2022 File Photo of a downtown scarecrow on Main Street in Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens
Press Release:
The Batavia Business Improvement District is hosting its annual Scarecrow Contest for downtown Batavia as a creative way to add some more fall flavor to downtown decorating.
The BID invites any business, group or organization to enter the contest. For $20, each business will be provided basic supplies of straw, a post and zip ties, along with their pole assignment.
Each business can get creative in creating their scarecrow. All voting for favorite scarecrow ends Sunday, October 27. Winners will be announced on Halloween!
Supply pick up will be in Jackson Square on Tuesday, September 17 through Thursday, September 19 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. unless otherwise arranged.
Payment is due before or upon pick up. All Scarecrows need to be up no later than October 4, and must be taken down by November 2.
The winner will receive a cash prize!
For more information on BID and Downtown events, please email director@downtownbataviany.com, visit our Facebook Page or our Website at bataviabid.com.
A harvesting robot in an automated greenhouse for strawberries. Submitted Photo
Tucked into rural Genesee County is a little-known greenhouse filled with automated technology. It’s overseeing a sweet crop of strawberries that just might turn agriculture on its head.
At least that’s what founder and CEO Gilwoo Lee is banking on with Zordi, her autonomous greenhouses with robots and artificial intelligence (AI) designed to make delicious, high-quality produce available anywhere in the world. Her company has two locations: the most recently acquired farm in southern New Jersey and, through the connection of co-founder and head grower Casey Call, a greenhouse in Oakfield.
Zordi has made the top 20 list for the annual Grow-NY, a business competition focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage, and agriculture innovation cluster in upstate New York. Winning companies will be required to make a positive economic impact in the Grow-NY region, which includes 22 counties located in Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier regions.
Lee isn’t quite certain what the pitch will be to snag the winning spot in the contest, but she knows her end goal.
Gilwoo Lee
“So basically what we need to prove out, is the largest market in the U.S. gonna love us?” she said. A native of South Korea, Lee has a unique vantage point of that area’s use of controlled environments.
"I applied to Carnegie University's Robotics Institute. That's like the number one when it comes to robots. So I started studying there, and then, long story short, I graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle with a Ph.D in AI and robotics. I really wanted to take that to where it felt personally, very meaningful and passionate about climate change sustainability and where there's labor shortage, and that led me to control the environment in agriculture like greenhouses and indoor farming in general,” she said. “One thing just historically is interesting about Korea, and that's kind of why I was a little bit more familiar, is that they do a lot of greenhouses, mainly because they get a lot more scarcity, like land, and not all the weather is as great as California. So I was just studying that and started my company.”
An AI roboticist and product of MIT, University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University, Lee wants to build robotic greenhouses anywhere, and perhaps even more importantly, “deliver the best food.”
Before she could proceed, though, she needed to get the best farmer/grower for her initiative. After securing a venture capital company, she was able to meet with some 30 different head growers across the country.
She ended up meeting this one guy “doing a lot of greenhouses and vertical farm, indoor farm stuff. Turns out I really, really liked what the person that stood out the most, like way above everybody else in terms of the mission and expertise and knowledge, was working at a company called Plenty, which is in the Bay Area. It is the largest vertical farm, completely indoors, without sunlight,” Lee said. “And he was in charge of the production, and he was ready to basically, and it's super expensive, by the way, to do those things, so he was a little bit really looking for a more affordable, effective solution. And so I asked him to join the company ... So he was my first employee/co-founder.”
His name is Casey Call, son of Peter, president of My-T Acres in Batavia. Lee learned that Casey is a sixth-generation farmer, and she was drawn to Western New York. The co-founders ended up leasing a greenhouse that Pudgie Riner was retiring with Triple P Farms, she said.
