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Law and Order: Alleged equipment violation leads to arrest of Rochester man

By Howard B. Owens

Felipe Fernandez, 42, of Borinquen Plaza, Rochester, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st , and motor vehicle lights not meeting standards. Fernandez was stopped by Deputy Joseph Corona at 11:48 p.m. Tuesday on Pearl Street Road, Batavia, for an alleged vehicle violation. Fernandez was jailed without bail.

Saul Doynsaday Standsblack, 34, of Parker Road, Basom, was arrested on a bench warrant related to an aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, charge. Standsblack was taken into custody on a Batavia City Court warrant following his release from the Erie County Jail on an unrelated matter. Standsblack appeared in City Court, entered a guilty plea, and was sentenced to 15 days in jail.

Michael Thomas Coffey, 44, of South Main Street, Albion, is charged with petit larceny. Coffey was arrested on a warrant out of Town of Elba Court.

Andriana D. Green, 19, of Amherst, is charged with assault, 3rd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Green was arrested Wednesday morning by State Police for an alleged incident reported at 2:14 p.m., Monday, at College Village. No further details released.

Photos: Day of Caring at Kiwanis Park and Youth Bureau

By Howard B. Owens

For the Day of Caring, we stopped by Kiwanis Park, where volunteers are building the inclusive playground, and the Batavia Youth Bureau, which is getting a set of new raised garden beds for the community garden.

Transformer blows near Jackson and Ellicott streets

By Billie Owens

The loud boom heard on the southside of the city about 15 minutes ago was a transformer that blew out. It occurred in the area of 28 Jackson St. by the Salvation Army store. National Grid is on scene to do repair work. City fire was there and had traffic blocked off, but the road is reopened and the city assignment is back in service.

Hawley meets with local firefighters and discusses legislative priorities

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia) recently met with City of Batavia firefighters Jeff Stevens and Greg Ireland at his Albany office while the firefighters were in town for the New York State Professional Fire Fighters Association’s (NYSPFFA) 2013 Legislative Conference. The assemblyman discussed NYSPFFA’s legislative priorities and thanked the firefighters for their service.

“Meeting with two of Batavia’s bravest public servants was truly an honor,” Hawley said. “NYSPFFA’s members are on the front lines protecting our lives and property from devastating fires and they deserve our support. I commend Mr. Stevens, Mr. Ireland and their colleagues for all they do to keep our communities safe.”

Warrant suspect running through yards near Ross Street, wanted by the law

By Billie Owens

Law enforcement is looking for a suspect wanted on a Genesee County Court warrant and he was last seen at 19 Manhattan Ave. running through back yards toward Ross Street.

His name is Ryan P. Johnson, 22, and he is described as white, about 5'7" and weighing about 160 pounds.

He is wearing khaki shorts, sneakers and a white T-shirt and a baseball cap.

If you see a person matching this description, phone the Sheriff's Office at 343-5000.

UPDATE: Johnson has made arrangements to turn himself in.

Law and Order: Registered sex offender charged with rape

By Howard B. Owens

Patrick Maxwell Hackett, 44, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with rape, 3rd, unlawful dealing with a child, 1st and endangering the welfare of a child. Hackett is a registered Level 2 sex offender. He is accused of engaging in sexual relations with a minor in the Town of Batavia. He also allegedly supplied alcohol to the minor. Hackett was taken into custody with the assistance of Batavia PD.  He was jailed without bail.

Francisco Javier Molina, 47, of Edgecreek Trail, Rochester, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08, speed not reasonable and prudent, failure to keep right and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Molina was allegedly driving on Route 33, Stafford, at 7:53 p.m., Tuesday, when he took a left turn too fast onto Caswell Road. Molina and his passenger were allegedly seen tossing beer cans from the vehicle. They were both issued citations for alleged littering and Molina was cited for alleged refusal to take a breath test. Molina was stopped by Sgt. Greg Walker.

Billie Jeremy McMurty-Rivera, 28, of Hollenbeck Street, Rochester, is charged with falsifying business records, 2nd. McMurty-Rivera, while incarcerated in the Genesee County Jail, is accused of altering commissary paperwork of three other inmates without their consent to obtain food and other products. Bail was set at $5,000.

