BATAVIA – A bowling ball rolls down the wooden lane, striking into the pins and clattering them to the floor.=
A whoop and a cheer are let out as the next bowler takes center stage; all this is possible thanks in large part to a $5,000 grant from the M&T Charitable Foundation. The grant was awarded to enhance Arc GLOW’s recreation and respite programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Genesee, Livingston, and Wyoming counties.
Thanks to this generous support, the people served by Arc GLOW are participating in a wide array of inclusive and enriching activities. From bowling nights and movie outings to dining experiences, museum and theater visits, and local festivals.
“Our goal is to create opportunities for joy, connection, and community involvement,” said Jill Pegelow, vice president of Self-Direction and Community Services at Arc GLOW. “M&T Bank’s support plays a huge part in helping us bring these experiences to life.”
Arc GLOW has several events on tap in 2025, including: the Self-Advocate All Stars Annual Talent Show fundraiser on April 26; Johnathan Doherty and Gladys Hopper Self-Advocacy Day on May 31; Arc Night at the Ballpark on June 12; Genesee County fair activities; nature walks at Swallow Hollow Trail and outdoor sports and many other community activities.
“Arc GLOW’s recreation and respite programs provide meaningful experiences to individuals and their families,” Pegelow said. “We are so appreciative of the support of the M&T Charitable Foundation for making a difference.”
Arc GLOW’s recreation and respite program provides temporary relief to families from the demands of care giving, which can help reduce overall family stress. This allows families to better meet the needs of their loved ones with a developmental disability. Respite can be provided in the home or out of the home, during the day, evenings or night.
To learn more about Arc GLOW and the recreation and respite program, visit ArcGLOW.org.
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that inflation refund checks up to $400 will be sent this fall to 8.2 million households across New York State.
Checks will be mailed directly to eligible New Yorkers starting in October and will continue through November. There is no need to apply, sign up or do anything to receive a check.
Governor Hochul secured and enacted this initiative in the FY 2026 State Budget as part of her ongoing commitment to putting money back in the pockets of New Yorkers. The State Budget also enacted the Governor’s initiatives to cut taxes for the middle class to their lowest levels in 70 years, expand New York’s Child Tax Credit to up to $1,000 per child, and ensure universal free school meals to save families around $1,600 per child.
“Starting in October, over 8 million New Yorkers will get an inflation refund because it’s simple — this is your money and we’re putting it back in your pockets,” Governor Hochul said. “I’ll never stop fighting to help your family address the rising cost of living — and that’s why I also delivered on my promise to cut taxes for the middle class, expand the child tax credit and ensure free school meals for every student.”
Who’s Eligible for an Inflation Refund Check?
You are eligible for an inflation refund check if, for tax year 2023, you:
Filed Form IT-201, New York State Resident Income Tax Return;
Reported income within the qualifying thresholds below; and
Were not claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s return.
Joint tax filers with income up to $150,000 will receive a $400 check.
Joint tax filers with income over $150,000 but no greater than $300,000 will receive a $300 check.
Single tax filers with income up to $75,000 will receive a $200 check.
Single tax filers with incomes over $75,000 but no greater than $150,000 will receive a $150 check.
There are no age restrictions. Filers do not need to do anything to receive an inflation refund check. If you filed a tax return, are below the income thresholds, and no one else claimed you as a dependent, you will receive a check.
When Will Checks Be Delivered?
Checks will be mailed across the state starting in October, and deliveries will continue through November.
Your check may arrive earlier or later than your neighbors, as mailings will not be based on zip code or region.
Starting today, New Yorkers can visit ny.gov/inflationrefund for more information on eligibility and other details.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 May 2025 at 8:51 am
Provided photos
Dave Berry of the Medina VFW Auxiliary presents the “Good Job Award” to Eric Seppala, the Iroquois Job Corps center director.
SHELBY – President-Elect Dave Berry of the Medina Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary on Tuesday presented the “Good Job Award” to the Iroquois Job Corps for supporting the local VFW Auxiliary.
