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Campbell Anderson, a senior at Batavia High School, pictured with Principal Scott Wilson, has qualified as a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. As far as Wilson knows, he's the only semifinalist in the region and one of only 99 in Western New York.

Anderson is a candidate for West Point and the Air Force Academy. He's also a standout in track and cross-country. Wilson said one of Anderson's unique accomplishments was completing all of the match courses offered by the high school, including advanced placement calculus, by the end of his sophomore year. The school has arranged his senior schedule so he can also take classes at Genesee Community College. He remains at the top of his class.

Photo and info provided by Scott Wilson.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced $1,411,200 in federal funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for the Genesee County Airport, located in Batavia. The grant will assist the Genesee County Airport in funding the final phase of its airport construction project. The airport is building an aircraft-parking apron, a taxiway extension, and removing of a number of runway obstructions.

“Using federal funds to support local infrastructure projects will help establish an environment that promotes future economic development and employment opportunities,” Congressman Collins said. “This $1,411,200 grant will provide Genesee County with the funding it needs to complete the final phase of its project. Grants like these allow for more efficient and effective airport operations that will benefit our region for years to come.”

“This crucial FAA grant will allow Genesee County to complete Phase 3 of our Airport project, which includes the removal of the old terminal building and hangar,” said Raymond Cianfrini, chairman of the Genesee County Legislature. “We appreciate our partnership with Congressman Collins and look forward to giving him and our community a tour of the completed project.”

The Congressman’s office remains available to assist any local government pursuing a federal grant.

As part of the GLOW Corporate Challenge last month, organizers put together a T-shirt design contest and this year, based on volunteer votes, Freed Maxick came up with the winning design. The prize was a $500 donation to the charity of their choice, and staff chose the UMMC Foundation and the Justice for Children Foundation.

Photo: Sam Schafer, Carmela Piazza, Liz Renz, Lori Aratari, Steve Tufts, Jason Armbrewster, Kim Mills (who also had the fastest women's time), Olivia Engel and Tim Moag. Aratari is with UMMC, Ambrewster with Justice for Children, Tufts and Piazza are with Merrill Lynch representing GLOW Cup, and the others are with Freed Maxick. Each charity received $250 and the balance of the proceeds from the event benefit the YMCA.

In a rare Thursday night game, the Alexander Trojans moved to 3-0 on the season, defeating Holley 41-14.

Job Smith gained 107 yards on only four carries for the Trojans. Derrick Busch had three receptions for 103 yards and Dustin Schmeider caught two passes for 71 yards. Sharing the point-after duties, Grant Cox kicked three through and Hannah Paolucci hit two attempts. On defense, Schmeider had five tackles and eight assists.

TDs were scored by Chris McClinic, Busch, P.J. Brennan, Smith, twice, and Mitchell Gordon.

Tonight:

• Batavia plays University Prep at Sahlen Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m.
• Oakfield-Alabama/Elba hosts Akron, 7 p.m., at Oakfield
• Notre Dame travels to Pembroke to meet the Dragons at 7:30 p.m.
• Cal-Mum/Byron-Bergen is at home against Dansville, 7:30 p.m.
• York/Pavilion hosts Bolivar-Richburg in York, 7:30 p.m.

Tomorrow, Le Roy is the home team against Wellsville, but the game is being played in Perry at 7:30 p.m.

Somebody knows who was driving this vehicle at 10:40 a.m., Saturday, when it T-boned a car with two small children in it at the intersection of North Byron Road and Transit Road, Elba.

The driver fled the scene and the vehicle was found in a wooded area the next day off of Spoil Bank Road, in the mucklands.

The car had Ohio plates that didn't match the VIN number. There were receipts for Verizon calling plans in the vehicle.

Peggy Zambito, the grandmother of the two children, said her family is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver.

It's a miracle and only through the grace of God, she said, that she, her daughter, Mercy Caparco, and her two grandchildren, Maggie, 5, and Molly, 2, were uninjured in the accident.

The Ford Explorer Caparco was driving rolled over multiple times and narrowly missed hitting a fire hydrant and a tree.

