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City resident and historian Larry Barnes studied the lives of Black people who lived, worked, and/or had gone to school in the city of Batavia at some point in their lives, and the resulting message was as much philosophical as it was statistical.

Barnes is grateful for the prior work of local writer Ruth McEvoy, who thumbed through news articles from 1880 onward, and developed a list of articles about people who were Black. “That was a starting point for me,” he said, “where they lived, what they were doing, if they were working.”

Those articles did more than record people’s actions and behaviors; they documented the limitations imposed on the Black population even after the slaves were officially freed in 1865, Barnes said.

There was discrimination, Barnes notes, by imposed and non-statutory means, including deed restrictions, employment restrictions, facility restrictions, such as at Godfrey’s Pond, land, mortgage, and property rental restrictions, and the deeply subjective problem of “driving while Black,” he said.

How did that impact the Black community? Less family wealth — three cents for every dollar of non-Blacks — and lower household incomes of 60 cents for every dollar, a shorter life expectancy, higher incidence of chronic diseases and a greater chance of dying in a pandemic, being shot by police, getting convicted of a crime and being imprisoned, he said.

One source that proved to be “very interesting” for his book, he said, was the local paper, which was quite specific in identifying people as being Polish or Italian or Black in news articles, especially when the tone of the piece looked unfavorably toward the person of color, he said. They would sometimes be boldly and crudely labeled, such as a “Black stick of licorice.”

Despite the obstacles, many Blacks have had notable achievements, he said, as documented on pages 14 through 19, including:

Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), a noted playwright and author whose plays were performed on Broadway and her best known work is “A Raisin in the Sun.”

Percy Julian (1899 to 1975), a research chemist and pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. His work laid the foundation for the production of cortisone and birth control pills.

Alain Le Roy Locke (1885 to 1954), a writer, philosopher, educator and patron of the arts who was a Rhodes Scholar and a significant contributor as a Black artist, writer, poet and musician to the Harlem Renaissance.

Barnes lists several random Black achievers, but more to the point of the book, Black Batavians have overcome and achieved much in their own right, namely the adversity of frequently having been descendants of slaves with limited knowledge of the individuals from whom they came from or precisely from there their ancestors originated, he said. 

“They have been uniquely subjected to especially long-term persecution and discrimination, including being the target of Jim Crow laws,” Barnes writes. 

“And we also observed that, largely as the result of their history, as a group, American Blacks fare less well than most other groups in personal wealth, income, health, and encounters with our country’s justice system,” he states in the book. “Finally, and this needs to be stressed, despite these differences, Blacks have, again and again, excelled in all cases of life activities. I have provided five pages of examples to drive home a point often ignored.”

There’s Mattie Butler, born in 1865, who was a personal cook for President Benjamin Harrison, who served from 1889 to 1893, and was a housemaid at Harrison’s executive mansion in Indianapolis. After later moving to Batavia, she worked at Scott and Bean’s and Henning’s department stores, dying in 1935.

Rev. Raymond Walker graduated from Byron-Bergen Central School and enlisted in the Marine Corps, later becoming a Genesee County Sheriff’s deputy and earning a master’s degree. Walker taught history at Batavia Middle School and later was assistant principal at BHS until he retired in 2005. 

Dean Edwards, a BHS 1988 graduate, is an entertainer who works as a standup comedian, actor, singer, writer and musician who joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2001 for two seasons and has worked as a voice actor, staff writer and has appeared in commercials.

The late Dr. Diane London directed the medical response in 1994 when an Amtrak derailment injured 109 passengers near Batavia, and more than 500 volunteers responded. She was the emergency doctor and medical director at Genesee County Health Department, had a medical office in Batavia, and practiced emergency medicine at United Memorial Medical Center, St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston and Lockport Memorial Hospital. 

Want to know about more awesome Black Batavians? The book, “Black Batavians: Who They Are, Their Local History, and Aspects of Our Larger Culture That Have Especially Shaped Their Experiences,” is on reserve at Richmond Memorial Library and available at Holland Land Office Museum, and Genesee County History Department.

By studying the lives of Black Batavians, Barnes spotted a trend, he said. 

“What you find over a period of time, is that, before World War II, Blacks were employed in menial jobs that didn’t require much education, and after WW II, jobs were more evenly distributed, and Blacks began to move into positions that did require advanced education,” he said. 

By the 1970s, the Black population had grown rather significantly, he said, by 10 percent, in the city of Batavia.   

People from larger cities of Buffalo and Rochester were attracted to this area’s socio-economic, safety and physical attributes that came with a smaller, rural city, he said. 

