The end result of cross-training, Steve Wakefield said, is functional fitness. Your body is better conditioned to work for you.

For example, your body is built to squat. That's something that can be harder to do with any stamina if you haven't developed your muscles appropriately.

"I spent three years in Afghanistan and every meeting for me was in a squat," Wakefield said. "I was like, 'oh, I've got to squat again,' but that's what your body is supposed to do. Cross-training teaches your body to go back and use the movement it's supposed to."

Wakefield, a certified Cross Fit trainer, is the cross-training coach at Oakfield Fitness and Cross Training Center, 116 N. Main St., Oakfield.

Oakfield fitness recently moved into a larger building with an expanded cross-training center.

Wakefield said cross-training is a suitable physical fitness program for just about anybody, whether you're already athletic or haven't worked out in years and need to lose weight.

"You can do every workout to your own ability, which is awesome and I love it," Wakefield said. "Even as a trainer, I'm not as strong as some of these guys, but I lower the weight to my ability and I do what I can do. I've got an older lady, in her 60s, who's here every day. She can do the workout. It's scaled to her."

Cross-training, by definition is a constantly varied functional workout. Every session is different and it's not just about lifting weights and working specific muscles. You won't come in one day thinking, "this is my day to work my biceps" as you would with traditional fitness regimes.

"We've been taught for years that 'today I'm going to do by bis and back and tomorrow my tris and chest,' " Wakefield said. "Cross-training is breaking out of that model of isolated muscle movement. It's whole body, functional fitness."

The program also includes seminars on nutrition.

"You can workout every day, but if your nutrition is off, it's not going to work," Wakfield said. "Cross-training isn't who is the fittest. We want to get you healthy."

Since cross-training is usually a daily workout with a regular group of people, and the classes become more like a group of friends.

That's one of the things that kept Wakefield interested cross-training once he got started.

"We get to know each other," Wakefield said. "We get to know each other's families. We get to know each other's strengths and goals. We clap harder for the person who is last trying to finish up than the person who is done first."

It costs $80 per month to take part in cross-training at Oakfield Fitness, and that includes full 24/7 access to the entire gym.

For more information, visit OakfieldFitness.com.

More pictures after the jump:

Press release:

Genesee County volunteer fire departments will open their doors to residents this weekend so they can learn about what it takes to be a volunteer firefighter. This is part of the fourth annual RecruitNY statewide initiative of the Firemen's Association of the State of New York (FASNY).

Over the last several years it has been very tough for many fire departments throughout New York State to recruit and retain volunteers for a variety of reasons. Like most volunteer fire departments, those in Genesee County need to bolster their emergency response numbers so they can continue to provide the optimal level of protection for residents.

As part of RecruitNY, this Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27, the volunteer fire departments listed below will be open along with others throughout the state for a unified recruitment drive. This will be an opportunity to highlight the duties and rewards that come with being a volunteer firefighter; it's also a chance to check out the equipment, try on the gear, and tour the station.

Volunteer firefighters will be on hand to discuss the requirements to be a volunteer, and they will also conduct demonstrations, answer questions and let visitors know how to get involved in their fire department.

Last year, more than 500 fire departments in 55 counties statewide held recruitment Open Houses. FASNY is hoping for an even higher turnout this year.

Over the last year and a half, FASNY has worked exceptionally hard to build and deploy a multi-tiered plan for helping the state's 1,700 volunteer fire departments recruit more than 15,000 new volunteers by using federal SAFER grants for programs, including the "Fire in You" ad campaign, and the FASNY HELP community college reimbursement program, plus recruitment training programs.

Here is the line-up of Open Houses and activities at fire departments in Genesee County: (Information as provided by the individual departments and may not include everything offered; for more information contact the local department.)

Saturday, April 26:

Bethany -- 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- Coffee & Donuts, Open House, and Demonstrations

Byron -- Burn Car & Open House

Elba -- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- Open House & Soft-serve Ice Cream

Indian Falls -- 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. -- Open House

Pembroke -- Open House, Auto Extrication & Other Demonstrations

Stafford, Pavilion, Le Roy -- 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. -- All three departments will converge at the Stafford Fire Station and will offer many demonstrations, an Open House, and a light lunch.

