Bandit is on the run. He took off from his home on East Avenue around 4:45 p.m., Tuesday. He was last seen on Stringham Drive.

Tyler Fales would like him to come home. If you can help, call (585) 329-0035.

Esayas Reinhardt -- Outstanding Student Award
Esayas earned this award because of his perseverance in meeting high academic and behavioral expectations. Esayas has overcome many challenges throughout his intermediate years at John Kennedy. He has worked hard to improve academic focus, attention to details and motivation to learn. Esayas has made marked gains in mathematics, reading and writing.

His greatest achievement has been in leadership. Esayas has grown into a successful communicator and leader. He has chosen to consistently do his best in support services, classroom lessons and in social settings. He recently completed his post office position with recognition by Mrs. Whitehead.

He is currently acting as a student council member at John Kennedy Intermediate. Esayas participates in Miss Cole's guided reading groups and includes with Mrs. A's fourth-grade art and Friday Free Choice.

Esayas is both a student and role model for his classmates and the school community. Congratulations on a job well done!

Nominated by Mrs. Neumann.

Eryn Dunn -- Certificate of Appreciation

The NYSSMA conference brings together the best high school singers and musicians from across the state to take part in four days of rehearsals and concerts each year in Rochester.

Eryn went to the Rochester Riverside Convention Center on Thursday, Nov. 29, to register for the event and took part in hours of rehearsals over the next few days, culminating in a concert on Saturday evening at the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater. The concert was absolutely breathtaking, and Eryn's participation and performance were truly inspiring.

Nominated by Mr. Grillo.

Katrina Cox  -- Outstanding Staff Award
Miss Cox is an English-as-a-New-Language teacher at John Kennedy has extended her role as not only a teacher for her students but also as an ambassador for our new families that have moved into the district and need support in both language and understanding cultural traditions.

Miss Cox can be seen attending family movie nights, book fairs, the Color Run, even trick-or-treating with the families to help them take part in the many traditions that the students can take part in by being students at JK and living in Batavia.

Miss Cox has truly been a steward in welcoming our families and has helped support the families' transition to living here in Batavia and attending our school. Thank you, Trina, for truly taking care of BCSD and always modeling the JK way in building relationships with your both students and their families!

Nominated by Mrs. Cook.

Laura Whipple and Lindsey Heassler  -- Outstanding Staff Award
Laura and Lindsey have worked tirelessly over the last year and a half to restructure reading and book choices for their high-level reading classes. The two have collaboratively adjusted the way developmental reading is taught so that our highest readers are pushed to new levels!

Through their attention to detail, particular literature selection and reflection on connections to ELA and Social Studies curriculum, this pair has created a learning environment for their students that is challenging, connecting and rewarding. It is safe to say that their sixth-grade students are not only becoming better readers, but also more knowledgeable students.

Nominated by Mr. Sutton.

Press release:

At approximately 3 a.m. there was a large water main break on North Street between Trumbull and North Spruce in Batavia.  The main has been shut down, and crews are beginning repairs.  Residents in the area may experience low water pressure or discoloration.

Residents in the area are advised to check for discolored water and wait until water clarity has been restored before using for laundry. Vehicular traffic should avoid the area as the street may be closed while repairs are completed.

UPDATE 2:15 p.m.: The water main has been repaired and water service restored as of approximately 1:30 p.m.

Sources of Strength is a suicide prevention program at Batavia High School that trains volunteer students to provide peer-to-peer assistance or help guide students who might otherwise be unwilling to talk with an adult to guide them to the right adult.

Currently, at Batavia HS, there are 10 adult advisers and 43 peer leaders.

Five of those peer leaders made a presentation about the program to the Board of Trustees Tuesday night.

The program also brings in campus speakers from Mental Health, GCASA, the Youth Bureau, and the YMCA.

Last month, peer leaders volunteered at the NYS Veterans Home, making Christmas cards with residents for armed service members overseas.

Training was provided by founders of the organization from Denver.

Students participating in the presentation Tuesday were Lily Whiting, AT Thatcher, Gavin Tucker, Stephanie Dibble, and Ben Best, with adult advisers Kelly Deneka and Heidi Meides.

Above photo is the former water distribution building adjacent to Hartland Park in Bergen, after it was repurposed into the Sage Pavilion.

BERGEN -- Preserving Bergen’s history, promoting the village and conserving energy to save taxpayers money have long been a focus of the Village of Bergen.

That dedication recently won the Village of Bergen an award from the American Public Works Association as their WNY Public Works Project of the Year for repurposing of its former water distribution/Department of Public Works building into the Sage Pavilion.

