Genesee County's first female fire chief, Stephanie Call, was named Firefighter of the Year for the Stafford Fire Department at the department's annual awards and installation banquet Saturday night.

Matt Hendershott, who takes over as chief in 2020, praised Call for her hard work and dedication, her countless hours of service, often behind the scenes doing the administrative work necessary to keep the department running, as well as her leadership and inspiration.

He also singled out an incident at Call's place of employment in Le Roy on Dec. 15 when an employee collapsed. Call found the coworker unresponsive on the floor and began CPR. She stayed with her coworker until police and EMS arrived.

Hendershott quoted the victim, "My family sees Stephanie as the woman who saved my life."

Ken Collins received the Chief's Award for his service to the department.

Stafford fire responded to 289 calls in 2019, up 17 percent from 2018. The top responder was Hendershott, who went to 145 calls.

David Krzemien is running against incumbent William Sheron for Genesee County Sheriff. He held a campaign kickoff on Saturday at Batavia Country Club. Here is a short, introductory video.

Submitted image and press release:

Genesee Community College is proud to announce the opening of one of its favorite annual exhibits -- the Fine Arts Student Exhibit - comprised entirely by GCC student creativity and talent!

This special display, themed "Express It" by the contributors, showcases the finest multimedia artwork recently produced by students enrolled in fine arts courses at Genesee Community College.

Painting, drawing, sculpture and ceramics will be among the work on display. The Fine Arts Student Exhibit opened on March 3 and will remain open through April 3.

The entire community is invited to meet the student artists at two public receptions scheduled for Thursday, March 19, at 12:30 p.m. and again at 5 p.m. in the gallery.

Throughout the season, the Roz Steiner Art Gallery is open to the public Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is also open during special events as published here.

 Admission is free. For more information, contact Gallery coordinator Mary Jo Whitman at (585) 343-0055, ext. 6490, or via email: mjwhitman@genesee.edu.

Genesee Community College is located at 1 College Road, Batavia.

Press release:

Applications are now being accepted at Genesee Community College for Genesee Promise Plus (GPP) Summer 2020 Scholarships!

The GPP scholarship program helps remove financial barriers to higher education for citizens in the Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming (GLOW) counties by paying tuition costs for up to two courses this summer.

With more than 70 courses available over three summer session start dates, combined with the flexibility of courses being both online and at GCC's seven campus locations, the only challenge is finding a reason not to get started!

GP Scholarship eligibility is simple. Anyone in the following categories is encouraged to apply:

• High School Juniors (aka "rising seniors") and qualifying Homeschool Students are eligible for scholarship funding to take one summer 2020 course. 
• Graduating High School Seniors are eligible for scholarship funding to take one or two summer 2020 courses
• Adults who have never attended college are eligible for scholarship funding to take one course. This includes adults who have received a GED prior to May 1, 2020 or graduated from a GLOW area high school on or before December 2019. GCC will require a copy of high school transcripts.

GPP scholarship applications are available online at www.genesee.edu/promiseplus and will be accepted now through June 19 for the 2020 summer sessions which will run from:

• Full Session runs May 26 - Aug. 7
• Session 1 runs May 26 - June 26
• Session 2 runs July 6 - Aug. 7

"Summer is a perfect time for students to get a head start on their college coursework or explore possible career options," Lindsay Gerhardt, assistant dean for Recruitment and Admissions said. "The GPP program provides a wonderful opportunity to cost effectively earn up to eight transferrable credits before their first full semester even begins!"

GCC's summer session course list includes general education courses and prerequisites for a variety of programs to give students a head start. In addition, there are a wide array of introductory courses available for individuals looking to explore a new field or wanting to start on their academic degree program during the quieter summer session.

To view the complete list of courses being offered, visit here.

Applications, qualification criteria and additional information are available here. 

All interested individuals are encouraged to contact the office of admissions at admissions@genesee.edu or by calling (585) 345-6805 today!

Submitted photos and press release:

Congratulations to the Genesee County 4-H members who competed in the Regional 4-H Horse Extravaganza Contest at Midlakes School in Clifton Springs on Saturday, March 7^th.