Tim Horton's proposal highlights growing traffic problem at Lewiston and West Main

By Howard B. Owens

Town of Batavia Highway Superintendent Tom Lichtenthal and engineer Joey Neth spent an hour on the rooftop of the Rite Aid overlooking Lewiston Road and videotaped the traffic flow, or lack of it.

The resulting highlight reel, played for the Town of Batavia Planning Board on Tuesday night, captured eight near-miss accidents, two dangerous maneuvers by drivers, five unsafe mid-road crossings by pedestrians and two bicycle crossings.

An hour observing West Main Street Road near Colonial Boulevard didn't yield much better results.

For the Lewiston Road side, the driveway for Rite Aid and the driveway for the Tops Plaza, essentially create an intersection, and over the past three years, there have been seven accidents at that intersection.

That's seven times the state DOT average, Lichtenthal said.

"What's going on here is we have so many conflict points, when you look at this intersection; you've got cars merging here; you've got a wide open driveway where one makes a right turn and one makes a left turn; you've got pedestrians trying to cross in the middle of traffic, plus cars coming off the Main Street intersection, and you're looking at all of these things coming together right here, and that's why you get so many of these types of accidents," Lichtenthal said.

The traffic study was conducted because Tim Horton's wants to build a new store behind the Rite Aid, that would connect, essentially, Lewiston with Main.

The overall traffic Tim Horton's is likely to generate isn't that significant by itself -- an average of 50 to 60 cars an hour, with 60 percent of Tim Horton's traffic occurring in a three-hour period in the morning.

Technically, the road capacity in the area, can handle the volume, Lichtenthal said, but the construction of the multiple turning lanes and intersections in the area make for very messy traffic patterns.

It's a situation that's only going to get worse with the expansion of Batavia Towne Center and Batavia Downs.

Lichtenthal said that, unfortunately, it's a classic case of the last one (in this case, Tim Horton's) getting stuck dealing with the problem.

Matthew J. Oates (photo), chief engineer for Benderson Development Co. took a different view.

The combined retail space for Tops Plaza, Rite Aid and the other retail in the area is more than 220,000 square feet, while the Benderson development is less than 20,000 square feet.

He said just as the DOT did when problems got too bad on Jefferson Road and Ridge Road in Rochester, the growing traffic problems on Lewiston and West Main are a DOT issue and shouldn't hold up development of Tim Horton's.

"I understand the town sees a large issue with the traffic, but without the traffic, we wouldn't have the interest in the development and without the traffic, Tim Horton's wouldn't be coming here, so one follows the other," Oates said.

Lichtenthal pointed out that the DOT is out of money and the Feds aren't sending highway grants down the pipeline any longer to help with local traffic issues.

"The DOT is now looking back and the towns and saying, 'you let this development happen without looking at the repercussions on the roadways. Now you expect us to fix it, ' " Lichtenthal said, "and they're telling the towns, 'you fix it.' "

The environmental review process was extended by consent of the planning board and Benderson in order to see if a solution can be found, or plan developed, to deal with the growing traffic issues.

Tim Horton's is just one step along the way, Lichtenthal said.

"These are baby steps," Lichtenthal said. "You take these baby steps and add them together and it's a big step and then what do you do?"

Last week, the Geness County Economic Development Center Board approved $1.7 million in tax breaks for COR Development to add four more retail spaces to the Batavia Towne Center in the location of the former Lowe's store.

City crews work from early morning to mid morning to repair water main on State Street

By Howard B. Owens

There was a water main break on State Street between Denio and Douglas at 3 a.m. and water service was cut for some residence in the area pending repairs. 

During the repairs, the decades-old shut-off valve broke, and so once DPW workers repaired the break, they had to dig up the valve and replace it.

Update from Matt Worth, superintendent of water and wastewater:

Water main repair has been completed on State Street and water service restored.  Residents in the immediate area should be aware that they may experience some discolored water and should avoid laundry or other activities which may be impacted by this condition until water clarity has returned to normal.

