Stories from

Press release:

When members of the Class of 2018 graduate from Byron-Bergen and Le Roy Central school districts next June, their high school transcripts will include a certificate, endorsed by the Genesee County Economic Development Center, indicating completion of a training program in professional skills.

With support from the Genesee Gateway Local Development Corporation and the America’s Best Communities grant, a timely program is being developed in the two districts to provide graduating seniors with a repertoire of skills that employers perceive as lacking in the majority of first-time job applicants.

“We are constantly looking for strategies to develop our local workforce in preparation for emerging career opportunities,” said John Jakubowski, GCEDC Workforce Development consultant. “Honing professional skills gives our students the edge in a competitive market.”

Professional skills, sometimes referred to as “soft” skills, include effective communication, teamwork and collaboration, problem solving, critical observation, and conflict resolution. While they may be difficult to quantify, their absence is obvious and problematic for conducting business efficiently and professionally.

“Our students are developing a growth mindset as early as elementary school,” said Byron-Bergen Superintendent Mickey Edwards. “We reinforce the belief throughout all grades that intelligence and character can be developed and that human potential really is without limits.

"With this new program for seniors on their way out our doors to higher education, the service or employment, we are equipping them with a refinement of skills to position them for success in whatever route they take.”

The professional skills training will rely on the expertise of school counseling staff, the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership Business Education coordinator, and local employers as guest presenters. 

“When our students can interact with a company president or a human resources manager from our geographical area, they not only learn the importance of professional skills, they also get a feel for the wide variety of opportunities that exist close to home," said incoming Le Roy Superintendent Merritt Holly.

"With the exciting initiatives transpiring in projects like the Le Roy Food & Tech Park, we want our graduates to be ready to take advantage of any career path that presents itself. But professional skills are universally in demand and will serve our children well for a lifetime.” 

While the professional skills training program is being designed specifically for Byron-Bergen and Le Roy high school seniors, the model is highly replicable and can be adapted easily in other districts.

Press release:

On Wednesday, March 1, the City of Batavia Water Department will be repairing a water main on Tracy Avenue starting at 9 a.m. The water will be turned off on Tracy Avenue from Hart Street to North Street.

We will keep water service interruption to a minimum. This work may result in a period of discolored water in this general area after service is restored. Residents should check to make sure water clarity has returned before resuming activities such as laundry, which may be impacted. 

      Leonard Aguayo

Members of the Local Drug Task Force say they observed a possible drug transaction in the City of Batavia so they conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by the man they suspected of dealing drugs.

Stopped was Leonard E. "LB" Aguayo, 30, of Affinity Lane, Rochester.

Investigators say they found Aguayo in possession of more than a half-ounce of crack cocaine with an estimated street value of $4,000, a quantity of marijuana and cash. 

Aguayo was also allegedly driving on a suspended driver's license.

He was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, unlawful possession of marijuana and aggravated unlicensed operation.

Other charges may be forthcoming.

He was arraigned in City Court and jailed without bail.

Officers with Batavia PD assisted in the arrest.

If the Perry Yellowjackets win a sectional title this Friday, it won't be because Oakfield-Alabama didn't work hard to try and spoil their so-far-undefeated season.

The Hornets were in the game until halfway through the final quarter when foul trouble took two starters off the court and Perry was able to finally pull away for a 78-63 win.

The Yellowjackets are a bigger team with Tyler Cowie, at 6' 3", 180 pounds, and Dan Elliott, 6' 4", 190 pounds, in the post, and a nearly unstoppable shot creator in Austin Croll at guard. But O-A got into their heads early, disrupting their offense with tight, aggressive coverage that led to several turnovers on steals, penalties and mental errors.

"What I noticed is a lot of teams kind of backed off them, hesitant or concerned about getting blown out, but we can’t back off," said Hornets Head Coach Ryan Stehlar. "We have to use our speed, our defense, and our intensity, so I wasn’t going to change our game plan. If we were going to go out, we were going to go out our way."

The Hornets had a lead of 16-13 at the end of the first quarter and 32-31 at the end of the half. Perry jumped out early in the third quarter, led most of the way and were head by about by five points early in the fourth quarter when O-A rallied a bit to get a single-digit lead with about five minutes left. That would be the Hornet's last lead of the night. 

