Loren Penman says she’s had a full-time, unpaid job for the last 10 years, yet it has no doubt been worth every minute of labor.

A catalyst for the Autism Nature Trail (lovingly referred to as ANT) at Letchworth State Park and Genesee Commission representative on the New York State Council of Parks, Penman of Batavia was one of the first organizers who reached out in 2014 to Dr. Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, and world-renowned autism advocate.

The trail has not ever been part of the state budget, which created a hurdle from the start.

“She said you have to raise the money yourself,” Penman said. “We had to raise $2 million in cash first. We’ve raised $4 million to date.”

The money has come from individual donations and small grants from companies, she said. Penman is proud that ANT has not taken “a penny” from taxpayers or any government entity, she said.

After a series of phone calls, emails, planning, designing, fundraising (lots of fundraising), building, staffing, and endowing over the next seven years, the ANT became a reality, and Grandin, who couldn’t make the ribbon cutting during the pandemic, promised that she’d visit in 2025. A few days ago, she kept her promise. The professor visited Letchworth and gave a talk at SUNY Geneseo.

Penman, a retired long-time administrator and teacher at Batavia City Schools, credits Grandin’s role for the success of the trail. Many school groups have visited since it opened in October 2021, she said.

It was during Penman’s stint as middle school principal that she could especially appreciate the layer of difficulty that an autism spectrum disorder would have added to middle school angst.

“Middle school is a horrible time for kids. Imagine having autism on top of that,” she said.

That was something that registered with her in the 1990s, she said, so when an opportunity arose to bring a sense of peace to folks, she and the late Susan Herrnstein of Silver Lake pursued it with gusto.

They described to Grandin the idyllic setting of Letchworth — the flowing water of Genesee River, an abundance of pine forests — and how the majestic scene of Mother Nature amplified calming effects for many visitors, especially for those with autism.

Grandin carved out parameters for what the trail should be or have:

• A site deep in nature, away from a city.
• Designed with a pre-walk station to orient visitors and ease them into the forest.
• A loop so that the end is visible from the beginning.
• Something to let visitors know they are always on the trail.
• Inclusive of challenges to those new to the forest but with choices to opt out.
• Built with safe places for recovery in the case of meltdowns.
• Equipped with staff with autism expertise and a passion for nature.
• Objects for gentle movement.
• Collections of items from nature to touch, handle, inspect, and/or smell.
• Access to a guidebook with photos.

In response, organizers followed her recommendations, including to resist funding offers to build a trail in Rochester, opting to remain with Letchworth park; created 38 trail markers and a consistent stone use trail surface; developed Alone Zones at key places along the trail; partnered with Camp Puzzle Peace for its nature-loving staff and experience with autism.

There are also cuddle cocoons, wooden gliders, a sensory station with moss, bark, pine cones, nuts, grasses, animal bones, rocks and feathers; ANT-specific guides to facilitate body movement and communication skills; and a video drone tour of the trail on ANT’s website. 

Grandin is more than an expert on the spectrum, as she deals with it personally in her everyday life. An esteemed educator, advisor to the animal science industry, and author of several books, she serves as “an inspiration for parents wondering ‘what’s going to happen to my kid?’” Penman said.

Lisa M. Fox, 53, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd and criminal use of drug paraphernalia 2nd. Fox was arrested by a Batavia patrol officer on March 14 following a traffic stop on Clinton Street. She was allegedly found in possession of narcotics. She was arraigned and jailed.

Nicholas H. Heide, 28, of Port Jefferson, is charged with criminal mischief 3rd. He was arrested March 15, accused of slashing a vehicle tire in the parking lot of Copperhead Creek. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Michael A. Fanizza, 31, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. He was arrested on March 14 and accused of slamming another person to the ground during a fight on Jefferson Avenue. He was arraigned in City Court and released.

