Western Region Off-Track Betting (WROTB) and Batavia Downs President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek announced that the week from Sunday, July 2nd through Saturday, July 8th was record-setting.
It was the top “net win” week of all time with $1.9 Million and the 3rd best Credits Played week of $24.08 million. Attendance topped 20,000 people for the week. Hotel Occupancy for the week was over 89%.
“We are so excited to have reached a new high benchmark for play on our gaming floor,” Wojtaszek said. “A record week on the gaming floor means that local governments will get critical revenue as a result of the great work on the ground by our team. Also, the state’s education fund will receive over $930,000 from Batavia Downs from this last week’s play. Our restaurants and hotel were packed throughout the holiday week.”
Revenues from Batavia Downs’ are distributed to their 17 Western New York municipalities: Cattaraugus County, Cayuga County, Chautauqua County, Erie County, Genesee County, Livingston County, Monroe County, Niagara County, Orleans County, Oswego County, Schuyler County, Seneca County, Steuben County, Wayne County, Wyoming County as well as the cities of Rochester and Buffalo.
On Monday, July 10, upon recommendation from Superintendent Jason Smith, the Batavia City School District Board of Education approved the appointment of Jennifer Wesp-Liestman as Principal of Batavia High School, effective August 1, 2023.
Wesp-Liestman has served as assistant principal at both Spencerport High School and Greece Odyssey Academy. She also served as a special education teacher in the Churchville-Chili and Greece Central School Districts. She received both a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology with a Concentration in Elementary and Special Education and a Master of Science Degree in Inclusive Education from Nazareth College. She has a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Educational Administration from the State University of New York College at Brockport. Wesp-Liestman also serves as an adjunct professor at Roberts Wesleyan College in the Pathways to Teaching Program.
“I am excited to welcome Jennifer Wesp-Liestman to Batavia High School and our BCSD community,” said Superintendent Jason Smith. “Jennifer comes to us with an exceptional administrative background and an impressive foundation in education. I look forward to watching her execute her vision for Batavia High School, and she’ll be a welcomed addition to our leadership team. I want to also thank our faculty, staff, students, and parent representatives who participated in our interview process—it truly was a collaborative experience.”
“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Batavia City School District as the new principal of Batavia High School. From the moment I set foot on campus, it immediately felt like a family,” said Wesp-Liestman. “I have a special place in my heart for BCSD as my father proudly attended John Kennedy School when he was a young boy. As we look ahead to the new school year, I am eagerly anticipating working with our exceptional students, dedicated staff, and inspiring teachers. Together, we will make this year a remarkable journey of learning, growth, and success for all.”
Omar Hussain and Jessica Korzelius will return as assistant principals, joining Jennifer Wesp-Liestman to complete the BHS leadership team for the 2023-24 school year.
Empire State Wrestling presents live wrestling at the McCarthy Ice Arena. Special Meet and greet at 4:00pm with Wrestling legends! Click here for tickets
The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Batavia Police Department will be stepping up patrols and participating in a coordinated effort with the STOP-DWI program to bring awareness to the dangers of impaired driving.
The statewide STOP-DWI efforts start July 10 and will continue thru July 11. New York State Police, County Sheriffs, and municipal law enforcement agencies will be out in force during this across-the-board effort.
Incidents of drugged driving are on the rise. Even though some marijuana laws have changed. It is still illegal and unsafe to drive while impaired by marijuana and other drugs. Drugs impair your ability to drive safely and make it just as dangerous as driving drunk. “Have a Plan” to get a safe ride because impaired driving is completely preventable – all it takes is a little planning. Visit www.stopdwi.org for more information.
Youngsters from throughout the community are fast learning the game of football in preparation for their first game on Sunday in the Davello Youth Flag Football League.
The team, coached by Ray Williams, was at Lions Park yesterday (Sunday) preparing for that big game.
Williams said he started the program in Batavia because his friend Jay Rob in Medina was looking for some help with the leag.
