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Police Beat: Girl allegedly yelling obscenities from her front yard arrested

By Howard B. Owens

A 16-year-old girl from South Byron has been charged with disorderly conduct. She is accused of yelling obscenities from her front yard after being asked repeatedly to stop. She was jailed on $250 bail.

Tyler J. Henderson, 20, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under 21. Henderson was ticketed by State Police on Sumner Road in Darien.

A 16-year-old from Alexander is charged with trespass. The boy was arrested by State Police in East Bethany.

Notre Dame's strong run defense meets two backs it can't stop

By Howard B. Owens

A strong run defense helped carry Notre Dame through a 7-1 season and into the Class D Section V finals, but against a Dundee team with a great running back and some well designed plays, the Fighting Irish defenders reminded no one of a picket fence.

Too many turnovers didn't help either.

Final score: 76-13.

But maybe the numbers that mattered most in deciding who won and who lost were those amassed by Steve Webb for Dundee, who had 176 yards on 12 carries for an average of 13.8 yards per carry. Webb scored four touchdowns, including one on a 23-yard punt return. He also had two receptions for another 75 yards.

Webb and fellow running back Ryan Ballard proved a deadly combo for the Irish. Ballard also scored three touchdowns, one on a kickoff return, one on a run from scrimmage and another on a pass reception. Ballard rushed for 131 yards.

All told, Dundee gained 359 on the ground and only 29 through the air.

Dundee head coach Sheldon Gibson said some of the team's success on the ground against Notre Dame could be attributed to good scouting.

"We’ve seen them three times live," Gibson said. "We kind of picked up on some things. We found a couple of angles and we exploited them. Basically, when you have a speed demon like Webb, he’s hard to catch, and with Ballard being so strong, I mean having those two in the backfield is quite a plus for us."

The game started promising for the Irish. After winning the coin toss and deferring its kickoff decision until the second half, Notre Dame was able to quickly squelch Dundee's first drive. The offense then took the field and behind the running of Mike Pratt were able to move the ball about 80 yards down field for the first score of the game.

Disaster struck on the ensuing kickoff however, when Ballard returned the ball the length of the field for Dundee's first score. Gibson characterized the play as a game changer, one that helped his team get its balance back and allow it to start focusing on its game plan.

"Ballard's got a lot of desire," Gibson said. "He’s worked very hard. He’s a student of the game and that changed a lot."

On its next series, Notre Dame committed the first of its six turnovers (two fumbles and four interceptions). Two plays later, Ballard struck again with a seven-yard TD reception.

From that point forward in the game, Notre Dame's defense would spend a lot of time looking at the back sides of Ballard and and Webb, as well as receiver Kyle Spinks, who added two touchdowns.

Dundee's 11 touchdowns helped make it a big night for Katie Zebrowski, the only girl playing Section V football this year. Zebrowski made 10 of her 11 point-after attempts, which is a new Section V record.

"You can't turn over the football," Notre Dame Head Coach Rick Mancuso said. "If they had turned over the football as much as we did, the score would have been just as lopsided the other way."

As it got into the fourth quarter and the score was 56-7, the chatter in the press box was about Dundee running up the score. Dundee started the fourth quarter with all of its starters still in the game.

Some Notre Dame fans, both online in The Batavian's live chat about the game and after the game, shared a similar disgruntled opinion.

Mancuso didn't see it that way.

"From my standpoint, I've always thought, you know, they were trying to get some sectional records and things of that nature," Mancuso said. "That doesn't bother me. I mean, God bless them, whatever they wanted to do is fine. It doesn't matter to me. Hey, if you want to stop somebody, you've got to stop them on the field. That's the way I look at it, and we didn't do that."

Gibson said that on the Dundee sideline, there was no intention to run up the score.

"When we're picking off passes and running things back and the two team scored those last two touch downs," Gibson said. "The second defense blocked that punt, I mean, we didn't have a block on. The second defense did that. It's tough to stop those kids, to tell them not to do that. We kept the ball on the ground."

