elba

Here's an MP3 of a radio station interview with Bill Kauffman about his book on Luther Martin.

A little outdated, but I just found this article by Bill in The American Conservative on last month's "Bill Kauffman Day" at Dwyer Stadium.

Then there is the more recent TAC column about Lucine Kauffman, town supervisor of Elba. (to follow that link, you need to sign up or a temporary free account -- pretty painless -- and then be able to download the PDF).

The Republicans are indulgent of Lucine’s non-Republican husband, but then in a healthy society politics plays so small a role in our lives that who really gives a damn how others vote? Cold ideologies melt in the warmth of daily communal life.

I think of the local civic organizations in which, say, Assembly of God churchgoers and gays work side by side in the cheerful labor of neighbors. They can be friends because they are, to each other, rounded and fully dimensional. They are people, not cartoons.

This is nigh impossible in larger places, where such disparate folk would never meet and would exist to each other only on the flat screen of the TV set. Instead of Kate and Dave they would be “Religious Nut!” and “Fag!” How dreary. How lifeless. How very Red and Blue.

If you can, read the whole thing -- it's full of Bill's usual wit and fine writing.

 The Notre Dame football team is ready for playoff action.

The Fighting Irish wrapped up their regular season with a 48-14 win over visiting Elba/Byron-Bergen Saturday afternoon, and were nearly perfect in doing so.

The victory clinches a home playoff game in the first round of the Class D playoffs next Saturday, where ND will either be a No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

While Saturday's results were ugly, both on the field and off of it, Notre Dame's players are ready to go. They compiled 369 rushing yards compared to Elba/Byron-Bergen's 129.

Kevin Schildwaster racked up 129 yards and two scores on just eight carries and Mike Pratt added 92 yards on 14 carries.

Greg Barr finished with 12 carries for 58 yards with a TD and Gianni Zambito had four carries for 24 yards and two scores.

The Fighting Irish didn't pass the ball in the second half because of the blowout, but Nick Bochicchio had a solid effort, going 6-of-8 for 102 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Francis had that TD and caught four passes for 69 yards.

The Lancers actually opened the game with a touchdown on a great play. Elba/B-B made the surprising switch at starting QB from Eric Kowalik - who had been the starter for the past month - to Cody Torpey, who started at the beginning of the season.

Torpey had a nice game as signal-caller and kicked off the game's scoring with a 44-yard TD strike to 6-foot-6 receiver David Garnish, who made a finger-tip catch. 

The Lancers could be looking in the senior's direction more as the regular season wraps up.

Notre Dame got a 29-yard kickoff return from Zambito for solid starting field position on its opening drive.

The 1:30 drive which started at  midfield ended up leading to a 7-7 tie midway through the opening frame when Bochicchio pitched a ball up for Francis, who jumped over a defender to haul it in before jolting a few more yards to the end zone.

After Pratt recovered an Elba/B-B fumble, Notre Dame was back in business at the Lancer 7-yard line.

Schildwaster took it in from 7-yards out for the go-ahead less than a minute after the Irish had last scored. The faked extra point led to a two-point conversion pass from Schildwaster to Greg Barr.

Schildwaster later broke off a 48-yarder to set up a Beau Richter 1-yard TD run that gave ND a 22-7 lead after the opening frame.

After an Elba/Byron-Bergen punt, Bochicchio hooked up with Francis on a 29-yard pass to set up another Schildwaster TD run, this time for 10 yards.

The Lancers failed to move the ball again and failed to convert on a fourth-and-6 at their own 44.

Bochicchio hooked up with Rick Lair on a 27-yard pass inside the 5-yard line.

Zambito scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, and this is when the game got ugly. There was a personal foul called for a late hit after Zambito - who attended Elba before transferring to ND this year - scored.

Another penalty was issued as players were nearly ejected and some of the Elba/B-B fans started getting on the officials.

It was an ugly first half for the Lancers, who had six penalties for 84 yards.

The score was 34-7 at the half.

The Fighting Irish received the second half kickoff and marched 67 yards over nearly 10 minutes, with Barr scoring on a 1-yard run. 

The score remained 41-7 through three periods of play, but an unnecessary roughness call against the Lancers on a punt play pushed them deep into their own territory with another punt on the way.

The kick made it out to the Elba/B-B 40, and Pratt took it back to the 32.

Zambito scored a few plays later on a 10-yard scamper to finish up Notre Dame's scoring.

