Batavia Middle School hosted a Health and Wellness Day for students at the school yesterday. The event was the brainchild of Assistant Principal Brian Sutton.
Sheriff William Sheron introduced the department's new police dog, "Rayzor," and his handler, Deputy James Stack, at the Genesee County Jail yesterday.
Stack and Rayzor begin training on Monday and should be ready for road patrol in June.
Rayzor is named after Ray Thompson, a corrections officer who died while on duty in 2002. He is the brother of retired deputy, and former K-9 handler, Brian Thompson.
A lot of local residents had the same idea today -- stocking up for supplies at BJ's Wholesale Club in Batavia.
At about 5 p.m., the parking lot was full and lines at the registers were 10 or 12 people deep. Most shopping carts were full. There were empty shelves in the water and paper-products aisles.
We spoke to several customers and most declined to be interviewed on camera. At least six of them with shopping carts brimming with household essentials said they were just doing their regular shopping. Some said they were stocking up but didn't want to be interviewed.
The video includes: customer Brian Odachowski who was stocking up; Legislator Gregg Torrey, who was more concerned about making sure the household supplies are ready because he and his wife are expecting a baby soon, and he spoke mainly about the county's response; and Jack Kershner who said he thinks CORVID-19 concerns are overblown.
Everybody needs a mentor, a trusted adult, to talk with about life's difficulties, Tom Thalen, an anti-bullying expert from Michigan told a group of sixth-graders at a youth conference at Genesee Community College on Tuesday.
True, most bullying takes place in middle school, but even 15 percent of 12th-graders report being bullied on a regular basis (meaning, at least three times a month).
And nearly 15 percent of adults report being bullied at their jobs.
"Your whole life, you're going to have to deal with people who are dealing with their own hurt, who are messed up, and are going to bully you," Thelen said.
That means, we all need to learn how to control our response, remain calm, don't react in anger or hurt, don't lash out, and find a trusted adult to talk to about it. For schoolchildren, that often means reporting it to a teacher or administrator so an adult can deal with the issue.
Thelen said he was bullied as a child and was angry and sullen until he met Mrs. Burdick, a teacher who helped him learn to not let others control his thinking and his actions.
By the time he was in high school, he recognized bullying for what it is -- it's not teasing, it's not a joke, it's something meant to humiliate another person that attacks their identity -- and he learned to control his response.
He also learned to help protect other students from bullying.
He recalled an incident in high school when he was standing in line at lunch in the cafeteria and two boys started making comments to a girl who was new to the school about the food she was putting on her plate.
"Take an extra dessert," they said.
They made similar comments about the types and amount of food on her plate. You know what they were getting at.
Thelen did nothing that day but he said it bothered him.
Then it happened the next day. And still, he did nothing.
That night, he looked at himself in the mirror, angry at himself, and became determined not to let it happen again.
When it happened again, he gently but firmly said, "Hey, guys, cut it out."
Years later, he got a note on Facebook from that girl praising him for being an inspiration and good example to his classmates. He was confused at first. He didn't immediately think of that incident. Then when he realized who she was -- the new girl, the girl who didn't know the old Tom, the Tom who was angry and sullen, only the Tom who was going through the process of being a better human being -- only then did he understand who it was she remembered.
She remembered the guy who stood up for her. And, he understood, it made a difference.
"I can’t change the rest of the world," Thelen told the sixth-graders. "I can't change what people do. But I can change what I do. You deserve to live an emotionally intelligent life."
David Krzemien is running against incumbent William Sheron for Genesee County Sheriff. He held a campaign kickoff on Saturday at Batavia Country Club. Here is a short, introductory video.
Colton Dillon dominated on offense, scoring 30 points, but it wasn't enough to stop a Prattsburg offense that never knew a cold streak throughout 32 minutes of play at Blue Cross Arena on Saturday in the Class D2 Section V championship game.
Prattsburg prevailed 72-64.
Jaykob Belluscio scored 10 points for the Lancers.
Mason Putnam scored 19 points for Prattsburg, while Kris Johnson scored 16 and James Crowder scored 12.
Photos below by Kristin Smith. For more photos, click here.
