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Mandy is Pet of the Week

By Pachuco Owens

Mandy's just dandy, so she's Pet of the Week. She looks noble and proud, and she has a great reputation. Here's a little bit about her, from totally biased sources, her folks -- Alyssa Pike and David Smith:

"Mandy is a great dog. She loves playing with her two best friends, Max and Heidi (2 mini wiener dogs). She is great around kids and loves to go for walks. Her favorite toy is a rock the size of a soccer ball that she moves around the backyard.

She loves to visit her grandparents and her great-grandparents. She truly is a loved member of our family. Even though American Staffordshires and Chows get stereotyped as aggressive and mean dogs, Mandy is the most well-behaved dog I've ever owned. She loves to grimace when she meets new people and when she sees people she hasn't seen in awhile. She has the best personality and is a big cuddler."

To submit your pet for consideration as Pet of the Week, send an e-mail to pets (at) the batavian dot com.  Please be sure to include your address so we can send you a $10 gift certificate from Genesee Feeds if your pet wins.

Notre Dame hosts Red Jackets in sectional playoff action

By Howard B. Owens

Tomorrow, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame take a 5-1 record into the quarter final round of Section V playoff football, the sectionals.

The Irish will host Red Jacket from the Finger Lakes West League.

Red Jacket comes into the game with a 2-3 overall record and ranked 61st in the section, while Notre Dame is ranked 23rd.

Even so, Head Coach Rick Mancuso isn't taking Red Jacket lightly.

"There's a good group of teams in their league," Mancuso said.  "They've earned their way here. They're going to be a real strong test. We know they throw the ball an awful lot. They run option. They've got a great defense. Their offense is really something to contend with because they spread you out and they've got the athletes to run that offense."

That offense is led by #18, Trevor Sanders, at quarterback, and Mancuso said he has a strong arm.

"He can really stretch the field," Mancuso said.

Notre Dame's offense is known as a big play unit, with the likes of Mike Pratt, Beau Richter, Gianni Zambito and Tony Bochicchio working hard to put points on the board.

Of course, getting breaks, not making mistakes, taking care of the ball and a defense that gets the job done are a big part of winning a sectional game, but Mancuso said special teams also play a big role at this stage.

"We spend about a third of our time working on special teams," Mancuso said. "Special teams are something that maybe gets overlooked by the fans, but it's something that's very, very important also."

Mancuso said his squad is ready to go and focused on this game.

"We're taking it the same way as we have all year long," Mancuso said. "Everybody says the same thing. It's cliche, 'week-to-week,' but I think that's truly what everybody has to do at this particular time. It's lose or go home. So you've got to come, you've got to play your A game, you've got to leave everything out on the field and you've got to hope for the best.

The game starts at 1:30 p.m. on the Notre Dame field.

Tonight is homecoming night for the Batavia Blue Devils. They take on Greece Olympia. If you go, please be sure to bring a donation for Don Carroll's Toys for Kids. The JV cheerleaders will be taking up collections at the gate prior to the game.

Tonight, we'll cover Oakfield-Alabama's play-off game against Cal-Mum at Cal-Mum.

In other weekend football action, Alexander hosts a playoff game against Lyons, and in non-playoff action, Pembroke is at Attica, Wellsville is at Le Roy, and tomorrow, Elba/BB is at Holley.

Albany police finger local scam suspect in two separate cases

By Howard B. Owens

A Buffalo resident already under indictment for allegedly scamming a Batavia woman out of $2,000 is now facing similar charges in Albany.

Yusef Hassem, 69, is a suspect in two cases in in Albany in October 2007 and June 2008.

Det. Chuck Dudek said this afternoon that the Genesee County Jail received faxed arrest warrants from the Albany Police Department accusing Hassem of petit larceny on the first incident and robbery, 1st degree on the second.

In the June 2008 incident, according to Dudek, Hassem, a.k.a Louis A. Reed, threatened a woman with a gun after she refused to turn over her money.

In the Genesee County case, Hassem is accused of tricking a woman into handing over $2,000, saying he needed help with a financial transaction at Tonawanda Federal Credit Union.

Albany Police used the surveillance photo from that alleged incident to connect Hassem to the alleged crimes in Albany.

