Police officers have been dispatched to Veterans Memorial Drive in order to locate a shoplifting suspect who is accused of stealing more than $2,000 in merchandise from Target, including a $500 scooter.

The suspect is on foot and described is wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, and a grey baseball cap.  He's headed toward the Thruway.

He was last seen behind Sally Beauty.

UPDATE 12:47 p.m.: The suspect apparently got into a Black SUV, silver trim, newer model, and the caller didn't see direction of travel, but a patrol officer reports, "We're lighting him up on Route 98 heading toward the hotels."

UPDATE 12:49 p.m.: The suspect will be in the passenger seat, a dispatcher informs the officer.

UPDATE 12:55 p.m.: The suspect apparently left the cart and merchandise in the parking lot. Target loss prevention has secured the shopping cart and will be awaiting law enforcement in the store.

Press Release:

Camp Hard Hat, a week-long day camp that provides local students ages 12-15 the opportunity to learn and participate in community-based construction projects has expanded from two to seven locations for the 2023 summer and has space available at each location in Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston, and Monroe counties.

As a result of the success of the program over the past decade, 400 students have participated have completed over 10,000 hours of training and learning, organizers decided to expand into Monroe and Livingston Counties and are already working on expanding to even more locations throughout the Western New York region for 2024.

Camp Hard Hat is a collaboration between the Genesee County Business Education Alliance (BEA) and Livingston Associates, a business consulting firm that offers a unique range of specialized business infrastructure solutions. Courses are taught by BOCES Building Trades instructors and past Camp Hard Hat graduates. 

Campers are taught the principles of design and construction, project safety, and the power of teamwork. These skills and hands-on construction practice will propel the campers into future careers. 

“Livingston Associates is an active partner in construction-related workforce opportunities throughout our community and Genesee and Wyoming County officials have built an effective youth workforce model that others want to be a part of,” said Anthony DiTucci President and CEO of Livingston Associates. “Camp Hard Hat provides an opportunity for area youth to learn about the many career path opportunities available in the construction and skilled trades industry.”

The camps run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. daily on the following dates and locations:

• July 10 – 14 at the Wyoming County BEC at Perry Park (Warsaw, NY)
• July 17 – 21 at the Lollypop Farm (Fairport, NY)
• July 24 – 28 at the Genesee Country Village and Museum (Mumford, NY)
• July 31 – August 4 at Genesee County Park (East Bethany, NY)
• August 7 – 11 at Monroe Community College FWD Center (Rochester, NY)
• August 14 – 18 at Monroe 2 BOCES (Spencerport, NY)
• August 21 – 25 at Rochester Rotary Sunshine Camp (Rush, NY)

The program was originally created by the Genesee County Business Education Alliance in 2013. 

“Our goal as workforce leaders is to introduce students to as many careers and workforce opportunities that they may not even be aware of as a majority of the skills offered through Camp Hard Hat are not available within our local school districts,” said Genesee County BEA Director Karyn Winters.

“Not only are we providing students career exploration opportunities, but also instilling practical life skills that they will take with them whether or not they decide to take on a career in construction or skilled trades.”

Sponsorships opportunities are still available for Camp Hard Hat, which help cover the cost of tools, equipment, instructors, transportation, lunch, and full camp scholarships for individuals that qualify.

There are sponsorship opportunities for the Toolbox ($5,000), Toolbelt ($2,500), Hammer ($1,000) Saw ($500), Flashlight ($250), and Nail ($100) levels. Businesses and individuals may also sponsor a camper.

Registration is open for all seven locations and is offered at $95/camper with full scholarships available to low-to-moderate families that qualify. Visit https://www.camphardhat.org/about-1-1 to learn more or register today!

UPS workers in Batavia gathered outside the company's Batavia location at 7 Apollo Drive on Thursday morning to demonstrate their willingness to go on strike if, in their view, working conditions don't improve.

Jeremy Pietrazykowski, VP of Teamsters Local 180, said the short picket this morning both served the purpose of sending a message to the leadership at the company and also preparing workers for picketing if a strike becomes necessary.

Wednesday, he said, talks between the union and UPS broke down.

