Seventy-five years of activity at the V.A. Medical Center will be highlighted during the Holland Purchase Historical Society's monthly dinner at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The public is invited for a full turkey dinner and dessert at the Elba Methodist Church. Tickets are $8 and are available by telephoning (585) 343-4727 or at info@hollandlandoffice.com. RSVP by Sept. 10.
You’ve heard people say, “a penny for your thoughts”. Visit Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union on Thursday, October 15th when we will be giving you 1,000 pennies - $10.00 - just for telling us how you would use it to help someone else! All entries will be videoed. Finalists will be selected from these entries and posted on-line for voting. The winner will be awarded $1000 to use however they wish in contributing toward their cause. Stop by October 15th, when videoing will take place between 10 am and 2pm, to tell us how you would “Pay it Forward”.
The Continental School of Beauty will host the Aug. 20 Genesee County Chamber of Commerce get-together.
It will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at 215 East Main St. Cost is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. There'll be a 50/50 raffle to benefit Genesee Cancer Assistance, Inc. Plus doorprizes, hors d'oeuvres and refreshments.
Eight new faculty and staff members will join Genesee Community College this fall semester.
They are:
The Batavia Area Jaycees 23rd Annual Labor Day Run & Walk
Batavia, NY: The Batavia Area Jaycees are proud to announce their 23rd Annual Labor Day 5K Run & Walk, to be held on September 7, 2009 at MacArthur Park in Batavia.
The route is USA Track & Field certified course #NY-06038-JG. This year’s event proceeds will benefit Regional Action Phone, Inc. (RAP).
Participants should check in from 8:00 am to 9:30 am. Race time is 10:00 am. The registration fee for runners is $12 if preregistered by August 28th and $15 afterward, including the day of the event. Walkers can register for $10. The first 50 registered participants will receive a free t-shirt and awards will be presented to the top finishers.
Registration forms are available online at www.geneseeny.com/bataviajaycees or by calling the Jaycee hotline at 585-343-5775.
The race committee is actively seeking sponsors for this event. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship, please leave a message at 585-343-5775 or e-mail to batjcs@wnynet.net
A fun, family event called the Festival of Fur takes place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday Aug. 16 across from the Genesee County Animal Shelter -- rain or shine.
Genesee Feeds & Needs and Dave's Ice Cream are teaming up with Volunteers for Animals to offer lots of enjoyment to people and the pets who own them, so to speak. The address is 3860 West Main St. Road in the Town of Batavia.
Here's the lineup:
It's raining kittens right now and their human friends are swamped. So they're sending out an S.O.S. to any goodhearted soul who can give these little guys a home.
Currently, there are more than 80 cats and kittens either in the Genesee County Animal Shelter, at Batavia Petco or in foster homes awaiting adoption. Another 40 are on the shelter's waiting list.
From noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, the Batavia Petco (located in the Target Plaza on Veteran's Memorial Highway in the Town of Batavia) will be hosting its second major adoption event.
Toni Ann Petty, Human Resources Specialist at VA Western New York Healthcare System, is the recipient of the 2009 Federal Woman of the Year Award for the Western New York area.
She was selected from among candidates from various federal agencies in the area. This marks the second straight year that the award was given to a VA Western NY Healthcare System employee.
Petty provides retirement and benefits counseling to employees of WNY Healthcare System. Recently a recipient of national certification as a Senior Human Resources Professional, she is also an integral member of the facility's Federal Women's Program Committee.
In addition, she's a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer who advocates for female veterans and employee/patients on VA Western NY Healthcare System's Women Veterans Advisory Council.
A luncheon in honor of the Federal Woman of the Year and Federal Supervisor of the Year will be held at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 27 at King's Court Restaurant on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo.
Download: PDF of County Legislature Ways and Means Committee, minutes, Aug. 5 meeting
When people have a strong motivation that drives them to devote all their time and effort to something worthwhile, they are bound to find happiness; at least this is the case for Batavia resident Donald R. Carroll, who has spent countless hours helping local youth.
He is one of four inductees for the Oakfield-Alabama High School Hall of Fame ceremony, which takes place the first weekend in October.
