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Batavia Notre Dame United’s four-game winning streak came to an end tonight by a 6-2 score at the hands of the McQuaid Jesuit Knights at the Batavia Ice Arena.

The loss drops BND to 10-5-3 while McQuaid evened its record at 7-7-2 in Section V competition.

United is scheduled to take on Victor, weather permitting, at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Rochester Ice Center in Fairport. BND handed Victor only its second loss of the season, 4-2, last week.

Freshman forward Brady Johnson gave United a 1-0 lead with 9:15 on the clock in the first period, converting a pass from Ronin Hofmaster to beat McQuaid goaltender Rory Fitzpatrick. Gavin Schrader also picked up an assist on the power play goal.

BND held the lead until just 44 seconds remained in the period when freshman Jack Callery took a pass from Nicholas Bianchi and put a one-timer past United goalie Frank Falleti Jr. for his eighth goal of the season. McQuaid’s goal also came on the power play.

Two goals within four minutes of each other early in the second period gave the Knights what proved to be an insurmountable lead. Junior defenseman Drew Palmer beat Falleti to the glove side 1:28 into the period and junior forward Alex Saracene deflected a shot from the point by Dante Coelho past Falleti, who was screened on the play.

Junior forward Cooper Hamilton’s power play goal – coming after sharp passes from Ronin Hofmaster and Jameson Motyka – pulled United within a goal with 7:58 left in the period.

United had a couple of power play opportunities in the third period but was unable to put the puck past Fitzpatrick, who had 25 saves.

McQuaid scored again after BND pulled Falleti with 1:10 remaining for an extra attacker, with Palmer finding the back of the net on a shot that went the full length of the ice.

With Falleti back in, Palmer closed out the scoring -- and finished with a hat trick -- by poking the puck into left side of the net with just one second to play. Junior forward Evan Kopacz was credited with assists on both goals.

The teams combined to commit 16 penalties – nine against McQuaid and seven against United, which was 2-for-8 on the power play. Shots on goal were even at 27 apiece.

In a situation where someone has committed an unlawful offense against someone else, reconciliation isn’t something than happens very often.

However, if the both parties – especially the victim – are willing, it’s worth the effort, says Diana Prinzi, the new coordinator of the Genesee Justice restorative program that is a division of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’re working on our first restorative justice reconciliation meeting in the near future and it’s something I would like to see more of,” said Prinzi, a retired U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervisor who started in her county post on Jan. 3. “It’s one of the items on my bucket list.”

Prinzi (pictured at right) was hired to replace Catherine Uhly, who retired last February.

The Le Roy native and current resident of Alexander spent 22 years in various capacities with ICE, mostly at the federal detention center in Batavia, before taking a part-time victim’s advocate position at Genesee Justice early last year.

She said she has been doing her best to learn about the various programs that Genesee Justice has to offer, including victim advocacy, offender accountability, DWI conditional discharge, release under supervision and risk assessment.

Being able to “restore” broken relationships is at the heart of Genesee Justice, an innovative approach to navigating the legal system that has been a hallmark of Genesee County for about 40 years.

“We haven’t had any instances of where the victim, offender and a facilitator have gotten together in quite a while,” Prinzi said. “It’s a process that takes place after the fact, after sentencing, where we try to get them back on track; to be able to move forward with their lives, but the victim has to want it.”

A 1986 graduate of Notre Dame High School with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Brockport State College, Prinzi said she enjoyed her time as a victim advocate and jumped at the chance to lead the agency, which is located at 14 West Main St.

“I’m excited for the opportunity and feel that the qualifications of the job fit mine pretty well,” she said, noting that she scored well on the Civil Service exam that preceded the interviewing process. “Being in law enforcement, I understand that you have to follow the laws, and I believe that my 15 years of supervisory experience is an asset.”

Prinzi oversees a department that, when fully staffed, has 11 full- and part-time employees – case managers, community service victim’s assistants, victim advocates, DWI conditional discharge specialists, principal clerk and financial analyst. Currently, three part-time positions are open.

Genesee Justice serves the community in a number of ways, she said.

“We offer victim advocacy – services to crime victims, such as help with court proceedings, orders of protection, compensation claims, emotional support and referrals to other agencies,” Prinzi said. “Then there is community service, where a person’s sentence might include working at a nonprofit agency with complete oversight by Genesee Justice.”

Services to victims are provided at no charge, Prinzi said, adding that the department interacts with 450 to 500 persons annually.

She said the agency’s first-time DWI offender program has enabled those charged with driving under the influence the chance to complete several requirements over a year to possibly gain a conditional discharge, with a judge having final say in the matter.

Prinzi said the state’s bail reform has affected, to some extent, other programs such as pre-trial release (RUS) and risk assessment.

“Bail reform is being debated (by state legislators) and we’re still reviewing and researching that,” she said.

Outside of the office, she said that she and her husband, Samuel, look forward to spending time with their five grown children and one grandchild, and enjoy hiking and walking outdoors.

For more information about Genesee Justice, go to www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/geneseejustice/index.php.

Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Without a facility to provide intervention services for pre-school children in Genesee County, annual costs to transport these young people to regional facilities are exceeding a half-million dollars, County Public Health Director Paul Pettit said on Monday.

“We still do not have any local center-based services in Genesee County, and once Rainbow Preschool was shut down a little over a year ago (due to financial difficulties) that has resulted in having nothing available for our kiddos,” Pettit said at the Genesee County Legislature’s Human Services Committee meeting at the Old County Courthouse.

“So, any kids in the county that require full-day, center-based services, they're getting bused out, which is partly why our transportation services are as costly as they are.”

Calling it a “very challenging” situation, Pettit said it costs about $550,000 in 2021 to bus these children to programs and services in neighboring counties – to places such as the Mary Cariola Children’s Center in Rochester and centers in Livingston and Erie counties. He said last year’s cost likely was less than anticipated due to COVID-19 and the curtailing of travel.

Pettit said about 25 children participate in the county program that offers services such as speech, occupational and physical therapy.

“It’s unfortunate when you look at the cost, typically our transportation is as much as it is for the actual services,” he said. “It would be great to have some more local services, but we’re looking at different things.”

He said the merger of GLOW ARC into a regional organization could open a door to services in Genesee County.

As far as reimbursement on some of the preschool programs, the county receives 59 ½ percent of the cost from New York State.

“The program costs for preschool, in general, are about $2.1 to $2.2 million, which includes the transportation piece (and) related services,” he said. “Kids may be in their home environment, or where they are just in need of speech (therapy) or OT, center-based are usually more involved, where they're receiving the full cadre of services.”

Pettit said the out-of-county children’s centers have a larger population of kids and are financially stable to the point where they could be – with more funding – persuaded to open a site in Genesee County.

“But, at the moment, we haven't had anybody knocking down the door. But I mean, we're definitely looking at it,” he said.

In an effort to control busing expenses, the health department is looking into creating a transportation coordinator that would work with Orleans and Livingston counties.

“This actually would be a three-county collaborative to oversee the busing program that we have and to try to keep costs in check and make sure we're routing and doing the best to get kids where they need to be in the most fiscal appropriate way,” he advised.

Representatives of EDP Renewables North America on Monday night laid out a roadmap for the Alabama Solar Park Project, a 133-megawatt, 940-acre solar system in the Town of Alabama.

Speaking via a Microsoft Teams webcast, Kaylen Olwin and Wendy Kingsland, project managers, and Katie Chapman, senior project manager, said the Houston, Texas-based renewable energy company is in the early stages of the process of developing the solar farm.

