Leadership Genesee will present awards honoring the 29 members of the Class of 2019 along with the 2019 Outstanding Alumnus Award at the annual Graduation Celebration on Dec. 5^th at Terry Hills

Eric Wies, a graduate of the Class of 2006, has been named the Leadership Genesee Alumnus of the Year. The award is presented annually to an alumnus who works to fulfill the program’s mission displaying exceptional achievements and contributions to the community and Leadership Genesee.

Wies is the immediate past chair of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce and the current president of the Bergen Fire Department.

“My primary volunteer effort is tied to helping people in times of emergency," Wies said. "I joined the Bergen Fire Department in 1992, where I have served as lieutenant, captain, assistant chief, and deputy chief. In 2015, I decided to focus my efforts on a business role with the Fire Department and was elected president, a role I continue today. While I have debated about scaling back my efforts so that I could focus on my career and other potential volunteer efforts, I have come to realize that I will always be a volunteer fireman.” 

As a member of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Wies found his involvement to be very rewarding. The Chamber plays an important role in business and tourism throughout Genesee County and he is happy to be part of their community presence.

“Eric has been an active participant in Leadership Genesee since he graduated in 2006 because he feels that Leadership Genesee has given so much to him that he wanted to give back to the program," said Leadership Genesee Director Peggy Marone. "He served on the LG Steering Committee from 2009 to 2014 and was chair of the Recruiting Committee for five years.

"He obtained sponsorships for our bowling and golf tournaments ensuring his team was ‘dressed’ for the event. Eric’s support and involvement in Leadership Genesee’s curriculum has helped the program grow and become a shining example of servant leadership.”  

Wies said he feels that LG he has been a primary building block in his growth professionally and personally. His philosophy is there should always be time to participate in a program that helps you grow, introduces you to other leaders in the County, and gives you a sense of satisfaction in belonging to a group of people that consider themselves servant leaders.

“An employer that does not support your efforts to better yourself, does not truly understand that the time and money for the program will also result in a better person and employee," Wies said. "I grew up in Bergen, New York and thought I knew everything about the County but, boy, was I wrong.

"The program opened my eyes to agribusiness, gave me a better understanding of the health care issues in the County, and the challenges that local government must face every day."

When asked about previous awards and achievements, Wies said, “For me, the most important awards don’t come with a plaque or trophy, but they do come with a sense of accomplishment or being part of something bigger than you are.

"Helping a friend when his business burned down, helping a single mom at Christmas with presents for her kids, saving a young lady from her burning car, hearing my daughter tell me she loves me, and being part of a group of individuals that make up a team that puts community first.”  

Marone said “This is exactly why Eric is an outstanding selection for this year’s Alumnus Award.”

“He is a true leader," said his nominator Michele Smith, LG Class of 2016 and Bergen Town Clerk. "I witnessed his cool and calm demeanor with the passing of Barry Miller LG ’08 in 2015. Eric was the president of the Bergen Fire Department, I observed several incidences that I don’t know how Eric made it through. I know inside he was a wreck, but as a leader for everyone else who was hurting, he was unwavering.”  

Wies is a principal for Clark Patterson Lee, a multidiscipline architecture, engineering and planning firm. He lives in Bergen with his wife, Carrie, daughter, Hannah, and dog, Casper.

Although he hopes to retire one day, he and his family enjoy getting away for a cruise and more recently trips to remote locations in Vermont to fish and have high stakes games of family Monopoly. Wies is an avid golfer and enjoys spending weekends working on their house.   

The Outstanding Alumnus Award is sponsored by Skip Helfrich of Human Energies.

Leadership Genesee is a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County. For more information about Leadership Genesee, please visit  their website.

In 1994, Ken Barrett and partner Virgil Austin purchased a Chevrolet dealership with seven decades of service to the residents of Genesee County and yesterday, Barrett, along with representatives of General Motors, celebrated the 25th anniversary of Ken Barrett Chevrolet Cadillac.

On hand to present Barrett with the dealership's 25-year awards were Natalie Taylor, Chevrolet zone manager, Dan Oldham, district after-sales manager, and Weston Lee, district sales manager.

Today, Ken Barrett's employs 41 people.

The roots of the dealership go back to Mancuso Motors in the 1920s when the Mancuso family operated the dealership where T.F. Brown's and Mancuso Lanes are now. In the 1960s, the dealership was relocated to West Main Street, the current location of Ken Barrett's, and became Batavia Motors.  

Dave Heinrich Sr. purchased the dealership from the Mancuso family in 1990. Four years later he sold it to Barrett and Austin. Austin passed in 2013 at age 93. Barrett said Austin continued to work up until a few months before he died.

