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Learning to get along has always been one of the toughest challenges for schoolchildren and when children fight, it's disruptive to a school's instructional environment.

Educators in the City School District think they've found a better way to help children avoid angry resentments and reduce lost class time because of conflicts.

Administrators and teachers have been trained in the practices of peace circles and restorative conversations. The practices are being used in all four of the district's schools.

"It aligns with our districtwide model on promoting social-emotional learning," said Kia Evans, principal at Jackson Elementary. "At our level, with 5-year-olds, social-emotional learning for us means helping kids learn to process very, very big emotions, helping them deal with different situations; helping them come up with the words to articulate it instead of some of the negative behaviors that are attached to it."

Currently, the district has a pretty young crop of principals. Ashley John Grillo is entering his third year at Batavia Middle School; Paul Kesler was principal at John Kennedy but is entering his first full year at Batavia High School; Evans is entering her second year at Jackson; and Amanda Cook took over at John Kennedy Intermediate in the second half of last year.

But a test of whether an innovative program is really working is whether its proponents would carry it with them if they changed employers and all four principals said, about peace circles and restorative conversations, yes, they would, absolutely.

"What’s nice about those things is you get kids talking about those things and then they start writing about them and it just flows nicely," Grillo said.

Grillo said the practices of the peace circle aren't just used in conflict situations. Students also get a chance to use them and learn from them in academic situations.

"In the science lab, you have hypothesis and conclusion, and as you go around the circle, they're all going to have different results in some cases," Grillo said. "Then they can come up with a consensus in class and decide, what is the main takeaway from doing this activity. We call those academic circles but those fall on the same protocols as doing peace circles or a restorative circle."

A peace circle usually involves an entire class and at least one adult facilitator (though at the higher grades students can become their own facilitators). An object, such as a ball, is used -- the peace object -- and only the person holding it is allowed to speak. The students are encouraged to talk about what's bothering them in respectful ways and what concerns them about a particular situation. There are guidelines to follow but the students respond well, even at the younger grade levels, the principals said.

"It forces you to listen and process and a lot of times if you’re still upset and you're passed the ball, you might say pass," Evans said. "But the next time it comes around, you’ve heard and you’ve had an opportunity to process things, you can go further. Sometimes the person who was upset never contributes but it still feels like a healing process."

Grillo said a peace circle is a safe setting with rules of engagement and the students respect the protocols.

“I’ve seen it work beautifully," Grillo said.

Peace circles are also a way of building a sense of community among students.

"Teachers are using it to set values," Cook said. "This is a classroom community. We are all learners. How are we going to best take care of our classroom?"

Restorative conversations more often take place at the high school level, Kesler said. They usually involve a student who has been the subject of disciplinary action but the conversations are a chance to resolve conflicts once the disciplined student returns to class.

"It really does allow both parties to share how they feel they've been harmed what express what they would like to see as the intended outcome," Kesler said.

Kesler said not all of the BCSD teachers have been trained in peace circles. Many have taken the one-day seminar, several others have been through the full, three-day training session during a summer break.

As evidence students respond to it, Evans recalled the time a student saw a friend being mistreated in a hallway before class and he came to the teacher and requested a peace circle.

"He was in first grade," she said.

It might seem like peace circles take away from precious classroom academic time, but all four principals said the time spent on peace circles is a good investment.

"Your return on that time you’ve invested in a peace circle is going to pay back 10, 20 fold because you’ve already laid that groundwork," Cook said.

If small conflicts fester, other kids start picking sides and egging on the main antagonists. That's what administrators and teachers are trying to avoid.

"That 15 minutes is well spent," Evans said, "because later on the teacher has to address the behavior or address situation that could have been mitigated with a peace circle. That will cost more time academically."

The main data point the principals have to know protocols are working is the number of referrals to the principal's office. At his school, Grillo said referrals are down 50 percent.

"I really feel a big part of that, I’m not saying it’s the only answer but a big part of that is the restorative practices that the two assistant principles, the counselors, myself, and the teachers are all using," Grillo said. "We try to really get control of student issues and be proactive instead of reactive. I always feel that secondary education is reactive when it comes to discipline and I feel like we’ve turned that tide at the middle school."

A dispatcher just notified the Bethany Volunteer Fire Department that the Bethany Center Bridge has reopened.

The old bridge was built in the 1930s and in recent years had eroded into a crumbling, rusting eyesore. It was replaced this summer with a new $1.4 million span by the Department of Transportation.

Photo: From Aug. 17, when a construction foreman told The Batavian work would be completed by the first week of September.

Rachel Brittany Solomon, 26, of Meadville Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, is charged with criminal mischief, endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest, and harassment, 2nd. Solomon is accused of damaging the property of another person at 6:39 p.m. Thursday at a location on Meadville Road. Solomon allegedly resisted arrest and kicked a deputy while holding a child. Solomon was jailed on $2,000 bail or $4,000 bond.

