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On Saturday, the Walmart in Batavia hosted Shop with a Cop, the annual event that pairs children who may not have funds for Christmas presents, either for themselves or as gifts for others, with a local police officer.

This year, participating agencies were Batavia PD, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, and Le Roy PD.  

Photos by Howard Owens.

Genesee County residents were once again generous in their giving for the annual WBTA/Ken Barrett Chevrolet Toy Drive on Friday.  The Salvation Army will distribute the gifts to area children.

The folk tradition of music and art in Ireland informs the work of Batavia artist Adrian Morris, featured in the Winter Show of the Batavia Society of Artists at the Richmond Memorial Library.

The show opened Thursday and features 35 paintings by Morris, both his Irish landscapes and his portraits of musicians, writers, political figures, and commissioned work.

'I'm painting every day, painting all the time, in my spare time," Morris said. "It's just, I can't stop doing it. It's a passion that I've had from a young age."

In 2008, Morris immigrated to the Batavia area to be with a woman from the area. He is with a new lady now, but he stayed and has become embedded in the local art community.  His works are included in showings regularly with the BSA and at GO ART!

His Irish accent is unmistakable, as is his love for his homeland, but his love for America's musical traditions is also expressed through his work.  His portraits on display in the show include Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, John Lennon, Neil Young, and three of Johnny Cash.

What is the fascination with The Man in Black?

"Because I'm Irish," Morris answered. "And we're into folk music, traditional folk music, and he takes a lot of bluegrass and folk stuff into his music. I love folk music, like (Bob) Dylan and Johnny Cash and all those guys, you know. There is honesty in their songs and the stories that they tell. It's all about storytelling."

One of Morris's most stunning pieces is a portrait of James Joyce, the early 20th-century novelist known for his often inscrutable prose and stories deeply rooted in his native Dublin.

All these decades after Joyce's death, with his legacy enshrined in the scholarship of great literature, it might be hard to see Joyce as a folk figure, but that is how Morris sees him, and what draws him to Joyce.

"If you're in Dublin -- Ulysses is set in Dublin -- you can literally track every part of the book," Morris said. "You can go along the train, ride along the train along the coast, and everything he described in the book is in Dublin, and his cadence of the people (in the book), the way they talk, is purely Irish. A lot of Americans say it's very hard to read, but for me, it's just like, it's, it's my tone, the way their slang words work, you know, it's a rhythm and a regional accent to Dublin,  it's very Dublinesque, and, and so that's the beauty of his prose."

Joyce, he said, brings the complexities of life into a real world of real people just trying to get through their daily lives, like any folk artist.

"He goes through the gamut of philosophy and life and all these things, but he does it in a common man's way," Morris said. "You know what I mean? There's no airs about him."

Morris's love of Ireland and folk traditions is also expressed in a portrait that might surprise some -- Frederick Douglass.

"Frederick Douglass is a big he's a big part of Ireland," Morris said. "Anti-slavery with the whole British thing, the colonization, so he was a big part of it.  He was about the abolishment of slavery and so I really respected him even before coming here, and little did I know respecting him as a child that he was such a part of Rochester and the area. I was just like, 'Wow. So I felt like I wanted to pay tribute to him."

In Ireland, Douglass is revered for a speech he gave there.

"I don't know if it's true, but some Irish people had some part in paying for his freedom (NOTE: Irish and British residents raised the 150 pounds to purchase his freedom)," Morris said. "When he went over there, he moved the Irish people so much, that might have sown the seed for them to launch a free country because they were under the rule of the British for so long, and they wanted their freedom. So it's a political thing, but it's rooted in my culture."

The BSA Winter Show is on display through December and is open during regular library hours.

It is 2023, and I am celebrating my 73rd Christmas. 

Over the years, the memories have changed. I recall that it began at 5 Highland Park, my first home with my three brothers. The special Christmas gift I remember Santa bringing me was Wanda the Walking doll. My most treasured memory is a photograph of my mom and me near our Christmas tree. 

As the years progressed and my family grew, welcoming two little sisters, our Christmas celebration occurred on Evergreen Drive. Santa must have been very busy delivering toys to the Adam Miller Toy Store.

My favorite toys were my Tiny Tears Doll, a two-story metal doll house, and my first Barbie. Sadly, I had the bright idea of cutting off her ponytail. So many pictures centered around our aluminum Christmas tree that changed colors with the revolving light as Silent Night played. Downtown Main Street was filled with people Christmas shopping at their favorite stores. There were so many local stores to choose from. C.L. Carrs was always so festive with their decorations and Christmas music. 

