in Orleans.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation released the deer harvest numbers for each county and state-wide.

In 2018, hunters harvested 4,560 deer in Orleans County, which was up from 3,949 in 2017, the first year rifles were allowed. In 2016, the number of deer harvested in the county was 3,586. (In 2015, it was 3,562.)

The Orleans County Legislature voted on Feb. 22, 2017 to allow rifles for deer and bear hunting. Members of sportsmen clubs presented a petition signed by about 500 people, supporting rifles.

The town by town breakdown in Orleans County for 2018 includes: Albion, 390; Barre, 698; Carlton, 375; Clarendon, 453; Gaines, 338; Kendall, 291; Murray, 422; Ridgeway, 659; Shelby, 578; and Yates, 356.

The deer taken other WNY counties in 2018 includes: Allegany, 8,449; Cattaraugus, 8,382; Chautauqua, 9,944; Erie, 6,447; Genesee, 5,720; Livingston, 7,782; Monroe, 4,585; Niagara, 2,604; and Wyoming, 6,488. (Steuben County had the most deer taken in the state with 11,829.)

State-wide, the DEC reports today that an estimated 227,787 deer were harvested by hunters during the 2018-19 hunting seasons, approximately 12 percent more than the previous season.

“Hunting benefits all New Yorkers by reducing negative impacts of deer on forests, agricultural crops, and communities, while contributing an estimated $690 million to the state’s economy through hunting-related expenses and license purchases, which helps support conservation and resource management efforts at DEC,” said Basil Seggos, DEC commissioner.

The estimated deer take included 114,402 antlerless deer and 113,385 antlered bucks. Statewide, this represents a 20-percent increase in antlerless harvest and a 5-percent increase in buck harvest from the last season.

In addition, hunters increased the rate at which they reported their harvest in 2018, for the second year in a row. Although harvest reporting is required by law, the portion of successful hunters who report their harvest has averaged around 45 percent for the past decade. Hunters have increased their reporting rates to 50 percent in 2017, and 51 percent in 2018.

The DEC also reports it tested 2,483 harvested deer across the state and found no evidence of Chronic Wasting Disease in the herd.

“Preventing the introduction of CWD into New York is a high priority for DEC to ensure the health of our deer herd and to protect the recreational and viewing opportunities deer provide,” Seggos said.

CWD has now been found in 26 states, with Mississippi and Tennessee joining the list in 2018. Environmental Conservation police officers stepped up enforcement efforts this past year, seizing and destroying hunter-killed deer brought in illegally from states where CWD has been found.

Chronic wasting disease is a highly contagious disease that affects deer, elk, moose and reindeer. CWD is always fatal and there are no vaccines or treatments available. CWD is believed to be caused by a prion, which is an infectious protein, that can infect animals through animal-to-animal contact or contaminated environments, the DEC said.

Press Release, Public Health departments in Genesee, Orleans counties

ALBANY – Paul Pettit, the public health director for Orleans and Genesee counties, has issued a statement in support of raising the legal age to buy tobacco to age 21. Pettit is also president of NYSACHO, the New York State Association of County Health Officials.

“The Senate’s recent passage of Tobacco 21 legislation is another critical and historic step in our fight to prevent millions of New Yorkers from developing tobacco-related illnesses,” Pettit said.

“Both houses have now passed the bill and the governor has announced that he plans to sign it into law.

“We enthusiastically await his action and thank him for his support of this lifesaving measure. We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Diane Savino and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who sponsored this legislation in their respective houses, and who worked tirelessly to ensure its passage.

“NYSACHO and our members will continue to provide expertise and support to help lawmakers craft policy that protects and improves public health, and we look forward to more public health victories in the remainder of the legislative session.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

POINT BREEZE – Dave Agness of Honeoye Falls helps a team of volunteers and the state Department of Environmental Conservation release 10,000 steelhead into pens this afternoon at the Oak Orchard River. The DEC also brought along 90,200 Chinook salmon.

Charter boat captains and other volunteers have been raising fish in pens in the Oak Orchard River since 1998. This was the first pen-rearing project on the south shore of the lake. Now there are many.

Dave Agness guides the steelhead into one of the pens. The DEC delivered 10,000 steelhead (rainbow trout) and 90,200 Chinook salmon to the Oak Orchard River today.

