Genesee Community College is pleased to announce that Heather Jones, professor of Fine Arts has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Mexico for the 2023-2024 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
While collaborating with Professor Jose Luis Gonzalez-Cabrero and the Industrial Design Department at the University of San Luis Potosi, Professor Jones will be implementing an international cultural color study project with students from both Mexico and New York, which will culminate with a student art exhibit titled "Color Connection." She will be teaching a series of seminars on color theory in Mexico that will be available online for her students taking classes at GCC. Students in Mexico and GCC will photograph one color in their daily lives and facilitate conversation online by sharing these images on the dedicated Color Connection social media pages. The project aims to take a deeper look at the expressive meaning of color in design, utilize the subject of color as a social bridge to break down cultural stigmas and reinforce empathy and respect for cultural diversity. Photographs will be juried by the students, and 100+ photographs will be exhibited simultaneously at UASLP and in GCC's Roz Steiner Gallery in March 2024. The exhibit will then be available to travel to other SUNY campus galleries.
Jones is among over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach or conduct research abroad for the 2023-2024 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.
As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Notable Fulbright alumni include 62 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, 78 MacArthur Fellows and 41 who have served as a head of state or government. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries - chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential - with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to challenges facing our communities and our world.
"Congratulations to Professor Heather Jones on receiving the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award. Her innovative project, 'Color Connection,' will foster cultural understanding and empathy through the expressive power of color. We are proud to have such accomplished faculty members like Professor Jones who exemplify the spirit of international collaboration and contribute to finding solutions for our global challenges," said Dr. Craig Lamb, provost/vice president for Academic Affairs at Genesee Community College.
More than 800 U.S. scholars - faculty members, artists and professionals from all backgrounds - teach or conduct research overseas through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. In addition, over 2,000 U.S. students, artists, and early career professionals from all backgrounds in more than 100 different fields of study receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards annually to study, teach English, and conduct research overseas.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program. In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student and Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.
UPDATE; The missing teen has been located and is safe.
Press release:
The Batavia Police Department is seeking public assistance in locating a 16-year-old girl.
(name redacted) was last seen on June 8 at approximately 7:30 a.m. in Batavia.
She was last seen wearing a black Nike Hoodie, a red hoodie, and black sweatpants.
xxxx is about 5'05" and 115 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350 or the NYS Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-3543.
“As legislators, our job is to represent the interests of the New Yorkers we serve. What have New Yorkers repeatedly asked the Democrat-controlled Legislature and Governor to address? Affordability and crime. What did they get in return?
A massive $229 billion state budget laden with unsustainable spending and certain to produce budget gaps in the near future.
A state money grab of federal Medicaid funding from the counties, which will force localities to raise property taxes between 7 and 14 percent to cover these state-mandated costs.
A ban on natural gas and other fossil fuels in new construction beginning in 2025, which will drive up utility bills, raise housing costs and decrease energy reliability.
A $1 billion-plus bill for New York taxpayers to address the migrant crisis, driven by New York’s self-designated ‘sanctuary’ status.
A lack of any meaningful improvements to the bail ‘reform’ disaster that continues to wreak havoc with public safety.
A continuing, unfair and costly burden on small businesses of repaying the state’s COVID-era unemployment insurance debt.
A continuation of the attacks on agriculture through misguided policies like the Birds and Bees Act and approval of the 40-hour farm worker overtime threshold.
Unconstitutional election ‘reforms’ like no-excuses absentee voting that New Yorkers already rejected at the polls in 2021 and moving local elections to even-numbered years. These election bills aren’t about boosting participation; their true goal is to make it easier to elect more Democrats.
None of these ‘achievements’ or any of the other 500-plus measures Democrats passed this session are what hard-working, taxpaying New Yorkers asked for. They are the result of the relentless push by radical special interests to enact socialist-leaning laws that will continue to weaken our economy, punish success and erode law and order.
New Yorkers should be especially outraged about the passage of additional pro-criminal measures that will only further hurt public safety in our cities and communities.
The so-called ‘Clean Slate’ bill will seal criminal misdemeanor and most felony conviction records, leaving potential employers, landlords, lenders, and others in the dark about the past of an individual they are considering entrusting with a job, apartment, loan, or other arrangements.
This will leave innocent, unsuspecting New Yorkers, including children, vulnerable. It is apparent that our majority of colleagues are unfazed by the increases in crime resulting from their disastrous bail and parole changes.
