Stories from

Press release from AAA: 

Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $3.18, down one cent from last week. One year ago, the price was $2.20. The New York State average is $3.28 – no change from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.28. AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:

• Batavia - $3.25 (down two cents since last week)
• Buffalo - $3.23 (no change since last week)
• Ithaca - $3.27 (up one cent since last week)
• Rochester - $3.27 (no change since last week)
• Rome - $3.30 (up one cent since last week)
• Syracuse - $3.24 (down one cent since last week)
• Watertown - $3.25 (no change since last week)

Note: prices are compared to last Monday, Labor Day. The last gas price report was issued Tuesday after the holiday.

The national gas price average has held steady for several days at $3.18. The latest data from the Energy Information Administration shows that gas demand increased slightly from 9.58 million b/d to 9.61 million b/d — a healthy reading for the Labor Day weekend. Meanwhile, total domestic stocks took a major step back by 7.2 million bbl to 220 million bbl. Refinery utilization was down almost 10% to 81.9%, as refineries impacted by Ida continue to progress in their recovery efforts. With demand increasing and supplies tightening, some states have seen prices fluctuate, with some up by four cents and others lower by 3 cents. This has helped stabilize the national average this week. However, as oil prices remain high (over $70 per barrel), the national average is expected to stay above $3 per gallon.

From Gas Buddy:

"Sagging U.S. gasoline demand along with continued recovery after Hurricane Ida have helped gas prices edge slightly lower in most states from where they were a week ago. But with Tropical Storm Nicholas threatening another key area of refineries in Houston with significant rain, we could see the decline in prices hit the pause button," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. "While Nicholas would appear to be a minor storm, we could see a deluge of water - the same issue that caused some significant damage in Ida's wake to refineries in Louisiana. Combined with the earlier storm, Nicholas could make things more challenging. However, as gasoline demand has now fallen for four straight weeks, there is more breathing room even if some capacity does temporarily go offline. It's too early to tell, clearly, but motorists should be aware."

Georgia Luft was crowned the 2021 Onion Queen in Elba on Saturday night.  First runner up, Carolyn Sybertz, second, Laci Sewar.  Taylor Augello (in black dress) is the 2020 Onion Queen.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Photos by Philip Casper.

To honor first responders on the 20th anniversary of 9-11 yesterday, Lilah Guarino and her friends set up a lemonade stand and gave free lemonade to police officers and firefighters.

Her father, Mike Guarino, who submitted the photos, said, "They ended up having some visitors from the city police and fire department.  It was awesome.  The kids were very thankful and excited."

Pembroke moved to 2-0 to start the 2021 football season on Friday evening with a 47-6 win over Lyons/Sodus.

Tyson Totten rushed for 138 yards on 11 carries. He scored a touchdown. Caleb Felski, seven carried, 65 yards and a TD. 

QB Cayden Pfalzer  was 506 passing for 107 yards and two TDs. He also had six carries for 46 yards and a TD.

Chase Guzdek had three receptions for 68 yards and two TDs.

Alex Lamb and Giovanni Smart each had three sacks. Smart recovered two fumbles. Jacob Dulski had six tackles. Pfalzer contributed a sack and an interception.

In  other football this weekend:

Batavia beat Attica 41-8. Jesse Reinhart was  8-12 passing for 184 yards and four touchdowns.  He also rushed for 35 yards on two carries, scoring a TD.  Cam McClinic also scored a rushing touchdown, gaining seven yards on two carries.  Aidan Anderson rushed for 76  yards on ten carries. Carter McFollins caught two TD passes and Jamison Richardson and Javin McFollins each had a TD reception.  Kaden Marucci had seven tackles, Garret Schmidt had six.

Alexander beat Geneseo/Mount Morris 63-14.  Eight of the 17 players on the Alexander roster scored touchdowns. Braydon Woods had 11 carries for 73 yards.  Nick Kramer, 48 on seven carries.  And Clayton Bezon rushed for 312 yards on six carries.   Kramer was 3--5 passing for 86 yards.  Benny Merrill had two receptions for 73 yards. Bezon had seven tackles, two sacks, and a fumble recovering.

East Rochester beat Le Roy 18-6.

Previously: Wade, Essig, Cappotelli spark Cal-Mum/B-B to a 36-0 varsity football victory over host Notre Dame

Photos by Elizabeth Gabby.

More fun, music, and food are on the agenda in the Elba Village Park tomorrow from noon until  6 p.m.

The Corfu Pembroke Community Band, directed by Don Rogers leads off the festivities. This group was the finale of the summer series last year and the program features patriotic music.

DSP Jazz Trio will follow.  The trio is Derek Reiss, a BHS graduate who played trumpet in the US Air Force Band for 24 years and now lives in Elba. Skip Taylor, on drums, taught music at Pembroke Central School for 30 years, was a founder of the Corfu Pembroke Community Band, and has played in musical groups in WNY and Canada for many years. And Peter Mark, also a BHS graduate who has performed with many instrumental and vocal groups around WNY, will be on trombone and provide vocals.

The third band of the afternoon is Generations, a 5 piece group that plays danceable rock and roll from the 50s and 60s. You'll hear covers of the Beatles, Stones, Credence, Linda Ronstadt, and many one-hit wonders.

Rounding out the show will be the Don Newcomb Band playing good, old-school,  traditional,  real country music,  such as Hank, Merle, and Buck. The group features Don Newcomb on bass and vocals, Keith Worthington guitar and vocals, Chris Mc Gauley on steel guitar and vocals, and rounding it out with Skip Taylor back on the stage on drums. 

