James S. Gibbs, 39, of Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, insurance fraud and offering false instruments for filing and a violation of the worker's compensation law. Gibbs is accused of collecting full disability related to an on-duty injury while drawing income from plowing driveways and sealing parking lots in Batavia. Gibbs was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Kathleen M. McBride, 44, of 115 State St., lower, is charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. McBride is accused of cutting her husband's face during a domestic dispute. Her husband was not seriously injured in the alleged attack. After he was cut, her husband allegedly pushed her onto the bed and held her there, not allowing her to get up. McBride was jailed on $3,000 bail.

Jean Marie Lorenz, 49, of 7907 Allegheny Road, Corfu, is charged with two counts of assault. Lorenze allegedly attacked and cut two people with a knife Saturday night. Lorenz was reportedly drunk at the time. She was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Karen Ann Garcia, 45, of 13535 Miller Road, Albion, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Gardia allegedly allowed her daughter to shoplift at Kmart. Garcia also reportedly lied about her daughter's name and age.

Jamie Luis Santiago, of 5057 Hundredmark Road, Elba, is charged with assault. Santiago was taken into custody for an alleged incident July 12. Santiago allegedly punched his wife in the face causing injury on that date.

Sath P. Dhanda, 29, of 219 Washington Ave., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct and assault. Dhanda allegedly instigated a fight. At the time of his arrest, Dhanda allegedly made verbal threats to a police officer. Dhanda was arrested at 7:48 p.m. on Friday.

Dylan A.J. Dembrow, 18, of 14 Pearl St., Akron, is charged with unlawful dealing with a child. Dembrow is accused of hosting an underage drinking party at a location on Akron Road in Pembroke on Saturday night.

James M. Wisniewski, 19, of Attica, was charged by State Police with harassment. The charge stems from a Sept. 19 incident in the Village of Alexander. No further retails are available at this time.

Thomas J. Preedom, 21, of Wyoming, is charged by State Police with rape in the second degree and acting in a manor to injure a child. According to the State Police blotter entry, Preedom is accused of raping an underage girl. The alleged incident took place in the City of Batavia on Sept. 25. He was subsequently charged with bail jumping, criminal mischief, escape and harassment. Cash bail was set at $50,000.

Ronald G. Albertson, 51, of Albion, is charged with DWI. Albertson was stopped by State Police in Elba on at 10:03 p.m. Saturday.

A student of Jackson Elementary School died on Saturday.

No details of the death of 6-year-old Marcus Peters have been released yet, but his passing was confirmed by WBTA with the Sheriff's Office this morning.

Superintendent Margaret Puzio said Marcus was in school and apparently healthy on Friday.

Grief counselors will be at the school this morning.

UPDATE: Additional details have been released.

Marcus, who lived with his mother in Batavia, was spending the weekend with his father in Le Roy. He appeared healthy just minutes before he was found unresponsive by his 8-year-old sister. Moments before, he asked his father if he could go outside to play. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. Foul play is not suspected and there was no evidence of trauma.

UPDATE: We received the following e-mail from Kristen Wahl.

Hello my name s Kristen Wahl and Iam the step-mom to Marcus's sister Madison! He was a very sweet quite boy! He will be missed very much by alot of people!  His mom is Cynthia Peters and she is very broken up about this whole thing!  Marcus was her first born!!! I am writing this to say that the family will  need all the support possible to get through this horrible tragic thing!  Marcus is leaving behind 2 sisters and 1 brother and his mom and dad and  everyone who loves him! If you would like to support or send condolences the address is 139 Swan Street in Batavia, NY.She needs all of our support!  Thank You!

Paul Ohlson, Founder of Care-A-Van Ministries with James Rosenbeck , 2009 Kidney Walk -Genesee County Event Chair

Paul with Sydney the Kidney

Care-A-Van Ministries had the honor and pleasure of being contacted by the National Kidney Foundation to partner with them for their 2009 Kidney Walk for Genesee County slated for today, Sunday October 4th.

