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Members of the Batavia, Warsaw, and Pembroke-Corfu-Darien (PCD) Kiwanis clubs recently celebrated their accomplishments — and more importantly the lives they have impacted — with two centennial and one golden jubilee gatherings, respectively, for the international organizations.

“I am always excited to introduce new people to Kiwanis,” said Gene Scherline, Lt. Gov. Designate Genesee Division, during their dinner at Terry Hills restaurant in Batavia. “I’ve been in Kiwanis for 43 years. It is a very exciting time to have people just starting on their journey. Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.”

Founded on Jan. 21, 1915, in Detroit, Mich., by a group of businessmen networking in a social club. It soon morphed into a community service organization. Kiwanis in Rochester was the fourth club organized and the first in NewYork State.  Its first meeting was in the home of George Dixon, the first president of Kiwanis International. 

In 1916 Kiwanis became an international organization with the charter of the Kiwanis club in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. At that time, it  limited its membership to the United States and Canada until 1962 when worldwide expansion was approved. There are now Kiwanis in seven different countries around the world. In 1986 women were accepted into the organization as members.

“Batavia Kiwanis is a longstanding organization that has been around for more than 100 years,” said Crystal Benjamin-Bafford, Lt. Gov. Genesee Division. “The work that the officers do to keep the club's vision and always keep moving forward, to do all the activities they do, to file reports. We appreciate the folks who stand up and volunteer and want to do this, it’s not paid but often is like a second job.”

Officers inducted at Thursday’s event into the Batavia Kiwanis include Dave Rumsey, president; Reita Fletcher, president elect; Jim Dillon, vice president; Vicky Muckle, secretary; and Jon Tretter, treasurer.

“Batavia’s club started first and sponsored Warsaw’s club, then 50 years later started the PCD club. So they’re basically our offspring -- father, son, and grandson,” said Peter Guppenberger, a 21-year member of Kiwanis.

Benjamin-Bafford said that monthly reports “are super important for people like me.”

“So later on, if I have comments, we can look back and see how much we raised, and without you we cannot really understand how we serve the community and how we help.  What you are to us is represented on this pin; it’s ‘you are the right stuff’.”

Batavia Kiwanis President Dave Rumsey presented three special awards. 

“It is [my] hope that the continuity and perseverance that has allowed this club and the Warsaw club to maintain 100 years and the Pembroke-Corfu-Darien club 50 years to look towards the next 100 years," Rumsey said.

The Presidential Appreciation Award was presented to Jon Tretter for his tireless assistance with the finances of the club. Vicky Muckle was also presented with the Presidential Appreciation Award for her dedication and assistance as secretary. 

“Her communication skills kept me in the loop, and she puts on a great chicken barbecue,” Rumsey said. “If I had speed-dial capability, I would have this individual’s number right on top,” he said. “As a new president, when problems arise, I would make a call to discuss the matter and, with the information provided, make an informed decision. This individual is also assisting with the coordination of many signature events for this club.”

The 2023 Kiwanis of the Year Award, which has been presented to members since 1967, was awarded to Guppenberger.

“Peter does everything with enthusiasm and confidence, and I swear he knows everybody in the community,” Rumsey said.

Legion of Honor and Merit awards are presented to those who have notable longevity within the Kiwanis clubs. As Guppenberger noted, the awards are significant because they chose not to give their time to their community but because they chose to invest their time in their community. 

“There’s a difference between giving and investing,” Guppenberger said.

The Legion of Merit recognizes those members who have at least five years and up to 20 years of consecutive membership.  This year’s recipients for members with five years up to 20 years are: Rumsey, five years; Jocelyn Sikorski, 10 years; Sue Maha, 10 years; and Mark Lewis, 15 years. Both Lewis and Sikorski are past presidents.

The Legion of Honor recognizes those members who have at least 25 years of consecutive membership. This year’s recipients are: Frank Ciaccia, 25 years; Gary Maha, 35 years; Patricia Forsyth, 35 years; George Arnold, 35 years; and Eric Adams, 45 years. Maha, Arnold and Adams are all past presidents, and Forsyth is a past secretary.

Warsaw Kiwanis, also celebrating 100 years, inducted new officers, including Lindsey Rissinger, president; Kevin Carlson, vice president; Gwen Carlson, secretary; and Richard Humphrey, treasurer.

Members inducted into the PCD Kiwanis, which is celebrating 50 years, include John Drogi, president; Penny Arnold, vice president; Debbie Krenzer-Lewter, secretary; and past Lt. Gov. Pat Weissend, treasurer.

