Three decades after the program's last appearance in the Batavia Rotary Club Girls Basketball Tournament, the Elba Lancers are the tournament's new champions.

The Lancers beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 55-44 at GCC on Thursday.

Elba outscored Notre Dame 21 to six in the first quarter and never looked back.

Sydney Reilly scored 27 points for Elba.  She was the only player on the team to score in double digits. Brea Smith scored seven, and Lydia Ross scored six.

For the Irish, Sofia Falleti scored 28 points and was also the only player on her team to score in double digits. Gianna Falleti and Shirley Thompson each scored five.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

I was given some old books to look through for a possible article. I chose The First Directory of the Village of Batavia 1877-78 and a phone directory from 1950-51. You get a peek into what life might have been like during those eras. 

The early directory gives a little history of the village of 6,000. The Court House on Main and Ellicott was built in 1842 with a jail. The county clerk and surrogate's offices were in the front of Main Street. 

The small book explained the New York State Institution for the Blind. It also named the churches in the village: St. James Episcopal Church, The First Presbyterian Society of Batavia, the Baptist Society, St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, and the Methodist Church. 

There were three newspapers: The Progressive Batavian, Republican Advocate, and Spirit of the Times. 

There were six schools, three public and three private.   

The largest manufacturer was Wiard Plow. The Batavia Portable Steam Engine Company was another notable enterprise. Genesee Agricultural Works on Ellicott Street sold every possible farm implement used in farming, and all were operated by horse or steam power. Two hose companies took care of the village that was lighted by gas. A dollar store sold glassware, crockery, china lamps, and chandeliers. All goods were warrantied and sold for 99 cents and were cheerfully shown.   

The streets listed in the directory mainly were Main Street, Ellicott Street, River, Lyons, Evans, Oak, Walnut, Ross, Cherry, Bank, and Union Street. The book contains 46 pages; of the 46 pages, 14 include the names and streets of the villagers.

The 1950 phone directory had a hole at the corner of the book for you to hang near your stationary phone. Also interesting were the phone numbers. There were phone numbers with 2, 3, and 4 digit numbers, and a letter followed some phone numbers. A phone call outside Batavia but within the county costs 10 and 15 cents. Buffalo was 35 cents, and Seattle, Washington, $2.45. 

The job of the operator was vital. All calls out of the area required an operator. 

According to the Yellow Pages, you could buy a car from 28 places. Some names you don't hear today were DeSoto, Nash, and Studebaker.

Adding machines were also a very popular item to buy from many area stores, along with an address machine. There were seven department stores, 28 fruit and vegetable growers, 60 restaurants, 13 hotels, and 10 furniture stores. One ad I found interesting and a little upsetting was: "Dead Animal Removal, we buy grease, fat, bones, hides and skins. The highest price paid for horses, cows, sheep, and hogs." 

There were so many auto repair places that they took up an entire page. 

Before Dunkin Donuts, there were Freddie's and Jackie's Doughnuts. Many homes sold eggs because they had chickens in their back yards. You could buy baby chicks by calling the phone number 2150, which is listed in the advertisements.   

Most homes were heated with coal.   Colantonio Coal Co., Holland Furnaces, and Thomas Wood and Coal were the most popular places to buy coal. There were also 40 gas stations and 40 small grocery stores, most likely on every corner. The book was 180 pages long, and 81 pages contained the residents' names, addresses, and phone numbers.

Today, we have Dollar Stores, which are considered department stores. You can also rent furniture and appliances and lease a car. 

Some things do stay the same. Looking through the 1950 city directory, I recognized some existing establishments.    In no particular order they are: Max Pies, Arctic Refrigeration, Sallome Heating, Bohm Mortuary, Falcone Electric/Green Mountain Electric Supply, Genesee Lumber, Dougherty Heating, Batavia Downs, Batavia Players, McAndrew Funeral Home, Chapin Manufacturing, Adam Miller, Oliver's, Northside Grocery, Pero's Plumbing, Polish Falcons,  H.E. Turner Mortuary, WBTA, YMCA, YWCA, Charles Men's Shop, American Legion, Miss Batavia Diner,  The Kelly's Holland Inn,  Mancuso Bowling Lanes, Wortzman Furniture, Max Pies Furniture, Upson and Maybeck, Knights of Columbus, Batavia Marine Sporting Goods, R.A. Haitz,  and Wills Wallpaper and Paint. 

