Press release:

• Extends sales tax filing deadline to June 22, 2020.
• State is investigating 157 reported cases and three deaths related to COVID illness in children with symptoms similar to an atypical Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome.
• Rockland County is now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care.
• New Yorkers should call the Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 if they believe their employer is not following Personal Protective Equipment, hygiene or social distancing guidelines.
• Reminds New Yorkers to look out for calls from "NYS Contact Tracing."
• Confirms 2,088 additional coronavirus cases in New York State -- bringing statewide total to 356,458; new cases in 44 counties.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced summer school will be conducted through distance learning this year to help reduce the risk of spread. Meal programs and child care services for essential employees will continue.

School districts must also develop a plan for students with disabilities who participate in extended summer school year programs over the summer to ensure they receive instruction.

The state will make a determination on the fall semester and issue guidelines in June so schools and colleges can start to plan for a number of scenarios. K-12 schools and colleges will submit plans for approval to the state in July.

Governor Cuomo also announced the state is extending sales tax interest and penalty relief through June 22, 2020. The state previously provided relief through May 19th for returns due March 20th.

This extension could provide interest and penalty relief for up to 89,000 vendors who had returns due in March. These small businesses file their taxes quarterly and annually, and have taxable receipts of less than $300,000 in the previous quarter.

The Governor also announced the state is currently investigating 157 reported cases in New York where children -- predominantly school-aged -- are experiencing symptoms similar to an atypical Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome possibly due to COVID-19.

The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers, including a 5-year old in New York City, a 7-year old in Westchester County and a teenager in Suffolk County. To date, 13 countries and 25 other states have reported cases of this COVID-related illness in children.

Governor Cuomo also announced that Rockland County is now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care. The Governor previously announced that the state will allow elective outpatient treatments to resume in counties and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 51 counties can now resume elective surgeries (four counties do not have hospitals).

The Governor also encouraged New Yorkers to call the Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 if they believe their employer is not following personal protective equipment (PPE), hygiene or social distancing guidelines as more businesses begin to reopen.

The Governor also reminded New Yorkers to look out for calls from "NYS Contact Tracing" and to answer those calls as the state begins to implement its contact tracing program.

"As we focus on reopening, schools pose unique complications -- they have high density and transportation issues causing a greater risk of spread unless protective measures are fully in place," Governor Cuomo said. "Now we have another issue that is complicating the situation even further with COVID-related illness in children.

"We are continuing to study this new illness and learn more, but for now summer school will remain closed for in-class teaching and will be conducted through distance learning this year."

Interview with UMMC infection preventionist Tricia Woodward about wearing masks.

Genesee County Clerk Michael Cianfrini said he is expecting a major traffic jam when the Department of Motor Vehicles office on the lower floor of County Building I opens its doors once again for walk-in service.

“I do anticipate that when we reopen, we’re going to be inundated,” Cianfrini said on Wednesday as he provided an update on DMV/clerk’s office operations to the Genesee County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee.

While a specific date for a full reopening has yet to be determined, Cianfrini said he believes it could happen early next month.

“The last I’m hearing is that we should be part of Phase Two (of the four-phase New York State reopening plan) and the date I hear kicked around, but it’s by no means set in stone, is June 8^th,” he said.

Cianfrini said that throughout the COVID-19-induced person-to-person lockout, the DMV office in Batavia has kept busy with reduced staffing that also includes Deputy Clerk Leslie D. Krajewski and two or three customer service representatives.

He said that processing transactions for auto dealers has been steady and that citizens have been utilizing drop boxes in Le Roy and Batavia to a greater degree after his office publicized that option.

“Dealers are actually selling a lot of cars right now … and we have been able to maintain a pretty good dealer work flow,” Cianfrini said. “My goal is to try to get caught up on all the dealer work by the time we reopen. We’re close and the dealer work continues to come in.”

He said his office has been processing vehicle registration renewals, registration transfers, driver’s license renewals (if people submit valid eye test results), vehicle plate surrenders and, more recently, issuing license plates for new purchases.

“Originally, we were told we were forbidden from doing that (issuing plates), but the more I was hearing other DMVs were doing it, we started also issuing license plates to Genesee County residents only,” he said. “We have a limited supply of plates and we have not gotten resupplied on that, so we don’t want to run out.”

Financially, revenue is not far off of 2019 levels, he said, with $300,000 coming into the county for the first four months of this year, compared to $353,000 for the same time period in 2019.

Cianfrini said that the office is “ready to go” as far as social distancing and other safety protocols are concerned, but did admit that answering the phone may be placed on the back burner at the outset.

“We may have to temporarily turn the phones off when we first reopen … and we may try to change our message to include all the information that we typically get asked when people call -- to just include that in the message -- but on a temporary basis to focus on the people who come in,” he advised.

He pointed out that there will be a lot of 16-year-olds who haven’t been able to get their permits, as well as many, many others seeking service. He also mentioned that employees will continue to encourage people to use the drop boxes.

“If we have the 500 people in line that I anticipate once we reopen … we can’t do the phones and answer the customers that are waiting in line,” he said, noting that the office has received hundreds of calls per day – nonstop from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. – mostly from out-of-county residents unable to get through to their DMV offices.

Cianfrini also reported on activity at the County Clerk’s office upstairs, citing the effectiveness of e-recording (land documents) and e-filing (civil filings) software that was implemented last year.

“We’ve been fairly busy … attorneys have made the transition to e-recording very smoothly,” he said.

He said the office receives a couple dozen calls a day about pistol permits, a service that he hasn’t been able to provide.

“But when we do reopen, that’s going to be the thing that really drives us,” he said.

