ALBION — RTS Orleans, which operates a public transportation service in Orleans County, will resume regular service and collecting fares on Wednesday.

The Regional Transit Service, which operates public transportation in Orleans and seven other counties, hasn’t been collecting fares since March 19.

RTS initially waived fares to help protect RTS bus drivers and customers. RTS has implemented enhanced bus cleaning, and bus operators have access to masks, face shields, hand sanitizer and disinfectant.

Riders are urged to wear a face covering or mask, wash/disinfect their hands often, maintain social distancing when possible, and stay home if feeling sick.

In Orleans County, RTS has been operating a Dial-A-Ride public transit service only since April 6. On Wednesday, it will return to regular service. Click here for more from RTS Orleans.

‘Dedicated to our courageous brothers and sisters of this community who served our country in times of peace and war’

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The new veterans’ memorial on the Courthouse lawn added the memorial stone. The Knights of Columbus in Albion has spearheaded the project that includes a flagpole with a POW/MIA flag. It stands next to a larger pole with an American flag.

The stone states the following:

“Dedicated to our courageous brothers and sisters of this community who served our country in times of peace and war. We thank them for their service. And especially to those who gave their lives in that service. May God grant them eternal rest.”

The stone includes the insignias of the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Army National Guard and Merchant Marine.

The back of the memorial stone lists sponsors for the project: Knights of Columbus in Albion, St. Mary’s Archery Club, St. Mary’s Athletic Club, Orleans Veterans Club, American Legion Sheret Post in Albion, Veterans of Foreign Wars Strickland Post in Albion.

BATAVIA – Genesee Community College has made the decision to suspend its fall athletic season to protect the health and safety of the students and community in light of the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This decision will affect men’s and women’s soccer, basketball, swimming and diving, and women’s volleyball, which is in line with the majority of Region III decisions.

GCC coaches have communicated this news to their teams, and are maintaining continual engagement with the College’s student-athletes, as well as providing opportunities for safe athletic conditioning activities where possible.

“This decision, although not without its disappointments, is the best path for us to ensure the safety and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and training staff,” said Assistant Vice President of Student Engagement & Inclusion, Kristen Schuth. “While we are eager to move forward with such an important part of the student and campus experience, the landscape of this semester just does not allow us to do so in a method that would have been convincingly without associated risks. I look forward to the day when it is safe for the fields and floors of GCC to hold competitions again.”

GCC will honor all signed scholarship agreements for incoming student-athletes and for those returning.

At this time, the length of the fall sports suspension is unknown, and decisions regarding winter and spring sports have not yet been made. Sport-specific updates will be shared as they become available at geneseeathletics.com.

Cobblehurst is a landmark on Ridge Road in Gasport

The Cobblestone Museum’s planned reopening July 15 will be a welcome event, according to Museum director Doug Farley.

In light of the coronavirus, new safety precautions will be observed. Traditional cobblestone tours will still be offered this summer, but by appointment only at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Each tour will be limited to four people from the same household or group. Guests and docents will be required to wear a mask. Reservations and payments should be made in advance on the museum’s website or by phone.

A highlight of the reopening will be the unveiling of a painting of Cobblehurst, a historic cobblestone home at 8856 Ridge Rd. in Gasport. That artwork has been donated by owners Victor Monter and Julie Scanio.

The couple, who have just sold the home, have done a fantastic job of preserving the structure for the benefit of everyone, including future generations, Farley said.

“We are so happy to celebrate their achievement by displaying the painting,” he said.

Farley said Cobblehurst has always been a building that has garnered a lot of interest from folks, and the Cobblestone Society was very pleased when the owners allowed them to include the building on their 2019 Cobblestone Tour of Homes.

Victor Monter and his wife Julie Scanio pose by the massive stone fireplace in the great room of Cobblehurst, a historic cobblestone house on Ridge Road, Gasport.

“Based on attendance reported after the event, Cobblehurst was the most visited site on the nine-building tour,” Farley said.

According to information provided by the current owners, Cobblehurst was originally built in 1834-36 as a Quaker church. The Quakers buried their dead in an adjacent cemetery during this period.

A history of the house, compiled by Darrell Mantei in July 2000, says the Quakers moved to new quarters in Gasport in 1905. The building sat vacant until 1917 until it was purchased by a Mrs. Pratt from Albion in 1917. Mantei writes that Pratt remodeled the house with exquisite taste and much money.

