To our community, farm  family, friends and loved ones, 
Where do I start to tell you about my husband, Tom Swyers? Father of our four beautiful children, their lovely spouses, and our astounding grandchildren. Apparently, you already know! The outpouring of kindness, generosity, sympathy, food, donations, cards, clearing of snow, tables & chair delivery, flowers, tears, words of praise for Tom and so much more from so many of you has been enormous. Your heartfelt love surrounds us all and gives us strength for the days ahead.

Tom had a dream early in life of being a farmer. He started his adventure working for uncles and local farmers, and with hard work and generosity from his parents, my Mother and family, and the Grace of God’s Blessing. In our 50 years of marriage, Tom never once said “I don’t want to go to work.” He was driven by a force of energy like no other. He ate, slept, and breathed farming! As the farm has grown, so have our employees. He appreciated and respected every one of them. Gardeau Crest Farm employees who we think of as family, Thank You from the bottom of our hearts!

In the years along the way Tom loved to visit with friends, fellow farmers and family. He touched so many hearts. Incidentally, after a heart attack at 38 when he was told that he had 5 to 10 years to live, we were blessed with 34 extra incredible years. Tom was kind, loving, generous, hardworking, and was a classic example of how hard work and determination yields success.

Tom was a wonderful Father, proud of each of his children, had great friends, was happy and proud to be a farmer, and was my beloved friend and husband. As for my family and myself, I want to reach out with our thanks for your love, support and kindness during such a sad time in our lives. 

Thank you to our community, along with the rescue squad, medical services, and friends who were a part of our hour of need. Extra and heartfelt thanks to Eric Kelly and Tom Bush. You held our hearts through a difficult time in our lives. Thank you to our friends and family. You are all amazing and I wouldn’t expect any less from any one of you. I wish I could put more profound words of love into this letter to explain what you all meant to him. He loved each and every one of you. 

God Bless everyone who reached out to us for your generosity, donations, caring for us, and for your prayers and love. Our family will miss Tom more than anyone will ever know, and our journey without him will be difficult, however, Tom will live in our hearts forever. 

Thank you for an amazing life, Tom! Rest In Peace, my darling, ‘til we meet again. Thank you for loving me.

Blessings to all,
Yvonne Swyers, Joey & Tonya, Mike & Elizabeth, 
Jake & Kim, Daniel & Ashley and 18 beautiful grandchildren

Press Release:

The Genesee County Health Department received $477,000 in funding from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to implement the Healthy Neighborhoods Program (HNP) for the years 2022 to 2027.

Residents in the Town and City of Batavia are eligible to participate in the program and the goal is to visit 1,000 households over five years. The program offers home evaluations for asthma triggers, indoor air quality, lead-based paint hazards, fire risks, and other health hazards. At the evaluations, residents are
educated on asthma management, childhood lead poisoning prevention, carbon monoxide poisoning, radon gas, fire safety and prevention, and other home safety issues.

Free safety and cleaning supplies are also available to eligible participants. There are four main goals of Healthy Neighborhoods Program:
1) Reduce hospital visits due to asthma: According to the NYSDOH Asthma Dashboard from 2017 to 2019, residents of the zip code 14020 (which includes the City and Town of Batavia) visited an emergency department for an asthma attack at a 28% higher rate than the average for Genesee County. The Healthy
Neighborhoods Program aims to provide participants with tools to better manage their asthma and avoid emergency room visits by evaluating their symptoms, triggers, and medication usage. Participants are encouraged to ask their primary care doctor to create a written plan to follow during an asthma attack.

2) Prevent childhood lead poisoning: The majority of housing in Batavia was built before 1978, which is when the federal government banned consumer use of lead-based paint. In partnership with the Genesee County Health Department’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, homes will be assessed for lead-based paint hazards and lead poisoning prevention education will be provided.

3) Improve indoor air quality: According to the NYSDOH, about 1,800 people in New York visit an emergency room due to carbon monoxide poisoning each year. Carbon monoxide poisoning is more common during the winter months due to use of heating sources. The Healthy Neighborhoods Program provides education on carbon monoxide poisoning, radon gas, smoking cessation, and pest management. In addition, eligible participants may receive carbon monoxide detectors, radon test kits, and cleaning supplies.

4) Reduce household injuries from fires and accidents: Residential fires are more common in the winter months, according to research by the National Fire Protection Association. A small fire can become a major fire in less than a minute, so working smoke detectors are crucial to alert residents so they can escape in time. The Healthy Neighborhoods Program encourages participants to practice fire escape routes. Participants may even receive free smoke detectors and small fire extinguishers.

For more information or to make a referral to the program, call Genesee County HNP staff at 585-344-2580 ext. 5519 or visit www.GOHealthNY.org.

It took a few days for Thera Sanchez to process her holiday weekend before she felt able to describe it.

After all, she and partner Pavel Belov hadn't expected events to unfold quite as they did since the unrelenting storm blew in Friday and hovered over their Oakfield residence and nearby roadways. While they remained at home, hundreds of motorists were trying to navigate unknown territory after being moved off the Thruway Friday.

Without knowledge of what they were driving into, many of those motorists got stuck in piles of windblown snow with little to no visibility of what surrounded them. Around 7:30 p.m., the couple noticed two sets of headlights out on the road, Sanchez said.

"We kept checking to see if we could see them until about 10 p.m. We got dressed up in our hunting gear and went to help them. The moment we stepped off of the porch, the snow was stinging my face. I put my glasses on to keep the snow away from my eyes, but the air was so cold it was hard to keep them open," she said. "Both of us, with flashlights and shovels in our hands, we find the road. We walk towards the headlights. We see the two. Then I saw three. Then I saw four. There were seven. We went up to each one and invited all into our home."

By last count, they had 11 strangers in their house. A friend stayed in her car because she had two dogs with her, and the Belov-Sanchez couple has three dogs of their own, she said. She and Pavel brought her food, treats and water and kept a check on her throughout the weekend.

Meanwhile, others just celebrated getting out of their vehicles.

"Some cried and some were just so happy to stand. We had friends from India, the Philippines, South Carolina, Maryland, and a couple were local. Whether they were heading home or to family Christmas, their trip was longer than expected. They were stranded," Sanchez said. "There was one guy who was in deep trouble. We almost didn't see his white van in the snow, but Pavel did, and went back for him. He had run out of gas and was sitting there for five hours in the cold, with just a hoodie, sweatpants and slippers on."

Their guests stayed with them untill Sunday morning, when roads had been cleaned and Storm Elliott finally retreated from the area. As people often do in the face of a crisis, Belov and Sanchez offered hospitality and cared for their guests for the duration. They didn't even feel the toll until it was over, Sanchez said.

"Hosting that many people with the stress of Christmas -- and then the stress of it being canceled -- was intense. Yet, we still had a blast together and toasted on Christmas Eve," she said. "We didn't feel it until everyone was gone. It's been an emotional rollercoaster since."

Stranded travelers

They weren't the only ones to feel the weight of the situation. What began as a fun trip to see the Bare Naked Ladies ended as an emotional breakdown of relief for traveler Angela Saiz and her passenger.

Saiz, of Rockville, MD, and friend Stephanie Argoe of South Carolina were in Toronto to see the concert last Thursday and had planned to return Friday morning. Flights were canceled due to the storm, so they decided to rent a car and drive.

