Today at the UMMC Jerome Center, the site of the Genesee County War Memorial, veterans and citizens honored all war dead from Genesee County.  

The names of county veterans who have died since the previous Memorial Day were read and a flag placed to honor each of them in front of the memorial.

Memorial services were carried out by Veness-Strollo Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #1602, Glenn S. Loomis American Legion Post #332, and Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #193.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

To view or purchase prints, click here.

U.S. Air Force airmen stand guard as a Memorial Day vigil at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, or the Upton Monument, this morning at Ellicott Street and Main in Batavia.

Senior citizen graduates from the classes of 1938 to 1985 will be recognized on June 21 during a monthly senior lunch gathering, LaNora Thompson says.

Dubbed the Life Has Just Begun senior luncheon group, folks get together on the third Tuesday of each month from 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at South Alabama Firehall, 2230 Judge Rd. (Route 63), Oakfield, for fellowship, fun with new and old friends, and to hear a guest speaker. 

For the June lunch, everyone is asked to bring their senior graduation photo (or any high school picture) to be put on display for a “guess who is in this photo” game, complete with prizes, Thompson says.

This group is open to the public and all are welcome to attend, she said. Attendees are asked to bring a dish to pass.

There will also be several one-day bus trips scheduled to various places of interest. The first trip is to Thousand Islands for lunch during a cruise of the islands, and a visit to the Boldt Castle. Act fast, as there are only a few seats available, Thompson said.

Thompson is co-chairwoman of the group, along with Co-Chairman Michael Hamm. For more information, call her at (630) 888-8966.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Women’s Republican Club is hosting their Annual Spring Breakfast on Saturday, June 4, 2022. The breakfast will be at LeRoy Country Club starting at 10 am. The cost is $25. Reservations and payments may be made to:

GCWRC
PO Box 672
Stafford, NY 14143
Venmo also accepted at: @GCWRC
Questions may be sent to: 1GCWRC@gmail.com

The guest speakers include Senator George Borrello, the next  state senator for this area. Assemblyman Steve Hawley will be attending. This is a great opportunity to hear about the new district maps and what the changes mean for our concerns and representation at the state and national levels.

Le Roy Jr/Sr High School is hosting its 8th annual Fine Arts Festival from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

There will be live music in the Atrium and in the Cafeteria, student art displays in the Atrium and Library, and food trucks.

Photo: File photo from 2018 by Howard Owens.

Press release:

Cub Scouts from Pack 6069 and Boy Scout Troop 6069 placed flags in front of the headstones of veterans at the Batavia Historical Cemetery on Thursday, May 26th.   The Troop has been working with the cemetery's historical society several years on this project.  It is a pleasure for the Scouts to provide this service to their community.  Pack 6069 Committee Chairman Brown made sure to take the Cub Scouts to the grave site of Samuel Wood who is buried there.   Sam Wood is the name sake of Iroquois Trail Council's Cub Scout Resident Camp located in Pike, NY.  Sam Wood was the first Eagle Scout recorded in Genesee County.  Boy Scout Troop 6069 is chartered through the 1st Presbyterian Church in Batavia, and Cub Scout Pack 6069 meets at Jackson Primary School.

Girl Scouts of Western New York (GSWNY) is proud to announce 2 Girl Scouts in Genesee and Livingston Counties as the 2022 recipients of the Girl Scout Gold Award. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the most prestigious award in the world for girls and acknowledges the power behind each recipient’s dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself but also to making the world a better place for others. These young women are courageous leaders and visionary change-makers.

The Gold Award project is the culmination of all the work a girl puts into “going for the Gold.” The project should fulfill a need within a girl’s community (whether local or global) and create change that has the potential to be ongoing or sustainable. Approximately 80 hours of community service are involved in the project.

Completion of the Gold Award also qualifies the Girl Scout for special scholarship opportunities and she can enlist in the military at a higher starting pay grade. In total, 36 girl scouts across the Western New York region will be presented with the 2022 Gold Award on Saturday, June 4, 2022.  For more information on the Girl Scout Gold Award, https://www.gswny.org/en/our-program/highest-awards/gold-award.html.

Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Laci Sewar of Elba, NY, as a 2022 Gold Award Girl Scout. Laci is a member of Troop 42222.

