Developing an effective promotion and marketing strategy at Batavia Downs Gaming sounds like a challenging assignment. Marketing Director Ryan Hasenauer and his staff, however, have been equal to the task as revenues for the gaming/harness horse racing facility and hotel on Park Road continue to surge.

The Batavian sat down with Hasenauer (photo at top, pointing to "wall of fame" at the Batavia Downs clubhouse) to talk about his team’s efforts to increase the customer base at the entertainment venue operated by Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., a public benefit company that distributes a portion of earnings plus surcharge to its 17 member municipalities.

Hasenauer, 41, is a Rochester native who earned his bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and Master of Business Administration from Medaille College (now University) in Buffalo before taking marketing positions with a software company and tanning salon chain.

He joined the marketing department at Batavia Downs in 2007, serving as director of marketing since October 2010. He and his wife, Elise, and their 7-year-old son, Theo, live in Hamburg.

Q. What is the overarching strategy when it comes to promotions? Your board of directors just authorized an expenditure of $600,000 for promotional items for the year – that’s a huge amount of money.

A. You’ve got to spend money to make money – that’s like one of the oldest adages in the book. What we do here at Batavia Downs is we implement two types of strategy – whether it’s horse racing, gaming, for the restaurants, the hotel. All those things basically work together as amenities for each other to basically accomplish two goals. One, attract new people to the facility and two, retain the people that we already have that enjoy coming here. And of course, if you're new, then you become an existing person. So, now I'm working hard to maintain your loyalty.

Q. It seems as though it is a very competitive industry?

A. The gaming landscape in Western New York is quite saturated. You've got one just south of Rochester, you've got one between Rochester and Syracuse, you've got several pinpointed around the Syracuse area and towards Utica, you've got one in Buffalo, we've got one in the Falls, you got one down to Alleghany and even got a few across the way just across the border into Canada now that Canada's opened up again. So, we have to be smart about our strategies because we are one of the smallest gaming facilities in New York State.

Echoing what Henry (Wojtaszek, WROTB president) has said many times, we try to see ourselves as the “Cheers” of casinos – we know your name. You can be a big fish in a small pond here. When you go to some of these other larger facilities, you're just a number to them. To reap some of the things you might want to get from a gaming facility, you have to be a very, very big player in those places to be even considered to get invites for a dinner tickets to a show on site or to a game, like the Buffalo Bills or whatever. Whereas here, we feel like we have a better relationship with our players. We know their names, we know their likes, their dislikes and you can still have access to some of those great things.

Q. What are some of the promotions that Batavia Downs offers?

A. If you're in the email club, for some of the concerts, you got an email for free tickets to our shows outside for our drawings on Wednesday nights. And on Friday nights. And coming in October, it'll be Tuesdays and Thursday nights. You can win tickets, whether you're a great player or not a great player. You can win tickets to see the Buffalo hockey team to see the Buffalo football team or the Rochester hockey team. The other places aren't doing drawings with their tickets; they're holding them back and only giving them to certain people. And while we do honor and give some of our higher-end players tickets, everyone has a chance with these drawings.

One of the other great things about doing that is that it drives traffic to the facility. It makes the facility busy because you’re here trying to win tickets to this real big country show that's coming to the facility. You know, when we gave away Garth Brooks tickets, this place was nuts. We gave away two pairs of Garth Brooks tickets on the floor. It was crazy here that night; people were excited to win those tickets. And they went to players that randomly were chosen in the game, which is exciting.

Q. Are you also in charge of lining up events such as dinners, fundraisers or weddings?

A. We have an amazing event staff headed up by Tory (Thompson) and we work together so much it’s like the other side of my brain. And Tory feels the same way about marketing here. People wanting an event here such as a fundraiser or big dinner are going to deal with Tory and she’s going to do right by you.

And we will work with you to help promote your event. I don't know many places that will literally say we will help you promote the event on our Facebook page, with ads in the local media. We take an extra step in making sure that if your event is a public event, we want you to succeed because what do we want? We want people here. It’s only smart for us to that.

