Press release:
The annual business meeting of the Stone Church Rural Cemetery Association will be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Stone Church Presbyterian Church, 7549 S. Lake Road (Route 19), Bergen. The meeting is open to the public.
For questions or information, phone the association Secretary/Treasurer Gordon L. Seward at 494-1505.
Press release:
Corfu Firefighters have put into service 13 new SCBAs purchased through the federal government’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Awards.
The Corfu Fire District was successful in securing the grant through efforts of Rosalie Mangino-Crandall and her Insights Grants Development Company. She donated her time for the Corfu project which is greatly appreciated by the department.
The newest and latest model of SCBAs replaced our outdated 1997 NFPA edition SCBAs that have been costly to repair and were at the end of their life cycle. The grant enabled the district to purchase 13 complete units and one mask integrated radio Bluetooth. The total cost of the grant is $88,400, with the district’s share of $4,209.
This will ensure our firefighters are well protected and have the latest technology available to them for the foreseeable future at a small cost to the taxpayers of the Corfu Fire District.
A two-car accident with minor injuries is reported at Route 20 and East Road (Suicide Corners) in Bethany. A first responder on scene says it is not blocking traffic. Bethany Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.
UPDATE 5:51 p.m.: Fire police are directed to slow down traffic in the vicinity of the accident.
Local farmers and other members of the agriculture industry were briefed Saturday on various legislative issues by Rep. Chris Collins and a member of his staff.
The topics discussed included immigration, the new farm bill, the Waters of the U.S. rule and even a couple of non-agricultural items. The meeting was held at the Cornell Cooperative Extension office on East Main Street, Batavia.
Legislative Assistant Taylor Kloustin provided an update on key issues Collins is working on, including the H2A work visa program, workforce legislation, the upcoming effort to pass a new farm bill, and Waters of the U.S. rules.
Collins is meeting next week with the Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, to discuss immigration issues, most notably expanding the H2A visa program to allow workers from other countries to stay in the United States all year long when employed in certain farm jobs, such as dairy and livestock.
She said Collins is also interested in seeing the program revised for temporary workers so that they can get back into the country easier once they've established ongoing employment, such as a TSA-like precheck, perhaps with a biometric ID card.
There's also legislation pending that would move responsibility for farm labor from the Department of Labor to the USDA, which Kloustin said is an agency more familiar with the needs of farmers for labor.
The committee working on the Farm Bill renewal is expected to have language in place by November.
Collins is chair of the specialty crops caucus so his office is working with United Fresh on setting up a specialty crops awareness program in November for House staffers working on the Farm Bill so they can better understand the needs of specialty crop growers.
Dean Norton, an Elba dairy farmer, was one of those who brought the conversation back during the Q&A time to the Waters of the U.S. rule. The rule was approved during the Obama Administration and Trump has rescinded it by executive order. Farmers were upset by the bill because it could be used to regulate the smallest bodies of water on farms.
Norton and other farmers noted that what can be undone by executive order can be reimplemented by executive order in the next administration. They encouraged Collins to pursue legislation that would make Trump's order permanent.
Craig Yunker, CEO CY Farms, expressed concern about the direction the Trump Administration is taking on trade. He's particularly concerned about the seeming protectionist positions of Peter Navarro, a trade advisor to the Trump Administration. Yunker said with the United States pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership there are already trade problems with Japan.
Collins said there's a lot of uncertainty about what will happen with trade during the Trump Administration because we're only eight months into his presidency. He thinks Trump has the right people around him, though, to handle the issue.
"Trump very clear at the U.N.," Collins said. "It’s America first; he’s going to look out for America’s interest. He is going to expect other countries to do their fair share. He's looking for fair trade.
"My worry is your worry," Collins added. "Typically, the retaliation is on ag. That’s the gotcha. Whether it’s Canada or whether it’s Mexico or whether it’s something like apples going to Asia, we do know they retaliate using ag. I share that concern, but the administration knows this. They’re smart guys. To me, it’s too early to tell."