In 2003, Barrett's built a new showroom and over the years expanded its collision center from 4,400 square feet to more than 16,500 square feet, with the most recent upgraded completed in 2011.

Ken Barrett said it's great to hit the 25-year milestone.

"You know, don't use a rearview mirror, so everything is looking forward," Barrett said. "I have absolutely no regrets. There's a lot of unanticipated challenges between the regulations and the pace of change, which we all deal with. I've been very fortunate. I should say, we've been very fortunate that we've been able to have an exceptional staff.

"And by and large, they cared deeply for the customers. They worked well together. There's a real sense of teamwork. And if, heaven forbid, a ball gets dropped, usually somebody else is right there to pick it up."

This year is also the 25th anniversary of the Salvation Army/WBTA/Ken Barrett Toy Drive, which is Dec. 13. Barrett said the dealership has contributed more than $500,000 to local organizations and charities over the years.

"We are firm believers in supporting the community that supports us," Barrett said.

Katie Moore, a standout with Batavia High School's soccer team, signed a Division I scholarship offer this week with Jacksonville University in Florida.

Photo: Steve Moore, Katie Moore, Melissa Moore, William Buckenmeyer, Roger Hume, and Chris Chilano.

Submitted photo.

Students at Notre Dame High School will perform "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" in the auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22, and at 12:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23.

Tickets available at the door for $8 each.

The high school is located at 73 Union St. in the City of Batavia.

"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" is a 1967 musical comedy based on the characters of the beloved comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz.

Joseph Condoluci is Notre Dame's Instrumental / Vocal Music teacher.

Here's the Notre Dame cast list:

• Charlie Brown -- Owen Mileham
• Snoopy -- Grace Mileham
• Lucy -- Judah MacDonald
• Linus -- Amanda Bergman
• Schroeder -- Nathaneal Brew
• Sally -- Lily Gaylord
• Ensemble -- Justice Yorkowsk, Marylin Kruppa, Amanda Doan

Photos by Howard Owens.

Press release:

St. James Episcopal Church announces its Pie Sale/Basket Raffle will be held this Saturday, Nov. 23, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the church, 405 E. Main St., Batavia.

Admission is free.

Known for the wonderful desserts served at Lenten Fish Fries, the bakers of the parish have been busy in the church kitchen making apple and pumpkin pies for next week's Thanksgiving holiday.

There are still pies available, so stop in and buy a 9” homemade pie for $9 before they are gone. Hot soups (eat-in or take-out) will also be available for sale.

Raffles include a 50/50 and more than 60 gift baskets/items, including luggage, a garden wagon, a bench, lottery tree, a “green salad,” handpainted child chair, Oliver’s Candies, Christmas wrappings, and lots more! What a fun way to do some of your holiday shopping!

Tickets will be on sale throughout the event and you need not be present to win.

Dorian Ely, one of the organizers, said, “We hope the community will support this beautiful historic church by stopping by on Saturday, purchasing some raffle tickets, a pie, and maybe even grabbing a cup of hot soup to speed them on their way during this busy holiday season.”

For full holiday menu, click here.

And don't forget that Alex's Place offers Curbside Takeaway for those that want a great Thanksgiving feast at home without the mess! Call 585-344-2999 to make reservations today.

A longtime Batavia resident is calling upon the City of Batavia to take responsibility for “destroying my home and hindering me mentally and physically” in the aftermath of Monday’s 20-hour standoff at his Liberty Street residence.

“I am a victim of this,” said David Zanghi, 66, who lives in the downstairs apartment at 209 Liberty St. “The only ones who caused damage to my house were the police. They were very non-caring.”

Zanghi was forced to evacuate his downstairs apartment when City Police responded to a domestic disturbance call around 1:18 p.m. Monday.

According to dispatch reports, the caller said an intoxicated male hit a female and was in possession of a sword.

When police arrived, they saw that the male, later identified as Daniel Wolfe, 45, had barricaded himself inside his apartment upstairs and began shooting at officers with a pellet (BB) rifle.

The standoff continued until around 9:30 in the morning on Tuesday, finally coming to an end when Wolfe exited the residence and surrendered to City Police Det. Sgt. Kevin Czora.

During the standoff, City Police were assisted by several other agencies, including the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office; Orleans County SWAT; State Police troopers; negotiators; drone unit; K-9 unit; and SORT teams; the NYS DEC K-9 Unit; Monroe County Crisis Negotiating Team; Genesee County Emergency Management; Genesee County Dispatch Center; City Fire Department; and Mercy EMS.

