Mike Hodgins reads "House by the Side of the Road" by Sam Walter Floss. Mike said this poem was one of the favorites of his father, John Hodgins, the late local artist and county legislator.
Press release:
Nate McMurray, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress in NY-27, outraised opponent Chris Jacobs in the first FEC filing of 2020. Despite the challenge of fundraising during the pandemic, McMurray’s momentum continues to swell.
The campaign attracted more than 15 times the number of donors (1,683 total donors) than the Jacobs campaign (110 total donors). Sixty-three percent of McMurray’s quarter one donors live within the 27th Congressional District and 80 percent live in New York State.
“Jacobs wrote his campaign a check for nearly half a million dollars and had the Jacobs family empire funneling him support so that he could get his racist attack ads up against me a couple months ago," McMurray said. "Thousands of struggling New Yorkers responded loud and clear by sacrificing their hard-earned money during a national crisis to stand with our grassroots campaign and reject partisan politics as usual.
"Everyday Americans have clearly had enough of detached millionaires like convicted Chris Collins buying congressional seats for personal gain while they are barely making ends meet. While my opponent voted to deny vulnerable New York families paid sick leave during this unprecedented pandemic, our campaign team made 50,000 phone calls to NY-27 families to check in on them and make sure they had access to the resources available to them during this national disaster.
"The people of this district have been without real representation for years; the outpouring of support from so many Western New Yorkers to send me to Washington is, in large part, because they know I will fight for all of them, regardless of party affiliation.”
What is COVID-19?
COVID-19 is a disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
Why is the disease called COVID-19?
COVID is an acronym for "coronavirus disease." The "19" is for the year of discovery, 2019.
What is SARS-CoV-2?
SARS is an acronym for "severe acute respiratory syndrome." CoV is an acronym for "coronavirus." And the "2" means this is the second SARS-CoV discovered. The designation was applied to the virus on Feb. 11, 2020. This name was chosen because the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak of 2003. Although related, the two viruses are different.
Further reading:
What is a coronavirus?
There are many types of viruses and coronavirus is a type of virus that has crown-like spikes on its surface, hence the name "corona," for "crown." The first discovery of a coronavirus was by June Almeida, a woman in Scottland with little formal education but became a lab technician in Glasgow. Coronaviruses are one of the more than 200 types of viruses that cause the common cold. Recently, coronaviruses have emerged that cause serious respiratory conditions. These viruses jumped from animals to humans. These include MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2.
Why is it sometimes called "novel coronavirus"?
"Novel" simply means new. The virus SARS-CoV-2 was not identified by scientists until December 2019.
Further reading:
How did the pandemic start?
It's still unclear how SARS-CoV-2 made the jump from bats to humans but it seems certain the first infections were in Wuhan, China, perhaps in November 2019, but certainly by early December 2019. The Chinese government has been criticized for initially trying to cover up word of a new virus with human-to-human transmission. Whether the virus was transmitted through a wet market or escaped from a Chinese lab that was studying bat viruses is unknown.
Further reading:
Wasn't SARS-CoV-2 created in a lab?
Modern science has a lot of tools to map genomes, and in organisms such as viruses, track their evolution, which is how we know SARS-CoV-2 wasn't created in a lab. We know it came from a bat. What we don't know is how it made the leap from bats to humans.
Further reading:
When did SARS-CoV-2 reach U.S. shores?
Another question still under debate. The first official case was reported Jan. 19 in the state of Washington. The patient had traveled to China. The first case in New York was reported on March 1 and the woman had traveled to Iran. For weeks, officials believed the first U.S. death was in Washington on Feb. 29, but recent autopsies in Santa Clara, Calif., revealed that two people died as a result of COVID-19 on Feb. 6. There is much speculation that the virus was being transmitted in the United States before these dates. Antibody tests in California have been used to suggest that the disease arrived earlier and is more widespread than previously thought, but these studies have been challenged for methodological flaws.
Further reading:
What makes SARS-CoV-2 particularly worrisome?
