Former county Manager Jay Gsell made a brief reappearance Monday at the Old County Courthouse to seek approval on behalf of the Batavia Rotary Club for the annual Fly-In breakfast later this year.

Apparently, the group is anxiously waiting for the summer fundraiser to arrive.

“We’re ready to rock and roll again,” Gsell said to the Public Service Committee members.

Rotary Club expects 800 to 900 attendees to the pancake breakfast, which has become a well-organized event that keeps drawing people for more, he said.

“That’s why we keep getting people coming back,” Gsell said.

Rotary Club had requested permission to host the breakfast at Genesee County Airport on June 18, and to also have related access to and use of the grounds prior to and after the event on June 16 through 20, “subject to the rules and regulations of the Genesee County Airport.”

The budget impact is minimal expense offset by Rotary’s promotion of the airport and increased fuel sales, the resolution states. Gsell added that attendees are expected to arrive by plane in addition to automobiles this year.

The Committee agreed to the request, and it will eventually go before the county Legislature for final approval.

File Photo of Jay Gsell serving up pancakes during a Rotary Fly-In Breakfast, by Howard Owens.

York, of The Pike Company, has been providing monthly updates about the $70 million project to county officials.

To date, there have been 14 days lost due to uncooperative weather and 33 quality issues, along with those change orders; however, the project is doing well financially, and according to schedule, York said.

“For project costs, we now have changes to the date of $371,757. In January, we processed about $128,000. So they involved some build conditions, that was around $25,000, structural precast revisions, that was about $22,000, plumbing revisions of $47,000, electrical workstations $24,000,” he said during Monday’s Public Services meeting. “All of these costs are where they've been projected in the budget, and they represent less than .7 percent. Everybody seems to be moving right along, the schedule’s going great.”

While that may seem like a rather tedious report, it’s something that taxpayers and legislators likely want to hear more of a multi-million dollar project remaining under budget and on time. Completion is still quite a ways off, but it is estimated for spring 2024.

Upcoming to-do lists include masonry work, moving up to the second floor to set precast panels and interior masonry walls, an administrative area, and installing HVAC equipment and mechanical rooms by late February, York said.

“We expect to complete the spray fireproofing and admin building this month. And probably the last week of February, we'll start setting the steel joists that will form through the roof line in between each set of cells,” he said, adding that the quality issues have been closed. “These are minor things. There have been no issues brought up by the county commissioner of corrections. Communication between all parties is going great. We recently just had our own architect meeting, and there were no issues, far from that.”

The painter and drywall contractor began this week, and a final slab was poured after a  grease trap was moved into the correct location within the kitchen, he said.

The 184-bed jail facility is to house male and female inmates along Route 5, on West Main Street Road in the town of Batavia. It will sit between County Building #2 and Genesee County Animal Shelter.

File Photo of Carl York by Joanne Beck.

Photos below, from public report delivered to the Genesee County Legislature.

A bicyclist has reportedly been struck at Oak Street and Main Street, Batavia.

Unknown injuries.

City Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

A house fire is reported at 878 Gabby Road, Pembroke.

The initial call was for a chimney fire with smoke and flames showing.

Pembroke Fire and Indian Falls Fire responded, and the fire is now reported as contained to the structure adjacent the chimney.

Second alarm can proceed non-emergency.

Multi-county agencies have been disappearing, and this one — GLOW Solid Waste Management Recycling --  has remained in the capable hands of its Administrator, Grayson, for going on 26 years.

And she plans not to be the last one standing, but, in fact, to hand the torch to a temporary administrator to train as she winds down her time. Grayson is set to retire on June 30.

During Monday’s Public Services meeting, Grayson asked for an amendment to the 2023 management salary schedule to create a temporary full-time recycling administrator position to help with the transition of her retirement. The amendment would allow for shared services costs of $28,426 to pay the position from April 10 to Aug. 11.

Legislator John Deleo credited Grayson before making his own request.

“She’s got the knowledge and the passion, and if there’s a way I can refuse her request,” he said, his voice trailing off to laughter.

Fellow Legislator Marianne Clattenburg disagreed with Deleo, adding that "she deserves it," and all legislators thanked Grayson for her years of service.

