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Chapin Manufacturing honors employee for 50 years of service to Batavia-based company

By Billie Owens

(Submitted photo and story from Chapin Manufacturing, Inc.)

We do not often these days hear about lifelong employment and people who spend their entire career at one company. But, that very thing has happened here in Batavia at Chapin Manufacturing. Batavia native Ron Odessa joined Chapin in September 1965

Stafford's proposed ban on fracking and oil drilling gets county planners' approval

By Howard B. Owens

The residents of Stafford are a step closer to banning all natural gas hydrofracking as well as other types of oil and gas exploration, drilling and processing.

The Genesee County Planning Board recommended approval Thursday night of a new local law for the Town of Stafford that would ban such

Alan Gordon Taylor

By Howard B. Owens

AIKEN, SC – ALAN GORDON TAYLOR, 90, husband of the late Val Smoter Taylor, died Thursday, January 22, 2015 at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Augusta, GA.

A native of Hudson, MA, Alan was a son of the late Alan Frederick and Annie Lavinia Croad Taylor. He worked in a defense factory after finishing high school until he was old enough to enlist in the Army Air Corps. He served as a radioman during World War II and taught code. He was also stationed in the Fiji Islands where he was a swimming instructor. Following the war he worked as a police officer in Hudson, MA. Alan later moved to Batavia, NY where he went to work with GTE Sylvania, retiring after 30 years as a quality control engineer. He lived in Batavia for 50 years and was a 4-H leader for 25 years. An accomplished musician, Alan played trumpet in several bands as well as leading his own band, "The Variety Kings".  He was a certified instructor for the National Rifle Association and was a HAM Radio operator. Mr. Taylor lived in Tennessee for 7 years before moving to Aiken SC a year and a half ago. He was a member of Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in East Pembroke, NY, the American Legion, VFW in Batavia, and the Pembroke Community Band.

Survivors include two daughters, Carol Austin, New Orleans, LA, Kathryn Tucker (Don), Aiken, SC; two sons, Alan Taylor (Lin), Corfu, NY, Jeff Taylor (Vicki), Watertown, TN; nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; one great-great grandchild.

Services will be private at the convenience of the family.  Memorials in his memory may be sent to
     "Pembroke Community Band"
c/o Beverly Neeland
       941 Sumner Rd.
       Darien Center, NY 14040
                        OR
"Joint Veterans Honor Guard of Genesee County"
c/o American Legion Post 332
      8960 Alexander Rd.
      Batavia, NY 14020

The Hawleys growing experiment in finding the right malting grains

By Howard B. Owens

The effort to bring back malting to Upstate New York is a multi-year process.

Working with Cornell University, Ted and Patty Hawley, owners of New York Craft Malt on Bank Street Road, Batavia, are in their third year of running trials of malting grain in Genesee County Farm fields.

There's

Brach Machine celebrates 30 years in business and the joys of manufacturing

By Howard B. Owens

Bill and Nancy Brach clearly love their business, Brach Machine, Inc., which is now in its 30th year in Batavia. Yesterday, the Brachs showed a visitor around their shop with verve and eagerness to share the details of what they do, how they do it and why it's important. 

Going through

Worldwide Christmas Fair is Saturday at First Presbyterian Church, Batavia

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Come to the 13th annual Worldwide Christmas Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 14th, at the First Presbyterian Church, located at 300 E. Main St., Batavia. Admission is free.

Join the hundreds of people in the community who have attended our fairs over

P.W. Minor bringing home 100 jobs from China with aid from NYS

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that PW Minor, a manufacturer and international distributor of leather footwear and orthopedic products, will bring previously outsourced production work from China back to New York State. The move will create 100 additional jobs at the company’s Batavia facility. This news comes

Pembroke HS makes national list of 'most challenging' schools

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Pembroke High School has made The Washington Post’s America’s Most Challenging High School List, published online this past Sunday.

Unlike Business First’s rankings, which consider a variety of factors in determining Western New York’s top schools, The Washington Post publishes a list of their top schools based

Free seminar offered on finding accessible housing for the disabled in Batavia

By Billie Owens

Press release:

The legal rights of people with developmental disabilities who are seeking appropriate housing and some practical techniques to secure it will be explored in a FREE Accessible Housing Education Seminar. It takes place on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, from 1:30 to 3 p.m., at Independent Living of

William F. Brown media scholarship announced

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

The legacy of the late William F. Brown Jr., noted Batavia author, broadcaster and journalist, will live on through a scholarship established by The Jerome Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that distributes funds to benefit United Memorial Medical Center and other health-related purposes.

