Local News

Press Release:

Holmes Named USC Scholar All-American

Genesee Community College men’s soccer captain Glenn Holmes was named to the United Soccer Coaches Junior College Men’s Scholar All-America First Team Dec. 15 by the national chair of the USC Junior College Men’s Scholar All-America Committee, Chris Handy. Holmes will be honored by the UCS at its 71st convention in January 2018.

The 2017 National Junior College Athletic Association National Champion Cougars were co-captained by Holmes, who hails from Kildare, Ireland. The sports management major was just one of four overall junior college players who were recognized as first-team selections both on the field and in the classroom by the USC. At the junior college division-three level, he was just one of two to achieve the feat and the lone defensive player in the country.

Although known more for his stealth defensive play, Holmes’ offensive numbers were quite astonishing. He led all NJCAA defenders in points with 32 and goals with 13. In addition, the Genesee sophomore was the catalyst behind the team’s amazing run that ended with a 10-game winning streak and a 20-game unbeaten streak in bringing the Cougars its first national championship in soccer.

This is the third time Holmes has been honored this season as a first-team all-American. In addition to the two aforementioned USC All-American accolades, Holmes was also named to the NJCAA All-American squad as well.

Men’s Basketball Team Splits at NCCC Tournament

The Genesee Community College men’s basketball team improved its winning streak to five before having it snapped in Niagara County Community College’s tournament Dec. 15-16.

The Cougars started with a 99-87 win over Onondaga Community College Dec. 15 with their fifth-consecutive win. Although it was not another 100-plus point win, the victory allowed the Cougars to average 102 points over the course of those five-consecutive wins.

Current National Junior College Athletic Association Region III Player of the Week Brian Fobbs was on fire in both games scoring 36 points in the win over the Lazers and 30 points in the 92-81 loss to Henry Ford College, Dec. 16. In addition, Fobbs posted team-highs in rebounds and earned double-double performances in each contest with 15 boards against the Lazers and 16 against Henry Ford. In the latter game, Fobbs also recorded a pair of bocks, assists and steals.

Rahmel Thompson finished second in scoring in both contests to Fobbs with 44 total points. Thompson recorded 27 in the win and 17 in the loss. Joining Thompson with 17 points in the Henry Ford contest was Jarett Haines, while Caylen Williams added 15 points and a team-high three assists against the Hawks.

In addition to Fobbs and Thompson, two other Cougars recorded double-digit scoring performances with Williams adding 10 and Jaheem Page scoring 11 in the win against the Lazers. Williams registered a team-high seven assists and three steals against Onondaga.

The Cougars hit the semester break with a 9-4 overall record and 4-1 conference record.

Rochester man arrested for alleged assault with pistol and knife in LeRoy.
LeRoy Police arrested 49 year old Joseph Cavico Jr. of Rochester following a violent domestic disturbance.
The incident occurred just before one o’clock Saturday morning.
According to authorities Cavico allegedly struck the victim numerous times about the head after threatening them with both a pistol and a knife.
Cavico was charged with 3rd Degree Assault and 2nd Degree Menacing which are both class A-Misdemeanors.
During the initial investigation, a .357 Pistol was located and seized.
Cavico allegedly possessed the gun unlawfully as the serial number was removed.
He was additionally charged with the Class D-Felonies of Willful Defacement of a weapon and Criminal Possession of a Weapon which was Defaced for Concealment.
Cavico was committed to the Genesee County Jail without bail.
The investigation remains ongoing.

Guilty plea in East Main Street Stabbing case.
One of the two defendants accused of committing the near fatal stabbing on East Main Street in July, 30 year old JW Hardy has accepted charges in the case.
He pled guilty to a single count of Assault in the first degree, a Class C violent felony.
Hardy admitted to taking part in the violent knife attack and is facing 10 years in prison at sentencing on February 14.
The co-defendant in the case, 26 year old Anthony Spencer Jr, is due in court today with his case still pending.

T.F. Brown’s teams up with the Batavia Lions Club once again to host their annual Christmas Day Community Dinner.
Enjoy a full-course holiday dinner and a visit from Santa for free.
All members of the community are welcome however reservations are requested.
There are seating’s at noon and at 1 p.m. on Christmas Day,
Call Barb to make reservations, at 345-1000.

The Buffalo Bills have to win at least one more game this year to have a serious shot at breaking the NFL’s longest ongoing playoff drought.
Yesterday the Bills beat Miami 16 to 24 and are now eight and six for the season.
If the Bills win their next two games they have a 95 percent chance of moving on to the postseason.
If they only win one of their next two games their odds could be as good as a coin flip.
If they lose to both New England and Miami they still have a three percent chance.

Governor Cuomo is calling for tipped employees be paid at least minimum wage.
At the end of the year minimum wage Upstate goes to ten-dollars and 40-cents an hour but minimum wage for tipped employees will be substantially less.
Cuomo said there’s no reason for employers in certain industries to pay their employees less.
He’s having the Commissioner of Labor look into possibly ending these practices.

