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Genesee County's active case count for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 should go down dramatically on Saturday when all 49 detainees at the Buffalo Federal Detention Center who were placed in mandatory isolation are declared recovered.

Only three detainees have been symptomatic.  

"This is a huge win for us," said a source from the facility who spoke on the condition we not use his name because he's not authorized to speak in behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The source previously told The Batavian that staff at the center took an aggressive approach toward the novel coronavirus as soon as the pandemic became an issue. There is an ongoing effort to keep the facility sanitized including wiping down every door handle with bleach every hour.

It's possible three detainees, two from New York City and one from State Corrections, brought the disease into the facility, the source said previously.

If things go as expected, by Saturday there will be no positive COVID-19 cases at the center.

Ten days ago, The Batavian reported that only three of the 45 detainees who tested positive for COVID-19 were symptomatic. The next day, ICE added four more detainees to the positive list. None of the symptomatic detainees required hospitalization according to the source. There have been no more positive tests at the facility over the past week.

Previously: Source: Most detainees in Batavia immigration facility who tested positive for COVID-19 are asymptomatic

As if graduating high school during a global pandemic isn't hard enough, thousands if not millions of high school seniors have another struggle before them. What to do next?

Tomorrow, May 1st, is often referred to as "Decision Day" for college-bound seniors who must decide what college or university they will attend in the fall. On the eve of that all-important day, I would like to ease some of the stress and strain by suggesting a very viable alternative that is affordable, safe and within reach of millions of young Americans -- the community college "Visit Year."

Given these uncertain times, many seniors and their families are considering a "gap year" that typically involves waiting a year before investing the time and resources for full-time college enrollment. During this one-year postponement, some young adults work full-time to build up their bank account, while others may squeeze in a little travel that helps refine their college application essays. Gap years allow personal growth, and for some the exploration of interests and a boost to maturity.

The community college Visit Year offers all that, but also helps young minds focus on collegiate challenges without falling off or down any learning curves. It enriches the gap year with meaningful engagement that applies to and enables the student's long-term goals and aspirations. And it comes packaged with a variety of community colleges benefits that are often ignored until something like a COVID-19 or a tough economy comes along. Here are the major benefits:

Visit Year Benefit #1: Why take an intro course in a large lecture hall with a hundred other students when the same course is taught in GCC's classroom with only a dozen students? Students not only save a lot of money by taking courses such as PSY101, COM101 or HIS101 at GCC, but with the student to instructor ratio being 14:1, students enjoy plenty of one-on-one interaction and support. The State University of New York (SUNY) Pathways program ensures these college credits are SUNY transferrable. It makes sense and "cents" to earn general education course credit during a community college Visit Year.

Visit Year Benefit #2: Enterprising young students take Benefit #1 to the goal line, graduating from GCC with an associate degree allowing them to transfer as juniors, thus saving a full two years of tuition while earning their bachelor's degree.

Visit Year Benefit #3: Transfer students still earn the prestigious degree from the well-known and respected four-year institution they had set their sights on, but they save two full years of costly tuition. We often say, "The smartest young adults earn their pedigree degrees, but they start them here at GCC."

Visit Year Benefit #4: Many young adults aren't sure what occupation they want, and a community college is the perfect place to explore. The low cost of tuition means you can change majors many times without breaking the bank or acquiring huge student loans. You also meet and work directly with faculty who are at the cutting-edge of their field, yet focused on student success rather than academic research. The Visit Year brings this opportunity to your doorstep, or computer screen.

Visit Year Benefit #5: GCC has seven campus locations in four counties and hundreds of online courses. We may be the college closest to home, but our degrees and opportunities will take you anywhere you want to go. In addition, if a college course will be delivered online, why not take it for a lot less money and closer to home?

Postponing the start of the college experience might bring some reassurance during this time of acute uncertainty, but why take this academic intermission when there is the opportunity to forge ahead that brings vast tuition savings, a high quality and high-tech education, and important, beneficial connections with your local community. Turn your gap year into a Visit Year -- visit your local community college to get started!

For high school seniors in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties, you can start this summer through the Genesee Promise Plus scholarship program that offers free tuition for up to two summer courses at Genesee Community College. Go to www.genesee.edu/promise and apply before June 19.

