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Right now, it looks like there will be professional baseball in Batavia in 2019, according to General Manager Dave Chase.

As the team heads into its final week of the 2018 season (barring a playoff appearance), Chase said last night that he's pretty confident the team will be back -- he gave it a 90 to 95 percent chance -- and he said he's getting good signals from league officials.

“We do have a draft of the 2019 schedule and we’re on it, so I’ll take that as a sign we’re playing," Chase said.

The NYPL took over ownership of the Muckdogs early in 2018 and hired Chase, with decades of experience in Minor League baseball, to run the team. He promised to improve on-field playing conditions and in-stands fan experience. He thinks both goals were achieved.

"The team has played much better," Chase said. "We don’t win a lot at home but we’re usually in it in 7th, 8th, and 9th inning and we believe if you’re not going to win them, at least be in them, and then when people go home, they’ll forget whether you won or lost, they’ll just know they had something to cheer about late in the game."

Attendance continues to be a concern but Chase said some of the attendance problems can be blamed on the late start he and the rest of the front office got on preparing for 2018. Tickets sales, including season ticket sales, started later than normal and there was no time to push group sales. While support from the local business community was very good this year, Chase said, the staff needs more time than they had in 2018 to work on obtaining sponsorships.

The biggest improvement has been on the field, especially the infield. In April, the infield was laser-leveled with the help of Batavia Turf and DuraEdge and the infield dirt was replaced with the same mixed by the Miami Marlins on their home field. Joe Mogavero took care of the field for more than the first half of the season and then Cooper Thomson finally got his visa to fly in from Australia and become the new head groundskeeper at Dwyer Stadium.

The improvements have been noticeable by players, coaches, and the front office, especially since Cooper Thomson joined the staff.

"Cooper was by far a step in the right direction," Chase said. "He has a vision. He knows what he wants. The question will be whether I can afford it but we are talking about him coming back in April.

That's well in advance of the 2019 season, but not as soon as Chase would like to get him to come back to Batavia.

"I tried to get him to come in March but he said his heart would break if he had to look at a baseball field covered in snow," Chase said.

Manager Mike Jacobs took over the team in 2017 and returned in 2018. He said the improvements on the field and off have been welcome by both him and the players.

"It’s been great, just even on the field, new dirt, finally got our regular head grounds crew guy and he’s been great, Cooper," Jacobs said. "Since he's been here, the surface has played extremely well compared to what it was last year. They’ve made improvements inside the clubhouses on both sides. There are still things to touch up but overall I can’t complain. It’s been great."

The field is also getting high marks from the players, especially those who played on it in 2017 and came back in 2018. Both Demetrius Sims and Sean Reynolds said the improvement was noticeable on the first day of the season and the field has only gotten better as the season has gone along.

"We always looked forward to playing on the road last year but with the improvements from last year to this year, it’s been a lot better with the surface and all the upgrades to the field," Sims said.

Reynolds said he's impressed with the work Thomson has done since he joined the team.

"(He) has done an unbelievable job making sure the field is in shape every night," Reynolds said. "The surface itself is 10 times better than it was last year. Last year it was like, you didn’t know if you were going to be playing on gravel or sand every night. That’s been great."

While Chase is also pretty confident the Marlins will be the Major League parent of the Muckdogs again in 2019, that decision won't be made until the middle of September or later.

Jacobs said he thinks the Marlins should come back to Batavia and neither Sims nor Reynolds expressed any reservations about the team returning.

The one thing they all want to see is more fan support.

"We don’t have the biggest crowds," Jacobs said. "I would say this year we’ve had bigger crowds then what had in the past and that’s a testament to the front office here in Batavia, whether through advertising or whatever to get fans in the stadium. You look at a night like tonight and it was pretty filled up for a Tuesday.  I know they’re trying and I would like to see us be able to come back."

Reynolds said if Batavians want to keep professional baseball in Batavia, they probably need to come to more games.

"Obviously, places like State College and Mahoning Valley, Tri-City, wherever else, they have a pretty cool set up compared to this," Reynolds said. "I think it’s just a matter of people getting out to the game. I know every year there’s kind of deal where it’s like nobody wants baseball in Batavia to leave because it’s a staple of minor league baseball but at the same time if you don’t want it to leave then, you know, you’ve got to show a little bit of support."

