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WBTA Radio, Genesee County's only locally owned commercial radio station, marks its 75^th year of broadcasting this Saturday.

The station went on the air at 7 a.m.,  Thursday, Feb 6, 1941. It has been licensed as WBTA since its inception.

The first voice on the air was that of the “genial” Jerry Flynn who opened the program, “Rise and Shine,” according to an article published in the Daily News. Flynn became better known later as a sports announcer. The station's studios and offices were located on the second floor of 90 Main St. in Batavia where they remained until 1957.

WBTA studios moved several times over the years. Its next location was 22 Seaver Place, now the JCPenney store's loading dock. For several years the station occupied the second floor and later the first floor of 413 Main St. at the corner of Harvester Avenue. The station moved to 113 Main St. in 2004 when it was purchased by its present owner, HPL Communications, Inc., owned by Daniel and Debrah Fischer.

As the studios and offices moved, the station's transmission and tower site has remained on Creek Road in the Town of Batavia. In the early years, an engineer was required to be at the transmission site whenever the station was on the air. Technical improvements in the late 1950s allowed the station to be remote controlled from the studio.

The station was originally owned by three Batavia residents: Joseph Ryan, of Union Street; Edward P. Atwitter, of East Main Street and Edmund R. Gamble, of Vernon Avenue. Gamble also served as the general manager.

After the outbreak of World War II, several members of the station's staff left for military service including Gamble.

The next local owner of WBTA was William F. Brown. Brown was best known for his regular editorials on local issues. He won 16 Best Editorial awards from the New York State Broadcasters Association.

Brown expanded the station's news coverage, which was apparent in the 1971 coverage of the Attica Prison Revolt.

In February 2004, the Fischers' formed HPL Communications, purchased WBTA and moved to Genesee County.

New digital studios were built and WBTA moved to its present location at the corner of Main and Center streets, which became the name of the station's morning talk show, “Main & Center.”

From 1977 to 2000, WBTA operated an FM station that was licensed to Attica, NY. The station was sold and became WLOF, which beams Catholic programming into the Buffalo area.

Under HPL, the station launched another FM station in 2014. It is licensed under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) translator rules and allows WBTA to broadcast in stereo at 100.1 Mhz. The station also streams 100 percent of its programming on the Internet at WBTAi.com and via mobile devices with custom apps for Android and iPhone systems.

“We are proud of WBTA's legacy of service to Batavia and Genesee County,” Fischer said. "As a licensee of a broadcast station, we pledge to the FCC to 'serve the public interest, convenience and necessity as a public trustee.' ”

WBTA is known in the industry as a “heritage” station, Fischer added, “our listeners have grown up with us.” Over the years we have reported individual milestones: births, anniversaries and obituaries. In times of war, the station has reported on service of local men and women in uniform.

The station has broadcast hundreds of local sporting events and have followed area high school teams to regional and state championships. WBTA has been the broadcast voice of Batavia's professional baseball team, the Muckdogs.

Through affiliations with national news organizations such as ABC Radio, WBTA has provided coverage of the most notable events of the 20^th and 21^st centuries including the Pearl Harbor attack, the assassinations of the 1960s, wars in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East, the manned moon landing and the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“Radio broadcasting has certainly undergone significant changes over the past 75 years and will continue to change and evolve over the next 75 years,” Fischer said, “but I believe its basic commitment to serving the public interest will never change.”

Photo by Howard Owens. Pictured, Dan and Debbie Fischer.

Press release:

Attention Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union Members: We have been made aware this morning, Friday, Feb. 5, that an automated call is being made to members and non-members saying that TVFCU needs their card information. This is a scam and you should hang up the phone immediately.

Please do not enter any information during these phone calls! TVFCU will never call and ask for your card number or any other private information. 

If you have given your card information during the phone call and you are a TVFCU member please call us at (585) 343-5627.  

