It was an evening of mourning at The Harvester Hotel on Harvester Avenue on Tuesday evening as longtime customers gathered in the wake of learning earlier in the day that longtime owner Ken Merrick had died at the age of 74.

Merrick sold the bar after owning it for 44 years at the end of May to Melissa Kibbler and Kibbler's mother, Donna Russell, said Tuesday that bar patrons -- whom she said were like family, that the Harvester is like Cheers where "everybody knows your name" -- were also mourning the death on Friday of Casey Cook.

"It’s not just a bar," Russell said. "It’s family. We gather here when we hear this kind of news."

Kibbler wasn't at the bar Tuesday night, Russell said because she was too upset by the news of Merrick's death.

"He was her mentor," she said. "He was like a grandfather to her. She bought the bar in May and Kenny helped every step of the way."

Kibbler started working at the bar for 14 years at age 19 as a substitute bartender.

Casey Cook was part of the family at the neighborhood bar. She was diagnosed with cancer in January and the Harvester family held a fundraiser for her at the Polish Falcons Nest.

"This was very much known as the 'Bitches Bar' because the women in the bar were bartenders and the girls were always here so it was called the Bitches Bar and Casey was one of the Bitches," Russell said.

Just then a patron in a red T-shirt and blue jeans and a bit of gray hair walked out and Russell said, "This is the Bitches' boy" and quickly added, "that's not a bad thing."

Steve, she said, was called the Bitches' Boy because he would do anything for the women at the bar, help them with any problem, and a young man in a pink T-shirt with a construction company name on it added that Steve would help anybody, not just the women.

While talking about Cook, Russell and Steve began ticking off the names of several other patrons who have been taken from the world by cancer.

"This was a bad day," Russell said.

Click here for Ken Merrick's full obituary.

It was The Goht's last stand Tuesday night as a packed house said to goodbye to a bar full of friends.

You probably know The Goht as Billy Goats, named, legend has it, after a resident across the street who years ago kept goats.

For 18 years, until May, Steve Spyropoulos ran it with legendary hospitality. But after he died in May, his son, John, found the long days of trying to run Settler's restaurant and a tavern while taking care of his family too much of a strain, so he decided to get out of the bar business.

"There's a lot of ground to cover and it's physically straining on me," Spyropoulos told The Batavian last week in an exclusive interview. "There are late nights there, early morning here. I have a family at home. I have two boys who are 14 and I've got a daughter. She's 5. You know something's got to give sooner or later; I prefer it not to be with my family."

There were a few tears among family members Tuesday night as the bar filled up with longtime customers and many glasses along the way were raised to Steve.

John said the gathering was bittersweet. He knows -- and he said the customers were telling him -- closing the bar was the right thing to do, but he also knows his father loved the bar and the customers loved him.

"These are our people," he said. "They loved us. We loved them."

He said he thanked the community for all of its support.

"It’s been a great 18 years here, and 30-plus years next door," Spyropoulos said. "It's a great community. They’ve treated us great and I love them for that. There’s a lot of good people in Batavia. That is not said enough, how good the people in Batavia really are, you know.

"They take three or four bad comments on the Internet and a lot of people think that’s Batavia but it’s not. Batavia is tight-knit. A lot of good people in Batavia. All good people here. All of them."

Top photo: Patrons in the patio of The Goht, the bar is formerly known as Billy Goats, raise a beverage to Steve Spyropoulos, who died May 11 at age 66.

Photo below: Spiridoula Spyropoulus, John's mother, Jane Branton, sister, John Spyropoulos, Christy Brown, sister, and Miranda Spyropoulos, John's wife.

Downstairs features 1 bedroom or office good size formal dining room and full living room-great space for entertaining. Upstairs has 2 good size bedrooms and a full bath. Basement is dry, fully useable, space it even has cool man cave/office and a small area for workspace for extra hobbies.

There have been lots of upgrades but the large, private, fully fenced back yard with awesome huge deck is definitely a bonus for the City! Large extra wide driveway and fully reinforced garage for all your "toys," plus a nice storage area below is a nice extra. Neutrally painted and new carpet throughout makes it a move in and live!