New Yorkers can be relieved that we were able to defeat some of the reckless proposals by the majorities and the Governor. At the top of the list are the governor’s proposed affordable housing mandates and growth targets, which would have overridden local zoning and changed the character of our communities.
We also won a reprieve on some of the gas ban mandates in the governor’s budget. My advocacy urging agricultural buildings to be added to the list of ‘exempt’ facilities was thankfully effective, providing some relief and certainty to our farmers. The final budget also removed the gas ban mandates on existing homes and businesses — for now.
Other key achievements include a conceptual agreement between the Seneca Nation and the state on a fair gaming compact. Our advocacy brought needed focus to this issue, which is critically important to the future of Western New York.
We were also able to win passage of legislation to fix the funding problems the Department of Health created for our Nourish NY program. Getting this done was a priority for all of us who led the effort to make this valuable program permanent.
Ultimately, this session has ended without taking any significant steps to make New York a state where people want to live, rather than leave.
Democrats’ iron grip on power means they own the failures of the 2023 Session as well as the loss of each family and business who decide they’ve had enough of high taxes, rising crime, and tone-deaf political leaders and leave for greener pastures.
I remain hopeful that when my Democratic colleagues return to their home districts and hear directly from their constituents, they may return to Albany in January, ready to tackle our challenges. In the meantime, my advocacy for the hardworking, law-abiding people in our region will continue.”
Northampton Driving Society’s 37th annual carriage driving competition returns to Silver Shoe Farm in Batavia on Sunday, June 25. This promises to be a special occasion with Kacy Tipton-Fashik, the general manager of The Grand Oaks equine resort in Weirsdale, Florida, judging the event. David Remley, whose late parents founded the internationally-known Walnut Hill Driving Competition, will be the ringmaster.
Morning classes will feature horses, ponies, very small equines, and multiples of the same in the ring for working and reinsmanship classes. These are judged on “turn out” – the pleasing appearance and appropriateness of horse, harness, vehicle, and attire – the horse’s obedience and way of going and the driver’s (the “whip”) reinsmanship skills. Afternoon classes will entail driving an obstacle course of cones and scoring for speed and agility.
Mr. Remley will commence the show with a coach horn demonstration at 9 a.m. Food and shopping opportunities will be provided by Burning Barrel BBQ, Buttercrumbs Bakery, The Brick House Boutique, Rusty Bitz, Green Compass CBD, and Creative Upcycling. Leonard Oakes Estate Vineyard will be hosting a wine tasting between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Silver Shoe Farm is a lovely facility at 3336 Pratt Road in Batavia, operated by the well-known Cable family of blacksmiths and Nicole Cable, herself a carriage show competitor, judge, and trainer.
Free admission! Bring your lawn chairs. Fancy hats will be admired but not required!
A piece of furniture, apparently from a discarded cigarette, caught on fire while sitting on a porch at 416 Ellicott Ave., Batavia, at about 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.
City Fire responded and quickly extinguished the fire.
Kay and Bill McDonald in Jackson Square recently preparing for the Homegrown Concerts hosted by the Old Hippies on June 23 and June 30. Photo by Howard Owens.
Bill and Kay McDonald have spent their living the dream, playing and singing for smiling, clapping, foot tapping, and sometimes dancing audiences.
They decided a few months ago they wanted to give young, aspiring performers a chance to relish the same experience they've enjoyed all these years -- getting on stage with a good sound system in front of an audience looking to be entertained.
The McDonalds are producing concerts on June 23 and June 30 that will feature young performers. Both shows start at 6 p.m. in Jackson Square.
"We're really concentrating on the youth this time," Bill McDonald said. "We've got eight, nine, 10-year-olds that we've wrangled in -- guitar players, a bagpipe player, and accordionist. We've got a couple of more seasoned veterans like Deanna Spiotta and Don Thomas and Steve Kruppner."
The young artists include William Franz (bagpipes), Leah Ford (guitar), Nolen Wright (guitar), Spencer Moscicki (guitar on June 23), and Quinn Karcher (accordion on June 30).
Also on the bill, the Ghost Riders and the Old Hippies.
The name of the show is, naturally, "Homegrown." The event is paid for through a $5,000 grant from the state that was administered by GO ART!
The young performers were found by talking with teachers and friends, but even with the dates set, there might be more room on the bill for other aspiring performers.
"We could probably squeeze room for more," Bill said. "If we had a few more, we could. Every time you do that, it limits somebody else's time. But that's okay. We think the more, the better. Everybody's gonna play. If we (the Old Hippies) only get a couple of songs than so be it."
