Taking it to the bank … Former Batavian Ned Chatt receives a check for $50,000 as the grand prize winner of the Batavia Rotary Club’s major fundraiser. Pictured(from left to right): Club President Susie Ott, Mr. Chatt, Event Co-Chair Laurie Mastin, and Ed Leising from the Club’s Foundation Board. Submitted photo.
Press Release:
The major fundraiser for the Batavia Rotary Club concluded with the grand prize drawing, but the real winners are the many local organizations that receive support from Rotary all year long.
"This is the major fundraiser that allows our club to make so many contributions to the community, such as $18,000 in college scholarships to area students each year," said President Susie Ott.
Rotary is also contributing $250,000 toward the Healthy Living Campus under construction on Main Street, a joint project for the YMCA and United Memorial Medical Center.
Most recently, Rotary has offered a $150,000 matching pledge for the renovation of the local hospital's Intensive Care Unit, Mrs. Ott said.
Rotary's motto is Service Above Self, she explained. Rotarians actively engage in projects to improve the local community.
"Fundraisers like this Corvette event are critical for helping us help others," said Lisa Ormsbee, who co-chairs the event with Laurie Mastin.
Once again, the grand prize winner receives the choice of a Corvette or $50,000. The winning ticket that was drawn last week belongs to former Batavia resident Ned Chatt.
In addition to the grand prize, there are 10 additional prizes of $500 each, Mrs. Mastin explained.
The Genesee County American Legion is currently searching for boys in their Junior year of high school to participate in the American Legion Boys State. It is our earnest hope that each young man who attends Boys State will return to his community a better citizen than when he left.
He will have a desire to demonstrate this fact by his willingness to make civic contributions which will help make his community a better place in which to live. Boys State is sponsored by the Department of New York American Legion.
American Legion Boys’ State is a week-long program that immerses high school youth (currently completing their junior year) in citizenship and leadership training. They learn the practical aspects of government as it exists in New York State, and come to recognize that the individual is integral to the character and success of government. They also participate in physical fitness, teamwork, and other activities under the guidance of American Legion counselors and U.S. Marines.
The American Legion Boys State is a non-partisan, non-political mock government exercise in a model state designed to mirror the structure and operation of its respective state government. It is intended to instill character, the importance of civic engagement, and patriotism among rising high school seniors.
By participating in the weeklong program, delegates learn firsthand about leadership, practical citizenship, and the democratic process. It is an excellent academic opportunity and experience.
The program consists of classroom work, lectures, and camaraderie, with delegates taking on elected and appointed roles to experience democracy in action and learn how legislation is passed.
Ideal candidates are individuals who understand the value of teamwork and possess outstanding leadership, character, and community service qualities. An interest in government and public service ensures the student will be actively engaged in the program.
Delegates are required to attend for the entire week.
Delegates are housed in the dormitories and dine in the cafeteria. All meals are provided, however, there are vending machines and a store on campus so it is a good idea to bring a little spending money.
The objectives of Boys State are as follows:
To develop civic leadership and pride in American Citizenship.
To stimulate a keen interest in the detailed study of our government.
To incite in your citizens a determination to maintain our form or government.
To develop in these young men a full understanding of our American traditions and a belief in the United States of America.
In addition to their government work, participants will attend information assemblies with guest speakers, such as former Boys Nation representatives, elected officials, members of the military, and a public speaking expert to name a few.
A softball game, a basketball game, and a tennis tournament will be held as announced in assemblies. Boys who play musical instruments are encouraged to bring their instruments to join the band.
2024 NYS Boys State will be held at Morrisville College starting June 28 through July 3. The local American Legion posts pay for the boys' tuition to attend and the transportation to Morrisville. The only cost to the boys’ family is the cost to pick him up at the conclusion of Boys State on July 3.
The deadline for application is Friday, April 12. For interested individuals please contact your local Junior/Senior High School’s guidance counselor, Junior/Senior High School assistant principal, or local American Legion Post Home.
GLENN S. LOOMIS POST 332
David Dumuhosky - Commander and Boys State Coordinator
Batavia High School and Notre Dame Jr./Sr. High School Batavia, NY
SACKETT-MERRILL-WHITE POST # 575
Gary Hilbert - Commander
Ryan Ditaccho - Boys State Coordinator
Byron-Bergen High School, Bergen, NY and Elba Central School District, Elba, NY
BOTTS – FIORITO POST #576
David Rumsey - Commander
Dennis McCumiskey - Boys State Coordinator
Le Roy Jr./Sr. High School, Le Roy, NY, and Pavilion Central School District, Pavilion, NY
HIRAM G. LUHMAN POST # 626
Norman Birch - Commander
Myron Cramer - Boys State Coordinator
Oakfield-Alabama School District, Oakfield, NY, and Pembroke Central School District, Corfu, NY
Learn more about Boys State and Boys Nation, founded in 1935 at: www.legion.orgboysnation/about
Submitted photo of the Triton Mechanical team, courtesy of Genesee Community College.