4-H youth from across the Finger Lakes competed in Horse Quiz Bowl and Hippology equine knowledge contests. Horse Quiz Bowl is a Jeopardy-style competition, while Hippology is a hands-on test of identifying equipment, feeds and other equine facts.

4-H Horse Bowl Results:

• Senior Team of Alexandria Tarbell and Eva Rhoads placed second out of seven teams.
• Senior Individual Results: Alexandria Tarbell -- fourth place; Eva Rhoads -- sixth place.
• Junior Team of Leah Amend, Laura Grant and Alexandra Witmer placed fifth out of 11 teams.
• Junior Individual Results: Alexandra Witmer 14^th place; Laura Grant 17^th place.
• Novice Team including Wyatt Witmer placed third and Wyatt placed third individually.

4-H Hippology Results:

• Senior Team of Alexandria Tarbell and Eva Rhoads placed second out of seven teams.
• Senior Individual Results: Alexandria Tarbell -- third place; Eva Rhoads -- 13^th place.
• Junior Team of Leah Amend, Laura Grant and Alexandra Witmer placed eighth out of 11 teams.
• Junior Individual Results: Alexandra Witmer placed seventh.
• Novice Team including Wyatt Witmer placed first and Wyatt placed fourth individually.

Alexandria Tarbell, Eva Rhoads, and Alexandra Witmer qualified for the New York State 4-H Horse Quiz Bowl Contest in April at Cornell University and the New York State 4-H Hippology Contest at the New York State Fair this summer. Congratulations!

Special thanks to Coach Cindy Bovier and Assistant Coach Sara Witmer for all of their hard work and dedication to the Genesee County 4-H Horse Bowl Club.

Top photo: Genesee County 4-H Horse Extravaganza participants, from left: Eva Rhoads, Wyatt Witmer, Coach Cindy Bovier, Leah Amend, Laura Grant, Alexandra Witmer, Alexandria Tarbell, and Assistant Coach Sara Witmer.

Below, Genesee County 4-H Senior Horse Bowl and Hippology Team members Eva Rhoads, left, and Alexandria Tarbell.

Below, Genesee County 4-H Junior Horse Bowl and Hippology Team members, from left: Laura Grant, Leah Amend and Alexandra Witmer.

Below, Genesee County 4-H Novice Horse Bowl and Hippology participant Wyatt Witmer.

Press release from the Office of the Sheriff:

On March 9 at 10:45 p.m., the Genesee County Sheriff's Office received a missing person complaint on Maltby Road, Town of Oakfield. After a search of the immediate area, the missing person was located in a small pond, just northeast of her residence.

It appears that Patricia A. Saguin, 72, was looking for her lost dog, and may have stumbled into the pond and drowned.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office, Sgt. John L. Baiocco, Deputy Ryan Young, Deputy James Stack, Deputy Austin Heberlein, Investigator Joseph Loftus and Chief Deputy Joseph Graff, Genesee County Coroner Karen Lang, and members of the Oakfield Voluntary Fire Department all assisted in the incident.

The incident in still under investigation.

The Batavia City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a three-year contract with the Batavia Police Benevolent Association that gives the union members a 3 percent salary increase each year and makes modest adjustments to their uniform purchase and maintenance allowance.

The vote was 8-0 since Council Member Jeremy Karas was not present.

According to City Manager Martin Moore, the impact of the agreement during the first year would be $72,100 -- $84,000 in wages, retirement and Social Security benefits minus $11,900 in savings from the uniform allowance changes.

The police officers’ allowance would go from $700 per year to $650 per year and the current reimbursable stipend of $300 per year would be eliminated.

The contract runs from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2023.

“There is a lot of give and take (during collective bargaining negotiations) and in all of that give and take, never once does the City of Batavia take for granted what the police department does for us,” Council Member John Canale said immediately following the board’s vote.

In other developments, Moore reported that he expects the state’s Homes and Community Renewal agency to announce its decision on funding for the Ellicott Station project sometime in April.

Moore also said that the Theatre 56 project in the mall is coming together with “most of, not all, of the interior gutted and waste materials removed, and the MRI machine is gone.”

Regarding the deer population control committee’s work, he said the group wishes to update Council at its March 23 meeting, having completed a third draft of a deer management plan with ongoing assistance from the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Wildlife Division.