The fish are small right now. They will spend the next 3 to 3 ½ weeks in pens, and will be given lots of food. They will nearly double in size when they are released into Lake Ontario.

Raising them in pens at Ernst’s Lake Breeze Marina increases their survival rate, and also helps them to imprint on the Oak Orchard River. That boosts the chances they will come back when they are mature in about 3 to 4 years.

The DEC brought two trucks with tanks full of fish that were from the Altmar Hatchery in northern New York.

Mark Licata of Greece helps with the fish stocking. Licata and Agness are both members of the Seth Green chapter of Trout Unlimited in Rochester, which has about 500 members.

A small steelhead is headed for one of the pens.

There are four pens that are 20 feet long and about 6 feet wide for the Chinook salmon. There are also two new pens the same size for the steelhead. Students at the WeMoCo BOCES in Spencerport helped weld and build the two new pens for the steelhead.

The pens have automated feeders with food provided by the DEC.

Bob Songin, a charter boat captain, takes a turn guiding the fish into the pens. Songin has been an active volunteer with the pen-rearing since it started more than 20 years ago.

Press Release, NYS Department of Transportation

File photo by Tom Rivers: This photo from March 2015 shows the Densmore Road canal bridge in a photo taken from the Keitel Road bridge.

ALBION – The New York State Department of Transportation today announced that the bridge carrying Densmore Road over the Erie Canal in the town of Albion, Orleans County, is scheduled to close on Monday, April 15, for repairs that are expected to last up to six months.

There will be no detour posted during the closure, though motorists can access nearby canal bridges to the east and west.

This work was previously announced last fall, as part of an $11 million project to rehabilitate seven canal bridges across Orleans County. Densmore Road over the canal is the second in a series of seven bridges that will be repaired as part of this project. The bridge carrying Bennetts Corners Road over the Canal in Murray is currently closed and expected to re-open this summer.

Editor’s Note: The DOT said the work on the seven bridges will include installing high-strength galvanized steel to replace steel floor systems, low chords, gusset plates, and truss elements. Bridge railing and guide rail on the bridge approaches also will be improved and each bridge will be repainted. The alignments and profiles of the bridges will not change.

The  seven single-lane truss bridges were constructed between 1909 and 1914.

Press Release, Takeform

MEDINA – Takeform, the national experiential graphics and way-finding  firm, has acquired PrintLeader, a Buffalo-based, full-service, large-format digital printing and installation company.

Following a year of successful collaboration on national accounts, this transaction enhances Takeform’s custom commercial wallcovering and window film line.

“We’re focused on helping our clients transform architectural spaces into visual experiences that inspire and connect with people,” explains Takeform’s President, Bill Hungerford. “Every day, more organizations are realizing the value of branded space. PrintLeader brings a focused range of skill sets and technology that we’ll leverage and grow to optimize our existing experiential graphics offering.”

Additionally, the two organizations share an attitude of innovation. Like Takeform, PrintLeader continuously focuses on the growing needs of its clients to differentiate and enhance customer relationships through graphic-rich environments.

“We’re continually innovating,” said Bill Paulot, president of PrintLeader. “We find new ways to apply our core strengths and provide greater ROI for our clients. I look forward to even greater innovation with the backing of Takeform’s award-winning design and engineering teams.”

PrintLeader will become part of the Takeform organization, and its capabilities will supplement the company’s extensive services and products for the built environment, which include way-finding, graphic design, project management, installation, recognition systems, plus a wide range of industry-leading products.

About Takeform

Takeform is a nationally-recognized, award-winning experiential graphics and way-finding  firm.

The company focuses on building long-term relationships by providing its clients with a full service, end-to-end solution that simplifies processes and maximizes value. Clients include many of the leading architecture firms, Fortune 500 companies, healthcare systems, and higher education organizations in North America.

(Editor’s Note: PrintLeader will continue to operate out of Buffalo and will be known as Takeform Buffalo.)

BARKER – The Barker Public Library is reopening today for the first time since a devastating fire on Jan. 21. That fire destroyed the building that housed the library and also the village office.

The library will now operate out of 8673 Church St. The library is open today from 10a.m. to 5 p.m.

“We have missed you all and would love to see everyone soon!!!!” the library posted on its Facebook page today.

Other hours for the library include Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday, closed; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Library officials thanked the community, the Nioga Library System, Village of Barker, clerks Linda Ward and Chris Brucato, and director Lisa Thompson for working hard to get the library reopened. Many member NIOGA libraries donated $500 to help the library.

