batavia

State Police were pursuing a gray Mercedes on the Thruway and the vehicle exited the Thruway at the Batavia exit. Shots have been fired. The vehicle is passing Gui's Lumber now.

UPDATE 1:03 p.m.: The vehicle is northbound on Kelsey Road.

UPDATE 1:06 p.m.: "Subject is on foot 8370 Kelsey Road. White male late 40s, early 50s," a dispatcher said. Cars are being sent to 3338 Pratt Road to set up a perimeter. A State Police helicopter out of Niagara County is hovering in the vicinity to help in the manhunt.

UPDATE 1:08 p.m.: Two subjects are in custody. Mercy medics #1 and #3 called to evaluate to patients at 8364 Kelsey Road. Law enforcement is with them. The location is between West Main Street Road and Pratt Road.

UPDATE 1:29 p.m.: East Pembroke Fire Department is asked to shut down Kelsey Road at Route 5 and Pratt.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) voted to approve incentives for the construction of two 2MW community solar farms for a combined total of 4MW at 2901 Pearl Street Road. The developer, Pearl Solar LLC will invest approximately $6 million investment and will receive incentives of approximately $472,000 in sales and property tax exemptions.

“While we were concerned about the fact that the project will only create one job, there are other temporary economic impacts such as construction and installation jobs as well as benefits to the local community in approving a renewable energy project of this nature,” said GCEDC Board Chairman Paul Battaglia. 

Among the benefits of the project include: an enhanced property tax payment through a 15-year PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) resulting in approximately $311,000 in property tax payments to Genesee County and the Pembroke school district; energy discounts of 10 percent for local residents who sign an agreement with the company to purchase solar energy from the project(s); and, a community benefit agreement in which Pearl Solar will make a $50,000 donation to the Genesee County STEM2 STAMP workforce development program when the two projects are completed.

“This project fits into our local economic development strategy and marketing alignment as we are finding that renewable energy is becoming a preference item for site selectors or companies conducting site location searches,” said GCEDC President and CEO Steve Hyde. “The project also will have no carbon footprint, providing environmental benefits to local residents and just as important it aligns with Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative.”

Press release:

Batavia -- The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County Board of Directors will meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 28.  The meeting will be held at the Extension Center at 420 E. Main St. in Batavia and is open to the public.

Any questions should be directed to Yvonne Peck at 585-343-3040, ext. 123.

The next 2018 CCE Board of Directors meeting will be at the same time/place on Nov. 20.

Ryan Duffy is 18 months into his job as director of the Holland Land Office Museum and members of the Genesee County Legislature have taken notice of the improvements he's made to the local history destination.

Several members praised him Monday after he give his annual review report to the Human Services Committee.

"Two years ago or three years ago there was significant activity and concern about the museum," said Robert Bausch, chairman of the legislature. "I just want to compliment you. The issues that we raised are being addressed and addressed in a positive way. I just want to congratulate you."

During his presentation, Duffy laid out some of the activities at the museum, which include continuing the just-completed History Heroes summer camp, cataloging more than 8,000 items at the museum, bringing in more groups to use space at the museum for meetings, bringing in more guest speakers, and starting a Java with Joe morning speakers series.

Duffy also brought back the annual antique show at Batavia Downs, which this year had vendors from as far away as Syracuse and Binghampton and brought in 450 visitors.

The museum also continues to grow as a tourist destination. Duffy said in 2017, nearly half of all people who visited the museum were from outside Genesee County.

Duffy also suggested people start thinking about their Wonderland of Trees decorations. This year's theme will be "favorite holiday movies."

"You’ve done fantastic," said Legislator John Deleo. "You’ve energized everybody including the board."

During his presentation Monday, Duffy also mentioned two recent acquisitions by the museum.  