The lifeblood of any organization is getting new members, they said. PCD had the opportunity to induct two new members in its organization: Casey Stocking and Megan Tocha.

“The hierarchy of Kiwanis exists because of its members,” said Lucien Giancursio, NY District Governor Designate. “Two new members mean two new people who have joined us. So you look around the room right now, and this is your family, this is who you turn to. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions. Because it’s the membership that makes things happen. It’s the members of Kiwanis who do the work. Leadership starts at the club and moves its way outward.”

The name Kiwanis stems from Nun Keewanis, an expression of a Native American tribe in the Detroit area where the organization was founded. It is loosely translated to “we serve.”

According to the International Kiwanis Club Website, Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time. 

“You’ll find clubs all around,” Guppenberger said. “You drive into town, and you see the ‘K’, and that means there’s a group of people that want to help that community. And everybody does things a little differently. It just depends on who the members are. The members drive the club. You’ve got a board of directors – a president, vice president and whatnot – and other members who all come together to come up with ideas on how to help the community - how to help the kids - with fundraisers like dinners and other events.” 

Part of Kiwanis is service, yet members are also getting together, having fun and building relationships, Warsaw Kiwanis Vice President Kevin Carlson said.

During its infancy, Kiwanis was a group of businessmen networking and servicing the community through volunteer work. However, over the past century, the organization has grown to be a real community-based organization.

“While there may be one or two members who actually work in the Pembroke area,” said John Drogi, PCD president. “The rest of us are community members. We are just people who want to make an impact in the community.”

Drogi joined the Batavia club in 1999 and, in 2009, joined the PCD club.

Currently, in Batavia, one of the projects is funding the Books for Babies program facilitated through the Richmond Memorial Library in conjunction with the hospital (United Memorial Medical Center). So when babies are born, they’re enrolled in a program through the library to encourage early reading.

Kiwanis Park, built in 1976, was a joint effort between Batavia Kiwanis and the town of Batavia. 

The Warsaw Kiwanis help raise money for the children's playground at Warsaw Village Park on Liberty Street in the village. The club helped get the project started and recruited other community members to help bring the playground into fruition. 

Events like the recent car show put on by PCD raised funds for projects such as Dolly Parton’s Books for Kids. Participants receive one book a month until they are five years old. The project was inspired by a member who worked for the health department in early childhood intervention, where she noticed many of the kids didn’t have books during home visits.

“We’ve been doing this for about six months and have around 70 kids signed up already,” Droji said. 

“That’s part of joining the club,” Carlson said. “You bring your ideas. Some get accepted, some don’t get accepted, but don’t get let down. It can be brought up again, and maybe it can get done.  A big part is enthusiasm. We have an enthusiastic group right here, and you can get a lot done.”

That’s the idea behind it. One may have an idea but think, “How am I going to get it done?” If one is a member of an organization like Kiwanis, it’s not just one person trying to get something accomplished. There is a group of people ready to help get a project done. According to Guppenberger, if it's an idea that resonates with the members, they will do everything to get it done.

To encourage future members, Kiwanis also has a presence in area schools, grades four through 12, via Service Leadership Programs (SLP). They include: the ‘K’ Kids, fourth through sixth grades; Builders Club, middle school; and the Key Club for high school students. There is also a club at the college level for those who are physically challenged.

“The kids run the programs. They decide what they are going to do,” Guppenberger said. “It’s building leadership; building service. They have their own officers, their own fundraisers, all under the umbrella of Kiwanis International.”

Initiated by Ashton Caney, the Batavia Kiwanis received its charter on Feb. 23, 1923, with 56 members of businessmen. Note ‘businessmen,’ said Guppenberger. 

“It has certainly changed since then, for the better, I may add,” he said. “We are honored and fortunate to have the second ever female inducted in the Kiwanis Club here tonight — Patricia Forsyth, who became a member in 1987.”

Since then, there have been approximately 12 female presidents in their clubs. The clubs at the time were mainly men’s clubs. It was “the old boys” club stereotype, says Forsyth. Yet women were just as much in business as men were.

The main focus is still service in the community; it is the backbone and strength of the Kiwanis community, members said. You are joining an organization that is dedicated and serving the local needs of the community and having fun doing it. 

City Council President Eugene Jankowski and Vice-Chair Genesee County Legislator Marianne Clattenburg read proclamations exalting the efforts of the Batavia club.

“I just want to say, as a lifelong resident of Batavia, I am the benefit of one of your investments. As a youth, I played in sports, and you guys supported our community way back when and has kept me out of trouble,” Jankowski said. “It kept me on the ball field instead of other activities. Thank you for that.”

