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Batavia/ND United gets go-ahead for yearly trip, to play Queensbury

By Joanne Beck
Feb. 17, 2023 Batavia United
2023 File Photo of a Batavia/ND United Hockey game at the David McCarthy Ice Arena in Batavia, by Steve Ognibene

It’s a rite of fall, when the pitch goes in for the boys Batavia/ND United Hockey team trip for an away game, and coaches Marc Staley and John Kirkwood made their presentation to the city school board this week.

The team saw a lot of action during the course of a season, Staley said, hosting Pittsford, Victor, Williamsville East, Grand Island and others at the David McCarthy Ice Arena in Batavia. This past year they were invited to Glens Falls Civic Center to play in January against Queensbury. 

“This is a no-joke trip,” Staley said. “This will really test our kids.”

The trip would include a two-game weekend on January 5 and 6, and would require an early dismissal on that Friday for a 5 p.m. start time for the first game. 

Considered to be traveling in “true hockey fashion,” the players would stay with their parents in a hotel per the usual arrangement, in a no-frills excursion to play hockey and return home on Saturday, he said.

The accompanying materials for the trip state that participation in these two games “will provide an opportunity from Batavia, Notre Dame, Oakfield-Alabama and Elba Central school athletes to compete against solid competition.” 

“Being an independent Class B team playing out of Section V, we do not have a league per se to play in,”  the coaches state in the document. “This has forced us to go out and generate our own 20-game schedule. The coaches agree wholeheartedly that the freedom and luxury of scheduling games outside of our section gives our student-athletes and our United program greater exposure to high school hockey across the state. Aside from the excellent competition, it’s also a lot of fun for the kids and families and helps build a unique culture.”

Only one board member had a question, and that was, what if a parent cannot make the trip — what happens to that student? When that has happened in the past, another family usually lets the student stay with them, Staley said. 

“We went to Albany last year. We typically like to travel once a year,” he said. “We had 11 home games and nine away games.”

Part of no-frills means that the parents provide the transportation and the lodging and meals during the trip, so there is no cost attached. The school board unanimously approved the trip. 

In a related vote, the board also approved a license agreement with Batavia Sports Facility Management for use of the David McCarthy Ice Arena, with rental fees of $225 per hour for weekday afternoons after 3 p.m. and for all weekend practice times and $150 an hour weekdays between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. The district/licensee will also pay $265 per hour for all game times. 

Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary to host fall festival October 7

By Press Release

Press Release:

Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary is pleased to announce the 2nd annual Fall at the Farm Festival on Saturday, October 7 from 1 - 6 p.m. The sanctuary grounds are located at 5978 Upper Holley Rd, Byron. The suggested donation for admission is $10/person to help us reach our goal of raising $15,000 to stock our winter hay supply.

The festival will bring together local vendors featuring everything from artwork to a plant truck. Farm Fest attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase and taste a wide variety of local vegan food from vendors including Grass Fed Rochester, New Ethic Pizzeria & Cafe, Isotope Ice Cream and Desserts, and more.

Visitors will enjoy complimentary family-friendly activities like face painting, crafts and games, live music, and more. In addition to a donation-based pumpkin patch, there will be giveaways and a raffle. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet some of the 52 animals by taking a self-guided walking tour of the farm. Last year’s festival drew hundreds of attendees.

For more information about attending as a member of the media, please send an email to Mockingbirdfarmny@gmail.com. We hope to see you at the festival!

NYC has change of heart, drops lawsuit against Genesee County

By Joanne Beck

They huffed and they puffed, but eventually, New York City opted to blow Batavia off of its list of defendants to sue for banning undocumented immigrants from seeking shelter in Genesee County.

County Manager Matt Landers had first issued a State of Emergency in May after receiving word that busloads of immigrants were potentially being sent to upstate New York, including Genesee County. Landers followed the move made by Orleans County, and, in dominoes fashion, counties began to react to their neighbors and filed one by one so as not to be the only county left with no protection if and when those immigrants arrived.