The GLOW Committee was created in 1987 as a cooperative effort between the Counties of Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming, whose purpose was to develop strategies for the management of solid waste in the region. Orleans County ended its affiliation at the end of 2003.

Efforts have included a household hazardous waste collection program, composting and recycling programs, the Don’t Throw That Away Recycling Game, a waste reduction and recycling display at Picnic in the Park, a recycling hotline, and backyard composting.

The future retiree said she’s seen “a lot of changes over the years.”

“I can spew so much off the top of my head,” she said. “Some people appreciate it, others not so much.”

Her steadfast dedication has shown through her willingness to be a lone worker — for the most part working alone for 19 of her 26 years, she said. She promised to still volunteer at the household waste collection, and spoke about the paint collection, which will book some 400 people in June, she said.

The committee agreed to the budget amendment, which has to be approved by the county Legislature at a future meeting.

Nobody around now can explain that decision precisely, but the result -- at least in large part -- was hundreds of missing units of technology equipment and unnecessary fees, and a negative Comptroller's audit.

Superintendent Jason Smith -- who just last month celebrated his one-year anniversary at the district -- recommended that the school board consider reinstituting the full-time technology director position to provide “clear, strong and strategic direction” for the district. Although this conclusion stemmed from a Comptroller audit last August of 2022, it came more directly from a series of district surveys and interviews with students and staff.

“What prompted this study was the Comptroller's audit. And what I found from our studies is that … not having that position turned out to be detrimental. For review, I wanted to write a full review of the whole instructional technology area, not just the laptops missing, which, obviously, is a great concern. I wanted to dive deeper than that.”

The state Comptroller audit found that nearly 300 pieces of technology equipment were missing, unnecessary service fees were paid for those items and an additional amount of $8,700 was paid to a third-party consultant.

At the time, Smith acknowledged the issue and promised that “we can and will do better going forward.” Since that audit, the district has reduced its service fees by an additional $109,000, he said.

A few of the recommended steps the district has taken include:

• Engaged a third-party company specializing in IT services to conduct an assessment of our entire IT department, including our inventory and staff. 
• An internal team has taken the results from the audit and gone above and beyond to reduce the district's BOCES service charges by purging and returning unused inventory. 
• The district is working closely with the Board of Education to adopt a comprehensive written policy for establishing and maintaining controls to track and inventory IT equipment. 

The board approved a plan of action in November and submitted it to the state, which approved the corrective measures. Smith, however, opted to take it further with the series of interviews and surveys to more fully flesh out what’s going on with technology across the district as a whole.

A sampling of survey questions were:

• I believe that the use of technology (digital resources) in my classroom or my teaching positively impacts student learning and achievement.
• I believe that the use of technology (digital resources) in my school positively impacts student learning and achievement.
• I believe that the use of technology (digital resources) in my classroom or my teaching promotes student critical thinking.
• I believe that the use of technology (digital resources) in my school promotes student critical thinking.
• I have the required knowledge and skills to integrate technology (digital resources) into my instruction successfully.
• I believe that the use of technology (digital resources) in instruction provides for the needs of students with disabilities to successfully access the curriculum.

The full-time director of technology position had been eliminated in 2020, during Superintendent Anibal Soler's rein, apparently due to concern that finances might get tight with COVID protocols. The city school district then shared a director part-time with BOCES.

Other identified needs included resurrecting the Instructional Technology Committee, working on WiFi/connectivity problems throughout the district, investigating the usefulness and practicality of Chromebooks versus laptops, adding Microsoft, giving the technology curriculum more teeth “to ensure our students are being provided with the essential skills needed upon graduation,” and thoroughly reviewing existing technology staff and related use of BOCES services, Smith said.

Of all of the information that he garnered during this time, he was most surprised to hear kids’ comments about Chromebooks. Although they have been a popular device used in school districts, kids weren’t quite so enthused about them, he said. He first heard his own children’s remarks about Chromebooks, and perhaps didn’t take them so seriously until the surveys in school, when kids echoed similar sentiments. He had to smile and admit, “hey, my kids were right,” he said during an interview with The Batavian.

Chromebooks are less expensive than laptops; however, laptops offer more options for students, which could be more helpful as they prepare for college or work.