Gina Schelemanow with some of the pieces of art the Bergen resident created and on display at the Independent Living offices on West Main Street in the Crickler building. Photo by Howard Owens
More than a year ago, Gina Schelemanow went through a bit of a rough patch and decide to take a more positive turn with life.
Schelemanow started creating art with linoleum cut prints.
"t was just kind of nice, like a nice release for me," the budding artist said. "A lot of them are like animals or books or just things that I enjoy in life that make me happy."
This month, Schelemanow's show at the West Main location of Independent Living of the Genesee Region put Schelemanow's work on display, and the show had its official opening on Thursday.
The Bergen resident was a housing coordinator for ILGR and is now doing a similar job for Project Blue in Buffalo.
At Byron-Bergen High School, Schelemanow wasn't particularly into art.
"I did like art classes in school for school, but nothing like extra," Schelemanow said. "I wasn't in any of the fancy art classes or anything."
There's nothing dark in Schelemanow's work, and the artist said that's by design.
"It's just as kind of like a creative outlet," Schelemanow said. "I never thought that you have to be good at doing art to do it. It was never something that I thought I was good at or thought I was creative. And when I started doing it, I really was able to come up with a lot of different things. So it was nice to go through the process of it."
Batavia Downs hosted its annual Batavia Bourbon and Whiskey Fest on Saturday in Park Place Event Center, which included multiple vendors and distilleries.
Attendees were able to sample a variety of bourbons and whiskeys. The event coincided with the running of the 2023 Belmont Stakes.
Join the Genesee County Parks along with the Oakfield-Alabama Lions Club and try out fishing at DeWitt Recreation Area on Saturday, June 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.!
No fishing license is required. This is part of the NYSDEC’s Free Fishing Weekend, perfect for beginners!
The program meets at Pavilion 2. Friendly guides will be on hand to assist you. Fishing gear and bait are provided or bring your own.
Hot dogs, chips, and water are for sale. All proceeds benefit the Oakfield-Alabama Lions Club. Kids up to age 16 can join the fun and get the chance to win a prize for catching the biggest fish, sponsored by the Oakfield-Alabama Lions Club! One lucky derby fisher will also win the door prize!
This program is FREE!! Call 585-344-1122 to register, or walk-ins are also welcome.
Call 585-344-1122 to register. For more information, visit our website at http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/parks/, or contact Shannon Lyaski at Shannon.Lyaski@co.genesee.ny.us or 585-344-1122.
The City of Batavia Fire Department reminds residents to use caution when using and storing lithium-ion batteries. There was a recent fire in the City caused by lithium-ion batteries in an electric bike.
These fires burn hot and fast while simultaneously releasing large amounts of toxic smoke and can quickly spread throughout a structure as well as nearby structures. There were 200 fires in 2022 in New York City alone were caused by batteries from e-bicycles, electric scooters, and similar devices.
As the devices that use lithium-ion batteries grow in popularity, so do the chances of similar incidents happening in the City of Batavia. When these batteries start on fire, they can be difficult to extinguish. When they burn, they burn extremely hot and fast. These fires ignite nearby combustibles much quicker than a standard fire.
It is vitally important that consumers use, store, and charge them according to the manufacturer's guidelines. It’s also a great idea to remain close by while these batteries are charging and unplug them when they are full.
To help prevent a lithium-ion battery fire, please follow these safety tips:
Be sure you have working smoke alarms installed on every floor of your residence.
Use only the original equipment manufacturer's batteries and charging cords.
Refrain from using aftermarket batteries and chargers. While they may be cheaper to purchase, these batteries are more likely to pose a burn, fire, or explosion hazard.
Store any scooters, e-bikes, etc., outdoors if at all possible. If you have to store them inside, keep them away from doors, windows, stairways, and egress paths.
Do NOT use extension cords or power strips to charge the batteries.
Place the batteries on a hard flat surface, do not charge on a pillow, couch, or bed.
Charge only one battery at a time, and do not allow it to remain plugged in once it’s full.
If you notice any changes in the batteries, such as damage, odor, change in color, increase in heat, change in shape, leaking, smoking, or failing to keep a charge, stop using it immediately.
Keep an ABC class fire extinguisher or a dry-chemical extinguisher on hand.
Do not throw lithium-ion batteries in the trash. These batteries should be recycled and you can find a location at the following link https://www.call2recycle.org/locator/
If you have any questions, please contact the City Fire Department at 585-345-6375.