As hundreds of travelers learned on Friday, their trip on the Thruway would get abruptly cut off when a travel ban was issued and a large portion of the Thruway closed.

“As soon as we crossed the border, conditions changed so quickly,” Saiz said Monday to The Batavian. “I couldn't believe that I didn't get some kind of Amber Alert like I get. Nothing came through on my phone that said travel ban, no driving, seek refuge, nothing.

“My rental car was doing just fine until, it was just, the whiteout hit so quick,” she said.

Their journey had been diverted from the Thruway onto side roads through Genesee County. Saiz was navigating down drift-covered rural roads with patches of visibility until there was nothing to see through her windshield. They got stuck in a snow drift and a good samaritan pulled them out, but by that time, conditions were deteriorating and “it was not safe to drive,” she said.

They called for help at 3:40 p.m. Friday, and Genesee County dispatch told them to hang tight and that someone would be there in a couple of hours. They also called AAA dispatch, which told them no one was allowed to drive into that area.

Meanwhile, the women waited in the car — thankfully with a full tank of gas they estimated would provide heat for at least 24 hours — but without water or food.

Saiz emphasized that she’s no newbie to the world of travel, having been a flight attendant and flying for her career some 200 times a year, and her husband is a commercial landscaper, so she’s also aware of how to deal with snow.

What she wasn’t prepared for, though, were the complete whiteouts and radio silence after two hours turned into several. They were stranded at the corner of Lewiston and Lockport roads.

“Every three hours we would call dispatch just to get an update. My frustration was that communication was horrific. All I wanted was the truth … I just wanted to know, do I need to mentally prepare to be in this car all night?” she said. “About after midnight, all of a sudden, we could see other cars. There was a car next to us, we could see lights and flashers on other cars. You couldn't tell how close or far away they were. And so, finally, we saw two people coming toward us that we thought were emergency workers. And I rolled my window down, and we both started crying. And they said, ‘we live across the street; we're happy to bring you in.’”

Generous hosts

The couple, known as Pavel and Thera, said they lived across the street and offered shelter for the two women, who replied that someone was coming for them.

“They’re not coming,” Thera said, explaining that they had been listening to a scanner.

Still, two women going to a stranger’s house seemed daunting, Saiz said, and their nervousness made them a bit hesitant. Then they saw other vehicles emptying out their occupants that were going to the house, so Saiz and Argoe decided to join them.

That Lockport Road couple, Pavel and Thera, offered refuge for 11 people, all of who stayed with them Friday evening throughout Saturday and that night.

There was the couple from Pennsylvania, just 30 minutes away from a cousin they were going to see; newlyweds from Delaware heading to Toronto; and another couple from Dallas, Texas. There was a single man from Spencerport, not even wearing warm clothing or snow boots in lieu of slipper socks, who was trying to get to The Rez. He would have surely frozen to death out there, Saiz said.

They all made the best of it and took in the host’s generous offerings of food, drink and bedding, Saiz said.

“They gave us water, offered us food, I think we were all just a little in shock and grateful to be alive at this point,” she said.

Eventually, firefighters — who were making rescues throughout the weekend and battling the same blinding snow conditions themselves — made it to the house and said they’d return to take people to Oakfield Fire Hall.

They offered to take the stranded travelers’ keys and move their vehicles to Oakfield-Alabama school’s parking lot, which had just been plowed. All of the visitors opted to do that, except for the one woman who remained in her car with her dog.

No one ended up returning that night, and the visitors stayed put. 

Welcomed reprieve

By Sunday morning, the sky was blue, and the roads seemed clear. But no one had returned with the car keys, Saiz said, so they waited some more.

She had inadvertently left her medication in the car and, after another long period of time, called dispatch again, saying that she really needed her meds.

When Genesee County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Henning showed up, he was a great help, she said.

“He was amazing; he got us to our car, and he cleaned off the windshields for us,” she said.

“I got home at 5 p.m. Sunday,” she said. “My family waited to have Christmas with me. It was quite the experience.

“When I walked into my home and got upstairs, I just wept uncontrollably and sobbed, holding my children, my husband, so incredibly thankful. I'm emotional, just talking about it,” she said. “I've never, ever felt that I might not make it home. I've never been in a situation where I felt that I actually thought I might die. And I felt that way in the car.

“These people were angels and a godsend for bringing us in and feeding us and providing bedding … we had places to sleep. And it was amazing and a miracle. They're good people, and I'm so appreciative, and my family is appreciative of what this couple did,” she said.

Submitted Photo of Thera Sanchez, back row left, and Pavel Belov, back row, right, with Angela Saiz, to the right of Thera, and Stephanie Argoe in front of her holding a dog, along with the other travelers that got a rescue from the Oakfield couple this past weekend.

Tow truck operators don't get a lot of media attention.  They show up at an accident scene and might get in a few news photos as they hook up disabled vehicles to haul away, but they never get credit for helping to clear the roadway so traffic can flow again.

During Winter Storm Elliott, the county's tow truck operators were as essential as anybody else in getting people back on the road, and for saving stranded motorists.

And it was hard, hazardous work, some of them told The Batavian during interviews the past couple of days.

"I'm only 27," said Chad Dickinson of Dickinson Auto and Towing in Batavia. "I've never seen anything like this before, these blizzard conditions.  It was very treacherous at times, kind of scary at some points."

For Jacob Gross and Greg Lyons, who were joined in the effort by their boss, Cameron Selapack of L&L Transmission and Towing, there were aspects of the work that were just another day at the office. They found stuck cars and wenched them out and then either watched the owners drive off or brought the cars back to the shop or other safe location for storage.

"We're kind of used to it," Gross said. "But nobody should have been out on those roads. It was quite out of the ordinary."

It was bizarre at times, said Steve Grice, towing operations manager at Dan's Tire.

There were drivers in sandals, drivers with no phones, drivers who left the house with no charger and only a 20 percent charge on their phones, drivers low on gas, and drivers who put getting from one place to another a higher priority than themselves or their families, he said.

"I came across one guy, and I said, 'Sir, I'm gonna get you guys out because you are trapped in your vehicle, but why aren't you home with your family?" Grice recalled. "He said, 'Well, we need to get to the Christmas party.' I said, 'Your lives are at stake here. You need to get home.' And his wife leaned over, and she goes, 'thank you.' We pulled them out, and they went on their way."

Grice encountered a lot of people from Canada, such as the family in the story above, as well as other states.  As has been noted by county officials, most of these people wound up on Genesee County's backcountry roads because the Thruway closed, and they were following GPS maps.

"You wouldn't believe the number of people who said, 'Well, Siri said to go this way,'" Grice said. "I don't think Siri knows what's going on inside your car, you know? I mean, it's like you've got to look at the weather. You've got to know where you're going."

Gross and Lyons said they were surprised by how many people were out on the roads in the midst of a travel ban.

"We're hooking somebody up, and people continue driving by trying to get from Point A to Point B or wherever they were going, even though there was a travel ban," Lyons said.

"We even saw people out walking," Gross added.

You know things are bad when tow truck operators got stuck, and that's what happened to Grice and a member of his team on Friday.  

The Thruway Authority had asked Dan's to send a truck eastbound to check on some vehicles because they couldn't be reached from the west.  When the driver was ready to return to Batavia, he got stuck, so Grice drove out to retrieve him. He became stuck. They were out there until 10 the next morning until a truck from the Thruway authority helped them get moving again.

