The owner of Eastown Beverages, Paul Parise, is hoping readers of The Batavian can identify the owner of this truck.

According to Parise, somebody driving this truck stole pallets from outside his business at 563 E. Main St., Batavia. He also wonders whether the same person may have tried to break into his store two weeks ago.

Batavia PD has an open investigation on the case, according to Officer Jamie Givens, but no suspects.

Anybody who might have information useful to the investigation are asked to call Batavia PD at (585) 345-6350.

Those of you who hate winter are really going to be unhappy over the next couple of weeks.

Forecasters foresee no real let up in the bitter cold and snow gripping the region.

There's a wind chill advisory in place now through 11 a.m. Wednesday with wind chill values as low as 20 degrees below zero.

Light snow continues to fall this evening.

There will be a slight, slight warming by the weekend, according to Buffalo forecasters, but another round of arctic chill will follow behind it and there's a chance for significant lake effect snow fall next week.

"Winter will be here to stay for quite some time," wrote a forecaster in his weather analysis today.

Photo: Looking east on Main Street about 4:30 p.m.

Hoops fans can get their fill at Batavia High School this afternoon and evening with both the boys and the girls varsity teams, as well as the JV teams, competing today.

Right now, the girls teams are playing Greece Odyssey and the boys teams play East Aurora at 5:45 p.m.

The unique double-header is billed as the Martin Luther King Jr. Basketball Showcase and it's a first-time event for BHS, but Athletic Director Mike Bromley said he hopes it will become an annual event.

A new exhibit featuring the work of local photographer Susan Meier is on view at the Gallery at Blue Pearl Yoga through the month of January. The show is free and open to the public during gallery hours.

Meier, a lifelong resident of Genesee County, currently resides in East Pembroke. A self-taught artist, she began taking photographs as a preteen.

“I won a camera in a coloring contest and that sparked my interest,” she says.

After graduating from Genesee Wyoming BOCES with a degree in Cosmetology, Susan operated a hair salon out of her home for several years but continued her interest in photography, joining the Batavia Photography Club in 1995. She began photographing weddings in the late '90s and by 2001 she graduated from Genesee Community College with an AAS in Commercial Art. In 2010 she moved her business to the Harvester Artisan Center. She is a member of the Professional Photographers Association, past president of the Batavia Photography Club, and is active in 4H and the Genesee County Fair.

She continues her professional development by attending workshops throughout the country where she’s learned techniques like off-camera flash and studio and portrait lighting. Her work has been shown at the Richmond Memorial Library where she’s won multiple People’s Choice Awards, Moon Java Café, Genesee Community College, GoArt!, and Muller Quaker. Aside from her work as a wedding photographer, Susan’s professional work includes high school senior portraits, professional head shots, as well as newborn, family, and maternity photos.  

“The 11 images in the Blue Pearl exhibit feature a mix of fashion/glamour, boudoir, concept shoots and some photo digital art,” Meier says. "Concept shoots are ideas or unique concepts brought to life.

The concept images on display include Feather, 1940s Glam, Steampunk, Snow Princess and Flower. Her training as a cosmetologist allows her to construct elaborate styles for her models.

She is available for private photography lessons. You may contact her at 585-861-0415 or visit her studio at the Harvester Artisan Center, 56 Harvester Ave., on the first floor. Her social media presence includes Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, 500px, Google Plus, Shop Batavia.

The exhibit can be seen during gallery hours on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m.; Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m.

For more information, call Blue Pearl Yoga at 585.230.5430.

James Mitchell, 35, of Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Mitchell was arrested following a months-long investigation by the Livingston County Sheriff's Office into reports of stolen co-payments at a doctor's office where Mitchell worked in Avon. The investigation took time, according to LCSO, because of lengthy billing cycles and victims coming forward. Mitchell was allegedly stealing co-pays as patients checked out at their physician's office. The investigation was conducted by Deputy Dan Rittenhouse, Deputy Ross Gerace, Deputy Steph Schroeder and Deputy Mike Yencer.

Kelly M. Zwolinski, 34, of Broadway Road, Darien, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, and resisting arrest. Zwolinski was identified as a suspect in possession of a stolen horse saddle that was taken from a farm in Niagara County and an arrest warrant was issued. When Deputy Kevin McCarthy and Investigator William Ferrando attempted to place Zwolinski under arrest, she allegedly resisted arrest.