There are three reasons health experts became alarmed about COVID-19: It is easily transmitted to a lot of people quickly; there is no vaccine and no natural immunity at the start of the outbreak; and based on data available at the start of the outbreak, it appeared to have a mortality rate much higher than other viruses, including those that cause influenza. Scientists do not understand why but some people can become infected and never know it, or have such mild symptoms, they don't suspect they're carriers. For most people who do show symptoms, the symptoms can take days to manifest. This means infected people can spread the virus without knowing it as they go about their daily lives as they normally would. Because this is a novel, or new, virus, people who haven't been infected have no immunity. The mortality rate is still under debate but early reports from China indicated that more than three percent of those who were infected died. The mortality rate is been both higher and lower in other population groups and since it's unclear in any population group how many people are infected, the mortality rate is likely even lower than currently reported numbers. But even using available data for a lower mortality rate, given how quickly the virus can spread and the lack of herd immunity, a lot of people could still die without protective action by society.
How is SARS-CoV-2 spread?
Like many things about this coronavirus, there are many questions that scientists are still trying to answer and this is one of them. The most likely mode of transmission is respiratory. This means people are more likely to become infected through breathing air that contains aerosol spray containing the virus or droplets of moisture that contain the virus. It's also possible that body secretions such as tears contain the virus. There is also some evidence that fecal-oral transmission is possible. Germs can also be transmitted through surfaces and depending on the surface, SARS-CoV-2 can survive for 24 to 72 hours on some surfaces. This makes it possible for a person to become infected by touching a surface and then touching his or her mouth.
Why is it important to know how SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted?
The mode of transmission could have policy ramifications for how the disease is fought at a government level and will inform members of society on their best course of action to slow transmission. The mode of transmission relates to the effectiveness of social distancing, in what environments social distancing is most effective or perhaps not necessary, whether people should wear masks, and what custodians of public places must do to protect people. For example, if the most frequent form of transmission is in droplets, that likely means there needs to be a method that propels the droplets through the air from one person to another, such as through coughing or sneezing -- or air conditioning, as one study suggests. If the primary mode of transmission is through an aerosol, that means the virus can hang in the air of an enclosed space for hours infecting everybody who passes through that space. If the mode of transmission is droplets, that means masks are much more effective not only at protecting others from asymptomatic carriers, but may also provide some protection people wearing masks who have not been infected. If the transmission is through aerosol, masks are less effective (though that doesn't mean not effective).
Further reading:
Can our pets become infected?
There are cases of other mammals contracting COVID-19, including dogs in China, tigers at Bronx Zoo, and two domesticated cats in New York.
Can I become infected from eating food?
There is currently no evidence that the novel coronavirus is transmitted through food.
Is package delivery safe?
There is no evidence of a person being infected from the virus traveling on a package delivered to a home or business and scientists doubt it is possible even though the virus can survive on cardboard up to 24 hours.
Further reading:
Isn't COVID-19 just another version of the flu?
There are some important differences between COVID-19 and influenza. First, people who contract the flu are contagious and symptomatic simultaneously. This will naturally cause many people to self-quarantine making it less likely they will infect others. All people who contract COVID-19 have no symptoms for days while being infectious and many people never become symptomatic or have such mild symptoms they don't realize they've contracted the diseases. This increases the likelihood these carriers will infect other people, including people most susceptible to serious, even deadly, complications. There are vaccines for known strains of influenza and as much as 60 percent of the U.S. population is inoculated every year, with the highest percentage among those vulnerable to complications. There is no vaccine for COVID-19. There is also little to no natural immunity to COVID-19 in the population while there is some to influenza. This lack of herd immunity, either through natural immunity or vaccination, which experts say needs to be 60 or 70 percent of the population to be effective, also makes widespread infection much more likely. While the mortality rate of COVID-19 is still unclear even the lowest estimations indicate it is deadlier than the flu.
Further reading:
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
A person infected with COVID-19 may start showing symptoms within two to 14 days of exposure. Symptoms include fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, headache, chills. If you suspect you are ill, you should contact your primary health care provider by phone or through your patient portal.
Further reading:
How do we slow the spread of COVID-19?
First, people who have been infected must be identified and isolated. Because it's possible to be infected and asymptomatic, this requires testing and contact tracing. When people test positive, public health officials must identify other people who have come into contact with the infected person and test them. People who have been infected are placed in isolation. People who have come into contact with them are placed in quarantine. As a society, effective measures at slowing the spread include social distancing (minimizing contact with other people), handwashing, and mask wearing.
Why is it important to slow the spread of COVID-19?
The faster the diseases spread, the more people who become seriously ill. If too many people become ill simultaneously, our hospitals can become overwhelmed with patients. This could mean many people don't receive adequate treatment and more people die. Slowing the spread helps avoid this nightmare scenario and also allows the health care system to build capacity, including building up a supply of ventilators and personal protective equipment for health care workers.