She toured Europe for ideas and brought back the iron fireplace utensils. She had a cellar hand dug under the building, with 5-foot thick walls to support the foundation; added a second story with the construction of six dormers; built a cobblestone wall on the north and west sides of the property; added a pantry room, porches, patio, garage with apartments for servants and a toolshed; all of which remain in good repair today.

Inside, the house was done in Mission style, with the liberal use of oak in the stairway, baseboards, cupboards and built-in drawers and leaded glass wall cases. Pratt appointed the house with several stained glass windows (which the current owners said are Tiffany), the iron fireplace utensils from Scotland and three hanging five-bulb bronze light fixtures from the Roycroft Guild in East Aurora. All remain in good shape and working order today.

Mantei lived in the home with his wife Barbara and raised their children there after purchasing Cobblehurst from the William Webster family in 1967.

Monter and Scanio also provided a column written by former Orleans County historian and longtime director of the Cobblestone Museum C.W. “Bill” Lattin, called “Bethinking of Old Orleans,” in which he writes about Emma Reed Nelson Webster, a one-time owner of Cobblehurst.

Lattin had no recollection or information on the owner identified as “Mrs. Pratt.” However, in a notebook which Monter shared, there is a lengthy, hand-written letter by a man who was hired to help build the house and he speaks about Mrs. Nelson having a nephew in Kenmore named Pratt.

Lattin also shared in his column that Emma Reed Nelson Webster was a philanthropist who endowed the Orleans County community with both physical and financial gifts. Her first husband was Dr. Edwin J. Nelson, a dentist in Utica who also had an interest in a knitting mill. After his death, Emma married Frank D. Webster, a former resident of Barre who later ran a truck farm on Long Island.

It says Emma never forgot her native home or relations and often visited Albion for family reunions. She also purchased and donated the brick home on North Main and Linwood Avenue in Albion for the home of Daughters of the American Revolution. Emma and her husband eventually purchased the former Quaker cobblestone meeting house on Ridge Road and remodeled it into a residence called “Cobbleshurst.” (According to this information, it was the Websters who named the residence Cobblehurst.) Lattin said it was Emma who laid out the elaborate gardens, stone walls and garden pond and built the sun porch on the north side. Owners in the 1950s and 60s added the pool, he said.

As Lattin also wrote that Emma died in 1931, it is reasonable to assume that William Webster, from whom the Manteis  purchased Cobblehurst, was a descendent of Emma and Frank D. Webster. Mantei’s writeup states that after Mrs. Pratt died, the house was used as a bed and breakfast in the 1920s. He said five or six families called Cobblehurst home during the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. He said some raised gladioli, one raised chickens and it was a restaurant briefly. There is no information on the date when the Websters purchased the property.

Monter and Scanio have the guest book from the 1920s when the home was a bed and breakfast. It is full of compliments on the hospitality and the cuisine.

Mantei also wrote that Cobblehurst was the site for the broadcast of a morning breakfast show at one time.

Cobblehurst had again been abandoned and sat empty for seven years when Monter and Scanio purchased it.

The young couple met on a blind date. Scanio grew up in Tonawanda, and Manter in the Southern Tier. He attended Jamestown Community College, and then transferred to Buffalo State and the University of Buffalo to study mechanical engineering. He worked in Buffalo for 15 years, having a very successful career in his profession. Seven years ago, just before he met Scanio, he bought his first house in Lockport – an 1860s home, which he renovated.

Soon after meeting Scanio, Monter bought another property – a large commercial building in Lockport. Scanio had an antique store on the first floor and there were apartments upstairs. By now, Monter had the “bug,” and they purchased several others to renovate and rent.

After the couple married and had their son, Bradley, who is now 4, Monter decided to change his career. He was working as director of business development for a plastics company in Niagara Falls, a position he gave up to become a landlord.

“I was gone all day and getting home late at night,” Monter said. “I never saw my son, so I decided to leave my career.”

Monter said they buy the worst houses and renovate them into buildings which totally amaze people.

“I’m a one-man band,” he said. “I have several who help when I need it, but I do 98 percent of the work myself. Being an engineer, I can also do the blueprints.”

He is currently doing two major renovations in Gasport, one which has been sitting for years and the other an 1850s building with the foundation collapsing and the roof caving in.

They were expecting Bradley when they decided they needed a bigger place.