Anticipated to be operational in 2025, the project would fall under the NYS Office of Renewable Energy Siting Section 94-c guidelines (a revamped version of the former Article 10).

About 24 people were on last night’s videoconference, including Town of Alabama board members, residents and the company officials.

Olwin said EDP Renewables currently has 58 wind and nine solar projects in North America, with five wind systems in New York producing 704.65 megawatts of power and 66 permanent jobs. She said the Alabama Solar Park Project would create 250 construction jobs and four permanent positions.

A look at the map presented last night shows the project covering several roads, including Batavia-Oakfield Townline, Galloway, Macomber, Maple, Gorton, Hutton, Wight, Judge, Morgan and Knowlesville, plus the vicinity of Maple Avenue.

Olwin said the company has 2,000 acres under lease at this time but the current plan is to have 940 acres of solar panels “inside the fence.” She added that EDP Renewables plans to comply with state and town setback regulations – up to 300 feet from homeowners’ property lines.

“Putting solar panels too close to homes is not a good thing,” she said.

The timeline for 2022 as proposed lists completion of land leasing – they did not disclose the current number of leasing agreements – as well as commencement of project design and finalizing environmental studies pertaining to winter grassland raptor surveys, breeding bird surveys, wetland delineations, archaeological studies and geotechnical studies.

The EDP Renewables reps said they plan to conduct quarterly meetings, preferably in person, while waiting for completion of the New York Independent System Operator study.

If all goes according to plan, an application to ORES would happen in 2023, construction would start in 2024 and the project would be online in 2025, they said. Olwin said the financial benefits to the Town of Alabama, Oakfield-Alabama School District, and Genesee County have yet to be determined.

Similar solar farms in Byron and Oakfield/Elba are at various stages, also as part of the Article 10/ORES process.

Contacted by The Batavian this morning, Alabama Town Supervisor Robert Crossen said the Town Board has been communicating with the three EDP Renewables’ managers for more than two years about the project.

He said EDP Renewables was one of three solar companies that provided input into the town’s solar law that was adopted in 2020.

While not opposed to the project, Crossen said he and the board are aware of the power granted to ORES to override any local solar regulations.

“The biggest thing the town board is wrestling with is the (compatibility with) our Comprehensive Plan and the loss of farmland – prime farmland and prime farmland when drained,” he said. “There could be up to 25 to 50 percent more land needed than what is inside the fence.”

Crossen said the major question is “how do we rectify agriculture and our Comprehensive Plan and the loss of farmland? It’s contrary to that plan.”

One provision of the town’s solar law is that it puts a cap of 2,500 acres for solar panels.

“We figured if we made it less than that, they (ORES) would just throw it out,” he said.

While the town does allow for more than 50 percent of prime farmland for solar, the law stipulates that if the solar developer exceeds that percentage, then it has to go somewhere else in the town and purchase development rights on a farm so it can’t be used for anything other than farming, Crossen added.

“We’re hoping that 94-c won’t throw that out,” he said.

Crossen said he understands that EDP Renewables “is serious” about this project as at least one of the three project managers attends each of the board’s monthly meetings.

Photo from EDP Renewables website.

Previously: In the hopes of curbing some state power over solar farms, Town of Alabama adopts solar ordinance

The voices of local health officials pleading with the powers that be in Albany to boost support for county programming are finally being heard.

That’s what Paul Pettit, public health director for Genesee and Orleans counties, communicated to members of the Genesee County Legislature’s Human Services Committee today as he presented his department’s annual report.

“Ever since I’ve been in my position, we’ve been seeking an increase in Article 6 funding,” said Pettit, (pictured at right) speaking about the section of the Public Health Law that authorizes funding for core services delivered by local health departments. “But, if anything, that has deteriorated over the years as they’ve (state lawmakers) have made more things ineligible.”

Things seem to be changing for the better, Pettit said, as a result of his review of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed 2022-23 state budget.

“As this is our main funding stream … we continue to advocate for (increased funding) on an annual basis,” he said. “Now, (for) the first time the (governor) actually proposed increases in Article 6 funding in her executive budget.

“Again, this is fairly unique. It's never been in the executive budget; we've always lobbied the legislative side for when they put their packages together and it never makes it to the end. So, we are very happy to see that it is in on the front end. And it's fairly significant.”

Pettit said that Article 6 funding for full service health departments (such as Genesee-Orleans) is set to increase from $650,000 to $750,000, and money for “fringe reimbursement” also will go up.

“Public health through Article 6 has never received fringe reimbursement on any of our costs,” he advised. “It's all been local or written off on different grants. We’ve always advocated for it, but it's never been realized. So, the biggest thing in here is that it included up to 50 percent fringe reimbursed on any eligible expenses.”

Fifty percent translates to about $230,000 more to the county health department – bringing the total of state funding through Article 6 to around $1.1 million. Pettit said that kind of money will enable his department to implement key programs, such as lead immunization.

While not official yet, Pettit said he has attended advocacy days in Albany and “everyone we've talked to seemed very supportive; there doesn't seem any appetite of reducing it or taking it out.”

In addition, county health is set to receive $22,000 in performance incentive funds this year, which also can be used for any Article 6-eligible reimbursement, Pettit said.

Pettit touched upon several other aspects of the Genesee and Orleans department, which has been a merged agency for nearly 10 years:

-- Lead poisoning intervention: With the Centers for Disease Controls dropping the permitted levels to 3.5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (and NYS expected to adopt that measure), more people will be eligible for the county's lead program.

Pettit said the department is receiving three grants for its lead program: $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, $250,000 from the CDC and $100,000 annually for five years from the Healthy Neighborhood program that is targeted for the City of Batavia.

“That’s … where you can go in and work with landlords and homeowners ..., making sure their house is safe – smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and those different things,” he said.

-- Cross Jurisdictional Services: The shared services agreement with Orleans County has worked well, both financially and programmatically, Pettit said.

“I think our response to the pandemic and how we've been able to leverage resources and just share our media and our … information that we share with the public -- our public interface with a website -- those have all allowed us to be more efficient and streamlined with our responses,” he said.

Financially, he said the CJS agreement (shared staffing and programming) has saved $275,000 a year over the 9 ½ years – which equals $2.5 million over that time.

Pettit said he hopes that both counties will receive full accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board by early next year.

-- Community health assessment: Every four years, local health departments are required to conduct a full community health assessment. In Genesee’s case, it is being done in conjunction with Orleans and Wyoming counties.

“This is a very collaborative process where we work with all the health systems in the counties, and we bring in our different community partners and other departments … to put together our assessment of basically what's going on in our community, as far as access to health care, other types of services that are available,” Pettit said.

A spinoff of that is the Community Health Improvement Plan that utilizes a survey to obtain the public’s views on health care, transportation and other vital health-related subjects.

-- Septic replacement program: More than $110,000 has been given to Genesee County residents in eligible areas in reimbursement costs for upgrading their septic systems, and that program will continue this year.

“These are along definitely some of our higher tributaries and creeks and streams in the county where, again, we don't want to see incidental discharge occurring,” Pettit said.

-- Adult use of cannabis: The state is ramping up its marijuana legalization guidelines, meaning that the health department will be called upon to provide educational information and, possibly, compliance checks along the lines of tobacco enforcement.

Cases of people who have contracted the omicron variant of the coronavirus are trending in the right direction, giving Genesee-Orleans Public Health Director Paul Pettit cause for optimism that COVID-19 could become an endemic rather than a pandemic in the coming months.

“We’re seeing that decline … which is good,” Pettit said at this afternoon’s Genesee County Legislature Human Services Committee meeting at the Old County Courthouse. “The numbers now are the same that we saw in October and November.”