"It's about the last 25 years in a nutshell," Pietrazykowski said. "It comes down to the excessive overtime, the forced working extra days. It's about how you're treated as an employee. It goes well above and beyond the monetary value at this point. It's your time away from work, the valuable time that we have. 

"In today's world is not just about working 20 hours a day. It's about coming to work, doing a great job, and then going home and spending time with the ones you love. So that's the most precious time. You can't put a price on your free time. And that's what the company doesn't understand. And they fail to understand that we're not just machines, or industrial athletes, as they call them. We're human beings with families that we want to spend time with."

This is not yet a work stoppage.  After the short picket, everybody returned to work to make sure customers get their packages on time.

"This is so that we get our act together," Pietrazykowski said, "so that when the time comes, if we are going to strike and make no mistake, everyone is prepared to strike. But we want to prepare our members what to expect on that first day. Right? So we just don't stand up here, and we don't know what we're doing."

Pietrazykowski once worked in the Batavia facility. He's from Batavia. He said he's known the workers in the local UPS crew for 30 years. This is his home, which is one reason he chose to do this first pre-strike picket in Batavia.  He was also traveling to Geneseo today for a similar practice, message-sending picket.

"I love all my members, but you know, I'm from Batavia. I worked here for a long time. I know everybody," Pietrazykowski said. "I always keep them involved."

Photos by Howard Owens.

Press Release:

The Oakfield Betterment Committee will be holding its first Box Car Derby on Saturday, September 2 as part of its annual Labor Daze Festival. We are looking for boys and girls from all of the GLOW region between the ages of 7 to 13 to participate. Register your child at www.oakfieldbetterment.com. For more information call Scott at 716-218-6000.

There will be a Junior Division of 7-10 year-olds and a Senior Division of 11-13 year-olds. We will have 16 openings in each division and spots will be filled on a first come first serve basis. Sign up now as openings are filling fast. The deadline to register is Monday, August 7 and the registration fee is $20 per child.

Family discounts may apply. Registration fees can be paid by cash, check, or Venmo. Checks should be made out to Oakfield Betterment Committee. Official Cars will be provided by Greater Rochester Soap Box Derby Association. Cars will be available 2-3 weeks before the event for participants to customize.

The Greater Rochester Soap Box Derby Association will conduct a clinic for children and adults to ensure a safe race and give the children some basic car-building skills. Participants will be required to install the outer shell and wheels on the chassis. Practice session will be held on Friday, September 1 to ensure a safe event. 

Cars are required to be turned in after the event as they are being leased by the Oakfield Betterment Committee. Trophies will be provided for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and all participants will receive a prize. This should be a good old-fashioned, fun event to be enjoyed by participants and fans alike. A special thanks to the GDEDC and the Rochester & Genesee Valley Workforce Development Institute (WDI) for partnering with us to make this event happen.

Submitted photos

The Batavia Muckdogs continued their recent winning ways and padded their lead in the PGCBL Western Division by dominating their closest division rival, the Jamestown Tarp Skunks, for a 9-2 win at home on Wednesday.

Julian Pichardo, a University of Fort Lauderdale senior and in his third year with the Muckdogs, notched his 100 career strikeout in the game. 

Pichardo got the win (3-0, 1.73) by going 6 2/3 innings, allowing only one run.  

He now has K'd 103 batters in his PGCBL career.

It was also a big night for Josh Leadem. The U of R senior scored his 50th career run in the PGCBL, and with three runs scored in the game, now has 53.  He was 2-4 with two doubles and two stolen bases.

Leadem is hitting .238 on the season but has drawn 11 walks. He has 21 stolen bases, 18 runs scored, 15 hits, seven RBIs, and one of the team's two home runs.

Adam Agresti went 2-3 with a run scored, a double, and two RBIs, along with a walk. Henry Daniels went 2-2 with an RBI.

The Muckdogs are now 17-8 on the season, and the Tarp Skunks fall to 13-8.

The attendance on Wednesday was 1,844.

Tonight (Thursday), the Muckdogs travel to Geneva to face the Red Wings.  They're back home on Friday for a non-league game against Syracuse. Game time is 6:35 p.m.  On Saturday, they face Elmira at home. Game time is 6:35 p.m.

Sometimes the title of being a best-kept secret isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. While it may sound like a clever marketing ploy, it still leaves something to be desired: more knowledge about your establishment.

