“Overlooked Orleans” – Vol. 5, No. 1

HOLLEY – This photograph, taken September 25, 1926, shows the aftermath of a locomotive collision at Holley. Looking south on South Main Street, the Holley Electric building is pictured on the left. A few individuals are in the vicinity, including a young girl standing between the tall white fence and truck along the left side of the road. Upon closer inspection, a bicycle is lying on the curb near the railroad overpass, possibly left there by the girl.

At 3:33 p.m. on September 24, 1926, an express train, Engine 3373, pulling 28 cars and two coaches departed the Fancher station on the New York Central Railroad. Meanwhile, Engine 485 operating at a local quarry just east of Holley was pulling two cars along a segment of track. According to reports following the accident, Engine 485 was switching cars near the Holley station located immediately west of the railroad overpass as the express train approached.

Travelling westbound against current traffic, the engineer in charge of Engine 485 observed the approaching express train, warned his fireman of the impending danger, and both quickly jumped to safety. A similar scenario unfolded aboard Engine 3373 and the two locomotives collided travelling at approximately 20-25 mph. While the engineer of Engine 3373 was able to safely jump from the express train, his fireman Frank Maloney was not as fortunate.

Both trains derailed, mangling the tracks and piling up cars behind them. Engine 3373 rolled onto its left side, striking the railroad station on the north side of the tracks while Engine 485 rolled in the opposite direction, striking the freight house. A large portion of the station was damaged and freight house knocked from its foundation. Maloney, who was unable to jump from the engine, was pinned under the wreckage and severely scalded; he died shortly after the collision.

This photograph shows the scene the following morning when a wrecking crew arrived on scene to clean up the debris. By the time this image was taken, Engine 3373 was turned upright, but the mangle pieces of Engine 485 are visible to the east of the overpass. A local brakeman was found at fault for failing to warn the oncoming express train.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The 2018 Heritage Heroes were recognized during a ceremony April 27 at Genesee Community College in Albion. The group includes, from left: Aaron Grabowski of Medina, Diane Palmer of Albion, Beryl Barnes (accepting for her son Arthur Barnes) and Roy Bubb, who has written about growing up in Clarendon.

Now in its sixth year, Genesee Community College and the Orleans Hub are proud to continue the Orleans County Heritage Heroes Awards which recognize the dedication and hard work of dedicated citizens who strive to protect and preserve local history. They are now seeking nominations for the awards. Nominations will be accepted through Friday, Feb. 22.

“Residents of Orleans County take great pride in their heritage,” said Jim Simon, associate dean of GCC’s Orleans County Campus Centers in Medina and Albion. “For our sixth consecutive year, we want to continue to recognize the time and investment of individuals who are tireless advocates for local history.”

Nominees for Heritage Heroes Awards can be any age but posthumous nominations will not be accepted. History professionals and GCC employees are also not eligible for the award, nor are those who serve on the awards selection committees. Nominees must be Orleans County residents.

Last year’s winners included Aaron Grabowski, Diane Palmer, Arthur Barnes and Roy Bubb. Lysbeth Hoffman received the special C.W. “Bill” Lattin Award for Excellence in Municipal History, and Marsha DeFilipps received the Bob Waters Lifetime Achievement Award. Because nominations are not retained for future consideration, residents who made previous nominations are encouraged to re-submit a nominee again for this coming year.

“Many residents from all over the county work hard on restoring historic houses and protecting other community assets, including museums, churches and other historical artifacts,” Tom Rivers, Orleans Hub editor, said. “The dedicated people working to preserve these treasures deserve praise for adding to the quality of life and character of the community.”

To nominate someone for the Heritage Heroes Awards, write up a brief statement outlining the person’s contributions, projects and community affiliations. Anyone sending in a nomination should provide their name (anonymous nomination packages will not be accepted), address, phone number and email address. The more in-depth the detail provided in the nomination, the stronger the submission. Submit the nomination to:

ATTENTION: Heritage Heroes Committee

Genesee Community College / Medina Campus Center

11470 Maple Ridge Rd. Medina, NY 14103-9675

Nominations may also be emailed to Jim Simon at jsimon@genesee.edu. Please write Heritage Heroes Nomination in the subject line.

A screening process involving community members and history professionals will review the nominations and recommend finalists. From those finalists, the executive committee including GCC Associate Dean Jim Simon, Associate Professor Derek Maxfield and Orleans Hub Editor Tom Rivers will choose the Heritage Heroes.

“We are very pleased to recognize those whose efforts often go unnoticed,” said Associate Professor of History, Derek Maxfield. “They make many personal sacrifices in order to preserve history for future generations.”

The Heritage Heroes will be recognized during a ceremony at Genesee Community College in Albion in April.

Organization paid $361K over 20 years for Foundation’s biggest commitment in its history

LYNDONVILLE – This morning the Lyndonville Area Foundation was proud to present its final payment on Lyndonville Central School’s Stroyan Auditorium.

This payment represents a 20-year capstone on an agreement begun in 1998 by then-school superintendent, the late Richard Pucher, and the Lyndonville Area Foundation.