Sunday, April 27:

Alabama -- 12 to 3 p.m. -- Open House & Ice Water Suit Demonstration

Bethany -- 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- Coffee & Donuts, Open House, Demonstrations

Byron -- Auto Extrication & Free Spaghetti Dinner

Elba -- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- Open House & Soft-serve Ice Cream

The students in the Genesee Community College Fashion Merchandising and Design Program are excited and nervous about Saturday.

For the 33rd year, the college will host its spring fashion show, which is the culmination -- and final exam -- of the students' efforts to learn about the world of fashion and retail clothing.

Nearly all of the students are planning to move on to the next level of education or start working in the field upon graduation.

The show this year is called "Ethereal" and Professor Rick Dudkowski said there are a record number of designers participating with more than 100 models who will strut down the catwalk.  Show times are 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and tickets are $7 at the door.

More than 1,400 people are expected to attend the two shows. Dudkowski said GCC's show is the largest fashion show in WNY.

"People who attend our show will see a lot of creativity and originality," Dudkowski said.

Some of the sets include: "Grecian Utopia" -- designed and produced by Catherine Kelkenberg with assistance from Asahi Nakamigawa; "Americana" -- designed and produced by Tyler Annalora and Alaina Shannon; "Revival" -- designed and produced by Natalie Brown; and "Catherine Ivelisse" -- designed and produced by Catherine Morales.

Alania Shannon and Taylor Bunch have put together a set featuring clothes from Gymboree in the Eastview Mall. 

Bunch, the only man in the class, is from Buffalo and was a Finance major at Canius when he decided he wanted to do something more creative with his life. He transferred to GCC specifically for the fashion design program.

He explained that he and Shannon saw the show as being about youth, and youth is about rebellion or breaking the mold. So they wanted to evoke the roots of popular youth rebellion in popular culture, and drew on the inspiration of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. Bunch's repertoire for men will be bold and bright colors and Kesterke went with neutral tones and soft pinks often associated with Monroe.

NYC clothiers Buffalo David Bitton and Maurices have shipped a new line of fashions that will make their debut at the GCC show in a set produced by Shelby Wallenhorst and Ashley Husted.

The show's 11th and final set is "Ambiance" -- produced by Kelly Wetherby and Lekha Anderson with apparel from M.A. Carr Bridal and Charles Men's Shop. Carr donated $18,000 in top-line wedding gowns, which the designers have reshaped and recolored and reimagined into new dresses.

It takes nearly the whole school to put on the show: students from Criminal Justice studies provide security; the media department records it; the Events and Hospitality program provides support and hosts the after-party; and the Graphics students design posters and other promotional material.

Shelby Wallenhorst is in charge of decorations and Amanda Joyce helped head up the event planning.

For the Fashion and Merchandising students, the show is supposed to bring together all they've learned through the two-year program.

Students graduating this year will go on to further studies in NYC and fashion programs there, or into the fashion program at Buffalo State (which recently invested $63 million in its fashion technology lab), or right into the work world.

Ashley Husted is already a manager at the Maurices store in Batavia. In fact, all five of Maurices locations in WNY are managed by graduates of the GCC program.

"I love working for them," Husted said, and Dudkowski added, "We're very proud of our students who are with Maurices."

Only one of this year's grads is going in a different direction. She's going to major in environmental science at St. Bonaventure.

Top photo: Candace Cooper.

Kelly Wetherby.

Natalie Brown

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Batavia resident Rashaad Santiago, whom we featured in a story last month, is one of three finalists in the reality TV series "Face Off."

The show airs at 8 p.m. on the SciFi Channel. 

Santiago will be at City Slickers tonight for the season finale to celebrate the event and answer any questions people might have about the show.

Press release:

With the arrival of the fire department's new rescue truck the Le Roy Fire Dept. truck committee, with permission from commissioners, wanted to place a new decal on our apparatus to show our support to the community. What better way than through our kids... we decided to go with the school logo.

With the assistance from Principle Tim McArdle, who was able to send us the school logo, we then forwarded it to the company that letters all our apparatus and they were able to match the correct size and make the logo reflective.

The first set of decals arrived and was placed on the new rescue about a week ago and the others should be on shortly. The truck was brought to the school on April 21. Pictured below with the truck is Principle McArdle, Vice Principle Linda Lowe, Athletic Director Brain Moran and Coach Moran 3rd period gym class. Thank you to everyone involved and GO KNIGHTS!!!