County Attorney Jim Wujcik informed legislators Wednesday that the plaintiffs had a change of heart.

“New York City filed for a discontinuance; they’re no longer suing Genesee County,” he said.

The official letter from Assistant Corporation Counsel Doris Bernhardt provided no explanation other than the plaintiff was discontinuing its lawsuit against the county and Landers “without prejudice and without costs to any party.”

Landers filed three executive orders, as he continued to extend the initial one two more times. New York City filed its lawsuit in June against 30 municipalities and was seeking to invalidate those executive orders, claiming that they were unconstitutional and impeded the rights of people who are legally within the borders of the United States as asylum seekers to travel and use public accommodations.

Genesee County strikes deal with two ambulance providers to cover all bases

By Joanne Beck
mercy ems ambulance 2015
File photo of a then-new Mercy EMS ambulance in 2015. Parent company Mercy Flight will be contracting with Genesee County in a county effort to provide more "accountable" ambulance services moving forward. 
Photo by Howard Owens.

After taking several months to evaluate Genesee County’s issues and needs in regard to ambulance services for residents, county Manager Matt Landers delivered a solution this week that he believes will do the job.

Landers worked with Emergency Management Services Coordinator Tim Yaeger and county Attorney James Wujcik to establish a formal contract with Le Roy Ambulance Services and Mercy Flight, Landers told legislators during the Ways and Means meeting Wednesday.

“We’ve spent about a year reviewing this issue of shoring up and strengthening our local ambulance providers between Mercy Flight and Le Roy Ambulance. We think we have all the bases covered. And this allows us to provide additional funding to those two professional ambulance providers, paid professional ambulance providers  … The one here with Le Roy takes effect Oct. 1. The one for Mercy Flight that we're negotiating with would take effect Jan. 1,” Landers said after the meeting. 

“So it provides additional funds to stabilize, it holds them, it makes them more accountable. They have to meet minimum standards for response times, or they have to meet minimum standards for number of ambulances to keep on staff. So there's minimum requirements that they must comply with in order to keep the funding throughout the county.”

Back in February, Landers confirmed that he and others had been asked by legislators to work on this issue and also clarified that, contrary to popular belief, the county did not have any formal contract for ambulance services. 

The issue of ambulance services and response times had come up during budget talks by City Council members, and The Batavian asked Landers for his input at the time. His concern was primarily on response times in the rural areas of the county, which provides “a minimum contract of $12,500 on an annual basis to go towards their Mercy Flight air,” and nothing official or directly for ambulance service.

The county Legislature is set to give the final vote next week on the resolution to pay Le Roy Ambulance Service $77,220 for ambulance and emergency advanced life support/paramedic service needs, $5,000 for related financial documents, and $187,705 for equipment and related maintenance for a three-year term beginning Oct. 1. 

The contract stipulates that Le Roy will provide pre-hospital emergency medical services within its Certificate of Need operating authority or when mutual aid has been requested by a municipality located within the county.

The total cost of $212,005 is to be offset by county sales tax proceeds.

“So Le Roy would be within the boundaries of Le Roy, and Mercy Flight will be throughout the whole county,” Landers said. “And that one we’re still finalizing, but they should come before this Legislature in October. 

“So I have many counterparts in the state that have actually had to invest in buying ambulances and having a county-run ambulance system with county EMTs,” he said. “We already have paid professional providers in our community that are doing an excellent job. This ensures their longer-term viability, their longer-term success and ensures the county doesn't have to enter into the business itself.”

Batavia Downs publicist elected to Harness Racing Hall of Fame

By Press Release

Press Release:

tim bojarski
Submitted photo of
Tim Bojarski.

Tim Bojarski, longtime writer, columnist, and racing publicist for Batavia Downs racetrack, has been elected to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame as a Communicator by the members of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA).

Bojarski began his contact with harness racing communications in 1986 at Batavia Downs by writing horsemen profiles and authoring a tip sheet. Since then the Akron, resident has written feature articles for renowned racing magazines Horseman And Fair World, Trot Magazine, and most notably Hoof Beats Magazine, where he is in his 23rd year of feature writing for the award-winning magazine of the United States Trotting Association.

