Photo by Ginny Kropf: Robin Sidari runs Immediate Care For You with telemedicine services.

ALBION – An Albion native has returned home to offer an increasingly popular way of providing medical services.

Robin Sidari, daughter of Carol Culhane of Gaines and the late Jerome Sidari, has a doctorate of nursing as a board certified family nurse practitioner. It is her desire to fit healthcare into busy lives in a convenient and safe setting by offering virtual urgent care.

Sidari graduated from Albion High School in 1990. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Brockport State College and entertained the idea of going into pre-med, but changed her mind. She worked as a lab technician for a time, then went back to school for nursing at Monroe Community College. After receiving her two-year degree there, she went to work at Strong Memorial Hospital in 2009 in their cardiovascular surgery unit.

In 2010, Sidari decided to become a nurse practitioner graduating in 2014 from the University of Rochester, after which she started working in outpatient cardiology at Strong. Then she moved to Rhode Island for two years, where she worked in a CVS Minuteclinic. After returning to Rochester, Sidari went back to Strong to work in advanced heart failure/heart transplant unit for a year. Next followed four years in urgent care at Strong.

Desiring to further her education, Sidari enrolled in Chatham University, where she obtained her doctorate in nurse practitioner in 2021.

After facing the Covid pandemic, Sidari left Strong to pursue a career in a new health field – telemedicine.

“Much of my career includes treating patients of all ages in an urgent care setting, both in person and through telemedicine,” Sidari said.

In addition to her clinical experience as a nurse practitioner in urgent care, she also has extensive experience in the specialty of cardiology. She has cared for the mildly ill to the critical ill patient. She has seven years’ experience teaching nursing students at both the RN and nurse practitioner levels.

Sidari said telemedicine is becoming popular all over the country, but is often not available in rural areas. She said the advantages of telemedicine are a patient doesn’t have to wait hours in a waiting room full of sick people, transportation is not a problem with the high cost of gas and there is no wait to get an appointment.

She is qualified to treat patients of all ages, from babies to adults, with acute illness or injury which needs same-day care. She calls her practice ICU (Immediate Care for You). She treats minor injuries, such as allergies, flu, upper-respiratory infections and urinary tract infections; minor injuries, from abrasions, animal and insect bites to strains and sprains; and skin conditions. She can also refill prescriptions.

Anyone with a condition which requires more serious care Sidari will refer to their primary care doctor or the emergency room.

Sidari is licensed to practice in New York, Rhode Island, Wyoming and Florida. She charges one fee for a 30-minute telemedicine visit, and only accepts credit cards.

Patients can log on to her website at www.icareforyouonline.com, or she may be reached by phone at (585) 228-7874. She is available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday or at other times on a limited basis in case of an emergency.

Sidari may also be contacted on her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/icareforyouonline.

Structure by canal to be removed while ambulance will become tool truck for DPW

Photo by Tom Rivers: The wooden gazebo in Medina’s Canal Basin has been declared surplus and will removed due to its unsafe condition.

MEDINA – The Village Board has declared the wooden gazebo in the Canal Basin and an ambulance taken out of service as surplus items.

The gazebo was donated to the village about 25 years ago from the Medina Rotary Club. The structure has rotten wood in some spots and is considered unsafe.

“It’s in terrible shape,” Jason Watts, the DPW superintendent, said during last week’s Village Board meeting.

Watts said it would cost more to repair the gazebo than to replace it. The Village Board for now will take out the gazebo and consider another time what will replace it in the spot overlooking the Erie Canal.

Watts said the structure will need to be dissembled because it’s in too poor of shape to be moved.

The board also declared an ambulance as surplus. Rather than I try to sell it for approximately $5,500 to $7,500, the board decided to keep it as a village asset for use by the DPW. (The last ambulance declared surplus sold for $5,500.)

Watts said tools and other DPW supplies could be in the vehicle, which will be modified to say DPW with the red flashing lights no longer serviceable.

Watts said DPW employees sometimes have to make trips back to the DPW garage to get tools and equipment. The ambulance could store those and be brought to work sites.

In other action, the Village Board last week hired Dustin Wells as a motor equipment operator for the DPW.

Looking to get some good cooperation from Mother Nature, Niagara-Orleans League and Genesee Region League baseball, softball, tennis and track competition is scheduled to get underway this coming week.

Rivals Albion and Medina will meet on the softball diamond at Medina on Tuesday and on the tennis courts at Albion on Wednesday.