For the last 35 years, Carroll has lived by his motto, “Pay it forward.” He graduated from Oakfield-Alabama Central School in 1974. Instead of following the trend of going off to college after getting his diploma, Carroll decided to join the workforce and focus on his passion for helping less fortunate children.
For his first organized project, he partnered with the Genesee/Wyoming YMCA to raise money to send kids to camp. The fundraiser was successful for 23 years.
Erik Fix, branch director of the Genesee/Wyoming YMCA said Carroll has collaborated with the organization over the years on many different occasions. Fix said most recently they have combined efforts on Don’s Secret Santa fundraiser to give gifts to children at Christmas time.
This fundraiser started because Carroll wanted to ensure every underprivileged child he was aware of was not disappointed on Christmas morning. This project has recently been expanded to provide grade school kids with supplies for school and winter coats.
Shortly after the camp fundraiser, Carroll switched his focus to helping students with college expenses. He started a 5k and 10k run in Batavia that ended in 2005 to support the Genesee Community College Foundation.
In 1997 he was named Geneseean of the Year (A person who has made an outstanding contribution to the community, contributed or volunteered beyond the call of duty and who is a resident of Genesee County) by the Chamber of Commerce.
Donald R. Carroll, the quiet, shy orphan who by chance grew up in Oakfield, NY, has become a true “Guardian Angel” of the less fortunate children of Genesee County.
Donald credits his success to having grown up in Oakfield and attending OACS where one individual in particular took a special interest in him. Donald will always be indebted to Coach Bill Burns for guiding him in high school, and getting him his first job as a counselor at YMCA Camp Hough. Coach Burns taught him by example about lending a hand, "paying it forward."
OA Alumni HOF dinner details: 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3. at OA Middle High School. Tickets are $17. How to get tickets:
Genesee Countywide Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) will be holding a fundraiser car wash from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15.
It will take place at Center of Attention Auto Spa, located at 8318 Park Road, right next to Alex’s Place. People are asked bring donations of school supplies or money to help buy school supplies for local youth.
Also come out and see Dancing Derek from So You Think You Can Dance while getting your car washed!
Attention friends of do-gooders...Batavia City Manager Jason Molino wants to hear from you -- and soon!
The City of Batavia is seeking nominations for the Community Volunteer of the Year recognition award to be presented by City Council at its Sept. 14 business meeting.
Nomination Forms can be picked up at the City Manager’s Office or by phone at (585) 345-6333. Nominations will be accepted through Aug. 17.
Do you have an abundance of tomatoes that you would like to enjoy throughout the coming winter months? Have you ever wanted to get started with preserving the wonderful bounty of summer fruits and vegetables from your garden?
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County will be offering a hands-on food preservation class from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 5 at the Extension Center, located at 420 E. Main Street in Batavia.
Nancy Crane of Williamsville was the lucky winner of this year's Elba Volunteer Fire Department's annual Mustang raffle. Crane chose the $18,000 cash prize over the car.
Approximately $8,000 was raised in ticket sales, with all profit going to the fire department.
Genesee Community College is offering of a new criminal justice course in forensics this fall.
CRJ161 -- Introduction to Forensics -- is being added to the criminal justice curriculum. Along with the current CRJ118 Forensic Anthropology course, the new forensics course will enhance student preparation in the CSI field (crime scene investigation).
The class is offered on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 12:20 to 1:15 and on Friday from 12:25 to 2:25 p.m..
Taught by criminal justice faculty member Karen Wicka, Introduction to Forensics is a three-credit course that will familiarize students with the basic principles of CSI and the scientific concepts and techniques used in a forensic laboratory.
Students participate in crime-scene analysis, evidence collection and evidence preservation. They also work in a number of forensic crime labs involving various branches of forensic science including fingerprinting, toxicology, serology (the study of blood serum) and impression evidence.
Specific forensic labs include blood spatter analysis, chromatography and handwriting analysis, blood typing, DNA fingerprinting and developing fingerprints using multiple methods such as Super Glue fuming.
Wicka has taught criminal justice full time at GCC for the past year and has been an adjunct faculty member since 2001. She has also taught criminal justice and forensics with Genesee Valley BOCES for 10 years, where she set up simulated crime scenes for students to solve. She has a law degree from Albany Law School and remains current on the latest innovations in the field by attending continuing-education training sessions with top forensic experts.