The other driver, Zambito said, was speeding and though they saw him coming, couldn't avoid getting hit.

"I knew he was going so fast he wouldn’t have been able to stop if he tried," Zambito said.

Zambito said the safety features of the vehicle -- strong seatbelts and side airbags -- helped keep them all safe.

"I will always be haunted by the face of my daughter looking, craning her neck as we're rolling over to look (at her children)," Zambito said. "She said, 'Mom, I don't see blood. I don't see blood.' That will haunt me to my dying day."

She was able to find her mobile phone and call 9-1-1 as soon as the car stopped rolling over.

"I'm a retired nurse," she said. "I tend to stay calm in an emergency and then fall apart later."

The rear axle with a tire attached snapped off and landed 30 feet from the vehicle.

"It's a miracle we were able to just get out of that vehicle," she said.

Incredibly, the insurance company originally said it wouldn't total the car, but only pay for repairs, but then later today, Zambito said, she got word the decision was being reconsidered by another department.

Zambito realizes the red SUV that struck them may have been driven by a migrant worker, perhaps undocumented, which is why he fled, but she also realizes, she said, most migrant workers are decent, hard-working and family oriented. Perhaps if this story makes the rounds or a worker sees the posters the family plans to post at the Yellow Goose in Elba, somebody will come forward and identify the driver.

Apparently, one person did tell a deputy who he thinks usually drives the vehicle, but that person has witnesses who say he was at work at the time of the accident, Zambito said.

The newly constructed terminal and hangar at the Genesee County Airport received the Phil Brito Airport Project of the Year award last night from the Aviation Management Association.

File photo.

Alan J. Hargrave, of Pavilion, died this morning about 20 minutes after arriving at UMMC following an accident reported at 9:47 a.m. on Angling Road, Corfu.

Hargrave and his brother, John S. Hargrave, had just dropped off a load of scrap at Ed Arnold Scrap Processors and were heading south when Alan suffered some sort of medical issue that caused him to lose control of the vehicle.

The truck, which was hauling an empty flatbed trailer, struck a tree.

Alan Hargrave was unconscious and not breathing when Deputy Lonnie Nati first arrived on scene.

Nati and Don Newton, chief of the East Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department, extricated Hargrave from the vehicle and began CPR and deployed a defibrillator and Alan Hargrave began breathing.

He was placed in a Mercy EMS ambulance for further emergency treatment before being transported to UMMC.

Coroner Karen Lang was requested to respond to UMMC, where she pronounced that Alan Hargrave had died.

John Hargrave, who suffered cuts and abrasions in the accident, was transported to ECMC for evaluation.

The accident is being investigated by the Sheriff's Office. Corfu fire and East Pembroke fire and Indian Falls fire assisted at the scene.

The County Legislature took its show on the road on Wednesay, holding its regular full body meeting at the Oakfield Community and Government Center.

It was a chance for the Town of Oakfield to show off its expanded and remodeled Town Hall.

Barry Flansburg, town accessor, said town officials wanted the new facility to be more than just a town hall, instead one could host multiple agencies and services as well as community groups and serve as an emergency command center if needed.

That's why it's called, now, officially, the Community and Government Center.

"This is the ultimate shared facility," Flansburg said.

As an example for the planned flexibility, Flansburg noted, the panel seating area has 10 chairs, not just the five necessary for the town board. This gives the Legislature room to meet there, and it also allows all town officials a seat at the table, so to speak, for town meetings, which Flansburg said helps foster better communication and collaboration.

The new courts facility not only hosts the Town of Oakfield Town Court but the Town of Elba's, as well. The facility is certificated to a standard that it could host the County Court if ever required to do so.

The board just approved on Tuesday night a request by the court of the Town of Alabama to hold a jury trial in the courtroom next month, since Alabama's court isn't really well suited to jury trials.

There is also a small kitchen (and break room for staff) that will be available to community and civic groups that want to use the community/meeting room for events or meetings.

The highway department also has expanded space and motion-controlled LED lights have been installed in the bays.

Flansburg said that when visitors come into the town offices, they notice that all of the officials have offices and desk space no bigger than what they had before and are surprised.

