batavia

Press release:

The City of Batavia Democrat Committee has endorsed the following candidates:
 
THIRD WARD
Kathryn Balbick Bellamy – 5 Lewis Ave.

Katie is a graduate of Notre Dame High School and is the daughter of City Court Judge Robert Balbick and Jane Balbick. She grew up in Batavia and currently resides with her husband James and two children at 5 Lewis Ave. Katie has worked and is trained as a paralegal. A member of the City of Batavia Democrat Committee, Katie looks forward to representing and serving the residents of the Third Ward.

FOURTH WARD
Pierluigi Cipollone – 1 Union Square

An Italian born naturalized citizen, Pierluigi’s father brought his family to Batavia in 1960. We lived on the south side of Batavia. He attended St. Anthony’s Elementary School and Notre Dame High School.  He obtained an associate’s degree in Computer Science from GCC and moved on to receive a bachelor of technology degree in Computer Systems from Rochester Institute of Technology. A former employee of Xerox, Pierluigi has successfully started a small business here in Batavia.

FIFTH WARD
Kathy Briggs – 3 South Main St.

Incumbent City Councilwoman Kathy Briggs received the endorsement of the Democrat Party. Kathy is known for her constituent service and for working on the city budget that has erased a large shortfall over the past three years. Kathy has served the Fifth Ward for many years and has been instrumental in restoring fiscal responsibility to the city.

SIXTH WARD
Rosemary Christian – 29 William St.

A longtime advocate for her constituents and the residents of the Sixth Ward, and the longest serving council member, Rosemary Christian received the endorsement of the Democrat Party. She has worked as part of a cooperative measure amongst all council members to address the budget shortfall and measures relating to employee benefit costs.

Residents on Douglas Street in the city are confused about a seemingly new effort by a code enforcement officer to ticket them for parking, at least partially, on the grass.

That's illegal, but some residents spoke at Monday's city council meeting and said they've been doing it for years, if not decades, and never a peep before from city officials.

“(The city) is telling us that what a parkway is, is grass…or stone (between the road and sidewalk),” Barbara Shephard said. “And we can’t park in that parkway at all? We have to park in the road? It’s ridiculous.”

After a lengthy discussion that sometimes got heated, the council agreed to consider the matter at a future council conference meeting.

During the discussion, one resident was gaveled down by Council President Marianne Clattenburg.

According to WBTA:

“Leave it alone – now. And if you don’t: at the next meeting, I’m gonna be here,” Shephard sternly told the council. “Oh yeah. I’m gonna be here again, and I’ll be here all the time. Leave them alone, you understand?” Shephard’s stern delivery prompted Council President Marianne Clattenburg to ask Police Chief Randy Baker whether Shephard’s statements constituted a threat. When the Chief replied that they did, Clattenburg banged her gavel and cut Shephard off.

Genesee County volunteer firefighters were called to the scene early this morning of a tanker truck fire that claimed the life of the truck's driver in Barre, Orleans County.

The tanker was carrying ethanol and the fire reportedly spread quickly into the wooded area around the accident.

To fight an ethanol fire, fire fighters must use foam, so Genesee County units that have foam cabability were called to the scene.

Units responded from Town of Batavia, Elba, Byron and Oakfield, along with Genesee County Emergency Services Unit and the county's hazmat team.

The fire is now out and clean up work along is in progress.  

One Elba tanker along with the hazmat team and ESU remains on scene at this time. Emergency Coordinator Tim Yaeger said the remaining Genesee County personnel wlll be on scene yet for quite some time.

Above, Deputy Brian Thompson, K-9 "Pharoah" and Brian's son, Ethan, at the Target Store in Batavia.

This afternoon, Thompson and Pharoah, assisted by Ethan, put on some working dog demonstrations for store patrons. Typically, Pharoah would search for drugs, but a couple of times, Thompson let Pharoah pursue Ethan down the aisle (see photos below).  

Ethan, who graduated from high school Saturday, is in his last week working for Target, and his last week working for The Batavian, so store management let Ethan spend part of his workday today helping his dad with the demonstrations. Ethan is heading off for a one-year Christian education program in the Adirondacks.

