batavia

Local veterans made the rounds this morning of Veterans Day services at locations throughout Genesee County. Starting at the Genesee County Park, they proceeded to the VA Medical Center, the NYS Vets Home, the Upton Monument, St. Jerome's and GCC.

Here are photos from the VA and from Upton.

Bottom photo is from GCC, where the college opened a lounge for student-veterans.

It's not hard to imagine there are possibly more victims locally of Sean Vickers, who is facing multiple felony counts of alleged child sexual abuse in Genesee and Niagara counties, said Det. Kevin Czora.

Vickers was indicted Friday on 10 more felony counts stemming for the alleged abuse of four victims from the 1990s to the 2000s in Batavia. The 44-year-old Geneva resident was originally arrested in May following an investigation by Batavia PD that started when Niagara County investigators brought information to local detectives about potential victims in the city.

Since Vickers lived in more than one residence in the county over the years, Czora said, it's possible -- if Vickers is the kind of monster the charges against him suggest -- that there are victims out there whom local investigators know nothing about.

"Currently, just by the numbers we're aware of, he's a serial abuser," Czora said.

That's why local investigators are asking anybody who knows anything about Vickers and possible victims to contact law enforcement.

To contact Batavia PD, call (585) 345-6350 or outside the city, contact your local law enforcement agency.

Vickers is accused of sexually molesting three boys in the Barker and Middleport areas last year. Last month he was indicated in Niagara County on six counts of predatory sexual assault against a child. He faces from 25 years to life in prison on the Genesee and Niagara counties charges.

At the time of his arrest, Vickers was already a registered Level 3 sex offender. He had a misdemeanor conviction for a sexual act in Monroe County and in 2009 he was convicted of a felony in New Hampshire for victimizing an underage boy there.

Last May, David A. Vickers, the 49-year-old brother of Sean, was arrested on a federal charge of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity. The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of life in federal prison.

David Vickers is accused of molesting a boy from Buffalo over a 10-year period and a Batavia boy over a five-year period, according to the Buffalo News. The first case allegedly began in 1989 and the second in 1999.

Sean Vickers allegedly introduced his brother to the Batavia boy.

When news broke of Vicker's arrest in May, the media reports prompted some people who are now adults to come forward and report they were allegedly abused by Vickers.

In the cases of those adults, however, the alleged crimes happened at a time when the state's statute of limitations on child sexual abuse was five years.

That doesn't mean, however, knowing about those alleged acts and gathering that evidence is a waste in the Vicker's case, Czora said. The more evidence gathered, the more it will help in the prosecution of the alleged crimes that aren't covered by the statute of limitations.

"We've reached out as best we can and now it's a matter of them reaching out to us to let us know what they're aware of and if they've been abused," Czora said. "Some of them, depending on the time frame, we may not be able to do anything criminally, however, there's always counseling, which every victim is entitled to even if the case is prosecuted or not."

For the adults who did come forward after the news came out, there was a sense of closure, Czora said.

"Each case makes the other cases that much stronger and it shows the seriousness and how far Sean Vickers has gone and how he damaged so many different lives," Czora said. "All that can be used later through the courts."

VIckers is currently being held in the Genesee County Jail on $500,000 bail or $500,000 bond. The judge in Niagara County ordered Vickers held without bail.

A caller reports a possible dangerous condition on Pringle Avenue in the city -- a person is trying to yank down a tree using a tow rope and a pickup truck. A police officer just arrived on scene.

A former Batavia resident arrested in May for allegedly sexually abusing children in Batavia decades ago was indicted yesterday on 10 more felony sexual abuse charges.

The indictment is the result of an ongoing Batavia PD investigation that has uncovered four more alleged victims.

Vickers is accused of sexually abusing the children over a 12-year period starting in the 1990s.

He was indicted on one count of a course of sexual conduct against a child, a Class B felony, two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, a Class A-II felony, six counts of criminal sexual act first, a Class B violent felony, one count of sexual abuse, 1st, a Class B felony, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

The 44-year-old Vickers was a resident of Geneva at the time of his arrest in May.

