The Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming counties Workforce Development Board will host a Business Forum at the Genesee County Career Center in Batavia on Wednesday, Oct. 17. Time is 1 to 2:30 p.m.

This is an opportunity for job seekers to hear directly from hiring managers of local businesses. Job seekers who attend can hear about local job openings and employer expectations. Many of the job seekers that the career center is currently working with are invited to attend, however it is open to the public and would encourage any job seeker to attend the event.

Join participants for an informal question-and-answer session with hiring managers from several local businesses, including: Chapin Manufacturing; Lifetime Assistance; Premiere Genesee Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation; Remedy Staffing; and United Memorial Medical Center.

Employers' reps may talk about current job openings!

The career center is located at 587 E. Main St., #100, Batavia. Phone is (585) 344-2042. Call to sign up or come to the front desk to reserve your spot.

Thomas Dale Young, 38, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, is charged with: criminal sex act in the third degree -- being age 21 or more with a victim less than 17; criminal sexual act in the first degree -- by forcible compulsion; and sex abuse in the first degree -- contact by forcible compulsion. Young was arrested at 4:58 a.m. on Oct. 9 after allegedly committing the crimes for which he is charged. Batavia police were called to a residence on Ellicott Street for an incident that had recently occurred. After an investigation, Young was arrested, arraigned and put in jail in lieu of $50,000 bail or $100,000 bond. He was due in City Court on Wednesday. The case was investigated by Batavia Police Officer Felicity DeGroot, assisted by Officer Nicole McGinnis.

Susan Ann Samanka, 55, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with a sex offender registry violation. She was arrested at 10 a.m. on Oct. 10 at 4054 W. Main Street Road, Room #7, in Batavia following an investigation for allegedly failing to register her change of address. The registered sex offender was issued an appearance ticket for Town of Batavia Court and is scheduled to appear there on Nov. 1. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan DeLong.

Jamie L. Edenholm, 31, of Gabbey Road, Corfu. She was arrested at 4:13 p.m. on Oct. 5 on Richmond Avenue in Batavia and charged with: driving while ability impaired by drugs; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree; possession of a hypodermic needle; criminal use of drug paraphernalia; and failure to keep right. The arrest was made after a car vs. telephone pole accident. She was issued appearance tickets and is due in City Court on Nov. 7. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay, assisted by Officer Frank Klimjack.

Katty L. Jackson, 22, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree criminal trespass. She was arrested at 6:45 a.m. on Oct. 8 on Central Avenue in Batavia after previously being told she was not welcome at her ex-boyfriend's residence. She allegedly entered the residence and knocked at the interior door for an extended period of time. She was released on an appearance ticket. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Stephen Quider, assisted by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Elena E. Vega-Vazquez, 36, of Washington Avenue, Batavia, is charged with: aggravated DWI -- with a BAC of .18 percent or more; common law DWI; and failure to keep right. She was arrested at 12:17 a.m. Oct. 5 on Harvester Avenue after a traffic stop for allegedly failing to keep right. She is due in City Court again on Oct. 17. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Mitchell Cowen, assisted by Officer Stephen Cronmiller.

Joshua D. Sumeriski, 33, of Buffalo Road, Alexander, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was arrested after allegedly operating a motor vehicle at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 on West Main Street in Batavia without the owner's consent. He was arraigned on Oct. 8 in City Court and put in jail in lieu of $1,000 bail. He was due back in City Court on Oct. 9. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Jamie Givens.

Janeen A. Young, 21, of William Street, East Randolph, is charged with petit larceny in connection with an incident which occurred at 11:20 a.m. on Jan. 3 at an apartment on Jackson Street in Batavia. Young was arrested on Oct. 5 on an outstanding City Court warrant. She was arraigned and released on her own recognizance. She is due in City Court again on Nov. 20. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Catherine Mucha.

Christopher J. Wiegman, 30, no permanent address, Batavia, is charged with failure to appear. He was arrested on a warrant out of City Court for failure to appear on Sept. 27 in court. He was due in City Court on Oct. 9. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Mitchell Cowen, assisted by Officer Chad Richards.

