By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 30 October 2026 at 10:31 am
Dr. Jane van Dis
ALBION – Green Orleans, a grassroots organization committed to preserving the environment and an affiliate of the Community Coalition for Justice, is sponsoring a presentation Nov. 4 at Hoag Library on “How to Eat Less Plastic.”
At 6:30 p.m., Dr. Jane van Dis, a doctor at Strong Memorial Hospital, will lead a program on the simple ways to reduce exposure to microplastics.
“We ingest plastics through the food we eat and the water we drink,” van Dis said.
Van Dis has worked with the effects of microplastics on the body, particularly effecting mothers and their babies, said Sister Dolores, coordinator of Green Orleans.
She previously spoke in Albion on March 5, 2025 in a presentation called, “The Toxicity of Plastics.” She lectures nationally and internationally on the intersection of the climate and plastic crisis and women’s and maternal health.
Van Dis co-founded OBGYN’s for Sustainable Future, an interest group of Healthcare Without Harm. She has published in academic journals on the climate crisis and women’s health. She is on Tik Tok, where she addresses plastics, pollution and women’s/maternal health and creates short educational videos.
More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced annually, and environmentalists estimate 25 to 51 trillion plastic pieces currently float across marine environments. At best, only 9 percent of plastics get recycled, Sister Dolores said. Many plastics are not recyclable and even many of those that are wind up in landfills or in our waterways.
The microplastics break down under sunlight and waves into particles smaller than 5 mm, and absorb toxic chemicals. These enter the marine food web and eventually reach human seafood supplies.
Green Orleans began as part of the Community Coalition for Justice in 2020, with people interested in the earth’s sustainability. They meet at 11:30 a.m. the third Thursday of the month at Hoag Library.
The Nov. 4 presentation will include light snacks and refreshments. Those attending are asked to bring a refillable, non-plastic water bottle.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 October 2026 at 9:56 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
KENDALL – Members of the Kendall Lions Club have donated medical equipment that will be going to people harmed in the Russian war against Ukraine. Mike Albanese pushes the wheelchair in this photo.
The Lions Club has a Medical Loan Closet in the basement of the Kendall Medical Office at 16815 Roosevelt Hwy. There were many surplus items and the Lions Club donated six wheelchairs, about 70 walkers, and many crutches, rolling walkers with seats and IV poles.
The club still has many of the items to loan out to people who need them in the Kendall community and eastern Orleans County.
“We have way more stuff than we need,” said John Becker, a Lion Club member who runs the Medical Loan Closet with Mike Cusimano and Gary Crawford.
Mike Albanese, left, and Tom Cole, a Lions Club member and owner of the Hilton-Spencerport Express trucking company, put the donated items in one of Cole’s trucks. Cole would then deliver the equipment to a Xerox warehouse in Webster, joining other medical equipment items that will be transported by a shipping container to Ukraine. That shipment will be coordinated by RocMaidan, a humanitarian and medical aid organization affiliated with the Ukrainian Cultural Center of Rochester.
Maureen Lemke of Kendall volunteers with RocMaidan and helped load the medical equipment on Thursday. In addition to all the medical equipment from Kendall and other medical loan closets, she said RocMaidan also will be sending hospital beds, medications, surgical backpacks and energy bars.
Ukraine has suffered since it was invaded by Russia on February 24, 2022.
RocMaidan formed in 2014 to assist Ukraine after a Russian invasion of Crimea. RocMaidan has shipped over 500 tons of aid to Ukraine since then. The organization is packing its 33rd shipping container on Saturday and it will include the medical equipment from Kendall.
Dave Strasenburgh pushes a wheelchair that will be donated to war victims in Ukraine.
Kendall has had a medical loan closet since the 1970s. It was initially based at the Kendall Fire Hall but outgrew that space. It was then in Town Hall basement but needed more room. It is now in the basement of the Kendall Medical Center, where it has a walk-out basement making it easy to bring in items and get them out when they are needed by people in the community.
The group that loaded the medical equipment on Thursday includes, front row, from left: John Becker, Mike Cusimano, Dave Strasenburgh, Gary Crawford, and Maureen and John Lemke. In back: Mike Albanese and Tom Cole.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 October 2026 at 8:33 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
KENDALL – The Town of Kendall Highway Department has installed a new sidewalk from the Dollar General to Kendall Road (Route 237), a project to make pedestrians safer near a busy corridor of the town.
Dollar General opened the 9,100-square-foot store on Dec. 18, 2017 and town officials say the store has been busy. It is located on the north side of Route 18, just west of the Route 237 intersection.
The Highway Department connected a sidewalk from the store to Kendall Road.
Photo and information courtesy of Medina Marching Band
MEDINA – Last night, the Medina Mustang Marching Band honored its 2027 seniors. The evening began at Veterans’ Park, where the band performed its 2026 show, “We the People.”