On Tuesday, June 13, and Tuesday, July 11 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Guy Sceusa from the NYS Department of Veterans Services will be at the Genesee Country Farmer's Market. Veterans will fill out a self-attestation verifying he or she is a veteran. Guy will be issuing checks to the Veterans. The market will be open that day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located at Bank Street and Alva Place.
Steve Hawley released a statement regarding the final days of the NYS Assembly session.
“The New York State Assembly finished their session for the year without meaningfully addressing the problems millions across this state are trying to deal with. The Majority ignored the affordability crisis plaguing our state, they ignored the public safety concerns our citizens have raised, and they failed to counteract the immigration crisis spurred by New York City legislators. Instead of focusing on any of these issues, the Majority prioritized removing checks and balances and giving criminals more leeway after they leave prison. It was a wasteful use of the Assembly’s time and energy.”
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at
Albany has issued an Air Quality Health Advisory for Fine
Particulates until midnight EDT tonight.
Air quality levels in outdoor air are predicted to be greater than
an Air Quality Index value of 100 for Fine Particulates.
The Air
Quality Index...or AQI...was created as an easy way to correlate
levels of different pollutants to one scale. The higher the AQI
value...the greater the health concern.
When pollution levels are elevated...the New York State Department
of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous
outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health
effects. People who may be especially sensitive to the effects of
elevated levels of pollutants include the very young and those with
pre-existing respiratory problems such as asthma or heart disease.
Those with symptoms should consider consulting their personal
physician.
Batavia lost its bid on Saturday to become the first Flag Football champions in Section V history at Monroe Community College with a 20-0 loss to Canisteo-Greenwood.
Batavia entered the game undefeated at 8-0 and as the #1 seed. Canisteo was 7-1 at the start of the game.
It would be tempting to blame the loss on turnover -- there were a couple but were mostly inconsequential -- and penalties -- there were a few.
But more, Canisteo-Greenwood outplayed the Blue Devils.
After stopping Batavia on its first possession, Canisteo scored on its first drive. And on its second.
Batavia advanced the ball to the opposing goal line at least three times, but Canisteo-Greenwood keep the Blue Devils out of the end zone each time.
There are no stats available for the game.
Photos by Howard Owens. For more photos and to purchase prints, click here.
It's been a day-long party in Bergen on Saturday for the 33rd Annual Bergen Park Festival, which included a parade through the village followed by a picnic and events at Hickory Park.
The festival is sponsored by the Bergen Business and Civic Association.
It also included a basketball tournament, a car show, along with 60 vendors, five food vendors, two bounces houses, a dunk tank, a petting zoo, pony rides, book sale, and live music.
Ashley, 5, of Batavia, enjoys what she described as a pink and blue "flavored" snowcone during the second annual Fun in the Son event hosted by Ever Present Church Saturday in downtown Batavia. Photo by Joanne Beck.
Raelexiss Velaz, 10, of Batavia, picks out a prize after winning the ping-pong toss at Fun in the Son Saturday afternoon. Photo by Joanne Beck.
Kashmarae Pearsall, 9, of Batavia takes aim with a ping pong ball with hopes to win a prize during Ever Present Church's second annual festival in downtown Batavia. Photo by Joanne Beck.
Kashmarae Pearsall and her sister Raelexiss Velaz, both fourth-graders at John Kennedy Intermediate going into fifth grade this fall, play the ping-pong game at Fun in the Son Saturday in the parking lot next to Ever Present Church in Batavia. Photo by Joanne Beck.
Kashmarae Pearsall of Batavia poses with Ever Present Church member Colleen Evans, who volunteered to help out during the second annual festival. "It's been pretty steady," Evans said of the kids lining up to play the ping pong game Saturday. And as for this year's event, "It's been really busy," Evans said. "I love it. I get to come outside and meet people. I love it." Photo by Joanne Beck.
Arliss Reed, 2, and his sister Evalyn, 3, goof around in the bounce house as mom Tiffany McAllister of Batavia waits on the sidelines. Photos, here and below, by Joanne Beck.
Several food, craft and game vendors participate in the second annual Fun in the Son festival Saturday in downtown Batavia. Photo by Joanne Beck.
Gas stove, dryer, queen bed and boxspring, books, bikes, legos, mens and womens clothing and much more. Cash and Venmo accepted. May 24-26 8am-? 5050 Batavia Elba Townline rd Batavia 14020