Wolfe sustained self-inflicted injuries and was transported for treatment to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. Currently, he is in Genesee County Jail.

While the suspect faces multiple charges, Zanghi, who is on dialysis waiting a kidney transplant and suffers from emotional and physical ailments, now is staying with a relative in the City due to the damage done to his residence.

“They destroyed my house … busted all the windows, my clothes are shot because of the tear gas. I may be able to get the couch fixed. It’s ridiculous what they did to me,” he said.

Zanghi reported that his landlord, Duane Preston, has promised him another apartment in mid-December.

“Duane has been good to me,” he said. “He even gave me my rent check back for the month.”

Zanghi also said that he is upset that no one from the City has contacted him about the possibility of receiving some victim assistance support, and plans to confront City Council and management at the next City Council meeting on Monday (Nov. 25).

City officials, however, did respond to a request from The Batavian for a comment in light of Zanghi’s grievances.

“While the City sympathizes with Mr. Zanghi as an innocent bystander to the events that unfolded Tuesday, November 18th, there is no specific assistance that the City can offer,” Assistant City Manager Rachael J. Tabelski said.

“In any type of emergency response situation there will be unintended consequences, however the city is not liable for the damage. There are many organizations and individuals that volunteer to help residents in need, and I am hopeful Mr. Zanghi will find relief through these individuals and organizations.”

Zanghi said that his sister, Mary Ellen Wilber, who splits her time between New Jersey and Batavia, will represent him at the meeting.

Contacted by phone this afternoon, Wilber said she is “disgusted” over the City’s lack of action despite being contacted numerous times about Wolfe’s violent behavior.

“I will be there to advocate for my brother, who has called police at least seven times over the past year, year and a half, about this guy,” she said. “He’s an alcoholic who has harmed the woman (girlfriend). All those times David called and it’s all for naught.”

Wilber said law enforcement’s actions have “traumatized” her brother, who is on a fixed income and under the care of the VA Medical Center. 

“He had to go to the hospital to get his medicine because all of his pills, along with his clothes and bedding, were contaminated.

“They shot tear gas canisters into David’s downstairs apartment, knowing the guy was upstairs,” she said. “They destroyed his apartment.”

Wilber said she also questions the way the situation was handled and the cost to the City.

“I was told that the police said they were using this as a tactical exercise,” she said. “It should have never gone on this long. They could have used a Taser instead of attacking him with a dog. The cost to the City is going to be very high. They could have done things in a much better way.”

Photos by Howard Owens.

David Zanghi points to a window broken by police actions.

David Zanghi said a CS gas canister apparently exploded in his bedroom. He's pointing to all the medicine on his dresser that the VA had to replace for him. He said he has expensive suits, including a $1,500 tux, that now reek of tear gas and he's not sure they can be properly cleaned.

An elderly man, with a walker, apparently slipped and fell while trying to cross Main Street by the Old Courthouse and Tim Hortons in Batavia at about 3:20 p.m.

Mercy EMS, city fire, and Batavia PD responded and westbound traffic was tied up for about 20 minutes.

The man was not hit by a car but an officer said he was bleeding from his head. He was transported to UMMC for treatment and evaluation.

The County's STOP-DWI program today honored the law enforcement officers with the most DWI arrests for the 12 months between June 2018 and July 2019 and the two officers who were the top cops last year were honored again this year.

Officer Mitchell Cowen, Batavia PD, is pictured above on left with Assistant Police Chief Todd Crossett.

Deputy Mathew Clor, center, is pictured with Chief Deputy (Road Patrol) Brian Frieday, left, and Undersheriff Brad Mazur.

The challenge coin each officer receives.

Poster contest winners: Jackson Lundfelt, Ciara Trigilio, Jade Wolff, Grace Shepard, Brooke Jarkiewicz, Zoey Shepard. Shannon Campbell. Oscar Staba, and Taylor Hutton.

Batavia High School's Production Club this weekend presents "Shrek: The Musical."

Tickets are $10 at the door and $8 for students and seniors. They're available in advance for $9 through showtix4u.com.

Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Submitted photo and press release:

We are ready for our 18^th annual Wonderland of Trees Kickoff! Baskets at the Holland Land Office Museum are nestled all snug in their places, so come on down today or tomorrow during business hours if you want a sneak peek and to get your choices in early!

Not only do we have close to 40 gift baskets for our raffle, but we also have a beautiful tree to win  -- decorated by the lovely "Anything Your Heart Desires" florist. If you would rather, try your luck at winning cash grab, or a couple of tickets for our 50/50 raffle instead.  