“I wanted an older house, and Julie was adamant about having a pool,” Monter said.

Cobblehurst fit both their wishes.

“We looked at it, and it was in such bad shape,” Monter said. “It had been empty for eight years and the roof leaked. The hardwood floors in the Great Room were all warped, in some places raised six to eight inches. Plaster was cracked on the walls and hanging from the ceilings.”

This is a view of Cobblehurst from the driveway, showing the front sunporch, which houses a swimming pool.

But the house had an enclosed sun porch on the front with a pool.

They closed on the property July 3 five years ago.

Not only did Monter take up every piece of flooring, sand it and trim it to fit, but replastered all the walls and ceilings, installed new electrical service and converted one of the five bedrooms upstairs into a walk-in closet. Outside they removed five dump truck loads of leaves.

“We got a ton of history with this house,” Monter said of the 5,200 square-foot home.

He explained it was built on a sand bar in a dried up lake bed under the house. The home sits on 2 1/2 acres. If they had stayed there, Monter was planning to clean out and rebuild a pond in the west yard. He said none of the materials used in the house are native to the area. Mrs. Pratt had everything (except the cobblestones) imported from Europe. Cobblehurst was one of the first homes on Ridge Road with electricity and running water, he added.

The last year it was a bed and breakfast, more than 400 people visited from all over the world, he said.

In addition to the giant fireplace in the Great Room, there is another in the master bedroom upstairs.

The couple made the decision over a year ago to live in Gasport five months of the year and set up permanent residence in Florida, where they plan to buy in a retirement community. They put Cobblehurst up for sale, and when there were no prospective buyers, they decided to stay and have a winery there. A small room overlooking the west lawn was converted into a tasting room and they applied for all the necessary permits.

“We had only five days left in our realtor’s contract and we weren’t going to relist it,” Monter said. “The same day I got my permit in the mail, we got an offer on the house.”

They are in the process of moving into an apartment in the building he is renovating in Gasport. They currently own more than a dozen rentals in the Lockport area, and Monter is looking at another “fixer-upper” on Route 31.

Monter said he first talked to Farley several years ago and asked him if he had any history on Cobblehurst. When Farley asked Monter and Scanio if they would participate in the tour of homes, they said, “Let’s do it.”

“We expected a dozen or so people, but two tour buses pulled up in front, followed with cars by the dozens,” Monter said.

The new owners, who will be moving in shortly, are a couple from the United Kingdom, Monter said.

Photo by Tom Rivers. The grass has turned yellow near the lift bridge in Eagle Harbor. This photo was taken on Sunday, a day after significant rainfall in the area.

Orleans County and Western New York are considered “abnormally dry” by the U.S. Drought Monitor. This is the first stage of drought intensity. Other parts of the state — the north country and a section of eastern New York — are in the next stage, moderate drought.

Part of Franklin County in the north country is in severe drought.

The Drought Monitor report was released last Thursday. Since then, Orleans County and WNY received significant rainfall on Saturday.

Last week the county endured six straight 90-degree days with not much rain until Saturday.

Map from U.S. Drought Monitor, which is a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

MEDINA – A male suspect is at large after robbing Crosby’s in Medina last night at 1 a.m.

The suspect displayed a knife and demanded cash, said Lt. Todd Draper of the Medina Police Department.

The suspect took an undisclosed amount of money. No employees were injured. Attempts to locate the suspect were unsuccessful and the investigation is ongoing, Draper said.

MEDINA – The Village Board has declined an officer to have a WiFi hotspot installed for free in the parking lot at the Village Office and City Hall on Park Avenue.

RTO Wireless has offered to install the hotspots and is working to put them in place at nine town halls and two of the village offices – Albion and Holley. Ridgeway is the only town not participating because it is close to the Medina Village Office and the town has a small parking lot.

Medina Mayor Mike Sidari said he didn’t feel comfortable with WiFi access off the village’s network.

“I don’t want a back channel into our system,” Sidari said during a board meeting on Friday. “I don’t feel comfortable having it available for use or access.”

The mayor said ambulances and police cars also use the system and he worries their information would be compromised with public WiFi access.

Sidari said RTO Wireless has tried to assure him the system can’t be compromised, but he remains concerned.

“They say they can’t be hacked but everyday you hear about people being hacked,” he said.

