Genesee County Planning Board Director Felipe Oltramari spoke optimistically this week about National Grid's ability to hook up the electric charging stations behind the county courthouse in downtown Batavia, and the company showed up on Wednesday to do the job.

Charging stations for electric vehicles will be available at the site on Ellicott Street as part of the city's and county's plan to accommodate the newer "green" vehicles being driven within and through the city from various points in the region.

The city of Batavia has 88 public charging stations, 19 of which are free, according to plugshare.com.  Batavia has a total of 24 DC Fast Chargers. 

Other locations include Towne Center on Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel on Park Road, Quicklee’s 27 on Oak Street, City Church on East Main Street, and Flying J Travel Center in Pembroke. 

For the complete map, go HERE.  

UPDATED 10/17/24: Oltramari offered some additional information about the chargers and related stations in the county. DC fast chargers are the orange markers on the map linked in the article. The only other DC fast chargers in Batavia are the 12 Tesla stations (12 plugs up to 250 kW each) at Town Centre (Target Plaza), and the two stations (two plugs up to 62.5kW each) at Quicklee’s. 

As far as Genesee County, there are two DC fast charging stations (four plugs up to 350 kW) at the Flying J in Pembroke and another one (one plug up to 100 kW) at the Ontario Thruway Travel Plaza in LeRoy. There are also seven stations/plugs under construction at the Pembroke Thruway Travel Plaza. Of course, the Thruway stations are priced higher (like everything else at the travel plaza), he said.

There will be three (six plugs up to 180 kW) Courts Facility stations. DC chargers are faster because the EV does not have to convert the electricity from AC to DC. DC fast chargers also have higher electric loads (kW) which will charge an EV in 20 minutes to an hour, he said. 

Generally, the more kilowatts, the faster the charge, but how fast also depends on the vehicle. Most EVs can charge at 120–150 kW, but some older or cheaper EVs can only charge at 40-50 kW. Also, some chargers (like the new ones are at the Courts Facility) have two plugs per station where there is “dynamic distribution,” which means if two cars are sharing a station they will also share the electric load and each will get up to 90 kW.

A homegrown company is growing again.

On Wednesday, Oxbo International hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking at its future 195,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 7101 South Lake Road, Bergen.

The new factory, situated on 49.7 acres, will replace the existing plant at 7275 Byron Road, Byron.

"We outgrew our facility back in the late 90s. So, 25 years later, we finally thought we should do something about it," said Joe Perzia, president of Oxbo. "We're a little slow on the uptake. Over the years, we've prided ourselves on lean manufacturing principles and tried to get as much production through a tiny space as possible. But being resourceful, some say frugal, has its limitations. This is no longer suitable for going company, so with the full support and encouragement of our shareholders, we are moving forward in this new chapter."

The new location is part of the GCEDC-created industrial park, Apple Tree Acres, which already includes Liberty Pumps, Craft Cannery ), All Season Party Tent Rentals, GE Renewable Energy, Insurance Auto Auctions, and Leonard Bus Sales.

The $43 million project is expected to create 140 jobs initially with plans to add 60 more.

Financial assistance for the project has come from Genesee County Economic Development Center and Empire State Development.

GCEDC's assistance is in the form of sales tax exemptions estimated at approximately $1.75 million, a property tax abatement of approximately $2.15 million via payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), and a mortgage tax exemption of $366,000.

Additionally, ESD award Apple Tree Acres a $1.26 million grant that supports needed electrical infrastructure upgrades, including improvements to the electrical substation and distribution lines, increasing the capacity to serve anticipated load growth. The upgrades are expected to assist not just the new facility, but the rest of the industrial park.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley praised Oxbo as a local success story.

"Oxbo is a shining example of the entrepreneurial spirit being alive and well in Western New York, and I couldn't be more thrilled with the work they'll be doing following this groundbreaking. We've got more jobs on the horizon, more focus on the importance of the agriculture industry in this state and across the world, and more faith in our farmers with these continued investments in farming technology."

Oxbo began in Byron as a pallet repair business and then became Byron Equipment after filing for a patent on a corn head -- a mechanism to attach to the front of a combine that picks ears of corn off of stalks, leaving the stock behind. 

The company then grew through mergers and acquisitions.

In 1998, Byon Equipment acquired a competitor in Wisconsin, and the new management team settled on the name Oxbo, after an oxbow that yolks and ox team together, to symbolize the concept of the new two integrated teams pulling together.

Both plants stayed in production.

In 2003, Oxbo acquired a pea-picking combine company in Illinois and moved that manufacturing operation to Byron.  Oxbo is the only manufacturer of a pea-picking combine in the U.S.  

