The Elba Betterment Committee is coming up on week 4 of our summer concerts in our beautiful Village Park. Up next on August 1, is the Batavia Swing Band. A professional 17 piece jazz/swing band, they will be bringing us everything from standard jazz and swing tunes to more modern and contemporary sounds.
We love our local musicians, and we know you will too. And perhaps there will be dancing!
The fun begins with food and beverages from Agatina’s Italian Restaurant, More Than A Mouthful, Ice Cream and Chill and Circle B Winery starting at 5:30 p.m. with the music starting at 6:30 p.m.
The 50/50 Raffle that night will help to provide a scholarship to Go Art’s Creative Art Camp to help support underprivileged children who may not be able to afford it.
All concerts are made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the NYS Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the NYS Legislature and administered by GO Art.
As always, we are collecting non perishable food and hygiene items and selling raffle tickets for your chance to win up to $5000. This is gonna be such a fun time – you know you gotta be there!
Graham Corporation (NYSE: GHM) (“GHM” or “the Company”), a global leader in the design and manufacture of mission critical fluid, power, heat transfer, and vacuum technologies for the defense, space, energy, and process industries, announced today that it has been awarded $2.1 million for the expansion of its welder training programs and related equipment.
The contract was awarded by BlueForge Alliance, a nonprofit, neutral integrator that supports the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base initiatives.
Daniel J. Thoren, President and CEO of GHM, commented, “These are exciting times for our Company as we build out our capabilities and capacity to support America’s defense industry as a part of the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base.
These funds will help us develop and grow our welder workforce and provide additional equipment needed to improve the efficiency of our production processes. We are proud to be a strategic supplier for the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base.”
Budd, who put on more than 100,000 miles as a driver for his family, is now grazing happily at Cherry Hill Farm Sanctuary. Submitted Photo
Budd was a standardbred whose original destiny was to become a racehorse. At two years old, he didn’t make the required time and instead became a working horse. He ended up as a driver for an Amish family for the next 18 years.
He click-clacked his way for more than 100,000 miles over those years, and when it became evident that Budd could no longer perform his daily tasks due to old age, his family didn’t really want to send him to auction. Lucky for Budd, his family came across the Cherry Hill Farm Sanctuary business cards that President Pamela Harmon had scattered throughout nearby harness shops and community centers.
“We received a call this spring from a family looking to place a 21-year-old standardbred that had been their daily driver for 18 years. Budd was a part of their daily lives, and they wanted him to have a chance to retire in pasture," Harmon said to The Batavian. "As a tattooed standardbred, we were able to look up Budd’s history and found that he was born and trained here in Corfu, NY, before making his way to be a buggy horse. Budd, along with his original pasture mate at the Amish farm, is now retired at Cherry Hill Farm Sanctuary.”
Obviously, a much less traumatic and far more humane way to — quite literally — put Budd out to pasture to loll about and enjoy his remaining days as reward for many hard years of work, his new caretakers believe.
There are 60 acres for him to forage and practice “being a horse” with his fellow kind, go for walks with Cherry Hill volunteers, get bathed and groomed and receive the special treatment he deserves.
Cherry Hill officially became a nonprofit in 2022, with the primary purpose of helping senior equines live out their lives in peaceful and healthy comfort after serving their work lives and having no other place to go except to auction, where they are sold for meat.
More than 100,000 horses in the United States are shipped off to Canada and Mexico each year for their meat, and the journey is often “pure agony” for these animals, according to the organization’s mission statement. That’s why Cherry Hill supports horses that are overcoming immense odds such as blindness and starvation by providing a haven for them to live out the rest of their lives in a compassionate, loving and dignified existence.
Delilah is another such case, only she brings with her a twofer, having been studded before being deemed no longer serving her purpose on an Amish farm. And the Morgan mare, in all of her glistening black-coated glory in the Corfu sunshine, is ready to give birth any day now, Harmon said.