Maureen Torrey, of Torrey Farms, a large grower of produce, said her big concern remains trade restrictions in Canada, which makes it harder to sell U.S.-grown produce north of the border, even though there is no restriction on produce from Canada being sold here.
"It’s pretty sad that within five miles of the border you have 95 percent the population of Canada and the only time I can sell is if they don’t have it and then I have to go through a process to have them to say 'yes, you can ship something', " Torry said. "We need to get that door a little bit more open."
One farmer wondered if the bipartisan spirit displayed by Trump when he reached a deal a couple of weeks ago with Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi is something the GOP leadership in both houses will pick up on and follow.
"To be honest I think Trump is going to lead it from start to finish," Collins said.
While Trump's deal on the debt ceiling and relief for the victims of Harvey and Irma may have shocked and even upset some members of Congress, the leadership is going to have to fall in line, Collins said.
"I think he's telling Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, 'You better get behind me,' " Collins said. " 'I'm the president. I'm the CEO.' "
Collins said he's solidly behind the president on this point and thinks a lot of what the president wants to get done this congressional term, most notably tax reform, will require bipartisan effort. Even within the GOP, he noted, there are too many divergent interests for the Republicans to act unilaterally.
"I applauded him for doing what he did, though others just thought it was the worst thing that ever could have happened," Collins said. "There are a lot of folks that want to protect their own turf, if you will, and they didn’t like it. But as I’ve said, 'How did we do on health care?' Not so good, and that’s something we unanimously agreed on until the rubber hit the road and the document’s there. That’s the whole problem."
The other non-farm issue to come up was North Korea.
" 'Rocket Man', " Collins said with a chuckle. "I’ve got to give Trump credit. He is so good with nicknames. I think Rocket Man is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s poking at Kim Jong-un. It’s getting under his skin. And it’s appropriate. He’s going to be Rocket Man from now on.”
Dean Norton, dairy farmer from Elba.
Victor Figueroa's ambition is to open a Puerto Rican restaurant in Batavia specializing in empanadas, and after winning both the Top Competitor Award and the People's Choice Award on Saturday night at the FreshLAB's Foodie Challenge, that dream is a step closer to reality.
Figueroa along with four other top finishers in the cook-off held at BOCES will now be able to take a tuition-free course in restaurant management and then compete in a Shark Tank-like business plan pitch. The top two contestants will be offered spots to try out their restaurant concept in the new FreshLABs facilities inside the former Newberry Building on Main Street along with Eli Fish Brewing Company.
In all,12 aspiring restaurateurs signed up for the Foodie Challenge, eight competed Saturday night and the other finalists were: Gina Bianco, of Middleport, with an Eggplant Busiolo; Judy Hysek, of Batavia, with a vegan mushroom and sage stuffed ravioli with a cashew cream sauce; Rob Rudnicki, of Batavia, with a fish taco; and Ronald Smith, of Rochester, with a pollo de miel (honey chicken).
The contestants are expected to come up with a restaurant concept and menu that is unique to Batavia and Figueroa is counting empanadas as his path to victory. He made a Puerto Rican cheeseburger empanada with a passion fruit chili sauce.
“It’s one of our favorites in Puerto Rico," Figueroa said. "We eat them for lunch, lunch breakfast and dinner every single day. You can walk with them. It’s just one of those things, when we eat it takes you back Puerto Rico.”
Photo of the winning empanadas by Alex Figueroa.
This weekend GCC celebrated its 50th anniversary with the Cougar Crawl (visiting downtown businesses), homecoming activities, including a kids zone, a car cruise, and campus tour, and a Golden Gala capped by a performance of the Genesee Symphony Orchestra.
Photos Courtesy of Genesee Community College.
A pedestrian has been struck on the westbound Thruway near mile marker 402.5. Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments and Mercy medics are responding to the motor-vehicle accident with injuries. A first responder on scene said "there is damage on the onramp as well as fluids (leaking)."