Each senior then walked with their family to be recognized for their accomplishments in the band. The night concluded with band members teaching a family member or friend how to march.
The season concludes on Sunday at the Carrier Dome, now known as the JMLA Wireless Dome in Syracuse. SS2 class starts at 2:20 p.m. and Medina performs at 2:46 p.m.
There are 50 bands in 6 classes that participate in this event. Performances for all of the bands starts at 8 a.m. and continue throughout the day. Medina is scheduled to perform at 2:46 but give yourself plenty of time to get into the dome and find a seat.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2026 at 12:44 pm
Photo by Tom Rivers: Sgt. Dillon Black of the Albion Police Department presents a proposal to the Albion Village Board on Wednesday for the Albion PD to offer firearm safety courses. Mayor Tim McMurray hears the proposal with Village Trustee William Gabalski at left.
ALBION – The Albion Police Department wants to offer an 18-hour class for people seeking to get a Concealed Carry Pistol Permit from New York State.
Sergeant Dillon Black presented the proposal to the Village Board on Wednesday and board members said they support the plan, but first want to hear for village attorney John Sansone and the village’s insurance carrier.
The APD would charge $300 for the class, with village residents getting a discount, according to the proposal.
Two Albion police officers are already certified to lead the class as firearms instructors and a third officer may become certified, Black told the board. His father, Corey Black, was a long-time instructor of a pistol permit class in Orleans County.
Sgt. Black of the APD proposed a class with 16 hours of classroom learning and 2 hours of live-fire range training.
The Village Board said it would make a decision during its Nov. 18 meeting and expects an approval.
Black would like to start with a smaller class of about 8 students and expand to a maximum of 30 in the future.
He told the board it would cost the village about $100 per student with staff time to run the class, plus ammunition and printing of coursework and certificates.
The police department would like any revenue generated to stay in the police budget and go into the APD reserve funds, Sgt. Black said.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C Batavia) was critical of Gov. Kathy Hochul for signing two new gun-control measures that further restrict ammunition purchases and expand firearm safe-storage requirements, calling the action political grandstanding that imposes real costs on responsible gun owners while doing little to stop criminals.
The bills, signed last week at a New Yorkers Against Gun Violence event, include S.7236/A.7983, which expands ammunition background-check denials, and Francesco’s Law, which extends existing safe storage requirements and criminal liability to gun owners regardless of whether they live with a minor or a person prohibited from possessing a gun. The storage changes take effect in January 2027.
“This is classic Albany grandstanding,” said Hawley. “Gov. Hochul signs more gun rules at a photo-op and claims she’s keeping New Yorkers safe, but the people who actually pay the price are the law-abiding gun owners, not criminals. This measure expands ammunition restrictions beyond federal law and raises due process concerns.
“Lawful buyers now face more delays, fees and red tape every time they purchase ammunition. These costs in time, money and inconvenience fall almost entirely on people who already follow the law. If the goal was really public safety, Albany would focus on holding repeat offenders accountable instead of making it harder and more expensive for honest citizens to exercise their rights.”
Hawley noted that New York already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, yet the new measures continue to layer compliance burdens on owners and small dealers without meaningfully addressing illegal guns or violent crime.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2026 at 11:53 am
Dominick Callara
MEDINA – A Medina man has been charged with two felonies following an investigation into the sale and distribution of illicit drugs in the Village of Medina.
The Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force reports the arrest of Dominick Callara, 21, of East Oak Orchard Street in Medina.
The Task Force on June 18 executed a search warrant at 211 E. Center St., upper apartment, and seized a quantity of psilocin mushrooms and Buprenorphine strips packaged for sale, drug paraphernalia and $171.
After the substances were tested at the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Laboratory, police on October 13 charged Callara with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, intent to sell (Class D felony).
He was taken into custody on an arrest warrant and was held for CAP Court arraignment. The task Force said Callara was subsequently released on his own recognizance due to the New York State bail reform laws.
Assisting in the investigation were Orleans County District Attorney Susan Howard, the Medina Police Department, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and New York State Department of Corrections Office of Special Investigations.
Further arrests and charges are pending in this investigation.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2026 at 10:23 am
Photo by Tom Rivers: The four library directors of the public libraries in Orleans County are shown on Tuesday before their presentation to the Orleans County Legislature, asking for more funding in the county’s 2027 budget. Pictured from left include Elizabeth Haibach, director of Hoag Library in Albion; Melanie Norman, director of Community Free Library in Holley; Heather Rutherford, director of Yates Community Library; and Kristine Mostyn, director of Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina.
ALBION – The four public libraries in Orleans County are seeking a boost in county funding to reflect the libraries expanded mission beyond loaning out books.