There was one highlight for the Irish in the fourth quarter. On a pass play that sent Gianni Zambito on a relatively short route, Zambito managed to get a step on his lone defender. Tom Whelehan in as quarterback, hit Zambito with a perfectly timed strike, so that Zambito didn't have to break stride. The fleet receiver then raced his defender toward the goal line. Two Dundee defenders each managed to get a hold of his jersey at about the five yard line, but Zambito kept his legs moving and pulled them toward the end zone until he got just close enough to stick both arms straight out, ball still in his hands, and put the ball over the end zone for Notre Dame's second touch down.

It wasn't enough to bring the game within reach, but it let everybody know there was still plenty of fight left in the Irish.

Photographs by Bare Antolos. For more photos, click here.

H1N1 flu may be causing 'spike' in absences, parental worries

By Billie Owens

Figures aren't in yet, but absenteeism seems to be up at Batavia-area schools, and it appears that many of the children who are missing school are sick, possibly with H1N1.

At Robert Morris Elementary School, a "spike" in absenteeism occurred last week when 25 percent of its students were absent on one or more days. Batavia Middle School, according to parents who have contacted The Batavian, has also seen a jump in flu-related absences.

Hundreds of kids in Batavia are either at home coping with the nasty gamut of flu-like symptoms, or they are being kept home by anxious caregivers who are taking every precaution to keep their children healthy.

Batavia City School Superintendent Margaret Puzio said today that on Friday she will have week-to-week comparison figures for absences at the schools.

"Absences are a bit higher and I understand parents are concerned about sick kids," Puzio said. "But the best defense is to handle this as you would any flu. The symptoms are fairly mild. We're not doing anything differently than we normally do during flu season, except cleaning on a daily basis."

If a child exhibits flu-like symptoms, he or she is sent home. It they are already sick, they should not attend school. If he or she misses several days of school, the guidance counselors are notified and they contact the home. If need be, they notify the teacher and a packet of learning materials is put together for a parent to pick up.

But some parents say there's a lack of communication from schools concerning the H1N1 virus and, in the void, some panic is beginning to set in.

"I am the father of an 8th grader at Batavia Middle School," complained one man, who did not want to be identified. "There may be hundreds of children with this virus and no phone calls or letters from the school. My child is seriously sick and all of his close friends."

He said he doesn't think parents are getting enough information from schools to decide if it's safe to send them there.

Bill Cox urges no vote on charter revision

By Howard B. Owens

Councilman Bill Cox, Ward 1, is on vacation, but still thinking about city business - he e-mailed us today and asked us to post this statement in opposition to the proposed City Charter revision on Tuesday's ballott.

Serious Problems with proposed charter Changes

1.    No separation of power. A proposed change has the city manager appointing the members of the Planning and Development Committee ( Planning Board). The City Manager already appoints the members of the Zoning Board of Appeals. If the City Manager is allowed to appoint both board members its sets up a dangerous possibility of deals being made behind closed doors which is very difficult to happen now, because City Council appoints Planning Committee members. The City Manager can appoint people to both boards who are “friendly” to particular causes and future project and land developments and ensure they get passed regardless of what the taxpayers want, what neighborhood it involves, and what tax breaks it gets. This would be a very dangerous and damaging situation that would most likely occur sooner or later.

2.    Up to 14 years for an appointment. The terms of appointments for the Planning and Development committee for the city manager to appoint being proposed will enable a member to be in office for as long as 14 years. The terms now are 3 years with a renewal of 3 more years. The change proposed has the new terms of 5 years, with reappointment for a second 5 years and if someone resigns, after the first year, his replacement can be in office for 4 years and be eligible for both 5 year terms. Having someone in an appointed office for up to 14 years is a very bad idea for lots of reasons.

3.    Wording in proposed charter can permit the fire and police departments to be done away with. The proposed wording specifies the city must provide police and fire protection however it does not state we have to have a police and fire department. This is a subtle but very important change in wording. This sets the stage for a potential elimination of those departments by having outside agencies provide these services.

