Provided photos: Sandy Flugel and her son Eric, the administrator of The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center, are shown at the new store inside the nursing home on Route 31 in Albion.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 April 2023 at 4:50 pm
ALBION – A store has opened inside The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center making new and gently used items available to residents for free.
Sandy’s Boutique opened last week with a variety of clothing, jewelry, hats, shoes, and other items to put around their rooms. Residents enjoy shopping there and picking out items at no charge.
Donations are welcome from the community, with the current greatest need slip-on footwear, men’s pull-on pants, summer bonnet-style hats and baseball caps.
People can drop off donations at the front door. If those donated items aren’t needed, they will be passed along to other agencies such as Community Action, the Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern and the PAWS animal shelter, as well as churches.
Eric Flugel, the nursing home’s administrator, had the idea for the store, and received lots of help from family members and friends to bring it to reality.
Eric’s daughter Autumn, mother Sandra, nieces Liana and Alayna Flugel, aunt Sherry and Madison Watts all helped get the store set up. Other friends and cousins who joined the effort included Felicia Beach, Chantee Johnson, Melissa Olles, Ryan Olles, Sean Yantz, Michelle Ashton, Cass Dezarn, Lindsey Dezarn, niece Madeline Tabor, along with Jennifer Watts, Eli Howard, Christina Tilbe and Eric’s father Ray Flugel.
The new store is named Sandy’s Boutique and opened last week.
BATAVIA – The Genesee Community College Foundation invites nominations for its Alumni Hall of Fame, which recognizes those alumni who have achieved outstanding success and made a lasting impact on their community. The Foundation will induct the next class of nominees in Fall 2023.
GCC introduced the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007 to recognize those alumni who have achieved outstanding success and made a lasting impact on their community. In over 16 years, the college has recognized 45 outstanding graduates in a variety of professional fields from law enforcement, healthcare and economic development, to name a few.
The criteria for nominating an individual to the Alumni Hall of Fame are based on the individual’s contributions to his or her profession, distinguished service to the community and/or service to Genesee Community College. Nominees must be well-established in their professional lives, completing their GCC degree at least ten years prior to nomination.
Nominations may be submitted by the nominee or by friends, family, work associates or other colleagues who are familiar with the nominee. A selection committee will choose honorees. New inductees will be honored at a reception on campus, and their photo and a short biography will be featured on a plaque displayed in the Alumni Hall of Fame, located on the second floor of the Conable Technology Building.
Nomination forms are available on GCC Foundation’s website (click here) or contact the Foundation office at (585) 345-6809.
MEDINA – In a lot of ways technology has brought great advantages to us all, but it has also opened the door for putting us at risk.
Children especially are being exposed to harmful interactions like bullying and harassment as well as engaging with someone online who might not be who they appear to be.
Medina Central School District’s Mustang Parent Academy is offering a workshop entitled “Staying Safe Online: Internet Safety for Everyone” on Tuesday, April 11, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Oak Orchard Primary, 335 West Oak Orchard St. Childcare will be available for school-aged children and we are providing Case Nic Cookies for refreshments.
Julie Webber, director of curriculum and instruction at Medina, is working in tandem with school resource officer Dustin Meredith.
“In this day and age, we feel it is imperative to educate parents/guardians and the community of a variety of topics that impact our youth, especially navigating the digital world,” Webber said. “By making parents more aware of the dangers online, we are trying to assist them in helping their children out of potential or damaging situations before they escalate.”
Officer Meredith said he spends time collaborating with staff at the district’s schools about internet safety and the importance of being vigilant on where students are going on their electronic devices.
“It’s important for parents to know that those horrible stories you see on the news, happen right here in Medina,” he said. “Social media and the internet are fraught with dangers that can be prevented if parents are monitoring and regulating their usage.”
Oak Orchard Primary School Principal Jennifer Stearns said she believes it is never too early to talk about digital safety.
“Elementary school children are spending more time on devices than ever before and are vulnerable to risks online,” Stearns said. “I think it’s important to give their parents the tools to help keep them safe.”
