By Maria R. Hayes
During the last few weeks of June, you might have found it hard to breathe in Perry.
Factors included 90-degree weather, high ozone levels and wind that helped spread the clouds of dust rising from 72 N. Main St., the property directly adjacent to the Perry Public Library.
The house that stood to the left of the library underwent asbestos abatement and demotion during the last two weeks of June at the hands of Metro Environmental, Inc., a company from Niagara Falls. Clouds of dust and debris rolled through the surrounding neighborhood along North Main Street and Water Street throughout the process.
Crew members laughed off neighbors’ concerns, and after Metro Environmental left, layers of dust coated residents’ yards and the interiors of their homes. Concerned members of the community went to the July 11 Perry Public Library Board of Trustees meeting demanding answers.
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Visitors talk amongst the old desks and chairs in the schoolhouse. A brass bell and kerosene lamp sit on the teacher’s podium. Photo by Maria R. Hayes.
By Maria R. Hayes
The buzz in the District #15 schoolhouse in Middlebury grew quite loud on July 1, but no one told its occupants to quiet down and open their textbooks.
For almost 75 years, the one-room schoolhouse stood vacant on the corners of Gay and Blackhouse roads. When school districts centralized, it was left empty and eventually began to deteriorate. Thanks to the generosity of a local farmer, it fell into the hands of the Middlebury Historical Society, and after almost four years of restoration, it reopened to the public.
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PHOTO: A group braves the waters of the Genesee River on a white-water rafting trip with Adventure Calls Outfitters, Inc. Photo courtesy of Kevin Krestchmer.
By Maria R. Hayes
Still searching for your sense of adventure? Try looking for it in the rapids of the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park.
Adventure Calls Outfitters, Inc. has been taking rafters of all ages and experience levels for rides on nature’s roller coaster for the past 30 years.
The organization was founded by Terry Shears, a schoolteacher from Batavia. While on vacation, Shears went white-water rafting on the Colorado River and fell in love with it. Eager to find a similar experience in western New York, he started a business on the Cattaraugus Creek in Gowanda and followed with a place on the Salmon River near Syracuse.
Shears also considered the gorge in Letchworth State Park but couldn’t immediately establish anything due to state bureaucracy. After two years of negotiations with administration, Shears convinced the state to allow white-water rafting through the park, and the first group of rafters went down the river in 1983.
Today, Adventure Calls Outfitters still brings people through those three locations. The company has grown as its trips become more popular, and it brings everyone from high school seniors and youth groups to families with children down the rivers each year.
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PHOTO: The next phase of the Wyoming County Community Hospital’s $20 million renovation project includes a new addition to the nursing home and a new main entrance for the hospital. Photo courtesy of Shaffer & Associates.
By Maria R. Hayes
Renovations are continuing at the Wyoming County Community Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility. The hospital began the next phase of its $20 million renovation project in May.
“The 12,000-square-foot addition will replace the existing emergency department,” said Project Manager Mark Balling of Lend Lease Construction, Inc.
The newly renovated space will update the emergency department and will include rooms for pre-admission testing, patient rooms and a possible X-ray room. The $4.4 million project will also include a new main entrance that will connect the new addition to the nursing home and the hospital. Balling hopes to go out to bid on the project within the next 30 days.
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By Maria R. Hayes
You might know Keirsten Shaffer as the Wyoming County Community Health System’s spokesperson. But come mid-July, she will also be your local Pilates instructor.
Shaffer, owner of Shaffer and Associates, will be opening her second business, Lila Pilates, LLC, mid-summer. In addition to being a full-time public relations professional and a mother, Shaffer is also a certified Pilates instructor.
“I was a gymnast when I was younger, so I’ve always used a whole-body type of workout,” Shaffer said. “In 2006, I was diagnosed with leukemia and survived. Since then, I’ve been driven to preventative health measures.”
Pilates is an exercise system that strengthens muscles, increases flexibility and improves overall health through coordinated movement and breathing, according to Shaffer. Exercises are performed on a mat or on equipment, such as a reformer.
PHOTO: Keirsten Shaffer, pictured here working with a client, plans to open Lila Pilates, LLC in Perry in mid-July. Photo courtesy of Christian Phillips Photography.
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