"We were building a new greenhouse as a complete startup; it takes a lot of expertise, and we're like, how do we get this right? You don't have that much time. You kind of have time and money to kind of balance out, and Pudgie at Triple P was really kind to offer a greenhouse that was ready to retire. So we took that, and we are leasing it," she said. "We completely retrofitted it, put a lot of infrastructure to make it essentially, you can flip the season inside of the greenhouse. So that's how we started growing these very new, exciting varieties of strawberries that are really sweet varieties.
"And we've been very small, and that's why I've been very stealth, not necessarily stealth, it was just a really small growing them, running a robot," she said. "And as a startup, you do actually have to kind of prove it and put your best effort in one location.”
The crop has been small in volume and Zordi has sold to two stores in Manhattan, and is selling to a Wegmans in New York City, in addition to using family members as guinea pigs to taste test the sweet product, so no one locally will have seen it or been able to purchase these berries yet, she said.
Bottom line: venture capital investors are looking to confirm that Lee and Call know what they are are doing and can do it well before moving on to the next stage.
So what’s the next stage?
“We opened a second farm in South New Jersey as part of that kind of one step ahead for kind of proving our points," Lee said. "So we are running both of the farms. Both of them are still pretty tiny; we’re not actually scaling. It’s more like we’re proving these out across these two locations.”
The Oakfield greenhouse opened in September 2022, and Southern New Jersey a year later. They employ up to four full-time people and have three different types of robots on site: scout, which involves the robots moving throughout the greenhouse and capturing all of the growing data; harvest, to collect the plants; and spray the plants. The first two were built in-house, said Lee, an engineer who really likes robots, abstract things, math and computer science and loves it “when I can bring things to real life.”
She foresees using robotics in the greenhouse for other healthy fresh produce, such as cucumbers and tomatoes. As for the Grow-NY contest, “we’re still trying to hash out the best project, but this particular site and what we’re bringing in is certainly very innovative and futuristic,” she said.
“We have our own proprietary robots and AI kind of fully managing the greenhouses. We certainly have a lot of experts kind of coming in and really contributing. But really the ultimate goal is, can we make this farming easy enough for young growers to run these farms or young operators to run these farms and have really high yield and quality, that is what we’re tracking,” she said. “We do have, for example, monitoring robots that are running around the farm, literally capturing every single plant, every single day, and then the AI that’s making decisions, harvesting robots that are helping out all the harvesting labor, spraying robots.
"So a lot of these are automation to help the farms scale up. Those are the key things that we’re putting together and pushing demonstrating that it results in a much better quality product, enabling the better quality products to be delivered at a very affordable price," she said. "That, I think, is the ultimate goal of our business, and we’re starting that out. We have been proving that out in Western New York.”
Casey Call, who obtained his master’s in business administration from Boston University, was an agronomist for more than 15,000 acres at Grimmway, the largest carrot grower in the world, and head grower for Plenty, a leading vertical indoor farming system, floats between the two Zordi greenhouse sites in New York and New Jersey to manage them.
A total of 312 startups applied from 50 countries, including Canada, the UK, and Italy for the Grow-NY competition. Domestic teams also showed strong interest, with 26 states represented in the applicant pool, including 89 entries from New York. Forty-four percent of applicants included a female founder, and 60 percent included a founder from a culturally diverse group.
A panel of 30 judges, reflecting a depth and breadth of regional economic development expertise, knowledge of the region’s agriculture and food production communities, and entrepreneurial experience, reviewed all the applications to determine the top 20 finalists that will pitch their business plans at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit in Ithaca in November.
Grow-NY will award seven winners a total of $3 million in prize money. This includes a $1 million top prize, two $500,000 awards, and four $250,000 prizes.
Just two years ago, a local company, Craft Cannery of Bergen, won a $500,000 award for Paul Guglielmo's pitch. A tip for future applicant Lee, perhaps: he opted to play the soundtrack from the Broadway musical "Hamilton" to pump him up, and it really energized him, he said.
