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Now in their 12th year, the Batavia Bulldawgs’ “family ties” are as strong as ever.

The youth football and cheerleading program has grown substantially since its start in 2011 thanks to a one-for-all and all-for-one philosophy that values each and every member of the organization, said Commissioner John Reigle on Saturday afternoon as he watched his players take on Tri-Town and Akron at the new Genesee Community College field.

“What makes the Bulldawgs truly special is the athletes, volunteer board members, coaches and families that take part in it,” said Reigle, who is one of the founding fathers of the program (along with Matt Della Penna, Paul Grazioplene, Tyrone Woods and Ken Proefrock). “I play a small part in this wonderful organization, and it’s been an honor.”

The Bulldawgs are comprised of four teams – Beginners (ages 6-7), Mini (ages 8-9), Jayvee (ages 10-11) and Varsity (ages 12-13) – with 25-35 players on each squad. They are supported by the cheerleading squads, which currently list 72 girls.

“We’ve come a long way,” Reigle said. “The first year, we had 52 players, and we didn’t start the cheerleading until the second year.”

Reigle mentioned that he coached his oldest son, Bryce, during that initial season. Bryce continued through every level and now is one of the Bulldawgs’ assistant coaches.

“Right now, we have two junior coaches who came through the program – Bronx Buchholz and Karvel Martino – and are standout players for the Batavia High varsity team,” Reigle said.

The Bulldawgs aren’t officially affiliated with the Batavia City School District (of which Reigle is a Board of Education member), but they have forged a tight relationship over the years.

“We definitely see ourselves as a feeder system for Batavia High football,” he said. “(Former) Coach (Brennan) Briggs promoted it that way, and Coach (Alex) Veltz has continued that. He sees us as one big family – the Bulldawgs and the Blue Devils. Our goal is to have the kids with us for eight years and then see them move into the school football program.”

Reigle said Veltz conducted coaching seminars for the Bulldawgs, and the Mini division team enjoyed a Blue Devil Experience Night where they took on the pad-less BHS varsity squad in a fun-filled exhibition game.

The head coaches are Scott Perry (Beginners). Gary Good (Mini), Reigle (Jayvee) and Matt Beach (Varsity). Kate Smith is the cheerleader director.

The Bulldawgs compete in the Niagara Orleans Football Association, which also includes Tri-Town, an Alexander-based organization with a rich history in its own right; Akron, Attica, Albion, Newfane, Roy-Hart, Pembroke, Le Roy and Holley.

The players and cheerleaders’ membership dues enable them to participate over nine weeks, with each member receiving uniforms and equipment.

Reigle said playoffs are scheduled for Oct. 21 at Van Detta Stadium for the Mini, Jayvee and Varsity divisions, and the championship round is set for Oct. 28, also at Van Detta Stadium, for all divisions. The cheerleading “playoffs” will take place on Nov. 4 in Lyndonville.

Later in November, each Bulldawg team is treated to a season-ending party at the Polish Falcons on Swan Street in Batavia, Reigle noted.

“Every participant receives a plaque at their banquet,” Reigle said. “It’s our way of letting them know that ‘once a Bulldawg, always a Bulldawg.’”

For the record, all four Bulldawg squads were victorious on Saturday. The Beginners beat Tri-Town, 26-7; the Minis defeated Tri-Town, 20-13; the Jayvees blanked Tri-Town, 32-0, and the Varsity downed Akron, 26-0.

The Batavia Blue Devils and Le Roy Oatkan Knights capped Soccer Saturday with a Girls Soccer game that ended with a 3-2 OT win for Batavia.

The boys lost their OT game to Wilson/Early College 3-2.

"It was a wonderful night for our boys and girls senior soccer players," said Roger Hume, head coach for Batavia. "Le Roy didn’t make it an easy win."

In the nightcap, Batavia started the scoring early in the first half with a breakaway run and finish by Ella Shamp, with an assist from Jaimin MacDonals.  

Le Roy scored the next two goals, leaving it senior Ella Radley to tie up the game with two minutes left.  

Batavia came out strong in OT, and senior Anna Varland finished the game with a goal five minutes into the first OT.  

"Batavia did a fantastic job coming back from two goals to one to make this its 12th win of the season," Hume said.  

The Blue Devils remain undefeated.

The Batavian did not receive scoring stats from Le Roy.  Le Roy is  9-4-1 on the year.

The girls' next game is Monday away at Livonia.

In the boys' game, goals were scored by Quintin Cummings, assisted by Troy Hawley, and Troy Hawley, assisted by Rylan Bohn.

 Batavia’s record is now 8 wins and 5 losses on the season.