"I was already planning something for Batavia already, so decided to have teams in Medina and Batavia and surrounding areas to play each other," Williams said.
The program is about teaching kids the basics of football, Williams said.
"It’s a skill development program as well as flag football," Williams said. "There aren’t too many skill development programs for our youth for football, so we figured we would start them young learning and understanding the game."
Besides Batavia and Medina, there are programs in Albion and Lockport. The Batavia program includes kids from Oakfield, Pembroke, and Alexander.
The age group is 5 to 16 for both boys and girls.
Teams are broken down by age groups: 5-7, 8-10, 11-13, and 14-16
Games will be played each Sunday through Aug. 29.
Assistant coaches are Otis Thomas, Harry Roscoe, Tim King, Tre Woods, Ray Tooley, Patrick Tyler, and Erica Williams.
Doug Palmer takes a turn around the rink on an 80 and 90s Skate Night at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena in Batavia on Friday night. Palmer is one of a group of friends who remembers Skate 98 fondly. Photo by Howard Owens.
Some of the Skate 98 family was back together at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Friday night for an 80 and 90s adult-only roller skate party.
It was perhaps most evident when the smash 1979 hit from Sister Sledge, "We Are Family," came on the sound system.
Just like old times, a group of six long-time skating friends formed a line and skated together -- as they did when they were all much younger -- around the rink.
"We're all older now," said Doug Palmer. "As much as we all want to skate to 'We are Family,' we can't do that whole song. We started doing our line during 'We Are Family' to kind of do that throwback to Skate 98, but these guys are like, 'Doug, you can take the front,' and I'm like, 'I'm on point Oh, God! So as soon as your legs start feeling it, you slow down there's somebody else right there behind you, so you ditch out and let somebody else take point."
Still, it was a fun night, all agreed.
The group included Mark Mcvay, wife Kelly Mcvay, Mark's brother Craig, along with Palmer, Alan Gilford, and Pat Gaudy.
It was the first time in a rink in 30 years for Gilford. Mark was wearing skates from 1977, while Kelly, her skates were from ninth grade, and Gaudy's skates he bought when he was 17.
The old adage that you never forget how to ride a bicycle must also apply to roller skating. Even Gilford exuded a confidence moving around the rink, not as evident in some other skaters.
"The skate was all right," said Gilford, a former skate guard at Skate 98 and so is a bit older than the rest of the group at 71. "My legs are fine, but my ankles felt a little jittery."
They all agreed that the arrival of The McCarthy as a roller skate rink is a welcome development but said not all the music being played is appropriate for skating. Some of it needs more of a dance beat, they said, a bit more Funk, perhaps.
"It can't just be any music from the era," Palmer said. "It's got to be skate music."
Palmer has been coming to the open skates on Friday nights since they started a few weeks ago just to "get the webs off."
"I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of these guys," he said.
They all have fond memories of Skate 98, a roller rink that was once on Route 98 heading toward Alexander. They remember the all-night skates, the game room, the contests, hanging out with friends, and the skates guards -- during a skating break -- throwing out rolls of quarters on the floor and the mad scramble for the kids to pick them up.
"They all went right back into the games in the game room," Palmer recalled.
Gaudy said, "I met all my friends there, even met most of my girlfriends there."
Which reminded Palmer of "make out corner."
A place he had to avoid once his dad became a skate guard.
"Or my ears would get a lot longer," he said.
When Skate 98 closed after a fire, it was the end of an era in Genesee County and for some the end of roller skating for a while.
"When it went away, it kind of sucked," Palmer said. "Everybody had to go to Buffalo or Rochester to skate, then they didn't want to drive with their kids 45 minutes to go roller skating, so having a place that is local again, even with this here, I would love to have a place in Batavia again."
Meaning he would like to see a year-round, full-time roller skating venue.
Skating has always been a family affair in the Mcvay clan, Kelly said.
