BARRE – The state Department of Transportation has closed a section of Route 98 between Gillette Road in Barre and Ridge Road in Elba for an emergency culvert replacement.

The closure is expected to last several weeks, the Orleans County Emergency Management Office said.

DOT staff were out just before 3 p.m. to put up signs and barriers, shutting down a section of Route 98. The DOT has suggested a detour on Route 31A, Rt. 237 or to Rt. 262.

Here is a press release issued by the state DOT this afternoon:

The New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists that a portion of State Route 98 between Gillette Road in the Town of Barre, Orleans County, and Ridge Road in the Town of Elba, Genesee County, has been closed to traffic after a recent inspection revealed deficiencies in a culvert beneath the roadway.

NYSDOT is working to address the matter and will keep the public apprised of further developments.

Motorists should follow the posted detour utilizing State Route 262, State Route 237 and State Route 31A. Variable message signboards have been positioned to alert motorists ahead of the closure. NYSDOT will keep the public apprised regarding the reopening of the road.

Motorists should anticipate travel delays during this time and are advised to seek alternate routes as necessary. Construction activities are weather dependent and subject to change based on conditions.

Motorists are urged to slow down and drive responsibly in work zones. Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver license.

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – These cyclists cross the lift bridge in Holley this morning as part of a 62-mile ride today from Medina to Fairport.

The Cycle the Erie Canal journey started Sunday in Buffalo and the cyclists made it to Medina, where they camped in tents. The entire ride will be about 400 miles ending in Albany on July 20.

This cyclist get her picture taken on the Holley boardwalk with a banner noting it’s the Erie Canal’s bicentennial this year.

Tom Henker of Goshen watches the lift bridge in Holley go up when a boater passed through. This is Henker’s fourth time cycling the Erie Canal and the first time seeing a lift bridge in action.

“I’ve never seen it go up or down,” he said. “It’s cool.”

These two cyclists approach Hulberton on the ride this morning.

These cyclists ride along the towpath as the get close to the lift bridge in Holley.

The cyclists had lots of beverages and snacks in Holley near the gazebo. Holley is an official rest stop for the cyclists.

John and Wendy Kenney greet Orly the Ox, the county’s bicentennial mascot, at Holley’s official rest stop where the 600 cyclists can get water, Gatorade, coffee, pastries and fruit.

Mr. Kenney, the former mayor of Holley, has volunteered at the stop for 27 years. His wife has helped out the past 20 years.

“You get to meet people from all over the country and world,” she said.

Mr. Kenney said he touts the assets in the Holley community and encourages the cyclists to come back.

The Albion Merchants Association also had water and fruit snacks ready for the cyclists this morning. Albion is an unofficial stop providing refreshments for the cyclists.

Mark Olsen gets his picture taken with Santa in Albion. Santa was there to promote Albion’s role as home of a Santa School from 1937 to 1966.

Olsen recently moved from Portland, Oregon to Millerton in Dutchess County. He said the bike ride adventure was off to a good start the first two days.

“The trails are well marked and the food is fantastic,” he said.

These three siblings grew up in Medina near the canal. They are riding the towpath together for the 8-day ride along the canal. From left include Bronwyn Green, Billy Balcerzak and Brandi Zavitz. Green has done the ride twice before while this is the first time for her brother and sister.

Wise Intermediate School in Medina hosted the cyclists last night and a tent city was created on the school grounds. The cyclists headed east this morning through the rest of Orleans County with the end point today in Fairport.

A cyclists crosses the lift bridge in Holley to go to the rest area.

These cyclists were happy to take a break in Holley on today’s ride.

The cyclists are out in the country on the towpath after passing the Densmore Road bridge in Albion with the Transit Road bridge in the distance.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Jose Corte of Long Island, left, and Yang Chen of Queens pose with their bikes in front of their tent, set up for the night at the Clifford Wise Intermediate School.

MEDINA – More than 600 bikers and 106 support staff are spending the night camped on the grounds of Wise Junior/Senior High School on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride from Buffalo to Albany.