The William F. Brown Jr. Memorial

Beyond the crossroads and into retirement, public invited to send-off

By Joanne Beck

There will be a retirement party for Crossroads House founder Kathy Panepento from 4 to 7 p.m. June 21 at the Legacy Living Center, the second site for Crossroads House, at 409 E. Main St., Batavia.  Everyone is invited to the tent to be set up in the parking

Batavia resident wins Non-Commission Officer of the Year from NY National Guard

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Staff Sgt. Christian Hager, a Batavia resident and medical technology student, has been named Non-Commission Officer of the Year for the New York Army National Guard following a five-day competition at Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill.

Hager, a member of Company A, 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry, competed

Batavia HS to dedicate renovated softball field to Coach Anderson

By Howard B. Owens

The upgraded softball field at Batavia High School will be dedicated Friday to honor Ed Anderson, a former coach and teacher with the school district.

Anderson taught sixth grade from 1965 until his retirement in 1998. He was the first varsity girls softball and girls soccer coach for the Blue

Benefits Advisement Program offered for people with disabilities

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Are you currently disabled? Have you lost your ability to work full-time based on a new disability? Have you been receiving SSI or SSDI and want to work part-time, but are afraid to lose your benefits?

Many individuals with disabilities fear that work activity will result in an

Vincent Lawrence George

By Lisa Ace
Vincent Lawrence George

December 22, 1945 – April 24, 2024. Vincent Lawrence George, 78, passed away peacefully in Chicago after a long and courageous fight with lung cancer.

Vince was born in December 1945 in Batavia, NY to the late Lawrence B. and Mary Arlene George of Elba, NY. From a young age, Vince worked alongside his parents and family members at George’s Dairy, founded by Vince’s grandparents Sylvester and Mary Petz George almost 100 years ago. To this day, Genesee County residents remember George’s Dairy for its quality milk and ice cream delivered with pride by the George family. Vince discovered many of his truest passions at an early age, such as baseball, trains, westerns, eating, and teasing the people he loved, all of which he pursued vigorously the rest of his life.

Graduating salutatorian at Elba Central School in 1963, he attended St. Bonaventure University, class of 1967, majoring in accounting. In 1967, Vince was a member of the first MBA class at the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1973. After working at Price Waterhouse in Philadelphia from 1973-78, Vince moved to Dallas to work as Tax Director for the Trammell
Crow Company, a leading commercial real estate developer. He remained at Trammell Crow the next twenty years, working various leadership positions in venture capital and finance. For the final phase of his career, Vince worked at Centex and Panattoni Development Company in Dallas.

His favorite activities with his wife, Cynthia and children, Erika and Matthew, included traveling, watching movies, relaxing at Cedar Creek Lake and planning their next meal. He was a constant presence as a school volunteer and active member of Northridge Presbyterian Church.

When not traveling the world (he and Cindy visited over 150 countries together), he loved to visit his five grandchildren in San Antonio and Chicago. In Dallas, he volunteered as an English teacher at Literacy Achieves, as well as a docent at the George W. Bush Presidential Library. A week after visiting his seventh and final continent (Antarctica) with Cindy, Vince was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, fighting the disease for the next fourteen months until he passed away.

Vince was predeceased by his parents, his parents-in-law, James and Shirley Johnston, and Evelyn Johnston, his brother-in-law, Dr. John C. Gessner, his sister-in-law, Susan Johnston, and his niece, Nicole Wingate. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Cynthia Jean Johnston George, daughter Erika (Blake) Romney of San Antonio, TX and son Matthew (Claire) George
of Chicago, IL, beloved grandchildren, Annie, Greyson, Ford and baby Romney (expected in August), and Shirley and Eamon George. Vince is also survived by his sisters, Elizabeth (Joseph) Ivers of Houston, TX and Margaret George of Saint Paul, MN, his brother-in-law Randy (Carolyn) Johnston of Knoxville, TN, seven nieces and nephews, aunt Shirley George
(Thomas) Edbauer of North Tonawanda, NY and numerous cousins.

Vince was one-of-a-kind in his intelligence, generosity, and goodness. We love you, and still hear your laugh.

A memorial service will be held at Northridge Presbyterian Church (6920 Bob O Link Drive, Dallas, Tx, 75214) on Friday, May 3rd, at 10am CDT. For those unable to travel, the service will be livestreamed here. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Northridge Presbyterian Church’s “Memorials and Honoraria” page, typing Vince’s name under “Please Specify.” The link can be found here.

A 366-acre area in Batavia designated as 'brownfield opportunity area'

By Howard B. Owens

The governor's office announced the designation of 12 brownfield opportunity areas today, including one in Batavia. Here's a portion of the press release. We've included the top overview portion of the press release and the section about Batavia.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the designation of 12 brownfield opportunity

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