Bruce Warren, 62, of Batavia, is charged with sex offender failure to verify. He was arrested on March 17 and is accused of failing to verify his information, as required every 90 days as a registered sex offender. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Donyel E. Walker, 26, of Batavia, is charged with burglary 2nd and criminal contempt 2nd. Walker was arrested on March 14, accused of entering a residence in violation of a stay-way order of protection. He was arraigned and released.

Shane Anthony Porter, 54, of Roosevelt Highway, Hamlin, is charged with menacing 2nd. Porter was arrested following a report of an incident on Lake Street Road, Le Roy, at 7:44 p.m., March 22. A narrative of the events was not released. Porter was held or arraignment.

Tyler James Bull, 22, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Bull was arrested on March 25 at the Genesee County Jail in connection with an incident reported at 6:39 p.m. on Feb. 23. Bull allegedly violated an order of protection by making a phone call to the protected party. He was transported to the Town of Batavia Court and arraigned.

Megan June Courtney, 29, of Park Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Courtney was arrested on March 28. He is accused of violating a stay-away order of protection at 9:54 a.m. on March 26 at a location on West Main Street Road, Batavia. 

Garrett Michael Pyc, 33, of South Lake Road, Pembroke, is charged with issuing a bad check. Pyc was arrested on March 28. Pyc is accused of issuing a bad check at 6:51 p.m. on Jan. 8 at a location on South Lake Road, Pembroke.

Dylan Jay Carli, 18, of Route 20, Pavilion, is charged with criminal mischief 4th and harassment 2nd. Carli was arrested on March 28 after deputies responded to a location on Linwood Road, Pavilion, to investigate a harassment complaint. He is accused of damaging property and harassing another person. He was held pending arraignment.

Daniel Francis Bower, 70, of Antlers Drive, Rochester, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, driving while using a mobile phone, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, and moving from lane unsafely. At 4:13 p.m. on March 30, Bower was allegedly involved in an accident on North Byron Road, Elba. The accident was investigated by Deputy Zachary Hoy. Bower was issued an appearance ticket.

Lee Carl Zimmerman, 54, of South Lake Avenue, Bergen, is charged with DWI, moving lane unsafely, and inadequate plate lamps. Zimmerman was stopped at 10:02 p.m. on March 31 on South Lake Avenue, Bergen, by Deputy Zachary Hoy. He was held pending arraignment.

Tanisha A. Nealy, 36, of Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant on March 16. Nealy was initially arrested on July 31 and charged with menacing 2nd and criminal possession of a weapon 3rd. She allegedly threatened another person with a knife. She was arraigned and released.

Christian Pierre-Louis, 27, of Batavia, was charged with DWI. Pierre-Louis was stopped on March 15 by a Batavia patrol officer on South Main Street. He was issued traffic tickets and released.

Kyle W. Nash, 37, of Le Roy, was arrested on March 18 on a warrant. Nash allegedly failed to appear in court on traffic tickets issued on Jan. 10. He was arraigned in City Court and released.

Bill A. Thomas, 65, of Batavia, was arrested on March 14 on two warrants. He was previously charged with trespass and criminal trespass 3rd in separate cases. He allegedly failed to appear in court. He was arraigned in City Court and released.

Press Release:

Amidst the anti-consumer, pro-big bank effort to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer revealed and exposed the FINAL leg of Congressional Republicans’ quiet plan to raise Americans’ bank fees, that will drive up unwanted fees for millions of Upstate New Yorkers. Schumer explained that Congressional Republicans will try to seal the deal to protect financial special interests with a vote on Tuesday when the House will vote to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) overdraft fee rule that caps most big bank overdraft fees at just $5.

“Republicans’ quiet plan to side with big banks against the little guy and working families could mean a waterfall of fees for Upstate New Yorkers already struggling to make ends meet,” said Senator Schumer. “Working families have been ripped off by abusive bank fees and practices in the past, and the CFPB’s rule is about protecting hard-working families, not charging them more. So I urge my GOP colleagues to reverse course here and reject overturning this overdraft rule to put money back in people’s pockets and out of the hands of big predatory banks. If the Republicans let this one fee fly, a waterfall of fees will follow, and it is New Yorkers that will feel the brunt.”