“But you know, you get what you pay for some time,” he said. “So, we have to be thoughtful.”

While many of his suggestions and recommendations are just that at this point, the full-time director of technology is a firm statement with hopes of board approval. Smith and the business administrator will be working on the budget to present more definite details of how salary and benefits will impact the next year’s budget, he said. That vote will be coming up in May.

Another position to consider is a part-time data protection officer to handle duties for the Data Protection Privacy Act. This may not be a new position and person, he said, but additional job responsibilities assigned to an existing employee once the technology director gets on board to organize the department. Smith and Trisha Finnigan, executive director of staff development and operations, will be writing the job description for the tech director, and they plan to check in with other local city school districts for guidance. 

Smith wants the public to know that district leaders take the Comptroller’s audit “very seriously,” and they recognize it as a concern in the community.  He listens to the questions, answers them, and understands the significance of the audit findings, he said.

“We haven't hid behind that. I said to the public and to the media, we're going to enact a comprehensive study. We've done that, here are the nine key findings that I took from that, that I've shared with the board, and we're going to go beyond, we're going to make sure we have processes in place to protect our assets. And that's important, you know, for our school district and for our public, but also, we went beyond and looked at our overall technology program as a whole,” he said. “So, we met the obligation, we did a corrective action plan in November, that's what we were required to do … I wasn't happy with that, we allowed to go beyond checking the boxes. I was looking at the overall program for our students, and this Comptroller’s audit prompted us to do that.

“So I'm optimistic that we're going to have some good results come out of this,” Smith said. “We've already implemented some changes as far as inventory control goes. But we want to have a good overall technology, robust program for our students, and support our staff.”

His draft timeline for action includes:

March 13 for board approval to reestablish a full-time administrative position in the technology department

Throughout March for budget implications to be reviewed and adjusted for that recommendation. He expects implications to be negligible since the position has been in the budget to date.

April and May for the posting and recruitment process. 

May and June to fill the appointment of director of technology (or whatever the official title will be, which is to be determined). 

Prior coverage:

• Batavia city schools taxpayers have right to be concerned
• Batavia superintendent answers comptroller report

File photo of Superintendent Jason Smith from Batavia City Schools.

This evening's sunset, submitted by Chris Crocker.

Press release:

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone of what lighting is permitted on a passenger vehicle in New York State.  Many lighting products being sold now do not comply with the Vehicle and Traffic Law.  In general, the following lighting is required and authorized:

• Headlamps – Two of equal power and white in color (one lamp for a motorcycle); Other overhead light bars are not permitted while operating on a public highway
• Tail lamps – Two of equal power and red to amber in color (one lamp for a motorcycle)
• Turn signals, front – Amber
• Turn signals, rear – Red or amber
• Hazard lights (4 way flashers) – Amber in front, red or amber in rear
• License plate lamp – White
• Back up lamp – White

Any other color lighting is prohibited while operating on a public highway, except the following:

• Amber – For hazard vehicles only (i.e. Plow trucks, tow vehicles) when actually a hazard.  Any other amber lighting, such as fog lamps or overhead light bars, is not permitted
• Blue – For authorized volunteer fire personnel only when responding to an emergency
• Green – For authorized volunteer ambulance personnel only when responding to an emergency

Any violations are infractions of the Vehicle and Traffic Law and are subject to appropriate fines in a local justice court. 

Photo illustrations courtesy of the Sheriff's Office. They are not local examples.  Chief Deputy Brian Frieday says of the photos: The light bar would be an example of something permissible for a hazard vehicle when actually engaged in hazardous operation, such as a private plowing vehicle when actually plowing.  However, operating on a public highway, whether the lights are steady or flashing, is not permissible. The under-glow lighting comes in multiple colors and is not permitted while operating on a public highway. The two pictures of the cars with the LED strips, grill lights and rim lights, again, are all not permitted while operating on a public highway.

Press release:

The  2022-2023  Richmond Memorial Library "History by the Hearth" Lecture series continues on Thursday, February 16th at 7:00 pm in the Reading Room with a presentation on "The President's Lady, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington."

