A 60-year-old Oakfield resident died in an ATV accident reported at 6:28 p.m. on Monday, according to State Police.

According to troopers, Michael D. Borkholder was driving a 2008 Cam-Am Outlander Max XT southbound on Maple Road, Town of Alabama, and failed to stop and struck the rear end of another ATV, a 2021 CF Moto ZForcce 950, that was slowing to make a turn into a driveway. 

Borkholder was ejected from his ATV. 

He was transported by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center with severe injuries. He succumbed later that night.

A wide-ranging, cooperative effort is being made at the grassroots level to “HEAL” those afflicted by opioid use disorder and to prevent opioid overdose deaths.

Professionals in the substance use treatment/prevention and mental health fields in Genesee County have been working in conjunction with a research team from Columbia University over the past year to develop and implement evidence-based strategies as part of the HEALing Communities Study.

HEALing refers to Helping to End Addiction Long-term and is the catchphrase of a program launched by the National Institutes of Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The goal is to identify evidence-based programs that are most effective at the local level in preventing and treating opioid use disorder – with a target of reducing opioid-related overdose deaths by 40 percent.

HEALing Genesee is part of the second phase of the HCS, which will run through the spring of 2024. Other counties in this phase include Broome, Chautauqua, Cortland, Monroe, Orange, Sullivan and Yates.

Members of the Columbia University research team, along with officials from the NIH’s Institute on Drug Abuse, came to Batavia last week to meet with the Genesee County Health Department and Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse personnel who have been serving on the county’s implementation team.

“Drug overdose requires a comprehensive approach to first define the breadth of the problem and then to promote harm reduction and evidence-based treatments known to be effective with opioid use disorder,” said Timothy Hunt, PhD, of the Columbia U. School of Social Work, who is the HEALing Communities Study Intervention and Community Engagement Investigative Lead.

“The partnership for the HEALing Communities Study between the Genesee Department of Health and organizations like Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse illustrates a community coming together, even when challenged by the COVID pandemic, to focus on this highly stigmatized public health crisis.”

Hunt applauded the Genesee group for its “commitment to capturing up-to-date data on fatal and non-fatal overdoses thus allowing the community to plan and focus strategies to populations and locations at high risk.”

HEALing Genesee leaders have identified several strategies to reach its goal, including various ways of getting naloxone (brand name Narcan) into as many hands as possible. Naloxone is a medication used to reverse an opioid overdose.

Initiatives include distribution of leave-behind kits by the Batavia City Fire Department, establishing a text-for-naloxone hotline (text KIT to 1-877-535-2461) and placing NaloxBoxes at businesses.

Columbia U. Professor Nabila El-Bassel, HCS principal investigator, said she was impressed with the amount of collaboration in Genesee County.

“The Columbia University team and our funder from the National Institute on Drug Abuse who visited Genesee HCS coalition extend our gratitude for their unwavering commitment to addressing the overdose crisis with a data-driven solutions and improving access to treatment and care for those in need in Genesee,” she said.

“Today, we witnessed the innovation in delivering drug treatment and services with high integrity and responsiveness to community needs.  The success of the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force and HEALing Communities Study is also a testament to the extraordinary power of collaboration that exists.”

Staff from more than a dozen local agencies have collaborated with HEALing Genesee, including professionals from Genesee County Mental Health, Genesee County Department of Social Services, Genesee Justice, VA Medical Center, City of Batavia Fire Department, GCASA, Horizon Health Services, Rochester Regional Health (United Memorial Medical Center, Hope Haven Center and Batavia Primary Care), Oakfield Family Pharmacy, Oak Orchard Health and Lake Plains Community Care Network.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that 2.1 million Americans have opioid use disorder, yet fewer than 20 percent of those receive specialty care in a given year. New York State has one of the highest rates of opioid overdose deaths in the nation, with Genesee County having one of the highest rates of opioid overdose deaths in New York State.

The county’s opioid overdose death rate peaked at more than 36 deaths per 100,000 in 2017 and was still around 22 deaths per 100,000 in 2022. As a result, Genesee was selected as a HEALing Communities location.

Hunt concluded that HEALing Genesee, by virtue of its evidence-based strategies and robust communication campaigns, and with support from agencies such as GCASA, is on the right track.