Easy to see! Call Lynn Bezon today at Reliant Real Estate, 585-344-HOME or click hereto view the complete listing.

164 Summit St., Batavia -- Comfortable and solid City colonial in nice neighborhood. Easy to see and super affordable, this 3-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath home features very spacious room sizes.

Downstairs is open and great for entertaining but very homey. Some hardwood floors and gorgeous unpainted woodwork really give this home charm. Upstairs bedrooms are all large with closets and attic is already partially finished and with a little paint could be amazing extra living/play space! Mechanically sound with nothing urgent to tackle but what you want to do!

Enjoy the front porch, that has the forever Trexx decking to enjoy the neighborhood or have your morning coffee on the back deck to enjoy the peacefulness of the cute back yard – either way come check out a really nice home! Call Lynn Bezon at Reliant Real Estate today 344-HOME for more information or click here to view the complete listing.

Press release:

The Genesee County 4-H Office would like to congratulate all of the 4-H members who exhibited animals at the 2018 Genesee County Fair.

Special thanks to our club leaders, volunteers, family members and friends who volunteered their time; the 4-H program would not be possible without your help!

Below are some highlights from the 2018 Genesee County Fair Livestock Shows.

4-H Beef Cattle Show

Novice Showmanship – Audrey Dorman

Junior Showmanship – Cody Carlson

Senior Showmanship – Caleb Carlson 

Master Showman – Caleb Carlson

Supreme Champion Female – Shianne Foss

Grand Champion Beef Steer – Shianne Foss

Grand Champion Dairy Steer – Cody Ehrmentraut

4-H Dairy Cattle Show

Novice Showmanship – Chloe Lamb

Junior Showmanship – Mason Werth

Intermediate Showmanship – Georgia Luft

Senior Showmanship – Mary Sweeney 

Master Showman – Mary Sweeney

Reserve Master Showman – Emily Mikel

Master Fitter – Emily Mikel

Reserve Master Fitter – Amelia Brewer

Grand Champion Ayrshire – Justin Deleo

Grand Champion Lineback – Jillian Brewer

Grand Champion Guernsey – Colton Slattery

Grand Champion Holstein – Emily Mikel

Grand Champion Brown Swiss – Emily Mikel

Grand Champion Jersey – Caroline Luft

Grand Champion Milking Shorthorn – Mary Sweeney

Supreme Champion – Mary Sweeney

Reserve Supreme Champion – Emily Mikel

4-H Dairy Goat Show

Novice Showmanship – Gabe Winn

Junior Showmanship – Jade Winn

Senior Showmanship – Melissa Keller

Master Showman – Melissa Keller

Best in Show Doe – Melissa Keller

4-H Meat Goat Show

Novice Showmanship – Brooke Frega

Junior Showmanship – John Riley

Senior Showmanship – Melissa Keller

Master Showman – John Riley

Best in Show Doe – John Riley

4-H Sheep Show

Junior Showmanship – Brendan Pimm

Senior Showmanship – Becky Kron

Master Showman – Maisy Ross

Reserve Master Showman – Ashley Ehrmentraut

Champion Halter Showman – Mya Grant

Supreme Champion Ram – Becky Kron

Supreme Champion Ewe – Brendan Pimm

Champion Market Lamb – Becky Kron

4-H Hog Show

Novice Showmanship – Brendan Pimm

Junior Showmanship – Cody Carlson

Senior Showmanship – Melissa Keller

Master Showman – Melissa Keller

Supreme Gilt – Melissa Keller

Champion Market Hog – Alianna Baris

4-H Market Animal Auction Goat Show

Junior Showmanship – Lily Haacke

Senior Showmanship – Melissa Keller

Master Showman – Melissa Keller

Grand Champion Market Goat – Melissa Keller

Reserve Champion Market Goat – Tyler Jirovec

4-H Market Animal Auction Hog Show

Junior Showmanship – Brendan Pimm

Senior Showmanship – Ben Kron

Master Showman – Ben Kron

Grand Champion Market Hog – Melissa Keller

Reserve Champion Market Hog – Camden Baris

4-H Market Animal Auction Dairy Steer Show

Senior Showmanship – Carolyn Sybertz

Master Showman – Carolyn Sybertz

Grand Champion Dairy Steer – Carolyn Sybertz

Reserve Champion Dairy Steer – Cody Ehrmentraut

4-H Market Animal Auction Beef Steer Show

Junior Showmanship – Kaidan Hofheins

Senior Showmanship – Becky Kron

Master Showman – Becky Kron

