When the Esten family of Elba decided to organize a plow day 17 years ago in honor of their late father, they couldn’t have imagined how popular the event would become.

On Saturday and Sunday, the 18th annual Plow Days took place at the farm of John Torrey of Route 98, Elba, with close to 60 old tractors.

It was Louis Esten who came up with the idea for Plow Days, and in recent years his son and daughter-in-law Nick and Mandy Esten have done much of the work. It takes the better part of a week to move all of Torrey’s tractors out of the barn and set up for the event.

“We think it’s important for people, especially the younger ones, to see how things were done in the old days,” Louis said.

The lineup of red tractors on the front lawn attracted passersby each day, even someone from Erie, Pa., and Syracuse. Antique tractor collectors came from Genesee and several neighboring counties.

One of the oldest tractors to take part was Louis’s 1938 W30 McCormick Deering.

The Estens estimate they plowed nearly 75 acres of ground with the old tractors.

Top photo: Chuck Esten, of Albion, sits on one of his antique tractors with his grandsons, Benjamin, 5, and Joshua, 16, during Plow Days Saturday and Sunday. Esten’s brother Louis, of Elba, was instrumental in starting Plow Days 17 years ago.

Photos by Virginia Kropf.

For two years in a row, Dutchess County hosted the Winter Special Olympics -- not for the tourism dollars it might bring it but because of how the event might transform the people of the community.

"We wanted to engage Dutchess County residents in a volunteer way to help and understand and appreciate that anyone with any ability can achieve great things," said Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro on Thursday during a talk at the Arc Community Center on Woodrow Road in Batavia.

Getting people to "Think Differently" about people with special needs has been a mission for Molinaro for the past several years. He regularly gives talks around the state about the programs, policies and practices Duchess County has enacted under his leadership.

More than 100 government and nonprofit agencies have passed resolutions to adopt the Think Differently commitment.

The idea of Think Differently started for the father of three -- Eli, 16 months, Jack, 8, and Abigail, 14 -- late one afternoon when Molinaro came home from work and his wife told him that Abigail was in her room crying.

Alarmed, Molinaro rush to her side to see what was wrong.

"I can't do it," she said. "I will never be able to do it."

She said all of her friends could do it. But she couldn't do it.

"I can't tie my shoes and I'll never be able to do it."

Molinaro reached down, expecting to do what he thought any good father would do at that point -- tie her shoelaces.

Then his wife appeared in the room and said, "you can't do it. You have to think differently about how we teach her."

In an instant, Molinaro realized how he related to his daughter needed to change.

"I realized at that very moment what I was doing as a dad was failing my daughter," Molinaro said.

That lesson soon carried over to how he viewed the thousands of families in his county who also dealt with issues related to their special-needs members. One day it became apparent how daunting it could be when it took three people on his staff to help him figure out how to get a Medicaid waiver for his daughter.

"I couldn’t imagine how difficult it was for an average family to maneuver through a bureaucratic maze this state creates," Molinaro said.

That's how the Think Differently campaign was born in Dutchess County.

About 100 community leaders heard from Molinaro, who is also a candidate for governor, during the forum on Thursday.

Molinaro explained that he appointed a deputy to be an advocate for people with disabilities. They looked at how housing was delivered; how law enforcement was trained; what businesses could do differently; and what services could be delivered to better assist these families.

Molinaro said a school official was shocked the day his deputy called the school district about a problem involving a student and the school official wanted to know why a county official was calling about a school district issue. Molinaro's deputy explained his job to her and the problem got fixed.

The county has created a Think Differently website that uses a questionnaire to help guide families to the assistance and services they need.

There is now a database in the emergency dispatch center that provides dispatchers with information about people at each address in the county with special needs so first responders can arrive on a scene with more knowledge about health concerns, interaction-requirements, or mental health issues.

The county launched an effort to train local business owners about how to better serve people with special needs; how to hire and train people with disabilities; and how to make Dutchess County more welcoming to tourists who need extra assistance.

"We say to businesses all the time, 'this isn’t just good,' " Molinaro said, " 'it’s great, quality-of-life stuff that is great for business.' "

To assist employers who might hire special-needs employees who can only work part time, bus routes have been changed.

The Hudson Valley Renegades, the New York Penn League team, now hosts a training camp each year to teach the fundamentals of baseball to anyone regardless of ability.