"I've seen them several times this season and those guys play hard," said Perry Head Coach Phil Wyant. "We knew it was going to be tough. They scrap, they battle, they play a lot of guys who can put it on the floor and are willing to shoot and that presented a tough match-up, especially when they’re making tough shots."

Reice Woodward and Dalton Carlsen fouled out and either because that took some defensive pressure off the Yellowjackets, or O-A fatigue or just the great talent on the Perry team, the Yellowjackets quickly pulled away and never let the Hornets get back in the game the rest of the way.

Cowie finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds, and nine blocked shots. Croll scored 24 points.

"Austin and Tyler, not only are they great players, but they do whatever it takes to find the open guy, make a play for a teammate, and get it done on the defensive end," Wyant said. "They were down there guarding two of their better players. Yeah, Austin and Tyler, I'm glad they're on our team, that's for sure."

Also for Perry, Spencer Owen scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds.

For O-A, Tylor Ohlson scored 18 points, including hitting three three-pointers. Woodward scored 15 and Carlsen scored 15.

Perry faces Cuba-Rushford on Friday for the Section V Class C title. 

"We know it's going to be a tough challenge," Wyant said.

To purchase prints, click here.

Boys Basketball

• Cal-Mum 50, East Rochester 47 FINAL -- Class C2 Semifinals 
• Northstar 72, Le Roy 68 FINAL/OT -- Class C1 Semifinals
• Perry 78, Oakfield 63 FINAL -- Class C3 Semifinals

Girls Basketball

• Elba 46, Andover 39 FINAL -- Class D2 Semifinals

The 25-year-old mother who left her twin sons home alone in their State Street home the night of May 20 when a fire broke out taking their lives entered a guilty plea in Batavia Town Court today to a single count of endangering the welfare of a child.

Michael and Micah Gard were left alone while Heather Ace went out to meet with friends and by her own statement later to police took the opportunity to smoke marijuana and drink an alcoholic beverage.

Her mother called her frantically that night to tell her about the fire and Ace rushed home in hysterics, according to reports.

With her guilty plea, Ace faces a sentence of either probation or a year in jail.

Via our news partner WBTA.

There will be an informational open house at Bethany Town Offices from 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, about the planned reconstruction of the Bethany Center Road Bridge over Route 20 in Bethany. CORRECTION: Time is 4 to 6 p.m.

There are no formal presentations, but NYT Department of Transportation engineers will be on hand to share details of the project and answer questions about the scope of the work, impact on travel during the six-month construction period, and other concerns residents might have about the project.

The current bridge was built in 1932 and is marred by cracking and crumbling cement and exposed rebar.

The new bridge is expected to have a functional life of at least 75 years and have two standard lanes that are 11-feet wide and shoulders with railings that are six-feet wide.

The $1.4 million project is expected to begin construction in the spring of 2018 and be completed by the fall of 2018.

Since Bethany Center Road ends three miles south of the bridge, detour signs will not be posted. There are parallel alternative routes.

When the current bridge is demolished, Route 20 will be closed for about two weeks. The detour will be Old Telephone Road, which runs parallel to Route 20.                

Press release:

The Genesee Gateway Local Development Corporation has appointed Genesee County Legislator Gregg Torrey to the organization’s Board of Directors. Torrey represents the towns of Alexander, Bethany and Pavilion. 

Torrey is a commercial real estate agent and licensed real estate appraiser across New York state and is the managing partner of Springbrooke Properties LLC.

“I look forward to applying my years of experience in real estate to enhance opportunities for development at the various industrial parks throughout the county and in particular our continued efforts to make STAMP shovel ready,” Torrey said.

Torrey is past president of the Batavia Development Corporation and past member of the City of Batavia Planning and Development Committee. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Genesee County Soil & Water Conservation District, Genesee Cancer Assistance and the Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union.

A 1994 graduate of Notre Dame High School, he graduated from Canisius College with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and an MBA in Finance.

Torrey and his family reside in Bethany.

Audio and visual fire alarms at Batavia Downs have been set off.

The building has been evacuated.

City fire is on scene, investigating.

Town of Batavia fire responding.

A possible pull station was activated. Investigating.

UPDATE: I thought I updated this earlier: False alarm. 

