Vanessa's Lasting Legacy and Independent Living of the Genesee Region hosted Lucky Paws Vendor Show at Batavia's City Centre Mall on Saturday as a fundraiser.
Vanessa's Lasting Legacy provides assistance to veteran, disabled, elderly, and homeless cat and dog owners so they can keep and care for their pets.
There were 40+ baskets up for a raffle, along with more than 70 vendors.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Edmund Acres, LLC, a participant for the past 12 years with Genesee County Soil and Water and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, was honored on Saturday night in Alexander as Conservation Farm of the Year.
Located in Le Roy, Edmund Acres is owned by Nate Edmund. It is a grain crop farm that grows corn, soybeans, and wheat on over 1,000 acres.
Edmund has worked with Soil and Water on best management practices for soil health, with a focus on reducing tillage through strip-till and no-till practices and improving soil organic matter with cover cropping. Edmund also follows an integrated pest management plan and a nutrient management plan.
The Celebrate Ag Dinner was served at the Alexander Fire Hall and featured local products from:
Photos by Melissa Brooks
Sherman came into the Class D Far West Regional Champion Game in Girls Basketball with a record of 21-1, among the best records in the state.
But not better than the undefeated Elba Lancers, who remain perfect on the season after Saturday's win, 54-48, propelling them to New York's Final Four Tournament at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy starting on Thursday.
The overtime win gives the #1 ranked Lancers a 23-0 record.
Near the end of the third quarter, Elba trailed Sherman by 10 points but charged back, carried by Brea Smith, who scored 13 points in the final 12 minutes.
Elba took a 42-39 lead, but Sherman hit a buzzer-beater to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Scoring for Elba:
This will be the Lancer's second consecutive Final Four appearance. They face Northville at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. With a win, they would play for the championship on Friday. This will be a chance for Elba to settle a score with Northville, who knocked Elba out of the Final Four last year, 42-34.
Photos by Debra Reilly.
Lisa M. Fox, 53, of Batavia, is charged with assault 3rd, criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd and criminal use of drug paraphernalia 2nd. Fox allegedly caused an injury during a fight with another person on Feb. 6. While being processed at the Genesee County Jail, Fox was allegedly found in possession of narcotics. She was arraigned and held at the Genesee County Jail.
Donnie Armstrong, 52, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd and criminal use of drug paraphernalia. Armstrong was stopped on Feb. 5 on Law Street by members of the Batavia Police NET Unit. A K-9 was deployed. Narcotics were allegedly located in the vehicle. Armstrong was arraigned in City Court and held.
Charles P. Stevens, 36, of Batavia, and Eric J. Flowers, 37, of Batavia, are charged with criminal mischief 3rd. Stevens and Flowers are accused of intentionally damaging another person's vehicle on an unspecified date. They were issued appearance tickets.
Eric J. Flowers, 37, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th, possession of stolen property 3rd, and aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd. Flowers was arrested on Feb. 5 following an investigation into a stolen utility trailer. He was arraigned in City Court and jailed without bail.
Mark W. McWethy, 57, of Batavia, is charged with DWAI Drugs, criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd, criminal possession of a controlled substance 4th, and aggravated unlicensed operation 1st. McWethy was charged following a welfare check on Jan. 29 at a location on Ellicott Street, Batavia. He was arraigned and jailed.
Martin J. Rodgers, 40, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 1st. Rodgers allegedly violated an order of protection on Jan. 28. He was arraigned and released.
Tammy J. Lord, 48, of Batavia, is charged with burglary 3rd and grand larceny 3rd. Lord allegedly illegally entered a business on Liberty Street on Dec. 22 and stole properly. She was arrested on Jan. 21, arraigned in City Court, and released.
Carissa J. Visalli, 35, of Batavia, was arrested on Feb. 23 on a warrant. She allegedly failed to appear in court on a traffic ticket. She was arraigned and released.
Inge A. Stack, 55, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. Stack is accused of hitting another person in the face during a fight on Pringle Avenue. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Julie L. Dutton, 29, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Dutton was arrested on Feb. 2, accused of stealing merchandise from Dollar General. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Brandie M. Sumeriski, 29, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. Sumeriski is accused of slapping another person during an argument on Feb. 17 on State Street, Batavia. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Jamesha N. Wilson, 30, of Rochester, was arrested on Feb. 18 on a warrant. Wilson allegedly failed to appear in court on a traffic ticket. She was arraigned in City Court and released.
Guillermo Dediego-Reyes, 55, of Batavia, was arrested on Feb. 14 as a fugitive from justice. Dediego-Reyes was wanted on warrants out of Ohio. He was arraigned and held for extradition.
Curt A. Buchinger, 32, of Batavia, is charged with theft of services. Buchinger was arrested on Feb. 15, accused of running an extension cord from another property into his home. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Colleen M. Hutchinson, 50, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of controlled substance 7th. Hutchinson was stopped on Dec. 9 by a Batavia patrol officer and allegedly found in possession of narcotics. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Alicia M. Lyons, 45, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 1st and menacing 3rd. Lyons is accused of violating an order of protection on Feb. 3 by physically menacing another person. She was issued an appearance ticket. She was arrested again on Feb. 7 and charged with criminal contempt 1st and harassment 2nd.
Kim M Mobley, 62, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Mobley is accused of shoplifting on Feb. 11 from Aldi. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Richard J Burdick, 46, and Charles P. Stevens, 36, (no communities provided) are charged with assault 3rd. Burdick and Stevens are accused of injuring another person during a fight on South Main Street, Batavia. They were both issued appearance tickets.
Jena A. Defazio, 27, of Batavia, was arrested on Feb. 4 on a warrant. Defazio was issued a traffic ticket on Jan. 8 and allegedly failed to appear in court. Defazio was arraigned and released.
Courtney H. Kelley, 37, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Kelley is accused of shoplifting on Feb. 2 from Aldi. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Shawn M. Twardowski, 42, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. Twardowski allegedly punched another person in the head on Feb. 2 during a fight on Highland Park. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Erin M. Klein, 38, of Cheektowaga, is charged with DWI. Klein was allegedly involved in a motor vehicle accident on Jan. 31 and an undisclosed location. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Roseann Cooper, 55, of Stafford, was arrested on Jan. 31 on a warrant. Cooper allegedly failed to appear on a traffic ticket issued on Jan. 4. She was arraigned and released.
