When you're averaging 245 in one league and 238 in another, 700 series just don't cut it. For Medina's Curtis Foss, reaching the 800 mark for three games is where it's at.

Foss recently posted his sixth and seventh 800 series in the past 24 months -- 267-277-258--802 in the Friday Mixers League on Jan. 4 and 266-279-258--803 in the Sneezy's Monday Night League on Jan. 14, both at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion.

The high-revving 31-year-old right-hander also has seven 300 games over the past two years.

Speaking of perfect games, Nathan Tackentien of Arcade recorded his second 300 in as many weeks, the latest coming last Monday in league play at Letchworth Pines in Portageville.

For a list of high scores from leagues in the Genesee Region, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

Mike Pettinella's next Pin Points column is scheduled for this Thursday.

In an effort to improve the response time of the server that hosts thebatavian.com, the host company performed a software upgrade overnight.

Instead of improving the response time, it's made matters worse.

Technicians think they've identified the problem and are working on it.

If they are unable to fix the problem, they will rollback the software to the previous version. I've instructed them to do that at any point today they've reached the conclusion that is necessary, which would take the site offline for an hour or so.

I'll update this post as needed.

UPDATE 10:53 a.m.: That problem appears to be resolved. 

UPDATE 12:20 p.m.: According to our tests, the server response time is now twice as fast as it was in similar tests a couple of days ago.

Weather-related cancellations for today:

• Alabama fire is canceling bingo tonight because of anticipated extreme cold.

Send weather cancellations to howard@thebatavian.com

To celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., the second-grade students of Anne Marie Starowitz at St. Joseph's School wrote essays about King. The essays were judged by Jennifer Corbelli, an English Language Arts teacher at Batavia High School.

First Place, Olivia  Bezon
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted peace and love for all people. When Martin Luther King was little everything was different. That white people did not want the black people near them.  Martin Luther wanted everybody to be happy but it never happened because white people bossed black people around. The white children got better things, the black people didn’t. White children had better schools. Black children had to go to black schools separate from the white children, this is called segregation.

Civil rights mean black people and white people have to learn to love each other. Protesting is when you have a sign with you and use your words to say what you want. That means protesting without fighting. Rosa Parks was asked to move to the back of the bus because a white person wanted her seat. She was arrested. Dr. King heard about this and he decided to protest and his sign said don’t ride the bus until the black people could sit where ever they wanted. After one year of not riding the bus the law was changed.

Martin Luther is also famous for his speech I Have a Dream. He gave his famous speech in Washington, D.C. He said he didn’t want it in 10 years, he wanted equality now. He didn’t want people to fight or to hurt anybody because Dr. King didn’t believe in fighting. Civil rights mean black and white people have the same rights.

Dr. King was shot and everyone was sad and everything got better because of him. Dr. King will be remembered for his speeches and his peaceful nonviolence protest.

Second Place, Matthew McCulley
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights leader. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929. He learned in his childhood to never fight. He believed in nonviolence. Nonviolence is marching to the principles of nonviolence. Dr. King had 10 Principles of Nonviolence. They are like our 10 Commandments because they are both about being good. He wanted equal rights for everyone. Nonviolence is not fighting. The Jim Crow laws are when Rosa Parks, had to move to the back of the bus. Protesting is when people hold signs if they are mad. When you dislike someone that is called prejudice.

Martin had to sit in the balcony of the movie theater. Martin Luther was sad he couldn’t play with his white friends. In the movie The Boy King, white people did not like black people. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in Washington, D.C. It was called the I Have a Dream speech. His speech was about equal rights. Dr. King didn’t want white and black people to be separated. That is called segregation. If someone is fighting say don’t fight. If someone is bullying someone you can say stop.

In 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee Dr. King was shot. On January 15th we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s Jr. Birthday.

Third Place, Chelsea Fitch
Doctor Martin Luther King Junior was a civil rights leader. Martin Luther didn’t like prejudice and he didn’t like segregation. When Martin was a little boy, he couldn’t play with his white friends because white and black children could not play together. They could not use the same bathrooms or drinking fountains. When Martin was little he wanted everyone to be friends. Martin knew he liked books even before he could read. When he grew up he went to a dance and his grandma died. Martin was so sad because he promised his grandma he would be back.

