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WBTA marks 40th anniversary of Attica Prison riot with special news series

By Billie Owens

Here's a press release from The Batavian's news partner WBTA:

This week AM-1490 WBTA & WBTAi.com will air a special presentation marking the 40th anniversary of the Attica Prison Riot.

Listeners in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties are invited to tune into the “Listen Live” stream, Sept. 6-9 for a news series called “Attica at 40: In Our Own Words.”

This series takes a retrospective look at the Attica Prison Riot through the eyes of WBTA correspondents who lived it in 1971. Produced and anchored by WBTA’s Geoff Redick, this 40th anniversary commemorative broadcast takes place as a special feature on Main & Center, beginning at approximately 9:07 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday.

Former WBTA personalities Rich Funke, Jim Lanigan and Frank Mangefrida recount their experiences at Attica, and in area hospitals following the tragic massacre of prisoners and hostages. The series concludes on Friday, Sept. 9 – the day the riot began – with a special appearance by former WBTA president Bill Brown, offering one of his legendary on-air editorials.

“These men had little idea on September 9th, 1971, that their lives would be forever changed in reporting this story,” said Geoff Redick, WBTA News anchor. “I urge all listeners to find time to listen on AM-1490, or at WBTAi.com, to hear these amazing stories of an American tragedy.”

Full-length interviews with Rich, Jim, Frank and Bill will all be available later at the Local News page on WBTAi.com.

Photo: Red Kettle Campaign kick off

By Howard B. Owens

The Batavia Salvation Army kicked off its annual Red Kettle Campaign today at Seymour Place, East Main Street. WBTA's Geoff Redick made the honorary first donation.

Longtime newsman recalls his biggest stories, his books and more

By Diane M. Dole

William Brown, a native Batavian, is and always will be a newshound. He has spent a long lifetime writing stories from the sensational to the mundane, the odd and the expected, and everything in between.

He’s a regular at the Batavia City Council meetings, notepad and pen at the ready.

“They pray before every meeting,’ Brown said.

His latest series of articles for the Buffalo News is about Leandra’s Law, the new DWI law, which makes it a felony if a child is in the car of an inebriated driver.

Besides newspaper writing, Brown spent many years in radio broadcasting, something he was drawn to since taking a high school course about it.

But initially, he set his sights on becoming a principal or school superintendent. He even earned a master’s degree Educational Administration.

Then he joined the Army, touring Japan during World War II, and served in its radio service program. He was in charge of communications between the camp and the troop he belonged to.

After returning from the war, Brown took a job at WBTA. From there on out, he was in the news business.

“This is usually a good starting point for people and after a few years they move onto a larger market or get out of the business, although some people stay,” Brown said.

When Brown first started at the station, he was an announcer and he covered the police and city hall beats. He did the 12:30 p.m. newscast.

“The funniest moments I remember were the announcers and their bloopers. Such as: ‘The woman is under the physician’s car’ when the announcer meant to say ‘The woman is under the physician’s care.’”

The biggest stories of his career were both exciting and terrifying -- The flood of Tonawanda Creek in 1942 and the 1971 Attica Prison riot.

At the time of the flood, WBTA was only a year old. It had a rocky start because people in Batavia believed they could get all of their news from either Buffalo or Rochester and didn’t need a local station.

That changed when the Tonawanda Creek flooded the entire south side of West Main including the railroad tracks. There was no communication from outside of the town.  Everyone was cut off.

People had to rely on WBTA. When communications were finally restored, Batavians found that they enjoyed their local station and began to value its importance in the local community.

Nearly 30 years later, WBTA was on the frontlines of the Attica Prison uprising.

“We had a reporter there all the time giving us updates on what was happening.”

WBTA provided coverage for more than 50 radio stations – stories of inhumane conditions and shoddy treatment, the overcrowding, racism and beatings which boiled over into a four-day riot that left 39 people dead.

New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s orders to use tear gas and open fire on the inmates were heavily criticized. The prisoners got some concessions and things improved.

Years after the Attica uprising, Brown bought one-third ownership in WBTA. But he eventually sold his share and retired from radio – but not the news business.

Brown is particularly proud of his editorials.

“The editorials used to be about baking pies and stories of Mom. I believed editorials are made to be thought provoking, involved and controversial.”

So he set about changing the way the local editorials were done. He wanted to spur people into action. In each of the 16 years he worked on editorials, he won an award from the Associated Press.

Of the 12 books he has written, he cites two favorites: “The Linden Murders” and “Genesee’s Rich and Famous.”

The former is about four unsolved murders in Wyoming County. These cases were labeled “perfect” because no clues were left behind.

His other favorite book includes some colorful personalities, such as railroad baron Dean Richmond, director for the Utica and Buffalo Railroad Company.

Then there’s the story of Edward Newton Rowell who murdered his wife’s lover in their home.

“Rowell shot the man in the back as he was fleeing down the stairs.”