Grand Champion Beef Steer – Caleb Carlson

Reserve Champion Beef Steer – Cole Carlson

4-H Market Animal Auction Lamb Show

Junior Showmanship – Brendan Pimm

Senior Showmanship – Becky Kron

Master Showman – Brendan Pimm

Grand Champion Market Lamb – Becky Kron

Reserve Champion Market Lamb – Melissa Keller

4-H Market Animal Auction Poultry Show

Junior Showmanship – Georgia Luft

Senior Showmanship – Clare Mathes

Master Showman – Clare Mathes

Grand Champion Pen of Market Chickens – Jillian Brewer

Reserve Champion Pen of Market Chickens – Jillian Brewer

4-H Market Animal Master Showmanship Contest

Overall Master Showman – Shianne Foss

City police just arrived at 2 Olin Ave. after a caller reported yelling and a fight in front of that address. In addition, one subject reportedly has a knife. That suspect fled on foot, headed toward Holland Avenue. He has a basball cap on backwards and is wearing jeans. The police are with him now in the Speedway parking lot.

UPDATE 5:33 p.m.: The address of 4 Olin Ave. was added to the job.

(File photos.)

Foxprowl Collectables has come full circle. This Saturday, Aug. 4, at 11 a.m., the toy and collectibles shop will host a Grand Opening in their former location -- 440 Ellicott St. in the City of Batavia.

Until then, they are open for a few hours each day there while getting things set up for regular business.

At the Grand Opening, there will be:

• Brenden Gillard, an artist, voice actor, costume designer and "Barnes & Nobles best-selling author";
• Anthony Zicari, comic writer and editor, whose worked on Dark Horse, Antarctic Press, London Night Studios, Narwain Publishing, Marvel Comics, Legendary Press, and INKWERK Studios;
• A Genesee County Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting at noon;
• Meet-and-greet pics with Batman's Penguin, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Scooby-Doo;
• Giveaways and more!

Bill and Joy Hume, married business partners, opened their business at 440 Ellicott St. in 2010. It had begun the year before as an eBay operation.

On Sept. 1, 2016, having outgrown the Ellicott Street storefront, they moved into roomier, swankier quarters at the southeast corner of Main and Jackson streets. In early 2017, the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce named Foxprowl the Entrepreneurial Business of the Year for 2016.

A few months later, in June 2017, the Humes announced they would shutter their store altogether to concentrate on online sales, supplemented by "pop-up" or temporary store dates at the Falleti Ice Arena, and the ever-popular annual Foxprowl-Con at the Quality Inn & Suites in Batavia.

We can only guess that customers clamored for their brick-and-mortar return, enabling them to "geek out," as Bill Hume likes to say, on a regular ongoing basis when the mood strikes.

Dozens of volunteers converged on Watson Street in Batavia this morning for an act of mercy and ministry.

The volunteers from Eight Days of Hope are in town because of Kingdom Bound at Darien Lake Theme Park but their mission this morning was to rehabilitate the home of an 85-year-old widow, Miss Rose, on Watson Street.

"Our whole big thing is love and serve those in need," said Steve Tybor, director and founder of Eight Days of Hope. "There is so much need across America, so much discord right now in our country, we want to give people a glimpse of hope."

Eight Days of Hope is based in Tupelo, Miss., but Tybor said a satellite ministry will open in Buffalo in August. The focus of the ministry is serving those touched by natural disaster, such as residents of Houston after Hurricane Harvey. In Houston, 4,692 volunteers, over back-to-back eight-day periods, rebuilt more than 800 homes, doing more than $10.5 million in work for those victims.

"This is what we do after a natural disaster but this, in essence, is like a human disaster, where somebody has a need and nowhere to turn," Tybor said.

This morning, two hours into the work, the volunteers were more than halfway done with the home of Miss Rose, so the volunteers were turning to other tasks in the neighborhood.

