Last evening's sunset in Pembroke by Joanne Meiser.
Press release from AAA:
Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $3.19, with no change in the past week. One year ago, the price was $2.18. The New York State average is $3.22 – up one cent from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.25. AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:
- Batavia - $3.24 (up three cents since last week)
- Buffalo - $3.15 (no change since last week)
- Ithaca - $3.19 (down one cent since last week)
- Rochester - $3.20 (no change since last week)
- Rome - $3.27 (up one cent since last week)
- Syracuse - $3.19 (no change since last week)
- Watertown - $3.22 (down one cent since last week)
Summer gasoline demand is beginning to slow down. In a recent report, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that gas demand dropped slightly, signaling that summer gas demand is likely softening as the school year starts in many parts of the country, in addition to COVID concerns. Additionally, total domestic gas stocks declined. The drop in demand has helped to minimize pump price increases. Crude prices have declined slightly due to market concerns that crude demand may not rebound this year as anticipated due to surging coronavirus infection rates across the globe. However, crude prices remain close to $70 per barrel, so AAA expects the national average to remain above $3 per gallon throughout the summer. Locally demand will likely remain high as Labor Day travel kicks in and students return to school later than in other parts of the country.
From Gas Buddy:
"As the number of Covid cases continues to surge globally, oil prices continue to be under pressure due to some countries instituting travel and movement limitations. This limits oil demand, which has led to the increase in gas prices slowing, and many states seeing slight drops compared to prices a week ago," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. "In addition, the tropics are heating up, which could be a source of upward pressure on gas prices should we see a major hurricane target the Gulf Coast. However, without such a storm, gas prices may see some stability over the coming week or two, before slowly decreasing as the summer driving season wraps up."
A fully involved house fire is reported at 6718 Swamp Road, Byron.
Byron and South Byron responding.
A second alarm is called with Bergen, Elba, Oakfield, and the City's Fast Team dispatched.
UPDATE 9:37 p.m.: Per command, all tankers can go back in service.
UPDATE 10:25 p.m.: Fire is out and under control, reports command.
UPDATE 8 a.m.: Reported by Alecia Kaus: "According to Genesee County Fire investigators, one person was home at the time of the fire. They were able to get out of the house along with the family dog. One cat is still unaccounted for. One other resident who lives in the home was not home at the time. Investigators are looking at a window air conditioning unit as a possible cause of the fire. The home is a total loss. Residents will be staying with family."
Photo by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service
Press release:
Join us to help raise awareness and remember the lives that have been lost due to an overdose.
Backed by that clear but hard-hitting mission statement, members of the GOW Opioid Task Force will be coming together on Aug. 25 to host their version of the International Overdose Awareness Day observation.
The event is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. at Austin Park in Batavia.
“We’re thankful to be able to welcome everyone to join us in recognizing the significance of the opioid epidemic upon the residents of our community,” said Christen Ferraro, project coordinator for the GOW Opioid Task Force, which is funded by the Greater Rochester Health Foundation. “Those in attendance will be able to hear first-hand from those who have experienced loss due to overdoses.”
Representatives of local human services agencies will be on hand to share information, and free Narcan training and kits will be offered, Ferraro said. Free food and refreshments will be served.
Attendees also will be offered the opportunity to leave a heart on the task force’s memory board for a deceased loved one.
International Overdose Awareness Day was created in 2001 by Sally J. Finn at The Salvation Army in St. Kilda, Melbourne, Australia, and now is held on an annual basis. Locally, it took place virtually last year due to COVID-19. In 2020, there were 602 Overdose Awareness Day events held in 37 countries.
To register for this year’s event, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/overdose-awareness-day-event-tickets-165953867485.
Those interested in having a vendor table are asked to contact Ferraro at cferraro@gcasa.org.
Sue Chiddy was honored Saturday as the 2020 Friend of the Year by the Friends of the Richmond Memorial Library and Jerianne Barnes was honored for 2021 in a COVID-delayed celebration at the library.