For anyone unable to attend the session, you can also access it live online from your computer or phone with the meeting ID: meet.google.com/kuj-hdki-whe or at (US) +1 413-961-2517, PIN: 905 524 588#. The session will be recorded and it will be available for viewing at a later date on the school district webpage at www.medinacsd.org.
Drug ads should be removed from television. Almost every other commercial on TV is an advertisement for a new drug.
The integrity of drug ads has long been questioned. The only two countries in the world that allow drug ads on television are the United States and New Zealand.
Other countries such as the U.K., France and Germany have banned them due to high pharmaceutical spending and negative health outcomes. Additionally, the advertising companies that create the pharmaceutical ads are only required to state at least one approved use for a drug, the generic name of the drug, and any potential side effects.
Therefore, advertisers can leave out the cost, how the drug works, and whether a condition is treatable with a change in behavior.
Drug ads also cause distrust in doctors. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine conducted a survey of 1,744 adults, which found that 16% of the adults questioned their doctor’s advice after asking for a drug and could not receive it. This can cause people to stop visiting their doctor, which may cause more health issues.
Pharmaceutical ads have a negative impact on the public and should not be legal in the United States. We must speak to our representatives and advocate for the removal of drug ads on TV.
Sarah Kelly
Holley High School student
Editor’s note: Nick D’Amuro, Holley social studies teacher, said the student essay is completed by a student seeking the New York State Seal of Civic Readiness. The Seal of Civic Readiness is a formal recognition that a student has attained a high level of proficiency in terms of civic knowledge, civic skills, civic mindset, and civic experiences.
The Holley Central School District is an institution that offers students the opportunity to earn this designation on their diploma upon graduation. Students must complete a variety of tasks surrounding a particular research topic that is of interest to them. A crucial element of this project requires students to inform citizens in their community about their topic and call for citizens to take action. This article serves as the basis for this requirement, D’Amuro said.
Photographs of the South Barre Water Cure are rare. This image appeared in the Orleans Republican, Jan. 13, 1966
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
Illuminating Orleans, Vol. 3, No. 11
BARRE – The curative powers of drinking and soaking in mineral waters were acknowledged by the ancient Greek and Romans. In 18th century England, visitors flocked to the city of Bath to partake of its hot spring mineral waters.
Vincenz Priessnitz (1799-1851), an Austrian who is considered the founder of modern hydrotherapy, popularized the concept of water-cure establishments which combined various forms of water treatment with rest, exercise and clean air.
This concept of hydrotherapy as an alternative medicine became popular in the United States during the 1840s and 1850s. At a time when public water was often contaminated and the source of disease – when mortality was high and antibiotics yet unknown – this was quickly accepted as a viable treatment for a variety of acute conditions: gout, liver ailments, stomach inflammation, rheumatism, and skin disorders.
The treatment regimen usually involved drinking copious amounts of special or “pure” water, taking cold showers, cold baths and being wrapped in cold sheets.
Soon most communities in New York State could boast a “water cure”. In Western New York, mineral spring resorts opened at Alden, Avon, Castile, Chautauqua, Clifton Springs, Cold Springs, Cuba, Dansville, and Wyoming. By 1900, sixty-four such resorts had been opened in New York State.
Two water cure locations operated in Orleans County. The Alabama Sour Springs also known as the Oak Orchard Sour Springs is familiar to many. The Water Cure which operated in South Barre is less well known. Located in the Town of Barre, on the south side of Oak Orchard Road where the road runs east and west, and just north of the mucklands, it was short-lived and seemingly only established by default.
As befitting its location on the edge of the mysterious Tonawanda Swamp, the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the Water Cure are murky. Visions, mediums, spiritualists, petroleum wells, large sums of money and exaggerated claims were involved.
In some accounts, Mrs. Sarah Collins, a wealthy widow from Genesee County whose married daughter lived in Barre, claimed to have received communications from the spirits who instructed her to drill for oil at a specific location out in the swamp. In 1868, she hired an experienced team of men who drilled to a depth of 1,400 feet with no success.
The spirits then advised her to drill at another location at the edge of the swamp. Having drilled to a depth of 1,200 feet, the drill team did not find oil but discovered “a flowing stream of water which had a strong and unpleasant odor”, which, according to the spirits, possessed medicinal properties.