Top photo: Six pictures of Gen. Emory Upton. The larger picture on the left is from the West Point yearbook when Upton was an instructor at the academy. The other five are of Upton during the Civil War, showing Upton as a young lieutenant fresh out of West Point through the end of the war when he was a brevet major general (brevet means a temporary promotion usually awarded for valor or exceptionalism; Upton was a brigadier general prior to the brevet promotion).

The photos were obtained from a private collector.

"The pictures show not only the change in himself over time but also his change in rank," Duffy said. "We didn’t have anything like that before. We had later things of him but not something tracing his career. We had the beginning and the end but not the middle."

Bottom photo: A painting of Henry Glowacki on a piece of ivory. Glowacki was a prominent citizen of Batavia in the second half of the 19th century and he had a pretty fascinating biography. Born in 1816, the son of a Polish general, Glowacki was promoted to major in the Polish Army at age 17. He was probably part of the November Uprising, when a group of young officers rebelled against Russian rule of part of their homeland (source). The officers were banished from Poland. He intended to make exile in Illinois but he came into contact with David Ellicott Evans, then manager of the Holland Land Office. Evans hired Glowacki, though he was still only 19 and didn't speak or read English. Within four years, he mastered the language and studied law under H. J. Redfield and he married Mary Redfield. He passed the New York State Bar in 1840 and became a prominent local attorney. He was chairman of the local Democratic Party, a recruiter during the Civil War, a Village of Batavia trustee, an original trustee of the NYS Blind School, and he donated land for the first hospital in Batavia.

Prior to obtaining the painting -- about the size of an egg -- the only pictures HLOM had of Glowacki were as an old man with mutton chops, Duffy said.

Museum staff located the painting while attending an antique show. It is etched on the back with Glowacki's name and his date of birth and death.

The museum already possessed his Polish army uniform and a paperweight he used while employed at the land office.

A car has hit a pole in the parking lot of Valu Plaza, behind McDonald's.

The pole is down on the ground.

No serious injuries reported.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Deborah Rodriguez, age not provided, residence not provided, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and alcohol, unlicensed operation, 1st, and unsafe backing. Rodriguez was reportedly backing out of a driveway in the Village of Oakfield when her vehicle struck a pedestrian who was walking on the sidewalk. The patient was transported to UMMC for treatment of minor injuries.

Brenna Elizabeth Decillis, 24, of Park Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and leaving the scene of a property-damage accident. Decillis was charged following an investigation into an accident at 7:18 a.m. Wednesday on Park Road. Decillis is accused of driving a vehicle that struck two parked cars and a building. The investigation was conducted by deputies Ryan DeLong, Richard Schildwaster, and Jeremy McClellan.

Latashia M. Sanchez, 25, of Central Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and failure to dim headlights. Sanchez was stopped at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday on East Main Street, Village of Le Roy, by a Le Roy police officer.

Seth Ryan Kronewetter, 25, of Indian Creek, Eldred, Pa., is charged with making terroristic threats and aggravated harassment, 2nd. Kronewetter is accused of making threats to harm patrons of a concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. Kronewetter was arraigned in Darien Town Court and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Andres A. Arteaga, 20, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Arteaga was stopped at 9:29 p.m. Monday on Route 33, Stafford, by State Police.

Nicholas J. Heschke, 31, of Medina, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Heschke was topped at 1:58 a.m. Monday on Route 77, Town of Alabama, by State Police.

There is a hazardous weather outlook in effect for Genesee County.

The National Weather Service says showers and thunderstorms today will increase in number with a marginal risk for strong to severe thunderstorms by late afternoon. Damaging wind gusts is the primary threat, with isolated large hail also possible.

Because of this outlook, tonight's free concert by the Batavia Concert Band at Centennial Park has been moved to Stuart Steiner Theatre at Genesee Community College. It will also feature a student alumni musical tribute to the late Batavia school band instructor Neil Hartwick.

This mom is one of several dozen who participated in last year’s Global Big Latch On at UMMC. This year’s event is scheduled Friday at UMMC's Cary Hall, 211 E. Main St., Batavia. Photo by Virginia Kropf.