The cement block building adjacent to Hartland Park had been empty for decades and the village had considered demolishing it.

Examples of the village’s sustainability practices in previous years include purchase and repurposing of the Tulley Building for village offices, boardroom, document storage facility in the basement, rental space for business; and four apartments.

Other examples are the composting facility at the Water Treatment Plant, community garden, Tree City recognition, Bergen Electric Efficiency Program, Clean Community designation and recycling efforts.

Transforming a DPW building into Sage Pavilion

The Sage Pavilion is the result of their latest efforts, said mayor Anna Marie Barclay.

The village first learned about the American Public Works Association’s award from engineers Clark Patterson & Lee, who told the village of the opportunity to apply.

“We applied and talked about how our staff came together and how the communities around us supported us,” Barclay said. 

Village Administrator Cortney Gale said after the water treatment plant closed, the DPW kept their trucks there, followed by 10 years of use as a cold storage.

“But it got pretty gross,” Gale said.

The cost for the village to build a much needed public pavilion was prohibitive, the mayor wrote in the application.

“The village is small and budgets are tight,” the mayor wrote. In order to provide the village residents and outside community with the all-season pavilion needed, the village staff had to be creative.”

The need for a village pavilion became evident after the Bergen Fire Company converted its community hall into space for town offices and town courtroom.

“The village lost a facility that had been used for community and family celebrations and meetings,” Barclay wrote in the award application.

Since an all-season pavilion had been strongly requested at public hearings during development of the 2016 comprehensive plan, staff worked to develop a plan to make the pavilion a reality.”

A new building similar to the now completed Sage Pavilion would cost $750,000 based on normal construction costs and using public bidding and state wage rates.

Demolition of 'eyesore' was considered

The village board was considering demolition of the eyesore, but after cleaning out the materials from the building, the space led to discussions of possible refurbishing. The building was found to be structurally sound, on the main road and centrally located across from Hickory Park and adjacent to Hartland Park and the disc golf course.

The village engineer and staff met to set a plan in place, and chose to convert the former water building.

A SAM grant was applied for and awarded through sponsorship of Senator Michael Ranzenhofer, providing seed money for the project.

Interior walls were made of Bergen Brick manufactured in the village of Bergen. A transom window originally over the entry door to the former office area of the water plant was repurposed as a decorative addition to the Sage Pavilion entry hall.

The biggest challenge to the project was removing giant pumps three levels into the ground and then filling in the space. The village did not have equipment to remove the pumps and having a contractor fill in the basement was cost prohibitive.

Planning to meet the challenges

A plan was devised to use the electric department pole, setting trucks to hoist cast iron pumps and pipes out of the basement through an open window and the former basement stairway. The cast iron pumps and piping were hauled to a nearby scrap yard and the funds reinvested into the building. 

Discussions with DPW staff, the engineer and village code enforcement officer led to a strategy for filling in the basements. It was determined road millings could be used as fill, topped with flowable fill. Not only would this save the village a tremendous amount of money, but it would help surrounding communities which were doing road work to dispose of their road millings.

The village contacted local communities during road work and arranged for the town of Bergen to pick up the millings and bring them to the construction site.

Village linemen chipped in to do landscaping and every single village employee helped with siding, windows, roofing and piping in the floor for radiant heating, Gale said. The process took a year and a half. 

The village employees spent a lot of time huddled over their computers, watching YouTube for information on how to perform certain aspects of the project.

During demolition, it was discovered a fire many years ago had damaged the building. That area was sealed per current codes and left exposed to show the history of the building.

As work progressed, people using the nearby walking trail and employees who used to work in the old water plant often stopped to view the work.

Wowed by the work

“They would look around and ask how it was possible this was the same building,” Barclay said. 

When it came to choosing a name for the new pavilion, the village settled on that of W. Monroe Sage, elected the first mayor of the village of Bergen in 1877, and then reelected in 1902. Born in 1834 in the town of Wheatland, Sage was well-known in music circles.

He was the prime mover in bringing about the incorporation of the Village of Bergen and instrumental in having sidewalks placed. He also inaugurated the first streetlighting by placing lamps on the corners of North Lake Avenue, Rochester and Buffalo streets.

The entire Village of Bergen staff are planning to attend the award presentation Jan. 31 at RIT’s Banquet Center in Rochester.

Photos by Virginia Kropf.

Photo below is what the former Bergen water/DPW building looked like in 2016, before work began to transform it into a public pavilion.

The next two photos below show what Bergen’s former water treatment plant looked like inside as work began to transform it into a public pavilion.

The bottom two pictures show the meeting room and entranceway to the Sage Pavilion after renovations were completed.