Sidari and the board members also noted there are other public WiFi access spots in the community, including Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, which is a block away from the Village Office. The school district also has WiFi for students to access at the school parking lots.

The board on Friday also hired Jonathan Miller as a firefighter/EMT. He starts on July 27 and will be on a 78-week probationary period.

Press Release, New York State Police

The New York State Police, the New York State Park Police and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee are partnering to ensure that visitors to state parks are buckling up for safety.

Buckle Up New York Summer Parks Initiative, or “BUNY in the Parks,” is an enforcement and educational campaign to ensure that motorists and passengers properly buckle-up their seatbelts while travelling inside state parks, and to teach the importance of properly securing our youngest visitors in approved child safety seats. This year’s campaign will be held from July 11 to Aug. 10.

Since New York State became the first state in the nation to enact a primary seatbelt law, effective January 1, 1985, countless lives have been saved. The seatbelt compliance rate has steadily increased and reached a record 94% in New York State in 2019.

However, motor vehicle crashes continue to be a leading cause of death for children. Data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reflects that, of the 794 children that were killed in fatal crashes in 2017, 37% were unrestrained. The NHTSA also found that among children under 5 years old, an estimated 325 lives were saved in 2017 by restraint use.

New York State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett said, “As the summer travel season continues, the State Police and our partners strongly encourage the proper use of seat belts and child safety seats in motor vehicles. This is about protecting the smallest New Yorkers, our children. By simply buckling-up, we can reduce severe injuries and deaths in motor vehicle crashes. We will continue to work diligently to promote proper seatbelt use and compliance.”

This initiative coincides with one of the peak times that visitors travel to state parks throughout New York State, and the goal is for motorists and their families to arrive and depart safely.   Increasing seatbelt use is one of the most effective ways to reduce crash related injuries and fatalities. Ensuring motorists adhere to proper child restraint laws will, no doubt, protect the lives of many that cannot speak for themselves.

During the 2019 BUNY in the Parks campaign, the New York State Police and State Park Police issued 7,596 total tickets, including 3,369 tickets for child restraint violations, and 3,927 tickets for adult seatbelt violations.

Highlights of New York State’s occupant restraint law:

• In the front seat, the driver and each passenger must wear a seat belt, one person per belt. The driver and front-seat passengers aged 16 or older can be fined up to $50 each for failure to buckle up.
• Every occupant, regardless of age or seating position, must use a safety restraint when riding with driver who has a junior license or learner permit.
• Each passenger under age 16 must wear a seat belt or use an appropriate child safety restraint system. The restraint system must comply with the child height and weight recommendations determined by the manufacturer. Depending on the size of the child, the restraint system may be a safety seat or a booster seat used in combination with a lap and shoulder belt.
• Children must be restrained in a rear-facing car seat up until the age of two.
• The driver must make sure that each passenger under age 16 obeys the law. The driver can be fined $25 to $100 and receive up to three driver license penalty points for each violation.

Orleans County, which endured six straight 90-day degree days last week, will get a break from the intense heat this week.

The high temperatures this week include 78 and sunny on Monday, 82 and sunny on Tuesday, 86 and mostly sunny on Wednesday, and 87 and mostly cloudy on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

Friday is forecast for a high of 86 and mostly sunny, followed by 89 and mostly sunny on Saturday.

The 90-degree temperatures return next Sunday with a high of 92.

‘It’s going to be real nice. It’s going to be beautiful.’ – Jay Pahura, Albion DPW superintendent

Photos by Tom Rivers: Jay Pahura, Albion’s Department of Public Works superintendent, checks on the spray park at Bullard Park on Thursday. The perimeter around the spray park needs to change from dirt to grass before the site opens. Otherwise, Pahura said mud would clog up the drains.

ALBION – Albion’s spray park is close to opening. A certain date for the debut of the water attraction isn’t set.

One missing piece in the project may seem like the simplest part of undertaking: grass. The village Department of Public Works brought in topsoil, seeded and fertilized it and has been steadily watering about an acre of land around the spray park, trying to get the grass to grow. The DPW brings tanker of 3,500 gallons of water to the site each day.

The punishing heat in recent weeks with little rain has made grass growing a challenge.

“We’ve been trying to grow an acre of grass during a drought,” said Jay Pahura, Albion’s DPW superintendent.

The spray park has 18 spray elements. It is much larger than the splash pad that opened in Medina on Thursday. That splash pad at Pine Street Park has five spray elements.

