File photos by Tom Rivers: George Borrelli, a blacksmith, shapes steal during a blacksmith demonstration on Sept. 6, 2025 at the Cobblestone Museum as part of the annual open house when all 10 buildings were open with docents and artisans. Matt Holland also demonstrated the art of blacksmithing. There were about 200 at the Cobblestone Museum campus for the event.

CHILDS – The Cobblestone Museum will open its campus to the public for free tours on Oct. 17

Although admission is free, donations are always appreciated. Wristbands will be provided so guests may roam the campus freely and enter locations of their choice.

This is an opportunity for everyone to visit the Cobblestone Museum’s 10 buildings from, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and view a variety of artisans at work, according to Sue Bonafini, assistant director of the Cobblestone Society and Museum.

Docents and visiting artisans – some dressed in period clothing – will be inside the historic buildings to share history and provide demonstrations. To date, artisans who have confirmed their attendance will demonstrate crafts, blacksmithing, butter making, chair caning, lacemaking, printing at the Gordon Press and saddle making. A program with the day’s schedule will be available for visitors to note when and where demonstrations will take place.

Durinf last year’s open house David Damico of LeRoy, left, led demonstrations inside the print shop, which was built in 1875. It used to be in Medina, but was moved to the museum grounds on Route 98 in Gaines in the late 1977. The shop at the Cobblestone Museum has two printing presses from the late 1800s, and several cases of type.

Representatives of the Sons and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War will be present in uniforms and 1800s attire to display some related items and recruiting literature.

Museum exhibits include former director C.W. “Bill” Lattin’s outstanding and still growing collection of Victorian Mourning Art and Sundries, inside the George W. Zeis Upper Gallery, located at the brick house. Rogers Groups art sculptures, plus 1800s-era paintings and antique coverlets created by local artists and weavers will be exhibited at the Visitors Center. Paintings by local artist Tom Zangerle, including some available for purchase, will also be on display there.

Kids can take a selfie at the Cobble the Mouse Selfie Station, or play some old-fashioned games at the schoolhouse.

Provided photos: Harold Clark of Rochester works at chair caning at a previous Cobblestone open house.

Shoppers can browse merchandise for sale at the Gift Shop, Used Book Sale or jampacked Christmas-themed Holiday Gift Shop. Low incentive pricing at the Used Books Building and Holiday Shoppe keep inventory moving, Bonafini said. Community donations of brand new or gently used Christmas items for the Holiday Shoppe are gladly accepted year-round.

Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., a food tent will serve Italian sausage hoagie plates for $10 pre-sale or $12 the day of the event. Plates include peppers and onions, assorted condiments, pickle spears and potato chips. Brownies will be sold separately.

For more information or to order pre-sale meal tickets, visit the Museum’s website at Cobblestonemuseum.org or call (585) 589-9013.

Members of the Genesee Country Lace Guild work on their projects at the Cobblestone Museum. They will return for this year’s open house on Oct. 17.

Images courtesy of GO Art!

Press Release, Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council

BATAVIA – As autumn settles across Western New York, the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO Art!) invites the community to gather in warmth, reflection, and creative inspiration at the opening reception of four new exhibitions on Thursday, October 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The exhibitions—each distinct in medium, message, and artistic voice—offer visitors an experience that blends nostalgia, beauty, and meaningful social awareness.

The reception will be held at GO ART!’s historic Seymour Place gallery at 201 E. Main Street, Batavia, with all exhibitions on view through November 28.

Linda Fix: The Bucket List

This vibrant, multimedia exhibition chronicles artist Linda Fix’s recent journeys to Alaska and Italy—two destinations she long dreamed of exploring. Her collection spans alcohol ink, watercolor, mixed media, photography, embroidery, and textile art, each piece created on a different substrate and shaped by a different technique.

A retired registered nurse, Fix describes the exhibition as a celebration of curiosity and lifelong learning. “From the glacial blues of Alaska to the sun-washed textures of Italy, these pieces reflect my life with intention: to experience, to learn, and to create. This show is about saying yes. YES to Alaska, YES to Italy. YES to new material, a new stitch, and a new way to make something beautiful.”

