Information provided by Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Pavilion Central School.

Students at Pavilion Central School are being treated to a delicious BBQ beef lunch on Wednesday, May 23, in recognition of their achievements in the recent Top Cut Beef Contest.

The catered lunch is being provided by the New York State Beef Council and New York Agriculture in the Classroom.

Ag in the Classroom is co-hosting the lunch later this month because Pavilion students established three Tower Gardens (aeroponic systems) thanks to a Grow with Us grant from Ag in the Classroom. They are growing strawberries, lettuce, Swiss chard, tomatoes, basil and cucumbers.

Pavilion's eighth-grade Family Consumer Science students placed first in the Middle School Division of the Top Cut Beef Contest for their product, "Grab-A-Bull's Beefy Sliders."

It was the only school in Genesee County to place in the top five of the Middle School Division.

In the High School Division, Pavilion's 12th-grade Family Consumer Science class placed second for their "Gourmet Beef and Tatar Bites."

Both classes are taught by Catherine Johnston.

Pavilion won a total of $350, thus purchasing a Weber grill for their Family Consumer Science classroom.

A class taught by Kerri Richardson at the Agri-Business Academy at the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center received an Honorable Mention in the High School Division for their "Texas Beef Chili -- Chili con Carne."

About the Top Cut Beef Contest

Slow-roasted beef brisket sandwiches, flaming maple beef jerky, and a Texas chuck roast chili were just a few of the delicious recipes developed, tested, and tasted in the debut of the Top Cut Beef Contest for middle and high school students.

Students and teachers in grades six through 12 were exposed to beef production and nutrition with this experiential learning competition by developing a marketing strategy for a food product of their choice and design.

Every classroom was equipped with a "True Beef: From Pasture to Plate" DVD, the True Beef Educator Guide, lesson plans, and consumer guides to better understand the many cuts of beef and their best uses.

Schools were paired with a local beef producer who mentored the students through the process of beef production or supplied the beef necessary for the project. In this hands-on experience, students were exposed to careers in the beef industry and learned about safe food-handling practices.

Participants created beef-centric recipes which they made and tested with their target audience. Submissions included sandwiches, stews, meatballs, and even jerky.

The creativity with this contest was unlimited as students filmed their own commercials and designed websites to market their products.

One of the judges, Ken Krutz, manager of Empire Livestock and board member of New York Beef Council, said of the entries, "I was amazed at the talent and innovation our youth put into their projects. It was an honor to be a judge for the Top Cut Beef Contest."

A total of 30 entries were submitted for judging by a panel of beef producers and industry experts. Each entry was scored based on the product, the market analysis, the marketing plan, and the beef nutrition analysis.

The first-place classroom in each division received $250, second place earned $100, and third place earned $50; all receive a banner to display their achievement, and the first-place teams, like Pavilion's eighth-graders, are also receiving a catered barbeque lunch from the New York Beef Council.

New York State Beef Council thanked participating schools for increasing the agricultural literacy of their students. "It is our hope that they will grow an appreciation of New York’s food system and gain exposure to the many careers available in agriculture," the council stated.

(To enter your classroom in a future contest, or to volunteer your time as a mentor, please contact nyaitc@cornell.edu.)

Grow With Us Grant

Below is the letter Pavilion Central School teacher Catherine Johnston received from Katie Carpenter, director, New York Agriculture in the Classroom, regarding the Grow with Us Grant.

"Congratulations! You have been selected as a recipient of the Grow with Us Grant from New York Agriculture in the Classroom. Your grant application communicated your school’s need, interest, and commitment to providing healthy food and food system education to your students. The applicant pool for this program was deep and competitive; less than 25 percent of the submitted proposals were funded. You should be proud of your achievement in this difficult selection process.

You have been awarded three Tower Garden aeroponic systems.

Within the next week you will be receiving an emailed link. It will be important for you to thoroughly read the information about accepting the grow system, provide an accurate shipping address, and confirm your contact information. This will be essential to ensuring your grow system is shipped and received in a timely manner. Once this information is received, you will be provided additional information about the shipment of your grow system.

