Ginger is a bit lost, and maybe this kitty belongs to you. David Austin said the feline had a red collar on when he first spotted the beauty in the area of State and MacArthur. The collar is gone, but the cat is still in the neighborhood. He would like to reunite the cat with its proper home. He can be reached at (585) 300-3441 or Christina can be reached at (585) 297-3082.
Tournament Director Tom Turnbull is sticking to "23rd Annual" for the 2023 Rotary Baseball Tournament, even though there have only been 18 champs actually crowned over the two-plus decades since the first game.
Rainouts and two seasons lost to COVID-19 have kept a few names off the championship trophy -- which is new this year (see photo above) after the former trophy filled up with the plaques of previous winners.
Notre Dame's coach, Rick Rapone, at Tuesday's Rotary Club meeting in Batavia, called it the premier tournament in the area that every local baseball player is excited to compete in.
The first pitch Saturday is at 11 a.m. with the battle of the Blue Devils, Batavia vs. Attica. Game 2 is at 2 p.m. when two hot teams face each other for the second time this season -- Oakfield-Alabama vs. Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a pitching powerhouse, and the Hornets pack a lot of offensive punch. The last time these two teams met, Notre Dame prevailed.
The championship game is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday. However, if Attica beats Batavia, the game will be played at 2 p.m. on Sunday because Attica has its senior prom on Saturday night.
Admission is $5 for an adult all-day pass and $3 for a student or senior all-day pass. All proceeds from the tournament will help benefit Batavia Rotary Club charities.
Sign up for Early Access Pass by clicking here.
Jason W. Whitehead, 25, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th, possession of a narcotic with the intent to sell, harassment 2nd, resisting arrest and use of drug paraphernalia 2nd. Batavia patrol officers located Whitehead, who had an active warrant for his arrest, walking on Bank Street on April 16. Whitehead allegedly fled on foot when officers attempted to arrest him. A private citizen assisted Officer John Gombos and Sgt. Christopher Lindsay in stopping Whitehead. The officer took Whitehead into custody. Whitehead was allegedly found to be in possession of a quantity of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Whitehead was arraigned in City Court and remanded to the Genesee County Jail on no bail.
Cassandra F. Smith, 37, of Manhattan Ave., Batavia, is charged with two counts of petit larceny. Smith is accused of stealing various items from a yard on Manhattan Avenue on April 8. Smith was released on an appearance ticket. On April 12, she was charged with criminal trespass 2nd. She is accused of entering and remaining unlawfully in an apartment on Washington Avenue, where she left a note for a resident to find when the person came home. She was arraigned in Centralized Arraignment Court and released. She was charged with criminal mischief 4th on April 12. She is accused of spray-painting an apartment door, doorbell camera, and van in the driveway of a residence on Washington Avenue. She was arraigned in Centralized Arraignment Court, and her release status is unknown.
Joseph C. Jeffords, 32, of Chestnut Street, Batavia, was arrested on two bench warrants issued by City Court. Jeffords is accused of failure to appear on two prior appearance tickets, one for alleged unauthorized use of a motor vehicle on Jan. 23, and the second for alleged criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th on Feb. 6. He was arraigned in Centralized Arraignment Court, and his release status is unknown. Jeffords was also arrested on April 9 and charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd. Jeffords was allegedly in possession of various narcotic drugs upon being arrested on multiple warrants. Jeffords was arraigned in City Court and custody remanded to the Genesee County Jail in lieu of bail.
Salvatore Dellapenna, 54, of Vine Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief. Dellapenna is accused of damaging a neighbor's front door by kicking it in on April 8. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Patricia M. Anderson, 38, of Buell Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny, operating a motor vehicle while the registration is suspended, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle third. Anderson is accused of filling a shopping cart with $139 in merchandise and leaving the business on East Main Street, Batavia, without paying. During the investigation, it was allegedly found that Anderson operated a motor vehicle with a suspended registration while her license was suspended. Anderson was released with an appearance ticket.
Modesto O. Cardenas, 29, of Pearl Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment in the second degree. Cardenas was arrested by Officer John Gombos following an investigation into a disturbance on April 1. He was arraigned in Centralized Arraignment Court, and his release status is unknown.
Linda L. Snyder, 40, of Creek Road, Batavia, was arrested for bench warrants issued by City Court and charged with bail jumping in the third degree. On April 5, Officer Peter Post arrested Snyder on bench warrants issued by City Court for harassment, criminal mischief, and animal cruelty charges. Additionally, Snyder was charged with bail jumping 3rd because she failed to appear in court as directed after being released on her own recognizance from a criminal proceeding. Snyder was arraigned in City Court and custody remanded to the Genesee County Jail in lieu of $1,000 cash bail.
Josia G. Culver, 18, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with two counts of burglary 3rd, two counts of criminal mischief 4th and petit larceny. Culver is accused of breaking into a local restaurant on Ellicott Street on April 14. He is accused of breaking into another restaurant in the mall on April 16 and stealing money from the register. His release status is unknown.
Lori A. Wittkopp, 61, of Spencer Court, Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .18% or greater. On April 14, Officer John Gombos stopped Wittkopp following a complaint that Wittkopp was driving while intoxicated. Wittkopp was issued appearance tickets.
Kendra Q. Thomas, 35, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd and endangering the welfare of a child. Thomas is accused of a physical altercation with a juvenile on April 15. Thomas was issued an appearance ticket.
Luis J. Santiago Arroyo, 34, of Buell Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal contempt 1st. Arroyo is accused of being involved in a physical incident during a custody exchange on April 23. Arroyo is accused of striking another person, unprovoked, who was covered by an order of protection while she was holding a child. Police say a Ring camera captured video of the incident. Arroyo was held in the Genesee County Jail pending arraignment. Release status unknown.
Aaron T. Hendershot, 26, of Ellsworth Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd and aggravated family offense. Hendershot allegedly violated an order of protection on April 20 by calling, messaging, and writing letters to the protected party. He was additionally charged with aggravated family offense as he has been convicted of a specified offense within the immediately preceding 5 years, Feb. 6, 2023. Hendershot was arraigned in City Court and custody remanded to the Genesee County Jail without bail.
Alisha A. Soule, 26, of Route 237, Le Roy, is charged with harassment 2nd and criminal mischief 4th. Police responded to a reported disturbance on April 26. Soule is accused of kicking in a door to gain entry to a house and then striking one person while attempting to get to another person. Soule was arraigned in City Court and released.
