This video was submitted by Jazmyn Dobson, a teacher at KMS Dance Academy in Batavia. Students and staff, under the direction of owner Erica Grazioplene, put together this video in support of the Buffalo Bills.
The addition of the Batavia Muckdogs to the Perfect Game Colligate Baseball League has apparently prompted the college-ball team in Niagara Falls two switch allegiances, the Niagara Gazette reports.
The Niagara Power will move from the New York Collegiate Baseball League to the PGCBL in 2021.
Patrick Tutka, executive director of the Power, said the move was "win-win-win," especially after the Batavia Muckdogs, formerly of the professional New York-Penn League, agreed to join the PGCBL. The Muckdogs give the PGCBL five former NY-Penn League teams, along with Newark, Geneva, Elmira and Jamestown.
In addition to the PGCBL offering one more nearby potential rival, the PGCBL teams generally play in better facilities, Tutka said.
"The facility quality is much better," Tutka said. "We'll be playing in all former minor league stadiums, while most of the other places (outside home games at Sal Maglie Stadium) we were playing were high school or college fields.
It looks like the PGCBL will have 15 teams in the league for the 2021 season, all in New York.
While clinics in Erie County are being canceled because of a statewide COVID-19 vaccine shortage, Genesee County will receive its anticipated 100 doses for three scheduled clinics next week, a Health Department public information officer said today.
"We have just received notification we will be receiving the same allocations as we did this past week -- 100 for Genesee and 200 for Orleans," said Nola Goodrich-Kresse.
At the same time, she said, state officials informed local officials not to expect an increase in available doses any soon.
"We may receive the same amount (in coming weeks) or possibly less," she said.
While some counties have scheduled clinics in the past, leading to concealed appointments and difficulty then of rescheduling appointments, Goodrich-Kresse said that isn't an issue in Genesee County.
"Some counties chose to schedule their COVID vaccine clinics in advance in the hope supplies would be available," she said. "We, however, took a more conservative approach and are only scheduling clinics when we know we have vaccine and for the amount of vaccine we are getting. We believe this will be somewhat less frustrating and we will not have canceled clinics."
For more information on the upcoming clinics, appointments, and the availability of vaccines through pharmacies, click here.
There have been 56 confirmed COVID-related deaths at nursing homes in Genesee County, according to data from the State Health Department.
Before yesterday, not all of those deaths were included in Genesee County's Health Department regular COVID-19 briefing, which created a public discrepancy between what the County was reporting and what the state was reporting for total deaths locally.
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, there were 99 confirmed COVID-related deaths of Genesee County residents, a number that was more than double what the county had been reporting in previous reports.
Nursing homes are not required to report deaths to local officials, only to the state.
The state is reporting deaths at:
Genesee County is gearing up to undertake a host of bridge and culvert projects this spring and summer, including some projects that were put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens told the Public Service Committee on Tuesday.
The better news might be that contractors are eager for work, meaning lower bids on projects.
The committee agreed to recommend to the full legislature a $1.8 million contract for three culvert projects to Union Concrete Construction Corp. of West Seneca.
That bid is about $400,000 less than the engineer estimated, Hens said.
"It's just that the contractors are starving right now," Hens said. "Thankfully, there's been no drawback on state and federal money so there's an empty slate of work and the contractors are all anxious to get back to work and get stuff moving."
The three projects were bundled together, which may have also helped the county save some money, Hens said.
The resolution for the bid also includes hiring CHA Consulting out of Buffalo to handle project inspections. The cost, under the terms of the contract, will not exceed $340,000.
The three projects being awarded to Union Concrete are Meadville Road ($458,527), Sharrick Road ($727,508), and Tower Hill Road ($581,349).
Other anticipated projects in 2021 include a bridge on Hundredmark Road in Elba, the bridge at South Lyons (currently in the design phase), and Darien Alexander Townline Road (also in design).
The projects are funded by BridgeNY, which covers 95 percent of the costs.
Also related to the Highway Department, recommended for approval:
A couple dozen protesters outside the Buffalo Federal Detention Center in Batavia yesterday afternoon wanted to be heard by detainees inside so they know there are people who support their health and safety, said Mary Rutigliano.
