Oakfield-Alabama's season game to a bit of an unexpected end on Monday with a 4-2 loss to Geneseo.
The Hornets entered the quarterfinal game of the Class C Section V tournament as the #2 seed, and the Blue Devils are the #7 seed.
No stats are available.
Also on Monday:
Since we launched Early Access Pass, a lot of people have asked questions. Some people have made statements worth addressing. And some people have expressed misperceptions about the program. This FAQ is intended to address those issues.
What is Early Access Pass?
Early Access Pass is an innovative program asking readers to help provide financial support for the gathering and reporting of local news. Rather than wall off everything, The Batavian publishes select stories that are initially available only to those who have joined Early Access Pass. For the first four hours after a story is published, only readers who have joined Early Access Pass will have access to those select stories. Readers who join Early Access will get instant access to originally reported, bylined stories by The Batavian. Those who don’t join will need to wait four hours after publication to read those stories.
What do I get if I sign up for Early Access Pass?
You get instant access to all of the original, by-lined reporting of The Batavian while everybody waits to join will wait to get all of the news. And, currently, we’ll send you a free reusable tote bag.
What do I get if I DON'T sign up for Early Access Pass?
You can still read all of the press releases we post as soon as they're published. Scanner reports will not require a pass. Community events we cover as primarily photo coverage will most likely not require a pass. There will be the other certain news items -- ones that didn't require a lot of reporting time -- that will not require a pass. And, of course, every story that did require a pass will no longer require a pass four hours after publication. In other words, you still get everything we publish for free, though on a few items, you will need to wait to access it.
I think news should be free!
Actually, news still is free on The Batavian. We’re offering you a choice: Join Early Access and get instant access or wait to join and then wait to read important news about the community for free later. All stories are still free to read, but some will require an Early Access Pass to read immediately.
Why are you asking me to pay you to read the news?
As stated above, we're not asking you to pay for news. We’re offering you a choice -- pay for instant access or wait and read it for free later. That said, gathering and reporting news is time-consuming, and time equals money, which means hiring reporters, which is expensive. For most of the first 15 years of The Batavian, Howard Owens gathered and wrote nearly all the news on the site. That required him to work 10, 12, 14, 16 hours a day. Often, he still works those long hours. It’s taken a toll on his health and given him very little free time. He can no longer keep working at that pace. The Batavian is asking readers to support The Batavian so its news staff can be expanded.
Isn’t this just a cash grab, pure greed?
As stated above, the founder and owner of The Batavian has been working 10 to 16 hours a day for most of the past 15 years. He can’t continue at that pace. This isn’t about generating more profit. It’s about asking the readers for help so The Batavian can hire more staff writers.
Why should I pay The Batavian when I get my news elsewhere for free?
You can’t get most of what The Batavian reports elsewhere. There are only two news organizations covering Genesee County that do any sort of in-depth reporting, and both now ask for readers to financially support their news-gathering efforts. And that other publication doesn’t report nearly as much news about Genesee County as The Batavian. Also, The Batavian frequently reports news stories long before that other publication gets to them, if they ever do. And of those two news organizations, The Batavian charges less on either a monthly basis or an annual basis.
Can’t I just get all my news off of social media?
In brief: no, you can’t. Social media is a poor substitute for an actual news-gathering operation. The way the algorithms work, you can’t trust that everything that might be important to you will come to your attention or in a timely manner. And how do you know what you’re reading on social media is accurate? Who is the person providing you the information? What is the person’s agenda? A lot of local governments now post information about what they’re doing on social media, but who is asking questions about the accuracy and context of that information? What social media company is sending reporters to small town meetings to find out what’s really going on, to ask questions, to make public document requests, to hold appointed and elected officials accountable? These are the functions of journalists, and journalists, like any other worker, need to be paid to do their jobs. Twice in the past month (as of May 2023), reporters for The Batavian have reminded elected officials that they were about to enter secret meetings that violated the state's open meetings law. In both cases, the elected officials agreed to hold their discussion in open session. It takes engaged, knowledgeable, professional reporters to hold public officials accountable.
Why is local news so important that I should pay to support it?
Without local reporters, there is nobody to hold local government officials accountable, to ensure they’re serving the public interest. In communities without much, if any, local news, small-town governments have been shown to slip into incompetence, if not outright corruption. And it’s not that local government officials are bad people. It’s just without a watchdog, it’s easy for anybody to fall into bad habits. Further, local news reporters do more than hold officials accountable. They also report on the accomplishments of our children. They spread the news about the good deeds of charities and civic organizations. And by spreading all of the information about a community, they help bind a community together, which is essential to a community’s health and financial well-being.