Press Release:
The Business and Employee Skills Training (BEST) Center at Genesee Community College is offering courses in HVAC/R and CNC starting this month. The renovation of two classrooms into HVAC/R and CNC laboratories has included the purchase of new equipment from grant funding. The CNC equipment purchases were made possible by an award of $400,000 from the Heckscher Foundation for Children Grant and additional SUNY support.
Developing new programs would not be possible without support from industry partners. GCC's Advanced Manufacturing Committee has been instrumental in guiding the skills, equipment, and curriculum needed for training and industry-recognized credentials", said Jennifer Wakefield, executive director of workforce development of The BEST Center.
A major supporter of the HVAC/R Program is Triton Mechanical. Triton Mechanical is a premier commercial refrigeration and HVAC service provider.
"We respect our industry, our customers, our competitors, the environment, and above all, our employees. We are guided and governed by our core values of innovation, integrity, respect, and sustainability," said Jake Koch, president of Triton Mechanical.
Jake Koch's family has been involved in the heating and cooling business for decades.
"I've been in the industry ever since I was a kid. I'm the fifth generation in my family to be involved in the industry. My great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather ran an ice delivery business; they were salesmen. My dad and my uncle ran a refrigeration company, and my family has been involved in it for a while," Koch said."
Koch, a resident of Hilton, has owned Triton Mechanical in Monroe County with his father Jeff, and friend Kevin O'Connell for more than six years.
In 2023, Triton Mechanical purchased Turnbull Heating and Cooling in Batavia. The company originated organically, and the team - which also includes mom Wendy - has worked to make it a successful heating, ventilation, and air conditioning operation.
O'Connell has an extensive background in commercial refrigeration and HVAC. He began as a commercial service technician and has experience as a service manager, operations manager, and project manager. He is a certificated member of RSES (Refrigeration Service Engineers Society) and holds several NATE (North American Technician Excellence) certifications. Kevin oversees the technical training, compliance, and safety of the company.
"We are grateful for the generosity of Triton Mechanical for their commitment and investment in GCC's HVAC/R Program.," said Craig Lamb, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, "GCC's new vision and commitment to the applied technologies and skilled trades for the GLOW region will allow opportunity for a variety of students. Recent high school graduates, incumbent workers, and individuals who want a career change can find several opportunities at The BEST Center at Genesee Community College."
The first series of HVAC/R courses are scheduled from March 3 - March 20 on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the Batavia Main Campus. CNC FANUC Certification courses have several classes scheduled in February and March. For more information, contact Christa Palmer, coordinator of technical programs at The BEST Center at bestcenter@genesee.edu or call (585) 345-6868 to register.
The BEST Center at GCC is the recognized regional leader in developing the skilled workforce that powers local economic growth. The Center serves individual employees as well as businesses large and small with seminars, workshops and trainings designed to improve the performance of people and processes.
Republican members of the New York Senate and Assembly were joined by officials from New York’s education community in calling on Governor Hochul and the Legislature’s Democratic majorities to pause the 2027 statewide implementation of the electric school bus mandate to allow for the completion of a pilot program, cost-benefit analysis, and other feasibility assessments.
The electric school bus mandate, enacted in 2022, requires new school bus purchases to be zero emission by 2027 and all school buses in operation to be electric by 2035. There is no provision made for the geographical disparities, diverse weather conditions, or unique travel demands of the state’s school districts. In addition, this is another mandate from Albany that burdens cash-strapped school districts and taxpayers.
“As the 2027 implementation date of New York’s electric bus mandate approaches, school officials in my district and around the state are becoming increasingly concerned about the tremendous financial and operational challenges associated with this one-size-fits-all requirement,” said Senator George Borrello, SD57.
“This mandated conversion will have a price tag in the billions, with New York State taxpayers simply expected to foot the bill. said Sen. Borrello. “Like so much of the state’s climate agenda, there is no cost-benefit analysis of this mandate or any realistic plan for how to pay for it.”
“Electric buses cost up to three times as much as conventional buses -- it’s a difference of $130,000 versus $400,000-$450,000. Additionally, electrical infrastructure and distribution line upgrades can add hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. The conversion cost has been conservatively estimated at between $8 billion and $15.25 billion more than the cost of replacing them with new diesel buses. However, the multi-million dollar estimates utilities are now providing to some school districts just for the electrical upgrades suggests the total costs will be much higher than $15 billion,” said Sen. Borrello.
“The EV school bus mandate is the Mother of all unfunded state mandates. At a time when our state is bleeding billions of dollars because of the migrant crisis and school aid cuts are hitting rural and suburban districts, neither our schools nor our taxpayers can shoulder crushing new costs,” said Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, AD 132.
He noted the state allocated just $500 million in the most recent Environmental Bond Act to assist schools with the conversion costs of the state’s 50,000 buses.
Assemblyman Palmesano and Senator Thomas O’Mara are sponsoring legislation that would, among other things, require the Commissioner of Education to complete a cost-benefit analysis for each school district that takes into account the costs necessary to comply with the zero-emission school bus mandate.
