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If more people utilized the services of nonmedical practitioners such as chiropractors, massage therapists, physical therapists and pain management professionals, it could significantly reduce addiction to prescription opioids, according to a Wyoming County chiropractor who will be one of the guest speakers at Thursday’s GOW Opioid Task Force quarterly meeting.

Terry Daniels, DC, who, with wife, Dawn, owns and operates Daniels Family Chiropractic in Warsaw, said a recent study shows that noninvasive procedures – spinal adjustments or alternative drugless therapies – “demonstrate an inverse relationship between chiropractic utilization and opioid use for patients with spinal pain.”

He said an article in Pain Medicine from Sept. 27, 2019, cited statistics revealing that those who saw a chiropractor were 64-percent less likely to use opioids compared to those who did not.

“And regarding lumbar spine surgery, if the first provider a patient sees for back pain is a chiropractor as opposed to a surgeon, 42.7 percent of workers who first saw a surgeon had back surgery whereas just 1.5 percent of workers who first saw a chiropractor required surgery,” he offered.

Daniels’ presentation on the topic of “Non-Opioid Alternatives to Pain Management” will focus on the benefits of nonmedical practices, especially as they relate to preventing injuries and conditions that could lead to chronic pain.

The virtual meeting is scheduled for 9:30 to 11 a.m. tomorrow via Zoom videoconferencing.

Task force members are asked to register by going to www.gowopioidtaskforce.org. Once registered, a confirmation email will be sent with Zoom information and a link to join the meeting.

“As a chiropractor, I tend to look at health and health care from a different perspective,” Daniels said. “I am thankful and grateful that in our society we have developed medical specialties and have the best specialized care in the world. I see the new cancer institutes going up and new cardiac centers going up … however, the question I always ask is, “Where is the new center for prevention of disease, or where is the new how to avoid getting heart disease and how to avoid getting cancer center?”

Daniels said if society concentrated more on prevention, then it would have “to worry much less about treatment.”

“The practice of medicine is the treatment of disease. Optimization of one’s health is rarely addressed other than in passing. We as health consumers have become lazy and reliant upon just getting a prescription and paying lip service to prevention,” he said.

Concerning the opioid crisis, Daniels wonders why society doesn’t do a better job “of fighting this problem on the front end now that the cat is out of the box.”

“What can we do to better manage and treat and eliminate pain from the onset that we are not doing now?”

The majority of opioid prescriptions are for musculoskeletal injury, Daniels said, with an estimated 126.6 million Americans (one in two adults) affected by a musculoskeletal condition. People with these conditions -- back pain, neck pain, headaches and joint injuries – comprise the bulk of a chiropractor’s work.

Daniels noted that chiropractic is the largest drug-free health care profession in the world, and is documented to be effective in the acute and chronic neuromusculoskeletal pain environment. He added that other nonmedical professionals such as massage therapists, physical therapists, yoga instructors, pain psychologists and mindfulness-based stress reduction classes also produce encouraging results.

Along those lines, he said more emphasis should be placed on directing patients to nonpharmacological approaches.

“In my opinion, based on this information, thousands to hundreds of thousands of cases of addiction and even deaths could be avoided if we utilized these practitioners more,” he said. “It is important to bring awareness to this topic because people are dying. The same level of thinking that got us into this problem is not going to get us out of it.”

The doctor said he is thankful that Gov. Andrew Cuomo considered chiropractic physicians as “essential workers” during the COVID-19 pandemic, mentioning that the “vast majority of the emergency chiropractic treatments were performed on essential workers and many medical providers.”

Disclosure: Story by Mike Pettinella, GCASA publicist.

Press release:

New Cases – As of 2 p.m. 

• Genesee County received three new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • The new positive cases reside in Batavia and Pembroke.
  • One of the positive individuals is an inmate at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility. 
  • One of the individuals is in their 40s, one is in their 50s, and one is in their 60s.
  • None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • Two of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
  • Five new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.
  •  
• Orleans County received six new positive cases of COVID-19.
• The new positive cases reside in Albion.
• The individuals are: three are 0-19 yrs. old, two are in their 40s, one is in their 50s.
• One of the new positive individuals is a student at Albion Elementary School. The individual was not in school 48 hours prior to becoming symptomatic and testing positive, there is no identified direct school contact. The individual is under mandatory isolation and will remain there until fully recovered. Contact tracing has been initiated to determine potential close contacts in the community.
• None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
• Three new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Town supervisors and village mayors in Genesee County have varied opinions when it comes to the circumstances surrounding changes in revenue distribution from the county that have occurred over the past six months.

Some, such as Batavia Town Supervisor Gregory Post, have voiced their support of the County Legislature, reasoning that lawmakers and county management have acted prudently as they deal with the negative financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Others, such as Bethany Town Supervisor Carl Hyde Jr., have criticized the legislature for nullifying agreements between the county and municipalities from 2018 and 2019 to make quarterly revenue payments.

It was in May, a couple months into an economic shutdown, when legislators rescinded the authority of the county treasurer to make those payments, action that Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein called a temporary move and pleaded for town and village officials to “hang in there with us.”

Since then, the legislature continued to pass resolutions that provide money to the municipalities, now calling them "voluntary revenue distributions" that are not subjected to a formal contract. The fourth and final payment for 2020 is expected to be approved by lawmakers at their meeting next week.