I’m not convinced. I still don’t think I should pay for local news.
Well, like we said, you don’t have to. You can wait the four hours to read a story that might interest you. That said, if readers won’t support local news, someday there will be no local news. Howard Owens, the owner of The Batavian, is going to retire or die someday. As things stand, it’s doubtful The Batavian could continue under a new owner. It would just shut down. And the other big news operation in town relies heavily on its print subscribers to stay in business. All across the country, the declining value of print subscribers can be found in obituary columns. The death of print news in small towns is inevitable. So, if readers won’t support digital news, someday there will be no local news.
How do I join if I don’t want to use a credit card?
You can send a check for $80 to:
The Batavian
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Batavia, NY 14021
To join Early Access Pass online, click here.
Holley was no match for Oakfield-Alabama in the first round of Class C Section V baseball tournament on Friday, with Holley pitchers giving up 25 hits and 30 rounds to the #2 seed.
The Hornets hit two home runs, by Shaun Alexander and Bodie Hyde, and Hyde collected six RBIs and scored twice while going 2-2. Alexander was 2-3 after taking over for Hyde in centerfield.
Brenden Wescott was 4-5 with four RBIs. David Schnaufer was 3-5 with three runs scored. Cole Kornow scored four times and collected four RBIs while going 2-4.
Five O-A pitchers fanned 13 hitters over seven innings while giving up seven hits, and one earned run.
Also on Sunday in Class C, Pembroke lost to Bloomfield, 5-1. In Class C, Byron-Bergen beat Cuba-Rushford, 8-5.
In today's games,
Photos by Max Waterson, age 7.
It was indeed a bit like the set of an episode of PBS's Antiques Roadshow at the First Presbyterian Church of Batavia on Saturday, with local residents walking in carrying their treasures and experts giving sharing what they observed about the item while the owner awaited the verdict: Priceless or worthless.
There were items of little or no value, such as the windup Victrola, which is a great artifact but a common item in antique terms. Of keener interest to Todd Jantzi, the Bontrager's auctioneer who shared his judgment on a several items during the nearly daylong appraisal event that was a fundraiser for the Holland Land Office Museum, was the old shellac 78s the owner of the Victrola brought in. Those are not common and, in fact, among the hardest records for collectors to find.
Many items, of course, were of middling value, like the mantle clock brought in by Crystal Rhinehart of East Bethany.
It was made by Ansonia, a well-known maker of clocks with a solid reputation, Jantzi told her.
Rhinehart said the clock had been in her family since it was new.
"This would have taken a little bit more funds to purchase it, so it probably would have kept better time than some other clocks," Jantzi said.
Then he joked, "We usually only see these from the homes of the rich people in East Bethany."
He valued it at $100 to $225 at auction.
Other experts on hand during the day were representatives from Cottone Auctions and Schultz Auctioneers. A variety of items were brought in from musical instruments, such as a guitar, and pieces of art, such as a colorized 1880s etching of the famous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.
At the end of the day, Gary Harkness and his wife, Debbie, walked in with a bag of items for appraisal.
The largest item was the one that came out of the bag first. It was a cast white metal lamp with two candle-shaped lights. Harkness said it sits on his mantle as a night light.
It's from the 1920s or 1930s.
"No cracks, which is uncommon for that age," Jantzi said.
Harkness pointed out a small piece of metal missing, and Jantzi said, "But usually you'll see age cracks, and there's none here."
At auction, Jantzi said, $400, maybe $500.
Then Jantzi picked up a scrimshaw-engraved bone card-carrying case and nudged a photographer, "You'll want to get a picture of this."
Above an etching of a patriotic woman was the inscription, "Col Emory Upton. 124 New York Vols."
The other side was inscribed, "In much appreciation from U.S. Grant, Nov. 1863."
Upton, of course, is the Batavia-born Civil War hero, who would become a general before the war's end, and whose likeless stands vigil at Main and Ellicott in the city. Grant, a future president, would, in a few months' time from the date of the inscription, take over command of the U.S. military and lead the Union to victory over the traitorous southern states.
Harkness said he bought the case about 25 years ago from a dealer in Canada for $600 or $700.
Jantzi said it's such a rare item with such historical significance, he couldn't put a price on it.
"That is cool, Gary. That is cool," Jantzi said. "The only way you're gonna find out is to put it up for auction. That's the only way you'll ever find out, but you hate to get rid of it to find out."
Harkness said he's thought about a heritage auction, but, he said, "It's not going anywhere soon."