Here is how the week’s scheduled is shaping up.

Monday
Baseball – Wilson at Lyndonville, 4:30 p.m.; Albion at Barker, 4:45 p.m.; Batavia at Medina 7 p.m.
Softball – Barker at Albion, Akron at Roy-Hart, Wilson at Newfane, 4:45 p.m.; Medina at Alden, 5 p.m.
Tennis – Albion at Roy-Hart, Barker at Medina, Wilson at Akron, Holley at Alexander, Attica at Kendall, 4 p.m.
Lacrosse – Medina at Grand Island, 7 p.m.

Tuesday
Softball – Lyndonville at Barker, 4:30 p.m.; Albion at Medina, 4:45 p.m.
Tennis – Albion at Barker, 4 p.m.
Track – Medina at Barker, Akron at Albion, 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday
Baseball – Wilson at Barker, 4:45 p.m.; Newfane at Medina, 7 p.m.
Softball – Newfane at Roy-Hart, 4:45 p.m.; Barker at Elba, Kendall at Attica, 5 p.m.
Tennis – Medina at Albion, Newfane at Roy-Hart, Akron at Barker, Pembroke at Holley, 4 p.m.
Track – Lyndonville at Alexander, Pembroke at Holley. 4 p.m. Kendall at Attica, 5 p.m.

Thursday
Baseball – Akron at Albion, 4:45 p.m.; Oakfield-Alabama at Lyndonville, Kendall at Pembroke, 5 p.m.
Softball – Barker at Akron, 4:45 p.m.; Lyndonville at Wheatland-Chili, Holley at Oakfield-Alabama, Pembroke at Kendall, 5 p.m.
Track – Newfane at Medina, Albion at Barker, 4:30 p.m.
Lacrosse– Tonawanda at Medina, 5 p.m.

Friday
Baseball – Medina at Newfane, Albion at Akron, Barker at Wilson, 4:45 p.m.
Softball – Medina at Newfane, Akron at Albion, 4:45 p.m.
Tennis – Albion at Akron, Barker at Wilson, Newfane at Medina, 4 p.m.

Saturday
Baseball – Lyndonville at Alexander, Holley at Pembroke, Attica at Kendall, 11 a.m.; Cleve Hill at Roy-Hart, 12 p.m.
Softball – Pembroke at Holley, 11 a.m.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The Luke Nelson Skatepark opened on Sept. 4 in Medina at Butts Park.

MEDINA – A group of volunteers that spearheaded construction of a new $550,000 skate park in medina is looking to put finishing touches at the site.

That includes a mural that depicts the Canal Culvert. It will go on one of the features at the skate park that resembles the culvert.

Terri Nelson is mother of the late Luke Nelson. The skate park is named in his honor. Nelson met with the Medina Village Board last week and received approval to work with an artist on the mural, with DPW superintendent Jason Watts having input on the type of paint.

Nelson also wants to have a bench at the park, a garden area and a display noting key donors to the project.

Nelson first became involved at the site because she wanted a memorial bench for her son by the old skate park. But the idea mobilized the Medina Skate Society to push for a full upgrade of the site. The previous skate park was on a former tennis court. That surface had cracks and the equipment was getting obsolete.

The Medina Skate Society lined up nearly $550,000 to build the new site at Butts Park. That includes $250,570 raised through local fundraisers and donations. That allowed the Skate Society to maximize a $250,000 matching grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.

The Skate Society also was awarded $42,000 for an Environmental Impact Award grant by The Skatepark Project, formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation. The $42,000 is used for storm water management and bioswales.

Nelson said the Skate Society is planning a June 18 skate jam and proceeds will go towards safety equipment – helmets and pads. The Society also wants to offer lessons on skateboarding and using scooters.

A motorcycle run on July 16 will also support projects at the skate park, Nelson said.

She thanked the board and the contributors who have made the park possible.

“We’re just overwhelmed by all of the community support,” she said.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

Illuminating Orleans – Vol. 2, No. 13

LYNDONVILLE – We continue our exploration of the history of the Town of Yates in anticipation of the upcoming Bicentennial celebrations.

Charles R. Burnette, a Civil War veteran, and experienced printer from Ulster County, considered that the Town of Yates would provide a suitable market for his newspaper and printing business.

