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Press release:

As the deadline to file federal and state taxes approaches on April 17, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is helping residents navigate the often cumbersome state tax filing system by providing ways to access forms and instructions.

“There are many citizens who choose to file federal and state taxes themselves instead of going to a tax preparer or using an online program,” Hawley said. “Unfortunately, the tax rules, regulations and method by which we are required to file are often confusing and complicated.

"The state should be consistently assisting residents with tax preparation and working on ways to clarify this burden. Residents can pick up tax forms at my district office by emailing or calling ahead of time.”

To access IT-201 Tax Forms and Instructions:

1. Use this link to access and print IT-201 instructions online

2. Use this link to access and print IT-201 tax forms online

3. Visit www.tax.ny.gov for more information  

4. Call your local library.(Many libraries have access to current tax forms available to residents) 

*Residents are encouraged to pick up tax forms at Hawley’s district office by emailing hawleys@nyassembly.gov or calling (585) 589-5780 ahead of time.  

**A refund will usually be issued more quickly if residents fill out forms online and submit electronically.                  

Assemblyman Hawley represents the 139^th District, which consists of Genesee, Orleans and parts of Monroe County. For more information, please visit Assemblyman Hawley’s Official Website.

Press release:

Ready to begin your college experience? Not sure where to start? GCC is truly the place to be! At Genesee Community College, our admissions team and student success coaches, know how daunting it can be to begin a degree or certificate program. So, we're here to help!

To get started, attend a Spring Open House! The first will be on Wednesday, March 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. If evenings are difficult for you, then join us on Saturday, April 14, from 9  to 11 a.m.

Representatives from GCC's student services offices will be on hand to answer questions about admissions, career and transfer services, student activities, athletics and you can even attend a financial aid session. Tours of the campus will be available, including the new Student Success Center, Richard C. Call Arena and College Village -- GCC's apartment-style residential housing.

To register for either Open House visit www.genesee.edu/openhouse or call 1-866-CALL-GCC!

Can't make it to either session? Consider attending a Friday Visit Day! You can learn about GCC's simple application and admissions processes, financial aid opportunities, take a campus tour, and even sit in on a college class! Friday Visit Days begin at 9 a.m. and end at noon on the following dates:

• March 2
• March 23
• April 20
• May 4

You can also visit www.genesee.edu/VT for a virtual campus tour!

GCC offers a comprehensive selection of over 70 degree and certificate programs! Dedicated to student success and accessibility, GCC offers a totally FREE application process, FREE career counseling, FREE tutoring and FREE parking! With more than 100 courses available online every semester and 15 degrees that can be earned completely online, GCC is more convenient than ever.

GCC's Campus Centers located in Albion, Arcade, Dansville, Lima, Medina and Warsaw provide additional options to attend class close to home.

For more information about the Open House, contact GCC's Admissions Office at 585-345-6800 or email Admissions@genesee.edu. For online, door-to-door driving directions go to: http://www.genesee.edu/about/visit/maps/.

Press release:

How does a team of volunteers help baby birds?Join us for Bluebird Babysitters: Nest Box Monitoring for Science on Saturday, March 10th, from 1 – 3 p.m. as we look out for the Bluebird families at Genesee County Park & Forest!

Learn about NestWatch -- a nationwide nest monitoring program -- and find out what YOU can do to keep baby bluebirds and their friends happy and healthy. Get all the latest tips about bluebird nest boxes and the secret life of the Eastern Bluebird, then head outside to prepare the boxes for nesting season 2018!

Dress for the weather and meet at the Interpretive Nature Center at Genesee County Park & Forest, located at11095 Bethany Center Road, East Bethany.

This event will go on, rain or shine. The program is FREE! Preregistration is required, call 585-344-1122!

For more information visit our website here, or contact Shannon Morley at:  Shannon.Morley@co.genesee.ny.us

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported on the eastbound Thruway at mile marker 387.2. One car crashed into a guardrail with at least one person unconscious.