Photos: 2013 Day of Caring kicks off at Dwyer Stadium

By Howard B. Owens

There were 382 people who signed up for the United Way Day of Caring today, but Susie Boyce thinks more people than that are participating because organizers ordered 425 T-shirts and they ran out.

The volunteers will work on 32 projects today, which amounts to about $36,000 in labor contributions.

The group from Genesee ARC.

The Kiwanis Club of Batavia.

Joe Saco sang the National Anthem and America the Beautiful.

Last year, Amber, on the right, received a bicycle that had been reconditioned by volunteers at Adam Miller Toy and Bicycles. Today, she read a message about how much the bike has meant to her to help her get around town and go to and from her job. Shelley Falitico, from Genesee ARC, is with her.

Development pipeline for Town of Batavia getting crowded

By Howard B. Owens

It will be another summer of new commercial development in the Town of Batavia, with three  projects already up for Planning Board review, and that doesn't include the expansion project at Batavia Towne Center.

  • GCEDC/GGLDC is planning a second two-story building at the Upstate Med-Tech Center on R. Stephen Hawley Drive, across from GCC. The complex will be 60,000 square feet and be planned for industrial, research and office space.
  • An as-yet-undisclosed company is planning a 60,000 square foot cold storage facility at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park. It will be on 10 acres adjacent Alpina's plant and serve Alpina's cold storage needs. The facility require a 42-foot high silo, which is seven feet higher than allowed under current code without a variance.
  • A local man is planning a plant that will digest waste from yogurt production -- about 70 percent of the milk product from making yogurt becomes waste -- into products that can be used for other needs or converted into energy.

All three projects will be discussed at the planning board's meeting May 21.

Applications for COR's conversion of the former Lowe's location into four retail spaces hasn't reach the town yet.

There's also the housing development off Seven Springs Road that's still going through the planning process.

Possible fire reported behind house on Creek Road, Batavia

By Billie Owens

A possible fire reported behind the residence at 8924 Creek Road. Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 4:38 p.m.: Responder on scene reports nothing showing.

UPDATE 4:46 p.m.: "Looks like they were disking (plowing soil) on the east side of Creek Road. I think they may have seen dust." The town assignment is back in service.

St. James honored for extensive restoration work

By Howard B. Owens

Story by Larry Barnes. Photo by Howard Owens.

LANDMARK SOCIETY AWARD PRESENTATION
ST. JAMES ESPISCOPAL CHURCH
405 E. Main St., Batavia
Tower Restoration and Tender Loving Care


The Landmark Society is recognizing the St. James Episcopal Church for its recent efforts to restore this wonderful Batavia landmark.

William Seaver, writing in 1849, stated that for several years, little attention seemed to have been paid to religious matters in Batavia except that religious meetings were occasionally held by “pious” laymen or at irregular intervals by itinerant preachers. One Presbyterian of the time noted that “Mr. Ellicott disregarded the Sabbath and was hostile to religious institutions…it was a common observation that Sabbath-day did not extend westward beyond the Genesee River.”  When a member of a missionary society arrived in Batavia in 1805 to preach, he notified residents of his planned evening lecture, but nobody came. James Brisbane, Batavia’s first postmaster and owner/operator of its first general store, was described by his son, Albert, as a “cold atheist” whose religious skepticism grew with the years.

It was within this context that Episcopal missionaries began visiting Batavia in the period between 1812 and 1815. Services were held in Hickox’s Inn, a tavern located in the county courthouse, Ellicott Hall. By 1815, a sufficient following had developed so that in June 1815 a group of 11 men met for the purpose of incorporating a parish: St. James Parish.

Ground was broken in April of 1816 for a brick church located where Rancho Viejo Mexican Restaurant now stands at 12 Ellicott St. The congregation struggled financially and it took six years to finish the structure. The construction of this first church was of inferior quality and by 1833 it was apparent that the congregation needed to rebuild. Plans were made to build another building on the same site.

The second Episcopal church, built of stone, was consecrated in September of 1836. In keeping with the most popular architectural style of the period, it was of a Greek Revival design.