The libraries in Orleans Conty have requested $1 per person in funding from the County Legislature in recent years. That would be $40,343 based on county’s population in the 2020 Census.
That has been the request in recent years, but the Legislature has kept libraries at $10,087 since 2011.
“When you look at everything the library does, I think it changes how we should think about our funding for libraries,” said Elizabeth Haibach, director of Hoag Library in Albion.
The four public libraries in Albion, Holley, Lyndonville and Medina met with county legislators on Tuesday. The library leaders said their facilities host many community events, provide internet access, display county tourism materials, assist residents with technology questions and serve as warming centers during the winter and cooling centers during the hot summer months.
Albion opened Hoag Library in 2012 and that site’s three meeting rooms are very busy, including hosting programs for county departments – Emergency Management, Planning and Development, Office for the Aging, and Department of Social Services.
The library also is used as the polling place for the Town of Albion and for the school district’s annual budget vote and election.
Hoag also brings a services into the community, by hosting blood drives, mobile mammography, mobile lung screening and other programs.
Lee-Whedon Library in Medina recently completed an expansion and has seen a 42 percent increase in library users in the past two months, said Krsitine Mostyn, library director.
Lee-Whedon added meeting rooms which are already in demand and have been used by many community organizations. She listed 15 organizations that are using the meeting rooms for diabetes education, digital literacy, understanding addiction, educational programs, health insurance enrollment, babysitting courses, CPR training, mental health skills, community grant sessions, disaster preparation and planning for events.
Lee-Whedon, like Hoag and the Yates Community Library, also hosts a concerts series. All four of the libraries plan many events for their summer reading programs.
Heather Rutherford, director of the Yates library, said the site doesn’t have a meeting room for the public but there is space that is frequently used for tutoring sessions. She applies for many grants to expand programs and services, including one that resulted in a new Book House by the library that has used books and also outdoor materials that be borrowed to go fishing, birding and to explore nature.
Melanie Norman, director of Holley’s library, noted many agencies use the Community Free Library for programs. She said the libraries have proven to be “essential community spaces” that don’t charge fees to the public to access services.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2026 at 8:53 am
Henry Smith recognized for 25 years of service to club
Provided photos
ALBION – The Albion Lions Club welcomed two new members this week. The photo shows, from left: Lions Club member June Persia with new members John Bigley and Pam Jenks. They are joined by Melanie Adams, a member of the Clarendon Lions Club and a past district governor. Persia sponsored the new members.
The Albion Lions meet at the Masonic Lodge on Platt Street. The club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024 and continues to do many community service projects in Albion.
The club honored Henry Smith Jr. for his 25 years of service to the Albion Lions. He received a certificate from Club President Ron Albertson, right. Ben Lennox, a member, is shown at left.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 October 2026 at 8:22 am
Provided photos
ALBION – Mike Donahue was presented a Quilt of Valor on Oct. 17 during a ceremony at the Vets Club. Donahue, a Navy veteran, has been active for many years in the Honor Guard for veterans, and also with the American Legion and VFW.
The Quilts of Valor Foundation was started in 2003 and has presented more than 450,000 quilts to veterans to honor their service.
The quilt for Donahue was presented by Barbara Frost and it was pieced, quilted and bound by Lisa Feor. For more information on Quilts of Valor, click here.
Mike Donahue is shown as the bugler while Taps was played as part of the Honor Guard on Dec. 15, 2024 during a ceremony at Mount Albion Cemetery for Wreaths Across America.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 October 2026 at 6:52 pm
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature voted to pay the 10 towns in county 30 percent more in 2027 to plow county roads and do roadside mowing, with 5 percent increases annually in 2028 and 2029.
The 10 towns pushed for the sizable increase citing a dramatic rise in costs for fuel, salt, plow trucks and other equipment. Town officials say they just want to cover their costs for plowing, ice control and roadside mowing for 196.82 miles of county roads. The 30 percent increase will cost the county an additional $471,010 in 2027.
The towns currently get $7,218 a mile for their work on county roads. The new contract starts on Jan. 1 and will give the towns $9,383 per mile for plowing. The county doesn’t have its own fleet of plow trucks and relies on the towns for the snow plowing on roads.
The contract also calls for the towns to be paid $986.52 per mile for roadside mowing in 2027, with 5 percent increases the following two years.
The agreement gives the county and towns an option for another mutually agreed up two-year extension in 2020 and 2031.
The contract states the payments for snow and ice control will be made in June of every year, with the payments for mowing to be paid in three separate payments in June, July and August.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 28 October 2026 at 5:39 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers: Larissa DeGraw of Medina and her daughter Mirabelle walk in Mount Albion Cemetery this afternoon. They are from Medina and came to the cemetery to climb the 68-foot-high tower, which is a Civil War Memorial. The activity was part of a challenge for Red Ribbon Week to get out and exercise. There are many brilliant colors with the foliage at the cemetery, with a growing percentage of leaves on the ground.