Julie A. Earle, 50, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Earle is accused of shoplifting from Tops on Jan. 29. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Takari C. Blue, 23, of Batavia, is charged with DWI. Blue was stopped by a Batavia patrol officer on Jan. 31 at an undisclosed location. She was issued traffic tickets and released.
Tammy J. Dean, 54, of Alexander, is charged with DWAI drugs. Dean was reportedly involved in a single-vehicle accident on Sept. 20. He was arrested on Jan. 27, arraigned in City Court, and released.
Jaequele M. Tomlin, 30, of Batavia, turned himself in on a warrant issued following an investigation into an incident on March 26. Tomlin was allegedly found in possession of cocaine. He was arraigned and released.
Douglas G. Goodwin, Jr., 33, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Goodwin is accused of violating an order of protection. He was arrested on Jan. 7, issued an appearance ticket and released.
Brittany L. Froman, 34, of Rochester, was arrested on a warrant on Jan. 23. Froman allegedly failed to appear on narcotics charge stemming from a traffic stop on June 12. She was arraigned in City Court and released.
Kimberly S. Snyder, 48, of Geneseo, was arrested on a warrant and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Snyder was allegedly found in possession of narcotics on Oct. 29. She was arraigned in City Court and released.
John W. Clack, 66, of Batavia, is charged with criminal tampering 3rd. Clack is accused of overturning another person's motorized scooter. He was arrested on Jan. 22. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Troy W. Horton, 60, of Le Roy, is charged with DWI. Horton was stopped after employees at Taco Bell called police and reported a possible intoxicated driver. Horton was issued an appearance ticket.
Catherine R. Bater, 44, of Batavia, is charged with attempted petit larceny. Bater was arrested on Jan. 25, accused of attempting to transfer money from another person's account into her Cash App. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Ronnie J. Sumeriski, 42, of Batavia, is charged with criminal tampering 3rd. Sumeriski is accused of taking the license plate off of another person's vehicle and throwing it under another car. He was also arrested on two open warrants. He was arraigned in City Court and released under supervision.
David R. Bowen, 83, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. Bowen is accused of hitting another person during a fight on Mill Street, Batavia. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Bill A. Thomas, 65, of Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass 3rd. Thomas was found inside the City Centre Mall on Feb. 27 after previously being barred from the property. He was issued an appearance ticket. He was arrested again the next day and charged with trespass after allegedly being found in the mall again.
Shannon H. Dick, 43, and John W. Biaselli, 56, both of Batavia, are charged with petit larceny. Dick and Biaselli are accused of stealing merchandise from Dollar General. They were issued appearance tickets.
Kimberly S. Snyder, 48, of Warsaw, was arrested on Feb. 27 on a warrant. Snyder allegedly failed to appear on a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. She was arraigned in City Court and released.
Tonisia R. Longhini, 32, of Alexander, is charged with DWI. Longhini was charged following a traffic stop on Feb. 22 on Walnut Street, Batavia, by a Batavia patrol officer. She was arraigned and released.
Rebecca Lee Harrington, 31, of Sweetland Road, Stafford, is charged with falsely reporting an incident. Harrington was arrested on March 11. She was released on an appearance ticket. No further details released.
At 2:26 a.m. on Friday, and lasting until 3:31 a.m., the moon slid fully into the Earth's shadow, creating a lunar eclipse called a blood-red moon.
The eclipse started at 11:57 p.m. on Thursday and lasted until 6 a.m. on Friday.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Charles Phillp Stevens, 36, of Clinton Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell and criminal possession of a narcotic drug. Stevens was allegedly found in possession of cocaine during a traffic stop at 12:02 a.m. on March 7 on Lake Street Road, Le Roy. He was transported to the Genesee County Jail and held pending arraignment.
Clint Jeffery Towne, 44, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon 3rd. Towne was arrested at 9:15 p.m. on Feb. 28 on these charges following a prior on Feb. 21 on a separate incident. During a search of his property at a location on Phelps Road, Pembroke, he was allegedly found in possession of an assault weapon and multiple large-capacity magazines. He was incarcerated at the time and released back into the custody of the Genesee County Jail.
Justin A. Reisman, 36, of Water-Port Carlton Road, Carlton, is charged with tampering with physical evidence and obstructing governmental administration. Following a fatal motor vehicle accident on Tesnow Road at 8:04 p.m. on Feb. 23, Reisman allegedly entered the crime scene and remained unlawfully after being told to leave several times by sheriff's deputies. Reisman was transported to the Genesee County Jail for processing and released.
Jarad Michael Stalker, 40, of Indian Falls Road, Pembroke, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Stalker was arrested on Feb. 19 at 10:06 p.m. on a warrant and allegedly found with narcotics in a pocket of his clothing. He was processed at the Genesee County Jail and released.
Tammy M. O'Shea, 53, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th and improper or unsafe turn. O'Shea was stopped at 2:35 a.m. on Feb. 22 on East Main Street, Batavia, by Deputy Ryan Mullen. O'Shea was processed at the Genesee County Jail and released.
Thomas Cody Schell, 38, of South Pearl Street, Oakfield, is charged with DWI and speeding. Schell was stopped at 2:34 a.m. on March 8 on Clinton Street Road, Bergen, by Deputy Jacob Kipler. Schell was processed at the Genesee County Jail and released.
Bonnie Jane Moser, 52, of Bethany Center Road, Bethany, is charged with petit larceny. Moser is accused of shoplifting from a store on Veterans Memorial Drive at 7:20 p.m. on March 8 (the Sheriff's Office did not disclose the name of the store in the arrest report). Moser allegedly tried to steal six items valued at $95.12. She was processed at the Genesee County Jail and released.
Brandi Rose Hough, 29, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Hough was arrested following a Probation Department home visit at 10:15 a.m. on March 7. She was allegedly found in possession of methamphetamine.
Dale R. Williams, 41, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation, and driving without insurance. Williams was stopped at 12:50 a.m. on March 1 on Richmond Avenue in Batavia by Deputy Ayrton Blankenberg. He was processed at the Genesee County Jail and released.