“Our HCS partner, GCASA, provides needed care along a continuum of readiness, and is a rare accommodation to needed levels of care which include harm reduction, detox, rehabilitation and outpatient care, including much-needed access to methadone and Buprenorphine,” he stated. 

To learn more about the HEALing Communities Study and to help end overdoses in Genesee County, visit:

-- HEALing Communities Study Website: HealTogetherNY.org/Genesee

-- GOW Opioid Taskforce Website: www.gowopioidtaskforce.org

-- GO Health Facebook: www.facebook.com/GOHealthNY

Disclosure: Mike Pettinella is the publicist for GCASA.

The Batavia Muckdogs picked up their 16th win of the 2023 season on Tuesday in an Independence Day match-up in Niagara against the Power.

Tyrone Woods went 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win in the Muckdogs' 3-2 victory.  He struck out four.  The Alexander resident and GCC student is 2-1 on the season with a 2.91 ERA.

Rijnaldo Euson, who also has two wins on the season, picked up the save, his second.

The Muckdogs' offense:

• Lucas Lopez went 2-4. 
• Adam Agresti went 2-3 with a double, a walk, a run, and a stolen base
• Giuseppe Arcuri went 2-4 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a double.

With the win, the Muckdogs put another game between them and third-place Niagara (11-8) and remain a game ahead of second-place Jamestown (13-7), which is tonight's (Wednesday) opponent at Dwyer Stadium.  Game time is 6:35 p.m.

The Muckdogs are 8-1 over their last nine official league games and 10-1 overall during that span.

As operators of the David M. McCarthy ice arena continue to stretch the limits and imagination of what the arena can offer to the community, the latest will be a wrestling event on July 16 at 22 Evans St., Batavia.

Mayhem at the McCarthy will feature autographs and a meet and greet with "Jake the Snake" Roberts, "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase, and "Buff the Stuff" Bagwell, for what is certain to be an unusual form of entertainment for the arena and this area.

"We just thought this is something that hasn't been around here in awhile, and they have a big following at Riverworks in Buffalo, so we thought we'd give them a try," ice rink manager Kati Murray said. 

Wrestling adds to the list of roller skating, ice motorcycle racing and a youth game night at the rink.

Doors open at 4 p.m. and the event is to begin at 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 for second and third rows, $20 fourth and fifth rows, and $15 general admission.

To purchase tickets, go to ESWTIX.COM.

The Batavian was out in full force Monday during the Batavia Muckdogs game, both in our coverage with a freelance photographer and with staff at a booth set up near the entrance at Dwyer Stadium.

Our presence in public has not usually been a luxury we could afford: staff’s time has been precious and usually spent on the day-to-day tasks at hand, whether it be dealing with advertising needs, covering and reporting the news or the arduous billing and financial duties of a publisher.

But we’ve had a change of heart, attitude, focus and business model, and want to:

1. Make the time when possible to get out into the community to meet folks and let you know that we are your local news here to make a difference in Genesee County;

2. Introduce the Early Access Pass program that is twofold in that it allows you to access all of the news that we provide the very minute that we publish it without having to wait the four-hour hold time for non-Early Access members, and makes you, as a supporter helps us hire more reporters to go out and cover even more local news stories; and

3. Encourage creativity and positivity in the community by sponsoring a guitar giveaway with an art contest. During the Muckdogs game, all we asked was for people — kids and adults alike — to draw their best version of an eagle!

The Batavian’s logo incorporates the eagle from one of Batavia’s most iconic symbols on The Upton Monument at the merging of routes 5 and 63. So we thought it only fitting to use an eagle — also long used as a patriotic symbol of the United States and freedom — for our contest.

As many people walked by, asking about the red electric guitar poised on a table at our booth, they couldn’t believe that all they had to do was draw an eagle to enter. Some asked how much it was to enter, and several people shied away, claiming, “I can’t draw.”

Others, however, took the task quite seriously. They went at it with gusto, first deliberating how their eagle would look, and what colors they’d choose. No two eagles looked the same out of the 40 or so submissions.

Some perched looking forward, others looking sideways, with outstretched wings, or wings at their sides, while flying, or remaining idle. Some artists added embellishments of cool blue water beneath and puffy white clouds alongside their wings. Some had stunning details, while others rested in sufficient modesty.

