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A look at Batavia restaurants who, with the arrival of Phase Three of the pandemic recovery, were able to open on Friday.

Parents, students, teachers, and administration at Jackson Primary School in Batavia celebrated the end of the year and promotion day with a parade on Friday.

Genesee County Public Health COVID-19 briefing for June 12, 2020.

Press release:

•    Genesee County received zero new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 201 positive cases.
  • One of the previous community positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
  • Zero of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
• Orleans County received 1 new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 247 positive cases.
  • We are very saddened to report the loss of another county resident to COVID-19. This person was a resident of Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center. Our deepest condolences to this individual’s family and friends during this very sad time.
  • Fourteen of the total active positive cases are hospitalized. Please note those in the hospital may be from the community or a state-regulated facility. We do not separate them out to protect their privacy.
  • Two of the previous community positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
  • The new positive case was not on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • The individual is in their 60s.
  • The positive individual resides in Carlton.

We encourage everyone to remember to be polite and respect individual privacy. If you have a complaint about someone or a business use the appropriate channels provided by the state. Using social media to air your complaints and accusing individuals / businesses of wrongdoing generally does nothing to fix the problem. Be compassionate of other people and spread kindness.

Teachers and administrators drove house-to-house in Batavia on Wednesday to deliver awards and presents to the school's 8th graders who are moving onto high school in the fall.

Chamber of Commerce Seminar with Public Health Director Paul Pettit on Phase 3 reopening

While livestreaming yesterday's protest/march, I was also video recording with my DSLR camera. Here are key points from three hours of recording edited into 20 minutes so that you might, hopefully, be able to get a flavor of the day's event in a condensed version.

I hope and trust that the editing has maintained an accurate reflection of the event. A few people have complained that during the livestream, they couldn't hear interviews. The iPhone used for the livestream is an omnidirectional mic. It picks up everything. The shotgun mic on my DSLR is directional, so you will be better able to here the excerpts from those interviews in this video.

This is a significant event in Batavia's history. Please watch.

For more photos, visit Steve Ognibene's photo gallery. 

Notre Dame High School will honor its Class of 2020 graduates today in a socially distanced ceremony on its football field.

The school asked me to livestream it for them and, although I've never livestreamed an event remotely before, I'm giving it a try.

Alex's Place is participating in Stock the Freezer and WNY Feeds the Frontlines, delivering prepared frozen meals to front line workers and people in need.

This week, Alex's delivered 120 meals to the VA Hospital in Batavia.

Donors can purchase meals to purchase meals for frontline workers or people in need. Customers can also purchase meals for themselves.

To order, visit wnyfeedsthefrontline.org or alexsribs.com

Public Health COVID-19 Update for June 5, 2020

For spring athletes, they lost their seasons, and they lost many of the senior-year traditions, such as Senior Night. Rich Hannan, athletic director for Byron-Bergen, organized a parade through the county in their honor.

A Batavia resident was among protesters on Main Street this afternoon but in his attempt to document his participation, he shot video of the Genesee County Jail.

That drew the attention of local law enforcement. He said he was approached by a Batavia police officer and a corrections officer and asked not to take photos of the jail. He said he told officers he was in a public place and could photograph anything visible to the public. He indicated officers didn't pursue matters further and he said he would continue to carry his sign and take video of the jail.

On Monday, Craigs Creamery/Noblehurst Farms in Pavilion hosted a milk giveaway. Every car the showed up got at least a gallon of milk for free, with a total of 2,000 gallons available. The distribution was in conjunction with Natural Upcycling, Dairy Farmers of America, and the Livingston County Farm Bureau and took place on World Milk Day.

The milk was processed by Pittsford Farms Dairy. When Billie and I lived in Pittsford, that was the only place we ever bought milk. It's the best. Below is a video about the dairy I produced in 2008 as a project for a video production class I was in at the time.

Interview: Nicole Ilasi, owner of Salon Miaou, about the challenges salon and barbershop owners are facing in Phase Two reopening. Salon Miaou is located at 417 E. Main St. in Batavia.

Ken Marrocco, a Batavia resident, was at the intersection of Main and Ellicott in Batavia this afternoon and evening carrying a sign that read "Black Lives Matter."

Marrocco was responding to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a police officer, a death that has sparked nationwide protests, some peaceful, some turning violent.