Pettit said that typically in the spring – when people get back outdoors and “change behaviors” – the numbers will stay low.

“Hopefully, we will see it go down back to a baseline level,” he said.

When asked by legislators if the pandemic could be over, Pettit said that he and his colleagues were talking about the endemic stage last summer, before the new strain came into being.

He said that he thinks that COVID will not go away totally, but eventually would be treated like the flu or other respiratory illnesses.

Pettit said the local health department is focusing on education and the utilization of “tools that we have now that we didn’t have last year,” primarily vaccine boosters, anti-viral medications and natural immunity as well as the continued practice of layered mitigation strategies such as staying home when sick, distancing and masking as indicated based on current public health guidance.  

“We’re providing an ongoing component of education; knowledge and information on how to protect yourself,” he said.

Responding to Legislator Gary Maha’s observation that servers and patrons at many restaurants are no longer wearing face coverings, Pettit said the mask mandate instituted by Gov. Kathy Hochul remains in place – at least for a couple more weeks due to a stay on a decision by a downstate judge who ruled that Hochul did not have such authority.

County Manager Matt Landers said that he is expecting another 2,500 in-home rapid antigen test kits by the end of the week and will be reaching out to towns and villages to see who wants to distribute them to their residents.

According to data on the county health department website, the number of new cases from Jan. 19-25 was 745, down from 1,848 from Jan. 5-11 and 1,104 from Jan. 12-18.

Second cousins Hayden and Alex Allis lit up Medina Lanes on Sunday morning, rolling an 805 series and 300 game, respectively, in the Sunday Rolloffs League.

Hayden, a 25-year-old right-hander, posted games of 289, 258 and 258 for his second United States Bowling Congress-certified 800 series. His high series is 822.

Alex, a 22-year-old righty, fired his second USBC-certified 300 game en route to a 777 series. He previously rolled an 834 series.

Roger Allis, Hayden's father, was third on the list of high scores in the league with a 259 game and 734 series.

In the Thursday Ladies League at Medina Lanes, Amy Allis, who is Hayden's cousin and Alex's aunt, led the way with a 268 game and 704 series.

Elsewhere around the Genesee Region USBC last week, Chris Bailey of Batavia just missed an 800 series -- rolling 32 strikes in a 298-228-267--793 effort in the Turnbull Heating Triples League at Mancuso Bowling Center.

Bailey, who turns 41 on Tuesday, left a pocket 7-10 split after 11 in a row in the first game, had 10 strikes in the second game around a split and an open frame, and came back with 11 strikes in the third game, including the final nine after an open in the third frame.

In the Mancuso Real Estate League on Monday, Devon Leach of Batavia started with a 300 game in a 748 series. Leach, winner of the GRUSBC Scratch Memorial Tournament earlier this month, had an 802 series in October.

At Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen, Nathan Cordes of Batavia recorded a 289 game and 784 series in the Wednesday Men's Handicap League.

For a list of high scores, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the home page.

Genesee Region USBC bowlers have plenty of tournaments to choose from over the next couple months, starting with this weekend’s 9^th annual Scott Whittier Triples No-Tap Memorial Tournament at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion.

The event lists four squads – 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. today and Sunday – and offers at $600 first prize. The entry fee is $75.

Proprietor Randy Hanks reports that today’s squads are nearly full, but there are many openings tomorrow. To enter, call 589-6900.

More information can be found on the Oak Orchard Bowl website – www.oakorchardbowl.com/tournaments.

Other tournaments are as follows:

• Feb. 4-6 – Help-R-Hero’s 4-Person Handicap No-Tap, Le Roy Legion Lanes. Entry fee is $100 per team. First place is $1,000, based on 40 teams. Squad times are 7 p.m. Feb. 4, noon and 3 p.m. Feb. 5 and 2 p.m. Feb. 6. Call 585-409-6459 to enter.

• Feb. 5-6 – GRUSBC Youth Team, Oak Orchard Bowl, Albion. An entry form can be found at www.bowlgr.com.

• Feb. 13 – Super Bowl Handicap Singles, Mancuso Bowling Center, Batavia. Entry fee is $45. One squad at noon. Call 716-474-7960 to enter.

• Feb. 19 – GRUSBC Doubles No-Tap, Mount Morris Lanes. An entry form can be found at www.bowlgr.com.

• Feb. 25-27 – 20^th Anniversary Ron Riggi Memorial, Le Roy Legion Lanes. Four-person handicap. Call 585-409-6459 for squad times and availability.

• Feb. 25-27 – 26th Annual Betty Ellison Memorial Strike Out for Crossroads House fundraiser, Mancuso Bowling Center.  Squad times are 6 p.m. Feb. 25, 3 and 6 p.m. Feb. 26 and 1 p.m. Feb. 27. Entry fee (five person team) is $125. To enter, call Cindy at 585-993-0584 or Tara at 585-409-0136 or go to www.crossroadshouse.com/upcoming-events.

• Feb. 27 – Tommy Kress 60-and-Over Tour, Brockport Bowl. Qualifying squad at 11 a.m. Entry fee is $50. Walk-in are accepted (registration starts at 10 a.m.).

• March 4-6, 11-13, Bertram Memorial No-Tap, Mount Morris Lanes.  Entry fee is $125 for a five-person team. First place is $1,000. To enter, call 585-658-2540.

• March 5 – King & Queen Mixed Doubles Handicap, Mancuso Bowling Center. Entry fee is $50, with a $500 first prize, based on 60 entries. Squad times are noon and 2 p.m. Call 716-474-7960 to enter.

Thursday night’s 4-2 home win over Victor has moved Batavia Notre Dame’s varsity hockey team into the No. 4 seed in the Section V Power Seeding Standings.

BND defeated the previously once-beaten Blue Devils to raise its record to 10-4-3, which is good for 88 points in the standings. The team’s per game average of 5.1765 puts it fourth on the list of the section’s 12 Class A clubs.

Penfield (12-1-1) is No. 1 with a 6.5714 per game average, followed by Victor (12-2-2) at 6.5625 and Pittsford (7-5-1) at 5.6154.

Other teams in Class A, currently ranked fifth through 12^th, are Brighton/HFL/ER, McQuaid Jesuit, Portside Royals, Greece Storm, Fairport, Hilton, Gates/Wayne/EI/Wheatland and WFL Panthers.

Should United finish in the top four at the close of the regular season, it would get a first-round bye into the Section V Tournament.

BND Head Coach Marc Staley said the power seeds are determined by strength of schedule, with more points awarded to clubs taking on teams with winning records.

“Teams that are better and have a winning record give us more points whether we win or lose,” he said today. “So, it rewards you for playing against top teams. For instance, we can beat Geneva (WFL Panthers, currently 1-8-0) and we will only get four points. Or we could lose to Aquinas (11-3-0 in Class B) and we still get four points.”

Last night’s victory gave United 10 power seeding points – moving them up from seventh to fourth.

Section V hockey officials say they are using the power seeding system “to provide the best opportunity for the best teams (in) Section V ice hockey to potentially represent us onto (New York) State competition.”

Staley took a deeper dive into his team’s won-loss-tie record, which has been boosted by five wins and a tie in its last six matches.

“Our record may not look incredible at 10-4-3, but in 17 games, we’ve only lost three games in regulation time. That’s impressive; 14 games we’ve either won or went into OT,” he said.

United is back in action at 6 p.m. Tuesday against visiting McQuaid, and then has a rematch with Victor at 5 p.m. Feb. 3, this time at the Rochester Ice Center in Fairport. The regular season finale is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 8 at home against Geneseo/Avon/Livonia.