The fan support, he said, matters to the players. There should be more games like the July 3 match against West Virginia when Dwyer was packed.

"There was, what, 2,500 people (ed. a little over 2,300) here, I think, and that was incredible because they were all cheering and they were chanting for us to win," Reynolds said. "That’s what real baseball should feel like."

If asked by a prospect just starting out his career next year whether Batavia was a good place to play ball, Sim said he would say yes, but with a caveat.

"It depends on where you’re from," Sims said. "If you’re a big city guy, then you’ve kind of got to adapt to the area and what’s around, but it’s been more than welcoming to be back here."

Top photo: Manager Mike Jacobs in the dugout on opening night.

Muckdogs Manager Mike Jacobs says Sean Reynolds, is, without a doubt, his most valuable player in 2018.

That might surprise anybody who knows that Reynold's has one of the lowest batting averages in the NY-Penn League (.192, fourth lowest of qualifying players) and has already broken the league's single-season record for most strikeouts (currently, 121, with nine games to go, breaking the previous record of 117 set in 1982).

But Reynolds also leads the league in home runs (16), RBIs, (47), Runs scored (47), base on balls (40) and leads his team in stolen bases (13). He's also the only player in the NYPL to play every inning of every game (70 so far).

"Without a doubt, he’s having a great year," Jacobs said. "It’s fun to watch. It’s fun to watch the progression of watching him continue to get better every day."

This is the second season in Batavia for the 20-year-old Southern Californian who was a fourth-round draft pick right out of Redondo Union High School for the Marlins in 2016.

The Marlins will be patient with their young power bat, Jacobs said. 

"What he can bring to the table you just can’t find that every day," Jacobs said. "I think the more he plays, the more games he plays, he will cut down on his strikeouts. I think he will put the ball in play more, and ultimately if he just does that, all those numbers are going to continue to rise."

Reynolds is well aware of his strike out record and his average but he's also pleased with his progress and believes he will continue to improve the more he plays.

"Obviously, that’s the thing going forward in my career that’s going to be the focal point, being able to put the ball in play more," Reynolds said. "Personally, I don’t see any reason why I can’t improve because it’s all about getting at-bats. This is my first full year in a sense of playing over 70 games and getting 300-plus plate appearances."

At 6'7", Reynolds invites comparisons to Dave Kingman, AKA "King Kong," who hit 442 major league home runs over 16 seasons starting in 1971. He also struck out in prodigious numbers (153 times in 1975, when he hit 36 homers for the Mets, and 138 times in 1979 when he hit 48 homers for the Cubs). He finished with .236 career average.

Whether Reynolds makes contact more often, time will tell, but he is arguably already better than Kingman in one key aspect of baseball: Defense. 

Where Kingman was atrocious in the field (career .895 fielding percentage including 3B and outfield) Reynolds is already doing better (.983) and has improved throughout the season.

"A lot of people may not realize it but he’s played outstanding first base for us," Jacobs said.

Jacobs knows a thing or two about hitting the ball hard at the major league level (100 career homers, including 32 for the Marlins in 2008) and Reynolds credits Jacobs for helping him get better.

"Jakes is a big the influence on me, him and Jesus Merchan, our hitting coach," Reynolds said. "He’s been able to help me with things I wouldn’t even think about because he’s played and been around the game for 20-plus years now. He’s been in the big leagues and able to have a lot of success in the big leagues for the time he was there. When I’m not going good, he knows what to say and how to help me out without saying too much, and then when I'm going good, it's a high five when I’m going around third base and that’s all I need."

Reynolds knows he's getting better and he's obviously playing with more confidence.

"It’s funny we should talk about this right now because this was probably my best series of the year," Reynolds said (he had five hits, three homers, six RBIs). "I was more consistently putting bat to ball and making loud outs even if I wasn’t getting on base, so that was good to feel but obviously for every success and every home run there’s been a lot of struggle."