Darlene Ann Kingdollar, 51, of South Pearl Street, Oakfield, is charged with petit larceny. Kingdollar is accused of entering the 7-Eleven store in Oakfield while intoxicated and after she was denied the purchase of alcohol, she allegedly left the store with a can of beer without paying for it.

Bruce J. Brade, 33, of Galloway Road, Batavia, is charged with stalking, 4th, and criminal contempt, 2nd. Brade allegedly violated an order of protection.

Mark J. Price, 37, Township Road, Ashland, Ohio, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear for an alleged traffic violation in Batavia City Court. Price was aprehended during a traffic stop in the Village of Attica. Price was issued an appearance ticket.

Jeffrey A. Pionessa, 32, of Glenwood Drive, Attica, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding in zone. Pionessa was stopped at 2:30 a.m. Sunday on Law Street, Batavia, by Officer Arick Perkins. Pionessa allegedly had a BAC of .11.

A 17-year-old resident of Trumbull Parkway, Batavia is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and harassment, 2nd. The youth is accused of damaging the mobile phone charger of another person by throwing it against a wall and grabbing the arm of the alleged victim and pushing the person's face.

John K. Rolls, 34, of Mill Street, Batavia, is charged with two counts of forcible touching. Rolls is accused of forcibly touching a 17-year-old girl on Jan. 7. Rolls is incarcerated in the Genesee county Jail on an unrelated matter and was issued an appearance ticket.

Brad Strzelecki, 19, of Hunter Street, Bergen, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Strzelecki was reported at a location on Bank Street at 10:01 a.m. Jan. 13 when he was allegedly found in possession of marijuana by Officer Eric Foels.

Rodeny Lowell McKenzie, 49, of Weaver Street, Buffalo, is charged with petit larceny. McKenzie was located by Transit Police in Buffalo during a check-the-welfare interview and identified as a warrant suspect for allegedly stealing items from Kmart on Dec. 12.

Bryant William Hardtner, 28, of State Street Road, Batavia, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Hardtner is accused of taking a vehicle Sunday without the owner's consent.

Kimberly Diane Ribbeck, 27, of Genesee Street, Corfu, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, driving a vehicle with obstructed vision and no or inadequate plate light. Ribbeck was stopped at 2:33 a.m. Sunday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Michael Gerald Pernicano, 21, of Lake Road, Holley, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to signal and no plate light. Pernicano was stopped at 2:29 a.m. Saturday on North Byron Road, Byron, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Lena Marie Evans, 26, of Ross Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession of a hypodermic instrument. Evans was arrested for allegedly shoplifting at Kmart by Deputy Andrew Hale.

Carey Anthony Bedell III, 18, of Lehigh Avenue, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Bedell was arrested on Clinton Street Road, Byron, at 9:43 p.m. Friday.

Matthew R. Smith, 21, of Basom, is charged with forcible touching. Smith was arrested by State Police for an alleged incident reported at noon Thursday.

Mark A. Allison, 52, of Lockport, is charged with felony DWI and felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Allison was arrested by State Police following the report at 9:29 p.m. Thursday of a two-car accident at 372 Bloomingdale Road, Basom. One person was injured. The driver of the other vehicle was Alexander Shirira, 56, of Buffalo. No other details released.

The Genesee Creamers Rugby Football Club celebrated its 40th anniversary over the weekend with a banquet attended by about 70 players and guests.

The club was founded in Batavia in 1970 and plays teams from all over WNY and Canada as well as the rest of the U.S.

Honored at the event were two 40-year members, Dominic Lovria, and ‘Tin Cup’ Teddy Anderson.

The dinner was attended by members of U.S. Rugby, including CEO Mark Griffin, who was the guest speaker.

Attendees also donated 40 jars of peanut butter and jelly to the Salvation Army.

Photo submitted by Mark Kielbasa.

A winter weather advisory is in effect through 2 p.m. today with predictions of persistent light snow and temperatures dropping into the teens.

Snow accumulations could reach from 2 to 4 inches and low visibility while driving is possible in places.

The National Weather Service advises caution while traveling.

