As property manager, Jarrod Clark has really taken the Harvester Center under his wing.

After all, he discovered that his family four generations ago once owned and sold the property to Johnson Harvester, and how rich it has been with successful incubator business start-ups and well-known products, including Massey Harris farm equipment and Melton shirts.

“It’s kind of gone full circle for me,” Clark said after Tuesday’s Planning & Development Committee meeting. “It bleeds history.”

Fairly soon, it might just be brewing beer — as in locally produced brews in a tasting room and an adjacent small restaurant. He was representing Bill and Michelle Snyder, owners of Windy Brew in Strykersville, who want to open a similar site at 56 Harvester Center.

“It’s not going to be a huge facility,” he said. “It probably would seat 20 to 25 at the bar, and another 10 to 15 at tables, and everybody is drinking their beer and eating their pizza and pretzels.”

Originally proposed as a brew pub, the owners had applied for a special use permit. However, they quickly changed course after the committee informed Clark that a pub wasn’t allowed in that zone, but that a restaurant was allowable, and beer could be served there.

Windy Brew produces beer that will be available, along with other New York State brews and possibly wine, at the Batavia location, Clark said. Someone who he won’t identify just yet has also expressed interest in opening a commercial kitchen adjacent to the Snyder’s property.

“I think it’s going to be great for our building,” he said. “We both (the anonymous tenant) want to see it succeed. My goal is to get like-minded people there.”

One of the Center’s best-kept secrets is that it houses 75 business tenants that manufacture and/or sell products and services. The Snyders were “ecstatic that they don’t need a special use permit,” he said, and are shifting plans immediately. He and his other future tenant should be disclosing their plans in the next few weeks.

“For the last eight to 12 months, we’ve been looking for people in an operation or looking to do this,” he said. “There is a need for this. It’s the community driving what’s needed; many people are wanting to open a kitchen.”

Food trucks would be able to use the communal kitchen for food prep before loading up and going on the road to sell items, he said, and there are those types of mobile businesses that would benefit from such as operation.

After all, it’s costly to operate a bakery — early morning work hours, utilities, inventory, finding good recipes and people experienced in baking, plus maintenance of bathrooms. It would hinge on a kitchen set-up, he said.

“So when you have some networking and some people that you're working with, and you have other people coming in that may be visiting some of the other kitchens, you have an outlet of selling your product,” he said. “It’s not all on you. You're not the only one paying the gas bill, you're not the only one paying the electric bill. So the idea would be to get some sort of a house tenant that's a bakery and then possibly add three or four food trucks in there. And there should be enough room where there could be maybe a small Mexican takeout only or an Italian restaurant.”

Admittedly, the building — quite large with many compartments and business ventures, and a bit difficult to navigate  — can be a confusing concept for folks, Clark said.

“So it's not unlike this building to do new and different stuff that nobody's seen or heard of before,” he said, referring to the latest building applicants. “They kind of really fit us well. And we're willing to work with people that kind of look outside of the box.”

File Photo of Harvester Center on the east side of Batavia, and photo of Jarrod Clark from an online site.

Malcolm K. made his personal best catch at DeWitt Recreation Area on Monday, a 43-inch, 21-pound Northern Pike.

Submitted photo.

City residents who own the breeds of farm animals listed on the newly adopted ordinance are being given a six-month grace period to find new homes for them, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

City Council approved a revised local law Monday evening that prohibits any city resident from owning, possessing or harboring the following farm animals:

• Cloven-hoofed
• Cattle
• Horses
• Sheep
• Goats
• Pigs
• Swine
• Llamas
• Alpacas
• Ducks
• Turkeys
• Geese
• Ponies
• Donkeys, Mules

Exceptions include being allowed to have a maximum of six chickens, as long as they are penned and maintained appropriately, with no accumulated feces, odors or related mess; special events with prior approval of an event application; and animals in transit to or from a veterinary facility or other destination out of city bounds.

“This ordinance shall take effect immediately after the date of passage and in accordance with law,” it states. “Residents with existing animals that are now regulated will have a six-month grace period before enforcement action will be taken.”

Since the city doesn’t have enough staff to physically check out every residence in the city, this ordinance will be enforced based on complaints about alleged offenders.

