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Press Release:

Arc GLOW will be holding its annual Arc GLOW Fall Basket Raffle on Nov. 10 and 11.

Currently, Arc GLOW is seeking theme basket and gift card donations, with a starting value of $25. They can be dropped off at Arc GLOW Community Center, located at 38 Woodrow Road in Batavia, Arc GLOW’s Genesee County administrative office at 64 Walnut St. in Batavia, or at Arc GLOW’s headquarters at 18 Main St. in Mt. Morris.

Funds raised from the basket raffle help support Arc GLOW’s programs and services for children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families across the agency’s four-county service area.

The basket raffle will be held at the Arc GLOW Community Center on November 10 from 4 - 6 p.m. and November 11 from 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. with drawings immediately following.

For questions, please contact Tracey Jones at TJones@ArcGLOW.org or (585) 343-1123 ext. 1735.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flow-testing fire hydrants on Thursday, Oct. 5 from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This will affect the entire city. Homes and businesses nearby will be affected.  These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area.  As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored.  If you do experience a discoloration of your water, run cold water for about 5 minutes or until clear.

This annual testing is essential to maintain the community class III Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification and to assure that fire hydrants are operating efficiently for fire protection purposes. Along with maintaining the fire rating, the test monitors the health of the city's water system, identifies weak areas in the system, and removes material that settles in the water lines. Checking each hydrant improves fire department personnel's knowledge of the hydrant locations.

If you have any questions or should notice a hydrant in need of repair, please contact the fire department at 585-345-6375.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) board of directors will consider an initial resolution for Country Side Apartments LLC’s proposed four 24-unit market rate apartment buildings at its board meeting on Thursday, October 5. The project’s capital investment is estimated at $15 million and would be located in the town of Pembroke.

The project is requesting assistance from the GCEDC with a sales tax exemption estimated at $739,200, a property tax abatement estimated at $2,020,688 based on the incremental increase in assessed value via a fixed 60% 20-year PILOT (Housing PILOT for 20+ market-rate units), and a mortgage tax exemption estimated at $130,000.

Each building will have eight 1-bedroom and 16 2-bedroom units, totaling 96 units throughout the complex. The project aligns with the Genesee County Economic Development Center's recognized need for housing availability.

The fiscal impacts on local benefits total $10,032,176 ($8,705,683 in temporary and ongoing payroll and $1,326,493 to the public in tax revenues). For every $1 of public benefit, the company is investing $5 into the local economy.

If the project application is accepted, a public hearing will be scheduled on the proposed project agreement in the town of Pembroke.

The October 5, GCEDC board meeting will be held at 4 p.m. at the MedTech Center’s Innovation Zone, 99 MedTech Drive, Batavia. Meeting materials and links to a live stream/on-demand recording of the meeting is available at www.gcedc.com.

Previously: Shadow of Ellicott Station throws shade on apartment plan for Pembroke, developer promises no low-income housing

City residents may recall a number of years ago when code enforcement officials tamped down on all things unsightly, from overgrown grass and garbage cans left by the curbside to missing address numbers on homes and other property maintenance issues gone awry.

No one is exempt from this policy, and Sam Savarino of Savarino Companies has apparently made the unkempt list for his parcels at 40 Ellicott St. that have apparently been abandoned by the now-defunct Buffalo-based company.

The developer of the stalled Ellicott Station apartment complex received a list of code violations in September, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

Code Enforcement Officer Douglas Randall sent a letter to Savarino informing him about the violations.

“After visiting the Ellicott Station project site, the Bureau of Inspections has determined that defects in the building envelop may result in weather deterioration of the wood frame structure and freezing damage to plumbing and/or mechanical systems that may contain water used to test newly installed piping.  We encourage you to take all precautions to winterize the residential building,” Randall said. “Please be aware there are building materials scattered throughout the grounds that present an attractive temptation for passersby and habitation opportunities for rodents and other animals. Access openings into the existing masonry building are unsecured and will likely attract unwanted intrusion through the fencing and onto these properties.”

A list of violations was attached that included cleaning up weeds, plants, grass, rank vegetation in excess of 8 inches, and other debris on the premises, and the need to perform some building site work to make sure the property is secure during the lapse in construction. 

Examples of needed work include “the exterior walls into the interior, the exterior finish system is incomplete, and the roof system in unsecured and loose along the top of the walls in various areas. The wood structure of this building must be protected from weather deterioration,” one violation stated. 

"Exterior walls shall be free from holes, breaks, and loose or rotting materials; and maintained weatherproof and properly surface-coated where required to prevent deterioration," another citation states. 

Yet another stated that “Vacant premises, structures and portions thereof, or vacant land shall be maintained by the owner in a clean, safe, secure and sanitary condition as provided herein so as not to cause a blighting problem or adversely affect the public health or safety.” Corrective action was recommended, given that the interior of this masonry building under reconstruction is open to the public and adverse weather, that the exterior doors and windows of this structure must be secured to prevent unauthorized entry and protect the building from further deterioration.”

Deadlines for taking corrective action began Sept 26 and continue into October, with fines starting at $250 for the city to take care of the necessary maintenance.

To her knowledge, those items have not been taken care of yet, Tabelski said.

“The clean-up has not been satisfied,” she said to The Batavian on Tuesday.

When asked if Savarino has been getting hit with fines, she said: "not yet."

"(It) has not gotten to court yet," she said.

Ellicott Station is a low-income housing development on the city’s Southside. Due to financial entanglements, company owner Sam Savarino announced earlier this summer that he was closing his company, which meant the ceasing of construction at Ellicott Station soon after. 

More recently, tenants who were selected for housing in the 55-unit complex received emails notifying them to consider alternate housing since there was no guarantee they would be getting a new home at Ellicott Station.

Tabelski has also been remaining in contact with other agencies, including the state Office of Homes and Community Renewal, which had contracted with Savarino for low-income housing tax credits upon completion of the apartment complex.

She has not heard back from HCR recently, she said, and has “no new information at this point.” The Batavian plans to provide periodic updates on the status of the four-story project as it sits idle on the sidelines of a busy Route 63. 

After some delay from waiting to hear about their major funding source for the city's new police station, city officials finally received word this week, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

The new police facility already approved for the corner of Alva Place and Bank Street parking lot will begin the process of going out for bid, with a final destination of completion for summer 2025, Tabelski said Tuesday.

"My good news for today is we are authorized to go to bid by USDA. And we'll be doing the bid process very soon; it’s about a six- or seven-week process, with the hopes of awarding the bids in January or February  … and then starting construction of the new police station as soon as winter breaks next year,” Tabelski said to The Batavian. 

In April, City Council voted to seek funding from the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Program as a potential funding source for the new police facility. The city had already been awarded a $2.5 million congressional grant, which is to be applied toward the cost of the facility to “address capacity concerns, building limitations, improve handicapped access and ensure quality police protection services now and into the future.”

As for payment of the remaining $13 million, the USDA resolution allowed the city to pursue funding of loan and/or grant funding extended to the city by the federal agency. Council also approved financing the cost of project construction of the police station with bond anticipation notes for the project with a maximum estimated cost of $15.5 million.

There will be a related presentation to City Council during its Nov. 13 meeting from Wyoming County consultant Rick Hauser. He had previously performed a reuse analysis of the current police station, the Brisbane Mansion, with suggestions and recommendations for what it may be best suited for. 

Tabelski said the city is considering either apartments or a boutique hotel, and given the Main Street site’s age, it probably would qualify for historic tax credits.

“So that’s good. Savvy developers know how to use those types of tax credits, and we’re hoping we do get some interest in the Brisbane,” she said. “I’ll be laying out the city’s potential process to RFP that building for a developer to come in and turn it into either apartments or a boutique hotel. And with that, keeping the historical elements of the mansion is one of the main goals of the reuse analysis.”

Hearing from the USDA about grant funds and long-term financing was the signal the city was waiting for to go out to bid on the police station, she said, which it did on Tuesday.

Google "most important living artists," and Cindy Sherman is on that list.