That’s exactly why interim Executive Director Tom Staebell wants to ditch the soft tagline for Crossroads House. Enough of the comfort care home being Genesee County’s prized little-known service. He wants it known far and wide.

“And so my goal is to make sure that it's not the best-kept secret in the county. So we're really reaching out now to the community, we hired a new volunteer coordinator that's going to be able to get out into the community more,” he said during an interview with The Batavian at the house. “And just getting the word out there is one of our biggest things.”

For an interim, this is perhaps an unusually vocal role of articulately expressed goals and a vision for the Liberty Street site to not only embrace its two residents and their families during their stay but to also, at some point, carry the philosophy of Crossroads into other facilities with an end of life doula program.

After years of placing folks on a waiting list, staff has decided to train prospective doulas that can go to residential and nursing homes to work with people in their final moments of life.

Staebell is a trained doula and Crossroads volunteer, as well as a former board member, which is where he began his journey with the nonprofit. He was amply experienced on the topic of loss, as his wife died in 1994, and then both of his parents, mom Irene in 2017 and then his father Andy in 2020, died at home, requiring additional care.

“It was that caring process that drew me into doing work here,” he said. “You know, this is the philosophy here; everyone should have a good death. And that sounds kind of strange when you say that. But our mission here is that you're living until you take your last breath. And we'll do everything to help support the family and the resident here in making that a good death.

“And that involves all the different areas, like emotional, the social component, physical, you know, pain management is a really important part of our work here. And spiritual, kind of meeting the families and the resident where they're at,” he said. “Some people come in, and they're still in denial, but meeting them at that place, and letting the process develop, and unweave all the intricacies of the death process for them. Education is one of the biggest pieces that we do here.”

As much as staff — which is small due to financial constraints, and volunteers, which are dozens of caring, trained and dedicated community members — do with residents at the house, there’s an overall effort to get the word out about what the organization does and what the philosophy is all about. 

People don’t go to Crossroads House to die; they go there to live out the remaining time they have left with dignity, laughter, tears, oftentimes some type of familial or spiritual closure, and maybe a treat or two from the kitchen.

Within all of Genesee County, there are only three beds available to someone at the end of life, and two of them are at Crossroads House.

“And so, we really want to make sure the word is out there … One of the biggest goals, as you probably know, is that we're self-funding here. We don't get any insurance or health insurance coverage. We don't get any support from the state or federal government. And so all of our funding is through donations, memorials, business appeals or getting community appeals, our fundraising events, and, you know, memorials that people will give to us after the person has died,” he said. “So that's one of our biggest things, and looking at it from my point of view as being the new interim director here is to really make sure that the annual campaign, that we do it really, really well, and, and get out there in the community and let them know we're here and what we need from them.”

Another goal is to make sure that families and residents know that “we’re part of their family,” he said. He cited the example of a woman’s daughter who came from Florida to stay at the house, and Staebell made sure she didn’t feel alone, even though she left her family down south while staying with her mom.

“I told her now you have a family,” he said. “She’s going to be loved, cared for and taken care of.”

Staebell filled the gap left by former director Charlotte Crawford in March, and he has the full backing of the board, President Steven Johnson said. Staebell’s goals are mutually the board’s goals to increase public awareness and education, ramp up the annual campaign and initiate the end-of-life doula program with a newly received grant specifically for that purpose, Johnson said.

“One of the visions we have is that we’ll provide doulas working with Hospice with their training program for families that have no place to go,” Staebell said. “It lets you be the wife, the daughter, (the family member) instead of the caregiver.”

He’s excited to be over the hurdle of the house’s 25th anniversary and looking forward to “another 25 years with a strong strategic plan that will take us into the future by building relationships.” Staebell’s professional relationships have been in education for 33 years before he retired as an elementary principal at the Pembroke, West Seneca and New York City school districts.

He has been a Crossroads House volunteer for seven years, providing resident care and serving as an end-of-life doula and grief peer support facilitator. 

He and husband Mark, live in Pembroke and have five children and nine grandchildren between them. They enjoy the theater, Philharmonic, and sometimes “doing nothing at all.”