To view more photos or purchase prints, click here.

It was much more than a clown show in a circus-theme Downtown Batavia Wine Walk on Saturday evening.  It was a party with a varied cast of characters.

Photos by Jim Burns for The Batavian.

Liliana Perl and her family drove to Batavia just to try out a signature Everybody Eats dish at City Centre on Saturday evening. After all, the Elba resident had heard about the new takeout restaurant and wanted to give it a try, she said.

She and the family filled the tables and seats that were just outside the kitchen and enjoyed their meal even though most dishes were to-go orders. They had the Western New York Plate: a derivative of the garbage plate, but with a chef Zeke Lynn touch of pan-fried hash browns, macaroni salad, a hotdog, meat sauce, mustard and ketchup.

Was it worth the drive?

“That was amazing,” Perl said. “It was very, very good, the best in town. We are garbage plate fiends. We love a good garbage plate.”

Lynn first announced in August that he would be moving into the space at 29 Batavia City Centre after cleaning up the space and setting up the kitchen. 

Now, with a new stove and griddle installed, he had a couple of test days earlier this week selling sandwiches and a minestrone soup, despite the very unseasonably hot temperature (that became the joke about serving hot soup in 86-degree weather).

The restaurant had a soft opening on Saturday, featuring bolognese, a dish of homemade beef and pork ragu that’s slow simmered and served over fettuccine pasta, and his WNY Plate loaded with potatoes, mac salad, meat sauce and a choice of hotdog, burger or cheeseburger.  

They will be there again from 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday, with the pickup entrance opposite Wendy’s. To order, call or text (585) 813-7969.

Lynn and his partner, Sam Lang, have worked in restaurants “our whole lives,” and look forward to catering to the appetites of their local customers, Lang said.

“Every week, we’ll focus on specials and then bring in some new stuff. We really feed off of feedback, good or bad. We really want to know what people want,” he said. “We’ll have a steak night coming up soon. The hardest part is we don’t really want to lock down one thing. And we’ll be offering cooking classes; they’ll be coming in the future.”

He and Lynn felt that the Bolognese and WNY Plate are two of their best dishes, so that’s what they began with. They will be adding other menu items as they go along, according to customer requests and input. 

They plan to serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and add a dinner menu from Thursdays through the weekend. 

To find out the weekly menu, go to Everybody Eats. 

A pursuit that started on the Southside of Batavia is now a foot chase in the area of Summit Street.

The vehicle may have struck a building on Jackson Street, and the suspect continued to Jackson, South Jackson, Maple, East Main, and now Summit.

The suspect, described as a black male with a ball cap is now west on Washington Avenue.

UPDATE 12:36 p.m.: The subject is also said to be wearing a plaid-style jacket.

UPDATE 1:43 a.m.: The search is ongoing, involving patrols from Batavia PD and the Sheriff's Office. There is nobody available on scene who can provide an update about the case. Communication has been moved to a secure channel.  So, it will be unlikely we can provide any further updates tonight. The search is generally in the area of Summit and Washington. 

The Batavia Blue Devils improved to 4-2 on the season with a 36-0 win on Friday over Geneva at Geneva.

Stats: 

• Bronx Buchholz: 8-18 passing for 136 yards, two TDs, one interception, and he rushed for 76 yards on 12 carries
• Mekhi Fortes: five carries, 111 yards, one TD
• Zailen Griffin: five carries, 64 yards, one TD
• Lakoda Mruczek: six carries, 36 yards, one TD
• Brock Warren: two carries, 11 yards, one TD
• Maggio Buchholz: 6.5 tackles, one tackle for a loss, one TD reception
• Joey Marranco: six tackles
• Justin Smith: three tackles, two interceptions
• Tym Murrell: three tackles, one interception
• Greyson Fix: one interception
• Will Stevens: one interception

In other football action:

• Attica/Alexander beat Livonia 42-0
• Le Roy beat Bishop-Kearney 48-0
• OAE Aggies shut out Geneseo
• Dragons beat Section VI team 68-22 to improve to 6-0
• York/Pavilion beats Notre Dame 25-18

In a pursuit that reportedly started with the theft of merchandise from Ulta Beauty, a Batavia PD patrol car was struck and damaged on Holland Avenue at around 5 p.m. on Friday.

The suspect vehicle was later spotted on Park Road and was headed toward the Thruway.

Police communications are on a secure channel, and Batavia PD has yet to release further information.

After spending 40 years in a career involved with people dealing with drug and alcohol addiction, John Bennett believes he has come to know those people fairly well. And after all is said and done, no matter their struggles and perceived defects, “they’re just people,” he says.