Q. What about the concerts in the summer? Who coordinates that?

A. Things like the Vodka (& Gin) Fest, the Polka Fest, the Kentucky Derby party, all the concerts – those are things that the marketing team handles. The concerts are a total team effort, including the officers, where we get together to decide who's coming and what's going to go on, and what dates are they going to select?

That’s another thing that helps not only drive traffic to the facility, but provides entertainment for the people in Batavia and the surrounding areas. I remember, we had Three Dog Night come here and there was probably 6,000 to 7,000 people …singing along to all those old favorites.

Q. You’ve done a lot of renovation to the (racing) clubhouse.  What has been done there and how are you utilizing it?

A. So, the interesting thing about the clubhouse is that this place was built in 1940s; we opened on Sept. 20, 1940.  At that time, the clubhouse was like the crown jewel of this place, and over the years, it was a great place for people to come and watch the races.

There’s no mistake about it that horse racing is not as popular as it once was. We all get that; we understand that. There are not a lot of places across Western New York, first of all, but certainly across the United States that are actively trying to put money into horse racing spaces where people can enjoy watching horse racing. We put in money into that clubhouse. We put the “wall of fame” up there -- our history, from the 1940s all the way through present day and you could walk up and see it anytime you want.

We raised up the bar from the ground floor to beyond that level and made it so was a more welcoming experience for those who have movement disabilities. That was one thing that many people like to mention was that the buffet was on the top and you had to traverse those stairs. Now the buffet’s on the ground level. And if you have mobility issues, you don't have to worry about the stairs anymore. You go right to the buffet and find a seat where there's no going upstairs and you still have a seat on the window. You still have a great seat to see the horse racing.

Q. Judging by recent events in the clubhouse not related to horse racing, that must be a new wrinkle to your marketing strategy?

A. Because that clubhouse is only open, let's say between 50 and 70 days a year for horse racing, what are we going to do the other 300 days plus? While we do comedy shows there, we also utilize that space for nonpublic events. If somebody needs to utilize that space for a meeting, it’s available. We had Chamber (of Commerce) After Dark and the Zonta Club’s basket raffle. So again, utilizing the spaces that we have here to allow people to have meetings. We had a large meeting inside Park Place and events are scheduled throughout the week, not just on weekends.

Q. On the subject of horse racing, how much has that industry declined since its heyday? And how do you accommodate patrons that follow and wager on horse racing? Are they getting the short end of the stick, so to speak?

A. On the first question, I would have to take a look at the numbers to give you an accurate number. I know that during COVID, horse racing was one of the only things going on. We had that kind of artificial spike that happened in 2020 and in parts of 2021 where it was like, “Well, I can't go anywhere, but they're doing virtual horse racing someplace, I can make a wager on Batavia bets and I can do those things.”

I think what we are doing here at Batavia Downs to make sure that the horse players know that they're not forgotten about is making sure that they still have spaces to conduct that type of entertainment. Putting money in the clubhouse, making sure that that the ITW (Intertrack Wagering) is upstairs across the clubhouse on the second floor here at Batavia Downs. That space was put in when the gaming floor went downstairs, That's a very nice place for people to watch. There's nice chairs, there's ample space, there's vending machines nearby or if you want to go eat, you just go down the elevator, and there’s Fortune’s Restaurant.

(Hasenauer said Homestretch Grill, a smaller sandwich/pizza shop on the first floor is being remodeled and not open yet).

Q. So do you have any specials for the horse players because they're maybe not spending a lot of money on the gaming floor?

A. We’ve come to an agreement with the horsemen’s association to add 15 racing dates in January and February of next year, with racing on Wednesdays and Saturdays and some select Fridays thrown in there as well. We’re going to work to make sure the Homestretch Grill is open to satisfy those patrons and making sure they’re in a clean, comfortable environment.

Promotions include our magnet schedules, T-shirt toss after each race where the winning driver throws T-shirts onto the track apron for those in attendance. Free parking and admission, blanket giveaways. And we’re working with Don (Hoover, director of live racing) on things to make sure that people understand we’re not forgetting about horse racing. A lot of other casinos with racetracks have forgotten about horse racing.