Decision Day just got a lot easier.

(Photo courtesy of GCC.)

From Tim Hens, superintendent, Genesee County Highway Department:

Genesee County Highway Department will be closing a bridge in Darien on Colby Road between Route 33 and Richley Road next week for a deck repair.

The bridge will not be open for any traffic during the repairs, which will last one to two weeks. The bridge is just south of the railroad tracks on Colby Road.

Press release:

• MTA Will Disinfect New York City Subway and Bus System, Metro-North, Long Island Railroad
• MTA to Provide Alternative Transportation to Essential Workers From 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM as Part of Essential Connector Program
• Governor Cuomo: "I've consulted with the elected officials on the MTA's recommendation and we all agree to accept the plan on the Essential Connector Program. The MTA is undertaking something that people would've said was virtually impossible. Trains and buses will be disinfected daily. The service will continue. The MTA will also disinfect the fleet on the Metro-North and the Long Island Railroad, which is what goes out to Long Island, goes to the Northern suburbs. They can do that without any disruption in service because of the volume of ridership, et cetera."
• Cuomo: "Just think about it. The entire public transportation system in downstate New York will be disinfected every 24 hours. This is a joint MTA, state, city partnership. We're doing a lot of things here that we've never done before. I am never one to shy away from a challenge. I don't believe government has that option. I'm never one to say, 'well, that's just too much, too hard, too ambitious.' We can do it. I believe we can do it. I believe we can do anything. I believe we can build bridges, I believe we can build airports, I believe we can defeat global pandemics. But this is as ambitious as anything that we've ever undertaken. It's going to require a lot of extraordinary service and effort from multiple agencies all working together."

Press release:

Today, Nate McMurray, candidate for U.S. Congress in NY-27, called on President Trump’s administration to adopt a national COVID-19 response plan that would test, track and treat across all 50 states.

McMurray also criticized his opponent State Senator Chris Jacobs for his lack of leadership in the midst of the pandemic following a WBEN interview on  Sunday, where Jacobs downplayed the need for widely available, comprehensive testing.  

“The President must follow-through on his March 6th promise to provide tests for all Americans; to date, only 1 percent of the nation has been tested and national laboratories are citing critical funding and material shortages to produce more tests," McMurray said. "It is un-American to leave states without support in this unprecedented crisis as the death toll continues to rise.

"We need a unified strategy if we’re going to beat this thing together; not 50 different strategies that leave our families unnecessarily vulnerable, and prolong us reopening the economy in a sustainable way. Meanwhile, Chris Jacobs is dangerously laxed over the urgency of the situation and pandering to the President because he’s afraid to put party politics aside to fight for the safety of Western New Yorkers."

According to the COVID Tracking Project, last week the country performed about 860,000 tests but experts say millions of tests per week are needed. While states like California and Oregon have rolled out plans that include widespread testing as a prerequisite for reopening, there is no comprehensive national plan or guidelines in place. 

“We failed to implement widespread testing as a country months ago, which only keeps American families from getting back to work," McMurray said. "Jacobs can personally afford to ignore the urgency here and vote against COVID-19 funding like he recently did in the State Senate because, unlike so many living in NY-27, he has access to quality health care and cannot relate to someone who would need paid sick leave.

"We absolutely cannot continue to wing this. We need a national, Marshall plan that summons the mighty power of this nation. Countries with much less affluence and technological advantage are far out-performing the United States in response to this pandemic."

McMurray supports the following: 

1) Expanding the capacity to conduct rapid same-day testing for everyone with COVID-19 symptoms. The Center for Disease Control (CDC), in collaboration with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should be fully engaged to ensure all states have access to testing and required testing materials.

2) Ensuring tests are free. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Labor should oversee this effort and be the point of contact for patients that were charged for a test. 

3) Strengthening the testing supply chain to incentivize the production of testing supplies and PPE for our healthcare workers within the United States and require HHS and FEMA to conduct weekly reporting about potential shortages.