The Bucket List is both a travelogue and a testament to embracing creativity at every stage of life.

Beth Newton: Stories Told in Shape and Color

Medina-based printmaker and painter Beth Newton presents a striking exhibition centered on woodcut relief printmaking—an ancient, process-driven art form that merges engineering precision with expressive storytelling.

“Each multi-color print requires carving a separate wood block for each color and meticulously aligning each block during printing,” Newton explains. “I approach each new project as a story, planning the entire image in support of that story using color, shape, composition, and scale.” This inherent marriage of art and engineering fascinates Beth.

 Her work distills narrative into essential forms, offering viewers a rich interplay of discipline, imagination, and craftsmanship.

For the Love of Hexies: A Retrospective

This retrospective celebrates For the Love of Hexies (FLH), a dedicated group of quilters who have met monthly for more than 14 years at The Quilter’s Daughter in Perry Center, NY. Their work highlights the tradition of English Paper Piecing—a portable, hand-stitched technique in which fabric is basted around die-cut papers to create intricate geometric designs.

FLH coordinator Sarah Ballinger notes, “We call the process hexies for short, after the oft-used hexagon-shaped papers, but we also utilize diamonds, triangles, houses, kites, and jewels. Many fabrics are ‘fussy cut’ to emphasize stripes, florals, animals, or other motifs, creating kaleidoscopic secondary designs.”

The exhibition features quilts, table runners, pillows, and collaborative projects, including pieces made from fabric swaps and group challenges. New members are welcome at FLH’s monthly gatherings, held the first Friday of each month from 6–8 PM at The Quilter’s Daughter, 2817 Route 246, Perry, NY.

ANCHOR Trauma Center: Voices of Healing

GO Art! is honored to partner with ANCHOR Trauma Center, an emerging Batavia-based organization dedicated to trauma-informed, culturally responsive care for the GLOW region. Their exhibition features documentary-style installations, photo-and-text displays, and personal narratives that illuminate the experiences of trauma survivors.

October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month – a national campaign established by Congress in 1989 to uplift survivors’ voices and advocate for safety, justice, and support. ANCHOR’s exhibition aims to empower local survivors by offering a platform for healing, storytelling, and community connection.

“We know trust should not be taken lightly,” ANCHOR’s Co-Founders share. “This October, we want to give survivors a spotlight to share their experiences of trauma, continued growth, and healing. We are grateful to GO Art! for partnering with us and look forward to continued collaboration.”

Through advocacy, therapy services, and case management, ANCHOR strives to ensure no one in the community falls through the cracks.

ALBION – The 30 percent to the 10 towns for plowing and salting county roads, plus doing roadside mowings, will cost the county an additional $471,010 in 2027.

The towns are currently paid $7,218 per mile. There are 196.82 miles of county roads. The county doesn’t have its own plow trucks or the personnel to plow and salt their own roads.

With the new agreement that starts Jan. 1, the towns will be paid $9,383 a mile. The three-year contract calls for the towns to then receive a 5 percent increase each of the following two years.

The town highway superintendents said their costs have risen dramatically with increased expenses for fuel, salt, equipment and personnel.

ALBION – The Orleans Economic Development Agency wants to restart a revolving loan fund that previously helped many businesses get started or do expansions in the county.

The previous fund ran from 2001 to 2019 and initially received $320,000 from the state. The EDA loaned money to businesses and as the money was paid back it and then loaned out again.

The state, however, forced the closure of the fund by the EDA and other revolving loan funds administered by local development corporations.

The EDA gave businesses the loans at 75 percent of the lowest prime rate. With the new program, the loan would be offered through the Orleans Land Restoration Corporation, a separate entity with the same board as the EDA.

The EDA has its own bigger pot of money to work with after several lean years. The EDA has received about $2.5 million from the Heritage Wind project in Barre, with another $1.8 million coming from Apex Clean Energy, owner of the Heritage project.

The EDA currently has about $2 million in the bank. The board would transfer some of its money to Land Restoration Corporation for the revolving loan fund. The EDA, during a budget crunch, has borrowed money before from the Land Restoration Corporation and transferring money there would be paying it back for the previous loans, said John Misiti, the EDA board chairman.

