Rather than borrow $4 million with a 20-year payback to finance several energy-saving projects at county buildings, which was meeting some stiff opposition from some members of the County Legislature, a new plan for the county to loan itself the money for the contract with Johnson Controls went over well Wednesday at the Ways and Means Committee meeting.

County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens presented the proposal yesterday and was told to return at the next Ways and Means meeting with a resolution the committee can vote on.

The plan would: use $1.1 million that the county needs to spend anyway on some need capital improvement projects; use $1 million from the building equipment reserve; and borrow $1.8 million from the infrastructure fund.

The county would pay its money saved from the lower energy costs to pay back its infrastructure fund at 2-percent interest. Over the 10-life of the loan, the county would pay itself more than $200,000 in interest that would flow back into the infrastructure fund.

That's a lower interest rate than proposed for the original $4 million loan, which is 3.5 percent, and lower than the 5-percent interest County Treasurer Scott German estimated a municipal bound would cost.

Over the 20-year life of the contract with Johnson Controls, by paying off the entire cost of the contract in the first 10 years, the county will realize the benefit of an additional $800,000 in energy savings in that second 10 years. That money would have been paid toward the loan if the whole $4 million was financed by Bank of America.

Hens also discussed another proposal floated by some members of the legislature two weeks ago, that the county put down $1 million on the loan. That would also save the county money, but not as much as the self-financing option.

"I think it is a good deal for the county under all three scenarios," Hens said. "The self-funding option is by far the most beneficial to the county in terms of savings to the county and return on the investment."

Most of the opposition to the original proposal came from legislators Gary Maha and Andrew Young. Young could not attend Wednesday's meeting and Maha didn't express any objections -- nor strong support -- for the revised plan.

Marianne Clattenburg, Shelly Stein, Bob Bausch and Gordon Dibble all seemed to react favorably. Greg Torrey didn't express an opinion either way.

Legislator John Hilchey was particularly enthusiastic.

"There are very few times that a government can spend money and have it pay for itself," Hilchey said. "You can put a new road in; you can put a new bridge in; you can build a new jail. They don’t pay for themselves. This is an opportunity to make an expenditure that will pay itself back. To me it makes sense."

Just a real awesome ranch at the City's edge! There is curb appeal galore with this large corner lot that has an adorable private back yard....stepping stones, pond, landscaped and cute storage shed with decked patio. Inside bright and airy with gorgeous hardwood floors throughout -- all freshly painted walls and woodwork.

This home features super-spacious bedrooms, dining area and living room with huge bay window and end wall that has pretty gas fireplace with lots of built in shelves for all your keepsakes!

There is oversized side entrance/utility area with laundry and an absolutely HUGE attic area that will surprise you with all its room. Easily could be that hideaway space to hang out or just an abundance of storage space -- you choose!

This is truly an amazing patio home with no maintenance! Call Lynn Bezon at Reliant Real Estate 344-HOME or click here for more information on this listing.

Press release:

Genesee County Office for the Aging and Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) will be holding a FREE six-week Chronic Disease Self-Management (CDSM) workshop for the community, beginning on Friday, May 11.

Those who attend the CDSM workshops will be shown practical steps to gain control of their daily health concerns.

Participants will learn about healthy eating, problem-solving, action plans, medications, weight management, physical activity, sleep, and relationship communication skills.

The workshop information is relevant for those experiencing chronic conditions such as: arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and eating disorders.

The workshop is taking place at 2 Bank St., Batavia, at the Genesee County Office for the Aging, from 9:30 AM to noon over six Friday’s; the dates are May 11, May 18, May 25, June 1, June 8 and June 15^th.

Participants who complete the series will receive free materials and a gift card.

Preregistration by Wednesday, May 9, is required.

You can receive more information, and sign up for the workshop by contacting Donna Becker at (585) 815-8501, ext. 411.  

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.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) will host a ceremony to honor any Vietnam era veteran from 4 to 5 p.m. on Friday May 11^th at the Batavia City Centre.

Veterans who are interested in receiving a pin from The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration are encouraged to contact his office to confirm their eligibility and RSVP for the ceremony.

