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Press Release:

The City of Batavia is a recipient of $1,153,534 to install sidewalk connecting the Jackson Street Elementary School with Batavia Middle School.  The award comes from Governor Kathy Hochul as part of a $97.7M Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), being administered by the New York State Department of Transportation.

TAP grants promote alternative, environmentally friendly modes of travel, such as walking, biking or riding mass transit. The funding supports initiatives that improve access to the transportation system for all users and advance New York State’s nation-leading agenda to fight climate change by constructing new sidewalks, shared use paths and other enhancements that facilitate the use of non-motorized modes of travel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"The City of Batavia continues to plan and pursue funding for sidewalk projects that promote walkability and healthy living across the City. The $1.1M will help to make needed improvements to the sidewalks on Swan, Ross and South Jackson Street.  Keeping sidewalks maintained, especially those on school routes, is beneficial to all our residents" said Eugene Jankowski Jr, City Council President.

The City of Batavia will install over 10,000 linear feet of sidewalks on South Swan, Swan, South Jackson and Ross Streets to connect Jackson Elementary School with Batavia Middle School.

The TAP grant program provides up to $5 million in grant funding for communities to implement alternative transportation projects, funding 80% of the total project cost.  The 20% local match is typically covered by CHIPS funding received from New York State to support continual street maintenance.

Currently the project estimates are being refined but the total project cost is estimated to be $1.4 million, making the City’s local match approximately $240,000.  The City can use CHIP’s funding in addition to other City funding as part of the City’s local match.  

“The corridor slated for improvement encompasses South Swan Street, Swan Street, South Jackson Street, and Ross Street. These upgrades aim to improve safety and mobility for school children, neighborhood residents, including many seniors, and businesses along the route. The proposed project will not only enhance handicapped accessibility but also increase walkability throughout the entire corridor. Additionally, it will establish a connection to previously TAP-funded sidewalk improvement projects along Washington Avenue, near Batavia Middle School,” said Batavia City Manager Rachael Tabelski. “We would like to thank Governor Hochul and our local state representatives for making this award possible.”

Press release:

Richmond Memorial Library will close at 1 pm on Monday, July 7 due to problems with the air conditioning system. 

Please check our website at batavialibrary.org for up to date information. 

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing fire hydrants on Monday & Tuesday, July 8 & 9, 2024 from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the general area of North of E. Main St. and East of Bank St. Homes and businesses nearby will be affected.  These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area.  As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored.  If you do experience a discoloration of your water, run cold water for about 5 minutes or until clear.

This annual testing is essential to maintain the community class III Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification and to assure that fire hydrants are operating efficiently for fire protection purposes. Along with maintaining the fire rating, the test monitors the health of the city's water system, identifies weak areas in the system, and removes material that settles in the water lines. Checking each hydrant improves fire department personnel's knowledge of the hydrant locations. 

If you have any questions or should notice a hydrant needing repair, please contact the fire department at 585-345-6375.

As organizers head into the 34th annual Oatka Festival, this year will bring a heartening measure meant to honor a former longtime parade chairman and add another layer of tradition for festivals to come.

There will be a new banner in memory of Robert “Sully” Sullivan, carried by his family members, as part of the walk from the American Legion to the front of the old high school and Trigon Park. The parade is set to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday in Le Roy.

“Sully made the parade a big deal because it starts off the festival, he really worked hard for people to come together and enjoy it,” Parade Chairman Scott Ripley said to The Batavian about the late Robert Sullivan. “He didn’t take any feedback, it was do it the Sully way … not telling anybody what to do until the day of the parade. When Sully said something, it was done and that’s the way it went.”

While that might sound like a stubborn leader, his system actually worked well, Ripley said, because telling groups where they were stationed ahead of time allowed them time to argue or debate, vying for different spots in the lineup.

Sullivan commanded a type of respect that participants honored throughout his two decades or so of being at the helm of the festival parade.

Sully was also a straight shooter; maybe that came from his days of coaching football. The banner was colored with black and red, “very basic,” event Chair Kate Flint said, as “he wasn’t very frilly, but he was very unique and genuine.”

