batavia

Diana Prinzi seems like a no-nonsense type of person, someone with a shy smile backed up by a passion for law enforcement and keeping the protocols in check.

Everyone is positive about the growth and direction of GLOW YMCA as a search to replace CEO Rob Walker nears completion, Board President Dean Bellack says.

Walker retired on Jan. 31, and a search committee was formed shortly after to sift through an initial 40 applicants from throughout the country, Bellack said this week. Those were carved down a couple of times for the three finalists.

“We did a very large search. We had a large number of initial applicants, which we whittled down to a smaller number of applicants. Then we whittled it down again in terms of the people that we wanted to do preliminary interviews with, and a lot of those happened this week,” he said to The Batavian Wednesday. “And then we've narrowed that down to, again, a very small group of applicants that we're going to be doing personal interviews with here in about a week and a half, and then we'll be making an announcement.”

Applicants were from New York State and other areas, including Virginia, Indiana and Florida, he said. Two of the finalists are local, and one is from out of state. YMCA national assisted with the process and advertising the position, and Bellack is “confident in the candidates that we have,” he said

Membership at the Genesee YMCA began at 1,100 and is now around 2,400 to 2,500.

“It’s significant growth, but we still have growth to do,” he said. We’re planning to be at 3,000. We have some ways to go, and we’re confident we’re going to be there. Typically in the summer season, the amount of people searching for new memberships at YMCAs tend to level off a little bit. We're not predicting any decline in terms of where we are. The growth could slow a little bit during the summertime, and then I'm sure we'll be at the numbers that we need to be at once we get back into the fall.”

He acknowledged that “obviously, Rob was CEO during that time” of fundraising and planning for the new downtown Batavia facility, which was completed for a New Year’s opening. He also credited the strength and dedication of “a lot of volunteers” who supported the cause.

John Riter and Paul Battaglia were integral project leaders, he said. There are also high levels of expertise on staff, including treasurer Mike Grover and Chief Financial Officer Greg Watson, who is serving as interim CEO, he said.

“It was a tremendous effort; they deserve tremendous congratulations,” Bellack said. “We’re very positive on the growth of the new facility and where we’re going to be with the association. We’re planning big things ahead.”

Walker declined to comment. An email announcing his retirement was sent out to members in the GLOW region at the time, Bellack said.

Serving as a perfect metaphor for what’s happening at Cornerstone Church, seeds of an idea have been planted and are being nurtured by members and leaders for a future organic, self-sustaining farm on several acres adjacent to the Bank Street Road site, Pastor Paul Doyle says.

Growing right out of the book of Genesis, where it says, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it,” Doyle said, he believes that this project is a type of divine intervention that has drawn people and their farm-related talents to participate in an effort that will help feed those in need.

“He thought of everything. He put the nutrients in, and certainly, the movie that we saw, that inspired us, contrasted with what we see happening to food. And I don’t know what they’re putting in it, I don’t know how it’s been manipulated. It’s scary to me, and we don’t always know what we’re putting in our bodies. God already thought of all this, and so we just kind of connected the dots and said, you know what? We’ve got the land, we’ve always wondered we’re like this church out in the cornfield, and we’re surrounded by land, and then the land became available and we just began to get into prayers and we really felt strongly.”

What served as inspiration
That movie was “The Biggest Little Farm,” a documentary film that follows an eight-year journey of John and Molly Chester as they depart urban life in Los Angeles and embark on a farming quest to create a sustainable, biodiverse 234-acre farm named Apricot Lane Farms. 

Their efforts to work with nature encounter drought, pests, predators, and soil depletion as they tirelessly learn how to establish a balanced system of vegetation and animals.

Divine intervention, human efforts
Alan Goodfellow, a church elder, stepped forward to lead Cornerstone’s project, not because of his most recent experience from Kodak and as a financial advisor as much as from growing up on a farm in central Pennsylvania and an agricultural heritage stemming from Montana.

