Notre Dame lost its home game Class D1 semifinal playoff game to Naples on Saturday, 72-59.
Nico Zambito scored 15 points for the Fighting Irish. Gabe Macdonald scored 14, and Ryan Moffat scored 11.
For Naples, Evan Bay scored 20 and Cole Rathbon scored 18. Bay hit five three-pointers.
The #3 seed in Class A2, the Batavia Blue Devils, was up Saturday in a Section V playoff game played in Batavia, by the #6 seed, Honeoye Falls-Lima, 48-41.
While Batavia jumped out to a 17-7 first quarter lead, behind the hot hand of Tee Sean Ayala, who scored 13 of his 20 points in the first eight minutes, HFL seemed to have figured out how to slow Ayala down. HFL held Ayala to seven points the rest of the way.
Worse, the Blue Devils didn't score at all in the second quarter and were held to 10 points in the fourth quarter -- a quarter in which HFL seemed to find it impossible to miss a shot, scoring 17 points.
Naz Pratt scored nine points for the Blue Devils and Antwan Odom scored six.
Top scorer for HFL was Garret Ruff with 13.
Notre Dame beat Addison in a Saturday afternoon Section V girls basketball playoff game at Notre Dame.
The final, 45-31.
Margaret Sutherland scored 20 points for the Lady Irish. Callie McCulley scored 13 and Morgan Rhodes scored seven.
Also, in girls basketball Saturday:
A one-car accident is reported in the area of 246 Main Road, Pembroke.
The vehicle is in a ditch and is smoking.
Unknown injuries.
Pembroke fire and Indian Falls fire along with Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 12:22 p.m.: Subjects are out of the vehicle. The vehicle is no longer smoking.
There's a report of wires down and a tree on fire in the area of 6283 Fisher Road, Oakfield.
Oakfield fire dispatched.
A vehicle has reportedly gone off the road and is in the water at Chick Road and Attica Road, Darien.
Darien fire and Darien ambulance dispatched.
UPDATE 11:15 p.m.: The vehicle was unoccupied.
UPDATE 12:30 p.m., Sunday: There was a search of the area last night and this morning. The operator was eventually located, safe.
Pembroke remained one of three undefeated Class C basketball teams in the state Friday with a 67-58 win over Gananda in a Section V playoff game.
Jamil Marable scored 20 points, Reid Miano, 18, and Lucas Kohorst, 17.
Pembroke is now 21-0 on the season.
Also on Friday night, in Class D, #4 ranked, lost to #5 ranked Avoca, 73-59.
In girls basketball, Batavia beat Geneva, 57-48. Pavilion beat Naples, 56-29.
Agreeing with the prosecution that Shawn M. Twardowski, 35, formerly of Bank Street, Batavia, is a threat to society, Judge Charles Zambito sentenced him to two-and-a-half to five years in prison.
Zambito expressed the hope that while in prison, Twardowski will take advantage of programs available to him to help him with his mental health issues and substance abuse problems.
"Until you address those issues, you need to be removed from society," Zambito said.
A year ago, Twardowski was arrested for strangling and punching a beagle, attacking a woman at that location, stealing and attempting to disable her mobile phone and then, upon police arrival, barricading himself in a bedroom.
He previously pled guilty to a burglary charge after first undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.
Zambito expressed dismay that Twardowski thought it appropriate to attack the beagle and the woman merely because the woman allowed the dog to lick a bowl.
The judge said Twardowski's record goes back to 2005 and is filled with charges related to violence, resisting arrest and violating court orders.
His attorney, Michael Locicero, said he wasn't not making excuses for his client's behavior but offered up as mitigating circumstances for his behavior, years of untreated mental health issues, his substance abuse, and a recent diagnosis of Huntington's Disease.
Twardowski told Zambito he didn't wish to make a statement in court.
The sentence was the middle range between the minimum available to Zambito and the maximum possible sentence in the case.
If parents notice an increased police presence at Batavia City Schools, it's not in response to any specific threat, Superintendent Chris Dailey said today in a letter sent home with students after school.
"This is meant to be a positive and proactive step as our police department continues to look for ways to engage with our students in prevention and support," Dailey wrote.
The letter addresses heightened concern in the community about school safety after last week's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and reports of a student last week who officials believed made verbal threats at the BOCES campus.
The letter may be in response to numerous social media posts asking questions about more police officers on and around local campuses and unconfirmed rumors of threats made on social media specific to local schools.
