batavia

UPDATED 5:52 p.m.

Members of the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force reportedly observed a Batavia man selling drugs on Wednesday, and when they moved in on the suspect, he reportedly threw some crack cocaine on the sidewalk.

Task force members then obtained a search warrant for a residence in Batavia where they allegedly found five more bags of crack cocaine.

Taken into custody was Ronnie "Ace" Allen, 23.

The search warrant was executed at 6 Vine St., upper, Batavia. Allen listed his address as 42 Mountbatten St., Henrietta.

He is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.

Allen was jailed on $25,000 bail.

Assisting in the investigation were the Sheriff's deputies and the District Attorney's Office.

Eight congressional hopefuls filed into South Beach restaurant on Sunday to explain to 21 GOP leaders from the 26th Congressional District why he or she should get the endorsement of the Republican Party in any upcoming special election.

Though no election has been called yet by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, it's widely anticipated that Cuomo will set a date for a special election to fill the seat vacated by Chris Lee after a shirtless picture of him showed up on Gawker.com.

Don Read, representing Genesee County, said GOP officials will meet tonight in Geneseo to go over the list and decide whom the party should back.

"A lot depends on our discussion," Read said. "We have a good cross section (of candidates). There's certainly a good group of candidates."

Besides Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, who is the odds-on favorite of pundits, three-time loser Jack Davis showed up for an interview, as did Genesee County residents David Bellavia and Peter O'Brien.

O'Brien is a frequent commenter on The Batavian.

Also showing an interest in the seat for the GOP are: Dr. Barry Weinstein, a former Town of Amherst councilman; Brian Napoli, from Orleans County; Gary Wehate, of Avon; and Kathy Wepner, a radio talk-show host in Buffalo.

In the weighted vote system the GOP uses to pick candidates for the congressional seat, Erie County candidates have an edge in the selection process. It only takes one Erie County vote and one Niagara County vote to outweigh the votes of Orleans, Wyoming, Genesee and Monroe counties.

Story based on reporting by WBTA's Dan Fischer.

Scott C. Brown, 22, of 11 Wood St., Batavia, John C. Schurr Jr., 26, of 382 Garden Drive, Batavia, and Ashley M. Younke, 31, of 212 Trumbull Parkway, Batavia, are all charged with petit larceny and theft of services. The trio allegedly left Sport of Kings restaurant at 3:30 a.m., Sunday, without paying for food they ordered. They also allegedly left with several pieces of flatware. Officer Frank Klimjack reportedly observed the suspects' vehicle shortly after they left the restaurant. The flatware was recovered.

Ronald J. Scroger, 30, 52 Columbia Ave., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. He is accused of stealing clothing from Olympia Sports on Wednesday.

Eugene C. Rose, 36, of 230 Keystone St., Buffalo, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Rose was taken into custody by Buffalo PD on a warrant issued by Batavia City Court for allegedly violating an order of protection. Buffalo PD turned Rose over to Batavia PD and Rose was jailed without bail. Rose reportedly has prior felony convictions.

Loralyn L. Bateman, 34, 5 Edwards St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. Bateman was stopped on Union Street at 1:50 a.m., Friday, by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

Marsha Jones, 56, of Wade Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with disorderly conduct. Jones was allegedly involved in an altercation at 7 p.m., Thursday, in the Genesee Community College cafeteria with the assistant manager an employee there. Jones is accused of swearing at the assistant manager employee and then pushing a cart, causing items to fall off the cart and break.

Anthony C. Timberlake, 22, of North Street, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. Timberlake is accused of being involved in an argument with a customer at the college cafe at 7 p.m., Thursday. Timberlake allegedly was swearing at the customer in front of witnesses.

Calvin Pangrazio, an employee of Sloat Tires, changes a tire on a Rent-A-Center truck in the Valu Plaza.

At least two vehicles had their tires slashed in the parking lot overnight, and there are also reports of tires slashed in the parking lots of City Centre, Walmart and  Batavia Downs as well as one report on a residential street. In all, as many as 10 cars appear to have been vandalized overnight.

Officer Jay Andrews said the two Rent-a-Center trucks each had two tires slashed, making the value of the damage more than $250 on each truck. That makes the alleged crimes Class E felonies, criminal mischief, 3rd.

