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News for the week of
January 8, 2006

In Features:

Brockport Fire Department elects new chief
The learning curve for newly elected Brockport Fire Chief Laurence Vaughan shouldn't be a long one as he held the position in the past. While some things might have changed since he last served in 1991, the transition from former Chief Christian McCullough to Vaughan will be an easy one. more

Brockport PD gives Santa a helping hand
Santa took a bit of time off from his nightly rounds of delivering gifts to good little girls and boys to spend some time with members of the Brockport Police Department and help them with their holiday delivery - to 120 residents of Lakeside's Beikirch Care Center. more

George McKinney, respected area veterinarian, 91
Compassionate and dedicated to the care of animals, veterinarian George V. McKinney was a well defined part of the area communities for 60 years. Dr. McKinney died December 29, 2005 at the age of 91. more

Heritage Square scoping document accepted
The Sweden Town Board accepted the Heritage Square SEQRA scoping outline at its December 13 meeting. The scoping outline identifies the areas of environmental concern that must be addressed by the applicant before the town board can complete the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR). more

Ogden Library plans indoor garage sale
An indoor garage sale scheduled for mid-February at the Ogden Farmers' Library could help garage sale-aholics get through the winter. more

Passport Services no longer available in auto license bureaus
By order of the federal government, Auto License Bureaus, both permanent and mobile, will no longer be able to accept U. S. Passport applications, effective January 3. The Monroe County Clerk's downtown office, that handles only legal filings, will continue to accept passport applications daily, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. without an appointment. more

Red Cross/RG&E heating fund available
For those on a strict budget, paying higher heating bills can be a challenge, but there is help through the Red Cross/RG&E Heating Fund. more

Riga officials appoint new board member
As one of the final acts as Riga supervisor, Tim Rowe appointed David L. Smith to fill the unexpired board seat of Ron Trinkl, who resigned. Trinkl's term expires December 31, 2006. more

Riga reorganization meeting draws crowd
Close to 60 people attended the Town of Riga's re-organizational meeting on January 3. This was the first meeting in which newly elected and appointed officials participated. more

Riga taxpayers to get rebate
In a move that neither included all the board members, nor requested input from taxpayers, former Town of Riga Supervisor Tim Rowe and board members - by a vote of three to one - approved a motion to return $304,450 in surplus landfill money to the voters, via a tax rebate. more

Spencerport FD elects officers
The Spencerport Volunteer Fireman's Association held its annual election of officers on December 9. The following members were re-elected to fill positions on the board of directors for a term of one year. more

Sweden appoints new member to zoning board of appeals
Sweden Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Donald Grentzinger tendered his resignation at the end of 2005 after 20 years of service. The Sweden Town Board accepted his resignation with regret, noting his commitment to the community and his professionalism. more

Sweden seeks public input on recycling center
The Sweden Town Board will host a public information meeting on the future of the refuse/recycling center on Tuesday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sweden Town Hall, 18 State Street. more

In Briefly:

Hamlin Ambulance elects director of operations
Steve Kondolf will take on the job of director of operations of the Hamlin Volunteer Ambulance Corps. He replaces Colleen Rogers, who has served in that capacity for the last four years. Rogers will assist Kondolf as lieutenant, along with Cody Howe. more

Postal rate changes take effect
Postal rates will change January 8. The single-piece rate for First-Class Mail will increase from 37 cents to 39 cents and the postcard rate will increase by one cent to 24 cents. more

School walking program underway
Spencerport Schools will extend its Walk for Exercise Program to the Canal View School beginning January 10. This is in addition to the walk program already in progress at the Terry A. Taylor School. Registered district residents may walk in either school from 4 to 7 p.m. on days that school is in session. more

Winners announced in Riga Recreation Holiday Decorating Contest
The Town of Riga Recreation and Community Events Department held a holiday decorating contest for the community in December. There were 28 houses entered in the contest. Judging took place on December 19, 20 and 21. more

Politically Speaking:

Assemblyman receives appointment
Assemblyman Bill Reilich (134 District) has been named a member of the Assembly Republican Conference Leadership Team. Reilich will be assuming the role of vice chairman of the program committee when session begins. more

Extension of Megan's Law provisions called for
Current provisions under the existing Megan's Law means 3,579 sex offenders will be dropped from the sex offender registry by year's end. more

In Schools:

Academic excellence
Fourteen Churchville-Chili High School seniors will receive scholarships from New York state based on performance on Regents examinations taken prior to their senior year. more

A good book
Holley's Glenn Robb, a third grader in Lisa Hendry's class, takes part in Sustained Silent Reading, a time when all students and staff stop what they are doing to read silently for 20 to 30 minutes. more

Byron-Bergen students inducted into
National Junior Honor Society
Nineteen new members were inducted into the Byron-Bergen chapter of the National Junior Honor Society on November 9, 2005. more

