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The Xtreme International Ice Racing Series visited the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Saturday evening.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Photos by Melissa Brooks

The Western New York National Cemetery Council hosted a final Vietnam Veteran Memorial ceremony on Saturday in accordance with a proclamation signed by President Donald Trump during his first term in 2017.

The proclamation was to confirm this nation's commitment to the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, which began on Memorial Day 2012 and will continue through Veterans Day 2025.

The Vietnam War lasted from 1955 to 1975, with the U.S. escalating involvement in 1962. Former President Barack Obama signed the original proclamation to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war on May 28, 2012.

At the time of the signing, Obama said, “You were often blamed for a war you didn’t start, when you should have been commended for serving your country with valor. You were sometimes blamed for misdeeds of a few, when the honorable service of the many should have been praised. You came home and sometimes were denigrated, when you should have been celebrated. It was a national shame, a disgrace that should have never happened. And that’s why here today we resolve that it will not happen again.”

Rob Gogolack was grateful on Saturday for the turnout at a pulled pork dinner sale at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Batavia to help raise money to modify his car so he can drive it.

Gogolack, a resident of Attica, has been diagnosed with ALS and, as he puts it, "my legs don't want to work." 

The modification would enable him to operate his car like a motorcycle.

"We're going to get hand controls for my car because I drove a motorcycle, Gogolack said. "The hand controls that I'm getting work like a throttle. Throttle it up like a motorcycle, push it forward, and that's the brakes. So, since my legs don't want to work and my upper body does -- gotta do what you gotta do."

The modification will cost about $6,000. He's already paid more than $300 for a training class.

"This is great," Gogolack said of the fundraiser. "I'm a firm believer that what comes around goes around. We've been going to this church for almost 20 years now, and with that, said -- it is just really hard to put words into it, because, like, the baskets. First of all, we didn't even want to do the baskets. We're just going to do the dinner. Then everybody just came together. Hey, I got some baskets for you. I got some baskets for you. I get it. Well, now, as you can tell, there's like 50 or 60 of them out there. So I feel very, very blessed."

St. Paul Lutheran is located at 31 Washington Ave., Batavia. The dinner goes until 8 p.m. There is also vegetarian lasagna available.

Reilly Schwenebraten and Erica Jeremy love reading, and they love teaching children to read, which explains their enthusiasm for organizing the Wocott Street School Book Fair and PARP Fest.

PARP stands for Pick A Reading Partner.

Schwenebraten is a Pre-K teacher at the Le Roy school,l and Jeremy is a teaching assistant.

"We actually spend the whole month focused on reading and activities," Jeremy said. "Then, to culminate the month, we have this event for an hour and a half on Friday night to bring the kids in a lot of free activities."

There is dancing, games, face painting, pizza, and other snacks for the kids. The student bookstore is also open.

"Our theme this year was 'Rock Out With A Good Book,' said Schwenebraten. "All of our activities have been based around music. So on Mondays, it was Move It Monday, where we were dancing throughout the day. Tuesday was Name That Tune Tuesday, where we'd play a song, and they'd have to guess it. On Wednesdays, we would dress up in different themes. Then, on Thursday, we had guest readers. So we drew in people from the community to read to our kids in lunch,  and then on Fridays, we would all wear our PARP shirts."

Why is reading important to you?

Jeremy: "Reading is important to me because it's the basic fundamental of everything you will ever learn, whatever career you want to go into, whatever job you want to have, whether you're reading a book, whether you're reading song lyrics, whether you're reading a map, whether you're reading recipes, you've got to have that knowledge to be able to go anywhere in life."

Schwenebraten: "Reading is important to me, because it brings a lot of memories for me, just with my family and how important reading was for my mom, and what I want to bring to my kids, and obviously what I bring to my students, and just like Erica said that it's the basis of all skills that you need for life, is to read. So finding ways to bring enjoyment and allow children to have enjoyment through reading is really important, and so motivating them to do that is our goal this month."

Erica Jeremy, a teaching assistant, and Reilly Schwenebraten, pre-K teacher.

A former chief operating officer for Western Region Off-Track Betting Corp. will receive $550,000 in a settlement stemming from a lawsuit he filed against the corporation in August 2021.

Michael Nolan alleged the victim of retaliation because he raised concerns about some corporation practices, such as health insurance for board members, the distribution of tickets to sporting events, misuse of funds, and improperly responding to Freedom of Information Law requests from reporters.

