MEDINA – When Medina Lions agreed to take over the Medical Loan Closet from Lyndonville Lions prior to the Covid pandemic in 2020, they couldn’t have imagined the scope of the service they would provide.

Now, they are preparing to expand that service even further by donating medical equipment to war-torn Ukraine.

The idea was born when little more than a week ago. Lion Bill Jurinich of Lyndonville attended a family reunion in Pennsylvania.

Jurinich explained his grandfather immigrated to Pennsylvania from Ukraine, and subsequently was responsible for a large number of relatives joining him.

During the recent reunion, Jurinich learned that a family member from the Salvation Baptist Church in State College was coordinating a drive to gather supplies for families in Ukraine and Moldova.

Lion Dave Bellucci points to a huge supply of crutches which have been donated to the Lions Medical Closet. The Lions are preparing to join a Lions Club in Pennsylvania in supplying medical equipment to Ukraine.

Jurinich said his relative’s church was also looking into the logistics of getting walkers and wheelchairs, even hospital beds, to Ukraine.

In 2019, Jurinich’s Pennsylvania relatives and their church sent more than 150 coats to Orleans County for Hands for Hope, and knowing the abundance of medical equipment in the Medina Lions’ Medical Loan Closet, Jurinich approached Medina Lions with the idea to help the Pennsylvania Lions in their mission project.

He explained his Pennsylvania relatives were looking into obtaining a container to ship items such as wheelchairs, toilets and even hospital beds to Ukraine.

Jim Punch, who heads the Lions’ Medical Loan Closet, said they continue to accept donations and to loan medical equipment. Anyone wishing to donate or borrow equipment should call (585) 205-3502.

From left, Dave Bellucci, Jim Punch and Bill Jurinich look over some of the many walkers in the Medina Lions Medical Closet.

ALBION – Orleans County Court Judge Sanford Church sentenced a Medina man to 364 days in the county jail this morning for felony driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Lawrence Miller, 31, was charged after a rollover accident on June 25, 2023 on Maple Ridge Road.

The judge also revoked Miller’s license for a year and said he will need to use an interlock-ignition device for a year when he starts driving again.

In other cases:

• An Albion man was sentenced to 10 years probation for a criminal sexual act and sexual abuse, as well as endangering the welfare of a child. He allegedly had sexual contact with an underage girl.

The man, now 22, was a juvenile when he committed the crime. The judge gave him youthful offender status. His name shouldn’t be published.

He is receiving treatment and has no other criminal history, the judge said.

• Andre Coley, 33, of Albion was arraigned for charges of second-degree strangulation, third-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

The judge kept bail at the $1,000 set in town court and issued an order of protection for the victim in the case.

• Bradlee Pescara, 32, of Lyndonville pleaded guilty to criminal contempt in the second degree for having contact with a woman who had an order of protection against him. He will be sentenced on Nov. 1.

• Arthur Dukes of Medina was sentenced to weekends in jail for a month and a year of probation for attempted assault in the third-degree.

Press Release, Albion Elks Lodge

ALBION – The Albion Elks Lodge on July 23 had the privilege of hosting and cooking a chicken barbecue picnic for the residents of the Batavia VA Medical Center.

The Elks received a Freedom Grant from the Elks National Foundation to purchase the food to grill up an old-fashioned chicken BBQ picnic with all the fixins’. The Elks grant also provided the funds to provide entertainment at the picnic and hand out games and puzzles designed to help enhance brain activity and maintain memory skills for our vets.

It was the Elks honor to honor the veterans who have put their life on the line so we, as a nation, can remain free.

ALBION – A man who was in a brief standoff in Shelby with law enforcement on May 1 was arraigned in Orleans County today.

Jacoun Harden, 38, was arraigned for violating his probation, and then several charges from the Shelby incident including criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree (firearms), criminal possession of controlled substance in the second degree (narcotic drug at 4 ounces or more), criminal possession of controlled substance in the third degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, and unlawful possession of cannabis (more than 3 ounces).