In fact, in 2013, she was touted as one of the six great living artists.  

Some of her works have sold for millions, setting records for photographic prints. 

That notoriety helps make Sherman interesting to Gerald Mead, who has acquired 23 of her pictures, but that's only, at best, half the reason he collects her work. Mead's interest in Sherman is both parochial and personal. Sherman and Mead both attended Buffalo State University (though about a decade apart), and Mead's passion and specialty is collecting the works of Western New York artists.

He has more than 1,700 pieces in his collection.

"She's really kind of an icon in Buffalo," Mead said. "Her name is known far and wide as one of the most significant photographers, and she has that connection to Western New York. I was really familiar with her whole body of work, and because I was a curator at the Burchfield Penny, we had her works in our collection. It just became a special interest of mine when I first started collecting."

Over the next six weeks, art lovers from the area won't need to travel to London, Paris, Venice, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, or even Buffalo, to see examples of Sherman's work. They can just take a little trip to GO ART! at 201 East Main St., Batavia, to see a portion of Mead's collection on display.

The show's run starts today (Wednesday) and concludes on Nov. 25, with an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 19.

The show is a real coup for GO ART! said Mary Jo Whitman, education/SCR director for the arts council. She wrote her master's thesis on Sherman.

"I'm very excited to get to know a lot of people in this area who don't always get to travel out to the bigger museums to see this kind of work will get to see it," Whitman said. "It's exciting to be able to bring these works to people, essentially."

Whitman said Sherman's work is important to her because it speaks to her in a personal way, because in her work, Sherman presents herself as a chameleon, taking on different roles as the main subject of most of her photos.

Sherman started her rise in prominence with what is still probably her most famous body of work, Untitled Film Stills. 

The series was created mostly between 1977 and 1980, mostly in New York City, with the city as a backdrop, or in her apartment. The black and white prints mimic the kind of studio publicity shots that were once produced for film noir or French avante-garde movies. Sherman conceived of the shots -- only a few directly inspired by actual movies -- created the costumes, did her own makeup, and created the pose that seemed to capture the movie's star at a pivotal plot point. 

"I felt this immediate connection with her," Whitman said. "I think it's really this idea of, you know, the constructed identity that you can be so many different people. You're in social situations, you're in professional situations, and that kind of really dictates who you are at that moment and really how many different people you can be. I know, for myself, I feel that way. I grew up in a very small town as a country girl, and I went on to be an artist, I can be a crazy hippie at times, and I can be in galleries like this as the pretentious curator. So I play a lot of different roles. I think that I just kind of felt a kinship with her after seeing her work.

After Untitled Film Stills, Sherman moved on to other series that, again, feature her in various roles and characters, such as Fairy Tales, Disasters, Centerfolds, History Portraits, Clowns, and most recently, Instagram Portraits

Mead, whose collection started with "Letraset Art Sheet #1," a collage Sherman made from British clip art in 1966, which he won as a door prize at an afterparty in 1995 for the 20th Anniversary of Hallwalls Contemporary Art Gallery (which Sherman co-founded while at Buffalo State), said his goal has been to collect something of Sherman's from each of her eras and from each decade of her career.

"I've been able to do that over the course of 35 years," Mead said.

Sherman's work appeals to him, Mead said, for that same chameleon character that inspired Whitman to study her work.

"She's used herself as the subject, but she's converted and transformed herself into personalities, personas, characters," Mead said. "She doesn't consider them portraits of people generally because she's the subject of all of them. I think it can be fascinating to see how a person can use their own appearance and alter it to have such a wide spectrum of, again, personalities, personas characters."

Also, Mead said, each photo tells a story that also allows the viewer to help fill in the narrative.

"What's interesting about her work, too, is that it's meant to sort of evoke a response or a reaction because the person in it -- they're all actors or actresses, right? Is just being caught mid-performance. So when you're looking at it, you have to get out it, 'what happened before? What's going to happen right after?' She's telling the story. The interesting thing is, a lot of times, I think people sometimes look to see what the title is to figure out what exactly is going on, but they're all untitled. She intentionally has no title on them because she wants you to bring your own understanding and your own kind of reaction to it."

It's that nuance of story and character that is one reason people should come to see Sherman's work while its on display at GO ART!, Whitman said.

"It's just really cool," Whitman said. "She's got a great idea that's really unique. I mean, she plays all the roles. She is the artist. She's the model. She's the makeup artist. She's creating the work all based on herself. There's all these different guises that she has. It's really fascinating when you kind of break it down to what it took to make each individual work. You're gonna come in, and you're gonna see what looks like a portrait to you, but when you kind of break it down, like okay, this is her in every single portrait, and you will be able to tell it's the same person. So, it's just impressive."

A simple plot -- 12 ordinary people deliberating the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of murder -- became a riveting drama on Sept. 20, 1954, when it first aired on CBS's Studio One.

In the 1950s, women couldn't serve on juries, so the title was to the point: 12 Angry Men.

A lot has changed over the past seven decades. Women have been able, for example, to serve on juries for decades, so now the play is called 12 Angry Jurors (12 Angry Men was also an award-winning movie in 1957 starring Henry Fonda). 

And a lot hasn't changed.  Not all is equal just yet. Society is still beset by prejudices, and people still have biases and personal histories that color their views of events.

So juries can still sometimes find it hard to agree on a verdict.

That's why the play originally written by Reginald Rose is still performed all over the country, is taught in schools, and is the subject of scholarship.

"It's still relevant," said Director Kristy Walter. "It's like one of those timeless plays that speaks to justice, it speaks to humanity, it speaks to people's prejudices and biases. And that's, I think, what makes it so compelling because when you watch the play, you see yourself in those characters. So I think that's what makes it worth seeing."

The first Batavia Players performance is at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The play begins with an off-stage charge from a judge in a murder trial: The jury must reach a unanimous verdict.

Once in the jury room, Juror #7 (the jurors are only identified by their numbers until the close of the play), played by Teressa Hirsch, says, “Yeah, lets vote. Who knows, maybe we can all just go home.”

She has someplace else to be, she reveals.

And the vote? It's 11-1. Not unanimous.

The lone holdout, Juror #8, played by Steven Coburn, confesses, “It's not easy for me to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first.”

The jury decides it's up to them to convince him why they are right -- that the young man on trial stabbed his abusive father and killed him.  A guilty verdict would send the kid, from an impoverished background, to the electric chair.

The disagreements erupt for the jurors to confront their own morals and values, their own histories and beliefs.

You can probably guess the resolution -- if you've never caught the movie on late-night TV -- or better, no matter how well you know the story, you can join Batavia Players at 56 Main Theater this weekend to see how it plays out. The play holds up over decades of changing cultural norms and multiple viewings.

If Office For the Aging staff thought the word caregiver was a buzzword before now, it has grown in even more prominence now that the National Family Care standards have gone into effect. 

That means “all caregivers need assessment in addition to the care receivers,” OFA Director Diana Fox said Monday, one day after the standards took hold. 

She gave a review of how that’s going and what it looks like during the Human Services meeting.

“So we took on the position as part-time and full-time in order to be able to pick up that additional. We’re not sure how many additional people we’re having. But we do say caregiving is a huge part of what we do. In terms of the demographics that we serve, a lot of folks in our community are right in the middle of their caring for children, caring for older adults, and finding resources and getting support is just a big part of what we do for them.

“We also do a lot of services directly for people who have the need for care, whether it's someone who has dementia or Alzheimer's and those types of things. We have a grant that helps services for those groups and education and direct services for respite,” she said.

County Legislator Gordon Dibble asked for a definition of caregiver. Fox said it’s someone who does something for another person, whether it’s giving your mother her daily medications, or also helping her dress for the day and cooking her meals, driving a loved one to doctor appointments, cleaning the house, or performing day-to-day care for someone with extensive emotional and physical needs.

These new standards now mean performing an assessment on each caregiver, no matter what he or she does for the other person, as a check-in to see how that person is doing, Fox said. Because caregivers can often get so busy and caught up in providing for the needs of someone else, they may neglect taking care of themselves, and it takes a toll on their own well-being, she said.