Nicholas David Frayne, 21, of Two Rod Road, Alden, is charged with grand larceny, 4th, and criminal trespass, 3rd. Frayne allegedly stole scrap metal from an enclosed property on Sumner Road, Darien, on July 21 and Aug. 9. The case was investigated by Deputy Kyle Krzemien and Investigator Joseph Loftus. Also charged, Dalton James Offhaus, 21, of Brookville Road, Alexander.

Robert C. Hayes, 28, of Le Roy, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Hayes was stopped by State Police at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday on Route 20 in Pavilion.

Press release:

New York Farm Bureau, along with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner, Richard Ball, and Farmers for Free Trade, highlighted today the importance of open markets for the state’s farmers and encouraged a quick end to the trade war that is creating an economic hardship on family farms across New York.

The farmers gathered at the Great New York State Fair, an important celebration of New York agriculture, to discuss their concerns. A number of New York commodities, including dairy, soybeans, wine, maple and apples face retaliatory tariffs in several countries including China, Canada, Mexico and in the European Union.

In turn, commodity prices have fallen on agricultural products. Equipment prices are rising due to the steel and aluminum tariffs, and farmers are concerned about losing long-established markets as countries turn to other, cheaper sources for their food. These losses, in turn, will impact rural communities that depend on agriculture to support their local economies.

While U.S. agriculture has had a trade surplus, the farm economy has not been a bright spot for this country. Net farm income was already down by 50 percent before the trade wars began. When times are tough, this is when this country needs to be looking for new opportunities to expand markets to sell the quality products produced on our farms.

The principle agreement announced this week with Mexico is a positive step in the right direction, but ultimately, we will need Canada to complete an effective NAFTA deal. Farmers also encouraged a resolution to disputes elsewhere, including China.

“We understand that trade agreements may need to be updated, but we have to be careful not to damage the relationships that we already have and depend on,” said New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher. “We are encouraging our leaders in Washington, to move quickly at getting the parties back to the negotiating table, much like we have seen this week with Mexico, and to move forward on improving trade relations with our partners.”

“The tariffs being imposed on our agricultural commodities are compounding an already difficult marketplace and putting New York’s farmers in a precarious situation. Once these markets are lost, we could find it extremely difficult to regain that footing. We have an opportunity here to collaborate with our partners and to call for new free trade agreements and thoughtful, long-term solutions,” said State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball.

“Farmers for Free Trade is proud to join the New York Farm Bureau at the state fair today to discuss the importance of trade to New York's agriculture and manufacturing industries,” said Angela Hofmann, deputy director of Farmers for Free Trade. “Today's joint event will highlight the price that New York agriculture and manufacturing workers are paying from the trade war and call attention to the need for consistent and fair trade policies.”

“Our farmers are reliable, they are resilient, and they are responsible. They are ingenuitive and they are innovative in producing an excellent product for consumers both stateside and abroad amid a myriad of unpredictable challenges including the weather and ever-changing consumer demand. As steadfast patriots, we look to our government to recognize that our growers already operate in an environment of uncertainty and hope that this administration will facilitate opening the doorway to global opportunities in a way that is good for our country and its farmers,” said Colleen Klein, New York Corn and Soybean Growers Association’s executive director.

“Since the end of May, following Mexico’s announcement of 25 percent retaliatory tariffs on U.S. cheeses, the price we receive for our milk has dropped by 14 percent. To put that into realistic terms for our dairy farm, that is a loss of more than $3,000 a day. Farm families like mine and our dairy farming friends across New York State are asking for a quick end to the trade war affecting our families’ livelihoods and our country’s backbone, the American farmer,” said Johanna Fox-Bossard, Barbland Dairy in Fabius.

“New York maple producers are concerned about trade from two fronts. The tariffs in both Asia and Canada mean a potential loss of markets for American made maple syrup as cheaper Canadian maple syrup moves in to fill the void. In addition, the steel and aluminum tariffs have resulted in price hikes for equipment we need to produce maple syrup. My company alone was forced to increase prices 10 percent, prices that eventually will be passed down to consumers. We need a fix now before there are long-lasting repercussions on New York’s maple industry,” said Dwayne Hill, Shaver-Hill Maple Farm.

A pair of voter referendums to help Le Roy Fire Department purchase a new ladder truck was defeated at the ballot box Tuesday night by tallies of 107 for and 236 against to buy a new truck, and 113 for and 228 against to sell the current truck.

The first referendum would have authorized the Le Roy Fire District to borrow $1 million and spend $400,000 of reserve funds.

