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Big weekend of hoops action with Batavia boys topping the list

By Brian Hillabush

The high school basketball season really gets into swing this weekend as area teams are playing in tournaments and against non-league opponents.

The biggest event of all is taking place all the way in Olean at the Olean Tip-off Tournament.

The Batavia boys will be taking on defending New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C champion Maple Grove in the opening round tonight. The Red Dragons beat Mechanicville 71-46 in the state finals last year and ended up with a 25-2 final record in winning the title.

Maple Grove is led by junior guard Chris Secky, who has already scored over 1,000 points in his varsity career.

If Batavia can get past Maple Grove, they will get the winner of the Olean/Hornell game in the finals tomorrow.

Hornell went 17-5 last season and lost to Freddie Thomas in the Section 5 Class BB semifinals last year. The Red Raiders are led by Kyle Murphy and Joe Mauro, who return after being reserves last season. All five starters from a year ago graduated.

Olean is the defending Class B state champion.

The Huskies beat Malverne 63-53 in those finals and return just one starter,  point guard Joe Palumbo. Olean finished 25-3 last season.

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There is also a nice set of non-league contests to be played Friday night as Holley hosts Greece Odyssey, Albion is at Elba and Le Roy is at York.

The Olean finals aren't the only big ones this weekend. 

Oakfield-Alabama will be playing Barker in the championship game at the Barker Tournament. The Hornets kicked off their season with a 60-51 win over Holland last night.

Lyndonville, which lost to Barker in the opening round, will be playing Barker in the consolation game.

The other game Saturday is Genesee Valley at Alexander as the Trojans look to get win No. 1 on the season.

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The Oakfield-Alabama girls will be playing in the Geneseo Tournament this weekend, with a game against the host squad tonight. 

Pembroke will be playing in the Alden Tournament this weekend.

The finals for both of those games will be Saturday night.

Le Roy will be hosting York, Holley is at Medina, Byron-Bergen is at Churchville-Chili and Warsaw is at Wheatland-Chili tonight in non-league games Friday night.

The big game of the weekend will take place Saturday night at Genesee Community College as Elba and Batavia will play in the finals of the Elba/GCC Tournament. Batavia beat Albion 39-29 and Elba downed Attica 56-23 in opening round games last night.

Investigation ongoing at My T Acres site

By Philip Anselmo

We received a press release this morning from the town of Batavia Fire Department with further details on yesterday's massive barn fire at My T Acres on Lewiston Road in Batavia. The Batavia crew reports that the fire, which started in the main barn of a three-barn complex, completely destroyed "the main barn and numerous pieces of farm equipment," which were stored inside. Both of the additional attached barns "received substantial heat, smoke and water damage."

We reported yesterday that only one firefighter sustained a minor injury, but he did not seek medical assistance. No livestock or other animals were housed in the farm complex. No one else was injured as a result of the fire.

Investigators are already on scene today looking to establish a cause and origin of the fire. No estimated dollar value of loss has yet been determined. The Batavian left a message this morning with the property owner, Nate Call, who was on scene with the insurance representative.

Mutual-aid fire departments were requested from the City of Batavia, Alexander, Elba, LeRoy, Oakfield and East Pembroke Fire Departments. Additional Fire units from Stafford, Albion, Attica, Indian Falls, Alabama, Barre and Corfu fire departments provided stand-by assistance.

The Town of Batavia Fire Department was also assisted at the scene by the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management, New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control, Genesee County Health Department, Genesee County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police and the Wyoming County Correctional Facility.

The following photographs of the wreckage were submitted by Steve Ognibene.

OH HOLY NIGHT

By Robin Walters

 

OH HOLY NIGHT

Oh holy night, the bus lights are brightly shining…

 

Yes it truly was a holy night on the Care-A-Van Ministry bus this evening.

A chilly night but such a holy blessed night was enjoyed by all. We were very blessed by the Cooperative Extension office this evening. Mary Jo brought a crock pot of homemade chicken soup which warmed many souls tonight.

 

The bus was truly glimmering all decked out in its holiday trim. The gang had gotten together last week-end to decorate the bus. We were at one of the local apartment complexes. As the bus filled up, not a seat could be found.