Anybody with information about these incidents should call either Deputy Kevin McCarthy at 345-3000, ext. 3237 or the Batavia PD at 345-6359.

UPDATE 12:38 p.m.: A Sheriff's deputy dispatched to the Target parking lot for the report of another tire slashing.

UPDATE 3:38 p.m.: An officer is sent to Bank Street Road to interview another person whose tires were slashed.

City police were dispatched about five minutes ago to the rear parking area of Blockbuster on Lewiston Road for a report of an employee's tire slashed.

Now a Sheriff's deputy is being sent to the same area (city limit is at Park Road) for more reports of slashed tires. It isn't clear from what we picked up off the scanner which parking lot this additional vandalism took place in.

UPDATE 1:49 a.m.: Apparently, the Sheriff's Office has jurisdiction on the customer parking lot on Lewiston. That is where all of the tires were slashed, including the one initially reported behind the building in employee parking.

UPDATE 1:59 a.m.: If I heard this right, now there's a report of a Jeep outside Sunny's (in the City Centre) with its tires slashed.

UPDATE 7:52 a.m.: The Sheriff's Office put out a news release confirming that the tires were slashed on three cars in the Batavia Downs parking lot on Park Road some time between 9 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. Anybody with information is asked to contact Deputy Kevin McCarthy at 345-3000, ext. 3237.

UPDATE 8:04 a.m.: An officer handling another similar incident inquired with dispatch about other reports overnight. There was another car vandalized in the city that was reported early this morning and a car break-in on Park Road.

UPDATE 9:25 a.m.: Batavia PD dispatched to Batavia Commons and Valu Plaza for more tires slashed.

Margarita's Mexican Restaurant on Jackson Street has closed.

Owner Carlos Hernandez was not available for comment today.

NOTE: If you bought a Margarita's gift certificate from The Batavian within the past 30 days, return it to us for a refund. No refunds will be issued without return of the physical gift certificate and the purchase must have been made in the past 30 days.

An Oak Street man with a fondness for waterfowl will get to keep his ducks and continue some of his hobbies in his yard, but with new restrictions.

As part of a plea bargain, Ron Graziaplena, of 172 Oak St., admitted to keeping debris in his back yard, a violation of city code, and agreed to a number of conditions on his continued ability to keep 10 mallard ducks as pets and grow tomatoes and build waterfowl-related projects.

The deal was worked out Friday afternoon over three and a half hours, at a time when his trial on numerous alleged code violations was scheduled. Almost all the negotiations were held in open court with Batavia City Court Judge Robert Balbick presiding.

Balbick told Graziaplena that he would be fair with him if Graziaplena made substantial progress toward complying with the plea agreement between now and his sentencing on April 15.

The main agreement regarding the ducks is that Graziaplena can keep only 10, except when there are hatchlings, which must be released in an Elba swamp owned by Graziaplena's family before Oct. 1 of each year.

A neutral, non-governmental, qualified inspector will visit the property twice a year -- on or about July 1 and on or about Oct. -- to ensure Graziaplena is maintaining only a 10-duck population and they are kept in sanitary, humane conditions.

Graziaplena will be required to build a six-foot-high stockade-type fence along his south property line from the garage to the back corner of the lot and for some distance along the back property line. 

He must also install a stockade-style gate across his driveway from the southeast corner of his house to his property line on the south.

The gate is intended to create a visual barrier for anything on his driveway, from construction materials for his projects and his tomato boxes.

Graziaplena prefers to work on his projects in the front yard. He can continue to do so during the day, but come nightfall, he will be required to put all construction materials behind the gate.

He must also keep his BBQ grill behind the gate rather than in the yard.

In recent months, Graziaplena has mounted a number of duck decoys atop 10-foot-high poles along his south property line, and more recently added waterfowl-themed wind vanes that he said he made.

He acknowledged that some of his neighbors are aggravated by the poles, but said the decoys are left over from his hunting days and just a symbol of his hobby. He said he plans to start selling the wind vanes.

"I've gotten many compliments on them, your honor," Graziaplena said. "Several of my friends want them for themselves. Perhaps you would like one?"

