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Weather causing scheduling problems, especially for ND

By Brian Hillabush

The Notre Dame girls basketball team is scheduled to play at Wheatland-Chili today. But like every other team in the area, they are getting the day off due to the weather.

Scheduling conflicts are always a pain in the butt this time of year and right now coach Dave Pero's squad is not overly thrilled with missing out on this game.

Pero tried to reschedule the game for Tuesday with Wheatland-Chili coach Todd Grimes, but that wasn't possible.

The two are trying to set something up for Friday at this point and the Fighting Irish really need the game.

"This is awful," said Pero, whose team is just 2-1. "We haven't played two games in a week yet and we have no rhythm. We played Elba and we just weren't ready. We haven't played enough."

The Lancers beat Notre Dame 54-51 last Tuesday, Some area teams have played as many as eight games, but the Fighting Irish have played just three games, and with the Christmas break going on this week the team isn't even getting much practice time.

If the Wheatland-Chili game can't be rescheduled for Friday, that means Notre Dame will not take the court again until Monday, Dec 29 in the opening round of the Byron-Bergen Christmas Tournament. The consolation and finals are on Dec. 30.

The next games are at the Rotary Tournament on Jan. 5 and 7.

"We have the Christmas Tournament and then the Rotary Tournament coming up. I hope we are ready for it," Pero said.

Pero does think that there is some advantage to his team playing so few games so far in the fact that they Fighting Irish will be playing a lot of games late in the season, which will hopefully have them ready for sectionals.

But he is ready for his squad to get into some kind of rhythm right now.

"Somewhere down the road the teams that have played eight games will be having the same lull we are having right now," Pero said. "Our philosophy is that we want to be better at the end of the year. Hopefully that will pay off by us not playing games right now, but we want to get into a flow."

Notre Dame is not the only school that will probably not get to play its athletic contests. The Elba boys are supposed to be playing at Albion, but Elba is closed.

There are plenty of girls games on tap for tonight, including Alexander at Kendall and Medina at Lyndonville. But odds are, they won't be played either and will be made up at a later date.

Please share your sports info

By Brian Hillabush

I am so thrilled with the email I received today about the St. Joseph's basketball team and the fact that our good friends at Mancuso Bowling Center have been posting bowling scores right to the site.

Now is a good time for me to just let everybody out there know that we are interested in all sports in the area. My expertise is high schools, and that is where I spend most of my time. But if you are the coach of a youth basketball team, run a bowling league or have a team that plays indoor soccer; we would love information on your teams.

I can work with you to directly post your results right on The Batavian, or if you are more comfortable, you can just e-mail them to me at brian (at) thebatavian (dot) com and I'd be more than happy to put them up for you.

While most traditional news organizations are going to give you the AP story on how the Buffalo Bills did or the high school scores, that isn't what we do with our sports at The Batavian.

We want to share as much information and as much in-depth type of stuff as possible because you can't get it anywhere else, and it is a lot of fun to see the type of stuff that isn't already on 5 different Web sites and/or newspapers.

So if you are a coach, in a bowling league or have a kid playing on a youth sports team, have somebody get ahold of me so that we can get these kids some recognition for their hard work on The Batavian.

Mike Rapone and Jim Burke story

By Brian Hillabush

 Channel 13 has an excellent video talking about coaches Jim Burke of Prattsburgh and Mike Rapone of Notre Dame.

The two matched up against each other on Saturday, and we had some pretty solid coverage on The Batavian.

I would recommend checking out the two videos at the end of my post because I have the complete pregame presentation and interviews with both coaches about the great rivalry.

But if you are interested in this topic, make sure you check this story out. 

Another cool angle to this piece is that the anchor is Chuck Wade, who is the son of Batavia girls basketball coach Bill Wade and a Notre Dame grad.

 

Batavia fifth graders off to good start

By Brian Hillabush

Chris Suozzi sent me an e-mail with some exciting news for the young basketball players in the area.

The St. Joseph's fifth grade team is 5-1 while playing in the Rochester CYO league, a very impressive start to the season when you consider the level of competition those kids are playing.