This lecture in the series is a Presidents Day collaboration between the Richmond Memorial Library and the Anna Ingasbe Lovell Chapter NSDAR.   Special Collections Librarian, Deborah Wood will be presenting on the life of this fascinating first "First Lady" of the United States of America.  Chapter Constitution Committee Chair, Robin Laney Ettinger, will discuss Mrs. Washington's activities to support General Washington during the American Revolution.  Librarian Wood has planned several lectures for the year 2023 as well as special events in which the local DAR will collaborate and support the library's efforts to bring unique history programs to the area.  The library will have a presidential book display and has a large collection of books about the U.S. presidency for check out. For more information on the lecture series, please call Deborah Wood at (585) 343-9550.

Longtime league bowler Marshall Merle of Batavia has been a consistent 195-205 average bowler for 35 years at Mancuso Bowling Center.

But, until this past week, perfection on the lanes had eluded the 63-year-old right-hander.

That all changed on Thursday night when he recorded his first United States Bowling Congress-certified 300 game in the Toyota of Batavia 4-Man League.

After starting with 178, Merle, using a Roto Grip Halo ball, put together 12 consecutive strikes for the perfect game on lanes 17-18. He finished with 193 for a 671 series -- raising his average to 197.

"I got a real break on the 11th ball," said Merle, a mechanic for LandPro. "I missed my mark three boards inside and it just sat there and the 5-7 was up. But right before the rack came down, the 5 fell and rolled into and took out the 7."

Merle said he made a great shot on the 12th ball and all 10 pins went into the pit.

"I've come close many times over the last five years, shooting several 290 games," he said.

In other Genesee Region USBC league play last week:

• William Yates of Churchville started with 290 en route to a 770 series in the Thursday Owls League at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen. The xx-year-old righty's big series raised his average to 216.

• Matt Baker of Elba registered 290 in a 729 series in the Sneezy's Monday Night League at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion.

• Mike Pettinella of Batavia made it four straight 700 series with 279--762 in the Turnbull Heating Triple League while Mike Szatkowski of Batavia rolled his second straight 700 with 276--732 in the County Line Stone Trios League, both at Mancuso's.

For a list of high scores, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the home page.

Route 33, passing through Batavia, Stafford, Le Roy, and Bergen, is a favorite patrol corridor for local law enforcement.  Traffic stops along the corridor frequently lead to arrests, such as DWI, narcotics, or stolen property, and once in a while, perhaps it might lead to officers uncovering potentially bigger crimes.

Deputies Kenneth Quackenbush and Nicholas Chamoun aren't quite sure what they uncovered when they stopped North Carolina resident Michael Alan Jones and a passenger from Rochester when the officers encountered his vehicle on March 19 in Le Roy, but the involvement of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) the evening of the arrest and the FBI eventually taking over the case suggests Jones wasn't just another guy with an illegal firearm. 

Yes, the two deputies were just doing their job, but part of the job satisfaction of being a police officer is knowing that you might have made a difference, even if you don't know what may have changed because you did good police work.

"There's certainly a sense of satisfaction that we know that we're a part of something larger, though we probably won't ever know what that was," Quackenbush told The Batavian. "But at the end of the day, you know, we don't know why they were here. We don't know what they were doing. And based on their behavior, it was something not good. And so we were able to intervene in that and at least delay plans if nothing else."

What Quackenbush and Chamoun found in a car owned and operated by Jones was a Palmetto State Armory AR15 .223 caliber rifle and a 30-round magazine.  That was enough for a SAFE Act-related arrest.

They also found, according to police documents, officer statements, and video from the scene, two brand new compound bows, tactical combat casualty care gear, casualty care manuals, handwritten copies of the Russian alphabet, right-wing extremist literature, assorted paramilitary gear, two-way radios, along with bolt cutters, a crowbar and gloves in a backpack.

"There was definitely a lot going on there that raised a lot more questions," Chamoun said. "None of those are in and of themselves a crime, but it kind of raised our questioning."

Even so, given the officers' training and experience, they weren't trying to uncover a terrorist plot during the traffic stop -- an agent of the JTTF would explore that while questioning Jones later back at the Sheriff's Office -- they were more focused on the potential for possession of stolen items, drugs, illegal firearms, or just what crime one of them might have committed that made them so nervous about talking with the deputies.

