The Oakfield-Alabama Volleyball Team hosted its fifth annual Dig Pink fundraiser tonight in a match against Kendall. Over the past four years, the team has raised more than $4,000 to support breast cancer research.
The Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee County is assembling personal care packages for victims of domestic violence and is working with the YWCA to distribute 500 bags.
The club is seeking donations to assist in the project. If you could contribute one or more items from the list below, it would be greatly appreciated!
***Volunteers will be assembling the bags at the Dibble Family Center in Batavia from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday Oct. 21.
You could also opt to make a tax-deductable donation of $50/$100/$150/$200 to help purchase items needed.
Checks can be made payable to:
Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee County
And mailed to:
Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee County
C/O Beth Kemp
ZONTA Domestic Violence Bag Project
3977 W. Main Street Road
Batavia NY 14020
For more information or to drop off items, contact Beth at 993-7747 or e-mail at billing@myTshirtsEtc.com
About Zonta International
The nonprofit organization has been empowering women through service and advocacy since its founding in 1919. It seeks to empower women worldwide by improving their legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status at both local and global levels.
Press release:
This winter high school and college students can help save lives and be eligible to win a scholarship of up to $2,500 by hosting an American Red Cross blood drive. Registration is now open through Nov. 15 to host drives between Dec. 15 and Jan. 15.
“Winter is a difficult time to collect enough blood to meet patient needs with inclement weather and seasonal illnesses reducing the number of volunteer donors that come out to give,” said Red Cross Communications Manager Cara Leyna Noble. “Our Leaders Save Lives program gives students an opportunity to learn valuable leadership skills and help ensure blood is available for patients in need of lifesaving transfusions by recruiting their friends and family to give blood.”
The Leaders Save Lives program encourages community-minded high school and college students to host blood drives to help maintain the blood supply around the winter holidays. Blood donations made at high school, university and college blood drives account for as much as 20 percent of blood donations through the Red Cross. Around the winter holidays, when school is not in session, blood donations often decline.
Students who host a drive can be eligible to win a scholarship up to $2,500 for higher education and earn a gift card. A total of six scholarships will be awarded to students who host a blood drive collecting 25 blood donations or more. All students who collect at least 25 pints at their blood drive will receive a gift card to giftcertificates.com.
For more information and to register to host a Leaders Save Lives blood drive, visit redcrossblood.org/leaderssavelives.
How to donate blood:
Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
A motor-vehicle accident is reported at routes 5 and 77. A person possibly has a head injury. Law enforcement is on scene. Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments and Mercy medics are responding.
We think of dogs who bite, lunge, snarl and bark as aggressive, but that isn't necessarily the case, according to Tori Ganino, co-owner of Calling All Dogs, on Harvester Avenue.
Those behaviors are often a response born of fear, Ganino said, and dogs can be taught to be less fearful in situations they find stressful.
"What we do is train them that these situations aren't so bad, that you don't have to be afraid, you don't have to bite to make the person or thing go away," Ganino said. "Instead, we're going to help you feel better about it. So we change their emotional responses from a fearful one to a good one so that when I they see this person coming along, it's not such a bad thing. It's a good thing."
Ganino is a certified animal behavioralist, certified by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, the only such certified consultant in Genesee County.
The certification process includes more than 400 hours of coursework, 500 hours of work with clients and a 12-part, essay-based exam. Certification also requires ongoing training and keeping abreast of the latest research-based behavior and training techniques.
Ganino started on the path toward certification after becoming the owner of a dog who had become fearful after a bad experience with a man in a pet store where the dog had been available for adoption. Ganino said in certain situations, the dog would just shake with fear. She wanted to help her pup handle fearful situations better so she sought some training.
The first training class used what's known as "flooding," which is repeated exposure to the fearful situation until the dog learns not to fear the stimulus any longer, usually by just emotionally shutting down. Ganino didn't feel good about that technique for her dog, so she sought out alternatives and discovered animal behavior training.
