At the completion of the ninth hole relay race, Mark Napoleone takes the picture of Richard Francis, Lexi Henderson, Jessica Weibel, and Tom Scott. Photo by Howard Owens.
The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation billed it as “Not Your Average Golf Outing," and the nine-hole event at Terry Hills Golf Course on Saturday evening lived up to the billing.
There were holes where golfers took shots from a ski before dancing around a mat in a musical-chairs type of game that would determine the club they would use on every shot on that hole, and a horse race to dolls to determine where the group would tee up their balls, and a relay-race (time was scored, not strokes) that involved shooting eight baskets, doing a hula hoop in a tutu and then trying to make a putt from about five feet.
Of course, it was all for a good cause.
"It's just shenanigans on nine holes of golf," said Laurie Napoleone. "We've got great sponsors and great volunteers. It's a good day. It's a lot of fun."
If you were tooling around Batavia late Saturday and noticed a lot of classic cars passing through town, they were apparently here for a classic car rally in the parking lot of Tompkins Bank of Castile on East Main Street.
After years of relentless advocacy to bolster Upstate NY’s innovation and manufacturing industries, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced the Rochester-Buffalo-Syracuse region have joined forces with a proposal to become a federally-designated Tech Hub in the first-of-its-kind nationwide competition created in his CHIPS & Science Bill.
The proposal, entitled the New York Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research Technology Innovation Corridor Consortium (NY SMART I-Corridor), would build on the historic investments Schumer delivered that have spurred a boom in semiconductor manufacturing and innovation investments in Upstate NY.
The three-region proposal would use targeted federal assistance to help attract new companies, strengthen domestic supply chains, launch startups & support innovation, expand workforce training, connect underserved communities to good-paying jobs, and revive this critical industry integral to America’s national security and economic competitiveness.
Schumer has personally written to Commerce Secretary Raimondo on behalf of Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse, making the case that their proposal is best suited to help drive forward stronger semiconductor and broader microelectronics industries for the entire nation.
“From Rochester to Buffalo to Syracuse the I-90 corridor has everything it takes to become America’s semiconductor superhighway. The NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hubs proposal would tap into Upstate NY’s booming microchip industry, training our workforce for tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and supercharging R&D, all while helping attract new major employers in supply chain industries and bringing manufacturing in this critical industry back to America,” said Senator Schumer.
“Each city has superb academic centers and each brings with it a unique set of assets with Micron’s historic investment in Central NY, Rochester as one of the leading centers in research & innovation, and Buffalo as one of the great manufacturing powerhouses that built America in the last century and is primed to do the same this century. Together they are a killer combination that can make Upstate NY a global leader for semiconductors with targeted federal investment from the Tech Hubs program. I originally proposed the Tech Hubs program years ago as part of my bipartisan Endless Frontier Act with Upstate NY in mind, and was proud to create the Tech Hubs competition in my CHIPS & Science Bill. This proposal is everything I envisioned, ensuring America’s future is being built in the places that helped build our nation as powerhouse manufacturing centers, and nowhere is better primed and more capable than Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse to rebuild this critical industry for our nation.”
Schumer explained that the first-of-its-kind nationwide Tech Hubs Competition is an economic development initiative that he originally proposed in his Endless Frontier Act. The senator was able to finally create the competition in his CHIPS & Science Bill, which included a $10 billion authorization for the Tech Hubs program and was signed into law just over a year ago.
Schumer said the NY SMART I-Corridor proposal would bring together the combined assets of Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse to help the region become a globally-recognized semiconductor manufacturing hub in the next decade, with innovation focused on improving the quality and quantity of semiconductor manufacturing and, along with it, amplifying the region’s microelectronics and microchip supply chain ecosystem.
Schumer explained that the Tech Hubs program is being rolled out in two phases. The first phase of awards that the NY-SMART I-Corridor has applied for will designate promising Tech Hubs across America and provide strategy development grant awards to accelerate their development— the joint Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse proposal has applied for both types of awards.
The EDA expects to designate at least 20 Tech Hubs across the country, and only those that receive the Tech Hubs designation in the first phase will be able to apply for Phase 2 implementation awards. These awards are designed to be larger, multi-tens of millions of dollars each for a first infusion, in order to fund several key initiatives to make the Tech Hub a success.
The Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse consortium includes over 80 members from across the public sector, industry, higher-ed, economic and workforce development, and labor communities. This includes over 22 industry groups and firms, 20 economic development organizations, 8 labor & workforce training organizations, and 10 institutions of higher learning.