The agreement reached at that time called for 20 consecutive annual payments to the school district by the Foundation representing the public portion cost of the auditorium’s construction. The public portion would have been the amount taxpayers of the school district were responsible for if the Lyndonville Area Foundation had chosen not to cover this cost.

“At that time, the Foundation had recently benefitted from a substantial bequest by the estate of the late Mabel Stroyan, a life-long Lyndonville resident,” said Darren D. Wilson, the Foundation’s current president, “It was her bequest that enabled the Foundation to fund the public portion of this project – a cost that eventually exceeded $361,000.”

The commitment to the auditorium is the largest contribution since the Foundation started in 1967.

“As the mission of the Foundation is to provide for cultural, educational and civic projects within Lyndonville and the Town of Yates, the Stroyan Auditorium was a perfect fit,” said Doug Hedges,  the Foundation’s treasurer.

Hedges and Wilson praised the “enormous generosity, gifting and legacy to the Foundation by individuals such as the late Mable Stroyan that make this all possible.”

Now that the 20-year commitment has been met for the auditorium, the Foundation has more flexibility for funding other initiatives in the community.

“While this final payment is a milestone for us, it also eases the Foundation’s annual obligations to allow for the possible consideration towards even more projects in the future,” Wilson said.

ALBION – The Orleans County Health Department has lifted a boil water advisory for part of Albion at about 1 p.m. today after a second day of testing showed no bacteria in water samples.

The advisory was issued on Tuesday for water customers in an area mostly confined to Route 98 between Bank Street and Bacon Road, and the side streets off 98 in that section.

The Village of Albion Department of Public Works was alerted at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, New Year’s Day, about a water leak. A 10-inch water main suffered a major break.

Orleans Hub topped 8 million pageviews for the third year in a row in 2018.

The online news publication had 8,467,818 pageviews in 2018, which was down about 1 percent from the 8,553,605 pageviews in 2017. We had 8,334,946 in 2016.

Ginny Kropf joined the Orleans Hub as a correspondent last year. She is pictured in May in downtown Medina.

Orleans Hub went live on April 1, 2013. We had 1,697,887 pageviews for nine months in 2013 and then 5,267,498 pageviews in 2014. In 2015, we jumped to 7,811,345 pageviews.

September was the biggest month with 780,053 pageviews or a 26,002 daily average. The daily pageview average for the year was 23,200.

Last year we posted about 3,600 articles, an average of almost 10 each day throughout the year.

We also had a daily average of 7,463 users. For the first time we were over a 7,000 daily average for each of the 12 months. April was the biggest month with a daily average of 8,023 users.

When we started the Hub in April 2013, we set a goal of 3,000 daily users for an average. That was about the combined circulation in Orleans County for the former The Journal-Register in Medina and The Daily News in Batavia.

Our first nine months in 2013 we averaged 2,100 unique daily visitors. That jumped to 4,700 in 2014 and reached a 6,739 average in 2015. In 2016, we were up to a 7,112 daily average. In 2017, we were up 7,884, which is the record after 7,463 this year.

The Hub operates out of The Lake Country Pennysaver in Albion. We have an office at the Pennysaver building, 170 North Main St.

Press Release, Orleans/Niagara BOCES

Congratulations to the 18 students from the Orleans/Niagara BOCES’ Licensed Practical Nursing program.  The graduation ceremony was held on Dec. 20.

Pictured, from left, front row: Brittany Murphy, Lauren Cristofanelli, Amy Schrader, Kathleen Siracuse Alyssa Arber, Alexis Jefferds and Lynn Gugino. Back row: Miranda Voelker, Nicolette Warning, Sandra Fresch, Rachel King, Gina Pfohl, Sarah Reynolds, Kirsten Halford, Kimberly Ebanks, Gabrielle Bellina and Hannah Heikoop. Missing: Alexis Rivera.

The LPN program is getting ready for its next class. The ATI test dates are Jan. 9 and Jan. 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the BOCES Conference Center, 4124 Saunders Settlement Rd. in Sanborn.  The next class will be held at the new Orleans/Niagara BOCES Community Education Center at 50 Main St., Lockport in March. For more information call 731-6800, ext: 4445.

ALBION – The Orleans County Health Department could lift a boil water advisory for water customers in Albion, in an area mostly confined to Route 98 between Bank Street and Bacon Road, and the side streets off 98 in that section.

The first round of tests showed there wasn’t any bacteria. If the samples at 12:53 p.m. today show no bacteria, the advisory will be lifted in early afternoon.

The water customers have been under a boil water advisory since a water main break on New Year’s Day. A chunk of a cast-iron watermain burst, just north of the Erie Canal.

The Village of Albion Department of Public Works worked all night on Tuesday and were joined by other municipal crews from Tuesday morning until the section of pipe was replaced and the road put back together late Tuesday afternoon.

Jay Pahura, the Albion DPW superintendent, said he appreciated the help from the Village of Medina DPW, and the highway departments from Albion, Barre, Carlton, Gaines and Murray.