Canale said that he has been impressed with the committee’s work ethic.

“I’ve never served on a committee like this one,” he said. “It is truly unbelievable. They go out in the woods, checking where the deer are. They’ve taken the ball and ran with it. It is something when community members get involved in solving problems that affect them.”

In other action, Council:

-- Approved sending a resolution to Albany seeking amendments to the state’s recently passed criminal justice reforms, which states that “several of the drastic changes in the law pertaining to discovery are overly broad and vague and are having unintended consequences at the municipal level.”

The resolution outlines increased costs of the mandated measures and restrictive deadlines that hamper the work of attorneys and judges.

“This has been a banner year for Albany pushing things down our throat,” Council Member Robert Bialkowski said.

Council President Eugene Jankowski then shared statistics compiled by New York City’s police department showing that of the 1,482 persons charged with crimes and then released (no bail), 846 of them went on to commit new crimes.

-- Approved resolutions transferring $100,000 from the committed fund balanced to the unassigned fund balance following the completion of the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan, and $27,711 in leftover money from the former Vibrant Batavia program from the committed fund balance to the unassigned fund balance.

-- Referred to the City Planning & Development Committee for review a request by Eric Biscaro, owner of property at 653 Ellicott St., to change the zoning in that area to permit an auto repair shop.

-- Appointed Caroline Hosek to the Historic Preservation Committee through Dec. 31, 2022, and Council Member Patti Pacino to the Batavia Business Improvement District through March 31, 2022.

-- Signed off on GO ART!’s Picnic in the Park event scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 4 at Centennial Park.

The body of an older female who resides in the area was found in a pond behind a barn on Maltby Road in Oakfield late tonight. The location is between Fisher and Weatherwax roads.

At about 11:18 p.m. Oakfield Fire Department and Mercy medics were dispatched and Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene. Fire and medics were told subsequently to back it down and respond in non-emergency mode.

According to Sheriff's Sgt. John Baiocco, they were told the woman went outside looking for her dogs; she apparently fell in the pond at some point. Baiocco said it's unknown how long she was in the water. A coroner is on scene.

More information will be released at a later time by the Sheriff's Office.

Viewers of the country-flavored television variety show "Hee Haw," a popular offering in the late 1960s and early 1970s, may remember the musical bit that featured the line “gloom, despair and agony on me; deep, dark depression, excessive misery.”

Batavia City Council members left tonight’s Business Meeting at City Hall with similar feelings, mixed in with anger directed at Gov. Andrew Cuomo, after reluctantly overriding the state’s 2 percent property tax cap and then passing a 7.5 percent property tax increase as part of the City’s 2020-21 budget.

“Regretfully,” said Council Member Patti Pacino as she joined Robert Bialkowski, Kathleen Briggs, Al McGinnis, John Canale and Council President Eugene Jankowski in casting a “yes” vote on overriding the tax cap. Paul Viele and Rose Mary Christian cast dissenting votes.

After that, the same five voted to adopt the $17.8 million general fund spending plan, with Paul Viele and Rose Mary Christian again voting “no.”

The third piece of the budgetary puzzle – raising water rates by 3.5 percent – came next, with six votes in favor of passage to more than offset Christian’s “no” vote.

Council member Jeremy Karas did not attend the meeting.

The property tax rate increases to $9.60 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value – a jump of 7.5 percent -- and about $67 more per year on a house assessed at $100,000.

“It was very disappointing to have to pass such a large tax increase,” Jankowski said following the meeting. “It was very disappointing to have to exceed the tax cap that the governor himself set upon all the municipalities. And then he turns around and his budget makes it very difficult for us to not exceed the tax cap. It’s very confusing and very disappointing.”

Jankowski said Council did the “best we could under the circumstances.”

“We’re working really hard in the next 12 months because now that money is not going to be there going forward,” he said. “And it’s not going to go away, and I’m not in favor of raising the taxes again.”

Calling it a “nightmare,” Bialkowski placed the blame squarely on Cuomo for taking about $440,000 in video lottery terminal money generated by Batavia Downs Gaming from the City and leaving the City no choice but to draft (and pass) a resolution asking Cuomo to give the VLT funds back to Batavia.

