Students, faculty and staff of Batavia High gathered in the auditorium Wednesday night to show what they could do entertainment-wise to an appreciative and enthusiastic audience.

Here are a few photos of some of the performers.

More photos after the jump:

The exact words may not have been spoken, but the message was clear for Town of Batavia residents Wednesday evening: Get on public water.

No matter how much you like your well water, there's no way to guarantee it will remain safe.

"We want to be sure people understand that those are three tests and those are three bad contaminates (e-coli, coliform and nitrates), but there is a concern you should have on other items possibly getting in (your water)," said town engineer Steve Mountain.

The tests for e-coli, coliform and nitrates are quick and easy, but Mountain's message was, if those containments can reach well water, so can other contaminates.

Once a well is shown to be susceptible to contamination from surface water -- which the tests for those three substances prove -- then the well should really be considered unsafe.

Tests of wells around the town found that containments from manure as well as human waste is getting into the ground water, and when members of the 100-person audience at Wednesday's meeting wanted information on how to trace the source to agriculture, Town Supervisor Greg Post suggested, gently, they were looking in the wrong direction.

“If there’s a blend of both (human and agricutlure), it really doesn’t matter," Post said. "The water’s not safe.”

Of the 38 wells tested in the Bank Street Road, State Street Road, Batavia-Elba Townline Road area, 14 tested positive for bacteria and 11 of 13 tested positive for unsafe levels of nitrates.

In the rest of the town, 11 of 52 tested positive for bacteria and 28 of 47 for nitrates.

The results show that Town of Batavia wells are susceptible to contamination from surface water.

Illustrating the point from the audience Wednesday night was Harlo Towner, a Batavia-Elba Townline Road resident who said his well water is completely unusable. He showers at the YMCA or his daughter's house in West Batavia, and when he comes in from gardening, he goes through a regime of anti-bacterial hand washing.

It's been that way for years.

He blames, in part, pesticide planes from the airport.

He said growing up his daughters had stomach problems and rashes that went away when they left for college.

For the past five years, he's been battling cancer. He doesn't think it's a coincidence.

"It's a really bad situation," he said. "We really need water bad. I think everybody on the road signed up for it."

Part of tonight's presentation included Mountain explaining how residents can get on public water, which consists of creating water districts.

There are grants available to help pay for the creation of water districts, but residents can expect to pay in the neighborhood of $700 per year for public water once a district is created, Mountain said.

Photo: Towner is in the center of the picture.

Marijuana and alcohol use among Genesee County's 11th graders has dropped significantly since 2000, GCASA Director David Markham reports on his blog, GCASA cares.

In 2000, 25.7 percent of the 11th graders surveyed reported using marijuana in the previous 30 days. By 2008, that number dropped to 15.9 percent. (post)

In 2000, 51.9 percent reported drinking in the previous 30 days. In 2008, the number dropped to 38.2 percent. (post)

He said the data comes from a survey administered by GCASA every two years to the county's 6th through 12th graders.

Apparently, the 2010 data is not yet available since Markham does not share those numbers.

Markham concludes his post with a question: How do you account for the change?

A car accident at the corner of Main Street and and Weber Avenue is reported in the Village of Oakfield. Two children are passengers and an ambulence is en route to evaluate their well being.

Five Genesee County homeowners and their architecturally significant homes will be honored Saturday by the Landmark Society with a dinner at St. James Episcopal Church in Batavia.

The awards range from praise for restoration work to just doing a good job of maintaining a beautiful, older house.

“Looking around Genesee County for buildings to recognize, we were pleased to find an abundance of candidates for recognition. Our committee had a tough time narrowing down the initial list of nominees," said Lucine Kauffman, awards committee chairwoman, in a statement. "Ultimately, we chose a group of homes that is varied in styles of architecture, geographic location, age, and building materials."

Kauffman said with most of the committee members owning older homes, they had a real appreciation for what the home owners did to turn their homes into gems.

