batavia

When it comes to ringing in the new year, there will be no shortage of good food and fun times in Batavia.

From special menus to live music, Batavia's restaurants and taverns are inviting residents to join friends, family and neighbors in saying goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011.

The festivities start early at O'Lacy's on School Street, where everybody's favorite Irish pub will celebrate the flip of the calendar on Dublin time.

O'Lacy's will have an Irish band playing from 5 to 8 p.m., with a break at 7 p.m. -- that's midnight in Dublin -- to toast in the New Year. The pub closes promptly at 9 p.m.

But no worries, the party can continue all night in Batavia. Just around the corner and within a block are Center Street Smoke House and T.F. Brown's.

At Center Street, you can put your glad rags on and bop in your suede shoes to the rockabilly twang of Kickstart Rumble from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. There will be free pizza at 1 a.m.

At T.F. Brown's, the rock band In Plain View plays from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. On the special dinner menu are twin center-cut pork chops in a honey glaze and a surf-and-turf for two that features two 16-oz. sirloin steaks, shrimp, mashed potatoes and a side salad.

There will also be live music at South Beach from 6 to 9 p.m. with John Canale and a three-piece jazz band. For dinner, there will be a buffet, with the kitchen open until 11 p.m., and the bar will be open as late as there are customers to serve.

Delavan's will also keep the bar open as late as there are people buying drinks. The kitchen closes at 9 p.m. and on the special New Year's Eve menu are chicken Oscar, seafood-stuffed haddock and lobster ravioli.

Larry's Steakhouse will feature oysters Rockefeller and the featured steak is a 22-oz. cowboy-cut, bone-in ribeye served with a garlic peppercorn crust. The surf-and-turf is prime rib and lobster tail.

Alex's Place will serve dinner until 11 p.m. and stay open until at least midnight. The featured items are braised lamb shanks and crusted sea bass. Of course, ribs, steaks and prime rib as well as a selection of seafood are always on the menu.

Outside of Batavia, if you were thinking Red Osier, well, let's hope you already have your reservations. The legendary restaurant is booked through 9:30 p.m.

In Le Roy, D&R Depot's kitchen is open until 9 p.m. and will feature a Chateaubriand for two, carved table side.

Of course, if you're out drinking, you shouldn't drive. 

Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble offered good advice: "Plan ahead."  If you don't have a designated driver, at least have the number of a friend who can pick you up if you drink more than planned. 

There are three local cab services: Batavia Cab Co. 343-5130; Mike's Taxi Service 343-3309; and Checker Cab of Batavia 300-9376.

If you really want to plan ahead, Mancuso Limousine can still accommodate three more reservations (at the time of writing). If somebody finds themselves stuck at a bar or restaurant after midnight, there is a chance Mancuso could provide a ride (for a fee, of course). Mancuso can be reached at 343-1947.

The parents, students, teachers, friends, administrators and neighbors of Robert Morris Elementary School in Batavia need your vote now more than ever in order to win a $50,000 grant from Pepsi.

They want to build a new playground. They are in 14th place and need to get into the Top 10 by Jan. 2 in order to win.

You can text a vote to Pepsi (73774) and in the message put 104607.

Ricky Allen Marsceill, 46, of 174 Ross St., Batavia, is accused of being a fugitive from justice. Marsceill was arrested by Batavia Police Det. Pat Corona on a warrant out of Florida. The underlying charge of the Florida warrant was not released. At 1:10 p.m., Wednesday, Corona approached Marsceill's residence on Ross Street and spotted Marsceill on a bicycle. Marsceill allegedly tried to flee on foot. Corona pursued Marsceill and Officer Jay Andrews responded to the scene. Marsceill was apprehended by Corona and Andrews on Manhatten Avenue. Marsceill was jailed without bail pending extradition to Florida. (Initial Report)

Randy K. Braun, 48, of Maier Lane, Caledonia, is charged with DWI, failure to keep right, moving from lane unsafely and uninspected vehicle. At 9:04 p.m., Wednesday, Deputy Matthew Butler responded to Route 63 in Bethany to investigate a report of a car off the road in a ditch. Braun was allegedly found to be the driver of the vehicle. He was arrested on suspicion of DWI and jailed on $1,000 bail.

Vesna Brongo, 41, of Cadillac Avenue, Rochester, was arrested on a warrant for alleged aggravated unlicensed operation. Brongo was taken into custody by Rochester Police and turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Brongo was arraigned in Town of Elba Court and jailed on $250 bail.