They were in front yards up and down the block and on Jackson Street pulling weeds, cutting grass, trimming edges and looking for anything else they do could help out a neighbor in need.

"We're also doing landscaping door-to-door and helping the neighborhood take it up a notch as far as the looks," Tybor said. "They’re beautiful homes but sometimes people need an extra hand and that’s what our volunteers are doing."

The volunteers come from nine states, including from as far away as Texas.

"We’re a faith-based ministry but it's nine-different denominations," Tybor said. "It’s the Catholics and the Baptists and the Pentecostals coming together, setting aside our differences and just loving and serving people in need."

The home on Watson was identified with the help of Pastor Marty Macdonald at City Church. Last year, the ministry helped a Batavia veteran whose home had been flooded. Tybor said the ministry will be back in Batavia during next year's Kingdom Bound.

"We love Batavia," Tybor said. "We’re glad we’re here. We’re glad to be part of Kingdom Bound. It’s a great ministry and we’re going to do this every year during Kingdom Bound, find somebody in need in Batavia and just love and serve them."

A volunteer prays for Sgt. Dan Coffey after Coffey stopped on Watson to check out the work.

Press release:

Genesee Community College has published its 2016-2017 Annual Report -- available for the first-time ever completely online!

In addition, the College adopted an agricultural theme for the report highlighting the surrounding community.

GCC's 2016-2017 Annual Report was published on a special website, http://annualreport.genesee.edu/ to support the College's sustainable business practices as well as to maximize accessibility to the information contained within the report. From the welcoming message on the report's homepage to the photos recounting the past year's dynamic stories, GCC demonstrates its commitment to the theme "Plant. Water. Harvest. Repeat."

"At its core, GCC plants seeds of knowledge, waters and cultivates the learning experience, recognizes and celebrates the harvest of contributions, and continuously refines and repeats the process to ensure our future," President James M. Sunser, Ed.D., said in the report's opening message. "We hope we have captured how our efforts echo the hard-work, innovation and dedication of the farming families and agribusinesses that have long made our community a strong and vibrant place to work, live and grow."

A multitude of stories with accompanying photographs are celebrated in the report representing innovative programs that "Plant" seeds for student success. Events such as the Annual Tech Wars hosted by the Accelerated College Enrollment program, lectures by Multicultural Communications Club, volunteers working with Habitat for Humanity and many other stories reflect GCC "We plant" initiatives.

The report's "Water" chapter includes images from a plethora of community events such as Veterans Day, the Harvest Festival and the popular Cougar Crawl weekend. Perhaps, and most appropriately, the "Harvest" chapter of the report is the longest, highlighting all the ways students, faculty and staff contribute to the community through GCC's Center for the Arts productions, the Scholars Symposium, the annual Fashion Show, commencement and so many meaningful efforts.

It is through the annual repetition of GCC's efforts that our communities continue to grow and succeed -- which are highlighted in the report's "Repeat" chapter. Finally, the "Supporters" tab of the report pays tribute by listing those whose donations to the College have helped ensure long-term success.

Everyone is encouraged to view the annual report at http://annualreport.genesee.edu/ and join in the celebration of the accomplishments of the past academic year.

File photo (submitted) of Daisy Klein, Lee Johnson, Barbara Easton, George Squires, George Wood, Jennifer Wood and Sharon McWethy.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4, the memorial created in May 2017 to honor the late Dennis Wood, an artist, professor and longtime ACORNS volunteer, will be dedicated.

ACORNS is a nonprofit "friends of the park" group that enhances the public’s experience at the Genesee County parks and fosters environmental stewardship and education.

His widow, Jenny Wood, announced that the ceremony will take place at the Genesee County Park & Forest Interpretive Center. It is located at 11095 Bethany Center Road in East Bethany.

Everyone is welcome; feel free to bring picnic goodies and stay for brunch or lunch!

Dennis Wood was known to be very generous and good friend of the Genesee County Parks in many ways.

He gave his time by participating in ACORNS meetings and field trips, and attending many educational programs. Dennis donated some of his own collections to the Interpretive Nature Center and funded the purchase of children’s field binoculars for use during kids' programs at the park.