Interview with Macy Paradise, about the upcoming BBQ for Equality

A Batavia resident spent most of the afternoon carrying a protest sign in front of the Upton Monument at Ellicott and Main in Batavia that read "George Floyd is Every man!"

George Floyd, 46, died while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25 while a police officer, based on a video made by a teenage witness, kept a knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the road, while the officer had his knee on his neck.

During the incident, Floyd told officers multiple times he couldn't breathe. At one point, he cried out, "Mama!" according to news reports. Floyd reportedly said, "My stomach hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurts," and requested water. The police do not audibly respond to Floyd who begged, "Don't kill me."

The police officer who kept his knee pressed against Floyd's neck is reported to be Derek Chauvin. He has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Chauvin along with fellow officers Thomas K. Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng, were fired immediately after the incident.

Chauvin reportedly had 19 prior complaints against him for alleged misconduct.

Floyd was originally from Houston, Texas, and had a prior felony arrest but moved to Minnesota to start a new life and had no criminal record in Minnesota. He and Chauvin had worked together as security guards at a nightclub prior to closure of the establishment due to coronavirus.

At the time of the deadly incident, Floyd was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill.

The incident has touched off protests and riots nationwide.

Public Health COVID-19 briefing for May 29, 2020.

Press release:

• As of 2 p.m.
  • Genesee County received one new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 186 positive cases.
    • The positive case resides in Batavia.
    • The positive individual is in their 20s.
    • The positive case was on mandatory quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • Two of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
  • Orleans County received 10 new positive case of COVID-19, for a total of 221 positive cases.
    • One of the new positive individuals resides in Albion, three of the new positives live in Ridgeway, one of the new positive lives at The Villages of Orleans Health & Rehabilitation Center and five of the new positive individuals live at Orchard Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
    • Of the new positive case one of the individuals is under 20, one of the individual is in their 20s, two individuals are in their 50s, two individuals are in their 60s, three individuals are in their 70s and one of the individuals is in their 90s.
    • Two of the new positive cases were on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
    • One of the previous positive cases has recovered and has been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Nineteen of the total active positive cases are hospitalized. Please note those in the hospital may be from the community or a state-regulated facility. We do not separate them out to protect their privacy.
    • We are sorry to report that we have lost two more county residents due to COVID-19. The individuals resided at the Orchard Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of these individuals during this very sad time.

Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.

In accordance with restrictions on social gatherings, area veterans conducted their annual Memorial Day Service at the War Memorial in Batavia, which included a reading of the names of Genesee County veterans who died during the previous 12 months.

Interview with Michael Plitt, chairman of the Democratic Party in Genesee County.

Press release:

As we move into the Memorial Day weekend, we would like to take a moment to remember those who fought for our freedom and have given the ultimate sacrifice, their lives. We appreciate each of these individuals and their families who gave so much for this great nation.

Even though there aren’t any public gatherings or parades, it doesn’t stop you from visiting cemeteries and monuments or have your own household time to remember our service men and women as long as you continue to social distance.

This is also the unofficial beginning of summer and we encourage people to be creative on how they can safely enjoy the great weather without putting others at risk of contracting COVID-19. Consider planting a victory garden of flowers, fruits and vegetables, go for daily hikes while social distancing, and/or start up some new hobbies.

Take time to step back and enjoy the slower pace we have found ourselves in during this pandemic. Remember to journal about how you and your family made it through these historic times. We are one day closer to making this a memory, remember this is only temporary.

We can get through this together, without being so close.

New Cases

• As of 2 p.m.
  • Genesee County received zero new positive case of COVID-19, for a total of 178 positive cases.
    • Three of the previous positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Two of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
  • Orleans County received 23 new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 194 positive cases.
    • One of the new positive cases resides in Ridgeway.
    • Twenty-two of the new positive cases are residents of Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center.
    • Of the new positive cases one individual is in their 20s; three of the individuals are in their 50s; three of the individuals are in their 60s; six of the individuals are in their 70s; seven of the individuals are in their 80s; and three of the individuals are in their 90s.
    • Two of the previous positive community cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Fifteen of the total active positive cases are hospitalized. Please note those in the hospital may be from the community or a state-regulated facility. We do not separate them out to protect their privacy.
    • We are truly saddened to receive word that five of our residents have died related to COVID-19. One of the residents lived at The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center and four of the residents lived at Orchard Rehabilitation & Nursing Center. Our deepest condolences go to the family and friends of each of these individuals during this very difficult time.

Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans Counties' online map of confirmed cases.