Cianfrini also said he is not worried about a permanent loss of revenue.

“I don’t anticipate a big drop-off beyond the national economic downtown … (as) pretty much anything that would have been recorded is going to be recorded and anything that would have been filed is going to be filed – and anybody that planned on doing a passport or pistol permit transaction will probably still come in anyway once we reopen.”

With colleges and high schools cut short due to the current public health crisis, it seems reasonable to believe that a large number of young adults may be looking for gainful employment.

Genesee County Board of Election Commissioners Lorie Longhany and Richard Siebert have issued a call for citizens – 18 years of age and up – to serve their communities and earn some spending money at the same time by applying for poll worker positions for the June 23^rd Primary and Special Election.

“Dick and I have found that we’re going to have a need for more poll workers … we are down, right now, 42 poll workers out of approximately 200,” Longhany said at Wednesday afternoon’s Genesee County Legislature Ways & Means Committee meeting via Zoom videoconferencing.

Longhany said workers are needed for eight-hour shifts during the week and for five-hour shifts on the weekend during early voting, and then for a 15- to 16-hour stint on Election Day.

Pay for the Election Day work is set at $215 and other pay rates vary depending upon shift length and duties.

She also said those who apply will be paid $35 for two hours of training, and would be eligible to stay on to work during the November election.

“We’ve had some luck getting some young people to step forward, but not in the numbers that we are going to need. And that’s our dilemma,” Longhany said. “We have an election … on the 23^rd and we need staff to put it on.”

Longhany said that the COVID-19 pandemic is adversely affecting the election office’s operation.

“We are seeing that poll workers just aren’t comfortable going out and sitting during the climate that we’re in with COVID-19,” she said.

Committee Chair Marianne Clattenburg said that was understandable.

“A lot of our poll workers are older citizens and considered vulnerable, and we appreciate the service they have given us all these years, but we totally understand their perspective now,” she said.

Longhany said the plan is to “facilitate the movement of the voters to get to the table to sign in by keeping the six-foot social distancing – passing out the little bottle of sanitizer that our emergency management team is so wonderfully providing for us, and just kind of keep a semblance of order during a time that’s different,” she explained. “We want our poll workers to be safe and we want our voters to be safe.”

The election commissioners asked legislators to allow them to hire more poll workers to keep things running smoothly and ensure that required safety measures are followed, adding that they are reaching out to school teachers, social workers at schools and others to get the word out.

Siebert noted that election expenses are the responsibility of the municipalities that are being served by the county election office.

“We were directed many years ago that all expenses to the towns that we run the election – these poll workers – no matter what our expenses – are charged back, which comes back two years later,” he said. “So, if we have to hire another $4,000 or $5,000 for what the cost would be … that would be a charge back to the City of Batavia and all the 13 towns.”

People interested in applying to be a poll worker or who want more information are asked to call the election office at (585) 815-7804.

Longhany said that 5,339 absentee ballots have been processed thus far, more than twice the normal amount processed during presidential election years.

Polls will be open for early voting at County Building 2 on West Main Street Road in Batavia from: noon to 5 p.m. on June 13-14; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 15; noon to 8 p.m. on June 16-17;9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 18-19; and noon to 5 p.m. on June 20-21.

On June 23, Election Day voting will take place at 23 different polling sites from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. throughout the county.

Statement from Mindy Brashears, Ph.D., USDA undersecretary for Food Safety, and Frank Yiannas, FDA deputy commissioner for Food Policy and Response:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the COVID-19 pandemic response continues, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been working around the clock on many fronts to support the U.S. food and agriculture sector so that Americans continue to have access to a safe and robust food supply.

As a next step in carrying out Executive Order 13917, the USDA and FDA today announced Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to help prevent interruptions at FDA-regulated food facilities, including fruit and vegetable processing.

This is an important preparedness effort as we are approaching peak harvesting seasons, when many fruits and vegetables grown across the U.S. are sent to be frozen or canned. The MOU creates a process for the two agencies to make determinations about circumstances in which the USDA could exercise its authority under the Defense Production Act (DPA) with regard to certain domestic food resource facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods, as well as to those that grow or harvest food that fall within the FDA’s jurisdiction.

While the FDA will continue to work with state and local regulators in a collaborative manner, further action under the DPA may be taken, should it be needed, to ensure the continuity of our food supply. As needed, the FDA will work in consultation with state, local, tribal and territorial regulatory and public health partners; industry or commodity sector; and other relevant stakeholders (e.g. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to chart a path toward resuming and/or maintaining operations while keeping employees safe.

We are extremely grateful to essential workers for everything they do every day to keep our pantries, refrigerators and freezers stocked. All of the food and agriculture sector -- whether it is regulated by the USDA or FDA -- are considered critical infrastructure, and it is vital for the public health that they continue to operate in accordance with guidelines from the CDC and OSHA regarding worker health and safety. As we work to get through the current challenge together, we remain committed to workers’ safety, as well as ensuring the availability of foods, and that our food remains among the safest in the world.

Additional Information

On April 28, 2020, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 13917, Delegating Authority Under the Defense Production Act with Respect to the Food Supply Chain Resources During the National Emergency Caused by the Outbreak of COVID-19, delegating the powers of the President under the DPA to the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure continuity of operations for our nation’s food supply chain.

The Executive Order gave the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to use the DPA if needed to require the fulfillment of contracts at food processing facilities. The MOU makes clear that the FDA will work with stakeholders to monitor the food supply for food resources not under the USDA’s exclusive jurisdiction in order to prevent interruptions at FDA-regulated food facilities.