Mr. James Rosenbeck, a local Batavia resident, the chair for the event was a receipient of a kidney transplant in September 2007. He and his wife Debbie helped organize this local event. The event was held to celebrate life and help to raise funds to support the National Kidney Foundation serving WNY's mission.

The Care-A-Van ministry team offered juice, water, cookies , candy and prayer for the walkers and their families. A delicious lunch was provided by the National Kidney Foundation. It was impressive that the students of the National Honor Society from Grand Island High school were on hand to volunteer for the event as well.

A special thanks to Anne K.C. McCooey, Regional Vice President of the Western New York National Kidney Foundation an Maria Batt, Special Events Manager of the foundation for a warm welcome and a job well done!

Photos of National Honor Society of Grand Island helping out

We introduced Tyler Barrett as a young, local aspiring fiction writer some time back. Tonight, he sent a long a link to this video of him playing piano. The song he's playing is "Lux Aeterna,"  from the film Requiem for a Dream.

Ok, so he was a good sport about allowing this PR director to take his picture.

Local Detective Richard Schauf was out on Sunday afternoon particpating in the National Kidney Foundation Kidney walk that was held at Genesee County Park.

Friends of the foundation, gave him his very own birthday cupcake.

Detective Schauf is a great supporter of Care-A-Van Ministries. In his spare time, you can find him volunteering with the ministry  to help meet the needs of others. I said to him as I went to snap his photo "you  know I do blog online for the Batavian" he just smiled and allowed me to snap away. Happy Birthday Detective!

Detective Schauf and Pastor Mark Perkins on a recent outing with Care-A-Van

At a time when most companies in the U.S. seem to be just holding on, Prime Materials in Batavia is primed for growth, according to company President Russell  K. Western.

On Friday, Prime Materials held a job fair to help fill at least a half dozen openings and build a pool of applicants for a number of anticipated new jobs in the coming year.

According to Western, 44 people showed up and 13 will be invited back for a second interview and several more will be considered in the next round of hiring.

“We’re regularly frustrated in our ability to find appropriately skilled people,” Western said, who described the classic conundrum of employers finding people looking for work who are over qualified, or people who are underskilled with spotty work histories.

“We were greatly excited to have 44 people to pick from,” Western said.

The firm, located at 6 Treadeasy Ave., is poised for expansion, Western said, because there is a growing domestic market for its closed-cell cross-linked foam, which is used as packing material for shipping of a wide range of products. While the company faces stiff global competition from Asia, the cost of shipping a higher quality, highly dense material into the U.S. gives Prime Materials an advantage.

The entire manufacturing process, from mixing to pressing, is handled in the Batavia plant.

It also manufactures foam for its parent company, Batavia-based P.W. Minor, which makes stylish shoes for people with diabetes or arthritis or who simply want a comfortable shoe.

The relationship with P.W. Minor may be heading in a new direction in the coming months, according to Western. Prime Materials is all grown up and the firm may have the opportunity to mature into an independently owned company in its own right. Western is in talks with investors now and if that goes through, Prime Materials’ ability to create many more good paying jobs will be greatly increased.

And finding good people, Western said, will be a key part of Prime Materials' success.  He thinks Genesee County, with its own skilled workforce and Batavia's location between Rochester and Buffalo, will help the company find good people. He said his goal is to build a company with a solid reputation in the community, which will help bring in and retain career-minded workers.

Things looked good for Notre Dame at the end of the first half this afternoon, but in the end Holley took control of the game and went on to win 14-7.

It was the first loss of the year for the Irish and continued Holley's dramatic turn around from an 0-8 in 2008.

It was a tale of two halves, according to Notre Dame Head Coach Rick Mancuso, who said his team failed to execute in the third and fourth quarters.

