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Eat Some Chicken - Do Some Good!

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On Saturday, September 26, you can help make hundreds of Genesee County families happier this holiday season! Stop by Clor’s (corner of Rte. 63 and W. Main St.) and pickup one of their tasty Chicken BBQ dinners – all proceeds will benefit the Don Carroll Toys for Kids campaign. For $8 you’ll get ½ chicken, salt potatoes, roll and either macaroni salad or coleslaw…not to mention a wonderful feeling knowing that you’ll warm the heart of a child this December.

Don Carroll has been organizing a massive toy give-away each holiday season by coordinating “giving events” throughout the year. A benefit concert (scheduled for November this year), as well as “Cheer for Kids” donation buckets at a Batavia High Football game (look for us at the October 9 game at VanDetta Stadium), and an impressive Gift Basket Raffle (tickets will be available at the November concert) are just some of the ways that you can give to this worthy cause. Absolutely no money is used for administrative costs or personnel fees…this is 100% volunteer-supported! All money stays in Genesee County.

So eat some chicken and help a child this Christmas! You’ll be so glad you did.  

Genesee County native makes news preparing for president's visit to Hudson Valley

By Howard B. Owens

Genesee County native Karen Seward, the daughter of Charles and Carol Houseknecht, had an important task pop up this week: Preparing Hudson Valley Community College for a presidential visit.

"The White House was really clear they didn't want us to spend extra resources on the President but to spend those on the students," said Seward (Executive Manager of Physical Plant at HVCC).

But there were some requests like barricades for security, floor plans and additional electrical power. The college is fulfilling these, while also putting its best foot forward.

"I think we're being realistic, don't get me wrong we're really scrubbing and re-painting areas and touching up, but we're not polishing the floors," said Seward.

Seward is a graduate of Oakfield-Alabama High School.

Putting Your Garden to Bed

By Jan Beglinger

September 28 at 6pm – Fall Harvest Coffee and Dessert Series - Putting Your Garden to Bed. Your gardening tasks do not end with that killing frost. There are many things you can do in your garden to assure gardening success next spring. Let Maud Charpin, a certified Master Gardener, share her knowledge and tips with you while enjoying homemade dessert and coffee.

 Cost is $10 per class and class size is limited to 15 participants. For more information or to register, call Amy at 585-343-3040 ext. 106, stop by the Extension Center located at 420 East Main St. in Batavia or register and pay online with your credit card at http://genesee.shutterfly.com/.
 

Genesee County Habitat ReStore

By Ronald Burroughs

 

                           

We are in the process of re- working  our web site. We will also include the ReStore  We will announce when the ReStore will be open . You can check out the web site for happenings with the local Genesee County Habitat. For questions, you can use this link:       info@geneseehabitat.com    and for our web site:  www.geneseehabitat.com

Opening New Store

By Ronald Burroughs

Genesee County Habitat for Humanity Board has decided to open a ReStore. The planning has been ongoing for over a year, it now as become a reality. The volunteers have been organizing and stocking shelves. Watch for information, signs and details coming in the next couple of weeks.

                                   

 

Explore the mysterious world of bats

By Billie Owens

Are you afraid of bats? Are you intrigued by bats?

Join "bat lady" Liz Thompson, as she shares her passion for bats. Learn about bats from around the world, popular bat myths and uncover the many ways in which bats help humankind.

This event takes place from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3. at the Genesee County Park & Forest Interpretive Nature Center, 11095 Bethany Center Rd., in East Bethany.

Cost is $5 per person or $10 per family. Pre-registration required. Call 585-344-1122 to register.

Event Date and Time
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Batavia city residents wanted for duty on boards and committees

By Billie Owens

The Batavia City Council and city manager are seeking city residents who are interested in volunteering as a member of the following committees and boards:

  • Board of Assessment Review: One opening in Ward 1
  • Cable TV Advisory Board: Five openings
  • Historic Preservation Commission: One opening in Ward 1
  • Mall Operating Committee: One opening
  • Neighborhood Improvement Committee: One opening with no ward restriction; one opening in Ward 2; one opening in Ward 3; two openings for Landlord
  • Planning & Development Committee: One opening in Ward 1; one opening in Ward 2; one opening in Ward 3; one opening in Ward 6
  • Youth Board: Four openings        
  • Zoning Board of Appeals: One opening in Ward 2; one opening in Ward 4; one opening in Ward 5

Residents interested in applying can obtain an application from the City Clerk’s Office or can visit they city's website and download a Committee/Board Application under Downloadable Forms. 

Please submit applications to the Clerk’s Office, One Batavia City Centre, Batavia, NY 14020, as soon as possible to ensure boards/committees will be at full capacity once current terms expire.