So why a guitar giveaway? That was the idea of Publisher Howard Owens. If you know him at all, you also know his passion for music, and especially for playing guitar.  

“I  get a thrill out of seeing kids get excited about the possibility of winning a guitar,” Owens says,  “and then to see the happiness of the young person who actually won makes the price of the guitar seem all worth it.”

“I love music.  I always have.  When I was a child, I begged my mother for a guitar, but my parents, when I was a child, struggled financially like a lot of young parents,” he said. “Guitars back then were either expensive or just no good.  I didn't get my first guitar until I was 14.

“I now understand that music can be a great path for people. It isn't just about becoming a rock star.  There are lots of ways music can enrich a person's life, even as a career, without being the star on stage,” he said. “So with that background, I want to use the opportunity I have as publisher of The Batavian to encourage people, especially kids, to turn to music.  More music will help make our world better.”

Don’t just take Owens’ word for about how important music can be to one’s life. Paul Draper, who is a busy local musician and lead organizer of the popular annual Ramble music event in Batavia, comes from a very musical family, “where almost everybody played and if they didn't play, they sang.”

“It was part of my family's culture.,” he said, recalling his first instrument was not an expensive piece. “I remember the first instrument I picked up was an old hand-me-down Yamaha keyboard that my mom bought from one of her friends for $50. Up to that point in my life, I had no real musical ability, but I absolutely loved music. I would sit in my room for hours, just tinkering with the keys and finding little melodies.  Eventually, I was able to make some chords and put them together.”

His older sister, Amanda Draper, an accomplished singer and guitar player, noticed that he was starting to pick up on some things and allowed her brother to play backup for her in the family’s basement "studio,” he said.

“It was all downhill from there. From that point, I've played in numerous bands, hosted big events, traveled all over, met some amazing people, and it all started from a $50 hand-me-down keyboard,” Paul Draper said. “So for me, seeing the people behind The Batavian supporting the arts (as they have) and now donating equipment to help young starry-eyed dreamers begin their journey is just amazing. Because I know how far something like this can take a person.” 

The Muckdogs game was the second guitar giveaway, completely financed by Owens, with the first one being an acoustic guitar at a Just Kings-sponsored Juneteenth event a few weeks ago in Batavia. Win or lose, The Batavian sincerely hopes that each aspiring musician keeps on finding a way to make music in the community.

There was at least one slight twist to this year's annual Ramble Music & Arts Fest for the portion that took place in Jackson Square. And that was the ability for people to enjoy their suds outdoors in the Square without concern of violating a city code. 

City Council had recently approved a request from the downtown Business Improvement District, GO ART! and business establishments to allow for open containers on the premises of the Jackson Square that is neatly contained by Eli Fish Brewing Company, Bourbon & Burger, Center Street Smokehouse, and The Coffee Press, plus other businesses. 

Matt Gray, a partner in Eli Fish, said that the event reaped "all positive reviews from our end."

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

With flags flying and fans anticipating a post-game fireworks show, the Batavia Muckdogs took to the field Monday night for a non-league game against Erie-Buffalo and won 8-7.

Giuseppe Archuri was named Player of the Game, going 3-3 and scoring two runs.

No box score is available for the game.

Arcuri, from Allentown, N.J., has become one of the team's most productive hitters, with 21 hits, an Avg. of .309, and 13 RBI.

Adam Agresti leads the team with an average of .375. He also has 21 hits to go along with 11 RBIs.  He's eighth in the league in average. 

Matt DeStefano, of Westbury, is hitting .333 (12 hits) with seven walks. 

James Aselta is hitting .365 but doesn't have enough at-bats (22) to qualify among league leaders. Anthony Calabro has drawn 14 walks to go along with 11 RBIs with an average of .238. Infielder Lucas Lopez is hitting .300.

The next home game is Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. against the Jamestown Tarp Skunks.

Photos by Nick Serrata.

The Genesee County Highway Department is gearing up for an extensive culvert replacement project on South Street in the Village of Le Roy. This is a 100% state-funded project, and work will begin next week, necessitating the temporary closure of the road from July 5 until September 1, 2023. Detours will be clearly marked to ensure traffic flow and use NYS Route 5, Asbury Road, and Harris Road. Please plan travel routes accordingly.