The resolution initially included feral cats on the list. However, a public hearing about the law brought out about 15 people to speak about that inclusion. Council members agreed to table a prior vote to further discuss the cat situation. The group later removed feral cats from the list.

 “So yes, it does not restrict feral cats in any way,” Tabelski said Tuesday. “The folks who came in to discuss feral cats were extremely informative. And I was glad to hear that they're still out there working in our community, and have plans to address any type of cat colonies and cat communities.”

During the meeting, advocate Todd Vaarwerk spoke on behalf of Independent Living of the Genesee Region and those with service animals. He noted that the resolution had not changed other than excluding cats, and was concerned that ADA rights were going to be violated.

“I implore you one last time to fix this error,” he said.

Anyone with a certified service animal who is protected by federal Americans with Disabilities Act stipulations will not be affected by the local law, City Attorney George Van Nest said during the meeting.

If someone complains about a neighbor, and that person has a documented service animal, the city’s code enforcement staff will verify it before issuing any penalty.

“We will be relying on any type of complaints to look and see if there is a violation and go from there,” Tabelski said. “There's other federal laws that supersede our ordinance, such as the ability of residents to have support animals, and we'll certainly understand and take that into consideration upon responding to any type of complaints.”

To read the resolution, go HERE.

Photo submitted of goats in the city that were part of a neighborhood's complaints to City Councilman John Canale, who brought the issue to council earlier this year.

Ninety to 120 every day.

That’s a goal that Batavia Middle School has set for students: to do purposeful reading, writing and interactive talking for 90 to 120 minutes each weekday. Principal Nate Korzelius introduced that as one part of the middle school’s strategic plan.

“So we've spent a lot of time this year looking at and reflecting on our vision and mission, as well as our strategic plan and empowering students, and within the vision statement, working with the community, creating a nurturing environment for our students,” he said during a presentation to the school board Monday evening. “So that was our starting point, as we were looking at our middle school goals for the year. And then, in the past year, establishing the strategic plan: create and maintain a safe and orderly school environment, collaborative culture theory, accessible curriculum, and effective teaching in every classroom.”

A leadership team activity during the summer led middle school staff “to come up with tangible things to meet our students where they are, trying to adjust for some gaps that have occurred as a result of COVID.”

“And also just find ways that we can creatively build a culture of learning and also try to break down some barriers for students,’ he said. “So, beginning this school year, this was the goal that I outlined for the staff on day one. Our goal is to promote authentic literacy practices by increasing purposeful reading, writing and discussion as moments of both learning content and critical thinking. 

A daily dose of literacy
"So specifically, what we've worked on the most so far this year are ways we can ensure that students will participate in 90 to 120 minutes of purposeful reading, writing and discussion every day,” he said.

That’s likely good practice for anyone. A quick online search produces several articles about the benefits of reading, such as Healthline’s claim — using MRI scan results — that reading involves a complex network of circuits and signals in the brain. As one’s reading ability matures, “those networks also get stronger and more sophisticated,” the site states. 

Teachers will introduce various methods for kids to accomplish the daily goal, such as having guest readers, creating reading quizzes, writing letters or a daily diary, hosting debates and asking open-ended questions.

“We have data meetings every couple of months. But then we want, now especially that we have more access to data post-COVID, to focus on those, and establish the needs for our students to make sure that we can individualize things as much as possible to meet students where they are,” Korzelius said. “Those teams are focused on the individual needs of students and customizing the approach for students within their teams.”

Beginning Tuesday (Nov. 15), students will have a task during Lunch Learning Lab, which means at the beginning of the second marking period, each student “is to drop everything and read” a book for 20 minutes. District officials contacted each household to notify parents of this initiative, and to encourage them to find out what might engage their child.

“Half the battle is to find something that they’ll enjoy reading,” he said.

Teaching strategies
The focus isn’t just on students, though. A shared Google Classroom will begin in the next month for all middle school faculty. It will provide a list of various strategies for teachers to try — one at a time for a month — and then report back on how it went and offer suggestions for improvement before selecting another strategy the next month.