People really should attend the City School District's annual art show in March at the Richmond Memorial Library, Superintendent Chris Dailey said after art teacher Amanda Antonucci provided a department review Tuesday night at the Board of Trustees meeting.

"It's amazing what our kids produce," Dailey said.

This year the art show will feature a districtwide project: art students are drawing portraits of just their eyes. The pair of eyes will be displayed side-by-side on one long wall.

The opening night reception will be held March 15.

Antonucci went through several projects students are working on at schools in the district, including the fourth-annual monster swap project, where elementary students draw a monster and high school students make a sculpture of those monsters.

"It's my favorite project," Antonucci said.

Teachers at Jackson, John Kennedy, and the Middle School are all integrating STEM into their art instruction.

This includes learning about nature through art, using perspective to learn math and geometry, and science with Lego-related projects.

Dom Grazioplene is the most recent student selected for a solo art show at GO ART!, with an opening reception Thursday night.

There are art appreciation nights planned in May for Jackson and the high school and in May the middle school will host its annual human rights activists project.

Expect snow to start falling Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service, snowfall becoming heavier that night and becoming lake-effect snow by Sunday night.

At this time, accumulations of only seven inches are expected but it will be accompanied by gusting winds and cold, arctic air.

Blowing and driving snow could make travel difficult and wind chills could drop to well below zero.

This storm is expected to hit all of Western New York.

Drivers should plan on slippery roads and low visibility.

The Oakfield Republican Committee is seeking candidates for the following:

• Superintendent of Highways (four-year term)
• Town Clerk (four-year term)
• Councilpersons (two positions, four-year terms)
• County Legislator (two-year term)

Interested residents of the Town or Village of Oakfield can send a Letter of Intent no later than Feb. 4 to:

Alan R. Dennis, Chairman of the Republican Committee

6916 Fox Road, Oakfield, NY  14125

Notice

Village of Elba Republican Caucus -- Jan. 28

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that at a Republican Caucus is to be held at the Village of Elba, on Monday, Jan. 28, for the following offices that are up for reelection on March 19.

Office

• Village Trustee -- four-year term
• Village Trustee -- four-year term
• Village Trustee -- one-year term (finish out existing term)

Notice of the scheduled date of the caucus is being given at least 10 days before the caucus as required.

Please contact Laurie Itjen Republican Chairperson at (585) 757-2257 with any questions.

In deciding how to sentence a 24-year-old from Oakfield who caused a serious injury accident while drinking and driving on Route 33 in Corfu on April 18, just weeks after a prior DWI arrest, Judge Charles Zambito said he had to wrestle with how to balance punishment, protecting the community, and providing the young man with the best chance at rehabilitation.

To that end, he decided that Jacob Szumigala should serve an intermittent jail sentence in the Genesee County Jail followed by five years under the watchful eye of the County Probation Department.

Nothing against state's parole supervision but Zambito said he believed Szumigala would be more closely monitored by local probation and if there was a violation, Szumigala would be returned quickly to Zambito's court.

"I'm more confident that this type of sentence will provide the community with more protection and you with more supervision," Zambito told Szumigala in Genesee County Court Tuesday afternoon.

Szumigala was stopped by State Police on Lockport Road in Oakfield in March and charged with DWI. With his driving privileges already revoked, Szumigala was driving through Corfu when his gray Hyundai Sonata was heading eastbound on Route 33 at high speed when it struck a Honda sedan.

That Honda struck a black pickup truck. The driver of the Honda, James Hoskins, of Corfu, suffered serious injuries -- considered so serious at the time of the accident that the Crash Management Team was called to investigate the crash in case the Hoskins didn't survive.

Assistant District Attorney Shirley Gorman said the injuries sustained by Hoskins are life-altering. She argued for a harsh prison term, especially in light of an alleged violation of Szumigala's terms of release while awaiting sentencing.

Szumigala's attorney, Tom Burns, didn't dispute Gorman's assertion that Szumigala tried to get high and when the drug was ineffective, he stopped taking medication to soothe his craving for alcohol and then got drunk.

"That decision to not only use alcohol but to deliberately use a substance intended to induce a high and then stop his treatments that he was authorized to be on and required by his treatment counselor," meant Szumigala deserved a prison term, Gorman argued.

"If there was a time in which you follow the letter of what is expected of you, it's while you're at the mercy of the court before sentencing. But within a month of his appearance, he used alcohol."

Gorman concluded, "how can anything here stop him from drinking other than state incarceration?"