Grice said he had a lot of sympathy for the people who got stranded in their vehicles, and there was no way for search and rescue teams to get to them for hours.

"It was mentally just exhausting," Grice said. "And just sitting there thinking about the other people that were trapped out there and how people couldn't get to them. It was just a feeling of helplessness that was just overwhelming, you know, and it just was terrible."

Dan's ran three trucks with five crew members on Friday night, and when things cleared a bit on Friday, they had five trucks out.

Dickinson had four flatbeds and two wreckers running.

L&L had three trucks out.

The Batavian didn't have time to reach out to the other tow truck companies in the county, but they were all involved in vehicle recovery efforts throughout the event.

Winter Storm Elliott is a couple of days of work Grice said he won't soon forget.

"It was amazing," he said. "Some of the cars we pulled out, you open the hood and the engine bays were just packed. They looked like big ice cubes in there. It was just amazing. With some of the cars, the snow had gotten in around the door jams and filled them with snow. It was quite a sight to be seen."

Gross and Lyons won't forget it, either.

"Nothing compares to this one," Gross said. "This one was kind of crazy."

All photos courtesy Steve Grice/Dan's Tire.

Heading out on one of his search and rescue missions during the blizzard on Friday, Joshua Finn said he had two fears.

That they would find somebody dead in a car.  

Or that he wouldn't make it home, himself.

He came close to both tragic outcomes, he thought, around 1 a.m. on Saturday when he and another volunteer firefighter from Oakfield came across a pickup truck stuck on Judge Road. Its flashers were barely flashing, so he knew it had been there a long time. The battery was nearly dead.  Inside, they found a 60-year-old man and his 27-year-old daughter.

"They were both hypothermic, and they were completely saturated," Finn said. "The snow was blowing through the cracks in the vehicle."

With great effort, Finn, another EMT and other volunteers got them out of the pickup and into a rescue truck and started the drive back to the Oakfield Fire Hall. It was a scary trip, he said. They weren't sure they would make it back in zero visibility conditions.

"Colin and I couldn't get the interior dome lights to shut off because the door button was frozen," Finn said. "We couldn't see much because there was a light inside the cab. We had to have the windows down to look out the windows to drive. Colin says, 'Finn, go left, Finn, go right,' and we're going at one mile an hour. I got frost nip on my ears from because all I had was my firefighting hood. I was shivering by the time we got back with them."

Miraculously -- County Manager Matt Landers has called it a Christmas miracle -- there are no known fatalities in Genesee County as a result of Winter Storm Elliott, which hit the area with a ferocity unknown since 1977.

A perfect storm
The dangers of the storm were exacerbated by a Thruway Authority that shut down the I-90 with no plan to send travelers on safe routes and with Google and Apple map technology ill-equipped to warn drivers of dangerous weather conditions and send them on routes that would take them around the hazardous roads. 

Landers observed during the storm that in a situation that might have otherwise involved a handful of local people getting trapped on snow-covered roads, there were hundreds of cars that got stuck.

More than 700 people, most of them not from New York, wound up in one of 11 warming centers, and it's unclear how many others were taken in by residents who opened their doors when strangers came knocking during the storm.

The task of rescuing motorists fell to quickly assembled teams of deputies, highway crews, and volunteer firefighters.

And with winds over 35 mph and temperatures well below zero, and a forecast of storm conditions persisting for at least 48 hours, search and rescue teams didn't have the luxury of waiting until daylight or until the weather cleared.  They had to head out in the dead of night with the resources available.

Gary Patnode is both the deputy emergency management coordinator for Genesee County and the Chief of the Alabama Volunteer Fire Department.  He was right in the thick of it when the storm hit.

He praised dispatchers for helping triage stranded motorists.

Those with full gas tanks were told to keep their engines running and wait unless they could see a house nearby they could safely get to.  When they had less than a quarter tank of gas or a medical condition, they became a priority to rescue.

Among the medical conditions being reported -- "trouble breathing." 

Patnode found that understandable. You're out there not knowing how, when, or if you will be rescued.

"I think that was a direct result of anxiety, you know, from being in an unfamiliar area, it's pitch black out because there are no streetlights out there, and that snow is blowing," Patnode said.

"Every car, every window that we cleaned off, I just held my breath, you know, hoping that I didn't find a body in there," Patnode said. "That was the big thing."

It takes a village
While the brunt of the storm fell on Oakfield and Alabama, and volunteer departments in those communities had a total of more than 30 volunteers participate in search and rescue operations, nearly every department in the county sent either personnel or equipment, and usually both, such as Le Roy, Alexander, and Bethany, to the northwest quadrant to help out, along with Genesee Snopackers.

On the paid side of responders, there were Sheriff's deputies, personnel from Orleans and Livingston counties, State Police, State Parks, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and Batavia city police and fire departments.

In Oakfield and Alabama, community residents also pitched in, either by offering shelter, delivering supplies, moving snow, or cooking meals. The Oakfield Fire Hall became a warming shelter and housed several dozen people during the storm. There were so many travelers emotionally affected by the storm and being stranded that Downing took their phone numbers to follow up with them after they returned to their homes.

"We are still contacting them to find out how they're doing and that they're okay, you know, checking on their mental health," Downing said. "It's traumatizing for a lot of these people to be stranded and then have to be rescued. We want to make sure that they're okay."

During the weekend, stranded travelers also needed to be fed, so the community fed them.  One firefighter's wife baked her Christmas ham and brought it in.  Wives and girlfriends showed up to make breakfast.  Meals and supplies were delivered from Batavia. H.P. Hood donated dairy products. 

At one point, Oakfield Fire Chief Sean Downing was worried about being able to feed all these people for a couple of days and soon, he realized the community was taking care of it.

When Downing had to get home to check on his wife, Jeremy Yasses plowed his driveway so he could park.  Another community resident made sure the driveways of other volunteers were cleared so they could easily drop in and check on their families.

"People would come up to us and go, 'Oh, if I could just brush my teeth,'" Downing recalled. "then William Sturgeon thought to himself, he says, 'You know what, I have kids. We go to the dentist and they always give us toothpaste and toothbrushes, and dental floss,' so he ran home, which wasn't far from the Fire Hall, and came back with about 20 toothbrushes and the people were ecstatic that they could at least brush their teeth."

It's the little things, Downing said, that make a big difference.

"They say that it takes a village," said Downing.  "Well, it's more than the village. It was the entire town and village of Oakfield that was calling and coming together and getting us whatever we needed to be able to take care of these people. They understood what was going on and what we were going through, and they wanted to make sure that any little bit that they could do, they did."

The department had hosted a Christmas party for its members a couple of days before the storm, and there were still wrapped presents for children under the tree, so the kids at the shelter had Christmas presents to open.

Saving lives
The children were kept in the department's second-floor rec room. Downing wanted to shield them from any potential life-saving situations in the main bay of the fire hall.

"I think we had a total of three or four hypothermic patients throughout the event," Downing said. "The one gentleman that Josh was talking about was our first patient, and the medics came up to me at one time and said, 'We do not think, based on what we're seeing on the monitors and whatnot, and what we're talking about, he may not make it. But again, he pulled through. Once he warmed up, everything started to change for him. He was one of our first patients in the building, and he was the last one to leave our building after the event."

