Press Release, Orleans County Legislature

ALBION – Orleans County Legislature Chairman Lynne Johnson today announced the county will be hosting a paint recycling event on Saturday, June 15th.

Oil-based, acrylic and latex paint, urethanes, varnishes, shellacs, lacquers, primers and clear coatings are all accepted at no cost in the event which is funded by the state’s PaintCare program. Anyone is welcome to attend.

“This is an opportunity to get rid of those old paint cans that are taking up space in your basement and garage, and do so in a way that is environmentally friendly, keeping these materials out of our landfills,” Johnson said. “I want to thank our Planning and Development Department for putting this event together.”

What won’t be accepted at the event include spray paint, paint thinner, solvents, cleansing agents, adhesives, roof patch, drywall mud, auto or marine paint.

The event is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the former GCC campus in Albion at 456 West Ave.

Registration for this event is not required, but is encouraged so participants can choose their time. For more information about registration, click here.

Staff will be on hand to unload vehicles so drivers can stay in their vehicles.

The event is being done in partnership with GreenSheen, a paint company founded in 2010 with operations in the Albany area. GreenSheen has developed their own innovative process to refine recycled paint to create a premium latex paint for reuse.

Those with any questions about the event should call the Orleans County Planning and Development Department at (585) 589-3198.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Albion AP physics teacher Ben DeJonge and student Isaac Hickman this morning add soil to a planter with flowers in the median of the parking lot on Main Street next to the First Presbyterian Church.

Students in DeJonge’s class and also biology students in Sandy Climenhaga’s class planted flowers this morning in the planters. The bio students have been doing this every May for more than a decade. Navarra’s Farm Market and Greenhouses provides the flowers.

In front include bio students from left Mallory Ashbery, Madison LeBaron and Kenadie Patten. Other bio students who helped include Finn McCue, Brad Pierce and Tye Talbot.

These physics students include from left Nolan Franzese, Alora Dioguardi, Kevin He, Isaac Hickman and teacher Ben DeJonge.

Some of the Albion business owners donated and raised money for new planters for downtown flowers this year. Some of the older concrete planters will be moved to the Canal Park across from the fire hall on Platt Street.

Ed Evans has now given 239 presentations about Hamlin Beach State Park, POW Camp

Photos by Tom Rivers: Ed Evans is shown last August at one of the shelters made of Medina Sandstone at Hamlin Beach State Park. The park was indicted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame in 2023.

Dave Miller describes a kiosk on Medina sandstone which will be placed in the Hall of Fame for visitors to use.

MEDINA – Ed Evans, a retired teacher from Hamlin, has become a passionate speaker about Medina Sandstone and he gave a stirring address last week to the Medina Sandstone Society during its annual meeting at the Comfort Inn.

Evans, 82, has now given 239 presentations about Hamlin Beach State Park, how its many Medina Sandstone buildings were built  by the Civilian Conservation Corps which was established there in 1935. The park’s buildings, headwalls, culverts, drinking fountains and fireplaces are made of Medina Sandstone.

Evans intended to retire from given the presentation. But he made an exception last week for the Sandstone Society. The group last October honored him with an inaugural “Heritage Award” for his 32 years of work in uncovering the sandstone legacy at Hamlin Beach.

Evans’ interest piqued about the park after he became the liaison to Hamlin historian Mary Smith in 1985. At that time she was planning a reunion for 40 CCC guys who were still alive. Evans taped the event. He spent every year after that trying to be allowed to get on CCC site, but the park fought him all the way, he said. Finally, a new park manager was interested in the site and the clearing began.

Guest speaker at the Medina Sandstone Society’s annual meeting Wednesday night was Ed Evans of Hamlin, who talked about the Civilian Conservation Corps which existed at Hamlin Beach State Park in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Much Medina Sandstone was used throughout the park. Evans was honored with a “Medina Sandstone Heritage Award” last October by the Medina Sandstone Society for his efforts to chronicle the history of Hamlin Beach.

“Ed remains proud of the work the CCC accomplished – about 80 years after they did the work,” said Dave Miller, a board member and former president of the Sandstone Society. “Starting in 2008, Evans and his wife Sue and friends began clearing away decades of thick underbrush and fallen trees on the eight-acre site which was used as a POW camp after the CCC closed. Over the next 10 years, they carefully mapped the camp buildings and pieced together much of the camp’s history.”