Colleen Michell Hutchinson, 50, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th, driving a vehicle without a stop lamp, and uninspected motor vehicle. Hutchinson was stopped at 4:48 p.m. on March 3 by Deputy Jeremy McClellan. She was allegedly found in possession of crack cocaine and "narcotic equipment used to smoke crack cocaine." She was issued an appearance ticket and released.
Rashad Tariq Cordell, 25, of State Street Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property 3rd and aggravated unlicensed operation 2nd. Cordell is accused of possessing a stolen vehicle at 10 p.m. on Feb. 27 on Park Road, Batavia. He was held pending arraignment.
Robert Paul Leiser, 56, of Lockport Road, Alabama, is charged with hindering prosecution 3rd. Leiser is accused of allowing Marc C. Cook to live on his property while knowing Cook had active felony warrants. Leiser was transported to the Genesee County Jail for processing and released.
Dana Lee Powers, 54, of Prestige Xing, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th, aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd, and operating a vehicle without stop lamps. Powers was stopped at 12:21 a.m. on Feb. 28 on Ellicott Street, Batavia, by Deputy Jacob Kipler. Powers was transported to the Genesee County Jail for processing and released.
Raymond James Dick, 60, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Also arrested was Sandra L. Marsceill. They were allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance while in a parking lot on Veterans Memorial Drive at 3:48 p.m. on Feb. 25. They were transported to the Genesee County Jail for processing and released.
A year after his life was taken while on duty, the badge number of Sgt. Thomas A. Sanfratello, GS-09, was retired from service in a memorial on Monday outside the Sheriff's Office on Park Road, Batavia.
Also honored were three members of the department who also lost their lives in the line of duty: Constable William H. Johnson, March 15, 1895; Corections Officer Raymond F. Thompson, May 30, 2002; and, Deputy Frank Bordonaro, July 8, 2014.
"The badge we wear is more than just a piece of metal," said Sheriff Joseph Graff. "It represents commitment, sacrifice, courage, honor, unwavering dedication to protecting and serving our community. It's a reminder of the trust that is placed in those who wear it. We honor these men as they've been pillars of strength and mentors to many, true embodiments of integrity and professionalism. Through countless challenges and moments of triumph, they have worn the badge with honor, putting the needs of others aside for themselves. Their impact goes far beyond the uniform. They have touched lives, provided comfort in difficult times and made our community a better, safer place."
Brian Thompson, a retired deputy and brother of Raymond Thompson, delivered the closing prayer.
"Let the light of Your countenance, oh God, shine upon the families of our departed comrades," Thompson prayed at his closing. "May we go from your strength to your strength. Strengthen us all in resolve and keep faith with all patriots, servants, and shields by fearlessly maintaining our liberties so nobly won and paid for by those who have gone on before us. Grant us your help, oh God, that the families here today and the officers and members of the Sheriff's Office and local departments and jurisdictions may valiantly fulfill their role to our country, our state, our county and our home to serve towards your purpose of the establishment of justice and peace."
Town of Batavia Fire held its annual awards and installation dinner on Saturday at Terry Hills.
At the start of the evening, the department held a moment of silence in remembrance of Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello, who died in the line of duty on March 10, 2024, shortly after then of last year's dinner. Town volunteers responded to Batavia Downs for that incident.
Line officers sworn in:
The department responded to 500 calls in 2024, including 233 fire alarms.
The Elba Lancers Girls Basketball season remains perfect, with a 54-26 win over Filmore on Saturday to capture the Section V Class D championship.
Sydney Reilly scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Lancers to victory.
Brea Smith scored 14 points.
Photos by Debra Reilly.
T.J. Woodward acquired West Main Wine & Spirits from Chris Blossom 2 1/2 years ago with an eye toward eventually moving into the retail space next door.
Now located at 343 West Main St., Batavia, the move has enabled Woodward to expand the shop's inventory and upgrade the store's appearance.
"We've added a lot of new products and expanded some of the lines," Woodward said on Saturday during the store's grand opening in the new location. "We've had an opportunity to grow, for sure, in a new space because it's two and a half or three times the size of the old one.
The move was slowed by red tape, Woodward said.
"It took forever because the state was really difficult to get everything lined up with the state as far as permits and then doing all the work," Woodward said. So, it took a lot longer than we thought, but finally, we got through all that paperwork."
Woodward owns the building, which was a key factor in his decision to purchase West Main Wine & Liquor.
"I wasn't necessarily looking to get into the liquor business as much as it was, I own the building, and Chris was looking to sell," Woodward said. "I thought it made sense to buy it. I knew that NAPA (auto parts) was eventually planning on moving out, so I figured it would be a good opportunity to take the liquor store and move it over."
Store hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The phone number is 585-344-2717.
Photos by Howard Owens
As more than a dozen sign-holding activists opposed to the idea looked on, the board of the Genesee County Economic Development Center voted unanimously to approve an incentive agreement with Stream U.S. Data Centers, LLC for the company to build a massive $6.3 billion facility on 60 acres at WNY STAMP.
After the vote, one woman said repeatedly, "Shame on you. Shame on you for your vote."
Outside the conference room, as GCEDC CEO Mark Masse walked back to his office, she yelled, "Shame on you Mark Masse."
Pete Zeliff, chairman of the GCEDC board of directors, said he thinks such reactions are over-the-top and the people protesting the project are not well informed.
"They haven't chosen to read all the reports," Zeliff told The Batavian after the meeting.
He's gotten a lot of emails about the project and he read the report on the objections raised at a Feb. 3 public hearing, he said.
For example, addressing concerns about the amount of water being used by a data center project, he said, "20,000 gallons a day of water is for toilets, for waste, it's not cooling or anything like that."
The advantage of Stream, also known as project Double Reed, is that it will only use a handful of backup generators that will only be used as necessary, far fewer than the other proposed projects, so the emissions will be minimal, he said.
He said he supported the project because of the revenue it will bring to the three affected taxing jurisdictions -- the town of Alabama, Oakfield-Alabama School District, and Genesee County.
The three jurisdictions will split $7 million in the first year alone.