If you are currently on a board and your appointment is expiring but you still want to serve and are eligible (based on term limits), please call the Clerk’s Office at (585) 345-6305 and let them know. You do not need to submit a new application.  

Mercy Flight Golf Outing raises $7,500

By Billie Owens

Gray skies and cool temperatures didn’t stop 36 four-person teams from hitting the Terry Hills course Wednesday for the Mercy Flight Golf Outing.

The foursome of Mike Sassone, Nick Galante, Rhone Wallace and Chris Rickard finished first in the tournament, but the big winner was clearly Mercy Flight of Western New York. More than $7500 was raised for the Batavia site of the independent, not-for-profit provider of emergency air medical transport.

The outing was the second fundraiser sponsored by Batavia Downs Casino in the past three weeks that benefited Mercy Flight. A Family Fun Day at the harness track on Aug. 30 also raised over $7500.

Tournament chairman Fred Hamilton said, “We are thrilled with the great turnout and generous support of the sponsors and golfers in our first attempt at staging a quality golf outing. We look forward to the challenge of topping this year’s event next September.”

American Legion names LeRoyan of the Year

By Howard B. Owens

Don "Clarky" Vescovi is the LeRoyan of the Year.

American Legion Post 576 announced the selection this morning, honoring Vescovi for his contributions to the community.

Among his volunteer contributions: T-Shirt League, Little League, Babe Ruth Baseball and American Legion baseball, and he also served as commissioner of the Le Roy Softball League. He's also be involved in volunteer efforts on behalf of veterans and has been an active member of Post 576 for 51 years.

Vescovi and his wife Chris have been married for 40 years. Vescovi has six children and 13 grandchildren.

A dinner honoring Vescovi will be heldat 6 p.m. Oct. 3. Tickets are $15 and available at the American Legion Home, local banks and from previous LeRoyans of the Year.

Cornell Cooperative Extension announces fall classes

By Billie Owens

Cornell Cooperative Extension will be offering its popular coffee-and-dessert series again this fall.

"Hands on with the Harvest" participants enjoy a cup of coffee or tea along with desserts homemade by the Master Gardeners. This season programs will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Extension Center on East Main Street in Batavia and will include:
 
September 28Putting Your Garden to Bed. Your gardening tasks do not end with that killing frost. There are many things you can do in your garden to assure gardening success next spring.  Let Maud Charpin, a certified Master Gardener, share her knowledge and tips with you.
 
October 14Creating a Back Yard Habitat. Join birding expert Jan Beglinger as she shows you the basics of creating a backyard habitat and helps you to create the right conditions to invite a host of birds, butterflies and other species to your backyard.
 
October 28
Growing Culinary Herbs at Home. Would you like fresh herbs through the winter?  Find out how to grow them on your windowsill. Master Gardener Paul Saskowski will also be covering what herbs are good for cooking and how to incorporate herbs into your landscaping.
 
Cost is $10 per class and limited to 15 participants per class. Pre-register by stopping by the Extension Center located at 420 East Main Street in Batavia, visit the website at www.genesee.shutterfly.com <http://www.genesee.shutterfly.com/> , or contact Amy at 343-3040, ext. 106.
 

Volunteers for Animals needs your vote

By Billie Owens

Local animal lovers are competing for a big grant and need your vote in order to win.

The Animal Rescue Site, along with Petfinder, launched the $100,000 Shelter + Challenge on Sept. 14.

The Animal Rescue Site is awarding $100,000 in grants to eligible Petfinder.com member rescue organizations to help animals. The grand prize is a $20,000 grant, and there are many other prizes!

Visit the link below to vote - it only takes a minute. You don't have to register, and voting is free. Support Volunteers For Animals and vote every day!  Thank you!

Shelter Name: Volunteers For Animals
State: NY
City: Batavia

Then hit Search to vote.

Thank you for your help and please ask your friends to help out by voting each day. Together we can make a difference.

Click here: Vote for Volunteers For Animals @ The Animal Rescue Site <http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3&amp;link=ctg_ars_shelterchallenge_from_home_sidetabs>


Thanks,
The Cats and Dogs at the Genesee County Animal Shelter


 

BHS Class of '59 holds reunion this weekend

By Billie Owens

The Batavia High School Class of 1959 will hold its 50-year reunion in Batavia this weekend.

The event will begin on at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18 with a mixer at TF Brown's on East Main Street.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, the former students will walk the halls once again as they tour their old school building. In the afternoon, the elderly duffers will take to the links beginning at 1 p.m. for a 9-hole round of golf.