What did Barnes glean from his research about the Black population? That, because of their association with slavery, Blacks bring a different perspective — one that shapes how much of the Black population looks at the world, he said.

“Many people are surprised to learn there were slaves in Batavia in the early 1800s,” he said. “If you were a descendant of a slave, you wouldn’t know who your ancestors were. People who are Black often came here from a part of the country where Jim Crow laws are in effect.”

Bryan Stevenson, a Black lawyer, Harvard graduate and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, asserts that “we will never achieve really good race relations in our society until we acknowledge and face up to our history,” Barnes said. “An attitude of white supremacy made slavery tolerable and, later, the Jim Crow era virtually inevitable.

“And it isn’t just a Southern problem, however, but an all-American problem. Racism permeates our society,” he said.

You can read more about Stevenson’s thoughts and Barnes’ reflections on the topic, and he leaves the reader with a challenge.

“In any event, it’s time for action,” Barnes said. “Each of us can play a part. What are you going to do to help end the legacy of slavery?”

He may not have been a City of Batavia resident for long before being appointed city historian, but whatever Larry Barnes may have lacked in residential longevity, he made up for with a growing passion.

It was while serving as an assistant to then County Historian Sue Conklin that Barnes became involved in researching city government — sifting through all sorts of materials and, as a result, becoming quite interested in the city.

That was more than a decade and a half ago.

“It’s been a tremendous experience, I’m really going to miss it,” Barnes said during an interview with The Batavian at his second-floor City Hall office. “It’s been a major part of my life for 16 years.” 

Since those humble beginnings, he has gone through a city centennial celebration, watched the unfolding process of the historic Brisbane Mansion — aka current police station — become a prospective boutique hotel or serve some other purpose as a new police facility moves toward final plans. He has researched several requests about homes that have physically been moved or relatives’ ancestors or other Batavia history, though he’s quick to tell you he’s not one’s personal genealogist. He has written books about the city’s most prominent people and places, and been quoted dozens of times over the years for news articles about the birthplace of western New York.

Batavia was once a village, founded in 1827, and became a city in 1915. Eight years ago, there was a grand centennial splash, despite a whirling blizzard that helped all ring in the New Year on Dec. 31, 2014.

In true western or upstate, take your pick, New York fashion, it was a windy, blustery, snowy, icy cold — and certainly not cooperative — evening for the plans the centennial committee had made for the outdoor portion of the event. 

But Barnes had committed to do his part as city historian.

“I remember standing on a platform trying to give a talk to a very small audience,” Barnes said. “Most of the people had gone inside where it was warm.”

And now as we approach the city’s 108th birthday, and another eight years for Barnes since that frigid night, he couldn’t help but also recall how his predecessor didn’t think he had the chops for the job, having only lived in Batavia a mere few years and all. But he’s also well aware of the fact that it doesn’t take one’s personal upbringing to be a good historian. 

Not that Barnes didn’t bring an attractive portfolio to the position; he began teaching at Genesee Community College in 1968, lived in the towns of Batavia and Byron and built a home in the City of Batavia in 2005, where he had lived for three years before taking the job. 

The city’s first historian was William Coon, who seemingly fell into the role as the city attorney, and was appointed by the mayor in 1919. He died in office after serving until 1953, which is something Barnes most definitely did not aspire to, he said: “My goal was to not die in office,” he said.

The last historian was Corinne Iwanicki, who served from 1995 to 2007, and she was succeeded by Barnes, who was the sixth city historian and the first one to be paid, if only for a short time. The position was not paid until this past year, when City Council agreed to provide a stipend. 

There also was no formal job description until former City Manager Jason Molino and Barnes worked on one that was officially approved by City Council in 2010.

Over the years, Barnes has researched various landmarks, people and happenings, such as where the first bridge was located in Batavia, when railroads changed to their current location and why, what happened to certain houses in the city, including some formerly located where the Southside roundabout is now. 

Barnes received so many questions about relocated homes that he wrote a small book about 40 houses that have been physically moved to other locations. 

“If I get interesting questions, I will do that,” he said. 

His own questions piled up about a certain population in the city that seemed to go undocumented, and Barnes wanted to do something about that. While he noticed that quite a lot had been written about Italian, Polish and Irish residents whose families had emigrated to the United States, there was nothing about Black Batavians, he said.

The first simple but pointed question had to be; who is a Black Batavian? Do you go by the color of one’s skin, or facial features, or ancestors? Answer: the person is a Black Batavian if they or someone else defines them as such, he said. 

For more about his latest book, go to: “Black Batavians: Who They Are, Their Local History, and Aspects of Our Larger Culture That Have Especially Shaped Their Experiences.”