There was a time when you could see a nativity scene in front of City Hall. You had to take a family drive to look at all the houses decorated for Christmas. You always had to stop at the Blind School to see the miniature Christmas village. What a shock and sadness it was returning home from college in the 70s to see the destruction of most of our Main Street. The historic buildings were gone, and only large mounds of bricks dotted Main Street. 

Christmas always meant family, but family dynamics, marriages, children, and grandchildren changed. The most challenging part was when the siblings moved away, which changed our Christmas’. 

We cherish the Kodak Super Eight movies and VHS video tapes of our daughters on Christmas morning. Another memory was the  Montgomery Wards Dept Store, waiting in a large group to hopefully purchase two Cabbage Patch Dolls. Another place we frequented was the Hiding Place in the Mall and Alberty Drug Store, looking for that rare Beanie Baby. 

We will never forget Christmas Eve when Rich assembled the Barbie Dream House. We had never seen so many pieces and decals. We just made it to bed an hour before the girls woke up on Christmas morning.

Our girls made Christmas so memorable, but then that changed. They were off to college and then married. We are now back to a very small Christmas. Many of my baby boomers have experienced the loss of parents that changed Christmas in so many ways.   It is a loss that never goes away. 

Even though our Christmas has changed over the years, our memories keep us warm, and we remember our Christmas past. 

Merry Christmas to my readers. I wish you beautiful memories to cherish today and tomorrow and remember your past Christmases in your hometown, Batavia, NY. 

After a couple of seasons where the Batavia Blue Devils have struggled for wins in Girls Basketball, the team is off to a 3-0 start in 2023-24.

And the games haven't even been close.

The Class A Blue Devils have beat Class A Geneva 42-16, Class A Young Women, 64-25, and on Friday night, Class AA Wilson/Early College 58-21.

On Friday, Jaimin Macdonald scored 21 points, Karizma Wescott scored 11, and Julia Preston scored 10 points. 

The next home game for Batavia is Monday at 7 p.m. against Le Roy.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

The first 15 minutes is when emergency responders have the best chance of saving lives during an active threat -- that incident where a bad actor, or multiple perpetrators, have undertaken hostile actions.

Local cops, firefighters, and medics worked together at St. Anthony's on Thursday to participate in active threat training to learn how to coordinate a quick response to neutralize a threat and perform emergency medical procedures.

"An active threat can be anything and everything from a single shooter to a complex coordinated attack on a facility or building or structure with an intended target," said Don Birou, lead instructor for the training course. "The goal here is as they have something that has occurred, they respond to it, and then they have to respond to save the lives that we put in front of them."

Birou is with the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training Academy and Counter-Terrorism, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based contractor with Homeland Security. 

This is the first time this sort of training has been conducted in Genesee County.

"We want law enforcement to come in, eliminate the threat, get the rescue task force in here and get those victims out of here to a hospital in a very short timeframe," Birou said. "It's a coordinated event among all the agencies. This is not like a single agency stuff. This is police, fire, and EMS working as one. In order to make that happen, they have to train on those aspects and try to get used to it."

Thursday's training included deputies from the Sheriff's Office, Batavia police officers, Batavia firefighters, Mercy EMS medics, and the Office of Emergency Management.  In the photos, police are in blue vests, medical and fire personnel in red, trainers in orange, and observers in green.

Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger said the impetus for the training came from school districts looking to ensure first responders were ready to deal with not only an active shooter but other kinds of immediate hostile threats. 

Law enforcement frequently trains on neutralizing threats, but such training does not typically include fire and EMS responders and coordinate with them during a critical time frame when lives can be saved but the scene is still chaotic, and officers can't be 100 percent certain a threat has been fully neutralized.

One officer participating in the training said he was grateful to go through it because he did find that when the scenario switched from putting down a shooter to dealing with victims, he became more nervous and realized he didn't have enough experience with that aspect of active threat situation.

"Law enforcement is often ahead of fire and EMS, and they're very prepared to respond to those things, but this is not a tactical SWST response," Yaeger said. "This is the patrol officers that are in the field, they have to respond immediately and take out that threat. This program helps us set the baseline to integrate fire, EMS, and dispatch so we're all on the same page, we're all talking about the same terminology and what our job duties are, how we're going to perform."

Yaeger emphasized that the first 10 or 15 minutes is the most critical period for saving the lives of victims so responders need to work quickly and with as little confusion as possible about how to communicate, what to communicate, and what role each plays to "stop the bleeding."

"It sounds simplistic, but it isn't," Yaeger said. "It's very, very complex, especially when you're dealing with law enforcement at the time when they may not know is that one shooter, multiple shooters, you know, or is that a complex coordinated attack?"