If Reynolds were hitting .250 instead of .192, he would probably already be holding down first base in Greensboro or Jacksonville. As it is, State College last night showed enough respect for his bat that they used a defensive shift on the left-handed hitter, something you rarely if ever see in short-season Class A ball.  

He was also a member of the NYPL's 2018 All-Star Team.

"You look at where he was last year and you look at even where he was in spring training and the improvement is 10 fold," Jacobs said. "He didn’t hit one homer in spring training and he played in a lot of games down there and obviously you see the numbers he’s putting up and, really, the batting average, it is what it is. He has a lot of swing-and-miss but there’s also a lot of damage that’s in that bat."

Photos: File photos by Howard Owens.

With six games left in the season, including three-straight day games at home, the Batavia Muckdogs are contending for a post-season playoff berth.

They could get there by making up a four-and-a-half-game deficit behind division-leading Mahoning Valley, their next opponent on the road, and three and a half behind Brooklyn in the wildcard race. Any combination of two Muckdog losses or two Mahoning Valley wins would eliminate Batavia in the division (in other words, the Muckdogs must sweep the Scrappers) and in the wild-card race, the magic number is four.

That means, the hometown team can't really afford to lose any of their final six games.

Fortunately, they're the hottest team in the NYPL right now with four straight wins and a 7-3 record over the last 10 games.

"Our fate is in our hands," said manager Mike Jacobs after last night's 8-1 win over State College, completing a three-game sweep of their division rival. "The step coming in and taking care of business these last three games like we have. If continue to play the way we’re playing, it may go down to the very last game and it’s exciting."

Last night, the Muckdogs scored early and scored often, taking a 2-0 lead by the bottom of the first and piling on six more runs in the third.

The first two runs came on a home run by third baseman Bubba Hollins, an undrafted signee of the Marlins from Orchard Park who played college ball at St. Bonaventure University. Hollins is on his second stint with the Muckdogs, after a cup of tea with the team in 2017. This was his first home run with Batavia.

With one out in the third, Hollins drew a walk, setting the table for Sean Reynolds, who whacked his league-leading 16th homer of the season over the right-field wall. 

The rest of the scoring came on walks to Albert Guaimaro and Igor Baez, a double by Ricardo Cespedes, a Luke Jarvis single, and ground out by Davis Bradshaw.

Josh Roberson, from North Carolina, worked five innings, giving up only one run and picking up his first NYPL win on a 1.80 ERA.

Big Texan Tyler Kolek (top photo and second photo) worked two scoreless innings, whiffing three, and Panamanian Humberto Mejia came on for the final two frames and also K'd at trio of Spikes.

The next home game, the final homestand of the season, is Saturday at 1:05 p.m. against Auburn.

Brayan Hernandez

Luke Jarvis

Demetrius Sims

Demetrius Sims at short.

Albert Guaimaro

Nicholas Ronald Schramm, 18, of Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Schramm is accused of damaging property of another person while at a residence, not his own, on Byron Holley Road, Byron, on Monday. He was jailed on $5,000 bail or $10,000 bond.

Connor D. Gardner, 18, of Kemp Drive, Macedon, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal use of drug paraphernalia, 2nd, and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Justin Daniel Pursel, 28, of North Street, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right, and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Pursel was allegedly involved in an accident on Batavia Elba Townline Road at 1:30 a.m. Saturday. The accident was investigated by Deputy Mathew Clor and Deputy Andrew Mullen.

Kyle J. Stack, 32, of Medina, is charged with DWI, unlawful possession of marijuana, and obstruction of governmental administration. Stack is accused of driving drunk in the Town of Bergen at 11:11 p.m. Tuesday though he was arrested by State Police in the Village of Medina. He was ordered held on cash bail. No further details released.

Quinton V. Holmes, 27, of Churchville, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs, failure to keep right, and speeding. Holmes was stopped by State Police on Buffalo Road, Bergen, at 3:43 p.m. Saturday.

Jennifer L. Blake, 44, of Elba, and Christopher W. Blake, 44, of Byron, are charged with trespass. The two people were arrested by State Police for allegedly trespassing on property in Byron at 7:45 p.m. Thursday. No further details released.

