The Genesee County Youth Board honored some of the community's most dedicated and service-oriented teenagers at the board's annual Youth Recognition Dinner on Thursday at Terry Hills.

The youth were recognized for their accomplishments and their volunteer efforts in their schools and communities.

The Youth Worker of the Year Award went to Ally Terranova Laura Williams. Both Terranova and WIlliams are social workers in the Elba Central School District. They were recognized for creating a supportive environment for students and families and establishing the Helping Hands Food Pantry, which has helped address food insecurity for some district families. 

Bonnie Duthe was named Youth Volunteer of the Year. Duthe is a volunteer at the Batavia Community School's Heart of Kindness Center. 

The board also honored the county's School Resource Officers.

Youth Recognition Award winners:

• Hannah Baldwin 
• Chase Banser 
• Anayiah Bautista 
• Liam Campbell 
• Leah Childs 
• Sydney Dundon
• Keegan Fisher
• Finn Halpin 
• Paige Harding 
• Lauryn Hawkins 
• Lucas Hoisington 
• Grace Nickerson
• Paige O’Brien
• Stephanie Onderdonk 
• Emily Pietrzykowski 
• Makenzie Rich 
• Kate Ricupito
• Lilly Senko 
• Jessica Sosnowski

School Resource Officers honored:

• Jordon Alejandro 
• Sean Ancker 
• Connor Borchert
• Joshua Brabon
• Eric Meyer
• Patrick Reeves
• Trevor Sherwood
• Miah Stevens 
• Kyle Tower 
• Ryan Young

At Thursday's annual meeting of the Business Improvement District at Center Street Smokehouse in Batavia, My Cut Barbershop was honored as business of the year and Sara Tenney was named the BID's volunteer of the year.

My Cut is located on the first floor of the Masonic Temple building, 200 E. Main St., Batavia.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2024 class year of United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes’ Leadership Development Programs. The following programs are accepting applications: Latino Leadership Program, African American Leadership Program, Emerging Leaders Program, and Pride Leadership Program. The application deadline is May 31.

United Way’s Leadership Development Programs champion the advancement of African Americans, Latinos, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and emerging professionals in board and leadership positions across the region. Each participant is encouraged to enrich their personal and professional leadership skills, learn the principles of boards of directors, gain an understanding of community opportunities and challenges, foster genuine communities of belonging and inclusivity, and broaden connections through networking.

“If you thrive on engaging, learning, and networking with diverse and like-minded individuals driven to enhance organizations and impact communities, I encourage you to explore United Way's distinctive leadership programs. Upon completion, you'll join over 2,000 program alumni who are paving the way for meaningful change," states Dr. Sheila Strong, director of leadership development and equity.

The Leadership Development Programs will commence this fall, and spaces in each cohort are limited. Reserve your seat now. The tuition fee is $600, and scholarship assistance may be accessible for individuals demonstrating financial need. 

For further information and to apply, visit unitedwayrocflx.org/get-involved/leadership-development. Please direct any inquiries to leadershipdevelopment@unitedwayrocflx.org.

On Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., law enforcement agencies across Genesee County and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will provide the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. 

There will be three locations across the county where citizens can dispose of their medications. Sharps will only be accepted at the Batavia location which moved from the Alva lot this year. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. 

The Batavia Police Department, in conjunction with United Memorial Medical Center, will be accepting prescription drugs and sharps at the Batavia Police Department, located at 10 W. Main Street, Batavia. 

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office will accept prescription drugs ONLY at the Pembroke Town Hall, 1145 Main Rd. Corfu. 

The LeRoy Police Department will accept prescription drugs ONLY at their headquarters at 3 West Main Street, LeRoy. 

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. 

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  In addition to DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, there are many other ways to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs every day, including the 11,000 authorized collectors that are available all year long. 

The Batavia Police Department Headquarters has one for everyday collection of drugs located in the lobby at 10 West Main St., Batavia. Containers are also located at the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office on Park Rd, Batavia, and the LeRoy Police Department. 

Sharps are accepted at United Memorial Medical Center, 127 North Street, Batavia. 

The FDA also provides information on how to dispose of prescription drugs properly. More information is available here: www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/where-and-how-dispose-unused-medicines. 

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or the April 27 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com.