"We know that you really have to be devoted and patient to endure the endless maintenance that an old home requires," Kauffman said. "This group of honorees serves as wonderful inspiration to their neighbors and our community.”  

Laurie Oltremari, president of the Landmark Society of Genesee County, said preservation isn't just about maintaining a nice looking house. It's also the green thing to do.

“Many of our award winners have used salvaged, old house parts in combination with new materials that are made from renewable natural sources such as bricks, wood and stone,"  Oltremari said. "Preservation techniques such as these fit into the growing ‘Green’ building movement.”   

By publicly thanking local historic building owners for their preservation accomplishments, the Landmark Society hopes to raise public awareness of the architectural gems we have right here in our backyard, Kauffman said.

The Landmark Society of Genesee County is a nonprofit, volunteer-operated organization. Since 1965, the Landmark Society has encouraged local communities and individuals to work together to preserve our architectural heritage. Preservation, protection and improvement of the landmarks located throughout Genesee County are the objectives of this organization.

On Saturday, there is a reception dinner at 6 p.m., immediately followed by dinner at 7 p.m. the presentation of awards.

After the jump are pictures and descriptions of the winners provided by the Landmark Society.

Christopher and Darlene Miller
61 E. Main St.
Corfu
Category: Renovation
Description: maintaining or recreating the original integrity of a building's exterior (perhaps even interior) architectural features, layout, materials, etc.

The Landmark Society of Genesee County is honored to present Christopher and Darlene Miller an award for the architecturally sensitive renovation of this lovely Italianate Style home. In 1863 John Tyrell purchased property from Charles Tyrell and built this house. It had several owners until John A. Mass purchased it in 1943.

It was a farm at the time. Alvin Miller, a real estate broker, obtained the farm from Mr. John Mass in 1952, moved the barn and started the Meadowbrook Drive Development. That year, Mrs. Brey became the owner and turned it into apartments. In 2006 Paul Miller purchased the property. It had been empty for three years and consequently there was much water damage, in fact the mayor of Corfu wanted to condemn the house and tear it down. In 2008 Christopher and Darlene purchased the house and began the arduous task of restoring to its original elegance. The house was surrounded by a porch with a foundation built by a blind carpenter. It obscured the architecture. The Millers’ work has increased the community’s awareness of the house’s architectural significance.

This house is unique in that it has a limestone foundation built with stones which were quarried from the area. The exterior clapboards made of pumpkin wood have been completely stripped of its original paint. With the help of a local paint company, Darlene was able to obtain the latest technology available for restoration and color, becoming to the original character of building.

It has a tapered brick chimney which was built sometime later after the house was built. The arched front door, commonly known as "Italian Romantic" design, is the house’s most unique feature. The Millers have also rehabilitated the interior. It still has all the original trim and moldings. The staircase has been totally stripped and refinished. They were very fortunate to find the original pocket doors in the attic. All the doors throughout the house are original. They have been restored and are functional. The interior has been the decorated with historically appropriate paint to approximate the home’s original appearance.

This charming, historic home is an asset to the village of Corfu. It gives the Landmark Society of Genesee County great pleasure to present this award to Christopher and Darlene Miller.

Elizabeth and Thomas Weis
3 East Ave.
Batavia
Category: Outstanding Exterior Paint Treatment
Description: building has been painted in an historically appropriate color scheme; using usually three or more colors.

Tom and Liz Weis purchased this Late Victorian Era home in 1991. Tom learned that this circa 1900 home was for sale and knew that Liz had a fondness for old houses. At the time they weren’t married yet, so you could say that he used this house to further their courtship. Liz was able to see past the peeling paint, rotting clapboards, linoleum floors and fake wood paneling to envision the gem that this house is today.

Built by the Brumstead family, Liz’s father remembers coming to play here when he was a child. The Weises found an 1876 Historic Atlas of Genesee County in the garage attic. Inside the cover is stamped “J.F. McCullough, The Pattern Shop, 3 East Avenue, Batavia.” So, they deduce that there was a business in this house at one time.

