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It's an adrenaline rush to see one of his border collies racing through four jumps, grabbing a tennis ball and streaking back to him, said Hamburg resident Peter Russell, who was in Batavia on Saturday to compete in a biannual flyball competition at the Fairgrounds.

Flyball is a dog-racing sport. Teams are comprised of four dogs and four handlers. Each dog runs down a track, jumping over four hurdles, hitting a platform at the end of the track, which releases a tennis ball, and then the dog runs back through the hurdles with the ball. The race is a relay, so once the first dog returns, the next dog runs the next leg.

The sport was created in California in the late 1960s and has grown to international proportions.  

Russell is a member of the Buffalo Wings Flyball Team, which has won national championships.

More than 15 teams competed yesterday, with dogs and owners traveling to Batavia from throughout the Northeastern United States and Canada.

The exhibition hall at the fairgrounds on Saturday was a cacophony of yelps and yaps and a whir of flashing fur.

"I think people enjoy the sport because of how quick it is," Russell said. "Races come down to hundredths of a second."

It's also a social sport, said Cindy Henderson, a resident of Massachusetts and regional director for the North American Flyball Association.

"You're with four different people," Henderson said. "That's what's fun about it. You're working with a whole team of people. It's not like other sports where you're just one handler working with a dog. You're a team."

Each member of the team has a specific role. The lead dog needs to have stamina since false starts can mean multiple trips down the track before there's a legal start. There are the middle leg dogs who need to be fast and agile, and then there's the anchor dog, who ideally loves to race and has the competitive drive to overtake another dog if the team has fallen behind. There also needs to be a height dog. The height dog is the smallest dog on the team. The shorter the dog, the lower the hurdles for the team.

Russell and his wife own 13 border collies. Four of them are retired and nine of them race. They're also breeders.

Border collies are particularly well suited to the sport, Russell said.

"It gives them a job to do," he said. "Border collies are bred to herd sheep, so they need a job to do. Their job is to go get the ball and come back to you and tug on their toy. In essence, that's their job for the day. It gives them some mind stimulation, because it's a difficult sport to learn and master and it gives them the physical stimulation because they're running over four jumps, hitting a box, coming back, tugging on the tug when they get back to you."

Alissa Schwab, of Amherst, owns a Jack Russell terrier, the height dog for the Buffalo Wings.

"I got started because obedience training wasn't enough for Jack Russell terriers," Schwab said. "The Buffalo wings needed a fast height dog and they came to training and spotted him and he was hired."

She's been racing for seven years now and now owns three Jack Russells.

"It's great for my dogs," she said. "They look forward to it. The community of people from our region is just fantastic and the racing is good."

The owners enjoy the race. The dogs enjoy pleasing their masters and getting a treat at the end of the run, usually a tug on a rope, but maybe something a little more tasty.

"They like to be rewarded for doing things they love," Schwab said. "You're part of the reward. They want to come back to you."

Dozens and dozens of families passed through the St. Joseph Cemetery today to place flowers on the graves of loved ones who served in the military. Above, Adam Figlow adjusts a flag on the veterans marker for the grave of his grandfather Anthony LaFarnara, who served in the Army during World War II, while his son Noah looks on. Below, Adam with is father, Tony.

Laurie Napoleone speaks during the Awareness Ceremony on the second day of the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation Baseball Tournment.  The tournament has grown to a three-day event spread out over every available baseball field in Batavia.

The foundation has provided more than $170,000 in assistance to families with children dealing with medical issues. The foundation has also purchased a new scoreboard for the ball field at Williams Park, has donated more than $48,000 to pediatric cancer research and has pledged $50,000 to the Golisano Children's Hospital.

Michael Napoleone succumbed to Burkitts Lymphoma/Leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer, in 2006. Mark and Laurie Napoleone formed the foundation in response to the outpouring of support their family received from the community after Michael was diagnosed.

Genesee Pride AAU boys and girls basketball donated $350 players raised for the foundation.

The family of Kenny Hazlett. Hazlett was a longtime umpire and dedicated volunteer for the tournment who passed away. A sign on the backstop of the Little League field honoring his memory was unveiled during the ceremony.

David Pero speaking about Hazlett.

Unveiling the sign.

Chase Bordonaro received a Spirit of Michael Napoleone Award, along with Tony Piazza and Griffin Dellapenna (pictured below).