Balbick said he couldn't accept the offer.

The judge ordered that all of the pole structures be taken down before sentencing and that they remain down for at least the duration of Graziaplena's conditional discharge (a six-month period after his sentence in which Graziaplena must remain violation free to avoid having the original charges reinstated).

Graziaplena also keeps a boat on the north side of his house. He must either put a driveway on the north side to set the boat on or start keeping the boat on his south side driveway.

About a half dozen of Graziaplena's supporters were at the courthouse Friday, many of them planning to testify in the trial. One neighbor who is unhappy with the situation on Graziaplena's property attended the hearing.

"I want to see that property code compliant," Balbick told Graziaplena after accepting his guilty plea. "I'm not going to punish you just for the purpose of punishing you, but I do have an obligation to the people of this city to see that the yard is safe and there isn't debris strewn about throughout the yard and that the yard is sanitary."

Photos: Take at Graziaplena's residence on Friday.

The roof on the Kwik Fill at Jackson and Ellicott streets, Batavia, was peeled right off by strong winds this morning.

The incident was reported at 6:23 a.m.

City fire responded.

An electrical line was arcing so National Grid was called in to shut off power.

There is a wind advisory in place until 6 p.m 

The wind may hamper search efforts for the missing man in Darien.  It's possible that any aircraft that could be used to assist in the search will be grounded due to high winds.

Scattered snow showers are expected throughout the day.

Yesterday, in our story on the scuffle at the DSS office, we identified the suspect as Steven Joseph. His correct name is Steven Joseph Mancuso-Haitz.

We also said he was a resident of a complex called Mancuso Heights in Stafford.

It is unlikely there is a development in Stafford called Mancuso Heights, or even in the Town of Batavia, as one of our readers suggested this morning.

Mancuso-Haitz is apparently homeless and had only recently arrived in Batavia on a bus from Florida.

I'd feel a lot worse about this, but the Batavia Daily News reporter misunderstood the information in the same way I did.

I ran into one of the deputies from the scene at the courthouse this afternoon and as we discussed the confusion, it was clear how it came about. We all, I'm sure, regret the error.

Dustin M. Locicero, 26, formerly of 16 Gibson St., Bergen, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, and four counts of identity theft. Locicero, currently an inmate at the Elmira Correctional Facility, is accused of possessing a stolen credit card at the Wilson Farms store, 8132 Buffalo Road, Bergen, on March 18, and allegedly using it to make three separate ATM withdrawls and one merchandise purchase. The investigation was conducted by Deputy Dana Richardson and Investigator Timothy Weis.

Stephen John Farrell, 44, of the Bare Hill Correctional Facility, Malone, is charged with burglary, 3rd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Farrell is accused of using force to enter a Bergen business during the early morning hours of Feb. 11. The entry door was damaged. Farrell was arraigned in Genesee County Court and bail was set at $10,000.

Cody James Sundown, 20, of Sailles Plank Road, Irving, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Sundown was arrested on a bench warrant out of Town of Pembroke Court. Sundown is accused of damaging another person's vehicle on Nov. 27.

Matthew Scott Williams, 23, of 21 Maple St., upper, Batavia, is charged with a violation of probation. Williams was taken into custody at 7:47 p.m., Thursday. Williams was wanted on a bench warrant out of Town of Elba Court. He was jailed on $5,000 bail. (For previous arrest reports on Williams, click here.)

A futon caught on fire this morning at 29 Tracy Ave., but the apartment was not damaged.

The initial alarm came in around 10 a.m. and city firefighters responded.

Firefighters found the futon outside the apartment, where the resident had dragged it.

According to Lt. Jay Steinbrenner, the resident was apparently smoking on the futon when he fell asleep. When he woke up, he tried putting the fire out himself. He apparently tried a few times, according ot Steinbrenner.

"This apparently went on for an hour and a half," Steinbrenner said.

When the futon flamed up pretty good, the resident dragged it outside and called 9-1-1.

It's an auspicious time for Terry Anderson to return to Batavia to dedicate a peace garden.