In 2004, Oxbo acquired a fruit company in Washington state, and this past June, the company acquired another company in Wisconsin.

However, one of the biggest mergers occurred in 2009, when Oxbo merged with its largest customer in Europe and moved its headquarters to the Netherlands.

The company also operates plants in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and France.

Oxbo employs about 1,200 people in total, 700 in the U.S. The company's gross annual revenue exceeds $400 million.

Shelley Stein, chairwoman of the County Legislature, noted how the grit and determination of a local farmer, Richard 'Lefty' Glazer, to take an entrepreneurial leap and create a copay that now serves a worldwide agricultural industry.

"Homegrown talent and skills joined up with innovation then and now have created the need to continue that growth in supporting agribusiness in our county, our region and our world," Stein said. "Genesee County commends Oxbo for their continued growth and expansion."

Shop with us online at OliversCandies.com or visit the Sweet Life's Country Store's Facebook page.

Press Release:

GENESEE AMATEUR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION (GAHA) invites children to the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Evans Street on Saturday, November 2 for a Try Hockey For Free clinic as part of Hockey Week Across America. 

Starting at 10:40 a.m. to Noon local youth, ages 4 to 9, are encouraged to experience ice hockey for the first time and learn the basic skills in a fun, safe environment.

“We look forward to welcoming families to David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena to try our great sport of ice hockey for free” said Sharon Gray, Coordinator of the Event. “Our goal is for these families to enjoy watching their kids learn new skills with big smiles on their faces.”

USA Hockey’s Try Hockey program, with the support of the National Hockey League and NHL member clubs, among others, is designed to provide youth hockey associations with a national platform for introducing children to the sport, free of charge.

All your youngster needs is a helmet (bike or sports) and winter gloves. Skates are available at the Rink free of charge (due to the generous offering of the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena). The GAHA organization does have some used hockey helmets available for the event as well as a few hockey sticks (which need to be returned at the end of the event).

Players in attendance will be given a free hockey jersey to take home. To register for this Try Hockey For Free event, please visit
www.TryHockeyForFree.com (Use zip code 14020) For more information, please contact: Sharon at svgray@rochester.rr.com or 585-344-2248 (Coordinator for Try Hockey For Free).

There are 38 Business Improvement District merchants in downtown Batavia set for the Annual Trick-or-Treat event on Saturday, October 26 from 1 - 3 p.m. 

Refer to the map and prior article for details.

See previous coverage here.

Having a winning gameplan starts with knowing your strengths and quickly understanding what is going to work on the field. I think we’ve seen that with the start of the Bills season – when the gameplan works, we’re winning comfortably against Jacksonville and Miami. When it doesn’t we’re losing to Baltimore and Houston.

I’m impressed by how scripting the first 15 plays of the game to test out a gameplan has continued for decades. And I see this “game script” as a best practice that we’ve brought to so many students in the GLOW Region.

Our students and businesses don’t need to gameplan every single play because they realize the benefits of a short game script executed so well at GLOW With Your Hands. 

The GLOW With Your Hands: Manufacturing and Healthcare events give students a clear direction on the careers they’ve love at companies right in our backyard. Since 2019, we have welcomed over 5,000 students at the Genesee County Fairgrounds in the fall and Genesee Community College in the spring.

Parents of our GLOW With Your Hands participants, your kids have been incredible! They have a lot of fun at these events, but they also have taken these hands-on experiences and opportunities to talk with employers and professionals seriously. Companies growing in the GLOW Region have told us it’s the quality of this generation of future leaders that gives them confidence to expand their workforces.  

And Parents, there are good-paying jobs ready for your kids. 

Careers without college debt or minimal debt like new tech/skilled trades programs at GCC. 

Opportunities to succeed and advance. 

And we have a gameplan that you can be a part of! 

Whether your student attended GLOW With Your Hands this year or not, I want to invite you to the next step we recommend to every student at the event – start exploring a career in a great training program.

Genesee Valley BOCES is hosting open houses for prospective students at their Batavia and Mt. Morris campuses in the coming weeks. BOCES programs in Mechatronics, CNC machining, and welding guide students directly into in-demand careers, apprenticeships and no-debt paths to earning up to $60k + a year to earning at total of $1 million in their first 12 years of employment.

I want to see you at the Batavia campus for an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 23, or with our peers in Mt. Morris from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 24. 

Discover pathways for your child outside a traditional high school classroom. Interact with instructors and staff from great programs like the three I’ve recommended. 

Our region has adapted to the workforce development-focused blueprint we have implemented in Genesee County and our region.