He discussed the revolving loan fund this morning during the board meetings for the EDA and then the Land Restoration Corporation. He said the fund could become the “crown jewel” of the agency, assisting businesses in the county.

He and board member Craig Tuohey are working to establish guidelines for the program that would need input from the full EDA board.

Misiti said the guidelines may set a minimum loan of $50,000 to a maximum of $250,000. Those loans could be paid from five to 10 years, with the loans at 2 percent above the prime rate.

“We don’t want to make it real restrictive but we want to protect the agency too,” Misiti said during today’s EDA meeting. “We’re trying to make it simple, fair and secure.”

He is hoping to guidelines in place by the end of the year so the revolving loan fund could be started next year. He sees it as “a bridge loan” providing needed financing for projects in the county.

With the Heritage Wind project, the company cleared some of the wooded areas for the project, which includes 28 wind turbines with a capacity for 126 megawatts.

Apex, in an announcement to the community, said civil construction was scheduled to begin about Oct. 1, 2026, starting with work at the substation and Point of Interconnection switchyard site, including the installation of the collection substation foundations.

“Subsequent phases of construction—including installation of the electrical collection system high voltage construction at the substation and POI switchyard site and installation of the O&M facility, and delivery and installation of the wind turbines—are expected to occur in 2027 and 2028,” the company said.

Apex has already paid the EDA $775,000 in late 2024, and then another $1.8 million about a year ago.  Another $1.8 million will be due a year after the PILOT/lease-leaseback transaction. The money to the EDA is for administering a PILOT agreement to the local municipalities.

The company will pay $9,000 per megawatt to local municipalities or $1,134,000 in the first year, with a 2 percent increase after that over 25 years.

Barre gets 75 percent of the money as part of a Host Community Agreement. The $6,750 per megawatt totals $850,000. The remaining 25 percent or $2,250 per megawatt is evenly split by the school district and county. That is $140,175 each.

Towns, however, recently hit with 25% hike in road salt as well as fuel cost increases

Photo by Tom Rivers: Yates Town Supervisor Jim Simon, speaking during Thursday’s Town Board meeting, said the towns just want to break even for plowing and salting county roads and doing roadside mowing.

The 10 towns in Orleans County will be getting a 30 percent increase to plow and salt county roads, as well as doing roadside mowing. But it shouldn’t be viewed as a windfall.

“We need to at least break even,” said Jim Simon, the Yates town supervisor. “We’re not doing it to make a profit.”

The 10 towns in recent months have pressed the county for the 30 percent increase, plus 5 percent more the following two years. The towns currently get $7,218 a mile for their work on county roads. But that isn’t nearly enough to cover the town’s expenses, said the Orleans County Town Highway Superintendents Association which is led by Tracy Chalker, the highway superintendent in Clarendon.

The contract at the $7,218-rate expires Dec. 31. The new agreement provides a 30 percent increase or $2,165 more per mile in 2027, for $9,383. The towns then receive a 5 percent increase each following year in the three-year agreement.

The new deal was discussed at the Yates Town Board meeting on Thursday. Town officials are thankful for the higher amount, but they said it still may not cover the town’s costs due to rising fuel and salt expenses.

“I’m excited we got the contract with 30 percent, but I fear we might be trapping ourselves again,” said Sue Hrovat, a town councilwoman.

The highway superintendents were expecting a 10 percent increase for road salt for the upcoming winter, but that cost will be up 25 percent. That will be about $10,000 more in salt costs for Yates to salt the county roads in town.

The new agreement with the county allows for an option every May to review the deal f there have been dramatic changes in costs.

Chalker, president of the Orleans County Town Highway Superintendents Association, sent a letter to all 10 towns, thanking the town supervisors and boards for their work in securing the 30 percent increase.

The letter was signed by the following highway superintendents: Dale Root of Shelby, Dale Brooks of Barre, John Olinger of Ridgeway, Kurt VanWycke of Carlton, Dirk Lammes of Murray, Roger Wolfe of Yates, Mike Neidert of Albion, Eric Mason of Kendall and Tracy Chalker of Clarendon.

