Campbell Anderson, a senior at Batavia High School, pictured with Principal Scott Wilson, has qualified as a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. As far as Wilson knows, he's the only semifinalist in the region and one of only 99 in Western New York.

Anderson is a candidate for West Point and the Air Force Academy. He's also a standout in track and cross-country. Wilson said one of Anderson's unique accomplishments was completing all of the match courses offered by the high school, including advanced placement calculus, by the end of his sophomore year. The school has arranged his senior schedule so he can also take classes at Genesee Community College. He remains at the top of his class.

Photo and info provided by Scott Wilson.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced $1,411,200 in federal funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for the Genesee County Airport, located in Batavia. The grant will assist the Genesee County Airport in funding the final phase of its airport construction project. The airport is building an aircraft-parking apron, a taxiway extension, and removing of a number of runway obstructions.

“Using federal funds to support local infrastructure projects will help establish an environment that promotes future economic development and employment opportunities,” Congressman Collins said. “This $1,411,200 grant will provide Genesee County with the funding it needs to complete the final phase of its project. Grants like these allow for more efficient and effective airport operations that will benefit our region for years to come.”

“This crucial FAA grant will allow Genesee County to complete Phase 3 of our Airport project, which includes the removal of the old terminal building and hangar,” said Raymond Cianfrini, chairman of the Genesee County Legislature. “We appreciate our partnership with Congressman Collins and look forward to giving him and our community a tour of the completed project.”

The Congressman’s office remains available to assist any local government pursuing a federal grant.

As part of the GLOW Corporate Challenge last month, organizers put together a T-shirt design contest and this year, based on volunteer votes, Freed Maxick came up with the winning design. The prize was a $500 donation to the charity of their choice, and staff chose the UMMC Foundation and the Justice for Children Foundation.

Photo: Sam Schafer, Carmela Piazza, Liz Renz, Lori Aratari, Steve Tufts, Jason Armbrewster, Kim Mills (who also had the fastest women's time), Olivia Engel and Tim Moag. Aratari is with UMMC, Ambrewster with Justice for Children, Tufts and Piazza are with Merrill Lynch representing GLOW Cup, and the others are with Freed Maxick. Each charity received $250 and the balance of the proceeds from the event benefit the YMCA.

These are not your average "cookie cutter" paint-by-numbers class. You're free to develop and create at your own pace using Jill as your guide to the art-making process. Beginners are always welcome. Veteran artists will enjoy these classes too!

We're kicking off September with a special: "ART & SOUL" CLASSES -- BUY 3, GET ONE FREE! Bring a snack or beverage of your choice and relax with your friends, while making amazing artwork. Ages 18+. Pre-registration required. All materials included.

Thursday night classes will be held YWCA Genesee, located at 209 E. Main St. in Batavia. Or Friday classes will be held GO ART, located at 201 E. Main St. in Batavia. Classes begin at 6:30 p.m.; $25 per class includes ALL SUPPLIES! (4/$75!) Facebook message Jill or call/text 585-993-0860 EASY PAY: paypal.me/queenofthearts/75

In a rare Thursday night game, the Alexander Trojans moved to 3-0 on the season, defeating Holley 41-14.

Job Smith gained 107 yards on only four carries for the Trojans. Derrick Busch had three receptions for 103 yards and Dustin Schmeider caught two passes for 71 yards. Sharing the point-after duties, Grant Cox kicked three through and Hannah Paolucci hit two attempts. On defense, Schmeider had five tackles and eight assists.

TDs were scored by Chris McClinic, Busch, P.J. Brennan, Smith, twice, and Mitchell Gordon.

Tonight:

• Batavia plays University Prep at Sahlen Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m.
• Oakfield-Alabama/Elba hosts Akron, 7 p.m., at Oakfield
• Notre Dame travels to Pembroke to meet the Dragons at 7:30 p.m.
• Cal-Mum/Byron-Bergen is at home against Dansville, 7:30 p.m.
• York/Pavilion hosts Bolivar-Richburg in York, 7:30 p.m.

Tomorrow, Le Roy is the home team against Wellsville, but the game is being played in Perry at 7:30 p.m.

Somebody knows who was driving this vehicle at 10:40 a.m., Saturday, when it T-boned a car with two small children in it at the intersection of North Byron Road and Transit Road, Elba.

The driver fled the scene and the vehicle was found in a wooded area the next day off of Spoil Bank Road, in the mucklands.

The car had Ohio plates that didn't match the VIN number. There were receipts for Verizon calling plans in the vehicle.

Peggy Zambito, the grandmother of the two children, said her family is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver.

It's a miracle and only through the grace of God, she said, that she, her daughter, Mercy Caparco, and her two grandchildren, Maggie, 5, and Molly, 2, were uninjured in the accident.