The initial focus will be relocating the water main to allow for a seamless replacement of the culvert.
Simultaneously, the contracted team, comprised of engineering firm Lu Engineers and contractor L.C. Whitford, will start construction on the west side of the culvert. Their first task will involve building a temporary walkway to ensure continued access to the trail leading to Hartwood Park.

After several weeks of preparation, precast pieces can be delivered to the site. One of the key highlights
of this project is the implementation of a state-of-the-art precast concrete box culvert. This modern solution promises enhanced durability and longevity, ensuring the safety and convenience of the community for years to come.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Office for the Aging is pleased to announce the distribution of Farmer's Market Coupons (FMC) starting on Thursday, July 6. These coupons provide eligible older adults with an opportunity to access fresh, locally-grown produce at participating farmers' markets in the county.

The Office for the Aging will kick off the FMC distribution on Thursday, July 6, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at their office located at 2 Bank Street, Batavia. Additional distribution dates at the OFA office include:

• July 17 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
• July 24 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

In addition to the OFA office, Farmer's Market Coupons will also be available at the following locations and times:

• The Goose in Oakfield - July 10 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Genesee Country Farmers' Market - Every Friday in July from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• LeRoy Farmers' Market - July 22, 29 & Aug. 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Senior Housing locations will also offer coupon distribution, and flyers with the date and time details will be posted at these sites.

To find a complete calendar of Farmer's Market Coupon distribution dates, interested individuals can refer to the Gene-Senior newsletter, visit the Genesee County Office for the Aging's Facebook page, or visit the Genesee County Office for the Aging website. Alternatively, individuals can contact the office directly at 585-343-1611 for more information.

In Part 1, published on May 16, I detailed my love of sports as a kid and replaced my short and disastrous high school football career with a more enjoyable experience on the Notre Dame cross-country team.

Roundball Remembrances
A big accomplishment for me in my sophomore year was overcoming my diffidence and fear to try out for the Junior Varsity basketball team. I was 6 feet 3 inches tall, and my friends kept goading me to give it a shot (no pun intended). Making it difficult however was the fact that my hoops skills were limited to making a right-handed layup and tying my Converse high-top sneakers. Fortunately for me, the coach was the aforementioned Pete Corbelli and since he knew me from cross-country, we had a good relationship. Somehow Coach Pete put me on the team (to the dismay of a few other guys who were probably better players), and I always thought maybe it was because he saw a kid who needed a boost in confidence. I will always be indebted to him for his kindness.

Again, I don't remember much about any of the games that season. I just recall feeling like a possum in the headlights every time Pete would put me in the game because I pretty much had no idea what I was doing. As the year went by, I must have learned some basic skills just by going to practice every day. The thing that made me the happiest was that I got to be part of a team, even if didn't get to play very many important minutes.

In my Junior year, I wasn't eligible for JV anymore (even though that was probably my skill level), so I had to try out for the Varsity. The coach was Lucien “Lou” Lodestro, so I couldn't count on Corbelli to sneak me in again. Unbelievably to me (and probably to a bunch of guys who got cut), I made the team. 

I remember approaching the team roster Coach Lou had posted on the gym door with trepidation and just standing there stunned when I saw my name. I guess inheriting tallness genes from my dad (the rest of his brothers and sisters were short) made the difference. Being six foot three was sometimes a pain (feet hanging over the end of the bed, hitting my head on low-hanging light fixtures, dancing with shorter girls if I could even work up the nerve to ask them), but in this case, it worked in my favor.

I don't know our team record from that year, but I'm sure we had a losing one. Coach Lou gave me some decent playing minutes, and it always put a big smile on my face if I scored (rarely) and the cheerleaders would break into, “ Ho Hi Sip Si, Dave Reilly, he's our guy.” The season highlight was making the winning layup in one home game on a pass from senior teammate Don Andrews who had stolen the ball. Why I was in the game at the end is a mystery. Maybe some guys had fouled out, or a mysterious illness had swept through the team.

One of the good things about having been part of a team is the shared memories that you and your teammates have, including humorous ones. 

One of our games was in Buffalo against St. Mary's School For The Deaf. This was a small private school that served a particular type of clientele and had probably under 100 students. One of their players was named Bob Sheak, and he had received a lot of press in Buffalo for his achievements on the court. Some of us, thinking we were funny, were joking about him on the bus and in the locker room, saying that he would probably come out in a turban (Sheiks wear a traditional headgear called a keffiyeh but we were ignorant high school boys) and a robe with a harem of cheerleaders. Well, he came out all right in a regular uniform and scored a bunch of points, and they beat us. 