"Our country is recovering from the tragedy in Parkland, Florida," Daily wrote. "It is only natural to have questions about the safety and security of our students and staff in BCSD.
"There are stories from time to time of students potentially threatening to do violent acts at our schools," Dailey continued. "We, along with the Batavia City Police Department, always look into any allegations of this sort and have found no credible threats against our district."
Dailey said the district is actively involved in emergency response and planning with local law enforcement.
The events in Florida, he said, provide an opportunity to review procedures and plans and make adjustments as necessary.
To read the full letter, click here.
Submitted photo: Matt Landers, president of Batavia Kiwanis, with a dessert tray commemorating the club's 95 anniversary.
Press release:
Today, the Kiwanis Club of Batavia celebrated its 95th Anniversary. The club’s rich history of performing community service projects for the children of the Batavia community has left its mark in a variety of ways.
The club received its charter from Kiwanis International on Feb. 22, 1923, with 56 original members, including the former Batavia Mayor, Ashton W. Caney, and many other community businessmen and professionals.
The mission of Kiwanis is to serve the children of the world, and as one of their first projects, the Kiwanis Club of Batavia started a fresh air program where they sponsored bringing children from the cities into the country for a week. The club began recognizing the top 10 students from Batavia and Notre Dame High Schools in 1944 and continues to do so today.
The club’s largest project during their first half-century included raising over $42,000 to assist in building the city pool at MacArthur Park, which was dedicated in 1962. Following the pool project, the club sponsored the development of Kiwanis Park in the Town of Batavia. The park was dedicated in 1977, and most recently the club helped to convert the park to one that offers specialized equipment for children with developmental disabilities.
During the second half-century of the club’s existence, a most significant impact was realized through the Bidding on a Brighter Future Gala event that raised a combined total of nearly $200,000 over five years to assist the Justice for Children Advocacy Center in securing a permanent home. These funds are presently being utilized to renovate a building that will meet the service needs related to assisting children who have been physically or sexually abused.
Other projects started by the Kiwanis Club include a Soap Box Derby, an ice carnival, Farm City Days, a ski tow in Attica, and the Golden Olympics for seniors.
The club continues to work tirelessly for the community in a variety of ways. Monies raised through their Pancake Day, Spaghetti Dinner and 5K for Autism Awareness are distributed to local children-centric organizations. Money from those projects also funds several annual community events: Easter Egg Hunt, Thanksgiving Morning Skate, Holiday Tote Project and AMBA Blood Analysis. The club supports Meals on Wheels by delivering meals on a weekly basis, as it has done for nearly 20 years.
Most recently in partnership with Genesee County, club members volunteered to maintain the outdoor ice rink at DeWitt Recreation Area on Friday nights so the community would have the opportunity to skate under the lights on a weekly basis. The club also partners with the Genesee County Bar Association to recognize outstanding law enforcement professionals from the Batavia Police Department, Genesee County Sheriff’s Department, State Police Troop A and the Le Roy Police Department at their Annual Law Day Dinner.
The Kiwanis Club of Batavia currently has 43 members and is proud of the long-term membership of Kiwanis Past Lieutenant Governor Richard Rung since 1973, as well as that of local Past President Donald Lewis since 1965.
A 32-year-old Montclair Avenue resident had a litany of excuses this morning for Judge Charles Zambito for why she missed drug treatment appointments, including transportation issues, before breaking down in tears.
Zambito sentenced Ann Marie Capuano to shock probation, which means six months in jail followed by five years on probation.
In June, Capuano agreed to a guilty plea to a Class E felony of attempted burglary.
Three months earlier she had broken into a State Street Road business and brandished a knife. She then tried to escape on a bicycle.
Later, she admitted to being on drugs at the time.
She was released from custody under Supervision of Genesee Justice and was scheduled to participate in drug treatment.
In treatment, she was accused of stealing medication from another patient.
Zambito told Capuano this was her last chance and the next step would be state prison.
Via our news partner, WBTA.
Tompkins Insurance Agencies announces Kevin Robertson has been promoted to assistant vice president, personal lines supervisor. Robertson is responsible for overseeing personal lines account managers throughout the entire Western New York region. He has been with Tompkins Insurance for six years. Robertson holds his New York State Insurance Brokers License for property and casualty, in addition to a master’s degree from SUNY Brockport. Robertson currently resides in the Village of LeRoy.
