The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing the launch of the Debt Consolidation Tool, an innovative online tool available through farmers.gov that allows agricultural producers to enter their farm operating debt and evaluate the potential savings that might be provided by obtaining a debt consolidation loan with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) or a local lender.
“Providing producers with options to structure their debt in a manner that affords them every opportunity to meet the goals of their agricultural operation is the best way to ensure the nation’s farmers and ranchers build financial equity and resilience,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux.
A debt consolidation loan is a new loan used to pay off other existing operating loans or lines of credit that might have unreasonable rates and terms. By combining multiple eligible debts into a single, larger loan, borrowers may obtain more favorable payment terms such as a lower interest rate or lower payments. Consolidating debt may also provide farmers and ranchers additional cash flow flexibilities.
The Debt Consolidation Tool is a significant addition to FSA’s suite of improvements designed to modernize its Farm Loan Programs. The tool enhances customer service and increases opportunities for farmers and ranchers to achieve financial viability by helping them identify potential savings that could be reinvested in their farming and ranching operation, retirement accounts, or college savings accounts.
Producers can access the Debt Consolidation Tool by visiting farmers.gov/debt-consolidation-tool. The tool is built to run on modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or the Safari browser. Producers do not need to create a farmers.gov account or access the authenticated customer portal to use the tool.
The 2024 Gas & Steam Show Auction will take place online at bontragerauction.com. Bidders can place their bids anytime from September 3rd through the 5th. There are over one thousand lots, including vehicles, machinery, farm implements, vintage advertising, ag-related collectibles, tools, and many more items. A live preview will take place Thursday, September 5th from 1 - 4 pm at 9921 Hickox Road, Alexander, NY, just 2 miles from the Steam Show grounds. Find out more and see the catalog at bontragerauction.com.
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) unveiled her Tax Plan designed to reduce financial burdens on families and support small businesses in New York's 24th Congressional District and across the nation.
As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the nation's tax policy, Tenney is leading the charge to make the tax code work for all Americans. Additionally, Tenney is committed to holding the IRS accountable and preventing unfair auditing practices.
"My top priority has always been to protect New York taxpayers and promote economic growth by advocating for a tax code that rewards hard work and entrepreneurship and allows Americans to take home more of their earnings," said Congresswoman Tenney. "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which I supported, was the most significant tax reform legislation signed into law in decades. I remain dedicated to supporting tax policies that are pro-growth, pro-worker, and fiscally responsible to shield hardworking taxpayers from high prices and wasteful spending by the government."
The Alzheimer’s Association is inviting Genesee and Wyoming County residents to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, September 14, at Centennial Park in Batavia. Registration opens at 10 a.m., with the Walk commencing at 11 a.m.
“This is a pivotal moment in the fight against Alzheimer’s. There are now treatments that change the course of the disease,” says Kaitlyn Less, director of development for the Western New York Chapter. “We hope that everyone in the community can join us to help the Alzheimer’s Association raise awareness and funds for families facing the disease today, take more steps toward treatments and finally end this disease.”
Julia Rogers of Batavia has participated in the Genesee/Wyoming Walk for several years. “I Walk to honor those who live with this disease and in memory of those who passed away before a cure could be found,” she says. "It must be so scary for people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Just for a moment imagine you can't come up with a close family member's or friend's name or participate in familiar activities like you used to. Our Walk supports the caregivers, family members and friends who have become the safety and security for their loved ones.”
On Walk day, participants honor those affected by Alzheimer’s with the poignant Promise Garden ceremony – a mission-focused experience that signifies our solidarity in the fight against the disease. During the ceremony, walkers will carry flowers of various colors, each color representing their personal connection to the disease.
Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease – a leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In New York State, there are more than 426,5000 people living with the disease and 543,000 caregivers.
The funds raised through the Walk to End Alzheimer’s ensure the programs and services provided by the Alzheimer’s Association are free to all who need them, in addition to funding the research and advocacy efforts which have resulted in new treatments for people living in the early stage.
To register and receive the latest updates on this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s for Genesee and Wyoming Counties, visit act.alz.org/GeneseeWyoming.
Anyone living in Batavia, and certainly those in the vicinity of Genesee County Airport, would have heard the unmistakable engine sounds of airplanes and jets zooming overhead Friday afternoon and evening as performers rehearsed and pivoted for media in preparation for the Wings Over Batavia Air Show this weekend.