“And really, what I found through all my experiences, if you don't have that SEL piece, it's going to be really hard to get that academic piece. And I think in general, we've all learned that from COVID times, and so we've spent the last year or so really establishing our SEL committee,” she said.

Circle Up Fridays happens on the first Friday of every month, and includes an extended homeroom time so that students and staff can literally “circle up” to engage in meaningful conversations, she said.

This work is about “creating connections at school,” she said, amongst students and teachers. Two years of COVID, isolation and social distancing seem to be ebbing away.

“I really think they're excited that it feels a little bit more, a little back to normal for them like they have loved the opportunity to have dances again … and options to look at trips and those types of things. So I think it's a lot for them on an energy level, you know, it's a much different day coming every day to school versus some of what we were doing in a hybrid setting,” she said. “I think every day that we're getting better and more comfortable.”

Data — a huge component amongst school districts — has been part of the strategic plan, Korzelius said. Pulling people together through regular faculty meetings of about 80 people has also been a positive step, he said.

“We really try hard to focus on our strategic plan,” he said. “Where our goal of mission and vision is 90 to 120 minutes for every student throughout the school day.”

The mission is to empower students to achieve their maximum potential, and the vision includes providing a safe and nurturing environment. The targeted end result is to help students become socially responsible citizens who are able to successfully meet life’s challenges.

School board member Alice Benedict wanted to know if and how data would be collected to show how well the SEL lessons were working. Yes, it will be collected through DESSA, a social-emotional learning measuring tool, and student surveys, Korzelius said.

“It's something that I want us to build on, and just continue to find new and better ideas. I mean, this is a great idea, which is our first time,” he said. “We have to take a look at it at the end instead of just gauging success.”

Files photo of 245 Liberty St., Batavia being demolished in July 

City school board members approved more than $89,000 in change orders this week for work being done at Jackson Primary and Batavia High schools.

The nine change orders — additional expenses usually for “unforeseen” work discovered during the job-in-progress — ranged from $1,369 to $24,443. With no questions or discussion, the board approved the financial revisions during its regular meeting Monday at the high school.

Work includes:

• Having to disconnect and remove an unforeseen utility service at Jackson Primary for $7,209.
• Development, labor and materials associated with installing a fence, posts, and to extend sidewalks to accommodate setting the fence posts within a walkway at Jackson Primary, $9,592.
• Installing curb work along Liberty Street and Blakely Place at Jackson Primary, $4,112.
• Removing the unforeseen underground storage tank during excavation at Jackson Primary, $3,311.
• Having to lower the ceiling grid system in room 167 as well as construct a bulkhead and lower 40 square feet of ceiling to accommodate lighting at BHS, $1,369.
• Installing insulation to the exposed water lines at BHS, $1,392.
• Installing plyron flooring (impact resistant, hardboard-faced plywood) in lieu of plywood sub-flooring at stage sacrificial floor at BHS, $18,394.
• Labor and materials for plumbing and heating company to replace the incoming gas line at the loading dock at BHS, $19,266.
• Labor and materials to replace an underground gas line feeder from the loading dock to the gas meter at BHS, $24,443.

A capital project stemming from 2020 at Jackson Primary includest the expansion of outdoor amenities at the southside school.  It has included demolition of a building at 245 Liberty St., Batavia, which was donated to the city school district in December 2017. Taking down the former Country Pride Bakery Mart is part of a plan to create additional parking and green spaces, and a pedestrian walkway adjacent to Jackson Primary School. 

Work at the high school includes an emergency replacement of two water boilers.

It says right on the building, "Arts Council," but GO ART! Director Gregory Hallock has been concerned that people don't realize that Seymour Place at 201 East Main St. is a place anybody can come in and see art.

"I think a lot of people don't see our sign, and a lot of people still think we're a membership club," Hallock said. "Yes, we have members but you don't have to be a member to come in."

His solution: Install some works of art -- in this case, sculptures -- in the garden plots in front of the red brick building at the corner of East Main and Bank streets in Batavia.

Hallock and the GO ART! staff had become familiar with the work of Bill Schutt from his showing at the Ramble, what's on display at Eli Fish Brewing Co., his entries into an art competition there, and knew he worked in metal, which seemed like the perfect medium for sculptures placed outside the building.