"I wanted to find a way to help him feel better about the situation and not put him in a situation he couldn't handle," Ganino said.
Unlike techniques that rely on punishment or dominance, behavioral training is about positive reinforcement for correct behavior.
If a dog snarls and lunges at certain people, the owner shouldn't scold, but rather divert the dog's attention, elicit the desired response and then reward the dog for the correct behavior.
"If he's in a situation where he's growling, he's over the point where he's comfortable with what's going on, so you need to take him away from it so can get him at a place where he's comfortable and then start the training," Ganino said. "That's where the behavior work really starts. You can't reinforce the emotion. You can make changes to get him to feel better, but at the time that he's seeing that person and thinking, 'I'm upset and I'm getting yelled at, too,' he learns that it validates his concerns. He's feeling a threat. It's not a good situation and he's getting yelled at."
Dogs look to their owners for leadership and an owner who is upset in a bad situation is telling a dog "This is a situation where you should be upset."
"With behavior work, we don't say, 'I don't want you to bark at this person,' " Ganino said. "Instead, we say, 'Why don't you look at me. Why don't we go over here and do this.' because 'no' just means stop, but you're not helping him understand what he's supposed to do. When he's lunging at another person, back him up and work with him so he realizes, 'I can look at that person, but what am I supposed to do when I look at him? I'll look back at mom and dad and they'll guide me through it. We'll play. We'll get rewards for it and then we'll go on our way.' "
Ganino owns Calling All Dogs with her husband, Rich, and while Ganino specializes in working with fearful and aggressive dogs, Calling All Dogs offers a range of obedience classes and personal training sessions as well as doggie day care.
A typical six-week class is $99, but on a space-available basis, owners of foster dogs can sign up for free classes.
Well-behaved dogs are socialized, get plenty of exercise and ample mental stimulation. They know what's expected of them and can count on their owners to provide a stable routine. Obedience classes are as much about training the owners as training the dogs, and it helps the owners understand how to avoid situations that maybe their dogs can't handle and then raising the fear factor.
"Any dog can have that emotional change to 'I'm upset and I'm scared,' " Ganino said. "A lot of times biting is a response to 'I'm afraid.' We can help a dog feel better, but it's up to the owners not to put them in situations they're not ready to handle."
Nancy Gilmartin shared this photo with us today.
The flag of the Six Nations should have been part of the flags flying in the International Peace Garden from the beginning, several speakers at a ceremony raising the flag today acknowledged, but for various reasons, with no blame cast, that didn't happen, the speakers said.
Now that it's part of the display, it will always be part of the display, at least as long as she has a say in it, said Paula Savage.
Speakers noted that the Peace Garden commemorates the War of 1812, a very bad era for our region's indigenous people, people who had been on this land long before then, long before "Columbus sailed the ocean blue" in 1492, and perhaps going back as far as ancient mammals like the mastodons. The people of the Six Nations have suffered many hardships, but remain proud.
"We are strong and we're still here, which is why we wanted a flag in Batavia," said Melissa Smith, president of the Tonawanda Historical Society.
Al White spoke of the need to protect the land and called on the young Native Americans in the audience to set aside their video games and the trappings of commercialized America and embrace their people's relationship with the Creator.
"All of our land used to look like this little garden here," White said. "It was our land and we took care of it because our Creator told us it was our duty to take care of it. It is our sacred duty. I'm grateful for this flag over here, but my flag is all around me because my flag is the land of the Creator."
Jeanne Taradena
Al White
Kathrine Sike and Al Parker raise the flag.
The Seneca Singers
Frank Panepento plays the melody for "Amazing Grace." (The song sung by the Seneca Singers was the same melody with words in the Seneca language.)
Areas in urban communities known as brownfields can sometimes be expensive to redevelop because of the environmental cleanup costs, and that cost drives away potential developers because projects that might turn a profit without the cleanup quickly become unprofitable.