Burns said everybody was disappointed in his client's relapse, including Szumigala. What separated Szumigala from many other defendants in a similar situation is that all the treatment Szumigala has been through -- in-patient, a halfway house, residential treatment -- have all been voluntarily, and other than the one relapse Szumigala's performance throughout treatment has been excellent.

"I was extremely disappointed in his relapse," said Burns, while several members of Szumigala's family sat in the first row of the gallery. "I know his family was disappointed in his relapse."

And unlike many other defendants, Szumigala isn't thinking just of himself, standing before the court expressing remorse over his addiction. Szumigala acknowledges the harm his actions caused other people.

Burns pointed out that if placed on probation, a violation would subject Szumigala to a potentially much longer prison term than available to Zambito under terms of the plea agreement reached in this case. Zambito later said Szumigala could be sent to prison for from five to 15 years if Szumigala violated his probation terms.

In November, Szumigala entered a guilty plea to aggravated vehicular assault and DWI as a misdemeanor and aggravated unlicensed operation. The DWI case in Oakfield is still pending and under terms of his plea agreement, he must plead guilty in that case.

Zambito said that if he sent Szumigala to prison, that would mean he would be taken out of treatment at the Oxford House, cause him to lose his job, and eventually return Szumigala to the community without treatment. That would mean, Zambito said, Szumigala would still be a potential threat to the community.

Szumigala will serve his intermittent jail term on Mondays through Wednesdays.

There is still the issue of restitution to the victims to be resolved and a hearing on restitution was set for March.

UPDATED Jan. 19: WNY Rebels annual AAU Basketball Tryouts for boys and girls will be held on Sunday Jan. 27 and Sunday Feb. 10 at Norte Dame High School gymnasium. Cost is $10 per player. (Jan. 20 tryouts are cancelled due to the snowstorm.)

The school is located at 73 Union St. in the City of Batavia. Questions? Contact Otis Thomas via email at  otisthomas33@yahoo.com

The schedule both days will be as follows:

Fifth / Sixth Grade Girls -- 8 to 9 a.m.

Fifth / Sixth Grade Boys -- 9 to 10 a.m.

Seventh / Eighth Grade Girls -- 10 to 11 a.m.

Seventh / Eighth Grade Boys -- 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Ninth / 10th Grade Girls -- 12 to 1 p.m.

11th / 12th Grade Boys -- 1 to 2 p.m.

Ninth / 10th Grade Boys -- 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

A 17-year-old male who lives on Cherry Street in Batavia is charged with second-degree harassment. At 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 14, Batavia police investigated an incident at Batavia High School involving a student who allegedly had unwanted physical contact against a staff member. The youth was issued an appearance ticket for Batavia City Court and is due there Jan. 22. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Jason Davis, assisted by Sgt. Dan Coffey.

Shadow Star Jonathan, 24, of Meadville Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, is charged with second-degree assault. He was arrested at 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 10 for allegedly assaulting another person at 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 14 on Sandhill Road, Alabama. He was arraigned in Alabama Town Court and jailed in lieu of $10,000 bail. He is to return to Alabama Town Court on Feb. 7. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy James Diehl, assisted by Deputy Richard Schildwaster.

James Arthur Daggar, 64, of Batavia Elba Townline Road, is charged with: DWI; aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree; operating without a driver's license; refusal to take a breath test; and failure to yield the right of way at a stop sign. At 4:02 p.m. on Jan. 15, Daggar was arrested following a motor-vehicle accident investigation. The accident on Alleghany Road (Route 77) resulted in minor injuries and only Dagger was transported to UMMC, where he was treated. Traffic tickets were issued and the defendant is to appear in Alabama Town Court on Feb. 13. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy James Stack.

Ronnie Joe Flinchum, 59, Mill Street, Le Roy, is charged with failure to appear. Flinchum was arrested at 11:39 a.m. on Jan. 14 on a bench warrant for failure to appear on a prior charge of third-degree assault. The defendant was arraigned in Batavia City Court and put in jail in lieu of $1,000 cash or bond. Flinchum is to reappear in city court on Jan. 17. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Jason Davis, assisted by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Mehmet Kahraman Dilek, 43, of Meadowbrook Drive, Rochester, was arrested on Jan. 15 on a warrant out of Batavia City Court for failure to appear. Dilek was arraigned at 7:30 p.m. at jailed with inspecified bail. The defendant is due back in city court this afternoon (Jan. 16). The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay, assisted by Officer Felicia DeGroot.

Press release:

“Part of the Y’s charitable mission is the philosophy that we never turn away someone with an inability to pay for membership or programs” says Jeff Townsend, executive director. “To that end, we raise funds annually through the Strong Communities Campaign to help subsidize scholarships for the youths, teens, adults, families and seniors in our community."