Legislators cited other problems associated with electric vehicles that are gaining increasing attention and adding to concerns about investing taxpayer funds in the conversion. Those problems include:
Inability to operate or charge in frigid temperatures, as a well-publicized incident in Chicago in mid-January underscored. Designed to operate best in 70-degree temperatures, electric vehicles lose up to 40 percent of their traveling range in extreme cold and the time required to charge them is much longer. A pilot program in Vermont found traveling range decreased by 80 percent in some instances;
Poor reliability. School districts engaged in pilot programs and agencies operating municipal buses have reported many electric buses are “gathering dust” in bus garages as a result of numerous mechanical problems and hard-to-access parts and technical support. A study by Consumer Reports found that electric vehicles have 80 percent more problems than conventional vehicles.
“While many states around the nation are wisely testing the feasibility of electric buses for their regions through pilot programs, New York Democrats rushed to enact a mandate without any firsthand data on whether it would meet the needs of our districts. This is a movie we’ve seen before in Albany and it never ends well,” said Senator Borrello.
He noted that he is proposing legislation, Senate Bill 8467, that would rescind the mandate and replace it with a state-funded pilot program that would allow schools to test how these buses perform. A condition of the pilot program is that buses be sited in all three types of settings, rural, urban, and suburban so that their performance can be evaluated. At the end of one year, a report on the program would be presented to the executive and legislature.
“The zero-emission bus mandate for schools is at present unworkable and fiscally catastrophic for rural schools. While the goal is laudable, issues with the feasibility of the vehicles, capacity of the power grid, and fiscal commitment by the state all currently prevent compliance. The proposed legislation is a common sense approach that will answer the needed questions prior to making promises neither the state nor the industry can keep,” said David Little, Executive Director of the Rural Schools Association.
“The goal of having several clean energy options is a good one, but it’s got to be done with common sense and in a realistic way that’s reasonable and affordable for taxpayers, our local governments, and school districts and not add to the high tax burden faced by New Yorkers. We’re offering a reasonable proposal to rescind the electric school bus mandate that will cost school districts in New York State billions of dollars, and replace it with a state-funded pilot program that enables school districts to test and evaluate how these electric buses perform,” said Senator Jim Tedisco, Ranking Member on the Senate Education Committee.
“Rural, upstate schools need more funding to focus on educational services, not an expensive mandate that would raise taxes and divert resources away from students,” said Senator Dan Stec, Ranking Member on the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. “Green initiatives are laudable, but the electric bus mandate runs counter to the realities our schools face. I’ve heard repeatedly from school superintendents that it simply isn’t feasible. Instead of punishing our schools with an expensive mandate for buses that may prove unreliable, let’s take a step back and replace it with a pilot program that would evaluate the efficacy of electric buses statewide.”
“School districts across New York are already struggling under the weight of excessive state mandates, yet Albany Democrats always seem to find new ways to add to their burden. In my rural senate district, where bus routes can take hours to complete, it is unreasonable to force schools to move forward with untested electric buses that may not be up to the demands. Add on top of that the cost, at a time when many districts are struggling to stay afloat, and we are looking at an entirely unworkable proposal. Senator Borrello’s legislation calling for a pilot program, rather than another Albany mandate, is the best solution,” said Senator Peter Oberacker, 51st Senate District.
“My local schools are raising the alarm about this mandate and we should listen to them. It’s unrealistic, uninformed, and irresponsible. Districts are planning now for how to implement and afford it, with little guidance or funding from the state. We’re talking upwards of $400,000 for just one bus, plus more for the needed infrastructure, not to mention whether our electric grid has the necessary capacity. I want to do everything we can to protect our environment, but this mandate is impractical. Let’s be smart about this and let’s protect our students, schools, and property taxpayers,” said Senator Pam Helming, 54th Senate District.
“These proposals are each common-sense alternatives that would determine if an electric school bus mandate is affordable, reliable, and, most importantly, feasible. Our school children should not be used as the test subjects for this costly and risky mandate,” said Senator Borrello.
Johnny Vidal, outreach peer specialist, and Erin Phelps, Harm Reduction coordinator/case manager, stand next to UConnectCare's mobile unit that travels to different locations in Genesee and Orleans counties to help those struggling with substance use disorder. Submitted photo.
Press release:
A federal grant to provide harm reduction, treatment and/or recovery support services is empowering UConnectCare (formerly Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse) to meet those struggling with substance use disorder “where they’re at.”
The nonprofit agency has begun an Open Access program that will operate three days per week at The Recovery Station, 5256 Clinton St. Rd., Batavia, as well as a Harm Reduction Mobile Outreach unit that will travel to several locations in the two counties five days per week.
“Both programs reflect the agency’s goal of “meeting them where they’re at, without judgment,” said Erin Phelps, Harm Reduction coordinator/case manager. “Those seeking services will be greeted by a trained Peer Advocate to assist in developing a plan for the next steps and answer questions regarding recovery.”
