News that a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has approved COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech SE for emergency use provides “light at the end of the tunnel,” the public health director for Genesee and Orleans counties said today.

“Hopefully, this will start a new chapter (in this pandemic) – a kind of beginning of the end for us,” Paul Pettit said, adding that the vaccine will be dispersed in phases, starting with individuals at the highest risk. “We do see the light at the end of the tunnel. It will take a bit of time, so we ask folks to be patient.”

Pettit said local health departments have been working for months on the distribution plan, but emphasized that New York State has the final say as to who gets the vaccine and when.

“The state is kind of driving the boat on this and how it is going to happen,” he said. “Obviously, we’re working with our community partners and our healthcare providers to get pharmacies, and primary care physician offices signed up to deliver the vaccine.”

He said the vaccine – which is given in two doses about three weeks apart – will first be administered to nursing home residents and staff and healthcare workers who are at greater risk. After that, the groups will be divided into other health professionals and high-risk individuals, healthy seniors who meet the age requirements, those with underlying health conditions, other essential service workers and, finally, the general public.

At the outset, the vaccine will be sent to “closed pods,” Pettit said.

“Doses will be sent right to the nursing homes or the healthcare providers that are eligible for it. As we get into January, February and March, it will be more available to the community, again, depending upon your risk level,” he said.

Pettit said the health department will oversee mass vaccination clinics, likely at Genesee Community College, Genesee County Building 2 on West Main Street Road or the Genesee County Fairgrounds, with the campaign – due to the volume of need – expected to run into April and May.

He said about 11,000 doses are being delivered to the Finger Lakes Region as early as next week, and will go to the people designated in the first phase.

The vaccine will be administered at no charge, Pettit said.

“We’ve been told that there will be no co-pays,” he said. “There will be a lot more information coming out, but for the general public, you should not expect the vaccine to be available at least into January.”

Pettit commented on other aspects of the virus.

On the Possible Side Effects of Vaccination

“Everybody’s different so people respond differently to vaccines. We do hear that when people get a flu shot – it’s not a live virus – but sometimes people do have some mild reactions to the shot.

“Again, there may be some mild side effects … but the phase three trials that have been done over the last three to four months have not reported out any significant issues that we have been made aware. The FDA just this morning approved the emergency use authorization that the vaccine is safe and we’re going to be strongly encouraging folks to receive the vaccine. That’s the best way to get us out of this pandemic is to start getting our folks protected.”

On the Primary Causes of the Spread in Genesee and Orleans Counties

“As we continue to look at the data in both counties, the biggest identifying factor that we can find in the majority, but not all, of the cases is usually tied back to some level of gatherings or workers working symptomatic. Those seem to be the two biggest reasons we have seen for at least the index cases and secondary spread, and what happens from there, they go home from the gathering or work and they take it to their family members and/or their extended family members and friends.

“So, you start to get this secondary and tertiary spread, which seems to be perpetuating some of the problem here in our counties. One thing I will say, on the gathering side, a lot of the cases we’ve seen are not necessarily from gatherings of 50 people – the public can be up to 50, private it is supposed to be 10 per the governor’s order.

“But the reality is that it only takes one positive person in that setting to spread it very easily, actually, to potentially all the others that are in that gathering if they’re not distancing and masking. So, gathering size at all levels – five, eight 10, 20 people – we’re still seeing significant spread within those groups if you have positive people.

“It does seem to be that private gatherings are the underlying factor in these new cases and, again, the other one is workers coming to work symptomatic. It’s difficult this time of year because people are dealing with coughs, sniffles and other types of colds, and they’re going to work like they normally would in an average year – and unfortunately a percentage of these are COVID cases and they’re spreading it to their coworkers.”

On the Pertinent Current Data Regarding Positivity Rate

“Right now, positivity-wise, in Genesee County we are, as of yesterday, at about at 8 percent positivity rate over a 14-day average, and over a seven-day average, we are trending down from our peak, which was 9 percent a week ago. We’re down at about 7.2 percent right now for positivity rate. So, that continues to trend down in the right direction, which is a great thing. We’ve been working hard to get that number to trend in the right direction.

