The Oatka Festival Parade returned to the Village of Le Roy on Saturday after a two-year hiatus because of pandemic protocols. 

Ed Henry, Le Roy sports super-booster, coach, and photographer, was the grand marshall (second photo).

The Oatka Festival continues tomorrow (Sunday) in Trigon Park and along the east bank of the Oatka Creek.

Photos by Howard Owens.  To view 55 more photos and to purchase prints, click here.

Overlooking the Creekside Inn patio after the parade.

Genesee County Chamber of Commerce helped the new Fairfield Inn by Marriott celebrate its opening Thursday with a ribbon-cutting outside of the new hotel.

The project was pursued by the Chase Hotel Group with assistance from local investors and project managers. Planning started four years ago but was often delayed by issues related to the pandemic. 

The hotel, at 4333 Federal Drive, Batavia, is designed to offer slightly more upscale accommodations to travelers.

The four-story hotel contains sixty-four rooms, including king and queen suites and double rooms for families. Amenities include an indoor pool, breakfast area, and fitness room.

Photos and information courtesy of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then what is a mother with a dilemma?

She’s an entrepreneur like Alisa Pastecki who opens up shop to help her and fellow moms out.

And Thoughtful Kids Consignment Shop was born.

“I have a one-year-old and a four-year-old, and this was out of an abundance of need for myself because living here in Batavia we didn't have any consignment options. And when I was living in Buffalo previously, one consignment shop that I did like to frequent was on Hertel Avenue, and there was just, there's no parking. It would not be easy to bring two kids in tow with, you know, boxes of clothes to sell,” she said during her shop’s ribbon-cutting grand opening Friday at Harvester Center. “So this was just out of an abundance of need for myself, and I think for the community and other moms like myself.”

While raising her children, Pastecki began to notice the collection of things that she didn’t want to throw out yet also didn’t have many options of where to put them to good use, she said. A consignment shop is a clearinghouse for such gently used goods in which the donor receives a portion of the sales for those items directly given to the store. Pastecki will buy them outright or offer a percentage of the total once sold. 

She chose a street-level spot that’s tucked between a children’s bounce facility and a coffee shop. With help from her husband Douglas and other family members — the grandparents babysat Gloria, 4, and one-year-old Walter — they worked to paint the walls and floor and add custom displays “so that we could get open as soon as possible,” her husband Douglas said.

“It started with a small idea of what are we going to do with all these clothes, we’ve got other parents who are the same as us, who just have all these clothes that need to find a home. And she came up with the idea of doing a pop-up shop or some way an outlet to help people, you know, basically make money and save these clothes from ending up in landfills,” he said. “It's very exciting to go through the process because this is our first time going through starting up the business. So it's been very exciting to see it come to this day of the grand opening. We had so many consignment partners … mothers and families had clothes and needed a place to go.”

They carved out a 600-square-foot niche of assorted children’s clothing, footwear, dolls and other items for newborns up to large kids’ sizes.

Once Alisa had the idea last fall, she just kept inching toward her goal.

“This idea started off probably back in November of last year. And so this started as a pop-up business and grew to be something that I needed a lot more space for. And so that's where the storefront came in,” she said. “And the Harvester, I thought, was the perfect spot to do it, being a business incubator and all. I would say that Thoughtful Kids is quality, savings and community. All three good reasons to shop.”

Pastecki is a native of Tonawanda and moved to Batavia about nine years ago. She met her husband here — he works at Oliver’s Candies — and was familiar with some consignment options in the Buffalo area. But once having her first child she wanted something that would be closer and more convenient for kids’ items.

In addition to her brick-and-mortar store, the 38-year-old plans to offer some pop-up shops in the Western New York area to provide opportunities for fellow moms to buy and sell items as well. It’s a simple concept: “you take stuff and sell it,” she said. People can either drop off their goods or she will pick them up for busy parents, she said.