We are excited to work with you and your school as you extend your growing season throughout the entire school year. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Again, congratulations on your success in the Grow with Us Grant program."

National Grid is reporting a brownout -- meaning low power availability -- in Downtown Batavia, roughly around the Bank and Main Street area.

Some 93 customers are affected.

Crews estimate full power will be restored by 5 p.m.

The Libertarian candidate for governor, Larry Sharpe, stopped at T.F. Brown's in Batavia on Monday and told about two dozen people who attended the breakfast that he has two main issues in his campaign: fighting corruption and returning more control to local governments.

Sharpe's plan for eliminating corruption is to either eliminate or make more accountable the state's various boards and commissions, to change the way infrastructure is funded, and reduce if not eliminate taxpayer funding for economic development.

"Forget the MTA or the Port Authority or Oasis or the Board of Regents or insert name here," Sharpe said. "All they are are boards that now people can be rewarded for being party loyalists. That happens all the time.

"Our current leader, King Andrew, he actually has received over eight hundred thousand dollars from the people he's put on boards for his campaigns."

Sharpe said these boards are unaccountable and impose edicts that people can't fight.

They also give Gov. Andrew Cuomo a layer of insulation. They allow him to say, "it's not me, it's the boards," he said.  And he's insulated from any charges of corruption with those authorities.

"That's why everyone around him goes to jail not him," Sharpe said.

Sharpe's plan for infrastructure, he said, will not only help eliminate corruption but it will help get more things funded.

Local businesses should be able to sponsor locks on the Erie Canal to help cover its $100 million annual price tag for upkeep and maintenance. RIT or some other school should release its students on a project to come up with hovercraft to transport people and goods on the canal, which would also help being a student in New York more exciting, to work on those kinds of projects.

"I also want to build whatever is the new Erie Canal," Sharpe said. "I don't know what that is. I want to talk about it. I want to become the marketer-in-chief so I can sell whatever the new Erie Canel is. Is that a new Google road? Is that driverless vehicle road or something like that? I'm OK with that. Let's do it."

Google, or some other company, Sharpe said, would pay for it.

Bridges, he said, should be paid for by private companies. He envisions sponsorships or naming rights, just like, according to him, companies do with sports stadiums now.

"The idea of sponsoring stadiums is working," Sharpe said. "It is successful people keep doing it all over the place. You keep seeing it even locally now, right?"

When somebody in the audience suggested a company could fail, Sharpe said, "yes they could." 

But he said, have you ever heard of a stadium named after a company failing or falling prey to corruption?

He said the current system for building and maintaining bridges is rife with corruption and cronyism. Turning the bridges over to companies through naming rights would solve those problems, he said.

"Now while you may not like the idea of some company having the naming rights for a bridge at least the company that has naming rights for the bridge, that company is responsible," Sharpe said. "Someone is actually responsible. Right? Someone is. If they can't do it, you fire them and let another company in there. It's fine. Someone is responsible."

(NOTE: When a company buys naming rights for a stadium, the company is just another advertiser and does not participate in the management of the stadium.)

Just as important to Sharpe as eliminating corruption, the candidate said, is returning control to local governments. 

Not only would he end unfunded mandates, he said, he would eliminate all mandates.

Mandates, he said, discourage people from participating in government because they have no control over how their money is spent, so they just give up.

"I get that the reason why so many people don't want to show up for their own government," Sharpe said. "They believe there's no value in doing it. And in many cases they're right. If you have a county or a township or a village where my perception of your budget is mandated why bother showing up?

"Your county your township or village is actually being run by all of you in Albany or Washington, so why show up? It makes no sense. We have a situation where only the four of us show up. So guess what? I guess you're chair, you're vice chair, you're a secretary and you're treasurer. That's it. No one else ever shows up unless they're mad. You've seen that happen. I'm sure you have. People don't show up unless they're mad."

And then when the only people local government officials deal with are people who are mad, Sharpe said, they stop taking them seriously and then make decisions behind closed doors.

Eliminating mandates would re-engage people in their local governments, he said.

He also wants to create a $500 tax credit that people can direct to charities of their choice, with at least half required to stay in the county of the taxpayer's residence.