“You all played a very important role in our success to achieve our needs of 30 percent in our snow and ice and mowing contracts to get us closer to where we want to be,” Chalker wrote. “Your input and support was definitely a huge part of our success. Also it was great to see the towns come together and unite. So much can happen when we unite.”

Photos by Tom Rivers

RIDGEWAY – It was the 12^th annual “Family Game Night” on Thursday and for the first time it was held at the Ridgeway Fire Hall.

The top photo shows three Probation Department staff members – from left Sarah Osborne, director; Michelle Coots, probation assistant; and Carolyn Fisher, secretary. People were welcome to play Tic-Tac-Toe, get a fruit snack and learn about the department.

It was one of 16 stations from county departments at Family Game Night. There were 250 people preregistered for the event and other walk-ins likely attended Game Night, which was sponsored by the Orleans County Legislature, in conjunction with the county Youth Bureau.

Each family was able to take home a board game. There were about 120 board games available.

The goal of the event was to have less screen time on a phone and more time together. It was also a chance to learn about the services provided by the county departments.

Family Game Night was previously held at Dubby’s Tailgate in Albion and the Trolley Building at the 4-H Fairgrounds.

Evvan Spencer, 3, of Lyndonville races to complete an obstacle course, including climbing over a drainage pipe and navigating through traffic cones. It was set up by the county Department of Public Works.

A larger-scale version of Jenga was set up by the Mental Health Department. At left includes Sarah Kau of Holley and her daughters, Willow and Violet, holding the block.

Audra Fisher, secretary in the Emergency Management Office, shared fire prevention stickers and other materials.

MEDINA – Fans of old-time horror films will be delighted to learn they have returned to the Medina Theatre at 603 Main St.

Continuing every Friday night in October, the Orleans Renaissance Group is sponsoring Legends of Fright, a horror classic from the past. The first on Oct. 2 was “Frankenstein.”

“This is something we has wanted to do for several years,” said Cindy Robinson, a member of ORG. “This is the first I’ve had time to do it. These are the movies I grew up with. My dad used to watch them. We have this nice theater here and I always thought we should use it for what it was intended to be. Doing these movies seemed like a good way to start.”

Robinson said theater owner Joe Cardone was on board with the idea, and the first movie shown on Friday night was “Frankenstein” starring Boris Karloff. Future movies will be “Dracula” this Friday, starring Bela Lugosi; followed by “The Mummy” on Oct. 16, starring Boris Karloff; “The Invisible Man” on Oct. 23, starring Claude Rains; and “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” on Oct. 30.

Tickets are $7. All movies start at 7 p.m.

Robinson said people who attended the first showing were thrilled to be in the theater again.

Cardone opened the concession stand for the evening, and people were happy not to pay the high prices charged in other theaters.

ORG is looking at another series in February – Film Noir series.

ORG is thankful for five local sponsors, Medina Veterinary Clinic, English Rose Tea Shoppe, WSM Elder Law, Bent’s Opera House and Cooper Funeral Home.

Press Release, Orleans County Job Development Agency

MEDINA – The Orleans County Job Development Agency will be holding a job fair on Thursday, October 15 at the YMCA in Medina for those seeking employment. More than a dozen employers with open positions have signed up to take part.

“Sometimes the right opportunity is closer than you think. Come meet local employers, explore available jobs, and take the next step toward your future,” said Kelly Kiebala, Director of OCDJA.  “Bring your résumé, bring your questions and come prepared to interview.”

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Orleans County YMCA located at 306 Pearl Street in Medina. No appointments or pre-registration are necessary.

Kiebala said companies will be looking to fill a variety of positions across several different sectors.

“Employers are looking for reliable and dependable candidates and often are  willing to provide significant training to those who may lack experience,” said Kiebala.   “And staff from our office will be on hand to provide additional assistance to job seekers.”

To learn more about other OCJDA resources, visit www.orleanscountyny.gov/jda.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Some of the leaves are starting to change color along the Erie Canal in Albion. This photo was taken on Tuesday on the towpath near the Brown Street canal bridge.