Photo by Dave Miller: Ed Evans marvels at the accomplishments of the CCC crews who built an everlasting state park in Hamlin. He gave a 40-minute presentation to the Medina Sandstone Society. He said he could talk for hours about the CCC workers and the POW camp in Hamlin.

The CCC camp constructed at the park in 1935 was part of a program by President Roosevelt to provide poverty relief from the Great Depression. Evans said the Hamlin CCC camp was the second largest in Western New York, down to the Pennsylvania line. He said there were more than 4,500 CCC camps in the United States and its territories. If there remain four sites in each state as well preserved as Hamlin’s site, Hamlin’s camp would be rated one in 200 of the most unique CCC camp sites in the country, Evans said.

He added Hamlin’s camp was also one of only 377 WWII prisoner of war branch camp sites in the United States. Most of them are now only marks on maps or roadside historical markers. Very few have spawned museums or a reconstructed building, Evans said. If each of the 46 states that had POW branch camp sites still had one site that had not been contaminated by urban sprawl, that would make Hamlin’s site rank one in 46. But only a few of those were also former CCC camps, which would place Hamlin uniquely in the top 10 historical sites of its kind in the country.

Young men who worked at the CCC camp were paid $30 a month. Many were not yet 18 and got to keep $5, while $25 went to their families, Evans said. The young men were fed, clothed and provided with educational and recreational opportunities. The camp was closed when the war was over.

Evans said when the CCC program was discontinued in 1941, most of those more than 4,000 camps were completely dismantled.

“Ours survived,” Evans said.

Early in 1944, the camp was modified to accommodate German prisoners of war. An eight-foot high barbed wire fence was erected, guard towers were put in place and the enclosed area was lighted. CCC cots were replaced with bunk beds so 400 prisoners could be housed.

The first German POWs arrived June 30, 1944 and stayed until the camp closed Jan. 11, 1946.

Unlike most other similar historical sites, Evans said the footprint of this camp and buried artifacts remained intact, untouched by post-war construction projects. Dense vegetation protected the site for 65 years, until volunteers began slowly turning it into a history trail.

In 2014, the history trail at the former CCC POW camp was opened.

Evans shared a slide show of photos of CCC workers he has accumulated and pictures of POWs. Most of them were from Mary Smith’s collection, which she left him when she died.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Ed Evans gives a tour of Hamlin Beach State park last August and notes some of the fine workmanship in one of the shelters. Evans is hoping to train his successor to give tours of the park and detail the history of the CCC.

He also located 90+ year-old Hazel Lake who has visited and walked around the entire Hamlin CCC site on three different occasions, clutching a 1937 photo of her late husband George posing in from of a CCC barracks. On each visit, she experienced a little more of what George must have felt when he lived in that camp. This was important to her because every weekend George walked from Hamlin to Medina and back to visit her, his 17-year-old sweetheart. He wore out a pair of shoes in the process and more than once got assigned extra KP for getting back to camp after Sunday night curfew.

Evans talked about Medina Sandstone that was used to build all areas of the park. A huge pile of sandstone was found while cleaning up the area for the history trail. He said every scrap of sandstone was used for something. Nothing was wasted.

“Letchworth, which also had a CCC camp and sandstone buildings, and Hamlin don’t realize what they have,” Evans said. “The history of Medina Sandstone should be made into a documentary which would run for two or three days.”

The Medina Sandstone Society last year inducted Hamlin Beach Satte park into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.

Dave Miller, who serves on the Hall of Fame Committee, said Sandstone Society created a new Heritage Award last year to recognize a community act or individual who contributed to our understanding of local history and preserving it. Evans was the first recipient. (Jennifer Wells-Dickerson also was honored with the award. She has documented the efforts of her great-grandfather, Pasquale DiLaura, who was a stone cutter, business owner and promoter of Medina Sandstone. He operated a quarry in Clarendon and the stone from that site was used for Hamlin Beach and the Lake Ontario State Parkway bridges and culverts.)

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Dave Miller describes a kiosk on Medina Sandstone which will be placed in the Hall of Fame for visitors to use.