He was fired on Dec. 18, 2020.

In his initial filing of the suit, he sought $14.5 million --  $4.5 million for violating his First Amendment rights, another $4.5 million for breaking the state’s Civil Service Law, and an additional $5.5 million for emotional pain and suffering.

According to court documents, the case was settled through mediation on March 17 pending WROTB board approval.

Nolan began his career with WROTB in 2011 and was promoted to chief operating officer in 2017.

On Thursday, the board agreed to pay the settlement with $150,000 cash and an insurance policy covering the other $400,000.

Byron Brown, president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting, is optimistic that the corporation's lobbying efforts will lead to legislation that reduces the tax OTB pays to the state from 49% to 44%.

That would amount, at current cash flow, in an estimated $4.5 million in additional revenue, Brown said.

The language for adjustment will be part of the Assembly's version of the 2025-26 budget bill.  The Senate produces its own budget bill, and then the two chambers meet to negotiate a final budget bill.

"We feel good that we've done everything that we could do, that we got a good audience from the governor's office, the Assembly and the Senate, and we are hopeful that when the negotiations are concluded, that our requests will be part of the budget," Brown said.

The additional revenue will help the corporation on multiple fronts, Brown said, and those initiatives were part of the pitch to state legislators to approve the request.

"We explained that it was a matter of equity and fairness that would give us the ability to increase distributions to 17 member municipalities in Western New York, it would give us the ability to right size the salaries of our employees, and also to address the very high cost of family health care for our employees," Brown said.

Health insurance costs seem to be a top priority for OTB executives.

Currently, a family health insurance plan is $3,325 monthly for an OTB employee. If hired after Jan. 1, 2012, the employee contribution is 72 percent, or $2,394. Employees hired before that date pay only 5% of the premium.

The OTB would also be able to set aside some money to expand the hotel.

"(The hotel expansion project) projected to produce significantly more revenue for Western Regional off track betting Corporation, which would give us the ability to, again, not just increase our distributions to municipalities, but also increase the amount of money that we provide to the state of New York," Brown said.

In November, the board voted to delay a planned expansion of the hotel because of increased costs. The estimated cost provided by architects was $16 million and $16.5 million, which is about $4 million more than the original cost estimate.

The $4.5 million retained by OTB, if passed, is .0000018% of an anticipated $250 billion budget.

Demolition began on Wednesday the Town of Pembroke's Highway Department garage.

The town is building a new $7.2 million garage is funded by $1.5 million in reserves and $5.7 million in bonds.

CORRECTION: While the board approved a $7.2 million expenditure for the garage, the bids came in significantly lower than the anticipated cost. The garage will cost about $5 million, according to Supervisor Thomas C. Schneider Jr. Schneider said, "The new garage bays will be nearly twice the length of the old bays and the project includes new restroom and breakroom facilities for the Town Highway Crew."

He also provided the rendering below.

Submitted photos.

New York State is sticking with a plan to require school districts to begin the conversation to electric buses in 2035.

Starting that year, school districts will be prohibited from purchasing gas or diesel buses.

Le Roy Central School District is working to delay buying its first electric bus as long as possible.

"Most communities are not in this category of wanting EV buses, and I think we're in that boat," Superintendent Merritt Holly said. "With our plan, we're trying to set ourselves up so that we don't have any pressure until prices come down and infrastructure is in place. We're buying ourselves time with our fleet that we have right now so that we're not forced into buying something until we're ready to do it."

District voters recently approved a plan, on a vote of 61-7,  to purchase more buses at a cost not to exceed $700,000, with $200,000 from the 2019 capital reserve fund.

The district will purchase:

• Two 65-passenger diesel buses
• Two 35-passenger gas minibuses, one with a wheelchair lift
• Two passenger hybrid vans (one will be used for taking students to events outside the district, and the other will be a utility van on campus)

Currently, electric school buses cost from $400,000 to $500,000 each.

Holly said the mandates are beyond the district's control.

"What we can control is waiting around with our fleet to make sure that when the time comes, when the infrastructure is there, and when costs are coming down -- because right now, these are not popular decisions inside many communities. It's not inside of Le Roy."

Increased costs, even with a dip in enrollment, is driving a $986,846 budget increase in the Le Roy Central School District, Superintendent Merritt Holly told the Board of Education at Tuesday's regular meeting.