This action is another in a series of proactive steps the USDA and FDA have taken to maximize food availability following unprecedented disruptions the COVID-19 pandemic has caused to food supply chains that have been established and refined for decades.

Supporting Industry and Protecting Frontline Workers

Our nation’s food and agriculture facilities and workers play an integral role in the continuity of our food supply chain.

The USDA and FDA have been working to ensure that frontline workers in food facilities and retailers that have remained on the job during this crisis have the information and resources they need for business continuity and to continue working safely, which includes mitigating the risk of spreading COVID-19. We continue to provide information and update frequently asked questions on both the FDA and USDA’s websites.

We will continue to work with facilities and farms, CDC, OSHA, and state, tribal, and local officials to ensure facilities and farms are implementing practices consistent with federal worker safety guidelines to keep employees safe and continue operations.

We are working with our federal partners who have the authority and expertise over worker safety to develop information on protecting worker health. We are also working with other federal partners to assist the food and agriculture industry in addressing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), cloth face coverings, disinfectants and sanitation supplies.

Monitoring and Securing Human and Animal Food Supply Chains 24/7

Throughout the pandemic, the USDA and FDA have been closely monitoring the food supply chain for shortages in collaboration with industry and our federal and state partners. We are in regular contact with food manufacturers and grocery stores.

We have issued guidances to ensure regulatory flexibility to safely reroute food that typically would be bought in bulk by food facilities and restaurants, like eggs and flour, directly to consumer.

Food Safety Reminders for Every American

As we continue to respond to COVID-19, we want to remind consumers that there is no evidence that COVID-19 has been transmitted by food or food packaging, as well as the importance of taking precautionary food safety steps to protect against foodborne illness pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli.

With respect to the safety of food across the U.S., both the USDA and FDA continue to use their respective authorities, including conducting inspections, as appropriate. The agencies also continue to monitor foods for hazards, work with industry on any potential or reported issues in their facilities, and conduct food recalls when appropriate. This applies to both domestically produced food and food that is imported from other countries.

Unlike foodborne gastrointestinal (GI) viruses like norovirus and hepatitis A that often make people ill through contaminated food, foodborne exposure is not known to be a route of transmission for SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

With respect to foodborne pathogens, the CDC, FDA and FSIS continue to work with state and local partners to investigate foodborne illness and outbreaks. During this coronavirus outbreak, we will continue to operate to prepare for, coordinate and carry out response activities to incidents of foodborne illness in both human and animal food.

Press release:

• Continues partnership with ready responders to expand testing from 8 to 40 public housing sites across NYC.
• State is partnering with SOMOS (a network of more than 2,500 physicians in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn for Medicaid members) to establish 28 additional testing sites at churches and community-based providers in predominately minority neighborhoods; total of 72 faith-based testing sites in partnership with Northwell Health & SOMOS.
• Directs all local governments to expand testing in low-income communities and develop outreach programs.  
• Religious gatherings of no more than 10 people and drive-in and parking lot services will be allowed statewide beginning Thursday, May 21st.  
• State is convening Interfaith Advisory Council to discuss proposals to safely bring back religious services.
• Announces finalists for Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest; New Yorkers can vote through Memorial Day at WearAMask.ny.gov.
• Confirms 1,525 additional coronavirus cases in New York State -- bringing statewide total to 354,370; new cases in 42 counties.
• Governor Cuomo: "So be smart. Let's use the numbers, let's research. Where are people who are infected? Where are new cases coming from? Where is the spread continuing? Low-income communities, communities of color. They tend to be high Latino, high African-American population. And we are seeing that pattern continue in zip codes, lower-income, predominantly minority."

Cuomo: "It seems like a simple thing, wearing a mask, and it's apparently so simple that people think it's of no consequence. It happens to be of tremendous consequence. It is amazing how effective that mask actually is. Don't take my word for it, I am not a doctor, I am not a public health expert. Again, look at the facts."

Earlier today, Cuomo announced the results of the state's antibody testing survey at churches in lower-income New York City communities and communities of color show 27 percent of individuals tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, compared with 19.9 percent of New York City's overall population. The data was collected from approximately 8,000 individuals and shows high positive rates and continued high community spread in these low-income communities.  

To address these continued high infection rates in low-income and minority communities, Governor Cuomo announced the state is continuing its partnership with Ready Responders to expand testing from eight to 40 public housing developments across New York City. The state is also partnering with SOMOS to establish 28 additional testing sites at churches and community-based providers in predominately minority communities, for a total of 72 faith-based testing sites in the state in partnership with Northwell Health and SOMOS.

The state will also work to stop community spread in these neighborhoods by increasing Personal Protective Equipment availability, providing hand sanitizer, enforcing social distancing and expanding public health and education in these communities.  

Governor Cuomo also directed all local governments to expand testing in low-income communities and develop outreach programs to help address the disparities in these communities.  

The Governor also announced that beginning Thursday, May 21st, religious gatherings of no more than 10 people will be allowed statewide where strict social distancing measures are enforced and all participants wear masks. Additionally, drive-in and parking lot services will also be allowed beginning Thursday.

The Governor also announced the state is convening an Interfaith Advisory Council to discuss proposals to safely bring back religious services. A list of the members of the Interfaith Advisory Council is available here.  

The Governor also announced the five finalists for the Wear a Mask New York Ad Contest, which was launched by the Governor on May 5th and is being overseen by his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, asked New Yorkers to create and share a video explaining why New Yorkers should wear a mask in public. Over the past two weeks, the state collected more than 600 submissions from New Yorkers across the state. New Yorkers can vote for the winning ad until Monday May 25th at WearAMask.ny.gov. The winning ad will be announced on Tuesday, May 26th, and that ad will be used as a public service announcement.