Today's Deals: Great Kutz, Delavan's, Alex's, Cener Street, T.F. Brown's, Settlers

By Howard B. Owens

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, NY: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: T.F. Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. "If it happens in sports, it happens at Brown's." We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Settler's has a 25-year history of serving great, affordable breakfasts, lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, NY: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Great Kutz, in the Valu Plaza, 4152 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Great Kutz is Batavia's newest full-service hair salon. Women, try Great Kutz for a haircut at the incredibly low price of $7, exclusive offer from to The Batavian. (gift card can be applied toward other services, but not products).

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

SOLD OUT

False alarm on North Street

By Howard B. Owens

A fire alarm went off at an address on North Street (sorry didn't catch exact number).

The alarm company has already informed dispatch that it's a false alarm.

Engine 12 responded.

Tourism promotion dollars for Genesee County getting a little tight

By Howard B. Owens

The State's economic woes and a wet, dreary summer has put the squeeze on the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce's tourism promotion budget.

The state cut its "I Love New York" allocation to the chamber by 20 percent, or $15,000.

The wet summer kept some people from traveling and the local bed tax was down 9 percent, or $26,000.

That kind of drop is reminiscent of 2004, according to chamber Tourism Director Kelly Rapone. That year there were a lot of rainy days and that resulted in fewer hotel stays locally.

"The impact on the programming is that we're not really able to develop new programming or enhance the programming that we have," Rapone said. "It hurts our ability to provide additional marketing dollars to our partners"

The chamber's tourism division is responsible for helping bring people into the county for golf, or events, or sight-seeing. It puts together golf packages for individuals and groups, provides information on amenities and things to do and markets the county throughout the region.

One of the changes in market, Rapone said, is that the Chamber will reduce the radius of its marketing from about 300 to 500 miles to 200 miles.

"We're going to be looking to do more precise, targeted efforts rather than some of the broader initiatives," Rapone said.

Drug raid in Le Roy yields five pounds of marijuana

By Howard B. Owens

A Le Roy resident has been busted for allegedly possessing more than five pounds of marijuana.

Investigators estimate the street value of the weed at $13,000.

Sergio A. Forte, Jr., 43, of 88 Myrtle St., is charged with a felony count of criminal possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Forte was also allegedly found with a small quantity of crack cocaine and a digital scale.

Forte was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Members of the Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force executed a search warrant on Forte's residence yesterday as part of an investigation into "the unlicensed growing and possession of marijuana" in and around the Le Roy area.

Participating in the investigation were the Le Roy Police Department, Genesee County Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's office.

First Snow

By Howard B. Owens

We woke up to a little snow this morning.  Expect temperatures below 40 degrees until early afternoon, and then read starting around 3 p.m.  We could have more snow tomorrow night.

Emily Conable takes on key job at HLOM

By Howard B. Owens

Emily Conable, daughter of the late Barber Conable, the legendary former congressman from Batavia, has been named assistant to the director of the Holland Land Office Muesum.

Initially, Conable will be overseeing the "History's Heroes" programs, which is aimed at school children, and drama productions -- "bringing history to life," said Director Marilyn Drilling.

"She's very good at that," Drilling said. "She's done a lot of re-enactments, has great friends in New York City and just all across the globe, so we're thrilled."

Drilling said Conable has worked 21 years at Genesee Country Museum. She's also been active in producing historical programs at Alexander Central Schools.

"She's just delightful," Drilling said. "She really has a passion for history."

Suspect charged with one car break-in; additional charges expected

By Howard B. Owens

A 22-year-old man with no permanent address has been accused of breaking into an unlocked car and stealing a credit card.

Sheriff Office investigators also believe the suspect is linked to several other car break-ins.

Danny J. Torok, Jr. is in jail on $5,000 bail, charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree.

Additional charges are anticipated.

There have been a rash of break-ins to unlocked cars in both the city and town of Batavia this past summer. One of the most interesting string of hits were the night of Sept. 21, in which a subject left blood evidence in at least one car. The Sheriff's Office release on Torok's arrest did not indicate if Torok is a suspect in that night's break ins.

Torok was arrested at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday.

The investigation is being conducted by Investigator Kristopher Kauts and Deputy Loni Nati.