The Kiwanis Club of Batavia is included in those community service projects in sponsorship of sports, construction and development of the many community parks, the Fresh Air Program, and three Richard Rung Memorial Scholarships a year. The scholarships are offered to graduating seniors at Batavia High, Notre Dame High School, and Genesee Valley BOCES.

The Fresh Air program was created to bring sponsored children from the cities to the country for a week, explained Clattenburg. In addition to sponsoring the development of Kiwanis Park in the town of Batavia, the club helped to convert the park so that it offers specialized equipment for children with developmental disabilities.

The Kiwanis Club offered holiday totes at Christmastime to families in need throughout the city, school district, and St. Joe's from 2015 to 2019. Totes included a holiday meal, books, mittens, and hats for each child, as well as supporting the Autism Trail at Letchworth (State Park) through fundraising efforts.

“I always thought 50 years was a long time,” said Ed Arnold, one of the founding members of the PCD club. “Doesn’t seem that long. When I think back on how great it is to have this many people ... Hank is the one who really pushed it for all of us to make it happen, and Hank did nothing but give a million percent to make sure that everybody would come [to meetings]. 

“The meals that he would give us… and it was every Tuesday night. Hank is gone. Greenwoods restaurant is gone - and the changes we have had. But you people should be so proud of what is here from 50 years ago of what it was.”

Guppenberger read a list of the Batavia club’s services, supports, and projects with the speed of an auctioneer, periodically taking a breath and asking the audience if he had forgotten anything from the scroll-like list of services, supportive efforts and projects. Most significantly, the club raised more than a quarter-million dollars for the Justice for Children Advocacy Center to be renovated.

“One of our sponsored clubs was the Golden K,” he said. “We used to do the Golden Olympics for I can’t remember how many years. All the county nursing homes, patients who wanted to participate, would come to Batavia, and we had the Golden Olympics and gave out ribbons, and the patients would put their ribbons on their beds. They were so proud of them. 

“We had a beanbag toss, bowling, wheelchair races and all kinds of crazy stuff like that. Unfortunately, it became difficult to continue the games because there wasn’t enough staff to bring the residents in. It was a cool thing to do, and as a kid, I loved helping my dad out with the Golden Olympics.”

Lucien Giancursio, NY District Governor Designate, congratulated the three clubs for their respective milestones.

“We are here because people were here before us,” he said. “So let's be the people here for someone behind us.”

Photos by Julia Ferrini.

Summer highlights of the 60s included going to the neighborhood park, swimming in the afternoon at the New Pool, and attending the four lawn fetes scheduled throughout the summer. 

The summer recreation program was divided into eight parks. Every neighborhood had a park, and the names of the parks all have a little local history.

Austin Park was named after George Austin, a jeweler who died in 1914 and left some of his money to be used to develop a public park. 

Mrs. George Farrall gifted Farrall Park's land. The land was originally a pasture. 

Kibbe Park is named after Chauncey Kibbe.   In 1934, with the help of federal funds and purchasing land from Chauncey Kibbe, Kibbe Park was born. 

John Kennedy Playground was formerly known as Cary's Woods. It was located on Vine Street. In 1954, the park was built on land sold from the city to the Batavia School District. 

MacArthur Park got its name from Douglas MacArthur. During WWII, the city organized an air raid observation post with headquarters in the baseball dugout at the ballpark. In 1961, the city cleared a small land area and built a picnic shelter with tables and grills behind the stadium.

Pringle Park was named after Judge Benjamin. Pringle also had a playground that was used for the summer recreation program.

In 1927, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Woodward from Le Roy gave the land along Richmond Ave. across from Robert Morris to the Batavia School District. This began the creation of Woodward Field. In honor of Mr. Woodward, his name is on the ticket booth, along with his good friend Andrew McWain, the editor of The Daily News at the time.

In 1915, the city owned a tract of land on Pearl Street that was left to the city in the will of Robert Williams. This was originally his farmland. Today, it is Williams Park.

The parks were open from 9 a.m. to noon and then from 1 to 5 p.m. Your days were filled with baseball and volleyball games and arts and crafts, and the summer's culmination was the Park Parade. Main Street closed, and the streets were crowded with spectators and store employees. Your park was judged on your float and your scrapbook. You became proficient in making hundreds of paper crepe flowers and how to add the flowers to chicken wire. The goal of each park was to create a unique float to represent the park. 

Friends were made for life at your neighborhood park. 