“She’s over 20, and she’s partially blind. We actually took her in only three months ago. She was already bred sometime in the summer to a Belgian, which is a draft horse, and she’s a lot smaller, so there’s a lot of concerns that she’s not going to be able to deliver appropriately. We’re kind of in this full watch right now,” Harmon said. “We took her on mostly because of the fact that she’s older, and there’s a good chance that she’s gonna have some complications, rightfully so because of her age and because of the size of the stud that she was bred to.”
As with any noble cause, it takes money — a hefty $2,000 per month winter feed bill for the grain necessary to feed senior equines with either poor teeth or no teeth, plus the other costs for shelter and medical care, such as with Delilah, who “our goal was to make sure that she had the proper health care during the end of her pregnancy and that we could see it through to make sure that she stays healthy,” Harmon said.
Cherry Hill has 20 rescue equines, plus several goats and two cows. The nonprofit takes on many draft horses that were once used on Amish farms, and they drive up the feed bills, Harmon said.
That’s why Cherry Hill is throwing its first big fundraiser, a Cornhole and Basket Raffle, from noon to 4 p.m. Aug. 11 at Lancaster Elks Lodge, 33 Legion Parkway, Lancaster. There will be at least 100 theme baskets and gift certificates for various local businesses, plus a 50/50, food for purchase, cash bar and a DJ. Winners need not be present at time of drawing.
The cost is $25 for participants of the corn hole tournament, and they are asked to arrive at 11:30 a.m. Use the Scoreholio app or call/text 716-901-3445 to register.
A very pregnant Delilah, a Morgan mare turned over from an Amish farm, is ready to give birth any day now, as she grazes peacefully at Cherry Hill Farm Sanctuary in Corfu. Submitted Photo
This summer, Jason Aldean is doing what he’s done nearly every year around this time since he arrived on the country music scene in 2005. He’s going on tour, headlining amphitheater shows across the country.
To hear him tell it, getting out on the road and onto concert stages never gets old.
“That’s always kind of been my favorite part, the live touring and being on the road and playing music,” Aldean said in a phone interview. “I’m not really a studio rat guy. I’m not a guy that just loves going in the studio and stays in there all the time. When we go cut an album, I want to get in there, get it done, knock it out and then I want to go tour.”
That’s not to say Aldean has been neglecting the music-making side of his career. In fact, he’s been particularly prolific over the past five-plus years, releasing more than 70 songs over the course of five albums – the most recent of which was last year’s “Highway Desperado.”
Beyond being efficient with his time in the studio, one thing that probably has helped enable Aldean to release so much music lately is he’s relied on outside songwriters for nearly all of his most recent material – which means Aldean hasn’t had to set aside time for songwriting.
That, however, changed somewhat with “Highway Desperado,” as Aldean co-wrote three of the album’s songs.
“I got back in the writer’s chair for this album,” Aldean said. “It still is a part of what I do. I can do it. I don’t love it, and I don’t know how to say it. Sitting in a room for me for hours at a time trying to come up with something is torture. I’m just not good at that. I don’t like to feel like I’m closed in in an office. I have to kind of approach it in a different way. So for this album, I kind of wanted to get back into that a little bit and I found a way that kind of works for me a little bit.”
Aldean credited two of his band members, Kurt Allison (guitar) and Tully Kennedy (bass), with spurring him to write with them for “Highway Desperado,” and the two band members have credits on the majority of the songs on the album, including its controversial lead single, “Try That in a Small Town.”
The song decries senseless big-city crime, but was widely criticized as an anti-Black Lives Matter song that celebrates a brand of vigilante justice where townspeople take care of their own.
Aldean has defended “Try That in a Small Town,” saying in a statement the song wasn’t meant to deal with race and was a tribute to communities that come together to support each other in times of trouble. Aldean also commented on the song in this interview.
“‘Try That in a Small Town,” it’s just one of those things that I felt like was something I wanted to say. Like most everybody, I watch the news every night and see what’s going on in our world, and it’s crazy and insane, and it’s just not something I can still wrap my head around,” Aldean said. “You get a song like this that comes along and it says everything you want to say, and it’s like man, I want to cut that and I want to get it out as soon as possible.”
