Fired by 32 points from Janessa Amesbury, Byron-Bergen beat Wheatland-Chile in Girls Basketball on Friday 51-38.
Megan Jarkiewicz scored six points for the Bees.
For Wheatland, Vanessa Guerro scored 14 points.
"WC played well with a very young team," said Bees Coach Rick Krzewinski. "Chad Annis is doing a really nice job with his team. The win moves us to 9-2 with a home game Tuesday against Lyndonville. Tonight’s game was only our third in a month, so it will be nice to get into a rhythm for the last month before sectionals."
Coach Buddy Brasky pictured with his team, former students, and parents now helped celebrate his 500th career win over Eastridge 83-79 at Batavia High School Friday evening. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Genesee County Undersheriff Brad Mazur was there for Buddy Brasky's first win as Batavia's varsity basketball coach, and on Friday, he was in the Batavia High School gymnasium for Brasky's 500th win.
Mazur played on Brasky’s first squad in 1990-91, and this season, his son Brady, a senior, and his son Casey, a sophomore, who is a big part of the team's current success.
"What a great honor for Coach Brasky to win number 500," Brad Mazur said. "He's done a great job throughout all these years. His dedication to the program, the dedication to the student-athletes, the community, and I tell you what, he won 500 games in the Monroe County League. So that says a lot. The Monroe County league is a difficult League, and doing that is an incredible accomplishment."
The win didn't come easily on Friday, with Eastridge holding close through all four quarters before the Blue Devils locked down a 83-79 win.
Over two dozen former players who Buddy Brasky coached in his 35-year career were on hand to support him.
It was tremendous, Brasky said, to see so many former players turn out for what was expected to be his 500th win.
"As a coach, you hope you're making an impact on kids that goes beyond basketball, and you never really know until the players get older, and they get on with their lives, and to have so many of them take their time to come back and just in case I won that game last night, to be there, it really meant the world to me," Brasky said.
Jeff Redband, part of the 2013 squad that vied for a state championship, said it was an honor to return to his alma mater to watch Brasky pick up his 500th coaching win.
"Tonight was very special to see all the alumni, all my old teammates, and just the camaraderie that we all had from playing for Coach Brasky, going through that experience together, and just what he taught us," Redband said. "It was great to give back to support him as much as he supported us in the past."
The Batavian reached Brasky on Saturday to talk about the big win.
"It's a big accomplishment. Obviously, I know how big of an accomplishment it is. I mean, I didn't know this, but I found out today that I'm only the sixth coach in Section V history to get 500 wins," Brasky said. "That's very gratifying to me."
Among Brasky's 500 wins are six Section V titles and four regional titles, which have sent the Blue Devils to the state's final four. But Batavia has never made it to the championship game.
The closest a Brasky-coached squad came, he said, was in 2005. The Blue Devils took the semifinal game to overtime after being down 19 points. Kevin Saunders hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds left in OT to put Batavia up by one point.
"It looked like we were going to win, and they hit a shot at the buzzer to beat us," Brasky said. "Funny how you don't forget those things."
It was pretty special, Brasky said, to have Brad Mazur at the game, who was part of that big first win, while his son, Casey, played a big role in the 500th win.
Casey Mazur was Batavia's top scorer on Friday, hitting seven three-pointers, all in the first half, for 21 points. Carter Mullen and Justin Smith each scored 20 points, and Gavin White scored 19.
Every season, every year, Brasky finds the boys playing for him are a special group of guys, and the 2024-25 team is no different. They're young, but they're willing to be coached and learn.
He called the team a "work in progress."
With two big guys who can score at forward, Smith and White, matched with guards who can shoot, Mazur and Mullen, he had to convince the team that the best strategy is for the guards to feed the big guys early in the game to open up the outside shooting later in the game. That means Mazur and Mullen need to pass up open shots to get the ball in low.
"They have been willing to buy into the change," Brasky said. "I wasn't sure they would be willing to do it. Winning helps, for sure."
The second team, Brasky noted, is a big part of this team's success, and he thinks those players don't get enough recognition for what they contribute.
"I got two sophomores and two juniors on that second unit, and some of the games they play a little bit, and some games they don't, and they're good players," Brasky said. "On a lot of teams in this area, they'd be starters and there is no sign of unhappiness. They cheer for the first group, and when they get in, they play their tails off and try to do their best job, no matter how many minutes they're getting."
The big test for the team and how it holds together will come if some adversity hits. That will be the "true sign," Brasky said.
"When some adversity hits, an injury, someone gets in trouble in school., that's when we'll see if it's really taken hold, but so far, it's been really enjoyable," Brasky said.
However, some adversity did hit the team this season -- when their coach was diagnosed with cancer and took a break after the first two games of the season to have a kidney removed.
Brasky's surgery was on Dec. 17. He attended the Christmas Tournament, sitting behind the bench, but wasn't able to coach a game until the Blue Devils played Newark on Jan. 4. Batavia won 67-53 and hasn't lost since. The team is currently 10-3.
"It was a different experience. It was not easy," Brasky said. "While sitting out, with the new technology, I could watch practices on the computer, and it showed me I'm not ready to retire. It was very hard to just sit at home."
After his cancer timeout, there is an extra dimension to getting his 500th win just a few weeks later, Brasky said.