 

As I stepped out into the windy chilly night, I observed two young boys looking through all the treasures on the tables. They were having a great time. Someone had donated a box of toys. I watched as they gleefully dug through the box. Shawn, one of our volunteers had picked up a stuffed Bob the Builder doll. He pushed the button and put it up to his ear to here what Bob had to say. I snuck over and enjoyed listening. We put it back in the box. Bob was not happy! He wanted a new home. I am happy to report that Bob did find a new home tonight. After I helped one of the women to her apartment with her groceries, I climbed back onto the bus. Guess who was sitting on one of the seats? Yep, you got it, Bob the Builder! His head was peeking out of bag that sat next to one of the young boys. I chatted with the young fellow. He told me that he was taking Bob home for his brother. How sweet is that!

 

Isn’t it amazing what joy can be brought to a young ones’ heart? During this holiday season many young children are busy filling out their Christmas wish lists. Some of them include the famous Wi’s, X box, stereo systems, the newest cell phone and the list goes on and on. But Christmas came early for these two young boys. You would have thought someone gave them a million dollars when they found Bob and the plastic soldier men.

Why is it that the world has become so commercialized and the true meaning of Christmas gets lost?

 

The entertainment tonight was the video of the Trans Siberian Orchestra. I had never seen it. At the end, this young runaway girl ends up going home on Christmas. As she enters the door, her father is standing at the tree and her mom is there too. She runs into her father’s arms. He hugs and hugs her.

 

Christmas day is only 21 days away. It is a special day where we celebrate our Lord’s birth. May we all remember the true reason for the season. Just as the runaway went back home and ran into her father’s arms, we too on this Christmas day can come back home.

Our Jesus is there waiting for us with his arms wide open. Now if that is not the perfect Christmas gift, I don’t know what is. Praises to our Lord for the gift of his son!

 

May you all have a blessed joyous Christmas  

God Bless  Robin 

 

Reader photo of today's My 'T' Acre fire

By Howard B. Owens

Thomas Wommack submitted this photo. He said he shot the scene Galloway Road.

Our previous posts:

We continue to welcome reader pictures of this fire (or anything interesting you've photographed).  The best way to submit photos is to create a new blog post and upload your photos. Here's a tutorial to help.

UPDATE: Here's a satallite photo via Google Maps of the farm.  The barn that was destroyed is the large one to the right of the photo. The gymnasium forms the lower part of the T, pointing toward Lewiston Road.

The fire has also become a topic of discussion in the Ag-Talk Forum.

Video: My T Acres barn fire (Details)

By Philip Anselmo

Deputy Chief Paul Barrett, of the town of Batavia Fire Department, gives us a summation of the days events following the barn fire earlier today at My T Acres on Lewiston Road in Batavia. Please note: we spoke with Barrett shortly after 1:30pm, three hours after the fire broke out. At that time, they expected to be on scene extinguishing a handful of smaller fires for another few hours.

Batavia Daily News for Thursday: County tax rate will remain the same for next year

By Philip Anselmo

Genesee County residents will see no increase in their property tax rate for next year, according to the Daily News. County legislators made the cuts necessary to keep the rate at $9.82 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

In other news, Country Max has taken over the former Pet Mart store in the city of Batavia. Unfortunately, the article is not entirely clear on what this means. It seems as if "Country Max has a 10-year lease at its new location," yet it's also stated in the article that "Pet Mart is still listed as being owned by Andrew Mistler, father of local entrepreneur Ken Mistler." Further, the article states that Ken Mistler manages the Pet Mart store, but he "wants to become less involved with that business." Wouldn't the fact that a different company now owns the business mean that Mistler wouldn't be involved at all?

We encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstand. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

Old black and white on the streets of Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

Most likely, you've seen this old black and white cruising around town before, but it caught my eye as I turned onto Center Street, so I stopped to snap a pic.

Nope, Adam-12 didn't suddenly turn up in town.

It belongs to Center Street Smokehouse.

Batavia: My T Acres barns engulfed in flames

By Howard B. Owens

UPDATE 10:54 a.m.: The fire is at 8127 Lewiston Rd. in Batavia.  A large plume of black smoke can be seen drifting over the city of Batavia.

UPDATE: 11:17 a.m.  We're at the scene (after a long walk because State Troopers wouldn't let us drive in). 

Owner of the property Pat Riner says they noticed a small flame coming from one of the barns and the fire spread quickly.  A silo appears to have fallen. UPDATE: After the flames and smoke cleared, I decided what looked like the ribs of a silo were just part of the barn that had been fully engulfed.

The facility is My-T acres.

Witnesses said they heard explosions. Riner said the explosions where mostly truck engines. The barn that caught fire was full of harvester equipment, "because the harvest is over." She said. Also, a truck was full of ferilizer for next year.