As if on cue, the OFA is hosting a Shaping the Future of Aging Services public hearing this week to obtain input and better understand “what matters most to you” in terms of agency services and what the community needs to support aging residents effectively.

That hearing begins at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the office, 2 Bank St., Batavia. That will be followed by a program, You are the Help Until Help Arrives, that will provide participants with skills for what to do during moments of crisis to help save someone’s life.

As the agency approaches its 50th year, the clock is ticking louder for everyone, and Fox has been reminding folks that Baby Boomers will be hitting 65 by the year 2030. That means potential health issues and service needs for seniors will be at an all-time high, she said.  

Older folks aren’t going anywhere, though, as they are taxpayers, volunteers, consumers, home-buyers, and — as county Legislator Gary Maha added — voters. They will have needs, requests, and voices and be a large chunk of the community to be factored in for most everything.

“We want to keep older adults in our community because they are taxpayers, they are volunteers, they have a lot of value in our community. So we don't want to lose them to another community because we don't have enough for them,” Fox said.

In her annual report, Fox listed OFA’s priority needs, which included:

Sustainable funding to maintain capacity to serve the influx of aging baby boomers. Without such funding, her staff will not be able to keep up with demand for information and assistance, caregiver support, community-based services, or long-term planning, Fox said. She has requested an increase of $50,000 for 2024, which would take her annual budget from $1,421,578 to $1,472,458. 

Overall support to provide information and assistance to help constituents manage the complicated health insurance system and rising health care costs resulting from increased premiums, prescription costs, and the onset of chronic health conditions as they age. Office for the Aging’s wellness and recreation programs, efforts to address social isolation challenges, and services that include a review of health insurance options and eligibility for financial and in-home services programs all contribute to overall health and financial wellness, keeping out-of-pocket costs contained.

Full spectrum continuum of care — meaning independent, supportive, assisted and/or assisted and skilled — and middle-income senior-specific housing options. 

Explore the impact of the opioid epidemic on older adults. 

“We have begun to identify the growing needs related to opioid use. Much of the impact is related to the need for grandparents to raise their grandchildren and the impact on the often unreported financial exploitation and even thievery of older adults by their children/grandchildren to support their addiction,” she said. “We attend the Opioid Task Force and are working with GCASA, DSS, and other providers to identify local need and determine potential strategies to help support older adults in the process. We also participate in the Enhanced Multi-disciplinary Team (E-DMT) that addresses elder abuse and financial exploitation.”

New York State is seeing a bump in older adults that will continue to increase over the next decade, she said, with a 30 percent increase from the current senior population, according to a recent report from the Fiscal Policy Institute.

And perhaps not surprisingly, one of the most significant trends happening amongst older adults is the desire to remain at home and therefore receive services in the home, which is why locally and statewide, there has been a shortage of home health aides, Fox and state OFA officials have said. 

How has that shifted the offerings for folks?

“Doing things like modifications of homes where we can, if we can keep somebody in their home is a huge cost saving, as opposed to putting them into a higher level of care. But we also do a lot of things like housekeeping, incontinence supplies, and laundry service, which really talks about the needs for someone being able to remain independent,” Fox said. “So through some of that unmet needs funding that came through the state, we ended up with a large portion of that, just because my predecessor did a really great job of keeping track of all the people we had. And I don't think … that's ultimately going to go away simply because those people are waiting for home health care. And while they're waiting, sometimes they're going to a higher level of care. Sometimes they are, in fact, maybe they're moving away, and there just aren't enough home health aides to be able to go around. And that was before the pandemic, and I don't think that's going to change; that trend is still continuing to happen.”

Reservations for the public hearing and life-saving program are encouraged and can be made by calling 343-1611. Walk-ins are also welcome for both events.

The main phone number to the Genesee County Jail (585-343-0838) is experiencing issues, with an estimated resolution for some time on Wednesday, October 4.

Please dial 585-343-0839 in the interim.

Press Release:

The Jerome Foundation is seeking nominations for the Health and Humanitarian Award of Genesee County. This will be the 38th year the award has been presented. 

The first award was presented to Dr. Sydney McLouth. Award winners for the past four decades have included healthcare workers, builders, teachers, and many community volunteers.

The award recognizes outstanding men and women whose volunteer efforts have improved the physical, emotional or spiritual well-being of the greater Genesee County area. 

“We are fortunate to have many caring and committed volunteers devoted to the sick or to those in need, and helping build a stronger, healthier community for all of us”, said Justin Calarco-Smith, president of The Jerome Foundation.

Nomination forms are available online at www.thejeromefoundation.org or by calling 585-356-3419. Organizations or individuals may nominate candidates. Consideration will be given to actual accomplishments achieved through volunteer service and subsequent improvements to quality of life. 

Nominations should be submitted on or before October 13. The 2023 award winner will be honored at a luncheon on Friday, December 1 at Terry Hills Restaurant.

A request for $100,000 in funding for the purchase of a motel for transitional housing by John Bennett of UConnect Care, was fairly quickly moved onto Wednesday’s Ways & Means meeting after Genesee County Legislator Marianne Clattenburg voiced concerns about what she deemed questionable use of taxpayer funds Monday.

Bennett, chief executive officer of the longtime-named agency Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and recently renamed UConnect Care, laid out his case for using grant funds that are earmarked for opioid-related purposes to purchase The Attican, a 29-unit motel in Genesee County. 

Perched at the top of a hill at 11180 Alexander Road, the motel would serve the needs of the agency by housing singles and single parents with small children in need of safe housing while they are transitioning from rehab for anywhere from a few days for up to three months, Bennett said during Monday’s Human Services meeting.

Bennett said that he’s got funding of $600,000 from grants, $100,000 from GCASA, or UConnect, and is requesting $100,000 from Genesee County to top it off for the total $800,000. His proposal will move to the Ways and Means meeting at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, which is chaired by Clattenburg.

The facility would probably operate with a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) and paid for with a five-year grant from UConnect, other resources and Genesee County, he said. 

“We plan to have a maintenance person living there. We’ve done our due diligence,” he said. “We maintain our properties. It’s a new adventure for me; it’s a little bit of a stretch, but it’s the right thing to do.”

His agency had a grant with some beds prior to COVID and the pandemic, and now no longer operates those, which were for crisis housing situations for folks to stay up to seven days, he said. 

There are people using The Attican for temporary housing now, which can get expensive, but it accommodates their current lifestyle, he said.

Legislator Gary Maha asked if Bennett would be returning at some point down the road to ask for more money. Bennett didn’t think that was the case, as most of the funding is in place for the purchase offer, and “we have the means for programming,” he said. 

He painted scenarios of a single mom with kids who may be struggling with other issues as well as drugs; individuals couch surfing without a stable home of their own; or other issues that make for an unsteady way of life.

Maha agreed that “you don’t see people sleeping under a bridge or under a park bench here; it’s different,” versus in larger cities where homelessness is literally on the streets. It’s more about unstable housing, Bennett said. 

“These guys will catch me in the parking lot and thank me. Having some crisis housing for people, it’s huge,” he said. “We have a lot of people that have been using our system for a long time … they put some sobriety together, struggle, and relapse. We’re that safe place for them to be.”

County Mental Health Director Lynda Battaglia offered her support for the idea, emphasizing that housing is an issue for lots of people, not just for those with addictions, but with mental health issues, coming out of the hospital, were homeless and now need a place to stay.

“They can go there. And we struggle with housing. We have a couple of respite beds that it's usually like a 30-day minimum stay. And those are full all the time, and we have a waitlist. So that individual is going out of the hospital, we have to work with DSS, we have to try to find something,” she said. “The thing about somebody that needs housing, and they're trying to recover, and they have mental health issues and all of these other issues just working against them somehow. It just sets the foundation for them to then take some additional steps forward to live a productive life, a healthy life.”

She asked Clattenburg how she thinks she would be able to begin all over again without anything. What would you do? Battaglia said.

Clattenburg pivoted to the housing ratio in the city of Batavia: 51 percent is rental versus 49 percent owner-occupied homes. 