Please share the names of any other businesses from 75 years ago that are still here today. 

Back in the day, your phone book and directories were "smart device" connections to the world around you. Today, you can find everything you need on your iPhone. 

A semi-truck, with a NYS-licensed escort, carrying a large load and traveling north on Ellicott Street, struck the CSX overpass on the south side of Batavia late Thursday afternoon.

It's unclear if the impact caused the load to shift or just broke the plywood container around the item being hauled on the trailer.

At the time The Batavian was on scene, a crew was attempting to remove the box. The plan was to check the cargo and then if the truck could be safely backed up, and with Chapin's permission, park the trailer in Chapin's parking lot while the crew assessed the best way to proceed.

According to an officer on scene, the lead driver attempted to warn the truck driver to stop, but there was possibly an issue with the radios.

Batavia PD was on scene to take a report and direct traffic. Ellicott Street by the overpass is reduced to one lane while the accident is cleared.

Photos by Howard Owens.

When the Sunset Fire started to bear down on her Hollywood neighborhood on Wednesday evening, and the order to evacuate came, Danielle Lovell reminded herself to breathe.

She'd been through this before. In 2005, she and her family evacuated their home as Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.

"I think the biggest takeaway (from Katrina) was -- and even last night -- just reminding myself to breathe and to stay calm," Lovell told The Batavian on Thursday. "You do not want to panic because you are in such a hurry, but breathe and stay calm. Getting out is the most important thing. Everything else is replaceable, and it'll be okay. As long as you're alive, it'll be okay."

Lovell grew up in Batavia and is a 1995 graduate of Batavia High School.

She and her partner, Scot Walsh, from Rochester, and their son Aidan moved to Los Angeles 16 years ago after a sojourn back in Western New York following Katrina.

Aidan was four months old when Lovell and Walsh had to leave New Orleans. They lived in the Garden District of the French Quarter.

When they heard news reports of Katrina heading toward the Crescent City, they got ready to leave but the evacuation order came a bit late, she said.

"We were trapped on the highway for a bit, but we were able to get out to just outside the city, which was at least safer than the fishbowl of New Orleans," Lovell said. "Within two or three days, we realized New Orleans was devastated. We couldn't go back. Then we drove the rest of the way, stopping in Tennessee and then to New York. We were in New York for about eight months or so and then got the offer to move out here to L.A."

Lovell is a special education teacher, Walsh is an operations manager at a nightclub, and Aidan attends UCLA.

Over the past 72 hours, at least five major fires have erupted in the Los Angeles area, claiming at least five lives and destroying hundreds of homes. The worst is perhaps the Palisades Fire, wrecking havoc and horror along the Pacific Coast Highway in the area of Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Santa Monica. The Eaton Fire started in the San Gabriel Mountains and has forced evacuations in La Canada Flintridge, Arcadia, Altadena, Pasadena, and Monrovia. The Hurst Fire struck Slymar in the San Fernando Valley, and the Lidia Fire broke out in the rural mountains north of Downtown LA.

The Sunset Fire, which forced Lovell and Walsh to evacuate their home, started in the Hollywood Hills and required evacuations in Hollywood, West Hollywood, Studio City, and Beverly Hills. So far, 43 acres have been burned.

Lovell said she's grateful for the local news outlets because that is how she first learned of the Sunset Fire.

"Thank God for you guys because that's what alerted me to this new fire," Lovell said. "Before anything happened, I walked out my door, saw the fire, and started knocking on my neighbors’ doors. I live in a little community, and then I just knocked on the doors. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew what to prepare for, because, unfortunately, I'd already done it before."

Her pets are Luna, a white Chihuahua, and Lux, a black cat. They're both safe, though Lux was a challenge to find in the house during the commotion of evacuation.

"They're just both really mad at me right now," Lovell said.

Her home is still standing and the evacuation order has been lifted.  She plans to return to her home today to check on it and repack and reorganize.

"Our fire started and spread so quickly that we didn't have time, you didn't have time to think you just literally got your pets, your medicine, and you threw it in the car," she said. "I got my laptop, and I left."

She isn't sticking around when she goes back today. She's worried about flare-ups, the potential for new fires, and the air quality.

"It's like a snow day of soot here," she said.

She wants to check on her house and her neighbors because of the potential for looting. Nearly all of her losses following Katrina were from looters, she said. Reports indicate that in the LA area so far at least 20 looters have been arrested."