Yesterday, Fire District officials released the following statement:

“We would like to thank the voters of the Le Roy Fire District for taking the time to turn out and vote at last night’s election and express their views.

The results of this vote will help us shape how the District’s responsibility to provide the best possible fire protection and service to the residents.

At the same time, we need to recognize the time and efforts of the Departments’ officers and Apparatus Committee for their two years of time and research into developing the basis for this vote. We will redirect their work into continuing the best possible firefighting force for this community.

We must keep in front of us that this was a vote on a fire truck and not on the dedication, commitment and professionalism of the men and women of the Le Roy Fire Department.”

Signed: Le Roy Fire District Board of Fire Commissioners, Fire Chiefs and Officers

The primary unemployment rate of 3.7 percent in Genesee County is the lowest July rate locally since 2001.

While July is traditional the among the lowest rates of any given year, at 3.7 percent, it's the lowest rate of any month since October 2006.

The rate dropped six-tenths of a percent since last July.

The primary unemployment rate -- called the U-3 rate by labor economists (there are six such levels of rates) -- counts work-age people who either have jobs or are actively seeking employment. It doesn't include people who are permanently or temporarily out of the workforce either by choice or disability.

The number of residents of Genesee County who are counted in the rate is 30,600, up from 30,500 a year ago. The highest July number over the past 28 years was 34,800 in 2008. There are 1,100 people in the county seeking work, down from 1,300 a year ago and 29,500 people with jobs, up 300 from a year ago.

The number of jobs in Genesee County grew year-over-year from 23,700 to 23,800. The number of non-farm, private-sector jobs grew from 18,600 to 18,800.

The Genesee County Job Development Bureau reports it currently knows of 879 job openings locally, down 15.6 percent from last month when there were 1,042 job openings listed.

The state unemployment rate is 4.2 percent, down from 4.9 percent a year ago. The national rate is 4.1 percent compared to 4.6 percent a year ago.

Tops Markets today announced it plans to close 10 stores but the neither the Batavia store nor the Le Roy store is on the list.

Tops is in the midst of a financial restructuring and a judge overseeing their bankruptcy proceedings will need to approve the closures.

The chain's other 159 stores are all expected to remain open but as many as 600 of the company's 14,000 employees are likely to lose their jobs.

The company said the 10 stores selected for closure are "underperforming."

The stores scheduled for closure:

• 2120 W. Genesee St., Syracuse
• 4141 S. Salina St., Syracuse
• 710 Lake Ave., Rochester
• 175 N. Winton Road, Rochester
• 6720 Pittsford/Palmyra Road, Fairport
• 33 Forgham St., Lyons
• 381 Hamilton St., Geneva
• 909 W. 1st St. S., Fulton
• 299 S. Main St., Elmira
• 622 Lake Flower Ave., Saranac Lake

Press release:

Darien Lake, a Six Flags Theme Park, and the Coaster Capital of New York, today announced plans to debut the tallest attraction in the entire state — the all-new Six Flags SkyScreamer — for the 2019 season. This staggering, 242-foot-tall swing ride will reign as the region’s new, iconic symbol, beckoning guests from near and far. The park will also be rebranded Six Flags Darien Lake when it opens next spring.

“We are thrilled to introduce the kind of innovative, world-class attraction that Six Flags is known for,” said Darien Lake Park President Chris Thorpe. “This high-flying tower ride will offer guests a chance to soar through the clouds with majestic views of the park and surrounding countryside far below. Six Flags SkyScreamer is an exciting, new addition befitting the name Six Flags Darien Lake.”

Once the 32 thrill-seekers board the ride, it quickly rises, taking guests 24 stories into the air while spinning round and round at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. By night, Six Flags SkyScreamer’s bold, synchronized light package will light up the skies.

Six Flags SkyScreamer Facts:

• A soaring 24-stories tall;
• 32 riders, sitting two across in open-air swings; and
• Spinning round and round a 98-foot circle at 35 miles per hour.

Six Flags SkyScreamer is scheduled to open in spring 2019. For more information on Six Flags SkyScreamer and next season at Darien Lake, visit https://www.sixflags.com/darienlake/newfor2019.

Darien Lake is also announcing the start of 2019 Season Pass sales with its special Flash Sale through Labor Day weekend featuring the best deal of the year — savings up to 70 percent off on a 2019 Pass, which also includes admission to 2018 Fright Fest® a new Halloween event this October.

Aug. 30 through Sept. 3, guests will receive a free upgrade to a Gold Combo Season Pass with every Pass purchased. Gold Combo Season Passes include admission to Six Flags Darien Lake and any other Six Flags theme park, as well as free parking, special admission offers for friends and a free drink bottle with paid refills.

