Press Release:

Genesee County, in collaboration with Genesee Valley Conservancy, Western New York Land Conservancy, and Genesee Land Trust, have announced that the Agricultural & Farmland Protection Board will be accepting pre-applications from landowners interested in being considered for New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets Farmland Protection program or other state and federal farmland protection initiatives that may become available in the future.

The Farmland Protection program buys conservation easements on the State’s most productive farmland. The program is completely voluntary, and the seller retains ownership of the land and can continue farming the property. However, the land will have permanent restrictions on commercial, residential, and industrial uses.

A workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Genesee County Building 2, located at 3837 W Main Street Rd, Batavia) to provide landowners with information about the program. All interested landowners MUST ATTEND this workshop prior to submitting an application. If any interested landowners cannot attend, contact the County Planning at planning@co.genesee.ny.us or 585-815-7901 to inquire about make arrangements.

The State Farmland Protection Implementation Grant program reimburses farmers up to 87.5 percent of the
value of the development rights on their land. Three land trusts serve Genesee County and can submit applications for this grant funding. All farmers wishing to apply to the State program must complete a pre-application with their respective land trust. Pre-applications will be evaluated by the land trust and will consider the amount of development pressure, quality of soils to be protected, and farm viability. The highest scoring pre-application(s) will be invited to have full applications submitted to the program. These pre-applications may be used to select eligible farms for other future state and federal farmland protection programs.

The Genesee County Planning Department, the Genesee Valley Conservancy, the Western New
York Land Conservancy, the Genesee Land Trust, and the Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation
District work cooperatively to manage the pre-application phase.

The pre-application process will be open year-round for interested landowners in the County but will be reviewed annually by each Land Trust. The full application deadline to the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets has not yet been announced, and there is no guarantee the State will release a funding opportunity this budget year. However, establishing a pipeline of interested farms is crucial to demonstrating funding needs and critical to leveraging other non-state funding.

For more information on the New York State Farmland Protection program, visit HERE.
 

Looking back at Scott Davis’ journey to recovery, it is clear to see that the Orange County native – and former Batavian – was ahead of his time.

Davis took his first sip of alcohol at the age of 11, escalated his drug use to LSD and ecstasy in his early teens and eventually became addicted to heroin and fentanyl, behavior that resulted in separate stints in rehabilitation, shock camp and prison.

Today, the 43-year-old Davis has been in recovery for more than three years. He has a good job as a certified peer recovery advocate for the Rochester Regional Health system, a loving fiancée, Heather, and a beautiful 18-month-old daughter, MacKenzie.

While his story may seem like the typical “former drug user who went to jail and came out on the other side” variety, there’s much more to it than that when you learn that Davis relied upon his instincts and intellect to turn his life around.

Even before it was accepted as a key component of substance use treatment, Davis said he embraced the concept of “medication for opioid use disorder” – MOUD for short.

In 2012, as he was fighting a losing battle against cocaine and heroin, Davis found out that there was medication available to counteract the hard drugs.

“I had spent time in county jail and nine months in prison shock (camp) after violating probation (stemming from burglary and other felony charges),” he said. “I went on methadone because I could not stop using heroin. The legal system did not understand the importance of medication. They said I was replacing one drug for another.”

Davis said neither law enforcement officials nor counselors supported his desire to use methadone at that time.

“The stigma was alive and well,” he said. “I tried to be responsible on it. It was working for a while. But they didn’t care; they did not approve of it. It was all judgment.”

He went to outpatient and inpatient treatment facilities but all he heard was that he needed to get off hard drugs without any so-called replacement therapy.

“It definitely wasn’t the person-centered care that we have today,” he said.

Davis recalled that he got into drugs as a result of his feelings of isolation as a kid and it only got worse after his mother’s death in 2008.

“After that, I went right to heroin,” he said, adding that it led to the destruction of his marriage six years later.

His legal problems continued as well when he tested positive for heroin and was sent to separate 90-day rehabilitation programs – St. Christopher Inn in Garrison and St. Joseph’s in Saranac Lake.

“During that time, I was using suboxone off and on,” he said, referring to another type of MOUD. “It was really difficult to maintain recovery for 14 months, having no resources, support, peers or maintenance services.”

Short stays in three jails and two more shock camps finally “led me to where I’m at today,” he said. “I was valedictorian (in the camp class) and was successful each time I was evaluated for meeting certain criteria. I am proof that you can bounce back physically.”

He was still living downstate at that time when he was paroled to Batavia in December 2016.

“I was sent to live with my father (David, who died of cancer in January 2021) and my stepmom in Batavia,” he said. “I was able to complete one semester of a college course online as I wanted to become a counselor, while using suboxone.”

Unfortunately for Davis, he hadn’t hit rock bottom yet. He succumbed to his demons once again, and started using crack cocaine, heroin and “a full year hard core on fentanyl,” he said.

“I sold everything that my father had and everything I had, and I drained all the bank accounts,” he noted.

From there, it was on to Hope Haven (a RRH facility) and then to the Atwater Community Residence, a program of Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. He successfully completed his time at Atwater before he was admitted into GCASA’s Supportive Living program for 18 months.