District Attorney Joe Cardone said he was prepared to offer Harden a plea deal that would cap his sentence in state prison at 8 years, and also satisfy the punishment for violating probation.

Harden pleaded not guilty today. Judge Sanford Church continued the bail at $5,000 cash and $10,000 bond for the new charges. However, Harden is being held in jail for violating his probation. The probation violation is on the charge of criminal possession of a weapon in the 2nd degree (loaded firearm).

Harden was in a brief standoff on may 1 when law enforcement went to execute a bench warrant Harden after he didn’t show up in Orleans County Court.

Orleans County Sheriff’s deputies, county probation officers and State Police went to serve the bench warrant to Harden at his residence on West Shelby Road.

The law enforcement officers saw a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol on the floor and drug paraphernalia. Harden allegedly ran to the upstairs of the residence to hide and refused to come out.  The Orleans County Special Response Team was activated and responded to the location.

After a brief stand-off Harden gave himself up to the S.R.T. and he was taken into custody.

Photos courtesy of Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District

HOLLEY – The popular Holley Falls and Canal Park has many dead ash trees, including trees that have toppled.

The Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District has been able to secure a $350,046 grant from the United States Forest Service to pay to clear out the dead trees.

Gov. Kathy Hochul last month announced the recipients of the Urban and Community Forest Grants. Soil and Water Conservation Districts applied on behalf of municipalities and communities that face environmental challenges due to climate change as well as economic disparities.

“As many residents of the Village of Holley and throughout Orleans County visit the park for hiking, fishing, and picnicking, keeping the park safe for visitors as well as protecting this environmental resource remained a high priority for our organization,” said Katie Sommerfeldt, district manager for Soil & Water in Orleans County.

“We are excited to take on new and challenging projects that will benefit the community we serve.”

The Village of Holley DPW will be doing the work over the next three years. Sommerfeldt said the work could start this winter.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature shared a proclamation on July 30 in honor of the 60^th anniversary of the Iroquois Job Corps.

Pictured from left include Luke Kantor (Admissions and Career Transition Services manager for the Iroquois Job Corps), Deshawn Knights, Logan Abeyta, Unique Weeks, Janissa Legister, County Legislator Fred Miller and Job Corps operations director JT Thomas.

The proclamation states that Job Corps has been an integral part of the employment and training system for young adults aged 16-24 throughout the United States, an essential partner in Orleans County, and the nation’s largest residential training organization with over 120 campuses.

The Iroquois Job Corps Center in Shelby has helped to train and launch the careers of young adults from Orleans County and the Northeast Boston Region 1 of Job Corps to help them earn essential, field-leading credentials in a vocational trade that will allow them to then obtain gainful employment to better themselves, legislators said.

Job Corps was launched as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Economic Opportunity Act in 1964. Job Corps has provided opportunities for individual advancement for over 3 million young Americans, the proclamation states.

“The program is rooted in a culture of support and compassion that emphasizes hard work, education, and training to serve local communities connecting with local businesses, unions, and employers to ensure that today’s youth are equipped with the necessary tools to build the future of tomorrow,” legislators said.

The program also teaches life skills that assist young adults to be successfully well-rounded individuals to obtain and hold careers and assist with breaking cycles of generational poverty, the proclamation states.

“Job Corps provides student graduates with transitional support services, such as job hunting, finding stable housing, child care, transportation, and drivers education programs as they enter the local workforce, join apprenticeship/training programs, pursue higher education at a college, and/or enlist in the military,” according to the proclamation.

ALBION – The town boards in Albion and Gaines on Monday both appointed two commissioners to the new Albion-Gaines Joint Fire District.

That follows the decision by the Albion Village Board to appoint a commissioner last month.

The Albion Town Board appointed Chris Kinter, the code enforcement officer, and Joe Martillotta, a retired school teacher and business owner.

Gaines appointed Al Cheverie, a former Albion Fire Department president, and Craig Lane, the deputy highway superintendent for Orleans County.