“So I will drive to their homes. I’ve done Orchard Park and Hamburg in a day. I’ve done Batavia any time, obviously, since I’m local. And then I can really go anywhere, from Rochester to Buffalo,” she said. “The plan is to be permanent here and see where this takes us. Being a business incubator, I don’t know if I’ll ever grow out of the space. But I’m really happy to be at the Harvester right now.”

She is a first-time business owner with a background as a sales executive with a network engineering company. She worked with consignment contracts for telecom equipment.

“So this is kind of a lot of the paperwork and a lot of the things I do for my consigners, it is very similar to what I was doing on a much larger scale for telecom companies all over the world,” she said. “So it kind of fit perfectly when  I was home with my kids during the pandemic.”

Benefits of shopping at her place include saving money — an estimated 50 to 70 percent off retail; buying quality, brand name fashions; positively impacting the environment; experiencing an easy consignment process; and the best reason of all, she said, is to support “a small, local, female-owned business."

Hours listed for the next two weeks are 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 23, 2 to 6 p.m. July 25 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 29 at 56 Harvester Ave., Batavia. For more information, call (716) 984-0515 or go to Thoughtful Kids 

Top photo: Alisa Pastecki shows some of the children's clothing at her new shop on Harvester Avenue, Batavia. Family members help Alisa and husband Douglas, behind her to the left, with the ceremonial ribbon-cutting for Thoughtful Kids Consignment at 56 Harvester Ave., Batavia. The couple's children, Gloria, front near mom, and Walter, being carried, in back row, enjoy the celebration Friday.  Photos by Joanne Beck.

Peter Noone's Herman's Hermits packed in the crowd for Rockin' the Downs tonight.

Photos courtesy Batavia Downs.

The Town of Alabama got a shout-out from the Jeopardy writers in tonight's show.

Photo by Michelle VanValkenburg Johnson.

Gilberto N. Natal, 34, of Batavia, the motorcyclist involved in an accident on West Main Street Road, Batavia, on Thursday, has died as a result of his injuries, the Sheriff's Office announced this evening.

He was pronounced dead at Strong Memorial Hospital today.

Previously: 

• Motorcyclist seriously injured in accident Thursday identified
• Motorcycle accident reported on West Main Street Road, Batavia

On 55 acres of land in the far southwest corner of Genesee County is -- at least for some people who are at their wit's end -- a little slice of heaven.

The land is scenic, of course, but more importantly, for people who think they've exhausted their opportunities for escaping addiction or other behaviors that have seriously messed up their lives, there is an open door and yet one more chance for them to get things straight and find some peace.

Freedom Fellowship has been at 254 Broadway Road, Darien, for more than a decade. It was founded when John and Victoria Kula, with a deep desire to help people find God and overcome their destructive behaviors, came across an old motel and barn for sale on 50 acres of otherwise open land.

"I was helped 20-some years ago and my life changed completely," John said. "So my purpose was to help others. This was our vision way back and we ended up out here in Darien. The Lord led us out here and we purchased this property."

Victoria said she and John had been seeing each other for about two months when a friend invited him to a conference. 

"The conference was about spiritual things and he came to know the Lord there," she said. "I knew about the Lord before but wasn't really a follower.  Once John changed it was just natural for both of us to want to serve the Lord. We feel because of our experiences in life God has called us to help people with the same struggles we experienced ourselves."

Total Freedom, on its website, calls it a "one-step program."  That step is Jesus Christ.

The Program
Those who enter the program live on Total Freedom's campus for nine months of discipleship. 

"There's a curriculum that's set up by Total Freedom in Florida," John said. "It's a biblical curriculum that guides you through a healing and deliverance process. (The curriculum) is normally three to four months. The curriculum is put on an iPad and each individual works at their own pace. It's all videotape teaching. It's all about healing and transitioning and growing as who we are and being able to transition back into society."