Phelps and Amy Kabel, project director, emphasized that services will be available to residents, even if they’re not ready for agency intervention.
“Harm reduction is about keeping people alive and being ready to help them when they’re ready,” Phelps said, prompting Kabel to add, “or maybe they never are.”
Walk-ins are welcome to utilize Open Access. The program’s hours of service are 3-7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays at The Recovery Station.
The mobile unit will be set up in front of Genesee County Mental Health on the first and third Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and at Orleans County Mental Health on the second and fourth Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It also will go to Medina, Le Roy, Lyndonville and other venues in the Batavia area each month.
Johnny Vidal, outreach peer specialist, and Felicia Maybee, Open Access counselor, are part of the team that works on the mobile unit.
Phelps said harm reduction is a “compassionate approach to drug use,” focusing on positive change and safety without requiring that individuals stop using drugs as a precondition for support. Services include peer support, case management, transportation, naloxone training, fentanyl test strips, care/hygiene kits and parent/family support.
She added that a national harm reduction exchange event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 15 at a site to be determined.
Treatment evaluations will be available to provide referrals to the appropriate harm reduction support, recovery support and/or treatment, such as detox, inpatient or outpatient.
For more information about the program, opioid overdose prevention training and to see the mobile unit schedule, go to www.uconnectcare.org or the UConnectCare or The Recovery Station Facebook pages, or send an email to harmreduction@uconnectcare.org.
Bank Street's water project is Phase I of a three-phase strategy to spruce up and revamp the area with updated infrastructure, a new police station and streetscape appearance. Work is to be completed over 18 months into late 2025. File Photo by Howard Owens.
If you thought downtown Batavia was at all hampered by some traffic cones and a driving lane shutdown these past several weeks, that was just the appetizer for an ambitious entree of construction projects at Batavia City Centre beginning this April, and a corner city parking lot a few months later, city management says.
A water project along Bank Street from Main Street to Washington Avenue has caused the shutdown of one lane and slowed traffic for several weeks now, as Phase I of a three-phase project in that section of the downtown area. Phase II will be the new police station and a groundbreaking in the parking lot at Alva Place and Bank Street is expected to begin early this summer.
The police station, which will eventually move the department out of its 10 Main St. headquarters at Brisbane Mansion next to the county jail, will begin its journey of construction across from the Jerome Center in late spring, or early summer, Public Works Director Brett Frank said.
A third phase will complete the work in 2025 with a streetscape to more narrowly confine Bank Street, Frank said during Monday’s business meeting.
“So the Bank Street water project, first off … we've got four service connections to put in there. And then in springtime, final pavement will be done. So that'll take care of that water main project. So we're actually going to do this project in three phases. It's gonna be about a month of kind of being torn up. So we started with the water line in the spring, early summer, we're looking to break ground in a new police station. So we'll do that," Frank said. "And then as that kind of comes to close to being done, we're also entering into a Bank Street traffic calming and streetscape enhancement project. Right now we're at about 50 percent as far as designs are concerned, so that will take place on the back end of the police station.
"So that'll kind of be what culminates, wraps everything, kind of ties it all together. Right now, tentatively, we're looking at 2025, next summer, as to actually the following summer, as to when we get into construction for that project," he said. "That will be a typical project where we’ll go to bid. It is a federal project like the Richmond Harvester project where it's at 80 percent federally reimbursed, and the remaining 20 percent will be paid for using funding. So it'll be the source of revenue for that.”
The Bank Street water project received a $334,000 grant for the total $418,000 project cost, and the city received a $2.5 million USDA grant to put towards the $15.5 million police station expense. A $944,934 grant will offset the total $1,113,920 cost of the Bank Streetscape project, which is the only one of those three still in the design phase.
City of Batavia resident Rob Houseknecht questions and critiques the proposed 2024-25 budget during Monday's City Council business meeting at City Hall. Photo by Joanne Beck
One thing that city resident Rob Houseknecht — who has raised several issues regarding the proposed 2025 budget— cannot complain about is that his criticism was not heard Monday evening at City Hall.
Houseknecht took to the podium for the several minutes that he was allowed, and questioned city police staffing, the proposed two-cent tax rate increase, an implied safety level on city streets, and what he and apparently others felt was a bloated budget.
“You probably know that we had a meeting at the Holland Land Office on Saturday, a number of city residents showed up, and, a lot of comments were there that not everybody's happy with what you guys are doing here,” he said during City Council’s business meeting. “I'm not in favor of any tax increase, I don't care whether it's small or not. We're getting hit around from every branch of government, federal state, county city. Why, and we keep putting more people on. They want to hire more officers, like to the tune of five, for 80-something-thousand a year. If I remember correctly, the city manager said city streets are safe: you can walk Main Street at any time of day or night, you can walk the side streets, you can walk on the south side of the street, you can walk all over it.
