Photos courtesy of Lee-Whedon Memorial Library
MEDINA – More than 100 children and their families stopped by Lee-Whedon Memorial Library on Friday for costume day.
Kids were invited to stop by the library and show off their Halloween costumes. Every child received a treat bag and a book of their choice.
Here are some photos of the children in their costumes.
ALBION – Two Orleans County residents were arraigned this morning in County Court for second-degree assault.
Lawrence Guy, 44, of Holley allegedly assaulted a tenant at the Holley Hotel on Sept. 2, causing a broken jaw and head injury.
County Court Judge Sanford Church cited Guy’s previous criminal history in setting bail at $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond.
Jamal Poole, 26, of Medina also faces second-degree assault for allegedly striking his girlfriend on Aug. 11, causing a collapsed lung and chest injury.
No bail was set because he doesn’t have a prior criminal history.
Return to topPress Release, Albion Central School
Provided photo: Cassie Brown won the Leadership Award in the Albion Middle School.
ALBION – Two students from Albion’s Carl I. Bergerson Middle School were presented with awards during the Board of Education meeting on Monday night.
While the meeting was held virtually, a pre-recorded video aired of Middle School Principal Brad Pritchard officially presenting eighth-graders Cassie Brown and Nick Prest with their awards.
“Cassie Brown was nominated for the Leadership Award because she is viewed in our building as someone who is conscientious, diligent and overall just a pleasant person who people love to be around,” Pritchard said.
The principal explained that Brown does the Middle School morning announcements because her “bubbly personality helps get everyone’s day off to a good start.”
“Cassie consistently demonstrates her leadership qualities by always being pleasant and respectful to everyone,” Pritchard said. “She is always smiling in her eyes (and under her mask.)”
Nick Prest won the character award in the Middle School.
Nick Prest, also in eighth grade, received the BOE Character Award.
“He is a voracious reader and very diligent with his schoolwork,” Pritchard said. “Nick has stood out to his teachers this year for the outstanding job he has done managing the remote learning model. He not only keeps up with the learning, he stays ahead.”
Prest has also taken it upon himself to create “How To” videos for his classmates in an effort to help them navigate programs frequently used in class.
“Nick assists his classmates when they struggle and genuinely wants to help all of his peers be successful,” Pritchard said.
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Photos by Tom Rivers: Patty Urquhart of Kendall, left, fills out her ballot on Tuesday at the Kendall Town Hall.
Turnout at the local polls was steady without long waits in Orleans County. Local election inspectors said the longest lines were right when the polls opened at 6 a.m., but those voters didn’t have to wait too long.
The in-person turnout was similar to the 2016, the last presidential race. The number of in-person votes in the 2020 election was 15,757, or 64.9 percent of the 24,265 total active registered voters. That includes 3,753 through nine days of early voting.
The early voting seemed to reduce the lines on Tuesday. Election inspectors said it was “very steady” on Tuesday and they credited early voting for making the lines more manageable on Tuesday.
A Carlton voter makes his choices on Election Day.
The 15,757 in-person votes in 2020 compares to 15,424 cast for the president in 2016 when the race pitted Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton. This time it was Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden and Trump received 71.4 percent of the vote in Orleans. Against Clinton, he received 66.8 percent of the vote in the county.
There are also 2,914 applications for absentee ballots in Orleans. That is up from 952 in 2016. The absentees will be counted on Tuesday, Nov. 10. If all 2,914 ballots come in, that would put total turnout at 18,671 or 76.9 percent.
So far, 2,362 of the absentees have been received. If no more come in to the Orleans County Board of Elections, that would make turnout at 18,119 or 74.7 percent.
Gayle Ashbery, left, and Sharon Stewart worked as election inspectors on Tuesday for Carlton. Voting was moved from the Town Hall to the Carlton Rec Hall due to a renovation project at the town building.
They arrived at 5:15 a.m. Tuesday to get ready for a long day. The polls opened at 6 in the morning and closed at 9 p.m.
“People are doing their civic duty,” Stewart said.
Cathy Schwenk, an election inspector in Carlton, greets voters and directs them to their polling station at the Carlton Rec Hall. Schwenk has worked at local elections for about five years after retiring from her full-time job. She and her husband Paul continue to operate a winery, Schwenk Wine Cellars.