Rutigliano, a Genesee County resident aligned with the Rochester Rapid Response Network, said there have been COVID-19 positive detainees transferred to Batavia and five of the detainees are on hunger strike.
"If you make enough noise, people on the inside can hear," Rutigliano said. "Last week, we were outside of the ICE field office where Thomas Feeley works, the same office as Delaware North in Buffalo, letting them know and this was part of an effort to let the people here know they don't have as much of a community, (but) there are people out here in this rural area that support them and want them to keep up their efforts."
Feeley, the director of the Enforcement and Removal Office in Buffalo, said there are only two detainees on hunger strike. One was transferred from New Jersey for medical reasons (BFDF has its own medical unit) and his current immigration case is under appeal.
The other case, he said, is being deported and his hunger strike just started.
As for COVID-positive cases in the facility, Feeley said there are currently three in the facility. One was arrested by the border patrol, the other transferred from an outside hospital, and one was arrested and transferred from Boston. All are asymptomatic, he said, and are quarantined.
Rutigliano claimed that there is a COVID-positive person in a pod with 40 other detainees. Feeley said that wasn't accurate. His statement also contradicted Rutigliano's claim that there are symptomatic detainees in the facility.
Yesterday's protest drew the attention of State Police after dispatchers received a complaint that protesters were blocking the entrance to the facility. A trooper on scene said the protesters moved to an open space next to the gate when three patrol units arrived. The protesters ended their chanting and banging on pots and pans and dispersed a short time later.
A car has reportedly hit a utility pole, with wires down, at Fargo Road and Main Road, Stafford.
Stafford fire along with Mercy EMS dispatched.
A two-vehicle accident with a possible injury is reported on Route 20 at East Road in Bethany.
Bethany fire and ambulance dispatched.
Pavilion fire asked to standby in quarters.
UPDATE 9:03 a.m.: A patient is disoriented and is being cared for inside a neighboring residence.
UPDATE 10:09 a.m.: Patient being transported to UMMC for evaluation.
Genesee County Police Reform & Reinvention Committee Meeting Jan 19, 2021. The committee will review its draft report.
Press release from AAA:
Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.39, up 7 cents from last week. One year ago, the price was $2.55. The New York State average is $2.47 – up 8 cents from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.71.
AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:
- Batavia -- $2.39 (up 8 cents since last week)
- Buffalo -- $2.43 (up 10 cents since last week)
- Ithaca -- $2.46 (up 11 cents since last week)
- Rochester -- $2.45 (up 9 cents since last week)
- Rome -- $2.48 (up 6 cents since last week)
- Syracuse -- $2.42 (up 8 cents since last week)
- Watertown -- $2.51 (up 10 cents since last week)
Crude prices have been fluctuating and remain over $50 per barrel. The current price this morning is $52 per barrel. Prices rose over market optimism that coronavirus vaccines will help crude demand recover this year. Additionally, EIA’s recent report helped bolster prices, detailing that total domestic crude inventories are on the decline.
If crude prices continue to sustain prices above $50 per barrel alongside higher refinery utilization rates and demand, drivers could see pump prices remain at elevated levels. Current prices are up across the region, but they remain lower than one year ago.
From GasBuddy:
"Gas prices have jumped to yet another multi-month high as crude oil price rise amidst perceived improvement in the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to pump prices up as demand shows renewed signs of recovery," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.
"In addition, with rumors swirling that President-elect Biden plans to cancel the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would cut off reliable Canadian oil to the United States, oil prices may see additional pressure in the coming days. For now, the upward trend in gas prices may slow from the sharp rise in the last week, but motorists shouldn't expect much of a break from rising gas prices, which now stand less than 20 cents from their year-ago levels."
In case you haven't heard, the Buffalo Bills (15-3) are heading to the AFC Championship game, for the first time since 1993, next Sunday. Barber Joey Williams gave Raymond Schramm Jr. a haircut that matches his team pride after yesterday's playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens 17-3.
Submitted photo.
Members of Batavia Police Advisory Collaboration Stakeholder Group are ready to keep the momentum going.
Their Gov. Andrew Cuomo-assigned task completed, members last night said they felt like some good things had been accomplished for the community and they want to keep going, if not in the group's current form, at least in focus groups and through its participation in police-related committees.