• This year’s campaign runs from Feb. 1st – March 31st.
• Our goal is to raise $47,000.
• We want to positively impact at least 800 people’s lives in the Greater Genesee Community.
• Reaching our goal will ensure that children and families regardless of their socioeconomic status, will have the chance to benefit from the important lessons of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility through YMCA programs and services.

At a kick-off event held Tuesday night, Townsend reported some early success, noting that the Y has already raised $14,053 or almost 30 percent to their goal.

“We need your help to make this community wide impact as successful as possible!” Townsend said.

Please consider a gift to support and help the YMCA achieve this year’s goal and help make our community stronger for all.

To make a gift, contact Jeff Townsend, executive director at (585) 344-1664 or online at www.glowymca.org under the “giving” tab.

When there were no immediate takers for an empty storefront Derek Geib owned on Jackson Street, he started to think about what he could do with the space and what Downtown Batavia needed.

Geib, who now qualifies as a serial entrepreneur, having been an owner in Matty's Pizza, Main Street Coffee, Bourbon & Burger Co. (currently), and Casa del Taco, decided he should bring back what downtown has missed for a few years -- a community coffee shop.

"I fixed up all the apartments upstairs and I had this space for rent but there were no bites, so I figured I might as well try to make the most of it," Geib said. "I figured it seemed like something we're missing and what we needed."

Since buying the building at 13 Jackson St., Geib said he has put his own money into renovations -- no subsidies, he points out -- and he used his own money to turn what was most recently a Mexican restaurant, an Indian restaurant, and a frozen yogurt shop into a cozy coffee shop with a place-for-community vibe.

The newspaper theme is also locally inspired. Longtime residents remember Marshall's newsstand, which occupied a couple of storefront locations on Jackson from 1921 to 1999. Geib said the name of the coffee shop and the decor is an homage to years two men named Arthur H. Marshall, father and son, who sold newspapers, magazines, and paperback books on Jackson, including at 11 Jackson, where Bourbon & Burger is now.

Barely open a week, the word has already gotten out and The Coffee Press is attracting a crowd.

"Yes, it's amazing, the support we've had from friends and family," Geib said. "And you know, now I don't know half the people coming in. I's just people spreading the word. It's really nice. I'd like this to be known in Batavia as the hometown coffee shop."

Under a budget amendment resolution recommended for approval by the Public Service Committee on Monday, Paul Osborn, the county's park supervisor will become deputy superintendent of the County Highway Department.

Osborne will be responsible for both the county's parks and for maintenance of all county buildings in his new role.

The move is possible because the county's supervisor of buildings and grounds, Terry Ross, is retiring.

That position is being eliminated from the budget. A new senior building maintenance mechanic position is being created. That position will be part-time and will be filled by Ross.

The annual salary of the new deputy highway superintendent position will be $74,000, effective Jan. 28.

While the budget must be amended to shift the allocation of expenses, there is no additional expenditure for the county.

On other highway department resolutions recommended for approval by the committee:

• Funding a $184,000 consulting and design agreement, funded by a federal grant, with Barton & Loguidice, for construction of a new Pratt Road Bridge over the Tonawanda Creek.
• Acceptance of a state grant of $18,483.37 for culvert replacements.
• Purchase of a new 2019 F-750 dump truck body from Van Bortel Ford in East Rochester at a cost not to exceed $162,897.73. Previously, the Legislature had approved a budget expenditure for this item of $165,000.
• Purchase of a new Ford F-150 pickup truck from Van Bortel Ford in East Rochester at a cost not to exceed $32,706. Previously, the Legislature approved a Road Machinery Fund with a truck purchase authorized for up to $33,313.
• Purchase of a new 14,000-pound capacity lift from Rotary Lift in Madison, Ind., at a cost not to exceed $43,065.32. In the 2019 budget, $59,000 was set aside for this item.
• Set a new fee schedule for use of park pavilions and rooms:
  • Genesee County Park pavilions A, B, S, and E, $70; Pavilion D, $125; pavilions B1, B2, S3, E1, E2, F, G, H; and Fleming, $30;
  • DeWitt Recreation Area: Pavilion 1, $100; Pavilion 2 $125, and Pavilion 3, $30;
  • Interpretive Center: Discover Zone, $50, Activity Room, $150; Entire building (weekends only) $300; special event fee, $250.
• ACORNS is donating $5,677 to the county for a Student Conservation Association internship. ACORNS is also donating a dolly and cabinet to the County Park.
• ACORNS is seeking approval for its annual fall 5K/10K race and walk in the County Park on Oct. 6.