The Class A sectionals begin with pre-quarterfinals on Feb. 15-16. The top four teams would start with quarterfinal contests on Feb. 17-18.

Semifinals are scheduled for Feb. 25 at the higher seed’s rink and the finals are set for 4 p.m. Feb. 27 at Tuttle Ice Arena on the Brockport State College campus.

Regional competition in Division I will take place at 1 p.m. March 5 at Tuttle Ice Arena.

File photo: Batavia Notre Dame's Gavin Schrader scored three goals and added an assist on Thursday night to raise his Section V-leading totals to 29 and 28, respectively. The senior forward's 57 points are five more than compiled by Max McKay of Churchville-Chili (24 goals, 28 assists). Photo by Howard Owens.

According to the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention, about 100,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses in a year’s time through May 2021 and that number only will increase unless treatment providers emphasize the human aspect of substance use disorder.

That was the message conveyed from Haymarket, Va., by Rob Kent, general counsel for the White House Office of National Drug Policy, during last week’s GOW Opioid Task Force quarterly meeting via Zoom videoconferencing.

“We need to understand in that 100,000 number … that’s 100,000 people who have brothers, sisters mothers, fathers, grandparents and kids themselves. It’s human,” said Kent, who previously served in a similar position for the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports and frequently worked with personnel at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.

Kent said that when people view addiction beyond the human element, “we just we lose the opportunity to do what we need to do -- which is to help people stay alive.”

During his time with OASAS, Kent was instrumental in creating the Certified Recovery Peer Advocate program that enlists people, primarily, who are in recovery and can relate to those in need.

“That’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” he said. “We mandate that insurance -- both Medicaid and private insurance -- pay for them because they help engage people and they're even more critical right now.

“People respond positively to others who can come to them and say, ‘I know what you're going through, I walked that walk before -- I know what it's like.’ I'm not saying they're the end-all, but they’re certainly a key component of what needs to be done.”

GCASA has woven CRPAs into its recovery policy, utilizing peers at The Recovery Station on Clinton Street Road and in other programs in both counties.

Kent pointed out that illegal fentanyl has become a major problem.

“I know there's an uptick with meth (methamphetamine), but illegal fentanyl is being mixed into everything,” he said. “And I think it's important for us to understand that it is lethal; it kills people easily. And it it's changed the ballgame.”

Of that 100,000 number, more than 5,000 are dying in New York State, Kent said.

Kent said the federal government has sent billions of dollars to the states in supplemental block grant funding. In March 2021, New York received $104 million from the stimulus package and, a few months later, received another $90 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.

He said another $50 million to $100 million is expected to flow to the states over the next few years.

While the money is vital, spending it properly is just as important, Kent said.

“I’m not paying enough attention to New York to know how much has been spent, but they should be spending it because people are dying right now,” he said. “I’m very optimistic with the new (OASAS) commissioner (Chinazo Cunningham) that she gets what's going on. She has a heart; she cares and she will try her best to do the right thing.”

Kent said the Biden Administration has made harm reduction a key element of its comprehensive approach to addressing substance use disorders through prevention, treatment, and recovery where individuals who use substances set their own goals. Federal funds are being used to purchase fentanyl test strips and other testing equipment, sponsor syringe service programs, expand access to Naloxone and create guidelines for streamlined and expanded buprenorphine prescribing.

“I know there's reactions (from people) to harm reduction generally into the services I just talked about,” he said. “Some folks will tell you, you're enabling the drug use. I say that when we don't do those things, we're ignoring that it's happening.”

Connecting with those dealing with substance use disorder in genuine and meaningful ways ultimately will make the biggest difference, Kent said.

“We need to understand that we can continue to sit here and talk about drug use as a failure of will – a lack of personal strength, whatever you want to call it -- and we can continue to do that and watch more and more people in this country die from drug use, or we could embrace people,” he said. “We could understand they're human beings. They have families, they have loved ones, and when we focus on it from that perspective, everything then becomes possible.”

Disclosure: Mike Pettinella is the publicist for GCASA.

It may be time for the New York State Sports Writers Association to take a closer look at the Batavia Notre Dame varsity hockey team.

Coach Marc Staley’s United club posted a major victory tonight, knocking off the Victor Blue Devils, ranked third in the state by the NYSSWA, by a 4-2 score at the Batavia Ice Arena.

Gavin Schrader, Section V’s leading scorer, poured in three more goals to lead BND, which stands at 10-4-3 after its fifth win in its last six games (the other being a tie). United is not listed among the NYSSWA’s top 15 teams in Division I in its latest poll.

Victor’s second straight loss puts its record at 12-2-2.

United got a big lift from sophomore goalie Frank Falleti Jr., inserted into the starting lineup for the first time since he suffered a leg injury in the team’s opening game. Falleti stopped 29 of 31 shots, including several at point-blank range.

BND managed just 13 shots against the Blue Devils, but made the most of its opportunities – driving starting goalie Cameron Beal out of the game after Schrader’s third goal at the 12:11 mark of the third period gave the home team a 4-1 advantage.

As expected, Staley was ecstatic after the final buzzer sounded – yelling out “I told you we would win this game” – as he headed to the locker room.

Afterwards, he brought up the fact that his club had just beaten an elite opponent.

“Well, they are the third-ranked team in the state,” he said, responding to the significance of tonight’s win. “So, you tell me. I mean it was 4-1 at one point and we went into our trap the last eight minutes to keep the clock moving. We knew they were going to come after us late, but we hung on.”

Victor opened the scoring five minutes into the first period when sophomore forward Chris Donnelly scored after a shot from the point by teammate Christian Kurz popped out of Falleti’s glove and onto the ice.

United responded eight minutes later when senior Vin DiRisio swept a rebound on a long shot by Schrader past Beal for a power play goal to tie the game. Zack Eschberger also picked up an assist on the play.

Neither team scored in a second period that proved to be a clinic in penalty killing as the teams combined for six infractions – four of them by BND. Falleti was tested throughout the frame as the Blue Devils outshot United by a 12-1 count.

The third period showcased Schrader’s talents as the senior forward registered a “natural hat trick” with three goals in the final 17 minutes. He now has 29 goals and 28 assists in the team’s 17 games.

BND took the lead with 14:46 on the clock when Andrew Kasmarek got the puck to Brady Johnson, who passed it in front of the net to Schrader, who quickly put the puck in the net.

Schrader made it 3-1 when, after taking a pass from DiRisio, rushed down the ice untouched and beat Beal high to his glove side with 12:31 to play. Following a Victor timeout, Schrader scored again just 20 seconds later when he jammed the puck into the net, with Johnson picking up the assist.

Victor’s Simon Kowal collected a rebound of a missed shot at the 7:08 mark to make it 4-2, but the visitors were unable to score again as Falleti came up with five nifty saves down the stretch.

“We’ve been a great third period team all year – outshooting and outscoring teams – but we got outshot tonight, and we knew that was going to happen,” Staley said, assessing Victor’s strengths. “But we wanted to get quality shots, and a couple of those went in to really help us out.”

He said he wasn’t pleased with all the penalties in the second period, but was happy that BND was able to kill them off and also was one for four on the power play.

“When you get that and then you add in some g

oaltending, you’re tough to beat,” he said. “(Falleti) played really well; he’s fully healthy now. With Courtney (Schum), who has done an amazing job, we now have two fine goaltenders competing for that spot, which helps.”

Staley said the team’s nickname is appropriate at this stage of the season.