Pamela L. Dickinson, 60, of Roosevelt Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI, failure to comply, speeding, and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. At about 6:30 a.m. on April 24, Officer Joseph Weglarski reported observing a vehicle speeding on Pearl Street. The driver allegedly failed to stop until being blocked by patrols at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Bank Street in Batavia. Dickinson was released on traffic tickets.
Shelby L. Fryer, 27, of Prune Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal impersonation. Officer John Gombos stopped a vehicle reportedly driven by Fryer on April 22. She allegedly gave a false name to the officer in an attempt to avoid an arrest on a warrant. She was arrest on a warrant for alleged failure to appear. She was arraigned. Her release status is unknown.
Haley M. Larnder, 23, of North Street, Batavia, was arrested on a City Court arrest warrant. Officer Andrew Mruczek located Larnder on April 21 and took her into custody on a warrant. Larnder was originally arrested on March 19 on a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th and issued an appearance ticket. Larnder was arraigned in City Court and released on her own recognizance.
Jacqulyn A. Dueppengieser, 39, on Page Road, Perry, is charged with petit larceny. Dueppengieser is accused of stealing from a business on East Main Street on April 20. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Natasha J. Durney, 29, of Hutchins Place, Batavia, is charged with nine counts of harboring an unlicensed dog. On April 21, Officer Stephen Quider responded to a report on Hutchins Street of dogs fighting on Hutchins Place. During the fight, a person was reportedly bitten. Durney is accused of owning nine unlicensed dogs. Durney was issued an appearance ticket.
Jessica Hernandez, 35, of Summit Street, Batavia, was arrested as a fugitive from justice. Police officers executed an arrest warrant on April 22 after being contacted by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office in Florida. The police department was informed that Volusia County had a warrant for Hernandez on the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Hernandez was processed, arraigned in Centralized Arraignment Part Court and held at the Genesee County Jail to await extradition to Volusia County, Florida.
David A. Kendall, 50, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Kendall is accused of violating a stay-away order of protection on April 23. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Adam M. Zastrocky, 38, of Myrtle Street, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to stop at stop sign, driving left of pavement markings in no passing zone, and refusal to take breath test. Zastrocky was arrested by Sgt. Jason Saile following an investigation into a motor vehicle accident reported at 10 p.m. on April 20 on Cockram Road, Byron.
Joseph Earnest Marr, 44, of Nesbitt Road, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny 4th. Marr is accused of stealing a phone while at Batavia Downs. He was processed at the Genesee County Jail and released.
Nathan Paul Crawford, 27, of Federal Drive, Batavia, is charged with two counts of petit larceny. Crawford is accused of shoplifting from 48 Deli Express at 5:04 p.m. on April 15. He was issued an appearance ticket. He is also accused of shoplifting from Kohls at 11:05 a.m. on April 19. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Heather Nicole Derooy, 33, of Keith Terrace, Chili, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th, aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd, and improper plates. Derooy was stopped at 8:26 p.m. on April 8 on Clinton Street Road, Bergen, by Deputy Nicholas Chamoun and Deputy Kenneth Quackenbush. She was allegedly found in possession of methamphetamine. Derooy was released on an appearance ticket.
Robert E. Sacher, 53, of Kibbe Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI. Sacher was stopped at 3:11 p.m. on April 13 on Veterans Memorial Drive by Deputy Jonathan Dimming. Sacher was issued traffic tickets and released.
Jeenathan Rodeny Williams, 63, of Hazelwood Terrace, Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th, aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd, unlicensed driver, side wings/side windows non-transparent, and plates covered by glass or plastic. Williams was stopped at 6:56 p.m. on April 25 on Byron Elba Road, Byron, by Deputy Zachary Hoy and issued an appearance ticket.
Scott Aaron Muntz, 25, of Maltby Road, Oakfield, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and speeding. Muntz was stopped at 12:15 a.m. on April 16 on Knowlesville Road, Alabama, by Deputy Jonathan Dimming. He was issued traffic tickets.
Madison McKenzie, 18, of Creek Road, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. McKenzie is accused of giving a letter to a child under age 17 that contained sexual content. McKenzie was arraigned and released.
Michelle Dawn Grover, 38, of Olean Road, South Wales, is charged with petit larceny. Grover is accused of shoplifting from Dollar General in Pavilion at 10 a.m. on March 5. Grover was issued an appearance ticket.
After the scheduled opponent for Elba/Oakfield-Alabama on Saturday for a golf match failed to show up with enough players, the team played a round anyway.
It turned out to be a momentous day for EOA's Jake Walczak, who aced Hole 7, a 177-yard Par 3, for his first career hole-in-one.
It's the first hole-in-one for the team since 2016.
Coach Mike Cintorino said, "Walczak felt as though he hit a great shot when it came off the face of his 7-iron. As it landed and went toward the hole, the excitement level in the group raised. The crescendo was hit when they all saw the ball disappear next to the flag. When the foursome of Walczak, Brayden Smith, Aiden Warner, and Eli Loysen walked up to the pin, their excitement was validated as Walczak reached down to pull his Titleist Pro-V1 out of the cup. This was Walczak’s first ever hole-in-one and quite a moment for the senior golfer who has been on the team since 7th grade."
The match against Keshequa will be rescheduled.
Photo by Kristin Smith.
Submitted photos and game report.
A three-run sixth for Alexander broke a 3-3 tie and propelled the Trojans to a 10-4 win over Notre Dame in Girls Softball on Saturday at GCC.
With a runner on, Madison Boyce tripled to make it 4-3. Makenna Boyce and Carley Shepard knocked in two more runs, and Alexander lead 6-3 going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Notre Dame’s Kaydence Stehlar hit her second home run of the day over the centerfield fence to get the Irish back within two runs.
In the top of the seventh, a walk issued to Alexander’s Boyce loaded the bases for Emily Pietrzykowski. Pietrzykowski didn’t miss the second pitch of the at-bat. She blasted it deep over the centerfield fence for a grand slam making it 10-4.
It was Alexander's 100th team hit of the season.
Pietrzykowski (top photo) earned the win for Alexander, allowing four earned runs on seven hits over seven innings, walking three and striking out a trio of Irish.
Madison Boyce was 3-4 on the day with a triple, a double and two RBIs. Carley Shepard, Olivia Delelys, and Ava Yax had multiple hits in the contest.
As a team, Alexander collected 14 hits on the day.
For Notre Dame: Sonji Warner had a homerun to center and Kaydence Stehlar had two homeruns to center.