Syracuse.com: Latest Siena poll on Gov. Cuomo

A person is complaining of neck pain following an accident on Route 77 just north of Indian Falls Road.

One car is off the roadway.

Pembroke and Indian Falls responding along with Mercy EMS.

UPDATE 8:47 a.m.: The car sideswiped a tree. The only complain of pain stems from the seat belt brushing against the driver's neck, according to a chief on scene.

UPDATE 9:18 a.m.: Pembroke and Indian Falls back in service.

The month of January has been a nightmare for the Notre Dame Hockey Team, but yesterday afternoon it may have woken up as the players defeated Batavia/Alexander, 2-1.

The Fighting Irish came into the contest just 1-4 this month, and had lost four straight by a combined score of 28 to 4. But, the win against crosstown rival Batavia/Alexander is a step in the right direction.

“We’ve been struggling recently,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Marc Staley. “We had two good practices getting prepared for this. We felt that we had hit rock bottom and the good thing about rock bottom is that you’re done falling. We thought we would come out and play a good game tonight.”

Notre Dame came out fast in the first period, controlling play for the majority of the period before Spencer Misiak pounced on a loose puck and put it by Blue Devil goaltender James Cryer 7:25 into the game.

“We wanted to focus on puck possession,” Staley said. “I thought we did a great job of that in the first period. We wanted to wear their defense down. The more we kept the puck down low, the more we can keep it out off of the stick of guys like Rich Francis.”

Just like the Irish did to start the game, Batavia/Alexander came out fast in the second period and their leading scorer, Francis, was able to get loose.

Francis picked up a nice pass from Julien Schimley and deked out goaltender Tyler Stroud for his 10th goal of the season.

“I think we had a little letdown in the second period,” Staley said. “But we also had three penalties called against us in the period, so that took a little steam out of us. We got focused again after the second period and righted the ship.”

The Irish would strike again on what would be the game-winner as Kevin Moscicki blasted a shot from the point that got through less than two minutes into the third period.

The Notre Dame defense did the rest of the work as Stroud stood tall in goal, making 19 saves on the night.

“Moscicki did a great job just getting it through to the net,” Staley said. “This game against Batavia is always that way. It’s one bounce or another and it ended up bouncing our way tonight.”

Cryer faced a barrage of shots all night, stopping 32 of 34 shots on the night for Batavia/Alexander (4-9-0).

“A win is always important,” Staley said. “We needed a win at this time of the year just to lift the spirits in the locker room.”

Notre Dame improves to 5-9-1.

A Batavia resident has set up a Facebook group and scheduled a meeting aimed at fighting crime in the city.

The Batavia Neighborhood Watch group already has 95 members.

It was set up by Michael Hough, who wrote in his first post:

There is no doubt that crime is on the rise in Batavia. This group is intended to bring the community together to deal with the issues, and to serve as a liaison between citizens and law enforcement officers.

He's calling for a meeting of concerned citizens 5 p.m., Jan. 25, at Tim Horton's.

It seems like such a simple plan. Walk into a bank, hand the teller a note, and walk out with a bag full of money.

Of course, the bank is in the midst of a city on a Saturday morning when traffic has both eastbound and westbound lanes snarled with cars, SUVs and semi-trucks. Your getaway vehicle is an easily identifiable older model maroon Plymouth minivan with Florida plates. Your driver may be high. He may not even know about your plan. The only available route out of town is a snow-and-slush covered Route 98 that has an Attica police officer always positioned at one end of the highway and is frequently patrolled by troopers.

What could possibly go wrong?

Enough, apparently, that the would-be alleged bank robber was in custody mere minutes after the heist was reported and the man who allegedly drove the minivan is facing a DWAI charge.

Gregory Beardsley, 29, of 220 W. Main St., Batavia, is the robbery suspect. He charged with grand larceny, 2nd, and robbery, 3rd.

Beardsley allegedly left the bank with $3,000 in cash. All of the money was recovered.

No weapon was displayed during the robbery, nor was there a threat of a weapon.

Philip Burrs, 32, the alleged driver, was arrested by State Police and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs or alcohol and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Whether Burrs is charged with any crimes related to the robbery hasn't been determined, Hill said. The investigation is continuing.

