What can you accomplish in six and a half minutes with a photographic feline, some choice hometown architecture and a $5,000 grant?

Batavia native and film producer James DiLullo will answer that soon enough with his self-penned work, “Kitty,” which he plans to shoot in his hometown next month with a local cast and crew.

Today's Deals:

• Ficarella's Pizzeria
• The Vintage Cow Farmers Market
• Smokin Eagle BBQ and Brew
• Chap's Elba Diner
• Angry Charlie's Smokehouse BBQ
• Dave's Ice Cream

Alexander Volunteer Fire Department members were proud to show off their renovated rec hall on Saturday during its 2024 awards and installation dinner.

With freshly painted walls, ceiling and a newly poured epoxy floor, the $50,000 renovation gives the hall a fresher, newer look.

It was also a night to recognize a few of the department's key contributors in 2023, including Firefighter of the Year Matt Pietrzykowski, who responded to a fatal fire in February.  He was the firefighter who found the deceased's body and was commended for his career and professionalism in handling the situation.

Jim Burkhardt and Regan McPhee were named EMS Providers of the Year. 

Regan McPhee received the Chief's Award.

The newly installed officers are, on the Firematic side:

• James Burkhardt, chief
• Nathan Fix, deputy chief
• Thomas Green, 1st assistant chief
• Anthony Johnston, 2nd assistant chief
• Matthew Pietrzykowski, 3rd assistant chief
• Jenny McPhee, EMS captain
• Todd Fleenor, EMS lieutenant
• Nicholas Yackeren, truck lieutenant
• Lance Scharlau, training captain
• Bernie Fix, safety officer
• John Meier, parade chairman
• Heidi Richmond, parade co-chairman

Administrative officers:

• Sean McPhee, president
• Thomas Green, vice-president
• Amanda Donnelly, recording secretary
• Heidi McPhee, financial secretary
• Barbara Pietrzykowski, treasurer
• Robert Spiers, chaplin
• and, trustees Matthew Fernaays, Nathan Fix, Amanda Donnelly, Nicholas Yackeren, Anthony Johnston, Darlene Merle, Matthew Pietrzkowski, and Matthew Grimes.

Volunteers for Animals celebrated its 40th anniversary on Saturday at Batavia First Presbyterian Church.

Previously: Chamber Awards: VFA earns special recognition in its 40th year caring for animals

Lance Donald Beals, 53, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with menacing 2nd.  Beals is accused of pointing and shooting a BB gun toward another person, placing that person in fear of injury at 7:16 a.m. on May 14 at a location on West Main Street Road, Batavia. He was arraigned and released.

Nathan Wayne Campbell, 43, of Oak Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Campbell was accused of stealing merchandise from Walmart at 12:56 p.m. on May 13. He was released on an appearance ticket.

Daniel J. House is indicted on counts of criminal contempt in the first degree, a Class E felony, and harassment in the second degree, a violation. House is accused of violating an order of protection on Jan. 23 at a location in the town of Batavia and of having unwanted physical contact with another person.

James A. Williams is indicted on counts of DWI, a Class D felony, aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, a Class E felony, circumventing an interlock device, a Class A misdemeanor, and obstructing governmental administration in the second degree. Williams is accused of driving a 2008 Hyundai with an Ohio license plate on Route 33 in the town of Stafford while intoxicated on Sept. 24. He was allegedly driving intoxicated while knowing or should have known that his driving privileges were suspended. The Hyundai was not equipped with an interlock device. He is accused of trying to prevent a government official from performing his official duties. The felony DWI charge stems from a prior DWI conviction in March 2019 in Rochester.

Isaac C. King is indicted on a count of bail jumping in the second degree, a Class E felony. King is accused of failing to appear in Genesee County Court as ordered on a felony charge after being released on bail or on his own recognizance on Dec. 4.

Tanisha N. Gibson is indicted on a count of criminal mischief in the second degree, a Class D felony.  Gibson is accused of intentionally damaging the property of another person on Jan. 8 with a value in excess of $1,500.

Lashayia S. Bussey is indicted on counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree, a Class E felony, and conspiracy in the fifth degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Bussey is accused of stealing property with a value in excess of $1,000 on Sept. 14, 2022, in the town of Batavia. She is accused of concluding with another person to commit the crime.

Shameek T. Taylor is indicted on counts of criminal contempt in the first degree, a Class E felony, and burglary in the second degree, a Class C felony. Taylor is accused of violating a stay-away order of protection on Feb. 24 in the town of Batavia. On that same date, Taylor is accused of entering a building with the intent to commit a crime within.

Evan J. Vanskiver is indicted on a count of bail jumping in the second degree, a Class E felony. Vanskiver is accused of failing to appear in City Court as ordered on a felony charge.