"We had a good mix of run and a good mix of of pass (in the first half)," said Mancuso. "I thought we played with passion. We played with emotion. I thought we came out early in the second half and we started off with a penalty right in the first series and that was just kind of the way that we played. We lost our focus and we lost our discipline and we didn’t play a good second half."

In that first half, Notre Dame did a good job of stuffing Holley's powerful running game. When Holley went up the middle, the Irish line was there to push back the pile. On sweeps, the pursuit was aggressive, lead by Gianni Zambito, to keep Holley's backs from turning the corner. A couple of sweeps turned into lost yardage for the Hawks.

After the game, Hawks Head Coach Chad DeRock bristled at the idea that the Irish were sticking it to his guys during the first half.

"We played our game -- bend, don’t break," DeRock said. "We gave up only seven points to one of the best offenses around here. We bend, we don’t break. They’re going to have big plays. You’ve got to accept that when you’ve got Bochicchio at QB and Pratt and Richter and Zambito out there. Those are big play guys. We just didn’t want to get beat with the big, big play. We got burned on one. Other than that, we did what we had to do."

That one big play was a 35-yard TD pass early in the second quarter to a wide open Zambito from Nick Bochicchio.

The successful drive was sparked by a Cam McDonald fumble recovery late in the first quarter. The turnover stopped a long drive by the Hawks that had them on a seeming precipice of a first score of the game.

Instead, Notre Dame was able to end the half with a 7-0 lead against a Holley team that scored at least 30 points in three of its four previous wins.

ND opened the half with the ball, an illegal motion penalty the Irish in the hole and a few downs later ND was punting it away. It wasn't long after before Mike Perincano was crossing the goal line on a 30-yard rush to pull the Hawks within a point of the Irish (Holley failed to score on a two-point conversion try, so the score stood at 7-6).

On its next possession, the Irish moved the ball down field and were within striking distance of another score when Bochicchio was picked off by Guy Hills. That's the last time the Irish really threatened to put points on the board.

Two possessions later, Chad Barhydt, who took over at QB for Hills, who was injured in the fourth quarter, carried the ball in on a two-yard TD run, and with the two-point conversion, Holley sealed its 14-7 victory.

"My hats off to Holley," Mancuso said. "They played terrific. They were up to the challenge and they’re a great team. They’ve got a lot of really great kids. They work hard and their coaching staff does a great job with them. I wish we cold have done them justice and played them a little bit better."

Coach DeRock said his team, even at 5-0 and assured of at least a share of the Genesee Region title, is still taking the season one week at a time.

"Everybody says this was the GR championship, but it’s not," DeRock said. "It’s another game on our schedule. We have another game next week and another game after that.

"Attica’s a great team," he added. "Brad Clark had 295 yards rushing last night. I scouted the game. He’s a great running back, so we’re not taking them lightly by any means."

Pernicano finished the game with 52 yards on six carries. Sean Baylor had 12 carries for 68 yards. Barhydt posted 42 rushing yards.

For the Irish, now 4-1, Mike Pratt rushed for 65 yards on 20 carries. Zambito contributed 90 total yards on four receptions.

Attica was able to convert two Oakfield-Alabama turnovers in the second half into big plays to literally run away with the game in Oakfield last night, capturing a 34-21 win.

Spirits were high for Oakfield when the team emerged from the locker room on homecoming night with a 14-7 lead, but on its first possession of the third quarter, a fumble gave Attica the ball well into Hornets' territory and a few plays later, Brandon Rollings squirted into the end zone on a 14-yard run. It was Rollings' second TD of the night.

Attica Head Coach Jeff Cusmano said turn overs and the Blue Devils' ability to convert those turnovers into big plays was the key to the game.

"We got the running game going," Cusmano said. "They were clogging up the middle and we got to the outside a bit. We were just digging down and grinding it out."

The game remained tied until the third quarter when another fumble by Oakfield, now 1-4, was followed by a 56-yard dash by Brad Clark. It was Clark's first of three TDs of the night.