“Because of his background, his heart, when he retired, was to do some farming. He’s already done a lot of research, and when we announced it, all of a sudden, people came out of the woodwork in our church and go, I have background in compost, I have background, and so it just felt like things were coming together,” Doyle said. “So some of it’s logical, and some of it feels like it’s divine intervention. But the Bible says that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. He did it for years without man’s manipulation.”

They plan to work the ground, just not fill it with chemicals and pesticides and deplete it of natural nutrients, he and Goodfellow said. The church plans to use 18 acres that it owns, with a potential opportunity to purchase more property in the near future. 

"We don't believe it's happenstance. We believe it was in the mind of God to bring this into being, where everything works together. It's an experiment where we want to try it, and we don't grow it. God grows it. We just made a decision and we have a conviction, I think, because we saw somebody else kind of be the forerunners,” Doyle said, referring to the Chester couple. “They showed it can happen. Why not? Why not here in Batavia, with rich soil? We have plenty of precipitation. You know, we have a beautiful winter that fertilizes the ground, and there's certainly a need.”

Goodfellow seems to know his stuff, rattling off a system of fixing nitrogen in the ground and grouping crops, such as corn, beans and squash so that the beans have something tall to grow against — the corn stalks — and squash leaves provide natural ground cover to discourage weeds and protect the soil.

He keenly understands that plowing the earth year after year only takes away from Mother Nature, which is why chemical fertilizers have to be used to boost the soil back up for the next go round of planting. But by not disturbing the soil as much with aggressive tilling, and using a drill to plant seeds for crops, which uses the elements already provided by nature, he said.

“They’re throwing up dust, right?” he said, nodding to a tractor plowing out in a field along Bank Street Road. “So one of the primary principles that we’re going to have is that we’re not going to till the ground. There’s going to be cover on the ground at all times. So there is such a thing as no-till planting, where you have what they'll call a drill.

“It's not really a drill in the sense you think of … it opens the ground enough to create a trench, and then you drop the seeds in the trench,” he said. “But you do that even with the covering on top of the ground.”

And what's the advantage of that?
“You're not losing soil, and the soil is really a living mechanism, so all the root structure, enzymes, bacteria, earthworms, and other kinds of bugs live under the soil. And when you're doing this, what we call monoculture, single crop, you have to spray to control weeds,” Goodfellow said. “You have to put chemical fertilizers into replenish what's been taken out of the soil before. And instead, what we're going to do is replenish by using cover crops constantly.”

There will be a cover crop, such as low-lying cold grasses, flowers or squash, planted on top of those.

“So you’re always building up your soil to keep the organic material down in the soil,” he said. “So if you have dry spells, having all that organic matter below that moisture is going to feed the growth. And there’s all kinds of things that take place, where the root system that develops underneath the ground, amongst all those different types of cover crops, is going to help bring the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium levels in the soil up so you don’t require chemical fertilizers. That’s why they have to use fertilizer, because there’s nothing regenerating the soil.

“That’s our whole plan to regenerate the soil, put more back into the soil, and the cycle then will come down to adding animals to it as well,” he said. “Because the animals will forage on the cover crop, then leave the manure on the field, and that will be dissipated through other techniques that will spread, get down into the soil system, and move all around so it’s shared into large sections.”

Completing the plan
They’re thinking of adding chickens, cows and pigs to the system as the primary three additions. Following a farmer from North Dakota who has hardy stock that can weather most climates, Goodfellow believes these animals can thrive outdoors without a barn if they are the appropriate breeds for the Western New York climate.

Everything seems to fall in line with this system, as the cows and pigs eat the cover crops and deposit manure, the chickens scratch at the manure for the larvae left by flies, and the manure breaks down into fertilizer for the soil, Goodfellow said.