However, a lawsuit outlined in the Democrat and Chronicle of Friday, June 17, 1877, indicates that it was Jeremiah Eighmie, a wealthy spiritualist from Dutchess County, who financed the drilling, having purchased the 1,500 acres of swampland from Ezra B. Booth on the recommendation of Mrs. Collins and her spiritual advisors. He claimed that the “valuable deposits” of coal and oil promised were falsely represented and he sued to recover damages for his investment of $20,000.
The construction of the “Water Cure”, as it was locally known, is attributed to the ever resourceful Mrs. Collins. It was an imposing three-story structure, about 200 feet wide and 300 feet long, located close to the wells where the curative water had been discovered. A first-class sanitarium facility was located on the first floor. Parlors, reception rooms, dining halls and sleeping quarters were also outfitted.
The building boasted a central heating system: heat produced by a large pipe-less furnace in the basement rose through a large floor register in the first-floor main entry area and then through floor and ceiling registers to the upper floors.
Three windmills were erected at the wells, iron pipes were laid underground to carry the water to the hotel. The acidic spring water or “sulphur water” prevalent throughout the Tonawanda Swamp area is the product of geochemical processes involving the oxidation of organic carbon and pyrite. It smells rank, tastes foul, and is so acidic it can curdle milk. Its curative properties are dubious at best. But at that time, it was convincingly presented and advertised with ringing testimonials. It is likely that any improvement experienced by clients was due to the change of scene, clean air, and rest.
The Water Cure enterprise at South Barre was short lived due in large part to the untimely death of Mrs. Collins, its principal investor. Regardless of its purported curative properties, its location, eight miles from the nearest railroad station in Albion, was a deterrent for prospective clients since many other such establishments were more easily accessible.
The cost – $1 per couple for supper and dance – would approximate to $30 today.
In later years, the building hosted local dinners, dances, and social events. Local young men: Henry Seager, 21, George Kerrison, 17 and Walter Mattison, 18, organized this November 3, 1882 “Social Hop”. George Gibbs owned the property from about 1890 to 1915, it later burned.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 21 March 2023 at 1:21 pm
MEDINA – United Way of Orleans County has announced allocations for its 2023 fiscal year.
According to executive director Matt Holland, United Way of Orleans County will distribute $120,000 to 17 non-profit organizations throughout the county. Funds will help basically every segment of the population in Orleans County, including childcare services, after school programming, services for the aging, community kitchen support, services for developmentally disabled, infants and all ages of youth.
Community partners receiving funds this year are GLOW Arc’s Camp Rainbow and Meals on Wheels, Boy Scouts of America Iroquois Trail Council, Care Net Center of Greater Orleans, Koinonia Community Kitchen, Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, GCASA, GO ART!, Supportive Care of Orleans, Genesee-Orleans Ministry of Concern, Senior Center of Western Orleans, OCALS, Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, Orleans County YMCA, P’Raising Kids Child Care Center, Project Stork and VIA WNY 211.
“This year’s allocations cover a wide range of programming that will be of great benefit to the community,” Holland said. “We would like to give special thanks to all who give to the United Way of Orleans County’s fundraising campaign. Your donations make this process happen.”
Through the allocations process, organizations submit proposals and requests for funding for certain projects. The United Way’s allocation committee works diligently to review proposals and provide funding, Holland said. This year, every request received funding.
“These allocations are essential to ensure the viability of the wide variety of services provided by these organizations,” said Jim Punch, United Way’s board president. “The United Way of Orleans County fulfills its responsibility to provide funds year after year, no matter what financial and economic conditions prevail in the area we serve. We are extremely thankful to the people of Orleans County who donate and sacrifice to help those less fortunate. You make this a better place to live for all. I am very proud to be a part of our United Way and a member of this community.”
Individual donations to support United Way of Orleans County can be made online at OrleansUnitedWay.org. Contributions can also be mailed to P.O. Box 188, Medina.
In addition to soliciting donations, United Way of Orleans County is actively involved in fundraising, including the annual golf tournament scheduled this year on June 2 at Shelridge Country Club, and other special events. More information on these events will be announced in coming weeks.