On Tuesday, Hyde said the county’s decision to cancel the revenue sharing agreement has led to a “lack of trust.”

“They left the towns hanging when the county decided to completely cut the sales tax revenue distribution from the towns, and left us to fend for ourselves,” said Hyde, who is completing his sixth year as supervisor and has three years remaining on his current term. “Yes, there have been some distributions (in 2020) but they aren’t what we were supposed to get.”

Hyde also said he’s not convinced that the municipalities will receive the amounts the county has publicized for 2021, either.

“Until it shows up in the town’s bank account, I’m not taking them at their word for it. They took an agreement that all the towns (and villages) worked hard at to come up with and signed and agreed to, and they just threw it away.”

Town Received 16.2 Percent Less

Final revenue distribution dollar amounts for 2020 released by the county show that the Town of Bethany was allocated $502,644.47 – that's 16.2 percent less than the $599,560 than it would have received if the previous distribution agreement was still intact.

The 16.2 percent is slightly more than the 14.8-percent average decrease across all the municipalities for 2020, Landers said. 

Click here for a table showing the 2020 distributions (pdf) (made in four payments) for all towns and villages and the percentage of decrease.

Landers said the first payment was made per the previous agreement with the towns and villages. The remaining three payments were based on current taxable assessed valuations of the municipalities.

“So, municipalities that had recent assessment increases at a higher rate than other municipalities did better than municipalities that had low assessment increases or no assessment increases,” Landers explained. “In the Town of Batavia, for example, because they had more growth, its decrease is less than 14.8 percent (actually 11.8 percent), while some municipalities had higher than 14.8 percent.”

The county manager said the legislature understands the difficulty that this creates for towns and villages, “but we’re just basically trying to share in it and not pass all of our (losses) as we’re projecting a 20-percent reduction in our state aid and a 4 to 5 percent (reduction) in sales tax. So, we’re trying to share the best we can while also maintaining our operations.”

County Allocates $10 Million for 2021

Going forward, the county recently announced it plans to distribute $10 million to the towns and villages in 2021. That represents a 28.5-percent decrease from what it originally planned to share.

The Town of Bethany is supposed to receive $410,123 next year and has budgeted accordingly, Hyde said.

“We’re trying to do what we can to survive with whatever the county gives us, we’re going to use it for road maintenance, to keep the taxes down, things like that,” he said. “We’re trying to get off the county welfare wagon.”

Hyde said his 2021 preliminary budget of $1,100,935 calls for an increase of 28 cents in the property tax rate – from $3.71 per thousand of assessed value to $3.99 per thousand of assessed value.

“It’s better than what it could have been,” Hyde admitted, noting that when the distribution agreement was ended, the town was looking at a tax rate of $9 per thousand.

Fund Balance to be Utilized

He said the budget lists revenues at $476,221 in revenues, fund balance to be used at $226,842 and the tax levy at $397,872. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Bethany Town Hall.

“We’ve cut everything – every line in the budget pretty much. We asked all the elected officials if they would be willing to take a 10-percent pay cut, which they did, and the town had to eliminate a person from the highway department,” Hyde said.

Hyde said he and the board “have done a good job over the last six years, not raising taxes and maintaining everything that we need to, and I’m sure the residents are happy about that. This whole thing threw a monkey wrench it in.”

He said he would like to see someone with a financial background “step up” and run for his office in 2023, but until then, he said he will continue to monitor the state Comptroller’s website each month to see how much each county has either lost or gained in sales tax revenue.

“From January 1^st through the end of September, Genesee County’s sales tax is only down 7 percent,” he said. “And here we are down (much more than that) because of whatever the county is doing with the money. That doesn’t make sense does it.”

Landers responded to Hyde’s concerns by noting the legislature voted in favor of a resolution to authorize the final distribution of this year.

“That’s why we passed that Rule 19 resolution to try to demonstrate that it’s on the way and it will get paid in the next audit at the legislature meeting on October 28^th,” Landers said. “That’s when the payments for the final distribution go through and on that Friday (Oct. 30) is when the ACH (automated clearing house) payment will show up in their bank accounts. For those who don’t have direct deposit, the checks will be mailed out.”

Bethany Signs Plowing, Mowing Contract

In another development, the Town of Bethany has entered into an intermunicipal agreement with the county to provide snow and ice control and mowing services on county roads.

According to a resolution to go before the entire legislature on Oct. 28, the cost per mile for the 2021 snow and ice season is $6,521 and the cost per mile for mowing is $474. This represents a 1.1-percent increase in the rate for snow and ice over the 2020 season and a 2-percent increase in the cost for mowing.

The total annual payment to the Town of Bethany for these services will be $141,961.85 for snow and ice control and $10,328.46 for roadside mowing.

“With this contract, all towns except the Town of Batavia have snowplowing and mowing contracts with Genesee County,” Highway Superintendent Tim Hens said. “It is the most efficient way for us to plow the roads for our residents.”

Hens said the agreement with the Town of Batavia stipulates that the county plows roads east of Route 98 and the town plows roads west of Route 98 since their highway garages are on opposite sides of the city/town.

“Again, it’s the most efficient way. We’ve been doing it that way for 20 years,” Hens added.

Press release:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, every educated voter is critical to our community. To support this, for the 40^th consecutive year, The Western New York Independent Living Family of Agencies (WNYIL) is giving voters with, and without, disabilities the opportunity to hear from, and ask questions of, officials running in the Nov. 3^rd General Election at their Annual Meet the Candidates Days. 