“I just feel by the way we've been practicing that these kids are really united, and they’re really playing for each other right now,” he offered. “Everybody on the bench is happy. Even when we see guys blocking shots and clearing the puck, the team is responding to that now.

“And we've really found our identity in terms of the style we want to play. And when we stick to our game plan, we're going to be a tough team to beat down the stretch. Teams are going to have to play their best hockey to beat us.”

United is off until 6 p.m. Tuesday when McQuaid Jesuit comes to town, and then it will face Victor again at 5 p.m. Feb. 3 at the Rochester Ice Center in Fairport. Its last regular season game is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 8 at home against Geneseo/Avon/Livonia.

Photos from tonight's game: Coach Marc Staley on the bench, United players congratulate goaltender Frank Falleti Jr. (33). Photos by Mike Pettinella.

Updated, 1/27, 4 p.m. with Karas and Richmond comments:

---------------

Jeremy Karas has confirmed that he is stepping down as a member of the Batavia City Council.

Council's Feb. 12 meeting will be the final one for Karas, who was elected last November to begin a second two-year term as Council member-At-Large.

Karas (photo at right) is an Elba native who is employed as service manager for Temp-Press

He told The Batavian this afternoon that his work responsibilities have increased significantly in recent months.

"Like I told Gino (Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr.) and (City Manager) Rachael (Tabelski), the last three meetings I was unable to make because I was out of town or still at a job site late at night," he said. "So, I just had to make that decision. It's the City of Batavia and the people deserve somebody who's going to be there -- although I had really hoped that I could have."

Karas said the COVID-19 pandemic actually has resulted in more business at Temp-Press, a company that deals with process control and instrumention wilth roughly 120 municipal and private business customers.

"With shortages and other things, they're relying on outside contractors like us more and more," he said. "Usually, this time of year is the slow time, but it just hasn't backed off one bit. I could be down in Erie, Pa., tomorrow and the next day over in Saratoga County.

He also said he wants to be able to spend more time with his family, which includes two boys, ages 14 and 12, who are involved in sports at Notre Dame.

In September 2019, Karas was appointed by the City Republican Committee to fill the seat vacated by Adam Tabelski.

The seat became available when Tabelski resigned due to the hiring of his wife, Rachael, as the city’s assistant manager. Rachael Tabelski now is the city manager.

Karas said he believes the city is heading in the right direction thanks to "good management and good support" from its employees.

"Council is in great shape, too, as far as I'm concerned. Everybody works together very well," he said."They all bring different things to the table, different types of experience and I am very proud to have served with that group. And hopefully, maybe 10 to 15 years down the road if things slow down, I might be able to get back in."

City Republican Chair Richard Richmond issued the following statement:

"Jeremy has been a good asset to the City of Batavia Republican Committee. I've worked with him over the years. He's reliable. I understand his work problem these days with COVID. But when he was on Council, he was quiet. He listened. He was studious. So, we're sorry to lose him

"The next thing is that we're going to be looking for somebody to replace him, and I will have a press release coming out soon. We're inviting people to be interviewed for the job."

Genesee County Manager Matt Landers is urging legislators and key staff members to strike while the iron is hot as far as funding opportunities from New York State are concerned.

“Just a couple of years ago … former Governor Cuomo was telling us that they had a four-year projection of something like $80 billion in the hole. A year later, they were down to $20 billion in the hole, and then $3 billion,” Landers said.

“Now, they're looking at something like over $50 billion to the positive in a four-year projection outlook. So, the state is looking at different opportunities to fund. If there’s ever a time to ask for stuff – this is the time.”

Landers made his comments during this afternoon’s County Legislature meeting at the Old County Courthouse.

With Genesee moving ahead with Phase 3 of its Countywide Water Project, Landers encouraged County Engineer Tim Hens and his team to “put together some aggressive ‘asks’ on the water side because it's never going to be any better than right now to be asking for funding for some of our projects.”

Landers said that in reviewing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $216 billion spending plan for 2022-23, the path seems to be clear for the county to receive its 1 percent sales tax as well as the cash generated by video lottery terminals at Batavia Downs Gaming.

“At this point in time, it looks like there's more good than bad, and not necessarily all financial,” he said. “Just having the ability to not have to go back and beg Albany for our extra 1 percent sales tax is a nice provision that's in there. It isn't tied directly to financially -- it's more procedural and a bit nerve racking that we have to do it, but it’s a nice thing that it's in the (state) budget.”

He also said distribution of VLT money – an unknown in recent years – is on track, and the county is expected to receive “an additional windfall in Article Six funding for the health department … and for mental health and veteran services.”

Article 6 state funds help support critical services provided by local health departments.

MASKING OF COUNTY EMPLOYEES

Landers pointed out that the masking requirement for county employees, which has been in effect for some time, continues – regardless of any legal back-and-forth that is happening at the state level.

County employees must wear face coverings at all time, but can take them off when seated at their workstations and are at least six feet away from others. Visitors to county buildings also are required to wear masks.

“… the Genesee County policy that we had for masking for county employees and visitors to our buildings were in effect before the governor's mandate came into place,” Landers said. “And that would still be in effect, regardless of whatever the court decision was.”

Landers mentioned that the county policy was instituted when there were “a quarter of the cases in the county that we have now, so I think it'd would not be wise for us to not follow science and to open ourselves up to less safe conditions for our employees.”

“We’re going to monitor and hopefully be able to take a different action in the spring, when the cases are ... expected to reduce but just wanted to give an update to the legislature where we stand with that,” Landers said. “And that is with both consultation and an agreement and approval from our public health director.”

NEW COUNTY JAIL UPDATES

Landers said the timeline for the new $70 million county jail on West Main Street Road hasn’t changed, crediting the work of "jail team" members Paul Osborn and Laura Wadhams for their efforts and Hens for reviewing the site plans and preparing bid documents.

“We were scheduled to be out (with bids) next week but we'd rather have it right than to just to rush,” he said. “So the timeline is still a little fluid where we're looking at (maybe) an additional week or two delay, which isn't going to be significant in the long term.”

The county manager added that Osborn and Wadhams will save the county “well into the six figures on catching things we don’t need.”

“That would be a waste of taxpayer money. I've been highly impressed with the work that they've been doing for us. They're some of our best employees and we're lucky to have them,” he said.

LEGISLATORS PASS RULE 19 ITEMS

The final two of the 54 resolutions on the meeting’s agenda were Rule 19 measures (late additions) relating to the purchase of COVID-19 test kits and the revision of the county’s purchasing policy specifically for the jail project.

Genesee County was hoping to use state funds to buy 20,000 test kits for its residents, but learned in recent days that would not be allowed. As a result, it reverted to its original resolution that called upon using $150,750 from American Rescue Plan Act (federal) funding.

Concerning the purchasing resolution, the legislature authorized Landers to approve expenditures up to $35,000 – instead of the current $20,000 limit – exclusively during the construction of the jail.

The change was made after consulting with construction management, engineering and architectural officials, who are looking to avoid any work stoppages by having to wait for the full legislature to convene.

The City of Batavia may have to get its ducks in a row after the City Council president on Monday night expressed his view that farm animals living in the community apparently have gotten his goat.

Eugene Jankowski Jr. said he was compelled “to start a conversation” over the fact that he has received a couple complaints from residents about neighbors who are keeping animals such as goats on their properties – resulting in excessive noise, excrement and other byproducts of such species.

“What we’ve had in the last year – we’ve had a couple of interesting cases where people had multiple goats on their property and it kind of disrupted the neighborhood,” Jankowski said. “I don’t know what we can do, if anything? I don’t know what the public input is on this, but I wanted to start the conversation and at least have some direction from Council …”

Jankowski suggested looking at what other municipalities are doing in similar cases, adding that maybe the city can act to limit the number of non-traditional pets and possibly to install some enforcement measures.