You come here and buy a program, and if you go and earn a point on the gaming floor, we'll give you $5 on the gaming floor. And the program costs two bucks. So, if you're going to gamble anyway on the gaming floor, come and buy a program, earn your point, and then you've got a little bit of money for the gaming floor, too. We're doing things that are tying our racing and our gaming together. That's not something you're seeing at a lot of other places.

The renovated bar at the Batavia Downs Gaming clubhouse. Photos by Mike Pettinella.

Shortly after 8 p.m on Thursday night, a car that had been southbound on Jackson Street struck a fire hydrant on Chestnut Street, in the City of Batavia.

A reader submitted a video of the collision.

The reader believes police officers located the vehicle a short time later on South Jackson.  

We have no information from Batavia PD yet on the case.

OPEN HOUSE THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1ST, 11AM - 1PM. 6873 Norton Road, Elba.  ​Truly a country classic Homestead on picturesque 5 acre lot! This home offers everything that most people try to recreate – large room sizes, tall ceilings, wide planked wood flooring, HOMINESS and good country livin'! There is first floor bedroom with full modernized bath and upstairs has 4 large bedrooms and newly added second full bath. Country kitchen has tons of cupboards, large dining area that is the heart and center of this home, oversized back entrance/mudroom and laundry area(every home needs!) All Bedrooms are large and offer a lot of storage/closet space and two staircases will get you where you need to go in this almost 2200 sq ft home! Let's not forget to mention this home is all mechanically up to date including newer windows, metal roof and new septic installed 2019! The yard is something that most would not notice cruising by but is absolutely beautiful with pretty views of farmland and gardens with pretty stone steps and garden pathways-all the hard work has already been done for you AND you can sit on one of 3 different porches to enjoy it all! Last but not least don't forget about the gorgeous big red barn! Make sure to tell your country loving friends about this one! Call Reliat Real Estate today 585-344-HOME (4663).

Press release:

Public health officials are encouraging eligible residents in the Finger Lakes region to get vaccinated with the updated booster shot against COVID-19. The CDC recently approved reformulated booster shots to further protect against the disease.

According to CDC guidelines, people ages 12 and older are now eligible to receive an updated booster two months after their last COVID-19 dose — either since their last booster shot or since completing their initial two vaccine doses.

• Pfizer’s updated booster dose is recommended for individuals 12 and older.
• Moderna’s updated booster dose is recommended for adults 18 and older.
• Anyone can get either the Pfizer or Moderna booster, regardless of the manufacturer of their previous vaccines.

The CDC suggests that people who had COVID-19 recently may consider waiting three months from the start of their symptoms or a positive test before getting the updated booster shot.

Linda Clark, Chief Medical Officer at Common Ground Health, said, “With COVID-19 variants continuing to persist and with flu season approaching, it is important that people stay up to date with their vaccinations. Everyone who is eligible should get the updated booster this fall for maximum protection against the disease, and people can get the booster shot the same day as their flu shot.”

These new booster doses contain an updated bivalent formula that protects against the newer Omicron variants and against the original Coronavirus. The updated bivalent formula is not for initial vaccination; it is for use only for COVID-19 booster doses.

People who have questions about COVID-19 vaccines should talk to their physician or visit http://www.getyouranswers.org.

Press release:

The David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena is hosting an open house weekend this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The McCarthy Ice Arena welcomes the community back to the arena for another great year of winter sports.  Stop by the Evans Street arena and check out the recent improvements to the rink, enjoy discounted public events, cheer on area youth and adult hockey teams, and food specials at the newly opened snack shop.

