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Press release:

Batavia-based Graham Corp. -- a designer and manufacturer of critical equipment for the oil refining, petrochemical and power industries, including the supply of components and raw materials to nuclear energy facilities -- announced this week that it has been awarded $9.5 million in orders for nuclear energy facilities and an oil sands upgrader.

The two orders received from Westinghouse Electric Company were awarded to Graham’s wholly owned subsidiary Energy Steel, which will supply structural supports and assemblies for two nuclear power plant sites in the Southeastern United States where four AP1000^® pressurized water reactor units are under construction. The equipment is planned to be delivered throughout fiscal years 2013, 2014 and 2015.

The second order is for replacement parts for an ejector system originally supplied by Graham that is operating at an oil sands upgrader in Alberta, Canada. The parts are planned to be delivered in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013.

James R. Lines, Graham’s president and chief executive officer, commented, “We believe that our attention to detail, the high quality of our products, our engaged and responsive customer service and our demonstrated capability to execute complex orders were all critical in our selection as a Westinghouse AP1000 supplier. We consider the orders awarded to us over the last two quarters for the new nuclear energy facilities under construction in the Southeastern United States to be an affirmation both of our reputation for consistently delivering high quality products as well as our exceptional customer service.

“We believe our recent order activity is a solid indication that customers are becoming more likely to place orders. Bidding activity continues to be strong, and although we cannot predict when such activity will convert to orders, we have become more optimistic in the recovery of our markets.”

Press release:

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a nine-day familiarization tour of China Oct. 22-30.

This is your chance to cross off a few items from your secret bucket list! Walk across the Great Wall of China and Tian An Men Square. Visit the seven story leaning Yan yan Pagoda at Tiger Hill, which pre-dates the leaning tower of Pisa. Take a walk along the famous Bund Area in Shanghai.

Similar to our successful yearly trips since 2007, the chamber is offering the community the unique opportunity to travel to China for the low price of $2,199. Price includes air fare (from JFK), bus to/from JFK, hotel stays, three meals a day, bus tours (with guides), admission to tourist spots, and airport taxes throughout the trip.

Of professional interest, this trip will present opportunities to learn a great deal about how the Chinese business system operates. The chamber believes this trip to be an exceptional value.

For more details, call Melissa at the chamber at 343-7440, ext. 27, and sign up to attend the informational meeting. It will be held at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, April 19 at the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, located at 210 E. Main St. in the City of Batavia.

Details on the trip can also be found at www.geneseeny.com/china

Press release:

Old-fashioned treasure hunting goes high-tech with geocaching! Adventure seekers of all ages are welcome to test their skills, learn how to use high-tech tools to search for clues, and enjoy the outdoors while on a treasure hunt with Genesee Community College's Geocaching Program.

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunt using hand-held GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of latitude and longitude coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache container hidden at that location. Containers store items such as a log book, and usually a surprise or two to make the challenge more exciting.

GCC is offering two beginner classes for those looking to start this stimulating hobby, and an advanced class for those who've already experienced the thrill of the hunt.

Geocaching 101 will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 14, and again from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15.

The half-day introductory program will start with a brief overview of what geocaching is and how it works, and then participants will use GPS units to find a geocache hidden on the grounds of the Batavia campus. Participants should wear clothing and footwear suitable for a walk in the woods.

Registration for these introductory classes can be done online: http://www.genesee.edu/best/courses/getCourseInfo/?CourseID=575. Each class is $15 and includes the use of a GPS unit (or you can bring your own!).

Advanced "cachers" can register for the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. class on Saturday, July 14, by visiting this website: http://www.genesee.edu/best/courses/getCourseInfo/?CourseID=576. The cost for the advanced class is $18.

Experienced cachers who register for the advanced class will learn about management tools, queries, the relatives of geocaching and then take part in a field trip to a local park to hunt for various types of caches. They will be joined by other veteran geocachers, including Elizabeth Downie, from GCC's Math, Science and Career Education division, who teaches the geocaching classes.