Organizers and county leaders were at the airport excitedly anticipating the two-day event. While much of the focus, understandably, zeroes in on the performers and acts, county Legislative Chair Shelley Stein says there are other aspects to be considered.
"This air show is about pride in our community and what we can put together as a group of individuals,” Stein said Friday evening at the airport on Saile Drive. “You don't really have to be an airplane aficionado to appreciate the artistry in the sky and the fact that it's a family event, right? So, the kiddos get in for free when you have a parent buying a ticket. It's affordable. It is imaginative here, and it encourages kids to think about flying as a career. You can't help but catch a little bit of a bug here for the kids. So it's just engaging on all levels for our community.”
Although the event has done well in drawing locals and encouraging them to sign up as “Bataviators” for an online newsletter to get updates about the show, it also benefits the community by driving others here to Batavia, Stein said.
“To see our communities, our community center here, and as they come through, they're looking at our downtowns, they're looking at our small villages, they're checking us out from every angle,” she said. “And, of course, there's always that spending that happens in the community. So we're appreciative of the gas tax, not just the gas tax, but the sales tax throughout the community that gets paid from all of our visitors.
"We know that our hoteliers have said that they've got blocks of rooms that have been blocked out for months getting ready for this air show. We've got visitors from all over Canada, California, Pennsylvania," she said. "It's exciting for us to have somebody else bringing dollars into our communities. You know, I just can't say enough thanks and appreciation to the leadership team here that put on the Wings of Batavia, and the hospitality of Pete and Doreen Zeliff is absolutely incredible. What a gift they are to our community.”
Austin, left, and Ken Rieder, pilots with the Red Line Air Shows. Photo by Jim Burns
Father-son duo Ken and Austin Rieder, with their show, Red Line Air Shows, based out of Cincinnati, Ohio, were ready with their Vans RV-8 aircraft, specially built by Ken, with four so far with a fifth one in the works.
“We have modified them in a few ways, but they are subtle modifications, and it's just for increased performance for us, for what we're doing, obviously inverted oil and inverted fuel systems so we can fly upside down,” Austin said. “But beyond that, it's just kind of, we have it specially set up for us, and then also for a night show, fireworks show that we do. So we're a tight, precision formation team, and what we try to do is we're looking for more of like a ballet or a very specialized, smooth performance. Both of our airplanes are there as they are aerobatic, but they're not as aerobatic as maybe another airplane extra or a Pitts or, you know, an MXS.”
No matter what they’re not, these aircraft promise an adrenaline-rushing demonstration that will keep everyone on their toes. Ken said it takes skill and maneuvering, for sure, and good communication back and forth.
“I do all the talking. Since I'm flying the lead position, I'm responsible for setting up the position, the timing, what maneuver we're gonna do, where we're located within the box, and our aerobatic area. And he makes me look good,” he said. “All I have to be is very predictable for him to be able to match what I'm doing. And that's the whole deal. So we've done this same routine for the last three years, and quite honestly, I've done that for the ten or more before that the exact same routine. So he expects me to snake certain calls at certain times, and the only times he'll speak up is if I got a little too much power in or if I'm creeping away. Or, you know, we're trying to match timing. Tally, Tally, meaning, I see you, you see me, those kind of things.”
Austin described it personally as a lot of fun for him.
“It's a different element than just flying solo by yourself, especially flying with your dad. That's another added bonus. But it's just super enjoyable to be sitting on somebody else's wing while they're flying a maneuver, and you're just trying to mirror it to the best you can,” he said. “What I like is that a difference from a solo performance is we take up the whole view from somebody from corner of the box to corner of the box, old runway position.
"So we want to kind of fill the whole space for a spectator to see what's going on. You know, you can be at one end of the box or the other and still get the same performance throughout the whole thing," he said. "A lot of the maneuvers we’re doing opposing or opposite from each other. And then, obviously, we're doing a whole lot of things together too.”
Ken was the first in his family to learn to fly and has been doing aerobatics for 38 years now. When he first started out, he said a 21-year-old Ken started aerobatics after buying a book to learn about the maneuvers and did rolls and loops before he knew it. This was way before YouTube "tutorials" were available.
He recalled how Austin “was probably three years old climbing up onto my lap watching ‘Wings’ on the Discovery Channel, and my wife said he’s going to be a pilot.”
Ken described the night show they will also be including this weekend.