U.S. Data Center's winning bid promises to pay at least 105% of the taxable value of the property. Of the course of the 25-year PILOT agreement, it will pay $128 million in fees (after the PILOT, the property will be taxed at its assessed value).
Those fees will be important to Genesee County, County Manager Matt Landers said to The Batavian after the meeting. The county has been wrestling with how to pay for a water project.
"We are dedicating 100% of that revenue towards phase three of the water project, and that's a project that has a potential price tag of $150 million," Landers said. "Whenever we have an opportunity to capture some dedicated revenue for a project like that, we will take advantage of it. So that is definitely something that is positive coming out of this."
Landers and Zeliff also both like the job creation aspect. While the jobs per acre of the project might be fewer than another project might generate, these jobs will pay on an average $89,000 each.
"Any job that we create is great," Landers said. "I know, as a community, as a county, we have to work on getting more housing so we can take advantage of all these jobs that are coming here. Looking around our business parks, it's pretty impressive to see how many jobs they have been able to create over the years. The challenge now is to make sure we have some housing for those jobs. I believe over 100 jobs are being created. That is good to see. I look forward to hopefully the next projects having even more jobs."
The local economy needs those 122 jobs, especially at that pay scale, Zeliff said.
"That's way above normal in Genesee County, Zeliff said. "There were people at the meeting talking about how they want their children to be able to walk through the refuge but this project is not going to affect the refuge. This is a project where their children can get a job when they're old enough to get a job."
Zeliff said the board and staff have done its due diligence on this project and he believes all of the environmental concerns of the opponents have been addressed.
"I really don't see a negative with the project," Zeliff said. "It's not as many jobs per acre, but they're good, well-paying jobs for the county of Genesee."
At Wednesday's WNY STAMP Committee meeting, Masse made the case for Stream Data Centers.
The water district project was part of his pitch.
"This project will help the county cover the shortfall of the water project," Masse said. "It will help maintain rates for all Genesee County residents for water. It will help the health and welfare of all county residents through the water project."
He also said the project is in line with DEC regulations. The noise levels are within the standards set by the environmental review process in 2012. The project is allowed under the 2012 site plan. There is no discharge of heated water. It won't affect the reliability of the power grid nor lead to an increase in rates. It has low air emissions. And, no wetlands will be impacted by the project.
Masse said it also uses far less water than the other two proposed projects.
It was also the only project with an agreement with a Fortune 500 company to lease 100 percent of the data center once it's operational.
"Rampart had promised the highest PILOT payment for three projects, but community members made it clear that money should not be the only factor taken into consideration for this process," Masse said to the committee. "Our job was to determine which project was the best for the community and STAMP, and based on the information provided to us by the three projects, Project Double Reed will have the smallest environmental impact and will best address concerns expressed by the Nation with respect to visual and noise impacts and with respect to local benefits."
The case for Double Reed is also made in the resolution approving the project.
The resolution states:
The agency has determined that the two other competing proposals are not the most advantageous to the State, and that it would be in the public interest to reject the proposals submitted by Potentia Holdings, LLC (hereinafter referred to as "Project Hydroscale") and Project Rampart, LLC (hereinafter referred to as "Project Rampart"), respectively,''' because, among other things, those proposals" prospective profitability is speculative and implementing either proposal is anticipated to yield adverse environmental impacts discussed herein.
GCEDC staff also found the owners of Project Double Reed easier to work with, that the planners demonstrated the greatest "good faith" effort throughout the application process. Project Hydroscale kept changing its proposal, according to the resolution, even after the deadline for changes.
The troubling aspect of Project Rampart's team, the proposal states, is threats of litigation and "other bad behavior trying to manipulate the review of the application."
The resolution states, "Project Rampart’s actions throughout the application review process have indicated that Project Rampart would be unable to have a productive relationship with the Agency and other STAMP stakeholders."
The resolution also states, "Project Double Reed is pledging the highest capital investment at $6.3 billion, with Project Hydroscale at $5.4 billion, and Project Rampart at $3.3 billion."
Project Double Reed pledged an $18 million purchase price for the 60 acres it will acquire.
While the PILOT agreement for Stream U.S. Data Centers is unusual in that the company will pay more in fees than it would in property taxes without a PILOT, the company is receiving an abatement on sales taxes for construction and equipment not to exceed $462,560,000 based on the first $5,782,000,000 invested.
That sales tax incentive is about 7% of the first year in fees it will pay to local taxing jurisdictions.
It will also receive a $9 million break on the mortgage recording tax, which wouldn't be charged without the purchase of the property.
Previously:
Jon Tesch is working in his dream job.
He's the proprietor of Uncle Jon's Diner at Hartshorn Road and Pearl Street Road in West Batavia. It's the former location of The Family Diner, which closed a year ago.
"I grew up right here in Hartshorn Road, right up the street from the restaurant," Tesch said. "I came here as a kid all the time with my grandparents. I worked here for a little bit for Brian and LeeAnn when they owned it previously, and it was always the most fun job I had. Ever since I was a little kid, I've always wanted to open a restaurant. So, it's always been a dream of mine to actually open this very place."
Uncle Jon's was a diner before and it's a diner now but Tesch said he has some ideas of his own to help draw people in.
This Easter, the Easter Bunny will visit and there will be an Easter egg hunt.
"I want to do an all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving and Christmas, too," he said.
So far, he said, the customer feedback has been encouraging.
"Everybody's been real happy, and we have a real great customer base and a lot of new customers every day who are becoming our regulars," Tesch said.
Who can't use a little stress relief these days?
East Pembroke resident Don Thomas is here to help. His recently released album (CD and streaming) is his ninth, and like all prior releases, it's all acoustic guitar instrumentals with an emphasis on melody.
"I'm very excited about it," Thomas said about the new release, Sunset. "I like the way it turned out. There was a lot of rewriting, re-recording coming down to the end. It's meant to be another chill pill in my catalog."
Thomas is from New Berlin, Wis., not far from Milwaukee, and has been a performing musician most of his life. He spent some time on the road with a band called Snapshot, mostly as the keyboard player, opening for acts such as Journey, REO Speedwagon and Cheap Trick.
"I still once in a while get to talk with Rick (Nielsen, of Cheap Trick)," Thomas said. "I haven't talked with Robin (Zander) in quite a long time. When they were still touring, I'd bump into him at the House of Guitars. Whenever they would come by, I'd make a point to be able go and say, 'Hi.'"