The first issue of the Lyndonville Enterprise, a weekly newspaper, consisted of four pages, was published on September 5, 1907, in the upper floor of a rented building on the corner of Riverside Street and Main Street. Just eight months later, a disastrous fire on May 18, 1908, caused by a gasoline explosion in the basement, destroyed the building and printing equipment. Mr. Burnette and his wife, who were at work in the building at the time, narrowly escaped with their lives.

Undaunted, the Burnettes continued, and printed from temporary locations until they established a permanent location on Riverside Street. Charles Burnette passed away in 1922, his wife Susan continued the Enterprise with the assistance of Mr. Leonard Reingruber. Joseph Giampapa, who came to Lyndonville from Passaic, N.J. operated the paper for fifteen years and it ceased publication in 1962.

The Lyndonville Enterprise, which was the official town and village paper, provides a historical record of a rural community in an era of change, with a wealth of information for local and social historians as well as for genealogists. The newspaper was the “social medium” of its time, its focus on local news assured its popularity. The tone was straightforward and civil: political and religious controversies were avoided, improvements were encouraged.

The Orleans County Historian’s Dept. has access to several issues of the paper, including the April 5, 1923, issue, almost one hundred years ago. Local news was strategically featured on the front and back pages of this eight-page issue. Subscription rates were: $2 for 12 months, $1 for 6 months and 50 cents per issue. The masthead also noted that the population of Orleans County was 33,341, and the population of Lyndonville and Yates was 1,040.

The Village – Vicinity – Variety section was the focus of the front page. Items of interest from the April 5, 1923, edition include:

• The bill for closing the season on black, grey and fox squirrels was passed and signed by Gov. Smith on March 12.

• Orleans County supervisors have purchased two stone quarries, one in Murray and the other near Knowlesville, from which to take stone for constructing county highways.

• Lyndonville Fire Company elected the following officers: Edward Barry, President; John Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer; Frank Conley, Chief Engineer; Edward Barry, foreman of the Hose Company; E.M. Hill, foreman of the Hook and Ladder Company; Neil Toms, foreman of the chemicals.

This advertisement was included in April 5, 1923 edition of the Lyndonville Enterprise.

• The wedding of Miss Hester Ives to Frank Hill of Albion took place at the home of the bride’s parents at high noon, March 31, Rev. H.G. Stacey officiating. Prenuptial events included a variety shower, a crystal shower, a kitchen shower, and a grocery shower.

• The dates for the Lyndonville Redpath Chautauqua are June 18-23

• The Lyndonville Grange plans to discuss “Apples” at their April 7 meeting.

• A long Personal Pointers column detailed the main social news of the day: who visited whom, who came home for Easter, who was sick, who was recovering.

• Church Notes listed dates and times of services for the forthcoming Sunday, as well as sermon and discussion topics:

“The Christian Motive in Recreation” – Topic of discussion for the Epworth League of the Methodist Episcopal Church meeting.

“Our Unfinished Knowledge” – Topic of the morning worship service at the Presbyterian Church

“Post-Easter Beatitudes of Faith” – Yates Baptist Church Sunday sermon topic.

• A report of a meeting of the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Church, noted that Miss Grace Leslie of Albion, who was scheduled to sail to China in August, gave an interesting talk and was given a reception and shower.
• A side column dealt with Special Notices which were also local.

Items Wanted: Home sewing, 25 Plymouth Rock hens.

For Sale: Goose eggs and Toulouse ganders, a few cords hard slab wood, a one-horse spring wagon and heavy single harness, a good 8-year-old cow due in April, my house and lot at Yates Center.

Wanted: Men, both American and foreign, for steady work, nine to ten hours during the day, twelve hours at night at The Carborundum Company, Niagara Falls.

Milk: Customers, please take notice: Starting Sunday April 1, your milk will be delivered earlier. Put the bottles out the night before. Cows tested and free from tuberculosis. Price: quarts 10 cents, pint: 6 cents.

• The last page of the Enterprise included reports of social happenings from the rural areas had submitted by correspondents. Items of note included:

West Lyndonville: Floyd Amos has moved on to Frank Wards’ s farm at Oak-Orchard-on-the Ridge.

George Dunham and family have moved onto the Mrs. Flower farm on the Lyndonville Road.

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Manley and family have moved onto the Frank Waring farm and Herbert Rouse has moved onto Frank Lott’s farm.