Jay R. Howcraft, 58, of Rochester, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Howcraft was stopped by State Police at 8:21 p.m. Friday on Pratt Road, Town of Batavia.

Press release:

Late blight was detected in Genesee County on Aug. 28th. Late blight is a devastating, airborne disease of tomatoes and potatoes best known for causing the Irish Potato famine. Late blight is caused by a fungus-like organism that spreads dozens of miles on storm fronts.

Late blight can kill plants in just one week. Disease spots are often dark gray to brown in color and may or may not have a ring of pale green tissue around them. They are often irregular in shape and size, and often become as large as a quarter. Leaf spots will often have small fuzzy white spores on the underside of the leaf in wet and humid conditions.

Late blight will put dark brown to black smears on plant stems. Tomato fruit may also develop large, firm, greasy-looking, brown, gray, or black smears on the upper part of the fruit. Potato leaves show dark spots with fuzzy white spores on the underside during humid weather. Potato stems show similar lesions to those seen in tomato.

As this disease is aggressive and very damaging to area farmers, Cornell Cooperative Extension asks that anyone suspecting they have late blight please contact their local CCE office for assistance. In Genesee County, the CCE office can be reached at 585-343-3040. Commercial vegetable farmers should contact the Cornell Vegetable Program at 585-406-3419.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley is doing pretty much what the rest of us in the 27th Congressional District are doing -- waiting to see if the regional GOP leadership can come up with a plan to remove the name of Chris Collins from the November general election ballot.

If that happens, he hopes the GOP chairs will select him as the Republican candidate for Congress to replace Collins, currently under federal indictment on counts of securities fraud and lying to the FBI about an alleged insider trading scheme.

"I know nothing more than when we met last Tuesday," Hawley said, referring to a confab of GOP chairs from the eight counties in the NY-27 at Batavia Downs. At the gathering, the candidates hoping to replace Collins on the ballot were interviewed. "We each gave a presentation. We talked about how each of us viewed what a congressman should be, we reviewed backgrounds, reviewed finances, reviewed whether we’re ready to go or not, which I am, and I haven’t heard anything since then."

David Bellavia, the other Batavia resident who considered a run for Congress if the GOP chairs could get the Collins name off the ballot, withdrew his name before Tuesday's meeting. Mike Ranzenhofer, the state senator for Genesee County, withdrew his name yesterday.

Hawley is by no means certain the county chairs have figured out a plan for getting the current congressman's name off the ballot.

"I have to say, the longer this goes on the chances of A) getting his name off B) having the court challenges, which there will be, makes me more and more happy that I’m running for reelection to the state Assembly," Hawley said. "If the process doesn’t heat up here pretty quickly, I’m going to be serving, hopefully, another term in the state Assembly."

That isn't to be read, apparently, that Hawley has any intention anytime soon of withdrawing his name from consideration. He wouldn't say that when pressed on the question, or at what point he might decide to withdraw.

"We'll play it by ear," he said.

Hawley said residents of the 139th Assembly District have been wholly supportive of his request to be considered for the Republican line on the November ballot in the congressional race.

"I’ve received nothing but encouragement from the moment Mr. Collins suspended his campaign and, as I mentioned before, all kinds of emails, all kinds of Facebook posts, all kinds of personal visits from constituents," Hawley said. "This is all about people I’ve been able to serve the past 12 and a half years. They’re the ones who encouraged me to look at it and that’s what I try to model myself after, what people want."

L&M Speciality Fabrication is moving from Albion to a new, bigger location on East Saile Drive, Batavia, and today, company owners and local officials officially broke ground on the site of the new 23,000-square-foot facility.

The company specializes in onion harvesting equipment, custom farm machinery and repairs of farm equipment.

The company is investing $2.2 million in the project. The new facility will include a production area and retail space for farm equipment parts.

Co-owner Lee Schuknecht said the new location was attractive because it's central to three rural counties (Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming), Batavia is already a central location for businesses that support farmers, and West Saile Drive has easy Thruway access.

While the company might be known for its onion harvesting equipment, L&M works with farmers to meet a variety of needs. They've built harvesters for other crops as well as custom conveyors and wagons for a variety of produce.