Assistant County Manager Matt Landers provided a snapshot of the current financial status of Genesee County government tonight and, although the complete picture has yet to develop, it does present a clear view that steps being taken in light of the COVID-19 pandemic are resulting in significant cost savings.

Speaking at the Genesee County Legislature’s Ways & Means videoconference meeting, Landers projected that the county will be $1.4 million on the plus side before any potential state aid and sales tax losses are considered.

“When you take into consideration about $800,000 on the departmental level and an additional $600,000 through various measures and means, we’re looking at possibly about $1.4 million to the good,” Landers said. “These are all pre-state cuts and pre-sales tax implications as well, and doesn’t have mortgage tax figured in – and that could be another $100,000 or so.”

Landers reported information received from department heads and County Treasurer Scott German as the basis for his forecast.

“In general, what got reported back to us … in essence, the savings on a departmental level are about $800,000 on their budgets through the course of the year and going forward, projecting out,” he said.

He said departmental revenues would decline by $1.5 to $1.6 million for the year, but expenses will be down about $2.4 million for the year – resulting in the $800,000 savings.

“A large chunk of that is the jail, which has significant savings,” he offered. “They’re looking at roughly a net savings of $370,000, primarily from not boarding out, medical savings, food savings. They budgeted boarding out males and females and, obviously, they’re not boarding anybody out.”

Beyond that, Landers said the county health department’s preschool (ages) 3-5 program will see a savings of $308,000 as schools have been closed. This program primarily consists of occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and other programming.

Moreover, the county’s hiring freeze and furlough strategies are on track to produce savings of $236,000 and $160,000, respectively, he said.

Landers said that additional revenue is expected in tax foreclosure properties ($131,000), contingency costs not utilized ($35,000), forfeited bail ($25,000) and delaying of projects ($100,000), which more than offset losses in interest earnings ($100,000) and Western Regional Off-Track Betting revenue ($35,000).

“At this point in time, I’m happy to see that we’re a million-four to the good versus a million-four to the bad … but we’re really at a wait-and-see situation right now until we can really see what is going to happen with the state reimbursement on state aid, the sales tax money and (federal) stimulus four,” he said.

Landers also said that a fourth federal stimulus package to help states and local governments would make paint a much brighter picture for the county.

“If we receive a windfall of money to help offset our sales tax losses, the ripple effect is huge because that would also mean that the state is receiving something else,” he said. “And it would not need to give a pass-down, devastating state aid cut that could be from a couple million to seven or eight million dollars they could hit us with.”

County Manager Jay Gsell advised the committee that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has three state budget “measurement periods” at his disposal.

The first (the month of April) has already passed but an announcement is “imminent,” Gsell said, and the others are May 1 through June 30, and July 1 through the end of the year.

He said that negotiations are taking place at the federal level in regard to another stimulus package, expressing the opinion that the bill recently passed by the House of Representatives will not pass as presented.

“That does not look like that (HEROES Act) is going anywhere,” he said. “Our NYSAC (New York State Association of Counties) people last night were telling us that looks like it is strictly a negotiating standpoint, and not a viable piece of federal legislation.”

Gsell said if a bill that is acceptable to both the House and Senate does materialize it likely won’t happen until June.

In a related financial development, the committee forwarded a resolution authorizing County Treasurer Scott German to distribute mortgage tax money to the City of Batavia, towns and villages – an amount totaling $388,967.72 – as follows:

-- City of Batavia, $103,929.86;
-- Town of Alabama, $7,911.34;
-- Town of Alexander, $15,902.45;
-- Town of Batavia, $46,467.74;
-- Town of Bergen, $14,956.42;
-- Town of Bethany, $7,929.85;
-- Town of Byron, $18,118.73;
-- Town of Darien, $31,923.49;
-- Town of Elba, $9,388.03;
-- Town of Le Roy, $33,675.72;
-- Town of Oakfield, $13,118.74;
-- Town of Pavilion, $16,232.73;
-- Town of Pembroke, $31,468.05;
-- Town of Stafford, $18,986.41;
-- Village of Alexander, $1,649.66;
-- Village of Attica, $565.80;
-- Village of Bergen, $1,998.11;
-- Village of Elba, $1,154.38;
-- Village of Le Roy, $9,670.41;
-- Village of Oakfield, $2,021.87;
-- Village of Corfu, $1,897.

The total is more than $126,000 that was distributed as the first payment of 2019 and the most for the same time period in the last eight years.

Retired dispatcher, who started his career with Batavia Police Department 30 years ago today, was honored by members of the force for his service to the department and continued support of its mission.

Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

Press release from Ed Rath, candidate for the 61st State Senate District:

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has turned our daily lives upside down and state and local governments face unprecedented shortfalls. Rebuilding our economy and prioritizing funding will be more difficult than ever before. But, as is often the case, with great challenges, comes great opportunity.

Long before COVID-19 reached our state, New York was plagued by years of overspending and inefficient government. Due to decades of mismanagement in Albany residents pay some of the highest taxes in the nation, and excessive regulation drives up the cost of providing goods and services.

As we prepare for the Governor, Budget Director and Legislature to make recommendations on how to balance the budget, I would implore them to first look at state mandates. Reducing the cost drivers will make cuts less painful and reduce long-term costs and spending obligations. We do not need more commissions to “reimagine things,” we need to listen to people who work in their fields every day and see firsthand regulations that are beneficial and ones that only add more cost and paperwork.

There have been endless commissions and studies looking at waste in New York State government, and there are countless binders filled with reports and recommendations that have never been seriously considered. Inefficiencies and duplicative regulations drive billions of dollars in wasteful spending but have little or no impact on service. Before state leaders talk about the tough decisions that need to be made, they should first proactively ask about what can be done to make the situation less painful. 