The Lancers tacked on a late touchdown with Zach Green ripping off a 67 yard touchdown run with seven minutes left in the contest.

 Elba/Byron-Bergen falls to 1-5 and is most likely eliminated from the Section 5 Class C playoffs, and will be in Pool Play.

Notre Dame is now 4-2 and will kick off the Class D playoffs on Saturday at home.

Ann Gavenda didn't only talk about the Elba History Barn when we met a few weeks back. She had some great stories to tell me about working in the muck on the Elba onion fields back in the 1940s, when her and the other girls ran into snakes, cigars, highly articulate Jamaicans and more dimes than you can shake a stick at—and she had the blisters to prove it. Without further ado:

A few weeks ago, I paid a visit to the new History Barn in Elba, built to store all the ancient farm equipment and other relics that were locked up in who knew how many barns all over the town and its environs. Ann Gavenda was kind enough to come down and tell me a bit about the town's new treasure and the treasures inside it. Here's what she told me:

Were you able to make out the price of a gallon of gas on the old Esso pump?

Ann didn't only tell me about the history barn. She told me a lot more about growing up in Elba and working in the muck fields. Please be sure to check out that video which should go up later this afternoon.

Shaun A. DiSalvo, 30, of Linwood Avenue in Batavia was apprehended Saturday morning at 4:30 a.m. for allegedly operating an ATV while intoxicated and unlawful possession of Marijuana.  Batavia officers report they spotted DiSalvo operating the ATV north on Route 98. When they attempted to stop ATV, he initially tried to flee, according to the report. After a brief pursuit, he stopped on South Jackson.  He also received citations for operating an ATV on a public highway.

Edwin L. Stancliff, 29, of Ocala, Fla., was arrested in Pembroke Thursday at 5:43 p.m. for allegedly operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Corfu police officers report they made the arrest after a traffic accident. According to the report, Stancliff was driving without a license and fled from the scene of the crash.

Melvin G. Draper, Jr., 27, of Walnut Street in Batavia, was arrested Saturday at 10:19 p.m. after reportedly operating a vehicle involved in a single-car accident that left a female passenger hospitalized with internal injuries. A 15-year-old passenger was uninjured. Draper was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, endangering the welfare of a child, driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and speed not reasonable.  The accident occurred with Draper was reportedly operating the vehicle eastbound on Batavia-Elba Townline Road at a high speed on a wet road. Police say Draper lost control of the vehicle and it slid into a ditch and became airborne after hitting a driveway.  The report says Draper then left the scene and went to a nearby friend's house. He later returned to the scene.

David W. King, Jr., 27, of Lockport Road, Elba, was arrested Friday at 11:28 p.m. for allegedly operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs. He was also charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, speeding and an unsafe lane change. Police report that they found King with a glass crack pipe and crack cocaine.

Gordon C. Gonyo, 54, of Byron Road in Byron, was arrested Saturday at 6:37 p.m. for allegedly driving while intoxicated. Gonyo was apprehended after a complaint about a vehicle being operated erratically on Byron Road.

 After losing games to Oakfield-Alabama, Pembroke and Attica, the Alexander football team has found the right equation to win in the Genesee Region League.

The Trojans play a physical style of football that involves pounding away with the ball on offense, are attempting to force turnovers on defense and - most importantly - making all the right moves on special teams.

Alexander won for the second consecutive week and are now 2-3 after beating Elba/Byron-Bergen 28-13 Saturday night in the first game ever played under the lights in Elba.

The Trojans spoiled Elba/Byron-Bergen's homecoming, but it didn't take away from the cool atmosphere of seeing a game in Elba played under lights, which did an excellent job of lighting the middle part of the field.

It almost wasn't spoiled as the two teams played a pretty close first half.

The two squads exchanged punts on their first possessions and a special teams mistake by Elba/Byron-Bergen on the team's second possession proved costly.

The snap sailed over the punters head and the Lancers picked it up and ran to their own 30-yard line.

Alexander had a couple of decent running plays before Jay Schaefer ran one in from six yards out. The extra point was missed.

Elba/Byron-Bergen's Zach Green then returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown. Again, the kick failed and the score was tied at 6 after the first quarter.

Alexander coach Dave Radley wanted to make sure I mentioned kicker/punter Lucas Czechowski in my preview this week and for good reason - he came up big. 