Suozzi is the head coach and is assisted by Larry Hale and Tony Gallo.

Here are some results from some recent games.


St. Joseph's 44 Nazareth 20

Every scored for St. Joseph's 5th grade team.  CJ Suozzi and Case Midwick had 12 points each,, Tyler Hale and Trevor Sherwood had 6 points each., Anthony Gallo, Connor Logsdon, Jacob Hale, Anthony Sweet and Steven Ognibene each had a basket to help the team on to victory.


St. Joseph's 37  Peace of Christ Gates 36 OT

Tyler Hale made his first basket of the day count as the 5th grader scored the key bucket in overtime.  Also, scoring for St. Josephs;s was Casey Midwick game high 14, CJ Suozzi 13, Anthony Gallo 6, Trevor Sherwood and Alex Canty 2 pts each.


St. Joseph's 35 Holy Cross 23

Trevor Sherwood lead the way with 8 points, followed by CJ Suozzi with 7 points, Tyler Hale with 6 points, Alex Canty, Jacob Hale and Anthony Gallo with 4 points each, and Casey Midwick 2 points.

St. Josephs 30 vs St. Margeret Mary 29.


This was a Hoosiers story.  St. Margeret Mary had the height and the lead every quarter up until the last 3.2 seconds.
St. Joe's called the "picket fence" play. Alex Canty placed a perfect pick, Casey Midwick placed a perfect pass to CJ Suozzi who came off the pick,  he took a couple of dribbles to free himself, let the shot go from the top of the key, the buzzard sounded and the ball swished through the basket for a bench clearing win!  CJ Suozzi lead St. Joes with 12 points, Tyler Hale 6 points, Cassey Midwick and Trevor Sherwood - 4 points each,  Jacob Hale and Anthony Gallo 2 points each.
 

Local teams getting some love in the state rankings

By Brian Hillabush

 The first edition of the New York State Sportswriters rankings are out today and some of our teams are getting some pretty impressive rankings. 

The two Genesee Region League squads with state rankings are really up there. Oakfield-Alabama and its 5-0 record has earned the fourth-seed in Class C. The latest win for the Hornets was an impressive 76-43 win over a very good Pembroke team.

Notre Dame handled Prattsburgh 60-53 on Saturday night and are also ranked fourth, in Class D. The Fighting Irish are 4-0.

Batavia is coming off a loss to Pittsford Sutherland on Wednesday, 69-57, and are ranked 19th in Class A. Sutherland is 13th. Batavia has a 4-1 record.

 

My snow story and pictures from around Batavia

By Steve Ognibene

I was snowblowing my driveway this morning and my wife took a picture of me.  I was very chilled by the cold air and wind that was whipping through the area.

Then when I finished.  I went around town taking some pictures of different places:

Main Street

I drove down Bank St. here shown above, the street was really narrowed by the snow.

Pictured here is a guy snowblowing his driveway on North Street.

Along side a neighbors house was a tree that was weighed down by the heavy snow.  Total I believe we got approx 2 feet but difficult to tell with the blowing and drifting.  More to come.

Christmas lights 12-22-08

By Brian Hillabush

 

I personally love this house on Highland Pk. The lights all around are cool, but check out the hockey player. I has a Sabres logo on his chest, but the blue lights make it look like a Batavia High player.

Smoke Free NOW Genesee Meeting at Bohn's Restaurant

By Kevin Keenan

 

Smoke Free NOW is funded by the NYS Department of Health Tobacco Control Program and is dedicated to reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke in Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties. The coalition meetings are open to the public; anyone who supports our goals and objectives is welcome.
Smoke Free NOW works to promote policy changes about tobacco issues within local municipalities, businesses, organizations, events and venues.
Current initiatives include:
Policy: Asking Organizations, Businesses, Events, and Venues to not accept tobacco advertising, sponsorship, promotion or funding .
Organization Resolution: Asking Organizations, Businesses, Events and Venues to urge tobacco retailers to reduce, rearrange, or eliminate tobacco signs (research shows that kids exposed to advertising are more likely to start smoking).
Municipal Resolution: Asking municipalities to pass a resolution urging tobacco retailers to reduce, rearrange, or eliminate tobacco signs.
Smoke Free Apartments : Asking Landlord/Managers to establish a written policy that their apartments are smoke-free.
 Smoke free now also urges smokers to go to www.nysmokefree.com to get information about quitting smoking and to see if you are eligible for free NRT (nicotine replacement therapy; gum, patches, or lozenges)
For more information please go to our website www.smokefreenow.org   or www.exposebigtobacco.org
  NOTE: You must register to attend: 585-815-1871 or clewis@gcasa.org

