By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 December 2021 at 8:51 am
State DOH puts Covid deaths at 100 in Orleans, 150 in Genesee
The number of active Covid cases declined in both Orleans and Genesee counties in the latest update from the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments.
In Orleans, the active cases are down from a pandemic high of 334 on Thursday to 273 on Monday. In Genesee, the cases declined from 286 to 261 in the four days.
The counties each have three more Covid deaths since Thursday and Orleans has now had 100 residents pass away from Covid during the pandemic and Genesee is at 150 deaths from Covid, according to the state Department of Health.
In Orleans County the active cases declined since Thursday with 99 new Covid cases and 158 recoveries or previous positive individuals who completed their 10-day isolation and have been removed from mandatory isolation.
The new cases since Thursday put Orleans past 6,000 cases since March 2020. The county is now at 6,061 total cases.
The new cases include individuals in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
Genesee is reporting 210 new positive cases since Thursday and 229 recoveries. The county has passed 9,000 cases during the pandemic – now at 9,199 total cases.
The new cases are individuals in the age groups of 0-19, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
Genesee’s hospitalizations due to Covid is up from 35 to 37 since Thursday while Orleans remains at 13.
The seven-day positivity rate for Covid tests in the two counties also is down slightly. Genesee is currently at 11.0 percent and Orleans at 10.5 over the previous seven days compared to 12.5 percent for Genesee and 12.2 percent for Orleans for the seven-day average on Thursday. The current state-wide positivity rate for seven days is 4.6 percent.
LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Board of Education formally appointed Sharon Smith as the district’s interim superintendent during Monday’s board meeting.
Sharon Smith
Mrs. Smith has been Lyndonville’s director of Instruction and Student Services for the last two years. Her focus has been on the district’s students and families and ensuring best-practice, individualized educational services and strategies are implemented to ensure the highest level of student achievement.
“Sharon is a true asset to our district,” said BOE President Theodore Lewis. “She takes the time to really connect with and understand our students and families. We believe she will do a great job as our interim superintendent.”
Previously, Mrs. Smith worked as Kendall’s elementary principal for seven years. She also was a curriculum coordinator for Frontier Schools and assistant principal, and CIO and grants coordinator for Newfane schools. Prior to her administrative career, she worked as an elementary teacher for 22 years.
“I am honored to be appointed as interim superintendent of Lyndonville Central Schools,” she said. “I have been fortunate to work with, and learn from, Jason Smith, and I wish him the very best. I promise the community, the students, the faculty and staff to give my best every day in fulfilling our vision to strive to lead in academic excellence, safety and community pride.”
Mrs. Smith will begin serving as interim superintendent on Jan. 3, when Jason Smith leaves for his new position as superintendent for Batavia CSD. The Board will continue with its search for a superintendent for the district.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 14 December 2021 at 8:05 am
No deficiencies found for skilled nursing facility
MEDINA – The North Wing, a skilled nursing facility with 30 beds at Medina Memorial Hospital, recently received a deficiency-free report – with no issues of concern, following an extensive review.
“This outcome is a direct result of the planning, implementation and monitoring of the unit and the extraordinary care provided by our dedicated and compassionate nursing and support staff,” said Scott Robinson, director of marketing, communications and outreach for Orleans Community Health/Medina Memorial Hospital.
In March of 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began a new, targeted inspection plan designed to help keep nursing home residents safe in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The plan called for focused inspections on urgent patient safety threats (called “immediate jeopardy”) and infection control, Robinson said.
This fall, Medina Memorial Hospital had an unannounced survey, conducted by a New York state surveyor which centered around standard and transmission-based precautions and regulations; quality of resident care practices, including those with Covid-19; the facility’s surveillance plan; visitor entry and facility screening practices; education, monitoring and screening practices of staff; and facility policies and procedures to address staffing issues during emergencies, such as transmission of Covid-19.