The Elba Lady Lancers added to the legend that is Elba basketball Friday night, winning a fourth-straight Section V title, beating Andover 48-40.
Leah Bezon and Taylor Augello both had double-doubles, with 17 and 15 points, respectively, and 11 and 15 rebounds apiece. Bezon also had four assists.
Brynn Walczak, the tournament MVP for Class D1, scored nine points and had five rebounds.
For Andover, Emily Wahl and Kelsie Niedemaier scored 12 points each.
Walczak, Bezon, and Maddie Muehlig are all juniors and have been on varsity for all four titles. Augello is also a junior and in her third year on varsity. The only senior on the team is Lauryn Engle, third-year varsity.
Elba and Pavilion, Class D2 champions, will meet at Mount Morris at 6 p.m., Tuesday to decide which team advances to the Class D state tournament.
Jeff Allen, director of Crossroads House in Batavia, will receive an award tonight from the Chamber of Commerce at the Geneseean of the Year. The awards dinner is at Quality Inn & Suites.
Tompkins Bank of Castile is Genesee County's Business of the Year. Tompkins will receive the award tonight during an awards dinner at Quality Inn & Suites in Batavia.
Purple Pony Therapeutic Horsemanship has been named the Special Service Recognition of the Year award winner by the Chamber of Commerce. The volunteers of Purple Pony will receive the award at the Chamber of Commerce annual awards dinner tonight Quality Inn & Suites.
MY-T Acres, located off Lewiston Road in Batavia, is Genesee County's Agriculture Business of the Year. The Call family will receive the award at the Chamber of Commerce annual awards dinner tonight Quality Inn & Suites.
Pembroke led from start to finish in their Section V Class C1 semifinal game Wednesday night at Honeoye Falls-Lima against Red Jacket.
But that doesn't mean the win came easy.
"They were a lot faster, a lot quicker than we thought they were," said Head Coach Ron Funke. "It gave us a little trouble, especially with their press, because we tried to hurry the ball in. Once we took our time in and got the ball into the middle of the floor, we were OK. But they don't give up. They don't quit."
The final score was 53-35.
Dekari Moss scored 23 points, had seven rebounds and four steals.
"I thought Dekari dominated on both ends of the court," Funke said. "She rebounded well and she owned the middle. They were giving us a lot of gaps with their zone defense; Dakari is so quick and athletic that she took advantage of that."
Emily Peters scored 14 points, including a trio of three-pointers that helped seal Red Jacket's fate in the second half.
"When she gets on a roll, I mean, she's a very streaky shooter and she started off slow today but when she gets hot, you just keep feeding her," Funke said. "She came up big today especially toward the end of the third quarter."
Point guard Serene Calderon scored 12 points and had six assists, six rebounds, and three steals.
"She usually makes good decisions," Funke said. "We want the ball in her hands. She showed she'll get the ball to the people that we need to get the ball to. She runs the offense and she's in a great defensive player."
Casey Wurtz scored two points, had two assists, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots. Mackenna Johnson scored two points, had three assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
Next up, the Dragons will try to defend their 2019 Section V crown against Letchworth at 5 p.m., at Gates Chili.
Letchworth qualified for the finals by beating Byron-Bergen 58-55 in a game that went down to the closing seconds.
Photos from the Byron-Bergen game below by Tammy Fuller.
Elba's full-court press proved to be too much for Hinsdale to handle Monday night in a Class D2 Section V semifinal game at Wayland-Cohocton. The Lady Lancers won 60-25 sending them to a championship match at 6 p.m. Friday at Letchworth against Andover.
The victory was the Lady Lancers' 20th of the season against two defeats.
Brynn Walczak scored 17 points. Maddie Muehlig scored 15. Taylor Augello scored nine. Muehlig was 5-8 from beyond the arc. Leah Bezon, who scored six points, had 10 rebounds. The team combined for 16 steals.
Hinsdale was held to seven points in the first half. No Hinsdale player reached double-digits in scoring in the game.
There were no other girls' basketball games played Monday night.
In boys' basketball:
Tonight's girls' games:
Tomorrow, Byron-Bergen plays Letchworth at 6 p.m. and Pembroke plays Red Jacket at 7:45 p.m. Both games are at HFL.
