Serving as a high school sports coach takes a lot more than understanding where to put the Xs and Os if school districts are to abide by New York State regulations, a Matt Roth, athletic director in Pavilion, laid out for the Pavilion Board of Education on Monday night.

Non-teacher coaches have a multi-year program of classes they need to take and that total cost to the coach can exceed $700.

"This is for any coach who is board-approved," Roth said. "They have to have all of these classes. They can't just show up and help out anymore."

For the non-teacher coach, there are nine steps that must be completed at the time of application.  It's about a two-month process to get the initial temporary coaching license, Roth said.

"When I came here two years ago, I kind of went through this with everybody, but I just wanted to give everybody a refresher on it," Roth told the board at the start of his report.

The candidate must submit evidence of an acceptable first aid and CPR course completion along with completion of a child abuse identification worship, a school violence and prevention and intervention worship, and training in dealing with harassment, bullying, cyber-bullying and discrimination in schools. The would-be couch must also submit fingerprints and be cleared through a database check.

Then they are eligible to coach for one or two years on a temporary license. They must pay a $50 fee for each sport they wish to coach.

In years three, four, and five, they must complete a fundamentals of coaching course, along with courses on contusions, protecting students from abuse, and a course on student cardiac arrest.

In the next level, they must complete courses in student mental health and suicide prevention, heat illness prevention, first aid for coaches, and a sport-specific course. 

If the non-teacher coach is still going in year six, then the coach needs to apply for a professional coaching license.  

At that point, the coach must complete course in bullying and hazing, strength and conditioning, teaching and modeling behavior, engaging effectively with parents, and sportsmanship.

The courses are offered online by the National Federation of High School Sports, and most are free, but some have fees ranging from $25 to $50.

The professional coach must reapply for a license every three years, which involves refresher courses in first aid and CPR, along with a positive evaluation from the athletic director.

"The teacher coaching requirements, they are a little bit easier because they've already taken some of the coursework," Roth said. "A teacher only needs to have first aid and CPR to get started in their first three years, and then they are supposed to complete the same courses that nonteacher coaches have at two years and complete levels one, two and three within five years of starting."

On Monday morning, Graham Corp. President and CEO Dan Thoren, accompanied by executive team members, rang the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate the company's 55th anniversary as a publicly traded company.

In a statement, Thoren said, “We are proud to commemorate fifty-five years as a public company by participating in the opening bell ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange.  This is a tribute to every associate at Graham who worked hard this past year to bring us to record sales and orders.  Their dedication to Graham and their deep engagement with their work for our valued customers and the security of our nation makes me excited for our future.”

Click here for more information on this event.

Recent incidents of violence — four gun shootings in the last three months — have pushed city officials to put a quick thaw on a hiring freeze that was locked until March 2024.

Instead, City Manager Rachael Tabelski has suggested bringing one more police officer on board and providing training, vehicles, and additional equipment for the new and a current officer to become a more intense Neighborhood Enforcement Team (NET) to assist the city police department and detectives to “more efficiently, proactively keep the community safer.”

“Because I think it's critically important that we have our zone cars that are out on calls. They respond very quickly to people's homes, and they're very responsive. But we need a proactive team to be in the neighborhoods doing gun and drug interdiction, and I think it's very important,” Tabelski said Monday during City Council’s conference session at City Hall. “So we're gonna find a way to make it happen in the budget next year.”

During her presentation to City Council, Tabelski emphasized that when state changes to the legal system occurred — including what's coined as “catch and release” for a quick turnaround jail and bailout time — Chief Shawn Heubusch warned her that more manpower was going to be required.

“And in the beginning, the chief told me, ‘we're going to need more, we're going to need more, we're going to need more,’ and I said, there's no money, there's no money, there's no money. Now, we're at critical mass. We can't allow this to happen in our city,” she said. “I don't think anyone here on council wants that to occur. I certainly don't. So we're gonna find a way to make it work.”