Bricks from the first church were saved and used to build a rectory immediately to the west.  More than a century later, when this building was about to be demolished during Urban Renewal, the Landmark Society purchased it and restored the structure, as much as possible, to its original appearance.

Just as the first building was plagued by poor construction, the new church also had its problems. Due to faulty materials or inadequately supported beams, only six years after the church was built, the roof and ceiling had to be completely removed and replaced. (Don’t tell anyone, but a pattern seemed to be emerging.) By 1904, this building was deteriorating fast.  The neighborhood had also changed in undesirable ways. Consequently, a decision was made to build anew once again, but elsewhere this time.

This was the home of Adelaide Richmond Kenny, daughter of Dean Richmond, who lived here after her husband and both her parents had died. By the mid-1800s, as historian Kathleen Kutolowski pointed out, the locus of political, social, and economic power of Batavia’s elite “rested within the walls of St. James Episcopal Church.” Adelaide was among those elite. For example, she eventually served on the boards of seven local manufacturing concerns and owned half of the stock in the Johnson Harvester Co.

Circa 1905, property previously owned by the Tomlinson’s was purchased for a new church, using $15,000 provided by Adelaide Kenny. A barn on the property was sold (and presumably moved elsewhere) and the house was torn down, saving the lumber for future building purposes. Only the fence was left untouched, a fence that still exists.

In 1906, 26-year-old Robert North, a Batavian who had recently graduated from Cornell, was chosen as the architect for the new church. Adelaide Kenny had previously expressed a desire to see a building similar in style to the parish churches in the English countryside. In fact, she had given Robert North, in today’s money, $11,000 to go to England for the purpose of studying church architecture. So, it was pretty clear from the start what the style of the new building was going to be.

Adelaide Kenny, with a gift well in excess of $1 million in today’s money, funded the construction of the church as a memorial to her husband, Dr. William J. C. Kenny.  She provided another sum, nearly as large, which was to be invested with the interest used for general church purposes. The cornerstone for the building was set in place in 1908.

The new building was completed in October 1909. Windows from the stone church were reused in the clerestory. The organ, purchased in 1877, was also moved to the new church. The bell, originally cast here in Batavia on Dingle Alley (later Bank Street), having hung both in the first church and the second, was re-hung in the new building. The massive bell tower has been described as an excellent composite of those English towers that are known for exuding dignity, strength, and a feeling of power — features that stem from such towers originally serving as fortresses.

In "A Cycle of Praise," a 1965 publication about the history of the St. James congregation, the authors describe the building this way: “St. James Episcopal Church in Batavia is a handsomely designed building which utilizes, unifies, and richly combines characteristics from many different English parish churches. It has a unity and rational symmetry that is the result of being designed as a complete unit and immediately constructed in toto. The effect is that of a very conservative 15th Century assemblage of components…Gothic principles of building are employed with reserve…All arches are pointed; buttresses reinforce points separating the bays. The roof is relatively steep.”

Eventually, water began leaking into the building causing damage similar to this. In the mid-1960s, the interior water damage was repaired, some gutters were replaced, exterior stonework was repointed, and waterproofing was applied to the exterior.

In the last few years, it has become apparent that another round of restoration work is necessary. Most notably, the mortar used in the repointing of stonework in the 1960s was an inappropriate material and stonework began falling from the tower. (If there were still people alive who had lived through the history of the first two churches, they would probably be saying, “It’s deja vu all over again!”)

There was some discussion about whether the tower should be razed and the building scaled back. But that soon ended and restoration became the goal. Fund-raising began in 2009. A capital campaign among congregants has resulted in pledges totaling $370,000. Another $40,000 has been raised through bicycle rallies, garden tours, a calendar sale, and other such efforts. A total of $109,200 has been received in the form of grants from the New York Landmark Conservancy Sacred Sites Fund, Pepsi-Cola, and the Rochester Community Foundation.