“He was chairman from the very beginning until 2021,” Flint said. “He always wanted to throw the best and biggest parade ever.”

He was also a tad old-fashioned, eschewing texts for talking to people by phone to communicate. It was all for the greater good, Ripley said.

See Also: Old favorites, new twists and lots of food and fun at 34th annual Oatka Festival

“He started with the parade around 1990; he wanted to help the festival be the best it could be,” Ripley said. “He was with the Mighty St. Joe’s marching band, and he could get more bands.”

Sullivan was a longtime director of both St. Joe’s Drum & Bugle Corps and Mighty St. Joe’s Alumni Corps and Drum Corps Associates Hall of Fame. His musical roots also traveled to Batavia, where he was a 1950 Batavia High School graduate and later a 2019 BHS Music Hall of Fame inductee.

Ripley caught Sully’s eye while serving as announcer for Le Roy’s Little League, and he was tapped to help out with the parade in 2018. He continued forward, taking on the chairman position a few years ago.

Sullivan died in May 2022, and Ripley has taken a page or two out of his success manual, adding on to this year’s parade with the Buffalo Bills official drumline DownBeat Percussion, lining up eight Genesee County bands and eight floats from Le Roy class reunions, from 1964 to 2004. 

Even unlikely participants have joined, such as car and gutter cleaning businesses, a roof siding establishment, Five Star Bank, and Geneseo Air Museum will have a replica airplane float.

Old favorites are returning, including the Shriners and their tiny cars, he said.

“I’m trying to make it so Sully would be proud,” Ripley said. 

While some events come and go, others such as the Oatka Festival just keep on returning — and growing — year after year. Spoiler alert: The array of edible treats this year has been significant enough to compete for event Chair Kate Flint’s attention.

“I’m so excited about the food,” Flint said during an interview with The Batavian. “We have 12 food vendors; we only had seven last year.”

Waffles are making a comeback, and there will be hotdogs, hamburgers, taffy, lemonade, cotton candy, french fries, Italian sausage, salt potatoes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, beef on weck, pizza, bratwurst, funnel cakes, kettle corn, chicken barbecue, ice cream, bubble tea and baked goods.

This year's festival lands in Le Roy Saturday and Sunday.

See Also: Oatka Festival parade to include special banner to remember past chairman 'Sully'

Also new to accommodate this gastronomical bounty, organizers are carving out a food niche all its own so that all food vendors will be in one central area and not separated as in past years, she said. 

There are “a ton of arts and crafts vendors,” or more specifically, a respectable 79 vendors with everything from woodwork and jewelry to traditional crafts that make festival-shopping so much fun. 

The library will be running its annual book sale, and the local churches are collaborating for an ecumenical service at 9:30 a.m. Sunday under the big tent. That typically draws about 25 people, and Flint would “like to see it grow,” she said.

What’s her favorite part, aside from all of the flavorful treats?

“I just like watching it grow and the community come together and support it and it’s a fun weekend,” she said. “And all of the food vendors (mostly nonprofits) use it as a fundraiser, it’s usually their biggest fundraiser of the year.”

Last year was a learning curve for many first-time volunteers, she said, and now “everyone’s grown into their positions.” 

“I think it’s growing in the right direction. We’ve got a lot this year, and I think it can keep getting bigger each year,” she said. “I’m a transplant, from Pavilion, but I used to come to the festival as a kid, it has always been a great festival … I’d like to see it all the way up Main Street one day.”

Other festival activities include:

• The parade is set for 11 a.m. Saturday (see related article), and the car cruise is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday on Wolcott Street.
• Oatka Creek Children’s Fishing Derby is from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday for age groups from under 4, 4 to 6; 7 to 9; 10 to 12 and 13 to 15. Winners of each group and drawings will be announced at 1 p.m.
• Our Space Yoga & Wellness will be offering a yoga class at 9 a.m. Sunday.
• There will be a scavenger hunt — get a worksheet at the table next to the kids entertainment tent and find the nine images on your sheet around the kid’s areas on the festival grounds. Once you find a picture, write the password below the picture on the worksheet and return it to the table where you got it from. Winners will be drawn at 5 p.m. Saturday: two winners of age 8 and under and two 9 and above.

