batavia

Driving down West Main late this morning, I was struck by this stunning tree with its white flowers against the deep-blue sky.

Once again, I have no idea of the name of this type of tree.

I took several photos.

This post is a paid advertisement, brought to you by Pink Gorilla Tees and Graphics.

Center Street Smokehouse is the place to be this Friday night! Tim Walton has arranged for MTV and reality star Wes Bergmann from "Road Rules: Challenge" and "Real World: Austin" to be in the house celebrating the season premier of his new show "Rivals: Challenge."

"We are going to have the place packed. It's going to be like Halloween, Thanksgiving and St. Patrick's Day in there. It's gonna be a fun night for everyone," says Walton, who also set up the iTeen event that will take place at 7 p.m. at the rink for teens.

He had gotten a lot of feedback from the adult crowd asking for an event to take place.

"I had people asking me when I was going to do something at a bar, so I decided to talk to Wes and he agreed to extend his party to the adult crowd that night."

The bar will feature the band "Night and Day" playing on the band deck and a radio DJ will be spinning Top 40 and dance hits upstairs all night.

"The DJ is something new that people had been asking for. You can come out and listen to the band or you can dance and party to Top 40 music. We are catering to both crowds."

A professional photographer has been hired for the event so whether you want a photo with Wes or with just your friends, they will be taken for everyone there.

Walton says that this is just what he hopes to be the first of many events. If this goes well, then there are other celebrities and events that he hopes to bring to the area later this year. We have been in contact with Bam Margera, Pauly D, and athletes as well."

Walton has been part of events in Buffalo that have had great feedback from everyone and hopes to see the same here.

"It's up to the people to let us know what they want. If they show up and make this big, more things will happen."

The event will take place from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Level 3 sex offender Ronald A. Smith was convicted Tuesday afternoon in Genesee County Court of one count of failure to register a change of address.

After deliberating less than two hours, the jury of seven women and five men returned a guilty verdict, which needed to be unanimous, for a violation of the Sex Offender Registration Act. Sentencing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 8.

The Lewiston, Maine, native rejected two plea offers by the District Attorney before taking the case to trial. The first offer was for one and a half to two years in prison, the minimum allowed under statute, and the second offer was for one to three years.

Smith was released Oct. 28, 2010 after serving time for first-degree criminal sexual act with a child under 11. Subsequently, he reportedly lived on Thorpe and East Main streets in the City of Batavia, as well as in Alexander and Oakfield. He was found to not be legally residing at any of these locations.

In court on Tuesday, Smith wore khaki-colored pants, and a snug-fitting white, long-sleeved shirt which revealed a well-muscled torso. His head was nearly shaved. He's about 5'4" tall.

In his brief opening statement, William Harper, an attorney with the Public Defender's Office, reminded the jury of its duty to stick to the issue at hand and not be prejudiced in weighing the evidence because his client is a sex offender.

"The presumption of innocence is the cornerstone of our justice system," Harper said. "We know you won't pre-judge."

Harper and Public Defender Gary Horton tried to create reasonable doubt in the jurors' minds by indications that Smith was confused about his obligations and was not properly instructed about them. The credibility of two witnesses who live on Thorpe Street was also called into question.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman told jurors the case would not last long because it is not complicated. Simply put, Smith knew he had to register his address, knew how and when to do so, but did not.

A videotaped interview conducted on Jan. 13 was played in the courtroom. It shows Smith, clad in a black T-shirt and slumped in a chair, telling an officer he lived in a trailer park in Oakfield. The officer says he talked with Smith's aunt and others in Oakfield and they said Smith didn't live there and never had.

The defendent maintained that he lived in Oakfield with his fiancee until his sister was removed from his mother's house and put into foster care -- because he is not allowed by authorities to be in contact with his sister. Once that occurred, he moved in with his mother. He didn't register there because his mother "would get evicted."

But a child-protective services worker testified that he visited Smith's mother's house beforehand and found the defendant "crouched in a fetal position by the bed with his eyes covered." He said he saw him again the following day turning into the driveway of the apartment complex and contacted police.

The length of time Smith lived on Thorpe Street was said to be four days or two to three weeks, depending on who was talking. He said he notified authorities he lived there, but not the landlord. When the landlord found out he was there, it was made clear he was not welcome.

