Batavia Cross-country team is having a car wash fundraiser today from 10 a.m - 2 p.m. at Empire Tractor, 5072 E. Main Street Road, Batavia.

All proceeds help toward their New York City trip this fall.

A person reportedly suffered a compound fracture of a leg bone in a three-wheeler accident at 39 S. Pearl Street, Oakfield.

Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

A field of straw is on fire in the area off Richley Road, between Ridge and Simonds roads. A tractor near a barn is also on fire now; "it has been separated from the power unit." Darien Fire Department is responding. About one acre is in flames.

UPDATE 4:24 p.m.: Corfu is called to assist. UTV units will be deployed. Four separate fires in the vicinity are spotted.

UPDATE 4:26 p.m.: "Multiple grass and equipment fire reported." Alexander and East Pembroke UTVs requested to the scene. Hale bales are burning, too.

(name redacted upon request; defendant granted youthful offender status, 19, of East Main Street, Le Roy, is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.

xxxx is accused of selling a controlled substance to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force on two occasions.

He was arrested on a warrant during a traffic stop in the Town of Batavia.

He was arraigned this morning in Genesee County Court and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

The crowning of the Onion Queen returns in Elba tomorrow!

Saturday, July 14, is Pig Roast and Parade Day in Elba.

All are welcome for the Elba Betterment Committee's annual Pig Roast and the return of the Elba Firemen's Onion Queen Parade.

The fun starts at noon with a Kiddie Parade into the Village Park.

Food, bounce houses, live music, vendors, crafts, Mr. Scribbles and more!

The big parade, featuring the contestants vying for Onion Queen, starts at 4 o'clock, followed by the crowning of the Onion Queen. Fun continues at the park until 7 p.m.

Downstairs features 1 bedroom or office good size formal dining room and full living room-great space for entertaining. Upstairs has 2 good size bedrooms and full bath.

Basement is dry fully useable space it even has cool man cave/office and a small area for workspace for extra hobbies. There have been lots of upgrades but the large private fully fenced back yard with awesome huge deck is definitely a bonus for the City!

Large extra wide driveway and fully re-enforced garage for all your "toys" plus nice storage area below is a nice extra. Neutrally painted and new carpet thru out makes it a move in and live! Easy to see! Click here for more inforamtion regarding this lisitng.

4243 West Avenue, Elba (OPEN HOUSE THIS SATURDAY 1 - 3 p.m.). Super opportunity to own this beautifully remodeled from top to bottom Country home! Literally from the studs up this home has been done -- electrical, drywall, furnace, central air, flooring, bathrooms, kitchen, windows and siding!

The layout is spacious and open with cathedral ceilings and the bedrooms are large with huge closets -- the master bedroom suite is every girl's dream! Master bedroom bath and laundry hookups all on main floor for no stairs convenience!

The location is on quiet country road within five minute drive of thruway and shopping. Home has public water as well -- all the pluses of country living with amenities!

Definitely one to check out -- why build when you can buy this beautiful home at almost half the cost! Click here for more inforamtion on this listing.

The Department of Environmental Conservation has completed clean up of environmental contamination on city property next door to the former Batavia Iron and Metal Co. property at 301 Bank St.

The former metal recycling plant is a state Superfund site and has been a target of environmental remediation for toxic waste since 2013.

The property in question is land along the northern end of the Dwyer Stadium parking lot.

Clean up of the entire site is almost complete.

From August 2017 to June 2018, crews removed soil along the property line and at the rear of the property.

"The primary goal of the cleanup effort was to ensure effective removal and property disposal of contaminated soil and debris on City property and to restore the property with clean soil," the DEC stated in a report on the project.

The contractor was Nature's Way Environmental, from Alden.

During remediation, 17,000 tons of soil and debris was removed. 

The city property received clean soil and grass seed.

The DEC estimates the remaining surface clean up of the Iron and Metal property will be completed by late 2018.

The site was operated as a metal recycling facility from 1951 to 1999. Two furnaces operated on the property from the early 1970s until 1994. The furnaces reclaimed wire and smelted white metals. Before the furnaces were installed, the company used open-burn dumpsters to remove insulation from wiring.

From these activities, contaminants leached onto city property and three neighboring residential properties.

Cleanup of the residential properties was completed in 2014.

Public Notice -- July 13

Notice is hereby given that there has been introduced before the Legislature of the County of Genesee, a Local Law Introductory No. Four Year 2018 entitled:

"A local law amending Local Law No. One of the Year 1967 in relation to increasing and staggering the terms of office of the members of the Genesee County Legistature."

The Genesee County Legislature will conduct a Public Hearing on the proposed local law at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 8, in the Old Courthouse, 7 Main St., Batavia.

All interested persons will be heard.

Pamela LeGrou

Clerk, Genesee County Legislature

A mulch fire is reported at Kohl's Department Store, 4170 Veterans Memorial Drive. Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 2 p.m.: A firefighter at the scene says it's a small fire that he will be put out with his water can. No exposures. All equipment to be held in quarters.

UPDATE 2:46 p.m.: The mulch fire has reignited. Town of Batavia Fire Department is called back to Kohl's to squelch it.