4.    Elimination of voter approval for Council pay increases. The proposed charter changes languages which can enable City Council to raise their own pay. Whenever an elected body of officials can give themselves raises, they become much less accountable to the voters and citizens. This is always a bad idea. That is one of the reasons Washington and New York State is in just mess; it is why politicians continue to vote for massive spending and increases in personal benefits for themselves, and more perks. City Council Members receive $2,000. a year for pay, except the Council President who receives a little more. Our citizens pay outrageously high property taxes, school taxes, and fees a lot of which can be traced directly to City Council decisions. When the taxpayer’s burden gets lowered and future council decisions that lower taxes are made, then perhaps Council deserves a pay increase and then only when the citizens and voters decide that. When we ran for office we knew the pay structure.

5.    Redistricting of wards. The proposed changes include going through an expensive process based upon future census counts one of which is being conducted in April 2010. Then re-drawing Ward Boundaries. This is unnecessary, disruptive, and expensive. Genesee County has a good system of having true representation for the people which is “weighted voting”. Periodically as people move, one geographic area can gain population and another one can lose some. Legislature calculates this and assigns a “weighted vote” to a particular legislator. This means that one legislator can have 1.1 votes while another can have .9 votes. What this does is allow the best representation of the people to occur at the legislative level. We should follow the county method in the city or leave it as is, instead an expensive process of redrawing ward boundaries, going through a lot of expensive and then doing it every 10 years when a new census occurs. 

6.    Separation of Power - City Manager will appoint City Attorney instead of City Council.  The proposed charter takes this appointment away from Council which is a very dangerous situation. This change in effect will mute the authority of City Council over the City Manager. The city attorney or law firm representing the city gets his direction from the city manager in most cases. If Council believes a change is necessary and a new city manager is needed, the city attorney who now gets over $200,000. in projects through the city manager has to decide who to back in a dispute between City Council and the City Manager. If you were getting $200,000. in pay from one source, who do you think you will back? People vote for their wallet. Right now the city attorney can be dismissed by Council if they feel a change is warranted and expenses are out of line. We lose that ability if this charter is passed.

7.    City Manager is given the authority and power of a Mayor in most respects without ever having to run for office. The proposed charter changes dramatically increases the authority and influence of the City Manager and reduces the authority and influence of the City Council members who you appoint. The proper way to do this is to let the people decide if they want a Mayor
And not back door the issue by these proposed changes in the City Charter. Do it the right way or not at all.

Here are two good proposed changes. One good proposed change is going to a sub-committee structure for some meetings. This will allow for items and proposals to be discussed with less contention and perhaps less controversy. However healthy open debate is what democracy is all about. This one change is not enough reason to overcome the negative changes proposed.  A second good one is that the chief financial officer is not the city manager and the proposed change is for the head of the finance department to be the chief financial officer. It stipulates also to get rid of the city engineer. I believe we need a city engineer but not a city engineer and an assistant manager both. This calls for no city engineer.

I believe the overall charter changes proposed, weaken the representation of the people by weakening city council authority, that they set up the possibility of back door deals being made in future planning and zoning boards exclusively appointed by the city manager, and turn the position of city manager into a position of power equivalent to a mayor without the need for the manager to ever run for that office and be elected by the people.   

I urge our citizens to vote no for the charter changes. We need to go back to the drawing boards and do a better job of changes.

Follow tonight's Notre Dame game live on The Batavian, starting at 5:30

By Howard B. Owens

Notre Dame tries for a sectional Class D title at Marina Auto Stadium at 5:30 p.m.

To get it, they'll have to beat #1 ranked Dundee, coming into the game with an unbeaten record for 2009.

Coach Rick Mancuso said after his team's big semi-final victory over York that beating Dundee certainly won't be easy.

“Dundee is phenomenal,” Mancuso said. “They’re the best team in D, there’s no doubt about that. We’re hoping we can come out and play a clean game and maybe we get it into the fourth quarter and we’re close. That’s kind of what you’re looking for. They’re fantastic. We’re defiantly playing up. It’s a huge challenge for us.”