Brian P. Suttell, 41, of Lake Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with criminal possession of marijuana in the fifth degree. He was arrested at 9:20 p.m. on Oct. 6 on East Main Street in Batavia after police allegedly witnessed him smoking marijuana in a public parking lot in the city. He was issued an appearance ticket for City Court and is due there Oct. 23. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Mitchell Cowen, assisted by Officer Nicole McGinnis.

Photo of Luca (real name Luke Farner) courtesy of Julia McCormick Photography.

Press release:

BERGEN -- On Nov. 4^th Luka will be performing at the largest Pride celebration in Southern California. Luka will perform immediately following the Pride Parade through downtown Palm Springs capping off the last day of Pride Week.

The Greater Palm Springs Pride Week in Downtown Palm Springs is the setting for a vibrant, pedestrian friendly Pride Festival, unique to Southern California in the Coachella Valley. A diverse array of artists, entertainers, LGBTQ+ supporters, and celebrities will unite to celebrate achievements in social equality, diversity and unity.

Luka will be celebrating with the Pride Parade on Sunday, Nov. 4^th, and performing on the Museum Stage, in the heart of downtown, next to the Palm Springs Art Museum.

He will be giving the crowd some New York’s favorites including: Lesbe Honest, Nobody’s B#tch, King Bee, and XXXtra Terrestrial. Luka has performed in venues around New York and is excited to make his first debut on the California entertainment scene.

“I am honored and blessed to be invited to participate Palm Springs Pride,” Luka said. “This event means so much to me and honors all generations of LGBTQ+ community members and supporters.

"We would never be here today, celebrating our unity and equality without the pioneers who deeply relentlessly sacrificed themselves to achieve equality for all individuals.”

About Luka: Luka is a singer songwriter artist (real name Luke Farner) who lives in Bergen. He has been writing and performing since he was 8 years old. He is also a renowned stylist fashion guru adored by many of his clients. Luka lives with his 14-year-old kitty Anastasia Marie. Find more about Luka here.

About Palm Springs Pride: Greater Palm Springs Pride is a nonprofit community enhancement organization founded to promote the public education and awareness of individual rights and civil liberties of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and to promote the history, diversity and future prosperity of the Greater Palm Springs LGBT community. Serving as an advocate for equality and diversity in the Coachella Valley for 30 years.

Above photo: Taiyo Iburi-Bethel working at the Habitat for Humanity job site on East Main Street in Batavia.

Submitted photos and press release:

Above photo: Kate Folger is busy at the Habitat for Humanity job site on East Main Street.

Above photo: Elise Hoerbelt weeding at Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

Photo above: Alex Christensen making decorations for a Halloween party.

Above photo from left: Felicity Anderson, Karissa Kesler, Shay Kilner and Tracy Lin at Premier Genesee Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation setting up for games with residents.

Above photo from left: Jocelyn Castaneda, Elizabeth Cohen and Nia Ross helping out at the YMCA Preschool.

Above photo from left: Amanda Jackson, Hannah Finkney, Garrett Harloff, Damien Sprague, Tom Ognibene, Anthony McMaster and Cristina Kolberg helped with yard work at the VA Medical Center.

Press release:

The Reform Party Candidate, Larry Piegza, announces he is willing to take Chris Collins' spot in the McMurray/Collins debate.

"Chris Collins obviously has more pressing legal issues than to explain to the voters in NY-27 how he intends to represent us," Piegza sent in a statement. "Fortunately, there are still two candidates on the ballot that are prepared to represent our district.

"Nate McMurray, I accept your #DebateNate Challenge. If the Buffalo News is still willing to host it, I am still game. Collins can come if he can get time away from preparing for his trial. I am sure that the voters would love to hear how he plans to represent our district if he is convicted and serving jail time."

A pro-Trump Republican, Piegza has been unsuccessfully pushing the local Republican offices to only endorse ethical candidates for the last 12 months. He earned the Reform Party's endorsement in June. In the past, the Reform Party has always endorsed Collins, but they broke from it this year when they learned about the fact that Collins might have broken the law.

"Kudos to the Reform Party for only supporting candidates who are more ethically sound," Piegza said. "And it really paid off. If they hadn't stepped up an endorsed me, the people in the district would have had to choose between voting for a possible criminal and a Democrat.

