Photos: Rotary Brewfest 2013
The Rotary Club of Batavia hosted its annual brewfest again this year, but with Batavia Downs being remodeled, the club set up tents along Alva Place instead and served brews to hundreds of attendees.
The Rotary Club of Batavia hosted its annual brewfest again this year, but with Batavia Downs being remodeled, the club set up tents along Alva Place instead and served brews to hundreds of attendees.
The Elba Lancers cheer squad unveiled a new routine during half-time of the Elba/Byron-Bergen vs. Notre Dame game Saturday.
The routine features more acrobatics than I've seen from a high school cheer squad before.
Cheer Coach Kate Engle said her cousin Jackie Borrelli, now a cheer captain at Niagara University who cheered for Northeast Elite, conducted a two-day cheer camp for the Elba team and taught the girls the new routine.
Saturday was the first time they performed it in public.
Rachel Wannike is Elba's captain this year and she's featured in the flyer toss. Tabitha Fuller, a seventh-grader, is featured in a series flips during a pyramid (unfortunately, my camera slipped out of focus during this part of the routine).
Engle said the squad is pretty young, with only one senior member and five juniors, three sophomores, seven freshman and a seventh-grader.
The girls will use the routine Oct. 13 at the Brockport Spiritfest and, of course, during sectionals competition later in October at RIT.
To purchase prints of these photos, click here.
Notre Dame ended its three-game losing streak to Elba/Byron-Bergen with a dominating 40 to 7 victory.
For the second consecutive week, Tim McCulley scored five touchdowns for the Fighting Irish, this time all through the air as Notre Dame controlled the game from start to finish.
The Irish opened the scoring as McCulley hooked up with Josh Johnson for a 13-yard TD strike in the first quarter to go up 6-0.
McCulley would later find Jason Hart on a one-yard toss to give the Irish a 13-0 lead. In total, McCulley would throw four touchdown passes in the first half, two more to Johnson on plays of two and 51 yards respectively.
The senior quarterback went 18-for-27 passing for 335 yards and also picked up another 61 on the ground.
The Lancers would get on the board just before the end of the half on a three-yard pass from Garrett Chapell to Chad Kowalik.
Charlie Herbert was on the receiving end of the fifth and final touchdown pass from McCulley late in the third quarter. Herbert racked up 134 yards on six grabs, while Johnson had 161 on seven catches.
The Fighting Irish defense was stout all game, holding Chapell to just 13-of-33 passing for 127 yards and intercepting him four times, once by Johnson.
“Our skilled guys had a good game today, although we did have a couple of lapses,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Rick Mancuso. “I’m really proud of the overall effort, of the great effort that got us to this point, but we have a lot to work on and we are going to get back at it on Monday.”
Brandon Naylor had a strong game for Elba/Byron-Bergen (2-2), carrying the ball 16 times for 100 yards. The Lancers will next travel to Oakfield-Alabama next Friday night.
Notre Dame (4-0) is the only remaining unbeaten team in the Genesee Region League, and they will take on Pembroke next Saturday.
Also Saturday, Batavia lost to Canandaigua Academy 49-12.
Photos by Howard Owens.
To purchase prints of photos, click here.
Hundreds of runners were asked this morning to navigate a 5K course filled with zombies at Darien Lake Theme Park.
The rUNDEAD race was held to benefit Special Olympics and organized and supported by volunteers from throughout WNY, including a collection of zombies near the finish line who a part of the same group in Tonawanda.
Each runner was issued three flags. Those who managed to make it through the course with at least one flag was eligible for a prize. The zombies, rather than seeking the brains of runners, were hungry for flags.
Speed seemed essential when a runner needed to sprint through a gauntlet of zombies.
Say "Cheese" -- Arlowe Price, Fattie King and Sam Pecoraro. Price is the owner of Savage Buffalo Carnival whose family has been performing in carnivals and freak shows for five generations. He said he performs frequently in the Buffalo area, but has never been invited to perform anywhere in Genesee County. Here's his Facebook page.
Mike and Cindy Baskin, from Naples. They skipped today's Grape Festival to be zombies in Darien.
Brenda Fox, a proud member of The Batavian Club, and her daughter Indigo at the start line of the race.
To purchase prints of photos, click here.
The first of four planned "Coffee Talk" events sponsored by Vibrant Batavia was held this morning at City Hall. The events are designed to collect feedback on what residents think needs to be done to improve life in Batavia and identify potential neighborhood leaders. Today's event was focused on residents from the Northside.