A caller to dispatch reports a newer model Ford Mustang in the parking lot at 4300 Veterans Memorial Drive just rolled into a pickup truck and "there's nobody around."

A Sheriff's deputy is responding.

In another close game, Batavia came out on top on Thursday night by a 4-3 margin. The Connecticut Tigers were dressed as the Norwich Navigators as part of a Throwback Thursday promotion to honor the former New York Yankees Eastern League affiliate of the early 2000’s. There was a short back-and-forth in the first four innings, but afterward, the game would be deadlocked until the ninth.

Chris Vallimont made his second professional start in the game. His low pitch count limited him to throwing just two innings. Two runs scored in the bottom of the first from an RBI single from Nick Ames, and a sac fly two batters later from Darwin Alvarado to make it 2-0 after one.

Batavia would come back in a big way in the top of the fourth when Denis Karas came up with two on and two outs, he then unloaded on one to straightaway center field that cleared the 401’ wall in center to put the Muckdogs in front 3-2 going to the bottom of the fourth.

A pair of errors for Batavia in the bottom part of the frame would put Eric De La Rosa on third base with no outs. The first was a throwing error on a tough play by Demetrius Sims that put De La Rosa on second, then a low throw on a pickoff attempt by Manuel Rodriguez sent him to third. Alvarado was the next batter up. His single allowed De La Rosa to walk to home plate to score to knot the game at three.

The bullpens locked the game down after the fourth. John O’Loughlin struck out seven batters in his three and two-thirds innings of work to keep Batavia scoreless. Both games in the series have now seen Batavia strike out at least 13 times in each game. A combination of CJ Carter and Elkin Alcala were able to shut out the Navigators in the last three innings to seal the win.      

Game three and the rubber match of the series takes place on Friday night from Dodd Stadium, it will be a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. Batavia then returns home to take on the Lowell Spinners (Boston) for a three-game set.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) approved incentives for two projects at the agency’s July 12th board meeting. The combined projects are anticipated to create 20 new jobs and approximately $7.6 million in capital investment.

J. Rental is receiving sales, mortgage and property tax exemptions of approximately $723,000 to build a new 60,000-square-foot facility on 19.5 acres in the Apple Tree Acres business park in Bergen. The $6.3 million project will create 15 new jobs. For every $1 in public benefit, the company is investing $14 into the local economy.

Lancor Development Corp. is proposing to invest $1.3 million to build a 12,000-square-foot facility in the new Le Roy Food and Technology Park. The project would create five new jobs and retain seven jobs. Lancor is receiving sales and property tax exemptions of approximately $122,000. For every $1 of public benefit, the company is investing $28.5 into the local economy.

The board also accepted an application from Pearl Solar LLC for the construction of two 2MW community solar farms for a combined total of 4MW at 2901 Pearl Street Road. Both projects have the same address but would have separate parcel tax map numbers. Pearl Solar LLC would make an approximate $6 million investment and is seeking approximately $288,000 in sales and property tax exemptions.

Press release:

At its July 12th board meeting, the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) Board of Directors unanimously approved providing $10,000 for a feasibility study to determine uses for the Batavia City Centre site.

The GCEDC is collaborating with the City of Batavia and the Batavia Development Corporation in conducting the study. The city and the GCEDC also are applying for funding from Empire State Development’s Strategic Planning Program for matching funds.

“We continue to strongly support economic development initiatives in the City of Batavia,” said GCEDC Board Chair Paul Battaglia. “The redevelopment of Batavia City Centre site is critically important to the efforts to bring more capital investment and jobs to the region’s urban center as it has such a prominent footprint in the city.”

The intent of the study is to evaluate various redevelopment scenarios for the site, including remaining as a retail center. Other components of the study may include site planning, engineering, architectural renderings, cost estimates, permitting and financial analyses. The study also is intended to build off of current plans that have been developed for the site through the DRI process.

“After a number of discussions with our partners on this effort, we came to the conclusion that a feasibility study would build upon and advance the goals of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative,” said GCEDC President and CEO Steve Hyde, who also serves on the DRI advisory group. “In essence, a study will help create a vision for what the site could be and we believe that the information and analysis resulting from the study will generate interest among the development community.”

Press release:

The Oakfield-Alabama Central School District’s Board of Education held a special board meeting on Friday, July 13 to appoint Michael Crumb as the Interim Superintendent effective July 30 until Jan. 4, 2019. Crumb replaces Mark Alexander who recently announced his resignation to accept a position as Director of Transportation for Akron Central Schools.

Matt Lamb, Oakfield-Alabama Central School District’s Board president, said, “The Board is duly impressed with Michael Crumb’s background and experience. We are confident that Michael will guide our District through these next five months as we begin our formal search process for a Superintendent of Schools.”

Crumb retired in 2017 after serving the Spencerport Central School District for 19 years where he worked as an assistant principal, assistant and deputy superintendent, and superintendent.

“I am extremely honored to have been asked by the Oakfield-Alabama Board of Education to provide leadership and support during the upcoming transition,” Crumb said. “Further, I am excited about the opportunity to collaborate with the staff, parents and school community on the education provided to each of the District’s students.”