 

United Memorial Medical Center will participate in the Global Big Latch On event Friday at Cary Hall, 211 E. Main St., Batavia.

Global Big Latch On is an international organization working to support and normalize breastfeeding, while encouraging a community network of support among breastfeeding families, said Stacey Pastuszynski, marketing adviser at UMMC.

This is the fourth year UMMC has participated in this global event, in which as many as 143 family members have attended locally.

“We average forty breastfeeding moms, while the rest are friends and family members who attend for support,” Pastuszynski said. “While we are hoping to better that this year, it is not so much about numbers as it is about support for breastfeeding mothers and promoting the benefits of breastfeeding.”

Mom- and baby-friendly local businesses and organizations will be present Friday to provide resources, including Richmond Memorial Library, Oak Orchard Health WIC, Project Stork, UMMC Healthy Living and Baby Café, YWCA, Genesee County Health Department and City of Batavia Fire Department with their car seat safety check.

The event is free and breastfeeding moms can preregister at www.biglatchon.org or by calling 344-5331.

Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., there will be an official count of latched babies and pumps, which will be submitted to the Global Big Latch On organization and added to the number of other women breastfeeding simultaneously throughout the world.

This year’s goal worldwide is to break the current Global Big Latch On record of 17,992 children breastfeeding at 758 locations in 23 countries, according to Pastuszynski.

Pastuszynski said UMMC’s Healthy Living team is passionate about their programs which support families and breastfeeding mothers.

Their Baby Café is a free breastfeeding support group which meets from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday, with a certified lactation consultant on site.

Healthy Living also offers infant feeding and childbirth classes; a Medicaid Obstetrical and Maternal Services Program; and Family and Friends CPR and Safety classes.

Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (GCASA) is very pleased to announce that the Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) will open on Aug. 13. This will allow patients to receive methadone to treat their addiction.

GCASA has been providing Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) since 2004. Like many other diseases such as heart disease or diabetes, patients require medication to treat their medical conditions.

Dr. Matthew Fernaays, GCASA’s medical director, has prescribed naltrexone and buprenorphine for patients for several years, with great success for some patients. But they don’t work for all patients. With the opening of the OTP, he will be able to prescribe methadone to treat a patient’s addiction, increasing access to appropriate treatment services for residents in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties.

Kathy Hodgins, senior services director at GCASA, said “The ability to provide methadone treatment in our rural area will help so many people in our community. Those who are unable to drive to Buffalo or Rochester daily will be able to access the care they need to treat their addiction right here in Batavia. This is huge for our community.”

Methadone is highly regulated and monitored. Licenses were obtained by NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Research shows that most communities with similar programs have decreased rates of crime because people are able to get the help they need, instead of having to steal to maintain their drug use.

GCASA is very excited to be able to offer this treatment to help fight the opioid crisis.

“We want to see people in recovery," says Executive Director John Bennett. "We are working hard to fill in the gaps that currently exist in treatment services. We know that there are many pathways to recovery and we are grateful to be able to provide another path with methadone.” 

GCASA has been serving Genesee and Orleans counties for more than 40 years. Services include prevention education and outpatient and residential treatment for individuals with substance use disorders; and an employee assistance program. For more information, please call 585-343-1124 or visit our website at gcasa.net.

GCASA is located at 430 E. Main St. in the City of Batavia.

Press release:

Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has announced the lineup for their fall and winter tribute shows, with one concert each month featuring music from great artists.

The Paddock Room will play host to Abbamania – A tribute to Abba, based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  The cast looks and sounds like the famous Swedish rock group and will roll through all your favorites on Saturday, Sept. 8^th.

Saturday, Oct. 6^th is the date for American Graffiti starring Johnny Gems and the Red Hot Bananas. These artists have collectively been performing for 30 years.  The show brings back every major hit from every major artist, from 1955 to 1965.  You’ll hear hits by Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley and Bill Haley and the Comets! Into the 1960s with The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Four Seasons, Roy Orbison, Del Shannon and a highlight to Danny and the Juniors with “At the Hop” and “Rock and Roll is Here to Stay”!

