Route 20 through Bethany has been closed for three hours and remains closed at the time of this post because of an accident involving a car and a tractor-trailer.
Bethany Fire, with mutual aid from Pavilion along with Mercy EMS, responded to the accident.
One person was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital.
Submitted photos.
Football stars, movie stars, and men and women successful in the business world came together at Terry Hills on Monday for a good cause -- making life better for children in Western New York.
It was the annual Jim Kelly Celebrity Golf Classic.
The event raises money for Kelly For Kids, the charity founded by the former Bills' great to provide assistance to disadvantaged and disabled youth in the region.
When flags start to fade in color or, especially, when they become torn and tattered, they are no longer serviceable and should be replaced, said Jerry Diskin, post adjutant for the American Legion Botts-Fiorito Post #576 in Le Roy.
The proper way to retire a flag that is no longer serviceable, he said, is to burn it.
"Some people have a little concern about, 'why are you burning a flag? That's sacrilegious.' But it's the only proper way to dispose of an American flag, in a ceremonial burn.
The Legion, along with participating veterans organizations, held a ceremonial flag burning on Sunday afternoon at the Northwoods Sportsman's Club on Gulf Road in Le Roy.
Congress approved ceremonial flag burning as the proper way to dispose of old flags in 1949.
"No one wants to see a flag in a landfill or a garbage truck or anything like that," Diskin said. "Unfortunately, you do see that sometimes. We will try to advertise (the flag disposal), and we'll start gathering again right now for next year."
Diskin estimates that more than 3,000 flags, from small cemetery flags to giant flags that flew outside of corporate offices in Le Roy, were piled on the pyre at the sportsman's club.
Diskin encourages businesses and residents to regularly replace flags that have lost their glory.
"Look at the cost of a new flag -- $20, $30 for a three-by-five flag," he said. "It's not a huge investment, and you can get a very decent flag for that price."
Photos by Howard Owens.
Five bands and punk rock fans gathered at Pavilion #2 in the Genesee County Park & Forest on Sunday for the Second Annual Punk Picnic, which featured five bands from Genesee County and Buffalo.
The bands were Privatized Air, Cowboy Vampires, Election Day, Space Cowboys, and Bastard Bastard Bastard.
Previously: 2nd Annual Punk Rock Picnic offers venue for music fans to hear original local music
The Pok-A-Dot is such an iconic location local filmmaker Andy Rich decided to shoot a scene on Saturday morning for a film he and a team of other local filmmakers are putting together for a film festival.
The festival, the 48-Hour Film Project, gives filmmakers just 48 hours to write a script, film it, edit it, and submit it to the contest.
The project can't begin before the Friday night of contest weekend because the team leader must receive two genres the filmmakers must choose from, the two characters that must be included, their professions, a prop and one line of dialogue that must be in the script.
This is the sixth year Rich's team has entered the contest. They've previously made the Top 10 and been nominated for awards.
The Buffalo-area winners will be screened at an international film festival, Filmapolooza, at a location to be announced in 2025. Selected films from that festival will be screened in a special exhibit at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
"Every year, the film gets a little better," Rich said.
Rich likes filming in Genesee County.
"The thing about Genesee County is Genesee County has that feeling of comfort," Rich said.
He was grateful to Tim and Phyllis Beers for allowing the team to film a scene at the Pok-A-Dot.
"It feels like a place that everyone has been to wherever they are in America," Rich said. "It feels like places in small towns all over America."
You can view the 2019 entry here.
Previously: Le Roy actor offers opportunity, tools of the trade in free workshop
Photos by Howard Owens
When you find there isn't much of a punk rock scene in your hometown, you create your own. That's the DIY ethic of the punk movement, after all.
That's the inspiration behind the second annual Punk Rock Picnic on Sunday in Genesee County Park & Forest.
"We come from Batavia, and we don't really fit in the Rochester scene or the Buffalo scene," said Ronald Ratulowski, one of the organizers of the picnic. "I'm old enough to know we're not going to create a scene in Batavia so this our scene."
There will be five bands playing on Sunday, the two Ratulowski plays in, Cowboy Vampires and Election Day, plus two bands from Buffalo, Space Cowboys and Bastard Bastard Bastard, and a fifth band, Privatized Air.
"We've played with the bands in Buffalo and liked them and wanted them to join our party," Ratulowski said.