This is the 27th year for the ride, which left Buffalo Sunday morning and will end in eight days in Albany. The ride also celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

The 400-mile trek over eight days is organized by Parks & Trails New York. This year there are cyclists from 37 states between the ages of 8 and 84. The tour this year also celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

Tents are set up all around Wise Intermediate School, including these in front of the school. Setting up their tent, in green shirts, are Kathy and Eric Medlin of Jamestown, N.C., first-time riders on Cycle the Erie Canal.

Medina has annually been a designated overnight stop for the bikers, who come from all parts of the country. They are headed 62 miles east on Monday to Fairport.

Some, like Michael Burke of Edenton, N.C. have completed the ride multiple times, while others, like Christy Greening of Mickleton, N.J. are participating for the first time.

Burke grew up in Binghamton, and has biked in this ride more than 20 times. He loves the overnight in Medina, and looks forward every year to the band Pocket Change. Dinner is always wonderful, he said.

Christy Greening of Mickleton, N.J. arranges her tent for the night during the stop in Medina on the Cycling the Erie Canal ride.

Greening learned about the ride last year from a man she met on the CNO Canal ride from Maryland to Washington, D.C. He told her he does that ride one year and the Erie Canal the next. Greening is riding alone and said she has met a lot of solo riders.

“Next year, we joked us solo riders should all get Solo cups to identify us,” Greening said. “We consider this ‘summer camp for adults.’”

The Medina Tourism Committee, chaired by Jim Hancock, helps to welcome the cyclists for their stay in Medina. Hancock and wife Barb, Barb Gorham and Jan Smith, and Dawn Borchet and Isabella Zasa from Orleans County Tourism answered questions and provided information at the information tent.

Michael Burke of Edenton, N.C. registers as Orleans County tourism director Dawn Borchet watches in the tourism booth set up on the grounds of Wise Intermediate School.

Zambistro’s was hired by Parks and Trails New York to provide Sunday night supper and breakfast before the bikers started on their way Monday morning.

Hancock praised the support from the Medina school district, which made everything possible.

“Without the wonderful cooperation of the schools Grounds Superintendent Kevin and his assistant Cindy, we couldn’t do this,” Hancock said.

At 4 p.m., Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers gave a presentation on Medina sandstone and interesting sites to see in Orleans County.

He showed pictures of many sandstone buildings, including the First Presbyterian Church of Albion, the tallest building in Orleans County at 175 feet; the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church with at least 41 Tiffany windows; the Medina Armory, now a YMCA; three churches in Medina made of sandstone and other sites in Orleans County and beyond.

He said sandstone is not just a local thing, with many churches and mansions in Buffalo, and sandstone in the steps of the Capitol in Albany and part of Albany City Hall. Medina Sandstone is prominent in many canal communities, near and far, and could be readily shipped from the quarries in Orleans County.

(Left) Jim Hancock, left, chair of Orleans County Tourism Committee, chats with Dylan Carey, director of Policy and Planning for Parks and Trails New York. (Right) Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers gave a presentation in Wise school auditorium on Medina Sandstone and attractions in Orleans County. Here, he holds a picture of the historic Presbyterian Church in Albion.

Rivers explained there were about 50 quarries in Orleans County during its peak between 1890 and 1910, with quarrymen coming from Britain, Italy, Ireland and Poland. Two quarrymen, who went home one winter to the Isle of Guernsey, came back and were lost when the Titanic went down April 14, 1912. There is a monument for those two – William Doughton and Peter MacKain – at Hillside Cemetery in Holley/Clarendon.

Rivers described Albion’s historic Courthouse Square, and the 1822 lighthouse in Charlotte, the oldest known sandstone structure, which is still standing strong. Rivers also described the Soldiers and Sailors monument in Mount Albion Cemetery and the Medina Sandstone used in Hamlin Beach State Park by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Rivers told bikers about Albion being home to the world’s first Santa Claus School and the first Free Methodist Church in the world, and explained the Cobblestone Museum was a short ride north of Albion.

Leaving Medina, the bikers were advised to look for the canal culvert, the only place in the world where a road goes under a canal. Rivers also said someone had discovered markings in the stones, some with initials and others with crosses.