Next up, on Saturday, Nov. 17^th, Batavia Downs welcomes Walk the Line – A Tribute to Johnny Cash.  With Gavan Rosseau playing the part of “The Man in Black” with a four-piece backing band, this tribute show showcases Rosseau’s ability to emulate the voice, look and mannerisms of the late singer. Songs performed include the Sun Record days all the way to those from the 1970s.

Blame it all on Their Roots –  Garth Brooks and Shania Twain Tribute takes the stage on Saturday, Dec. 15^th. This high energy show performs all this hits of the two country headliners whose records have sold more than 230 million albums worldwide.

Each concert will take place on a Saturday immediately following live racing. General admission tickets are $10 and are on sale now at www.BataviaConcerts.com for each show.

Each concert begins at 8:30 p.m. with doors at 8 p.m. Each ticket is redeemable on the gaming floor the day of the concert or the next day for $10 in Free Play. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel at their “Lucky Treasures” Gift Shop located in the lobby.

“We are looking forward to these indoor tribute shows,” said Henry Wojtaszek, CEO/president at Batavia Downs Gaming. “Building on the success of our summer concert series, we’re happy to keep General Admission ticket prices at a reasonable $10 to make sure everyone can enjoy these great tribute shows.”

About Batavia Downs/WROTB

Owned and operated by 15 Western New York counties and the cities of Rochester and Buffalo, Western Region Off-Track Betting Corporation is a public benefit corporation with headquarters in Batavia, NY. WROTB owns and operates 29 branches, as well as Batavia Downs Gaming, a standard bred racetrack and gaming facility. Since its inception, Western Region OTB has generated over $215 million in operating and surcharge revenues to the taxpayers of those participating municipalities.

Mike Nolan, executive VP and COO of Western OTB, and Tom Turnbull, president of the Chamber of Commerce, along with officials from the Town of Batavia and NYSERDA, cut the ribbon this morning on the first electric vehicle charging station installed at Batavia Downs.

NYSERDA, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, assisted with the installation of the EV station.

Batavia Downs charging station is one of several stations installed throughout the Genesee-Finger Lakes region through implementation of the Genesee Region Electric Vehicle Charging Station Plan, prepared by the Greater Rochester Clean Cities coalition in 2016 with NYSERDA support. Other local communities recommended by the Plan to increase electric vehicle infrastructure and have recently installed charging stations include the villages of Victor, Geneseo, and Brockport and the City of Canandaigua.

The new station is in the southwest parking lot, near the door for valet parking.

It was an evening of mourning at The Harvester Hotel on Harvester Avenue on Tuesday evening as longtime customers gathered in the wake of learning earlier in the day that longtime owner Ken Merrick had died at the age of 74.

Merrick sold the bar after owning it for 44 years at the end of May to Melissa Kibbler and Kibbler's mother, Donna Russell, said Tuesday that bar patrons -- whom she said were like family, that the Harvester is like Cheers where "everybody knows your name" -- were also mourning the death on Friday of Casey Cook.

"It’s not just a bar," Russell said. "It’s family. We gather here when we hear this kind of news."

Kibbler wasn't at the bar Tuesday night, Russell said because she was too upset by the news of Merrick's death.

"He was her mentor," she said. "He was like a grandfather to her. She bought the bar in May and Kenny helped every step of the way."

Kibbler started working at the bar for 14 years at age 19 as a substitute bartender.

Casey Cook was part of the family at the neighborhood bar. She was diagnosed with cancer in January and the Harvester family held a fundraiser for her at the Polish Falcons Nest.

"This was very much known as the 'Bitches Bar' because the women in the bar were bartenders and the girls were always here so it was called the Bitches Bar and Casey was one of the Bitches," Russell said.