The full day audit included staff and resident interviews and the review of a wide array of documentation.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 December 2021 at 7:18 pm
Hardest hit areas may not have power back until Tuesday evening
National Grid has restored power to 97% of the nearly 221,000 upstate New York customers impacted by the windstorm over the weekend, the company said this evening.
Orleans County has the most customers without electricity as of 7 p.m. with 1,683, including 918 in the Kendall area.
Orleans is the only county in the National Grid service area that has more than 1,000 customers without electricity. Monroe has 964, Genesee is at 446 and Niagara at 543.
They are among 5,226 Grid customers in Upstate without electricity as of 7 p.m.
“While we have made steady progress, there is still work to be done and our expanded field force will continue to work around the clock to ensure every customer’s service is restored as safely and quickly as possible,” said Matt Barnett, National Grid’s Vice President of New York Electric Operations.
He noted that the remaining outages are in regions that experienced the most extensive storm damage, including Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Orleans and Niagara counties in western New York, and Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties in northern New York.
“Our crews are in these regions continuing the hand-to-hand combat of cleanup, reconstruction and restoration,” he said. “We understand the inconvenience of being without power and will continue to restore service hour by hour.”
Genesee Region of Genesee, Orleans and Monroe counties experienced the most extensive storm damage. Crews are in the field restoring service hour by hour and 95% of customers in these areas will have service restored by 5 p.m. Tuesday, with the remaining customers in the hardest-hit communities seeing power restored through Tuesday evening, National Grid said.
Photo and press release, Niagara County Sheriff’s Office
LOCKPORT – This past Saturday, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with all three Niagara County Walmart locations, (Lockport, North Tonawanda, Niagara Falls) hosted the 10th annual Shop with a Cop event at Walmart in Lockport.
This event paired up 28 children with deputies, dispatchers, correction officers and NYS troopers. A parade of police vehicles traveled to Walmart where the children shopped for gifts for themselves and family. Once their shopping was complete, the children met Santa, colored and were treated to lunch, which was provided by Walmart.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the men and women of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office,” Sheriff Michael J. Filicetti stated. “Saturday wasn’t just a shopping trip to Walmart, they made Christmas brighter for many families. They truly care about the community they serve and donated their time on Saturday to make things better for total strangers.”
We are grateful for the staff at Walmart and the continuous support they provide to make this event a success, Filicetti said.
The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office received a Community Grant from the Walmart Foundation which allows for the purchase of gift cards for the children to use while they shop.
Photo and information courtesy of Albion Central School
ALBION – The Albion FFA held its annual food drive this past Saturday with more than 45,000 pounds of food donated to Community Action.
The yearly event, which began more than a decade ago when students raised about 3,000 pounds of food the first year, continues to have a big impact on the community with locally grown food remaining in the area for those in need.
Students, staff and volunteers spent Saturday morning sorting and loading produce then delivered and unloaded the donation at Community Action.
“It’s been cool to see it grow every year and get more food,” said senior Emily Harling. “When we get to Community Action, seeing everyone get excited is my favorite part.”
First-year FFA advisor and agriculture teacher Scott Oldenburg noted all the hard work the students put into the event.
“The officers did most of the work,” Oldenburg said. “They made all the calls and all the arrangements for pickup or deliveries, and they asked for all the donations.”
The FFA would like to thank the following for their contributions: Panek Farms, Kludt Brothers, Orleans County Farm Bureau, Nesbitt Fruit Farms, Orchard Dale Fruit Farms, Kreher’s Farms, Martin Farms, Kirby Farms, Mighty Acres, Partyka Farms, Starowitz Farms, Poverty Hill Farms, Torrey Farms, Lynn-Ette and Sons Farms, Rush’s Vegetables, Intergrow Greenhouses and Root Brothers.
LYNDONVILLE – Lyndonville Central School District’s fitness center will open to the community beginning Dec. 14.
District residents are welcome Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m. The cost for use is $10 a month or $2 per visit. All attendees must sign-in upon arrival, and masks are required.