In 1959, the building contract was awarded to Ed Leising to excavate a choice piece of land in MacArthur Park. It would be the home of the new community pool. When it opened in 1962, another chapter of our childhood was created.     It was a 60-foot by 100-foot pool that could accommodate 600 swimmers. Your afternoons were spent swimming in what I thought was the largest pool I ever saw. You rode your bike to the pool, paid your .25, and were given a key to a locker. When you left, you were given your quarter was returned, which we immediately used on one of the vending machines when we left the pool. 

Another wonderful memory of summer in the 60s was the church picnics, or as many called the lawn fetes.   St. Joseph's Church began the summer with its fete on the first June weekend. Rides, games, food, baked goods, and a beer tent were there. My favorite part was the mammoth parade that opened the weekend's picnic.  

Our Mighty St. Joe's Drum Corps highlighted the parade. Main Street was packed with spectators. Parents and children in strollers lined Main Street. St. Joseph's Drum Corps was founded in 1931 by the Rev. T. Bernard Kelly, pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Batavia. St. Joseph's Drum Corps operated as a parade corps until the late 1950s, when it became a field competition corps. During the 1960s, Mighty St. Joe's rose to National and International prominence, consistently ranking among the top ten junior corps in the country.

The end of the lawn fete was marked by the lucky winner of the raffle ticket. You couldn't forget the grand prize, a new Cadillac that would be raffled at midnight Sunday evening. If you didn't want the Cadillac, you could choose $10,000. 

St. Joe's wasn't the only church that had a lawn fete. 

St. Anthony's had one on a smaller scale, but it was just as fun. I loved their baked goods booth. They also had a popular beer tent.   

When our daughters were little, we would walk to the fete. I remember one year carrying our youngest daughter from the fish pond, screaming. She wasn't ready to leave, and when we got home, we discovered that she had a rubber fish in her hand from the fish pond. 

Sacred Heart Lawn fete was very special to me because you could always find my wonderful father-in-law in the church garage counting money. He was always happy to give his granddaughters cash for the games. It was a smaller lawn fete, but every booth had a church member operating it year after year. 

Every church supported the various lawn fetes. St. Mary's also had a Lawn Fete. 

It was the community that benefited from the summer events. My memories span from when I was nine to when the last lawn fete was held in 2017. It ran for 61 years. When you think of our lawn fetes, you remember the long lines for the waffle booth or the smell of Italian sausage,  pepper, onions, or, respectfully, Polish sausage being grilled at Sacred Heart's Lawn Fete. You got used to the sound of the game I've Got It or someone yelling Bingo.

So many of these beautiful memories are gone. I regret that children today will never experience the fun. We all remember walking the tarmac of the various lawn fetes, walking in their park parade with their float, or swimming in the New Pool. My heart is filled with great memories and the sadness of dealing with all the changes we baby boomers must accept. 

As you read this today, I hope you smile and remember our summers in Batavia. Smile and be thankful we lived at a time when lawn fetes, the park program, and the New Pool filled our summer days. 

Photos courtesy of Genesee County History Department.

With an aggressive Blue Devils defense harassing Vertus QB Malachi Jones all night, forcing turnovers and lost yardage, Batavia was able to securing a convincing win over Vertus Charter 37-16.

Bronx Bucholz was 11-16 passing for 139 yards and two touchdowns. 

Cole Grazioplene had two receptions for 18 yards, and 22 yards on one carry, with two TDs and a defensive interception.

Zailen Griffin had 10 carries for 89 yards.

Carter Mullen had four receptions for 44 yards and touchdown.

Mekhi Fortes, who was also a dominant presence on defense, had three receptions for 43 yards and ran for a touchdown.

The Blue Devils are now 2-2 on the season.

This is exclusive game coverage by The Batavian. You can help support The Batavian's coverage of the community by joining Early Access Pass.

To view more photos for purchase prints, click here.

UPDATE 5:58 p.m.: Batavia PD says Stephenie Underwood has been located.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is seeking public assistance in locating 42-year-old Stephenie Underwood. Underwood was last seen on Sept. 27 at approximately noon in Batavia. She was last seen wearing tan sweatpants and a black long-sleeved shirt. Underwood is about 5'2", 126 lbs, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350 or the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370. Tips can also be submitted by clicking the "submit a tip" button at bataviapolice.org.

Following a raid by the FBI on a residence in Batavia Wednesday, two men have been arraigned in U.S. District Court on a sex trafficking indictment, including Joseph Barsuk.

The listed owner of the residence at 3604 South Pearl Street Road, Batavia, according to county tax records, is Barsuk Buffalo Properties LLC, and records list Joseph Barsuk Jr. as a former owner of the property.

Barsuk and Brian Rosenthal are indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Barsuk is also accused of sex trafficking by coercion.