“So if the grand plan is to change more housing, into supportive housing, and take a property off the tax rolls, and change the whole nature of this community, then you're not going to have my support. There has to be some give and take here,” Clattenburg said. "And now we're not going to have any women in Batavia, and it’s going to be all men. So I don't know what that does to the dynamic of the public safety atmosphere. Do you have a pilot in the city of Batavia for any of the other properties that you have, but you’re going to have a pilot for this one? That’s a whole other question.

“I mean, I understand that years ago, you know, you’d get this kind of crisis we’ve all had in a family, but this used to be part of the family’s thing. But now the government has replaced the family. So, I don't know how we ever get ahead of all of this. I just don't know,” Clattenburg said. “And I just don't know if throwing programs and programs and programs, that we're ever going to get there at some point. Myself, as a representative of this community, has to say no, we need to be thinking of our people too.”

Bennett and colleague Luke Granger said their purchase offer would be $800,000 for the motel. Clattenburg asked about its assessed value, which Granger said he thought was $297,000. 

The online assessment records actually state that it’s assessed at $292,000. Built-in 1984, the two-story property was last sold in 2006 for a net sale price of $300,000, and its taxable value is $292,000. 

Regardless of that discrepancy, Clattenburg seemed incredulous that they wanted to spend $900,000 (she was later corrected that the purchase offer was going to be $800,000) for property assessed at $297,000.

“I don’t think that’s a good use of taxpayer money,” she said. “I’m not anti-this organization, because I do think you do some good things. But I do think that there's some problems that I just can’t look the other way. I just want us to be aware of that. And to know that it's an issue in the city of Batavia.  And it's just so frustrating to have this be an issue in your organization for so long, and to go from one building to two to three, that, you know, all these services, and just, I’m sure it's heartbreaking to you too, that we just don't seem to be getting ahead of this, it just seems to be getting worse. And that’s the frustration.”

Bennett said that he has been doing this for “a very long time” and that it would be easier for him not to take on such a project at this point than to get involved. But he believes in the agency and its mission.

“People have feelings about us, and they either love us or hate us. We're pretty polarized. And the truth of it is we provide a very good service. And our organization has done very good work. We take good care of our properties in this community, we employ a ton of people, we have close to 200 employees that do the work, right, and now we're going to be in a motel unit,” he said. “But think about if you had the motel here and you had case management, so we're gonna teach management and people there to help people and to guide them and to also make sure that people aren't causing trouble. So I mean, it is more than just housing, too. It is other support services that these folks don't have right now. And so we’re it for them sometimes. And I know that, believe me, I know that there's a huge need out there for lots of people right now. So we're just trying to help our little piece of the world.”

After the meeting, Clattenburg said that she purposely attended this meeting to get more information about the plan for this purchase. “I just had a lot more questions,“ she said.

“And it wasn’t really answered the way I thought. So I’m just, I’m kind of stunned with the difference in the assessment and the price,” she said. You know, these are taxpayer funds, and we did go through a lawsuit to get funding to help with this crisis. I realized that these are the professionals who are giving us recommendations, but I think it’s our job to question things. And I’d like to know where we’re headed with this.”

The property is listed as for sale on LoopNet. That listing does not include an asking price. Realtor.com gives the estimated market value of the property as $970,343.

During the meeting, she raised the issue of the city of Batavia’s disparity of owner-occupied homes versus renters, at 49 percent to 51 percent, respectively, and fewer properties on the tax rolls. Taking The Attican off of Genesee County’s tax roll by converting it to a nonprofit housing entity is not something she wants to see.  The Batavian asked if she’s concerned about where we are with housing in the city.

“Absolutely,” she said. "I come from the perspective of being on council and being the council president, and seeing those issues come up. You know, it just seems like we are, with the Savarino property devolving into what it was, people want to live and work here and raise their families, and it feels like they're just getting pushed out of that. So I have to be here to advocate for everybody.”

Bennett said that the plan would not move forward without the county’s support. He would work with county Manager Matt Landers and wait to hear the outcome of the Ways & Means Committee meeting. 

If the committee agrees to the request, it will vote on a resolution that will go to the county Legislature for final approval. That will be to award the Genesee Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc. (GCASA) $100,000 “to respond to the homeless housing crisis in the County with a focus on people with opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders,” according to the resolution, for the purchase of the motel known as The Attican.

Bennett said Monday that he had not yet spoken to the motel owner about an offer and purchase, as he had wanted to obtain approval for the county funding before doing so. The owner is listed as Aum Shree LLC. 

UConnectCare (formerly Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse) has promoted Christen Foley to the position of project director of the Western New York Prevention Resource Center.

The Batavia resident will oversee the implementation of training programs and technical assistance to community drug and alcohol prevention coalitions in the eight-county region. Foley, (photo at right), with the support of two community development specialists, is responsible for collaborating with the prevention providers, coalitions and community groups that make up the WNYPRC.

One of six prevention resource centers in New York State, the WNYPRC is based at UConnectCare’s offices on Clinton Street Road in Batavia and is an initiative of the state Office of Addiction Services and Supports.

Its focus is on engaging community stakeholders in the development of new coalitions and supporting established community coalitions as they work to reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Additionally, the center provides technical assistance, training and support to communities and coalition partners.

“The WNYPRC encourages the use of the Strategic Prevention Framework, which is a public health, outcome-based prevention approach,” Foley said. “This seven-phase approach helps coalitions assess the community’s needs and address them accordingly. The key is to respond appropriately by utilizing the data that reveals each community’s specific needs.”

Foley was hired by UConnectCare in 2019 to lead the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force. Her efforts helped expand the task force to various segments of the community and resulted in it receiving the 2020 Community Star from the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health. The award is given annual to only one rural entity in New York State.

Shannon Ford, services director of Communications and Development and director of Prevention at UConnectCare, said Foley is “a natural fit” for the project director role.

“Christen was able to refine her community engagement skills with the GOW Opioid Task Force and will now be able to help community coalitions across the region,” Ford said. “Most people don’t understand the science behind substance use disorder prevention and coalition activities. Christen and her team will help community coalitions effectively reduce underage substance use using evidence based approaches.”

Foley has been attending trainings and workshops since her appointment to the new position in June, including the Foundation in Prevention Ethics Training and the CADCA Mid-Year Training Institute, the latter a four-day conference in Dallas.

“As a result, I will now be certified to host and facilitate the six-hour, in-person Foundations in Prevention Ethics course for our prevention providers, coalitions and community partners,” she said, adding that she also is working towards becoming a certified Substance Abuse Prevention Skill Training Trainer.

She said she plans to host an ethics training next year and will be working on establishing coalitions in Genesee and Orleans counties.\

Disclosure: Mike Pettinella is the publicist for UConnectCare.

Alabama Fire is responding to 2557 Towne Place, near Macomber Road, in Oakfield, for the report of smoke coming from a vacant house.

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: A chief on scene reports nothing showing.

UPDATE 11:17 a.m.: Responders, which now includes an engine from Oakfield, can respond non-emergency.

Members of the Batavia, Warsaw, and Pembroke-Corfu-Darien (PCD) Kiwanis clubs recently celebrated their accomplishments — and more importantly the lives they have impacted — with two centennial and one golden jubilee gatherings, respectively, for the international organizations.

“I am always excited to introduce new people to Kiwanis,” said Gene Scherline, Lt. Gov. Designate Genesee Division, during their dinner at Terry Hills restaurant in Batavia. “I’ve been in Kiwanis for 43 years. It is a very exciting time to have people just starting on their journey. Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.”

Founded on Jan. 21, 1915, in Detroit, Mich., by a group of businessmen networking in a social club. It soon morphed into a community service organization. Kiwanis in Rochester was the fourth club organized and the first in NewYork State.  Its first meeting was in the home of George Dixon, the first president of Kiwanis International. 

In 1916 Kiwanis became an international organization with the charter of the Kiwanis club in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. At that time, it  limited its membership to the United States and Canada until 1962 when worldwide expansion was approved. There are now Kiwanis in seven different countries around the world. In 1986 women were accepted into the organization as members.