As it is every year, local farmers are playing the weather lottery. What numbers will come up, nobody knows.

In the meantime, they're planning their crops, waiting for a little dry spell and a bit warmer weather to start planting.

"We always hope every single year that Mother Nature will give us a good growing year," said Barbie Starowitz, of Star Growers Farm in Elba. "We think that every year. We hope every year for a good year just to pay the bills."

For many crops, now is the ideal time for getting seeds in the ground, but when the soil is still too soft from rain or the temperature still a bit cold (as it's expected to be for the next few nights), then farmers may run out of time to sow all their fields, if any.

CY Farms has started planting onions -- as have other farmers -- because, as CEO Craig Yunker says, "the muck is more forgiving," but his crews still haven't started on peas or corn.

Yunker said they like to start planting around April 1 and corn seed should start going in the ground by April 20. So far, CY has yet to plant a single acre of corn or peas.

"We'd like to get going," Yunker said.

This year, CY Farms will return to growing cabbage. The Yunkers made headlines last year when they decided to forgo cabbage.

Craig Yunker cited three reason for cutting the crop: The uncertainty raised by the employer mandate in Obamacare; the loss of labor to an immigration audit; and the high price of corn.

This year, the employer mandate is delayed for at least a year (allowing CY Farms to employ more than 50 people); Yunker has been able to find some qualified help to replace the workers he lost; and corn has dropped nearly $2 in price per bushel and is now trading at just under $5.

Those three factors led Yunker and his managers to decide to cut corn acreage this year and grow cabbage again.

For Star Growers, the crop mix will be pretty much the same as always -- corn, peas, soybeans, wheat, cabbage and onions.

Most of what Star grows goes to canning factories, either Seneca or Bonduelle.

"We've been waiting for a good growing season, but Mother Nature seems pissed at us," Starowitz said. "It's either too wet or too dry."

Like Star Growers, MY-T Acres grows mainly for canners and food processors. Pete Call said this year's crop will be pretty much like the last few years: green beans, peas, cabbage, potatoes for potato chips, spinach, sweet corn, red beets, grain corn, wheat, rye, oats and alfalfa.

We couldn't reach Torrey Farms, another large crop farm in the county, for comment.

Top Photo: Craig Yunker, CY Farms, with buckets of onion seeds. Each bucket holds 500,000 seeds and costs the farm $1,410. "It's the most expensive seed we buy," Yunker said. Below, preparing the muck to be seeded.

A pickup truck slammed into a pole at 8596 W. Bergen Road. The driver is still inside but can talk, according to a responder on scene. Le Roy fire and ambulance responding. Fire police are requested to shut down West Bergen Road at Quinlan and at Randall roads.

UPDATE 4:33 p.m.: Once the driver was extricated and evaluated by medics, he declined further medical assistance. National Grid is on scene to fix the pole. The road remains closed until the truck is towed and a tow-truck company is en route.

Maleak H. Green, 21, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, was charged with menacing, 3rd, and trespass following an incident which occurred at about 9:30 p.m. on April 18 on Ellicott Street. He allegedly walked onto the property of another person and struck the door to that person's residence with a baseball bat. He was released on an appearance ticket. The incident was investigated by officer Peter Flanagan, assisted by officer Chad Richards. But the next day, April 19, Green was jailed after being charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct following an incident that occurred at a coffee shop on Main Street. Green allegedly entered the building and started throwing chairs around and demanding that police be called. When police arrived, Green was allegedly observed brandishing a can of peas and allegedly saying he wanted to strike someone with the can of peas. Green allegedly refused to comply with verbal demands to drop the can of peas and he then allegedly struggled with officers who were trying to arrest him. He was arraigned and jailed with bail set at $1,500. The latter incident was investigated by officer Chad Richards, assisted by officer Jason Ivison. Green is to appear in City Court this afternoon on all of the charges.

Jorge Rodriguez Martinez, 31, of South Main Street in Batavia, was charged with obstruction of governmental justice following his arrest on April 19 for allegedly attempting to keep a police officer from investigating a disturbance on South Main Street. Martinez allegedly physically placed himself between the officer and another person during the incident and also allegedly attempted to fight with the officer. Following his arraignment in Batavia City Court, Martinez was jailed and bail set at $1,500. He is scheduled to return to Batavia City Court this afternoon. The investigating officer was Peter Flanagan, assisted by officer Devon Pahuta.