In the end, we must demand our government do the same thing that residents do every day. When financial situations change, we can’t hope for more money from the bank, instead, we must find ways to save money and reduce costs to make the situation better on our own. Residents deserve to know that their state government is doing the same.

In addition, we must prioritize essential services and public health. Despite local governments facing increasing budget shortfalls and a public health crisis, the recently passed budget mandates upstate counties use $50 million in sales tax revenue to replace state funding cuts. At the same time, the budget created a new taxpayer-funded election system at a cost of $100 million and set aside over $400 million for Hollywood production companies.

To recommend cuts to schools, hospitals, and cost shifts to local governments, while protecting spending for taxpayer-funded elections and subsidies to Hollywood is simply wrong. Similarly, residents already pay some of the highest combined tax rates in the nation and we cannot tax our way out of this problem.

If we need something to reimagine, we should start with New York State government.

Press release:

New Cases

• As of 2 p.m.
  • Genesee County received 4 new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 177 positive cases.
    • The positive cases reside in Batavia and Le Roy.
    • One individual is in their 30s, one individual is in their 40s, one individual is in their 50s, and one individual is in their 80s.
    • Two of the newly positive individuals were on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • Two of the previous positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Two of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
  • Orleans County received two new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 171 positive cases.
    • One positive case resides in Ridgeway and one positive case resides in Gaines.
    • One individual is in their 30s and one individual is in their 40s.
    • Neither of the newly positive individuals were on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • Four of the previous positive community cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Seventeen of the total active positive cases are hospitalized. Please note those in the hospital may be from the community or a state-regulated facility. We do not separate them out to protect their privacy.

Kesler wanted to make sure that all of the students in Batavia were staying connected. He knew that there were kids who would not get support at home and that other kids just needed the outreach.

“It takes effort to stay socially connected with the students, but our priority is taking care of their social well-being,” the principal said.

Keeping that in mind, district administrators and staff made it a top priority to stay connected with all students.

With virtual meetings consisting of school administration, staff, parents and student government representatives were able to convene and brainstorm what to do, and how to adjust to this new normal.

What about graduation? The ever-popular Mr. Batavia Contest? Plus learning, support, transition, and the myriad other longstanding traditions that would likely need to be cancelled or significantly altered?

Everyone shifted gears to make the most of this very unusual school year, and followed the lead of Kesler who simply had a “let’s do it” attitude.

Administrators and staff developed a plan to stay connected with the kids through check-ins with things like trivia and baby photo contests.

They started a “2 for 2 senior spotlight” video series where a pair of students talks with Kesler for two minutes. They discuss their plans for next year, a fun anecdote from their high school years, and a teacher who has had a significant impact on them. It gives every graduating senior a chance to shine while highlighting this special milestone in their lives.

Parents went in a slightly different direction...

One mother desperately wanted to ease her child’s pain and disappointment, another wanted to congratulate her child herself for being an amazing kid and student, while another just wanted to do the right thing!  

The parents of Batavia High School seniors came together and started to plan activities that would make this unusual year memorable in not so typical ways.

Kristen Fix and Lori Reinhart, both parents of seniors at BHS, took on the task of ensuring that every senior had a celebratory graduation sign in their front yard. The project was completed easily when donations came pouring in from people “who just wanted to help,” Fix said.

Local company “Vinyl Sticks” took up the challenge and quickly created signs to meet the demand, while other parents and students jumped in to help wherever they could.

Collectively signs were placed in the yards of 166 BHS graduating seniors. The group also placed congratulatory signs in the yards of more than 100 local residents who simply wanted to show the kids that they are proud of their accomplishment.

Fix noted that this has been a great project for the kids.

“At first we wanted it to be a surprise, but we realized that this pandemic has had a really negative impact on many of the kids emotionally," Fix said. "We found that it was a great way to get them involved.

"They really miss being busy, and this happened so abruptly, so they weren’t prepared for it. This has been an incredible community effort and we have all reaped the benefit!”

Another parent-initiated project was brought to the kids through the efforts of BHS moms Daisy Cervantes and Amy Mott. They set out to lighten the heartache for their daughters and the other 2020 graduates by creating the “Adopt a Batavia Senior 2020” Facebook Page.

This provided the vehicle they needed for local residents to adopt a 2020 graduating senior and shower them with whatever type of attention they chose. There was an amazing outpouring and many students were adopted multiple times.

“We cannot thank the community enough for the incredible outpouring we have received," Mott said.

The Facebook Page has been used to spread word about the community signs, conduct contests with donations from local businesses, display community support and highlight individual seniors.

Mott said that with many contributions from local businesses “we are working on some other extra special things to finish this out. We just hope that their lives get back to normal soon…and that all of this is inspiration for them to pay it forward in the future.”

Route information from Bill and Jeanne Freeman​:

Cruising for Mercy Flight is a car-cruise fundraiser that will be held on Sunday, June 7, escorted by Genesee County Sheriff's deputies.

Participants -- including classic automobile enthusiasts, hot rodders, vintage car owners, and people with way cool rides -- will assemble at the Genesee County Fairgrounds at 5056 E. Main St. Road (Route 5) in Batavia, and the procession will leave at approximately 1 p.m.

And this cavalcade surely must include thankful everyday operators who carry a valid license to drive in New York, have a vehicle that has adequate gasoline in the tank, is inspected, insured and runs.

They can all rally around Mercy Flight, a really good reason to enjoy some fresh air with people for a change, whether the weather cooperates or not weather weather permitting.