WNYIL, being committed to the voice of persons with disabilities, especially within the challenges of this pandemic, is moving the event virtually this year to continue to offer this important forum. 

With individual campaigning at a minimum this year, this gives voters the chance to hear from officials running for several different offices.

Candidates running for local, state, and federal office will be given the opportunity to talk to, and hear from, constituents via our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/WNYIL.

Already scheduled to appear include candidates running for Congress, NY State Senate, NY State Assembly, as well as several candidates running for local offices. WNYIL Chief Policy Officer, Todd Vaarwerk, points out that “even during the pandemic, legislators will still make decisions about the things that matter to persons with disabilities. Meet the Candidates allows them to know, directly from potential constituents, how important those decisions are.”

The New York State and Federal races Meet the Candidates Day will be Tuesday, Oct. 27^th from 1 to 4 p.m. The local races (Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming counties) Meet the Candidates Day will be Friday, Oct. 30^th from 1 to 4 p.m. Both can be accessed at WNYIL’s YouTube channel.

For those without internet access who want to listen to Meet the Candidates, call 1-425-436-6200, Access Code 595227.

The Western New York Independent Living Inc. Family of Agencies offer an expanding array of services to aid individuals with disabilities to take control of their own lives.

Press release:

As coronavirus cases rise across the country, "sparking worries the next big wave has begun," school districts throughout Upstate New York face a shortage of pediatric rapid tests needed to safely and efficiently continue in-person teaching throughout the winter, and even leaving some districts unsure how students will even be tested at all.

Today, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer revealed that the feds, specifically the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is sitting on as much as $9 billion dollars needed right now as part of a more coordinated and robust virus testing regime as new standards require any symptomatic student or family member to have a rapid turnaround test within 48 hours or the school must presume a positive result and begin contact tracing.

The senator said Upstate New York alone will need millions of dollars to conduct sufficient rapid testing and tracing programs in schools to keep students and their families safe from the virus.

Schumer demanded HHS release the testing dollars he helped to originally secure in prior COVID relief legislation right now. Schumer also announced his intention to fight for more of those funds as the possibility of a second wave emerges and as a COVID relief deal, long hamstrung by a divided White House and Senate Leader McConnell, is considered. 

“There’s absolutely no question that the health and safety of all students across Upstate New York is paramount, bar none. However, as any Upstate New Yorker can tell you, with allergy season upon us and flu season around the corner, in order to keep our students safe we’re going to need an influx of rapid tests and we’re going to need them quickly,” Senator Schumer said.

“Right now, the feds are sitting on over $9 billion that can and should be long out the door, being used to ramp up testing and tracing for students across the state. Those dollars should be used to get rapid tests to New York students and ensure peace of mind and some semblance of stability to students, families, and teachers who have already endured a tumultuous year.”

Schumer said that thousands of students and people Upstate will need to be tested every day, should a second wave hit hard, and that an effort like that will cost money the federal government is responsible for. Schumer made the case for applying the lessons learned over the past many months — right now — not after it’s too late.

According to the The New York Times, there were 4,675 new cases of COVID-19 in Upstate New York in the last week and the state reported that some regions are seeing up to a 1.5-percent positivity rate.

“This administration must remember sobering lessons and apply them. I first called for a public health emergency declaration on January 26, 2020 but that call was not heeded and inaction cost us precious time, money — and most critically — it cost this country lives.

The federal government cannot and must not repeat COVID mistakes of the past months. Instead, it must use the dollars it has and the premise of robust testing and tracing to tamp down any second wave of this virus and lead us to a true recovery,” Schumer added. 

Schumer has repeatedly expressed his concerns and fought to improve testing and contact tracing throughout the country and New York State. In March, Schumer wrote to the CDC and FDA regarding federal barriers New York was facing in its effort to fully and quickly test people for COVID-19.

The testing capacity was not sufficient to meet New York’s needs and he urged the CDC and FDA to work with New York health officials. Now, as coronavirus cases across the country are rising again, the feds are sitting on money, billions of dollars, that is critical to delivering a coordinated and robust testing regime needed to offset the chances of a strong second wave of the virus. 

According to the Washington Post, for almost a month, new COVID cases have been trending upward and more than 20 states have hit a new high in their seven-day average of case counts, and more than half of those states set records again last week. The rising numbers are especially concerning because they set the stage for an even greater surge this winter.

The newspaper warned that this upward trend comes before the increased mingling of people expected to arrive with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, much of which could be indoors as the weather cools, thereby increasing the chance of transmission.

The City of Batavia Planning & Development Committee on Tuesday night approved a special use permit that opens the door for the creation of two apartments on the second floor of the Main Street Pizza building at 206 E. Main St.

Applicant Paul Marchese, doing business as Just Chez Realty LLC, said the $489,000 project – which qualified for a Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant of $137,600 from the Batavia Development Corporation’s building improvement fund – advances to the next stage, which is “to finalize the engineering drawings and move the project into the construction phase.”

Marchese said planning committee members asked whether he is looking to renovate the other half of the upstairs as well.

“The plans for the other half of the upstairs have not been solidified as of yet,” he said. “At this point, we have acquired funding and grant sources and various things to complete phase one of our project. Phase two could be apartments or it could be something totally different depending on if we have a tenant that wants a specific build-out for up there.”