“From farming to food production, New York is an innovative, world-class leader in agriculture. Year after year, the Grow-NY competition is instrumental to bringing new, high-growth businesses in the industry focused on critical areas to our state,” State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said. “This event has once again brought to light just how critical agriculture is to our communities and to our economy, and I congratulate these finalists on their innovation that will help bolster our food systems, feed our communities, and move our state forward.”
The last several months and leading right up to the final pitch have included mentorship opportunities, introductions to the region’s leaders and resources to connect applicants with potential partnerships and other strategic opportunities; site visits, business tours, industrial and economic development agency introductions, and pitch training.
The accelerator culminates with a live pitch at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit, scheduled for November 6 and 7 in Ithaca at the brand-new Downtown Ithaca Conference Center.
The Summit will be held in two formats simultaneously, in-person and virtually, with finalists pitching their business ideas live in front of an audience and answering questions from a judging panel. The event also includes a food and agriculture symposium, ecosystem expo, and student pitches. The 2024 Grow-NY winners will be revealed in a live awards presentation at the conclusion of the Summit.
James Christopher Francis, 45, of Falconer Street, North Tonawanda, is charged with menacing a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon 3rd, menacing 1st, and criminal mischief. At 2:32 a.m. on Aug. 12, deputies responded to Buffalo Street, Bergen, for a report of a man threatening people with a knife. Deputies were able to disarm the suspect and take him into custody. James was held pending arraignment.
Matthew Aaron Howe, 34, of Country Route 64, Hornell, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely, and inadequate plate lamps. Jpw was stp[[ed at 10:57 p.m. on Aug. 1 on Broadway Road, Bethany, by Deputy Zachary Hoy. Howe was issued an appearance ticket and released.
Tahja Denise Allen, 22, of Schreck Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. At about 12:45 a.m. on Aug. 7, the Sheriff's Office received a report of a vehicle on a ditch at the Darien Lake campground. Deputy Zachary Hoy was dispatched to investigate. Allen was identified as the driver. Allen was issued an appearance ticket.
James Edward Brown, 43, of Maltby Road, Oakfield, is charged with sex offender failure to provide a photograph. Brown is accused of failing to provide his photograph to the NYS Sex Offender Registry while being classified as a Level 2 Sex Offender. He was released on an appearance ticket.
Brandon Roddy Brade, no age provided, no residence provided, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Brade is accused of violating an order of protection at 12:19 a.m. on Aug. 8 at a location on Phelps Road, Pembroke. He was held pending arraignment.
Tonya Roselynn Hadsell, 31, Clair Carrier Road, Friendship, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. At 3:46 p.m. on Aug. 8, Deputy Leah Bezon and Deputy Zachary Hoy were dispatched at the Dollar General on Route 63 in Pavilion to investigate a possible intoxicated driver. As a result of an investigation, Hadsell was allegedly found in possession of Fentanyl. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Cheryl Ann Maines, 55, of Chadlee Drive, Brockport, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, improper left turn, and unsafe turn. Maines was stopped at 12:40 a.m. on Aug. 10 on Park Road, Batavia, by Deputy Jacob Kipler. Kipler was issued an appearance ticket.
Malik Isiah Ayala, 32, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Malik is accused of stealing merchandise from Walmart at 4:10 p.m. on Aug. 13. He was arraigned and released.
Brandi Nichole Arbia, 39, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny 4th and offering a false instrument for filing 1st. Arbia is accused of stealing $2,372 in SNAP benefits. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Noah Stuart Smith, 19, of Chipman Place, North Tonawanda, is charged with criminal mischief 3rd. Smith is accused of intentionally damaging a mobile phone while at the Chris Stapleton Concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center at 10:45 on July 12. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Ahmire Dionzlyer Morgan, 19, of Delsan Court, Buffalo, and Raequan Ariz Reed, Sr., 28, of Delsan Court, Buffalo, are charged with grand larceny 4th. Morgan and Reed are accused of stealing merchandise from a retail store on Veterans Memorial Drive. The Sheriff's Office did not release the name of the store.
