Press release:

Community Action of Orleans & Genesee will hold a free "Poverty Simulation" the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 3 at the Batavia First United Methodist Church, located at 8221 Lewiston Road (Route 63) in Batavia. It will take place from 1 to 3:30 p.m.

Space is limited. Please RSVP by Wednesday, Sept. 24, by contacting Nathan Varland, director of Housing and Support Services at 589-5605 or e-mail:   nvarland@caoginc.org

Citizens, decision makers and leaders are urged to attend.

(This is a separate event from the organization's Poverty Awareness Dinner at Batavia Downs, also on Oct. 3, in the evening.)

How would you face a month in poverty? Could you survive?

Well over 44 million Americans, 15 million of whom are children under the age of 18, live in poverty every day. In Genesee and Orleans counties alone, more than 12,700 people (including more than 4,000 children) live below the poverty line.

There are many more who have incomes above the poverty line, but their incomes are still low enough to qualify for programs like Food Stamps and Medicaid. Since the economic downturn, full-time employment is harder to find and the use of emergency food pantries has increased.

It is difficult for those of us who have enough to truly understand the situations that families living in poverty experience every day – the decisions they have to make, and the fears and frustrations they feel.

We are eager to enhance our community conversation about poverty as we begin our 50th year. We are inviting you to "walk a mile" in the shoes of those facing poverty by participating in a Community Action Poverty Simulation.

The Simulation provides participants with the opportunity to assume the role of a low-income family member living on a limited budget. The experience is divided into four 15-minute sessions, each representing one week in which you must provide for your family and maintain your home.

As one participant commented, "This poverty simulation dramatically demonstrates how much time and energy many families have to give just to survive from day to day. It quickly dispels the myth that people would do fine if they would only go out and get a job!"

Community Action of Orleans & Genesee invites the public to a Poverty Awareness Event to mark its 50th year of community service. It will be held Friday evening, Oct. 3, at Batavia Downs.

Reservations are requested by Sept. 24.

There will be a reception, cash bar and basket raffle beginning at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6 featuring chicken, pulled pork and more. Then at 7 there will be a presentation about Community Action's impact on helping people and changing lives, including stories about living in poverty.

At 8 p.m., it's Community Action at the Races!

Tickets are $25 each. (If you can't attend, please consider making a donation.)

If paying with a check, make it out to Community Action of Orleans & Genesee. MasterCard, Visa, or Discover can also be used. 

***If paying by credit card, you may RSVP by e-mail:    info@caoginc.org

Or by phoning 589-5605.

Press release:

Drum and bugle corps legends come together to perform and hear their very own Kenny Peterson starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 27 at The City Church.

The Musical Memories show will feature some of the most exciting performers and performances that you are ever going to experience. These musical greats along with their supporting cast of more than 100 musicians are here to entertain you and your families, and hear the legendary Kenny “Ace” Peterson himself.

The show is being held to raise money for Crossroads House, a comfort home for the
terminally ill.

Tickets are $5 for general admission and $10 for preferred seating.

Performing will be:
Kenny Peterson -- St. Joe’s of Batavia Brass Ensemble
David Martin — Rochester Hitmen
Steve Cooley -- Hamburg Kingsmen Drum & Bugle Corps
Jeff Gibbens & Prime Time Brass

*** Very Special Guest Appearance by Joey Pero, an original member of Genesee Quest and Batavia High grad now home preparing for his New York City Broadway show.

"His toe is trapped in a bicycle chain," says a dispatcher about a call for aid. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.

Smoke is reported in the basement at 2462 Pratt Road. It smells as if something electrical is burning. Pembroke Fire Department is responding.

Attica 21, Alexander 9. Alexander played a tough game, but fell to GR rivals Attica, 21-9. The Trojans are now 1-2 on the season and Attica is 3-0. QB Jared Browne was five fo 12 for 113 yards. Samuel Brown was one for two passing for 58 yards and a TD, which was caught by Jacob Riggs. The Trojans were held to 34 yards on the ground on 26 carries. Zack Shilvock made a 45-yard field goal. Ty Laird had seven tackles and Rick Amico, Tristan Aldinger and Riggs all notched six each.

Batavia 41, Hornell 21. The Blue Devils had 350 total yards on the ground. Dominick Mogavero had three touchdowns. 

Photos by Rick Franclemont.

Le Roy scored on its first six possessions Friday night in Letchworth to build a 41-0 lead on its way to the team's third dominating victory of the season, winning 61-12.