Tabelski recommended using video lottery terminal money (typically a yearly amount that comes from Batavia Down Gaming revenues) in the amount of $272,000 to pay for the salaries and benefits for the two officers for eight months ($117,000), purchasing and fitting two police vehicles ($120,000) and for uniforms and equipment ($35,000).

Councilman Bob Bialkowski asked what if the city doesn’t get the VLT aid next year, and Tabelski said she isn’t planning to use that resource next year anyway. Sales tax has been doing very well, she said, and perhaps cannabis sales will be bringing in more sales tax and will be able to help offset the cost, she said. 

“We need to find a way to make it happen next year,” she said.

As for the equipment, that would be a one-time expense, Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. added. 

“I know it will work. It worked in the past,” he said.

The method for attacking the problem of gun violence, repeat offenders and nuisance neighbors is a team approach, Police Chief Shawn Heubusch said. “It’s a one-off,  it’s a very effective format,” he said. “You get to saturate a neighborhood. This is not a new concept. We did staff this way back in the day, and it was very effective.” 

Councilwoman Kathy Briggs was on board with the plan.

“I support this. We need this,” she said.

By a unanimous vote, council agreed to proceed with hiring an officer and using VLT money for the extra expense. 

After the meeting, Jankowski, a retired lieutenant with the city police department, shared his thoughts about what may be happening in the city and how this approach can help. 

“It worked in the past, which I hope it does in the future. When there were pockets of areas of maybe a drug house or some type of disruptive behavior in a neighborhood, we were able to send that team in there. And they were able to make observations, work with the community, work with the neighborhoods, and find a resolution to calm everything down and put it to rest. So if that works as well as it did last time, we have several hotspots we'd like to target, and we're going to want to use there and see how well it works,” he said. “And we're going to monitor it monthly to make sure that we are making gains. If it's not working out, then we're going to have to regroup and try something different. But we're pretty sure this will help.”

The Batavian asked Heubusch if there was already a list of potential candidates for the new officer and how long it would take to get one ready for this task.

“So we have a list that we've been working off of to hire our last round of hires. We'd have to take a look at that list and see who we can pick from it. We would have somebody in the background, we'd be able to put somebody in the background fairly quickly because we have a list that's already established, he said. “Police Academy for about five months and then field training for about four months after that. So it's a lengthy process unless we're lucky enough to find somebody that's willing to lateral to the department to fill the position then it's just field training.” 

City Council approved a part-time City Court judge Monday to fill the remaining term of Tom Burns, who retired from his post with less than three of his six years served.

Andrea Clattenburg, a Genesee County assistant public defender since 2021, will now be the part-time City Court judge, a role established per the Uniform City Court Act. That act provides for the appointment of a City Court judge who acts in the temporary absence or inability of the city judge to exercise the power of said judge. 

The part-time judge will serve a term of six years, which in this case will expire on Dec. 31, 2026, the end of the original term of Burns.

Upon his retirement, Burns told The Batavian that there weren’t enough cases flowing through City Court to justify his time there, so he stepped down effective July 14. 

City Council approved Clattenburg by a vote of 8 to 1, with Bob Bialkowski, Rich Richmond, Eugene Jankowski Jr., Paul Viele, Kathy Briggs, Al McGinnis, Kathy Briggs and Tammy Schmidt voting yes, and John Canale abstaining because of his “close personal ties” to the candidate.

The Batavian asked Jankowski for his thoughts about filling a position that Burns had left because there wasn’t enough work to warrant the job. 

“In my research, my research has learned that the court is pretty much backed up with cases. So I have no idea what Mr. Burns, his comment was about. I'm not familiar with it. I do know that after looking into it, as part of this process, there is a definite need for many small claims actions, civil actions and such. And that's what a lot of the part-time job does, as well as overflow and recruitment. When the full-time judge has recused himself, then those criminal cases are passed on to the part-time judge. So from what they tell me, there are standards, 90-day standards for these cases that need to be resolved. That's a state recommendation, and they really pay attention to it,” Jankowski said. “So given that short timeline, there's a lot of work over there, and they need the extra help. And plus, the part-time position, if I'm not mistaken, is required per the state. So we're gonna have it one way or another. And I believe we will make good use of it over there.”