"You get the rising cost of doing business and what I would call employee costs, (such as) health insurance," Holly said. "Just inflationary costs, again, of doing business, our buildings and the repairs. People sometimes forget that Woodwood Memorial Library is our responsibility and there's no aid back to that, and that falls on our budget to make that happen."

Business Administrator Brian Foeller said there will be six staff retirements and only two positions will be replaced.

Foeller also mentioned other cost pressures, including employment contract obligations, increased enrollment at BOCES and the P-Tech Academy, and repairs needed at the junior/senior high school parking lot.

The district plans to purchase choral risers, wrestling mats, musical instruments, and utility vehicles in 2025/26.

The total proposed spending plan is $32,055,588.  The levy is expected to increase 1.7%, which is below the tax cap limit. The district won't calculate the new tax rate for property owners until assessments are settled in August.

The board will vote on the budget at its April meeting, with a public vote in early May.

After the meeting, Holly spoke with The Batavian about national and state issues that may or may not affect the school district.

A looming issue is the possible closure of the Department of Education. On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order eliminating the department, but even Republican members of Congress reminded him that Congressional approval is needed to eliminate the department, a point Trump has conceded. 

Holly said the biggest issue the district might face is the potential loss of Title 1 funds. The executive order carved out Title 1 as a program to continue, but perhaps run by another agency. Title 1 assists schools with a high percentage of students from low-income families.

The funds can account for 10 to 15 percent of district spending each year, Holly said.  That could mean a $3.5 to $5 million in lost revenue for the district if Title 1 is eliminated.

In the near term, Holly isn't worried about closing the DOE. So long as the Title 1 funds remain in place, the federal department has little to do with local schools.

"Yeah, I think the impact could be more down the road," Holly said. I think some of the movement by the Trump Administration, and what they're doing is, at face value, trying to look at costs, just like everybody else is trying to do to be efficient. I think the part that's most concerning for schools is, will those federal dollars come back to our schools, and to our states, then back to our schools. And I think that with that being said, that's the part of it that's the unpredictable nature of where we don't know where that's going to end."

Even though Congressional approval is uncertain, and there are lawsuits pending that attempt to block the executive order, and Trump has said Title 1 should continue, Holly thinks the district should ponder a future without the department and the funds.

"What will that impact mean if the federal dollars are not coming our way?" Holly said. "What's that going to mean for states? What are they going to do, and then what are we going do at the local level? So, I think we can start to gear up for some of those conversations."

Other than funding, most of the operations of the DOE -- collecting data on schools and education research, recommending education reforms, enforcing enforcing civil rights laws, and administering Pell Grants -- have little to no impact on local schools.

Some of the arguments about whether to keep the DOE is a two-sided coin.  Elimination, theoretically, helps return control of schools to the state and local districts. On the other side, the DOE doesn't interfere with local schools.

"I think, listen, I want -- this is my opinion --I want to have local control," Holly said. "I think that's what originally started -- our Board of Education, our community. I want local control as much as possible on that always; it is hard because at the same time, we're asking for federal dollars back but again, the impact should be local, local decision-making is where I believe education should start and end."

Which brings up a natural question: how about state control of local school districts?

"I think the unfunded mandates place huge burdens on districts that they don't think about that sometimes," Holly said.

An example, he said, is the electric bus mandate. 

"I still don't think it has been well thought out, though the other side would disagree," Holly said. 

Another mandate Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing is for a ban of mobile devices by students during school hours. Holly said that is another issue that should remain up to the local school districts.

"That shouldn't be handled at the state level," Holly said. "It should be handled at the local level where we know what is best for students."

At the end of the interview, Holly provided The Batavian with a list of 152 state and federal unfunded mandates.  

These include:

• Charter school payments from district aid
• Claims auditor
• School district property tax report cards
• Segregation of duties (increased staffing)
• Five-year capital facilities plan
• Building condition survey every five years
• Environmentally sensitive products ("green cleaning")
• Academic intervention services
• Coaching certification
• Statewide data collection
• Duel enrollment for non-public students
• Curriculum requirements include Conservation Day and programs for the Irish Potato Famine, Humane Treatment of Animals, Patriotism and Citizenship, and Care for the Flag.
• Seat time requirements
• Staffing ratios and class sizes
• Costs for students attending state schools for the blind and deaf
• Children of Vietnam Vets must file a form
• Nonpublic school healthcare services
• Nonpublic school software loan
• Nonpublic school textbook loan
• Nonpublic school transportation

A group of friends and I share music-related messages through e-mail fairly regularly and the other day one of them shared a newspaper article that mentioned the rock band The Byrds were going to play at Batavia High School.