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) continues to pursue a $1.2 million phase one shovel-ready project to build a business park on a 75-acre parcel in the Town of Le Roy. Similar efforts in the towns of Batavia, Pembroke and Bergen have yielded major corporate investment. The plan for the GCEDC is to replicate this business attraction model in Le Roy.

The GCEDC has purchased the land for the project, requested a rezoning of the property from the Town of Le Roy and has received an award through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process administered by the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council for $420,000 to begin site engineering and infrastructure construction.

The GCEDC estimates that at full build out, the Le Roy Food & Tech Park will have approximately 600,000 square feet for office, advanced manufacturing and distribution/warehousing space that could employ as many as 1,000 people.

“The GCEDC has a proven track record in making sites shovel ready through smart investments and market these sites to businesses locally, regionally, nationally and internationally and we are confident that this can be accomplished in Le Roy,” said Genesee County Legislator Shelley Stein (Le Roy). 

“Collaboration is critical to this type of effort and it’s good to see how our local government leaders and economic development and education professionals are working together to make this project a reality,” said Genesee County Legislator Robert J. Basuch (Elba, Byron and Bergen).

“We continue to move forward with the GCEDC to make this site shovel ready,” said Le Roy Town Supervisor Stephen R. Barbeau. “We have the real potential to create new jobs, secure new investment and grow the tax base in our community.”

“We think our strategy of building a shovel-ready site in Le Roy will enhance market opportunities for existing buildings and infrastructure in the vicinity of the park,” said Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the GCEDC. “This is similar to the development strategy deployed around the county where shovel-ready parks are located at the edge of population centers.”

The Le Roy Food & Tech Park is located on a 75-acre parcel on Route 19 and West Bergen Road in the Town of Le Roy bordering the Village of LebRoy. The GCEDC estimates that when developed it will be able to attract companies and investment to the site that will enable additional commercial infill into the Village.

To prepare the local workforce for these new jobs, the towns are partnering with Le Roy Central School and Byron-Bergen Central School through a Professional Skills Training program.  The program is being funded through a grant from America’s Best Communities award that the towns of Le Roy and Bergen won in 2015. 

Professional skills include various interpersonal skills such as how to interact with people, emotional intelligence, verbal communications skills and other skills to help people perform in the workplace. The lack of professional skills has been identified by employers as one of the biggest challenges for the next generation of workers. 

“We need to work together to not only bring new jobs to our community but also to provide the next generation of our workforce the tools to be successful once they graduate from school,” said Donald S. Cunningham, Town of Bergen supervisor.

“There are a number of exciting initiatives taking place in Bergen and Le Roy and this project has the potential to really have a positive impact on both communities,” said Anna Marie Barclay, Village of Bergen mayor.

Nicholas Anthony Esposito, 31, of North Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd, menacing and harassment, 2nd. Esposito was reportedly involved in an incident at 2:55 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of Walmart where he allegedly damaged the property of another person, struck the owner of that vehicle with a closed fist and placed a woman in the vehicle in fear of physical injury.

Tomy Lee Velasquez, 24, of Fisher Road, Warsaw, is charged with obstructing governmental administration, 2nd, false personation, aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, and rental vehicle without an ignition interlock device, and loud muffler. Velasquez was stopped Feb. 20 for an alleged traffic violation by Le Roy PD.

Cassy Drury, 23, of Myrtle Street, Le Roy, is charged with two counts of rape, 3rd. Drury, being a person over 21, allegedly had sexual intercourse with a person under 17 years old between Jan. 16 and Feb. 20. She was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Douglas Edward Artman, 26, of Alleghany Road, Darien, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and speeding. Artman was stopped at 7:44 p.m. Thursday on Route 77, Darien, by Deputy Eric Meyer. He was allegedly found in possession of a marijuana smoking pipe containing marijuana.

Alexander's wrestlers went to the state meet this weekend, came home today with two state titles and a fifth-place finish and got a hero's welcome. Friends, fans, and family turned out at the school following a siren-blasting escort through the village from the Alexander Fire Department and Sheriff's patrols.

Pictured are Dane Heberlein, Nick Young and Matt Gaiser

Gaiser collected his first state title; Young came in fifth; and for Heberlein, a senior, it was his third consecutive state title.