Concerning apartment rental rates, Marchese said that since the project was awarded one of the grants, it is bound by a predetermined rent schedule.

As previously reported on The Batavian, Marchese’s application calls for placing two apartments on the second floor and altering the building’s exterior by adding an entrance door on the south side, replacing windows, changing the nameplate on the north (front) of the building from MANCUSO to MARCHESE, and installing “up lighting” on that side.

Additional improvements include removing existing awnings and exposing the original transom windows, installing a new aluminum-clad wooden door on the north side and installing new aluminum-clad wood windows/door storefront in the center bay.

Genesee County's unemployment rate, at 4.8 percent for September, is the lowest percentage it's been in 2020 but still significantly higher than its seasonal rate a year ago.

In August rate 2019, the rate was 3.4 percent.

Since the pandemic hit the economy, the local employment rate has been:

• April, 14.4 percent
• May, 10.1 percent
• June, 9.5 percent
• July, 10.5 percent
• August, 8 percent

The lowest rate prior to September was in February and March at 4.9 percent. The pandemic-related job losses started in March but those job losses didn't start to show up in official statistics until April.

There are 28,900 county residents counted in the labor force. A year ago, there were 29,900 people in the local labor force.

Of those currently in the labor force (people who are employed or are actively looking for work), 27,500 have jobs. There are 1,400 looking for work.

For September, there were 21,200 non-farm jobs in Genesee County compared to 23,000 a year ago. Of those, 15,700 are in the private sector (compared to 17,400 a year ago).

Legacy Insurance Group held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting today at the company's new office at 212 E. Main St., Batavia.

Legacy Insurance will be a local resource for Medicare Advantage plans through UnitedHealthcare, as well as several life insurance options, and can help with navigating health insurance choices on the NYS of Health Marketplace. 

Agent Diana M. Wagner resides in Stafford with her husband, Ron, and two of her three children, Bobby and Rachel.

In the photo, Wagner cuts the ribbon surrounded by friends and family along with Tom Turnbull, president of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, and Ken Sciarrino, from United Healthcare (holding ribbon on right).

Press release:

As of 2 p.m.:

• Genesee County received zero new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • Two of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
  • Fourteen new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.
• Orleans County received four new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 356 positive cases
  • The new positive cases reside in Albion, Ridgeway, Shelby and Murray.
  • One of the new positive individuals is under mandatory isolation out of state.
  • The individuals are; one is 0-19 yrs. old, one is in their 20s, one is in their 40s, one is in their 60s.
  • None of the individuals were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • Three new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Press release:

With the National Guard under orders from Governor Andrew Cuomo to subject innocent New Yorkers to an unconstitutional quarantine, Republican Representative Chris Jacobs should be calling on his “friend” President Donald Trump to order the Guard to stand down. But as usual, when Cuomo seizes power, Rep. Jacobs is nowhere to be found.

This should’ve been known from his Yea vote on S7919, where he rolled over as soon as the Governor demanded unilateral power over the state. Luckily for voters in NY-27, there is a candidate brave enough to stand up to Andrew Cuomo.

Duane Whitmer, the Libertarian candidate for NY-27, Erie County Libertarian Party chairman, and 2^nd vice chairman of the Libertarian Party of New York, held a press conference with 2ANYS yesterday where he called on President Trump to order the National Guard to not enforce the unconstitutional quarantine.

He went on to call out Rep. Jacobs for being completely silent on the issue. And now, he is calling on Rep. Jacobs to answer to the voters for his complacency at Wednesday morning’s Saint Joe’s University Congressional Debate. 

Rep. Jacobs refused to show up to the University of Buffalo’s debate last night, resulting in the debate being cancelled. He is refusing to show up to tonight’s debate with the University of Geneseo.

This is a sign that Jacobs “knows what he’s done is inexcusable,” Whitmer said. “We cannot afford to have a representative who is asleep at the wheel during these unprecedented times. When you apply for a job, you wouldn’t skip the job interview would you?

"That’s exactly what we’re seeing from Chris Jacobs, and it’s completely unacceptable. The residents of NY-27 deserve better, and I intend to make that case tonight, tomorrow, and every day until November 3^rd.”

Press release:

Reality Check programs of Western New York are getting creative to honor this year’s Great American Smokeout. As communities continue to grapple with the challenges of COVID-19, the youth coordinators in the GOW Region decided the safest (and fun) way to help young people demonstrate their leadership is through an art contest.

The deadline to submit entries is Nov. 13. Winners will be announced on Nov. 19, the date of this year’s Great American Smokeout.

“We miss doing group events like cigarette butt pickups, educational events, and watching our young people champion issues they believe in,” said Brittany Bozzer, GOW Reality Check coordinator. “This art contest will build awareness on the impacts of tobacco use and help ensure that youth voices are a part of the solution for healthier communities.”

The American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout is an annual event that encourages and offers support to smokers to make a plan to quit smoking or to quit smoking on the day of the event – Thursday, Nov. 19. By quitting – even for one day – smokers will be taking an important step toward a healthier life and reducing their cancer risk. 

Contest Details

Creative Western New Yorkers between the ages of 12 and 18 are encouraged to virtually submit a piece of artwork that highlights the dangers of tobacco use or why they want their community to be tobacco free. Artwork can be a poster, poem, comic, photo or video. Winners will be chosen in two age groups: 12-14 years old and 15-18 years old. 