The part-time City Court judge is paid by the state, though the position is appointed by City Council. Durin Rogers is the current full-time City Court judge. He is also paid by the state but is an elected position.

The minimum qualifications for the part-time judge require candidates to be an attorney admitted to practice law in the State of New York for at least five (5) years as of the date he or she commences the duties of the office and must be a resident of the City of Batavia. 

Clattenburg is a Genesee County assistant public defender who received a Leadership Achievement Award from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, where she obtained her Juris Doctorate in general law practice in 2014.

She lists arts and culture, children, education, poverty alleviation and social services as her causes of interest. 

After persevering through illness, surgery, recovery, and admittedly being quite tired -- she was ready.

Patti Pacino, City Councilwoman, committee member, volunteer, advocate, cheerleader, educator, counselor, supporter, participant, friend, and outspoken when necessary, decided that it was time to announce her retirement.

And on Monday evening, with some of her biggest fans in the audience, Pacino was celebrated for her years of contributions during City Council’s conference session at City Hall.

A proclamation was drafted that listed her many efforts, including:

• Her 13 years of service in representing the Second Ward as councilwoman
• Serving as alumni coordinator for Genesee Community College and Career Center coordinator for Batavia High School
• Performing duty as liaison to the Batavia Business Improvement District’s board, co-chair of the Volunteer Selection Committee and Memorial Day Parade Committee
• Her steadfast involvement with the Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee, Genesee-Orleans Council on the Arts, Kiwanis Club of Batavia, and Girl Scouts of Genesee Valley Inc.

And most notably, while on the council, she was “a true public servant, winning the support of her ward in two consecutive elections, advocating for residents and neighborhoods, and always having the best interests of the City of Batavia at heart.”

Now, therefore, be it resolved, the proclamation states, “the City Council of the City of Batavia does hereby congratulate Patti Pacino, City of Batavia Council Member, on her retirement, and wish her, and her family, good health and happiness for years to come.”

A soft-spoken Pacino said that she’s working on her walking ability after having surgery for a brain tumor in December 2022. She reflected on her time with the BID board.

“I remember probably the best 13 years of my life with a committee that I'm not sure everybody understands and realizes how much they put into this, how much time and effort and caring they put into the City of Batavia, and I miss that part,” she said. “But I won't miss the council because I'll still be here to talk to them whenever they need me or whenever they don't need me.”

Pacino officially retired from her role on council during a meeting on March 28. 

Deputy Trevor Sherwood, a Batavia High School graduate who was a star athlete in baseball and basketball, was approved by the Pavilion Board of Education on Monday night as the school district's new resource officer.

The board voted unanimously to approve a new memorandum of understanding with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

Superintendent Mary Kate Hoffman told the board that a committee interviewed four deputies for the position and recommended Sherwood.

Sherwood joined the Sheriff's Office on road patrol in early 2021.

The SRO position became vacant after Deputy Jeremy McClellan was reassigned to road patrol at the end of the 2022-23 academic year at the apparent request of the school district, which was a move several parents protested.

The Batavian will have a more complete story on Tuesday.

Click here for more information on: 9137 South Lake Road, Pembroke.
Click here for more information on: 41 Kingsbury Avenue, Batavia.

After Jim Kelly, the Buffalo Bills Hall of Famer and host of the annual tournament at Terry Hills that bears his name, the celebrity who invariably gets the most attention upon his arrival year after year is sports broadcasting legend Chris Berman. 

On Monday, after local businessman Russ Romano introduced him, Berman took extra time to talk with Griffin Della Penna, a Batavia High School graduate now working on his Master's degree in broadcasting and digital media at Syracuse University. 

Della Penna said Berman was his earliest inspiration.