UPDATE 8:10 p.m.: All responding units are to stage "at the interchange."
UPDATE 8:13 p.m.: One vehicle is said to be blocking the left shoulder of the roadway.
UPDATE 10 p.m.: This was a fatal accident. We will provide more information when it becomes available.
Five people were hospitalized late this afternoon after a T-bone accident at the intersection of Griswold Road and West Bergen Road, Le Roy.
The extent of the injuries is not known at this time. Troopers are handling the investigation. There has yet to be a press release issued on the accident.
There were a driver and three passengers in the vehicle that was struck.
The car with heavy front-end damage was heading south on West Bergen Road and the car that was struct was heading west on Griswold Road.
Le Roy fire responded to the scene.
Photos and information provided by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.
About 70 members of rod and gun clubs in Genesee County were at the Northwoods Sportsman Club in Le Roy this afternoon to fire one shot each at noon to protest the SAFE Act and express support for Rep. Chris Collins' bill to block the SAFE Act at the Federal level.
Both Collins and State Senator Micheal Ranzenhofer were on hand to participate in the "Shot Heard Around New York" event at precisely noon today.
Collins said his bill, the Second Amendment Guarantee Act, has a good chance at passage if it gets out of the Judiciary Committee for a vote on the House floor because the NRA has said it will score the vote if it comes to a floor vote.
Even though New York's SAFE Act is the impetus for the bill, many members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, recognize this isn't just a New York issue because their states could also pass bills that violate the Second Amendment.
"I absolutely support the 10th Amendment, states' rights," Collins said. "Some folks have said this is a Federal preemption of sorts, and I’ve tried to remind them what we’re doing here is preventing a state from restricting Second Amendment rights; just like a state cannot restrict First Amendment rights, a state cannot restrict religious freedom, and they should not be able to do as New York has done -- restrict Second Amendment rights."
The bill has not been popular in Albany, Collins said.
"Andrew Cuomo knows this is a real fight because we know how he does things," Collins said. "He threw a tantrum in his office. The report we got back was there were objects being thrown through the area. That’s typical of what we’ve heard of the governor.
"He knows once we get this passed he can sue us all day long, but we’re going to make sure it’s written in a way that we’re simply saying that a state cannot preempt federal law when it comes to restrictions or requirements on long guns."
Ranzenhofer thanks Collins for his efforts.
"Every year issues come before us and we stop a lot of bad legislation from coming through, but we need your help on this particular piece of legislation," Ranzenhofer said. "You know with our governor, he is not going to sign a repeal bill.
"That’s why I’m so thankful that Congressman Collins is leading this fight in Congress because when you can’t do it directly this is the option that we have, doing it at the Federal level and saying 'New York State, this is not going to happen.' "
A two-car accident, blocking, is reported at Griswold Road and West Bergen Road, Le Roy.
There's a report of CPR in progress.
Le Roy fire and Le Roy ambulance dispatched.
UPDATE 4:19 p.m.: Mercy Flight #9 out of Buffalo is available if needed.
UPDATE 4:27 p.m.: Cancel Mercy Flight.
UPDATE 4:22 p.m.: Two victims, unresponsive but breathing.
UPDATE 4:38 p.m.: An additional ambulance requested to the scene.
NOTE: We anticipate more coverage of this accident, but I won't be available for further updates of this post.
The Alzheimer's Association held its annual Walk to End Alzheimer's through Batavia today.
A car flipped over in front of Five Star Bank, 401 W. Main St., Batavia. No word on injuries, if any. City fire and Mercy medics responding.
UPDATE 9:31 a.m.: The accident occurred on the opposite side of the street from the bank, near the corner of West Main and Redfield Parkway. A driver lost control of his vehicle somehow and struck the two pylons filled with gravel that protect a utility box at that location. It damaged the pylons and gravel spewed onto the ground. The car landed on its wheels and medics are evaluating the driver, who does not appear to be seriously injured. Redfield resident Jim Owen said it sounded like a truck dumping a load of gravel out and when he saw a cloud of dust, that's initially what he thought had happened.