"It’s continued to be a family thing for us," Kelly said. "We go to Lockport and Tonwanda, and our kids come with us, and our grandkids now skate with the little walkers, so it’s nice to have this, even if it’s only to August."
Photo by Howard Owens
Mark and Kelly Mcvay. Photo by Howard Owens.
The Skate 98 group at the skate night: Alan Gilford, Doug Palmer, Kelly Mcvay, Mark Mcvay, Craig McVay, and Pat Gaudy. Photo by Howard Owens.
A drum and bugle corp exhibition at Van Detta Stadium on Saturday night provided enthusiasts for the genre to see a variety of ensembles to perform, said Shannon Mellander, a music teacher and one of the organizers.
"There's not a lot of places to go and see some of this competitive drum corps up in New York, even though there used to be a long time ago," Mellander said. "So it's kind of nice to have something a little bit centrally located in Western New York where people can get a glimpse. They don't have to watch a video."
The event was also a fundraiser for Batavia High School's Winterguard.
Participating were:
St. Joseph's of Batavia Brass Ensemble
Brig Juice
The Hamburg Kingsman
The Mighty St. Joe's Drum and Bugle Corp of Le Roy (featured in the accompanying photos)
The White Sabres
The White Sabres is an all-ages summer program that competes regionally and includes several Batavia students.
It was their preview performance of their 2023 program, "Invasions," which is a homage to iconic science fiction films such as War of the Worlds, Signs, and Independence Day.
The group next takes the show on the road, with performances in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and downstate, culminating a finals competition in Rochester at the Rochester Community Sports Complex on Labor Day Weekend.
"(The exhibition) is really exciting for us to be able to have this in our hometown, in Batavia, because there are a lot of people from this area involved in all of these groups, alumni groups, in the White Sabres," Mellander said. "There are people from Rochester, there's kids that come from Binghamton and from Buffalo and Jamestown. I like that we're able to feature them, and everybody can come and see them since all of the competitions are out of town."
Batavia resident Guy Rapone on his motorbike on Jackson Street waves to the group on the Batavia Pedal Party bike on Friday evening. Photo by Howard Owens.
Sheri Sumeriski was preparing for her nuptials Saturday and had seen something that she thought would make a perfect pre-wedding activity.
“We just had to do it. We drove by it at the high school graduation,” she said during a stop at The Harvester Friday evening.
She was referring to the Batavia Pedal Party bike, which she ended up booking for a fun night out before the big day.
A novel business that has taken off in larger cities, including Buffalo, Rochester, Toronto and beyond, and is becoming popular for pub crawls, has been introduced locally by entrepreneur Kyler Preston of Batavia.
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in finance from University at Buffalo, Preston’s professional goals are clear, if not easy.
“I just like to figure out the best way to invest in the local economy and invest in myself,” he said earlier Friday before the launch of his first official group bike tour. “I think it takes a while to get a group together and then book an event. People are booking up into August and September. I kind of felt bad for Batavia, I felt there was a need for a nightlife we lost that with COVID. I want to promote business in Batavia and bring life back to the bars.”
The 22-year-old wants to do that responsibly, he said, by being the "DD" -- designated driver for a group of adults that wants to go out for a couple of hours and have some fun on city streets.
A two-hour tour allows you to bring your own cooler with two canned drinks per rider and food if you like, and a playlist of music is waiting to entertain your group while a licensed driver escorts you to two establishments of your choosing within the designated city limits.
Riders may pedal the vehicle, though it is also fully motorized, Preston said, and there is a bench on board for those not wishing to get that physical during the trip.
About an hour into the trip, Sumeriski’s group made a stop at The Harvester on the city’s southeast side. Bar owner Melissa Kibler was pleased to see them stroll in for a refreshment and hop off a large pedal bike to boot.