He credits peer advocates and Atwater Residence staff at GCASA for helping him to set some goals and sharing their life experiences.

“They and all the staff at The Recovery Station, another GCASA program, inspired me, motivated me and encouraged me,” he said. “They saw something in me before I could see it myself.”

He also mentioned a close friend, Toby Nagel, who runs The Bridge House in Batavia, for providing a spiritual component.

“Toby was there for me and still is,” he said.

Knowing that he had to stay in recovery to get a job as a peer advocate, he attained that goal in September 2020 when GCASA offered him a position. A year later, he was hired by RRH as a recovery coach, peer advocate who works with clients through Monroe County treatment courts – providing support, transportation and other services.

“It’s a very fulfilling position,” Davis said. “Aside from providing support and encouragement to individuals who accept treatment court and/or are coming out of jail, we provide bed-to-bed transportation for individuals going straight to inpatient from jail.

“Transportation is very important for those who have made that decision to get help, and the peers play a key role by providing not only rides but as caring listeners in these individuals’ road to recovery and a better life.”

As far as MOUD is concerned, Davis was prescribed suboxone.

“I had hard-core cravings for fentanyl and it was my personal choice to go on the suboxone,” he recalled. “I knew that suboxone, at that time, was going to save my life.

“I trusted what the doctor at GCASA said and I could see that he was on my side all the way,” he said. “We had a plan, and I knew I was going to be successful. Today, I am working the plan for my life.”

His advice to others was to not give up because MOUD does work.

“Medication is a vital component to treatment. Anybody can be successful with the right program and support and can maintain a successful life. I don’t know where I would be without MOUD,” he said.

To learn more about the HEALing Communities Study and to help end overdoses in Genesee County, visit:

•           HEALing Communities Study Website: www.HealTogetherNY.org/Genesee

•           GOW Opioid Task Force Website: www.gowopioidtaskforce.org/

•           GO Health Facebook: www.facebook.com/GOHealthNY

Disclosure: Mike Pettinella is the publicist for GCASA.

City management is inching closer to the crucial phase of a new police facility: being able to afford it.

Not that all of those plans and blueprints and virtual trials haven’t been important, but without the money, it’s not going to get very far.

City Manager Rachael Tabelski asked City Council for permission to apply for the funding during council’s meeting Monday evening. Or at least she broached the topic for a final vote to be placed on the next business meeting agenda. So there’s at least one more step before grant and loan applications are a go.

Recent estimates for the new facility are $15.5 million, Tabelski said, to be paid off with a 30-year public improvement serial bond, a $2.5 million USDA grant and potential use of facility reserves with a current balance of $790,000.

Annual payments for the $15.5 million bond would range from $700,000 to $800,000 at current interest rates, she said.

“We talked at length about this during the budget, this is why we bumped reserves up so high this year, so we had that money ready to go to make debt payments. I'd also like to say under USDA, we'll be getting a 3.75 percent interest rate, which is locked in. And we do not close until the completion of the building. And if the interest rate for some miraculous reason goes down with USDA at any point during that process, we can capture a lower rate,” she said. “So in the general obligation bond market, you're not going to see these types of rates. So while I think it's still high, right now with the rates the way they are, it's a very good situation we put ourselves in using USDA as a lender.”

Council agreed to move the vote to the next business meeting.

The new facility has been mapped out for the parking lot along Bank Street across from the Jerome Medical Center. Police Chief Shawn Heubusch has said the police station is the second most publicly traveled city facility — with City Hall being first -- and it’s important to get the building and details right, he said, and should save money from the typical myriad change orders of large construction projects.

A total of construction, engineering, equipment and material costs were estimated late last year to be from $13 million to $15 million, which have apparently gone up now, to $15.5 million.

During that last presentation a few months ago, at least 115 public parking spots were to remain after construction, in addition to free public parking on surrounding streets, “which would more than adequately serve the needs of existing businesses on Washington, Alva and State Streets,” Tabelski had said.

This has been a long time coming, given prior consultant studies, Task Force Committee meetings and discussions about how to proceed with the current station housed in a 167-year-old building. Known as the Historic Brisbane Mansion, the Main Street site has been deemed unsuitable for police operations, and renovations were ruled out as being too costly.

“There have been no less than five studies conducted since 1991 to determine the future of the police station in Batavia, as well as a citizen task force commissioned to investigate possible site locations,” Tabelski said.  “The location of the new facility was identified by the task force in their top three site recommendations.” 

The new facility will improve “the quality, efficiency, security, and regulatory compliance features of the services and activities of the department,” she said.  It will also enhance the opportunities to meet community-oriented policing needs, and become a space to conduct community events, including educational forums, police-assisted addiction recovery initiatives, explorer post, citizen academy, and focus groups.

Rendering by Ashley McGraw Architects courtesy of the City of Batavia. 

Some business owners would look at the destruction of a fire ripping through their store and be ready to throw in the towel, but not Brandon Lewis.

Three days after flames erupted in his building, the owner of The Firing Pin on Buffalo Road in Bergen is already looking forward.  He's going to rebuild.