The Genesee Symphony Orchestra performs today as part of Genesee Community College's 50th Anniversary Fall Gala in the brand new Richard C. Call Arena.
The concert starts at 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Alexander High School's football team beat Attica on Friday on a night that junior running back Chris McClinic gained 221 yards and scored three touchdowns 20-3.
After four games, McClinic has gained 814 yards on the season and scored 12 touchdowns.
Attica's only score game on a field goal in the second quarter, after that the Trojan defense locked down the home team and Alexander's offense took over.
McClinic scored on a 29-yard run in the second quarter.
In the third, the Trojans forced a three-and-out to start the half and then the offense engineered a long, clock-consuming drive that ended in a nine-yard run by McClinic.
The Trojans scored again on another long drive dominated by Alexander's offensive line and fullback Mitch Gordon until McClinic closed things out with a 47-yard TD run.
Freshman Terrez Smith gained 54 yards on three carries and Gordon gained 30 to helped the team gain a total of 343 yards on the ground.
On defense, Gordon and Jake Jasen had nine tackles each. Danny Burns had eight.
Alexander is now 4-0 on the season and Attica falls to 2-2.
For more photos to view or purchase click here: http://steveognibenephotography.zenfolio.com/p873488972
Press release:
Before you start your fall cleanup consider the age of your home and whether or not you may have a lead hazard.
“Lead poisoning can affect anyone, but is especially harmful to pregnant women, infants and small children who are growing rapidly,” said Paul Pettit, Public Health director for Genesee and Orleans Counties.
Lead poisoning can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, high blood pressure (hypertension), nerve disorders, memory and concentration problems and muscle and joint pain and in children it can lower IQ, cause growth problems, kidney damage, behavior problems, anemia and hearing loss.
If lead poisoning is not taken care of, it can also cause permanent damage to various organs in both children and adults. You may or may not experience any signs or symptoms of lead poisoning. State law requires all children be tested at age 1 and again at age 2. Contact your primary care doctor to be tested.
Federal law requires landlords and contractors who are hired for renovations, repair and painting in homes, childcare centers and schools built before 1978 that disturb painted surfaces, to be certified and follow specific practices to prevent lead contamination.
This law is the EPA’s Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RPR) Rule. Lead-based paint is especially problematic on surfaces that children can chew on such as windowsills, doors and doorframes, stairs, railings, banisters, porches and fences. Lead can also be found in drinking water in homes that have plumbing with lead or lead solder.
“If you suspect that your house has lead hazards, here are some important things you can do to protect your family,” Pettit said.
For more information about the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP) visit the Environmental Protection Agency website at www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm or call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD.
To learn about additional sources of lead visit, https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/lead/sources.htm.
For information about services that your local health department provides visit:
Submitted photo and press release:
Mrs. Fischer’s fourth-grade class was visited by Mr. Penepent, an aeronautical engineer who has worked at NASA's launch site in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for 27 years.
His team works to launch Delta II and IV rockets for NASA. The students came up with some great interview questions and learned some awesome things about the design process, construction and launching of these rockets.
Mr. Penepent attended St. Joseph School from kindergarten through second grade and is Mrs. Fischer’s older brother.
He said he first became interested in his field of aeronautical engineering when he was in third grade while reading a book on airplanes. Who knows, there may be future aeronautical engineers right here at St. Joe’s.
Submitted photo. Information from a press release:
The ninth annual Musical Memories concert to benefit Crossroads House will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at City Church in Downtown Batavia.
St. Joseph’s Reunion Brass Ensemble is honored and humbled to be part of our community and region. Service, and doing service, is the basic core value for its members.
Performing will be Mighty St. Joe’s Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps, Hamburg Kinsmen, St. Joe’s of Batavia Brass Ensemble, Parkside Brass, and the Rochester Hitmen.
Ticket are $5 & $10. Free will offering to be taken. City Church is located at 210 E. Main St.