Bennett, the chief executive officer for UConnectCare, formerly Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, or GCASA, is taking some time to collect his thoughts and plans for the agency after his request for funding was turned down Wednesday by four Genesee County legislators. 

The Batavian needs to clarify two points that may have gotten lost in the fray of comments involved in the potential deal. One is that the $100,000 request was not directly from the county’s coffers or taxpayers. The money would have come from settlement funds that were the result of an opioid-related lawsuit that Genesee County was part of, along with several other counties. 

There is some $463,000 available, and a portion of the money has a restricted use that must go toward opioid-related purposes. For example, some of the opioid funding went for monitoring of wastewater to track what types of drugs are being used in Genesee County.

The second point is that while the assessed value of the motel has been cited as $293,000, the property has also been listed as for sale on LoopNet. That listing does not include an asking price; however, Realtor.com gives the estimated market value of the property as $970,343. That is how the purchase price landed at $800,000.

Aside from those two financial considerations, the legislators did not want the deal for other reasons, and those comments are what hit the hardest for Bennett, he said. 

The idea was to have a place for transitional housing to serve people in need of safe temporary housing, and it was discussed by a committee of representatives from the county, GCASA, and mental health that all seemed to agree it was a good idea, he said.

“I will say that the legislators, this group, sent a message about how they feel about people with addiction and recovery. And it's disappointing to me because I've worked 25 years in this community. And, you know, part of my mission is to help reduce the stigma of people with addiction, and I feel that maybe I haven't done such a good job,” Bennett said. “If that's the way some people in the legislature still feel about having us in the community and the people we serve … I'm trying to take a look at all that right now.”

He invites the legislators, and anyone who is interested, to take a tour of the facilities at the newly named UConnectCare, and talk to people there to learn more about what they do. 

Bennett is concerned about how people with addictions are portrayed just because they may struggle and relapse — even if it’s multiple times. Many people have such a story in their own families, including Bennett, he said. His grandfather, whom he was named after, “drank himself to death,” dying the year Bennett was born as a young man in his 50s. 

“And my mother always told me stories about what a kind man he was, that he’d give you the shirt off his back, but he had a drinking problem, and then in her infinite wisdom named me after him,” Bennett said. "I grew up going to Al-Anon meetings. And then my uncle, who was a prominent regional director for Mutual of Omaha, was also an alcoholic.”

The point being that, yes, good people can struggle with substances, he said. 

He also takes issue with any insinuation that his agency is a drain on the county. GCASA has gotten $35,000 from Genesee County in its yearly allotment. 

“We’re very appreciative of that, but that’s all we get in a $12 million budget,” he said. “So we’re not a drain on this county at all. In fact, we bring a lot of business. And the building that I sit in, we bought the building at auction. It was abandoned and dilapidated. It was empty for like 10 years. And nobody was paying taxes on it. That’s why we ended up buying it at auction,” he said.

The agency helps to boost the local economy by hiring local contractors for that work, and the 76 percent of its 200-person staff that lives and works in Genesee and Orleans counties, he said. 

“You can come come down to visit us. If you really serve in the community, come down and take a tour of our buildings, meet my staff, and meet some of the people that we service. They'll be willing to talk to you. But don't step up in public and say things that you don't really know anything about. That's my message,” he said. “Some people are there at the worst. They're down and out, and they're at the worst point of their life, and they need help. And, you know, you have to be willing to work for those people, too. So, yeah, I'm disappointed. I'm okay with making a decision not to give the money. I mean, that's not really the issue. The issue was how it was managed, the things that were said.”

Prior coverage:

• UConnect still needs to connect the dots
• In rare move county legislators vote no

Batavia High School's soccer program is hosting Super Soccer Saturday at Van Detta Stadium from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Game schedule:

• 11 a.m. - JV Boys game
• 1 p.m. - JV Girls game
• 3 p.m. – Alumni game
• 4:15 p.m.– Varsity Boys Senior Recognition
• 5 p.m.– Varsity Boys game
• 6:30 p.m. – Varsity Girls Senior Recognition
• 7 p.m. – Varsity Girls game

The boys varsity team plays Wilson/Early College.  The girls varsity team plays Le Roy.

Concessions will be open throughout the day.  

 Submitted photos.

A tow truck operator was reportedly struck by the mirror of a passing vehicle on the Thruway.

He reportedly has arm and hip pain. He is conscious and alert.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS is dispatched to the westbound lane in the area of mile marker 385.5.

If you’ve been laying out your shanty town outfit in preparation for The Bowery’s opening this fall, there may be time for more shopping.

