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Pink Floyd tribute band new to Labor Daze festival

By Joanne Beck
the floyd concept
Photo courtesy The Floyd Concept

Just as it sounds, The Floyd Concept is a Pink Floyd tribute band, founded in 2016, that’s been playing with its current lineup for the past year, plus its newest member, female vocalist Samantha Hoy.

Michael Diggs, keyboardist and one of the founding members, thought it was important to add a female singer since the actual Pink Floyd group employed a few of them, and the Floyd Concept formerly only had five guys.

“But on some of the music that we do, our harmonies are important, and this is where there's certain signature voices that we need to try to get as close as possible. So we decided to add the female singer,” Diggs said during an interview Sunday. “This year we are doing the 50th anniversary of ‘Dark Side of the Moon,’ and there's a song, you know, there's a great one that they call ‘The Great Gig in the Sky,’ one of the songs on the album, which has a female singer.”

They will be performing the album during their show as one of the new groups at this year’s Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival from 7 to 10 p.m. Monday. 

“If you like Pink Floyd, then you want to come and see this group because we get it as close as possible. And you will love the light show that we give you because you're in for a complete show,” he said. “You'll want to come see this group. We have people who have left the show just blown away from our live show and the music. So you'll definitely be in for a treat when you see our show.”

Diggs first joined a group called Hey You in 2000, and that was a regional Pink Floyd tribute band. He was drawn to Pink Floyd as a kid and then got to see them live in 1989 while stationed with the Army in Germany. 

“And that just made it even better for me,” Diggs said. “And it just kind of, you know, solidified my love for the group and when the opportunity came for me to join a Pink Floyd tribute, I did. So, that group dissolved in 2012. And the founder of that group, George Root, and we started the Floyd Concept together.

“I always loved the music, but after seeing them live, the production just blew me away. And I mean they use like a 25-foot circular screen with movers, you know. The production is unreal. That really did it for me. We wanted to kind of almost try to replicate that type of production on our own for our show. So we … we built a nine-foot screen, a circular truss, with the movers, and we started buying our own light show. So we try to replicate the production side of it as much as we can.”

Band members include: 
Tony Aversa on lead guitar and vocals, an “international recording artist whose music has been used in radio and television across the globe,” according to the group’s website. He began playing guitar in 1980, infatuated with Van Halen, settling into a love for the blues, and becoming hugely influenced by Pink Floyd’s 1982 release of “The Wall,” moving on to his own music label, recordings, bands, songs and now The Floyd Concept.

Tim Toole, on guitar and vocals, described on the site as delivering “the fun, melodic and emotional dynamic experience so common to all great music shows.” A lifelong fan of Pink Floyd and David Gilmour melodies,  Toole has played in various bands throughout his life, amassing more than 100 shows with his guitar rig of several Fender Stratocasters, Taylor 6 string 314 CE, Fender 12 string, various classic tube amps and modulation effects. 

Bryan Owczarzak, bassist, began his piano studies at age 10 and has early professional experience recording music for local TV and radio commercials while in high school and college. He’s played keyboards and bass in several local jazz and progressive rock bands since the mid-1990s.

Chris Collesano is on percussion, drawn to music at an early age, he started banging on “anything that sounded cool to me,” he says on the website. He bought his first electric guitar at 15 and his first drum set at 12, teaching himself how to play both. Collesano has done several side projects and sessions and studio work, plus solo work, playing tame star classic drums and a variety of snares and cymbals. 

As for Diggs, a Hamburg resident, he won first place in a star search while stationed in Germany, and was nominated for best rock keyboardist for the Buffalo Music Awards in 2011 and 2012 and again in 2017, 2018 and 2019. 

He’s had some time to practice, taking up keyboards at age 8 and never putting them back down, the 55-year-old said. However, he does seem to like talking technology every bit as much as the music — maybe even more. The video production, choreography, lighting, movers on stage in rhythm with the melodies, they all lend that legitimacy and spirit of Pink Floyd to the experience, he said. 

Take the song, “Welcome to the Machine.” 

“You know, the screen is all red. There’s a video of a robot doing office work. You'll see the video footage of that. When you see ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ I mean, we'll have actual clips from Pink Floyd stuff, ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ there. We like to use stuff of space, earth and stuff like that,” he said. “So ‘Money,’ of course, we'll use the actual footage of the video for money. And the same thing with ‘Time.’ Also, with the ticking clocks and stuff like that. It's very, very video-driven. And our movers are mounted to our screen. And it kind of flows with the music, which is where our lighting director comes in. And then, plus, we have other types of lighting.”

The band is a side gig for the members, and they perform at least a dozen times a year at festivals and theaters, he said. For Diggs, he’s an electrician for Erie County, and his bandmates are insurance agents, school teachers and the like. It’s not uncommon to go from working a job to performing, and “Western New York has some amazing talent,” he said. 

“It's unbelievable, all the groups that we have around here, and we're very, very fortunate to be playing for the Labor Daze, bringing our show to the Batavia area,” he said. “I’ve been doing bands probably since 1988. Even while I was stationed in Germany, I played in some bands over there, and it was pretty cool. We got a chance to play in places like Frankfort and different venues while I was there, you know, but as far as doing the Pink Floyd stuff, that's always been a dream of mine to do.  I've done like Blues Brothers, progressive rock, stuff like that, but yeah, Pink Floyd just happens to be a passion that I love to do.”

Flying in entertainment and commerce as part of air show's return this weekend

By Joanne Beck
batavia air show arrivals aug 29 2023
One of two MX aerobatic planes that landed at Genesee County Airport this afternoon taxis into a hangar.
Photo by Howard Owens.

There’s a rule in the air show business that you’ll know how good the event will be by how well you’re treated and taken care of in the first 15 minutes of arrival, Doreen Hillard-Zeliff says.

As one of the lead organizers of the resurrected Wings Over Batavia Air Show, she intends to provide nothing but an A-plus experience for those performers and pilots coming into town for the weekend’s event. 

