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In a do-it-yourself career that goes back about a decade, Jocelyn and Chris Arndt, who front the band Jocelyn & Chris, have never been ones to sit idle for long.

“We’re always racing ahead and looking for the next thing to do,” Jocelyn said in a late-July phone interview.

But a pandemic can stop just about anything. And that’s what happened in March 2020, just as this brother and sister from Fort Plain in upstate New York were finishing a new album planned for release ahead of a summer tour.

The band had seen their career gain momentum in 2019 when Jocelyn & Chris made their national television debut, performing the song “Outta My Head” on the “Today Show,” while the song “Kill in the Cure” charted on AAA radio.  So it wasn’t great timing to see a major tour get canceled, and the new album put on hold.

But the album, “Favorite Ghosts,” benefited from the pause. 

The Arndts, who write all of their songs together, re-examined their new songs and realized some weren’t everything they could be. And now that “Favorite Ghosts” is out, they feel things worked out for the better. 

“Honestly, I’m thankful for the album being the way it is,” said Chris, who joined his sister for the interview. “I’m more proud of it than anything else that we’ve ever made. But it’s a little bit funny to think about the fact that the version that the world almost got (two years ago) is so different from the version that the world ended up getting.”

The Arndt siblings are justifiably proud of “Favorite Ghosts.” They have three impressive previous full-length studio albums to their credit, and the new album is a particularly rich and varied effort. It ranges from the taut and catchy blues-tinged rock of “Sugar and Spice,” “Skeleton Key” and “Break Me Down” to the pop-rock of “Run Away,” the folk-inflected “So Far To Fly” to the downright delicate title track, showcasing Jocelyn’s powerhouse vocals and Chris’ tasteful guitar work along the way.

“Favorite Ghosts” will figure prominently into their July 30 show at Jam at the Ridge. They’re looking forward to their introduction to the venue. 

“We’ve been all over Western New York, around Lake Ontario and stuff,” Chris said. “I don’t think we’ve ever done Jam at the Ridge, though.”

“It seems like a cool thing they’ve got going on,” Jocelyn concurred.

The same could be said for Jocelyn & Chris.

For more information about the concert, go to https://www.jatrny.com/

Photo by Tina Pelech.

Potatoes in the foreground off Route 5 in Pembroke being irrigated while the sunsets yesterday.

Photos by Joanne Meiser.

The chair of ad hoc committee charged with exploring clean energy initiatives in the Town of Byron sees the municipality’s Clean Energy Community designation by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority as a springboard for further action.

Now, she just has to get the Town Board’s support.

“By completing the five action items as required by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, the Town of Byron has earned a $5,000 grant to assist with future clean energy initiatives,” Candace Hensel said today. “We are looking to use the money towards completing additional high impact actions that will help us progress in the CEC program.”

Hensel is the driving force behind the Clean Energy Resources Information Committee, an informal group that reports monthly to the town board. Active members include Kaitlyn Moucha, Sara Stockwell and Brian Stacy. Other town residents participate, depending upon the project.

The action items completed by the town to receive the CEC designation are benchmarking, energy code enforcement training, adopting a unified solar permit and an LED conversion of the town’s streetlights. Hensel said it was credited for a fifth action item for advanced benchmarking.

Points are awarded for each of the 14 action items identified by NYSERDA, with grant amounts based on the number of points.

The Town of Byron now joins the Town of Batavia and Village of Bergen as NYSERDA Clean Energy communities. Other municipalities in Genesee County participating in the program are the Village of Corfu, Town of Pembroke and City of Batavia.

Hensel said her “eyes were opened” to what was going on in New York State regarding clean energy when she heard about the 280-megawatt Excelsior Energy solar project in the Town of Byron.

“I had tried to get the town to look into some of the incentives available to communities, but I really didn’t get anywhere with the town so – about two years ago – I created a petition and got a list of names of other people who at least thought the town should look at into some of these programs,” she said.

Eventually, the town board authorized Hensel to chair a committee (CERIC) to explore the possibility of attracting grants to assist with community clean energy projects.

Hensel said she felt much better about putting a group together and pursuing clean energy opportunities knowing that she had the town board’s backing.

“In New York State, from the governor’s standpoint and to the trickle-down effect to DEC and NYSERDA and then you go on to the utilities, they’re all required to participate – to an extent – and comply with a lot of these clean energy programs that have been enacted,” she said.

Hensel said CERIC was unsuccessful in its bid to receive intervenor funds from the Excelsior Energy solar project, but that hasn’t stopped the group from its goal of “investigating incentives and reporting back to the town with our recommendations for participating (in the Clean Energy Communities program) and the advantages of doing so.”