Martin Luther King Jr. believed in nonviolence. Rosa Parks wasn’t going to give up her seat and Martin agreed with Rosa. Martin told all black people not to ride the bus, this was a peaceful protest and it was called a bus boycott.  The law was changed. He led many protests because he wanted the laws to change so it would be equal rights for the blacks. People would have signs and they would all walk together without fighting back. That is nonviolence. Nonviolence is also about when people don’t fight each other because of the color of their skin.

Martin gave many speeches. He died. He always believed do not fight back with violence, do not protest with violence. Do what is right and not wrong. Help people. Don’t say God’s name in vain. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Help people with kindness. People followed Dr. King’s coffin down the street. 

We celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. every January 15th. That was the day he was born. It is a national holiday, it means everyone in the United States celebrates his day.

Honorable Mention, Eddie Lankford
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. He wanted people with white skin and black skin to get along.

People with black skin had to sit in the balcony at a movie theater. Martin Luther King Jr. went to Washington and said white people and black people should be equal. He led marches carrying signs. Black people and white people could not go to the same school. The people with black skin had to drink from a different drinking fountain. People with black skin had to sit in the balcony in the movie theater. People with black skin had to sit in the back of the bus because people with white skin sat in the front, so Martin decided to have a boycott. Then the bus company lost money. That was a protest.

Martin Luther King Jr. went to Washington, D.C. so he could make his speech. His speech said people with black skin should have civil rights. One day a man shot Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. He died. January 15th is Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. We celebrate that day.

A bedroom fire is reported at 402 Bloomingdale Road, Basom.

Pembroke Fire, Indian Falls Fire, and Alabama fire dispatched.

The occupant was instructed to evacuate.

UPDATE 10:37 p.m.: A responding chief requests an engine from Akron.

UPDATE 10:46 p.m.: An Alabama chief reports the fire is out. Power is out to the house. Pembroke and Indian Falls can go back in service.

Young residents of Ross Street clearing the snow away from a fire hydrant.

As a reminder, for your sake and your neighbors, make sure there's no snow around the fire hydrants on your street.

Photo submitted by Stephanie McQuillen Call.

Six probationary members of the Corfu Fire Department, all juniors and seniors at Pembroke High School, were recognized for their service to the fire department with the Service Person of the Year award. Collectively, they put in more than 800 hours of firefighter training in 2018.

The members are Casey Felski, Cyle Felski, Elizabeth Tebor, Megan Stiles, Ethan Librock, Jayden Eck and Dylan Lang.

In 2018, the department responded to 129 calls. Chief Brian Schollard said after the department fell just shy of 2,000 training hours in 2017 he set a goal of more than 2,000 training hours for the department in 2018. In 2018, collectively, members of the department reached almost 4,000 training hours.

To find out how you can join your local department, visit ReadyGenesee.com.

Installation of Officers

Installation of Fire Police

Jim Mallory was recognized by the department and Assemblyman Steve Hawley for 65 years of continuous volunteer service.

Jacob Stiles received an award for completing the most training hours.

Candle lighting in remembrance of members who have passed.

Ethan Librock, one of the probationary members from Pembroke HS, made this wooden flag for the department in his woodshop class.

There was plenty of snow on the ground in Batavia today.

Above, Hannah Burket and Jesse Foster shovel their driveway on Liberty Street, and below, also on Liberty, Russ Borden uses his snowblower.

A car buried in the snow on Liberty Street.

Jackson and Ganson

South Jackson

Alva Place

Main and Bank

The monument of Gen. Emory Upton.

Lewis Place

With a theme of "We Will Rise," about 75 people, mostly women, came out on perhaps the winteriest day of the winter so far -- with a bit of wind, a temperature in the mid-teens, and snow -- to Jackson Square this morning for the local version of Women March.

On a day when Buffalo organizers canceled their march, Genesee County's women's rights supporters rallied each other to do better and help each other.

"We don’t all have to be leaders but we each need to be participants," said Diane Kastenbaum, the keynote speaker.

Born and raised in Batavia, Kastenbaum moved away from her hometown as a young adult and returned seven years ago, going to work for the family business and eventually running for Congress against the now-indicted Chris Collins in 2016.

When she returned, she said, she found some irregularities in the family business and when she pressed the accountant and the attorney for information and documents, she met resistance.