While 24-year-old Jones was accused of violating the SAFE Act, he was never prosecuted locally. Soon after his arrest, he was charged with a federal crime because he was a felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty in federal court and is expected to be sentenced on May 16.

Reporter Jordan Green, of Raw Story, picked up on the arrest of Jones because of his interest in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection in Washington, D.C., which Green has reported, Jones participated in (at least in the march), and he has identified Jones as a member of the Proud Boys and Patriot Front.

Given the interest in Jones by federal authorities and his potential involvement in extremist political groups, and the fact he was arrested locally, The Batavian requested from the Sheriff's Office through the Freedom of Information Law the arrest and investigation-related documents as well as body-worn camera footage of all law enforcement interactions with Jones and his passenger.

Federal authorities also expressed a strong interest in the man who was with Jones, but Green told The Batavian he has yet to uncover any ties between that man and any extremist organizations. The Batavian in its own search did not find any connection. Because he is not facing any criminal charges at this time, The Batavian is withholding his name and blurred his likeness in the accompanying video.

That's weird, right?
At 4:36 p.m. on March 19, Quackenbush and Chamoun were on patrol on Clinton Street Road when they spotted a silver Nissan Sentra with no front license plate (required in New York) and no inspection sticker or registration sticker visible in the windshield.  

Quackenbush turned around to follow the vehicle. 

A Sheriff's patrol vehicle turning around apparently caught the attention of Jones, who turned onto a side road. The patrol followed. He made at least two more turns, and at least on one, he didn't use a turn signal.

With that, the deputies had probable cause for a traffic stop.

Jones pulled over on School Road, and the officers approached the vehicle, Quackenbush on the driver's side, and Chamoun on the passenger side.

Quackenbush asked where they were going.  Jones told him they were going to Rochester, and Quackenbush wanted to know if that was the case, why Jones didn't stay on Route 33.  Jones said he thought he was on the road to Rochester. 

In the midst of the discussion about directions, Chamoun said, "You took three turns rather than just staying on the same road that you were on? See what I'm saying? It's a little weird, right?" 

He then asked the passenger to step out of the vehicle so he could question him separately from Jones.

"So we do this a lot," Chamoun tells the passenger once they're standing in front of the patrol vehicle. "It's a little weird when we see a car see us and then decide to turn onto back roads, as beautiful as they are, and then divert back to the same road that they're on, you know what I'm saying?"

"I see how you can think that," the passenger said.

"Well, I mean, it usually results in felony drug arrest, guns, warrants, that kind of stuff. We do this all the time."

Chamoun then asks several questions -- who owns the car, how long have you known him, where had they been, where they were going.

They had apparently been to a residence on Harvester Avenue in Batavia to purchase a Chevrolet Express Van, which the passenger did purchase, and then it was towed to a Batavia repair shop for maintenance. At least, that's the passenger's story.

But some key information the passenger shared with Chamoun didn't match what Jones was saying.

The passenger said he and Jones had recently met and they met online. Jones said they had known each other for years. He couldn't say how long. But they met through "just random stuff," and through a mutual friend whom they hadn't seen in a long time.

"I will say this your guys' stories are completely different," Chamoun tells Jones. "Weird, right? .... Typically, when a motorist is in a vehicle with a passenger who they claim they've been friends with for years, they should have the same story. So you understand that it's weird, right?"

Jones said he didn't have the best memory.

Then the officers start questioning both men about the bow in the back seat.  Neither claim ownership but said it wasn't stolen.

Then they wanted to know about the backpack in the front passenger seat with bolt cutters sticking out.  Jones said it belonged to the passenger. The passenger, when asked if it's his bag, says, "I plead the fifth."

The dance for information continues, with Jones telling the officers repeatedly, "nothing against you guys," as he evades straightforward answers to yes or no questions, claiming he generally doesn't trust police officers.  He tells them, "I'm sure you guys are great. You're just doing your job."  But remains evasive. He dodges questions. When he is seemingly caught in a lie, he says he's nervous because he's not experienced in dealing with police officers.

Quackenbush tells Jones, "I've been pulled over by police before, and I wasn't nervous, and I didn't lie, right? So when someone's lying to me, that seems to me, 'okay, there's something that he's hiding that he doesn't want me to catch."

