News for the week of
January 25, 2004

In Features:

Kendall-Hamlin Euchre - a 50-year tradition
Playing Euchre, the card game, is a tradition in Western New York. Nowhere is this more evident than in the lakeshore towns of Kendall and Hamlin. more

Area singers join voices for Boston concert
Six singers who are members of the Amadeus Chorale have been selected to sing in the American Choral Directors Association All-Eastern Conference in February 2004. The conference is held in Boston from February 12 through 14. These girls were chosen from hundreds of applicants throughout the northeast. more

Brockport district investigates counterfeit cash use
Under federal law, school districts are not allowed to release information that could compromise the confidentiality of student records. The Brockport Central School District has acknowledged that a case involving high school students and counterfeit five dollar bills is under investigation. more

Brockport police department strives toward accreditation
One of the goals Brockport's Police Chief Dan Varrenti set for himself and the department when he was hired was to get the department accredited - and that goal is nearing fruition. more

Brockport police lose an officer, add an officer
Brockport village officials at the regular January 20 board meeting unanimously approved the hiring of part-time officer, Ralph Gleason. At the same meeting they accepted with regret, the resignation of Carlos Torres who was leaving to pursue his education. more

Brockport village saves on insurance costs
Village of Brockport officials say they have found ways to cut costs while still providing quality health care to non-union employees and retirees. more

Butternut Twig donates medical
equipment to Lakeside Memorial Hospital
The Butternut Twig group at Lakeside Memorial Hospital has donated medical equipment to support its Post Anesthesia Care Unit, or PACU. They donated $5,000 for the purchase of a Pulse Oximetry Module and Non-Invasive Blood Pressure Module. more

Churchville mayor looking ahead to new pursuits
It's not easy figuring out how to end more than 20 years of service to a community, much less how to configure a successful business so that it will be attractive to potential buyers. Don Ehrmentraut, Churchville's long-time mayor and owner of A Touch of Country Class Gift Shop and Florist, is trying to do both in an effort to "retire." more

Hamlin Community Center Committee asks for residents' input
Hamlin residents are invited to attend the upcoming Community Center Committee Meeting at the Town Hall January 28 at 7 p.m. This will be an opportunity for residents to learn more about the proposed project and even join a subcommittee if interested. more

New MOMS Club meets in Hamlin
The Brockport chapter of the MOMS Club has spun off a sister chapter - MOMS Club of Clarkson, Hamlin and Kendall. The new Chapter President, Tami Mungenast, said they already have 22 members and 14 newcomers attended the first meeting. They welcome moms from Hamlin, Kendall, Clarkson, Holley, and other towns west of Brockport. more

Pest Management and Marketing to be features at Soybean Congress
The Western New York and Finger Lakes Soybean/Small Grain Congress programs, sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension, provide growers the opportunity to learn and interact with farm suppliers. more

Ribbon cutting held at Riga Town Hall and Court
Pictured are Supervisor Tim Rowe; Town Clerk Jean Ott; Town Justice Louis E. Amarosa; Councilman Ron Trinkl; Town Justice Joseph Steinwachs; Councilman Bob Ottley; Councilwoman Pamela Moore; Councilman Peter Brundage. Not shown: Retired Highway Superintendent Peter Neidrauer; Highway Superintendent Tom Klafehn; County Executive Maggie Brooks: Assemblywoman Susan John. more

Sometimes walls do talk
"House for Sale - $2100.00"
"Job Opening: salary $15 per week; only Catholics need apply."
We'd never see ads like these in our newspapers today, but they were actually ads in the newspapers that Parma resident Joe Reinschmidt uncovered in the walls of his home recently. more

The ultimate entrepreneur finds business in every corner
Willard Pengelly is an octogenarian who has lived his entire life in this western corner of Monroe County, but is known well beyond New York state's borders and even nationally in the arena of veterinary medicine. Pengelly was the first layman to address the National Veterinary Convention in Ohio on the "prevention and control of strep, staph and coliform in dairy cattle." more

In Briefly:

Adams Basin native performs in Iraq
Spc. Brad Perkins, a native of Adams Basin, 1985 graduate of Brockport High School and the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Perkins, was one of a group of soldiers from Task Force Ironhorse, Tikrit, Iraq to perform in the Infantry Division Band's Christmas Spectacular. more

Brockport department heads file reports
While the number of applications granted was up 13 over 2002, the dollar amounts generated for those applications was down dramatically, Code Enforcement Officer Scott Zarnstorff reported at a recent Brockport Village Board meeting. more

Chili Fire Department officers for 2004 elected
New officers in the Chili Fire Department were elected December 10, 2003 and officially took office January 1. more

Evolution of the Symphony explored in RPO Symphony 101
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director Christopher Seaman looks at the evolution of the symphony in "The Shape of the Symphony," the next Symphony 101 Series concerts on Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Performance Hall at Hochstein and on Sunday, February 8 at 2 p.m. at Hale Auditorium, Roberts Cultural Life Center, Roberts Wesleyan College, North Chili. The program includes excerpts from works by Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms and Shostakovich. more