Chad J. Evans, 34, of Weever Street, Rochester, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and three counts of aggravated unlicensed operation. Evans was stopped at 2:05 a.m. on Aug. 17 on East Main Street, Batavia, by Deputy Jacob Kipler. Evans was held pending arraignment.
Joseph Michael Flanagan, 39, of Lawrence Road, Hilton, is charged with DWI, failing to yield the right of way on a left turn, and failing to yield the right of way when entering a roadway. Flanagan was stopped at 2:22 a.m. on Aug. 17 on Park Road, Batavia, by Sgt. Mathew Clo. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Brandon Michael Crawford, 22, no address listed, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and speeding. Crawford was stopped at 1:41 a.m. on Aug. 10 on Route 5, Batavia, by Deputy Jeremiah Gechell. He was issued an appearance ticket.
GLOW With Your Hands organizers are seeking 15 additional volunteers to support the coordination of 1,000 students from across the GLOW region for the 6th annual career exploration event being held on Tuesday, September 24 at the Genesee County Fairgrounds in Batavia.
“The success of GLOW With Your Hands is made possible through the generosity of volunteers in a variety of event-day roles, including tour guides for individual schools, and support at the entrance at the fairgrounds, parking and lunch areas,” said GLOW With Your Hands Co-Chair Karyn Winters said. “We are fortunate to have so many volunteers already registered but we need more to cover all our bases.”
The annual GLOW With Your Hands event provides students with hands-on career exploration in high-growth and high-demand careers. Activities such as welding, bricklaying and heavy equipment operation, and interactions with employers provide students with the insight to explore career opportunities with companies across the region.
“We’re tremendously excited to once again welcome so many companies and students to GLOW With Your Hands. The commitment and dedication of so many volunteers is what makes this amazing event possible,” said Angela Grouse, GLOW With Your Hands Co-Chair.
Registration for volunteers is available by emailing Karyn Winters at kwinters@geneseeny.com or filling out the volunteer form at www.glowwithyourhands.com/manufacturingvolunteers.
In two years, the Songbirds, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, has gone from playing for a couple of dozen people at a block party in Batavia to headlining at some of Western New York's top music venues.
On Monday, they closed out, as headliners, the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival, drawing, likely, in the area of hundreds of fans for a three-hour set of all the best of Fleetwood Mac along with some deep tracks.
After the parade, on a beautiful blue-sky Labor Day, the third and final day of the music portion of the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival opened with power trio Salvatore, an Albion-based band, followed by Elvis impersonator Terry Buchwald.
More than 50 years after the war ended, Vietnam War veterans in Oakfield, at long last, have an appropriate memorial in Triangle Park.
A new granite bench in the park was dedicated on Monday during the final day of the Oakfield Labor Daze Music and Food Festival.
About 18 months ago, an Oakfield resident, George Norway, sat in Triangle Park in his electric wheelchair with a sign on the back.
It read, "Shame on Oakfield."
When people inquired, he disclosed he was upset with the fact that in the park there were memorials to veterans of the world wars and Korea but nothing honoring the sacrifices of Vietnam War veterans.
Norway was not himself a veteran but he had seen friends and family go off to war and was not happy that they were forgotten.
Jill Klotzback, Robyn Gage and Laurie Nanni, along with members of the Oakfield Historical Society, got together and began to plan an appropriate memorial.
After the company they were working with to create the memorial more than doubled the price of the monument, Justin Calarco Smith of H.E. Turner spoke with the company's distributor and he was able to get the bench for less than the original quote.
Before the bench was unveiled, Assemblyman Steve Hawley spoke about how Vietnam veterans were forgotten, ignored, even shunned after the war. He recalled that for the first five years of his annual trip to Washington D.C., the Patriot Trip, there were never Vietnam War veterans who took the trip. Over the past few years, their numbers have been increasing. When the tour stops at the Vietnam War Memorial, Hawley speaks with those veterans and thanks them for their service and apologizes on behalf of the nation for how they were treated upon their return. "Thank you for your service and welcome home," he says.