This is just the first such training but more is planned, Yaeger said, including a full-scale exercise sometime in 2024, possibly at GCC or one of the other schools in the county.

The scenarios used in the training are true-to-reality, Birou said, taken from after-incident reports of actual attacks and mass casualty events.  

"The training is best practices," Birou said. "How do we respond to these kinds of incidents, and what's the best method for accomplishing our task of saving lives?"

Photos by Howard Owens

A motor vehicle accident is reported in the area of 4028 West Main Street Road, Batavia.

There was an initial report of entrapment, but a male victim is now said to be out of the vehicle, in the roadway, holding his head, moving, and breathing.

Traffic is blocked.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 4:45 p.m.: A scene commander asked to check on the availability of Mercy Flight. Mercy Flight is unavailable.

UPDATE 4:46 p.m.: A second advance life support ambulance is being dispatched, emergency response, is dispatched.

UPDATE 5:15 p.m.: Town of Batavia Fire is back in service.

H.E. Turner & Co. Funeral Home's annual Remembrance Service was held at Northgate Free Methodist Church on Wednesday.

The service is an opportunity for area residents to honor and remember loved ones who have passed. 

Pastor Vern Saile led the service.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Opening at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, the Batavia Players bring to life Scrooge and his ghosts in a performance of Charles Dickens's “A Christmas Carol” at Main St. 56 Theater in Batavia.

There are also performances on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for seniors.

The musical is directed by Patrick Burk, with music directed by Kathy White.

Photos by Howard Owens

When tapped to play St. Nicholas for the Bethlehem Walk Wednesday evening, Dan Dedo didn’t cut any corners.

His wife made him a lavish suit of a metallic gold vest and a long hooded, red crushed velvet cape, and he wore a thick white, curly-haired beard and carried his own tall wooden staff that a friend had made for him. His hat, purchased with a gold cross on the front and back resembling that of a bishop, completed the outfit. 

Being unfamiliar with St. Nicholas, Dedo also did some research so he would be prepared for his duties during the event at Batavia First Presbyterian Church. 

No matter how long ago St. Nicholas originated, he still has a lesson for the modern-day world, Dedo said.

“It reminds everybody that it's a season where we should all be kind and generous to those in need and that St. Nicholas was that way throughout the year, which we have to remember, too,” he said. “So I enjoyed learning about him.”

St. Nicholas, who in later decades has been called St. Nick, served as the inspiration for Santa Claus, who is said to travel by way of sleigh and reindeer to rooftops and climb into chimneys to deliver his gifts to strangers’ homes. Dedo learned about his much earlier existence.

“Well, I was given a book that I read for everybody here. And then, I did some research online. St. Nicholas was born in 200 AD in what is now Turkey. His parents were rich; he became a priest in the Greek church, and his parents died and left him all their money. And St. Nicholas gave all the money to people in need: the sick, the hungry, people that needed housing,” Dedo said. “And there's a story about an old man with three daughters. And to get married in those days, you had to have money for a dowry. And they had no money, and the old man was worried about his daughters. So St. Nicholas heard about this, and at night, he threw a bag of gold through the window of the house. And they were overjoyed. And she was able to get married, then the middle-aged girl came of age to get married. And he did it again, he threw another bag of gold into the house. 

“Now, when the third daughter was old enough to get married, the old man was waiting to find out who this generous person was. And St. Nicholas liked to give anonymously. So he climbed up on the rooftop and threw the bag of gold down through the chimney. And the girl had hung her socks and stockings to dry under the chimney,” he said. “And the legend has it that the bag of gold fell into the stocking. And I mean, he inspired a lot of generosity and kindness on the part of other people. So we still remember him to this day for that reason.”

The event venue had tables full of nativity sets — collections on loan from Laura Dommer and Liz Saleh, plus a few others brought in from other church members — and hot homemade soup, decorated sugar cookies, music, children’s games and lots of mingling. 

Sheryl Maier and her daughter Tallulah were browsing a table of nativity scenes, and it didn’t take long for Tallulah to spot her favorite one.

“I like this one,” she said, pointing to a puzzle nativity. “I like doing puzzles, and I like doing puzzles of baby Jesus.”

As it so happens, her mom read the five-year-old the story of St. Nicholas at home before they attended the event, so Tallulah was quite familiar with the tall bearded chap when they arrived. He gave her some gold coins (chocolate wrapped in foil), and he walked around handing out the symbolic gift St. Nicholas threw into poor people’s homes as a token of compassion.

