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Batavia Society of Artists is hosting photographer Sue Meier on Tuesday, July 9th, at Kiwanis Park in Batavia with a picnic at 6 p.m. and a demonstration afterward.

This event is FREE but you need to register by July 7th to reserve a spot. Please call Teresa Tamfer at 585-506-2465 or e-mail bsa.bataviasocietyofartists@gmail.com.

Meier is the owner and photographer of Photography by Susan Meier. Her home-based boutique photography studio is located in East Pembroke.

She has always be interested in photography since she was a teenager when she won her first camera in a coloring contest. Some genres that Meier has photographed are: weddings, high school seniors, families, kids, professional headshot, boudoir, babies and pets.

She enjoys putting her spin on her creative concept photography and images. She has created images with theme ideas such as; “Little Red Riding Hood,” feather, little bird, bird in nest, Venus, mermaids, flowers, Elizabethan, ultra-violet light, crazy, dinosaurs, “Harry Potter,” butterfly, mountain man, spider/web, dragon slayer and more!

Many of Meier’s images have been displayed, sold and even published in a book. Galleries and settings include: Todmorden Mills Gallery (Toronto), GO ART!, Image City (Rochester), Moon Java Cafe (Batavia), Richmond Memorial Library (Batavia), Genesee County Fair (Batavia), and Gallery 96 (Pittsford), and the Senior Center (Batavia).

She has been a member of the Batavia Photography Club for many years and has hosted and mentored the club members in many aspects of photography. The photo club invited her to show pictures from her recent trip to Hawaii.

Meier has competed in many club photo competitions and regional club competitions and is an award winning photographer. Sue has also taught classes in camera knowledge and photoshop. In her spare time, Sue photographs birds, bugs, flowers and landscapes.

She looks forward to meeting you and helping you learn more about photography!

The sound of lawn mowers and the smell of freshly cut grass are signs of summertime in Genesee County.

However, those familiar noises and scents can far too often mean motorcycle accidents if homeowners do not properly remove road hazards like grass clippings, leaves and gravel.

“The people most to suffer from these things when it comes to motor vehicles is the motorcyclist, specifically, in a corner,” said Jon DelVecchio, riding coach at Street Skills LLC motorcycling school in Rochester and author of "Cornering Confidence: The Formula for 100% Control in Curves."

“Motorcyclists and car drivers alike, we want nothing between our tire surface and the road surface," DelVecchio said. "That’s how we’re going to get the best traction really in any condition.”

Grass clippings in summer months are reportedly as slippery as winter ice on road surfaces. Yard waste that blows onto road pavement presents safety hazards to motorcyclists whose two-wheeled vehicles speed over the slick grass clippings.

Clearing grass clippings from roadways is not a choice; it is mandated by state and local law.

NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1219 prohibits any substance that is likely to cause injury from being placed on highways. If grass clippings from a lawn mower are either accidentally blown or intentionally deposited onto the pavement, homeowners are legally obligated to remove them immediately.

Also, City of Batavia Municipal Code 113-2 states “No person shall sweep, throw or deposit or cause to be swept, thrown or deposited any ashes, dirt, stone, brick, leaves, grass, weeds or any other debris … into any public place or upon any private property without the owner's permission within the city.” A violator of this law can be fined $250, face imprisonment up to 15 days or be sued civilly if their grass clippings cause a motorcycle accident.

Jesse Underwood is a motorcyclist from Holley who has been riding motorcycles for 40 years. He was shopping at Stan's Harley-Davidson dealership in Batavia on Thursday when asked about encounters with grass clippings while tooling around.

He said it is important enough to him that, if he sees a problem, he stops his motorcycle and informs homeowners of the dangers of grass clippings during his rides with other motorcyclists.

"Every time we go on a big ride, every time we see people blowing grass in the road, we stop and give them a brochure on the dangers of it," Underwood said.

When homeowners receive the information, they are often surprised.

"A lot of them didn't even realize what they were doing is wrong," Underwood said. "I explain to them that wet grass clippings in the road — it's like ice to a motorcycle.

"If you come up and you're on wet grass ... or you're coming into a blind curve, even if you're doing the speed limit and you hit the wet grass, you're going down."

Underwood said that there are already enough dangers, such as texting and driving, that threaten the safety of motorcyclists, so grass clippings just add to the road hazards.

To effectively dispose of yard waste, homeowners are encouraged to leave their grass clippings on their lawns. This solution benefits the environment because clippings act as a natural, nutrient-rich fertilizer and decrease the amount of store-bought fertilizer homeowners purchase. This option also saves time because grass clippings do not need to be bagged after each mowing.