EVENTS

• $5 Hockey Skate & Shoot Friday 3p-5p
• $5 Public Skate, free Rentals Friday 7p-9p
• Batavia City Schools Public Skate Day Saturday 1p-3p (A portion of the proceeds go back to Batavia Community Schools)  $13 includes admission and Rentals
• Family Skate Sunday - $25 for up to a family of 4, admission and rentals
• $1 hotdogs at the snack shop all weekend

Friends of the Rink Scrap Metal Drive on Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Games

• Ramparts 16U WNY - Saturday 6 p.m.
• Ramparts 18U WNY - Saturday 7:40 p.m.
• Ramparts 16U MOHL - Sunday 3:10 p.m.
• BMHL - 4 games Sunday morning starting at 6:55 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m.

Ascension Parish is ready for a party at its Social Center, 19 Sumner St., Batavia, on Saturday, headlined by The German American Musicians and beer.

It's Oktoberfest time.

The German American Musicians is a 25-member band founded in 1933.  It is a  not-for-profit cultural organization dedicated to the cultivation and performance of the traditional music and culture of German-speaking lands. 

Oktoberfest organizers said in a statement, "Our Oktoberfest creates an opportunity to gather as a community to listen to fine German music, to dance and sing, to eat and drink and appreciate one another."

The event is scheduled from 5 to 10 p.m.

For more information, visit www. ascensionoktoberfest.com

Photo of tents in place, ready for the celebration, by Howard Owens.

Something new from the very musical Del Plato family, "Jamaica."  Written by John Del Plato. Performed by Anthony Del Plato.

There’s a common presence at many businesses nowadays: help wanted postings.

A shortage of workers has enveloped most every business sector since the pandemic rubble landed, and many employers have been encountering stumbling blocks with filling vacancies ever since.

And it’s not just at restaurants and grocery stores, as the shortfall is also for county positions, law enforcement and school districts.

Few, but qualified
City of Batavia Police Department has been short-staffed due to vacancies, creating more overtime hours for full-time officers, Chief Shawn Heubusch said.

“This has caused the officers to work a lot of short-shift over time, therefore we have not been able to work as much of the OT associated with special details as we would like,” he said. “We have hired several qualified candidates that are working their way through academies or field training and will be able to fill vacancies on road patrol in the near future. This will allow us to get back to working more of the specialized details that we look forward to doing.”

He did note, however, that the department had “a significant drop in applicants” for the last exam.

“Roughly, the applicants were cut in half. It has been difficult recruiting in public safety, across the spectrum for a variety of reasons,” Heubusch said. “I will say that although the number of candidates has decreased, we have not seen a decrease in qualified candidates. In fact, I would say just the opposite. Given everything that has been going on in the nation, the current candidates are extremely dedicated to becoming law enforcement officers as demonstrated through the background and interview process. We have learned that these recruits have a very high drive to be police officers for the City of Batavia.”

That’s some good news. So how about Batavia City Schools, whose board just approved a long slate of teachers and teacher aide positions?

Creative recruiting
During her presentation at this week’s meeting, Trisha Finnigan, executive director of staff development & operations, outlined the ways in which the district is recruiting for and retaining qualified candidates. It’s not just about posting a position anymore. 

“So starting with recruitment, we've had to take a more creative approach in terms of recruiting exceptional staff to join the Blue Devils family. Instead of leaning on traditional methods, such as newspapers and our websites and our recruitment sites, for example, we've been using Indeed,” she said. “We’ve also noticed that when I was looking back at the past year, there seems to be a disconnect from when someone expresses interest in a position. Now we tell them, they, for example, have to complete a civil service application, as it seemed like that wouldn't happen. So when I looked back at that information, we decided that we would take a different approach.”

That approach involves not taking for granted that job applicants understand the steps required to apply, she said. Candidates are scheduled for an interview and given the Civil Service application for them to complete. The process has been refined, she said, to be more proactive about informing candidates about what’s next for them to do, such as getting fingerprinted or completing necessary paperwork.

“It's been awesome. We just now posted for substitute teacher aides and teachers and those are coming in. So I'm feeling positive about us having some people that could fill the need that last year we were lacking,” Finnigan said. “So we're moving in the right direction. It's my responsibility to make sure that I'm tapping into avenues where we're attracting exceptional candidates to come and work with us. And then how do we get that? Let me just see if I've missed anything here. One of the other things we did too, is that, in negotiating contracts with some of our units last year, we needed to do a better job of posting what the benefits of the positions were.