"They should be arrested. That's not okay," she said. "That makes me very, very angry. I get very protective of my people, and that makes me very, very angry that people would even consider doing that, taking advantage of such a horrible situation. It's sickening, honestly."

Lovell is staying with friends, Scot is with friends, and so is Aidan. UCLA hasn't been evacuated but classes were canceled. 

Priorities are important in the face of imminent disaster, Lovell said.

"When you leave, when you evacuate, you grab your pets, you grab medicines for those pets, medicines for yourself; if you can find your important documents, cool," Lovell said. "If you can't, they're replaceable. Everything is replaceable. Your lives are not. Your health can be damaged forever. Just get out."

She also advises, "Keep an eye on the news."

That's what her sisters did for her while she was evacuating. They are in New Mexico, Rochester, and San Diego. They used Facetime to pass along information to Lovell.

"I'm driving to evacuate, and I don't know what's going on in my neighborhood at that point because I can't be watching anything," Lovell said. "They were on Facetime with me, keeping me updated on the status of the fire."

Lovell's friends and family have been an amazing source of support, she said. 

"I want to thank everybody for their love and support," Lovell said. "I think something to realize is that I'm here, but my family's affected back East. They're worried about me. I have family all over the country; they're all worried. This is an isolated area where it's happening, but these disasters are so wide-reaching. It's so important to just stay connected, and I want them to know I'm safe. Scot is safe. Aidan is safe."

Press Release:

A Statement from Assemblyman Steve Hawley:

“Last year, New Yorkers faced a rising cost of living and record-high crime and inflation brought about by a Majority that cares more about appeasing downstate special interests than helping upstate communities. During this year’s session, I will continue to work to bring down costs, clean up our streets, and bring common sense back to Albany.”

Press Release:

Arc GLOW has recently opened its doors to the community by offering event space at the Community Center in Batavia.

For anyone looking to plan a large event, the Community Center holds up to 300 people and has a retractable room divider, allowing for a variety of different types of community events. Anyone interested in booking the Community Center forum should visit ArcGLOW.org/Community-Center-Forum-Rentals to learn more about the space, fees, and rental terms or to book an event.

The Arc GLOW Community Center is located at 38 Woodrow Road in Batavia. For any questions, contact Samantha Redden, business services manager, at (585) 343-1123 ext. 1816 or SRedden@ArcGLOW.org or Bill Sofia, director of business services, at (585) 658-3311 ext. 2262 or WSofia@ArcGLOW.org. 

Arc GLOW is a nonprofit agency servicing about 2,000 individuals throughout the Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming counties. For more information about Arc GLOW, visit ArcGLOW.org.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Republican Committee is seeking Republican candidates for three Council-At-Large positions for the November 4, 2025 Election.

You may send your letters of intent to, The City Of Batavia Republican Committee P.O Box 260, Batavia, NY, 14020. You can also email batavia.city.republican.party@gmail.com. 

Please include your full name, legal mailing address, phone number, and email.  The deadline for postmarked letters or email acceptance dates is January 23.

Press Release:

The Genesee Chorale is excited to kick off our new Spring season this Monday, January 13, at 7 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Church (405 E Main St, Batavia). Rehearsals will take place every Monday at 7 p.m. throughout the season.

This spring, we’re bringing you two exciting concert series:

March Concert: A Throwback to the 1960s

• We’ll be revisiting the iconic sounds of the '60s with hits like Blackbird and The Sound of Silence.

May Concert: Chorale Favorites

• A celebration of our members' most beloved pieces from the past two decades.

We’re thrilled to share this season of music with you!

Whether you’re a new or returning member, you can register online at Genesee Chorale Registration. We can't wait to see you there!

Spend an enchanting, starlit evening with good food and friends, live entertainment, all while supporting Crossroads House.  Tickets available at www.crossroadshouse.com/events or call 585-343-3892, option 1.

Ray Detor doesn’t yet know the full scope and price of a future project at his Le Roy Airport, but he does know he would like to be considered for a grant that’s been offered for public and private airports throughout New York State.

The engineer studies are in progress for work that includes making the airport more energy efficient, updated with renovations to restrooms and office space and shored up with new doors on a Quonset hut, Detor said.