“They just showed up on their day off, on a holiday,” Pahura said about the assistance from the towns and Medina. “It was a real community effort.”

Rob Ortt

ALBANY – State Sen. Rob Ortt starts a new year in the State Senate now in the minority party. He also will be serving on different committees.

He was named the ranking Republican on Thursday for two State Senate committees – Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security & Military Affairs as well as the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

“I am proud to be named ranking member for our standing committees on Veterans, Homeland Security & Military Affairs as well as Agriculture. Veterans and farmers are two of the pillars of our state and country,” Ortt said in a statement. “As a former Army officer and combat veteran, it is a privilege to be able to advocate for our veterans and my experiences afford me the ability to relate to what my fellow veterans go through in their day-to-day lives. Veterans’ suicide and mental health awareness continue to be a major focus of mine and I believe that we can also do much more to help returning veterans find quality care, education, and employment.”

Ortt also will be the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

“Agriculture is a very important committee, especially for the residents of the 62nd Senate District,” Ortt said. “Owning a family farm in New York State continues to get more difficult each year and ensuring we are able to adopt policies that keep agriculture a viable economic driver will be key. I look forward to continuing my work as a voice for all of our state’s farmers.”

Ortt served his first four years in the majority. Democrats, however, now have control of the State Senate.

Ortt previously was chairman of the Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. He also served on committees on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs; Energy and Telecommunications; Local Government; Higher Education; Environmental Conservation; Corporations, Authorities and Commissions; Civil Service and Pensions.

The addition of new restaurants, with some several years in the making, tops Orleans Hub’s list of the top stories in the county in 2018.

New restaurants have given the downtown business districts in Albion and Holley a much-needed jolt, creating foot traffic and energy that helps the other nearby businesses as well.

Much-anticipated new restaurants also opened on Main Street in Medina and by Lake Ontario in Kendall.

Dan and Monica Seeler in August opened the Holley Falls Bar & Grill, following extensive renovations of the former Tagg’s Tavern. The Seelers have also created apartments in the building, and created a destination location. They worked for five years to get the space ready for the restaurant.

The Seelers like how the building looks out on the Public Square, offering a great view of a quaint small town with its historic downtown, large American flag in the Public Square and a landmark former church building.

There are 135 seats, with 85 in the dining room and 50 in the bar.

The building used to have a wooden exterior when it was Tagg’s Tavern. The wood was removed to reveal cast iron columns in front. The Seelers needed to rebuild walls, paint them and make numerous other improvements for one of the most prominent buildings in Holley. They also added an awning. They opened on Aug. 6 with 32 employees.

Adam and Tina Johnson opened a bar and restaurant on North Main Street in Albion on March 1.

Downtown Albion had been without a restaurant for several years. On March 1, Adam and Tina Johnson opened 39 Problems, a bar and restaurant on Main Street.

The couple purchased the building, which includes three storefronts, in 2015. They worked diligently to renovate the site, while preserving its historic charm. In June 2017, they opened 39 Problems, selling pizza, grilled foods and “chill desserts.” The site didn’t have a dine-in option.

Now 39 Problems has a dine-in restaurant. The Johnsons have two of three storefronts done, and they would eventually like to expand the dining area to the remaining storefront.

The Johnsons have already added a new kitchen, two new bathrooms, wiring, gas lines, structural and roof repairs, masonry work and lots of other attention.

The storefront has been changed. The windows are now aluminum framed with insulated glass. Johnson kept the cast iron columns and removed paint on the Medina sandstone at the storefronts. Some of the wood from the storefront was repurposed above the bar.

“We’re hoping it will get Main Street alive, and lots of people to the downtown,” Adam Johnson said on March 1, opening day for the restaurant.

Mile 303 in Medina strives to create a cultural experience, where customers are exposed to art while tasting “modern and fresh food on the lighter side.”

Courtesy of Lures Restaurant: This new restaurant by Lake Ontario opened on Aug. 31.

Medina’s downtown also welcomed a new restaurant last year. Tim Hungerford opened Mile 303 on May 5 at 416 Main St. The restaurant honors the community’s connection to the Erie Canal, while trying to “push the envelope” culturally with the food, alcohol and artwork.

A long blue table is a sculpture designed to represent the canal. The sculpture also serves as the bar and the table tops.

The wall facing the bar also includes a mural with a canal theme, featuring celestial horses pulling a canal boat. Even the name of the establishment, Mile 303, is connected to the canal. Medina’s mile marker by the lift bridge is 303. The canal runs 363 miles from Buffalo to Albany.

Hungerford and his wife, Teresa Misiti, bought the building five years ago and created a loft apartment for their family on the third floor. The second floor is used for their work offices.

“We bought the building to be part of the effort to push Medina forward,” Hungerford said.

The Kendall community has waited for several years for a restaurant to open along Lake Ontario at the Bald Eagle Marina. Lures Restaurant and Bar made its debut on Aug. 31, offering a full restaurant, bar and outside dining area over-looking the lake.