His other local issue he wants to change is economic development. He believes only private money should support economic development.

"There's a problem that has been popping up in New York State and that is if there's a problem, how can we find a government program to solve it," Sharpe said. "That has been failing again and again and again and again and again. I like when money goes to a small business. I like when money goes into a community. I like when money goes into a town or a city. That's awesome. But how about it not being taxpayer money?"

David Olsen, chairman of the Genesee County Libertarian Party, asked Sharpe to discuss his views on the Second Amendment.

He started by noting that the Second Amendment is about more than a right to own guns. 

"It says 'the right to bear arms,' Sharpe said. "What does that mean? It's the right to defend yourself, whether that's a knife, a gun, whatever, it's the right to defend yourself."

He added that the First Amendment and the Second Amendment are interlocked and the Founders intended these two key rights to top the Bill of Rights because of their importance.

"The First Amendment is the most important amendment," Sharpe said. "I don't care who you are. Number one. They're all important freedoms and number one is the most important. If you don't have free association, you don't have a religion, you don't have a press, you don't have freedom of speech. If you don't have those basic freedoms, you don't have freedom. That's the number one overall.

"The rest all matter. That one is number one over all of them. Without that there's nothing. That's critical. What did they put right after that? The one that defends the first. They didn't wait for the right to bear arms to be 10. They made that two."

Sharpe said he thinks the SAFE Act is horrible and though he wouldn't have the power to repeal it, he would pardon the 1,000 or so people who have been convicted of SAFE Act violations so far and encourage law enforcement not to enforce it. He would also block any SAFE Act funding. 

As governor, he said, he will be accountable, not appointed boards and commissions.

"What I'm saying is when I'm governor, I'll make sure that every board, every issue, every concern is either under me, chief justice, the Assembly, someone will be responsible for every single thing to get it done," Sharpe said. "I won't be like, our current governor who sits here his last State and laments about how tough things are. Anybody happen to see his state-of-the-state?

"Oh, tough, bad spot, things are so bad -- [interruption] -- he lamented how bad things were. He's the governor for seven years. He's the governor for seven years. What are you lamenting about? It's you. You're the one responsible. It just randomly happened that things got bad in seven years? Come on. It's crazy."

A physical fight is reported at Route 5 and West Avenue, Pembroke, with traffic backed up.

Law enforcement is responding.

UPDATE 2:43 p.m.: The suspect vehicle has fled; westbound toward Route 77. It's an orange Nitro.

UPDATE 2:45 p.m.: The suspect vehicle has been spotted by a trooper.

UPDATE 2:45 p.m.: The vehicle has stopped.

Press release:

Sunday, May 13th, is Jazz Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church in Batavia. It is located at 300 E. Main St.

Hosting the local jazz group, DSP, the church will sing such favorites as "Precious Lord," "Take My Hand" and "When the Saints Go Marching In."

The jazz combo will play before church and during the coffee hour afterward.

The Sanctuary Choir will sing "Wade in the Water" with their accompaniment.

Come at 10:30 a.m. for the pre-service music and stay through coffee hour for an inspiring time of worship and fellowship led by Pastor Roula Alkhouri.

Press release:

Genesee County is in the process of updating its Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). The HMP documents the County’s vulnerability to hazards and its strategy to reduce that vulnerability.

A meeting to discuss the updated risk assessment will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 24, at the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management Services, 7690 State Street Road, Batavia.

Additional information about the HMP and the planning process is available at www.geneseecountyhmp.com.

Updated hazard profiles will be available for review at www.geneseecountyhmp.com under the "Draft Documents for Review" page. Please check the website regularly for updates.

Contact Tim Yaeger, coordinator, Genesee County Office of Emergency Management Services, at 585-344-0078 for additional information.

Submitted photo and press release:

The Genesee County ESU Team (Emergency Support Unit) held a Confined Space Exercise at the Cargill Inc. facility located at 8849 Wortendyke Road, Batavia, on May 5^th.