"With most farmers, we try to figure out their needs for different growing areas and try to meet those needs," Schuknecht said. "A lot times people come to us with something they need or a problem they have and we try to engineer a solution for their problem, so a lot of things we do, we may only build one or a couple."

Genesee County Economic Development Center assisted the project with a sales tax worth $84,000 for building materials and supplies, and property tax abatement valued at $158,656. The company currently has seven employees and plans to hire two more once they are in their new building.

Photo: Chris Suozzi, VP of business development for GCEDC, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Lee Schuknecht, Matt Geissler, Sarah Geissler, Robin Schuknecht, and Dale Schuknecht. Lee, Matt, and Sarah own the business. Dale and Robin, parents of Lee and Sarah, assist in the business.

There was little disagreement on issues Monday night at Genesee Community College among the four candidates hoping to get the most votes in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary for attorney general.

They all favor issuing drivers licenses to undocumented residents. They will use the AG's office to help protect the environment and fight climate change. They oppose tariffs that are hurting farmers. They will continue to pursue lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies over prescription pain pill marketing. They will work to preserve the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

And, they all agree the Donald Trump Administration is corrupt and both democracy and the rule of law are under assault.

"We are at a crisis moment in our democracy," said Zephyr Teachout. "Donald Trump is actually ripping families apart. He cannot be trusted. We cannot trust federal regulation of the financial markets when Washington is controlled by the financial industry, which is surrounded by people like Chris Collins who use political offices to enrich themselves."

In all, the four candidates were a collegial group who kept their discussion civil and answered a half dozen or so questions from members of the Democratic Rural Caucus, which organized the event, and another five or six from audience members.

The first topic was about helping and protecting farmers and the candidates immediately jumped on Trump's tariffs, which are making it more difficult for farmers to export their products and reducing prices, which hurt or eliminate profits.

Sean Patrick Maloney, a member of Congress, said he represents 1,500 family farms, and many of them are smaller farms, 200 acres or less, that grow specialty crops. He said he's introduced 30 bills to assist farmers, especially in the area of crop insurance. Current crop insurance programs, he said, favor big Midwestern farmers.

"I will fight to end tariffs that are putting a terrible burden on New York farmers," Maloney said. "I hear that all the time. This is a self-inflicted wound and we need to fix it."

As AG, he said, one of the most effective things he can do is work to improve and protect access to markets for farmers.

Both Teachout and Letitia James said monopolies and corporate concentration are burdens on farmers that reduce competition. 

"A lot of people are making a lot of money in food," Teachout said. "It’s just not farmers."

She criticized Monsanto for its patents on seeds, John Deere for his copyright claims on software that keep farmers from repairing their own equipment or going to less expensive repair services, and the lack of competition among food distributors.

James also said she would work to break up these big companies and end non-competitive practices.

She also favors eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or reining in its enforcement power to help ensure farmers are able to hire the immigrant workers they need to stay in business.

"It's really critically important the next AG stand up for their (immigrants) rights so they can come out of the shadows and seek work and feel safe," James said.

Leecia Eve said she is mindful of the need to protect the environment but she is also mindful of Washington's tendency to design environmental regulation around large, corporate farm operations, that then place an unnecessary burden on small farmers.

All of the candidates said they would use the power of the AG's office to protect the ACA and ensure New Yorkers maintain access to affordable health care. Maloney said while the Trump administration has done much to damage the ACA there are still issues to defend.

"The nice thing about the Trump Administration is while they are way radical they're also incompetent," Maloney said.

Lorie Longhany, a member of the RDC and former county chair of the Democratic Party, asked what the candidates would do to protect seniors.

Eve recalled her years working for former AG Bob Abrams. Abrams required staff to travel throughout the state and set up mobile offices in supermarkets and other public locations and the staff would answer questions and assist people as best they could with any problem. That's the spirit, she said, she wants to bring to the office.

"We need to put that effort on steroids," Eve said. "New York is under assault by Donald Trump. We have an economic crisis, a housing crisis, an environmental crisis. I will use the full weight of the office to protect the rights of New Yorkers. It's important to have an office in the community so New Yorkers feel like the attorney general's office has their backs."