Youth are asked to submit their masterpiece, along with their name, age, school name, phone number and guardian’s name, to:   rcofwny@gmail.com

About Reality Check

Reality Check is a youth-led movement in New York State that empowers youth to become leaders in their communities in exposing what they see as the manipulative and deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. The organization’s members create change in their communities through grassroots mobilization and education.

Reality Check groups work in their communities by trying to limit the exposure of tobacco marketing in stores, help make smoke/vape-free public, work, and housing spaces, and limiting the exposure to smoking/vaping in movies.

These initiatives are to help discourage young people from becoming new daily smokers and encourage current smokers to quit. More information can be found at realitycheckofny.com and tobaccofreenys.com

Submitted photo and press release:

Sheriff William A. Sheron Jr. has received a letter of endorsement from retired Genesee County Sheriff Gary T. Maha.  

"I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Sheriff Maha for nearly 40 years with 21 of those years as his Undersheriff," Sheron said. "This provided me with the experience and knowledge to meet the demands associated with being Sheriff of Genesee County. Thank you Sheriff Maha for your support."

 

Dear Genesee County Voters:

I have known Sheriff Bill Sheron on a professional level for over 40 years. He served as my Undersheriff (second in command) for 21 years, and I can attest that he is a dedicated, compassionate, and professional law enforcement executive. Bill Sheron is highly qualified to continue as your Sheriff. 

He is a lifelong resident of Genesee County, raised his children here, and has resided in the City of Batavia his entire life. He graduated from Notre Dame High School and received his A.A.S Degree from Genesee Community College. Bill attended the prestigious F.B.I. National Academy, Quantico, Virginia, and attended the F.B.I. Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar. He is a Past President of the New York State/Eastern Canada chapter of the F.B.I National Academy Associates. In addition, he has over 27 years of experience in law enforcement/corrections administration with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. He came up through the ranks of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and knows all facets of the agency.

I encourage you to support and reelect Sheriff William A. Sheron.

Sincerely,

Gary T. Maha

(Sheriff-Retired)

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley is celebrating his endorsement and continued partnership with the National Rifle Association (NRA) as he continues his reelection campaign. Hawley, a gun owner himself and a firm believer in the Second Amendment, is proud to continue his relationship with the NRA.

“I am both humbled and honored that the NRA has recognized me for endorsement,” Hawley said. “New York continues to push forward egregious and unnecessarily restrict gun laws, which often times do little but hinder the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

"Albany needs to understand that gun owners are not second-class citizens, and I will continue my fight to ensure the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers are protected.”

While widely recognized today as a major political force and America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights, the NRA has, since its inception, been the premier firearms education organization in the world.

But their successes would not be possible without the tireless efforts and countless hours of service their nearly five million members have given to champion Second Amendment rights and support NRA programs.

The Batavia City School District Board of Education continues to explore the most effective ways for citizens to make their feelings known during its monthly meetings.

District Superintendent Anibal Soler Jr., following up on Board President Alice Ann Benedict’s desire to open the communication lines with the public, said he has come up with several recommendations that could be included in a “public expression” policy.

The board met on Monday night at the high school library.

Soler said his suggestions will be forwarded to the district’s Policy Committee for review and “vetting” before coming back to the full BOE for approval.

“The law technically allows us to have no public participation (during board meetings), but we are making a smart effort to make sure that there is (time for public comments) and I think that is a compliment to the board’s leadership,” Soler said.

The Batavia BOE, according to its policy, encourages public participation on school-related matters at board meetings, setting aside 30 minutes at the beginning of the sessions.

Beyond that, Soler said, currently there aren’t any guidelines or details in place to govern the public sessions.

He said his recommendations were derived from looking at the policies of similar-size districts, such as Geneva and Niagara Falls, as well as the large school districts of Buffalo and Rochester.

They are as follows (subject to review by the Policy Committee):

• Persons wishing to address the board shall advise the board president prior to the scheduled starting time of the meeting. The request shall be made in writing on a form provided by the district clerk and shall include the name of the speaker, their address, name of organization represented (if any), and the topic to be addressed. Any group or organization wishing to address the board must identify a spokesperson.

• Presentation should be as brief as possible. Each speaker will be permitted to speak for three minutes. Speakers may comment on any matter related to district business. The board cannot and will not permit public discussions involving individual district personnel or students. Persons wishing to discuss matters involving individual district personnel or students should present their comments and/or concerns to the teacher, the building administrator or superintendent during regular business hours.

• All speakers are to conduct themselves in a civil manner. Obscene language, libelous statements, threats of violence, statements advocating racial, religious, or other forms of prejudice will not be tolerated.

• Persons making presentations at a board meeting will address remarks to the president and may direct questions or comments to board members or other district officials only upon the approval of the president. Board members and the superintendent shall have the privilege of asking questions of persons who address the board.

• Without opening the floor to general audience participation, the board president may call upon staff members or other specially qualified persons whom the board wishes to hear in relation to a specific agenda topic.

• Questions and comments from the public concerning matters which are not on the agenda will be taken under consideration and referred to the Superintendent for appropriate action. Persons wishing to have matters included on the agenda shall contact the superintendent in accordance with Policy 1510, Regular Board Meetings and Rules (Quorum and Parliamentary Procedure).

