The Batavia Downtown Public Market season has started and the market will be open three days a week this year, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Above, one of the vendors, Charleen Satkowski, of Harper Hill Farm, of Darien.
Creek Road near Lehigh Avenue, Batavia, is closed for culvert replacement.
Even though signs warn of the closure as far back and East Road, people are still driving all the way down to the barriers, even semi-trucks, according to a Creek Road resident, who thought it might be a good idea to remind residents of the closure.
The closure started Wednesday and is expected to last for seven to 10 days.
It would mean a lot to Frank Panepento if you would come out to the VA Center in Batavia at 1 p.m. on Sunday to celebrate Flag Day with our veterans.
It will mean a lot to him because it means a lot to the veterans living at the center.
Panepento helped organize the event, which will include a motorcycle procession from Stan's Harley-Davidson and a presentation by students from Batavia Middle School, who wrote essays on what the flag means to them.
The BMS Art Department also created flags for the veterans.
"For the residents in the hospital, just to know that someone cares about them is huge," Panepento said.
St. Joe's Brass Ensemble, which Penepento leads, will also play.
One of New England's largest dairy producers, HP Hood, with an increasing reach into New York, is acquiring the former Muller Quaker Dairy plant in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park in Batavia.
The plant has been vacant, except for a few maintenance workers, since Theo Muller Group and PepsiCo dissolved their yogurt-making partnership in December 2015. A month later, Dairy Farmers of America, a dairy farmers cooperative, purchased the 363,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art milk processing facility for $60 million.
Since then, DFA has been mum about its plans for the plant, and for 2017, the company wound up paying all of the property taxes due on the two parcels, more than $650,000, because they were not meeting the employment obligations of the PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) agreement Muller Quaker received for the project.
Rumors have started circulating weeks ago that DFA planned to sell the plant to a large dairy producer.
Public documents released by the Genesee County Economic Development Center in advance of a meeting next week where new tax incentives will be considered indicate that Hood is the buyer. It is a 170-year-old company that does more than $2 billion in business annually, and is based in Lynnfield, Mass..
Hood is a subsidiary of Catamount Companies. The owner and CEO is John A. Kaneb, who is also a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox.
News of Hood's purchase is good news to local dairy farmers. Both Shelly Stein of Stein Farms and Dean Norton, former NY Farm Bureau president and owner of a dairy farm in Elba, said anything that creates more demand for local milk helps all farmers.
"Anything that can go into that plant and help with the oversupply of raw milk that we have in the Northeast right now, that would be good," Norton said.
Norton said he has met Kaneb a couple of times.
"He's a good guy and it's a pretty solid company," Norton said.
Bill Baskin, owner of Baskin Livestock in Bethany, got his start in the dairy business in Massachusetts, so he is very familiar with Hood and said it's a good, old, old, old company with deep roots in Boston.
The funny story, he said, is that his great uncles had a 700- or 800-cow dairy farm back in the 1940s and they didn't like the price they were getting from Hood for milk, so they started their own bottling plant, which years later they sold.
Both Stein and Norton are DFA members. Norton said he doesn't know, but he would expect that DFA will become the supplier of milk for Hood's operations.
Monica Massey, senior vice president and chief of staff for DFA, said she could not confirm the transaction with Hood.
"We are getting close to finalizing an agreement," she said.
Massey said DFA acquired the plant as a "strategic opportunity" because the region is an important and underserved milk shed.
Asked if DFA would supply milk to Hood, Massey said, "We acquired the facility because we thought it would benefit our member-owners." That is still the goal, she added.
Hood's purchase price for the former Muller Quaker plant has not been released, but GCEDC documents indicate that Hood plans to add another 100,000 square feet to the plant, which is already considered the largest in the United States, for a warehouse.
How much that additional investment will cost is not disclosed in the documents.
While Muller Quaker topped out at 162 jobs created, Hood promises 250 jobs at the plant, with an average annual salary of $47,000.
Hood plans to begin construction this summer and be operational by the first quarter of 2019.