“Well, I'm wondering if the city manager’s actually walked at night. I have, and I felt very uncomfortable. Just walking down the main street in the summertime, not a good feeling for me. And so my point is, if the streets are so safe, why do we need five more officers?” he said.“I don't know. I just don't see it. Like I said, every time you hire somebody, it is affecting our tax base. I would think that you guys would work hard for the city residents to not have tax increases and keep things as cheap for people as you can.”
Houseknecht questioned the need for an extra position to handle freedom of information requests at the police station, and the five additional patrol officers — a recommendation that came from a state criminal justice study and is not in this proposed budget — and suggested using the grant writer to perform some of those police clerical duties.
He was surprised to learn that the city population has grown by more than the 100 people he initially thought. Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said that the total has grown by more than 1,000, though the total population in the city’s budget materials cites a growth of 135, for a total of 15,600 according to the April 2020 census.
The point was that the city’s budget is providing services for a larger number of citizens, and Houseknecht then wanted to know if council members have looked at “who these people are and what they do?” Are these additional residents “people that are holding jobs here in the city of Batavia,” he said.
“Are they people that are here for our handouts of welfare and things like this, and where are they going? Isn’t that an important factor?” he said. “It is to me. There is just so much here that I could talk for probably all night … I just don’t support the tax increase, and I think you should take a look at the budget and trim it down. See where you can double up people, see where you can make things work without hiring more people.”
He also mentioned that he saw a Batavia City Police car in Akron and wondered what it was doing there. That vehicle belongs to a school resource officer who lives in Akron and drives it to work in Batavia and back home, where he parks it, City Manager Rachael Tabelski said. The city school district pays for SRO salaries, and the police department budget provides for the vehicles, which are part of the contract, she said.
The topic of city vehicles being taken home by department heads also came up, and Tabelski said there are 13 instances of people taking vehicles home, and not all of them are outside of the city as claimed. They are part of contractual negotiations and include the K-9 vehicle, Bureau of Maintenance, public works, water and wastewater superintendents, snow and emergency management positions, fire, police, and department heads, and detectives.
Jankowski said that the city is also considering the purchase of used vehicles when possible to reduce the expense. Council recently discussed the possibility with Public Works Director Brett Frank during a budget session.
“That’s what we’re looking into,” Frank said. “We budgeted for replacement of three vehicles that are new replacements. But if we can find something through that program, we absolutely have no problem with that.”
As for city streets being safe, Tabelski clarified that she wants all city streets to be a safe place for residents to walk at any time, and that is what the police department is aiming for with its Neighborhood Enforcement Team, surveillance cameras, and other ramped up law enforcement strategies. Here is what she was quoted as saying in a Jan. 23 article on The Batavian from a Jan. 22 budget session:
“I think it's always good to think about our mission, why we're here for the residents of our city, what we want the city to be. I want the city to be a safe place, a family-friendly place where I'm comfortable walking down the streets with my kids, any hour, night and day.”
Councilman Paul Viele pointed out that Tabelski “did a great job” with the budget, and that people want to complain even though they also “want a police officer when they need it, and they want the fire department when they need it.”
“But people should really be bitching about school taxes because that’s a joke,” Viele said. “The city’s taxes count little, the school’s huge. So I think our manager did a great job, and no one complains about the school taxes, and that’s the worst one.”
Fellow councilman Rich Richmond said that he and Councilman Bob Bialkowski both sat on the city’s Audit Committee and learned about all of the ins and outs of city finances, such as how water treatment plant chemicals increased close to 112 percent, he said. The city’s grant writer, a position that gets “bashed” for being indulgent spending, pays for itself by obtaining grants for projects, he said.
He then posed the dubious question: what do you want to cut? Should we cut at the fire department, the sewage treatment plant, the water department, any and all of them?
“Those cuts are fine and good until you need that. Well, let's talk about vehicles, for example, some have a problem with certain people in management, the fire chief, the police chief, taking the vehicle home. If there's an emergency in the city, should they drive in, in their own car, and park it someplace to respond to a hostage situation or a bad fire?” he said. “I’ll say it again, I was on the audit committee. And my colleague, Bob Bialkowski was on the audit committee. Nothing was brought up, everything was fine. As a matter of fact, we both praised the city workers for coming up with the bare-bones budget. And I applaud all the people in this city for the hard work that they're doing.”
Council set a budget public hearing for 7 p.m. Feb. 26 at City Hall. The budget remains at about $37 million with a tax levy of $6.7 million and a two-cent increase per $1,000 property assessment. That would mean a $2 increase per year on a home assessed at $100,000 and a proposed tax rate of $8.96 per $1,000 property assessment. There is also an increase of 19 cents per 1,000 gallons of water, plus water meter and capital improvement increases, for an estimated total of $47.20 more per year for a household of four people.