To address that issue, local agencies, including the City of Batavia, have come together with a plan to help reduce the expense for developers who wish to complete projects on brownfield sites.
They're calling it the Batavia Prosperity Project, or BP2, and the City Council will get a presentation on the proposal tomorrow.
"This is really a partnership, an example of cooperation among all the parties, city, county and schools, that recognizes the common interest in a revitalized urban core," said City Manager Jason Molino. "We can focus on this together because we recognize there is a greater reward for everybody concerned."
The program would take fees paid by developers on future projects in the city -- brownfield or otherwise -- that qualify for PILOTs (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) from each of the taxing jurisdictions and pool those fees in a common fund that could be tapped down the road by brownfield opportunity area (BOA) developers to help offset environmental remediation costs.
Such PILOTs would need to be approved by the Genesee County Economic Development Center and Steve Hyde, the CEO, will be at Tuesday's meeting to help explain how the program will work and the benefits for the community.
The program, as proposed, is the first of its kind on a citywide basis in the state.
"This could help us clean up contaminated sites, increase our tax base and increase employment opportunities," Molino said.
The city's three BOAs are all in what are identified as low-income, blighted neighborhoods, which means under New York State law, they are eligible for tax breaks for retail projects, which expands the redevelopment opportunities. And since under the law, census tracts next to low-income, blighted neighborhoods are also eligible for those same tax breaks, every census track in the city is eligible for such projects.
Molino isn't predicting that because of that big retailers are going to swoop in and build new stores, but that "isn't necessarily a bad thing," he said.
It's all up to the free market.
"I think the market is going to dictate what comes in here, and what can and what cannot work," Molino said.
Market studies show that what the urban core needs more of are restaurants, medical offices, office space, housing and warehouse space, so those are the kind of projects most likely to be attracted to development, brownfield or otherwise, in the city.
"There is an increased demand from people who want to live Downtown," Molino said. "I think mixed use is where we're going to see an increase in development."
The STAMP project recently announced -- solar company 1366 Technologies -- creates an opportunity for Batavia.
"We want to capture some of that overflow," Molino said. "This policy is another tool for dealing with development of our urban core."
The properties in the BOA have generated a good deal of interest, Molino said, ever since a development forum hosted by the city in 2013. There may be a project coming soon, but the city also needs another tool to help make development in the city more attractive to investors.
The City Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
A year ago, the problems on Summit Street included drugs and public domestic disputes and a general sense that the bad guys were winning, so a couple of neighbors started talking about how they might solve the problem.
Det. Rich Schauf got involved along with other members of Batavia PD. Leanna Di Risio from Vibrant Batavia was brought in. Residents started holding monthly meetings. Police started communicating more directly with residents. People started looking out for their street. Things changed.
This week, the biggest concern on Summit Street is a few skunks who have been wandering around the neighborhood.
"When the police issues identified come down to that, that obviously says a lot," Di Risio said during a neighborhood pizza party on Saturday. "I think when people see that neighbors are coming together, and they have that bond and they're looking out for each other, it makes for a better neighborhood."
Don Hirons, his wife Pam, and another neighbor got the ball rolling about a year ago, and soon they were talking with a couple of other longtime residents, including Richard Beatty, and that led to direct communication with law enforcement about what could be done. Word of the conversations reached City Manager Jason Molino who thought this was a perfect project for Vibrant Batavia. Together, they started holding monthly meetings at City Hall, with attendance at the most recent meeting attended by 20 residents of Summit Street.
"Rather than just sitting still and letting things happen, we thought maybe we need to do something," Hirons said. "We can't just sit back. We've lived on the street 35 years. That's a big investment of time. We've seen a lot of people come and go. There's a lot of homeowners who are not with us anymore and some of those homes have been turned into rentals. We've got folks we see come and go, so I guess what I'm saying is we didn't want to see this street -- we've seen it when it was a place where you didn't mind bringing your kids out -- to one where you had to be more careful. Both my wife and I saw that happening and we felt it was important to make sure to preserve the integrity of the street."