A 14-year-old boy from Byron is charged with criminal sexual act with a child 11 years old or younger and endangering the welfare of a child. The name of the suspect was not released by State Police. The crime was reported Dec. 21. No further details were released.

A Batavia Police officer notified dispatch that he was stopping at an address on Ross Street to arrest a subject on a warrant.

Seconds later, he called in that he was on foot pursuit of the suspect.

Two or three Batavia units immediately responded to the scene.

Within a minute, the officer called in that he had apprehended the suspect at the intersection of Ellsworth and Manhattan.

The suspect is now being transported to BPD to be turned over to the warrant officer.

After a decade of giving financial advice as a staff member of other firms, Batava-native Marc Staley has decided it is time to strike out on his own.

He planted a big flag downtown -- signing a lease in a former bank building at the corner of Jackson and Main streets (most recently the location of the former House of K) -- and signed on as a financial advisor for LPL Financial, one the largest investment firms in the nation.

"I believe in this area," said Staley, who is also a hockey coach at Notre Dame High School. "While other firms are pulling out, I wanted to stay and work."

The 37-year-old Staley is married to a local teacher, Erin, and they have two children, Helaina, 3, and Luke, 1.

"We love this community," Staley said. "I've had the chance to go to other places, but my wife and I decided that this is the place we want to live. This is where we want to raise our kids, so I have to build my career around that decision. That's non-negotiable for me."

When he decided to open his own brokerage, he decided to represent LPL Financial because the company has a strong reputation -- ranked by J.D. Power as number one in customer satisfaction for investment performance and number two for customer satisfaction for investment advice -- and the firm's ability to provide a range of advice to big investors and small, just-starting-out investors.

"Folks are leery of Wall Street right now and investing in general," Staley said. "I wanted to make sure I partnered with a company that represents Main Street more than Wall Street -- one that helps me deliver world class independent research, state-of-the-art technology, and the freedom to deliver to my clients what they need.

"Even though this is a new endeavor for me, I work for the same people I’ve always worked for -- my clients," he added.

While LPL Financial was tops in the nation (for Independent Broker Dealers) in revenue in 2009, Staley acknowledges that a lot of people in this area may not have heard of the firm.

"I feel a little like the guy who brought the Tim Horton's to town at first," Staley said. "For a lot of people, this is the first time they're hearing of LP Financial."

Even so, after opening for business at the beginning of December, Staley said he's had a steady flow of new clients walk through his doors -- exceeding his first-month goals. In part, that's the location, but also, Staley said, he's been around town a long time and a lot of people know him.

He picked the location, he said, because he plans to grow and be around for a long time.

A low-hanging wire that is arcing has been reported in the area of Main Street and Porter Avenue.

There have apparently been some power issues at the pump house on Main Street.

At the same time, there's a fire alarm at the Blind School on Washington Avenue. The school attributes the alarm to a power fluctuation. 

City Ladder 15 is responding to Main Street. Engine 12 is going to the Blind School as a precaution.

UPDATE 8:20 a.m.: There is a sort of low-hanging wire, but nothing arcing, and it's not impeding traffic, City Fire reports. National Grid being called in to check the wire. Also, Engine 12 cleared the Blind School.

It wasn't just sleigh bells you heard ringing in the days before Christmas. It was also cash registers.

Downtown merchants say they are quite pleased with their 2010 holiday season and hope it means there are good things to come in 2011.

"The numbers aren't official, but it was probably our strongest Christmas in a couple of years," said Greg Gluck, owner of Alberty Drugs. "It was certainly better than last year and probably better than the year before, which is probably a good sign for everyone."

Besides filling prescriptions, Alberty sells gift items and greeting cards.

Owners of The Enchanted Florist, Charles Men's Shop, Glass Roots, Adam Miller Toy & Bicycles, Valle Jewelers and 3D Wine and Spirits all say sales were up a bit this year, though nobody is saying "Wow, I can't believe how great it was!"

But any improvement over the past few years is a welcome sign that at last some people have money to spend and they're spending it.

"The top shelf wines sold and the wines on the bottom shelf sold, but the wines in the middle didn't sell as much," said 3D's owner, Dave Buchholtz. "The people who have the money are spending it, and the people who don't, aren't."