Construction will create 524 jobs with a payroll of nearly $26 million.
The original cost of construction for the plant was $206 million, which is the cost of capital investment still tracked by GCEDC for its accounting purposes.
The GCEDC board will be asked to consider reinstating the PILOT, which will provide Hood with more than $7 million in tax abatements over 10 years, with an anticipated total economic benefit to the region of more than $330 million.
Hood has been expanding into New York and other parts of the United States over the past few years. In 2004, the company acquired Crowley Foods, based in Binghamton. It's also acquired dairy companies in Minnesota and Sacramento, Calif.
Eric Zuber, a local dairy farmer and VP of Upstate Niagara Milk Cooperative, said he hasn't heard what Hood plans to do with the plant, but like Stein and Norton, he believes anything that will "soak up some of the milk supply" is a good thing.
"There sure is a lot of milk around right now," he said. "A little more capacity with the right thing is a good thing. We need more processing capacity. I don't care where it comes from."
Hood and Kaneb, he said, have a good reputation in the dairy industry.
"He’s done a fantastic job with (Hood)," Zuber said. "They know how to manage a milk plant. Whatever they decided to do, I'm sure it's going to be first class."
The demand for ride sharing in Western New York, including Genesee County, is strong and has been growing for years, according to the two leading companies expected to provide service locally as soon as it's legal on June 29.
Representatives of both Uber and Lyft said they anticipate being able to provide service to Batavia and the rest of the county that day and they're getting ready to meet the demand.
Both companies are eager to be ready for a potential surge in demand around the July 4 holiday.
Ride-sharing services are a child of the mobile digital age, allowing private drivers to make themselves available to offer rides to people who hail them through a mobile app on a smartphone.
Both Uber and Lyft have become global companies with valuations in the billions of dollars and both companies compete fiercely for drivers and riders. It's been years since either company has been able to expand service in a U.S. market, such as Upstate New York.
Sen. Micheal Ranzenhofer sponsored a bill passed by NYS Legislature and signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to make ride sharing legal Upstate in time for the July 4 weekend, after the Legislature had previously approved ride sharing this year.
The lobbying effort by Uber and Lyft included more than $2.6 million combined in campaign contributions. Details do not yet seem available on how much in campaign contributions Ranzenhofer might have received.
A spokesperson for Uber said the company has been eager to start service in Upstate because the demand for the service has been so strong. Certainly in Buffalo, but even in Genesee County, said Alix Anfang, adding that drivers have been signing up in numbers that give the company confidence they will be able to provide fast and reliable service.
"New York, Upstate New York, is one of the last places in the country to have access to ride sharing and people in the area have been demanding it for years," Anfang said. "The governor and the Legislature listened to their constituents and their desire for better transportation options and we're excited we will be able to offer the service."
While there are small cab companies in Batavia and a bus service, ride sharing helps enhance those services rather than compete against them, Anfang said.
"The reports show that more the ride sharing available, the more people use public transit," Anfang said. "The real competition for ride sharing is personal car ownership."
Oftentimes, Anfang said, ride sharing is a "last-mile solution" for people who would want to use public transit, but a bus doesn't get them close enough to their intended destination. Many ride sharing customers, she said, take a bus and then use ride sharing for that last mile.
"If you can get reliable ride sharing, you're more likely to leave your car at home," she said.
Bar and restaurant owners may be one of the biggest beneficiaries of ride sharing. It's smarter to hail a ride, and even plan ahead, with an app on a smartphone than it is to risk a DWI arrest, which is one reason Uber and Lyft were eager to get the service legal and up and running by July 4.
Uber isn't just successful in large cities, Anfang said. Throughout the country, Uber has found willing drivers and demand for services in rural areas as well.
"We want to be everywhere and serve every customer as soon as we possibly can and we're working to make sure we can be ready, especially with the July 4th holiday coming," Anfang said.
Campbell Matthews, representing Lyft, provided the following statement:
"We are excited to officially become a part of communities across New York State,” said Jaime Raczka, regional director of New Markets for Lyft. “In every community in which ride sharing operates, it improves road safety, boosts local economies, and brings local families needed income.