At some point, too, he purportedly lived in Alexander.

"The place you come home to is where you live...not because you get mail there," Smith is told in the videotape.

Smith, who will turn 20 in January, replied that "before you told me, I really didn't know."

And yet Smith acknowleged his parole officer told him what he needed to do as a free citizen: Notify the police within 10 days of a change of address, show police verification of address every 90 days, go for treatment if required to do so, and let the state know where he was.

Desiree Sumeriski is the mother of Smith's baby daughter and lives in an apartment on Thorpe Street. She testified that Smith stayed there until Oct. 31 after his release and left to move in with his mother.

She was romantically involved with another man at the time and when asked if this created a problem with Smith being around, she said no, that she only saw the man when Smith wasn't there.

Horton asked if she had been convicted of filing a false report of child abuse against a person with CPS and she admitted she had. Asked if she had also pled guilty to harassment charges on more than one occasion, she said yes.

Her neighbor across the street, Jennifer Schaffer, also testified that she knew Smith was staying there and that he left on Oct. 31. Her friendship with Sumeriski was pointed out by the defense, an inference that this might affect her testimony.

The cross examination of the two women was apparently an attempt to discredit their testimony that Smith lived there only a few days because Smith had stated he was there for two or three weeks. But in his videotaped interview, he says he was only on Thorpe for a few days.

Regardless, Sumeriski's landlord was not notified because Smith claims he didn't know he had to.

On cross examination, Horton tells Batavia Police Detective Kevin Czora that Smith mentioned several times he didn't know he had to notify the landlord.

"Did you ask him what he thought was required to notify the landlord?" Horton asked.

"No," the detective replied.

An administrative aide with the Sex Offender Registry in Albany testified that address information filed for sex offenders "all ends up in Albany." There are only three notifications on file for Smith.

The first move documented is from West Main Street (jail), Batavia, to Alexander. The second is from Alexander to Thorpe Street. The last is from Thorpe to South Main Street, Oakfield. There is nothing on file about residency at his mom's apartment in Batavia.

Outside the presence of the jury, Horton moved to vacate the case for lack of evidence and his motion was denied.

In closing arguments, Horton told jurors the key question is "When did Ron Smith register?" He told them to forget about the details, the forms -- which weren't explained to the defendent -- and not to use Smith's prior convictions to decide the case.

"Cases don't get much simpler that this," Friedman told the jury. "They don't get less complicated than this."

Friedman said Smith gave different addresses and different times he stayed at them. He admits that he never lived in Alexander or Oakfield, Friedman said. He also claims he thought he could just list an address without regard to where he  actually stayed, which is inconsistent with the legal obligation he acknowleged, Friedman said.

After asking to view the videotape a second time and having the stipulations of the charge reread for them, the jury reached a verdict just before 3:30 p.m. Smith will remain in custody.

A court date for other charges pending against Smith will be set at 11 a.m. on July 7.

He also faces up to five years in prison -- to be served concurrently with the failure to register conviction -- if he's found guilty of three counts of sexual acts with a child under 11.

He was arrested less than four months after being released in October, 2010 on suspicion of molesting a child in the City of Batavia.

Police are in the area of Tops Market looking for a pair of shoplifting suspects.

The first is a black male who is believed to have run into Tops. The second is a white female wearing purple shorts who ran out of Tops with a shopping bag filled, allegedly, with merchandise that wasn't paid for. The first suspect allegedly stole a DVD player and/or Playstation from Kmart

We'll update with better descriptions if they are re-transmitted.

There's no rain in the forecast for this evening, so the Batavia Concert Band show will be held at Centennial Park as originally planned, according to Robert Knipe.

Show time is 7 p.m.

A caller reports the smell of smoke coming from the basement at 13 Roosevelt Ave., Batavia.

The building is being evacuated.

City Fire Department dispatched.

UPDATE 3:37 p.m.:  City fire on scene. Nothing showing.

UPDATE 4:06 p.m.: City fire has cleared the scene.

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About 20 minutes ago, law enforcement called off an extensive search around Indian Falls and Little Falls roads for a wanted man. The search went on for about an hour.

They say he's known locally and "will turn up."

The man, whose name has not been released, has warrants out of Ontario County and was allegedly driving a vehicle without a driver's license.