• The inside pages, 2-7 contained a variety of articles pertaining to national and state issues, including:

A summary of the week’s operations on the New York Stock Market, an article on Army Air Services Forest Patrol and its role in fire prevention, an article on the negative reaction to steam power and railways in the early 1600’s in England: A meeting of ministers in Manchester denounced the railway as being contrary to the law of God and predicted that it would prevent cows from grazing, hens from laying and cause pregnant women to have premature births, horses would be useless, hay and oats unsaleable, country inns would be ruined, boilers would burst and blow passengers sky high.

• There were many local advertisements as well as several from Rochester businesses. A serialized fiction offering, in this instance: Val of Paradise, provided some light entertainment to round out the fare.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Raelynn Baker and other Medina Winter Guard members keep an eye on rifles that were tossed high in the air during today’s performance of the North East Color Guard Circuit Championships. Medina hosted the event that included 18 groups and about 500 spectators.

Medina’s show is entitled “Wake Up.” The members try to assist Nevaeh Farewell, one of the members, who is dreaming. They try not to wake her so she can complete the journey in her dreams.

Ava Chambers performs for Medina’s Winter Guard. She carries a flag. Medina has 16 members performing today. They danced, and spun rifles, flags and sabres.

Gabriella Flores-Medina is the guard captain. The groups performed in front of a packed gym of about 500 people.

Medina’s Varsity Winter Guard is led by guard director Diana Baker and color guard instructor Anna Oakes.

Kayleigh Wright spins a flags during Medina’s performance.

Maddie Lewis is one of the dancers in Medina’s Winter Guard

Championship results in the divisions include:

• Senior – Luminosa, 1st with 86.800.
• Independent A – Gates Chili Independent, 1st with 88.570; Batavia, 2nd with 88.220
• Scholastic A – Victor Blue Devils, 1stwith 88.730; Orchard, 2nd with 87.340; Jamestown Express, 3rd with 84.980; and Medina, 4th with 83.310.
• A1 – Lancaster HS, 1st with 84.770; Hindsdale Headliners, 2nd with 78.920; and Gates-Chili JV, 3rd with 77.630.
• Regional A – Greece, 1st with 82.180; Marcus Whitman, 2nd with 81.400; and Gates-Chili RA, 3rd with 78.890; Batavia Cadet, 4th with 78.290; and Dundee, 5th with 74.880.
• Cadet – Victor JV, 1st with 75.060; Jamestown Caboose, 2nd with 71.190.
• Novice – Hinsdale Starliners, 1st with 64.160.

Luminosa, which is based in Buffalo, performed a show, “Misconduct,” that increased speed with some of the players trying to overpower the others. They performed to The Blue Danube Waltz, Hall of Mountain King, Beethoven’s Fifth, The Barber of Seville, Ride of the Valkyries and 1812 Overture.

Luminosa’s  members have graduated from high school. The compete in the Senior Division. This member holds a rifle which was painted to resemble a violin.

Gates-Chili performed a show “Making a Difference in the World.”

The group urged that acts of kindness, care and love can create a ripple effect and make a huge difference.

Batavia’s show is called, “When You Close The Door.”

Batavia’s show sent a message about when being separated from the ones you love, the pain often eases when coming back together.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Sara Flansburg of Middleport finishes the Wayne Burlison Colon Cancer Awareness 5K this morning in Albion.

The event is in memory of an Albion elementary music teacher who passed away at age 36 from colon cancer on March 26, 2014.

Jose Quiros of Medina was the first male to finish and Lindon Morici of Albion was the first woman to cross the finish line.

Martha Doody of Shortsville finished the race. She holds “Doody” a mascot she uses to raise awareness of irritable bowel syndrome. Martha said she plans to be a part of another race to promote awareness for colon cancer this fall – Strollin for the Colon “Toni’s Race” in Rochester.

She is wearing the hats that were given out to all participants today.

Kathy Jurs, right, and Colleen Dinitto of Albion finish the 3.17-mile course together. The race started on Clarendon Road near the school and went east on Route 31 to Mount Albion Cemetery and came back on 31, ending in the school parking lot.

Race director Bert Gillman, right, welcomes the runners and walkers and sends up a drone to capture footage of the race. Gallman is also the race director for the Strawberry Festival 5K/8K on June 11.

Christine Nickerson of Byron, front, and Natalie Lowes of Webster near the finish line.

Age group awards and tasty cookies awaited after the race.

Marlene Poole of Caledonia, Bib No. 75, and Michael Scherff of Le Roy, Bib No. 64, lead a group in covering the distance this morning. Scherff is Wayne Burlison’s brother-in-law. Burlison’s wife Lisa and son Adam also attended the event today.