Jacob W. Patterson is indicted on a count of promoting prison contraband in the first degree, Class D felony. Patterson is accused of introducing two glass pipes into the Genesee County Jail on Feb. 6.

Adrian L. Sheppard is indicted on a count of bailing jumping in the second degree, a Class E felony. Sheppard, having been released on his own recognizance, is accused of failing to appear in City Court as ordered on felony charges.

Elba beat CG Finney 9-7 on Sunday in a first-round Section V playoff game in softball.

Maddie Hall was 2-4, two RBIs and a run scored. Brea Smith was 2-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. Madison Marks was 2-3 with a double. Kaelin Ball was 2-4 with an RBI. Lydia Ross was 2-4 with a triple and run scored. 

Smith was the winning pitcher, giving up three hits, two walks, and one earned run. She fanned six.

Photos by Kristin Smith.

The #2 seed Lady Irish leaned on ace pitcher Loretta Sorochty on Saturday afternoon at GCC to come away with the 3-0 victory over 15-seeded Andover-Whitesville.  

Sorochty pitched a complete game one-hitter, allowing no runs and striking out 17 batters.  Makaila Brewster took the loss in the circle for Andover-Whitesville, going 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and striking out 1.

Offensively for the Lady Irish, Sofia Falleti led the way with 2 hits (1 double), while Emma Sisson, Hannah Tenney and Olivia Gillard each had a hit.  Sisson's hit was a triple, and she scored a run, and Tenney's base hit resulted in an RBI.  Katie Landers had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 4th following Sisson's triple, which scored the game's first run and proved to be all Sorochty would need for run support.  Ava Grace accounted for the lone base hit for Andover-Whitesville, with a blooper base hit over second base. 

"It's good to get this first sectional win behind us, even if it wasn't as pretty as we would have liked," said Coach Otis Thomas. "We put the bat on the ball, but give credit to Andover-Whitesville for making the plays in the field to keep the score close.  Loretta gave us another strong outing in the circle, and hopefully, we can give her a little more run support next time.  We look forward to the next game coming up on Tuesday." 

Press release:

Both teams were strong in the circle on Friday, but the Alexander Trojans defeated York 2-1. 

Madison Boyce started the game on Friday before the game was cut short because of rain. 

Boyce picked up Saturday morning, where she left off the day before and earned the win for Alexander, while Emily Pietrzykowski had Boyce’s back and nailed down the save.  

York drew first blood in the contest when they scored on a wild pitch in the top of the first. Then, in the bottom of the fourth inning, Melissa Sawyer put one in the left-center gap for a double before she advanced to 3rd on a past ball. Sawyer scored on a fielder’s choice to second hit by Melanie Bump to tie the game at 1. 

Alexander didn't take the lead until the 5th inning when Ava Yax singled scoring Kaylin Dinkins, who was pinch running for Brianna Neyman after she landed a one-out single.  

The Alexander defense tightened up to close the door on York and advance to the second round on Tuesday, where they will travel to Pavilion for a 5 p.m. semifinal game. 

Sophomore Ava Yax set the tone at the top of the lineup, leading Alexander with two hits in three at-bats, a stolen base, and an RBI.  Boyce, Neyman, and Sawyer all had hits on the day.

Madison Boyce earned the win for the Trojans. Boyce only gave up one hit and one run (zero earned) over five innings, striking out seven and walking six. Pietrzykowski only surrendered two hits while striking out two to earn the save.

"We learned tonight that we never want to be a part of another weather-suspended game ever again," said Coach John Goodenbury. "We let in an unearned run in the first inning and had to stew on it for the night as the game was suspended heading into the 3rd inning. In a ball game, an offense can start to wear down a pitcher with quality at-bats, but this unique circumstance allowed both teams to pitch two innings and then get the night off to reset for the next day when play resumed.  This takes away the nuances of the game, and we had to focus on a fresh pitcher who only had to go 5 innings after a full night's rest.  We had to rely on our girls adjusting in the box to her after seeing her once the day before. That is a ton of pressure for our girls, but they dealt with it, and we are moving on.  It wasn’t our finest game, but we got the win to stay alive, and we are now focused on Pavilion for Monday.  Today was a total team effort and we know Pavilion is a very good team this year so we are not taking this next match lightly, it’s do-or-die time.  I would like to give a special thank you to our AD Eric Romesser and the outstanding Alexander maintenance crew for working magic to get our field ready after the pounding rain it took yesterday."

Submitted photos.

Click here to sign up for an Early Access Pass from The Batavian. Join before June 14 and receive as a thank you gift from The Batavian and T.F. Brown's a $50 gift card redeemable at T.F. Browns.

Use the promo code BROWNS1050 and get an additional $10 off.

Members of Early Access Pass help support local journalism and get early access (currently, four hours) to select stories published by The Batavian.