Christmas came a few days late this week for city of Batavia officials, but it was well worth it to open a package worth $350,000 in the form of a Community Development Block Grant, issued by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office on Thursday.

Details will be ironed out over the next few months about how the money will be allocated and who the recipients will be for home improvement funding, Assistant City Manager Erik Fix said.

“We are very pleased to have received the CDBG Grant this year.  It is a bit early for us to make any formal announcement and/or notifying eligible homeowners.  Aside from the announcement, we have not received any information in regards to how or when the grant can be distributed,” he said Friday. “We have multiple trainings and webinars in the next couple of months and should have all of the details ironed out by late-winter, early spring in time for summer renovation projects.

“In the meantime, we do have funding available in the Batavia Home Fund,” he said. “The application and details can be found in the Citizen Action Center on our website, www.batavianewyork.com.”

Fix had previously said that the grant would coincide with the city’s comprehensive housing strategy “that we are in the process of developing.”

“It goes hand in hand with the Batavia Home Fund that the City, GCEDC and Town of Batavia signed an inter-municipal agreement to fund this past fall,” he had said to The Batavian earlier this year.  “The CDBG will provide funding for rehabilitation projects on owner-occupied, single-family home rehab projects throughout the city.  The hope is that when one neighbor makes improvements, others will as well, and the city can help foster rehabilitation throughout our communities.”

The Federal assistance Community Development Block Grant funds would enable homeowners to make home repairs with grant and deferred loan funding. Any single-family homeowner was encouraged to apply and the goal of the program was to provide “vibrancy to communities” similar to recent improvements made to Summit Street to create vibrant transformations throughout the city.

This program is to tie in with the city’s housing improvement plan and the recently created Batavia Home Fund. 

Hochul said that 1,400 households will benefit from more than $46 million in grant awards to support affordable homeownership. The grants will help low- and moderate-income families make repairs or safety upgrades to their homes, replace manufactured homes, and provide down payment assistance for first-time buyers. 

Batavia is part of the Finger Lakes region, which was awarded nearly $2.8 million in grant funding. 

Who says you have to wait until midnight to celebrate the New Year? Batavia First Presbyterian Church is hosting a morning celebration from 10 to 11 a.m. with worship, songs, stories, and prayer and 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday with brunch and games to ring in the New Year. There will also be a photo booth, hats, tiaras and other New Year’s goodies to ring in 2024, organizers say.

The public is welcome to attend at 300 E. Main St., Batavia.

The Town of Bethany has declared a State of Emergency for water services during a year-end meeting on Thursday due to the town’s inability to provide water services to the affected parcels of approximately 100 residences and two dairy farms in the town.

The town’s Water District 5 had previously been approved by the town to be installed for service as of Jan. 25, 2021, however, the "COVID emergency" and resulting escalated costs caused the project to increase from $16 million to $20 million, and the town no longer had the authority, by way of bond resolution or the State Comptroller’s Office, to continue with the plan for District 5, town officials said in a related resolution signed during the meeting.

During the spring, summer, fall and winter of 2023, the southeastern portion of Genesee County, including the town of Bethany, experienced severe drought conditions and those residences and dairy farms lost all water services, with one dairy facility needing to haul 60,000 gallons of water per day to meet the needs of its livestock.

Based on the determination that the inability to provide water service to the affected parcels imperils the public health and safety, the Town Board of the town of Bethany, through Town Supervisor Carl Hyde Jr., has found it to be in the best interest of the town to declare a local State of Emergency due to the drought conditions pursuant to 24(1) of the New York State Executive Law, the town’s resolution states, and as a result of the severe drought, all eight farms with cattle are now hauling water either to supplement their well shortfalls or their well failures.

“This is not a sustainable practice nor expense that farms can endure for a prolonged period of time,” the resolution states.

“Due to lack of water in ponds, streams, etc., because of the severe drought conditions, the ability for the fire department to fight fires is extremely hampered. Water for fighting fires must now be trucked into Bethany at 3,500 gallons per truckload from eight to 10 miles away from surrounding towns, and now therefore it is hereby resolved that the town board of the town of Bethany hereby declares a State of Emergency due to the drought conditions present in Genesee County and the Town of Bethany."

This declaration shall be in full force and effect for a period of 30 days or util rescinded by Hyde, whichever occurs first, and he may issue additional declarations extending the local emergency for additional periods not to exceed 30 days until the emergency ceases or is abated.

Town Council members Jeffrey Fluker, Timothy Embt, Steven Wells and Diane Fowler signed the resolution. 