All of the bands are new, Flint said, and will be on the Main Stage and gazebo. 

The lineup for Saturday:

• Noon to 2 p.m. is Remedy Three on the main stage and Lambert-Iten at the gazebo
• 2 to 3 p.m. Funk Yard Brass Band on the Steps
• 3 to 5 p.m. Matt Seidel Band on the main stage and The Pearlz Band at the gazebo

On Sunday:

• 10 to 11 a.m. Knight n Gaels on the main stage and Swinging Knights at the gazebo
• Noon to 2 p.m. Grove Street on the main stage and Mood Swing Duo at the gazebo
• 2 to 3 p.m. Warren Paul on the steps
• 3 to 5 p.m. Batavia Swing Band on the main stage and Side Project at the gazebo

The children’s Free Play area will feature water and sand tables; bubbles and chalk; coloring, boondoggle, and bracelet making; yard games.

Kid events will be available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days, including an inflatable obstacle course and bounce house, Mr. Scribbles, mini golf and the Free Play area. 

Face painting and hair tinsel will go from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and the scavenger hunt will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

As if that’s not enough, Mega Bubble Man is scheduled from 1 to 2 p.m., Emmalee’s Memories Princess Show from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. and the Prehistoric World Reptile Show from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. all on Saturday.

Sunday will serve up The Art of Many from 10 to 11 a.m. for ages 2 to 6 and 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. for ages 7 and up (pre-register for these); Cara Weinman is offering a dance/movement class from 1 to 1:30 p.m., Emmalee’s Memories superhero show from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. and a magic show from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The Duck Pluck will return to the water this year, and that’s set for 5 p.m. Sunday.

Good news for all of you walkers and runners, the free Oatka 5K is back. It’s set for 8 a.m. Saturday.

For more information about these events, go to https://www.oatkafestival.org

There are many hidden treasures in Genesee County. One beautiful gem is the Historic Batavia Cemetery.    

If you travel slowly down Harvester Avenue, look at the first cemetery on the left going south. A wrought iron fence and trees surround the cemetery. It is the home of our early leaders and pioneers from this area.   

I would bring my fourth-grade students to this living history book every year to learn about their local history. We would visit the various stones, and I would explain their relevance to Batavia’s early history. I could not wait to show them Joseph Ellicott’s Monument. As my students would sit on the grass looking at The Ellicott Plot, I would have them turn around and look toward Harvester Avenue.   They would see nothing in front of this monument but a beautiful lane lined with trees over 100 years old. I would then tell them about this brilliant man and his family. 

If you wanted to buy land and settle in this region, you purchased your land from Joseph Ellicott, founder of Batavia. He was the first surveyor and local agent of the Holland Land Company. Joseph was entitled by his contract to select a piece of land for his residence and land office. He claimed the land on West Main Street, opposite Walnut Street. His land occupied the areas we know as Thomas Avenue, Porter Avenue, and Washington Avenue. 

In 1802, the east wing of Ellicott’s mansion was built as his residence. In 1815, the Holland Land Office was completed across the street from his mansion, which remains the Holland Land Office Museum today. 

In 1818, the three-story structure of his home was finished. It included a large main building with two wings and additions to the rear of his house.   Behind his home were a pasture, barn, and a large flower garden. If you were fortunate enough to be a guest in Joseph’s mansion, you would have dinner on blue and gold English china. If you were overnight guests, a bed warmer warmed your sheets. A bed warmer consisted of a metal container, usually fitted with a handle shaped like a modern frying pan, with a solid or finely perforated lid. The pan would be filled with hot coals and placed under the covers of a bed to warm it up. A servant would then run the bed warmer between the sheets to warm them.          