"We went into this game knowing that Notre Dame is a well-coached and talented team, so we had to play sound ball to win," said Alexander's head coach, John Goodenbury. "Pietrzykowski pitched well and kept us in the game on the rubber with excellent defensive support from all positions. Our team never got down on themselves despite losing the early lead. We have a very young team, but they showed today they are scrappy and won’t go down without a fight. Our motto this year is 'Go ahead, doubt us' because we like to feel like we are the underdog in every game. This keeps the girls humble and hungry. They play for each other instead of themselves, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Next up for Alexander is a 5 p.m. dual with Kendall at home on Monday.
Today marks two important events for The Batavian.
It is our 15th Anniversary. The Batavian’s official first day of publication was May 1, 2008.
We’ve come a long way from those early days when we were thrilled the first time 1,000 people checked out the site in a day to now reaching 10,000 to 14,000 people per day.
We’re also launching a new website. The look isn’t changing as much as the important steps we're taking to improve our community coverage and the overall efficiency of the site.
We’re also asking readers to take a more direct role in helping to fund local journalism by becoming supporters through our new Early Access Pass. Those who do sign up for Early Access will be able to read selected bylined stories as soon as they are published. Those who don’t will need to wait four hours before getting access to the full story.
New Logo
As part of our forward-looking effort, we’re introducing a new logo.
The Upton Monument is Genesee County’s most distinctive landmark, and the Eagle at its pinnacle is a symbol of ambition and freedom, so I’ve long wanted to incorporate the Eagle into our masthead. We also decided to go after a more modern, forward-looking design. The Batavian remains locally owned, and we steadfastly maintain our independence. We also are deeply rooted in our community.
The new logo (designed by Lisa Ace, our creative manager), we think, symbolizes our community and our independence, and with a clean, modern design and an eagle eye -- we can look forward and outward in an effort to be up on the latest in current and breaking news right here in Genesee County.
Site Design
The software The Batavian runs on was getting dated, so it was time for a significant upgrade. We saw that as a time to slightly tweak our design.
We know some people think our site design isn’t very sophisticated with full stories and all the ads on the home page. But here’s the thing: what we do works. We often hear from readers how easy our site is to use. Readers tell us they like all the ads of local businesses on the home page. It acts like a local business directory. Local business owners love it because they know their ad is being displayed to thousands of local residents every day.
Early Access Pass
I’ve been publishing The Batavian for 15 years. It’s been hard, grueling, and stressful work at times. I can’t charge forward with the same energy I once had. I rely more on people helping me, especially with recent changes in my life circumstances.
We now have three hard-working and talented full-time employees and some wonderful freelancers, and we need to be able to hire more help. We simply can’t cover all the news in Genesee County without your help.
Covering local news is time-consuming and that makes it expensive and difficult to get to everything of interest or importance. There is no cheap way to do it. News can’t remain free forever.
So, we’re going to ask our most loyal supporters to take a more direct role in funding local journalism.
We’ve come up with a unique, perhaps first-of-its-kind program in the news industry: The Early Access Pass. It’s unique in that it won’t force you to pay to read the news. It’s simply a reminder on freshly published stories that we need your help to continue to bring to you the news of your community. When you click a link for a story published within the previous four hours, you will be provided an option to sign up for Early Access, or you can come back four hours later to read it. The choice is yours.
The Batavian has long dominated Genesee County news by publishing most of the news of Genesee County first. That’s still our mission. With Early Access, you can become among the first to know about important news while everybody else waits. Early Access will apply only to original reporting, stories with a byline, and not to press releases, posts primarily of photos, or scanner reports.
We’ve kept the cost of Early Access extremely low, so all of our loyal supporters can afford to sign up -- $8 per month or $80 per year. If you're interested in a group rate, email me: howard@thebatavian.com.
Local news is essential to the health of a community, and we hope you value what we do enough to support us as we endeavor to do more of it. We work hard to cover our community, and we appreciate our readers. Please support our efforts by signing up for Early Access today.
There is a vehicle into the median in the area of mile marker 402, eastbound, on the Thruway.
Unknown injuries.
Pembroke Fire and Indian Falls fire departments, along with Mercy EMS responding.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Batavia Sports Park, operated by Batavia Turf in the town of Batavia, is hosting the Metro East Regional Championships for Ultimate Frisbee Football.
The tournament, which features teams from colleges and universities from throughout the region, was originally slated for fields in New Jersey, but the owner of that facility decided at pretty much the last minute they really didn't have enough space to host the event.
Jack Richards, president of the RIT team and tournament director, was able to move the event to Batavia.
Ultimate Frisbee Football is a 7-on-7 competition that involves flinging a frisbee downfield in an attempt to score a goal. Players cannot run with the Frisbee. When a player catches the disk, the player must stop running and find a teammate to toss it to. The player is being guarded by a defender, and the player's teammates are guarded (defenses, like basketball, can be man-on-man or zone). Defenders can knock down a flung Frisbee, which leads to a change of position at the position in the field where the Frisbee falls.
The top men's team and the top women's team from this weekend's tournament will advance to the national finals.
Ultimate Frisbee Football is now recognized by the International Olympic Committee and will be part of the 2028 Olympics.
Photos by Howard Owens
It was no accident that brought together a group of caring people at 50 Oak St., Batavia, on Saturday, said Pastor Vern Saile before blessing the new home of Terry Smith and his family.
"What strikes me is how many people came together to make this possible for you," Saile said. "I believe that God brought those people together for you. You know, the Bible says, 'Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.' I have no doubt that the Lord has built this house for you, Terry. And it's his love that started this project. It is his love that carried it through, and it is his love that will carry it forward."
Smith started the home acquisition process with Genesee County Habitat for Humanity nearly five years ago. It meant a lot to him, he said, to provide a home for his children, one they can count on as permanent for the rest of their childhoods.
The house was a tax-lien foreclosure by the City of Batavia that the city transferred to Habitat rather than put it up for auction.
"The ability of the City of Batavia to encourage rehabilitation of houses and promotion of single-family home ownership is enhanced by the strategy to move foreclosed properties into a program like Habitat for Humanity," said City Manager Rachael J. Tabelski. "The restoration of homes, and the ability to match families, who are ready to make the move to home ownership, and adds exponential value to neighborhoods, as opposed to auctioning the property into the rental market.”
Jaylene Smith-Kilner, executive director of Habitat, thanked a long list of people who made this home, Habitat's 26th build, possible, from government officials and agencies to small business owners and local volunteers and donors.