If you are a non-TVFCU member please contact your own financial institution. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

UPDATE 1:30 p.m.: Officials at the Le Roy Federal Credit Union contacted us to report many of their members are reporting the same scam. "We've been getting many calls and walk-ins from members stating that they have been receiving these calls as well. We also advise to NEVER give out card/account numbers over the phone. If they have questions, they may call us at (585) 768-7207," says Kimberly Antinore, Member Services, Le Roy Federal Credit Union.

A plan hatched by the City, the Batavia Development Corp. and the Genesee County Economic Development Center to redirect some money generated by economic development into brownfield area cleanup received the support Wednesday of the county's Ways and Means Committee.

The committee approval means the proposal will be voted on by the full County Legislature at its next meeting.

The plan, unique in the state, called Batavia Pathway to Prosperity, will create a fund from PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments that can be used for environmental clean up on properties within the city's brownfield opportunity area, a 366-acre designation covering the city's core.

A PILOT provides a business undertaking local economic development (creating jobs, increasing the tax base, adding to local economic growth) with a break in taxes for the increase in assessed value on the property being developed. Typically, if a business puts a new building on vacant land or adds onto an existing building, the assessed value of the property will increase, which means higher property taxes paid to the city (town or village), school district and county. A PILOT reduces those taxes in exchange for payments to the taxing jurisdictions. The payments could be in the range of 70 percent of what the increase in taxes would have been without the PILOT. The property owner still pays 100 percent of the taxes on the original assessed value. PILOTs typically run for 10 years on a graduated scale, with property taxes due increasing every two years over the life of the PILOT.

The new program would redirect half of the PILOT payments from projects in the city to an investment fund (a PIF) that would be available to property owners in the future who wish to redevelopment brownfield properties and need assistance with the environmental cleanup.

"This creates a fund that gives the BDC and the EDC working together and providing collective oversight the opportunity to look at broad range investment opportunities," said Steve Hyde, CEO of the GCEDC. "(The projects) still have to be for the public good, but (the property owner) can turn around and maybe do some creative financing type of things to really move some property and get them redeveloped and start to heal the poverty and blight down in our core."

Marianne Clattenberg, now a legislator but a former City Council president, said the city has needed something like this for a long time, but had other problems to solve first before something forward-looking could be brought to the table.

"We knew going in we could never do this by ourselves, that we needed partners and we needed to have everybody on board and engaged to bring the city back to where it needs to be," Clattenberg said. 

County Manager Jay Gsell said a program like this could spark a renaissance in the city.

"The need is unique and this is the kind of structural financing that gives the adroitness necessary to having this kind of money available," Gsell said.

The committee also approved a city plan to provide tax relief on so-called zombie properties. The program would provide a PILOT-like tax abatement on the increase in assessed value of a home that is currently vacant and has been vacant for some time that a person buys, renovates and then lives in. While the abatement isn't available to an investor who buys a zombie house, fixes it up and then rents it out, the abatement could be available to the next owner if that same investor fixes it up and then sells it to an owner-occupant. 

There are 50 to 60 such zombie properties in the city, not all of which can be saved, but some retain some value and could be renovated. The property must be single family, or converted to a single-family residence.

Hyde said the two programs together are the sort of thing that can spur economic development in the city's core and attract the Millennials who will be taking jobs at STAMP (Alabama's Science and Technology Manufacturing Park) to the city.

Renovation work on the future home of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau could begin in early spring, said Chamber President Tom Turnbull.

The chamber completed the purchase of the property at 8276 Park Road, Batavia, on Friday.

A request for construction bids on the project should go out in the next couple of weeks.

The chamber anticipates spending $900,000 on the project, which involves totally renovating and reconfiguring the building into office and meeting space suitable to the needs of the chamber and tourism bureau.

The location was selected in a large part because of its proximity to the Batavia exit for the Thruway and the concentration of hotels in the area.

The chamber purchased the building for $275,000.

The cost will be reduced a bit because of significant donation to the project by U.S. Gypsum.

Ray Dunlevy, a Gypsum executive in Oakfield and a member of the Chamber's board, came forward and said Gypsum would donate all of the drywall for renovation.