Besides his current position with Batavia Downs, the busy Bojarski is also employed as a publicist by Plainridge Park near Boston, Massachusetts, the Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Sire Stakes, the New York Sire Stakes, and the Goshen Standardbred Sales. 

Bojarski served two years as the National President of USHWA (2016 to 2017) and has been the president of the Upstate New York Chapter of USHWA since 2008. He was named USHWAN of the Year in 2007 and received the 2017 Clyde Hirt Memorial Media Award for excellence in harness racing reporting from Harness Horsemen International.

Also being inducted as a Communicator is the late Dave Brower, who worked for many years at the Meadowlands Racetrack and covered every major race in the sport, trainer Jim Campbell, owner/breeder David McDuffee, and driver Ed Lohmeyer (in the Veteran category) who will all be entering the Hall for their racing achievements.

Bojarski will be honored in two upcoming ceremonies. He will receive his first formal recognition at the Dan Patch Awards Banquet, presented by Caesars Entertainment, on Feb. 25, 2024, at the Rosen Centre Resort in Orlando, Fla. The second event will be the formal induction to the Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York on July 7, 2024. 

Boxcar derbies match speed of workforce development, coach says

By Press Release
oakfield-box-car-derby-2023-5.jpg
Photo from 2023 Inaugural Oakfield Labor Daze Box Car Derby by Howard Owens.

By Chris Suozzi

Accelerating as they hit the final stretch to cross the finish line, pairs of boxcar derby racers dipped their heads. It was one of many lessons I was pleased to share with youth aged 7 -13 gained through a Genesee Gateway Local Development Corporation-sponsored program.

70 racers and their families took up the challenge of building, designing, and perfecting their cars for a pair of fast-paced events – the August 26 BID Boxcar Derby in Batavia and the September 2 Labor Daze Boxcar Derby in Oakfield.

These events, and partners like the Batavia Business Improvement District and Oakfield Betterment Committee, create lifelong memories and demonstrate that through innovative workforce development programs, youth in Genesee County and surrounding communities develop through skill-building activities, career engagement, and training.

From Boxcar to Bootcamp

The pace of a boxcar derby matches the speed of our workforce development. We offer diverse tracks for our students, advancing them from pee-wee to pro levels, just like team sports. See below how our racers can progress with programs reaching every age and multiple ability levels.

  • Ages 7 to 13 – Boxcar Derby
  • Ages 8 to 11 – STEAM Jam, a GCC Tech Wars program for 3 rd to 5 th grade students
  • Ages 12 to 15 – Camp Hard Hat, a weeklong building construction trades program.
  • Ages 13 to 18 – GLOW With Your Hands: Manufacturing and GLOW With Your Hands : Healthcare, mass career exploration festivals with hands-on demonstrations; GCC Tech Wars, an extended STEM challenge program
  • Ages 17 to 18 – Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeships, employer-matched job shadowing and co-ops; GV BOCES training in mechatronics, welding, precision machining, and building trades; Cornell in High School food processing training program, a three-day accelerated food & beverage training program
  • Ages 18 to 24 – Genesee Valley Pre-Apprenticeship Program, a six-week accelerated mechatronics training program

Committed to Workforce Solutions

As I recently told the Buffalo News, my sense of urgency is like no other. That’s why we’ve been in overdrive to solve the workforce demands of the future ahead of time.

The GCEDC works with our training providers, school engagement organizations, and educators to expand the capacity of training programs. We’ve seen real results – there’s been a 30% increase in BOCES training participation since 2019, events and programs in our community had over 3,000 participants last year, and we're on pace to welcome 1,000 students to GLOW With Your Hands: Manufacturing later this month. 

We need to continue to overcome national challenges that start at home and school. It is crucial to empower parents, older siblings, friends and teachers to encourage pathways with no college debt. The outcomes for our recent pre-apprenticeship graduates, with immediate careers paying over $27/hour highlight the importance of these opportunities.