B-B teacher nominated for Disney Teacher Awards
Byron-Bergen High School Principal David Pescrillo was recently notified that one of the High School Special Education instructors was nominated for Disney Teacher Awards. more

Brockport CSD introduces a college preparation class
Brockport High School is offering a half-credit course entitled "Preparing for College Education," designed for second semester juniors and first semester seniors. more

Brockport Middle School students reach out to others
If you were around students from team 7-3 at Brockport's A.D. Oliver Middle School just before break, you would have thought they just received the greatest gifts. Their classrooms were piled high with presents. more

First year is sweet for Virtual Enterprise class
The employees of Byron-Bergen Sweets 'N' Treats have been working over the past three months to create and develop their virtual business. more

GCC's BEST Center expands online career opportunities
In response to overwhelming interest in online training courses, The BEST Center of Genesee Community College will offer a new segment of online training programs in healthcare, business, and technical careers such as medical transcription, advanced hospital coding, website and web database development, or as a certified business manager. more

Byron-Bergen Kindergarten registration reminder
Children who will be five years of age, on or before December 1, 2006, are eligible for entrance to kindergarten in September 2006. New families in the school district should notify the school if they have a child who will enter kindergarten in September. more

New state testing program in English begins this month
Under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act, states that receive federal funding for education must test all students in grades 3 through 8 annually in math and English language arts, beginning in the 2005-06 school year. more

Students pledge to recycle
Students at Brockport's middle school and high school pledged to recycle and buy recycled products. more

SUNY Brockport hires new VP for advancement
Roxanne Johnston was appointed vice president for institutional advancement at SUNY College at Brockport. Johnston, who began her duties January 9, will be responsible for the college's fundraising, government relations and alumni relations, as well as serving as president of the Brockport College Foundation. more

Veterans share experiences
Fourth-grader Andrea Ross interviews Navy Veteran David Yeaw before introducing him to David Resseguie's class at the Brockport Fred Hill Elementary School. She learned that he was a medic in the Navy. more

In Sports:

2005 New York State West
Youth Soccer Volunteer of the Year
Joe Canale, a member of the Town of Kendall Recreation Board for the past 13 years, was chosen 2005 New York State West Youth Soccer Volunteer of the Year. He supervises and instructs an indoor soccer program for students in 7th through 12th grade. more

Brockport soccer coach selected
Birds Eye Foods-Section V Coach of the Year
Chris Zorn (left), Brockport High's soccer coach, was awarded the Birds Eye Foods-Section V Soccer Coach of the Year in Class AAA, Section V's highest rating. He was presented with a plaque that was contributed by Birds Eye Foods of Rochester. more

Eichas named Birdseye Foods-
Section V Player of the Year
Hilton High School senior soccer star Jimmy Eichas has been selected as the Birds Eye Foods-Section V Player of the Year. He scored 13 goals and had seven assists for the Cadets, helping them to 9 wins, 6 losses and 2 ties. more

Five hoop standouts named to JP Morgan Chase 40th tourney team
Highlighting the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the JP Morgan Chase Scholarship Basketball Tournament on January 10-14 will be the presentation of the 25 players who have been selected to the Men's Tournament 40th Anniversary Team. more

Hilton Select team wins holiday tournament
The 7/8 Hilton-Sage Select Basketball Team took first place in their division at the 2005 CYP Holiday Tournament hosted by St. John Fisher College. more

K of C free throw contest Jan. 21
Our Lady of the Cenacle Council 3892 of the Knights of Columbus in Greece will host a local competition for the Knights of Columbus International Free Throw Championship to be held on Saturday, January 21 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at St. Charles Borromeo School Gym, 64 Maiden Lane. There's no fee to participate. more

Player scores to lead Bees
Freshman Mary Cocking scored six of her game-high 13 points in the second quarter as Byron-Bergen outscored Holley 12-5 on their way to a 47-16 girl's basketball victory. more

Rangers drop first of new year
Brighton's Brett Owens scored two goals and added three assists and Colin Davis had a four-point effort as the Barons defeated Spencerport 7-4. The game was one of seven played at the Blue Cross Arena the day after New Year's as part of the Robert J. Smith Memorial High School Hockey Showcase honoring Bob Smith, a former hockey booster club president. more

Rangers second at 40th Teike Bernabi
Spencerport's Nick Terenzi and Chris Collura took home titles, but the Rangers finished second to Shenendahowa in the 40th Annual Teike/Bernabi Wrestling Tournament held at Spencerport High School. more

St. Leo's K of C host free-throw contest
The St. Leo's Knights of Columbus host their annual Free-Throw Contest for all boys and girls ages 10-14. The first round of this state-wide competition will be held at the Hilton Merton Williams Jr. High School on Saturday, January 14 from 9 a.m. to noon. more

Trophy unveiling in Hilton
The Hilton Girls Cross Country team members listened to accolades from many local dignitaries at "The Unveiling" held in the Hilton High School Auditorium on December 28. more