"I’ll never forget watching Sportscenter for the first time with my dad when I was six years old, and Chris Berman was on the screen," Della Penna told The Batavian. "I loved his passion and how you could tell that he genuinely loved his job. Since that day, I’ve admired him, and he ignited a dream of being in his shoes someday."

It was Della Penna's first time meeting Berman, though he had hoped to meet him last year.

"For years, I’ve known that he’s been to the tournament and spent time in Western New York, but our paths never crossed," Della Penna said. "I worked the tournament last year and was bummed to know that he wasn’t going to be in attendance. To be able to meet one of my heroes today is something that I’ll never forget. While people are coming up to him telling him where to go for registration or to sign autographs, he politely told them to wait because he wanted to learn more about me and my broadcasting journey! That was the best feeling in the world when he asked me about my time at Canisius and how my program at Syracuse has been so far. He asked how much I love this profession, and he had a huge grin when I told him, 'this isn’t work to me because I’m so passionate about it.' He told me how he had that same mentality with his first job at a small market in Rhode Island and carried that into his big break at ESPN. At the end of our conversation, I told him how much it meant to me to talk to me, and he said, 'I look forward to hearing you when you make it big, Griffin.'”

In addition to a stint as "The Voice of the Muckdogs," Della Penna has held down various internships and freelance sports journalism gigs while attending Canisius. He's also received a couple of awards and scholarships while in college.

Berman, along with the other sports stars and celebrities in attendance, was at Terry Hills for the annual Jim Kelly Celebrity Golf Classic, which is a fundraiser for the Kelly for Kids Foundation. The foundation provides grants to assist disadvantaged and disabled youth in Western New York.

Smoke in the building is reported at Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road.

The building is being evacuated.

Town of  Batavia Fire responding.

UPDATE 5:01 p.m.: The fire is out. Somebody on location used a fire extinguisher. There is smoke in the building.

UPDATE 5:09 p.m.: Confirmed. The fire is out. Firefighters are ventilating. 

Last week, The Batavian published photos of the new traffic signals at Oak Orchard Road and Federal Drive and noted that the new street signs read "Federal Rd."

We asked a Department of Transportation official about the discrepancy and this morning received this statement:

“A contractor installed an incorrect sign on Federal Drive. The sign will be replaced and the new traffic signal will be activated into its 3-color operation later this week, weather permitting.”

We sent a follow-up question about the cost of replacing the signs and have not received a response.

Press Release:

The HEALing Genesee Work Group, City Church, and the City of Batavia Police Department are joining forces to offer the public an opportunity to safely dispose of unused, unwanted, or expired medications.

The St. Anthony’s campus of City Church on Liberty Street will be the site of a Drug Take Back Day from 9 a.m. to noon on Aug. 26. The event is part of a continuing effort by HEALing Genesee, a component of the GOW Opioid Task Force, to help end overdoses in the community.

“Drug Take Back Days have proven to be effective in reducing the prevalence of opioid overdoses, and we’re thankful for the Batavia police department and the staff at City Church for making the August 26 session happen,” said Sherri Bensley, program manager for the HEALing Communities Study.

Bensley said a table will be set up at the site to collect prescription medications. As required by New York State, law enforcement personnel will be on-site to assist in the collection process.

Workgroup representatives also will be on hand to provide Naloxone training and share other resources with residents. Free snacks will be provided.

For more information about HEALing Genesee, contact Sherri Bensley at sherri.bensley@co.genesee.ny.us.

Press Release:

Earlier this summer, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) announced this year’s Patriot Trip to Washington, D.C., which will take place from September 21 - 24, where veterans and their families will get a tour of the nation’s capital and its numerous monuments and landmarks honoring those who served. 

This year’s trip will include stops at several notable locations in the D.C. area, including the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam War memorials and Arlington National Cemetery.

“I am incredibly excited to host this event for another year,” said Hawley. “This trip is a great opportunity to honor our local veterans. We owe a deep level of gratitude for all they have sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy in this nation, so being able to take them to our nation’s capital to see these historic landmarks every year is truly an honor.”