"The first half we came out like I expected them to, and just like Notre Dame last week, we came out firing on all cylinders," Coach Brian Palone.  "We’ve just got to find a way to finish games. Right now we’re not playing four quarters of football."

Oakfield pulled even again on an 84-yard run by Jason Stanley. It was Stanley's second long TD run of the night. He also scored in the first quarter, going 64 yards for the TD.

But it was all Attica (4-1) from that point on in the game. Clark scored twice on runs of 62 and 81 yards to seal the victory.

Cusmano said Clark, who had 296 yards on 27 carries, was the star of the game, but also praised the offensive line.

"They just did a tremendous job," Cusmano said. "They dug down and just ground it out. I would have to say it all starts up front and Brad will be the first guy to tell you that without the blocking up front, he wouldn’t have had what he had."

It was some of those big plays that helped Clark run up so many yards that were the undoing for Oakfield, Palone said.

"We can’t allow big plays," said the Oakfield Coach. "Attica was able to get some big plays on us and put together some big drives on us and it was tough for us to battle back."

The turnovers, of course, were crucial mistakes.

"It came down to what we preached for the past couple of weeks – we’ve got to protect the ball and we weren’t able to do that, and defensively, we can’t allow big plays," Palone said. "Attica was able to get some big plays on us and put together some big drives on us and it was tough for us to battle back."

Next week, Alexander goes against undefeated Holley. Cusmano thinks his team will be ready.

"We’re making progress every week and you know the kids are growing," Cusmano said. "They’re going to make mistakes; you know, you roll out a bunch of young kids and they’re going to make mistakes. We’re getting better every week and cutting down on our mistakes. We'll go into the Holley game next week and see what happens."

Besides Clark, for Attica, Brandon Rollings had six carries for 37 yards. Brandon Banks led the defense with nine tackles. Alex Arnone had seven tackles and two fumble recoveries.

For OA, Jason Stanley rushed for 199 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. Matt Osmancickli rushed for 36 yards and Matt Smith carried the ball a total of 35 yards.

A driver and his wife were injured in an accident in Alabama this afternoon when the driver allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way to another car.

The driver, Charles F. Smith, 63, of Waterloo, is in serious condition at Erie County Medical Center and his wife, June A. Smith, 58, is in stable condition.

Charles reportedly suffered internal injuries and was semi-conscious when emergency personnel arrived. June suffered an internal shoulder injury and was conscious at the scene of the accident.

According to a report by Deputy Jim Diehl, Smith was heading north on Shanks Road when he attempted to cross Bloomingdale Road into a parking lot at 383 Bloomingdale Road.

A 1999 Subaru driven by Travis J. Hanson, 18, of Akron, was eastbound on Bloomingdale Road when it collided with Smith's 1991 Buick sedan.

Neither Hanson nor his 17-year-old passenger, David R. Santamaria, were injured.

The force of the accident sent Hanson's vehicle into a car parked in the lot on Bloomingdale Road. That truck is owned by John Snell of Lancaster. Snell was not in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Roughly 15 people lost good-paying jobs this week at Batavia-based Graham Corp.. The across-the-board cuts were a necessary belt-tightening measure in the midst of a lackluster economy.

That's according to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Glajch, who confirmed the rumored layoffs this afternoon.

"I feel sorry for the workers," he said. "But we needed to adjust to the marketplace in this sluggish economy. Things aren't getting worse, but they aren't getting better either."

It's the second round of job cuts this year. Slightly more than 10 percent of the engineering and manufacturing company's workforce was eliminated in January. 

That amounted to about 30 jobs at a time when the company was facing a 40-percent loss in revenue, the CFO said. Nonetheless, in May it received Empire Zone tax incentives.

It is the rare, if not the only, publicly traded company in Batavia, with offices and a production plant at 20 Florence Ave.. It has been in business since World War II.

It engineers and makes vacuum and heat-transfer equipment that has broad applications, from making synthetic fibers, petroleum products, electric power and fertilizer, to processing food, pharmaceuticals, paper and steel. Half its good are sold abroad.