They’ll get a hearty welcome, no doubt, a rental car, their hotel packet with a map, a bottle of water, local information, a swag bag, necessary credentials, and — an especially important local commerce element — a community event and some wining and dining.

“So Thursday night, we’re having a community event at Eli Fish, in back at Jackson Square. It should be a lot of fun, and everybody can come. And there's music. Matty Gray hired a band that is going to play. So there'll be appetizers and drinks, and we're going to introduce the performers,” she said during an interview with The Batavian. “They all like to give back. The only thing we wish is that the kids were in school right now because they make school visits. And it's real special for them to do that; they love giving back to the communities that they get to fly and perform for.”

There might even be a few pilots flying over Jackson Square during this Thursday’s event. It’s all part of a bigger picture that draws revenue beyond the airport into the community at large, she said. 

Gates open at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for Wings Over Batavia at Genesee County Airport on Saile Drive, and events run from 5 p.m. into the evening, finishing with fireworks. 

That revenue is being spread throughout Genesee County, as organizers have been taking air show participants out for meals while they’re also staying at local hotels. Harrington’s has been booked to provide breakfast throughout the weekend. 

Formerly Hillard, Doreen, one of the two air show co-chairs, just got married to Pete Zeliff, a fellow airplane and air show enthusiast who owns a hangar at the Genesee County Airport. They’ve been working on the show with a committee and a handful of hired professional, seasoned veteran air show staff to ensure a smooth first-time event, including an air show director, a parking specialist, and a ticket agent.

Committee member, county Highway Superintendent Tim Hens, has also brought his expertise into the mix with responsibility for the county’s safety. 

“I’ve been focused on creating safe access for parking, safe pedestrian access to the site, safe movement of planes, limiting impact on our airport tenants, managing traffic around the airport, coordinating lighting during and after the show.  I feel like everything is in a very good place. The Air Show has an excellent parking plan, and it’s great that they are including the price of parking in the admission tickets to get people off the roads and into the airport to avoid traffic,” Hens said. “We have a good plan in place for pedestrian safety, and the county has made several on-site improvements to move folks through the venue. We will be doing final inspections all (this) week to make sure things are safe. We will be putting out some PR this week … highlighting parking and access to the airport as well as some community notification on the fireworks, pyrotechnics and explosions that will occur on 9/2 and 9/3 as part of the show.”

While talking, Hillard-Zeliff had to pause momentarily to move off a ramp while a man cleared off some “foreign debris” in preparation for more planes to arrive. There was plenty of commotion, as could be heard in the air all afternoon and into the evening.

While preparing for the show was exciting, it was certainly old hat to Hillard-Zeliff, who grew up in air shows, she said, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, home to the AirVenture Museum, which is dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft and antiques, classics and warbirds. She’s also involved in the Air National Council of Air Shows and wants to bring back air shows as a more common staple to communities. 

“It celebrates what we’re all about: the human spirit,” she said. “I call it aerial ballet because some of the acts are just so beautiful, with the smoke and the music. And it just does something of your soul I think. You can tell I love it.”

So even though she rattled off names of performers and pilots and planes that may not be familiar to everyone, they’re the real deal, she said. Trainer fighters, beautiful Mustangs from World War II in a beach team doing a day and night show, the F-22 Raptor, Rob Holland Aerosports, Kevin Coleman Extra 300 SHP, a choreographed pyromusical fireworks show and many other acts that are mostly described as to leave the audience in awe.

Some of these aircraft have such precision aerobatic skills, with super light maneuverability, yet there are also regular Cessna family planes that can also manage similar feats despite their much more sensitive carriages, she said. There’s a pilot that “pours a glass of water in the cockpit and doesn’t spill it,” she said. The audience can see this because there’s a live video for those below to watch.

And there are many other plane acts that take place at twilight and at night, and all are choreographed to “beautiful music,” she said. Or with the 1,000-foot wall of fire. The U.S. Air Force A-10 is one of her favorite demonstrations.

“It’s just different,” she said. “If I was in the desert, I’d be scared. It’s got big gatling guns.”

Don’t let her gender fool you; air shows and the industry are drawing more women, she said.

“It’s slowly become half and half,” she said. “Our premiere team is A-10 demo; it’s female. My niece is an F-16 pilot. A lot of my family fly and they are all girls. A lot of women are coming around.”

Hens credits her and Zeliff for bringing the air show back and thinks the community has been very supportive of its return. Hens alternates between excitement and nervousness every day as he approaches the actual event, he said. But he’s definitely looking forward to it.

“The acts I am most excited to see are the P-51s. I’ve been in love with those planes ever since I was a kid, and they are one of the reasons I went to the Air Force Academy. It will also be great to see the P-51 fly with the A-10 and the F-22 in a Heritage Flight,” he said. “Everyone always enjoyed the air shows in the 90s, and there is excitement for it to be back. There’s also a desire by many to see community events return. We’ve lost so many over the years. I think the hardest part is getting volunteers to run these things. They don’t happen by themselves, and much to everyone’s surprise, there is usually little to no government involvement outside of Police and EMS.”

Perhaps that’s why organizers have been calling the air show so family-friendly. It’s a grassroots type of deal, and more volunteers are always needed, organizers said. Nonprofits can make 10 percent of the proceeds if they work in concession stands.

Ticket sales have been going well, and The Mustang Club category was sold out as of Tuesday. For Hillard-Zeliff, she also sees the show as very affordable and patriotic to offer something for the community and the soul. The Ghostwriter will be leaving messages in the sky throughout this week, so you may want to be glancing upward until the show begins, she said.

Or, as Hens said, “it will be life-changing.”

“Aviation has so much to offer, and most kids just aren’t exposed to it. The air show provides a great opportunity for kids in Genesee County,” he said.

batavia air show arrivals aug 29 2023
Doreen Hillard-Zeliff and Pete Zeiliff.
Photo by Howard Owens.
batavia air show arrivals aug 29 2023
A pair of MX aerobatic planes do a flyover at the Genesee County Airport as they arrive in Batavia for this week's Wings Over Batavia airshow.
Photo by Howard Owens.
batavia air show arrivals aug 29 2023
Any skywriting you see promoting the air show over the next few days will be the work of Nathan K. Hammond in his Chipmunk.
Photo by Howard Owens.
batavia air show arrivals aug 29 2023
Pilot Bill Stein, who flew in on one of the MX planes, receives his swag bags, rental car keys, and directions to his hotel from Janet Rohan.
Photo by Howard Owens.