"I don't think the conversation ends here," said Victor Thomas, a member of the group and a member of the Just Kings Social Club. "Like I said earlier, with the chief and assistant chief, these are both people that want to have this conversation with or without this group. They went above and beyond, like I said, to form other groups and actually hear the community's voice. So I don't think this is something that's just going to stop here because Cuomo said we had to do this. We actually have a police chief and assistant9 chief that care about their community. So that's huge."
Chief Shawn Heubush said there is no plan for the conversation to stop.
"One of the things that we talked about is actually inviting the community to our policing community policing meeting because it's usually an internal-facing meeting where we try to come up with ways to integrate ourselves into the community," Heubusch said. "We realized, as Detective (Matthew) Wojtaszek had mentioned that we don't have any citizens on this committee. Why don't we have a citizen or two on this committee to help us in getting into the areas that we need to get into and focusing on those areas? So that would be something that I would see to try to keep this conversation going, inviting more people to talk to those types of functions.
"I really look forward to a citizens' police academy. I certainly hope we can make that happen because I think that is a perfect opportunity. You know, just looking at other communities that have done it, a perfect opportunity for us to really serve the public a lot better and have that educational piece that I think we need so, so very badly with our community, the back and forth conversation as well. And the focus group, as Victor mentioned, we're going to keep going with that. I think that's extremely important."
Interim City Manager Rachael Tabelski said she expects the city to make community and police relations part of its regular focus in the future, perhaps adding a review process as part of the budget process.
"It is up to myself and the chief to follow up with counsel on an annual basis to see how this is going and how it's evolved," Tabelski said. "The plan doesn't get finished and put on the shelf, is what I'm trying to say. I think both the chief and I are committed to making sure that we are reviewing this and trying to make this into our strategic priorities that come forward to counsel every single year at budget time as well."
The stakeholder's group was charged, by executive order, by reviewing all relevant police policies and procedures and make recommendations for changes. There were no recommended changes in the area of things like arrest procedures and use of force but committee members expressed a strong interest in improving mental health intervention as well as community-police relationships.
The written plan produced by the committee will be presented to the City Council on Jan. 25 and become available for public review at that time. There will be a public comment period and the council will be asked to approve it and send it to the governor's office, to comply with the executive order, on March 8.
Near the top of the meeting, Pastor Marty Macdonald of City Church started the discussion about how far the city has come in the area of community and police relations, especially in regards to people of color.
"Ten years ago, this meeting would have never happened," Macdonald said. "Not with the people that we have on (the committee). I am so grateful for Victor being in this group. Victor, what would you have thought five years ago if you were to be invited to this?
"I'm on the CJAC (Criminal Justice Advisory Council) committee, too," he added. "They approved Greg Monroe to be a part of the CJAC. To me, this is the essence of what this whole thing is about, that to a degree, our community has been, I'm not certain that it's been deliberate, but it's just been there's been no attention to it and we have put attention to it now. And I think we've moved in an incredibly positive way."
Victor Thomas said he was grateful to see progress made.
"I applaud the chief because, from the beginning, before the march, before any of this came down, he was there," Thomas said. "He was willing to hear concerns. He was there the day of the march and he was willing to hear his community's cry. I think that showed even more, like you saying, like this conversation needs to happen even without the governor. Yeah, the governor passed (this order) down, but we took that and we created another focus group to look deeper in once we didn't get the results that we wanted from a survey.
"It shows what's manifesting," he added. "It shows the growth in Batavia, and I'm just happy to be a part of it. I'm happy to have my thoughts and Greg's thoughts and other minority thoughts actually taken it into consideration and actually put down in this plan. Like my friend was saying in the beginning, yeah, it should stand for everybody, but I'm glad that the focus remained where the focus needed to be. And I'm happy to be a part of that. And I'm happy to continue the focus group."
Press release:
NYS-run Vaccination Sites: Updated 01/14/21 – The "Am I Eligible" website has changed this afternoon to only show the NYS-run vaccination sites. The COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline is for scheduling vaccination appointments for eligible New Yorkers at the New York State-run vaccination sites only: 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829). Use their online tool to find a location. Appointments are required. If you visit a location without an appointment you will not receive a vaccine. We apologize for any confusion, the State just updated this information late this afternoon.