The picnic starts at 11 a.m. in Pavilion 2, with the first band taking the stage at 1 p.m. Each band will play an hour-long set.
Ratulowski and fellow Cowboy Vampire Chris Humel worked together to organize the event.
There aren't many venues in Batavia that book bands playing original music so this is a chance for people to come out to the park and hear local bands playing their own songs, Ratulowski said.
"They can hear music they might not otherwise hear," Ratulowski said.
Submitted photos from 2023.
A young rock star -- shades of Elvis Presley -- is about to enter the Army after being drafted, and his manager needs to cash in on him one more time so he can get out of debt, return to college to become an English teacher and marry his sweetheart.
That story, set to song, is the plot of the classic musical Bye Bye Birdie, which the cast of Batavia Players will present this weekend at 56 Main Street Theater in Downtown Batavia.
It's the story of Albert Peterson, a mild-mannered young man with a talent for writing hit songs but none of the guile of Tom Parker, who has helped Conrad Birdie achieve stardom. His girlfriend, Rose Alvarez, wants Albert to exit the music business and return to his initial passion, writing, and become the English teacher and all the stability that represents, as he originally planned.
Albert is distressed when Birdie is drafted, but Rose sees this turn of events as a golden opportunity. She encourages Albert to write a hit song, "The Last Kiss," and get Birdie on national TV kissing one of his fan club members goodbye.
Hilarity and entertainment ensue.
The musical is set in the early 1960s, with Batavia Players' sets and costumes being period-perfect.
Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. For more information and tickets, visit bataviaplayers.org.
With the groundbreaking for Edwards Vacuum's new plant at WNY STAMP in Alabama, it's all going according to plan.
In August 2020, Schumer traveled to WNY STAMP to propose a bill that eventually became law, funding the semiconductor industry in the United States to the tune of $50 billion. He said ramping up domestic semiconductor production was a matter of national security. He also wanted to create jobs in Upstate New York, including rural counties. At another news conference in 2022, he said chip manufacturing "belongs in Batavia, not Bejing."
"What makes us so happy about this project is J-O-B-S," Schumer said at Tuesday's ceremony. "Jobs, right here. In just over a year, hundreds of local workers will be employed at this factory behind me, where they will build some of the most sophisticated, cutting-edge equipment for the semiconductor industry, not just in New York and not just in America, but in the world. This will be one of the world-class plants right here in Genesee County."
In November 2022, Schumer announced that Edwards Vacuum had committed to building a $319 million dry-pump plant in WNY STAMP, which would provide a critical tool to semiconductor manufacturers in New York and beyond. Edwards is building a 240,000-square-foot campus that includes manufacturing, a warehouse and administration. The company is expected to employ 600 people.
Schumer said Edwards will pump $300 million into the Genesee County economy.
"This story is going to be repeated over and over again across upstate New York, over and over again, of what we now call the 'Semiconductor Superhighway,' which is I-90, as it runs from Albany all the way to Buffalo, through Rochester and Syracuse.
Mark Masse, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, thanked all the agencies—from Gov. Kathy Hochul and Empire State Development to Genesee County and the town of Alabama—for their efforts to collaborate and help make Tuesday's groundbreaking possible.
"It requires collaboration at all levels of government to make an economic development project like Edwards Vacuum a reality," Masse said.
The work to build out STAMP is ongoing, Masse said, and it isn't easy.
"The competition to develop sites like STAMP and bring companies such as Edwards to New York has never been more challenging," Masse said. "The opportunities for communities across New York State, particularly upstate, are unlimited in terms of creating generational wealth that we have not experienced in a very long time."
Alabama Town Supervisor Rob Crossen said the town welcomed the opportunity for economic growth.
"Why would we accept such a thing in a very small town? It's about jobs. It's about good-paying jobs," Crossen said. "I spent my entire life growing up here, as many of us did, watching everybody move from Genesee County and from Western New York. Now, we're going to start seeing license plates from other states coming here."
During his speech, Schumer recalled watching WNY companies such as Kodak, Bausch and Lomb, Xerox, Bethlehem Steel, Bell Helicopters, and more either reduce manufacturing locally, move away, or close up shop.