“Gov. Hochul was offering airports the ability to apply for a grant, and we are in the process of applying for one. The cost is undetermined at this point, but it's to further to continue and maintain the airport in the state-of-the-art fashion that it already is, with upgrades along the way that we have needed in a long time,” he said Wednesday to The Batavian. “Our applications basically don't go in until the 22nd of January, so everything is still being put together and determined to be what is the best approach for a number of different options." 

Earlier Wednesday, his project was briefly presented to the Genesee County Ways & Means Committee for legislators to endorse the Le Roy Aviation Services, Inc. grant application. 

Detor's not certain about how many applicants he will be competing against, and being a private airport doesn’t provide any discrepancy in the required paperwork, guidelines and regulations that he must abide by than others such as John F. Kennedy International Airport, he said. 

Le Roy Airport is privately owned but is available for public use, so “you have to sign grant assurances and do the same thing that JFK does, that Syracuse does, that Buffalo does, all the airports have to sign the same kind of paperwork,” he said.

"As for the award, we may not know for a year. It just depends on how quickly everything works," he said. "As long as we’re coming in with something appropriate for an airport, everything is considered and judged on various merits.”

The grant is being offered through the state Department of Transportation. Eligible project activities include safety projects, preservation projects, new construction, sustainability and other projects that enhance business development and economic competitiveness, according to the state's website. 

Projects will be selected through a competitive solicitation process and rated based on established criteria. These include economic benefits for surrounding communities and businesses, adherence to regional economic development plans, safety improvements, improved operational efficiency, and energy efficiency and emissions reduction.

More specifically, the Le Roy work includes LED lighting, solar panels — either on top of a building with a sunny southern exposure or in a field removed from the runway —  and adding one or more electric car charging stations, depending on the budget. 

“If we can supplement any of our energy costs that make the airport more efficient, that’s a win for everybody,” Detor said. “An existing hangar with office space and restroom facilities  will be updated and made ADA compliant.”’

That work will be in approximately 1,000 of the building’s 8,000 square feet, he said. The Quonset, a 1960s half moon-shaped structure, is still “in really good shape,” though the doors could use a refresh, and will be replaced with a weather-resistant aluminum or other strong material, he said. These buildings are often spotted on farms and were used post-World War II to keep troops safe, allowing rain and snow to just slide right off the arching roof. They are amazing structures, he said.

Needless to say, that Quonset isn’t going anywhere for some time to come.

Actually, the airport receives plenty of attention on a regular basis, Detor said, with an upgrade two years ago with a new $700,000 hangar, asphalt crack fill and sealing, and fuel pump upgrades planned for 2025. 

Le Roy Airport has been around since 1945, he estimated, and as owner for 30 years who began to fly at age 14, he hasn’t just invested financially but emotionally as well. Why?

“It’s freedom. When you get up in the sky, you’re dealing with the third dimension. See on the ground, we can go left, right, straight. But when you jump up in the air, for example, just to jump as a person jumping up, you're now defying gravity," he said. "And when you fly, well, you're taking that third dimension all the way. You're going away, to where you're going up to, whether it's 2,000 or 5,000 or 8,000 feet, and you're going to the destination no different, really, than you would if you were in a car or a boat. You just happen to be in a plane, and a plane going through the air.

“It's nothing more than going through water because that's what, basically, what the air is. It's nothing more than water. But what it is about the sky is it’s just beautiful," he said. "Looking down at the ground, seeing the snow-covered fields this time of year, or the farmers out doing the planting at different times and harvesting, you get flying all over, it looks like somebody made quilts all over the place, different colors.”

This project may align with the World Aerobatic Competition coming to Batavia in 2026, and that’s a nice coincidence, not planned, he said. Event competitors will be using Le Roy Airport as one of four practice sites before the 10-day event in late August.

Part of a practice site will mean setting up an air box, which involves the Federal Aviation Administration and will be regulated boundaries set up with measured zones that each competitor plane must stay within during his or her routines, and other air traffic will be alerted that it exists once set up.

“So the notices are published out there. And once they’re published, then they have to be adhered to. And if somebody does not adhere to it, well, of course, they can get in trouble,” he said. 

He looks forward to the airport upgrades and upcoming event at his busy facility. Visitors fly in from anywhere such as Maine to California, he said.

Legislators in the committee agreed to endorse the application. A resolution will go on to the county Legislature for a final vote to endorse the grant application for state funds under the NYS Aviation Capital Grant program for an Airport Energy Efficiency Improvement Project. 