“The town board listens to our report monthly but really, as a whole feels its capacity is limited or can’t put the time in; so, we do get stonewalled,” she said. “They did, however, let us pursue the Clean Energy Communities program, and no town funds were expended toward this CEC designation.”

She said CERIC also is looking into the Climate Smart Communities program administered by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“The benefits of participating in the DEC program are much greater,” she said. “Grant incentives are much greater – with funding of up to 50 percent of major clean energy projects. So, we see that the carrot at the end of the stick is much greater.”

Hensel said CERIC requested that the town board vote to join the Climate Smart Communities program “because all of the actions that we completed in one, we can apply to the other.”

“Representatives of the Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council did a presentation for the board and a resolution was made, but at that board meeting, no one would second the motion to continue on for a vote for that particular program,” she said.

CERIC isn’t giving up on that, however, as it plans to approach the board again on the DEC program next month.

Town Supervisor Peter Yasses said CERIC must report its recommendations and proposals to the board but can “make no commitments” while Town Councilman Eric Zuber said his concerns center upon the stipulations for receiving the grants, especially those that include the town having to match funds for a particular project.

“There are a lot of bells and whistles – hoops you have to go through,” Zuber said. “Anything that we do has to make sense for the town in the long-term.”

Hensel said the committee currently is involved with a clean heating and cooling campaign in conjunction with Pathstone and the GFLRPC that kicked off in April at the Genesee County Home Show.

“They are following up to complete energy audits and have them as part of the Heat Smart Finger Lakes North program,” she said. “Hopefully, people will sign up with a contractor, who will evaluate their homes and make recommendations on heat pumps or geothermal and to see if anyone wants to learn more about those and the tax credits that go with them.”

Many fair goers enjoyed last evening's parade at Genesee County Fairgrounds. 

Today is Kids Day and Emergency Responders Night

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos bys Steve Ognibene

At a time when there’s a big focus on equal rights, even animals — from dogs and chickens to goats, horses, and even therapy animals — and their owners have to be considered.

That was one conclusion during Tuesday’s city Planning and Development Committee meeting.

After discussing and debating issues of what constitutes a nuisance, how to enforce restrictions, and which animal species should or should not be allowed in the city, the group covered a gamut of options and repercussions.

Animals prevailed, for the most part. In the end, the group agreed to put forth a recommendation to use City Manager Rachael Tabelski’s drafted resolution, plus a few alterations. That will go to City Council for review and eventual vote. There will be a public hearing set before a final decision is made, Committee Chairman Duane Preston said.

“We only make some recommendations to the City Council. At that point the public hearing will be open for anybody that would like to come and voice their concerns,” Preston said. “So they need to set a public hearing. Those who have animals that would like to attend can come and voice their opinions to City Council.”

Jill Turner and her Burke Drive neighbor Teresa Potrzebowski each believe they have a valid argument for one side of the matter or the other. They disagree on whether Turner’s goats should remain on her property.

Turner told The Batavian previously that when she moved into the westside neighborhood, there was no law pertaining to her four goats. Her daughters spend time with the goats, one is in 4-H and the other girl uses the animal for therapeutic purposes, Turner said. Furthermore, she doesn’t believe they are destructive or threatening to her neighbors as some have claimed.

That’s not Potrzebowski’s experience, she said before Tuesday’s meeting. When she moved in, there were no goats, and “I wouldn’t have moved in if there had been,” she said. There’s noise, bad smells and goats constantly getting out of their small shed, she said. Turner also has chickens and ducks, and all three farm animal types come into her yard.

“I came home bringing groceries and two big ones walked into my garage,” she said.

The goats have eaten neighbors’ flowers and relieved themselves on their properties, she said.

“It smells like you’re living next door to a farm,” she said.

City Councilman John Canale raised the issue during a recent council meeting, based on resident complaints of those goats. He attended the Planning and Development meeting, but would not comment because he will have to vote on a resolution in the future and lives in the neighborhood, he said.

Committee member Matt Gray did his own research on “a number of towns and cities in the same boat,” and found that a lot of those municipalities came to a decision to restrict animals.

“I found a lot of them leaning the same way we are,” he said.

About 17 out of 25 cities had restrictions, particularly on roosters, Gray said. He suggested adding them to a list of animals not allowed in the city. That brought up other issues about if animals are allowed, how many should be allowed? What measures would be put in place to ensure proper enforcement when the restrictions are violated?

“The city would be responsible for quite a bit in terms of enforcement,” member David Beatty said. “I think whatever we recommend, enforcement is the biggest thing. How do you enforce it? How do you get cooperation of people who own animals? How problematic would that be?”

At one point he offered the suggestion to not allow any animals in the city.

“There’d be an uprising,” Beatty said.

Code Enforcement Officer Doug Randall explained that a law cannot just pertain to one segment of the population. It has to cover everyone, he said. Right now, however, a dog owner can receive repeated tickets for its continuously barking dog if the issue hasn’t been resolved.