It’s a challenge that renews every school year. With over 700 high-quality careers coming with Plug Power and Edwards semiconductor at STAMP, and over 1,000 more at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, the capacity for great local jobs is being met. 

These are careers within reach.

Let’s all think and act like our boxcar racers. 

We just have to stretch, to pull together, and I know we’ll win.

Coach Swazz

Hawley responds to ammunition background check mandate

By Press Release

Press Release:

File photo of 
Steve Hawley

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) recently bashed New York state’s new ammunition background check mandate. Beginning September 13, a background check is required prior to the purchase of firearm, rifle, or shotgun ammunition and the responsibility for initiating NICS background checks for firearm, rifle, or shotgun purchases has shifted to the State Police. 

Gun dealers and licensed ammunition sellers must now contact the State Police online to process these background checks, which include an additional fee. An automated phone system is expected to be active sometime next month. Hawley is disappointed that the Supreme Court did not recognize the state’s overreach on our Second Amendment rights and is committed to reversing this mandate in the State Assembly.

For any questions or concerns about this new background check provision, please contact the New York State Police directly either by phone, 1-877-NYS-NICS, or email, nysnics@troopers.ny.gov.

“This new mandate from the state government is yet another attempt to infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens of New York,” said Hawley. “Policies like this are pushing New Yorkers out of our state and putting our small businesses in a difficult situation. Already we are seeing business owners reporting hours-long wait times for background check approvals. Businesses would never do things this way on their own and the state is now forcing them to operate in this new inefficient and confusing system,” continued Hawley.

“While this mandate is currently in effect, I will not stand for our rights being chipped away at piece by piece. I would encourage anyone who has questions to go through the proper avenues and contact the state police so that they can properly navigate this new regulation. As your assemblyman, I will continue to fight for your rights and reverse disastrous policies like this.”

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By Lisa Ace
Reliant

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Batavia town planners approve Country Line Electrical storage building site plan

By Mike Pettinella

 

The Batavia Town Planning Board met for 4 ½ minutes on Tuesday night, just enough time to unanimously pass a site plan from Country Line Electrical Distributors, Inc. to construct an accessory building on its East Main Street Road property.

William Massett, business owner, submitted the proposal to build a 12- by 84-foot open air pipe storage building in the Commercial district at 5065 East Main St. Rd. The plan previously was recommended for approval by the Genesee County Planning Board.

Initially, the project calls for the construction of a roof in case of rain to make it easier for loading and unloading, said Jennifer Massett, who was at the meeting. She said that owners eventually will fence it in for safety and security.

That was the only item on the board’s agenda.

Push for owner-occupied and market rate homes fuels Batavia Home Fund

By Joanne Beck

A nice single-family residence? Check. Renovated properties for market rate apartments? Sure. A new development project that comes to fruition with affordable condominiums? Why not.

The newly announced Batavia Home Fund was purposely generic in nature to open the door and possibilities for any of those and other options, Assistant City Manager Erik Fix says.

“We really wrote it up so that it's going to really come down to the individual applicants and what they're wanting and trying to do. Obviously, for us, any type of renovations that we get in the city, when it comes to housing, is a bonus,” Fix said to The Batavian. “But a lot of times, a lot of these grants, what we found in the past is if you put too many guidelines and parameters on it, you're narrowing your audience, and you're narrowing the applicant pool. And then it becomes very difficult to find enough folks that actually want to apply for the funding. 

“So we wanted to make sure that we weren't doing that this time around,” he said. “We wanted to make sure not to be too specific.”

A collaboration of the city and town of Batavia and Genesee County Economic Development Center, which is kicking in $100,000 of seed money to get the fund going, this initiative offers grants of up to 40 percent of the total project cost, to be reimbursed upon completion of the work. 

It’s not a complete free-for-all, as there are guidelines, such as properties have to be in the city of Batavia, must be currently paid up with municipal property, water and sewer taxes, and the applicant will obtain a building permit prior to construction, have the ability to finance the entire project and be able to provide proof of readiness with a deed, purchase agreement and/or similar documents indicating proof that 100 percent of the financing is in place. 