John doesn't pretend it's easy.  It's not for everybody and some people walk away.  The day before John spoke with The Batavian, a man traveled from Oklahoma after being accepted into the program.  He was there for a couple of hours and then turned around and went back home.

Still, John said that about 95 percent of the people who enter the program have stayed clean or otherwise avoided the destructive behavior at the end of their two-year Total Freedom journey.  Participants are not tracked after completing the two-year program (that includes 12 months of after-care). It's not possible to independently verify the rehabilitation claim.

"It's a lifestyle change that we're really teaching," John said. "It's putting God in the center of your life and letting Him lead in everything you do."

For those who can't afford rehab, the first four months of the program are free. During the next phase, participants are expected to take a job to learn a skill, either at one of the ministry's businesses or off campus.  At that point, they pay $125 a week for room and board.

"They start learning how to save money, the basic skills of life, living," John said. "That is how the process goes through nine months. Then there's a year of aftercare where the test comes on how you're gonna handle your life and what you've learned."

Building a ministry
John is retired after 33 years of working, and he draws a pension.  Neither John nor Victoria are paid by the ministry.

"It has always been very important to us to not take an income from the ministry if it wasn’t necessary," Victoria said. "So far we haven’t needed to, so we don’t."

Tax records, as of 2020, show Freedom Fellowship, a 501(c)(3), has $1.4 million in assets.  Most of that appears to be the property the ministry owns. The main campus, 50 acres, is assessed at just over $1 million, and an adjoining property, acquired in 2019, is assessed at $247,000.

"The younger generation is earning an income through the various businesses that the ministry runs, and they need the income to make a living," Victoria said. "We do have some very generous donors and we did receive a large donation in order for us to purchase the properties."

What attracted John and Victoria to the first parcel that comprises the campus was a former motel that was being used as a residential rental complex.  That former motel now houses family members of people going through the program.  John and Victoria have added on, building a dormitory, recreation and meeting rooms, and a kitchen in a separate structure.

That most recently acquired property, on the west side of the campus, includes a two-story house built in 1880 that houses women going through the program.

The acquisition of the house, John said, allows the ministry to keep the men and women separated by the length of the campus. 

Total Freedom can provide a residence for eight women and 12 to 15 men at a time.

Campus life
While there, residents can make use of a fitness center and sauna, play foosball, ping-pong, basketball, and other sports, help in the garden and with the goats and chickens, and each Sunday enjoy fellowship with family before and after services.

Services are held in a chapel built in a converted barn.

And then there are the lush hiking trails through the heavily wooded, creek-laced back portion of the expansive property.

"The program is mind, body, and spirit," John said. "The menu we have, there's no sugars or carbs.  The trails are here for exercise.  Every morning, as far as the body is concerned, for a half-hour, we come back here (on the trails) and either walk or run, or whatever you want to do, but there's got to be a movement back here on these beautiful trails."

There was one person a while back, John said, who entered the program weighing 500 pounds. He needed a walker to get around.

"He walked the parking lot until he could walk these trails and eventually he lost the walker and he lost 140 pounds," John said.

There are also chores for residents.  They clean the grounds and help with maintenance.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit
As for employment opportunities on campus, Freedom Fellowship established four businesses:

• Freedom Expressions, which operates a print shop for custom clothing (such as T-shirts) and a boutique  
• Freedom Automotive, which opened in 2020
• Green Bird Candle, which makes candles and was recently started by a group of women going through the program
• The Table, the ministry's newest venture (see Freedom Fellowship in Darien Center planning new curbside pickup dining destination).

The businesses are intended to provide training and work experience for residents going through the program, an opportunity to earn money to help pay their rent and help them learn about managing finances, and generate revenue for the ministry to supplement donations, however, the print shop took a couple of years to start turning a profit and the auto shop is not yet profitable.

The auto shop is a Napa-certified training facility.  It's run by Mark Snow, who entered the program in 2016 and has stayed clean and sober since.