The community college now has a program called "Think Ahead," that provides educational opportunities for people with disabilities.

Each year now, the Dutchess County Fair, has a special day for people with who might have a hard time getting around or have a hard time dealing with sensory overload, so access is modified, the lights and music on the midway is turned off, and the members of 4-H are trained how to work with people with disabilities.

Molinaro said that people from throughout the Northeast come to the fair for that unique day.

"We had a family from Ohio because they had never been able to take their kid to a fair," Molinaro said.

The annual film festival in Dutchess County is now a big hit. Children who had never been to a movie theater before are given the chance to enjoy the movie-theater experience.

Molinaro recalled talking with a mother who thanked him for the opportunity to take her child to a movie because she said she had never had the courage before to take her to a theater.

"I thought about the words she said," Molinaro said. "She said it took her courage to bring her daughter to the movies. Now there are some really awful movies but I don’t remember ever needing the courage to see them. It began to embody for us what Think Differently really means. That this mother needed to summon the courage to bring her daughter to a movie.

"Even the smallest activity becomes a challenge for some families and some individual, so creating the environment where people don’t need to feel courageous to do something -- that is what Think Differently is about."

The Spring Physical Education meeting for teachers countywide will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5, at Pavilion Jr. /Sr. High School. It is located at 7014 Big Tree Road in Pavilion.

Here is the schedule:

9 -11 a.m. --  Technology in PE: Presenter -- Nancy Stauber

• Google Classroom: (Classroom, Forms, Quizzes, Sheets) announcements, links, videos, photos, study guides, quizzes, surveys, assignments, data collection and presentation, grading, …(Google Expedition) virtual reality field trips, anatomy;

• Pear Deck: program that combines slides, video, photo, graphs, class questions with live answers, interactive in many ways to engage students;

• Apps: Learn a variety of apps to use in a PE setting;

• Music: Amazon, Pandora, etc.: How we can be efficient in incorporating music into our lessons.  

***This is a make and take session: bring a quiz/survey/study guide…. and we will be creating during the session.

11:15 a.m. – noon -- Care to Share and extra time to work on technology projects.

Please bring ideas to share with your colleagues.

Lunch: On Your Own

1:15 – 3:15 p.m. -- Outdoor Education Presenter -- Shannon Morley

• Shelter Building (also known as debris huts)

• Fire Building 

• Geocaching

• Outdoor Scavenger Hunts

Come prepared to be outside and be involved.

Registration Links

GRTC Link: For Alexander, Attica, Batavia, Byron-Bergen, Elba, GVEP, Le Roy, Notre Dame, Oakfield-Alabama, Pembroke, St. Joe’s, NYS School for the Blind, Wyoming Districts   https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=18433&I=2772175

TCTRC Link: For districts of Avon, Caledonia-Mumford, Dansville, Geneseo, Keshequa, Letchworth, Livonia, Mt. Morris, Perry, Warsaw, Way-Co, York

https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=18433&I=2772031

Questions? Contact: Marianne Witkowski—Pavilion PE Teacher & PE Network coordinator mwitk@pavilioncsd.org; Juanita Henry, director GRTC jhenry@bataviacsd.org; or Pat Mullikin, director TCTRC pmullikin@avoncsd.org

A man inside outside a silo on West Main Street Road, Batavia has reportedly fallen approximately 40 feet and suffered a leg injury.

He is conscious and alert.

Mercy Flight #7 out of Batavia is in route.

East Pembroke fire and Mercy EMS on scene.

CORRECTION: The patient fell outside of the silo.

A 50-year-old Alexander resident who may not be in the country legally is accused of raping a coworker and then, when deputies showed up to investigate the rape report, he is accused of presenting them with forged documents.

Domingo Gomez-Gomez, 50, of Alexander Road, Alexander, is charged with rape in the first degree, possession of a forged instrument, and offering a false instrument for filing with intent to defraud. 

The alleged rape was reported about 1 a.m. on April 28 after Gomez-Gomez forced a female coworker to have sexual intercourse with him. 

When he was questioned by Deputy Investigator Joseph Loftus and Investigator Christopher Parker, Gomez-Gomez allegedly produced numerous false instruments to identify himself. 