Accepting the award is Eric Seppala, the IJCC Center Director. IJCC students were also presented with individual awards of appreciation for their contributions to the Medina VFW Auxiliary.
From left to right are Brandi Jordan, Katherine Murphy, Adam Schmitt and Eyan Bailey. On the right is the IJCC Operations Director and member of the Medina VFW Auxiliary, John Thomas.
Berry visited the Iroquois Job Corps Center to present awards to the center and to the students who volunteered their time to support local veterans. Job Corps continues to support local community organizations, such as the VFW.
Students volunteer in the community at food pantries and distributions, and by cleaning community roads and fields, assisting with festivals, and supporting local service groups, including the Lions Club and Medina Rotary.
President-elect of the VFW Auxiliary, Dave Berry, shakes hands with some of Job Corps students.
MANCHESTER, NH – Southern New Hampshire University congratulates the following students from Orleans County on being named to the Spring 2025 President’s List. The spring terms run from January to May.
Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above for the reporting term are named to the President’s List.
The students from Orleans County include:
Andrea Sanchez Vargas of Holley
Carrie Smith of Albion
Nordia Campbell of Albion
Trisha Allen of Lyndonville
Southern New Hampshire University offers approximately 200 undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, available online and on its 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH.
Provided photo: Undersheriff Don Draper, left, and Sheriff Chris Bourke, right, congratulate Torry Tooley, second from left, and James White on being promoted to sergeants.
Press Release, Sheriff Christopher Bourke
ALBION – Sheriff Christopher Bourke is pleased to announce the promotions of Deputies Torry Tooley and James White to the rank of Sergeant.
Sergeant Tooley is a 16-year law enforcement veteran. He is a NYS DCJS general topics instructor, firearms instructor, advanced firearms instructor, patrol rifle and defensive tactics instructor, and a DCJS certified SWAT Operator and Tactical Team Leader.
In addition to his training and experience, Sergeant Tooley holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from SUNY Brockport. Sergeant Tooley will be assigned to the day shift and Commander of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team.
Sergeant White is a 4.5-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office Road Patrol. Before joining the Road Patrol, he served as a Seasonal Deputy Sheriff, a Sheriff’s Office Corrections Officer, and an Orleans County Probation Officer.
He is certified as a Field Training Officer, General Topics Instructor, Breath Analysis Instructor, Fundamentals of Crisis Intervention Instructor, and Project Lifesaver Instructor. In addition to his training and experience, Sergeant White holds both a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from D’Youville University. Sergeant White will lead our midnight shift.
Please join us in congratulating Sergeant Torry Tooley and Sergeant James White on their well-deserved promotions!
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 May 2025 at 12:59 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers: The Medina Marching Band performs on Sept. 21 at Vets Park during the Fall Festival of Bands. Despite being of the smaller schools that competes in the field band competition, Medina has won the New York State Field Band Conference Championship several times.
The national list of school districts with outstanding music programs once again includes Albion and Medina.
The two districts in Orleans County join 935 districts total around the country as “Best Communities for Music Education.” Albion has now received the designation the past 18 years while Medina is one the list for the second year in the row.
The North American Music Merchants has presented the annual list for 26 years. The recognition highlights outstanding efforts by school districts and their communities music education.
“Your collective efforts — teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders — have been instrumental in making music part of a well-rounded education for every child,” NAMM said. “We applaud your community’s unwavering commitment to creating an environment where each child can learn and grow with music.”
Medina for the third year started doing its own musical in the junior-senior high school after about a decade of a shared program with Lyndonville. Medina has long had a stellar marching band program.
The NAMM Foundation’s list includes other nearby districts: Roy-Hart, Akron, Batavia, Geneseo, LeRoy, Lockport, Mount Morris, Perry, Warsaw and York.