Veterans in attendance were invited to stand along the first base line during the playing of the National Anthem

Mary Valle and Paula Miller were at the Oak Street roundabout this morning planting flowers. The project is sponsored by Vibrant Batavia.

All of these local names, Dewey Sackett, Charles Votrie, James Hannah, Lee Kingdon, Willis Peck, Glenn Loomis, Florence Carney, John Arneth and many more. All young lives cut short in the War to End All Wars.

That was nearly 100 years ago. We may see their names on gravestones, or memorial markers or on honor rolls, but we know only the names. We don't know where they lived, where they worked, who they loved, what they dreamed or how they died.

They're war dead. That's what we know. So we honor them.

Former Le Roy resident Terry Krautwurst thought we should know more. We may read the names, but we shouldn't forget the people, so he has given us, residents of Genesee County, a gift -- a gift of remembrance.

For the past six years, Krautwurst has researched the war dead of Genesee County from World War I. He combed through newspaper articles and federal archives in St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., in an attempt to identify all of the World War I men and women from Genesee County who died while serving their country.

He's compiled biographies, complete with military service records, detailing those lives, lifted from newspapers and death records, concerning 78 people who died during the war while in uniform.

That's a longer honor roll than probably anybody ever really knew about.

It was discrepancies in honor rolls that prompted Kautwurst's research in the first place.

"In 2009, while researching the World War I career of my grandfather, Stanley Crocker, of Le Roy, I noticed that the number of names on honor roll lists of Genesee County war dead that had been published in area newspapers varied," Krautwurst said. "They varied not just in number, from 52 to 61, but also the names themselves varied."

Untangling the mystery of the lists became a passion for Krautwurst.

"It seemed only right and proper to set the record straight," Krautwurst said. "I decided to research and resolve the discrepancies and produce an updated and maybe more accurate list. I figured it would take me a few weeks."

Krauthwurst donated the research of his six-year-long research project to the Genesee County History Department last week.

"Terry has performed an invaluable service to the county," said Michael Eula, director of the history department. "This is a tremendous resource and I doubt it's going to be seen in many other counties around the country regarding the first World War."

The deeper Krautwurst dug, the more discrepancies he found, including misspelled names, incorrect dates, hometowns and military assignments.

He kept detailed files on each of the war dead and his records, and the stories he tells of each person, fills eight volumes that will be available to the public at the history department in County Building #2.

"This provides a wealth of primary source information to first and foremost family members who still may be still wondering what happened generations ago and researchers looking at the local impact of the first World War, so this is an incredibly rich and valuable addition to the county archives," Eula said.

Krautwurst photocopied more than 1,200 military documents, which in some cases, include eyewitness accounts of a soldier's death and letters from a fallen soldier's parents.

"Sometimes, when I opened a soldier's file, I found his dog tags, which I photographed," Krauthwurst said.

Flipping through the pages and reading Krautwurst's articles, you learn family histories, the schools that soldiers attended, where they worked before getting drafted or enlisting, what they did in their spare time and, importantly, how and where they died.

Some died in the fields of France or the hills of Italy. Some died in combat, others hours and days later after their mangled bodies were borne on a stretcher to some field hospital. Some died from disease and some died in accidents.

"What has caught my eye is the playing out locally of what historians have talked about for a long time regarding the first World War," Eula said. "For example, a number of deaths were not the result in combat. Somebody gets killed in an auto accident when they're training someplace in the country. It shows the complexity of the moment."

The archive, Krautwurst hopes, will help us know better the people behind the names who sacrificed everything in a war often remembered for its brutality and how it reshaped society.

"These people who gave so much were right on the edge of forgotten," Krautwurst said. "I just didn't want that to happen."

County Historian Michael Eula with the eight volume of World War I war dead compiled by Terry Krautwurst.

Press release:

As part of the 2015 agency performance goals, the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) announced the first of a series of outreach meetings to engage local taxing jurisdictions throughout the County about the various activities and programs and incentives offered by the GCEDC. 

On Tuesday, May 26, GCEDC President and CEO Steve Hyde will make a presentation at a joint meeting of the Town and Village of Bergen at the Bergen Town Hall on 10 Hunter St. in Bergen at 6:30 p.m. 