​Soler said the board president would rule on matters such as the time to be allowed for public discussion and the appropriateness of the subject being presented. The president also would have the right to halt any presentation that violates the adopted policy.

The form for those wishing to speak at BOE meetings must be filled out in advance. It can be obtained by contacting the superintendent’s office at (585) 343-2480.

In another development:

Soler reported that the principals at the four schools are continuing to work toward maximizing learning, with John Kennedy Principal Brian Sutton exploring the possibility of having all second-graders back in the building for in-person instruction every day.

"We're trying to manage which grades can (go back to in-person learning) and which grades can't, but unfortunately some of our classes have higher enrollments and we can't bring everybody back," he said.

At Batavia High, Principal Paul Kesler are looking at students who are 100 percent virtual but are having difficulties with their studies, with the goal of shifting them back into the school -- even if it isn't on an everyday basis -- as long as their parents are in agreement.

 

Press release:

Problem gambling may not be a common topic discussed this month -- Domestic Violence Awareness Month; however, the link between domestic violence and problem gambling makes it important to bring awareness to this volatile relationship.

Domestic violence is defined as violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner, which may include physical violence; sexual, psychological, social, or financial abuse; harassment; and stalking.

A recent study of help-seeking gamblers found that 49 percent of participants reported being a victim of violence and 43 percent had perpetrated violence (Bellringer et al., 2017).

A person with a gambling problem may experience intense mental and emotional distress which may be expressed through restlessness, irritability or violence. Someone’s gambling problem may also elicit similar distress from a loved one. The person gambling may be the perpetrator or victim of domestic violence. 

Furthermore, there is already evidence that domestic violence increases during professional sporting events due to the emotions experienced from a “home team’s” upset loss, citing issues like consumption of alcohol, increased interactions with family during games, increased expectations for a positive outcome, and increased stress and anxiety.

Our community, the state and the country are seeing increased availability and prevalence of sports gambling, daily fantasy sports, and the like. What happens when those high stakes are further intensified by having large sums of money on the line, potentially for multiple sporting events? 

In many ways, this October is unlike any in the past, but some things remain constant – there are many people who will isolate themselves out of fear or shame and will not reach out for the help they need. Domestic Violence Awareness Month gives us an opportunity to offer hope to those experiencing violence in the home. 

Problem gambling and domestic violence can impact anyone. If you are experiencing domestic violence or problem gambling, confidential services are available:

• Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
• Western Problem Gambling Resource Center: (716) 0833-4274

The Western Problem Gambling Resource Center (PGRC) is a program of the New York Council on Problem Gambling dedicated to addressing the issue of problem gambling within New York State. The vision of the PGRC is the positive transformation of lives harmed by problem gambling.

The PGRC focuses efforts on increasing public awareness of problem gambling; connecting clients with treatment, recovery and support services; working with the gaming industry to promote responsible gambling; and promoting healthy lifestyles, which foster freedom from problem gambling.

Visit www.NYProblemGamblingHELP.org to learn more about the PGRC network.  

Jeffrey Wierzbicki – Western PGRC Team Leader

Angela DiRosa – Western Program Manager

Press release:

The New York State DanceForce, in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts, announces the fourth cycle of the Western New York Choreographers’ Initiative (WNYCI).

The program provides professional development for choreographers living in New York’s 17 westernmost counties: Chautauqua, Niagara, Erie, Cattaraugus, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Allegany, Monroe, Livingston, Wayne, Ontario, Yates, Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler and Seneca.

The application deadline is Oct. 28 at 5 p.m. EDT.

The WNY Choreographers’ Initiative is designed to help WNY resident choreographers develop their choreographic skills by providing them with appropriate resources that are generally unavailable or unaffordable. These resources include a minimum of 24 hours of creative time, professional dancers, the guidance of a mentor chosen by the artist, and a $2,500 stipend.

The exact design of the project will depend on COVID-19 health recommendations at the time of the project. Two choreographers will be selected for the award in 2021.  

“This initiative is open to choreographers working in all dance genres. Each project is basically a mini-residency, designed to fit the specific needs of each artist,” said WNYCI coordinator Lois Welk. “In 2020, the artists were doubly challenged to reinvestigate their choreographic habits -- first by the mentor and then by COVID-19.”

The New York State DanceForce is a consortium of 19 dance activists committed to increasing the quantity and quality of dance activity throughout New York State. Each of our members receives an annual allocation to create projects that bring dance artists to upstate NY communities in customized residencies.

Since its founding in 1994, the DanceForce, through the work of its members, has funded over 400 projects, raising more than $3 million in support of these endeavors.

Complete guidelines and application forms, can be found at www.danceforce.org. For more information contact WNYCI coordinator Lois Welk at: loisapril9@gmail.com.

Although COVID-19 mandates are forcing students and teachers to cover their faces, they “can’t mask the Batavia pride,” according to Kathie Scott, public information coordinator for the Batavia City School District.

On Monday, Scott posted information about “Can’t Mask the Batavia Pride!” on the district’s redesigned website, writing that the campaign is “in response to all the reorienting that has been required to reopen school – from social distancing and face mask mandates, to hybrid and virtual learning and sport delays/cancellations.”

Superintendent Anibal Soler Jr. informed the school board about the campaign at its meeting Monday night at the high school library (which can be viewed on the district’s YouTube channel).

Scott said the campaign “has been in the works for a while,” with discussions taking place with the fire department, police department and others throughout the community to make it happen.