“I just wanted to give back to the town,” Schwenk said about working at the election. “You see a lot of people you don’t normally see, especially during a pandemic where we haven’t been able to see people.”
Schwenk said the voters were friendly and there were no displays of hostility.
“People have been calm,” she said on Tuesday afternoon. “They’re here to do what they have to do.”
The turnout was brisk but there weren’t long lines.
“It’s been nice and steady which makes the day go by,” Schwenk said.
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Photo by Tom Rivers: Congressman Chris Jacobs speaks Sunday at a get-out-the-vote rally in Albion.
Chris Jacobs has declared victory for the 27th Congressional District, an eight-county district that includes Orleans County.
“As we did in the Special Election, we have amassed an insurmountable lead in the election tonight, and we are confident victory can be declared,” Jacobs said in a statement. “I want to express my gratitude to voters of NY27 for putting their trust in me – it has been the honor of my life to represent the people of Western New York these past few months. I am deeply eager to filling a full-term fighting for this region to rebuild our economy, create good-paying job opportunities, support our farmers, and improve our infrastructure.”
In Orleans County, Jacobs received 10,687 votes to 3,843 for Nate McMurray and 234 for Duane Whitmer. Jacobs ran under the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines, with McMurray on the Democratic and Working Families parties. Whitmer ran as a Libertarian.
Robert Ortt was re-elected to a fourth term as state senator in a district that includes Orleans, Niagara and a portion of Monroe counties. Ortt was unopposed. He received 12,630 votes in Orleans County.
Steve Hawley of Batavia was re-elected to another term in the State Assembly, where he was first elected in 2006. Hawley received 11,097 votes in nine of the 10 towns in Orleans. The 139th District includes all of Genesee County and a portion of Monroe County.
Michael Norris was unopposed for a third term as assemblyman for the 144th District which includes portions of Niagara and Erie counties, and also Shelby in Orleans County. Norris received 1,342 votes in Shelby.
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Photo from Trump campaign: President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally.
Four years ago Donald Trump received 66.8 percent of the vote for president in Orleans County, which was the third highest percentage in the state, topped only by Wyoming County (71.9 percent) and Allegany County (67.0 percent).
The results of in-person voting this time show Trump receiving 71.4 percent of the vote in Orleans County or 11,173 or the 15,649 votes cast for president.
Joe Biden received 26.1 percent or 4,082 votes.
Third party candidates also picked up votes with Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian) receiving 1.8 percent or 274 votes, Brock Pierce (Independence) at 0.4 percent or 58 votes and Howie Hawkins (Green Party) at 0.2 percent or 38 votes.
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Nadine Hanlon
ALBION – Nadine Hanlon won big among in-person voters for Orleans County Clerk. Hanlon received nearly two thirds of the vote over Diane Shampine.
Hanlon, who won a close Republican primary over Shampine in June, this time had a much larger vote total – 8,900 to 4,474 for Shampine.
Hanlon is the current clerk of the County Legislature. She also recently ended a 10-year stint on the Kendall Board of Education, where she was president for seven years.
Shampine stayed in the race under the Conservative Party line. Shampine is the current acting county clerk. She was the deputy for 14 years to Karen Lake-Maynard, who retired on Jan. 30.
There are potentially 2,914 absentee ballots countywide to be counted next Tuesday. So far 2,362 of those ballots have been received by the Orleans County Board of Elections.
In other local contested races:
• Murray highway superintendent: Dirk Lammes has a big lead over James DeFilipps. Lammes has 1,076 votes under the Republican and Conservative lines, while DeFilipps has 674 under the Independence line and the independent “Jimmy D for Highway” party.
• Shelby Town Councilman: Ryan Wilkins received 1,102 votes under the Republican line. Craig Stalker also mounted a write-in campaign and there were 229 write-in votes.
The other local positions were unopposed:
• District Attorney: Joe Cardone (R) – 11,794
• Coroner (elect 3): Scott Schmidt (R) – 10,980, Charles Smith (R) – 9,594 and Rocco Sidari (R, C) – 10,262.
• Murray Town Justice: Theodore R. Spada, Jr. (R) – 1,441
• Murray Town Councilman: Randy Bower (R) – 1,433
• Shelby Town Supervisor: Jeff Smith (R) – 1,264
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Photos by Tom Rivers
KENDALL – Gary Crawford of the Kendall Lions Club strains a batch of spaghetti this afternoon. The Lions Club prepared about 250 spaghetti dinners. This year they were available for drive-through, take-out only.