"I personally had been through 10 different rehabs over the course of 20 years of drug addiction, and I came through Total Freedom and I'm set free from it," Snow said. "The difference is Jesus Christ. That's all there is to it. The difference is a relationship with God. There's no other way to explain it."

For Mike Raymond, it also took putting all of his faith in God to finally put him on the right path, he said.

He first experienced Total Freedom in Florida, his home state, but soon found himself struggling with alcohol again.

Raymond had a pretty successful life in the restaurant industry.  

"I kept being offered more, more and more opportunity in the field," Raymond said. "So as much as I didn't particularly like it, I stayed with it because the money was good. I worked in various capacities over the course of my career, anywhere from starting out at the very bottom to working as a regional training director. I worked as a regional vice president. I worked as a food and beverage director, as a general manager."

The good money led to the high life and when that wasn't working for him any longer, Raymond wound up at Total Freedom in Florida. After going through the program, he tried returning to the restaurant industry but fell back into old habits.  He joined Total Freedom in Darien in 2019 and has been part of the program since, running the kitchen for the ministry.

"What's worked for me is submitting, realizing that -- to really come into the knowledge of the truth -- that this is not my home, that I'm a sojourner, and that I have a purpose and that Jesus died for me," Raymond said. "What I need to do is glorify Him in what I do and not look to the things of the world -- the money, the fame, all the things that I looked at as positives in my former life."

His job now is heading up Freedom Fellowship's newest business venture, The Table, a Mexican-themed curbside pickup restaurant on the campus.

"Mexican food has always been my cup of tea," Raymond said. "I worked for a Mexican concept for a long time. We made everything from scratch. It was real, and it's one of my favorite foods. So when I came here, it was not, obviously, the intention but when we started talking about (starting a restaurant) originally, that was the first thing that came to my mind. We prayed about it and decided, 'Hey, let's go with it and open a concept that was similar to what I knew."

The Table opened to the public earlier this month. The restaurant's menu is available online, along with online ordering.

Because New York doesn't sanction faith-based rehabilitation, most of the residents who join the program do not come to Total Freedom through the court system (though a couple of judges in Western New York have authorized it, John said). Instead, people at their wit's end hear about Total Freedom from churches and community centers.

"Once people know who we are and what we do -- and I'm going to be honest with you -- basically, sometimes it's the last resort for them because we don't charge and a lot of places want insurance or they want $1,000 up front," John said. "We just want to bring them in and when they can eventually pay, that's fine. If not, that's fine, too. We believe in and trust in that (idea), and that's definitely a blessing."

Photos by Howard Owens

Mike Raymond

Mark Snow

A room in the men's dormitory.

Part of the hiking trails.

The Batavian visited Total Freedom on June 25, the day the ministry hosted a car show, chicken BBQ, basket raffle and a bit of a carnival.  Retired pastor Richard Gritzke, pictured above with his Rolls Royce, won the prize for most classic car. The photos below are all from June 25.

Press release:

VA Western New York Healthcare System is seeking qualified professionals and staff for our Batavia VA Medical Center facility location. We highly encourage applicants to send an updated resume prior to July 13th to our email group VISN2HRSBUWesternNY@va.gov to schedule an interview time slot. Walk-ins are welcome!

Positions targeted for hire:

• Cook
• Food Service Worker
• Housekeeping Aide
• Registered Nurse (various shifts)
• Clinical Nurse Managers
• Licensed Practical Nurse
• Nursing Assistants

Our VA Career Fair will be held on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Building 3, Ground Floor, Batavia VA Medical Center Campus, 222 Richmond Avenue, Batavia, New York.