“It’s been a long, arduous few months and we are looking forward to serving the community again!” the library posted on its Facebook page.

The village offices are temporarily at the police station at 1697 East Ave.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Arlowe Price, a self-described fourth-generation “circus freak performer” from Buffalo, blows fire from a flame held by Riley Schilacci. Price also chewed broken glass, set a mouse trap on his ear and tongue, and performed other outrageous stunts during the Steampunk Festival on Aug. 31, 2013 at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery.

MEDINA – Some big news in the Orleans County cultural life calendar: the Steampunk Festival at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery is moving the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds. And the PLAY/GROUND art show that debuted at the former Medina High School last year will be back.

Leonard Oakes started hosting Steampunk in 2011. The winery bills the event “as a festival of bizarre proportions.” It draws more than 1,000 people to the winery on Ridge Road.

Most of the attendees at Steampunk wear futuristic costumes with a Victorian theme.

The Steampunk Festival draws people in outlandish costumes, with top hats, goggles and robotic arms as accessories. These attendees at a recent Steampunk Festival in Medina include, from left: Angela Loveland of Niagara Falls, and siblings Adam Cordell and Katie Cordell of Mercersburg, Pa.

The festival features fire artists, belly dancers, bands, hoop dancers, crooners and food trucks. The event also celebrates the winery’s steampunk hard cider.

Moving it to the fairgrounds on Aug. 31 this year will allow the winery to better accommodate the large crowds.

“Some of you guessed right,” Leonard Oakes Estate Winery posted on Facebook. “We’re so excited for the new venue! More details will come in the following weeks. For now we’re just thrilled to share the news with everyone. Can’t wait to see you, Steampunk fans!”

Kyla Kegler of Buffalo created “Thin Space” during the PLAY/GROUND art show last October. She welcomed people to get in the space with the balloons.

Last October also was the debut of a big art show at the old Medina High School. About 1,000 people were in the school over three days to see 29 different art exhibits that were part of PLAY/GROUND.

Organizers announced PLAY/GROUND will be back this fall with the school hosting artists again from Sept. 27-29.

Artists can display their work in classrooms, two bathrooms, stairwells and an auditorium at the school building, 324 Catherine St.

Applications from artists will be accepted from April 12 through May 19, with late applications taken until May 26. Artists will be notified in mid-June if their proposal is selected.

Elizabeth Cooper of Medina was a featured artist at last year’s show. She created angels doing acrobatic moves in one of the stairwells. Todd Belfield of Jeddo Mill Antiques assisted with the installation. “It’s fabulous,” Cooper said then about the art show. “I feel like this is a spark for something very interesting happening in Medina.”

Michael Hungerford, regional director for Takeform in Medina, helped spearhead the project last year. Hungerford read about a similar project as PLAY/GROUND in a vacant warehouse in New York City.

Hungerford knew the old Medina school would be vacant. His uncle Roger Hungerford acquired it from Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God Church and has plans to create apartments out of the school. First, Hungerford is working to renovate the former Bent’s Opera House on Main Street.

Michael pitched the idea of the art installations in the school and the Roger backed the project.

“It is so far beyond my expectations,” Michael Hungerford said at last year’s show. “The work is amazing.”

The school remains available this year while crews work on the Bent’s building.

For more on PLAY/GROUND, including an artist application, click here.

Colleen Toledano made this piece with pink foam, which proved popular for photos.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The lift bridge at Eagle Harbor in the Town of Gaines is pictured last week with a mostly empty Erie Canal.

The forecast for Orleans County this week shows rain on most days, including today. Showers are likely before 11 a.m. with a high near 68, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. It will also be breezy with winds gusting as high as 41 miles per hour.

On Tuesday showers are likely with a thunderstorm possible before 3 p.m., with a chance for showers to follow. The temperature is forecast to reach 54.

Wednesday there is a slight chance for rain and snow showers in the morning, with a high of 46.

Thursday there is a chance for snow showers in the morning, and then a chance for rain showers later in the morning and early afternoon. The high will be 51.

Friday there is a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 a.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Showers are then likely after 3 p.m. The high will be 60.

Saturday there is a chance for more showers with a high near 50.

Provided photo: Elderberry Jam will bring their fiddle music for a free concert next Sunday at the Cobblestone Museum.