"It pained me to see jobs leave Upstate New York to hear the stories and actually witness some parents at airports waving goodbye to their kids in their early 20s who wanted to stay here," Schumer said. "They liked the good life here, but they couldn't find a job here. Now, the reverse is going to be true. Parents will be going to airports in the rest of the country and waving goodbye to their kids as they come to Upstate New York for the good paying jobs."
Each year, Jesse Coots, his family, and scores of volunteer staff members put on a party like no other in Genesee County at his home and place of business on Linwood Road in Le Roy.
At least 3,000 people come together, as they did Saturday for the Hardcore Happening, to enjoy an afternoon of roaring engines, billowing smoke, squealing rubber, and the site of some marvelously restored classic cars.
A big reason it seems to work year after year, with a minimum of conflicts and bad behavior, is Coots' no-nonsense rules he posts on social media each year.
For example, "No scumbags, No drama, No bullshit. It’s pretty easy to sort out who the dipshits are, and they get shamed and banned every year. Come be a beacon of goodness, not a shit stain of a waste. We have a great turnout of great people, and it’s because we aren’t afraid to throw scumbags the (eff) out; your feelings and privileges are not safe here; you’ll get treated how you act. Don't (eff) this up."
Drivers must be licensed and sober. No drugs. No pets. Children must be well-behaved. Come, meet people, make friends. Be a good human.
Oh, and "Everyone’s car is special; if yours is so special you need special parking, park it in your special garage and sit your special ass on your special couch and stay home."
"I wish we could run our country like that," said Coots during an interview in his garage while cars roared and crowds cheered outside. "This is what we expect out of you. Do it, otherwise you gotta go so and it works great. We have thousands of people here. There are no fights. I've never had anything stolen. Everybody watches guard. The entire place. This place is amazingly immaculate in the mornings because nobody wants to lose the privilege. It really makes me feel good about humanity when sometimes I'm wondering how humanity is going. It's a good group of people."
The party started 20 years ago as a small group of people, and largely by word of mouth, it has grown every year, now drawing car enthusiasts from 20 states. This year, the Coots family and volunteers served more than 2,000 pounds of chicken (there is a $30 entry fee, even if don't plan to stay until 5 p.m. for the dinner).
Coots restores classic cars and specializes in hot rods in his Old Soul Hot Rod Shop on Linwood Road.
The unique thing about the Hardcore Happening is it isn't just another car show.
There's no shortage of classic car gatherings where people can ogle each other's gems, but few opportunities for hot rod owners to fire up their chariots and let people see and hear what they can do simply but burning a little rubber on the pavement -- and at the Coots home, it's a driveway special built some years ago specifically for this event.
The popularity of the event helps keep it going, Coots said.
"I gotta do it. Plus, I love it. It's a lifestyle," Coots said. We really need this type of camaraderie and community event. You know what I mean? Everybody gets together, and if you notice, they're all constantly cheering and just happy for each other. It's hard to walk away from that."
He said the energy of such a wide range of people coming together and finding commonality is what keeps him going.
"What's amazing is it's hard for men, I found in life, to recognize other men. I can't tell you how many tattooed, wild-looking men come up here, like, 'Dude, you're the man. I appreciate you. Thank you for doing this for us.' And the cool thing is, they introduce their children, and they're teaching their kids like, 'This is how you act when you respect someone. This is how you treat them.' So I'm always blown away with this crowd and this circle. They're always classy, they always care, and they're really genuine. That's what this whole crowd is: genuine. There are multiple millionaires here, and there are people who literally are scratching by, and they all have the same thread. They're all birds of a feather. They all get along."
Photos by Howard Owens.
A group of 25 6th through 10th graders from throughout Genesee County celebrated on Friday the completion of a trail bridge in Genesee County Park & Forest.
It's the 10th project members of Camp Hardhat have completed in the park in the past eight years.
"This is part of bringing this park into the community," said instructor Rich Monroe. "These kids are part of this community as if they were CCC workers way back in the 30s. This is your park kids. It's your park forever."
The names of the participants, along with business sponsors, are enshrined on a metal sign attached to the bridge.
The program introduces the students to the building trades, combining math, process thinking skills, the use of power tools, safety, and the advantages of teamwork.
They also learn the principles of design and construction from area industry leaders such as Bill Hayes from Turnbull HVAC, Keith Berlinski from Hot Wired Electrical, Joma Akana of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (NASRCC), Dustin Beardsley from Rochester Davis-Fetch Corporation, Lindsie Cook from Livingston Associates, and Taylor McCabe from McCabe Enterprises Electrical Contractor.