She suspected the resistance was due, at least in part, to gender bias, she said, even though she was a stockholder and board member in the company.

Eventually, after continuing to press the issue, she staged a boardroom coup and was appointed CEO.

In 2016, she said, when she told a business colleague, a male colleague, that she was going to challenge Collins for the NY-27 seat, she said the man asked "Are you crazy?" He wondered, she said, how she could run her business and run for Congress.

"Would he have said that to a man? I don't think so," Kastenbaum said.

To fight back against sexism and discrimination, Kastenbaum said, women need to get involved. They need to join organizations and become board members, whether arts councils, civic group, nonprofits, or business organizations, women need to participate.

"Get yourself on some board and then run for office yourself," Kastenbaum said. 

Women getting involved will make a difference, she said.

"If you make that promise to me, together we will rise," Kastenbaum said. "And if you make that promise to yourselves, together we rise. And if you make that promise to your daughters and your granddaughters and your nieces and your mothers, together, we rise.

"And if you make that promise to your sisters here today, who will bear witness, together, we rise. And if you make that promise to take the power into your own hands, women, together we rise."

The crowd gathered in Jackson Square then broke into a call-and-response chant.

"We will"

"Rise up."

"We will"

"Rise up."

"We will"

"Rise up."

After Kastenbaum spoke, the activists marched down Center Street, to Main Street, to City Centre to conclude the rally.

For the seventh time in 13 games this season, the Alexander Trojans topped 60 points en route to their 10th win, beating Notre Dame at Notre Dame, 63-52.

Chris McClinic led the Trojans with 24 points, hitting a pair of three-point baskets along the way, and senior captain Ryan Davis scored 13 points.

"At the beginning, we were able to attack their two-three zone," said Trojan Coach Wayne Hanley. "We were able to get through it pretty quick and made them change things up. I thought Notre Dame did a good job shooting but we did a good job on the boards."

With eight wins against Genesee Region competition (10-3 overall), Alexander is tied for the league lead with Lyndonville and Elba. 

The Trojans lost a home game to Elba on Wednesday, 61-45, and have also lost to Greece-Odyssey, 91-54, and to Cal-Mum, 73-63.

"The kids are playing really well," Hanley said. "We faced some tough competition. Greece-Odyssey, then we played Cal-Mum, and that helped us prepare for the GR itself. The GR is very tough this year. We’ve played some tough games but we’ve been focused every game so I think that has really helped us out."

For Notre Dame, now 6-8, Spencer Misiti scored 16 points, Gabe Macdonald scored 12, and Zachary Cocking scored 11.

Thank you to Coach Hanley for participating in a video interview. Unfortunately, the audio did not come out well enought to use with this video.

A one-vehicle rollover accident with injuries is reported at 5992 Knowlesville Road in Alabama. The location is between East Shelby and Roberts roads, just north of Oak Orchard Creek. Alabama Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 2:55 p.m. (by Howard): Four people are out of the vehicle. One child has a hand injury.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported on the eastbound Thruway at mile marker 402.7 and it is blocking traffic. Unknown injuries. Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 2:05 p.m.: Mercy medics are on location at the accident are looking for assistance in blocking traffic. East Pembroke Fire Department is called to mile marker 395.5 on the westbound Thruway to provide this assistance.

UPDATE 2:07 p.m.: A fire chief requests all East Pembroke equipment to stand by in quarters.

UPDATE 2:18 p.m.: All available manpower of the East Pembroke Fire Department is requested to the fire hall.

Press release:

Sheriff William A. Sheron Jr. would like to advise the public that the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office has become aware of reports of fraudulent telephone calls from individuals claiming to represent the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Callers are using threatening language to warn unknowing victims that they will be arrested or face other legal action if they fail to call a provided phone number or press the number indicated in the message to address the issue.

In some instances, these unknown callers switch tactics and communicate that they want to help an individual with activating a suspended Social Security number.

Such calls are a scam and are notcoming from official SSA representatives.

Do not engage with such callers, and please report any suspicious calls to Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General by calling 1-800-269-0271 or submitting a report on the OIG website (https://oig.ssa.gov/report).

Additional information on the nature of these fraudulent calls, as well as instructions on how to report such activity, can be obtained by accessing the Social Security Matters blog (https://blog.ssa.gov/).