Parent company announces remodel of Flying J, $10K donation to Pembroke Central Schools

By Press Release

Press release:

The Flying J travel center in Pembroke, New York, is ready to welcome travelers with a fully refreshed look and new amenities. The renovations are part of Pilot Company’s nationwide initiative, called New Horizons, to invest $1 billion in remodeling its stores to upgrade the experience for team members and guests and prepare for the future of travel. Additionally, Pilot Company is donating $10,000 to Pembroke Central School District as part of its commitment to giving back.

As part of the store’s complete overhaul from curb to counter, the Flying J travel center located at 8484 Allegheny Road features: 

  • Refreshed and expanded restrooms and showers to improve the guest experience
  • Enhanced food offerings
  • Expanded beverage coolers 
  • New team member breakroom
  • Updated public laundry facilities

“We are excited to showcase our newly updated travel center with the Pembroke community and the travelers we serve every day,” said Allison Cornish, vice president of store modernization at Pilot Company. “We continue to listen to our guests’ feedback and strive to make their travel experiences easier and more enjoyable.”

The New Horizons initiative is a three-year project to fully remodel more than 400 Pilot, Flying J and One9 travel center locations and marks the company’s most significant investment in store modernization to date. For more information about New Horizons, visit pilotflyingj.com/new-horizons.

County announces attendance safety measures for Wings Over Batavia

By Press Release
wings over batavia parking
The Wings Over Batavia parking plan.

Press release:

Genesee County officials are committed to ensuring a safe environment for the Wings Over Batavia Air Show at the Genesee County Airport, scheduled from 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2, and Sunday, Sept. 3. Wings Over Batavia, the independently owned and operated agency responsible for this event, is working closely with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and Genesee County Emergency Management to ensure public safety remains at the forefront of preparations.

Comprehensive Safety Measures
Genesee County is committed to overseeing comprehensive safety measures. The Genesee County Sheriff's Office, New York State Troopers, and City of Batavia Police are coordinating efforts to help ensure public safety. Various emergency services providers will be present at the event to uphold public safety standards.

Emergency Services and Special Effects
Planned explosions, pyrotechnic displays, and fireworks will be handled exclusively by the event organizers. Attendees and residents are informed not to dial 911 for these planned activities, as emergency services will be on site.

Traffic Control
Leading up to and during the event on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3, State Street Road will be closed from West Saile Drive north to Batavia Elba Townline Road, and West Saile Drive will be closed from the Milton Cat building to the storage barns on the east side of the airport. Motorists are asked to pay attention to signs and flaggers, exercise extreme caution and be alert to changing conditions. Pedestrians must follow marked paths and signage.

Information and Guidelines
For further details about the show and other pertinent information, please visit:

https://wingsoverbatavia.com/

Pavilion, like a lot of schools, grappling with 'terrible' problem of students with mobile phones

By Howard B. Owens
pavilion schools mobile phone policy
Charles Martelle, high school principal, and Carin Wade, foreign language teacher, during the discussion of mobile device policy at Monday's Board of Education meeting for the Pavilion Central School District.
Photo by Howard Owens.

Like every other school district in the nation, Pavilion Central School District teachers and administrators are frustrated by the distractions and problems created by students with mobile communication devices, particularly mobile phones.

"When you ask teachers, what's the one thing we could do to get kids more focused in school and in the classroom, it would probably be the removal of cell phones," said Charles Martelle, Pavilion's high school principal. "That doesn't mean we can come up with a way to do it that doesn't cause more distractions."

It's a problem even in elementary school, said principal Tom Wilson, and Carin Wade, a ninth-grade language teacher, chimed in with, "It's awful."

She added, "They can put it in their pockets and you don't even see it. They can text without looking at their phones.  I mean, you've got 25 kids in a classroom and you can't -- it's terrible."

During the discussion of outright bans, Wade said it's been tried at Pavilion, and parents complained.

Parents, one administrator said, are part of the problem.

"I understand the safety side of it, but at the end of the day, parents shouldn't be texting their kids during class," he said.

"And they know they are," Wade said. "They know their kids are in class, and the kids will be like, 'But it's my mom,' and I'm like, 'OK, but you're in class. I don't understand.'"

The policy for 2023-24 will be the same as last academic year, which uses a color-coded system to let students know where and when they can touch their phones.

In the green zones -- hallways and the cafeteria, they get close to unlimited access to their phones (they're not supposed to take pictures or make audio or video clips).  In gold zones, such as most classrooms, they can only access a phone with teacher permission. And in red zones, phones cannot be touched or displayed at all. This includes bathrooms, locker rooms, and the auditorium.

If a student is caught in violation of the policy, a staff member can collect the phone and leave it in the main office, where a parent or guardian must pick it up.

The discussion at Monday's meeting indicated even this policy leaves much to be desired when it comes to limiting distractions caused by electronic devices.

Schools have tried outright bans, but Martelle said there's no evidence these bans achieve favorable outcomes. Some schools have tried lockable pouches that students must store the device during the school day, getting the pouch unlocked by a staff member at the end of the day, but some school districts, Martelle said, found that students use "burner phones," phones they don't really use, to dump in the pouches.

"If there's a plan that actually worked and serves our interests that was more strict, we would use it," Martelle said. "I think a lot of schools are (implementing more strict policies), so we'll be able to look at articles and literature and studies. Right now, it's really up in the air. The studies as to whether or not schools that have done this versus those that haven't, the studies are really kind of inconclusive. We're looking at different things as to whether it actually improves anything in schools or not or whether it's effective."

He said administrators are open-minded about finding a better way of dealing with the problem.

