During the current college summer sessions, three graduates of Royalton- Hartland are doing semesters in Europe, two in Italy and one in Spain.
Gabriella Smith, daughter of Craig and Heather Smith, and Cassidy Ohol, daughter of Lisa Haseley-Ohol, are both Rochester Institute of Technology students. They are enrolled in the Scuola de Italiano per Starnieri located in Genoa, Italy. The school hosts the Door To Italy Program which emphasizes language and culture education to be integrated into the students’ major program.
Both students are majoring in Museum Studies. Prior to the academic framework in Genoa, their group did a two-week orientation tour of Northern Italy which included cooking classes and museum visits, along with the history, culture and economics of the area.
Gabriella’s first project is to complete translations from Italian into English a current exhibition at the Museo Castelio D’Albertis. Also included in her tasks will be to assist in digitization of over 1,000 cabinet cards.
Cassidy also assisted in preparing the exhibition with her main focus being to catalogue the main library’s collection and input metadata. Both graduated from Roy-Hart in 2022.
Dominic Peracciny, second from right, is studying in Spain with architecture students from the University of Buffalo.
The third overseas student is Dominic Peracciny, son of Matt and Alexandra Peracciny. Dominic is a student at University of Buffalo majoring in Architecture & Planning. His semester is at the University Pontifica de Salamanca in Madrid.
The group enrolled in this program are all architecture students, studying the context and production of Spanish architecture and its practitioners. Besides studio design, students are involved in seminars in which they explore Spanish master architects and visit landmarks in Madrid and throughout Spain.
These UB students will take weekend trips to other cities during their time in Spain including Toledo, Merida, Lisbon (Portugal), Sevilla, Granada, Segovia and Barcelona. Dominic graduated from Roy- Hart in 2021. Upon completion of the semester, he and a few colleagues will make a quick pre-Olympic visit to Paris and he is also planning on being in Dublin for a few days prior to his return.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 June 2024 at 9:10 pm
Orleans County registered Republicans go to the polls on Tuesday with voting from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Most of the polling sites are at town halls, although Albion votes at Hoag Library, Carlton uses the Rec Hall and part of Ridgeway uses the Volunteer Fire Company.
Here is a list of the polling sites:
Albion – Districts 1 through 6: Hoag Library, 134 South Main St.
Barre – Districts 1 and 2: Town Hall, 14317 West Barre Rd.
Carlton – Districts 1 through 3: Carlton Fire Co. Rec Hall, 1853 Oak Orchard Rd.
Clarendon – Districts 1 through 3: Town Hall, 16385 Church St.
Gaines – Districts 1 through 4: Town Hall, 14087 Ridge Rd.
Kendall – Districts 1 through 3: Town Hall, 1873 Kendall Rd.
Murray – Districts 1 through 6: Murray Town Hall/Highway Garage, 3840 Fancher Rd.
BATAVIA – UConnectCare (formerly Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse) has hired Erik Winarski, a longtime educator and accountant, as its chief fiscal officer.
Winarski, a Rochester native and Canandaigua resident, assumed the role in March. He succeeds JoAnn Ryan, who held the position for 37 years.
Winarski earned a PhD in Education and an MBA in Accounting. He became an associate with two separate accounting firms, specializing in public (tax) accounting and internal audits.
Furthermore, he will earn a Certificate of Advanced Study in School District Business Leadership through SUNY Brockport in August.
Winarski said that the executive position with UConnectCare gives him the opportunity to apply his knowledge of accounting in the nonprofit sector.
“I am excited to work with a capable and dedicated staff at UConnectCare,” he said.
He looks forward to bringing his experience and expertise to advance the mission of UConnectCare, and will be overseeing a staff of four in the Finance Department.
Winarski and his wife, Elizabeth, have two daughters who are in grade school.
UConnectCare has served residents of Western New York for almost five decades. Founded in 1975, UConnectCare started with a focus on the prevention and treatment of substance use disorder in Genesee County, and has grown and expanded to include Orleans County.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 June 2024 at 4:14 pm
County will have new district attorney for first time in 33 years
Photos by Tom Rivers: The Republican Primary for district attorney on Tuesday is a matchup between Susan Howard and John Sansone.