“So the night show, we're shooting off about 2,500 individual shots of fireworks. So there's a whole lot. It takes us about six hours to load up for a six-minute fireworks show. So it is a lot, but it is about the neatest thing I think you can do. There's only a few of us in the nation who do it, and three that really do it to the level that we're doing it,” he said. “You'll see this weekend from (Nathan Hammond) and I, but yeah, next year, he'll (Austin) be doing it with me, so we're looking forward to actually doing this as a two shift.”
Both nights explode in fireworks shows, and this year, 500 drones will be added to the twilight display. Limited tickets are still available. For more information or tickets, go to Wings Over Batavia.
Joshua Altrogge holds a frame of honey at a yard in Darien. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
As the summer season winds down, the focus at Wee Bee Honey, a prominent local bee farm from Cowlesville, shifts to bottling and preparing honey for the upcoming year.
With an average of 2,300 to 2,600 colonies in six counties (over 700 of which are in Genesee County) and with about 60,000 bees per colony, Mark and Anna Almeter are hard at work making sure that their bees continue to play a crucial role in the food supply.
“One-third of everything we eat is dependent on a honeybee. It’s not just what you and I will eat but what your animals are going to eat," Anna says. "They are all dependent.”
Mark Almeter, who began beekeeping his own hives in 1973, and his wife have established a legacy of dedication to their craft. Their son, Andreas Almeter, will be the sixth generation of bee farmers in the family.
The Almeters manage a split farm operation, utilizing New York's dormant season to harvest honey from their Florida farm.
Honey production depends on a variety of factors, including weather, the strength of the colony, and what’s in bloom. Each hive produces approximately 35 pounds of honey per "crop," with three crops per season. However, a rainy stretch can impact yields.
At the heart of the beekeeping process are the “supers,” where the bees store extra honey. To harvest, a bee blower is used to gently remove bees from these supers, allowing beekeepers to replace them with empty frames. The honey-laden supers are then transported back to the farm where honey is spun off and the empty combs are returned to the hives.
Honeybees are essential for the pollination of many crops, including almonds, apples, cherries, peaches, strawberries, and cucumbers.
The Almeters are dedicated to the well-being of their bees, providing them with vitamins and essential oils to keep them healthy. They also advocate for supporting American bee farmers and the pure honey they produce.
“If we do anything, we always ask ourselves, ‘Is that good for the bees?’" Anna said. "We need to take care of the bees.”
Their six-generation story began in 1892 when great, great grandpa Noah DeMuth bought his first beehives. His farm was located in Pembroke, and his love of bees was contagious and very obvious to all that knew him.
As the bee population faces various challenges, the Almeter's commitment to maintaining their bees' health is their top priority. For more information on their family farm and honey visit their website weebeehoney.net.
Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Andreas Almeter holding a frame of brood and honey. Photo by Kara Richenberg.
Photo of a honeybee. You can tell the difference between a honeybee compared to other bees by their golden and black coloring (not yellow) and that they are hairy. Photo courtesy of Andreas Almeter.
One of Batavia's most accomplished bands, The Bluesway Band, packed the house on Friday in Jackson Square for a night of classic rock and blues-based rock.
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Ghostwriter is at it again -- leaving his special designs in the sky as he and other performers prepare for the second annual Wings Over Batavia Air Show Saturday and Sunday.
This smiley face with a clear blue backdrop was captured by photographer Jim Burns on a sunny Friday afternoon.
The Batavia City School District proudly announces that Batavia High School has been named a School of Excellence for the 2023-2024 academic year by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA). c
This prestigious recognition, awarded to schools where at least 75% of varsity teams qualify for and receive the NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete team award, highlights the exceptional academic and athletic achievements of Batavia's student-athletes across 25 varsity teams.
Superintendent Jason Smith expressed pride in the accomplishment, "This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes, who excel not just in their sports but in the classroom as well. It reflects our district's commitment to fostering well-rounded individuals who prioritize both academic and athletic excellence. Moreover, this achievement shines a positive light on our entire Batavia community, showcasing the caliber of students we nurture and the supportive environment we've cultivated together."
Joel Reed, the newly appointed Director of Physical Education, Health & Athletics for Batavia City School District, shared his excitement about joining a district with such high standard, "I'm thrilled to be joining a school community where the students and coaching staff have set such a high bar for excellence. This achievement is impressive, and I look forward to working with everyone to continue this tradition of success both in academics and athletics. As we move forward, our goal is to not only maintain this standard but to inspire even more of our student-athletes to strive for this level of academic achievement. We encourage all our students to embrace the scholar-athlete mindset and reach for excellence in everything they do."