Schumer railed against this effort because it could hurt middle-class New Yorkers the hardest, given the number of consumer bank accounts in New York, which is higher than the national average. The rule would save upwards of $5 billion in excessive overdraft fees that millions of households pay. Overturning the rule, as proposed by the Republicans, would cost households an average of at least $225 each year, but MUCH more in New York, Schumer emphasized. Schumer said that some banks take billions of dollars a year from families and seniors that can least afford it. He said the banks don’t need to charge fees like this and that this effort to let fees run wild will open the door to even more excessive bank fees across Upstate New York.

Schumer announced his opposition and is sounding the alarm on the clandestine pro-big bank GOP plan. Schumer said that the CFPB’s overdraft fee rule is designed to protect regular people from being ripped off by predatory bank fees. He urged the House Republicans to reject overturning the CFPB’s overdraft rule and to protect hard-working families instead of taking their hard-earned money to benefit big banks quietly and behind their backs.

Last month, House Financial Service Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rule capping overdraft fees, and the Senate GOP green-lit it last week.

The rule caps most bank overdraft fees at just $5, down from the typical $35 charge per transaction, according to National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). With these fees, banks take billions of dollars a year from families that can least afford it, and the Republican chairmen are moving to give big banks this ability, Schumer explained. Banks, which are already profitable, don’t need to charge these fees and some banks, including Capitol One and Citibank, have completely eliminated overdraft fees and they continue to cover overdrafts. However, other banks take about $1 billion a year in overdraft and nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees, and Wells Fargo is one of the biggest offenders.

The CFPB’s overdraft fee rule stops predatory practices that allow the biggest banks to earn billions in profits from the most vulnerable families and seniors. The rule doesn’t stop big banks from covering overdrafts—it caps fees for “overdraft coverage” at $5 or the bank’s costs. Banks can still offer overdraft lines of credit without any price cap, though they are required to provide the same annual percentage rate (APR) pricing disclosure that credit cards provide and to give people adequate time to repay, NCLC explained.

Schumer explained how the rule helps everyone—especially New York families as New York is more ‘banked’ compared to other states. Schumer explained that by lowering most big bank overdraft fees from $35 to $5, consumers save $5 billion per year, reducing manipulative practices, and increasing transparency and fair competition, according to economists.

“Now that the word is out on Tuesday’s vote, you’ll see the banks, lobbyists, and the people that want to protect the banks’ ability to charge excessive fees start to scramble, and devise a plan to defend it. But it’s indefensible. Who is for excessive bank fees?” Schumer said. “Show me a politician that wants to run an ad on increasing all your bank fees. I am blowing the lid on this disastrous plan and so what happens next? Watch them try to run away from this issue, while siding with big banks over working families and the middle class.”

Schumer warned that other fee increases and gaps in consumer protection could soon follow with:

• ATM fees
• Minimum balance fees for checking and savings accounts
• Outlandish cashier’s check fees
• Notary fees
• Account “inactivity” fees
• The removal of $8 cap on credit card late fees
• No more Fair Credit Reporting (excluding medical bills from consumers credit score)
• Selling consumer data without consent
• No regulator for consumers to report predatory products

The New York Federal Reserve Bank's Credit Insecurity Index may shed light on the number of people with access to mainstream financial services, such as a bank account, who will possibly be exposed to higher fees if Congressional Republicans wipe away this protection. An Upstate New York county-by-county breakdown of percentage of New Yorkers with credit and Credit Insecurity Index Scores for 2023 can be found below:

 

Press release:

Emily Pietrzykowski was dominant in the circle, as the starting pitcher rang up 14 strikeouts in Alexander’s 12-1 victory over Byron-Bergen on Monday. 

Pietrzykowski surrendered five hits and one run over seven innings while walking three.