In Forensic Anthropology CRJ118, students examine human skeletal remains in the context of medico-legal issues. They analyze the scientific evidence of skeletal or badly decomposed remains to establish circumstances of death, and identify the decedent by estimating age, gender, racial affinity, stature, pathologic conditions, and traumatic injury.
The course also introduces human osteology (the study of bones), and presents methods and techniques used in forensic anthropology. The course discusses case reports, contexts in which human remains are found, and methods of recovery. Forensic Anthropology is taught by Dr. Jennifer Prutsman-Pfeiffer and will be offered on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 this fall.
Prutsman-Pfeiffer is a pathologist's assistant at the University of Rochester Medical Center in autopsy pathology. She is also an adjunct assistant professor at the School of Nursing. In addition to her work at Genesee, she teaches at St. John Fisher College, and is a National Institute of Forensic Nursing faculty member.
Prutsman-Pfeiffer has served as a consulting forensic anthropologist in counties throughout western and central New York State since 2000, and she is a former member of the Disaster Mortuary Operations Response Team, assisting with identification of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Students in her CRJ118 Genesee class this fall will see and learn about actual cases she has consulted on locally, and possibly participate in some aspect of real case studies that may occur during the semester.
Genesee's growing criminal justice program will soon offer a course called Emergency Management. The program will also soon be adding special concentrations within its Associate's in Applied Science curriculum. Homeland Security/Emergency Management, Forensics, Policing, Corrections Counseling or the traditional general concentration will be among the options for students to consider.
"Genesee's Criminal Justice Program has a strong history of excellence." said Barry Garigen, professor of Criminal Justice and program coordinator. "The new courses and concentrations will enhance learning and allow students to focus on emerging areas within the field while still continuing to receive the traditional educational foundation necessary to become successful criminal justice professionals."
Students can still enroll for the fall 2009 semester for any of the following three Criminal Justice degrees at Genesee Community College: an Associate's degree (A.S.), an Associate's in Applied Science degree (A.A.S.), or a certificate. The A.S. degree program prepares students to successfully transfer to a four-year institution for a baccalaureate degree in Criminal Justice or a related field. The A.A.S. degree program is designed for students preparing to enter the workforce upon graduation for a career in law enforcement, corrections, emergency management, community service or private security. The Criminal Justice certificate program prepares students for employment opportunities, or helps develop a deeper background in the field for those who are already employed within the criminal justice system.
All of Genesee's criminal justice programs may be taken in a distance-learning format.
For more information on Genesee's Criminal Justice program, please contact Barry Garigen, Criminal Justice professor and program coordinator at 585-343-0055 x6307 or visit www.genesee.edu/legal/crimjust <http://www.genesee.edu/legal/crimjust>.
Tuesday evening Aug. 10 is Super Hero Night at Dwyer Stadium. Join the Muckdogs staff and dress up as your favorite Super Hero. It is also Free Dog Night presented by Zweigle’s. The first 200 fans through the gates receive a free hot dog courtesy of Zweigle’s.
Also on Tuesday, KRAFT Singles presents KRAFT Singles Tuesday Night Tickets. Fans can bring a KRAFT Singles wrapper to the Muckdogs box office for a buy one/get one ticket courtesy of KRAFT Singles. Visit kraftsingles.com for more details.
Well before Tuesday's game time of 7:05 p.m., Muckdogs players Niko Vasquez and Beau Riportella will be signing autographs at Applebee’s in Batavia from Noon to 1 p.m..
The second game of the first series, which is against Vermont, starts at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, with gates opening at 6. It's Family Four Pack Night. Fans can purchase four general admission tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and a 2009 program for only $30.
There will be the first ever Belly Busters Night on Wednesday, too. Belly Busters features an eating contest between 10 lucky contestants. Fans can sign up at the Muckdogs' concession stand on Tuesday or by emailing tsick@muckdogs.com.
Starting in the 2nd inning, each contestant will attempt to eat a food item during that inning. Food items will start out relatively harmless and become progressively more challenging to the palate. Whoever is left at the end of the game, will be crowned Belly Buster King or Queen and will receive a prize pack from the Muckdogs.