He was indicted later that month on a count of course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree, a Class B felony. He was accused of engaging in two or more acts of sexual conduct, which allegedly included at least one act of deviate sexual intercourse with a child less than 13 years old. The alleged incidents occurred between Nov. 2, 2001 and April 16, 2002.

Vickers is being held in the Genesee County Jail on $500,000 bond or cash bail.

The investigation is being lead by Det. Kevin Czora.

The police remain concerned that there could possibly be more alleged victims in the community. To contact Batavia PD, call (585) 345-6350 or outside the city, contact your local law enforcement agency.

For generations, the Richmond name dominated civic life in Batavia.

Dean Richmond was one of the most successful businessmen of his generation -- from the time he inherited his father's salt works company when he was 15 until his death in 1866. Mary Richmond continued and grew her husband's business empire and served on numerous local boards and committees. Their daughter carried on the tradition of local involvement and leadership.

But by the mid-part of the 20th Century, the Richmond family had dispersed to other parts of the country, but still, the Richmond name looms large in Batavia.

There is, of course, the Richmond Memorial Library, and the Richmond Mausoleum in the Batavia Cemetery.

But sadly, the once grand Richmond Mansion -- actually built in 1839 by Col. William Davis -- was torn down by a short-sighted City Schools board in 1970. All that's left is a wrought iron fence surrounding a parking lot owned by St. Joseph's.

Now, at least, there is a historical marker on the site to commemorate the location of the mansion.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by two generations of Richmonds, Harold Richmond, above, with his sons Kyle and Alex with his wife Cheryl.

Harold Richmond said it's quite an honor to see his great-great-grandfather remembered and honored in Batavia.

"It's great that the family gets recognized," said Richmond, a resident of New Jersey. "The Richmonds aren't really any different from anybody else today. We don't have anybody of note in the family that I know of, but the fact that the city has maintained the history and recognized the contributions of Dean Richmond and his wife and his daughter is just amazing."

As for the destruction of the Richmond Mansion -- which local preservationists tend to think of a huge loss to the community -- Richmond was forgiving.

"Maintaining that mansion in the 1970s, with that orphanage going away, that's a huge financial burden on a community," Richmond said. "It doesn't shock or surprise me that they had to make that choice. It was probably a good financial choice at that time. It's sad that it couldn't have been sustained as a museum or Masonic lodge or something like that, but it's understandable."

Harold Richmond pointing to the crypt of his great-grandfather with his son Alex inside the Richmond Mausoleum.

The Richmonds, Harold, Kyle, Cheryl and Alex, with Sharon Burkel inside the Richmond Mausoleum.

A racoon is on the loose inside the hair salon Head Games, located at 61 Swan St. in the City of Batavia. Someone there called for help in rounding up the critter and removing it.

"I told them we don't handle wild animals, but still they're looking for some assistance," said the dispatcher to a police officer, who has just arrived on scene.

A fully involved structure fire is reported at 9778 Creek Road in Bethany. Bethany and Town of Batavia fire departments are responding. It is near Putnam Road.

UPDATE 11:07 p.m.: Mutual aid is called from Byron, Alexander, Pavilion, Stafford, the City Fast Team, and others.

UPDATE 11:30 p.m.: Calls are out for East Pembroke, Le Roy, and Elba.

UPDATE 11:34 p.m.: A tanker from York is called to the scene and an engine from there to the Bethany hall, along with the same equipment from Caledonia. National Grid is notified about power lines at the site and there's a 15-20 minute ETA.

UPDATE 11:45 p.m.: The lack of public water is hampering the firefighting efforts at Baskin Farms and the main structure(s) on the property are in peril. South Byron is also on scene and National Grid has arrived.

UPDATE 12:24 a.m.: Oakfield is at Town of Batavia Fire Hall filling in. National Grid has cut all power to the grounds. A tanker out of Gainsville, Wyoming County, is called to the scene.

UPDATE 12:27 a.m.: The mandate -- more tankers, more water, more tankers, more water.

UPDATE 12:34 a.m.: Mutual aid from Perry Center is requested to fill in at Pavilion's fire hall.