The Route

• From fairgrounds, turn left onto Route 5 westbound (about 1 p.m.);
• In Batavia, turn right on Route 98 north to Elba (1:15 p.m.)
• In Elba, turn right onto Route 262 going through Byron and into Bergen (1:35 p.m.);
• In Bergen, turn right onto Route 19 southbound through Le Roy (1:45 p.m.);
• Keep on Route 19 south to Pavilion (1:52 p.m.);
• Turn right on Route 63 westbound in Pavilion to go to junction of routes 63 & 20 (1:55 p.m.);
• Turn left onto Route 20 at Texaco Town (2 p.m.);
• Take Route 20 through Bethany and Alexander, to Route 77 westbound to Darien Center (2:15 p.m.);
• Take Route 77 northbound from Darien Center to Alabama (2:35 p.m.);
• Turn right on to Route 63 in Alabama and go to Oakfield (2:45 p.m.);
• Approximately 1 mile down the road, turn left onto Route 262 to Elba;
• In Elba turn right on to Route 98. This will take you back to Route 5 and also to the Batavia Exit on the Thruway.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR MERCY FLIGHT!

We would like to thank the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, especially Undersheriff Brad Mazur, the Genesee County Agricultural Society, and the Batavia and Le Roy police departments!

We certainly appreciate your support in being a part of this cruise. Be careful on your way home.

We sure hope to see everyone next month.

Stay Healthy and Be Safe,

Bill and Jeanne Freeman

UPDATE 12:28 p.m. May 21: A Mercy Flight Helicopter on a truck and trailer will be in the convoy, being held "in memory of all the former cruisers that have passed before us." A goodwill collection for Mercy Flight will be taken at the start of the event.

Here are the rules:

1. If you get out of your car you have to wear a mask.
2. If you do get out of your car be sure to practice social distancing.
3. If you bring a snack and a beverage with you, please take home any trash. 
4. CARRY IN AND CARRY OUT PLEASE!

Questions, call Jeanne Freeman at (585) 548-7197 before June 7.

Press release:

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County is pleased to partner with New York State Agriculture and Markets, CY Farms LLC and Genesee County Farm Bureau to provide New York State hand sanitizer at no cost to the Agriculture Community in Genesee County.

A second distribution will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27 at 4592 Barrville Road, Elba. The CY storage facility is near the corner of Bridge Road and Barrville Road.

If you were not able to attend our first distribution, we have a limited amount remaining.

Genesee County production farms of any type are encouraged to participate, along with farm stands, CSAs, greenhouses and u-pick operations. The goal is to support safe and healthy workplace practices to keep our agriculture workforce strong during the coronavirus pandemic.

Farms interested in picking up hand sanitizer should complete the online registration.

Include farm contact information, requested quantity and time slot for pick up (to limit wait times and traffic). We have a limited amount left.  Registration will be open until it is all reserved or until 5 p.m. on May 26.

Supplies are limited. Quantities may be adjusted before pick-up to ensure adequate supplies are available to as many farms as possible. The liquid hand sanitizer is available by the case -- 4 gallons to a case (with a pump). This is a liquid, not a gel.

For ease of use, businesses may decide to purchase small spray bottles for daily use and refill them from the gallon jug. A small number of the 2-ounce bottles will also be available.

The suggested guidelines for each farm are:

• 1-6 employees: 1 case
• 7-15 employees: 2 cases
• 15 plus: 3 – 4 cases

Details for picking up: stay in your vehicle and wait for a staff member to direct you to the pick-up area. Whoever is picking up the sanitizer for your farm will need to wear their own face covering if they get out of the vehicle. Please maintain social distancing when picking up. Staff will need to collect some information from you before you can pick up the sanitizer.

Please note that this is a 75-percent alcohol-based liquid-gel. It is highly flammable. Keep away from heat, hot surfaces, sparks, open flames and other ignition sources. No smoking around it. It is not drinkable.

This program is available only for farm owners to distribute to themselves and their employees. This effort has been made available through NYS Dept. of Ag and Markets as a result of the COVID – 19 pandemic.

Thank you to CY Farms for generously assisting in transporting the hand sanitizer and for providing a distribution spot.

Contact CCE Genesee at 585-343-3040, ext. 101. Please leave a message as staff is working remotely and will not be in the office.

As Genesee County school districts gear up for 2020-21 budget voting and school board elections, The Batavian is providing the following capsule summaries to keep residents informed about key dates, propositions and candidates.

Per Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s order, all school districts in New York State will hold annual budget voting and board elections on June 9 through absentee balloting.

Absentee ballots will be mailed to eligible voters and must be returned to the district offices by 5 p.m. on June 9 or they will not be considered or counted – no exceptions.

It is essential to remember that additional state aid cuts could be coming and would affect districts’ budgets going forward.

Details about the schools’ budgets and candidates as well as contact information can be found on their respective websites.

ALEXANDER CENTRAL

Budget by the numbers -- The proposed budget is $18,540,258, an increase of $315,497 from the 2019-20 plan, with no increase in the tax levy. The budget (virtual) hearing is set for 7 p.m. on May 26 via Zoom using the log-in details posted on the district website, and will be available for viewing on the website’s BOE link starting on May 27.

School board election – One position is up for election for a term of five years commencing July 1, 2020 and expiring on June 30, 2025 to succeed Richard Guarino, whose term expires on June 30, 2020. Candidates are Christopher Mullen and Diane Steel.

Website – www.alexandercsd.org

BATAVIA CITY SCHOOLS

Budget by the numbers – The board approved a $51,470,725 spending plan with cuts in staffing and other items but no property tax increase. The public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on June 2.