Benefits of working for Veterans Health Administration include:

• 13 to 26 days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 sick days annually with no limit on accumulation
• 11 paid Federal holidays
• A Federal Pension
• Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits that can be carried into retirement
• A thrift savings plan (similar to the private sector’s 401K); up to 5% matching contributions
• Flexible Savings Accounts
• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and The Family Friendly Leave Act allow employees to take reasonable amounts of leave for medical reasons
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave (for employees covered by FMLA) for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child
• Military leave is authorized up to 15 days a year for our active reservists and National Guard members 

With a doubleheader sweep on Thursday -- and a loss by Utica -- the Batavia Muckdogs tightened their hold on first place in the Western Division of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.

The 22-10 Muckdogs are now 1.5 games ahead of Utica (22-13).

Batavia beat Geneva 8-1 and 7-4 while Utica lost to Watertown 6-4.

In the first game, Nolan Sparks, a junior at the University of Rochester, picked up his fifth win of the season, becoming the first Muckdog with that distinction. His .027 ERA leads the league.

Brian Fry, of Medina, continued his torrid hitting (.394 on the season) going 2-3 and scoring twice. Daniel Burroway also had two hits and scored a run and knocked in a run. Trey Bacon matched that stat line and Kyle Corso smacked a triple, driving in three runs.

In the nightcap, Batavia's Tyler Prospero improved to 4-1 with an ERA of 3.85 giving up only two runs over six innings of work. 

Josh Leadem picked up three hits and scored twice.  Fry once again got two hits. Bacon and Corso each had two hits.

Press release:

County Highway will be closing Sumner Road approximately 1,000 feet east of Route 77 for a culvert replacement from 7 a.m., Monday, July 18 through 4 p.m., Wednesday, July 21.  This is adjacent to Darien Lake Theme Park and between Route 77 and the Darien Lake Employee entrance on Sumner Road.  The culvert replacement has been coordinated with Daren Lake and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office to hit a gap in the busy concert schedule at the park.  It is expected that the road will be reopened by Wednesday evening. Use caution once reopened as the culvert crossing will remain a gravel surface until paving can occur once the concert season slows down.

A motor vehicle accident with injuries is reported at Route 77 and Indian Falls Road.

Indian Falls Fire, Pembroke Fire, and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 10:32 a.m.: Minor injuries.

UPDATE 10:35 a.m.: T-bone accident, one vehicle off the road.  At least one patient will be a sign-off.

San Francisco-based Renewable Properties is entering the Genesee County solar market with the proposed development of a pair of independent community solar projects on Alexander Road in the Town of Batavia.

Brian Madigan, the company’s senior permitting manager, introduced the two ground-mounted plans on Thursday night at the Genesee County Planning Board meeting at County Building 2 on West Main Street Road.

Renewable Properties, working with Bergmann Associates engineering firm of Rochester, is seeking approval of special use permits to install a 14-acre, 3-megawatt solar farm on a 29-acre parcel at 9183 Alexander Rd. and a 10-acre, 1.6-megawatt system at 9071 Alexander Rd.

Both systems are earmarked for prime farmland in parcels zoned Agricultural-Residential.

“We’re excited to get going,” Madigan said after the meeting, noting that a yearlong moratorium on solar projects in the town has ended.

County planners recommended approval of both projects, stipulating that the applicant should seek 9-1-1 Address Verification with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office to ensure that the address of the system meets 9-1-1 standards.

The 3-megawatt system, known as Pike Road Solar Project, is located just north of the intersection of Alexander Road and Pike Road on property owned by John and Kerry Hylkema. Documents indicate it will utilize 6,942 solar panels and 24 string inverters, with an overall height of the array exceeding 15 feet.

The 1.6-megawatt system, knowns as Alexander Road Solar Project, is located about a third of a mile from the other proposed site -- just south of the intersection of Alexander Road and Rose Road on property owned by Daniel Reuter. It will utilize 3,718 solar panels and 13 string inverters, also with an overall height of the array exceeding 15 feet.

Both property owners have signed 35-year lease agreements with Renewable Properties, which also is developing solar projects in Lockport in Niagara County and Marilla in Erie County, Madigan said.