"I had cancer in my kidney. They removed the kidney, so the cancer is gone, and I kind of hope that it doesn't reappear anywhere else in the body because there's no evidence that it's anywhere now," Brasky said. "After going through something like that, you know, I've been a pretty healthy guy my whole life, and it just makes you realize -- tomorrow's promised to nobody. When something you love is taken away from you for a period of time, it makes you appreciate those moments, to be honest with you. So yes, that really, really made it even more special in that way."
Perhaps the biggest reward of a career that brings 500 wins is the success in life he sees of his former players as adults, Brasky said.
"Some guys are successful, you know, lawyers, doctors, coaches, and there's also guys who are successful working in the factory and raising a family," Brasky said. "When I see guys when I go out to dinner or whatnot, and I see guys out, and they'll come over and make it a point to talk to me and thank me and let me know that I made an impact on them -- that's why you coach. Everybody thinks it's the wins and losses, and it is. Every coach wants to win, but those other things are what really make coaching special. It's the greatest job in the world."
Coach Brasky looking on with under two seconds left in game to secure his 500th win as Section V basketball coach. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia fans show support of Coach Brasky's monumental achievement. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia's squad post game celebrating with thier coach on his 500th career win. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Left to Right two generations of Mazur Family, dad Brad who was on Coach Brasky's first team and win in 1990 and Brady and Casey who currently play on his team, 35 years later. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Coach Brasky celebrating his 500th career win with a trophy presented by Superintendent Jason Smith. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Stephen Babcock, Frank Babcock, Bill Joyce, Steve Hawley. Photo by Howard Owens.
The many years that Frank Babcock took his family camping resulted in a hobby that will help area veterans be a little more stable in their walk through life.
"We used to camp a lot. I had a big motor home," said Frank Babcock, an 89-year-old Albion resident. "We camped, and it (Frank's hobby) was something to pass the time. You always were near or in the woods. It was something just to pass the time."
Babock passed the time by walking through the woods looking for interesting saplings, ideally, a young tree that nature (perhaps because of the placement of a rock) had grown with an L-shaped root. The L-shaped root makes for the perfect cane handle.
The prize sapling grew up with a vine wrapped around the trunk, giving it a corkscrew shape.
Babock hasn't kept track of how many years he's been making canes.
He's often given them away while out camping, but the idea to donate 21 of them to area veterans came to him during a trip to Walmart. He saw a man walking with a wooden cane, and he asked where he got it, the man said he was a veteran, and Assemblyman Steve Hawley gave it to him.
Babcock told his son Jimmy, and Jimmy called Hawley's office.
The canes are being distributed to the three counties that Hawley serves in the 139th Assembly District. They are being distributed according to the population in each area Steve serves -- five to Orleans County, three to Monroe County, and seven to Genesee County.
On Friday, Babcock, with the help of his son Stephen, delivered the seven canes to William Joyce, veterans services officer for Genesee County.
"It just so happened this started just before Christmas," Hawley said. "The timing was absolutely unbelievable. Those psychological and heartfelt gifts from one veteran to another. Fellow veterans are going to use Frank's canes to get around. And that's what it's all about: fellow comrades helping one another, regardless of the branch of service, regardless of how old we are, regardless of whether we served in combat or not. We want veterans who served to have these canes."
Joyce said he was grateful for the generous donation.
"I have a couple of veterans in mind right now that as so I had these available, I was going to give them a call, because they can use one," Joyce said. "They get one issued by the VA and they're not really happy with them. I think they are going to feel more comfortable walking with one of these."
Frank Babcock shows Steve Hawley his favorite cane, one he's keeping for himself, with its corkscrew shape and a handle that looks like a snake head. Photo by Howard Owens.
Frank Babcock holds his "whittling" knife. Photo by Howard Owens.
Batavia High School special education teacher's aide Leah Wroten gets and gives a hug to student Kassandra. Submitted Photo
At 21, Leah Wroten was diagnosed with cancer, and life as she knew it changed for the foreseeable future, special education teacher Natalie Keller says.
“She had life-changing surgery," Keller said to The Batavian about her fellow Batavia City Schools colleague. "She had not been working for six months.”
Wroten, a BHS 2020 graduate, had major surgery, chemotherapy and related treatments since her diagnosis in 2024. School staff members have had football square and Dress Down Day fundraisers, and one coming up in February is expected to be the biggest so far, Keller said. It will be a 26 Shirts for Leah.
As a special ed teacher’s aide, Wroten was not paid during her time off, and it hurt her financially during those six months off. Keller has been aware of 26 Shirts, a Buffalo company that does popular one-of-a-kind shirt designs for worthy causes, and staff added their friend to the waiting list last April.
Wroten’s shirt design will be sold online for two weeks beginning Feb. 24, with $8 from each purchase going to her. Designs usually involve sports themes, such as with Buffalo Bills, and Keller is hoping that the Bills win the Super Bowl and the design can incorporate that. She has heard good things about the 26 Shirts company.
“They’ve been doing this for six or seven years. They said they make about $6,000 to $8,000 for each shirt design,” she said. "Some of this will be getting her back on her feet.”
Given that Wroten began in October 2023 and hadn’t been at the district very long when she got sick, she has rather quickly made a difference at the school, with adults and students alike.
Special education teacher Chris Gorton works in the same room with Keller and Wroten, and has enjoyed the experience of this teacher’s aide.
“Leah is amazing,” he said.
Keller also shared how she works with people.
“She’s very patient, she’s a good balance to me. She’s very patient with the kids at school and with my daughter, Sara. I think this group of kids that she works with a high school, she kind of found her people,” Keller said. “I don’t know that she was interested in doing that kind of work, but once she started, it’s just very natural for her to be caring and patient but to challenge the kids too.”