Is there a gun in the vehicle?
At first, he's willing to let the deputies search the backseat of his car.  They inform him that since he is the owner and operator of the vehicle, he's responsible for its contents.

Eventually, Quackenbush asks directly if he can search the backpack.  He pulls it out and finds not just the bolt cutters but a crowbar, flashlights, and gloves.  He notes the items look like burglary tools.  The questions zero in on whether anything in the car is stolen.

As Quackenbush looks at the contents visible on the front seat, the broken glove compartment opens, and Quackenbush spots a box of ammo.

"Is there a firearm in the car?"

"There shouldn't be," Jones says.

Chamoun goes back to the patrol car and reads the passenger -- who has already been detained and is handcuffed -- his rights.

The passenger says he understands his rights and he wants a lawyer.

Chamoun heads back to the passenger side of the vehicle, where Quackenbush is continuing to examine the contents of the backpack.

"He just lawyered up," Chamoun says.

From this point on, Jones is a lot less willing to let the deputies search his vehicle.

Chamoun questions the passenger again. 

"Is that 762 yours?" 

"I plead the fifth."

"Are you comfortable back here? Can I get you anything?

"I plead the fifth."

Chamoun then returns to Jones and Quackenbush, who are standing in the roadway next to the Sentra.

"He says the rifle in the vehicle is yours," Chamoun tells Jones.

"So there is a rifle," Quackenbush says. 

Jones shakes his head no.

"He just told us there was," Quackenbush says. "What are we doing here?"

"He's scared," Jones says. "What do you want him to say?"

"What's the deal with a gun?" Quackenbush asks Jones. "Are you not supposed to own a gun? Is that what's up? Like, are you on felony probation? Have you been arrested for something that you're not supposed to own a firearm? Is that what this is all about? I mean, I'm just I'm done. I don't want to beat around the bush anymore."

Jones denies there's a gun in the vehicle.

"So you're saying that absolutely, no way, shape or form there is a gun in this vehicle?"

Jones shakes his head.

The deputies then turn their attention to the mismatched license plate and VIN number on the car.  Quackenbush charges Jones with driving an unregistered vehicle on a highway. The deputies now have the authority to impound the vehicle, which requires that its contents be inventoried.

While going through the items in the trunk, Chamoun pulls out a brand new, never been fired, AR15.

At this point, the officers were not aware of the suspect's felony conviction in North Carolina on sex crime charges, so they couldn't arrest him for a violation of probation. But the weapon and its magazine violated the SAFE Act.  Jones was charged with two counts of criminal possession of an assault weapon in the third degree.

In the patrol car, while in custody, Jones reportedly admitted to the felony charges in North Carolina, something that hadn't come up when dispatchers searched for any records on Jones during the traffic stop.

Friends in New York
The agent from the Joint Terrorism Task Force who questions Jones at Park Road really wants to know what Jones is doing in Western New York.

It can't be for the weather, the agent tells Jones.

"I really liked the snow so far," says Jones, who hadn't been in the Rochester area for even two weeks at that point, according to earlier statements to the deputies. "I got tired of the ice pretty, pretty fast. But it is nice. And, you know, I already have friends. I mean, you know, it's not like I moved into some random state."

The agent wants to know, if Jones is released, where he will stay.  Jones doesn't know but assures the agent he has plenty of contacts in the area, and he has no doubt he can find a couch to sleep on.  All he has to do is text a few people once he gets his phone back.

The agent asks if Jones there is a group in the area that he is a part of, or if he's linking up with a group while in the area.

"I would be more comfortable answering that after I talked to a lawyer," Jones says. "I can definitely say (long pause) I can definitely say (long pause) a lawyer would be good."

The agent presses Jones to tell him if there are any kinds of nefarious plots afoot. Rather than say he couldn't possibly know such a thing, denying any contact with terrorists, Jones says he would be willing to answer such questions but not under present circumstances.  He is in cuffs, and he wants to speak with an attorney. 