Our students need to take advantage of these opportunities, and I am here to assist them take along the way. We just need to stick to the gameplan!

Visit www.gcedc.com/careerchecklist to access our free career checklist, featuring eight essential steps to jumpstart your professional journey. 

If you are a student, parent, teacher, or guidance counselor contact me at csuozzi@gcedc.com to learn how to get involved today!

Chris “Coach SwazZ” Suozzi is the Executive Vice President of Business & Workforce Development at the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

Press Release:

The St. Jerome Guild, Inc., annual "Noel Nook" will take place at the Jerome Center at 16 Bank Street, Batavia, on November 1 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and November 2 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. The Guild operates a second gift shop at the UMMC Kiosk at 127 North Street Campus, Batavia, and Noel Nook at the Shoppe on North Street, which will be held on November 7 – 8 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Customers will enjoy a 10% discount on the entire order (a few exclusions apply). We invite parents and children to mail their Santa’s letters in the North Pole Post located outside each gift shop location.

‘Tis the season to wear customer favorites of stylish coats, ponchos, capes, and shawls, woven caplets, fur-trimmed hats and gloves, tops, slacks, and gorgeous scarves, from K &K Interiors, Carmen & Coco, Mud Pie, Demdaco, Simply Noelle, Gantz, and Gift Craft, to name a few. 

Our updated selection of Petite Ginger Snaps, are interchangeable with bracelets, necklaces, and rings that come in a variety of colors, shapes, and stones.

We continue to carry our selection of stylish handbags. Our reasonably priced 'Jerome Jewelry Collection' includes rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklace sets with semi-precious stones. Popular items are cozy baby jackets in blue, pink and leopard, tummy blankets, picture frames, milestone items, and a variety of children's toys, plush animals, clothes, and handmade baby blankets and hats.  

Patrons love the well-priced Beekman 1802 products of all-natural goat milk, sulfate-free body products for men and women of lotions, soaps, facial cleansing wipes, and lip balms.

You will find bar and wine accessories, eclectic and wine caddies depicting doctors, golfers, nurses, firefighters, musicians, athletes, and gardeners. Enjoy lighted wall art, holiday wreaths, kitchen towels, spatula sets, mugs, nutcrackers, Santas, snowmen, Snowbabies, crystal candle holders and warmers. Popular are lighted, glittered angels, trees and amazing tree toppers. Included are gorgeous lighted ornaments, cardinals, flags, throws, centerpieces, decorative lighting, night lights and Thanksgiving items. Gift cards may also be purchased. 

The St. Jerome Guild, Inc., a not-for-profit volunteer organization has been serving the local healthcare community for decades and celebrated its 100-year Jubilee a few years ago. The group continues to be an active organization donating vital equipment to UMMC. The Guild’s Hometown Heroes Star Initiative honoring all UMMC employees for their humanitarian efforts during the height of the pandemic raised $3000. These funds contributed toward the Guild’s $7000 purchase of an urgently needed freezer to store the Covid vaccine. 

In 2022, the Guild pledged $20,000 over five years toward the Intensive Care Unit Expansion at UMMC North Street, and donated $5000 towards the Foundation Cornerstone initiative. The Gift Shop is excited to be moving from Bank Street to Rochester Regional / UMMC’s new medical campus on Oak Orchard Road this winter!

For decades, the Guild continues to offer our annual Health Professional Scholarship to UMMC employees pursuing higher education and who will continue to serve our healthcare community. Children who visit Urgent Care and the Emergency Department are comforted with plush animals. Cancer patients have received personal care bags. 

The Guild participates in the UMMC Annual Employee Recognition Day to thank employees for their efforts serving the community. Guild members donate thousands of volunteer hours working at both shops, events, and have worked on UMMC Foundation projects. 

Over the years the Guild has hosted many fundraisers including fashion show luncheons and hopes to sponsor another next summer. St. Jerome Gift Shop business hours vary Monday through Friday from 9 am – 3 pm.  

New members are welcome to join the Guild throughout the year and our annual Membership Tea is held in September. Members attend monthly meetings with interesting programs and presenters. The Guild manages a monthly lottery and the community is invited to participate. Please check out the St. Jerome Gift Shop Facebook page for updated news, highlights, and products you will find at the shops.

A 45-year-old Lockport man admitted in Genesee County Court on Wednesday to concealing a human body in the trunk of a car and parking it in the town of Alabama on March 17.

Norman S. "Bud" DeBois entered a guilty plea to concealment of a human corpse, a Class E felony, and tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony.

DeBois was initially charged in April with additional counts of hindering prosecution in the first degree and conspiracy in the fifth degree, a Class A misdemeanor.