"It's a very difficult problem right now," he said.

Elba farmer makes Batavia's first legal weed purchase at Empire Hemp

By Howard B. Owens
empire hemp first legal weed purchase
Historic moment: Matthew Starowitz, an Elba farmer, makes the first legal marijuana purchase in Batavia at a new dispensary inside Empire Hemp.
Photo by Howard Owens.

Matthew Starowitz arrived at Empire Hemp early this afternoon, well before the 1 p.m. opening time for legal cannabis sales, with the goal of being the first customer to make a legal weed purchase in Batavia.

Goal accomplished.

"That's the way I was raised," Starowitz said. "You support local people, and so you're there; you're the first one."

It's been a struggle to bring legal cannabis sales to Batavia as state regulators figure out the ins and outs of licensing and legal distribution. Empire Hemp has had products ready to sell for some time.  With the "pop-up" store, called the Cannabis Growers Showcase, opening on Tuesday, they've been allowed to open to cannabis buyers on a limited basis.

The adult-use dispensary for licensed cultivators of high-quality cannabis products will run from 1 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday through Dec. 30. 

It provides local shoppers with the opportunity to purchase certified cannabis products, but the showcase opens the door for Empire Hemp to sell its THC products as well. Typically, the state doesn’t allow one company to be a grower, a processor and a retailer, VanDusen said, and this will allow his company to sell Empire Hemp products through Dank as the retailer set up within Empire Hemp shop. 

Starowitz said he was happy the long process of marijuana legalization has gotten to the point that there is now a locally owned and operated retail location in Batavia.

"I've smoked it since I was like 12 years old," Starowitz said. "I'm 35 years old now. I have always loved it. It's just always been that way. So now that it's legal 100 percent, I'm going to support it locally."

He purchased several different products as a kind of sampler.

"I feel like I just want to sample everything that they have here, at least as far as sativa and sativa hybrids, because then I'll figure out what I like, you know," Starowitz said. "I think that this is better than the stuff I'll ever get from the Res because a lot of their stuff is unregulated. It's not lab-tested. At least this here is legit and lab-tested."

Why sativa?
"Because with indica, I feel like I get too lazy, and I really don't want to do too much," Starowitz said. "Whereas with sativa, I'm always active and going around and doing things. "I'm a vegetable farmer, so sativa is for me as the way to go. This way, I don't get lazy."

Previously: Making history: first-time legal cannabis sales begin Tuesday at Empire Hemp in Batavia

empire hemp first legal weed purchase
Empire Hemp's Chris VanDusen opens the door to his shop at 1 p.m. for the first time with a legal pot dispensary.
Photo by Howard Owens.
empire hemp first legal weed purchase
The first potential customers for the new legal marijuana dispensary in Batavia enter the store."
Photo by Howard Owens.
empire hemp first legal weed purchase
Photo by Howard Owens.
empire hemp first legal weed purchase
Photo by Howard Owens.

Batavia native Mike Sputore hired as Blue Devils' varsity baseball coach

By Mike Pettinella
Mike Sputore

Mike Sputore fell in love with the game of baseball when he was a young boy growing up on the southside of Batavia.

He excelled at the sport, starting as a member of the Ramblers, who were coached by his father, Paul, in the Batavia Minor League on the diamond at the corner of State and Denio Streets and continuing through two seasons as a pitcher and third baseman for the Genesee Community College Cougars.

Sputore’s baseball career didn’t end then, however. In a sense, it was just beginning. For the past 20 years, he has been a coach at various levels – including the past two years as the varsity head coach at Pembroke Central School.

This summer, when he heard that James Patric was stepping away from the job after two years at the helm, Sputore submitted his resume to Mike Bromley, director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics for the Batavia City School District.

“In 2022, James had reached out to me about coaching the jayvee team at Batavia, but I was committed to Pembroke at that time,” said Sputore during an interview with The Batavian on Monday at Mancuso Bowling Center, where he is employed as the general manager. “When the position did come available, I applied and was interviewed by Mike and (physical education staff members) Brennan Briggs and Nick Burk.”

Apparently, Sputore, a 1999 BHS graduate, aced the interview and was offered the job.

“We had several applicants and Mike came through as the leading candidate,” Bromley said. “He had some great experiences as a coach at Notre Dame and the last couple years at Pembroke as the varsity coach. We know that he has a love for Batavia baseball, with his family deeply involved in baseball here for a long time.

“We think that he has some of the attributes that it would take to be the next varsity coach here in Batavia – a good work ethic, great with kids and loves baseball. Just a good fit.”

Sputore credits his dad, who was president of Batavia Minor League for many years, for introducing him to the sport.

“He was a big influence when I was young and now, I’m enjoying it more and more the older I get,” Sputore said. “It’s very satisfying to help others in reaching their goals.”

After progressing through the summer youth baseball programs in the city – Minor, Little and Junior-Senior leagues, Sputore was a three-year starter at Batavia High under coaches Pep Johnson and Rick Saunders – claiming a Section 5 title in 1998 and earning Monroe County Honorable Mention status as a pitcher and third baseman.

Interestingly, Sputore’s brother, Chris, also won a Section 5 championship as a Blue Devil in 1994.

Mike Sputore played American Legion ball, before enrolling at GCC. It was there that he started his coaching career, serving as an assistant in 2003.

From there, he joined the Notre Dame High baseball program, recruited by varsity coach Rick Mancuso to run the jayvee program. In 2006, he became the varsity assistant coach under Mike Rapone and stayed in that capacity for 11 more years.

From 2018 until last season, Sputore coached at Pembroke – helping to build its program while coaching at the modified and varsity levels.

“We were very young (at Pembroke), but we made progress,” Sputore said, noting that the team won five games over the past two seasons after not winning any the previous couple years. “Going to Batavia, I feel the program has been set up for success, thanks to James, and we hope to continue the tradition built by Pep and Rick.”

Sputore said his expectations for his players start with two words – hustle and effort.