Olivia Fanton had gotten some coins but was waiting to eat her Italian wedding soup first. It was too hot at the moment, she said. The 11-year-old Batavia Middle School student had checked out the nativity scenes and especially liked one lone white decorative angel. 

“That’s my favorite,” she said. “I like the face of the angel.”

It was one piece of a collection that Dommer no longer had assembled together, she said. When she heard that Olivia liked the angel, she decided to follow in the footsteps of St. Nicholas and give it to the sixth-grader.

“I did it because she has a Bills shirt on,” Dommer joked. 

The Batavia Blue Devils are officially 1-0 on the season after defeating Brockport 57-51 in the team's 2023-24 season home opener.

Carter Mullen and Justin Smith led the way, with Mullen scoring 16 points and Smith scoring 14.  Joey Marranco scored 10 points.

The Blue Devils held on to win despite being outscored 19-13 in the final quarter.

Also in Boys Basketball on Wednesday, Le Roy beat Cal-Mum 78-49. Merritt Holly scored 31 points. Jean Agosto and Aaric Luce each scored nine. 

Note: Merritt Holly scored 13 points in the third after Cal- Mum pulled to within 3 early in the period extending the margin to 16 after three.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Press Release:

Congrats to our Confirmation candidates from Ascension and Resurrection Parishes, who made their commitment to this sacrament with their parents and sponsors, today St. Joseph’s Church on the first Sunday of Advent.

Press Release:

In a concerted effort to enhance our local first responders' preparedness and response capabilities, Genesee County Emergency Management Services is collaborating with the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (NYS DHSES) for an Active Threat Integrated Response program.

Event Details: 

Program Duration: Dec. 5 - 7, 24 total hours of training Simulated Active Threat Exercise: Dec. 7, 8 am to 3 pm, 114 Liberty St, Batavia 

Participating Agencies: 

• Genesee County Sheriff's Office 
• Genesee County 911 Center 
• City of Batavia Police Department 
• Le Roy Police Department 
• Genesee County Community College Security 
• Mercy Emergency Medical Services 
• Leroy Emergency Medical Services 
• Town of Batavia Fire Department 
• City of Batavia Fire Department

Please be aware of the upcoming simulated exercise scheduled at 114 Liberty St., Batavia, on Dec. 7, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The exercise will involve a simulated emergency scenario, and as a part of this training, police and EMS vehicles will be present in the vicinity. Please be aware that this activity is not a real emergency but a carefully planned simulation designed to enhance the preparedness and coordination of emergency response teams.

Special appreciation is extended to Genesee Community College staff and Ryan McDonald for their invaluable support in delivering this comprehensive program for our local first responders.

Press Release:

Northgate Church invites the community to its annual Vintage Christmas event on Thursday, Dec. 7, and Friday, Dec. 8. This family-friendly event will be “come and go as you please,” from 6 - 8 p.m. each evening. Enjoy a guided tour of a live nativity through the community prayer walk, complete with cookies and crafts.

Come celebrate the season, and enjoy a few classic Christmas movies on our outdoor movie screen, all while staying cozy around a campfire. There will be a small devotional, presented at 7 p.m., to ready our hearts and minds for the Christmas season, accompanied by a magnificent tree lighting.

This is a free event, open to all ages. Northgate Free Methodist Church is located at 8160 Bank Street Road, Batavia. For more information, contact the Northgate office at 585-343-4011 or visit northgatefmc.com.

Pastor Ryan Macdonald has been passionate about his work with the City Church food distribution program at St. Anthony’s on Liberty Street as it has grown the last four years. 

He has attended every single bi-monthly event, he says, and can appreciate the importance these distributions have for the 200 to 300 Genesee County senior citizens and families that come for the free food. 

So it is with that same passion that he has responded to a request from city officials to stop the distributions at the southside location.

“They told us there is no resolution, there is no compromise, there is no bending, the event needs to be canceled at this location. And when we asked for an alternative location, they basically told us, that's our problem,” Macdonald said Tuesday. “I asked, ‘What if we declined to move it or cancel it? (Public Works Director) Brett Frank from the city, made it very clear, that they would seek some type of legal notice against the church. And I said, so you're gonna legally pursue a church for handing food out? And he said, yes, if you don't move it from St. Anthony's, we will.

“We definitely believe this is an infringement of our religious ability to practice our religious values. Thirty families from our neighborhood, the most impoverished neighborhood in the city, walked to this event. That’s why we are extremely opposed to moving it. This is the first time we’ve been told to cancel,” he said. “We have no interest in any type of disagreement or litigation. We respect and support our city officials. We pray they will reconsider their position on our food distribution.”