Wednesday's plea satisfies all charges. He faces from 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21 at 2:15 p.m.

On March 19, while investigating a missing person complaint out of Niagara County, Sheriff's deputies found the body of Michael G. Poole, 59, of Olcott.

Two Niagara County residents are accused of conspiring to murder Poole.

On April 19, Kathryn A. "Kit" Henry, 33, of Lockport, was charged with murder in the second degree, a Class A-1 felony, assault in the first degree, a Class B felony, concealment of a human corpse, a Class E felony,  hindering prosecution in the first degree, a Class D felony, tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony, conspiracy in the second degree, a Class B felony, and conspiracy in the fourth degree, a Class E felony.

Last week, Edward A. Dunn, 38, of Lockport, was charged with murder in the second degree, a Class A-1 felony, assault in the second degree, a Class B felony, concealment of a human corpse, a Class E felony, and tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony.

Those two cases are pending further court proceedings.

Press Release:

The Batavia Muckdogs are excited to announce their fourth annual Muckdogs Trick or Treat at Dwyer Stadium. The event is Saturday, October 19, from 3 to 6 p.m. It is free to enter and trick or treat around Dwyer Stadium.

“We started this tradition during our first season as owners of the Muckdogs in 2021 and we are so glad the community has come together to grow this event to what it is today. It is a kind of curtain call for Dwyer Stadium before we gear up for High School baseball in the spring of 2025 and then of course Muckdogs Baseball. An event like this is great because it really showcases how this great Stadium can be utilized for the community and by the community. Muckdogs Trick or Treat is made possible by all our great sponsors and we can’t thank them enough for providing a fun day for local families” says Owner Robbie Nichols.

The previous year’s event had over 2,000 families Trick or Treat around the field. It is free for attendees to enter and Trick or Treat around Dwyer Stadium and the Muckdogs are encouraging you to bring out your best Halloween costumes. There will also be music, activities, and food at the Stadium. 

For questions, please call the Muckdogs at 585-524-2260. 

If you are a local business looking to be involved with the event, please email Marc Witt, Muckdogs General Manager, at mwitt.canusa@gmail.com. 

What to do when there are vacancies and few good candidates, but then qualified employees want to live beyond residency requirements for the city of Batavia?

That was a question on the table for the City Council during its conference session Monday evening after city management explained the dilemma of a Batavia Police officer. He would like to purchase a home that is “merely minutes” outside of the city residency boundaries — and therefore Chief Shawn Heubusch requested a residency waiver.

“Officer Samuel Freeman has been a member of the department since April of 2020 and has displayed a strong commitment to the department based upon him taking on additional roles,” Heubusch said in a memo to City Manager Rachael Tabelski. “Officer Freeman’s current residence meets the residency requirement, but he does not own the home. He is seeking a waiver of the residency requirement so that he may purchase his own home in a neighboring township to his current residence.

“Officer Freeman is a very dedicated officer,” Heubusch said during the meeting. “He works second platoon or the three to 11 shift. He has indicated to me he has no intentions of leaving our department. He loves it here.”

City Council has granted waivers before, usually for management positions including assistant manager and fire chief  to code enforcement officer — and at one point several years ago approved 14 waivers at one time, allowing employees to live within Genesee County when it seemed more prudent to do so than risk losing employees.

Tabelski spoke about a time about five years ago when the city reconfigured its residency borders and how that may need to be recalculated.

“I provided everyone with a map so you can look at it. As you can see, several years ago, back in 2019, I'll say, yep, April of 2019, defined our border as the adjacent towns to the city. However, when you look at the 15-minute and 20-mile radius, there are actually locations where you can't live but are closer than some of the locations inside this border,” she said. “So with this waiver, if council does grant it, I'd also like permission for a work group to be assembled to reexamine the residency proposed policy for the city of Batavia, because giving away waivers isn't the point of having a residency requirement.”

When the city used to get 120 candidates for the police officer Civil Service jobs, there were just 100 this last time, Tabelski said. Recruiting and hiring is getting more difficult as it is, not even accounting for having the residency requirement on top of that, Heubusch added, which further exasperates the situation of potential loss of current employees.

“I would just add that Officer Freeman is a very dedicated member of the department. He is a field training officer. He's currently a member of our emergency response team. He has become a firearms instructor in the Department. He takes on a lot of additional responsibilities.  He loves the city of Batavia and working here, but he's a country boy at heart, and he's just looking for some property so he can go hunting,” Heubusch said. “Quite honestly, that's what it boils down to. And again, we've had issues with locating candidates. To Rachael's point, we did discuss this residency back in 2019 with other department heads over here at the time. We made some changes to it. There still are issues with retention and recruiting because of our residency, it comes up from time to time. So we'd like to take a look at that.”