UPDATE: In response to our question about blood found at the scene of previous car break-ins, Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster responds: "Our investigation to this point leads us to believe that Mr. Torok's DNA will be a successful match with DNA evidence recovered from several vehicles."

Accident victim sorry to see young driver continue down troubled path

By Howard B. Owens

Cathie Plaisted still feels the hardware and pain in both her legs from an automobile accident more than six years ago that had her wheelchair-bound and bedridden for months.

Cathie was 47 at the time and in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by her husband, William. Another vehicle veered into their lane on Route 5 near Cedar Street and struck their van. That was on April 22, 2002.

The Daily News reported the following day that Cathie, William and children in the vehicle suffered only minor injuries. Although Cathie was originally transported to UMMC, she was immediately airlifted from there to Strong Memorial Hospital.

"This was a life changing ordeal," Plaisted said today in an email to The Batavian (she's given us permission to write about the email). Plaisted was responding to a report this morning about Ryan Shumway being sent to state prison on a conviction of menacing a police officer.

Shumway was 22 and reportedly the driver of the vehicle that struck the Plaisted's van (at this time, we have no information on any conviction related to that incident). He was charged, according to the Daily News, with aggravated unlicensed operation, unlicensed operation, no seat belt, moving from a lane unsafely and failure to keep right.

The Stafford resident reportedly told deputies at the time that he didn't know what happened. Shumway reportedly said he didn't know why he drove into the oncoming lane of traffic.

This morning, Shumway was given a one-and-a-half to three year prison term on this latest conviction. He has a prior felony conviction for grand larceny. Plaisted wrote to object to the lastest felony as just a "second strike."

"How many chances does this guy get?" she asked.

Under New York State law, only certain felonies count as "strikes" (not a term usually used in the New York court system, I don't believe -- it's a term I lifted from California's penal system). In New York, like California and several other states, if a person receives three serious enough felony convictions, he will spend the rest of his life in jail. It would appear that none of the charges from the April 22 accident led to a "strike" conviction.

As for Cathie, this is how she describes her own ordeal: "(I) was treated for two broken legs, six broken ribs and a cut spleen. I spent three months totally wheelchair-bound with the hospital bed in the living room. The accident happened on 4-22-2002 and I came home from the hospital May 13th and took my first steps on July 21. By then Mr. Shumway had been out and about with a broken arm for a couple of months."

Today Shumway told Judge Robert Noonan that he wanted to turn his life around.

"Well, sir, I've been in trouble before and everything I've done, I pled guilty," Shumway said. "I'm looking forward to getting this behind me and, hopefully, this will be behind me and I can start a new, good life."

Cathie Plaisted has heard it before.

"I suppose I'm more upset with myself for actually believing someone could change because they were young and showed remorse," Cathie wrote. "I thought it would be a wake-up call to escape something like that crash with no life-altering injuries."

Tune into WBTA at 10 a.m. Friday for more candidate forums

By Howard B. Owens

The three candidate sessions we taped at WBTA this evening all went well.

They will air tomorrow morning (Friday) starting at 10 a.m.

The order should be: Julie Wallace and Tim Buckley (City Council at-large), followed by Chris Charvella and Hollis Upson (County Legislature) and Rose Mary Christian and Robert Radley (County Legislature).

It took Ethan pretty much the whole day to get last night's video edited and processed.  I would expect the video of tonight's discussions to not be available until tomorrow evening.

I'm pretty pleased with how these segments went. There were good discussions on the issues without any the rancor that sometimes spoils the chance to fully hear candidates on important issues.  While we couldn't get to maybe all of the issues, we still covered a lot of ground and the candidates actually answered the questions and discussed the issues. It would be well worth your time to tune in or watch the videos.

Meet the City of Batavia democratic candidates Oct. 28

By Billie Owens

Notre Dame High School will play host to the 2009 Meet the Candidates Night on Wednesday, Oct. 28, sponsored by the City of Batavia Democratic Committee.

It will be an informal night of discussion and an opportunity to get to know the candidates who are running for County Legislature and City Council. It will begin at 7 p.m. in the Cafeteria at Notre Dame School, located at 73 Union St. in Batavia.