When a reporter quipped, "you can build back better," Brandon said, "absolutely."

He was pretty young when he opened The Firing Pin in 2013, and though he had worked in the industry, this was the first firing range and gun shop he owned.  Now he's got some experience as he contemplates a fresh start.

"Not that I have all the answers, but I've got at least 10 years' worth of more answers," Lewis said.

The fire was spotted just before 5 p.m. on Friday. A customer noticed some smoke coming from a backstop in the firing range and alerted an employee.  Some employees tried attacking the hot spot with fire extinguishers but quickly realized the effort was futile, so they dialed 9-1-1 and evacuated the building.

Everybody got out of the firing range and retail shop safely.

Once the rubber in the range got going, Lewis said, it was an extremely difficult fire to put out.  Firefighters battled until about 9 p.m.

"I can't thank the Bergen volunteers enough," Lewis said. "I mean, they're incredible. They came, and that's the only reason there's anything here to look at now."

The walls are still standing, but Lewis said professionals will need to evaluate how much of the building, which contains a lot of wood construction, can be saved.

"The important thing is the concrete looks salvageable," Lewis said. "The electrical infrastructure, the plumbing, the septic system, all that is some of the most expensive parts of the building, and that all looks saveable."

The fire got into the rafters and spread across the building, so the store sustained a good deal of smoke and water damage.

All of the firearms in the store were safely retrieved.

"They're at a secure off-site storage location right now under armed guard," Lewis said. "A lot of the ammunition was saved. Luckily, the fire didn't get anywhere close to where the ammunition was stored."

The business is open on a limited basis, Lewis said, particularly for customers who purchased firearms and were waiting on registration with the Clerk's Office before picking them up.

Lewis already has a tentative meeting set up with the town's planning board.  He's also working on trucking a portable firing range up from North Carolina so he can provide range service for his customers during the rebuild.  He had been planning an expansion anyway, acquiring a couple of neighboring acres and including a possible indoor/outdoor firing range.  He said he will talk about sound and safety issues with the town with a possible outdoor firing range in place during the rebuild.

There's also the annual freedom festival in June. That, he said, will go on as planned even if it means setting up 20 tents.

The planned After Hours event with the Chamber of Commerce, scheduled for April, may need to be rescheduled, he said.

While Lewis expects insurance to cover all of the property losses, that doesn't replace any lost business in the coming months.  He said he isn't worried about it.

"We're gonna be okay," Lewis said. "I just have so much faith in this community and not just Genesee County, but like the gun community and not just the community in general, but all of Western New York. We've got an amazing customer base behind us. And I know they'll be there to support us."

He said members who stay current on their dues or sign up for new memberships will get their names memorialized in some way, such as a plaque, in the rebuilt business.

Information about membership can be found at nytfp.com.

The mother of one of his employees set up a GoFundMe page to help assist, and Lewis said he's grateful for the support.

"I'm too modest, I guess. I don't feel right setting that up myself, but someone else felt like it was necessary, and I'm forever grateful to them," Lewis said. "But I'm putting it out there now, so you know, for anybody who donates, we're gonna donate half of that money, whatever is raised, to the Bergen Fire Department because, like I said, we'd be looking at just a pile of rubble completely if it wasn't for them and all those volunteers. It was amazing. I always knew I had a lot of customers that were firemen, but I saw it on Friday. I saw how many of my customers showed up in turn-out gear to save this place. It was touching."

Photos by Howard Owens.

Well-informed, polite, and a wonderful person with her own style.

That’s how City Councilwoman Patti Pacino’s colleagues described the Second Ward representative. Pacino announced Monday evening that she would be stepping down from her position due to health-related issues. After 13 years taking a seat in Council Chambers as one of nine elected city leaders, she will miss it and will be missed, her colleagues said.

“I’m already missing it,” she said after council’s meeting at City Hall.

Pacino explained that, in addition to her medical condition the last several months — a bilateral ear infection that resulted in a December brain surgery and difficulty with walking and hearing — “I’m very tired,” she said. Her family has been helping to transport her to and from places, and she made the decision that it’s too much to continue.

Good news includes her regained memory, vocabulary and ability to use a fork and a pen. Hearing aids should help to replace part of her hearing, and she’s working on being able to walk again.

She read a prepared statement at the beginning of the meeting that read, in part:

"In light of these changes, I have sadly decided to stop early on my council work. Tonight will be my last meeting as a City Council member. I’m sure I will still visit meetings to share my opinions, just behind a different microphone,” she said.  “I wanted time tonight to offer my sincere thanks to all the city policemen, firemen, departments, the city manager and staff at City Hall, all the Batavia citizens who have shared questions and suggestions, and most of all to all the dedicated people who have sat in these nine council seats during the past 13 years sharing hours of reading, studying, discussing, and agreeing to work overlooking the management of the City of Batavia.

“This has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life,” she said. “My great thank you to all.”

Pacino has jumped on board no matter the topic, whether it’s the deer on Ross Street, an old police station, or a picnic in the park. She hasn’t been afraid to speak her mind, but not in a flashy or ignorant way.

