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A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported in front of the Deli Express, 8204 Park Road. Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 1:01 p.m.: A second ambulance is called to the scene. Injuries are minor.

Press release:

The Downtown Batavia Business Improvement District (BID) is sponsoring the Centennial Arts Fest, exhibiting artists work from 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, in Jackson Square. This event is in conjunction with the City of Batavia’s Centennial celebration.

Centennial Arts will be an outdoor gallery displaying artists of any age, media and location around Western New York. This is a free event for artists to display three or four pieces of their best work. The public is invited to browse and buy art during the show.

There is still room for artists to display and/or sell their work!  The B.I.D. Promotion Committee will be offering a $100 prize for the “People’s Choice” award for the best all-around artist.

If you are interested in exhibiting in Centennial Arts or have questions please contact Don Burkel at dburkel@downtownbataviany.com or call (585) 344-0900 for an application.

A one-vehicle rollover accident with possible minor injuries is reported in the area of 352 Main Road, Pembroke. Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 12:16 p.m.: Dispatch got a call saying the patient got into another vehicle and left the scene.

Press release:

Genesee County and a number of its municipal partners this week released their New York State mandated efficiency plan, demonstrating a projected local savings of approximately $14.3 million for the years covering 2017-2019. Joining in with the County on the shared services initiative is the City of Batavia, towns of Alexander, Byron, Bethany, Darien, Le Roy, Pavilion, Pembroke and the villages of Corfu, Le Roy and Oakfield.

While the plan is a requirement of the recent New York State Property Tax Rebate program, local municipalities have been streamlining programs, cutting discretionary spending, and sharing services for decades, i.e., combined dispatch, snow and ice contracts; shared highway equipment projects and municipal workers’ compensation pools and youth services administration sharing, as well as the privatization of ambulance services, which saved the City of Batavia in excess of $2 million six or seven years ago.

The local municipalities have achieved the most notable savings recently through shared assessment and code enforcement functions, shared waste water facilities between the City and Town of Batavia, sharing of County Health Department functions between Genesee and Orleans counties, workforce reductions, privatization of refuse collection by the City and the anticipated sale of the County Nursing Home.

According to the program’s requirement, the efficiency plan will be submitted to the State Division of Budget so that homeowners are able to receive their rebate checks in the Fall of 2016.

“Compiling the efficiency plan has been a valuable exercise in self-assessment and a worthwhile review of the way we have operated over the past dozen years," said Genesee County Manager Jay Gsell. "As local leaders, we need to continue to communicate with our residents regarding the savings we have accomplished, the difficult decisions we have had to make to cut programs and staff, and our plans for redefining what our county and our partners in local government do.

"Unlike school districts in New York State who are also required to submit efficiency plans and live with the property tax cap, other local governments in complying with the four year old tax cap/levy freeze are unable to exclude long-term debt from the tax-cap mandate, which in turn resulted in two to three Genesee County municipalities being unable to participate in this Efficiency Plan as they will likely have to exceed the tax-cap percentage growth factor due to water district debt funding. The New York State Executive and Legislative branches need to level the playing field for tax cap compliance for all units of local government/public agencies.”

Counties across the state continue to provide and fund essential programs and services as mandated by the State, while also seeing revenue decrease with the property tax cap, flat or falling sales tax revenue, and rising costs for health benefits, materials and equipment and double digit New York State pension assessments. However, Genesee County government along with the surrounding local municipalities have found ways to continue providing these crucial programs and services even while funds decrease, as demonstrated in the jointly submitted efficiency plan.

Press release:

When Florence Colton saw a group of Genesee Community College students walking past her Bank Street home with a broken bicycle, she decided to give them a hand...or rather some wheels. Colton, who will be 70 on June 29, had two of her late son David's bicycles in her barn. The students helped her retrieve them and were delighted that Colton offered the bikes to them. GCC welcomes donations of working bicycles to help students get back and forth from campus to destinations in town for groceries, haircuts, clothing or recreation.

A recent forum between GCC students and Batavia area merchants revealed that one big hurdle preventing students from patronizing businesses in town is transportation. Downtown Batavia is about three miles from College Village, the residential community at GCC. Merchants on Veterans Memorial Drive are five miles away. Bus service is limited and walking is time-consuming.

"We have a collection of bikes that students can use and we even provide bike helmets purchased from Adam Miller's," said College Village Director John Sisson. "But because the bikes are generally reused from previous College Village student residents, some are not in the greatest condition. We'd welcome the donation of new bicycles or reused bikes in good working order. Our students definitely put them to use."