Especially worthy of observation is the fund-raising work undertaken by Laurie Oltramari who, although not a member of the congregation, has devoted a huge amount of time and energy to the effort stemming from her dedication to historic preservation in our community. I understand that Marcia Gann, Jon McManis, Dave Lange, and Father Metcalfe have also played a prominent role in the fund-raising and subsequent restoration work.

In 2011, work began on the stonework of the tower. The focus was on the top 20 feet of the 86-foot structure.

To enable work to continue through the winter, the scaffolding was wrapped. Note the “ribbon” that graced the wrapping at Christmas time.

In addition to the tower stonework repairs, the stained glass window in the tower was also repaired. Glass was re-leaded and cleaned, broken glass was mended, and damaged masonry around the window was fixed.

This work is only the beginning, of course. The road ahead is a long one. But, a good start has been made. The next work will most likely involve refinishing the exterior doors.

And there is more stonework to be repaired.

Those of us in the Landmark Society who have been involved in similar restoration projects especially appreciate what has been achieved so far. It is an honor to award St. James Episcopal Church with this Certificate of Recognition.

East Main Street home honored for outstanding exterior paint treatment

By Howard B. Owens

By Lucine Kauffman. Photo by Howard Owens.

Landmark Preservation Award
Michele & Robert Bialy
312 E. Main St., Batavia
Outstanding Exterior Paint Treatment

   
Michele and Robert Bialy purchased this 1856 Italianate-style home in 2009. Native Western New Yorkers, they had been living out of state when their jobs brought them back to this area.  They settled on Batavia, because it is half way between Buffalo and Rochester.

A slate walkway leads up to the front porch. The Bialys found a sandstone slab underneath the porch and set it in front of the porch steps. 

Robert rebuilt the porch railings before embarking on his painting project. 

And they stripped the paint off of the front door. The double-leaf door with an arched surround is especially decorative.

The Bialys picked a four-color scheme for their grand house and Robert did all of the painting himself:

  • Navy for the front porch floor and window shutters;
  • Pale yellow for the body of the house. The clapboards are set flush on the front of the house;
  • Gold and white to accentuate the architectural details such as the oversized paired brackets with pendants that appear to support the deep eaves of the hipped roof;
  • Corinthian capped fluted columns and pilasters;
  • The windows are topped by jigsaw-cut ornament and small bracketed hoods.
  • They pulled out some ragged holly bushes and finished up the exterior with new landscaping. At present, the Bialys are working on the interior.

It is with great pleasure that the Landmark Society of Genesee County presents Robert and Michele Bialy with an award the outstanding exterior paint treatment they have given their home; this historic, elegant Italianate-style house. Their efforts have made a significant impact on Main Street in the heart of the City of Batavia.

For the first time, Landmark Society honors Mid-century Modern home

By Howard B. Owens

Story by Diana Kasten. Photos by Howard Owens.

Landmark Society of Genesee County Award
HENRY JOHN KISIEL
9091 Creek Road, Town of Batavia
Tender Loving Care

You can probably count, on one hand, the number of octogenarian Word War II veterans in Genesee County, who not only designed but also still reside in the same home they built during the post-war era. At least one of them would be Henry John Kisiel of Creek Road in the Town of Batavia. 

Mr. Kisiel’s Mid-century Modern home is an architectural gem exhibiting many of the elements of the ranch or rambler houses that were from 1946 into the 1960s.

Henry served in the Navy during World War II in the Pacific on the aircraft carrier USS Cape Esperance. He returned from the war to his beloved Batavia and married his sweetheart Lois Ruth Quartley. 

As newlyweds living on Washington Avenue in Batavia, they began their family in a tiny second-floor apartment. 

In the early 1950s, Henry and Lois began to dream about building their own home. Henry purchased a lot on Creek Road from his cousin, which was originally part of their grandparents’ farm. 

He then began to draft the plans for his dream home. 

Henry and Lois wanted a modern ranch or rambler with everything on their wish list. 

During this mid-20th-Century period of American architecture, ranches and ramblers were popping up all over the country. There were many prototypes to choose from, so Henry took some ideas from the ranches he had seen and incorporated some of his own innovative design elements.