City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. commended Pacino for being so well-informed. She reads everything, he said.

“And she knows what she's talking about when she makes comments. And so I have a lot of respect for her because of that,” he said to The Batavian. “She's well educated, and does her research. And that's one of the important things, I think, of being on council, to make sure you understand both sides of the situation. And she has been very, very good in that respect. I liked her comments, and she usually contributes some good information. So she's going to be sorely missed.”

Pacino was great to work with and knew how to interact professionally during meetings, Councilman Bob Bialkowski said.

“I can only wish her good luck. And I think she knows what she needs to do. She knows what’s best. She’ll be missed on council, that’s for sure,” Bialkowski said. “I mean, working with her, it's always been a pleasure, it's always been polite, polite exchanges. She helped me one year on the parades.”

Councilwoman Kathy Briggs agreed. “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Patti,” she said.

“I enjoyed discussing City issues with her and getting her opinions,” Briggs said. “I’m going to miss her, but she won't be forgotten. I will still contact her and talk about everything.”

Sixth Ward  Councilwoman Tammy Schmidt has known Pacino for decades. From her large-framed glasses to a comical moment after a council meeting, Schmidt has fond memories of Pacino, a well-known community advocate.

“I have known Patti since high school.  She worked there when I was in school.  I also thought she was a wonderful person with her own style and her signature eyeglasses.  I did not recognize her without them!  I have only worked on council with her 15 months, but I believe her heart was in her work no matter what the job was,” Schmidt said.  “My most recent memory is when she got locked behind the gate with John Canale after a meeting, and nobody knew how to set them free.   I have a nice photo to look back on.  Patti will be missed and I hope she will be replaced with a person who has a love for this city and a passion for the job and our citizens.”

Councilman Richard Richmond, chair of the City Republican Committee, said that the committee had already pegged David Twichell to run for the Second Ward seat when Pacino had indicated that she wasn’t going to run for re-election in November. So the plan is to temporarily fill her seat with Twichell until he runs for a term in November, Richmond said.

Twichell is president of the city’s Youth Board.

Top Photo of Patti Pacino during Monday's council meeting at City Hall, by Joanne Beck; her official city photo; and above, a file photo from 2010 when she was sworn in the day after she misunderstood the time of the official swearing in ceremony, by Howard Owens.

Beachy Cabinet Makers Wild won the Batavia Mens Hockey League Championship at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Sunday, defeating the Kelly Holland Inn NorthStars, 5-4 in overtime.

Shawn Beachy scored the first goal in the opening period.  Wild led 1-0 after 1.

The Stars tied the game with 4:51 left in the second period on a goal by Nick Bush.

Two minutes later, Ken Beachy scored to give the Wild back the lead 2-1.  A couple of goals were disallowed by the Wild in the next two minutes.  Twenty-one seconds before the end of the second period, the Wild scored again to increase the margin, 3-1 on a goal by Shawn Beachy, assisted by Ryan DiFilippo, who had two assists in the game.

After a Zamboni clean, the Wild carried the momentum from the locker room to score a goal by Jason Harasimowicz and gave the Wild a commanding 4-1 lead.

However, the Stars did not give up, seven minutes left in the third period,  Mason Versage scored two goals within a minute apart, including one on the power-play to cut the lead to one.

Then minutes later, at 4:14 left, the Stars' James Kujowski tied the game on a loose puck in front of net-minder John Bermel for the Wild.

The game went to a ten-minute sudden death overtime after a 4-4 tie.

Both teams had opportunities to end the game, and play got scrappy and challenging.  With four minutes left in the overtime, Wild caught a roughing penalty. Stars were on a 5 to 4 power play opportunity. 

Jason Harasimowicz from the Wild said “I stepped up to the faceoff circle, was aggressive and wanted to see where it goes.  I am just going to start picking up speed and hope I can get the puck in their zone.  I came down the right side, took the shot in the corner and scored. I have scored on the goalie like that during the regular season.  So, if I score, I score.  I know I have done it before and hoped it would get in the net. It did and could not believe it."

Harasimowicz scored the game winning goal short-handed with 3:35 left in the overtime to give the Beachy Cabinetmakers Wild the men’s league title.  Harasimowicz was named MVP.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Jason Harasimowicz named MVP

Beachy Cabinet Makers Wild 2023 Mens Hockey Champions

Three Beachy family generations, photo left to right Ken, grandson Sawyer, son Shawn

The annual Celebrate Agriculture Dinner -- this year, as in the past, held at the Alexander Fire Hall -- is as much a chance for farmers and community leaders to mingle and enjoy a good meal as it is the time to honor the Soil and Water Conservation District's conservation farm of the year.

This year, the award went to Naas Farms, a 700-acre grain and vegetable farm owned and operated by Bruce and Jessica Naas in Oakfield.

"We are really honored here in Genesee County to have such a diverse, vital, robust agricultural economy in our county, and to be able to honor one of our own this evening is always just a wonderful honor for the Legislature," said Shelley Stein, co-owner of Stein Farms in Le Roy and chair of the Genesee County Legislature while presenting Bruce and Jessica Naas with a proclamation passed by the Legislature recognizing the farm's conservation efforts.

