First day of school at St. Joe's. Photos submitted by Nora O'Neill.

Muckdogs fans have taken notice of outfielder J.D. Orr's unique base-running style.

Once Orr reaches base -- and he reaches base a lot, leading the NYPL with a .469 on-base percentage, Orr likes to hop back and forth, trying to time a hop just right to give him an extra step in a potential stolen base attempt.

The technique, which he said he learned from his college coach, has proven successful. Orr's 29 stolen bases is second in the league and he often gets free bases -- making a dash from first to third -- on wild pitches and passed balls when his movement gets inside the heads of the opposing battery. 

Orr was a 10th-round draft pick by the Miami Marlins this year from Mount Vernon, Ohio.

In the video, Orr discusses his technique.

See also:

• Muckdogs open post-season with a win over Lowell, 4-1
• Dwyer Stadium field goes from worst to first in eyes of NYPL

On Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 12:30 p.m. all are invited to the William W. Stuart Forum on Genesee Community College's Batavia Campus to hear Associate Professor of History Derek Maxfield present "Lincoln: Constitutional Pragmatist."

This event is in honor of national Constitution Day. It celebrates the ratification of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787 when the supreme law of the land was signed by 39 men.

Maxfield will explore America's relationship with Abraham Lincoln and his association with its Constitution.

A deeper understanding of Lincoln may surprise some people, and even tarnish his popular image for others.

To some extent this is because Americans tend to think of Lincoln more as a statesman and hero, rather than a politician. The truth, however, is that Lincoln was a very talented politician and could be just as smooth, yet slippery, as the best and most manipulative of civic leaders.

Lincoln's relationship with the Constitution was shaped by both Lincoln -- the statesman, and Lincoln -- the politician, depending upon circumstances.

This event is FREE and open to the public.

Patricia A. Gibson, 29, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of governmental justice. She was arrested on Aug. 30 after an incident at 8:46 p.m. on Watson Street in Batavia. It is alleged she was observed in a physical fight with another individual. Gibson allegedly ignored officers' commands, but was eventually taken into custody without further incident. She was issued an appearance ticket for Sept. 10 in Batavia City Court. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Stephen Quider.

Wesley Thigpen, 38, no address provided, is charged with: second-degree burglary; criminal contempt of court in the second degree; and fourth-degree criminal mischief. On Sept. 3, Thigpen turned himself in to the Batavia Police Department on these charges. He is accused of violating an order of protection by entering the protected party's residence and preventing them from calling 9-1-1. He was due is Batavia City Court on Sept. 4. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Wesley Rissinger, assisted by Officer Jason Ivison.

Jacob L. Hernandez, 25, of McKinley Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief. Batavia Police Officer Peter Post arrested Hernandez on Sept. 3 on an active warrant out of Batavia City Court. The warrant stemmed from an incident at 5:15 a.m. on July 4 on McKinley Avenue. He was arraigned in city court then released under supervision of Genesee Justice. He is due to return to city court on Sept. 19. Officer Post was assisted by Officer Arick Perkins.

Principal Ashley John Grillo shared these photos from the first day of school this morning at Batavia Middle School.

If you have first-day-of-school photos to share, email them to howard@thebatavian.com.

A couple of years ago players throughout the New York Penn League complained about the field at Dwyer Stadium and League President Ben Hayes wasn't happy with the situation.

On Wednesday night, less than two years after the Muckdogs hired Cooper Thomson as the team's new head groundskeeper, recruiting him from Australia, Hayes was on the field before the Muckdog's first post-season game since 2010 in an absolutely poetic mindset about the state of the field today.

"That's what makes baseball so special," Hayes said before Batavia's opening playoff series game against Lowell, which Batavia won 4-1. "When you see it on TV and you see how beautiful the outfield looks and how beautiful the infield looks, you know the beauty of that is an art and it's hard to find an artist like that."

Hayes announced to the fans before the game that Cooper, his assistant Joe Mogavero, and the rest of the crew were being credited with maintaining the NYPL "Field of the Year," and that Cooper was being named Groundskeeper of the Year.

"The guy has been president for a very long time and we talked early on in the piece about this field then the need for change in this field," Thomson said. "He's ecstatic with the changes and I'm glad that I can bring it to him and the team and make sure that Batavia isn't at the bottom anymore and we're setting the standards."

Previously:

• Muckdogs hire minor league groundskeeper with major league dreams
• Dwyer Stadium infield gets adjustments as baseball season approaches
• Muckdogs groundskeeper already busy getting field ready for 2019

Press release:

It was a banner night for the Batavia Muckdogs, on and "on" the field.

The Muckdogs won game one of the New York-Penn League playoffs with a 4-1 victory over the Lowell Spinners. The two teams play in Lowell, Mass., Thursday.