Due to a recent resignation on the Byron Town Board, the Town of Byron Republican Committee is looking for candidates to recommend to fill the position. The Town Board would appoint the candidate to fill the term until an election could be held next year. The appointed term would be the remainder of 2023 and all of 2024. The elected term is for one year, 2025 to finish the full term. Anyone interested in the position please contact Steven Hohn @ 585-703-5528, or Jim Northup @ 585-409-4327 by August 30.
Dispatchers have received an iPhone crash indicator on the Thruway in the area of 379.4 in the eastbound lane.
There is no voice contact. No answer on callback.
Le Roy Fire and Le Roy Ambulance dispatched.
UPDATE 7:25 p.m.: It doesn't look like a crash. A vehicle is on the shoulder with its four-ways on. Two men are out of the vehicle, walking. The ambulance is canceled.
UPDATE 7:29 p.m.: The occupants had apparently lost a phone. They found it. Le Roy Fire is back in service.
A pop-up demonstration Friday in downtown Batavia showed pedestrians and motorists alike ways to slow traffic and make crosswalks safer. Photo by Howard Owens
Ann Falco made a special trip to visit downtown Batavia Friday afternoon to share her many thoughts about sections of Bank Street being safe to cross -- or not.
Members of a county health committee had set up displays of potential future curbing, lights and artistic license to demonstrate ways to help slow down traffic and make crosswalks a more viable way to cross over from the east and west sides of Bank Street at three points between Main Street and Washington Avenue.
“I came just for this,” Falco said as organizers were wrapping up their survey stations. “It’s a joy to drive down Park Road. I want to see that replicated here.”
Falco said that she didn’t want to use the crosswalk leading closest to the Senior Center, and therefore she spoke to The Batavian as organizers were on the opposite side of the street moments before it began to rain.
She had given the matter careful time and consideration, writing down a page's worth of notes about what’s been done on Park Road at the crosswalk in front of Batavia Downs Gaming. Falco appreciates the small, young trees every five to six feet along the road, the speed bumps before and after the crosswalk, yellow warning cones with reminders to “stop” when pedestrians are in the walk — three of them at the Downs — and decorative street lamps and flags, she said.
In similar fashion, why can’t Bank Street have speed bumps, more warnings to motorists, and decorative embellishments, she wondered. She hopes that her suggestions will be taken.
Emily, who asked that her last name not be used, was pleased with the new look on Friday. She takes that crosswalk all the time to YMCA, and she liked the new, albeit temporary, setup.
“It definitely made me go slower when driving and definitely alerted me of the crosswalk,” she said. “I work at the Y, and one of the worst parts is crossing the street. Anything they can do to make it safer is a good thing.”
She was one of the 94 people that gave positive feedback during the nearly four hours the Genesee Orleans Health Department staff surveyed walkers.
GO Health staff Meghan Sheridan, Emily Nojeim and Cora Young. Photo by Joanne Beck
“Everyone loved the set-up. They said the greenery was really pretty,” Emily Nojeim said. “They want safer places to walk.”
She had ticked off 93 people by about 1:45 p.m. after beginning at 10 a.m. She and fellow staff members also asked why people chose that crosswalk over another makeshift one set up several feet north, and most people said because they parked directly across from it in the lot.
Parked on the sidewalk at the other crosswalk, County Planning Director Felipe Oltramari had tallied up 70 pedestrians.
“They said it was more functional, and it’s a pretty artistic crosswalk. With the bump-outs, it’s a shorter distance to walk, they said. ‘It’s about time’ we had this, and ‘this is where I used to jay-walk,’” Oltramari said.
There were two people that said his group members were wasting their time and that people will cross wherever they want to, he said. A delivery driver suggested that they reconsider the turf with straw curbing directly across from the Senior Center, as it makes a convenient place to park the truck for deliveries, and a grassy area may not be optimal for that, he said.
Felipe Oltramari, left, works the other side of Bank Street during the pop-up demonstration Friday. Pudgie's Lawn & Garden donated the use of more than 250 plants to help out with the beautification effort. Photo by Howard Owens
So how did this all begin? “We had a 10-week course that was funded through the Health Department. And it's to help with reducing instances of chronic disease. So the health department received this grant, it's actually funded originally from the CDC, and it goes through this not-for-profit organization. Five of us took this 10-week online course to learn how to promote walkability in our communities,” he said. “And this is kind of like our final project, we're required to do a popup demonstration somewhere. So we took an existing site design that the city had proposed for this road. And we decided to implement that with temporary materials like we got turf donated from Batavia Turf, and we got straw wattle, that's got straw inside to kind of show where the curbs are. And we got lighting, to show where the new street lighting would be, and planters, to sort of present where some of the things like trees might be, and the new curb extensions. It helps promote walkability but makes it safer to walk across Bank Street and more enjoyable, also, to walk down on the sidewalk.
