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Large brush fire on Evans Road, Bergen

By Billie Owens

A large brush fire is reported at 7397 Evans Road in Bergen. The caller indicated it was heading toward a swamp.

Bergen Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 6:01 p.m.: A firefighter on scene reports the fire was small and it is now out.

UPDATE 6:07 p.m.: The Bergen assignment is back in service.

Woodward library's annual used book sale is 10 a.m. 'til noon, April 16-23

By Billie Owens

Beginning Saturday, April 16 from 10 a.m. to Noon, Woodward Memorial Library is having its annual used book sale. It continues through Saturday, April 23. Hardcover books $1, children's and paperbacks $.50.

From 10 a.m. until Noon on the last sale day (Saturday, April 23) there will be a $1 a bag sale. The library is located at 7 Wolcott St., Le Roy.

Candles for CASA fundraiser is April 15-29

By Billie Owens

This information is from Tara Pariso, executive director of CASA for Children.

CASA has teamed up with PartyLite to raise much needed funds to continue advocating for abused and neglected children in Genesee County. Due to budget cuts, we are in need of your support now more than ever!!

Please consider purchasing candles from the fundraiser flyer which can be veiwed at http://www.partylite.biz/sites/heidirichmond/fundraisers-products

You can place your order by emailing Executive Director Tara Pariso at tpariso24@yahoo.com, or by calling  at (585) 813-3987. Please send checks made payable to CASA at 1 West Main St. Batavia, NY 14020.

We are super excited about this fundraiser as we get 50% of the total sales!!!  There is no shipping costs or tax on any items ordered!!!  Please pass this along to help support CASA for Children and the work done to find abused and neglected children safe, permanent homes!!!

Let's help light the light of hope for children in need.

Orders and payment must be received by Friday April 29, 2011.

'Outreach Conversation' for county legislature District 4 is Saturday morning

By Billie Owens

An Outreach Conversation for Genesee County Legislature District 4, which includes residents of the towns of Batavia and Stafford, is planned for 10 a.m. to Noon Saturday, April 16, in the Batavia Town Hall.

District 4 Legislator Mary Pat Hancock will talk about the impact of the state budget on the county, the status of the suggested options to improve the fiscal health of the Genesee County Nursing Home, and other topics of interest to residents.

There will be plenty of time for questions. The public is encouraged to come and participate. The town hall is located at 3833 W. Main St. Road.

College's lead Toddler Room teacher earns prestigious national credential

By Billie Owens

Barbara Pangrazio, the lead teacher for the Toddler Room at the Genesee Community College Association (GCCA) Child Care Center, has been awarded a Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential in recognition of outstanding work with young children.

While all child care center's staff are trained and supervised, the CDA Credential is a particularly prestigious award. It was given by the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, D.C., an organization that represents the early childhood education profession.

CDA is one of the few national initiatives to improve early childhood education and care by evaluating and recognizing the skills of individual care givers, like Pangrazio, who provide exceptional care. The first credential was awarded more than 30 years ago, and now 49 states plus the District of Columbia include CDA in their childcare licensing regulations.

"Barbie is valuable asset to our center," said Staci Williams, director of GCCA Child Care Center. "I'm extremely proud of her hard work and her new credentials. Barbie, along with the rest of our staff, strongly believes in developing the skills that foster quality service and care for our children."

The GCCA Child Care Center offers complete childcare services for infants 6-weeks old to preschool-aged children. The fully renovated center has extensive developmental resources and introduces educational programs each day. Nutritious breakfasts, lunches and snacks are also provided along with safe, sleeping facilities for restful naptimes.

As part of the CDA assessment process, every candidate for the CDA Credential is observed working with young children or families by an early childhood professional. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the ability to work with families to develop children's physical and intellectual capabilities in a safe and healthy learning environment.

The Child Care Center is open to the public during fall, spring and summer semesters in tandem with the college's academic schedule. Priority availability is granted to the children of the students, staff and faculty.

For further information on CDA, contact the Council for Professional Recognition at 2460 16th St., NW, Washington DC 20009-3547, or call the council at (800) 424-4310.

Hawley says it's wrong to 'play politics with property taxes'

By Billie Owens

This information comes from Assemblyman Steve Hawley's office.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia) recently attended a press conference in support of immediate action on a property tax cap. The legislation was barred from a vote by the Assembly Majority, who passed rent regulations to control the cost of living in New York City instead.

“Time after time, poll after poll, the people of New York have expressed their overwhelming support for a property tax cap,” Hawley said. “As a representative for the people of Western New York, it is my responsibility to heed the call of my constituents, and I can hear them loud and clear. They are saying that we need to drive down the cost of living for all New Yorkers, not just those in the five boroughs of New York City.”

Hawley explained the litany of issues that coincide with the passage of a property tax cap, which would help families, businesses and local governments reduce the cost of living here in Western New York.

“The reason New York is in such desperate need of a property tax cap is because of the unfunded mandates handed down by state government to our villages, towns, cities, counties and school districts,” Hawley said.