The fuss over “Try That in a Small Town” has eased now, but despite that, it became Aldean’s first song to top “Billboard” magazine’s all-genre Hot 100 singles chart. It also topped the country singles chart.
Having a song top the country charts has become a regular occurrence for Aldean, who splashed onto the scene with a 2005 self-titled debut album that turned out a No. 1 single, “Why,” and two top 10 songs, “Hicktown” and “Amarillo Sky.” He’s gone on to pile up nearly 30 No. 1 songs over his career.
Aldean views “Highway Desperado” as traveling down a similar musical path as his other albums, with several musical genres working their way into a mix of hefty rock-tinged songs and sturdy, melodic ballads.
“I think at this point, when you listen to any of the albums I’ve done, my sound and what I do is just what I do,” he said. “There’s going to be some rock and roll influence in there, obviously a lot of country music influence, some pop and hip-hop-type stuff. It’s what I’ve done kind of my whole career.”
Aldean can’t fit all of his hits into his shows anymore, but he puts a good deal of effort into crafting a crowd-pleasing selection of songs.
“Every year, I really sit down and try to come up with a set list that I feel like is cool, that people are going to get their money’s worth when they come to a show and try to figure out a way to play some of the things that everybody knows from year’s past, and also some songs that we’ve done recently,” he said. “It’s a little tricky sometimes.”
Jason Aldean performs at Darien Lake Amphitheater on Thursday, August 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday was a bittersweet day for 4-H members at the Genesee County Fair because it featured the market animal auction—a successful fundraiser and culmination of so much hard work but also perhaps some unforgiving emotional investment.
There’s Chase Zuber of Byron, who raised Big Papi, named after his favorite Red Sox baseball player, David Ortiz, and “watched him grow from the soil” from a cute piglet to an enormous 288-pound oinker.
And Kaidan Hofheins of Batavia, there with her grown bovine, who she had just shown on Sunday and placed sixth overall, doing “pretty good,” she said.
“His name's Miko. I raised him at our house, actually. Usually, we all raise them on the fourth-generation farm back on Grandpa's, but I had a calf born at our house, so Grandpa let me use him this year. So it's been a little different,” she said just before the auction started at the Batavia fairgrounds. “But it's been really good. I've been able to bring him out to some other shows. I actually did really well. It's certainly an honor. I mean, to be in this program. It's taught me a lot. But it is a hard night; it's also one of my favorite nights, seeing how everyone just kind of comes together to support each other and the community we have.
“But I mean, it's hard knowing I've raised him since a calf. So it's hard to say goodbye and to let go,” she said. “But we were always taught it's a circle of life. It's okay. So it's hard, but it's good. It teaches you a lot of valuable lessons. So I'm really grateful for this program and everything I've learned.”
Tim Call, a longtime member of the farming community and owner of Empire Tractor in Batavia, has also been a supporter of 4-H and has participated in the auction. He has bid on animals that he shares with his company employees, he said.
This is an important program for what it teaches the kids beyond the basics of care, Call said.
“Teaching them how to grow, how to raise animals, how to understand economics, you know, you’ve got to pay, you get the money, you’ve got to pay for it all, and hopefully there's something there at the end. And you have to go out and market it, because you'll see, there are some kids, for a cow or a steer they'll get two bucks, other kids will get 10 bucks (per pound). Well, the guy that did 10 bucks went out and marketed it better; they asked more people to buy their animal as part of their learning process,” he said. “And when they see other people getting more money, the next year, they know how to go out and try to ask people to buy them.”
Some 4-Hers have regulars, such as Todd Jantzi, who comes to the auction to bid on his neighbor’s livestock to support her, he said.
“She has a great spirit and is a hardworking young lady,” Jantzi said. “It’s a great aspect of growing up in life being responsible for your animals, that those animals are needing her. And it just creates a tremendous amount of responsibility at a young age."