Orleans County and much of the state will be moving past peak in fall foliage, I LOVE NY reported today in its weekly update on foliage conditions.
There will still be peak foliage throughout many parts of the Finger Lakes as well as the central and lower portions of the Hudson Valley and several locations on Long Island, I LOVE NY stated.
This map is provided by the Empire State Development Division of Tourism’s I LOVE NY program and shows much of the state will be past peak in fall foliage for the next week.
Although the area is moving to past peak, there are still many colorful leaves on the trees.
An observer for the weekly report said the leaves are at about 85 percent change at the Cobblestone Museum in Albion “with bright golden amber brown leaves.”
The leaves have changed colors and many have fallen by the tower at Mount Albion Cemetery.
Photo by Tom Rivers: An ofrenda was created by Lionel Rosario and his wife Delores Alvarado, and the display drew many onlookers during the Day of the Dead observance on Oct. 26, 2024 at the YMCA in Medina. An ofrenda is an altar that is typically in homes. The altars welcome returning souls and feature candles, wild marigolds, incense, photographs, mementos and loved ones’ favorite foods like fruit, tortillas, tamales, chocolate and bread.
Press Release, Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council
KNWOLESVILLE – A vibrant celebration of Mexican culture and traditions will come together at the Orleans County Fairgrounds on Sunday, November 1, for a Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration presented by GO ART! (Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council).
The free, family-friendly event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Trolley Building at the Orleans County Fairgrounds, located at 12690 Route 31 in Albion.
Día de los Muertos is a traditional Mexican holiday that honors and remembers loved ones who have passed away through colorful altars, family gatherings and other meaningful traditions. GO ART!’s celebration invites visitors of all ages to experience and learn about the holiday through hands-on art activities, live Mexican music, storytelling, traditional foods and cultural presentations broadcast live from Mexico.
“Día de los Muertos is a beautiful tradition that brings families and communities together to celebrate life and remember those who came before us,” said Gregory Hallock, executive director of GO ART! “As a regional arts council, we believe it’s important to celebrate the cultures and traditions that make our communities unique. This event is an opportunity for families to experience something meaningful, learn from one another and come together through art, music, food and remembrance.”
First held in 2018, GO ART!’s Día de los Muertos celebration grew out of the organization’s commitment to recognizing and celebrating the diverse cultures that make up Genesee and Orleans counties. What began as a community cultural celebration has evolved to include expanded educational programming, hands-on experiences and opportunities for families to learn about the holiday’s traditions and significance. That growth is especially evident in the festival’s school field trip program, which is expecting nearly 500 students this year, its largest anticipated participation to date.
Festival highlights include:
Live Mexican Music: A group of Hispanic and Latino musicians will perform a selection of Mexican music from 2 to 3:30 p.m., bringing live entertainment and another cultural element to the afternoon’s celebration.
Hands-On Art Activities: Participants can create colorful works inspired by Mexican art and Día de los Muertos traditions, including tissue-paper marigolds, La Catrina dolls, Mexican-inspired tile art, monarch butterfly art, calavera (sugar skull) masks and alebrije-inspired creatures. Face painting featuring designs inspired by the holiday will also be available throughout the celebration.
Live Presentations from Mexico: Luis Vazquez Estrada will join the celebration live from Mexico to explore the meaning, history and cultural significance of Día de los Muertos, sharing how communities in Mexico prepare for and celebrate the holiday. The 15-minute cultural presentations will take place at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Ofrenda and Remembrance Activities: A traditional ofrenda will provide a space for visitors to honor and remember loved ones. Attendees are invited to bring photographs or meaningful objects to contribute to the altar or create written and illustrated tributes at a dedicated remembrance station.
Día de los Muertos Storytime: Families can enjoy readings of children’s books exploring the holiday’s traditions and meaning, with storytime sessions scheduled at 11:50 a.m., 12:50 p.m., 1:50 p.m. and 3:50 p.m. Books for the readings are generously provided by Hoag Library in Albion.
Displays and Cultural Videos: Attendees can explore artwork celebrating Día de los Muertos and Mexican culture, along with screenings of previously produced videos highlighting the holiday’s traditions and cultural significance.
Traditional Foods and Beverages: Visitors can experience a selection of Mexican-inspired foods, including chicken tinga-style tostadas, arroz rojo (Mexican red rice), frijoles de la olla (Mexican-style pinto beans), fresh fruit and pan de muerto, a traditional Mexican sweet bread. Beverages will include agua de jamaica (hibiscus drink) and water.
This event is supported by a Market New York grant awarded through Empire State Development and I LOVE NY, New York State’s Division of Tourism. Additional support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, Rochester Area Community Foundation and the Conable Family Foundation.