"I would have been curious to see how many people actually voted in November. Now, they can vote for an ethical conservative who supports all of Trump's agenda. In addition, I plan to use an online town hall so the people in the district can always tell me what their needs are. That means I will be able to do a better job of keeping in touch with everyone than Collins did."

Piegza has tried unsuccessfully to debate McMurray in the past. In the weeks following Collins' indictment, his campaign aired 30-second commercials on WBEN accepting his #DebateNate challenge. These were ignored by the McMurray campaign.

Now, it appears that McMurray is changing his mind. In a Facebook post on Oct. 10, 2018, McMurray played off of the "Fix It Larry" moniker McMurray has used for his website (FixItLarry.org) and said that McMurray should be calling for a debate.

"BANG THAT HAMMER! Democracy needs some noise." In the post, McMurray also proposes to set up an empty chair for Collins.

"This is a welcome surprise," Piegza said. "I thought that I would finally get a chance to debate Nate at the forum at SUNY Geneseo, but apparently McMurray isn't attending. I am glad to see he isn't avoiding me."

As for the empty chair, Piegza says, "Collins might feel more comfortable if we swap the chair out for a prison bench."

As you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the members of the City of Batavia Fire Department are proud to honor and support those who have fought and are no longer with us, those who are currently fighting, and those who will be fighting the battle against breast cancer.

Department members feel that it is important to support and maintain public awareness of breast cancer. The department has conducted this awareness program for the past several years and is proud to do so.

In order to show its support, fire department members (pictured above) for the month of October will be wearing a special uniform T-shirt that has our department patch that is adorned with the pink breast cancer ribbon on the front and back of the shirt.

Additionally, all department apparatus has a large pink ribbon decal affixed to the front of each vehicle for the month.

Story submitted by: Stefano (Steve) Napolitano, chief, City of Batavia Fire Department. Photo by Steve Ognibene.

A caller to dispatch reports seeing a small yellow cropduster-like plane appear to go down in a wooded area in Indian Falls. No signs of smoke. The location is described as being on the south side of Phelps Road, about a mile from Route 77, in the area of Houseknecht Road. A Sheriff's deputy is heading there to check it out.

UPDATE 7:31 p.m.: This proved to be unfounded. The plane was flying. 

Press release:

In his bid for another term representing Genesee, Orleans and portions of Monroe counties in the 139th District of the state Assembly, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) announced today that he has received an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and the group’s endorsement for the 2018 general election.

Hawley, a consistent proponent of the right to bear arms sponsors several bills to repeal the NY SAFE-Act, has passed legislation authorizing big game hunting in Genesee and Orleans counties and has been an unwavering voice against New York’s left-wing extremist groups seeking to dissolve the Second Amendment and cut back the rights of law-abiding gun owners. 

“I am honored to once again have the endorsement and full confidence of the NRA,” Hawley said. "The fear tactics and subsequent extreme stances of some groups in our state are trying to severely roll back the rights of law-abiding firearm owners and undercut our constitutional right to keep and bear arms, and I will not stand idly by while that happens."

“Hunting and responsible firearm ownership is a tradition here in Western New York. We deserve the right to protect our home and family from danger and deserve to pass down the rewarding and special tradition of hunting that teaches valuable lessons of patience, responsibility and reward to so many. I will always stand for the Second Amendment and, rest assured, that will remain my duty as your representative in Albany.”

Photo: Trace R. George, GCC Class of 1993, will give the keynote address at this year's Creativity Conference. He owns VSP Graphic Group in Buffalo.

Submitted photo and press release:

The Business and Commerce department at Genesee Community College has announced its sixth Creativity Conference to be held Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the Batavia Campus.

Under the theme of "Creativity in the Entrepreneurial Zone," the conference this year will serve both aspiring entrepreneurs as well as existing business owners looking to take their business to the next level. 

All attendees will have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of our community's leaders through the stories of their own startups and ventures. The conference will include workshops on "How to use Social Media to Grow your Business," "Building Creative Teams," "Developing a Creative Organization," "Personal & Organizational Impact of Creative Style" and more!

GCC has collaborated with the Startup Genesee Committee to put together an agenda full of learning and networking opportunities, inspirational stories and education. Giving the keynote address will be owner of VSP Graphic Group from Buffalo, Trace R. George, GCC Class of 1993. 