Things were going great guns for Graham by mid-2008, when it made Business Week's list of the fastest-growing small companies.

China and other foreign markets' thirst for oil in 2007-08 created a robust demand for Graham's goods. Orders placed then continued to have a postive impact on the company's finances over the first three fiscal quarters of 2008-09 (the company's fiscal year runs April 1 through March 31).

At its peak, it had more than 300 employees and its stock was trading at a high of $50.98 a share. Its stock closed today at $14.68 a share.

As with other industries, the orders tapered off and the forecast today is a question mark. Looking ahead, the CFO said he hopes there won't be pink slips come December, but "I can't promise anything, we have to wait and see."

What's the recipe for "The Big Game"? Well, start with two undefeated teams in the fifth week of the season. Make sure one of them has a storied history and is hosting the game on homecoming weekend. The other team should be up an upstart, a new program that for the first time is emerging as a powerful, tough-to-beat squad.

That's a Big Game.

And's the situation tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. when Notre Dame hosts the Holley Hawks Notre Dame. The teams clash as division rivals with matching records of 4-0.

“They’ve (Holley) got a great group of kids and we’re probably the underdog here" said Notre Dame's head coach, Rick Mancuso. "We’re fighting an uphill battle, but we’re looking forward to the challenge."

If you put any stock in such things, MaxPreps ranks the Fighting Irish 121st in the state, and Holley at 155th.

The Irish have scored 101 points on the season, Holley, 114. ND's has allowed 35 points, with Holley being a bit stingier, giving up only 23.

The Hawks have a reputation for being a strong, hard-hitting team, and Coach Mancuso acknowledges the Hawks are a tough, well-coached team, but that doesn't make them much different from Attica and Oakfield. Both of those squads have fallen once each this season to the Irish.

"We’ve been against some tough, strong, hard-hitting teams and Holley’s no different than them," Mancuso said,  "other than Holley’s maybe a little bit bigger and they have a little bit better skill level in their back field."

Mancuso said the Hawks probably have the best four backs in the league.

"That gives them an advantage," he said.

"We've got to come out and we've really got to work at it," Mancuso said. "We can't get down they have a big play. We can't get too high and we can't get too low. It's a big challenge."

He said his players are excited about the big game.

It sounds like a recipe for a can't-miss match up.

AUDIO: Interview with Head Coach Rick Mancuso (mp3)

Sheriff's investigators are looking into a brazen daylight garage break-in in which the thief (or thieves) got away with three large items.

Stolen this yesterday morning from 27 Valle Drive, Batavia, was a John Deere tractor with a snow plow attached, a Yamaha Blaster four-wheeler and four snow tires that fit a 2005 Pontiac G6.

The burglars smashed a window to get into the garage between 9 and 10:15 a.m. and left through the overhead garage door, leaving it open.

Anyone with information that might help solve this crime are encouraged to call the Sheriff's Dispatch Center at 345-3000, Ext. 1.

My heart went out to Althea after reading her story. Once she was down on her luck and sick, to boot. After amazing love and grace, she's nurturing (see photo) and brings lots of joy and companionship to her folks.

She works to earn her keep, too. A good word for her is magnanimous -- yes, she has the gift of magnanimity. Bless her little pea-pickin' heart (an old Tennessee Ernie Ford saying I'm fond of, even though I don't pick peas nor do I especially like them). Here's what she says.

My name is Althea and I think I should be "Pet of the Week." I was adopted from the Genesee County Animal Shelter about four years ago. There I was, stuck in a cage with some unpleasant health troubles that I won't get into, but let's just say I was not a pretty sight.

My mom and dad took me home and got me cleaned up and then with some help from Volunteers for Animals I got the treatment I needed. I'm still a little fragile, having joint problems and faulty digestion, but I don't let it get me down.