“So hopefully, some of the comments and the feedback that we get as a result of doing this pop-up will inform the decision makers at the city that will finalize the design for the street when it gets finally redone in a year or two.”
There’s an expected surge in traffic on Bank Street with the impending new police facility right on Bank and Alva in the next year or two, and the Healthy Living campus on the opposite side behind where the current YMCA is now to be completed by the end of 2024. City officials have an infrastructure project planned to coincide with the developments, at which time there would also be upgrades to the streetscape layout.
Given that this was a county-led project, why was it only implemented on Bank Street? “We needed to come up with this because walkable places are usually located in villages or cities. The county really doesn't have jurisdiction over those roads. We don't have anything as a county that we could implement on a road like this. So it was just an opportunity that we had,” he said. “So if the village or another village or hamlet or something like that wants to do something like this before they finalize their final street design, we can sort of roll this up and do it in a different community. So that's part of the process; the grant setup was basically to create a committee that could serve to be as kind of informed decision makers along in other parts of the county that might have designed something that will have other communities to kind of take advantage of their knowledge.”
So what’s the next step? “So we have to create a report. We'll present that to the city as well, just as a document for them to review. And then, hopefully, they'll take that into consideration as to the design of this road,” he said. “And then, like I said, hopefully, other communities take advantage of the knowledge that our team has gained through going through this process, and maybe we can implement this somewhere else in the county.”
With an opening date of Aug. 26 drawing closer, Rochester Regional Health celebrated the completion of its new medical campus in Batavia on Friday with a brief ceremony that included a ribbon cutting and a first look inside the building for a few dignitaries.
Many of the medical offices and services offered by United Memorial Medical Center and RRH at St. Jerome's and other medical buildings are moving into the new medical campus, making it more of a one-stop shop for area residents receiving out-patient medical care.
RRH invested nearly $45 million in the 95,000-square-foot facility.
Hospital officials describe the facility as "centrally located right off the Thruway, in a convenient place both for local residents and those coming from around the region."
There will be more than a dozen specialty services all under one roof, including primary care, pediatrics, orthopedics, otolaryngology, plastic surgery, vascular surgery, neurosciences and Sands-Constellation Heart Institute cardiologists.
Lab services will also be offered at the campus.
The campus will also offer urgent care seven days a week.
A motor vehicle has struck a utility pole in the area of 6591 North Bergen Road, Byron.
The pole is sheared and behind held up by wires, but there are also wires down in the roadway.
No report on injuries.
Byron and South Byron fire departments, along with Mercy EMS, dispatched.
UPDATE 6:32 p.m.: Mutual aid requested from Bergen Fire.
UPDATE 6:30 p.m.: Responders can slow to non-emergency, a chief on scene tells dispatchers. National Grid requested to the scene.
UPDATE 6:35 p.m.: Patient is expected to be a sign-off. He seems to have "a very, very minor injury on his wrist."
UPDATE 6:42 p.m.: Bergen Fire is re-routing from Byron's call to a report of wires down in the village, between Rochester Street and the library.
UPDATE 6:57 p.m.: On the call in Bergen: The lines down appear to be communication lines. Spectrum to be notified. Bergen Electric does not need to respond.
The Wings Over Batavia Air Show is coming to town on September 2 and 3 and bringing national acts and world champion aerobatic performers in a spectacular night-time show featuring a high energy-choreographed fireworks & flight display. It will be a show not to miss.
If your organization, group, or team is looking for a great fundraising opportunity, then this is it. The Wings Over Batavia Air Show is looking for groups to work the food courts and raise funds through revenue sharing. If you are interested in learning more, request information here - https://forms.gle/TRhMYknQuuY5NuEi6.
Submitted photo of Henry Wojtaszek (left) presents staff members from Mothers of Veteran Suicide a check from Sock Hop proceeds.
Press Release:
Western Region Off-Track Betting (WROTB) and Batavia Downs President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek was joined by staff from Mothers of Veteran Suicide as they were presented with a check for $3,330. These proceeds were from the “Sock Hop” event that took place at Batavia Downs on August 7.
“We know how important the work that Mothers of Veteran Suicide does in the Veterans community,” Wojtaszek said. “They have had their RV at our concert series and have traveled around the country raising awareness. We are honored to have helped host this event to raise much-needed funds for their mission.”