Smith said that effort that help was a blessing and that he is excited for his kids.
He's watched Habitat, along with his own labor as part of the process, transform an old house into a beautiful home.
"Seeing the process from it being completely gutted to how it is now, it's just so crazy process," Smith said. "It's a crazy process, and they did a good job. I got mad love for all the Habitat family community."
Marianne Newmark, with USDA Rural Development, discussed how her agency assists potential Habitat for Humanity homeowners get the financing necessary to close on their house.
They help the homeowner secure low-interest, longer-term loans so they have affordable house payments.
"We love partnering with Habitat for that, and that Habitat takes these houses and makes them beautiful, and really renovates them to the point where the homeowners don't have to worry about, 'Oh no, I just bought this house, and I have to do so much work on top of my new mortgage payment,'" Newmark said. "They take a lot of that stress out of the way in the beginning."
Colton Yasses threw five innings of one-hit ball as Oakfield-Alabama beat Elba on Saturday 13-0.
Brayden Smith went 3-3 with four RBIs, scoring three runs. Aiden Warner was 2-3 with two runs scored. David Schnaufer was 1-2 with a walk and five RBIs. Austin Pangrazio was 2-3 with a run scored.
The Hornets are 8-1.
Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.
There's one team left in Section V that is undefeated in the 2023 baseball season. That team is Notre Dame, at 9-0.
While the Irish offensive has piled up runs, the pitching has been phenomenal, with no earned runs allowed all season. Overall, only five opposing runners have scored against Notre Dame over 54 innings of play. The pitchers have fanned 111 batters.
On Saturday, Bryceton Berry threw a perfect game to pick up his fourth win of the season.
In the past three games, the Irish pitchers have tossed a no-hitter and a one-hitter.
Saturday's win came over Alexander, 8-0.
The Fighting Irish picked up wins on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, the team beat Geneseo 11-1.
Jaden Sherwood tossed a complete-game one-hitter, notching 12 Ks and allowing one walk.
Offensively on Frixay:
Submitted photos and information.
The economic development efforts of Genesee County and the region and the state are closely aligned, said two officials who spoke at GCEDC's annual meeting Friday at Batavia Downs.
Ryan Silva, executive director of the NYS Economic Development Council (top photo), first gave an overview of the investments New York made in 2022 in economic development. Among them:
"All told, over the last 12 months, there has been $1.2 billion dollars in new economic development initiatives and funding dedicated to New York State," Silva said.
Silva applauded the accomplishments of GCEDC.
"Since the Steve Hyde era began in 2003, I was just amazed to hear some of those stats that you referenced, Steve -- 527 projects, $2 billion in capital, $5 million square feet of space and 5,000 jobs."
He added, "What does that say about how we can grow our economies? What we have to do is continue to build shovel-ready sites all across the state to attract and grow key industries. What does that say about Genesee County? To me, it says you're leveraging your strengths and your assets. Communities are stepping up and helping achieve their own goals, and GCEDC is setting the way. And then what does this mean for our future? It means better careers and outcomes for the families and the communities that we serve and remains revitalized downtown that will attract the next generation of workforce."
Laura Fox O'Sullivan, regional director of Empire State Development’s Finger Lakes Regional Office (second photo), visited Downtown Batavia during her visit to Genesee County and took note of the efforts to revitalize the city core during a lunch at Eli Fish, where she heard more about how the city is putting to work its $10 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant award.
"The Batavia DRI project to me felt like such a microcosm of how Genesee County works," O'Sullivan said. "There are really strong partnerships, people know each other, and they really care about each other. And something that I've really been impressed by with Genesee County is that they have these long-standing partnerships, and they're really coming to fruition right now. It's such an exciting time to be here."
Photos by Howard Owens.
During his speech Steve Hyde, CEO of GCEDC, thanked all of the agencies partners, such as the Town of Alabama, Town of Pembroke, Town of Batavia, the City of Batavia and the Genesee County Legislature, as well as the agencies throughout the state that help the agency attract businesses to the county's shovel-ready industrial parks.
"It's also important to keep this growing," Hyde said. "Industrial development agencies oftentimes specifically are under attack legislatively at the state level, because they have legislation that gets launched that's narrowly focused and misguided. And that, if it passed, actually negatively impacts the competitiveness in New York State."
The Town of Pembroke, represented by Supervisor Thomas Schneider Jr., was honored as GCEDC development partner of the year.
We appreciate it greatly, but we also don't do what we do in Pembroke for accolades," Schneider said. "We do it for the betterment of the community. We do appreciate it. We've got a strong team behind us that also deserve recognition for getting the award. With all the development going on -- it's just all of the sudden sparked off like I couldn't imagine within a year."
Middle of the photo, Pete Zeliff, chairman of the GCEDC board of directors, and Shelley Stein, chair of the Genesee County Legislature.
When Steve Hyde asked audience members partnering with the county's workforce development efforts to raise their hands, among them Kevin MacDonald, superintendent of Genesee Valley BOCES.
There was a polka party featuring the Jimmy Sturr Orchestra at Batavia Downs Thursday night while WBBZ taped four segments of the station's weekly show, Polka Buzz, for broadcast in May.
Sturr has won 18 Grammys for his polka albums and is the undisputed King of Polka.
Previously: Jimmy Sturr coming to Batavia to spread the love for Polka
Photos by Howard Owens.
Besides playing with Jimmy Sturr, Chris Caffery's other gig as lead guitarist for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
A motor vehicle accident with injuries and blocking is reported in the area of 4063 West Main Street Road, Batavia.
Town of Batavia Fire, along with Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 10:11 a.m.: A first responder reports that the road is not blocked. Both vehicles have pulled into a business's parking lot.
UPDATE 10:12 a.m.: Two patients, one ambulance sufficient, hold the assignment to Rescue 20.
For the second time in his career, on Tuesday, Notre Dame's Ryan Fitzpatrick tossed a no-hitter, striking out nine over five innings.
The Fighting Irish beat Attica 10-0.
It was the fourth straight shutout for Notre Dame, and the Irish pitchers are working on a string of 25 consecutive scoreless innings. The staff has surrendered only one run over 35 innings, and that one run was unearned.
Jordan Welker had two RBIs, a double and also scored three runs. Chase Cummings had two RBIs on a single. Hayden Groff was 2-2 with a single and a double, and 3 runs scored. Jimmy Fanara was 2-3 with a double and a triple.
Top photo: Submitted. Photos below by Pete Welker.