ALBION – For the first time in 33 years, Orleans County will have a change in district attorney on Jan. 1. Joe Cardone has served as the county’s top prosecutor since 1992. He is retiring on Dec. 31.
On Tuesday, two of his assistant DAs will battle for the Republican line. John Sansone was endorsed by the Republican Party Committee, but Susan Howard forced a GOP primary. She has been endorsed by the Conservative Party.
Cardone has stayed out of the race on who will be his successor, opting not to pick a side.
Both candidates oppose state legislation that they said benefits criminals, such as bail reform where judges cannot set cash bail on some non-qualifying offenses. The candidates want judges to have more discretion in setting bail.
Susan Howard, 57, touts her lifelong roots in Orleans County. Sansone, also 57, recently moved to Holley. He is a native Lockport resident but has worked for more than two decades in the county as a municipal attorney. He worked as an assistant public defender beginning in 1998 and then joined the District Attorney’s Office as an assistant DA in 2007.
“When I became an assistant DA it changed my life,” Sansone said in an interview last week at Hoag Library. “As an ADA you represent the People of the State of New York.”
Sansone also has prosecuted cases in Niagara County since 2001 as an assistant county attorney doing cases with juvenile delinquents.
Sansone was on a pre-med track at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, earning a degree in biology. He was working as a reporter at the Lockport Union Sun & Journal, covering the crime beat and the Niagara County Legislature.
He was always interested in being a lawyer, and decided to follow that passion, rather than pursuing medical school. He earned his law degree at Ohio Northern University and joined a Lockport law firm as a criminal defense lawyer in 1995. He encountered Cardone in the early part of Sansone’s career, and Cardone convinced him to join the Orleans County DA’s office as an assistant.
Sansone would leave the Lockport law firm, and opened his own law office. He said he didn’t shy away from trials, and that reputation has served him well. As a prosecutor, he said defendants know he won’t accept delays or try to avoid the added time and effort in a trial.
John Sansone is shown outside Hoag Library in Albion. He has worked as an assistant DA in the county since 2007.
As a criminal defense lawyer, on the other side, prosecutors knew they had to have a very strong case if they wanted to go to trial or pursue a plea with a long sentence. His experience as a defense attorney also helps him see potential holes in the prosecutor’s case. He said it would help him present more thorough cases to the grand jury.
Sansone said the position as DA is about holding people accountable for their actions. That doesn’t always mean the longest prison sentence.
In some cases, he supports mandated anger management counseling, and drug and addiction treatment.
“You can be the hammer to get them help,” he said.
But someone who repeatedly breaks the law, putting others in danger, needs to face punishment, Sansone said.
“If people are breaking into garages and stealing others’ property, you need to send a message it won’t be taken lightly,” Sansone said. “The DA position is a very crucial position. The people need the best champion for justice. I will do what I can to hold people accountable.”
Howard didn’t go to law school until she was 33. Before that she was a paralegal and a caseworker with the Department of Social Services.
Her father, the late Richard Schult, owned the Lakeland restaurant at Point Breeze. He also worked at Kodak and flipped houses. He often reached out to a lawyer for advice.
Howard said she wanted to be that person who could help people through a problem. It wasn’t until she did an internship at the DA’s Office that she turned her attention to being a prosecutor. After that experience in 2000, she said she found her passion as a lawyer.
“I was hooked,” she said. “It was exciting. I felt every day we touched people’s lives.”
Howard said she wants to see the office continue to be welcoming to interns. Some years there are as many as three. She said the county needs more attorneys, and she wants to facilitate a great learning experience for them through the DA’s Office.
Howard became a lawyer in 2004, and wanted to work in Orleans County, but there weren’t any positions open at that time. She worked a year in the Niagara County DA’s Office before coming back to Orleans in 2005.
Susan Howard, shown inside Hoag Library, has been an assistant district attorney in the county since 2005, and the first assistant DA since 2011.