Sara, 16, has Down Syndrome, and Wroten has been taking her to youth group while working three jobs and preparing to continue her own education to become a special education teacher or study library science, Keller said. Her plans were temporarily shifted when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 21, and had to take time off from work for surgery and treatments.
She is in remission but still has to get scans and have follow-up appointments, “which means every time she takes off, she’s still not getting paid for those days; it’s hard to amass any time when you’re off,” Keller said.
“I’d like her to be in the position that if she has to go to a doctor’s appointment, she doesn’t have to worry about food and rent,” Keller said. “We’re hoping to get her back in a good place.”
About 26 Shirts According to the website, 26 Shirts sells different limited edition Buffalo-themed t-shirts that give back. After a shirt's respective fundraising campaign is over, the design is retired and (usually) never sold again.
For every shirt sold, a donation is made to a specific family in need or charitable organization.
“Our primary focus is needs associated with health/medical concerns or unexpected family emergencies,” the site states. “Our goal is to provide customers with the highest quality, softest fabric shirts. So not only will they be designs you love, they'll be on shirts you love wearing.”
Wroten’s shirt will be released on Feb. 24 on the website and be available for purchase online for two weeks.
BHS special education teacher's aide Leah Wroten, third from right, with her team. Submitted Photo
Notre Dame snapped Alexander's nine-game winning streak on Thursday with a 75-68 win.
Fighting Irish stats:
Aiden Bellavia 19 points, 5 rebounds (5 3’s)
Evan Fitzpatrick 17 points, 4 rebounds
TJ. Cephus 16 points, 5 assists
Chase Antinore 15 points, 8 rebounds
Makyell Walker 8 points, 4 assists
Notre Dame hit 11 threes on the night.
No stats were submitted for Alexander.
“What an atmosphere tonight," said Notre Dame Coach Mikey Rapone. "We played very well tonight against a very good team. Our shooting confidence finally came around, and tonight, we were able to make some threes. We had four guys in double figures, and everybody contributed to the win. Our guards did a great job of handling the pressure that Alexander put on full court. We limited the live ball turnovers, not allowing them to get easy buckets. Our press was active, and we were able to get our hands on some passes. We game-planned to try to stop Dylan Pohl and make him earn every basket. In the third quarter he got away from us a little bit, we allowed him to get 11 points. But overall, I thought our zone did a great job tonight, which is different from what we normally play, man-to-man. I’m proud of our kids, all thirteen of them. They really worked hard together in preparation for this one, and hopefully, we can stay the course and continue to get better.”
Notre Dame is now 9-4 on the season. The Trojans are 10-3.
The Genesee County Office for the Aging (OFA) is inviting dedicated individuals to join its Advisory Council and play a role in shaping programs and services for older adults in the community.
The OFA is seeking representation from both community members and service providers.
Community Members: Residents of Genesee County aged 60 and older, including minorities and individuals with economic or social needs, are encouraged to participate.
Service Providers: Professionals from agencies such as Social Security, healthcare, and other related organizations are also welcome to apply.
By joining the Advisory Council, members will have the opportunity to share their voice, advocate for older adults, and help improve services across the county.
The OFA is particularly seeking members from different municipalities to ensure countywide representation.
For more information or to apply, please contact the Genesee County Office for the Aging at 585-343-1611 or visit this link to apply.
Do you know an artist or organization from Genesee or Orleans County that deserves recognition for their accomplishments in 2024? GO ART! is inviting community members to submit nominations for the Annual Genean Awards.
“Why “Genean” you ask?” says Executive Director, Gregory Hallock, “Well, simply put, we decided that we needed to have our own unique awards (like the Oscars or Tony awards) for GENesee and OrlEANs counties, to recognize a few of the amazing people and organizations we have within our counties.”
The categories for nomination are as follows:
Organization of the Year - This award honors a not-for-profit or for-profit organization for its outstanding achievements in 2024
Individual Artist of the Year - This award honors an individual artist in any discipline for their achievements in 2024 or career-long body of work
Arts and Culture Supporter of the Year - This award honors an individual or an organization outside of the arts and cultural sector for their work directly aiding in the arts and/or cultural sector during 2024.
To submit a nomination visit www.goart.org/genean. All nominations are due by March 1.
Timothy Callan during Thursday's Western Regional OTB meeting. Photo by Howard Owens.
During his years in Congress, former Texas representative Ron Paul, a medical doctor by trade, gained the nickname "Dr. No" for his propensity to vote against nearly every bill that came before him.
Might the Western Regional Off-Track Betting board of directors have its own "Dr. No"?
Erie County's representative, Timothy Callan, does have a Ph.D, but, in fairness, he more often than not votes yes on board motions. When he does vote no, though, he is typically the lone dissenting voice on a board that, though made up of Republicans and Democrats from large and small jurisdictions, often hues toward unanimity.
When Callan, deputy comptroller for Erie County, votes no, the motion before him typically deals with financial expenditures.
That was the case Thursday when Callan voted against motions authorizing the OTB to hire a temporary general counsel while the board seeks a new staff attorney and voted against authorizing expenditures for advertising on Buffalo and Rochester broadcast media. He also voted against a $10,000 pay raise for the executive office manager, an apparent correction to her employment agreement.
Callan said he is concerned about the seeming rise in payroll for executives at OTB. He raised concerns in October when he voted against a reorganization plan that, as he sees it, created three new jobs. He's more concerned now, he said, because of current financial trends.