The undated article is clear that the concert was at Batavia High School.  It may have been sponsored by Genesee County College (a group member found another article mentioning the Bob Seger System playing the series, which is what started the discussion). 

A site called concertswiki suggests the show was on April 26, 1970.

An article in the Buffalo Courier-Express, from the Batavia Bureau, mentioned that while students got band members' autographs after the show, one enterprising fan grabbed one of the auditorium's plastic chairs and then had band members sign it. 

Then, police spotted the youth, not named in the article, running across the parking lot with the chair.  He was charged with petit larceny and released on $25 bail.

So, who was this young fan? Do you know? Was it you? We want to solve this mystery and get the rest of the story. Email me, please, at howard@thebatavian.com

Local law enforcement officers were the first on scene on Monday afternoon for a house fire at 24 Lincoln Ave., Le Roy, and jumped into action with three fire extinguishers and a garden hose to help keep the fire under control until Le Roy Fire arrived on scene.

The responding officers were Officer Terrez Smith, Detective James Prusak, and Deputy Jenna Fernando.

The fire was reported at about 1:40 p.m. with smoke and flames showing. 

Bergen Fire, Pavilion Fire, and Stafford Fire also responded.

It took about 20 minutes to extinguish the fire.

Photos via Le Roy Police Department.

Paul Marchese’s turn to computers came about in college when a professor suggested a new degree program might be right for him.

Before he even graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in computer science and mathematics, he had started -- in 1981 -- his own business in Batavia.

"I've always had a drive to try and help people to solve a problem and make technology work for them," Marchese said.

That passion has led Marchese to participate in the publication of a couple of books. The latest was released earlier this month, and Marchese contributed one of the essays in The Cyber Playbook (published by BigRedMedia), "The major cyber dangers that could topple your business."

Drawing on his own experience, Marchese writes about how employees -- and even owners -- can be duped through social engineering (using deception to get a person to divulge information they shouldn't) and phishing (a type of social engineering) to gain access to sensitive data.

We're busy, inattentive, not aware, and with a click, poof, critical data is gone, or maybe encrypted, in what's called a ransomware attack.  

Marchese discusses some of the measures businesses can take to protect themselves from these attacks. 

"The biggest point that I can stress to anyone I'm talking to, is cybersecurity is not a set and forget; doesn't work," Marchese said. "The old stalwarts today, the Macafees, the Nortons, all those anti-virus programs, none of them work. It's all essentially placebo based."

Marchese promotes managed services, layers of security and an AI-driven security program called Sentinel One.

"We've been using it for almost five years," Marchese said. "The tech is continually changing, and the way hackers come in is continually changing. It's a moving target. That's why I said it's not set and forget it."

Marchese's first book was self-published and written for the non-IT person to help him or her understand the computer technology and wired world.

"I think it was chapter 10 in that book that was terminology," Marchese said. "I armed them with all the nomenclature an IT person would normally make themselves look better because they'd use these terms that nobody understands."

Marchese’s first collaborative book project came out a year ago, "From Exposed to Secure" (published by Morgan James). The book also covers a range of cybersecurity issues. Marchese's chapter is "Your Workforce Is Your Biggest Cybersecurity Risk."  It provides eight best practices to reduce the risk.

Over the past 44 years, Marchese Computers, 220 Ellicott St., Batavia, has grown from one employee to 10 employees. The mission has remained the same, Marchese said.

"My goal is to remove the stress, the worry from whoever I touch, as far as a client, so they can grow their business because it's symbiotic," Marchese said. "They grow, we grow, and it has worked very well for me."

By lasting more than four decades, Marchese has had plenty of opportunity to kid his uncle, Vic Marchese, owner of Main St. Pizza Company, about his decision not to invest in Paul's company early on.

"I said, 'How'd you like to buy half of my company for $1,500, and he goes, 'I don't know; no, I don’t think so. Computers are just a fad.' Computers are just a fad. I will never let him live that down. And I keep telling him, 'Oh, just a fad, huh?'"