UPDATE 12:36 a.m.: Equipment from Perry Barre is called to stand by in Elba.

UPDATE 12:38 a.m: Equipment from Clarendon is requested to fill in in Byron.

UPDATE 1:45 a.m. (by Howard): The fire is largely knocked down. A firefighter reports that there are no flames showing at this time. There's still lots of smoke. It's hard to say at this point how much of the main feed processing facility was saved.

UPDATE 2:12 a.m.: Bethany command reports the fire is out. Overhaul starting. Tankers will start breaking down.

UPDATE 2:26 a.m.: South Byron, the first company to be released from the scene.

The view of Batavia a space alien might get, as revealed by an image from Google Maps, tells pretty much the whole story of the community's economic struggles, Tim Tielman told members of the Genesee County Landmark Society last night at their annual meeting.

Right in the center of the city, Tielman said, is this big mass of gray. It's a dead zone, he said. It isn't built for the human animal. It's built for cars. That's no way to design a city.

It hasn't always been that way, of course. Tielman displayed a parcel map of Batavia at the end of the 19th Century. Downtown was filled with structures -- brick commercial buildings and hundreds of houses.

That's a city, he said, designed for human scale and one that is culturally and economically vibrant.

Tielman has worked tirelessly as a preservationist in Buffalo for decades. His list of accomplishments is impressive. Larkin Square, Canalside, the Lafayette Hotel, the Ellicott District, the H.H. Richardson Towers and the Webb Building, among other "saves" and restoration projects.

His work has been recognized in a John Paget documentary, “Buffalo: America’s Best-Designed City.”

The same kind of revitalization going on in Buffalo now could be Batavia's future, Tielman said.

If it's going to happen, it will be up to the preservationists, the people who understand human scale.

"One of the biggest issues every city faces is dead zones," Tielman said. "Batavia has dead zones up and down its streets. Dead zones are devoid of commercial activity. You chain too many dead zones together and you destroy your local community."

When you build your commercial district around the car, the district losses its appeal to pedestrians, and it's people walking and interacting that creates commercial activity and a sense of community.

"It isn't cars that make a place a commercial success," Tielman said. "It's a success (based) on how well the human animal can get about certain places. It's what appeals and what stimulates them to walk."

Batavia used to be that kind of city. From Harvester on the east to the Old Courthouse on the west, the old maps reveal, it was a walkable city.

Tielman used a Google Maps view to show Batavia today. Our picture above is from the county's GIS map. Below is a county aerial photo of the city from 1934 (a period, Tielman said, when Batavia was at its peak culturally and economically -- the 1920s through 1930s). Tielman used a turn of the century parcel map.

There's no reason, Tielman said, Batavia can't become that kind of city again.

He recommended the approach being used with Canalside now -- start small. That's how Joseph Ellicott started.

Canalside is the terminus of the Erie Canel at Lake Erie. Early development was small businesses in tents and small buildings. The larger, commercial brick structures came later. Tielman's suggestion is to start the commercial activity at an affordable pace, and it will grow.

He suggested the Genesse County Economic Development Center has it's economic development priorities backwards. The $1.7 million in tax breaks given to COR Development to lure large national chains to Batavia could have been used more productively to help start 50 small businesses downtown.

He called small businesses the "farm system" for greater economic growth. Communities that lose their ability to encourage and attract entrepreneurs stop growing.

There was a time when each small community was unique and the competitive advantage each had was that you had to be from the city to know how to get around the city and prosper in the city, then urban planners started coddling the national chains, creating a sameness in each community so the chains would be comfortable opening businesses there. That's helped destroy the small businesses that used to make cities and towns vital.

Tielman helped lead the successful fight against Bass Pro building at Canalside.

Rather than trying to attract national chains, Tielman suggested, planners and economic development agencies should be creating environments were local small business owners can thrive.

"Retail is important in a city," Tielman said. "It's not a primary economic activity, but it's important to bring people out, to have people in the streets, people who bump into each other and make it lively. Dense cities, dense streets, create economic activity."

When people visit a city, they want to see other people, smiling people, he said.