In 2011, a full-time assistant DA position was created and Howard took the job. She has been there since. She has run the traffic diversion program since it was created in 2011. It allows some drivers to resolve tickets easily without incurring a court appearance, points on a license or a hike in insurance premiums. It also keeps more of the ticket revenue locally. Howard said the program recently passed the $2 million mark for keeping revenue in the county rather than sent to the state. The traffic diversion program works with about 400 to 500 people a year.
Howard also represents the DA’s Office for misdemeanors and felonies at Town Courts in Albion (in cases with Justice Gary Moore), Carlton and Gaines. The role means she prosecutes the crimes in the state prisons, and also the welfare fraud cases.
She also has handled cases since 2011 at the County Court level, doing indictments and trials. She also does some of the family court prosecutions for juvenile delinquents, where the focus is on helping the families.
“I feel like I’ve been working at this all my law career,” she said about her experience in the DA’s Office. “This is my community. No one will work harder for them.”
Sansone, as assistant DA, is assigned to cases that originate in Barre and Shelby. He also handles some of the cases at the county court level. He also has worked as the municipal attorney for the Village of Holley, and towns of Murray, Clarendon and Kendall.
Howard is vice president of the Orleans County Bar Association and a member of the District Attorneys Association of New York. From the DA Association, she said district attorneys are pressing state legislators to change bail reform and discovery laws. The DAs want more crimes to be considered “qualifying crimes” and eligible for bail, Howard said.
With discovery laws, the association was able to successfully advocate for more time to turn over evidence to the defense lawyers. Howard said the time frames were not realistic and prosecutors and law enforcement agencies still could use more time to process body cam video and other evidence.
She said working collaboratively is the best chance for meaningful change.
“This job is all about leadership and relationships,” she said. “You have to come together and work with other people.”
Both candidates have amassed official support in their campaigns. Sansone has the backing of Sheriff Chris Bourke, the union representing deputies, and a union representing dispatchers and corrections officers. The Holley mayor and town supervisors in Clarendon, Murray and Kendall all back him, saying he has been an advocate for those communities as the municipal attorney.
Howard has the endorsement of retired County Court Judge Jim Punch, who was also a district attorney. Other law enforcement officials have sent letters to the editor in support of her, and so has current Crime Victims Advocate Michelle Werth.
Voting on Tuesday is from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the 10 towns in the county.
Provided photos: Jim Mirand of the Medina Knights of Columbus presents a check to members of the Richard Knights and Susan Kaderli families following a recent chicken barbecue held by the Knights-Kaderli Foundation.
Press Release, Medina Knights of Columbus
MEDINA – The Medina Knights of Columbus recently made a $4,000 donation to the Richard Knights-Sue Kaderli Memorial Fund.The Knights-Kaderli Memorial Fund is a local not-for-profit organization that assists Orleans County residents who are battling cancer.
The Knights-Kaderli Memorial Fund was founded over 35 years ago in memory of Mr. Knights and Mrs. Kaderli. The Medina Knights of Columbus was founded in 1902 and operates out of their building at 418-422 Main Street in Medina.
The Medina Knights raised the funds this past Easter season by donating the proceeds of their Good Friday Fish Fry. Each year the Medina Knights chooses a worthy cause to donate to. Families in need and worthy local causes have been the benefactor over the past 15 years.
The 2024 donation to the Knights-Kaderli Memorial Fund represents the largest single donation ever made by the Medina organization.
The Medina Knights looks forward to their next event, their annual golf tournament in July, to benefit another local organization, Operation Honor, which assists Orleans County military veterans.
The Medina Knights of Columbus Fish Fry Crew, includes front row, from left: Jim Mirand, Martha Snyder, Joy Gardner, Pam Cook, Jeanne Crane, Robie & Denny Dubai, Cora Williams, Skip Draper, and Howie Gardner. Back row: Steve Winans, Kristian Snyder, Kate Hardner, Darlene Rich, David Cook, Laura Valley, Melissa & David Cotter, Mike Sidari and Mike Fischer. Not shown are Cathy Fox and Virginia Klotzbach.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 June 2024 at 1:36 pm
Registered Republicans go to the polls on Tuesday in a primary featuring four candidates for three county coroner positions.