Dennis was a very talented artist, and he provided beautiful note-cards for the ACORNS to sell as a fundraiser. The cards feature some of his landscapes and wildlife paintings, and are available for purchase at the Interpretive Center.

Dennis loved to share the joys of art as a professor at GCC, and taught a beginner drawing class to the ACORNS as a volunteer training day. Dennis was a delightful person to be around and is remembered for his quiet way of making people smile and laugh.

His memorial is a fully functional artist's easel that was paid for with funding from ACORNS and a donation from Jenny Wood. It is located in the ACORNS Outdoor Learning Center at Genesee County Park & Forest.

The easel's design was created by Paul Osborn, parks supervisor, and Kurt Schwab, Genesee County Highway Department sign maintenance mechanic. It was then laser cut by Oxbo International. Genesee County Highway welder Rob Barone adapted the donated easel to install the newly created art platform, which was then painted by DJ Desjardins in the paint shop.

If all goes according to plan, the City of Batavia will have a new manager by the time its next Council meeting takes place on Aug. 13.

That’s the latest word from Council President Eugene Jankowski, who said today that the three-person committee charged with finding a qualified administrator has “left no stone unturned” in its quest for someone to replace former manager Jason Molino, who left in January for a similar position for Tompkins County.

“It is my hope that we will be welcoming the new manager at our August meeting,” said Jankowski, who has been working with Council members Bob Bialkowski and Adam Tabelski – along with the Novak Consulting Group of Cincinnati, Ohio. “In fact, you should know even before that because the agenda will be out a few days before the meeting.”

Jankowski said he is bound by a confidentiality agreement to not offer more details about the prospective candidate – the search is down to one finalist – but did say the salary will be in the advertised range of $110,000-plus.

“We’ve identified someone who we feel very comfortable with,” Jankowski said. “We have conducted multiple interviews, background checks, credit checks, just about everything I can think of and even more that Novak came up with. It has been a very thorough investigation.”

Jankowski said an offer has been made to the finalist, but “no contract has been signed yet as lawyers (on both sides) are involved.”

He said the committee’s next step is to work out how to handle the introduction process to the community.

“We’ll be doing that over the next two weeks,” he said.

City Council has reached this point after interviewing five finalists during executive sessions in early July.

Public Works Director Matt Worth has been handling the city manager responsibilities since Molino’s departure, but indicated that he was not interested in the permanent manager position.

Press release from the City of Batavia Police Department:

Thursday, Aug. 2, the sixth annual GLOW Corporate Challenge will be starting out at 6 p.m. on Richmond Avenue in front of the NYS School for the Blind.

Starting at approximately 5:30 p.m., until approximately 6:15 p.m.,, Richmond Avenue will be closed from Prospect Avenue to Bank Street for the start of the GLOW Corporate Cup.

The race is expected to have a large group of runners and walkers in the area. The run will take place in the North-East sector of the City.

Vehicles traveling in the area should expect extended delays while runners and walkers are in the area. Please plan accordingly or make alternative travel routes to avoid the area.

Anyone with information in reference to any suspicious activity are encouraged to contact the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350, the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370 or online here.

Press release:

Batavia’s premier consumer-run human service and advocacy agency for people with disabilities, Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR), in cooperation with the New York State Independent Living Council (NYSILC), is hosting a public meeting Tuesday, Aug. 14, to gather consumers' input on how to direct the use of Federal Independent Living funding to provide full access for people with disabilities in their community.

The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at ILGR's main office, 113 Main St., Suite 5, Batavia.

NYSILC representatives will collect participants' experiences, comments, critiques, and ideas to formulate New York's 3-Year State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL) for 2020 to 2022.

NYSILC is committed to providing full access for people with disabilities. Like the other SPIL comment Public Meetings being held across the State, it is open to the entire community, with materials provided in alternative formats.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting and Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) for Deaf participants, and Assistive Listening Devices for hard-of hearing attendees will be provided. To be friendly to those with allergies, it is a "smoke-free" and "fragrance/scent-free" gathering. Questions about the hearing can be directed to Brad Williams of NYSILC at 518-427-1060.