Albion High School’s drama department performed Cinderella in late March. The district is perennially recognized as an outstanding musical among small schools in the Rochester region. This photo shows Zack Baron as Prince Christopher putting the slipper on Mallory Kozody who is Cinderella. Phoebe Allen, the evil stepmother, is on the couch. In back include Ella Trupo as Fairy Godmother, Sawyer Brigham plays Lionel, Julia Button as stepsister Joy, and Mallory Ashbery as a stepsister Grace. Albion does two musicals each year at the high school, and two at the middle school. The school also has a marching band and does many concerts and musical programs.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 May 2025 at 9:01 am
The national average price for a gallon of gasoline was at $3.14 on Monday, down three cents from the previous week. A year ago, the price was $3.62, AAA reported.
The New York State average is $3.09, down a penny from a week ago and a drop of 63 cents from a year earlier.
AAA said prices dropped in the past week in the “lull between spring travel and the kick-off to summer.” The OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries also announced last week it will increase output again in June. That should widen the supply surplus, andcould cause crude prices to continue to fall, AAA said, leading to even lower prices at the pump this summer.
Here are the average prices in counties around Western New York:
Press Release, NYS Health Facilities Association/NYS Center for Assisted Living
ALBANY – Susan Luxon, a personal care aide at The Willows in Medina, has received the 2025 NYSCAL Noble Caregiver of the Year Award from the New York State Health Facilities Association/New York State Center for Assisted Living.
The award was presented on May 7th at the 2025 NYSCAL Awards Banquet during the Association’s annual conference in Bolton Landing.
Luxon has been a dedicated caregiver at The Willows for the past 26 years. She demonstrates a deep commitment to preserving the dignity and well-being of each individual under her care.
Her empathy and genuine concern for the residents’ happiness and comfort are evident in every interaction. She listens intently to their needs and concerns, providing both emotional support and practical assistance whenever necessary. Luxon consistently goes above and beyond to support her colleagues, often picking up shifts and assisting in any way possible to ensure smooth operations in the facility.
“In a field that requires both skill and heart, Susan excels in every aspect of caregiving,” said Jacquie Morgante, administrator of The Willows. “We are proud that she has been honored with this prestigious award from NYSHFA | NYSCAL.”
The NYSCAL Nurse of the Year Award recognizes an adult care/assisted living nurse who demonstrates outstanding compassion, supervisory success, innovation, achievement, and capabilities in their provision of high quality resident-centered care in a service-oriented culture in an adult care/assisted living community.
Winners received an engraved obelisk and were invited to attend the NYSHFA | NYSCAL annual conference.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 May 2025 at 10:00 pm
Provided photos
HOLLEY – Nora Lindsay (center), a junior at Holley Junior-Senior High School, is shown with Neil and Diane Valentine, parents of Evan Valentine.
Lindsay sold cookies in April in memory of Evan, who passed away at age 18 on February 21, 2021 after a courageous battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Evan was very active in Holley’s music program and also was a soccer player and Eagle Scout.
Lindsay was able to donate $700 for the C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Association in memory of Evan Valentine.
“This community will not and can not forget everything Evan meant to us,” Lindsay said in a message to promote the cookie sale for the C.U.R.E.
Members of the Ontario Shores Sweet Adelines photographed in November 1976. Front row, from left: Edna Walck, Bonnie Powley, Marcia Housel (musical director), Betty Cole and Penny Powley. Second row: Pat Balcerzak, Joan Arnold, Pat Few, Phyllis McCarthy, Mary Lee Knights, Sylvia Allen and Theda Powley. Third row: Kathy Stahl, Audrey Lamb, Carol Lenhardt, Linda Rau, Janet Walck, Jean Gates and Helen James. Members absent from the photo: Claire Simons, Jan White, Elaine Jamele, Mary Lou Zimmerman, Kathy Hartway, Sue Wingfield and Janine Holbrook.
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 18
MIDDLEPORT – Ladies who liked to sing, harmonize and socialize formed a local chapter of the Sweet Adelines in 1972.
Named for a barbershop song popular in the early 1900s, the Sweet Adelines started in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1945 with a small group of women who liked to sing. It grew into an international, educational and social organization which promotes the folk-art style of singing four-part harmony, barbershop style.
The local chapter, named the Ontario Shores Sweet Adelines Chorus of Middleport received its international charter in February 1976. It included Niagara and Orleans counties and was part of Region 16 which covered New York State to Kingston, Ontario. Ontario Shores members at that time hailed from Holley, Lyndonville, Medina, Barker, Middleport and Newfane.