“It takes zero talent to hustle and give your best effort at all times,” he said. “We’re looking for kids to be coachable and to be motivated to succeed.”

He said he hopes to get his players on the field for some practice in October and is planning some “winter workouts” with the drop-down batting cage at the high school’s auxiliary gym. He also is excited about the “Meet the Coach Night” on Sept. 12 at the high school for all of the program’s players and parents.

Ryan Mansell, a five-year ballplayer at Brockport State, has accepted a health teacher position at BCSD and has been hired as the baseball program assistant. Other coaches are Derrick Busch (junior varsity), Greg Mruczek (modified A) and Rich Wagner (modified B).

Sputore has a son, Benjamin, a senior at BHS, and a daughter, Brooklyn, an eighth grader at Oakfield-Alabama Central School. His wife, Jillion, is a teacher at John Kennedy Intermediate School.

Pavilion school board gets run down of busy summer for facilities team

By Howard B. Owens
rex-eighmey-pavilion-maintenance
Rex Eighmey, Pavilion Central Schools, director of facilities.
Photo by Howard Owens.

Rex Eighmey, the director of facilities for the Pavilion Central School District, gave the Board of Education on Monday a complete rundown of all the work his staff is performing during the summer months.

It's more than just keeping the lawns mowed and the floors buffed -- which board members praised as always extra shiny -- it's repairs and upgrades, among other items.

A few of the items he mentioned:

  • Clean all furniture, windows, floors, ceilings;
  • Perform maintenance on the HVAC system;
  • Unpack and assemble new furniture that comes in and place in the appropriate rooms;
  • Retrofit some of the high-pressure sodium lights outside with LEDs;
  • Clean and repair concession stands at sports fields;
  • Maintain and repair sports fields;
  • Repair baseball and softball dugouts;
  • Replace some whiteboards and blackboards in classrooms; and,
  • Replace condensation pumps in the cafeteria.

Among several other items that have kept work crews busy all summer.

Pavilion's new SRO welcomed to school district at Monday's board meeting

By Howard B. Owens
deputy trevor sherwood
Deputy Trevor Sherwood
Photo by Howard Owens

The Pavilion Central School District Board of Education members warmly welcomed Deputy Trevor Sherwood as the district's new School Resource Officer at their Monday evening meeting.

Sherwood's new position begins with the start of the school year, and he said he's excited to get going.

He said the job is a chance to have a positive impact on the lives of young people.

"I grew up here -- not necessarily in Pavilion, but in Batavia, just down the road," Sherwood told The Batavian after the meeting. "The biggest thing is I have a younger brother who is still in high school. I think I can be a positive role model."

A former star athlete in basketball and baseball at Batavia High School, Sherwood said one of the aspects of the job he's looking forward to is supporting the Golden Gophers in their athletic programs.  He's on board, he said, with Gopher Pride.

"I've always tried to be a positive role model, especially in sports," Sherwood said. "I've been out of touch with (sports) for years. I've coached previously, junior league baseball and stuff like that years ago, and I thought one of the biggest things is that it would be cool to be around sports again."

pavilion board of eduction sherwood
Front row, left: Rebecca Dziekan, Margaret Gaston, Callin Ayers-Tillotson, Marirose Ethington; back row, Christopher Jeffres, Kevin Stefan, Trevor Sherwood, and Jeff Finch.
Photo by Howard Owens

Former parochial school principal suspected of violating terms of plea agreement

By Howard B. Owens
Jason Clark

A former parochial school principal in Batavia who admitted to a course of sexual conduct with a child less than 11 years old is facing the possibility of having his interim probation revoked.

A hearing will be held in October to help Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini determine if he's violated the terms of his probation by telling probation officers that, contrary to his guilty plea, he has never been sexually attracted to children.

When Jason Clark, who was principal at St. Paul Lutheran School, entered his plea, District Attorney Kevin Finnell said Clark made a factual admission, by definition of his guilty plea, that he had sexual contact with a child to satisfy his sexual desires.

Clark's statement to a probation officer during his pre-sentence investigation interview, according to Finnell, is that Clark isn't and never was sexually attracted to children, and that statement, Finnell asserts, is inconsistent with his sworn admission in court. 

That constitutes a violation of the warnings Clark was given by Cianfrini at the time of his guilty plea.

In June, Clark entered a guilty plea to sexual conduct against a child in the second degree, Class D felony.  Under the terms of the plea, Clark agreed to surrender his teaching license and was placed on interim supervision by the Probation Department for one year.

If he successfully completes interim probation, Clark can change his plea to endangering the welfare of a child, which is a misdemeanor. 

As part of his plea, Clark made a factual admission that he touched the chest of a female child two or more times over a period of time not less than three months in duration.

Cianfrini ordered a hearing, which will likely include testimony from the probation officer, for 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 17. 

Clark was named principal at St. Paul in June 2019 and served in that position until sometime in 2022. He was arrested in January.

Making history: first-time legal cannabis sales begin Tuesday at Empire Hemp in Batavia

By Joanne Beck
Chris Vandusen, CEO of Empire Hemp, behind the
Chris VanDusen, CEO of Empire Hemp, behind the cannabis sales counter at his company's retail shop on East Main Street. On Tuesday at 1 p.m., the empty shelves in the cannabis room will be filled with legal weed products from various vendors selling marijuana legally in Batavia for the first time.
Photo by Howard Owens.

A line down the sidewalk.

That’s all anybody could hope for, and Empire Hemp founder Chris VanDusen and his eight suppliers — cannabis cultivators and processors bringing in product for the 204 E. Main St., Batavia Empire Hemp store beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday — will happily and hopefully be watching the street side form with customers.

“For us, it's a huge thing for us. People always ask -- they want our THC products, and we haven't been able to sell to them because we're not allowed to. So to be able to have this opportunity is really great,” VanDusen said during a busy Monday of preparing for opening day of the Cannabis Growers Showcase. “So we have a range of products, flower products, prerolls, you know, a lot of whole flower from … all the other vendors are cultivators. So it's all their stuff. We're hoping that we have a line down the sidewalk is what we're really hoping for. We're just just hoping for a really big turnout. We just found out last week we got approved to do it, so you know we've been scrambling to get everything out there.”

