A one-vehicle rollover accident is reported on Pocock Road just south of Swamp Road, Bergen.
A caller reports the driver is out of the truck and going by personal vehicle to an area hospital.
Bergen fire and ambulance responding.
UPDATE 12:59 p.m.: The vehicle involved is a town highway truck.
UPDATE 2:48 p.m.: The snowplow is now upright. Pocock is still closed.
In an effort to improve the response time of the server that hosts thebatavian.com, the host company performed a software upgrade overnight.
Instead of improving the response time, it's made matters worse.
Technicians think they've identified the problem and are working on it.
If they are unable to fix the problem, they will rollback the software to the previous version. I've instructed them to do that at any point today they've reached the conclusion that is necessary, which would take the site offline for an hour or so.
I'll update this post as needed.
UPDATE 10:53 a.m.: That problem appears to be resolved.
UPDATE 12:20 p.m.: According to our tests, the server response time is now twice as fast as it was in similar tests a couple of days ago.
Weather-related cancellations for today:
Send weather cancellations to howard@thebatavian.com
To celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., the second-grade students of Anne Marie Starowitz at St. Joseph's School wrote essays about King. The essays were judged by Jennifer Corbelli, an English Language Arts teacher at Batavia High School.
First Place, Olivia Bezon
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted peace and love for all people. When Martin Luther King was little everything was different. That white people did not want the black people near them. Martin Luther wanted everybody to be happy but it never happened because white people bossed black people around. The white children got better things, the black people didn’t. White children had better schools. Black children had to go to black schools separate from the white children, this is called segregation.
Civil rights mean black people and white people have to learn to love each other. Protesting is when you have a sign with you and use your words to say what you want. That means protesting without fighting. Rosa Parks was asked to move to the back of the bus because a white person wanted her seat. She was arrested. Dr. King heard about this and he decided to protest and his sign said don’t ride the bus until the black people could sit where ever they wanted. After one year of not riding the bus the law was changed.
Martin Luther is also famous for his speech I Have a Dream. He gave his famous speech in Washington, D.C. He said he didn’t want it in 10 years, he wanted equality now. He didn’t want people to fight or to hurt anybody because Dr. King didn’t believe in fighting. Civil rights mean black and white people have the same rights.
Dr. King was shot and everyone was sad and everything got better because of him. Dr. King will be remembered for his speeches and his peaceful nonviolence protest.
Second Place, Matthew McCulley
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights leader. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929. He learned in his childhood to never fight. He believed in nonviolence. Nonviolence is marching to the principles of nonviolence. Dr. King had 10 Principles of Nonviolence. They are like our 10 Commandments because they are both about being good. He wanted equal rights for everyone. Nonviolence is not fighting. The Jim Crow laws are when Rosa Parks, had to move to the back of the bus. Protesting is when people hold signs if they are mad. When you dislike someone that is called prejudice.
Martin had to sit in the balcony of the movie theater. Martin Luther was sad he couldn’t play with his white friends. In the movie The Boy King, white people did not like black people. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in Washington, D.C. It was called the I Have a Dream speech. His speech was about equal rights. Dr. King didn’t want white and black people to be separated. That is called segregation. If someone is fighting say don’t fight. If someone is bullying someone you can say stop.
In 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee Dr. King was shot. On January 15th we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s Jr. Birthday.
Third Place, Chelsea Fitch
Doctor Martin Luther King Junior was a civil rights leader. Martin Luther didn’t like prejudice and he didn’t like segregation. When Martin was a little boy, he couldn’t play with his white friends because white and black children could not play together. They could not use the same bathrooms or drinking fountains. When Martin was little he wanted everyone to be friends. Martin knew he liked books even before he could read. When he grew up he went to a dance and his grandma died. Martin was so sad because he promised his grandma he would be back.
Martin Luther King Jr. believed in nonviolence. Rosa Parks wasn’t going to give up her seat and Martin agreed with Rosa. Martin told all black people not to ride the bus, this was a peaceful protest and it was called a bus boycott. The law was changed. He led many protests because he wanted the laws to change so it would be equal rights for the blacks. People would have signs and they would all walk together without fighting back. That is nonviolence. Nonviolence is also about when people don’t fight each other because of the color of their skin.
Martin gave many speeches. He died. He always believed do not fight back with violence, do not protest with violence. Do what is right and not wrong. Help people. Don’t say God’s name in vain. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Help people with kindness. People followed Dr. King’s coffin down the street.
We celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. every January 15th. That was the day he was born. It is a national holiday, it means everyone in the United States celebrates his day.
Honorable Mention, Eddie Lankford
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. He wanted people with white skin and black skin to get along.
People with black skin had to sit in the balcony at a movie theater. Martin Luther King Jr. went to Washington and said white people and black people should be equal. He led marches carrying signs. Black people and white people could not go to the same school. The people with black skin had to drink from a different drinking fountain. People with black skin had to sit in the balcony in the movie theater. People with black skin had to sit in the back of the bus because people with white skin sat in the front, so Martin decided to have a boycott. Then the bus company lost money. That was a protest.
Martin Luther King Jr. went to Washington, D.C. so he could make his speech. His speech said people with black skin should have civil rights. One day a man shot Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. He died. January 15th is Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. We celebrate that day.
A bedroom fire is reported at 402 Bloomingdale Road, Basom.
Pembroke Fire, Indian Falls Fire, and Alabama fire dispatched.
The occupant was instructed to evacuate.
UPDATE 10:37 p.m.: A responding chief requests an engine from Akron.
UPDATE 10:46 p.m.: An Alabama chief reports the fire is out. Power is out to the house. Pembroke and Indian Falls can go back in service.
Young residents of Ross Street clearing the snow away from a fire hydrant.
As a reminder, for your sake and your neighbors, make sure there's no snow around the fire hydrants on your street.
Photo submitted by Stephanie McQuillen Call.
Six probationary members of the Corfu Fire Department, all juniors and seniors at Pembroke High School, were recognized for their service to the fire department with the Service Person of the Year award. Collectively, they put in more than 800 hours of firefighter training in 2018.
The members are Casey Felski, Cyle Felski, Elizabeth Tebor, Megan Stiles, Ethan Librock, Jayden Eck and Dylan Lang.
In 2018, the department responded to 129 calls. Chief Brian Schollard said after the department fell just shy of 2,000 training hours in 2017 he set a goal of more than 2,000 training hours for the department in 2018. In 2018, collectively, members of the department reached almost 4,000 training hours.
To find out how you can join your local department, visit ReadyGenesee.com.
Installation of Officers
Installation of Fire Police
Jim Mallory was recognized by the department and Assemblyman Steve Hawley for 65 years of continuous volunteer service.
Jacob Stiles received an award for completing the most training hours.
Candle lighting in remembrance of members who have passed.
Ethan Librock, one of the probationary members from Pembroke HS, made this wooden flag for the department in his woodshop class.
There was plenty of snow on the ground in Batavia today.
Above, Hannah Burket and Jesse Foster shovel their driveway on Liberty Street, and below, also on Liberty, Russ Borden uses his snowblower.
A car buried in the snow on Liberty Street.
Jackson and Ganson
South Jackson
Alva Place
Main and Bank
The monument of Gen. Emory Upton.
Lewis Place
With a theme of "We Will Rise," about 75 people, mostly women, came out on perhaps the winteriest day of the winter so far -- with a bit of wind, a temperature in the mid-teens, and snow -- to Jackson Square this morning for the local version of Women March.
On a day when Buffalo organizers canceled their march, Genesee County's women's rights supporters rallied each other to do better and help each other.
"We don’t all have to be leaders but we each need to be participants," said Diane Kastenbaum, the keynote speaker.
Born and raised in Batavia, Kastenbaum moved away from her hometown as a young adult and returned seven years ago, going to work for the family business and eventually running for Congress against the now-indicted Chris Collins in 2016.
When she returned, she said, she found some irregularities in the family business and when she pressed the accountant and the attorney for information and documents, she met resistance.
She suspected the resistance was due, at least in part, to gender bias, she said, even though she was a stockholder and board member in the company.
Eventually, after continuing to press the issue, she staged a boardroom coup and was appointed CEO.
In 2016, she said, when she told a business colleague, a male colleague, that she was going to challenge Collins for the NY-27 seat, she said the man asked "Are you crazy?" He wondered, she said, how she could run her business and run for Congress.
"Would he have said that to a man? I don't think so," Kastenbaum said.
To fight back against sexism and discrimination, Kastenbaum said, women need to get involved. They need to join organizations and become board members, whether arts councils, civic group, nonprofits, or business organizations, women need to participate.
"Get yourself on some board and then run for office yourself," Kastenbaum said.
Women getting involved will make a difference, she said.