During a budget workshop Wednesday night, the occasionally controversial Batavia Development Corp. received across the board support from members of the City Council.
Up for discussion was the $110,000 the city provides to the BDC to fund its operations, including paying the salary of Economic Development Coordinator Julie Pacatte.
Councilman Al McGinnis opened the discussion suggesting that while it might be OK to fund BDC this year, he would like the funding reviewed next year.
By the end of the meeting, however, McGinnis backed off that request because he learned funding for BDC comes from the video slot machine proceeds paid to the city by Batavia Downs.
"As long as it's the VLT money, that's fine," McGinnis said after the meeting.
He said he doesn't have a problem with the BDC and likes the work Pacatte and the board of directors are doing. He would just like to see a more detailed, nuanced regular report from the BDC on its projects.
At that point, Councilwoman Kathy Briggs jumped in and said the BDC regularly emails council members about its projects.
As for residents who are sometimes critical of the BDC, she thinks more of them are excited to see what's coming, and once the two in-progress breweries open up, that will help validate the work of the BDC in the eyes of a lot of people.
"Once they start seeing something, they’re going to get excited," Briggs said. "They’ve been hearing it for so long and they ask when, but when they start seeing a little progress, they’re going to get excited."
Both during the meeting and after, Councilman Paul Viele said the money the City is providing the BDC is money that is being well spent.
"For the $110,000 that we’re giving them, we’re getting a bang for our buck," Viele said. "You see what the result is. It’s great for the city. Whatever we can do to help them, let’s move forward."
During the meeting, Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian questioned why BDC's budget was $125,000 last year. Interim City Manager Matt Worth explained that $15,000 was added to the budget because of some anticipated environmental remediation. It turned out that work wasn't necessary, the money wasn't spent and it was moved back into the general fund.
Worth also provided a short history of the BDC, which dates back a couple of decades. At one time, Ed Flynn, now a consultant working on the Downtown Revitalization Initiative for the state, worked for the city handling economic development. The BDC received federal funds to establish a revolving loan fund. After Flynn's position was eliminated, the BDC board and the loan fund remained but with nobody to administer it. That led to some problems with collections on the loans. A coordinator's position was created both to help with the administration of BDC functions, but also to pursue economic development opportunities.
Since then, during Pacatte's tenure: several new market-rate apartments have been added to the downtown residential stock; the Carr's Warehouse has been converted into a mixed-use complex; a developer has been secured for the former Della Penna property and the Santy's Tires property; and soon the J.J. Newberry building will become the Eli Fish Brewing Company with the FreshLab restaurant incubator as part of the project.
Councilman Adam Tabelski expressed concern that talk of defunding the BDC could hamper the BDC's relationship with developers and other development partners, creating uncertainty about the BDC's continued operation.
"It perplexes me that this matter is even coming up as a topic," Tabelski said.
Christian asked about the BDC's contribution to the city winning the region's Downtown Revitalization Inititiviative contest, with its $10 million prize for economic development, and Council President Eugene Jankowski said that Pacatte assisted in the application process plus the fact that the city has the BDC, as well as the Batavia Business Improvement District, gave the city more points to help in its winning score.
The budget workshop started off with a discussion about funding a part-time staff position at the youth bureau. In the past, the position was filled by a member of AmeriCorps but the Federal government has eliminated AmeriCorps.
The County's Youth Bureau Director Jocelyn Sikorski, who operates the city's youth bureau program as part of a shared services agreement, said the job is critical to the operation of the youth bureau.
After a discussion about the importance of the programs the youth bureau provides to give children in the city, especially children from poorer homes, constructive activities and meals, the council voted to fund the position.
"We pay now or we pay later," McGinnis said. "And if we pay later, we pay dearly."
The council also addressed the topic of a spray park on the south side of the city. On Christian's request, with council support, Worth said staff will work up a report on the cost of the smallest possible spray park in Farrall Park, just to give council members of an idea of what it might cost, not that the spray park will be located there or be a park like the one in the report.
In today's dollars, the Austin Park spray park would cost $500,000.
Tabelski said Albion is building a small spray park for a couple hundred thousand dollars.
The current spray park uses about six million gallons of water each summer. To picture that much water, he said, imagine filling and emptying the water tower over by the VA Center four times.
The city buys that water at a wholesale price.
Notre Dame advanced in the Class D1 Section V boys basketball playoffs Wednesday with a 68-50 home victory over Wheatland-Chili.