In the other series, Hudson Valley defeated Brooklyn, 5-4.

Before the game, New York-Penn League President Ben Hayes presented Batavia Muckdogs groundkeeper Cooper Thomson with the New York-Penn League Turf Manager of the Year and the coveted Field of the Year award.

Off the field, the Muckdogs had a crowd of 1,872, the fifth largest of the season at Dwyer for the playoff win.

Lefty Easton Lucas, a 2019 Miami Marlins 14th-round draft pick out of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., got the start and went three innings with shutout baseball allowing two hits and striking out four without a walk.

Lucas left the game with a 1-0 lead and Eli Villalobos earned the win, throwing 3.2 innings of perfect baseball with five strikeouts, no runs, no hits, no walks. Villalobos is a 14th-round Marlins draft pick out of California's Long Beach State.

Brock Love earned the hold by thawing 1.1 innings with three strikeouts and one hit. Evan Brabrand, as he has all season for Batavia, tossed the ninth to get the save.

At the plate, Nic Ready blasted a two-run home run and had two hits. J.D. Orr had a hit and a run, Troy Johnston had an RBI single and scored plus stole a base, Albert Guairmaro had two hits and an RBI and Milton Smith II had a single and stole a base.

Batavia shortstop Dalvy Rosario played outstanding defense and had two hits, a run and stole a base.

Photos by Jim Burns.

Press release:

National Grid has approved a $100,000 economic development grant that Quaker Houghton will use to offset costs related to new electricity service. The new service is necessary to support a building expansion and installation of state-of-the-art equipment at its 4d Treadeasy Ave. facility.

“National Grid is often part of the discussions and works with manufacturers like Quaker Houghton that are planning expansions and need upgrades to their energy infrastructures,” said National Grid Regional Director Ken Kujawa.

“Projects like these that support investments in local businesses are those that can help our customers lower their operating costs, be better positioned to compete and meet customer demand.”

The grant was made through National Grid’s Electric Capital Investment Incentive program. The program is among a suite of economic development programs offered by the company to offset customer costs related to upgrading electricity infrastructure needed to accommodate expansion or new construction project.

More information about National Grid’s economic development programs is available at www.shovelready.com.

The folks at Dunkin' Donuts are root-root-rooting for the home team as the Batavia Muckdogs open a three-game playoff series at Dwyer Stadium at 7:05 p.m. against the Lowell Spinners.

Indeed, "Go Muckdogs!"

Photo submitted by Melanie Case.

Press release:

ELBA -- Elba Central School has been awarded a $10,000 grant to enhance its curriculum for STEM -- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

By working with farmers, America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Program, sponsored by the Bayer Fund, awarded $2.3 million in grants nationwide this year to strengthen STEM education in rural schools.

The schools that received grants were nominated and selected by farmers in their communities and Elba's farmers answered the call to strengthen STEM education.

Elba's grant will allow it to produce and broadcast video announcements.

There will be a check presentation at the Monday, Sept. 9 Board of Education meeting at 7 p.m. at the Elba Central School Library Media Center. (The school is located at 57 S. Main St. in Elba.)

​Grow Rural Education has distributed more than $18 million in grants to more than 1,000 rural public school districts since 2011. 

For each grant-winning school, teachers, students and, oftentimes, community members develop plans to create more engaging and innovative STEM programs.

Grow Rural Education grants have helped schools purchase an array of STEM-related materials, such as augmented-reality sandboxes, weather-forecasting and robotics equipment.

To qualify for a Grow Rural Education grant, farmers nominated a school or school district to compete for a merit-based grant of either $10,000 or $25,000. School districts that were nominated then submitted a grant application describing their STEM-focused project.

Grow Rural Education’s Farmer Advisory Council, consisting of approximately 30 farmer leaders from across the country, reviewed the finalist applications and selected the winning school districts, including Elba Central School.

About America’s Farmers

The America’s Farmers campaign highlights the importance of modern U.S. Agriculture through communications and community outreach programs that partner with farmers to impact rural America. To learn more, visit America’s Farmers at www.AmericasFarmers.com.

About the Bayer Fund

The Bayer Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the overall health and wellbeing in communities where farmers and Bayer employees live and work. Visit the Bayer Fund at www.monsantofund.org.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) will consider approving incentives for two projects, and consider accepting an application for another project, at its Thursday, Sept. 5, board meeting.

Graham Manufacturing plans to invest $2.03 million across multiple projects at its City of Batavia campus, including expanding the company’s welding school, repurposing an existing 4,000-square-foot structure and construction of a new 8,875-square-foot warehouse.

The company is seeking sales, mortgage and property tax exemptions of approximately $210,000.