He went to the police and confessed to the crime. The jury later found him not guilty of the crime, on the grounds he killed an intruder in his home.

A 100 years ago, murder was apparently more forgivable than adultery.

The book also features Orator Francis Woodward, who bought the Jell-O formula from his neighbor Pearle Wait for only $450. He named his company Genesee Pure Foods Company and so effectively marketed Jell-O that it became a household name.

Photo: File Photo from a December 2009 Batavia Rotary Club meeting where Brown received gifts from the club.

Truck loads of Christmas joy piling up at toy drive

By Howard B. Owens

Sandy Konfederath, from Genesee ARC, arrives at Ken Barrett Chevrolet this morning with an armload of toys to donate to the annual toy drive sponsored by WBTA and several local businesses.  The toy drive continues until 4 p.m. today.

Chris Lee talks with WBTA about trip to Afghanistan

By Howard B. Owens

Congressman Chris Lee has returned from a fact-finding trip to Afghanistan. WBTA interviewed him this morning and Dan Fischer has posted an extended audio file on WBTA1490.com (mp3).

Tune into WBTA's Main and Center tomorrow to hear Lee talk about the health care being considered in the House of  Representatives.

WBTA and The Batavian partner on candidate forums

By Howard B. Owens

WBTA and The Batavian will bring you a series of candidate forums over the next couple of days.

Starting tonight, Dan Fischer and I will host a series of Q&A sessions with the City Council candidates and the candidates for competitive County Legislature seats at the WBTA studios.

We will interview the candidates in pairs. 

These sessions are not debates, but rather an opportunity to have a discussion about the important issues in the city and the county.

Tonight and tomorrow night, we will interview the candidates and the interviews will be broadcast unedited tomorrow and Friday. We've also hired Ethan Thompson to videotape the interviews, and the video will be available on The Batavian as soon as the tapes are properly processed for downloading on the web (as always, via YouTube).

Here's the schedule of interviews:

Wednesday, Oct. 14:
7:00 p.m.: Sara Burk-Balbi and Marianne Clattenburg
8:00 p.m: Frank Ferrando and Phil Ricci
These two interviews will air on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. on WBTA.
 
Thursday, Oct. 15:
7:00 p.m.: Julie Wallace and Tim Buckley
7:30 p.m.: Chris Charvella and Hollis Upson
8:00 p.m.: Rose Mary Christian and Robert Radley
These three interviews will air on Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. on WBTA.

If there are questions you think I should ask, please submit them in comments below.

WBTA and The Batavian form cooperative partnership to bring Genesee County local news

By Howard B. Owens

Several readers have noticed that The Batavian and WBTA often cooperate on news stories.

Dan Fischer, owner of WBTA, and I have found we work very well together, and cooperating is advantageous because neither of us employ massive news gathering staffs.

To help us gather more news, and do a better job of informing our readers and listeners, we plan to continue this level cooperation.

A week or so ago, Dan and I agreed we should make the news partner arrangement a little more formal and public, so today you'll notice a new button on the upper right part of the site that makes explicit our content sharing agreement.

Together, we will continue to bring you the most comprehensive and independent Genesee County news coverage available.

On a personal note, I must say, I'm really proud of this arrangement. Dan really knows his business. He's got to be one of the best independent radio station owner/operators in the country. Genesee County is fortunate to have a strong, locally owned radio station in an era where such independence in media is rare.

15th Annual “Festival of Hope” hosted by Genesee Cancer Assistance

By Rachael Tabelski

15th Annual “Festival of Hope” hosted by Genesee Cancer Assistance June 5, 2009 at the Batavia Downs Genesee Cancer Assistance Inc.

 

Event Date and Time
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WBTA back on the air after transmission lines knocked out

By Howard B. Owens

WBTA was off the air for nearly 90 minutes this morning after the lines that carry the radio signal from the studio at Main and Center to the transmission tower was knocked out.

The cause was apparently related to work being done by Verizon, according to Debbie Fischer.

WBTA started transmitting again at 10:55 a.m.

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: Dan Fischer just came on air to explain the situation. The Verizon lines remain out of service and the station is using a temporary patch to get the signal to transmission tower. "This is about the third time this has happened with Verizon, but we'll keep those thoughts to ourselves," Fischer said. The in-studio sound is degraded with the temporary fix and Fischer asks listeners to be patient while repairs are underway.

News Round Up: County sells some health department services; roads to be repaved

By Howard B. Owens

Dan Fischer at WBTA is working on these and other stories this morning:

  • The Genesee County legislature sold some health department services to a Rochester company for $1.4 million. Six nurses will lose their jobs and another will retire.
  • More than $800,000 in Federal stimulus package money will be spent on repaving Batavia-Stafford Townline Road and R. Stephen Hawley Drive. County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens told WBTA why these roads were selected.

Tune in to WBTA 1490-AM for news updates throughout the morning.

