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With the mercury rising, there are ways to stay cool, experts say

By Joanne Beck
Austin Park spray park July 2023
July 2023 File Photo of kids having some cool fun at the spray park in Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens.

And so it begins — announcements of daily air quality index reports, with New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley hitting upon orange zones of “unhealthy for sensitive groups” while remaining regions in New York State rest in the yellow moderate zones as temperatures soar into the

Varland and Stewart named Athletes of the Year for Batavia High School at annual awards presentation

By Howard B. Owens
batavia hs athletic awards 2024
Track and Field Coach Nick Burk and multi-sports star Anna Varland
Photo by Howard Owens.
batavia hs athletic awards 2024
Burk and state wrestling champion Casper Stewart.
Photo by Howard Owens.

Anna Varland and  Casper Stewart were honored on Wednesday evening at the Athletes of the Year by the Batavia Coaches Association at Batavia High School's annual Athletic Awards program.

Varland was a standout in soccer, flag football, basketball and softball.

Stewart won the school's first-ever state championship in

Summer reading program at Byron-Bergen is a win-win for everyone

By Press Release
bb-literacy-clinic-2.jpg
Summer Reading Clinic participants
Submitted photo.

Press Release:

There are some new faces in the halls at Byron-Bergen Elementary School this summer. 20 graduate students from SUNY Geneseo are participating in the Summer Reading Clinic, part of SUNY Geneseo’s Reading and Literacy Graduate Program. The clinic pairs a graduate student, many of whom are working

Saturday's downpour didn't dampen competitive spirits for 2023 talent show

By Joanne Beck
Vee and Avantae Owens, Kho
Valeria

A nearly perfect week — at least in terms of no rain clouds to disrupt outdoor fun at Genesee County Fair — ended with a continuous downpour Saturday, muddying the parking lots and puddling the stage for the 2023 talent show.

The weather didn’t dampen the competitive spirits of nearly two dozen contestants, however, including Batavia’s Aria Fox, who was concerned that her hard work might have been for nothing.

“She really likes performing,” her mom Karla said. “She was so excited. She saw the rain, and she goes, ‘I’m so glad they didn’t cancel it.’" 

$45M Batavia capital project includes repairs, turf fields, a move back for fifth grade

By Joanne Beck
Jason Smith
Batavia City Schools Superintendent Jason Smith

A proposed $45 million city school district capital project would make way for the fifth grade to move back to John Kennedy, for student-athletes to run bases on a synthetic field at the high school and for buildings to be upgraded and equipped with emergency blue light phones, Superintendent Jason Smith says.

The project is not about expansion, rather, it’s about ensuring that the facilities are maintained or improved for all five district buildings plus Richmond Memorial Library, Smith said Monday afternoon before reviewing the plan during the board of education’s meeting.

Discussion of proposed Verizon cell tower in Batavia covers color of paint and intensity of radio waves

By Howard B. Owens
robert w. burgdorf attorney verizon
Robert W. Burgdorf, an attorney based in Rochester, representing Verizon at Tuesday's Town of Batavia Planning Board meeting.
Photo by Howard Owens.

A major telecommunications company's application to erect a new mobile device cell tower is a fairly straightforward approval process for local planners, and on Tuesday evening, Robert W. Burgdorf of Rochester, an attorney representing Verizon, provided several useful nuggets of information.

It was an initial meeting in the regulatory process with the Town of Batavia Planning Board. The application must still undergo an environmental review and a public hearing, but Burgdorf was happy to discuss the process and some of the technical issues involved in installing a cell tower.

Genesee County's oldest manufacturing company celebrates 140 years in business

By Howard B. Owens
chapin 140th anniversary
Tim Onello, on TV screen, delivers opening remarks on Saturday during a 140th Anniversary Celebration for Chapin International at the company's headquarters at 400 Ellicott Street, Batavia.
Photo by Howard Owens.

One hundred and forty years ago, homes didn't have electricity, and there were no amateur photographers.

That's right. In 1884, neither General Electric nor Eastman Kodak's founders had launched their history-making companies, nor had Nabisco or Coca-Cola product their game-changing products to market yet.

But a pair of young businessmen in Oakfield, Ralph E. Chapin and brother-in-law Frank Harris, had devised an idea for a better container to store kerosene for lamps and Chapin Manufacturing was born.

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