Just then a patron in a red T-shirt and blue jeans and a bit of gray hair walked out and Russell said, "This is the Bitches' boy" and quickly added, "that's not a bad thing."

Steve, she said, was called the Bitches' Boy because he would do anything for the women at the bar, help them with any problem, and a young man in a pink T-shirt with a construction company name on it added that Steve would help anybody, not just the women.

While talking about Cook, Russell and Steve began ticking off the names of several other patrons who have been taken from the world by cancer.

"This was a bad day," Russell said.

Click here for Ken Merrick's full obituary.

It was The Goht's last stand Tuesday night as a packed house said to goodbye to a bar full of friends.

You probably know The Goht as Billy Goats, named, legend has it, after a resident across the street who years ago kept goats.

For 18 years, until May, Steve Spyropoulos ran it with legendary hospitality. But after he died in May, his son, John, found the long days of trying to run Settler's restaurant and a tavern while taking care of his family too much of a strain, so he decided to get out of the bar business.

"There's a lot of ground to cover and it's physically straining on me," Spyropoulos told The Batavian last week in an exclusive interview. "There are late nights there, early morning here. I have a family at home. I have two boys who are 14 and I've got a daughter. She's 5. You know something's got to give sooner or later; I prefer it not to be with my family."

There were a few tears among family members Tuesday night as the bar filled up with longtime customers and many glasses along the way were raised to Steve.

John said the gathering was bittersweet. He knows -- and he said the customers were telling him -- closing the bar was the right thing to do, but he also knows his father loved the bar and the customers loved him.

"These are our people," he said. "They loved us. We loved them."

He said he thanked the community for all of its support.

"It’s been a great 18 years here, and 30-plus years next door," Spyropoulos said. "It's a great community. They’ve treated us great and I love them for that. There’s a lot of good people in Batavia. That is not said enough, how good the people in Batavia really are, you know.

"They take three or four bad comments on the Internet and a lot of people think that’s Batavia but it’s not. Batavia is tight-knit. A lot of good people in Batavia. All good people here. All of them."

Top photo: Patrons in the patio of The Goht, the bar is formerly known as Billy Goats, raise a beverage to Steve Spyropoulos, who died May 11 at age 66.

Photo below: Spiridoula Spyropoulus, John's mother, Jane Branton, sister, John Spyropoulos, Christy Brown, sister, and Miranda Spyropoulos, John's wife.

28 Trumbull Parkway, Batavia -- Solid well-maintained 3-bedroom City cape on a great lot! Definitely more here than what meets the eye! Floor plan much more spacious than square footage indicates!

Downstairs features 1 bedroom or office good size formal dining room and full living room-great space for entertaining. Upstairs has 2 good size bedrooms and a full bath. Basement is dry, fully useable, space it even has cool man cave/office and a small area for workspace for extra hobbies.

There have been lots of upgrades but the large, private, fully fenced back yard with awesome huge deck is definitely a bonus for the City! Large extra wide driveway and fully reinforced garage for all your "toys," plus a nice storage area below is a nice extra. Neutrally painted and new carpet throughout makes it a move in and live!

Easy to see! Call Lynn Bezon today at Reliant Real Estate, 585-344-HOME or click hereto view the complete listing.

164 Summit St., Batavia -- Comfortable and solid City colonial in nice neighborhood. Easy to see and super affordable, this 3-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath home features very spacious room sizes.

Downstairs is open and great for entertaining but very homey. Some hardwood floors and gorgeous unpainted woodwork really give this home charm. Upstairs bedrooms are all large with closets and attic is already partially finished and with a little paint could be amazing extra living/play space! Mechanically sound with nothing urgent to tackle but what you want to do!

Enjoy the front porch, that has the forever Trexx decking to enjoy the neighborhood or have your morning coffee on the back deck to enjoy the peacefulness of the cute back yard – either way come check out a really nice home! Call Lynn Bezon at Reliant Real Estate today 344-HOME for more information or click here to view the complete listing.

