Provided photos

Orly the Ox, the Orleans County bicentennial mascot, has been out and about in Orleans in the past few weeks.

He was in Kendall last Wednesday for the finale of a euchre tournament between residents of Kendall and Hamlin. Orly is shown next to Bill Hardenbrook of Kendall.

The Kendall team triumphed over Hamlin in a  friendly rivalry going back 71 years.

Orly also stopped by Dustin’s Pizzeria in Holley last week to highlight the Super Bowl as one of the busiest food holidays of the year. (Orly was happy to see the Kansas City Chiefs get walloped by the Philadelphia Eagles in the game.)

Photo by Tom Rivers

Our beloved ox also needed to satisfy a hunger craving and made a beeline to the Village House Restaurant where he scarfed down a Greek salad and some pie.

You can follow Orly’s adventures on the Orleans County Tourism social media accounts on Facebook (click here) and Instagram (click here).

Gov. Kathy Hochul today announced the Village of Brockport has been awarded a $4.5 million NY Forward grant.

“‘It’s all in Brockport’ became our shared vision as we dreamed of what our village could become with a NY Forward grant,” said Brockport Mayor Margay Blackman. “The Brockport of our NY Forward dreams is one that works for all – young, old, university student, resident, visitor, tourist. The water brings people, Brockporters say, and we will invest in our waterfront to establish Brockport as the premier, inclusive recreation community on the Erie Canal. What I’m especially proud of today is that 6 people, including our grant writer, crafted a successful proposal, in house, in 2 short years.”

The village seeks to transform its historic downtown corridor into an accessible tourist destination and a home where visitors, residents and people of all abilities can recreate, socialize, live and age in comfort, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office.

The governor also announced the City of Canandaigua will receive the bigger $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative and the Village of Phelps will get a $4.5 NY Forward grant. Canandaigua, Phelps and Brockport are all in the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, which also includes Orleans County.

 “By investing in the future of these Finger Lakes communities, this funding will revitalize their downtown areas by building vibrant and thriving destinations where businesses, families, and visitors can flourish,” Governor Hochul said in a news release. “With our Pro-Housing Communities initiative, we’re giving local leaders the tools to transform their cities, towns and villages into hubs of opportunity, culture, and affordable living. This is how we build stronger, more connected communities that work for everyone across New York.”

Canandaigua, Brockport and Phelps will now develop a Strategic Investment Plan to revitalize their downtowns. A Local Planning Committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders and other stakeholders will lead the effort, supported by a team of private sector experts and state planners, according to the news release.

The Strategic Investment Plan will guide the investment of DRI and NY Forward grant funds in revitalization projects that are poised for implementation, will advance the community’s vision for their downtown and that can leverage and expand upon the state’s investment.

Photos and information courtesy of Medina Band Boosters: The Medina varsity winterguard is shown during competition on Saturday.

Medina’s Varsity and JV guards traveled to Victor on Saturday for their fourth competition this season. A total of 27 guards attended to compete in 8 classifications.

Medina’s RA guard performed in the Cadet class and came in 2nd place out of 5 competitors with a score of 49.30.

Medina’s Varsity Guard competed in the A1 class and came in 3rd out of 5 with a score of 52.09

Both guards have added elements to their shows to further convey their show’s theme. For the guard members they have to learn new choreography each week.

Their next competition is Saturday at Corning-Painted Post, followed by Lancaster on March 1 and Medina’s home show on March 8.

The Medina JV guard competed on Saturday at Victor.

ALBION – A missing 13-year-old boy from Albion has been found and is unharmed, the Albion Police Department reported.

Eli Sample had been missing since Saturday. He has returned to his family.

“The Village of Albion Police Department is extremely thankful for the calls and tips that lead to his safe return,” the Police Department stated in a news release.

Photos by Tom Rivers

KENDALL – The elementary chorus performs on Saturday at the Kendall school auditorium as part of the All-County Festival.

The event is organized by the Orleans County Music Educators’ Association.

There are 88 students in the elementary chorus from Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina school districts.