"This wasn't about giving us bigger offices," Flansburg said. "This is a community space and we wanted it to be for the whole community."

The offices did receive new carpet, wallpaper, paint and fixtures. There's also improved security in the foyer.

The project cost $3.1 million. The town planned it for eight years, saved money to help fund it, and are able to pay the bonds through existing cash flow and the rent the Town of Elba pays for the courtroom. There is no new tax burden on Town residents to pay for the facility, Flansburg said.

A serious injury accident is reported in the area of 2164 Angling Road, Corfu.

A victim is trapped in the vehicle.

Corfu fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

The accident is reported as car vs. tree.

UPDATE(S) 9:56 a.m. (By Billie): Mercy Flight is called to the scene and a landing zone is to be set up just east of the location, possibly in the roadway.

UPDATE 10 a.m.: Traffic is to be shut down at Route 33 and Angling Road.

UPDATE 10:01 a.m.: The helicopter will land on property next to a barn, off the roadway.

UPDATE 10:02 a.m.: Mercy Flight has an 8 minute ETA.

UPDATE 10:06 a.m.: The address given now is 2176 Angling Road. A second Mercy ambulance is called in non-emergency mode for a subject with lacerations.

UPDATE 10:21 a.m.: Mercy Flight was canceled. A 56-year-old male will be taken by ambulance to UMMC after suffering a heart attack. Another is being treated at the scene for cuts and abrasions. A source at the scene says two brothers had just finished taking a load of scrap metal to a processing company when the driver seemed to suffer some sort of medical condition and appeared to faint, which caused the truck to veer into a tree head on.

UPDATE 10:28 a.m.: The ambulance, in which medics have been treating the patient, is now leaving the scene for UMMC.

A couple of weeks ago, we reported on the donation by p.w. minor of 27 pallets of shoes to the flood victims in Louisiana. The program that accepted the donation of the shoes, Sole2Souls, produced this video about the distribution. 

The turnout was low, lower than expected, in a pair of primary elections held yesterday that if not for some prior planning from the county's election commissioners could have cost county taxpayers $17,000.

Four people voted in the Reform Party primary for the 61st State Senate District, and all four votes went to incumbent Michael Ranzenhofer, who apparently was facing a write-in challenger, but there were no write-in votes in Genesee County.

In the Working Families primary for the same race, the Democrat's nominee Tom Loughran defeated Andrea Liszka 1-0.

All of the voting was carried out at the Elections Office in County Building #1. If Commissioners Dick Siebert and Lorie Longhany hadn't devised a new policy for small elections, the balloting would have been held at locations in each of the county's towns. By setting up one polling location, the county was able to hold the primaries at essentially no cost.

In explaining the plan a week ago to county legislators, Siebert said the turnout was expected to be only 15 to 16 voters.

"That might be a high estimate," Longhany said.

Thomas Wood, 1st assistant chief for Le Roy Fire Department, a former chief and longtime volunteer with the company, can't remember a time when his department was called on to respond to back-to-back fires.

It didn't help that it was a fairly hot day and the second fire was fought from atop a metal roof.

His brother, Bill Wood, also a former chief, described the rooftop as "unbearably hot."

"That's why we called in Brockport and Avon and used the City's Fast Team as a regular fire unit," Wood said. "Most of our guys had already fought one fire. We were calling in extra units. Our guys were dropping from the heat."

The first fire was reported on Starr Road, Pavilion, at about 1:50 p.m. It involved a six-unit apartment complex and a quick response by Pavilion and Le Roy firefighters helped contain the fire to a single apartment.

The fire appears to have started in the kitchen area, according to Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger. The cause remains under investigation.

Nobody was home at the time the fire was reported and residents in two other units were evacuated, including one who was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom and awoken by Deputy Chris Parker.

A dog may have perished in the fire, though several other pets were rescued.

The second fire, at a plastics factory on Lent Avenue, Le Roy, was reported about 3:10 p.m.

Most of Le Roy's equipment hadn't even cleared the Pavilion scene yet.

The Lent Avenue fire was sparked by a welder making repairs to the roof of the factory.