GAINES – The Cobblestone Museum will welcome a popular group of musicians for a special concert on April 14.

The 3 p.m. concert next Sunday will be at the Cobblestone Universalist Church, which will spring to life with the performance of Elderberry Jam, a group of very talented musicians from the Genesee Valley who will perform an old-time fiddle music concert.

They will play waltzes, rags, polkas, jigs, reels, bluegrass and some “good old fiddle tunes,” said Doug Farley, director of the Cobblestone Museum .

Elderberry Jam is a highly sought-after group which is very selective about where they perform, preferring to entertain only for non-profits.

They had previously played for a short time at the Cobblestone Museum during a Historic Trades Fair in August 2017.

“They were a big hit then and we decided it would be great if they would present a ‘stand along’ concert in our National Historic Landmark Cobblestone Church ,” Farley said. “It took them two years to come up with a free date, but we finally made it all work out for this year on April 14. Our goal is to fill the church, a feat I’ve not seen since I’ve been here.”

“We are part of the Fiddlers of the Genesee, and play the same music reminiscent of our forefathers who gathered together on a Friday or Saturday night to play music with their neighbors, forgetting about the trials and struggles of the week,” said Tom Bailey, a member of the group.

Fiddlers of the Genesee is a music club that has been around for 28 years.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Fred Vieira plays bass for the musical group. They played outside next to the Farmers Hall during a Historic Trades Fair at the museum on Aug. 26, 2017.

Falling under the genre of “old time fiddle music,” they play acoustic instruments and also include some Irish, Appalachian and Canadian music. The club gets together to play every Friday evening. Its members come from Greece and Brockport to Fairport, Webster and Perinton.

Fiddlers of the Genesee and Elderberry Jam really enjoy playing at senior centers, giving the residents a chance to relax and bring back memories, as many of them grew up with this music, Bailey said. The music group is often seen playing at fairs and festivals through summer months and also serves as one of the sponsors of the Fiddlers Fair every August at Genesee Country Village Museum.

A highlight of their annual events is when Fiddlers of the Genesee play at Bristol Valley Theater in October.

“The Elderberrys are especially looking forward to playing for the Cobblestone Museum , as they have worked up very special arrangements of some of the members’ favorite tunes,” Bailey said.

Admission to the concert is free, but a freewill offering will be taken to benefit the Cobblestone Museum.

Farley suggests everyone come early to get a seat. The Cobblestone Church is located at 14389 Ridge Rd. at Childs, one mile north of Albion.

Weather permitting, the Niagara-Orleans League baseball and softball seasons are scheduled to begin on Monday.

Last spring Roy-Hart won its third straight N-O baseball championship and the Lady Rams completed the school’s sweep by claiming  the league title  for the fourth time in the last five years.

The openers will have Roy-Hart visiting Akron in baseball and hosting the Lady Tigers in softball.

The Rams are led by senior pitcher/first baseman Charlie Bruning and freshman outfielder Gavyn Boyle, who both earned second team N-O All-League honors last spring along with  second baseman Charlie Brigham and pitcher/infielder Walker Samanka, both seniors who received Honorable Mention.

The Lady Rams are paced by senior catcher Maddie Fry, who earned first team All-League honors, along with sophomore pitcher Mallory Steiner and senior outfielder Lexie Lovewell who were both second team honorees.

Albion and Medina, which finished in a three-way tie with Akron for second place in the final N-O baseball standings at 8-4 both return large veteran groups.

The Purple Eagles are led by the trio of senior catcher Liam Ward, senior first baseman Bryce Pritchard and junior pitcher Thomas Furmanski, who all earned first team All-League honors.

Medina is paced by junior pitchers Trevor Luthart and Chris Goyette along with shortstop Brian Fry and second baseball AJ Seefeldt, both freshmen, who all received second team All-League honors.

Albion will visit Barker and Medina travels to Newfane in Monday’s N-O openers. The Purple Eagles will then host the Mustangs on Wednesday.

The Albion and Medina girls both return a pair of second team All-League honorees. The Purple Eagles have outfielder Brylie Hapeman and first baseman Sierra Newton, both seniors, while the Mustangs have senior catcher Ashlee Howell and junior outfielder Camri King.

Albion hosts Barker Monday and visits Medina on Wednesday.