For a goat?

“No tickets. We don’t have a law for it,” Randall said.

About an hour later, the committee agreed to forward a resolution with the additions of limiting chickens to six, banning roosters from being kept in the city, and requiring city residents to register their animals by a certain date, to be determined by council if it adopts the recommendation, or not be allowed to keep the animal on their city properties. Registering the animals will allow folks that already have chickens, goats and the like to keep them, and should make it easier to track who has what and where, Randall said.

The resolution "restricts people from owning, bringing into, possessing, keeping, harboring or feeding farm animals, cloven-hoofed animals, equine or fowl, including but not limited to cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, swine, lamas, alpaca, ducks, turkey, geese, feral cats, ponies, donkeys, mules or any other farm or wild animal within city limits."

Exceptions include:

• Chickens, as long as they are penned appropriately, do not accumulate feces or cause odor or an unsightly or unsafe condition. The addition, if approved, would limit them to six.
• Harborage, including transport to and from race tracks and all associated grounds.
• Special events with the approval of an event application.
• Animals in transit through the city.
• Transport to and from veterinary hospitals/clinics, including short-term boarding for medical procedures/conditions.
• No person shall permit an accumulation of animal and/or fowl feces on any property resulting in a foul odor or unsightly condition that makes travel or residence in the vicinity uncomfortable, or which attracts flies or other insects of animals, thereby creating an unsanitary condition and may facilitate the spread of disease of which endangers the public comfort and repose.

The registration requirement would be for people already with farm animals on their properties. If they don’t register an animal by the deadline, it would have to go.

Potrzebowski doesn’t want to have issues with any neighbor, she said, but the recommendation didn’t fill her wish not to have to deal with the animals at all.

“It defeats the purpose to have to register them,” she said.

Top photo: City Planning & Development Committee members Matt Gray, left, David Beatty and Chairman Duane Preston discuss the possibilities Tuesday evening for what to do with farm animals kept in the city. File photo of Jill Turner, pictured with one of her daughters in front, is a city resident with goats, and some of her neighbors have complained that they don't want the smell and noise created by goats, chickens and other farm animals. Committee member David Beatty makes his case for restricting, or maybe even banning, farm animals from city properties. Photos by Joanne Beck.

Raymond Stanley, Jr., 46, of Trigon Park, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Stanley was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run accident reported at 10:04 p.m. July 23, at 71 Wolcott St., Le Roy.  Stanley was arrested by Emmalee Stawicki.  He was released on traffic tickets.

Benjamin Rachow, 39, of Gilbert Street, Le Roy, is charged with harassment 2nd. Rachow was arrested by Le Roy PD Officer Emmalee Stawicki at Strong Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for an injury sustained in an alleged incident reported at 1:40 p.m. July 22, on Gilbert Street, Le Roy. He was arraigned in Town of Le Roy Court and released on his own recognizance. A stay-away order of protection was issued.

Jeffrey Ellinwood, 63, of Genesee Street, Le Roy, is charged with harassment 2nd. Ellinwood is accused of continuing to contact a person on July 24 after being told to cease all communications with the individual.  He was arrested by Officer Curtis Miller. He was arraigned in Town of Le Roy Court and released on his own recognizance.  An order of protection was issued.

Name redacted upon request, 29, of Dewey Avenue, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. xxxx is accused of shoplifting $76.84 in merchandise from a store on Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia. xxxx was processed at the Genesee County Jail and released.

James Robert Cooper, 39, of Buell Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument 1st. Cooper is accused of passing a fraudulent $20 bill at a location at Harrington's Produce on Clinton Street Road, Batavia, at 12:29 p.m. Dec. 27. He was arrested on July 22. He was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released on his own recognizance.

Shannon Lee Guiste, 51, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with burglary 3rd and petit larceny.  Guiste is accused of skip-scanning items at Walmart at 4:21 p.m. July 21. In 2015, Guiste was reportedly banned from entering Walmart. Guiste was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released.  

Eric Charles Dockstader, 37, no address provided, is charged with strangulation 2nd. Dockstader was allegedly involved in a disturbance at 4:55 a.m. July 24 at a location on Council House Road, Alabama. He was arraigned in Town of Alabama Court and released under supervision.

Antionette A. Pierre, 24, of Nassau Bahamas, is charged with petit larceny. Piere is accused of stealing in the Town of Batavia at 2:27 p.m., July 23. She was arrested by State Police and released on an appearance ticket. No further information was released.

Joshua D. Quaintance, 33, of Byron, is charged with criminal trespass. Quaintance was arrested by State Police in connection with an incident reported at noon July 17 in the Town of Bergen.  No further details released.

