Sun & Record/Wayne County Mail

02/02/2026

Newark Motorcycle Officer William Den Decker and Chief William Scheerens (NPD Chief 1942-53).

02/01/2026

COLLEGE SPORTS WRAP
By John Addyman

For Feb 1 26

Bless the highway departments and the bus drivers who made it possible for most college sports activities to actually happen over the last week. What a challenge navigating the snow, ice, wind and polar temperatures to get young athletes to basketball games, swim meets, track invitationals and volleyball games.
This was an extra-big week for track and field, and our local pole vaulters – Ben VanVranken and Oren Welch – really came through. Sprinters Sam Belmont, Jack DeFeo, Michael Prentice and Landon Wertz did just fine. Norah Keeney is proving herself an up-and-coming hammer thrower. Distance runners Brynita Haas and Lexi Rodriguez were outstanding. And Quillan Shimp is flexing all his muscles in the heptathlon.
In basketball, Takyla Vaughn is pouring in points and keeping her team respectable. Anna Baker and AJ Merced are cutting the biggest wakes in the pool.

TRACK & FIELD

Nazareth University invited area athletes to its Conference Challenge Cup track and field meet on Saturday.
Alfred State College sophomore pole vaulter Ben VanVranken (Red Creek/APW) came in second in the event (4.45 meters). Junior Charis Evans (Red Creek) finished 37th in the 60-meter hurdles (12.02) and sophomore Ethan Hanford (Red Creek) was 53rd in the 400-meter dash (56.28).
Fredonia State junior Aiden VanAmburg (Clyde-Savannah) came in fourth in the 200-meter dash (22.95) and was 19th in the 400-meter dash (51.70).
Sam Belmont (Williamson), a junior at Geneseo State, claimed third place in the 400-meter dash (49.18) and ran the outbound first leg of the winning 4-by-200 relay (3:18.51). Sophia Barclay (Pal-Mac), another junior, ran to a fourth place in the 400 meters (1:00.09) and was seventh in the 60-meter hurdles (9.77). The Knights were overall winners of the Conference Challenge Cup.
Hartwick College senior Brynita Haas (Red Creek) covered a lot of laps – she finished 13th in the 3000 meters (11:11.01) and was 11th in the 5000 meters (19:06.57). Junior teammate Julia Weinscheider (Williamson) finished 23rd in the 5000 meters (20:45.90) and anchored the 14th-place 4-by-400 relay (5:07.28).
Jack DeFeo (North Rose-Wolcott), a junior sprinter at Rochester Institute of Technology, scored second-place finishes in the 200 meters (22.68) and the 400 meters (48.83) to help lead the Tigers to a second-place finish in the Conference Challenge Cup.
St. Bonaventure junior Kylie Paylor (Clyde-Savanah) ran to a 24th-place finish in the 3000 meters (11:37.47). Freshman teammate Gwendolyn Tompkins (North Rose-Wolcott) ran the second leg of the sixth-place 4-by-200 relay (1:55.75) and anchored the 12th-place 4-by-400 relay (4:55.46).
Oren Welch (Marion), a sophomore at St. John Fisher, took second in the pole vault (4.60 meters). Teammate Michael Prentice (Wayne Central), another sophomore, ran the second lap of the second-place 4-by-400 relay (3:25.08 – a post-season qualifying time) and was 20th in the 400-meter dash (52.38). Yet another sophomore, Landon Wertz (Marion), came in 10th in the 800 meters (2:01.06) and teamed with Michael on the 4-by-400.
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Saturday was the first day of competition at the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational track and field meet.
Brockport State grad student Vanessa Ramos (Wayne Central) came in 38th in the 800 meters (2:45.99). Senior Lexi Rodriguez (Williamson) anchored the eighth-place 4-by-400 relay (4:14.25) and was 16th in the 60-meter hurdles first round in 10.16 seconds.
Oneonta State freshman Lilly Jacobs (Williamson) finished 52nd in the mile (6:05.80).
In the men’s seven-event heptathlon, University of Rochester junior Quillan Shimp (Clyde-Savannah) was in 11th place after the first four events: he finished third in the 60-meter hurdles (8.68), eighth in the shot put (32-6.5), 10th in the high jump (5-6.5) and was 14th in the long jump (18-11.25). Competition continued into today.
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Penn State/Behrend sophomore Norah Keeney (Wayne Central) placed ninth in the hammer throw (38-1.5) at the Mount Union Jim Wuske Collegiate Invitational on Saturday.
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Roberts Wesleyan junior Jessica Montemorano (Clyde-Savannah) placed 48th in the mile (5:44.79) at the Youngstown State Mid-Major Invitational on Friday.

