Every part of Upstate New York, including Genesee County, will benefit from his bill to spur development in computer chip and technology manufacturing, Sen. Charles Schumer said today during an online press conference with reporters from throughout New York.

Upstate has more shovel-ready business park sites than any other region in the nation, and WNY-STAMP is among those sites drawing interest from semiconductor manufacturers with the likely passage of this bill, Schumer said.

"There are a whole number of companies that were thinking of going overseas to Europe or to Asia, that with this bill have now said they're going to locate in the United States," Schumer said in response to a question from The Batavian. "We have some of the great sites including the STAMP site in Batavia and we're going to do everything we can to lure them. And remember, they depend on the Commerce Department to get some grants for this. These are large grants, and I am going to, as Majority Leader, I think, I'll have some say with the Commerce Department."

The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 creates $50 billion in funding designed to provide financial assistance to chip manufacturers and other technology companies to build factories in the United States.

The bill passed the Senate today and Schumer, who authored the bill and has doggedly pursued it for a long time, said it will easily pass in the House of Representatives.

Schumer pushed for passage, he said, because the U.S. must beat China in chip manufacturing and because he believes spurring innovative growth in high-tech will benefit all of New York, especially Upstate New York.

"I wrote this bill with the future of Upstate New York in mind," Schumer said. "The bill creates $50 billion in federal incentives to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the US. And guess what place in America is most suited to get these plants? Upstate New York. There are places in Albany and Syracuse and Western New York that have shovel-ready sites that the big tech companies are already looking at for new chip fabs."

So far, China has been winning the chip manufacturing war, Schumer said. He wants to shift the momentum back to the United States.

"It's time to build our future in Syracuse, not Shanghai; in Buffalo, not Beijing," he said.

He said the odds are high that semiconductor manufacturers are going to look to Upstate New York for their new plants, which will employ thousands of people in high-paying jobs.

"We're gonna go all out and we're going to beat China," Schumer said.

WNY STAMP, located in Alabama near the intersection of Route 77 and Judge Road, is more than 1,100 acres set aside for advanced manufacturing.  GCEDC has been pursuing tenants for the park for more than a decade, and after coming close with 1366 Technologies in 2015 (a project that failed, according to sources, because of then Rep. Chris Collins' unwillingness to support it), the IDA succeeded last year when Plug Power agreed to make a $232.7 million investment to build a new hydrogen fuel plant at the site.

Steve  Hyde, president and CEO of GCEDC, said the agency is pleased with the passage of the bill.

"Senate Majority Leader Schumer has long-championed upstate New York as the ideal region for critical growth of the domestic semiconductor manufacturing and R&D investments due to our university research and talent, our established and ever-growing semiconductor supply chain, along with our considerable capacity of renewable, reliable, and competitively priced electricity," Hyde said in a statement. "We applaud Senator Schumer for his leadership, and stewardship in getting Congress to pass the Chips and Science Bill, which will be the catalyst to growing the high-tech economy at the Western New York Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) and all across upstate New York."

For all prior coverage of WNY Stamp, click here.

For a press release from Sen. Charles Schumer with more details about the bill, click here.

UPDATE:  The Hill is reporting that because of a deal between Sen. Joe Manchin and Sen. Charles Schumer on a reconciliation bill, Republican members of the House of Representatives will now, as of Wednesday evening, oppose the CHIPS bill.

Top photo: Sen. Charles Schumer in a screenshot of today's press conference.

Aerial photo courtesy GCEDC showing Plug Power under construction and the WNY STAMP acreage. 

Press release:

On Tuesday, United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes announced $400,000 in impact grants to 52 nonprofits across Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming counties. Programs that will benefit from these grants include summer camp and after-school programs, food pantries, domestic violence prevention programs, etc. This announcement comes as United Way marks one year since its six-county merger.

“It has been an incredible year, bringing together the power of a region to serve our local communities and these grants awarded today are a great example of how we rally together as a region to address critical issues in our community,” said Jaime Saunders, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes. “We are grateful to all of our generous donors and workplace partners that run employee campaigns and make the grants announced today possible.”

More than $100,000 in grants will benefit summer camp and after-school programs. The GLOW YMCA is one of the organizations that will receive United Way grants.

“We service 10 school districts across the Genesee and Livingston counties. For this upcoming school year, we’re already planning on impacting 166 families,” said Greg Reed, District Executive Director of GLOW YMCA. “The Y never denies service due to inability to pay and funding from United Way plays an insurmountable part in that.”