At the plate for Alexander, Pietrzykowski went 2-for-3 with a towering home run to left, 2 RBIs, 2 runs, a walk and a stolen bag.  Ava Yax went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs, and a run scored. Faith Goodenbury went 1-for-2 with 2 walks, 2 runs, 1 RBI and 1 steal. While Melissa Sawyer and Lilly Szymkowiak matched each other both going 1 for 3 with 2 runs scored and a walk each, Sawyer also added an RBI on the day.

For Byron-Bergen, Lily Stalica took the loss on the mound. The hurler went six and two-thirds innings, surrendering four runs (three earned) on seven hits, striking out six and walking two. Lauren Gartz started in the circle for Byron-Bergen.

Stalica led Byron-Bergen with one run batted in. The outfielder went 1-for-2 on the day. Kendall Chase, Stalica, Ava Gray, Rylee Burch, and Gartz each collected one hit for Byron-Bergen. Gartz stole two bases.

"It was a cold day for softball, that’s for sure," said Coach John Goodenbury. "Hats off to both Athletic Directors for finding a way to get this one in today. The weather is making it difficult to play games this year. For her first outing of the season and cold temps, Emily had great command today and pitched a fantastic game.  The defense didn’t commit a single error, and our bats had a lot of life today.  Steve is also doing a great job at Byron Bergen, and his plauyers are fighters."

Next up for the lady Trojans is a game at Barker next Tuesday.

Photos by Makenna Boyce

Sarah Wolcott doesn’t describe herself as a political activist, but she was willing to jump into her first protest with both feet — as participant and organizer.

The Batavia resident said she has watched society erode the last several years and decided to jump in with some civic-minded adhesive.

“I’m definitely brand new to this whole thing. I think my interest in current events kind of fueled this particular event, but I’ve kind of had my mind and my interests kind of leaning more towards being involved more in my community, and trying not to be silently complicit any more,” Wolcott said Monday to The Batavian. “I have a little group of local people in the GLOW region that have kind of started to get together, and just listening to them talk, and just other neighbors and family, people like that. I just felt like I want to do something, and I happened to stumble across this hands off movement, and it sounded exactly what we’re kind of looking for, as far as trying to get involved in something that kind of touches on, it’s Hands Off insert whatever cause you support kind of deal.”

The Hands Off! protest will be from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday outside of City Hall at 102 Main St., Batavia. This is one of hundreds of similarly themed protests across the country this weekend, from California and Texas to Colorado and Mississippi to Florida and Pennsylvania, and up and down the East Coast.

Wolcott invites all to attend for whatever cause you support that the government has its hands on. “You feel they shouldn’t,” she said.

There is a clear focus on President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who “think this country belongs to them,” according to the material.

“They're taking everything they can get their hands on — our health care, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now,” it states. “This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country.”

Batavia’s event is to be a peaceful one of people carrying signs and walking in front of City Hall, Wolcott said. Suggested signs begin with Hands Off and finish with a cause important to you. For example, Wolcott’s statements may include Hands Off reproductive rights or Hands Off free speech.

“We want the current administration and local government to know we want hands off our government and that they work for us, so we want them to know that we’re listening that we’re paying attention,” she said. “It’s a peaceful protest. We want people to come and bring their signs and be a visual presence on sidewalks.”

She has noted a gradual emotional build-up since the first Trump administration in 2017 and “how much more the country is getting divided, and how worse it seems to be getting.”

“As the days go on, that Trump’s really not, in my opinion, helping that situation,” she said. “And so I was just trying to find a place where we all have some common ground and maybe start bringing people together and work for change, versus us trying to be working against each other.”

As the political climate has heated up, there haven’t been many local outlets for this type of expression, and Wolcott has received feedback that people have wanted it, she said.

“Just in the past couple of weeks since organizing this event, I have heard from a tremendous amount of people in just my local community how grateful they are that I’m organizing this,” she said. “Because they’re scared and they’re frustrated, they’re worried. Maybe people, especially in my community, the GLOW community, don’t feel so alone, and maybe it can be the spark that starts more things happening, even if it’s just locally.”

A core principle behind all Hands Off! events is a commitment to nonviolent action. All participants are expected to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with their values.