The deadline to register for this year's Patriot Trip has once again been extended. Our hotel host has informed us that because our trip is for local veterans, they are allowing us three additional weeks for sign-ups. Be sure to register by Tuesday, August 29 at 3 p.m. This trip is open to all military veterans and their families. 

The cost will be between $450-$500 per person and includes travel, accommodations, admissions, meals, and even some souvenirs. Those who are interested in participating in this event should contact Hawley’s office at 585-589-5780 or email carneyj@nyassembly.gov for more details.

Press Release:

“The Fourth Annual Genesee County Sheriff’s Office Teen Academy was another great success. The academy was held July 17 – 21 at Genesee Community College. This academy was made possible with the support of Genesee County STOP DWI, the Genesee County Legislature, and Genesee Community College. The students were provided with the opportunity to experience the various roles of law enforcement in our community, and they eagerly embraced all aspects of the curriculum. I want to thank the students for their hard work and dedication and all those that provided instruction throughout this week-long program. A special thank you to the Academy Director, Deputy/SRO Joshua A. Brabon, and all the Deputies, School Resource Officers, and Investigators for their assistance and efforts in coordinating such a unique, one-of-a-kind experience for the students. We look forward to continuing this annual event for students throughout Genesee County for many more years to come,” stated Sheriff Sheron.

The following participants are graduates of the Fourth Annual Genesee County Sheriff’s Office Teen Academy:

• Robert Villano - Squad Leader
• Michael Ehrmentraut
• Derryk Gacek 
• Kayden Crocker
• Anna McLaughlin 
• Macie Parton

Submitted photos courtesy of Genesee County Sheriff Office.

He’s caused some excitement with a post online about his future business moving into Batavia City Centre, however, Zeke Lynn won’t be in moving in just yet, he says.

Everybody will get a chance to eat at Everybody Eats probably by the end of September or early October, Lynn said Monday to The Batavian. He is renting the site at 29 Batavia City Centre — the space with the checkerboard black-and-white floor once known as Cookies and Milk and other cafe operations.

“I’m hoping to be open within a month or two, I’ll be in there cleaning and I’ve got to get a few appliances, and a health permit,” he said.

When asked what the tagline of his place would be, the name says it all, he said. He plans to make it for mostly catering and take-out, for sandwiches, soups, salads, pastas, steak, and a few chicken dishes. The key is that there will be “things you don’t see around Batavia,” he said.

Think: Beef Wellington and butter chicken. Who is the chef behind the apron? A 2014 Batavia High School grad who began his cooking journey at as a kid, and never stopped.

“I really fell in love with cooking,” he said. 

He studied a bit at Brockport State College and worked at restaurants, where he “fell in love with it.”

“I’ve been cooking since I was five, I learned from my mom. I’ve always had a passion for it,” the 26-year-old said. “This is really a passion project more than anything.”

He would like to establish a cooking class at least once a week after he opens and is thinking of having wine and beer at some point for a tastings and pairings experience.

It might seem surprising, but Dexter Holland, singer/guitarist of the Offspring, considers this summer’s tour the biggest outing of his band’s career and a sign that the Offspring might be bigger than ever as a band.

“It feels like it’s getting better for us. We’ve talked about why that might be, is it a post-COVID thing, and people are excited to be back, or just the fact that now we’ve had 30 years of people being used to our songs?” Holland said in a late-July phone interview. “We’ve got people that are a little older, we’ve got kids that are just discovering us, and they’ve created this bigger audience of more than one generation, I guess, let’s say. But for whatever reason, man, it just feels really good right now.”

That’s quite a welcome reality for a band that has already had some periods of huge success. Formed in 1984 in Garden Grove, California, the Offspring broke through in a big way with their third album, 1994’s “Smash.” Featuring the hit singles “Come Out and Play,” “Self Esteem,” and “Gotta Get Away,” it became the biggest indie album to date, with sales standing
at more than 11 million worldwide.

