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Major new apartment complex in Pembroke near completion on first set of units

By Howard B. Owens
pembroke apartments
Photo by Howard Owens

The first phase of a $16 million apartment complex on Alleghany Road in Pembroke is nearing completion, and reservations for one- and two-bedroom apartments are being accepted.

The anticipated move-in date for new tenants is April 1, said developer Michael Schmidt.

Schmidt owns a parcel at 8900 Alleghany Road that has been approved for four buildings. Each phase, each building, consists of eight one-bedroom units and 16 two-bedroom units for a total of 96 market-rate units at build-out, along with 168 parking spaces and garages.

"We're ready," Schmidt told The Batavian during a tour on Friday of the complex under construction. "We took our first reservation today; somebody who wanted this lower one down here, we just walked past. So we're gonna let people pick (what unit they want)."

The rentals are currently listed on Zillow.

The one-bedroom units are 680 square feet and rent for $1,295 a month. The two-bedroom units are 900 square feet and go for $1,595.

That doesn't include utilities but free wi-fi and basic television service (a QR code on each unit's router allows the tenant to purchase premium services).

When entering the one bedroom, you will be essentially walking into the kitchen, which contains a refrigerator and an island with a stove and dishwasher. The unit will also have a microwave oven.

The bathroom is 3/4 (shower only, no bathtub). 

On entering the two-bedroom, you step into the dining area. Between the kitchen and dining area is a countertop that can seat three or four people.  It will also contain a refrigerator, stove, microwave, and dishwasher.  It will have a full bath.

Both units contain a stacked clothes washer and dryer.

There is central air in all units.

Tenants will have the option to rent a storage closet in the building or a garage.

The floors will be covered with vinyl tile, with carpet in the bedrooms, over a poured gypcrete. The gypcrete provides both fire protection and soundproofing. There are also 12-inch beams between the floors, Schmidt said, providing further soundproofing.  The walls use resilient channels to baffle sounds between units.

"That's going to be really good on sound, super efficient," Schmidt said. "We've got 900 square feet in the two bedrooms and 680 square feet in the one bedroom, so that's a nice size. It's not overly big, but they're super high efficiency, so I think people will be really happy."

Tenants will be allowed to own a small dog or cat.

With cabinets and other fixtures arriving in the next few weeks, it won't be long before the units are finished, and Schmidt said he will furnish two units. For one thing, that will give him demo units for photos and virtual tours, but he also anticipates there will be future tenants who want furnished units, especially to support workers at Darien Lake and WNY STAMP.

Whether Schmidt constructs the other complexes on the parcel will depend on whether the demand he anticipates for apartments on the Route 77 corridor materializes.

The project, on an 8.2-acre lot, which had an initial cost estimate of $15 million, is supported by the Genesee County Economic Development Center with a sales tax exemption on building materials worth $739,200, a property tax abatement of $2 million, and a mortgage tax abatement of $130,000. 

The town has been great to work with, Schmidt said. Stringent but fair.

"I haven't gotten a lot of love from them, and I mean that sincerely," Schmidt said. "I like Jim (James Wolbert, code enforcement officer) but he hasn't been like wink and nod. There's been no 'Hey, we want the project so we're gonna let you slide out of stuff.' He's busted our chops on every single nit."

It isn't that way in other jurisdictions, Schmidt said. For example, even though the garage complexes have no electric and no heat, the walls between fire units must be fire-rated.

"Nobody does that," Schmidt said. "All those units will be fire-rated. There's no electric, no heat, but Jim's in charge. If you want to have a building, the inspector always wins, so what he wants, he gets. He hasn't cut us any breaks but that's okay. You can't be upset with somebody for doing their job."

Previously:

mike schmidt pembroke apartments
Developer Mike Schmidt standing in what will be the kitchen area of a one-bedroom apartment in the complex he's building in Pembroke.
Photo by Howard Owens.
pembroke apartments
The interior of a two-bedroom apartment under construction in Pembroke, showing the dining area, kitchen, living room and doorway into a bedroom (taken from the entrance to the full-bath next to where the washer and dryer will be).
Photo by Howard Owens.
pembroke apartments
Photo by Howard Owens
pembroke apartments
Exterior rendering of the complex.
pembroke apartments
Interior rendering of the dining, kitchen, and living room of a two-bedroom apartment.