The way police have patrolled Summit Street hasn't really changed, Schauf said, nor is it any different from streets facing similar issues, but what has changed is the communication, and that has made a huge difference. When arrests are made, and as cases make it through the legal system, the department communicates with a resident about what has happened and that information is shared neighbor-to-neighbor. That gives residents confidence that action is being taken, raises their awareness and encourages them to continue to report issues immediately as they arise.
"Our department has 30 sworn officers," Schauf said. "There are 15,000 people who live in the city and during the day, there could be between 25,000 or 30,000 people here, so you do the math. You're always outnumbered, so without eyes and ears, without generally good people, we'd have chaos. To have people with eyes and ears and willing to share information so we can react to it, whether it's anti-social behavior or it has to do with quality of life, we can deal with it quickly."
When neighbors look out for each other, Schauf said, it helps encourage people less interested in being good citizens to find different locations for their criminal activity.
"Crime prevention isn't about crime going away," Schauf said. "It's about crime moving, because if we could do away with crime, we would have done that by now, but we can't. So it's about pushing crime down the road. It's not at your house and you're protected and you're helping your neighbors, that's going to push crime out of your neighborhood."
The residents of Summit Street feel so good about what they've been able to accomplish, they've had two parties this summer and fall. Earlier in the year they had an ice cream social. They're talking about a block party next summer and shutting down Summit Street for the afternoon.
Di Risio said there's also a lot of interest in forming more of a neighborhood association, which would include a classic welcome wagon for new Summit Street residents, and signs on the streets -- but not the negative message of a "Neighborhood Watch," but something with a more positive spin about how residents care about each others' well being.
"The best part of this is you start getting to know people," Beatty said. "You know their situations and a little bit about their families. It's been very encouraging. It's been a positive experience the way it's been going. Before this started, I didn't know Don and Pam. I didn't know the folks down the street or the folks on the corner, or any of them, so it's been a very positive thing."
The fact that the biggest issue on Summit is skunks is a good thing, Schauf said, but that isn't the end of the story.
"I've done this long enough to know that problems come and go," Schauf said. "So, right now, I'm not saying, 'This is great, we've solved it. We're the best and the neighborhood is well on its way to no problems.' I think there could still be problems, but we can react to it not just as one person complaining, but as a group, and when a group looks out for each other, it makes them stronger."
Cary Michael Alexyn, 40, of Eaton Road, Irondequoit, is charged with petit larceny. Alexyn is accused of stealing multiple items of jewelry from his sister's residence in Oakfield when he stayed there in May.
David Joseph Gorney, 47, of Applewood Lane, Erie, Pa., was arrested as a fugitive from justice. Gorney was incarcerated in the Genesee County Jail on a felony DWI charge. He was released and then arrested as a fugitive from justice. He was ordered held without bail pending extradition.
Erica Lynn Manuel, 22, of Fourth Section Road, Brockport, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, and failure to obey a traffic device. Manuel was stopped at 8:37 a.m. Friday on Byron Holley Road, Byron, by Deputy Joseph Corona. She was ordered held on $1,000 bail.
More than 200 runners and walkers were in County Park this morning for the annual Run for the ACORNS 5K and 10K races. Organizers were pleased with the Fall-perfect weather.
The East Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department hosted its first gun raffle Saturday night at its fire hall. The event was a fundraiser to support the department. We don't yet have a list of winners, but several prizes were given away.
The folks in Bergen hosted a great family event yesterday in Hickory Park, an autumn festival they called "Shenanigans." The event featured dozens of games and contests, which allowed children to win tickets for prizes. There were also several local vendors selling things such as mittens, candles, wine and honey.