Anderson, who grew up in Batavia, was chief Middle East correspondent for Associated Press when he was abducted on March 16, 1985, in Beirut following a game of tennis. Anderson was held in captivity by Hezbollah for six years and nine months.

As Anderson returns to his boyhood home, the Middle East is exploding in a way it never has before. Governments in Tunisia and Egypt have been toppled by pro-democracy demonstrators. Even the Iranian government, which backs Hezbollah, is facing youthful opposition.

Anderson is cautiously optimistic about what he sees happening.

"I watched Yasser Arafat and Isaac Rabin shake hands on the White House lawn," Anderson said tonight during a meet-and-greet at Batavia Downs. "It was one of the most optimistic days of my life, because I covered that conflict for years, and (look at) what has happened since.

"It doesn’t always turn out for the best. But yes, I see something new in the Middle East. I see something that promises something hopeful for the future."

One of America's most acclaimed and recognized journalists, Anderson was invited to return to his former hometown to help raise funds for a War of 1812 Peace Garden planned for a plot of land adjacent to the Holland Land Office Museum.

Anderson will have a busy day Friday, starting with an 8 a.m. visit to Batavia High School. He will also have lunch with GCC President Stuart Steiner followed by a public lecture at noon at GCC. At 2 p.m., there will be a press conference with Anderson at the Genesee County History Office, 7 W. Main St., and at 5 p.m., the main event -- a dinner at Terry Hills ($25 per person), where Anderson will be the featured speaker.

Thursday night, Anderson arrived at Batavia Downs shortly after 7 p.m. and he was warmly greeted by a few old friends as well as people involved in organizing the peace garden effort. Anderson also took a few minutes to talk with members of the media who where there.

Anderson -- who recently finished a teaching stint at the University of Kentucky and is now contemplating a return to residency in Upstate New York -- was animated as soon as the topic turned to the turmoil in the Middle East.

He recalled that he was in captivity when Marcos fell in the Philippines, and that was followed by the regime falling in South Africa and then, of course, the toppling of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet Union.

"It just proves again what we knew then – you can have all of the police and secret police and guns and thugs in the world, and when your people stand up and say, ‘no, we’re tired of you,’ you’re gone," Anderson said.

He added, "Every country is different, but there is something going around that they all seem to have in common: They are tired of dictators and corruption and denial of human rights."

A Vietnam veteran, Anderson said that as a 19-year-old Marine, he visited the most famous peace garden in the world, the one at ground zero in Hiroshima, Japan. So when he was invited to return to Batavia to help bring about a new peace garden he thought, "who's not in favor of peace?

"Why would I miss a chance to dedicate a peace garden? It may be on a smaller scale, but why wouldn't I support it?"

Photo: Jim Owen gets an autograph from Terry Anderson on one of his books.

A public hearing has been set with the Town of Batavia Planning Board to discuss a proposed change to the location of Oil Doctor, 4003 W. Main St. Road, Batavia.

Owner Ben Thompson has requested permission to convert a portion of the existing building to an area for motorcycle sales.

The hearing will be at 7:30 p.m., March 1, at town hall, 3833 W. Main St. Road, Batavia.

A copy of the application is available at town hall for review.

Construction has begun on a $2 million project to add an indoor water park to the Clarion Hotel on Park Road, Batavia.

Owner Chan Patel (above) said he is looking forward providing year-round recreation to the region. He expects to draw customs from Buffalo and Rochester, not just Genesee County.

"We have a big staff," Patel said. "Even in the winter, we have 60 people on staff. During the summer there's plenty of work, but in the winter I have to cut down their hours. It's not fair because they have to support their families, too."

The 12,000-square-foot facility -- Palm Island Indoor Water Park -- includes a 197-foot and a 169-foot water slide, a pool equipped with basketball hoops, a spa, a play lagoon with waterfalls, small slides and dumping buckets, as well as birthday party rooms, a food and beverage concession and an arcade room with 15 games.

Patel said he planned the park so that there would be activities that would appeal to all ages.

"This will bring more business into town," Patel said. "It will be a benefit to the whole community."

He's even partnering, he said, with local businesses to help ensure his guests patronize those businesses.

He's also using local or regional contractors. The design was completed by Smart Design, of Batavia. Whitney East, of Rochester, is the general contractor, and Batavia's Arctic Refrigeration is handling all of the mechanical work.