From a previous press release announcing the award:

The farm has adopted many best management practices over the years to improve its land and the environment. The farm grows crops with limited tillage or no-till equipment. Cover crops are planted after the harvest of the commodity crop to improve soil health and reduce soil erosion. The farm sells cover crop seed and occasionally lends equipment to their neighbors to promote soil health beyond their acreage. The farm recently constructed an agri-chemical storage and mixing facility to reduce the environmental risk of storing and mixing fertilizers and herbicides. The farm has also created a pollinator habitat to promote the populations of our native bees and insects.

Top photo: County Legislator and farmer Christian Yunker, Soil and Water Director Jared Elliott, Jessica Naas, Bruce, Naas, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, County Legislator Chair and farmer Shelley Stein, and State Sen. George Borello.

Photos by Howard Owens

Rep. Claudia Tenney (on right in photo above), whose NY-24 District has included Genesee County since January, took the opportunity of the ag dinner to make her first public appearance locally.

She encouraged everybody to attend a roundtable discussion at 10 a.m. on April 4 in the Old Courthouse in Batavia do discuss the upcoming renewal of the Farm Bill.

"This is the number one agricultural district in New York and the entire Northeast," Tenney said. "It's also the number one dairy district, so that's also important as well. I just wanted to encourage you all to attend on April 4. We're going to be hosting our first forum on the new farm bill that's coming up for a vote this year. We'd love to have your participation. We're going to be doing them throughout the district. So as many people as we can get there that would be great."

It's important for the district's voices to be heard on the new Farm Bill because, she indicated, people tend to forget how important agriculture is to New York.

"We have a lot of really important initiatives coming up this year," Tenney said. "I'm hoping that we can get some things that we need in the Farm Bill. They tend to forget us tend to focus more on the ethanol producers out in Iowa and some of the cotton producers."

Tenney encouraged people to visit her website and sign up for her newsletter, tenney.house.gov

"We have a newsletter that comes out every Friday, and I explain every vote that I take in the house in detail," Tenney said. "I don't just put how I voted. I tell you why. It's my attempt to try to make us understand what's going on in Washington to decode it to ensure that we're self-governing."

State Sen. George Borrello also presented a proclamation to Bruce and Jessica Naas. 

"As the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and also a small business person myself, there are no greater, more resilient people than farmers, and to recognize someone who has risen to the top, there isn't a greater achievement," Borrello said. 

Borrello promised to keep fighting for farmers.

"You know, the biggest threat to agriculture in New York State? It's not climate change," Borrello said. "It's not even the price of commodities or even the labor. The biggest threat to New York State agriculture is bad policy out of Albany. That's the biggest threat to agriculture. And we are going to continue to push back at the people in New York City who don't know where their food comes from, who are trying to tell us how we should feed them. And that's gonna become a bigger problem for them as we move forward. We're making progress. And I promise you, your state will continue to be one of the best states, if not the best state, to farm in as we continue to make progress."

Assemblyman Steve Hawley also congratulated the owners of Naas Farms as well as talk about his efforts to hold back what he called "the electrification of New York."

"We're fighting very, very hard against the electrification plan out of touch folks from New York City," Hawley said.

He praised both Tenney and Borrello for their efforts to represent the new parts -- including Genesee County -- of their redrawn districts and said he admires them both.

Under the leadership of Chef Tracy Burgio, left, culinary students with BOCES prepared the buffet dinner using many locally sourced ingredients. 

Dave's Ice Cream in Batavia donated 400 dishes of ice cream.

On April 1st at 7:00pm at the Elba High School, the Genesee Symphony Orchestra with Conductor S. Shade Zajac will be joined by world renowned soloists YooJin Jang (violin) and Mimi Hwang (cello) for a performance of Brahms’ Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra. This performance will mark the completion of a gigantic project started during Mr. Zajac’s first season with the GSO: performing all of the Concertos composed by Brahms. The concert will also include the emotional and exhilarating Fourth Symphony in D Minor by Robert Schumann. Please join the Orchestra for this monumental milestone! Click here to purchase your tickets now!

At 10 years old in June 1963, Fernando Curcione was walking down a street in his Toronto neighborhood when he saw two girls dancing to a Beach Boys record on a veranda. They invited him to come on up and listen to the music.

That's the first time Curcione heard the Beach Boys, and 60 years later, he still loves their music for all the same reasons -- the harmonies and the happiness.

Curcione will bring his "Endless Summer" enthusiasm for the Beach Boys to Batavia Downs on Saturday night with the tribute band Beach Party Boys.

"It was just feel-good, uptempo music," Curcione said to The Batavian. "Years later, when I thought about everything in retrospect, of all the music that came out in the 60s, the Beach Boys, out of everything that happened -- the psychedelic era, and Motown, and R&B, in the British Invasion, everything that happened in the 60s -- it seemed to me that the Beach Boys had a wholesome kind of sound that rang with me. It just was fun music. It appeals to audiences, family audiences, and that's basically where I wanted to go, and the guys that are part of the show are the same type of chemistry."