Greenside Cannabis, in partnership with Dank, Buffalo’s first licensed adult-use dispensary, and Empire Hemp Co., is hosting the WNY Cannabis Growers Showcase, a pop-up adult-use dispensary for licensed cultivators of high-quality cannabis products, which will run from 1 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday through Dec. 30. 

Not only will it provide local shoppers with opportunity to purchase certified cannabis products, but the showcase opens the door for Empire Hemp to sell its THC products as well. Typically, the industry doesn’t allow for one company to be grower, processor and retailer, VanDusen said, and this will allow his company to sell his products through Dank as the retailer set up within Empire Hemp. 

He’s got three flavors of THC gummies and three flavors of vape cartridges, plus more being developed in the lab to be launched soon, he said. Other participating cultivators and processors include Greenside Cannabis, Tarot Tokes, Flwr City, and House of Sacci, vendors “all the way from Jamestown to Niagara Falls to Rochester and everywhere in between,” he said, with a range of flower, edibles and vape products.

All participants are licensed by the state Office of Cannabis Management and are therefore authorized to sell directly to consumers. Would he have liked a larger window of more hours and days? Yes, of course, VanDusen said, but the OCM worked this out and adjusted the schedule to make it six hours a day for five days a week, “and we said, ‘no problem, that works,’” he said.

“But to be able to sell, so what it's gonna be is, we're partnered with Dank as the dispensary (from Buffalo), and they have set up their cash registers within our store. So they’re like a dispensary within our CBD store,” he said. “I think what it's going to be is, right now, they're looking at is like after January 1, there won't be any more, but if they don't get enough dispensaries opened by that time, I think they will extend it because it's the only way small brands can survive.”

Dank has been operating at 501 Main St., Buffalo, for six weeks and has been doing “excellent, way better than we thought we’d do,” owner Aaron Vancamp said. Not that he didn’t see the big influx at the start, but then expected traffic to ease up a bit after that, Vancamp said, and that’s not what’s happened.

“But it's actually increased and been increasing a little after that. So it's been really good,” he said. “We've become more efficient, though. So like, we're getting the customers, we still have the line. But then it's just like the rest, learning the payment processing and things like that to just get the customers out quicker.”

So they’ll be bringing those lessons to Batavia for some brisk sales in what VanDusen said will be a two-part process of checking IDs at one station and then cashing people out at the second one. Overall, Vancamp believes this showcase might just be a lifesaver for those in the cannabis business.

“It could be something that possibly saves the industry. It’s in dire straits, with the amount of stores that are open and the fresh crop coming in, people really need outlets to take care of that fresh crop if we could get a lot of these open and places like Batavia, where there’s like a good solid population, and Batavia’s been very welcoming of us, it wasn’t really tough, they were very glad to have us, and double the amount of revenue that we’re going to generate for them,” he said. “So basically, we think this could be something that saves you on the street for the time being until they can get more stores open and get things organized on the retail side.”

What are the benefits of these pop-ups? Convenience, established hours and locations for point-of-sale, and a coded product that a consumer can check to get the breakdown of how many milligrams it contains of THC or CBD, he said. 

“That’s especially helpful in dealing with the vapes or the edibles because you can actually break down your dosage and figure out what exactly you need,” Vancamp said. “In the other market, you don’t know what you’re getting. Sometimes it could be better. Sometimes it could be worse. Sometimes it could be something horrible. They’re dealing with old products or something like that. And you’re just better off with a more safe route here.”

How can customers trust the product? It’s all been lab tested, and each product has a certificate of analysis (COA) to prove that every one of them has been tested and is safe to consume, VanDusen said.

empire hemp cannabis
Cannabis products from Empire Hemp.

Police respond to Oak Street after receiving calls reporting gunshots in the area

By Howard B. Owens
shots fired
Investigators marked possible evidence locations on Oak Street, Batavia, following a report of gunshots in the area on Monday night.
Photo by Howard Owens

Police are investigating what appears to be a case of gunshots fired on Oak Street at around 10:50 p.m. on Monday night.

Witnesses said they heard five or six shots but that whoever was involved fled the scene quickly.

At about 10:50 p.m., dispatchers asked a patrol officer to switch to LE Secure (the encrypted channel for police communications), and another officer responded that he had heard gunshots while he was still inside the police station. 

The dispatcher said the 9-1-1 Center had received multiple calls.

A short time later, an officer reported that he had a person in custody, but a police source said that information was incorrect.

There is currently no official source of information available, and a police source said it is too early in the investigation to release much information.

A source said there are no reported injuries at this time.

There are City PD and Sheriff's patrols on scene on Oak Street, between La Cross Avenue/Charles Street and Allen Street.  There are also patrols strategically placed elsewhere in the city, but we've been unable to confirm that a suspect or suspects are still at large.

shots fired
Photo by Howard Owens

House on Prune Street heavily damage from fire that started in garage

By Howard B. Owens
10 prune street fire

There were no injuries, not to the residents, firefighters, nor to the family pets in a fire at 10 Prune St., Batavia, this evening, but there was significant damage to the residence, said City Fire Chief Josh Graham.

The garage, where the fire started, is a total loss.

"There is significant damage to the second story," Graham said. "It's pretty well a total loss, and there is a lot of water and smoke damage on the first floor."

Graham said City Fire received a call at about 6:22 p.m. of smoke coming from the garage.

"Crews saw smoke as soon as they pulled out of the fire station (on Evans Street)," Graham said. "When they got on scene, the garage was fully involved with an extension into the house. They declared a second alarm, and the Town of Batavia responded, Elba responded."

The residents were out of the house, and a dog and cat also escaped safely, Graham said.

The streets are narrow, and houses are close together in the Prune Street neighborhood. The Tully's parking lot was right behind the house. That made it tight quarters to maneuver trucks and fight the fire.

Unloading hoses quickly and getting them into place quickly was difficult.