For her first event, Wolcott is proud to have garnered more than 130 registrations as of Monday afternoon, and is looking forward to a successful gathering. Participants are encouraged to register ahead of time, but are welcome to attend if they haven’t.

To register and get more information, go HERE. 

Check out handsoff2025.com for more details, including about signs and a map of locations.

Press Release:

This is the first in a series of highlight pieces featuring different aspects of the City of Batavia Police Department. 

The City of Batavia takes pride in its Emergency Response Team, a specialized unit that plays a vital role in maintaining the safety and security of our community. This elite team has undergone rigorous training, equipping them with the necessary skills to respond to a wide range of emergency situations. 

The team's comprehensive training program includes: 

• Role-based exercises to ensure seamless coordination and effective response
• Advanced room-clearing tactics to minimize risks and ensure public safety
• Specialized skills training with non-lethal weapon systems to de-escalate situations 

The Batavia Emergency Response Team is dedicated to serving our community, working tirelessly to ensure that Batavia and Genesee County remain a welcoming and safe region for all. Their expertise and commitment to public safety are invaluable assets to our community. 

By having this specialized team in place, we can confidently say that our community is better equipped to handle emergency situations, and we are grateful for their service.

Press Release:

The Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding Oakfield-Alabama Central School (OACS) alumni who have achieved distinction in their lives and chosen field after high school through significant contributions to their career, community, or through personal achievements; to provide an incentive for current and future students.

If you know a person who meets the following criteria, please consider nominating him/her for this prestigious honor:

1. Nominees must be graduates of OACS or one of its predecessors or have been active in school classes and activities during their senior year. (Nominees who left school while in good standing to perform military service are also eligible. Deceased alumni are not eligible for induction until the fifth anniversary of the year of their death.)
2. Nominees must have graduated prior to 2010.
3. Selection is based on achievement after leaving OACS which includes a noteworthy record in more than one, and exemplary achievement in at least one of the following categories:
   • Job-related achievements
   • Professional honors and awards, professional affiliations, publications
   • Civic or community involvement
   • Personal achievements/accomplishments
   • Positive impact on the communities in the Oakfield-Alabama school district
   • Other appropriate qualifications which the committee believes merit consideration

Anyone may submit a nomination for any person meeting the criteria stated above. Nominations must be made during the nomination period only (March 1 – May 15) by using the Online Nomination Form (see link below). 

Access the Online Nomination Form: Click Here

UPDATE: Starks has been located and is safe.

Press Release:

The Batavia Police Department is seeking public assistance in locating a runaway 14-year-old girl. Za'mya Starkes was last seen on 03/28/2025 in Batavia, NY. 

She was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, and blue sweatpants with a white stripe. Za'mya is about 5'08" and 150 pounds with dark brown hair and brown eyes. 

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350 or the NYS Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-3543. 

Press Release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) board of directors advanced projects at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park and Apple Tree Acres at its March 27 meeting.

Batavia Cold Storage, LLC proposes to build a 7,040 sq ft facility on three acres at the Ag Park.

The $800,000 investment will create a cold storage facility to manufacture ice to be bagged and stored for distribution to local companies. The project will create two full-time equivalent positions with an estimated annual salary range between $26,000 and $52,000.

Batavia Cold Storage, LLC is requesting a sales tax exemption estimated at $28,729, a mortgage tax exemption estimated at $7,200, and a property tax abatement estimated at $65,717 based on the incremental increase in assessed value via a new traditional 10-year PILOT. The project is estimated to generate $917,882 in local fiscal impacts, including payroll and tax revenues, for an estimated $12 local benefit for every $1 of requested incentives.

A public hearing on the proposed project agreements will be held in the Town of Batavia.

Appletree Acres, LLC is proposing to add a 20,000 square-foot expansion to an existing 50,000 square-foot warehouse in the Apple Tree Acres corporate park. A smaller version of the project was previously considered and advanced in December 2024. The now $1.237 million investment would create four full-time equivalent positions with an estimated annual salary range between $45,000 and $65,000 plus benefits.