You can follow all of the action live on The Batavian. We will be living blogging the game and you will be able to chat about the game, respond to interactive polls and keep pace with every play of the game starting at 5:30 p.m. 

If you're not in front of a computer, you can also listen to the game on WBTA with Jay Moran and Bob Brown calling the plays.

Today's Deals: Delavan's, Pudgie's, Alex's, Mane Attraction, and more

By Howard B. Owens

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, NY: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Adam Miller Toy & Bicycles, 8 Center St., Batavia, NY: Feel like a kid in a toy store again, or treat your kids to the greatest toy store they will ever see. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center, 3646 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Fall colors are here, and with Pudgie's you an cozy-fy your home with a range of decoration ideas. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

The Mane Attraction, 99 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: The Mane Attraction is a spa and salon offering pedicures, manicures, hair styling and massage. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: T.F. Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. "If it happens in sports, it happens at Brown's." We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Jackson St. Grill, 9 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: Try the fresh, skinless haddock fish fry on Fridays. We have a $10 gift certificate for $5.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, NY: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

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Club on verge of bridging divide with county on Sour Springs Road

By Howard B. Owens

A handful of snowmobilers attended last night's Genesee County Legislature meeting, and though they were not allowed to speak, they did walk about with good news.

It may be possible for the Genesee County Sno-Packers to reinstall the bridge it installed on Sour Springs Road over Oak Orchard Creek.

The county highway department removed the bridge Oct. 22, with officials citing liability concerns since installation of the bridge was not authorized.

Two issues stand in the way of putting the bridge back in place: County liability and responsibility for maintenance. Both of those issue appear on the cusp of resolution.

"After some discussion I had tonight with the county attorney, it appears that the county attorney would be receptive to the town of Alabama giving a hold harmless and indemnification agreement to the county," said Legislator Ray Cianfrini. "I was told by Mr. Rizzo that he would be receptive to that, and that's a huge step forward."

Even though the Sour Springs Road runs through a national wildlife refuge, it is actually a Town of Alabama roadway.

County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens said he was confident an agreement could be reached with the Sno-Packers for maintenance of the bridge.

Kevin Fisher, speaking for the Sno-Packers after the meeting said the club would have no issue with taking care of the bride and would gladly reinstall it themselves.

“I’m sure the club will put it back in," Fischer said. "We did it once, I’m sure we can do it again.”

At which point another club member chimed in, "It's easier the second time."

"You got it," Fisher said.
 

Police Beat: Batavia man charged with sexual abuse

By Howard B. Owens

Darren S. Jimerson, 44, of 5 Thorpe St., Batavia, is charged with sexual abuse in the first degree, forciable touching and criminal trespass. Jimerson was arrested by officer K.M. Defelice following an investigation. The alleged incident(s) that lead to the charge reportedly occurred at the residence of a female acquaintence. Jimerson was jailed without bail pending an arraignment today in City Court at 11 a.m.

Please vote in our election survey

By Howard B. Owens

We still have our election survey online (link below).

PLEASE READ: I have invalidated at least HALF of the surveys cast so far.  People are not following the instructions. If you say you're voting for one candidate for County Legislature in District 7 and then also select a candidate in District 8, I'm throwing out your survey.  That is by far the biggest reason for invalidating a survey.  I've also invalidated surveys for voting in every jurisdiction.

Also note that I've only included in the survey races that are competitive. For jurisdictions or districts that have candidates running unopposed, there are no survey questions.

var PDF_surveyID = '290AD911A70E920F'; var PDF_openText = 'View Survey';

Take Survey

Adopt A Pet: Winnie and Scotty and Davey

By Billie Owens

This winsome lass is a real winner. Her name is Winnie and she's an adult, spayed beagle. She is said to be good on a leash and good with other dogs.

Her temporary caretakers say: "Winnie loves people, other dogs and being outside. She also thinks she's a lap dog -- so watch out! This girl has quite a nose -- she loves sniffing, and barking at whatever she's sniffing."