4) Implementing surveillance (test & trace) systems nationwide and enabling the CDC to provide COVID-19 surveillance grants, which will allow states flexibility in how they achieve test & trace of samples of the population, and identify small outbreaks early, especially in populations where there is a higher risk of contracting or transmitting the virus.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Police Department has been made aware of small denomination counterfeit bills being passed at local businesses.

The Batavia Police Department is reminding everyone to check their money carefully. If you feel that you may be victim in receiving counterfeit bills, please report it to the Police Department at (585) 345-6350.

A few simple items to check for on U.S. currency that are hard to recreate on counterfeit bills:

• Color Shifting Ink -- the bill denomination on the bottom right-hand corner has the right color-shifting ink.
• Raised Printing -- To detect raised printing, take your fingernail and run it carefully down the collar/jacket. You should feel some vibration on your nail from the ridges. 
• Blurry Borders/printing/text -- significantly blurry borders, printing, or text, it is an automatic red flag.
• Red & Blue Threads -- If you take a close look at an authentic bill, you will see that there are small red and blue threads woven in and out within the fabric of the bill.
• Watermark -- In many of the new bills, the watermark is actually a replica of the face on the bill.

Information on the current counterfeit cases is not being released at this time due to the ongoing investigation.

County Health Department Daily Briefing:

New Cases

• As of 2 p.m.
  • Genesee County received zero new positive case of COVID-19, for a total of 149 positive cases.
    • Three of the previous positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Three of the total active positive cases are hospitalized. 
    • One of the total active positive cases is at a non-hospital regulated facility.
• Orleans County received four new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 95 positive cases.
  • One of the individuals resides in Albion and one of the individuals lives in Gaines.
  • Two of the positive cases were from The Villages of Orleans Health & Rehab Facility.
  • One individual is in their 50s, two individuals are in their 60s, and one individual is in their 90s.
  • One of the total positive cases was considered a non-county resident, but the health department was notified that positive is part of our count. The individual was followed in the county they are currently in. The person has since recovered. 
  • One of the previous positive cases has recovered and has been released from mandatory isolation.
  • Five of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.

The Town of Batavia has the financial strength and stability to weather the inevitable loss of income brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the certified public accountant assigned to review the municipality’s books.

Reporting during a Town Board work session on Wednesday, Laura L. Landers, MPA, CPA, director of government services practice for Freed Maxick, said that the Town has “adequate assets … to absorb” a blow to its balance sheet.

“Management believes that tax revenues will be lower in 2020 than anticipated in the adopted 2020 budget,” she said, “but they’ve also assessed the financial condition and the potential impact on revenues, and it has been determined that the town has adequate assets of fund balances to absorb this potential decrease in revenues.”

The work session was conducted via the Zoom videoconferencing service.

Landers said that the Town, at the close of 2019, had unrestricted net funds of $9.8 million and a general fund balance of $6.6 million, with $5.4 million of that in the unassigned category.

Favorable percentages realized

“That unassigned equates to about 138 percent of expenditures versus the prior year when it was 140 percent, and total fund balance of a little over $6.6 million is 171 percent of expenditures versus 164 percent in the prior year,” she said.

She also noted that the Town has set aside a bit more than $1 million to balance the 2020 budget, a prudent move in light of the prospect that sales tax revenues will decrease.

“Unlike years past, I don’t see (sales tax increasing) in 2020. And even in 2019, where the general fund ended up with an excess of revenues over expenditures of about $983,000, I don’t see that’s going to happen (in 2020),” she said. “There may be some surplus; we’re going to have to wait and see where sales tax comes in.”

Landers also predicted that New York State would withhold most or all of the Video Lottery Terminal funds generated by Batavia Downs Gaming. In 2019, the Town received $160,000 from the VLTs.

Other pertinent financial figures:

-- On the revenue side, sales tax came in about $492,000 over budget in 2019, an increase of about $140,000 from 2018.

-- The Town received about $302,000 from state sources -- Revenue sharing, $29,000; VLT, $160,000; CHIPS (highway improvement grant), $58,000; and records management grant, $55,000 for records management grant.

-- General fund reserves are $130,000, with $56,000 for park improvement and $73,000 for economic development.

-- General fund revenues were $4.8 million and expenditures were $2.9 million, prior to the transfer of $942,000 to the highway/townwide fund.