The Weises replaced all of the cedar clapboard on the east side of the house and replaced the deteriorated fish-scale shingles with new cedar “half cove” shakes on the front of the house. The front windows and storms are original but the rest were replaced with new windows in the exact style of the originals.

They added historically appropriate touches like this reproduction doorbell plate next to the original front door; and the trim embellishments on the bay window. Also note the stone foundation walls that are almost two feet thick.

They rebuilt the front porch deck with mahogany and were able to preserve the original posts and balustrades. When one of the lattices needed replacing, Liz found a carpenter who could build a duplicate of the surviving original. The front porch is a favorite sitting place for the Weises so Liz replaced the exterior light with charming reproduction fixtures that would provide more illumination.

When they were ready to paint, Liz chose a palette of earth-tone colors because she wanted the house to “blend with nature." Using Benjamin Moore paints, she coordinated Wheeling Wheat on the clapboards with Providence Olive, Crownsville Gray, and Cottage Red on the trim.

Joel and Carol D’Alba
3557 Drake St. Road
Oakfield
Category: Tender Loving Care
Description: owners have tended to the building for many years (perhaps completed the restoration themselves at one point) while keeping the original materials, and/or style of the building.

This classic Greek Revival home was built in 1838 in the “gable front and wing” style popular in the Northeastern United States during the early to mid 1800s. The classic features can be seen in the wide gable trim, discontinuous frieze band, single story entry porch with Doric fluted columns and small frieze band windows.

Approximately 14 years ago, the D’Albas purchased the house and property from the Popes who had farmed the land for years. The Popes horticultural skills were such that the home and its gardens were featured in Home and Garden magazine. The D’Albas have been careful to maintain many of the home’s original exterior features. They have painted the house, put on a new roof, and installed custom-sized six pane replacement windows in keeping with the style of the architecture. In the future, Joel hopes to replace the current siding with clapboard siding as originally intended.

The original barn, circa 1856, has been equally cared for. The old rotted wood siding was torn off and replaced with vertical hemlock boards. Also on the property is an extremely old, if not original, split-rail fence. The fence and the barn can be seen in some of the glass negatives the D’Albas discovered in the walls of the home when remodeling.

Some details of the home’s original design can also be seen on the inside. The window and door trim has been scraped and repainted and the original fireplace has been fitted with a wood-burning stove and new mantel.

John and Moira Glidden
5435 Paul Road, East Bethany
Categories: Tender Loving Care & Architecturally Sensitive Addition
Description: owners have tended to the building for many years (perhaps completed the restoration themselves at one point) while keeping the original materials, and/or style of the building.

The original portion of the house is a brick Federal style built by Charles Sprague in 1828. A garage addition added in the mid-1900’s was transformed in 1984 into an early 1800s period kitchen with a wood-burning stove and brick hearth. The fire screen painting is reminiscent of Edward Hick‘s “Peaceable Kingdom” series. As in the rest of the first floor, the kitchen is stenciled with patterns and colors commonly used in the early 1800s.

The stenciled walls throughout the home are meticulously maintained by the Gliddens. The living room has the original plaster walls which were stenciled by a previous owner. John takes care to work around them when he paints. Part of the original building, the living room has a brick fireplace and hearth.

Upstairs in the master bedroom, the floors are constructed of variable-width wide planks with hand-tooled nails. There are two bedrooms upstairs that are original to the house. Behind them, the Gliddens built an architecturally sensitive addition that sits above the kitchen. This room, appropriately named the "belvedere," offers a stunning view of Black Creek and the surrounding countryside, including the wildlife.

Richard Heyes
6963 Big Tree Road
Pavilion
Category: Tender Loving Care
Description: owners have tended to the building for many years (perhaps completed the restoration themselves at one point) while keeping the original materials, and/or style of the building.