Fair Association wins award at state convention
The Monroe County Fair and Recreation Association was honored at the State Association of Agricultural Fairs convention that was held at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center January 17-19. The Monroe County Fair won two awards - one for its agriculture awareness exhibit that debuted at the fair last July, and one for the fair's longevity. more

Flotilla 45, USCGA, slates boating courses
Flotilla 45, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, will conduct three Boating Safely courses during February and March. The registration and courses will be held at the Greece Town Hall, 1 Vince Tofany Boulevard, Rochester. more

Fourth grader collects glasses
Fourth grader Casey MacClaren, of Holley, homeschooled, donated 103 pairs of eyeglasses and 75 cases to the Lions Club in Brockport. more

Registration set for indoor walking program
Spencerport School District residents who would like an indoor walking location are invited to register at the district's Volunteer Office on January 26 through 28 from noon to 2 p.m. Following registration, walkers may walk the school corridors at the Terry A. Taylor School, 399 Ogden Parma Town Line Road, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. any day that school is in session. more

Reilich kicks off snowmobile course
Assemblyman Bill Reilich and New York State Park Police Sergeant Mark VanWie are shown at the kick-off of the Snowmobile Safety Certification Course which was held at the Sweden/Clarkson Community Center, but was open to all residents of the county. more

Two fire districts make history with fire truck purchase plan
The North Greece and Lakeshore Fire Districts have entered into an agreement to purchase two identical fire trucks. Reasons for the joint agreement were: to save the taxpayers money in each district, and, to aid in the standardization of apparatus. more

Wingfest '04 decides best pizza and wings in area
SUNY College at Brockport and Friendly's Restaurant of Brockport are teaming up to host Pizza and WingFest 2004, Thursday, February 5, 6-10:30 p.m. at the Seymour College Union Ballroom on the SUNY Brockport campus. Pizza and WingFest 2004 is part of the college's Green and Gold Week, when SUNY Brockport celebrates its campus spirit. more

Politically Speaking:

Sweden's Zyra elected head of Monroe County Legislature
He may have been recently elected to head the Monroe County Legislature but Sweden's Wayne Zyra, a Republican, wants residents in the towns of Clarkson, Hamlin and Sweden to know he is still their representative. more

Warner focusing forward in 2004
In 2004, Hamlin Supervisor Austin F. Warner III said he is focused on putting the political turmoil that marked the end of 2003 behind him. Warner publicly clashed with former Hamlin Town Board member Ed Evans, who lost in a primary race and took many shots from leaders of the upstart All Hamlin Party. more

In Schools:

Free financial aid seminar offered by Genesee Community College
Genesee Community College is having a free seminar offering information about various financial aid sources for college enrollment. The presentation will be held Wednesday, January 28, at 6:30 p.m. in room T102 of the Conable Technology Building on the Batavia Campus. more

Hilton High School info night January 27
Hilton High School faculty and administrators will hold an Evening of Academic Planning for parents of children currently in grades 8 through 11 and parents of grade 8 to 11 private and parochial students interested in attending Hilton High School on Tuesday, January 27 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the High School, 400 East Avenue, Hilton. more

Register for Spencerport schools kindergarten
Parents and guardians with children turning the age of 5 by December 1, 2004, are being asked to register their children now for Spencerport Central School District kindergarten classes that will start in September. more

In Seniors:

Parma Public Library schedules senior's book discussion group
The Parma Public Library invites all interested seniors to the library on Tuesday, February 24 at 2 p.m. for the first meeting of its Senior's Book Discussion Group. Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson will be the first offering. more

In Sports:

Blue Devils ice Fairport
Defending state champion Brockport received points from ten different players and improved their record to 6-1 in divisional play with a 4-1 victory over Fairport at SUNY Brockport. more

Cummings leads Bees to hoops win
Stephanie Cummings scored 12 points and Alyssa D'Errico added 10 as Byron-Bergen easily defeated Wheatland-Chili 39-24 in girl's basketball. more

Hamlin Recreation programs
Youth Bowling - Saturdays, January 31 through April 3 at St. John's Bowling Lanes, 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. $40 each. Open to ages 7-16. Maximum of 20 bowlers per session. Must register in the Hamlin Recreation Office or call 964-7222 for information. more

Stevens earns NSCAA academic honor
Oneonta State senior women's soccer player Kelly Stevens (Rochester/Churchville-Chili) has earned another academic honor for her work in the classroom. She was selected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America East Region Scholar Athlete Team for 2003. She was selected to the second team and becomes the first female soccer player to earn the honor for the women's soccer program at the college. more

Team has a doubly good December
The Brockport High School Boys Basketball team under the coaching of Charlie Hage won two major basketball tournaments in the month of December. more