The State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL) is designed to improve Independent Living (IL) services for individuals with disabilities in New York State. The IL State Plan also helps to identify the needs and priorities of consumers, providers, and other stakeholders involved in the Center for Independent Living (CIL) network to highlight and identify common strategies to direct the use of Federal IL funding.

For those unable to attend, written comments must be submitted to NYSILC before 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 31. Comments can be sent via mail to NYSILC, 111 Washington Ave., Suite 101, Albany, NY 12210, faxed to (518) 427-1139, or emailed to bradw@nysilc.org.

Comments can also be sent by visiting the NYSILC website at www.nysilc.org. Click and follow the menu options provided on the home page for "SPIL Comments."

Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) is a member of the Western New York Independent Living Inc. family of agencies that offers an expanding array of services to aid individuals with disabilities to take control of their own lives.

Many young men have passed through Batavia over the years with dreams of making it to the major leagues -- Cito Gaston, Doc Ellis, Manny Sanguillen, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard -- all had solid careers.

But none of these players -- nor those who never made it -- were quite like Cooper Thomson.

Thomson doesn't slug homers or swat singles. He's never had his fastball clocked at 90 mph, let alone 98. He might be able to field a grounder or track down a fly ball but that isn't really what he wants to do.

His dream is to keep the grass green, the foul lines straight and infield dirt as smooth as the felt on a pool table.

Thomson arrived in Batavia on Thursday night after a 30-hour flight from Australia, chasing his big league dream: To be the guy taking care of a major league field.

That only happens in North America and it means making a name for yourself, so when Dave Chase, first-year general manager of the Batavia Muckdogs, told him there was a need for a head groundskeeper 9,401 miles from his home, Thomson didn't hesitate. He was ready to go.

That was the easy part. Getting Thomson through the visa process took some time, which is why he's only arriving in Batavia this week.

Now his goal, to turn the field at Dwyer Stadium into the best field in the New York Penn League. He'll have help from Joe Mogavero, who has been taking care of the field during the first half of the season.

"Aesthetically, you want it to be as good as you can for the fans but more for the players and the teams," Thomson said. "It’s more playability and keeping the field consistent so they know exactly how the field is going to play day in and day out."

One of the issues with the field that Chase mentioned during the off-season was the high lip of grass around the infield, the batter's area, and the pitcher's mound.

When Thomson started work Friday morning, the first task at hand -- fix the lips.

"I’m a massive stickler on that sort of thing," Thomson said. "We're still doing work on it. It’s really an everyday thing to get it perfect so we’ll be working on it every single day, especially on game days. Bringing a major league feel into a minor league ballpark is what I’d like to do here."

Thomson became the Muckdogs' top prospect for all things turf and dirt related after Chase called Murray Cook, who is the guy to know the world over if you care about the quality of your ball field.

Chase was in a bind. He was only a few weeks into his new job as GM for the Muckdogs, after the NYPL took over ownership of the team, and he realized he needed to hire a new head groundskeeper. By that time, any groundskeepers with any experience were already committed to other ballparks.

Cook said he knew this 20-year-old kid in Australia who was ready to move up.

“Murray’s word is gold in the groundskeeping business, so when he endorsed him it was a no-brainer," Chase said.

In 2014, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks played the first MLB regular-season games ever in Australia and though Thomson didn't work on the field, he was obsessed with the work of Murray Cook and his crew.

"They made a cricket oval into a baseball field, which just blew my mind," Thomson said. "I followed it intensely and when I saw how a big league field is supposed to look on our soil that was like a trigger point. I knew I needed to work hard and get a reputation myself so I can be over here (in the states)."

Cook learned of Thomson through the Australian Baseball League, which is sponsored by Major League Baseball, and since some U.S. prospects play in the ABL, the fields there have to be kept to MLB standards. That's where Cook comes in. It's his job to inspect the fields and often his staff works with Australian groundskeepers.

Thomson started his groundskeeping career when the ABL came to Brisbane a year before that 2014 game when he was 15 years old.

"They played at a showground so we had to bump the field in, bump the field out because they had concerts or whatever there," Thomson said. "Me and this other guy just got really good at putting in a brand-new field and taking it away. So I got like OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) about it and eventually got a head job at the new stadium in Brisbane. I just loved it."