Press release:

Kiss This! returns to the Jam At The Ridge stage in Le Roy on Friday at 4:00 PM.

If you love KISS, you'll love this show!  The Look.  The Feel.  The Sound.  They bring it all.

We're gonna Rock and Roll All Night!

Tickets are available at:

• $10 pre-sale tickets available at:  https://www.simpletix.com/e/kiss-this-wny-a-tribute-to-kiss-tickets-106678
• $15 cash at the door

Kids 17 and under are FREE with a ticketed adult

Easy parking right at the GATE (skip the North Road Parking and come right to the gate).

Special Guests performers: Bad Luck Band and JUDAH

Press release:

GLOW With Your Hands is hosting a “Night at the Ballpark” in conjunction with the Batavia Muckdogs on Friday, July 29^th at 7 PM. Participating companies and businesses from the GLOW Region will be in attendance to showcase activities that will be on display at the 3^rd annual GLOW With Your Hands event on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at the Genesee County Fairgrounds.

GLOW With Your Hands Committee members will be on site to share information, giveaways, and assist with hands-on activities during the game.

Among the vendors attending and the activities they are promoting include:

• Allegheny Farms: Heavy Equipment Display
• Bricklayers and Allied Contractors Local #3: Brick Wall Activity
• Summit Street Physical Therapy: Demonstrations
• Genesee Valley BOCES: Clean Hands Activity
• Transfer VR: Virtual Reality Career Exploration

“We invite all of our past and future GLOW With Your Hands participants and our entire GLOW community to join us for both a great game and the opportunity to see some of what makes our event so impactful,” said GLOW Workforce Development Board Executive Director, Jay Lazarony. “We also hope the event at the ballpark will generate more interest among businesses and companies to join us at this year’s event.”

“We want to provide the best day possible on September 27^th for GLOW region students by having high-quality vendor activities in order to create a fun, educational, learning environment,” said GLOW With Your Hands, Co-Chair, Chris Suozzi.. “The hundreds of students who will be attending GLOW With Your Hands are the next generation of skilled laborers and professionals, and we are confident that based on the past success of the previous events that area companies will find well-qualified and highly trainable candidates for employment.”

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is renewing his call to restore judicial discretion by rolling back the state’s bail reform law following a series of violent incidents that occurred in the state last week, including the shooting of two Rochester Police Department officers and the attempted stabbing of gubernatorial candidate and Congressman Lee Zeldin (NY-1). 

Hawley was especially concerned by news that Zeldin’s attacker was released from custody following the assault due to the state’s bail reform law, which considers assault in the 2nd degree, the crime Zeldin’s assailant was charged with, to be a non-violent felony. While the suspect would later be arrested under a federal charge for assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon, Hawley is deeply troubled by the fact that in the absence of federal action, state law would allow the attacker to continue walking freely today.

“Horrific incidents like these seem to be happening more and more often in our state,” said Hawley. “This isn’t normal, and we cannot continue to allow bail reform to tie the hands of our judges and further erode respect for laws and law enforcement. Harmful actions must have consequences, and bail reform has been letting dangerous individuals get away with far too much for far too long. We cannot allow regular violence against our people, our leaders, and our law enforcement to be accepted as a fact of life in New York, because people deserve to feel safe in the communities they call home.”

Press release:

Office for the Aging has received the rest of the Farmers Market Coupons. 

The delay was caused by something beyond our control, and we thank everyone for being patient and understanding.

Starting today, Tuesday, the booklets will be available at our location, 2 Bank Street, Batavia from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Our staff will also be at The Goose in Oakfield, Wednesday, July 27 from 9 to 10 a.m., 400 Towers, Thursday, July 28 from 9 to 11 a.m., Washington Towers, Thursday, July 28 from 2 to 4 p.m., the Genesee Country Farmers Market on Friday, July 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and the Le Roy Farmers Market on Saturday, July 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 pm.   

As a reminder, income-eligible seniors are allowed only one booklet per season.  The 2022 Income Guidelines:  Household of 1 -- $2,096/month, Household of 2 -- $2,823/month, Household of 3 -- $3,551/month.

At 2.8 percent, Genesee County's unemployment rate has remained at historically low levels.

June was the third straight month this year when the county's unemployment rate was below 3.0 percent and the fourth time since November 2021.

A year ago, the June rate was 4.4 percent, and in 2020, it was 8.3 percent.

The state's Labor Department reports that there are 29,800 people employed in the county, 900 registered as unemployed and a total labor force of 30,700 individuals.

A year ago, the total labor force was 29,400, and it was 29,500 in 2020.

The state's unemployment rate is 4.4 percent, down from 7.5 percent a year ago, according to the DOL.  The nation's is 3.8 percent, down from 6.1 percent. 