Two of the candidates are incumbents – Scott Schmidt and Rocco Sidari. The other two – Dr. Julie Woodworth and Kevin Dann – are seeking to become a new coroner.
Woodworth, Dann and Sidari all have the Republican Party endorsement. Schmidt, the county’s chief coroner, submitted petitions signed by registered Republicans and forced a primary.
Charlie Smith, a long-time coroner from Ridgeway, isn’t seeking re-election. He has endorsed Woodworth to succeed him. The two are co-workers as registered nurses at Medina Memorial Hospital.
Julie Woodworth works per diem as Medina Memorial, picking up more shifts during the summer when she isn’t teaching nursing full-time at SUNY Niagara (formerly called Niagara County Community College). She works in Medina Memorial’s surgery department as supervisor and in the emergency room.
Woodworth, 55, of Lyndonville has been recognized as a distinguished professor at SUNY Niagara. She is the only one in the college’s history to receive the SUNY system’s “Distinguished Teaching Professorship.”
She continues to work at Orleans Community Health in the surgery department, as supervisor and in the emergency room.
Woodworth, who has a doctorate degree in nursing, has taught at SUNY Niagara for 22 years. She has been a registered nurse for 34 years, including 24 years at Medina Memorial.
She said Charlie Smith suggested to her two years ago she consider becoming a coroner. She researched the psotiion, and even took the initial training class to be a coroner.
“I feel like it’s a calling,” she said about working part-time as a coroner. “It’s a public service and I can help those families.”
She said her extensive medical knowledge would be an asset in determining the cause and manner of death.
“As nurses we work with the highest integrity,” she said. “I can bring that and compassion. I think I can explain that well to family members and help them through the process of death of a loved one.”
Kevin Dann, 41, of Holley has 25 years of experience in the fire service, including as a past fire chief in Holley. He is currently the assistant fire chief for the Murray Fire District and works full-time as a firefighter/EMT in the Town of Greece.
He also works part-time as a public safety dispatcher for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, as a state fire instructor and an EMT.
“I know with my life and work experience, along with the close working relationship with the law enforcement and fire agencies in Orleans County, I would be an asset to the county as a part of the coroner team,” he said in a letter to the editor to the Orleans Hub.
He said his field experience as a firefighter and an EMT has prepared him to expect the unknown and overcome the challenges that come with the passing of a loved one.
“Over my years of service, I have found compassion and understanding for the challenges our community members face when they are looking for help during their darkest moments,” he said.
Rocco Sidari of Albion has been a coroner for nearly 10 years. He has been part of the volunteer fire service for almost 40 years, and served five years as fire chief in Albion.
Sidari, 52, works full-time as a general mechanic at the Orleans Correctional Facility in Albion. He also has been a youth football coach the past 10 years.
He said he feels like he provides comfort to families, as well as determining the cause of why a loved one has died.
“I’ve met a lot of people,” he said about the coroner’s job and many are friends he has met through his involvement in the community. “It’s always nice to have a friendly face in a difficult time.”
Scott Schmidt, 60, of Medina has been a county coroner for the past 30 years, and has been the chief coroner for over 20 years. He also is president of a state-wide association of coroners, the NYS Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. He has led that group the past 16 years.
Schmidt works as a funeral director at Mitchell Family Cremations and Funerals. He said he has worked with thousands of families in his career during the most tragic time in their lives.
Schmidt also is a member of the US Department of Health and Human Services National Disaster Medical System Federal Mortuary Team, and spent 20 days at Ground Zero in New York City following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He helped recover and identify human remains. That experience caused him to author the Orleans County Mass Fatality Response Plan.
Schmidt also has been an Albion firefighters and past president of the Albion Fire Department. He also currently leads Orleans Recovery, a community organization dedicated to reducing the stigma of addiction and providing Narcan training and Narcan kits along with Fentanyl test strips to the community.