"If they see glum people on the streets, or worse, no people on the streets, but just tumbleweeds rolling down Main Street, they're not going to want to come back," Tielman said. "They're not going to want to move there. They're not going to want to move or start a business there."

And these days, Tielman noted, people don't even need to visit your city to form an impression. They can use Google Maps and Street View.

Tielman used the Google Street View image below to illustrate his point.

Tourists, prosective residents, and most importantly, site selectors for semiconductor companies, are going to look at a picture like this and conclude Batavia isn't a very attractive place to be. There's no signs of life. There's no economic vibrancy.

Handing out tax breaks to bring in a Dick's Sporting Goods doesn't fix this problem.

Tielman pulled up this Google Maps view of Batavia again and noted the one area of Old Batavia still left, the block between Jackson Street and Center Street, south of Main Street. It's the only part of Downtown that is still densely built.

"This is the kernel from which you can hit the reset button on Batavia," he said. "You can start here and work backwards toward that which you once had."

Links:

• Canalside
• Greater Buffalo Blog
• Larkin Square
• Donn Esmonde: Dedication to preservation has spurred Buffalo’s revival

Winston A. Lockhart, 18, of 3 Lewis Place, Batavia, is charged with littering. Batavia PD officers Frank Klimjack and Darryl Streeter allegedly observed Lockhart toss a lit cigarette onto the parkway on Lewis Place. The officers reportedly asked Lockhart to pick up the cigarette and dispose of it properly. After he refused, the officers arrested Lockhart for an alleged violation of the Batavia Municipal Code.

Miguel Angel Dejesus, 66, of Perry Road, Pavilion, is charged with forcible touching. Dejesus is accused of forcibly touching the genital area of a woman. He was jailed on $2,000 bail.

Alexander Colon-Colon, 19, of Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with sexual misconduct. Colon-Colon is accused of having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old female. Under state law, a 15-year-old is unable to consent to sexual conduct.

Philip C. DeGraff, 45, of 81 Walker Road, Perry, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. DeGraff allegedly threatened to kill another person. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Sharon E. Herdtner, 51, of 25 North St., upper, Batavia, is charged with disobeying a court mandate. Herdtner allegedly refused to appear for the Grand Jury after being served a subpoena at Batavia PD headquarters on Oct. 28.

Press release:

Vibrant Batavia and the Batavia Ramparts Squirt Travel Hockey Team will be assisting residents in a fall clean-up on November 10th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We will cover the following streets: parts of Bank Street, parts of North Street, Tracy Avenue and parts of Hart Street.

The clean-up will consist of: leaf raking, debris clean up and removal of pumpkins, corn stalks and hay bales. Trucks will be provided by volunteers to transport the pumpkins, corn stalks and hay bales to the waste Center that day. For residents interested in removal of these items that are unable to participate, please leave them by the street so we know you wish for us to take them. Volunteers should bring their own rake, gloves and, of course, dress appropriately for the weather.

Invitations were distributed to these residents to inform them of the clean-up effort. Terri Clingerman, a Bank Street resident, helped go door to door on Monday. Clingerman said “this is a great way to get people out of their houses and make it a collaborative effort to do a neighborhood clean-up, while getting the chance to meet neighbors." We will also promote this event through our Facebook page to remind residents of the event.      

Bob and Char Grimm, residents of 59 Tracy Ave., will be hosting a lunch for all of the volunteers and residents from the streets included in the clean-up. Lunch will be held at noon and will be provided by Vibrant Batavia. We welcome all that wish to come out and meet with your neighbors.

Grimm said, “I am happy to host along with volunteering my time for a street-wide clean up. ... this is a great opportunity for our youth to take part in a community service effort, as it teaches them how to work together as a team."

The intent of this clean-up is to open the lines of communication between these specific neighborhoods and work toward getting these residents interested in working on future activities. 

Vibrant Batavia is a community network organized to celebrate the past, build on the present and to create a more vibrant future. The volunteers work side-by-side with the City of Batavia, NeighborWorks® Rochester and the business community to strategically improve the City's neighborhoods and to promote a livable community of choice. 