"I think that we should be much more judicious about our spending," Callan told The Batavian after Thursday's board meeting.
In July, the OTB board voted to buyout the contracts of CEO Henry Wojtaszek, CFO Jackie Leach, and VP of Operations William White.
Wojtaszek earned $299,000; Leach, $244,000; and White, $160,000 (Leach's contract was amended on Thursday to extend her employment with OTB a short time to help with the ongoing transition in her department).
Former Buffalo mayor Byron Brown replaced Wojtaszek as CEO in October at a salary of $295,000.
In October, the OTB board reorganized the executive staff, creating a chief of staff position and a director of communications position. Steve Casey was hired as chief of staff at a salary of $190,000 and Michael DeGeorge became the director of communications at an annual salary of $130,000.
Ryan Hasenauer, former marketing director, was promoted to the new position of VP/Business Development and Danielle Fleming was named VP/Human Resources as part of the reorganization.
What the reorganization plan didn't address was the need to replace Wojtaszek in his secondary role as the agency's general counsel, a position he held before taking on the primary role of CEO.
Callan said he learned for the first time on Wednesday that Brown intended to hire a staff attorney with an anticipated salary of $160,000 to $180,000 annually, plus benefits.
"I was under the impression and led to believe that Judge (John) Owens was hired as an external vendor -- he's not an employee of the corporation, but he has been serving as legal counsel for the Corporation since May or April of 2023," Callan said. "I've interacted with him last year, when I joined the board last January, and found him to be very reasonable and competent."
Callan said he is under the impression that the retainer fee for the firm that employs Owens is being increased by $25,000, but at the same time, OTB, Callan said, is paying out "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for outside counsel on a variety of legal issues facing the agency.
While Callan believes executive salary expenditures are up significantly, Brown told The Batavian in a separate interview on Thursday that "it's a wash from what it was previously."
"When you look at the top executive positions, there is no material difference in the spending," Brown said. "With the legal counsel, we were outsourcing a lot of that legal work previously, and my goal is to bring more of that work in-house and create a more competitive environment and how law firms are selected when we do have to outsource legal work."
Brown said he believes it is important for the corporation to have legal counsel on staff, available on a day-to-day basis.
"There are a lot of legal matters that come before the corporation all the time, and so for the corporation to operate more efficiently, for the corporation to save money on legal expenses, having an in-house counsel that is available daily, I think, will make the operation of the corporation even more efficient," Brown said.
Callan was appointed to the board as a result of legislation pushed by Democratic Sen. Timothy Kennedy, representing Erie County, making spurious claims about corruption at the agency, to fire all of the board members serving in 2023 and giving the larger jurisdictions among the 17 owner-municipalities greater weighted voting. This g was expected to shift the controlling interest of the corporation away from Republicans and to Democrats.
Wojtaszek is a Republican and often the target of attacks by Erie and Niagara county politicians.
In relation to Callan's assertion that executive expenses are going up in the wake of Wojtaszek from the agency, The Batavian asked Callan about the apparent "unintended consequences" of "pushing out" Wojtaszek.
Callan said he was as surprised as anybody when he learned before the July board meeting that Wojtaszek was seeking a buyout of his contract.
"That was news to me," Callan said. "I've not heard anybody say Henry was pushed out. I don't know if Henry thinks he was pushed out, but everything I was told by Henry, by our chairman, and by other colleagues here is that Henry chose to leave and wanted a buyout. I wasn't told he was pushed out. So I don't know where that sentiment would come from."
As for advertising spending, the board approved the expenditure of up to $1,155,000 for advertising at 14 broadcast outlets in Rochester and Buffalo.
That doesn't mean OTB will spend that amount, just that marketing staff can make ad buys up to the amounts specified for each individual outlet, ranging on an individual outlet basis from $15,000 to $250,000.
Callan said he isn't convinced the corporation has a good metrics system to ensure each outlet delivers results.
He said that during the advertising committee meeting on Wednesday, he asked colleagues to cut the authorization in half, perhaps covering only six months.
"Let's, as a board, understand the analytics behind why you're paying this TV station this amount, why this TV station in Rochester is getting this amount," Callan said.
(Disclosure: Batavia Downs has been advertising with The Batavian for about a decade but never in the amounts disclosed in the resolutions approved by the board.)
Callan said he's previously raised the question in internal meetings but has never found the answers satisfactory. He said he wants to know if an ad can be linked to betting, to meals, to track attendance, remote betting, or hotel stays.
"How do we track and know who these people are and how they came here? In other words, how do we know that a TV ad is running in Buffalo every five minutes -- it seems like -- I live in the Buffalo area -- and every five minutes on one of the TV stations I see a Batavia Downs ad," Callan said. "How do we know the effectiveness of this? How do you track people who watch Channel 2, the NBC station in Buffalo? What's the bang for the buck that -- you know, they're advertising the most, they are getting the most money in the resolution -- that's driving people to want to come here?"
Brown said Thursday's resolutions were based on an advertising budget that was passed as part of the operational plan in December.
"I was able to share with board members that my management team and I have already reduced some of the marketing spending, but it's critically important to market Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel to keep people coming to the property, using the property, being aware of the property, so that we can continue our success in this very competitive industry," Brown said.
As for analytics, Brown said he agrees with Callan that measuring results is important.
"We want to analyze our spending," Brown said. "We want to be able to track the impact of our spending and make sure that we are spending money on the market and in other areas most intelligently and efficiently."