While the waiver is an understandable request, perhaps the issue does need a more thorough review, Councilman Bob Bialkowski said.

“Maybe we’re doing something wrong here,” he said. “At 4:30, there’s a whole line of people leaving. I’d like to see more and more people becoming stakeholders in the community.”

They all agreed that a waiver was the right thing to do now, with a workgroup appointed in the future to review the overall problem and determine if there are other solutions. 

During the business meeting that followed, council approved the waiver by a vote of 6 to 0. Members David Twichell, Kathy Briggs, Al McGinnis, Eugene Jankowski, and Tammy Schmidt all said yes, and Bialkowski added, “Sadly, yes.” 

There were a couple of turns in the road on the way to approval for a new mobile phone tower for Verizon customers in the area of 9321 Wilkenson Road in the town of Batavia, but in the end, the town's planning board approved a special use permit and site plan review.

Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems LLC is the official applicant. The tower will be 154 feet high, have a four-foot lightning rod, and nine antennas on it, along with associated equipment on the ground.

Tuesday's meeting was the second time the board approved the same project.

The first approval had to be redone because of a "miscommunication," said board President Kathy Jasinski. At a previous meeting, the board moved ahead with approval even though the project had not yet been reviewed by the Genesee County Planning Board.

Last week, the county board recommended approval but with modifications.  Members voted to require space on the tower for public safety purposes, such as the 9-1-1 system at no cost to the public.

That was another turn in the road.

Steve Fantuzzo, an attorney with Nixon Peabody LLP, representing Verizon, said Verizon objected to that requirement.

"It's a takings issue," Fantuzzo told the board. "It's the government taking property without providing compensation.  Basically, it is not legal for the county to say we're taking space on the tower, or else we don't recommend approval. So the reality is that Verizon will accommodate them, and when they request it, they're generally willing to accommodate that space, but as a condition and a requirement, Verizon would object to that."

Board members quickly agreed that space on the tower should not be a requirement but had a short discussion about whether to amend a motion to remove that requirement or if a motion to reaffirm the board's prior approval would be adequate.

The board's attorney, Matthew Fitzgerald, recommended reaffirming the prior approval.

"If you're going to override the county's recommendation, you will need to send them an explanation," Fitzgerald said. "You'll need a majority plus one vote, which, if all members here vote in favor, that's fine. You will need to send them the reason you decided to go against their recommendation."

The board did not need to incorporate that decision into the motion itself, he said.

"I think the minutes will capture the discussion that was just had, as well as me interjecting, clarifying that was the reason," Fitzgerald said.

The board unanimously approved both the special use permit and the site plan review.

One could say, perhaps, that it takes a village to build a police station.

At least that's the case this fall in the Village of Corfu, where people are volunteering their time to help convert a building that was once a bar but has sat vacant for at least 20 years into a police station.

The Corfu Police Department has never had a proper police station for the past 25 years, it's operated out of what is essentially a broom closet at the Village Hall, said Deputy Mayor Michael Doktor.

"We have officers, board members, community members, volunteering (to help complete renovations)," Doktor said. "Our maintenance man is also helping."

The property, at 81 East Main St., is nearly 39 acres and contains a house and a four-bay garage.

The village purchased the property in January.  Doktor said the village developed plans to replace the roof on the garage, using existing capitol improvement funds, and start parking police cars there.

Then earlier this year, David Krzemien, officer in charge for the department, stopped by the little red building while village staff was there evaluating what damage their might be to the building, Krzemien began imaging it as a police station.

He brought the plan to the village trustees.

"It was a pretty quick discussion," Doktor said. "The board pretty much agreed with the officer in charge that the officers needed a real work space and that this building would pretty much meet our needs for the time being."

On Saturday, when The Batavian happened to stop by the building, Krzemien was there, working by himself, installing new metal siding. Red, of course.

Doktor said officials are still waiting on an estimate on the cost of replacing the floor.  The current one is pretty weather-damaged. But it's still expected that converting the building into a police station will cost less than $6,000.

The beautiful old wood bar inside? It stays. Repurposed into a front-office counter.

As for the house on the property? The village is collecting feedback from residents on what to do with it.  It all depends on costs and what the village wants, Doktor said.

"We're looking at what’s most cost-effective and listening to everybody's input from the village," Doktor said. "Who knows how long before we come up with the final idea for it, but we want to make sure it’s justifiable."

Doktor said the village hopes the new police station will be opened by December, even if the back office space isn't completely renovated by that time.

"We think (the police station) is something that will benefit the community. The feedback has been great so far," Doktor said. "We hope it is something the community will be equally happy about."