Under State Transportation Law, the state Department of Transportation requires that privately owned airports submit an endorsing resolution from the governing body of the county where the airport is located. There is no budget impact for Genesee County.

Press Release:

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) introduced the Red Light Act to withhold federal transportation funding from states that enact laws to provide driver's licenses or identification cards to illegal immigrants in the United States.

This bill directs the Department of Transportation to withhold a state's entire share of specific federal highway funds—namely, those allocated for the National Highway Performance Program, the Highway Safety Improvement Program, and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program—if the state enacts legislation allowing the issuance of driver's licenses or other identification cards to individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States.

In 2019, New York's Green Light Law took effect, allowing anyone over the age of 16, including illegal immigrants, to obtain a New York State driver's license. The license also serves as a legal form of photo identification. In just the first month after New York's Green Light law took effect, more than 50,000 illegal immigrants received a New York State driver's license.

"Our nation is grappling with an unprecedented migrant crisis, yet some states, like New York, are incentivizing and rewarding criminals with driver's licenses and identification cards. In New York, the Green Light Law has given licenses to illegal immigrants, allowing these dangerous individuals to roam freely in our country, brutally attacking, raping, and murdering members of our community. In addition, this law also restricts law enforcement from accessing DMV records, preventing the enforcement of our nation's immigration laws. This legislation ensures states that refuse to comply with our nation's immigration policies are not rewarded with federal funding," said Congresswoman Tenney.

A 39-year-old Lockport man confirmed in County Court on Tuesday that he wants to be tried on a murder charge rather than take a plea offer.

Edward Dunn initially turned down a plea offer in December. It would have capped his prison term to 15 years to life. His appearance on Tuesday before Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini was his last chance to accept the plea offer. If convicted of murder at trial, he faces a potential term of 25 years to life on that count alone. With additional charges under New York law, he could be potentially sentenced to 50 years to life.

Dunn is accused of killing Michael Poole, of Olcott, and then hiding his body in the trunk of a car that was abandoned in the town of Alabama in March.

Also charged in the murder is  Kathryn A. Henry, 33, from Lockport, who was arrested on April 19 and charged with murder in the second degree. She was accused at the time of conspiring with Dunn to kill Poole and hide his body. Correction: Henry entered guilty pleas on Aug. 22 to charges of hindering prosecution, a Class D felony, and concealment of a human corpse, a Class E felony.  She is no longer facing a murder charge as previously reported.   

Norman S. DuBois, 45, of Lockport, is charged with hindering prosecution in the first degree, tampering with physical evidence, concealment of a human corpse and conspiracy.

Dunn's trial is scheduled to start with jury selection on March 2.  

Besides the Class A-1 felony of murder, he is also charged with 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. 

With only a three-point margin on Tuesday, 53-50, Byron-Bergen retained the "Battle of Route 262" trophy with a win over Elba.

For the Bees, Cody Carlson scored 24 points. Andre White scored 7, and picking up six each were Cole DiQuattro, Adam Cardenas, and Joe Brumsted.

For the Lancers, Nick Scott scored 18, Bing Zuber, 16, and Ryan Marsceill, 12.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.

Elba, making its first Rotary Tournament appearance in 30 years, is advancing to the championship game after beating Batavia on Tuesday 52-34.

The Lancers will play Notre Dame at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday.

For Elba, Sydney Reilly scored 15 points, Brea Smith scored 12, and Lydia Ross scored 10. 

For the Blue Devils, Jaimin Macdonald scored 13 points and Violet Lopez scored 10.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Notre Dame knocked off the defending champs in the first game of the Batavia Rotary Club Girls Basketball Tournament at GCC on Tuesday.

The Irish (6-2) topped Cal-Mum 54-46.

ND is riding a three-game win streak going into the final on Thursday against Elba.

After trailing 15-0 in the first quarter, the Irish rallied to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

Sofia Falleti led the Irish with a team-high 19 points and five rebounds. Lucia Fiorentino had 10 points and eight rebounds. Also contributing were Shirley Thompson with nine points, Clairissa Milliman with six points, Gianna Falleti and Emma Fitch with four each.

“What a comeback! From being down by 15, we had to get in our rhythm and fight back point by point," said Coach Vinny Falleti. "Our defense was key tonight against a talented, veteran Cal-Mum team, which is very well coached. We have such a young team with no seniors, and our objective is  always to compete. Amazing effort. I am so proud of our Lady Irish."