Maloney said that protecting seniors from scams is the "bread and butter" function of the AG's office.

"If you’re not doing that right, you're not doing this office right," Maloney said.

The AG's office is especially important in the age of Trump, Teachout said.

"There are seven consumer protection agencies that the Trump Administration is in the process of gutting," Teachout said. "The Consumer Protection Finance Bureau is being run by somebody who doesn't believe in consumer protection. This job becomes more important when you can't trust the federal government because this office is the last line of defense against frauds and scams."

To deal with the opioid crisis, the candidates favor decriminalization and putting more resources into treatment.

"We need to decriminalize mental health issues," Eve said. "We need treatment for people who are in crisis and have enough courage to ask for help. If they ask for help and somebody says you have to wait six months to get help, that's a recipe for disaster."

Voters in the Le Roy Fire District are being asked this evening to decide whether to approve a plan to purchase a new ladder truck for the Le Roy Volunteer Fire Department.

The polls are open from 6 to 9 p.m. at the district office, 4 Clay St., Le Roy.

The district is asking voters to approve a loan of $1 million, an expenditure of $400,000 from reserve funds, and the sale of an existing ladder truck.

The two resolutions:

Resolution  1: “Bond resolution of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Le Roy Fire District in the Town of Le Roy, Genesee County, New York, authorizing the acquisition of one firefighting vehicle at a maximum cost of $1,400,000; and authorizing the issuance of up to $1,000,000 in serial bonds of said fire district to finance a portion of the cost thereof.”

Resolution 2: “Resolution of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Le Roy Fire District  in the Town of Le Roy, Genesee County, New York, authorizing the disposition of the fire district’s 2002 Pierce 100-foot ladder truck  including incidental equipment and apparatuses to be used in connection with such vehicle.”

In a letter of support for the resolutions, commissioners said now is the time to act because of anticipated increases in the costs of manufacturing, additional mandated certificates, and economic conditions that will drive up the cost of replacement of the current ladder truck.

At the same time, the resale market value of the existing truck, which will be 18 years old by the time it is taken out of service, will only decrease. 

The following people were arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department during the G-Eazy Concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Friday.

Terrance L. Falk, 19, of Watson Street, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, 2nd, and resisting arrest after allegedly yelling several obscenities around other individuals while being ejected from the concert venue causing a disturbance; head-butting a Live Nation employee in the face; and fighting with law enforcement while being placed under arrest. Falk was arraigned in Darien Town Court and jailed in lieu of $500 bail. 

A 16-year-old of Audubon Drive, Amherst, is charged with false personation, obstructing governmental administration, and resisting arrest after allegedly being refused entry into the concert venue, running into a restricted area, fighting with law enforcement while being placed under arrest, and then giving a false name to law enforcement. The youth was arraigned in Darien Town Court and jailed in lieu of $2,000 bail.

Kaitlyn M. Kist, 19, South Creek Road, Derby, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd, after allegedly reentering the concert venue after being ejected and told not to return. Kist was arraigned in Darien Town Court and jailed in lieu of $200 bail.

Brittany J. McGruther, 22, of Lower Mountain Road, Lockport, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd, after allegedly reentering the concert venue after being ejected and told not to return. Brittany was arraigned in Darien Town Court and jailed in lieu of $200 bail.

Michaela R. Bohn, 18, of Clinton Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, after allegedly being found in possession of a small quantity of cocaine and heroin.

A 17-year-old of South Main Street, of Angola, is charged with trespass after allegedly climbing on top of a concession stand and entering a restricted area.

Adam L. Vargas, 20, of Coleman Street, Barker, is charged with trespass after allegedly attempting to reenter the concert venue after being ejected and told not to return.

A 17-year-old of South Union Road, of Williamsville, is charged with trespass after allegedly attempting to reenter the concert venue after being ejected and told not to return.

John J. Rozmus, 23, of Laird Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly yelling several obscenities around other individuals trying to enter the concert venue, causing a disturbance.

Kaylin M. Carlson, 19, of Route 64, Bloomfield, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly punching another individual in the face.