He also said in 1825 the canal was four feet deep and 40 feet wide. Now it’s 12 to 14 feet deep and about 120 feet wide.

“It really was a ditch,” he said. “In Holley, the bend was too sharp and had to be straightened out.”

Of 16 lift bridges on the Erie Canal, seven are in Orleans County.

It is the hope of tourism professionals in the county that the bikers’ interests will be peaked and they will make a return visit.

Such is the case with biker John Zawistowski of Jamestown, Pa.

“This is my first time here,” he said. “I heard about the Railroad Museum and the sandstone, and I’m going to come back.”

A sea of tents is spread out on the lawn at Wise Intermediate School in Medina, where more than 600 bikers are spending the night on the Cycle the Erie Canal ride.

Provided photo: Crash Cadillac performs at the Yates Town Park on July 10.

Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club

YATES – This past Thursday night the Lyndonville Lions hosted their annual community appreciation concert.

This annual event which expresses the appreciation to the community and individual supporters, and featured a crowd favorite, Crash Cadillac. The band performed their play list of crowd-pleasing music for three hours as the Lions handed out hot dogs and ice-cold beverages.

The Lions Club wants to thank GO Art! for their financial support which helps the club bring events like this to the Town of Yates and the people of Orleans County.

In further club activities, the Lions will take a short break until mid-August when they will host their summer chicken barbecue on Sunday, August 17th.  The event will be supported by Chiavetta’s and will be take-out only.  Serving will start at 11:30 am Sunday morning at the White Birch Golf Course and go until sold out.

The Lions Club has scheduled its second annual Oktoberfest for Saturday, October 18th at 5 p.m.  The event will include a repeat performance by the award-winning Oktoberfest band from Buffalo, The Frankfurters.

Tickets will go on sale in mid-September and attendees will be treated to an evening of German Oktoberfest music, an authentic Oktoberfest buffet complete with schnitzel, spätzle, red cabbage and soft pretzels with beer cheese dip. It is also expected that mugs of German-style Oktoberfest beverages will be available for purchase. The White Birch Golf Course will host the Lions for this event.

As always, the Lyndonville Lions want to express their gratitude to the community at large.  As we enter the “Dog Days of Summer,” the club extends its thanks and wishes for a safe and health-filled summer to all.

We look forward to our upcoming events and hope to see you there. May God continue to bless this great country, keep watch over the men and women of our military, and bestow his mercy on us all.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Mark Ferrara shares about his book chronicling the Erie Canal during a presentation Saturday at Author’s Note in Medina.

MEDINA – An English professor at the State University of Oneonta has written a book about the Erie Canal, focusing on the American communities along its banks and the ordinary people who lived, worked and died there.

Mark Ferrara visited Author’s Note Book Store on Saturday afternoon to sign copies and read from his book, The Raging Erie: Life and Labor Along the Erie Canal.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Mark Ferrara signs copies of his latest book, “The Raging Erie: Life and Labor Along the Erie Canal,” at Author’s Note Book Store on Saturday afternoon.

Ferrara grew up in the Richmond, Va. area, which he considers an “American community.” He also realized there were many American communities along the canal, including Utica and Syracuse where his parents grew up.

Realizing the canal’s bicentennial was coming up, Ferrara began reading everything he could about poor and working class who were forgotten whenever the canal was celebrated. His book took four years to complete – two years of research and then two more to put it all together and get it published.

Ferrara chronicles the fates of the Native Americans whose land was appropriated for the canal, the European immigrants who bored its route through the wilderness and the orphan children who drove the draft animals that pulled boats around the clock.

The author also shows how the canal served as a conduit for the movement of new ideas and religions, a corridor for enslaved people seeking freedom via the Underground Railroad and a spur for social reform movements that emerged in response to the poverty and suffering along its path.

The Raging Erie explores the social dislocation and untold hardships at the heart of a major engineering feat, shedding light on the lives of the canallers who toiled on behalf of American expansion.