Andrew Moore scored 13 points, Ryan Moffat, 12, Gabe Macdonald, 11, Nico Zambito, 9, and Brendin Klotzbach, 8.
Zambito had nine rebounds. Spencer Misiti had five assists.
For Wheatland-Chili, Adam Lund scored 23 points.
In girls basketball:
Press release:
With the State Legislature reconvening for this year’s legislative session and the 2018-19 State Budget process underway, Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer is asking for constituents’ opinions on issues impacting New York State and the Western New York community.
“Many important issues will be discussed and debated at the State Capitol in the days, weeks and months ahead,” Ranzenhofer said. “As your State Senator, I value the concerns and priorities of constituents in the 61st Senate District.
"I encourage residents to share their opinions with me by completing the 2018 Legislative Questionnaire. As always, I will be listening to all of my constituents as this year’s legislative session progresses.”
Residents can complete the survey by visiting Senator Ranzenhofer’s website, ranzenhofer.nysenate.gov. The 16-question survey covers a wide variety of legislative issues, including the local economy, quality of local public schools, and bills introduced in the State Assembly and State Senate.
Press release:
Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) announced that four hospitals in his district will receive funding included in the Bipartisan Budget Act so they will be able to continue serving those most in need. The Bipartisan Budget Act provides an extension of the Medicare Dependent Hospital program and Low-Volume hospital payment adjustment for five years, providing necessary certainty to hospitals largely in rural areas.
“This funding means life or death for rural hospitals,” Collins said. “In the event of an emergency, my constituents in need to know that the lights will be on and they have somewhere to go for treatment.”
The hospitals that will receive funding are Bertrand Chaffee Hospital in Springville, Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville, United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, and the Wyoming County Community Health System in Warsaw. In total, Collins secured more than $8 million for the four hospitals through FY2022.
“The Medicare Dependent Hospital and Medicare Low-Volume payment adjustment help ensure New York's rural and small community hospitals can continue to provide essential healthcare services to patients in need," said HANYS President Bea Grause. "We thank Rep. Collins for supporting the reinstatement and extension of these important policies.”
“We appreciate Congressman Collins' recent efforts in assuring inclusion in the federal budget agreement programs that have been essential for hospitals like WCCHS,” said Donald Eichenauer, CEO of Wyoming County Community Health System. “Over the past decades, these programs were generally included in legislation with authorization for only one or two years."The short-term extensions put us in a positon where almost annually we had to invest efforts in searching for ways to cut staffing or reduce expenses if the programs were not reauthorized. The five-year extension will give us greater confidence that services can be maintained, jobs retained and our efforts can be focused on continuing patient care at its high level.”
“The Low Volume adjustment is critical for Noyes Hospital to help offset the cost of providing services as well as uncompensated care,” said Amy Pollard, president and CEO of Noyes Memorial Hospital. “Emergency Services at Noyes and other hospitals must operate fully staffed 24/7."Last year 14,600 patients were treated at the Mary Saunders Beiermann Emergency Department at Noyes. The continuation of the Medicare payment adjustments helps assure that these vital services remain intact. I am very grateful to Congressman Collins for his support of the rural hospitals and thus, our community.”
Collins added: “I was proud to support this Bipartisan Budget Act and the important funding included for rural hospitals. I have and will continue to stand against any cuts in funding for hospitals in rural communities.”
Zambito sentenced Hardy to 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence under terms of the plea deal.
"I took this plea to get home quickly to my family," Hardy said. "I'm sorry for what happened to the victim but I didn't do it. I'm innocent."
Zambito said there was a witness who identified Hardy, who didn't deny being at the scene, as one of the attackers.
He then explained that even being an accomplice, if not an actual attacker, exposes Hardy to the same criminal liability as if he was sufficiently involved.
"I have to recognize the magnitude of your involvement in a brutal assault that almost killed a man," Zambito said.
District Attorney Lawrance Friedman offered a brief description of the scene first responders found when they arrived. The victim was bloody from multiple stab wounds, including one that severed and exposed his bicep. He noted that one of the responding police officers -- Arick Perkins -- received community recognition for his quick action in applying a tourniquet that saved the victim's life.
"If not for his actions, this, of course, would be a murder case," Friedman said.
Because there were multiple people involved in the assault, Hardy was charged with, and admitted to, a gang assault felony.