Since finding my family I've gone hiking, swimming and kayaking but my very favorite thing to do is help out around the house. I clean up crumbs off the floors, empty the cat litter boxes and fetch things. I even helped babysit some foster puppies this summer. 

My mom says I'm the happiest dog she ever met and she's met a lot of them, let me tell you! I've had a lot of foster brothers and sisters over the years and I always try to introduce myself and help the "new" guys feel at home. Life is good. I figure if you have a warm bed, good food and people who love and take care of you, you've got everything, so why not share with a dog who's not so fortunate?

I kind of like having a bunch of other dogs around. You should hear us howl when we get wound up! Anyway, that's my story. Maybe if I'm Pet of the Week people will read my story and think about adopting a shelter dog. I'm a pretty good judge of dogs and I think there's a lot of good ones waiting for homes. Thanks for reading this.

Althea

If your pet is worthy of Pet of the Week, have him or her e-mail me at pets (at) the batavian dot com. Please have your pet send a handsome picture and his or her story. Click here for more information. Your pet could win a $10 gift certificate from Genesee Feeds.

James D. Henry, Jr., 54, of 8296 E. Main Road, Le Roy, is charged with a felony count of criminal possession of a forged instrument and a felony count of attempted grand larceny. Henry, a former Village of Le Roy employee, allegedly entered the village office on Monday possessing a forged doctor's prescription. It stated that Henry "would be out until further notice" in an attempt to gain sick leave compensation, which would have totaled more than $3,000. Henry was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Robin L. Pirdy, 50, of 588 Route 98, Attica, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI with a BAC of .08 or greater. Pirdy was reportedly found parked on the side of Molasses Hill Road in Bethany by Deputy Kevin McCarthy. Upon investigation, McCarthy determined that Pirdy had allegedly been driving while intoxicated.

Steven Robert Gorecki, 23, of 106 Tracey Ave., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Gorecki is accused of shoplifting from Target.

Willie A. Sabb, Jr., 35, of 19 Porter Ave., Apt. 2, Batavia, is charged with assault in the third degree, endangering the welfare of a child and harassment. Police picked up Sabb at his residence on warrants issued by City Court. The charges stem from three separate alleged incidents. No further details were released.

Smoke detectors awoke a Bank Street family this morning, allowing the people in the lower apartment unit to escape safely from a fire that started in an improperly lined chimney, according to a Batavia Fire Department release this morning.

Upon arrival at the 2:20 a.m. alarm, Batavia firefighters entered the upper apartment and awoke the two occupants and escorted them safely from the building.

Firefighters initially responded to the call of a "house filled with smoke."

The fire caused an estimated $30,000 damage to the house and $15,000 to its contents.

No smoke detectors were present in the upper unit, which was located at 140 Bank St..

UPDATE: WBTA spoke with Captain Michael Drew (MP3) of the Batavia Fire Department. Chief Ralph Hyde also told WBTA that the chimney was designed for gas heating and the occupants tried burning wood in the fireplace.

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The Enchanted Florist, 202 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: Brighten up your home or office with flowers! We have a $20 gift certificate for $8.50.

Kravings, Valu Plaza, W. Main Street, Batavia, NY: Recently opened, it offers soups, salads and sandwiches, fresh and flavorful; Monday through Saturday. We have $10 gift certificates for $5.

The Color Salon, 35 Center St., Batavia, NY: Susan Francis, the owner and stylist at The Color Salon reminds women, "your hair is your greatest accessory." Francis has more than 20 years experience at helping women get the best hair color. We have a $50 gift certificate for $25.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Ribs, brisket, steak, prime rib -- Center Street is a meat lover's paradise. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

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.

Jackson St. Grill, 9 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: Try the fresh, skinless haddock fish fry on Fridays. We have a $10 gift certificate for $5.

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.

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

A press release:

On Sept.14, the Byron-Bergen Public Library's Board of Trustees voted to put the annual Craft Fair on hold until 2010 due to the loss of our venue. The Board of Trustees understands the importance of this annual event and is fully committed to securing a new location. That process will begin early next year in anticipation of a Fall event. Please watch for additional details as they become available.