-- The highway/townwide fund had a surplus of $129,000 in 2019 compared to $335,000 in 2018, and the highway/townwide capital reserve fund balance was close to $760,000.

Landers said that both the water and sewer funds ended 2019 with more revenues than expenditures, with water at $725,000 and sewer at $386,000. The unreserved fund balance for the water fund was at $1.7 million and for the sewer fund was at $2.1 million.

Tapping into fund balances is possible

“Overall, the Town as it stands at 12/31/19 has good fund balances and has built up its fund balances, but I see that – depending upon economic recovery – some of those fund balances are going to be utilized in 2020 because of the decrease that I see in state funding … and sales tax,” Landers said, adding that the financial statement referenced the impact of the coronavirus.

She said a single audit was conducted since the Town spent more than $750,000 (actually $1 million) in federal funds for highway planning and construction.

“The result of that audit we did not note any significant or material weaknesses in the internal control over financial reporting or compliance, or on compliance related to the federal programs that were tested,” she said.

On a separate management report, Landers said she found “one minor control deficiency” connected to utilities reporting, but no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses related to the operation of the Town or as a result of any audit procedures that were conducted.

First quarter investment review

Town Supervisor Gregory Post followed Landers’ presentation by reviewing the Town’s 2020 first quarter investment report prepared by the three+one investment consulting firm of Pittsford.

Per the report, the Town had an average of $9.8 million invested into certificates of deposits, ending the period at $10.8 million. This is up from the last period average invested of $9.1 million.

In the past 12 months, the Town has earned $176,625 in interest, with $29,674 being earned in the first three months of 2020. A key factor in the amount of interest earned is the Town’s policy of locking in CD rates for various periods of time, the report indicated.

The Town received five-star ratings from three+one in terms of percent of funds invested, liquidity proficiency and effective interest rates earned.

It fell just short of five stars in cash flow optimization, with a recommendation to use more electronic payments, and in investment policy, with a recommendation to update the list of allowable investments, including using pooled investment services.

'Well-positioned’ going forward

Post said he is encouraged by the Town’s financial standing.

“You can see that we’ve grown our cash position substantially in the last couple of quarters, and are well-positioned to meet the pandemic crisis financial concerns,” he said.

“That return on investment, coupled with not spending money appropriated for the design and construction management of the Town Hall expansion, should keep us in pretty good fiscal shape throughout this year and well into next year – even with as much as a 35 percent loss in sales tax revenue and no anticipated increase in property taxes.”

Post also addressed the “repopulating” of Town Hall, saying that the plan is “to bring back one or two staff members at a time as needed to get everybody in the building and inspection departments in as they need to be.”

He said health department officials have indicated they will be monitoring businesses and agencies in two-week intervals to watch for any medical problems that might arise.

New Cases

• As of 2 p.m.
  • Genesee County received one new positive case of COVID-19, for a total of 149 positive cases.
    • The individual resides in Batavia.
    • The individual is under the age of 20.
    • The newly positive individual was on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • One of the previous positive cases has recovered and has been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Three of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
    • One of the total active positive cases is at a non-hospital regulated facility.
• • Orleans County received four new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 90 positive cases.
    • One of the individuals resides in Murray.
    • Three of the positive cases were from The Villages of Orleans Health & Rehab Facility.
    • One individual is in their 20s, one individual is in their 60s, one individual is in their 70s, and one individual is in their 80s.
    • One of the newly positive individuals was on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • Four of the previous positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Five of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.

• Swabbing and antibody testing is becoming increasingly available in the WNY region. If you are experiencing symptoms, contact your primary care provider and they will determine if testing is right for you. If the counties receive an increase in swabbing supplies and the protocol for testing is changed, we will notify the public. The Health Departments are not providing public swabbing due to lack of supplies. For more information on testing click here.
• There is still no cure or vaccination available for COVID-19. Be alert to scams or home remedies. Contact your primary care provider if you have any symptoms and follow his/her instructions.

As our nation deals with the COVID-19 pandemic by practicing social distancing and other safety measures, counselors and peer recovery advocates at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse have expanded their use of the telephone and internet to support those in recovery.