Classic rock fans certainly got an earful at Batavia Downs on Friday night with what essentially a double headline of a Tom Petty tribute band and a Fleetwood Mac tribute band entertained an estimated 4,500 concertgoers.
Practically Petty took the stage at 6:30 p.m. with a near-note-perfect performance of classics from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, including a few deep tracks.
Then, Rumors ALT took the stage and delivered a satisfying dose of Fleetwood Mac hits.
Photos by Howard Owens
Contrary to an assertion by Dennis Bassett, chairman of the board for Western Regional OTB, Erie County officials believe a request to add an Erie County representative to the CEO search committee is timely.
On Wednesday, The Batavian received a copy of a letter sent by Erie County Executive Marc Poloncarz to Bassett asking that Timothy Callan, currently representing Erie County on the OTB board, be appointed to the board.
On Tuesday, Bassett told The Batavian he wasn't going to add Callan to the committee because he has confidence in the current committee as it is comprised, and too much progress has already been made in the process.
A spokesman for Poloncarz, Peter Anderson, claimed Erie County wasn't informed a search committee was formed until this past week.
"This request is not late," Anderson said in response to a set of email questions from The Batavian. "Dr. Callan was only informed of the hiring process at last week’s OTB meetings, and he briefed the County Executive earlier this week. The process has been opaque to many of the corporation’s directors, including Dr. Callan."
However, at OTB's June meeting, Callan was present and cast a vote opposing negotiations to buy out the contracts of CEO Henry Wojtaszek, CFO Jackie Leach, and VP of Operations William White. That resolution also authorized Bassett to form a search committee.
The Batavian recorded the motion's reading at the June meeting, which was read by Elliott Winter, Niagara County's representative on the board. The motion states, "Dennis Bassett is authorized to execute the renegotiation contracts for the corporation and to immediately assemble a search committee."
Callan's "no" vote is also recorded, confirming his presence at the meeting.
Anderson did not respond on Thursday for clarification of his response, given the contradiction in timelines.
The letter from Poloncraz touted Callan's high-level government experience as a qualification for inclusion on the committee but did not specify any private-sector business experience.
Anderson said there is no need for business experience to hire a chief executive.
"Erie County is a nearly $2 billion annual operation, which Dr. Callan has overseen both as deputy budget director and deputy comptroller," Anderson said. "Western Region OTB is not a private business and is, in fact, an NYS-regulated public entity. It is ludicrous to insinuate that a lack of private-sector business experience precludes Dr. Callan from the search process."
More than $1 billion passes through Batavia Downs annually, generating more than $86 million in revenue and leading to a profit of more than $10 million paid to municipalities.
Bassett has repeatedly promised, as board chair, to run Batavia Downs as a business, given the importance of its remaining competitive in the marketplace, so it can continue to generate profits to the benefit of its shareholders (the municipalities).
In early July, Bassett told The Batavian, "There are a number of municipalities that need Batavia Downs to be successful," Bassett said. "I mean, their budgets need for us to continue to generate revenues for them so we can help them do things that they would like to do in their own municipalities. They are not interested in us playing politics. They need for us to make good business decisions. As long as I'm the board chair and I will be chair for the next three and a half years, we are going to look at the right business decisions and how we can move this organization forward. And that's not going to be politically motivated."
Bassett, a Democrat representing Monroe County on the board, has a solid business background. In 2021, he retired as the director of Customer Operations at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics in Rochester. He's held various executive-level positions at Bausch and Lomb and Eastman Kodak Company.
The Batavian suggested that Poloncarz’s letter could be read to express a lack of confidence in Bassett and that he wasn't qualified to run the search committee. We asked what defect with the current committee Erie County is trying to cure with its request.
"The current committee lacks representation from the corporation’s largest member, Erie County," Anderson said. "As noted above, Western Region OTB is public, quasi-governmental entity, and Dr. Callan is a known subject matter expert in governmental management and financial procedures."
On Wednesday, Bassett said Callan will participate in the hiring process when he votes on a candidate to fill the CEO role.
Bassett has pledged not to let politics enter into the CEO hiring process, even promising not to inquire about the party affiliation of candidates. The Batavian asked Anderson if Poloncarz/Callan/Erie County was willing to make the same pledge.