The All-County also included 78 students in the junior high band and 66 in the high school chorus, making 232 students in the All-county Groups.

There will be another All-County Festival on March 8 in Lyndonville featuring the top students for the elementary band, junior high chorus and high school band.

At the beginning of the concert on Saturday in Kendall, a moment of silence was observed for Josh Peters, a 16-year-old Kendall student who was killed in a car accident on Wednesday.

The elementary students were led by guest conductor, Annelle VanNortwick, a general music and chorus teacher at Clinton Elementary School in West Seneca.

The students performed four songs: “A Joyful Song,” “Mary Had A Little Blues,” “Why We Sing” and “Feel Good.”

The junior high band played “Wild Blue,” “When Summer’s In The Meadow,” “Tripwire” and “Byzantine Dances.”

The students started rehearsing together for the first time Friday and the next day had their concert.

Matthew Tichy served as guest conductor of the Jr. High All-County Band. He is the band director at Mill Middle School in Williamsville. He also performs with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Syracuse Orchestra. He is a member of the Blue Stars and Bluecoats of the Drum Corps International.

Ryder Jones of Medina sings a solo during “City Called Heaven.”

Elliott Michki of Albion conducts the high school chorus in “The Dreamer.”

Four vocal and chorus teachers in Orleans County led the high school chorus, with the teachers each serving as guest conductor for a song. Michki, Albion High School chorial director,  led the group in “The Dreamer” while Kelly Marzano of Holley Jr./Sr. High, led them in City Called Heaven.”

Rachel Trillizio of Medina led the students in “Set Me As A Seal” while Jennifer Neroni-Trupo of Lyndonville conducted “Take On Me.”

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Rollin Hellner holds a schedule for Cruisin’ in Medina, which begins the 2025 season on May 30 in the parking lot of the Medina Senior Center.

MEDINA – With final approval from the Medina Village Board, local developer Rollin Hellner is “gung ho” to begin his second season of heading car shows in the village.

Hellner first took over the events last year when David Green announced he was stepping down after decades of being in charge.

“I’ve been coming to these shows with my father, who has a 1967 Mustang, since I moved here in 2015,” Hellner said. “I was disappointed to think there might not be a show after all these years, and I couldn’t let that happen. It’s not only important for people to have something to do, but I didn’t want to see it go away. Medina is not just a great place to live and do business, it’s a great place to visit, as well. I want to see it continue to grow and improve.”

The car shows again this year will be in the parking lot of Medina Senior Center, across from the Walsh Hotel, which Hellner owns.

While the parking space is smaller than the previous location in the canal basin, Hellner said car enthusiasts and collectors were happy with the new site, for the most part, attracting 40 to 50 vehicles on average. He said they also had cars last year which had never attended before, including a Mustang owner from Lewiston who attended every week.

Hellner was happy to have received approval to have live music this year and announced a schedule of entertainers, which include Highway 31, Stanton, Ken Ryan and the Professionals, Darryl Brown and Chill Factor and yet unannounced entertainment on July 26 at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds. Recorded music or a disc jockey will provide music on alternate weeks.

The night at the fair has been changed to July 26, the last Saturday night in July, at the request of the fair officials who commented on the large number of antique vehicles and the crowds typically at the fair on the last Saturday. Last year had one of the largest participations of antique vehicles, Hellner said.

Cruise-ins will start a week early this year, with opening cruise on May 30. Every night will have a different theme, starting with Country and Truck Night on June 6; Corvette Night on June 13; Mustang Night on June 20 and Hot Rod Night on June 27. Beginning in July, the fifth will be Bike Night; followed by British and Foreign Night on July 11; Camaro Night on July 18; Mopar Night on Aug. 1, Van Night on Aug. 8, ‘50’s Night on Aug. 15; and ’60s Night on Aug. 22.

As in the past, Cruise Nights will end for the season with Super Cruise on Main Street on Aug. 27, a Wednesday, featuring Terry Buchwald as Elvis. A rain date for the final show is Sept. 3.