“My experience and training is extensive, my commitment to my community, the county, the state and our country is unquestioned,” he said in a letter to the editor to the Orleans Hub.
Polls are open in each town in the county from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
ALBION – Crosby’s is welcoming back customers to its convenience store located at 202 North Main St. State and local leaders, first responders, school officials and other community members will be in attendance at the grand reopening event on Friday at 10 a.m. when there will be a ribbon cutting.
“Crosby’s is proud to be a part of the Albion community,” said Lenny Smith, vice president and general manager of Crosby’s. “We are excited for our customers to experience our newly remodeled store. And we will continue to add a smile to your day with fresh pizza and subs, convenient shopping and service with a personal touch.”
During the ceremony, Crosby’s is presenting a $500 donation to the Albion Fire Department. In addition, a My Crosby’s Rewards card is being donated to the Albion Central School District loaded with enough points for 20 of Crosby’s signature pizzas. Crosby’s will also make a $500 donation to the Village of Albion Historical-Preservation Society.
The Albion store, equipped with mobile ordering, offers a full range of food options including Crosby’s signature fresh-baked pizzas, served whole or by-the-slice; fresh subs prepared in-house; calzones, and a wide variety of breakfast items, including breakfast pizzas.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 June 2024 at 9:41 am
ALBION – The summer parks program at Bullard opens today for six weeks of fun. The Village of Albion will have park supervisors at Bullard from 10 am. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday until Aug. 3.
The park supervisors will lead children in games, arts and crafts and other activities.
Bullard Park averaged about 80 kids each day last summer, said John Grillo, the village’s recreation director. He has been running the summer rec program in Albion for nearly 50 years.
New this summer are basketball courts that opened last October, another pavilion and a disc golf course. The new pavilion will allow for more separation in activities with older and younger children, Grillo said.
There will also be Taco Tuesdays and pizza on Friday with the food provided by the Masonic Lodge, the Royal Body Shop Outreach Ministries, and Foodlink.
A refrigerator also has been added in the storage room at one of the pavilions to keep beverages and food cold.
The first couple days of the park program include registration. Children should have a list of their immunization records.
Some highlights in the season include a July 3rd festival with activities and live music from 4:30 to 9 p.m., and the Children’s Carnival on July 17 starting at 10 a.m. There are also outings planned including a trip to Dubby’s Tailgate on July 10, Cone Zone for ice cream on July 11 and 12, and bowling at Oak Orchard Lanes on July 25.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 June 2024 at 8:15 am
Jovannie Canales named associate pastor at Harvest
Photos by Tom Rivers: Pastor Jovannie Canales speaks to about 125 people on Sunday at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion. Canales was announced as the church’s new associate pastor with plans to become the church’s leader in the future. Tim Lindsay will remain as the senior pastor at Harvest.
ALBION – Two churches with pastors active in the community announced a merger on Sunday.
The Oasis Church in Medina will become part of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion. Jovannie Canales, the Oasis pastor the past seven years, is now the associate pastor at Harvest and Tim Lindsay, the Harvest pastor during all of its 37 years, will be senior pastor. Lindsay said the plan is to transition Harvest to Canales being the lead pastor in the future, perhaps next year.
The two pastors became friends through PACT (Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation). That group includes many pastors in Orleans County. Canales and Lindsay found they had the same core spiritual beliefs and also a passion to serve the greater Orleans County community.
“We have similar spiritual DNA,” Lindsay said. “He has a heart for Orleans County.”
Tim Lindsay and his wife Laurie, and Jovannie and Melisa Canales announce that Oasis Church in Medina will merge and become part of Harvest Christian Fellowship.
Canales and his wife Melisa moved from Rochester to Medina seven years ago to lead the Second Church True Disciples of Jesus Christ. The church in May 2023 officially changed its name to Oasis Church. The congregation has been meeting at 2 p.m. on Sundays at the Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God at 11031 Maple Ridge Rd. Those churches are independent of each other.