Anderson did not make such an explicit pledge, and he did not respond to a follow-up email requesting a more explicit pledge.
He said in his first response, "Erie County’s objective is to find the most qualified candidate possible to lead Western Region OTB for the purposes of maximizing returns to the taxpayers of Erie County. Period."
After the June meeting, The Batavian emailed Callan to ask him why he voted against the buyout/search committee resolution, and he did not respond. So we asked Anderson why Callan voted against it.
"There continue to be outstanding legal and ethical questions regarding the golden parachutes authorized for Henry Wojtaszek and other senior Western Region OTB officials," Anderson said. "Such buyouts are not considered a best practice and, in fact, are illegal for NYS ABO-regulated entities."
Bassett, under the advice of the OTB legal council, has publicly stated that Western Regional OTB is not an NYS ABO-regulated entity.
Anderson is apparently referring to NYS Public Authority Law Section 43-A, which deals with severance packages for at-will employees of public authorities and limits the payout of any severance to three months of salary.
Bassett said Western OTB is a public benefit corporation organized under the NYS Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law and, therefore, not subject to the Authority Law.
"The severance pay limits only apply to employees under Chapter 43-a," Bassett said. "The same is true of Henry Wojtaszek. As such, the New York State Severance Pay Limitations Act does not apply to Mr. White Miss Leach or to Mr. Henry Wojtaszek."
Anderson said the payouts are not a "best practice" in the business world. Bassett, with 51 years of corporate experience, says they are. (This reporter has received two contract buyouts as an executive with corporations during his career, and in both cases, when adjusted for inflation and relative executive positions, they were comparable to the buyouts offered to the OTB executives.)
In New York, all authorities, not just OTBs, similar to private businesses, are authorized, if not expected, to operate as businesses and follow standard business practices based on a ruling in a 1958 lawsuit, Civil Service Forum vs. New York City Transit Authority.
Authorities have the power to do all things "necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes," and "unlike other agencies performing governmental functions, (the authority) is required to run the transit system like a business, in that its facilities must be operated on a self-sustaining basis. Recognized business practices should be permitted."
In 1976, the Office of the Comptroller issued an opinion regarding the Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation and came to the same conclusion.
The establishing statute for OTBs gives the board the power to "appoint officers, agents, employees ... and to fix their compensation ... and to "make contracts ... and execute all instruments necessary or convenient to accomplish its corporate purposes."
In a follow-up email, The Batavian asked Anderson to address contradictions between his statement and the evidence of standard business practices, as previously reported, but he has not responded.
Zak and Abby Jantzi, representing Bontrager Auction and Real Estate, on Thursday, became the first married couple in GLOW Corporate Cup history to combine for wins in the male and female divisions.
Zak, who also won in 2023 and placed second in 2022, finished in first place with a time of 16:15. Abby topped all female competitors with a time of 20:41.
"We love this race," Zak said. This is, I think, our third year. Bontrager has been really competitive with it. I feel like it's sort of like the main event on our calendar. We're both post-collegiate runners, so just doing community events is really great for us. It's something that, as a couple, we really enjoy to run and train, so it's really just a great event to enjoy."
The first GLOW Corporate Cup was in 2014. It is a fundraiser for the YMCA. Besides the race, the event features a picnic in Centennial Park, called After GLOW, with each participating company setting up a tent and sharing in a meal.
More than 800 runners and walkers signed up for the event this year, said key organizer Steve Tufts, a broker with a primary corporate sponsor, Merrill Lynch.
"I'm really thrilled that we're practically back to where we were (before the pandemic)," Tufts said. "We didn't have a race in 2020. Most races across the country took about 40% hit on participation. We only took 20% in 2021. ... We're looking for it to be another record again next year."
There is no accurate count on how many people were present for the After GLOW, which includes company employees who didn't run and family members, but this year's music entertainment, the Fleetwood Mac tribute band Songbirds drew an unprecedented crowd—at least 100 people not affiliated with any of the participating businesses. No previous bands have anywhere near that draw.
