Announcements

Majors Patricia and Robert Kurtz received this year’s first donation to the 2011 Red Kettle Campaign at the Red Kettle Kick-off Celebration. The 2011 donation goal is $67,000.

Every dollar raised goes toward programs and services right here in Genesee County. The army would like to thank T-Shirts, Etc. and The Daily News for sponsoring kettles this year. Their designs will be used at the Batavia Wal-Mart location.

Other locations include JCPenney, Kmart, Batavia Tops Friendly Markets, Le Roy Tops Friendly Markets, and Tractor Supply Company.

To volunteer for bell-ringing or to donate, please contact Major Robert at 343-6284 or visit facebook.com/Salvation.Army.Genesee

Grease Lightning & Castrol Premium Lube auto repair shops in Western and Central New York will be teaming up with the Salvation Army to collect toys for area underprivileged children from Dec. 1-19.

The “Toys & Tune-ups” toy drive invites the public to drop off new, unwrapped toys at any Grease Lightning or Castrol Premium Lube location and they will get 25 percent off any oil change and 10 percent off all other auto services. Those people not needing immediate service will receive a voucher for that discount to redeem at a later time.

Locally, two Batavia stores are participating. One is at 50 Liberty St. and the other is at 4003 W. Main St. Road.

For more than 125 years, The Salvation Army has been working to do the most good possible for the less fortunate at Christmastime and all year round. The Salvation Army will once again help those in need by providing them with the necessities they need to become self-sufficient again -- like a place to stay in a crisis, much-needed groceries and emergency assistance.

This year, there are more requests for holiday help than ever. They will provide baskets of foods for our struggling neighbors and toys for the children. Donations are urgently needed.

There is a new after school program for youth ages 12 - 19 in Batavia. REACT  is helping youth find solutions to the situations they may face.The after school youth program takes place at the Richmond Memorial Library on Mondays from 3pm - 4pm and on Thursdays at the Salvation Army Gym from 4pm - 5:30pm. The youth in attendance are very excited about the programs and are showing lots of interest and enthusiasm. A special thanks goes out to Paula Haven (Richmond Memorial Library) and Captain Patty (Salvation Army) for their support and belief in the programs! 

REACT  is directed towards young people in middle and high school.The programs are geared  to help them learn  how to create and respond to positive change as well as how to help others who want to change; while being the positive change in their home, school and community. Young people are encouraged to talk about the issues that go on around them on a day to day basis while finding ways to counteract with creative, positive solutions.

Many topics of discussion will include:

· Drugs

· School

· Bullying

· Alcohol

· Employment/Careers

· Relationships

· Teen Parenting

· Crime and Prison

· Music

· Violence

· Social Networking

*We will also be hosting our first Teen Event on Saturday,  November 26th from 7pm-10pm.  The event will be a Teen Dance for high school students in grades 9-12 at the Salvation Army Gym in Batavia. The cost will be $5 to attend. Students from all area schools are encouraged to attend and meet others from the surrounding area. Hope to see you there! Please encourage your teenagers to attend this POSTIVE event!

Grease Lightning & Castrol Premium Lube have created a food drive called “Give To Live” to feed families this November.

The Grease Lightning/Castrol Premium Lube auto repair shop in Batavia is one of sites which will be asking customers to donate non-perishable food items and/or money to benefit a local food bank/soup kitchen.

Starting Nov. 1 through the 30th, customers can bring food items to 50 Liberty Street and 4003 West Main Street Road in Batavia to put in collection bins and/or also have a portion of the proceeds from an oil change donated to feed local families in need.

Good oil change -- $5 donation

Better oil change -- $10 donation

Best oil change -- $15 donation

High mileage oil change -- $10 donation

The company's Director of Marketing Jimi Jamm is no stranger to events of this kind.

“During my previous career in the broadcast industry, I participated or directed numerous events aimed at feeding the less fortunate in our community," Jamm said. "Hunger is a year round concern, not just during the holidays and the ones most affected are the children of families who can't provide the basic nutrition they need.

"The best thing about our launch of this new initiative is that the donated food and money will stay locally in each market.”

To view a two minute music video on the promotion: http://youtu.be/0C7e94FCtI4
For questions and further information, you can contact Jimi Jamm at 631-704-9711 or
jimi@premiumlube.net.

From noon until 2 p.m. this Thursday, Nov. 3, there will be the annual Fall Nursing Job Fair at Genesee Community College. It will be held in the Forum, 1 College Road, Batavia.

More than 30 of the area's top health-care employers and four-year universities will attend to help people explore educational and career opportunities. This event is designed to introduce potential new employees to employers, and also provides health-care businesses an opportunity to present their trade and services to the local community. This event is free and open to all community members.