97 workplaces across Genesee, Livingston, and Wyoming counties participate employee campaigns to help raise funds for United Way. Canandaigua National Bank and Trust has created a six-county challenge grant, matching every new and increased donation to United Way up to $500,000.

“The entire CNB team is extremely proud to make such a large investment in United Way and our region,” said Vince Yacuzzo, Vice President and CFO of Canandaigua National Bank and Trust and United Way board member. “The campaign year is not yet over, so we encourage people to take the opportunity to take this opportunity to double their impact.”

Organizations that will benefit from the impact grants are:

• Genesee County
• All Babies Cherished Pregnancy Assistance Center
• American Red Cross Western New York Chapter
• Arc GLOW
• Boy Scouts of America, Iroquois Trail Council, Inc.
• Care-A-Van Ministries
• Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, Inc.
• Genesee Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
• Genesee County CASA for Children
• Genesee Orleans Ministry of Concern, Inc.
• Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council
• Gillam Grant Community Center
• Girl Scouts of Western New York
• GLOW YMCA
• Homecare and Hospice
• Hope Center of LeRoy
• Junior Achievement of WNY
• Literacy West NY, Inc.
• PathStone Corp
• Project Stork Inc
• The Salvation Army- Batavia Corps
• VIA Visually Impaired Advancement f/k/a Olmsted Center for Sight
• Warrior House of WNY
• YWCA of Genesee County, Inc.

Photos by Howard Owens

Top photo: Greg Reed, District Executive Director of GLOW YMCA at the podium.

Jaime Saunders, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes. 

Vince Yacuzzo, Vice President and CFO of Canandaigua National Bank and Trust and United Way board member.

Press release:

Effective immediately, we are closing York Road in Pavilion, just west of pole #7272, between Perry Road and South Street Road.  There will be no traffic allowed through.  It will be closed for approximately 24 hours.

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.

Daily at the Fair:

• Air Sculpture (Balloon Display and Demonstrations) (All Day, Every Day)
• Pig Racing – Show Schedule (SAT: 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, SUN: 3pm, 7pm, MON: 3pm, 7pm, TUES: 4pm, 6pm, 8pm, WED: 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm, THURS: 4pm, 6pm, 8pm, FRI: 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm, SAT: 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm)
• Niagara Down Under (All Day, Every Day)
• Pony Rides (All Day, Every Day)
• Chain Saw Carver (All Day, Every Day)
• Fame Racing Schedule – Saturday: 2,4,6 Sunday: 2,6 Monday: 2,6 Tuesday: 3,5,7 Wednesday: 1,3,5,7 Thursday: 3,5,7 Friday: 1,3,5,7 Saturday: 1,3,5
• Johnny Muttville Comix Schedule – Saturday: 1, 3:30, 5:30, Sunday: 1, 4, 5:30, Monday: 1:30, 4, 5, Tuesday: 2, 4:30, 6:30.

Wednesday, July 27th – KID’S DAY/EMERGENCY RESPONDER’S NIGHT

• 9 AM—4-H Meat & Dairy Goat Show (Main Show Ring)
• 9 AM—4-H Western Horse Show (Horse Arena)
• 10 AM – Exhibit Halls & Buildings Open
• 12:30 PM – Small Fry Tractor Pull (Exhibition Building) Sponsored by Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Genesee County Pamona Grange, and Duane Schmigel
• 1 PM – 10 PM—Midway Opens, Kids 16 & Under Ride for $15/wristband from 1 PM-5 PM
• 1 PM—4-H Breeding Sheep Show (Main Show Ring)
• 4 PM—4-H Hog Show (Main Show Ring)
• 7 PM—4-H Alumni Master Showman Contest (Main Show Ring)
• 7 PM—Genesee Speedway GoKart Racing (Grandstands) 
• 10 PM – Exhibit Halls & Buildings Close

Events & times on the schedule and this website are subject to change. Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with changes.

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

PUBLIC NOTICE: 

Notice there will be a Bugdet Workshop held at the East Pembroke District Hall, at 7 pm, Tuesday August 2,2022. Workshop will be held at District Building located at 8655 Barrett Drive, Batavia NY 14020. 

Publisher's Note: Legal Notices/Public Notices are published by The Batavian for free as a public service pending revision of state law that will allow digital news publications to publish legal notices that meet the legal requirements of such notices. Clerks: Email your notices to news@thebatavian.com.

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.

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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.

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