He was spotted by state Trooper Holly Hanssel, who attempted to make a traffic stop, prompting the suspect to flee on foot.

She called in additional law enforcement, and Batavia police and Sheriff's deputies responded, along with a K-9 team and a state helicopter.

They combed both sides of the Tonawanda Creek and at some point found muddy footprints, and it is believed he crossed over in a couple of places.

He's described as being white, about 5'8", with a medium to heavy built, tattoos, a shaved head and sporting a goatee. No description of clothing was given.

UPDATE 2:43 p.m.: The suspect was possibly spotted near Route 77 wearing a red shirt and black shorts. A resident with a gun had chased the suspect to a picnic cookout area where the guy ran down an embankment. The resident contacted law enforcement and subsequently went home. The Sheriff's K-9 unit is scouring the area but officers "do not have a visual" on him.

UPDATE 4:21 p.m.: The suspect was apprehended at 3:17 p.m. Some time later, one deputy was heard on the scanner congratulating Deputy Brian Thompson on "another awesome job." Deputy Thompson, in response, gave credit to K-9 "Pharoah."

Here's the unofficial tally of today's vote on the $39,366,045 Batavia City Schools budget.

 

yes   - 561    (58.50%)

no    - 398    (41.50%)

Some evenings, we have spectacular clouds and stunning sunsets and I just can't get out to take pictures. Sunday was one such evening. Yesterday, Monday evening, wasn't as lustrous or colorful, but it was still better than average, so I did take a drive.

Above, the transmission lines from a vantage point on Transit Road, Elba.

A view from Watson Road, Elba.

An abandoned Mack truck and dilapidated house on Ridge Road, Elba.

A tractor in a field by a church on Bank Street Road, Batavia.

Raymond Gandolfo is indicted on three counts of forgery, 2nd, three counts of identify theft, 1st, three counts of criminal possession of stolen property and one count of grand larceny, 4th. Gandolfo is accused of using and attempting to use the credit cards of another person on Sept. 25 at Walmart, The Home Depot and Lowe's. Gandolfo allegedly ran up charges in excess of $1,000.

Patrick J. Ettleman is indicted on a count of robbery, 2nd. Ettleman is accused of forcibly stealing the wallet of another person while on Main Street in Batavia on May 6.

Eric P. Williams is indicted on four counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminally using drug paraphernalia, 2nd. Williams is accused of being at 29 Central Ave., Batavia on March 12 and possessing cocaine with the intent to sell it along with packaging material to facilitate the sale of cocaine.

UPDATED 5 p.m.:

A 13-year-old girl was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital by Mercy Flight this afternoon after she was struck by a car while riding her bike on a sidewalk on West Main Street, Batavia.

The girl, Emily Sherman, is at strong in stable condition. 

Her injuries are not believed to be life threatening, according to Lt. Eugene Jankowski, Batavia PD.

"(Mercy Flight) was more of a precaution, because we don't know," Jankowski said. "In things like this you can always have more serious internal injuries."

Jankowski described the Emily's apparent injuries as cuts and abrasions.

"She was conscious and alert," Jankowski said. "She was complaining, which I think is a good thing."

Emily and a friend -- believed to be students at St. Joe's -- were riding on the sidewalk eastbound when a car attempted to pull from the Denny's parking lot, making a right-hand turn onto Main.

The driver, Erin George, 23, apparently saw the first child go by and thought the coast was clear, but the second child was just coming by and obscured by a door pillar of the sedan.

Jankowski said George stopped as quickly as she could, but did drag the girl under her car into the street.

City of Batavia Fire arrived on scene and used air bags to lift the car and safely extricate Emily.

She was then taken by a Mercy EMS ambulance to a field off River Street on the opposite side of the Tonawanda Creek.

George was obviously distraught following the accident. Jankowski said she would be taken to the police station for a witness statement then helped home.

"I don't think she's in any condition to drive," Jankowski said.

The mother of both girls showed up at the scene as did the principal of St. Joe's and Batavia City Council President Marianne Clattenburg, who teaches at St. Joe's.

Jankowski said parents need to remind their children of bicycle safety during the summer months. Bicycles should not ride on sidewalks, but on the roadway and with the flow of traffic, Jankowski said.