"It means a lot for the coaches, for the parents, even for the school," Heberlein said of the three-peat.

Asked what it means for him more personally and what he will reflect on in the future about it, Heberlein said, 'It's not so much the state titles, but what it took to win those state titles. I think that’s what is going to remembered the most. I mean all the hard work, practices, drill partners, and coaches, grinding through and in the end, a state championship is what we got."

Alexander has a long history of success in wrestling, and Heberlein said that's because a culture of dedication is built into the program.

"We set a good standard and I think that’s something to stand by," Heberlein said. "Every time you go in for a practice, you go in that room you know what you’ve got to bring. There are no easy days or days you slack. You’re going into work and that’s something we take pride in, working every day."

There are always young wrestlers coming up behind Alexander's current crop of champions and Heberlein has advice for them.

"Stay strong mentally," he said. "It easy to be mentally weakened and that’s when bad things will happen, so stay strong mentally and keep it together and things are fine."

Batavia Downs hosted a bridal show today.

The inventors of MöbileSchlägen hosted a party at Ken's Charcoal Pits & Bar-B-Q to kick off their Kickstarter campaign, aimed at raising $150,000 so they can begin production of their hammer, nail and log game based on a popular game with a German ancestry. 

Photos: Co-owner Marc Johnson demonstrates how to play the game.

Elba advanced in sectional play Saturday night, beating Genesee Valley at home, 60-45.

Tucker Bezon scored 19 points. Henry Pflaumer got 15 and Shane O'Halloran, 9. 

Noah Windus had 14 for GV and Logan Glover, 13.

The Blue Devils are moving on in the post-season with a Section V playoff win today over Honeoye Falls, 59-49.

Antwan Odom scored 22 points, hitting two threes along the way. Tee Sean Ayala scored 14 points, hitting two three-pointers. Jonathan Liciaga scored 11. John Kindig added six.

For HF-L, Owen VanNewkirk hit 15 points, including a trio of threes.

It was the 400th win for Head Coach Buddy Brasky (submitted photo below).

To purchase prints, click here.

It was all action on the home court of the Hornets last night as Oakfield-Alabama and the Pavilion Golden Gophers staged a shootout in a quest to advance in the Section V tournament. 

O-A came out on top, 75-70.

For Oakfield-Alabama, Tylor Ohlson scored 17, Ryan Douglas, 16, Reice Woodward, 15, Dalton Carlsen, 13, Joey Burdick, 11.

For Pavilion, Luke Milligan scored 20, Hunter Seaman, 15 (hitting four three-pointers), Ryley Elliott, 12 (two three-pointers), Caleb Milligan, 11 and Rob Cutcliffe, eight.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

 

Le Roy easily dispatched North Rose-Wolcott in its quest for possible Section V title with a 79-32 win on its home court. 

Ryan Boyce scored 13 points, hitting two of two three-point tries. Canyon Roster added 12, Josh Laurie, 11, and T.Y. Williams and Jason Doemling each had nine. Boyce and Roster also each had seven rebounds.

Rose-Wolcott's Tyler Norris, who had been averaging more than 30 points a game recently was held to 15 points. He was 0-6 from beyond the arch.

Photos by David Boyce.

Boys Basketball

• Le Roy 79, North Rose-Wolcott 32 FINAL
• Geneseo 42, Pembroke 40 FINAL
• Lyons 80, Byron-Bergen 45 FINAL
• Cal-Mum 53, Alexander 43 FINAL
• Oakfield 75, Pavilion 70 FINAL
• York 59, Lyndonville 43 FINAL
• Mt. Morris 65, Notre Dame 64 FINAL/OT

Girls Basketball

• HF-L 53, Batavia 36 FINAL
• Elba 65, Hinsdale 26 FINAL

Firefighters from Pembroke, Indian Falls and Corfu have been dispatched for a second time this morning to 8854 S. Lake Road, Pembroke, for a fire.

The first call was at 1:54 a.m. for the report of a controlled burn.

A person on social media posted about the fire. He said, "What I learned tonight 12 gallons of gas on a big bonfire will get the whole fire department to come and put it out." He later added, "thank you to Pembroke Fire Department, you guys rock."

Reader-submitted photos and info.

UPDATE: Pembroke firefighters returned later in the day for overhaul of the scene (reader submitted photos):