Nearly every current wall will come down inside the building, and new walls will go up, so it's a significant contribution to the project.

Turnbull really doesn't know the exact value of the donation. He said maybe $4,000 to $6,000.

"Everyone I talk to, and I'm not a contractor, says, 'that's worth thousands of dollars,' " Turnbull said.

The project's architect, Ed Smart, has been in touch with the general manager for Gypsum in Oakfield, Jim Perry, and Turnbull said Perry's message to Smart was, "Just tell us what you need."

The drywall is manufactured in Aliquippa, Pa.

Turnbull said nobody asked Gypsum for a donation. Dunlevy spoke up at a meeting and made the offer.

"It shows what a good community partner they are, just stepping up," Turnbull said. "They volunteered it and it's wonderful. It's going to help the project quite a bit."

File photo.

Press release:

Officials from the City of Batavia and the Batavia Development Corporation will make a presentation to the Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) at the agency’s Feb. 4 board meeting. The GCEDC Board of Directors is considering entering into an inter-municipal agreement to assist with the funding of new development projects in the City of Batavia.

The presentation will include an overview of the “Batavia Pathway to Prosperity” (B2P) program and its role in leveraging economic development activity through a PILOT increment financing (PIF) initiative; strategies for redeveloping the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) sites; attracting new employers and jobs; increasing property values; and, exploring key market opportunities in the City of Batavia.

In addition to the presentation, the board will consider the acceptance of an application to set a public hearing for Darien Lake Theme Park Resort’s 2016 Tourism Destination Project. Darien Lake’s new project includes a six-flume waterslide and a new roller coaster train.

The total request for incentives for the Darien Lake project is $189,200 in sales tax exemptions for the construction and equipping of the new rides and enhancements. The total capital investment for both park projects is approximately $2.8 million.

The GCEDC board meeting will take place at 4 p.m. and is open to the public. Meetings are held at the Innovation Zone Conference Room at MedTech Centre -- 99 MedTech Drive, Batavia, on the first floor, across from Genesee Community College.

Press release:

Members of the City of Batavia Fire Department IAFF Local 896 pair up with the Muscular Dystrophy Association every June to participate in the annual Fill the Boot fundraising campaign to benefit children and adults with muscle disease throughout the Greater Rochester and Buffalo areas. Members volunteer their time to fan out on city streets with boots in hand to raise money from local traffic.

To help the MDA throughout the year, members have created several “traveling boot” displays. With approval from local businesses, these displays have been placed in various business locations throughout the city. The “traveling boot” will stay in one location for a short period of time, before moving to a new location.  Customers and patrons can place loose change and dollars in the boot and help raise money for the MDA. The first boots have been placed in Dunkin’ Donuts and Southside Deli.

Batavia’s Fill the Boot drive is organized by firefighters Chris Morasco and Mark Sacheli.

“The communities’ generosity as well as great participation from our members has continued to make this program a success. The 'traveling boots' are a way that we can give back to the MDA more than just one day a year. It is a great cause, and we look forward to a successful fundraising campaign for the 2016 year.”

Batavia simply didn't work out for Coffee Culture, said Perry Ouzounis, VP of operations for the chain's corporate parent.

"There's no doubt about it, it's never an easy decision to close a store, but the market there wasn't very strong for us," Ouzounis said.

The Batavia closing was one of three Coffee Culture locations in WNY that closed last week, Ouzounis said, but other locations, including in Buffalo and Erie, Pa., as well as locations in Canada and Florida, continue to do well.

The closure of the Batavia store last week was big news, garnering a substantial number of page views to The Batavian's initial report of the signs being removed from the building. The coffee shop did seem popular, at least to some extent, in Batavia.

"Of course, I'm not prepared to share our P&L," Ouzounis said. "It just wasn't a viable location for us."

When the shop first opened, the company was actively seeking a franchisee to take over operations, but in two years, no potential owner stepped forward.