For Elba's last show, the Betterment Committee will be cooking hot dogs and hamburgers, serving pizza from Andy's, and popping corn at our stand. The committee will serve homemade pie from Chap's Elba Diner. Lori's Delectable Edibles, Ice Cream and Chill, Circle B Winery, and Eli Fish will be there as well

Every concert this summer has been provided free of charge but tomorrow there will be taking a free-will offering to the Elba Historical Society, which hasn't been unable to host their famous roast beef dinner for the past two years due to the pandemic.

Dean M. Conboy, Sr., is indicted on two counts of attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer, two counts of menacing a police officer, attempted assault in the second degree, unlawful imprisonment in the first degree, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, resisting arrest, and menacing in the second degree.  On June 11, 2021, Conboy allegedly threatened police officers and intended to cause serious injury to police officers using a dangerous instrument. He also allegedly restained another person and exposed that person to the risk of serious physical injury. He allegedly possessed a knife during these incidents.

Andrew C. Aldrow is indicted on counts of felony DWI, refusal to submit to a breath test, consumption of alcoholic beverages in a motor vehicle, and moving from lane unsafely. Aldrow was stopped on Feb. 26 in  the Town of Le Roy.

Stephen L. Hegel is indicted on two counts of grand larceny in the third degree and one count of grand larceny in the fourth degree. On Oct. 8, in the City of Batavia, Hegel allegedly stole property with more than $3,000.  On Oct. 22,  he allegedly stole property with a value of more than $1,000. On Oct. 14, he allegedly stole property valued at more than $3,000.

Businesses, agencies, organizations, and families are invited to participate in the Downtown Business Improvement District's annual Scarecrow Contest.

Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place.

All participants will be provided with straw, twine and an assigned pole in  Downtown Batavia where the entrants can mount their scarecrows.

The contest runs from Sept. 27 to Oct. 31.

Register online at www.downttownbataviany.com or email director@downtownbataviany.com.  There is a $20 entry fee.

Photo: File photo from 2020

Volunteer firefighters from Alexander, Town of Batavia, Le Roy, Darien, and Bethany, along with Sheriff's deputies and State troopers, participated on Friday morning in a remembrance ceremony for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States at Alexander Central School.

Photos by Alecia Kaus.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is joining his colleagues in the Assembly Minority calling on Governor Hochul and Health Commissioner Zucker to reverse the decision to mandate vaccination of healthcare workers. They argue that any public health benefit a mandate would provide would be outweighed by the detriment such a requirement would have on staffing levels within hospitals and health centers, as 20-25% of health workers within New York are unvaccinated. Hawley asserts that rather than implementing this mandate and potentially losing nearly a quarter of the state’s healthcare staff, an option for frequent and regular testing for unvaccinated people should be offered and access to effective PPE such as N95 masks should be increased.

Hawley is also concerned about how the mandate will affect people who either cannot be vaccinated due to their medical circumstances, and those who work remotely like coders and transcriptionists who do not come into contact with patients.

“Losing even a fraction of our medical personnel in this time of need would have a catastrophic effect on our efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and to think we could lose a quarter or a fifth of our already-overburdened healthcare workers is incredibly troubling,” said Hawley. “We need to be pragmatic about how we fight this virus, and while I encourage anyone to get the COVID-19 vaccine and believe it’s safe and effective, forcing nurses, doctors, and other health staff who have worked tirelessly throughout these last many months to choose between taking a vaccine or losing their jobs is not going to convince any skeptics that efforts to increase vaccine rates are well-intended.”

A motor vehicle accident with three people injured is reported at Fox Road and Drake Road in Oakfield.

It is blocking.

Oakfield Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 7:42 a.m.: A first responder reports, three injuries, all relatively minor.

Press release:

The Community Health Assessment (CHA) is a document required by public health law that identifies the key health needs and issues of the community through systematic, comprehensive data collection; community conversations; and analysis. The current CHA includes Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming Counties (GOW) and covers three years (2019-2021). All three health departments along with our community partners will be starting the process of developing the new CHA that will encompass the years 2022-2024. 

The Community Health Assessment is developed using a collaborative process of many partners throughout the GOW region. Local hospitals including Rochester Regional Health at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), Orleans Community Health (OCH), and Wyoming County Community Health System (WCCHS) along with the Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming (GOW) County Departments of Public Health work collaboratively with county residents and community based organizations of the GOW Counties to develop the assessment. 

“The Community Health Assessment provides us with comprehensive information about the health status, needs and issues that are facing the residents living in our communities,” stated Paul Pettit, Director of Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health). “The information in this assessment helps us develop our Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) and helps direct where our resources should be allocated to best meet the needs of our communities.” 

We are seeking feedback on our current Community Health Assessment to help inform the next version of the CHA and welcome any comments and suggestions from community residents and our partners. Here is the link to the current CHA (https://gohealthny.org/go-health-news/) and the feedback survey can be found at the gohealthny.org website or https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GOWCHAFeedbackSurvey.  

A motor vehicle accident is reported at East Main Street and Ross Street, Batavia.

Unknown injuries. 

City Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.

Aerial photos of yesterday's Labor Day Parade in Oakfield by Timothy Wojkowski.

I took the photo above last night after stopping to buy some sweet corn off Route 33 in Stafford.

Below, sunset in Alabama by Joanne Meiser.