"We thank the thousands of New York State residents who fought to bring these benefits to their neighborhoods and cities, and we look forward to becoming New Yorkers' ride-sharing platform of choice.”
UPDATE: Daniel Aikin, a spokesman for Micheal Ranzenhofer, said the senator hasn't take a dime in contributions from either Uber or Lyft. "His support for the expansion of ride-sharing across Western New York is a result of thousands of Upstate New Yorkers demanding access to this new, safe and reliable transportation option."
The financing of the Ellicott Station project by Buffalo-Based Savarino Companies is complicated, but it's moving along at a swift pace and CEO Sam Savarino doesn't expect any delays in financing that would prevent construction from the starting this summer.
Savarino Companies will have a direct investment of about $3.5 million and will borrow approximately another $10 million or more and local, state, and federal programs will cover another $5 million or so of the more than $18 million in project expenses (a bit of an increase over prior project estimates).
Assistance programs to make the project viable come in three forms: tax abatements from the Genesee County Economic Development Center, grants from the State of New York, and a federal New Market Tax Credit program.
"We knew going in we had a hole in this budget of about $5 million," Savarino said. "The state came in, Empire State Development, and filled part of the hole with the grants that they have, but it's still left us out there and that's why we went out we said we need enough allocation to fill that hole."
That hole is being filled by the New Market Tax Credit program, created about two decades ago in part to replace grants that financed many failed urban renewal programs. Tax credits on the project that can be sold as assets help create a market-driven way to encourage development in economically distressed neighborhoods. It's a way for the market to help decide which projects are worthy of assistance rather than the federal government making the decision.
The tax credits are administered by Community Development Entities (these can be for-profit companies or nonprofit agencies). The CDEs decide which projects to back. The tax credits are then sold to investors, who can use the tax credits or sell them on the open market.
"An area like this particular area is a distressed area," Savarino said. "It's got way more unemployment than other areas in the county. It's got way more incidents of poverty of people living there, more than any other part of the county. It's also a brownfield site. So it's got all those things going against it. That's just the type of site -- and by the way that has prevented its redevelopment -- it makes it too expensive to really redevelop. It's not really marketable. That's exactly the type of project that the New Market Tax Credit program is meant to address. But there are federal tax credits and they're meant to bring life into sites and generally in cities that don't have that much of a chance."
Julie Pacatte, economic development coordinator for the Batavia Development Corp., said Ellicott Station is unique in the county because the total investment exceeds $5 million to $10 million, which is necessary to even attract New Market Tax Credits.
"That's what makes it difficult for rural communities to access the program because projects generally don't project to that kind of scale to access the program," Pacatte said.
Savarino said the Ellicott Station project will use about $7.5 million in tax credits, which will translate into about $2.5 million in direct investment into the project.
Without the assistance programs, traditional lenders wouldn't even consider a project with the liabilities of the former Della Penna property, which needs extensive environmental remediation and is in a neighborhood with higher than average unemployment and lower than average incomes.
"There's no way it would even be financeable," Savarino said. "It's not just a developer like ourselves coming in and so everybody can gainsay your efforts over there because of you and you are out there trying to -- you're not going to do this to lose money. We're judged more harshly by the people who come and provide the financing for something like this.
"So we take a risk for going out and risking that we're going to lease up these units. We're risking that will lease up the commercial space. We're taking the risk that we've got a cap on the cost, and we have all the normal risk that you have (in a development)."
Some of the risk is mitigated by the fact that Savarino has already secured an anchor tenant for the project, Resurgence Brewery, out of Buffalo, which will open a restaurant, beer garden and sour beer brewery at the location. That business is expected to create at least 15 full-time jobs.
Savarino said the Resurgence owners are eager to get going and would move in today if they could.
The complicated financing isn't anything new for Savarino Companies, which has been involved in redeveloping several properties in Buffalo that were also highly distressed and needed to make variety a variety of financing and investment options to make them viable.