“This year we commemorated the first National Vietnam War Veterans Day to recognize the brave individuals who served in our nation’s military during the Vietnam War years,” Collins said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to meet Vietnam veterans in my district and distribute these special pins.”

Any veteran who served in Vietnam is eligible for a pin and should contact Alex Gould in the Congressman’s office at (716) 634-2324 for more information on obtaining one.

May 11
4 o'clock
Batavia City Hall, Board Room
1 Batavia City Centre
Batavia, NY 14020

With grant applications for state and federal funds becoming increasingly complex, often with requirements that last years after grants have been awarded, counties throughout New York are adding a new position -- compliance officer.

The Genesee County Legislature approved such a position in the 2018 position and yesterday, the county's new compliance officer, Kimberly Mills, was introduced to the Legislature at the Ways and Means Committee meeting held at Genesee Community College's new Student Success Center.

As soon they met her, the committee also agreed to a proposal from County Manager Jay Gsell to increase her new duties. She will also be the county's privacy officer.

Mills is a graduate of Oakfield-Alabama High School, started her college education at GCC, earned her bachelor's degree in Accounting at Roberts Wesleyan University, and her master's in Accounting from the University at Buffalo School of Management.

She's originally from Alabama and now lives in Oakfield.

One reason the job interested her, she said, is she has a passion for Genesee County.

"It’s a new position," Mills said. "I knew it would be a lot of work but I’m always one for new projects and working on new things."

Prior to becoming the compliance officer she was an accountant with Freed Maxick CPAs.

A new, spacious headquarters for Mercy Flight/Mercy EMS will serve as a much-needed home away from home once the ribbon is cut on the new facility off Route 98 in Batavia on May 21.

"I’m looking forward to the crews being able to move into a home," said Bill Schutt, business development manager for Mercy EMS. "That was the whole gist of this thing --  give them a home while they were at work.

"They spend a lot of time here. They spend a lot of shifts here. They spend a lot of time together, probably more so than families. Holiday time when we’re home enjoying our family, they're here still working."

The 12,000-square-foot facility has bays for ambulances in half the space and the other half contains offices, storage, showers, a workout area, a day room, a quiet room, a kitchen suitable for crews to enjoy meals with their families, and a large conference room.

"The space is large enough to house the ambulances, keep them out of the weather and to provide everything the crews need throughout their 12- or 24-hour shifts," said Scott Wooton, VP of finance for Mercy Flight. "If they’re here for a 24-hour shift, they need to be able to prepare food. They need to be able to wash their uniform if they come back from a call where their uniform is soiled.

"They need to be able to rest. They need to be able to sit down and chart stuff. This has been a need right from the start. It’s only that it’s taken nine years for us to put all the pieces together and make it happen."

The $2.5 million facility was largely financed through assistance from M&T Bank and the Genesee County Economic Development Center, which was able to provide tax-exempt financing.

That assistance was critical to making the new building possible, Wooton said.

"We certainly don’t have that much cash on hand so we couldn’t do it without the financing and being able to do it in a tax-exempt way keeps that interest rate more manageable for us and spread it out in a way that the monthly payments are more manageable," Wooton said.

David Ciurzynski, business development manager with Manning Squires Hennig, said one of the key features of the new building is its energy efficiency. The large garage doors that are all glass will allow a lot of natural light into the ambulance bays and all lighting throughout the building is LED. The energy efficiency will help Mercy EMS reduce its operating costs.

The pre-engineered building also helped reduce costs and accelerate construction time.

"We were able to keep the construction period tight so they can get in and get it in use as quickly as possible," Ciurzynski said. A pre-engineered building allows you a lot of flexibility on time because components come quickly but it also gives you a very handsome building they can use for years to come and it’s exapandable."

Press release:

As he began the process of putting together this spring’s concert program, all Genesee Chorale Director Ric Jones could sense was turmoil in the world.  He felt that there was a large divide in the world, a divide that seemed to grow larger every day. He wanted  to counteract that divide and encourage people to embrace unity and peace.