The town had been loaned a 6,700 gallon water tanker this past month from the state Office of Emergency Management, and had to return it earlier this week. Wells had not been recharged at that point, and Hyde said he would be thinking creatively about how to help town residents with their water shortages. 

Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has announced the lineup for the Park Place Events Center for the first three months of 2024. 

On Thursday, January 11, Batavia Downs welcomes back the Polka Buzz tapings with Polka Band Seven and WBBZ.  Tickets are just $10 and you get $10 back in Free Play.  Doors open at 6 p.m. with the tapings starting at 7 p.m.  Tickets are available now on BataviaConcerts.com.

The BBQ and Bourbon Dinner returns for two nights on February 2 and 3.  Enjoy flights of BBQ and samples from Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek as staff gives insight into the history of the brands.  Each attendee receives $50 Free Play and there will be prize drawings as well.  Doors open at 5:15 p.m., and the event begins at 5:30 p.m.  This event is only available by purchasing a hotel package, details can be found at bataviadownsgaming.com/hotel-deals/

Beatle-Mania Magic makes their Batavia Downs debut on Friday, February 9.  Doors are at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m.  A national touring Beatles Tribute band will recreate Beatles concerts with identical costumes, equipment and spot on harmonies.  Tickets start at $15 and guests get $10 back in Free Play.  Tickets are available now on BataviaConcerts.com.  Hotel packages that include tickets are available as well.

The 5^th annual Batavia Brew Fest, presented by Genesee Brewery and Rohrbach Brewing Company is back on Saturday, February 17 from 4:30 to 7 p.m.  For $30, attendees receive two and a half hours of beer sampling from many WNY breweries.  Early bird tickets available until January 29 for just $25.  Light snacks will be served and attendees will receive a commemorative plastic sampling mug along with $15 in Free Play.  Hotel packages that include tickets are available as well.

The Downs welcomes their first Prince Tribute with LoVeSeXy Tribute 2 the music of Prince on Saturday, March 9.  Doors are at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m.  They’ll perform a remarkable, spot-on sound-alike, high-energy show featuring a wide range of songs including all of PRINCE’s greatest hits, from his early years and throughout his long career.  Tickets start at $15 and guests get $10 back in Free Play.  Tickets are available now on BataviaConcerts.com.  Hotel packages that include tickets are available as well.

Returning again after several years of sold out shows is Music of the Stars on Saturday, March 23.  Doors are at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m.   The high-energy seven-piece band pays tribute to internationally famous artists, including Tom Jones, The Bee Gees, Neil Diamond, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Gary Puckett, Elvis, The Beatles and many more. Tickets start at $15 and guests get $10 back in Free Play.  Tickets are available now on BataviaConcerts.com.  Hotel packages that include tickets are available as well.

Batavia Downs is excited to welcome RECORD RIOT, a vinyl record vendor show on Sunday, March 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  With 40 dealer tables and more than 10,000 LPs in the room, attendees will be sure to have a great time browsing a wide variety of music while connecting with fellow music lovers.  Details can be found online at: https://www.recordriots.com/.  $10 Early Bird Tickets or regular $5 admission tickets can be purchased at the door.  Each ticket comes with $5 in Free Play for the gaming floor.

“We have more events scheduled in 2024 than ever before, “ said Henry Wojtaszek, President and CEO for Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel.  “These concert events are always well received by our guests, and we are excited to bring back the Brew Fest with our partners at Genesee and Rohrbach.  With a newfound interest in record collecting, we’re sure that our first onsite Record Riot vendor show will be well attended.  We’re looking forward to entertaining the people of Western New York over the next few months.”

Again, tickets are available now on bataviaconcerts.com.

Hotel Packages for select events can be found on the hotel deals page at https://www.bataviadownsgaming.com/hotel-deals/

Other events scheduled for the 1^st Quarter of 2024 at Batavia Downs include the Experience Psychic Fair January 12 to 14 and the Legends & Stars Sports Expo on the last weekend in February.  Information on these events will be found in the coming weeks HERE.

Press Release:

Do-Re-Mi Preschool Music and Movement class

This class is designed for children ages 2 through 5, alongside their parent or favorite person. This session will have class on Saturday mornings from 10-10:45 a.m. in January (6, 13, 20, 27) at GO ART! in Batavia. 

We will focus on seasonal song, play, motor and locomotor movement, instrumental exploration, vocal and rhythmic call and response, listening activities, storytime, and fun! The curriculum is designed to engage young learners through play and exploration while providing a safe and nurturing space for them to discover and grow important skills, such as language, cognition, and physical development, as well as support and encourage social and emotional learning. 