The leaves are changing colors but there is still a lot of green on the tree canopies in Orleans County.

Some areas of the state are starting to get peak fall foliage colors – parts of the Capital-Saratoga, Catskills, Central New York, Finger Lakes, and Chautauqua-Allegheny regions.

That’s according to the weekly fall foliage update on Wednesdays from the Empire State Development Division of Tourism’s I LOVE NY program.

Orleans and Genesee counties are seeing some color change, according to volunteer field observers in the state report.

“In Orleans County, there is 40% change at the Cobblestone Museum in Albion with bright and colorful crimsons and cinnamons,” the report states.

Here is the weekly map show fall foliage map from I Love NY.

ALBION – Orleans Community Health will host a free Children’s Wellness Fair on Sunday at the Albion Healthcare Center, 14789 Route 31 at Butts Road in Albion. The family-friendly event is open to everyone, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with no registration required.

Families will have an opportunity to learn more about children’s health, meet local team members and receive practical tips for supporting healthy children. Local organizations will also be on hand to connect families with community programs, services and other helpful resources.

The fair isn’t just about education, according to Scott Robinson, director of Marketing, Communications and Outreach at Orleans Community Health. Children will be able to take part in fun activities, including a Teddy Bear Clinic, activities, drawstring backpacks, free goodies and other resources.

“Supporting healthy children starts with making sure families have the resources they need to achieve the goal,” Robinson said. “This event gives families an opportunity to have fun together while also connecting with healthcare information and local resources that can make a difference throughout the year.”

The Children’s Wellness Fair is part of Orleans Community Health’s continued effort to make health education, preventative care information and community resources more accessible to local families.

For more information, call (585) 589-2273.

Press Release, New York State Office of Mental Health

The New York State Office of Mental Health today announced a four-year $1.6 million initiative aimed at strengthening community-led prevention and resiliency efforts to address the higher suicide rates experienced in rural areas of Broome, Genesee, Orleans, Wayne, and Yates counties.

The announcement followed a two-day conference on rural suicide prevention that was hosted in Ithaca last week by the Suicide Prevention Center of New York, which is located within OMH.

“Each of the 1,700 New Yorkers who die by suicide annually represents an incalculable loss,” OMH Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said. “They were our family members, colleagues, our friends, and our family members – our loved ones. At OMH, we have an unwavering commitment to reducing the tragedy of suicide by reducing isolation and removing barriers to care, especially in our high-risk rural communities.”

The Rural Outreach, Organizing, Training and Suicide Prevention initiative – also known as “ROOTS-NY” – will build sustainable suicide prevention capacity by strengthening community infrastructure, expanding workforce skills, and fostering coordinated partnerships between healthcare systems, community organizations, and local leaders. The program will rely on existing community resources to create a sustainable, localized prevention system to support counties that are predominantly rural.

Rural communities are often exposed to a host of risk factors for suicide, including economic hardship, unemployment, unstable housing, social isolation, higher prevalence of firearm access, less access to mental healthcare, and more. Between 2022 and 2024, the counties participating in ROOTS-NY had a combined suicide rate of 12.23 per 100,000 population – significantly higher than the statewide rate of 8.77.

Among those over age 20, the rate was 15.35 per 100,000, which is also sharply higher than the statewide rate of 10.85 per 100,000 for that age group. About half of suicide deaths in these counties were by firearm, compared to 29 percent statewide, highlighting the opportunity available to promote lethal means safety as part of the initiative.

“Rural communities have unique strengths, but they also face unique challenges when it comes to suicide prevention. Geographic isolation, limited access to behavioral health services, and other barriers can make it harder for people to get the support they need,” Suicide Prevention Center Director Dr. Jay Carruthers said. “ROOTS-NY is about meeting communities where they are, building on the people, organizations, and resources already working to support their neighbors. By strengthening existing local partnerships and forming new ones, expanding prevention skills, and increasing access to lifesaving support, we can help rural communities build enduring pathways to hope, connection and help.”

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is also available to connect New Yorkers to trained crisis counselors 24/7, who can help anyone thinking about suicide, struggling with substance use, experiencing a mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. New Yorkers can call, text or chat 988 if they are worried about someone who may need crisis support.