While it's not known whether the girl was wearing a helmet -- none was visible at the scene -- and there's no indication she suffered a head injury, Jankowski emphasized the importance of bicycle helmets.

"It could be an important factor in saving a life," Jankowski said. "I'm a big promoter of helmets. I wear one myself when I ride."

(initial post)

 

A child on a bicycle has been struck by a vehicle in front of Denny's restaurant at 364 W. Main St. in Batavia. The child is still under the vehicle.

Batavia Fire Department and Mercy EMS are responding. Mercy Flight is being sent in, with a five minute ETA.

UPDATE 12:58 p.m.: Ladder truck 15 out of the city is going to set up a landing zone for the helicopter on River Street, south of Main street by the creek.

UPDATE 1:03 p.m.: Mercy Flight is on the ground.

UPDATE 1:06 p.m.: The victim has been extricated.

Michele Ann Case, 46, of North Bergen Road, Bergen, is charged with petit larceny and criminal mischief, 4th. Case is accused of spray painting a mailbox that did not belong to her. Case allegedly took a mailbox and painted over the house numbers on it and then painted her own house numbers on it.

Jesse Jack Carney, 19, Highland Drive, Marcelius, is charged with petit larceny and possession/consumption of alcohol by a person under 21. Carney is accused of stealing Dippin Dots ice cream while at Darien Lake Theme Park. During the investigation by Deputy Patrick Reeves, Carney was allegedly found in possession of alcohol.

Elizabeth Rose Kaylie Searle, 18, of Apulia Road, La Fayette, is charged with petit larceny and possession/consumption of alcohol by a person under 21. Searle is accused of stealing Dippin Dots ice cream while at Darien Lake Theme Park. During the investigation by Deputy Patrick Reeves, Searle was allegedly found in possession of alcohol.

Andrea Murphy Harrington, 19, of Otisco Valley Road, Preble, is charged with possession/consumption of alcohol by a person under 21. Harrington was reportedly at Darien Lake Theme Park and allegedly consuming alcohol.

Candice Ashley Clemens, 19, of Route 80, La Fayette, is charged with possession/consumption of alcohol by a person under 21. Clemens was reportedly at Darien Lake Theme Park and allegedly consuming alcohol.

Tyler Pasquale Schroeder, 19, of Lewiston Road, Batavia, was turned over to the Sheriff's Office by Attica Police on a bench warrant out of Batavia City Court. Schroeder was jailed on $50,000 bail.

Lewis Martin Fuller, 51, of Clinton Street Road, Bergen, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Fuller reportedly voluntarily turned over suspected smoking paraphernalia during an investigation into a domestic incident on June 14. The paraphernalia allegedly contained a quantity of marijuana.

Submitted by Pamela Fry:

For the past six days, a ferret has been living in our backyard. It is a very friendly critter which leads me to believe that it's a pet of somebody's. My neighbor next door has been kind enough to keep the ferret safe in her garage with food and water for the time being.

If you have lost your ferret, or, if you are interested in keeping this ferret as your own pet, please let me know so we can get this ferret a safe home.

UPDATE: A home has been found for the ferret.

I was out at Area 51 yesterday to watch the races and take some photos. I had a great time and figured I would share a few. If you have never been there, you are really missing out on one of the great attractions in Genesee County! 

A young rider waves to the camera, making it look easy! He's in the 7-11 age group!

 

Four more photos after the jump:

 

Two riders battle for the lead during the final lap!

 

 

Photos by Destin Danser

Anthony Devon Alexander, 37, Wast Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Alexander is accused of slapping a 13-year-old boy on the face leaving welts and bruising. The alleged incident occurred at noon, Sunday (Father's Day).

Stephanie Rae LaVoice, 26, of Brown Road, Corfu, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, driving left of the pavement markings in a no-passing zone and driving left at railroad crossing. LaVoice was stopped at 1:17 a.m., Saturday, on Brown Road, Batavia, by Deputy Jason Saile.

Ryan M. Palmer, 29, of 10 Birchwood Drive, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Palmer is accused of shoving a female acquaintance.

Paul B. Heale, 58, of 29 Linwood Ave., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, endangering the welfare of a child and resisting arrest. Heale was arrested following an alleged domestic incident at 6 p.m., Saturday.