He appreciates the 4-H program, he said, and seeing the kids reap the benefits of hands-on labor and experiencing success from their efforts.
“It brings a warm feeling to my heart,” he said. “You like to see the smile on the kids and the reward for their hard work over the last, say, six months. So it’s a neat process.”
There were 227 animals in Thursday's auction. A sheet of Auction Terms & Conditions explains how it works, from how animals are sold—goats, lambs, steers, and hogs are sold whole, live by the pound versus market chickens and rabbits are sold in lots of two, with the chickens already processed and frozen—to pricing, making payment, selecting a processor, transporting the animal, and where proceeds go.
All but a 5% commission to Cornell Cooperative Extension for auction and program expenses goes back to the youth participants for their own programs.
Although the 4-H program focuses on caring for and showing animals, other aspects are involved, such as public speaking and marketing, said Cooperative Extension Executive Director Jocelyn Sikorski.
“It’s learning how to work as an individual, building a skill set on how to care for something, right? Learning how to make money and how to sell your product, they have to go through public speaking. There are many different layers of education with 4-H when it comes to youth development; it really hits on almost all of them,” she said. “And it’s cumulative throughout the course of the programs … so truly, this is our culminating event for most of the kids unless they go on to compete at State Fair.”
There are several other non-animal programs in 4-H, including Family and Consumer Sciences and Junior Master Gardener Club, she said.
“So there’s all different life lessons on whether it’s maintaining an animal for the health of the animal and for the betterment of the animal, to how to plant and grow your own food and how to make your own food, how to do all of those things are built through 4-H,” she said.
Playing a set of classic rock and country hits, the Rochester-based band Another Vice entertained fairgoers on Thursday evening at the Genesee County Fair.
Fame Racing – Radio Controlled Car Racing (SAT 3pm, 5pm & 7pm; SUN 3pm, 5pm & 7pm; MON 3pm, 5pm & 7pm; TUES 3pm, 5pm & 7pm; WED 1pm, 3pm, 5pm & 7pm; THURS 3pm, 5pm & 7pm; FRI 1pm, 3pm, 5pm & 7pm; SAT 1pm, 3pm, 5pm & 7pm)
Fair Trivia Hunt – All Day (July 20th-26th) – Exhibition Building – DAILY PRIZES Events & times on the schedule are subject to change. Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with changes.
Lots of rides at the Fair to entertain families. Photo by Steve Ognibene
The Midway was the Genesee County Fair's popular entertainment destination on Thursday, with families enjoying perfect fair weather for rides and games.
Catholic Charities is gearing up for the new school year with its annual Socks and Undergarment Drive to benefit school-age kids and teenagers in grades Pre-K through 12th in need throughout Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties.
“Just like notebooks and pencils, growing children also need new socks and underwear for the upcoming school year,” said Kate DiSalvo, tri-county district director, Catholic Charities. “We understand that back to school supplies and clothing can be an added financial burden for many families in our community, which is why this annual drive is so important.”
Donations of new, unopened packages of socks and underwear are being accepted from Aug. 1 – 31 at the following Catholic Charities offices:
25 Liberty St., Suite 7, Batavia
243 South Main St., Business Office Suite, Albion
6470 Route 20A, Perry
All colors and sizes from children to adult are needed. The donated items will be distributed to community members later this summer.
Additional information about Catholic Charities’ services can be found at ccwny.org/services.
Live harness racing returns to Batavia Downs on Saturday (July 27) as the 2024 summer/fall season gets underway with a full 15-race card that starts at 6 p.m. The season runs through Saturday (Dec. 7) and features a 56-day meet.
The opening night card includes the first visit of the year from the New York Sire Stakes as the 3-year-old pacing fillies will be on hand to compete in two $58,100 divisions. There will also be three Excelsior races going for $20,000 each, bringing the total stake purses available that night to $176,200.