The historical treasure has been displayed before at the Holland Land Office Museum, he said.
Kind of like a real episode of “Antiques Roadshow,” Harkness coming in at the end with Upton's card box from Grant, gave the day of appraisals its dramatic closing.
Harkness let a couple of volunteers hold the case, and one woman said, "Oh, my God" as she looked at it in awe.
"And you touched it," said the other. "You touched it."
In the past week, The Batavian once again brought you more news about Genesee County than any other news source.
Below is a list of the bylined stories The Batavian published over the past week ahead of any other news outlet, and, again, in many cases, The Batavian was the only news source to bring you these stories.
The Batavian's dedication to bringing you the most local news first is a good reason you should sign up today for Early Access Pass. News coverage is a lot of work, and in order to continue to stay on top of it, we are asking for reader support through Early Access Pass.
Please be sure to sign up for Early Access Pass today.
Timothy Freeman Edgerton, whose distinguished life as a citizen of Genesee County included winning a Golden Gloves championship in 1977 in Texas, died at age 62 at home in Oakfield on May 7.
He is the last known boxer with roots in Batavia to have won a championship.
His obituary was released today.
Edgerton was born Aug. 6, 1960 in Batavia. He graduated from Byron-Bergen and attended GCC for a year. He then transferred to Sam Houston State University in Texas, where he majored in Criminal Justice.
As a youth, Edgerton was captivated by boxing stories of his uncle Norman, who once battled for a Golden Gloves title and lost. In 1976, he took boxing lessons in Rochester. He was unable to get on a Golden Gloves card in Buffalo -- for some reason, the only names drawn were all Buffalo residents, so he hung up his gloves for a little bit.
He moved to Houston, and while there, he decided to try again to compete for a Golden Glove title. While signing up, he was recruited by a boxing team, Cut and Shoot, Texas.
They were a few boxers short for the team, Edgerton told The Batavian in 2013 in an exclusive interview. They could provide people to work his corner. That way, Ederton got help, and if he scores any points, the Cut and Shoot team gets the points.
That sounded like a fair deal, Edgerton said.
"Of course, they had no idea what my skill level was," Ederton said. "They just went into it blind, kind of like I went with them blind."
From The Batavian's 2013 story:
Then this man from Cut and Shoot, Texas, had another proposal for the 174-pound fighter.
"The guy says, 'What would you think about fighting as a heavyweight?' and I said, 'Are you kidding me?' "
Edgerton would be giving up at least 25 pounds to every fighter he faced.
"You'll be giving up a lot of weight, but you're quick, you're fast," the man said. "Jab and move, stay away from them, try to score some points. Your chances are better as a heavyweight. I know some of the kids in the lightweight division. They're really good. I don't know you, but that's the best I can offer."
Edgerton and Lettie talked it over. The man, whom Edgerton still didn't know from a fence post, seemed to know what he was talking about.
After winning the preliminary bouts, Edgerton was facing a man 45 pounds heavier in the finals.
"He had had to go 220, maybe 225 pounds," Edgerton said. "He was bigger. He was taller. And I won. I don't know how. Maybe out of fear. But I was able to take it to him pretty good.
"It did work out where he was bigger and stronger, but he was slower," Edgerton added. "I could outmaneuver his punches, you know, duck. A couple of times, he swung, and I could just literally feel the air rush overhead. If he ever hit me, I would have been gone. They would have been carrying me out."
The fight went all three rounds, and for a moment, Edgerton thought he could score a knockout.
"In the third round, I almost had enough to put him down," Edgerton said. "He was stumbling back into the ropes, but I didn't have enough.
"In my corner, they yelled out, 'stick and move, stick and move, you got the fight won, just stick and move,' so that's what I did," Edgerton added. "I got on the bicycle, and started sticking, moving, moving, sticking. He couldn't catch me. He was tired. I was in better shape, thank God, and I ended up winning."
With the victory, Edgerton won his Golden Gloves title, and as a heavyweight. Those points also put the team from Cut and Shoot, Texas, over the top for a team championship.
That was Edgerton's last fight. He finished with a career record of 19-6.
Edgerton married Lettie, whom he met in Texas.
He wanted to return home, but couldn't land a crime-fighting job in Genesee County. He went to work for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, living in Detroit for a while.
Eventually, the job brought him back to Batavia
In 1993, he developed Operation Child Intercept, which has been adopted nationwide, to combat the illicit transportation of missing and abducted children across the international borders into the U.S.