The grass is starting to sprout up so it might not be too much longer. Pahura said the grass is needed or else spray park users will bring in mud, which could clog the drains.

There is also some electrical work, and some sidewalks will be added to make the spray park handicapped accessible.

“We’re almost there,” Pahura said on Thursday. “When it’s done, it’s going to be real nice. It’s going to be beautiful.”

The spray park has been long anticipated by the community. It is part of about $800,000 in upgrades to Bullard, Albion’s most popular park on Route 31.

The new splash pad is next to the amphitheater. Construction started last year on the project.

The $800,000 upgrade at Bullard also includes an amphitheater, utility building with bathrooms and a pavilion.

The village in December 2016 was awarded a $499,605 state grant for the Bullard projects. The village also received $97,500 from the county and $45,000 from the town of Albion, money that was through a revolving-loan fund by the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

The state made the EDA and other economic development agencies end their revolving-loan funds. They either had to give the money to the state or use it in the community with some stipulations. One option allowed for improving handicapped accessibility at parks.

Albion will use that EDA money for sidewalks to the amphitheater and splash pad, to make them accessible to people in a wheelchair.

The park has a new utility building with bathrooms. The building will get a log wash, two coats of stain and clear coat. The Albion DPW also is putting a new 400 amp electrical panel next to the building.

The Albion DPW is providing $166,370 of in-kind services as part of Albion’s local share for the state grant. The DPW took down a pavilion and storage building last fall to make way for the new utility building. The DPW also ran a new sewer line across Route 31 near the Bullard entrance. That sewer line will service the park.

The DPW also ran 600 feet of waterline for the splash pad and utility building, several feet of sewer line, and will be doing the electric service for the amphitheater.

Pahura said the infrastructure was put in with future expansion in mind.

A touch pad will activate the water at the splash park.

The Covid-19 pandemic pushed back the schedule on the spring construction at the park. The village needed to reduce the work crews at the DPW by 50 percent for about six weeks.

The DPW only has nine employees at full strength, and they have the other tasks with street maintenance, water line work, picking up brush and numerous other responsibilities.

“Covid-19 slowed everything down, but we’re almost there,” Pahura said.

ALBION – Home-based child care providers are eligible for $2,000 grants, made possible by the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.

The grants include about 20 home-based childcare sites in Orleans and Genesee counties. Community Action of Orleans & Genesee is distributing the grants.

“It’s an absolutely wonderful opportunity for the home-based providers,” said Bonnie Malakie, director of children and youth services for Community Action.

Home-based childcare providers should receive an application for the funding from Community Action through the Child Care Resource & Referral program. Currently there are 20 certified group family daycares or home-based child care providers in the two counties, Malakie said.

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation awarded the grant to Rochester Area Community Foundation to help about 200 small, home-based child care providers in Orleans, Genesee and Monroe counties.

“Child care is essential now more than ever,” said Amber Slichta, vice president of programs at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. “Small, home-based child care providers rarely qualify for support and, in turn, do not view themselves as small businesses. It’s important that we continue to fill these gaps and uplift these providers, as they are often the only option for working families in rural areas and urban neighborhoods.”

During the pandemic, these smaller child care sites are seeing more demand with families looking for smaller settings with fewer children and adults. The grants of up to $2,000 each will be given to providers to use how they see fit — to help them open or continue operations.

“In-home child care has always been in demand. But the pandemic has more families looking at home-based options as a way to minimize their children’s exposure to large numbers of other children and adults,” says Jennifer Leonard, the Community Foundation’s president and CEO. “This sudden need by families during an already difficult time has placed a great deal of strain on home care providers who want to help.”

Trees of Soles and their unheard stories

Crazy thing: A Sneaker Tree.

Sounds unusual but actually there are several Sneaker Trees sprinkled throughout the U.S.

Many of you know this particular row of trees. I found them right in our own county. This area of amusement, with no cost for admission, can be found at the intersection of Foss and Lakeshore Roads in Yates.

The story began in 1986 when Earl Baum was helping his girlfriend clean out her closet and they decided to fling up several pairs of her shoes into these trees. The next 30 years many people have added their own footwear.

Some have names written on them and others have random messages. Some appear to have been worn by children and others by adults. With one upward spin of motion anyone can leave their “footprint” to be seen by all, for as long as the tree survives.