In 1920, John Elliott built this Craftsman Style Bungalow in Pavilion for $3,260. It passed through just one more family before Richard Heyes purchased it in 1975. For 93 years, it has retained almost all of the original features characteristic of the style. The exterior is sided with stained wood shingles laid in unequal courses. The clustered windows have wide moldings. In the front of the house, the window transom is of leaded glass with a Frank Lloyd Wright influenced design.

The incised front porch is supported by large tapered square columns. A gabled roof with exposed rafter tails and triangular knee-brace supports are typical of the Craftsman style.

The dining room and living room are divided by a wide archway with oak columns. The walls have tall board-and-batten panel wainscoting. Original gas-light sconces are over the brick fireplace, as well as in the bedrooms. The same rich oak is used on the floors, walls, moldings and stairway.

Mr. Heyes is an accomplished gardener, and has added to the charm of his home with elegant original landscaping, featuring beautiful peony trees from Linwood Gardens, where he is a volunteer.

Genesee County isn't the only county in New York struggling with what to do with its nursing home in an era of skyrocketing costs and dwindling resources.

All 36 counties in the state with nursing homes are facing the same issues, according to a press release from the New York State Association of Counties.

“We need to address following questions. Should counties be in the long-term care business? If the answer to that question is yes, then we need to develop funding formulas or financing mechanisms that do not require annual property tax increases to keep them open,” said NYSAC President Tom Santulli.

The NYSAC statement says:

Counties are in a crisis and are confronted with unique challenges with the health and fiscal stability of public nursing homes. Those challenges include complying with the unfunded mandates such as Wicks Law and contributing to growing public employee pension rates and healthcare costs.

To help counties address the issues, NYSAC is hosting a nursing home summit May 25 in Ulster County. The summit will address:

• Long term care reimbursement and the NYS budget crisis,
• The current fiscal health of county nursing homes in New York State,
• Challenges of operating a county-owned nursing facility,
• Analysis of the state’s population demographics, relative to housing needs, and
• Alternatives to institutional long-term care including home/community-based alternatives.

The press release concludes:

“County-owned nursing homes are in state of transition. The state’s indecisiveness about the role of counties in long-term care, and their temporary fixes are not solving the problems we are facing. They are Band-Aids but they are not addressing the structural deficiencies,” said Stephen J. Acquario, executive director of NYSAC.

A 45-year-old Holley man is accused of assaulting and robbing a Byron resident of three long guns while in his home at 3:30 a.m., Saturday.

Taken into custody yesterday was Darrell Bruce Reid, of 4 N. Main St., Holley.

Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said the victim had met Reid a short time before Saturday and the two men were talking in the victim's apartment when Reid allegedly assaulted the victim.

The victim suffered a broken nose and cut above his eye that required stitches.

While the victim had met Reid, he didn't know his full name, which led to the Sheriff's Office taking a couple of days to track down the suspect, Brewster said.

Reid, who was jailed without bail, is charged with robbery, 2nd, assault, 2nd, and three counts of grand larceny.

He is scheduled to return to Byron Town Court at 5 p.m., May 17.

Drive west on Route 5 and just after you pass Wortendyke Road, glance right -- a carpet of blue will capture your eye.

Dennis Wood, a watercolor artist and retired GCC instructor, lets his large piece of property bloom every year in forget-me-nots, the delicate little flower that grows in fields no taller than six inches.

The Wood residence has become well known for its yards full of little blue flowers.

Dennis said the previous owner, Jerry Wallace, who used the property as a base for his landscaping business, let the forget-me-nots start to cover the ground, and then Dennis's late wife Jane continued the spring tradition.

"I wait until they go to seed and then I mow, which spreads them even more," said Wood, who has lived on the property for 19 years.

He still teaches drawing classes at the INS station, which makes this his 45th year of teaching.