Shawn William Shanahan, 40, of Bonnie Brae Drive, Darien, is charged with DWI, aggravated driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to keep right, possession/consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Shanahan was stopped at 2:16 a.m., Sunday, on Route 20, Darien, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Rene Corez-Marrero, 28, of East Utica Street, Buffalo, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and dark window tint. Corez-Marrero was stopped at 7:54 p.m., Saturday, on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves. Corez-Marrero is also charged with coercion, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Corez-Marrero was reportedly involved at an incident at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, at Darien Lake Theme Park where Corez-Marrero allegedly did not allow a woman to contact police and took her personal property.

Dean Wilkins, 47, of Telephone Road, Pavilion, is charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, 2nd. Wilkins is accused of depositing a forged check into an account at the Le Roy Federal Credit Union. Wilkins was jailed without bail.

Heidi L. Thomas, 27, and Denise R. Queen, no age given, both of 20 1/2 Dellinger Ave., Batavia, are charged with attempted petit larceny. Thomas and Queen allegedly tried to steal merchandise from Dollar General on June 17.

Hannah E. Dibble, 18, and a 16-year-old, both of Akron Road, Corfu, and a 17-year-old of Longs Lane, Corfu, are all charged with petit larceny. The trio is accused of shoplifting at 10:08 p.m., June 14, from Walmart.

A trailer being pulled by a pickup truck is on fire on the Thruway. Town of Batavia Fire Department is headed to mile post 386 westbound. There is also a grassfire at this location.

Update: Troopers on location at 387.7 westbound with Town of Batavia fire.

Update: Fire is reported to be out.

Update: Mercy Medic 3 to scene for subject with burns to hands and arms.

A GCC nursing graduate who once worked at the Batavia Nursing Home and had a couple of brushes with the law while in Batavia is a "person of interest" in the death of a young woman in Auburn, the Syracuse Post-Standard reports.

The murder victim, of Katie Socci, 29 of Auburn, had a child with Donald F. McNamara. She was reported missing earlier this week and a day later her body was found in a shallow grave.

McNamara's ties to the case have police looking at him as a possible suspect.

The Post-Standard reports that McNamara was accused in 2006 of reckless endangerment, a charge he later entered a guilty plea on, for firing a military-style rifle within Batavia city limits.

In February 2007, his license was suspended for a time after admitting to withdrawing narcotics for personal use.

In 2008, while employed at the Batavia Nursing Home, he was accused of criminal mischief. He was accused of altering the labels on medications.

For the full Post-Standard story, click here.

My parents are flying into Buffalo tonight and will be spending Saturday and Sunday in Batavia. Much of our weekend, then, will be taken up with showing them the beauty and wonders of Genesee County. We'll do some sightseeing on Saturday, and on Sunday, Billie and my mom are going shopping and I'm taking my dad to the Batavia Muckdogs game.

Alecia Kaus, a local freelance journalist (she shoots a lot of news video for Buffalo and Rochester TV stations) will monitor the scanner for us and report anything that needs to be reported. If something big breaks, well, we'll figure out how to handle that if it happens.

Of course, I'll still be around and check in on the site from time to time.

It should be a beautiful Saturday and we're hoping it doesn't rain on Sunday. Have a nice weekend, and to all the dads, Happy Father's Day.

The photos are from a short little drive I took this afternoon. Top, a cloud disperses the sun's rays over West Main Street Road, and below, a duel stand of trees on South Main Road (which, as many times as I've driven down this street, I've never noticed before).

Here's a press release from Steve Hawley.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C – Batavia) was one of several Assembly Minority members to speak up against a bill that sought to ban smoking in cars carrying passengers ages 14 and under.

The measure was ultimately defeated and removed from consideration. While Hawley noted that the intent of the legislation was admirable, he described the bill as an affront to personal freedoms and liberties. He also questioned whether a convertible would be exempted and told “no,” further
exemplifying the absurdity of the inane legislation.

“Most everyone can agree that people shouldn’t smoke in the car with young children present, but government does not exist to legislate what a citizen should and should not do,” Hawley said. “This bill is a blatant example of government meddling with the rights of individualism to an obscene extent.

"Just as we cannot legislate who is qualified or unqualified to be a parent, the legislature cannot tell a citizen of legal, tobacco-purchasing age that they cannot smoke in their own vehicle.”