Patrick Bolton had several pots of spaghetti going in the Fire Department’s kitchen next door the town hall.
The meals were served from 4 to 6 p.m. The club has managed to keep some of its fundraisers and activities going, making changes to keep people safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today there wasn’t a dine-in option for the dinner.
The Lions Club also usually does a wagon ride near Halloween where kids can pick a pumpkin, and families can then have cider and donuts. This time the Lions set up four smaller pumpkin patches and kids could walk and pick their own pumpkin. There wasn’t a wagon ride or refreshments. Partyka Farms donated 200 pumpkins for that event.
Bob Furness wipes down a table where the dinners would be set and handed to people in a drive-through line.
Paul Gray and other Lions Club members work in the kitchen on getting the meals ready for the public.
The West Barre United Methodist Church also served an Election Day turkey dinner today. It also was served drive-through with take-outs only.
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Photos by Tom Rivers
GAINES – The driver of this UPS truck was injured in an accident at about 4 p.m. today on Ridge Road, near the intersection with Crandall Road. The driver doesn’t appear to have serious injuries, deputies said, but was taken by COVA ambulance to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia.
The driver of this Volkswagen was northbound on Crandall Road and entered Ridge Road without yielding to the UPS truck. The UPS was struck in the driver’s door. A parked truck and car on the north side of the road were also hit, causing some damage.
Albion firefighters were on the scene, cleaning up debris in the road.
The State Police and Orleans County Sheriff’s Department both responded to the scene. No other information is available.
Return to topPress Release, NY State Police
Every October and November, State Troopers handle an increased number of vehicles striking deer in Troop A – Western New York. Operators should use caution around dusk and dawn.
If you are operating a vehicle and a deer enters the roadway do not swerve. When an operator swerves to avoid a deer, the vehicle is more likely to strike another vehicle or exit the roadway striking trees or utility poles resulting in serious physical injury or death.
If you strike a deer, remain at the scene and call 911. An accident report can be completed by Troopers if your vehicle has over $1,000 in damage or if a person has been injured.
NYSP Troop A (WNY) stats for car/deer collisions
2019 total deer collisions – 617
September: 78 collisions
October: 221 collisions
November: 318 collisions
2018 total deer collisions – 560
September: 103 collisions
October: 187 collisions
November: 270 collisions
2017 total deer collisions – 578
September: 83 collisions
October: 181 collisions
November: 314 collisions
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Provided photos: Students in Kathy Winans’ class are shown with their special edition Halloween masks.
Press Release, Albion Central School
ALBION – In a year filled with unprecedented challenges, two classes are working to make their school and their community a better place.
Two 12:1:1 classes, one at Albion High School the other at the Middle School, have been working to create unique face masks for their classmates, peers teachers and members of the Albion community.
Shari Berg, a teacher at Albion Middle School, says the program is the brainchild of Albion High School teacher Kathy Winans. According to Berg, it all started with a mask-making party that took place over the summer.
“There was a group of teachers and we had a little bit too much fun and we probably bought too much fabric, too much everything, and we made masks,” Berg said. “Then, when we came to school and things had changed, Winans came up with this whole idea.”
A student in Mrs. Winans’ class sews a mask together.
Winans’ classes have traditionally done other work-study and sewing projects like helping create the costumes for the high school shows, an activity that has been suspended due to the coronavirus.
“With the changes from Covid we tried to come up with something that would fit a need, which is the mask, and something that was a skill we could continue to sew and learn along the way,” Winans explained.
The key was to make sure all the students were safe and the classes were following Covid-19 safety regulations.
“They each have an envelope that’s theirs: their scissors, their pins, so that it is safe, and they work in their spaces,” Winans said. “We’ve only set up two [sewing] machines so they’re six feet apart so we can maintain the social distance, but still meet what we thought was a fun need.
According to Winans, the students love making masks.
“They like the opportunity to cut to sew to do all those skills that they’ve learned,” Winans said. “We employed Mrs. Berg’s class too, so now we’re a big team.”
A student in Mrs. Berg’s class uses a pattern to cut out the masks.
The work is split between the two classes: Mrs. Berg’s class cuts the patterns and Mrs. Winan’s class assembles the masks.