City Fire and Batavia PD are dispatched to an address on Bank Street for a report of a person burning plywood in the backyard of a residence.
A two-car accident, unknown injuries, is reported at 5049 Ellicott Street Road. A telephone pole is involved and may be damaged. Traffic is not blocked. Town of Batavia fire and Mercy medics are responding,
Charting a Course to Prosperity! GCC’s The BEST Center and City of Batavia Offering Small Business Ownership Series.
Calling all aspiring entrepreneurs. Here’s your chance to find out if you have what it takes to achieve small business success. The BEST Center at Genesee Community College is partnering with the City of Batavia and the Batavia Development Corporation (BDC) to offer a three-part “Owning Your Own Business” program designed to inspire creativity, fine tune skills, and chart a true course to prosperity. Those interested will be able to explore, experience, and connect with resources that can help turn a dream into a reality.
The program, “Get Underway: Small Business Ownership Series,” begins with a series of one hour workshops where participants will explore business opportunities, assessing their personal readiness to own and operate a new business. Each session will run from noon - 1 p.m. in the second floor community room at Batavia City Hall. The following four sessions are planned and participants are encouraged to attend each one:
Part I - begins Sept. 16th
The sessions are $5 each for those who pre-register online at http://www.genesee.edu/best/, or $10 each at the door.
The second part of the program goes beyond the basics to help participants fully develop a business concept and transition into becoming a business manager. These five weekly Wednesday evening sessions are mandatory if participants want to access grant resources available through the City of Batavia Microenterprise Grant Program. The sessions run from 6 to 9 p.m. in Room T121 of the Conable Technology Building on GCC’s Batavia campus. They include:
Part II - begins Oct. 14th
The five-week course costs $125 and students will receive a certificate upon successful completion. Registration for this course is also available online at http://www.genesee.edu/best/.
The Small Business Ownership series is funded in part by the New York State Office of Community Renewal Community Development Block Grant.
For more information, contact Marketing Communications Associate Director Donna Rae Sutherland at (585) 343-0055, ext. 6616, or via e-mail: dsutherland@genesee.edu
I'm long overdue for taking care of this -- we promised to give away an iPad Mini to one lucky poster during the first month of our newest Web site, Batavia's List.
The winner is Mike McDonald. Mike increased his odds during the month-long contest by posting three home rental ads.
Since he already owns a tablet, he's donating his prize to John Kennedy School so it might go to a student who can't afford such a device.
We have a new contest: Post something to the marketplace on Batavia's List between now and Nov. 10 and win a $100 gift certificate to Larry's Steakhouse. No purchase necessary. To post for free e-mail howard@thebatavian.com for a coupon code for a free post.
We're also now running our community calendar through Batavia's List. Post your events on our calendar and they appear on both sites. You must register for Batavia's List to post calendar items. Once you do, and you're logged in, you will see a button for posting events on the Calendar Page.
If you're on Facebook, you can get updates of postings to Batavia's List by liking Batavia's List on Facebook.
Finally, please be sure to sign up for our new daily e-mail newsletter.
Ziebart, an auto service shop, held its ribbon cutting this morning to celebrate opening the new location. Franchise owner Tony Mattiacio holds the giant scissors. This is Mattiacio's fourth franchise location for the national chain of outlets that provide a variety of services including detailing, wraps and starters.
Photo from Greg Rada who said his father, Richard Rada, took it and is participating in the anti-abortion protest this morning outside the Planned Parenthood office on West Main Street, Batavia.
Batavia High School Blue Devils contributed quite a bit to the spirit of Homecoming Week with a 54 to 0 win over Wayne Central. The score says it all defense and offence came to play and they did! From the opening drive to the last, a nearly overflowing Vendetta Stadium saw continuous action from turnovers, stops and scoring.
There were, however, a few fouls that could have caused Batavia some trouble if they were not completely dominant for the entire game. More pictures of the game here http://jimburns.org/p934431343#h5be14e4b
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