Chelsea Miller is instructing this session and she has been teaching music in various capacities since 2015. She has received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia, as well as a Master’s Degree in French Horn Performance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 

Currently, Chelsea teaches instrumental music to grades 4-12 at Elba Central School. To register your little one for this amazing class please visit https://goart.org/programming/exlporeart/exlporeart-children/, call (585) 343-9313, or email Jodi at jfisher@goart.org. 

Game Night

Grab a friend and come on in to GO ART! on the first Wednesday of each month for our Game Night! Game night runs from 6-9 p.m. so bring your favorite game or see what we have to offer. From classic board games, and strategy games to card games there is something for everyone. Tavern 2.o.1 will be open.

Do you have any (board, strategy, or card) games you never play and are in good to excellent condition you don't want cluttering up your house anymore? We would be happy to take them off your hands and add them to our collection. Please call (585) 343-9313 or email info@goart.org.

When Anthony Chmielowiec came to the United States in the 1910, he most likely knew that there would be hard work and uncertain times involved as he eventually pursued the American dream of becoming a successful business owner. 

And even when he didn’t know something, he suspended and pushed beyond any potential self-doubt, as was the case when offered his first managerial job.

“And this is probably the best part of our history. He came over from Poland and he settled in Buffalo and didn’t really have a job. And he saw an ad in a local paper for a painting foreman, and he had no experience whatsoever,” his great-great-grandson Jack Jr. said during an interview with The Batavian. “But he went and told them he had experience. He was hired as the painting foreman, and he watched the other painters. He learned by watching the other painters. It was the beginning of our history.”

And what a history: From those early days of Anthony Chmielowiec’s paint contracting and paint store, which led to an office and shop at 450 Ellicott St., Batavia, the business has been shared amongst the men in the family — from Anthony in 1923 and his sons Adolph (aka Jack)  and Raymond when they returned from serving overseas during World War II in 1946, to his son John Jack Sr. and Uncle Bob Chmielowiec in the 1980s, and then 13 years ago, it went to John Jack Jr. and Paul Chmielowiec. 

A. Chmielowiec and Sons opened a paint and wallpaper store on Ellicott Street in 1948, and John Jack began his own painting contracting business with his two sons, John Jack Sr. and Robert (Bob) in 1965. As the business grew, they incorporated and changed the name to Chmielowiec Painting, Inc. Commercial and Industrial painting became their main source of business, including vinyl wall coverings, epoxy floors and wall protection.

Jack Chmielowiec then retired and his sons, Jack Sr. and Bob continued to grow the business. After 45 years, both of them retired in 2010, and sold the business to their sons, Jack Jr. and Paul Chmielowiec. 

There’s no longer a shop attached to the name, and it’s a commercial/industrial painting business that caters primarily to the Rochester area, Jack Jr. said. His father, 79, was able to help celebrate the 100-plus-year anniversary of the business before he died on Tuesday. 

“I think all the family was pretty proud of the fact that we’ve sustained the business for over 100 years,” Jack Jr. said. “It’s mainly because we provide quality work, we meet certain schedules, we have a strong relationship with the contractors we do business for. It’s a pretty simple model, but it seems to work. And we treat our people good, we have good guys. It’s about as simple as it gets.”

His father retired 13 years ago and had enough trust to let it go. 

“When in a pinch and there was something he could do, he did it, but he kind of let us do our own thing,” Jack Jr. said. “I think it says a lot about the quality of the people in my family that passed it down to us. We get a lot of compliments on the quality of our work. At times they have other companies do the work and they say ‘we wish you were on the job.’”

His company does mostly interior painting work, and he can attest to the notion that although many people think everyone can paint, “everybody can’t paint.” So is there a secret to a job well done? Not really.

“Take your time and do what you’ve gotta do,” he said. 

The company has downsized since the Kodak days when it had two shifts of 30 employees painting at the plant, he said. Today there are seven employees and the office is based on Prole Road in Batavia. 

Photos courtesy of the family.

In the fall, when the LeRoy Music Boosters posted that they would be raising money by having businesses or families decorate trees on Trigon Park, I thought it would be a neat opportunity to include the Le Roy Barn Quilt Trail. 

After 10 years, since we first started the Le Roy Barn Quilt project to commemorate Le Roy’s Bicentennial, the project has been revitalized with the help of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Tourism Office. In fact,
the Barn Quilt Trail just received a prestigious award from the New York State Tourism Alliance.

So, I signed up for a tree and started painting small wooden squares with the Le Roy Barn Quilt designs. I knew that I wanted to include the Genesee Solar Eclipse design, and I made a couple of those with the 6-inch squares. And then I measured off the “Railroad Crossing” design from Crocker’s Hardware, and the new barn quilt that’s on No Finer Diner.