Photographers from all over the area head to the Wood place each spring, he said -- most ask permission to come on the property and take pictures, which he prefers, but he said he welcomes anybody who wants to enjoy the splendor in the grass.

A pair of Pembroke musicians, he said, had their picture taken last year in his yard for the cover of their CD.

The landscape has also proven popular with the Batavia Art Society, of which he's a member. He said he's been meaning to invite the local photography club to his garden, as well.

He told me I was actually a little early -- the full glory of the bloom, he said, probably won't be until about mid-May.

A 19-year-old man is being accused of participating in nine burglaries in Le Roy over the past two months.

Michael J. Hilton, who reportedly has no permanent residence, is charged with one count of burglary, 2nd, two counts of petit larceny, three counts of burglary, 3rd, criminal mischief and attempted petit larceny

The alleged break-ins occurred on Myrtle Street and in two apartment complexes on West Main Street.

The investigation by Det. John Condidorio began in March after a computer, game system and military clothing were reported stolen.

The break-ins apparently took place in the basements of buildings.

Several items have been recovered, according to village police, and the investigation is ongoing. Police are attempting to match the recovered items with the proper owners.

Hilton was jailed on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond.

UMMC has rescinded visitor guidelines put in effect in October 2009, during the height of concern over H1N1, that banned children from visiting patients.

Starting yesterday, visitors over 14 are allowed to visit patients, with the exception of the Maternity Ward, where siblings of newborns are permited to visit with a responsible guardian.

The Hope Haven unit allows visitors of all ages.

Only two visitors per patient are allowed. Visiting hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Full press release after the jump:

United Memorial instituted new visitor guidelines on Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Restricted visitor guidelines were issued in October 2009 based on the threat of the H1N1 virus.

The new guidelines rescind the ban on visitors under the age of 18 to the facility. The hospital’s current policy allows visitors over the age of 14 with the exception of Maternity, where siblings of newborns are permitted to visit with a responsible guardian. The Hope Haven unit allows visitors from all age groups when appropriate.

Only two visitors per patient are allowed at any one time. Visiting hours are from 9 am to 9 pm for most medical/surgical units. Visiting hours for Maternity are from 1 pm to 8:30 pm (significant others allowed at all times) and the Intensive Care Unit’s are from 9 am to 8 pm. Exceptions to the general visitors’ policy are made for the Hope Haven, Emergency, and Hospice/Comfort Care units and at the discretion of the attending physician when deemed appropriate by a patient’s condition.

Patients look forward to visitors and those visits are an important part of recovery. Rest is also a vital component of treatment, and it is the responsibility of the hospital to regulate visiting hours so as not to interfere with healing. 

United Memorial requests that all visitors cooperate in promoting the comfort and well-being of patients by trying to keep visits brief, using quiet tones, and not disturbing others. Any person with a cold, sore throat or other transmissible illness should not visit patients. Visitors under the age of 14 will be screened for illness and a log of their visit will be kept. Visitors over the age of 14 will be visually screened for illness by hospital staff and may be asked to use appropriate protective measures if necessary. If visiting patients who are on “isolation,” guests will be instructed by the nursing staff in proper protective guidelines.

All visitors are encouraged to wash their hands before and after visiting any patient.

Infection prevention is a priority at United Memorial, and as a result, we have one of the lowest infection rates among Western New York hospitals. Questions regarding changes to the visitors guidelines may be addressed by the Infection Prevention Department, Nursing Supervisors, or Community Relations Department.

I've made several attempts at getting a picture of the Tonawanda Creek rail bridge at sunset. This evening, when I got there, I thought at first maybe I got there a few minutes too late. But this is probably my favorite so far (and don't be surprised if I post more of this subject if I like what I get in the future).

One person was injured when two cars collided at the intersection of routes 33 and 237 in Stafford this afternoon.

Sgt. Greg Walker's report says that a car was northbound on Route 237 at 12:41 p.m. and that it stopped at the stop sign, but then the driver allegedly proceeded across Route 33.