That night was another bunch of lessons learned about life by us.

Another funny incident (although not at the time) was when our old team bus broke down at a Thruway toll booth. Our athletic director, Father Dave Scheider, got the whole team out of the bus by exclaiming,” What are you guys waiting for? The bus isn't going to start itself!” and we collectively pushed it until our long-time driver Gordon Judd popped the clutch and got it started. That must have made quite the scene for passing drivers. We had to laugh through our embarrassment.

A completely ridiculous thing a few of us did after school and before practice was to sneak outside to Soccio Street to have a cigarette in brothers Bill and Jack Bishop's old car they drove to school. Were we nicotine-addicted fiends? Not at all. We actually only took a few drags because we were rushed for time and didn't want to get caught. Personally, at that time, I bet I didn't even smoke 10 cigarettes a week. Why did we do it? Why do teenagers do a lot of silly things? A bit of rebellion, a bit of trying to get away with something, maybe.

On one occasion, Father Scheider did catch a couple of us smoking outside the gym exit door, and we got suspended for a game. Taking away my less-than-stellar production was not going to hurt the team, but I think I stopped sneaking smokes after that because I was embarrassed and felt I had let Father Scheider (who was a good guy) down.

A couple of humorous memories of Father Dave: When he was coaching (he had been an outstanding athlete at Batavia High) or just cheering us on from the stands or sidelines, if he got upset with something we did, he would yell out, “C'mon you pork chop!” That was his priestly epithet of choice. I think a local restaurant at the time should have had Father Dave Pork Chops on their menu.

One year in basketball, a number of us had started making the sign of the cross for luck before shooting free throws. After a few games of this, Father Scheider addressed it in the locker room in no uncertain terms.“ Knock that stuff off pork chops! You do the playing, we'll do the praying.” 

He was a character for sure.

Senior Struggles
In my Senior year, 1963-64, either Lou Lodestro or the school decided that coaching both football and basketball was too much for one man, so a former Niagara University player named Don Satterly was hired for the hoops job. This move turned out badly for me. Coach Lou must have realized that we didn't really have the talent to win a lot of games, so he tried to give everyone (even me) a chance to play. Coach Satterly had different ideas and spent the season trying to overachieve. His management style could be summed up in one pre-game speech he gave,“ Hey, you guys. Some of my friends are coming to the game tonight, so don't embarrass me.”

We were having a miserable season, and I was playing very little, if at all. I understood that I wasn't very good, but when we were losing by 25, and I didn't even get in at the end for a couple of minutes, it was very defeating. I came to practice every day (and then had to take the city bus to the other end of town and walk half a mile to my house) and worked as hard as anyone else.

The final straw came after a Friday night away game at Le Roy. There was a big crowd, including a lot of our fans (many of our students, including some teammates who came from Le Roy to our Catholic school), and as we entered the court, the Le Roy Band (we didn't have a band) broke into the Notre Dame Fight Song. Being a huge ND fan since I was little, this actually gave me goosebumps. 

Well, we were 1-9 at the time, and it didn't take long to see that we were going to be 1-10. In the last few minutes, we were down by 20, and there I sat on the bench, watching the seconds tick away. All the pre-game warm feelings had evaporated into a mixture of sadness and anger.

I can't remember if some words were exchanged with the coach in the locker room when we got back to Batavia, but it would have taken a lot of nerve from a shy kid like me to speak up. I guess I probably muttered, “I quit” and walked out the door.

Afterward, I fumed all that night and all day Saturday. I knew I had to do something to stand up for myself, though. 

The following day on Sunday, there was an away game at Cardinal Mindzenty in Dunkirk, which was 90 miles away. Our team manager, Wally Sorenson, had a car, and I found out he was going to drive there on his own. I asked if I could go with him, and my act of defiance was to sit in the crowd and let the coach see I was there. I didn't do anything overt or cause any problems. I just wanted him to be aware of me. He probably didn't care much, but I did. It was a sad end to a disappointing season and experience for me.