Understanding that people recovering from substance use can be adversely affected by isolation and boredom, GCASA professionals are taking effective steps to keep in contact with those at risk despite the inability to meet on a face-to-face basis at this time.

“What is most important to know is that GCASA is still here for people – every day of the week, all day and even into the evening,” said Rosalie Mangino-Crandall, director of the recovery programs as well as project innovation and expansion. “We are still finding ways to support people and help them in recovery and doing what they need to do to get better.”

Mangino-Crandall added that just talking to a person or hearing a soothing voice of encouragement can have a profound impact.

“One of the advantages of phone support is that it concentrates that support on the person and what he or she wants to talk about,” she explained. “It really focuses the support on the recovery conversation.”

GCASA’s peer recovery advocates, or peers for short, are people who have lived through recovery (with some of them still in recovery) and have received specialized training to share their experiences with others in need.

According to Amy Kabel, a lead peer at the agency’s Recovery Station on Clinton Street Road, her team continues to connect with their clients on a regular basis.

“While things have changed a lot, what hasn’t changed is that we are checking with people about what they are doing for self-care, and making sure they are reaching out to any support system they may have – to us and their counselors – and making sure they are staying active,” Kabel said.

Kabel said those currently living at Atwater House, GCASA’s residential building on East Main Street, are able to utilize Recovery Station under specific guidelines.

“We allow them to use the facility in small groups, and we are doing social distancing – keeping everyone six feet away from each other,” she said, adding that peers and other staff there are wearing masks as a precaution. “Some come for a couple hours and some come at 10 in the morning and pretty much stay all day until we close at 8 p.m.”

Recovery Station is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday but, until state-mandated restrictions are lifted, it is available only for Atwater residents.

Peers are working from home, with extended hours, and reaching out by telephone to their clients, Kabel said.

“We are making calls and we’re getting calls on the peer support line – 585-815-1800. Since OASAS (NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports) has changed some of the rules, we can bill for telehealth, so we’re able to keep everybody involved.”

She said that a couple of her colleagues, Nick Volpe and Sheila Smith, have been picking up food at various food pantries for clients.

“They’re making calls and making sure everybody has enough food. And if clients don’t have vehicles, we can make deliveries, and drop it off at their doors.”

Sue Gagne, GCASA’s recovery center coordinator, said the Recovery WOW support group has launched new ventures designed to perpetuate its “together we are stronger” philosophy.

“We are starting up a Guided Journaling workshop on Tuesday afternoons at 3:30 and we have partnered with NAMI Rochester (a mental health organization) to provide a family support group on Friday mornings at 10,” Gagne said. “We’re doing this through Zoom meetings … and hopefully will be working with the peers to put some videos up.”

Thus far, all three women agreed that the modifications are working well.

“All of the (seven) peers have full workloads as we interact with dozens of people in various stages of recovery,” Kabel said, noting that peers are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Mangino-Crandall said that navigating around the coronavirus has been tough, but it’s not insurmountable.

“I think it’s a challenging time for everyone. Certainly, everybody out there is trying to deal with it in their own way and it is difficult kind of being on your own, so it’s good for folks to know and get the word out that we’re available to talk,” she said.

She also pointed out a silver lining in the midst of these unprecedented times.

“With all of us in the same situation, there are a lot of remote opportunities to connect with people, not only locally but across the state and the country, that you might not have had normally,” she said. “That’s an advantage in that it opens the recovery community up much more broadly than you would typically find.”

Disclosure: Story by Mike Pettinella, GCASA publicist

Batavia City School Board President Patrick Burk described having to cut 30 staff positions as “incredibly sad” and said he hopes that New York State doesn't inflict any more pain upon the district.

On Tuesday night, by a vote of 4-1, the Board of Education cut 30 full-time positions and one half-time position to produce personnel cost savings of $1,586,513 -- and move the district within $47,000 of complying with the state mandated tax cap.

Burk, Barbara Bowman, Shawna Murphy and John Marucci voted in favor of the reductions while Tanni Bromley voted against the measure. Peter Cecere was absent.

“Today, in reflecting on it, it is just incredibly sad that we have to look at ways to bring the services needed within our school community by not having some of the people that have provided those needs,” Burk said. “And it affects people in several areas. The cuts were across the board."