The second driver tried to avoid a collision, but the two cars hit on the shoulder of Route 33.

Injured was Ann C. Sewert, 53, of 8179 Prole Road Extension, Byron. She was driving a 2005 Toyota SUV on Route 33.

Sewert was taken by ground ambulance to UMMC with complaints of head and back pain.

The driver coming off of Route 237 is identified as Nicole A. Yeo, 23, of 1809 Saltvale Road, Warsaw.

Yeo was not injured in the crash. She was cited for alleged failure to yield right-of-way at a posted intersection.

Two council vacancies -- created by very different circumstances -- were filled in the Village of Oakfield.

Jason Armbrewster and Shelley D'Alba were unanimously approved as trustees.

They take the seats left vacant by the resignation of Melissa Cianfrini and the death of Sam Beckley.

Beckley died before the most recent Village election, but he faced no opposition so was re-elected.

Cianfrini was required to resign after accepting an assistant district attorney position with Genesee County.

UPDATE:  Village Mayor Rick Pastecki called this evening and said the village has found two "talented" trustees. He said Armbrewster is an impressive young man who is an engineer by trade. "He brings a lot to the table," Pastecki said. As for D'Alba, she's a former village clerk. "Shelley knows a lot about the intricacies of running a village," he said.

Remember the two Town of Batavia employees we found at Main and Ellicott one day last week counting cars?

A few days later, I ran into Town of Batavia Supervisor Greg Post and he explained to me why what they were doing was so important.

The town wants to make sure the state is working with up-to-date, accurate data before making a decision to reduce Ellicott Street from two lanes in each direction to one, with a turn lane down the center.

Disrupting traffic flow on Ellicott, Post said, could significantly hurt four of the county's biggest employers -- Hanson Aggregates, Chapin Industries, Graham Manufacturing and O-AT-KA Milk Cooperative. 

All four rely on big trucks being able rumble down Ellicott and if it turned out that reducing the number of lanes on the street through both the city and town added minutes to each trip, that could add up to a truck load of money.

Post said most of those trucks cost about $75 to $85 per hour to operate, so a five-minute travel delay adds about $7.50 to the cost of moving product or material.

"Ultimately, somebody has to pay for that delay," Post said.

And it's not just the local businesses that rely on smooth sailing down Ellicott, a lot of Western New York truck traffic passes through Batavia on Route 63.

By making the effort to get an accurate count a multi-jurisdiction effort, Post said he hopes the Department of Transportation will have better data to work with.

"The state has had budget cutbacks just like everybody else," Post said, explaining why a multi-agency approach made sense.

There were counters from the DOT out at the same time as the town employees.

As for using human counters instead of automatic counters in rubber hoses laid across the roadway, Post said people can pay attention to where cars turn, not just that they passed over a certain spot. Also, since we're not out of snow season yet, the counting boxes could be easily damaged if plowers were put back into action. He said costwise, it doesn't make that much difference -- a lot of boxes would have needed to be placed on Main and Ellicott to get an accurate picture of traffic patterns.

"This is just an effort to find all the most accurate and up-to-date information possible," Post said. "This is a major project. We want to get it right. There's the old saying, 'measure twice, cut once.'"

The responsibility for maintenance of property in the City of Batavia -- landlords or tenants -- was a topic of discussion again on Monday night during the City Council meeting.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski raised issues brought up at a recent Neighborhood Improvement Committee meeting, when City Court Judge Robert Balbick paid the committee a visit.

Bialkowski wanted to know if enforcement actions were being taken against the right people, and whether some matters might be better turned over to the police.

City Attorney George Van Nest and City Manager Jason Molino said most of the matters that reach a court hearing stage are targeted at the right people -- the landlords -- because they are "brick and mortar" issues.

Molino said 25 of the last 28 court cases the city has prosecuted have been for such structural issues as peeling paint, rain gutters, fire damage and roofs.