"If you make that promise to me, together we will rise," Kastenbaum said. "And if you make that promise to yourselves, together we rise. And if you make that promise to your daughters and your granddaughters and your nieces and your mothers, together, we rise.
"And if you make that promise to your sisters here today, who will bear witness, together, we rise. And if you make that promise to take the power into your own hands, women, together we rise."
The crowd gathered in Jackson Square then broke into a call-and-response chant.
"We will"
"Rise up."
"We will"
"Rise up."
"We will"
"Rise up."
After Kastenbaum spoke, the activists marched down Center Street, to Main Street, to City Centre to conclude the rally.
For the seventh time in 13 games this season, the Alexander Trojans topped 60 points en route to their 10th win, beating Notre Dame at Notre Dame, 63-52.
Chris McClinic led the Trojans with 24 points, hitting a pair of three-point baskets along the way, and senior captain Ryan Davis scored 13 points.
"At the beginning, we were able to attack their two-three zone," said Trojan Coach Wayne Hanley. "We were able to get through it pretty quick and made them change things up. I thought Notre Dame did a good job shooting but we did a good job on the boards."
With eight wins against Genesee Region competition (10-3 overall), Alexander is tied for the league lead with Lyndonville and Elba.
The Trojans lost a home game to Elba on Wednesday, 61-45, and have also lost to Greece-Odyssey, 91-54, and to Cal-Mum, 73-63.
"The kids are playing really well," Hanley said. "We faced some tough competition. Greece-Odyssey, then we played Cal-Mum, and that helped us prepare for the GR itself. The GR is very tough this year. We’ve played some tough games but we’ve been focused every game so I think that has really helped us out."
For Notre Dame, now 6-8, Spencer Misiti scored 16 points, Gabe Macdonald scored 12, and Zachary Cocking scored 11.
Thank you to Coach Hanley for participating in a video interview. Unfortunately, the audio did not come out well enought to use with this video.
When Bob Bausch joined the County Legislature in 2010 he said he was making at least a four-year commitment to serve. Nine years later, at age 75 and with a new four-year term looming, he thinks it's time to step aside.
Bausch announced today that he's not going to seek reelection this year.
"When I was pushing for the four-year terms, I knew that at 75 I shouldn't run for a four-year term," Bausch said. "I'm in good health but I'm 75. There's no denying it."
Bausch editorialized and lobbied in support of staggered four-year terms for the county legislative members, replacing a system that had all nine members up for election every two years. County voters approved the reform in November.
Before joining the Legislature, he served as a Village of Bergen trustee for eight years and for 10 years before that, he was on Bergen's Zoning Appeals Board.
He became chairman of the County Legislature in 2017.
Once his term is up at the end of this year, after 27 years in either elected or appointed office, Bausch said he will have plenty to do to keep himself busy. He will continue to serve on the boards of community groups. He also has family spread across the country from Philadelphia to San Jose, Calif., and so will travel occasionally to see them.
"There are still things I would like to get done but I should step aside," Bausch said.
Photo: File photo.
A person was reportedly stabbed in the chest and is being taken UMMC by a friend.
Police officers were dispatched to the hospital and to Columbia Avenue but an officer on scene said there is no indication anything occurred on Columbia. He said there are no tracks in the snow, no blood.
UPDATE 9:40 a.m.: An officer has made contact with the victim at the hospital. The stabbing occurred, he said, at a location on Bank Street Road sometime last night. A deputy or trooper is asked to respond since it occurred outside the city.
NOTE: This page is currently pinned to the top of the home page. Scroll down for the latest news.
Closures and cancellations announced for the weekend due to weather.
Please email notifications to howard@thebatavian.com.
A mother and two young children were displaced from their home after a fire that started on a stove quickly spread to the kitchen leading to a burnt-out kitchen and extensive smoke and water damage to their second-floor apartment.
The mother and her children were at home at the time of the fire and evacuated safely.
City Fire Chief Steve Napolitano said the fire cause $10,000 to $25,000 damage and the apartment wouldn't be fit for habitation until the kitchen is rebuilt and there is extensive, deep cleaning in the rest of the apartment.
A downstairs apartment sustained minor water damage and the residents have been allowed to remain.
The fire was reported at 136 Pearl St., Batavia, just after 1:30 p.m.
"Crews did an outstanding job of containing the fire with little or no extension into the attic or the rest of the structure," Napolitano said.
The Salvation Army is assisting the mother and her children.
Submitted photos.