GCC houses more than 400 students at College Village. A number of them come from other countries, including Japan, France and Timor Leste. Students from these countries encountered Colton on a spring day.

"These kids were so nice and so polite," Colton recalled. "They commented on how nice my yard is."

Their predicament with the broken bike prompted Colton to offer the bikes that belonged to her son, David, who had passed away in December 2014.

"They were good solid bikes. I really didn't have any use for them and I knew David would like for somebody to have the bikes," Colton said. "And they [the students] were so happy and it just touched my heart that those were my son's bikes and these kids really appreciated these bikes."

The students posted photographs with Colton in social media under the hashtags #GreatDay and #CoolPeople.

"We were so happy to receive these bicycles," said Arsenio Ferreira, a student from Timor Leste. "We have been using them a lot."

The students continue a relationship with Colton, often stopping to say hi when they pass her home. Some have even offered to help her with the yardwork.

"I'm so independent," she said. "But I may take them up on it in the fall when it's time to rake leaves."

For Colton, the best part has been seeing her son's life touch others.

"It made me feel so good that David, through his mom, helped out these college kids," she said. "I just felt so blessed that they were such good kids and they could really use those bikes."

If anyone has bikes they'd like to donate to College Village, please contact John Sisson at (585) 343-0163 or JTSisson@genesee.edu.

College Village will accept bikes in good, working condition, but any bikes or bike parts received that are not in working condition will be donated to Trailside Bicycles located at 16271 Canal Road, Hulberton, NY in Orleans County, www.trailsidebicycles.com. Owner, Chris VanDusen hopes to one day help develop a program similar to R Community Bikes, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Rochester that collects and repairs used bicycles for distribution to needy families in the Rochester area. (Go to http://rcommunitybikes.net/ for further information).

The premiere Pig Roast Motorcycle Ride of the Hogs and Heroes Foundation is Saturday, June 6, at the Alabama American Legion, 6554 Alleghany Road, Alabama.

Cost is $10 per person and includes food, fun and a great ride.

Proceeds will be divided, with half going to hospice care at Crossroads House, and half to the PTSD Clinic at the NY State Veterans Home.

Registration is from 10 a.m. to noon. Kick-stands up and ride begins at noon. Route is Alabama to Stan’s Harley-Davidson in Town of Batavia to Attic American Legion, back to Alabama.

There will be a basket raffle, 50/50 and a Prize Wheel.

Rain or shine. Come join the fun and bring a friend or two!

The June Cat Sale begins tomorrow, June 5th, at both the Genesee County Animal Shelter and Petco. Adoption costs are reduced by 50 percent for all cats a year old or older. Sale price is $20 per adult cat and includes an adorable feline over the age of 1, complete with a rabies vaccine, distempter combo vaccine, FIV/ FeLV testing, deworming treatment and flea treatment.

Anyone adopting a cat that's not already spayed or neutured will be also charged a $35 refundable deposit, paid back upon proof of surgery.

The sale runs through June 21.

According to ASPCA, each year about four million cats and kittens enter U.S. animal shelters. Open your heart and your home by taking advantage of this 50-percent-off adult cat adoption bonanza!

The county Animal Shelter is located at 3841 W. Main St. Road in the Town of Batavia. Petco is in Batavia Town Center shopping mall at 4226 Veterans Memorial Drive.

www.vol4animals.org

(585) 343-6410

Press release:

The Downtown Batavia Business Improvement District (BID) is sponsoring the 16th Annual Jackson Square Concert Series, each one is from 7 to 9 p.m. on Fridays, June 12th – Aug. 28th, in Downtown Batavia. Free to the public. Food and refreshments available. Rain Days at Batavia City Centre. Bring your own seating. More Info: Don Burkel at B.I.D. at 585-344-0900. Visit: www.downtownbataviany.com

The Jackson Square Concerts “ Friday Nights In The Square” will be featuring:

• Genesee Symphony (Friday, June 12th)
• Emerald Isle (June 26th)
• Fat City (July 3rd)
• Mitty & The Followers (July 10th)
• Penny Whiskey (July 17th)
• OHMS Band (July 24th)
• Ghost Riders (July 31st)
• Ghost Riders Drum & Bugle (July 31st)
• It’s My Party (Aug. 7th)
• Bluesway Band (Aug. 14th)
• John Cole Blues Band (Aug. 21st)
• C’est Bon Dance Band (Aug. 28th)