During the Flash Sale guests can also join the Six Flags Membership program for 50 percent off the Season Price and receive three free bonus months. Six Flags Membership includes all of the benefits of Season Pass plus more than 50 additional benefits such as unlimited soft drinks, preferred parking, walk-on passes for rides, and exclusive waterpark seating. Members can also participate in Six Flags Membership Rewards, a new loyalty program that allows guests to earn valuable prizes for just for riding rides, seeing shows, and having a great time at the park.

Photo from yesterday evening by Jim Schmitt.

There has yet to be another meeting scheduled of GOP chairs in the New York 27th Congressional District and Genesee County's GOP chairman, Dick Siebert, isn't feeling overly optimistic that the chairs will find a way to get the name of Chris Collins off the November ballot.

Collins, the two-term congressman for the NY-27, suspended his campaign a month ago after being arrested by federal authorities for allegedly providing an illegal stock tip to his son, Cameron Collins.

"I’ve got of got a feeling that he’s not coming off the ballot but what do I know," Siebert said. "How it looks at this stage is, he’s on the ballot."

Siebert hasn't heard anything from the other chairs since the eight of them from the district met with potential candidates to replace Collins a week ago. 

There have apparently been attempts to find a ballot line for Collins in a more diminutive seat in a town in Erie County, but as the Clarence Bee reports, those efforts aren't being embraced by local town officials.

Siebert said he isn't surprised.

"He’s pretty toxic," Siebert said. "I’m sure some town boards wouldn’t want anything to do with this."

All of that wrangling, though, Siebert said, is for others to worry about. Collins said he will cooperate with any effort to get his name removed from the NY-27 ballot, which Siebert said he is counting on, and then it's up to the attorneys to figure out how to do it in a way that will withstand a legal challenge by Democrats. As far as Siebert's concerned, the only job of the GOP chairs is to pick a replacement for Collins if his name is removed.

"If we do anything, let's find the best candidate, at least," Siebert said. "Let's try to find the best one if the opportunity presents itself and if it doesn't, well, then, we did our best to try and be ready."

There are reportedly still eight GOP hopefuls. Siebert noted that only one remains from Genesee County, Steve Hawley.

"I've lost two candidates, (David) Bellavia and (Mike) Ranzenhofer but I've still got one candidate and I think highly of him," Siebert said. "I thought Steve and Ranzenhofer both did very well and were both very highly rated by our group."

While Ranzenhofer has withdrawn his name from consideration, Hawley told The Batavian yesterday that he's waiting for the process to play out, at least for now.

Right now, it looks like there will be professional baseball in Batavia in 2019, according to General Manager Dave Chase.

As the team heads into its final week of the 2018 season (barring a playoff appearance), Chase said last night that he's pretty confident the team will be back -- he gave it a 90 to 95 percent chance -- and he said he's getting good signals from league officials.

“We do have a draft of the 2019 schedule and we’re on it, so I’ll take that as a sign we’re playing," Chase said.

The NYPL took over ownership of the Muckdogs early in 2018 and hired Chase, with decades of experience in Minor League baseball, to run the team. He promised to improve on-field playing conditions and in-stands fan experience. He thinks both goals were achieved.

"The team has played much better," Chase said. "We don’t win a lot at home but we’re usually in it in 7th, 8th, and 9th inning and we believe if you’re not going to win them, at least be in them, and then when people go home, they’ll forget whether you won or lost, they’ll just know they had something to cheer about late in the game."

Attendance continues to be a concern but Chase said some of the attendance problems can be blamed on the late start he and the rest of the front office got on preparing for 2018. Tickets sales, including season ticket sales, started later than normal and there was no time to push group sales. While support from the local business community was very good this year, Chase said, the staff needs more time than they had in 2018 to work on obtaining sponsorships.

The biggest improvement has been on the field, especially the infield. In April, the infield was laser-leveled with the help of Batavia Turf and DuraEdge and the infield dirt was replaced with the same mixed by the Miami Marlins on their home field. Joe Mogavero took care of the field for more than the first half of the season and then Cooper Thomson finally got his visa to fly in from Australia and become the new head groundskeeper at Dwyer Stadium.

The improvements have been noticeable by players, coaches, and the front office, especially since Cooper Thomson joined the staff.

"Cooper was by far a step in the right direction," Chase said. "He has a vision. He knows what he wants. The question will be whether I can afford it but we are talking about him coming back in April.

That's well in advance of the 2019 season, but not as soon as Chase would like to get him to come back to Batavia.

"I tried to get him to come in March but he said his heart would break if he had to look at a baseball field covered in snow," Chase said.

Manager Mike Jacobs took over the team in 2017 and returned in 2018. He said the improvements on the field and off have been welcome by both him and the players.

"It’s been great, just even on the field, new dirt, finally got our regular head grounds crew guy and he’s been great, Cooper," Jacobs said. "Since he's been here, the surface has played extremely well compared to what it was last year. They’ve made improvements inside the clubhouses on both sides. There are still things to touch up but overall I can’t complain. It’s been great."