BASKETBALL

Penn State/Behrend men’s basketball clobbered Alfred State on Wednesday, 68-45, then got scuttled by Pitt/Greensburg on Saturday, 55-67. The Lions now sport a 14-6 record (10-1 AMCC).
Senior starting guard Mason Blankenberg (Wayne Central) scored six points and had five rebounds and an assist in the win, dropped in 11 points with four more rebounds and another assist in the loss.
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Fredonia State women’s basketball used a fourth-quarter scoring explosion to power past Morrisville State on Tuesday, 69-63, then got edged by Buffalo State on Friday, 64-69. Sophomore starting guard Ashley Kalvitis (Macedon/Penfield) scored three points, made four assists and snagged two rebounds in the Morrisville win. She had six assists in the Buff State game, scored four points, grabbed two rebounds and made a steal. The Blue Devils are 11-7 (6-5 SUNYAC).
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Freshman starting forward Takyla Vaughn (Newark) scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds but it wasn’t enough on Saturday when she and her Mohawk Valley Community College teammates lost to Onondaga CC, 57-67. The Hawks are 9-6.

Alfred University women’s basketball got three games in during the week, losing all of them – to Houghton University on Tuesday, 51-85, to Elmira College on Friday, 50-67, and to Keuka College on Saturday, 51-57.
Sophomore junior Madison Dohse (Gananda) grabbed a rebound and made an assist versus Houghton, collected two rebounds in the Elmira loss, and against Keuka had her best game – four rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. The Saxons are 9-11 (3-8 Empire 8).
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Corning Community College women’s basketball got skunked by Onondaga CC on Wednesday, 62-84, but came back on Saturday to get past Hudson Valley Community College, 58-43. Freshman center Kayla Bellefontaine (Marion) had one rebound in the Onondaga loss; we have no box score from the HVCC win. The Red Barons are 6-7.
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Ithaca College’s women are 6-14 after dropping three games last week – 68-70 to SUNY Polytechnic on Tuesday, 37-53 to Nazareth on Friday, and 58-69 to St. John Fiisher on Saturday. Freshman guard Jayla Bell (Lyons) scored three points and added an assist against Poly, and had one each (rebound, blocked shot, steal and assist) versus Nazareth.

SWIMMING

Cortland State men’s swimming competed at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Memorial Invitational on Saturday. Freshman diver Kenzie Wilck (Newark) finished fifth in the one-meter event (190.30) and was sixth off the three-meter board (163.90).
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Junior Matt Cole (North Rose-Wolcott) and his Hartwick College teammates finished second at the Vassar College Sprint Invitational swim meet on Saturday. He started by swimming the third leg of the seventh-place 4-by-200 relay (1:54.43), then placed fifth in the 500 free (5:13.49), sixth in the 400 individual medley (4:46.55) and seventh in the 200 free (1:59.44).
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Swimmers from Roberts Wesleyan and Genesee Community College were in the pool on Saturday. Redhawk freshman Hayden Smith (Pal-Mac) was fourth in the 25 breaststroke (13.76), fifth in the 25 butterfly (12.53) and swam the first leg of the fourth-place 200 free relay (1:40.84). Freshman teammate AJ Merced (Newark) came in second in the 200 free (1:54.37) and the 100 individual medley (59.23), and anchored the second-place 200 free relay (1:39.00).
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Oswego State women’s swimming dominated Potsdam State on Saturday, 191-55 in a dual meet. Laker senior Anna Baker (Ontario/Webster Shroeder) swam the first leg of the winning 400 free relay (4:02.89), won the 200 breaststroke (2:40.87), swam the third leg of the second-place 200 medley relay (2:03.57) and claimed a second place in the 200 free (2:10.01).
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William Smith College lost a dual meet to RIT, 118-137. In the pool for the Herons was Bria Romano (Lyons), a junior, who finished fifth in the 200 breaststroke (3:13.85) and seventh in the 100 breast (1:28.87), and ended her day by swimming the third leg of the fourth-place 200 free relay (1:58.25).

WRESTLING

Brockport State wrestlers traveled to Worcester, MA for the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Quad Meet, losing to the hosts, 20-22, but getting wins over New England College, 51-3, and the University of Southern Maine, 40-10. Golden Eagle freshman Vernon Jinks (Lyons), was pinned by WPI’s Sean Callanan in the first period of their bout at 157 pounds.

VOLLEYBALL

Hilbert College lined up game with four opponents and lost them all – 1-3 to Elmira on Wednesday, 0-3 to Hiram College on Friday, and 0-3 to Geneva College and Grove City College on Saturday. Senior outside hitter Garyson Gaud (Walworth/Monroe) registered a kill and a service ace against Elmira, had two kills versus Geneva and registered no stats against Grove City. The Hawks are 1-5.