For the first time since Batavia Police started conducting regular compliance checks of local liquor stores, to see if stores would make alcohol sales to minors, the stores in the city were in 100-percent compliance with the law, according to Det. Richard Schauf.

He said that even though store owners were given a warning through media reports, in the past, when warnings were also given, compliance was less than 100 percent.

The compliance check is funded by a GCASA grant and involves potential underage alcohol buyers entering liquor stores and attempting to make a purchase.

Liquor store staff is required to do an ID check on buyers and in the past, such checks did not happen with each and every attempted purchase.

"These results verify that compliance checks have raised the awareness of the community and its commitment to keeping our community safe," Schauf said.

Shortly after 4:30 p.m., Suzanne Corona, who has been involved in previous criminal cases that made news, walked into the Target store on Veterans Memorial Drive.

Dressed in a gray jacket and blue jeans, she carried a bag over to customer service and pulled out two clothing items for exchange. After showing a receipt for the purchase, she received a handful of cash and put it in her purse.

Corona then walked past a local reporter, a Sheriff's Deputy and his K-9 and the store's asset protection manager, seemingly avoiding eye contact as she proceeded to the jewelry counter.

The asset protection manager, alerted her security staff. She said, "We have her on camera."

The reporter left the store, thinking, "what could possibly happen with a deputy, a K-9, and an asset protection manager right here?"

About five minutes later, Corona reportedly left the store and began to run into the parking lot, calling out, according to witness Brandon Maldonado, "Bruce, Bruce, I'm over here."

Two other people reported seeing Corona duck in between cars and Deputy Brian Thompson with K-9 "Pharoah" exited the store in pursuit of Corona. Thompson later said he glanced over at Maldonado, whose direction of gaze told him where Corona appeared to be hiding.

Thompson said that when he apprehended Corona, he found the allegedly stolen merchandise, perfume, on her.

Corona was returned to the store where she was arrested on a petit larceny charge.

A short time later, Thompson was called back outside to check on a car with Florida license plates. Inside the car, additional merchandise was found that might have come from other local stores and Thompson said there will be an investigation into whether those items were also stolen.

The car reportedly belongs to Corona's brother.

The man who was with the car was released. It's not believed that he was involved in, or had any knowledge of, any alleged thefts.

Corona was then transported to Genesee County Jail for processing.

In June 2009, Corona was arrested in Farrall Park and accused of public lewdness and adultery. The adultery charge made the case somewhat of an international sensation for a short time. Later, Corona was accused of trashing the buffet at South Beach and of shoplifting from a local floral shop.

The adultery charge was dropped as part of a plea arrangement and in November 2010 she was placed on one-year probation. In March, in relation to the shoplifting case, she was referred to the Mental Health Court. 

(initial report)

For previous coverage of Corona, click here.

UPDATE 10:07 p.m.: The Sheriff's Office has issued its press release on Suzanne Marie Corona's arrest. Corona allegedly tried to exit the store and when she did, the anti-theft alarm sounded. She then allegedly attempted to flee. She allegedly attempted to steal two pair of sunglasses, a hair band and a necklace, not perfume as we originally reported.

Photo of Corona outside target this afternoon submitted by a reader. Copyright 2011 by the reader. All rights reserved.

Batavia resident Suzanne Corona, 43, is in the security office at Target, being held on suspicion of shoplifting.

Within the past half hour or so, Corona is alleged to have ran from the store, allegedly carrying merchandise some perfume, and yelling "Bruce, Bruce, I'm over here!" before ducking down and supposedly trying to hide among the parked vehicles, according to witness Brandon Maldonado.

After causing a commotion and exiting the store, she was apprehended by Sheriff's Deputy Brian Thompson, who was in the store at the time doing a K-9 demonstration with "Pharoah."

Dispatch was notified that "Ms. Corona" was being detained and an officer sent to take a statement.

Corona's past brushes with local law enforcement include allegations of shopping from a local florist, trashing a lunch buffet and engaging in a sexual encounter at a public park.