As someone who has struggled to overcome his attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome, with a history of loss and abuse as a child, Jeremy Fink certainly has a story to tell.

Written under the pen name J.F. Richards, this Batavia resident has chronicled that story through the character of Luke, along with his friends Will, Jake and Alexis, in “The Legend of the Sacred Knights.”

And he learned a thing or two more about himself in the process.

“Finding the part of you that you already had, like courage, that you keep hidden but you never see it at first, such as each of my characters has a different flaw of their own, but they all have to try to overcome it in various ways,” Fink said during an interview at Richmond Memorial Library, a local home to his book. “ I had to find a lot of courage in me, a lot, because a lot of people had harsh criticism towards me, especially towards my unusual behavior. Because at the time, not many people didn't know how autism worked, or ADHD, and they mostly believe one side of the story from other people who have had a bad rep from that.”

The 27-year-old went through a self-healing exercise. While writing his book, he also took notes about memories as they came up and corroborated one with the other. He learned more about his past as he worked toward his future aspiration of being an accomplished author. 

“Part of my character’s backstory is grounded in reality because, like him, I was raised by my grandparents. I lost my mother when I was 12 years old,” he said. “My dad wanted to have custody of me, but he really, actually didn’t care about raising children because he had no sense of responsibility towards others. So he decided to just use me as a pawn just to get money.”

He suffered much emotional and psychological abuse, he said, and by getting his memories out on paper -- or computer -- he “felt relief” from the experience.

“Especially because of my living with my grandparents, I felt much happier because they were both kind people, and they have always been kind to me, but due to dad’s influence, he made me have a dark view of them for no reason. I didn’t understand why I had this urge to not like them,” Fink said. 

As for other inspiration for the book, he’s a “die-hard Harry Potter fan” and lists Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” as his two favorite books of all time. Readers may note those influences in the cover, depicted by dark woods and imaginative, other-worldly fantasy characters.  

Fink began his tale during the COVID lockdown, spending a lot of time streaming shows and conjuring up a storyline. When back at work at Batavia Walmart, he would put notes about the four mystic knights into a phone app.

“Each is gifted with their own powers,” he said. “They encounter many things beyond this earth itself.”

Once he completed a first draft in March 2021, Fink wondered, “How was I going to get this done?” His late uncle’s friend, Timothy Benson, who was familiar with screenwriting and editing, helped him with the next step. A book came together through other friends and finally a publisher. He saw the first copy this year.

“I felt excited; the first adventure has just begun,” Fink said. “I have two more, of a series, in progress. I’m very acute with remembering specific details about my character; I haven’t even revealed a lot yet.”

The story is about four human teenagers who enter a gateway to a magical world inhabited by magical animals. In this world, they band together as a team of mystical knights, each gifted with their magical powers; they embark on a quest to seek out ancient treasures to prevent a powerful evil from being unleashed.

His alter ego, Luke, is a 16-year-old boy who lives with his grandfather.  After traveling through a portal, he becomes Lycanwolf, a wolf who is the former Prince of SilverLoc and leader of the Knights. He possesses the power of water and wields a sword that he can call to his hand whenever he needs it.

In fact, each of the characters eventually discovers a magical power after their curious time with the curator.

Later that afternoon, when the class was preparing to depart, the curator walked up and asked the students to help him with something. 

“We are doing a survey of the area, I would like if some of you would volunteer to stick around and help me with the survey,” requested the curator. “Do I have any volunteers?”

The curator scanned the students and then pointed at Luke, Jake, Will and Alexis. “I wonder if you four could volunteer to help,” the curator asked, which bewildered everyone.

Everyone agreed to volunteer with the curator, but not everyone was okay with it.

While the class headed to the buses, the volunteers went with the curator, traveling up the stairs to the new area that was not open to the public. The entrance to the new area looks like an archaic archway. Everyone walked into the room and all gasped. Before them were four pedestals in the room, each holding a weapon.

“A sword, a hammer, a bow, and an axe,” Will said aloud.

“What are they here for?” asked Luke curiously. “I wonder if these four weapons or treasures are what the warriors from the mural left behind,” Luke wondered. “That I hope to find out once they have been studied” explained the curator. “Now, could each of your grand a weapon and help bring them outside.”

Everyone walked toward a different weapon to carry it out. Luke Gazed at the sword, curious about the mysterious blade. It was long and straight, like it was forged to be the perfect blade. He reached out, placing his hand on it. As he firmly grasped the hilt, then without warning it began to glow blue.

Jake touched the axe, and it started to glow red. Next, Alexis touched the bow, and it started to glow green. Then, finally, Will touched the hammer, and it glowed yellow.