“I would advise homeowners, as a person who rides a motorcycle, to just simply be aware that their grass clippings could cause real trouble for people who ride motorcycles,” DelVecchio said.

DelVecchio encourages homeowners to take preventative measures to clear the roads near their property. He also advises motorcyclists to receive both basic and advanced riding instruction through videos, books or training courses so they can navigate grass-covered roads.

Lost control of motorcycles can lead to injury and death among motorcyclists who cannot regain their traction on grass-covered streets. It only takes a few moments to clean up grass clippings if they blow into the road in order to keep motorcyclists safe.

A six-vehicle pileup is reported on the westbound Thruway at mile marker 389.7. Traffic is snarled.

Three ambulanes are on scene.

Town of Batavia Fire Department is there, too.

Brandon Fogg agreed to a plea deal this afternoon in Genesee County Court after being charged with placing an individual at risk of serious injury or death -- in this case a Batavia police officer -- by displaying a BB gun on June 5.

The 32-year-old Batavia resident entered a guilty plea to first-degree menacing and faces one-and-a-third to four years in prison.

Batavia police officers first encountered Fogg after he trespassed at a location on Ellicott Street. Due to an illegal tire on Fogg’s vehicle as he drove away from the location, officers initiated a traffic stop.

According to police, Fogg attempted to flee the vehicle, but he was taken to the ground by Officer Darryle Streeter. Fogg then removed from his pocket what appeared to be a handgun during the struggle between himself and Streeter.  

A local citizen then came to the aid of Streeter by stepping on Fogg’s wrist, which caused him to drop the BB gun from his grasp. Streeter took Fogg into custody shortly afterward.

Judge Charles Zambito scheduled sentencing for 3:15 p.m. Aug. 1 at Genesee County Court.

Renee Chapell with the RaSPy poster. Photo by Alexandria Tarbell, 4-H ACES Club Photographer.

By Renee Chapell – Genesee County 4H ACES Club:

Submitted photo and press release:

The New York State American Legion Boys State program will be held June 27^th to July 2nd at Morrisville State College, Morrisville.

The American Legion Boys State is a unique summertime educational program for boys entering their senior year of high school.

The program focuses on participation and personal experience in a model state, complete with governmental bodies and elected public officials. It is designed to mirror the structure and operation of state government while providing training in practical citizenship, leadership and character through a non-partisan lens. 

The American Legion Boys State program consists of classroom work, lectures and hands-on activities that promote learning by doing. Each participant is known as a “citizen” and becomes an integral part of the process assuming specific responsibilities as an elected or appointed official.

The American Legion Posts, local businesses, or other civic organizations pay the delegates' enrollment fees. 

The Genesee County American Legion Committee is proud to be sponsoring the following 2019 Boys State delegates:

• Zachary Anderson -- Batavia High School
• Zeshan Armstrong -- Batavia High School
• Aiden Cornelius -- Oakfield-Alabama High School
• Grantham Gilligan -- Le Roy High School
• Zachary Hannon -- Byron Bergen High School
• Jake Hill -- Le Roy High School
• Ryan Manges -- Oakfield-Alabama High School
• Alexander Pratz -- Oakfield-Alabama High School
• Dylan Rykert -- Oakfield-Alabama High School
• Gavin Schmidt -- Batavia High School
• Cameron Smith -- Le Roy High School
• Keith Szczepanski -- Notre Dame High School
• Charles Urbanczyk -- Pavilion High School

About The American Legion 

The American Legion is the largest wartime veterans service organization with nearly 2 million members in 12,875 posts in communities across America. Chartered by Congress in 1919, The American Legion is committed to mentoring youth and sponsoring wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting a strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service members and veterans.

Press release:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has issued the following statement:

“This session was full of missed opportunities and misplaced priorities. From the convening of the session in January, through yesterday, we saw bill after bill filled with items that voters did not want and that hurt Western New York.

“The budget, filled with billions of dollars in new taxes for this year alone, is set to increase taxes by $4.5 billion next year. To make matters worse, Democrats gave less funding to our Western New York roads and bridges. Our schools also saw less aid proportionally.

“We saw, just this week alone, numerous times when Downstate members negatively spoke about Upstate residents. Despite the calls to be one unified state and the promise that Upstate would not be overlooked, this session had a disproportionately negative affect on Upstate’s economy and way of life.