01/31/2026

DiNapoli: Federal Actions Threaten New York's Farms and Food Production

ALBANY, Jan 27 26 -- New York farmers are under increasing economic and financial pressure because of federal policy changes, including higher tariffs, cuts to certain agricultural programs, and stricter immigration enforcement policies, according to a report released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. These challenges could diminish farm production, squeeze profits, and lead to higher prices for consumers.
“There is real concern in rural New York about federal cuts, tariffs and labor shortages,” said DiNapoli. “New York’s farms are a vital part of the state’s economy and our local food supply, and we need policies that strengthen, not undermine their production and that lower, not drive up, prices in the grocery store.”
Agriculture is an important part of the state’s economy. New York’s 30,650 farms contributed nearly $3 billion to the state’s gross domestic product in 2022 and employed or supported 163,148 jobs in 2019. However, DiNapoli’s report identified impacts to the financial viability of family farms in the state from recent federal actions.

USDA Funding

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) assists farmers through grants, subsidies, loans and technical support. In 2022, 3,275 farms in New York received $66.3 million in direct federal payments, excluding crop insurance payments. In addition, the state received $382 million in USDA payments from three major programs, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency and Rural Development. These programs fund a wide variety of projects on and off the farm, including housing, community water systems, renewable energy projects, guaranteed farm loans, conservation reserve programs and technical assistance for environmental projects. Nearly every county in New York receives assistance from at least one of the programs.
DiNapoli’s report breaks down changes to federal funding for agriculture, including reductions over 10 years of $1.8 billion for conservation and $150 million to forestry programs, and a cut of $84 million in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2026 appropriations for the Farm Service Agency. While some commodities and crop insurance programs will receive increased funding, these changes are likely to have limited impact in New York. New York’s dairy sector may be the only local commodity to see a significant benefit since most programs are geared toward crops like sugar, wheat and cotton not widely grown in New York. Inflation, coupled with flat funding for other programs, may undermine USDA’s support for farmers and rural communities in New York.
In addition, the decrease in funding for nutritional assistance programs will mean less money spent at grocery stores, farmers markets and for purchases by food banks, resulting in a loss of markets for farms.

Tariffs

Tariffs are impacting farmers, affecting their ability to sell their products around the world, and increasing the cost of supplies and equipment for farms that already operate on thin margins. New York dairy exports declined by as much as 12% in the first half of 2025 vs. 2024, and U.S. soybean sales to China dropped from 985 million bushels in 2024 to 218 million in the first eight months of 2025.
DiNapoli’s report found that prices have climbed for imported fertilizers, steel and farm equipment. In July, the National Corn Growers Association found that fertilizer prices had increased from the first of the year between 4.7% and 37.6%, depending on the type of fertilizer. Increased uncertainty around markets and production costs makes it tougher for farmers to plan for future growing seasons.

Immigration

New York farms employed more than 56,000 people in 2022, excluding contract farm laborers, according to the USDA. Many of the workers are immigrants who plant and pick crops and work with farm animals. In 2023, nearly 10,000 were employed through the seasonal H2A federal guest worker visa program, but New York’s Agriculture Commissioner estimates as many as half of the farm labor workforce in the state was undocumented in 2018.
Recent immigration enforcement has been a concern for many farmers, especially those in the dairy industry. Even the U.S. Department of Labor recognizes this as a serious issue for the nation’s food supply, saying there could be significant disruptions to production costs and it threatens the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S consumers.
The report noted that the loss of farm employees at crucial points in the growing season, or in the case of dairy farms, at any point in the year, could devastate individual farms.

01/29/2026

Your Wanted Wednesday post.

01/29/2026

Williamson Central School Alumni of Distinction award ceremony & recognition celebration   Reception: May 7, 2026 Assembly: May 2026 - TBD Williamson, NY RSVP Nominate a WCS Alumni About The Award WCS Alumni inspire students and community members every day. This recognition assembly and evening cel...

01/29/2026

01/29/2026

01/29/2026

01/29/2026

Have you been thinking about a job with New York State, but need more information? This workshop takes place in Newark on February 5th!

01/29/2026

Did you know that tugboats did more than just pull ships? In many places around the Great Lakes, tugboats would break the ice on frozen-over water like Sodus Bay to keep commercial routes running. During the cold weather this week, imagine crashing through the ice on one of these hardworking boats!

01/29/2026

NEW - EXTENDED DATE!
To apply, click below
https://www.waynecountyny.gov/394/Examination-Schedule

01/29/2026

The Rochester Regional Health Mammogram Bus will be at Sodus Community Health 3/31, 6/25, 8/26, and 11/11! Call or (585)922-PINK for an appointment or just stop by!