The New Market Tax Credit is limited to the commercial side of the project. For that, Savarino must secure the tax credits, attract the investors, find additional financing, get the proper approvals from local and state officials, and then the company must still also secure financing for the apartment complex.
Over the course of planning, the apartment complex has gone from 30 units to 42, to 47, and now the plans call for 54 units.
"When we started laying it out and we actually got the building down, we got to our unit mix and it turned out that we could fit 54 units in there," Savarino said.
That's one reason the costs have gone up a bit, but a recent environmental examination of the property also uncovered a surprise -- a previously unknown storm water drainage canal running under the entire length property.
The canal -- they're calling it the "Grand Canal" -- shows up on no maps, no site drawings, no infrastructure maps. It was built of brick long, long ago and forgotten about.
There's also evidence of contamination in the canal.
The best-case scenario is the canal can be declared as abandoned and filled in (as a matter of engineering, the buildings can't just be built on top of it), but if it needs to be rerouted, it can either be mitigated by connecting it to existing drainage lines under Ellicott Street or put under the easement for the new Ellicott Trail, which will run behind Ellicott Station. Savarino isn't expecting the canal to blow up the budget.
"Some of that is just the nature of the brownfield redevelopment and the remediation program of the state's is intended to offset those costs," Savarino said. "So to the extent that you find something that's a little worse than what you knew about, your site-prep costs will go up, and hopefully it works out such that you get the tax credits to offset that cost."
Savarino and Pacatte were at the Genesee County Planning Board meeting last night as part of the process of getting land-use approvals for the project.
The planning committee recommended approval of the site plan.
The project moves forward next with a GCEDC public hearing June 20 on the $1.5 million tax incentive package, which includes breaks on sales and mortgage tax, and a payment in lieu of taxes plan on the new tax liabilities generated by the increase in assessed value of the property. That same day, the city's Planning Committee will review the site plan and on June 22, the Zoning Board will review the plan.
This morning, the County Legislature held a special meeting to approve a $225,000 grant to assist construction of the brewery and restaurant for Resurgence Brewery. The grant is a pass-through of federal Community Development Block Grant money administered by the state's Office of Community Renewal. The special meeting was necessary because today was the deadline for completing the application.
Savarino said he doesn't anticipate any delays in financing, that financing should close in July and construction will begin in August.
Press release:
The marketing efforts of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) were recognized during the New York State Economic Development Council’s (NYSEDC) annual meeting in Cooperstown on May 24th and 25th.
The GCEDC received Certificates in Excellence in the categories of Multimedia Advertising and Printed & Electronic Newsletter and Honorable Mention in the Brochure and Annual Report categories.
The Multimedia Advertising Award is shared between the City of Batavia, the Batavia Development Corporation and the GCEDC. That award recognized the “Bet on Batavia” video produced in 2016 for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative competition
“We were very proud of the collaboration to produce the ‘Bet on Batavia’ video,” said Jason Molino, Batavia city manager. “We will once again utilize the video, and other social media platforms and strategies as we pursue funding from New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative."
“Collaboration is an extremely important component of economic development especially in presenting a unified vision for a community and region,” said Pierluigi Cipollone, president of the Batavia Development Corporation. “In this instance, the video told a powerful story about the uniqueness and pride we have in our city.”
The NYSEDC annually recognizes the economic development marketing efforts of its member organizations.
“These awards demonstrate creativity, impact, and visual appeal by our members who are effectively marketing their communities for economic development purposes,” said Brian McMahon, executive director of the New York State Economic Development Council.
“Economic development is extremely competitive with regions, states and countries competing against each other, so it is imperative that our marketing materials stand out among those making investment decisions in Batavia and Genesee County,” said Steve Hyde, president and CEO, GCEDC.
“Our marketing team under Rachel Tabelski and the marketing professionals at our economic development partners do a tremendous job in distinguishing our region through the materials they collaborate on to produce.”
NYSEDC has been the state’s principle organization representing economic development professionals, businesses, and colleges and universities for more than 40 years.