“We are so grateful to the staff from Batavia Downs, “said Michele Ladd, President/CEO of Mothers of Veteran Suicide. “With their promotion and assistance, we were able to put on an event that attracted more people than we thought we would have.
Over 150 people attended the Monday afternoon Sock Hop which included Music by Ruby Shooz, an appearance from Batavia Downs Ambassador and NFL Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas, and several raffles which raised an additional $1,994 in funds.
Plans are already underway to schedule next year’s event.
“The New York State Department of Transportation is demolishing a vacant structure located within our State Route 63 right-of-way in the City of Batavia that had previously housed Louie’s Barber Shop. The decision to demolish the structure — which has been located in our right-of-way since the 1970s — was made after the building’s previous operator communicated his plans to retire and terminate his occupancy. NYSDOT had no further use for the structure and will pave the property at a later date. NYSDOT’s agreement with the nearby Pok-A-Dot restaurant remains unchanged.”
During a drive down Byron Road, you might spot a group of low-slung buildings and figure it's some small ag-related business, maybe even a dairy farm.
You would never guess that it is a sophisticated manufacturing plant producing high-tech farming equipment that generates $65 million in annual sales.
Not bad for a company that started out repairing pallets a half-century ago.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley paid a visit -- and invited the press -- to Oxbo International's plant Thursday, and the company's first location, to highlight the importance of agricultural-adjacent businesses in the 139th Assembly District and in New York State.
"There are many different types of enterprises that highlight the fact that agriculture is not only the number one industrial employer in this area and ag-related businesses like this, not just farming, are critical to our economy," Hawley said.
Plant Manager Chris Chadbourne provided Hawley and reporters with a history of the company before escorting the group on a tour of the facility.
The original pallet repair company became Byron Equipment after filing for a patent on a corn head -- a mechanism to attach to the front of a combine that picks ears of corn off of stalks, leaving the stock behind.
The company then grew through mergers and acquisitions.
In 1998, Byon Equipment acquired a competitor in Wisconsin, and the new management team settled on the name Oxbo, after an oxbow that yolks and ox team together, to symbolize the concept of the new two integrated teams pulling together.
Both plants stayed in production.
In 2003, Oxbo acquired a pea-picking combine company in Illinois and moved that manufacturing operation to Byron. Oxbo is the only manufacturer of a pea-picking combine in the U.S.
In 2004, Oxbo acquired a fruit company in Washington state, and this past June, the company acquired another company in Wisconsin.
One of the biggest mergers came, however, in 2009, when Oxbo merged with its largest customer in Europe and the company's headquarters were moved to the Netherlands.
The company also operates plants now in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and France.
In total, Oxbo employs about 1,200, with 700 employees in the U.S. and 140 in Byron. Gross annual revenue exceeds $400 million for the entire company.
"And one of the founders still lives in the same house he's lived in forever, right up here," said Hawley, pointing to a house on property adjacent to the plant. "Richard 'Lefty' Glazer."
Chadbourne explained that working for Oxbo takes more than a bit of brawn to tighten bolts. The equipment the company makes is sophisticated, exacting, and high-tech. Oxbo needs employees educated enough and smart enough to do the job right.
"The equipment we make is simplistic and what it does, but it's not simplistic and how it acts and what it does on the shop floor or in the field," Chadbourne said. "We need high-quality people that are technically savvy, that can understand and read schematics and understand how things function and work together. It's not just, 'Hey, there's a lever and a clutch' in here anymore. 'We're going to bolt three parts together.' There's a lot of tech that goes into these machines."
Oxbo has been fortunate, Chadbourne said, to have good partners in Genesee County and throughout the region. BOCES and other institutions provide a pathway for students to learn the necessary skills, and they can participate in job training and job shadowing. There's a welding program at Alfred State that helps supply workers.
Employees for Oxbo come to Byron from through the GLOW area and Erie County but Chadbourne thinks the company needs to attract more talent from Monroe County.
"We have some really phenomenal schools in Western New York, and as we continue to grow, we need more of those technical guys," Chadbourne said. "We've got great colleges and universities in Rochester. We need to pull from there."
A $12 million project to restore and remodel the former Oakfield High School, which has been used as low-income housing since the 1970s, is underway.
The project is mostly privately funded and has also received $1.1 million in state and federal aid.
School House Mannor currently has 27 apartment units for people age 62 and older or disabled, regardless of age. All units are one bedroom.
"It is a historical renovation, and after the renovation is done, the former Oakfield High School will be on the national register of historic places," said Emmett Ogiony, principal with ODS Property Management.