Canales and Oasis led a popular Family Fun Day at Butts Park in Medina in August. That event will now be at Bullard Park in Albion on Aug. 10.
Oasis Church has about 35 to 40 regular attendees. Many are Spanish-speaking. Harvest has an interpretive service for people who speak Spanish.
Harvest has about 110 regular attendees. Together, the two churches have about 150 people.
The Rev. Tim Lindsay is the founding pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship and has been with the church for 37 years. He will remain in full-time ministry at Harvest.
The Rev. Lindsay helped start Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion 37 years ago, when the congregation initially met in the former Albion Firemen’s Rec Hall (now the Elk’s Lodge on East State Street).
Harvest has had its own building for about 34 years on Route 31, across from Bullard Park and completed a 5,000-square-foot expansion in December 2020. The church hosts a popular community kitchen and is an active contributor to many ministries in the community.
Lindsay has been thinking about the church’s leadership long-term in the future, when a new pastor would like the congregation and be a committed community member. He feels confident Canales is that leader.
“I’m a servant of the Lord,” Canales told the congregation on Sunday. “We’re here to fight a good fight together.”
Pastor Jovannie Canales and his family moved from Rochester to Medina to lead a church seven years ago. He said he is committed to ministering to Orleans County.
Coffee will be 31 cents at Applegreen service stores on Thruway, reflecting the price from 1954
Press Release, NYS Thruway Authority
The New York State Thruway Authority is celebrating a major milestone on June 24, 2024, marking 70 years since the first tolls were collected on the Thruway system.
On June 24, 1954, the first tolled section of the Thruway opened, a 115-mile stretch of I-90 between Lowell (West of exit 32 – Westmoreland) and Rochester (exit 46 – Henrietta).
“This year the Thruway marks 70 years of service in New York State, connecting communities, tourist destinations and bolstering the economy with a modern transportation system,” Thruway Authority Executive Director Frank G. Hoare, Esq said. “New Yorkers were proud of the enormous accomplishment at the time the Thruway opened in 1954, and we continue that tradition of safety, service and reliability today and for decades to come. We’d like to thank Applegreen, our service area operator, for offering the special pricing to commemorate our anniversary, and we thank all of our customers, employees and transportation partners for their support and dedication over the years. Happy 70th anniversary to the Thruway.”
As a special service to customers, Applegreen is offering 31-cent cups of coffee on June 24 at 17 Thruway service areas, reflecting the average price in 1954. The discounted price will be available all day on June 24 at the Applegreen C-Store in Pembroke, Clarence and 15 other services areas.
“Applegreen is proud to partner with the New York State Thruway Authority to bring quality services to motorists throughout the 570-mile system,” said Zack Kollias, President Applegreen Travel Plazas USA. “The Thruway has a strong history of safety and reliable service, and we are excited to support them and their customers on their 70th anniversary and for decades to come.”
During the ceremonies the morning of June 24, 1954, Gov. Thomas E. Dewey attended the ribbon cuttings and celebrations along the route just west of Utica to Rochester at exit 46. At 13 toll booths along the route, cars were lined up for hours to be the first on the Thruway. At 10 p.m. that night, in the Powers Hotel in Rochester, Gov. Dewey pushed a button and buzzers sounded at every toll booth between West Henrietta and Lowell. Every toll collector heard the Governor’s voice via Thruway communications, as he proclaimed the road open to traffic. Minutes later, the first Thruway tolls were collected.
The second major opening on the system was August 26, 1954, when the section of the Thruway from Rochester to Buffalo opened, followed by the stretch from Utica to Newburgh on October 26, and the 15-mile section from Newburgh to Harriman on December 22.
During its first year of operation, there were a total of 8,700,000 trips made by motorists with mileage totaling 522,000,000.
In the years following, additional sections of the Thruway opened to traffic. In December 1957, the final 29-mile link in the Erie Section was opened to traffic, extending from the Silver Creek interchange to join the Thruway’s mainline in Buffalo. This established an unbroken Thruway route of 496 miles from New York City to the Pennsylvania state line and made the Thruway the longest toll highway in the world. The Thruway eventually expanded to its current 570-miles of roadway in 1991.