The kickoff starts tomorrow (Nov. 22) at 6 p.m. and will continue until 8:30. There will be delicious hors d’oeuvres provided by the D & R Depot throughout the night to enjoy while you listen to music performed by voice students of Sound Foundation Voice Studio as well as a flute ensemble from Batavia Middle School.  

Tickets for the kickoff are $15 per person, $10 per member or $5 per child under 12. They can be purchased online here, by calling (585) 343-4727, or stopping at the Museum, located at 131 W. Main St. in Batavia.

Tickets for the basket raffle are $2 per ticket, 10 tickets for $10 or 25 tickets for $20.  

Tickets for the 50/50 raffle are $1 per ticket or five tickets for $4.  

At the kickoff, we will be holding a silent auction for a couple of the bigger items so make sure you don’t miss out.  

Winners will be pulled at 8:15 p.m. at the kickoff but you don’t have to be present to win.

What a great way to start the holidays with food and entertainment for the whole family!

The 2020 Presidential Election is already being covered on every radio station, every social media outlet and soon it will take over local television as well. This is predicted to be one of the most contentious and tumultuous elections in recent history.

Campaign commercials, debates, stump speeches, candidates' history, statistics, surveys and predictions will bombard every media outlet in the months to come.

To make sense of it all, Genesee Community College has opened registration for a very special course that is available only during Presidential Election years.

The quadrennial course (i.e., only offered every four years) American Presidency (POS210) is taught by Derek Maxfield, GCC's associate professor of History.

Maxfield has a long and nearly intimate history with past presidents, both through his lengthy teaching tenure, but also through his historical presentation of Ulysses S. Grant, the famous Civil War General and our 18th U.S. president.

The American Presidency covers the historical foundations, theoretical aspects and powers of the presidency. In addition, the learning outcomes of POS210 include:

• How media and popular culture have influenced the presidency over time;
• Various models of presidential power and the major issues scholars are investigating;
• How different presidents have interpreted and exercised political power;
• The constitutional relationship between the executive and other branches of the government.

Anyone can enroll in this course with no pre-requisites are required. It does not have to be taken as part of a degree program and is an excellent elective for any degree. If seats are available, the course can be audited for free by seniors over the age of 60.

The onsite course begins on Tuesday, Jan. 14, and will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. 'til 12:20 p.m. at GCC's Batavia Campus.

Anyone interested in this course who is not a current GCC student, is encouraged to contact the College's Admissions team at (585) 345-6800, or via email at admissions@genesee.edu, or apply online at https://www.genesee.edu/courses/nonmatriculated/ to get started.

Daniel Wolfe, the man accused of hitting his girlfriend before barricading himself in his apartment on Liberty Street, made a routine follow-up appearance in Batavia City Court this morning.

Wolfe had previously pled not guilty at his initial appearance to charges of first-degree criminal contempt, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, menacing, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd.

Today he was represented by public defender Jerry Ader.

Ader preserved his client's right to a felony hearing at a later date, and said his office is still investigating the case so he has no motions to make at this time. He asked that the case be continued in City Court until Dec. 12.

Judge Robert Balbick granted all of Ader's requests.

Wolfe, shackled and in an orange jail jumpsuit, said nothing while standing before Balbick.

About a dozen people turned out Wednesday night for a local observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The event is observed nationally every Nov. 20 but this is the first time a candlelight vigil has been held in Batavia.

Lauren Berger, who organized the event on behalf of Restore Sexual Assault Services, said the holding an event in Batavia was intended to raise awareness, remember transgender people who have been victims of violence, and support GLOW Out and the pride parade held in Batavia this past summer.

"We just wanted to bring that here so that folks come out, see what was going on, possibly get them connected with local efforts and let them know that even when we're out here and that we might be small, we're aware of what's going on," Berger said. "We support folks in our lives who we care about who might be at risk."

A caller reports that two females are fighting in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven in Oakfield.

The caller reports they appear to be intoxicated.

One is slinging a jar of pickles at the other.

"Copy, pickles," the responding deputy tells dispatch.

While this location is tucked away, it is also conveniently located at the center of Downtown Batavia, allowing us the freedom to walk to our choice of awesome restaurants and shops. We have enjoyed a front row seat to the summer concerts in Jackson Square as well as Oktoberfest festivities as well! 

The open concept space is approximately 900 square feet with its own private restroom and plenty of natural light. There is ample room to load and unload in the square if needed. Rent is $850/month, utilities paid by tenant. Contact Thompson Builds at 585-721-1252 to set up an appointment or for more information. 

While we are sad to leave, we look forward to seeing another business have the opportunity to thrive here like we have. Come and check it out!