To treat hypothermic patients in a field-hospital situation, medics stripped them of all their cold, wet clothes and wrapped them in blankets.  A couple of firefighters' wives kept supplying warm blankets from the department's clothes dryer. 

Finn doesn't remember where he had seen it done before or where he got the idea from, but he suggested taking hand-warming packets and taping them to IV bags, so the fluid being given to patients was warmed.

While there were "official" warming shelters at fire halls -- such as Indian Falls, besides Oakfield, and schools, such as Elba -- there were several unofficial warming shelters, such as Alabama Hotel.  Grace Baptist Church in Batavia also opened as a warming shelter. Patnode listed off five or six homes that took in six, seven, and eight stranded travelers and one resident on Macomber Road had at least 50 people sheltering in his garage. 

"It was just remarkable how the community came together," Patnode said. "You know, even for us as an organization, when you're working with a volunteer fire department, there are so many different personalities, and everybody just sets that stuff aside and just works together."

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See also: Stranded travelers offered a warm home and holiday hospitality by Oakfield couple

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Gratitude
There was no shortage of gratitude among the travelers who were rescued. 

Downing noted that many of the department's guests pitched in and helped, cleaning up, shoveling snow, moving supplies as needed.

The boldest gesture of gratitude perhaps came from the first woman Finn rescued.

On Friday, as the storm began to roll in, he decided he couldn't stay at his job in Batavia. He had to get home to his family and his community.

As he drove toward Oakfield, he heard a call for a stuck vehicle with a woman finding it difficult to breathe.  He told dispatchers to keep the ambulance in Batavia, where it couldn't get stuck, while he checked it out.

He found a woman from Canada, with her daughter, having a panic attack.

He told her not to worry.  He told her to follow him to Oakfield, where there was a warming shelter.

He said the drive on Route 63 was difficult. The whiteout conditions were disorienting, and at one point, he went off the road and became stuck in a ditch himself.  

"You didn't know what was up or down," Finn said. "At one point, I was going two miles an hour, and I ended up in a ditch. The only reason why I got out, and it's no joke, I swear to God, I think what saved my life was a deputy named Richard Schildwaster came along with his truck and got me out."

When they got to the hall, the woman from Canada wanted to thank Finn in a big way. She offered him a piece of jewelry.

"She kept saying you saved my life," Finn said. "You guys, you saved my life. She tried to give me this 24-karat gold ring and put it in my hand and would not take it back and I'm like, 'I can't. I can't. This is what we do. I'm not taking your ring.'

"She was, 'you have to.' I'm like, 'It's okay. I didn't do anything. I just had you follow me.' I'm like, 'I can't take this from you.' And she's like, 'You have to.'

"So I dialed my wife. I said, 'talk to my wife' because my wife was not happy that I left Batavia to come to Oakfield, and I didn't tell her what I was doing until I got to the village, and I said, 'I'm in Oakfield. Don't be mad.' So I was like, 'Here, talk to my wife.'

"I don't even know what conversation they had, but it settled down my wife."

Submitted photos.  Top photo: Justin Cooper, Tera Williams, Joshua Finn, Chief Sean Downing, Assistant Chief Chad Williams, Buck Hilchey

Near whiteout conditions outside Alabama Hotel.

Sheriff's patrols and the Snopacker's groomer clearing roads and checking vehicles along the roadway. Oakfield Chief Sean Downing noted that one convoy that started out on South Pearl in Oakfield during the height of the blizzard Saturday morning took five hours to reach the Indian Falls Fire Hall.

A Mercy EMS ambulance broke down in Oakfield at the start of the storm, stranding its medics, which turned out to be a blessing for the warming shelter at the Fire Hall, with trained medical personnel on hand during the storm event.

Josh Finn and K-9 Frankie in a search and rescue convoy.  Finn and another medic joined the convoys so that if somebody needed medical attention, there was somebody on scene with the training to provide an evaluation.

Photo by Frank Capuano.

The 2022 racing season came to a close at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Dec. 17) and although some declines in handle were realized, the track performed better than many national trends.

The track recorded its fourth-highest total on-track handle for Batavia live racing since Western Regional OTB reopened the track in 2002, finishing only $33,599 behind the 2021 totals while racing the same number of days (55). However, the total handle (from all sources) for Batavia live racing was down 6.4% from last year, and that may have been a direct result of more competition for the expendable gaming dollar.

Don Hoover, General Manager of Live Racing and Race Secretary at Batavia Downs said, “Keeping these numbers in context, total wagering on harness racing in the United States this year is down 8.4% over 2021, which puts Batavia ahead of the national average. The introduction of online sports wagering in New York State in January of 2022 had a definite impact on the betting dollar at every race track and the months of road work on the new Park Road extension put a definite crimp on our in-house business during our prime summer dates.”

The good news was that local horsemen and women were beneficiaries of some of the best purses in the state during the meet, and those numbers drew more horses that stiffened the competition on the track.

Total purses (including stakes) at Batavia Downs were up 31% from 2021. Overnight purses alone increased by 29%, due in part to holding 88 more races this year. That latter increase was distributed to local racing participants and the agricultural infrastructure in the area will benefit directly from that money as it goes back into the local economies of Western New York and the Southern Tier, supporting the farmers, blacksmiths, veterinarians and others businesses that directly service the racing industry.

Bigger purses brought more horses and that added competition produced better payouts. Batavia Downs registered 45.8% winning favorites and that was the lowest among competing tracks at Buffalo, Monticello, Northfield, Saratoga and Yonkers who averaged between 46.8% and 48.3%.

“In sum, despite slight declines in overall wagering, I am happy with the robust growth shown in racing, with increases in average field size, overnight purses distributed, and the total number of horses competing at Batavia Downs in 2022,” said Hoover.  

Probably the single greatest racing moment of the meet was when American Dealer N (Joe Bongiorno) scored a 2-1/2 length victory in the 17th edition of the $75,000 Robert J. Kane Memorial Invitational Pace which was held on Friday (Aug. 26) at Batavia Downs, setting a new all-time track record of 1:50.2. The lightning-fast speed strip also produced two other track records along with a list of new lifetime marks for competing horses.  

Local driving favorite Kevin Cummings captured the dash title at the recently concluded session by winning 150 races, 14 more than the second place Jim Morrill Jr. However, Morrill and Cummings both made history by being the first drivers to ever surpass $1 million in earnings in the history of Batavia Downs (Morrill-$1,115,951, Cummings-$1,032,364). Shawn McDonough won his first-ever training title at the Downs finishing with 52 wins, only two more then the second place Jennifer Giuliani (50).

The completion of the 2022 meet does not mean that Batavia Downs will be dark for long. For the first time in over 20 years, winter racing will be back and begin at the Genesee County oval on Monday (Jan. 9) and continue through Monday (Feb. 27). The eight-week meet will be conducted on a Monday-Thursday schedule with post-time at 3 p.m. for all race days. Opening day will feature a $17,500 guaranteed pool that also has a mandatory payout on the Jackpot Super Hi-5 in the day’s last race. 

Tom Bojarski is the publicist for Batavia Downs.

Press release from Genesee County:

Over the Christmas weekend, our community was ravaged by a historic blizzard that challenged locals with lake effect snow, strong wind and wind chills from -10 to -25 degrees.