Above, Vibrant Batavia Director Leanna Di Risio.
William Gregory, of State Street, pictured below, said he came out to the event this morning because he's concerned about his commmunity.
"I think it would be nice to know more of my neighbors and hopefully we can solve some of the issues we have," Gregory said.
The next Coffee Talk is from 10 a.m. to noon, Oct. 5, at Williams Park.
For more on the event and the schedule, click here.
The Child Advocacy Center sponsored a 5K run/walk in Downtown Batavia this morning. The event was held in conjunction with a dozen other 5Ks sponsored by CACs in cities around the state.
We've not received race results yet, but we do know that Todd Masters won and all of the top four finishers are all members of the Kiwanis Club's 5K team.
Todd Masters
Batavia PD is investigating reports of shots fired on State Street last night, Chief Shawn Heubush confirmed today.
The reports came in some time after 11 p.m. and officers searched the area, according to radio traffic, for a couple of different vehicles in order to question subjects.
Heubusch did not confirm whether any interviews took place.
There is no report of any injuries at this time nor confirmation that a gun or guns were fired.
A man on Mill Pond Road in Bryon was reportedly shooting from the window of his red pickup truck into a pond. He's now headed eastbound on Route 262 and allegedly continuing shoot from the window of his truck. A Sheriff's deputy is in route to try and intercept him.
UPDATE 10:19: Deputies located the truck and its driver and will be speaking with him.
UPDATE 10:25 a.m.: A deputy says "It's a blank gun."
Head Coach Jeremy Mettler of Batavia’s varsity volleyball team knew last night’s match-up would be a tough game going in.
Batavia jumped ahead of Gates Chili in the first two sets 25-17 and 25-19. Senior Ashlee Yasses led the night for the Blue Devils with seven aces, 14 assists and seven digs. Seniors Haley Case had eight kills and Maggie Saquella five kills. Sophmore Tessa Engel added eight kills to the squad.
Batavia was down by eight in the third set and was not serving well. Coach Mettler said, "We dug ourselves in a hole and battled back to finish close but lost 22-25."
Gates Chili had some new life and took one set at a time. Gates Chili Head Coach Cindy Hay said, "it has happened to us a couple times this season and the girls never give up. We wanted to win that third set and come back like we have before in games and prove it can be done."
5”2’ Freshman Jess Giannoccaro tallied eight kills, six aces,12 digs and one block while Lizzy Thrasher recorded nine kills and six blocks to help them turn the game around in the fourth set. Batavia lost that momentum and the set 15-25, which tied the night 2-2 for a fifth and deciding set.
Batavia came ahead early 5-1 and played aggressively serving like they did in the first two sets. Gates Chili came back to tie then went ahead 13-11 when both teams switched sides. Batavia got close to being down by four, but ended 17-25 in the last set. Gates Chili moved ahead to 7-2 on the year and Batavia’s record is 7-5.
Senior Night will finish Batavia’s next and last home regular season game on Oct. 17 vs. Brighton.
Le Roy extended its winning streak over Warsaw to 35 straight games with a win on Homecoming, 41-21.
The king of the night however, was junior Ryan McQuillen, who scored on three special teams plays.
The Knights got off to a slow start; as Warsaw struck first on a 30-yard scamper on 4th-and-17 from Colin Royce to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Le Roy immediately responded as McQuillen fielded the ensuing kickoff and took it 72 yards for the game-tying touchdown.
The Oatkan Knight defense locked down the Warsaw offense for much of the rest of the game, forcing eight consecutive punts by the Tigers.
Meanwhile, Le Roy found the end zone on four more plays of 35 yards or more.
Junior Quarterback Mike McMullen hit Jon Pierce on a 72-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter to take a lead they would never surrender.
Two minutes later Peter Privitera would cap off a seven-play, 35-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge.
McQuillen would strike again, this time taking a 35-yard punt to the end zone to give Le Roy a 27-7 lead.
McMullen would hit another long touchdown pass, this time a 78-yard bomb to Steve Cappotelli to end the half, up 33-7.
After the two teams would trade punts to start the second half, McQuillen once again took control, returning his second punt of the night for a score, this time from 57 yards out, giving Le Roy a 41-7 lead.
Warsaw would add two touchdowns to end the game, making the final score 41-21.
McQuillen finished the game with 227 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns on the night.
McMullen finished 5-of-13 passing for 166 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Meanwhile, Privitera once again led the rushing attack, finishing with 59 yards on 14 attempts and a touchdown.