The project received tax abatements from the Genesee County Economic Development Center worth about $91,600. That includes partial abatement of property taxes for 10 years worth $18,800, a mortgage-tax abatement worth $12,800, and exemption from sales tax on materials for construction of the park worth $60,000.

GCEDC estimates the $91,600 in tax abatement will have more than a $5 million multiplier-effect benefit for the local economy.

A 26-year-old Stafford man apparently had a bad day at the Department of Social Services office and when a security guard told him it was time to leave, he didn't immediately comply.

"The situation became verbal and then it became physical," said Trooper Mark Catanzaro.

The initial 9-1-1 call for assistance came into the Emergency Dispatch Center at 11:14 a.m.

Taken into custody and facing a possible harassment, 2nd, charge is Steven Joseph, who listed an address in Mancuso Heights, off Seven Springs Road, Stafford.

The security guard was checked by Mercy EMS as a precaution, but was not injured, though his jacket was torn.

Joseph did not appear injured either. 

Catanzaro said Joseph was at DSS seeking services, but "it wasn't going well." He became agitated and the security guard suggested he leave and come back another day.

During the confrontation, the guard wrestled Joseph to the ground and held him there until law enforcement arrived.

Catanzaro was first on scene. A city police officer and Sheriff's deputy arrived on scene seconds later.

UPDATE: A reader sent an e-mail saying that Mancuso Heights is actually in the Town of Batavia.

At least eight buildings in Downtown Batavia were tagged with graffiti some time since later yesterday evening, according to police.

The police report doesn't specify which buildings, but the building owners were notified that police officers spotted the graffiti sometime around 2 a.m.

There has been a little tagging of downtown buildings in the past, but this new tagging does not match the previous words/symbols left.

Chief Randy Baker said the police officer wasn't even sure what the message of the tags were.

Baker suggested that anybody who is downtown after dark call police and report any suspicious activity around buildings.

UPDATE: Downtown property owner Ken Mistler is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the tagger.

Anthony P. Dioguardi, 28, a resident of Wyoming Correctional Facility, is charged with four counts of sexual abuse, 1st. Dioguardi is accused of having forcible sexual contact with a child under 11 on two separate occasions in 2006. Dioguardi is currently serving a sentence on a conviction for similar acts, also in 2006. The case was investigated by Det. Kevin Czora, Batavia PD.

Amanda Ann Barclay, 23, of Angling Road, Corfu, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Barclay is accused of remaining in the presence of two people whom she is barred by court order from contacting.

Local hotel owners are united in their opposition to the proposed four-story Holiday Inn Express that could become their new neighbor.

One by one, the owners gave their reasons why to the Town of Batavia Planning Board Tuesday night. They cited serious traffic concerns and opposed a building that would tower over others. They claimed another hotel would negatively impact their businesses and, ultimately, the local job market.

The proposed "franchise hotel" would have, according to architect Mark Tiedemann, of MWT Architecture, "...80 rooms with a small meeting room space along with a dining space/breakfast area and an indoor pool."

Developer Michael Patel was not present. He also owns the Hampton Inn in Batavia and is an investor in Chase Hotel Group.

"He doesn't live in our community -- he's not from the area," said a hotel owner.

More than one owner complained that the Hampton Inn continually undercuts the prices of its competitors, starting a "price war."  

Rashi Dev, owner of the Comfort Inn in Batavia, said her hotel will be the most negatively affected if the Holiday Inn Express is erected at four stories high next to her two-story building.

Hotel owners agreed that demand for their services has dwindled in this troubled economy. Some have had to lay off a number of employees and they admitted working long shifts as their own front-desk attendants, even having to clean rooms.

"We're already overpopulated," said Vibhu Joshi, owner of Days Inn and Super 8. He explained that the number of hotels at exit 48 proves to be the highest concentration off the thruway from Syracuse to Pennsylvania.

 "Currently, all the hotels here are struggling in a bad economy and this will hurt even more... the county and the state because the demand will not increase. The supply would be increasing."