Saying it's a reality of business these days, Foxprowl Collectibles announced on Facebook that it is closing its downtown store, though the business will continue as an online-only business.
"This is by no means the business ending," Bill Hume said in the statement. "It is simply changing and adapting with the current state of retail (over 50 percent of U.S. retail sales now occur online)."
Hume, who operated the business with his wife, Joy, started Foxprowl as an online-only business and opened a store on Ellicott Street in 2010. They moved the store to Main and Jackson streets less than a year ago, in September 2016.
Foxprowl won the Chamber's "Entrepreneurial Business of the Year" award for 2016.
The store also operates an annual local comic and collectibles convention, Foxprowl Con. Hume said the convention will be on hiatus this year because of the business transition but will return in 2018.
The physical store location closing is effective July 1.
Photo: File photo of Joy and Bill Hume.
Edith Bouvier Beale once famously said, "It could have been me instead of Jackie Kennedy in the White House."
It's not that Beale was ever courted by Jack Kennedy, but she was engaged to Joe Kennedy Jr., the young man his father groomed to eventually become president before he was killed in World War II.
We meet a young and potentially betrothed Joe Jr. in G'rey Gardens, The Musical," being staged this weekend and next by Batavia Players at the Harvest 56 Theater.
Society and history might have forgotten the Beales except that two, young, aspiring documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles happened across Edith Bouvier Beale, known as "Little Edie," and her mother, "Big Edie," living alone, mostly confined to a single room, of their once-majestic East Hampton mansion in 1975.
The Maysles brothers secured permission to show up at the mansion, known as Grey Gardens, and film whatever they saw. In an age before reality TV, the Beale women were unselfconscious and uninhibited in letting their lives be documented, with all of their odd, besotted and eccentric peculiarities.
The documentary was critically acclaimed in 1976 but faded into near oblivion, except as a cult favorite, until resurrected in the age of Netflix and 500-channel cable boxes. That led to a feature film, starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore, and finally a hit Broadway musical.
The Batavia Players are presenting one of the first off-Broadway performances.
"Grey Gardens has been a unique kind of cult following, you know -- Americana story, for quite a few years," said Pat Burk, who is producing and directing the show. "I know that that's a lot of adjectives to describe it, but I don't know how else to describe it.
"The reason why Batavian Players wanted to do it was because we have always looked for sort of new and original things that can be done in the community that normally would not be done by another theater company," Burk added. "It just seemed like the right fit and I knew I had the perfect cast and I was kind of like stalking them for a little while to make sure that I had the right cast for the show."
We spoke with Burk during a taping of the WBTA radio show "Genesee Life," which is normally hosted by Lucine Kauffman. Kauffman is an avid fan of Grey Gardens, and really, a kind of subject-area expert on the documentary. Since she couldn't interview herself, The Batavian stepped as guest host (you can hear the full broadcast on WBTA's website).
"It was really just by accident (that I found the documentary)," Kauffman said. "I was browsing through Netflix -- this had to have been at least five years ago -- and I love documentaries, so I was looking to the documentary section and came across 'Grey Gardens.' I thought 'oh this sounds interesting' and watched it and just fell in love with the movie and the characters."
Like many Grey Gardens fans, Kauffman has delved deeper into the background and history of the Bouviers and the Beales and the lives of Edith and Edie, so when she heard Batavia Players was going to stage the musical, she certainly wanted to audition for the part, and in fact Burk already had her in mind to play Edith in the second act.
"She was a Bohemian and she was an artist -- she wanted to sing," Kauffman said. "She did sing in at parties. She did give some concerts, smaller concerts.
"We take for granted," Kauffman added, "that the Kennedys were a very prominent Catholic family and that it was the WASPS, the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, were the ones who were dominating the social scene. And Phalen (Beale, husband of Edith and an uncle to Jackie), and I think Major Bouvier, to an extent, wanted to fit in with that WASP culture, and so Phalen was very conservative socially. He did not want his wife out singing in public and giving concerts. He thought she should act like a reserved society matron. She fought against that.