HAMLIN – Tops Friendly Markets is proud to celebrate the grand reopening of its 1800 Lake Rd. location. This store is centrally located in the heart of Hamlin near town parks and camp sites, Hamlin Beach State Park and of course, Lake Ontario.
This renovation marks the 31st location recently updated with a new look and a renewed focus on fresh departments.
Tops will cut the ribbon on this multi-million-dollar renovation project at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 28. This store with over 47,000 square feet will offer new, enhanced services, an expanded assortment of products, and an enlarged fresh perimeter with new updated décor
This store has been refreshed from top to bottom for a new and contemporary experience which includes new exterior paint with refreshed awnings, landscaping, energy efficient equipment and LED lighting both inside and out, Flashfoods, fuel station, solar powered efficiencies, expanded state-of-the-art self-check outs, renovated restrooms and bottle redemption room, and new interior décor.
Store Manager, Bobby Giancursio, said he and his team are working hard every day to make life easier for their shoppers by focusing on affordable, easy-to-prepare meal options as well as providing some new additions.
“When it comes to freshness, convenience and variety, you’ll find everything here at your newly remodeled Hamlin store,” he said. “With inspiring products including a wider selection of domestic and imported cheeses, healthy hydration selection, and custom cut meats by real butchers, guests are sure to enjoy all we have to offer.”
He invites the community to visit during the grand reopening celebration and even have the chance to win some great prizes like $1,000 in Tops gift cards for food and fuel, a family four pack to Six Flags Darian Lake, or a Flex Pack to a Rochester Red Wings game.
Tops partners with over 500 local produce and dairy farmers including several neighbors right in in our backyard like Partyka Farms.
As a long-time member of the community, it is our commitment to keep our neighborhoods strong. The Hamlin Tops store will be making $1,000 donations to each of the following local groups as a thank you for their support of the community: Brockport Central School, Hamlin Ambulance, Hamlin Fire Department, Life Solutions of Hamlin Food Pantry, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and VFW Post 6703.
BASOM – Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge announces plans to conduct up to six prescribed burns on the Refuge during the 2023 season.
The goal this year is to burn up to 150 acres of grasslands and 30 acres of cattail marsh. The result will be enhanced grassland nesting cover and improved marsh habitat for a variety of migratory birds and other wildlife.
Grassland fields will be burned in the spring or summer (April – August) and marshes will be burned in the summer (June-August). Each burn should take approximately two to six hours to complete.
Prescribed burns are conducted safely and successfully on National Wildlife Refuges and other public lands across the country. With prescribed burns, fire becomes a management tool removing accumulated fuel loads thus reducing the risk of wildfire.
Additionally, fire improves Refuge habitats for wildlife by removing invading plants that compete for light and nutrients and exposing the soil to sunlight so that seeds may germinate and grow. At the same time, it releases nitrogen and other nutrients into the soil to nourish the new plants.
Specific dates cannot be announced in advance due to specific weather requirements, however, law enforcement and other emergency agencies will be notified on the day of the burn. Before a burn can take place, specific weather and site conditions, including wind direction and speed, humidity, air temperature, and fuel moisture must be present.
If any one of these conditions is outside of set parameters, the burn will not take place. Refuge staff have been specially trained to plan, ignite and monitor the fire to ensure public safety.
For further information contact Refuge Manager, Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, 1101 Casey Road, Basom, NY 14013 or call 585-948-5445 ext.7030.
BATAVIA – Community Action of Orleans and Genesee is partnering with M&T Bank’s Financial Education Center to offer a free financial wellness workshop.
Visitors will have access to information on a variety of topics, such as budgeting, credit management, building wealth, retirement, and more.
The class will be held at 5073 Clinton St. Rd, Batavia, on Wednesday, March 22, at 11 a.m. Pre- registration is required. To sign up, contact David Dodge at (585) 343-7798 ext. 114 or email ddodge@caoginc.org.
Community Action of Orleans and Genesee is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and has served low-income and disadvantaged families since 1965. Community Action programs are designed to empower as well as provide opportunity to those who are not yet self-sufficient.