Lyndonville’s fitness facility includes treadmills, ellipticals, arc trainers, adaptive motion trainers, expresso bikes, Cybex machines, free weights, heart rate monitors, a tri-fit machine and a dance/exercise room.
Our fitness center is a great way to start or maintain a healthier and more active life!
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 December 2021 at 9:52 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Maddison Button, a seventh grade student at Albion, is dressed in an outfit from Santa Claus Suit & Equipment Company, which was one of the enterprises run by the late Charles Howard. He also ran a Santa Claus School in Albion from 1937 to 1966, and opened Christmas Park at Albion.
Copies of the book sold for $5 and were quickly sold out on Friday.
Maddison and her classmates in Tim Archer’s service learning class put together a 44-page book about Howard’s life. The book and artifacts from the Santa School and Christmas Park were featured in a program on Friday at Hoag Library.
The first 100 copies quickly sold out at $5 and another printing is expected.
Howard’s Santa suits were known nationwide for their high quality and unique features. Elizabeth Babcock of Albion eventually took over the suit business.
“The vivid scarlet red suits were made of the finest wool,” Maddison said. “They were trimmed with French white rabbit fur, and included an eight-point buckle and a hair and beard set of Tibetan yak hair.”
Eight students spoke about Howard’s life during Friday’s presentation, which also included comments from past employees at Christmas Park, Howard’s grandchildren Jane Holland and Charles Bergeman, and a Santa School graduate.
Lorelei Gailie, a seventh-grader, shared how Howard started building toys and doll furniture at age 7 with a coping saw he received from an aunt.
He then created sets and designed costumes for local productions. He wrote, produced and directed plays, and acted and sang in them.
He graduated from Albion High School in 1916. Two years later, after his father’s death, Howard bought a 400-acre farm at the corner of Phipps Road and Gaines Basin Road.
Nicholas Luft told a crowd of about 75 people how Howard was a church-going and civic-minded man. He attended the local United Methodist Church and was a charter member of the Albion Lions Club. He was active in the Orleans County Farm and Home Bureau, Orleans County 4-H and built displays and floats at the State Fair.
Olivia Andrews then shared how Howard portrayed Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1948 through 1965, which put him in the national spotlight.
Ava Woolston highlighted the Santa Claus School which Howard started in 1937 at age 41. People thought Howard was crazy to start such a school, and it got off to a slow start with only three students the first year, including a neighbor and a close friend. Only one paid the $15 tuition, a welder named Frederick Wise.
The school brochure advertised its purpose: “dedicated to the training and equipping of men to play the important role of Santa Claus.” Howard’s goal was to produce a “ruddy cheeked, ample-bellied” Santa that was “clean, jolly and considerate.”
Friday’s presentation included memorabilia from Christmas Park. Howard designed the signage in a distinctive style in red and green letters.
Brooke Doty shared Howard shut down the family farm and established Christmas Park, which opened on Sept. 22, 1956. Tens of thousands visited it annually to enjoy games and rides and visit with Santa. “A hallmark of the park was a mighty stone fireplace, wth a permanent evergreen wreath hanging above it,” she said. “The fireplace still remains – the last vestige of the Park.”
This beanie hat is from Christmas Park in Albion
Adam Burgio highlighted famous quotes from Charles Howard including:
“He errs who thinks Santa enter through the chimney. He enters through the heart.”
“To be Santa Claus is a privilege, not a job.”
“Santa should be lively and quick, not slow and dumpy.”
“Santa is not just toys, not just tinsel. He stands for love.”
“It’s so real to me sometimes that I can feel the reindeer breathing on my cheek.”
Grace Nesbitt shared Howard’s goodbye. He died at age 69 on May 1, 1966 in Newfane. Albion businesses closed down for his funeral between 2:45 and 3:45 p.m. at the request of Mayor William Monacelli.