Defense Attorney Marty Anderson said that Hardy is a good father to three children, ages 2, 3, and 4. He has been a good father, he said, even though he is the paternal father to only two of the three being raised by their mother.
He also noted that while Hardy had a prior gang assault charge, that was 15 years ago and the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor. The other blemish on Hardy's criminal record is one that was granted youthful offender status.
Even though police believe multiple people joined Hardy in the attack on the victim, there has only been enough evidence so far to charge Hardy and Anthony Spencer, 26. Spencer's case is still pending and he appears ready to take his case to trial.
There were at least four people in the courtroom in support of Hardy, who was not in custody prior to his sentencing. As he was led away by deputies, Hardy, a big but soft-spoken man, waved to them and said, "I will be all right."
A 25-year-old Rochester man was sentenced in Genesee County Court today to three to six years in state prison for robbing the Bank of America branch in Batavia in July.
That was the max sentence available to Judge Charles Zambito under a plea agreement for Steven R. Vega. Without the plea agreement, Vega could have been sentenced to three-and-a-half to seven years.
The 25-year-old Vega was a bit tongue-tied when given a chance to speak before he was sentenced, admitting he had made a lot of mistakes in his young life.
"I recognize my mistakes," Vega said. "I accept what happens in my life is what happens. I don't know what else to say. I accept full responsibility."
Vega entered a guilty plea in County Court to robbery in the third degree on Dec. 13.
Vega is already serving a two- to four-year term on another charge and is facing additional prison time for charges in Monroe County.
"He is still a very young man at 25 years old," said his public defender, Lisa Kroemer. "It is obvious he has not gotten off to a particularly good start in life. Drugs seem to be fueling his deviance."
She suggested a shorter sentence given his young age and the prison term he is already serving, and likely to serve on the Monroe County charges, to give him a better chance at turning his life around.
District Attorney Lawrence Friedman argued that given the record he's already amassed and the seriousness of the crime, Vega was already given a substantial break with his plea deal. Zambito said he agreed with that assessment.
Genesee County is responsible for more than 380 bridges and culverts. But for each grant-writing periord, it is only allowed by the state to apply for funding from Bridge NY for repairs to and replacement of four bridges and six culverts.
At a recent meeting in Albany, County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens asked a representative from the Department of Transportation if there was a workaround for that limitation.
The consultant's suggestion: Get each of the towns in the county to apply for grants for four bridges and six culverts. There is no reason, he said, the towns can't apply, but let the county administer the grants once they are received.
"That's potentially 26 bridges instead of two," Hens said. "I don’t know that we’re going to get that many, but I’m going to try to get as many applications in as I can. Even though they are theoretically awarded to the town, the county would still administer it and hire the consultant and manage the construction. Bridge NY projects are funded 100 percent so there’s no cost to us or the towns."
In the last round of Bridge NY grants, the county applied to fund four bridge replacements and on funds for only two -- one on Searls Road and another on Pratt Road.
Grant applications are due in April.
Hens said he has met with town superintendents in the county and they support the proposal. It will take the towns' cooperation to get the applications in on time.
Bridge NY grants are reimbursements. The bridges get built and paid for and then the state sends the money to the local jurisdiction that won the grant.
The county has about $17 million in proceeds from the sale of the Genesee County Nursing Home that legislators have promised to use on roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Since it is reimbursement based, we would spend the money first and we would get reimbursed for all of the funding," Hens said. "That would be another great use of our nursing home proceeds, just to manage cash flow for those projects."
Once the projects are done and the county is reimbursed, Hens said, that money could then be used for infrastructure projects that must be locally funded.
The county will be spending about $2.5 million of those proceeds this summer on three projects -- replacing the Stroh Road bridge in Alexander, replacing Colby Road in Darien, and on eight culvert replacement projects around the county.
In response to questions from members of the Public Service Committee on Tuesday, Hens said the Stroh Road bridge has been submitted four times for federal funding. Funding was granted twice, but then the bridge was knocked off the list.
Even though the bridge is critical to that part of Alexander, where there are nearby farms and a quarry, it's low traffic volume makes it a low priority for state and federal aid. The next chance to apply for federal aid is 2020 but the deterioration of the bridge has reached a critical stage, so Hens does not recommend waiting on an iffy prospect of getting a grant to cover its anticipated replacement cost of $1.5 million to $1.6 million.
Bid requests went out yesterday to contractors, Hens said.
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