When Snapshot stopped touring, Thomas came to Western New York looking for work with bands in the area and wound up working in studios.
"I've been in studios for 50 years, working, producing people, recording people," Thomas said.
He ended up with a studio on Goodman Street in Rochester, a design and music studio.
"My wife came down with ovarian cancer, and we shifted gears on everything," Thomas said. "We moved back here to East Pembroke, near her family. At that time, I built a studio and started working on music here and with different groups and individuals in the area. I started recording my own music, which is this guitar style, which I say is stripped of style. It's a melody-driven finger style, peaceful guitar playing."
He said he wasn't sure what he was going to do with his music. He handed out a few CDs to friends and one of them said he should participate in a show at a museum in Rochester.
"It was basically a craft show and he says, 'Get a booth and sell CDs,' and I went, 'oh, okay,'" Thomas said. "At that point, I had one Christmas CD, and I went to that show, got a six by six spot, and put two speakers on a table, and sold 350 CDs in two days."
That set Thomas and his wife on a path of traveling the country, particularly in the northeast and south, visiting trade shows, craft shows, vendor shows, selling his CDs.
He did that for 20 years. Then COVID-19 hit.
"We came home to care for our two mothers, and this is what we've been doing since 2020, so in between arriving at home and readjusting at home, in between, all that is where I recorded this new CD."
With all that going on, recording this CD took a bit longer than his prior albums.
"This CD marks another expression of style and is very carefully meant to entertain lightly," Thomas said.
The title of the new album is "Sunset," with a photo of an ocean sunset on the cover, which sums up the album nicely - music to carry you off to a warm, breezy, late afternoon along on a beach.
"My catalog is completely guitar instrumentals," Thomas said, though he is working on a larger project that involves a band and vocals.
"It's new material, and I have been working on this project for about six years, trying not to sound like everything else on the market," Thomas said. 'I have a fresh approach."
The new CD is streaming on Spotify and Apple Music. Thomas also has CDs for sale. Links to the streaming platforms and CD purchases can be found at donthomas.com.
The high school musical version of The Wizard of Oz has all the elements of the classic tale of dreams and wishes and a newfound appreciation for home and family.
Le Roy Jr./Sr. High presents the L. Frank Baum classic this weekend in three performances.
The musical version of The Wizard of Oz follows the tale of Dorothy Gale, a young girl from Kansas who dreams of adventure beyond her mundane life.
Swept away by a tornado, Dorothy lands in the magical land of Oz, where she kills the Wicked Witch of the East and frees the Munchkins.
Guided by Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, Dorothy embarks on a journey along the Yellow Brick Road to find the Wizard of Oz, who she hopes can help her return home. Along the way, she meets a Scarecrow seeking a brain, a Tin Man wanting a heart, and a Cowardly Lion desiring courage.
Together, they face challenges from the Wicked Witch of the West and ultimately discover that the Wizard is a humbug, but Dorothy learns the true power to return home lies within herself. With a newfound appreciation for her life, Dorothy clicks the heels of her magical ruby slippers and says, “There’s no place like home,” returning to her family and friends in Kansas.
All three performances this week are at 7 p.m., Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Tickets are $13 at the door for adults and $12 for students and seniors. Tickets can also be purchased online at a slight discount.
Photos by Howard Owens.
After averaging 13 points per game in 2023/24 for Oakfield-Alabama, Gavin Armbrewster had high hopes for his senior hoops season, says his coach Ryan Stehlar.
Then he suffered a complete tear of his ACL during the 2024 football season.
Rather than undergo surgery, Armbrewster decided to tough it out, try to help his team and compete in 2024/25.
"Although this injury happened, he still wanted to end his basketball career on his own terms, trying what he could," Stehlar said in an email calling attention to the point guard's efforts this season for the Hornets.
"He missed four total games out of 22 due to his leg giving out at practice and needing time to recover to play again," Stehlar said. "This happened a night before a game, and he still elected to play the next game in a ton of discomfort because he didn't want to let the team down."
Here are the highlights of Armbrewster's senior season, Stehlar said. p
"In his last six games, including sectionals, he averaged double digits in points, averaging a PPG of 16.8," Stehlar said. "He hit 30 total 3-pointers and even had a game where he hit 6. He was our leader in this category for the season and one of our best free-throw shooters."
Stehler called Armbrewster "a great kid."
"(He) did something I have never seen in my 17 years of coaching. He showed amazing poise each night, learned how to play differently, never wanted to let his teammates down, but, more importantly, persevered under extremely difficult circumstances. "
Photos by Jordyn Tobolski
Last week, The Batavian met with Mark Masse, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Council to ask him to respond to some of the issues raised at a public hearing on potential incentives for construction of a data center in WNY STAMP.
The public hearing was held on Feb. 3 in the town of Alabama.
More than two dozen people spoke, raising a range of objections to the construction of a data center on the site.
On Thursday, the GCEDC board may consider whether one of three potential projects -- from STREAM U.S. Data Centers, LLC, Project Rampart, LLC, or Potentia Holdings, LLC -- should be welcomed into the technology park.
Q. We asked Masse to respond to the appearance that the data center projects don't seem to generate as many jobs per square foot as a project like Edwards Vaccum.
Masse: "I think if you look at the average salary, I think these jobs are in the triple digits, $100,000 average, $80,000 to $100,000. With the way technology is going in AI, I think that those are high-value, high-technology jobs. Now, are those the number of jobs that we would like to see? And again, all of these applicants are very conservative on their numbers, because they're concerned about clawback and not meeting numbers. So our anticipation is they would come in higher than what they pledged, but what they pledged is a number that they feel is easily achievable for them. And data centers were proposed way back in 2012 as one of the original uses at the site, along with all of the other advanced manufacturing when we did the technology districts.
Q. Data centers have been controversial in other communities. People mentioned North Tonawanda. Have you looked at those data centers and how they've been received in those communities, and whether that's a concern for you?