There’s a lot of transition going on for Tom Turnbull, former president of Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, he says.

The Batavia resident’s wife Michelle just retired, their son T.J. graduated from college this year and is working in Buffalo, and now Turnbull is back in the saddle at the chamber — temporarily.

“It’s a temporary interim position just to fill in,” he said Tuesday. “Erik left … I’m filling in the presidential duties.”

Former president Erik Fix’s last day was Friday. He left to assume the role of assistant city manager this week. Although Fix gave notice, it still can take time to assemble a search committee, advertise, interview and hire for the position, Turnbull said.

“So they asked if I'd be willing, and I was kind of flattered, actually,” he said. “I love the staff here. And I mean, they're great to work with. So I said, sure, as long as it was gonna be temporary. So we're kind of  ballparking it for three months.”

His life for the next few months will be filled with parades, ribbon-cuttings, a chamber 50th gala celebration, the yearly Ag tour, a Leadership Genesee visit, and business after-hours mixer at The Game of Throes.

“That should be fun,” he said. “That's the type of stuff I always loved about this job. You get to go and do things and see things that you normally wouldn’t.”

He has already broached the topic of grant money and a contract that was just cancelled by Genesee County due to changes in the original proposal and fact that Fix would no longer be at the agency. Turnbull talked with County Manager Matt Landers and was reassured that the branding initiative plan and grant funding can proceed when the details are ironed out and a new president is in place.

“We’ll work with the new president so they’ll be up to speed; we’re the ones to do it,” Turnbull said of the branding initiative. “I love this staff. I mean, they're all talented. They're all professional. I've worked with them before and loved working with them, so it made it a really easy decision to fill in here for the time being.”

He will work approximately 20-25 hours a week and plans to be in the office every weekday.

Turnbull was president for seven years before retiring from his post.

While waiting for her case to be called Tuesday at City Court, Cassandra Elmore sat masked and sniffling, whispering to a companion.

She was called before Judge Thomas Burns about 10 minutes later, and slowly walked forward and took a seat. She said very little, except for yes or no answers. 

Judge Burns read brief descriptions of three charges from Section 353 of the Agriculture and Markets Law. They all have to do with her alleged abuse, torture and/or neglect of her bulldog, which was diagnosed in June of overdosing on some type of narcotics while at her residence.

Elmore had previously indicated that she wanted an attorney, and Burns needed to clarify whether she wanted to hire one or ask for one to be provided to her, per law, and represent her during this case. Elmore said that she was asking “to hire one” for herself.

Burns granted her two weeks and asked if that would be sufficient time. She nodded and quietly said yes. The judge entered a not guilty plea on her behalf and she was released on her own recognizance. Jenna Bauer, representing the county District Attorney's office, agreed to the terms.

Elmore is to return to City Court at 1:30 p.m. on August 11.

“You have to be back with or without an attorney,” he said.

He warned her that if she did not show up, he would issue a warrant for her arrest, and that bail could be modified. She was also asked to provide her full contact information and to go to the jail and get fingerprinted as other conditions of her release.

Volunteers For Animals member Wendy Castleman sat watching the continuation unfold. Castleman was there for Oddey, the canine victim in the case. Although she couldn’t offer a comment about the case specifically as a volunteer, she said, she was able to give an update about Oddey, believed to be a French bulldog.

“He’s doing really well,” she said.

Oddey was taken to Genesee County Animal Shelter after Elmore was charged earlier this month. It has not yet been determined if he will be returned to 30-year-old Elmore or signed over to the shelter for adoption.

Elmore faces three counts of injuring an animal under New York Ag and Markets Law Section 353, which states:

A person who overdrives, overloads, tortures or cruelly beats or unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates or kills any animal, whether wild or tame, and whether belonging to himself or to another, or deprives any animal of necessary sustenance, food or drink, or neglects or refuses to furnish it such sustenance or drink, or causes, procures or permits any animal to be overdriven, overloaded, tortured, cruelly beaten, or unjustifiably injured, maimed, mutilated or killed, or to be deprived of necessary food or drink, or who wilfully sets on foot, instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act of cruelty to any animal, or any act tending to produce such cruelty, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

For prior coverage, go to Cassandra Elmore.

Women in recovery who are seeking reunification with their children can be encouraged by the networking that exists among provider agencies in Western New York.

That was the message conveyed Thursday at the quarterly meeting of the GOW Opioid Task Force at The Recovery Station on Clinton Street Road in the Town of Batavia.

About 35 people attended the meeting – titled “Parent and Family Resources in Our Communities" -- which was the first in-person gathering for the three-county group since January 2020.

Professionals representing Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming, Erie and Niagara counties spoke about the services offered by their agencies.