WBTA's Wanda Frank to be honored by GCC

By Howard B. Owens

Wanda Frank, who started with WBTA in 1967, and graduated from GCC in 1997 with a degree in Theater Arts, has been named to the Alumni Hall of Fame, WBTA reports this morning.

Frank is still on the Air with WBTA, hosting Wednesday's with Wanda.

She will be honored at GCC on Wednesday afternoon.

Here's a video Philip made about Wanda several months ago:

News Round Up: Corfu election delayed a day in observance of St. Patrick's Day

By Howard B. Owens

People curious how many votes Scott Doll might get in the Corfu mayoral election will wait until tomorrow to find out.

Doll is charged with second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his business partner, Joseph A. Benaquist.

The unusual election made the CBS national news on WBTA this afternoon.

Village elections are usually held on Tuesdays, but Corfu, which has the only village election this year in Genesee County, delayed its election until Wednesday this year because of St. Patrick's Day.

In other news:

  • Construction on a $5 million roundabout, the first in Batavia, on Walnut Street, begins tomorrow. WBTA posted an interview with Asst. City Manger Sally Kuzon.
  • There will be no curb-side pick up of yard waste in Batavia this year and residents are asked to bring their waste, beginning April 1, to the Law Street collection station.
  • The municipal pools in LeRoy will not open this year due to lack of funds for needed repairs.

For more details on these and other stories, visit the WBTA news page.

News roundup: Highest Rotary honors for a lifelong supporter

By Philip Anselmo

Wilma Nichols of Alexander was awarded the Rotary Club of Batavia's highest honor for a non-Rotarian yesterday afternoon. WBTA's Dan Fischer tells us that Nichols was surprised at lunch yesterday with the Paul Harris Fellowship, named for the founder of Rotary. Nichols was 8 years old when the Batavia Rotary was formed in 1919. She is 98 today.

Fischer writes:

Wilma has served lunch to the Rotary Club every week for more years than anyone can remember. The club surprised Wilma yesterday, secretly inviting her family to attend the ceremony. Past Rotary Presidents served lunch to Wilma.

Wilma accepted the award with her typical humility and grace.

Visit WBTA online to hear Nichols.

News roundup: Genesee Co. native among four dead in weekend murders

By Philip Anselmo

One of four people murdered over the weekend was a Batavia native, WBTA's Dan Fischer said. Former Lakeside Hospital worker Frank Garcia is accused of shooting five people Saturday, killing four of them. One of the victims, 23-year-old Mary Silliman was born in Batavia, according to Fischer.

Daily News reports reference Silliman as a Corfu native.

The rampage began about 5 a.m. when the suspect drove to Lakeside on Route 31 and found Mary Silliman, a nursing assistant at Lakeside's long-term care facility, outside, apparently on a break, law enforcement sources familiar with the case said. Silliman, 23, lived in Albion and was a former Corfu resident.

Police are still unclear on all the details of the alleged murders. Garcia is also suspected of murdering a Canandaigua couple in their home execution-style later that day. OAS_A

From the Democrat & Chronicle:

Police have not released several details surrounding Saturday's killing spree, including how the suspected killer knew the slain Canandaigua couple or how he spent the nine hours between the first killing and his arrest.

[...]

Garcia, a registered nurse, started working as a per-diem nursing supervisor at Lakeside's Beikirch Care Center in late October or early November, said interim Chief Executive Officer Michael Stapleton. Beikirch Care Center is also where Sillman worked. Garcia's employment was officially terminated last week, though he had not worked a shift "in several weeks," Stapleton said.

Silliman attended Pembroke Central and Batavia High schools, according to Fischer. Check back with that site later for a full obituary on Silliman.

News roundup: Two school closures and power outages in the area

By Philip Anselmo

Attica and Wyoming central schools are closed this morning as a result of the fierce weather, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer.

We've also got power outages in the area: some 73 folks are without electricity in and around Alexander, and another 65 are in the dark in Darien. Wires have come down on Dewey Road in the town of Batavia. No outages yet reported in that region.

News roundup: Public hearing tonight on proposed city budget

By Philip Anselmo

Batavia's City Council will hold a public hearing tonight at 7 o'clock on the proposed budget for next year. Council has worked the property tax increase down to about 3 1/2 percent according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Further budget cuts have reduced the increase to 2.17 percent. Water rates are slated for a 4 percent hike. That meeting will be at City Hall.

News roundup: Another downtown restaurant closes its doors

By Philip Anselmo

A third restaurant in 30 days has closed its doors in downtown Batavia. Grugnale's Italian Deli on Jackson Street is shuttered today. A sign on the door states that the deli has closed temporarily while the owners seek out a new location, WBTA's Dan Fischer reports. "The owners there have said they hope to re-open the business," says Fischer.

South Beach on Main Street and Sallome's Deli on Oak Street have also recently closed their doors.

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