What Laci said about Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts has brought me some good lessons and fun memories. I have been a Girl Scout for 13 years and that came with a lot of work from me. I learned basic life skills from going to camp in my younger years which was fun and I kind of want to go back. I got some nice memories that I still haven’t forgotten from that place. I live my life by the Girl Scout Promise and Law. I do those things on a daily basis which makes me the type of person I am today. As I got into my older years of Girl Scouting, doing the budgeting badges and things have helped me balance my money with college coming up and work. I may not seem like it, but I do appreciate my mom for pushing me to stay in all these years, so thank you!

Project: Stations of the Cross Program

For my Gold Award project, I renovated the wooden Stations of the Cross located outside of the Elba church next to the school. I obtained new wooden plaques and stained/sanded/sealed them. I also polished up the old brass plaques that would then be put on the wooden plaques.

I created a program for children in grades 3-6 about the Stations of the Cross. The program included a matching game, word searches, a prayer for each station, and a laminated paper with a description of each station. I obtained materials needed to make my project successful from Home Depot and my home from my dad’s shop. The purpose of my project was to strengthen children’s understanding of the Stations of the Cross. My project will allow the teachers of the Faith Formation classes to continue to use my resources to teach their classes. 

Submitted photos of Laci Sewar

Chris Crocker submitted this photo of Sunday's sunset.

Brayden Smith's five RBIs and home run keyed Oakfield-Alabama's semi-final Section V playoff win over Warsaw on Saturday, helping the Hornets to a 16-8 win.

Smith had four hits and scored twice.

Bodie Hyde had three hits, an RBI and scored three times. Cooper Colantino had two hits, an RBI and scored twice. David Schnaufer was 2-2 with two walks and scored twice. 

The winning pitcher was Kyle porter. He gave up three hits, three runs and struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings.

Notre Dame and O-A will play for the sectional crown in Class C on Tuesday.

Photos by Kristin Smith.  For more, click here.

Press release:

With the support of Rochester Regional Health and a multitude of local, caring churches and organizations, GLOW OUT! will kick off Pride Month with a variety of youth-centered events on June 1 in Batavia.

Festivities begin at 3:30 pm at the Jerome Center’s War Memorial with a youth-created and youth-led Opening Ceremony featuring the Pride Flag being raised to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and hearing from youth what Pride means to them.

LGBTQ+ youth and their allies (ages 12-21) are then invited to GO Art! from 4:00 to 6:00 pm for their Drop-In Center which provides a safe space to share challenges and triumphs, meet new friends, and get ready for Pride. Visitors also have the opportunity to meet with a team of informed and supportive medical professionals from UMMC's Batavia Primary Care’s Family Medicine Doctors who are ready to answer questions and provide resources before summer starts.

The fun continues from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Batavia’s First Presbyterian where a number of churches and organizations are throwing a big, fabulous Block Party featuring the Ice Cream and Chill Truck, rock painting, tie-dying, and tons of family fun! Feeling extra festive? Then come dressed in your ultimate Pride outfit, ready to dance, be fabulous, and win some really great prizes! During this time GLOW OUT! will also announce their Rainbow Court made up of the youth leaders for the upcoming year. These five superstars represent youth from three counties who work hard in their high school GSAs (Gender and Sexuality Alliances), and have been selected to share their talents in education, social justice, fundraising, social media, and activity planning. They will be creating meaningful and engaging events for the region’s LGBTQ+ in the year ahead and celebrating in the Pride Parade. We hope you join us in announcing and congratulating them! All ages are
welcome.

GLOW OUT! is thrilled to be starting our festivities with immense community support! Your appreciation and support of the LGBTQ+ population and the need to protect our youth has never been clearer. We thank you for your support! As the youth reminds us in their choice of songs, we’re all born beautiful!

• I'm beautiful in my way because God makes no mistakes
• I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way
• Don't hide yourself in regret, just love yourself, and you're set
• I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way

Pride Kick-Off events are free and open to the public. Please visit www.glowout.org for more information about the organization and upcoming Pride events, including the Parade and Festival taking place on June 11 in Batavia.

At the start of Memorial Day Weekend, Ryan Macdonald, a resident of Clinton Street Road, Stafford, installed a giant 20x30 foot flag on the silo of the barn on the farm. 