What's the difference between isolation and quarantine?
People who are known to be contagious are placed in isolation. This means avoiding contact with other people, even when living in the same residence (public health departments can provide temporary housing when home isolation is impossible). Quarantine is ordered when people have come in close contact with a person who is known to have contracted the disease but have not yet shown symptoms or have not tested positive. A person in quarantine is not isolated from other people but must follow specific procedures to avoid close contact and take precautions against spreading the disease in case they are infectious but do not know it.
Further reading:
How does COVID-19 kill?
It attacks a victim's respiratory system, heart, brain, blood, and other vital organs. It can also force the body's immune system to kick into overdrive, which causes the body to kill itself.
Further reading:
I heard the number of COVID-19 deaths is inflated because deaths by other causes are being attributed to COVID-19. Is this true?
It was widely reported at the outset of the pandemic that COVID-19 is most dangerous for the "vulnerable population," which means the elderly, people with heart and respiratory conditions, diabetes, and obesity. Now conspiracy theorists want to use the fact that COVID-19 does kill people with other health issues as a reason to claim that the number of COVID-19 deaths is being over-reported. It should be obvious that even if a person had a heart condition or cancer they might have lived years longer if they had not contracted this coronavirus. Further, COVID-19 causes cardiac arrest in even healthy people so why should such a death be reported as anything other than COVID-19? Arguably, COVID-19 kills nobody. It causes other organs to fail either by a direct attack on those organs or by causing the immune system to weaken those organs. o follow the logic of the conspiracy theorists to its natural conclusion, there have been zero COVID-19 deaths. Obviously, that preposterous.
Further reading:
How is COVID-19 treated?
There is no FDA-approved treatment. For mild cases, patients are isolated at home or at a public health agency's approved location and encouraged to rest and hydrate. For severe cases, patients are hospitalized and given oxygen and perhaps an IV for hydration. Some patients are placed on a ventilator, which is a machine that breathes for the patient when the lungs can no longer function on their own (because the membrane around the lungs has become stiff). Most patients placed on a ventilator succumb to the disease.
Further reading:
What new treatments are being developed?
While there are no FDA-approved treatments, there are more than 500 clinical trials either under way or planned. Unfortunately, many of the studies are small and lack real control groups, complicating the search for a viable treatment. Typically, clinical trials take years and most fail. It's hard to say when or if scientists will uncover an effective treatment.
What will it take to "reopen our economy"?
The main goal of the "flatten the curve" strategy was to keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with the sick and dying. That strategy has so far been successful. In many parts of the country, such as New York, the curve appears to have flattened. But that doesn't mean SARS-CoV-2 has gone away. The CDC recommendation is to reopen the economy slowly, in phases, and relying on testing, contact tracing, and isolations and quarantines to keep the rate of transmission below a 1 to 1.2 (meaning less than one person infecting 1.2 other people on average).
Further reading:
Are there more people infected than we know about?
With a disease with a high transmission rate and asymptomatic people, there are certainly people who were infected that have not been counted by health officials.
Further reading:
Is COVID-19 seasonal?
Respiratory diseases are typically seasonal. The seasonality of viruses is due to a combination of factors that are unique to each virus, including how the virus survives in heat and humidity and the human body's own response to the virus. At this point, there isn't enough information about SARS-CoV-2 to reach a conclusive determination. Given the fact that there have been significant outbreaks in the Southern Hemisphere suggests that COVID-19 is not seasonal.
Further reading:
If testing is key to controlling transmission, why isn't there more testing?
The United States started late on testing because of issues with the CDC's first test and there has been an ongoing issue with the supply chain for testing material, from swabs to the assays used to detect the virus in samples. The situation is improving and there are new tests in development that don't require swabs.
Further reading:
What about antibody testing?
Antibody testing can be used to detect people who were infected with SARS-CoV-2. But not all antibody tests are as equally effective and cannot be relied on by individuals to determine if they've become immune to the disease. Antibody tests are most useful for giving a better estimate of how many people have actually been infected in a given population group.
Further reading:
I heard Sweden didn't close its economy so why was it necessary to close ours?
Much has been made on social media about the Swedish government's approach to the novel coronavirus, which was to not mandate business closures and enforced social distancing. The result appears to be a higher death rate than other countries while the economy has also been harmed.