City and town will draft consolidation plan — Could go to vote by November

By Philip Anselmo

We received the following press release from the city of Batavia:

The City of Batavia and the Town of Batavia today reported the results of a joint public meeting between the City Council and the Town Board held on December 17.  The joint meeting was held to receive a report and recommendations prepared by the Center for Governmental Research (CGR).  CGR has been engaged to conduct a City and Town Consolidation Study under a Shared Municipal Services Incentive (SMSI) grant funded jointly by the City, the Town, and New York State.

The joint City/Town Consolidation Study Committee supports CGR’s report and recommendation to proceed to develop and present a draft consolidation plan to the City Council and Town Board by July, 2009.  If the plan is approved by the two elected bodies, the plan could be presented to the voters of the City and Town in the November, 2009 general election.

CGR and the Committee made a presentation to the joint meeting of elected officials to discuss the initial recommendation.  The Study Committee will begin to develop the plan starting in January, and agreed to update the joint boards every few months, to ensure that the process is open and transparent.  At the end of the presentation, the joint boards applauded the Study Committee for its work to date, and endorsed moving forward as discussed.

Charles Zettek Jr., CGR’s project Director, noted that there are several key factors that are aligning in favor of consolidating the City and the Town at this time.  These factors include:  1. the severe fiscal crisis that is going to drive changes to keep costs as low as possible, 2. new financial incentives from the State to consolidate local governments, 3. strong support by the City Council President and the Town Supervisor, and 4. recent events that have shown that consolidation works and benefits the greater community.

“There is no question that if the City and Town of Batavia become a single new government, this will put Batavia in the national spotlight” Zettek said.  “Everyone recognizes that fragmented local governments in New York and across the northeast and Midwest are inefficient. Communities across the country will look to Batavia as being the best example of how to consolidate a city and town to create an efficient government designed for the 21’st century” Zettek said.

City Council President Charlie Mallow summarized the consensus of the two boards by saying “Both boards want to develop a detailed consolidation plan that can be presented to the voters next fall.”   “We both realize that consolidating the City and Town will provide significant cost savings that will reduce taxes” Mallow said. “The plan will spell out specifically how services will be provided, how much will be saved and other efficiencies.”

Town Supervisor Greg Post stated, “If you look at the master plan that was done 40 years ago, it viewed the Town and City as one community.  Now we have the opportunity to make that vision a reality.”

City Manager Jason Molino told the joint boards that the Committee is going to have an incredibly busy six months, reviewing all the operations and coming up with a plan to present to City Council and the Town Board.”  “However, the end result will be a definite plan so that the voters will have the facts and options they need to decide if they want to create a new consolidated government”.

Rapone wins battle of the 500 club

By Brian Hillabush

 

It was the first time in the history of New York State basketball that two coaches with over 500 career victories guided teams against each other.

Notre Dame's Mike Rapone earned career victory 513 while Prattsburgh's Jim Burke was held at 502 as the Fighting Irish picked up a 60-53 win.

The evening started off with Notre Dame's court being dedicated to Rapone and girls volleyball coach Rhonda DiCasolo. Rapone followed it by presenting Burke with a plaque in honor of his 500th victory, which happened in Prattsburgh's first game of the season.

Then, the teams that play a pair of non league games with each other every year, took the court. The Fighting Irish took an early lead.

Kevin Francis had a steal and basket, Tommy Rapone had a basket with an and-1 and Kevin Schildwaster scored to give ND a quick 7-0 lead.

But Francis picked up a second foul midway through the first quarter and had to go to the bench, which allowed the Vikings to creep back in the game.