Adorable! She's in Kennel 20.

Here are Scotty and Davey, black, beautiful and quite the dapper duo.

Their mom was sick after having them, so they had to be hand fed. They were oh-so-lucky to have a great foster family to take such wonderful care of them. They are now both neutered. Ask about them at the Desk.

Volunteers For Animals
P.O. Box 1621
Batavia, NY 14021
www.vol4animals.org <http://www.vol4animals.org>

Working in partnership with:
Genesee County Animal Shelter
3841 W. Main St. Road
Batavia, NY 14020
(585) 343-6410

Adoption Hours:
Sunday through Friday: 1 to 3 p.m. (closed on Thursdays)
Wednesday: 7 to 9 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
 

More serious manslaughter charge levied against Alexander man accused of drunken driving

By Howard B. Owens

A Grand Jury indictment has been handed down against Ronald J. Wendt, of Alexander, charging him with 11 felony counts stemming from an accident on Aug. 14 that claimed the life of an 18-year-old Dansville girl.

Among the charges against Wendt, 24, is aggravated vehicular manslaughter, a new statute in New York that carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

WBTA spoke with District Attorney Lawrence Friedman about the unique charge.

Friedman said elements of the alleged crime, relevant to the more serious charge, is that it includes alleged reckless driving and causing serious injury to another person.

Wendt is represented by Batavia Attorney Thomas Burns, who issued a statement following Wendt's preliminary hearing in August challenging the validity of drunken-driving charges in this case.

In addition to challenging the actual charges, Burns asserted that there is ample evidence that Wendt was not intoxicated at the time of the accident.

Among key facts raised during the preliminary hearing were that Wendt passed one element of the road-side sobriety test.

Wendt was reportedly making a left-hand turn off Route 20 into the parking lot of My Saloon -- an area not far from where the speed limit changes from 55 down to 40 mph -- when his truck was struck by the car. It's unclear if the car left any skid marks.

According to testimony at the hearing, Wendt told Deputy Tim Wescott that he had a few beers, during and after work, on a nearby farm bailing hay. His BAC was reportedly right at .08 after the accident.

Charvella and Radley get high rating from local gun-rights group

By Howard B. Owens

A local gun-rights lobby group likes what it sees in seven of the 11 candidates standing for election to the County Legislature on Nov. 3.

The Genesee County chapter of SCOPE (Shooters Committee On Political Education) ranked five of the candidates "highly favorable," including two running in competitive seats.

Democrat hopeful Chris Charvella, running for the District 8 seat received a "highly favorable" rating, while his opponent, incumbent Republican Hollis Upson notched a "favorable" rating.

In the District 7 race, Republican Robert Radley scored "highly favorable" while Democrat Rose Mary Christian was ranked "favorable."

The ratings were the result of a survey SCOPE asked each candidate to complete.

Two current county legislators up for re-election, but running unopposed, were classified "requires education on the issue."  They were Mary Pat Hancock and Anne Lawrence.

Ed DeJaneior and Esther Leadley did not respond to the survey, according to SCOPE.

Also receiving "highly favorable" ratings were Ray Cianfrini, Jay Grasso and Charles Zambito.

Also, SCOPE announced that John O., of Genesee County, won the group's raffle. The prize was a Thompson Triumph Black Powder Rifle.

Car accident involving pedestrian reported at East Main and Swan streets

By Billie Owens

A motor vehicle accident involving a pedestrian was reported at 9:04 p.m. at East Main and Swan streets in the City of Batavia. At 9:06 p.m., a medic crew and police were on scene.

UPDATE: 9:21 p.m.: a female pedestrian is reported to have minor abrasions and lacerations on her hands as a result of the accident. She is being transported to UMMC via ambulance.

There is a bakery in Genesee County

By Howard B. Owens

As a baker's son, I'm generally pretty aware of my surroundings when it comes to availability of cakes and bread. I've had a few conversations in the past few months with people along the lines of, "how come there's no bakery in Genesee County?"