We got a late start on the stream.
Once the supply is available, officials in Genesee County will be ready to distribute 600 COVID-19 vaccine doses a day, three days a week at Genesee Community College, Public Health Director Paul Pettit said this morning during a press briefing.
The question is, though, when will the federal-to-state-to-regional-to-local distribution system be able to deliver that many doses on a weekly basis.
This week, Genesee County received only 300 doses of vaccine.
"The biggest challenge we're going to have is, again, the vaccine coming to us in a reasonable time," Pettit said.
It's a frustration every county in the Finger Lakes region shares, Pettit said. It's hard to say where the bottleneck in delivery is, at the state or federal level, but the vaccines have been produced and are ready for delivery.
Once distribution glitches get worked out, Pettit is hopeful we will have a sufficient and steady supply of the vaccine to meet local vaccination goals.
"I think I think as we go forward, the expectation is they'll get more supply into the system, into the chain, which then we will be able to receive locally," Pettit said. "You're going to have pharmacies, you're going to have providers, you're going to have our public clinics all up and running. Hopefully, the availability at some point will start to balance with the eligibility and the requests and we'll get to where we need to be so that all everybody that wants the vaccine is going to be able to get it."
The process of vaccinating people in the 1A group -- mostly frontline health care workers -- is nearing completion. This week, the governor authorized vaccinations for people in the 1B Group, which includes people 75 and older and people 60 and older with health risks that make them more vulnerable to the disease.
You can't call and get an appointment for the vaccine, however. People who are eligible are being called randomly and offered the chance to receive the vaccine, which is optional.
There are an estimated 13,000 people locally in the 1B group.
"In that 60 to 65 (age) group, you have medically some type of underlying health issue where if you've compromised (you're at risk)," Pettit said. "The state has not put out guidance yet on what that really means as far as who would be eligible under those criteria. As soon as that information comes out, we'll make sure to push that out to everybody. "
Once there is sufficient vaccines available locally, the health department will run clinics at GCC on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays indefinitely.
The testing sites the department has been running the past few weeks for asymptomatic residents have given staff and volunteers plenty of experience to help them run vaccination clinics efficiently, Pettit said.
Pettit noted that area pharmacies are starting to receive and will soon receive their own supply of vaccines. The pharmacies will operate independently of the health department.
"We're not overseeing that process," Pettit said.
NOTE: Because of unexpected computer issues, we weren't able to livestream the first 30 minutes of the briefing but we did capture most of what Paul Pettit had to say.
This is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m.
UPDATE: We had audio trouble at the start and I had to restart my computer, which took 20 minutes.
Press release:
President Donald J. Trump was impeached for alleged crimes while in office for a second time today and Rep. Chris Jacobs did not join his house colleagues in accusing the president of inciting an attempted insurrection on Jan. 6.
Jacobs released the following statement:
“The events of last week were horrific, and the violence we witnessed has no place in our democracy. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions. I want to thank the brave men and women of the United States Capitol Police who showed true heroism while protecting me, my colleagues, and thousands of staff members and aides.
“Our nation is clearly divided. Healing this division and moving the country forward should be our first and foremost priority. This rushed impeachment proceeding accomplishes none of these goals, especially given that the President has agreed to an orderly and peaceful transition of power on January 20th, 2021.
“Impeachment has been used rarely in our nation’s history, and when it has been used the House of Representatives has carried out a full and deliberate process complete with an investigation, hearings led by the Judiciary Committee, and a mark-up of the articles of impeachment before a vote is called. We witnessed none of that today. The process was rushed, avoided due process, and set a dangerous precedent to further politically weaponize impeachment.
“Because of the abbreviated process, the short length left in the President’s term, and his commitment to a peaceful transition, I voted against the articles of impeachment today. Our nation has significant challenges we still need to address – including the on-going COVID-19 crisis.
“Our focus should be on tackling these very serious and pressing issues while we work to heal a deeply divided nation. Now is the time to move forward, not take additional divisive action at a time when our country cannot bear it.
“The peaceful transition of power is a hallmark of our American democracy; it is what sets us apart. Now more than ever, I believe all Americans need to see that transition process occur, as it always has, to reaffirm that our democracy is still strong, healthy, and unbreakable.