"Our first responsibility is to raise funds for the YMCA," Tufts said. "They're the beneficiary of all our efforts. So, our goal is to make sure we raise adequate funds (for the Y). The secondary goal might be, as you said, benefit to the general community, whether it's a free concert or whatnot. There is no Picnic in the Park any more. Maybe that'll come back some day. I think people miss that. And maybe live music. Maybe there's another company out there in the Batavia/GLOW region that would like to take on another project. We certainly encourage other companies to do something."
With Abby Jantzi's win, an interesting streak among female winners was broken. It's the first time since at least 2015 that a woman with a name other than Kimberly won the female division.
Kimberly Mills has won the race seven times, including in 2023 (Abby finished second in 2023 and 2022). Kimberly Vona, with Batavia Downs, won in 2018 and 2017. Mills did not run this year nor in 2018. She came in second in 2017. Records for the 2014 race are not available online and The Batavian, in its coverage of 2014, did not include the name of the female winner.
In the male division, Zak joins two other men who have won in consecutive years. Collen Mulcahy won in 2016, 2017, and 2018. John Schnitter also recorded consecutive wins in 2019 and 2021 (there was no race in 2020).
The search process for a new president and CEO of Batavia Downs is too far along to add another board member to the search committee, said Western OTB Board President Dennis Bassett in response to an inquiry from The Batavian.
Erie County Executive Marc Poloncarz sent a letter to Bassett on Wednesday, which a Poloncarz spokesman shared with The Batavian, asking that Timonty C. Callan be added to the search committee.
Callan is Erie County's deputy comptroller and Erie County's representative on the OTB board. He has been kept apprised of open and closed sessions, which Bassett agreed, gave Callan every opportunity over the past few months to request inclusion on the board.
"I have worked hard to put together a search committee over several sessions and I feel comfortable that we have a solid process in place," Bassett said. "I have shared with the entire board and kept the board apprised of our progress. The board is the final decision maker of who we elect to be president and CEO."
He added, "I don't think at this late stage should change players or add more players to the search committee. I'm going to stay with the team that I have."
In his letter, Poloncarz suggested Callan should be appointed because Erie County is the largest weighted voting member of the OTB board.
Poloncarz also seems to indicate he doesn't have confidence in the current search committee.
"Filling such a critical role requires a serious regional and nationwide search to find a skilled, reform-minded individual who can lead OTB into the future as the organization competes against the rapid growth of online sports betting and the decline of the horse racing industry," Poloncarz wrote.
He touted Callan's background in government service but did not mention any qualifying business experience.
"Dr. Callan's expertise and experience, including as the executive director of my transition team and participation on the search committee to hire the new State University of New York at Erie Community College president, make him well suited to enhancing and professionalizing your search," Poloncarz wrote. "Not including Dr. Callan in your search process not only does a disservice to all the members of OTB, but to the taxpayers of every constituent municipality."
Bassett said he wouldn't speculate on why Poloncarz would weigh in on the composition of the search committee so late in the process.
"I really want to deal with facts and want to make sure we stay steadfast, that our process has transparency, that we go through our process and put the right candidate in front of the board and then vote on who is the most qualified individual," Bassett said.
"I took great care," he added, "to select board members who would aid this process, and I thought I did a pretty good job of that. Though he wasn't on the selection list, I respect Mr. Callan's opinion, and he will, as a large voting block of the board, have a chance with the board to decide who is the next president and CEO."
In an exclusive interview with The Batavian in early July, Bassett promised that there would be no politics in the hiring process of a new CEO. The search process is focused entirely, he said, on hiring the right business person with no regard for political affiliation.
"We are looking for people who can take Western OTB to the next level," Bassett said during that interview. "Henry Wojtaszek is on the right side of the aisle, and I'm on the left side of the aisle. I have the utmost respect for Henry Wojtaszek and the way he ran this organization. We're looking for solid business people."
Bassett, a Democrat representing Monroe County on the board, has a solid business background. In 2021, he retired as the director of Customer Operations at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics in Rochester. He's held various executive-level positions at Bausch and Lomb and Eastman Kodak Company.
"I have been a part of several high-level searches of senior executives in my 51 years in corporate America and on boards outside Western OTB, and I think we are capable of conducting a national search in a very timely and effective manner," Bassett said earlier this month.
The other committee members are Mike Horton, Steuben County; Mark Burr, Cattaraugus County; Ed Morgan, Orleans County; and Elliott Winter, Niagara County.
While Batavia Down's revenue and returns paid to municipalities have grown substantially during Henry Wojtaszek's tenure as president and CEO, the period has also been striven with controversy, from questions about health care plans for OTB board members, the distribution of tickets to sporting events, and Wojtaszek's bookkeeping for a company-provided vehicle. Wojtaszek has said in numerous interviews over the years that these issues have been resolved or corrected.
At a June board meeting, the majority of board members backed a resolution to provide Wojtaszek, CFO Jackie Leach, and VP of Operations William White with severance packages. This is essentially a buyout of contracts that will terminate their employment before the previously negotiated employment contracts expire.
The lone no vote to terminate the employment contracts early came from Callan, which is a vote he has not explained and he did not respond to an email from The Batavian in June asking that he explain the vote.
Erie County Democrats have claimed the contract buyouts violate state law, but Bassett has previously explained that they are citing the wrong section of New York authorities law, and the buyouts under the enabling legislation for OTB make the buyouts legal as a standard business practice.
Board President Dennis Bassett said on Wednesday that he will no longer require people attending Western Regional OTB meetings to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
"I would like to say I erred and that I respect the First Amendment," Bassett said.
His decision to tell attendees that they needed to stand for the pledge and place their hands over their hearts or leave the meeting was something he had "no right to do."
"I'm just trying to be a good board chair and I made a mistake," Bassett said. "Not respecting the First Amendment was a mistake on my part."
The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy, who lived from 1855 to 1931. It was first published in The Youth's Companion later that year.
The Youth's Companion promoted the placement of flags in classrooms and placed more than 26,000 of them in classrooms near the close of the 19th Century.
The pledge wasn't included in the U.S. Flag Code until 1942. Prior to World War II, students were encouraged to recite the pledge at school with a hand raised toward the flag. During the war, citizens realized the salute was too similar to a Nazi salute, and the practice of placing the right hand over the heart began.
In addition to First Amendment concerns, requiring people to leave a public meeting for anything other than a closed session or disruptive behavior violates the state's Open Meetings Law.
The Elmira Pioneers entered the fourth inning of Wednesday's rain-suspended West Division championship game ready to hit.
Matt Misiti, who tossed three innings on Tuesday before the downpour started, returned to the mound and recorded only one out while surrendering three runs, giving Elmira a 3-2 lead.
On the regular season, Misti was 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA 34 strikeouts.
The Pioneers scored again in the fifth and added on two more in the ninth to take the division title 6-3.
Trevor Dutra, who homed on Tuesday as part of a Muckdogs two-run third inning and gave Batavia the lead before the rain started, was 2-3 in the game.
The Muckogs had a regular season record of 34-8 while Elmira was 24-18.
Elmira next faces the Amsterdam Mohawks (35-7 in the regular season) for the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League championship.
Since entering the league in 2021, the Muckdogs have finished 22-19 (third place), 30-15, 27-16, and this year, 34-8. This season represents the third straight year that Batavia has finished with the best record in the West Division.
Photos by Howard Owens
The legal particularities of what evidence may be used at trial were the focus on Wednesday of a pair of hearings for defendants implicated in the death of Sgt. Thomas A. Sanfratello during a confrontation at Batavia Downs on March 10.
At issue is the legal sufficiency of a 710.30 notice, which refers to a portion of Criminal Procedure Law requiring the prosecution to provide notice to the defense of statements made by defendants to public officers.
The defense argues that District Attorney Kevin Finnell didn't provide enough detail in the 710.30 notice to alert them to which statements of their clients captured by police officer body-worn cameras might be used at trial.
County Court Judge Donald O'Geen pressed them on whether the detail they requested was really necessary, given that they received all of the body-worn camera footage obtained by the DA's office. He questioned whether it was realistic for the DA to be completely sure of which statements he might use at this state of the proceedings.
Both attorneys argued that the notices required more detail.
Finnell argued that he might very well use all of the video in question at trial, so the notice he filed provided sufficient information for the defense to prepare for trial.
The defendants are Michael J. Elmore and Lyndsey J. Wilcox. Elmore is charged with multiple charges for his alleged attack on Sanfratello, including aggravated manslaughter in the first degree, and Wilcox also faces several charges, including burglary and assault (full list of charges at the end of this story).
Elmore is represented by Joseph A. Lobosco, and Wilcox is represented by Daniel Dubois and James Vacca.