The positions to be cut are as follows:

-- Two district administrators;
-- One treasurer;
-- One secretary;
-- One Grade 7-12 math teacher;
-- A second school resource officer;
-- Two special education teachers;
-- One clerk-typist;
-- Five reading teachers across the district;
-- Five elementary teachers;
-- One maintenance worker;
-- Ten teaching aides (most long-term substitutes);
-- One half-time music teacher.

Burk: 'The best we can do considering' ...

“For me to have to do something that there’s no other answer to was, and is, probably the saddest thing,” Burk said. “We had to do this one other time, reducing staff when gap elimination aid started, but I think it’s hard when everything in the world right now is so uncertain, and to keep everybody employed to the end of the school year is the best that we can do considering the situation.”

Superintendent Anibal Soler Jr. said the positions marked for deletion were decided in a previous executive session, with last night’s action “getting us pretty close to where we need to go to (toward balancing the 2020-21 budget).”

By eliminating these positions, the district’s proposed budget increases by $999,440 (1.98 percent) and the tax levy climbs by only $39,905 (0.2 percent), Business Administrator Scott Rozanski said.

But since the district is in a “negative tax cap situation,” it needs to come up with another $47,000 to meet the cap and avoid a 60-percent plus one supermajority vote of the public to pass the budget.

Soler said about $200,000 in transportation budget savings can be achieved by modifying the school day schedules at the district’s four locations.

Soler proposes changing school hours

His plan, which needs support from the Batavia Teachers’ Association, would put Batavia High School and Batavia Middle School on a 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. schedule, and John Kennedy Intermediate School and Jackson Primary School on a 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. schedule. By doing this, the district would be able to use fewer buses across the four schools, thus saving money.

Soler said that every student in the district would be able to ride a bus, calling it a "huge win." He said that he expects the teachers’ union to vote on the proposal this Friday.

The superintendent said he is wary of more state cuts to school aid, offering that another 20 percent reduction would result in a $6 million shortfall and “would decimate us.” He is hopeful that it would be much less than that, if at all.

“We’re at a good spot with the budget but I’m still concerned about what is coming (from Gov. Andrew Cuomo),” he said. “There was talk about this being an opportunity to reimagine schools. I really don’t know what that means with all the contractual obligations (that we have).”

Burk said the board plans to adopt a budget on May 5, but may have to convene earlier depending upon news out of Albany.

More state aid cuts down the line?

“I’m concerned that we may have more adjustments at the state level. If federal money doesn’t come through, districts could be cut by 20 percent,” he said. “There could be reductions in the current 2019-20 school aid formula that will result in further reduction. I’m hoping that we have enough left over from a couple of areas to cover those reductions.”

As far as who will be laid off, Burk said decisions are based on longevity, with the school board and the unions coming to an agreement on employees’ service time.

“The way the system works is that we announce the positions and then the bargaining units are given the sheets to determine if their records of longevity match our records of longevity. Once those are merged and both parties agree (then individual employees will be notified),” he said. “If there’s a position being cut in a specific area or tenure, the person who has been here the shortest time is cut.”

He said that the teacher aide positions were long-term substitutes “who would have been gone at the end of the (school year) anyway and then repositioned as needed starting in September.”

Burk said three points come to mind when looking at the current budget scenario:

“The three things that are probably the most disturbing are that instead of an increase in aid that originally was proposed by the governor …, we’re actually getting a slight decrease; that our tax cap because of the economy and building, and so forth, which is far too confusing, has actually ended up being a negative number; and that while we knew we had some increases going into next year, we didn’t really know to what extent the retirement and health insurance total number would be.”

Burk, who has led the board for many years, said a major problem with the entire process is that the school district has to present a budget in May without knowing what the local tax dollars or the actual state aid figures will be until September.

Benedict voted in as new board member

In other action, the board voted unanimously in favor of Alice Ann Benedict filling a vacant spot on the board.

Benedict previously served on the school board for 10 years, including three as president.

“Alice Ann is a real solid person, she’s from the community – a Batavia graduate – and when the vacancy occurred she expressed interest,” Burk said. “We need as many minds and as many thinking people on this process from now until whenever it ends up being as possible.”