The Ford Explorer Caparco was driving rolled over multiple times and narrowly missed hitting a fire hydrant and a tree.

The other driver, Zambito said, was speeding and though they saw him coming, couldn't avoid getting hit.

"I knew he was going so fast he wouldn’t have been able to stop if he tried," Zambito said.

Zambito said the safety features of the vehicle -- strong seatbelts and side airbags -- helped keep them all safe.

"I will always be haunted by the face of my daughter looking, craning her neck as we're rolling over to look (at her children)," Zambito said. "She said, 'Mom, I don't see blood. I don't see blood.' That will haunt me to my dying day."

She was able to find her mobile phone and call 9-1-1 as soon as the car stopped rolling over.

"I'm a retired nurse," she said. "I tend to stay calm in an emergency and then fall apart later."

The rear axle with a tire attached snapped off and landed 30 feet from the vehicle.

"It's a miracle we were able to just get out of that vehicle," she said.

Incredibly, the insurance company originally said it wouldn't total the car, but only pay for repairs, but then later today, Zambito said, she got word the decision was being reconsidered by another department.

Zambito realizes the red SUV that struck them may have been driven by a migrant worker, perhaps undocumented, which is why he fled, but she also realizes, she said, most migrant workers are decent, hard-working and family oriented. Perhaps if this story makes the rounds or a worker sees the posters the family plans to post at the Yellow Goose in Elba, somebody will come forward and identify the driver.

Apparently, one person did tell a deputy who he thinks usually drives the vehicle, but that person has witnesses who say he was at work at the time of the accident, Zambito said.

The newly constructed terminal and hangar at the Genesee County Airport received the Phil Brito Airport Project of the Year award last night from the Aviation Management Association.

File photo.

Alan J. Hargrave, of Pavilion, died this morning about 20 minutes after arriving at UMMC following an accident reported at 9:47 a.m. on Angling Road, Corfu.

Hargrave and his brother, John S. Hargrave, had just dropped off a load of scrap at Ed Arnold Scrap Processors and were heading south when Alan suffered some sort of medical issue that caused him to lose control of the vehicle.

The truck, which was hauling an empty flatbed trailer, struck a tree.

Alan Hargrave was unconscious and not breathing when Deputy Lonnie Nati first arrived on scene.

Nati and Don Newton, chief of the East Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department, extricated Hargrave from the vehicle and began CPR and deployed a defibrillator and Alan Hargrave began breathing.

He was placed in a Mercy EMS ambulance for further emergency treatment before being transported to UMMC.

Coroner Karen Lang was requested to respond to UMMC, where she pronounced that Alan Hargrave had died.

John Hargrave, who suffered cuts and abrasions in the accident, was transported to ECMC for evaluation.

The accident is being investigated by the Sheriff's Office. Corfu fire and East Pembroke fire and Indian Falls fire assisted at the scene.

Elizabeth Michelle Grattan, 26, of Wood Street, Batavia, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in the third degree, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and unsafe backing. Grattan was arrested on a warrant after being located at a residence in the City of Batavia by Genesee County Probation. An arrest warrant was issued by the Town of Alabama Court to answer the charges stemming from an incident at 1 a.m. on Aug. 1 on Judge Road. She was arraigned  Sept. 14 in Town of Oakfield Court and put in jail on $500 bail. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Richard Schildwaster.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County will host its annual meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at Terry Hills Restaurant, 5122 Clinton Street Road, Batavia.

The meeting is free and open to the public but venue space is limited. Those planning to attend should RSVP by Oct. 11 to Samantha Stryker at sls428@cornell.edu or (585) 343-3040, ext. 123.

Michael J. Eula, Ph.D., Genesee County historian, will be giving a talk entitled "Emory Upton and the Formation of Modern America" at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21st.

It will take place at the Le Roy United Methodist Church, 10 Trigon Park, in Le Roy. It is sponsored by the Genesee Valley Civil War Roundtable.

A three-car accident with injuries is reported at Ellicott and Evans streets. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 12:01 p.m.: The only injury may be to a child who was shaken up by the collision and is being evaluated by medics.

The County Legislature took its show on the road on Wednesay, holding its regular full body meeting at the Oakfield Community and Government Center.

It was a chance for the Town of Oakfield to show off its expanded and remodeled Town Hall.

Barry Flansburg, town accessor, said town officials wanted the new facility to be more than just a town hall, instead one could host multiple agencies and services as well as community groups and serve as an emergency command center if needed.

That's why it's called, now, officially, the Community and Government Center.

"This is the ultimate shared facility," Flansburg said.

As an example for the planned flexibility, Flansburg noted, the panel seating area has 10 chairs, not just the five necessary for the town board. This gives the Legislature room to meet there, and it also allows all town officials a seat at the table, so to speak, for town meetings, which Flansburg said helps foster better communication and collaboration.