“When you have multiple goats in the backyard and they’re kind of loud and they scream and make weird noises, and they also leave a lot of dung laying around. Maybe we should have some oversight on it,” he added. “It’s not something you’d really expect to see in the city … (where) a person has to wake up with a goat screaming right outside their bedroom window at 5 in the morning.”

Terming it a “low priority” at this point, Jankowski asked for input from his colleagues.

Patti Pacino spoke up, stating, “If it’s disturbing someone, I think we need to look into it.”

Robert Bialkowski said he dealt with this issue in the past and noted that code enforcement officers treat farm animals differently than pets.

“If you have a lamb and it’s a pet and it’s named as a pet, there’s nothing they can do about it,” he said.

Bialkowski said in his case it was St. Bernard dogs “which probably leave as much waste as a small goat, and we couldn’t use our backyard in the summer because the flies were so bad; they didn’t clean up after themselves.”

He said he turned it over to the county Health Department and it was resolved quickly.

Jankowski said they he did try to resolve it but found it was a “gray area.”

“It wasn’t the same as a dog or a cat … and again I don’t want to prevent people from,” he said. “If they have a horse and that’s their means of transportation, where some communities do that … I wouldn’t want to prevent someone from living in the city and not having their transportation.”

The council president said he was referring more to goats, geese, ducks and even roosters who count themselves as city dwellers.

“I was told that Rochester has certain regulations on chickens,” he said. “Nothing like if you’re working the midnight shift and you just put your head to the pillow and you hear a rooster out your bedroom window. It kind of makes you angry.”

City Manager Rachael Tabelski, responding to Jankowski’s request to “find out what our options are,” asked what direction she should take.

“Are you directing me to look into all types of animals on city property or specifically goats, or cloven hoofed animals which would be considered sheep, goats, horse and cattle?” she asked.

Jankowski said he was thinking about animals normally considered to be raised on a farm, which produce food and eggs. He said he wanted to make sure the animals were treated humanely and safely, and were located in an area where they didn’t disturb the neighbors.

Again, he suggested finding out what other communities do and to get public input on the matter.

At that point, John Canale, speaking remotely, said he wished to stay “fairly neutral” since he is dealing with the same problem in his neighborhood.

“I, too, have received complaints about it and I am very apprehensive about making a move in any way because I get along with all my neighbors tremendously well and I certainly don’t want to put myself in a situation where I upset some neighbors and don’t upset other neighbors.”

Canale said if it came down to involving his neighbors that he would recuse himself from the fray, but agreed that Council should look into it.

“Totally understand,” Jankowski replied. “And one of the complaints I received was your neighborhood.”

Concluding the nine-minute discussion, Jankowski called for a “fact-finding thing” and report back in February or March.

A public hearing on the City of Batavia’s $17.7 million budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the City Hall Council Board Room.

City Council on Monday night forwarded several resolutions to its Feb. 14 Business Meeting, including the chance for residents to speak about the budget ordinance and water rate changes.

The proposed General Fund spending plan calls for a tax levy of $5,986,000 – up $121,403 from 2021-22. The property tax rate, however, would decrease by 78 cents to $8.94 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Council has scheduled four budget work sessions, with the first one taking place last night. Others are set for tonight, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 (if needed).

The budget, if adopted as it currently sits, would raise water rates, meter fees and capital improvement fees by 1.5 percent from last year’s rates.

Other items forwarded to the next Business Meeting:

• A long list of capital projects that include several late additions thanks to funding received through the American Rescue Plan Act:

-- Walnut Street mill and fill;
-- Interior improvements to the Batavia Ice Arena;
-- Multiple water plant projects and sewer bypass repairs at the Waste Water Treatment Plant;
-- Maple and Mill Street sanitary sewer project;
-- Sewer lining improvements.

Previously identified projects include the Richmond/Harvester highway improvement program, Bureau of Maintenance/Fire Department facilities, Jackson Square, Austin Park playground, new police station, water treatment plant filters, Jackson Street water project, Waste Water Treatment Plant air system blower and City Centre.

• An increase in the fee charged to accept waste from bulk haulers at the Waste Water Treatment Plant of $5 per 1,000 gallons -- from $35 to $40.

Tabelski is recommending that each time a truck dumps the waste that it be charged for a full tank capacity, a change in policy that could reap another $11,400 in revenue. She indicated that $40 to $45 per 1,000 gallons is the industry standard.

• Rezoning parcels at 145 and 147 Pearl St. from Planned Development (P-1) to Residential (R-2) in response to one of the owners’ desire to erect a shed on his property. No one spoke at a public hearing held last night.

Two resolutions were passed during a Special Business Meeting that took place prior to the Conference Meeting:

• Authorizing a contract for $615,000 with Ashley McGraw Architects of Syracuse to design, engineer and provide construction management services for the city’s new police headquarters, which is expected to be built on the Alva Place parking lot off Bank Street.

• Creation of a temporary human resources director position in light of HR Director Dawn Fairbanks’ intention to retire in the coming months. The non-union job would allow for a smoother transition and handling of the department’s workload, according to the resolution.

Calling it a significant event in his lifetime, Batavia businessman Guy Pellegrino walked away from tonight’s City Council Conference Meeting with a good feeling that the Batavia Ice Arena soon will be named in honor of the late David McCarthy.

Pellegrino, owner of Pellegrino Auto Sales on Pearl Street Road, and Brian McCarthy, president of the David M. McCarthy Memorial Foundation, spoke to city lawmakers at the City Hall Council Board Room to let them know how much it would mean to them for Council to vote in favor of accepting their offer to purchase the naming rights of the Evans Street facility.

City management put out a Request for Proposal back in October and apparently has drafted a contract that stipulates annual payments of $3,100 from Pellegrino Auto Sales over a 10-year period for the privilege to rename the rink The David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena.

“You couldn’t find a better person to have their name on that building,” Pellegrino said. “This is one of the most special things I have ever embarked upon.”

Pellegrino said he and David played hockey together from 1983 through the Batavia High Ice Devils’ run to the New York State finals in 1995.

“He was our team captain and was just one of my great, great friends,” he said. “But back to the naming rights and making sure David's name is on there. He was just very passionate, just a great, great hockey player and even greater person. So, to honor him -- that's honestly what we set out to do.”

David McCarthy was killed tragically in a motor vehicle accident in November 2006 at the age of 29. Shortly thereafter, his family and friends started the foundation in his name to support local youth sports.

His brother, Brian, said he appreciates Pellegrino’s generosity and will work closely with him to advance youth hockey and enhance what the arena has to offer for children and adults, alike.

“Guy came to us and said when this proposal (from the city) came out that he wanted to do this – not necessarily for his business, but in honor of his teammate and my brother, David McCarthy,” Brian said to the City Council members.

“Our family was just blown away that he wanted to do this. We thought, well, what can we do? So, what we bring to the table is … a charitable foundation that is passionate about improving and supporting youth athletics in Genesee County.”

McCarthy said the foundation has supported “a long and diverse list of organizations” over the past 15 years. The foundation has donated around $80,000 to youth sports during that time.

With help from his father, Michael, and other family and friends, McCarthy said the foundation is in a position to help sports groups get started or move to the next level.

“As Guy and I talked about it a few weeks ago, I have the fun job of often times getting back to these organizations, reporting to them that we're going to step in and help,” he said.

