video

For a year-end project, I thought it would be cool to take some video and pictures of music- and arts-related activities -- respectively -- in the Genesee County schools.

The following video is 20 minutes long and divided into two parts (Youtube limits most users to about 10 minutes per video). It features concert footage from various schools in the county.

PART 1

PART 2

I have to make a quick apology for the poor video quality in a couple of instances. I had to be very careful to protect the identity of the kids (the ones photographed without parental approval), so I made sure none of the students' faces appeared too clearly on camera; plus, to be honest, the first camera I used turned out to be pretty awful when it came to taking video (even while taking decent pictures).

I also feel bad that I couldn't include every group I filmed in the video. My selections were based on a combination of different criteria, including:

•  making sure the best songs were included
•  making sure all of the schools I visited were included
•  arranging the selections in a way that flowed nicely

So there's the music part. Here are some pictures I was able to take of art work done by Elba and Leroy students:

ELBA ELEMENTARY ART

Kindergartener Cody Soules stands in front of his drawing of a tree branch (top right).

First-grader Taylor Augello stands with her rendition of Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" (right above her head).

ELBA HIGH SCHOOL ART

Both of the following pictures were submitted by Dan Carnevale. Sophomore Sydney Gallup (top photo) and two unidentified students stand with their drawings.

LEROY JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (art and artists)

Also, see the May 27 announcement on the winners of the Architectural Drawing contest for fourth-graders.

Congratulations all of the students for a job well done!

I stumbled across this video on YouTube -- it appears to be old home movies, showing mostly their business ventures, from the Mancuso Family.  It appears to be all shot pre-war, 1941.

(Thanks for a reader tip on pointing this out -- a Christmas polka video for our Polish friends).

C.M. Barons is a frequent commenter on The Batavian. Baron's published a novel last year, "In the Midst of."

Last month, Penguin Multimedia, a joint venture of Loren Penman of Batavia and her son, Brant, as well as Brian Gardner, shot a video promo for the novel at vintage clothing store Calista Miakoda on Ellicott Street.

The novel is available at Present Tense Books.

More from the OHMS Band here.

Pat Tehan sent us the links with this note:

I hope you don't mind this shameless self-promotion - I'm the piano player in The OHMS Band.  We played at Jackson Square on July 31 - the weather cooperated for once this summer and we had a good crowd because of it.  Melissa Eddings Mancuso videotaped it and made DVDs for the band - her husband, Bill Mancuso, played organ.  I posted 15 of the songs to youtube, I thought that some of your readers might enjoy it if they were there.  Some good crowd shots in the videos...  Guys in the band are Anthony DelPlato (drums, vocals), Charlie DelPlato (electric guitar, vocals), Chris Bartz (acoustic guitar, lead vocals), Joe Palmer (bass), Bill Mancuso (organ), Pat Tehan (piano)

We're always happy to promote local music.

The quality didn't come out all that great, but somebody e-mailed me some cellphone video of the Le Roy firefighters getting cool and relaxing after last night's training.

Found this video on GCASA's blog.

In another item, there's also this:

GCASA held the annual DWI Victim Impact Panel Recognition Dinner on Friday, June 19, 2009 at Bohn's restaurant in Batavia, NY. At that dinner, Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Howard J. Carlson was honored for his exeptional service having made 22 DWI arrests in 2008 with a 98% conviction rate.

New York State Trooper, Eric J. Daigler was also honored. He had 19 DWI arrests.

After the public hearing last night, Dan Fischer of WBTA and I spoke with Tom Mancuso, of Mancuso Development Group, about the Masse Gateway Project.  Mancuso has been on vacation, so the public has not yet heard from him on the proposal, so this video represents the full interview.

PEMBROKE, N.Y. — Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha held a press conference this morning on the murder of Joseph E. Benaquist in Pembroke last night. Maha announced the imminent arrest of Scott F. Doll, who is in the process of being charged with second-degree murder.

Please see our earlier post for the full details.

This is a perfect recipe for a great Superbowl appetizer!

We had a great time this morning and afternoon at T.F. Brown's, where The Batavian crew hosted an inauguration party. We were happy to see some new faces come down, as well as some friends we;ve known since we first arrived here in Batavia. We would like to extend a big thanks to all who came out, especially those of you who were willing to stand in front of the camera and share your thoughts. Speaking of those folks...

Here it is: the final installment in our three-part video series on William Morgan. Please be sure to check out part one and part two, both posted earlier today.

For more information on the story of William Morgan, visit the Holland Land Office Museum Web site, where you can find an enhanced podcast on the topic. You can also head down to the museum at 131 W. Main St. to check out the Morgan exhibit and to pick up a copy of Morgan's book, Secrets of the Masons Revealed.