Timothy D, Trask, 19, of Wilkinson Road, Erin, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly pushing and shoving law enforcement while being ejected from the concert venue.

Ashley R. Jolliff, 22, of Lowell Road, Tonawanda, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly shoving a law enforcement officer while another individual was being arrested.

Able Nazareem Supreme Jones, 18, of Falls Street, Seneca Falls, is charged with unlawful possession of marihuana after allegedly being found in possession of a small quantity of marijuana.

(Name redacted upon request), 19, of Woodmore Court, Lockport, is charged with unlawful possession of marihuana after allegedly being found in possession of a small quantity of marihuana.

Cornelius Lawson III, 21, of Middle Street, Geneva, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of a small quantity of marijuana.

An odor of natural gas is reported at Arby's in Batavia.

At least one person reports feeling ill.

City Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 1:47 p.m.: National Fuel on location.

UPDATE 2 p.m.: City Fire is turning the scene over to National Fuel and is going back in service. Mercy EMS has five sign-offs.

Press release:

"After a great deal of reflection, and consultation with my family, friends, and community over the last several days, I am removing myself from consideration in the search to find a replacement candidate for the 27th Congressional District. I’m not giving up this opportunity lightly, but the decision is easier because there are so many other qualified candidates. These last few weeks have been a whirlwind. It has been an honor to have been asked by so many to consider a run for Congress.

"The chairmen and chairwomen who will make this very important decision have been thrust into unchartered waters and a very difficult situation. They have taken their responsibilities seriously and have been very thoughtful and deliberative. No other group of individuals is better able to handle this challenge. I want to commend those who have answered the call. Many are my friends, some are my colleagues, and each would make an exceptional member of Congress. Each has strengths and weaknesses which have to be carefully weighed by the chairs charged with finding a solution.

"These last few weeks have been quite an experience for which I am grateful and will always remember. I wish the eight chairs Godspeed as they work their way through this process. All candidates seeking to become the next Congressional Representative are to be commended for accepting this challenge. I wish them good luck and will wholeheartedly support whoever is chosen.

"It was an honor to have been asked by so many to consider this opportunity. I am blessed with the opportunity to serve the residents of Erie, Genesee and Monroe counties and look forward to continuing to represent them in the New York State Senate." 
 

Press release:

In the two weeks since Congressman Chris Collins was indicted by the FBI, Nate McMurray’s campaign for New York’s 27th  Congressional District has steamed ahead with huge momentum.

Nate McMurray, the current Grand Island supervisor and Democratic and Working Families Party candidate for Congress, has run nonstop across the 27th District, meeting with hundreds of voters, doubling the number of volunteers helping his campaign, making key staff hires, and raising more than $100,000 in just a few days.

“I’ve spent the last seven months crisscrossing the district talking to voters and I can tell you that there was always a palpable grassroots energy but now it’s absolutely booming,” McMurray said. “Everywhere I go, I meet voters of all parties and I’ll tell you what I hear: they tell me that the system is broken.

"They feel ripped off by politicians who abuse their power and feel insulted by party bosses playing kingmaker. They use the word ‘corrupt’ and they’re right. Every day I hear them say that the system isn’t working for them and that want a real change.&rdquo

“The energy here in the 27th District is electrifying,” said Campaign Manager Victoria Dillon, Western New York native and an alumna of the Obama Administration, Iowa Caucuses and Capitol Hill, where she helped Congresswoman Louise Slaughter pass the STOCK Act to stop insider trading in Congress. “The campaign’s growing, Nate’s everywhere and voters are listening.”

In the two weeks since Congressman Collins was indicted:

McMurray has crisscrossed the 27th District eight times.

McMurray's campaign has received more than $100k in donations in the past two weeks from thousands of contributors.

McMurray's campaign has more than doubled the number of volunteers in our movement to get him elected to Congress.

McMurray's campaign has hired two additional staffers including Amherst-native Victoria Dillon as campaign manager.

Local leaders have publicly cheered Nate on including: Former Congressman John LaFalce, former WKBW anchor Susan Banks, and Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster.

McMurray has received huge support from the labor community including: the United Steelworkers, Service Employees International Union 1199 and the New York State United Teachers.