“We have a huge golf tournament every June where we raise money to support youth athletics and it's become a very big event, and the community has just been amazing in supporting us,” he mentioned. “So, we're excited to take kind of that recipe and join forces with the people that have been working hard for years to make the ice rink an amazing place, and maybe even add a little more to the equation.”

Both men said they are hopeful that their offer will be accepted when Council votes at its next Business Meeting on Feb. 14.

Judging by some of the Council members’ initial reactions, they have reason to be optimistic.

Patti Pacino said she has an 8-year-old and 4-year-old (grandchildren) that use the rink and said, “I couldn’t agree more” with their bid to win the naming rights.

Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. thanked both of them for “thinking about the long term” status of the rink and fostering public partnership; Tammy Schmidt noted that her son “grew up at the rink and now her grandson” and Robert Bialkowski said he was glad that somebody from Batavia responded to the RFP.

Bialkowski asked what would happen if the city leases the rink to a different management firm that wanted to change the facility's name. City Attorney George Van Nest said there is an opt-out clause and that would be addressed at that time.

For now, both Pellegrino and Brian McCarthy are spending their free time as coaches – teaching the basics of hockey to their young children.

“We’re coaching together at the beginner level. Yeah, the smallest kids on the ice – 4 and 5 years old; as little as they get,” McCarthy offered. “The two of us have a long extension to our own hockey adventure ahead of us with our sons.”

Photo: Guy Pellegrino, left, and Brian McCarthy address City Council tonight about their offer to have the Batavia Ice Arena named in memory of Brian's brother, David. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Previously: City drafts resolution to name ice arena in memory of standout Batavia athlete David McCarthy

Batavia High School 11^th-grader Charlie Kegler is carving out his niche as the “floater” for the Zing sailboat racing team that will represent the Youngstown Yacht Club in the 2021-22 IC37 Winter Series Lauderdale Cup early next month in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The lone youth member of the nine-person crew, Kegler (at right in photo above) has excelled in a highly-competitive sport that demands sound judgment, quick thinking, strength and stamina.

Versatility is the key to becoming a successful floater, a position recognized as the glue that keeps the crew’s moving parts together. Going into his second year on the major regatta circuit, Kegler has proven himself worthy in competition as his numerous trophies would attest.

Kegler was introduced to the sport four years ago by his father, Charles, who serves as vice commodore of the yard at YCC.

In an interview with The Batavian (where he was joined by his father and grandfather, Bill), the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Charlie said that his participation in sailboat racing has enabled him to value teamwork and to speed up (no pun intended) his development.

“For me, sailing makes me feel like I’m in a different world,” he said. “It’s a sport that I enjoy, can be competitive in different ways and on different boats and with different people.”

CHARLIE’S DAD CAUGHT THE SAILING BUG

Charlie’s dad got involved in the sport six years ago at the invitation of a friend, Shane Vanstrom, currently the junior sailing director at YCC.

“I sailed once and became instantly hooked,” Charles said, adding that in time he brought his only son along to experience the thrill of sailboating.

Charlie started in the junior sailing program where the goal, according to his father, is to emphasize the safety aspects of the sport while learning racing tactics and strategy. He quickly showed that he was up to the task, participating and winning in the 420 class (normally featuring two people).

This past summer, Charlie’s Zing crew competed in the Canada Cup Challenge and, although it didn’t win, plans to challenge the champion Defiant team, that includes four past Olympians, again this summer.

The Canada’s Cup, the second-oldest match race trophy in the world, started in 1896.

SEVEN TEAMS VYING FOR THE TITLE

In the immediate future, Charlie and his team are ready to compete from Feb. 4-6 in the Fort Lauderdale regatta’s IC37 division. IC37 is the type of boat (at 37 feet) that the Zing crew and six other entrants will be racing. The other teams are from Fort Lauderdale, Newport, R.I.; New York City, Tampa, Cohasset, Mass., and Norfolk, Va.

February’s competition is the second of three legs of the Winter Series Lauderdale Cup – the first was in November, when Zing placed fourth, and the final leg is in March. The Zing crew is looking to improve its standing -- banking on the experience it gained from the first leg.

“We’re confident,” Charlie said. “We plan to go as hard as we can – max power.”

The team’s other members are in their 40s, with the strategist, Chris Doyle, in his early 60s.

Charles said that it’s rare to see someone as young as his son become part of an international crew, especially representing YCC, “which has a storied reputation from the 1970s of producing world class sailors.”

ZING SKIPPER GIVES GLOWING REVIEW

According to Zing Skipper Adam Burns, who started in the sport as a child, the Zing crew is fortunate to have Charlie as part of the team.

“He’s phenomenal,” said Burns, who recently was elected as commodore at YCC. “He’s a team player with a great attitude in a role that is very unique. Not many people can do that and it’s nice to have an agile junior sailor on board.”

Burns said sailboat racing has embraced a more diverse population in recent years, encouraging women and teens to be a part of what is considered an amateur sport.

“Two of our crew are women, plus we have Charlie, and I think that is admirable the way the sports has become more diverse,” said Burns, a wealth management consultant in Buffalo. “I didn’t have this opportunity growing up.”

TRAINING AT CROSSFIT TO GET READY

To prepare for Florida trip, which could consist of up to 12 races in those three days, Charlie said he has been working out regularly at CrossFit Tsunami in Oakfield.

“It’s important to have arm strength to pull in the spinnaker (lightweight flying sail) and the retrieval line,” he said. “In my role, I have to move from position to position, help on the deck and with the mast team; whatever is needed.”

A B-plus student enrolled in the Diesel Technician course through Genesee Valley BOCES, Charlie is exploring his college options. While scholarships aren’t plentiful, there are opportunities for assistance at colleges with sailing programs.

Furthermore, someone knowledgeable in diesel engines would have a place working at boat yards as almost all of the sailboats are diesel-powered, said Charlies’ dad, who will be accompanying him on the Florida trip – cheering him on while keeping a trained eye on the team’s performance.

Charles and Charlie Kegler at the Youngstown Yacht Club.

Charlie going solo in small sailboat.

Overhead view of the Zing crew.

Charlie with some of the trophies he has earned as a top-notch sailor.

Submitted photos courtesy of Charles Kegler.

With two games against highly-regarded Victor scheduled over the next two weeks, there’s no better time than now for Batavia Notre Dame United to show that it can compete – and defeat – the elite teams in New York State.

Coach Marc Staley’s squad took a giant step forward this afternoon, playing probably its most complete game of the season, en route to a 7-1 victory over visiting Canandaigua Academy in Section V hockey at the Batavia Ice Arena.

“Actually, I think this whole week – we knew this was going to be a big week with three games in five nights,” Staley said. “So, we set a goal to try to win them all. And, we did that.”

United, winner of four of its last five games (the other was a tie against Williamsville East), raised its record to 9-4-3 with a dominant performance against the Braves, who drop to 4-10-1.

BND got goals from six players as its sharp passing and fast pace resulted in a 46-15 shots on goal advantage.

The home team controlled most of the action and, while not tested as far as quantity of shots, United’s senior goaltender Courtney Schum came up with some sparkling saves before giving way midway through the third period to freshman Frank Falleti Jr.

Falleti returned to the ice for the first time since suffering a leg injury in the team’s opening game.

Jameson Motyka led the way with two goals. Other scorers were Zack Eschberger, Gavin Schrader, Bryce Feldmann, Brady Johnson and Gino Falleti.

United took a 1-0 lead at 9:02 of the first period when Motyka deflected a shot by Noah Hudson past Canandaigua goaltender Charlie Fuller. Schum turned away Alex Chen’s attempt in front of the net to keep the Braves off the board.