The marina has completed several upgrades in recent years, and the new restaurant is the latest in creating a destination for boaters across Lake Ontario and upstate New York. With the new restaurant, the marina hopes to draw more people to the site in addition to boaters.

2. Transformative projects underway in Holley, Medina

Photo by Tom Rivers: Dave Nenni (front left), Holley DPW superintendent, and Matt Campbell, Holley’s electric and water superintendent, hold a 97-pound stone that will be placed at the renovated former school this year when contractors transform the building. They are among a big group of supporters for the school project who gathered on Dec. 11 for a “preservation celebration.”

Two long-awaited projects started in 2018 that could be transformative to both Holley and Medina.

Home Leasing, a Rochester company, started construction in November on a $17 million transformation of the former Holley High School, a building that has been vacant for more than two decades.

Home Leasing will turn the site into 41 senior apartments as well as the offices for the Village of Holley.

The building which opened in 1931 would close in 1975 as a school. It was last used by Liftec Manufacturing until it went bankrupt in the mid-1990s. Holley tried many times to revive the site, but previous deals fell apart and the building kept deteriorating, to the anguish of many in the community.

Home Leasing was able to put together a complicated deal with tax credits to make the school renovation possible. The company is leveraging $12 million in tax credits – $6.8 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity and $5.1 million in Historic Tax Credit equity – which are critical in making the project financial feasible.

Nelson Leenhouts has been working in the real estate development business for a half century. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of Home Leasing. He said the Holley community’s enthusiasm for the project kept him and Home Leasing focused on the Holley Gardens, the senior apartments that will be created at the former school.

The restored building is expected to be ready in late 2019.

“Our community never lost hope, never gave in to thoughts of demolishing it,” Holley Mayor Brian Sorochty said on Dec. 11. “We kept our focus on what was important to us, which is the commitment to the revitalization of the old Holley High school.”

This rendering shows how Bent’s will look after renovations.

In Medina, a dominant building on Main Street is undergoing a major renovation. Talis Equity, a business led by Roger Hungerford, is working to turn the Bent’s Opera House into an upscale restaurant, boutique hotel and event space.

The building has been mostly vacant for many years. The third floor will be restored into one of the most unique wedding and event venues in New York State, while the first and second floors will experience a dramatic redesign into a restaurant and modern boutique hotel space.

When the project is complete, Talis and Hungerford will work on turning the former Medina High School into apartments.

The Village of Lyndonville also is excited about a plan for its downtown. Lyndonville native Robert Smith wants to turn a block on Main Street into a café, a six-room hotel and retail shops. His plan was accepted by the Village Planning Board last year. Smith, who works as a financial advisor in California, will focus on a c.1899 historic block on Main Street. He owns about 18,000 square feet of space in buildings that used to be a restaurant, super market, ice cream shop and other businesses.

3. Orleans continues to suffer from overdoses and drug deaths

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Recovery coaches and advocates for Orleans – Recovery Hope Begins Here are shown at a benefit for the organization on Oct. 27 at the VFW in Medina. From left are Stephanie Higgs, Kathy Hodgins, Kim Lockwood, Tiffany Neroni, Mike Schroeder, Don Snyder and Wayne Litchfield. Orleans – Recovery Hope is a peer organization which grew out of a group founded a year ago to work with recovering addicts.

While some counties are seeing a decrease in drug overdoses and fatalities, Orleans County has yet to see a lessening of the powerful pull of addiction.

There were 72 overdoses and nine fatal overdoses as of late November, similar to the impact in 2017.

“We have a problem in our community,” said Kathy Hodgins, Senior Services Director at GCASA, which serves Orleans and Genesee counties. She addressed a local service club in November. “The numbers are not decreasing.”

GCASA has expanded its services to fight the opioid epidemic, opening the Opioid Treatment Program in Batavia on Aug. 13. This allows patients to receive methadone to treat their addiction.

“The ability to provide methadone treatment in our rural area will help so many people in our community,” Hodgins said. “Those who are unable to drive to Buffalo or Rochester daily will be able to access the care they need to treat their addiction in Batavia. This is huge for our community.”

GCASA also has started supportive living housing in Albion, as well as four sites in Batavia. The organization has done numerous trainings for people to administer Narcan, which can reverse an overdose.

Orleans – Recovery Hope Begins Here also is a new organization that connects people struggling with drug addiction to local resources and mentors. There are 12 people trained as peer advocates to assist people in fighting their addiction.

“It’s not just about GCASA,” Hodgins said. “It takes a community.”

4. Orleans sees lowest unemployment in generation – Takeform expands, new Save-A-Lot opens in Albion

Photo by Tom Rivers: John Hedlund, co-owner of the Save-A-Lot in Albion, is pictured in the revamped store on June 4, a day before the grand opening. Hedlund, a North Tonawanda resident, owns a Save-A-Lot in Salamanca and is co-owner of the stores in Batavia and Le Roy.

Unemployment fell to its lowest levels in more than a generation in Orleans County. The rate was under 4 percent from September through November. The 3.5 percent rate in October was the lowest rate in the county in at least 29 years.