Ferrara is also the author of seven books, two of which are American Community: Radical Experiments in Intentional Living and Living the Food Allergic Life. He has taught for universities in South Korea, China and on a Fulbright scholarship in Turkey.

This is the author’s first visit to Medina, and he planned to spend some time exploring the village before heading home.

The Raging Erie is available at Author’s Note, 519 Main St., or online at authorsnote.com. Signed copies can also be ordered for pickup or free shipping at the store’s website.

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Approximately 30 people showed up at Boxwood Cemetery on Saturday morning to learn about cleaning headstones.

MEDINA – Cleaning headstones is an ongoing task, as Friends of Boxwood Cemetery learned this morning.

Todd Bensley, a member of Friends of Boxwood Cemetery and Village of Medina historian, led a seminar for approximately 30 people, in which he demonstrated the proper technique and materials to clean a headstone.

The first headstone cleaning event took place in 2022, after a professional came and demonstrated how it should be done, Bensley said.

“I’ve been leading a seminar annually since then,” he said.

He explained why it is important to clean headstones, especially old ones.

“When lichens accumulate on the headstones, it eats away on the stone,” Bensley said. “Cleaning them preserves their history. For some people, their gravestone is the only way we know they existed. If the lettering is illegible, we have no way of knowing who they are. As village historian I wrote several books on Boxwood Cemetery. I tried to find information on some of the burials by going through archives, but the information on their gravestone was all I could find. If there is growth on them, it will eventually eat them away.”

Bensley’s wife Nicole this morning checked in participants, including several new members who signed up for Friends of Boxwood Cemetery. Copies of Todd’s book on Boxwood Cemetery were also available for sale.

Bensley explained there are 5,000 burials in Boxwood Cemetery, and even with two burials in a plot, that still adds up to a lot of headstones. He said it typically takes 20 to 30 minutes to clean the average headstone. He demonstrated the equipment needed, which included a pad to kneel on, plastic scraper, a pail, D-2 cleaner and a popsicle stick or skewer.

He also advised rubbing one’s hand over a headstone to see if it feels sandy. If so, cleaning should not aggressive. He recommended spraying on D-2, which has been diluted 50% with water, and letting it stand for 10 minutes before attempting to scrape it off.

“Use a scrub brush which you would use on your car,” he said. “If it is too harsh for your car, it is too harsh for a headstone.”

Bensley said a headstone won’t look like new after it has been cleaned, but it will look a lot better than it did.

Nicole Bensley checks in visitors who came for Todd Bensley’s presentation Saturday morning on cleaning headstones at Boxwood Cemetery.

One of the attendees was Anna Buckner, who said she spends nearly every day at the cemetery, walking her two dogs. She said she loves the cemetery and intends to join Friends of Boxwood Cemetery.

Barbara Sidher of Medina said she has attended the events put on by the Friends of Boxwood Cemetery, and came to Saturday’s seminar to learn how to clean her parents’ gravestone in Sacred Heart Cemetery.

Bensley said they are always looking for new members and volunteers. Anyone interested may contact them on their Facebook page.

Todd Bensley explains the correct technique for cleaning headstones to approximately 30 people who attended a seminar at Boxwood Cemetery Saturday morning. He holds a bottle of D-2, the proper cleaner to use on headstones. Anyone who signed up to become a member of Friends of Boxwood Cemetery received a free bottle.

File photos by Ginny Kropf: Here is a sampling of some of the creative zucchini race cars youth made at the Canal Village Farmer’s Market  last summer. The event returns the next two Saturdays.

MEDINA – With the Canal Village Farmers’ Market now open at its original home at West Center Street and West Avenue, market manager Gail Miller has announced the return of the popular zucchini races for the next three Saturdays.

On July 19, 26 and Aug. 2 the races will begin at 10 a.m. and last until 1:20 p.m. The races included categories for children and adults.

Inspired by a story from the Farmers’ Market Federation of New York, Miller hatched the creative idea last year.

“We really didn’t know what to expect last year, but we had more fun than we imagined,” Miller said. “This year, we’ve made some improvements, including a better track. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Last year, 15 youth participated in the event. Components of the races, including zucchini, are provided by the market.