The live schedule changes several times throughout the year. It starts out with a Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday schedule through August 17. Then it switches to Wednesday, Friday, Saturday through November 23 with the exception of Friday (Sept. 6) which will be dark due to the special Monday (Sept. 2) Labor Day matinee card starting at 1:15 p.m. The final two weeks of the meet cut back to Wednesday, Saturday. Post time for all race days -- with the exception of the Labor Day matinee -- will be at 6 p.m.
Once again, there is a hearty slate of New York Sire Stake action. The state-bred series will be in action on Saturday (July 27-$103,000 3-year-old filly pace), Wednesday (July 31-$103,000 3-year-old colt pace), Wednesday (Aug. 7-$93,000 2-year-old colt pace), Wednesday (Aug. 14-$93,000 2-year-old filly pace), Wednesday (Aug. 21-$93,000 2-year-old colt trot), Saturday (Aug. 24$103,000 3-year-old colt trot and $103,000 3-year-old filly trot) and Wednesday (Aug. 28-$93,000 2-year-old filly trot).
Also on that NYSS double-header 3-year-old colt and filly trotting card on Saturday (Aug. 24) will be the Down’s signature event, the Robert J. Kane Memorial Invitational pace that will go for $100,000 this year. Free Kane Pace T-shirts will be given away on that night.
Don Hoover, Director of Live Racing at Batavia Downs, looks to build on the record wagering that the track realized earlier this year.
“I am looking forward to the upcoming meet, anticipating that the momentum from the highly successful winter meet will continue for the remainder of this year. We set several betting records during our early year meet and hopefully we can keep that going during this session,” said Hoover.
Looking to drive that momentum is Tom Agosti, who recently joined the staff at Batavia Downs as the new race secretary. He will be responsible for putting together the competitive fields that will be featured throughout the year.
Agosti has established a new text line to relay vital information regarding draws and racing information for the upcoming meet. Horsemen and women can sign up for this service by texting bataviadowns to 732.363.7700. Subscribing to this service will be advantageous to all when it comes to filling races or having immediate knowledge of any changes in schedule. All are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.
Bettors will have plenty of opportunities with a wagering menu that includes three Doubles, 10 Exactas, 10 Trifectas, nine Superfectas, two Pick-3’s, two Pick-4’s, one Pick-5 and one Jackpot Super High Five available on every 10-race card.
All the top drivers will be back including last year’s top five leaders Jim Morrill Jr., Kevin Cummings, Dave McNeight III, Kyle Cummings and James McNeight Jr.
Leading trainers Sam Smith, Shawn McDonough, Dave Russo, Tammy Cummings, James Rothfuss and Ryan Swift will also be back along with a host of others.
The clubhouse will be open for all race dates and offer a varied menu. Every Friday and Saturday will feature a buffet while the other race nights have a menu provided by the Center Street Smokehouse. The Railbar will always be open for live racing.
Patrons will also have plenty of promotions to look forward to throughout the year.
On opening night there will be free programs in the grandstand and the Lotta Cash Giveaway, where customers can deposit non-winning tickets wagered on Batavia Downs races for a chance to win two $250 betting vouchers and a Batavia Downs Gaming Play and Stay package that includes one night’s stay at the Batavia Downs Gaming Hotel, $25 in gaming Free Play and a $50 dinner certificate to Fortune’s.
The Play and Stay promotion will also be held every Wednesday during the meet where customers can deposit non-winning tickets wagered on Batavia Downs races for a chance to win a Batavia Downs Gaming Play and Stay package that was previously described.
Also on Wednesday is the Finale Frenzy promotion where you get $25 gaming Free Play when you wager $25 on the last race at Batavia Downs.
And there is also the Early Bird Daily Double, where you receive $10 in gaming Free Play when you wager at least $10 at the same time on the Early Daily Double.
Plus every live racing program includes a $5 gaming Free Play coupon.
All promotions require participants be Players Club members and gaming Free Play is subject to required base points being earned before redemption. Full rules are available in the program and online.