The Village Board appointed Dave Buczek, a former village trustee, to be the village representative.

The terms for the commissioners became effective on Monday. The five will serve until the end of this year.

Commissioners will be elected in December, in terms of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years, depending on the vote totals for each. The highest vote-getter gets the 5-year term and then the term length goes in descending order of votes. After the December election, the commissioner election should be just one position up for election each year.

The first commissioners will focus on a budget for the joint fire district. The five will have an organizational meeting this month and will pick a chairman. That meeting date hasn’t been set yet.

The decision to appoint the commissioners follows a referendum last week where voters in both towns approved the joint fire district.

Both towns passed the fire district by about a 2-to-1 margin during the Aug. 6 referendum. Albion voted 125 yes, 61 no, while the results in Gaines were 70 yes, 43 no.

Albion and Gaines town boards also appointed Victoria Taber to serve as the treasurer for the joint fire district. The elected commissioners will decide who will serve as treasurer when the joint fire district officially starts on Jan. 1.

The district will replace the current structure where the Albion Fire Department is part of the village budget, with the two towns paying the village a contract for fire protection.

The joint fire district will be its own governing structure with five commissioners. The district will have its own tax rate that will be in the town and county tax bills.

Albion and Gaines follow Lyndonville and Yates, and Fancher-Hulberton-Murray and Holley which have moved their fire protection to fire districts.

Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke

Provided photo: Jeff Cole is shown with Otto. The two have worked together the past eight years.

ALBION – K9 Otto has served the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office for 8 years and is scheduled to retire soon.

Otto was born in Holland on July 26, 2014, and was imported through Upstate K9 in October 2016 where he was then paired with Deputy Jeff Cole. Throughout his career so far, Otto has worked over 22,000 hours, has 192 deployments and has patrolled over 175,000 miles in Orleans County. Otto has also loved participating in community events and putting on demonstrations.

The Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit serves all of Orleans County, including assisting the Village Police Departments when needed. We also help our neighboring counties whenever needed. When incidents occur, it is always a collaborative effort with the Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit and our law enforcement partners.

“Words cannot begin to describe how much Otto means to me, my family, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and the community he has so faithfully served,” Cole said. “He has been a great partner.”

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office is looking to purchase another dog to fill the spot of Otto when he retires.

“The next dog has big shoes to fill,” Cole said.

Deputy Cole plans to purchase Otto from the county so he can finish his retirement years in the home he has known most of his life.

The training and certification process requires a tremendous commitment of time and effort on behalf of Deputy Cole and the Sheriff’s Office, but the value of this team is beyond any monetary value. One lost child or elderly person found, one piece of evidence found by the K9 for a critical case to help a victim, drugs found in a search to keep them out of the hands of loved ones…the list goes on.

There are costs involved with obtaining and deploying a K-9 Team. In our case we have an experienced handler in Deputy Cole, but choosing the correct dog is critical to success. The dog must possess the right physical capabilities, temperament, and clarity to complete the training and become certified. K-9 training includes obedience, tracking, article search and apprehension ability for the less than lethal option we need to have available to us. We then add the Drug Detection or Bomb Detection training as well.

Sheriff Christopher Bourke and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office appreciate any support possible from businesses and community members, as we look forward to continuing the Sheriffs K9 Team with Deputy Cole and a new partner.

Thank you!

Group will take ideas from public at Sept. 10 meeting

The late Charles Howard, leader of a Santa Claus School and also Christmas Park, works with a Santa portrayer in Albion in this undated photo. Howard died in 1966. The Betterment Committee may utilize some of his designs and concepts in a new Santa House.

ALBION – The Albion Betterment Committee is ready to tackle its next project celebrating Albion’s Santa legacy.

The group wants to build a Santa House on village-owned land next to the First Presbyterian Church on Main Street. The Village Board has given the Betterment Committee permission to pursue the project, with the understanding the board gets a final say on the design of the building and site layout.