Chiddy moved to Batavia in 1982 and learned about the Richmond Library by taking her five children there. A retired teacher, she has worked at GCC and has been involved in the planning and organizing of "The Tale of Three Counties," is on the Books Sandwiched in committee, helping bring in speakers, and she is part of the library reading group. She is also a member of the Richmond reads program. She enjoys gardening and has helped in the upkeep of the Library garden.
"I have enjoyed all of the opportunities the library has afforded us. It's been my pleasure to bring books and exciting new programs to the community of Batavia."
Barnes got her first paid library job at Prendergast Public Library in Jamestown, NY in 1956. Jerianne and her husband Larry along with their young daughter arrived in Batavia in 1968. In 1975, she received a Masters in Library Science from the University at Buffalo. She served as a school librarian and media specialist. Her volunteer work at Richmond has focused on reference, local history, and genealogy. She also delivers books for the Library Visits program.
"Working here is a labor of love," Barnes says. "This is the icing on the cake, it's sweet and I am grateful."
Photos and information by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.
Group photo: Jessica Ecock Rotundo/VP Board of Directors, Bob Conrad/Library Director, Sue Chiddy, Jerianne Barnes, and Kathy Zipkin/Pres. Friends of the Richmond Library
Genesee County ABATE members held a fundraising drive today to benefit the fallen officers memorial at the Genesee County Sheriff's Office on Park Road in Batavia.
The group's goal is to raise money for a more substantial memorial rather than the metal signs currently commemorating officers who died in the line of duty.
About fifty riders participated in the run.
Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.
Top photo: Frank Gallo VP/ABATE, Tim Johnson.Pres./ABATE, John Peck, and Sheriff William Sheron.
Anyone 60 years or older and income-eligible can receive a Famers Market coupon booklet from the Office for the Aging.
The booklets are available at 2 BAnk St., Batavia, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Income guidelines:
The Niagara County Sheriff's Office said this morning that John Kindig, 63, of Batavia, has succumbed to injuries he sustained in a single-vehicle accident at 11:47 p.m. on Chestnut Ridge Road in Lockport.
Kindig's car struck at the residence with three people inside the home. None of the residents were injured but a deputy did need to extricate one person from a bedroom.
Previously: Batavia man seriously injured in accident in Lockport
*We apologize to anyone we may have missed!
Members of the Stafford Country Club opened a 25-year-old time capsule as part of the club's year-long centennial celebration.
Water had gotten into the capsule but it was filled with memorabilia from 1996 when Tiger Woods ruled the golf world -- among the items in the box was a magazine with Woods on the cover. Other items included documents of events from 1996 and the history of the club along with a restaurant menu.
Top two photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.
Pictured above, Jim Owen, Country Club member, Mike McCarthy Pres. Stafford Country Club, Pat Garnish, Chair of Stafford Country Club Centennial Committee, Ralph Garnish, Auctioneer, Candice Bower, Centennial Committee member, Mari -Ellen Lamont, Centennial Committee member/photographer.
Photos below by Mari-Ellen Lamont
Press release:
- Grab bar and railing installation
- Minor plumbing repairs
- Window and door repairs
- Smoke & CO detector installation
- Other non-emergency home repairs
No charge for labor for residents 60+. Some material costs may apply. Donations towards labor costs are gratefully accepted and are put back into the program.
All work done with COVID-19 screening and safe work practices in place.
Call 585-815-7979 for more information
The Handyman Program is operated as a partnership between PathStone Corporation and the Genesee County Office for the Aging.
Funded by: Muriel H. Marshall Fund
Press release:
Do you know a dad that has been in a public place with their baby and is unable to find a changing table inside the men’s restroom? Changing table inequalities have been in existence for years. In 2018, they came to the forefront when a father from Florida posted a picture on social media showing that he had to squat and change his son’s diapers on his lap because there wasn’t a changing table available in the men’s restroom.
A nationwide survey found that 9 out of 10 dads have gone into a public restroom unable to find a changing table. As a result, Pampers created the “Love the Change” campaign to provide changing tables to businesses and not-for-profits across the United States to install in men’s restrooms. Pampers has already donated 3,557 changing tables, but they are pledging to donate 1,000 more by the end of 2021.