Sandstone Society vice president Matt Holland conducted the annual business meeting, and introduced two new members to the board. Jesse Cudzilo serves as director of the YMCA in Medina. Michael Lepkyj is a technology teacher in the Medina school district.

Holland asked for reports from the various committees within the Sandstone Society.

Peggy Schreck reported she had received a letter from a company in Buffalo hired by the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, who is organizing the 2025 World Canals Conference in September 2025. They are planning a day of field sessions and want Medina to be one of their sessions.

Miller announced the Hall of Fame nomination period had begun and names may be submitted online. He said he and Jim Hancock will begin visiting sites in June. Hub editor Tom Rivers will be the next chair of the Hall of Fame Committee, he said.

Miller also showed a new kiosk which will be installed in the Hall of Fame. Visitors only have to touch the screen to read about sandstone buildings in the area or watch a video. Miller hopes they will be able to place others in libraries and other public buildings.

The Sandstone Society is now on Instagram, Miller said.

Sue Holland, Kathy Blackburn and Gabrielle Barone are on the Events Committee and would welcome help from the community with special events, such as mailing newsletters and organizing the Hall of Fame luncheon at Bent’s Opera House. It is hoped volunteers would consider helping with special projects and/or joining the Sandstone Society by logging on to their website.

Holland recalled events they have done in the past, going back to 2008 to remember the late Bob Waters, a founder of the Sandstone Society who thought tours were meant to  promote sandstone, not be a fundraiser.

She said they thought of ways to put information on the Medina Sandstone Society out in the public, and decided on walking tours.

“They were very successful, but we exhausted our locations,” Holland said. “So then we went to Boxwood Cemetery, which has a lot of sandstone markers and a sandstone chapel. We were fortunate to have Bill Lattin, former Orleans County historian, lead these informative tours.”

In 2018, the Sandstone Society decided to do a bus tour, and hired a small 30-passenger bus to tour Medina, Clarendon, Holley, Albion, Mount Albion Cemetery and St. Joseph’s Cemetery.

“We got brave the next year and rented a real bus,” Holland said. “We went to Buffalo and toured the Richardson complex which had recently opened. We also saw some of the Hall of Fame buildings in Buffalo. In 2023, we decided to go east, and visited Rochester and Sonnenberg Gardens. This year, we are going back to Buffalo and the Richardson complex.”

Holland said the winner of the John Ryan Scholarship will be announced by Medina High School this Friday. This year the students were asked to make brochures advertising Medina Sandstone or talk about cathedrals made of the local sandstone.

The next meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. July 17 at the Walsh Hotel.

Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley

MEDINA – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) along with Senator Rob Ortt will welcome Western New York Energy and CEO Tim Winters to Albany today as they display their new 2023 Ford Escape plug-in hybrid vehicle in the state Capitol.

Representatives from Western New York Energy will speak with members of the public and the state Legislature on the strides being made in renewable energy. Hawley is excited to see the advancement of this technology and is proud to see the Western New York region take the lead on these important innovations.

“Local companies like Western New York Energy are breaking barriers and leading the charge in creating cost-effective and efficient transportation solutions,” said Hawley. “The work Western New York Energy is doing will help reduce emissions, make transportation more environmentally friendly and inspire other companies to do the same. It will be an honor to welcome them to Albany this week and I look forward to seeing the impact their work will have on this industry.”

The school budgets in Albion, Holley, Kendall and Medina all received strong backing from the public today.

ALBION: The $42,320,666 budget passed, 332 to 73, with 82.0 percent in favor. The budget keeps the tax levy at $8,449,039. This is now the 16th time in the past 18 years that taxes have either stayed the same or decreased.

“Thank you to everyone who voted today,” said Superintendent of Schools Mickey Edwards. “It is with your continued support we are able to promote the success of our students and staff here at Albion. We’re looking forward to another great year for our Purple Eagles.”

Other propositions also passed:

• Spending up to $650,000 for bus purchases from reserve funds, approved 352 to 52.

• Establishing a capital improvement reserve fund for up to $15 million, approved 330 to 69.

• Proposition to collect $664,510 for Hoag Library, approved 317 to 87.

There are two seats up for election and voters elected Kelly Kirby with 306 votes and incumbent Linda Weller with 208. Tim McMurray, 113 votes, and Derek Reiner, 137, also were on the ballot.