Photos courtesy of Albion Central School: The weight room at the middle school has new equipment after the district used some of its federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the upgrades.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 March 2023 at 8:37 am
ALBION – The school district has upgraded three of its weight rooms using $102,074 from its federal American Rescue Plan Act allotment.
The new equipment is now in place at two rooms in the middle and one in the high school. The middle school has two different weight rooms – one for strength and one for function. The high school has a room for cardio fitness.
Albion purchased five new units of strength equipment including dumbbells and benches, a variety of safer functional items – mats, TRX suspension trainers, Rack5 Storage, Kettlebells, Core Bags, Foam Rollers, Medicine Balls, Stability Balls and Resistance Bands, said Rick Recckio, school business administrator.
The new cardio equipment includes rowers, AMTs, a Stair Climber, bikes and treadmills.
Recckio went over the improvements and remodeled weight rooms during Monday’s Board of Education meeting. He said the older equipment will be scrapped because of its poor condition.
The federal government approved $4,265,000 for the district’s total ARPA funding.
The former athletic director’s office in the high school now has cardio machines. This is a room near the cafeteria that is also used by the athletic trainers.
By Ginny Kropf, correspondent Posted 1 March 2023 at 9:34 pm
Provided photo: Jonathan Oakes, left, and his brother Christopher stand in the State Capitol in Albany on the Million Dollar Staircase with steps made of Medina Sandstone. The brothers were in Albany for meetings of the New York State Apple Association and New York State Cider Association. Jonathan is president of the New York Cider Association and Christopher is vice president of the NY Apple Association.
LYNDONVILLE – There’s no mistaking Christopher and Jonathan Oakes passion for their family business.
The brothers are not only heavily involved in LynOaken Farms, but Christopher is vice chair of the New York Apple Association, while Jonathan is president of the New York Cider Association.
They recently attended annual meetings of their respective organizations in Albany, which they feel is important in urging lawmakers to make laws and provide funding for programs beneficial to farmers.
In addition to Christopher’s and Jonathan’s involvement in their agricultural organizations, their aunt Wendy Oakes-Wilson is a member of the New York Grape and Wine Foundation.
Jonathan has been a member of the New York Cider Association since its founding in 2015. He was elected president last June. He is the winemaker for Leonard Oakes Estate Winery.
Christopher has been on the New York Apple Association board since 2020 and was elected vice chair a year ago.
“Our involvement in agricultural goes back to our grandfather Jim,” Jonathan said. “He was active in many agricultural agencies, specifically apple organizations.”
Jim’s father Leonard founded the family farm in 1919, raising poultry and vegetables, continuing through World War II. After Leonard died in 1951 and Jim took over, he moved more into fruit and vegetables, Jonathan said. By the 1980s, the farm was mostly a fruit farm. Christopher’s and Jonathan’s dad Darrell heads the farm today.
File photos by Tom Rivers: Chris Oakes, orchard manager at LynOaken Farms and the fourth generation to work on the farm, holds a Redfield apple, a variety that was developed in 1938. The apple has a red flesh and pink seeds. It’s one of the heirloom varieties in a U-Pick orchard at the farm.
Farming has become more challenging in recent years, with all the rules and regulations being enacted in Albany, Christopher said, which is why the Oakes brothers know how important it is to support the Apple and Cider organizations.
Jonathan has always had a penchant for cider and started fermenting in 2003. Their tasting room was opened in 2008 at the winery on Ridge Road in Medina.
He said cider was one of original key beverages in our nation, and since LynOaken Farms had a lot of apples, it made sense to start making cider.
“Then we have a school like Cornell in our back yard,” Jonathan said. “It’s nice for us to collaborate with each other and assure we stay on the front end of things.”
He said the Cider Association is young as an organization, kind of running on the shirttails of the Apple Association.
“It’s been a good relationship so far,” he said.
LynOaken Farms currently grows 250 acres of apples, 16 acres of peaches and 15 acres of wine grapes. The major apple orchards are on their home farm on Platten Road in Lyndonville, while the winery is located at 10609 Ridge Rd., Medina. Commercially, they raise 14 varieties of apples, but their U-pick orchard offers more than 350 varieties. One of these is an ancient type called Ben Davis.