About the Thruway
The Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, built in the early 1950s, is one of the oldest components of the National Interstate Highway System and one of the longest toll roads in the nation.
It set the standard for modern highway geometric design with safe roadway characteristics including smooth curves, wide medians and unobstructed driver sight distance. To this day, the Thruway is consistently recognized as one of the safest highways in the country.
In 2023, the Thruway-wide fatality rate 0.24 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, compared to the 2023 nationwide projection of 1.24. nationwide. In addition, every capital project on the Thruway system is considered for safety upgrades which may include new guiderail, enhanced lane markings, new highway signs and delineators, wider travel lanes, and improved sight distance and clear right of ways.
The New York State Thruway is a user-fee supported system and supported almost entirely by toll revenue – not tax dollars. It is paid for by drivers who use the system, including almost one-third from out-of-state.
Thruway toll rates remain among the lowest in the country compared to similar toll roads. The Thruway base passenger vehicle toll rate is 4.9 cents per mile, compared to the Ohio Turnpike ($0.06 per mile), the New Jersey Turnpike ($0.11 and $0.31 cents per mile) and the Pennsylvania Turnpike ($0.14 per mile).
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 June 2024 at 6:10 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Lou Gramm, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, belts out one of seven songs today as part of a Black Sheep reunion concert. Michael Bonafede, in back, plays the drums.
The Pratt Theater, owned by Bonafede and his wife Judith Koehler, hosted two concerts, with the start at 2 and 6 p.m. The first sold out with 300 tickets and the second was near capacity.
Gramm is best known as the lead singer for Foreigner. Before that, he performed with Black Sheep back when he was Lou Grammatico.
Black Sheep recorded two albums for Capital Records and shared the stage with Kiss, Aerosmith, REO Speedwagon, and Hall and Oates, performing in front of tens of thousands of people. Black Sheep broke up in 1976.
Today was their third reunion concert and first in 10 years. Gramm wanted to rejoin his bandmates, Bonafede on drums, Don Mancuso on guitar and Larry Crozier on keyboard. Alona Kuhns and Luke Crozier (Larry’s son) will both play bass during the June 23 concert. The Black Sheep bass player, Bruce Turgon, is in California.
Lou Gramm gave a high-octane performance at the pratt. He is shown singing one of seven Black Sheep songs. The lineup included “Halfway Home,” “Encouraging Words,” “Little Or A Lot,” “No Worry, No Pain,” “Chain On Me” and “Payin’ Yer Dues,” and closed with “Stick Around.”
Alona Kuhns plays bass and Michael Bonafede is on the drums.
McCabe Enterprises, an electrical contractor, and Milton CAT brought in the equipment and installed an air conditioning system in the theater for the two shows.
Gramm thanked the crowd for its enthusiasm after the seven-song set. ‘Thank you, Albion, thank you very much.”
He said the venue, an opera house from 1882, is “beautiful.”
Some of the performers take a bow after the performance. From left include Michael Bonafede, Alona Kuhns, Lou Gramm, Don Mancuso, Larry “Rose” Crozier and Luke Crozier.
The Pratt Pit Band and Choir performed for about an hour and half before Black Sheep. Shannon Vanderlaan was among the choir members who also sang a solo.
In back from left are Rich Simbari on Fender P bass guitar, John Borello on Stratocaster guitar, Don Mancuso on guitar and Leon “Corky” Zak on keyboards.
Karen Conn sings “Turn the Lights Back On.” She also sang “Rhiannon” with her daughter, Shannon Vanderlann.
Garrett Crumb, a lead singer with “Johnny Smoke,” performed “Hard to Handle” by the Black Crowes, “Layla” by Eric Clapton, and “Wishing Well.”
Erin Moody sings “Honky Tonk Women” by the Rolling Stones.