At Charles Men's Shop, owner Dave Howe agrees to a point. He said 2010 was a good improvement over 2009's Christmas season, but he said he heard from a lot of customers who were looking for quality from a local shop. He said people seem tired of overpriced, overhyped "buy one get six free" sales.

"People are less apt to drive all over the countryside," Howe said. "They gave us a shot first to see if we can help."

Next door, at The Enchanted Florist, Kathy Saile, said Christmas sales were up and met her expectations for the season.

"We didn't have any product left over and we were able to make all of our deliveries," Saile said.

At Adam Miller, people came in looking for bikes, hobby items, puzzles and unique toys you just can't get in the chain stores, said John Roche.

"The last two weeks we were swamped," Roche said. "It was way better than what I expected."

The strong sales locally matches reports of strong holiday sales nationally. The New York Times reports:

After a 6-percent free fall in 2008 and a 4-percent uptick last year, retail spending rose 5.5 percent in the 50 days before Christmas, exceeding even the more optimistic forecasts, according to MasterCard advisors SpendingPulse, which tracks retail spending.

The rise was seen in just about every retail category. Apparel led the way, with an increase of 11.2 percent. Jewelry was up 8.4 percent, and luxury goods like handbags and expensive department-store clothes increased 6.7 percent.

There was even a slight increase in purchases of home furniture, which had four consecutive years of declining sales. The figures include in-store and online sales.

The day before Christmas, Valle's Jewelers was packed with customers, and co-owner Mary Valle said the store was busy throughout the holiday season.

The store ran several promotions and advertised heavily for Christmas shopping, Valle said, and it seemed to pay off.

"We saw many new people in the store," Valle said. "People wanted to shop in the county and they verbalized it."

Advertising also paid off for Jeremy Almeter, owner of Glass Roots. For the first time in the five-year history of his business, he ran advertising -- exclusively in The Batavian -- promoting his handmade glass Christmas ornaments.

"For the first time, we sold out of ornaments," Almeter said. "We saw at least 20 faces in the store we'd never seen before."

Top: Mary Valle and Kamilla Kabel. Kabel, the former owner of House of K, is helping out at Valle's.Top inset, Dave Howe; bottom, Dave Buchholtz.

WBTA's Geoff Redick contributed to this story.

Haven J. Armstrong, 26, of 25 Harvester Ave., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges stem from an alleged domestic incident on Summit Street at 6:40 p.m., Monday. Armstrong was jailed on $1,500 bail.

James Kenneth Goodenow, 39, of South Academy Street, Wyoming, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation. Goodenow was taken into custody on a bench warrant from Town of Stafford Court after being turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office by Monroe County deputies.

More than 320 area residents were served a Christmas Day dinner at T.F. Brown's, making it the largest turn out for the annual free meal in the event's 22-year history, according to an announcement by organizers.

Toys were given to more than 140 children.

The annual event, open to anyone in the community, is hosted by Rick, Ben and Mark Mancuso and Joe Teresi with the support of the Batavia Lion's Club.

The meal is a traditional holiday supper with all of the trimmings.

In past years, two seatings were sufficient to meet the demand, but this year, three seatings were required.

The meal was prepared by the staff of T.F. Brown's.

Also contributing to the event this year were Jeffrey “the breadman” Condidorio; Kathy Pettinella of Flower City Produce; US Food Service; Sysco and Jocobstein.

Randy Johnson, 22, of 110 Walnut St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Johnson is accused of striking a family member during a domestic dispute at 11 a.m., Saturday.

Kurtis J. Worthington, 29, of Broadway Street, Rochester, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI and moving from lane unsafely. Worthington was stopped at 7:35 p.m., Friday, on Route 33 in Stafford by Deputy Matt Butler.

The odor of smoke is coming from a four-apartment structure at 25 Vine St. in the city.

City fire department is on scene. A firefighter says nothing is showing, but they are investigating.

One woman has been evacuated. She said she was not sure if anyone else was at home in the other three apartments.

UPDATE 12:05 p.m.: After investigating the building, nothing was found amiss and units are returned to service.

A one vehicle rollover accident has been reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 392.

The driver is not injured, but unable to get out of her car.

Town of Batavia fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 8:43 a.m.: A fire chief reports roads are slick and icy. Also, the driver has gotten herself out of the vehicle. She's seems to be injured.