"Late term abortion, driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, billions in new taxes and mandates on farmers are just some of the examples. Instead of passing the 'Victims’ Justice Agenda', the Majority was focused on delivering for criminals, with the 'Criminals’ Bill of Rights'. All of this while our taxpayers were left behind.”

This will be the first post on The Batavian where comments are powered by code from Facebook and tied to Facebook's registration system. To comment, you will need a Facebook account.

Starting with this post, the website will display the Facebook commenting system. Older posts have the old commenting system and will retain the old comments.

Why the change? 

Because Facebook has better moderation tools than are available through our old commenting system. Also, practically the whole universe has a Facebook account now and sites that use Facebook comments get more comments on stories.

Why not? Because it feels a little like giving into the Borg. "You will be assimilated."  

I think it's the right move now but we'll see.

Facebook has other projects in the works to help local publishers like me, mostly through the trade association I helped create, Local Independent Online News Publishers, that makes me a little less wary of Facebook.

So, we'll see. In business, if you're not trying new things, you're dying. So we try new things.

Three ambulances have been dispatched to a two-vehicle accident at South Lake Road and Clinton Street Road, Bergen.

There is entrapment in at least one vehicle. There are possible head injuries. No word on how serious the injuries might be.

Bergen fire and Bergen ambulance are on scene.

The road is blocked.

Le Roy fire is also requested to the scene.

From Senator Michael Ranzenhofer:

The New York State Senate passed the “Farm Workers Bill.” State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer (R-C-I, Amherst) voted against it.

Senator Ranzenhofer has issued the following statement:

“Today’s passage of the Farm Workers Bill is devastating to our local farms. It does not take into consideration the economic and practical realities of farming. I have heard from and met with both farmers and farm workers who have shared the crippling impact this legislation would have on them.

“This is just another example of Downstate legislators who do not understand the Upstate economy. This will impose hundreds of millions of dollars in mandates onto farms who are already struggling. Simply put, it is going to eliminate jobs and put farms out of business.

“Furthermore, I am disappointed that such a critical bill would be introduced at the last minute and not ever be considered by the Senate Agriculture Committee or reviewed by the public.”

From Senator Rob Ortt, ranking minority member of the Senate Agriculture Committee:

“Tonight’s passage of the Farmworker Labor Act is disappointing and further displays the disconnect between state Democrats and Western New Yorkers. For months, I toured farms across western New York and spoke about this legislation with hundreds of workers, employees and community residents.

Employers and employees alike pleaded that this bill would destroy small family farms. With New York State farm closure rates already triple the national average, this legislation will grow the closure rate and devastate the number one economic driver in New York.

My chief concern when Democrats took over the entirety of state government was that Upstate would be ignored. Incredibly, it has gone further than that and Upstate is now being attacked by radical New York City regressives. Their willing accomplices include Democrats from the rest of the state, the Business Council, and the State Farm Bureau, who – sadly – should have all known better.

From Gov. Andrew Cuomo:

"My administration has proudly fought for working men and women across the board, from raising the minimum wage to strengthening worker protections in nail salons and the home healthcare industry. We believe all workers deserve to be treated with dignity and respect -- period.

"Over the weekend, I issued a reformed farm workers bill of rights, which guarantees farm workers will finally be granted basic rights to protect them from abusive and exploitive working conditions.

"With the passage of this legislation, we will help ensure every farm worker receives the overtime pay and fair working conditions they deserve. The constitutional principles of equality, fairness and due process should apply to all of us. I am proud that, with the help of my daughters' years-long advocacy on this critical issue, we got it done."

From Grow NY Farms:

For months, New York’s agriculture community worked with a purpose to meet a fundamental goal of developing farm labor legislation that would protect the combined interests of farms and farm workers. We negotiated in good faith with many majority lawmakers who were interested in hearing from those who would be directly impacted by the legislation.

Political realities meant we had to come to find a middle ground that was mutually beneficial.

We thought we had achieved that goal with a bill that while posing significant challenges for a struggling Industry, it was a vast improvement than where we started. Unfortunately, there were some flaws thrown into the legislation in the final days of this legislative session that made the bill unacceptable. Despite the passage of this flawed legislation (S.6578/A.8419), we have not given up on finding a way to fix those flaws.

These flaws include:

1.       A requirement that wages paid on the seventh consecutive day of work – are based on an overtime rate -- if a farmworker waives their right to a day of rest.

2.       The definition of family fails to recognize the role of close relatives such as aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins – and would make their participation in farm activities subject to the new statute.

3.       The creation of a wage board lacks New York’s key agency expert on agricultural issues – the State Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Markets.