Further reading:
Are people who survive COVID-19 immune? Can they be reinfected?
This is a key question that may determine the future of herd immunity and whether a vaccine can be developed and the virus is still so new, scientists have no definitive answer to the question of individual immunity.
Further reading:
When will there be a vaccine available?
The FDA has never approved a vaccine for humans for any type of coronavirus, and vaccines for pets and livestock have proven weak. Estimates for the development of a vaccine range from 12 months to 18 months, to four years to never. But there are also promising vaccine trials under way.
Further reading:
Will there be a second wave of COVID-19 cases? When will this be over?
Like anything, nobody can predict the future but second and third waves in pandemics are common.
Further reading:
Press release:
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments have received one more COVID-19 case. Orleans has one new case and Genesee has zero.
Contact tracing has been initiated and all who have had direct contact with the individual will be notified by Health Department staff.
There is currently no further information to release on ages and location. Mapping to include the positive cases from the weekend will be updated on Monday afternoon.
We continue to encourage our residents to be vigilant about handwashing, cleaning frequently used surfaces, properly wearing cloth face coverings over the mouth and nose, keeping your hands away from your face, limiting time out in public and when you do need to go out for essentials you designate one person from your household, keep social distancing and stay home if you are sick.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Daily Briefing for Day 57:
Cuomo today (April 26) said the state will be reopened in stages and by region.
Phase I will involve construction and manufacturing activities, starting with businesses that have a low risk. Phase II will is a business-by-business analysis based on how essential the service and the risk associated with business operations.
Cuomo said businesses will have to think about how they will reopen in Phase II: "It's very much going to be up to businesses."
There will be two weeks between phases to monitor spread and hospitalizations.
He also said that businesses can't open that encourage travel from other regions to regions within the state.
Avey Williams reads Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess. Avey is associated with Batavia Players.
Using data from the map app on Android phones, Google has provided data travel changes over the past several for locations throughout the world, including Genesee County.
The data is collected anonymously and not linked to any personal data, according to Google.
Below are charts from the website for Genesee County.
Apple has a similar project for iPhones but their data set does not include county-level profiles.
New York State's travel has dropped 62 percent.
The New York State Department of Labor today announced that it has distributed $3.1 billion in unemployment benefits to New Yorkers since the coronavirus pandemic started impacting New York businesses in early March.
In total, more than 1.4 million New Yorkers have submitted completed applications for unemployment benefits since the crisis began, including traditional unemployment insurance and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
“Every state is facing major challenges when it comes to unemployment, but in New York we are upgrading our systems in real time while delivering benefits to New Yorkers faster and more aggressively than any other state,” said NYS Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon.
“I’ve been unemployed myself — I know that losing your job is one of the most trying situations someone can face — and while there is more work to do, we have connected over one million New Yorkers with billions of dollars in benefits in just six weeks. We will keep working around the clock seven days a week to ensure every single New Yorker gets every single dollar they deserve."
In addition, the Department of Labor has updated and streamlined the sections of its website most frequently used by New Yorkers seeking unemployment benefits. These updated pages -- which include the DOL homepage, an explanation of how to file your claim, information on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, and more -- are now mobile friendly and easier to read and navigate, which will help unemployed New Yorkers get the information they need faster so they can file for benefits.
Since nationwide coronavirus-related business shutdowns in early March, states across the country have faced an unprecedented increase in the number of people filing for unemployment insurance — with an extraordinary 26 million Americans now having submitted claims. Since March 9, New York State has processed 1.4 million initial applications for unemployment benefits, including 207,172 during the week ending April 18 and 399,015 the week before.
Between March 9 and April 22, New York State has distributed $3.1 billion to support New Yorkers who lost their jobs. This level of relief far outstrips what has been provided by other large states during this crisis.
The total includes traditional unemployment insurance and new federal programs like Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provides benefits for those not covered by traditional unemployment insurance; Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), which provides an additional $600 per week for all benefit recipients; and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which provides 13 additional weeks of benefits, for a total of 39 weeks of unemployment benefits.
Facing an unprecedented surge in unemployment claims, the Department of Labor has taken decisive action to update its system, streamline operations, and improve its capacity to serve New Yorkers. These efforts include:
Press release:
Effective Monday, April 27, United Memorial Medical Center will resume outpatient lab services at the Jerome Center.