“Batavia Kiwanis is a longstanding organization that has been around for more than 100 years,” said Crystal Benjamin-Bafford, Lt. Gov. Genesee Division. “The work that the officers do to keep the club's vision and always keep moving forward, to do all the activities they do, to file reports. We appreciate the folks who stand up and volunteer and want to do this, it’s not paid but often is like a second job.”

Officers inducted at Thursday’s event into the Batavia Kiwanis include Dave Rumsey, president; Reita Fletcher, president elect; Jim Dillon, vice president; Vicky Muckle, secretary; and Jon Tretter, treasurer.

“Batavia’s club started first and sponsored Warsaw’s club, then 50 years later started the PCD club. So they’re basically our offspring -- father, son, and grandson,” said Peter Guppenberger, a 21-year member of Kiwanis.

Benjamin-Bafford said that monthly reports “are super important for people like me.”

“So later on, if I have comments, we can look back and see how much we raised, and without you we cannot really understand how we serve the community and how we help.  What you are to us is represented on this pin; it’s ‘you are the right stuff’.”

Batavia Kiwanis President Dave Rumsey presented three special awards. 

“It is [my] hope that the continuity and perseverance that has allowed this club and the Warsaw club to maintain 100 years and the Pembroke-Corfu-Darien club 50 years to look towards the next 100 years," Rumsey said.

The Presidential Appreciation Award was presented to Jon Tretter for his tireless assistance with the finances of the club. Vicky Muckle was also presented with the Presidential Appreciation Award for her dedication and assistance as secretary. 

“Her communication skills kept me in the loop, and she puts on a great chicken barbecue,” Rumsey said. “If I had speed-dial capability, I would have this individual’s number right on top,” he said. “As a new president, when problems arise, I would make a call to discuss the matter and, with the information provided, make an informed decision. This individual is also assisting with the coordination of many signature events for this club.”

The 2023 Kiwanis of the Year Award, which has been presented to members since 1967, was awarded to Guppenberger.

“Peter does everything with enthusiasm and confidence, and I swear he knows everybody in the community,” Rumsey said.

Legion of Honor and Merit awards are presented to those who have notable longevity within the Kiwanis clubs. As Guppenberger noted, the awards are significant because they chose not to give their time to their community but because they chose to invest their time in their community. 

“There’s a difference between giving and investing,” Guppenberger said.

The Legion of Merit recognizes those members who have at least five years and up to 20 years of consecutive membership.  This year’s recipients for members with five years up to 20 years are: Rumsey, five years; Jocelyn Sikorski, 10 years; Sue Maha, 10 years; and Mark Lewis, 15 years. Both Lewis and Sikorski are past presidents.

The Legion of Honor recognizes those members who have at least 25 years of consecutive membership. This year’s recipients are: Frank Ciaccia, 25 years; Gary Maha, 35 years; Patricia Forsyth, 35 years; George Arnold, 35 years; and Eric Adams, 45 years. Maha, Arnold and Adams are all past presidents, and Forsyth is a past secretary.

Warsaw Kiwanis, also celebrating 100 years, inducted new officers, including Lindsey Rissinger, president; Kevin Carlson, vice president; Gwen Carlson, secretary; and Richard Humphrey, treasurer.

Members inducted into the PCD Kiwanis, which is celebrating 50 years, include John Drogi, president; Penny Arnold, vice president; Debbie Krenzer-Lewter, secretary; and past Lt. Gov. Pat Weissend, treasurer.

The lifeblood of any organization is getting new members, they said. PCD had the opportunity to induct two new members in its organization: Casey Stocking and Megan Tocha.

“The hierarchy of Kiwanis exists because of its members,” said Lucien Giancursio, NY District Governor Designate. “Two new members mean two new people who have joined us. So you look around the room right now, and this is your family, this is who you turn to. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions. Because it’s the membership that makes things happen. It’s the members of Kiwanis who do the work. Leadership starts at the club and moves its way outward.”

The name Kiwanis stems from Nun Keewanis, an expression of a Native American tribe in the Detroit area where the organization was founded. It is loosely translated to “we serve.”

According to the International Kiwanis Club Website, Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time. 

“You’ll find clubs all around,” Guppenberger said. “You drive into town, and you see the ‘K’, and that means there’s a group of people that want to help that community. And everybody does things a little differently. It just depends on who the members are. The members drive the club. You’ve got a board of directors – a president, vice president and whatnot – and other members who all come together to come up with ideas on how to help the community - how to help the kids - with fundraisers like dinners and other events.” 

Part of Kiwanis is service, yet members are also getting together, having fun and building relationships, Warsaw Kiwanis Vice President Kevin Carlson said.

During its infancy, Kiwanis was a group of businessmen networking and servicing the community through volunteer work. However, over the past century, the organization has grown to be a real community-based organization.

“While there may be one or two members who actually work in the Pembroke area,” said John Drogi, PCD president. “The rest of us are community members. We are just people who want to make an impact in the community.”

Drogi joined the Batavia club in 1999 and, in 2009, joined the PCD club.

Currently, in Batavia, one of the projects is funding the Books for Babies program facilitated through the Richmond Memorial Library in conjunction with the hospital (United Memorial Medical Center). So when babies are born, they’re enrolled in a program through the library to encourage early reading.

Kiwanis Park, built in 1976, was a joint effort between Batavia Kiwanis and the town of Batavia. 

The Warsaw Kiwanis help raise money for the children's playground at Warsaw Village Park on Liberty Street in the village. The club helped get the project started and recruited other community members to help bring the playground into fruition. 

Events like the recent car show put on by PCD raised funds for projects such as Dolly Parton’s Books for Kids. Participants receive one book a month until they are five years old. The project was inspired by a member who worked for the health department in early childhood intervention, where she noticed many of the kids didn’t have books during home visits.

“We’ve been doing this for about six months and have around 70 kids signed up already,” Droji said. 

“That’s part of joining the club,” Carlson said. “You bring your ideas. Some get accepted, some don’t get accepted, but don’t get let down. It can be brought up again, and maybe it can get done.  A big part is enthusiasm. We have an enthusiastic group right here, and you can get a lot done.”

That’s the idea behind it. One may have an idea but think, “How am I going to get it done?” If one is a member of an organization like Kiwanis, it’s not just one person trying to get something accomplished. There is a group of people ready to help get a project done. According to Guppenberger, if it's an idea that resonates with the members, they will do everything to get it done.

To encourage future members, Kiwanis also has a presence in area schools, grades four through 12, via Service Leadership Programs (SLP). They include: the ‘K’ Kids, fourth through sixth grades; Builders Club, middle school; and the Key Club for high school students. There is also a club at the college level for those who are physically challenged.

“The kids run the programs. They decide what they are going to do,” Guppenberger said. “It’s building leadership; building service. They have their own officers, their own fundraisers, all under the umbrella of Kiwanis International.”

Initiated by Ashton Caney, the Batavia Kiwanis received its charter on Feb. 23, 1923, with 56 members of businessmen. Note ‘businessmen,’ said Guppenberger. 

“It has certainly changed since then, for the better, I may add,” he said. “We are honored and fortunate to have the second ever female inducted in the Kiwanis Club here tonight — Patricia Forsyth, who became a member in 1987.”

Since then, there have been approximately 12 female presidents in their clubs. The clubs at the time were mainly men’s clubs. It was “the old boys” club stereotype, says Forsyth. Yet women were just as much in business as men were.

The main focus is still service in the community; it is the backbone and strength of the Kiwanis community, members said. You are joining an organization that is dedicated and serving the local needs of the community and having fun doing it. 

City Council President Eugene Jankowski and Vice-Chair Genesee County Legislator Marianne Clattenburg read proclamations exalting the efforts of the Batavia club.

“I just want to say, as a lifelong resident of Batavia, I am the benefit of one of your investments. As a youth, I played in sports, and you guys supported our community way back when and has kept me out of trouble,” Jankowski said. “It kept me on the ball field instead of other activities. Thank you for that.”