As community solar initiatives, both proposed solar farms allow Town of Batavia residents who are National Grid customers to subscribe to part of a larger, offsite shared system and receive credits (savings) on their electric bills.

Kristin Jacobs, assistant project manager at Bergmann Associates, said the two projects, combined, will provide electricity for close to 1,500 homes.

The proposals require approval by the Batavia Town Planning Board before moving forward. They are on the agenda of that committee’s next meeting, set for 7 p.m. next Tuesday at the Batavia Town Hall on West Main Street Road.

Photo: Brian Madigan of Renewable Properties and Kristin Jacobs of Bergmann Associates address the Genesee County Planning Board on Thursday night. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

A motorcycle operator sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Genesee County Sheriff's Office, when his bike collided with a van making a left-hand turn Thursday evening on West Main Street Road, Batavia.

The rider has been identified as Gilberto N. Natal, 34, of Batavia.

He was transported by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital.

Bruce P. Chilson, 80, the driver of the van, and his passenger, Mary Chilson, 80, both of Spring Hill, Florida, were treated at the scene by Mercy medics and transported to UMMC for evaluation of minor injuries.

The force of collision between the van and the motorcycle caused the 2019 Ford Transit to overturn and come to rest on its side.

Speed is believed to be a factor in the accident.

The location was 3872 West Main Street Road, Batavia, in front of Dave's Ice Cream. Chilson was making a left-hand turn into the ice cream shop's parking lot when it collided with the motorcycle.

The accident is being investigated by Deputy Mason Schultz, Deputy Nicholas Chamound, Deputy Alex Hadsall, Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello, Investigator Chad Minuto, and Crash Management Deputy Richard Schildwaster. State Police assisted at the scene, along with Town of Batavia Fire, East Pembroke Fire, Mercy EMS and Mercy Flight.

Previously: Motorcycle accident reported on West Main Street Road, Batavia

Photos by Howard Owens

Press release:

Representatives from Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel are preparing for a new generation of harness racing at Batavia Downs beginning next Wednesday, July 20^th from America’s Oldest Lighted Harness Track.

The 56-night season is scheduled to run on select Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays throughout the summer and fall.  A full schedule with post times can be found on BataviaDownsGaming.com.  With a newly renovated Clubhouse, group packages are now available and interested parties can call 585-343-3750 to book. 

“We know that Western New York Harness fans will be pleased with the time and effort that has been put into renovating the historic Clubhouse, said Scott Kiedrowski, Vice President of Operations.  “We look forward to entertaining race fans this season and for years to come.  Our new racing management team will be more focused on putting on a quality racing product with the highest integrity.”

New Director of Live Racing, Don Hoover, brings a wealth of horse racing experience at a number of tracks in the Northeast including Saratoga Harness where he spent the last 12 years.  Originally from North Tonawanda, Don left a banking career to become a successful driver/trainer at Saratoga Raceway.  He even claimed his first horse at Batavia Downs.  Over 15 years he drove and trained as several tracks along the east coast including at Batavia Downs.  He worked as an assistant Race Secretary at Vernon Downs before becoming the Simulcast Director and Race Secretary.   He then moved to Northfield Park where he headed up their racing Publicity Department while also heading up Player’s Club and taking over Handicapping Duties.

“We are so excited to welcome Don to our team, “said Henry Wojtaszek, President and CEO at Batavia Downs. Never have we had someone on our team with such an impressive breadth of knowledge in this specialized industry.  Don will bring a whole new perspective with his wealth of experience from tracks across the country.  We look forward to implementing his ideas to bring the guests of Batavia Downs the very best racing experience.”

“As we welcome back race fans, we are offering two bets that were introduced last year and proved to be really popular,” said Hoover.  “Our Pick 5 starts each night in Race 1.  If no one holds a winning ticket, the money will roll over to the next night.  Also returning is the Jackpot Super High 5 which allows patrons to predict the exact order of the first 5 horses in our last race on select nights.  Again, if no one holds a winning ticket, that money will roll over to the next night.”