The robbery was reported to emergency dispatchers at 11:28 a.m.

Bank employees provided dispatchers with an exact description of the suspect's vehicle, including the license plate number.

"The tellers did a fantastic job at the bank getting all the information and getting it out to our dispatchers," Officer Eric Hill said.

A trooper spotted the car, which is not owned by either Breadsley nor Burrs, at 11:34 a.m. heading southbound on Route 98. 

A felony traffic stop was initiated by Trooper Micheal Hamilton with the assistance of an Attica police officer further south on Route 98 at the Mooch’s Auto Glass location.

The two suspects were taken into custody and placed in separate patrol vehicles.

While being questioned later, Burrs could be heard telling officers that he had no idea his passenger went into Five Star to rob it. He repeatedly said he knew nothing about the robbery.

Hill said Burrs has continued to maintain that he had no idea Beardsley planned a robbery and had no part in it.

Asked if this was a particularly brilliant robbery plan, Hill said he doesn't know what drove the suspect to try and steal money.

"I don't know," Hill said. "Desperation? You do some things you might not normally do, depending on the circumstances. I'm not exactly sure why he felt the need to rob the bank, but you know, obviously he's desperate for money for some reason. We're currently in the process of deposing him to find out what his side of the story is. I'm sure all of that will come out eventually."

CORRECTION: The article originally said Burrs was charged with DWI. He was charged with DWAI. 

Top Photo: Beardsley being transferred from one patrol vehicle to another at the traffic stop location on Route 98. Law enforcement officers are screening Beardsley from camera view.

The Five Star branch on West Main, Batavia, shortly after the robbery.

The scene of the stop on Route 98.

Sgt. John Szumigala and Officer Eric Hill with the suspected getaway minivan.

Deputy Brian Thompson and "Pharoah" sniff around the suspect vehicle.

Officer Eric Hill speaking with suspect Philip Burrs, who is out of the picture in the back of the State Police vehicle.

More than 100 gun rights advocates turned out this morning in 20-degree whether at the NYSP barracks on West Saile Drive to protest the SAFE Act.

As expected, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was the target of the protest signs and the speakers' rhetoric, but as it turned out, Cuomo gave the protesters a little extra ammunition when, during a radio interview yesterday, the first-term governor said, “If they are extreme conservatives, they have no place in the State of New York."

More than one speaker mentioned Cuomo's statement and suggested that perhaps it's Cuomo who should leave New York and is the one out of step with the majority of New Yorkers.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley also took Cuomo to task for his statement.

“The governor’s comments about my constituents are offensive and are a Freudian slip, which reveals what he truly thinks of Upstate New Yorkers. He has no right to come to Upstate New York and call himself governor when he has such obvious disdain for its people,” Hawley said. “The majority of Upstate New Yorkers are pro-Second Amendment and believe in traditional family values.

"If the governor does not think the good people of Upstate New York have a place in New York, he seems to be doing a good job of driving our families out of the state with his highest-in-the-nation taxes and infringements on our rights.”

Cuomo's apparent lack of fondness for the people of Upstate New York is yet another reason, Hawley said, for supporting his call for a voter referendum on dividing New York into two states.

For more on Cuomo's statement, see this Buffalo News article.

We had a request to purchase these photos, so, for anybody who would like to purchase prints, click here.

A water heater reportedly exploded at 7334 Beaver Meadows Road, north of Lyman Road. Byron and South Byron fire departments are responding. A contractor called the dispatch center about the incident, saying he was driving himself to the hospital after suffering burns from the scalding water.

UPDATE 12:20 p.m.: Command says it appears there was a flash of fire at some point, but it was self-extinguishing. All units are returning to service.

A robbery just occurred at Five Star Bank at 390 W. Main St. in the city. Police are out in full force looking for a maroon van with tinted windows and possibly a Florida license plate. The vehicle is driven by an alleged accomplice. The robber is described as 6'2'' wearing black pants, a scarf, a black stocking over his face, eyeglasses and a dark jacket. No weapon was displayed. The vehicle is said to be headed toward Alexander...The police have stopped it on southbound Route 98. Attica has been notified.

UPDATE 11:38 a.m.: Both suspects are outside the vehicle being taken into custody.