Alex S. Dumbleton, 20, of Jackson Street, Batavia, was charged with disorderly conduct following his arrest at 2:45 p.m. on April 19 for allegedly yelling obscenities at a female acquaintance earlier in the day on South Jackson Street. He was issued an appearance ticket for Batavia City Court. The investigating officer was Eric Foels, assisted by officer Frank Klimjack.

Tanya L. Parsons, 29, of Hutchins Street in Batavia, was charged with petit larceny following an investigation into an incident which occurred April 18 at a bargain store on East Main Street. She is accused of concealing sidewalk chalk and a package of Andes Mints in her purse and leaving the store without paying for them. She is set to appear on the charge this afternoon. The incident was investigated by officer Jamie Givens who was assisted by officer Stephen Cronmiller.

Candace M. Sanchez, 48, of Jackson Street in Batavia, is charged with petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, 5th, possession of a forged instrument, 2nd, and forgery, 2nd. She had an active arrest warrant out of the City of Batavia due to an incident April 1 in which she allegedly possessed and passed a forged check. Sanchez was taken into custody April 17 following an investigation and jailed without bail. The incident was investigated by officer James DeFreze and Sgt. Christopher Camp.

Kelly J. Woodrow, 34, of Hutchins Street in Batavia, was charged with petit larceny following an investigation into a complaint of a larceny April 18 at a bargain store on East Main Street. He was arraigned today in City Court, issued an appearance ticket and released. He is to return to City Court on Wednesday. The incident was investigated by officer Stephen Cronmiller who was assisted by officer Jamie Givens.

Tamara L. Butler, 36, of North Main Street in Albion, was charged with petit larceny following her arrest on April 21 at about 2 a.m. after an arrest warrant from Orleans County was executed. She was issued an appearance ticket for Batavia City Court. The investigating officer was Peter Flanagan.

Eric. R. Swede, 25, of Perry Road in Pavilion, was arrested in Monroe County on a bench warrant issued by Batavia City Court. He posted $100 bail and was released. He is scheduled to be in City Court on April 29. The incident was investigated by officer Kevin DeFelice.

Press release:

Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. (WROTB), Hamburg Gaming and Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack today announced they have contributed $32.6 million during the first quarter of 2014 to the State of New York as part of their gaming revenue-sharing arrangement.

They also provided horsemen purses of $5.4 million during the same period.

WROTB owns and operates Batavia Downs Gaming in Batavia as well as OTB branches throughout Western New York.

The quarterly payment brings the total paid to the State by the three gaming entities to $1,061,374,354 since the venues opened about 10 years ago. Horsemen have received an additional $174,854,433 since the inception of the facilities.

Michael P. Nolan, executive vice president/COO of WROTB, noted that more than $215 million has been given to the 15 counties and two cities that own WROTB since its inception.

"The operations at Batavia, Hamburg and Finger Lakes have not only positively impacted the lives of thousands of families across our region through direct and indirect employment, they also provide a consistent and significant stream of revenue for 15 counties and two cities, helping to alleviate the tax burden for people across the region," said WROTC President Michael Kane. "Every person within the 15-county area that we encompass has a vested financial interest in the success of our operations."

Two Darien volunteer firefighters -- Joshua Reeb and Paul Redden -- and several other residents lost everything they own in a devastating house fire on March 10 at 1363 Broadway Road. The firefighters helped people evacuate safely. A pet dog died in the blaze.

A fundraiser for their benefit is planned for Sunday, May 4, at the Darien Fire Hall, which is located at 10537 Alleghany Road in Darien Center.

There will be a chicken BBQ, Chinese auction, and 50/50.

Dinner includes: half chicken, two sides and dinner roll. Hot dogs will be provided to children too young for the BBQ plate. Presale tickets are $10. A limited number will be available at the door.

The organizers are still seeking donations for the raffle baskets!

To purchase tickets, make a donation, or for questions, contact any of the following people:

Deanna Crawford  (716) 310-3083

Austen Gielow (716) 783-2562

Paul Redden (585) 356-0466

A tractor-trailer and car have been involved in an accident -- the big rig may have lost a tire -- on Route 98 near Pike Road.

There are no injuries reported, but there is a fuel leak.

Town of Batavia Fire Department responding.