Building a home as newlyweds was not such an easy feat, especially for a young couple with no credit or savings, but what they did have was a desire and determination to work hard and make their dream a reality. 

It took more than three years to build the home to their specifications. Henry enlisted the help of his family and friends. However, he needed to convince people in the business and financial community to take a chance on him. People could see he was an eager and hard-working young man who had served his country in war and safely returned to make a home for his wife and their new family.

The first thing he had to do was get the forms built for the foundation and basement of the house and pour the concrete. He went to the bank and asked to borrow some money to begin the project. The bank was only willing to let him borrow $2,500 at the time. He needed concrete so he placed a call to B.R. DeWitt, whom he barely knew, and told him about his plans. 

He asked Mr. DeWitt if he could purchase the cement from his company, but he would not be able to pay him all at once. However, he could pay $100 per month until it was paid off. Henry asked if he could come speak with him and B.R. said he could come over that afternoon and bring his plans. 

After looking at the drawings, Mr. DeWitt agreed to the payment plan and Henry’s dream began to become a reality. Mr. Kisiel then went to Genesee Lumber and was able to arrange with them to supply the lumber, also on a payment plan. Within a year, Mr. Kisiel had paid off the money owed to Mr. DeWitt, Genesee Lumber and the bank. However, he still needed more money to finish the house. 

He ran into B.R. DeWitt at Angie’s Restaurant on Ellicott Street and B.R. asked him how the house was coming, Henry said he needed more cement for the driveway and could he get the same arrangement as before. Mr. DeWitt agreed as he had honored his previous commitment and supplied him with the cement. 

He also went back to Genesee Lumber for the framing and floors for another year’s worth of lumber. The bank loaned him another $2,500 to continue work on the home for the second year. 

In the third year, the windows needed to be installed and Mr. Kisiel went to Mr. Atwater at the bank for another $2,500 loan to order the windows. Mr. Atwater wanted to come out with other bank officers to see the project before loaning the money. Upon seeing the home, Mr. Atwater said forget about the $2,500, we will loan you $15,000 to continue the building and another $4,000 to finish. 

The house was completed in 1956 with a total mortgage of $19,000. Within a few short years, both Henry and Lois worked full time to pay off the mortgage completely. Henry worked at Kisiel Die Casting Manufacturing Company and Lois worked for New York Telephone. 

With their third child on the way in 1959, they had finished their home and had paid off their mortgage to the bank with no outstanding debt. In the end, the final cost of the home was $45,000.

The home is of red Roman rock-face brick from Louisiana. There are 13,000 bricks in the house which cost of 13 cents per brick at the time they were purchased. Stanley and John Stalytza, of Alden, were the bricklayers and they charged Mr. Kisiel 10 cents a brick for their labor. 

The plaster interior is over an inch thick and was done by the Hales in Batavia. 

The winter had come and Henry had to get the bricks laid so he built a covering for the house so the bricklayers could work throughout the winter. In the spring, he took down the covering and to the amazement of his friends and neighbors, the house was more beautiful than they had imagined. 

Henry wanted round windows and in the front door and on the exterior he implemented those designs. The deep eaves overhang the perimeter of the house. The eaves in the back of the house are even deeper than the front to shade the walkway that leads to the open breezeway.  The wooden-shingled garage is in the special pinkish-red paint that so perfectly complements the brick. The original wooden garage door with its rectangular windows retains the character of Mid-century Modern.

The living room ceiling gently curves in a soffit of plaster to hide the tops of the curtain rods, as if the drapes are falling from the air. Pink marble windowsills are throughout the house and instead of wood, bull-nose plaster frames every window and doorway and the edges of all the walls.  The original Formica countertops in the kitchen and wooden cupboards have been preserved over the years. The only wood is the baseboard, closet and entry doors, kitchen cupboards, and bathroom vanity. The Mid-century Modern gem is mostly of smooth sound plaster and solid brick exterior. Two fireplaces of the same red brick go from floor to ceiling in the living room and basement.

The Landmark Society of Genesee County recognizes we have passed the 50-year mark for houses to be considered landmarks, which qualifies many of the mid-century ranch, rambler, and split-level homes that were built after World War II into the 1960s. 

