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"Operation Flight From Above" flew over Batavia’s VA home and UMMC to thank healthcare providers for their effort during the COVID-19 crisis.

The flyover consisted of two World War II era planes. Geneseo’s National Warplane Museum’s  C-47 "Whiskey 7," which saw service over Normandy, France, and a locally owned P51 Mustang called "Mad Max."

After a rough start because of bad weather in the Southern Tier, the formation flew over only about 15 minutes late at 1,300 feet and 180 mph.  

The parking lots and sidewalks around UMCC were full of viewers who got a glimpse of the planes as they flew over during their salute. 

Next two photos below submitted by Frank Capuano.

Photo below by Bob Aiken.

Thanks for all of the community support. The "We Are Batavia Tough" site is live. Click here to check it out and make a purchase to support your favorite shop or all three!

Because of weather in the Southern Tier, the scheduled time for the Batavia flyover is approximately 11:45 a.m., giver or take 10 minutes, according to the National Warplane Museum.

It was supposed to take place at roughly 11:20 a.m. over the Batavia VA Medical Center, and at 11:24 at UMMC.

Photo: File photo of Whiskey 7 by Jim Burns.

Press release:

The National Warplane Museum (NWM) in Geneseo is honoring WNY healthcare workers and first responders with two flyovers in Genesee County on Saturday, May 16.

At the Batavia VA Medical Center, the flyover will occur at 11:20 a.m. (give or take 10 minutes).

At United Memorial Medical Center, the flyover will occur at 11:24 a.m. (give or take 10 minutes).

"Operation Thanks From Above" will feature NWM's very own Douglas C-47, affectionately named "Whiskey 7," and it will take to the skies accompanied by one other aircraft, a P-51 Mustang named "Mad Max."

The flight will salute the local first responders, medical and essential workers who have served and conitue to serve the WNY region during the coronavirus pandemic.

We hope you can attend and view a flyover. VA medical and UMMC staff members working on Saturday have been notified. 

• Batavia viewing – in front of Building 1, near Outpatient Entrance, 222 Richmond Ave., Batavia.
• UMMC viewing is at 330 Summit St., Batavia.

Parking is plentiful and free.

#ROCTheSky

#ThanksFromAbove

James F. Perry Sr., 35, of Central Avenue, Batavia, is charged with five counts of second-degree criminal contempt, a Class A misdemeanor. Perry was arrested at 9:20 p.m. May 9 on State Street in Batavia following an investigation of a child crying in a residence. Perry was released with an appearance ticket returnable to Batavia City Court at 1 p.m. on June 30. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Sean Wilson, assisted by Officer Jordan McGinnis.

William J. Galliford, 59, of Batavia (no address provided), is charged with trespass and second-degree harassment. Galliford was arrested at 10:45 p.m. at the Budget Inn on Oak Street in Batavia. It is alleged that he refused to leave after being told he was no longer allowed on the premises. It is also alleged that Galliford threatened a police officer. He was issued a computerized appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court at 1 p.m. on June 16. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Arick Perkins, assisted by Officer Nicole McGinnis.

Amanda S. McDonald, 37, of Ellsworth Avenue, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. She was arrested after an investigation into a complaint alleging that she allowed a minor to use an illegal drug. McDonald was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court June 16. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Alec Roberts.

Justin Paul Pawlowski, 41, is charged with: Aggravated driving while intoxicated -- with a child passenger; DWI; DWI -- drugs; and failure to keep right. At 9:23 a.m. on Feb. 14, the Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center received a report of driver on Route 33 in the Village of Corfu who was possibly intoxicated. The vehicle was stopped for an alleged failure to keep right and an investigation allegedly revealed the driver was impaired by drugs. Pawlowski was issued tickets returnable to Town of Batavia Court on June 29. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin McCarthy, assisted by Deputy Ryan DeLong.

Christopher J. Diers, 37, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree harassment. Diers was arrested after an investigation of a domestic incident that occurred at 10:50 p.m. May 9 at an apartment on State Street. He was released with an appearance ticket to be in Batavia City Court on June 30. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Sean Wilson, assisted by Officer Jordan McGinnis.

Jacob J. Camerera, 29, of South Jackson Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree criminal contempt. Camerera was arrested after an investigation of a violation of an order of protection complaint at 8:42 p.m. April 29 on Hutchins Street in Batavia. He was released on an appearance ticket for Batavia City Court on June 23. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Sean Wilson, assisted by Jordan McGinnis.

Adam Michael Jellison, 42, of Sierk Road, Bennington, is charged with second-degree harassment. Jellison was arrested on May 10 in connection with a domestic incident that occurred at 8:44 p.m. on April 2 on Columbia Avenue in Batavia. He is also charged with third-degree criminal mischief stemming from an incident at 4 p.m. April 30, also on Columbia Avenue. He was arraigned on both charges May 11 in Batavia City Court and released on his own recognizance. He is to return to city court June 18. The cases were handled by Batavia Police Officer Connor Borchert.