He said, in fact, there is already tracking in place.
"I think we have to do a better job of sharing that tracking and those analytics, and we will certainly do that," Brown said. "But already in the first part of this year, we've demonstrated to the board that we have reduced the amount of money we spend on marketing while still expanding our marketing reach."
Nursing faculty member Rebecca Herlan demonstrates the working pulse on a mannequin during a visit Thursday from SUNY Chancellor John King and Senator George Borrello at Genesee Community College in Batavia. Photo by Joanne Beck
While surrounded by a group of onlookers, Madeline Wilson dramatically pumped a male’s chest with crossed hands repeatedly Thursday while watching a nearby heart monitor to see whether her actions were effective enough to resuscitate him.
Not only was she under pressure with the cardio maneuver, but she had an audience for her first attempts.
“So, especially in this, we can apply this knowledge to the community when we go into clinical and work,” the nursing student said during the demonstration at Genesee Community College’s Med-Tech building. “So if this did happen to our patient, we would be totally prepared and know what to do.”
Unlike old-school upper torso mannequins that don’t really resemble human persons besides crude physical mechanics, this male was a full-body specimen with working features. GCC purchased the $28,000 mannequin, an accompanying defibrillator and other equipment with 2024 state funding of $8 million to expand community college healthcare workforce training and mental health programs.
This investment will allow students opportunities for hands-on learning with the most up-to-date technology, officials said during a tour of the nursing, child care center and HVAC wings with SUNY Chancellor John King and Senator George Borrello.
Nursing faculty member Rebecca Herlan gave a close-up view of a mannequin, encouraging King and Borrello, who noted that the patient was even blinking, to touch the skin and feel the pulse from hands to toes.
“One of the things that we love about nursing simulation is mannequins is we can use them throughout the program. So one of the nicer things for these particular mannequins is you can see the chest, right? So some of our older model mannequins, you can't necessarily see that, and that is actually how we teach students to check, like a respiratory rate. So this is a more realistic mannequin for the students to work on,” Herlan said. “Other things you'll notice, if you actually touch the mannequin, it's more realistic skin. You can actually feel the pulses. So our old mannequins did not have great pulses. You have radial pulses, also pedal pulses, which our old mannequins definitely did not have.”
Herlan said that “we have IV access for this patient,” pointing out an adjacent IV monitor atop a pole.
“Actually, just now, Rochester hospitals are thinking of expanding what they allow students to do in terms of IV medication. So having this in the lab lets them practice sufficiently so that when they're in the clinical space, they can sort of confidently do this, but obviously, you want to have that instructor with them at all times,” she said. “But we really utilize our mannequins throughout the program, and these mannequins, as opposed to our previous mannequins, sort of have better functionality and more true to what students are actually going to see.”
The models in that room ranged from $5,000 for lower fidelity to $60,000 for a full functionality mannequin, she said. Another much more compact cut useful piece of equipment, she said, is an arm sleeve used to practice inserting an IV — “you can kind of see some of the veins” — that gets hooked up to fluid that flows through the needle to simulate when drawing blood.
King thanked Borrello for his help in getting a bill passed that increased the amount of time training nurses could spend in these simulation type exercises.
“I want to appreciate you because two years ago, we had the bill to allow the simulation to count for a third of the clinical hours. So if not for the support of the legislature, we wouldn't be able to leverage the simulation experience as effectively,” King said. “And then last year, with the $8 million in operating aid, we were able to dedicate $5 million across the system, at community colleges to healthcare workforce, and that made these purchases.”
The tour continued into the next room, which included a CPR simulation by students. The monitor has a feedback feature that shows if the compression is deep enough, are the hands in the right position, and gives “feedback in real-time,” Harlan said. Instruction also includes logistics, such as whether a student is tall enough to perform the maneuver or if a stool is needed, or if there’s no stool, “we’re climbing on the bed,” she said.
“This particular mannequin can give us that feedback on whether we're doing it appropriately. There's a lot of moving parts. So it's not a great idea to do CPR on any mannequin, but this one is specially designed, and it's really great,” she said. Like I said, we are showing the students some of the heart rhythm, help them kind of see what we were talking about in class.”
Some stats about the nursing program: there are 214 students and about 100% of them will walk away and right into a job. An amount of $310,000 was earmarked for GCC’s new Health Care Programs recruitment specialist, four new adjunct professors for the Physical Therapist Assistant and Respiratory Care programs, and to purchase equipment for respiratory care simulation education. Part of the program upgrade also includes enhanced student mentorship.
King asked what the limiting factor was for there not to be 300 students. Faculty and space, Herlan said.
Most of the students are adult learners, some come from the military, and another limitation for students living in New York City is transportation, she said. They often don’t have their own vehicle, and there’s no regular public transportation to and from GCC. After some quick head math calculating how many miles would be traveled in the program with clinicals, King nodded.
“This seems solvable,” he said, adding later that it’s a topic he will carry back with him for further discussion.
From nursing to puppies King and his entourage, which also included GCC President Craig Lamb, stopped by the Child Care Center across the road at the main campus. Kids were excitedly chatting and playing, hitting upon a favorite subject of puppies. Lamb pulled out his phone and showed a photo of the one he has at home while King talked to a youngster at the child’s play station.
Center Director Kayleen McEwan talked about the services, facility and the fifth classroom that opened in August 2024 with funding the college received last year. No sooner had the additional room opened, and it was full, she said. When asked by King what she could she do with more resources — a question he asked of every department — McEwan didn’t take long with her answer.