The structure is adjacent ot a barn that Riner described as a sports facility used by many athletes in Batavia.  As we post now, the fire is spreading to that structures while crews battle the flames from atop two ladder trucks, spraying water down onto the flames.

We should have a quick video posted in 30 to 60 minutes.

Philip Anselmo will follow up with more reports once he's on scene.

UPDATE: 11:29 a.m.:  Crews put additonal hoses on the sprots-structure fire. The fire seems well tapped down at that end of the building now. I'd estimate about 15 to 20 percent of the structure was lost.

UPDATE 11:52 a.m. : Here's a quick video from the scene.

UPDATE 12:08 p.m.: Spoke with Genesee County Emergency Management Coordinator Timothy Yaeger briefly. No loss of life. No injuries. No animals known to be involved. About 12 companies responded.  Flames can still be seen in an around the structure, but the fire appears to be under control.

UPDATE 2:31 p.m.:  The fire is under control and nearly extinquished. Some of the companies that responded are now back in service.

Below is one of the pictures from the scene.  More can be viewed here.

 

UPDATE:  If you were at the scene and took pictures, or took pictures of the plume over Batavia, please upload them in a blog post or send us a link to where ever you posted your shots.

Here's a camera phone shot taken from the Thruway.

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FIRST POST 10:40 a.m.: We've received reports of a large barn fire in Pembroke Batavia.  Multiple units responding, from as far away and LeRoy.

We'll head out to the scene now.

Hoy's Geneseo basketball team gets ESPN's top play

By Brian Hillabush

 Batavia grad Mike Hoy is a freshman on the Geneseo men's basketball team, and he witnessed an amazing shot last night by one of his teammates.

Scott Morton hit a crazy shot with 1/10 of a second left to go to give Geneseo the 85-84 win over Oswego State. Hoy was held scoreless in 15 minutes of play, but did hand out two assists.

The shot earned the top spot on ESPN's top plays today. 

You just have to see the video on this one (followed by an interview with Morton).

 

 

If Batavia could get that one big project, funded by the Fed... what would it be?

By Philip Anselmo

An article in the Buffalo News this morning got me thinking. Briefly, the article is about Robert Wilmers, chief executive officer of M&T Bank Corp. Wilmers spoke to an audience of venture capitalists about revitalizing the upstate economy.

He pointed out that New York City’s economy — until recently — had been doing "a lot better than the economy upstate."

Part of that is due to what he called the "innate attributes" of the city itself, but he also cited the "billions and billions of dollars" spent on projects such as the 42nd Street revival, the South Street Seaport, the Jacob Javits Center and Ground Zero.

By contrast, "in upstate, including Western New York, we have not seen any large projects."

Indeed, Wilmers said he was told by former downstate Empire State Development chairman Patrick Foye that up to 70 percent of the agency’s money was spent upstate, but "I was having trouble finding that."

So this got me thinking. Rochester tried for its home-run project some years back. Who here remembers the fast ferry? Connect Rochester to Toronto. Boost tourism. Bring in the money. Yeah... So, that one tanked. Big.

But what about Batavia... what could we do for Batavia that would give it that shot in the arm, get the kids out walking the streets and the old folks dancing in their homes? Money rolling in, fame, glory. We're not on a body of water, so we don't have to worry about a ferry flop. We've already got the "mall" that people love to hate.

Wilmers:

Finally, the region should combine tourism and its renowned architecture to draw in visitors. “We’ve been less successful than most communities in upstate New York,” he said dryly. “We have not destroyed as many architectural sites as other parts of the country.”

Batavia has plenty of architecture to show off: glorious old homes, towering brick churches, regal crumbling mansions.

So... We had the chance to ask Pat Weissend what he would want for Batavia. Weissend is the director of the Holland Land Office Museum. He says, why not think even bigger. Something huge, something humungous! At a recent meeting of the Kiwanis Club, Weissend heard a presentation by economic developer Chad Zambito about erecting an enormous technological-industrial park in Alabama. This industrial center would create 10,000 jobs and entirely transform the character of the region, says Weissend.

Well, either that, or establish the state of Genesee. "We could be the 51st state," he says. Just make sure there's enough money left over to triple the size of the museum.

Looking for a Lost Poodle!