A reader submitted this photo and said Spencer Wuest took a picture of a porcupine this past weekend while walking in the woods in Alexander.

Minor injuries are reported after a vehicle struck a building at 4814 Ellicott Street Road, Batavia.

The location is Brach Machine.

The vehicle is reportedly elevated on a bollard.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE:  A 28-year-old man may have suffered a medical issue while driving on Ellicott Street Road when he lost control of his pickup truck, according to Deputy Jeremy McClellan. He sustained an apparent shoulder injury and was transported to UMMC for evaluation and treatment. McClellan said a code enforcement officer responded to the scene and determined the building remains structurally sound.

Anyone who has lived in our area for any length of time, especially along the Tonawanda Creek, knows that the waters can be unpredictable at times. We only have to look back just a few weeks for another example. There have been many instances when its flow has overreached the banks of the creek and invaded the surrounding properties. The most extensive of these floods in Batavia occurred 80 years ago during a spring thaw.

Batavia has seen many high flood waters in its history. In 1887, there was a flood called at the time “the greatest flood Batavia has seen in years,” and in 1902 the waters damaged the Walnut Street bridge, in what was called a “record breaker,” and even the flood of 1959 caused considerable hardship. 

However, in March 1942 it would see its greatest flood in its history. That March there was still a good deal of snow on the ground of the city. In typical Western New York fashion, a large snowstorm came through on March 15, added to the white coverage. Yet, on the following day, the temperatures rose quickly and the snow changed to rain. 

The precipitation caused much of the snow drifts to begin to melt, especially in the hills near Attica and along the tributaries of the Tonawanda. The creek soon flooded as water poured in Alexander and filled the low areas that bordered the creek. One particular area that was hit hard was the streets south of Ellicott Street in Batavia. 

Water-filled streets like Jackson, Swan, Hutchins, and Otis. As the water flowed under the Walnut Street bridge, then still open to vehicular traffic, it spread to West Main Street and to the northern side streets. 

Many of the residents of those streets were forced to evacuate their homes as the waters continued to rise, and many sought out friends or relatives living in higher points in the city. 

The Red Cross stepped in to assist and helped 225 families find safe and dry lodgings. Those without another place to go were given shelter at the YMCA and school buildings that were unaffected. The only effective means of travel along many of the streets of Batavia, looking more like the canals of Venice, Italy, were boats and canoes and other forms of watercraft. 

Most homes had cellars full of water, and in some worse cases, the waters reached the first floors. The people living in the flooded areas could not return home for several days, but when they did return they were met with severe damage to their homes and properties. 

In the end, the Tonawanda Creek crested at 14 ½ feet, the highest in history. In total, nearly $500,000 in damage was caused.

The 1942 flood, among others, caused the city to strongly look towards how to better manage the waters of the Tonawanda to prevent a similar deluge. Flood control improvements were authorized in 1948 within the Flood Control Act passed by Congress. 

The improvements were completed by late 1955. Some of the improvements included: widening the creek to upwards of 100 feet, adding a retaining wall, clearing the channel, extra bank protection in suspectable areas, and improvement of existing drainage systems.

When Becky Almeter isn’t at the helm of her Batavia family business as new owner of Hodgins Engraving, she’s at the helm of the family’s sailboat.

An East Bethany resident and daughter of Bob and Mary Lu Hodgins of Alexander, Almeter has also stepped up to lead the youth

Press Release:

At the Lions Club most recent meeting, guest speaker Julia Rogers, coordinator of Community School Programs, spoke about her work and a grant that the Batavia City School District received. 

The grant is designed to help students overcome barriers that affect or interrupt their education. Focus on these issues is also available to the families. Necessities such as clothes, food, toiletries, and hygiene materials can be provided to the students, and the program can also help with beds and mattresses for children as well. 

She added that the grant can be used to get mental health for students. The program is looking for volunteers and volunteer groups that can help students through mentoring and other activities. 

Rogers thanked the Lions Club for the sight screening program for preschoolers. In return, she’s boosting the Lions Club among the faculty when she can, and was almost drafted into membership before she left. Rogers said her group looks forward to community contacts for problem-solving.

The Batavia Lions Club meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of each month. Everyone is welcome to visit the American Legion at 8960 Alexander Road, Batavia.