The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health) are collaborating with Pampers to identify local businesses and not-for-profits throughout Genesee and Orleans Counties that would be interested in receiving a changing table for their men’s restroom. This is 100% free of charge and the only requirement is that businesses install their own changing table.
If you are a not-for-profit or business owner that is interested in receiving a changing table for your men’s room, please contact the Genesee County Health Department by calling 585-344-2580 ext. 5578 or emailing Kayla.Shuknecht@co.genesee.ny.us.
Press release from Assemblyman Steve Hawley:
”Impartial justice is a founding principle of our constitutional republic, and nobody should be above the law. Our public officials should be held to the highest standards possible, and by ending this impeachment investigation the speaker has denied justice to the people of this state and allowed potentially illegal acts to be swept under the rug.”
Press release:
The Genesee County Health Department is aware of concerns about rodents at the Indian Falls Log Cabin restaurant located in Corfu, NY.
Public Health Sanitarians conducted an inspection this morning, August 13th, 2021, and the owner has voluntarily closed the restaurant.
The facility will remain closed until further inspections are completed.
And then there was one.
The Pembroke Town Board on Thursday night voted, 5-0, to sign an amended water supply agreement with Genesee County, leaving the Town of Darien as the lone municipality not to opt in to a contract that would set the stage for $10 million in sales tax distribution from the county to its towns and villages over the next 38 years.
“We felt that it was more important to secure sales tax funding than to hold out on the water agreement,” Pembroke Town Supervisor Thomas Schneider Jr. said. “In good faith, we believed that it was best to mend some fences with the county.”
In a previous story on The Batavian, Schneider indicated there were some hard feelings over the way water agreements were handled in the past, but the current board is willing to give county leaders the benefit of the doubt – believing that the legislature will attain its goal of equalizing the water surcharge.
Schneider also said he talked to County Manager Matt Landers about the potential of “bumping up” the guaranteed sales tax money to be shared with the municipalities in light of the Village of Corfu (at the end of July) and Town of Pembroke opting in.
PEMBROKE MAKES COUNTEROFFER
“Hopefully, we are thinking that the $7 million in sales tax distribution could go to maybe eight or eight and a half million – based on having Corfu and Pembroke on board.”
Genesee County’s offer to distribute $10 million in straight sales tax revenue is contingent upon universal buy-in from its towns and villages.
Without that universal buy-in, the proposal is to distribute $7 million in annual sales tax revenue and an additional $3 million in other revenue on a periodic basis over the next 38 years.
Municipalities not opting in would receive less in revenue distribution than expected to allow for the equalization of water surcharge revenue.
Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein was asked if lawmakers would consider Schneider’s proposal to increase the guaranteed sales tax distribution.
Choosing her words carefully, she replied, “Here’s what I’m going to say: Let us do our work.”
“We have not met and we won’t until Monday. So, there’s a process that we follow and let us do our work. But, certainly, that suggestion is taken and welcomed.”
FIXING UNBALANCED TAX RATES
Currently, the county’s revenue sharing process has created a situation, per state law, where towns with villages inside them have to keep two separate books and have two separate tax rates – an A fund for townwide sales tax that affects everyone and a B fund for sales tax that only affects the services of taxpayers outside the village.
Stein said the legislature’s focus has been “to be able to direct that revenue sharing into the B funds of those towns and villages; that is our focus for this entire process. And, if we can find a way to get there together, that’s our goal.”
She previously explained that the $10 million figure that the county is committed to putting into the sales tax agreement would fix the unbalanced A and B tax rate.
When asked if she thought the Darien Town Board would change is mind and opt in, Stein said she that if it did reconsider, it would need to be mindful that the county has a timetable to adhere to “that is significant because our calendar has already started.”
The legislature’s Ways & Means Committee is expected to address the situation at its meeting this Monday, with the full legislature scheduled to vote on a distribution amount on Aug. 25.
“Plus, the City of Batavia has to do this at their meetings in September and the (New York State) Office of Comptroller needs 60 to 90 days and we already want to be able to distribute our third quarter payments (in October) as sales tax,” Stein advised.