Masse: "I think it really depends upon a lot of variety of factors. So our board has been very clear that they don't want any crypto or any bitcoin, absolutely none. And if you look at a lot of the louder, noisier ones, they tend to be the crypto Bitcoin operations. So we would actually put into the documents that if we come to find out you're doing Bitcoin or crypto, we would terminate benefits and claw back. And that clawback would obviously include a very significant sales tax exemption, so we feel pretty good about the penalties that would be in place, but our board's been adamant that we don't want crypto in that technology has also come a long way. And I don't think the building in Tonawanda was originally built as a data center. It was an adaptive reuse. So the facility that they're going to be building (in STAMP) is going to be brand new. It'll have all of the lessons learned from previous projects, such as noise mitigation and things like that. So we anticipate it to fit within the parameters of what was analyzed for the EIS, and we would anticipate them to propose and follow through on any potential mitigation that we would suggest for noise or that the town board planning board may suggest for noise. If we decide to go through our board would decide on either one or none. I think there's no desire to do more than one data center at STAMP."
Q. What about excessive greenhouse gas emissions?
Masse: "Again, we've done our analysis on the air emission side of that. We're following all of the permitting requirements by the DEC. The GCEDC does not meet the definition of a state agency under the CLCPA guidelines, but we do an analysis for that under the CLCPA, and the DEC would also do an analysis of that if a company were to move forward with air permitting. So we feel that it's within the parameters that would have been previously analyzed under the EIS, and that any of those air emissions would be permitted through the DEC process."
Q. One speaker spoke about hydrology in the region, in the wetlands and surrounding areas. What are the concerns there that you are looking at? What is your response?
Masse: "Again, the sanitary sewer would be force main discharged into the village of Oakfield wastewater treatment facility where it would be treated and discharged. Any on-site stormwater would be captured on-site. The DEC requirements for that are that the water can't flow off of the site at any greater rate after development than it did before development, so any cause concerns for flooding or things like that wouldn't happen. And they do enforce bioswales, green infrastructure, and things like that to ensure that the water quality on site is maintained. If there is runoff from parking lots or things like that, that it's contained on-site and treated on site before any of that would be potentially discharged."
Q. A letter read at the hearing stated that the project contradicts New York State's international commitments to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and long-term stewardship of the wetlands. Any response?
Masse: "So again, everybody seems to be talking about the wetlands on site, as if they are like a wildlife refuge. This is agricultural land that has been farmed for a number of years. Our EIS originally proposed only impacting, I think, nine acres of wetlands, and then when we revised it. We're down to six, and they are classified as wetlands. But if you go out there, a lot of them are just drainage ditches through fields, a depressed area in a field. That's not year-round; they dry out, so I don't understand. And same thing when they talk about like pristine habitat. It's been farm fields. It's been farmed. It hasn't been good habitat. They rotate crops. Many of the crops there are not what the birds would use to do their hunting. So again, it's been farm fields for over 200 years. We do comply with all regulations that are out there. We've had a jurisdictional determination done between Army Corps as far as what wetlands they take jurisdiction over. We're complying with all of those. That was last updated in 2023, I think, and they're good for five years. I know the state regs are changing where they're going to drop their jurisdiction to anything greater than seven acres, but that doesn't affect what we're doing on-site. So, again, I understand their concerns, but I just don't think they understand the land that's out there and what it really is."
Q. People mentioned the Big Woods (on the reservation). Does that the neighbor the site, or is it just close by?
"If you look on the map there, you see the power line kind of rerouted. The yellow area is 310 acres; if you go directly to the west at the edge of that line, that is the Big Wood. So that power line reroute, there'll be no development to the west of that. That's a 115 kV line, and we rerouted it that way to help provide a visual buffer so you can't go past that, so to speak. And as part of our agreement, the settlement agreement with the nation, we did provide for the green area, basically, aside from that 80 acres on the south, the majority of that green area there is a buffer area and wetlands that are basically not going to be touched, so that's just going to be grown forever wild."
Q. There was a statement that a data center will consume 200 megawatts of electricity annually, training the regional system, and the center would use 800,000 gallons of fresh water daily. Are those numbers accurate? Are those legitimate concerns?
Masse: "As far as the power goes, it's not going to strain the system. Anybody in New York State who tries to draw down more than 10 megawatts off of any power line anywhere is required to undertake a study with a New York independent system operator, where they will take your request and they will do an analysis of the entire grid and bring in all the operators, so National Grid. RG&E NYSEG, NextEra, and they'll run a model to say, if you were to draw X amount of megawatts off, how does that affect everything in the system? And if it requires some improvements in what they call remote ends or other substations before you draw down the power. Those improvements have to be made. So we did two different studies, each one for 300 megawatts, and it took us about four to five years to get through that study. So the NYISO has given us, I think, there was $6 million of potential improvements at a station up in Rochester, and that was it for us to get the 600 megawatts. So, according to the NYISO and the study they've run, there is no degradation or problem on the overall grid to draw down 600 megawatts. Those studies are all being done in conjunction with a lot of solar projects because they're trying to put power on the lines while we're trying to draw it off. So, all of those are being taken into consideration across the state in various studies at various times. So as far as the power not being available, it's there. The NYISO has confirmed it for us. And as far as causing issues on the grid, it will not.
"As for us, the 800,000 gallons per day of water, that was what one applicant put in with their first application. After reviewing and discussing with them, they came back with a revised, I think, 30,000 gallons per day. So, all three of them are probably between 20,000 and 30,000 gallons per day of water, which is not a significant use. A lot of them are going with closed-loop cooling systems. The ambient air temperature here obviously is very helpful for them to be able to use air for cooling."
Q. Evelyn Wackett brought up threatened species, the short-eared owl, northern Harrier Hawk, monarch butterfly and bog turtles, any threats to these species?
Masse: "We did receive what's called a part 182 incidental take permit. We did propose a net conservation benefit. So, we created 58 acres of grassland habitat on the site that'll be maintained in perpetuity. Part of that will be a 33 acre site that'll be turned over to the DEC to be merged into the John White game farm, as far as the others, they were not identified in any of the studies we've done. I do know that as part of the construction of the substation, there is a berm there, and I've talked to our environmental company about using that berm as a pollinator field, specifically to help monarch butterflies and other pollinators. It'll also help us maintain that berm and also give it more coverage on that as well."