In boys' basketball tonight, Elba plays Bradford at 7 p.m. at Mount Morris.
Genesee County Republicans rallied for their candidates, to kick off election-season signature drives, at the Dibble Family Center in Batavia on Saturday, with a previously unannounced appearance by state GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley said he had recently spoken with Langworthy and happened to mention the event and Langworthy rearranged his schedule to attend.
Genesee County GOP endorsed candidates on hand:
The Lady Hornets started what they will hope will be a successful post-season run with a convincing victory over Alexander, 62-49.
Brooke Reding scored 19 points, Brianna Smith, 15, and Kelsey Schlagenhauf, 14.
For Alexander, Hailie Kramer scored 24 points, Mel Pohl scored nine, and Ally Mileham and Natalie Whitmore scored six each.
Oakfield-Alexander (14-7) will continue its pursuit of a Class C2 Section V title at 7 p.m., Friday against Red Creek (15-6) at Red Creek.
In other girls' basketball playoff games on Wednesday:
Upcoming games:
Upcoming boys' basketball games:
UPDATE: Photos of Pembroke's game by Kristin Smith. For more photos, click here.
UPDATE: Click here for photos by Kristin Smith of the O-A vs. Alexander game.
Last week, we sat down with Steve Hyde, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, and talked about the state of economic development here in 2020.
Here are some key quotes:
On developing Downtown:
One of the keys that we're in today is our industrial development activities are almost outpacing some of our other readiness elements in our community. And I'm talking about placemaking. I'm talking about housing. I'm talking about live, work and play activities in our gut and our population centers and our downtowns. That's part of the reason why we've become very invested in a lot of the downtown revitalization initiative activities and projects.
On the future of WNY STAMP:
We're really kind of focusing our target marketing on the site between the north campus, which is 850 acres, and the south campus, which is about 400. By the end of this year, the south campus is going to be shovel ready. What that's going to allow us to do is really dial in our marketing. We're going to focus on food and beverage in the southern part of the campus and warehousing and distribution, because the capacities of what's going to be shovel ready as far as water, sewer, electric, meet the needs of those industries. So we're going to really focus on those industries, diversify the focus, still focus on clean tech and tech up in the north campus.
On the challenges of economic development in New York:
Upstate New York has been in decline for 50 years and many people say it. But that's part of the reason why you have to swing for the fences on big industrial development projects. You know, the only way that you're going to bring yourself out of a situation where you're gonna turn that economy around, you're gonna have a chance to change the trajectory of your economic cycle is by doing things differently, swinging for the fences. And in our case, we have this advantage at the stamp site, and the ag park is kind of proof positive that you can do it at scale. We've had a lot of success at the AG Park, which has proven, I think to a lot of the investors at the state level that STAMP can work.
On Ellicott Station:
We are down to three months away from hearing about Ellicott Station. One of the biggest challenges with Ellicott Station was the time it took to get here where we are today. The problem was, we set ourselves up because that big announcement back in March of 2016 that, you know, Severino Companies was chosen. Yeah, they were chosen. That was exciting. But I think it was we kind of did it to ourselves. We portrayed that as ready to break ground. It wasn't. That was just the developer being selected. There wasn't a dollar aligned with it. That's part of the reason why we've engaged so fully in that project, to do all we can to try to help that project get funded.
On the importance of the Muckdogs to economic development:
The Muckdogs play right into what I've been almost screaming about, right? It is getting lifestyle energized back in our community. And they offer one of those special attractions for folks of all ages, including the millennials, that we need to come here and work in these growing businesses, to have a lifestyle experience. I mean, what is another example of Americana but sitting out in the summer night and seeing fireworks and having a hot dog and hanging out with a beer or a soda, whatever your preference is, and enjoying a good summer American night with a professional baseball?
Rob Credi, former proprietor of Main Street Coffee, has a new business venture and it puts him back in the coffee business: Public Coffee Hub, a food truck for caffeine addicts (and those who just like coffee).
On Saturday night, Dan Clor, director of the American Warrior Festival, threw a party to thank T.F. Brown's and other sponsors of the festival that supports veterans.
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