Ask the people -- police officers -- who deal every day with crime victims, and those accused of committing the crimes, and New York's landmark 2019 bail reform law just isn't working.
It isn't working for victims, because they either get re-victimized, or there are new people victimized because accused criminals are free sooner to commit new crimes, or victims simply decline to press charges because they know the accused person will just be issued an appearance ticket.
And it has also failed the people it was supposedly designed to help: criminal defendants.
Those accused of a crime are now more frequently set free to commit new crimes and dig themselves into a deeper hole, or they don't appear before a judge or go to jail where they are afforded the opportunity they need to enter substance abuse programs.
"The joke is (among officers), it's like fishing. It's 'catch and release,'" said Batavia PD Det. James Defreze.
Chief Shawn Heubusch added, "It is catch and release, and they understand, the officers understand, what the laws are, and we're here to enforce the laws. But the laws are not helping our citizens. At least this particular law is not helping our citizens. It's not helping the community at large."
The Batavian spoke with Heubusch, Defreze, and Sgt. Christopher "CJ" Lindsay this week about the impact of bail reform on the department and the community after a series of press releases from Batavia PD about individuals who have been arrested multiple times on warrants for failure to appear for various minor offenses.
In press releases about arrests, Batavia PD has recently been highlighting criminal defendants who get are repeatedly arrested on failure-to-appear warrants three, four, or five times. Unfortunately, there isn't clear data that judges are issuing, in the aggregate, more warrants, because, by policy, the department no longer seeks warrants on unpaid parking tickets, and with the legalization of cannabis possession, there are fewer marijuana-related arrests. That means there is no way to make a meaningful comparison from one year to the next of the total number of warrants.
The Why of Bail Reform
The path to bail reform in New York perhaps began in 2015 with the death of Kalief Browder. Browder had been held in Rikers Island on cash bail of $3,000 after being accused of stealing a backpack. Browder said he was subjected to mental and physical abuse. His charges were dropped after three years of pre-trial condiment for lack of evidence. Upon his release, he committed suicide.
Advocates for bail reform said confining poor people, who can rarely make bail, on charges without conviction was a violation, at least in spirit, of due process. Advocates pointed to statistics that poor blacks, especially in the state's cities, were more likely to be held on bail, than white defendants.
In 2018, in his State of the State speech, Gov. Andrew Cuomo picked up the cause of bail reform.
"Let's be painfully honest: The truth is that our Lady Justice is still not colorblind, and her scales are still not balanced," Cuomo said. "Our bail system is biased against the poor. Too many jails are cruel and inhumane, and our court system is too slow."
Bail reform was approved by the State Legislature in 2019 and was meant to reduce incarceration by limiting the need for defendants to come up with money to pay for their liberty. The new law mandated pretrial release for the majority of nonviolent charges and required that judges consider a person’s ability to come up with the cash to pay bail or security to post bond.
On low-level, non-violent charges, officers must issue appearance tickets rather than hold the suspect for arraignment (where, in most cases, they would have been released under the old system). When suspects are arraigned, judges must release defendants without requiring bail and with no conditions on their release ("on their own recognizance"). In certain conditions, they can put conditions on their release ("released under supervision"). If bail can be set, the bail amount must be the lowest amount possible that is affordable for the defendant. That's why you sometimes see bail set at $1.
There are multiple exceptions and conditions that police officers and judges must follow. That is one of the complaints lodged by Heubusch. The bail system is arcane and confusing.
As an example, Heubusch cited a recent case where a suspect was arrested for burglarizing a restaurant. The suspect was released following his arrest. The next day, he burglarized another restaurant. The judge misunderstood the standards of the bail reform law in this particular circumstance and released the suspect again. He was arrested 20 minutes later after burglarizing another restaurant.
"So we now have one individual that has three burglary charges -- felony burglary charges," Heubusch said. "Again, he could have been held on that second arraignment, but there was a misunderstanding between the judges as to what they can actually do when it comes to that type of thing."
To help us understand how complex the new bail rules are, Heubusch pointed us to this web page on bail reform for the state's public defenders. It contains this matrix of qualifying (for bail) and non-qualifying (no bail) options. It also contains this flow chart that helps guide anybody in the justice system on when to require bail or when to release a defendant.
Bail reform makes law enforcement harder
Being a police officer is inherently a risky job, and police officers accept that risk, Heubusch said. It's also a tough job where officers are expected to deal sometimes with uncooperative or even hostile criminal suspects. But that aspect of the job has been made worse, by bail reform, Heubusch said.
He said when people understand they're going to get an appearance ticket, they're more likely to flee or or fight with an officer because resisting arrest won't elevate the seriousness of their criminal activity.
"We've seen people run from us, fight with us, and attack us more than they did before, in my opinion, because they know, it's not taken as seriously or, you know, 'haha, I can get away with it. I'm gonna get a slap on the wrist from the judge. See you next week or see you tomorrow,' that type of thing," Heubusch said. "It just seems that the attitude, to resist arrest, to fight with the cops, has increased."
Bail reform has also made it hard to get drug dealers off the street, Defreze said.
First, the Class B felony of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree is a non-qualifying offense, meaning a judge can't automatically set bail. Defreze said he's seen dealers back on the street selling narcotics within five hours of their arrest.
"Pre-Bail Reform, we were pretty effective and successful in removing drug dealers from our community," Defreze said. "We would find people, we would arrest them for possession with intent to sell or for criminal sale, both (Class) B felonies. When we got the indictment warrants, those people would go to jail. Now the majority of these people are getting charged with two to four Class B felonies, and they go see a judge, and they're released. Then people were calling, saying these people are selling drugs in my neighborhood."
That arrest was made after months of work that involved finding and working with a confidential informant, gathering evidence, reviewing the evidence with the district attorney, and presenting the evidence to a judge to get a warrant either for a search or an arrest.
When a recently released dealer just hits the street again, he can't just be arrested on the spot. The whole process must start again.
But now it's harder to find confidential informants.
"Bail Reform, in and of itself, made getting a CI inherently harder," Defreze said. "People used to be, there was some kind of fear that they were going to go to jail for minor offenses. You'd catch someone for stealing from Tops, and they wouldn't want to go to jail for that. They would cooperate to have that charge go away. I mean, CIs for minor offenses are a thing of the past."
Victims
Bail reform hasn't been good for crime victims, the officers said.