The brother and sister-in-law of George Norway then placed a bouquet of roses on the bench to dedicate it.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) drafted a letter to Gov. Hochul yesterday requesting that the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) regulation delay its enforcement start date from January 1, 2025.
Following conversations with constituents and local business owners who rely on trucks for their operations, Hawley has learned that the implementation of the program – which resulted from an effort to curb excess emissions from shipping trucks – is already producing problems businesses are struggling to accommodate in this short timeframe. Hawley is asking for the delay until the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority conducts and concludes the highway and depot charging needs evaluation.
“The New York State Automobile Dealers Association (NYSADA) and the Trucking Association of New York (TANY) have already expressed concerns with the regulation’s implementation next year, and their claims need to be heeded” Hawley said.
“As a government we need to start listening to all stakeholders who will be affected by decisions New York State makes. In this case, it would appear that truck dealers and trucking businesses have never been consulted. Unfortunately, this happens over and over again with the State of New York” Hawley said.
Shawn Woodward fries up a blooming onion. Woodward said he thinks the first time he tried a blooming onion himself was as a child at the Elba Onion Festival. Photo by Howard Owens.
The Oakfield Labor Daze Music and Food Festival has two main components. We've covered the weekend's music. Here's a look at the other part of the festival -- all the good food being served up by about a dozen vendors.
Monday's Schedule:
10 a.m.: Parade
11 a.m.: Salvatore
1 p.m.: Terry Buchwald (Elvis)
4 p.m.: Songbirds (Fleetwood Mac)
And food vendors all day.
Joel Hamm cooking in the Oakfield Betterment Committee food booth. Photo by Howard Owens.
Felix Elimihele from Kitchen Africana in the Greece Mall. Photo by Howard Owens.
Like any serious collector of vinyl records, Cheektowaga resident Joe Spath comes across many decades old records with little to no value—copies of the soundtrack to “South Pacific,” for example, or any Mitch Miller LP. Ditto Burl Ives. To say these records are a dime a dozen is to overstate their value.
That's why Spath grabs those records from the pile when he finds them to turn them into wall art.
Using computer-guided cutting tools, Spath turns the vinyl records into tributes to legendary artists, such as Chuck Berry, Paul McCartney, Elton John, ABBA, the Bee Gees, and so on.
He carves an artist's image or logo into the record and prints out a faux record label he downloads from the Web to cover over the original less desirable label.
Spath is one of the vendors this weekend at the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival.
He started cutting records about 12 years ago.
"I've been doing this because it makes people happy," the Navy veteran said Sunday.
A former DJ, Spath said he has cataloged in his collection of "keepers" 8,000 LPs, 2,000 45s, 1,500 CDs, and even a lot of cassettes.
The collection spans the 1940s to the 2000s and pretty much every genre of music.
"Variety is the spice of life," he said.
There are close to three dozen vendors at the festival this weekend.
Five-year-old Lukas Kastelic was quite pleased with the tie-dyed Buffalo Bills T-shirt his parents were buying him. Photo by Howard Owens
Sunday night's headliner, Nerds Gone Wild -- perhaps Western New York's most popular cover band -- thrilled all their fans who turned out in Triangle Park for their headlining performance on the second day of the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival.
While waiting for the band make its grand entrance, one woman from Arizona approached a reporter and praised the festival. She couldn't believe all the music was free. And she loved all the food options. She said she extended her vacation an extra week just to see Nerds in Oakfield.
Hazzard County, a Buffalo-based country music band, got a late start due to heavy rain, lightning, and thunder but still put on an all-out performance for music fans Sunday in Oakfield.
As someone in recovery for more than four decades, Linda Ackley knows what those struggling with substance use are going through.