That adds to his support from the Western New York Area Labor Federation, New York State AFL-CIO, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1342, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local One, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and United Auto Workers.

In Ontario County: McMurray walked into a standing-room-only crowd in Farmington, a town that hadn't had an established Democratic committee until six months ago.

In Livingston County, he talked to more than 100 voters in Hemlock.

In Wyoming County: the day after Congressman Collins was indicted, our expected crowd doubled at a house party in Silver Springs.

McMurray has held rallies and barnstorms and house parties in Avon, Clarence, Canandaigua, Hemlock, Farmington and Silver Springs and received support from friends and neighbors at events in Grand Island, Amherst, and Buffalo.

He drove in the World’s Largest Demolition Derby at the Erie County Fair and attending the Wyoming County Fair.

He has conducted more than 30 national and local media interviews and held four press conferences.

About Nate McMurray

Nate McMurray is a native of North Tonawanda. He is one of seven children raised by his widowed mother when his father died of cancer at the age of 39. Nate worked his way through community college, earned a bachelor’s degree at SUNY-Buffalo, then went on to law school and a successful career in business.

For the last two years, he’s served as town supervisor of Grand Island, a conservative community in Western New York, where he has been instrumental in bringing fiscal responsibility to local government and millions of dollars in new business investment to the town. For more on Nate McMurray and his campaign for Congress in NY-27, visit www.votemcmurray.com.

Press release:

It looked like a trackside racing crowd from the 1960s at Batavia Downs as a gathering of more than 4,000 people jammed the stands and the apron to watch the 14th annual “Dachshund Dash” on a beautiful late summer Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26). The Wiener Dog Races were the centerpiece of Batavia Downs Family Fun Day presentation.  

Eighty dogs were programmed to compete in 10 heats with one winner from each advancing to the final. And after several close finishes, three romps and one runaway dog, “Louie” nosed out “Jasper” in a photo finish with “Dexter Tyberius” finishing a close third in the championship heat.

Louie is owned by Bruce Hummel, of Pittsford, and quickly became a fan favorite in the Purple Haze winner’s circle after the race.

All those who entered received doggie bags courtesy of Genesee Feeds of Batavia, the official sponsor of the race. The owners of all heat winners received $25 in gaming Free Play and the top three finishers in the championship race received two Clubhouse buffet certificates and $100, $75 and $50 (first through third) in Free Play for the gaming floor. The top winner’s total prize package including the gaming Free Play is valued at $200.

Photos by Howard Owens.

It was a near capacity crowd at The Ridge NY in Le Roy last night for Travis Tritt.

Co-owner David Luetticke-Archbell said both VIP tickets and the campground were sold out. Once the Frostridge Campground sold out, he started referring customers to other campgrounds in the county and three other campgrounds sold out.

He doesn't have an exact ticket count yet but he said it may have been the largest crowd ever for a concert at The Ridge.

Last night's sunset looking down East Main Street, Batavia.

Legendary local sports broadcaster Wayne Fuller was honored before Saturday night's Batavia Muckdogs game. Last week, Fuller was inducted into the NYPL Hall of Fame and the league provided the team a plaque that will be placed in the press box at Dwyer Stadium.

Accepting the plaque on behalf of his friends, colleagues, and family were Martha Bailey and Paul Spiotta. Representing the Muckdogs, Brendan Kelly, assistant general manager, left, and Dave Chase, general manager.

The Muckdogs beat Williamsport 4-2, scoring all four runs in the second inning with two outs. Tanner Andrews (2-0) got the win and C.J. Carter picked up the third save.

Batavia is home again this afternoon, starting the final home three-game series of the season, against State College. Game time is 4:05 p.m.

Bill Hayes, with his grandchildren Joshua Prong, William Hayes Prindle, and Matthew Robert Prindle Jr., threw out the first pitch.

The Genesee Chorale sang the National Anthem.

Starting pitcher Chris Vallimont.

Bubba Hollins, third base, hops as each pitch is delivered.

Michael Donadio

Sean Reynolds lead off the 2nd with a double. He was later thrown out in a play at the plate.