A car and a school bus carrying 24 students crash on Mount Morris-Nunda Road.
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the accident that happened late yesterday morning.
The driver of the car, identified only as a 33 year old woman, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Of the 24 students on the bus, three were taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Deputies say bad weather and poor road conditions likely played a factor in the accident.

A Man pleads guilty to East Main Street Stabbing in Batavia.
30 year old JW Hardy pled guilty to a single count of Assault in the first degree, a Class C violent felony.
Hardy admitted to taking part in the near-fatal knife attack against a person on East Main Street last July. Hardy is facing 10 years in prison.

T.F. Brown’s and the Batavia Lions Club will again host their annual Christmas Day Community Dinner.
The dinner is free and open to all members of the community who want to enjoy a full-course holiday dinner and a visit from Santa.
There are two seatings Christmas Day, at noon and at 1 p.m.
To make reservations, call Barb at 345-1000.

The New Star Wars movie “The Last Jedi was shot on Kodak film made in Rochester. The movie opened this weekend.guilty plea
Three major Hollywood studios have signed multi-year contracts to buy film from Kodak.

(Photo courtesy of Paul White)

Press Release:

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

Longtime western New York horseman Jim McNeight reached a career milestone as he won his 1,000 race as a trainer.

McNeight was at 999 before his pacer Open Water finished second on Wednesday (Dec. 6) and was placed first through a disqualification. But McNeight made it official on Friday (Dec. 15) when his trotter Millbrook Hanover driven by his son Jim McNeight Jr., won easily in the snow to notch his 1,000th career victory.

McNeight got started in the business while in his teens and learned under the guidance of his father Ed McNeight Sr. He got his driver’s license in 1981 and became a go-to catch driver in western New York within a few years.

Focusing mainly on driving for the first part of his career, McNeight added training to his daily duties when he father retired in 1992 and since that time has been a mainstay at Batavia Downs and Buffalo Raceway ever since.

In June of 2016, McNeight was involved in a bad accident at Buffalo Raceway and came away with a severe back injury that sidelined him for months. After time off and extensive rehab, he has been able to resume jogging and training but his doctors will not clear him to race due to the possibility of further damage in the event of another racing incident.

So now McNeight focuses fully on the training end of his current stable of 10 and is a full time coach for his son who does all the driving now and is a rising star on the same circuit his father excelled on for so many years.

Jim McNeight’s 1,000th training win was the result of 6,450 starts that also saw him finish second 932 times and third another 919. All told his earnings have amounted to just under $3.5 million.

“It’s very special to reach a milestone like this but you can’t do it without good, faithful owners and I have been blessed to have three of them” said McNeight. “Mike Ventura, Mike Calimeri and Dave Sanlorenzo have backed me for over 20 years and made those 1,000 wins possible.”

Mike Ventura owns Millbrook Hanover.

For his driving career McNeight has 3,587 wins and over $13 million earned in purses.

(Photos courtesy of Paul White)

Press Release:

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

It was girl’s night out in a winter wonderland as snow squalls blew through Genesee County. The mare Lenny Mac beat the boys in the $10,000 Open trot and Sportsmuffler scored in the $10,000 distaff Open pacing feature at Batavia Downs on Friday night (Dec. 15).

In the week’s top trot, Lenny Mac came from off the pace to win handily, overcoming the field and the elements with the greatest of ease.

Empire Earl N (Larry Stalbaum) went right to the front and led to the half in 1:00.2. Lenny Mac (Ron Beback Jr.) then pulled first up from fifth and motored quickly alongside Empire Earl N, and then right by him by the time they hit the backside.

From there it was all Lenny Mac as she opened up four lengths at the three-quarters, six lengths at the top of the stretch and eight lengths when she hit the wire like a runaway train in 2:00.2, blowing up the tote board at 12-1.

It was the ninth win of the year for Lenny Mac ($27.40) and it padded her bank account to the amount of $54,077 for owner William Emmons and trainer James Clouser Jr.

In the fillies and mares Open pace, Sportsmuffler, who had recently gotten back to her winning ways after not finishing a race on Nov. 22, caught a strong front runner at the wire in a thriller.

Miss Irish Rose A (Larry Stalbaum) left for a familiar front-end position and led the field in post-position order for almost a half mile before Squeeze This (Billy Davis Jr.) pulled and attacked at that station in :59.2.

With Miss Irish Rose A still in command by two, the outer flow stalled and Sportsmuffler (Ray Fisher Jr.) tipped three-deep around and moved to within one length of the leader. The two maintained their positions around the far turn but when they hit the top of the lane, Sportsmuffler dug in and drove on to capture a half-length victory in 1:57.4 in a three-horse photo.

It was the eleventh win in 42 starts this year for Sportsmuffler ($7.80) who now has $59,149 on her card for 2017. LAV Racing Stable Inc. owns the 5-year-old Sportsmaster mare that is trained by Mike Carrubba.