By Philip Anselmo

We received this via a news sumbission from Lisa Suozzi:

MY YORIE-POO LITTLE 7LBS ALL BLACK DOG HAS BEEN MISSING FOR ALITTLE OVER A WEEK NOW AND i AM OFFERING A $500.00 REWARD FOR HER SAFE RETURN. SHE WAS LAST SEEN NEAR SOUTH MAIN ST AND FAIRWAY DRIVE. SHE WAS WEARING A PINK HARNESS. PLEASE IF ANYONE KNOWS WERE SHE IS YOU COULD CONTACT ME AT 585-409-8603 OR 585-345-1552.THANK YOU!

A Little Comfort

By Robin Walters

 

A LITTLE COMFORT
 
            Alright, so maybe they were not fresh out of mom’s oven, but they sure did bring great comfort and smiles to the students we delivered them to. What is that you ask? The Care-A- Van team headed out to the local college dorms this evening. The bus was overflowing with boxes of cookies.
         
   I can still hear Elder Ron’s voice booming throughout the halls. As he knocked his strong voice echoed through the halls-“Care-A-Van Ministries here.” One team took one side of the building and the other team took the other side.
        
    As the doors opened, we let them know that we were there because we cared.
We shared a brochure of the ministry, a Thanksgiving gospel track and a big box of cookies with each room.
         
   Many answered their doors with their cell phones attached to their ear. Several of the rooms were busy cooking dinner. We tried to guess at one room what they were having. Paul of course chimed in with his guess of Ramen Noodles. How many of you remember those college days when you lived on ramen noodles served with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Paul became quite the barter with the boxes of cookies. He even tried to trade the box of cookies for a bike that sat in the living room.
          
  At the last door, two young men opened the door. The one had a cooking utensil in his hand. This room was blessed with a chef! They were cooking chicken wings. We tried to ask them what time dinner would be ready and that we would stop back. I think the classic of the night is when this young woman answered the knock. I explained that we were there because we cared and had a special gift for them. I turned around to allow Paul and Shawn to present the cookies. Well, it was not cookies that Paul had in his hand.
He stood there with an old sink he found sitting in the hall!
         
   The most touching knock came at an apartment filled with young men. As we turned around to leave, the young gentleman named Matt asked if we could pray with him. He had gotten a call from his father that his mom had to have surgery. Talk about a blessed moment! We prayed and asked for healing for his mom and for the Lord to strengthen him and give him comfort and support while he was miles away from his family. The whole scene touched my heart. Here was a young man who was miles from home and needed comfort. As we walked away, I silently prayed that the other young men sitting in the room heard our prayer as well.
           
We had a special young girl that came out with her dad to help deliver the cookies. Sarah is such a pretty little girl. Here was a young gal that one day whose future may find her miles from home in a similar situation as these college students. Her father is helping build her foundation of the love of Christ and how that love can be shared.
          
  To often in life we get caught up in the busyness of our daily lives. How refreshing it was to take an evening and share some comfort with these young folks.
 
As we presented the cookies, many of the students would reach in to take just one package. We explained they got the whole box. “Really?” many of them said as their eyes met ours. “Yes, really we replied”. The thought that comes to my mind is that God’s gift for us is the whole package. He readily offers to us the whole package of salvation. Not just a piece, not just a part but all the promises and gifts that come with turning our lives and hearts to him. Now that my dear folks is priceless! Just as those cookies were free tonight, so is our salvation. Just as the company that sent the cookies to our ministry to share, God sent his son to share with each and every one of us. Praises to Creative Creations for their donation and praises to our Lord Jesus who gave his life for us.
 
Have a super day!
Robin
 

Start your own business: GCC offering classes to assist entreprenuers

By Philip Anselmo

Beginning this January, Genesee Community College will host a pair of related courses for three successive semesters on "Exploring Business Opportunities" and "Entrepreneurship." Associate Professor Barbara Shine welcomes innovators large and small. If you've got the sure-fire idea for the next big thing, you're welcome. If you're not sure what you want to do, but you know you've got the gumption, you're welcome, too.

As for the best news: it's free, and anyone can attend the courses. College students. Retirees. Workers. Anyone. Just be sure to get your application in by January 15 to be considered for this coming semester. (Scroll down to the end of the post for all the details).


Earlier this week, we took a moment to sit down and chat with Barbara Shine, to pick her brain a bit about what it takes to build a successful business. Here's what she had to say:

The Batavian: Much has been made in advance of the courses about the rough economy and this being, in fact, a great time for entrepreneurs. In the press release sent out by the college, for example, we read: "With the unemployment rate at 6.5% and expected to climb higher, entrepreneurs and energetic American inventors and innovators are an essential element in the recovery of the nation's economy." Can you explain why that is the case?