Boys basketball: Pembroke beats Lyndonville

By Staff Writer

Pembroke beat Lyndonville in Boys Basketball on Friday, 69-17.

Pembroke:
  • Owen Shultz, 17 points
  • Nolan Peterson, 13 points
  • Jayden Bridge,  11 points

Tony Kutter, who helped grow family cheese business into international concern, dies at 91

By Howard B. Owens
Tony Kutter
Tony Kutter with his book "Cheese in the Time of Glasnost and Perestroika" in his home in Pembroke in a 2015 file photo.
Photo by Howard Owens.

Local business legend Tony Kutter passed away on Wednesday at his home in Pembroke, surrounded by his family.

He was 91.

Kutter and his brother inherited their father's business, Kutter's Cheese, in the 1950s, when they were in their twenties and turned it into a business with an international reputation.

In 1995, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Kutter traveled to Russia as part of a trade exchange program to help aspiring Russian entrepreneurs learn how to start cheesemaking businesses.

Kutter himself learned the business from his father, Leo, who learned the trade in Germany after fighting for the Kaiser in World War I and, on the advice of a boss, moved to America, settling in the then-thriving city of Buffalo but dreaming of starting his own cheese-making business.

By the time the Kutter sold the family business to Yancy's Fancy in 1998, Kutter's had worldwide retail reach.

"I've always been adamant about promoting wine and cheese," Kutter told The Batavian in 2010 when Kutter's Cheese was named Agriculture Business of the Year. "We also supply a lot of wineries with cheese for wine tasting."

As part of the exchange program, Kutter made 31 to Russia and Ukraine over 13 years.

In 2015, Kutter published a book about his experiences in Russia, "Cheese in the Time of Glasnost and Perestroika."

Anthony William Kutter was born March 4, 1933, in Cowlesville, to Leo and Flora Kottman Kutter.

He graduated from Corfu High School in 1951. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Korea for two years.

For his full obituary, click here.

Girls basketball: Pembroke beats Lyndonville 46-28

By Staff Writer

Pembroke beat Lyndonville in Girls Basketball on Thursday 46-28.

Scoring:

Jayden Hootman, 15 points, 2 rebounds
Morgan Coniber, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Seneca Calderon, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists
Peyton Liss, 6 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
 

Boys Basketball: Pembroke beats Elba 53-41

By Staff Writer

Pembroke beat Elba in Boys Basketball on Wednesday, 53-41.

For Pembroke:

  • Nolan Peterson, 14 points
  • Josh vonKramer 13 points
  • Jayden Bridge 11 points
  • Landon Suro 7 points
 
For Elba, Nick Scott scored 16 points.

Girls Basketball: Elba beats Pembroke 66-33

By Staff Writer
elba girls basketball

Elba beat Pembroke on Tuesday in Girls Basketball 66-33.

For the Lancers, Sydney Reilly scored 23 points, and Lydia Ross scored 19.

elba girls basketball

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Girls Basketball: Pembroke beats Wheatland 42-23

By Staff Writer

Pembroke beat Wheatland-Chile in Girls Basketball on Friday 42-23.

Pembroke stats:

  • Jayden Hootman, 11 points, nine rebounds, three steals
  • Morgan Coniber, 11 points, three rebounds
  • Kirsten Wright, nine points.
  • Seneca Calderon, five points, nine rebounds, four assists

Boys Basketball: Alexander tops Pembroke 61-51

By Staff Writer
alexander pembroke basketball
alexander pembroke basketball

Alexander hit nine three-point shots on the way to a 61-51 win over Pembroke in Boys Basketball on Friday.

Trojans stats:

  • Kingston Woods, 15 points
  • Mason Snyder, 15 points
  • Dylan Pohl, 12 points
  • Damien Hale, 11 points

Dragons stats:

  • Josh vonKramer, 16 points
  • Jayden Bridge, 14 points
  • Nolan Peterson, 11 points
  • Caleb Felski, seven assists
Photos by Melissa Brooks.
alexander pembroke basketball
alexander pembroke basketball

Girls Basketball: Byron-Bergen beats Pembroke in OT

By Staff Writer

Byron-Bergen beat Pembroke High School in overtime on Monday in Girls Basketball 44-41.