The Kiwanis Club of Batavia is included in those community service projects in sponsorship of sports, construction and development of the many community parks, the Fresh Air Program, and three Richard Rung Memorial Scholarships a year. The scholarships are offered to graduating seniors at Batavia High, Notre Dame High School, and Genesee Valley BOCES.

The Fresh Air program was created to bring sponsored children from the cities to the country for a week, explained Clattenburg. In addition to sponsoring the development of Kiwanis Park in the town of Batavia, the club helped to convert the park so that it offers specialized equipment for children with developmental disabilities.

The Kiwanis Club offered holiday totes at Christmastime to families in need throughout the city, school district, and St. Joe's from 2015 to 2019. Totes included a holiday meal, books, mittens, and hats for each child, as well as supporting the Autism Trail at Letchworth (State Park) through fundraising efforts.

“I always thought 50 years was a long time,” said Ed Arnold, one of the founding members of the PCD club. “Doesn’t seem that long. When I think back on how great it is to have this many people ... Hank is the one who really pushed it for all of us to make it happen, and Hank did nothing but give a million percent to make sure that everybody would come [to meetings]. 

“The meals that he would give us… and it was every Tuesday night. Hank is gone. Greenwoods restaurant is gone - and the changes we have had. But you people should be so proud of what is here from 50 years ago of what it was.”

Guppenberger read a list of the Batavia club’s services, supports, and projects with the speed of an auctioneer, periodically taking a breath and asking the audience if he had forgotten anything from the scroll-like list of services, supportive efforts and projects. Most significantly, the club raised more than a quarter-million dollars for the Justice for Children Advocacy Center to be renovated.

“One of our sponsored clubs was the Golden K,” he said. “We used to do the Golden Olympics for I can’t remember how many years. All the county nursing homes, patients who wanted to participate, would come to Batavia, and we had the Golden Olympics and gave out ribbons, and the patients would put their ribbons on their beds. They were so proud of them. 

“We had a beanbag toss, bowling, wheelchair races and all kinds of crazy stuff like that. Unfortunately, it became difficult to continue the games because there wasn’t enough staff to bring the residents in. It was a cool thing to do, and as a kid, I loved helping my dad out with the Golden Olympics.”

Lucien Giancursio, NY District Governor Designate, congratulated the three clubs for their respective milestones.

“We are here because people were here before us,” he said. “So let's be the people here for someone behind us.”

Photos by Julia Ferrini.

Summer highlights of the 60s included going to the neighborhood park, swimming in the afternoon at the New Pool, and attending the four lawn fetes scheduled throughout the summer. 

The summer recreation program was divided into eight parks. Every neighborhood had a park, and the names of the parks all have a little local history.

Austin Park was named after George Austin, a jeweler who died in 1914 and left some of his money to be used to develop a public park. 

Mrs. George Farrall gifted Farrall Park's land. The land was originally a pasture. 

Kibbe Park is named after Chauncey Kibbe.   In 1934, with the help of federal funds and purchasing land from Chauncey Kibbe, Kibbe Park was born. 

John Kennedy Playground was formerly known as Cary's Woods. It was located on Vine Street. In 1954, the park was built on land sold from the city to the Batavia School District. 

MacArthur Park got its name from Douglas MacArthur. During WWII, the city organized an air raid observation post with headquarters in the baseball dugout at the ballpark. In 1961, the city cleared a small land area and built a picnic shelter with tables and grills behind the stadium.

Pringle Park was named after Judge Benjamin. Pringle also had a playground that was used for the summer recreation program.

In 1927, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Woodward from Le Roy gave the land along Richmond Ave. across from Robert Morris to the Batavia School District. This began the creation of Woodward Field. In honor of Mr. Woodward, his name is on the ticket booth, along with his good friend Andrew McWain, the editor of The Daily News at the time.

In 1915, the city owned a tract of land on Pearl Street that was left to the city in the will of Robert Williams. This was originally his farmland. Today, it is Williams Park.

The parks were open from 9 a.m. to noon and then from 1 to 5 p.m. Your days were filled with baseball and volleyball games and arts and crafts, and the summer's culmination was the Park Parade. Main Street closed, and the streets were crowded with spectators and store employees. Your park was judged on your float and your scrapbook. You became proficient in making hundreds of paper crepe flowers and how to add the flowers to chicken wire. The goal of each park was to create a unique float to represent the park. 

Friends were made for life at your neighborhood park. 

In 1959, the building contract was awarded to Ed Leising to excavate a choice piece of land in MacArthur Park. It would be the home of the new community pool. When it opened in 1962, another chapter of our childhood was created.     It was a 60-foot by 100-foot pool that could accommodate 600 swimmers. Your afternoons were spent swimming in what I thought was the largest pool I ever saw. You rode your bike to the pool, paid your .25, and were given a key to a locker. When you left, you were given your quarter was returned, which we immediately used on one of the vending machines when we left the pool. 

Another wonderful memory of summer in the 60s was the church picnics, or as many called the lawn fetes.   St. Joseph's Church began the summer with its fete on the first June weekend. Rides, games, food, baked goods, and a beer tent were there. My favorite part was the mammoth parade that opened the weekend's picnic.  

Our Mighty St. Joe's Drum Corps highlighted the parade. Main Street was packed with spectators. Parents and children in strollers lined Main Street. St. Joseph's Drum Corps was founded in 1931 by the Rev. T. Bernard Kelly, pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Batavia. St. Joseph's Drum Corps operated as a parade corps until the late 1950s, when it became a field competition corps. During the 1960s, Mighty St. Joe's rose to National and International prominence, consistently ranking among the top ten junior corps in the country.

The end of the lawn fete was marked by the lucky winner of the raffle ticket. You couldn't forget the grand prize, a new Cadillac that would be raffled at midnight Sunday evening. If you didn't want the Cadillac, you could choose $10,000. 

St. Joe's wasn't the only church that had a lawn fete. 

St. Anthony's had one on a smaller scale, but it was just as fun. I loved their baked goods booth. They also had a popular beer tent.   

When our daughters were little, we would walk to the fete. I remember one year carrying our youngest daughter from the fish pond, screaming. She wasn't ready to leave, and when we got home, we discovered that she had a rubber fish in her hand from the fish pond. 

Sacred Heart Lawn fete was very special to me because you could always find my wonderful father-in-law in the church garage counting money. He was always happy to give his granddaughters cash for the games. It was a smaller lawn fete, but every booth had a church member operating it year after year. 

Every church supported the various lawn fetes. St. Mary's also had a Lawn Fete. 

It was the community that benefited from the summer events. My memories span from when I was nine to when the last lawn fete was held in 2017. It ran for 61 years. When you think of our lawn fetes, you remember the long lines for the waffle booth or the smell of Italian sausage,  pepper, onions, or, respectfully, Polish sausage being grilled at Sacred Heart's Lawn Fete. You got used to the sound of the game I've Got It or someone yelling Bingo.

So many of these beautiful memories are gone. I regret that children today will never experience the fun. We all remember walking the tarmac of the various lawn fetes, walking in their park parade with their float, or swimming in the New Pool. My heart is filled with great memories and the sadness of dealing with all the changes we baby boomers must accept. 

As you read this today, I hope you smile and remember our summers in Batavia. Smile and be thankful we lived at a time when lawn fetes, the park program, and the New Pool filled our summer days. 

Photos courtesy of Genesee County History Department.

Barnaby's eyes -- with two dark thin slits across each eyeball -- cautiously observe and capture a stranger's attention as he approaches his front yard fence, while Anne has a way about her when she sidles up to a person and nudges her neck ever so gently against you. There’s only one thing to do but reach out and stroke her nose and neck in quiet sympathy for her current hip pain that causes her to limp.

Ferris and Forrest seem obliviously content to continue snacking while Cici may try to take a lick of a visitor’s arm, and there are so many more residents of Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary just waiting to say hello.

And they’ve all got names, personalities and individual voices if you just give them a moment, co-founder Jonell Chudyk says.