"When they bought Grey Gardens -- when they first married they lived in Manhattan -- when they bought Grey Gardens out on Long Island he basically just let her give recitals in the home for some of her friends. I think it broke her heart because I think she really thought she could have been a star."
The star of the documentary is, perhaps, Little Edie, the once-gorgeous, former '40s-era debutante who may have been engaged to Joe Kennedy Jr., who turned down a proposal from J. Paul Getty, and probably dated Howard Hughes. By the 1970s, in a dilapidated mansion, she seems a little touched.
"She went out with the creme de la creme of the most eligible bachelors," Kauffman said. "She was a debutante. She was absolutely gorgeous. She did some modeling."
The musical's two acts are set in better times and decaying times, first when the Beales still had some money, were still young and living the life of high society, and then in the second act Edith and Edie are living with a motley bunch of cats and scavaging raccoons. The first act is largely fictional, providing a backdrop to how the family was torn apart, and the second act cuts closer to the Beales' life as revealed by Maysles brothers.
One of the fascinating turns of the documentary is the creative ways Edie wears clothes, turning mundane garments into fashion statements, always wearing a turban or head scarf of some sort, adorned with a favorite brooch.
That came about, it seems, Kauffman said, because the Beales had no money left, or not much of it. Major Bouvier had cut his daughter Edith from the will, and once Edith and Phalen divorced, Phalen didn't pay alimony, he just left her the mansion and a small stipend.
"So imagine you have this house, this big mansion, and you have no money for upkeep or maintenance. You don't have money to go out and buy new clothing or new furniture," Kauffman said. "You see the decay. Everything is pretty much exactly the way it was but decayed, and as far as the clothing choices, I think she (Little Edie) just made do with what she had. You know she might have had this old brown skirt from the '40s and she just turned it upside down and pinned a brooch to it. She wanted to create a new fashion out of what she had."
The first performance is Friday at 7:30 p.m. There are also shows Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., then again the following weekend with shows on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and students.
The cast is:
Musicians: Cindy Baldwin, Bob Chaplin, Tristan Korzelius, Pamela Wentworth, Kathy White, Melzie Case.
Press release:
Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today reacted to news of anticipated steep increases in the price of BlueCross BlueShield plans available to New Yorker’s through the New York State Insurance marketplace.
“Not only has Obamacare been a failure for most of America, it is now failing the people of Western New York by making basic healthcare completely unaffordable and inaccessible,” said Congressman Collins. “I am absolutely appalled a BlueCross BlueShield plan in Western New York would increase by almost fifty percent in the marketplace.”
BlueCross BlueShield pointed to the failed Obamacare policies that have cost insurance companies millions of dollars, driving up costs for Americans. Regulations put in place under Obamacare have made the insurance marketplace less competitive, thus increasing costs for consumers.
While President Obama promised that premiums under his plan would decrease during these last few years, a May 23, 2017 report from the Department of Health and Human Services showed that Obamacare increased premiums across the country by 105% between 2013 and 2017.
“Obamacare’s chief cheerleader in our state, Governor Andrew Cuomo, owes our community an apology,” added Congressman Collins. “Cuomo is part and parcel to Obama’s promises that ‘you can keep your plan’ and premiums will be lower. Those have turned out to be lies.”
Collins said there was help on the way. The American Health Care Act (AHCA), which passed the House of Representatives on May 4, 2017, repeals and replaces Obamacare and removes more than $800 billion in onerous taxes and fees that have been stifling the economy and eliminating job growth.
“I am working with my colleagues in Congress to implement policies that allow the people of Western New York the opportunity to make their own choice when it comes to healthcare and provide lower premiums. Americans deserve to be able to pick which plan works best for their family, and I’m urging the senate to take up the American Health Care Act so we can get ourselves out of this mess.”
The American Health Care Act:
· Eliminates the individual and employer mandate, which forced millions of workers, families, and job creators into government mandated plans that did not work for their needs.