The field is also getting high marks from the players, especially those who played on it in 2017 and came back in 2018. Both Demetrius Sims and Sean Reynolds said the improvement was noticeable on the first day of the season and the field has only gotten better as the season has gone along.

"We always looked forward to playing on the road last year but with the improvements from last year to this year, it’s been a lot better with the surface and all the upgrades to the field," Sims said.

Reynolds said he's impressed with the work Thomson has done since he joined the team.

"(He) has done an unbelievable job making sure the field is in shape every night," Reynolds said. "The surface itself is 10 times better than it was last year. Last year it was like, you didn’t know if you were going to be playing on gravel or sand every night. That’s been great."

While Chase is also pretty confident the Marlins will be the Major League parent of the Muckdogs again in 2019, that decision won't be made until the middle of September or later.

Jacobs said he thinks the Marlins should come back to Batavia and neither Sims nor Reynolds expressed any reservations about the team returning.

The one thing they all want to see is more fan support.

"We don’t have the biggest crowds," Jacobs said. "I would say this year we’ve had bigger crowds then what had in the past and that’s a testament to the front office here in Batavia, whether through advertising or whatever to get fans in the stadium. You look at a night like tonight and it was pretty filled up for a Tuesday.  I know they’re trying and I would like to see us be able to come back."

Reynolds said if Batavians want to keep professional baseball in Batavia, they probably need to come to more games.

"Obviously, places like State College and Mahoning Valley, Tri-City, wherever else, they have a pretty cool set up compared to this," Reynolds said. "I think it’s just a matter of people getting out to the game. I know every year there’s kind of deal where it’s like nobody wants baseball in Batavia to leave because it’s a staple of minor league baseball but at the same time if you don’t want it to leave then, you know, you’ve got to show a little bit of support."

The fan support, he said, matters to the players. There should be more games like the July 3 match against West Virginia when Dwyer was packed.

"There was, what, 2,500 people (ed. a little over 2,300) here, I think, and that was incredible because they were all cheering and they were chanting for us to win," Reynolds said. "That’s what real baseball should feel like."

If asked by a prospect just starting out his career next year whether Batavia was a good place to play ball, Sim said he would say yes, but with a caveat.

"It depends on where you’re from," Sims said. "If you’re a big city guy, then you’ve kind of got to adapt to the area and what’s around, but it’s been more than welcoming to be back here."

Top photo: Manager Mike Jacobs in the dugout on opening night.

Muckdogs Manager Mike Jacobs says Sean Reynolds, is, without a doubt, his most valuable player in 2018.

That might surprise anybody who knows that Reynold's has one of the lowest batting averages in the NY-Penn League (.192, fourth lowest of qualifying players) and has already broken the league's single-season record for most strikeouts (currently, 121, with nine games to go, breaking the previous record of 117 set in 1982).

But Reynolds also leads the league in home runs (16), RBIs, (47), Runs scored (47), base on balls (40) and leads his team in stolen bases (13). He's also the only player in the NYPL to play every inning of every game (70 so far).

"Without a doubt, he’s having a great year," Jacobs said. "It’s fun to watch. It’s fun to watch the progression of watching him continue to get better every day."

This is the second season in Batavia for the 20-year-old Southern Californian who was a fourth-round draft pick right out of Redondo Union High School for the Marlins in 2016.

The Marlins will be patient with their young power bat, Jacobs said. 

"What he can bring to the table you just can’t find that every day," Jacobs said. "I think the more he plays, the more games he plays, he will cut down on his strikeouts. I think he will put the ball in play more, and ultimately if he just does that, all those numbers are going to continue to rise."

Reynolds is well aware of his strike out record and his average but he's also pleased with his progress and believes he will continue to improve the more he plays.

"Obviously, that’s the thing going forward in my career that’s going to be the focal point, being able to put the ball in play more," Reynolds said. "Personally, I don’t see any reason why I can’t improve because it’s all about getting at-bats. This is my first full year in a sense of playing over 70 games and getting 300-plus plate appearances."

At 6'7", Reynolds invites comparisons to Dave Kingman, AKA "King Kong," who hit 442 major league home runs over 16 seasons starting in 1971. He also struck out in prodigious numbers (153 times in 1975, when he hit 36 homers for the Mets, and 138 times in 1979 when he hit 48 homers for the Cubs). He finished with .236 career average.

Whether Reynolds makes contact more often, time will tell, but he is arguably already better than Kingman in one key aspect of baseball: Defense. 

Where Kingman was atrocious in the field (career .895 fielding percentage including 3B and outfield) Reynolds is already doing better (.983) and has improved throughout the season.

"A lot of people may not realize it but he’s played outstanding first base for us," Jacobs said.

Jacobs knows a thing or two about hitting the ball hard at the major league level (100 career homers, including 32 for the Marlins in 2008) and Reynolds credits Jacobs for helping him get better.

"Jakes is a big the influence on me, him and Jesus Merchan, our hitting coach," Reynolds said. "He’s been able to help me with things I wouldn’t even think about because he’s played and been around the game for 20-plus years now. He’s been in the big leagues and able to have a lot of success in the big leagues for the time he was there. When I’m not going good, he knows what to say and how to help me out without saying too much, and then when I'm going good, it's a high five when I’m going around third base and that’s all I need."

Reynolds knows he's getting better and he's obviously playing with more confidence.

"It’s funny we should talk about this right now because this was probably my best series of the year," Reynolds said (he had five hits, three homers, six RBIs). "I was more consistently putting bat to ball and making loud outs even if I wasn’t getting on base, so that was good to feel but obviously for every success and every home run there’s been a lot of struggle."

If Reynolds were hitting .250 instead of .192, he would probably already be holding down first base in Greensboro or Jacksonville. As it is, State College last night showed enough respect for his bat that they used a defensive shift on the left-handed hitter, something you rarely if ever see in short-season Class A ball.  

He was also a member of the NYPL's 2018 All-Star Team.

"You look at where he was last year and you look at even where he was in spring training and the improvement is 10 fold," Jacobs said. "He didn’t hit one homer in spring training and he played in a lot of games down there and obviously you see the numbers he’s putting up and, really, the batting average, it is what it is. He has a lot of swing-and-miss but there’s also a lot of damage that’s in that bat."

Photos: File photos by Howard Owens.

With six games left in the season, including three-straight day games at home, the Batavia Muckdogs are contending for a post-season playoff berth.

They could get there by making up a four-and-a-half-game deficit behind division-leading Mahoning Valley, their next opponent on the road, and three and a half behind Brooklyn in the wildcard race. Any combination of two Muckdog losses or two Mahoning Valley wins would eliminate Batavia in the division (in other words, the Muckdogs must sweep the Scrappers) and in the wild-card race, the magic number is four.

That means, the hometown team can't really afford to lose any of their final six games.

Fortunately, they're the hottest team in the NYPL right now with four straight wins and a 7-3 record over the last 10 games.

"Our fate is in our hands," said manager Mike Jacobs after last night's 8-1 win over State College, completing a three-game sweep of their division rival. "The step coming in and taking care of business these last three games like we have. If continue to play the way we’re playing, it may go down to the very last game and it’s exciting."

Last night, the Muckdogs scored early and scored often, taking a 2-0 lead by the bottom of the first and piling on six more runs in the third.

The first two runs came on a home run by third baseman Bubba Hollins, an undrafted signee of the Marlins from Orchard Park who played college ball at St. Bonaventure University. Hollins is on his second stint with the Muckdogs, after a cup of tea with the team in 2017. This was his first home run with Batavia.

With one out in the third, Hollins drew a walk, setting the table for Sean Reynolds, who whacked his league-leading 16th homer of the season over the right-field wall. 

The rest of the scoring came on walks to Albert Guaimaro and Igor Baez, a double by Ricardo Cespedes, a Luke Jarvis single, and ground out by Davis Bradshaw.

Josh Roberson, from North Carolina, worked five innings, giving up only one run and picking up his first NYPL win on a 1.80 ERA.

Big Texan Tyler Kolek (top photo and second photo) worked two scoreless innings, whiffing three, and Panamanian Humberto Mejia came on for the final two frames and also K'd at trio of Spikes.

The next home game, the final homestand of the season, is Saturday at 1:05 p.m. against Auburn.

Brayan Hernandez

Luke Jarvis

Demetrius Sims

Demetrius Sims at short.

Albert Guaimaro

Nicholas Ronald Schramm, 18, of Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Schramm is accused of damaging property of another person while at a residence, not his own, on Byron Holley Road, Byron, on Monday. He was jailed on $5,000 bail or $10,000 bond.

Connor D. Gardner, 18, of Kemp Drive, Macedon, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal use of drug paraphernalia, 2nd, and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Justin Daniel Pursel, 28, of North Street, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right, and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Pursel was allegedly involved in an accident on Batavia Elba Townline Road at 1:30 a.m. Saturday. The accident was investigated by Deputy Mathew Clor and Deputy Andrew Mullen.

Kyle J. Stack, 32, of Medina, is charged with DWI, unlawful possession of marijuana, and obstruction of governmental administration. Stack is accused of driving drunk in the Town of Bergen at 11:11 p.m. Tuesday though he was arrested by State Police in the Village of Medina. He was ordered held on cash bail. No further details released.

Quinton V. Holmes, 27, of Churchville, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs, failure to keep right, and speeding. Holmes was stopped by State Police on Buffalo Road, Bergen, at 3:43 p.m. Saturday.

Jennifer L. Blake, 44, of Elba, and Christopher W. Blake, 44, of Byron, are charged with trespass. The two people were arrested by State Police for allegedly trespassing on property in Byron at 7:45 p.m. Thursday. No further details released.

Jay R. Howcraft, 58, of Rochester, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Howcraft was stopped by State Police at 8:21 p.m. Friday on Pratt Road, Town of Batavia.

Press release:

Late blight was detected in Genesee County on Aug. 28th. Late blight is a devastating, airborne disease of tomatoes and potatoes best known for causing the Irish Potato famine. Late blight is caused by a fungus-like organism that spreads dozens of miles on storm fronts.

Late blight can kill plants in just one week. Disease spots are often dark gray to brown in color and may or may not have a ring of pale green tissue around them. They are often irregular in shape and size, and often become as large as a quarter. Leaf spots will often have small fuzzy white spores on the underside of the leaf in wet and humid conditions.

Late blight will put dark brown to black smears on plant stems. Tomato fruit may also develop large, firm, greasy-looking, brown, gray, or black smears on the upper part of the fruit. Potato leaves show dark spots with fuzzy white spores on the underside during humid weather. Potato stems show similar lesions to those seen in tomato.

As this disease is aggressive and very damaging to area farmers, Cornell Cooperative Extension asks that anyone suspecting they have late blight please contact their local CCE office for assistance. In Genesee County, the CCE office can be reached at 585-343-3040. Commercial vegetable farmers should contact the Cornell Vegetable Program at 585-406-3419.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley is doing pretty much what the rest of us in the 27th Congressional District are doing -- waiting to see if the regional GOP leadership can come up with a plan to remove the name of Chris Collins from the November general election ballot.

If that happens, he hopes the GOP chairs will select him as the Republican candidate for Congress to replace Collins, currently under federal indictment on counts of securities fraud and lying to the FBI about an alleged insider trading scheme.

"I know nothing more than when we met last Tuesday," Hawley said, referring to a confab of GOP chairs from the eight counties in the NY-27 at Batavia Downs. At the gathering, the candidates hoping to replace Collins on the ballot were interviewed. "We each gave a presentation. We talked about how each of us viewed what a congressman should be, we reviewed backgrounds, reviewed finances, reviewed whether we’re ready to go or not, which I am, and I haven’t heard anything since then."

David Bellavia, the other Batavia resident who considered a run for Congress if the GOP chairs could get the Collins name off the ballot, withdrew his name before Tuesday's meeting. Mike Ranzenhofer, the state senator for Genesee County, withdrew his name yesterday.

Hawley is by no means certain the county chairs have figured out a plan for getting the current congressman's name off the ballot.

"I have to say, the longer this goes on the chances of A) getting his name off B) having the court challenges, which there will be, makes me more and more happy that I’m running for reelection to the state Assembly," Hawley said. "If the process doesn’t heat up here pretty quickly, I’m going to be serving, hopefully, another term in the state Assembly."

That isn't to be read, apparently, that Hawley has any intention anytime soon of withdrawing his name from consideration. He wouldn't say that when pressed on the question, or at what point he might decide to withdraw.

"We'll play it by ear," he said.

Hawley said residents of the 139th Assembly District have been wholly supportive of his request to be considered for the Republican line on the November ballot in the congressional race.

"I’ve received nothing but encouragement from the moment Mr. Collins suspended his campaign and, as I mentioned before, all kinds of emails, all kinds of Facebook posts, all kinds of personal visits from constituents," Hawley said. "This is all about people I’ve been able to serve the past 12 and a half years. They’re the ones who encouraged me to look at it and that’s what I try to model myself after, what people want."

L&M Speciality Fabrication is moving from Albion to a new, bigger location on East Saile Drive, Batavia, and today, company owners and local officials officially broke ground on the site of the new 23,000-square-foot facility.

The company specializes in onion harvesting equipment, custom farm machinery and repairs of farm equipment.

The company is investing $2.2 million in the project. The new facility will include a production area and retail space for farm equipment parts.

Co-owner Lee Schuknecht said the new location was attractive because it's central to three rural counties (Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming), Batavia is already a central location for businesses that support farmers, and West Saile Drive has easy Thruway access.

While the company might be known for its onion harvesting equipment, L&M works with farmers to meet a variety of needs. They've built harvesters for other crops as well as custom conveyors and wagons for a variety of produce.

"With most farmers, we try to figure out their needs for different growing areas and try to meet those needs," Schuknecht said. "A lot times people come to us with something they need or a problem they have and we try to engineer a solution for their problem, so a lot of things we do, we may only build one or a couple."