That's a level of training that isn't available in places where baseball is more established.

"It was pretty intense," Thomson said. "I got to know a baseball field like the back of my hand. I was pretty obsessed with how a baseball field is set up and how it’s made."

He wanted his fields to be major league quality.

"Where money and equipment lack, you’ve got to work hard so I just got a real obsession for trying to make it look like fields over here. I just tried to make my field look as good as it could in Australia and I compared it to all the U.S. fields. I thought if I could do that, that would be like a massive tick on my bucket list."

He came to the attention of Cook when he was working with Cook's team on the fields for the World Baseball Classic qualifiers.

Cook's staff recognized the kid's passion, hard work, and knowledge of the craft and asked if he would like to work in the United States at some point and Thomson said that was indeed his goal. They said they would be in touch.

Since the initial job offer during the off-season, Thomson has been following all the news about the Muckdogs and the team's home field. He has been making plans all that time -- about how to get the outfield grass striped like a major league field, adding a team logo behind home plate, improving the playability of the field.  

As he's said, he can be obsessive about these things.

"I know the field has not really been outstanding the past couple of years but I would really like to turn it around and make it one of the best fields in the league," Thomson said. "That is my main objective. As soon as I knew I was coming over here I was saying, like in my head, 'Batavia is going to be the number one field in the league.' That’s my main goal."

If he does that well, he might someday wind up running the show at Marlins Park, or perhaps Dodger Stadium. We mention L.A. because that's where Thomson has come the closest so far to actually walking on major league grass.

"I did do the stadium tour once in Dodger Stadium," Thomson said. "We went all through the stadium and when we got to the bit where we finally go on the field they were like, ‘sorry, we’re not going on the field. They’re shooting Moneyball,’ and I’m like, ‘that’s what I came here for! I just want to get on the field.’ "

The Muckdogs were able to only get five runners on base on Monday night in a 3-0 loss to the State College Spikes. It was the second time this season that Batavia has been shut out. The Muckdogs only put multiple hits together in an inning one time, the other three hits were spread out in the first, third, and ninth innings.

Peyton Culbertson started the game for the Muckdogs. He pitched three innings into the game, just giving up four hits on one run. His fastball ran in the low to mid-90s, and showed a sharp curveball to keep hitters off-balance.

Chris Holba had an excellent start for the Spikes. The Cardinals' 11th round pick from East Carolina went six strong innings, only surrendering four hits, no runs, no walks, and struck out six batters.

Hector Villalobos was just as good, if not better out of the bullpen for the Spikes. He went three innings of relief; his only blemish was a Brayan Hernandez double in the ninth. Villalobos also struck out five.

The three runs for State College were scored across the third, fourth and fifth innings. The first of the three came in to score on a double play in the third. Nick Dunn crossed the plate in the bases-loaded situation at the cost of two outs.

Dunn then drove in a run of his own in the fourth, scoring Justin Toerner to double the Spikes’ lead. Toerner continued the chain in the fifth inning by bringing in Stanley Espinal, and I became a 3-0 game after the sacrifice fly.

The Muckdogs have now lost eight of their last 10 games, and have scored just nine runs in the last four games. Six of those runs came in the 6-5 victory over Vermont.           

The middle game of the series starts at 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Bryce Howe is slated to pitch for Batavia to attempt at splitting the first two games of the series.

Modern Farmer: Jeff Flake Wants to Ban Funding for Edible Insect Research

A car has driven into Tim Horton's on Main Road at Alleghany Road in Pembroke and injuries are reported.

A first responder reports "pretty good" damage to the building, as well.

Pembroke fire, Indian Falls, and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 11:28 a.m.: A medic on scene reports no injuries. Mercy EMS can continue non-emergency.

A Pearl Street Road resident accused of neglecting her 3-year-old female dog appeared briefly in Town of Batavia Court this afternoon.

Shortly after 1 p.m., Becky L. Frens approached the bench of Judge Michael Cleveland flanked by her attorney Michael Ranzenhofer.

The senator with 38 years of legal expertise is a partner in the law firm Friedman & Ranzenhofer PC, with eight offices in Western New York, including one on Main Street in Batavia.