HOLLEY – The proposed $29,615,000 district budget was approved in a 340-113 vote or with 75.1 percent in support. The budget represents a 2.4 percent spending increase with taxes up by 1.49 percent.

Voters also approved:

• A proposition to authorize spending up to $363,000 to replace school buses – 332 to 121

• And a proposition to collect $206,840 for the Community Free Library – 362 to 94

There were five candidates for four positions up for election for the Board of Education. The three candidates with the highest number of votes will each serve a three-year term. The candidate with the fourth highest total will serve a two-year term.

The totals include: Jennifer Reisman, 313; Salvatore DeLuca Jr., 303; Joseph Flanagan, 300; Shannon Brett, 292; and Allysia Pogel, 202.

KENDALL – The $20,921,832 budget passed with a 189-46 vote or 80.4 percent in favor. The budget will increase taxes by 1 percent with spending up by 2.5 percent.

Voters also authorized spending up to $350,000 from the Transportation Bus Reserve to purchase transportation vehicles. That passed 194-43.

Two candidates ran for one five-year seat on the Board of Education. Colleen Dorney was elected with 143 votes while Scott Martin received 93.

MEDINA – The school district’s $42,162,921 budget was approved with 80 percent in favor, or 228 who voted yes, to 57 who said no.

The budget represents a 2.0 percent tax increase. This is the 15th consecutive year Medina is under a state-imposed tax cap of about 2 percent, said Dr. Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent.

There are two candidates for two open seats on the board. Both are incumbents. Jennifer Buondonno received 235 votes, and Alissa Mitchell had 226. There were 8 write-ins.

LYNDONVILLE – Three challengers ousted the incumbents on the Lyndonville Board of Education in a bitter contest.

Voters elected Megan Bruning, 365 votes; Patrick Whipple, 364 votes; and George Avery, 324.

They were elected to three-year terms and narrowly defeated the incumbents: Steve Vann, 312 votes; Board President Ted Lewis, 300 votes; and Susan Hrovat, 299 votes.

The incumbents ran as conservative candidates who said they would push back against some of the social pressures gripping many school districts across the country.

The Lyndonville Teachers Association made an unprecedented move in endorsing the challengers and campaigning against the incumbents.

One of the top issues for the teachers’ union was the current board, led by BOE member Steve Vann, was looking at possible significant changes in the health insurance plan that the LTA said would have left teachers with less coverage. Teachers during a BOE meeting last week said many of their current providers wouldn’t be included in the plan.

Vann disputed those assertions, saying the proposed plan would have offered comparable coverage, and even been an improvement for many of the employees at a significant cost savings for the district.

Whipple, one of the newly elected board members, said the bitterness in the election the past three weeks caught him off guard.

“It’s sad because it’s shown some of things I’ve idealized about this community may not be true,” Whipple said about many personal attacks on social media.

Whipple said he wants the public and school community to have a clear understanding of how decisions are reached at the board level.

Lewis, Vann and Hrovat all said during a meet the candidates event last week they are proud of how Orleans County’s smallest school district has high-achieving students in music, sports and academics. Lewis said the board, administration and teachers were all committed to finding a way to offer in-person classes for all students each day of the week during the 2020-21 year. Many other districts were on a hybrid schedule or had students fully remote.

Voters also approved the following:

• The $17,664,583 budget passed with 366 yes votes to 255 no.

• A proposition for funding the local Yates Community Library at $135,316 passed with 385 yes votes to 233 no.

MEDINA – The village expects to nail down the details to move along a project that would add four fast electric charging stations to the Canal Basin.

The village was approved in April 2023 for $245,184 in state funding for two direct-current fast charger pedestals. Each pedestal has two chargers. The project, however, totalled $317,850.

National Grid agreed to pay the costs over the state grant of about $73,000. However, the village hasn’t received those funds yet from National Grid.

The village’s consultant for the project would like Medina to get the chargers in soon. However, village officials are also concerned that medina has to front the money for the state grant and then wait to get reimbursed. Medina would have to do short-term financing at what is expected to be about $10,000 in interest while it waits to get the state money.

The Village Board sees the fast charging stations as a draw for visitors with electric vehicles. The users will have to pay to use the electric chargers, at a fee to be determined.