The proposed project touts the creation of 19 jobs, but hotel owners questioned whether they are full or part time, and whether or not they will be seasonal. They also pointed out that Patel is known to "share" employees from facility to facility and said that the "new" jobs would most likely be given to those already employed at the Hampton Inn.

Dev informed the planning board of a few parking lot troubles she already encounters with her close proximity to the Hampton Inn, and asked that traffic and parking be looked into further. It was pointed out later by Tom Warth, of Hiscock and Barclay -- hired to represent the existing hotels, that the traffic studies should be conducted during the peak hotel season in the summertime.

Planning Board Chair Kathleen Jasinski tried to assure the concerned business owners that, "This is all so preliminary and it's the first the planning board is hearing of it tonight... If we need to have another public hearing on the matter, we will."

After listening to the genuine concerns and issues of the hotel owners and even a few hotel employees, Jasinski seemed certain that another public hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

The planning board agreed to serve as lead agency on the project and to go through the SEQR process beginning March 15 -- after the applicant provides a traffic study. Jasinski said she couldn't comment on whether the study would be considered adequate if it turns out it wasn't conducted during peak hotel season.

Besides parking and traffic, height was a big concern.

Tiedemann said the building's height shouldn't negatively affect those around it because westbound Thruway traffic can't see the buildings behind the Route 98 bridge anyway. And eastbound traffic would see it behind the others from the opposite direction.

Jasinski warned that, "Unfortunately, we deal with only the land use. We just determine whether or not the project is the right use for the land and that area. We are not involved in the economics -- they have already gone through that with the GCEDC and they've gotten their tax incentives and it's all worked out."

When Warth pointed out that, "Actually, they don't (have it all worked out) because they are waiting on the planning board."

Jasinski replied, "Well they are going to wait a little bit because we have a lot to do."

Although a 40-foot height variance was approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals, the project was incorrectly categorized as one not requiring a SEQR review. In fact, the zoning board cannot grant a variance until a SEQR is completed, so its decision is invalid.

"I don't see any reason to allow another hotel but just in case it turns out they have the right to be there, I would like to see that you don't give the varience for additional height," Joshi charged the planning board. "

"Show the reason - if there is supply and the need is there for a higher building, so be it... but why grant the unfair advantage when everyone else is at the same height? They are the ones getting tax benefits, they will lower all the rates to take the business from us and put us in jeopardy and they sell the bulding and run."

No more muddy football games, practice sessions that can begin a month earlier and end a month later and lower maintenance costs are among the advantages of an artificial turf field. That's what about 30 attendees were told about at a public hearing Tuesday night on a proposed $3.9 million upgrade to Van Detta Stadium and the field.

The upgrade would also bring showers into federal Title IX compliance and disability access to the stands into compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. It would also add 75 adjacent parking spots.

The financial impact of the project, some of which would be covered by state aid, would mean the district would need to collect about $110,000 in annual taxes from district residents over 15 years.

Superintended Margaret Puzio acknowledges that in a slow economic time a proposal like this might be counterintuitive. But the time is right, she said, because the recession means the district is likely to attract lower bids from contractors.

"It's important for the public to understand that this may be the last opportunity to do a project of this scope funded at this level," Puzio said near the end of the public hearing.

Afterwards, Puzio said she thought it was important to at least present the option to the public.

"I told the board, morally this is the right thing to do -- to let the public know this is available and let them decide," Puzio said.

The local share -- the amount local taxpayers will pay for directly -- is $1.6 million. The district already has more than $500,000 in its capital improvement fund, which leaves a little over a million to raise locally.

That would mean a tax increase of $6.41 annually to the tax bill of a property assessed at $75,000.

Revenue to pay the balance of the $3.9 million project cost is expected to come from state aid.

The public vote on the proposal is March 29.

Besides converting the playing surface to artificial turf -- which would greatly multiple the number of events and practices the field could be used for annually -- the proposed project also renovates and expands the press box. It adds coaches offices adjacent to the locker rooms and creates separate shower facilities for boys and girls.

The current showers can't even be used because they don't comply with requirements of Title IX.

There would also be a new concession stand area that would include public restrooms.

A 75-space parking lot would be constructed on a current playing field off Union Street (near the center, top left of the picture above).