“It’s still high. If you recall, three months ago we were down at .5 to 1 percent positivity rate and now we’re right around 8 percent. It’s definitely a lot more active in the community.”

On the Projected Thanksgiving Bump in Positive Cases

“Obviously, there was a lot of talk about a Thanksgiving bump, but our numbers going into Thanksgiving were very high. So, if anything our numbers have started to trend down slightly.

“I think that there were gatherings that occurred over the holiday and we did our best to try to educate and encourage people to have smaller gatherings this year, and minimize contact with those in your immediate family and household, and to look at the risk factors for every individual that’s gathering. If they have underlying health conditions? If they’re in higher risk categories?

“I wouldn’t say there was a significant bump. Our numbers have stayed very consistent to what they were through the whole month of November.”

On the Process of Contact Tracing

“When we find out about a positive case, we do a case investigation. As part of that case investigation, we talk to the individual about their close contacts – that’s really what we’re looking for. With COVID, we go back 48 hours from either symptom onsets, or if they’re asymptomatic, from the test date. So, we’re looking for any close contacts.

“When we say close we’re talking about within six feet or less for more than 10 minutes or if they happen to be in the same space with the positive for more than an hour. That’s called proximate contact, so there’s a couple of different things that we look at, and it’s all based on risk potential. That would be more of a scenario like in a classroom setting or in the restaurant/dining setting … using an hour threshold in a common space with a positive case.

“Once those are determined, they get identified and put under mandatory quarantine, and it’s 14 days from their last exposure to the positive (person). The Center for Disease Control has made some recommendations to change the quarantine down to either seven days with a negative test or 10 days without a test. NYS has not decided yet whether they’re going to follow the CDC’s recommendation on this. As of right now, we are still using 14 days as the quarantine period.”

On Health Alerts that Target Local Businesses, Primarily Restaurants

“We’ve said since day one, going back to March, if we get scenarios where we can’t identify close contacts in a public space, we would have to put out an announcement – a health alert – to let people know that may be in that space, that they may have been exposed to a confirmed positive case.

“What has happened quite a bit lately is – and this is mainly reflective of increased activity -- all through summer and early fall, our infection rate was .5 percent – one case a day, a couple cases a day. Right now, with an 8 to 9 percent positivity rate, there are a lot of positives in our community. What’s happening, particularly in restaurants and other businesses, you have people who come in, sit down and eat their dinner, they’re spending an hour, hour and a half eating.

“Going back to proximate contact, people are sitting down without their masks on so we have to look at everybody in that room or dining area as a potential contact because of proximate contact and time exposure. We don’t know who these people are … the only way to notify these people is to put out a health alert that if you ate at X establishment at X time and on X date, you may have been exposed to a confirmed positive case.

“Obviously, it would be up to the person to read that alert and say, ‘Wait, that was me, and I need to monitor for symptoms or go get tested.’

“As far as big box stores, such as Walmart, Tops, we get a lot of those questions, it’s really the nature of the interaction. When you shop at these types of stores, you’re very transient and you’re not spending more than 10 minutes closer than six feet. Most people are wearing masks, so the risk exposure is totally different because of the transient nature and the large size of these buildings.

“We have had confirmed positive employees at these bigger stores and we have put coworkers on quarantine because they’re spending time in the break room or the back, those types of things. But the exposure to people shopping – going up and down aisles – the risk and the time exposure isn’t there like it is at an establishment where you’re spending an hour with no mask on.”

Press release:

The City of Batavia Water Department will be changing out a fire hydrant on Ellicott Street on Monday Dec. 14. The work will begin at 8 a.m. and water should be restored by 3 p.m.

Should weather or unforeseen issues delay the project, the shutdown may occur on Tuesday during the same hours. 

The water will be turned off for residents on: 

• Ellicott Street between Ellicott Place and Harvester Avenue
• Harvester Avenue between Ellicott Street and Colorado Avenue 
• Colorado Avenue and Ellicott Place

This may cause discolored water, please refrain from doing laundry if water is discolored.

We appreciate your patience while we make these repairs.