The ensemble and its membership along with all the other musicians cordially invite and ask you for your support this Saturday evening.
To all the military men and women this is a show you are sure to enjoy. It is the musicians' way to thank all those who have sacrificed in the past and continue to sacrifice each and every day. Thank you in advance for this very special opportunity to share our music with you.
Come on out for a great evening of music!
The trails have not always been happy for "Cowboy," and now, the roads he's traveled have brought him back to the Genesee County Animal Shelter and into the care of Volunteers for Animals.
A couple of years ago, Cowboy was found abandoned in a field with a herd of cows. That's how he got his name. He had health issues, including a broken jaw that required his muzzle to be wired shut.
The volunteers nursed him back to health, but while he was still living at the shelter, a couple allegedly stole him. Cowboy was found with them after the duo allegedly robbed a store in Le Roy and then were involved in an accident on Keeney Road.
Cowboy was returned to the animal shelter. Eventually, he was adopted. His new owner seemed to be doing great with him. She was seen out regularly walking him and Cowboy seemed to be in great shape -- except for maybe wolfing down a few too many calories -- on home visits.
"It was a great adoption," said volunteer Gina Lippa, who was keeping tabs on Cowboy. "I actually went and did home visits for a while. Great adoption. The owner, well there were two owners, but the primary owner was doing wonderfully with him and multiple volunteers had seen her walking around town with him. When I did home visits his coat was clearing right up. She was doing great with him."
After about two months, Lippa lost contact with the owner.
Last week, by coincidence, Lippa found a picture of Cowboy on the adoption page of Fairport-based Lollipop Farm's website.
Arrangements were made to return Cowboy to Batavia and he arrived here at the shelter this afternoon.
It's not clear how Cowboy wound up at Lollypop. The adoptee owner was originally from New York City, so Lippa speculates that she returned to NYC, giving Cowboy to a new owner. At some point, Cowboy was delivered to Lollypop with all of his paperwork intact from the Genesee County Animal Shelter.
Lippa said he's available for adoption. He's a sweet and gentle boy and shows no signs of food aggression or other aggression, but he's not at all fond of cats. He gets along with other dogs.
Bennie "Beans" Wright, 32, of Jay Street, Rochester, was arrested on a sealed indictment Wednesday night at a residence on Maple Street for allegedly selling drugs in the City of Batavia.
Wright was located and identified as a warrant suspect while police were looking for evidence in a shooting earlier in the day on Thorpe Street.
He is accused of selling crack cocaine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force.
He is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Wright was arraigned in Genesee County Court and jailed on $25,000 bail.
Press release:
The Village of Oakfield will be holding a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 25th, at Village Hall, 39 Main St. in Oakfield.
The purpose of the public hearing is to hear public comments the possible creation of a Fire Protection District or a Fire District that would encompass the Town and Village of Oakfield with the Oakfield Fire Department that would provide a better service to them and allow the Fire Department to become its own taxable entity or contract its services to local municipalities.
The Oakfield Fire Department is currently owned and operated through the Village of Oakfield and its budget with fiscal support from the Town of Oakfield. The Village would like to seek the input of the public, including, but not limited to, the Village and Town of Oakfield residents, to better decide if this process is in the residents' best interest.
This is the first step toward beginning this lengthy process.
If it is decided to be in the residents' best interest, more public hearings must occur. Joint meetings between the Village of Oakfield, Town of Oakfield and the Oakfield Fire Department must occur in the case of a Fire District as all entities need to be in a formally binding agreement, which will, in turn, be subject to public permissive referendum.
In the case of a Fire Protection District, the Village and Town may have a fire protection contract with the Oakfield Fire Department separately as it will become its own entity.
All parties that are interested in attending will be given the opportunity to speak in front of the Village Board of Trustees if they so chose.
NOTE: This is a corrected version with some language changes sent over by the village. It was copyedited for AP Style and clarity.
Copyright © 2008-2022 The Batavian. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