The ESU Team simulated a rescue of a worker in a product silo utilizing high-angle rope and confined-space skills and equipment. The Rescue Technicians scaled a 140-foot tower and entered a product silo descending approximately 70 feet to gain access to the simulated trapped worker.

Cargill’s commitment to the safety of their workers is second to none and this proactive approach in allowing local rescue personnel to train and hone their skills reinforces their commitment. The East Pembroke Fire Department and Mercy EMS assisted in the training event.

The Genesee County ESU team trains and drills monthly in addition to attending hazardous material and technical rescue programs regionally and nationally. The County ESU Team consists of volunteer firefighters from across Genesee County.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, contact your local volunteer fire department or the Office of Emergency Management Services at 585-344-0078.

The Batavia Society of Artists opened its annual spring show at the Richmond Memorial Library.

Tessa Lynn, a resident of Batavia, received Virginia Carr-Mumford Scholarship.

Lynn believes art is the culmination of all of human history and like art of the ancient past, she tries to focus on visual stories that may inspire a more considerate future. After attending Genesee Community College, she plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. Eventually, she would like to illustrate books.

"My hope is to always keep creating art," she said. "I don't believe that there is ever a point where a creator should stop learning, even after years of practice and observation. My artist journey has only just begun."

Brian Kemp won first place in the member's competition.

Karen Crittenden, second place.

Third place went to Nicole Tamfer.

Attica, Notre Dame, Oakfield-Alabama, and Batavia are the four teams participating this year in the 20th Annual Rotary Baseball Tournament at Dwyer Stadium.

Attica and Notre Dame play at 10 a.m. and Oakfield and Batavia play at 1 p.m.

The consolation game is at 4 p.m. and the championship game is at 7 p.m.

The consolation game and championship game will be broadcast and streamed by WBTA.

Photo: Front row, Chandler Baker, Hunter Mazur, and Jordan Schmidt. Back row: Damien Bush, Tylor Ohlson, Christian Cleveland, Brendin Klotzbach, Sam Cusmano, Joey Aguglia, Matt Travis, and Logan Veley.

Press release:

The New York State Senate has passed legislation (S3025)– introduced by Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer– to protect the privacy of sportsmen.

The bill prevents the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) from disclosing sensitive information listed on hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and permit applications.

Existing law does not contain restrictions on the release of information for holders of licenses and permits. The bill would also require the DEC to establish procedures to further ensure information is protected from disclosure.

“Data breaches are truly the dark side of the electronic age, and the unauthorized release of a sportsman’s sensitive personal details is a violation of privacy that can have terrible consequences.

This legislation prevents sensitive financial information from being exposed by requiring the Department of Environmental Conservation to take proactive steps to ensure sportsmen’s information is protected,” Ranzenhofer said.

DEC installed a new database system to maintain information on sporting licenses and permits. The system includes sensitive personal details, including: individual’s first and last name, date of birth, height, eye color, driver’s license number, mailing address, telephone number, and whether the licensee is permanent 40-percent military disabled.

The bill will be sent to the State Assembly. Assemblywoman Aileen M. Gunther is sponsoring the bill in the State Assembly. If enacted, the bill would take effect immediately.

Doug Goodwin's bike was stolen from County Building #1 (DMV/Probation) sometime between 8:15 and 9 a.m., Monday. It is blue Giant Roam 2 with yellow and white stripes.

It is a 27-speed bike with hydraulic disk brakes and is equipped with a giant headlight and speedometer and had an Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle sticker on it. The picture is of a similar bike. Goodwin is offering a $100 reward for the return of the bike. He can be reached at (585) 993-6761.

UPDATE 12:28 p.m.: As a result of a reader tip, Batavia PD has recovered Doug's bike. He says, "It's in the same mint condition that it was when it was stolen."

Press release:

New York State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has announced today $325,000 in state funding to support a Water Storage Tank Improvement Project in the Town of Pavilion. 

“Clean drinking water isn’t a luxury for our families, it’s essential. I am pleased to secure state funding to ensure safe drinking water for residents in the Town of Pavilion. This landmark investment will make it possible to extend water services to over 200 households that don’t have access now,” Ranzenhofer said. 