Thus was born “The Call of Humanity,” a mix of contemporary, Gospel, choral and classical music, including the debut of one piece written specifically for the Genesee Chorale.

“I tried to do a variety of mini-themes within the program,” says Jones. “Prayer,” in the words of Mother Teresa, is about helping the needy.  Other selections, such as “We Shall Overcome,” “Harriet Tubman” and “MLK,” address civil rights and some  of the mega figures who have had an impact on that movement. The lyrics of “Across the Bridge of Hope” come from a poem written by a group of young friends in Ireland; one of the boys was killed in the fighting shortly after their poem was written.

Two pieces form the foundation of the concert program, “Song of the Universal” by Ola Gjeilo from a Walt Whitman poem, and “The Waking,”  written for the Genesee Chorale by Composer-in-Residence Daniel Baldwin from a Theodore Roethke poem.

“Song of the Universal” was the first piece to “grab” Jones as he went through the selection process. “The text is beautiful,” he said, “and I love the composer. I kept going back to it. I decided I’d make it the centerpiece.” 

“The Waking” stems from Jones’ desire to find “something different that inspires the Chorale and brings the community into Chorale.”

Luckily, GO ART! grant money was available, so, with the blessing of the Chorale’s Board, Jones began the fun and frustrating process of choosing text and composer for an original piece. He and his wife, Karen, pored over “a ton of different poems,” but kept coming back to Theodore Roethke’s famous poem. “I liked the rhythm in the text,” says Jones, “and I like the overall message.”

The text was also an inspiration for Baldwin, the composer chosen by Jones.

“The majority of text chosen for me to set is older and in the public domain,” Baldwin said in an e-mail interview. “The poem (Jones) sent was contemporary and very well done, but also spoke to me in a way I was not expecting. When writing vocal or choral music, text is the most important element and must flow naturally (speech, even conversational speech, has its own rhythms, etc.).”

For Baldwin, the text is the beginning.

“I always write out the poem by hand and apply rhythms to the text based on what feels natural when reading the poem aloud,” he said. “Then, based on the message and perceived mood of the poem, I assign themes to these rhythms, harmonize, etc. It’s a process!”

Baldwin hopes that people “read through the wonderful text in advance of hearing the piece. A vocal or choir performance is the musical equivalent to a dramatic reading. I set the poem how I heard it and how the text affected me. I hope the audience enjoys my interpretation.”

Jones has published some of Baldwin’s other works as part of his Imagine Music business.

“I love his music,” he said, “and I’ve watched him evolve. His music feels cinematic to me usually – that epic sound with grandiose chords.  I wanted to see what he’d do with this text.”

What Baldwin did was surprise Jones.

“This was more on the contemporary side,” Jones said. “It is different than I expected, and the first time I heard it, I went ‘hmmm,’ but as I listened, there was something haunting about that motif.” It is, he notes, a challenging piece and Chorale members have had to work hard to prepare it for the concert.

Concerts are at 7 p.m. May 4  at St. James Church and at 4 p.m. May 6 at Pavilion Junior-Senior High School Auditorium, 7014 Big Tree Road., Pavilion. Presale tickets cost $8 and are available from Chorale members or online at GeneseeChorale.com. Tickets at the door cost $10.

Photos by Howard Owens.

      Tyshawn King

A former resident of Maple Street has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting a person in the area of Thorpe and Maple streets in the city in September.

Tyshawn K. King, 25, who was apprehended shortly after the shooting, was originally charged with attempted murder. He entered a guilty plea to criminal possession of a weapon, 2nd, on Feb. 27.

He was sentenced in Genesee County Court by Judge Charles Zambito.

Police responded to Thorpe and Maple on Sep. 20 after receiving a report of a fight in progress. While in route, there was a report of a gunshot.

Upon arrival, they located a victim with gunshot wounds to his hand and abdomen.

An accident is reported at Bank and Main streets, Batavia.

No injuries reported. Traffic is blocked.

City fire and Mercy EMS on scene.

UPDATE 10:40 a.m.: City Fire back in service.