"One thing I will say is there's a house down here with a 16-year-old that came out and saw us struggling to pull a hose down, and he grabbed ahold of that hose and helped pull the hose down," Graham said. "Moving all that hose, getting everything in place with everything else around in the house was the hardest part."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A neighboring house sustained some heat damage.

Property tax records indicate the house is owned by James and Peggy Benedict. It was built in 1900 and remodeled in 1970. 

(Initial Report)

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

10 prune street fire
10 prune street fire
10 prune street fire
10 prune street fire
10 prune street fire

Photos below by Frank Capuano.

10 prune street fire
10 prune street fire
10 prune street fire

No easy task, East Pembroke Fire officials give 44-cent tax rate increase on eve of vote

By Joanne Beck

There has been some confusion about the East Pembroke Fire Department’s upcoming vote for a plan to help retain volunteers, and after attempting to confirm the related tax rate increase, it’s not difficult to understand why.

The vote is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the fire hall, 8655 Barrett Drive, Batavia.

Late Monday, officials said the confirmed rate per thousand of property tax increase is 44 cents.

District Chairman James Gayton said that the fire department was required to only post the resolution, which does not include information about the tax rate. It states details related to the service award program for volunteer firefighters and is recapped in full below. 

However, property owners have questioned — via online posts and by reaching out to The Batavian — how approval of this resolution will affect their property taxes. Apparently, one such citizen distributed a letter citing an inflated and incorrect tax rate increase, and information was mailed to residents encouraging folks to vote no -- with the appearance of being signed by Gayton, though he had nothing to do with the mailer.

There was a public information session about the resolution, but there was nothing online available from that session pertaining to the tax rate, attorney Bradley Pinsky said. The district wasn’t required to do so, and therefore only posted the resolution itself, he said. 

The Batavian attempted to obtain the tax rate increase and received conflicting information. Gayton explained that other factors go into the final tax numbers and therefore seemed reluctant to provide a final tax rate of cents per $1,000 assessed value increase. 

He referred The Batavian to the fire district’s attorney, Bradley Pinsky of Syracuse, whose calculations first came up with a 96-cent per $1,000 assessed value increase. So for a home assessed at $100,000, that would mean an increase of $96.25 a year for the first five years of this approved resolution. It is to decrease significantly after those first five years, Gayton said. 

Gayton also does not believe the increase will be that high, as he initially estimated it to be 80 cents and then came in with a 50-cent per $1,000 figure when pressed for a definite number this past weekend. 

“That number is based on 100 percent people (qualifying for retirement benefits), which won’t happen,” he said Monday. 

After further calculations later Monday evening, since Pinsky apparently didn't realize that all of the three district towns of Batavia, Alabama and Pembroke should have been included, he came up with a 44-cent "confirmed max" increase per $1,000 assessed value. That would mean an increase of $44 on a home assessed at $100,000.

This number was tabulated as of about 8 p.m. Monday, on the eve of the vote. The Batavian isn't sure why the information wasn't readily available since an information session had already happened, and district residents had been encouraged to ask questions for several days prior.

An online post related to the vote claimed that the information was fully provided in a legal notice. Below is the legal notice sent to The Batavian:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a resolution of the Board of Fire Commissioners, a special election of the qualified voters of the East Pembroke Fire District in the towns of Pembroke, Batavia and Alabama, County of Genesee, State of New York, will be held on the 29th day of August, 2023 between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., held at 8655 Barrett Drive, Batavia NY 14020 to vote on whether to approve the following resolution adopted by at least sixty percent of the Board of Fire Commissioners:

RESOLUTION FOR ADOPTION OF DEFINED BENEFIT, SERVICE AWARD PROGRAM

Whether to adopt a defined benefit service award plan within the East Pembroke Fire District for the volunteer firefighters of the fire company of the East Pembroke Fire District, being the East Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., pursuant to General Municipal Law Sections 216 and 219, with an estimated annual cost of the program being $118,514.00 for the first five (5) years, with the annual cost thereafter being $27,706, and an estimated annual administration fee of $3,648 dollars ($3,000 plus $18/participant).

The annual amount of the contribution made on behalf of each participant credited with a year of fire service shall be twenty ($20.00) dollars per month of service for a maximum monthly entitlement benefit of four hundred ($400.00) dollars. 

Benefits shall be accruable, per year of active service limited to twenty (20) years. Participants will vest a non-forfeitable right to a service award after five (5) years of service. Each qualified participant shall receive credit for up to five (5) qualified years of active firefighting service prior to the establishment of the Service Award Program, known as a buyback service credit and the cost of this buy back shall be amortized over a five (5) year period, the cost stated above. 

The entitlement age shall be sixty-five (65). The program will be administered by the East Pembroke Fire District and will take effect on the first day of January, 2024.

All persons registered to vote in the district and residing in the district for at least thirty days prior to the day of the vote may vote in such special election.

This is the resolution and does not say anything about the actual tax rate impact to property owners. A previous story about the retirement benefits of this resolution ran in The Batavian earlier this month.

Six rural counties join litigation aimed at overturning changes to WROTB governance

By Mike Pettinella

Lawmakers in six of the 15 counties that benefit from revenues generated by Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. have passed resolutions to participate in a pending lawsuit to overturn changes to the structure and voting format of the public benefit company’s board of directors.

Legislative bodies in Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming, Livingston and Seneca counties have joined Genesee County in an effort to nullify bills passed by New York State -- during budget negotiations in May – that eliminated the board at that time and shifted voting to a weighted system.

Albany’s action transferred the voting power from the rural (predominately Republican counties to the urban (predominately Democratic municipalities of Erie and Monroe counties and the cities of Buffalo and Rochester.

Genesee County Attorney James Wujcik today said that he has been talking to lawyers representing the rural counties, confirming that six have signed on thus far. Others rural counties that may opt in are Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Oswego, Wayne and Steuben. The status of Schuyler County is unknown at this point.

“So far, six counties have passed resolutions authorizing their county attorneys to enjoin litigation,” said Wujcik, who added that a draft of the lawsuit is forthcoming.