“We could open eight rooms,” she said, with the caveat that staffing is a challenge.
King is aware and said so is Gov. Kathy Hochul, that childcare needs are great in New York, and SUNY’s growing population of adult learners is ripe for that service.
Keeping cool under pressure Heating and cooling was also part of the tour, and instructor Bill Hayes exuded the enthusiasm that perhaps only a veteran HVAC business owner could display. He shared the importance of imparting his 30-year experience to students, especially when it comes to proper maintenance of appliances.
“I have a lot of people that really talk about this class. It's really a groundbreaking opportunity here for people that just walk out of here, be able to look at a furnace, look at an air conditioner, put the gauges on there, change the maintenance, oh my gosh. Maintenance is probably 50% of the problem with any type of service call; stuff's not being maintained,” Hayes said. “The college is invested here, has invested into their staff, their maintenance staff, to take this course so they can do a lot more of the HVAC work here and not have to bring in outside contractors.
"That's a huge investment for people, not only here, but also when that word gets out, there's going to be other facilities out there," he said. "They're going to want to send their people here so they can save some money. That's the game plan.”
Closing in at nearly two hours, the group ended with a talk about mental health issues and counseling challenges that most believed have been exacerbated since COVID.
Worrying about mental health Certainly, the use of social media can be a cause of stress, and counselors also see “suicidal ideation, anxiety and panic disorders, personality disorders, autism and ADHD and major depressive disorders,” said Macy Reyngoudt, assistant director for counseling services.
“There’s lots more, but those are the biggest patterns that we see almost daily,” she said.
Remedies have included quiet meditation spaces, counseling, lots of talk and communication to let students and faculty know the counseling center is available, yoga, Mindful Mondays, and focused health talks, Assistant Dean for Student Services Monica Romeo said.
One population that hasn’t needed as much assistance is the older adult learner, Reyngoudt said, because “they’re ready” when they come to college and don’t seem to have the same problems or distractions as younger students do. That’s good news, given that Hochul’s proposed 2025 budget includes $28 million for free tuition, books, supplies and fees for adult learners to obtain an associate’s degree or certificate at community colleges in the state.
“We're very excited about the governor's proposal for free community college for folks 25 to 55 in high-demand career areas like nursing, like advanced manufacturing, like cyber security, renewable energy and green jobs. And so we're pleased that she's put real resources behind that," King said. "I think that will make a big difference as we think about what our community colleges need as we grow those high-demand workforce programs. We also need to continue to invest in equipment. We need to continue to invest in faculty, one of the big challenges for nursing. We’re looking at ways we can partner with healthcare providers to have job shares so that we have the faculty that we need.
"We need more child care in New York. You know, they have a long wait list, particularly as we try to attract more adult students to community college campuses, child care is going to be a significant factor. So that's something I'll be thinking about," he said. "It's great that they were able to use the additional resources from the governor and legislature last year to support more counseling, more services around meeting mental health needs, but more is needed, and you heard that so clearly that there is a lot of pain that folks are carrying and experiencing, some of it carrying over from COVID, and we've got to make sure that we help our campuses support student mental health needs."
Nursing student Madeline Wilson performs compressions on a functional mannequin while reading a monitor. Photo by Joanne Beck
SUNY Chancellor John King, left, and Senator George Borrello get a two-hour tour of GCC's nursing, child care, HVAC and mental health counseling programs Thursday. Photo by Howard Owens
Nursing student Doug Johns talks about his experience at GCC with SUNY Chancellor John King, center, and Senator George Borrello. Photo by Howard Owens
Arthur Tasber, 3, chats up SUNY Chancellor John King in the Child Care Center at GCC in Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens
Student Government President and Trustee Joshua Jones, left, of Brooklyn, talks about his plans after GCC with liaison Gregg Torrey, left, GCC President Craig Lamb, SUNY Chancellor John King and Senator George Borrello. Photo by Howard Owens
HVAC Instructor Bill Hayes reviews his background and class talking points during a tour of officials Thursday at the GCC Batavia campus. Photo by Joanne Beck
Byron Brown at a recent OTB board meeting in a file photo. Photo by Howard Owens.
First-year Western Regional Off-Track Betting CEO Byron Brown has a four-point legislative plan he's pursuing in Albany in his attempt to grow the business and generate more revenue for the 17 municipalities that own the organization.
The top priority is reducing OTB's tax rate from 49% to 44%. That five percentage point drop would increase revenue for Batavia Downs by $4.5 million.
"We propose to use that revenue to increase disbursements to the 17 member municipalities, which would certainly make 17 governments in Western New York financially stronger," Brown said. "We would also look to provide raises to our hard-working employees, and you know that would certainly go back into the economy of Western New York, and finally, our interest would be to reduce what our employees pay for their family health insurance."
The reduction would make the OTB's tax rate more equitable with Hamburg Gaming and Vernon Downs.
"This would not affect either of those operations," Brown said. "Of course, gaming is a very competitive industry. This would make us more competitive in the industry, and these revenues would go to 17 municipalities and to the employees who work here."
Brown noted that WROTB is unique in that it has 17 member-owners and distributes revenue to 17 municipalities. No other gaming operation in the state has as many stakeholders receiving revenue from the operation.
"Suffolk OTB, for example, has one municipality to which they provide resources," Brown said. "In our case, we have 17. So this has a positive financial impact on 17 different municipalities in Western New York. This is also the fifth largest employer, with roughly 420 employees, in Genesee County, and 52% of those employees are unionized employees."