Ouzounis said it's tough letting their employees go, but they are receiving all pay due and other separation benefits.

"We are doing the right thing within state law," Ouzounis said.

Ouzounis said Coffee Culture is not finished growing and will look for new opportunties for new stores, but that, "unfortunately," Batavia wasn't meeting the company's goals for "long-term success."

Larry's Steakhouse has closed, but the Mullen family is far from done with serving up great meals at 60 Main St., Batavia.

Owner Steve Mullen is stepping aside and his son Brendon Mullen is planning a new restaurant at the same location, which will be called Carter's.

"I don't want to say a lot about it right now, but it's going to be something this town will be excited about," Brendon said. "It's going to be a culinary experience like nothing ever seen here."

While there is a chance the new restaurant could open within weeks, two or three months might be a more realistic time frame, Brendon said. It will take time to secure a new liquor license. 

Steve said he thanks all the patrons for their support of Larry's.

Any gift certificates for Larry's that have not yet been redeemed will be honored by Carter's once it opens.

Photo provided by Maxine (Palmer) Koberg taken early on the job in 1969 as a Civil Service clerical worker for Genesee Community College.

In October, 1969, Maxine Koberg (nee Palmer), was excited to start her new job as a clerical worker at the fledgling Genesee Community College.

The Batavia native had graduated from high school five years earlier and worked steadily since turning 18. When she found an opportunity to take a Civil Service test, she didn't hesitate and was subsequently delighted to learn she'd passed the clerical exam and was eligible for employment. After landing a job at the college, she said she liked it and was capable of performing the duties and she planned to stick with it.

And stick with it, she did, for more than 46 years.

"You don't think about it," Koberg said. "The years go by. You know you'll retire someday, but you don't really think about it. And now here I am."

It dawned on her recently that the familiar route commuting to and from the college and her home in Elba would no longer be part of her daily itinerary after Friday, which was her last day.

The original route was different in the beginning of her employment at GCC.

The campus at One College Road off Stephen R. Hawley Drive in the Town of Batavia did not yet exist.

The college was chartered in 1966 and its first digs were in 56,000 square feet of space in the "Valu Tech Center" on West Main Street in Batavia, which was home to the Valu department store. The first class of 378 full-time and 243 part-time students began their studies the following fall semester. 

"In the beginning, I was working with students," Koberg said. "You tried to be helpful and they were fun and polite and you got to stay with them a couple of years. There were plenty 'please' and 'thank-yous'."

Koberg recalled the library was in front and there were a couple of offices in the back. Her department consisted of two clerks, including herself, a secretary and a Librarian David Brewster. Things were not computerized then. Keeping track of orders, payments, inventory, book loans, etc., was done manually.

In 1972, The Big Move to the new campus came. Boxing up the books and hauling them to the new location and organizing them -- "It was quite a big job," Koberg said. Staff supervised college students in the work/study program who did the bulk of the heavy lifting.

"When we first went to the new building, I was at the circulation desk. That's where you signed out books, reserved materials for students, and supervised the work/study students. And you greet everybody."

There was a growing population of international students, who could sometimes be difficult to understand because of the language barrier, Koberg said, but throughout the years, the 'please' and 'thank-yous' were abundantly offered. Although, as always, she noted some students have better manners than others. A noticeable difference campus-wide, of course, is the proliferation of electronic gadgets that students appear glued to.

At some point, she was asked if she wanted to leave the front desk and the students, and work on library's clerical staff ordering books and doing related tasks. She decided to take the challenge, which eventually included learning daunting new computer skills and paying bills.

"There was never a time when I didn't like working with books. I knew my programs and how to get books ordered and get them on the shelf. As courses changed, books changed -- like for our Allied Health Program -- but it's all office work."

Which means paying attention to details.

"Be careful about what you're doing, get the right books ordered, received and processed. Get the bills paid, in the right amount. Live within your budget. We have a good system and we work together."