Well, there is a bakery in Genesee County, and it just hadn't sunk into my head yet, but I happened to make a couple of trips out to Bergen this week, which reminded me about Greg'ry's Bakery and Cafe.

I stopped in there today -- they have a fine selection of locally made bread, cakes, scones, muffins and cookies. I'm glad I came across it again.

Late October on Oak Orchard Creek

By JIM NIGRO

The above photo depicts Oak Orchard Creek little more than a quarter-mile upstream of Lake Ontario. From the creek mouth to Waterport dam, this is a much wider stretch of stream with a more diverse fishery than found upstream. But on this day, with the exception of few bumps at the end of the line, neither the trout nor salmon were willing to cooperate.

Having moved upstream in search of warm water species, Mike Draper works a rubber worm in hopes of enticing a bass or pike.

The creek bank along a stretch of stream known as "Fiddler's Elbow."

Drake mallards and a lone hen soaking up the sun.

Doug Harloff plying the waters of Marsh Creek, a feeder stream spilling into the Oak Orchard at Twin Bridges.

On the return trip empty boat slips signify the close of the boating season.

 

 

 

Meet and Greet Tonight

By Patrick D. Burk

Tonight the City of Batavia Democrats are holding another Meet the Democrat Candidates Night at Notre Dame High School.  Sara Burk-Balbi, Phil Ricci and Julie Wallace will all be present as well as Chris Charvella, Candidate in District 8 for the Genesee County Legislature.  It is at 7PM and in the school Cafeteria.  

I would like to take this moment to encourage everyone to come this evening and talk with our candidates.  They are young, bright and caring.  I also encourage you all to ask them questions and give them your idea. 

I should also mention that there are two conflicting meetings that Rose Mary Christian and Legislator Ed DeJaneiro will be attending.  If they have complete those meetings prior to the end of the Meet and Greet they will stop in as well.  Rose Mary is attending a meeting on the expansion of Rte 63-Ellicott Street and Ed has a County Legislature Meeting.

Please join us tonight for our Meet and Greet at Notre Dame.

As H1N1 spreads, UMMC further restricts visits to patients

By Billie Owens

The spread of H1N1 flu virus has prompted a change in the visiting policy at United Memorial Medical Center.

As a result, starting this week no one under the age of 18 is allowed to visit patients. Heretofore, as with many hospitals, visitors had to be at least 14 years old, although there was flexibility and reasonable exceptions were made.

"We're becoming more restrictive about visitors -- it's for patient safety," said UMMC spokeswoman Colleen Flynn. "We don't want them to become infected. The virus can be especially harmful to a patient with an already compromised immune system."

Also under the new policy, there can only be two visitors per patient at any given time and visiting hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.. Certain units, such as intensive care and pediatrics, may have more time restrictions.

Maternity patients are only allowed visits from their spouse or significant other, and grandparents. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis by the nursing supervisor on duty.

Any visitor showing signs of infectious disease, such as a bad cough, will be asked to leave and given a mask to wear on their way out of the hospital.

"We are taking reasonable measures to protect patients, which is our number one priority," Flynn said.

All UMMC healthcare workers have been getting on-site H1N1 vaccinations, which were mandatory. That requirement was lifted, except for those with direct patient contact, which are innoculated first.

The H1N1 virus has been declared a national pandemic. As with other flu viruses, a person can be infected and contagious for 24 hours before showing any symptoms, which can hamper control efforts.

This strain, first identified in spring (not typically the flu season) is considered unusual because children are among the hardest hit.

Flynn said the hospital has seen an increase in the number of young flu sufferers. Some local peditricians are reportedly "swamped" with flu cases and some schools are grappling with absenteeism due to the flu or fear of catching it.

"Most cases are dealt with at home," Flynn said. "People treat it just like they would any flu. But because so much media attention is being paid to (H1N1), sometimes they tend to think the sky is falling. That's not necessarily true."

But do wash your hands frequently.