Barb Shine: Well, we know, because of the employment world, that small businesses hire more people than the total who work for large corporations. That's where the opportunities are. We as entrepreneurial educators need to remind folks from an economic standpoint that it's the small businesses that raise the opportunities to support our communities from an economic standpoint. However, small businesses may have a poor track record of staying in business for a long time. But that is where we as educators can help out. There are a lot of places for entrepreneurs to get education.

What advice might you have for folks who may be considering going into business for themselves? What should they consider at the outset?

First, you need to verify that the market is interested in your concept. I call them concepts. You need to do market research. Find out what alternatives are out there for a consumer. Find out how does your product differentiate itself. Those questions need to be answered. Also, the market has to be big enough to be profitable for the individual. So you look at marketing, first, then financial feasibility, then operations.

One of the beauties of the course is that we will tell people what's out there, what the market will bear from a trend standpoint. People need to understand that (doing) what we're passionate about and making it work in the marketplace can be two different things.

An entrepreneur needs to always be looking out for the next best thing. You do this by social networking, reading the magazines, looking at the competition—and not necessarily the logical competitors. Who would have thought that the customer service style for Disney would work in a bank? In fact, Disney sells their customer service package to large financial institutions.

What will each class entail? Do people need to attend both? Can they attend one and not the other?

In the first class, "Exploring Business Opportunities," the questions that should get answered include: Do I have the right concept that the market would be interested in? Am I passionate enough? Because it requires lots of energy, time, money. Do I have what it takes? What do I need to think about from marketing, operations and financial standpoints? Then we need to verify that there is a market, make sure there is enough of a popoluation and buyers.

In the second class, "Entrepreneurship," we will put a plan together. This class qualifies the details of what I need to do to make it happen. It's the five P's: proper planning prevents poor performance. The goal is to plan... And assuming they need funding, they will use that plan to support loan or investor options. In most cases, folks do bootstrapping entrepreneurship: That's where funding is minimal: from family, savings, second mortgage—they bootstrap it if they can.

How are things looking right now as far as loan options?

It depends on how much money an individual is looking for, their personal credit line. Do I think it's at a standstill because of the credit crisis: No. The basics are still important. There are other alternatives aside from banks, other investor opportunities. Personality, their own financial background—there's an array of variables. An entrepreneur shouldn't be deterred if they have a great idea and there's a market... but they need to come to the table with the right plan to turn their business into a profitable entity.

Shine also spoke about specific trends that are hot right now on the market. They include: green energy, organic foods, Web applications, and alternative energy solutions. In fact, the December issue of Entrepreneur magazine is devoted to the upcoming trends and might be a good read for those considering taking the courses and testing the waters with their own idea.


From the press release:

The Genesee Community College scholarship program is part of the collaborative WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) grant, wherein eligible participants will be reimbursed for the cost of tuition and books for two college entrepreneurship courses offered in this coming Spring, Summer and Fall of 2009. The scholarship grants are valued at approximately $500 per semester for enrolling and completing Business 111: Exploring Business Opportunities; and Business 225: Entrepreneurship.

Interested individuals should submit the scholarship application form and related materials as soon as possible. The application deadline for the Spring 2009 semester is January 15th. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. Scholarship awardees will be notified prior to the start of each course.

For more information on the program or to get a copy of the scholarship application, visit the college's Web site.


Coincidentally, SUNY Geneseo is right now looking for business mentors for their Young Entrepreneurs Academy at the college. From the Academy:

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy is a program for middle and high school students that teaches them how to launch and run their very own business.

Mentors will have the opportunity to assist their student group in the process of developing and writing a business plan and creating an investor presentation used to request funding. We also encourage mentors to share their business experiences with the groups over the course of their meetings. Previous students have indicated that hearing first-hand accounts from members of the business community make a significant impact on what they are learning.

Visit the program's Web site for more information.

Saunders is Fredonia Athlete of the Week

By Brian Hillabush

 Batavia grad Kevin Saunders is the male Athlete of the Week at Fredonia State after a huge game against D'Youville.

The junior guard poured in 14 points with five rebounds in a 66-44 win over D'Youville. He also hit 4-of-7 3-point attempts and dished out two assists.

Fredonia held former Oakfield-Alabama star James Davis - a freshman at D'Youville - scoreless in that game. Davis did have a block, a rebound and an assist in the contest.

The Blue Devils are 5-1 after beating Pitt-Bradford 84-79 last night.

NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL PRESENTS HOLIDAY POPS DINNER & CONCERT SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7

By Amy Johnson

Notre Dame High School will present its annual Holiday Pops dinner and concert on Sunday, December 7, 2008.

The evening will begin with dinner at 6:00 p.m. followed by special holiday performances from Notre Dame students in the Jazz Ensemble, Concert Choir and Concert Band. The musical program will feature Lowell Mason’s Jazz to the World, Franz Gruber’s Silent Night, Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride as well as other holiday favorites including O Holy Night, You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch and What Child Is This?.
 
Tickets are pre-sale only and are $20 per person; tables of eight are available. Reservations may be made in-person at Notre Dame High School located at 73 Union Street or by calling (585) 343-2798 no later than Wednesday, December 3.
 
Notre Dame High School is a Catholic co-educational institution dedicated to educating and preparing young men and women to lead and serve in an ever-changing world. Founded in 1951, Notre Dame challenges students by providing the highest level of academic programs, offering extensive co-curricular activities and embracing a commitment to serve humanity.

Notre Dame is young, but loaded

By Brian Hillabush

 When you look at the Notre Dame roster, the name Kevin Francis easily stands out.

The senior point guard has been one of the top players in the Genesee Region League over the last two seasons and was a GR all-star last year, pouring in 16.5 points with 5.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 5.1 steals per game. He dropped in 18 3-pointers.

There is no question that he is going to be the leader on the off the floor.

He had an established, solid supporting cast last season as the Fighting Irish, and the squad went 18-5 and earned the top seed in the Section 5 Class DD playoffs. ND ran into Elba in the semifinals and the Lancers came from 12 points back and sprung a 64-58 upset.

But gone are the likes of Christian Bochicchio, Joe Pawlak, Pat Mancuso and Mark Fanton. Instead, a strong group of youngsters will be taking the court to support Francis and try and get ND a sectional title.

There aren't a lot of returning scorers and you can expect junior Matt Thompson and sophomore Vinny Zambito to be major factors on the offensive end. Thompson is a pure shooter and Zambito is a scoring machine that led the jayvee squad a year ago.

Senior guard Kevin Schildwaster will also look to score. Backing up Francis will be junior Nick Bochicchio, who played quarterback on the football team and has the ability to lead things on the court when Francis needs a rest.

While Fanton was a true big-man for the Fighting Irish last year, standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 215 pounds, Notre Dame doesn't have anybody that can match his size.

But they might even be more physical in the paint.

Tommy Rapone is 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and very athletic for a big man. The junior will get a lot of playing time and try to keep a good group of big men in the GR out of the paint. His main focus will be defense and rebounding, but he also has the potential to score points when needed,

Senior Rick Lair is also 6-2 and weighs 185 pounds, but is a strong player that was a solid player on the football team. Senior Nick Weatherwax is the biggest player on the squad at 6-3 and is also physical.

A lot was made out of coach Mike Rapone's 500th victory last season, rightfully so, but this group doesn't have the pressure of trying to win that game for the legendary coach. 

Rapone became just the third coach in Section 5 history to get to the 500 win plateau (Jim Burke of Prattsburgh won No. 500 in the season opener this year) when Notre Dame beat Kendall midway through the season.

His current record is 509-133 and he is chasing Ed Nietopski of Bishop Kearney and Cardinal Mooney, who is the all-time leader with 545 victories. He has an outside chance of catching Scio legend Roger Bigby this season, as he ended his career with 527 wins.

In 29 years, Rapone has won 26 division titles, seven Section 5 titles, four Far West Regional championships and two state titles, with the last coming in 2001.

Rapone usually gets the most out of what he has, and this year's version of the Fighting Irish have a lot of talent. It is only a matter of getting the young players to mesh with the veterans and contribute with scoring.

 

Mancuso Bowling Center to post scores

By Brian Hillabush

 We have very exciting news here at The Batavian.

Mancuso Bowling Center will now be posting league bowling scores, starting soon, as manager Mike Sputore will be contributing league scores to The Batavian. Batavia has some great bowlers and The Batavian will now be the place to go in order to see your scores in a timely and accurate fashion. You will also be seeing some features and highlights from the bigger tournaments throughout the winter.

Leagues bowl at Mancuso's on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night as well as Monday and Friday mornings, and every-other-Saturday.

Please check for updates each night, or early the next morning if you aren't a night person, starting tonight.

Also, if any other area bowling leagues would like to post scores on The Batavian, please contact myself at brian (at) thebatavian (dot) com for information on how to do this.

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