City Councilman-at-Large Rich Richmond Photo by Joanne Beck
City Councilman, Ward 1, Paul Viele Photo by Joanne Beck
John Roach has become a fixture of City Council meetings, often attending and occasionally speaking up to share his concerns and ask questions. During council's business meeting Monday evening, Roach did both. “Nobody wants to pay a penny more in taxes. And nobody wants to pay taxes whatsoever. We all want stuff but nobody wants to pay for it. And I don't want to pay for anything, but I want something. So I have realized the budget is as lean as it's going to get," the city resident said. "Two council members have said they're going to vote against the budget. I would ask that maybe during the response time, that they tell us what they would cut to get the tax rate flat. I have yet to hear, you know, like a half a parking lot, which isn't going to affect the budget. What will you cut, or recommend, between now and next week, that would reduce it to flat."He was referring to members Bob Bialkowski and Tammy Schmidt, both of whom have said they do not want a tax increase. Bialkowski proposed slicing half of the cost of a parking lot project to remove $110,000 -- the increase of the tax levy -- however, that parking lot money is coming from reserves and would therefore not affect the bottom line of the budget and levy, Tabelski said at that time. Photo By Joanne Beck
Those damp, moldy mall entrances will finally get torn out and replaced beginning April 15, Erik Fix says.
Contracts are in place and the contractors are working on the procurement of supplies, the assistant city manager said Friday in response to The Batavian’s request for an update.
“The plan is to have everything needed on site prior to starting, so once we demo, the project can be finished in 60 to 90 days, so that we can limit the amount of time we cannot use certain entrances,” Fix said. “Some HVAC and electrical work may take place prior to the April 15th date, but that is when you will start to see the demolition taking place. The silos need to be taken apart one piece at a time, so it won’t be like a wrecking ball-type situation. There will be plenty of communication prior to the start date to ensure the public will know how to access the mall.”
The entrances at City Hall and near Dan’s Tire will remain as is, so the public will have access to them throughout the silo replacement process.
“We’re hoping to begin demolition all at once, they will take them all down and build them all backup,” he said during Monday’s City Council business meeting.
Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding of about $1 million has been set aside for the silo project, with $120,000 for the design process and the remaining money for actually redesigning the silos.
Members of Bethany Fire Department were installed for the 2024 year. Photo by Steve Ognibene
This past Saturday evening, Fire Chief Jeff Fluker of Bethany Fire Department led as the master of ceremonies at Bethany’s annual awards and installation of officer’s banquet.
More than 80 people attended including VIP guests from other area fire departments, including Alexander, Attica, Elba, Pavilion, Stafford, and Wyoming.
Dignitaries from Steve Hawley’s office, Jayleen Carney and Senator George Borrello’s office, and Genesee County Legislator Gregg Torrey attended to present years of service pin awards and acknowledgments.
Dan Coffey presented the installation of officers for 2024.Jeff Fluker, and Will Thurley announced the Firefighter of the Year award to Jeff Wolak.
Vicki Wolak announced the EMS Awards.They were given to Brian Britton, Carl Hyde Jr., Will Thurley, and Jeff Wolak.Also, Wolak recognized three new EMTs -- Glenn Adams, Britney Johnson, and Peggy Johnson.
The Chief's Award was given to Carl Hyde Jr.
The memorial service, led by Pastor Walter Wenhold, honored William Shae and all deceased members of the department.
The department responded to 151 total calls in 2023.
The top responders were:
Peg Johnson, 16 calls
Don Frank, 16 calls
Vicki Wolak, 26 calls
Gail Smith, 30 calls
Glenn Adams, 36 calls
Lyle Boundy, 47 calls
Carl Hyde Jr., 48 calls
Will Thurley, 50 calls
Brian Britton, 51 calls
Jeff Wolak, 59 calls
If anyone is interested in joining or learn more, contact Chief Jeff Fluker at 585-300-8153 or come to the fire hall any Monday night at 7 p.m.
Chief Jeff Fluker, master of ceremonies. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Firefighter of the Year Award presented to Jeff Wolak. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Chiefs Award presented to Carl Hyde Jr. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Left to right Jeff Fluker and Vicki Wolak presented EMS Awards to Will Thurley, Carl Hyde Jr, Jeff Fluker, and Brian Britton (not pictured) Photo by Steve Ognibene
Left to right, Jayleen Carney from Steve Hawley's office and Jeff Fluker presented Peggy Johnson for her 20 years of service pin and recognition certificate. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Left to Right, Bethany Line Officers are Fire Police Captain Carl Hyde Jr., Lieutenant Jake Howland, Fire Captain Will Thurley, 2nd Assistant Chief Jeff Wolak, 1st Assistant Chief John Szymkowiak, and Chief Jeff Fluker Photo by Steve Ognibene
In Boys Basketball on Monday, Elba beat Holley 53-47.
Mike Long scored 31 points and Angela Penna scored 14 for Elba.
Also in Boys Basketball on Monday, Le Roy beat Pavilion 66 - 27. The win ended a two-game losing streak for the Knights and dealt a blow to the Goper's three-game win streak. For Le Roy, Merritt Holly scored 32 points, had 14 rebounds and three blocks. Jean Agosto, nine points and 13 rebounds.