Participants include:

•    Catholic Health System, Buffalo

•    NYS Veterans Home at Batavia, Batavia

•    Daemen College, Amherst

•    PSA Health Care, Williamsville

•    Eastern Niagara Health System, Lockport

•    Roberts Wesleyan College, School of Nursing, Rochester

•    Erie County Medical Center Corp, Buffalo

•    Rochester General Health System, Rochester

•    HCR Home Care, Rochester

•    St. Ann's Community, Rochester

•    Highland Hospital, Rochester -- *unable to attend but information available

•    St. John Fisher College – Wegman's School of Nursing, Rochester

•    HomeCare & Hospice – Warsaw

•    SUNY Empire State College, Saratoga Springs

•    Hurlbut Care Communities, various locations in Western New York

•    The College at Brockport (SUNY) – Army ROTC – Nursing Program

•    Jewish Home of Rochester, Rochester

•    Trocaire College, Buffalo

•    Kaleida Health – Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Williamsville

•    United Memorial Medical Center, Batavia

•    Keuka College - Accelerated Studies for Adults Program, Penn Yan

•    Unity Health System, Rochester

•    Lakeside Health System, Brockport

•    University of Rochester, School of Nursing, Rochester

•    Lifetime Care, Rochester

•    UPMC Hamot (Hamot Medical Center), Erie, PA- *unable to attend but information available

•    Med-Scribe, Inc., Fairport

•    Visiting Nursing Service of Rochester & Monroe County

•    Monroe Community Hospital, Rochester

•    Wyoming County Community Health System- *unable to attend but information available

•    NY Army National Guard, Geneseo

Any organization interested in attending the Job Fair should call (585) 345-6888 to register immediately.

http://youtu.be/heJF0mZ9CRc

The children of Holland Avenue and members of the Seventh Day Adventist gathered together to send get well wishes to Sharon Strong. Sharon is the wife of Mitch Strong. She is currently in a hospital in Florida and had emergency surgery and is expected to have more surgery.

Sharon is a member of Seventh Day Adventist church. Her church has adopted Holland Avenue. For the past several years, the  church has been holding regular street church services and actvities and events for the neighborhood.  Sharon can often be found spending times with the families ministering to them and praying for them.

Care-A-Van Ministries of Batavia provides their vehicles to the church to use for their outings to the neighborhood. The kids and their families truly missed Sharon at their most recent outing. Mitch Strong has been sending regular updated emails with Sharon's condition to family and friends. He thanks everyone for their continued prayers.

Cards can be sent to Sharon at :

CrestonHouse 2E
5930 A1A South
St Augustine, FL  32080

A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which

participants develop their speaking and leadership skills in

a no-pressure atmosphere. A typical group has 12 to 25

members. We encourage visitors to discover how they can

benefit from participating. There is no cost to attend and

you do not need a reservation.

We meet at 1 Mill Street, Batavia, NY. We arrive at 7:00 pm and the meeting ends at 8:45 pm.   

When you enter the building it is the first office on the left.

For more information visit our website at

www.speakuptoastmasters.org or call Linda at 585-343-2640.

Press Release:

This Friday October 28th, 2011 Le Roy will Host Batavia at Hartwood Park for a Youth Football Game.  All proceeds will be split in half and will go to each commmunities Back Pack program.  The Back Pack Program provides food for families in need in our communities.  Everday, children in our communities do not have enough to eat.  Kids in this program are given canned goods at school to take home in their backpacks to help feed their families.  Please come to the game and show your support.  We will be accepting canned goods and cash donations.

The game schedule is as follows:
Flag football "moving up game" Le Roy players only 5:00pm
Juniors Le Roy v Batavia 6:00pm
Seniors Le Roy v Batavia 8:00pm

Please come out and show your support to our local athletes and our local families in need.

On Saturday morning, Oct. 29, Rochester Boot Camp will be holding a Breast Cancer Benefit at Next Level Fitness in Downtown Batavia.

Participants will run through a 35 minute Boot-Camp-style workout at the fitness center and
when finished recieve FREE T-shirt ( sponsored by T-shirts Etc.) along with some healthy snacks and beverage.

This event is open to anyone 18 and older. All fitness levels are welcomed. Donations are $30 per
participant and participants can start anywhere from 7:15 a.m. until 10:45 am. Please come join us for a fun and challenging workout and help the American Cancer Society in the fight against Breast Cancer.

For more information and to register go to http://www.rochesterbootcamp.com/fundraiser-registration. All participants must register by Wednesday, Oct. 26. Donors who choose not to participate in the workout will still recieve a T-shirt.