City police just arrived at 2 Olin Ave. after a caller reported yelling and a fight in front of that address. In addition, one subject reportedly has a knife. That suspect fled on foot, headed toward Holland Avenue. He has a basball cap on backwards and is wearing jeans. The police are with him now in the Speedway parking lot.

UPDATE 5:33 p.m.: The address of 4 Olin Ave. was added to the job.

(File photos.)

Foxprowl Collectables has come full circle. This Saturday, Aug. 4, at 11 a.m., the toy and collectibles shop will host a Grand Opening in their former location -- 440 Ellicott St. in the City of Batavia.

Until then, they are open for a few hours each day there while getting things set up for regular business.

At the Grand Opening, there will be:

• Brenden Gillard, an artist, voice actor, costume designer and "Barnes & Nobles best-selling author";
• Anthony Zicari, comic writer and editor, whose worked on Dark Horse, Antarctic Press, London Night Studios, Narwain Publishing, Marvel Comics, Legendary Press, and INKWERK Studios;
• A Genesee County Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting at noon;
• Meet-and-greet pics with Batman's Penguin, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Scooby-Doo;
• Giveaways and more!

Bill and Joy Hume, married business partners, opened their business at 440 Ellicott St. in 2010. It had begun the year before as an eBay operation.

On Sept. 1, 2016, having outgrown the Ellicott Street storefront, they moved into roomier, swankier quarters at the southeast corner of Main and Jackson streets. In early 2017, the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce named Foxprowl the Entrepreneurial Business of the Year for 2016.

A few months later, in June 2017, the Humes announced they would shutter their store altogether to concentrate on online sales, supplemented by "pop-up" or temporary store dates at the Falleti Ice Arena, and the ever-popular annual Foxprowl-Con at the Quality Inn & Suites in Batavia.

We can only guess that customers clamored for their brick-and-mortar return, enabling them to "geek out," as Bill Hume likes to say, on a regular ongoing basis when the mood strikes.

Dozens of volunteers converged on Watson Street in Batavia this morning for an act of mercy and ministry.

The volunteers from Eight Days of Hope are in town because of Kingdom Bound at Darien Lake Theme Park but their mission this morning was to rehabilitate the home of an 85-year-old widow, Miss Rose, on Watson Street.

"Our whole big thing is love and serve those in need," said Steve Tybor, director and founder of Eight Days of Hope. "There is so much need across America, so much discord right now in our country, we want to give people a glimpse of hope."

Eight Days of Hope is based in Tupelo, Miss., but Tybor said a satellite ministry will open in Buffalo in August. The focus of the ministry is serving those touched by natural disaster, such as residents of Houston after Hurricane Harvey. In Houston, 4,692 volunteers, over back-to-back eight-day periods, rebuilt more than 800 homes, doing more than $10.5 million in work for those victims.

"This is what we do after a natural disaster but this, in essence, is like a human disaster, where somebody has a need and nowhere to turn," Tybor said.

This morning, two hours into the work, the volunteers were more than halfway done with the home of Miss Rose, so the volunteers were turning to other tasks in the neighborhood.

They were in front yards up and down the block and on Jackson Street pulling weeds, cutting grass, trimming edges and looking for anything else they do could help out a neighbor in need.

"We're also doing landscaping door-to-door and helping the neighborhood take it up a notch as far as the looks," Tybor said. "They’re beautiful homes but sometimes people need an extra hand and that’s what our volunteers are doing."

The volunteers come from nine states, including from as far away as Texas.

"We’re a faith-based ministry but it's nine-different denominations," Tybor said. "It’s the Catholics and the Baptists and the Pentecostals coming together, setting aside our differences and just loving and serving people in need."

The home on Watson was identified with the help of Pastor Marty Macdonald at City Church. Last year, the ministry helped a Batavia veteran whose home had been flooded. Tybor said the ministry will be back in Batavia during next year's Kingdom Bound.