They say you can’t teach size, and that was evident as Greece Arcadia out-muscled Batavia en route to a 61-56 win in Monroe County League play.

The Blue Devils got off to a slow start in the first quarter, as the Titans imposed their will inside and raced out to a 20-7 lead after the first frame.

“[Arcadia] is a physically tough team,” said Batavia Head Coach Buddy Brasky. “They’re the most talented team in the division. But, I was disappointed with our lack of toughness to start. We’re not big, we’re not strong, but we’re usually pretty scrappy. For some reason we didn’t bring that toughness to start the first quarter.”

Batavia scrapped their way back throughout the game, cutting the lead to as few as six in the second half after switching defenses and getting back-to-back three-pointers from Jerrett Laskett.

“I thought their size was hurting us in man-to-man,” Brasky said. “We switch on screens and we got some bad mismatches. We were hoping that the zone would get them a little more stationary. I thought it worked well, it helped get us back in the game.”

The leading scorers for the Blue Devils, Jeff Redband and Justice Fagan, struggled to find room to breathe all night and were smothered by the Arcadia defense.

Laskett stepped up in the second half while the defense was keyed in on Redband and Fagan. The junior reserve knocked down three three-point field goals in the second half and finished with 14 points.

“Everybody is taking Redband and Justice out of the game,” Brasky said. “Until someone else starts scoring consistently, it’s going to be difficult to be good teams. The tough thing is, the guys we’re asking to score are young guys.”

The Blue Devils, however, struggled all night to find an answer for Arcadia’s big men.

6-foot-6 senior Josh McFarland dominated inside all night, scoring 15 points, pulling 18 rebounds, blocking two shots and making two steals.

Jimmie Eddington, a 6-foot-5 senior, chipped in 14 points and grabbed five rebounds for Arcadia (7-4).

Fagan finished with a team-high 15 points, while Redband chipped in with 14, and Malachi Chenault added 11 points and eight rebounds for Batavia (7-4).

Top Photo: Jeff Redband attracted a crowd everywhere he went last night. A foul was called on the defense.

Photos by Howard Owens.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Jeff Redband, again in a sea of maroon jerseys.

Jerrett Laskett driving for the basket.

Greg Mruczek awaits a rebound opportunity during a free-throw attempt.

Jerrett Laskett scores on a layup in the fourth quarter.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported at 373 Bloomingdale Road, Alabama. Mercy Flight is called to respond and a landing zone will be set up at the parking lot of the Tonawanda Community Building. Alabama Fire Department is on scene along with Mercy medics and State Troopers.

UPDATE 9:51 p.m.: This accident also involves a 16-year-old male who was riding a bicycle. He is said to be disoriented and unaware of what took place.

UPDATE 9:54 p.m.: Mercy Flight #5 has landed.

UPDATE 10:03 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne and headed to Erie County Medical Center.

UPDATE 10:21 p.m.: Alabama fire is back in service.

A small Le Roy company has put itself on the cusp of the next big thing in municipal lighting -- LED.

This week, GotToGo Electric, a six-person company on East Main Road, landed a $77,860 contract with Mayville to sell the village 350 LED street lights.

Last year, GotToGo provided the village with LED street lights as part of a pilot project and then was the lowest bidder to provide enough lights to illuminate the entire village.

Traditionally, cities and villages provide night light with either high-pressure sodium lights or metal-halide lamps, giving main streets either an eerie orange glow or a cold blue hue.

Modern LED lights provide a white light, which has its own benefits, but the main reason municipal governments are taking a closer look at LED these days is the cost savings.

LED lights can cut electric consumption by up to 65 percent and are virtually maintenance free.

A street light with LED bulbs has a 10-year warranty, but should continuing working for 15 to 20 years.

Sodium and halide lights must be replaced much more frequently.

"LED is the new way to go," said company President Scott Keister. "LED is gaining traction very quickly. I think what we'll see in the next few years is the Department of Energy change its requirements for energy consumption, and traditional lighting (sodium and metal-halide) won't be able to meet those requirements."

GotToGo Electric is a manufacturer rep for two of the companies in the U.S. that make municipal lighting and fixtures.

Established in 1990 as a company selling products for electric companies, it was forced less than a decade later to pivot into a firm that represents the manufacturers of products for municipal utilities after the electric companies in the Northeast merged.