“A lot of women who find out that they're pregnant while in medically assisted treatment or in active use are afraid to ask for help because of the stigma that surrounds them,” said Jessica Budzinack, case manager at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. “So, we decided to develop a plan that has case management, parent/family support, childcare supports and other services to provide a continuum of care for these people.”

Budzinack specializes in services for pregnant and post-partum women, and for those who have had children born with exposure to substances.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

She said that GCASA has connected with Dr. Davina Moss-King of Positive Direction & Associates in Buffalo, who works with patients and babies suffering from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital.

“We have seen that she (Dr. King) was making a difference in Erie County, and we wanted to know what we can do to meet the need in our rural counties,” Budzinack said. “She has trained our team and we implement the positive direction model here at GCASA.”

The positive direction model focuses on accountability and education – giving women the tools to be successful in their recovery and, ultimately, as parents.

Budzinack said she has worked with dozens of women, including many that have an active Child Protective Services case.

“If someone has an open CPS case while pregnant and it is still active when she gives birth, that child also becomes part of that investigation,” she said. “This is to protect the child from the possibility of ‘derivative neglect’ or abuse. The Office of Children and Family Services has a form that I complete with the participants that outlines a plan of safe care – showing all of the programs and services being offered to the parents.”

She said GCASA has provided such services to nine women over the past 10 months, with only one infant having to stay past the five days that New York State requires for observation. None of those babies had to go to the NICU.

“So, we believe we are making a difference by implementing this model here at GCASA,” she added. “A lot of women – and men – are learning how to be a parent all over again, with some having young children who also have experienced the life of addiction and now are recovering themselves.”

CHILDCARE SERVICES AVAILABLE

GCASA offers family relationship peer coaches who provide support in various areas (such as transportation and assistance with the legal system and Department of Social Services) and teach ways for parents and children to communicate with each other, she said.

Additionally, Budzinack mentioned GCASA’s childcare center in Batavia, which operates Monday through Friday, and allows parents to drop off their young children – 8 weeks to 12 years old – up to three hours per day.

“The children are trained in cognitive play – which means that they learn while they play,” she said. “It’s not just a drop-off site where people sit there and stare at the kids until they're ready to get picked up. They actually have a lot of fun.”

The childcare program also offers special activities, such as trips to the zoo or family game nights, through The Recovery Station.

“We all work closely together; we all talk to each other all the time. And we all just look at each individual and see what their needs are, and talk with each other to see how they can be met,” she advised. “It’s all about rebuilding relationships and becoming effective parents while sober.”

Dawn Stone of Spectrum Health & Human Services, a peer specialist providing mentoring services to those in recovery in Wyoming County, said she works across systems to identify effective treatment plans for mothers, fathers and children.

“We work with Hillside Children’s Center, which deals with families with developmental issues, and we also have what’s called Lighthouse Station, where pregnant moms who don’t have a place to stay – and would otherwise be in jail – can deliver their babies in a non-jail setting,” she said. “We also work with other counties to learn about their programs and refer families to when they come to us.”

THRIVING NETWORK IN BUFFALO AREA

One of those agencies is Buffalo-based Caz Recovery, which was represented at the meeting by Angela Angora, director of Reintegration Services, and Morgan King, program manager at Madonna House, a 17-bed rehabilitation facility for women and women with children in Lockport.

Angora, a Genesee County resident, shared that her mother became addicted to crack cocaine in the early 1990s, a time when there weren’t many treatment and recovery programs.

She said things have changed dramatically over the years, noting that Caz Recovery offers Casa Di Vita, a 19-bed reintegration program for women in Buffalo and Somerset House, a 17-bed reintegration program in Appleton.

“We do accept women that are pregnant, however, they would have to come back with the baby here,” she said. “With this program, the women have more autonomy, they're able to go out into the community and they have community time for visits with their family.”

At each location, Caz Recovery staff provide specialized services to help women get their lives back in order and reach the point of reuniting with their children and learning parenting skills, she said.

“After individuals complete our rehabilitation program, our community residences – congregate settings – focus on volunteering, job placement and outpatient counseling, and they receive their services off site,” Angora added. “This is where you will see a greater focus on that family involvement.”

Caz Recovery also offers supportive living, with 40 beds in Erie County and 14 beds in Niagara County, serving women and men with children, as well as a housing program for families ready for that important step, she said.

BIG PLANS FOR ORLEANS COUNTY

Shannon Ford, GCASA’s director of Communications & Development, shared that the local agency will be opening a women’s residence in Orleans County next year.

“We’re hoping to have a lot of those same kind of services available for women in our rural communities,” she said. “Currently, we work with Spectrum to help those in Wyoming County coming into our residential programs, but we have not been able to offer anything specifically for women and children to this kind of level.

“So, we’re extremely excited to model our programs after that. And I'm very grateful that GCASA has been able to make referrals over many years to Madonna House.”