“Mandate relief and property tax caps are not separate issues. They are inextricably linked and must be dealt with in tandem. It’s time to let our local governments run themselves without the onerous ‘Big Brother’ interference from the state Capitol that drives our property taxes in Western New York through the roof.”

Participants at the press conference included Brian Sampson, CEO of Unshackle Upstate, a bipartisan business coalition that awarded Hawley a perfect score on their 2010 Legislative Scorecard. Out of 212 state legislators, Hawley was one of only two that received a perfect score.

Possible apartment fire on Bank Street, Batavia

By Billie Owens

A possible fire is reported in an upstairs apartment located at 335 Bank St. It's in the Northside Meadows Apartments, building A.

City Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 12:09 p.m.: It's burnt food, according to the firefighter on scene.

UPDATE 12:11 p.m.: All units are clearing the scene, back in service.

HLOM has two new exhibits

By Billie Owens

The Holland Land Office has two new exhibits for visitors to enjoy.

One is called "Industries in Batavia Past & Present" and the other is "Women in History."

For more information please contact the Holland Land Office Musuem at 343-4727.

Annual Law Day Observance and dinner set for April 28

By Billie Owens

The Kiwanis Club of Batavia and the Genesee County Bar Association will hold their annual Law Day Observance and dinner on Thursday, April 28 at Bohn's Restaurant.

The speaker for the evening is Victor I. Vieth, JD, director of the National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University in Minnesota.

The Genesee County Bar Association will present the Charles L. Mancuso Mock Trial Award to this year's winning Mock Trial Team.

The Kiwanis Club will present its annual Law Enforcement Recognition Awards.

Cost is $20 per person for a buffet-style dinner, which begins at 6:30 p.m. One hour prior, at 5:30 p.m., there will be a social hour. Please make reservations prior to April 22.

Make checks payable to "The Kiwanis Club of Batavia" and return to Lawrence Friedman, County Courts Facility, One Main St., Batavia, NY 14020.

Phone is 585-344-2550, ext. 2250.

The public is welcome.

Bohn's Restaurant is located at 5256 Clinton St. Road (Route 33) in Batavia.

Still time to order plants from GC Soil & Water district

By Billie Owens

Attention plant lovers!

The Genesee County Soil & Water Conservation District is still accepting
pre-orders for tree and shrub seedlings and native plants and perennials.

Our brochure is on the Genesee County website:
http://geneseeny.org/dpt/soilandwater/treebrochure2011.pdf.

The seedlings and plants will be distributed at Genesee County Fairgrounds
on the following dates:

Thursday, April 21 – 8:30 to 4:30

Friday, April 22 -- 8:30 to 6:00

Saturday, April 23 -- 8:30 to Noon

Also, a Cash & Carry Sale of excess inventory of seedlings and plants will be held at the fairgrounds during seedling distribution on April 21-23.

The Feds want to help you get rid of unwanted prescription drugs

By Billie Owens

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and its national and commu­nity partners will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 30, the DEA and its partners will hold their second National Pre­scription Drug Take-Back Day at sites nationwide. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

The public can find a nearby collection site by visiting <http://www.dea.gov>, clicking on the “Got Drugs?” icon, and following the links to a database, where they enter their zip code.

Law enforcement agencies interested in operating one or more collection sites on April 30 can register with the DEA by calling the DEA Field Division office in their area.

(To see each division office’s geo­graphic area of responsibility, go to <http://www.dea.gov> and click on the “office lo­cations” link under “About Us” in the menu on the left side of the home page.)

City Democrat Committee seeks candidates

By Billie Owens

The City of Batavia Democrat Committee is looking for interested candidates to run in the nine city races this year.

All ward city council seats are up for reelection as well as the three legislature seats that represent the city.

All city residents that are interested in submitting their name for endorsement are being asked to please send a letter requesting an interview to:

Patrick D. Burk

City of Batavia

Democratic Committee Chairman

123 N. Spruce St.

Batavia, NY 14020

Please have all requests postmarked by April 30.

Requests can also be made by calling 343-9721.

County sales tax receipts continue upward trend

By Billie Owens

Here's a news release from the Genesee County Treasurer's Office.

Genesee County Treasurer Scott D. German announced today that sales tax receipts to the county are up for the fourth straight quarter.

"Today's payment was the last to be received for the first quarter of 2011 and we are up 8.19 percent compared to the first quarter of 2010, or $639,588," German said.

For the first quarter, the county received $7.62 million. Of this, the county retains 50 percent, 16 percent goes to the city and 34 percent goes to the towns and villages. For 2011, the county budgeted $12.2 million of its 3 percent share of sales tax. The other 1 percent share is used to pay debt service and capital projects.

"During these very tough economic times, people seem to be spending money, even though, I'm sure some of the increase is due to the higher prices at the fuel pump," German said.

GCC engineering students show off their Rube Goldberg Machine on Thursday

By Billie Owens

Here's a news release from Genesee Community College.

Curious to see a Rube Goldberg Machine in action? Then come down to the Student Union at GCC's Batavia Campus on Thursday, April 14 to catch a glimpse!

From 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., the Rube Goldberg Machine will be on display and in action! It was built by five GCC students who won the regional contest and competed in nationals at Purdue University. Genesee Community College was one of just two community colleges who competed in the nationals.