Appletree Acres, LLC is requesting a sales tax exemption estimated at $58,800 and a property tax abatement estimated at $213,336 based on the incremental increase in assessed value generated by the expansion. The project is estimated to generate $3.1 million in local fiscal impacts, including payroll and tax revenues, for an estimated $14 local benefit for every $1 of requested incentives.

A public hearing on the proposed project agreements will be held in the Town of Bergen.

Will Bardenwerper, a resident of Pennsylvannia and Iraq War veteran, spent most of the summer of 2022 in Batavia, following the season of the hometown team, the Muckdogs, its second season in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.

Until 2021, Batavia was proudly one of the founding cities of the New York-Penn League. It was the minors. But it was professional. And many fans were initially disappointed to lose their team when MLB eliminated 42 minor league teams after the 2020 season

Then, Robbie and Nellie Nichols rode into town with a plan to revive baseball in Batavia.

Bardenwerper was here on a research project, so he could tell the story of small-town baseball through the eyes of its fans, players, and owners.

The result, a new book, Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America

The book explores the cultural and social significance of small-town baseball, using Batavia as a lens to examine broader themes about community, corporate greed, and America’s shifting values.

Bardenwerper weaves his life as a former Army Ranger who came home to a more divided America with his observations of baseball and the folks around the ballpark where they find a communal experience.

The book also critiques MLB’s increasing corporatization and detachment from its roots. Bardenwerper highlights how private equity firms and data analytics have prioritized profits over tradition, eroding the fabric of minor league baseball. 

Local names, besides the Nichols, in the book include Bill Kauffman, Bestey Higgins, Ginny Wagner, and Ross Fanara.

Jeremy Beer observes in Front Porch Republic:

The strength of Homestand lies in Bardenwerper’s portraits of such people, portraits that amount to a revealing exhibition of what 2020s small-town America really looks like. It’s scruffier than it was in its heyday, rougher around the edges, more hardscrabble, but still leavened by numerous intelligent, fascinating, and large-hearted residents. In all that it is much like the baseball now featured at Batavia’s Dwyer Stadium, which in its new, independent version is in many respects a throwback to the minor-league baseball of the 1940s.

As Kauffman tells Bardenwerper, perhaps being cut loose from MLB will turn out to be a blessing. With local ownership, local staff, and at least a few locally sourced players, the Muckdogs and the dozens of other independent minor- and summer-league teams dotting the American landscape can now shape their own futures in a way they never could have as cogs in the giant affiliated-baseball wheel. Perhaps the same can be said of their host towns. Corporate perfidy notwithstanding, communities no less than individuals have more control of their destines than they imagine—if only they will decline to cooperate in their own destruction.

The Batavian emailed Bardenwerper a few questions.  Below is our Q&A.

What about Batavia and the Muckdogs surprised you?
I was perhaps the most surprised by the ages of the Muckdogs fans on most nights. There was everyone from 80-something grandparents and great-grandparents to toddlers and everyone in between. I thought this was pretty neat and something that is definitely not nearly as common at major professional sports events. I was also struck by just how kind and welcoming everyone was.

What are some of your favorite memories from that summer you spent watching the Muckdogs and hanging around Batavia?
Watching the beautiful sunsets over the left field fence while enjoying a cold Eli Fish beer and talking to the friends I made is my favorite memory.

Why do you think the collegiate league Muckdogs are drawing as well as or better than the professional Muckdogs did?
I think this is due to Robbie and Nellie’s hard work as owners determined to make the ballpark experience a fun one for people of all ages every night, and their work to really get the community involved by reaching out to local schools and other groups to make them a part of the game by having things like Little Leaguers playing catch with the players before the games, run the bases, perform the national anthem, and things like that.

You’re very critical of major league baseball in this book. Why?
For a lot of reasons, but of most relevance to this book was their decision to snuff out baseball in 42 cities that had supported it for over a century in many cases, all to save about $700,000 per team they cut, while at the same time paying individual MLB players nearly a billion dollars.