We're about to order our first batch of The Batavian T-shirts from T-Shirts Etc. I expect to visit Brian tomorrow and place the order.

We're only ordering as many as were purchased, so if you want to get one in this batch, order now.

The T-shirts are $20 each, which I realize is a bit pricey for a T-shirt, but we're putting half the money into our equipment fund so we can improve the quality of the equipment we use to bring you the news. This money won't be used for anything except buying equipment (the site is doing well enough at this point that we're making a living).

Thank you for your support.

For the better part of two years, I have watched and witnessed the current council as it sits now. I have seen certain members try to push public agendas that would help the greater good and benefit the city as a whole. I’ve also unfortunately, witnessed those pushing private agendas without any care of how detrimental the collateral damage could be. Here’s the truth as I see it.

My wife and I as we were making our departure from Europe decided to return to Batavia. We believe to this day that it is an amazing place to raise our family! We also have an amazing sense of community pride, which is just one of the reasons that I have been involved in many different organizations here. I have not done this for any kind of personal gain, except for the satisfaction that I could make a difference. You see, I was raised by the mantra: “Do something or Shut up” from two very stern parents; one Italian, one Irish. They believed, as I do now, that the only way you’re going to make it in this world, is by putting your hands to the plow and working to get it done. Well that’s why I’m running for office; plain and simple. I don’t like the way things work now. It makes no sense how we prioritize our finances and how afraid we are to change it.

Unfortunately it took a horrific budget gap for us to be willing to consider that change was needed. The council took action behind the leadership of a man, who many have called a radical, Charlie Mallow. Love him or hate him, he did the one thing that so many former and currently sitting members never did; he started the conversation.  He accepted the fact that people would hate him for saying what he felt and that some of his ideas would be smashed to the ground. Yet he said it and did as much as he could in during his time on Council. Now, this isn’t some ringing love note for Mr. Mallow, but a reality check of the past two years. Hard choices were made to right the ship, but now it’s time to fix the hull once and for all. We have to continue the conversation by continuing to move on and act on tough decisions.  

We also have to include you in on the process! That’s right, it’s time to stop just having talks in private rooms behind closed door, but to put them out to the open floor and let government work for the people of Batavia. Charlie Mallow asked me to run and take his place because; he believed I was strong enough to continue this conversation. Now it’s our turn.

You want to create jobs in Batavia? Then you have to cut the waste out off our city budget so that you can lower the cost to actually run a business in our city.  You want to improve neighborhoods? Than we have to sharpen our focus on holding these absentee “business” owners to their commitments while still protecting the personal liberties and freedoms of our citizens. You want a more open government? Then we have to get council over itself and publically print every council agenda before each meeting for every citizen that wants it! We have to put tough decisions to special votes and let us all collectively decide our fate! Most importantly, you have to vote! Speak with that voice as loud as you can.

Lastly, do you want to cut taxes? Then understand that we have to right size our service levels to do that. Notice I didn’t say eliminate! I’m not one of these extremist that buys into the “ALL OR NOTHING!” way of governing. There are practical and pragmatic ways to achieve a balance! I’m not going to sit here and promise you that I can bring about a zero tax rate in Batavia, but we should be able to roll the recent increases back. Give back the money that was ripped from our pockets just to play catch up! Achieving that though is going to take some tough decisions.

Over the next few weeks I will put out a plan to each of these points. They will be collective ideas from me and also those who I have been asking for advice and guidance along the way. You may like some, hate others. That's great! Let the conversation continue! WE CAN DO THIS! I know we can. If I didn’t believe it with my whole heart, I wouldn’t say it.  We can make Batavia better. No, even more, we can make Batavia the kind of place that every city in New York State dreams of becoming.

Why not? We can do it!

Respectfully,

Phil Ricci
Candidate, Councilman-at-Large