For those interested in learning more, there will be a Chamber of Commerce after-hours garden party later this month. It runs from 5 to 7 p.m. July 13 and will include some informal talks from volunteers and staff and a tour of the site at 11 Liberty St., Batavia.

A neat part about this event is that products from local businesses will be served.

“We want to support the businesses that support us,” Staebell said. “It’s a gift to the community made possible by the community.”

For more information about the garden party, end-of-life doula program or Crossroads House, call (585) 343-3892.

Press Release:

Rochester Regional Health (RRH) is pleased to announce a significant update to its COVID-19 vaccine policy. Effective July 7, RRH will no longer require the COVID-19 vaccine for employment, following the repeal of the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) mandate and the recent announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) regarding the end of the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for healthcare workers at CMS-certified healthcare facilities.

As RRH aligns with the NYSDOH's decision to fully repeal the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for healthcare facilities, the organization acknowledges the evolving landscape and the need for flexibility while upholding the safety and well-being of its employees, patients, and community.

"We are excited to share this update regarding our COVID-19 vaccine policy," said Charlene Wilson, Chief Human Resource Officer at Rochester Regional Health. "Our priority has always been the health and safety of our employees, patients, and community. With the NYSDOH's repeal of the vaccine mandate, we believe this change will provide increased choice and autonomy for our dedicated staff."

While the vaccine requirement is being lifted, RRH strongly encourages all employees and community members to consider the benefits of vaccination. Vaccination continues to be an essential tool in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and safeguarding public health. RRH will maintain vaccine availability at its facilities for those who wish to receive it.

Former employees who left RRH due to the NYS Vaccine Mandate are also welcomed back to the organization. They are invited to learn more and apply for open positions by visiting careers.rochesterregional.org.  If they choose to re-apply and accept an offer, RRH will work rapidly to bring them on board.

Press Release:

Haxton Memorial Library had its Summer Reading Kick-Off Carnival on June 29 from 6:30 - 8 p.m. at Triangle Park.

This year’s theme is “All Together Now” and our carnival consisted of kiddie games, face painting, crafts, popcorn, cotton candy, and the Iroquois National Wild Life Refuge had a display including a blow-up Archery Station for the kids.

"This annual library event had a wonderful turnout of over 170 people in attendance and was put together with the help of dedicated staff, board members, patrons, and young volunteers". "We love to offer this program each year to our community to encourage everyone to be a part of our Summer Reading Program, which starts July 3 - Aug 11," said Kim Gibson, Library Manager for the Haxton Memorial Library. "Throughout this 6-week program our readers of all ages can participate in our programs and win prizes and more importantly, read for fun!"

Stop by the library, check out our website (haxtonlibrary.org), or follow Haxton Library on Facebook for more information on what’s happening at the library this summer.

Submitted photos

The owners of a dog that bit two people on June 22 at a residence on South Main Street in Batavia was surrendered by the owners to the Genesee County Animal Shelter, and it has been euthanized.

The attack on a home health care aide and one of its owners was unprovoked, said City Police Chief Shawn Heubusch of the Batavia Police Department.

A mail carrier walking her route that afternoon heard screams from inside the house and intervened. 

"The incident could have been much worse if not for the actions of an uninvolved postal worker that came running to help," said Heubusch in response to an inquiry about the case from The Batavian on Wednesday. "The postal worker heard screaming coming from the residence and ran over to see what was happening and witnessed the dog attacking. The postal worker was able to spray a chemical deterrent on the dog, forcing it to release its bite."

Heubusch said that both victims were treated for their injuries and released. He said both injuries were severe, but he didn't have exact details.

"The healthcare worker had been to the residence once before and, during the previous visit, had not encountered the dog," Heubusch said. "It is the policy of the healthcare worker’s company that any dog be placed into a secure area while the visit is taking place, and this was relayed to the homeowner before the healthcare worker entered the residence. The homeowner acknowledged this regulation but failed to secure the dog."

The chief said there were no prior reports of the dog, named Steve, displaying aggressive behavior.  The owners said Steve, a pitbull mix, was six years old, and they told police of no prior issues. 

"The attack was completely unprovoked as the dog immediately attacked the healthcare worker upon her entering the residence," Heubusch said. "The family did surrender the dog to the Genesee County Animal Shelter with the expectation that it would be euthanized."