Pembroke beat Kendall 71-41. Tyson Totten scored 31 points, 10 rebounds, Avery Ferreira, 11 points, and Owen Hootman, 10 points and nine rebounds.
Led by Coaches Alison Diskin and Kayla Heinlein, Pembroke celebrates a third straight win for Division I during this year's Genesee Regional Cheerleading Championship Saturday evening. Alexander won Division II. Pembroke also included the winner of Ronald McDonald House All-Star, Ashley Johnson, shown below. Submitted Photos
Artwork by Bryan Wright Photo submitted by Batavia Society of Artists
The Batavia Society of Artists is hosting artist Bryan Wright on Tuesday at Go-Art/Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St. Batavia starting at 7 p.m. He will be showing how to do his metal artwork, which is said to be “very unique!”
Light refreshments will be provided, and the 2.o.1. Tavern will be open for cash purchases. Non-members welcome for a $5 fee. We are always open to new members, all skill levels and mediums! Dues are single $30, couple $50, veteran or student $10.
Bryan Wright was born and raised in Charleston, S.C., and lives in Batavia with his “amazing wife and two beautiful children.” As a child he would spend countless hours drawing, and says that “if I had a pencil and paper, the sky was the limit and I was content.”
“As I grew older I developed a love for tinkering with computers and digital art and went to college to pursue this new passion and still unsure about my future career I saw that BOCES had a basic-advanced welding class, and signed up immediately,” he said in a press release. “Totally unsure what to expect, all I knew was I loved working with my hands and kept an open mind for this, was the first time I was introduced to a Plasma Cutter and as the class ended I started saving up my hard earned money for a used one.
“Over the past 15 years I have been using this same machine and collecting scrap junk metal as my new blank canvas,” he said. “At the end of a busy work day or week, I can't wait to get out to the garage, even in this ridiculous WNY weather and create something special.”
Wright is even more excited to be able to demonstrate his craft and extend this invitation to others who might be interested or are just looking to learn about something new, he said.
Rick Howe of Le Roy recorded his second United States Bowling Congress-certified 300 game last week during league action at Le Roy Legion Lanes.
The 52-year-old right-hander rolled games of 227, 215 and 300 on lanes 5-6 in the American Legion Thursday Men's League. He entered the night with a 201 average.
Howe's other perfect game took place in March 2012, and he posted a 299 game in Sept. 200, both at the Le Roy hall.
In other league play around the Genesee Region USBC, Brandon Gurnsey rolled a 758 series in the Sneezy's Monday Night League at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion and Tim Talbot fired a 754 series in the Sunday Rolloffs League at Medina Lanes.
For a list of high scores for the week, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the home page.
Join the Holland Land Office Museum for another Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre. The event will be on Saturday, March 23rd from 6-8 pm at the Batavia Country Club, located at 7909 Byron Rd. in Batavia. Enjoy a great meal from The Lodge at the Country Club and a wonderful show by WNY Improv.
The mystery is "Spirits and Suspects, a Roaring 20’s Murder Mystery." Prohibition may be in full swing but for the Kingpin of Genesee County, the booze business is booming! What could possibly go wrong? Put your glad rags on and join the fun as mobsters, molls, and even a medium, face the eclipse...
Tickets are $75 per person. There is a choice of three entrée options including stuffed chicken with beef, crab-stuffed fish, or pasta primavera. Please make your choice when you purchase your ticket. Your ticket includes your meal and dessert. A cash bar will be available. Links to buy tickets online are available at the museum’s website www.hollandlandoffice.com.
Submitted photo of Assemblyman Steve Hawley with students at Jackson Primary.
Press Release:
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) hosted his annual Valentines for Veterans program. Hawley teamed up with Jackson Primary and Robert Morris School to deliver over 150 handmade valentines from students to the residents at The New York State Veterans Home at Batavia.
During this time, Hawley spoke to students about the importance of veterans and their service to our nation. Hawley hopes this event will raise awareness of veterans' issues and show the community’s appreciation for their service and sacrifice for our country.
“As a veteran myself, I understand the sacrifices our veterans have made to keep our country free,” said Hawley. “This is why every year I put on our Valentines for Veterans program to get our community involved in supporting our veterans. I’m thankful to the faculty and students at Jackson Primary and Robert Morris School for partnering with us this year and I hope to continue to put this event on for years to come.”
We would like to raise awareness in the community about a recent increase in fraudulent phishing schemes designed to exploit members’ personal and financial information.
As part of the most recent scheme, customers receive a text message asking them to provide personal information through a link, or receive a phone call from someone claiming they are from their bank or credit union asking to confirm their identity by providing personal details.
It’s important that customers refrain from providing information to these individuals. ESL will never ask you to:
Click links in text messages to verify information
Provide banking login credentials (i.e. User name and password)
Share Apple, Samsung, or Google ID information
Provide any two-factor authentication codes or confirm login codes that have been sent to your phone or email
Ensuring the safety of customer information is of the utmost priority. If you have any questions about a call, text, or piece of mail you received, please call us at 585.336.1000.