Jerome Center, 16 Bank St., Batavia
Monday - Friday: 6 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday: 6 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Sunday: Closed
With the latest universal masking order, don’t leave home without yours! Please wear a mask or face covering -- in addition to social distancing -- as we continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to keep our community safe, and thank you for entrusting us with your care.
For more information on COVID-19, visit online here or call 922-INFO.
Note: Lab locations in the Batavia City Center, Le Roy, and Pembroke remain temporarily closed until further notice.
Judy Schildwaster submitted this photo of a juvenile bald eagle taken yesterday morning off of Route 33 in Stafford.
Submitted by Principal Tim McArdle.
Message from Pastor Roula Alkhouri, Batavia First Presbyterian Church: April 26th -- "What is Saving Your Life Right Now?"
Press release:
Citing an all-out explosion of unproven, untested and unregulated do-it-yourself, at-home coronavirus test kits now for sale across the internet, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer demanded, today, that the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) begin a crackdown focused on more oversight of the marketplace, ramped-up inspections and cease and desist actions against bad actors.
Schumer said a simple “Google” search on these kits now results in a bombardment of antibody and other coronavirus tests that are simply not validated for accuracy by the FDA.
“While the coronavirus itself continues to risk infecting people, varying at-home test kits for the virus’s antibodies, and even the disease itself, are now infecting the internet and the consumer marketplace," Senator Schumer said. "However, the vast, vast majority of these ‘kits’ are unproven, untested and totally unregulated by the FDA, and that’s dangerous.
"That is why I am publicly calling on the FDA to institute a crackdown on these kits now exploding across the internet. The agency (FDA) must raise the bar, move heaven and earth and stand up for consumers who are vulnerable, uncertain and anxious with all that is going on.”
Schumer said that as part of returning to normal, consumers — especially New Yorkers — could be hard hit by faulty tests that mislead an already uncertain public.
He said that the FDA must immediately move heaven and earth to ensure this emerging testing marketplace does not become riddled with shoddy at-home kits that are not backed by the FDA and the best available science. Schumer also said New Yorkers are currently purchasing these kits and that the feds must act swiftly or risk turning a pandemic into a false sense of security epidemic that hurts hot spots like New York which must rely upon testing accuracy to fully return to normal.
“The authenticity and accuracy of any at-home testing kits must be paramount at the FDA, because consumers are not only willing to buy them, but they are willing to rely upon them," Schumer added. "Shoddy tests could spell disaster for hot spot states like New York because if there is anything New York and other places will require to turn the page on this virus, it’s rooted in testing accuracy, and these unregulated kits pose serious risk to the overall recovery."
According to CNN, the “FDA has granted emergency use authorization to only four antibody tests, and there are dozens more awaiting the same authorization. The FDA has also opened a separate process for more than 100 other non-FDA approved tests to be checked for accuracy.”
Schumer says, despite this, at-home coronavirus antibody and virus test kits are for sale across the internet, seemingly unchecked.
Experts across the government have said antibody tests will likely play an important role in the reopening of the economy and the next chapter of public health. Schumer says the FDA cannot offer any regulatory flexibility to some test makers and rigidity for others.
He said the only way to ensure test kit standards are rooted in science and accuracy is to ramp up oversight, inspections and cease and desist actions before unproven products risk turning a pandemic into a false sense of security epidemic that hurts hot spots like New York dependent on accuracy.
“Right now, only formally approved tests should be available for sale to consumers,” Schumer said. “The stakes are too high to let bad actors prey on vulnerable New Yorkers and add even more anxiety and uncertainty to this crisis.”
Schumer’s letter to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn appears below:
Dear Commissioner Hahn:
The array of misinformation about the coronavirus is a danger to public health and an impediment to a swift and full reopening of our country. One of the most dangerous elements of this misinformation is the volume of unapproved COVID-19 tests available online, many of them claiming they are able to conduct an authentic test at home. As you very well know, these tests are not currently approved. I have grave concerns that New Yorkers, understandably frustrated and desperate because of the broad testing shortage across the country, are turning to these unapproved tests. If such a test is unreliable or administered incorrectly, and a person falsely believes they do not have COVID-19 or have antibodies, that presents a danger to their family and their community.
I appreciate the work that FDA has done thus far, including in its March 20 announcement, in pushing back against these unauthorized tests. However, more must be done. A simple online search, as well as anecdotal evidence from people in New York City, shows that these tests are still easily available and people are buying them. Given how high the stakes are right now, the administration must use all its resources and authority to immediately get these tests off the market.