The data from the state Department of Labor shows there were 17,600 working in Orleans in November, up from 16,900 the same time in 2017.

Some of the added positions in the county are at Takeform in Medina, which completed a 15,500-square-foot expansion last year. The company has added about 50 jobs and now employs 175. When it started in Medina in 2003, it had nine workers.

A Save-A-Lot store closed in Albion in November 2017 after 14 years. New owners took charge of the site on West Avenue and reopened a remodeled store on June 5.

The store used to have a red-color scheme and that has been replaced with blue and gray. The shelves have been replaced and they are shorter and the aisles are wider to give an open space feel. The new store has 20-25 employees.

5. Kendall pushes CO detectors after tragic death of mother and son

Provided photo: Joan Gilman and her son, Richard Gilman Jr., 14, died from carbon monoxide poisoning in April.

The Kendall community was stunned and saddened when a mother and her son died on April 18 from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Joan C. Gilman, 38, and her son, Richard J. Gilman Jr., 14, lived in an a duplex at 2245 Center Rd. National Grid had shut off power to the house April 16 after bills went unpaid.

A resident sharing the house with the Gilmans used a generator in a closed garage, which was directly below his neighbors’ apartment. David A. Wiley Jr. was charged with reckless endangerment and criminally negligent homicide after the death of the Gilmans from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The generator ran for 17 hours and the fumes from it were 4-5 times the amount that could kill a person, said Undersheriff Chris Bourke.

The Kendall committee has been working on a carbon monoxide detector giveaway. Th Kendall Fire Department this month will begin distributing and installing smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.

The Red Cross has donated 600 smoke detectors, while the Kendall Lions Club is sponsoring the purchase of the CO detectors. The school district has helped inform the community and get signups of families that would like new smoke and CO detectors.

6. Collins wins a close race despite indictment

Photo by Tom Rivers: Chris Collins speaks at the Orleans GOP Rally on Oct. 25.

Chris Collins was elected to a fourth term to Congress despite being indicted on insider trading charges in August. Collins initially suspended his campaign for re-election just days after being arrested but was back on the campaign trail in September, after Republican Party leaders sought to find his replacement.

It was late in the political calendar to find a different Republican to run in Collins’ place. The GOP said to had a plan, but Collins decided to stay in the race. He is scheduled to be on trial in February 2020. He has been removed from his committees on the House while the case is in the court system.

Collins campaigned for the importance of keeping the seat in Republican control to ensure an ally for President Donald Trump. Collins was the first member of Congress to support Trump’s campaign in early 2016. The local congressman has frequently appeared on television news programs as an advocate for the president.

Nate McMurray, a Democrat and the Grand Island town supervisor, made a strong showing in an overwhelmingly Republican district. (Republicans outnumber Democrats by 40,000 in the 27th Congressional District.) The strong Collins vote was critical in the incumbent’s re-election. Collins, in an eight-county district, won by less than 3,000 votes. In Orleans, he topped McMurray, 7,269 to 4,505.

McMurray said he will stay engaged as an advocate in the region and has formed an organization, Fight Like Hell, to give a voice to people who feel ignored by Collins.

7. Big public projects with Medina school, County Administration Building and RTS bus garage

Photos by Tom Rivers: This photo from July 30 shows construction of the $10 addition to the County Administration Building.

The county broke ground in April on the 23,000-square-addition to the complex on Route 31. The addition will accommodate 50 employees from the Health Department, Board of Elections, information technology department and the County Legislature’s office and staff.

The new space will include a meeting room for the Legislature with about 60 seats. The current Legislative chambers has about 30 seats and is one of the smallest municipal meeting rooms in the county.

The building will be connected to the current Administration Building with the addition on the south side. There are currently about 125 people working out of the building for the Department of Social Services, Office for the Aging, Job Development, Tourism, Planning and Development, Department of Motor Vehicles, and Personnel.

On Sept. 19, RTS celebrated the opening of new transportation facility in Orleans County. Officials cut the ribbon on the new 13,000-square-foot building behind the Orleans County Highway Department at 225 West Academy St.

Pictured from left include: Chuck Nesbitt, Orleans County chief administrative officer; Assemblyman Steve Hawley; Geoff Astles, Board Chairman of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority; Bill Carpenter, Regional Transit Service chief executive officer; Henry Smith Jr., RGRTA commissioner from Orleans County; Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature; Eileen Banker, Albion Mayor; John LeFrois, vice president of LeFrois Builders; and Justin Vollenweider, architect with Passarell Associates.

The facility has eight indoor bus bays, three bus maintenance bays, a vehicle wash bay, storage for parts and materials, administrative office space, a break room with kitchenette, and designated parking.

The new facility cost about $4 million. Federal aid funneled to the state is covering 80 percent or about $3.2 million of the cost, while the state pays 10 percent and RTS pays the other 10 percent. It took about 15 months to construct the building.

The Medina school district has been undergoing $34 million in capital improvements, including a new campus access road, linking Oak Orchard and Wise schools. This photo from Sept. 4 shows contractors working on the road before the start of the school year.