His first big kick was a 22-yard field goal early in the second quarter that put the Trojans up 9-6.

Elba/Byron-Bergen missed a field goal later in the half and that was the score at intermission 

Alexander had a long drive to open the second half - aided by some costly Elba/B-B penalties - that led to another Schaefer touchdown, this time from two yards out. The kick made the score 16-6.

The Lancers scored on another big play as Green rumbled 61 yards for a TD. The extra point brought Elba/Byron-Bergen to within three points.

Alexander marched down the field, going 68 yards down to the Elba/B-B 1 with a long kickoff return and a key pass from Zach Burke to Czechowski. But the Trojans fumbled the ball away and the Lancers took over deep in their own territory near the end of the third quarter.

Green broke off a 15-yarder, but the drive stalled and the Lancers had to punt again.

For the second time in the game, the snap sailed over the punter's head. This time it went through the end zone for a safety.

Alexander got the ball back and was moved into field goal territory because of an Elba/B-B facemask call.

Czechowski hit the 22-yard kick to make the score 21-13.

Ryan Piechocki had a key sack and forced Elba/B-B into a passing situation where Jordan Leitten took advantage, intercepting a pass at the 20-yard line.

Mike Woodrow had a 4-yard run a few plays later to make it a two touchdown game.

Leitten capped off the victory with another interception in the closing seconds, allowing the Trojans to take a knee and run out the clock.

Elba/Byron-Bergen falls to 1-4 and the biggest crowd to attend a game in the town of Elba in years was treated to a cool homecoming experience. But the team will have to work on limiting penalties and making huge mistakes on special teams if it is going to beat Notre Dame or Bishop Walsh in the final two weeks of the season.

Alexander is now 2-3 and will wrap up its regular season with a home game against Barker next Saturday. The Trojans were the No. 4 seed in the Section 5 Class D playoffs before the win and should move up to No. 3 with Avon's loss to Le Roy last night combined with the victory.

History will be made in Elba on October 4.

The Elba/Byron-Bergen football team will be playing its homecoming game under the lights for the first time in the history of the program.

Elba has never had lights on its field and the Elba Sports Boosters will be bringing in temporary lights for the game against Alexander, allowing the Lancers to host a night game for the first time ever.

The Section 5 schedule still says the game has a 1:30 p.m. kickoff time, but it will actually be at 7 p.m.

I took a drive out to Elba and Oakfield today.  In Elba, I couldn't resist stopping to take a picture of this building, which is now the wallpaper on my computer.

Anybody know the history of this place?

When Hilly found out I was driving out to Oakfield, he told me I had the stop at Santino's Pizza. "The pizza is amazing," he said.  I did, and it is.

In Oakfield, I stopped by the library and read the flyers in the window of the pharmacy.

Two events I learned about:

• October 18 and 25: Ghost walk at Batavia cemetery on Harvester, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
• The Genesee Chorale presents a recital series, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Batavia City Centre.

Reminder, if you're with a community organization and need to publicize an event or other group news, you can post the information you need to get out to Genesee County on The Batavian.  It's free. Just create an account, login and post.

There was no lack of entertainment in Genesee County this past weekend. And it seems that Daily News reporter Roger Muehlig got a little taste of it all. Muehlig was in Attica Sunday for the 51st annual Attica Rodeo that drew more than 7,000 spectators over the weekend. Says Waterport resident Carl Miller of the rodeo: "We like it."

Muehlig was also at the Elba Onion Festival Saturday for the crowning of the Onion Queen. Seventeen-year-old Nicole Heffle received the honor. "It's always (been) like my dream to be Onion Queen," she said.

As if those two grand events weren't enough for one tireless reporter, Muehlig got over to the Toys for Kids chicken barbecue fundraiser Saturday outside T-Shirts Inc.'s new location at 438 East Main St. All proceeds from the barbecue will benefit Don Carroll's Toys for Kids campaign for Christmas.

I hope Muehlig is home taking a day off today.

The one place Muehlig wasn't to be found this weekend was at the town of Murray's bicentennial celebration. No matter, Tom Rivers was on hand to cover the festivities that culminated in a bocce tournament Sunday.

For more on these and other stories, pick up a copy of the Daily News. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

Thanks again to Steve Ognibene for getting us some great photos of a local event. This time, Steve was at the opening night parade for the Elba Onion Festival. Seen in the first picture (below) is Steven Bezon with his two children, Leah and Ashton.