Photos submitted by Marty Macdonald.

Press release:

On Monday, May 30 at 10 a.m., Friends of the Batavia Peace Garden are to meet at the Peace Garden to dedicate the newest addition, a 6ft replica of Lady Liberty.  The statue was obtained through Don Barone at Superior Garden Decor and sponsored by Ken Barrett Chevrolet, Cadillac, Inc. of Batavia.     

The original statue that stands in New York Harbor was a gift to the United States by the people of France in 1886, designed by French Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi.  She is one of the most recognizable figures in the world and is a single symbol of hope and spirit.  Just as she stands tall on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, a replica of Lady Liberty will now greet visitors to the Batavia Peace Garden for current and future generations.

In 1986 The Statue of Liberty was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was described by UNESCO as “a masterpiece of the human spirit” that “endures as a highly potent symbol-inspiring contemplation, debate and protest-of ideals such as liberty, peace, human rights, abolition of slavery, democracy and opportunity.”

Barb Toal “The Friends of the Batavia Peace Garden believe this icon represents many of these same ideals and will be a welcoming reminder to visitors.  Future plans for the Batavia Peace Garden include expansion and the addition of more symbols of hope and peace.”

For updates visit bataviapeacegarden.com.  Volunteers are always welcome and very much needed. Contact Paula Savage for details (585) 343-2387.

For the first time since it opened, veterans, family members, and area residents gathered at the WNY National Cemetery in Pembroke to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of their country as part of Memorial Day Weekend.

Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

Reminders of how the Deal of the Day program works:

• To make purchases, you must be registered. Deal of the Day uses a registration system that is not connected to the registration for commenting on The Batavian (the main user login in the upper left of the homepage).
• Once registered you must sign in using the "sign-in" link in this box.
• You click on the orange button, which appears if the item is not sold out, and it takes you to a PayPal button. This allows you to pay either with your PayPal account or with a credit card/debit card. The login for PayPal is completely separate from our accounts.
• The first person to successfully complete the PayPal transaction wins the gift certificate.
• You are eligible to buy the same item only once in a four-month period. We use the registration system to track this for you so you don't have to.
• Only one gift certificate from the same business PER HOUSEHOLD is allowed in each four-month period. We do not have a way to automatically track duplicate purchases within a household; however, if we notice such a purchase, we reserve the right to cancel the purchase and refund the purchase money. Each individual buyer must use his or her own PayPal account for purchases. It's important that participating businesses not be asked to redeem multiple gift certificates from the same person/family at the same time.
• Gift certificates should be used within 30 days of receipt.
• Sign-in issues? First, make sure you are registered for Day using the link at the top of this post; Second, if you know you're registered, use the "sign-in" link in this post; do not use the "login" box on the left side of the page.
• Problems, questions, concerns about the Deal of the Day? Email Howard Owens:   howard@thebatavian.com

Le Roy Town Board is planning to make a splash this summer— but not without navigating a few pitfalls. 

At their biweekly meeting this Thursday, board members discussed issues concerning the anticipated opening of a splash pad near Wildwood Park. 

“The completion date is now closer to the end of June,” Supervisor James Farnholz said during the board meeting at Le Roy Town Hall. “We’re having some Monroe County water issues; they’re continually changing how they want the water brought in.”

The presiding members, including Farnholz, expressed some confusion with the changes, as the park was initially intended to open on Memorial Day weekend. 

“Why, all of a sudden, is it an issue where the backflow is?” Councilperson Bill Fox said. “They had to know where it was to start out with.”

Members offered nods of agreement with Fox as Farnholz provided clarification. 

“The original intent with the spray park was that the water would go into the storm drains, and then the fresh water would go into the Oatka,” Farnholz said “Unfortunately, there are no storm drains that run from Wildwood to the Oatka. It just runs out into the woods.”

At the project’s consequential standstill, members discussed several options to responsibly commandeer backflow from the park.

“There were three options the mayor and I discussed,” Farnholz said. “The first was to let it continue to drain the way it is now, and see what kind of impact that has on that property. If it makes too much water, we can remediate that with some kind of irrigation containers in the softball fields. I am opposed to a concrete cistern— I think that’s a ridiculous thing. The other option, that I think would be horrifically expensive, would be to trench from Wildwood to Gilbert street and hook into the storm drains.”