I request answers to the following questions:
1. What is the FDA doing since its March 20 announcement to continue to crackdown on these tests?
2. Does FDA have sufficient resources to monitor and respond to the availability of these unauthorized tests?
3. What is FDA doing, in coordination with the White House and its press efforts, to educate the public that authorized tests should not be used?
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer
A bicyclist and a motorcycle rider were both seriously injured this evening in a crash on Route 5 at Wortendyke Road, Batavia.
A 17-year-old female from Batavia, whose name was not released, was riding a bike northbound on Wortendyke, according to the Sheriff's Office, when she attempted to cross Route 5.
Joshua Fullmer, 27, of Harvester Avenue, was eastbound on a 2014 Yamaha motorcycle.
The motorcycle collided with the bicycle.
Both patients were transported by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center.
The crash is being investigated by the Sheriff's Office. Charges may be pending.
Also responding to the scene were the State Police, Le Roy Ambulance, Town of Batavia Fire, East Pembroke Fire, Mercy EMS, and members of the Emergency Management team.
Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.
Press release:
The Batavia Police Department wants to warn citizens of a dangerous mixture of cocaine currently on the street. There have already been two overdose cases today.
The warning comes in an attempt to stop further overdoses, which can be fatal. Police are working to locate the source and put a stop to further incidents.
Victim information and statuses are not being released.
Anyone with information can contact the Genesee County Drug Task Force at (585) 343-3020, the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350, the confidential tip line at (585) 345-6370 or online here.
The Batavia Police would also like to offer assistance to persons who are struggling with addiction. Through our Police Assistance Addiction & Recovery Initiative, or PAARI program, we have partnered with the Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (GCASA) in an effort to decrease the number of opiate-related deaths and reduce the crime associated with opiate abuse.
Anyone who is struggling with addiction can come to the police department 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and we will assist in locating a treatment program, with no questions asked. We strive to help and support those who are looking to break the chains of addiction.
Several citizens have taken advantage of the program and we feel this is another way in which we can help win the war against drugs!
Press release:
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments have received five more COVID-19 cases. Orleans has four new cases from The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehab and Genesee has one. Contact tracing has been initiated for all of the positive cases.
Contact tracing has been initiated and all who have had direct contact with the individuals will be notified by Health Department staff.
“We are also saddened to report that Orleans County has lost two more individuals to COVID-19," said Paul Pettit, director of Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments. Both individuals were residents at The Villages of Orleans with one person under the age of 65 and one person over 65. Our sincere condolences go to the family and friends of these two individuals.”
There is currently no further information to release on ages and location. Mapping to include the positive cases from the weekend will be updated on Monday afternoon.
It's a beautiful spring day so Tiffany Martin helps Owen Elmore learn how to ride his electric scooter on Morton Avenue, Batavia.
A reader tipped us to a trio of dinosaurs marauding through Downtown Batavia. We hunted them down and shot them (with a camera) while they were passing by St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church.
Addison Kerble displays her completed clothespin trivet from the kit.
Submitted photos and press release:
The Genesee County Family & Consumer Sciences 4-H Club organized an outreach program for the other members in the Genesee County 4-H Program. Thanks to a donation of cans and bottles, the club had funding to put together “quarantine kits,” for interested members.
The kits contained supplies for eight craft projects and information on other engaging activities the county is offering at this time.
One hundred kits were assembled and distributed on Wednesday afternoon, April 22nd, in the parking lot of the Cornell Cooperattive Extension Office on East Main Street in Batavia.
Members were enthusiastic about getting the craft kits.
“This was an exciting opportunity for my club to share the fun we have each month during our FCS meetings," leader Julie Keller said. "The families that helped assemble and I had fun doing so, and it was rewarding to see members take home the kits.”
For more information on Genesee County 4-H contact genesee4h@cornell.edu.
Below, Catherine and Tegan, of Bergen, (inside the vehicle) receive a sheet of instructions from Julie and Melissa Keller, of Corfu.
Below, Julie and Melissa Keller, of Corfu, (outside the vehicle) greet Catherine and Tegan, of Bergen, and hand them some instructions.
Below, the FCS leaders greet a 4-H Family with kit materials and supplies during the 2020 FCS Spring Drive Thru.
Below, Evan and Maggie Winspear, of Oakfield, waiting for families to arrive.
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