Brown is also aiming at ensuring WROTB gets a piece of the action if iGaming is approved by the state, a project favored, Brown said, by the chair of the Senate Committee on Racing, Wagering, and Gaming.
iGaming means online gambling, which includes casino games, sports betting, and online poker.
There are statutes in New York that also require, besides the tax, OTBs to pay fees to the gaming commission. Brown is seeking a reduction in those fees.
The fourth item on his legislative agenda is to extend the boundaries for WROTB's E-Z Bet machines. Right now, they can't be placed more than 40 miles away from the track. That leaves out portions of Erie County.
These are the sort of issues board members expected Brown to tackle when they approved his employment contract. As a former mayor and former state legislator, he has a lifetime of political connections in Albany.
But that doesn't mean winning support for these initiatives will be easy.
Annual budget planning starts in June, and Brown started his new position in October, so that's a challenge for Brown to overcome, but he's working at it, he said.
"We're a little behind where we would like to be in terms of our legislative agenda, but we have hit the ground running," Brown said. "I've been to Albany talking to state legislators and the governor's staff and others. You know, the last trip to Albany was just another step in that process. I attended the governor's State of the State speech. We requested a number of meetings with members of the Assembly and with the Governor's staff, and all of the meetings that we requested were granted. So we feel that we're being listened to, that we're being heard, and people have been very receptive to our concerns and our needs."
First race of the 2025 winter meet at Batavia Downs. File photo. Photo by Howard Owens
After The Batavian's Jan. 7 article about the opening of the winter racing season at Batavia Downs, one reader raised questions -- well-informed questions -- about just how well the winter meets are doing for the race track and casino.
On Thursday, Don Hoover, director of live racing for Western Regional Off-Track Betting, sat down with The Batavian to address the issues raised by the reader.
First, the history of the winter meet at Batavia Downs The meet is in its third season. Before 2023, the race track in Buffalo hosted a three-month winter meet but the storms of 2022 distributed the season, causing several race-day cancelations. Buffalo decided to compress its racing schedule into a season that starts in March.
The horsemen are accustomed to year-round racing, and for many of them, their income stream depends on it, Hoover said.
"Now we're faced with the possibility of no racing in Western New York for three months," Hoover said. "That leads to the question of whether some would have to get out of the business. Would they ship to another racetrack and maybe stay there?"
The horseman's association approached management at Batavia Downs and proposed a January and February racing schedule, promising to cover any losses incurred by the track.
The horsemen promising the track wouldn't lose money on the races is a key point, Hoover stressed.
"We have a shared agreement that benefits both Batavia Downs and the local horsemen so that they can maintain their racing without much interruption and we can provide a venue for them without incurring any significant cost," Hoover said.
The agreement covers direct costs related to each race, not other ongoing operational costs, such as the salaries of permanent staff who might work during the events.
Is keeping winter racing a good business decision? "I have personally wrestled with that question because it's not really in monetary terms, and the angst that it just brings about naturally due to the constant question of -- are you racing? Are you not racing? Are you racing? Are you not? Is it too cold? Is it a safe track? Those items are hard to wrestle with on a daily basis," Hoover said. "If we look at it as a pure business decision -- I guess, what we would have to do now since this is our third winter -- I guess what we would have to do now is sit down and get the food and beverage revenue and see if we can see a pattern. We know that we do more business on Mondays and Thursdays when we race because otherwise, the clubhouse wouldn't be open.
"The clubhouse is open. We have food specials. People come and attend the races there and eat and drink. So we would have to try to analyze exactly what we could put in dollars and cents as to what ancillary income we get derived specifically by racing in the winter."
What Hoover calls "ancillary income" doesn't count against direct racing expenses.
Even so, it can be hard to separate additional revenue on race days when Batavia Downs has other promotions going on throughout the winter, such as hotel specials, concerts, and group events, "all the things we do here as a corporation to drive people to the property."
He does believe, he said, that racing does get extra people to the track, though attendance is much, much smaller than the regular meet.
"It's logical that we would get extra people to the property by holding racing," Hoover said. "They are people who are harness racing fans, and they wouldn't be here except for that fact."
Is there enough attendance to justify opening the clubhouse?
"It's a work in progress where we look to see how to do that without losing money," Hoover said. "We have one bartender. People order drinks. We've paired down what foods are available. It used to be that they could order food and it would be brought up to them. Now we just have specials for right there. So we've tried to look at all the numbers on it and come up with a specific plan where we won't lose money by having the clubhouse open."
Our reader thinks attendance would be better on another weekday than Monday, such as going to two days, perhaps Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday. "Well, Mondays happen to be our biggest handle day," Hoover said.
During the regular meet, the first post time is 6 p.m., giving people who work, especially in Rochester and Buffalo, time to get off work and make it to the track.
In winter, with lower attendance, it puts more of a strain on staff expense to have a later post time. The 3 p.m. post time in the winter also eliminates going head-to-head against racing at Monticello.
"The staff doesn't have to go home and come back," Hoover said. "The staff doesn't have to accrue extraordinary overtime. It's not dark yet. We have the track crew still here. We don't have to send them home and bring them back in, so we thought the combination of all those things regarding staffing, overtime, and the time of day was beneficial for us to make that schedule for the three o'clock on Mondays and Thursdays."
Why is Monday your biggest handle day? There is less competition on Mondays, Hoover said. That is primarily important for off-track betting.