Hellner added this year’s cruise-ins are going to be “cool.” One week he is going to showcase a 1947 Mack firetruck, owned and restored by local funeral director Tim Cooper. He has contacted the company and got the full build sheet on the truck.

Although Hellner keeps busy with multiple renovation projects throughout the area, vintage automobiles are a passion of his. He owns a 1935 Rolls Royce. He is planning to promote Medina’s Cruise-in at Buffalo’s Motorama, where he is entering his car. The show takes place March 28 to 30 at the Convention Center.

Hellner also shared that his Rolls will appear in a movie, The Panic, about J.P. Morgan, which features two scenes shot in Buffalo and one in Youngstown. The movie is scheduled to be released this year.

MEDINA – Mary Woodruff has reason to be excited about the 2025 Hometown Heroes program she started in 2019.

For the first time this year, there will be soldiers from the Revolutionary War and another from the Civil War.

Pvt. Daniel Roberts served in the 7th Co. 8th Regiment of Connecticut troops during five years from 1776 to 1780.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Mary Woodruff, who started the Hometown Heroes banners in 2019 in Medina, is ready to accept applications for 2025.

While the application says veterans who have a banner must live or have lived in Orleans County, Woodruff has made an exception for Roberts for two reasons. Daniel Roberts is said to have served five years and nine months in the Revolutionary War in Connecticut. Woodruff previously did not have a Revolutionary War soldier represented and Roberts has a strong connection to Orleans County. Daniel’s grandson Ziba Roberts Jr., who served in the Civil War, lived in a stately homestead on East Shelby Road, just south of what is now East Shelby Community Bible Church.

Daniel’s and Ziba’s ancestors include Virginia Kropf and Norma Fisher of Medina, their deceased siblings Eugene Baker and Mildred Green and a host of descendants of the late Orren and Lee Roberts of Medina.

After making the decision to allow Daniel to have a banner, the announcement came out about a Revolutionary War soldier who lived in the town of Shelby and is buried on the Maple Ridge Road Cemetery, located on farmland owned by the late Murray Baker, just west of Millville. Baker is Virginia Kropf’s uncle, with whom she lived from the time she was 12. She and the former Barbara Boyle, who lived across the street, spent hours playing in that cemetery.

Last fall, the Sons of the American Revolution were notified about the grave of Benjamin Darling and a ceremony was held there to place a marker on his grave. It is presumed Darling and Roberts quite possibly served in the same regiment. It is documented they both served in Connecticut.

Darling’s great-great-great-great-grandson James Walker from Michigan came for the ceremony, and upon learning about the Home Town Heroes banners, he indicated a desire to have one for his relative. He has spent years researching his family ancestry and although he located his relative’s grave in Shelby, he has been unable to find a picture or information on where Darling lived in the town of Shelby.

Benjamin Darling was born July 6, 1758 in Lunenburg, Mass. He served with the 7th Connecticut Regiment and saw action at the Battle of Monmouth, N.J. and Germantown, Pa. before his regiment moved to Valley Forge, where they spent the cold winter of 1777. He died Feb. 7, 1841 at the age of 82.

Orleans County historian Catherine Cooper was able to find reference to Darling having lived on the east side of East Shelby Road, but it is not known if his home was near the Roberts homestead. She also learned Darling had a son who was a master builder and is credited with building at least 60 structures in the town of Shelby. This now leads to the speculation, could he possibly have built the Roberts homestead where Ziba Jr. lived?

Ziba Roberts Jr. will have a banner this year for his service during the Civil War. Ziba Jr. was born July 31, 1840 and died Dec. 22, 1898. He was captured May 23, 1862 near Lynchburg, Va., and held prisoner for a time in the caverns, where they caught rats to eat.

This is the sixth year for the Home Town Heroes banners, and Woodruff can’t believe how it has grown every year. The first year there were 38 and the next year 78. By the fourth year, it had hit 120. That’s when DPW head Jason Watts told Woodruff they were running out of poles to put them on.

“So many people have been patiently waiting for the 2025 banners,” Woodruff said. “And they are already calling for next year.”