“This was a big variety when the canal came through,” Christopher said. “You could put them on a ship to England and they would still look like an apple when they got there. Of course, they were like shoe leather.”
Christopher said every apple grower in the state is automatically a member of the New York Apple Association. One thing which they advocated for was for a portion of every apple sale to go to the Association for marketing. Currently, 16 cents of every bushel sold goes to fund marketing of New York state apples. The Apple Board meets three times a year – in February, June and November. Meetings are in Albany at budget time and in different locations the other two sessions. The state has 550 apple growers.
Jonathan Oakes, the winemaker at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Medina, serves wine during the third annual Farm-to-Table dinner on Aug. 2, 2018 in downtown Medina.
The Cider Association is member driven and their funding comes from membership dues. The organization are hoping to convince Albany to increase the line item in the budget for state funding of the Cider Association.
Their requests include funding for a New York Cider Mark Promotion campaign (resulting in full activation on cider labeling indicating 100 percent use of New York apples); Cider Week New York; a New York Cider Trail app to inspire visits to tasting rooms and orchards; and update of the website, social channels and collateral to increase tourist attraction.
The Cider Association has a state director in Hudson Valley and a board of 11 members. They meet every other month, with one general membership meeting in March. Smaller committees meet regularly.
Since growers have started making cider in New York state, it has had a tremendous economic impact, according to information provided by Jonathan. From five licensed producers in 2011, the industry has grown to more than 125 in 2023, employing 6,148 and resulting in $520 million in wages.
The New York Cider Association says the cider industry has a $1.7 billion total economic impact in the state.
The state will celebrate Cider Week New York May 5 to 14 and Oct. 6 to 15. More information can be found on their website at www.ciderweeknewyork.com.
‘We are here to make sure you get what you are paying for’
Provided images: The 2023 inspection seals are predominantly found on gas pumps and store register scales.
Press Release, Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments
Promoting a fair and equitable marketplace is the work of the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments, Department of Weights & Measures (GO Health W&M). This department protects open market transactions, ensuring fairness for both buyers and sellers.
Ronald P. Mannella
“The worth of county and state Weights & Measures departments are more valuable than ever,” said Ronald P. Mannella, GO Health W&M director. “Persistent price increases of everyday necessities are straining our communities and people are stretching their money to new levels. We are here to make sure you get what you are paying for.”
2022 included 470 inspections accounting for 1,211 devices in 209 businesses. These tests involved pumping more than 26,000 gallons of fuel and using more than 5.9 million pounds of test weight. The department handled 13 complaint investigations, confirmed 591 package weights & 300 item prices, and collected 132 fuel samples confirming fuel sold within both counties met a variety of parameters.
With support from New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, GO Health has already confirmed over five times as many item prices compared to 2022. “This is just another way we are able to protect consumers. Pricing accuracy is a top priority for us going forward,” Mannella. said
2023 Audits (to date):
92 Overcharges (Prices at checkout were higher than shelf tags)
30 Undercharges (Prices at checkout were lower than shelf tags)
8 Missing shelf tags
Keep a watchful eye on your receipts to confirm prices match at checkout
Sharing Services, Reducing Costs
After recently celebrating 10 years of shared services between the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments, GO Health W&M started its fourth year of the cross county collaboration. Savings have exceeded $150,000 in W&M costs alone.
Provided photos: Jason Klein observes students in Mrs. Duhow’s 5th grade class with their tower challenge: Oscar Lopez, Avery Twitchell and Amber O’Kussick.
Press Release, Medina Central School
MEDINA – District Technology Integrator Jason Klein attended a professional development session called “Infusing STEAM into Today’s Instruction.” It inspired him and Julie Webber (Director of Curriculum and Instruction) to plan a day for Clifford Wise students of STEAM education.
Third-grader Jack Buondonno made this creation, Scarpkins, from recycled materials.
STEAM is an education approach to learning the uses of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics for guiding student inquiry, communication, and critical thinking.
“We decided to go “Full STEAM Ahead” at Clifford Wise Intermediate School,” says Klein. “We started the day with a school-wide presentation from author, illustrator and maker, Brian Yanish, where he encouraged students to think outside the box and reuse recyclables in new and innovative ways.”