"So instead of, say, putting out teacher aide, just with a salary range, we made sure we included things like there is health insurance benefits, you can get paid for holidays, you can accrue vacation time," she said. "So those are some things when we're competing with other employers in the in the area, maybe offering a more an increase hourly wage, we can compete with some other things.”

Parents have been asking about jobs aligning with their schedules “to mirror the school calendar." That has meant more hiring of local residents, which has been nice, she said.

“Hiring is a very collaborative process. We work closely with the administrators, we’re looking at positions. Since July 1, we've hired over 35 personnel with New York State Certification, 16 new support team members, and that includes food service helpers, custodial support, as well as teacher aides,” she said. “And it should be noted that with that money we received for the preschool programs, that allowed us to add 10 positions, certificated positions … So that was something because we really did have to hustle.”

She had a quick turnaround of posting, hiring and getting those people trained for school opening in the second week of September. It worked out well, she said, and the district continues to reach out to colleges for candidates. In an effort not to “settle” for a lesser qualified candidate, the district has opted to plug in gaps with retired teachers until the best candidates are found.

She also spoke about retention: “it's one thing that we are getting people, it’s another to keep them."  And that depends on the tangible — contract terms — and the more subtle perks of a welcome package and surveys, she said.

“It’s a way of gauging their satisfaction and their perception of whether they feel valued as a Batavia Blue Devils family member,” she said. “And I also get interesting feedback on the interview process and other things that helped me plan better when we're looking for candidates.”

Resolving to address the issue
Earlier this year Genesee County Legislature agreed to waive all Civil Service fees to remove a potential barrier for applicants, and this week approved a resolution to extend the residency territory for corrections officer positions in hopes of gaining more interested candidates for openings.

Mental Health Department Director Lynda Battaglia previously spoke of the difficulty in filling four vacancies for wide-ranging clinical and finance positions to a psychiatrist role. The county has had trouble finding a full-time psychiatrist and revised the position to provide a hybrid of in-person and remote counseling services to better accommodate someone not able to be local on a full-time basis.

Many, but inexperienced
Although some employers are being more creative to attract job candidates, it may not be about the job at all. At least that’s what Chris Van Dusen of Empire Hemp Company has discovered. He and wife Shelly were at a recent job fair and did quite nicely, they said.

“We had over 300 applications,” Shelly said.

What they soon learned was that applicants weren’t so interested in the job as they were the product. And when that misunderstanding was cleared up (no, there’s no smoking marijuana on the job), the 300 potentials dropped to about three or four viable candidates, the couple said.

State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon visited Batavia Tuesday and acknowledged the lack of qualified candidates for some fields while she encouraged students to pursue education, training and labor skills to fill the many jobs available in manufacturing, food chain and other trades fields.

Maybe when all is said and done, it might just be that there aren’t the bodies out there to fill vacancies. According to the most recent state data, there were 30,500 Genesee County residents reported to be in the labor force, up from 29,400 a year ago. The state’s unemployment rate of 4.8 percent is a few points lower than 7.1 percent a year ago, and 900 people were listed as unemployed, compared to 1,300 a year ago.

Photo by Howard Owens.

About a year and a half ago, Game of Throws opened in the Harvester Center on Harvester Avenue, Batavia, and to celebrate, owners Eric and Sarah Jones hosted the Chamber of Commerce for a Business After Hours.

The event was more than a month ago and The Batavian was there to make a video, but there were technical difficulties with the interview.  Then it took some weeks to arrange schedules to reshoot the interview.  Finally, here's the video.

For more information about Game of Throws, click HERE.

Elba Central School’s Future Farmers of America cleaned house at the New York State Fair, picking up several awards for the 2022 Premier National Junior Dairy Show and All-American Dairy Show.