Event Date and Time
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Thursday Sept. 17 is last day for Downtown Batavia Public Market

By Billie Owens

Due to popular demand, the Downtown Batavia Public Market has extended its season one more Thursday. The market’s last day will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17. It is centrally located at Ellicott and Center streets in downtown Batavia.

The market will be offering fresh corn, tomatoes, peaches, baked goods, cheese, flowers, honey, maple syrup and lots more. Support the downtown that supports your community.

Sponsored by: Batavia Business Improvement District Public Market Committee.

Event Date and Time
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Harvest Moon Gala to honor the arts set for Oct. 3

By Billie Owens

GO ART! will host the ninth annual Community Arts Awards at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3.

"Harvest Moon" will take place at the Batavia Party House, located at 5762 E. Main St. Road (Route 5) in Stafford.

This year’s honorees include Rick and Deb Porter, Gary Simboli and Bill Pitcher

GO ART! Board of Directors Awards will be presented to The Batavia Club, Roger Triftshauser, Lynn Browne, and Norris and Sarah (Sally) Webster, posthumously. Each year, GO ART! recognizes the extraordinary contributions in art and culture made by individuals and organizations in the Genesee-Orleans region at this unique event.
 
Tickets are $25, with tables of 10 available for $225. Enjoy fabulous foods of the harvest, while local band Buffalo Road Show with Bill McDonald provides musical entertainment and GO ART!’s Silent Auction and other drawings are available all evening. Reservations are required. For more information, call 585.343.9313 or email info@goart.org.

Elbans turn out for heckler-free Town Hall meeting

By Gretel Kauffman

Ninety-plus Elbans turned out Tuesday night for a town hall meeting in the Elba Central School auditorium. The purpose of the meeting was to provide information and solicit input from the community on which services residents believe are important. 

Town Supervisor Lucine Kauffman opened the meeting by giving an overview of the tentative 2010 budget and tax rates as well as those of the previous five years. Highway Superintendent Allan Totten provided information on highway maintenance costs. Town Councilman Bill Hynes explained that the town transfer station operates at a yearly loss and asked for feedback from residents regarding its future. 

The vast majority of questions were directed at Eric Wies, an engineer with Clark Patterson Associates, and Tim Hens, Genesee County Highway Superintendent. Citizens inquired about the process of forming water districts to hook up to the Monroe County Water Supply. Wies and Hens gave an overview of the Genesee County Water Project and step-by-step details on how residents can form water districts.

Kauffman said she was pleased with the turnout. 

"We gave the town residents a lot to think about tonight. We have many important issues facing us. I'm glad we got the dialogue started, and the town board is looking forward to more participation from the residents."

Cornell University's Cayuga's Waiters come to O'Lacys

By Sarah Noble Moag

The Genesee-Orleans Cornell Club is hosting the Cayuga's Waiters Thursday October 15th beginning at 7:00 pm at O'Lacys Irish Pub.  The Waiters are a 14 person, all-male acappella group singing familiar contemporary music along with a few traditional Cornell songs.  The event falls on Cornell's "Spirit of Zinck's Night" which is a long-standing night out for the entire Cornell community for both students and alumni.  Observers of the the annual Zinck's Night will be found in more than 90 locations around the world.  You may be thousands of miles from Cornell, but on Thursday, October 15, you can feel just steps away from the Hill by attending the Spirit of Zinck's event!  No r.s.v.p. required, but a donation is requested.  

Food Stamp Recipients Can Redeem Benefits at Farmer's Markets

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The following information is from the Farmer’s Market Federation of New York:

Beginning in 2001, the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets and the Farmers' Market Federation of New York partnered for a pilot project to test wireless handheld Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) terminals for use in open-air farmers' markets. The pilot proved that the wireless technology, although in its infancy, was effective in capturing food stamp sales at farmers' markets in urban settings. The pilot also documented the need for farmers to accept food stamp benefits at farmers' markets, due to customer demand for their products.

As demand for wireless service grew and as the technology evolved, the farmers' market wireless EBT project continued to expand to new cities and more farmers. In 2005, the pilot changed focus from providing terminal access to individual farmers to providing terminal access to market managers.

Under this new paradigm, markets are authorized under FNS to be food stamp agents. They are able to "sell" EBT tokens (specially designed wooden tokens) that can be used with any vendor in the market selling food stamp eligible products. Farmers are able to accept the tokens, same as cash, but with no change back, and then redeem them with the market manager at day's end. Additionally, farmers markets can choose to accept debit and credit transactions on their market’s wireless EBT terminals.