Mike McMullen connected on seven of his eight passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns.

Ryan McQuillen caught two of those passes for 85 yards and two TDs.

Also on offense, Jon Pierce, five carries for 24 yards and two TDs; Nick Egeling, five rushes 70 yards, two TDs; Nate Flint, six carries for 38 yards and a TD; Tom Kelso hauled in three passes for 30 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Kody Lamkin had seven tackles, a sack and a blocked punt. Brian Hodges had five tackles. Luke Hogle recorded a sack. McMullen had an interception.

Le Roy had 385 total yards and held Letchworth to 183.

Photos by David Boyce. For more photos, click here.

A chimney fire is reported at Baskin Livestock on Creek Road, Bethany.

Bethany fire along with Alexander and Town of Batavia dispatched.

UPDATE 10:56 a.m.: Alexander was going to respond from this fire to an alarm of fire in its own district, but the alarm company confirmed false alarm. Alexander is back in service. Town of Batavia also has an alarm at College Village. Batavia's Ladder 25 is on scene at the chimney fire.

To whatever degree the Pembroke Dragons might have had a chance against the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets on Friday night, too many scoring opportunities were snuffed out by turnovers.

Most of the Dragon's possessions ended with a fumble or interception.

"We're always emphasizing creating turnovers," said O-A Head Coach Brian Palone after the Hornet's 33-6 win on their home field. "We work on it a lot. So I was happy to see that we were able to execute."

The Hornets are now 2-1 and Pembroke falls to 0-3.

On offense, the Hornets were pretty much able to have their way.

QB Alan Chatt was 16 for 19 passing and 199 yards. He tossed touchdown completions of 55, 17 and two yards. He also rushed for 85 yards and a TD on eight carries.

Ryan Emery rushed for 33 yards and a TD on eight carries and Jon Harris gained 47 yards on five carries.

Receiver Reice Woodward had a big night with two touchdowns on four receptions for 85 yards.

Defensively, Pat Caprio had six tackles, Harris, five, Jake Valletta and Tyler Hamm, four each, Chatt had two interceptions, Casey Arnold, two sacks, Trent Stack, an interception and Emery had a sack.

Collin Scheiber was one for three on point after attempts. His make was the first of his kicking career.

"I'm very proud of way we finished the game," Palone said. "We talked all week about finishing, especially after last week. We weren't able to finish and we let it get away from us, but tonight they were really focused for four quarters of football. They really finished. I'm proud of the way they executed at the end."

Next up for O-A, Elba/Byron-Bergen, who takes a 2-0 record into today's match up with Notre Dame (0-2).

Pembroke will host Notre Dame next week.

Top photo: Alan Chatt picks a Mitch Lewter pass in the first quarter. The pass was intended for Dakota Swimline.

Pembroke receiver Zack VonKramer with a reception in the first quarter.

Pembroke's Cal Neurohr was hard to bring down on a run play in the 4th quarter.

Mitch Lewter sacked in the 4th quarter.

To purchase prints and ensure you'll have copies of these photos for years to come, click here.

A woman is reportedly unconscious inside a vehicle at 83 S. Lake Road, near Appletree Avenue. Bergen fire is responding along with Mercy medics.

The way Hiram Kasten and Lucine Kauffman see it, Genesee County is a great place to live.

It's beautiful, there's a lot going on, and you'll meet some of the nicest and most interesting people if you just get out on the town a bit.

It's these qualities that they want to highlight in their new weekly, one-hour radio show on WBTA, which debuts Oct. 1.

"Talk of the Town" will feature talk about what's going on and some of the region's interesting people.

It's a cultural show -- arts and entertainment -- but it's more than that.

"There's a national trend toward localism," Kauffman said. "It's not just shopping local. It's living local. We want to capture that idea."

Kasten and Kauffman like interesting people, but they are, of course, interesting people themselves.

Kasten has been a professional entertainer for decades with a long resume in New York and Hollywood that included recurring roles on "Seinfeld" (Hiram and Jerry came up through the New York comedy club circuit together) and "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Diana Kisiel Kasten, Hiram’s wife, is from Batavia and operates Pinnacle Manufacturing on Harvester Avenue. She convinced Hiram to move here a year ago. The couple has a grown daughter who attends Cornell University.