Holiday travelers from near and far found their vehicles in ditches, snow banks or in the driveway of a stranger. Essential services provided by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, the Genesee County Emergency Dispatcher Center, Genesee County Emergency Management Services, and the Genesee County Highway Department were at the ready to ensure all travelers were protected and safe.

Genesee County Sheriff William A. Sheron, Jr. was incredibly grateful and proud.

“Thank God for the dedicated first responders of Genesee County," Sheron said. "Undoubtedly, dozens of lives were saved due to the heroic actions of all of our first responders who put their lives on the line during this historic blizzard of 2022. They worked around the clock, days on end, answering and responding to 9-1-1 calls to ensure that our community was safe and no one’s loved one became a statistic.”

Sheriff Sheron went on to say, “I am extremely proud of the men and women of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office along with all Genesee County’s agencies and volunteer fire services. These are dedicated, passionate residents that give everything to their community. There’s truth to the saying, ‘When bad things happen, first responders are there, 24/7, through all types of weather and circumstances; no questions asked.’

"Should you see a first responder, please take the opportunity to thank them for their unwavering dedication," Sheron added. I would also like to thank all the community members that stepped up and provided safe warming shelters for hundreds of individuals that were stranded by the storm. To those businesses and individuals that dropped off food and bottled water, you provided much-needed supplies for our employees that hadn’t eaten in several hours. Thank you all!”

Tim Yaeger, Genesee County Emergency Management Services Coordinator, called attention to the importance of first responders in our community. 

“It was an extremely stressful and dangerous event for the dispatchers, law enforcement, fire and Emergency Medical Services," Yaeger said. "The dispatchers had far more calls for help than available resources. Law enforcement and fire service would not give up or stop until every person was accounted for. They are all heroes in my book! They risked their lives for over 24 hours to rescue every person. Community leaders, individuals and business owners demonstrated generosity, blind trust and compassion by opening their homes, businesses, and warming shelters to ensure 700 travelers were out of harm’s way. Volunteer fire and EMS, church, and local businesses spent three days away from their families to care for complete strangers. The stories of compassion and dedication to never stop helping others in need of rescue is what makes the first responders of Genesee County our most cherished resource.”

Genesee County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens was astonished by the heroism he experienced.

“I'm struck by the commitment, dedication, loyalty, and humanity of all of the rescuers," Hens said. "Whether paid professionals or volunteers, people literally putting their lives at risk over and over to save mostly people they've never met and will most likely never see again.

"It was frustrating to not make progress at times," he added, "getting turned back over and over by impassible roads, insurmountable drifts, but everyone was trying to make a difference. No one gave up, they just tried another route. People opened their houses. People opened their businesses. Everyone worked together even though it was confusing and stressful. ”

Genesee County Manager Matt Landers wanted to recognize the people of this community and county officials who helped navigate this storm.

“There are so many people to thank from the community that stepped under difficult circumstances to save lives," Landers said. "First, I want to recognize and thank Sheriff Sheron, Tim Yaeger and Tim Hens for their leadership during the storm. Each of their respective operations played critical roles throughout the storm, and the way in which all three operations worked together was impressive. Next, I want to thank all of the law enforcement professionals, first responders, dispatchers, volunteer firefighters and snow plow operators that all worked tirelessly to save lives.”

He went on to say, “Thank you to all of the local and surrounding municipalities that helped with resources, equipment and manpower, including the City of Batavia, Orleans County and Livingston County. While there are so many people that stepped up to help, it’s impossible to list them all by name. However, I want to give a special shout-out to Nate Fix, Tony Johnston and members of the Genesee SnoPackers organization that came out with their ‘Tucker’ vehicle, which proved to be instrumental in saving lives by reaching people that other vehicles couldn’t get to.

"Thank you to the volunteers at the various warming shelters," he added, "the people who opened up their homes to strangers and the people that opened up their kitchens and cupboards with donated food for those stranded. While this storm will be remembered for the impressive winds and snowfall, I will always remember this storm by the bravery exhibited and the community coming together to care for one another. I am so proud to say I am from Genesee County!”

Shelley Stein, Chair of the Genesee County Legislature, could not be more thankful for her community.

“Bravery, courage, dedication, and compassion - all characteristics demonstrated by our community members, volunteers, and leaders during this past weekend," Stein said. "Genesee County is well known for our cooperative spirit and creativity in getting the work accomplished together. Our community, once again, jumped into action and shared their skills and talents to save lives and provide comfort to many. Our volunteer fire service members are our backbone of public safety in events like Storm Elliott. Untold hours, risks, and determination prevented deaths in our county. THANK YOU, simple and sincere from a grateful Genesee County Community.” 

Submitted photos.

Outside the Jerome Center. Photo by Carrie Lawrence.

Click here for 5399 Horseshoe Lake Road, Batavia.
Click here for 6380 Oak Orchard Road, Elba.
Click here for 3861 Ridge Road, Elba.

A chimney fire is reported at 1279 Indian Falls Road, Pembroke.

No flames show but there is smoke in the residence.

Pembroke Fire, Indian Falls Fire, and Corfu Fire dispatched.

UPDATE 3:12 p.m.: Crittenden asked to standby in Corfu's hall to standby for anything in Corfu, Pembroke, or Indian Falls.

UPDATE 3:16 p.m.: National Grid requested to the scene to cut power.

UPDATE 3:19 p.m. Tankers from Darien and Alabama requested to the scene.

UPDATE 3:26 p.m.: "It looks like we're getting a knock on the fire."  Crews are pulling exterior walls to check for extension.

UPDATE 3:38 p.m.: Red Cross shelter requested for two adults.

UPDATE 3:49 p.m.: Fire is out. Starting overhaul.

A semi-truck has reportedly taken down wires in the area of 17 School St., Batavia.

The driver is still in the truck.

City Fire is on scene.

UPDATE 1:59 p.m.: National Grid and phone company requested to the scene.

UPDATE 2:12 p.m.: No electrical lines. "National Grid is not involved. Lots of phone lines and lots of cable lines."  City Fire is clearing.

A two-vehicle accident is reported at Knowlesville and Lewiston roads in Alabama.

Three people with possible injuries, including a child with a nose injury.

Alabama Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched. Oakfield asked to respond mutual aid.

UPDATE 1:44 p.m.: Oakfield fire police requested to Lewiston and Lockport Road.

UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: There is a pickup truck with a fuel leak.

UPDATE 1:53 p.m.: A chief on scene asks dispatch to check on the availability of Mercy Flight.

UPDATE 1:54 p.m.: Mercy Flight out of Olean is would be a 40-minute ETA so the patient will use ground transport.  Also, code enforcement requested to the scene.

The Batavia Blue Devils beat Roy-Hart 77-41 at GCC on Tuesday to win their open-round game in the annual Lions Tournament.

Ja'vin McFollins scored 17 points, Rasheed Christie, 16, and Sawyer Siverling, 13.

Batavia will play Le Roy for the large school crown on Thursday at 8 p.m.  Notre Dame and Oakfield-Alabama will face off for the small school trophy at 6:30 p.m.  Both games are being played at GCC.

Notre Dame beat Medina in its opening-round game of the Lion's Tournament at GCC on Tuesday, 67-37.

No stats are available for the game.

Photos by Pete Welker.

In the second game, Oakfield-Alabama will advance to the small-school championship game at GCC tomorrow after beating Elba in the Lion's Tournament, 69-39.