The crowd fills in the Pratt Theater. The first show was sold out after five days of tickets being available so a second concert was added.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 June 2024 at 8:54 am
Congressional candidate challenges Tenney again in NY-24
Photos by Tom Rivers: Mario Fratto speaks at the American Legion Post in Medina to about 20 people in a speech that was also live on Facebook.
MEDINA – Mario Fratto, a staunchly conservative candidate for Congress, is ready to pull off an upset on Tuesday. He believes he has the support from voters in a sprawling Congressional District that includes all or parts of 14 counties, going from Niagara Falls to Watertown, a nearly 250-mile drive.
The district’s boundaries have been changed. Orleans County was split in half with Joe Morelle, a Democrat from Rochester, having the northern half of Orleans and Tenney the bottom half. But the new district lines, which take effect on Jan. 1, put all of Orleans in the 24th Congressional District.
Tenney has the backing of the Republican Party leaders in the district, and most of the Conservative Party chairmen. However, the Conservative Party in Orleans County broke from the ranks and endorsed Fratto. Paul Lauricella, the party’s chairman in Orleans, said Tenney is a “RINO,” a Republican In Name Only who often sides with Democrats on spending bills and other legislation.
Fratto spent two hours in Medina on Saturday and rallied against Tenney, claiming she isn’t conservative and cited her support for warrantless surveillance of Americans, Red Flag Gun Laws, taxpayer-funded sex changes in the military and Planned Parenthood funding.
Tenney has said she is among the most conservative members of Congress and Fratto is cherry-picking legislation among her thousands of votes.
Mario Fratto, right, chats with Paul Lauricella, center, and Steve Colon after Fratto spoke at the American Legion in medina on Saturday. Fratto spent two hours at the event, speaking for about hour and a half and then meeting with about 20 people who attended the campaign stop. He also held events in Attica and Avon on Saturday.
Fratto, 39, helps run Geneva Granite which produces and installs granite curbing. He has his law degree and serves as chief financial officer for the family business. His father was a boxer, and Fratto said he sees Tuesday’s primary against Tenney as Rocky II.
In their first battle two years, Fratto made the contest surprisingly close. He compared the contest to the first Rocky movie when a native son, Rocky Balboa, nearly defeats the champion, Apollo Creed.
But in the second movie, Rocky knocks out Apollo. That is what Fratto predicts in the primary against Tenney.
During his speech for about an hour and half on Saturday, Fratto said he strongly backs Donald Trump in a return as president, and Fratto said he supports an “America First” agenda. (Trump has endorsed Tenney in the race.)
Fratto wants a tight border and called for deporting all “illegal” immigrants, which he said is about 20 million unauthorized people in the country. He said to start with people with criminal records but eventually deport all who entered illegally and don’t have legal standing to be in the country.
He also said he support the idea of making undocumented immigrants “self deport,” by denying them the ability to get jobs, housing and benefits. If the conditions are difficult, they will go back to their home countries, Fratto said.
He also opposes aid to Ukraine, saying those funds should be spent in the United States. (Tenney on April 20 voted against $60.8 billion for Ukraine. She opposes Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, but wants a long-term plan from Ukraine on how the money will be used, as well as an exit strategy from the war.)
Fratto said New York State is far from the Empire State. Progressive policies from the state government have driven out many residents and businesses, leaving a trail of empty warehouses, especially in upstate New York, Fratto said.
The Republican Party has failed the state, allowing Democrats to building supermajorities in the State Assembly and State Senate, with little chance to push back some of the extreme policies from the state government, Fratto said.
If he is victorious, Fratto believes it could usher in a new wave of conservative politicians to counteract legislation in Albany and Washington.
“If we change the policies in our country, it will get better everywhere,” he said. “Don’t sit back and watch the entire country go to Hell.”
The 24th Congressional District has been redrawn and now goes further west to Niagara Falls. All of Orleans County will be in one district rather than having the county cut in about half. Map from the NYS Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment.
The New York State Thruway Authority is celebrating a major milestone on June 24, 2024, marking 70 years since the first tolls were collected on the Thruway system.