Dean K. Houk, 55, of Batavia, is charged with DWI and multiple traffic violations. On March 7, a police officer reportedly observed Houk drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle. Houk allegedly led police on a pursuit through the city until stopped at West Main Street and Oak Street. He was issued traffic tickets and released.

Jamie Stephen Vosburgh, 36, of Jackson Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely, and insufficient tail lamps. Vosburgh was stopped at 10:26 p.m. on March 16 on Cole Road, Le Roy, by Deputy Zachary Hoy. He was issued traffic tickets and released.

Brandon Charles Dodd, 38, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Dodd is accused of shoplifting from Target on Veterans Memorial Drive, Bataiva, at 11:56 a.m. on March 6. He was issued an appearance ticket and released.

Jennifer C. Moscicki, 48, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Moscicki is accused of stealing merchandise from Aldi on March 11. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Mercedes Ramon-Rodriguez, 31, of Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. She is accused of leaving a 3-year-old at home alone. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Kelly J. Mungo, 49, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Mungo is accused of stealing merchandise from Aldi on March 6. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Mary A Ingles, 70, of Batavia, is charged with DWI. Ingles was stopped by a Batavia patrol officer on March 5 on Richmond Avenue. She was issued traffic tickets and released.

Bill A. Thomas, 65, is charged with trespass. Thomas was found inside the City Centre Mall on March 7 in violation of a previous order to keep of the premises. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Jazmyn R. Bater, 20, of Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Bater is accused of striking another person in the head several times on March 7 while the other person was holding a child. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Jennifer N. Wilson, 38, of Auburndale, Fla., was arrested on March 9 on a warrant. She allegedly failed to appear on charges from Feb. 26, 2024, of criminal trespass 2nd, obstructing governmental administration, and resisting arrest. She was arraigned and released.

In 2024, Batavia PD handled big crimes, petit crimes, and no crimes and participated in multiple community events, according to the department's annual report.

In all, the department made 635 arrests, which included a murder, nine robberies, 23 felony assaults, 56 thefts, four kidnappings, 66 drug possessions, 44 DWIs, and four sex offenses.

The department did not release a report in 2024, so 2023's arrest data is unavailable.

The 2025 report does provide comparison data for total calls for service. There were 22,116 calls for service last year and 21,617 in 2022.  During the COVID years, calls for service dropped. There were 21,264 calls for service in 2019.

Those calls included 1,120 domestic incidents, which is a slight increase from the previous year, as well as 802 disturbance calls. The police investigated 920 larcenies, which was down from 2023 and 2022, when larceny reports peaked over 1,000. Mental health calls were down from nearly a thousand in 2023 to 715 in 2024.

The number of domestic violence victims has steadily decreased since 2020, when there were 248 victims reported. There were 146 in 2024.

Officers responded to 371 alarm calls, 410 9-1-1 hang-up calls, and 508 animal complaints and conducted 641 welfare checks.

Patrols conducted 3,207 traffic stops and wrote 1,790 citations. 

There were 493 motor vehicle crashes reported.

The department was involved in multiple community events, including Batavia Community Night, Shop with a Cop, Trunk-or-Treat, and Juneteenth, as well as department members participating in charity softball and hockey games.

The most significant case of the year was the death of Sgt. Thomas A. Sanfratello of the Sheriff's Office. He died while trying to deal with unruly patrons at Batavia Downs. Batavia's officers and detectives handled the investigation.  Michael Elmore was eventually convicted of manslaughter in the case.

"The men and women of the City of Batavia Police Department go above and beyond each and every day to ensure the safest possible neighborhoods and streets," said Chief Shawn Heubusch in his opening message. "Our civilian staff makes sure that the department operates as efficiently as possible and are to be recognized for their hard work as well. I thank all the members of the Department for their service and sacrifice as we enter into a new year."

A 33-year-old Batavia man will serve up to 20 years in federal prison on a conviction of production and possession of child pornography, a U.S district judge ruled on Thursday.

Derek Hagen admitted to the child pornography charges on Sept. 7, 2022. He was arrested in November 2021.

Hagen's most recently known employment at the Brockport Childhood Development Center as an assistant teacher in the infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms.

According to Kyle P. Rossi, assistant U.S. attorney, the evidence compiled against Hagen showed that the former teacher engaged in a pattern of sexual conduct with a victim between the ages of 4 and 8. Hagen photographed and videoed himself, subjecting the victim to sexual contact. Hagen then distributed the images to other people over the internet.