4.       Elections involving the ability to form a union lack the integrity of a secret ballot.

At this time, we believe it is in the interest of all parties to continue working together to address these flaws and move forward with legislation that farmers, farm workers and the labor community can mutually embrace and reflect the spirit of the dialogue and discussion that has taken place in recent months.

It is also important to note the significant role played by all the farmers, farm workers and lawmakers who worked to build consensus on this issue.

Grow NY Farms represents a coalition of more than 50 New York farms, organizations, and local businesses. To learn more, visit www.GrowNYFarms.com.

A three-car accident with minor injuries is reported in front of the McDonald's in Le Roy.

Le Roy Ambulance requested to the scene by Le Roy PD for evaluation of patients.

UPDATE 7:12 p.m.: Le Roy fire also responding.

UPDATE 7:16 p.m.: Le Roy fire is back in service.

Noah Toal submitted this photo today of a piebald deer in Oakfield, across from The Oak Grill and Cafe.

A Darien Center man today entered a guilty plea in Federal Court to one count of receipt of child pornography.

Alexander Seegar, 29, faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years, and up to a $250,000 fine following his guilty plea.

Seegar was accused of sexting -- sending or receiving sexual text messages -- to girls from 10 to 12 years old who were students in Niagara County while posing as a 16 or 17 year old boy.

According to prosecutor Stephanie Lamarque, Seegar used the Instagram profile “davidlissachi” to communicate with the girls and asked them for sexually explicit photos. Seegar also communicated with other minors between the ages of 10 and 15 and asked them to send him sexually explicit photos in exchange for pictures of male genitalia that he sent them.

The defendant was found in possession of numerous photos containing child pornography.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Buffalo Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, and the Lewiston Police Department, under the direction of Chief Frank Previte.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 19 at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Frank Paul Geraci Jr.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) introduced legislation which provides a financial solution for uninsured Americans seeking medical procedures by hospitals.

The Protect the Uninsured Act of 2019 would amend Title XI of the Social Security Act to require hospitals and critical access hospitals to offer the uninsured individual access to the lowest negotiated price for any service or procedure.

“Hospitals are supposed to take care of everyone, the uninsured are often saddled with debt far beyond what they can pay while others are receiving steep discounts for the same procedures,” Collins said. “People are putting their health at risk by avoiding important procedures due to inflated costs while hospitals are writing off uncollected debts as charity work."

Hospitals negotiate discounts with insurance companies to determine costs of procedures or services they are willing to accept. This negotiated discount is subtracted from an inflated total cost of a procedure or service, the individual then pays a copay while the insurance company covers the remaining expenses.

Under current law, an uninsured patient is forced to cover the full cost of the procedure with no discounts, leading to uninsured patients mounting debt or avoiding necessary care.

This legislation will provide financial relief to those who are uninsured by allowing the individual to receive the lowest discount negotiated with an insurance company for a procedure or service by a hospital.

Press release:

     Amanda Cook

This week, John Kennedy Intermediate School was named a 2018-2019 Recognition School by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) for high marks in achievement and in progress.

The school will receive a Certificate of Recognition from Commissioner MaryEllen Elia.

“It’s gratifying – but not surprising – that John Kennedy earned this distinction,” says Batavia City School Dictrict Superintendent Christopher J. Dailey.

“Backed by a dedicated Board of Education, our administrators, teachers, and staff work tirelessly with students and their families to help children reach their potential.”

As NYSED aims for a more holistic approach to school and student achievement under New York’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Plan, 2018-19 Recognition Schools exemplify success in this mission with high academic achievement, student growth and graduation rate, and demonstrated progress during the 2017-18 school year.

The criteria used to determine the Recognition School status includes: student growth; met or exceeded either the school or state measures of interim progress for English language arts and mathematics; reduced rate of chronic absenteeism; and college-, career-, and civic-readiness; and met the federally required 95-percent participation rate in the English language arts and mathematics assessments.

Batavia’s Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Molly Corey, noting that John Kennedy is one of only 562 in the state and one of only 328 at the elementary level to be regarded as a Recognition School, said “I commend the teachers at John Kennedy and their principal, Dr. Amanda Cook, for this accomplishment. Their hard work and dedication to all students is evident.”

Expanding on that, Cook added, “Our entire team is committed to engaging students and their families in activities that build excitement for learning in ways that help children want to come to school to be a part of making memories together. We focus on creating a school learning community.”

A new proposal was brought before the Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday for an I Love New York selfie sign on the lawn outside the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center at 8276 Park Road, Batavia.