(The name of the perfume has not been disclosed.)

UPDATE 10:09 p.m.: It was not perfume as we were originally told, but Corona allegedly attempted to steal two pair of sunglasses, a hair band and a necklace.

Daniel William Tuerk, 25, of Genesee Street, Corfu, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Tuerk was arrested after reportedly trying to proceed through an accident scene on East Main Street, Corfu, at 12:58 a.m., Saturday.

Earl Bryan Benson, 22, of Chestnut Street, Batavia, is charged with felony DWI and refusal to submit to breath test. Benson was reportedly found asleep in a vehicle at 2 a.m., Sunday, parked at 64 S. Main St., Elba. Sgt. Brian Friday made the arrest after an investigation revealed that Benson allegedly drove drunk to that location. Benson was jailed on $1,000 bail.

name redacted, 18, of 36 Dellinger Ave., Batavia and Jordon E. Terkel, 21, of 76 E. Main St., Corfu, are charged with unlawful dealing with a child, 1st, and endangering the welfare of a child. xxx and Terkel are accused of supplying alcohol to two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old on May 28.

Jason Warren Spencer, 25 of Church Street, Le Roy, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and harassment, 2nd. Spencer is accused of being involved in an unspecified incident alleged to have occurred early Saturday morning.

Eugeno Nunez-Gomez, 22, of Hundredmark Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, drving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right, unregistered motor vehicle, improper/switched plates. Nunez-Gomez was stopped at 1:12 a.m., Sunday, in the area of 5800 Transit Road, Elba, by Deputy Frank Bordonaro.

James Daniel Kavanagh, 21, of North Avenue, Le Roy, is charged with assault, 3rd. Kavanagh is accused of being involved in a fight at an address on Main Road, Stafford, in which he injured another person.  

Jason Paul Schaefer, 19, of Martin Road, Clarence Center, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Schaefer is accused at being at the Phish concert June 8 while another person he is barred from being near was also at the concert. Schaefer then allegedly got into a verbal altercation, allegedly violating the order of protection.

Matthew F. Vanbuskirk, 22, of 108 Myrtle St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and having non-transparent side windows. Vanbuskirk was stopped Saturday by a Le Roy Police patrol.

Lena Marie Evans, 23, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Evans was allegedly found in possession of narcotics during a check the welfare complaint at 8:32 p.m., Friday.

Ryan Christopher Riggi, 16, of Transit Road, Elba, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st. Riggi allegedly violated an order of protection after reportedly pushing a caseworker on a home visit. Riggi was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Kevin James Huston, 27, of Brooklyn Avenue, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Huston is accused of claiming rewards and discounts from Kmart he was not entitled to obtain.

Evan Charles Burstein, 24, of Sunset Hills Road, Reston, Va., is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Burstein was reportedly found by Darien Lake security wandering around the theme park in an intoxicated condition. Upon investigation by Deputy Chad Minuto, he was allegedly found in possession of Clonazepam tablets outside their original container and a quantity of marijuana. Burstein was jailed on $250 bail.

John Mitchell Irish, 29, of Dartmouth Street, Rochester, is charged with felony DWI. Irish was allegedly involved in a car vs. pedestrian accident on Sumner Road, Darien, at 12:26 a.m., June 9. Irish was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Jessica R. Johns, 28, of 120 Jackson St., Batavia, is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, 3rd. Johns is accused of taking the car of an acquaintance without permission on June 9. Johns was located on June 10 and the car was returned reportedly undamaged.

Jason Schafer, 23, of Geneseo, is accused of evading cigarette taxes. Schafer was allegedly found in possession of 2,000 untaxed cigarettes.

After visiting with Kyle on the public banks of the Tonawanda, I pointed my bike down Walnut Street and then headed down Law Street. When I got to the point where I'd again cross the Tonawanda, I spotted the daisies above and stopped for a picture.

The Tonawanda made a nice background for this single stem of grass.

A small yellow flower growing on the bank of the Tonawanda (can anybody identify it?)

