Published: October 22, 2009 12:54 pm      

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Britons enjoy Niagara apples

Little do many British apple-lovers know that they have a Niagara County company’s labor to thank for their fruit.

A recent report on this year’s U.S. apple crops featured Sun Orchard, the Burt-based apple packing company that handles fruit from many of Western New York’s growers.

The report, published by the produce trade publication Fresh Info, said the company is focused on its exports to the United Kingdom. Sun Orchard sends about 70 percent of its overseas shipments to Britain, the report said, and upgrades its technology to meet that demand.

“British people loved the fruit, and we hooked up with an importer,” orchard owner Steve Riessen told the publication. “We can be selective. We can pick the fruit we want and which we are sure we can market. It means we are really able to raise the standard of our raw product.”

Britons mainly enjoy Empire apples, the report said, but Sun Orchard sends some Red Delicious and Gala apples across the pond.

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A Lewiston native now living in Baltimore recently told a Maryland publication that his new home is nothing like his old home.

Whether that’s a good thing, though, is up in the air.

The Baltimore Jewish Times interviewed David Lunken for a story it did about outsiders’ ability to penetrate the city’s social world. While many people leave Western New York due to a lack of career opportunities, he said Baltimore retains its young people.

“People come back here because there is something to come back to, deep roots and social connections,” said Lunken, who was photographed holding his 1984 Lewiston-Porter High School yearbook.

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The episode might have aired a couple weeks ago, but the Niagara Falls-based episode of “The Office” continues to bring in rave reviews for the series and the setting.

The Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch named Niagara Falls as the biggest winner from that episode, which drew a series-high 10 million viewers for that episode.

“This former honeymoon capital has been relegated to a kitschy spot for border-hopping Americans to get lit off Mike’s Hard Lemonades and Molson XXX, then lose their money on slot machines and pewter mountie souvenirs,” the report said. :But now visitors can ask for the Michael Scott vending suite.”

Contact Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.