Rossi also said that Hagan, while employed in Brockport, produced and possessed sexually explicit images of children entrusted to his care. The children ranged in age from six months to five years. Hagen produced these images while changing diapers and assisting children who were learning to use the bathroom. Hagen distributed the images of these children to other individuals over the internet. 

Hagen also possessed approximately 50,000 images and videos of child pornography that he received from others via the internet.

The case was investigated by the State Police, Homeland Security, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.     

If you have not heard of Henry Grace, that's OK; until a year ago, neither had Eric Zwieg.

Henry Grace, he said, is "a reinvention of yourself, right?"

So who is Henry Grace?

"He's someone who hasn't played music in like, almost 25 years, you know, on a regular basis, someone who hasn't written songs or played with other people (in a long time)."

That sounds a lot like Zwieg.

"The last time I legitimately played music was in Atlanta, with a couple of bands down there.
 Zwieg said. "We put records out. We played the scenes that were happening, played a lot of bars, did some great opening act type stuff."

Then Zwieg, originally from Jamestown, came back to Western New York. That was in 2003.

"Since then, I haven't done anything," Zwieg said. "I hardly picked up a guitar. In fact, I basically gave away all my gear over the years."

A little over a year ago, he showed up at the first Iburi Photography open mic and read from his thesis, and then he formed the musical duo Paris and Holly with Emily Crawford. They performed together at Iburi and GO Art! together for about six months. 

During that time, Henry Grace started to emerge. Now, Grace is ready to release his first full-length album, "The Complete Disaster," at a release party at 8 p.m. on Saturday at GO Art!, 201 E. Main St., Batavia.

Music has been part of Zwieg since childhood.

"I was always around music when I was a kid," Zwieg said. "I was fortunate enough to grow up on the grounds of Chautauqua Institute. When I was a kid, in my early adolescence and teen years, I saw amazing artists there, including the symphony and ballet companies and opera, a lot of the big touring acts of the late 60s and 70s. It was a big influence on me and kind of just hurtled me into music."

He started out on trumpet, joined choir and before graduating from high school, he was involved in musical theater.

At 16, he became a drummer (self-taught) in a band. They played Southern Rock in the bards of Jamestown.

"That was a lot of fun," Zwieg said. "It taught me how to deal with bar owners and drunks and everything that goes along with what used to be the only place you could play."

He paused his pursuit of music when he became "domesticated."  He became a father when he was 21 and went back to community college and majored in musical theater. During that time, he put his own band together for the first time, Common Man.

"I was writing songs right from the start, playing guitar and singing, and we had a great four-piece band," Zwieg said. "We stuck around for about five, six years, did some recordings, did a lot of regional touring, opening up for some smaller acts. It's a really small scene in Jamestown, but kind of the epicenter because of the fact that the 10,000 Maniacs had made it 10 years before, and so there were a lot of musicians around who were trying to put bands together."

His next band was called The Schmells but the gigs weren't happening, so he started doing solo acoustic work in college bars and coffee houses in Buffalo, Erie, Fredonia, Geneseo, and other college towns.

"It was a funky scene, and it was always better in the small college markets," he said.

In 2016, he came to Batavia and started formal writing programs, earning a bachelor's degree as well as an MFA.

He wrote fiction, plays, and poems and put together theatrical productions, poetry readings, and lectures.

Then the siren song of the musical muse started calling again.

"Music has definitely taken the upper hand because I find it easier to just play by myself and go out into a gig or set things up with other people, rather than putting together a full cast, Zwieg said. 

When you put a production together, it is, well, a production. You need rehearsal space and a place to perform as well as the casting and directing."

"It's incredibly time-consuming and I don't want to be a producer," Zwieg said.

He said he would rather be an artist, and music was always central to his life.

All the formal education sparked an interest at working at the craft of songwriting.

"I just didn't have any purpose, really, and I wasn't connecting with people," Zwieg said. "And it's an easy way to connect with people, and even if you're just playing open mics and things like that there becomes a community. And I was trying to create a community at the same time. So yeah, I was definitely trying to motivate myself. Once you put things out in front of you that you know you want to accomplish, or things that you're expected to do ... you become committed to it."

He hosted a series of Henry Grace and Company coffee-house-like shows at GO Art! over the past several months, featuring not just Grace, but also other solo acoustic performers.