Undersheriff Brad Mazur confirmed on Wednesday that the dog was euthanized.

Previously: Mail carrier hailed as hero after stopping vicious dog attack in home on South Main, Batavia

A 60-year-old Oakfield resident died in an ATV accident reported at 6:28 p.m. on Monday, according to State Police.

According to troopers, Michael D. Borkholder was driving a 2008 Cam-Am Outlander Max XT southbound on Maple Road, Town of Alabama, and failed to stop and struck the rear end of another ATV, a 2021 CF Moto ZForcce 950, that was slowing to make a turn into a driveway. 

Borkholder was ejected from his ATV. 

He was transported by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center with severe injuries. He succumbed later that night.

A wide-ranging, cooperative effort is being made at the grassroots level to “HEAL” those afflicted by opioid use disorder and to prevent opioid overdose deaths.

Professionals in the substance use treatment/prevention and mental health fields in Genesee County have been working in conjunction with a research team from Columbia University over the past year to develop and implement evidence-based strategies as part of the HEALing Communities Study.

HEALing refers to Helping to End Addiction Long-term and is the catchphrase of a program launched by the National Institutes of Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The goal is to identify evidence-based programs that are most effective at the local level in preventing and treating opioid use disorder – with a target of reducing opioid-related overdose deaths by 40 percent.

HEALing Genesee is part of the second phase of the HCS, which will run through the spring of 2024. Other counties in this phase include Broome, Chautauqua, Cortland, Monroe, Orange, Sullivan and Yates.

Members of the Columbia University research team, along with officials from the NIH’s Institute on Drug Abuse, came to Batavia last week to meet with the Genesee County Health Department and Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse personnel who have been serving on the county’s implementation team.

“Drug overdose requires a comprehensive approach to first define the breadth of the problem and then to promote harm reduction and evidence-based treatments known to be effective with opioid use disorder,” said Timothy Hunt, PhD, of the Columbia U. School of Social Work, who is the HEALing Communities Study Intervention and Community Engagement Investigative Lead.

“The partnership for the HEALing Communities Study between the Genesee Department of Health and organizations like Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse illustrates a community coming together, even when challenged by the COVID pandemic, to focus on this highly stigmatized public health crisis.”

Hunt applauded the Genesee group for its “commitment to capturing up-to-date data on fatal and non-fatal overdoses thus allowing the community to plan and focus strategies to populations and locations at high risk.”

HEALing Genesee leaders have identified several strategies to reach its goal, including various ways of getting naloxone (brand name Narcan) into as many hands as possible. Naloxone is a medication used to reverse an opioid overdose.

Initiatives include distribution of leave-behind kits by the Batavia City Fire Department, establishing a text-for-naloxone hotline (text KIT to 1-877-535-2461) and placing NaloxBoxes at businesses.

Columbia U. Professor Nabila El-Bassel, HCS principal investigator, said she was impressed with the amount of collaboration in Genesee County.

“The Columbia University team and our funder from the National Institute on Drug Abuse who visited Genesee HCS coalition extend our gratitude for their unwavering commitment to addressing the overdose crisis with a data-driven solutions and improving access to treatment and care for those in need in Genesee,” she said.

“Today, we witnessed the innovation in delivering drug treatment and services with high integrity and responsiveness to community needs.  The success of the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force and HEALing Communities Study is also a testament to the extraordinary power of collaboration that exists.”

Staff from more than a dozen local agencies have collaborated with HEALing Genesee, including professionals from Genesee County Mental Health, Genesee County Department of Social Services, Genesee Justice, VA Medical Center, City of Batavia Fire Department, GCASA, Horizon Health Services, Rochester Regional Health (United Memorial Medical Center, Hope Haven Center and Batavia Primary Care), Oakfield Family Pharmacy, Oak Orchard Health and Lake Plains Community Care Network.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that 2.1 million Americans have opioid use disorder, yet fewer than 20 percent of those receive specialty care in a given year. New York State has one of the highest rates of opioid overdose deaths in the nation, with Genesee County having one of the highest rates of opioid overdose deaths in New York State.