However, Mrs. Berg found that her students were missing an integral piece.
“About two weeks ago, I realized my kids were cutting out patterns, but they did not understand how the patterns were turning into masks,” Berg said. “We are just taking these patterns and cutting them.”
Mrs. Winans’ class came up with a solution: “Teaching Time” where Winans’ students invite Berg’s students to a Google meet and demonstrate their skills, ending the session with a complete mask.
“It gives the kids a chance to teach as well and share their skills and knowledge, which has been really cool,” Winans said.
This student in Mrs. Winans’ class irons in the interfacing.
Both teachers said that the design of the masks has been important, allowing the students to have some individuality, highlighting their personalities while staying safe.
“The whole purpose was that they’re two-sided, that’s the key because, when you wear it all day and the kids set them down, I wanted to make sure there was a side that they knew went against their face,” Winans said, explaining why the masks tend to feature two different fabrics.
Berg emphasized that it was also really important their students had their own, clean masks to wear.
“We made special, limited edition masks for our [Berg’s and Winans’] class[es] for Halloween so that we all match,” Berg said. “The students also got to pick out a purple mask they made to keep because our kids needed masks. Our kids physically were wearing the same masks daily and we just we didn’t want that.”
It wasn’t long before the classes began selling the masks to the community, presenting new options for customization and garnering an amazing response.
“The response has been overwhelming. People love them and are now donating fabric or donating the ear strings that are adjustable,” Winans said. “We’ve discovered different sizes now. We have a smaller size, we have sizes for children. It’s very funny how it suddenly has grown into something I never thought was going to happen.”
So far, the classes have sold over 600 masks.
“When we decided they cost $2 each, it was not about making a lot of money,” Winans said. “It was about filling a need that our school community had and the money that’s left over we will use for the club. Ideally, it’ll just be reinvested into the little business that we’ve started.”
Even if the need for masks begins to dwindle, Winans explained that the program will continue.
“I think we would hope to modify it as we need to and then maybe expand it,” Winans said. “Hopefully, if it’s not the masks, we’ll figure out something else fun to create.”
Return to topMEDINA – The Medina Village Board has hired four full-time firefighters to bring the Fire Department back to full strength with 21 full-time staff.
Village officials interviewed candidates last week and hired the following
The firefighters respond to about 3,000 calls a year and run an ambulance service for western Orleans County.
A federal grant will pay part of the salaries for the four new members of the Medina FD, said Mike Sidari, the village mayor.
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Photos by Tom Rivers: The Lyndonville Fire Department won Best in Class for the fourth consecutive year in 2018. The department has decorating fire trucks for the parade for several years.
MEDINA – The grand marshals of the Parade of Lights have been named. David and Trudi Schwert have helped plan and organize the parade since it started about a decade ago.
“The Schwerts have been active members of our planning committee from the beginning,” said Jim Hancock, the parade chairman. “They are not able to participate this year, but we wanted to recognize them for their years of support.”
The committee working on the parade didn’t want to cancel the event, which typically draws about 8,000 spectators and 40 floats.
Hancock has announced the committee has decided they could safely put on the parade, with some very distinctive changes. It will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 28 at the Medina school campus.
The event will be a reverse parade, with entries displayed throughout the campus, while spectators will drive by in their cars.
This will eliminate crowds downtown and people coming in close contact with one another.
Hancock has put out a plea for businesses, individuals and organizations to enter a float. Applications can be found on the event’s website, www.christmasinmedina.com.
The floats will be lined up throughout the parking areas of the school campus from 5 to 8 p.m. Spectators in their cars will enter in the west driveway of Oak Orchard School and wind their way through school grounds to Clifford H. Wise Middle School and Medina High School, exiting onto Maple Ridge Road.
Hancock said the Medina Police Department will provide traffic control for cars attempting to turn onto Maple Ridge Road. They are also planning to light up the intersection to insure everyone’s safety.
The school grounds will have room for 35 to 45 floats, Hancock said.
One new event this year will be a “Light up Medina” contest, headed by Pat Payne and Cindy Robinson. Homeowners and businesses are being encouraged to decorate their places for the holidays. There will be prizes in five categories for residents and two categories for businesses.
The two business categories are Christmas Spirit – traditional, and Christmas Spirit – innovative.