That was followed by “Jell-O Jigglers” and “Nancy’s Fancy” from the D and R Depot Restaurant. I also included the beautiful blue and purple design that was on Ruth Harvie’s garage. Some designs were just too small to transfer to the 6-inch squares, but I included “Dash Churn” from the Stein Farm, and a great apple design. I also wanted to include the design that is on the former home of Nancy and Bruce Baker on East Main Street. That wood square is only 4 inches square, and hangs from the top of the tree. I included the barn quilt that’s on the outside of the Stafford Town Hall and the “Women’s Rights” pattern that hangs in the Le Roy Village Hall. I loved including the new barn quilt design that hangs in the window of Mama Chavez’s Taqueria on Mill Street.

I was painting the red, white, and blue barn quilt that hangs on Irene’s Walter’s barn when I heard of her passing, so like some of the other trees on Trigon Park, this tree is a memorial tree. Just before I put back the paints, I decided to include the “Ingham Rose” barn quilt that is on Candy Bower’s house in Le Roy – an important part of Le Roy’s history. The wood squares had to be varnished and then drilled so they could be attached to the tree. That turned out to be a
bit more challenging than I hoped, but I had enough wood squares painted and varnished in time to hang on the tree.

As I was taking this photo, with the tree in the rain, I thought that this is a great
opportunity for folks who are looking for something to do with their families in the rain. Pick up a barn quilt map at Crocker’s Ace Hardware on Lake Street in Le Roy, or at the Woodward Memorial Library or the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Tourism office and go on a scavenger hunt to look for the big barn quilts. There are over 100 of them just in Le Roy and Stafford. And with the map, you can go up on line and learn all about the stories of the barns and the people and the barn quilts.

Lynne Belluscio is the historian for the town and village of Le Roy.

Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School art teacher Leah Peca has uploaded what she estimates to be thousands of kids’ artworks over the years to a website that conducts a routine evaluation and selection process for an online contest. 

Out of all those entries, there have been many creative works, but never one chosen for Artsonia’s Artist of the Week voting competition, Peca said. That was until this year, when Artsonia’s panel selected Kempton Benjamin’s golden glowy moon over a pumpkin patch. Even better yet, the painting reaped 800 online votes and captured first place for an Artist of the Week spot in his age group.

“I was thrilled. I was jumping up and down, I thought I was crazy when I got the email,” Peca said during an interview Wednesday with The Batavian. “I was just so happy for him. It's very cool, because we're a very big sports community. Athletes are constantly always being recognized, which is great, but it's very nice to see some of these other kids get recognized for their own unique talents that are outside of sports."

The voting competition on Artsonia.com is promoted to be part of the world's largest collection of student art portfolios, exhibiting more than 100 million pieces of student art.

Artsonia developed Artist of the Week 15 years ago to encourage teachers to submit student artwork and engage the school and community to vote on and recognize students for their creative achievements, its founders state. Every week, Artsonia selects 12 random submissions in each of four different age groups (PreK-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) from artwork submitted the previous week. Voting is open to the public for several days before the winner is announced.

Peca is one of the thousands of art teachers who uses Artsonia to showcase her students' art, manage the art room, crowdsource lesson plans, and fundraise for her classroom. Artsonia lets family and friends of student artists create and purchase custom keepsakes from the student art and then gives back 20 percent of all revenue to the local art classroom.

“Artsonia is huge in my art room. I love having portfolios of art for my students and my own children that date back to their very first days of school,” Peca said. “The kids also love the nostalgia of scrolling through their online portfolios and remembering their experiences with each project.”

Kempton, who enjoys painting nature and especially animals, was happy when his mom Malorie shared the news that he had won.

“I was excited. I was surprised,” the eight-year-old said. “I used oil pastels. I remembered going to the pumpkin patch, there were three pumpkins; I was recreating that. The harvest moon, it was golden.”

His mom said that he loves to paint and do various crafts, including working with clay. She received the congratulatory email earlier this month. Kempton received a plaque and a gift card for art supplies. He went home and ordered supplies right away, she said.

His list of goodies included pompom puppies, two bags of clay, and a craft kit to make his own kaleidoscope. 

“I'm so proud of him. He really loves art,” she said. “Any time your child gets recognized for something they enjoy or are passionate about, that's an exciting thing. He was really proud, we’re really excited for him. That was a cool recognition and awesome that he got to have other people see his cool, great work that we're always talking about.”

The online site allows families to view their child’s artwork and order items with the piece incorporated. Kempton’s grandma has already ordered a moon over pumpkin patch mug, and other family members will be ordering other items, his mom said. 