On the first count of the indictment, Barsuk and Rosenthal are accused of working together, and perhaps with others, to "knowingly recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain" sex workers for financial gain.

Barsuk is accused of using force, threats of force, fraud and coercion to get a victim, referred to as "Victim 1," in paid sex work.

The Buffalo News reported today that the case may be linked to an investigation of  Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club in Buffalo. Rosenthal is reportedly a long-time employee of the club.

Press Release:

“We are pleased to announce that Jamie Beedham-Rada will be starting the Executive Director position on Monday, October 9. The staff and board are excited to work with Jamie and look forward to growing the programs of the YWCA,” says Board President, Christi Waldron.

Jamie has a Bachelor in Psychology and a Master's in Management from Keuka College. She started her professional career as a Case Manager for the YWCA's Domestic Violence Program in 2005 and feels that it is one of the most rewarding positions she’s ever had. For the past 13 years, her focus has been fundraising, development, and non-profit management. 

She comes to the YWCA from Lifetime Assistance, where for the last 10 years she has worked as the Associate Director of Day Services and as the Director of Development. She has been happily married to Ryan Rada for 14 years and they were blessed with their beautiful little boy Aiden, four years ago.

Her personal and professional goal has always been to support and improve the lives of our most vulnerable populations. Whether it is through advocacy, program support or fundraising, she wants her son to know the value of compassion and empathy and wants him to help others, not because he must, but because he wants to. 

“I am excited to return to my hometown and work alongside the incredible team at the YWCA and the members of our amazing community. The YWCA is an integral part of Genesee County and I am thrilled for the opportunities that the next few years will bring,” says Beedham-Rada. 

As the 2023 live racing season at Batavia Downs reached the halfway mark, the numbers show that bettors came out in full force, and that may lead to the track's most profitable year since Western Regional Off-Track Betting reopened the property for racing in 2002. 

Through the first 26 days of the scheduled 53-day summer/fall meet, the total handle is up 57 percent over the first 26 days of the 2022 season, with an average nightly handle of $240,438, compared to $153,229 at this point last year. And Don Hoover, Director of Live Racing, is expecting this surge to continue.

“Based on what we are seeing to this point of the meet, I believe these numbers will hold true throughout the remainder of the 2023 live season and easily eclipse the previous high-water mark (since WROTB purchased Batavia Downs) of $146,987 per night set in 2021,” said Hoover. 

“We had a very strong winter meet at the start of this year that set two daily handle records (for the WROTB era) on consecutive Wednesdays, and the momentum for our product has clearly carried over to our current meet. As a result, I expect this substantial increase in wagering dollars to continue throughout the second half of the season.”

Hoover is also quick to point out that it has been a total team effort that has resulted in this increase.

“More horses are stabled on the grounds at Batavia Downs right now than in previous years, directly resulting in more races and fuller fields that lead to more wagering opportunities. And with the Tioga Downs meet recently coming to a close, we will most likely see more ship-ins from those horsemen as well, providing an even larger pool of horses to fill all our classes. And our simulcast department has been hard at work sending our races to more outlets throughout North America, which in turn, exposes more customers to our product,” said Hoover. 

Batavia Downs is currently racing at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday right through October 28. Then the schedule changes to 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday from November 1 through December 9, which is the final night of live racing for the meet.

Previously: 

• Photo and video: Large load leaves Graham plant in Batavia, heads down Clinton Street
• Graham, the little manufacturing gem in Batavia making big equipment for a global market

Mr. Simpson’s in the building.

If you don’t know what that means, you’re one of the many students, staff and faculty at the school districts that don’t use such lingo as a secret indicator of a particular message to be broadcast when necessary over the public address system.

Just imagine what it would be like as a visiting student or substitute teacher on a day when this cryptic notification is aired, and all of the other school members respond in a knowing awareness. What if this message held special significance in relation to a school threat or community emergency? On the other hand, there are two very common terms used by most every school that have caused much confusion as well: lock out and lock down.

Now that a Standard Response Protocol has been implemented this summer, the language and related directives during school incidents will be the same for each of the city school district schools, St. Paul Lutheran, St. Joseph’s, Notre Dame High School and the state School for the Blind, and for Batavia Police Detective Eric Hill, it's about time.