(Left) Dave Miller gives two zucchini race cars a trial run to check out the track he built, before the competition starts at Medina’s Canal Village Farmer’s Market last year. (Right) Bishop Stanton, 9, checks out a zucchini race car last summer before beginning to build his own.

Children and adults who register for the races will each have access to all sorts of stickers, flags and fun stuff with which to decorate their racers, Miller said.

“Both kids and parents had a lot of fun creating their customized racers and sending them down the track,” she said. “Since the parents and by-standers all had so much fun, the market is encouraging the ‘young at heart’ to compete also. How about challenging your friends, neighbors or your siblings to compete for a zucchini race throwdown. And, of course, we’ll again have the Outlaw Class, which is great fun.”

Certificates and prize vouchers from Confection Connection and NOLA Snowballs will be awarded for the fastest, weirdest, coolest and best crash.

Racing classes will be:

• Sprout – under 8.
• Tenderfoot – 8 – 16.
• Young-at-Heart – 16+
• Outlaw Class – Open to all ages and any vegetable. Entrants can use their imagination to create a racing vegetable, keeping to the vehicle specs in the rules.

Participants can get additional information and register at the market in age-group categories, starting today (Saturday) at the manager’s tent.

Photo by Tom Rivers: A boater enjoys the Erie Canal in Medina on July 2 when the Albany Symphony was playing a concert to celebrate the canal’s bicentennial.

A heat advisory has been issued for Orleans County today from noon to 7 p.m. Heat index values in the mid and upper 90s are expected.

The advisory includes Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Wayne, northern Cayuga, Oswego, northern Erie and Ontario counties.

In Orleans, the high temperatures could hit 91 today. The hot temperatures plus high humidity may cause heat-related illnesses to occur, the National Weather Service said.

People are encouraged to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

It’s going to be a hot week ahead. The high temperatures in Orleans County include 87 on Sunday, 87 on Monday, 89 on Tuesday, 89 on Wednesday, 85 on Thursday, and 83 on Friday.

File photo: Several vendors with their unique wares are shown in this photo from the Aug. 12, 2023 flea market at the Cobblestone Museum. Vendors are encouraged to reserve their spot for this year’s event on Aug. 9.

CHILDS – The Cobblestone Society has extended an invitation to vendors of all types to reserve a spot for their annual Flea Market on August 9.

“We anticipate the campus will once again be bustling with vendors, visitors and, of course, bargain hunters,” said Sue Bonafini, assistant director of the Cobblestone Museum.

Handmade goods, household items, plants, knitted/crocheted apparel, wall art, vintage tools and dishware, as well as a wide array of mixed goods should appeal to young and old alike, Bonafini said.

The Museum’s Holiday Shoppe, featuring Christmas-themed merchandise, and the Used Books Building will be open that day, and tours of the historic Cobblestone campus will be offered at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Crafters and vendors of all sorts, as well as any others who would like to showcase what they have to offer, are encouraged to request an application by calling the Cobblestone Museum at (585) 589-9013 during regular hours – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Families, individuals, small businesses and organizations are invited to take advantage of this opportunity to sell what they have to offer, while supporting the historic Cobblestone Museum.

Booths are $20 for a 10’ x 10’ space. Sellers must bring their own table, chairs and canopy if they desire some shade.

As an added feature, Weidner’s chicken barbecue will be sold at the food tent from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. or sold out. Tickets are $15 in advance (and can be ordered by calling the museum) or $17 the day of the event.

The Cobblestone Museum is located on Route 104 just north of Albion at the intersection of Route 98. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ample free parking is available across the road along the grounds of the Thompson-Kast Visitors Center.

ALBION – A disabled Albion man has been located and is home safe, the Albion Police Department reported just after midnight.

Marvin Russ, 22, went missing at 6 a.m. on Friday. He is deaf, disabled and developmentally delayed.

“The Village of Albion Police Department is extremely thankful for the calls and tips that lead to his safe return,” Sgt. Will Francis said in an email at 12:25 a.m.