Peca has been teaching art for more than 15 years and said that she loves being around kids who are excited to try new things and realize their potential. 

“Everybody is excited to come to art class, and that joy is contagious,” she said. “And Kempton has always had such an aptitude for art, but he works so hard at it too. Whenever he finishes something, he's always asking how he can improve it or what he can do to make it better.

“He never just finishes it in terms of it,” she said. “And he always just keeps working on it. And it's so awesome.”

He spent two 40-minute classes using bright green and orange oils, purples, lavender, shades of periwinkle and sky blues, and brilliant white and yellow for the moon that’s casting a bit of glow onto the round orange pumpkins on the grass below. 

To view works on the site, go to artsonia.com.

Press Release:

Have you ever wondered how an item that is not good for our health becomes popular? One way is vendors that produce them use clever marketing tactics to make people think they are safe, popular, good for you, and a status symbol.

E-cigarettes or vapes are these types of items. Although there are some regulations in the sale of e-cigarette/vape items, they are currently limited. In the United States, the legal age to purchase any nicotine-containing product, including e-cigarettes is 21. New York State has also banned flavored nicotine vape products to address the use of e-cigarettes among youth.

“According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), e-cigarettes/vapes are not approved as an aid to quit smoking,” stated Paul Pettit, Director of Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health). “There is limited evidence that using a vaping device will help smokers quit, mostly because the individuals continue to smoke or use nicotine replacement while vaping, which increases the nicotine levels. Other FDA-approved prescription and over-the-counter medications are safe and effective to help people quit nicotine use. The best way to reduce the risk of nicotine-related illnesses and cancer is to never start using nicotine products of any kind.”

Companies that market e-cigarettes and vaping devices use marketing tools such as:

• ‘fun’ flavors
• deep discounts
• marketing materials that are ‘youth-oriented’ and located where young people go
• brightly colored ads or bright storefronts
• using celebrities who use e-cigarettes
• use popular packaging that is attractive to youth such as flash/USB drives, favorite characters, hidden in hoodie strings, highlighters, o backpacks, phone cases, pens, or smartwatches.

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to have honest conversations with youth about the issues and risks around vaping. Awareness of what is out there will take the glamor out of the product when talking with youth.

Tips on Quitting

• Pick a day on a calendar when you plan on quitting, let friends or family know. 
• Download an app that helps you track your sober days, build new healthier habits, and provide motivation– visit SmokeFree.gov for free apps to download.
• Get rid of all vaping devices. 
• Understand what the withdrawal symptoms are such as headaches, hunger, trouble sleeping, and concentrating are just a few.
• Feeling the urge to vape? Try these instead: Chewing gum or drinking water, exercise, yoga or meditation, keeping your hands busy.

The sooner one quits, the quicker the body rebounds and repairs itself. For more help or information, contact your healthcare provider. You can also text, chat, or call the New York State Smokers’ Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487).

For more information on GO Health programs and services, visit GOHealthNY.org or call your respective health department at: 

• Genesee County: 585-344-2580 ext. 5555
• Orleans County: 585-589-3278

Follow GO Health on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at GOHealthNY.

This is part two of a Christmas lights photo series.  This one features Batavia residents' houses.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Press Release:

Have you been feeling sluggish lately? Have you been told you are overweight? Has a healthcare provider told you that you have prediabetes or are at risk of prediabetes? Do you have a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes? Have you had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or given birth to a baby who weighed over 9 pounds? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be at risk of type 2 diabetes (Type 2).The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health) are seeking feedback from residents to help plan upcoming Lifestyle Change education programs in both counties. We are asking anyone who is at risk of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes to take a few minutes and answer some questions so we can schedule training sessions in Genesee and Orleans Counties.

Type 2 diabetes is when your cells do not respond normally to insulin (insulin
resistance). Type 2 is a chronic disease that affects the way the body processes sugar (glucose) for fuel (energy). When a person has type 2 diabetes their pancreas makes insulin, but their body does not respond well to make the cells let the glucose in, giving the cells the energy they need. The blood sugar is not used and it builds up in the body.

“It is important to note that prediabetes (diagnosed with high blood sugar levels but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes) and type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed,” stated Brenden Bedard, Director of Community Health Services for GO Health. “Attending an evidence-based lifestyle change program can help people learn how to make healthier food choices, encourage them to be more physically active, and learn more about their overall health.”
We encourage residents to consider taking charge of their life and lowering their risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Getting feedback from residents will help us design a program that meets their needs. The survey is quick and can be accessed HERE

For more information on GO Health programs and services, visit GOHealthNY.org or call your respective health department at:

Genesee County: 585-344-2580 ext. 5555
Orleans County: 585-589-3278

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department would like to announce that we will be placing our new Engine 12 in service. To celebrate this occasion, we will be conducting a “push-in” ceremony on Jan 3. 

