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No Thanksgiving at community center, but water on the way, Bethany supervisor says

By Joanne Beck
Tanker at Bethany
A tanker filled with 6,700 gallons of water arrives early Wednesday morning in Bethany. 
Photo submitted by Carl Hyde

All things considered, Bethany Town Supervisor Carl Hyde was in fairly good spirits Tuesday evening after making phone calls to Bethany residents for three hours to, as he put it, serve as an early Grinch and rob them of their holiday. 

Those people had been planning on celebrating Thanksgiving at the town’s Community Center because they didn’t have water in their own homes. On Tuesday morning, the Community Center went dry as well. 

Bethany residents will have opportunity to fill water totes Saturday

By Joanne Beck

Bethany Town Supervisor Carl Hyde Jr. would like all town of Bethany residents to know that there will be a first come-first served opportunity for them to fill up their 250 and 500-gallon totes from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

You are asked to only use the Bethany Center

Bethany town residents with dry wells asked to contact town hall

By Press Release

Press Release:

Today we received a tanker of water from the NY State Office of Emergency Management to temporarily provide water to our residents experiencing dry wells.

For those residents affected, please call 585-343-1399, Ext. 202, and leave your full name, address and phone number. You will then be contacted

Getting their fill: Few residents show to first-time call to fill water totes, more dates set

By Joanne Beck
bethany water tanker nov. 2023
Bethany Town Board member Timothy Embt helps out at the water tanker on Saturday at the town hall parking lot.
Photo by Howard Owens

Jerry Kujawski had no trouble with Saturday’s rule of first-come, first-served to fill up his 300-gallon water tote. In fact, he made a return trip to fill it up a second time to help out a neighbor, and he was only the third or fourth person who had been at Bethany Town Hall to do so for the two-hour fill-up period.

When it seemed as though there would have been dozens of people clamoring for a go at the pump connected to a tanker of water to shore up their dried-up wells, the parking lot was empty most of the time. 

Town Supervisor Carl Hyde Jr. had put out the notice that anyone with no water could get their totes filled between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday at the town hall, and he and members of the Bethany town board and fire department stood at the tanker ready and waiting.

Paper plates and plasticware: modern day life without running water

By Joanne Beck

One’s lifestyle most definitely changes without running water, he said. You microwave your meals, eat on paper plates and use plastic cutlery. Showers are taken at obliging family members’ homes, and dirty clothes are taken care of at a laundromat.

There’s no turning on the tap, hopping in the shower or taking anything for granted when it comes to a steady stream of that liquid gold labeled H2O.

'We can't manage it on our own.' Legislators ask Jacobs for countywide water assistance

By Mike Pettinella
Video Sponsor
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Genesee County legislators on Wednesday afternoon – in the clearest of terms – asked Congressman Chris Jacobs for his help in finding federal money to assist the municipality with its

Painted wool show featured in main gallery at GO ART!

By Howard B. Owens

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The main gallery at GO ART! is filled with wooly bright colors until Dec. 3 in an exclusive show for East Bethany artist Terry Webber. 

Webber's show of painted wool is unique.  The pictures are bright and vibrant but filled with texture and an element of 3D vision.

Webber, who

UMMC, Genesee County, team up again to provide park visitors with sunscreen

By Press Release
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Press release:

More than 4,000 New Yorkers are diagnosed with skin cancer a year.  United Memorial Medical Center and the Genesee County Parks Department are collaborating once again to

Presentation offers lessons, urges residents to test homes for radon

By Joanne Beck
Sherri Bensley and Allysa Pascoe
Sherri Bensley, left, and Allysa Pascoe, of Genesee and Orleans Health Department, give a presentation about radon during this week's City Council meeting at City Hall. Free test kits are available at the health department to find out your home's level for this odorless, tasteless radioactive gas.
Photo by Howard Owens.