Rae C. Cook, 31, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Cook was arrested at 3 p.m. May 11 following a larceny investigation. It is alleged that at 12:30 p.m. April 23 Cook committed petit larceny at Sav-A-Lot on Ellicott Street in Batavia. Cook was issued an appearance ticket, returnable to Batavia City Court on June 2, then released from custody. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Joshua Girvin, assisted by Officer Austin Hedges.

Margaret M. Pillo, 47, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Pillo was arrested following an investigation into a shoplifting incident that occurred at the Dollar General store on East Main Street in Batavia at 4:50 p.m. May 8. She was issued an appearance ticket then released and is due in Batavia City Court on June 30. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Kevin DeFelice, assisted by Officer Peter Post.

Batavia Police Department is investigating a series of car break-ins and petit thefts in Batavia and police say the crimes are happening throughout the city during the overnight hours.

This video was submitted by a reader from a home surveillance camera. The photo below was provided by Batavia PD.

Det. Eric Hill said he didn't have at hand the total number of break-ins recently, but that is no more than usual for this time of year.

The cars being hit have been left unsecured.

Hill asked us to remind readers, "to bring valuables inside, lock their vehicles, and report any suspicious activity to us."

He also said if other residents have video of suspected criminal activity to please share them with police to help identify a suspect or suspects.

Anybody with information can contact Officer Peter Post at (585) 345-6350.

At 8:20 p.m. (20:20 on a 24-hour clock) Batavia High School faculty and coaches lined Richmond Avenue next to a lit up Van Detta Stadium to honor students of the Class of 2020.

They were also there to honor all the athletes who did not finish, or never played spring sports this truncated school year.

The scoreboard was lit up with a score of 20-20, 20 min. 20 sec. with the message “Batavia High School Celebrates the Class of 2020."

Students and their families were asked to drive by to see the scoreboard lit up in their honor. 

On three different dates this week, employees of UMMC are being treated to meals from Over the Border Taco Truck, courtesy of Casella Waste.

Casella General Manager Jeff Pero said the company wanted to provide meals to all shifts at the hospital so they served lunch yesterday and today and are set up on Bank Street on Saturday.

From Genesee County Clerk Michael T. Cianfrini:

In light of the recent announcement that Genesee County has been included in the Governor’s Phase I plan to begin lifting restrictions in the Finger Lakes Region, I would like to clarify that unfortunately this does not apply to the Genesee County DMV.

Pursuant to the Executive Orders issued by the Governor in March, every DMV in the state was closed to the public and thus far none have been cleared to reopen.

In recent days we have fielded hundreds of calls from individuals inquiring as to whether we will be reopening to the public on May 18^th, so I would like to clarify and state that unfortunately the Phase I plan does not include the DMV.

Therefore, until the state lifts the closure, we must remain closed to the public until further notice.  

However, while we are prohibited from opening our doors to the public at this time, we remain committed to serving the public to the extent possible.

Our office continues to handle a wide range of transactions submitted through the mail or deposited in one of our drop boxes. If you need to do any of the following transactions, please feel free to submit your paperwork either through the mail or preferably through one of our DMV drop boxes located on Court Street in Batavia or Main Street in Le Roy:

• Registration renewals 
• Transferring plates from one vehicle to another vehicle owned by the same individual
• License plate surrenders
• Driver’s license renewals, provided an electronic eye test has been submitted, or a form MV-619 Vision test is included.

If you drop off or mail any of these transactions to us, please remember to include your full name, physical address and a phone number in case we need to reach you.  

Also, please rest assured that if your driver’s license or registration expired in March they are still valid and you cannot be ticketed for the expiration.

Governor Cuomo, through executive order extended all of those expiration dates “until further notice."

I, along with other County Clerks, have advocated to him and our state Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to continue extending those expirations so that when we do reopen, we can do so in a measured, controlled manner. Otherwise, a situation may be created where maintaining order and social distancing in our office would be extremely difficult with the surge of customers.

Once we are cleared to reopen the DMV to the public, we are putting measures in place to help ensure the safety of both the staff and our customers through limiting the number of customers in the office, identifying safe distancing locations for those in line, and requiring the wearing of masks to enter the building and our office.

Further, we are restricting entrance to only the door on the west side of building, between County Building #1 and the Old Courthouse. The exit will be on the east side of the building on Court Street. This will minimize the risk of contact between people passing in the hallways.  