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board is looking into adding two electric charging stations, each with two ports.

Medina is eyeing the senior center parking lot on West Avenue next to the village office and the also the larger municipal parking lot behind Mark’s Pizzeria and other Main Street businesses on the east side of the street before East Center Street.

The charging stations together would cost about $35,000. Medina would use some of the $580,100 it was awarded in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Currently in Orleans County the only public use charging stations are at the Burger King in Medina, Hoag Library in Albion and the RTS Orleans/Orleans County DPW on West Academy Street in Albion.

“It’s something to think about,” said Medina Mayor Mike Sidari. “It’s the wave of the future.”

The Village Board will discuss the issue more this month as part of the work on the new village budget which must be adopted by April 30.

The board wants to weigh other requests from department heads to see how to best allocate the ARPA funds.

Press Release, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt

ALBANY – Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and Republican lawmakers on Friday sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie calling for a collaborative approach to creating fair and bipartisan legislative district maps.

On Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Patrick McAllister of Steuben County Supreme Court declared the legislative maps – which were drawn by State Democrats after they rejected proposed maps created by the Independent Redistricting Commission – unconstitutional. Justice McAllister ordered the Legislature to produce new, bipartisan-supported maps by April 11.

“As you are aware, Supreme Court Justice McAllister issued his decision yesterday regarding the redistricting lawsuit. In his decision, he ordered that the Legislature submit bipartisan supported maps by April 11, 2022.  Should bipartisan maps not be submitted by April 11, the Court will retain a neutral expert at the State’s expense,” wrote the Republican members. “In light of this decision, we look forward to working together to create maps that most accurately represent the voters of New York State.”

In 2014, New York voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment for an independent redistricting process. Last year, New York voters overwhelmingly rejected an effort by Albany Democrats to water down that independent process.

Albany Democrats earlier this year ignored these clear results and the democratic will of New Yorkers by adopting legislation to create their own gerrymandered partisan districts, after rejecting maps created by the Independent Redistricting Commission. They did so behind closed doors, without considering input from thousands of communities of interest or holding a single public hearing.

MEDINA – In an announcement this week, the Medina School District Board of Education has decided to discontinue shared programs with the Lyndonville School District.

Medina superintendent Mark Kruzynski said the two schools first combined for musicals and football during a recession in 2011-12.

“Lyndonville was looking to participate in football, and Medina had already cut musicals out of the budget,” said Kruzynski, who was high school principal at the time. “We discussed combining with Lyndonville for musicals and football.”

That arrangement would eventually extend to boys and girls soccer and swimming, and track for a time.

Lyndonville joined with Barker and Roy-Hart for football the past two seasons.

The main reason for going on their own now is because Medina has renovated the high school auditorium, with staging, sound system and lighting.

“We want to bring the musicals back into our district,” Kruzynski said.  “It’s been a great relationship all along.”

He said going forward each school will do their own production.

“The cooperation has been great, but it’s time to move forward,” Kruzynski said. “We have a new teacher anxious to do musicals.”

Sharon Smith, interim superintendent of Lyndonville Central School, agreed the relationship has been very good and mutually beneficial.

“We are grateful for the partnership,” Smith said. “It’s been wonderful working with our neighbors, but Lyndonville will now move forward with our boys and girls soccer programs and musicals.”

She said she was advised of Medina’s decision ahead of time and is working with another neighbor for girls soccer.

“We are also looking forward to continuing a spectacular musical program in Lyndonville under the leadership of Jennifer Trupo, Kelly Follman, Eric Villalta and Dan Dragula,” Smith said.

She said students will continue to do community events together.

“This will all be good,” Smith said.

A 1.8-mile segment of the Erie Canalway Trail will be closed during work

Press Release, State Canal Corp.

GAINES – The New York State Canal Corporation today announced an embankment stabilization project along the Erie Canal in the town of Gaines, Orleans County, will begin the week of April 4.

The Canal Corporation and its contractor will be installing a “filter blanket,” comprised of layers of sand and gravel earthen material, along the canal’s northern embankment between Eagle Harbor-Waterport Road and Gaines Basin Road to mitigate water that is seeping through the embankment at this location.

To facilitate this repair, a 1.8-mile segment of the Erie Canalway Trail will be closed between the Eagle Harbor and Gaines Basin trail access points.