“This a wonderful opportunity for the candidates to meet one-on-one with their neighbors and constituents concerning local issues," said City Democratic Chairman Patrick Burk in a press release. “It allows for dialogue and sharing.” 

The event will include coffee and refreshments and all city residents are invited to attend. 

City Council-at-Large Candidates Sara Burk-Balbi, Phil Ricci and Julie Wallace will be available along with Rose Mary Christian, Chris Charvella and Ed DeJaneiro, the County Legisilature candidates who represent the City of Batavia.

“We hope neighbors and friends and all city residents do stop in and let us know their ideas and concerns,” Burk said. “It is an open forum and everyone is invited to attend. It is our hope that our representatives on City Council and County Legislature will continue to look into and discuss issues as they are brought forward. Communication is the key.”
 

UMMC breaks ground on $20 million expansion

By Howard B. Owens

A host of local dignitaries and medical professionals gathered in the North Street parking lot today for a groundbreaking ceremony on a $20 million expansion of United Memorial Medical Center.

The project will add 44,000 square feet to the facility as a one-story addition to the front of the current structure. Operating room space will double from 300 square feet to 600 square feet. An additional 19 private recovery beds will be added to the hospital as well.
 

Top Items on Batavia's List

Town Court Clerk Below are two lists: one details the myriad responsibilities that fall within the purview of the court clerk; the other summarizes the knowledge and abilities that court clerks possess or acquire through training. These lists are provided so that a judge and municipality can intelligently discuss the benefits that a court clerk can provide. The items below can also form the basis for a list of job duties should a municipality need to fill a vacancy in a court clerk position. Primary Responsibilities A. Maintain confidentiality of records and information when required to do so B. Prepare court calendar C. Collect monies, reconcile daily receipts, deposit receipts, prepare reports for monthly disbursements, reconcile bank accounts, and prepare administrative reports D. Enter convictions on drivers' licenses and prepare conviction reports electronically transmitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles E. Enter criminal conviction on NCIC reports and electronically send same to Division of Criminal Justice Services F. Respond to inquiries-in person, by phone, by e-mail and by mail-and provide assistance to lawyers, litigants, media, and members of the public G. Prepare monthly reports that are electronically sent to the Office of the State Comptroller H. Prepare orders, summonses, warrants and other court forms i. Communicate with outside agencies in order to coordinate the Court's activities and provide services to litigants. Such agencies include: ii. Law enforcement agencies, such as local police departments, New York State Police, Sheriffs office, FBI and CIA, US Armed Forces, and the Office of the District Attorney; I. Other courts, including superior courts and other local town and village courts; and i. Miscellaneous county agencies, such as Community Service, Community Dispute Resolution Center, Pre-trial Release, Probation, Stop DWI program, Victim Impact Panel, and Youth Court. ii. State agencies that require periodic reporting, including the New York State Unified Court System, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Office of the State Comptroller, the Division of Criminal Justice Services, and the Office of Court Record Retention. J. Examine court documents to ensure their accuracy and completeness K. Receive and file summonses, traffic tickets and other documents for court proceedings i. Assist the Justice at the bench during all Court proceedings Knowledge of: 1. The functions and organization of the Unified Court System ii. Basic legal terminology, codes and abbreviations iii. Court forms, practices and procedures, including those set forth in the Uniform Justice Court Act and the Uniform Civil Rules for the Justice Courts (22 NYCRR Part 214) 2. Ability to: i. Prepare judicial orders and decisions ii. Effectively communicate information orally and in writing iii. File and retrieve materials, extract data from various sources for entry onto court form iv. Research and interpret laws outlined in court documents and litigants' motions and other papers v. Perform mathematical tasks in order to compile court activity reports, total receipts, accept payments, and verify bills vi. Refer to appropriate documents, statutes, citations or other sources in order to respond to specific questions from attorneys, litigants and members of the general public vii. Interpret policies, statutes, rules and regulations and apply them in specific contexts viii. Establish work priorities ix. Constructively manage conflict with court users Qualifications: Highschool diploma recognized by the NYS Dept of Education or appropriate equivalent. Along with 4 years of college, specialization in criminal justice, law, business administration or related field. -OR- 2 years college with specialization in Business Administration or related field. Please email your resume to abrownell@townofbatavia.com no later than 12/16/2024. Pay is based on experience.
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