The Beach Boys came out of the surf music scene in Southern California, adding vocal harmonies to what had been purely instrumental music -- first crafted by Dick Dale and quickly followed by bands like The Safaries, The Bel-Airs, and The Chantays -- and helped revolutionize rock and roll.  Before the Beach Boys, surf music had largely been a regional phenomenon.  But as Curcione's experience shows, the appeal of the Beach Boys (and all surf music after them) exploded beyond the California coastline and endures well into the 21st Century.

Who hasn't heard, even among the young, songs such as "Let's Go Surfin'," "California Girls," "I Get Around," "Surfin' USA," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Help Me, Rhonda," and, of course, "Good Vibrations," Brian's Wilson's three-minute, 35-second pop song symphony.

Beach Party Boys formed in 2010 and is comprised of four guys who worked in previous Beach Boys tribute bands -- Kokomo and Endless Summer -- and a drummer who worked the long-running Collingwood Elvis Festival, which was a celebration of Elvis Presley tribute acts.

The band's lineup is Curcione on rhythm guitar and the Mike Love vocal parts, Guy Schryer on keyboards and the Brian Wilson vocal parts, Marco Spadafora drums, Andrew Canning, bass, and Jeff Scott, lead guitar.

Not too many bands last 13 years, Curcione noted.

On Saturday, Curcione said Beach Boys fans can hear all of the classics, including the band's last #1 hit, "Kokomo" (1988). Beach Party Boys even tackle some of the trickier tracks laid down by the Beach Boys when Brian Wilson became experimental in the studio after he stopped touring with the band -- starting with "Pet Sounds" -- and setting the bar higher for The Beatles to produce ever more complex and intriguing pop songs.

"It's absolutely impossible to do what they did in the studio," Curcione said. "For example, the biggest challenge is 'Good Vibrations.' It was recorded in three different studios with three different sections of the song. So when we're playing it as a five-piece band, we are taking liberties to use the instruments that we have in relation to the notes that were created by other instruments. For example, at the end of 'Good Vibrations,' you will hear a cello doing this staccato kind of thing. What I do is I turn up my Stratocaster, and I'll do exactly the same notes in the bass section of the guitar to try to emulate that sound. In terms of the harmonies, there's nothing missing from the four-part and five-part harmonies. They are completely covered. So whatever you hear on those records in the studio, we are able to reproduce it live."

As for the Theremin used in "Good Vibrations,"? Well, now bands such as Beach Party Boys have synthesizers (barely even a thing in 1966), and Curcione said it reproduces that wavy, psychedelic sound that is so recognizable in "Good Vibrations" just fine.

"Pet Sounds" -- generally considered by critics as one of the greatest LPs ever recorded -- is well represented in the Beach Party Boys set, Curcione said. They perform "Sloop John B," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," and, of course, "God Only Knows."

"I can put the 'Pet Sounds' CD on in my car, and I never get tired of it," Curcione said. "I mean, 'God Only Knows' is Paul McCartney's favorite song of all time, so that's a testament right there. I mean, Paul is an absolute genius with some of the melodies that he has come up with."

The set isn't limited to the Beach Boys catalog. They also perform other classics of the period and genre, such as Jan and Dean's "Surf City" and "GTO" by Ronnie and the Daytonas.

While the Beach Boys had a big impact on Curcione's musical life and career, his musical interests go well beyond just one band. He was a DJ for 30 years. He's an agent for Booking House, a company that specializes in booking tribute bands, including Beach Party Boys. In 2008, he released a CD of original music. He has played in and plays in other tribute bands, such as ones for the Four Seasons and, most recently, Elvis Presley. 

"We have a tribute to Elvis because of the movie that just came out," Curcione said. "There's been a resurgence of an appeal for Elvis Presley, and it seems that because Austin Butler is 23 years old. He's attracted fans that are as young as 16, 17 years old. That whole world has opened up. It's not just the baby boomers that are going to Elvis shows now."

With all this experience booking and playing in tribute bands, you might expect Curcione to have some idea why tribute bands have exploded in popularity in recent years.  And he does.

First, there are certain bands you can't see any more because key members (or all the members) are dead.  It's impossible to see The Beatles or the BeeGees, for example.

Also, he said, ticket prices are through the roof.

"With some of the international acts like Bruce Springsteen, I couldn't believe that I saw ticket prices up to $1,000. I said, 'What the heck is going on?' Curcione said. "When I was a kid, we'd buy a concert ticket for $3.50 or, at the most, 10 bucks, but it's gone insane. So, if you're a fan of, for example, the Eagles, and you can't afford $300 for a seat, you can go see Hotel California for 40 bucks. I think that's among what appeals to fans."

Show time on Saturday is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15, and VIP seats (the first two rows) are $25.  Tickets include $10 in free play in the casino. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for this show, as well as others, are always available at www.bataviaconcerts.com or at the Lucky Treasures Gift Shop in the Batavia Down's lobby.

Video: Promotional video by Booking House Inc.