He was arraigned Saturday and jailed on $100,000 bail or $200,000 bond.

ICE is investigating whether Gomez-Gomez is in the country legally.

Press release:

Batavia High School Coach Buddy Brasky will hold Basketball Training Camp at the Batavia city schools this summer. Gym locations to be announced at a later date.

Brasky will be joined by: skills / shooting instructor Tim Sullivan; Tom Redband -- girls varsity coach at Elba HS; Matt Shay -- boys varsity coach at Pembroke HS; Billy Truitt -- former Division 1 and professional basketball player; and Bill Pitcher -- longtime area basketball player and coach.

This is a five-week program that will emphasize offensive skill development. The program is open to anyone, male or female, from grades 7-college. Cost for the program is *$350.

(*Sibling Discount: First sibling full price, each one after is $175. Team Discount: $325 per player for teams of five or more attending.)

Registration deadline is June 25. A $50 deposit secures your spot. Don't delay; we have sold out every year for the past five years.

Basketball Training Camp will be held from July 9th - Aug. 10^th. There will be two sessions:

1. Monday/Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for boys in grades 9-college.
2. Tuesday/Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Friday from 9  to 11 a.m. for boys in grades 7 and 8, and girls in grades 7-college.

Players must bring their own basketballs.

For an application call or text Buddy Brasky at 585-356-4050 (cell) or email mbrasky@bataviacsd.org

Or to view the training camp flier and print/mail the attached application form, click here (PDF). Make checks payable to: Three Season Basketball.

Why this camp? This camp is for the experienced and serious player only. Compare this camp -- with 40 hours of pure basketball instruction -- to St. Bonaventure Camp's 32 hours. Compare the cost of the Batavia camp to Syracuse camp's price of $595. The benefit of repetition -- your player will be receiving instruction and the instilling of positive habits over a five-week time period, not three to four days like most camps.

Offensive skill development will include:

• Ball-handling -- stationary and on the move
• Shooting -- 200 to 500 shots per day
• 1 on 1 moves: single direction, double direction, triple direction
• On the move: wrist roll series, change of direction series
• Post-move series
• Point guard instruction
• Full court and 1/2 court game situations
• Layup series

About Coach Brasky

Under the direction of Head Coach Buddy Brasky, Batavia High School has won 11 league titles, six Sectional titles, and has reached the state semifinals four times over the last 18 years. He has been awarded Section V Coach of the Year six times; Monroe County Coach of the Year five times; and All-Greater Rochester Coach of the Year. Over this time he has developed numerous collegiate players including NJCAA & NCAA D3 All-Americans.

Photo: File photo from 2014 camp.

Press release:

On Thursday, May 10, starting at 9 a.m., more than 100 high school students from across the GLOW (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties) region will be participating in high-tech, agricultural career experience at Genesee Community College, hosted by The BEST Center.

The third annual Precision Agriculture Day at the College's Batavia Campus features a wide array of presenters from the industry who will share information on the latest technological, science, engineering, and agricultural trends including drones, embryo transfer, precision farming and processing, GPS/GIS, auto steering and robotics.

This emerging technology is anticipated to create new employment opportunities in the future. High schoolers from 13 districts across the four counties have the opportunity to discover more about these potential and exciting career pathways and will be checking out how these technologies are used in their own backyard of Western New York.

The Precision Agriculture Committee, chaired by Nathan L. Rudgers, senior vice president of Business Development at Farm Credit East,was formed in 2015.

The committee, comprised of local precision agriculture consultants, agricultural leaders, as well as high school representatives, has been providing guidance and input on the development of programs to address the educational and awareness needs of this growing field.

Advances in technology have resulted in agricultural systems collecting data and using it in multiple operations all controlled through a computer, tablet or smart phone. This technology has created education and training opportunities, but there is a lack of skilled workers.

Enter The BEST Center, which is working to provide multiple educational opportunities in this growing arena.

The BEST Center provides businesses and organizations with customized training solutions ranging from supervisory skills to technical training. The Center also offers numerous professional and personal development courses for individuals, including classroom and online opportunities.

Dylan James Perry, 36, of Kingsbury Avenue, Batavia, is charged with burglary, 3rd, and petit larceny. Perry is accused of entering a business on Route 20 in Darien on Dec. 4 and stealing money. He was located in Manchester, Tenn., and extradited to New York.