"That's something we to focus on," Van Nest said.

Now that summer is rolling around, there will be more attention paid to debris issues, Molino said, but letters will be sent to both tenants and landlords.

Molino said the city's efforts are paying dividends and that many landlords are working with the city to identify and address problems.

"The enforcement is happening, the compliance is happening, much faster than it has in the past," Molino said. "I think the system that we’re using, the accountability system, is really being followed."

Bialkowski said he would like to see city police and code enforcement work more closely with landlords on cases where a tenant has seemingly engaged in criminal conduct before vacating an apartment or house.

"The judge thought some of these might be taken up as a criminal matter because they are so malicious," Bialkowski said. "I remember a couple of yeas ago, a friend of mine did serve an eviction notice on a tenant and he showed me pictures of the aftermath – this was way beyond civil – they just basically destroyed this entire dwelling. We need to look at possibly some communication with the police and code enforcement on what is the best way to handle this."

Molino said the police will look at possible criminal matters, but building an actual criminal case can be difficult and, after the meeting, Chief Randy Baker agreed.

"We have a level of proof to meet before it’s a criminal matter," Baker said. "One is, was it intentionally done or recklessly done? Then it’s a matter of identifying who did the damage. We can’t always meet all those criteria, so sometimes we can’t file the criminal charges."

Molino also noted that keeping a property in compliance is also a landlord responsibility because it's the landlord who approved the tenant in the first place. He suggested that local landlords do a better job of communicating with each other about bad tenants.

"Some of the responsibility ultimately falls on the landlord in these cases to do their proper review, their proper screening on tenants and the history of tenants," Molino said.

A strongly worded resolution asking Albany to restrict where convicted sex offenders can live is the extent of the action the city can take on the issue, the Batavia City Council agreed last night.

The council, by unanimous consent, asked city staff to draft a resolution and bring it to the council's next conference meeting for discussion.

"To pass a law just to pass a law that we know won’t take effect, just seems like futile effort," Council President Marianne Clattenburg said.

City Attorney George Van Nest informed the council that state law preempts the council's ability to pass a local law restricting where Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders can live. He said such a law would not likely withstand a court challenge.

While state laws do not specifically spell out where sex offenders can live relative to schools, playgrounds, churches and daycare centers, state law does give the power to parole and probation divisions to set restrictions on sex offenders, on a case-by-case basis.

The council's inability to pass a local law was disappointing to Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian, who has been pushing for passage of such a law since she started receiving complaints about a Level 3 sex offender living in her ward. She said she was ready to take the chance that a local law would get challenged.

"It's for our children," she said.

Clattenburg read a column from the Albany Times-Union that listed a number of legislative attempts to pass bills that more specifically restricted where Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders can live, but all of the bills failed to get Assembly or Senate support.

"The failure of the state to act on these things -- and obviously there’s been enough interest in that all these things have been proposed and not acted on -- really has left municipalities such as ours with our hands tied," Clattenburg said.

Councilman Bill Cox first proposed a resolution be sent to Albany, and Councilman Bob Bialkowski made the point that not all sex offenders are pedophiles. He said it's up to parents, friends and neighbors to be on the look out for unusual behavior.

He noted that it isn't always possible to know when a convicted criminal from another state is in Batavia.

“We have to watch for strange people where they shouldn’t be," Bialkowski said. "That’s the bottom line.”

Photos: Top, Van Nest, right with City Manager Jason Molino; Inset, Rose Mary Christian.

Jacob James Meinhold, 19, of 2537 Dodgeson Road, Alexander, is charged with two counts each of petit larceny, criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Meinhold is accused of trespassing on the property of U.S. Gypsum, 2754 Pike Road, Alexander, and on two separate occasions, of breaking a lock and stealing fuel. The first alleged incident was on March 23 and the second on March 28. On April 16, it was reported that Meinhold was involved in an alleged burglary.