Among the topics for discussion will include development and business recruitment and expansion activities at the Apple Tree Acres. Among the businesses that currently operate out of Apple Tree Acres include Liberty Pumps, Leonard Bus Co. and Ad Tech. Hyde also will provide information about how payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) impact the tax base among other topics.

“As part of the 2015 goals the GCEDC Board of Directors identified at the beginning of this year, we will enhance our outreach efforts to taxing jurisdictions and stakeholders throughout Genesee County about our economic development activities,” Hyde said. “We are always striving to increase outreach to the stakeholders we serve and identity new ways in which we can expand the quality of our economic development programs and incentives.”

A letter shared with Judge Robert C. Noonan by District Attorney Lawrence Freidman makes it pretty clear, Kesean Shannon doesn't want to go to prison.

The jailhouse letter alerts a friend of his possible court dates and asks him to get a woman he knows in court for his appearance.

"Tell her to be ready just in case I have to run," Shannon reportedly wrote. "I need a gun for real."

After entering guilty pleas today to five of the counts against him -- four of them for sexual activity with women who were asleep -- Shannon faces a possible maximum prison term of 15 years.

The guilty pleas were to counts of first-degree attempted rape, first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree incest, first-degree sexual abuse and first degree criminal contempt.

In all, five women were victims of Shannon's crimes, including a blood relative and a woman identified in court today as his fiancée, and who is pregnant with his child.

That woman, whom he contacted in violation of an order of protection, leading to the criminal contempt charge (a felony because of a similar previous conviction), has been allowed to visit with Shannon in jail.

Friedman said his office objected to a City Court judge granting those visits, and even so, Friedman said, Shannon allegedly continuously violated the order of protection by writing letters to the woman.

"If this case had gone to the Grand Jury, we would have sought numerous criminal contempt charges against the defendant," Friedman told Noonan.

The discussion about Shannon's relationship with this woman came up after his attorney, Fred Rarick, asked Noonan not to extend the order of protection for the woman.

The woman does not fear Shannon, Rarick said, and wants to have contact with him.

Friedman argued that the order of protection should stay in place. He said he has a deposition from the woman where she says she does fear Shannon. The order of protection arises from a prior domestic violence case, Friedman said.

Noonan issued the order of protection, pending Shannon's sentencing, at which time, Noonan said, he would review any written request to forego an order of protection from the woman.

The reference to the gun came up while discussing Shannon's bail status.

Rarick sought a bail amount for his client pending his sentencing July 17.

Friedman cited the letter as well as the 22-year-old Shannon's criminal record, previous violations of court orders, the alleged ongoing disregard for the court order with his fiancée (today was the first time he heard of their plans to marry, Friedman said) as well as the potential lengthy prison term.

Noonan ordered Shannon held without bail.

In pleading guilty, Shannon admitted to attempting to rape a woman while she slept in June, 2014, and of sexually abusing women in 2012 while they slept, and of doing so again in October 2014.

City of Batavia firefighters have been busy with training much of the day, working on accident-scene response and patient extrication in the parking lot next to the fire hall.

Among those getting in more practice time, Matt Pillsbury, the newest member of the department. Originally, from Massachusetts, currently living in Chili, he will soon move to Batavia.

The Rotary Club of Batavia is hosting its annual hanging basket sale today outside the Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union. The sale runs until 5 p.m.

Pictured are Susie Boyce and Susan Schuler.

The Kiwanis Club of Batavia honored the Top 10 students at their weekly lunch today.

In addition to the Top 10 honorees, Bryce Rogers received the Outstanding Citizenship Award, and Music awards were given to Chelsea Mountain, Mason Battaglia and Lauren Dunn.

Here's bio information on each of the Top 10 students:

Samir Jain is the son of Dr. Lalit and Abha Jain of Batavia. Samir will be attending Cornell University at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Samir is one of 25 seniors out of 20,000 in Western New York to be recognized with First Team honors on Business First’s 2015 All-Western New York Academic Team. He is captain of the varsity soccer and tennis teams, a member of the champion scholastic bowl and math teams, and an attorney for the regional-finalist mock trial team. Samir participates in community service as a volunteer for Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership.