Press release:

The Showtime Sports Academy has partnered with the Buffalo 716ers (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Erie Hurricane (Erie, Pa.), who participate in the Premier Basketball League (PBL). The objective of the Showtime Sports Academy is to provide high quality AAU basketball programs, which service the youth in grades K-12, throughout Western New York.

Showtime Sports Academy is owned and operated by Batavia native, Jerry Smith, who is committed to providing opportunities for the youth in Batavia.

“I am thrilled to be working with professional organizations that are just as dedicated to helping the youth as we are,” Smith said.

The Buffalo 716ers and Erie Hurricane will be working to provide camps and clinics for the youth of Batavia this summer, tournaments, and assisting with Showtime Sports Academy events.

“We are excited about the opportunity to mentor, volunteer, and work with youth of the Showtime Sports Academy,” said Buffalo 716ers and Erie Hurricane team owner, Tawan Slaughter. 

For more information on the Showtime Sports Academy please visit www.showtimesa.com. Also, for more information on the Buffalo 716ers and Erie Hurricane, please visit www.buffalo716ers.net or www.eriehurricane.net.

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Bergen has a new gas station and convenience store, along with a Dunkin' Donuts location, on Clinton Street Road, near the intersection of Route 33 and Route 19.

Owner Kamaljat Sembhi, who started operating a small, old gas station on the property in 1996, said he thought the location was ideal for an expanded store and gas station. He worked with Dunkin' Donuts to lease space inside the store and offer drive-up donuts and coffee.

"I thought it was a pretty good spot," Sembhi said. "The best corner in the area."

The new store is 3,000 square feet and there are three pumps outside along with two diesel pumps and a kerosene filling station.

The Bergen resident said business has been "pretty good" since opening a month ago.

"We've been busy. I'm happy with that."

Driving down Norton Road, I passed the wetland where the late Ron Graziaplena used to set up waterfowl habitat and release his birds. These geese were right up by the roadway being watched by another motorist. As I took pictures, they came closer to the roadway. They're obviously pretty domesticated and were probably looking to be fed. Hopefully, they'll stay out of the road.

Two males are reportedly fighting at State Street and Richmond Avenue and bystanders are taping it. City police are responding.

The culvert that collapsed Saturday under a Byron resident and his two children while out on a bike ride was scheduled to be replaced this summer, said County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens.

"I don't think any of us realized how bad it was in terms of being rotted out," Hens said. "We did a visual inspection, but I wasn't going to crawl into a two-foot pipe, but you can never tell without getting in there. The middle was in a lot worse shape than we thought."

Byron-Batavia Road between Griswold Road and Walkers Corners Road will be closed for two weeks while the culvert is replaced.

The cost of the replacement is approximately $50,000.

"Mother nature and time beat us to the punch," Hens said.

The husband of Korinne Haymon, who contacted The Batavian about the incident, said her husband and their two children were on a Saturday afternoon bike ride when the culvert gave out from under them. 

Mr. Haymon was pulling a bike carrier with their 4-year-old and 7-year-old riding along when he decided to stop out of curiosity and look at a small hole by the side of the road. It was about the size of a groundhog hole.

As soon as he put his foot down, the ground gave way.

The 7-year-old was able to jump over the hole "like Superman," Korinne said.

As soon as he realized the 4-year-old had fallen to the bottom of the hole, Mr. Haymon jumped to the bottom and he was able to lift the child over his head and push him out of the hole. He yelled for the child to move away from the hole. Then he pulled the bike and carrier the rest of the way into the hold and use it like a ladder to climb out.

"He said every time he grabbed earth, it was just crumbling," Korinne said. "They were hysterical, like screaming."

Outside of some cuts and scrapes, nobody was injured.

"He was petrified," Korinne said. "He said he just keeps playing it over in his head but I told him to just focus on everybody is all right."

The children are doing fine, Korinne said.

"They just laugh about how my oldest Supermanned over the hole," she said.

Hens said in his 16 years this is only the second culvert to collapse. The other one was in Darien in 1998 or 1999 and rain helped wash out a sinkhole.

"Most of the time we're ahead of the game in identifying (culverts for replacement)," Hens said. "We wait for a dry time to check on them. It's unusual for them to collapse like that and just from a visual inspection point of view, we have ones that are way worse. It's an odd combination of weather, timing, cold weather -- all of that plays into it."

Griswold Road, Stafford.