Ten Republicans joined the Democratic majority in voting for impeachment.
Trump invited his supporters to Washinton, D.C., on Jan. 6, the date both houses of Congress were to meet in joint session to certify the Electoral College votes, to "stop the steal." At the rally, Trump falsely claimed he won the election by millions of votes, by a landside, and told the crowd of supporters that they needed to march to the Capitol Building and Cheer members of Congress who stood strong with him but suggested VP Mike Pence wouldn't have "the courage" to send certification back to the states.
“We are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women,” he said, “and we are probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them — because you will never take back our country with weakness.”
Members of the crowd set up a gallows outside the capital and were overheard saying they intended to hang Pence.
A police officer was killed during the riot and another committed suicide afterward. Three other people died, including a Trump supporter who was shot by police and one who was trampled to death by other Trump supporters.
Since Jan. 6, dozens of Trump supporters have been arrested by the FBI for their alleged participation in forcefully entering the capital building.
Last night, we emailed Jacobs the following question: If inciting an attempted insurrection isn't an impeachable offense, what is? Here's his response received earlier today before the impeachment vote:
“This process is rushed, absent due process or Judiciary hearings, and sets a dangerous precedent for politically weaponizing the process of impeachment. Given the President’s commitment to a peaceful transition and the short amount of time left in his term, this process will bring about more division at a time when our country cannot bear any more. Instead, we all need to mindful of our rhetoric and work to move our nation forward, and those who committed violent acts last week must be brought to justice.”
Trump becomes the first president in history impeached twice. In the first impeachment, the Senate did not vote to convict Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. There are legal scholars who maintain that the Senate does not have to act on the impeachment (equivalent to an indictment by a grand jury) before he leaves office on Jan. 20.
Near the end of the riot on Jan. 6, Trump praised his supporters, saying " We love you; you're very special," he added, later saying: "But go home, and go home in peace."
Later, he condemned the violence and a few days later said the rioters were likely Antifa, which House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who had received intelligence briefings on the riot, told Trump wasn't true.
Tonight, after his second impeachment, Trump delivered a pre-recorded speech and called for calm.
"No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag," he said.
"Now I am asking everyone who has ever believed in our agenda to be thinking of ways to ease tensions, calm tempers, and help to promote peace in our country," he said.
The Girl Scouts branch office on Jackson Street in Batavia closed its doors at the start of the coronavirus pandemic with services to members being provided virtually, by mail, and by other service center locations.
Now that location is closing, said Callie Johnson, VP of Marketing for Girl Scouts in WNY, but the organization hopes to find another service center site in Batavia once it's safe to reopen.
"Our Batavia office lease expires February 1, 2021," Johnson said. "We had originally planned to identify a new location and relocate to a new space in Batavia that better fit our needs, but due to COVID-19, we are postponing the move.
"To use our resources wisely, we will not renew our lease at this time, and we will wait to move to a new location until after the pandemic and at a time when we can safely reopen. Our goal is to maintain a physical presence in Batavia. In the meantime, we are surveying our members on their input on a new Batavia Office space."
The Muckdogs will bark again.
True, no longer will the team be comprised of players affiliated with a Major League Baseball team but the majority of players in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League are legitimate professional baseball prospects.
As many as 30 current major league players have passed through the league previously, said Robbie Nichols, the former professional hockey player who already owns a PGCBL team in Elmira and will own the expansion PGCBL Muckdogs in Batavia.
The Genesee County Community Baseball Club, which owns the Muckdogs trademark, has agreed to let Nichols use the team name.
PGCBL is a "wooden bat league" -- a league comprised of amateur players who play or will play Division I or Division II college baseball.
A couple of advantages of collegiate ball over low-level minor league ball, Nichols said, is that the players with a team tend to spend the entire season with a team, so fans get to know them and Nichols said his organization -- CAN-USA Sports -- is committed to fielding a team with about four players from the local area.
The PGCBL regular season consists of 60 games from late May until the end of July. The playoffs and championship are in the first week of August.
Season tickets are on sale now and start at $99. There is also a VP ticket package for $199. Existing Muckdogs season ticket holders will have priority to retain the seats they had in previous seasons.
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