Press release:

New York gubernatorial candidate Larry Sharpe (L), will meet with citizens of Batavia on Monday, May 7, to share concerns and discuss solutions to New York-specific business challenges including regulations, taxes, and the overall business climate.

“We need to unleash the individual New Yorker, who loves their state and wants to bring value to their community,” said Sharpe, a former business owner and leadership management consultant. “We must stop limiting them and start encouraging them to be innovators in their communities. I’m excited to hear what they have to say.”

The event will be hosted at T. F. Brown's (214 E. Main St., Batavia) from 8-10 a.m. Breakfast will be provided for residents and business owners who attend. A brief press conference will be held immediately following the event.

Larry Sharpe (L) is a Bronx native, a Marine Corps veteran, an entrepreneur, and a management consultant with 15 years of experience mentoring international executives, entrepreneurs & sales people.

He is also a teacher, previously serving as a guest instructor for business management and leadership at institutions such as Yale University, Columbia University, Baruch College and John Jay College.

He is now running for governor of New York in order to make education more effective through innovation, reform the criminal justice system to focus on rehabilitation, and build an economy that works for all of New York State.

For more information about Larry Sharpe’s plan for New York, visit http://www.larrysharpe.com/.

For more information regarding this event, please contact Deborah Kerr-Rosenbeck as 585-356-1712.

From our news partner, 13WHAM.

A serious injury accident -- a head-on collision -- is reported at Route 98 and West Saile Drive. Town of Batavia Fire Department, Mercy medics and law enforcement are responding. A first responder reports one lane of traffic is blocked.

UPDATE 8:58 a.m.: There is no entrapment. Mercy Flight was called but is cancelled.

UPDATE 9:12 a.m.: Both drivers are out of their vehicles and are being treated by medics. They were alert when medics arrived. Northbound Route 98 is closed at West Saile Drive.

UPDATE 9:32 a.m.: Both drivers are being transported to Strong Memorial Hospital; they have non-life-threatening injuries. Both are female. One is 36 and lives in Kent; the other is 53 from Elba. One was northbound on Route 98; the other was southbound and attempted to turn left onto West Saile Drive at the time of the collision. No determination has yet been made as to who was at fault. The accident is being investigated.

The Batavian celebrated 10 years of delivering news and support to local businesses at Eli Fish Brewing Company in Batavia yesterday.

Sharon White, above, representing Assemblyman Steve Hawley, delivered an Assembly Citation recognizing The Batavian for 10 years of service to the community. 

Michael Kracker, representing Rep. Chis Collins, delivered a copy of Congressional Record for May 1 commemorating The Batavian's 10 years in business and recognizing the efforts of Publisher Howard Owens and Editor Billie Owens for their commitment in preserving the First Amendment.

Jay Grasso, representing State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer, delivered a Legislative Resolution, which was read into the State Senate record yesterday, marking The Batavian's 10th anniversary.

A letter from Sen. Charles E. Schumer congratulating the publisher and editor of The Batavian on the 10th anniversary of their local news business was also received before the event.

It reads, in part: "I applaud you both for the leap of faith you took back in 2009 when you moved to Batavia and garnered the support of local businesses in order to keep this news outlet alive. Thanks to your efforts, The Batavian remains a go-to source for local news and is supported by more than 150 local businesses."

Tom Turnbull, president of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, and publisher of the Batavia Daily News when The Batavian first started, served as emcee Tuesday afternoon. He noted how there was an intense rivalry between himself and Howard Owens in the beginning, but now they often work together as friends with the shared mission of promoting local business in Genesee County.

Also in attendance, Dan and Debbie Fischer, owners of WBTA radio. WBTA is an official news partner with The Batavian and has been a partner and friend to The Batavian from the beginning.

Howard Owens spoke briefly and recognized the contributions of several people, including the Fischers and Turnbull, who have helped him and his wife over these past 10 years, including staff member Lisa Ace, who has been with the company for almost seven years and is critical to helping The Batavian serve local businesses.

The Batavian officially launched May 1, 2008, without an office in Batavia. The site was then owned by GateHouse Media. The editor was Philip Anselmo* and he camped out at Main Street Coffee every workday covering local news from his unofficial office. The location of Main Street Coffee is now Eli Fish Brewing Company.