The Rube Goldberg Machine Team is looking for recruits for next year's competition.

This year, as dictated by competition rules, the GCC team employed many common items such as a baseball bat and glove, a printer, darts, a derby car, a zip-lining Barbie doll and DVD covers lined up like dominoes. They used these to create more than 20 complex steps to accomplish the simple task of watering a plant.

The concept behind Rube Goldberg Machines aims to make simple things complicated for the sake of science. Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who drew devices that did just that – used extremely unnecessary levels of complexity and creativity to do accomplish something simple.

GCC engineering students David Simmons, Matt Klotzbach (East Pembroke), Nick Rider, Jen McLure (Pavilion) and drafting student Tom Langley made up the entire Rube Goldberg Team this year and impressed themselves and their coach with what they were able to accomplish in the team's first year.

Now, they invite new students to contribute their creativity, brain power and energy to next year's challenge that includes blowing up and popping a balloon.

According to the Official Rulebook for the 2011 Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, teams must adhere to strict guidelines according to size and time. Each contraption must fit within a 6-by-6-by-6-foot space and complete the assigned task with a minimum of 20 steps -- within two minutes per run.

There are high standards and plenty of pressure in the competition, but it is also a whole lot of fun," said Michael Crittenden, physics professor and Rube Goldberg advisor.

"We are looking forward to making this a new student club and involving students with an array of professional and career interests. Alongside developing practical construction skills, the teamwork fosters creativity and imagination far beyond normal classroom activity. And let's not forget (it's) good resume material. Oh, and did I mention fun?"

Two students chosen to present research projects at Ithaca College conference

By Billie Owens

Two students from Genesee County were among 3,000 undergraduates nationwide who presented the results of their research projects at the 25th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research held at Ithaca College (March 31 to April 2).

Selection to the conference was competitive. Some 440 American colleges and universities were represented.

Megan Suttell, daughter of Oakfield residents John and Kathleen Suttell, presented "Privacy and Individual Rights to Freedom of Speech: A Battle in the Courtroom."

Allyce Barron, daughter of Le Roy residents Bruce and Marie Barron, presented "Chunking v. Immersion."

The undergraduate researchers presented work from a broad array of subject areas, including the humanities, social sciences and many professional fields as well as the fine and performing arts.

In addition to oral presentations and poster sessions, the conference included a visual arts component along with dance, drama/theater and music performances.

"The National Conference on Undergraduate Research is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study," said Thomas R. Rochon, president of Ithaca College.

"Welcoming presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all corners of the academic curriculum, this annual conference celebrates undergraduate student achievement, provides models of exemplary research and scholarship, and helps improve the state of undergraduate education."

Tree falls on teenager in Pavilion

By Billie Owens

A tree has reportedly fallen on a 17-year-old boy in the woods located off 7007 Big Tree Road (Route 63), Pavilion.

Mercy Flight was contacted and says its unable to fly due to high winds.

The youth is conscious and semi-alert and has head and chest injuries.

Pavilion Fire Department and Mercy Medics are responding.

Assemblyman Hawley holds outreach meeting at Old Courthouse, Batavia

By Billie Owens

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, I, C – Batavia) is hosting his regular monthly outreach meeting for Genesee County residents in Batavia on Thursday.

“The meeting will present the people of Western New York with a chance to become directly involved in improving the quality of life in our area by sharing their thoughts, concerns and ideas,” Hawley said. “I strongly encourage all local citizens to attend this event.”

Event Date and Time
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Pembroke School marks 40th trip to Washington, D.C.

By Billie Owens

This is from Pembroke School:

Eighth-graders from Pembroke School hit a milestone as they stomped around in D.C. this year; This is the 40th year for the school trip.

With their fearless leader Mr. Kinal leading the way, students departed to Maryland Sunday morning and arrived back home last Tuesday (April 5) evening.

The trip included a stop at Gettysburg on the way down. Mr. Kinal and an entourage of teachers, staff and friends worked very hard to make it yet another successful trip.

It was a very exciting and memorable experience for all. Students explored the various monuments and memorials within Washington, D.C., with their own personal tour guide, Mr. Kinal.

A warm welcome by parents, teachers and staff stood waiting as firetrucks escorted the buses to the school from Darien. The song "Proud To Be An American" played on the bus and all the passengers sang as they returned home to the high school.

It was an amazing end to an amazing trip!!! Thank you to everyone who made it happen!!!

Justice for Children Foundation holds BBQ fundraiser

By Billie Owens

The Justice for Children GLOW Foundation will hold a charity chicken BBQ from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, April, 17 at Clor's Meat Market, located at 4169 W. Main St. in Batavia.

Tickets are $9 each. For presale tickets, please call 344-8576.

Justice for Children Foundation holds BBQ fundraiser

By Billie Owens

The Justice for Children GLOW Foundation will hold a charity chicken BBQ from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, April, 17 at Clor's Meat Market, located at 4169 W. Main St. in Batavia.

Tickets are $9 each. For presale tickets, please call 344-8576.

Event Date and Time
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