The students and their awards are:

Senior showmanship

• Maggie Winspear - 12th place and in the finals drive
• Amelia Brewer - participant in the semi-finals

Intermediate showmanship

• Addison Keberle - participant in the semi-finals
• Bing Zuber - participant

Junior showmanship

• Tate Zuber - participant

All-American Junior Show

• Bing Zuber - 16th with his Brown Swiss
• Tate Zuber - 15th with his Brown Swiss
• Amelia Brewer - 10th with her Ayrshire
• Amelia Brewer - 35th her Holstein
• Addison Keberle - 3rd with her Holstein heifer
• Maggie Winspear - 5th with her Jersey heifer
• Maggie Winspear - 3rd place with her Holstein heifer
• Maggie Winspear - 1st place aged cow, senior champion, grand champion

Photo submitted by Elba Central School.

Press Release

Officials from the Batavia Police Department (BPD) and the Batavia City School District (BCSD) officially introduced the community to School Resource Officers (SRO) for the 2022-2023 school year. 

Batavia Police Officer Miah Stevens, who has served as an SRO since 2021, is returning this school year, and Batavia Police Officer Connor Borchert, who started with BCSD in September, was officially introduced as the district’s second SRO.

School Resource Officers are trained in school-based law enforcement and crisis response. They work directly with school administrators and staff to enable a safe learning environment, and act as a resource for students, staff, and community. Officers Stevens and Borchert will serve as a liaison between the school district and police department, and will provide essential on-campus law enforcement, informal student mentoring, as well as participate in select in-person teaching opportunities in the classroom.

“Health and safety are our top priorities across the Batavia City School District. In addition to adding another School Resource Officer, we’re prioritizing funding and grants to provide essential mental health resources to assist with social and emotional issues that have emerged as a result of the pandemic. We’re approaching school safety from a variety of angles and appreciate the incredible support we’ve received from the Board of Education, our administrators, staff, students, parents, and community members,” said Jason Smith, Superintendent, Batavia City School District. “We also want to thank the Batavia Police Department who have been a great partner throughout this process—we have shared goals of community health and safety, and our collaboration will certainly help support our students and families.”

“The safety of students is of paramount importance to the Batavia Police Department and we want the parents and caregivers of students to know that their children’s safety is our highest priority, especially while they are attending school and school related events,” said Shawn Heubusch, Chief, Batavia Police Department.  “We are working very closely and collaboratively with Batavia City School District officials on this important community concern.”

In addition, Dr. Molly Corey, BCSD Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, discussed resources available to students and families, including mental health programs, additional grant funding, and counselor support, while Athletic Director Mike Bromley also discussed the enhanced security measures recently adopted at Van Detta Stadium.

Officer Stevens has been with the BPD for four years and has been an SRO in Batavia for approximately a year and a half while also serving as a substitute SRO prior to becoming full-time. A Batavia native, Officer Stevens attended Pembroke Central School District and graduated from Genesee Community College and SUNY Brockport where she studied and earned degrees in Criminal Justice.

Officer Borchert is from Akron and has been with the BPD since 2019.  He is a 2015 graduate of Akron Central School and attended Niagara University earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology with a minor in Sociology.

“The City of Batavia is pleased to support and provide the resources to bring on a second SRO for our schools,” said City Council President Eugene (Geno) Jankowski Jr.  “One of the key components of our annual strategic plan is to ensure that our residents feel safe.  Protecting our children is one of our top priorities.”

Top Photo: Batavia Police Officers Connor Borchert and Miah Stevens, the city school district's school resource officers; and above, City Police Chief Shawn Heubusch and Superintendent Jason Smith. Submitted photos.

Press Release:

The Batavia Police Department is investigating a robbery at McDonald's, located at 573 East Main St., which occurred at approximately 5:36 a.m.

A white male, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a mask, walked up to the drive-through window and demanded money.

The suspect stole the cash drawer from the register and fled the scene. The suspect was last seen on foot, running westbound behind 555 East Main St.

No one was injured and the suspect got away with an undetermined amount of money.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Matthew Wojtaszczyk at 585-345-6357, the Batavia Police Department's confidential tip line at 585-345-6370.