Were baseball people reluctant to go on the record criticizing MLB and the elimination of 42 minor league teams?
Yes, many of them all seemed afraid of suffering professional repercussions if they were perceived as being critical of MLB and the commissioner.

What kind of feedback are you getting from the people you wrote about in this book?
The feedback has been almost uniformly positive, which is really gratifying.

This book is as much about community as it is baseball. That makes it unique in the long and rich history of baseball books, doesn’t it?
I think so. About 80% of the book takes place off the field, in the bleachers and elsewhere in Batavia, and so while there is baseball in it, it is about more than baseball.

The Pavilion Volunteer Fire Department held its annual awards banquet on Saturday.

Department Officers:

• Bryen Murrock, Chief
• Codey O'Neill, 1st Assistant Chief
• Tom Garlock, 2nd Assistant Chief
• Captain, Chris Holley
• Captain, Kelly Murrock
• Lieutenant, Shane Freeman
• EMS Captain, Amanda Holley
• EMS Lietenant, Dave Clor
• Safety Officer, Dewey Murrock
• Fire Police Captain, Ken Weaver
• Fire Police Lietenant, Don Roblee, Jr.

Social Officers:

• Hunter Schiske, president
• Dave Clor, vice president
• Ken Weaver, treasurer
• Ashli O'Neill, recording secretary
• Kelly Murrock, financial secretary

Volunteers for Animals hosted a vendor fair at Batavia Downs on Sunday.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Steve Kruppner, formerly of The Bluesway Band, debuted his new band, JMS Trio, at Center Street Smoke House on Saturday evening.

Photos by Howard Owens.

The Xtreme International Ice Racing Series visited the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Saturday evening.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Photos by Melissa Brooks

The Western New York National Cemetery Council hosted a final Vietnam Veteran Memorial ceremony on Saturday in accordance with a proclamation signed by President Donald Trump during his first term in 2017.

The proclamation was to confirm this nation's commitment to the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, which began on Memorial Day 2012 and will continue through Veterans Day 2025.

The Vietnam War lasted from 1955 to 1975, with the U.S. escalating involvement in 1962. Former President Barack Obama signed the original proclamation to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war on May 28, 2012.

At the time of the signing, Obama said, “You were often blamed for a war you didn’t start, when you should have been commended for serving your country with valor. You were sometimes blamed for misdeeds of a few, when the honorable service of the many should have been praised. You came home and sometimes were denigrated, when you should have been celebrated. It was a national shame, a disgrace that should have never happened. And that’s why here today we resolve that it will not happen again.”

It was a wet Saturday, but GO Art!'s Art Stroll in Downtown Batavia went ahead as scheduled.

Photos by Melissa Brooks.

Rob Gogolack was grateful on Saturday for the turnout at a pulled pork dinner sale at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Batavia to help raise money to modify his car so he can drive it.

Gogolack, a resident of Attica, has been diagnosed with ALS and, as he puts it, "my legs don't want to work." 

The modification would enable him to operate his car like a motorcycle.

"We're going to get hand controls for my car because I drove a motorcycle, Gogolack said. "The hand controls that I'm getting work like a throttle. Throttle it up like a motorcycle, push it forward, and that's the brakes. So, since my legs don't want to work and my upper body does -- gotta do what you gotta do."

The modification will cost about $6,000. He's already paid more than $300 for a training class.

"This is great," Gogolack said of the fundraiser. "I'm a firm believer that what comes around goes around. We've been going to this church for almost 20 years now, and with that, said -- it is just really hard to put words into it, because, like, the baskets. First of all, we didn't even want to do the baskets. We're just going to do the dinner. Then everybody just came together. Hey, I got some baskets for you. I got some baskets for you. I get it. Well, now, as you can tell, there's like 50 or 60 of them out there. So I feel very, very blessed."

St. Paul Lutheran is located at 31 Washington Ave., Batavia. The dinner goes until 8 p.m. There is also vegetarian lasagna available.