Press release:

Today, the Genesee County Office for the Aging announced the need for veterans to serve as volunteer home visitors to other veterans.

According to Mary Alexander, director of the Home Visitation Program at Catholic Charities, “We are seeing an increasing number of requests from veterans of the Korean and Vietnam era who are now homebound. The simple act of a weekly visit from another veteran can make a real difference in reducing another’s sense of isolation and loneliness.”

Dorian Ely, director of the RSVP Volunteer Placement Program at the Office for the Aging, reports that RSVP has veterans serving veterans at the New York State Veterans Home and the VA of Western New York Healthcare System.

“We are excited about this new opportunity to place volunteer veterans in assignments where they can make such a positive impact on the lives of other veterans," Ely said.

The Home Visitation Program is a free service to individuals in Genesee County, 60 years of age and older, with a limited ability to get out of their homes and who would enjoy a friendly visitor offering socialization and companionship. Individuals may request services themselves or be referred by an agency or faith-based community.

The program is made possible by the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s Muriel H. Marshall Fund for the Aging. For information on the program or to volunteer, contact Mary Alexander, Catholic Charities, at 343-0614 or Dorian Ely, RSVP Volunteer Placement Program at the Genesee County Office for the Aging, at 343-1611.

This year, the Elks National Foundation will fund $3.6 million in college scholarships through its scholarship programs.

The Elks National Foundation’s Most Valuable Student (MVS) scholarship is available to all high school seniors who are United States citizens. Applicants do not need to be related to a member of
the Elks. Male and female applicants compete separately, and are judged on scholarship, leadership and financial need.

Completed applications must be turned in to the applicant’s nearest Elks Lodge no later than Dec. 2.

Applications for the 2012 contest are available at Elks Lodges, local high schools, and for download on the Elks National Foundation website. For complete Most Valuable Student scholarship contest details, visit www.elks.org/enf/scholars.

Batavia Downs Casino is moving its first race post time on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 6:40 p.m. to 7:10 p.m. to accommodate the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which has a 7 o'clock post time. Post time will remain at 6:40 p.m. for all other race nights.

“We didn’t want to go head-to-head with the Breeders' Cup classic, so we decided to start our live program a half and hour later,” said Todd Haight, general manager of live racing. “We want our customers both at the track and at our 35 OTB’s to enjoy the classic before we get under way.”

Racing fans are reminded that the final Tuesday night of the summer-fall meet takes place on Oct. 25.

Racing will be conducted at America’s oldest lighted harness track on a Wednesday, Friday, Saturday night basis through Dec. 3.

When racing resumes on Friday night the Pick-6 will start out with a carryover pool of 3,023. The Pick-6 wager begins on the 7th race.

“We could have over $5,000 in there (the pool),” Haight added. “We had a strong advance sale of programs and I think many are going to be focusing on the Pick-6.

The public is invited to hear the powerful and inspirational account of a Genesee Community College graduate's battle with a rare form of cancer.

"Life is Tough But I Am Tougher" is alumna Suzanne Smith's (Class of '09) story of the challenges she met and overcame following her diagnosis, which occurred shortly after she graduated from GCC as a nontraditional student.

Her speech will be given from 5 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the GCC Multicultural Communications Club, Toastmasters International, meeting in the Conable Technology Building T102 at the Batavia campus, located at 1 College Road.

The meeting will also feature speeches by GCC students Tim Duboy and Sean Hale as they work toward their communication certification. There will also be a 50/50 raffle for participants.

For further information, please contact Jackie DiBella at 343-0055, ext. 6266, or at jedibella@genesee.edu.

Press release:

SYRACUSE, N.Y., (October 22, 2011) – USDA Rural Development (RD) and Habitat for Humanity (HFH) celebrated with Angelina Pellegino, a single mom and her two daughters for the purchase of their new home.  USDA Rural Development provided a low interest direct loan to purchase a recently rehabilitated home from Habitat for Humanity for the Pellegrino family. Angelina Pellegrino, and her two daughters Mikalina and Carmelina spent the past 8 years renting an apartment in “Cardboard City,” aptly named because of the lack of insulation and sky high heating costs.

Leveraging funds and resources, USDA Rural Development provided a $63,500 loan; which, along with a $30,000 forgivable mortgage from HFH allowed her to purchase the rehabilitated home. The help of over 90 volunteers and 300+ hours of sweat equity by Ms. Pellegrino, drastically improved the house to include energy efficient features such as new thermal pane windows, high efficiency furnace and new siding.  Several community members assisted in the efforts including home improvement stores, local housing inspectors, and even the neighborhood donut shops that provided free coffee and doughnuts each day to the volunteers, making this a truly collaborative project.