Photos by Pete Welker.

Alexander extended its win streak to seven games on Tuesday with a 73-43 victory over Wheatland-Chili.

Scoring:

• Dylan Pohl, 19 points
• King Woods, 17 points
• Jake Brooks, 10 points

Press Release:

Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has announced its event lineup for the first 3 months of 2025.

ABBAMANIA returns to Batavia Downs on Friday, February 7. Doors are at 6:30 p.m., with the show starting at 7 p.m. ABBAMANIA will take you back in time to when ABBA was on stage, live in concert. ABBAMANIA performs 22 songs of ABBA in their two-set show with costume changes, choreography, comedy, and a great concert sound. Tickets start at $15, and guests get $10 back in Free Play. Tickets are available now on BataviaConcerts.com.

The first ever Batavia Downs Meat Raffle to benefit Roswell Park will take place at Batavia Downs on Saturday, February 8. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first spin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 each and attendees receive complimentary draft beer, soda and water along with $15 in Free Play. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center will receive 100% of the proceeds from the tickets and raffles. Penny auctions for baskets and merchandise will also take place.

The 6th Annual Batavia Brew Fest, presented by Genesee Brewery and Rohrbach Brewing Company is back on Saturday, February 15 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. For $30, attendees receive 2 and half hours of beer sampling from many WNY breweries. Early bird tickets available until January 29 for just $25. Light snacks will be served and attendees will receive a commemorative plastic sampling mug along with $15 in Free Play. Hotel packages that include tickets are available as well.

Returning again after several years of sold out shows is Music of the Stars on Saturday, March 22. Doors are at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. The high-energy seven-piece band pays tribute to internationally famous artists, including Tom Jones, The Bee Gees, Neil Diamond, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Gary Puckett, Elvis, The Beatles and many more. Tickets start at $15 and guests get $10 back in Free Play. Tickets are available now on BataviaConcerts.com. Hotel packages that include tickets are available as well.

On Sunday, March 23, the Record Riots Vendor Show, a vinyl record and music memorabilia event will run inside of the Park Place Events Center 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. With 40 dealer tables and more than 10,000 LPs in the room, attendees will be sure to have a great time browsing a wide variety of music while connecting with fellow music lovers. Details can be found online at: https://www.recordriots.com/. $15 Early Admission Tickets or regular $5 admission tickets can be purchased at the door. Each ticket comes with $5 in Free Play for the gaming floor.

“We are looking forward to supporting Roswell Park for this Meat Raffle fundraiser, “said Byron Brown, President & CEO for Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel. “It’s something we’ve never done before, but we’re now looking to expand our offerings and try new things to go along with our guest’s favorite existing events.”

Tickets are available now on BataviaConcerts.com and the Lucky Treasures Gift Shop located in the lobby of the main entrance of Batavia Downs. Hotel Specials for select events are available on the Hotel Deals tab on BataviaDownsGaming.com.

Other events scheduled for the 1st Quarter of 2025 at Batavia Downs include the return of live racing Mondays and Thursdays through February, The Experience Psychic Fair January 17 through 19 and the Legends & Stars Sports Expo on the February 22 and 23. Batavia’s Thursday Concert Series tickets are already on sale. Information on all events can be found in the coming weeks on the Batavia Downs Facebook page.

Press Release:

The Town of Alexander Republican Committee is seeking Republican candidates for the following positions that will be placed on the ballot for the November 4th, 2025 General Election.

• Town Council (2) four-year term
• Town Clerk - four-year term
• Republican Committee member, District #1 (west of Route 98)

If interested, please send a letter of intent by January 26 to Chairwoman Barbara Eddy, 11054 Alexander Rd., Attica OR contact by phone at 585-507-9930.

Press Release:

The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the winners of the People’s Choice and Director’s Choice awards for the 24th Annual Wonderland of Trees decorated trees. 

The winner of the People’s Choice Award is the Friends of the Batavia Peace Garden, and the winner of the Staff Choice Award is the City of Batavia. 

We would like to congratulate our winners and thank everyone who participated this year. This year’s Wonderland of Trees was one of the most successful in its history.

We had more trees this year than in recent years and they were all so beautifully done that the choices were very difficult. Also, thank you to everyone who donated towards the event, and all who came to see the wonderfully decorated trees.