“Time is not our friend right now,” she said. “But for those six towns that have the B funds or that have villages in their towns, it is truly meaningful for their more rural taxpayers to rebalance that property tax imbalance that is occurring right now for them.”
PURSUING WATER RATE EQUALIZATION
Landers said he was “happy” to learn that Pembroke passed the resolution.
“I know that they will be hopeful that the county as a whole, not just Genesee County but the towns, will remember this 5-0 vote when it comes time for the equalization of the retail water rate charged by the Monroe County Water Authority,” he said.
“The county can recommend an equalized retail rate and, again, I’m certain that Pembroke is hoping for a spirit of cooperation seeing that they agreed to sign this agreement because they know it is best for the county as a whole. It is in everyone’s best interest to have an equalized rate because it allows for the free flow of water a little easier between the center and western parts of the county.”
Landers explained that the original agreements with towns and villages dating back to the early 2000s each had “little nuances in them,” with different considerations.
“When the county took over individual water systems, the county water fund would make some compensation sometimes for that,” he said. “For example, we paid off some of the debt of the Corfu water plant for that village. All of the amended water supply agreements that the county have undertaken over the last three or four years have been uniform; we wanted to make sure that they’re all the same.”
The new agreements allow for the county, with proper notification and justification, to increase the surcharge above 60 cents (per 1,000 gallons). The original agreements were frozen at 60 cents but since then, the later agreements raised it to $1.20 to pay for Phase 2 of the Countywide Water Supply Project.
CLEANING UP THE LANGUAGE
The county manager said one of the sticking points was the county removing erroneous language in the initial agreements that guaranteed supplying water to the municipalities.
“It’s erroneous in the sense that the Monroe County Water Authority, in our agreement with them, can’t guarantee us water; there are things that can happen,” he said. “It is difficult for us to guarantee something that’s not guaranteed to us.”
He said that changes had to be made “because we need water to pay for water.”
“When we go to Phase 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (of the Countywide Water Supply Project), if there needs to be an increase (in the surcharge) to pay for the debt service, there needs to be a way to pay for it,” he said, adding that 20- to 30-year cash flow projections – including the retirement of some debt service -- indicate that the surcharge should not increase that much, if at all.
Landers said that he continues to speak to Darien Town Supervisor Steve Ferry Jr. about his board’s decision.
“If Darien passed a resolution next week and they signed the water agreement, it is possible that the amount in the resolution on the floor of the legislature on August 25th could be amended to be increased to $10 million,” he said. “I still have hope that we can find a path forward so that we can share the full $10 million in sales tax, and have everyone on the same water supply agreement.”
Asked if Ferry has sought concessions from the county, understanding that Darien has been paying more for water than other towns and villages, Landers would not go there.
“I don’t want to get into the subject of proposals back and forth,” he said. “I want all of that to be discussed between him and I, and our legislature and his board.”
Previously: Darien Town Board votes to not accept county's updated water agreement offer; Corfu signs on; Pembroke TBD.
Previously: Ways & Means passes measures rescinding revenue distribution payments, accepting HCA with Plug Power.
A driver was uninjured after her car left the roadway on Clinton Street Road in Bergen around 2 this afternoon and stuck a utility pole.
The driver was evaluated by Mercy EMS medical and signed off on further treatment.
Bergen Fire responded along with a deputy and a trooper.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Press release:
The Genesee County Health Department is aware of concerns about rodents at Indian Falls Log Cabin restaurant located in Corfu, NY.
Public Health Sanitarians conducted an inspection this morning, August 13th, 2021 and the owner has voluntarily closed the restaurant.
The facility will remain closed until further inspections are completed.
The plan formulated by John Fisgus calls for five days of in-person learning when classes resume on Sept. 8, with the wearing of masks or face coverings for students and staff while in classrooms left up to the individual’s personal choice.
Per the document, “Students and District staff are ‘highly recommended” to wear masks while in classrooms during instruction and learning, but it is NOT REQUIRED regardless of vaccination status. This is a personal choice and decision.”