Pembroke stats:

  • Seneca Calderon, 16 pts, nine rebounds, four steals, three assists.
  • Peyton Liss, seven pts, six reb, three blocks
  • Morgan Coniber, five pts, five reb, three blocks

Byron-Bergen:

  • Janessa Amesbury, 21 points
  • Riley Shallenberger, 10 points
  • Simone Scharvogel, eight points

Intermediate School students collect nearly 2K items for Corfu Food Pantry

By Press Release
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Press Release:

The Intermediate School Student Council hosted their annual December Drive to help collect food donations for the Corfu Food Pantry. 

Currently, the Pantry is helping 50 families in our Corfu/Pembroke communities. In total, the Intermediate School students and staff collected 1,889 items!

On December 20, students and staff braved the elements to deliver donations. It took the entire 6th grade, entire 5th grade, and two 4th grade classrooms to deliver all of the food!

The Intermediate School Student Council also held a friendly competition to see which classroom in each grade collected the most food. The winners are:

  • 3rd: Mrs. Amuso
  • 4th: Mrs. Fenik
  • 5th: Ms. Stoldt
  • 6th: Mr. Brown

Submitted photos.

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Girls Basketball: Pembroke beats Attica

By Howard B. Owens

Pembroke beat Attica in Girls Basketball on Wednesday, 50-35.

Pembroke stats

  • Peyton Liss: 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, seven steals, five blocks
  • Seneca Calderon: nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, nine steals
  • Morgan Coniber: seven points, six steals, two blocks
  • Onolee Easterbrook: six points, five reb, two blocks
  • Jayden Hootman: 13 points (three 3-pointers)

Pembroke led the game wire to wire as they jumped out to a 22-4 first-quarter lead. With Jayden Hootman leading the way with two 3-pointers. Peyton Liss and Seneca Calderon also had 6 pts each in the first quarter.

Boys Basketball: Pembroke tops Alden

By Staff Writer

Pembroke beat Alden 53-34 on Tuesday in Boys Basketball.

Pembroke:
  • Jayden Bridge, 25 points and seven rebounds
  • Josh vonKramer, 11 points
  • Jarrett Lewter, nine assists
 
"I was really pleased with our effort tonight and how we defended," said Coach Mat Shay. "We try to hold teams to 12 or less per quarter, and we were able to do it for all four quarters tonight. We know we are going to have some growing pains because we don't have a ton of experience, and we need the guys to just keep working hard, and we'll be a tough team."

Boys Basketball: Byron-Bergen squeaks past Pembroke, 45-43

By Staff Writer
byron-bergen pembroke basketball

In Boys Basketball on Saturday, Byron-Bergen beat Pembroke by just two points on Saturday, 45-43.

Cody Carlson scored 18 points for the Bees. Noah Clare scored 11, and Cole Diquattro scored eight.

For the Dragons, Jayden Bridge scored 20 points.

Photos by Jennifer Diquattro.

byron-bergen pembroke basketball
byron-bergen pembroke basketball
byron-bergen pembroke basketball
byron-bergen pembroke basketball
byron-bergen pembroke basketball
byron-bergen pembroke basketball
byron-bergen pembroke basketball

Girls Basketball: Dragons come from behind for season opener win

By Staff Writer

The Pembroke Dragons never held the lead and was down by as many as 10 points during the game but with 1.3 seconds left, that all changed when Peyton Liss hit a runner to secure a come-from-behind victory, 37-35 over Kendall.

It was the season opener for the Dragons.

Scoring:

  • Seneca Calderon, 12 points, six rebounds, four steals.
  • Peyton Liss, six points, four steals, five blocks
  • Onolee Easterbrook, six points, four rebounds, four steals
  • Morgan Coniber, 2 points, five rebounds, three steals, four blocks
  • Jayden Hootman: six points, six rebounds, three assists.

Pembroke's Reagan Schneider named Genesee Region Volleyball Player of the Year 2024

By Press Release
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Press release:

Pembroke Dragons' Senior Outside Hitter Reagan Schneider (#14) is a three-time Genesee Region Volleyball All-Star and has been named Genesee Region Volleyball Player of the Year for 2024. 

Schneider also broke Pembroke's record for the number of kills in a single season—breaking her own record that she set in 2023. 

Congratulations to one of the Genesee Region's premier athletes on such a stellar season.

Submitted photos.

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Pembroke Dragons continue postseason title march

By Staff Writer
pembroke-dragonspembroke-dragonspembroke-dragonspembroke-dragons

The Pembroke Dragons defeated the Frewsburg Bears on Saturday to secure another shot at a West Regional title in 8-Man Football.