· For Western New Yorkers, the bill also includes the largest property tax reduction ever to be enacted. The legislation includes an amendment Congressman Collins introduced that would bar federal reimbursements for New York State Medicaid funds raised from local governments.
· Guarantees protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions by prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition, banning insurers from rescinding coverage based on a pre-existing condition, and preventing insurers from raising premiums on individuals with pre-existing conditions who maintain continuous coverage. Additionally, New York state law fully protects individuals with pre-existing conditions.
· Modernizes and strengthens Medicaid by implementing a “per capita allotment” which provides more flexibility for states and results in the largest entitlement reform in decades.
· Provides Americans access to affordable care that works for their needs by delivering monthly tax credits of $2,000-$14,000 a year, which individuals and families can use to purchase private insurance of their choice.
· A provision within the American Health Care Act (AHCA), The Patient and State Stability Fund, would provide solutions to help lower costs and repair insurance markets damaged by Obamacare. CBO estimates this would significantly reduce premiums in the nongroup market and encourage participation by insurers.
The American Health Care Act is with the Senate where it will need to be approved before heading to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
Rachel Ann Baehr, 30, of Linwood Road, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, moving from lane unsafely, and speed not reasonable and prudent. Baehr's vehicle reportedly struck a utility pole on Main Street, Alexander, at 5:42 a.m. Tuesday. When deputies arrived on the scene, there was smoke coming from the vehicle and the pole was broken. Baehr was located walking around the vehicle. She was arrested following a field sobriety test. (Initial Report).
Tara Lynn Thurley, 38, of Bethany Center Road, Bethany, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd, and falsifying business records, 1st. Thurley is accused of stealing money from her employer in Pavilion and making false entries into business records of the company in an effort to conceal the theft. She was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.
Fourth-graders from John Kennedy School were at Van Detta Stadium today for the annual Fourth Grade Track Meet. A total of 180 students competed in seven events.
This year's Kinder Farmin', a chance for elementary schoolchildren from throughout the county to learn about where their food comes from, was hosted by Reyncrest Farms on Alleghany Road in Corfu. It was organized by the Genesee County Farm Bureau.
Nicholas Michael Lotemplo, 18, of Chicory Lane, East Amherst, is charged with assault, 2nd. Lotemplo is accused of punching another person causing severe injury at Darien Lake the night of the Chance the Rapper concert. He was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.
Frederick Beniamino Ellis, 50, of West Main Street, Corfu, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding, failure to dim headlights and driver's view obstructed. Ellis was stopped at 2:22 this morning on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Eric Meyer.
Jeremy Clifford John Newton, 28, of Greenfield Road, Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of marijuana, more than 25 grams, and failure to stop at stop sign. Newton was stopped at 8:53 p.m. Sunday on South Lake Avenue, Bergen, by Deputy Michael Lute.
Andrew Charles Maier, 30, of Main Road, Corfu, is charged with felony DWI and felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and speeding. Maier was stopped at 8:12 p.m. Saturday on Colby Road, Pembroke, by Deputy Jeremy McClellan.
Christina June Morabito, 35, of Chili Center Road, Rochester, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and failure to dim headlights. Morabito was stopped at 2:54 a.m. Sunday on Route 33, Bergen, by Deputy Mathew Clor.
The following people were arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office during the Jason Aldean concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Saturday.
Brandon Guevara, 27, of Montana Lane, Clifton Springs, is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after allegedly causing a disturbance at the concert venue, striking a Live Nation security officer and then resisting arrest. Guevara was arraigned in Darien Court and put in jail in lieu of $1,000 bail.
James M Craft II, 42, of Baxter Avenue, Alden, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly grabbing and shoving a Darien Lake security officer in the venue parking lot.