It was an easy transition, said CEO Kristin Gomborone, because GotToGo had already established the relationships with the cities and villages in New York.

"Along with the relationships, we've been working with municipalities for about 24 years now, so we've built a rapport," Gomborone said.

The company is owned by Gomborone and her sister, Gabrielle Keister, who is VP of Finance, and GotToGo is a certified New York woman-owned business.

Both women were born and raised in Le Roy. Keister is from Alexander and attended Notre Dame High School.

Besides selling LED lights, GotToGo handles just about everything a municipality might need to provide utility service, from gas and electric meters, to cable and transformers for electricity and, of course, lighting.

Primarily, the company bids on behalf of the 25 manufacturers they represent for the sale and installation of utility products. But the company is also positioned to ensure ongoing maintenance needs, if any, are met.

Keister explained that manufacturers use product reps such as GotToGo because it's less expensive than maintaining a full-time staff in a territory.

GotToGo got into LED lighting as the demand began to grow.

Ten years ago, LED systems were expensive, provided a bluish light that consumers rejected (think of those district blue headlights that were common for awhile on some new model cars) and didn't provide as much illumination as traditional lighting.

Now the cost has come down, the light temperature has shifted to a neutral white (or a moonlight white) and systems can put out as much, if not more, light than sodium or metal-halide.

GotToGo's clients for LED lights include the City of Buffalo, Westfield, Jamestown, Springville and the company's first LED client, Auburn, which installed 450 new street lights.

And not just municipalities are in the market now for LED lights. Universities and colleges, malls, car dealers -- any place with the need to illuminate a large area -- is a potential customer for GotToGo's products.

"It's probably the most exciting thing we're doing now," Keister said. "It's up and coming. Like I said, it's been around 10 years, but it's really just starting to take a grasp."

The main thing holding back wider adoption of LED systems, Keister said, is the inability of Albany and the electric companies to come up with a plan on how the electric companies will serve municipalities.

There are about 42 cities and villages in New York, such as Mayville, that provide their own municipal electric service, so there aren't hoops to jump through to make the switch to LED.

But in all the others municipalities, the local governments contract with a big electric company to provide the lights, the electricity and the maintenance.

It's kind of a lease agreement paid for through a tariff.

"To charge people the current tariff rates for a fixture that is much more efficient and basically eliminates maintenance is not fair to the consumer," Keister said.

So, as the market changes -- new regulations requiring less energy consumption from street lights, and a new tariff scheme out of Albany -- GotToGo Electric, with its experience and connections, should be well positioned as the go-to company in WNY for municipal street lighting.

Click here for a story from an online news site in Chautauqua County about the Mayville purchase and to see a picture that shows the color temperature difference between LED and sodium lights.

Investigators believe they have found the man responsible a series of thefts from vehicles in the Village of Oakfield over the past 12 months with the arrest of Dalton A. Long, 18, from Caledonia.

Long was allegedly found in possession of numerous items reported stolen to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

The items recovered date back to the first reported theft in the series in January 2013.

Long is charged with grand larceny, 4th, criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, one count of identity theft, 2nd, one count of petit larceny and six counts of criminal possession of stolen property.

Following arraignment in Oakfield Town Court, Long was jailed on $15,000 bail.

The investigation was conducted by Deputy Brian Thompson with assistance from Deputy Bradley Mazure and Youth Officer Timothy Wescott.

The investigation is continuing  and additional charges are pending.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) has been named to the House Subcommittee on Space, his sixth subcommittee assignment.

“It’s an honor to join the Subcommittee on Space and I am grateful for the opportunity to work to develop policies that advance our nation’s space program,” Congressman Collins said. “Western New York is home to a growing number of companies that support our space program, and I look forward to using this assignment to champion that sector."

Under the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the Subcommittee on Space has legislative jurisdiction, general oversight and investigative authority on all matters relating to astronautical and aeronautical research and development.

Congressman Collins is currently a member of the House Agriculture and Small Business committees and serves as Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Health and Technology.

In addition, under the House Committee on Agriculture Congressman, Collins serves on the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management and the Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture; under the House Committee on Small Business, the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations; and under the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, the Subcommittee on Research and Technology.