Prize pack includes:
A Baseball autographed by the 2009 Muckdogs
$20 gift certificate to Alex’s Place in Batavia
2 golf passes to Brockport Country Club
2 golf passes to Silver Lake Country Club
4 free tickets to a future Muckdogs game
A Muckdogs T-shirt
Round three of the series with Vermont will be at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, with gates opening at 6 p.m. Thursday evening’s promotions will include a Knot Hole Game presented by Turnbull Heating & Air.
Knot Hold Gang members can purchase a General Admission ticket for $2 and Knot Hole Gang parents can receive a buck off their tickets. The Kiwanis Club of Batavia will also be hosting its annual Bike Raffle, with a bike given to one lucky girl and boy.
Beginning on Friday, Aug.14 through Sunday, Aug.16, the Muckdogs start a three-game series with the Staten Island Yankees, a New York Yankees affiliate. Games on Friday and Saturday are at 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6. Sunday’s game time is 5:05 p.m., with gates opening at 4.
The Friday Night fireworks are back for another spectacular show on Friday, Aug.14, along with Launch-a-Ball presented by Hillside Family of Agencies. Fans can purchase numbered tennis balls for $1 with the proceeds going to Hillside Family of Agencies. Following the game, fans will then attempt to throw those tennis balls into inflated pools on the field. Each ball that successfully lands in a pool will automatically enter that fan into a chance to win the grand prize, a night in a suite at a Red Wings game next season.
Round two of the series with Staten Island is 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15. The “Rock the Ballpark” pre-game concert series returns, featuring "Papa and Mama Root," presented by Tim Horton’s of Batavia and New Buffalo Impact. They play jukebox favorites from the '50s and '60s, as well as their own original recordings.
Saturday also features the annual Team Photo Giveaway for the first 500 fans through the gate courtesy of LP Graphics.
The Muckdogs finish up their three-game with Staten Island at 5:05 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, with gates opening at 4. That night is post-game run the bases with Homer, as well as Homer’s Birthday Bash. Local mascots will be on hand to help celebrate this special occasion and the first 300 fans will receive an ice cream novelty.
Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has announced that applications are available at his district office for the recently created NY Prescription $aver program (NYP$), sponsored by the State Department of Health.
The NYP$ is a free discount card that can reduce the cost of prescriptions by 30% to 60% for eligible lower-income residents.
Participants must be a New York State resident between the ages of 50 and 64 or a person of any age who has been determined to be disabled by the Social Security Administration. Annual household income must be below $35,000 for singles and $50,000 for married persons. Medicaid participants are not eligible for the program.
Applications for the program are available at Senator Ranzenhofer’s District Office, 8203 Main Street – Suite 4 in Clarence. For more information, please contact Senator Ranzenhofer’s office at (716) 631-8695. Applications are also available by calling the NYP$ Helpline at 1-800-788-6917 or by visiting http://nyprescriptionsaver.fhsc.com.
The first Onion Festival, also known as Field Day, was on Saturday, Aug. 14, 1937. Almost 5,000 people gathered at the Four Corners (Main, Chapel and Mechanic streets) to take part in the parade and other festivities such as bicycle races, dancing, tire-racing, water fights and a pie-eating contest.
Barbie Ognibene, who is the chairman of the festival, says that it was originally planned to celebrate the harvest.
"The farmers wanted everyone to get together for harvest time, when they were all harvesting their crops," says Ognibene, who has been involved in the planning of the festival for 21 years.
Today, the two-day event is held at the Elba Park, and most of the original activities, such as rolling-pin throwing and the soap-box derby, have been replaced by carnival rides and games.
However, many of the old traditions, such as the crowning of the Onion Queen and the Elba Volunteer Fire Department’s car raffle, still remain, and of course the "onion spirit" is still alive. Onion soup, rings, and petals will be available, as well as bags of Elba onions. The parade, another beloved tradition, will kick off the festivities at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Ognibene says that to many native Elbans, the Onion Festival is more than just a carnival:
“A lot of people plan their vacations around this weekend. There's going to be a high school class reunion, two weddings and several family reunions."
Ognibene says that although all the profit from the festival goes to the Volunteer Fire Department, the event is really more about keeping a fun tradition alive than fundraising.
"It's really more of a service act," she says. "The fire department gets one-hundred percent of the profits, and that's put towards serving the community."
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