With its energetic and fun punk rock songs, “Smash” joined Green Day’s “Dookie” as the primary album that brought punk into the mainstream. Then, after a follow-up album, “Ixnay on the Hombre,” which didn’t sell as well (it still topped out at around 3 million copies sold), the next album, “Americana,” became another blockbuster. It featured the hit singles “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy),” “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” “She’s Got Issues,” and “Why Don’t You Get A Job?” and the album sold more than 10 million copies.

Still, this summer’s tour, with Sum 41 and Simple Plan as opening acts, takes the Offspring to new heights.

“I think it’s the biggest headlining tour we’ve ever done, actually,” Holland said. “We’re playing like 25 cities, all amphitheaters, tickets are selling really well, and we’ve got a great package.”

Fans can expect to hear the songs that have kept the Offspring on the radio and in a prominent place in the rock world for more than three decades.

“You get to the point where you’ve put out nine or 10 albums, it’s a lot of material to choose from,” Holland said. “But I believe you’ve got to play the songs that people want to hear, right? Sometimes artists can get a little obscure with their stuff. You’ve kind of got to play the hits. So that dictates a good chunk of our set.”

Far from resting on their considerable laurels, the Offspring, which includes Holland, guitarist, and fellow founding member Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, bassist Todd Morse and drummer Brandon Pertzborn are acting like a band that’s still inspired and looking to grow musically.

While the studio's five albums that followed “Americana” haven’t sold in the eight figures, they’ve generally done well commercially. There have also been almost another dozen top 10 singles, including “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid,” which has become the Offspring’s most streamed song.

That single is featured on the 2008 album, “Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace,” which was recently re-released for its 15th anniversary with a pair of live tracks added to the original album. Holland considers it one of the band’s best efforts and an important album in the overall career. 

In 2005, the band released a greatest hits album, and Holland said the band wanted to prove the hits album didn’t mark the end of the road for the Offspring and that they were inspired and as good as ever musically.

“It’s an important record for us,” Holland said. “And it’s something I’m really proud of, that that far into our career (we had) our most popular song.” 

Having released their current studio album, the well-received “Let The Bad Times Roll” in 2021, Holland and his bandmates have been back in the studio recently.

“We did another song, and that makes six, not completely done, but they’re mostly done,” Holland said. “So we’re four-ish songs away (from an album). I think we’ll get something out early next year.”

Holland can’t yet say for sure how the next album will compare to other Offspring albums, but it’s bound to have some of the usual musical and lyrical signatures. “Sometimes you just start writing songs and you don’t realize how an album is coming together until it’s almost there,” Holland said. 

“Like on ‘Americana,’ ‘Americana’ was one of the last songs I wrote because I didn’t realize until then all the other songs like ‘Why Don’t You Get A Job?’ and ‘Pretty Fly,’ they were describing American society. I didn’t really realize that’s what the album was about until I got almost done and thought well, I’ll call it ‘Americana’ because that’s like ‘Americana’ means American culture. This was my vision of what I thought American culture was doing in the late ‘90s. We’re kind of still in that phase with the songs, but we’ve always liked the energy of punk music and the rebelliousness...What I’m focusing right now on is just melody. I want the songs to be really good.”

Offspring will be performing at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Sunday.

There are 2,133 National Grid customers without power in an area that stretches from the northeast quadrant of the City of Batavia to the Town of Le Roy on the east, and from north of Clinton Street Road in Bryon to Route 63 in East Bethany.

The power outage was reported at 6:23 and is expected to be resolved by 8:30 p.m.

UPDATE 7:18 p.m.: National Grid is on scene on Clinton STree Road but has not yet located the source of the outage.

A wandering band of nomadic thespians has finally arrived home.

For the first time since the late 1960s, when the troupe abandoned the dilapidated Playhouse at Horseshoe Lake, the Batavia Players has a theater to call its own.

The Players staged its first show on Friday night at the new Main St. 56 Theater in City Centre.