“They've had the lockdown procedure in place and lockout procedure in place for a very, very long time. It's just now we're calling the lockout secure, so there's not that confusion any more. I'm really trying to push the education portion of it. Because a lot of times, you know, because of the very similar wording between lockout and lockdown, the general public would get confused as well. So we'd call for a lockout. And people would be like, 'Oh, my gosh, my kid was in lockdown.' They weren't, but it was just that the language is so close to one another that you don't understand what the difference is between them,” Hill said. “So we're trying to get that information out to the general public, and schools have actually had Parent Night and stuff like that, where they've been pushing out this wording and what it actually means. So when a parent hears 'Oh, you know, my school or my kid was in a Secure,' they understand that there wasn't any threat to the child at all … so we're hoping that that'll alleviate some of the anxiety that comes along with this kind of stuff.”

There have been some districts that used phrases such as Mr. Simpson is in the building to indicate a certain message to the student body, and a more universal language would help to clarify those messages as well, he said.

As for the wording, the new language to be used in this protocol will be:

Hold — is followed by “in your room or area,” and is the protocol used when hallways need to kept clear of occupants.

Secure —  is followed by “get inside. Lock outside doors,” and is the protocol used to safeguard people within the building.

Lockdown — is followed by “locks, lights, out of sight,” and is used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place

Evacuate  — may be followed by a location, and is used to move people from one location to a different location in or out of the building.

Shelter — is to include the hazard causing the incident and safety strategy for the group and for self protection.

These words will be announced by public address system when necessary, although Hill would like to eventually move to having the software available for use on cell phones, laptops, computers and Smart Boards. That will take future grants or other types of funding, he said. 

An example of a Hold would be if a student is sick and other students need to be kept away and out of the hall, a Hold may be called out over the PA, he said. 

A secure might be if there’s a threat outside of the building — there was a recent real example when police had a car chase, and the driver bailed from his vehicle and police officers chased him on foot. Previously that would have been a lock out, but now is a secure, meaning keep everyone inside and safe, and go about your business with the doors locked to prevent anyone from getting inside.

A lockdown is when the threat is inside the school and students and staff need to keep themselves safe inside, perhaps locked inside a classroom. 

Evacuate is to move out of the building, and shelter is to find a safe place to be in a time of crisis, perhaps a blizzard or other natural disaster.

An initiative that began from tragedy — a school shooting that took the life of Emily Keyes — the I Love U Guys Foundation was founded by her parents, Ellen and John-Michael, in 2006 to “restore and protect the joy of youth through educational programs and positive actions in collaboration with families, schools, communities, organization, and government entities.” 

The couple drafted these directives as ways to provide more uniform responses for kids to follow when incidents occur in schools, up to the point when the incident ends, Hill said. So if it’s a threat inside of school, no one would leave a locked classroom until an authorized person with a key unlocks that door. Because “no one, under any circumstances should open that door for anybody,” Hill said.

“Because, you know, we'll be opening that door. But we specifically set it up that way. The SRP is they've literally thought of everything at the I Love U Guys Foundation. They've put a lot of time, a lot of effort into this,” he said. “And we've actually had several trainings with them over the summer, and with school staff, both private and public school staff, to really understand their SRP and where it would be beneficial to everybody in our community, law enforcement, staff, students in the public, just to get everybody on the same page. So we're all talking the same language.”

The program’s name stems from when Emily was held hostage during her school’s shooting, and she texted that message to each of her parents. One goal is to get schools across the country to sign up and train using this standardized response protocol. Hill wants to ensure that the city’s program is up and running strong before then moving onto spreading it throughout Genesee County.

“Once we kind of get that in place, then we do want to hopefully grow the school safety team by pulling the Sheriff's department in with us. And then rolling it out county wide,” he said. “So that way, all the schools in Genesee County are using the exact same language, they're using the exact same protocols. And we all know what each other is doing. But we just haven't gotten to that step yet. So we're working towards that.”

Crisis response training for each of the schools began in August and will continue throughout the year. This protocol is not to be a replacement for any school safety plan, but an enhancement for critical incidents, officials said. 

Clear communication is critical in a crisis situation, City Schools Superintendent Jason Smith said, and the “standardization of these terms will provide clear direction to our students, staff, families, and community in case of emergency.”

“Thank you to our partners at the Batavia Police Department for leading this effort and for their consistent prioritization of school and community safety,” Smith said. “I’m thrilled to see Batavia’s educational community come together to implement these essential protocols.”

Part of the program includes posters that can be downloaded and printed out for schools to place on walls for free use in times of crisis — especially when someone forgets what a directive means or the steps involved, Hill said. 

There are also other posters that may be placed in windows to alert visitors that “School is Secured” with monitored entry, or “Drill in Progress” with no one in or out, or other such messages, and trainings offered through the program’s website.

 For more about the program, go to I Love U Guys.

Federal officials confirmed with The Batavian on Wednesday afternoon that an arrest warrant and search warrant were executed by agents of the FBI at 3604 South Pearl Street Road, Batavia, earlier in the day.

