ALBION – Supportive Care of Orleans is excited to announce its annual bouquet fundraiser, a fun and unique way for the community to support their local hospice organization while enjoying beautiful bouquets of fresh flowers.
This year’s fundraiser will begin on Monday and will last until Friday, March 3.
Bouquets will be sold for $10 each and will be available at the following walk-up locations:
Albion Ace Hardware
Arnold Gregory Complex
Case-Nic Cookies
Dance Reflections
Evans Ace Hardware
George’s Fancher Rd Service
Holley Pharmacy
KeyBank in Albion
Lynn’s Salon
Medina Memorial Hospital
Supportive Care of Orleans
The Downtown Browsery in Medina
The Senior Center in Medina
Wild Flour Deli & Bakery
“We are excited to host our annual bouquet fundraiser in support of our hospice fund which directly helps the patients and families we serve,” said Julia Alt, development coordinator at Supportive Care of Orleans.
For the first time, Supportive Care of Orleans also partnered with Della’s Chocolates in Medina, giving people another purchasing option. The boxes of truffles were on a first-come, first-serve basis during the pre-sales. There will be some limited boxes of truffles available the week of the sale.
Stop by any of the bouquet walk up locations and help make a difference in the lives of those who need it most.
“We believe that our flowers are a symbol of hope and positivity, and we hope that our event can help bring some joy and beauty into people’s lives while also supporting a worthy cause,” Alt said.
For more information on Supportive Care of Orleans and the annual bouquet fundraiser, please visit our website at www.supportivecareorleans.org or call us at (585) 589-0809.
About Supportive Care of Orleans:
Supportive Care of Orleans is a community-based organization on a mission to care for all those living with life-limiting illness in Orleans County, their caregivers, and their loved ones. We provide our patients and their families personalized medical treatment, counseling, spiritual support, and bereavement coordination.
The Medina Historical Society will celebrate the variety and power of letters at its second annual “Letters Alive” program which will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 27, at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina.
The Society’s first Letters Alive program generated a very positive response to the emotional power of the letters shared. Perhaps we are developing a greater appreciation of letters as the practice of letter-writing declines.
But how did those letters get from Point A to Point B? While researching the history of Lynhaven Cemetery this past summer, we discovered an interesting local link to one aspect of postal history.
Since its inception in 1775, the Postal Service has taken advantage of available forms of technology and transportation to expedite the efficient delivery of mail. Stagecoaches, steamboats, the Pony Express, dog sleds, airplanes and even balloons have played a part in the delivery of correspondence. The role of the railroad tends to be overlooked. However, the Railway Mail Service (RMS) played a central role in mail delivery to all areas of the country for over 100 years, ending as recently as 1977.
Responding to complaints about the inadequacy of stagecoach and steamboat mail delivery, President Martin Van Buren signed an act designating railroad routes as postal routes in 1838. In 1869, the RMS was officially designated to handle the sorting and designation of mail on trains. Working in specially designed carriages, Railway Post Office clerks sorted the mail for dispatch and delivery as they travelled.
The Lyndonville Train Station as it appeared in the 1900s. (Courtesy of the Town of Yates)
Millard Fillmore Toms, a Lyndonville resident, worked as a Railroad Post Office clerk. Born in 1856, he was the son of Harmon Toms and Catherine (Allen). A cooper by trade, Harmon Toms had moved to the Lyndonville area from the Mohawk Valley. The family lived on Maple Avenue in Lyndonville.
Millard learned coopering skills and later worked as a grocery store clerk. He married Matilda Jean (Jennie) Mael in 1880.
Thanks to the influence of State Assemblyman, Hon. H.M. Hard, who resided in Lyndonville, Millard secured a job as a mail clerk on the Ontario Division of the New York Central Railroad line in 1881.
Since trains ran on an exact schedule, employees were required to own a specific watch, which cost $50. Millard and his family borrowed, scrimped, and saved to purchase this watch.