The fire burned about 40 feet down, Wood said. It produced quite a bit of smoke, but little flame.

"It's just an odd to have two, like hit that quick, and have to use so many people," Wood said.

There's no damage estimate available yet for either fire.

Bergen, Stafford and Caledonia also responded to the Lent Avenue fire.

The response to Pavilion also included Stafford, Bethany and Alexander along with the Office of Emergency Management.

Town of Batavia was asked to stand in at Stafford's fire hall.

Previously: 

• Smoke coming from roof of Le Roy Plastics on Lent Avenue
• Apartment complex ablaze on Starr Road in Pavilion

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When I left Batavia High School, where the Genesee Symphony Orchestra was rehearsing last evening, I spotted Ladder 15 over at Dwyer Stadium, so I drove over and found firefighters there doing some training.

It was the first official rehearsal Monday night for S. Shade Zajac as the new conductor and musical director for the Genesee Symphony Orchestra.

The season opens Oct. 16 with a concert at St. James Episcopal Church, Batavia. The concert will also feature winners from the GSO young artists competition, Jackie Hager, cello, and Jarod Yap, piano. The program includes: "Shortcut Home," Dana Willson; Concerto in D Minor, Lalo; Concerto in A Minor, Schumann; and "Scheherazade" by Rimsky-Korsako.

Tickets are on sale now through GeneseeSymphony.com. 

From our news partner, 13WHAM.

UPDATED 8:50 a.m.

The 25-year-old man from South Korea whose body was found in the lake at DeWitt Recreation Area on Labor Day went by the name locally of Kevin.

His maiden name was Kim.

According to Det. Todd Crossett, Kyeongseop Woodhams lived in Genesee County and his only family in the United States was his husband. He has not been identified.

His husband reported him as missing to the State Police sometime Saturday, according to Det. Todd Crossett.

The cause of death has not been determined. Investigators are waiting on the results of toxicology tests, which could take a couple of months.

Woodhams was identified first by a person at the scene when his body was found shortly before 9 a.m., Sept. 5. His identity was confirmed with his visa, according to Crossett.

There were items found at the scene, including fishing gear, but Crossett did not specify what other items might have been found. (CORRECTION: We missed the word "not" in the e-mail message from Crossett. We apologize for the error).

Crossett said Woodhams was last seen late Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Anybody with information that may assist in the investigation is asked to contact Crossett at (585) 345-6353.

The young man whose body was found on Labor Day in the lake at DeWitt Recreation Area has been identified by police as 25-year-old Kyeongseop Woodhams.

Woodhams is originally from South Korea and notification of the next of kin required the assistance of Sen. Charles Schumer's office.

The cause of death has not yet been determined and investigators are awaiting results from toxicology tests to see if that provides any clues.

There were no signs of trauma.

Investigators are asking that anybody who may have seen Woodhams between Sept. 3 and Sept. 5 to contact Det. Todd Crossett at (585) 345-6353.

The park opened at 6 a.m. on Labor Day and a fisherman discovered Woodham's body at 8:54 a.m. and immediately called police.

The body was partially submerged. 

A scuba team searched the area where the body was found, in the southeast corner of the lake, behind the land bridge created by historically low water levels, but investigators have not revealed if any items of interest were located.

No further information has been released about Woodhams.

The future, if not the present, of all aspects of work and life is digital and connected, and to help ensure students are ready to keep pace with a fast-changing world, the City School District is investing in the equipment and infrastructure to help kids succeed.

This morning, Batavia High School began handing out Chromebooks to students.

Chromebooks, running a browser-based operating system from Google, will give students instant access to the world, their teachers, and their classmates as well as provide a suite of software tools they can use for research, study and creation. 

"Whether going on to college or the world of work, you have to know how to gather information, analyze it and interpret it and we're going to be able to help our kids do that at a much higher level," said Superintendent Chris Dailey.

The overall experience of using digital devices will make academic life at Batavia HS more like what students will experience in college, so Dailey thinks those students who continue their education will be better prepared.

"By giving kid a college experience at an early age, when they’re going on, whether it’s to the world of work, military or college, they are on par, if not above, everybody else in our region," Dailey said.