For more about programs for women and children in this area, contact Budzinack at 585-813-8583 or at jbudzinack@gcasa.org.

Photo: Speakers at the recent meeting of the GOW Opioid Task Force are, from left, Christen Foley, task force coordinator; Dawn Stone of Spectrum Health & Human Services, Jessica Budzinack of GCASA, and Morgan King and Angela Angora of Caz Recovery.

Disclosure: Mike Pettinella is the publicist for GCASA.

Gary Graber seems like the kind of guy who’d fit in most anywhere.

The longtime Darien judge is also comfortable driving a commercial truck, teaching across the country, embracing the role of grandpa, serving on a variety of boards, charming honey bees, and mowing the enormous greens at Terry Hills.

Though he has already retired, his friends and colleagues want to wish him well with a retirement party next month.

He shared a piece of advice he received that seems to have worked well in his many endeavors.

“I had a fire chief one time, he told me when you're looking at that burning building, and you’ve got to figure out what kind of help you need as far as mutual aid, he always used to say, turn your back when you make the decision. Don't ever make the decision when you're looking at the fire,” Graber said during an interview with The Batavian. “I never forget that because, you know, it's just one of those things where it gives you a chance to take a breath and, you don't make that snap decision. So more than once during something, I just had to make sure that I did that.”

A Critical Move to Small and Rural 
A native of Lancaster, Graber moved to Darien in 1970. He remembers watching the nearby missile sites and hearing hydraulics lifting missiles into an upright position. He was interested in the fire department and joined Darien Fire Company at 16, moving swiftly to assistant fire chief by the time he was 21. His mom moved him and five siblings to Darien after a divorce, shifting his school experience from being in a class of 365 kids to less than a quarter of that.

“For me, this town was something special, because I really question you know, when I lived in Lancaster, whether I would even make it through high school. When I came out here I went to a school that had 74 in our class, so it was really a big difference,” he said. “Folks took me under their wing, got me involved in the fire company. I did well with that.”

At the still-tender age of 24, he became a town justice when another justice also ran for town board, and that was a conflict of interest to hold both roles. So the other justice went on the board, Graber was asked to run for justice, and he jumped in with both feet, campaigned hard and won the justice seat by 150 votes. That job and the fire company position gave him valuable experience beyond his actual duties, he said.

“My heart is for this community; it gave me opportunities I don’t think I ever would’ve had,” he said. “People were good to me, they taught me things. I learned to be an early riser … how to just work hard.”

Training, and Adjustment
Hands-on training was a main factor in learning the ropes, he said, and there were yearly mandatory training courses to keep up-to-date on legal matters. Darien was more of a sleepy little town before Darien became a Six Flags theme park. The community really began to change then, he said.

“When the park exploded, I handled everything,” he said. “There were plenty of jury trials.”

He stepped back in time to when Pantera, a famous rock band led by Phil Anselmo, had a court case that stemmed from performing at the amphitheater. Every time there was a court hearing, “every kid in the world knew who he was, and they were looking through the windows,” he said. Anselmo came up from New Orleans and fully participated in the case, Graber said. Apparently, a guard had gotten hit by a microphone during a show.

How to prevail amidst the commotion of celebrity? As with any other case, “make sure you stay up on your education,” Graber said.

“Stop and look it up, review procedure,” he said. “As time went on, it changed. I just had an active interest in what we were doing. I just had a job you have to work at.”

Of all of the legal training he had taken, it was Leadership Genesee that possibly taught him the most. He never saw himself as a teacher, and the leadership class — he’s a 2005 graduate — brought out some hidden talents that had been under wraps, he said.

“It helped me to dig in there more to teach,” he said. “It was such a life-changer; it pulled out things I never thought I had in me.”

A year later he was nominated for Outstanding Alumnus, sort of “fell into being a commercial truck driver,” and become a truck terminal manager in 2008. That hands-on work certainly equipped him to teach about commercial truck driving law, ensuring that convictions were being properly recorded.

That all culminated in teaching for National Judicial College, which took Graber to 15 states. As time went on, he said that it became apparent that the Court Clerks Association could also benefit from his lessons. As a member of the state Magistrate’s Association since 2003, Graber was appointed as vice president, president and director during his four-plus decades with the group.

“We did a lot of legislative work for the benefit of our courts,” he said. For 11 years, he had an issue in particular — focusing on underage drinking — that was never successful in a legal sense.

“All we wanted to do was to get those involved to take alcohol awareness classes,” he said. “I learned a lot with that; we wanted to be more restorative than punitive.”

One year there were 800 people cited for underage drinking, he said. Restorative justice, through Genesee Justice, and Drug Court evolved out of those efforts. Those underage kids weren’t put in jail, but had to pay a $50 fine and take the class, he said. Most of the time, “their parents would make sure it got done,” he said.