At first, Millard worked locally, travelling from Rochester to Niagara Falls and back in one day. Though well-paid, the job was demanding and exacting. Railroad mail staff handled all postal processing functions: they sorted first-class, magazines and newspapers for dispatch to post offices along the route.
Clerks had to master a complex distribution network of routes, junctions, timetables, and local delivery details. They were periodically tested on their knowledge, accuracy, and speed. A score of 96% would warrant a warning.
The New York Central Railroad extended to Oswego in 1895, which meant longer hours for Millard, as the round trip to Niagara Falls took almost twenty-four hours.
In 1881, Millard and his wife purchased an old house outside of the village and had it moved to Maple Avenue. They also bought and operated a fruit farm on East Lake Shore Road. A daughter, Olive May, born in 1884, died in 1887 of typhoid fever. A second daughter, Imo, was born in 1888.
On November 7, 1905, Millard, then aged 49, was working aboard a train which was involved in a head-on collision with another train in Liverpool, NY. He died within a few hours and is buried at Lynhaven Cemetery. He had worked in the rail service for twenty-four years and eleven months. Millard took pride in his position and his work. His last words were “Look after my mail.”
(Source: A History of the Town of Yates in Orleans County / Gardepe & Register)
Good afternoon! Grab your favorite cup. Fill it up.
Today I want to talk about how a little kindness can go a long way. You have probably heard the saying, “Be kind because everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”, well I have found time and time again that there is a lot of truth in that—especially in the world that we live in today.
I know that sometimes it can be frustrating if you are waiting in a long line at the store or if there aren’t any bags at checkout but, rather than getting upset at the closest person on staff who is probably making minimum wage and has no control over the situation, I would suggest that you pause, offer the person a smile instead of a scowl,and maybe even say something to them like, “No bags again, huh? That’s got to be tough because it’s not your fault but you probably still take the heat for it.” Or maybe after a long wait in line, where you have heard other customers berating the cashier, when it gets to be your turn you might say, “It sounds like you are having a tough time. I really hope the rest of your shift goes better.” And, if you say it loud enough, maybe it will help set the tone for the others waiting in line behind you.
My friends and I actually had the opportunity to show kindness in this way not too long ago while having breakfast at a local restaurant. After arriving we were seated and had our orders taken shortly after. We then jumped into some good conversation, my two friends discussed world problems while one of their sons and I discussed more important matters like which new Lego sets were coming out, but after quite a long time had passed a lady who was not our waitress came to our table and said, “I’m very sorry but your order was lost.” She explained that she had noticed that some people who had come in after us were already finished and paying their bill so she went to find out about our order only to discover that it was missing. She wrote down what we had originally ordered, said she would put it right in, and thanked us for our patience and understanding.
It wasn’t really a big deal. We weren’t starving, our coffee cups were frequently filled, and we saw it as simply an opportunity to enjoy more time to fellowship together. A little while later we received our food, which was absolutely worth the wait by the way, and then the lady who had taken our original order came up to our table. She started to apologize saying that she was actually the owner of the restaurant and that she had taken our order because the waitress who was supposed to be there for the morning shift hadn’t shown up. She went on to explain that on her way back to the kitchen she had answered the phone since she saw that the call was coming from the hospital where her husband had recently been admitted.Then, after hearing some not so great news, she had walked away and forgotten all about our order.
We assured her that it wasn’t a problem and that we were not upset. We also asked what her husband’s name was so that we could pause and pray for him right then. After we finished our meal and went to leave she cashed us out and proceeded to give each of us hugs stating that we were the perfect table for that to happen to.
Now you might not think that we would enjoy being labeled as the perfect table to have our ticket lost but it was obviously a compliment, not only because of how we responded but also because of how we didn’t respond. Think about it… we could have been angry, we could have demanded that we get our food for free, we could have not left a tip, we could have got up and left, or we could have passive aggressively posted a bad review on social media. There are a number of ways that we could have reacted poorly in the moment, and I wish I could tell you that I have never been guilty of any of these things in the past, but any negative reaction would not have allowed us to offer comfort and kindness to someone who was obviously in need of both. Beyond that, how bad would we have felt after finding out the reason behind our order being lost?