Kevin MacDonald, District superintendent of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, assisted with the interim search and will also act as the final search consultant. He noted that the Board will develop and implement a rigorous process that will help determine the best candidate.

Press release:

The Genesee County Youth Bureau is seeking applicants for the Genesee Youth Lead Program. Applicants should be a Genesee County high school student entering their freshman through senior year.

The program is focused on developing leadership skills within an individual through each specific session and through hands-on experience.  Each session will have a different focus on our community and leadership.

The Youth Lead Program will take place at GVEP BOCES beginning Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will be held once a month on the second Wednesday of each month.

The program dates are Oct. 10, Nov. 14, Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Feb. 13, March 13, April 10, and May 8.

Youths who complete the program are encouraged to use the skills and information gained through their experience to support the communities in which they live.

The selection process will be done through an application and interview process by the staff. The class size is limited.

The program will cost $75 for each student. If there is an economic hardship please contact the Genesee County Youth Bureau.

Applications for the program can be found here. 

Please contact the Genesee County Youth Bureau with questions at (585)344-3960 or at youthbureau@co.genesee.ny.us.

An accident with injuries is reported at Ellicott Street and Liberty Street, Batavia.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 10:39 p.m.: Roadway cleared about 10 minutes ago. Rear-end accident just east of the railroad tracks that cross Ellicott Street.

Twenty-five years ago, at age 38, Norm Itjen decided to become a corrections officer in the Genesee County Jail figuring it would be the kind of job that would offer security and help him reach retirement.

Tuesday, he proved his hunch right. He retired and was given a warm send off by his coworkers, and colleagues within the Sheriff's Office and Batavia Police Department.

A native of Elba and graduate of Elba High School, and currently the mayor of Elba, Itjen's first career was as a maintenance worker at St. Jerome's Hospital. He also had a security officer job before taking the civil service exam and getting hired at the jail.

The best part of the job, Itjen said, was the people he met.

"Through the years, I've become president of our local union, president the New York State Deputy Sheriff's Association," Itjen said. "I met people all over the state and made lots of lifetime friends."

Over the years, many people have started their employment with the Sheriff's Office at the jail and later moved onto road patrol. That wasn't part of Itjen's plan.

"At the time, I wore glasses," Itjen said. "At that time you couldn't work on the road if you wore glasses. And then my age also played a factor."

Now at retirement age, Itjen says he has plenty to keep him busy. Besides being mayor, he likes camping, golf, and he's a volunteer at his church in Morganville.

"I also have a beautiful granddaughter," he said.

Corrections officers, Sheriff's Office command staff, several deputies and Batavia PD officers, saluted Itjen as he walked out of the Genesee County Jail for the last time.

On his last day of duty, Itjen shakes hands with Officer Kyle Krtanik, working his first day of duty with Batavia PD. 

We're only in July and Batavia has already exceeded its "normal for a year" number of days of highs reaching 90 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Normal is six days of 90 degrees or higher. Batavia has reached that mark seven times so far.

Batavia could see temperatures as high as 90 degrees again on Sunday and Monday.

Image via the NWS Buffalo Twitter account.

All signs point to a tight labor market in Genesee County with more than 1,000 known job openings and only 1,100 people considered unemployed.

While local companies struggle to find workers, Genesee County's labor force size may have shrunk. 

Labor force participation has declined from May 2017 (the most recent month of data available), when it was 29,900, to 29,500 in May 2018. It was 30,400 in 2016 and 30,800 in 2015. The highest level since 1990 was 33,800 in 2009.

The decline could reflect Baby Boomers retiring, out-migration of prime-age workers, or a number of prime-age workers still sitting on the sidelines. There are not detailed enough statistics for a small county to say.

Nationally, the labor force participation rate is 62 percent, well below the pre-recession level of 66 percent. At the same time, wages have started to go up but not as fast as inflation.

Genesee County's unemployment rate -- as a measure of prime-age working people who either have a job or are looking for work -- was 3.8 percent in May, lower than a year ago, at 4.4 percent, but the same rate as May 2016.

It is the lowest unemployment rate in the GLOW region.

The lowest rate for May since 2000 was 3.5 percent in 2001 and the highest was 7.5 percent in 2012.

That reflects 1,100 people in the county who don't have adequate work but want work. The highest that number has been since 1990 was 2,700 in 1992.

The number of employed Genesee County residents in May was 28,400, down from 28,600 a year prior. It was 29,200 in May 2016 and 29,400 in May 2015. The highest its been since 1990 was 32,300 in 2006.

The Job Development Bureau has 1,036 job listings. That may not reflect all of the job openings in the county.

The sector with the highest number of listed job openings is agriculture, with 307, followed by manufacturing, 222, healthcare, 193, and retail, 65.

Every major employer in Genesee County has openings to fill, with many at hourly rates from $15 an hour to $25 an hour.

Back in 2014, when we did a story about job listings at the agency, there were only 279 listings. In April 2017, Director Scott Gage said there were 760 jobs listed.

The Job Development Bureau, 587 E. Main St., Batavia, is hosting a mini job fair from 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, July 24.