"What's been missed during this whole thing, just from my perspective, is we've completely forgotten about the victims," Heubusch said. "We've created a system that cares about the defendants, and we care about the defendants as well, we certainly want don't want to hold somebody for years upon years upon years on petty crimes because that doesn't make any sense. But the victims are now being re-victimized over and over again by the same offenders. So I think that's, that's the biggest frustration that you see from law enforcement because we are out there trying to make sure that our communities are safe."
In March, deputies arrested two men in Elba on property crimes. Under terms of Bail Reform, the deputies had no choice but to release the suspects on appearance tickets. The two men were processed at the Genesee County Jail and released. Upon their release, they allegedly stole a car, leading to a police pursuit across multiple jurisdictions.
Bail reform has made orders of protection less effective, the officers said.
Domestic abuse always involves a human victim, so that means the arresting officer can haul the suspect in front of a judge for an arraignment. That gives a judge a chance to issue an order of protection, but unless the crime is a qualifying violent felony, the judge has -- at least until now -- limited power to set bail.
"I can think of a domestic situation where somebody was arrested for harassment, and they were arraigned in front of the judge, got an order of protection, but they had to be released, and they went right back to the house and violated the order protection," Heubusch said.
Bail reform has also led crime victims to ask officers not to arrest offenders, Lindsay said.
"Obviously, we understand the defendants have rights but like (Heubusch) said, we kind of forget about the victims," Lindsay said. "I've had numerous times where we have a case where the victim wants to have someone arrested, so they'll ask us, 'are they going to be held in jail,' and we tell them, 'no, we can't hold them, so they say 'well, I don't want him arrested then because I don't want to deal with whatever fallout.'"
Lindsay said victims are also frustrated.
"We're probably dealing with more angry victims," Lindsay said.
The law is confusing
Heubusch came to the interview with The Batavian carrying a sheaf of paper. He had printed out the matrix, flow charts, and rules officers, attorneys, and judges must know in order to ensure nobody is jailed in violation of the law.
It's a lot to know and a lot to keep up with, and even sometimes judges get it wrong, he said.
"We had a situation where an individual burglarized a restaurant," Heubusch said. "He was arraigned, released and burglarized another business that weekend. He was arraigned, and the judge misunderstood that it was a new charge and released him. He burglarized another restaurant after he left. So we now have one individual that has three burglary charges -- felony burglary charges. And, again, could have been held on that second arraignment, but there's a misunderstanding between the judges as to what they can actually do when it comes to that type of thing."
Defendants harmed by Bail Reform
When defendants are released on appearance tickets, no judge gets an opportunity to recommend a substance abuse or mental health program. When a criminal defendant is free to re-offend, they sometimes do.
"If you look at it, from the defendants' standpoint, this person now has the opportunity to rack up multiple criminal charges to make that sentence, maybe harsher on them," Heubusch said.
He said his officers have seen defense attorneys ask judges to set bail in cases for the sake of their defendants.
"The only way they know their guy is gonna get help is by sitting in jail because the jail will provide that assistance to them, whether they want it or not," Heubusch said. "It'll at least be in front of them. If they get to walk away from that arraignment without being held, the chances of them going out and reoffending are very good. The chances of them going on or overdosing and dying are even higher."
We asked Heubusch in a follow-up email if he had any data on the number of times defendants have been released from custody only to OD, and Heubusch said, "I am not able to put together stats as quickly as I would like to, but we do have cases where individuals that we know to have substance abuse issues have committed crimes and while out pre-trial they have overdosed and died. If judges had the ability to incarcerate these individuals for, what the lawmakers are calling petty crimes, they would be offered assistance and/or mandated assistance pre-trial. This could keep some alive."
Ideas to reform the reform
The police chiefs in New York, Heubusch said, have their own ideas about how to fix bail reform.
First, end cash bail. That is, in fact, right in line with what downstate reformers want. Defendants should either be held pre-trail, with no bail, or released. That would end the perceived unfairness of people with a bit of money being able to get released while poor defendants must stay locked up, unable to get to jobs or care for families.
"The amount of money sitting in your bank account should not determine if you're a free person or not," Heubusch said.
And allow judges to determine whether a person is a danger to himself, another person, or the community.
"We're the only state in the United States that doesn't have a dangerous statute in our law," Heubusch said. "Bail is set specifically upon reappearance for court. We're the only one that doesn't include dangerousness. I don't know why New York wants to lead the way in that, quite honestly, because the communities are suffering because of it. So eliminate cash bail altogether. There's no reason to have a $1 value on it. You're either held to your release, or you're released upon certain restrictions and then that can be reviewed at your next appearance."
Some reformers consider "dangerousness" too subjective of a standard. Heubusch countered that trying to determine if somebody is a flight risk is a judgment call.
Reformers are concerned that allowing judges discretion raises the specter of bias, and studies show the criminal justice system has a history of being biased against people of color. Heubusch said race should absolutely not be a factor in who is held and who is released but blanket policies by lawmakers who don't live in the communities dealing with crime are not the solution to racism.
"If judges are using race to incarcerate people, then they should be held accountable," Heubusch said. "We should not be changing the system so that more people can be victimized. We are allowing people who commit crimes to remain free due to decisions by lawmakers who are not dealing with these individuals in our communities."
The officers know the current bail scheme is not helping local communities, they said, because they see it every day.
"You really have to explain to the folks that are there complaining about what's going on in their neighborhood, that we can only go so far," Heubusch said. "The reason this person is not locked up is not because of me. It's not because of the judge. It's because of the state laws that say they can't be locked up. It's because of the state laws that say they can't be evicted from that apartment. It's because of the state law. You know, it's very difficult to explain that to somebody who really just wants to see their neighborhood get better."
Photo by Howard Owens. Chief Shawn Heubusch, Det. James Defreze, and Sgt. Christopher Lindsay
Police officers are often in a position to first pick up on the signs of domestic abuse, and they sometimes deal with people in the most difficult times of their lives.
So after a talk at Genesee Community College by author Janine Latus, who suffered a string of domestic abuse traumas in her life, The Batavian spoke to local law enforcement officers about the role of cops in breaking the cycle of abuse.
It takes empathy, awareness, and the knowledge of resources available in the community for police officers to play a role in stopping domestic violence, said Shawn Heubusch, chief of the Batavia Police Department, and Brian Frieday, chief deputy for road patrol at the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.
Heubusch said officers need to bring empathy to every call they answer.
"You have to remember that it could be somebody's worst day," Heubusch said. "Whether it's the second time you've seen them or the very first time that you've seen them, just be understanding of what people are going through. Not everybody deals with things the same way that we do."