After more than four decades on the job, her coworkers were like a second family and the workplace, a sort of home away from home. She says her colleagues held down the fort while she took two maternity leaves, helped her through some rough patches on the road of life, and she has appreciated their supportiveness, assistance and the camaraderie along the way.

The staff meshed at the Alfred C. O'Connell Library, named after the college's first president.

"We did work well together."

As for her newly retired status, it'll take some getting used to. No big plans afoot. No vacation in the works.

"I'm just going to take it day by day and see how it goes," Koberg said.

For more information about this program, contact Chuck DiPasquale, director of Programs, at (585) 344-7552. Applications may be downloaded at http://www.gvboces.org/adulted.cfm?subpage=1216002 and are due by Feb. 24.  

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The Genesee Valley Educational Partnership operates as a Board of Cooperative Educational Services offering shared programs and services to 22 component school districts located in Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston and Steuben counties in New York State. 

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) recently announced that he will host Operation Entrepreneurship, free business start-up training for veterans and military family members. The event will take place on Thursday, Feb. 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Genesee Community College in Room T119.

**To register, contact Greg Lindberg at 716-551-5670 or visit www.events.sba.gov**

“As a veteran and small-business owner, I know firsthand the challenges and dedication it takes to succeed in both of these fields,” Hawley said. “I built my business from the ground up and am constantly evolving, evaluating and challenging myself to succeed in New York’s lackluster and competitive business climate.

"I look forward to meeting and working with veterans and their families who have an interest in starting and owning their own business because the American dream is alive and well, and I want to help people realize it.”

The event is being sponsored by the Small Business Association (SBA) and topics covered will include introduction to business ownership, finding the right idea, introduction to business planning, understanding market research, choosing the correct legal entity and other issues. SBA Buffalo District Office Director, Franklin J. Sciortino, also praised the event’s merits.

“The SBA supports our veterans, service members and military families through a number of initiatives,” Sciortino said. “The Operation Entrepreneurship program creates an opportunity for our veterans to learn how to start up in a day, discover resources available to support their business success, and network with other like-minded entrepreneurs.”

WHAT:           Operation Entrepreneurship – Free entrepreneurship training for veterans and military family members

WHO:             Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia)                      

WHEN:           Thursday, Feb. 4

                        8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

WHERE:        Genesee Community College 

                        Room T119, 

                        1 College Road

                        Batavia, NY 14020

Officials celebrated the opening of the new cancer treatment center at UMMC on Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The $6.5 million center will provide local cancer patients with state-of-the-art treatment.

Dan Ireland, president of UMMC, thanked the dozens of people involved in making the new treatment center a reality. He recalled the most recent UMMC Foundation Auction, where organizers held a special event with the hope of raising $2,000 to help pay for chemo treatment chairs. Donors that night contributed $26,000, covering the cost of 11 treatment stations.

"For the community, by the community," Ireland said. "That demonstrated in just a small portion what our community can do together to make sure their local neighbors have the access to the services they need."

Dawn Lipson, of the Lipson Institute, and with her husband, namesake of the Lipson Cancer Center, said the institute aims to raise hopes and dreams in the fight against cancer.

 "We all hope for a better tomorrow," she said. "We dream about a brighter future. The biggest weapon we have in the fight against cancer is the indomitable spirit. The fact that you all came together, we all part of this big family, and you made this happen, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Eric Bieber, president and CEO of the Rochester Regional Health System, came with a gift, the Bell of Hope.

"This is for patients completing treatment," Bieber said. "They ring the bell as they complete treatment. It's a right of passage for their resiliency in their cancer fight, recognizing that making it through weeks of treatment is an achievement. It's our hope that as patients here it, they garner hope and encouragement and they look forward to the day they can ring it."

It was a transfer of a license from another hospital in the Rochester Regional system that enabled UMMC to acquire and install a linear accelerator for radiation treatment at the center.

Suggested Reading: "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer," by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

Both Julie Pacatte, economic development director the Batavia Development Corp., and City Manager Jason Molino see a very bright horizon for the City of Batavia when they look five years down the road.