"We love Batavia," Tybor said. "We’re glad we’re here. We’re glad to be part of Kingdom Bound. It’s a great ministry and we’re going to do this every year during Kingdom Bound, find somebody in need in Batavia and just love and serve them."

A volunteer prays for Sgt. Dan Coffey after Coffey stopped on Watson to check out the work.

Press release:

Genesee Community College has published its 2016-2017 Annual Report -- available for the first-time ever completely online!

In addition, the College adopted an agricultural theme for the report highlighting the surrounding community.

GCC's 2016-2017 Annual Report was published on a special website, http://annualreport.genesee.edu/ to support the College's sustainable business practices as well as to maximize accessibility to the information contained within the report. From the welcoming message on the report's homepage to the photos recounting the past year's dynamic stories, GCC demonstrates its commitment to the theme "Plant. Water. Harvest. Repeat."

"At its core, GCC plants seeds of knowledge, waters and cultivates the learning experience, recognizes and celebrates the harvest of contributions, and continuously refines and repeats the process to ensure our future," President James M. Sunser, Ed.D., said in the report's opening message. "We hope we have captured how our efforts echo the hard-work, innovation and dedication of the farming families and agribusinesses that have long made our community a strong and vibrant place to work, live and grow."

A multitude of stories with accompanying photographs are celebrated in the report representing innovative programs that "Plant" seeds for student success. Events such as the Annual Tech Wars hosted by the Accelerated College Enrollment program, lectures by Multicultural Communications Club, volunteers working with Habitat for Humanity and many other stories reflect GCC "We plant" initiatives.

The report's "Water" chapter includes images from a plethora of community events such as Veterans Day, the Harvest Festival and the popular Cougar Crawl weekend. Perhaps, and most appropriately, the "Harvest" chapter of the report is the longest, highlighting all the ways students, faculty and staff contribute to the community through GCC's Center for the Arts productions, the Scholars Symposium, the annual Fashion Show, commencement and so many meaningful efforts.

It is through the annual repetition of GCC's efforts that our communities continue to grow and succeed -- which are highlighted in the report's "Repeat" chapter. Finally, the "Supporters" tab of the report pays tribute by listing those whose donations to the College have helped ensure long-term success.

Everyone is encouraged to view the annual report at http://annualreport.genesee.edu/ and join in the celebration of the accomplishments of the past academic year.

If all goes according to plan, the City of Batavia will have a new manager by the time its next Council meeting takes place on Aug. 13.

That’s the latest word from Council President Eugene Jankowski, who said today that the three-person committee charged with finding a qualified administrator has “left no stone unturned” in its quest for someone to replace former manager Jason Molino, who left in January for a similar position for Tompkins County.

“It is my hope that we will be welcoming the new manager at our August meeting,” said Jankowski, who has been working with Council members Bob Bialkowski and Adam Tabelski – along with the Novak Consulting Group of Cincinnati, Ohio. “In fact, you should know even before that because the agenda will be out a few days before the meeting.”

Jankowski said he is bound by a confidentiality agreement to not offer more details about the prospective candidate – the search is down to one finalist – but did say the salary will be in the advertised range of $110,000-plus.

“We’ve identified someone who we feel very comfortable with,” Jankowski said. “We have conducted multiple interviews, background checks, credit checks, just about everything I can think of and even more that Novak came up with. It has been a very thorough investigation.”

Jankowski said an offer has been made to the finalist, but “no contract has been signed yet as lawyers (on both sides) are involved.”

He said the committee’s next step is to work out how to handle the introduction process to the community.

“We’ll be doing that over the next two weeks,” he said.

City Council has reached this point after interviewing five finalists during executive sessions in early July.

Public Works Director Matt Worth has been handling the city manager responsibilities since Molino’s departure, but indicated that he was not interested in the permanent manager position.