The capital project includes a slew of improvements at all three school buildings, the bus garage, and Vet’s Park.

8. Wind projects remain hotly debated in Barre and Yates-Somerset

Photos by Tom Rivers: Paul Williamson, the Apex project manager for Lighthouse Wind, spoke during an Oct. 2 forum in Lyndonville. He said the project offers many benefits to the community, including an estimated $1.5 million annually in revenue to the local governments.

Apex Clean Energy continues to work on two large-scale wind energy projects in Orleans County, while encountering some stiff opposition.

The company unveiled the locations for 47 wind turbines in Yates and Somerset for the proposed Lighthouse Wind. Somerset would have 39 of the turbines while Yates would have eight, according to the Apex proposal.

The project has been bitterly fought for about four years by a citizens group, Save Ontario Shores, and the Town Boards in Yates and Somerset. Apex said it is working to submit a final application this year that would be subject to public hearings and vote by a seven-member State Siting Board.

“Now that Apex has finally begun to reveal some of the details of their ill-conceived project, it is clear that they will try to eviscerate our local laws and that they will rely on the Siting Board to force this project upon the Towns of Yates and Somerset,” Yates Town Supervisor Jim Simon wrote in an October town newsletter. “Rest assured we will do everything we can to keep this from happening. Every measure of the will of the people of Yates cries out for opposition to this project – from surveys and elections to comments at town board meetings and on the Department of Public Service official repository.”

Barre resident George McKenna attended a June 6 Town Board and urged a delay in a decision on two meteorological towers in Barre. The board voted on June 13 to allow the towers.

Apex said the projects provide needed revenue to the communities with lease payments and about $1.5 million in revenue to the municipalities annually for each of the projects.

The company wants to use a new generation of turbine in the local projects, turbines that would be nearly 600 feet tall with a 4.2-megawatt capacity.

Some Barre, Yates and Somerset residents want the towns to increase setbacks from houses and property lines. However, bigger setbacks may jeopardize the project if Apex needs more land with an end result of fewer turbines, the company said.

Apex wants to build 47 turbines in Barre that would have a capacity for nearly 200 megawatts of power.

The turbines would be about 200 feet taller than most of the turbines in Wyoming County. Barre in January is expected to vote on a new wind energy ordinance with regulations for height, setbacks and other issues.

9. Dollar General faces opposition for proposed store in historic Cobblestone District

The Cobblestone Museum has a sign by the historic Ward House urging people to protect a historic district that is nationally recognized.

A proposal for a new Dollar General in the a historic district on Ridge Road raised the ire of many in the community who said the 9,100-square-foot store shouldn’t be in a nationally recognized historic district, especially across the road from a cobblestone schoolhouse built in 1849.

Nearly 1,200 people signed petitions opposing the project’s location, and eight municipal historians in Orleans County also went on the record opposing the store’s location in a historic district.

“Regardless of what type of faux finish is used for the facade, the new structure will be inauthentic, and will destroy the tenor of the neighborhood,” according to a July 11 letter to the editor on the Orleans Hub from the historians. “We respectfully request that the Town of Gaines protect what is both a local and national treasure and reject the proposal.”

Those historians include Matthew R. Ballard, Orleans County Historian; Adrienne Kirby, Gaines Town Historian; Adrienne Daniels, Barre Town Historian; Lysbeth Hoffman, Carlton Town Historian; Melissa Ierlan, Clarendon Town Historian; Marsha DeFilipps, Holley Village Historian, Murray Town Historian; Alice Zacher, Shelby Town Historian; and Dawn Metty, Yates Town Historian.

NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation also urged Dollar General and the developer of the project, Zaremba Group of Cleveland, to find another location for the store away from the historic buildings in Gaines. The Cobblestone Museum is a National Historic Landmark, the only site with that designation in the state and one of 262 in New York.

This is a rendering of the design for the new store proposed on Route 104.

The Zaremba Group met with about 50 people in the historic Cobblestone Universalist Church on Nov. 1. Zaremba builds about 40 Dollar General stores a year. Zaremba buys the land, builds the store and leases the site to Dollar General.

Mary Ann Wervey is vice president of Retail Development for the Zaremba Group and Gary Hough is senior director of development. They said the town’s current zoning limits commercial development to the historic district.

The proposed site for the Gaines store is in a wooded area, just east of the routes 98 and 104 intersection. It is a high traffic area, and is the preferred location for Dollar General, which does the market analysis for its stores, Hough said.

“This is the location they believe in,” Hough told the crowd on Nov. 1. “They have charged us to move forward.”

Doug Farley, the Cobblestone Museum director, told Zaremba the project should have never been considered by the Gaines Zoning Board of Appeals. A zoning misinterpretation has, unfortunately, allowed Zaremba to spend money on a site that shouldn’t be developed for a commercial chain store, Farley said.

“It was a very bad decision by the Zoning Board to allow it to get to this point,” he said. “We are clearly an interested party and we’ve been ignored.”

Farley said the presence of the Dollar General would have a damaging effect on the Cobblestone Museum and the historic district, an impact that couldn’t be reversed once the store was built.