Norm Argulsky, board secretary, prop manager, and house manager, said the opening of the new theater is a dream fulfilled for the entire group.

"At long last, we are finally in a theater that we really want to be in," Argulsky said as patrons filled the lobby waiting to enter the first performance of Cry Baby, The Musical, performed by members of the Summer Youth Theater. "This is it for pretty good Players. We're going to be here permanently. We have a home. We have a lovely theater. We have a great group of people working for us. They have worked very, very hard, extremely hard in order to have this come to fruition, and it finally did. I mean, we never thought it would happen. And now here we are, opening night. I feel like Broadway."

And Board President Pat Burk said the success of the opening night was a pleasant surprise.

"(Opening night) went extremely well," Burk said. "I was very surprised that we had our biggest audience in quite a few years.  We were excited that the audience had such a great reaction to the show."

Batavia Players is transforming (the project is far from complete) more than 14,000 square feet of former medical office space into a lobby, theater, dressing rooms, prop rooms, and office space at a cost of more than $1 million.

The project is made possibly largely through a portion of the Downtown Revitalization Grant awarded to the city by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2017.

Batavia Players received $701,750 from the pot of $10 million in grant money awarded to various Downtown projects.   In 2020, the group was also awarded $417,000 from the New York Street Anchor Grant Program.

To complete the project, the Players still need to raise $265,000 from private donors. So far they've raised $41,000 (to make a donation, visit bataviaplayers.org).

Argulsky couldn't be more pleased with how things have turned out so far, though he's already running out of prop and costume space, he said.

"I love the theater, the actual theater. The theater is wonderful," Argulsky said. "I'm looking at my costume room, and I'm saying I don't think I have enough room. But the theater is absolutely great. I mean, the sightlines I've sat all over. I've been able to see the different perspectives from the seats, and there's not a bad seat in the house. So I think the audience will like it. I like the fact that there are wider seats, which are not going to be touching the shoulder of somebody else. And the sightlines are great. The sound is great. So I think everybody is going to enjoy being here."

The initial reviews from the first-night patrons standing in the lobby were positive.

Carol and Dave Waples drove from Spencerport for the opening and described themselves as big supporters of Batavia Players.

They love the fact that the new theater is downtown and were impressed with the overall ambience.

"Oh my gosh, unbelievable," Carol said. "I couldn't wait to get in here. We were so so excited about this. Yeah, it's very, very, very nice. Very impressive from what we've seen."

Co-workers Vicky Muckle and Lisa Casey teamed up to attend opening night. Muckle said she was also there to support a friend, Paige Sikorsky, who was appearing in the show.

"It's a definite improvement over the last place they were at, so I'm excited to get inside," Muckle said. 

Casey praised the project for "bringing life back to this area."

They had dinner downtown before the show and said that's the value of building the theater in downtown Batavia.

"You figure the DRI money was awarded in 2017, and now it's 2023, so to see it actually happening is really cool," said Casey, who worked in the City Manager's Office when the DRI award was announced. "I'm super excited. I didn't think I was to be here for the first actual show, so Vicki bought my ticket, and I'm so excited.

Except for that brief period at Horseshoe Lake in the 1960s, Batavia Players has never had a space it could really call its own.  

The Players were founded in 1931 by Ethel McIntosh, a Latin teacher at Batavia High School, and was comprised of 25 members to start. Their first production was "Beggar on Horseback" at Batavia High School (now the Middle School).  Until the 1960s, the Players performed shows at the New Family Theater on Main Street and in school auditoriums.

After abandoning the Playhouse, the Batavia Players almost disappeared until Wanda Frank helped revive the group.  When the school district started raising rental prices, the Treadway Motor Inn offered performance space as part of a dinner theater. In that era, they also performed at the newly constructed Genesee Community College campus.  In the following decades, the Batavia Players staged shows at schools and churches until renting space at the Harvester Center a few years ago.

(History Source: History of the City of Batavia by Ruth M. McEvoy.)