Due to the ongoing investigation, no further details will be released.

Getting a jump start on October, Genesee County legislators presented a proclamation Wednesday to Michael Burns in honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which begins on Saturday.

The Information Technology director, who was hired in May 2021, was grateful for the acknowledgment but advised folks not to be lulled into complacency the other 11 months of the year.

“I’d like to thank the legislators for understanding the importance in terms of security in general, not only within the county but also within referral support … it’s a reminder to everyone that cybersecurity is not just something that we have. This is something that we have to actively practice, and we are more wired than ever before,” Burns said during Legislature’s meeting at the Old Courthouse. “It's all devices that we carry … they're in our everyday life. The data that we use every day is valuable, and people know it. Some may want to get their hands on that. So we have to oversee and understand that cyber security is not just October, it's every month of every year.”

Legislator Chad Klotzbach read a proclamation regarding how the world has become all things cyber, and people are more "interconnected than ever before but also more susceptible to increased risk of cyber theft, fraud and abuse."

“The county’s IT Department is responsible for delivering secure, accurate timely information and services to county departments, municipalities, residents and visitors effectively and efficiently,” Klotzbach said, reading the proclamation. “Cybersecurity Month provides an opportunity to increase public awareness and understanding of cyber threats while empowering employees and citizens to be safer and more secure online.”

The City of Batavia just received a similar warning during City Council’s audit report earlier this week. That message included being diligent with technology processes, protocols and preventative measures to avoid cyber attacks.

Since 2004, the President of the United States and Congress have declared October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, as a way to help individuals protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more frequent.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) lead a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise cybersecurity awareness nationally and internationally. 

This year’s theme is “See Yourself in Cyber” to enable people to recognize and understand how prevalent the world of cyber is, whether at work, home or school. The CISA.gov website encourages folks to take four personal action steps to help prevent cyber crimes:

• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
• Use Strong Passwords
• Recognize and Report Phishing
• Update Your Software

Photo: Genesee County Legislator Chad Klotzbach presents a proclamation this week to IT Director Michael Burns as a prelude to Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October. Photo by Joanne Beck.

Five Finger Death Punch headlined a show Tuesday at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center that was supported by Megadeath, Fire From the Gods and The Hu.

Previously: Five Finger Death Punch brings AfterLife and familiar hits to Darien Lake tonight

Photos by Philip Casper.  Top photo: Five Finger Death Punch

Five Finger Death Punch

Five Finger Death Punch

Five Finger Death Punch

Five Finger Death Punch

Megadeath

Megadeath

The Hu

Fire From the Gods

There’s only one problem with creating a law to restrict weapons from would-be criminals, Gary Maha says.

Law-abiding citizens will be the only ones to follow it.

“If they want a gun, they’re gonna get a gun,” the legislator said during Genesee County Legislature’s meeting Wednesday. “If you’ve got a shooting somewhere, do you want the good guy without a gun? You don’t just want the bad guy with a gun.”

Maha first proposed that Legislature sign a letter of opposition to the newly adopted Concealed Carry Improvement Act, and send it to Albany for Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Legislature members to see.

He had no idea that about 10 people would show up for the vote, with two of them there to speak during a public hearing about issues other than Concealed Carry.

Glen Adams represented the Genesee County Federation of Sportsman's Clubs, which consists of about 12 clubs throughout the county. He stood at the podium alone, but spoke for some 1,200 members, he said.

Adams voiced his concern that the Concealed Carry act was not for the average gun owner and hunter, and was, therefore “unconstitutional.”

Likewise, Jim Tuttle, chairman of SCOPE — Shooters Committee on Political Education — appealed to Legislature members to join Maha and fellow legislator John Deleo, both of who have been most vocal about the act’s flaws.

“We all took an oath to support the constitution of the United States, which is the Second Amendment,” Deleo said.

He added his full disclosure that he was a member of the National Rifle Association and SCOPE and pointed to the ill-conceived bail reform problem.

