Brittany L. Richway, 32, of Syracuse, and Angel M. Scott, 34, of Batavia, are charged with petit larceny. Richway and Scott are accused of stealing from a location in the Town of Batavia at 7:46 p.m. on May 11. They were arrested by the State Police and released on an appearance ticket. No further information was released.
Michael R. Vickery, 45, of Lackawanna, is charged with petit larceny. Vickery is accused of stealing from a location in the Town of Batavia at 12:52 p.m. on May 10. He was arrested by State Police and released on an appearance ticket. No further information was released.
Daniel Stevens, 49, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Stevens is accused of stealing from a location in the Town of Batavia on May 8 at 9:46 a.m. Stevens was released by State Police and released on an appearance ticket. No further information was released.
Cody Middlebrooks, 32, of Akron, is charged with criminal mischief 4th. Middlebrooks is accused of damaging property in the Town of Alabama on May 9 at 4:15 a.m. He was arrested by State Police. His release status is unknown. No further information was released.
Tony Robert Graber, 44, of Main Road, Pembroke, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Graber is accused of violating a complete stay-away order of protection on May 5 in the Town of Batavia. He was processed at the Genesee County Jail, arraigned, and released on bail.
Brian N. Miles is indicted on counts of attempted forgery in the second degree, a Class E felony, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, a Class D felony, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, a Class A misdemeanor, and criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Miles is accused of attempting to fill out JP Morgan check that belonged to another person in order to obtain cash on Nov. 15, 2021,d while at the ESL Federal Credit Union on Veterans Memorial Drive in Batavia. He was allegedly found in possession of a stolen JP Morgan checkbook. On that date, he was allegedly found in possession of cocaine.
Timothy W. Szurgot is indicted on counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, a Class D felony and criminal impersonation in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Szurgot was allegedly found in possession of a stolen 2018 Focus on Oct. 25 in the Town of Batavia. He is accused of assuming the identity of another person on Oct. 25 with the intent to defraud another person.
Joseph G. Bauer is indicted on a felony count of DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, a Class E felony. Bauer is accused of driving drunk while on a suspended license on July 4 in the Town of Darien, on Park Road.
The Batavian brings you more local news coverage than any other news source in Genesee County. Here are the stories we reported before the competition in the past week.
Members of the New Breed Motorcycle Club out of Rochester lead a funeral possession from Monroe County to Machpelah Cemetery on North Street in Le Roy on Saturday for Dustin Rich.
The 25-year-old Batavia resident was killed in an accident while driving his motorcycle in Brighton on May 1.
A friend of Rich's, Gordon Montgomery, said the turnout of the motorcycle club demonstrated how motorcyclists treat their fallen.
He shared the quote, “Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness, the tender mercy of its people, their respect for the law of the land and their loyalty to high ideals.”
File photo of hydrant flushing at a location on Ellicott Street, Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens.
Press release:
The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing / testing fire hydrants on Monday and Tuesday from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the general area of North of Main Street and West of Bank Street.
Homes and businesses nearby will be affected. These tests may result in temporary discoloration of water in that area. As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored. If you do experience a discoloration of your water, run cold water for about 5 minutes or until clear.
This annual testing is essential to maintain the communities class III Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification, and to assure that fire hydrants are operating efficiently for fire protection purposes. Along with maintaining the fire rating, the test monitors the health of the city's water system, identifies weak areas in the system, and removes material that settles in the water lines. Checking each hydrant improves fire department personnel's knowledge of the hydrant locations.
If you have any questions, or should notice a hydrant in need of repair, please contact the fire department at 585-345-6375.
Design rendering from area variance application submitted by Genesee BIogas for a tall digester tank for a proposed plant in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park in the Town of Batavia.
A long-discussed plan to build a biogas plant in the Genesee Valley Agri-business Park in the Town of Batavia is again moving forward with the recommended approval on Thursday of a height variance for a storage tank on the property.
Sara Gilbert, of Pinewood Engineering, asked the board to Genesee County Planning Board on Thursday to recommend approval for the company to build a digester storage tank taller than allowed by zoning code. The biogas plant seeks approval for an 83.5-foot tall digester tank.
Gilbert noted that the board previously recommended approval of the variance for a plant location that was going to be just outside the ag park but the Town of Batavia board prefers the company build the plant inside the park so the application for the variance needed to be resubmitted for the new location in the park.
She also noted that HP Hood was granted a variance for a much taller tank, and Oatka Milk has tanks with heights that do not conform to the zoning code so the Genesee Biogas proposal is consistent with existing construction in the area.
The board approved the recommendation with one no-vote, from Eric Biscaro, who expressed concern about potential odor from the plant.
Eric Biscaro Photo by Howard Owens.