Congressman William Fitts Ryan addressed the U.S. Congress sin Washington, DC that day, saying, “Mr. Speaker, I know of no one who brought more joy to the hearts of children of America, than our nation’s No. 1 Santa Claus.”
Charles Howard’s grandchildren thanked the community for its continued interest in their grandfather. Charles Bergeman of Lewiston, left, said his grandfather “dedicated his life to bringing joy to others.”
Jane Holland of Williamsville said Howard was a devoted family man who left a large impact on the Albion community and beyond.
“We appreciate all of your interest in keeping his memory alive,” she said.
Holland said she grew up visiting a man who took pride in being a grandpa. He was humble and delighted in designing and building the extravagant sets for Christmas Park while not having indoor plumbing in his own home. He kept a three-seat outhouse instead.
Tim Archer, teacher of the class, said the students admire the man who developed the Santa School which continues in Howard’s name in Midland, Mich.
“He was without a doubt an ambassador of goodwill,” Archer said.
Archer said the community should feel proud of Howard, whose school was world famous and featured in Life magazine and other national publications as “The Harvard of Santa Claus Schools.”
Archer noted signs went up on Route 31 in Albion last year declaring that section of the road the Charles W. Howard Memorial Highway.
And Archer commended the Albion Betterment Committee for working to have a bronze statue of Santa Claus in downtown Albion in honor of Howard.
Tim Archer goes through photos about Howard, including this one in the 1961 Life magazine about the Santa Claus School. That article on the school raised Howard’s profile nationwide.
Jack Miles, a retired Albion highway superintendent, worked at Christmas Park as a teen-ager. He said Howard would often waive the 25-cent admission fee for families with many children. He also tended to let kids go on rides if they didn’t meet the height requirement.
Miles also shared how Howard let him be on the float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which remains a thrill and unforgettable moment for Miles more than a half century later.
Ken McPherson of Medina displays artifacts from the Santa School and Christmas Park, including a Santa suit. McPherson, in back speaking, has graduated from the Santa School several times. He said he is proud to have “a bachelor’s degree in Santa Claus.”
McPherson said Albion remains a special place for those who portray Santa Claus because of Howard and the school.
“Albion has bragging rights,” McPherson said. “It should be kept in the limelight.”
This Christmas postcard from 1925 features church steeple in an alpine setting against the background of a starry sky.
“Illuminating Orleans” – Vol. 1, No. 31
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
A collection of Christmas cards sent to Mr. & Mrs. Smith Sanborn of East Center Street in Medina between 1923 and 1927 is one the quiet treasures housed in the Medina Historical Society Museum. These simple but elegant cards reflect the artistic style of the era and contrast with the larger, louder cards we have become accustomed to.
Sources credit Sir Henry Cole for creating the idea of the Christmas card in England in 1843 and the custom of exchanging greetings soon became part of the Christmas tradition.
Many of the Christmas cards in this small collection are postcards, with the image and verse on the front, the address and space for a brief message on the reverse. Postcards could be mailed with a one-cent stamp – though this example shows a two-cent stamp.
Another interesting feature of this greeting is the Christmas seal stamp. Most of the postcards and envelopes in this collection sport this seal, and several of the envelopes have two or three seals affixed.
The double barred red cross was the logo of the National Tuberculosis Association. The 1925 design with two bright candles signifies how far a little candle can throw light, and by inference how powerful the purchase of a penny Christmas Seal stamp could be.
By 1925, sales of the penny seal stamps had garnered $25,000,000 to help build hospitals and promote prevention thorough education. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tuberculosis, commonly referred to as TB, was the leading cause of death in the United States.
The imagery is largely secular, snowy scenes, quaint houses, holly, poinsettia, skaters.
The cards in this collection are all single sided, with the image and verse on one side. The reverse is blank, there is no indication of the printer or publisher. Some of the cards are printed on pastel hues that we would not associate with Christmas today. Many have matching envelopes.
Greetings are short and spare – generally just the senders name, with brief good wishes. Only one of the envelopes includes a house number (407 East Center), the others simply list the street and village.