The county’s opioid overdose death rate peaked at more than 36 deaths per 100,000 in 2017 and was still around 22 deaths per 100,000 in 2022. As a result, Genesee was selected as a HEALing Communities location.

Hunt concluded that HEALing Genesee, by virtue of its evidence-based strategies and robust communication campaigns, and with support from agencies such as GCASA, is on the right track.

“Our HCS partner, GCASA, provides needed care along a continuum of readiness, and is a rare accommodation to needed levels of care which include harm reduction, detox, rehabilitation and outpatient care, including much-needed access to methadone and Buprenorphine,” he stated. 

To learn more about the HEALing Communities Study and to help end overdoses in Genesee County, visit:

-- HEALing Communities Study Website: HealTogetherNY.org/Genesee

-- GOW Opioid Taskforce Website: www.gowopioidtaskforce.org

-- GO Health Facebook: www.facebook.com/GOHealthNY

Disclosure: Mike Pettinella is the publicist for GCASA.

The Batavia Muckdogs picked up their 16th win of the 2023 season on Tuesday in an Independence Day match-up in Niagara against the Power.

Tyrone Woods went 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win in the Muckdogs' 3-2 victory.  He struck out four.  The Alexander resident and GCC student is 2-1 on the season with a 2.91 ERA.

Rijnaldo Euson, who also has two wins on the season, picked up the save, his second.

The Muckdogs' offense:

• Lucas Lopez went 2-4. 
• Adam Agresti went 2-3 with a double, a walk, a run, and a stolen base
• Giuseppe Arcuri went 2-4 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a double.

With the win, the Muckdogs put another game between them and third-place Niagara (11-8) and remain a game ahead of second-place Jamestown (13-7), which is tonight's (Wednesday) opponent at Dwyer Stadium.  Game time is 6:35 p.m.

The Muckdogs are 8-1 over their last nine official league games and 10-1 overall during that span.

As operators of the David M. McCarthy ice arena continue to stretch the limits and imagination of what the arena can offer to the community, the latest will be a wrestling event on July 16 at 22 Evans St., Batavia.

Mayhem at the McCarthy will feature autographs and a meet and greet with "Jake the Snake" Roberts, "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase, and "Buff the Stuff" Bagwell, for what is certain to be an unusual form of entertainment for the arena and this area.

"We just thought this is something that hasn't been around here in awhile, and they have a big following at Riverworks in Buffalo, so we thought we'd give them a try," ice rink manager Kati Murray said. 

Wrestling adds to the list of roller skating, ice motorcycle racing and a youth game night at the rink.

Doors open at 4 p.m. and the event is to begin at 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 for second and third rows, $20 fourth and fifth rows, and $15 general admission.

To purchase tickets, go to ESWTIX.COM.

The Batavian was out in full force Monday during the Batavia Muckdogs game, both in our coverage with a freelance photographer and with staff at a booth set up near the entrance at Dwyer Stadium.

Our presence in public has not usually been a luxury we could afford: staff’s time has been precious and usually spent on the day-to-day tasks at hand, whether it be dealing with advertising needs, covering and reporting the news or the arduous billing and financial duties of a publisher.

But we’ve had a change of heart, attitude, focus and business model, and want to:

1. Make the time when possible to get out into the community to meet folks and let you know that we are your local news here to make a difference in Genesee County;

2. Introduce the Early Access Pass program that is twofold in that it allows you to access all of the news that we provide the very minute that we publish it without having to wait the four-hour hold time for non-Early Access members, and makes you, as a supporter helps us hire more reporters to go out and cover even more local news stories; and

3. Encourage creativity and positivity in the community by sponsoring a guitar giveaway with an art contest. During the Muckdogs game, all we asked was for people — kids and adults alike — to draw their best version of an eagle!

The Batavian’s logo incorporates the eagle from one of Batavia’s most iconic symbols on The Upton Monument at the merging of routes 5 and 63. So we thought it only fitting to use an eagle — also long used as a patriotic symbol of the United States and freedom — for our contest.

As many people walked by, asking about the red electric guitar poised on a table at our booth, they couldn’t believe that all they had to do was draw an eagle to enter. Some asked how much it was to enter, and several people shied away, claiming, “I can’t draw.”