Kody Lamkin had two sacks on defense for Le Roy (4-0), who will play at Avon next Friday.
Royce led the way for the Tigers (0-4), with 65 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Also on Friday night:
Alexander did the main thing any team needs to to do beat Attica: Stop Matt Perry. The senior running back 12 yards on 10 carries. Perry didn't play the 4th quarter. Alexander won 30-15. Dylan Scharlau had 27 rushes for 156 yards and two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Tyler Laird had seven carries for 75 yards. QB Nelson Burke, 4-7 passing for 52 yards and a TD. He had one interception. He also carried the ball four times for 15 yards, including two two-point conversion runs. Zach Laird had three receptions for 40 yards and a TD. One reception was a 25-yard TD catch on a 4th and 8 in the 4th quarter. Sam Browne had an 80-yard punt return in the third quarter to give Alexander the lead for good. Scharlau had nine tackles and Johnny George seven and an interception.
Oakfield-Alabama beat Pembroke 35-37. Allen Chatt was 12-16 for 115 yards and a touchdown. Chris Nanni rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries and returned a punt for a TD. O-A is now 2-2. The Hornets scored three times on turnovers. For Pembroke, Dakota Swimline rushed for 192 yards and a TD on 24 carries.
Great location for this 3 bedroom 3 bath ranch located across the street from Centennial Park. This home includes 3 large bedrooms, two with attached baths. Beautiful living room with wood burning fireplace and formal dining room. Convenient first floor laundry and attached garage are among the great features of this home. Large deck overlooking Centennial Park which you can enjoy all year long without the hassle of upkeeping.
List Price: $104,900
Address: 14 Park Ave., Batavia, NY 14020
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Mercy Flight has been dispatched to the Alexander High School football field for a player who has suffered a possible concussion.
UPDATE 10:31 p.m.: "Mercy Flight has landed."
UPDATE 10:39 p.m.: A person who was at the game said the game was over and field clear by the time an ambulance was called. Two different players were knocked out during the course of the game, he said.
UPDATE 10:45 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne in route to Erie County Medical Center.
Present Tense books and gifts, on the corner of Washington and State, Batavia, will be closed as of Nov. 1, owner Erica Caldwell announced today in an e-mail to customers.
The store will start selling items at marked down prices on Oct. 8. Store fixtures will also be fore sale.
Here's a portion of the e-mail:
Present Tense could not have flourished for eight years without the help and support of many people:
For the first time in a reported 20 years, powder puff football has returned to Alexander High School.
The Freshmen (red) took on the Juniors (pink) in the first game. Freshmen came out ahead 22 to 6.
The second game featured the Seniors (white) and the Sophmores (purple). The Sophmores took the game 14 to 0.
In the championship game the Sophmores eked out a win against the Freshmen 6 to 0.
Homecoming parade starts at 6 p.m. Friday, with Alexander Varsity football team hosting Attica at 7 p.m.
Pictured above: Kaylee MacIntyre, Alexa Merle, Marissa Scharlau.
Pictured above: Hanna Barnaby kicking off.
More after the jump (click on the headline):
Pictured above: Olivia George, Alex Holderer, and Francesca.
Pictured above: Olivia George and Alex Holderer.
Pictured above: The Junior team.
Pictured above: The Freshmen team.
Pictured above: Karli Phillips, Stephanie McBride.
Pictured above: Sophmore team.
Pictured above: Seniors!
Pictured above: Ryan Dunbar as the Trojan (acting as Freshmen mascot) being chased by Ricky Amico (as the Sophmore mascot)
Pictured above: Senior Coach Zach Laird.
Pictured above: Lydia Spiotta.
For more pictures of the game and festivities please visit: Francletography Powder Puff Game
A motorcycle accident is reported in the area of 4491 Old Ford Road, Elba.
Injuries are reported.
Elba fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 8:38 p.m.: Injuries are minor. Elba Fire back in service, except for fire police still on scene.
Today was opening day for "Umtoo," a new outreach of Batavia's First United Methodist Church (see Wednesday's article, "'Umtoo' to serve city residents in need," for more info).
According to volunteer Sandy Kramer, they had a total of 34 visitors between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. -- 21 were church members and the people they invited, and 13 were non-members.
Here are some pictures from the event, including some "sneak peaks" at free stuff and what Umtoo will have to offer:
Will and Julio (musical entertainment)
Volunteers Doug Niebch, Dorothy Taylor and Kramer
Some free snacks
A jar full of Bible passages for people to pick out at random.