I know that we all have times when we get busy and ate not as kind or as patient as we would normally be but it is in those moments that we have the opportunity to positively affect someone’s day by purposely slowing down, trying to picture the situation from the other person’s point of view, and then treating them the way that we would want to be treated. Go on and give it a try because, as Aesop the famous fable writer once observed, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 26 February 2023 at 8:55 am
GASPORT – Christopher Slowey’s love of minerals has catapulted him into a thriving business.
The Gasport resident has always liked minerals and was drawn to the vendors who set up their wares at concerts.
Christopher Slowey demonstrates the ultraviolet properties of a pink mangano calcite obelisk, one of hundreds of minerals for sale at his Gasport business.
After running a redemption center for five years with a friend and then starting a collection agency, he realized he didn’t like that, but had saved up enough money to do something he was passionate about.
That turned out to be collecting and selling precious minerals and forming Mellow Slow Minerals.
The Covid pandemic hurt huis business, but he has regrouped and with online sales booming, he outgrew his basement and leased two spaces in a warehouse at 8417 East Ave.
His business is mostly wholesale, but once a month he opens the doors for individual and wholesale sales. One of those occasions is this weekend, when the public is invited to stop and shop, including today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and there will be free giveaways, deals and new inventory, he said.
Slowey recently returned from out west where he spent a month mining and attending mineral shows. He said while mining, they came across never-before discovered rocks which they believe have dinosaur bones in them. He took them to a mineral show in Tucson, where Slowey said they turned some heads.
Collecting minerals is big business in Tucson and the whole city is inundated in February with collectors and mineral shows.
Slowey’s showroom in Gasport is filled with tables of rocks of all colors and shapes from all over the world. He has amethyst from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; Labradorite from Brazil; mangano calcite from Pakistan; scolecites from India; and many others from Africa and Australia.
He explained people collect minerals for a number of reasons, including metaphysical and geological.
White scolecites from India and moss agate pendants are among dozens of minerals at Christopher Slowey’s showroom.
“I respect both reasons, but mainly I collect them because I like the beauty,” Slowey said.
He explained, for instance, that Labradorite is a polished stone with amazing colors, which Native Americans used to meditate in front of. Scolecite from India can have tiny water bubbles which can be seen moving inside.
He also has many pieces of jewelry made from minerals, such as rings, bracelets and pendants.
Many of his customers come from Orleans County and he would like to see a local business, such as a salon, sell his minerals. Currently The Flo on Allen Street in Buffalo, Fuse Salon on Hurtle Avenue in Buffalo and Elevated Smoke Shop in Cheektowaga are among others who sell his products.
Anyone who cannot attend the weekend show, but would like to make an appointment during the week can contact him on Facebook, at Piunth@gmail.com or by calling or texting (585) 866-9104.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 February 2023 at 7:27 pm
Event moved from fairgrounds to Medina school gym for ‘Spring Smash’ on April 15
Photos by Tom Rivers: Joe Gacy applies lots of pressure on Kevin Bennett during their wrestling match on May 4, 2019 during the “Fairground Fallout: Return of the Empire.” That was the last time Empire State Wrestling held an event in Orleans County. The wrestlers will be back on April 15, this time in a bigger venue at the Medina Junior-Senior High School gym.
MEDINA – The pro wrestlers who entertained crowds for events in 2018 and 2019 will be back in Orleans County on April 15.
Empire State Wrestling will bring the “Spring Smash” with eight or nine matches to the medina Junior-Senior High School gym. That is a change from the previous events at the Lartz Building at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds.
The gym has more seating room, higher ceilings for wrestlers to jump off the top ropes, a bigger parking area and more heat.
Ryan McPherson, the event chairman, expects at least 500 people for the wrestling. That would be up from the high of 350 at the fairgrounds. The event will continue as a fundraiser for the East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company.