Luke and the others freaked out, placing the weapons back hurriedly from where they picked them up.”What just happened?” Jake blurted out in astonishment. 

“I don’t know,” said Luke, “but that was strange.” 

After witnessing the strange glow, the curator looked at his watch, “All right. That’s enough for today. If you need help with anything, come to my cottage near the entrance to the ruins,” the curator said with urgency scooting everyone out without a reason He looked excited for some reason, then calmly asked them to leave, “Please go home kids.”

The group walked away and headed home, curious about what had happened and why. The four of them called their folks for a ride home. They stood in silence, while they waited for rides, each pondering what had just happened. The curator watched from afar, a smile from ear to ear blanketing his face.

“Now it begins,” the curator announced.

“Everyone has a story they want to tell,” Fink said. “We usually find a way to craft it to tell others.”

He devised his pseudonym after his beloved grandpa, Richard Sands, who is pretty well known in Fink’s family hometown of Bergen. There was a time when he wasn’t certain about his family, due to his father’s undue influence, however, the more sober and fully aware the young man has become, he now realizes how fortunate he has been to have the love and foundation of his grandparents, he said. 

The friends all ran back home to their parents and enjoyed the rest of the day. Luke saw his grandpa by the door and rushed to hug him. While it was amazing to be an anamorphic, superhero warrior who saved two worlds, Luke was happy to be home.

Although that may seem like a sweet ending, there is an epilogue and, Fink said with a bit of a mischievous expression, a cliffhanger. 

He said his grandmother bought and read his book — and she loves it. His niece had her picture taken while holding a copy of it, and his two brothers and friends have also read and given positive reviews, he said. He appreciates those thumbs-up ratings now more than ever as he has been working to get book sales off the ground — he has sold at least 100 so far — and has them available at most online book and Big Box stores (Walmart, Amazon, Barnes and Noble). There are limited copies on the shelf at Richmond Library in the local author section as well.

Heidi Urban, his care coordinator, has been surprised at the amount of work he has taken on independent of anyone pushing him with deadlines and motivation beyond his own personal goals.

“I’m just shocked at the writing, self-publishing, and figuring out a cover and distribution; it’s such a giant undertaking. I’m just amazed by it. I’m really amazed by him,” she said. “Throughout the process of getting to know Jeremy, and I’m not sure it aligns with the book, so I have to attribute that to the book. I feel like he’s just really gained confidence; he has come out of his shell and just become more open.”

He hopes to further step out into the limelight with a future book signing at Richmond (the date has yet to be determined). For more information or to connect with J. F. Richards, check out his website. 

Press Release:

The Le Roy Town and Country Garden Club proudly celebrated a momentous occasion on October 9 as they honored founding member Janet Fitch on her remarkable upcoming 105th birthday. Surrounded by friends and fellow garden club members, Janet was greeted with heartfelt wishes, a beautifully decorated cupcake, and a vibrant bouquet of flowers.

Janet Fitch has been a cornerstone of the Le Roy Town and Country Garden Club since its inception in 1954. Members expressed their gratitude for her guidance and passion for environmental stewardship. Her passion for gardening and her commitment to nurturing both plants and relationships have left a lasting impression on all who have had the privilege to know her.

For more information about the Le Roy Town and Country Garden Club and upcoming events, please contact LeRoyNYGardenClub@gmail.com.

After about a dozen years volunteering as trustee of Ascension Parish with no mention of time restrictions or regulations, Bill Brach was abruptly issued his walking papers from the Rev. Bernard Nowak, he says.

Brach, who was raised a Catholic, attended Catholic schools, was married at the church and given his time and efforts to the Diocese-based religion, doesn’t exactly feel the support is mutual.

Both the State of New York and the Diocese of Buffalo appoint trustees for either one year or in practice for three to five years. Effective today, Oct. 8, 2024, your time of service ends. Be assured of our prayers and commitment to the church of Buffalo; looking forward to your continued participation in the mission of the Diocesan church. 

Rev. Bernard Nowak, Vicar Forane

“We had a couple of conversations, and on Oct. 4, he called and said I can be a trustee or pursue the appeal, but I can’t do both. I said let me look into it a bit further. There is no way they can take your rights away as a parishioner, so I got back to him last Monday with an email asking what article of Canon law you are citing?” Brach said to The Batavian Monday. “He showed up in my driveway Tuesday (Oct. 8) with a letter and said you have been a trustee too long, and as a trustee, you have to support the Road to Renewal. I feel betrayed. I reached out to them for help, and I felt they’d be on board and I got stonewalled.”