It might come as a surprise to some that Schutt is an artist.  The Basom resident has been a volunteer firefighter for 32 years and spent a dozen years working for either Genesee County Emergency Management or Mercy EMS.

He often tinkered around the house, working with metal, installing bookshelves or other useful items for the house, often embellishing whatever he made with artistic touches. A few years ago he became inspired to make sculptures using scrap metal on his property.

He's recently branched out into making larger pieces, so the commission from GO ART! came at an opportune time to expand his portfolio.

Schutt's pieces are about "our shared humanity," he said.

The first one is a riff on a popular social media meme about the difference between equality and equity. In the meme, three people of different heights are shown standing on boxes, trying to see over a fence to watch a baseball game.  They're all on the same size box.  The tall person can see, the smallest person can't see at all. That is equality, according to the meme. When the boxes are restacked, so the tallest has no box, the medium-height person has one, and the shortest has two, all three can see.  The meme labels that configuration, "equity."

The second sculpture is of people in silhouette. Their faces look the same but they're all different based on hairstyle and the jewelry they wear.

"It's kind of a reminder that we are more the same than we are different," Schutt said. "We need to celebrate our differences and find our common humanity.  Art does that. It brings together all walks of life."

Hallock loved the work, he said.

"I didn't know what he was going to do, and I'm pleasantly pleased with the pieces," Hallock said.  "The message of equity and unity is there."

Submitted photos.

Catrina Colvin and her family are hoping that their apricot-colored mini toy poodle has been spotted -- and perhaps rescued from the cold -- since he went missing at the corner of York and South streets around 7 p.m. Sunday in Pavilion.

Thomas Jefferson was in his yard for a few minutes, and when Catrina's mom opened the door for him to come back inside, the 7-pound fluffly pooch was gone. 

"We're hoping and praying someone saw him walking down by the corner and picked him up to get him some warmth," Catrina said Monday. "After four hours of searching, he's still nowhere to be found. My kids are absolutely devastated and we're not doing so well ourselves."

At 14 years old and mostly blind, the family thinks that perhaps he became confused with the falling snow. He never stays out longer than a minute or two because he gets cold quickly, Catrina said.

"He's always been my baby boy and I can't imagine life without him," she said. 

Her family has checked with the local animal shelters with no luck. Anyone with information or sightings is asked to please call her at 585-315-3971. 

Photos are submitted of Catrina, top, her daughter Alli, and brother Roy with Thomas Jefferson.

The local bowling community rolled out the red carpet for an Oakfield resident and longtime kegler who has been battling bladder cancer.

A 3-person no-tap tournament to benefit Claude Schultz that took place at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia on Saturday generated $1,385 to help pay for the 62-year-old tractor trailer master technician’s medical bills.

“I would like to thank the Genesee Region USBC bowlers, Mark and Penny Brown (tournament directors) and Mancuso Bowling Center for putting this event on for me,” said Schultz, who was at the fundraiser along with his wife, Cathy, two of his daughters and three of his grandchildren. “This means a lot to my family and me.”

Schultz has been out of work – and off the lanes – since undergoing two operations in August and September and, after that, six weeks of chemotherapy. He said he goes back to the doctor on Dec. 6 for an “exploratory’ procedure.

If all goes well, Schultz said his plan is to substitute on a league with his friends at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen after the first of the year.

Thirty-nine teams competed in the tournament, with seven earning prize money.

The team of Shayne Herold, Aaron Philp and Adam Philp placed first with a 2,428 score to win $630. The team of Scott Shields, Tom Rohl and Brown finished second with 2,414 ($360), and Rick Underhill, Fred Gravanda and Matt Balduf placed third with 2,390 ($200).

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors announced that Brian Cousins has been selected as their new President.  Cousins will succeed Erik Fix, who left to take a position with the City of Batavia.

“The Board of Directors is excited to work with Brian,” said Board Chair Mickey Hyde. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership skills from his previous career.  The Board has been very impressed with his vision and enthusiasm for Genesee County and the Chamber of Commerce.”