Also, quotes should come from a licensed contractor for a project of visual improvement to a property, whether it be a rehabilitation of an existing site or a new build. 

For the first time in several years, owner-occupied city homes have slipped behind rentals, at 49 percent to 51 percent, respectively — a trend first noted in 2020, Fix said.

For some time now, city officials have talked about owner-occupied homes as typically having more of a vested interest, more accountability, and a deeper regard for the neighborhood, since a homeowner is in it for the longer haul than someone renting on a shorter-term basis. 

To be clear, Fix said "that's not a terrible thing" having a strong rental base, but the city would like to have more owner-occupied homes and other types of projects throughout the city. 

“We have a situation right now where one of our local developers is taking an existing multifamily home that's currently in bad shape, and is trying to turn it back into market rate housing, with a few less apartments in it, but really making it higher end. And that's the kind of stuff that we're looking for,” he said. “I think it was something along the lines of eight out of the last nine developments in the city, from a larger standpoint, have been for low income, and we need to start balancing that out with some market rate and some things like that.”

City priorities for the Batavia Home Fund is to advance the Brownfield Opportunity Area strategy, focusing on Wards Three and Six, and in the flood zone, all of which are eligible for additional points. 

Yes, projects are awarded based on a scoring system. For example, projects that are “aesthetically pleasing” to the surrounding neighborhood and designed to eliminate blight can earn up to 40 points. 

Eligible “activities” include:

  1. Extraordinary development costs related to hazardous material abatement, remediation, flood hazard areas, etc. (up to $50,000)
  2. Demolition/rehab of residential structures that cause community and neighborhood blight. ($50,000)
  3. Infrastructure modernization and improvements, including costs to plan, design and construct streets, multi-model, water, sewer, gas, electric, telecommunication enhancements, stormwater management facilities and related infrastructure, including landscaping and streetscape improvements related to redevelopment projects and new housing construction. ($50,000)
  4. Matching funds to secure other grant resources to further capitalize on redevelopment projects in the Brownfield Opportunity Area and flood zone areas. ($20,000)
  5. Land assemblage, property acquisition and due diligence for new market-rate housing projects. ($50,000)
  6. Grants to support owner-occupied single-family exterior rehabilitation. ($10,000)
  7. Grants to support multi-family conversion into single-family, owner-occupied homes. ($20,000)

A committee made up of representatives from city, town and GCEDC folks will review, assess and grade projects for viability and choose and award them accordingly. 

Awards will most likely range from $20,000 to $50,000, he said. They might go to an individual homeowner or to a developer. One caveat, though, is that someone can’t just do some work on his or her home and expect a check. 

“You have to have a contractor actually do the work,” Fix said. “I’d like to see three or four projects and, hopefully, in the next year or two, see the fund grow.”

There is also a five-year compliance period, meaning that if the property owner sells the property within five years of receiving the grant, repayment may be required based on a timetable of when the property was sold. If it was sold within a year, the recipient would have to repay 100 percent of the funds, versus 49 months later, when repayment would be 20 percent of the total.

There is also a $250 non-refundable application fee. 

For more information, go to Batavia Home Fund.

Borrello joins lawsuit challenging ammunition registration law

By Press Release

Press Release:

Senator George Borrello has joined a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of New York State’s newly implemented ammunition registration law which requires that purchasers submit to and pay for a background check for ammunition transactions.

“My office has been flooded with calls from law-abiding gun owners, sporting goods dealers, and gun clubs who are upset about this latest assault on our Second Amendment rights,” said Senator Borrello. “Requiring a background check and fees for each ammunition purchase is unconstitutional and has already proven to be a technological and administrative failure.”

“Since the system launched on Wednesday, retailers who sell firearms and ammunition across the state have reported that attempts to use New York’s new online system either failed completely or took so long to complete, the potential purchasers had already left their stores,” said Borrello. “The end result is that the state is blatantly denying New Yorkers the ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights. That represents a violation of the U.S. Constitution, which is the basis for our lawsuit.”