Photo from shopgarage.com: Medina’s ladder truck is shown on an online site that sells fire trucks, emergency vehicles and equipment. The site lists the truck as being sold. It was listed on the site on May 19.

MEDINA – The Village of Medina has sold its ladder truck for $2.1 million to the Village of Wilmette, an Illinois community of about 28,000 people near Chicago. Wilmette has a median household income of $190,662.

Medina has a population of 5,855, according to the 2025 population estimates from the Census Bureau. Medina’s median household income is $59,231, just a fraction’s of Wilmette’s.

“They are a wealthy community,” said Medina Mayor Debbie Padoleski. “It’s a beautiful truck. I would have loved to keep it, but it’s more truck than we need and it’s more truck than we can afford.”

Wilmette officials on Monday were in Medina and hand-delivered a check for $2.1 million. They also gave the truck a final inspection. The ladder truck is expected to leave Medina next week and be transported to Wilmette. The ladder truck is currently being kept in the former compost facility on North Gravel Road near Boxwood Cemetery.

With new ladder trucks having a 3- to 5-year wait due to a backlog of orders, Wilmette wanted Medina’s because it was available right away, Padoleski said.

The price for the ladder trucks also has soared since Medina locked in its contract in March 2023. The Albion Joint Fire District on Aug. 14, 2025 voted to buy a new ladder truck at a cost of $2,480,698 from Pierce Manufacturing.

Padoleski is happy the Medina ladder truck is sold and at a nice profit for the village.

“It’s been tough to move forward,” she said about the ladder truck, an issue that the village officials have been wrestling with for several years now.

The village budget for 2026-27 included a $300,000 profit with the sale of the ladder truck.

The sale is about $400,000 more than Medina’s contract with Pierce Manufacturing back in March 2023 when the Medina Village Board voted to pay $1,698,995 for the ladder truck. But with the first interest payment, Medina’s cost is closer to $1.8 million.

The sale at $2.1 million also includes a $100,000 fee to the broker. Padoleski said the village won’t have to make the year one principal payment at $130,000.

The new truck was too big for the existing fire hall and the board at that time expected an addition would be built on the existing fire hall. The truck is about 13 feet high where the fire station bays only have a clearance of 10 feet, 6 inches. But the initial construction estimates put an addition and overhaul of the current station at about $6 million. Just doing a one-bay addition would be about $1.3 million.

A new majority on the Village Board deemed those costs too much for the village taxpayers. They declared the ladder truck as surplus on Feb. 9, about two months after Pierce delivered it. The truck was never put into service.

The fire truck was listed for sale at $2.4 million on May 19 on an online site that sells fire trucks and other emergency vehicles and equipment. The website, shopgarage.com, touted the 2025 quint fire truck with a 100-foot ladder. The truck was promoted as “brand new, never used” with only 1,095 miles.

Padoleski said there was a strong interest in the ladder truck from a community in Texas, from a private business and from nearby Brockport.

Wilmette made the best offer, and followed up with a check.

Padoleski commended Deputy Mayor Scott Bieliski for working with the broker and potential buyers to get a good price for Medina.

The mayor said the Village Board will shift to looking at the future of the fire department and its ambulance service. Bieliski is on the hunt for a smaller used ladder truck that would fit in the existing fire hall.

She said the village needs more buy-in from neighboring towns that receive the ambulance service. Medina is seeking an increase from $35,000 to $135,000 from the towns of Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates. But even at that level, the village taxpayers are paying more than $1 million a year towards its paid fire department.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous to expect the Village of Medina to pay for a service that goes outside the Village of Medina,” she said.

An Orleans County Shared Services Committee is looking at how to best fund and provide EMS and the fire service throughout the county. Padoleski wants to see a plan from that committee that shares the burden around the county.

“With EMS, it needs to be everybody’s problem,” she said. “It can’t just be Medina’s problem.”

County DPW transformed space adjacent to Subway, giving historian more accessible space for local artifacts

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Catherine Cooper, the Orleans County historian, has a new office at 162 South Main St., a spot adjacent to Subway and next to the County Treasurer’s Office.