Getting On Track
As my senior year and high school days moved toward a close, I still had bad feelings about how basketball had ended. I wanted to do something sports-wise to finish up on a positive note. Baseball was not an option, but some of my friends and teammates from the cross-country team were also on the track and field squad, and they encouraged me to join them.

I had never been a good distance runner, but the coach, the previously mentioned Father Dave Scheider, gave me a chance at running the quarter mile event (now 400 meters) and also being one of the four runners on the mile (today 1500 meters) relay team. Once again, I wasn't outstanding in any way, but I did come in third a few times and helped the relay team be victorious in some meets. 

It was a good positive experience, and I felt like I contributed more than just being the team clown. 

One race I do remember was that I was actually in first place heading to the finish line, and about 5 yards from the finish line, my legs just totally gave out, and I ended up doing a face plant into the cinder (there were few synthetic rubber surfaces back then) track. I think I was able to get up and take third, but the first aid kit supplies of iodine and band-aids definitely got used on the bus on the way home.

My most memorable track experience did not even involve me directly. At the end of the year, All Catholic Meet at the University of Buffalo Stadium, my teammates and I cheered wildly in the stands as fellow senior Dan Martin surprised everyone (except perhaps himself) and won the prestigious mile race. Not only did he beat everyone from our small school division, he also triumphed over more well-known runners from the much larger Buffalo Catholic schools.

We celebrated with Dan all the way back to Batavia on the bus after that stunning upset.

Notre Dame Hall Of Mediocrity
After graduating in 1964, I moved on to St. John Fisher College in Rochester. At that time, like Notre Dame, it was a very small school. Even so, I had no illusions that I could make any of its teams and never bothered to try out. I played some intramural basketball, but that was it. Later in life, I resumed playing basketball with some fellow teachers and friends and am proud to say that I managed to play until age 66.

Of the thousands of students who have played sports at Notre Dame since 1951, I would definitely rank in the bottom ten percent. I guess in my favor would be that I participated on three separate teams and earned a varsity letter in each. I certainly have no regrets (except for my senior year of basketball) and do have pleasant memories of being a participant and teammate with some great guys like Mike Palloni, Jim Heatherman, Dan Martin, Don Andrews, Bill Rideout, Dick McEneny, Jim Fix, Paul Messina, Tom Howe, Pat O'Gorman, Bob Callahan, Joe Scanlon, John Francis and more. 

Overall, playing sports contributed to widening my experiences and bringing me out of my shell of shyness. Go Irish!

A car has reportedly hit a house at 7610 Bank Street Road, Elba.

Unknown injuries.

Elba Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 12:50 P.m.: This is now reported as a two-vehicle accident with rollover and entrapment. Town of Batavia Fire requested to the scene.

UPDATE 12:59 a.m.: Mercy Flight unavailable due to weather.

The Batavia Muckdogs beat Queen City on Saturday night at Dwyer Stadium, 7-6.

There is no box score available for the game.

On Monday, Batavia hosts Erie-Buffalo on a night that will include an Independence Day celebration with post-game fireworks.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Bass guitar and kick drums replaced the thud of thunder the rest of the day on Saturday, allowing the rock to keep on rolling the rest of the day and into the evening for the 2023 Ramble Music and Arts Fest.

Previously: After thunder roars, Ramble rolls on with bands schedule to hit two stages into evening

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Stop by our booth at the July 3rd Muckdogs game for a chance to win an electric guitar kit! Fill out an entry form with your best drawing of an eagle to be entered to win!

We'll also be talking about our newest feature –  Early Access Pass. Click here for more information or to join now.

An unexpected thunderstorm at about 1 p.m. on Saturday couldn't keep the Batavia Ramble and Arts Fest from rolling on, though it did put the music on pause for about an hour.

Paul Draper, one of the festival's organizers, said the music will continue throughout the day, pausing only for more thunder if it comes back.

Bands will continue to take the stage as scheduled, Draper said, just before his band, Shotgun Pauly, started its 2:20 p.m. scheduled set about 10 minutes late, giving him and his guys only 10 minutes to perform.

"We just keep an eye on it," Draper said. "We'll pause and pick up as the weather dictates.  We can only plan so much, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to the weather."

He said plenty of people were sticking around, and the sun had come back out, so, he said, "I still think it's going to be a good day."

Photos by Howard Owens.

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