Downie, who uses the ID 'authorized users', and other veterans -- Sabrefan7, ElbaPatch, HFJohn and BarbershopDru -- will share their secrets and caching insights with participants. Well-known local cacher GadgetCHC, who has logged more than 16,000 finds, will also be attending the field trip!

"Geocaching is more than just running into the woods to find a container," Downie said. "Geocaching involves knowledge, skill, planning, research, challenges and persistence. You need to employ your brain and five senses while searching and you have to be respectful of your surroundings."

The classes are among those offered through The BEST Center's Leisure Learning Program. For further information or to register, call The BEST Center at 345-6868 or visit: www.bestcenter.org.

Press release:

GO ART!’s popular Salon Series returns this month through May with three programs in Genesee County, all featuring “Rising Stars” --  young artists in our communities. All GO ART! Salons are casual and fun, and each includes a themed menu, presentation from our artists, and time for socializing and discussion.

The line-up includes the following programs taking place at GO ART!, Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St. in Batavia (reservations are required):

The Forum Players: "God’s Favorite"
5 p.m. -- Saturday, March 31
Salon requested contribution: $23/members, $26/non-members

For this first salon in our series, the reservation includes the dinner / program at GO ART! AND a ticket to the 7:30 p.m. performance at Genesee Community College. To start the evening, Maryanne Arena, Forum Players’ advisor and GCC director of Fine & Performing Arts, will share informative and entertaining insights into the Neil Simon play “God’s Favorite,” which will be performed that evening.

Forum Players, a co-curricular theatrical organization, is an integral part of the Theatre Program at Genesee. All theatrical productions at the college are coordinated by the Forum Players and theater majors are encouraged to become members; however, it is open to all GCC students.

In recent years, the Forum Players have presented the adventurous play "Peter Pan" and the musical "Chicago" to sell-out crowds and rave reviews. In late 2009, the Genesee Center for the Arts at Genesee Community College Forum Players performance of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf,” was a featured show at the Theater Association of New York State Festival (TANYS). It won three awards: Best Long Production, Best Choreography and Best Performance.

Menu: Fajita Bar! Strips of salmon, chicken and beef with all the toppings to make the perfect fajita or salad; bread pudding with caramel sauce.

Vocalist: Emily Tworek-Helenbrook
6 p.m. -- Thursday, April 26
Salon requested contribution: $21/members, $23/non-members

Join us for a night of international food and song! An accomplished vocalist, performer and photographer at the age of 17, Emily Tworek-Helenbrook, of Alexander, is a lyric coloratura soprano who has performed all over New York and Canada since she was 11. She has been described as a "vocal prodigy" with a "crystalline" and "hauntingly beautiful" voice. A live pianist will accompany Emily as she delights us with international-themed pieces, performing songs from France, Italy, Poland, Russia and the United States.

Ms. Tworek-Helenbrook has won the American Prize Vocal Competition in both the Opera and Art Song categories. She was a second-place winner in the Barry Alexander International Voice Competition in 2010, and in 2011 she took first place at the prestigious competition, resulting in a debut at Carnegie Hall in January 2011. She is a two time first-place winner of the Polish Heritage Society Competition. Emily won first place at the Classical Singer Competitions held at Mannes School of Music and Boston Conservatory, was a finalist in the prestigious Rochester Oratorio Competition, and has received numerous other awards.

Menu: French onion soup with baked cheese, antipasti salad, crusty rolls, cheese & potato-filled pierogi, chrusciki & hot fudge sundaes.

Chef de Cuisine: Michael Zambito
6 p.m. -- Wednesday, May 23
Salon requested contribution: $22/members, $24/non-members

A rare and wonderful treat for Batavia...the famed cuisine of Michael Zambito, owner and head chef of Zambistro in Medina, right in our backyard. Chef Zambito shares his culinary arts skills as well as his evolution as a chef, starting with a childhood spent in his nana’s kitchen. He attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York City after high school, during which time he interned at Chefs d’France in Epcot Center.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute, Chef Zambito returned to his hometown of Medina. His 50-seat bistro, Zambistro, was founded Dec. 1, 2006 to lead the way in a local culinary revolution, featuring Zambito’s unique blend of seasonal flavors and bold ingredients to create his spin on upscale comfort food. He is also executive chef for The Bistro at Shelridge (Country Club) in Medina, and has developed Zambistro Catering as part of his business model. GO ART! is proud to announce that Zambistro is now one of the official Preferred Caterers for events at GO ART!, Seymour Place.