Batavian right-handers Shayne Herold and Geoff Harloff rolled their second perfect games of the season in Genesee Region USBC league bowling action last week at Mancuso Bowling Center.

In the Mancuso Real Estate League on Monday night, Herold started with a 300 game en route to a 694 series.

Previously, he recorded a 300 game on Dec. 1 at Legion Lanes in Le Roy, and he also had an 814 series on Jan. 27 in the County Line Stone Friday Trios League at Mancuso's.

On Friday, Harloff started with a perfect game in the County Line Stone league before posting 230 and 222 for a 752 series.

Previously, he posted a 300 game on March 3 in the Toyota of Batavia Thursday league, also at Mancuso's.

At Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen, William Yates spun a 290 middle game and a 753 series in the Thursday Owls League..

For a list of high scores for the week, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the home page.

1

A transformer has blown on Cockram Road, causing a small fire in the woods.

Route 237 is being closed to traffic.

The call started with a report of a tree down leaning against wires.  Shortly after a chief arrived on scene, the transformer blew.

Since, additional wires have come down.

A crew is needed to cut down the tree, and National Grid is being notified.

UPDATE 12:42 p.m.: If there is a power outage in the area as a result of this transformer going out, the information is not yet available.  There is a power outage from this morning in the area, along Byron Road, on each side of Cockram Road, affecting about 19 customers.

Multiple small power outages are reported in Genesee County, and two affect at least 600 National Grid customers each.

A power outage throughout most of Bethany stretches from Route 20 to the City of Batavia and another within city limits is in the southeast corner of the city.

On the first one, National Grid expects to restore power by 1:30 a.m.  On the second, in the city of Batavia, the ETA for power restoration is 3 a.m.

Press release:

Families in the Batavia area are invited to attend the annual Kiwanis Club of Batavia Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 8 at 9 AM sharp.  The event will take place at Centennial Park with three age categories: birth-3, 4-7 and 8-10.  Along with the thousands of eggs hiding in the park, there will be nine golden eggs.  The nine lucky children who discover the golden eggs will be able to exchange them for a chocolate bunny from Oliver’s Candies.

There will also be one golden egg hidden each day in Centennial Park beginning on Saturday, April 1 through Thursday, April 6.  The golden eggs will be hidden at different times each day to allow for families with different schedules to search and have an equal chance of finding them. The golden eggs are restricted to kids age 12 and under, although older siblings and family members can help search!  The winning golden eggs must be turned in at the Easter Egg Hunt on April 8th to receive an Oliver's Candies chocolate bunny.

The club is asking those who find golden eggs prior to the Easter Egg Hunt, please send pictures to the Kiwanis Club of Batavia Facebook page at facebook.com/kiwanisclubofbatavia.

Kiwanis Club of Batavia is proud to offer fun, healthy family activities that serve children in our community.  For more information, visit the club’s Facebook page or their website at www.bataviakiwanis.org.  The club meets the 2nd and 4th Thursday at 12:10 at Batavia’s Original Pizza and welcomes new members.

There are reports of trees down in both Pavilion, Alexander (two calls), and Town of Batavia, with wires arcing and sparking as high-wind weather event rolls into Genesee County.

The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning, but that warning isn't in effect until 6 p.m. and lasts until 5 a.m. on Sunday.

The prediction for overnight is winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts of up to 60 mph.

The NWS states, "Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles. ... People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees and branches. If possible, remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Use caution if you must drive."

Alexander's calls are in the area of Hickox and Halstead roads and Town of Batavia's call is on Bank Street Road.

Email weather-related photos with information about the photos to howard@thebatavian.com.

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Elba Central School was alive with the sound of music late Friday afternoon.

No, not Julie Andrews and the captain in the Sound of Music, but vocals and instrumentals from elementary, junior and senior high school students mostly from Genesee County and Attica.

And, after an unwelcome four-year interruption due to pandemic-related snafus, students and organizers were happy to get the show back on the road. The Genesee-Wyoming County Music Association All-County Festival will be performing this weekend.

The all-county elementary chorus, junior high band and senior high chorus was rehearsing Friday, to be continuing on Saturday and capping off all of that musical talent and energy with a concert at 2 p.m. in the school’s auditorium. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Pembroke sixth-grader Brynlee Amend (second photo) plays saxophone and sings, though she’s at the festival with the chorus. She’s been singing “all my life,” the 11-year-old said.

“I got into chorus as soon as I could,” she said with a big grin. “It just brings joy, I believe I have a good voice. I just enjoy it.”

She has put her voice to the test before all-county, including at Genesee County’s Fair talent contest. Brynlee took home two first-place prizes, one for her rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Our Song.” She has a piece of advice for making a song work.

“Sing things you enjoy singing,” she said.

There are four or five songs in the concert, and two of them are in different languages, French and Chinese, she said. The chorus director will help students with the words, Brynlee said, and overall, she’s good at remembering songs.

“I learn music words pretty fast, so hopefully, I’ll memorize them by tomorrow,” she said. “I think it’s going to go really well. My mom, dad, sisters and stepmom are coming, they’re my biggest supporters. It makes me feel happy that they came to see me.”