Small business owners or employees, entrepreneurs and the general public are invited to attend the conference and workshops. The cost is $39 per person, which includes a continental breakfast and delicious lunch. For GCC students, faculty and staff, the conference cost is $25 per person.

Seating is limited, so register today! GCC faculty and staff are encouraged to contact The BEST Center to register. Students are asked to register through their instructors.

Whether you are launching a new endeavor to taking your successful business to a bigger platform -- let GCC be a resource for your idea and your path to success! GCC offers both an associate degree and a certificate program on Entrepreneurship. Check out the options here.

For more information, contact Director of Business Programs Lina LaMattina at (585) 343-0055, ext. 6319, or via email: lmlamattina@genesee.edu.

Batavia City Council President Eugene Jankowski said he is confident that the Batavia Planning & Development Committee will come up with the best way to rezone parcels of the former St. Anthony’s Church/School campus on Liberty Street and Central Avenue in order to create a much-needed “community benefit” on the City’s south side.

Jankowski, speaking after Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, took the planning committee’s recent inability to pass a zoning change from its current R-3 Residential to the requested C-3 Commercial in stride, noting that the planners generally are in favor of it.

 “I think that the planning board, from my observation, somewhat recommended it, and I think it’s a great idea for the community to rezone it because that’s exactly what it’s been used for anyway,” Jankowski said. “So I think that rezoning it for its proper use so that we can relocate the youth center there and to put more programs over there is a great idea.”

At a PDC meeting on Sept. 18, the vote was two in favor, one opposed and one abstention, but three votes were needed for passage (one board member was absent).

PDC Chairperson Duane Preston said one committee member was adverse to “spot zoning” so the board is looking at its options, including the recommendation of an alternate zoning district or new district classification. He said the complete packet of information will be provided to council members prior to the next City Council Conference Meeting on Oct. 22.]

Jankowski said he wasn’t so sure that it was a case of “spot zoning.”

“If you look at it, it’s not really a spot … it’s not an island in the middle of a residential area,” he said. “It basically redraws the lines to create like a cutout for an area that’s pretty much a big parking lot, a school building, and a community center. It’s pretty much been treated like a commercial-type property all these years anyway, but it was exempt because it was a church, I believe. I could be wrong on that.”

He added that the parcels in question have become “more of a community center” and “it just makes sense to make it zone properly so they can now offer more services.”

“I think it’s the best thing that can happen there. Do something with it, get it fixed up and make it a community ‘benefit’ instead of a community ‘nothing’ because it’s improperly zoned. In the future, if the planning board recommends a special zone. By all means, if it fits, then why wouldn’t we do it?”

The property was purchased by City Church in 2016, and is hoped to become a destination for commercial ventures such as a dance school, art school and community education classes, as well as the future home of the Batavia Youth Bureau (Teen City).

The Rev. Martin Macdonald, pastor, was at the City Council meeting and said he thinks City Council is on board with the plan and he is “certainly appreciative of that.”

“I hate to go ahead until this is accomplished because I don’t want to talk about something that can’t be a reality until it is approved,” he said, “but we were just over there tonight, and there are 150 kids there right now.

“It’s something that was empty for nine years and is now full of life, and we just want to expand that. We’re just going to complement what’s already happening, and come alongside the City in any way we can, and do what we’re called to do – help people of all ages.”

Traffic is stopped at Richmond Avenue and Oak Street because a Sheriff's deputy is trying to herd kittens across the road.

They kitties are in the roadway and he's trying corral them or move them out of harm's way; no word on momma. 

UPDATE 1:02 p.m.: Traffic is flowly freely. A kitten is now inside the patrol car; the others must have skittered off.

UPDATE 1:11 p.m.: The deputy is en route to the shelter with the kitten.

It's time for the annual Local Independent Online News Publishers' conference in Chicago (an organization I helped start) so this afternoon I'm catching a flight to O'Hare.

I'll return Sunday.

Billie will be holding down the fort and we have some stories in the pipeline and will continue coverage of our community, though I'll be busy and won't be around to cover events.