Harvested crops may be sold to those who can afford them, or distributed through the church’s food pantry. Remainders that can be kept, such as winter squash, beets, onions, or potatoes, will be stored in an adjacent 50-by-50 warehouse on the premises along with FoodLink supplies and massive toy collections for Christmas giveaways.

They recognize the need for “lots of equipment” for this objective, so another 30-by-50 maintenance room will be handy for upkeep and repairs.

Goodfellow has organized teams of about 30 volunteers so far, intending to have a garden by the end of this summer. He said hives of bees should also contribute to the pollination effort. For everything he learned from his elders, he now must take a different path.

“My grandfather, my mother, myself, we were all raised on the monoculture, industrial type farming, even if it was a truck farmer, he planted in rows, he planted on bare ground. He tilled the ground with plows and discs, etc.,” he said. “And so I'm in the process of unlearning everything I knew about agriculture and relearning new ways, new techniques, new reasons why. That's really where we are right now at the present time. And now we’re going to try out some of the stuff we’ve learned.”

He said people who farm this way end up with higher yields for their crops than the average in their area versus the traditional crop. The more he learns, the more “it makes so much sense” and is consistent with “God's thinking.”

“That you would be replenishing, regenerating all the time, instead of just getting rid of the weeds,” he said.

Follow The Batavian for periodic updates on this project.

The food pantry is open 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays, 1 to 3 p.m. Fridays and 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Sundays at the church, 8020 Bank Street Road.

The Kentucky Derby proved to be solid business for Batavia Downs on Saturday, with increases in revenue and attendances, said Ryan Hasenauer, vp of business development for WROTB.

More than a thousand people visited the Park Place event center over the course of the day, and more than 250 attended the Derby Gala in the Clubhouse.

Press Release:

As we go about our daily lives, it's easy to overlook the importance of crosswalk safety. However, the reality is that pedestrian-vehicle collisions can have devastating consequences. The Batavia Police Department wants to remind everyone that crosswalk safety is a shared responsibility between pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists. 

Pedestrians: When crossing any street, make sure to: 

• Follow traffic signals and pedestrian signs when present
• Make eye contact with drivers before crossing
• Stay alert and avoid distractions like using your phone
• Use marked crosswalks, especially at intersections and designated areas 

Drivers: When approaching crosswalks, remember to: 

• Slow down and be prepared to stop
• Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
• Avoid distractions like using your phone while driving
• Be cautious when turning at intersections 

Cyclists: When approaching crosswalks, remember to:

• Follow the same traffic laws as motorists
• Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks Use designated bike lanes and paths
• Be visible and alert to surrounding traffic 

By working together, we can reduce the risk of accidents and ensure a safer community for everyone. Remember, crosswalk safety is a shared responsibility, and every individual plays a crucial role in preventing pedestrian-vehicle collisions. 

Stay safe, Batavia!

Press Release:

As a young person, the internet is an amazing tool that can connect you with friends, family, and a world of information. However, it's essential to remember that the online world can also pose risks to your safety and privacy. 

Here are some important tips to help you stay safe online: 

Be cautious with personal information: Never share your name, address, phone number, or passwords with strangers online. This information is private and should only be shared with people you trust. 

Think before you post: Remember that anything you post online can be seen by others, including friends, family, and even strangers. Be careful what you share, and avoid posting anything that could put you or others at risk. 

Be kind online: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Be respectful and kind in your online interactions, and avoid engaging in cyberbullying or mean behavior. 

Verify information: Not everything you read online is true. Be cautious of fake news and misinformation, and verify information through trusted sources before sharing it. 

Tell a trusted adult: If you encounter something online that makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, tell a trusted adult, such as a parent, teacher, or counselor. They can help you navigate the situation and keep you safe. 

By following these simple tips, you can help protect yourself and others from online risks and have a safe and enjoyable online experience. 

Remember, online safety is everyone's responsibility. Let's work together to create a safe and respectful online community! 