The experience begins in elementary school where students have also been assigned Chromebooks and students participate in classes, such as the one that teaches keyboard skills to students at Jackson Elementary using games for lessons and practice.

The Chromebook rollout culminated in the three-year planning an implementation process that included upgrades to the Wi-Fi network at the high school.

Daily praised IT director Jeff McKinney and his staff.

Students will also be able to take classes in repairing the computers, which will give them, Dailey said, another level of understanding about technology as well as better equip them for their future in work or academics. 

The program is being paid for entirely within the school district's regular budgeting process because there are also cost savings associated with it, such as a reduction in costs for laptops and desktops. 

"A traditional history textbook cost more than these devices, so we can now get that history textbook online, plus all the others, for significantly less than before," Dailey said.

Dailey said he's also well aware that the future of work is based on technology and students need to be prepared for that new world, which in many ways has already changed dramatically.

"My father-in-law owns a printing business and where they used to have eight guys running the press, now they have two and both of them are computer literate because they’re running a computer that is running the press," Dailey said. "Computers are changing everything."

Press release:

National Grid today announced that the company has invested approximately $300,000 through its 3-Phase Electric Power Incentive and Electric Capital program to help farms in the GLOW (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties) region retain and create new jobs. The grants will assist Stein Family Farms LLC, Udderly Better Acres LLC, Friendly Acres LLC and East View Farms Inc. with various redevelopment and expansion projects.

$100,000 was awarded to Stein Family Farms LLC, located in the town of Caledonia, to support expansion of the farm’s dairy operations and increase productive capacity through necessary electrical infrastructure updates. The project’s total capital investment is approximately $1.2 million, and will retain 11 jobs and create one new job.

Udderly Better Acres, located in Le Roy, received approximately $58,000 to support the upgrade of its current electrical operations from a single-phase system to a three-phase system, a required improvement for the building of an additional barn and lagoon pond with a pump system. With a capital investment totaling approximately $374,000, the project will result in the retention of three jobs and the creation of six new jobs.

Friendly Acres LLC, a dairy farm which milks more than 500 cows in the town of Attica, was awarded $86,000 to assist in expanding the farm’s dairy operations and increase capacity through a 3-phase power system, which will result in improved efficiency for its new milking herd facility. The project’s capital investment totals $4.2 million.

Lastly, East View Farms Inc., located in the town of Pavilion, received $100,000 for electrical upgrades to assist in the expansion of its dairy cattle herding operations. The project’s total capital investment is $2.8 million and will result in the retention of five jobs, as well as the creation of five new jobs.

“With these unique incentive programs, it is our goal to support small businesses throughout the region, especially agribusiness customers like these four farms, in dramatically reducing their electric costs and remaining competitive,” said Kenneth Kujawa, regional manager for National Grid. “Our continued investment into these types of projects plays a critical role in the retention and creation of new jobs in the GLOW region.”

National Grid’s 3-Phase Power Incentive Program provides grants of up to $50,000 to extend electric service to eligible customers. A 3-phase electric system provides an increased level of reliability and allows modern farm equipment to operate more efficiently. 

National Grid’s Electric Capital Investment Incentive Program provides funding to businesses to help offset costs associated with upgrading utility infrastructure to accommodate a business expansion or new construction project. Specifically, the program supports business attraction or expansion projects located in National Grid’s Upstate New York service territory.

Information about National Grid’s suite of economic programs is available at www.shovelready.com.

The Genesee Symphony Orchestra hosted a special performance in Batavia Saturday night at Vinyl Record Revival of the Asteria Quartet.

The quartet includes Shade Zajac, the GSO's new conductor and musical director, along with Evie Boughton on the viola, Kiram Rajamani and Leah McCarthy on violin.

The quartet performed Mozart’s 8th Quartet K. 168, Stostakovich’s 8th Quartet, and Zajac’s own composition, “Willard.”

Between each piece, the members took questions from the audiences about the pieces, the performance and the history of the music.

The evening including a wine tasting hosted by Chris Crocker, owner of the YNGodess Shop.