Night lights
Fiction and nonfiction books on a variety of topics
It didn't take long for a young entrepreneur to fill the space that had been Casino's for decades.
The venerable Le Roy restaurant closed just months ago and Le Roy-native Sam Hillburger said when the space became available, he thought, "perfect."
He grew up with Casino's and liked the location.
His new eatery, Sammy HIlls, opened a week ago and serves hamburgers, hot dogs and plates.
The location is perfect for his ambitions he said, because he just wants a small restaurant where he puts out good food.
"I'm not in it to be big and expand," Hillburger said. "It's a small kitchen where you can put out some good food and call it a day."
Patties are fresh, hand-pressed every morning and the meat sauce and chicken are fresh dipped every morning.
After graduating from Le Roy High Sschool, Hillburger went to a culinary school in New Hampshire. He worked for three years at Alex's Place and for a time at the Avon Inn. Now he's ready to see what he can do on his own.
"I was ready to work for myself," Hillburger said. "I've always done it somebody else's way and I'm ready to do it the way I want to do it."
A lot's changed since Gary Diegelman became an emergency dispatcher 33 years ago.
When Diegelman started there was one computer in the dispatch center. There was a manual typewriter for incident reports and a handwritten blotter book.
Today, a dispatcher sits in front a multi-line phone with six computer screens to track calls, incidents and the location and availability of first responders.
On his first day on the job, Diegelman was told, "here's a chair. Here's your training manuals. Sit down and shut up."
On his second day on the job, there was only one other dispatcher scheduled to work, Tom Graham (now town justice in Oakfield). Graham turned to Diegelman and said, "I hope you know what you're doing because you've got fire dispatch."
Today, a dispatcher is put through a minimum of four months of training before they're allowed to take calls and make dispatches on their own.
All of the changes that have taken place to make the Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center what it is today is enough change for Diegelman, he said.
"Everybody says you know when it's time, and it's time," Diegelman said during his retirement party at the Sheriff's Office on Park Road. "I've been through so many changes I don't want to go through any more changes. With this new radio system coming and everything else, it's time."
Sheriff Gary Maha praised not only Diegelman's persistence in a very stressful job but the experience and dedication he brought to the department.
"I think he enjoyed the job," Maha said. "He learned a lot and we will miss his experience and his expertise. Like any job, you've got to be able to enjoy the job to be able to stick with it as long as he did."
During his 33 year career, Diegelman received four commendation awards, a certificate of appreciation, a meritorious award for continuous excellence, and a distinguished service award.
The job of a dispatcher alternates between times quiet and calm and then moments if not hours of overwhelming call volume.
Computers, Maha said, haven't necessarily made the job easier. There's more information to track.
It takes a person uniquely suited to the job to make it as a dispatcher, Diegelman said. You've got to be able to handle the lulls as well as the times of frantic work. You've also got to be able to deal with a public that can sometimes be surly and uncooperative.
"You need to be able to hear the public, what they want and be able to help them," Diegelman said. "You get people won don't really know what they want and you need to stir them and help them get to the right spot and then you get people who are belligerent and don't treat you well on the phone and you've got to control your emotions."
And then, he said, "there are a number of people who don't often call an emergency dispatcher and when they do, they want something and they need something and you're the first one they talk to."
The job is all about serving the public, Diegelman said.
One call Diegelman remembers the most is the night a woman called and thought there was an intruder breaking into her house. It's not an unusual kind of call and often such calls prove to be unfounded, but this time, somebody had broken into this woman's house and while Diegelman was still on the phone with her. Somehow during the attack, the intruder realized the woman was on the phone with a 9-1-1 operator and fled.
The intruder was never caught, but the woman suffered no serious injuries and thanked Diegelman later for being there for her.
"You've got to be that person who can take the call and not let it get to you because the next day you've got to go on," Diegelman said.
After 33 years of service, Gary Diegelman will no longer be taking those calls.
LISTEN: Gary DIegelman's final transmission as a dispatcher.
A car carrier semi-truck is disabled and blocking traffic at Oak and Richmond.
Batavia PD responding.
The Yngodess Shop shows off the building facelift and new sign! We're gearing up for the Wine Walk next weekend. Stop in a see us! Stay update on what's happening at The Yngodess, located at 73 Main St., in the City of Batavia. Visit us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/TheYngodessShop
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