Katie Kesler is the daughter of Paul and Jana Kesler of Batavia. Katie will be attending Boston University in the fall to major in both Behavior and Health and Hispanic Language and Literature. She plans to attend graduate school to become an occupational therapist. Katie has been involved in Mr. Batavia, mock trial, student government, National Honor Society, Youth Court and jazz band. She was a scholar athlete on the varsity soccer team. She attends Grace Baptist Church where she helps out in the nursery and in a preschool class. Katie especially enjoys volunteering at YMCA Challenger Sports.

Dylan Beckman is the son of Anthony and Jolene Beckman. He is attending the University of Rochester with an intended major of Optical Engineering. He plans to get some experience in the field, and then return to school to obtain a graduate degree in the field and eventually become an Optical Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs. Dylan is vice president of his class, he is a member of National Honor Society, Science Olympiad, Link Crew, mock trial, and participated in this year’s Mr. Batavia Pageant, securing third place.

Brandon Smart is the son of Doug and Bernadette Smart of Batavia. Brandon received the Dean’s Scholarship to the University of Rochester and will be majoring in computer science to one day become a researcher on the quantum computer team at Google. He is a member of National Honor Society, treasurer of the senior class, regional finalist in the 2015 Science Olympiad competition and seven-year veteran of the championship math team.

Andrew Maniace is the son of Rick and Kathy Maniace of Batavia. Andrew received the Rensselaer Medal Scholarship, and will be attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy in the fall majoring in nuclear engineering. He is in National Honor Society, math team, Science Olympiad, a contributor to "Blue Canon," and was a contestant in Mr. Batavia. Andrew has been a three-season scholar athlete on varsity cross-country, indoor and outdoor track teams for the last four years.

Bryce Rogers is the son of Paula and Durin Rogers. Bryce will attend American University participating in their prestigious Scholars Program having received the Dean’s Scholarship. Bryce intends to dual-major in International Relations and Economics while concentrating in Foreign Policy and National Security. At BHS, Bryce is an active member of the mock trial team, National Honor Society, is the managing editor of BHS’ Literary Magazine, and band president. Bryce is active in his community serving on the Genesee County Youth Court and the County Youth Board as secretary. Bryce is also the AmeriCorps Program coordinator for the Batavia Summer Recreation program.

Emily DiBacco is the daughter of Michael and Mary Beth DiBacco of Batavia. Emily is president of National Honor Society, Student Ex-Officio to the Board of Education, an editor for the "Blue Canon" literary magazine, a Link Crew leader, and a committee head for the Mr. Batavia Pageant. She has also been a scholar athlete on the varsity swimming and diving team, as well as a member of the Board of Education’s Code of Conduct Committee. Emily will be attending the University of Pittsburgh with a double major in Business Administration and English, to pursue a career in publishing.

Rebecca Canale is the daughter of John and Cindy Canale of Batavia. Rebecca will be attending the University of Rochester in the fall majoring in Biology with a minor in Business in hopes of attending medical school to become a pediatrician. She is very involved in the school community, participating in varsity soccer, indoor and outdoor track, mock trial, student government, Tri-M Honor Society, National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, beauty shop quartet, chorus, Link Crew, and Mr. Batavia. Rebecca also participated in the Roswell Park Summer Research Program as an intern in the Cell Stress Biology department.

Brooke Leddon is the daughter of Shane and Crystal Leddon of Batavia. Brooke is attending SUNY Brockport and majoring in Political Science with a double minor in International Relations and pre-Law. Brooke has been a part of the varsity swimming and diving team since she was in seventh grade.  She has been the team captain for the past two years.  Brooke plans on continuing her diving career at Brockport in the fall.

Kristyn Mott is the daughter of Amy and Jamie Mott.  Kristyn received the Dean’s Scholarship along with the Horizon Scholarship and will be attending Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. She will be majoring in business of Art and Design. She plans to work in the advertising and marketing community. Kristyn was a three-season scholar athlete for varsity soccer and indoor and outdoor track. She plans to continue pole vaulting with different local clubs while in college.

Curtis L. Williams, 34, of Central Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. The warrants were related to charges of aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, and 2nd. Williams was located walking on Ross Street and taken into custody. During the arrest, he was allegedly found in possession of cocaine. He was jailed on $3,000 bail or $6,000 bond.

