MEDINA – The Village Board on Monday evening approved shifting Beggars’ Night from Rotary Park in downtown Medina to the parking lot of the Olde Pickle Factory at 711 Park Avenue.

The change will allow for families to drive through and not leave their vehicle.

Beggars’ Night will be this Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. (or for as long as supplies last). There will be about 600 take-home boxes or bags of candy available. Merchants and members of the Medina Area Partnership will be handing out the candy.

The event has always been in the downtown with a long line of costumed children going from business to business for candy.

But Covid-19 protocols didn’t allow that, or a mass gathering at one location.

Trick-or-treating is allowed on Halloween from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the village.

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MEDINA – Cheyenne E. Farewell, 20, of Medina entered into eternal peace on Saturday, October 17, 2020. Cheyenne was born on December 4, 1999.

She was and will always be the daughter of Rochelle (Nellist) Horner and Jeffrey Farewell, Jr. In twenty short years, she touched the lives of countless family members, friends, teachers and coaches. She was known for her smile, her laugh and her oftentimes brutal honesty. Cheyenne always spoke her truth and encouraged others to do the same.

Cheyenne was a graduate of Medina High School, class of 2018 and was currently a student at SUNY Brockport, where she was studying to become a therapist and writer. She loved looking up at the night sky and seeing the moon and stars. Cheyenne’s favorite things in life were music, dance, writing and above all else, her family and friends. She would do anything in her power to help anyone who knew her, whether it was a ride to a party, or a shoulder to cry on. Cheyenne was a resilient soul who never gave up on hope, even at the very end.

Beside her parents, Cheyenne is survived by her sister, Maisie Farewell; her cousin, Lexus Burtwell; maternal grandmother, Gail Nellist; paternal grandparents, Patti and Jeff Farewell, Sr.; step-father, Dan Horner; several extended family members and countless friends. Cheyenne was greeted at Heaven’s gate by her grandfather, Gary Nellist.

Calling hours will be held on Tuesday, October 20^th, from 3 to 8 p.m. at Cooper Funeral Home, 215 W. Center St., Medina. The family requests friends and family write a note or letter to bring with you to place in her casket, so she can be surrounded by love for all eternity. Private interment will be in Lynhaven Cemetery, Lyndonville. Share memories and condolences at www.cooperfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you cherish every moment with your children, your family, your friends. Life is fleeting. The only thing we take with us is love.

Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke

Dakarai Hilliard

CARLTON – The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office is asking for assistance with locating a missing 15-year-old boy, Dakarai Hilliard.

Dakarai was last seen today at 5:30 a.m. at his home on Bills Road in the Town of Carlton.

Dakarai is a black male approximately 5’6”, 130 lbs. and was last seen wearing a green hoody and blue jeans. Dakarai has a birth mark on his forehead.

Dakarai could possibly be with friends in the City of Rochester. Anyone with information is asked to contact Orleans County Sheriff’s Office at 585-589-5527.

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These surveillance photos were provided by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke

UPDATE at 6:32 p.m.: The Sheriff’s Office was able to identify the male in the surveillance photos.

ALBION – The Orleans County Sheriff Office is seeking assistance in identifying a white male wanted for questioning regarding an incident that occurred on Thursday at the Orleans County Department of Public Works on West Academy Street.

The person appears to be a young white male with shaggy hair, wearing a back pack, and a dark Nike “Just do it” hoodie.

We ask anyone with information to please call Orleans County Sheriff’s Investigator Colonna at 585-590-4136 or the Orleans County Sheriff Dispatch at 585-589-5527.

Click here to see links of videos posted on the Facebook page for the Orleans County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

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Larry M. Maynard

ALBION – An Albion man has been missing since late May when he was last seen at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Larry M. Maynard lives on Hamilton Street in Albion. His daughter, Donna Maynard-Ault, said her father isn’t well and the family is worried about him.

The Albion Police Department isn’t the primary agency in the case, but residents with information about Maynard’s location can call the Albion PD at 585-589-5627.

“We are looking for him best we can in our area but he is missing from Strong,” said Roland Nenni, the Albion police chief.

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One more death reported at Albion nursing home due to Covid-19

ALBION – The Orleans County Emergency Management Office on Thursday delivered test kits to The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center in Albion, where there has been a big outbreak of Covid-19.

The facility is reporting 68 positive tests among its residents. Today, another death was reported at The Villages, bringing the total deaths due to Covid-19 to 17.

The test kits will allow the facility to test every resident and staff member.

The county received 307 testing kits to be shared among the long-term care facilities in Orleans.

“In regards to the disturbing amount of positive Covid-19 cases and deaths at The Village of Orleans nursing home, the New York State Department of Homeland Security shipped 307 test kits to Orleans County yesterday, specifically for the nursing homes after our outcry for the state to intervene and investigate this terrible situation,” Lynne Johnson, County Legislature chairwoman, said during an 4 p.m. weekly news briefing.

Those test kits were distributed to The Villages, and also the North Wing at Medina Memorial Hospital and Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Medina.

Johnson also said the county is pressing the state for a mobile testing site like in the other neighboring counties.

“We are also requesting that NYS add a mobile testing site here so our residents don’t have to drive 45 minutes to get tested,” Johnson said.

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Provided photo: Carter Conrad, 3, of Albion holds a card he made for his grandmother who is hospitalized with Covid-19.

ALBION – It’s not only residents at The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Facility who have been sickened by Covid-19.

At least one staff member is currently in the hospital on a ventilator after contracting the virus. Diane Conrad works as an LPN at the nursing home in Albion.

Conrad, 57, retired after working at a state nursing home in Batavia. She missed the working at a nursing home and was hired for the night shift at The Villages on a per diem basis.

“She has a love of the residents,” said her son, Dan Conrad.

His mother started to feel sick about a week ago. She took a couple days off, but her condition worsened quickly, with a low oxygen level and difficulty breathing. She went to Strong West in Brockport on Wednesday night and was tested for Covid-19. That test showed she was positive for the virus.

She was taken by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester that night and put on a ventilator Thursday morning.

She is completely sedated right now but has shown improvement. Dan Conrad said doctors expect she will recover. Her oxygen levels and temperature have returned to normal and the ventilator has been turned down as her she recovers. She still has a ways to go before she is discharged.

“She is doing wonderful right now but they said it will be a long road,” Conrad said this morning.

He is on quarantine from his family due to his contact with his mother. Conrad said having his mother be hospitalized and the impact on self isolating from loved ones is difficult.

“It is completely draining and stressful,” he said.

Conrad has been very vocal the past week speaking out against The Villages, where 53 residents have tested positive for Covid-19 and 14 have died. He faults the facility for not doing enough testing of staff and residents.

When his mother reported for work, they took her temperature and asked her questions whether she had any symptoms. But she was never tested for the virus by The Villages.

It wasn’t until Tuesday night at Strong West when she was finally tested.

Conrad said other staff also have tested positive for Covid-19. The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments said the virus spread in the facility likely from staff members who didn’t have symptoms but were positive for the virus.

Conrad said he hopes the increased media attention on the outbreak at The Villages will lead to changes, with more staffing and precautions from the coronavirus for residents and the employees. Several Rochester news stations have been reporting on the outbreak at the nursing home in Albion.

“I’m trying to bring an awareness to what is happening there,” Conrad said today. “We need to stop the spread and the deaths. I hope the state and Cuomo himself will come down and do something.”

The local Health Department doesn’t have a breakdown on how many staff at The Villages have tested positive. If there are staff who live in the county with a confirmed case of Covid-19, it would be part of the community number. Right now the county has 100 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 53 at The Villages and 47 that are considered “community spread.” If a staff member tested positive for Covid-19 and lives outside of Orleans, that wouldn’t count in Orleans. It would be added to the county where they reside.

Dan Conrad is a member of the Albion Lions Club. As a member of the Lions, he coordinated the delivery of pizzas, coffee mugs with an image of the nursing home, and flowers last Thursday. He wanted to show the staff that they are appreciated.

“The nurses there are wonderful,” he said. “The people there in rehab are wonderful. No one deserves to be going through what they are.”

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