He also confirmed a report in the Niagara Gazette that Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties have committed $5,000 each to retain the Lippes Mathias law firm of Buffalo. According to a story on Aug. 1, the newspaper reported that the firm’s lead attorney, Dennis Vacco, will be paid $400 per hour as the “coordinating attorney of all activities” while three others will be paid $375, $350 and $280 per hour.

Should 12 counties sign on to the lawsuit, each would be expected to pay the same amount in attorneys’ and related fees.

Genesee County Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein said that premise of the litigation is “to protect the counties’ Home Rule rights” – the one-county, one-vote format -- that have been in place since WROTB’s creation 50 years ago.

“Genesee County’s position is that we must protect our citizens who, by a referendum, voted to join Western Regional,” Stein said. “People trying to change the result of an election is an overreach, and we can’t let that occur in New York State.”

A portion of the resolution passed by the Genesee County Legislature in June refers to the Home Rule provision, noting that:

WHEREAS, the New York State Court of Appeals recognized in Matter of Moran v. La Guardia, 270 N.Y. 450, 452 that “To repeal or modify a statute requires a legislative act of equal dignity and import.” Nothing less than a Home Rule Message from a majority of the founding counties will suffice, i.e. “the doctrine of Legislative Equivalency”. The doctrine of legislative equivalency has uniformly been applied with respect to the modification and or amendment of prior legislation, and,

WHEREAS, none of the founding counties, especially Genesee County, the home County of WROTB, enacted Home Rule Messages requesting that N.Y. Rac. Pari-Mut. Wag. & Breeding Law § 502, be modified and/or amended, and never authorized a relinquishment of control of WROTB to Erie County, Monroe County, City of Buffalo, and City of Rochester, and WHEREAS, Batavia Downs is located in the Town and City of Batavia in a residential area and this is an important quality of life issue for the host County of Genesee to not be negatively impacted by any change to the Board of Directors make up.

Democratic State Sen. Tim Kennedy of Buffalo initiated action to dismantle the WROTB board and change the voting structure in light of a state Comptroller’s audit that found fault with the corporation’s use of tickets to sporting events (notably, Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres) and concerts; “gold-plated” health insurance for directors, and for President/CEO Henry Wojtaszek’s use of a company vehicle.

Wojtaszek has said that the corporation has taken corrective measures since then, recently stating that management is working on new health insurance options for employees, but not board members.

Top Items on Batavia's List

Town Court Clerk Below are two lists: one details the myriad responsibilities that fall within the purview of the court clerk; the other summarizes the knowledge and abilities that court clerks possess or acquire through training. These lists are provided so that a judge and municipality can intelligently discuss the benefits that a court clerk can provide. The items below can also form the basis for a list of job duties should a municipality need to fill a vacancy in a court clerk position. Primary Responsibilities A. Maintain confidentiality of records and information when required to do so B. Prepare court calendar C. Collect monies, reconcile daily receipts, deposit receipts, prepare reports for monthly disbursements, reconcile bank accounts, and prepare administrative reports D. Enter convictions on drivers' licenses and prepare conviction reports electronically transmitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles E. Enter criminal conviction on NCIC reports and electronically send same to Division of Criminal Justice Services F. Respond to inquiries-in person, by phone, by e-mail and by mail-and provide assistance to lawyers, litigants, media, and members of the public G. Prepare monthly reports that are electronically sent to the Office of the State Comptroller H. Prepare orders, summonses, warrants and other court forms i. Communicate with outside agencies in order to coordinate the Court's activities and provide services to litigants. Such agencies include: ii. Law enforcement agencies, such as local police departments, New York State Police, Sheriffs office, FBI and CIA, US Armed Forces, and the Office of the District Attorney; I. Other courts, including superior courts and other local town and village courts; and i. Miscellaneous county agencies, such as Community Service, Community Dispute Resolution Center, Pre-trial Release, Probation, Stop DWI program, Victim Impact Panel, and Youth Court. ii. State agencies that require periodic reporting, including the New York State Unified Court System, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Office of the State Comptroller, the Division of Criminal Justice Services, and the Office of Court Record Retention. J. Examine court documents to ensure their accuracy and completeness K. Receive and file summonses, traffic tickets and other documents for court proceedings i. Assist the Justice at the bench during all Court proceedings Knowledge of: 1. The functions and organization of the Unified Court System ii. Basic legal terminology, codes and abbreviations iii. Court forms, practices and procedures, including those set forth in the Uniform Justice Court Act and the Uniform Civil Rules for the Justice Courts (22 NYCRR Part 214) 2. Ability to: i. Prepare judicial orders and decisions ii. Effectively communicate information orally and in writing iii. File and retrieve materials, extract data from various sources for entry onto court form iv. Research and interpret laws outlined in court documents and litigants' motions and other papers v. Perform mathematical tasks in order to compile court activity reports, total receipts, accept payments, and verify bills vi. Refer to appropriate documents, statutes, citations or other sources in order to respond to specific questions from attorneys, litigants and members of the general public vii. Interpret policies, statutes, rules and regulations and apply them in specific contexts viii. Establish work priorities ix. Constructively manage conflict with court users Qualifications: Highschool diploma recognized by the NYS Dept of Education or appropriate equivalent. Along with 4 years of college, specialization in criminal justice, law, business administration or related field. -OR- 2 years college with specialization in Business Administration or related field. Please email your resume to abrownell@townofbatavia.com no later than 12/16/2024. Pay is based on experience.
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AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 1ST CITY OF BATAVIA 4-5 bedroom Duplex apartment with 1 Bedroom, Living room, laundry room, dining room, bathroom, and small kitchen on first floor. 4 bedrooms 2nd floor. Newly painted. Some new carpet. Basement storage. 1/2 garage use for storage/ not parking. Large yard. $1,100/month includes trash pickup, Refrigerator, Gas Stove. You pay gas, electric, water. No dogs. Good references required with background check. Pathstone approved. Near ARC. Mike 585-993-4002
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