Although the printing company has raised the price of banners by $5, Woodruff is keeping the price at $200 for new banners, because of the generosity of people who have sent her donations.

This past year saw 80 new banners added. A new banner is hung for three years and then it is offered to the family. New ones are put up on Main Street and East and West Center, stretching outward from the four corners downtown. The bulk have been World War II, Vietnam War and Korean Conflict veterans, Woodruff said. Recently, more National Guard people have been submitted and a new category, Space Force allows for banners for any veteran who is employed in any capacity in the space program. A category for Revolutionary War soldiers has also been added.

If a banner has hung for three years and the family wants to continue it, there is a $120 charge to get a new banner for another three years. The families must make out a new application, however, which can be printed from the website www.heroesofmedina.com. Donations or payments should be mailed to village clerk Jada Burgess at 119 Park Ave., Medina, NY 14103 and marked “for Home Town Heroes.”

ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, in cooperation with the Orleans County Department of Social Services Welfare Fraud Investigative Unit, has arrested 9 individuals involved in welfare fraud.

The arrests follow a lengthy investigation into fraudulent activities that resulted in the theft of public funds.

The following individuals were taken into custody:

• Victoria Taylor – arrested for welfare fraud 4th degree totaling $2,640 and grand larceny 4th degree.

• Brittanie Makowiecki – arrested for welfare fraud 3rd degree totaling $6,373, and offering a false instrument for filing 1st degree.

• Jean Johnson – arrested for welfare fraud 3rd degree totaling $5,572, grand larceny 3rd degree, and offering a false instrument for filing 1st degree.

• Raylene McGuire – arrested for welfare fraud 4th degree totaling $1,202 and offering a false statement for filing 1st degree.

• Nicole Brady – arrested for welfare fraud 4th degree totaling $2,556.

• Kelly Taylor – arrested for welfare fraud 5th degree, totaling $787.

• Robert McElwain – arrested for welfare fraud 4th degree, offering a false instrument for filing, totaling $1,164.00 in fraudulent claims.

• Christopher Tetrault – arrested for welfare fraud 4th degree totaling $1,162, grand larceny 4th degree.

• William Scott Jr. – arrested for welfare fraud 4th degree totaling $2,318, grand larceny 4th degree.

The investigation revealed that the suspects submitted false information to obtain public assistance benefits to which they were not entitled, said Sheriff Chris Bourke.

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigators Kevin Colonna, Devon Pahuta and Brian Marsceill, working alongside the DSS Welfare Fraud Investigative Unit, conducted a thorough investigation into the fraudulent activities, Bourke said.

“The arrests serve as a reminder of the importance of safeguarding public resources, protecting taxpayers and ensuring that individuals who exploit the welfare system are held accountable,” Bourke said.

All suspects were processed, issued desk appearance tickets and will be arraigned in the Town of Albion Court on Feb. 11.

RIDGEWAY – A fire consumed a grocery store in Wilson on Jan. 28. When the call went out at 7 p.m., Wilson firefighters found they needed more help in containing the blaze at the Wilson Lakeside Market.

State Sen. Rob Ortt highlighted the Wilson fire during news conferences on Friday at the Ridgeway Fire Hall and the Wilson Volunteer Fire Company. Ortt said many volunteer fire departments find themselves often with too few firefighters at emergency scenes. He worries the situation will become more dire with communities unable to protect themselves due to a shortage of trained volunteers.

“It is not a given that these departments have the manpower to handle what will be thrown at them,” Ortt said at a news conference at the Ridgeway fire hall on Friday. “I want to raise the challenge and concern for our rural communities.”

Ortt highlighted five proposals in the Legislature that could help recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.

The legislation includes:

• S2314 – Extends tuition free course benefits to volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers.
• S2720 – Creates a wage tax credit for employers who employ New York national guard members, reservists, volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel
• S3527 – Relates to enacting the volunteer emergency services mileage reimbursement tax credit
• S3529 – Relates to volunteer members of village fire companies. (This law would allow the percentage of non-resident volunteer members in village fire companies to exceed 45 percent of the actual membership of the fire company.)
• S2008 – Authorizes municipalities to fund training of firefighters; allows a municipality to recoup the cost of sending a firefighter to training school from another municipality that hires that firefighter within three years of their training. (The legislation would allow a municipality to recoup the cost of sending a firefighter to training school from another municipality that hires that firefighter within three years of their training. Current law allows for this recoupment when the individual is a firefighter.)