Stephanie Gietler, president of the G-W Music Association, said the event is "a great learning opportunity" that's outside of the kids' typical school district music program. And gathering them together has been a great experience.

"Oh, it's so nice to hear the kids making music and being with others," Gietler said. "All-county is a great opportunity because it gets the kids to push their limits of learning and gives them another opportunity. A lot of these kids in the instrumental world go audition on a solo. So they work hard, and it's an honor to be selected into All-County."

There are 11 schools and about 250 students involved in the event, she said. 

Musician Sean Pietrzykowski’s (third photo) reasons for choosing tuba might not have been so noble in the beginning — “my sister picked sax, and I wanted to be a little louder” — but he’s glad that he did. The Alexander eighth-grader has excelled with the brass instrument, playing in jazz and concert bands, qualifying for all-state and all-county.

“I really enjoy it, I enjoy the atmosphere,” he said. “It opened a lot for me, it’s one thing I can fall back to.”

A country music fan — George Strait and Riley Green top the list — Sean, 14, has also made solid connections through music with students and his teacher, Dan Klinczar, who’s also vice president of the G-W Music Educators Association.

Rehearsal was going well, and Sean was feeling confident about the final outcome.

“We’re sounding good,” he said.

It was hard to miss Evan Williams (fourth photo) on stage, both from his 6-foot-4-inch stature and tenor vocals. He said that sometimes he wishes he wasn’t quite so tall, as people expect him to have more baritone quality, though it hasn’t seemed to hurt him any.

The Le Roy High School senior has performed in many school musicals, being cast in a lead role as Jean Valjean for this year’s “Les Miserables,” and going to college with a Regents music scholarship.

Evan, 17, hasn’t yet nailed down which college he’ll go to, but his aspirations are concrete: musical theater. Given his upbringing, he really has no other choice. As a toddler, Evan would sit on the sidelines while his parents rehearsed with their band, Exit 27.

“I always saw the performance aspect of it,” Evan said. “In grades seven through 12, I joined the music department, It felt like home.”

He sang a lot in choir, in and out of school, and plays percussion in band. Music is about more than notes on a page, he said. Especially when it comes to his family.

“My dad (Justin Williams) still gigs out on his own solo. He has such an eclectic style, like performing country. And then he'll do some Aerosmith. And then he's just all over the place. But it's really cool. And it's cool to sort of have grown up in that because everyone in Le Roy is like, Le Roy is so small, and they're always like, Oh, I've seen your parents perform,” Evan said. “And then they'll come to see me. Which theater is completely different than what they perform. Choir is completely different from what they perform. And it's like, it's cool that we've got a little melting pot of voices in our family.”

Asking Evan for a favorite music genre wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Even the ones he thought he could rule out were reeled back in when he thought more about it. He would’ve cast away country, but then again, he likes Sam Smith.

“I feel like Sam Smith is not only an incredible performer in the pop industry realm, but I also think the way that they hold themselves as a person and just have always been true to themselves. And I think that's really important to have an industry. Because I think no matter where you end up, people are going to try to put you in a spot that isn't you, and I think it's always very important to just be who you are,” Evan said. “And if it's not working for you, do what's best for you. And I think that that's something that Sam Smith has really grown to do over the years.”

Evan is drawn to New York City and can see himself working there someday, hopefully on Broadway or filming a movie. He and his classmates have enjoyed being able to resume life after COVID and entertain an audience.

“I feel like we're finally coming back to full things after the pandemic, and it's sort of cool to see people fall in love with performance again,” he said. “And I think that that's really cool to be a part of.”

Top Photo of band rehearsal during the All-County Festival Friday at Elba Central School; Brynlee Amend, Sean Pietrzykowski, and Evan Williams,  rehearsal and choir and band groups being led by their music directors. Photos by Howard Owens.

It's good news, Bergen Fire Chief Kevin Bruton said this evening after a structure fire at The Firing Pin, 8240 Buffalo Road, that the building was still in tact.

It's even better news that nobody was hurt.

It's not easy heading to a fire, listening to dispatchers report flames showing, for a popular business such as The Firing Pin, which stocks live ammunition.

"It's very difficult to listen to something like that," Bruton said. "People are the biggest priorities, but now they're surrounded by dangerous things that under heat and fire aren't really good to be around."

When Bruton arrived on scene, he learned all occupants exited the building safely.

He could see heavy smoke in the sky as he left the Village of Bergen and immediately requested a second alarm, he said.

The fire seems to have started near the back of the building, in the firing range, Bruton said. The cause is still under investigation.

There was heavy smoke damage throughout the building, including the front retail store.

"Luckily, the fire didn't get down to the walls and take up that whole building," Bruton said. "There is still a lot of smoke damage and I honestly don't know what the inside condition is of that building, so I can't really comment on that."

"Right now, we've got a good portion of it still standing so it's pretty awesome," Bruton said. "Right now everything's under investigation as to what happened, but everybody's safe, and, you know, it's gonna be a long night."

Among the responding departments were Stafford, Town of Batavia, Churchville, and Brockport.

Photos and interview by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.