“It's great. I'm very excited. Like, I'm excited to get the crowd in. I think that's a new innovative thing that we could use,” Kibler said, adding that she wasn’t sure where the big group came from at first. “I was like, where did they come from? And I thought they were just bikers biking around. And then I came out, and I saw it. And I was like, wow, okay, that's a new thing. I might want to do that at some point. I think that's kind of interesting. You know, there's a lot of bars downtown. But if you're gonna do something like this, I mean … let's take a little ride.
“That's what I was so excited about, is that they decided to come in here because we're usually the one that gets passed because we're out this way. Versus, like, everybody goes to TF’s and all the ones over there because they can just walk there and do that,” she said. “So that's awesome about the biking thing because they can come down here.”
That’s exactly what Preston is hoping for. He has gauged rides to as far out as Batavia Downs and made a trip over to Dwyer Stadium so that folks could catch a Muckdogs game if they wanted to include that in a package. He said that he wants to help bring people — literally — to Batavia businesses, one group at a time.
Although he is booking into September, there are other dates available from now through the fall, and he said that cooler temps could make for a great event, especially if riders want to give those pedals a full workout. He can even envision a moving Bills tailgate party.
“There’s so much that could be done,” he said.
As with anything, there has been a challenge or two, he said, such as the online flak he has taken from folks concerned that the pedal party is unsafe. Preston feels confident, however, that this bike — built in the United States and not in China as are many others, he said — passes muster for safety regulations. It has a wider wheelbase, has turning signals, and being built in Texas means it’s “better built” and is “100 percent safe,” he said.
“People didn’t realize all the safety precautions I had taken,” he said. “People didn’t want open containers on the road. “We chose to stick with two alcoholic drinks per person to make sure people are being safe. As long as people on the bike are being respectful and keep the music at a tolerable level, they can choose the playlist and volume.”
The bike transports a group to two places of their choosing, where it waits for them to go inside for a while to have a drink and eat, and then go onto the next stop, and then everyone is returned to the starting point on East Main Street.
There’s the other element of safety, and that’s a licensed driver, just as with a chauffeured limousine. Preston wasn’t able to make Friday’s gig, so he gave Steve Ognibene a call.
Ognibene has driven a limo and a school bus; he’s driven for parties and other entertainment events and had the experience Preston, and his family was looking for. After all, this was a 15-person, open-air pedal bike with a whole new set of rules and regulations, Ognibene said.
“So with this, it's different because, basically, you're riding a bicycle. And I asked a lot of questions, a lot of safety questions. And they said, Well, everyone has to wear their seatbelt. And riding the limo, you're totally contained. In this is where, you know, you're on this little tiny seat. And you want to have yourself strapped in at all times," Ognibene said. "Pedaling is kind of optional, where you can pedal or you don't have to pedal. But as far as the comparison, it's kind of totally different. And I'm trying to be more aware because this is the first time I've ever driven something like this being on the road, and you're open, that no one doesn't, you know, try to unbuckle or anything like that, or act crazy or try to stand up.
"So, you know, safety is actually the first and foremost concern. We went over a lot of safety rules before we even left," he said. "And so everyone has to sign a waiver before we go, and that's pretty much it. Just call ahead, book a date."
What did Sumeriski and her wedding party think? They were having so much fun, they said, they booked another hour to prolong the evening.
Russ and Jo Ann Nephew hosted their second classic car and tractor show at their home, 323 State St., Batavia on Sunday afternoon.
About 55 people attended the event, which featured a memorial tribute to car enthusiasts Jeanne Freeman, who lived in Byron, and David Smith, who resided in Pavilion.
Numerous door prizes were awarded to attendees, who also were treated to lunch.
Photos by Howard Owens except where noted.
Taking part in a memorial for the late Jeanne Freeman and David Smith are, from left, Russ Nephew, Doreen D'Imperio (David's daughter), Susan Smith (David's wife), Bill Freeman (Jeanne's husband) and Camden Baris (Jeanne and Bill's grandson). Photo by Mike Pettinella.