You can watch all the live racing action for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube channel and free, full past performance programs for every live race night will be available on the Batavia Downs website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the live racing tab.
It was a busy day at the Genesee County Fair on Wednesday and there are plenty of activities for the whole family at the fair on Thursday, including the midway opening at 4 p.m., the 4-H livestock auction at 6 p.m., and the exhibit hall open all day.
Today, members of The Batavian's Early Access Program have a coupon for free entry to the fair, courtesy of The Batavian.
Also, stop by the Media Center (The Batavian/WBTA) to enter The Batavian's eagle drawing contest before 3 p.m. We are giving away a guitar to the 17-and-under winner (a random selection from among the best drawings) and a $100 gift card to the adult winner. After 3 p.m. through Saturday, voting for the people's choice award begins.
The 100-Lap Enduro was held at the Genesee County Speedway on Wednesday at the Genesee County Fair.
The race pits drivers and their near-scrap-yard vehicles against each other and their ability to just make it through all 100 laps without breaking down.
CLARIFICATION: Only the Jell-O side is being painted on Saturday.
The iconic Jell-O/Mail Pouch Barn on Asbury Road in Le Roy will get a fresh coat of paint on the old advertising signs on Saturday by John Doemling, who originally painted the signs on the barn in 2013.
The public is invited to stop by to watch Doemling bring back the vibrancy of the signs, which have faded over the years.
The barn was built in 1820.
Jell-0, as many know, was founded in Le Roy in 1897.
Up until 1992, the Mail Pouch chewing tobacco company of West Virginia maintained signs on 20,000 barns in 22 states around the country, paying a small fee to farmers to advertise their product on the side of barns. The big benefit for farmers was getting a regular coat of paint on the entire barn for free, which helped maintain and preserve it.
Federal government regulation, the Highway Beatification Act, curtailed barn advertising, but historic landmarks, such as Mail Pouch Barns, were exempt.
The Hive Collective Inc. is hosting its second annual Family Fun Festival located at Our Lady of Mercy Parish Center at 44 Lake Street in Le Roy. The festival will be held on Saturday, August 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event boasts carnival-style games, food trucks, live music, superheroes and princesses from the Justice League of WNY, face painting, basket raffles, and more.
Admission is free with game tickets for purchase. Each game ticket has 10 spots. Every time a game is played, a volunteer will hole punch the card, and once filled, the card can be redeemed for prizes. The hive hopes to meet a donation goal of $500.
“All proceeds from this event go toward our ability to run the program and provide a fun and safe environment for homeschooling families. Some of these things include building rental costs, supplies, insurance, etc.” says Vice President Sydney Harvey.
The hive is a 501c3 homeschool organization based in Le Roy that was formed in 2023 to provide community, enrichment, and fun to the local homeschooling families. We are a membership association that hosts a weekly cooperative program, field trips, fundraising events, mom’s nights, park playdates, and much more.
Debra Shettler of Leroy was recently granted her wish to visit family and her childhood friend in Michigan. She had not seen her sister since 1989 and her childhood friend since the 6th grade.
She has been wanting to visit them for many, many years. They thoroughly enjoyed the time they spent together reconnecting and getting to know nieces, nephews and cousins she had never met.
Senior Wishes’ grants wishes to lower income seniors living independently and to those living in care facilities in Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties. Wishes have included attending sporting and cultural events, visiting a loved one not seen in years, and re-engaging a senior in a hobby. Requests for needs are also considered.
Wish recipients must be 65+ and a resident of Western New York with an annual income under $38,000 for a household of one or under $44,000 for a household of two. Permanent residents of care facilities are exempt from the income qualification.
Founded by the United Church Home Society, Senior Wishes strives to bring special moments to seniors across WNY and allow them to feel seen, important and not forgotten.
Officials from Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel announced that Saturday, October 26 will be the first Roswell Park Night at the Races in the Historic Batavia Downs Clubhouse.