Genesee County will have spent upwards of a million dollars on competency-related services for questionable individuals sent to court, Mental Health Services Director Lynda Battaglia says.

Battaglia requested $166,000 during Monday’s Human Services meeting for an additional 730 competency invoices, explaining to county legislators that “I will be coming back to ask for additional funding, but this is what we’re going to pay so far.”

“We’re waiting for some invoices to come in from (the Office of Mental Health) and (Office for People With Developmental Disabilities). When those invoices come in, we will have spent about $775,000 in 2024 on these services,” she said as some legislators seemed sticker-shocked. “So this is 100% county cost. The individual is not competent to stand trial. Therefore, they’re designated to a psychiatric facility in order for competency to be restored because that’s their due process, right?”

A person who is charged with anything from petit larceny up to more serious felony crimes such as assault and who may be incompetent and therefore unable to stand trial is afforded due process, she explained. Defendants have a right to understand the charges being brought against them and to be able to aid in their own defense for the legal process to proceed.

“So if our psychologists deem them incompetent, then they’re designated to a bed, and they have to get restored to competency, depending on the length of that time and the changes, they will come back once they’re restored and go have their trial and their hearing,” she said. 

Legislator John Deleo asked if all of these people were from Genesee County or from other counties, and others asked how many actually go through this process. Each county is going through a similar situation and expense, Battaglia said, and these people belong to Genesee.

“For 2024, we probably have had about eight to 10 individuals. Sometimes we run the risk that it’s the same individual a couple of times throughout the year,” Battaglia said. “Those are individuals who pay their time, go back out into the community, get rearrested, and don’t link with services. So it’s not a huge number of individuals; it’s the cost that is the significant number. It’s about $1,300 or $1,400 per day per person. The average length of stay in a (mental restoration) facility is about 90 days. But this is on NYSAC’s (the NYS Association of Counties) radar, and this is on the conference’s radar, and they’re always trying to push legislation to make changes.”

Legislative Chair Shelley Stein asked her to explain the full process of how someone enters the system and is not only diverted for a mental health evaluation once but that it can be a repetitive cycle.

For example, a person is arrested, goes before a judge, and is released on his own recognizance but has to return. If the attorney or anybody determines that the person is experiencing symptoms of mental illness and doesn’t understand the process, the judge can be asked to order a 730 competency evaluation.

“It’s the judge's decision. The judges will usually order that evaluation, and the judge is ordering me to find two psychologists to evaluate an individual. So through the clinic, we schedule this individual, let's say, for two competency evaluations by two different psychologists, and then they will make the determination as to whether or not they're competent to stand trial or not,” Battaglia said. 

A report is returned to the judge when a defendant is found incompetent. The judge decides whether he or she agrees with the evaluation. Therefore, it is not a decision of the Mental Health Department; it is a criminal justice system decision, she said.

If the judge agrees with the report that the person is not competent, then he will be designated to a facility for restoration services and may go back to the jail and wait for a bed to be designated, she said. When a bed is designated, her office is notified, and the jail transports the person. During that time in the facility, a treatment team does “whatever they need to do in order to try to restore competency.”

“Oftentimes, that might be medication over objection, that might be going through some mock trials to see if they understand the charges. Once restoration is restored, they go back,” she said. “Sometimes their charges may be dropped if they're lower misdemeanor charges because of the lot of time that they've spent in the jail and facility, they might just say, Okay, your time's kind of been served. If they're felony charges, they're going to come back to the jail and stand trial."

Others could be ordered to serve a few months in jail, and once released, they're back in the community and may commit another crime. That could mean another 730 proceeding is ordered. 

"When you think about an individual who has developmental disabilities, if somebody has a cognitive developmental disability, the restoration for that is, I hate to say it, but it's nothing," she said. "We can't restore that cognitive functioning. So they come back in the community, try to wrap services around them, work with service providers. But ultimately, that person has autonomy, and they can decide whether or not they want those services. They might not want them, and therefore the cycle continues.”

Those who are restored go on to face a trial, and some may end up going to state prison, returning to the community, and/or obtaining additional legal services. It’s “very, very individualized,” she said, depending on the crime.

The Human Services Committee agreed to pass along the resolution for approval to transfer an amount of $166,000 to cover the expense of competency restorations for individuals found unable to assist in their defense at a court hearing in the year 2024.