If you or someone you know is experiencing online harassment or exploitation, report it to a trusted adult or authority figure. You can also reach out to organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) or the CyberTipline for help and support. 

Stay safe online, and let's make the internet a better place for everyone!

Press Release:

The Genesee County Master Gardeners will be hosting their annual Spring Garden Gala on Saturday, May 17, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. The annual event will be held on the grounds of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, 420 East Main Street, Batavia.

This annual plant sale features a variety of perennials, many of which are from the gardens of Master Gardeners. There will also be a selection of house plants. The plant sale starts promptly at 10 a.m. No early birds, please.

Visit the Basket Auction for a variety of themed baskets. The Basket Auction runs from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Winners will be notified on Monday after the Gala. Gently used garden books will also be for sale.

Check out our garden shed sale! We’ll have an assortment of gently used or maybe never used gardening items such as containers, tools, signs, and garden decor. This will be set up in the parking lot area near the garden shed.

Bring in a soil sample from your garden or lawn for a free pH test. (A half-cup sample of your garden soil in a clean plastic container is plenty.) Master Gardeners will also be available to answer your gardening questions.

Don’t miss your chance to pick up some great plants at great prices. Arrive at 10 a.m. for the best plant selection. Proceeds from the sale benefit the educational outreach of the Genesee County Master Gardener Program.

For more information contact Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, 585-343-3040, ext. 101, or stop by the Extension office at 420 East Main Street in Batavia. Visit our website at: http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/events for more information. Like us on our Facebook page for Gala and Master Gardener program updates: https://www.facebook.com/CCEofGenesee. 

Batavia High School hosted its annual track and field invitation at Van Detta Stadium on Saturday, and 28 schools from throughout the region participated.

The Blue Devils won the meet in both Boys and Girls divisions.

Top three for the Girls:

• Batavia, 133 points
• Niagara-Wheatfield, 89
• Webster Schroeder, 66

Top three for the Boys:

• Batavia, 107 points
• Niagara-Wheatfield, 85
• Kenmore, 82

For full results, click here.

Top performances for the Batavia girls:

• Karizma Wescott won the 100m (12.57), won the 200m(26.05), and was on the winning 4x100m (49.50) and winning 4x400m (4:12.56) relays!!
• Ella Shamp won the Long Jump with 17' 7" and won the High Jump with 4' 10" and was also on the winning 4x100m relay.
• Adi O'Donnell was on the winning 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay, and placed 2nd in the 200m (26.58)
• Campbell Riley placed 2nd in the 400m (61.43), 2nd in the 800m (2:26.43), was on the 4x800m team that placed 2nd (9:57.08) and anchored the winning 4x400m relay team
• The relays mentioned above are 4x100m (Ady O'Donnell, Nevaeh Thomas, Ella Shamp, Karizma Wescott)  4x400m (Ava Anderson, Ady O'Donnell, Karizma Wescott, Campbell Riley), 4x800 (Mallory Boyce, Amelia Tripp, Jenna Higgins, Campbell Riley)
• Batavia also won the freshman-sophomore sprint medley relay (Mallory Boyce, Natalie Battaglia, Nevaeh Thomas, Sophia Lawrence) with a time of 4:40.15.
• Mady Smith placed 2nd in the 100m Hurdles (15.24)
• Ava Wierda placed 2nd in the shot put (33' 9.5")

• Sheldon Siverling won both the shot put(58'8") and the discus (170'1").
• Karvel Martino 2nd shot (53'9") and 3rd in the discus (134'2").
• Cameron Garofalo won the 1600m (4:30.23), placed 4th in the 800m (204.89), was on the 4x800m relay team that placed 2nd (8:23.19) with teammates En'hazje Carter, Grant Gahagan, and Jamari Irvin.
• Justin Smith won the high jump (6'2"), Grant Gahagan placed 2nd in the high jump (5'10")
• Isaic Varland won the 200m (23.46)
• Greyson Betances placed 2nd in the pole vault (10'6")
• The freshman-sophomore sprint medley team, consisting of Enhazje Carter, Jamere Reeves, Greyson Betances, and Keagan Calmes placed 2nd (4:00.25)

Genesee Community College hosted its 44th Annual Fashion Show on Saturday in the Richard C. Call Arena.