If you were asked to name the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, it may surprise you that the answer is not second hand smoke, often portrayed as perhaps the most dangerous substance to lungs for those exposed to the fumes of others.

Treasurer: Gas prices fueling sales tax revenue increase

By Mike Pettinella

Genesee County sales tax revenue is trending in the right direction, County Treasurer Scott German said on Wednesday afternoon.

“Sales tax revenue is doing well,” said German, speaking at the Genesee County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee meeting at the Old County Courthouse.

Supported by Excel spreadsheets showing fund balances

Mrs. Marguerie James Breckenridge

By Joshua Smith
Breckenridge

Marguerite James Breckenridge, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and neighbor passed from this life on Saturday, November 11, 2023 at the age of 97.

She was born on December 7, 1925 to the late Thomas S. James and Lucille James of Batavia.

Marguerite was married to Robert J. Breckenridge

Fatal motorcycle accident reported on Route 63 at Fargo Road

By Howard B. Owens

76_accident.jpeg

A motorcycle accident with injuries is reported at Route 63 and Fargo Road, Bethany.

The accident seems to have occurred moments after a deputy reported losing sight of a "crotch-rocket" that he had been pursuing. The deputy reported backing off the pursuit before the accident was discovered.

UPDATE 7:03 p.m

Law and Order: Man accused of stealing vehicle, fleeing from police

By Howard B. Owens
Shawn Wisniewski

Shawn R. Wisniewski, 33, no permanent address, is charged with grand larceny 3rd, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and burglary 3rd. At 7:29 a.m. on Oct. 25, police received a report of a suspicious person in a parking lot on Bank Street. A male was reportedly trying

Law and Order: Batavia man accused of threatening two people with a knife

By Howard B. Owens
falk mug
Terrance L. Falk

Terrance L. Falk, 25, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon 3rd and menacing 2nd. Falk is accused of threatening two people with a knife during an altercation on Washington Avenue at an undisclosed time on Oct. 24. He was arraigned and ordered back to court at a later date.

Law and Order: Bank Street residents accused of abandoning an animal in a cage

By Howard B. Owens

Andrew A. Searight, 35, of Batavia, and Jerrtonia A. Scarbrough, 24, of Batavia, are charged with aggravated cruelty to animals. Searight and Scarbrough are accused of abandoning an animal in a cage for an extended period of time at a residence on Bank Street.  The incident was reported at 9:18 a.m

Three Pavilion alumni inducted into school's Hall of Fame

By Press Release

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The Pavilion Hall of Fame inducted three new members on Friday: Jack McGee, a veteran of WWII, Diane Davis Torcello, a banker and community activist, and TJ Majors, a NASCAR spotter.

The family of McGee received a U.S. flag, which had been flown over the Pentagon. Torcello shared stories of her work and volunteer contributions. 

New report addresses growing crisis in county's fire and EMS coverage

By Howard B. Owens

fireemsreport2022.jpg

There is a crisis brewing in fire and EMS coverage in Genesee County, but it's invisible to most area residents, according to a report released this week by the Office of Emergency Management.

The report was prepared by Municipal Resources, a consulting firm hired to review the state of fire

History of once-prominent black resident of Batavia coming to light with new research

By Press Release

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Article by Sharon Burkel
Batavia Cemetery Association

Many famous and influential citizens are buried in the Historic Batavia Cemetery on Harvester Avenue, and their stories are familiar to many. The founding families of Batavia: the Ellicotts, the Richmonds, the Brisbanes, and the Carys; the Confederate soldier Philemon Tracy and his uncle

Law and Order: Batavia man accused of sex abuse of child in 2018

By Howard B. Owens
ronald_m._washburn120.jpg
Ronald Washburn

Ronald M. Washburn, 62, of Vine Street, Batavia, is charged with sexual abuse 1st/child less than 11 years old. Washburn is accused of touching a child's sexual or intimate parts to gratify his sexual desire. According to police, Washburn was the child's babysitter at the time of the

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