Canale, McGinnis and Jankowski also expressed their disdain for Cuomo’s action, while City Manager Martin Moore simply stated that “we need that money restored.”

“Assemblyman (Steve) Hawley and Senator (Michael) Ranzenhofer are both calling for the restoration of the funds and this (resolution) supports that,” he said.

Before acting on the budgetary resolutions, Council heard from a pair of City residents – Nancy Ewert, who felt the board could have cut more administrative expenses, and John Roach, who blamed the governor and the Democratic party in Albany for the City’s financial dilemma.

“I think you need to go back to the drawing board,” Ewert said. “For you to raise money for your projects on my back is unacceptable."

In response, Bialkowski said Ewert’s contention that there were closed-door meetings was not true, and justified Council’s use of the VLT money as revenue in the budget.

“Some say we shouldn’t have used the VLT money,” he said. “Should we have put it in the basement or put it under our pillow? Of course, we used it for our budgetary reasons.”

Canale agreed with Bialkowski and noted that the City used to keep the VLT money in a separate fund before New York State “demanded that we start using the VLT money toward operating costs.”

“That’s why we’ve enjoyed a level tax rate the past few years … and have maintained services,” he said. “This was an event that wasn’t expected. The tax increase was .97 percent. But if you all want services that you enjoy, there’s no other way around it. Cuomo said ‘I need it and you guys figure out what you’re going to do.’ ”

Following the meeting, Ewert called out Council for a flawed budget process.

“They say that they have to break the tax cap in order to fund the City government, and yet they can explain away $400,000 in increases – and they’re increases in administration,” she said.

“They’re not increases in police work; they cut the police budget. They froze the fire department budget and they absolutely, I mean annihilated, the youth budget. It’s like down to around $8,000 for the year.”

Ewert said youth services in the City leave a lot to be desired.

“We have a problem in Batavia for our youth. We don’t have alternatives to keep these kids off the street,” she said. “The ice rink is great but it’s not the only answer. We do we not have an indoor basketball court that’s available for free to these City kids. I know the Y exists; it’s not free.”

She also questioned the water rate increase.

“And the whole issue with the water. Now they say we have to pay another 3 point something percent because we need an infrastructure backup plan. Where is our guarantee they’re not going to spend that somewhere else, because that’s what they’ve done in the past?”

Roach said he wasn’t happy with the 7.5 percent tax increase but admitted there was “no wiggle room now.”

“Don’t fault the Republicans on City Council or Batavia Downs,” he said. “It’s strictly the fault of the Democrats and Governor Cuomo.”

Bialkowski said he despises property taxes on homeowners but added that “we need to navigate through this.”

“I wish you were here during some of our workshops,” he said. “We dissected every single line item. There are no winners … we are all losers. But I didn’t hear any solutions (during the workshops) so now’s the time to set aside personal prejudices (and vote).”

Christian responded by informing the board that she gave a list of things to cut to the city manager last week, and Viele shot back at Bialkowski for trying to dictate to the rest of Council on how to vote.

“It’s not a political thing or a Ward thing,” Viele said. “I’ll vote the way I want to vote.”

City Council President Eugene Jankowski is keeping his fingers crossed that Batavia’s financial picture will become much brighter over the next year.

Speaking to The Batavian following tonight’s City Council meeting, Jankowski didn’t hide his disappointment (see main story) but is encouraged by several state-funded Downtown Revitalization Initiative projects that are finally coming to fruition.

“We were caught off guard this year, and we really didn’t have time to do anything other than patchwork,” he said. “Next year, we’ll have 12 months to plan ahead for not having that money in the budget and hopefully we can find some real things that we can trim that aren’t going to cause any major impact on the services or doing business with our core values of police, fire, public works and snowplowing and various things like that that are important."

Jankowski said voting to override the tax cap and for the large tax increase was “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make as a council member.”

“But I understand the whole process of it and I understand why we’re doing it, and it’s the best we can do at this point – and it’s still not good enough in my mind – and we better fix it for next year for sure.”

He said having the Batavia Development Corporation in the mix is essential to the City’s economic success.