Mayor Marguerite Sherman said she will reach out to the Village of Sherman in Chautauqua County which recently put in chargers to see how that community handled the short-term financing and also determined its fee for using the chargers.

“We are moving forward with this,” Sherman said about the chargers.

One resident, Jim Sipple, told the board he thinks the electric chargers would be better left to private businesses. Burger King has units in Medina that aren’t fast chargers.

MEDINA – Village officials have been waiting more than a year for some action on a stone building that was badly damaged in a fire on April 7, 2023.

But the building, with collapsed roof and floors, has largely been untouched in the past year, village officials said.

The three-story structure is the first building on Main Street next to the railroad tracks. Medina officials worry about how steady the building will remain. A year ago an engineer felt it was stable.

But village officials eye the site with concern after it went through a winter and a big pile of rubble remains inside the building.

The village has cited owner Jeff Fuller due the building’s ongoing disrepair. Fuller appeared in Ridgeway Town Court on Monday morning and Town Justice Joe Kujawa set a trial for July 29.

Fuller has told the village he wants to make the repairs and has a contractor lined up. But little has happened in 13 months. Fuller did not have insurance on the site.

Code Enforcement Officer Dan Gardner said it’s a difficult situation for all parties, a project requiring a big expense with no funding apparently in place.

Gabrielle Barone, vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, said the building looms next to the railroad tracks and a viable track is critical to five businesses in Orleans County.

“It’s in severe condition,” Barone told the Village Board. “It’s a serious public safety emergency.”

Barone acknowledged there are no easy answers for solving the problem. The village doesn’t want to step in and assume ownership and face a daunting cleanup, demolition or rehabilitation cost.

She would like to see the building stay on Main Street, but she said no one with enough resources has stepped forward in the past year.

“I don’t want to see it go away,” she said about the building. “But I don’t see a viable opportunity. I do see a lot of liability for everybody.”

Press Release, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor is seeking entries for its annual Erie Canalway Photo Contest.

Amateur and professional photographers are invited to submit up to three images that capture the canals’ beauty, vibrancy and character. Winning photos will be featured in the 2025 Bicentennial Erie Canalway Calendar.

Entries must be postmarked by August 30.

Images will be judged in four contest categories: On the Water, Along the Trail, Canal Celebrations & Communities, and Classic Canal. Judges will select first, second, and third place winning images in each category, as well as 12 honorable mentions.

Submitted images must be horizontal format and taken within the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, which spans 524 miles across the full expanse of upstate New York. It encompasses the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego, and Champlain canals and their historic alignments, as well as more than 230 canal communities.

Download official contest rules and an entry form by clicking here.

Village seeks engineering proposals to design project

Photo by Tom Rivers: Medina Fire Chief Matt Jackson listens to a speaker during Monday’s Village Board meeting. Jackson said he favored a smaller addition to the fire hall to accommodate a new ladder truck that is expected in December 2025.

MEDINA – The Village Board has scaled down an addition to the fire hall to one bay so the Medina Fire Department has space for a new ladder truck that is expected to be delivered in December 2025.

The village was looking at a two-bay addition, but an engineering firm said the costs could top $6 million. That is far too expensive for the Medina, Mayor Marguerite Sherman said.

The Village Board may deem a one bay addition is cost prohibitive, too. It doesn’t have a precise estimate on the cost.

The board voted to seek proposals from engineering firms on a design of the project and estimated cost.

The board discussed having Barton & Loguidice do a feasibility study for three options: one bay and two bay additions, and also an option of digging down in the floors and driveway to make more space for the ladder truck. B & L said it would look at the feasibility of all three for $26,000, which is money not budgeted by the board.

The village officials decided to drop the feasibility of the three options, and instead go to an engineering report for the one-bay addition. The board felt the two-bay addition is well beyond the village’s means right now.

The option of digging into the concrete floors, which are already shifting and in disrepair, could have costly unintended consequences, the board and Fire Chief Matt Jackson said.

He suggested doing the one-bay addition as a bare bones option to house the new truck. The new truck is too big by about 2 feet in height to fit in the fire hall.

“I feel a single bay is the most cost effective and the safest,” Jackson told the board.