The Betterment Committee wants to hear from the public about the project. The group is planning an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 10 at Hoag Library. The public can share its ideas for the how the building should look.

The village doesn’t want the structure to be more than 200 square feet.

The Betterment Committee has $21,000 raised already towards the project. It is pricing out materials and other expenses for the Santa House and site improvements.

The group is also planning to have a sleigh built and installed in the Waterman Park where there is a bronze Santa statue. The Betterment Committee unveiled that statue during the Albion Strawberry Festival in June 2023. The new sleigh will also be a tribute for Howard’s grandson, the late Charles Bergeman. He passed away at age 64 on Oct. 31, 2023.

The Betterment Committee has also put “Believe” signs in Albion, a welcome sign with an image of Charles Howard in a Santa suit, while supporting other projects to highlight Howard and the Santa School that operating in Albion from 1937 until Howard’s death in 1966. (The school continues in Howard’s name today in Midland, Mich.)

The new Santa House will include display areas for memorabilia from the Santa School and the Christmas Park that was also run by Howard.

Natasha Wasuck of the Betterment Committee wants the house to be “cute with a lot of personality.”

The Santa statue is shown in June 2023 with a mural of Santa in flight over the courthouse and downtown Albion. Stacey Kirby Steward created the 24-foot-long mural in 2018. Brian Porter made the bronze statue.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Seneca Chief welcomed visitors at Medina’s Canal Basin on Monday evening. The boat is a reproduction of the original 73-foot-long Seneca Chief boat that opened the Erie Canal in 1825. It was the first boat to travel the canal from Buffalo to New York City.

The boat was constructed over nearly four years by volunteers at the Buffalo Maritime Center. Next year for the Erie Canal’s bicentennial, the Seneca Chief will travel the entire canal as a tribute to the original boat that carried Gov. DeWitt Clinton across the canal.

The Seneca Chief is doing a test run from Aug. 9 to Aug. 18 of that epic trip, going from Buffalo to Rochester and then back again. The Seneca Chief will be back in Medina on Friday with tours of the boat from 4 to 7 p.m.

Roger Allen, a master boat builder with the Buffalo Maritime Center, welcomes visitors to the boat when it was stopped in Medina on Monday evening. The boat will be open for tours in Brockport today from 4 to 7 p.m. at Harvester Park at 49 State St.

Medina Mayor Marguerite Sherman thanks the Buffalo Maritime Center for including Medina in the stops for the Seneca Chief.

Brian Trzeciak, executive director of the Buffalo Maritime Center, said the organization wants to highlight the Erie Canal’s role in the state, while sharing stories and techniques of traditional boatbuilding.

“We love this town,” Trzeciak said after being introduced by Sherman.

The journey so far is going very well, with the boat being pushed by the tug CL Churchill.

“This is a wondrous moment for us,” Trzeciak said.

Visitors check out the inside of the Seneca Chief.

The Maritime Center said the boat’s keel, frames, and other structural timbers were made of white oak. The keelson was a single 60-foot-long piece of reclaimed Douglas Fir.

The center says this about the wood in the boat:

“The planking consisted of two layers of 1-inch-thick cypress with a waterproof dynel cloth set in epoxy between the layers. The outer layer of planking was caulked with cotton in the traditional manner. This combination of modern and traditional planking methods was designed to help the boat stay watertight even if it spent winters out of the water.

“All of the bolts used in the backbone structure were forged in the BMC’s own machine shop by a crew of volunteers. This crew also produced several specialized tools and hardware needed to build the boat.”

Tools on display include a crooked knife in front. This indigenous woodworking knife is held with the finger up and thumb out with the blade facing the user. The knife shapes the wood parts of bark canoe and helps prepare the spruce roots for lashing.

There are informational displays about the Erie Canal, Gov. DeWitt Clinton, the Seneca Nation of Indians.

Visitors can try paddle shaping in one of the activities led by the Buffalo Maritime Center.