“Our goal, and that’s the big value of having BDC, because they are generating development and they are managing all of these DRI projects, expediting them and fast-tracking them to get them started,” he said. “When those buildings – Save-A-Lot building, Ellicott Place, Ellicott Station – the Savarino property – become up and running, some of them may have tax breaks, but they’re not at zero. They will be paying – in Savarino’s case I believe it’s approximately 30 percent in the first year.”

Jankowski foresees a great deal of income generated by converting the empty lot into a multimillion dollar piece of property.

“That will help us, but we have to get it built and we have to do something in the meantime while it’s being built as it will take a couple years to get done.”

He said he is banking on investors to step up to the plate.

“The other DRI projects are the same way. When people invest two million dollars into their property, it’s going to increase their value. It just happens. So, that will increase that commercial tax income and hopefully will bring in more commerce, which will increase the sales tax revenue,” he said.

The council president said he wished the City could have had one more year of VLT money to have that “cushion” while the DRI projects are under way.

Despite the current setback, he said he has to keep focusing on the future.

“I’m hoping that projected income is going to help and I hope these projects get off the ground when they need to and I hope that the governor could restore some of that money back as well,” he said. “If all that combination happens, we’re going to be in much better shape the next year. Otherwise, (there are) a lot of cuts we’ve got to think about for next year.”

Smoke is reported coming from a residence at 31 Summit St. in the city. Some callers also report flames showing. City fire is responding.

UPDATE 6:11 p.m.: It's a working house fire. It's gone to a second alarm. Alexander's Fast Team and Darien's Rescue unit are called to the scene along with Mercy medics. Town of Batavia fire is asked to stand by in quarters.

The location is between Washington Avenue and East Main Street.

UPDATE 6:40 p.m.: No injuries were reported, according to Chief Stefano Napolitano. The fire started on the back porch.

UPDATE 6:57 p.m.: There was a significant amount of fire on the backside of the residence when firefighters arrived, the chief said, but the fire was knocked down quickly and firefighters are doing overhaul and trying to ascertain how the blaze began. The chief said residents self-extricated after neighbors started pounding on their windows to alert them. Early detection devices did not go off because the fire was contained to a rear mud porch and there was no extension into the main structure or the basement. Chief Napolitano said residents were "very lucky." One of the two downstairs residents was asleep when the fire broke out; both got out along with their two dogs. Their cat was rescued and given air by Mercy EMS, which revived the animal. A lone female who lives upstairs also got out OK.

Top photo by Howard Owens. 

Photo by Mike Pettinella.

UPDATE: Photos below by Frank Capuano.

Press release:

In light of the CoronaVirus impacting individuals in Western New York, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is urging residents to remain calm, but take basic precautions to avoid becoming infected or ill.

To date, there have been 142 total confirmed cases of CoronaVirus in New York, with eight people hospitalized. The highest at-risk populations are seniors, those with underlying illnesses and those with compromised immune systems.

“The state is taking an expedited and thorough approach to ensuring the well-being of our residents and executing the appropriate steps to stop the spread of CoronaVirus,” Hawley said. “My office has been in close contact with state leaders and the most important thing residents can do is to remain calm, practice thorough hygiene and avoid travel and contact with those thought to be infected.”

Gov. Cuomo announced today that hand sanitizer will be provided to New Yorkers free of charge and paid sick leave will be given to individuals under quarantine. In addition, there are new guidelines for those visiting correctional facilities and for nursing homes.

“The 18 students who have returned from Italy are asymptomatic but are being quarantined in an empty dorm at SUNY Brockport out of precaution," Hawley said. "School officials are doing everything necessary to keep the student population safe and the Brockport community will be given additional info in the days to come. Please remain vigilant and precautionary, and seek medical attention if you think you’ve become infected.”

Bob Trombley had a nice side hustle going -- selling items that reminded people of pleasant pasts on eBay -- but doing that, working at the hospital in Warsaw, while raising four kids kept him a bit too busy.

So he decided, why not make the nostalgia business his main focus.

Saturday, joined by his wife and one of his children and the Chamber of Commerce, he cut the ribbon on his brand-new retail store in the Harvester Center, Vintage.