Kauffman is the former town supervisor for Elba and has been active in local theater for years. She grew up in Southern California and graduated from USC. She moved to Genesee County with her Batavia-born-and-bred husband, Bill, 25 years ago. Their daughter attends Notre Dame University. Bill Kauffman is the author of nine books and the screenplay "Copperhead," which had its theatrical release last year.

"We're going to talk about the cultural aspects of Genesee County and the region," Lucine said. "It's more than just arts and entertainment. There are farm co-ops and local artisans and people who enrich life in Genesee County. It's all about quality of life and the quality of life here is very good."

Hiram said he often knows the comedians passing through Rochester and Buffalo, so that will be an opportunity to hear from nationally recognized talent, but they'll also feature the volunteers who make community theater so vital to Batavia.

"There's a lot to celebrate in Genesee County," Lucine said.

"Celebrate. That's a good word," Hiram added. "There is a lot to celebrate here."

The show will air Wednesdays from 9 to 10 a.m. on WBTA-1490.

A tractor-trailer rollover accident with minor injuries is reported at 7524 Selden Road. The driver is out and walking around. The vehicle is loaded with hay. Le Roy fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 2:29 p.m.: The vehicle is partially in the road.

UPDATE 2:32 p.m.: Selden Road will be shut down.

The Sheriff's Office would like to interview the man in this picture.

During the early afternoon of Sept. 10, this man is believed to have picked up a woman's wallet seconds after she dropped it while exiting the grocery side vestibule at Walmart.

The Walmart greeter saw the man pick up the wallet and the greeter offered to take it to customer service. The man said he was heading to customer service himself. 

Investigator William Ferrando said he never made it to customer service. He walked into the restroom and allegedly left the store without turning in the wallet.

He is believed to have left in the maroon crew cab pickup truck depicted in the picture below.

Anybody with information that might assist in the investigation is asked to call Ferrando at (585) 343-5000.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley, checkered shorts, is with a group of constituents on his annual Patriot Trip to Washington, D.C.. With Hawley at the National Museum of the Marine Corps are Ed and Dorothy Morgan, Robert Ballard and Rose Schlegal.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced $675,699 in federal funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for three local airports. Akron Airport received $222,402 for runway repairs. Buffalo-Lancaster Regional Airport received $150,726 for removal of existing on-airport obstructions to a runway. And Le Roy Airport received $302,571 to upgrade its lighting and beacon systems.

“Supporting local governments by maintaining, repairing and building critical infrastructure is a beneficial use of federal tax dollars,” Congressman Collins said. “Providing these local airports the necessary funding for a variety of improvements will allow for more efficient and safer airport operations. Continued investment in local infrastructure is necessary to ensure that valuable economic assets like local airports can continue to grow and successfully operate.”

“Le Roy Airport is a ‘state-of-the-art’ ‘reliever airport’ for the Greater Rochester International Airport,” said Raymond Detor Jr., president of Le Roy Aviation Services, Inc. “Le Roy Airport will be accepting a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and New York State Department of Transportation to upgrade taxiway lighting, wind direction indicators, Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPIP), and various other lighting upgrades.”

The Congressman’s office remains available to assist any local government pursuing a federal grant.

A person fell to the ground and has hip and leg injuries in front of St. Mary's Church, Pavilion. Mercy medics and Pavilion fire are responding. The church is located at 11097 St. Mary's St. and the person is lying in the middle of the road.

A possible house fire is reported at 9091 Creek Road. Town of Batavia fire is responding along with an engine from the city. The location is between Dorman Road and Lehigh Avenue.

UPDATE 11:38 a.m.: A call from the resident says the smoke came from a cooking fire and they believe they have it out. A firefighter on scene reports light smoke and the odor of burnt food in the area.

UPDATE 11:40 a.m.: All units are told to hold in quarters.

UPDATE 11:47 a.m.: The Town of Batavia assignment is back in service.

A four-car accident with three people injured is reported by the Thruway and Mercy and Le Roy medics are responding along with Le Roy Fire Department. Law enforcement on location says it's on the westbound on-ramp.

UPDATE 8:57 a.m.: Le Roy medics on scene say Mercy medics can go back in service. Two children will need to be evaluated. Le Roy fire is on scene for traffic control. State Police are also going there.

UPDATE 9:20 a.m.: Three people were evaluated by medics; all were sign-offs.

New York Times: Cuomo Presses Candidates to Back Women’s Equality Act

A recliner sitting roadside along Pratt Road near Powers Road is reportedly on fire.

East Pembroke fire dispatched.