Back on Jackson Street: Every year, I stop at least once to admire this rose bush. I can't identify the variety, but I'm pretty sure it is some sort of old world/heirloom rose.  

Earlier today, reader Kyle Couchman posted a comment about seeing a man chase a group of boys who were fishing from the banks of the Tonawanda Creek, near the Walnut Street footbridge.

The man, according to Couchman, claimed he owned the bit of creek bank the boys were on.

But according to the County's GIS parcel map, just about every inch of the Tonawanda Creek is public property.

Its path through the city is owned by Batavia and includes a few feet of creek bank (and in some places, such as near the footbridge, it includes slightly more).

Of course, that doesn't mean you can trespass on private property to get to the banks, but if you are on the banks, you're on public property.

This evening, for my bike ride, I thought I'd go to the spot Kyle described and guess who I found fishing there? That's Kyle above, rod in hand, and bragging that he'd already snagged a couple of nice fish. But nobody had tried chasing him off, either.

The summer doesn't officially begin in Batavia until the Resurrection Parish Lawn Fete and Parade.  The weather was near perfect yesterday and a large crowd turned out for the fun and the food.

Another 50 or so pictures after the jump.

 

The video is of Marissa Diescher, pitcher for Livingston Manor, a Gatorade Player of the Year with a full-ride scholarship to Penn State. 

Her fastball can clock at 67 mph, which she mixes with a change up, rise and drop.

After taking a semi-finals game 16-0 earlier today against a pitcher who threw 15 to 20 mph slower, Notre Dame Coach Rick Mancuso said his Fighting Irish team was a little out of rhythm to start the game.

He also he made a mistake in the first inning, calling the wrong pitch, which led to a home run for Livingston Manor and a 2-0 deficit. 

It was all up hill from there, with Notre Dame only getting two base runners on no hits and dropping the final 8-0.

"It was a great trip and I couldn't be prouder of the girls," Mancuso said. "We had a great time down here. It was awesome."

He said even in being no hit, the Notre Dame girls were pleased to get a chance to compete against a player of Diescher's caliber.

The Notre Dame girls softball team won its semi-final championship game in Glens Falls today by a score of 16-0.

The team will begin a game within the hour to decide the state champion in its class.

Valle Jewelers is celebrating its 60th year in business today with sales, prize drawings and refreshments. There was a good number of people in the store this morning when we stopped by.

Previously: Three generations and 60 years later, Valle family business still sparkles

The cafeteria at John Kennedy School was transported back in time today to the 1950s, when Beatniks ruled the poetry world.

The second grade class dressed in tie-die and berets for poetry readings and multi-media presentations for an audience of parents and teachers.

Not all of the poets represented in the readings were Beats, but the list included Shel Silverstein, Langston Hughes, John Gardner, Vachel Lindsay and Jeff Foxworthy.

Guest readers included Superintendent Margaret Puzio and school Principle Mr. Kesler.

The annual event was organized by second-grade teachers Ms. Mancuso, Mrs. Hallman and Mrs. Calandra. 

Pictured above are five of the students who participated, Juan Martinez, James Cooley, Ben Skalny, Haylee Thornley and Clair Griffith.

UPDATED 3:26 p.m., with clarification of a quote.

In the interest of justice, the aggravated harassment in the second-degree charges filed against political activist Chris Charvella should be dropped, Charvella's attorney argued in Town of Batavia Court this morning.

The hearing was prompted by the defense's motion to dismiss the case.

"If you allow this case to go forward, what is the public going to think?" Charvella's attorney, E. Robert Fussell, told Justice Mike Cleveland. "Are they going to trust a system where a politician is allowed to call the police and have a political opponent silenced?"

Assistant District Attorney Melissa Cianfrini, representing the people, argued that the case against Charvella is neither political nor does it conflict with the First Amendment.

The case is entirely about Charvella's conduct, Cianfrini argued. The key question is whether that conduct violates the harassment, 2nd, statute against making phone calls with no legitimate purpose.

Charvella is accused of placing a phone call to Legislator Jay Grasso and leaving a message on his answering machine. The message said, "Thank you for reading my blog."