Press release:

Days after revealing an impressive fundraising quarter, Nate McMurray revealed results of internal polling showing that the race for New York’s 27th Congressional District is tied between McMurray, the Democratic and Working Families Party Candidate, and incumbent Chris Collins, who was indicted on charges of insider trading and lying to the FBI in August. The poll was taken from Oct. 6th – 8th, sampling 400 voters in the district.

With the race as a dead heat, McMurray’s support has come from a deep base of grassroots support as voters are demanding integrity and a member of Congress who will listen and truly represent them. McMurray has yet to air a single ad on TV, while Collins has spent heavily, launching extensive negative advertisements in the weeks before the poll.

“This proves what we’ve been seeing on the ground for months: We. Can. Win. Voters are tired of corruption and care about protecting healthcare, fighting for farms and supporting small businesses,” McMurray said. “Voters feel taken advantage of by a wealthy man who used his power to enrich himself instead of representing people like us.

"They are angry that he’s running for reelection because his defense attorneys told him to. They are sick of politics as usual that puts the desires of the powerful above the needs of working people. They know that we are better than this in Western New York, and they’re right.”

Among the findings of McMurray’s internal polling:

McMurray and Collins are tied and McMurray is in a strong position to win the election, having raised the necessary resources to communicate his message to voters in the final weeks of the campaign.

Collins and McMurray are each attracting 42 percent of the vote while Reform Party candidate Larry Piegza receives 6 percent and 10 percent of voters are undecided.

Nine in 10 voters (90 percent) report that they have heard, read, or seen information about Collins’ indictment, with a majority (57 percent) stating they have heard “a lot” about the indictment.

Earlier this week, McMurray’s campaign released his campaign’s third quarter reports, raising close to a half million dollars with the vast majority in the seven weeks following Collins’ indictment. This comes even as McMurray’s campaign will not accept corporate PAC money. Last week, he was endorsed by End Citizens United, a group dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics and fixing the rigged system in Washington so it works for all Americans./p>

Collins was arrested on charges of insider trading and lying to the FBI in August and pledged to suspend his campaign. Collins broke his pledge weeks later on the advice of his criminal defense lawyers, announcing on Sept. 17 that he intended to keep remain on the ballot. It’s no surprise that overwhelming financial support has come to McMurray since voters learned that he would be running against Collins.

In that time, McMurray has built up his campaign staff and opened seven offices to hold the massive volunteer base.

NOTE: The Batavian has suspended publication of press releases from Rep. Chris Collins until Collins agrees to an interview.

Republicans in New York have been totally ineffective in protecting the Second Amendment rights of the state's citizens, Larry Sharpe, Libertarian candidate for governor, told members of Genesee County SCOPE at the regular monthly meeting at Calvary Baptist Church in Batavia on Tuesday night.

He is the only candidate on the ballot, he said, who can and will get the SAFE Act repealed, and he laid out a plan for getting it done even though he would be the only elected Libertarian in the state.

First, Sharpe said, within 90 days of taking office he would pardon every person in the state who has been convicted of a SAFE Act felony. Next, he would encourage local law enforcement to stop enforcing the SAFE Act.

At that point, Sharpe said, he will be attacked by the media. But rather than cowering, he would use the attacks to educate the public about how bad the SAFE Act is for all New Yorkers.

"When I talk with people who support the SAFE Act, they say the SAFE Act is great and that is as far as they think about it," Sharpe said. "They say the SAFE Act has the word 'safe' in it so it must be good. 'We haven't had a school shooting since 2013, therefore the SAFE Act works.' "

He said the problem with the Republican argument against this shallow line of thinking has been, "but it's unconstitutional," which is totally unpersuasive to a supporter of the SAFE Act.

His line of argument gets their attention, he said.

"The SAFE Act has made millions of New Yorkers overnight criminals," Sharpe said. "They purchased a firearm legally and then the next day they were violent felons in the eye of the law. And they go, 'oh, really? I thought the SAFE Act just outlawed machine guns.'

"That's not what it did. No, literally, it made millions of New Yorkers violent felons overnight. It made all medical personnel part of the the state secret police. They must now literally report on people (who they might suspect of mental illness)."

Sharpe used an example of a person seriously injured who tells a doctor, "I'm in so much pain I want to die." That person, Sharpe said, gets labeled "suicidal" and now can't possess a firearm.

He also said the SAFE Act also disapportinately affects veterans, who are both more likely to own a firearm and more like to suffer from PTSD.