For the Hornets:

• Kyle Porter, 21 points
• Brayden Smith, 14 points, 7 assists
• Colton Yasses, 10 points, 8 rebounds

For the Lancers:

• Connor Scott, 9 points
• Jake Walczak, 10 points
• Angelo Penna, 7 points

O-A is now 5-1 and Elba is 3-4.

"I was proud of the effort of the boys tonight, especially on the defensive end," said Head Coach Ryan Stehlar. "We had a tough matchup against a well-coached league team in Elba and had to be ready to go early.  I was proud of our bench for stepping up when we needed them, as well.  Overall, it was a good team win."

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.

Honor a special loved one who has passed with a memorial tribute on The Batavian. Submit their name, dates of birth and death, photo, and a tribute paragraph to The Batavian for publication on Jan. 2. Click here to submit your tribute along with a $25 publication fee.

Medina Lanes and Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia are ringing in the New Year with tournaments on the first three weekends of January.

On Jan. 1, Medina Lanes is holding its New Year’s Day Handicap Eliminator, a handicap singles event offering a first prize of $400, based on 40 entries. Squad times are 10 a.m. and noon, and the entry fee is $40.

The top 16 will advance to the eliminator round, where half of the field moves on after one additional game until a champion is determined. Handicap is based on 90 percent of the difference in the bowler’s average and 250.

The tournament is open to Genesee Region USBC members from the past two seasons. To enter, call 585-318-4474.

-- On Jan. 7-8, Mancuso Bowling Center is hosting the 69^th GRUSBC Scratch Memorial, a scratch singles event offering a $1,000 first prize, based on 80 entries. Entry fee is $60. The GRUSBC is adding $300 to the tournament prize fund.

Four-game qualifying squad times are 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Jan. 7 and 10 a.m. Jan. 8. One in five from each squad will advance to the semifinals, which are scheduled following the 10 a.m. squad on Sunday.

The tournament will be bowled on a special “Challenge” oil pattern designed by Kegel, and available for viewing at www.bowlgr.com starting on Jan. 3

To enter, call 585-343-3736 or send an email to mikep@bowlgr.com.

-- On Jan. 15, Medina Lanes will host the 9^th annual GRUSBC Adult-Junior Doubles Handicap Tournament, with squad times at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.

Two youth divisions – 12 & under and 13 & over – are planned. Scholarships will be awarded to the top youth bowlers in each division. Entry fee is $45 per team.

All bowlers must be members of the GRUSBC. To enter, call 585-343-3736 or send an email to mikep@bowlgr.com.

Entry forms for the GRUSBC tournaments are posted at www.bowlgr.com.

As city and county officials tallied the weekend’s figures — numbers of staff on overtime duty, and total costs for manpower, equipment and related expenses — their gratitude for community support will extend to federal aid as well now that FEMA has announced financial assistance for New York State, and in particular, Genesee County.

Declaration should mean federal help
“There's a process that FEMA takes based on filing the emergency declaration that allows us to expend funds to deal with life safety, whether it's infrastructure, or housing and rescuing people, and then they'll evaluate damages, and overall cost affiliated with the storm,” County Emergency Management Services Director Tim Yeager said Tuesday. “And then they'll look at a declaration that will allow for reimbursement of expenses. So it takes about two weeks. Because then the data and the costs are accumulated and then sent to the state, they gather that and then send it to FEMA, and then they make a decision based on matrixes that they have on thresholds of cost. They're going to pay, typically, the federal reimbursement rate of 75 percent of the cost.”

That remaining 25 percent is sometimes paid by the state, he said, or it would go to the local municipality.

Both city and county management are still in the accounting phase of determining final numbers and associated costs of Winter Storm Elliott.

“At this time, there is not a complete accounting of the OT that was expended due to the storm, but we will be finalizing the reporting and submitting it to the County as part of their storm disaster relief accounting and potential FEMA reimbursement," City Manager Rachael Tabelski said Tuesday.

What goes into the accounting? 
City of Batavia personnel, including the Public Works, Water Plant, Wastewater Plant, Police and Fire departments, “stepped up during the storm to ensure that the city remained passable,” Tabelski said. All departments continued to operate and assist the county staff with storm response throughout the Christmas weekend, she said.

Some staff members spent the night at the Water and Wastewater Plant to ensure continuity of operations. The Police Emergency Response Team was called in Friday and Saturday to help with search and rescue with the city’s MRAP, she said. An acronym bandied about lately -- an MRAP is a military light tactical (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle that’s as heavy-duty and dependable as it sounds.    

The city’s Fire Station became a makeshift central distribution point for food, water, and supplies for those stranded or displaced by the storm, and firefighters and city staff worked to get supplies out to the 11 warming shelters throughout the county, including one at Grace Baptist Church in Batavia. 

"The City of Batavia workforce is a dedicated group of people who show up and get the job done, day in and day out,” Tabelski said. “And I am very proud to get to work with such a great group of individuals.”

Substantial overtime
County Manager Matt Landers, likewise, did not have specific numbers, adding that “it is hard to quantify how many staff actually participated” and thought he could pull together something more definite in the next day or two. “We are still calculating the OT,” he said Monday night, but he knows that it was “certainly substantial.”

He planned to submit a claim once the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared the storm a federal emergency, which it did on Tuesday.

“I would essentially say that everyone in the Sheriff's road patrol, every dispatcher, everyone in the Sheriff's Administration, all of Emergency Management, Highway Administration, all county plow operators” were involved, he said. “The community response to this storm was nothing short of amazing. So many people stepped up to help in so many different ways.  The heroic efforts by our law enforcement, volunteer and professional firefighters, first responders, dispatchers and snow plow operators undoubtedly saved lives.

“In addition to these brave individuals saving lives, it was wonderful to see the rest of the community step up by sheltering stranded individuals, whether it was at a warming center or people that opened their personal homes up to stranded motorists,” he said. “The outpouring of food and supplies from the community to those in need was wonderful to witness!”

The weekend — which began early on Friday and built into a full-blown, three-day disaster management exercise — had affected not only hundreds of motorists diverted off the Thruway, but also those in command of alleviating the storm’s effects.

A scary Disney ride
“The experience for me was like a roller coaster, with fears of having stranded motorists in our county succumb to the elements to the amazing news that our first responders had cleared all of the vehicles with no fatalities.  I was in constant communication with our Sheriff, Highway Superintendent and Emergency Management Coordinator, keeping up to date on how the storm was tracking and how the road conditions were deteriorating,” Landers said. “Their advice, plus the input of county departments that care for our vulnerable populations, along with discussions with the city manager and chair of our Legislature, made my decision to close county offices for Friday the clear choice.”

Close communication with those people also helped him to make another decision, to implement a countywide State of Emergency and travel ban, he said. Along with the hard work came amazing stories, he said, of everyday people stepping up with heroic actions to help save lives. 

“I hope many of these stories get out in the press in the following days so the rest of the county can learn about the heroes walking among them,” he said.

Tabelski had a “very good idea” of how to organize the food and get it delivered to the shelters and emergency responders, while Landers and his wife Melissa reached out to friends and colleagues in Batavia to appeal for donations. Landers and his daughter Katie then drove around picking up the many homemade dishes and snack and beverage items.