Press release:
“The Genesee County Economic Development Center in collaboration with our many public and private sector partners celebrated in bringing Alpina Foods to Genesee County in 2011. Unfortunately, due to the loss of a co-packaging contract, Alpina Foods has made a decision to close its operations at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
“While this is extremely disappointing news, the GCEDC will be diligent in marketing and promoting the facility to other agricultural businesses. This was similar to our approach in marketing and promoting a former yogurt manufacturing site, which resulted in bringing HP Hood to our community and with it, further economic investment and eventually the hiring of hundreds of employees.
“We are confident that we will have similar success with the Alpina Foods facility in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
“In the meantime, the GCEDC will work with our public and private sector partners to assist displaced workers in any capacity we can.”
The National Weather Service has upgraded the outlook for the expected winter storm this weekend to a warning with the possibility, starting at 1 p.m., Saturday, that the storm will bring up to 14 inches of snow to the region.
Winds could gust to 35 mph and temperatures are expected to be low and cold.
The warning is in effect until 6 p.m., Sunday.
Travel is expected to be very difficult, potentially impossible, according to the weather service. Areas of blowing snow could reduce visibility.
Wind chills could make it feel like 15 below zero and frostbite on exposed skin could occur in as little as 30 minutes.
Dom Grazioplene became the latest Batavia High School Art student with a solo exhibit at GO ART! this week with a well-attended opening reception last night at Seymore Place. In the video, Grazioplene talks about his approach to art.
Also hosting an opening reception Thursday was Don Fryling, a Redfield Parkway resident, and fine art photographer.
Dom Grazioplene
Don Fryling
Bandit is on the run. He took off from his home on East Avenue around 4:45 p.m., Tuesday. He was last seen on Stringham Drive.
Tyler Fales would like him to come home. If you can help, call (585) 329-0035.
Esayas Reinhardt -- Outstanding Student Award
Esayas earned this award because of his perseverance in meeting high academic and behavioral expectations. Esayas has overcome many challenges throughout his intermediate years at John Kennedy. He has worked hard to improve academic focus, attention to details and motivation to learn. Esayas has made marked gains in mathematics, reading and writing.
His greatest achievement has been in leadership. Esayas has grown into a successful communicator and leader. He has chosen to consistently do his best in support services, classroom lessons and in social settings. He recently completed his post office position with recognition by Mrs. Whitehead.
He is currently acting as a student council member at John Kennedy Intermediate. Esayas participates in Miss Cole's guided reading groups and includes with Mrs. A's fourth-grade art and Friday Free Choice.
Esayas is both a student and role model for his classmates and the school community. Congratulations on a job well done!
Nominated by Mrs. Neumann.
Eryn Dunn -- Certificate of Appreciation
The NYSSMA conference brings together the best high school singers and musicians from across the state to take part in four days of rehearsals and concerts each year in Rochester.
Eryn went to the Rochester Riverside Convention Center on Thursday, Nov. 29, to register for the event and took part in hours of rehearsals over the next few days, culminating in a concert on Saturday evening at the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater. The concert was absolutely breathtaking, and Eryn's participation and performance were truly inspiring.
Nominated by Mr. Grillo.
Katrina Cox -- Outstanding Staff Award
Miss Cox is an English-as-a-New-Language teacher at John Kennedy has extended her role as not only a teacher for her students but also as an ambassador for our new families that have moved into the district and need support in both language and understanding cultural traditions.
Miss Cox can be seen attending family movie nights, book fairs, the Color Run, even trick-or-treating with the families to help them take part in the many traditions that the students can take part in by being students at JK and living in Batavia.
Miss Cox has truly been a steward in welcoming our families and has helped support the families' transition to living here in Batavia and attending our school. Thank you, Trina, for truly taking care of BCSD and always modeling the JK way in building relationships with your both students and their families!
Nominated by Mrs. Cook.
Laura Whipple and Lindsey Heassler -- Outstanding Staff Award
Laura and Lindsey have worked tirelessly over the last year and a half to restructure reading and book choices for their high-level reading classes. The two have collaboratively adjusted the way developmental reading is taught so that our highest readers are pushed to new levels!
Through their attention to detail, particular literature selection and reflection on connections to ELA and Social Studies curriculum, this pair has created a learning environment for their students that is challenging, connecting and rewarding. It is safe to say that their sixth-grade students are not only becoming better readers, but also more knowledgeable students.
Nominated by Mr. Sutton.
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