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.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 13 February 2025 at 8:18 am
Dr. Jane van Dis
ALBION – Dr. Jane van Dis, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester, will give a presentation on Toxicity of Plastics March 5 at Hoag Library.
Go Green Orleans and the Orleans County community will welcome Dr. Jane van Dis to the Hoag Library on March 5 to discuss the Toxicity of Plastics.
Van Dis’ presentation at 6:30 p.m. in the Curtis Room was rescheduled from December, when the professor had to cancel.
She lectures nationally and internationally on the intersection of the climate and plastic crisis and women’s and maternal health. Van Dis co-founded OBGYN’s for Sustainable Future, an interest group of Healthcare Without Harm. She has published in academic journals on the climate crisis and women’s health. She is on Tik Tok, where she addresses plastics, pollution and women’s/maternal health and creates short educational videos.
Her talk on March 5 will address the health complications from plastic exposure, in addition to ways to mitigate or lessen exposure to toxic substances found in everyday items.
This lecture isn’t just for women or pregnant women: It pertains to people of all ages, and all are encouraged to attend, said Tom Robinson, a member of Green Orleans.
Green Orleans is a group of community members who recognize the need to protect the environment. They believe the world faces severe environmental challenges, including climate change, loss of biodiversity and resource depletion.
These challenges impact daily lives from extreme weather events and health concerns, to the loss of natural beauty. Green Orleans members think it’s time to recognize the relevance of sustainability in our own experiences.
The group meets at Hoag Library every third Thursday of the month at 11:30 a.m. to discuss ideas and initiatives.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2025 at 9:00 pm
Kathy Hochul
ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul today came out against steep rate hikes proposed by the New York Power Authority.
NYPA is pushing for increases that is says are necessary to keep up with increased maintenance and operations costs.
Municipalities, school districts, businesses and nonprofits across New York State benefit from NYPA’s current preference power rate of $12.88 per megawatt hour.
The proposed rate hikes would take effect as follows: $17.61 for 2025, $21.66 for 2026, $26.72 for 2027 and $33.05 for 2028.
Hochul today urged NYPA to suspend the rate hike, saying it woud make the state less affordable.
“Today, I’m calling for an end to the Power Authority’s unacceptable proposal to raise electric rates on its customers statewide,” Hochul said. “Too many New Yorkers are already falling behind on their energy bills and I will do everything in my power to reign in these astronomical costs.
“While I recognize the Power Authority’s critical importance in providing invaluable, clean, baseload power from its large hydroelectric power plants Upstate, I expect NYPA to go back to the drawing board, shelve this existing proposal, and figure out a better way forward.”
The governor’s public comments were applauded by State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt.
He issued this statement: “My colleagues and I in Western New York and the Southern Tier called on NYPA to reconsider disastrous rate hikes that would have been detrimental to communities and businesses in our districts that rely on low cost power.
“The proposed increases would have only led to more businesses closing their doors and more New Yorkers fleeing for more affordable states. Today’s decision by the Governor to suspend the rate hike is welcome news for residents who are struggling to make ends meet amidst already soaring energy costs.”
The Buffalo Niagara Manufacturers Alliance & Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier also praised the governor for pushing back on the rate hikes.
“We thank and appreciate Governor Hochul recognizing the disastrous impact the NYPA rate proposal was going to have on manufacturers and ongoing economic development initiatives across New York State,” the groups said.
“We look forward to continued dialogue with NYPA. NYPA has historically provided cost competitive, reliable and clean power that has helped keep manufacturers in New York State. As manufacturers operating in a high cost, high tax, high regulatory State, affordable and reliable NYPA power has helped manufacturers compete domestically and globally while retaining and growing jobs.
“We also thank those leaders from the manufacturing sector, and our Western New York delegation of elected leaders that have conveyed their concerns directly to NYPA, to their peers and to the Governor.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2025 at 8:28 pm
SHELBY – The Town of Shelby Republican Committee has endorsed candidates for the Town Board and County Legislature.
The committee is backing Scott Wengewicz for another term as town supervisor. The committee picked Mike Moriarty and Vassilios Bitsas for Town Board. One incumbent, Stephen Seitz Sr., isn’t seeking re-election.
The committee also endorsed incumbents for positions at the county level, including Kim DeFrank for treasurer; Skip Draper of Medina for at-large legislator from the western end of the county; Bill Eick for a district that includes most of Shelby, and all of Barre and Clarendon; and Lynne Johnson of Yates for legislator, representing a district that includes Yates, Ridgeway and a small portion of Shelby.
MT. MORRIS – Arc GLOW’s Lisa Bors has been promoted to vice president of public relations and development.
Bors was hired in January 2023 as the director of public relations and development to lead the agency’s efforts to increase community awareness and private support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“Lisa has proven herself to be mission-driven and connected to the community,” said Martin Miskell, Arc GLOW CEO. “In a short time, she has already accomplished many important initiatives helping to grow community awareness for Arc GLOW.”
Bors and her husband, Hans, reside in Orleans County. She earned an associate’s degree in non-profit management and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from SUNY Empire State College. Bors came to Arc GLOW with over 20 years’ experience in public relations and development in higher education. She is a graduate of Leadership Orleans, Class 2024, and a member of Leadership Genesee’s Class of 2025.
Bors will continue to lead a team responsible for advancing the mission and vision of Arc GLOW to include new marketing and branding strategies, and communicating and educating our communities about the agency while increasing financial support.
“I am honored and overjoyed to be part of an organization that is mission and vision driven. Arc GLOW is needed in our communities — and we need our communities to help us,” Bors said. “I have met so many incredible people since I began in 2023, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for the agency and the individuals and families we serve.”
Arc GLOW is a non-profit serving up to 2,000 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties. It covers 2,400 square miles, one of the largest geographical chapter of The Arc New York. It offers a variety of services, and more information can be found online at ArcGLOW.org.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2025 at 4:12 pm
LYNDONVILLE – Two village residents have turned in petitions to run for a trustee position on the Village Board. The petitions needed at least 27 signatures from registered voters in the village for a candidate to be listed on the ballot in the March 18 election.
Steve Colon and Thomas Goetze both turned in petitions by the 5 p.m. deadline on Tuesday, said Teri Buffin, the village clerk/treasurer. Colon is running under the Village of Lyndonville Party while Goetze chose the Apple Party.
The position up for the election is a two-year term that was most recently held by Terry Stinson. She stepped down from the post in August.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 February 2025 at 11:22 am
MEDINA – Only one person turned in petitions to run for a trustee position on the Medina Village Board. Tuesday was the deadline to turn in petitions signed by at least 100 registered voters in the village.
James “Scott” Bieliski is the lone person to turn in the petitions. He will run under the independent “For the People” party.
There are two trustee positions up for election in Medina. The spots are for two-year terms for positions currently filled by Jess Marciano and Diana Baker.
Neither Marciano or Baker circulated petitions. Marciano said she will consider running a write-in campaign to stay on the board and keep projects moving forward, including the purchase of a new ladder truck and an addition on the fire hall. Marciano helped lead the effort to downsize an addition on the fire hall from an estimated $6 million a year ago to the latest estimate at about $1 million.
The election on March 18 is from noon to 9 p.m. at the Senior Center on West Avenue. The winners in the election will start their terms on April 1.
Local historians love to hear the phrases “We found these in the attic” or “We found these in the barn.”