Bill Davis, Superintendent of Water and Wastewater, City of Batavia

From GOW highway officials:

Now that winter is fully upon us, it is important to be reminded of a few things in regards to snow removal and winter driving.

1.) During and after snow events, highway agencies, in the course of plowing, receive phone calls regarding damage to mailboxes, either from snowplows directly or from the force of snow being thrown by plows. If such damage is indeed caused by snow removal, it is not done intentionally. It is, however, an unfortunate consequence of snow removal.

As far as the particular agencies replacing damaged mailboxes, it must be pointed out that there is no statutory or legal authority requiring them to do so. In fact, under Section 319 of the New York State Highway Law, mailboxes are considered highway obstructions and are only “allowed” in the right-of-way as a convenience to the owner as it is understood they are required for mail delivery.

Additionally, an opinion issued by the Attorney General on Feb. 28, 1966 stated, “When the necessity of keeping the highway open conflicts with an individual’s reception of the mail, the later must stand aside.” Highway crews do their best to avoid mailboxes, but often times visibility, oncoming traffic and heavy snow work against them.

The best method to protect your mailbox during the winter months is to ensure it is properly attached to the post and to keep the mailbox assembly simple to limit impact surface area for plowed snow.

2.) Over the last few years, the practice of plowing or depositing snow from private driveways or private property onto the highway has increased significantly, especially after roadways are cleared and snow has been pushed back behind the shoulders by highway agencies. 

This is a dangerous practice and it is strictly prohibited under Section 1219 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law and Section 214 of the New York State Highway Law.

Depositing snow or ice onto the roadway or shoulder may result in a serious accident and the person or persons responsible may be liable to a fine of $1000.00 per day, per occurrence for each day the occurrence remains uncorrected. Police agencies and highway agencies will usually issue written warnings prior to issuing tickets.

3.) “Slick Roads Cause Accident” is often a frequent newspaper headline during in the winter months. The truth is that slick roads may contribute to an accident but they are not the sole cause of accidents. Accidents are generally caused by drivers who fail to drive appropriately for winter conditions.

Sections 1180(a) and 1180(e) of the Vehicle and Traffic Law state, “No person shall drive a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing.” Accepted safe winter driving practices include, but are not limited to, slower driving, increased braking distance, and increased vehicle separation.

Following these guidelines will significantly reduce your chances of being involved in an accident on slick roads.

4.) Highway agencies spend a considerable amount of tax money to ensure the roads are cleared in an efficient manner after snow and ice events.  Snow removal efforts do not guarantee bare or dry roads. The cost to provide these conditions would far outstrip what most taxpayers would be willing to pay.

Even when bare roads can be obtained, weather conditions such as wind and rapidly dropping temperatures can alter highway conditions dramatically from one area to the next. The best course of action for anyone traveling during the winter months is to adjust your driving to meet the conditions present.

5.) Highway agencies have contingency plans in place to handle employee illness and quarantine due to COVID-19, however, if the virus becomes more widespread than current conditions, there is a significant likelihood that plowing capability will be impacted.

This may result in fewer plows on the road and as a result longer routes and longer cycle times. Please be patient. Roads will be plowed, but levels of service may vary from previous years. 

Please drive safe, be patient and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Timothy J. Hens, PE, Genesee County Superintendent of Highways, Genesee County -- Town Highway Superintendents Association

Todd M. Gadd, PE, Wyoming County Superintendent of Highways, Wyoming County -- Town Highway Superintendents Association

John M. Papponetti, PE, Orleans County Commissioner of Public Works, Orleans County -- Town Highway Superintendents Association

Submitted photos and press release:

Today Staples U.S. Retail announced 20 winners of its #ThankATeacher contest.

Of the 3,000+ entries that Staples received, Stefanie Clark from Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School was selected as one of these winners for her extraordinary work going above and beyond for students this year while handling obstacles never faced before.

To help reveal the winners, Staples partnered with Angela Kinsey to surprise the winning teachers on a Zoom call and let them know they won $5,000, see the full video here.  

About Stefanie Clark, Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School

Stefanie Clark, first-grade teacher at Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School in Oakfield is an excellent educator, most deserving of the Staples #ThankATeacher #Contest. During distance learning, Mrs. Clark held individual online literacy lessons weekly with each of her young readers, encouraging and ensuring their continuous growth.