For the live handle, there isn't much difference between Monday and Thursday.
Is it correct that the off-track handle generates about 2% in revenue for OTB and the live-track revenue is about 20%?
Yes and no, Hoover said. When you factor in BataviaBets.com, phone bets, and OTB's own branches, the off-track handle increases to about 2.6%.
What is the typical revenue for a winter race? Hoover said it is currently about $7,500 to $8,000. That doesn't include anything from food and beverage or what might be spent by race attendees on the casino floor.
Later on Thursday, The Batavian spoke with CEO Byron Brown, who said winter racing is important to the operation of OTB.
"Winter racing really helps to strengthen the relationship between Batavia Downs and the horsemen," Brown said. "Also, as we work to make this a premier entertainment destination in New York State, it's just another reason for people to come to Batavia Downs."
Carter Mullen going for two points last evening on Batavia's home court vs Marcus Whitman. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Batavia's offense sizzled against Marcus Whitman on Wednesday leading to a 63-36 win at home.
Casey Mazur scored 17 points for the Blue Devils, Gavin White, 15, Carter Mullen, 14, Justin Smith, 7, and Ty Gioia, 6.
Mazur hit five three-pointers.
"We're trying to become an inside-first team with Gavin and Justin," said Coach Buddy Brasky. "We normally have an advantage with at least one of them on the inside, so we're trying to play through the post, get them scoring early, and then when the other team makes an adjustment and tries to double down and sag in on them, we go inside out, and that leads to some open threes, and the guys are starting to get it, and it's working for us."
Batavia’s next home game is Friday at 7:15 p.m. vs. Eastridge
A win on Friday would be Batavia head coach Buddy Brasky’s 500th career win.
Officials at the Genesee County Economic Development Center do anticipate that Plug Power will complete construction, at some point, of its clean hydrogen fuel plant at WNY STAMP.
"We continue to check in with them periodically," said CEO Mark Masse. "They've said the project is on pause, but it's still a very important part of their overall strategic goal of green hydrogen production, and they're still intending to construct the facility at STAMP."
The Lathan-based hydrogen company received word a week ago that the Department of Energy finalized a $1.66 billion loan guarantee with the company, which the company said would be used to complete construction on six plants, without specifically naming the $290 million project in Genesee County as one of the plants it will continue work on.
There's been some doubt about the future of the plant since HeatMap reported in October that the WNY STAMP project was not included in the DOE loan application. The DOE has not responded to The Batavian's request to obtain a copy of the document.
Chris Suozzi, VP for business and workforce development at the GCEDC, reportedly told a Washington, D.C.-based commercial real estate firm that Plug Power's STAMP project is on hold.
According to Heatmap, Suozzi spoke to PRP Real Estate Management. The firm recorded the phone call.
“They’re not ready to go," Suozzi reportedly said. "They’re on pause. We don’t know what’s going to happen with them at this point.”
Masse said Plug Power was in a "holding pattern" while awaiting news of the DOE loan.
"I have not followed up with them since the announcement," Masse said. "I don't think the announcement stated where the loan guarantee was going to go, but I'm sure we'll be reaching out to them at some point here soon, just to get another update from them and find out what their plans are for that funding."
The new potential barrier for Plug Power, however, may be an executive order signed by Donald Trump on his first day in office freezing disbursement of funds under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act targeted to clean energy projects.
The order explicitly targets grants, which have mostly been distributed already, but it's unclear how it affects the DOE's Loan Program Office.
The loan closed a week ago, but it is unclear whether the funds were transferred to Plug by Monday. A public relations representative did not respond to The Batavian's request for comment on the project.
The office of Sen. Charles Schumer did not respond to The Batavian's request for a comment on the status of the project and the loan.
The stock market has not reacted favorably to news of the loan closing. Since Thursday, the price per share of Plug's stock has dropped from an open of $2.75 to a close on Wednesday of $2.05.
The company reportedly already carries $930 million in debt, and at no point in its 28-year history has it turned a profit.
Plug Power also faces a class-action lawsuit filed in May claiming that the company's stock price was artificially inflated between May 9, 2023, and January 16, 2024.
The plaintiffs claim that the company and a pair of senior officers misled investors by lying and withholding information about delays in the build-out plans of its production facilities in SEC filings.
Plug Power is currently the nation's largest producer of green hydrogen. Its Georgia plant produces 15 tons of liquid hydrogen per day. Its Tennessee plant produces 10 tons per day. It also has an operational plant in St. Gabriel, Lousiana.
If the WNY STAMP plant ever comes online, it is expected to produce 74 tons daily. The company is also constructing additional plants in New York and Texas.
The company seeks to become the nation's first vertically integrated green hydrogen producer, providing customers with fuel, products, and support. Plug aims to provide customers fuel cells, electrolyzers (splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen), and liquid hydrogen fuel. They currently provide companies like Walmart and Amazon with hydrogen-powered forklifts. The company sees a future in hydrogen powering long-haul trucking.
A Statement from Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia):
“Another year, another out-of-touch budget proposal from Gov. Hochul. It’s no wonder our state has one of the highest out-migration rates in the country when we continue to spend money we don’t have on programs we don’t need. Increasing spending by nearly $10 billion is not in our best interest, and New Yorkers aren’t buying it this time around. This is a $252 billion disaster that we cannot afford to implement. Our state needs a balanced budget that helps bring down costs for working families rather than taking more money out of their pockets.
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