Additional propositions – Richmond Memorial Library trustee voting, with Kristi Evans the only candidate at this time for a five-year term starting on July 1, 2020. As two seats are open, the other will be filled via the write-in candidate process. Jackson Primary playground, a $618,000 capital project to construct an age-appropriate playground at Jackson Primary School.

School board election – Incumbents Barbara Bowman and Tanni Bromley along with recent appointee Alice Ann Benedict are running for three board seats. The candidates receiving the most votes will serve from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023, while the third-place candidate’s term will be June 9, 2020 through June 30, 2021.

Website – www.bataviacsd.org

BYRON-BERGEN CENTRAL

Budget by the numbers – The board adopted a proposed budget of $24,599,800, including a tax levy of $9,024,961 – an increase in the property tax rate of 1.99 percent. The public hearing on the budget is set for 5 p.m. on May 28, and will be recorded and placed on the district website.

Additional propositions – Bus purchase, proposal is for two 70-passenger school buses at a maximum cost of $246,000, with 90 percent covered by state aid. The tax income is estimated at $2 per year on a house assessed at $100,000, according to Superintendent Mickey Edwards.

School board election – Three people are running for two open trustee positions – incumbents Tammy Menzie and Amy Phillips and challenger Lynn Smith. The terms are for three years, beginning on July 1.

Website – www.bbschools.org

ELBA CENTRAL

Budget by the numbers – The board is meeting tonight via Zoom to consider the $10,269,322 spending plan that calls for a slight tax increase that equates to an increase of $39 for the entire year based on a house assessed at $150,000. The public hearing is set for 6:30 p.m. on May 27, also via Zoom.

Additional proposition – Re-establish a vehicle and transportation reserve and school bus purchase. Superintendent Ned Dale reporting that the district wishes use existing reserve funds to purchase a 65-passenger bus and a 24-passenger bus with a handicap lift.

School board election – Incumbent Michael Riner is the only slated candidate for his seat, which expires this year.

Website – www.elbacsd.org

LE ROY CENTRAL

Budget by the numbers – The board approved a $26,334,488 budget that includes a 1.99 percent property tax increase (which is below the district’s tax cap of 2.8 percent) and does not add new positions or programs. The budget hearing presentation will be posted on the district's website at www.leroycsd.org on June 2.

School board election – Incumbents Richard Lawrence and Jacalyn Whiting are running for the two three-year terms.

Website – www.leroycsd.org

OAKFIELD-ALABAMA CENTRAL

Budget by the numbers – The board approved a $21,123,746 budget, up 1.4 percent from last year, with a zero percent property tax increase. Superintendent John Fisgus reported that the budget preserves all educational programs and extracurricular activities, adding that tiered plans are in place if the state makes additional cuts in aid. The public hearing on the budget is set for 10 a.m. on June 1 and will be considered “adjourned” as it will be conducted remotely.

Additional propositions – Capital improvement project, $15.3 million, with no impact upon taxpayers. Major goals of the project include safety/security measures, code and handicap accessible updates, building repairs, infrastructure upgrades and landscaping. School bus purchase, $135,000, to be financed.

School board election – Five candidates are running for three open positions – Jackie Yunker Davis, Daniel N. Groth, Douglas Russo, Shanda Spink and Pete Zeliff. The candidate receiving the most votes will begin serving on June 10 with the term ending on June 30, 2023. The terms of the two candidates with the second and third most votes will be July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023.

Website – www.oahornets.org

PAVILION CENTRAL

Budget by the numbers – The board adopted a $17,684,182 budget with no change in the tax levy and no major changes beyond contractual increases and expected costs related to the coronavirus. The public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 26 via Zoom. Links will be provided in the district newsletter and on our web page once they are created. 

Additional propositions – Change of board of education term, with the proposal calling for making all seven seats five-year terms – an increase of two years from the current term.

School board election -- Incumbents Margaret Gaston and Callin Ayers-Tillotson are running for re-election.

Website – www.pavilioncsd.org

PEMBROKE CENTRAL

Budget by the numbers – The board adopted a $23,679,522 budget with a zero percent tax levy increase and no property tax increase. The budget hearing will be held remotely on May 26, and the adjourned budget hearing will be available to view on the district website BoardDocs link beginning on May 27. The district's Dragon Tales publication will be mailed next week with all the details.

Additional propositions – Purchase of buses, with no impact upon taxes.

School board election – Dan Lang is running for a one-year unexpired term and Heather Wood is running for a new five-year term. Additionally, an election to fill three seats on the Corfu Public Library is scheduled. Kristie Miller, Julie Hengenius and Tony Kutter are up for election for three-year terms.

Website – www.pembrokecsd.org

Press release:

The New York State Department of Labor today announced that the backlog of pending unemployment benefit applications has been reduced to 7,580 — representing major progress since an unprecedented crush of applications related to the COVID-19 pandemic flooded the DOL’s systems in March.

This universe of unprocessed applications includes those that are missing critical information and cannot be processed, duplicates, and abandoned claims.

Additionally, since the passage of the Federal CARES Act, 562,766 PUA applicants have received unemployment benefits.

In total, more than 2 million unemployment benefit applications have been processed, and those New Yorkers have received more than $10 billion in benefits.

“No one could have predicted the wave of unemployment applications that crashed over the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and every state is struggling — but New York has moved faster than any other state to address our backlog and get money into New Yorkers’ hands,"  said NYS Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon.

"To date, we have paid out over $10 billion dollars during this crisis, compared to just $2.1 billion in total last year. Those claims that have been outstanding for weeks are ones that we simply cannot process — we have already attempted to contact all of these New Yorkers, and we will continue to try get in touch with everyone who applied so we can connect them with the benefits they are eligible for.”