Jeannie McBride, public affairs officer for the FBI, referred The Batavian to the U.S. Attorney's Office for details on the arrest.

A spokeswoman confirmed a subject did appear in U.S. District Court on Wednesday afternoon and is scheduled to appear again at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. She said details of the case could be obtained through PACER, the website where federal court documents are made available to the public.

As of Wednesday night, no documents had yet been released related to the case.

McBride said the investigation is "ongoing."

County records indicate the registered property owner is Barsuk Buffalo Properties LLC. The LLC was registered with the Secretary of State in 2018 with a postal box address in Batavia.

As with any major construction project, there were a few delays for the Batavia Medical Campus on the north side of the Thruway entrance; however, a preview glimpse of the campus Wednesday showed off the multi-floor, 95,000 square-foot facility with ample windows and natural light that’s now ready to serve, officials say.

Dr. Shan Dhanda is among the first occupants to move in, offering family medicine services. 

“We’ll be moving in as of Monday. We’re very excited about that. It’s a combination practice of Batavia Internal Medicine as well as the old Oakfield Family Medicine, which Dr. Barcomb owns. We’re very excited to move in here and get going,”  Dhanda said during a media tour of the spit-polished site at 8103 Oak Orchard Road, Batavia. “What's fantastic about the facility is that for patients, it's a nice resource where they'll be able to get multiple aspects of their medical care underneath one roof. So a patient can come in here and at the same location, they can have their primary care provider, they can have their cardiologist, they can have their orthopedic specialist. They can also bring their kids in here for the pediatric department. In addition, they can get their lab work done here, as well as their imaging. So it's a very nice resource for the community.”

Come Monday, the Rochester Regional Health facility, easily visible from Route 98, is open for business, with more than a dozen specialty offerings, including cardiology, neuroscience, otolaryngology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, primary, urgent and pediatric care, and vascular surgery, a patient draw laboratory and imaging center.

There will be some shifting of offices and services from other areas within the city that are closing to move over to this new location and make room for new purposes, including imaging, the laboratory, orthopedics, pediatric and cardiology care.

Daniel Ireland, president and chief operating officer of the Fingerlakes Rural Hospital for RRH, said that the facility is designed and created to be an access point for a variety of different services related to health care — offering “everything from primary care and pediatrics through specialty care such as orthopedics, general surgery, vascular surgery, plastics and bariatric surgery.”

“We're also going to offer a comprehensive cardiology office and clinic here and neurology services inclusive of pain management and pain management therapies. Additionally, the site will be the home of a new urgent care that will have replaced the urgent care from the Jerome Center, as well as lab and radiology services, including ultrasound DEXA, scanning mammography and Gen X-ray services here in the building,” Ireland said. “We are bringing a lot of services from disparate locations to one. It brings all those services under one roof. So from a patient experience standpoint, they are coming to one destination in order to get the care that they need. But even further, it allows us to expand the amount of services provided in many of the locations today. We've reached the limit of those buildings to be able to offer additional services and bring in more physicians.

“And so this building has allowed us to add, for instance, in cardiology, we've been able to add two additional cardiologists to the program and be able to rotate through specialty cardiologists into the community here,” he said. “So it not only expands, in relocates services under one roof, it allows us to grow and offer more services to the community, and hopefully improving access for those around us.”

The new building has an updated blueprint and technology, versus the more antiquated locales, the former St. Jerome’s Hospital of decades ago, for example, he said. 

“They're not efficiently designed for today's style of medical practice. You'll note when you walk through some of the facilities here we have what we call an on-stage off-stage area where patients will enter one door to the exam room, and the clinical team will be behind another door to be able to come in. And that allows for highly efficient care and keeps care moving through the process,” he said. “Those existing facilities don't have the geographic footprint to be able to do that. Additionally, we have a number of buildings, especially around our main campus, that have reached, really, the end of life. And they’re going to cost significant investment to upgrade without a lot of ability to expand. So we'll be able to take some buildings down on the main campus and improve parking around the hospital, which is a win-win, as we're able to grow services in the community but also make access to the main hospital just as convenient.”

Ireland is aware of the fears expressed by some people that this new place is out of bounds for someone with no dependable means of transportation and too far for one to walk. The new location is a strategic position for patients from both inside Genesee County and also from Orleans and Wyoming counties that seek care from RRH specialists, he said.