"When you tell people this, watch all the people who were pro SAFE Act start to say, 'oh, that's bad,' " Sharpe said.

Once he's pardoned those convicted under the SAFE Act, and once it's not routinely enforced, and once he's made the public case why the SAFE Act is an unfair law, then he can go to the Legislature and tell them, "repeal it."

He thinks that by then the political pressure will be on the Democrats in the Assembly to repeal it and he will be able to get the votes in the Senate because at least five members will have decided it's politically expedient to be on the side of the governor and will have switched their party registration to Libertarian.

He promised to have the SAFE Act repealed in 2020.

Sharpe said he will win the governor's race because he has a movement going. He compared it to Donald Trump's campaign. People didn't see Trump coming because he used Twitter to build support.

"I use Facebook and video," Sharpe said.

He said his campaign appeals not just to Republicans but also Democrats and independents.

"I am the most pro Second Amendment candidate ever and I draw Democrats all the time," Sharpe said. "You want to win the election? You want to make this a pro Second Amendment state? You've got to get Democrats. You've got to get independents. Republicans are not enough."

The Batavia City Council is on board with a one-year extension of a tentative new sales tax agreement with Genesee County as long as county legislators also act to facilitate the “special legislation” necessary to secure a 40-year deal.

During a Special Conference Meeting tonight at City Hall, council members opted to move a resolution calling for a 12-month extension agreement to its Conference Meeting on Oct. 22, but want assurances that Genesee County lawmakers will be taking up the measure as well.

“The one-year extension is consistent with the 40-year agreement … and the special legislation hopefully will lead to (the passage) of the 40-year agreement,” Interim Manager Matt Worth said. “It would not have been approved by the state Comptroller’s Office (without the special legislation). So, the county will meet concurrently and then it will go to the Comptroller.”

City Attorney George Van Nest explained that the county attorney was advised in mid-September of “feedback he got from the state Comptroller’s Office that there was a little discomfort (with the 40-year term).”

Van Nest said pursuing the special legislation through the state legislature is the “best approach and the most cautious approach.”

In a memo to City Council dated Oct. 2, Worth referred to precedent for such a move, citing previous agreements in Wayne and Ontario counties.

The City and Genesee County have reached a deal giving Batavia 16 percent of the county’s 50 percent share of the 8 percent sales tax through the end of 2018 – with provisions for that amount to grow in future years by a maximum of 2 percent per year. In future years, the City’s share will depend upon sales tax revenue growth, eventually being no less than 14 percent.

City Council President Eugene Jankowski said he was in favor of the special legislation because “it will protect us. It becomes not just an agreement, but one approved by the state legislature.”

County legislators deemed that a change in the current agreement was necessary due to pending large expenditures, primarily a new county jail and several bridge replacements/repairs.

Council Member Robert Bialkowski said he wanted to know how much the county actually needs for these big ticket items.

“What do I tell my constituents?" he asked.

Worth said he wasn’t sure of the numbers, but said the county jail cost is expected to be around $50 million.

The county is expected to act on the extension on Oct. 17, Worth said, noting that the extension will expire on Dec. 31, 2019.

Jankowski said the ruling from the state Comptroller’s Office came as a bit of a surprise.

“The county attorney had been in contact with the state all along and at the last minute, it was like somebody finally read it, and said, ‘Oh, it’s a 40-year agreement,’ ” he said.

During the Business Meeting held before the Conference Meeting, Council:

-- Voted 8-1 to continue extra compensation for Worth ($1,000 per month), and James Ficarella, Ray Tourt and Lisa Neary ($750 per month each) through the pay period ending Jan. 4, 2019, for their additional work during the time the City has been without a city manager and assistant city manager.

The lone “no” vote was cast by Rose Mary Christian, who previously stated that she believes the additional pay should end when the new manager, Martin Moore, assumes his duties on Oct. 15.

-- Voted 9-0 to support the Fire Department’s implementation of an external Emergency Medical Technician class to be offered on an annual basis and to accept a $1,500 state grant to continue a child safety seat initiative.

The EMT class is for citizens interested in becoming EMTs for their own personal benefit as well as those who offer their services to other fire, rescue or Emergency Medical Service agency.