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York State has paid over $2 billion in bonuses to more than 800,000 health care workers statewide through the Health Care Worker Bonus Program. The program was launched by Governor Hochul in 2022 and provided bonuses of up to $3,000 for eligible health care workers across New York.

“Health care workers deliver for New Yorkers every day – and that’s why we’re delivering for them,” Governor Hochul said. “Our powerful investments are putting money back in workers’ pockets and helping to grow our health care workforce to provide the highest quality care for New Yorkers.”

New York’s Health Care Worker Bonus Program issued payments to workers who provide hands-on and patient-facing health care services. Workers receiving payments through this program must have an annualized base salary (excluding any bonuses or overtime pay) of $125,000 or less and can be full-time or part-time.

Bonuses payments were determined by specific “vesting periods,” or the number of hours worked during a consecutive six-month period between October 1, 2021, through March 31, 2024. Qualified employees received up to a maximum of $3,000 in total bonus payments over two vesting periods.

By putting more money in the pockets of working New Yorkers, Governor Hochul is continuing her ongoing efforts to address the cost of living – including recent announcements of supplemental child tax credit payments and increased access to child care assistance for working families.

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “Health care workers are the backbone of our health care infrastructure, and they are the frontline workers who go above and beyond to provide hands-on care and medical services. Through Gov. Hochul’s Health Care Worker Bonus Program we acknowledge our health care workers’ unwavering dedication to the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

BARRE – Barre town officials and community members this evening celebrated a new playground at the town park on Route 98.

Willow Duell in red and Liberty Klein in yellow cut the ribbon during the celebration. At left is Barre Town Councilman Dave Waters with Town Supervisor Sean Pogue, second from right. Dale Brooks, the town highway superintendent, is in back at right.

Pogue said many in the town contributed to the effort that has been years in the making.

He thanked the Barre Betterment Committee for raising money for the project, including securing a $35,000 grant from the AES Corporation, which is developing a 200-megawatt solar facility in Barre and Shelby. AES is also doing a smaller solar project and is nearly done with construction on Route 98, not far from the town park.

Pogue said the Betterment Committee has been “the driving force” behind the project. The Betterment Committee purchased six new playground pieces at a deep discount for $31,500. That came from the AES money, with the remaining $3,500 to go towards topsoil and seeding near the playground.

The town also was able to keep three pieces of playground equipment – swings, a caterpillar climbing apparatus and a slide – and move them to the new spot in the park.

Town Supervisor Sean Pogue, center in back, thanks many contributors who have helped make the new playground a reality.

Pogue also commended AES for its contribution, and Barre Stone Products and Keeler Construction for supplying some materials and also donating towards new electric at the park.

Jason Foote, the town park director, also secured grants from Apex Clean Energy to move the project along and buy some of the materials.

Titan Development in Gasport assembled and installed the new playground and three older units, as well as providing expertise in the layout.

Dale Brooks, the highway superintendent, and the other highway workers did the site work, collaborated with Titan Development, and are putting the finishing touches on the site, Pogue said.

The town supervisor also commended RTO/Ambient for providing free WiFi at the park. Look for Barre Park and “guest” on the WiFi signal.

Pogue said the Town Board wants to do more at the site in the future, with a goal for restrooms.

The project thus far has cost in the $60,000 to $70,000 range with grants and donations covering most of the expense. The town spent $16,000 from its budget to hire Titan and that came from the federal ARPA funds, Pogue said.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Town of Albion Highway Department has added more signage to draw attention to the underpass on Butts Road.

The signage warns to not have tall trucks go under the bridge and orange flags to draw more attention on previous signs. Together they should alert drivers to an underpass that is struck about three times a year, said Mike Neidert, the town highway superintendent.

The highway department added the new signs and orange flags north and south of the underpass, which has a clearance of 7 feet, 2 inches.

There is another underpass on a railroad bridge not far away on Keitel Road with an 8-foot, 6-inch clearance. Neidert thinks some drivers may confuse the two leading to some of the accidents and scrapes on Butts Road.

The town spent about $1,200 to try to reduce the accidents with the underpass.