"We spoke with the driver. We think it's a one-vehicle accident; however, he's unsure if he hit any other vehicles."

Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding along with Mercy medics.

UPDATE 7:57 p.m.: Medics are on scene. They advise the vehicle is off the roadway; Town of Batavia fire can go back in service if they choose. No word on injuries.

UPDATE 8:12 a.m.: All units are back in service.

Photo credit: Jim Burns.

NOTE: This was originally posted at 1:15 p.m. We've updated the time stamp to move it back up to the top of the home page. The suspect is in custody.

Minutes ago about a dozen State Police cars swarmed onto the Thruway at the Batavia exit after a vehicle stopped there briefly following a high-speed chase that began in Canandaigua for unknown reasons. Now the pursuit has begun anew.

The suspect vehicle is traversing the median of the Thruway, going eastbound and westbound intermittently.

Troopers were told to be on the lookout for the vehicle driven by a possibly suicidal male.

Spike strips were set up at the Batavia exit, but it is unclear if they were deployed.

There are currently three police cars parked near the Batavia Thruway exit 48; the male subject's latest location is near the Le Roy exit.

UPDATE 1:23 p.m.: The suspect vehicle is stopped at the Le Roy exit Stafford overpass.

UPDATE 1:44 p.m.: The vehicle is stopped on I-90 eastbound about one mile from the Route 237 overpass. A trooper is blocking westbound I-90; and eastbound a number of emergency vehicles are on scene and a helicopter is hovering overhead.

UPDATE 1:48 p.m.: The subject is alert in the vehicle but not responding to officers' commands. The Thruway is closed westbound at the Le Roy exit and eastbound at the Batavia exit.

UPDATE 3:13 p.m.: Now the eastbound Thruway is closed at the Pembroke exit. The continuing standoff has resulted in heavy traffic congestion on Route 98 (Oak Street) in Batavia. The subject is reportedly armed.

UPDATE 5:49 p.m.: Jim Burns, reporting for us with a position that has a good view of the scene, says the subject is in custody. We have no information yet on when the Thruway might reopen.

UPDATE 6:26 p.m.: The Thruway has been reopened in both directions.

The Fine Arts program at Genesee Community College is proud to welcome the entire community to the Roz Steiner Art Gallery at the Batavia Campus to experience this year's student exhibit, "Master Peace," on display from March 1 - April 6.

The "Master Peace" exhibit will begin with artist receptions from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and again from 5 - 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 1; the public is invited to meet the artists and explore the exhibit's debut.

Entitled "Master Peace," this exhibition showcases artwork recently produced by students enrolled in Fine Arts courses at Genesee Community College. Each piece is crafted for a specific class project reflecting a range of the course's learning objectives challenging students to use their fundamental learning and refined technical skills to create pieces that communicate and express their concepts and messages.

The exhibit includes artwork produced in GCC's Two and Three-Dimensional Design, Drawing I & II, Painting I & II, and Ceramics I & II courses.

"The student exhibits are a time for students to celebrate their achievements and show off their accomplishments," says Art Gallery Coordinator Mary Jo Whitman. "This year's exhibit features a range of diverse and exceptional artwork. I am looking forward to the exhibit's opening and for our community to have the opportunity to view the artwork created by our talented students at GCC."

Roz Steiner Art Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information on all upcoming events at the Roz Steiner Art Gallery visit www.genesee/edu/gallery.

The Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation is doing a St. Joseph's Table at Sunny’s Restaurant at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 15. A traditional meatless meal will be served. Profits will go to the foundation's high school senior Scholarship Fund. 

Cost is adults $20, children $5.

Tickets are available at Sunny's Restaurant in the Centre City mall, or from Paolo Busti board members.