Genesee County Economic Development Center assisted the project with a sales tax worth $84,000 for building materials and supplies, and property tax abatement valued at $158,656. The company currently has seven employees and plans to hire two more once they are in their new building.

Photo: Chris Suozzi, VP of business development for GCEDC, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Lee Schuknecht, Matt Geissler, Sarah Geissler, Robin Schuknecht, and Dale Schuknecht. Lee, Matt, and Sarah own the business. Dale and Robin, parents of Lee and Sarah, assist in the business.

There was little disagreement on issues Monday night at Genesee Community College among the four candidates hoping to get the most votes in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary for attorney general.

They all favor issuing drivers licenses to undocumented residents. They will use the AG's office to help protect the environment and fight climate change. They oppose tariffs that are hurting farmers. They will continue to pursue lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies over prescription pain pill marketing. They will work to preserve the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

And, they all agree the Donald Trump Administration is corrupt and both democracy and the rule of law are under assault.

"We are at a crisis moment in our democracy," said Zephyr Teachout. "Donald Trump is actually ripping families apart. He cannot be trusted. We cannot trust federal regulation of the financial markets when Washington is controlled by the financial industry, which is surrounded by people like Chris Collins who use political offices to enrich themselves."

In all, the four candidates were a collegial group who kept their discussion civil and answered a half dozen or so questions from members of the Democratic Rural Caucus, which organized the event, and another five or six from audience members.

The first topic was about helping and protecting farmers and the candidates immediately jumped on Trump's tariffs, which are making it more difficult for farmers to export their products and reducing prices, which hurt or eliminate profits.

Sean Patrick Maloney, a member of Congress, said he represents 1,500 family farms, and many of them are smaller farms, 200 acres or less, that grow specialty crops. He said he's introduced 30 bills to assist farmers, especially in the area of crop insurance. Current crop insurance programs, he said, favor big Midwestern farmers.

"I will fight to end tariffs that are putting a terrible burden on New York farmers," Maloney said. "I hear that all the time. This is a self-inflicted wound and we need to fix it."

As AG, he said, one of the most effective things he can do is work to improve and protect access to markets for farmers.

Both Teachout and Letitia James said monopolies and corporate concentration are burdens on farmers that reduce competition. 

"A lot of people are making a lot of money in food," Teachout said. "It’s just not farmers."

She criticized Monsanto for its patents on seeds, John Deere for his copyright claims on software that keep farmers from repairing their own equipment or going to less expensive repair services, and the lack of competition among food distributors.

James also said she would work to break up these big companies and end non-competitive practices.

She also favors eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or reining in its enforcement power to help ensure farmers are able to hire the immigrant workers they need to stay in business.

"It's really critically important the next AG stand up for their (immigrants) rights so they can come out of the shadows and seek work and feel safe," James said.

Leecia Eve said she is mindful of the need to protect the environment but she is also mindful of Washington's tendency to design environmental regulation around large, corporate farm operations, that then place an unnecessary burden on small farmers.

All of the candidates said they would use the power of the AG's office to protect the ACA and ensure New Yorkers maintain access to affordable health care. Maloney said while the Trump administration has done much to damage the ACA there are still issues to defend.

"The nice thing about the Trump Administration is while they are way radical they're also incompetent," Maloney said.

Lorie Longhany, a member of the RDC and former county chair of the Democratic Party, asked what the candidates would do to protect seniors.

Eve recalled her years working for former AG Bob Abrams. Abrams required staff to travel throughout the state and set up mobile offices in supermarkets and other public locations and the staff would answer questions and assist people as best they could with any problem. That's the spirit, she said, she wants to bring to the office.

"We need to put that effort on steroids," Eve said. "New York is under assault by Donald Trump. We have an economic crisis, a housing crisis, an environmental crisis. I will use the full weight of the office to protect the rights of New Yorkers. It's important to have an office in the community so New Yorkers feel like the attorney general's office has their backs."

Maloney said that protecting seniors from scams is the "bread and butter" function of the AG's office.

"If you’re not doing that right, you're not doing this office right," Maloney said.

The AG's office is especially important in the age of Trump, Teachout said.

"There are seven consumer protection agencies that the Trump Administration is in the process of gutting," Teachout said. "The Consumer Protection Finance Bureau is being run by somebody who doesn't believe in consumer protection. This job becomes more important when you can't trust the federal government because this office is the last line of defense against frauds and scams."

To deal with the opioid crisis, the candidates favor decriminalization and putting more resources into treatment.

"We need to decriminalize mental health issues," Eve said. "We need treatment for people who are in crisis and have enough courage to ask for help. If they ask for help and somebody says you have to wait six months to get help, that's a recipe for disaster."