“We’re very excited,” McPherson said today about the return of the wrestlers. “We were happy with the turnout before. Everybody who came had great things to say. We are hoping this will be an even bigger draw.”
There will be four wrestlers with local ties in the ring on April 15: Thomas Green “Big Budget” of Albion; Kevin Lockwood (aka Kevin Blackwood), an Albion native; Gavin “A Cut Above the Rest” Glass, a Medina native; and Jacob Miller (aka Maxx Cannon) of Medina, also known as “The Filthy One.”
Medina’s Gavin Glass was in action during the May 4, 2019 at the fairgrounds. He waits to get tagged in by his partner Rob Sweet. Glass, a 2015 Medina graduate, will be back on April 15.
McPherson said there will be discounts for students in grades 12 and younger at $10 each while general admission for adults in $20. Kids under 3 can get in for free with an adult. There also is a four-pack ticket option for adults at $60.
“We are instituting special pricing for grade school students and hope to make this our largest and most family-friendly event to date,” he said.
McPherson said the half of the ringside tickets have already sold. He appreciates the school hosting the event. There will be mats on the floor and the ring will be set up on that to protect the floor.
The doors will open at 5 p.m. with the first match at 6. The action should continue until 8:30 or 9 p.m.
Several of the fans at the fairgrounds wrestling events exclaimed about the athleticism of the wrestlers, and how physical the matches were. There were drop-kicks, body slams and other moves. McPherson said many of the fans felt like it was WWE.
“It is definitely not fake,” he said.
McPherson urged people to take in the spectacle of the event, with the many colorful characters and strongmen.
“There is a ton of excitement,” he said. “I think everyone will be blown away by how much fun it will be.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 February 2023 at 1:18 pm
ALBION – The Orleans County Emergency Management Office has a new director and deputy director to help the county prepare and respond to disasters and other emergencies.
Justin Niederhofer, the former deputy, took over as director on Nov. 17, succeeding the retiring Dale Banker.
Scott Buffin started on Jan. 23 as the new deputy director.
Niederhofer, 42, started as deputy director on April 15, 2020, in the early throes of the Covid-19 pandemic. He managed the delivery of sanitizer, masks and other PPE to municipalities and frontline workers. He also teamed with the Health Department in setting up and running testing and vaccine sites. He and Banker also helped a task force facilitate discussions on local EMS services.
Justin Niederhofer, in red turnout gear, pulls a basketball backboard and hoop from a garage so firefighters could get water in the upper part of the structure on Goodrich Street in Albion. This fire was on Jan. 10, 2022. Niederhofer served as Carlton fire chief from 2019 and 2021 and often responded to calls throughout the county when he was the deputy emergency management coordinator.
Niederhofer is a 20-year veteran of the Air Force. He was working for the U.S. Department of Defense, leading a team of 10 in overseeing manufacturers with Defense contracts when he took the job with the county about three years ago.
“I want to make the community a better and safer place,” he said.
Niederhofer served as Carlton fire chief in 2019 and 2020 and remains an active responder.
Buffin, 42, is a former Lyndonville fire chief who most recently was working with Mercy Flight in Batavia as a paramedic supervisor. Buffin has been a volunteer firefighter since 19.
Both agree that a declining number of active volunteer firefighters is becoming a critical issue. Buffin sought out becoming a volunteer firefighter and a basic EMT soon after high school. He remembered when a firefighter addressed his Boy Scout troop and that message of service to the community stuck with him.
He urges people to try volunteering with their fire department, even if it’s in an administrative role and they don’t want to go to fire scenes or car accidents.
“There is no magic bullet to recruit and retain these volunteers,” Buffin said.
Scott Buffin, right, and fire investigator Cole Hardenbrook head to the scene of a mobile home on fire on Allis Road on Feb. 14. The county has a team of five fire investigators.