Cousins is currently the Director of Accommodations at Six Flags Darien Lake.  He has over 25 years of experience at Darien Lake where he has held various roles in marketing, operations, entertainment and accommodations.

Cousins is a graduate of Genesee Community College and SUNY Fredonia, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Communications.  He is a graduate of Leadership Genesee, Class of 2018.    

Cousins lives in Corfu with his wife, Cherie.  His start date with the Chamber is Dec. 19.  

Press release:

After coming close on a couple occasions, Batavian Derek Leach achieved bowling perfection earlier this week in the Mancuso Real Estate Doubles League at Mancuso Bowling Center.

The 42-year-old right-hander rolled a 300 game in game three of what turned out to be a 678 series on lanes 11-12. His previous high games were 299 and 298.

Two others broke the 700 mark in the Monday night league -- left-hander Brian Cline of Middleport, 279--758, and righty Jason Quilliam of Batavia, 268--751.

Elsewhere around the Genesee Region USBC:

• Mike Pettinella of Batavia posted 268--772 in the Turnbull Heating Triples League at Mancuso's, raising his average to 228;

• Roger Allis of Medina rolled 300--656 in the Sunday Rolloffs League at Medina Lanes, for his seventh USBC-certified perfect game.

For a list of high scores, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the home page.

A motor vehicle accident with a possible head injury is reported on Route 33 just west of Horseshoe Lake Road, Stafford.

Stafford Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 10:14 p.m. A chief on scene reports two vehicles roadside and the bridge is "really icy."

Callie McCulley, a former standout with Notre Dame in her high school basketball career, helped the University of Rochester to its second straight Chuck Resler Tournament Championship with a 55-44 win over #21 ranked Messiah University.

McCulley was named the tournament MVP after Saturday's win. On Friday, she set a school record for blocked shots in a game. 

After the first two games of her senior season, McCulley is averaging 9.5 points per game and 10.5 rebounds.

Her former ND Coach Tom McCulley said McCulley, from Le Roy, "has really been grinding to be a top player.  She was an Academic All-American last year."  He said UofR has a good shot at winning a berth in the NCAA Tournament this season.

For more on UofR's tournament win, click here.

Photo: File photo by Howard Owens from 2018. 

The Byron-Bergen Bees went into Saturday's state championship semifinals in girls soccer with a track record of dominating opponents to the point of a more than 125-point differential on the season.

But they ran into a Sauquoit Valley team ready to play defense, rarely giving clear space to Mia Gray and Mackenzie Haegen, who each scored more than 40 points this season.

With 10 minutes left in the game, the Indians' Addison Lazarek scored her team's second goal, which held up to give Sauquoit Valley a 2-1 win in a game played at Cortland High School.

The Indians also struck first in the first half on a goal by Olivia Kalil.

A few minutes later, Emma Starowitz scored Byron-Bergen's only goal.

Sauquoit entered the game with two losses, while the Bees were undefeated.

For more on the game, visit UticaOD.com.

Photos by Kevin Smith/Cortland Voice

Ja'vin McFollins tossed two TD passes, including one in the closing seconds of the game for a come-from-behind victory on Saturday in Brockport to give the Batavia Blue Devils the Section V Class B championship.

Batavia beat Monroe 14-8.

The 19-yard TD pass to Vincent Arroyo left one second on the clock and Julia Petrie kicked her second point-after of the game.

Batavia scored first in first quarter on a McFollins to Cole Grazioplene 38-yard TD pass.

McFollins was 9-16 passing for 172 yards.  He was intercepted once.

Cam McCinic was the leading rusher with 66 yards on 16 attempts.

Grazioplene had three receptions for 85 yards and Arroyo snagged two passes for 58 yards.

Garrett Schmidt led the defense with 13 tackles and Avion Bethel had eight and McClinic six.  Schmidt also forced a fumble and a fumble recovery.

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

To help the Pembroke Dragon's football team and community celebrate not just the team's sectional title, but their first boys sectional title in any sport in school, history, volunteer firefighters lined up their trucks and escorted the team buses to the school yesterday.

Participating were the volunteer departments of East Pembroke, Pembroke, Indian Falls, and Corfu.

Submitted photos.