Q. One of the more dramatic moments, Kristen Moser, with her recording from in the Big Woods of birds and then a truck going by. What do you say to that?
Masse: "Number one, it's hard because I don't know her data points, right? I don't know where you were when you did the recording or what time of day. It's hard to say any of that. I mean, if you go to (Route) 77, there's heavy truck traffic on 77 all day long, coming up and down that road. So there's not much I could really comment on that without knowing more details about where those recordings were taken and what the time was and the distances involved."
Q. I think she's equating the truck traffic that's there for construction with -- and we've kind of discussed already -- the sound issue of the plants.
Masse: "My question would be, I don't know where she was when she recorded the truck traffic. That's the point. If she was in the Big Woods, I doubt it because all truck traffic right now comes in off STAMP Drive and then goes right down the hammerhead to the Edwards site. You know, the town has received some complaints from some truck traffic coming down the north end of Crosby. I think those were mainly concrete trucks or gravel trucks coming from Orleans County down Salt Works Road. So the town made sure that they've got to come around and come in off a 77."
Q. More than one speaker questioned whether public funds should e used to incentivize uncertain benefits, without first conducting an independent economic analysis of costs and benefits. Response?
Masse: "First of all, this is a common misconception. Public funds are not being invested in this. Companies do not receive cash. They receive abatements of taxes that they would normally pay. In this particular case, two of the three data centers would be paying about 105% to 110% of the property tax rate under a pilot. They would get a PILOT, but they would be paying more than market rate for what the property taxes are. The significant abatement is the sales tax exemption. Now, what people probably also don't realize is that in 2012, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued an opinion that servers are tax-exempt from sales tax. If I think something along the lines of, if a company is using the internet, broadband is part of it. So basically, that was done to, I think, attract the Yahoo facility up to Lockport. Now, if data centers start becoming extremely interested in New York State, there is a chance that the Department of Taxation and Finance could revise that opinion and say that servers are tax-exempt altogether, in which case it's a moot point. So my guess is that these companies would ask for the abatement, and then they would probably apply to the Department of Taxation and Finance for an opinion, and if the opinion comes back and says they're tax-exempt, then really all we've given up is a mortgage tax exemption to get somebody to pay 110 or 105% property taxes on the site."
Q. They're paying 110% of the property tax rate?
Masse: "We do a fixed dollar pilot, so we calculate based on the square footage and choose a rate per square foot. We actually had the companies make us their offers. So they independently submitted their final investment offers, and it was calculated on a per square foot basis, times the square footage. And then there was, and I think some of them had an escalation rate every year, whether it was two, two and a half percent, something like that. So it would start at a fixed dollar, and then it would go up after that. So when we do a fixed dollar pilot, they pay the dollar value in the pilot. It's not 10% or 100% of whatever the current value is, which is what some of them are when they do the abatement."
Q. Okay, so, I guess I'm kind of confused. If they're paying more, they're paying what their taxes would be without the pilots ...
Masse: "They're paying more than what the taxes would be."
Q. Without a PILOT. Why would they do that?
Masse: "That's how much they want to come to the site, and that's why power is such a scarce resource for companies like this."
Q. I know it's been the practice for GCEDC to be the lead agency, but given the the wide range of environmental concerns here, is it best for GCEDC to be lead agency on this, or should somebody else be lead agency?
Masse: "We did the original EIS, and usually whoever was the lead agency for the EIS should remain as lead agent for that. We did all the original studies. We've done the appropriate ones. And again, we're required as lead agency to send out a notice every time we want to re-establish ourselves. It goes out to all interested, involved agencies, which includes the Army Corps of Engineers and the DEC. We receive comments from the Army Corps and DEC on any of the SEQR analyses we do; they get copies of it. So, there is appropriate other parties that have a significant investment and interest in the site, who are actively involved in the review and commenting on the overall environmental review."
Q. How does the general public have confidence that all the environmental concerns have been addressed through the SEQR process?
Masse: "We have at least 7,000 pages of studies, reports, documentation, comments from DEC, and responses to DEC. And again, at the end of the day, any company that wants to build there has to get a permit from the DEC. So if there were something inappropriate or something that wasn't there, then the DEC probably wouldn't issue a permit. We would hope we would hear if they had concerns before that. And again, they've expressed their comments on some of our SEQR things."
While Plug Power has paused construction of its $290 million green hydrogen plant at WNY STAMP it has continued to make full PILOT payments to local taxing jurisdictions, according to Mark Masse, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.
According to the tax agreement between GCEDC and Plug Power, the payments are $147,599 annually to Genesee County, $308,368 to school districts, and $42,805 to the town of Alabama.
The project has been on pause since January 2024, Masse said, and that pause led GCEDC to take over the construction of a $55 million 450-megawatt substation electrical transmission to STAMP projects, which Plug Power originally agreed to fund.
Empire State Development agreed to allow GCEDC to tap into a $56 million grant to help pay for the substation. The grant was intended for other infrastructure at STAMP. Masse said that once completed, the substation will generate fees for electric delivery that will enable GCEDC to recover the funds and return the expenditure to the grant account.
"As companies come online, they will buy into the substation on a per megawatt charge," Masse said. "So, we'll take the total cost of the station divided by 600 megawatts and come up with a per megawatt charge. So, for ballpark, if it's $200,000 a megawatt, somebody wants 200 megawatts, it's a $40 million pay-in to buy into the substation, which will enable us then to basically get that money back for New York State, so we can use that to pay for the substation, and then repurpose the FAST New York funds back for what we originally wanted to use them for on infrastructure."
Masse said he has no insight on what Plug's long-range plans are for the project.
Each year, projects that receive GCEDC assistance must submit Annual Performace Reports that detail the number of jobs created and the amount of capital investment.
"We summarize all of those. We share them with the board," Masse said. "The board reviews them every year, and then the board makes a determination, did they meet their job requirements? Do they have the insurance requirements? And where are they in that one plus three."
The "one plus three" means a project has one year to complete construction and three years to complete its job creation promise.
"Then the board would make a determination -- do we want to ask them to come in and explain anything? Do you want to move forward with a termination? Any of those things are always on the table," Masse said. "In Plug's case, they are current with all of their PILOT payments, and the payments they're making to the municipalities are significant, which is the other thing to balance in the whole piece of it as well."