Menu: Amuse-bouche -- Grilled & chilled shrimp cocktail, toasted barley salad, roasted tomato gazpacho; main course -- pan-seared free-range chicken breast, summer salad of romaine hearts, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, croutons, pesto vinaigrette; dessert -- table-side presentation of espresso crème brûlée.

Each salon has a separate requested contribution, listed above, or enjoy the series of three at the discounted rate of $55 for members and $60 for non-members.

Reservations are required and can be made by phone at 343-9313, email at info@GOart.org, or by stopping in to GO ART!, Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St. in Batavia (open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays). Reservations may also be made online at www.goart.org <http://www.goart.org> under “Events.”

The 2012 Salon Series is sponsored by The Bank of Castile.

This is from reader Samantha Pangrazio:

The Oakfield Community Earth Day Clean-Up will host its third annual event April 21. This is an event where members of the community gather together to clear the roadsides of debris that is not only unsightly, but harmful to our environment.

This year, I am interested in making the event more appealing to all residents, especially school-aged kids and teenagers. One way to accomplish this is by supplying each participant with a complementary T-shirt and also by creating contests that would reward the winner of each category with a small donation from local businesses.

If you would like to help us out, please contact Samantha Pangrazio at <sjpangrazio94@hotmail.com>.

The Oakfield Community Earth Day Clean-Up is an opportunity for residents who, like me, have a deep-seated love and appreciation for our beautiful town and village.

Our first annual Oakfield Community Earth Day Clean-Up occurred two years ago on April 24, 2010. This was something that I decided to create because of the wonderful volunteering opportunity that it created for individuals and also because of the increasing amount of people who have become oblivious to the damaging effects that trash is creating in our communities. 

Due to the total number of participants who pitched in these past two years and the beautiful results that occurred, I would like to continue this experience for individuals interested in keeping our environment healthy.

Thank you.

Press release:

Olmsted Center for Sight in Buffalo is now in collaboration with Batavia-based Regional Action Phone, Inc. (RAP), a 24-hour information and referral, and crisis intervention helpline.

This relationship expands Olmsted Center for Sight’s contact center services into a 24-hour operation serving the eight counties of Western New York including 2-1-1 WNY.

The Olmsted Center serves the needs of blind and visually impaired individuals of all ages who reside in Western New York. It's the only organization within that region specifically mandated to provide comprehensive rehabilitation, health-related and human services to this highly specialized population.

Olmsted’s mission is to assist individuals with blindness or visual impairments to achieve their highest possible level of independence in their homes, community and workplace. It has served the community for more than 100 years and current programs include a respected vision clinic; rehabilitation services; an early education preschool; specialized housing properties; light manufacturing; and the Statler Center which is a vocational training program.

Additional services include switchboard operations for regional VA hospitals and an established contact center, which is enhanced by the addition of RAP.

RAP was formed in 1972 by a dedicated group of volunteers and has grown substantially in terms of services, regional coverage and call volume. Their crisis helplines also include MICA services (Mentally Ill and Chemically Addicted) and a Tip Line (set up to report underage drinking) for concerned citizens. RAP currently employs seven professional agents and has access to more than 150 languages and dialects, as well as TTY service for the deaf community.

Dr. Ronald Maier, president of Olmstead Center, said the collaboration strengthens employment opportunities in Olmsted’s call center program while bringing even greater service to the community. He also noted the timeliness of the action as RAP celebrates its 40th anniversary.

By month's end, the social networking site Facebook will require businesses to convert their pages to the new "Timeline" format. Genesee Community College has already made the switch, with some interesting highlights from the school's history.