Larry Stalbaum widened his dash win lead again scoring three victories on the night. That pushed him to 130 wins for the meet, now six ahead of Ray Fisher Jr. and 11 ahead of Drew Monti. Barring a monumental turn of events it would appear Stalbaum has his first Batavia Downs driving title just about wrapped up.

One more night of racing remains at Batavia Downs in 2017 and that is Saturday (Dec. 16) with post time is 6 p.m.

There will be a guaranteed $2,500 early Pick-5 pool tomorrow with a mandatory payout. The wager runs from race one to race five and is a 50-cent minimum bet.

A military helicopter makes an emergency landing in Java, Wyoming County.
The chopper made what the Army has called a precautionary landing just before 11yesterday morning near Pleasant Valley and Pee Dee Roads in Java.
The Army said the UH-60 Blackhawk was on a training flight from Rochester when it developed unspecified difficulties and landed.
North java volunteer firemen were sent to the scene. There were no serious injuries.

Man pleads guilty to East Main Street Stabbing in Batavia.
30 year old JW Hardy appeared in County Court yesterday where he accepted a plea agreement and entered a guilty plea to a single count of Assault in the first degree, a Class C violent felony.
Hardy admitted to taking part in the near-fatal knife attack against a person on East Main Street in July.
Under the terms of the plea deal Hardy faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 14.
Hardy’s co-defendant, 26 year old Anthony Spencer Jr, is due in court on Monday with his case still pending.

A Chautauqua County man pleads guilty to one count of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide in connection with a fatal crash last summer in Wyoming County.
29 year old Joshua Huntress of Mayville admitted he drove his car from a motel in Warsaw while doing a combination of drugs.
He crashed into a pair of motorcycles, killing the driver of one of them. He could be sentenced to 5 to 15 years.

An employee of the Arc of Genesee Orleans has been arrested for sexual abuse of a client.
39 year old Rome Santiago was arrested by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd degree.
Santiago worked with disabled individuals served by the ARC.
Authorities said Santiago allegedly had inappropriate and unwanted contact with an client during outings in both Orleans and Genesee Counties.

The New Star Wars movie “The Last Jedi was shot on Kodak film made in Rochester. The movie opens this weekend.
Three major Hollywood studios have signed multi-year contracts to buy film from Kodak.

A military helicopter makes an emergency landing in Java, Wyoming County.
The chopper made what the Army has called a precautionary landing just before 11 this morning near Pleasant Valley and Pee Dee Roads in Java.
The Army said the UH-60 Blackhawk was on a training flight from Rochester when it developed unspecified difficulties and landed.
North java volunteer firemen were sent to the scene. There were no serious injuries.

A Chautauqua County man pleads guilty to one count of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide in connection with a fatal crash last summer in Wyoming County.
29 year old Joshua Huntress of Mayville admitted he drove his car from a motel in Warsaw while doing a combination of drugs. He crashed into a pair of motorcycles, killing the driver of one of them. He could be sentenced to 5 to 15 years.

There is a water main break on Richmond Ave in front of Van Detta Stadium. Crews are on site to make repairs which will take several hours. Richmond Ave will be closed to traffic between Union St and Verona Ave until repairs are complete.

An employee of the Arc of Genesee Orleans has been arrested for sexual abuse of a client.
39 year old Rome Santiago was arrested by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd degree.
Santiago worked with disabled individuals served by the ARC.
Authorities said Santiago allegedly had inappropriate and unwanted contact with an client during outings in both Orleans and Genesee Counties.

A Lake Effect snow band is expected to intensify early this evening and move southward across the Niagara Frontier.
Snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour could reach parts of Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties.

The New Star Wars movie “The Last Jedi was shot on Kodak film made in Rochester. The movie opens this weekend.
Three major Hollywood studios have signed multi-year contracts to buy film from Kodak.

A Military Helicopter reportedly crashed into trees in the area of Pleasant Valley and Pee Dee Roads in Java drawing emergency crews to the scene.

The crash occurred at around 10:45 this morning.

Minor injuries were reported and an initial request for Mercy Flight was cancelled.

21 year old Zachary Kersch has been indicted by a Wyoming County Grand Jury on charges of first and third degree Rape along with Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

Kersch was arrested in October following an investigation that found he allegedly forcibly raped a teenage girl at a party in August.

He plead not guilty to the charges and was remanded to jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

He is expected back in Wyoming County Court in February.

29 year old Joshua Huntress of Mayville in Chautauqua County pleaded guilty to a count of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide a Class B non-violent felony for a crash that occurred in July in Orangeville.

Huntress admitted to driving his vehicle form a motel in Warsaw while impaired by a combination of drugs and causing the fatal crash on Route 20A near Boxler’s Farm.

A caller reported Huntress driving recklessly all over the road way and witnessed him crash into two oncoming motorcycles killing Tomasa Marinez and injuring three others.

He accepted the plea agreement on the condition that he be sentenced to an indeterminate term of 5 to 15 years in state prison or a possible 7 and a half to 15 if he is convicted as a second felony offender.

Huntress has a prior felony out of Pennsylvania.

He is scheduled for sentencing on January 18th.