Just before cutting that ribbon, he recalled one customer who bought a radio-controlled car from him online. After the customer received it, he wrote Trombley a two-page email recalling the same RC car he lost at 13 and then spent 20 years looking for it again.

"Getting that meant everything to him," Trombley said. "It made me feel good about connecting those items to the past for people."

He wanted more of that.

“I noticed that a lot of items I sold online brought people happiness because they were things from their past," Trombley said.  

The new thrift and consignment store, will be more than a place to buy knickknacks from the past. He plans open mic nights on Thursdays (7 to 9). On Saturdays, parents can bring their kids in to "bang on the guitars on the wall" (and maybe get a free guitar lesson) (11 to noon). There will also be game nights and quilting lessons.

“We want a real sense of what it was like for me growing up in the '80s, just a real sense of a real community place," Trombley said.

Here's the Vintage internet link for hours and directions.

Last week, Batavia scored 310 points in the final round of the Scholastic Bowl season to become the 2020 champions. Batavia beat out other finalists, Pembroke (270 points) and Attica (230).

In terms of economic development, Genesee County has a lot to crow about, Ryan Silva, executive director of the New York State Economic Development Council, told the audience at Batavia Downs on Friday for the annual meeting luncheon of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

And crow county leaders should, he said.

The county has eight shovel-ready business parks that are already home to 37 businesses generating $809 million in economic output.

"That's staggering," Silva said. "That's great, but we need more."

When those eight parks -- including WNY STAMP, which does not yet have its first tenant -- are at capacity, he said, the economic output will double to $1.6 billion.

Getting those parks to capacity means putting more effort into increasing the local housing stock, of making Downtown a more attractive place to live, work, and play, to help capture those younger residents who might otherwise move away.

"Of course, the cost of doing business is one of the things that is a challenge for New York but that is why we have incentive programs," Silva said. "We want to offset the high cost of doing business, but then the next thing we want to talk about is workforce.

"When companies look at our region, they want to know that they can staff up in the first 12 months and have enough workers in 18 months. The more we do to partner with elementary schools, the more we can keep those future workers here."

Success means knowing what you're good at and building on those strengths.

"Genesee County is good at manufacturing, good at distribution, and good at agriculture," Silva said. "That economic cluster is an engine that drives the region."

Economic development is a risk, he noted. There are successes and failures along the way -- more successes but the failures often get more public attention, so local economic growth advocates should celebrate their accomplishments.

"Be proud of the work you're doing," he said. “It’s important for those who are naysayers out there for them to hear the good things that are happening in Genesee County.”

Theresa Bresten, VP and treasurer at HP Hood, one GCEDC's economic development success stories, accepts the 2020 Economic Development Partner of the Year Award.

Hood has hired 250 workers and is looking for 50 more. It's also recently purchased more land in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park in Batavia with an eye toward future expansion. The core of the current plant was built by PepsiCo/Müller Dairy. Presenting the award was Genesee County Legislature Chair Shelly Stein.

State Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer was congratulated on his retirement in 11 months from elective office after 12 years in the state Legislature with a silver-plated shovel. Ranzenhofer is widely credited with providing key political support to helping get WNY STAMP shovel ready.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley spoke to the burden New York politicians place on the business community and emphasized the need for economic development efforts to overcome those liabilities.

"While the challenges we face in New York are numerous and the focus of many state lawmakers involves enriching Downstate and New York City, Genesee County and Western New York have the potential to be the economic hub of Upstate New York," Hawley said. "Our diverse economy coupled with strong leadership and achievable solutions will continue to propel us forward."

GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde.

Reserve your seat today and order your sign online. Sign up today, space is limited. Click here to register. For more information, visit our facebook event page.

Press release:

Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.38, down 6 cents since last week. One year ago, the price was $2.47. The New York State average is $2.56 – down 3 cents from last week.

A year ago, the NYS average was $2.59. AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:

• Batavia -- $2.55 (down 4 cents since last week)
• Buffalo -- $2.51 (down 2 cents since last week)
• Ithaca -- $2.59 (down 3 cents since last week)
• Rochester -- $2.52 (down 4 cents since last week)
• Rome -- $2.60 (down 1 cent since last week)
• Syracuse -- $2.47 (down 4 cents since last week)
• Watertown -- $2.55 (down 3 cents since last week)

The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has decreased by 6 cents to $2.38. A healthy stock level and cheaper crude prices continue to push pump prices down.