"I don't care what the height of the tank is, personally," Biscaro said. "I mean, I'm right next to this thing, and I would just as soon get back into that park further because I work at Armor (Building Supply) right down the road from Oatka and Let me tell you, it's pretty ripe there sometimes. And I'm close to this plant, living near there then I am at work. I'm under the impression that this plant is going to smell worse than Oatka."
No, Gilbert said, everything at the plant is enclosed, and the air coming out of the plant is filtered.
"It is different than maybe a more traditional digester," Gilbert said. "It actually has a negative pressure system that can pull the air out and put it through a biofilter system that filters the air. So it does not have a strong smell. And it doesn't have any animal waste at all associated with it. It's only food-grade waste from the plants in the park."
Genesee County Planning Director also informed the board that the only matter on the agenda for Thursday was the high variance. Genesee Biogas will present at a later date a site plan review, where issues such as odor can be considered.
In 2014, at a previous public meeting, Paul Toretta, CEO of CH4 Biogas, explained how the plant works: "We make green power out of organic waste. Once the digester does its thing, it captures methane and powers an engine that makes green power and puts it on the grid. The engine produces heat that can be used to heat Quaker Muller and Alpina (the plants in the park at the time), helping them cut their heating bill."
Quaker Muller's plant is now owned and operated by HP Hood, and Alpina is owned and operated by the Upstate Milk Cooperative.
Postal workers Dominic Iacuzza, Mitchell Muskopf, and Chris Holley, in front of food donations gathered by mail carriers on Saturday as part of a postal-worker-initiated food drive that encouraged postal customers to leave bags of food for carriers to pick up. Photo by Howard Owens.
On Saturday, postal carriers in Batavia -- as part of a national campaign -- collected food donations from postal customers. Folks on carriers' routes were asked to leave food in bags for pickup.
Brandon Snyder, who organized the drive locally, said that as of 2 p.m., 1,136 pounds of food were donated to Care-a-Van and another 1,435 points to the Salvation Army, with other local charities expected to pick up donations.
Ava Davids decorating an egg in a Ukrainian style called pysanky at GO ART! on Saturday. Photo by Howard Owens.
GO ART! today hosted the first of a two-part class on Ukrainian egg decorating, or pysanky. Pysankar master artist Irene Grassman is leading the class as part of GO ART!'s Explore Art! program.
GO ART! staff member Jodi Fisher with her decorated egg. Photo by Howard Owens
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24), a member of the Ways and Means Committee, voted in favor of H.R. 1163, the Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act. This bill provides states with incentives to investigate and recover fraudulent unemployment insurance payments while working to fight and prevent future fraud.
Tenney was an original cosponsor of this legislation and supported its passage in the House Ways and Means Committee when it was considered earlier this year. The bill passed the House by a vote of 230-200. Tenney spoke on the House floor in support of this legislation earlier today. You can watch her remarks here.
Tenney has led the charge to hold New York accountable for its pandemic-era fraud, waste, and abuse. After a report by the New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found rampant Unemployment Insurance fraud totaling $11 billion, Tenney sent a letter to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli expressing concerns over his office’s decision to delay key findings related to the audit until after New York’s 2022 gubernatorial election between Kathy Hochul and Lee Zeldin.
“The total cost of improper unemployment insurance payments across our country has reached at least $191 billion, with some experts estimating it as high as $400 billion,” said Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. “New York alone accounts for $11 billion in fraudulent charges. Countless constituents contacted my office to notify us of receiving unemployment forms they hadn’t requested and dealing with the ramifications of having their identity stolen to obtain fraudulent funds. The Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act moves us one important step closer to recovering lost taxpayer dollars, holding fraudsters accountable, and putting in place a system to protect against future fraud.”
Specifically, the Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act:
Allows states to retain 25% of recovered fraudulent federal funds.
Allows states to use recovery funds to improve UI program integrity and fraud prevention.
Allows states to retain five percent of state UI overpayments recovered upon meeting data matching integrity conditions and dedicating such funds to preventing future fraud.
Extends the statute of limitations for criminal charges or civil actions for prosecuting fraud from five to ten years.
A 62-year-old Batavia man has been arrested by the Sheriff's Office, accused of an ongoing series of sex offenses against a child.
Alvin Ezra Way, of West Main Street, is charged with six counts of predatory sexual abuse against a child, six counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree, and course of sexual conduct against a child.
In New York's penal code, predatory sexual abuse against a child is a Class A-II felony and accused the defendant of being older than 18 years old, and the victim is younger than 13 years old.
If convicted, Way faces 10 to 25 years in prison.
The alleged incidents occurred over multiple years at a residence in the Town of Batavia.
Way was arraigned in the Central Arraignment Court on Friday and ordered held in custody.
LandPro Equipment hosts a ribbon-cutting and grand opening on Friday morning at its new location on West Saile Drive in Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens.