The project will expand access to public water for 232 households in the Town of Pavilion. The project will also provide additional water storage tank protection during emergency conditions to 90 homes already connected to public water along Asbury, Walker, York, Perry, and South Street Roads in the Town of Pavilion.

“Senator Ranzenhofer is working to make water service possible for many homes desperately in need of a safe, reliable water supply, and this state funding will help to make our Town’s water improvement project a reality,” said Town of Pavilion Supervisor Dean Davis. 

The Town of Pavilion Water Storage Tank Improvement Project consists of replacing and relocating an existing water storage tank that has deteriorated beyond repair. The new water storage tank will have an estimated capacity of approximately 300,000 gallons. It will be located on York Road in the Town of Pavilion. 

The Town of Pavilion will host a public hearing today at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 1 Woodrow Drive, to provide more information about the project to residents.

A "very large fire, larger than we had before," according to the East Pembroke fire chief, is reported at Edward Arnold Scrap Processors Inc., 2216 Angling Road, Corfu.

East Pembroke fire along with Corfu, Indian Falls, and Town of Batavia are dispatched in a second alarm.

UPDATE(S)(By Billie) 5:54 p.m.: Oakfield Fire Police are requested to shut down traffic at Angling Road and West Avenue.

UPDATE 5:57 p.m.: A reader sent in this photo above of the huge plume of smoke that is visible from Galloway Road.

UPDATE 5:59 p.m.: Per command, all firefighters responding are told this fire is to be fought defensively.

UPDATE 6:09 p.m.: All available manpower from Town of Batavia Fire Department is requested to stand by in quarters.

UPDATE 6:12 p.m.: Tankers are requested to the scene from Elba, Alexander and Alabama.

UPDATE 6:18 p.m.: Mercy medic #1 is asked to stand by in East Pembroke Fire Hall.

UPDATE 6:28 p.m.: All available manpower, including EMS, from Corfu called to stand by in quarters.

UPDATE 6:48 p.m.: Although smoke spewing from the scene is roughly half what it was, firefighters are having some difficulty fighting the blaze. Storage trailers that are stationed along an access road are preventing firefighting apparatus from reaching the north corner of the site.

UPDATE 10:08 p.m.: East Pembroke is back in service.

UPDATE 10:21 p.m.: Fire photos:

Here's another reader-submitted photo, taken from Stannard Road, Alexander.

Dan Ireland, CEO of United Memorial Medical Center, had a steady stream of accomplishments to share with local health care leaders gathered Friday morning at Terry Hills for his annual State of UMMC presentation.

Ireland discussed the awards won by UMMC and staff members, the financial health of the organization, its successes in saving lives and preventing the spread of infections, and future plans for growth.

The hospital, now part of the Rochester Regional Health network, employes 880 full-time, part-time, and per-diem staff members.

In 2017, there were 22,000 emergency room visits, and nearly 100,000 medical visits total.

There were 576 births at the hospital.

"We’re touching our community in many different ways," Ireland said. "We’re making a difference to many patients."

He shared the story of Paul Boylan, a well-known figure in the local legal community as well as the UMMC community. Boylan was diagnosed with prostate cancer and chose the Lipson Cancer Institute for treatment.

After 28 rounds of radiation, Moylan, 78, is now cancer free.

"Paul credits Dr. Meri Atanas and all of the team at Lipson for the care he received right here at home, high-quality care, care that takes you through some of the biggest battles of your life," Ireland said. "Paul is very happy to be back practicing law, enjoying life and doing what he needs to do."

Ireland also shared the story of a staff member whose job includes educating portions of the population on health care. He found to talk with some people about health care, he needed to speak Spanish, so he learned Spanish.

"He did that on his own," Ireland said. "He made sure he had the right tools to give the right care to patients," Ireland said.

Then there is Andrea Sherwood, winner of the Josie King Hero Award. Josie King died in a hospital in Baltimore as the result of a medical staff mistake. Her mother, Sorrel King, created the Jose King Foundation, dedicated to helping hospitals eliminate mistakes that cost lives.