A real superhero at the school, Mrs. Clark distributed grab-and-go meals and held special virtual events during the closure -- Fort-nite Party & Halloween Costume Party (build your own fort / dress up & enjoy a bedtime story). Mrs. Clark definitely embodies the phrase, "When you can't find the sunshine, be the sunshine."

About Staples' #ThankATeacher contest

Supporting teachers has been more important than ever this year. That's why earlier this summer, Staples U.S. Retail announced its #ThankATeacher contest, which awards 20 deserving teachers across the country with a $5,000 Staples gift card to stock up their classrooms for the coming school year. For more details, please see the full press release here.

Top photo, the 20 winners of Staples U.S. Retail's #ThankATeacher contest. Clark is shown third row down, second photo from left.

Below, photos from Fort-night Party & Halloween Costume Party 2020.

Press release:

After first raising concerns about Canada’s allocation of tariff-rate quotas for U.S. exports of dairy products in June and again in September, U.S. senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand applauded the U.S. Trade Representative’s decision to file a United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement enforcement action against Canada to protect New York’s dairy farmers and ensure fairer market access.

In a statement issued today (Dec. 11) Schumer and Gillibrand said, “Dairy is New York’s primary agricultural product and our dairy farmers are the lifeblood of the Upstate economy. They have been hit especially hard and squeezed by the economic effects of the pandemic, and poor implementation of USMCA provisions by Canada over the past five months will only further hinder their ability to recover from this crisis.

"Yesterday’s filing of the first-ever USMCA enforcement action by the United States to protect New York’s dairy farmers from Canada’s unfair allocation of tariff-rate quotas is a necessary step to ensuring that the Upstate New York dairy industry fully benefits from the agreement’s expanded market access opportunities, unimpeded by unreasonable trade barriers.

"New York’s dairy industry must have Canada fully abide by its USMCA dairy pricing and export policy commitments. We must continue to hold Canada and our other trading partners accountable and ensure equitable trading practices to help New York’s dairy farmers churn up profits that mitigate the huge losses they have suffered this year.”

Press release:

Data Update:

• Genesee County received 23 new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • The new positive cases reside in Alexander, Batavia, Bergen, Byron, Darien, Le Roy and Pembroke.
  • The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s.
  • Forty-eight of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.
  • Twenty-one of the positive individuals are hospitalized.
  • One of the new cases is a resident is at the VA Medical Center.
• Orleans County received 30 new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • The new positive cases reside in Albion, Barre, Carlton, Clarendon, Gaines, Murray, Yates, Ridgeway and Shelby.
  • The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
  • Six of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • Twelve of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.
  • Five of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.
  • One of the new cases is a resident of Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center.

If a drug overdose happened and you were nearby, would you know what to do to potentially save a life?

To be prepared, you just need to spend an hour in training.

A free virtual Opioid Overdose Reversal Training session will be held starting at 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 15.

This opportunity is sponsored by the Western New York Rural Area Health Education Center in collaboration with Spectrum Health and Human Services.

Certified trainer Dawn Stone, CRPA, of Spectrum, will teach you how to:

• Recognize the signs of an opioid overdose;
• Respond appropriately and effectively to an opioid overdose;
• Correctly administer the spray form of naloxone (Narcan);
• Apply the Good Samaritan Overdose Law to overdose responders.

A free reversal kit will be mailed to you upon completion of training.

To learn more visit th WNY Rural Area Health Education Center website.

Call Lisa Green to register at (585) 786-6275.

A single-vehicle rollover accident is reported at 7285 North Bergen Road, Bergen. Bergen Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. The location is between Wood Road and West Sweden Road.

UPDATE 1:58 p.m.: Byron's rescue truck is called to respond. The lone occupant, the driver, is reportedly able to talk but is pinned inside and extraction is needed.

UPDATE 2:02 p.m.: Law enforcement on scene confirms the patient is conscious, entrapped, and bleeding from a head injury.

UPDATE 2:04 p.m.: The vehicle landed on its side.