Museum supporters worry that the Dollar General would also bring more chain stores to the district. Zaremba is developing about 1 acre for the store, but 4 other undeveloped acres are next to the site.

10. Lots to celebrate – Kendall girls win states, Barre and Shelby mark 200th, new Leadership Orleans class starts, Parkway repaved

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Kendall girls soccer team received a huge welcome back to the school on Nov. 11 after the team won the state championship in Class D, Kendall’s first state title for a team.

There was a lot to celebrate in Orleans County last year. The five school districts have fielded many tough teams in recent years, but no team since 1991 made it through the playoff gauntlet and won a state championship until the Kendall girls varsity soccer team won on Nov. 11.

Kendall went on a 7-0 run in the postseason and capped it with a 1-0 victory over Fort Ann to win the state Class D title. Kendall was the first team to win a state championship since the Holley varsity boys teams won back-to-back championships in 1990 and 1991.

There was another state title to celebrate last year. Medina’s Melanie Green won the state championship in golf.

An Albion girl also won a state championship. Melissa Barnosky became the first Albion student to win the American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program on March 3 in Albany. That earned her a trip to Indianapolis for the national competition.

Jesse Farwell, his wife Andrea and their daughter Holly ride a Farmall tractor from Hu-Lane Farms in a June 30 Bicentennial parade down Route 98 in Barre Center.

Two Orleans County towns also marked their 200^th anniversaries in 2018. Barre had a three-day bash with a parade, fireworks, the dedication of a new veterans’ memorial and many other events, including a quilt show.

There were more than 30 floats and other participants in the parade that started on East Barre Road, headed north on Route 98 and ended at the Barre Town Park. Barre had another parade in December, this time with tractors lighted up.

Provided photo: Shelby Town Historian Alice Zacher is recognized for organizing a June 16 fashion show and for helping to spearhead the town’s bicentennial celebration efforts. Town Clerk Darlene Rich is at left. Shelby’s bicentennial celebration featured a fashion show at the auditorium of Oak Orchard Elementary School on Saturday. The fashion show included apparel from each decade capped off a day full of historic events.

Orleans County residents have been pressing the state for many years to pave the bumpy Lake Ontario State Parkway. That finally happened last year with the state Department of Transportation spending $5.2 million to pave 7 miles of the Parkway between Kendall and Hamlin.

Orleans County also started a Leadership Orleans program in 2018 with 24 people in the debut class. They came from a cross section of the community, including law enforcement, government department heads, farm owners, agency directors and other business leaders.

Each month the group learned about a different sector of the community, including government, arts and culture, volunteerism and non-profit organizations, community health, tourism and recreation, agribusiness, economic & workforce development, and education.

The second class will start later this month and graduate in December.

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File photo by Tom Rivers: The Medina Board of Education last August approved selling Towne Primary School for $900,000 to Rainbow CCX International, a company that provides educational services.

MEDINA – The Medina School District has announced this afternoon that the sale of the Towne Primary School is complete.

The Board of Education on Aug. 15, 2017 accepted an offer of $900,000 on the building by Rainbow CCX, Inc.

“The new company that owns Towne School is a Chinese-based educational firm, that has stated that they intend to develop the school into an international school for students from China, with students ultimately living on the campus,” Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent, said in a statement today.

Towne Primary School has been vacant since July 2012, when the district closed the school to consolidate and reconfigure the buildings on the current campus.

“On December 28, 2018, after all of the bureaucratic regulations and legal obligations were met, the ownership of the building officially transferred to Rainbow CCX, Inc.,” Kruzynski said.

Rainbow CCX has schools in Toronto and Niagara Falls, Canada.

The Towne school is 72,814 square feet and the property includes a 16.9-acre lot. The school district had it listed for $1,150,000. The CCX offer was significantly more than what was presented by the Calvary Tabernacle Church, school officials said in August 2017.

When the district accepted the CCX offer, Medina still owed about $1.2 million from Towne for a capital project at the building. The sale price will wipe out most of that debt. Medina also will be spared paying about $50,000 in annual maintenance and insurance at the site.

The property will go on the tax rolls and would have stayed tax exempt if purchased by the church.

Press Release, GCC

BATAVIA – We’ve all heard the age-old joke about there being more cows than people in some of the counties within the Western New York region. However, the demand for qualified, licensed veterinary technicians needed to support the growing animal population is no laughing matter – and it is projected to increase faster than average for the next several years.

“The mission and vision of Genesee Community College focuses on ensuring economic advancement in the region through training, educating and empowering students of all ages, and helping them to take leadership roles in our changing world,” Dr. Kathleen (Kate) Schiefen, GCC’s executive vice president for Academic Affairs said. “There continues to be consistent growth in our Vet Tech program, and the demand is coupled with high-quality, hands-on learning provided by program director Carrie Caccamise.”