Fortunately, Genesee County has many that fall into this category and the hope is that people will begin to realize the wonderful architecture that transpired during this period and continue to care for and preserve this architectural style in our communities for generations to come.

Therefore, we would like to honor Henry Kisiel for his original design and building of his home on Creek Road and his preservation of it throughout the years. However, more importantly, for his longevity and personification of the pursuit of the American Dream and being of The Greatest Generation who came back from war to build a wonderful architectural style that accommodated the next generation --  a style their children known as the Baby Boomers were born and raised in.

Batavia splits two games in recent action

By Howard B. Owens

Batavia girls softball picked up a win against Pembroke, 10-4, but dropped a game to Alden 10-3 in recent action.

In the game against Pembroke, Kayleigh Tourt had two hits and four RBIs while Hannah Bowen had two hits and two RBIs.

Kimberly Walsh pitched all seven, struck out 6 and gave up seven hits and two earned runs.

Against Alden, Bowen had two hits, Taylor Stefaniak had two hits and Briana Janes had two hits.

Young Marine mom battling bone cancer to benefit from concert by Bebo Norman

By Billie Owens

Kailee Bridges is fighting for her life right now with a rare bone cancer. She is a 20-year-old Marine, with a newborn daughter named Lilly, and a husband, Justin, who is also a Marine.

To help this Batavia family, major Christian recording artist and Dove Award winner Bebo Norman, who lives in Nashville, has graciously agreed to perform a benefit concert called "Love for Lilly: A Concert for Hope." It's this Friday evening, May 10, at Grace Baptist Church, Batavia, located at 238 Vine St.

Tickets are $30 and $25. Monetary donations are also welcome and the church has set up an account for them called the Lilly Trust Fund.

The concert will undoubtedly draw a packed house of people from Canada to Connecticut to help raise funds for Kailee and her family.

To get tickets, go online to itickets.com

Kailee was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer known as osteosarcoma during her pregnancy. It was found in her pelvis and she was not expected to live. She had emergency, high-risk surgery in an effort to save her life. She pulled through, and so did Lilly, who was subjected to chemo in the womb.

But their ordeal is not over. Her cancer has metastasized and she faces more battles with it.

Concert by Bebo Norman to benefit baby of young Marine mom who lost battle with cancer

By Billie Owens

Kailee Bridges is fighting for her life right now passed away Tuesday night from a rare bone cancer. She was a 20-year-old Marine, with a newborn daughter named Lilly, and a husband, Justin, who is also a Marine.

To help this Batavia family, major Christian recording artist and Dove Award winner Bebo Norman, who lives in Nashville, has graciously agreed to perform a benefit concert called "Love for Lilly: A Concert for Hope." It's this Friday evening, May 10, beginning at 7 at Grace Baptist Church, Batavia, located at 238 Vine St.

Event Date and Time
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Five local students set to graduate from SUNY Oswego

By Billie Owens

Several local residents are scheduled to complete their baccalaureate studies this year at SUNY Oswego.

The following local residents (with their academic degrees in parentheses) are eligible to participate in ceremonies May 18 for the college's Commencement:

Samantha L. Yager, of Richmond Avenue in Batavia (History, cum laude)

Lindsey C. Glazier, of Caswell Road in Byron (Childhood Education)

Luigi A. Parlato, of Seven Day Road in Darien Center (Public Justice)

Nikki M. Parlato, of Seven Day Road in Darien Center (Public Justice, magna cum laude)

Samantha M. Kidder, of Oak Street in Oakfield (Sociology)

A student who graduates with honors is indicated by the traditional Latin phrases summa cum laude, with highest honor (grade averages of 3.8 to 4.0); magna cum laude, with great honor (grade averages of 3.6 to 3.79); and cum laude, with honor (grade averages of 3.30 to 3.59).

A 152-year-old comprehensive college in the State University of New York system, Oswego enrolls about 8,000 students in its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; School of Business; School of Communication, Media and the Arts; and School of Education.

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