Road to Renewal, aka support the merger of Ascension with Resurrection Parish and stop working to retain Ascension as its own entity. When he reached out for supporting church records to learn more, he wasn’t given anything, he said.

In her letter of concern and agitation to Father Nowak, Parish Council Member Connie Bruggman asked him why he was removing Brach, especially given that she believes trustees at Resurrection Parish have been in place longer than him and that his removal now leaves no one in place since there was already a vacancy of a trustee at Ascension.

“It seems you have an issue with Ascension Parish asking for help and questioning this Road to Renewal,” she said. “When will the trustee position be filled, who is signing our checks, how are our bills being paid? Are you putting us in the position to fail so it will be easier to close our parish?”

The Batavian wanted to ask those questions, but the church office was closed on Monday because of the holiday.

The Batavian asked Brach via email about clause § 91. Government of incorporated Roman Catholic churches, which states: The term of office of the two laymen trustees of an incorporated Roman Catholic church shall be one year. Whenever the office of any such layman trustee shall become vacant by expiration of term of office or otherwise, his successor shall be appointed from members of the church by such officers or a majority of them. 

Has the term ever been discussed or been an issue before?

“That's standard wording; I've seen it a number of times.  As a trustee, I had to be re-appointed every year, so the Diocese was well aware of how long I had served,” he said.  “I stopped getting my letters of appointment several years ago (after serving about ten years) when this ‘Road to Renewal’ process started. We questioned it at the time but did not get a response other than ‘keep doing what you're doing.’” 

That was something Father Scott said during a prior meeting with parishioners in late September after he laid out the issues before them about a potential merger, and he was asked what they should do. "Keep doing what you're doing," he said. 

Meanwhile, an undercurrent of support has been building towards survival. A core group of parish members has been zealously gathering signatures—more than 225 as of Monday. A letter was distributed after Sunday’s service (see below), and there’s a social media site already in place with information and affidavits for those wanting to print out and sign a copy.  

The letter distributed on Oct. 13:

To all Parishioners and friends of Ascension Parish,

We are a core group, Friends of Ascension Parish. We have been working with Save Our Buffalo Churches.com. Please check out their website. Their mission statement is “The goal and reason we are all here is to SAVE SOULS through helping the Parishes in our Diocese stay open under Canon Law.” We want to fight to keep our church open and not to have to be sold, will you help?

We need to prove to the Bishop that we are not going to just accept his verdict. We have been told that if we use our church, fund our church, and take care of our church, we cannot be closed. Just this last Tuesday, Rev. Bernard Nowak dismissed our only Trustee, Bill Brach. We have been functioning with just one trustee since last February, which is against the law. Bill has been asking to fill this open position and to have regular Trustee meetings, with no response. Now we are left with no representation or oversight.

We are asking you to attend any event we have, contribute to our church (this means if you attend another mass, that you use Ascension envelopes and if you don’t have an envelope, that you place your contribution in an envelope marked Ascension Parish) and if you are asked to help clean or do a small repair of the church, please consider saying yes.

We are looking into establishing a not-for-profit organization, to accept donations to help keep our church open.

There are Affidavits out for signatures, have you signed one yet? Please contact me to get a copy. We have over 200 signatures so far, we need as many as possible.

Please help us to keep Ascension Church open. Thank you.

Connie Bruggman, Member of Friends of Ascension Parish

The core group is also in progress with filing as a not-for-profit and seeking advice from the Save Our Buffalo Churches group, whose goal and reason “we are all here is to save souls through helping the parishes in our Diocese stay open under Canon Law.”

The Diocese has issued an official order that parishioners are not to conduct any business “used for recourse” on parish/school property or any such activities in support of recourse against a merger or closure, so group members are being cautious not to conduct any of their business on church property. The letter was distributed on the sidewalk this past Sunday, Bruggman said. 

“It is important for us all to utilize our time and efforts to assist parishioners in understanding the need for the Road to Renewal and to support the process of building a productive transition team,” the Rev. Peter Karalus said in a letter sent to the Fathers.

To further muddy the waters of the situation, nothing can be done until a sexual abuse case in Buffalo is settled, and it has been five years in litigation so far, Brach said. 

“I don’t see this getting settled in the next few months. They freeze the assets of our parish and can’t do anything with the finances of the parish,” he said. 

What happens next? It’s a waiting game while they continue to gain momentum, Bruggman said.

“Until the bishop puts the decree out, then we can get the appeal in motion,” she said. “We’re trying to get the not-for-profit. It’s a little bit hopeful now because people are saying, yeah, we want to fight; they didn’t know we were fighting this.”

Previously: Not ready to close the door

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