It's one of the most recognizable logos of New York State. The iconic “I Love New York” letters and bright red heart are frequently seen on tourist souvenirs and apparel.

But its $47,000 price tag raised eyebrows at the meeting.

It would be paid for with bed tax reserves -- not by local taxpayers, according to Chamber President Tom Turnbull, who presented the preliminary design of the selfie sign to the Ways & Means Committee.

He sought the initial reactions of committee members as he spoke about the proposed I Love New York sign, which would showcase the logo with a semi-transparent background and backlighting.

The goal of the selfie sign is to attract visitors to Genesee County and draw tourists to the Visitor Center once they stop for a photo opportunity next to the sign. Similar selfie signs are currently featured at popular destinations like the Finger Lakes and the Adirondacks.

“We think this will be a big hit for people … People are into taking pictures at places like that. We hope it will attract people to come inside our visitor center,” Turnbull said.

The chamber worked with Batavia-based companies like smartDESIGN Architecture and John’s Studio in the engineering and design processes.

The price includes design, construction and installation costs.

The bed tax revenue that would pay for it comes from a 5-percent administrative fee that is added to the price of a hotel room in Genesee County and collected annually by the county Treasurer’s Office.

Each year, bed tax revenue is capped at $420,000, and surplus funds are placed in a reserve.

The expected surplus total for 2019 is approximately $100,000, and $47,000 for the proposed sign would come from this surplus.

“The money is there," Turnbull said. "It’s dedicated for tourism, and we think this is a good use of some of that money. We can spruce up our property a little bit more and attract even more tourism to Genesee County.”

Legislators Andrew Young and Shelly Stein opined that $47,000 is a high price for this potential investment. Stein questioned the life expectancy of both the selfie-sign trend and the durability of the design in winter weather.

Turnbull said he is confident that the sign and its popularity will last well into the future.

Legislator Marianne Clattenburg said that the sign would most likely see a good amount of traffic in that area due to hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and Batavia Downs casino.

“I think we’ve got the funds," Clattenburg said to Turnbull. "And if your board is saying that this is something that is advantageous and you’ll see results from it, then I would support it."

The Chamber of Commerce received tentative permission from NYS Empire State Development to use its trademark logo. Approval of the project can occur once a finalized design has been agreed upon by the chamber and the legislature.

Now the chamber has a better sense of the legislators' thoughts on the project before it drafts a resolution asking for a portion of bed tax money to pay for it.

Le Roy police are responding to 14 Summit St. for a criminal mischief complaint. A man called dispatch to report a group of juveniles "outside his house breaking glass bottles on the tennis courts."

The Batavia Muckdogs finished a rain-delayed game against the Auburn Doubledays and then the two teams played a seven-inning game.

Batavia won the first game with timely hitting from Igor Baez, a two-out homer in the ninth, Dalvy Rosario and a game-winning single by Albert Guaimaro.

They lost the nightcap 5-0, moving the Batavia record to 3-3 on the season and giving Auburn its first win of the season.

After the game, we spoke with Milton Smith Jr., who grew up in Laurel, Miss., a small city of 18,000. He said being in Batavia feels like home. A 22nd-round draft choice in 2018 out of Merdian Community College, Smith hit .362 in his first professional season and is off to a .467 start with Batavia.

Angel Ivan Carrasquillo, 43, of Lake Avenue, Rochester is charged with: third-degree burglary; third-degree criminal mischief; attempted grand larceny in the fourth degree; and petit larceny. Following an investigation into a burglary that occurred on Clinton Street Road in the Town of Stafford at 2:27 a.m. on May 2, Carrasquillo was arrested and arraigned in Batavia Town Court. He is currently being held in Genesee County Jail on a separate matter. The case was investigated by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Forsyth, assisted by Deputy Andrew Mullen. Also assisting were Sgt. John Baiocco, investigators Chris Parker and Chad Minuto, and members of the NYS Police.

Jay W. Schafer, 26, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a firearm. He was arrested at 2:15 a.m. on June 19 after an incident at his residence. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and jailed in lieu of $1,500 cash bail or $3,000 bond. He is due back in city court at a later date. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Stephen Quider, assisted by Officer Jason Davis.

Brandon L. Lucas, 35, of Manhatten Square, Rochester, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree and unlawful possession of marijuana. Lucas was arrested at 6:58 p.m. June 18 on Main Street following a traffic stop. He was found to be driving while his driver's license was suspended. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and put in Genesee County Jail in lieu of $1,000 cash bail or bond. He was due to return to city court on June 19. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay, assisted by Officer James DeFreze.