“I think patients are going to find that to be convenient. I know initially, the fear is that it is traveling right outside the city. But we are very, very close to the city line. We have coordinated with the regional transportation services, and they are able to offer patients transportation out here on demand. So patients who don't have the ability to drive will still be able to get to this campus very easily and conveniently,” he said. “And for those that are driving, it is really right over the Thruway bridge. So I think the little bit of drive out to the facility will be offset by the convenience they're going to get by the amount of services they're able to access in one stop, and hopefully make life for their health care much easier.”

What’s more, those who do drive can park in the garage underneath the building during winter to avoid a blustery walk to their vehicle to and from the appointment. That accommodation, plus easy access to offices and natural light, was incorporated from staff and patient surveys during the planning phase of the project. 

Rural health care is in crisis right now, he said. In a post-COVID era,  hospitals and health systems are downsizing, and some of the first places where that seems to be happening is in rural communities, he said. That’s why the completion of the medical campus — its survival through the pandemic — is so “critically important,” Ireland said.

"But what it does is it makes an investment in our rural communities and helps continue to grow access to health care, instead of shrink it in the transformation of healthcare that we are going to see going forward, that will be critically important to be able to bring care to where people are, instead of trying to ask people to drive to distant locations for care. Every time we add a layer of driving to care, we add a barrier for a lot of our patients, we want to break down those barriers, and that is part of where healthcare is going," he said. "Part of this building will also serve in some capacities to be able to link up with other specialties. So it becomes a destination point for people to get multiple types of care, even through one office in the building. So it is part of what the transformation of healthcare is leading to. And part of how Rochester Regional Health is really looking to solve the crisis in health care today."

For more information, go to Batavia Medical Campus.

A car has reportedly hit a pole in front of the Batavia Police Department at 10 West Main St., Batavia.

Unknown injuries.

City Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched

Press Release:

The Genesee County Office for the Aging is thrilled to announce a unique event that combines a crucial public hearing with an informative life-saving program titled "You are the Help Until Help Arrives." This dual-purpose event will occur at our office at 2 Bank Street, Batavia, on Wednesday, October 4 starting at 2 p.m.

Public Hearing: Shaping the Future of Aging Services
The Public Hearing, which precedes the life-saving program, is a vital opportunity for the community to influence the future of aging services in Genesee County. Your input is needed as we prepare our next four-year plan for submission to the New York State Office for the Aging. The Genesee County OFA wants to understand what matters most to you regarding our services and what the community needs to support aging residents effectively.

Life-Saving Program: "You are the Help Until Help Arrives"
Following the Public Hearing, we invite all attendees to participate in the "You are the Help Until Help Arrives" program. Emergencies can happen quickly, and in such situations, immediate actions can make all the difference. In collaboration with Genesee Emergency Management and the Genesee and Orleans Health Departments, this program aims to equip the community with the knowledge and skills needed to save lives during critical moments.

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, October 4

Time: 2 p.m.

Location: Genesee County Office for the Aging, 2 Bank Street, Batavia

Reservations are encouraged and can be made by calling 343-1611. Walk-ins are also welcome for both the Public Hearing and the program.

Press Release:

The Genesee Community College Foundation will be celebrating its 31st season of Encore on Friday, December 15, with an elegant event of holiday music and fine dining. This annual gala fundraiser directly benefits the student scholarship program at Genesee Community College.

This year's co-chairs, Jeremy and Sandra Liles, are looking forward to presenting this year's Encore and celebrating the start of the holiday season. "We selected the theme "White Christmas" inspired by the 1954 classic film, which captures the essence of the holiday season and will feature a special holiday concert program choreographed by the Genesee Symphony Orchestra".

Jeremy Liles is a native of Genesee County, the owner of Oliver's Candies and Sweet Life Group, its parent organization, and has managed Oliver's Candies for over 20 years. Jeremy is actively involved in his local community and currently serves on the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and has served on the Batavia Town Planning Board. Sandra is a New Hampshire native who moved to Genesee County in 2005. 

Sandra opened Sweet Life Country Store in Elba and has managed the operation for the past 5 years. She enjoys working with many different local product vendors and artisans to make their wares available to the public at this store, as well as partnering with other local businesses to benefit the community. Jeremy and Sandra reside in Batavia with Tahlia, the youngest of their three children.

"Both Sandra and I recognize the importance of education and supporting the Foundation Scholarship program at Genesee Community College. We are honored to be co-chairs of Encore 2023."

Proceeds from Encore support scholarships for students attending Genesee Community College. Sponsorship opportunities are critically important to the event. To become a 2023 Encore sponsor, purchase tickets, or for event information, please visit https://gccfoundationinc.org/encore/ or contact the Foundation Office directly at (585) 345-6809 or foundation@genesee.edu.