Along with Senator Borrello, plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the New York State Firearms Association, Assemblyman David DiPietro, William Ortman and Aaron Dorr. The defendant is Steven A. Nigrelli, Acting Superintendent of the New York State Police.

The new requirements are part of Executive Law 228 and include the following:

Shifts New York State from a jurisdiction in which the FBI conducts firearms-related National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background checks, to one in which the New York State Police (NYSP) are the “point of contact” for background checks; 

  • Requires the NYSP to conduct background checks on all firearm and ammunition purchases in the state;
  • Authorizes NYSP to charge fees for each background check on purchases and transfers. Those fees have been set at $9 for firearms and $2.50 for ammunition; and
  • Requires the NYSP to create and maintain a statewide firearms license and records database to be used for ammunition sales as well as for the certification and recertification of permits and assault weapon registration. 

While the establishment of an ammunition database and background check requirements were part of the 2013 SAFE Act, implementation was put on hold because of legal and operational concerns.

“The governor and her allies in the Legislature are pushing the false narrative that public safety will be achieved by making it harder for law-abiding gun owners to purchase firearms and ammunition. Meanwhile, they are tripping over themselves in their rush to pass laws that keep dangerous criminals -- including criminals caught with illegally possessed firearms -- on the streets instead of behind bars where they belong,” said Senator Borrello.

“Law-abiding gun owners shouldn’t be punished for New York’s crime problems by having their Second Amendment rights taken away. These latest restrictions won’t accomplish anything other than driving more residents out of the state and diverting the hard-earned tax dollars of New Yorkers to our courts as the state is forced to try to defend its indefensible actions,” said Senator Borrello. “New Yorkers deserve better.”

The lawsuit filing can be viewed at:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.newyorkstatefirearmsassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023.09.13-NYSFA-v-Nigrelli-Complaint.pdf

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By Lisa Ace
Reliant Real Estate


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Two new artworks reflect connections, growth of the Goose

By Joanne Beck
Tree project at Goose
Artist David Burke witih his mural at The Goose in Oakfield.
Submitted photo

Two new art projects at the GOOSE Community Center in Oakfield are not just visual embellishments to the Main Street property, founder Susan Zeliff says.

They are embodiments of what the center stands for and has become. 

One is a mural based on a quote that Zeliff chose: “This I have learned from the shadow of a tree, that my influence may fall where I will never be.”

“It spoke to me a lot about our community center and the people that support it,” Zeliff said. “They’re helping people that they may never come into contact with.”

She commissioned artist David Burke, thanks to a grant through GO Art!, to paint the mural on an exterior wall of the center. It features a large grassy area with a tree’s shadow and the quote. 

The easy part was knowing what to do, Burke said. He used a scaffold for the piece measuring about 10 feet high and 40 feet wide. It took about 35 hours over the course of three or four trips to complete it with rollers and brushes.

What’s it like to have pedestrians and motorists going by observing your handiwork?
“It’s great, I love it. Several people in Batavia have been doing murals and all over the country,” he said. “Murals are coming back. It’s exposing people to art. I just like the idea of teaching and art. I really kind of enjoy turning people onto the idea that anybody can make art; anyone has the capacity for making any kind of art or music.”

Zeliff plans to apply for a GO Art! grant to bring in some art teachers, including Burke, for lessons, hopefully at the beginning of 2024, she said.

Those lessons will complement a host of activities, including chair yoga, which has doubled or tripled in attendance since first offered; a Family Fun Bingo night on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, drawing some 60 participants of all ages; a continuously growing food pantry that serves 80 to 90 families each month; a farm market that operates separately in the back of the building on Saturdays; and community room space that is rented out for special events. 

Zeliff has been turning to GO Art! more regularly with applications for grants, last year providing “different styles of art, an expressive kind of art,” she said, which featured Burke and Bill Shutt, who returned this year to provide the second latest piece of exterior artwork for the GOOSE at 33 South Main St.