GCC’s Veterinary Technology program only accepts 24 students each year, and interested individuals are encouraged to register today for the next information session taking place on Tuesday, January 15, at 5:30 p.m. in room T119A of GCC’s Conable Technology Building on the Batavia campus. Additional information sessions are also scheduled for Thursday, February 28, at 12:45 p.m. and Wednesday, May 29 at 5:30 p.m. also in Batavia.

Among the many unique qualities and benefits of GCC’s two-year Vet Tech program are three different externship opportunities in numerous veterinary practices allowing students to work alongside licensed veterinary technicians and veterinarians.

The coursework covered in GCC’s program includes Anatomy & Physiology, Pharmacy & Pharmacology, Nutrition, Animal Pathology & Nursing, Surgical Nursing & Anesthesia, and Radiology & Dentistry in addition to general education requirements. To best accommodate students, these courses are offered four days a week and provide hands-on experience with more than 10 species of large and small animals, learning within GCC’s small class sizes. The program faculty at GCC are also employed in the profession and remain current on developments and challenges within the field bringing new trends and medical methodologies to GCC students.

GCC’s Veterinary Technology program provides students with the medical knowledge and critical thinking skills to take the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) and become a licensed vet tech after graduation and upon passing the exam. For the reporting period of July 2015 – June 2018, 86 percent of GCC’s program graduates passed the VTNE on their first try.

Students seeking a bachelor’s degree in this field can save an average of $5,440 by completing the first two years at GCC before transferring to a SUNY four-year school and $70,712 if they transfer to a private university. To help GCC’s students minimize student loans and get the most from their education dollars, GCC’s Transfer Services Office maintains transfer agreements SUNY College at Canton and SUNY Dehli. Interested individuals are encouraged to contact Kristen Hargrave, transfer coordinator at GCC’s Student Success Center via email to transfer@genesee.edu or by calling (585) 343-0055 ext.6230.

The Veterinary Technology program at GCC is fully-accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AMVA). To learn more about the program’s admission requirements, click here.

Press Release, Lyndonville Central School

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Central School District is currently accepting applications for the 3rd Annual Educator of the Year Award, to be named in June 2019.

Parents, students, and community members are eligible to nominate a Lyndonville educator for this special honor. Applications need to be submitted by February 8, 2019.

The Educator of the Year will also receive a $1,000 grant to be used for special programming in his or her department or grade level.

John Bailey, an elementary music teacher, was the first recipient of the award in 2017, and second grade teacher Shannon Arlington was last year’s honoree.

Nominees for the award must have completed at least four years of teaching at Lyndonville.

Nominees should also:

• Be an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable, and skilled teacher;

• Inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn;

• Have a strong sense of values, integrity and professional ethics;

• Actively collaborate with colleagues, administration, parents and families;

• Demonstrate innovative 21st century skills and continuing professional growth;

• Have the respect and admiration of students, parents, and colleagues;

• Play an active role in the school community

Applications can be found by clicking here.

GAINES – The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce is planning its annual Legislative Luncheon for Jan. 25 when local and state elected officials discuss community issues and ways to improve the business climate.

The event will be at Tillman’s Village Inn from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. RSVPs are due Jan. 18. Rebecca Charland is director of the Chamber of Commerce. Call her at (585) 301-8464 or email director@orleanschamber.com to make an RSVP or to suggest a question to be asked.

Typically about 100 people attend the event, including some who aren’t members of the Chamber.

State Sen. Robert Ortt, and Assembly members Steve Hawley and Michael Norris have all confirmed their participation in the luncheon.

Besides local and state elected officials, the luncheon will include an analysis of state legislative proposals from Ken Pokalsky of the NYS Business Council.

ALBION – The Albion Merchants Association is working on a Feb. 9 “Bonfire at Bullard” event which will include many activities from 3 to 7 p.m.

Energize Albion took the lead on the event in recent years. That group has merged with the Merchants Association and Energize members remain part of the planning effort for the Bonfire at Bullard.

The Merchants are urging people with live Christmas trees to drop them at Bullard near the backstop by the softball field, or leave them at the curb for the DPW to pick up.

A crowd watches the bonfire at Bullard on Feb. 18, 2017.

LYNDONVILLE – The village is working to replace two flood gates by the Lyndonville dam to keep water flowing through Johnson Creek.

The gates are corroded and water is backing up, washing out soil on the north side of the dam. The village has a section of land by the north wall fenced off due to the erosion.

The Village Board is working with engineer Paul Chatfield of the MRB Group on the project. The board last month on MRB’s recommendation approved a bid CPE Service System Solutions for two new flood gates.

The board has to approve an upcoming bid for installation of the gates. The entire project could be about $175,000, Mayor John Belson said.

The  village has approved two new flood gates for a the dam in a repair project that should keep the water from washing out soil by the north wall of the dam.

The village has been approved for $100,000 from state Sen. Robert Ortt through the State and Municipal Facilities Capital Funding Program or SAM. The money will come through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.

The Lyndonville Area Foundation has also approved $65,000 toward the project.

The village will cover any remaining cost over $165,000.

Once the new gates are received by Lyndonville, the village will need to declare the repair an emergency to allow 30 days to make the repair, the mayor said.