Ortt attends many fire department banquets at this time of year from January through April in Orleans, Niagara and western Monroe. He said a small group of volunteers are responding to the majority of the calls, and those volunteers seem to be getting older.

“The red line that protects us is getting thinner and thinner,” Ortt said.

He noted fire departments are trying to draw more members, including on April 26-27 for RecruitNY. Ortt said the volunteer fire service tends to have families of firefighters, with younger generations drawn to it because of the examples of their parents and other family members.

Justin Niederhofer, director of the Orleans County Emergency Management Office, said the county will be doing a study of the local fire service, looking at different options including the possibility of more paid firefighters.

The RecruitNY open houses welcome everyone in the community, and give them a chance to see roles they could serve in their fire department.

“We got to find a way to bring in people who have maybe never thought about being a firefighter,” Ortt said.

He believes it has a universal appeal of offering people a strong sense of purpose and giving back to their community, as well as camaraderie.

Justin Niederhofer, the director of the Orleans County Emergency Management Office, said local fire departments are using mutual aid to respond to many calls.

“We are facing a recruitment problem,” he said. “We need more people. We can’t face the job we are tasked to do without more people.”

He said the county will be sending out an RFP to seek proposals from firms to help the county with a study of the local fire service, and perhaps reimagine how that service could best be provided in the short-term and long-term. That could include a hybrid of volunteers with more paid firefighters. Right now Medina has the only career firefighters, and they also run an ambulance service for western Orleans. Niederhofer said

Many departments with paid personnel also face staffing challenges, Ortt said, and that includes paid EMS and police. Municipalities are often competing with each other for the staff, Ortt said.

Justin McAdoo, age 20, loves being a volunteer firefighter with Ridgeway. He joined on his 16th birthday, the first day he could. He said he has been able to invite 10 to 15 people who have joined local fire companies.

Justin McAdoo, 20, has been a part of the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company for nearly five years, joining the day he turned 16. He was the department’s firefighter of the year in 2024 and already has been promoted to lieutenant in the department.

McAdoo’s mother Kristin is the deputy chief and his grandfather Don Marchner has been an active firefighter for more than 50 years.

McAdoo shares his love of being a firefighter with many of his friends, and he estimates 10 to 15 have joined a local fire company.

“They see that I enjoy it so much,” he said.

That may be part of the recruitment effort, having current firefighters be ambassadors in welcoming more people to join.

Niederhofer said many of the local departments also are allowing 16- and 17-year-olds as restricted members to get them involved as younger members. As restricted members they can take training and help at emergency scenes with changing air packs and cleanup but they can’t do active firefighting.

He is reaching out to local schools to see if the restricted membership could be promoted.

“If we can tap into local schools, it may spread,” he said.

Press release, UConnectCare

BATAVIA – Four $1,000 scholarships will be awarded through the annual UConnectCare Foundation Scholarship program in 2025.

The program, initiated several years ago, provides financial support to individuals pursuing their education at an institution of higher learning in the fields of human services or social services for the purpose of contributing to improving community health.

Scholarships will be given to one Genesee County high school student, one Orleans County high school student, one adult student pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and one technical/trade school student.

Applications are available on the UConnectCare website – www.uconnectcare.org – or can be obtained by contacting Diane Klos at Diane Klos at 585-815-1883 or dklos@unconnectcare.org. Completed applications must be received via email or postmarked by March 7.

The scholarships will be awarded at the agency’s annual membership meeting in May.

“We take great pleasure in being able to continue this important program,” said John Bennett, UConnectCare chief executive officer. “More than ever, substance use and alcohol use treatment and prevention agencies are seeking qualified, educated and dedicated employees.”

Students enrolled in a Genesee or Orleans school can apply for the scholarship even if their primary residence is in another county.