Michael Joseph Panepento, 21, of North Street, Le Roy, is charged with assault, 3rd. Panepento is accused of punching another man several times in the head causing substantial swelling, bruising, and a cut, during an argument at a home in the Town of Pavilion at midnight April 28.

Jennifer A. Noll, 38, of Harvester Avenue, Batavia, is charged with soliciting alms in violation of Batavia Municipal Code. Noll is accused of asking people for money near Kwik Fill at 99 Jackson St., Batavia, at 10:22 p.m. April 30.

Darien Leonard Rhodes, 25, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Rhodes was allegedly found in possession of marijuana at 5:10 p.m. May 1 at a location on Dellinger Avenue.

Steven M. Morales, 42, Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Morales was charged following a traffic stop where he was allegedly found in possession of a glass crack pipe with residue. He was stopped at 1:21 p.m. May 3 on Central Avenue by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Erin M. George, 30, of Horseshoe Lake Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and speeding. George was stopped at 2:13 a.m. April 27 on Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Mitchell Cowen.

Angela Reanee Bateman, 45, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminally using drug paraphernalia, 2nd. Bateman was charged following a report into a disturbance on Pringle Avenue at 4:11 a.m. May 1 by Sgt. Eric Bolles.

Miguel E. Alvarez, 23, of Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny and unlawful possession of marijuana. Alvarez is accused of stealing the property of another person on Maple Avenue on April 25. He was allegedly found in possession of marijuana at the time of his arrest.

James C. Emerson, 56, of Church Street, East Pembroke, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear. He was arrested in Wayne County and turned over to Batavia PD. He posted bail and was released.

Ahdeosun Richaud Aiken, 19, of Ellicott Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Aiken is accused of damaging property during an argument at 1:45 a.m. May 3 at a location on Hutchins Street, Batavia.

Nicholas Matthew Erway, 21, of East Robinson Road, North Tonawanda, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, stopping on a highway. Erway was allegedly found sleeping behind the wheel of his vehicle at 12:04 a.m. May 6 while it was stopped on Route 77 in Alabama by Deputy Howard Wilson.

June Ann Weinart, 28, of Freeman Road, Byron, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding, moving from lane unsafely, and open container. Weinart was charged following a traffic stop at 3:23 a.m. Saturday on Batavia Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, by Deputy James Stack.

Bruce Kenneth Ames, 51, of Washington Avenue, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unnecessary smoke/vapors. Ames was stopped at 8:20 p.m. May 1 on Ellicott Avenue by Deputy Austin Heberlein. He was accused of having unnecessary smoke/vapors coming from his vehicle. Ames was allegedly found in possession of a green leafy substance that he identified as marijuana.

Kevin Wayne Napier, 34, of Kendall, is charged with bail jumping, 3rd, and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. 

Richardo Sampel, 48, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and Emily D. Schramm, 32, of Alabama, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Sampel and Schramm were arrested together in Alabama by State Police on an incident reported at 10:17 p.m., April 24. Both were ordered held in jail. No further details released.

Sarah J. Ehrman, 38, of Scio, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled, 7th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Ehrman was arrested May 3 in the Town of Alexander by State Police. No further details released.

Batavia PD has been dispatched to Batavia High School for a report of a four-wheeler operating on the baseball field.

UPDATE 1:43 p.m.: Officer Marc Lawrence at the scene says no damage was done to the field.

Press release:

An engagement/wedding ring was turned in to the Batavia Police Department after it was found on the sidewalk on Richmond Avenue on 05/05/2018. If you believe you are the owner of this ring, please contact Officer Ivison at (585) 345-6350 with a detailed description and/or pictures of the ring.

A Mercy medic has been dispatched to what was first reported as a non-injury, property-damage accident involving two cars at 4857 Ellicott Street Road, Batavia.

Town of Batavia was also called to deal with a fuel leak.

Town of Batavia has also just been dispatched to an accident on Assemblyman R. Steven Hawley Drive and Medtech Drive for a two-car accident.

Mercy EMS also summoned.

A Rochester man is in custody on charges related to thefts from two local liquor stores in August and November in Batavia.

Willie A. Dozier, 49, of Terrace Park, Rochester, is charged with two counts of burglary, 3rd, and two counts of conspiracy, 5th.