"I more than understand," Jones says. "I mean, I don't think anyone here wants anything like that to happen. No one wants people to get hurt. No one wants -- your counter-terror, right? ...  no one here likes terror. I mean, I hate to say the obvious. It is objectively a bad, immoral thing, speaking as a Christian, personally. But again, it's not that I don't want to help you. But my situation right now is -- handcuffs. And I would like to, I guess, not sleep here. I want to help you. But I want to help you in a way that helps both of us."

Later, another agent asks, "You don't think there are any immediate concerns?"

"I don't think there's anything that's going to pop up the next day or two, before talking to a lawyer, that would actually give you cause for concern, at least not to my knowledge, mind you, in my very limited time here," Jones tells him.

The FBI, though a public information officer, declined a request for an interview citing the pending sentencing for Jones.

Good police work
Sheriff William Sheron is proud of his men.  He chalks up the arrest to doing, well, exactly what they're trained to do (and both have received extra training through Sheriff's Office on exactly these kinds of traffic stops, called 'interdiction'). Both followed their training, he said, and their intuition, and doggedly tried to put the pieces together when clearly something was amiss.

In fact, the arrest played a role in both men receiving awards from the Sheriff's Office command staff two weeks ago at the department's annual awards luncheon.

Quackenbush was named Officer of the Year, and Chamoun received a meritorious service award. There were other actions by the deputies in 2022 that contributed to the awards, but the Jones arrest was cited as among the reason for the awards.

"It is good police work," Sheron said. "That's exactly what it is, you know, being inquisitive and acknowledging that when the hair stands up on the back of your head, and you're thinking something's not right here, probably something isn't."

Note About The Video: The Batavian received more than two hours of body-worn camera video. It's been edited down to 33 minutes. Most of the footage came from two deputies and duplicated events.  We edited to produce a chronological narrative, leaving out parts where wind noise made it impossible to hear speakers. Sometimes we used the better-quality audio from one officer's camera with video from the other officer's camera.  We also removed some information involving personal medical information about the suspect and discussion that was repetitive or revealed personal details about the passenger who wasn't arrested.

There are a handful of students at Pavilion Central School who’ve gained much attention for their heavy use of social media both during and after the school day.

Evelyn Northrup and Christopher Doody are two of them who spend several focused hours a week not only posting, but talking about it, planning for it, and mapping out schedules for how to get their posts done throughout their busy school days.

Think these students are among the many people mindlessly scrolling the Internet and potentially getting caught up in all of the negative chatter out there? Not at all, they say. Instead, they are part of Pavilion’s student PR team with a goal to market and promote the positive actions of student clubs, sports and groups around campus.

The team has eight students guided by Instructional Technology Support Leader and Online Learning Coordinator Nancy Stauber as advisor.

"This Team was created a couple of months ago when two students presented an idea to our administration about creating a social media page, PavilionGopherPride Instagram Page. Since then, they have grown to eight students and are already evolving their public relations campaign to include teacher interviews and, hopefully soon, podcasting," Stauber said. “These students are solely responsible for what is posted, reaching out to various people to gather information, and making sure what they post is safe, positive, inclusive, and informative and monitor all comments for appropriateness.

“These students are also learning many ‘life skills’ and participating in an activity that could potentially become a real life career involving social media," she said. "Additionally, they are also learning about and modeling good digital citizenship along with learning about privacy laws and permissions involving state and federal laws.”

Evelyn saw the PR team spill out of a school spirit committee that had gotten so big, that the PR team was created to help with promoting school happenings. That means attending games, conducting interviews and taking videos and photos of athletes, teachers and coaches, and selecting and decorating the gym each month with coordinated themes — such as a volleyball beach bum theme.

“We began in early October 2022 to get ready for Girls Volleyball sectionals,” 17-year-old Christopher said.

The main goal was to make people aware of the games and schedules, encourage participation in the theme nights, and “open them up to extracurriculars and to show off our school,” Evelyn, a senior, said.

“And we highlight other activities, like musical theater, Scholastic Bowl, FFA chapter, and Art Club,” she said.

Going for the 'Likes'
They have become not just word masters, but visual artists with those themes to draw an audience, and the desired likes, comments and shares that they have also learned to track. They were happy with the early results.

“Within a week to a week and a half, we had 100 to 200 followers,” Christopher said.

For the record, the account is currently at 317 followers.