This hasn’t just happened overnight, City Manager Rachael Tabelski said, and the city has offered to help find an alternative location for the distribution. Both sides met last Friday, and as far as the city was aware, a process was in place to locate another site. She and Frank also denied that he issued any type of legal threat for conducting the food distribution.

“The police chief and Brett are the ones who met with them and let them know that they would be more than willing to help find a location to better suit traffic flow so that all the individuals who need to get the food can get it. We've reached out to multiple partners for them. This was a United Way function that was done, and it rotated between churches during COVID,” Tabelski said. “So it hasn't always been at City Church. It's just they've been so wildly successful with their program … They've got so many people that have a need and come to the drive-through food location that it's a hindrance to our citizens and traffic. So, we're not saying it's bad, it's actually a great thing. It's just outgrown the location.”

She said there have been complaints about neighborhood residents being blocked in their driveways by vehicles waiting in line during the distribution, and safety concerns during school hours when kids are walking to Jackson Primary, which is on one end of the southside neighborhood.

The driving route had been revised at one point, and distribution participants were asked to use Sumner and Jackson to avoid the school, Macdonald said, while the remaining route is on Liberty Street. He said there are some 50 volunteers involved in the event, and some have been on the street to watch out for people blocking driveways. Someone even recorded a video at one point as proof that traffic wasn’t blocking driveways, per the apparent complaints, he said. 

Meanwhile, there have been “different emails, different phone calls, over the last two and a half years” to City Council and staff members, Tabelski said.

“And they fear for their safety for crossing the street. They are blocked from getting in and out of their driveways at certain times when these occur. And then, like I said, the school has had traffic issues as well,” she said. “So we've brought it up. This isn't the first time we've had these communications with them. This is just the most recent meeting that we've had, where we've asked for it to be relocated so the neighborhood isn't unduly harmed as it is now.”

Tabelski said she looks at it as a positive: the event has become so successful, that it now needs a larger venue to accommodate all of the participants. 

The food distribution stemmed from a United Way program, and the food comes from Food Link to City Church. The food is purchased from state funding, Macdonald said, and City Church has built up a network of names internally for people in need. 

They are primarily senior citizens and families, and while the bulk of them drive to the pick-up, some 20 to 30 people walk due to lack of transportation, he said. He is most concerned about how those people would get food if the distribution was moved to outside the city.

Church member Todd Crossett also attended the meeting, and he said city officials asked that a new site be located one to one and a half miles outside of the city since anything inside would be too congested with the line of 200 to 300 extra vehicles. 

He recalled that the discussion with city officials involved mention of potential code violations for a business that disturbs the neighborhood. 

Crossett and Macdonald are hopeful that they can alleviate the past issues with clear communication and flyers handed out to participants to ensure everyone understands not to block driveways and be mindful of neighborhood etiquette.

For Tabelski, “The city is committed to helping find a more suitable location for the flow of traffic for the food drive and looks forward to working with City Church to do so,” she said. 

“It’s just outgrown its footprint … and we've just gotten to the point where we really, we don't see any other successful solution, except to put it in a place that's meant to handle this type of traffic,” she said. “We want this food drive in Genesee County to be successful. As far as we know, they’re willing to work with us.”

She sent the note below to the City Council to provide an update about the latest meeting:

Over the past year the City Church bi-monthly food drive has caused legitimate traffic safety concerns in the Southside residential streets.  It has grown to almost 300 cars in our neighborhood and is an issue, that we continue to get periodic complaints about.  Complaints from residents have included blocking driveways, crossing safety, rude patrons, and school safety issues. 

Chief Heubusch and Director Frank had a conversation with Ryan MacDonlad to let him know City Church cannot continue the food drive at the current location.  They offered to help them find a new location.

For Crossett, “we’re trying to come up with solutions. We’re going to have somebody on the streets. We don’t want to upset the neighborhood.”

“The ones that are walking there, obviously, they're the most needy people, you know, they don't have vehicles, they don't have a mode of transportation. That's truly our focus, is them. And if we can resolve it, and not forget about them, that's our end goal is not to forget about those people who are walking in. Again, it's early talking about coming up with a resolution. But I think, my experience with the city is, we will come up with a resolution, and it'll work for both sides.” he said. “I would hope the city would not show up and say, ‘Here’s your citation.’”

Macdonald had offered to pay for a police officer during the event, but "the city said that's not an option," Crossett said.

As for Macdonald, whose mother at one point in life had to go to a government food store when his father lost his job, “I simply want to be able to hand out food,” he said. 

And so be it.

“We will be holding our next food distribution Dec. 13,” he said. “And it will be held here (at St. Anthony’s).”