The new courts facility not only hosts the Town of Oakfield Town Court but the Town of Elba's, as well. The facility is certificated to a standard that it could host the County Court if ever required to do so.

The board just approved on Tuesday night a request by the court of the Town of Alabama to hold a jury trial in the courtroom next month, since Alabama's court isn't really well suited to jury trials.

There is also a small kitchen (and break room for staff) that will be available to community and civic groups that want to use the community/meeting room for events or meetings.

The highway department also has expanded space and motion-controlled LED lights have been installed in the bays.

Flansburg said that when visitors come into the town offices, they notice that all of the officials have offices and desk space no bigger than what they had before and are surprised.

"This wasn't about giving us bigger offices," Flansburg said. "This is a community space and we wanted it to be for the whole community."

The offices did receive new carpet, wallpaper, paint and fixtures. There's also improved security in the foyer.

The project cost $3.1 million. The town planned it for eight years, saved money to help fund it, and are able to pay the bonds through existing cash flow and the rent the Town of Elba pays for the courtroom. There is no new tax burden on Town residents to pay for the facility, Flansburg said.

City police are responding to an apartment in the 100 block of South Main Street for the larceny "... of cigarettes."

A serious injury accident is reported in the area of 2164 Angling Road, Corfu.

A victim is trapped in the vehicle.

Corfu fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

The accident is reported as car vs. tree.

UPDATE(S) 9:56 a.m. (By Billie): Mercy Flight is called to the scene and a landing zone is to be set up just east of the location, possibly in the roadway.

UPDATE 10 a.m.: Traffic is to be shut down at Route 33 and Angling Road.

UPDATE 10:01 a.m.: The helicopter will land on property next to a barn, off the roadway.

UPDATE 10:02 a.m.: Mercy Flight has an 8 minute ETA.

UPDATE 10:06 a.m.: The address given now is 2176 Angling Road. A second Mercy ambulance is called in non-emergency mode for a subject with lacerations.

UPDATE 10:21 a.m.: Mercy Flight was canceled. A 56-year-old male will be taken by ambulance to UMMC after suffering a heart attack. Another is being treated at the scene for cuts and abrasions. A source at the scene says two brothers had just finished taking a load of scrap metal to a processing company when the driver seemed to suffer some sort of medical condition and appeared to faint, which caused the truck to veer into a tree head on.

UPDATE 10:28 a.m.: The ambulance, in which medics have been treating the patient, is now leaving the scene for UMMC.

In the photo above, senior Maggie Cecere is kicking in her second goal of the afternoon at Batavia High School, breaking a girls and boys soccer school record that was held since 1996 by Julie Redband Varland with 37 goals in a high school career.

Her 38th goal was recorded in the second half of the game with 14 minutes left and assisted by Junior Sophia Dinehart. Batavia won 2-0 over Honeoye Falls-Lima.

Maggie tied the school record scoring 20 minutes into the first half off a pass from senior Ali Moore. Shots on goal after the half were 9-1 Batavia.

Batavia came out a little sluggish in the second half but their defense held tough. Second-half shots were 7-5 Batavia.

Maggie's father, Assistant Coach Peter Cecere, embraced his daughter at the completion of the game along with teammates who celebrated their first home win; their record increases to 5-1. Batavia Head Coach Roger Hume is very proud of his team starting off strong and hope it continues into their next game -- away vs. Eastridge, Friday night at 7.

To view more photos and to purchase prints click here.

A beautiful home in heart of the village! Super solid and updated throughout windows, furnace and C/A, H2O tank, kitchen, baths, flooring, carpeting and painted throughout! This home is awesomely laid out starting with the supersized back entranceway for the million shoes that clutter...to the huge walk-in pantry/laundry area, two of the best rooms in the house!  This home also features large bright airy rooms that are so pretty. Outside has 1 full acre in the village with great 2 car garage patio area also home has back wrap around porch area overlooking back patio-perfect entertaining spot! Must see! Click here to view the complete listing for 14 Maple Avenue in Corfu. Call Lynn Bezon at Reliant Real Estate today at 585-344-4663!

(Submitted photo.)

A reader, whose mother lives on Fordham Drive in Batavia, wrote to say this orange and white kitten wandered into her mother's garage yesterday and is desperately trying to go in her house. The feline has a very sweet, albeit persistent, disposition.

Anyone with information -- maybe it's your cat or your friend's cat or you'd like to have this cat or a relative wants a cat-- please call 344-1034. 

A couple of weeks ago, we reported on the donation by p.w. minor of 27 pallets of shoes to the flood victims in Louisiana. The program that accepted the donation of the shoes, Sole2Souls, produced this video about the distribution.