According to NYSPHSAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Zayas, "The efforts made by student-athletes in the classroom are paramount to their success in the athletic arena and beyond their high school days." He added, "We are proud of those who put in the work as 'student' and 'athlete,' as well as the growth in both of School of Excellence and Distinction recognition."
NYSPHSAA reports that the number of schools earning the School of Excellence Award has increased from 219 in the 2022-2023 school year to 226 in 2023-2024, indicating a growing commitment to academic excellence among student-athletes across the state.
Batavia High School will receive a commemorative award at the local athletic director workshop this fall, recognizing this significant achievement.
Photo of the Ice Cream Celebration at the library. Submitted photo.
Press Release:
The Haxton Memorial Public Library had 82 participants in attendance for the end of the Summer Reading Ice Cream Party on Thursday, August 15.
Our young readers were able to make their own sundaes and all prizes were distributed during this fun-filled evening at the library.
The library had a busy summer with a total of over 236 children, teens, and adults participating in our Summer Reading Program, titled: “Adventure Begins at Your Library”.
The children and teens recorded over 70,000 reading minutes combined and the library offered 40 programs (for children, teens, and adults) with an attendance of over 1,000 participants during our 6-week program.
“We had such an amazing turnout and we are so proud of all of our readers this summer”, said Kim Gibson, Library Manager of the Haxton Memorial Public Library.
Photo of the Ice Cream Celebration at the library. Submitted photo.
Starting Tuesday, September 3 Genesee County offices and departments will return to the general business hours of 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., concluding the summer hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The change will not affect the total number of hours that County offices are open to the public.
A train is stopped, blocking multiple roads, in Corfu for a reported fire.
Ellinwood and Colby roads are blocked.
Corfu Fire is on scene.
UPDATE 10:13 a.m.: A train car at a crossing, apparently at Ellinwood, is smoking.
UPDATE 10:14 a.m.: A deputy emergency coordinator on scene confirms a fire in a train car. A thermal imaging camera will be used to locate the precise location of the fire.
UPDATE 10:18 a.m.: A CSX truck is just arriving on scene. Firefighters are looking to consult with CSX personnel before proceeding.
UPDATE 10:21 a.m.: The car is full of construction material -- 200,000 pounds. The fire is at the bottom of the car. The question is whether to fight the fire at the present location or send the train on its way.
UPDATE 10:23 a.m.: The fire is starting to burn through the bottom of the car.
UPDATE 10:25 a.m.: A CSX dispatcher advises that if firefighters can inject water into the location of the fire, do it. It might be possible to get water in through the hole. Chiefs on scene have decided to move the train so that the car is at Snippery Road where there is a fire hydrant. It may be necessary to bring a ladder truck.
UPDATE 10:53 a.m.: The water main leading to the hydrant at Snippery has cracked open. Tankers are required to the scene. A second alarm is being called.
UPDATE 10:58 a.m.: The thermal camera indicates the fire is burning at about 400 degrees. Since firefighters already laid out a line from Route 33 to the crossing, tankers will charge the line from the Corfu Fire Hall parking lot.
UPDATE 11:29 a.m.: The plan is to fill the car up with water and drown the fire. This will be a long operation.
UPDATE 12:20 p.m.: The Corfu operation is shutting down. The train is going to be moved "elsewhere."
It’s what folks with their backs against the wall call a state protocol that mandates they abide by it no matter the cost, even when the cost might be astronomical, and in more ways than one.
The more official definition is a confusing or difficult problem or question. Insert New York State’s impending electric vehicle mandate, expected to fully begin taking effect by 2030, and ask Genesee County Public Works Commissioner Tim Hens what that’s going to mean in terms of expense and logistics for the department, and the two-digit conundrum he will face as result.
Would you believe about $80 million?
“And that’s not even counting the fact that you probably aren’t going to have the electric in the system to provide chargers for 54 trucks all at the same time,” Hens said during an interview with The Batavian.
Just how does he arrive at such a figure? Well, electric vehicles have an estimated hour’s long charge to go out and do the snow plowing, he said, which means you would need back-ups for the trucks you need out on the roads in the first place. Each truck takes six hours to charge, so that would have be accounted for as well.