The goal of the program is to increase the demand for locally grown fresh foods at farmers markets among food stamp customers, increase the usage of food stamp benefits at farmers markets and change dietary habits of food stamp customers to include more fresh fruits and vegetables from local growers by helping to change shopping habits over time.

Check with your local farmer's market to see if they participate in this program. For more information on New York's Farmers' Market Wireless EBT Program contact Diane Eggert at (315) 637-4690.

Adopt-A-Pet: Bee Boppers

By Billie Owens

We are referred to as "Bee Boppers." Don't ask us why 'cuz we don't know. We do know that we are among a group of kittens, and young cats that have been spayed or neutered, at the Genesee County Animal Shelter's Kitty Kottage. While widely regarded as the best place in the shelter, let's face it, it's not a real home. We Bee Boppers were raised in a foster home with lots of TLC. We love humans, other cats, and would probably do good with dogs, too. We're in the front window, ready to amuse and delight you. Please come and see our adorableness.

Elba Town Board to have open meeting 9/15

By Gretel Kauffman

The Elba Town Board will be having a town hall meeting at 7:30 PM on the 15th in the Elba Central School auditorium. 

The town board will be there to answer questions from the community and get residents' input on the 2010 budget. Specific topics will include the transfer station, highway maintenance and the shared court facility. Other topics include the county water project. 

For more information contact Town Supervisor Lucine Kauffman at 757-9921. The school is located at 57 S. Main St.

LEARN THE LATEST ON BERRY GROWING ONLINE WITH CORNELL EXPERTS ON SEPT. 9

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Northeast berry growers can learn about the latest production techniques and integrated pest management practices from university experts in a series of online web seminars this fall and winter. The first of the dozen interactive, hour-long Œwebinars‚ is scheduled for September 9 and will focus on growing strawberries on plastic and in high tunnels.  The berry IPM webinar series is hosted by the Cornell University Department of Horticulture and funded by the Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center.
 
The webinars are free, and participation is easy for anyone with a web browser and a high-speed internet connection.  (Pre-registration is required.)  If you can‚t participate from your home or office computer, group viewings are being organized at selected Cornell Cooperative Extension offices around the state and other sites across the northeast region.  Webinars will be recorded and archived for later viewing.
 
Webinar speakers will make their presentations live, and respond to questions and comments that participants type into an online chat box. 
 
The webcasts are divided into 3 mini series focusing on major berry crops: strawberries, brambles, and blueberries/cranberries. Four presentations on each crop group comprise a mini series. 
 
Alternative Production Methods for Strawberries will kick off the strawberry mini series when it airs live September 9th, 2009 at 12:45 PM. Featured speakers for this webcast are Dr. Lewis Jett, West Virginia State University, and Ms. Kathy Demchak, Penn State University. Dr. Jett will be speaking on growing strawberries in high tunnels. Ms. Demchak will be speaking on northeast approaches to growing strawberries on plastic.
 
The first presentation will be offered at a variety of group session locations throughout NYS including CCE Albany, CCE Chautauqua, CCE Clinton, CCE Jefferson, CCE Oneida, and CCE Suffolk counties. Some of these group sessions may include an additional on site speaker or other berry-related event following the webcast, so please contact individual CCE offices for more information.
 
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 will be the 2nd webcast in the strawberry series, also airing at 12:45 PM. Dr. Greg Loeb, Cornell University, will speak about managing strawberry sap beetle and tarnished plant bug;  Dr. Richard Cowles, University of Connecticut, will help growers better understand strawberry vine weevil and its management.
 
Wednesday October 7th, 2009, 12:45 PM. Dr. Michael Ellis, Ohio State University, will speak on managing strawberry root diseases; Dr. David Gadoury, Cornell University will speak on strawberry powdery mildew management. 
 
Friday October 30th, 2009, 12:45 PM. Dr. Robin Bellinder, Cornell University, will give an overview of strawberry weed management products; Dr. Marvin Pritts, Cornell University, will speak on cultural approaches to strawberry weed management.
 
There is no charge for webcast participation, but registration is required. Email with URL connection details is only sent to people who have registered. Connection details are sent about two days before the webinars. Please be connected by 12:45 PM.
 
Connections for each webcast are limited to 70 participants so register now by contacting Laura McDermott, lgm4@cornell.edu or calling 518-746-2562.
 

Check the web site for additional program and group viewing location details: www.fruit.cornell.edu/webinar <http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/webinar>  <http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/webinar> .
 
For more information contact Jan Beglinger, Agriculture Outreach Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, at 343-3040, ext. 126, stop by the Extension office at 420 E. Main Street in Batavia, or visit our website at htttp://genesee.shutterfly.com <http://genesee.shutterfly.com/> .

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