Edwin Allen and his family were known across the United States as the “Flying Allens” and became some of the foremost aerial balloon daredevils throughout the first half of the 20th century. The Allens made their home in Batavia and always came back to Genesee County no matter how far-flung their escapades took them.
Four generations of the Allen family rode in balloons dating all the way back to the Civil War.
While Edwin Allen was the patriarch of the most prolific branch of the “Flying Allens,” the first balloonist was his grandfather, James, who was a balloon observer for the Union Army. All three of his sons became aerial exhibitionists in and around Dansville. Comfort Allen, Edwin’s father, made jumps with his older son Warren, also known as “Speck,” or alone.
Ed and his twin brother Edgar, Red, continued the family tradition beginning when they were only 11 years old. They would ride up in a hot air balloon and then glide down on a parachute while holding onto a crossbar. Their first jump occurred in Lockport. Red’s career would last until 1924, when his balloon burst 200 feet up, and he was injured in the subsequent crash. Ed would continue a solo career until his children were old enough to join the family business.
Ed Allen moved to Batavia in 1926, living on Vernon Avenue, to begin working for the P.W. Minor Shoe Company, and he married Louise Cromwell in 1934.
In 1937 he was promoted to foreman, but he retired from the factory the next year to open a service station at 614 East Main St., which he ran until 1950.
All five of the Allen children would join their father in his ballooning spectacles. Eddie Jr. began jumping at 18, followed by Gloria and Florence. The two eldest daughters were billed as “the World’s Youngest Jumpers” once their careers took off. They marveled at crowds in their white and black outfits as they glided down on their white parachutes.
They took their act to another level by being shot from a cannon suspended under the basket of a balloon. The Allens traveled to fairs and carnivals all around the country, though always coming back home to make appearances. Their testing ground was located behind their service station on East Main Street. However, things changed in 1949 when New York State outlawed the performances, forcing “The Flying Allens” to work out of state.
Captain Eddie, as he became known, continued to jump from his balloon until 1965, when he broke his leg during a jump at the age of 70. In 1977, he told reporters that he had made 3,253 jumps in his lifetime.
Captain Eddie still attended balloon rallies regularly and was honored by several regional groups throughout the 1970s but was always proud of being from Batavia.
In 1979 and 1980, The Festival Genesee hosted balloonists from across the United States to honor Edwin Allen for his lifetime of achievements.
The death-defying stunts of the Allen family did not come without their price, as many of the family members suffered serious injuries or worse while performing their feats. Three of the Allen children, Gloria, Joseph, and Arlene, suffered severe injuries and died as a result of accidents involving the performances. Gloria died in 1939 after a very hard landing caused a severe brain injury. Arlene was killed after parachuting into power lines in 1946. Edwin’s nephew, Warren Jr., also was killed during a jump in 1946 when he fell 75 feet from his basket.
Edwin Allen survived his thrilling career and passed away at his home in 1984.
Genesee Amateur Hockey Association (GAHA) invites children to the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Evans Street on Saturday, Feb. 24 for a Try Hockey For Free clinic as part of Hockey Week Across America.
Starting at 10:40 a.m. to Noon local youth, ages 4 to 9, are encouraged to experience ice hockey for the first time and learn the basic skills in a fun, safe environment.
“We look forward to welcoming families to David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena to try our great sport of ice hockey for free,” said Sharon Gray, Event Coordinator. “Our goal is for these families to enjoy watching their kids learn new skills with big smiles on their faces.”
USA Hockey’s Try Hockey program, with the support of the National Hockey League and NHL member clubs, among others, is designed to provide youth hockey associations with a national platform for introducing children to the sport, free of charge.
All your youngster needs is a helmet (bike or sports) and winter gloves. Skates are available at the Rink free of charge (due to the generous offering of the David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena). The GAHA organization does have some used hockey helmets available for the event as well as a few hockey sticks.
Players in attendance will be given a free hockey jersey to take home. To register for this Try Hockey For Free event, please visit www.TryHockeyForFree.com (Use zip code 14020).
For more information, please contact Sharon at svgray@rochester.rr.com or 585-344-2248 (Coordinator for Try Hockey For Free).
The Batavia Housing Authority is seeking a positive, hardworking teammate to perform a variety of outdoor landscaping tasks, primarily mowing, with some trimming and cleanup work. The Groundskeeper is independently responsible for outdoor landscaping tasks on a weekly basis with some flexibility. This job may require some weekend hours when necessary. Part-time position Pay Range: $19.00/hr - $22.00/hr Anticipated start date: May 2024 Application deadline: April 29, 2024 See full job description at: https://www.co.genesee.ny.us/Groundskeeper.pdf Complete Civil Service Application at: https://cms1files.revize.com/geneseecountynew/CivilServiceApplication2022Revision-09.22.22.pdf Contact Information Nathan Varland Executive Director Batavia Housing Authority 400 East Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020 (585) 344-1888 nvarland@bataviahousing.org Location: Batavia