“This project is illustrative of how Habitat for Humanity and USDA can work together to rehabilitate existing housing stock and build new homes, essential to increasing economic opportunities in New York’s rural communities,” Harvey added. “Jobs are created, communities come together, neighbors help neighbors and affordable homeownership is made possible for this family in Batavia.” 

The Pellegrino family was chosen for the HFH project from a pool of almost 40 applicants.  While Angelina admits the process took almost 2 1/2 years, she says it was worth every minute and has come to know many of the volunteers.  “Everything happens for a reason, this house was a labor of love.  With every single person who dedicated their precious time to help improve a stranger’s life, I call them Angels on Earth.”

The innovative financing is unique to this HFH chapter.  Rather than HFH holding the mortgage, Angelina was able to purchase the home with the assistance of a low interest loan from USDA Rural Development.  This enabled HFH to replenish its revolving loan fund.  “The success of our next house, which we've just started, hinges on the proceeds of this current houses' sale.” said Tammy Hyman, HFH, Genesee County President.  Remarkably, Ms. Pellegrino’s mortgage payment will be lower than her rent payment.

USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development fosters growth in homeownership, finances business development, and supports the creation of critical community and technology infrastructure. For more information on USDA Rural Development programs, contact Rural Development’s state office at (315) 477-6400, or visit the Rural Development web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ny.

There will be a spaghetti dinner and raffles to benefit the Ireland family from 6 to 9 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 29, at St. Brigid Church Hall in Bergen.

The church is located at 18 Gibson St.

Cost is $12 for adults, $5 for children, and children under 2 pay nothing. Cost per family is $30. Contact Jan Bausch for tickets and reservations, including the number of diners, at 315-2717.

Checks should be made payable to Patty Ireland, P.O. Box 81, Bergen, NY 14416.

Prayers for Patty Ireland will be said at 6 p.m. followed by a spaghetti dinner, raffles and a 50/50 raffle.

Patty remains in serious condition at Strong Memorial Hospital following a serious traffic accident on Sept. 30. It occurred on Route 19 near the Thruway while she was heading to work. Her Chevy Impala was struck head on by a tractor-trailer hauling gravel.

Funds raised will help the family with medical expenses.

Members of Batavia Kiwanis are gearing up to serve pancakes at the club's annual Pancake Day breakfast Oct. 29 at the Presbyterian Church in Batavia. Breakfast is from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children 10 and under and $3 for seniors, 62 and over.

Press release:

The Genesee County Community College and the Genesee County Bar Association have partnered together to offer the community the “Citizen’s Law Series,” a legal educational series designed to educate residents with practical legal information on a number of common legal actions. 

“The legal series is designed to increase public awareness and knowledge of the legal system and how it works.  Each two hour seminar will give the attendees practical information about timely legal issues including topics such as criminal law, wills and estates and small claims and civil actions.  We are hoping that we can continue this series in the future on different topics as well,” noted Durin B. Rogers, Esq, President of the Genesee County Bar Association (GCBA). 

Raymon Chaya, GCC’s Director of the BEST Center, approached the GCBA with the collaborative idea earlier this year after hearing about the great success the Jamestown community had with its program. 

“Big decisions require first knowing what information you need to know and what questions you need to ask.  Making a decision to take legal action is serious and knowing basic information about a specific area of law and the legal process involved can save time and money in addition to minimizing personal, emotional, and social difficulties,” said Chaya. 

This valuable educational outreach opportunity will be presented by experienced practicing attorneys who can describe in common terms what an appropriate action is, what the law covers as well what you are likely to experience during the process.   

GCBA’s Citizen’s Law Series Committee Chairperson, Lisa M. Kroemer, Esq. noted why she became involved in the program. 

“I feel very strongly that as attorneys we should spend some of our time educating the public . . .”    Formed in 1912 for the purposes of promoting reform in the law, facilitating the administration of justice, and elevating the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession , the GCBA today boasts a membership of approximately 100 attorney members.

The first of three seminars will occur on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 from 7-9pm at GCC and will take up the topic of Criminal Law, moderated by local Criminal Defense Attorney, Frederick M. Rarick, Esq. 

The second series titled “Putting Your House in Order-Wills, Estates, and other things you should know” will occur on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 and the third series, “Small Claims, Big Claims and other Civil Matters” will take place on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. 

All times will be 7pm-9pm at GCC and cost $10 for each 2 hour course attended.  Those interested in attending may register by contacting the BEST Center at 585-345-6868.