The final score, 50-19.

The Dragos is now 11-0 on the season and will face Frankfort-Schuyler out of Section III for the West Regional Championship on Friday, Nov. 29th, at Vestal High School.

Caleb Felski ran for 428 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also tossed a touchdown pass. Also scoring, Vijay Dhanda and Caleb Kimmel. Defensively the Dragons were led by Madden Perry who had a team high 11 tackles. Hayden Williams and Felski each had two interceptions a piece. 

Photos by Matthew Steinberg.

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pembroke-dragons
pembroke-dragons
pembroke-dragons

Wreaths Across America Day at WNY National Cemetery set for December 14

By Press Release
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File photo by Howard Owens.

Press Release:

The Western New York National Cemetery will host its annual Wreaths Across America Day on December 14, beginning at 12 p.m. The event, which honors veterans by placing wreaths on their graves, is open to the public and aims to decorate over 2,000 headstones at the cemetery.

The ceremony will start at the Garrison Flag Pole at approximately noon, with the presentation of colors and wreaths laid by representatives of each military branch. The WNY National Cemetery Memorial Council will offer brief remarks, and the event will conclude with the playing of Taps.

Family and Community Wreath Laying

After the ceremony, family members of veterans laid to rest at the cemetery will have the opportunity from 12:20 to 12:25 p.m. to place wreaths on the graves of their loved ones. From 12:25 to 1:00 p.m., the community is invited to participate in the wreath-laying by placing one wreath at a time on the remaining 2,400 veteran headstones.

New Parking and Shuttle Service

This year, attendees will park at Pembroke High School, located at 8750 Alleghany Road, Corfu. Due to parking restrictions within the cemetery, buses will transport participants to and from the cemetery, which is about 2.3 miles away. Shuttle service will begin at 10:30 a.m. and continue until all attendees have returned to their vehicles. Two smaller buses will also provide transport within the cemetery for those who need assistance.

Handicap parking will be available inside the cemetery. However, parking will be prohibited along Indian Falls Road, Gabbey Road, and Route 77 on the day of the event.

Wreath Sales to Benefit Memorial Council

Wreaths can be purchased for $17 each, with $5 from each sale benefiting the WNY National Cemetery Memorial Council, which is responsible for maintaining the cemetery's Avenue of Flags and supporting the Honor Guard. Wreaths can be ordered online at wreathsacrossamerica.org/ny0368p or by mailing a check made payable to the Pembroke Veterans Outreach Club, PO Box 308, Corfu.

Event Details

The WNY National Cemetery Memorial Council, a nonprofit organization, coordinates the event and encourages community participation. Volunteers will assist in directing attendees to the appropriate sections and help place wreaths on the graves. For more information or to purchase a wreath, visit wreathsacrossamerica.org/ny0368p.

Dragons three-peat as sectional champions in 8-Man Football

By Staff Writer

The Pembroke Dragons claimed its third straight Section V 8-Man Football title on Friday, beating the Holley-Lyndonville Hawks 52-16.

The Dragons are now 10-0 on the season.

Caleb Felski ran for 325 yards on 16 carries. He scored five touchdowns. 

Also scoring were Josh Von Kramer and Caleb Kimmel. 

Defensively, the Dragons were led by Jacob Johnson, who had a team-high 11 tackles. Landen Santini and Vijay Dhanda each snagged interceptions. 

The Dragons will face the Frewsburg Bears out of Section 6 for the Far West Regional on Saturday, Nov. 23.

Pembroke to vie for another 8-man football title

By Staff Writer
pembroke dragons football

The Pembroke Dragons will play for another Section V 8-Man football title this week after winning its semifinal game over Red Jacket 46-14.

It is the fourth time in five years the Dragons have played for a sectional title.

Caleb Felski ran for 328 yards on 16 carries and four touchdowns. Other scores were by Vijay Dhanda and Caleb Kimmel. 

Defensively, the Dragons were led by Jayden Bridge and Octavius Martin, who each had 12 tackles. Madden Perry added nine while Felski and Dhanda each had interceptions. 

The Dragons will face the Holley-Lyndoville Hawks for the sectional final. 

Photos by Elizabeth Gabbey.

pembroke dragons football
pembroke dragons football
pembroke dragons football

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