There are currently about 300 active firefighters in the county. That may only be about a third of number from even a generation ago. Fire departments increasing are relying on neighboring departments for mutual aid to battle fires.
Niederhofer said he is encouraged by state legislation that would provide some tax incentives for volunteer firefighters. But he knows that ultimately people are feeling time- and money-crunched and don’t feel they can make a big commitment as a volunteer firefighter.
He asks people to keep an open mind, even if they don’t come from a firefighting family, to see how they could contribute to their local fire department.
“There is a job for everyone,” he said. “It could be administrative or providing support on the ground.”
The emergency management office was a big part of the task force looking at EMS services locally. The group of local officials, fire chiefs and ambulance service providers in the county met several times in 2022 as part of an EMS Task Force.
The volunteer ambulances are now all gone in the county, following the dissolution of the Kendall Fire Department Ambulance on Dec. 31, 2022. COVA also ended in Albion with Mercy Flight now running those ambulances.
Monroe Ambulance will begin service as the primary ambulance provider on April 16 in central Orleans County. Monroe is committing to keeping two ambulances in central and eastern Orleans.
Mercy Flight also is intending to keep one ambulance in Albion 24-7 and a second from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. during a transition year. The seven towns in central and eastern Orleans are expected to discuss a longer-term contract later this year for ambulance services.
Niederhofer said he expects there will be a task force in the near future about the shrinking pool of available firefighters. He doesn’t want to wait until it’s an absolute crisis before looking at solutions to ensure there are enough responders in the community.
Scott Buffin, left, and Justin Niederhofer both have many years of service as local first responders. In back is a fire training tower at left and the former civil defense center which is the emergency management office.
The emergency management office also oversees a team of fire investigators, facilitates training classes for firefighters, and works with fire departments to best utilize equipment and specialized teams, including a rope rescue team for responses in quarries, ravines along the Oak Orchard River and local creeks, and steep embankments at state parks.
The office also helps manage the emergency communications system and recently added the new responsibility of cybersecurity for assisting municipalities that could be vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The office will help the municipalities with computer security as part of continuum of operation plans.
“There is never anything that comes off of our plant,” Niederhofer said. “More gets added.”
The county also is looking to upgrade the emergency management office, which is in a bunker-style civil defense center built in 1962. That building on West Countyhouse Road has the backup dispatch for the county in case the 911 consoles are out of commission at the public safety building.
Niederhofer and Buffin also need to be ready to respond to any disaster or emergency. In 2017 and 2019, for example, the high Lake Ontario levels was a long state of emergency and the emergency management office worked to secure sandbags, Agua-Dams and fortified breakwalls for property owners.
The Covid pandemic has been another long response. The EMO continues to secure Covid test kits and distribute them to municipalities.
“Covid is still here,” Niederhofer said. “We’re still dealing with it, but the impacts aren’t as severe.”
Other emergencies are short-term and could include helping to secure housing for residents whose homes were damaged in a fire. The EMO will reach out to the Red Cross for assistance.
The emergency management office also will team with the local Department of Health and Red Cross in setting up emergency shelters if there are extended power outages, such as during the blizzard near Christmas.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 25 February 2023 at 8:58 am
Provided photo: Candace Pitts holds her award as employee of the year.
MEDINA – Iroquois Job Corps has recognized a dedicated employee for her ongoing efforts toward guiding students throughout their journey at the Job Corps center in the Town of Shelby.
Candace Pitts was recently named the Job Corps “Employee of the Year” for 2022.
Her honor is a result of selflessly altering her work schedule to help with getting students to and from their work-based learning jobs, according to Jen Barr, senior administrative assistant at Job Corps.
Pitts has gone above and beyond to make connections with communities for partnerships for the work-based learning program, Barr said.
“Ms. Pitts often has lines of students waiting for her outside her door and she makes time to talk to each one individually to address all of their questions or concerns,” Barr said. “The results she has achieved are impressive. We are grateful to have her as our compassionate and caring teammate who is always willing to go above and beyond.”