UPDATE 2:06 p.m.: A first responder reports a utility pole was struck. There are no wires down, but the pole is cracked at the base.

UPDATE 2:21 p.m.: Mercy Flight was called, then cancelled.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! You have the right to a safe workplace. Federal laws state that your employer must provide a work area with no known health or safety hazards. You also have the right to: 

Update 12:35 p.m. with comments from Interim Superintendent Jared Taft:

"This has been almost a year in the planning process with the board (of education) ... and we feel that we have put together a responsible project with zero tax implication," Taft said, adding that is a scaled down version of a similar proposal that was defeated in late 2018.

See the body of the story for Taft's comments on specifics of the project.

---------------

Alexander Central School District voters on Wednesday passed a capital project proposition that authorizes construction, reconstruction and equipping of school buildings and facilities, including elementary school building reconstruction and demolition and the replacement of the existing transportation facility.

The vote was 113 in favor and 90 against.

According to information on the district’s website, the project is expected to cost up to $15 million, with $11,830,000 of that amount (79 percent) to be covered by state aid. The remaining $3,170,000 cost is to be covered by district’s capital reserve and current funds.

Specifics of the project are as follows:

Classroom Modernization and Accessibility – Renovation of select classrooms at the elementary school, new accessible toilet rooms, and minor renovations at the high school, including Freezer and Agriculture/Science, Technologoy, Engineering and Math classroom.

Taft said work at the elementary school consists of taking care of the water problems in the basement and with the gymnasium floor, making enhancements to the scanner system at the entrance and redesigning the stairway for safety purposes.

Transportation Facility – Construction of a new transportation building and fuel island, and realignment of traffic areas.

Taft said water damage also is an issue with the transportation building, which he said is well beyond its useful life. He said the project calls for a "modest bus garage" with two bays (one with a lift), along with a training room, storage space and break room.

Vehicle and Pedestrian Safety – Reconfiguration of the roadway, traffic calming design, sidewalk connection through the campus, and construction of a barrier to separate buses and cars.

Taft said the parking lot will be reconfigured to make it "tremendously safer" -- including curbing and islands and a bus turnaround. He also said that upon completion, pedestrians will be able to walk continously on the sideway from the elementary building to the main road.

Genesee County legislative action to schedule a public hearing on a local law to compensate coroners for time spent on extraordinary cases is welcome news to Jeff McIntire, a recently retired county medical examiner who worked 260 hours following the tragic plane crash off Boyce Road in Corfu on Oct. 2.

The crash resulted in the deaths of prominent attorney Steve Barnes, the pilot, and his niece, Elizabeth Barnes, who also practiced law.

“I’m pleased,” said McIntire, speaking by phone from his new home in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he has relocated following his Nov. 15 resignation as a county coroner. “It is good to know that if it does happen again, some provision is in place to make sure the coroner will get paid appropriately.”

Legislators, at their regular meeting tonight via Zoom videoconferencing, voted in favor of setting the public hearing on Local Law Introductory No. 3 for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Old County Courthouse.

If passed, the law will enable lawmakers to consider additional pay for elected or appointed coroners for a fixed term – beyond a negotiated $100 stipend per case (deceased individual) – when a catastrophic event occurs.

County coroners also receive an annual stipend of $1,500 – paid throughout the year on regular paydays – but do not receive mileage reimbursement.

McIntire not only worked an inordinate number of hours during the plane crash investigation, but also lost wages as a result of not being able to work his regular job.

“As coroners, we understand that it’s not a job that you get into to make money, but on the other hand, this was a situation where wages were lost,” he said.

Apparently, legislators agree and have taken steps to instill some flexibility into future compensatory matters.

McIntire, who served more than five years as a county coroner, said he plans to submit his hours to Genesee County as the proposed law stipulates that “any coroner may submit a claim retroactively to Oct. 3, 2020, by a submittal in writing, which details the services rendered and the times and dates of the same.”

An emergency medical technician, McIntire said he is working as a full-time scuba instructor at his new residence in the Sunshine State.

County Republican Party leaders reportedly are seeking someone to replace McIntire. The other county coroners are Karen Lang, Tom Douglas and Adam Palumbo.