The push-in ceremony is a tradition in the fire service dating back to the days of horse-drawn equipment when members had to push the equipment into the bays when they returned from an incident because the horses were unable to do it.

Even though the days of horse-drawn fire apparatus are long behind us, the fire service, which is steeped in tradition, continues to conduct these ceremonies. It’s not only a long standing tradition for new apparatus, but gives us a way to celebrate putting it in service.

Please feel free to join us on January 3 at 1 p.m. to see the crews push the apparatus into the station at 18 Evans St., Batavia.

This is part one of a two part series featuring Christmas lights around Genesee County.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

After eight years on dialysis and currently living with a deteriorating transplanted kidney, Batavia resident Jim Urtel Jr. is reaching out to a charitable organization that has taken a page from the “it takes a village” model.

Urtel, 54, a Le Roy High School graduate and longtime trainer/groom of racehorses, needs a second kidney transplant – this time from a live donor.

In an effort to speed up the process, he has connected with Kidneys for Communities, a nonprofit that is dedicated to increasing the pool of living kidney donors in the United States.

“I found out about Kidneys for Communities last June from an old friend, her name was Pam, that I met back in 2020, when I got the first transplant,” Urtel said on Friday. “I just started looking online to see if I could find any help or something. Thankfully, this (organization) helps people like me who need a kidney from a live donor.”

Urtel, encouraged by his parents and by his partner of 30 years, Renee Hozlock, is doing the things he needs to do – exercising regularly (he’s dropped 50 pounds), counting his calories, drinking plenty of bottled water and maintaining a positive attitude – as he waits for a donor.

Prior to 2012, Urtel was busy in the harness horse racing industry, mostly in Pennsylvania. An only child, he came back to Batavia to be there for his mom after his grandmother became ill.

“I was getting ready to work for a guy at the track here in Batavia and I had been a little bit sick for about a week or so. When I laid down at night, I had trouble breathing,” he recalled. “So, I decided to go to the emergency room and get checked out. I thought I had pneumonia or maybe bad bronchitis.”

After testing, he was told that his blood pressure “was through the ceiling,” he said, and that his kidneys had shut down.

“I had untreated sleep apnea and that was raising the blood pressure,” he said.

It was then that he started on dialysis and that lasted for eight years before he received a transplant in 2020 from a deceased donor. As it turned out, there were problems with the transplanted kidney.

“The first year was rough. I had tons of extra fluid. They couldn’t regulate the blood pressure and I gained 50 pounds,” Urtel said. “Little did I know, this kidney was bad, they didn’t tell me that. I think it was a little bit of a little story to keep me going.”

Tested recently, it was determined that his kidney failure risk factor was at a high level, once again making him eligible for a transplant.

“This time, it's going to have to be a live donor because I already did eight years of dialysis and the average lifespan on dialysis is seven,” he said. “That’s why I’m working with Kidneys for Communities. They have pairing programs and other ways to find matches.”

While Renee said she was willing to donate one of her kidneys, she’s not a match.

The chief executive officer for Kidney for Communities said he can relate to Urtel’s plight.

“First of all, I'm a kidney recipient myself,” Atul Agnihotri said by telephone on Friday. “So, I sort of know what Jim's going through and that’s the foundation of how we started this organization. I felt that I got lucky when I received my kidney, and a lot of people in the same journey with me were not as lucky.”

Agnihotri said his organization focuses on sharing patients’ stories in their own communities to maximize their chances of receiving transplants.

“We know that within the community is where the affinity, the relationships and identification is the strongest,” he said. “And members are willing to help other members. A community could be that you are living in a smaller city were people have this binding relationship with each other, or you could be going to the same church.”

Kidneys for Communities does not charge a fee to donors, recipients or transplant centers, Agnihotri said.

“We collect our own funds. All our funders currently are people that are associated with kidney disease, either their themselves as recipients, family members of the recipients or their donors,” he explained.

“If you look at our organization, we have an incredible list of people that are associated with it. A lot of those people are altruistic donors, meaning that they just kind of like walked in and said, whoever needs a kidney, I'm willing to give one.”

And that’s just the type of person that Jim Urtel is hoping to find.

For more about how to help Urtel: https://kidneysforcommunities.org/recipient/jim-urtel/

For more information about Kidneys for Communities, go to www.kidneysforcommunities.org.

The Christmas Eve Service at City Church starts at 10 a.m.