Plug Power seems like a company very much in limbo. Its stock price has been hovering around a buck fifty for a few weeks and hasn't traded above $2, except briefly, for months. The company continues to get bad press over its inability to turn a profit, with one recent article noting Plug Power has lost $3.12 billion of other people's money since 2010.
An important potential path for Plug Power is producing more of the hydrogen it distributes. If ever completed, the WNY STAMP plant is expected to produce 45 metric tons of green liquid hydrogen daily. It would be fair the most product plant under the company's control so its surprising that there is no clear indication that Plug intends to complete the plant.
Plug Power's representatives have never responded to The Batavian's requests for comment on the future of the plant.
Just before Donald Trump took office in January, the Plug Power secured a $1.7 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. After taking office, Trump froze DOE grants and loans for green energy.
In an interview with a site called Sherwood News, Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh said he's not worried about the stall in funding.
"I see that the DOE loan will be supported," Marsh said. "It’s a contract with the government. I’m not too worried; it’s not out of line with the goals of the Trump administration. So, you know, from a policy environment point of view, it feels hectic at the moment, but I’m really not that concerned that these things will all work themselves out."
The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce presented its 2024 honorees with their awards during a ceremony at Batavia Downs on Saturday night.
Profiles of each of this year's winners:
NOTE: This is the sixth of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. Tickets are still available for the event.
For the 4-H Critter Crew learning isn't just something that takes place in a book or through a lecture. It's hands-on. It's fun.
That certainly was the case this past week during the crew's monthly meeting at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Batavia where they made coffee cakes.
Why coffee cakes? Because this year's learning theme is rainforests and coffee and cinnamon both come from rainforests.
"It's a lot of fun, a lot more ingredients for us to explore," said Stephanee Surabian, founder and leader of the 4-H Critter Crew. "We'll be doing different projects involving, like, flamingos. We have an exotic pet guy coming in with snakes and reptiles geared more toward an educational rainforest theme. So it's a perfect pairing for what we're doing this year."
The Critter Crew is a service and educational club attached to the Cornell Cooperative Extension for younger age 5 to 18. It's being recognized this year by the Chamber of Commerce with a Special Service Recognition Award.
By the fall of 2022, Surabian and the children of the world had been through a lot. As she was preparing to give birth to her fourth child, she was diagnosed with cancer (she's in good health now), and it was also the final months of the pandemic. She figured kids needed activities to help them get out of the house and reconnect with people. She also thought 4-H could use a program that went beyond dealing with livestock.
"I was seeing a need for the kids to have just that normalcy again right after the peak of COVID," Surabian said.
The club is more than making things and learning about nature. The crew also focuses on serving the community.
For example, there is the reverse trick-or-treat in October, which involves visits to the Manor House. The kids dress up in costumes, entertain the residents, and hand out candy and other treats.
"It makes everyone feel young at heart and fills the hearts of those who are not able to be near their grandchildren," said Joseph Burke, one of the people who nominated Critter Crew for the service award.
They also have the Adopt a Grandparent program for the holidays when they deliver gift bags filled with essential items. They also hand out Christmas cookies and sing Christmas carols.
"It warms the hearts of everyone who is present," said Burke. "They do a great job of bringing smiles to the residents’ faces."
Surabian said they have an outreach program for widows on Valentine's Day. They create and deliver cards, picture frames, and other knick-knacks to nominated widows. They're planning their first Easter Bunny visit to the Manor House this spring.
Another project involves collecting expired food products and converting them to livestock feed. In the past year, they collected more than 200 pounds of food.
Last year, collectively, they performed more than 300 hours of community service.
"Having the kids make those community ties and hands-on relationships really bridges that gap," Surabian said. "When they get older, they'll already be very much integrated and blended into the community. So I think that's a big, big step in navigating life."
Craft projects include making birds wings (again, related to the rainforest theme), which they will wear in the Memorial Day Parade. There are also guest speakers scheduled.
On the fun side (that also includes learning) in the works for the club is a visit to the Wild Center, in Tupper Lake.
"My goal toward the end of the summer is to take an educational field trip to explore the tree tops to get a forest canopy perspective, maybe do some zip lining through the forest," said Surabian. "Then there are some underwater cavern tours with underground waterfalls, which some people don't know are in a rainforest, so I thought it would be perfect to mix with the crafting and baking and then that hands-on learning, too."
Surabian is originally from Arizona. Her husband is from Batavia. They have four children. She has an associates degree and was working toward her bachelor's when she was diagnosed with cancer.
"I kind of took a left turn and put all my focus and energy into volunteering," Surabian said. "I absolutely love being busy. I thrive on it. Prior to my volunteer work, I was a compliance officer, so I stayed very busy working and staffing nurses all over the country."
All four of her children, Gavin, 13, Morgan, 11, Kensley, 6, and Lincoln, 3, participate in Critter Crew.
She's clearly energized by working with the kids in the club and she said she loves it.
"I think my favorite is seeing how they engage with the elderly," Surabian said. "That is the most rewarding experience outside of the fun that they have. Actually, I lied. Okay, so the food, I'm sorry. I just reminded myself -- the food, I think, is probably the most fun because, surprisingly, I try to keep it very basic, but there's so many things that we've done that kids have never even tried before, so that is a whole level of fun for me, to be able to broaden their food horizons."
Photos by Howard Owens.
Anneka Pray, the 18-year-old Pembroke graduate who was critically injured a week ago in a motor vehicle accident near Syracuse, is making "amazing progress," according to Tracy Rudolph.
Rudolph is the organizer of a GoFundMe.com page set up to assist Pray and her family following the accident.
Pray, who has been blind since birth, sustained a traumatic brain injury.
Rudolph writes: "She was heavily sedated and minimally responsive last Friday. Today, she has been moved out of the ICU to a bed on the pediatric floor. Anneka is eating, drinking, talking and walking. She will be transferred to neurology rehab next week. This progress is possible because of your prayers. Thank you for praying faithfully for Anneka's brain recovery. Please keep praying for recovery with her brain, fractured skull and carotid artery—blessings to all of you."
Previously: Pembroke graduate critically injured in Thruway accident near Syracuse
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