The hearing on Wednesday morning was the next stage of the process that is likely to lead to criminal trials early next year for Elmore and possibly Wilcox (unless there is a plea agreement). At this stage, defense attorneys make motions, the people (prosecution) file their answering affidavits, then the judge hears limited oral arguments (the purpose of Wednesday's hearing) and then the judge reviews the motions and arguments and issues a ruling.
Lobosco also moved to dismiss the grand jury indictment against Elmore because, in his view, the DA asked too many leading questions (assertions rather than open-ended questions) during grand jury testimony.
"This tainted the entire grand jury process," Lobosco argued.
Finnell defended the grand jury testimony by noting that supposed leading questions were just drawing attention to portions of video and asking witnesses to affirm the accuracy of the video.
The other important issue for Dubois and Vacca in representing Wilcox was the validity of the burglary charge. The burglary charge is predicated on the assertion that a person remained unlawfully on private property after being asked to leave with the intent to commit another crime.
Vacca argued that a review of the surveillance video shows that Sanfratello confronted Elmore, Wilcox and a third party inside of Rush 34, one of the bars inside of Batavia Downs, and apparently informed them they needed to leave the facility. The video indicates Wilcox was cooperative and complying and is seen at one point, standing aside and laughing and joking with a female security guard. She then, he said, walks ahead of Sanfratello while being escorted out of the facility. Near the front door, there is, according to Vacca, an inadvertent brush of hands between Wilcox and Sanfratello.
Wilcox reacts to this and hits Sanfratello, so Sanfratello takes her to the ground and places her in handcuffs. It is after she is in cuffs that Elmore allegedly attacks Sanfratello.
Dubois argued that Wilcox should not be charged with assault based on the video evidence. That her actions constitution, at most, a violation of the harassment statute.
None of this, the attorneys argue, supports the assertion that Wilcox formed an intent to stay in the building in order to commit a crime.
Finnell countered that the action of Wilcox constituted resisting arrest and that her hitting Sanfratello became assault because he was a police officer conducting his official duties. He also argued that it isn't possible to know when Sanfratello's heart emergency, which eventually led to his death, started. It could have started, he said, during the confrontation with Wilcox.
O'Geen is expected to issue a ruling before the next court appearances for Elmore and Wilcox on Aug. 23.
Both defendants remain in custody.
Elmore was indicted by the Grand Jury on counts of:
Elmore and Wilcox are indicted on counts of:
Trevor Dutra delivered a bomb over the right field wall in the bottom of the third inning of Tuesday's division championship game to give the Muckdogs a 1-0 lead over Elmira.
The game was suspended at the start of the fourth inning because of a heavy downpour drenching Batavia.
The Muckdogs have a 2-0 lead in the suspended game after Caleb Walker scored on a wild pitch later in the bottom of the third.
The game resumes on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Tickets from Tuesday's game are still valid.
Photos by Howard Owens.
The Batavia Muckdogs opened the postseason with a 4-2 win over Jamestown at Dwyer Stadium on Monday.
Batavia finished the regular season with a 34-8 record for a .802 win percentage, 10 games ahead of second-place Elmira and the second-best record in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. The Amsterdam Mohawks finished 35-7 for a .833 win percentage.
Jamestown, 19-25 in the regular season, opened the scoring with two runs in the second on an RBI single by Leo Doyle. Two batters later, Aidan Wallace scored on a wild pitch.
The Muckdogs answered in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single by T.J. Morris and tied the game in the bottom of the third when Travis Hammond scored on a fielder's choice.
Hammond again scored in the sixth on a fielder's choice in the sixth to give the Muckdogs the lead.
Batavia picked up an insurance run in the eighth after Shaun Pope walked to open the inning (replaced on the basepaths by James Mason), a single by Travis Hammond, a walk to Jake Butler, and finally a walk, forcing a run in (Mason) to Cooper Romich.
The win was credited to Garrett Beaver, who took the mound in the sixth, relieving Gage Wheaton (Penfield/Niagara University), who went five innings, giving up four hits, two runs, and striking out five Tarp Skunks.
Hammond was 2-2 with a walk at the plate, scoring two runs.
To keep their season going, the Muckdogs need another win on Tuesday night against Elmira at Dwyer Stadium. Game time is 6:35 p.m.
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