Wayne Teaven is the new Race Announcer at Batavia Downs.  Wayne wanted to be a race announcer ever since he followed announcer Pete Szymanski at Buffalo Raceway back in the late 80s and 90s. This self-taught announcer worked his way up the announcing ladder in the mid-2010s before calling full races at Buffalo Raceway in 2016.  He became the full-time announcer at Buffalo Raceway in 2017. He’s called NOFA Football as well as dirt bikes, motocross, and go-kart races and is excited to be the full-time announcer.

Assistant Race Secretary and Program Director Patty Bruno has been part of the Batavia Downs team for years.  She is very involved with the New York Sire Stakes, serving as race secretary and program director for most of the county fairs in New York State.  A product of SUNY Geneseo and Nazareth College, she worked as a teacher for 34 Years.  Having retired from full-time work, she now uses her extensive knowledge and positive attitude to promote harness racing throughout New York State.

Another longtime member of the Batavia Downs Team is Mary Bucceri, now in a new role as the Administrative Assistant for Live Racing.  After working in the Marketing and Food and Beverage Departments she has assisted with many events onsite, working with many local charities and organizations to raise money via events onsite.  Mary’s family has a long history in Harness Racing with her parents both working in the industry.  Mary will be working with local groups to bring them to the newly renovated clubhouse for the upcoming racing meet.

New Track Photographer, Wendy Lowery is a newlywed who has owned and operated her own photography company for over 10 years, specializing in portrait, wedding, lifestyle and nature photography.  Her photos have been featured in the Seneca Park (Rochester) Zoo newsletters and calendar.  Wendy’s passion for equestrian photography will make her an integral part of the new Batavia Downs Live Racing Team.

Missy Morris is the new Batavia Downs Outrider.  Outriders often lead the post parade but also help calm jumpy horses or help track them down should a horse get loose.  Missy is a 3rd generation from the Stark family that participated in racing on the Western NY circuit. She has been outriding at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino (Pittsburgh) for the last 26 years.   Having started while still in high school her career has seen her ride at two Breeders Crowns and 7 years at the Little Brown Jug.

“I am pleased with the new team that has assembled here at Batavia Downs, “said Hoover.  “We look forward to improving on the Live Racing product with new promotions and events for our valued guests.  We hope all Harness Fans from throughout the county will come by to see the newly renovated Clubhouse or enjoy one of our $2 dollar days.  Our emphasis will be on providing families and fans with an affordable and fun experience at the track.”

Press release:

The Batavia Blue Devil Athletic Hall of Fame Committee is proud to announce the recently selected 19^th Hall of Fame class. The 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees will be introduced at halftime of the Batavia vs Pal-Mac homecoming football game on Friday, Sept. 30.  Game time is 7 p.m.

On Saturday, Oct. 1, the committee will host the Hall of Fame Dinner at the Batavia Downs Banquet Facility. A social hour will begin at 5 p.m. with dinner served at 6 p.m. and the ceremony immediately following dinner.

The 2022 Inductees:

• Benjamin Martino, 1959 --Football, Wrestling
• Paul Blossom, 1968 -- Football, Swimming, Track & Field
• Richard Saunders, 1971 -- Athlete: Swimming, Football, Baseball, Bowling; Coach: Swimming, Wrestling, Baseball
• Sandy (Samiec) Reeg, 1979 -- Tennis
• Kristie (DuRei) DeFreze, 2005 -- Gymnastics, Cheerleading, Track & Field
• Michael Chmielowiec, 2005 -- Basketball
• Boys Basketball Team, 2005 -- State Semi-Finalist
• Jermaine Henderson, 2006 -- Football, Track & Field

If community members would like to attend the event, they can purchase Hall of Fame tickets in the Athletic Office at Batavia High School or send a check payable to The Batavia Coaches Association at the address above. The cost of the Hall of Fame tickets is $40.00 per adult and $20.00 for children under 10. Tickets must be purchased by Friday, September 23rd.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Athletic Director’s office, at (585) 343-2480 x: 2003.