Bill Shutt hands project
Artist Bill Shutt with his Connecting Hands project at The Goose.
Submitted photo

He and Zeliff loosely talked about how his piece could somehow represent the site, and the symbol of hands came to him.

“I asked her the reason for the GOOSE, and she said to connect the GOOSE to the community and to resources and to connect businesses, connect organizations, etc. So that kind of led me to thinking about handshakes, and we’ve seen some of the logos of the four interconnected hands, so that was where the thought process for this piece came from,” he said. “The shapes came from recycled material … so all the hands are different. The material is all different, again, trying to show that we’re all made up of different pieces, and different parts, and we can all connect together.

“Connecting hands, connecting communities is what the GOOSE is all about,” Shutt said. 

A mechanic and welder fabricator for many years, Shutt was used to “making stuff” from the odds and ends of motorcycle parts and other materials that were the remains from an old farm, he said. 

“A lot of it was stuff around the house or around the shop. I've tinkered with cars and motorcycles. Probably five or six years ago was the first time that I really made something that was an art piece, per se. And that started off with old pieces, parts, motorcycle parts and car parts that I made into some musical instrument-inspired pieces,” he said.

He has crafted stringed musical instruments and other creations  — including some metal sculptures on boxes depicting the inequity of humanity outside of the GO Art! site in Batavia.

For the Oakfield project, he used galvanized tubing, stainless steel, chrome steel, motorcycle parts, and an old, high-pressure gas cylinder tubing. He appreciates using recycled materials and will be working on a project using part of an old Erie Canal lift bridge. 

Connecting hands is freshly tagged, so he hasn’t gotten a whole lot of feedback just yet, but “hopefully, the main message got across,” Shutt said. 

“If they see something positive out of it, it was a success,” he said. “It took about three months to complete. It was a lot of trial and error, a lot of R and D time, how I was going to make the hands, positions he hands. Sometimes the material dictates what you’re doing.”

Zeliff is pleased with both projects as an extension of yet continuing growth of the GOOSE center, which falls under the Warrior House program. Shutt’s artwork depicts one person standing with a “whole lot of hands behind them, and that’s my everyday,” she said. 

“I am very excited about all the activity that’s been happening within the community and just building relationships,” Zeliff said. “We do coffee hour on Wednesdays, and one year ago, it was me and one person, and now it’s two dozen people. It’s exciting to see the room become full.”

Connecting Hands project

GO ART! now accepting applications for 2024 SCR Program

By Press Release

Press Release:

Artists, nonprofits, and municipalities seeking funding for arts-related projects, programming, and events in Genesee and Orleans Counties are encouraged to apply to the Statewide Community Regrant Program (SCR) through GO ART!. Applications are due by Nov 1st.

Applicants can apply for up to a total of $5000 in the categories of Community Arts and Arts Education, and $2500 for Individual Artist Commissions.

Eligibility:

Genesee and Orleans County nonprofit organizations, NYS incorporated nonprofits, agencies of local government (not New York State agencies), individual artists, groups or collectives, and unincorporated entities are eligible to apply.

  • Individual artists, groups or collectives, and unincorporated entities applying for the Reach (Community) and Spark (Education) grants must have a Fiscal Sponsor or Community Partner
  • Applicant, Community Partner, or Fiscal Sponsor must have a permanent address in the same county the project is taking place
  • Applicants must be 18 years of age at the time of submission and may not be enrolled in a full-time degree program Applicants are required to attend an informational seminar prior to applying. 2023 grantees are exempt from the seminar requirement but are encouraged to attend.

Upcoming Seminars:

  • Sept 18, Sept 25, Oct 2, & Oct 9 at 6:00pm, (virtual, Zoom)
  • Oct 10 at 6pm, (in person, GO ART! 201 E Main St, Batavia)

Peer Review Panel:

Grantees are chosen by a peer review panel comprised of community members who live and/or work in Genesee or Orleans Counties and are familiar with the arts, local cultural activities, and the community.