The event will begin at 5 p.m. with the live racing meet starting at 6pm. A $50 ticket includes a buffet dinner, $25 in Free Play, and a racing program. In addition, there will be a silent auction with donated items, including various prize baskets, tickets to local sporting and music events alongside autographed sports memorabilia. Proceeds from the evening will support cancer research and patient care initiatives at Roswell Park. Tickets can be purchased at www.bataviaconcerts.com.
A full card of harness racing highlights the evening, beginning at 6 p.m. Race sponsorship opportunities are available and interested parties can contact Barb O’Rourke at 716-998-2179.
“We know how important the work is that Roswell Park does in our community,” said Henry Wojtaszek, President and CEO of Batavia Downs. “We are honored to host this event that will help raise awareness and provide funds for their mission.”
“Roswell Park is thrilled to be the Live Racing Series Sponsor for the 2024-2025 season at Batavia Downs. Batavia Downs, their board and staff have shown a deep level of commitment by organizing and hosting a variety of events throughout the season where a portion of the proceeds support the incredible work we are doing at Roswell Park. We are immensely grateful,” said Jenn Hickok, Roswell Park’s Director of Corporate and Sports Partnerships.
AUTOMOTIVE MECHANIC CITY OF BATAVIA SALARY $25.54-$30.08 DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS: Assignments in this Class require the exercise of specialized skills in tasks pertaining to the maintenance and repair of a wide variety of machinery and equipment used in public works activities, as well as to other vehicles owned or operated by the municipal employer. In smaller agencies, an Automotive Mechanic may exercise a degree of supervision over assistant mechanics or Equipment Operators performing minor maintenance and repair on equipment, with general supervision being received from a supervisor, superintendent, or other such official or designee. Does related work, as required. TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES: Repairs motorized and non-motorized equipment, such as trucks, tractors, mowers, graders, loaders, sweepers, rollers, compressors, and automobiles; Adjusts, repairs, and rebuilds gasoline and diesel engines; Repairs and replaces components of equipment, such as suspension systems, drive assemblies, brake systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, and cooling systems, and makes necessary adjustments to same; Carries out sanding, sandblasting, filling, painting, and related body-work tasks; Makes minor welding repairs; Operates drills, grinders, and other metal-working machines related to automotive repair functions; Performs preventative maintenance tasks which may include vehicle inspections; Attaches and removes snow plows, blades, and other attachments for motorized equipment; Maintains records of tasks performed, and other pertinent records; Requisitions parts and materials, to ensure adequate supply to maintain workflow; Acts as Equipment Operator, or wingman, as directed; May drive buses, cars, or trucks; May deliver fuel to job sites; Keeps shop area neat and clean. The above examples of duties are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position. FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITY AND/OR PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: Thorough knowledge of standard automotive repair and maintenance methods; thorough knowledge of automotive repair terminology and tools; working knowledge of welding techniques; ability to make difficult repairs to heavy automotive and other mechanical equipment; ability to work from plans and specifications, and to follow rough draft sketches and oral instructions; good motor and hand eye coordination; manual dexterity. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms. The employee constantly is required to stand; walk; and use hands to finger, handle, feel or operate objects, tools, or controls. The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 100 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly works in outside weather conditions. The employee is frequently exposed to wet and/or humid conditions. The employee is occasionally exposed to risk of electrical shock. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to loud. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: One year of full-time paid experience as a skilled automotive repairman. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Some jurisdictions may require appointees to receive and maintain certification as a NYS Motor Vehicle Inspector, within six months of appointment. SPECIAL REQUIREMENT FOR APPOINTMENT AND CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT: 1. Possession and maintenance of appropriate valid license(s), as required. 2. In school districts where incumbent may operate a school bus, possession of a valid appropriate level New York State Driver's License is required. 3. Drivers must be at least 21 years of age. NOTE: In addition, candidates must satisfy the requirements for School Bus Driver set forth in the Rules and Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education. Non-Competitive Class Civil Service Applications are due to Human Resources no later than October 18, 2024.