Burk said Benedict will serve until there is another election, with the date unknown at this time.

We had an electrical fire at our house on Morton Avenue, Batavia, early this morning.

I'm fine. Billie is fine. Rocky is fine (dog). Nellie Bly (puppy) is fine. Fiona (cat) is fine. We're unsure about Maybelline (cat) but she's a survivor and spends a lot of time outside so she's probably fine.

There is a lot of smoke damage but no personal belongings that are important to us were destroyed.  

There is no structural damage.

The fire started with nightlight in the downstairs bathroom at about 2 a.m. and was largely contained to the bathroom because the door was closed.

City fire, Mercy EMS, and Batavia PD responded.

We would like to thank City fire for their quick response and for saving our pets and Batavia PD, as well as all of our neighbors and Alecia Kaus, for their concern and assistance.

UPDATE 7:03 a.m.: Maybelline is safe.

Graham Manufacturing, a publicly traded company, made the decision at the start of the coronavirus pandemic to stop almost all manufacturing operations but keep its entire workforce on the payroll -- including 320 of its Batavia-based employees.

"We continue to pay wages and full benefits to all of our employees," said Jeff Glajch, Graham's chief financial officer.

Keeping employees home helps keep them and the community safe, Glajch said, but also means the company's expenses are exceeding revenue.

When the Payroll Protection Program was announced, with rules that allowed any company with 500 or fewer employees to apply for forgivable loans of up to $10 million to help cover wages and salaries for workers, Graham applied for a loan. There was no stipulation in the first set of rules released by the Treasury Department that discouraged publicly traded companies from accepting the loans.

Graham received a $4.6 million loan.

"We felt at the time it was a legitimate application based on the guidance by the SBA (Small Business Administration)," Glajch said. "Last Thursday, the Treasury changed the guidance on publicly traded companies and suggested that publically traded companies should not receive loans. We felt based on the new guidance that we would return the funds and the funds have been returned, based on this guidance, well before anyone reached out to us."

The loan was repaid along with interest for the two weeks the company possessed the funds.

The Treasury changed the rules for loan eligibility after news reports about publicly traded companies such as Shake Shack and Ruth’s Chris Steak House received loans. The reports helped raise awareness of well-capitalized companies receiving taxpayer money at a time when many small businesses were unable to tap into the initial pool of $350 billion because the first round of loans was oversubscribed.

Congress has since added another $480 billion to the stimulus package but critics have maintained that publicly traded companies getting loans when they have access to financial resources out of reach to very small businesses is against the spirit of the program.

Glajch said he understands the concern. He said many people view the spirit of the program to help very small companies, particularly restaurants and local shops, who have been hard hit by closures. He said many people view companies with one to 50 employees as needing the most help, but the actual rules allow companies with fewer than 500 employees to apply for the loans.

Those companies with fewer than 500 employers include some of Graham's competitors and those competitors are not necessarily publicly traded. Even though those companies are not publicly traded it doesn't mean they aren't well-capitalized, Glajch said.

"My concern is that we have competitors that are privately held with 200 to 300 employees that have access to capital and, especially grants, that we don't," Glajch said. "There are ma-and-pop's that are struggling and they need this funding and if that was the intent, that was great. It makes sense to fund them and but not our competitors who are much larger."

Besides the 310 employees locally, Graham employs another couple dozen people in other locations. 

Graham could have remained operational. It is an essential business according to New York's pandemic rules. It makes equipment essential to the oil industry and to the Navy. Glajch said the company decided it was more important to keep employees safe than to keep the manufacturing plant open. The firm scaled back to about 20 employees working to fulfill its Navy contracts.

"This is a stressful time for everyone and one of the things we didn't want was for our employees to be concerned about was their financial condition," Glajch said. "This is obviously tough of families so we made the decision to continue to pay our employees. It's important for our employees but it's also important for the community. If they aren't making any money they don't have the ability to spend and that impacts the community also."

Graham is phasing in the return of its workers.