Representatives of Arcadia Publishing have been traveling to communities across the country for at least 10 years for their "Images of America" series, and last winter they approached Larry D. Barnes, Batavia's resident historian.

According to Barnes, the South Carolina-based publishing company, which published another book on Batavia -- simply titled "Batavia" -- about 10 years ago, wanted to "take another look" at the city and its history.

Barnes' book, "Batavia Revisited," will explore different topics and feature different photos -- of which there are about 220 in all -- from the first book. It covers many of the major events that reshaped the city's appearance, including:

• The relocation of the railroad tracks to the outskirts of town;

• The construction of the Oak Street Bridge; and

• The Urban Renewal of the 1960s and early 1970s

As a book that relies heavily on the use of photographs, "Batavia Revisited" is mainly focused on the period from 1860 onward. However, Barnes includes an introduction dealing with Batavia's earlier history, which goes back to the early 1800s.

"I also try to straighten out some misinformation over the years (about Batavia's history)," Barnes said. "For example, I've found over and over again in my research, that the person most people think built the Old City Hall had been dead for two years (before it was built). It was his son who built it."

Barnes is a retired Genesee Community College professor and a volunteer with the Genesee County History Department. He taught psychology, but describes history as a "second career."

"It's a personal interest of mine," he said. "I do a lot of (historical) writing and research."

The book will be on sale starting Jan. 17, and will be available for purchase at Present Tense books on Wasington Avenue (and probably at the Holland Land Office Museum as well).

For more information on the book, please visit its page on Arcadia Publishing.

A Batavia woman faces up to 10 years in federal prison after admitting in a Buffalo court today that she forged more than 100 business checks, pocketing more than $85,000.

Deborah Dutton, 55, entered a guilty plea to a charge of check forgery.

Dutton was accused in October of making out checks to herself and others for her benefit, drawn on her employer's business account.

Sentencing is set for 9 a.m., April 11, in Buffalo.

Somebody reportedly threw a cat from a moving vehicle in the area of Sport of Kings on West Main Street.

Police are looking for a gray Ford utility truck with a ladder rack on it.

A unit is being dispatched to the Sport of Kings area to see if he can find the cat and check on its welfare.

UPDATE 4:40 p.m. (Billie): The truck was last spotted eastbound on Route 5. So far, the cat has not been located.

A 1978 Ford sedan is reportedly somewhere in the city being driven erratically.

There have been calls on it, but so far it's evaded law enforcement attempts to locate it.

Officially it's "dark colored," but one description of it said it looked like an old-school black and white police car.

Perhaps dispatch should put a call out for "1-Adam-12" and see if either Malloy or Reed answer.

Robert David Cassatt, 23, of South Main Street, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely, and driving at a speed that is not reasonable or prudent. Cassatt was charged following a vehicle accident at 1:20 a.m. in the area of 7733 Oak Orchard Road, Elba. The accident was investigated by Deputy Jason Saile.

Collin M. Camp, 19, of North Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, unsafe speed for conditions and uninspected motor vehicle. Camp was charged following a traffic accident at 12:20 p.m., Dec. 5, on Byron Road, Stafford. Three people, including Camp, were injured in the accident.

Mandy Jean Fogarty, 21, of North State Road, Nunda, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Fogarty was charged following a vehicle accident at 11:30 p.m., Dec. 14, on Route 63 in Pavilion after Deputy Brian Thompson reported smelling the odor of marijuana coming from her car. Also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana was Amie Lynn Fogarty, 23, of North State Road, Nunda.

Mark Laney, 30, of Clinton Street Road, Bergen, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, speeding (49 mph in a 30 mph zone) and unlawful possession of marijuana. Laney was stopped at 11:50 p.m., Dec. 12, by Deputy Brian Thompson on Route 262 in Elba.

A driver apparently took his car into the car wash on Liberty Street, got his car washed, then tried to leave, but the door won't open.

There's an emergency button inside to open the door, but the door won't stay open long enough for the driver to get his car out.

Police are responding to check on the situation. Dispatchers are trying to locate a phone number for the owner.

UPDATE 7:26 a.m.: With police on scene, the emergency button finally worked, the door stayed open, and the driver left.

UPDATE 7:45 a.m.: Owner arrived and spoke with police. Apparently, if you're in the car wash too long -- say, for example, you sit in their talking on your mobile phone instead of leaving -- the car wash will need to go through another cycle before the door will open.