Since the collection spans a few years, we can see that the Smith Sanborns regularly received Christmas greetings from the same cousins in Barker, NY, Titusville, Fl, and Los Angeles, Ca.
Local businesses recognized the benefits of acknowledging their customers at Christmas time. The Boyd Coal Company and Rowley and Reynolds, also a coal company sent warm greetings, as did the Union Bank.
No doubt there are other Christmas cards from previous decades languishing in attics and closets throughout the county, just waiting to be enjoyed again. Their greetings and artwork reflect their moment in time.
The Boyd Coal Co. was located on West Ave., on the site currently occupied by Lee-Whedon Memorial Library. Rowley & Reynolds was located at 611 Main St., Medina.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 December 2021 at 8:18 am
There are 3,380 National Grid customers without electricity as of 8 a.m. The company expects to receive nearly all back in service by midnight.
The biggest outage is in the Kendall community with 918 Grid customers knocked offline. A crew is assigned with an estimated restoration at 11:59 p.m. today. Kendall central School cancelled school today due to the outage.
The other big outage is 411 customers in the Ridgeway area just west of the village of Medina. A crew is assigned with the estimated restoration at 11:59 p.m.
Orleans County has the most National Grid customers without power this morning. Other counties with more than 1,000 customers without electricity include Erie, 1,167; Franklin, 1,014; Genesee, 2,657; Lewis, 1,365; Monroe, 2,117; Niagara, 2,216; and St. Lawrence, 2,040.
Genesee, Orleans officials say public health resources focused on vaccinations, testing
Joint statement from Rochelle M. Stein, Chair, Genesee County Legislature; Lynne M. Johnson, Chair, Orleans County Legislature; John C. Welch Jr., Orleans County Chief Administrative Officer, L. Matthew Landers, Genesee County Manager and Paul A. Pettit, Genesee and Orleans Counties Public Health Director
Due to the current Covid-19 surge, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday that starting Monday, December 13, through January 15, 2022, that masks will be required in all public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement.
However, Governor Hochul did not clearly state how enforcement of the mask mandate will occur.
“The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health) will continue to focus our efforts on offering free vaccination and testing clinics as well as conducting case investigations,” said Paul Pettit, Genesee and Orleans Public Health Director. “We do not have the capacity to enforce mask mandates and enforcing mandates is not the best use of our limited resources at this point of the pandemic response. As we have throughout the pandemic in line with CDC guidance, we continue to advise residents to properly wear masks indoors when social/physical distancing is not possible.”
“As we did during the last surge, Genesee County will take the approach with our community to Educate to Cooperate in regards to the benefits of masking and social distancing,” stated Rochelle Stein, Genesee County Legislature Chair.
“In Orleans County, we will continue to focus our county resources on vaccinations, contact tracing, testing and working to keep children in school,” said Lynne Johnson, Orleans County Legislature Chair. “We held two clinics this week, one for testing and one for booster shots. We continue to seek more testing resources from the state, because we believe identifying and isolating those who test positive is the greatest need right now to reduce the spread.”
To reduce the spread in our communities, we need to increase vaccination rates and increase testing in order to identify and isolate those who are positive with Covid-19. However, rural county health departments continue to have issues securing additional testing resources. GO Health and local officials continue to advocate for additional resources and assistance from the state in order to have free testing in our communities.
Genesee and Orleans County Public and Health officials encourage those who have not been vaccinated or have not received their booster shot, to do so as soon as possible. Booster shots have just been approved for 16 and 17-year-olds, six months after their last shot. Visit gohealthny.org/covid-19-vaccine-information or www.vaccine.gov to make an appointment.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 December 2021 at 5:07 pm
KENDALL – The Kendall school district will be closed on Monday due to widespread power outages in the community. National Grid doesn’t expect to have the electricity restored until Monday evening or near midnight tomorrow.