Board members met with B & L staff to tour the fire station on April 29, and trustees wondered if it was possible to change the order for the ladder truck to a smaller truck that would fit the existing building.

Jackson checked with the manufacturer, and other fire truck makers, and the special order smaller ladder trucks aren’t an option. Board members also wondered about the possibility of canceling the order for the $1.7 million truck. Jackson said there would be a penalty at $172,000 or 10 percent of the truck’s cost and would still leave Medina in need of replacing a ladder truck that is 29 years old and often not reliable.

To then reorder the truck again in the near future would result in a bigger bill, perhaps over $2 million.

“We need a ladder truck no matter what,” Jackson said. “It’s a danger to us and the community.”

Mayor Sherman said she would reach out to state and federal officials for funding assistance with the truck and fire hall addition, and try again to see if the County Legislature would loosen up any of the local sales tax revenue. The county has kept the village and towns frozen at the same level since 2001.

Mike Maak, a mayoral candidate in March and a retired Medina firefighter, urged the board to look long-term and not put too much money in the current fire station, which was built around 1930 originally for the DPW. The floors weren’t intended to hold such heavy fire trucks, Maak said.

“This is not a new problem and it’s not going away,” Maak said.

He believes the village should look to build a modern public safety building for the fire and police departments, a facility that could serve the community for the next hundred years. Putting it outside the historic district also would give the village more flexibility in the design, Maak said.

But Sherman said the village doesn’t have the money for a big new building.

“We have to shake the trees for money,” she said. “There has to be someone who can help us achieve.”

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – Medina Central School District on May 16 hosted the first Medina Community Oscars at the historic Bent’s Opera House with 170 people in attendance.

The grand ballroom was simply fashioned with golden gunmetal banquet chairs, flowers that draped the apron of the stage adorned with two life-size Oscar statues. As the elevator opened a red carpet ran through the center of the venue, allowing all to have their moment on the “Red Carpet.”

The sold-out event quickly filled. Daniel Doctor, Community Partnership Director for the Medina Central School District, took the stage to welcome attendees and to congratulate all nominees. He then graciously turned the microphone to Julie Webber, Curriculum Director of Instruction for the Medina Central School District who was the Mistress of Ceremony for the remainder of the evening.

The purpose behind the event came to fruition. All individuals, businesses or organizations that either got nominated or won were most deserving. To enhance the excitement of the “opening of the envelope” to unveil the winners, the audience found the musical performances more entertaining.

Ava Blount, a poised and graceful sophomore at Medina and performer at West Side Academy of Performing Arts and Dance, got to repeat her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream”  from the 1980 musical Les Misérables.

Joseph Mangiola, an alumnus of Medina and worship leader at Calvary Tabernacle, took command of the stage focused on low tones and soaring vocals. He sang, “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera.

Holly Lederhouse, a third alumnus of Medina and performer with BGB Studio, provided the audience with her powerful soprano vocals singing “Never Enough” from the film The Greatest Showman.

And the final performer Brandon Noreck, song writer, R&B, Pop and Soul recording artist and alum of Medina Central School District, showed the audience regardless of what happens, “The show must go on.” He sang “Maria” acapella, due to internet failure. The song is from the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story, sung by the lead character Tony which he portrayed for the Medina Musical Theatre Department when it was under the direction of Daniel Doctor. Noreck did not miss a beat nor note as he effortlessly floated his high tenor voice.

Guest speakers in attendance included Mrs. Kathy Valley, a retired teacher from Medina who addressed the audience on the importance of volunteering and charging them to, “Think about it first, then do.”  Mrs. Noori Bibi, a volunteer from Project Life, also gave a message, informing the audience of the work that is done in the Medina community to support children who are in need of receiving an education, medical support and restoration to lost childhood of victims of war and natural disasters. Funds raised at this event will go to Project Life to continue the  support for Ahmed, a 9-year-old Medina student with several health challenges.

