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News for the week of
April 23, 2006

In Features:

Brockport budget approval coming down to the 11th hour
A consensus hasn't been reached on the budget for the Village of Brockport and no resolutions for adoption were put forth at the April 17 meeting. A special budget discussion meeting has been scheduled for April 26 at 7:30 p.m., following the board workshop. more

College students create awareness of war in Uganda
with walk - and snooze - in Rochester park
A group of college students is leading local participation in a nationwide campaign called the Global Night Commute, hosted by Invisible Children, an organization committed to ending the war in northern Uganda. more

Churchville Charrette will plan for village's future
Like many villages and towns across the United States, the Village of Churchville is looking ahead to its future. Churchville is currently going through the preliminary steps of creating a vision plan that will ensure the village retains its unique characteristics that set it apart from other communities, as well as guide it through changes that include the growth of various housing developments in the area and businesses whose owners want to either expand their existing operations or start up a company in the community. more

This is a very fishy story
It was a cold and rainy afternoon Friday, April 14, but that didn’t stop about 30 spectators from gathering to watch as 7,350 steelhead trout fingerlings were pumped out of a tank into two floating fish pens at Sandy Creek Marina. more

Health benefits, fuel costs push Brockport school budget increases
The proposed Brockport Central School budget doesn't cut any positions nor does it offer any frills. Employee health benefits, increase mandated costs for BOCES expenses, fuel and natural gas increases and state mandates have driven the BCS budget to a 4.7 percent increase, according to district personnel. more

Leadership Genesee golf tournament set
The Leadership Genesee Golf Tournament and Chance Auction will begin on Saturday, May 13 at 11 a.m. at the Batavia Country Club. more

Local resident represents New York in national competition
Jessica Lei Sweeney, who grew up in Hilton, participated in the 2006 national Collegiate Discussion Meet held February 24 in DesMoines, Iowa, during the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Conference. more

Local student working on economic development project in Nicaragua
Christopher Hart of Spencerport is part of a group of students from the State University of New York at Geneseo working to improve the economy, education and health care of the rural Central American community. more

Mardi Gras celebration in our own backyard
You don't have to go all the way to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras. All you have to do is take a short drive to Brockport, which is having its own Mardi Gras celebration on Saturday, April 29. Unlike the Mardi Gras in New Orleans though, this local celebration is family and child friendly. more

Riga supervisor gives State of Town address
During her State of the Town address, Supervisor Pam Moore offered a challenge to all Riga residents, "to not just share a zip code but to help Riga become a 21st century community." During this workshop meeting on Tuesday, April 18, Riga Town Board members and more than 50 Riga residents heard Moore's vision for the future of the town. more

South Avenue, Brockport residents urge
board to re-think surplus property designation
Residents from South Avenue were out in full force at the April 17 Village of Brockport board meeting, pleading with officials to remove the surplus property designation from a one acre parcel at 52 South Avenue. more

In Briefly:

Coast Guard Auxiliary to receive national award
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary has been selected to receive the National Water Safety Congress' National Award for its role in promoting boating and water safety. more

Oak Orchard lighthouse project moving along
The committee in charge of refurbishing the Oak Orchard Lighthouse has hired Chatfield Engineers to engineer, design and assist with the construction of the replica lighthouse. more

Spencerport Chamber of Commerce welcomes Canal Corporation director
Carmella R. Mantello, director of the New York State Canal Corporation, was the guest speaker at the Spencerport Area Chamber of Commerce's April 19 meeting. more

Spencerport Kiwanis presents jacket to member
At a recent meeting of local Kiwanis Clubs, The Kiwanis Club of Spencerport presented their past president Harry Ewell (center, right) with a new sport jacket emblazoned with the Kiwanis logo. more

In Schools:

Churchville-Chili Board of Education sets
budget hearing and candidate's night
The Board of Education of the Churchville-Chili Central School District will hold its budget hearing and candidate's night on Tuesday, May 9. The hearing will take place in the Board of Education Room, located in the administration office at 139 Fairbanks Road, Churchville. more

Experienced advisers support small business owners' aspirations
Barbara Dietrich or Karen McFarland at The BEST Center at Genesee Community College are experts in the small business world and they're excited to share advice, confidentially and free of charge, to new business owners. more

Hilton HS Drumline prepares to compete
It was warm in the Hilton High School gym but that didn't prevent the Hilton High School Percussion Drumline from performing not just one, but two, farewell performances of their six minute drill before an enthusiastic, cheering home crowd. more

Roberts volleyball grads back teammate to beat cancer
When Dave and Tami Nelson welcomed their first child, daughter Brooklynne, into their family last September, Tami changed her health insurance to a plan with more benefits for her baby, but less for her as a new mom. more

Spencerport School officials adopt budget,
tax rate increases less than one percent
Officials in the Spencerport School District say they were able to hold the line on expenses and approved a budget with a less than one percent increase. more

SUNY Brockport ranks high
The State University of New York College at Brockport is one of the Northeast's best colleges and best values according to the latest editions of "Best Colleges in the Northeast and America's Best Value Colleges" published by The Princeton Review. more

Town and gown collaboration for a healthier, more beautiful community
Groups from SUNY College at Brockport and the Brockport community will come together on two programs to make Brockport healthier - both aesthetically and physically. Brockport's first annual Walk/Bike Week will run from April 24 to 28. The program encourages campus and community members to walk or bike to their jobs for one week. more

In Sports:

Area youth to compete in baseball Pitch, Hit & Run™ competition
Sweden/Clarkson Recreation will host a free Pepsi Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run Competition for area youth on April 29 at 1 p.m. at the Brockport High School JV Field. more

Cadets fall to Cougars
Trailing 8-0 at half-time, Hilton stormed back with the first four goals of the second half before succumbing to Honeoye Falls-Lima 13-5 in boy's lacrosse. more

Gaisser double leads Devils
Senior Ashley Gaisser knocked in a pair of runs with a double down the left field line and Brockport scored all three of their runs in the third inning in a 4-2 softball victory over visiting Spencerport. more

Gymnastic compulsory teams compete in Elmira
Bright Raven gymnast Emily Thomas, 10, of North Chili has qualified to compete in Level 8 Regional Championships by earning a high all around score of (36.575) at the State Championships in Rochester. Thomas finished 10th on balance beam (9.25) and 11th all-around. more