Cianfrini argued that the message had no legitimate purpose and taken within the context of comments made by Charvella on The Batavian and on his own blog, constitutes an attempt to threaten and intimidate Grasso.

"What Mr. Charvella did was serious," Cianfrini said. "It wasn't a light moment. He wasn't trying to be funny. It was serious and if you look at the whole body of conduct, it is serious."

In order for the case to be considered serious, Fussell argued, the conduct of Charvella would have to be seen by a reasonable person as intimidating. Just because the alleged victim, he argued, felt alarmed doesn't mean the conduct is in fact harassing.

"Mr. Grasso is either an exceptionally sensitive person who is easily frightened, or he is acting to shut out Mr. Charvella from the political process," Fussell said. 

A key fact disputed during the hearing was the timing of the phone message in relation to a post Charvella did with a picture of an Ewok with the caption, "Prepare your anus."

Cianfrini said the posting of the picture followed by the phone message was clear evidence that Charvella intended to intimidate Grasso.

Fussell countered that the Ewok picture was posted after the phone call, so Grasso could not have seen the picture before getting the phone message.  

To which Cianfrini replied that if that's the case, Charvella's conduct potentially constituted a threat.

Fussell quickly replied that Charvella hadn't been charged with such a crime.

"If those are the facts that come out at trial, the people reserve the right to file that charge," Cianfrini said. "He's on notice."

A few times during the oral arguments, Cianfrini made the point that Grasso wasn't acting in his capacity as a sitting legislator, so the First Amendment didn't apply to the case.

The events around the case were entirely personal, Cianfrini argued, and not about politics or anything Grasso did as a government official.

"That’s what the First Amendment deals with, the government not politics  the placement of a political sign or personal conflicts," Cianfrini said.*

And even if it is a political issue, Cianfrini said, the case isn't about the content of any postings or messages. It's about Charvella's conduct, which Cianfrini argued, was clearly intended to intimidate and harass Grasso, causing him to feel alarmed.

One key piece of evidence not available in the case, Fussell complained, is the phone message itself. The recording was not preserved.

Fussell said the recording would provide important context to the message -- what was Charvella's tone of voice? Was it threatening? Was it humorous? 

It's hard to believe, Fussell said, given Grasso's background in law enforcement, that he didn't know to preserve the evidence.

Cianfrini said Grasso's law enforcement training is irrelevant to the case and that the recording is not needed since Charvella doesn't dispute the fact that he left the message.

As the oral arguments before Justice Cleveland wore down, the tensions between the attorneys intensified.

A couple of times near the close, Fussell made the point that if the case goes forward, Charvella will incur significant legal expenses (Charvella has already spent $7,000 on the case) while Grasso is getting the services of Cianfrini for free.

"That's not accurate, you're honor," Cianfrini said. "I take exception to that remark, I represent the people of the State of New York and I can't stand here and let that go on the record."

*NOTE: Quote clarified after further discussion with Melissa Cianfrini. 

It's Studio Day at Robert Morris School -- a day when community members come into the school to share what they know with students, whether it be about fire fighting, skating, mask making, tennis or just having fun.

Teacher Liz Mundell said the day exposes students to career options, different kinds of hobbies or a chance for a little extra play.

"It's a different way for them to learn rather than just what they would find in a book," Mundell said.

The Notre Dame girls softball team has a chance to play for the state championship this saturday and students and faculty gathered in the school's gym this morning to give the girls a rousing send-off.

The team plays in a state championship semi-finals game at 11:30 a.m. in Glens Falls on Saturday. If they win that game, they'll play in the finals at 4:30 p.m.

The team is coached by Rick Mancuso.

It's always fun to take pictures of musicians playing live and so with Kay McMahon, Jim Catino and Bill MacDonald laying down some countrified grooves on the patio of Larry's Steakhouse this evening, I thought I should stop by.

The trio plays an acoustic set at Larry's each Thursday through the summer.

And Bill wanted me to remind everybody that the Ramble Music and Arts Fest is coming. Mark your calendars for July 2.