“So we have six trucks that run snowplow routes. So if I’ve got to do six times nine, I’ve got to buy 54 trucks. My building is designed for six, so I need a new building to hold 54 trucks. I need 54 chargers. The Level One chargers are a couple hundred thousand a piece, so I’m looking at a new building. So there’s a $30 to $40 million building, plus 54 trucks at, let’s say, $700,000 a piece. That’s another $40 million.”
Then there’s dealing with the staff, having drivers out with a truck an hour at a time before having to return for another vehicle. They have to plug the used truck back in, load the other one up and go back out. He said what used to take three hours is most likely going to now take five or six hours. It’s a longer shift, or more help would have to be hired, he said. Overtime would have to be managed.
“Instead of three-hour routes, we have three times as many people and three times as many trucks, and everybody goes out at the same time. And now the routes are only an hour long instead of three hours long,” he said, noting the strain the electric use would have. “Right now, a Level Three charger is a 90 amp, and I think the heavy-duty ones might be 90 to 120 amps a piece. So if you’ve got 54 of those, that’s almost five megawatts. And that’s probably three or four times what’s available in the grid at any given point.”
When Hens thinks back to the blizzard in December 2022, he knows the outcome would have been different with these future regulations in place.
“You know what's going to end up happening is the taxpayers are going to have to foot such an exorbitant bill, they're going to flip out. And really, what will be the straw that breaks the camel's back? It will be if there's a blizzard and people die because they're stuck in snow, or we can't plow because the plows don't push snow when it's five below zero in a 60-mile-an-hour wind,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been able to do what we did. We would have had people dying.”
Yet when members of the County Highway Superintendent Association have raised their concerns with the people establishing these regulations, they’re told, “We’ll figure it out.”
“It's so disjointed that you can't even really describe it to somebody. When people look at you like, what? What is Albany planning? you guys tell them this, and no one's listening to you. It's frustrating. And it honestly doesn't matter if it's a Republican county or a Democratic county. It is full on. None of the professionals in the industry think it makes any sense, and everyone's against it,” Hens said. “We had a presentation at one of our professional development conferences last January and the guy worked for Tesla, he’s an electronics guy. He was even saying electrifying the heavy-duty, over-the-road and construction fleet is not feasible at this point.
"If you electrified every over-the-road truck, every single truck stop in the United States across the map, you would have to have a 40 to 50-megawatt power source at that truck stop so the trucks can recharge and keep going on the roads," he said. "It's hysterical. It's comical if you start throwing out the real numbers and the facts out there.”
He said that inside that climate-friendly vehicle are 20,000 pounds of batteries in a heavy-duty dump truck that will be dead and without any resale value in 10 years.
To clarify, Hens is not against going green where possible and helping to save the planet. But there are ways that make more sense than using heavy-duty trucks, he said.
“I want to be as green as the next person. There are a lot of places where the electric vehicles make sense, like the postal routes, or even like our facility maintenance vehicles for the county that just go from building to building to building all day,” he said. “Absolutely, those could be green, you know, plugged in, or some other green system. But you have to be practical about it.”
New York’s Advance Clean Truck Rule is to take effect Jan. 1, 2025. It will build upon existing regulations enacted in New York in 2012 by requiring all new sales of passenger cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs to be zero-emission by 2035. It would require an increasing percentage of new light-duty vehicle sales to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), starting with 35 percent of sales in the model year 2026, 68 percent of sales by 2030, and 100 percent of sales by 2035.
New pollutant standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles with internal combustion engines from model years 2026 through 2034 would also be required. The regulation allows manufacturers to meet the emission requirements and successfully transition to cleaner vehicles.
State Assemblyman Steve Hawley has appealed to Gov. Kathy Hochul to delay the regulation’s enforcement after he has been contacted by several constituents that tried to purchase new trucks for their small businesses.
“The regulations set to start in January 2025 are already affecting vehicle retailers to sell heavy-duty vehicles because there are so many unanswered questions for the consumers,” Hawley said in a letter to Hochul. “The Legislature passed, as part of the 2024-25 budget, a directive to the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (ERDA) to conduct a highway and depot charging needs evaluation within the next 18 months. This study should be done prior to implementing mandates on an industry that is imperative to New York State.”
Hawley fully supports and agrees with the state Automobile Dealers Association and the Trucking Association, both which expressed concerns about the new regulation, he said. Both organizations just want a more thorough examination of the regulations before they are fully implemented, and Hawley asked that Hochul allow for the ERDA to complete its evaluation.