Eschberger made it 2-0 just 14 seconds into the second period with an unassisted goal and it stayed that way until Schrader tipped in a shot by Eschberger with 3:22 remaining. Josh Barnes beat Schum to her stick side at the 1:50 mark to cut the lead to 3-1, but BND responded in short order as Motyka converted a pass from Johnson with :23.9 on the clock.

The third period was all United as it outshot Canandaigua, 18-5, scoring on a shorthanded goal by Feldmann at 13:38, and even strength goals by Johnson and Gino Falleti at 11:06 and 10:20, respectively.

“Looking back at this past week, I think we got better every period,” Staley said. “We gave up only 15 shots tonight, which is our lowest total of the year. And I'm really pleased with the way that we're starting to commit in our own defensive zone.”

BND has flexed its muscles on offense all season, but now is starting to put it together on the defensive end as well.

“We know that teams are going to have to score a lot to beat us, but if we can keep teams to one, two, or even three goals, we're going to have a really good chance of winning every night,” Staley added. “But, in terms of a full 51 minute game, I think we played pretty darn well for 48 of those 51 minutes.”

Staley said the development of “a real legitimate third line” with Gino Falleti, Addison Warriner and Ryan Whitcombe is key to the team's success.

“What that does is it gives our top two lines a little more rest so they can play faster,” he said. “We have destroyed teams in the third period this year. We saw this against Greece the other night where we came back, against Williamsville East and we had a really strong third period tonight. When we can run three lines and keep our average shift length under 45 seconds, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

Looking ahead, BND hosts Victor at 6 p.m. on Thursday and McQuaid at 6 p.m. on Feb. 1 before traveling to Victor for a 5 o’clock game on Feb. 3. United wraps up the regular season at home against Geneseo/Avon/Livonia for a Senior Night contest at 6 p.m. on Feb. 8.

Sectional competition gets underway on Feb. 15.

Staley said Victor will present United’s toughest tests of the season.

“They’re ranked No. 2 in the state, undefeated going into today’s match against Orchard Park, another unbeaten team,” Staley said. (Orchard Park came out on top in that game by a 3-0 score.)

When asked if his team can knock off Victor, Staley quickly responded in the affirmative.

“Right now, with our team, the way we're playing, I would put this team up against anybody,” he said. “We’re staying out of the penalty box … and we we’re one-for-one on the power play tonight. When you're executing on specialty teams and you're getting some goaltending and you have three lines that you can run up front, that’s a really good recipe for winning hockey games in high school.”

Photos by Howard Owens. Top photo: United goalie Courtney Schum makes the save.

Jameson Motyka, who scored two goals, controls the puck for BND.

BND's Addison Warriner battles for the puck.

Motyka leads the rush down the ice.

A stick goes flying as Canandaigua's Brayden Crouse applies a check.

Battling along the boards.

United's Bryce Feldmann and Schum combine to keep the puck out of the net.

Schum reacts after sweeping the puck away.

Zack Eschberger slips past the Braves' defense to pursue the puck.

Photos by Howard Owens.

With the approval of City Council, a Batavia-based charitable organization that has done so much for youth sports in Genesee County over the past 14 years will be honored by having its name attached to the city-owned ice arena on Evans Street.

Assistant City Manager Jill Wiedrick, in a memo dated Jan. 24 to City Council, stated that Pellegrino Auto Sales and the David M. McCarthy Memorial Foundation have submitted the most competitive bid -- $3,100 annually for 10 years – to purchase the naming rights for the Batavia Ice Arena.

In October 2021, city management put out a Request for Proposal, seeking “a forward-thinking community leader” (business or organization) to present a proposal indicating at least a five-year commitment. According to the RFP, proceeds from the naming rights will be used to make improvements to the arena.

A draft of a resolution to formally accept the Pellegrino/McCarthy Foundation offer is on the agenda of Monday night’s City Council Conference Meeting at 7 o’clock at the City Hall Council Board Room.

The resolution stipulates that the facility will be renamed The David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena during the 10-year term of a formal naming rights agreement and any renewals thereafter.

In her memo, Wiedrick wrote that the agreement grants the prospective sponsors the following rights:

• Erect signage on the ice arena’s façade;
• Place one sign (painted) on an interior wall for Pellegrino Auto Sales;
• Hold two events for up to two hours each at the arena annually;
• Inclusion in all promotional material and other media (press releases, etc.) in cooperation with the city and Firland Management, the company that oversees operations for the city.

It goes on to note that the sponsors will pay for the installation and removal of the façade sign and major maintenance of the sign, and that Pellegrino Auto Sales, located at 4060 Pearl St. Rd., will pay for the painting and removal of the interior wall signage and the sign’s maintenance.

The rink formerly was known as the Falleti Ice Arena for many years.

The David M. McCarthy Memorial Foundation was formed in 2007 in honor of David McCarthy, who died in a motor vehicle accident in November 2006 at the age of 29.  He was a 1995 graduate of Batavia High School, where he excelled in baseball and hockey.

Since then, the foundation has donated more than $70,000 to numerous youth athletics’ organizations and individuals – including Batavia/Notre Dame hockey, Batavia Minor League Baseball, Le Roy Youth Softball and, last summer, to Batavia wrestler Casper Stewart, who competed in the USA Wrestling Nationals in Fargo, N.D.

It also sponsors the annual David McCarthy Memorial Christmas Hockey Tournament at the Batavia Ice Arena.

Fundraisers throughout the year, primarily a golf tournament at Batavia Country Club and bowling tournament at Mancuso Bowling Center, sustain the foundation, which is led by David McCarthy’s brother, Brian, president; father, Michael, treasurer; and Matthew Meyer, vice president.

Members of the Batavia Town Planning Board are giving high marks to the committee that has been working on revising the town’s solar law over the past few months.

Planners discussed the committee’s progress at their meeting Tuesday night, agreeing that the latest draft presented to the public – while in need of a few tweaks – represents a major step toward rules and regulations that remove most of the guesswork for those desiring to install solar farms and for their neighbors.

“It’s a roadmap for developers .. the rules are pretty straightforward,” said board member Steve Tanner, one of four planning board members on the committee (the others being Don Partridge, Paul McCullough and Brittany Witkop).

Tanner said that guidelines concerning landscaping, screening, setbacks, fencing and size of the project will make it easier for solar companies to develop their proposals.

McCullough concurred, stating that a law that is documented and codified will leave “very little interpretation as to what can and cannot happen.”

Witkop and Partridge said they appreciated input from the public – with Witkop noting that the group is looking to modify some of the setback requirements as a result of comments from citizens at an informational session last month.

Town Building Inspector Dan Lang termed changing some of the setbacks “a realistic vision” and said the process is nearing the point of conducting a State Environmental Quality Review, public hearing and county review.

Town Engineer Steve Mountain said that he reviewed the proposed solar law as well.

“It included all of the circumstances and ambiguities we’ve seen over the past five years,” he said.

Committee Chair Chad Zambito, a town council member, has indicated a final draft will be ready in a couple weeks.

In other Town of Batavia news, Supervisor Gregory Post reported that 11 building permits for residential homes were issued in 2021, with an assessed value of $4.1 million, and that 26 commercial/industrial permits were issued, “which generated several tens of millions of dollars in assessed value.”

Post said that projects on Route 98, Park Road and King’s Plaza (water main) as well as meter renewal are ramping up, leading to a “positive forecast for the community’s economic portfolio …”

Also, the Town Board voted to continue its support of the Batavia Soccer Park on Bank Street Road at the $10,000 annual level for two more years.

Previously: Town solar committee asked to 'revisit' setback distances