Candidate's daughter says, vote for Rose Mary Christian for County Legislature

By Raelene Christian

If anyone knows Rose Mary Christian better than anyone, it's me, her daughter. Throughout the years I have seen my mom tackle tough issues, read council packet after council packet, and always accept calls from city-wide residents who call my mom for her help because they know she gets things done.

From when I was little, I always remember my mom being involved with community things and helping people. She has been a Brownie leader, a softball coach, assisted families that needed a helping hand, volunteered for numerous things and causes, she orchestrated and accomplished sending close to 50 parents of deceased Vietnam veterans who were killed in action to visit the Vietnam Memorial Wall, and most importantly she has been a wonderful mother.

I have multiple sclerosis and there was no MS support group for people in Genesee County. In 2007, my mom is the person who initially contacted the right people to get a group started, and now, our group of about 12 members, called "Miracle Strides" has been running successfully and making great strides ever since. This group has been so beneficial for all its members. My mom has also turned out to be quite the nurse by giving me my weekly injections of the medicine that I take.

My mother has never put Council before her family, but let me tell you, being in the position she is in, people can be very demanding of her at numerous places. Whether it be at a restaurant while we're having dinner, at a grocery store, clothes shopping, and even church, yes, church. People all the time stop my mom and want to talk politics, see where she stands on the issues, or what she's going to do about that or this. No matter what, she always takes the time to answer the questions and discusses people's concerns.

When you or a loved one is in politics, you need to have tough skin. Tough skin we both have, and I have her to thank. Thank you mom for being the person you are and always being there to help me and so many others. I am so proud of you and what you have accomplished. Of course, no doubt, you have my vote Nov. 3 for county Legislature!

Today's Deals: Kravings, Great Kutz, Matty's, South Main and more

By Howard B. Owens

Kravings Kafe, Valu Plaza, W. Main Street, Batavia, NY: Recently opened, it offers soups, salads and sandwiches, fresh and flavorful; Monday through Saturday. We have $10 gift certificates for $5.

Great Kutz, in the Valu Plaza, 4152 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Great Kutz is Batavia's newest full-service hair salon. Women, try Great Kutz for a haircut at the incredibly low price of $7, exclusive offer from to The Batavian. (gift card can be applied toward other services, but not products).

Matty's Pizzeria, 4152 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Matty's is another Batavia favorite for pizza and wings. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Herbly Wonderful, 3701 Pearl St., Batavia, NY: Winter teas, spices and fall colors for your home in stunning floral arrangements and seasonal wreaths are now available at Herbly Wonderful. We have a $25 gift certificate for $11.

South Main Country Gifts, 3356 Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Handcrafted items, gifts with a regional flair, candles, teas and spices -- South Main has a wide selection to please most any interest. We have a $20 gift certificate for $9.

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Settler's has a 25-year history of serving great, affordable breakfasts, lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

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Top Items on Batavia's List

The Batavia Housing Authority is seeking a positive, hardworking teammate to perform a variety of outdoor landscaping tasks, primarily mowing, with some trimming and cleanup work. The Groundskeeper is independently responsible for outdoor landscaping tasks on a weekly basis with some flexibility. This job may require some weekend hours when necessary. Part-time position Pay Range: $19.00/hr - $22.00/hr Anticipated start date: May 2024 Application deadline: April 29, 2024 See full job description at: https://www.co.genesee.ny.us/Groundskeeper.pdf Complete Civil Service Application at: https://cms1files.revize.com/geneseecountynew/CivilServiceApplication2022Revision-09.22.22.pdf Contact Information Nathan Varland Executive Director Batavia Housing Authority 400 East Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020 (585) 344-1888 nvarland@bataviahousing.org Location: Batavia
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For Rent - Lower 1 Bedroom Apartment Private country setting, lower one bedroom apartment with all appliances and parking. Sunroom with gas fireplace and patio. Includes water and heat. NEW LOWER PRICE! $1000/Month plus electric. No pets, no smoking. References and security deposit required. Available June 1st, 2024. Call 585-344-3141.
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