If you’ve been over to DeWitt Recreation Area in Batavia, you might notice some signs that the pond seems rather low, especially the one on a chain informing visitors to put away the boat because the boat launch is closed.
A reader asked The Batavian about the situation, concerned that perhaps nearby companies might be drawing too much from the city’s aquifer and causing a related drainage of DeWitt Pond.
First of all, DeWitt fluctuates “greatly each year from March to December,” says Tim Hens, the county’s public works commissioner, and sometimes by as much as 13 feet.
“The pond levels are very low right now, but not the lowest they've been,” Hens said. “The lowest ever was in December 2016 after a long fall drought. We are still a foot or so above the lowest levels.
“We have not seen any increase in the aquifer/pond level with the heavy rains. They have only taken the edge off the normal seasonal decline in groundwater. We are about 4.5 feet below where we were in 2023 and we are about 6 feet below the median levels,” he said. “The best recharge of the groundwater is when the Tonawanda Creek floods into the Alexander flats. This typically happens due to ice-jam flooding in the spring, but with warm winters this does not happen, and hasn't since 2022.”
City Manager Rachael Tabelski said that the aquifer is down about 18 feet since 2018 according to city records. She also cited the lack of a large snow melt or creek flooding to recharge the aquifer as in past years.
As for the future, “the city, county and town are working with the NYS Department Of Health on a Source Water Protection Study and Plan,” Tabelski said. “This is currently in process and not only included the aquifer but the Tonawanda Creek.”
There is no pumping of water from DeWitt Pond to any other source, Hens said. The pond level closely follows the groundwater levels in the aquifer, both of which are on Cedar Street in Batavia.
“The groundwater wells on Cedar Street feed the City of Batavia Water Treatment and there are private wells operated by O-AT-KA Milk. These wells have been in service for many decades,” he said. “The pumping from these sources has actually declined over the last year as the county has relied on more water from Monroe County Water Authority, which is Lake Ontario-sourced water. So pumping is not the cause of the decline. It is less annual precipitation and less Tonawanda Creek flooding.”
The county closely monitors its water supply and reviews any new users of more than 10,000 gallons per day, he said.
“There have been no new changes to water relative to users,” he said. “We have not had to issue any water emergencies or press releases this year.”
Seneca Power Partners had filed a permit to withdraw an increased amount of water from the aquifer, which the city and county had objected to, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation has denied, Tabelski said. The city would have to defer to the DEC for similar matters in the future, she said.
“The City does not have control over aquifer withdrawal as it is a DEC matter, but yes we are concerned about any new water permits from the aquifer,” she said.
A federal monitoring well operated by U.S. Geological Survey was installed near the Cedar Street wells and DeWitt Pond, with a related online website to check water levels.
For prior coverage of some of the city's more recent water issues, go HERE.
Genesee County officials, in coordination with local and state agencies, are prioritizing the safety and security of all attendees at the forthcoming Wings Over Batavia Air Show. This event is scheduled to occur at the Genesee County Airport on Saturday, August 31, and Sunday, September 1, from 5 - 9 p.m.
Comprehensive Safety Measures
The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Genesee County Office of Emergency Management, New York State Police, City of Batavia Police Department, Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy Flight EMS are collaborating to implement a comprehensive safety plan. Emergency service providers will be stationed on-site to ensure public safety and to provide immediate response to any medical emergencies that may arise.
Special Effects and Aerial Maneuvers
As part of the air show, planes will perform various flying, diving, and maneuvering displays. Additionally, there will be planned explosions, pyrotechnic displays, and fireworks, all managed exclusively by the event organizers. Attendees and nearby residents are reminded that these activities are planned and should not cause alarm. Please refrain from dialing 911 unless it’s an actual emergency.
Traffic Control
In preparation for and during the event State Street Road will be closed from West Saile Drive north to Batavia Elba Townline Road, and West Saile Drive will be closed from the Milton Cat building to the storage barns on the east side of the Airport. Motorists are urged to follow signage and flaggers, exercise caution, and remain alert to changing conditions. Pedestrians should adhere to marked paths and signage.
Satellite Parking at GCC
This year, a satellite parking option will be available at Genesee Community College (GCC). Buses will shuttle attendees between GCC and the airport, with drop-off at the main entrance and pick-up at the airport’s main terminal for return to GCC.
For more information about the show, parking details and other additional details, please visit: https://wingsoverbatavia.com/.
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