“I heavily believe in the power of the human-animal bond when it's done when it's mutually beneficial. I think humans can heal animals, and animals can heal humans as long as it's done in a mutually beneficial environment,” Chudyk said during an interview with The Batavian. “So my goal, obviously, was to create this place that's a sanctuary for both humans and nonhumans.”

It was quite apparent during a recent tour of the Upper Holley Road farm that Chudyk has given the 52 animals — 19 species in all — many moments since the farm’s founding with Jon Tedd in 2015. 

From Barnaby, a brown goat, to Anne, a miniature donkey once used for a traveling petting zoo and who got caught in a hoarding situation with fellow donkey Gilbert, all of the animals have been rescues or turn-ins that are now living a much healthier, safer and happier life. 

There’s a story for every animal, including the pot-bellied pigs that were purchased by people thinking they’d be a cute, petite pet for the house, until the realization that it was a pig that was going to grow in girth and poundage. 

And River, the now three-year-old black-and-white cow who was found running down a Rochester street as a three-day-old calf with its umbilical cord still attached. Nobody claimed the poor confused baby, and it eventually found refuge at Mockingbird. 

Or those Eastertime gifts that might get tucked into a child’s basket along with the chocolate bunny rabbits. 

“We’ve gotten 245 requests for surrenders of roosters from people who got chicks and then couldn’t keep them or didn’t want them when they got older,” she said. 

Lucy, a mom goat, and her baby, Ruby, were part of a breeding operation used for ritualistic slaughter out of state. They came to the farm quite sick, requiring extensive medical treatment and Tedd and Chudyk donning tyvek suits just to treat them.

Some of the animals have stayed inside with Chudyk until they were recovered enough to go back into the barn.

Cici the cow became a big fundraising effort, with the community rallying around to raise $14,000 to save her from multiple diseases after a stay at Cornell University.

Why farm animals, and why spend so much money on them? Well, why not farm animals, Chudyk counters.

“I’ve been around horses for 26 years. And they were sort of my happiness and therapy growing up. So I knew I always wanted to do something with animals,” she said. “And for as long as I can remember, I've been rescuing animals like baby squirrels and just involved with, I guess I would say, the welfare of animals for as long as I can remember.” 

She met Tedd through a mutual friend who was in a band with him, and they discovered they shared the same dream to operate a sanctuary like this. The dream came true in 2015 when Chudyk moved there and bought the place. Mockingbird became an official 501(c)(3) two years later. 

She believes that one animal is as important as any other, and learning about all species has allowed her to understand that they all really do have their own niche.

Just like their cats, dogs and smaller animals that reside inside their home on the farm, all of them have their rightful place and a voice that if you stop and listen, you’ll hear it, she said. 

Hart, the large green-eyed Maine coon cat that appeared on their property years ago and never left, has nuzzled right into the mix — amazingly unfazed by the ducks and chickens.

Chudyk and her family, husband Joseph and daughter Audrey, have adopted this way of life quite naturally, though it's not easy. The sanctuary is completely run on a volunteer and donation basis, with no grant or government assistance, she said. 

The property includes a 6,000-square-foot barn, circa 1800s, and five out-buildings on 10 acres of land. There's a board of directors and some 16 volunteers who work according to their own schedules.

There is a subscription service, Patreon, and her job as a licensed therapist that helps to support the organization, Chudyk said, plus sponsorships of animals, donations, and events. 

One of the farm’s big events will be the second annual Fall Festival, set for 1 to 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at 5978 Upper Holley Road, Byron. This year’s goal is to raise $15,000, which would buy hay for this winter season. There’s no formal admission, with a suggested donation of $10, which includes a self-guided tour of the farm and availability to meet its residents. 

There will also be at least a dozen vendors with food and crafts for sale, including Grass Fed Rochester, New Ethic Pizzeria & Cafe,  and Isotope Ice Cream and Desserts. Other activities will include games, face painting, temporary tattoos, live music, a pumpkin patch and raffles.

Vendors and sponsorships are still being accepted for the festival, with a variety of online and in-person promotional perks for sponsors. Volunteers and donations are always needed and welcomed, she said. 

It takes $6,000 a month to care for the animals, and untold hours of cleaning, scrubbing, and filling bowls and buckets with food and water, clearing out their beds of poop, providing for their medical and personal needs, and, of course, giving a good ear, nose or back rub for those that have come to trust it.

Chudyk bakes cookies with CBD so that some of the treatments are more palatable, as many of the animals have joint issues, osteoarthritis, or other injuries and ailments from their prior journeys. 

Again, why go to such time, energy and expense for farm animals?

“You can care about humans and animals at the same time. And if folks are compelled to donate, awesome, if not, they don't have to," she said. "So we always make it a point where like, personally, I would pay the bills, you know, I would never expect the public to, if we take on an animal with expenses like that, we don't expect the public to just fund it. If we can't get that support, we would never put an animal in a situation where we wouldn't be able to afford it personally.

“But the thing is, don't they deserve voices? You know, we are essentially the voices for the voiceless. And it's difficult to see so much support for companion animals when nobody would bat an eye at $14,000 to have colic surgery for a horse, but to save a calf, that would be controversial," she said. 

"We just don't see it that way. And that's okay if other people don’t.”

For more information, go to mockingbirdfarm.com

As she was approaching high school graduation, Reagan Heubusch wanted to at least supplement her part-time job with something else to make a little more money, and a family friend suggested that she try a pet-sitting service.

Almost immediately, her own social media, plus word-of-mouth, earned her three or four clients, and the business grew to the point where the 18-year-old dropped the other job altogether.

“It started out as a very small idea, and my initial goal was for it to keep me afloat while I found another job,” she said during an interview with The Batavian. “What actually ended up happening was it replaced a job entirely for me; I was able to do it full time, not just not on the side. I offer four services currently, but am hoping to be able to expand in the future as I take some courses to help educate me more.”

It was her boyfriend’s step-mother who can claim credit for the idea, and her own mother, Danielle, who gave the push to “go for it” in pursuing her own business, Reagan said. She’s always had a love for dogs, having grown up with four up to now, so the idea especially appealed to her.

Still in its early stage, the owner and namesake of the Reagan Elizabeth Pet Sitting Services is in progress with obtaining her LLC, and she offers dog walking and drop-in visits of 30 to 60 minutes to provide some companionship, exercise, a feeding, or outdoor break; and then more extensive day and night stays at the client’s home.

A 2023 graduate of Pavilion Junior Senior High School, Reagan has also taken some online courses to learn more about handling dogs, grooming and trimming their nails, she said, with plans to take more in-depth lessons, such as certified dog CPR, certified grooming and administering medical injections. 

She already has experience with giving oral treatments, has booked repeat clients for all of her services, and gained some experience working at Rover.com, she said.

Reagan has a repeat overnight client booked for a 12-night package in November, and that includes caring for the dog and watering the client’s plants. She will do other tasks around the house as needed, she said. 

While most of her clients so far have known her, why might strangers trust her services? 

“I got booked with a complete stranger, and I think what sold them was that I was newer, my prices were affordable, and I had personal experience with dogs,” she said. “And when I met them, they felt safe that I was going to be in their home and with their pets, and nothing was going to go wrong. So it's just making yourself seem credible.”

There is always a pre-meeting for everyone to get a sense if the arrangement will work out — both with Reagan and the dog — and to ensure “it’s a good fit,” she said. She wants to make sure that she’s comfortable with the pooch and that there’s no apparent aggression there.

That meeting is a great time for both sides to size each other up, she said

“I think dogs are a really good judge of character. I think it’s up to them to trust you, I don’t think you can make a dog trust you,” she said. “I’ve always loved dogs, and I’ve always loved caring for them. It’s nice having an animal that loves you unconditionally and that you can unconditionally love back. 

“I’m very good with animals. So far, there hasn't been a single dog I've turned away. I've worked with a Chihuahua, a pit bull, and even a few Great Pyrenees,” she said. “I love all dogs and would only turn one away if I felt as though I could not handle it or it showed signs of being overly aggressive. Thankfully, though, I have not had that issue yet.” 