The board acknowledged that the village would have the final say, and projected the direction of their decision in light of their conversation. 

“As it stands now, I believe the village is going to go with the first option, and see what happens,” Farnholz said. 

In other actions, the board:
● Agreed to allow local municipalities to allot their preferred number of court justices, rather than requiring two.
● Approved four 10-hour workdays for the local highway department.
● Discussed a move to compel voter registration reform, considering the 2020 Election, with a draft of such changes to return to the next meeting. The board will meet again at 7 p.m. June 9 at the Le Roy Town Hall Building, 48 Main St., Le Roy.

Photo: Le Roy Town Board members grapple with details of a new waterpark that was originally planned to open on Memorial Day. Photo by Tate Fonda.

Press release:

Ascension Parish and Resurrection Parish will be joining forces to provide faith formation to the children and families of our parishes!  This is an exciting and needed opportunity to tap and combine the strengths and resources of both our parish--and we need YOU!

To kick of this exciting venture, there will be a special Mass on Sunday,  June 12 at 9:15 at St. Mary's Church, concelebrated by both Father Ivan and Father Dave.  Following Mass, there will be coffee and donuts in the church hall for all returning, new catechists, and anyone interested in supporting this fundamental program of our faith) so we can begin to share ideas!

If you cannot join us, perhaps you can tap someone on the shoulder who you think would make a great catechist!

If you have any questions, please contact us below:

• Jason Smith, Resurrection Parish,resurrectionff14020@yahoo.com
• Ann Pratt, Ascension Parish.  mpg1731@gmail.com

Thank you for considering...
Ann Pratt, Ascension Parish
Jason Smith, Resurrection Parish

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A two-car motor vehicle accident with airbag deployment is reported at Main and Bank, Batavia.

Unknown injuries.  

Traffic is blocked.

City Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

A dump truck is reported on fire in the area of 4868 Batavia Elba Townline Road, Batavia.

Town of Batavia Fire dispatched along with mutual aid from Elba.

Old Hippies, flowers and art seem to be a natural fit, and all three are part of this year’s Home to Home Concert Series.

A free yearly event hosted by Bill and Kay McDonald of the Old Hippies, the Home series is billed as being “for the common good.” Since the duo requires a nonprofit to receive grant funding, it partnered with Batavia Peace Garden and GO ART! to bring two concerts in June at Jackson Square.

“Featured local artists performing will be Old Hippies, Ghost Riders, Deanna Spiotta, Don Thomas, and a selection of talented youth and seasoned artists,” Bill McDonald said. “We will los have three other artists: Leah Ford on bass guitar, guitar and French horn; Ross Chua on stringed instruments and vocals; and David Knaudt on stringed instruments and vocals.”

Old Hippies perform guitar-rich tunes such as Blowin’ in the Wind, Three Little Birds, Fallen Eagle and James Taylor’s classic You’ve Got a Friend.

Batavia Peace Garden treasurer Carol Grasso said the group’s members will be out of the weeds and selling hotdogs during the first event June 17.

“That’s how we make our money for flags and mulch, and things for the garden,” she said.

If you’ve got a bit of a green thumb, members are looking for more volunteers, Grasso said. Pulling weeds and maintaining the landscape on West Main Street takes time and energy, she said.

“I’ve got 10 years into the garden,” she said. “We started when we retired, and now we’re just tired. We’ve been working hard.”

A second concert is set for 2 p.m. June 26. The concerts are free, and attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair to park and enjoy the show.

The Restart NY Regrant Program was developed as part an initiative to spur the revitalization of New York's creative economy. The program is administered through a network of local and regional organizations through a transparent peer panel funding process and is available to artists and organizations in each of the state's 62 counties. Organizations or individuals with a fiscal agent  -- in this case Old Hippies have Batavia Peace Garden and GO ART! -- that meets NYSCA and GO ART! criteria may request regrant funds.

For those unable to attend in person, these music shows will be livestreamed online at Bill McDonald’s Facebook page . For more information, click HERE.

Top photo: Bill and Kay McDonald of the Old Hippies, submitted photo. File photos of Ross Chua, Old Hippies and the Ghost Riders.