This Medina Community OSCARS was a win!  And the winner goes to…

• Spotlight Award: Viviana Neroni
• Community Impact: Shawn Ramsey, owner of Canalside Tattoo
• Outstanding Service to Veterans Award: Jennifer Thom
• Boy Scout/Girl Scout Troop Award: Mindy Cogovan of Troop 82096
• Arts and Culture Award: Medina Central School District
• Community Collaboration: Todd Eick
• Outstanding Student Award (K-2) – Hollis Green and Landyn Dorgan
• Outstanding Student Award (grades 3-6) – Lauren Allis
• Outstanding Student Award (grade 7-12) – Roosevelt Mitchell
• Volunteer of the Year: Melissa Valley
• Event of the Year: Parade of Lights, chairman Jim Hancock
• Inspirational Educator Award: Krista Duhow, Medina Jr./Sr. High
• Community Service Award: Medina Rotary Club
• Organization of the Year (under 10 employees) – Case-Nic Cookies, Mary Lou Tuohey owner
• Organization of the Year (more than 10 employees) – Medina Central School District
• Community Leadership: Daniel Doctor
• Unsung Hero Award: Nicole Tuohey
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Roger Hungerford
• Thank You: Kathy Valley

Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Lions and the Medina Lions on May 15 did vision screening for over 100 elementary students at the Lyndonville School District.

The two clubs have a long-standing history of cooperation in vision screening events throughout Orleans County. Several years ago, a joint purchase of visual screening equipment was undertaken by both clubs.

The vision screening apparatus allows the two clubs to perform vision screening at the local schools to access students who may need glasses. Once students are identified as candidates for further evaluation, they are referred to local optometrists or ophthalmologists for further examination. Nearly 10 percent of the students screened were found to have visual deficits that required follow up investigation.

Early screening and correction of these visual problems is extremely important. Early detection can slow or prevent further deterioration of visual acuity and improve student’s ability and performance in school learning.

The entry level examination can detect other eye problems that may cause poor vision. Not all eye problems can be simply solved with glasses and that is why early visual acuity examinations are essential.

The Lyndonville Lions would like to thank the Lyndonville Central School Leo’s Club and the Medina Lions Club for their efforts during this screening event.

It’s election and budget vote day at the five school districts in Orleans County. Voters must be at least 18 and have lived in their district for at least 30 days prior to today’s vote.

Here is a rundown of the budgets and ballots at the five districts in Orleans County:

• ALBION – The proposed $42,320,666 budget for 2024-25 keeps the tax levy at $8,449,039 and increases spending by 1.2 percent. This is now the 16th time in the past 18 years that taxes have either stayed the same or decreased. Albion’s budget is $323,436 under the allowable tax cap of $8,772,476.

The budget vote will be from noon to 8 p.m. and will be held at the Hoag Library instead of the at the school district’s conference room. The district currently is undergoing a big construction project.

Voters will also see a separate proposition to make bus purchases up to $650,000 from reserve funds, and a proposition also to establish a capital improvement reserve fund for up to $15 million.

There also is a proposition to collect $664,510 for Hoag Library, which is up 1.5 percent from the $654,100 in 2023-24.

There are two seats up for election. Long-time board member David Sidari isn’t seeking re-election. Linda Weller, a current member, is seeking another five-year term. She is joined on the ballot by Tim McMurray, Derek Reiner and Kelly Kirby.

• HOLLEY – The proposed $29,615,000 district budget represents a 2.4 percent spending increase with taxes up by 1.49 percent. Holley also will have a proposition to authorize spending up to $363,000 to replace school buses, and a proposition to collect $206,840 for the Community Free Library. The library funding is up from $200,815.

There are five candidates for four positions up for election for the Board of Education. The candidates include Salvatore DeLuca Jr., Joseph Flanagan, Allysia Pogel, Jennifer Reisman and Shannon Brett.

The three candidates with the highest number of votes will each serve a three-year term. The candidate with the fourth highest total will serve a two-year term.

Voting is from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Holley Middle/High School Foyer.

• KENDALL – The district is presenting a proposed $20,921,832 budget that calls for a 1 percent increase in the tax levy.

The school budget represents a 2.5 percent spending increase, which district superintendent Nick Picardo said reflects increases in special education enrollment, benefit expenses, and year-over-year merit raises.

Voting is from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Kendall Town Hall.

Besides the budget, voters will be asked whether to authorize up to $350,000 from the Transportation Bus Reserve to purchase transportation vehicles.

Two candidates also are running for one five-year on the Board of Education. Chaley Swift isn’t seeking re-election to her seat on the board. The candidates include Colleen Dorney and Scott Martin.