For more information, to view guidelines, apply, sign up for a workshop, or nominate a panelist visit: www.goart.org/grants. For questions contact Mary Jo Whitman at mjwhitman@goart.org or Jodi Fisher at jfisher@goart.org.

Cooperative Extension board to meet September 26

By Press Release

Press Release:

The Cornell Cooperative Extension(CCE) of Genesee County Board of Directors meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on September 26. 

The meeting will be held at the Association at 420 E. Main St. Batavia and is open to the public. For more information, please contact Yvonne Peck at ydp3@cornell.edu or 585-343-3040 x123.

Air show by the numbers: scrapes, overtime, attendance and fuel sales

By Joanne Beck
wings over batavia
2023 File Photo of the Wings Over Batavia Air Show
by Philip Casper

With numbers tallied, it looks like a fair amount of overtime for Genesee County highway and airport employees due to the Wings Over Batavia Air Show: approximately $6,308.

But county Highway Superintendent Tim Hens had another number to counter that during his annual department report Monday: the 5,513.50 gallons of aviation fuel sold at the airport during the two-day show more than made up for the overtime cost, he said. Fuel sales totaled $6,599. 

Despite that boon in sales, fuel sales remained flat overall this past year, he said, trying to recover from an operating loss of $23,000 after Mercy Flight suffered the loss of a helicopter in 2022, coupled with rising fuel prices. 

Quiet was an interesting word for Hens to use about the airport, given this year’s two-day air show extravaganza. He was referring to construction at the Saile Drive facility, and for that, “it has been a quiet year at the airport,” he said. 

“It’s one of the first seasons in many years where there hasn’t been major construction in progress on the airfield,” he said during a report rundown to legislators on the Public Service Committee.

“It was one of the first years that I can remember in a long time where we haven't had a project going out there that's disrupted the runway or the fencing or the lighting or an apron. It was kind of nice to have that,” Hens said.

That won’t be for long, as a future project for 2024 includes the replacement of many incandescent runway and taxiway lights to LED versions that will generate future savings on electrical use, he said.

In other ways, the airport has been quite busy in planning for and implementing Wings Over Batavia Air Show, he said. Drawing nearly 9,000 people during Labor Day weekend, the event seems destined to be a repeater, as organizers have said they’re discussing plans for bringing it back again next year.

“We had our air show … I think the feedback that I'm seeing in the community is overwhelmingly positive. A lot of great comments. People enjoyed it. They're all asking if it's going to happen again next year,” Hens said. “I can tell you from internal, of the things that I was worried about, traffic was not an issue. Parking was not an issue. Safety-wise, we only had two very minor medical issues all weekend; it was both scraped knees where kids were running around chasing each other and fell on the asphalt with scuffed knees; that was the biggest thing we had.

“We sold 5,500 gallons of aviation fuel over the weekend to the show that covered our overtime, more than covered the overtime, tied to the weekend relative to the sweeping of the runway and the overtime for the airport guys and the facility guys to open up the fence and things like that,” he said. “So I think from a county perspective, I'm happy with how it went down and went smoothly. Again, great community feedback and a great community event.

"And there's obviously things I think we can do better in the future and have even less county involvement than we had this year. But being a first-year show, there were some things we had to get squared away," he said. "So I know there's already a move afoot to have another event next year. And again, hopefully, it goes smoother than we had this year.”

Top Items on Batavia's List

Tourism Marketing Assistant Position The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, serving as the official tourism promotion agency for Genesee County, NY is seeking an experienced marketing professional to assist in the overall Chamber tourism and marketing initiatives for Genesee County. https://visitgeneseeny.com/about/join-our-team
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Town of Batavia Court Department is seeking a part time as needed Court Officer. Court Officers are responsible for maintaining order in the court room and court facility during proceedings. Please send resume to Town of Batavia, Attention Hiedi Librock, 3833 West Main Street Road, Batavia, NY 14020. Complete job description is available on the Town web site or at the Town Hall Application deadline is April 15, 2024.
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