In his 42-year career, Graber never lost an appeal, and his decisions were always upheld. That is something he is proud of, he said. His constant objectives were to be open-minded, remain current on the law and keep up with related education, especially regarding commercial truck licenses and accidents.

A Busy Retirement
“I’m proud to serve my community. And I’m going to do that as an ambassador of the University of Nebraska. I just enjoy it, to go out and talk to these judges and clerks, I just absolutely love it,” he said. “This is all about reducing crashes and saving lives. Last year crashes were up by 13 percent. It gives us a chance to look at things a little differently. We want the public’s trust and confidence.”

"Education, education, education" is the most important thing to keep in mind, he said. Don’t try to take shortcuts.

“We’re the folks that people see more than anyone else; they’re going to remember that,” he said of town justices. “Just handle each case individually. Look at each defendant and decide their case individually, and not to be appealed in criminal cases.”

Graber, who has a partner, Kathy, lives on seven acres of property that blooms “lots of sunflowers,” zinnias and the like — anything that might keep his honey bees and butterflies happy. He has two sons, Matthew, a retired sergeant of the U.S. Army, and Jason, a battalion fire chief. There’s likely to be travel in the future, to visit Graber’s two grandchildren in Tennessee.

His hobby of mowing at Terry Hills golf course puts that early riser in him to good use: from 3 to 7 a.m. three days a week, and periodically with a couple of baby foxes keeping him company; a new role as a board member of GCASA, plus remaining on the County Parks Advisory and Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union boards ought to occupy some of his remaining free time.

He doesn’t consider any of it work: it’s just “giving back.” Graber’s philosophy, as an elected official, has been to remember “who we’re doing these jobs for.” “We’re public servants,” he said.

He enjoys his community and has appreciated working in Genesee County with “a good group of criminal justice agencies like Genesee Justice,” he said.

“Because of the options, maybe someone could take a plea when otherwise they would have gone to court. I was just happy to be in this county,” he said. “Tomorrow, I’m going fishing for the first time since I was a kid.”

File photos of Gary Graber in his Darien Town Justice role being sworn in with the state Magistrates Association and laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

Snippets from Gary Graber's Bio ...
Justice Gary Graber has served as the town justice for the Town of Darien, New York, since January 1980. He is a past member of the Town and Village Court Education Curriculum Committee and has taught criminal and administrative courses for the New York State Judicial Institute and the New York State Office of Court Administration.

Justice Graber continues to be very active in the development and training of topics relating to commercial driver’s licenses and commercial motor vehicles, including the development of sentencing charts that assist the New York courts in properly disposing of cases that involve commercial motor vehicles equipment violations. As an alumnus and faculty member of the National Judicial College since 2008, he continually instructs judicial personnel both in their home states and virtually on all matters related to the commercial driver’s license.

He is an honorary member of the New York State Magistrates Court Clerks Association. He has received many awards, including the Leadership Award from the Genesee County Magistrates, the 2005 Magistrate of the Year Award, the 2006 Criminal Justice Award from Genesee County Alcohol and Substance Abuse, the 2006 Leadership Genesee Outstanding Alumnus Award, and the 2013 Kevin E. Quinlan Award for Excellence in Traffic Safety.

Color Run, RC Racing, Pig Races and much more highlight Monday at Genesee County Fair.

The parade is featured this evening for events, starting at 6:30 pm. 

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Storm clouds over Pembroke about an hour before sunset.

Photo by Patricia Morgan.

Joanne Meiser took this sunset picture from Indian Falls Cemetery looking across to the WNY National Cemetery.

Photos by Kristin Smith.  For more, click here.

With construction season in full swing, progress on the Ellicott Station development is more visible.

Crews have begun framing apartments in the four-story complex that is part of the $25 million project. 

Besides the apartments, other buildings on the property -- a combination of the former Della Penna building and the Santy Tire location -- will include office space and a restaurant/brewery.

The four-story apartment building will contain 55 units, including 52 with balconies, and nine units meeting Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. There will be 37 garage parking spaces and 44 surface parking spaces, a laundry room, an elevator, a community room, bicycle storage, and an enclosed ADA playground.

The developer is Savarino Companies, a firm in Buffalo that specializes in rehabilitating brownfield properties and old industrial buildings. 

The apartments are expected to house workforce residents with $30,000 to $40,000 in annual earnings.

Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Water Department will be shutting down water service today in the area of Richmond
Avenue and Prospect Avenue for emergency water main repairs..

The length of time the water will be off is unknown.

As always, when the water is restored it may be discolored. Please refrain from doing any laundry until
the water runs clear.

We apologize for any inconvenience and the public’s patience is greatly appreciated.