 

Press release:

New York will once again be taking part in a nationally coordinated effort to halt the spread of raccoon rabies in 16 states.  Ongoing field evaluation of a new oral rabies vaccine (ORV) called ONRAB will occur in Clinton, and Essex counties in the Empire State as part of an evaluation that also includes parts of northern Vermont and New Hampshire. Additionally, evaluations will also occur in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Jefferson, Lewis, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, and Orleans, Oswego, St. Lawrence, and Wyoming counties.  These sites were selected in part because of ongoing collaborations with Quebec and Ontario, Canada in the fight against rabies to protect human and animal health and reduce the significant costs associated with living with rabies across broad geographic areas.  Aerial and hand distribution of baits will take place in New York from July 26 – August 19, 2022.

Rabies is a serious public health concern because if left untreated it is generally fatal.  Costs associated with detection, prevention and control of rabies conservatively exceed $500 million annually. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, greater than 90 percent of reported rabies cases in the United States are in wildlife.  The cooperative USDA, APHIS, Wildlife Services National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) was established in 1997 to prevent the further spread of wildlife rabies in the United States by containing and eventually eliminating the virus in terrestrial mammals.  The majority of the NRMP efforts are focused on controlling raccoon rabies, which continues to account for most of the reported wildlife rabies cases in the U.S.  Raccoon rabies occurs in all states east of the established ORV zone that extends from Maine to northeastern Ohio to central Alabama.  Continued access to oral vaccine and bait options that are effective in all target wildlife species remains critical to long-term success.

In 2011, the NRMP worked with other Federal, State, and local partners to conduct the first raccoon ORV field trial in the U.S. in over 20 years.  This field trial was designed to test the safety and immunogenicity (provoke an immune response in the body of a human or other animal) of the oral human adenovirus-rabies glycoprotein recombinant vaccine ONRAB (Artemis Technologies Inc., an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Ceva Sante Animale S.A., Guelph, Ontario, Canada), which has been successfully integrated into comprehensive rabies control programs that resulted in the elimination of raccoon rabies from Canada.  Encouraging results from the U.S. trial in West Virginia represented a major milestone that led to expanded evaluations in 4 additional states (NH, NY, OH, and VT) in 2012-2021 and expansion into 2 new states (PA and TN) last year.  Data from these evaluations could lead to licensing of this vaccine for broader, more aggressive management of raccoon rabies by the NRMP and partners, with the goal of eliminating the variant of the rabies virus that cycle in raccoons.

The ONRAB bait consists of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) blister pack, containing the vaccine.  To make the baits attractive, the blister packs are coated with a sweet attractant that includes vegetable-based fats, wax, icing sugar, vegetable oil, artificial marshmallow flavor, and dark-green food-grade dye.  Humans and pets cannot get rabies from contact with the bait.  However, people who encounter baits directly are asked to leave the bait undisturbed.  Should contact with bait occur, immediately rinse the contact area with warm water and soap and contact your local health department at 585-344-2580 ext. 5555 for Genesee County or 585-589-3278 for Orleans County.  Please do not attempt to remove bait from your dog’s mouth.  The bait will not harm the dog.  If you have additional questions related to the field evaluation in New York, please contact the Wildlife Services office in Rensselaer, NY at (518) 477- 4837.

A motorcyclist is reportedly down in the roadway, not alert, in the area of 9583 Summit Street Road, just north of Black Street Road, in Pavilion.

Pavilion Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

The caller reports the rider is conscious and breathing but not really alert.

Mercy Flight out of Buffalo is available.

UPDATE 9:05 p.m.: The driver is up and walking around according to a Le Roy responder on scene.  Mercy Flight not required. Le Roy Ambulance to handle the call. The Mercy EMS unit is back in service.