For more information about Vibrant Batavia or NeighborWorks contact Leanna Di Risio at leanna@vibrantbatavia.com or by phone at (585) 738-7388.

It was a clean sweep for the GOP in Batavia's race to fill three at-large seats on the City Council in a year when the party was facing a new challenge from local Libertarians for the first time.

Eugene Jankowski Jr., Brooks Hawley and John Deleo easily secured four-year terms on the council.

Libertarians Jim Rosenbeck and Lisa Whitehead finished eighth and ninth in the crowded field.

Hawley, the lone incumbent among the winners, got 1,179 votes, according to the still unofficial tally.

"We visited almost every street and home in Batavia,” Hawley said. “People saw how dedicated we are and they believe we will use that dedication in City Council as well.”

Hard work was part of the GOP strategy this year, said city Chair Matt Landers, who acknowledged the Libertarian presence on the ballot and the fact the new local party was out working hard helped motivate the Republicans.

“They were working very hard and they are an upstart group with a passionate base and we definitely took them seriously,” Landers said.

Rosenbeck received 358 votes and Whitehead 243 votes. 

The low vote totals didn't discourage party Chairman Phil Ricci at all, who told the party members at their election headquarters at Larry's Steakhouse that Rosenbeck would become the committee chairman of the party's new city committee.

“We started with a small group of concerned, like-minded citizens, set with the task of creating an alternative to the existing political parties,” Ricci said. “That little ragtag group grew into a solid core group of committed individuals who felt strongly enough about our core principles, and even stronger about the lack of real choice, to give it a go.”

Jankowski, a former Batavia PD lieutenant, said after a hard-fought campaign, he's ready to get to work, serving his community in a new capacity.

"We work well together, people respect us and they want us to be their leaders in the community," said Jankowski, who received 1,269 votes.

Deleo, who garnered 1,309 votes, said the three winners will make a good team going forward, just as they did as campaign mates.

“We all have our own strengths and together it works for the best,” Deleo said.

Rosenbeck remained upbeat about the Libertarian effort.

“It has been a success and we wish the GOP well,” Rosenbeck said.

Rounding out the field were Diana Kisiel Kastenbaum, 586 votes, Thomas Clark, 552 votes, John Demske, 631 votes, and Rose Mary Christian, 406 votes.

Katenbaum, a Batavia native who moved away for many years and then returned to her hometown vowed to stay involved in her community.

 “I sit on a couple boards, Go-Art and Landmark Society, and I will continue working for the citizens of Batavia,” Kastenbaum said. “As a citizen I can be as active as I choose to be and I hope to be.”

For complete election results visit WBTA.com.

Top Photo (by Howard Owens): Phil Ricci speaks to Libertarian Party members.

John Deleo, Joe Gerace and John Roach watch the election results get posted at the GOP headquarters for the night at City Slickers (photo by Howard Owens).

Batavia PD is setting up a search area around State Street after a report of some sort of confrontation involving a black male who opened a jacket and displayed a handgun.

The incident was reported on Hutchins Place.

UPDATE 12:03 a.m.: Batavia PD officers have been told they can break down their perimeter and resume their regular patrols. No word on whether the suspect was located.

Two Rochester men arrested Oct. 17 for an alleged brazen act of thievery at Walmart are facing upgraded charges after the ongoing investigation uncovered another alleged theft from the store two days earlier.

Eric L. Strong, 53, Michael Dawson, 50, and Keith Brantley, 43, are now charged with grand larceny, 3rd, an upgrade from the original fourth-degree grand larceny charge.

A review of store surveillance video by a Walmart Loss Prevention Officers found the three men allegedly in the act of stealing $947 in merchandise.

They had already been accused of stealing $2,126 in merchandise by loading it in a shopping cart and wheeling it out the door.

Strong also faces a new charge of petit larceny for allegedly stealing merchandise valued at $242.69 on Oct. 1.

All  three are being held without bail.

Press release:

Saturday afternoon, the City of Batavia Historic Preservation Commission presented bronze plaques to the owners of six locally designated landmarks in a ceremony held at Sweet Ecstasy Bakery. The ceremony is one that occurs every few years and plaques presented in previous ceremonies can be seen around Batavia. The plaques include the date the landmark was erected and the words, “City of Batavia Historic Landmark.”