Marcia Housel of Lyndonville, a founding charter member, was the group’s music director for 16 years. An ardent proponent of the power of group singing, she believed that it provided “a real lift.” In a November 1974 interview, she explained that the Sweet Adelines repertoire focused on familiar tunes “music you can hum along to,” show tunes, patriotic songs and the “old classics” such as “Down by the Riverside.”
The newly formed Sweet Adelines presented their first annual show on November 6, 1976, at the Roy-Hart School auditorium in Middleport. The theme was “From Bonnets to Bellbottoms” and featured early and contemporary music.
Thus began a busy schedule of shows, competitions and performances at civic events and of course weekly rehearsals. A professional choreographer instructed the group in facial expression, mime acting, characterization and dance.
In 1984, Ann Gemerek of Holley was the director of the Christmas entertainment presented at the Carl I. Bergerson auditorium in Albion.
In 1985, a double quartet from Ontario Shores performed for the 700 members attending the Region 16 annual Music School event held at the Ramada Inn in Niagara Falls. They included: Jan Pritchard and Jean Gates of Medina; Janet Walck, Lyndonville; Joyce Compson and Mary Brocksopp of Holley; Laurie Costello, Brockport, Pat Few and Marie Krockenberger of Lockport.
The group’s activities were chronicled in the Medina Journal Register newspaper through the late 1980s. Carol Oschmann of Kendall was awarded the “Sweet Adeline of the Year” in 1987. Rosanne Mauragis became a new member in 1987 and Bonnie Orgar joined in 1988.
Cindy Parada’s mother, Elaine Jamele, was a member of the Sweet Adelines for many years. Cindy recalls: “Mom loved being a member of the Sweet Adelines! They just had so much fun. She joined with her best friend, Linda Rau. There was a great sense of camaraderie among the members. They sang music that they liked and wore fun costumes. It was theatrical, they enjoyed the thrill of performing but as a group which made it easier. Good times.”
It appears that the chapter discontinued in the early 1990s. We are sure that those ladies who loved to sing, harmonize and socialize kept photos, scrapbooks and other memorabilia of their Sweet Adeline adventures. The Orleans County Dept. of History would like to chronicle this aspect of our musical history, please contact Catherine.Cooper@orleanscountyny.gov. if you have material to donate.
Can any readers help us identify these happy harmonizers?
ALBION – On Saturday at approximately 9:54 a.m., Albion police officers responded to a report of a visibly distraught female at the Albion Police Department. The individual reported that she had been physically assaulted earlier that morning by her boyfriend, Brandon Armstrong, at a residence on West Bank Street.
Officers observed visible injuries on the victim, including red marks on her neck and cuts to her hand. The victim reported being choked multiple times, physically restrained from leaving the residence, and threatened with a knife.
She stated that Armstrong, age 41, attempted to stab her, resulting in the lacerations to her hand. Emergency medical services were requested to provide evaluation and treatment at the scene.
Patrols responded to the suspect’s residence and attempted to get Armstrong to come out for approximately 30 minutes. When he refused, the Albion Police Department K9 Unit was dispatched to assist. Patrols were advised Armstrong was hiding in the attic of the residence. After another 30 minutes, he came out and surrendered to patrols without further incident.
Armstrong has been charged with Robbery 3rd Degree (Class D Felony), Assault 2nd Degree (Class D Felony), Criminal Possession of a Weapon with intent to use (Class A Misdemeanor), Criminal Obstruction of Breathing (Class A Misdemeanor) and Unlawful Imprisonment (Class A Misdemeanor).
The Albion Police were assisted by Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.
The Albion Police Department takes all allegations of domestic violence seriously and is committed to ensuring the safety of victims and holding offenders accountable.
Anyone experiencing domestic violence is encouraged to contact law enforcement or reach out to local support services for assistance.
MIDDLEPORT – Ladies who liked to sing, harmonize and socialize formed a local chapter of the Sweet Adelines in 1972.