"This is a pretty dramatic change in safety practices and cleaning and sanitation practices," Glajch said. "We've put social distancing rules in place and are slowly bringing people back. We thought bringing back everybody at once was too aggressive. We want to make sure our employees are trained and working in a way that meets all of those safety criteria."

Much of Graham's customer base is the oil industry and coronavirus hits at a time when Russia and other OPEC-block countries were in an oil production dispute, driving down the price of oil, and with people traveling less, oil prices have declined sharply on top of that dispute. So far, that shift in the market hasn't affected Graham, but Glajch said "that will take more time to fully play out."

Investors were informed up-front of Graham's plans to stop production but keep paying employees and there has been no push back from investors, Glajch said.

"Investors understand what we're doing," Glajch said. "They understand we're burning cash by keeping people on payroll. I think at the time we had the conversation, no one wondered how long this would be going on, that they felt this would be finite, like a month or two, and they understood what we were doing."

Health Department Daily Briefing: 

• As of 2 p.m.
  • Genesee County received two new positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 148 positive cases.
    • One of the individuals resides in Batavia and one of the individuals resides in Alabama.
    • One individual is in their 30s and one individual is in their 70s.
    • One of the newly positive individuals was on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
    • One of the previous positive cases has recovered and has been released from mandatory isolation.
    • Three of the total active positive cases are hospitalized. 
    • One of the total active positive cases is at a non-hospital regulated facility.
• Orleans County received five new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 86 positive cases.
  • One of the individuals resides in Barre, one of the individuals resides in Murray and one of the individuals resides in Albion.
  • Two of the positive cases were from The Villages of Orleans Health & Rehab Facility.
  • One individual is in their 20s, two individuals are in their 30s, one individual is in their 50s, and one individual is in their 90s.
  • Two of the previous positive cases have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
  • Six of the total active positive cases are hospitalized.
  • We received word that two more residents from The Villages of Orleans have passed away. Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of these individuals during this difficult time. 

Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.

Reader Nya Thomas sent us this picture this afternoon of 9-year-old Gunnar Thomas with his grandpa Dave Twichell grinning alongside Tully the Turtle outside Tully's restaurant on East Main Street in Batavia.

Looks like Tully the Turtle is being a good sport about wearing a face mask in public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interview with Melissa Fleischut, president & CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association.

Interview with Craig Yunker, CEO of CY Farms. We're going to talk about the impact of coronavirus issues on agriculture. We're scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

Press release:

Trump endorsed Republican candidate for Congress (NY-27) was joined by four members of the Republican House Leadership on Monday for a conference call to give a campaign update for supporters, as well as discuss congressional responses to COVID-19 and China.

“We’ve been working to reach voters in new ways during COVID-19 and it was excellent to be joined by members of House Leadership to talk with supporters as we move into the final stages of this election -- June 23rd is a critical first step to taking back the House majority in November and ending Nancy Pelosi’s tenure as speaker,” Jacobs said.

Joining him on the call were Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-WY), and NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer (R-MN). Leader McCarthy and Whip Scalise have also previously joined the President in endorsing Jacobs for Congress.

“Major decisions are being made in Washington right now, and the Democrats have been dead set on using the challenges created by COVID-19 to advance their political agenda," Jacobs said. "These [Republican] members have been working hard every day to put politics aside and get critical support to the American people, and I am looking forward to joining their team in June and working rebuild our country.

“I’m proud to have the endorsement of President Trump and the President knows my experience and record and that he can count on me to help him rebuild our economy, secure our borders, and get tough on China. I am ready to join the fight and I’m thankful for the strong support and united effort from President Trump’s allies like Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, and Liz Cheney."

From the Genesee County Sheriff's Office:

A motorcyclist succumbed to injuries yesterday that he sustained in a crash with a bicyclist Saturday (April 25) on Route 5 at Wortendyke Road in the Town of Batavia.

Joshua T. Fullmer, 27, of Harvester Avenue, Batavia, was transported by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center after his 2014 Yamaha collided with a bicycle late in the afternoon.

Cassidy A. Underhill, the 16-year-old bicyclist, was northbound on Wortendyke, attempting to cross Route 5 when the accident happened. She was also airlifted to ECMC and remains in serious condition with multiple injuries.

The crash remains under investigation by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

For previous coverage, click here.