In addition to the facade restoration, a lower-level former gym will be converted into apartments and the former library in the back of the building, which was once the residential unit of the complex's former owner and operator, will become apartments.
In all, the developer, which is now the owner of the building, will add eight new apartments.
The USDA funded the school's conversion to affordable housing in the 1970s.
"It's the biggest property in Oakfield, and I think the funding is important just to maintain the structure and what it does for the community," Ogiony said. "It is the only source of affordable housing in the Oakfield-Alabama area so it is a big help to rural people who want to stay close to where they grew up. Without this project, Oakfield would lose an important part of its community."
Photos by Howard Owens.
An architectural rendering of School House Manor once the facade restoration and new landscaping is completed.
Norm Argulsky accepting the Chamber of Commerce Geneseean of the Year during the chamber's annual awards ceremony at Batavia Downs in March. Photo by Howard Owens.received
Press Release:
The Chamber’s Annual Awards Committee has announced the “2023” Annual Award Ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2024, at Batavia Downs Gaming, Park Road, Batavia. This is the County’s premier event that honors businesses and individuals for their achievements in business, community service, and volunteerism.
Please note that a brief write-up will qualify your nominee for consideration. Nominations are now being accepted for Business of the Year, Entrepreneurial Business of the Year, Agricultural Business of the Year, Innovative Enterprise of the Year, Special Service Recognition & Geneseeans of the Year. Business Nominees must be a Chamber Member (If unsure of your nominee, call the Chamber to verify).
Nomination forms are available at the Chamber of Commerce office, 8276 Park Road, Batavia, and can also be downloaded from the Chamber Website at www.geneseeny.com. Nominations MUST BE RECEIVED BY December 29, to be eligible for consideration.
If you would like more information, feel free to call or email Kelly J. Bermingham, Director of Member Relations & Special Events at the Chamber office, 343-7440, ext. 1026, kbermingham@geneseeny.com.
Genesee County law enforcement agencies, including the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, City of Batavia Police Department, and Village of LeRoy Police Department will be participating in a coordinated effort with the STOP-DWI program to bring awareness to the dangers of impaired driving.
Law enforcement officers across New York State are taking to the roads in an effort to stop impaired driving, prevent injuries and save lives. The statewide STOP-DWI Campaign will start on August 18 and will end on September 4.
This event is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the New York State STOP-DWI Association with additional funding from the New York State STOP-DWI Foundation and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.
STOP-DWI efforts across New York have led to significant reductions in the numbers of alcohol and drug related fatalities, however, still too many lives are being lost because of crashes caused by drunk or impaired drivers. Highly visible, highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI High Visibility Engagement Campaigns aim to further reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving.
Always remember impaired driving is completely preventable. All it takes is a little planning.
The Le Roy High School Clay Target Team during a practice at a range in Le Roy in 2018. Photo by Howard Owens.
Press Release:
File photo of Claudia Tenney
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today introduced the Protecting Hunting and Archery in Schools Act of 2023 to protect hunting, archery, and shooting sports programs in schools.
Additional cosponsors include Reps. Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Jim Banks (R-IN), Brandon Williams (R-NY), and Andy Ogles (R-TN).
Specifically, this bill strikes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act’s (ESEA) current restriction on ESEA funds on “the provision to any person of a dangerous weapon… or training in the use of a dangerous weapon.”
This provision was added to the ESEA by the so-called “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” in 2022. Now, the Biden administration is intentionally misconstruing Congressional intent and using this provision to prohibit ESEA funds from being used to fund hunting, archery, and shooting sports programs in schools.
“The Biden administration continues to advance its radical anti-Second Amendment agenda by prohibiting ESEA funding for archery and shooting sports programs,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “Upstate New York schools offer hunting, archery, and shooting sports programs to teach students how to responsibly handle firearms and respect our Second Amendment rights. The Biden Administration’s attempt to defund these outdoor recreational programs is a power grab and flies in the face of Congressional intent. This important legislation will protect these popular after-school programs and end the Biden Administration’s attack on our constitutional rights.”
“Biden’s extreme agenda is being thwarted by our Constitution, and our First and Second Amendment Rights remain their main targets,” said Jack Prendergast, Chairman of The Board, New York State SCOPE. “The Left fears citizens that can speak the truth and defend themselves. That’s why the Biden administration is working to drive legal gun retailers out of business and pass laws that will make owning guns unaffordable to all but their elite. With the twisting of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, they are working to discourage another generation from enjoying their constitutional rights. Thank you to Rep Tenney for her leadership on working to restore federal funding to our youth hunting and archery programs.”