In other action, legislators:

-- Passed four amended resolutions relating to tax equalization tables, taxable assessed valuation tables, and tax warrants for the county’s towns and City of Batavia that slightly changed the figures due to a court-ordered assessment reduction on a parcel of land in the Town of Pembroke.

Deputy County Treasurer Kevin Andrews brought the matter to the board’s attention in time for amendments, avoiding the need to pass revised amendments at a future legislature meeting. He said that the court lowered the parcel in question’s assessment from $2.9 million to $2.6 million.

As amended, the taxes for the towns based on 2020 assessment rolls are as follows:

• Alabama, $1,726,593.76;
• Alexander, $2,134,938.83;
• Batavia, $7,460,274.92;
• Bergen, $2,821,306.39;
• Bethany, $1,664,249.96;
• Byron, $2,443,824.80;
• Darien, $3,257,061.47;
• Elba, $2,536,131.54;
• Le Roy, $5,788,202.93;
• Oakfield, $2,398,440.44;
• Pavilion, $2,040,817.01;
• Pembroke, $3,999,315.92;
• Stafford, $2,416,914.48;
• Total, $40,688,072.45.

The county’s share of the total amount collected for the 2021 tax year is $27,761,253.04.

The 2020 total was $39,419,355.44, with $27,734,757.10 being the County’s share.

The City of Batavia’s share of the tax levy for 2021 is $6,058,672.57, which is about $60,000 less than the 2020 tax levy.

-- As previously reported on The Batavian from a legislative committee meeting, gave formal approval to a local law setting salaries of the following county officers, effective Jan. 1:

• Commissioner of Elections (2), $49,761;
• Highway Superintendent, $115,110;
• Director of Real Property Tax Services, $66,385;
• Director of Human Resources, $80,050;
• Commissioner of Social Services, $89,319;
• Public Defender, $103,453;
• County Attorney, $127,845;
• County Clerk, $97,862.

Previous: Legislature proposes local law for discretionary coroner pay for catastrophic events

Major League Baseball Enterprises Inc., a multinational corporation based in New York City, is killing off professional baseball in Batavia.

That's an oversimplification but that is likely the end result.

The New York-Penn League, founded in Batavia in 1939, is breaking apart -- though a smaller independent league may survive -- and since the NY-P owns the Muckdogs, the league in its new form, if it survives at all, won't have the wherewithal to operate a baseball club in Batavia.

Today, MLB announced that its Major League teams have selected their affiliates for the 2021 season and Batavia is not on that list.

Only four NY-P teams are on the list.

Some NY-P teams have chosen to join what will be known as the MLB Draft League. The new league will consist of collegiate players who compete on a limited schedule from May until the All-Star break when the MLB will conduct its annual amateur draft.

For more than a year, MLB and MiLB have been in negotiations over a new operations agreement, with the number of Minor League teams being reduced by at least 40 franchises.  That plan also would have eliminated the Muckdogs as a Major League-affiliated team.

The plan announced today goes a step further by eliminating the MiLB completely. MLB teams will have license agreements (they'll no longer be known as franchises), with each affiliated team and the Minor League system will be operated out of the MLB offices in NYC.

It's unclear if the owners of the 120 teams being offered license agreements will agree to the MLB terms. They just received the proposed contracts today.

Red Wings Gave it Their Best Shot

In 2008, the Genesee County Baseball Club, owner of the Muckdogs at the time, entered into a 10-year operations agreement with Rochester Red Wings. The Red Wings operated the team at a loss for those 10 years but the agreement gave them a 50-percent ownership stake in the team.

In 2018, the NY-P would not allow a new operations agreement and took over ownership of the team with an agreement that would allow the NY-P to recover its operating losses from any eventual sale of the club. The GCBC, a community-owned organization, would receive any money left from the sale that wasn't paid out to the Red Wings or the NY-P.

It is unclear if any of the financial stakeholders in the Muckdogs will be compensated for MLB's apparent unilateral elimination of the team.  

Ben Hayes, commissioner of the NYPL, said he's asked the question directly and hasn't gotten an answer.