ALBION – The Orleans County Jail on Friday gave a tour to 28 students from the Orleans-Niagara BOCES Security and Law Enforcement class.
The jail tour was conducted by Jail Superintendent Scott Wilson, Lieutenant Christopher Caufield and Sergeant Christopher Shabazz. The students were able to see all of the jail operations which included inmate processing, facility kitchen operations, visitation, recreation, jail educational programming, CAP court procedures, inmate transports and jail medical operations.
Pictured are BOCES students, teachers Gene Newman and Dudley Gilbert, and Lieutenant Caufield (front left), Sergeant Shabazz (front center) and Superintendent Wilson (front right).
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 February 2023 at 5:13 pm
Photo courtesy of Orleans County Sheriff’s Office: The driver of this truck was stranded for nearly 15 hours in the vehicle on Salt Works Road in Shelby before being transported to safety on Dec. 24.
ALBION – Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today she is seeking a major disaster declaration from President Joe Biden for three Western New York counties to reimburse localities for snow removal efforts and other costs during the Christmas blizzard.
The two-day blizzard hit on Dec. 23 but the recovery lasted six days for some hard-hit communities, such as the City of Buffalo. Hochul is seeking federal aid for Erie, Genesee and Niagara counties, as well as St. Lawrence and Suffolk.
Orleans County isn’t included in the declaration.
“We have contacted our federal representative in an attempt to remedy this situation,” said Jack Welch, the Orleans County chief administrative officer. “However, right now we are on the outside looking in.”
Hochul said she is seeking to reimburse those five counties for their snow removal and storm response expenses. The governor is also requesting direct funding to cover funeral expenses and crisis counseling for residents of Erie and Niagara counties. The blizzard took the lives of 46 residents in Erie County and one in Niagara. No one from Orleans died from the blizzard.
The fierce winds left more than 5,000 National Grid customers in Orleans without electricity for extended periods during the frigid cold.
County officials also declared a state of emergency and travel ban due to the blizzard conditions with punishing winds, icy roads and whiteout conditions.
About 75 people spent Christmas Eve at shelters in the Albion and Medina schools. Some of those people were stranded and brought to the shelters by firefighters and Sheriff’s deputies.
The Orleans County Emergency Management Office has calculated the total municipal costs from the storm at $179,123.
The county can count municipal overtime and the costs of running the shelters, but not for snow removal for the streets. However, snow plowing can be included when used to keep open the shelters, the Emergency Management Office and Public Safety Building, said Justin Niederhofer, the county’s emergency management director.
Some of the damaged property was covered by insurance, Niederhofer said.
Hochul said federal aid will help the five counties recoup some expenses from a once-in-a-generation storm. She said the major disaster declaration secures federal aid for local governments and eligible non-profits for debris removal, protective measures, and repairs to buildings and infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water and wastewater treatment facilities, critical infrastructure sites, schools, parks and other facilities.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 February 2023 at 12:36 pm
ALBION – The owner of a storage business is planning three more buildings at the site on West Countyhouse Road which will add 138 more units.
David Hill has the Orleans County Planning Board’s support for the project. The board on Thursday recommended the Town of Albion approve the site plan and permit for the project.
Hill in October 2020 opened Orleans Storage with 107 units at three buildings on West Countyhouse Road in Albion, just east of Route 98at Orleans Self Storage. He expanded the site last year and is 77 percent full with 221 units.
He wants to get the new buildings done to meet the growing demand. Hill told the Planning Board he doesn’t anticipate doing another expansion after this one.
There are currently five storage buildings at the site. The new buildings will be 230 feet long. One will be 30 feet wide and the other two will be 25 feet wide. The three new buildings will add 138 more units.
“He’s been quite successful filling these spaces on his property,” said Dan Strong, Albion code enforcement officer and County Planning Board member. “We’ve never received a complaint about it.”
Hill said most of the customers are local residents. He said he appreciates the community support and the cooperation from the local governments.