Kevin Michael Lampman, 42, of Jackson Road, Holley, is charged with trespass. Lamp is accused of trespassing at Buttermilk Falls, Le Roy. Also arrested, Allyson Fraser Breon, 18, of Chili Riga Center Road, and a 17-year-old female of Westside Drive, North Chili.

Ashley R. Keene, 27, of Woodstock Gardens, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Keene allegedly stole oxycodone from a family member. She was jailed on $5,000 bail or $10,000 bond.

Sarah M. Wilson, 31, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with violation of an order of protection. Wilson allegedly placed a phone call to a person in the Livingstone County Jail in violation of an order of protection.

Steve D. Holmwood, 20, of Angling Road, Corfu, is charged with possession of a hypodermic instrument and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Holmwood allegedly parked a vehicle on the grass at Williams Park. Upon investigation, he was allegedly found in possession of syringes and heroin.

Joseph William Freeman, 30, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with obstructing governmental administration, endangering the welfare of a child and disorderly conduct. Freeman was allegedly involved in a disturbance outside 4 Olyn Ave. at 11:17 p.m., Tuesday. No further details released. James Edward Wroten, 48, of Olyn Avenue, Batavia, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Scott Gage, director of the Genesee County Job Development Center, has a simple message for anybody looking for a job or a better job: come on down.

There are currently 400 job openings listed with the career center and not nearly enough applicants to fill them, Gage said.

Yes, many of the jobs are entry-level production jobs, but they're good paying jobs, Gage said. There's also a number of professional-level jobs available.

The recession-era fear people had about taking a stab at a new job at a chance for career advancement or higher pay has disappeared, Gage said. More people are looking to move up, which helps create openings for other workers and it's also the sign of a strong local job market.

"There are not a lot of job seekers coming through our doors," Gage said.

Info and photo submitted by Lauren Humphrey.

St. Joseph Catholic School students walked to meet sponsor pledges they raised in an effort to promote exercise and supplement funding for technology improvements.  The students have raised more than $3,000 to date and are still accepting donations. Visit our Web site, www.sjsbatavia.org  if you would like to make a donation online!

Batavia Little League has paid for a health permit, according to County Manager Jay Gsell.

Gsell said a VP with the league showed up at the County Health Department this morning and paid the fee, Gsell said.

The department had told league officials they couldn't sell pizza and hot dogs without a proper permit, which costs $175 per food stand.

The Holland Land Office Museum has replaced its decade-old banner with two new posters featuring Joseph Ellicott and Gen. Emory Upton.

The posters were created by Vinyl Sticks and sponsored by Ken Barrett Chevrolet and Cadillac.

Speaking of HLOM, June speakers:

Tuesday June 9th, 6 to 8 p.m., Genesee County Historian Michael Eula; Topic: Why do wars happen? Genesee County and the problems of human conflict 1775 – present

Friday June 12th, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Erica Wanecski; Topic: Health Resorts in the 19th Century

For more information call the Holland Land Office Museum, (585) 343-4727​ 

Press release:

Here is a fun and interesting way that you can assist your community -- by volunteering a few hours at the Genesee County Visitor Information Center. If you love our surrounding communities, enjoy helping people, and feel that you could be great ambassador for Genesee County, the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce is looking you.

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce will reopen the seasonal Visitor Information Center on Friday, June 5th. The center is located at 131 W. Main St. in Batavia and operates in the summer months to assist summer visitors.

The Chamber is currently looking for a few helpful residents to greet visitors and provide directions and area information to travelers at our visitor “booth,” which is located in the parking lot of the Holland Land Office Museum.  Our volunteers greet visitors, hand out maps, dining guides, provide directions, recommendations and more. 

Available shifts are:

• Saturdays from 1 to 3 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m.
• Sundays: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as every other Sunday 3 to 5 p.m.

If you are interested in a two- or three-hour shift, weekly or biweekly, please call Kelly Rapone (585) 343-7440, ext. 23, at the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

Photo by Howard Owens.

It's planter planting day in Downtown Batavia with volunteers from the Sun Catcher Garden Club of Batavia helping out. Above, Connie Moon and Barb Defazio take care of a planter at Main and Jackson.

Report from our news partner 13WHAM about the County Health Department requiring Batavia Little League to acquire a health permit to sell pizza and hot dogs.

Results from Tuesday's school budget vote for the Oakfield-Alabama Central School District: