The Batavian

Middle school drama club successfully presents 'The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring' Thursday

Dan Crofts — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:01:53 +0000

The cast of "The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring" (photo by Daniel Crofts)

“Terror!”

“Intrigue!”

“Romance, blooming like a lotus in the springtime…”

Entire cast in unison: “What?!?”

“Just kidding.”

There you have it — the opening lines of “The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring," the latest play put on by the Drama Club at Batavia Middle School. The first performance took place last night.

The show was directed by Matthew Mayne, English/Drama teacher at Batavia High School, and starred 22 BMS students (grades 6-8) in a variety of comedic roles.

From a stage play written by Janie Downey Maxwell, “Missing Ring” centers around a Queen — played by 7^th grader Mica Pitcher — who has lost her royal ring and hires several competing teams of detectives to find it. All of the detectives — from the pratfall-prone, tap-dancing Oliver (Blake Carter) to the nervous, germaphobic Kat (Spencer Hubbard) — prove to be hysterically incompetent.

Mayne, who is certainly no stranger to local theater (see article about his recent Thornton Wilder production at http://tinyurl.com/yknj4bu), began work on the production of "Missing Ring" in late September. He took Maxwell’s play and made of it an opportunity for everyone involved to bring his/her own ideas to the performance.

"We added a lot to this,” Mayne said. “I added some characters that weren’t in the original script. That’s good for me as a director, because then the story has more characters to work with. And it’s good for the kids, because there are more roles available and they can add their own personal touches to the overall performance.”

Additionally, there were numerous jokes and humorous bits that were not in the script. Mayne said the students “came up with a lot of ideas and put so much of their own unique humor into it.”

In so doing, they drew plentiful laughter from the audience.

Thursday night’s performance was well performed and well received, but the production was far from easy. Because of his extracurricular duties at BHS, Mayne could only devote three days a week to rehearsals. So with a total of only 20 rehearsals, the cast had to exercise a great deal of dedication in order to make the play work.

If this weren’t enough, a number of students became ill during the course of production and had to quit the play. There was even a last-minute cancellation the night before the performance, forcing one of the cast members to learn new lines overnight.

“I’m amazed at how much the kids care about the show,” Mayne said. “They really pulled themselves together.”

The play also featured set designs made by BMS teacher Lucille DiSanto and BMS students Riley Cole, Megan Draper and Kayla Gannon.

“Missing Ring” will have one more performance, this time intended exclusively for BMS students, faculty and staff; this will take place during the school day Monday.

Local entrepreneurship will lead the way to job growth

Howard Owens — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:14:13 +0000

I say it all the time -- if Western New York is going to turn itself around, to really spur a new era of job growth and economic vitality, it's going to take homegrown businesses leading the way. It's not going to happen by trying to recruit out-of-state industries into the region.

Daily Yonder has a post today that backs that supposition. It's about how North Carolina paid Dell a lot of money to locate a facility there, but now Dell is closing. Meanwhile, a locally grown company that got almost no government assistance is adding 600 jobs.

When are we going to halt public expenditures on the "buffalo hunt" for footloose industry and instead focus our resources and efforts on the sector that produces by far most of the jobs -- existing industry and homegrown business?

Note, that the author isn't against the kind of infrastructure development going on at the new agri-business park (though I know some of our conservative readers will take issue with the expenditure). He's talking about tax breaks and outright grants to bring in business.

The scholarly literature on incentives shows that they are a very poor investment of public resources. And, of course, the business sector has become expert at playing off one state against another in something akin to corporate extortion; and who can blame them?

Imagine if the South in general and North Carolina in particular had put all of the money spent on industrial recruitment into education, training and small business support. We would be watching even more Quintiles, Cree, PPD, Southern Seasons, Performance Bicycle and other homegrown entrepreneurial success stories all across North Carolina. And, although there are no silver bullets in economic development, homegrown businesses are more likely to stay put, invest in the local community, provide stable civic leadership and keep the control and wealth local instead of away at some remote corporate headquarters.

I continue to maintain that we need to find some way to spur more entrepreneurship, to encourage people already living and working here to take their great ideas and turn them into businesses. If we do invest (as taxpayers) in job growth (not saying we should, just if we do), it should be in businesses started locally, not in recruitment.

Local unemployment rate up slightly in October

Howard Owens — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:20:01 +0000

Genesee County's jobless rate continues to be a bit better than New York as a whole, but that's only looking at the glass as half full.

From the half-empty perspective, there were more people unemployed in Genesee County in October than there were in September.

The county's rate inched up from 7.1 percent to 7.3 percent. (full data from the state here)

Meanwhile, the state rate climbed to 9 percent.

The even less rosy number is the jump over the past year for Genesee County from a 5.2 percent unemployment rate to the current 7.3 percent.

Police Beat: Man accused of carrying switchblade knife

Howard Owens — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:05:50 +0000

Robert R. Davis, 48, 1355 Main Road, Corfu, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. On Nov. 15, the Sheriff's Office received a report of a reckless driver in the area of 8483 Allegheny Road. During the investigation, Deputy Howard Carlson came into contact with Davis and during the investigation, reportedly discovered a switchblade knife on Davis.

Do you think Attica police crossed a line in recruiting informants?

Howard Owens — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:58:36 +0000

GCC Christian Students United Blesses Other Students with Care-A-Van

Robin Walters — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:09:27 +0000

The Christian Students United Group of GCC came out tonight with Care-A-Van Ministries for our monthly visit to the college dorms. Pictured above is Jason and Charles f rom the CSU group with Sonara, who is a member of the GCC Cougars Women Basketball team.

We knocked on all 95 dorm rooms and offered cookies and prayer. Sonara's prayer request was that the team do well on their upcoming game this Saturday.

All students in the rooms were also given a personal invitation to attend the weekly meetings that the Christian Students United group has every Tuesday at 12:30 in room T122. This is a great time to share pizza and fellowship together.

There were many prayer requests this evening. The students are very thankful for the monthly visits , prayers and treats.

A special thanks to Jason, Alan and Charles from CSU for coming out with us tonight.

Go lady Cougars! Good luck Saturday!

Ray Ladd 16th Annual Pool Tournament at 400 Towers

Bea — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:05:12 +0000

Lou O'Geen, the 2008 Ray Ladd Memorial Pool Tournament champion, didn't get an opportunity to defend his title Saturday at this fall event held in the 400 Towers community room. Lou, a yearly participant, was home recovering from oral surgery.

Dan Gretzinger, Pat Larson, Carol Gozdziak and Joe Greene fell to the tournament leaders in double elimination play.

Joe Battaglia lost his bid for a trophy to Hank Larson. Larson finished third.

Bob Clark faced tournament leader, Dennis Meyers winning the first game but Meyers held on to win the top spot and bragging rights for the year.

Ray Ladd Jr. sponsors the event in memory of his father who was a long time resident of 400 Towers. Mr. Ladd was known for his sense of humor, his delicious apple spice cake, and for contributing to the neighborhood spirit of the 400 Towers' community.

Today's Deals: Delavan's, T.F. Brown's, Alex's, Center Street and more

Howard Owens — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:01:35 +0000

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, NY: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: T.F. Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. "If it happens in sports, it happens at Brown's." We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, NY: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Great Kutz, in the Valu Plaza, 4152 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Men, enjoy a $5 haircut again with this offer exclusive to The Batavian. (gift card can be applied toward other services, but not products).

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Margarita's Mexican Restaurant, 15 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: When you're looking for an authentic Mexican meal, Margarita's is the place to go. The food and atmosphere are perfect and the service is always outstanding.

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Settler's has a 25-year history of serving great, affordable breakfasts, lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

SOLD OUT

Abandonned/Empty Houses

Jennifer Keys — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:42:41 +0000

Why do you think we have so many abandonned houses in LeRoy?

What do you think should be done with the houses?

Judge tells embezzler: get help or go to prison

Billie Owens — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:29:58 +0000

Paul Ryan Tenney, who admitted back in September that he stole more than $106,000 from his employer, Elcon, Inc., has still not been sentenced for his crime.

He remains in jail without bail. This afternoon, Judge Robert Noonan gave the 39-year-old Tenney until Dec. 8 to find and secure financing for an in-patient drug-addiction treatment program. If he fails, the judge said he may be forced to "warehouse" Tenney in prison.

The one-time high school athletic star claims he's already completed an in-patient program as required. Trouble is, no one can find any proof of it. His attorney, Gary Horton, said he has no documentation, other than the statements of Tenney's friends and relatives.

Noonan said Tenney was stonewalling, and expressed a great deal of frustration with this case.

"I've tried to figure out how to wake you up to take charge of your life," Noonan said. "You've shown no backbone."

He said Tenney needs to stop making excuses and relying on his relatives for help.

"I could sentence you to five years in prison, but you'd just be five years older," Noonan said.

Tenney's criminal record certainly justifies doing that, the judge said, but numerous people in the community have vouched for Tenney and say he can be redeemed. He just needs to show the judge he is willing make the effort.