• LYNDONVILLE – The school district is proposing a $17,664,583 budget for the 2024-25 school year that increases spending by 4.3 percent. The budget would raise taxes by 1 percent or by $46,649 to $4,711,576.

District Superintendent Sharon Smith said the budget keeps robust academic and extracurricular programs for students. She noted AP and college classes are available at no charge to students, while music, the arts and athletics remain a priority. Smith also noted the budget continues to offer free breakfast and lunch for all students, keeps a school resource officer, and has the district geared up for a capital project that could start in the fall.

Voting will be from noon to 8 p.m. in the school’s Stroyan Foyer.

The district will also present a proposition for funding the local Yates Community Library, with an increase from $124,808 to $135,316.

There are also six candidates for three positions on the Board of Education that are three-year terms. The candidates include George Avery, Megan Bruning, Susan Hrovat, Ted Lewis, Steven Vann and Patrick Whipple.

• MEDINA – The school district is proposing a $42,162,921 budget for the 2024-25 school year that increases spending by 5.2 percent or $2,067,106 from the $40,095,815 in the current school year.

The budget proposes a 2.0 percent tax increase, up from $8,814,697 to $8,990,990. This is the 15th consecutive year Medina is under a state-imposed tax cap of about 2 percent, said Dr. Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent.

The budget and the election for two board of education members goes to a vote from noon to 8 p.m. at the District Office, 1 Mustang Drive.

The budget maintains all academic, extra-curricular and athletic programs, including modified sports and clubs, Kruzynski stated in a letter to the community.

The district will offer bussing to all students next school year. Medina for about a dozen years has had a single bus run in the morning and afternoon, with an expanded walk zone – 2 miles for students in middle and high school, and 1 mile for those in elementary school.

Medina will add more busses next year and continue with the one morning and afternoon bus runs. It will cost about $525,000 with district reserves covering the cost in 2024-25. After that, state aid will pay 90 percent of the cost, Kruzynski said.

There are two candidates for two open seats on the board. Alissa Mitchell and Jennifer Buondonno are both current members of the board.

Provided photos: (Left) Bella Thom graduated on Saturday from Genesee Community College, about a month before Holley’s commencement. (Right) Cavan Bennage was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success at GCC.

Press Release, Holley Central School

HOLLEY – Two Holley seniors recently earned impressive distinctions.

Bella Thom on Saturday graduated from Genesee Community College with an associate’s degree in advanced science.

Aside from taking advantage of Holley’s college precalculus course offering during her senior year, she independently enrolled in and completed both online and in person classes GCC over the past two years.

“My mom really pushed me to do this,” Thom said. “She is my biggest inspiration and support.  It has been a challenging process, but something that I do not regret doing.”

With over 60 completed college credit hours, she will attend D’Youville University in the fall as an incoming sophomore where she will study to become a pharmacist. She will graduate from Holley High School on June 29 in the Top 10 of her class with National Honor Society honors, the Seal of Civic Readiness, an Advanced Regents Diploma and as a three-time Genesee Region All Star soccer player.

“Bella is an incredible young lady,” said Holley Middle School/High School Social Worker Samantha Zelent. “To watch her manage the workload of both her senior year and her GCC classes has been amazing. It has taken a ton of determination and planning on her part. It is not very common to see students demonstrate this level of proactiveness and accomplish a feat such as earning a college diploma before graduating high school.”

Holley senior Cavan Bennage was recognized by the Monroe County Council of Superintendents as a 2024 Outstanding Senior at the 29th Annual Dr. Michael C. O’Laughlin Outstanding Senior Recognition Dinner on May 8.

One senior from each school in Monroe County, as well as Holley and Kendall in Orleans County, is selected for this honor based on their scholarship, leadership, service and character.

“Cavan represents the best we have at Holley. He’s an excellent musician, athlete, student, and an even better person. He’s a tremendous young man with a very bright future,” said Holley CSD Superintendent Brian Bartalo.

Bennage on May 7 also was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) at Genesee Community College. NSLS is the largest leadership honor society in the country. Students are selected for membership based on academic standing or leadership potential, and less than five percent of students nationwide receive nominations. He plans to transfer this membership to the Rochester Institute of Technology chapter where he will be attending in the fall to study engineering.