Of the dozens of people milling about a spit-polished brand new LandPro Equipment site on West Saile Drive Friday morning, not many could compete with the diehard dedication of John Deere collector Marty Frenchie, who was scoping out the trademark grass green-colored tractors in the 75,000 square-foot building’s showroom floor.
Frenchie, as he’s mostly known by his friends, has 13 tractors, and “maybe” looking for number 14 during LandPro’s grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony. He’s familiar with all of the dealers and decided to visit this branch on the town’s north end of Batavia during the morning’s festivities.
“It’s great, it’s close to home,” he said, sharing why he collects Deere tractors. “I got it in my blood.”
Frenchie, while not a farmer of the county’s 200,000 collective acres, certainly fell into the group to whom Glenn Gibson represented. The Ag & Turf Division business manager for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. for John Deere, Gibson gave “a heartfelt thank you for everyone who made this day possible,” from the financial end of things and LandPro ownership and employees to “all of the city officials that helped support this project, and the construction teams that built this absolutely beautiful building,” he said.
“But most importantly, thank you to our customers that LandPro has had the privilege of serving,” he said. “Just a little bit on the history in Genesee County. So John Deere has had a location here since the 1950s. And if you get a chance, there is a beautiful painting that's in the showroom that really depicts that history really well and all of the dealer organizations who have supported this region. Agriculture is the number one industry in the region in Genesee County, with just under 500 farms, operating about 200,000 acres and generating about $250 million to the local economy.”
“Genesee County is very, very important to John Deere and, more broadly, the whole Western New York region. And so … we really appreciate the investment that (Argonne Capital Group) and LandPro are making to build on that legacy here in the region. Today, we are focused on serving the greater good to help the world produce food, fiber, fuel and infrastructure to meet our needs by 2050,” he said. “There'll be 10 billion people in the world, so we'll need to increase our agricultural production by 60 to 70 percent. To tackle these challenges, two years ago, John Deere launched our smart industrial strategy, and our aim is nothing short of revolutionizing the agriculture and construction industries. We want to unlock customer value across their production systems and across their equipment life cycles to make sure that change and that productivity is sustainable for all.”
What does that mean?
Leveraging technology to enable smarter, more precise and productive machines to add value throughout the life of their machines to keep them operating and minimize cost, he said. Continuing to focus on innovations, such as alternative power and electrification across many product lines.
Autonomous solutions — the company’s tillage tractor that they can operate day and night.
A continued focus on artificial intelligence and neural networks on machines “in order to help growers take crop management from a field level down to the individual plant level.”
And a great example of that is our new sea and spray sprayer — spraying just the week. So you're realizing a 70 percent savings in the chemicals applied, he said.
“So you may have heard the tagline ‘nothing runs like a Deere.’ And that's true. But our commitment goes beyond the products. And it goes to the communities that our exceptional dealers serve. And so, together with our dealers, we run so that life can leap forward,” Gibson said. “So I'll finish where I began. And that's just a huge thank you to everybody who made this day possible. And as good as today is, our best days are ahead of us. And I think the investment in this building in this community is a shining example of just that.”
LandPro President and CEO Tom Sutter recalled standing in a rural field 20 months ago with cattails up to his eyes, “trying to figure out where this thing’s gonna go,” he said. And on Friday, he recapped that being surrounded by a team of “phenomenal” people, all of whom he wanted to thank, he could only admire the finished product and look back in awe at what they all endured.
Managing a construction project that size from the ground up, for starters. The land was wild with trees and foliage and, of course, full of cattails. Anyone who drove by during its development would have seen the skeleton of structural beams, a scene quite the contrast to a paved sidewalk surrounding the 75,000 square-foot building with a showroom entrance, corporate offices, a large training room, walls decorated with colorful agricultural photos in plexiglass, a 54,000 square-foot shop with a drainage system and heated floor. Other challenges were COVID-related issues and delays.
Sutter thanked the county Chamber of Commerce, GCEDC, Batavia, and many company and corporate members.
“It’s great working with all of you. I mean, look at this. Look at this beautiful building behind us. They put it in from the ground up. So I can't thank you all enough. You put up with a lot of hardship. So thank you all guys for putting up with that,” he said. “And our customers are so important, you all make this happen.”
Chamber of Commerce President Brian Cousins was on hand with the big pair of scissors and to offer his congratulations. LandPro is twofold, he said, in its benefits for Genesee County and beyond.
"I think it's absolutely fabulous. They've obviously been a staple inside the county for a very long time. It's great for both consumers and agricultural support throughout our region,” Cousins said. "The store is beautiful. It's always great to see the people expand; they get additional jobs, and they get additional support. So I think it's just a wonderful asset to our community as a whole. Agriculture is the number one industry in the community. So having another branch and another support and a larger mechanism to be able to lean on for a resource for our agricultural workers or even our residents is outstanding.”