Plaques presented today were for: the old city hall (former Brisbane Mansion); the Bonarigo & McCutcheon law office at 18 Ellicott St. (former St. Mary’s rectory); the former Genesee County Sheriff’s office at 14 W. Main; Dr. Anna Lamb’s office at 7 Evans St. (former gas holder building); the Sharon Johnson residence at 44 Roosevelt Ave.; and the former Doty Mansion at 123-125 Jackson St. Owners of these buildings, in accepting the plaques, have agreed to display them on the exterior of their structures in locations readily visible to the public.

The City of Batavia Historic Preservation Commission, established in the mid-1990s, works to recognize and help preserve Batavia places and buildings of historic significance. More than 40 properties have been designated as landmarks over the course of the Commission’s existence.        

Photo: Joan Barton, chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, presenting plaque to Ben Bonarigo.

Randall M. Dennis, 67, of Keeney Road, Le Roy, is charged with DWI and moving from lane unsafely. Randall was reportedly involved in a motor-vehicle accident at 5:50 p.m. Sunday on East Morganville Road, Stafford. His truck left the roadway, struck a sign and guide rail before traveling down a steep earth embankment into a shallow creek. The investigation is ongoing and there may be additional charges. Dennis was transported by Mercy EMS to Strong Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.

Byron Gilbert Keller, 18, of no permanent address, is charged with trespass. Keller was reportedly in another person's vehicle on Route 20, Alexander, while it was parked in a driveway. Keller allegedly refused to leave. Additional charges are possible.

Patrick O'Neil Spikes, 32, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Spikes was allegedly a passenger in a vehicle driven by a person he is prohibited by court order from being with. The driver was stopped for allegedly driving on a suspended registration, suspended license and no insurance.

A 16-year-old from Batavia are charged with two counts of petit larceny. The youth was allegedly caught shoplifting at Walmart and during the investigation was found to be a suspect in a shoplifting case from the previous day. The youth allegedly stole $276.57 in merchandise on one occasion and an unknown amount on the second.

Elizabeth A. Graff, 32, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Graff is accused of stealing from an unspecified location. She was arrested by State Police. No further details released.

The Town of Batavia Fire Department's new ladder truck was used in a unique way this morning -- to practice a water rescue at Indian Falls.

Many times over the years people have fallen at the falls and rope teams have been brought in for a precarious rescue that involves climbing down steep cliffs and/or crossing rapid waters. 

Today, the rescue team trained with the ladder extended over the falls and being lowered down to the water for a practice rescue.

Also participating were Pembroke and Indian Falls.

Photos courtesy Town of Batavia Fire Department.

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A two-car accident with injuries is reported at Route 63 and Batavia Oakfield Townline Road. It is blocking traffic. Mercy medics, law enforcement and Town of Batavia Fire Department are responding.

UPDATE 4:06 p.m.: There are three or four injuries; one of the patients is a child. A second Mercy rig is requested.

UPDATE 4:13 p.m.: A third ambulance is requested. There is a total of four patients.

UPDATE 4:27 p.m.: The roadway is no longer blocked.

UPDATE 4:31 p.m.: Two of the ambulances are taking patients to Erie County Medical Center; no word yet on the destination of the remaining rig.

UPDATE 4:50 p.m.: The last rig is also going to ECMC. The assignment is back in service.

The Rochester Amerks mascot "Moose" paid a visit to St. Joe's for the school's Halloween party Friday night as a special guest of Matthew Neal, 10.

Matthew won the visit when he went with his father, Herb, to an Amerks game on "Halloween Night." Dressed as Willy from the TV show Duck Dynasty, Matthew won that night's costume contest as decided by the fans.

Originally, the prize was for Moose to go trick-or-treating Halloween night with the contest winner, but because of weather concerns prior to Halloween night, the Amerks scheduled Moose for the party at St. Joe's.

Photo by Alecia Kaus. Information provided by Herb Neal.