Naomi Silver, chief executive officer of the Red Wings, said she also doesn't know whether the Muckdogs owners will be compensated for the loss of the team. 

An attorney who specializes in antitrust and business competition law, Luke Hasskamp, with Bonalaw, based in Los Angeles, said Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball are both protected by an antitrust exemption that prevents those harmed by MLB's actions from filing an antitrust claim. 

Major League Baseball is a legal monopoly.  

Where to Go from Here?

The legal options for the Muckdogs stakeholders are limited, he said. The last affiliation agreement the Muckdogs had with a Major League team, the Miami Marlins, expired after the unplayed 2020 season, so there may not be a breach-of-contract claim. 

Other legal options don't seem to apply to the Muckdogs, such as claims that the stakeholders made financial commitments and investments based on a promised continued relationship. Since the Muckdogs have been under a cloud of financial hardship -- making them a target for acquisition and relocation -- there are no apparent promises of continued play in Batavia.

The commissioner's office, with its new plan for player development, is not specifically eliminating the Batavia Muckdogs. The lack of an affiliation with a Major League club, however, along with the upheaval in the NY-P caused by the new alignment, makes it impossible to operate the Muckdogs as a professional baseball team, causing its estimated $6 million value to evaporate. 

Asked if the stakeholders could claim the MLB unjustly deprived them of appropriate compensation for making the Muckdogs as a financial asset valueless, Hasskamp compared the idea to eminent domain, but said since MLB is a private organization any such comparison does not legally apply.

"It’s an interesting argument, not one I have thought through much, but it’s challenging, in my opinion, not only because MLB isn’t a public entity because also, as you pointed out, MLB isn’t really taking property," Hasskamp said. "It’s just taking action that will impact the value of others’ businesses. This may be relevant to a party’s damages."

At the end of that email to The Batavian, Kasskamp said, "One other thought: It will be interesting if this stirs any greater interest in Congress to revoke baseball’s antitrust exemption. These contractions are going to impact a number of communities / congressional districts, and more than 100 congressmen noted their displeasure when the contractions were first announced."

Will Schumer Keep Fighting for Batavia?

On a couple of recent visits, we've asked Sen. Charles Schumer, a die-hard baseball fan, if he would pursue legislation to revoke MLB's antitrust exemption. He didn't give a direct answer. He just promised to keep fighting to save teams like the Batavia Muckdogs and Auburn Doubledays.  

This afternoon, we asked a member of his staff for a statement and clarification on Schumer's position on the antitrust exemption and didn't get a response.

Today, in a phone conversation, Hayes offered no hopeful take on the future of the Muckdogs given today's announcement, other than to say there is still much that is unknown about the MLB plan and how Minor League team owners will respond to the license offers.

Silver said the team owners haven't even had a chance to fully review the contracts and discuss the best course of action. She said she's hopeful the Red Wings will be made whole for their losses incurred while operating the Muckdogs.

"We're sad to think there will be no Muckdogs baseball in Batavia," Silver said. "We worked hard for 10 years to try and save the team."

She noted that Batavia is not the only community suffering a loss of a team because of the MLB's decision.

"Batavia is not being singled out," she said.

Tabelski: Games Will be Played at Dwyer

While the prospect of a professional baseball game ever again being played in Batavia seems dim, that doesn't mean there won't be organized baseball played at Dwyer Stadium in the coming years.

Rachael Tabelski, interim city manager, said she has been contacted by representatives from collegiate leagues (often called wooden bat leagues) and semi-pro leagues looking to move into Dwyer. She said the city has yet to respond to those inquiries because there is still a contract in place with the NY-P that gives the league control of what baseball is played in the stadium. Unless and until that contract is resolved, the city can't find a new tenant. 

There will be a tenant in Dwyer again, Tabelski said. 

"As somebody who grew up going to Clippers and Muckdog games, it's very sad to think about losing the team," she said. "I think it's very difficult to look at losing the baseball team we've loved, but there will still be an opportunity for baseball in this town."

And the next team to make Batavia home could very well be called the Muckdogs. The Genesee County Baseball Club has retained the rights to the Muckdogs trademark (it was recently renewed).