The location is at 4540 W. Saile Drive, Batavia. For more information, go to LandPro or call 585-948-5261.
Glenn Gibson, Ag & Turf Division business manager for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. for John Deere Photo by Howard Owens
Tom Sutter, LandPro president and CEO Photo by Howard Owens
Photos of Friday's ribbon-cutting for LandPro Equipment's grand opening of its West Saile Drive store and shop, by Howard Owens.
The Hornets improved to 12-2 on the season with a 16-6 win over Alexander on Thursday.
Kyle Porter got the win, splitting the workload with Colton Yasses. Porter went three innings and give up four runs on one hit and struck out eight. Yasses gave up two hits and two runs (one earned).
Brayden Smith went 3-4, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Aiden Warner, Brodie Hyde, and David Schnuafer also had two hits each. Warner also had three RBIs.
Mason Bump was 1-1 with a walk for Alexander, scoring twice and knocking in a run.
Genesee County Legislature celebrates Older Americans Month (May 2023) this week, as Legislator Brooks Hawley presents a proclamation to Diana Fox, director of Office for the Aging and Advisory Board member Gina Stella.
Another big score and a big win for Alexander in Girls Softball on Thursday, with the Trojans cruising to its fifth consecutive win 19-7.
Melissa Sawyer hits for the cycle going 5-5 at the plate. Sawyer had a home run, a triple, a double, two singles, five RBIs and four runs scored.
Senior MaKenna Boyce went 4-4 with three RBIs and three stolen bases. Sister Madison Boyce crushed a three-run homer to center, while Faith Goodenbury and Brianna Neyman both had Multiple hits on the day.
Briann Neyman pitched part of the first, allowing one hit, three walks and five runs with a strikeout. Emily Pietrzykowski tossed five innings, allowing five hits, no runs, no walks and eight punchouts. Melissa Sawyer pitched the last frame, giving up one hit, two runs and getting two strikeouts. Alexander improved to 11-5 and heads to Barker on Monday.
Notre Dame beat Lyndonville 9-6 in Girls Softball on Thursday in a game played at GCC.
The Irish collected 14 hits, but coach Otis Thomas said pitching and defense were key.
Loretta Sorochty went the distance, pitching seven innings, giving up six hits, six runs (three earned) and striking out eight batters.
Offensively, for Notre Dame, Katie Landers and Sorchty each had three hits to pace the offense. Landers finished with two doubles, a single, a walk, two runs scored and an RBI, while Sorochty had three singles and two runs scored.
Mia Treleaven, Kaydence Stehlar and Anna Panepento each had two hits for the Lady Irish.
"This is a big win for us, and I am proud of the effort given by the ladies this evening," Thomas said. "It got a little shaky in the seventh giving up the 4 runs, but we settled down and got that last out. As big as this one was, we need to put it behind us and continue our run to Sectionals."
William Joyce, veterans services officer for Genesee County, receives bundles of tickets from Batavia Downs President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek on Friday afternoon at Batavia Downs. Photo by Howard Owens.
Press Release:
Officials from Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel presented 2,000 complimentary tickets to William Joyce, Director of the Genesee County Veterans Service Agency. 250 Tickets from each of Batavia’s Summer Concert Series were included.
“Batavia Downs has always supported our local Veterans," said Batavia Downs CEO and President Henry Wojtaszek. “This is the fifthsoncert series in a row that we’ve given tickets to the Genesee County Veterans Service Agency. We happy to do anything we can to give back to our local Veterans for all they’ve done for our country.”
Tickets for the concert series can be purchased at BataviaConcerts.com. Performances include:
AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 1ST CITY OF BATAVIA 4-5 bedroom Duplex apartment with 1 Bedroom, Living room, laundry room, dining room, bathroom, and small kitchen on first floor. 4 bedrooms 2nd floor. Newly painted. Some new carpet. Basement storage. 1/2 garage use for storage/ not parking. Large yard. $1,100/month includes trash pickup, Refrigerator, Gas Stove. You pay gas, electric, water. No dogs. Good references required with background check. Pathstone approved. Near ARC. Mike 585-993-4002
AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 1ST CITY OF BATAVIA 4-5 bedroom Duplex apartment with 1 Bedroom, Living room, laundry room, dining room, bathroom, and small kitchen on first floor. 4 bedrooms 2nd floor. Newly painted. Some new carpet. Basement storage. 1/2 garage use for storage/ not parking. Large yard. $1,100/month includes trash pickup, Refrigerator, Gas Stove. You pay gas, electric, water. No dogs. Good references required with background check. Pathstone approved. Near ARC. Mike 585-993-4002