In Genesee Region League baseball action, Lyndonville is slated to open the season at home on Monday against Notre Dame

Weekly Schedule
Monday
Baseball: Medina at Newfane, Albion at Barker, Roy-Hart at Akron, 4:45 p.m.
Softball: Notre Dame at Lyndonville, 4:30 p.m.; Barker at Albion, Akron at Roy-Hart, Wilson at Newfane, 4:45 p.m.; Medina at Depew, 5 p.m.
Tennis: Albion at Akron, Barker at Wilson, Newfane at Medina, Byron-Bergen at Holley, Kendall at Elba, 4 p.m.
Lacrosse: Medina at Pal-Mac, 6 p.m.

Tuesday
Baseball: Notre Dame at Lyndonville, Byron-Bergen at Holley, Kendall at Oakfield-Alabama, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Oakfield-Alabama at Holley, Kendall at Notre Dame ,4:30 p.m.
Tennis: Albion at Barker, Akron at Wilson, Holley at Attica, 4 p.m.
Track: Akron at Barker, Roy-Hart at Newfane, 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday
Baseball: Medina at Albion, Akron at Barker, Roy-Hart at Newfane, 4:45 p.m.
Softball: Lyndonville at Elba, Monroe at Kendall, 4:30 p.m.; Albion at Medina, Barker at Akron, Newfane at Roy-hart, 4:45 p.m.
Tennis: Medina at Roy-Hart, Wilson at Albion, Akron at Newfane, Kendall at Notre Dame, 4 p.m.
Track: Wilson at Albion, Lyndonville at Holley, Kendall at Attica, 4:30 p.m.
Lacrosse: Gowanda at Medina, 5:30 p.m.

Thursday
Baseball: Barker at Kendall, Lyndonville at Oakfield-Alabama, 4:30 p.m.
Softball: Kendall at Lyndonville, Attica at Holley, 4:30 p.m.
Tennis: Oakfield-Alabama at Kendall, 4 p.m.
Track: Roy-Hart at Medina, Akron at Newfane, 4:30 p.m.

Friday
Baseball: Lyndonville at Kendall, Holley at Pembroke, 4:30 p.m.; Newfane at Medina, Albion at Akron, Barker at Wilson, 4:45 p.m.
Softball: Medina at Newfane, Akron at Albion, Wilson at Barker, Mt. Mercy at Roy-Hart, 4:45 p.m.
Tennis: Roy-Hart at Akron, Newfane at Wilson, Holley at Oakfield-Alabama, 4 p.m.
Lacrosse: Medina at Salamanca, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday
Softball: Barker at Lyndonville, 10 a.m.

Photos by Tom Rivers

BROCKPORT – Melissa Ostrom of Holley signs a copy of her novel, Unleaving, for Sharon Stewart of Albion during a book launch celebration on Saturday at the Lift Bridge Book Shop in Brockport.

This is Ostrom’s second book that is published by Macmillan. The 304-page novel highlights the courage and resilience of a 19-year-old sexual assault victim.

Ostrom teaches English literature at Genesee Community College. She previously taught English at Kendall Central School.

Lift Bridge had this display set up in its store for the Ostrom book-signing. Lift Bridge also sells her debut novel from last year. The Beloved Wild focuses on pioneers who settled in Western New York. That book is set in Orleans County.

Photos courtesy of Adam Johnson

ALBION – Ashley Casanova and her family celebrated the opening of Casanova’s FasTan and FiTness with a ribbon-cutting on Saturday afternoon at 114 North Main St.

Ashley Casanova opened the business in Albion on March 1. Casanova’s FasTan and FiTness includes tanning and exercise equipment for a women-only gym.

Casanova, a Lyndonville resident, also owns the FasTan in Medina at 627 West Ave.

Albion Mayor Eileen Banker and Trustee Stan Farone attended the event and shared their congratulations on behalf of the village. Banker, chief of staff for Assemblyman Steve Hawley, also shared appreciation from Hawley for the new investment in downtown Albion.

Provided photo

ALBION – Dirk Climenhaga, left, and Michael Magnuson, both staff members at Hoag Library in Albion, have added some pizzazz to the library on Saturdays when the two work together. The two “library men” have been coordinating some interesting fashion selections.

On Saturday they both wore leisure suits. That followed a recent vintage bow tie effort.

Next up, the two will be wearing kilts.