Ryan Caron scored nine points in a three minute stretch, with the only Fighting Irish basket coming on a 3-pointer by Matt Thompson.

Brandon Bulley scored the final basket of the opening period and Notre Dame had a very slim 18-16 lead.

Prattsburgh took the lead right away when Patrick Wightman drained a 3-pointer to open the second period.

It was back-and-forth for the second quarter until the end when Francis, Nick Wetherwax and Schildwaster had baskets to give the Fighting Irish a 32-28 halftime lead.

Notre Dame opened up a 12-point lead when Vinny Zambito and Thompson hit consecutive 3-pointers, but the third quarter ended with ND leading 51-41.

The fourth quarter was a series of free throw attempts that dragged on, but Notre Dame held on for the win and improves to 4-0.

Francis had 18 points with 10 assists and Thompson hit four 3-pointers to score 14 points.

Rapone and Zambito had eight points each.

Caron had 18 points and Garrett Parker added 17 for Prattsburgh (4-3).

 

 

 

VIDEO + INTERVIEWS FROM THE GAME

 

GREAT VIDEO OF THE COURT PRESENTATION AND RAPONE HONORING BURKE

 

Christmas lights 12-20-08

By Brian Hillabush

 

Today's example is on Walnut St. and a great example of color and variety. 

Batavia's Jarvela earns AGR honors

By Brian Hillabush

Batavia junior Angela Jarvela earned All-Greater Rochester honors for cross country. She is a first-team selection for the awards handed out by the Democrat & Chronicle.

Jarvela, a junior, took sixth at the Monroe County championships and went to states for the fourth consecutive season. She finished 23rd in Class B and was second at the Alden Invitational.

Oakfield-Alabama's Kim Mills and Holley's Kristina Martin made the second team.  

No local boys made the All-Greater Rochester team, but we did have several honorable mentions.

 

Weather update: Be careful where you park

By Brian Hillabush

 I am surprised that in my 4-5 hours of driving I didn't find any cars off the road. But I did manage to find somebody that parked on Main St. Batavia that is probably going to have a difficult time getting out.

UPDATE (by Howard): Interesting, the Daily picked up on the same shot.

Weather update: Rain, shine or snow - the mail is on its way

By Brian Hillabush

Nothing stops the United States postal service.

Even with massive amounts of snow, the mail is still on its way. I would guess that some carriers might be a little behind schedule because of the conditions, but they are out there.

Weather update: Outpatient closures

By Philip Anselmo

We received the following notice of closures at the United Memorial Medical Center:

"Due to today’s severe winter weather the following outpatient services of United Memorial will be closed today:

  • Batavia Family Care

  • Tountas Family Care

  • Tonawanda Seneca Family Care

  • Byron Family Care

  • The Corporate Health Center

  • All services at the Jerome Center including laboratory and medical imaging

  • Pembroke Diagnostic Center

  • LeRoy Diagnostic Center

  • Cardiac Rehab Services, EKG, Echo and Stress Testing"

Genesee County storm coverage today

By Brian Hillabush

It is almost 8:30 a.m. and I am awake, which is a very rare thing.

The first somewhat heavy snow is starting to come down, so I'm going to go grab my camera and head out in a few minutes. My goals for today are to find out what is going on around town and update everybody on The Batavian.

Wish me luck and check back often for updates.

Care-A-Van Brings Christmas to the City with your generous donations!

By Robin Walters

It was a busy night at the Assembly of God church this past Wednesday evening.

Families and friends of the Assembly of God Church and Care-A-Van Ministries got together to celebrate the spirit of Christmas. The spirit of giving was flowing through the air and room. While the Christmas carols rung sweetly through the room and the hot chocolate and goodies warmed the tummies of all, the hands and hearts were busy wrapping Christmas presents. The presents were not for themselves or their families. No, these presents will be delivered to familes that are facing tough times this holiday season.