On March 1, 2009, Howard and Billie became owners of The Batavian, sold their house in Pittsford and moved to a duplex on Maple Street in June of that year.

At the time, there were only about a half dozen online-only news sites in the nation. Today, there are more than 200 and The Batavian is among the most successful of the online-only ventures.

The Batavian and Howard Owens have received awards from the New York Press Association, the Inland Press Association, and the National Press Photographers Association. This news site also received the 2009 Innovative Enterprise of the Year Award from the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, and the 2013 Spirit of Downtown award from the Downtown Batavia Business Improvement District.

(*Former Batavian Editor Phillip Anselmo, always an excellent writer and top-notch journalist, went on to earn a master's degree in Comparative Literature at UC Irvine; he is now a Critical Theory graduate student in UC Irvine's School of Humanities. The Rochester native teaches a class in Comparative Literature at the Irvine, Calif., campus.)

Top photo by Jim Burns. Bottom two photos by Steve Ognibene.

Tom Turnbull with Howard Owens

Billie Owens, Bill Kauffman, Howard Owens

GO ART! is seeking artists, crafters and vendors to participate in the 40th annual Picnic in the Park on Wednesday, July 4, at Centennial Park in the City of Batavia. Nonprofit organizations are welcome, too.

The event will start at 11 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Setup begins at 8 a.m. and must be completed by 10 a.m.

Vendors are encouraged to sell artworks and handcrafted items.

"Buy and sell" iteme should be limited. GO ART! retains the right to refuse applications as they deem necessary. Approval will be given via email or phone.

Entries received after June 30 will not be accepted.

For arts and crafts vendors, there is a non-refundable entry fee per space of $50 for nonmembers and $40 for members if paid by June 1. After June 1, the fees are $20 more -- $70 and $60, respectively.

There is no fee for nonprofit organizations. Solicitations are not permitted in the park, but may be conducted at the nonprofit's display.

Vendors provide their own equipment including tables, chairs, signs, canopies, etc. No electricity is available. Spaces are 10' by 10' and marked, but not assigned -- first come, first served. Each vendor is responsible for collecting/reporting all applicable state and local sales tax (Genesee County sales tax is 8 percent).

To get additional details and applications to print out and mail in, click here. There is a link for arts and crafts vendors, and another one for nonprofit organizations.

For more information, please visit www.goart.org, call 585-343-9313 or email info@goart.org

A tractor-trailer rollover accident is reported at Batavia-Elba Town Line Road, west of Route 98. One person is injured. Town is Batavia Fire Department is responding along with Mercy medics. Mercy Flight is on ground standby.

UPDATE 2:48 p.m.: The driver was transported via ground ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital for evaluation. The roadway remains closed until a State Police truck enforcement unit can respond and inspect the truck. Then a heavy wrecker tow will be called in to haul the tractor-trailer away. No other vehicles were involved. The cause of the accident is under investigation; it is not yet known to what extent speed or wind played a factor, if at all. The trailer was hauling 8,000 pounds of O-AT-KA dairy-processing byproduct. The organic substance spilled. It was bound for farms to be used as feed and/or in fertilizer.

A report of a brush fire in Corfu, off Angling Road, behind Eddy Arnold Scrap, turns out to be black dirt blowing in the wind.

A deputy report said the black dust is blowing all the way to Route 5 and looks like smoke from a fire but it is not.

A passerby reports a large brush fire in the area of 9779 South Street Road, near Black Street Road, Pavilion.

The fire is reportedly heading toward a barn.

Pavilion fire dispatched.

The air quality index for today is expected to exceed 100 for ozone so the DEC has issued a health advisory from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Press release:

The air quality index...or AQI...was created as an easy way to correlate levels of different pollutants to one scale. The higher the AQI value, the greater the health concern.

When pollution levels are elevated the New York State Department of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects.

People who may be especially sensitive to the effects of elevated levels of pollutants include the very young and those with pre-existing respiratory problems such as asthma or heart disease.

Those with symptoms should consider consulting their personal physician.