Property owner and entrepreneur Ken Mistler said this week that he’s been busy with other properties in New York City the past month and has in the meantime put his speakeasy venue on ice. 

“That’s on the back burner,” he said Thursday.

He has no plans to resume work on the project for quite some time, he said.

Batavia Showtime has been out of commission for a few years now, as Mistler has been renovating the downtown space. His plans for a movie theater-turned-live entertainment bowery seemed to be ramping up during a city Planning and Development meeting this past May.

He described the environment for one of his latest ventures as a gritty, edgy shanty town vibe offering live musical artists and comedy acts, reminiscent of “the oldest street in Manhattan,” with light industrial Big City shanties of the mid-1800s.

The place would include a take-out pizza shop for food service to The Bowery and whole pizzas to-go for customers. Mistler had contractors ready to go, he said, and the building had been gutted at that point. He looked forward to an opening within the next six months, he had said.

During City Council’s Sept. 11 business meeting, the group agreed to sell Mistler a portion of 6 Alva Place for $1,466 that was owned by the city. It was property within Mistler’s theater and overhead marquee also located at 6 Alva Place, known as Batavia Showtime Inc. 

Mistler intended to develop those parcels for The Bowery and had offered to purchase a small section of property at that address. Council agreed by a vote of 9-0.

Since the city's planning meeting, funding came through for the Carr’s Reborn project, which is downtown property along Main and Jackson streets owned by Mistler and partner Pete Zeliff. That is a work in progress, Mistler confirmed. 

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Walk into the Rev. Cathy Dempesy-Sims’ office, and it becomes quickly evident why she would embrace an animal blessing event at St. James Episcopal Church.

Yes, perhaps she has a deeply embedded love of God’s creatures, so it would make sense that the church leader hosted the event Wednesday to provide comfort to those with pets and offer a memorial service for the ones that have died.

But to see her terrier Louie and pit bull-border collie mix Miss Maudie running around with balls and rubber bones amidst their comfy-looking pet beds — even one perched along the window cat-style — and jewel-toned metallic bowls (not two but three, because, you know, they may need treats), you know she means business.

“Pets are members of our family, and God, at the creation of humankind, told us to care for all of God’s creatures— we were even told to name all the animals (Genesis),” she said. “So I believe that God loves our pets and especially loves the bond between human and animal; it’s a sacred bond.” 

Unfortunately, only two humans came out to the blessing, each with a canine. Dempesy-Sims thought that maybe the sun-filled day and hot temperature kept people occupied doing other things. 

The blessing has been done on the weekend before, but she thought they would try it on the actual date of Oct. 4 this year, in honor of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, known for his care of all creatures.

As it was, Duke, a German shepherd-labrador retriever mix, and Bella, a pit bull-hound mix who had just been rescued and was in need of healing prayers to recover from worms, showed up. 

The blessing invoked a prayer, a reading from Genesis about it not being good for man to be alone, prompting God to make him a helper as his partner:

“So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.”

Participants were asked to care for their pets by feeding them, seeking out medical attention when needed, providing shelter from the weather, and protecting them in good times and bad, and continuing to love them and all creation as God continues to love the pet’s caretaker. 

Duke and Bella each received the blessing of St. Francis and God by name as a loyal companion.

Both of the reverend’s dogs are rescues, Louie from Buffalo Animal Shelter and Miss Maudie — she names all of her dogs after characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird” — came from a rescue in Dunkirk. 

“I rescue dogs (and previously donkeys and goats) because every being —human and animal — deserves a second chance at happiness,” Dempesy-Sims said. “Every time I rescue an animal, I ask myself, who rescued whom? My dogs have always rescued me more than I, them!” 

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For the  second year on Tuesday, Batavia High School's volleyball teams, varsity and JV, hosted a "pink game" to raise money in support of Genesee Cancer Assistance.

The teams raised $2,200.

Statement provided by Sarah Gahagan:

Nick Grasso graciously accepted this donation on behalf of Genesee Cancer Assistance.  He reminded all spectators of how important it is to help out locally whenever possible. He reminded the spectators how expensive travel, treatment and other things people battling this disease need on a daily basis and how grateful our local recipients are to have events like this in their honor.

We would like to thank all of our local sponsors for donating baskets to support our team. 

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Three trucks were spotted at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning at the Ellicott Station construction project, which has stalled after developer Savarino Companies announced it was going out of business six weeks ago.

A supervisor said a work crew was on the roof completing a project. He said the work was being done because it needed to be completed and not in response to building code citations issued by the city, which The Batavian first reported about this morning.

At 11 a.m., the workers were seen departing the construction site.

There's also recently been some weed removal on the property.