In another decision, the Planning Board voted to support a permit and the site plan for farm labor housing in Kendall at 1561 Norway Rd.
Zingler Farms will convert an existing single-family residence into living space for farm workers.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) is joining many New Yorkers calling on the governor to reconsider her position on banning gas stoves from future new housing and construction developments in New York.
What has been touted as a means to combat climate change and entice people to come to the state is now being seen as a measure to control businesses on a more granular level in New York, and Hawley doesn’t like the concept.
“Albany progressives claim the measure is a simple implementation of new policy, but I don’t see it that way,” Hawley said. “For one, the measure neglects the fact that people upstate rely on natural gas to a greater degree than downstate homeowners, who may, in fact, benefit more from electric devices. But of course, when implementing statewide policy, we’re used to the fact that downstate progressives in charge of our government favor the one-size-fits-all approach.”
“But more than that, it’s another example of Albany focusing on an issue that seems like a big deal but will do very little in the long run,” Hawley said. “The average person cutting out natural gas in their daily life will not change the climate dramatically, so why punish the average person or business with more restrictions on how they can live their lives or operate? Why not focus the unilateral power the Assembly majority holds on bigger issues like inflation? They shouldn’t be allowed to pat themselves on the back, because they are once again infringing on the choices of New Yorkers.”
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 24 February 2023 at 10:12 am
MEDINA – Since the summer of 2022, Iroquois Job Corps Center’s bricklaying trade has been assisting the University of Buffalo’s Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering on a significant research project on improving the strength of unreinforced brick masonry buildings in the event of a seismic activity.
The project was funded by the National Institute for Standards and Technology, according to information from Jen Barr, senior administrative assistant at Job Corps.
In phase one of the project, Job Corps students helped in the construction of five multi-wythe five-foot tall walls in UB’s Structural and Earthquake Engineering Simulation Laboratory, which were tested last fall.
But their most important contribution, according to Barr, was to help plan and construct a single-story unreinforced masonry building which UB’s principle investigator Andreas Stavridis said is the “largest structure of this type ever tested on a shake table in the United States.
On its website, UB states the importance of the work. Buildings made of unreinforced masonry are known to be vulnerable to earthquakes, but often are used for residences and critical infrastructure, including schools and fire departments, UB writes.
Hence, this research project addresses an urgent national need, as such vulnerable buildings can be found in downtown areas of cities throughout the United States, including areas of high seismic risk.
The test structure will be instrumented with an array of 160 sensors and cameras and will be subjected to a sequence of bi-directional ground motions.
In a thank-you letter to Job Corps’ instructors Robert Kelichner and Lino Cometto and their students, Stavridis expressed gratitude on behalf of the University and invited the class back in March to attend the shake table tests. The results will be shared with the class, which will likely be called on again for future projects, Barr said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 24 February 2023 at 8:54 am
ALBION – Orleans County will offer a household hazardous waste collection day on Aug. 12. Many of the details are being worked out, but paint – oil-based, latex and water-based – won’t be accepted.
Unused paint should be taken to Sherwyn-Williams stores through a state-funded program. (The closest Sherwyn-Williams paint disposal sites in Orleans County are the Sherwin-Williams stores in Brockport and in Batavia. Evans Ace Hardware in Medina also participates in the program.)
The county typically pays Environmental Enterprises, Inc. of Cincinnati about $18,000 to collect and remove the household hazardous waste, with the state them reimbursing the county about half of the costs.
The event is held in several stations at the Orleans County DPW on West Academy Street. The collection allows residents to dispose of tires (up to 10), propane tanks, auto/marine batteries and other hazardous household waste in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. Some of the items include solvents, adhesives & resins, aerosols, motor oil & filters, pesticides, acids, fluorescent bulbs, corrosives, household batteries and antifreeze.
The event is organized by the Orleans County Department of Planning and Development. The county expects to begin taking appointments for the collection in late June, said Corey Winters, a planner with the department.
Good afternoon! Grab your favorite cup. Fill it up. 