Provident Batavia LLC is seeking incentives to construct a 13,000-square-foot addition to an existing office, warehouse, and distribution facility leased to SCP Pools in the Town of Batavia. The $1.194 million project would retain 15 jobs in the Town of Batavia and create opportunities for future growth of the company. 

Total incentives are approximately $156,312.

Finally, Six Flags Darien Lake LLC is seeking sales tax incentives of approximately $126,000 for a new $1.575 million 60-foot-tall water ride at the Hurricane Harbor water park in the Town of Darien. The project will help retain 380 jobs at one of the county’s largest sales tax revenue generators.

Thursday's GCEDC Board meeting will take place at its offices at 99 MedTech Drive in Batavia at 4 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.

It's a big step moving from fourth grade to fifth grade when Batavia students enter middle school and find they must now manage getting themselves to multiple classrooms and taking care of their books and belongings in a locker.

To help with the transition, Batavia Middle School hosts Connect Day on the day before classes officially begin, when teachers and eighth-graders help the new kids learn about their new school.

Submitted photo and press release:

The other day, William Joyce, director of Veterans Services in Genesee County, assisted yet another veteran from outside the county with a Veterans Administration issue.

The veteran had been to the VA in Erie County and complained to a fellow veteran about his difficulties and that veteran told him, "Go see Bill Joyce in Genesee County."

The word is getting around, Joyce told members of the Genesee County Legislature, that Joyce does something other Veterans Services officers in other counties don't do: His job.

"In some counties the VSO doesn't want to do his job," Joyce said. "They just want to sit in the director's chair. They don't want to run a full-service office."

In the past year, the Genesee County office had 5,917 contacts with veterans and provided 7,324 acts of client service. While most of the veterans who come through the office are from Genesee County, a growing percentage are from neighboring counties.

"I don't care where you come from," Joyce said. "I'm here to serve veterans and their families."

A trained and experienced VSO is an asset to veterans dealing with an overburdened and bureaucratic Veterans Administration and other government agencies. 

In his department review, Joyce reported that his office has sent 1,540 original compensation/pension claims to the regional office for adjudication. The Buffalo Regional Office currently has a backlog of 2,750 claims and there are more than 650,000 nationally.

Of those, 225,000 have been pending for more than 125 days. The average case in Buffalo has been pending for 135 days. The regional goal is to reduce that wait time to 125 days.

Since May, Joyce reported, 75 cases have been resolved that had been pending for more than a year.

Locally, the office also helped 151 Genesee County veterans apply for property tax exemptions.

The office also works with the Department of Social Services on benefits eligibility for veterans and this can sometimes help reduce the county cost for Medicaid benefits. He said of 92 referrals, 63 veterans or widows qualified for federal VA benefits.

A mentorship program is also helping veterans find jobs and stay out of trouble. Since 2009, 43 veterans have gone through the county's Veterans Treatment Court with no repeat offenders.

The local office is also assisting veterans and their families with interment arrangements at the new veterans cemetery in Pembroke. Construction of the cemetery begins this fall.

With all this activity, legislators asked Joyce how he keeps up. He said if given the choice between adding another VSO or keeping his secretary, he would keep his secretary. She does half the work, he said, and when she's gone, it falls on him to answer phones, make appointments, and complete some paperwork.  

"I can't do without a secretary," he said, while acknowledging county funds are tight so he doesn't expect any additional help.

Submitted photo and press release:

Family, friends and the local community are bonding together again for the Second Annual “Fight WITH Ike” Euchre Tournament & Raffle on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Excelsior Hook & Ladder Co. in Le Roy. The benefit is being held in honor of Batavia resident Ike Styer.

Ike is battling stage 4 brain cancer known as glioblastoma and has been unable to work while undergoing several treatments to fight this aggressive disease.

While he has the everlasting support of his loving wife, Jen and young children, Chastin and Hailey, it’s time to show Ike he also has the support of this great community. You can help by donating or attending this fun, family event.

Donations in the form of themed baskets, gift cards and other prizes are graciously being accepted on or before Sept. 10.

They can be dropped off at Grace Baptist Church -- 238 Vine St., Batavia. Or call for pick up: Linda Styer (585) 813-3351.

All are welcome to attend and show support by joining in the euchre fun, or just taking part in the rest of the festivities.

To name a few, there will be music, a video gaming truck, good eats, and raffles including 50/50, gift cards and hotel stays, and many themed baskets. There will be something for everyone!

• Saturday, Sept. 14 @ 3 p.m.
• Excelsior Hook & Ladder Co.  -- 10 Lent Ave., Le Roy
• Cost is $30 for Euchre, T-shirt, food & festivities OR $20 minimum donation for food & festivities.

Euchre players wanted, call or text: Peggy Paladino (704) 254-4663.

To follow more about Ike’s journey, visit the “Fight WITH Ike” Facebook page.