“A criminal charged with having a gun … is let go,” he said. “We’re the salt of the earth here.”

During a prior meeting, legislators discussed Maha’s proposal to send the letter and underscored the prominence of the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms, and how the Concealed Carry act is no improvement for the typical gun user.

The Second Amendment states that “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

The legislators’ resolution states that the act “presents procedural roadblocks in the form of privacy violation, subjective standards, financial burdens, and overt restrictions on individuals seeking to exercise a fundamental right.”

A subdivision of the law was added to state that no license shall be issued or renewed pursuant to this section except by the licensing officer, and then only after investigation and finding that all statements in a proper application for a license are true.

It further states that no license shall be issued or renewed except for an applicant 21 years or older (military veterans honorably discharged are exempt from the age requirement), and be of good moral character, which means having the essential character, temperament and judgment necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others.

Legislators Shelley Stein, Gordon Dibble, Brooks Hawley, Christian Yunker, Chad Klotzbach, Gregg Torrey, Delo and Maha voted for the resolution to send the letter. Legislator Marianne Clattenburg was absent.

Will it make a difference? Maha wasn’t sure.

“Well, at least we want to make our voices known in Albany that we oppose this,” he said. “You know, we're a Second Amendment community out here in Genesee County and many of us grew up hunting and carrying guns. It's a lot different downstate around New York, and we think these laws are unconstitutional.”

Top Photo of SCOPE Chairman James Tuttle, and Glen Adams, Vice Chairman of Genesee County Federation of Sportsman's Clubs, as they appeal to Genesee County Legislature to approve a move to send a letter opposing the Concealed Carry act Wednesday at the Old Courthouse. Photos by Joanne Beck.

For the first time since late spring, there have been more than 100 new COVID-19 cases reported in Genesee County in back-to-back weeks.

For the week of Sept. 14, there were 123 new positive tests reported to the Genesee County Health Department. For the week of Sept. 21, there were 115.

New case reports were well below 100 most weeks throughout the summer.

The county only has data on cases reported from labs or people who did at-home tests and took it upon themselves to report their positive tests to the county.  People who test at home but don't report their results are not included in the count.  The total number of lab-based positives for the past week is 91.

One death from COVID-related causes was reported in the past week, bringing the total number of Genesee County residents who have died from the disease to 201.

According to the CDC, the county's current transmission risk is "medium." 

Alone one night in a car in the Target parking lot with a teenage girl, Shawn D. Myers made a decision that he and the girl will have to deal with for the rest of their lives, Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini told Myers before sentencing him to five years in prison this afternoon.

In July, a jury convicted Myers of first-degree criminal sexual act, a Class B violent felony.  

By all accounts in Court this afternoon, except for that one decision, the Byron resident had led a pretty exemplary life up to that point -- a volunteer in his community, including a volunteer firefighter.

On Jan. 28, 2021, Myers forced the girl to have sex with him, the jury said.

His attorney, Jeremy Schwartz, argued that the evidence in the case, despite the jury's verdict, didn't really support the assertion of forcible compulsion, though Myers, now 21, admitted that he had sex with a person less than 17 years of age.

First Assistant District Attorney Joseph Robinson said the victim suffered physical injury as a result of what Myers did and is still dealing with the emotional fallout of the sexual abuse. 

More than two dozen community and family members attended the hearing in support of Myers.  

The victim and her mother were also at the hearing.

In his statement, Myers said he knew he made a mistake but expressed concern about being sent to prison because he is being treated for PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and during his time in the criminal justice system, he and his attorney said, he's already suffered one disruption to his medication regime. 

Cianfrini, who could have sentenced Myers to up to 25 years in prison, said that she would note in documents that will go with Myers to the Department of Corrections, that Myers has prescription medication he must take.

She encouraged Myers to use his time in prison to learn that he can't force people to do things against their will and to learn a trade.

Myers said during his statement that he loved being a volunteer firefighter and regretted that he had ruined his firefighting career by his decision.  He promised Cianfrini that never again will he make a mistake that lands him back in jail.