The trend of pump prices facing downward pressure is likely to continue through the end of the winter driving season, especially amid concerns about the coronavirus causing the price of crude to decline.

However, the current refinery maintenance season could put pressure on regional refinery utilization, supply and gas prices during the run-up to the spring driving season. Once refineries switch over to summer blend fuel, prices will start to increase since that formula is more expensive to produce.

From GasBuddy:

"It's been an unprecedented week, one in which oil majors Russia and Saudi Arabia saw anything but eye to eye on lowering oil production, leading crude oil prices to plummet 20 percent in Sunday evening trade, combined with COVID-19 fears escalating, and gas prices have nowhere to go but down and like a rock," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

"Oil has now seen its value cut nearly in half after Iran tensions inflamed prices months ago and it doesn't immediately look like it will get any better. For motorists, I urge them to be in absolutely no hurry to fill up as gas prices will drop in nearly every nook and cranny of the country, from the smallest cities to the largest metros, at a time of year that prices are usually rising, we'll see anything but that. The national average came into March like a lamb and will likely be leaving like a lion, with prices roaring lower."

Michael Robert Simcick, 26, of Keeney Road, Le Roy, is charged with: driving while intoxicated -- first offense; refusal to take a breath test; unlawful possession of marijuana; failure to stop at stop sign; and moving from lan unsafely. At 1:26 a.m. on March 8, Simcick was arrested on Perry Road in Pavilion after a traffic stop for a violation of vehicle and traffic law. An investigation allegedly determined him to be intoxicated by alcohol and in possession of marijuana. He was issued appearance tickets and is due in Pavilion Town Court on March 17. Genesee County Deputy Kenneth Quackenbush handled the case, assisted by Deputy Austin Heberlein, and the Le Roy Police Department.

Shane R. Reisman, 50, of Montclair Avenue, Batavia, is charged with: failure to stop at a stop sign; driving while intoxicated; drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle on a highway; and refusal to take a breath test. Batavia Police Officer Peter Post arrested Reisman at 2:36 p.m. on March 2 on Trumbull Parkway in Batavia after a traffic stop. Reisman was later released with appearance tickets and is due in Batavia City Court on March 18.

Baltazar de la Rosa Sifuentes, 26, of Parkland Creek Lane, Chili, is charged with: operating a motor vehicle while having a BAC of .08 percent or more -- first offense; driving while intoxicated -- first offense; and moving from lane unsafely. At 9:30 p.m. on March 6, Sifuentes was arrested after an investigation of a single-car accident on Route 33 in the Town of Stafford. He was released with appearance tickets and is due in Stafford Town Court on March 17. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kenneth Quackenbush, assisted by Deputy Andrew Mullen.

Jessica Lyn Revier, 35, of Hall Road, Holley, is charged with: aggravated driving while intoxicated; DWI; failure to stop at a stop sign; and speed not reasonable and prudent. At 7:55 a.m. on March 7, Revier was arrested on North Bergen Road in Byron. She allegedly drove her vehicle off the roadway while in an intoxicated condition. Revier was released on appearance tickets and is due in Byron Town Court on March 16. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore, assisted by Deputy Travis DeMuth.

Phillip Detraell Byford Jr., 29, of Brockport Spencerport Road, Brockport, was arrested March 3 on two separate warrants out of Batavia City Court. It is alleged that Byford stole from the Speedway convenience store at 204 W. Main St. in Batavia at 8:44 p.m. on Jan. 24 and then failed to appear in court after his appearance ticket was issued. He was arraigned in city court and released. He is due back in court on March 25. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Austin Hedges, assisted by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

From Accuweather:

Breezy, mild and very dry conditions, especially in areas that have lost the snowpack, will result in an elevated wildfire potential across portions of Western New York toward the Finger Lakes region.

The risk will be greatest in open and sufficiently dried out locations such as fields and less wooded areas. Any outside burning is strongly discouraged.

According to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the statewide open burn ban is in effect March 16 through May 14.

It's currently 60, sunny and breezy.