Through the generosity of church family and community members, there was monetary and gift donations made to Care-A-Van Ministries to help bless many families. In years past, Paul and Bridget would do all of this wrapping by themselves. This year a new tradition was formed. With all of the hands that were available, Santa's work went alot quicker! Can you imagine being Laura and having to do all of this shopping? Bless her heart! Approximately 15 families will be blessed. The Care-A-Van bus will be helping Santa out. The bus will spend 4 nights out on the street during this upcoming week to deliver presents along with the Lord's blessings.  Here are a few photos to share with you:

Our Own Pastor Dan gets in on the action

 

No confinement law passes for California farms: Area farmers need to be "vigilant"

By Philip Anselmo

Last month, voters in California passed a referendum that would effectively ban the use of sow stalls and hen cages on all farms in the state. Not long after the success of the measure in that state, its supporters were already vowing to roll it out nationwide.

From the Rural Blog:

The passing of Proposition 2 in California, which creates new livestock-welfare guidelines, has farmers in other states worried that their states will soon be targeted for similar measures. Livestock industry groups nationwide contributed millions of dollars in an unsuccessful bid to defeat the measure, which bans the use of sow stalls and hen cages now in general use.

Opponents say the measure appeals to voters' sympathy, but doesn't reflect the realities of farm life. Exprts say "confining pregnant sows in stalls prevents fighting, ensures the hogs get adequate feed and saves labor," writes Philip Brasher for the Des Moines Register. "Similarly, caging hens is said to protect birds from each other while also protecting eggs from contamination." Also, caging results in higher egg production, because fewer eggs are broken, resulting in lower prices.

We talked with some local folks in the ag industry to get their take on the measure. Dale Stein is a dairy farmer from Le Roy and former president of the Genesee County Farm Bureau. Farmers in California may have until 2015 to adapt to the requirements, he said, but they will have a hard time keeping costs down without being allowed to cage their egg-laying hens.

"How can you do it and make a living at it," he said. "You need to turn a profit. If people want quality at a low price, you have to do it with volume... in order to keep the price cheap for the consumer."

That spells doom for the California chicken farms.

"From my understanding, most of the chicken business in California will be out of business in the end," he added. "The swine industry may be able to adapt, but chickens won't be raised in California on any scale. All their eggs and poultry products will be imported from other states and countries."

Stein was not overly worried about any effect on the dairy industry, there or elsewhere, and he doesn't believe that prices and supply in New York will be thrown out of whack because of what's going on in California. He is more concerned with the repercussions of the approval.

"Our whole concern on the referendum in California is that it was step one, and that's what the animal rights groups have said," he said. "This is the first step. The other concern is that sound science does not win out in a debate like this."

We also spoke with Mitch Head, a spokesman for United Egg Producers, a national farmers cooperative. United fielded the call on behalf of Krehr's Farm Fresh Eggs, which is based out of Clarence. Krehr's is one of the largest egg producers in the state.

Head is not too worried about the referendum gaining ground here in New York.

"First of all, New York does not have the initiative process that California has," he said. "Plus, you've got six years before it even takes effect in California. Regulations need to be written before we even know what will be implemented in California. Both proponents and opponents couldn't even agree on what it would require producers to do. Some believe it means it would ban cages. Some also believe it bans cage free and only allows free range. No one knows. It will take years to work out. In the meantime, no other state will move forward to adopt it until that gets worked out."

For now, that's about as far as the conversation will go for New Yorkers. Nevertheless, this is something farmers especially need to be thinking about.

"It's certainly something agriculture should be aware of," said Head. "The Humane Society has been successfully adopting state legislation dealing with pigs and veal calves, and now egg-laying hens. They're flexing their political muscle. Agriculture needs to be vigilant on these issues, to make sure that modern science-based ag systems like cages for egg-laying hens continue to be a viable option for producing healthy and safe food for Americans."

Winter storm watch: More snow...

By Philip Anselmo

A winter storm watch has been issued for our region starting tonight and extending through the day Friday. More than six inches of snow are expected to fall during the day Friday. The National Weather Service expects the storm to arrive tonight, although the snow should not become significant until mid-morning tomorrow. We could see some heavy snowfall through the late morning into the afternoon, "especially for areas south of a line from Buffalo to Batavia." That should taper off by the early evening.

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