Now in her 22nd year at UConnectCare (formerly Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse), Ackley is a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor currently is serving as a “tech.”
A dedicated employee, her experience and compassion have made a difference in the lives of her clients at the agency’s Atwater Community Residence and Detox Center.
It was in her mid-20s when Ackley came to grips with her excessive drinking and -- leaning on what she calls “her higher power” -- found the strength to put those days behind her.
“I went back to school and got my diploma (she had dropped out after becoming pregnant at the age of 16),” she said. “Then, I went to Genesee Community College and got my associate’s degree in social work, and from there I went to Brockport and got my bachelor’s degree in mental health/social work.”
Since then, she obtained her master’s degree and has worked tirelessly to counsel and mentor people seeking to break free from the grip of substance use.
“When you’re trying to relate to young people who are in the program, it makes a big difference if you can tell them that you’ve been there; that you know what the heck they’re going through,” she said. “If they find out that your book smart, they’re going to give you a hard time. They’ll say, ‘You don’t know how I feel.’ Yeah, you do know how they feel when you’ve been there.”
Ackley’s work ethic has transferred to her daughter, Carrie Anne, who also works at UConnectCare. She also has a son, John, who lives in Genesee County. Her other son, Francis, died in 2001.
When not at work, Ackley and her longtime partner, John, rescue animals – primarily cats.
“We've been saving the animals for years,” she said. “That’s my big thing now. I’ve got 12 of my own after I fixed them and got them all sets, and four kittens that I’m fostering right now.”
Ackley said she is proud of her granddaughter, Julietta, who is enrolled at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs in pursuit of a PhD.
“I raised her, although not my blood, right along with my other grandchildren (after Francis died),” she said. “I’ve had her for 20 years and she’s doing great.”
Linda Ackley Submitted photo.
Ackley suffered a severe injury to her right arm years ago while working at Genesee County ARC (resulting in replacement of the bone from the shoulder to the elbow), but that hasn’t slowed her down. She also underwent heart surgery earlier this year.
“They put a watchman into my left valve,” she said, adding that she returned to her job several weeks later.
As far as working at UConnectCare is concerned, Ackley said “this place is just like family.”
“It’s a great place to work,” she added. “We all work together and do our best for our clients.”
She said she encourages those in recovery – young people who have come through UConnectCare – to pursue a career in substance use or mental health counseling.
“We had two people here that were in the program that I encouraged to get into recovery, and after that come back here to work,” she said. “Guess what? They’re back here working.”
The path to recovery begins with U. At UConnectCare, we want you to work with us. For more information on employment opportunities, go to www.uconnectcare.org.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing the launch of the Debt Consolidation Tool, an innovative online tool available through farmers.gov that allows agricultural producers to enter their farm operating debt and evaluate the potential savings that might be provided by obtaining a debt consolidation loan with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) or a local lender.
“Providing producers with options to structure their debt in a manner that affords them every opportunity to meet the goals of their agricultural operation is the best way to ensure the nation’s farmers and ranchers build financial equity and resilience,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux.
A debt consolidation loan is a new loan used to pay off other existing operating loans or lines of credit that might have unreasonable rates and terms. By combining multiple eligible debts into a single, larger loan, borrowers may obtain more favorable payment terms such as a lower interest rate or lower payments. Consolidating debt may also provide farmers and ranchers additional cash flow flexibilities.
The Debt Consolidation Tool is a significant addition to FSA’s suite of improvements designed to modernize its Farm Loan Programs. The tool enhances customer service and increases opportunities for farmers and ranchers to achieve financial viability by helping them identify potential savings that could be reinvested in their farming and ranching operation, retirement accounts, or college savings accounts.
Producers can access the Debt Consolidation Tool by visiting farmers.gov/debt-consolidation-tool. The tool is built to run on modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or the Safari browser. Producers do not need to create a farmers.gov account or access the authenticated customer portal to use the tool.