A lot of groundwork has been laid over the past couple of years to help transform Batavia's economy and make it a place where both Baby Boomers and Millennials will want to live, work and play.

"Five years from now we'll see a dramatic difference in the city of Batavia," Pacatte said. "I think we will be a community of choice for the Millennial Generation. We are a more diverse community. There will be confidence in investing in the city whether in your home, your own home improvements, or if it's investing in a property Downtown to attract business. I think there will be a dramatic transformation of the landscape."

The optimistic tone was struck during BDC's annual meeting, which was held in council members in City Hall.

And optimism is one of the key drivers of change and growth, Pacatte said during her presentation.

Molino shares the vision.

In fact, he predicts by the Summer of 2017, Downtown Batavia's skyline will be peppered with construction cranes.

"I think we're at the beginning of a renaissance for Batavia," Molino said. "I say that with one caveat, and that is we need to continue with the forward effort we've put forward in the past few years."

That includes improvements to infrastructure, such as sewers and sidewalks, reworking the zoning code through the general plan update process, supporting the BDC and focusing on brownfield redevelopment.

The city and BDC are feeling pretty good this week about a big step forward on one of its biggest projects, transforming the Santy Tire and Dellapenna properties from blighted eyesores into commercial redevelopment.

The BDC is taking over ownership of the property, a first step toward selling the parcels to private developers.

Pacatte said we should expect an announcement on what's coming within the next 30 to 60 days.

Molino is also proud of the City's Pathway to Prosperity Plan, the first of the kind in the state, uniting the city, the county, the school district, the BDC and GCEDC in an arrangement to use funds generated by PILOT payments to help offset the cost of brownfield redevelopment.

The city has designated 366 acres in the primary corridor as the Batavia Opportunity Area (or Brownfield Opportunity Area), with the ability to offer special incentives to developers willing to turn blighted properties into economically viable properties.

The BDC is the lead agency in that effort.

Besides the tone of optimism during Wednesday's meeting, the overriding theme was, ready or not, the Millennials are taking over.  

In the United States, there are now more Millennials than Baby Boomers and by 2020, Millennials will make up nearly half of the nation's workforce.

And it turns out, Millennials and Baby Boomers aren't all that far apart in their wants and aspirations, putting Batavia in a prime position to serve both.

Both cohorts want livable communities, ones that are affordable, accessible and walkable. While boomers are downsizing, Millennials are conscious of their impact on the planet; boomers seek affordable services, Millennials watch their spending because of college debt loads; Boomers have accumulated the wealth to enjoy community living, Millennials are urban-minded.

Some 64 percent of Millennials want to start their own businesses, Boomers have the experience to be mentors and the means to be buyers and investors.  Boomers are team players, Millennials are collaborative. 

Both are interested in building communities that are engaging and filled with entertainment opportunities. They are interested in communities that offer a sense of place.

Pacatte ended her presentation with three questions for audience members to ponder:

• Are we investing in place?
• Do you see value in building a community?
• How optimistic are you?

WBTA's local legendary and longtime on-air personality Wanda Frank passed away this morning at the Genesee County Nursing Home.

Although a native of Lockport, Wanda will always be linked to Batavia. She spent the most of her 89 years in Batavia, 23 of them on WBTA as hostess of “Frankly Speaking.”

Wanda served as executive director of the Genesee Arts Council for 10 years. For most of her life, she was involved in local theater as an actress and director, many years associated with Batavia Players.

Wanda left the air four years ago when her health began to fail. But well into her 80s she was interviewing community leaders, fellow actors, and promoting the arts.

Wanda had a quick wit and rarely shied away from speaking her mind.

In 1977, at the age of 51, she earned an associates degree from Genesee Community College, an accomplishment for which she was rightly proud.

She would later be named a Distinguished Alumna of GCC.

“Wanda was a colleague, a friend, and a character, who loved a good laugh. We'll miss her," said WBTA President Dan Fischer.

Arrangements for Wanda Frank will be announced later by the H. E. Turner and Company Funeral Home.