Kendall staff also shouldn’t report to school, said Julie Christensen, the district superintendent.
The Kendall Town Hall also is opening as a warming center for residents, said Town Supervisor Tony Cammarata.
National Grid is reporting 1,855 customers in the Kendall community are without power, which is most of the town.
There are currently 4,644 National Grid customers in Orleans County without electricity, out of 19,601.
In Genesee there 3,991 Grid customers without electricity out of 27,109 customers. In Niagara, 4,992 Grid customers are without power out of 83,165 customers.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 December 2021 at 9:29 am
There are 7,359 National Grid customers without electricity after 9 this morning in Orleans County. The company is estimated the power will be back on at 6 p.m. today.
The county had as many as 8,046 National Grid customers without electricity at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
The Village of Medina is making the Senior Citizen Center on West Avenue available as a warming station or a place to charge phones from 10 a.m. to at least 5 p.m. today, Mayor Mike Sidari said.
The Village of Albion is opening its meeting room on East Bank Street from 10 to 5 p.m. as warming station. It will be open longer if needed.
The Orleans County YMCA on Pearl Street in Medina also is open as warming center.
In Albion the First Baptist Church will not be holding in-person services today due to the utility outages in the area. The church welcomes people to check its Facebook page throughout the day for links to worship resources.
This tree near the front of Mount Albion near the pond on the west side split from the wind storm.
A tree also split and toppled on the east side of the cemetery.
A tree also was knocked over from the wind at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Albion on Route 31.
Provided photos: A huge tree crushed a car in Medina owned by Paul and Patricia Hartigan on Route 63 near the Glenwood Lake boat launch.
Paul and Patricia Hartigan are shown near the large stump after tree fell over from the wind storm.
As of 10:30 this morning, there are still 7,790 National Grid customers without electricity in Orleans County. That’s about 40 percent of the National Grid customer base in the county.
By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 12 December 2021 at 9:00 am
The start of the Niagara-Orleans League swimming and wrestling seasons will highlight this coming week’s high school sports schedule.
The N-O boys and girls swim competition will get underway on Tuesday with Barker at Albion, Medina at Akron and Roy-Hart at Newfane.
The N-O wrestling action also begins on Tuesday with Wilson facing Roy-Hart/Barker at Barker. The other openers will be Wednesday with Albion at Medina and Newfane at Akron.
Basketball action will feature the Holley girls at rival Kendall on Thursday and the Kendall boys at Holley on Friday.
The weekly schedule is as follows:
Monday Boys Basketball – Lyndonville at Barker, 6 p.m.; Holley at Attica, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball – Pembroke at Holley, 7 p.m.
Tuesday Boys Basketball – Burgard at Albion, O’Hara at Medina, Roy-Hart at St. Mary’s, 6:30 p.m. Girls Basketball – Maryvale at Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m.; Notre Dame at Lyndonville, Kendall at Attica, 7 p.m. Swimming – Medina at Akron, Barker at Albion, Roy-Hart at Newfane, 4:30 p.m. Wrestling – Wilson vs. Roy-Hart/Barker at Barker, 6 p.m.
Wednesday Boys Basketball – Notre Dame at Barker, 6:30 p.m.; Holley at Pembroke, Attica at Kendall, 7 p.m. Wrestling – Eastridge at Lyndonville, Albion at Medina, Newfane at Akron, 6 p.m.
Thursday Boys Basketball – Medina at West Seneca East, Cleveland Hill at Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m.; RAC at Lyndonville, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball – RAC at Lyndonville, 5:30 p.m.; Holley at Kendall, 7 p.m. Swimming – Barker at Medina, Albion at Roy-Hart, Akron at Newfane, 4:30 p.m. Wrestling – Akron at Lyndonville, Holley-Kendall at Medina, 6 p.m.
Friday Boys Basketball – Kendall at Holley, 7 p.m. Girls Basketball – Starpoint at Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday Girls Basketball – Albion at Elba, 7 p.m.