Please visit the Holland Land Office Museum and enter the room where Joseph sold land to our early settlers. The museum has Ellicott’s China, a bed warmer, and a cabinet donated by the Ellicott-Evans family. Also, stop by the Historic Batavia Cemetery and find Joseph’s monument and other famous Batavians resting on Harvester Avenue.

Judy Schildwaster took these photos of two sandhill cranes in a field off of Le Roy East Bethany Road, Le Roy.

Last week, the Yankees of the Batavia Youth Baseball League defeated the Mets in the 10-U championship game, 6-5.

Following an 11-0 game 1 victory, the Muckdogs are ready for game 2 against Auburn. 

Benedict (BAT) v.s. Catron (AUB)

#GoDogs

A pivotal mid-season matchup happens in Auburn as these two teams square off for the first game of a doubleheader. The first place Muckdogs lead 3.5 games over the second place Auburn Doubledays,

Misiti (BAT) v.s. Rucci (AUB)

#GoDogs

The sun was out and people were in a happy place in Downtown Batavia on Saturday for the 2024 Batavia Ramble Music & Arts Fest, which was spread out over Jackson Street, School Street, and, of course, in Jackson Square.

For a lot of people and musicians, the festival was their first experience with the new stage in the square.

It received rave reviews for visibility and acoustics. The soundman said it was a big improvement, with the metal ceiling providing a great acoustic reflection.

The stage was funded by a state grant as part of a larger city of Batavia project to transform Jackson Street into a more attractive public square.  The total grant was for $750,000 with the stage being just one component of the costs.

Twenty-five acts performed on two stages, including the stage on Jackson Street.

Canadian rock band April Wine headlined a packed crowd in the Friday night summer concert series at Batavia Downs Casino on Friday evening. 

Members formed the band in 1969, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From its inception, the band was led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwyn, who died in 2023. Brian Greenway now fronts the band.

On Record, an album released in 1972, reached the Top 40 in Canada and yielded two hit singles: a cover of Elton John's "Bad Side of the Moon” and a cover of Hot Chocolates' “You Could Have Been a Lady.”

Currently on a US and Canadian tour through the summer, you can find more details on their website www.aprilwine.ca

To view or purchase photos, click here.

A spot of rain didn't send everyone scurrying from Jackson Square following the open mic in Jackson Square on Friday evening.

A couple of dozen people stuck around to dance to the beats and take in the vibes of DJ Scotty D (Scotty D'Martino of Batavia), Esdee Entertainment.

See also: Ramble weekend kicked off on Friday with open mic and open art in Jackson Square

Photos by Howard Owens

A new event that many who attended, including the organizers, hope will return in future years premiered in Jackson Square on Friday night, the night before the Ramble Music and Arts Fest.

It was an open mic for local musicians and an open art session for local visual artists.

More than 200 people attended, and more musicians than time available signed up to sing and play.

Jo David Arts and Iburi Photography presented the event.

Jo David Arts is a partnership between local artists Mary Jo Whitman and Brian Kemp.  Iburi is a photography studio on Jackson Street that started hosting increasingly popular open mic sessions about five months ago.

"We're excited to bring this event to Jackson Square," Whitman said. "This is a great opportunity for local performers and artists to showcase their work and connect with the community in a fun and supportive environment."

The open art night is an extension of the First Fridays Open Art event at GO ART!, which was created by Kemp, who compared the event to a pick-up game of basketball.

"You just get together," Kemp said. "Like, I never got together with anybody and done art before until I had this idea, 'Well, I play basketball with other people, why can't I do art with people?' We're all working on our own thing, but sometimes we'll do collabs where somebody works on something that somebody else works on the same thing."

The Ramble started at 10 a.m. on Saturday and runs until 10 p.m., with music on two stages -- Jackson Square and Jackson Street. There will also be art and artists, activities, and food and beverages.

For a lineup of musical acts playing the Ramble this year, click here.

To view or purchase photos, click, here.

Another none league game for the Muckdogs, this time against the Olean Oilers. 

Martin (OL) v.s. Cozzi (BAT) 

#GoDogs