In addition to the current college news and activities visitors have come to expect, the new Timeline format offers a look back at some of the unusual and noteworthy events that helped shaped the institution since its founding in 1966.

With a click on the decade links on the right side of the page, visitors are taken back in time to read about events such as the 1974 concert by current mega-band Aerosmith, when students could see the show for just $1, or check out pictures of the college's original Batavia campus at the site of the former Valu Discount Store on West Main Street.

"The new Timeline format provides us with the opportunity to tell the college's story in a very visual and interactive format," said Kevin Manne, GCC's new media specialist. "Thanks to the Genesee Community College Archives, we were able to take some key moments from GCC's rich 45-plus year history out of a room in the Alfred C. O'Connell Library and share it with the world."

Other noteworthy events on the Timeline include the iconic Batavia Campus clock tower being installed with cranes in 2001, construction of the College Road campus in 1972 and all the campus center openings starting in the 1990s.

Alumni, faculty, staff, students and the community are encouraged to share their photos from past GCC events on the page to be included as a part of its Timeline.

To view it and share your memories, visit http://www.facebook.com/GeneseeCommunityCollege and click the "Like" button at the top of the page. You'll also receive college news, events, photos and videos right in your Facebook news feed.

There will be an Open House at all seven campuses of Genesee Community College beginning at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21.

For door-to-door directions go to Albion, Arcade, Batavia, Dansville, Lima, Medina or Warsaw go online to:  http://www.genesee.edu/about/visit/maps.cfm

Learn more about the exciting opportunities offered by GCC and about the admissions and financial aid processes, and tour College Village adjacent to the Batavia campus.

Get all your questions about GCC answered, including information on the services available for students, the wide range of academic and athletic programs, and what life is like on campus for both commuters and residents.

To pre-register, visit http://www.genesee.edu/depts/admissions/visit/openhouse/

You can also sign-up for College Visit days, which are informal visits to tour the Batavia campus, get information on how to apply for admission and for financial aid, and sit in on a class! The next chance to do that is at 9 a.m. Friday, March 30.

For more information, call 345-6800 or write to: Admissions@genesee.edu.

The Richmond Memorial Library Children’s Room invites you to celebrate being a girl with our American Girl programs in April.

At 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 14: A day in the life of Josefina -- learn all about American Girl Josefina with our special presenter Teresa Wood. She will bring in a dollhouse representing the time and setting in which Josefina lived.

Ages 6 and up are welcomed to attend. Registration is required.

And at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 21: Crafty Girls -- Create an American Girl spring craft for your hair. Ages 7 and up are welcomed to attend. Registration is required.

Please be sure to register early by calling 343-9550, ext. 4.

A diverse catalog of art projects produced by Genesee Community College Fine Arts students will be on display in the Roz Steiner Art Gallery later this month.

The display reflects coursework from painting, drawing, photography, ceramics and 2D and 3D design classes.

The exhibition runs from March 22 through April 26, with two artists' receptions to welcome the public to view the works. The opening reception is at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, with a second community reception set from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 30. Many of the student artists will be present and refreshments will be served at both events.

"Teaching students how to both make and display artwork is an integral part of our mission here at GCC," says Shirley Verrico, gallery director and GCC instructor. "We are fortunate to be able to do so in a state-of-the-art gallery."

Among the projects are hand-built and wheel-thrown ceramics pieces that Fine Arts and Ceramics assistant professor Maureen "Moi" Dugan describes as a mix of various methods and approaches.

"It's awesome to see a non-art major blossom in the studio," Dugan said. "They may be hesitant when they start the class, but have a fine body of work when they leave!"

The drawings and paintings run the gamut from Impressionist to finely detailed drawings and the three-dimensional pieces focus on structural works using foam cores, mixed media and "found objects."

Fine arts and photography instructor Andrew Super says the black and white photos in the exhibit express a great range of interests and backgrounds of GCC students. Most of the photos presented are from independent projects where students are asked to look at the world around them and respond to their environment via the camera. The result is an eclectic mix of images, ranging from narratives to abstract expressions of the everyday world.