Others, however, took the task quite seriously. They went at it with gusto, first deliberating how their eagle would look, and what colors they’d choose. No two eagles looked the same out of the 40 or so submissions.

Some perched looking forward, others looking sideways, with outstretched wings, or wings at their sides, while flying, or remaining idle. Some artists added embellishments of cool blue water beneath and puffy white clouds alongside their wings. Some had stunning details, while others rested in sufficient modesty.

So why a guitar giveaway? That was the idea of Publisher Howard Owens. If you know him at all, you also know his passion for music, and especially for playing guitar.  

“I  get a thrill out of seeing kids get excited about the possibility of winning a guitar,” Owens says,  “and then to see the happiness of the young person who actually won makes the price of the guitar seem all worth it.”

“I love music.  I always have.  When I was a child, I begged my mother for a guitar, but my parents, when I was a child, struggled financially like a lot of young parents,” he said. “Guitars back then were either expensive or just no good.  I didn't get my first guitar until I was 14.

“I now understand that music can be a great path for people. It isn't just about becoming a rock star.  There are lots of ways music can enrich a person's life, even as a career, without being the star on stage,” he said. “So with that background, I want to use the opportunity I have as publisher of The Batavian to encourage people, especially kids, to turn to music.  More music will help make our world better.”

Don’t just take Owens’ word for about how important music can be to one’s life. Paul Draper, who is a busy local musician and lead organizer of the popular annual Ramble music event in Batavia, comes from a very musical family, “where almost everybody played and if they didn't play, they sang.”

“It was part of my family's culture.,” he said, recalling his first instrument was not an expensive piece. “I remember the first instrument I picked up was an old hand-me-down Yamaha keyboard that my mom bought from one of her friends for $50. Up to that point in my life, I had no real musical ability, but I absolutely loved music. I would sit in my room for hours, just tinkering with the keys and finding little melodies.  Eventually, I was able to make some chords and put them together.”

His older sister, Amanda Draper, an accomplished singer and guitar player, noticed that he was starting to pick up on some things and allowed her brother to play backup for her in the family’s basement "studio,” he said.

“It was all downhill from there. From that point, I've played in numerous bands, hosted big events, traveled all over, met some amazing people, and it all started from a $50 hand-me-down keyboard,” Paul Draper said. “So for me, seeing the people behind The Batavian supporting the arts (as they have) and now donating equipment to help young starry-eyed dreamers begin their journey is just amazing. Because I know how far something like this can take a person.” 

The Muckdogs game was the second guitar giveaway, completely financed by Owens, with the first one being an acoustic guitar at a Just Kings-sponsored Juneteenth event a few weeks ago in Batavia. Win or lose, The Batavian sincerely hopes that each aspiring musician keeps on finding a way to make music in the community.

There was at least one slight twist to this year's annual Ramble Music & Arts Fest for the portion that took place in Jackson Square. And that was the ability for people to enjoy their suds outdoors in the Square without concern of violating a city code. 

City Council had recently approved a request from the downtown Business Improvement District, GO ART! and business establishments to allow for open containers on the premises of the Jackson Square that is neatly contained by Eli Fish Brewing Company, Bourbon & Burger, Center Street Smokehouse, and The Coffee Press, plus other businesses. 

Matt Gray, a partner in Eli Fish, said that the event reaped "all positive reviews from our end."

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

With flags flying and fans anticipating a post-game fireworks show, the Batavia Muckdogs took to the field Monday night for a non-league game against Erie-Buffalo and won 8-7.

Giuseppe Archuri was named Player of the Game, going 3-3 and scoring two runs.

No box score is available for the game.

Arcuri, from Allentown, N.J., has become one of the team's most productive hitters, with 21 hits, an Avg. of .309, and 13 RBI.

Adam Agresti leads the team with an average of .375. He also has 21 hits to go along with 11 RBIs.  He's eighth in the league in average. 

Matt DeStefano, of Westbury, is hitting .333 (12 hits) with seven walks. 

James Aselta is hitting .365 but doesn't have enough at-bats (22) to qualify among league leaders. Anthony Calabro has drawn 14 walks to go along with 11 RBIs with an average of .238. Infielder Lucas Lopez is hitting .300.

The next home game is Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. against the Jamestown Tarp Skunks.

Photos by Nick Serrata.