After Sorrel King spoke with UMMC staff at an event last year, she learned of actions Sherwood took to catch a mistake. She may have saved a patient's life.

It was Sherwood's job to administer contrast media to a patient for an MRI. As is the procedure, she reviewed the patient's lab results. Some patients, based on lab results, shouldn't receive contrast media. While an initial review of the results seemed to indicate it was fine to proceed with the procedure, Sherwood's instincts told her something wasn't right so she took extra steps to double check the lab results. It turned out, the wrong lab results had been provided for the patient. That patient could have been seriously injured or killed by the contrast media.

Other awards for the hospital have gone to the Wound Care Center, ICU, and the emergency room for stroke treatment.

UMMC has also received an award from Univera for taking steps to reduce hospital-acquired infections.

"About 10 years ago when they put this tool in place it seemed like it would be impossible to beat, to get that number down to where the benchmark should be," Ireland said. "Last year, Univera said, 'you not only got that number down, you beat the benchmark and now have the lowest (score) in Western New York.'”

In November, the Joint Commission on Accreditation initiated a surprise four-day inspection of UMMC, looking, Ireland said, around every corner and "under every rock." They do everything the can, he said, to find issues, what they call "findings."

"They also told us that they never come in without some findings," Ireland said. "They have to find something. So they did. They found 18 items they wanted us to work on, to make some corrections. As an administrator, of course, I asked the surveyor, '18, good, bad?' 'Well, we did the math and most organizations your size have about 40. You had 18 and we worked really hard to find those 18.'"

UMMC is also undertaken other steps to improve patient safety, including a meeting every morning among senior staff to review the previous day's safety alerts.

The process, because of the extra attention to identifying potential safety problems, has meant in 2017, the number of safety issues identified has gone up.

That creates more opportunities to correct problems, Ireland said. The goal is to get it down to zero.

Anybody can alert the hospital to a safety event, including every member of staff and patients who have access to the patient portal online.

As of Friday, it had been 71 days since a serious event was reported, and it had been 200 days before that without a serious event (the longest streak yet under the new reporting system).

A serious event is defined as one that increases the length of a patient's stay or changes the course of care.

In the area of fighting infections, the hospital also tracks infections as a result of using an IV in a patient's neck -- a very rare procedure because of the health risks associated with it. It's only used when absolutely necessary.

There have been no infections as a result of the procedure since 2013.

C-Diff infections have also been greatly reduced. While the trend across the nation is for C-Diff infections to increase at hospitals, it has declined dramatically at UMMC, Ireland said.

As for UMMC's future, there are plans a new $18 million ICU/Radiology wing, a new urgent care clinic in Le Roy, an improved urgent care in Batavia, and the partnership with the YMCA for a healthy living campus in Batavia.

Statement from a spokeswoman for M&T Bank:

We are closing the Elba branch at 7133 Oak Orchard Road effective on Aug. 7, 2018, as we continue to optimize our branch network in order to best meet the evolving needs of our customers. All employees have been offered positions at other nearby M&T branches.

Customers who utilized the Elba branch can bank at the nearby Oakfield branch (which is 5 minutes away) or at any other M&T branch or ATM, via our Telephone Banking Center (1-800-724-2440), online at www.mtb.com and our via our Apple and Android mobile apps. We will have a digital ambassador at the branch for 90 days to assist customers to enroll and learn how to use our digital products and services, so they can bank with us at their convenience.

Technology continues to change how people bank. Although branches are still critically important to customers, the entire industry is faced with declining traffic due to the increase in banking conveniently online and in the mobile channels. Customers expect to be able to access financial services when, where and how is most convenient for them. We look to continue to grow and enhance our relationships with customers by further investing in these banking solutions.

We have consistently made investments in ways to enhance the customer experience across all of our platforms. This year, we are investing in several enhancements designed to meet the changing needs of our customers, so they can bank with us when, where and how they want to. These include:

·         Improved Mobile Banking capabilities, with Insta-Balance and Alerts that allow you to customize and more closely monitor your accounts

·         Easy account openings using a mobile device

·         Zelle P-to-P payments – receive and send money to millions of Zelle users through the M&T app