“I’ve received a couple of emails since it went up … and we’re just looking forward to people participating,” said Scott, who has worked behind the scenes for almost 25 years to keep the public abreast of the district’s positive developments. “I know that there is a lot of community pride in Batavia, so it’s kind of a natural extension of that.”

Per the website:

“Can’t Mask the Batavia Pride!” is a reminder to our community of learners that there is something that hasn’t changed: the pride of and in Batavia. Community members like you are sharing a few positive words of encouragement, pride, appreciation, and/or support that will mean a lot to our students, their families, and staff.

Scott said there are several ways people get display their Batavia pride, including ordering a large Blue Devil head-on-a-stick mask that can be delivered or picked up by calling her at (595) 343-2480, ext. 1018, or sending her an email at:   Kscott@bataviacsd.org.

Other options are taking a digital photo or recording a short video (maximum of 30 seconds) with the mask, but not covering the face; or providing a short positive message of support, encouragement, pride or appreciation -- directed to students, staff, and/or families.

Click here for more information.

Soler also talked about the new school district app that is available for Android and iPhone -- Batavia CSD, NY.

With the new app, people can access documents, events, news updates, and even emergency notifications.

It can be downloaded on Android at https://bit.ly/3i6EAyc or iPhone at https://apple.co/3jOg8ls.

In another development, Soler thanked the board members “for their commitment to the City of Batavia and to its children” in conjunction with School Board Recognition Week (Oct. 19-23) as designated by the NYS School Boards Association.

“Each of you devote countless hours to make sure our schools are helping every child to learn at a high level,” said Soler, adding that board trustees make tough decisions, develop a budget and provide accountability that our citizens expect.

He then presented each board member with a travel bag as a token of the district’s appreciation.

Photo from Batavia CSD website: Superintendent Anibal Soler Jr. with the Blue Devil head-on-a-stick mask.

In his fourth week as interim executive director of the Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council, Jay Gsell said he is focused on networking throughout the agency’s nine counties to help the region bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gsell was back at the Old County Courthouse on Monday afternoon, in the legislative chambers – upstairs from the office where he spent one day shy of 27 years as the Genesee County manager. He retired in August and, about a month later, accepted the interim position with G/FLRPC.

During a review of the regional planning council’s recent activities for the legislature’s Public Service Committee, Gsell said a $400,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant awarded to the G/FLRPC will go a long way toward “disaster and recovery planning, and resiliency planning from the pandemic but also what it is going to look like coming out on the other side.”

“We will be working closely to see what the GCEDC (Genesee County Economic Development Center) and others are doing in terms of once COVID is under control and putting that into perspective,” Gsell said. “And we will be working with the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council and others to make sure you are not duplicating effort but also how do we come together to make sure the region comes back.”

The G/FLRPC qualified for the grant through its designation as an Economic Development Administration-designated Economic Development District.

Gsell said he is working out of an office on the eighth floor of a building owned by a private developer in downtown Rochester, commuting from his Batavia home five days a week for about five to six hours per day. He said he has an open-ended contract with the agency.

“It’s really up to what the executive committee (which includes Genesee County Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein and Esther Leadley of Pavilion) and the regional board want to do as far as the time period,” said Gsell, who is temporarily filling the position that was manned by David Zorn until his retirement after about 29 years on the job.

Gsell said Zorn told him that he worked about 35 hours a week doing the basic job and spent another 30 doing “everything else.”

“Dave Zorn did a great job … now I’m starting to liaison with other agencies they deal with, and the other counties -- starting to network like Dave had done.”

Gsell said the G/FLRPC has an annual budget of around $700,000, with Genesee County providing $9,400 each year.

“It has been a flat level of county funding for a number of years and we don’t expect that to change,” Gsell said, noting that larger counties, such as Monroe, contribute more to the agency which has four full-time employees with an average tenure of about two and a half years.

He said the G/FLRPC benefits Genesee County through its work on behalf of watershed development, on comprehensive plan updates and government workshops to help local zoning officials get their mandatory hours of training every year.

“Plus, the grants that are coming in support all the counties and we also have an alliance with the Genesee Transportation Council and each of the municipal planning departments in the county,” he said.

The G/FLRPC was established in 1977 and set up “to do transportation funding, infrastructure funding, wastewater quality, environmental funding activity, and to be clearing house for grants for other organizations to help them focus on the bigger picture," Gsell said.

Counties in its original membership were Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne and Yates. Wyoming County was admitted in 1986. The nine counties in the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region comprise 4,680 square miles, with a population exceeding 1,217,000 residents.

The voting members of the Council are chief elected officials, local legislators, department heads and community leaders representing the participating counties, City of Rochester and the community at-large.

Over the past several months, the Genesee County Department of Planning was diligent in getting the word out about the 2020 Census.

At every opportunity, Planning Director Felipe Oltramari made it known the significance of the census upon local governments, with statements such as the following (paraphrased):

“The census not only counts our population, but determines our congressional representation and the allocation of federal funding to numerous programs, including Medicaid and Head Start, and to hospitals, fire departments and other vital services.”

On Monday afternoon, Oltramari reported the results of the efforts of his department – which was assisted by the Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council -- during a planning department review at the Genesee County Legislature’s Public Service Committee meeting at the Old County Courthouse.