Oakfield-Alabama Girls 12-U All-Star Softball Team Captures 1st-Place in Avon Tournament
What: Alan Bailey Softball Tournament
Where: Avon Driving Park
When: Saturday 06.03.2017
Game #1:
Oakfield-Alabama Hornets – 8
Avon – 1
Game #2:
Oakfield-Alabama Hornets – 5
Victor Vipers (Black) – 4
Championship Game:
Oakfield-Alabama Hornets – 9
Victor Vipers (Pink) – 7
Oakfield-Alabama Hornets - Tournament Division MVP (2nd MVP Award in the past 3-years) – Jenna Gilbert (Pitched 3 amazing games!!!)
Oakfield-Alabama Tournament All-Stars - Makena Reding & Caitlin Ryan
Coaches:
Teresa Tobolski
Mike Cianfrini
Dusty Reding
Players:
Caitlyn Kotarski
Josie Reding
Jenna Gilbert
Makena Reding
Andrea Bradt
Kara Tobolski
Josephine Carabello
Caitlin Ryan
Katie Raziano
Brooke Reding
McKenna Johnson
Sophia Cianfrini
Kayleigh Williams
Press release:
The Genesee County Libertarian Party is pleased and excited to announce three candidates for three Batavia City Council at-large positions. Lisa Whitehead, James Rosenbeck and Mark Potwora.
All three are longtime Batavia City residents who care deeply about their city and want to continue and improve its great quality of life while being fiscally responsible to future generations.
We envision Lisa, Jim, and Mark as a team who will take on this challenge as a team. The GCLP endorses and will support them fully.
Press release:
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today held a press conference with Sen. Patrick Gallivan (R-Elma) in Albany calling for an expansion of New York’s charitable gaming laws to include measures such as allowing for the use of credit and debit cards as payment for raffles and allowing advertising and sales online for raffles and games of chance.
“Momentum is at all-time high to reform these outdated and detrimental restrictions,” Hawley said. “These reforms would benefit thousands of not for profits and organizations like Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary Clubs, churches, fire departments and foundations for children like the Buffalo Sabres Foundation. I thank my colleagues in the Senate for spearheading this charge in their house and am hopeful that we can pass these changes before session adjourns in a few weeks.”
Hawley has been influential in leading the fight to reform the antiquated laws the past few years and championed legislation included in this year’s budget that would allow television and internet advertising of raffles, the use of personal checks as payments and expanding the definition of “authorized organization” to include volunteer ambulance workers and organizations that have been in existence for one year, among other provisions.
Press release:
The Byron-Bergen community’s agricultural heritage was celebrated on June 2 with the Jr./Sr. High School’s fourth annual Agriculture Appreciation Day — better known as the bring-your-tractor-to-school-day.
Brothers Garrett and Wyatt Sando were the first to arrive in their carefully restored and shining 1973 White tractor. They were soon joined by other students with their farm vehicles, large and small, including a classic 1952 Farmall.
Science teacher Jeff Parnapy is excited about the important role agriculture will be playing in education at the school next year. He is spearheading the new agriculture program, which will launch in the fall with an Intro to Ag class and a new Byron-Bergen chapter of Future Farmers of America (FFA).
“We’ve been working with our Advisory Council, a wonderful group of experienced people from the community, to plan and organize the program,” he said. “Our Superintendent, Mickey Edwards, and Principal Pat McGee, recognize the interest our students have in agriculture and natural resources. We already have 22 students signed up for the first class.”
Junior Garrett Sando is one of them. His family owns 75 acres and he has had his tractor license since ninth grade.
“I’m really interested in trying the program out,” Garrett said.
Parnapy is excited to work with young people who are interested in building futures in agriculture. He taught Agriculture in Albion schools before coming to Byron-Bergen in 2000, and sees similarities between the two communities.
“My hope is to launch the program and expand it every year. The FFA chapter will be open to kids in grades nine through 12 for the first year, with plans to extend it to grades seven and eight when it is solidly established.”
Top photo: Brothers Garrett and Wyatt Sando with their 1973 White tractor.
Student drivers strike a pose on Adam Starowitz’s tractor: (l-r) Garrett Sando, Brandon Lewis, Marquis Brown, Benjamin Latham, and Starowitz with School Resource Officer Matt Butler.
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