Frieday said that one pitfall of the job in dealing with so much trauma is that an officer can become dissociated from the feelings of a crime victim, whether it's a domestic situation or a petit larceny or an accident.
"It's called an accident, but it's really a crash, and that might be the biggest thing in the world to that person on that particular day," Frieday said. "And it might last longer, so we try relaying to younger officers that (this incident) could have lasting effects. It might be the only thing in their life that happened or it might be a lot deeper than what we perceive."
Focus on victims
The first takeaway Heubusch and Frieday had after the talk was always to keep the victim in mind, which brought to mind immediately the struggles police officers are facing because of bail reform.
"The victims are underrepresented at this point," Heubusch said.
Frieday agreed.
"The focus should be on the victims," Frieday said. "They're the ones who are suffering the consequences, suffering the losses, based on whatever crime or action the defendant or suspect did to them, whether it's financial or physical. The focus has gotten turned around to the wrong side."
Under the current bail laws, if there is a human victim of a crime, an officer can bring the suspect in front of a judge for arraignment, and a judge can issue an order of protection, but except for a very few circumstances, the judge cannot order the defendant held in jail.
"We've had instances where we've seen that person leave court, walk to the house, violate the order of protection, sometimes, through an assault," Heubusch said.
Signs of abuse
Latus talked about noticing the subtle signs of abuse. She used the example of a talk she gave where a young man asked a question, and she answered it. After the talk, the young man came up to her and told her why he was wearing long sleeves. When his girlfriend fought with him, she would drag her fingernails down his arms and cut him. Sometimes he wore hoodies to hide the wounds. It's little things like that, Latus said, people should watch for in friends and family members that might alert them to possible abuse.
Police officers aren't social workers, but they often come into family situations that could alert them, if not explicitly, perhaps implicitly, to abuse. That's why it's important for police officers to know about the resources available in the community to assist both victims and perpetrators, Heubusch and Frieday said.
In attendance on Monday were staff members from Genesee Justice, the Child Advocacy Center, as well as professionals who work with sexual assault victims, domestic violence victims, and substance abuse counselors.
"There are avenues that are available in the community that we have access to at least get them to, or at least try to, like one of the early presenters said, the worst they can do is just say no, but we're trying to lead them down paths that could get them to help," Frieday said.
In the schools
Heubusch said one of the early warning systems now available are School Resource Officers. They are in a position to spot problems before crimes are reported.
"Sometimes they're seeing things, or the school is seeing things that we're not necessarily seeing or hasn't risen to the level of an enforcement action or police officers being called to a home, but they're seeing the kids come into the schools day after day with a multitude of issues," Heubusch said. "Again, (they can use those resources) as a clearinghouse to get them to the resources that Chief Deputy Frieday mentioned. There are just so many available to them, and we just have to get them there."
Frieday also said SROs now play an important role in identifying potential domestic abuse.
"They see the kids on a day-to-day basis," Frieday said. "They see trends in their behavior, or, you know, differences in absences, truancy, and everything like that, that they can have those talks. A lot of times, it's in conjunction with the school, but they can get out ahead of that sometimes and tell them, 'Hey, you're on a bad path. I've seen this. What can we do to help?'"
Domestic abuse is known to elevate over time, or certainly not end without intervention but officers also must be careful about how they approach a topic that can be sensitive for victims.
"When it comes to victim blaming, we have to be very careful when we try to tell a domestic violence victim that potentially you're going down a bad path and you are going to be hurt if you don't do X, Y or Z," Heubusch said. "We have to be careful because we're not a judge, judging that person. We don't want to feel that person to feel judged. But we want to relay to them that there are services that can help them. We absolutely have a role to play in that, especially when it comes to the suspects, identifying what they're doing, holding them accountable, or doing our best to hold them accountable, and advising them that this is not going to make your life easier."
A history of abuse
For Latus, her bad path started when she was young, working as a babysitter, when she was abused by a part-time teacher. Then while working in a hospital, she got involved with a medical student, a wealthy young man.
She learned one Thanksgiving that his father was abusive and told herself, she needed to be there for him, then, on a ski vacation, she said the wrong thing, and her boyfriend punched her in the face, in the ribs, and kicked her while she was on the ground. Then blamed her for making him do it.
Her sister was her moral support, but Latus didn't want to cost her boyfriend his medical career, so at her sister's suggestion, she contacted another doctor she knew. He came to her house and nursed her broken nose and broken ribs. He was caring and attentive. They fell in love. He was married and eventually left his wife for her.
Her husband was controlling and jealous, and threatening. She told stories of the creepy things he did and how she blamed herself. Eventually, her sister helped her leave him.
Her sister found a man. A cowboy. She worked. He didn't. It turns out he had a criminal record. The sister bought him everything he needed to become a painting contractor. She always portrayed her relationship with her man as happy and loving.
Then she disappeared.
Eventually, authorities found a note taped under her desk, written 10 weeks before she disappeared, that began, "If I'm ever missing or dead," and pointed law enforcement to her abuser, her boyfriend. Her body was found at a construction site wrapped in a painter's tarp, and her boyfriend served 20 years in prison for her murder.
Latus said she wrote the book to encourage people who are abused or know about abuse to speak up.
Avoiding abuse
"If I didn't pretend everything was perfect, my sister would not have had to pretend everything was perfect," Latus said. "I wrote this book to save other angels."
She shared some things abusers do:
"None of those things raise a bruise," she said.
During the Q&A at the end, she was asked if the man who first abused her was ever arrested. She said authorities learned he had multiple victims around the time she was abused, but because he never penetrated, by the time the crimes were uncovered, the statute of limitations had run out. She asked a former classmate as a result of that investigation, if there were any other "creepers" in town. The former classmate said, "Yes, your father."
Research has shown that people tend to pick partners who are like former partners. Asked how people can break the cycle of abusive partners that Latus seemed to grow through, she said if you leave an abusive relationship, don't get involved in a new relationship right away.
"I absolutely recommend what I call a dating sabbatical," Latus said. "Take time off. Don't go to the next person to save you from this. Stay by yourself. Go to dinner by yourself. Make friends, go to movies, discover that you're great all by yourself, that you're comfortable and happy. Embrace the view that you are the best company you've ever had. And then the person you're going to be attracted to and appreciate and attract to you is probably going to be healthy, happy and whole, too. If you're insecure, you are going to attract an insecure person who is going to exploit you. If you are solid in yourself, then the person you're going to choose is far more likely to be healthy."