When Bob Bausch joined the County Legislature in 2010 he said he was making at least a four-year commitment to serve. Nine years later, at age 75 and with a new four-year term looming, he thinks it's time to step aside.

Bausch announced today that he's not going to seek reelection this year.

"When I was pushing for the four-year terms, I knew that at 75 I shouldn't run for a four-year term," Bausch said. "I'm in good health but I'm 75. There's no denying it."

Bausch editorialized and lobbied in support of staggered four-year terms for the county legislative members, replacing a system that had all nine members up for election every two years. County voters approved the reform in November.

Before joining the Legislature, he served as a Village of Bergen trustee for eight years and for 10 years before that, he was on Bergen's Zoning Appeals Board.

He became chairman of the County Legislature in 2017.

Once his term is up at the end of this year, after 27 years in either elected or appointed office, Bausch said he will have plenty to do to keep himself busy. He will continue to serve on the boards of community groups. He also has family spread across the country from Philadelphia to San Jose, Calif., and so will travel occasionally to see them.

"There are still things I would like to get done but I should step aside," Bausch said.

Photo: File photo.

A person was reportedly stabbed in the chest and is being taken UMMC by a friend.

Police officers were dispatched to the hospital and to Columbia Avenue but an officer on scene said there is no indication anything occurred on Columbia. He said there are no tracks in the snow, no blood.

UPDATE 9:40 a.m.: An officer has made contact with the victim at the hospital. The stabbing occurred, he said, at a location on Bank Street Road sometime last night. A deputy or trooper is asked to respond since it occurred outside the city.

NOTE: This page is currently pinned to the top of the home page. Scroll down for the latest news.

Closures and cancellations announced for the weekend due to weather.

• All activities and building use at Batavia City Schools are canceled for the weekend. There will be limited maintenance of district roads, parking lots and sidewalks and officials ask people to avoid using the campus during the closure.
• Genesee Region Youth Travel League bowling scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion has been rescheduled for next Sunday, Jan. 27, at the same site.
• The Moonlight Snowshoe and Winter Fun Hike at Genesee County Park and Forest is CANCELED for Jan. 19th and RESCHEDULED to Saturday, Jan. 26th from 7 to 9 p.m.
• Richmond Memorial Library is closed today (Jan. 19), as always on Sunday, and on Monday for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, so it reopens Tuesday, Jan. 22, weather permitting.
• WNY Rebels annual AAU Basketball Tryouts for boys and girls at Notre Dame High School tomorrow, Jan. 20, is canceled. They will be held instead on Sunday Jan. 27 and Sunday Feb. 10 at Notre Dame High School gymnasium. (See schedule here.) Questions? Contact Otis Thomas via email at  otisthomas33@yahoo.com
• The Bridal Show scheduled for tomorrow at Terry Hills has been canceled.
• Indian Falls United Methodist Church is canceling services on Sunday.
• Northgate Free Methodist Church’s Divorce Care groups, scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. this evening has been canceled.

 Please email notifications to howard@thebatavian.com.

Enjoy a Prime Rib or Strip Steak dinner for two for just $29.99, includes 2 steak dinners, 2 sides, and 2 salads. And Wednesdays are now Rib Night, featuring $10 half racks and $15 full rack of everyone's favorite Baby Back Ribs. Click for more info.

Press release:

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, in collaboration with Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, will be offering a Commercial Driver's License Training Program for Genesee County agriculture producers and their employees for Class A and Class B licenses.

This training program is designed for agriculture producers and farm employees that have already have some experience with commercial truck operation.

An informational meeting will be held on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. at the Cornell Cooperative Extension building at 420 E. Main St., Batavia.

This meeting will explain how the program works and answer any questions you may have. The required training materials and medical forms will also be passed out at this time.

Classroom instruction dates are Feb. 6 and 7, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Cornell Cooperative Extension building located at 420 E. Main St. in Batavia. Drive time will be scheduled with the instructor at a later date.

Full payment (check or cash) is due at the class on Feb. 6. The cost for Class A is $775 and the cost for Class B is $600.

Registration is required and will be accepted until Jan. 25 or until the class is full. Class size is limited. For more information or to register, contact Jan Beglinger at 585-343-3040, ext. 132, or Brandie Waite at ext. 101.