We appreciate everyone’s patience through this difficult time, and I remain confident that we can get through this together until some semblance of normalcy returns.  If you have any questions, please feel free to send us an email at:   county.clerk@co.genesee.ny.us

An 18-year-old driver at first claimed he swerved to avoid a deer prior to a two-vehicle accident at 11:20 p.m., Tuesday, on Route 5 in Batavia that injured him and the driver of a box truck.

Then the driver told a deputy he struck the deer and it shattered his windshield.

Deputy Ryan Young, who prepared the accident report, wrote in the report, "There was no evidence on vehicle 1 to indicate that a deer was struck by any portion of the vehicle."

Charges may be pending against Dante D. Mancuso, of West Main Street, Batavia. He was driving a 2006 BMW SUV. He was transported to UMMC for evaluation following the accident.

Joseph Ruhland Jr., 53, of Old Dominion Way, Thomasville, was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Mancuso was westbound on Route 5 in the area of 3975 W. Main Street Road when his vehicle crossed the center line and clipped a Ruhland's box truck, causing Ruhland to lose control and the truck jackknifed. It crossed into the westbound lane and overturned, coming to rest against a stone wall after the rear trailer detached from the truck.

Volunteer firefighters extricated Ruhland from the truck.

The accident remains under investigation.

Let us take care of dinner tonight. We're excited to introduce our NEW BBQ Dinner Packs for families, available Tuesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., and Sunday from 12 - 8 p.m.

Call us to order for curbside pickup or delivery: (585)344-2999 or order online here.

Photos and information courtesy of Bob Knipe:

Today, on what was to have been this year's United Way Day of Caring, Batavia Rotarians Krysia Mager and kids, Doug Forsyth and Ray Chaya did a bit of socially distanced sprucing up of Rotary Park -- complete with sidewalk chalk art!

The Batavia Fire Department, Mercy EMS, Batavia Police, State Police and Genesee County Sheriff's Office, took a few parade laps around United Memorial Medical Center to thank healthcare workers for taking care of all of us during the COVID-19 crisis.

Healthcare workers came outside to see the tribute and express gratitude for the salute and also to thank first responders for supporting their community.

Today was supposed to be United Way of Genesee County's annual Day of Caring, which was cancelled due to COVID-19.

It nonetheless prompted the Business Improvement District businesses and supporters to draw chalk messages of support and shout-outs for local business during the pandemic.

Chalk was handed out on Main Street for anyone who wanted to participate. Social distancing was practiced by those involved in this event. 

A box-style semitruck is on its side at 3977 W. Main Street Road in Batavia and the driver unable to exit the vehicle, according to a caller to dispatch. Law enforcement and Mercy medics are responding along with Town of Batavia Fire Department.

UPDATE 11:57 p.m.: The driver is conscious; a heavy-duty tow truck is needed to upright the vehicle. It's estimated weight is 73,000 pounds, unknown cargo in rear trailer.

Photos and information from reader Carrie Farley.

Carrie Farley's friend, Melinda Fenton, is worried about her kitty who has never once stepped foot outside then, you guessed it, up and decided to explore the vast unknown.

That was around 10:30 Sunday night. The female feline lives on Pearl Street "right on the roundabout" in the city.

Farley advises that the pet "may be very skittish and will run from trucks." Who wouldn't, right?

Fenton had an epiphany when it came to naming her cat. Apparently being one who favors understatement, she imaginatively selected "Fluffy" as befitting.

Fluffy. If you sheared this cat in August to help keep it cool, you could make enough yarn to crochet a baby blanket, at least; maybe an autumn poncho.

If you catch a glimpse of this hairball, an unlikely candidate for fleet-footedness, do phone. She needs her brushy-brush and is doubtless missing snacks and nourishment.

Melinda Fenton's number is (585) 831-0401.

Below, Fluffy on her backside, looking nonchalant as she double dares anyone to try and groom her.

Below, Fluffy lounging in a torpor of resigned feline fatalism, courtesy of the pandemic.

Submitted photo and press release:

The Arc Transfer Station & Redemption Center, a NYS essential service located at 3785 W. Main Street Road, Batavia, is now open more hours to meet the needs of the community.

Since mid-March the transfer station had been on a three-day schedule, but this week Fridays were added back into the mix and later hours on Wednesdays.

The new hours are Monday, Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Wednesdays 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

According to Director of Business Services, Paul Saskowski, the enhanced schedule was necessary.

“We initially went to a three-day schedule in order to limit our (COVID-19) exposure to both our customers and employees," Saskowski said. "The wait times were getting too long so we are opening on Fridays from 8 to 2 and staying open on Wednesdays until 6 p.m.

"We really appreciate the cooperation and continued patronage we have been getting from customers."

For everyone’s protection, Arc asks that customers please remain in their car or truck onsite. Team members will remove trash and recycling from vehicles.

More information is available at www.arcgo.org (business services), or you may call (585) 343-4203.