In total there are four ash trees. The method of attachment varies from a good old shoe toss into the branches to a more secure nailing down onto the tree trunk.

It is an interesting concept of using a tree to hold the stories of individual items. With shoes, I am certain that if they could talk they would have some awesome tales of the feet that used to walk within them. No doubt they have traveled some miles and have many secrets within their soles. Much like the trees that harbor them.

Perhaps some evening I will sit under the trees, look through the branches up to the stars, close my eyes and listen as the wind blows through the soles and branches. The lessons the wind could provide in its whisper of words might bring inspiration for future adventures.

Fun fact is that not only are there Shoe Trees across the nation, but unique trees like an Underwear Tree in California, a Flip-flop Pole in Hawaii, a Hula Hoop Tree that once stood in Iowa, and my favorite…a Cowboy Boot Tree in Texas. History tells us, many times these trees were not readily accepted within the areas they began. But as each tree began to grow and more people added their own “personalities”, the amusement of it all continued and has brought grins and giggles to all that joined.

One thing really caught my eye on one of the four trees. Hanging from a branch was a mask and written on it was “COVID-19 United We Stand 2020”. I have said that after COVID is a memory, I want to have a mask burning party, similar to the old bra burning parties of the ’60s and ’70s. Yes kids, that was a thing.

After visiting this tree, I wonder if it could be an inspiration for a Mask Tree. Have you ever heard the saying “The higher the hair, the closer to Jesus?” Wonder if that applies to personal items in trees. Maybe that is the motivation.

Whatever has inspired a themed tree with unique individual elements, know this: it is sure to entertain and delight all those who come upon it.

To see all four trees and share your tree-themed ideas, visit my blog live online at https://www.positiveperksposts.com and catch up on weekly photo perks and past Sunday posts. Like and share your comments.

Deborah London

File photo by Tom Rivers – Diane Blanchard, director of the Microenterprise Assistance Program, is pictured in downtown Albion. She leads a program that has had 518 graduates.

ALBION – A class that gives pointers to entrepreneurs and helps them develop their business plans will be back this fall after the spring class was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Orleans Economic Development Agency has been offering the program since 1999, with classes in the spring and fall.

The EDA is expecting to hold the weekly class sessions at the Arnold Gregory Office Complex on South Main Street, and could always hold sessions through the Zoom video conferencing or a Google meet, said Diane Blanchard, manager of the program.

“We’re moving forward,” she said during Friday’s Orleans EDA board meeting. “We’re ready.”

Blanchard said a dozen people are already committed to the class. Other people interested in MAP can reach Blanchard at (585) 589-7060 (ext. 1) or by email, dblanchard@orleansdevelopment.org.

The 10-week class includes insights on taxes, marketing, legal issues, computer skills and overcoming pitfalls in launching a business. A main goal is developing a business plan.

Sam Campanella, an advisor with the Small Business Development Center, has been with the class for many years. He has retired from the SBDC.

Dorothy Daniels of Albion is taking Campanella’s place as a class advisor and instructor. the class. Daniels graduated from MAP in 2019. She started On Point Bookkeeper on West Avenue in Albion. She also works for the SBDC.

Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina have online surveys

School districts want to hear from the community about possible scenarios for reopening schools this fall.

Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina all have online surveys, asking for feedback about on-line learning and returning to school in classrooms.

Albion also has formed a committee that is meeting to develop a plan for reopening schools this fall.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday said New York will finalize guidance to reopen schools by July 13. School districts need to submit reopening plans by July 31, with the state to make a decision on reopening during week of Aug. 1-7.

The state won’t have a blanket policy for all 700 districts in the state because different regions of the state have different levels of infection from Covid-19, Cuomo said.

The governor said student safety, as well as the health of teachers and staff, remains the priority on how schools will operate in the fall.

“We know we have a lot of work to do, and we need input from our families,” Brian Bartalo, the Holley school district superintendent, said in a message to the community. “It’s important to note that although we need your input, the final decision about schools reopening and how schools will operate this fall will be determined by the Governor and the State Education Department.”

The districts in the surveys ask parents if they will send their children to school if the state allows in-person classes.

The districts ask parents their level of concern with having their children ride a school bus, sit in classrooms and participate in sports and other activities.