Edgerton served on the Oakfield-Alabama Central School District board for 15 years and was an advocate for student rights, improved school nutrition, and diversity and inclusion. He also served as President and a key member of the Elementary Community School Organization (ECSO), where he helped bring skating parties, winter carnivals, public speakers, and countless other special events to the students and larger community each year.
In Girls Softball on Friday, the Alexander Trojans kept their season going with a 20-5 win over East Rochester.
Freshman Ava Yax, along with Sophomores Faith Goodenbury and Brianna Neyman, led Alexander at the plate as the three hits each for a combined 9-11 on the day.
Ava Yax was 3-4, with four RBIs, two runs scored, and two stolen bases, while Faith Goodenbury was 3-3 with a two-RBI double, one run scored and one stolen base and Brianna Neyman was 3-4 with a double, two RBIs and one run scored. Madison Boyce, Melissa Sawyer, and Carley Shepard all contributed with Multi-hits games. Emily Pietrzykowski extended her hitting streak to 13 games with a triple to right center. The 17 team hits pushed Alexander over 200 team hits on the year.
Madison Boyce picked up her sixth win (6-2) on the bump with another dominant performance where the hurler tossed six innings, allowing five hits, one earned run, and one walk. She whiffed 11 batters. It was her fourth double-digit strikeout outing of the year and brought her strikeout total to 86 through nine starts.
Next up for Alexander (#5 seed) is the Section V Quarterfinal matchup with Oakfield (#4 seed) on Monday at 5 p.m. in Oakfield.
“The girls did a great job in the box again today," said Head Coach John Goodenbury. "Any game that your team can come out and get 17 hits while your pitcher tallies double-digit strikeouts is going to be a good day. Today was nice for the girls, but we all know what lies ahead of us Monday with Oakfield. We will try to focus on the game at hand, but we all had Oakfield on our minds today. That’s going to be a fun game, and they did beat us twice this season by one run each time, so we just want to go in there, play solid defense and let the chips fall where they fall. We’ve had a fantastic season so far, and we just don’t want it to end.”
Submitted information. Photos by Cathy Sawyer.
Submitted by Donald Weyer
Hey, Matt Landers, Genesee County Manager, I respected you, but I'm starting to wonder!
You're whining about "the homeless" in your realm, in reference to the illegal immigrants being potentially bussed into, and housed in our area; and your subsequent declaration of a "state of emergency", (shades of Alexander Haig, "I'm in charge here", and I think, Watergate), as our introduction to not the "Summer of Love" (1968), but rather to the Summer of 2023. Where are these "homeless", please tell me, do. I want to see them. I certainly hope that you're not referring to homeowners who are barely making their payments to retain their homes, the nearly-borderline "homeless". (Actually, I think they are called home or housing "poor"). Are you? Because you have resources at your disposal, windfalls from sales-tax revenues, mortgage taxes, all the gambling revenues pouring out of Batavia Downs, to directly assist the nearly-drowning property-tax payers, don't you?
In fact, aren't all your most recent "crying wolf" press releases just political grand-standing? Please, Mr. Landers, instead of ballyhooing the new jail out there by County Building 2, which is just more agitprop about crime and criminals, ditto with your immigration stand, pay attention to the genuine needs and priorities of us Genesee County tax-payers who finance your programs! You know, us middle-class people,go-to-work-everyday, no questions asked, no problems made, individuals and families, who find ourselves strangely neglected, in this age of "victims", the "under-served", the "put-upon" ,the "under-belly", of American society! And anyway, isn't crime, jails, prisons, and criminals, principally an N.Y.State function; immigration primarily a U.S. government function? Leave these issues, and pontifications about them, to the big boys and girls in Albany and Washington, and talk to my neighbors and me right here in Batavia, N.Y., the seat of Genesee County, and the base of your management and governance,in association with the Genesee County Legislature.
You're not elected, sir, but if you were, right at this time in your dedicated, and I'm sure, sincere service and tenure, I would vote against you.
I don't know whether I'm "pro" or "anti" immigration. But maybe a little "pro," only within legal means. But, man, oh man, Matt, my good man, I think you've "stepped into it" this time. Stay closer to home, do what you do and know best, talk up the "good bones" that we have out at the Genesee County Park; the incredibly outstanding employees and programs you have over at the Genesee County Office for the Aging, the Senior Center, on Bank Street; the Sheriff's Department sheriff and deputies and prison officers who keep us safe and secure; your guys who do the snow-plowing and land-scaping; the offices that ably serve our veterans and provide social services; the ones who exactingly and perspicaciously keep and record our vital and transactional business records in the County Clerk office. These are all tangible programs and people that you can point to, not the lofty and abstract policy ruminations and philosophizing that you are currently faltering on! Jettison the politicking over the state and national affairs to the state and national players, no matter if they are buffoons and jokes and rummies!