Presented by GCC’s Fashion Business Program, Masterpiece Unfolding, offers students an opportunity showcase their creativity, talent, and innovative spirit. 

This year's show drew its inspiration from the world of fine art with each scene interpreting the elements and spirit of a specific art movement through fashion.

Photos courtesy Genesee Community College

Press Release:

Tops Friendly Markets has promoted Stanley Alexander to the position of Grocery General Manager. He previously held the title of Grocery Supervisor, a role he held for four and a half years.

In his new role, Stanley will be responsible for all grocery department functions, including shipping, receiving, auditing, safety, sanitation and KPI metrics. He joined Tops in 2020 as a Grocery Supervisor.

Stanley resides in Batavia with his wife Katie and their five children.

Press Release:

Beginning in October of this 24/25 school year, St. Paul Lutheran School, has had the privilege of partnering with Genesee Community College (GCC) Physical Education Department. G.C.C. students have worked with the St. Paul students to provide instruction for the Kindergarten through 6th Grades. 

The freshman and sophomore students, under the direction of the Director/Professor of the Health and Physical Education Department, Rebecca Dzieken, and Krystal Forsyth, Instructor, Health and Physical Education Department, have planned the curriculum for the year. 

Throughout the year they led classes in soccer, basketball, team building games, volleyball and exercise
fundamentals. On Friday, May 2 they planned to lead the St. Paul students through the experience of a Field Day. The G.C.C. students had planned six different stations that will challenge the St. Paul students. 

The G.C.C. students include Evan Frier, Cayden Lilleby, Cody Costello, Aaron Birkby, Ryan Winters, Saunders Mireault and Michael Hayes. The G.C.C. Physical Education class have done an amazing job interacting with the St. Paul students.

Submitted photos.

Press release:

Veteran Buffalo sportscaster Paul Peck, a familiar face to the bowling community through his commentator role on the Beat the Champ television show, will be the guest speaker at the Genesee Region USBC Annual Banquet on May 10 at Batavia Downs Gaming.

The buffet dinner gets underway at 6 p.m. at the Genesee Banquet Room on the second floor of the Park Road facility.

Strikes and Spares. Touchdowns and Sacks. Slam Dunks and Three Pointers. They’ve all been a part of Peck’s 36 years in front of the camera.

For the last 25 years, he’s called University at Buffalo football and basketball on radio and TV as the “Voice of the Bulls.” In 2024, he reached a significant milestone, calling his 300th UB football game on the Bulls Radio Network.

Last fall, Peck joined Buffalo Bowling Hall of Famer Sue Nawojski in the revival of the long-running Beat the Champ bowling competition show. The show just finished recording its debut season on the MSG Network, with a second season coming in the fall of 2025.

For this past Buffalo Bills season, Peck was a part of ESPN Radio’s national coverage as sideline reporter for the broadcasts from Highmark Stadium.

He previously served as sports anchor, reporter, and producer at WIVB-TV (CBS) for 24 years. In that role, he covered all four Buffalo Bills Super Bowls, the Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup Finals, the NCAA Basketball Tournament and the Daytona 500.

For 10 years, he served as the radio sideline reporter and host for the Buffalo Bills Football Network. Peck also has been the Master of Ceremonies for the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, one of the largest sports banquets in Western New York.

The GRUSBC previously announced that Scott Culp of Honeoye Falls and Darwin “Auggie” Dale of Piffard will be inducted into the association’s Hall of Fame.

Tickets for the dinner are $40 per person. Reservations close on Saturday (May 3). To purchase a ticket, email mikep@bowlgr.com or calling 585-861-0404. For more information, go to www.bowlgr.com.