“I still have to get these dishes back to the families that donated, which will hopefully happen in the next couple of days, but I am sure some won't make it back.  It was nice to see over 20 people that we had messaged step up and donate food items,” he said. “I want to give a huge shout-out to John Spryopoulos from Settlers Restaurant, who donated seven full pans of food and eight half pans of food.  He opened up his kitchen with a couple of helpers Saturday morning and had the food ready by early afternoon.”

Recovery here, ongoing rescues a county over
Yaeger took a few minutes to look back and appreciate all of the efforts that went into weekend rescues, though his work was not quite done. The last of the stranded motorists emptied out of warming shelters by 9 p.m. Monday, he said, and they were back on their way home — whether directly by a vehicle on side roads due to a still closed Thruway, or after checking into a local hotel to get more rest before their trip.

He, on the other hand, was still in full rescue mode, helping to coordinate vehicles — MRAPs borrowed from Orleans and Livingston counties and utility task vehicles (UTVs) — for arrival in Erie County. Many of those vehicles were needed to transport patients ready for check-out at hospitals so that additional patients could be treated, Yaeger said.

As one of the many folks in this area to know about the infamous blizzard of 45 years ago, this latest one tops everything so far, he said.

"I think the onset was far faster than I think anyone expected it to be. And I think it was just typically the lake effect snow does not set up over Genesee County for that extended period of time. Basically, the heaviest lake effect was in that northwest quadrant, west side of the county. Pretty much the whole west side of the county that was the kind of that heavy, heavy, heavy snow and wind, and that's what caused all those problems,” he said. “I've never experienced that type of snow event and wind event. I mean, obviously I was a child when Blizzard of ’77 occurred. And that was a different dynamic because of the snow buildup on Lake Erie. We didn't have that to deal with. We just have heavy, heavy lake effect and the strong winds causing the low visibility, and then the people just can't clean the roads fast enough.”

He was a central point of operations and also walked the walk, joining a team on the roads Saturday night. Danger aside, “there wasn’t a lot of convincing needed,” he said about the responders eager to help out. They all agreed with similar sentiment that “we should not be out there," he said, and yet they all went.

“The internal fortitude of the first responders, both law enforcement, fire and EMS, not to give up and, they just keep pushing and pushing, and we obviously brought in more resources, but that took time to get those resources here,” Yaeger said. “But when you're in the storm, you're risking, obviously, their lives … risking the lives of the first responders out there. So, there'll be conversations, what do we do better? I know, from the state level, down to the local level, how can we do a better job of keeping cars off the road? They had plenty of warning, I can assure you that everyone knew it was coming.”

Lessons and thankfulness in hindsight
Landers also said that there will be a countywide discussion about learning from hindsight and preparing as much as possible for any future Elliotts that may blow into town. Tucked into the questions and concerns has been an element of gratitude for what Yaeger described as a “heroic effort that I witnessed” during at least a continuous 48 hours of responding to a nature-inspired emergency.

“All the way from the dispatchers to tow truck operators, and snow removal, highway workers and the volunteer fire and law enforcement of both Sheriff's Office, State Police, city PD, just never stopping until everyone they knew everyone was safe,” Yaeger said. “And it was absolutely, when you talk about heroes, those guys are heroes, and girls. Absolutely heroic effort, and then the sheltering of the public and the municipal leaders and businesses locally, from the churches, to schools to private restaurants, private residences.

“They just opened their doors and let complete strangers in,” he said. “It’s just absolutely amazing.”

Tabelski provided an updated donor list that was part of the “hundreds of volunteers in the city and across the county (that) stepped up to assist during this storm.” To view, see HERE. 

Top Photo: If you cannot see this scene very clearly, that's exactly what it was like for motorists on Friday and Saturday in the western part of Genesee County. Photo by Steve Grice. Above, a safer view of the cleared road, properties and an oncoming car Tuesday after massive cleanup efforts took place during the weekend. Photo by Howard Owens.

This is a story that should be told in black and white, like an old Hollywood screen gem about a Christmas miracle, the small town banding together against adverse conditions, saving a bunch of strangers from some dread uncertain fate as the winds howled and the snow blew on a moonless night.

But you won't find this story on Turner Classic Movies. 

This story doesn't star Jimmy Stewart.

This is the story of the Town of Alabama responding to an unexpected crisis caused by an epic storm, some unplanned turns prompted by current technology and a few broad assumptions travelers made about what to anticipate down the road.

The central characters are Joe Bradt, Brian Kotarski, Craig Alexander, and Bonnie Woodward, along with a supporting cast of rescue crews and of Alabama residents who donated blankets, air mattresses and toys to help about 140 people from all over North America who found themselves stranded in their small town during the most powerful blizzard to hit Western New York since 1977.

Our setting is a wood-framed, two-story building that has provided warmth, comfort, and perhaps a few libations to weary travelers for 182 years. That's why it's still called the Alabama Hotel.

That word hotel might explain why, when motorists found they could go no further in the midst of Winter Storm Elliott, they came to the intersection of Lewiston Road and Alleghany Road seeking shelter.

That's where they found Bradt willing to open the door to all who knocked.

"I would say that 80 percent of the people that walked through the front door, the first question was, 'Do you have any rooms around?' And I'm like, 'We're not really a hotel. We're a restaurant, but come in, let us feed you and let us keep you warm,'" Bradt said.

I'll Be Home for Christmas
Friday was supposed to be a regular work day for Bradt, Alabama Hotel owner Bonnie Woodward, and the rest of the staff, except that it would be the last day before closing for the week for Christmas and New Year's.

Bradt, the restaurant's general manager, got a call from Woodward as he drove to work on Friday morning. She wanted to discuss the forecast. She asked Bradt, "what are your thoughts?"

"I said, 'Man, I don't know. You know, last time, they weren't right about the forecast, but it doesn't sound like they're playing around.'"

For the safety of their employees, Woodward and Bradt decided to keep the doors closed on Friday and reopen as planned on Jan. 4, so Bradt continued on to work and proceed to secure the building and supplies for the planned closure.

When he was done, "I loaded up the Jeep with my Christmas dinner and Bonnie's Christmas dinner, which I was going to drop off at her house, and left here about 12:30. I didn't get a quarter mile up the road, and there was no visibility. The roads were completely covered, and there was already an accident right here. 

"I immediately turned around and said the safest place I can be is here for now. You know, I'll just wait it out here. No sooner did I put the key in the back door and unlock the back door than people were knocking on the front door. That didn't stop for two days."

The weather outside was vicious.  Heavy, lake-effect snow blown around by 35 mph winds with 70 mph gusts. The roads were no place for anybody in any type of vehicle, let alone people unfamiliar with the area in sedans, minivans and luxury SUVs. 

But when the Thruway authority decided to close the I-90 with no plan to direct travelers to safe routes, and Google and Apple proving incapable of warning drivers of hazardous conditions ahead, drivers who plotted Canada into their smartphones did what Siri or Googlebot told them to do: hop on Route 63 or Route 77 and head toward Niagara County.  Right into the worst of the blizzard.

They didn't get far.

Buffeted by high winds and snow moving vertically across their windshields, drivers couldn't see the end of their hoods, let alone the roadway, and motorists became stranded up and down the state highways (if this were a black and white movie, we would mention "hood ornament" and cut to a shiny chrome object weaving through a field of white while trombones honk ominous tones).

Holiday Inn
Some made it on their own as far as Lewiston and Alleghany. Others were brought there by rescue teams or area residents. All of them were a lot better off sheltered from the elements with hot meals and warm blankets.