According to Buffalo Folklore Etc., the St. Joseph's Table is a ritual meal done by Sicilians and Sicilian-Americans in fulfillment of a promise made to St. Joseph for his assistance in a time of family or personal crises. The Table is held on or as close to his feast day of March 19th as possible.

It is a very compelling and complex celebration with meaning for the people as a whole and even more specific meaning for the particular group or family celebrating the day.

The Table includes the altar with an image of Saint Joseph, flowers, candles, fruit and bread as well as the special meal of meatless dishes served at what is traditionally an open house at the home of the person/family giving the Table. The St. Joseph's Table tradition was brought to the United States by the late 19th and early 20th century Sicilian immigrants into Louisiana, Texas, California, Colorado and New York.

For more information about St. Joseph's Table, click here.

In 1992, the executive committee of the Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation published a 240-page book titled "The Legacy of Italian-Americans in Genesee County New York" (Heart of Lakes Publishing). Common terms, names and phrases are searchable online here, plus you can read this Google Book and download its contents (directions on how to do so are online), which publishers provide via Google's Library Project.

• Batavia Downs  -- FY 2017-18: Portion of Net Winnings (percent) = 35

                                         EBP: Portion of Net Winnings (percent) = 37

• Vernon Downs -- FY 2017-18: Portion of Net Winnings (percent) = 41

                                       EBP: Portion of New Winnings (percent) = 42

• Hamburg Gaming -- FY 2017-18: Portion of Net Winnings (percent) = 41

                                            EBP: Portion of Net Winnings (percent) = 42

About Batavia Downs

Batavia Downs Gaming, operated by WROTB, is a standard bred racetrack and gaming facility. WROTB is a public benefit corporation – owned by 15 Western New York counties, including Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Oswego, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, and Wyoming, as well as the cities of Rochester and Buffalo. Since its inception, WROTB has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in operating and surcharge revenues to the residents of those participating municipalities.

Press release:

Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) has long worked to assist residents of Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties (GOW) who are dealing with homelessness, through the Homeless Alliance of Western New York (HAWNY). ILGR is pleased to announce that Dai Nguyen has joined their staff in the position of HAWNY Program Specialist.

For those who might be unaware of them, Nguyen is inviting representatives of human service or government agencies that are likely to encounter clients who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or have problems securing housing, to an ongoing series of GOW Continuum of Care meetings.

These will be held on the third Thursday of every other month, from 10 to 11 a.m., beginning March 15^th.  Under HAWNY sponsorship, they take place at the Main Office of ILGR, 113 Main St. at Center Street, Suite 5, in Batavia.

While the gatherings are primarily open discussions on the needs of the homeless, likely topics include updates on:

• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s Continuum of Care (CoC), a program designed to promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness;
• The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), a database that keeps track of homeless people;
• Rapid Rehousing, HUD's model for alleviating homelessness;
• Grant applications;
• Housing updates in GOW;
• Plus new events and services. 

In addition, attendees can get assistance with HMIS training, HUD procedures, and the multifaceted, non-for-profit PathStone's programs, so that their clients can access these services as soon as possible.

The third Thursday dates set for 2018 are: March 15^th, May 17^th, July 19^th, Sept. 20^th, and Nov. 15^th.

While encouraged, registering in advance is NOT required to attend. To RSVP or ask questions on the event, please call Dai Nguyen, at (585) 815-8501, ext. 417. 

Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) is a member of the Western New York Independent Living Inc. family of agencies that offers an expanding array of services to aid individuals with disabilities to take control of their own lives.

An accident involving three cars and a semi-truck is reported at Oak Street and Richmond Avenue in the city; unknown injuries. City fire, police and Mercy medics are responding. Traffic control will be needed.

UPDATE 4:33 p.m.: The driver of the white sedan pictured above told police they couldn't stop in time and rear-ended a car in front of them, causing a chain reaction ending when a semi was struck by the third car. The drivers of the white sedan and the third car were transported to UMMC with complaints of pain. An investigation is pending.