When Brett Young began work on his latest album, “Weekends Look A Little Different These Days,” he faced a whole new challenge as a songwriter. He had strived to be authentic in his writing, delving into subject matter that allowed him to draw from his personal experiences.
But that approach wasn’t going to work on the “Weekends” album, especially if he was trying to write about where his life is now.
Married to his long-time girlfriend, which he literally says is the love of his life, and a father of two little girls, Young knew his happy life wouldn’t make for a compelling album.
“It would have been really tempting to just write basically a lullabies record, love songs about my wife and songs about my children,” Young said in a late-April phone interview. “So the challenge was that you can’t write just about what you’re going through in your life right now. That’s going to be boring.”
Fortunately for Young, he was working with some co-writers who have been around the block and knew how to put an authentic personal touch on a lyric and honestly convey a variety of emotions over the course of an album.
“It’s hard when you’re in the happiest place in your life, and you’ve got to still write a sad song, and we did,” Young said. “We did that, but we did it through a lot of conversations. I’d get in with a songwriter or a couple of songwriters, and I’d be like, ‘Tell me about your worst heartbreak. Explain that to me.’ We started having to go down that path, and that was a new stage of songwriting for me. Don’t just do what you’re feeling right now; here’s a topic, go back to a place where you did feel this way and write it. And we did that. I think it stretched me in a really good way as a songwriter.”
This new approach to songwriting is very evident on “Weekends Look A Little Different These Days,” and Young has essentially crafted an album that touches on the long and winding road he has traveled with his wife, Taylor.
Young, though, didn’t want to tell a linear story about his history with Taylor. Instead, the songs on “Weekends” feel like snapshots from various moments of their journey, which included three breakups before they decided they truly should be together.
“For us, our story wasn’t linear anyway,” Young said. “I met Taylor, this Thanksgiving, it will be 16 years ago. So we have a long, storied history.”
The album culminates with the song “This,” which describes how the life Young and Taylor have now has made the heartaches and good times from their dating years completely worth it.
“That one really fell out quick,” Young said of “This.” “It got me talking about my family (with Taylor), and it immediately made me realize it doesn’t matter, three breakups, 20 breakups, whatever, it was all part of our journey to get here, to this.”
Like his history with Taylor, Young’s musical life has been a journey that had its share of frustrations before things fell into place for the 42-year-old singer/songwriter.
He began by playing covers of other peoples’ songs, first at restaurants and other venues around his Orange County, California, home base and later in the big city of Los Angeles, while he independently released a pair of EPs and three albums, hoping to get a record deal.
But Young’s career remained stuck in neutral until he realized his songs actually were well suited to country music, and he moved to Nashville. There, Young quickly made contacts and, within nine months, signed with Big Machine Records.
In short order, he was in a studio making his self-titled debut album with noted producer Dann Huff. The album’s advance single, “Sleep Without You,” reached No. 2 on “Billboard” magazine’s Country Airplay chart. Then another single, “In Case You Didn’t Know,” topped the Country Airplay chart and went top 20 on “Billboard’s” all genre Hot 100 chart. The hits have kept coming since, with his second album, “Ticket To L.A.,” adding “Here Tonight” and “Catch” and “Weekends Look A Little Different These Days” adding “Lady” to his list of chart-topping singles.
For a while, Young worried that he might have to leave even some of his popular ballads out of his concerts to keep his shows from getting too sleepy for audiences. But as his current shows demonstrate, he’s found that his fans aren’t worried about the pace of his concerts.
“What we’ve found out is that people aren’t thinking about that at my shows. They bought a Brett Young ticket. They know the music,” Young said. “They came to hear the music that they know. So every time we try to kind of inauthentically ramp it up for the sake of ramping it up, they’ve felt like they missed out on a song or two they wanted to hear. So it’s been less about the setlist and more about paying attention to my fan base and what they’re actually coming to the show for.”
Brett Young performs at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Saturday.
It's been a couple of weeks since I've drawn your attention to this, but The Batavian continues to publish more local news than any other source, and we more frequently beat the competition than we get beat on local stories.