While so many people — young and old alike — seem to zero in on the negative parts of social media, through cyberbullying, comparing, arguing, complaining and such, these kids are homing in on the opposite.

“We try to keep everything positive,” Evelyn said. “If someone is being negative toward a student specifically, they can be deleted, or we contact them and ask them to be respectful.”

Twice so far, they’ve had to do that — and not with a fellow student, but with a parent. In each case, a parent was complaining about either a referee and/or a student-athlete and had to be reminded of the policy. Evelyn reached out to one of them and wasn’t intimidated to do so.

“Just knowing how to talk to individuals, and that’s being professional and respectful and is not retaliatory,” she said. “It’s kind of ironic that the parents are the ones being negative. I think students know there are consequences.”

It must have worked; the parent did not return to the site with any more comments.

Practical side of social media
Aside from learning how to handle rule-breakers, there has been other lessons within the business side of social media, such as handling privacy laws, the need to acquire consent forms before publishing names and faces in certain circumstances, creating a schedule for posts, content planning, learning new technology, cropping photos and videos, time management, analytics and tracking statistics, they said.

They have also learned how to share content from another site that posts area sports to take advantage of what’s already out there and save time. They have also tried out free apps to save money and sent out emails to district members — staff, teachers, students, and coaches — reminding them to send material for the online page.

Personally, both Christopher and Evelyn use Instagram and Snap Chat more than Facebook and don’t even consider Twitter. In their professional endeavors in the PR team, it’s mostly Instagram with some posts on Facebook.

Drama is relative, enjoy the small moments
“You have communication apps, and Snapchat and Instagram, one is used to talk to your friends, and one is used to share your experiences,” she said. “I do agree that some parts are bad. There’s drama.”

She and Christopher agreed that there was some social media drama a while ago at the school, but it seemed driven by a couple of particular students. And when they left the school, so did the drama. Aside from that instance, life for these students is fairly low-key where social media is concerned, they said. 

Has the positive focus made a difference? These savvy kids think so. Teachers and staff, and parents have thanked them for their efforts and expressed their appreciation for the Gopher spotlights, though student response has been more lackluster.

“I don’t think students say it as much,” Evelyn said, adding that she thinks maybe when they’re older, it will be a bit of nostalgia to look back on more fondly. “It’s almost like a yearbook, a digital version. Don’t take for granted the small moments.”

Pavilion Central School students Christopher Doody and Evelyn Northrup show a social media stats page that they use for their student-run PR team used to promote district sports and other clubs and groups on campus. Photo by Howard Owens.

Press release:

The funeral homes of H.E. Turner (Batavia and Bergen), Bohm-Calarco-Smith and Burdett & Sanford phone lines are temporarily not working. We are hoping to have them fixed very soon. In the meantime, please call (585) 356-1668 for immediate assistance.

City School District employees, administrators, teachers, and staff, along with first responders from Batavia, participated in a Special Olympics fundraiser on Friday -- a polar plunge -- outside of John Kennedy Intermediate School.

The participants dashed -- in freezing weather -- under the spray of a fire truck's hose and got soaked.

The event raised $8,700 for Special Olympics.

Kelly Ligozio, senior development director for Special Olympics in Western New York, said the Buffalo polar plunge was last week and typically honors the school in Western New York that raised the most money for Special Olympics.  But Ligozio said she told the director, who has been in the position for 23 years, that they had to wait for Batavia's event before naming a winner.  The director wanted to maintain tradition, but Ligozio said the agency owed it to Batavia to wait because Batavia was the only school district to continue to hold the fundraising event during the pandemic.

So, they waited.

And Batavia won.  Special Olympics will host an ice cream social at John Kennedy sometime this year and the school's colors will be part of the Polar Plunge sweatshirt next year.

"It's amazing," Ligozio said. "What's amazing about it is how they've broadened it to include all the schools in the district so all the different schools can participate."

Friday morning at Jackson Primary School, kindergartners Royal and Ryder presented Assemblyman Steve Hawley with Valentine's Day cards they and their classmates made for veterans.

Hawley then drove to the NYS Veterans Home to deliver the cards to veterans staying there.  The event has become an annual tradition for Hawley.

Photos by Howard Owens.