She has learned to begin with affordable pricing, establish herself and then go from there with her fees. She charges per service and serves Genesee and Wyoming counties. 

Future goals are to provide a doggy day care or boarding service, plus offer nail trimmings, baths and other potential services as she becomes more established, she said. At that point, Reagan hopes to also employ others to help with the business.

For more information or to contact Reagan, email reaganelizabethht@gmail.com or go to her business site.

Press Release:

The Batavia Muckdogs are excited to announce their 3rd annual Muckdogs Trick or Treat at Dwyer Stadium on Saturday, October 21 from 3 - 6 p.m. 

“This tradition started when we took over the team in 2021 as a free event for the community to get together and have some fun around Halloween. Last year we saw over 5,000 people attend the event and we are expecting another great crowd. We really can’t thank the businesses that are involved who help make this event possible.” Owner Robbie Nichols.

The event is free to enter and is for all ages. Attendees can trick or treat, participate in games & activities, and enjoy the Halloween festivities at Dwyer Stadium. If you or someone you know wants their local business to be involved please email Muckdogs General Manager, Marc Witt mwitt.canusa@gmail.com.

UPDATE 5:58 p.m.: Batavia PD says Stephenie Underwood has been located.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is seeking public assistance in locating 42-year-old Stephenie Underwood. Underwood was last seen on Sept. 27 at approximately noon in Batavia. She was last seen wearing tan sweatpants and a black long-sleeved shirt. Underwood is about 5'2", 126 lbs, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350 or the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370. Tips can also be submitted by clicking the "submit a tip" button at bataviapolice.org.

Based on feedback from the community, the engineer and property owner planning an apartment complex at 8900 Alleghany Road, Pembroke, have scaled back the project, the Pembroke Planning Board learned on Wednesday night before voting 6-1 to let the development move forward.

A month ago, when the plan was last publicly discussed, developer Michael Schmidt and engineer Michael Metzger were planning six buildings in the complex and a total of 144 apartments with 326 parking spaces.

The new site plan calls for four buildings -- plus garages -- with 96 apartments and 168 parking spaces.

The change helps reduce the amount of impervious developed service to less than 50 percent, leaving 57 percent greenspace on the 8.2-acre lot.

The changes will make the complex more attractive from the roadway, Metzger said.

"There was some talk of making the project a little bit more of a park-like as opposed to what we had before where we had six buildings in there and a lot of asphalt," Metzger said. "With these large tracts of natural vegetation, we're trying to replicate a park-like setting that would be better for the aesthetics for the community as well as the residents that would live in this facility."

Chairman David Knupfer voted no after expressing his concern about setting a precedent while not expressing any specific objections to the project.

"This project is a precedent-setter for this town," Knupfer said. "There's no other project like this in this town. So whichever way it goes, it sets a precedent with stipulations or no stipulations. So if this is approved, and somebody else, some other developer comes in, you gotta be careful. So make sure you have what you want in here."

There were two big concerns raised by planners and community members. First, access for school buses; second, whether Schmidt would pull a bait-and-switch, which speakers expressed concern about in light of what happened with Ellicott Station in Batavia, and turn the complex into low-incoming housing.

Metzger explained the plan for school buses, worked out with Pembroke Central School Superintendent Matthew Calderon, and Schmidt said there is no way the complex will become low-income housing.

Calderon sent a letter to the planning board expressing his thoughts on school buses, which Metzger acknowledged.

"He goes into detail there about various options, and actually, some of the options he's suggesting would work quite well," Metzger said. "He also offered the opportunity for the buses to actually come on site. One of the things that he talked about, and he talked about it with Mr. Schmidt, and he would be agreeable to is allowing the buses to actually come on site and stop at each one of the buildings, each of the four buildings. Because of the geometry that is set up for the largest of emergency vehicles and fire trucks, there's way more than enough capacity and room for buses to maneuver on the property."

Metzger explained that the driving lanes and turning lanes through the parking lot are compliant with state fire codes so that fire trucks can easily maneuver through the area.  School buses, he noted, have shorter wheelbases than the largest fire trucks.

Schmidt said he favors the buses stopping at each of the four buildings because it will be safer for the children of his tenants.

"As you know, it can be snowing, raining, sleeting," Schmidt said. "So if you have a tenant in the back building who has a little seven-year-old and the bus was to come in and park in a spot (up front), now that seven-year-old is going to be trucking down (the parking lot) with a backpack to get out on the bus where other people might be leaving for work. We talked about it being a bad situation from a safety standpoint for the children and said the best-case scenario in my mind is to have the bus be able to come around to each building. There will be plenty of clearance. So he (Calderon) was agreeable to that."

That scenario, Schmidt also noted, would allow the children to wait in the building's vestibule during inclement weather.

As far as concerns about low-income housing, Schmidt noted that, unlike Ellicott Station, his project is not subsidized by any state or federal agencies.  

"They already had all the agencies lined up to work with them," Schmidt said. "We are here alone. Mike's my engineer. We have no intention of doing that. I can put that into writing. We certainly aren't going to be looking for any state financial aid or any type of anything from the government to help us."

While the apartments will be available to anyone who can demonstrate the ability to pay the rent, he indicated that a person who qualifies for subsidized housing isn't likely going to be able to qualify to rent an apartment in his complex.

Applicants will need to be able to demonstrate full-time employment with a credit score of at least 700 and an income of at least three times the monthly rental rate. The rent on a two-bedroom apartment will be at least $1,695 per month and $1,395 for a one-bedroom.

After one resident complained that apartments will just bring in a bunch of "riff-raff" and drive down property values, Schmidt, who owns and operates several other similar complexes in the region and repeatedly drew on his experience to explain the kind of tenants who fill his complex, told the man, "respectfully," that he had it backward.

"The people who are gonna live here are going to make a minimum of $50,000 with a credit score that is going to have to be very strong," Schmidt said. "In my experience, once they live here for a while, they're going to realize if they're moving in from another place, which a lot of people will be, I think -- we all know your whole corridor is growing -- and some of you don't like that, I understand. I grew up in Akron, a small town that has grown a little bit. But the reality is it's happening. The STAMP project and other things that are going on are gonna lead other people to want to move in. 

"When they move in, they're gonna look for a nice place to move, and hopefully, we will be able to provide some of that," Schmidt added. "And then what they're going to do is look for places, homes to buy, which is going to take the prices of the homes up like it always does. When more people come in, the value of the homes goes up. That's good for everyone. You have more people coming in to help pay taxes and pay for the infrastructure ... You've got a great town. I'd say one of the towns in Western New York that's on the move. So I think it's going to be the opposite. I think what you find is when more people move in -- nice, good, hardworking people -- they're going to be looking for homes to buy. You're going to see the real estate values start climbing."

Related to the school bus issue, as well as traffic in and out of the complex, as well as the number of parking spaces, and the nature of the up-and-coming workforce quality apartments attract, is there simply won't be a lot of children living in the apartments, Schmidt said. He predicted fewer than 20 children at any one time.

He said the apartments are on the smaller side, and most are one-bedroom, and in his experience, even the two-bedrooms don't tend to attract adults with children.

Eight units in every building will be one-bedroom, and six will be two-bedrooms. There are no three bedrooms. 

"They're not large units," Schmidt said. "They're very medium-sized units. So really, our experience is that we have very few children. And when people start having children, they look for a house."

Schmidt said he maintains high standards for his tenants.  For example, tenants can have dogs under 30 pounds, but if a tenant's dog bites anybody, the dog has to go.

"We don't tolerate anything," Schmidt said. "That's why we keep the standards very high in who we rent to. If you don't, good people will not live around bad people, but bad people love living around good people. So you have to take care of the good tenants that you have."

And that's why he's attracted to building in Pembroke, he said. He believes Pembroke is a community that attracts good people.

"It's a community built around hardworking people," Schmidt said. "Hardworking people don't have a lot of time usually to screw around. We're going to protect that. I think you're gonna see there's a lot of great people that move in here."