Oltramari said that the self-responded percentage in Genesee County was 65.6 percent, a bit higher than the percentage for all of New York State (64.2 percent, according to the 2020 Census website). The remaining 35.7 percent of the state population was obtained by census takers – officially called Enumerated in Nonresponse Followup.

The state’s total of 99.9 percent enumerated is the figure reported by 2020 Census for every state in the union through Oct. 16, which was the census deadline day.

“The additional percentage was in-person enumeration – persons going to homes and sometimes visiting their neighbors, by proxy, to reach the 99.9 percent mark,” Oltramari said. “We don’t get to see the totals for all the counties at this point – only the statewide results.”

Per the 2020 Census tabulations, Minnesota had the highest self-responded percentage at 75.1 percent and Maine had the lowest at 58.2 percent. Again, through the work of the census takers, all states are within 1/10th of 1 percent of having everybody counted.

In reviewing this year’s accomplishments, Oltramari said that the 2020 census outreach was his department's "biggest project of the year."

He also reported that the planning board: is projected to handle 110 zoning referrals; kicked off a comprehensive plan update and recreation plan known as Genesee 2050; hosted or sponsored more than 20 training seminars and webinars for local officials; and continued to provide mapping, Geographic Information Systems (GIF), Pictometry support and training to county departments, local municipalities and the general public.

“We also provide local technical assistance on projects such as the solar project in Byron and the Darien comprehensive plan, and assist with planning and zoning issues to help municipalities save money,” he said.

For 2021, special projects include continuing with the comprehensive plan update and recreation plan, working on a county resiliency plan, taking the lead on an environmental review of Phase 3 of the county’s water project and review of Agricultural District No. 4 (Byron, Bergen, Stafford and Elba).

Oltramari said the department will maintain three full-time employees – director, deputy director and GIS technician – with 96 percent of its budget going to cover salaries and fringe benefits.

Press release:

The Bergen Town Board has adopted its 2021 Preliminary Budget and set the budget public hearings for Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The public hearing on the tax cap override will be at 7 p.m., followed by public hearings on the Bergen Volunteer Fire Department budget at 7:15 and on the 2021 Town budget at 7:30.

Facing an unprecedented loss of revenues from the county as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board began cutting 2020 expenses this past spring. Board members took a reduction in pay; some personnel appropriations were trimmed; projects and equipment purchases were put on hold.

The moves helped offset a 14.4-percent loss in revenues from Genesee County and 20-percent withhold in various state aid.

The Board resolved early in the 2021 budget process to reduce Town expenses across the entire budget in order to lessen the impact to property taxpayers. All departments were asked to reduce spending.

In addition, a part-time position was eliminated and all wages frozen at the 2020 level. The 2021 preliminary budget cuts spending by $179,189 from the 2020 budget. Those savings were overshadowed by the estimated reductions of $181,706 in revenue from the county and $16,775 withhold of state aid. 

Another unexpected challenge faced by the Town Board was Genesee County no longer providing sales tax revenue and instead providing revenue that had to be referred to as a “voluntary revenue distribution.” While the money comes from sales tax, as the county no longer has an agreement with Towns/Villages to share sales tax, the only way they can share the sales tax is to call it a voluntary revenue distribution. 

It would seem that simply changing the name of a revenue stream from sales tax sharing to voluntary revenue distributions would not affect a Town’s budget, but it has, specifically the budget of every town in Genesee County that has a village within its border.

The NYS Comptroller has opined that voluntary revenue distributions cannot be used by Towns with villages to offset expenses like highway repairs and improvements; code enforcement and building and planning.

What that means is that for 2021, Bergen will have two different tax rates: one for properties within the village and one for properties outside the village. While this does occur in other places across the state, Bergen has typically had the same tax rate for all properties.

The result is a tax rate of $1.56 per thousand dollars of assessed value for properties inside the Village, which is a decrease of .71 cents per thousand and for properties outside the village, in the town, a tax rate of 2.39 an increase of .12 cents per thousand over the 2020 rate.  

According to the Genesee County Attorney and Manager, "this imbalance should be resolved in time for the 2022 budget." The county is requesting special legislation from the NY State Legislature to allow the voluntary contribution from the county to be treated like sales tax revenue was and therefore be able to record the revenue as we always had. 

If the state legislation is successfully enacted, the Bergen Town Board plans to return to a uniform tax rate for 2022. Of course, that will result in another swing – taxpayers within the village will see an increase in the 2022 tax bill, while taxpayers outside the village will see a decrease.

In other parts of the budget, the Fire District tax levy will be reduced by $6,295; the tax rate will remain the same for Water District No. 2; and the Peachey Road Water District rate will drop by about $50 per full EDU.

Residents of the new Water Benefit Area #1 will see their first water district tax bill in January. It is anticipated the amount will be $322.16 per EDU this first year and will increase to the expected $550 per EDU in 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the speed at which the water district approvals and bidding process are occurring. The delay means that the water lines will not be completed until September of 2022 and the Town will have less debt service to pay on the new water line in 2021 the previously anticipated.

“We are pleased to present a 2021 budget that enables the Town to deliver services despite historic financial upheaval,” said Supervisor Ernest Haywood. “We are grateful to all of our department heads who worked with us to accomplish this responsible budget.

"We certainly hope that 2021 brings the end to the pandemic and economic turmoil. We look forward to our residents being able to enjoy all of the services and programs that the Town has long provided.”