After a fun filled and enlightening presentation, students worked with their peers to compete in a variety of STEAM challenges that encouraged problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork.
“Brian Yanish’s presentation inspired the students and really got their creative juices flowing,” said Klein. “They used that momentum in their STEAM challenges. The students were enthusiastic and excited and couldn’t wait to share their creations and solutions with their peers, teachers and family. I heard one student say, ‘Time really does fly by when you are having fun.’”
The STEAM challenges were broken down by grade. Grade 3 had the Scrapkins: Junk Re-Thunk Challenge where they had to design and build a character using recycled materials.
Grade 4 took on the Amazing Architecture Challenge where they built a home for their rubber duck using 50 marshmallows and 50 toothpicks. Fifth grade was assigned the Newspaper Tower Challenge where they used the engineering design process to design and build a structure at least 30” tall to support a basketball for at least three seconds.
Lastly the sixth graders had the Slo-Mo Marble Challenge where they used the Engineering Design Process to design and build the slowest marble run out of recycled materials.
“I believe that the students got a lot of out of this day,” Klein said. “Our goal was to inspire and empower lifelong learners through hands-on STEAM education that fosters creativity, critical thinking, and a passion for innovation. We hope students, and even teachers, take away that STEAM is about creativity, trial, error and having fun. If students are not ‘successful’, that’s okay because it is part of the process.”
Julie Webber added, “This opportunity truly allowed students to embrace and love learning through exploration. Statements like ‘I don’t want to go home’ and ‘No… The buses are coming!’ were heard from the students. Even the teachers and staff enjoyed participating with the students. Learning is not just about memorizing facts, it’s about applying the knowledge that we learn. Students had a great opportunity to do this!”
Jason Klein and Brian Yanish pose are shown with students from Mrs. Scott’s third grade class: Cai Ree Lorenz, Alexis Sherman and Jordan Hammonds with their Scrapkins.
Kole McMullen and Santiago Velez in Mrs. Lemme’s 4th grade class plan out an architecture challenge.
This 1909 Library of Congress photo shows the interior of a Railway Mail Service carriage.
Posted 26 February 2023 at 7:03 pm
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
Illuminating Orleans – Vol. 3 No. 8
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)
BATAVIA – The Rural Police Training Academy is proud to announce its 35th anniversary of providing top-quality training to police officers and pre-employment recruits in Western New York.
Since 1985, the RPTA has accepted recruits from across the region, offering a yearly basic course that runs from early April to the following early March, as well as a variety of in-service courses throughout the year in cooperation with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.
“We are thrilled to celebrate 35 years of providing exceptional training and education to law enforcement professionals in Western New York,” said director of the Rural Police Training Academy Doug Brooks. “The RPTA is dedicated to producing well-prepared, confident officers who are committed to serving their communities with the highest level of professionalism.”
The RPTA’s basic course features classes on Tuesdays, a majority of Wednesdays and Thursdays, from April to the end of December. Physical agility testing is required for enrollment, which will be scheduled in the weeks leading up to the start of the Academy.
Both full and part-time officers, including those over the age of 35, are welcome to enroll, as well as pre-employment candidates who are at least 19 years old and have no felony or criminal convictions. A background investigation is required for all pre-employment candidates.
“Congratulations to the Rural Police Training Academy on their 35th anniversary of providing top-quality training to police officers and pre-employment recruits in Western New York,” said Dr. Craig Lamb, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at GCC. “The RPTA plays a vital role in training and preparing law enforcement professionals, and their commitment to producing well-prepared and confident officers who serve their communities with the highest level of professionalism is commendable. We are proud to have such an outstanding organization in our community.”
Applications are now being emailed for the 35th Annual RPTA Class beginning in April 2023. If interested, please email RPTA Director Brooks at rpolice@genesee.edu and ask that an application packet be sent to you for the 2023 Academy.
Your email should include your name, phone number and preferred email. Seats are limited! More information can be found by clicking here.
MEDINA – In a lot of ways technology has brought great advantages to us all, but it has also opened the door for putting us at risk.
MEDINA – United Way of Orleans County has announced allocations for its 2023 fiscal year.