By local, we mean Genesee County, which is all we cover.
We cover more events. We publish more local photos. Our calendar has more local events -- more events publicized in one place than you can even find on social media (send your calendar items to be included to news@thebatavian.com). This week, for the first time, we published a listing of local music at local venues, which makes us the only local publication to offer such a calendar. We publish more press releases, which also helps you stay better informed about what's going on in the local community (send press releases to news@thebatavian.com). I didn't include much sports in the list below, including the Muckdogs, because we don't have a sports staff, but we have beat the competition on sports stories, and we seem to have more coverage of the Muckdogs these days.
All of this adds up to The Batavian being a complete and comprehensive local news outlet like none other around here.
A report by Northwestern University says that local newspapers are dying at a rate of two per week. The future of local news is digital, which is why you should support online local news.
We work hard to bring you the news, sometimes too hard (I put in more than 100 hours this past week), which is why we started Early Access Pass. Local news isn't going to survive without reader support. It simply isn't sustainable without readers helping pay for it.
Many of these stories were available only to members of Early Access Pass during the first four hours of publication. Click here to join Early Access Pass.
Muckdog's manager Joey Martinez promised at the start of the season that the 2023 edition of the hometown team would feature strong pitching.
Ryan Kinney is the latest Batavia starter to prove him right.
Kinney took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against top division rival Elmira at Dwyer Stadium on Saturday night to help the red-hot, division-leading Muckdogs notch its fourth-straight win, 4-2.
The right-hander from Winter Haven, Fla, is now 3-0 on the year with a 0.42 ERA after going 8 1/2, giving up two hits and two runs. He struck out nine Pioneers.
Rijnaldo Euson came on to get the final out for this third save.
The Muckdogs are now 19-8 after winning 10 of their past 12 games and are three games up on Elmira (15-10) in the Western Divison of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.
The win was also Batavia's 15th straight win at home.
Adam Agresti raised his season average to .409 by going 3-4 with two RBIs and two doubles.
Giuseppe Arcuri went 2-3 with a run scored. Trey Bacon was 1-3 with two RBIs.
Attendance was 1,599.
Batavia is home again on Tuesday against Geneva. Game time is 6:35 p.m.
Matt Gray, co-owner of Eli Fish Brewing Co., takes a splash in the dunk tank during Saturday's carnival in Jackson Square, Batavia. Photos by Howard Owens.
Eli Fish Brewing is hosting its second annual carnival in Jackson Square today (Saturday).
The carnival runs until 10 p.m.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Batavia High School Class of 2003 visited the carnival as part of his 20th Class Reunion festivities. Photo by Howard Owens.
Country music recording artist Craig Morgan, with hits such as "That's What I Love About Sunday," "Almost Home," "Redneck Yacht Club," "Little Bit of Life," and "International Harvester," brought his tour into Batavia on Friday with a stop at Batavia Downs.
Opening for Morgan was Drake White as part of the summer's Rockin' the Downs concert series.
This Friday, the show will get a little more rockus with Skid Row taking the stage.
City of Batavia, NY Position: Full-time Building Maintenance Worker. Salary: $20.60 - $24.45/hour. The City of Batavia is accepting applications for one full-time Building Maintenance Worker. The work involves a variety of mechanical and other building maintenance tasks. Applicant must have a minimum of two years of full-time paid experience in general building construction or maintenance work, or an equivalent combination of training and experience indicating ability to perform the duties of the job. Civil Service applications may be obtained at City Hall in the Human Resource Department. Please send completed applications to Teri Dean, Employee Payroll/Insurance Clerk, One Batavia City Centre, Batavia, NY, or via email to tdean@batavianewyork.com by September 20, 2024. Background check, psychological assessment, and physical/drug testing required. Candidate must become a resident of the County of Genesee or any adjacent town to the County of Genesee within 6 months of the date of conclusion of the probationary period for the City of Batavia. EEO