The county Department of Public Works transformed 2,000 square feet of space, putting in new drywall, a ceiling, electric and a floor.

“They did a huge amount of work,” Cooper said, commending the DPW staff for its work in the office and also relocating local artifacts and files from the top floor of Central Hall.

The County Legislature on Dec. 3 agreed to a lease with Nomax Albion, LLC, which is owned by Noah Michaels. He reached out to the county about using the 2,000 square feet for free if the county agreed to plow the lot for the plaza.

The county already was plowing part of it for the treasurer’s office. The county had to renovate the space and will be responsible for utilities.

Central Hall at 34 East Park St., which used to house the historian’s office and treasurer’s office, now is up for sale and listed for $229,000.

Catherine Cooper said her new space is more ground level and all on one floor. It is more accessible to the public. The previous site had stairs to climb and people often parked in a lot behind the building.

Cooper said the new space is more open, and isn’t in several smaller rooms. The 16 shelving units were purchased from Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, which sold the shelves as part of a renovation and addition project. Cooper worked at Lee-Whedon in Medina for 33 years, including 10 years as director before becoming county historian six years ago.

Cooper has office hours on Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People are welcome to stop by and see her or by making an appointment. The office number is 585-589-4174.

Catherine Cooper is shown after the entrance to her new setup. The World War II uniform is from Dr. John Roche, who was an Army medic. The uniform is on loan from the Medina Historical Society. The poster celebrates the 100^th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986.

It has been an extra busy two years for Cooper with the bicentennial celebration of Orleans County in 2025, and the 250^thanniversary of the United States this year. She has helped plan many of the events the past two years, in addition to her regular duties as historian.

Those big milestone years are part of a very eventful tenure so far as historian. Her office already has moved twice in that time with the first move from the basement of Central Hall to the top floor.

Cooper looks forward to things being a little less hectic for the historian and Department of History.

“It’s been a lot of extra excitement that has brought a lot of focus to the department,” Cooper said about the big anniversary celebrations the past two years. “It has made it more challenging and interesting. But what I find the most interesting is going through the collection and sorting, trying to organize it in a fashion that is coherent and can be used by people going forward.”

She is eager to go through and organize more of the files and artifacts.

“I’m looking forward to having time to work on the collection more,” Cooper said. “The filing cabinets I’d like to get revamped. That takes time.”

ALBION – Two inmates in local state prisons will be spending more time in prison after they pleaded guilty in the Orleans County Court today to crimes against corrections officers.

Raequan Tarver, 25, was an inmate at Orleans Correctional Facility on Nov. 25, 2025 when he attempted to injure a correction officer. He admitted in court today to an altercation with an officer where Tarver said he tried to hurt that officer.

He pleaded guilty in court today to attempted assault in the second degree and faces an addition 2 to 4 years in state prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 16.

Tarver is currently serving a 1 ½ to 3 year sentence for attempted robbery in the second degree and attempted promoting prison contraband in the first degree. He is eligible for parole on Oct. 8, 2027. He is currently incarcerated at Five Points Correctional Facility in Romulus, Seneca County.

Marisa Lockridge, 43, was at Albion Correctional Facility on Deb. 15, 2026 when she threw urine in an area near a corrections officer, causing the urine to come into contact with the officer.

She pleaded guilty in court today to aggravated harassment of an employee by an incarcerated person. She faces an additional 1 ½ to 3 years in state prison when she is sentenced on Dec. 16.

Lockridge has been moved to the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County. She is currently serving a 1 to 3 year sentence for grand larceny in the third degree. She is due to be released on Oct. 12. County Court Judge Sanford Church ordered here to be held without bail due to her release date on Monday.

In another case in court this morning, Tony Thompson, 59, of Albion was offered a plea deal where he would face up to 3 years in state prison if he pleads guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance.

He is facing eight counts of drug charges for allegedly selling crack cocaine in the Village of Albion. Thompson was arrested on May 12.

He can consider the offer and file motions in the case, which are due Nov. 2 and to be argued in court on Nov. 18.