Other pertinent scholarship information is as follows:

• Applicant must be accepted at an accredited college or university and enrolled in or matriculated in an eligible program/major.
• Eligible programs or majors include Social Work, Nursing, Health Science, Mental Health Counseling, Psychology, or Human Services.
• Current UConnectCare employees, board members and UConnectCare Foundation board members are not eligible.
• Relatives of UConnectCare employees, board members and UConnectCare Foundation board members are eligible.
• Applicant must provide academic history such as high school and/or college transcripts.
• Applicant must provide two letters of recommendation from someone who knows the applicant’s work/volunteer/academic history. Letters from relatives will not be accepted.
• Applicant must provide a resume or personal biography including work history, volunteer experiences, and extra-curricular activities.
• Applicant must provide an essay that addresses educational and employment objectives as they relate to the mission of UConnectCare. Financial need, volunteerism, employment history and civic involvement will be given careful consideration.
• The scholarship monies will be awarded upon completion of the fall semester. The award recipient must provide a copy of their transcript demonstrating at least a 2.0 GPA.
• Applicant may be invited for an interview before final awards are made.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian 

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 6

JEDDO – This headline which appeared in the July 29, 1926, Niagara Gazette caught our attention. According to the article, George Prudom of Jeddo felt unwell and thought he was having an attack of rheumatism.

Dr. Thurman of Lyndonville was called, he suspected lockjaw, but Mr. Prudom could not recall having received a scratch of any kind that might have caused the infection.

Dr.  Russell, a specialist from Buffalo, was consulted. He agreed with the lockjaw diagnosis and prescribed a lockjaw serum treatment which was effective and after a week, Mr. Prudom was able to open his jaws slightly. He recovered fully after some time.

Upon reflection, the only incident that Mr. Prudom could recall was that a short time previously, he had been handling a heavy piece of hemlock timber which had fallen on his foot. At the time, the injury was slight, and Mr. Prudom paid no attention to it. He surmised that the infection may have been caused by a scratch from a hemlock splinter.

However, hemlock trees are not poisonous, so Mr. Prudom’s lockjaw was not caused directly by the hemlock log but was most likely the result of an infection caused by tetanus spores entering through a cut or scratch occasioned by the fall of the log onto his foot.

Hemlock trees are native to this area and were growing in abundance when the first settlers came here. They used hemlock splints for the roofs of their log cabins. Lacking furniture, they made comfortable beds from hemlock boughs laid on the floor and covered with blankets.

When laying the first roads from Ridge Road to the lake, Jeremiah Brown, the first Commissioner of Highways in the Town of Ridgeway wrote: “We would lay a road, following the lines between lots to the lake, keeping us busy all day. At night, we would make a fire, cut some hemlock boughs for bed and sleep soundly all night.”

There is a plant known as poison hemlock which is highly toxic to humans and animals. It contains coniine, an alkaloid capable of inducing paralysis. Hemlock trees and the poison hemlock plant are unrelated, they share a name because their leaves emit a similar odor. The roots of this plant were an ingredient in witches’ brew in Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Root of hemlock, digg’d in the dark”

Hemlocks are large pyramid-shaped evergreen trees which resemble Christmas trees. They can attain a height of 60 – 70 feet. There must once have been a significant stand of hemlocks on the road which was named Hemlock Ridge Road which runs east-west through the Towns of Shelby and Barre. Some hemlocks may still be seen along the road. Hemlock trees may also be found in Mt. Albion Cemetery.

2 to 5 inches of snow expected Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Keitel Road canal bridge is shown today in Albion in this photo from the towpath.

The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories for much of upstate New York.

An advisory for Orleans County is in effect from 4 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday. The Weather Service said 2 to 5 inches of snow is expected with higher amounts possible in some localized areas.

“Periods of snow will result in snow-covered roads and limited visibilities,” the Weather Service said. “Slow down and use caution while driving.”

The highs in the forecast in the coming days include 28 on Saturday, 30 on Sunday, 26 on Monday and 28 on Tuesday.