Ranzenhofer cited unspecified "complications" and asked for a delay in the case. The people, represented by Assistant District Attorney Robert Zickl, told the judge they are ready to proceed in the matter.

Cleveland granted Ranzenhofer's request for a delay and the next court appearance for 56-year-old Frens is set for 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 27.

Today, Frens looked a lot different than the photo taken July 10 following her arrest by troopers from the Batavia Barracks of the State Police after she went to the Genesee County Animal Shelter to retrieve her dog.

She is charged with overdriving, torturing and injuring an animal; and failure to provide proper sustenance under the state Agriculture & Markets law, Article 26, Section 353, which is a Class A misdemeanor. (Find the section in Ag & Markets law here.)

If found guilty, a defendant faces jail time of more than 15 days but not greater than one year. In addition, a fine of up to $1,000 can be imposed.

Frens was dressed in a solid blue, A-line knit top, three-quarter-sleeved with lacy cut-outs, mid-calf black capris, and delicately embossed, pale blue slides. Her medium brown tresses looked freshly curled and hung well past her shoulders. She wore eyeglasses.

Looking only slightly better today was Frens' former pet, a Labrador retriever mixed breed named Maya, which happens to be Sanskrit for "create."

The dog still has a long road ahead.

Volunteers walked her out for a visitor at the Animal Shelter at about 2 o'clock.

Animal Control Officer Ann Marie Brade said when Maya was brought in "she was able to walk, but the length of her nails was so long, that she was not able to walk on concrete or tiles, which is what we have at the shelter, until her nails were cut. With the long nails and the shape of her pads, it was painful.

"She has some genetic issues and some splayed tendons. She doesn't have much muscle mass; she can't stand the heat. When she first came here, she couldn't exercise for any length of time. 

"She was very thin and she is still gaunt. Very underweight, you can see her hips. Since she's been getting treatment, she's put on a few pounds. But we don't want her to put on a lot of weight yet, so it's a constant battle of weighing her, adjusting her feed. The Volunteers for Animals help monitor her and give her special feed. They take her to the vet and pay for the vet bills. 

"She has open sores on her body, bacterial infections, fungal infections. She has several infections we are getting under control. She has demodectic mange, which is in everyone's system, but when the immune system becomes compromised, it goes haywire."

On top of all that, she is nearly 90 percent deaf now because of chronic, heretofore untreated infections in both ears. There is a lot of scar tissue in her ears as a result. She can hear a whistle, but not much else. 

Maya's eyesight was also impaired. She could not see a hand held out with a treat in front of her face -- at least not at first -- she kept missing it with her muzzle. But after three weeks of some decent nutrition and medical control of her infections, she can find the hand in front of her nose.

She's not as stinky. She can manage to jump onto the seated lap of a volunteer these days; a feat that she could not do only a couple of weeks ago.

And despite everything, "she's always happy to see us," said volunteer Lynette Celedonia.

Maya belongs to the shelter and it will hold onto her until she is healthy enough to find a home -- food, water, walkies, treats, mercy, humaneness, decency.

The woman who initially found Maya is seriously considering adopting her, although, with the interest in Maya's story, Christina Homer-Roviso is sure there will be many contenders.

Homer-Roviso said she never had a clue the neighbors across from her sister-in-law's house had a dog. Then came the day earlier this month when Maya was standing across the road looking pathetic.

Homer-Roviso coaxed her across the asphalt in order to help her and she said "watching her try to walk was hard." 

"Oh, my gosh, that dog was starving," said the sister-in-law, Lynne D. Homer. "We gave her two bowls of cat food, some baloney, and sausage; she drank three bottles of water."

"She was missing patches of fur, was (in) really, really bad (condition). ... Someone like (Frens) should not have a freakin' animal and to live in a house like that," said a visibly shaken Homer-Roviso, fighting back tears.

Frens lives in a 3,236-square-foot Colonial built in 2002. The four-bedroom, two-bath custom-built home also has two outbuildings and sits on 11.7 acres. The assessed value is $283,400.

"I own five dogs, horses, goats, chickens, and cats. I tell my kids 'You can go get food and water. These animals can't. You have to do that for them.' "

For previous coverage, click here.

Photos by Howard Owens.