The protocols do, however, require mask wearing on school buses, entering the school buildings and reporting to classrooms, and while traveling in the hallways between classes and/or to different locations within the buildings.
Fisgus (photo at right) said results of a survey he sent out on Aug. 5 separately to district staff and separately to residents is at the heart of the directive.
“We were looking to get a feel for their thoughts on masking -- thinking that there could be quite a difference in philosophies as, obviously, the teachers and the district staff can have a difference in opinion from that of the community,” Fisgus said.
What he found, however, was that both groups – staff and residents – were “right in line with each other,” he said.
RESPONDENTS WANT ABILITY TO CHOOSE
“Overwhelmingly, in summary, they (staff and residents) want the personal choice to wear a mask or not. It was 75 or 80 percent in favor of that,” he reported.
The O-A survey featured seven questions about masks, with respondents asked to rate their choices from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Fisgus said he received more than 400 responses.
The questions were as follows:
“Knowing what our local community wants and what our district staff is favoring, that is what we’re going to base our decisions on at this time,” he said. “But also know that we will have flexibility as we will be watching the seven-day rolling average. If something comes down that we’re having an increase in spread or whatever, certainly these protocols can change.”
INSIDE THE O-A REOPENING PLAN
Other key points of the O-A reopening plan are as follows:
*Please be advised of the following regulations regarding “close contacts” and “quarantining”:
DAILY MONITORING WILL TAKE PLACE
The District will continue each day to monitor the health and wellness of our students and District staff, along with the localized spread rate of COVID-19 and the Delta variant in Genesee County and our surrounding towns and villages.
Please be advised that the above protocols and procedures could change within 1-12 hours if the District feels it necessary for the health and protection of our students and District staff. Decisions will be based upon our current health status within our buildings and may be based upon the 7-day rolling average of transmission in our area. As well, any future mandates from the NYSDOH or NYSED may alter these plans.
Fisgus said the district’s board of education signed off on the reopening plan and he met with the teachers’ union earlier today to share the guidelines. On Thursday, he participated along with other superintendents in a Zoom meeting with Genesee Valley BOCES District Superintendent Kevin MacDonald.
“We’re all working together to try to figure out what is best for our region but, more importantly, what’s best for our local school districts,” he said.
Fisgus expects that the reopening document “will be fiercely circulated around the area,” and decided to release it despite receiving NYSED’s guidance late yesterday afternoon. Also, on Thursday, Hochul came out in favor of universal mask wearing in schools.
BOCES LEADER: 'WE'RE IN A HOLDING PATTERN'
MacDonald, speaking for the 22 schools affiliated with Genesee Valley BOCES, said most districts are in “a bit of a holding pattern” as recommendations continue to come out.
“We’ve heard now that incoming Governor Hochul is in favor of school masks, so I guess, right now, there’s not a rush. We know we have to communicate with our communities what’s happening, but in terms of a mask mandate, I don’t think we’re there yet,” he said.
MacDonald said he plans to touch base with other administrators on a weekly basis until the first week of September, with the overarching goal of ensuring “we get all kids in school every day in the safest way possible for students and staff.”
“Each superintendent has the best feel and bead on their community and what they think is best, and in the end that’s what we all have to do – what we think is best,” he said.
Notre Dame High School Principal Wade Bianco said the private school’s plan is to follow the guidelines set by the state and the county in order to comply.
“We’re going to try to give the kids the least restrictive environment as possible, based on those guidelines,” he said, adding that he has scheduled a staff meeting for next Wednesday and expects a reopening plan decision to be made at that time.
Fran and Bobbi Norton celebrated the grand opening of their craft business on their property on Gilhooly Road in Alexander on Wednesday.
The couple started in the woodworking business many years ago building various wood products and then added Amish-made goods to their inventory. They've sold their goods at the former Norton Enterprise showroom in Batavia as well at events in the area such as the WNY Steam Show, AppleUmpkin, and Attica Furniture Days. After Bobbi's retirement from Batavia City Schools, they decided to open a retail store attached to their workshop behind their house at 4309 Gilhooly Road, Alexander.
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