Press release:

As of May 3, 2025, Route 5 between Kelsey Road and Lewiston Road (Route 63) is reopened to public travel, and the surrounding area is considered safe. However, an investigation into the fire remains ongoing, and crews will continue work at the site in the days ahead.

Operations at the Genesee County Jail and Animal Shelter have returned to normal, and County Building Two will reopen to the public on Monday.

The Genesee County Office of Emergency Management sincerely thanks the community for their cooperation and patience, and extends deep appreciation to the fire departments, emergency responders, and law enforcement agencies involved in the response.

Protesters came with signs and bullhorns to the Buffalo Detention Facility on Friday evening in a hastily organized demonstration to raise their voices against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The protest was called, said Gabrilla Szpunt, an organization coordinator for the United Farm Workers, after 14 migrant workers the union claims to represent were picked up en masse early Friday morning by agents of ICE.

All 14 were on a bus owned by Lynn-Ette & Sons Farms in Kent, where they worked, Szpunt said.

"They were on their way to work," said Szpunt. These are workers we've been organizing with for at least a year. An entire family was picked up in this raid, and other workers have been here for decades, some for several years. We're here to support them and let them know they're not alone in this process."

She said the union doesn't inquire about the legal status of migrants they organize with, but given the longevity of several of the workers, they likely had visas to work in the U.S., though she couldn't say with certainty that they all were documented.

Szpunt said the UFW is in the process of securing legal counsel for the farm workers.

The protesters chanted a revolving set of messages, many of them demanding an end to deportation and for the protection of workers, but a few of them were laced with profanity, such as "eff ICE" and "eff Fasicist America." 

When asked about the tone of some of the chants, Szpunt said she understood the concern, but she wasn't there to censor what the people who participated wanted to chant. 

Asked what message the UFW wanted to send, she said, "Our message is that we believe these workers have been here for decades. They deserve to a process if they're going to be facing these kinds of immigration proceedings. That hasn't been the case under the Trump administration. People with green cards have been picked up, citizens have been picked up and detained, and disappeared."

At one point during the protest, a stream of cars exited the detention facility. A passenger in one car held a mobile phone in one hand, apparently shooting video as the car drove past, while simultaneously extending the middle finger on his other hand.

According to the UFW website, the UFW has been involved in disputes with Lynn-Ette farms. The union filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the farm for allegedly requiring a UFW representative to leave the farm while meeting with workers. The Public Employees Relations Board in October required Lynn-Ette Farms and two other farms to engage in binding arbitration with the union, according to the UFW website.

Photos by Howard Owens

Press release:

Batavia topped Spencerport on Friday night, which was senior night, 24-6.  

Senior quarterback Jaimin Macdonald had a big night with 95 yards and two touchdowns on 8 of 16 passing.  Macdonald connected with senior wide receiver Alyssa Turner for touchdowns of 16 and 17 yards in the second half.  Macdonald also rushed for 36 yards and a score on six carries.  Turner finished the night with five receptions for 64 yards.  

Senior running back Kylee Brennan led the team in rushing with 44 yards and a TD on five carries, while sophomore receiver Leilah Manuel chipped in 4 catches for 31 yards.

The Batavia defense kept the pressure on all night, forcing three turnovers and keeping Spencerport off the scoreboard until the game's final two minutes. 

Alyssa Turner returned an interception deep into Spencerport territory to set up Batavia's first TD.  Kylee Brennan led the team with 10 flag pulls (2 for loss) and an interception off a tipped ball by Jaimin Macdonald.  Macdonald registered eight flag pulls (2 for loss) and an interception of her own.  Leilah Manuel secured five flag pulls, and senior Nicole Doeringer added 4.  

Batavia moves to 4-3 with the win and will face Gates-Chili on the road on Monday.

Photos by Mike Ognibene.