Home categories are Most Whimsical, Best Use of Lights, Probably Visible from Space, Christmas Spirit and Community Spirit. Entry blanks can also be found on the Christmas in Medina website. Prizes will also be awarded in various categories to parade entries.
Medina has traditionally held a Christmas in Medina celebration the same day as the Parade of Lights, but that is still being decided, according to Scott Robinson, president of Medina Area Partnership. He said details will be announced as soon as they have finalized plans.
There will be no fireworks this year to cap off the day and start the parade, according to Hancock. The tree lighting in Rotary Park will take place, however, the time has not yet been decided.
The Medina Fire Department had a Santa sitting in the Fire Department’s rescue boat for last year’s parade.
KENDALL — The school district is reporting its first positive Covid case, a staff member in the Kendall Junior-Senior High School.
The district can’t provide any more information about the person due to privacy laws.
The Orleans County Health Department notified the district of the positive test today, and the district notified the community by phone calls, emails and on the district’s website.
“School will continue as scheduled,” Julie Christensen, the district superintendent, said in a letter to the community. “We will monitor the situation and work with health officials who will be responsible for contract tracing.”
The Health Department will notify anyone if they are considered a close contact and need to quarantine. If there is no communication from the Health Department then there is no need to quarantine, Christensen said.
Return to topALBION – The school district has seen an increase in students doing remote learning since the start of the school year because some families were concerned after nine students have tested positive for Covid-19.
Those cases included eight who were doing hybrid classes at the district, with two days in person and three days remotely. Another student taking remote classes also tested positive.
The students didn’t contract Covid at school, said Scott Bischoping, the district’s interim superintendent.
Paul Pettit, the public health director for Orleans and Genesee counties, said local school districts have done a great job minimizing the spread of Covid. Pettit said all cases of students getting Covid have happened outside of school, typically at a family gathering.
Bischoping, speaking at Monday’s Board of Education meeting, said the student cases prompted about 50-60 families to take their children out of the hybrid model to remote only. In the elementary and middle schools, 30 percent of the students are now taking classes fully remote, while 37 percent of high school students are remote only.
The first student case was announced on Sept. 22. The nine cases include 3 in the middle school, 2 in high school and 4 in elementary school. No teachers have tested positive for Covid at Albion.
The district also hears from parents they would like to have more days of in-person education. Ryan Woolston on Monday submitted a written request for the district to offer more in-person education.
He said the remote education doesn’t work for many students and their families, who need to find childcare and turn to tutors to help their kids.
Woolston said he worries about the emotional impact on students who are forced to learn from home.
Bischoping said the district is looking to add more in-person days in late November as long as the Covid-19 cases don’t spike in the community. The numbers have been trending up in recent weeks.
School administrators and teachers are working on a plan for bringing back more students for more days each week. Bischoping said the district’s first focus will be offering more in-person days at Prekindergarten, kindergarten and grades 1 and 2.
The district will be in contact with families in the lower grade levels if Albion can bring students back for more in-person days.
“We’ll work with teachers to determine how to do it safely,” Bischoping said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting. “We will develop plans later this month. If the positivity rate settles, we’ll try to offer and give parents the option for more days.”
The board and superintendent also discussed the winter sports schedule. The state has set Nov. 30 as the start of practice for winter sports, but Bischoping said the state hasn’t said what sports will be allowed for winter.
Bischoping said some regions have already had swimming this fall so he expects that will happen this winter for Albion athletes. There is a chance the meets could be held at multiple locations instead of one school. Each school would use their own pool and the times would be compared with officials at each pool while the meets are run concurrently, Bischoping said.
The state hasn’t released any guidelines on how basketball and wrestling will happen in a pandemic. Those are close-contact sports.
“I think nobody wants to deliver the bad news, that’s my sense anyway,” Bischoping said. “We are waiting somewhat impatiently, because the coaches want to know, the kids want to know and we want to know.”
Kathy Harling, the Board president, said she is impressed by the fall athletes, who have been wearing masks on the soccer field and even in long-distance cross country races.
“I’m incredibly proud of our students and especially our student athletes,” Harling said. “If you watch a game our athletes keep those masks on 90 percent of the time. They may be the only ones on the field with their masks on. They have been phenomenal about it. Even cross country, imagine running with a mask, but you see pictures of them wearing their masks but everybody around them may not be wearing them so I’m extremely proud of them.”
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