“We need to be ready for an opening of school with safety considerations (masks, sanitizing, distancing, etc.) for all students and staff, a ‘hybrid’ model where students attend school in person on a rotational basis and do some ‘distance learning,’ and a model where students are again learning remotely, like we ended this past school year,” Bartalo said. “It goes without saying that all of us at Holley CSD are hoping and planning for as much in-person learning as is allowed by the State, the CDC and our Health Department officials.”

To see Holley’s survey, click here.

To see Kendall’s survey, click here.

To see Lyndonville’s survey, click here.

To see Medina’s survey, click here.

Kayli Miller of Albion kicks the soccer ball during a modified game last September against Barker. The sports programs could be different this year due to precautions against the spread of Covid-19.

Medina asks how the pandemic impacted your family with the following responses: no impact/no change; some impact, does not change daily behavior; noticeable impact; significant daily disruption; and severe daily disruption, immediate needs unmet.

Medina asks if the disrupted school had an emotional or mental impact on children. Medina and the other local districts had their last day of in-person classes on March 13.

Parents are also asked whether they are satisfied with the way distance learning was implemented during the pandemic.

Parents are asked if their homes are set up for distance learning, and what could be done to make that work better, whether it be WiFi access at home, a device for the student to do school work, more support with instruction and childcare.

Parents are asked if they would feel more comfortable sending their children to school if the buses and classrooms were at half capacity, rather than full capacity.

Mark Kruzynski, Medina’s school superintendent, said the parent responses will help the district as it considers its reopening plan.

“Because we will always follow all directives from the health department, local, state and federal government, many decisions about what school will look like in the fall may be ‘out of our hands,’” he said in a message to the community. “However, for those things that the district may be able to control, we want to make the best decisions possible for our students and families.”

In one of Medina’s questions, parents are asked if students/staff return to school in September, which measures are most important at school? They are also to check all that apply.

• Wearing masks at all times
• Wearing masks only in situations when you cannot be 6 feet apart
• Hand sanitizer in each classroom and common area
• COVID-19 testing for staff and students before re-entry in the fall
• Daily testing of student/staff temperature
• No lunchroom use for students
• No playground use for students
• Limited hallway travel and changing of classes
• No sharing of any classroom resources or materials such as books, games, supplies
• Staggered start and end times to the day

Among the questions asked by Kendall, was there too little or too much communication from the district/administrators during the shutdown, or was it just enough.

Lyndonville asks parents what is their expectation regarding student athletics, performing arts, and extra-curricular activities if students return to school in the September? The responses include:

• I FULLY expect these events to be provided for student participation in a traditional format with reasonable safety measures.
• I am CONCERNED about students participating in these events because of social distancing challenges while participating.
• I would NOT allow my student(s) to participate in these events at this time.

Courtesy of Howard Owens, The Batavian

BERGEN – Two teenagers were seriously injured in a 5 a.m. accident on West Bergen Road, Bergen, after the 17-year-old driver reportedly fell asleep, according to a Genesee County Sheriff’s Office accident report.

Sierra Kast, of Albion, was driving a 2008 Ford sedan southbound on West Bergen Road when the car veered off the south shoulder and ran over the top of a cement culvert before heading further into the embankment.

Kast was apparently able to steer the car back onto the pavement but overcorrected, according to Sgt. Jason Saile, of the Crash Management Team, causing the car to exit the roadway on the south shoulder again, where it overturned, struck a tree that spun it around, before it struck another tree and came to rest on its roof.

Driver-side back seat passenger Arianna N. McGurn, 17, was ejected from the vehicle and was trapped in the drainage ditch under the trunk portion of the car.

Bergen volunteer firefighters used airbags to life the car off of McGurn so she could be extricated. She was flown to Strong Memorial Hospital by Mercy Flight with a leg injury. Her injuries were not considered life-threatening.

(UPDATED by Orleans Hub at 8:16 p.m.: Nicole Bellnier, McGurn’s mother, posted on Facebook this evening that her daughter doesn’t have any broken bones or serious injuries. “She is truly our miracle! Please, keep her in your prayers,” Bellnier posted on Facebook.)

Kast was also injured in the crash and transported to Strong by Mercy EMS.

The other two passengers were Cory Wallace, 15, and Alonso Storey, 17.

Only Kast, the driver, was wearing a seatbelt, Saile said.

No citations have been issued.

Click here to see a Batavian video at the accident scene. Click here to see the full report in The Batavian.