"The overall purpose is just to get singer-songwriters to come out of the closet," Zwieg said. 

"We've created a bit of an audience there, and that's really the major thing I'd like to parlay that into -- I was hoping for a grant this year, but it didn't come through -- working towards the first Batavia Folk Festival to include all the local folks and local teachers."

So what does Henry Grace write and sing about?

The self, Zwieg said. Not necessarily the personal self but songs that are personal and about selves.

"There's a lot of storytelling in there," Zwieg said. "I like to tell stories. I have been fortunate enough to travel around the country and in Europe and really meet a lot of people. I love to sit and talk and bullshit. Once in a while, you extract something good."

Those conversations made it into journals, and those journals led to a stream-of-consciousness approach to songwriting, he said. 

"I would most compare it to somebody like REM, who was a big influence on me when I first started writing songs. A lot of their music is a stream of consciousness, or it's just it's poetic. Things in Michael Stipe just strung together, and that's always stuck with me."

So, in Henry Grace, Zwieg has rediscovered his roots.

"Music has always been my go-to thing," Zwieg said. "I've played it throughout my life and a lot of different kinds of different approaches, but I'm back to the singer-songwriter type of thing now and just really simplifying it."

The Genesee Chorale will sing you back to the 1960s in a concert at Batavia First United Methodist Church on March 29 at 4 p.m.

The "Classic Rewind" program features multiple hits from the pivotal decade arranged for choir.

Tickets are $10.

Batavia First United Methodist Church is located at 8221 Lewiston Road, Batavia.

This weekend, Batavia Players presents at the Main St. 56 Theater Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale."

The production is directed by Patrick D. Burk with a script adapted by Burk and Tess Uline.

The Players promise a play of romance that is filled with surprises, modern-day twists, and glam. The play is a tale of love, jealousy, and redemption, and staged by the Players in a contemporary way, bringing characters to life for today's world.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets are $22 for adults ($24 at the door) with discounts for students and seniors.  Tickets are available at bataviaplayers.org.

There were laughs, hugs, and appreciation in the Byron Fire Hall on Saturday evening as the Byron Volunteer Fire Department recognized its dedicated members and those in other departments and the community who support it.

Robert Mruczek, who stepped into the chief's role seven years ago, was honored as he steps down to a deputy chief's role.

Assistant Chief Edward Sharp read a statement from the new chief, Dwane Weatherell, who was unable to attend the dinner.

"When Robert Mruczek took over this position," he said, "it was a time of transition following the sudden resignation of the previous fire chief halfway through the year. The challenges were great, but Chief Mruczek took those challenges head-on with a level of professionalism and dedication that set an example of true leadership. Chief Mruczek stepped into an uncertain and demanding situation. From day one, he demonstrated his ability to lead and inspire those around him. Under his leadership, our department has weathered many storms and flourished through countless emergencies, fires, and rescues. Chief Mruczek has ensured the safety and well-being of our community while continuing to build a strong department."

In 2024, the department responded to eight fire calls, 148 EMS calls, 11 hazardous condition calls, 25 good intent calls, and six false alarms. Department members went through 889 hours of fire training and 439 hours of EMS training.

The 2024 administrative officers are  

• Steve Lockner, president
• Pete Lockner, vice president
• Tammy Wells, treasurer
• Laura Platt, assistant treasurer
• John Durand, sunshine chair
• Tim McKenrick, chairman of the board
• Board of directors: Ken McKenrick, Kevin McKenrick, and Joe Wells
• Kevin McKenrick, chaplain

Firematic officers:

• Dwane Weatherell, chief
• Robert Mruczek, deputy chief
• Edward Sharp, assistant chief
• Brandan Crossett, captain
• Michael Alexander, lieutenant,
• John Durand, safety officer

EMS:

• Brad Nickerson, captain
• Kylenna Smith, lieutenant
• Dr. Erik Peterson medical director

Ladies Auxilary:

Laura Platt, president

Julia Hahn-Wasinger, vice president

Bethany Berggren, secretary

Morgan Leaton, treasurer

Barb Read, sunshine chair

Board of Directors: Eliane Barniak, Jayne Foose, and Christine Nickerson

Exempts:

• Tim McKenrick, president
• David Barringer, vice president
• Ken McKenrick, secretary
• Tony Barniak, treasurer