Shortly after Bradt opened the doors to all who showed up on the restaurant's front porch, he was joined by Brian Kotarski, who lives just a bit more than a mile down the road but thought that as long as his wife and small children had power, they were safe, and he wouldn't necessarily be safe if he tried to make it home, and his friend Joe and all these people at the Alabama Hotel needed help.

Kotarski has no training in the hospitality industry. None. Nada.  He owns a construction company.

"I've never cooked," Kotarski said. "Never. I've always been on the other side of the bar or in the dining room. It was definitely a new experience, you know, cooking on the grill and serving at the bar. You know, I've never done that before."

But he quickly became Bradt's right-hand man.

They were joined by Craig Alexander, the co-owner of Holly Farms, the small grocery store across the street famous for its meat counter.

For the next 48 hours, the three of them led the effort to keep all of the unexpected visitors well nourished.

Bradt said they started off with a buffet of chicken and biscuits because that was something that could be put out quickly and was an easy self-serve meal, giving them time to plan their next move. 

They made chili for dinner, another easy meal.

"We didn't sleep over that whole 48 hours," Bradt said. "When everybody settled down that first night, we dimmed the lights at probably 11 o'clock  and Brian and I walked in the kitchen and were like, 'hey, what's next?' And next is breakfast. And we're like, what do we have? So we started going through the freezer. We pulled 20 pounds of bacon, 20 pounds of sausage, Brian stood over the grill and made 350 pancakes.  When these guys got up between six and seven, we had the buffet set up."

There was no worry about supplies, Bradt said. Not only was the restaurant well stocked, but with Alexander's help, there was a ready pantry of meal ingredients less than 50 yards away.

"He didn't even think twice," Bradt said. "Like, 'what are we going to eat next?' 'Roast beef.' 'I'll be right back,' and he goes next door and comes back with 40 pounds of roast beef. Those guys were a godsend to us."

Alexander is on the quiet side, and when interviewed, he said he was happy to help and "it was a fine Christmas."

It's a Wonderful Life
Everybody that made it to Alabama Hotel signed in so there would be a record of who was safe in case somebody wanted to go looking for them.  Looking at that list, Bradt notes, "there are people from Canada, New Jersey, Niagara Falls, LA, Toronto, Ohio, Delaware; there's a few from Shelby and Oakfield and Lancaster, but 75 percent of the people that were here were from out of the state."

There was never a thought about charging these travelers for lodging, such as it was, or food.

Bradt doesn't have an exact estimate of how much serving all those people, all that food, cost the restaurant. He's told national media outlets -- yes, the Alabama Hotel's Christmas hospitality has become national news -- it cost about $5,000. He said the price is somewhere between $4,000 and $6,000. But who's counting?

The lodging consisted of people pulling chairs together to sleep on, or sleeping on the floor or finding space upstairs.  Families with kids got the somewhat remodeled rooms upstairs, including the ones with a couple of couches.

Blankets and air mattresses came courtesy of a few of the residents in the hamlet.

"One lady down the street, she put on her snowsuit, she grabbed two sleds out of her garage, and she strapped totes and bags of blankets and air mattresses to them," Bradt said. "She literally came with flashlights on her forehead, trudging through the blizzard right up to our front door and was like, 'Here's some supplies.' That continued on for the whole two days. Just random people walking here with supplies."

When travelers didn't have blankets, they grabbed eight-foot long table cloths.

"I've never seen so many people from so many different nationalities in one place," Bradt said. "And all they cared about was each other. There was no politics. There was no arguing. There was no fighting. It was just, 'how do I help the person next to me?'"

Kotarski added, "It's pretty humbling to have that many people, no arguments. If somebody needs something, somebody figured it out."

There were two Canadian families with teenagers who became the bus and wait staff.

"They pitched in as if they knew me and Joe forever," Kotarski said. "They were washing dishes, cleaning up out here. I mean, there was one burden we didn't have to worry about. They catered to everybody. They made coffee the whole time, tea the whole time."

Bradt interjected, "The only time they came to us was to ask, 'where is this? Where is more toilet paper? Where is more coffee?'"

If you've followed the story this far, you may have noticed the meals being prepared were pretty heavy on meat -- chicken and beef. That's our next plot complication. In a group of travelers, not everybody is going to eat animals.

That soon became another problem that solved itself.

"Somebody came up and said, 'We're from Canada, and we're Indian, and we are vegetarians,' Bradt said. "And I'm like, I am not a chef. I'm not sure what to make. So we opened the salad bar. They're saying, 'Hey, what do you have for vegetarian options? And I said, 'What I have is I have a lot of ingredients.' And they were like, 'do you mind if we come back there and cook?'  It was absolutely mindblowing. Mindblowing."

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
When Christmas Eve rolled around, Bradt mentioned to an Alabama resident that they had 10 kids in the group.  Pretty soon, people were showing up with wrapped presents, wrapped toys, so the kids would have something to open on Christmas morning.

Woodward didn't venture from her home during the storm, but Bradt stayed in contact and let her know what was going on, and on Christmas Eve, he wondered what he should do for their patrons.

"I called her at about 4:30, and I said, 'Listen, we've served chicken and biscuits. We've served chili. We've served pizza. We've served wings, breakfasts, roast beef, I mean, you name it, we served it.' I said, 'Well, how do we make Christmas Eve special for 115 people that are here together? And she said, 'I want you to walk out to our walk-in cooler and I want you to take out the 60 pounds of prime rib that is in there. I want you to make a prime rib dinner.'"

So that's what Bradt did.

"We didn't just make prime rib and throw it out there," Bradt said. "We made it special. We served them. I stood right there at the end of the table and carved the prime rib as each person came up, and the first thing they did was stop and take a photograph. Everything we did, there was clapping and excitement, and we just really made the best of it, you know, absolutely made the best of it. It's definitely a Christmas that none of us -- that none of them -- will ever forget."

At about 3:30 in the morning on Christmas Day, Bradt ventured out and could see things were starting to clear up, and he knew that pretty soon it would be time for him and all these people who had bonded over meals at the Alabama Hotel to head home.

In the morning, Bradt started giving people a ride in his Jeep to the travel center, to Oakfield-Alabama, to side roads, wherever their cars were parked. When he dropped them off, they would try to stuff money in his pockets. He would refuse but they would persist.

"I got home and started talking to my family, and I was like, 'oh, yeah,' so I started emptying my pockets out onto the dining room table."

He counted $1,700.

There was another $300 left in the restaurant's tip jar.

"I called Bonnie, and I'm like, 'this isn't my money,' Bradt said. "This money is coming back to the restaurant, and we're gonna find a way to use it. On the way here today, I was thinking, 'You know what, maybe we use some of that money to go out and buy 100 blankets, you know, and set up upstairs so we can be prepared.' Hopefully, we never need them."

Then his thought shifted.

"It's been a very, very humbling, very humbling experience. These are the times when you figure out who your friends are and who's got your back."

And that's how the story ends, it seems, with more than 100 holiday travelers who passed through a small town in Upstate New York on Friday and Saturday to find out that total strangers can be their friends just when they might need them the most.

Photos: Inset photo of Joe Bradt and Brian Kotarski by Howard Owens. All other photos courtesy of Alabama Hotel.

A message left on a social media post by Alabama Hotel.