Batavia Players premier A Cabaret Showcase: Opposites Attract at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Main St. 56 Theater in City Centre, Batavia.
The show is a smorgasbord of songs showcasing true opposites -- love and hate, dead and alive, in and out, big and small, and more. All of the songs come from popular Broadway shows.
The show goes on again at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for seniors and students.
Photos by Howard Owens.
A rekindle of a barn fire from Tuesday morning is reported at 2044 Sumner Road, Darien.
Darien Fire dispatched.
In response to a possible plan by New York City Mayor Eric Adams to relocate undocumented migrants from New York City to Upstate New York, Genesee County has issued an emergency declaration banning the acceptance of immigrants from out of the county for at least five days.
The ban was effective at noon today, County Manager Matt Landers told The Batavian's Joanne Beck.
UPDATES coming.
UPDATE: State of Emergency to stop immigrants from landing on county's doorstep
The latest attempt by Scott F. Doll to get his 2010 conviction for murder overturned has failed to persuade another judge and his appeal based on what his attorney claimed was new evidence has been denied.
Attorney Michael S. Deal, from the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, filed a motion to overturn the conviction earlier this year. A hearing on his motion was heard by Judge Sanford A. Church on March 10.
Deal argued that he had uncovered new evidence related to the failure of the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office to collect fingernail scrapings from Doll's victim, Joseph Benaquist, and new DNA tests of people who might have had access to the murder scene should lead to Doll's conviction being overturned and a new trial granted.
Church ruled that the defendant did not present a factual assertion that the two pieces of "newly discovered evidence" could not have been available for the 2010 trial.
"As discussed below, a sound defense trial strategy could have been to avoid further scientific testing and emphasizing the prosecution's failure to test some evidence," Church wrote. "The defense was aware, for example, of the drops of blood on the victim's boot before trial and that it had not be subjected to DNA profiling. All they had to do was ask that it be tested."
The defense could have also asked that fingernail scrapings be tested. If the defense had made the request, the attorneys would have learned that clippings and scrapings had not been collected.
As for a bit of third-party DNA found on the victim's boot, that evidence could have been available at trial, Sanford said. There were photographs available to the defense that showed a possible bloodstain on the victim's boot. The defense, he said, could have insisted that the bloodstain be tested.
Prior court rulings have found that for evidence to be considered "new" in an appeal, it must be evidence that could not have been discovered by the defense through diligence.
It's also not readily apparent that the DNA comparisons would change the outcome of the trial, Sanford ruled.
For these reasons, Doll has failed to prove that his "new evidence" could not have been discovered before trial.
Church, an Orleans County judge, heard the appeal because Genesee County Court Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini formerly worked for the Genesee County District Attorney's Office and had been involved in prior appeals, so she had a conflict of interest.
Doll was sentenced to 15 years to life for the 2009 murder of Benaquist. He has consistently maintained his innocence since his arrest.
On the night of Feb. 16, 2009, Doll was found walking in Pembroke in blood-soaked clothing by a deputy and questioned. Due to the suspicious nature of his appearance and a van he identified himself as operating earlier in the evening, he was questioned by investigators who feared there was a seriously hurt or dead person in the area. Those emergency circumstances allowed investigators wide leeway in questioning Doll and searching for a possible victim. Several hours later, Benaquist's badly beaten body was found in the driveway of his home in Pembroke.
Benaquist and Doll, a prison guard, had been partners in a used car business.
For all of The Batavian's prior coverage of Scott Doll, click here.
Press release:
Yesterday at the Genesee County Office For The Aging, “Quilts of Valor” were presented to three local Veterans. A Quilt of Valor is a quality, handmade quilt awarded to a Service Member or Veteran who has been touched by war. AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Volunteers in the OFA Quilt Group made and presented the Quilts to Robert Swanson, David Dumuhosky, and Wilbur Easton.
Submitted photos.
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Reader Jeremy McClellan spotted the Goodyear Blimp flying over the Genesee County Park on Wednesday afternoon. It is apparently in the Rochester area for the PGA tournament.
A controlled burn at 7833 Walker Road, Pavilion, is now reportedly out of control and spreading toward a barn.
The fire is about 20 feet from the structure.
Pavilion Fire dispatched.
The spring burn ban has been lifted, but the National Weather Service has an advisory for dry and windy conditions in place warning of elevated fire danger.
UPDATE 4:22 p.m.: Le Roy Fire asked to standby in the Le Roy hall.
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