The numbers for applications submitted before April 22, 2020:

• 1,194,933: Paid
• 20,801: Not Paid – Need certification
• 7,580: Not Paid – Partial claims, missing information needed to process

Over the weekend, the Department of Labor analyzed the outcome of applications that were filed on or before April 22nd in an effort to quantify the size of the unemployment benefit backlog. This analysis found that 7,580 applications filed before that date had not been processed.

The DOL is unable to process these applications because they either contained incorrect or missing information, are duplicates, or had been abandoned by the claimant. The Department of Labor has attempted to contact all of these New Yorkers and will continue trying to reach them to complete their application or close out their claim.

Examples of missing or incorrect information that prevents an application from being processed include a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and address for an individual’s former employer or an applicant’s Social Security Number.

Last month, the Department of Labor issued a directive reminding New York-based businesses they have a legal obligation to provide unemployed New Yorkers with the information they need to apply for benefits, including the company’s FEIN and address.

Another 15,831 applications are going through final processing — which includes a check for fraud and identity theft. These claims will either become payable in the coming days or be flagged for additional review by anti-fraud specialists.

In addition, applications for 20,801 New Yorkers who applied before April 22nd have been processed but not paid because those individuals have not submitted federally mandated weekly certifications. By law, these certifications must be submitted before benefits are released.

The Department of Labor has proactively emailed hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers reminding them to submit certifications and rolled out a new, secure online system that allows New Yorkers to easily submit prior weeks’ certifications that they had missed.

More than 330,000 New Yorkers have used this new system to unlock more than $400 million in prior weeks’ benefits they had effectively left on the table.

Finally, the Department of Labor has also launched a new system that proactively and directly communicates the status of an individual’s unemployment insurance application via text and email. Since this system rolled out, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have received messages letting them know their application has been received, is being processed, and has become a payable claim.

Press release:

On May 18 the Save America Movement -- SAM -- Party of New York filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in Federal Court, seeking to stop enforcement of a new ballot access law that would deprive it of its official status as a party in New York unless it runs a Presidential candidate in the upcoming November 2020 election.

In support of the requested preliminary injunction, SAM-NY and SAM-NY Chairman Michael Volpe argue that the Presidential candidacy requirement contained in New York’s newly amended election law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of SAM-NY and its members.

“New York recently made it much harder for an organization to qualify as a ‘party’ under its Election Laws,” the plaintiffs argue in their motion. “SAM and Volpe bring this action to declare the Presidential-election requirement unconstitutional as applied to SAM, and here seek a preliminary injunction to prevent Defendants from stripping SAM of its 'party' status after the November 2020 Presidential election.”

In 2018, the SAM-NY party ran candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor that received 55,041 votes, exceeding the threshold then required to give SAM-NY party status and automatic ballot status for four years, through 2022.

On April 3, however, New York law was changed and now requires any political party to receive greater than 2 percent of the votes cast or 130,000 votes, in the upcoming Presidential election, in order to hold onto its party status.

SAM-NY, which is affiliated with the national Serve America Movement, says in its filing that it has no intention or desire to run a candidate for President in 2020 and cannot constitutionally be forced to do so.

Ballot-access expert Richard Winger, publisher and editor of Ballot Access News, submitted a declaration in support of the injunction. Winger explained that “New York’s Presidential-election requirement places New York at the extreme of the ballot-access requirements of the 50 states. Requiring a political ‘party’ to participate in a Presidential election is extremely rare, and is among the most severe burdens placed on political organizations in this country.”

SAM-NY Chairman Volpe, in his declaration said, “[t]o have a chance to establish name and brand recognition as a ‘new kind of party’ and avoid getting prematurely embroiled in, or associated with one side or the other of, the ideological divide, SAM intends to continue to forego espousing substantive positions and nominating candidates for President.”

Volpe added that “the likelihood of a new candidate getting the greater of 2 percent of the vote or 130,000 votes in a hotly contested election is nearly zero.”

SAM-NY member and Assembly candidate Evelyn Wood filed a declaration in support of the motion.

“I understand that because SAM will not run a candidate for President it will lose its ‘party’ status after the November 2020,” Wood wrote. “That will only discourage qualified candidates for running for office and limit political discourse in the State.

"SAM’s ‘party’ status allows people like me, who are dissatisfied with the angry rhetoric of the major parties, to seek public office to represent people who are similarly dissatisfied with our politics today.”

SAM also argued that the newly adopted requirement of running a Presidential candidate is an unconstitutional burden for a brand new state party. According to the papers filed in support of the motion, the only justification ever suggested for requiring parties in New York to run candidates for President is that the new mandate is necessary to protect the solvency of a new public campaign finance system also established by the new law.

But, as SAM-NY pointed out, the new campaign finance system does not apply to federal candidates, let alone Presidential candidates. And the new restrictions on parties come into effect immediately while the new public finance provisions do not come into effect until Nov. 9, 2022, after the next Gubernatorial election.

SAM-NY offers New Yorkers a different approach to governing focused on transparency and accountability, rather than on ideology, and empowers its candidates and elected officials to serve the needs of their constituents and not be controlled by inflexible left/right political positions that are increasingly partisan.

Visit joinsamny.org for more information.

We recorded this song, "Good Dogs," with "A" Blues Band when thoughts of a pandemic weren't much on our minds, and before I could finish editing the session, coronavirus hit.

Welcome to spring. I hope you get plenty of time with your good dogs out in the fresh air. Thanks to Eli Fish for use of the space.

Interview with Jason Smith, Batavia Concert Band.