Photos by Howard Owens.
His first recording in 1964, in the midst of Beatlemania, was a 45 -- the A-side was a song Sturr wrote, "Hepsa Polka" -- and he's been touring and recording since, building a reputation as the King of Polka.
"I fell in love with it (Polka) at an early age," Sturr said during an interview with The Batavian.
That won't be hard to understand once you know a bit about where he grew up.
Sturr was born in 1941 and raised in Florida, NY, and even with international success, he's never left Florida, NY.
He's perhaps as proud of his hometown as he is of Polka.
"It's funny, but Florida, New York is known as -- now don't get upset when I tell you this because I know you think your part of the state is the Onion capital of the country -- well, Florida, New York is supposedly the onion capital of the country. We grow, I guess they say, approximately 30 percent of the nation's onions."
Sturr is Irish, but Florida, NY, was 85 percent Polish when he was growing up.
"A lot of the people came over from Poland and Germany working in the black dirt, and they brought all their traditions with them, one of which was their music," Sturr said. "That's how I fell in love with the music. My high school dances all had Polka bands. The local radio station had a Polka show every day. And of course, we had those three-day Polish weddings. So you know, I just fell in love with Polka."
If you were coming of age as a musician in the 1940s and 1950s, it wasn't a bad time to fall in love with Polka. Some of the genre's most influential musicians -- such as Frankie Yankovic, Walt Solek, Larry Chesky, and Myron Floren -- were cutting popular albums. Myron Floren became a regular on the "Lawrence Welk Show," playing a Polka segment that a young Jimmy Sturr never missed.
He quickly became a proficient musician and, by 1952, was leading his own band. In one interview, Sturr said his band was the third call band because he was so young. If the more established bands in town were booked, Sturr got the call, which still led to plenty of performance experience and helped launch his career.
Sturr said he was also influenced by the Big Bands of the East Coast that occasionally passed through his hometown.
"For some reason, most of the bands that came here were from New England, from Massachusetts, and some were from New Jersey and New York," Sturr said. "That's the kind of music I grew up on with bands that came from that area. I sort of molded my band in that direction. That's why we have such a big band."
And it's a good band. There are dozens of live recordings of the Jimmy Sturr Orchestra on YouTube that demonstrate how well the band plays together, their dynamic performances, and individual musicianship.
Sturr, from early in his career, wanted to be an ambassador for Polka.
He realizes there is a bit of a stigma attached to Polka. That it's grandma and grandpa's music, but he's seen for himself how young people can enjoy the music -- which is really party music -- as much as anybody.
"You know, once we can get them to hear the music -- just like last week in Buffalo (for a Dyngus Day celebration) -- there were a lot of people who weren't Polka fans, but they were there for the party," Sturr said. "Once they heard it, they were hooked. I had them hooked. They stayed the whole night."
Spreading the love for Polka is one reason Sturr has recorded with so many other artists who aren't usually associated with Polka, such as Arlo Guthrie, Mel Tillis, Bela Fleck, Brenda Lee, Charlie Daniels, Bobby Vinton, Porter Wagner, Ray Price, the Oak Ridge Boys, Bill Anderson, and Allison Krauss.
Willie Nelson has appeared on five Sturr LPs.
"I read a book one time on Willie Nelson, and that's how this whole thing sort of started," Sturr said. "I read that Willie Nelson started in a Polka band back in his home state of Texas. So I thought, 'Well if I ever get the opportunity to meet Willie, I'm going to ask him if he would record with me.' Well, sure enough, not long after that, I had the opportunity to perform with Willie on the same show. After the show, I snuck around and said, 'Willie, would you be interested in recording some polkas with our band?' And he said, 'I'd love to do that. And we did. That was back in around 1998."
By then, Sturr was already a big star, thanks to the Grammy Awards.
The Recording Academy didn't get around to declaring Polka a genre worthy of its own award until 1986, when Frankie Yankovic won that first award. The next year, Sturr won the first of his Grammys, starting a string of six consecutive Grammys for best Polka album. He would win 12 more before the category was eliminated in 2009. Since 2011, Polka artists have been eligible for awards in the Regional Roots Music category, but so far, no Polka act has won that award.
"If we had not won 18 Grammys, I think we would be just another, quote, polka band," Sturr said. "But the Grammys meant so much. You get to meet a lot of people, people like Willie Nelson. I mean, from that, we got to play Farm Aid. I'm sure we wouldn't be doing that If we hadn't won those Grammys."
In his effort to appeal to younger music fans, Sturr has always welcomed a variety of musicians into his band. His current guitarist is Chris Caffery, lead guitarist for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
"That's one reason I like to tour with Chris Caffery," Sturr said, explaining his desire to reach young fans. "He comes out with the long hair, and he does rock guitar with the horns, and it sounds quite good. It's a good mix. And, of course, the young kids all of a sudden, they're right into it. And the next song I play would probably be a Polka. And those kids are still getting into it. They'll get into the polka."
Sturr's performance at Batavia Downs on Thursday is part of WBBZ's Polka Buzz broadcast from Batavia Downs.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased on the Batavia Downs official tickets website, BataviaConcerts.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the Lucky Treasures Gift Shop. Tickets can be redeemed for $20 in Free Play on the day of the show.
Kara Richenberg, a lifelong resident of Genesee County, is joining the staff today as a publication assistant.
Richenberg's duties will include posting press releases, managing our community calendar, and administering Deal of the Day, as well as other customer support.
"We're excited to add Kara to our team," said Publisher Howard Owens. "She has been an active part of our community throughout her life, knows the community well, and will fit well with the team we already have in place."
Already on that team are Lisa Ace, creative manager, who joined The Batavian nearly 12 years ago, and News Editor Joanne Beck, who has been in that role for about a year.
In her previous jobs, Richenberg has worked for Tops Markets, the Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union, and Toyota of Batavia. She is a graduate of Pembroke High School and earned an associate's degree from Genesee Community College.
Mike and Kara Richenberg married in 2016 and welcomed their first child, a daughter, in 2020. Her new job will allow her to work from home and care for her daughter. The couple is currently working with the building trades team at BOCES to build a home for themselves in Corfu.
Both Mike and Kara are avid runners (Mike won the first six consecutive Arc Friends and Family 5Ks), and Kara is currently the coach of the modified tennis team at Pembroke HS.
The Batavian will market its 15th Anniversary on May 1 with the launch of an upgraded website as well as a new program that will enable readers to help us produce more community news.
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