Dozier is accused participating in the left of $500 cash and a credit card from the back office of Mr. Wine & Liquor in the Tops Plaza on Aug. 12.

He is also accused of stealing a box of cash from Plaza Spirits in Batavia on Nov. 16.

In both cases, Dozier appeared to be working with a partner -- hence the conspiracy charges -- but no other arrest was announced yet in the case. Police say the investigation is ongoing.

Dozier was also arrested in Monroe County on charges related to similar crimes there.

He was jailed without bail.

Growing grapes and making wines is probably the last thing Bob and Ingrid Bowen expected to be doing after retirement.

Even Bob can’t believe the turn of events.

He and his wife both worked at Xerox, but after their four boys went to college, Ingrid announced she wanted a horse.

That started the search for a farm in the country.

“John Mortellaro of Batavia was a family friend and he said he knew about a place near Elba,” Bob said. “The farm had been abandoned, the house was a mess and the place was overgrown, but my wife loved it.”

“It was pretty dilapidated,” Ingrid said.

The Bowens retired in 2011 and bought the farm, renovated the house, cleared the land and built a barn.

Then Bob started thinking about what to do with the land, and he has always liked wine and had made wine as a hobby. He realized Genesee County doesn’t have the kind of weather needed for grapes, but he went to Cornell, where they have a grape research facility and took a course on becoming a vintner.

“In 2012, we planted the vineyards with three grapes from Cornell with code names,” Bob said. “They were developed to grow in cold country. Our weather here is colder, because we don’t have hills and lakes to keep the temperature moderate.”

The first year, temperatures were down to zero, with a wind chill of minus 30, Bob said.

“We lost 120 vines and there was nothing we could do,” he said.

The Bowens already knew they didn’t want to rely solely on grapes, and had planted acres of apple, cherry, peach and apricot trees, along with blueberries and raspberries.

They hired Augie Katrencik, of Macedon, as winemaker. He has 10 years of experience in the business and has been a longtime friend of the Bowens.

On Sunday, the Bowen’s officially opened their winery at 6870 Norton Road with an open house.                   

The Bowens specialize in fruit wines, with apricot, peach, peach and honey, pear, pumpkin and spice, and Traminette* available now.

In June, they will have available blueberry, Dechaunac, Diamond, spiced apple and even tomato wine.

“If you’ve never tried tomato wine, you’re in for a surprise,” Bob said. “It doesn’t look like V8.”

Kim Shay, of Victor, said she loved it.

“It’s very good,” she said.

The idea came from Katrencik, who said his grandparents used to make tomato wine.

Later in the year, the winery will have red raspberry and blueberry.

The Bowens are thrilled to be the first winery in Genesee County and are purchasing everything they can for the business locally. This includes contracting with Hodgins Printing to make their labels.

Bob said they will be at the Downtown Batavia Public Market this summer and at the Genesee County Fair. He is in discussions with local retail liquor stores to carry their wines.

Circle B Winery will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays. They can be contacted on Facebook, online atCircleB6870@gmail.com or by calling (585) 773-4473.

Top photo: Ingrid and Bob Bowen stand in their vineyard at 6870 Norton Road, Elba, where they estabished Genesee County's second winery. They held their premier open house on Sunday.

(*To find out more about Traminette the cold-hardy, fungal resistant, hybrid white grape developed by Cornell University, click here.)

CORRECTION: This story originally said the Bowen's winery is the first winery in Genesee County. Autumn Moon Winery in Bergen opened a couple of years ago.

Visitors from throughout the area attended an open house on Sunday at Circle B Winery, the second in Genesee County. From left, Ken Winburn, of Phelps, Kim Shay, of Victor, Linda Wester, of Farmington and Joe Attinello, of Farmington, sample the wines.

Photos by Virginia Kropf.

A person has been struck by a car on Buell Street in the city.

City fire on scene reporting one person down in the roadway.

The first Batavia PD officer on scene asked for another patrol to respond.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 12:14 a.m. It turns out the patient may not have been struck by the vehicle according to a police officer on scene. The patient may have been trying to ride on top of the car or had jumped on the car. The driver may know the patient. The patient is a 19-year-old male. He was transported to UMMC with road rash and for evaluation of a possible head injury. The investigation is continuing.