Throughout the duration of the project, residents will notice contractors, wearing hard hats and high-visibility vests, as well as trucks and heavy equipment operating at and near the construction site.

The seep being mitigated through this stabilization project is one of more than 200 known seeps on canal earthen embankments, which comprise approximately 125-miles of the Canal system.

The Canal Corporation continuously monitors and inspects these earthen dams on foot through “bank walk inspections” as well as using advanced technologies like drones and thermal imaging.

The work being performed along the Erie Canal in Gaines has been reviewed under a project specific State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) evaluation and is not part of the Canal Corporation’s proposed Earthen Embankment Integrity Program.

It is anticipated that this stabilization work will be completed in May ahead of the Canal’s opening on Friday, May 20.

The Canal Corporation appreciates the public’s patience while this work is completed.

Walk/Run in Albion is colon cancer awareness event

Photo by Tom Rivers: This portrait of Wayne Burlison was displayed on a tree along the course at Mount Albion Cemetery during the 2016 race.

ALBION – The Run for Wayne, in memory of Albion music teacher Wayne Burlison, returns on Saturday.

The event is also the Wayne Burlison Colon Cancer Awareness 5K. It starts at 10 a.m. on Clarendon Road near the Albion Elementary School parking lot and heads east along Route 31. The course then goes through Mount Albion cemetery with the walkers/runners then coming back on 31 to the elementary school parking lot.

So far 75 have preregistered for the event. The online registration ends at 5 p.m. today. People can sign up the day of the event beginning at 9 a.m. at the parking lot of the school.

Every participant will receive a custom winter beanie hat with the logo of the Wayne Burlison Colon Cancer Awareness 5K.

The 2020 race was cancelled and last year runners were released in pods of 25 every 10 minutes. The event on Saturday will be the return of a mass start.

The course is slightly longer than a 5K with the distance at 3.17 miles instead of 3.1. The 3.17 signifies 3 months and 17 days. That’s how long Burlison lived after being diagnosed with colon cancer. He passed away at age 36 from colon cancer on March 26, 2014.

Colon cancer is the second leading cancer death among men, but is often treatable if detected in the early stages.

Bert Gallmon, one of Burlison’s friends, is managing the race.

“I want to make sure his spirit lives on because of what he did for the community and for those who knew him,” Gallmon said today.

Burlison was active in several musical groups in the community and also helped start the Albion Running Club. He lost more than 150 pounds through better nutrition and exercise and completed a marathon and half-marathons.

He and his wife Lisa have a son, Adam.

Proceeds from the race support a scholarship in Burlison’s name. Some of the proceeds from the race also have supported a new walking trail at Bullard Park.

There will be a post-race celebration under the overhangs in the parking lot with chili and bagels.

MEDINA – The National Night Out, a family-friendly event that gives the public a chance to meet police officers and local agencies, should be back this year on Aug. 2.

The event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions on crowd sizes. About 1,000 people attended the last National Night Out in August 2019.

The first five events were held at Bullard Park in Albion. The next one will shift to Medina and be hosted on the school campus.

Medina Police Chief Chad Kenward is taking the lead from the law enforcement community in planning the event with local agency leaders. Roland Nenni, retired Albion police chief, was a key leader for the event from 2015 to 2019.

Kenward announced to the Medina Village Board on Monday that law enforcement and local agencies are working on planning the National Night Out.

He was praised by Village Trustee Jessica Marciano for helping with an event that helps build positive relationships between law enforcement and local residents.

Participants in the event usually include law enforcement, fire agencies, EMS responders, civic organizations and other groups that will be providing activities, demonstrations and giveaways.

The event at Bullard Park featured free hot dogs and water, child seat inspections with free replacements, a bike rodeo with bikes on hand, helmet giveaways, and other activities as well as the Battle of Belts where teams race around a car and have to safely get buckled in.

Photo courtesy of Greg Reed, YMCA director

MEDINA — The YMCA in Orleans County will unveil a new indoor playground today during Healthy Kids Day from 6 to 8 p.m. The playground will be wrapped up and then that covering will be removed this evening.

The playground includes three slides, a bubble enclosure, ball room, web elevator, roller squeeze, bumper bag forests and climbs.

Six other organizations will attend the Healthy Kids Day event, running fun interactive games, said Greg Reed, the YMCA director.

The inflatable obstacle course also will be available. The Y is located on Pearl Street in Medina.