It took 45 minutes of thoughtful discussion about pedestrian safety, sidewalk design/construction costs and comprehensive plans on Tuesday night for the Town of Batavia Planning Board to decide to grant approval of an Ohio developer’s site plan for a proposed 9,000-square-foot Dollar General store at the corner of West Main Street Road and Barrett Drive in the hamlet of East Pembroke.

The endorsement of the project comes with a major stipulation – Zaremba Group, which specializes in build-to-suit retail development programs for retailers across the country, must contribute $10,000 to a sidewalk fund should the Batavia Town Board desire that a sidewalk be built on the property, extending to an existing sidewalk on nearby East Avenue.

Todd Hamula, senior development manager for the Lakewood, Ohio firm, addressed planners for a second time, fresh off approval by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals permitting the developer to reduce the number of parking spaces from the required 46 to 30.

He was seeking site plan approval from the planning board, pointing out some changes in the layout and details of a stormwater retention pond.

The revised plan also includes a short stretch of sidewalk on the property, which, according to Hamula, “gives (the Town) the ability to connect in the future to East Avenue.”

However, Town Engineer Steve Mountain -- after noting that issues such as the pond being close to a residence and the store’s driveway being about 12 feet wider than the desired 24 feet were “not difficult to overcome” – said that he was in favor of sidewalk from East Avenue to the store “to prevent residents from walking in the road (Route 5).”

“Sidewalks are something we have batted around a lot,” said Mountain, adding that the Town has considered forming a sidewalk district to reach its long-term goal of a “walkable community” per its comprehensive plan for the hamlet. “I believe sidewalks are prudent … and recommend completing that loop.”

At that point, planners began debating whether to approve the site plan with sidewalks (about 260 feet of 5-foot-wide sidewalk would be needed) or without sidewalks, and wondering aloud who would be responsible for the cost.

Mountain said he figured the cost to be in the $5,000 to $10,000 range if the developer were to put the sidewalk in, to which Hamula countered that “it’s going to be every bit of 20 to 25 thousand.”

Hamula said he was under the impression that previous negotiations with county and town officials resulted in the Zaremba Group not having to put in a sidewalk that connected with East Avenue.

He then proposed a contribution of $5,000 toward a sidewalk – calling it an “impact fee” – as long as the Town put it in.

“That (building the sidewalk) would be a daunting task for a private developer,” he said.

Mountain stuck to his guns, stating that the Town wouldn’t be building a sidewalk if not for the Dollar General project, and that “it would cost us 35 to 40 percent more than a private developer.”

He also warned the board that the Town could be liable if a pedestrian was hit by a car walking in the road, and urged the board to approve the site plan either with a sidewalk or without a sidewalk.

A couple different motions were presented. One called for granting approval based on the Town paying for engineering and permit costs and the developer being responsible for putting the sidewalk in, but that was withdrawn.

Board member Paul McCullough then asked Hamula if he would be willing to put $10,000 toward a sidewalk fund.

Hamula said he would agree to a cap of $10,000, and minutes later, the board made a motion to approve the site plan without sidewalks with the developer agreeing to contribute $10,000 toward a sidewalk fund should the Town of Batavia want sidewalks and also contingent upon the developer fulfilling other engineering requests.

It was approved 7-0, as was a second motion – a recommendation to the Town Board to include a sidewalk extending from the store to East Avenue when considering the plan.

Afterward, Hamula said he hopes to break ground on the $1.3 million project around Memorial Day and have it completed by Labor Day. He said it will employ eight to 12 people, including a full-time manager, and will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

In other action, the board approved site plans of the new Town of Batavia Fire Department substation on Stringham Drive and the expansion of the Classy Chassy Carwash on Veterans Memorial Drive.

The fire department recently announced plans to build a $3.2 million station to replace Station 2 on Clinton Street Road. The proposal was recommended for approval by the Genesee County Planning Board as long as a Department of Transportation permit pertaining to an entrance to the 10,000-square-foot substation was obtained.

Representatives of Clark Patterson Lee, the engineering firm hired by the department, said that an application for the permit is in process.

Jeff Arnold of Clifton Springs, owner of Classy Chassy, is planning a $200,000 addition to the facility’s Eco-Soft Wash, expanding the tunnel wash from 40 to 100 feet.

He said the addition will not alter the traffic flow and will retain enough room for drivers to exit after using a revamped vacuum center and for emergency vehicles to maneuver around the property.

On Monday, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved an area variance for Classy Chassy, reducing the building setback from the required 30 feet to 18 ½ feet.

An accident involving three cars and a semi-truck is reported at Oak Street and Richmond Avenue in the city; unknown injuries. City fire, police and Mercy medics are responding. Traffic control will be needed.

UPDATE 4:33 p.m.: The driver of the white sedan pictured above told police they couldn't stop in time and rear-ended a car in front of them, causing a chain reaction ending when a semi was struck by the third car. The drivers of the white sedan and the third car were transported to UMMC with complaints of pain. An investigation is pending.

A BOCES student is suspected of making threats of violence at the Batavia campus and he is currently undergoing a mental health evaluation in Buffalo.

The name of the student is not being released and he has not been charged, though Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said that if there is sufficient evidence for charges against the youth, he will be charged.

Brewster said local law enforcement takes these kinds of threats seriously and will act on them when they come to the attention of local officials.

"We're still trying to pin down what he said and to whom," Brewster said. "If anyone is going to make such threats about something they're going to do at a school, they are going to get arrested."

Superintendent Chris Daily confirmed he was made aware of the threats and notified local law enforcement.

"We look into any kind of threat and work with local law enforcement to make sure it is not credible, and if it is we act accordingly," Daily said. "We take any threat very seriously. The safety of our students is of utmost importance."

It's unclear if the student made verbal threats or if he had written anything down. Brewster said investigators are still looking into it. 

Daily said he was only aware of statements the student reportedly made at BOCES.

Brewster characterized the threats, based on information available so far, as vague threats to hurt students with no reference as to how he would do it.

The youth is somebody with prior criminal charges.

Batavia PD was notified of the alleged threats and has offered to assist in the investigation, Chief Shawn Heubusch said.

It's important, Brewster said, for parents, teachers, fellow students, and others who come in contact with somebody making threats against schools to notify authorities.

"Unfortunately, we live in a day and age when the rule is, if you see something, say something," Brewster said. "Police can't act on anything if they don't know about it."

Raymond C. Cook, 47, of Clinton Street Road, Bergen, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Cook is accused of holding the arms of another person during a fight reported at 6:17 p.m. Thursday at a location on Center Street, Batavia. Also charged with second-degree harassment is 28-year-old Rae C. Cook, of Clinton Street Road, Bergen, who is accused of striking another person several times in the face and head. Lyndsay J. Wilcox, 33, of Center Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree harassment, too. Wilcox is accused of hitting another person.

Ronald P. Dixon Jr., 39, of Pearl Street Road, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear in City Court. Dixon was remanded to jail.

Jason L. Johnson, 35, of Autumn Chapel Way, North Chili, is charged with criminal use of drug paraphernalia, 2nd. Johnson was allegedly found in possession of drug paraphernalia during a traffic stop by Officer Stephen Cronmiller at 10:08 p.m. Wednesday on Walnut Street, Batavia.

Cody A. Eaton, 28, of Otis Street, Batavia, is charged with two counts of burglary, 2nd, two counts of petit larceny, and two counts of criminal contempt, 2nd. Eaton was arrested following a report of a domestic dispute at 11:31 a.m. Feb. 13 at a location on East Main Street, Batavia.

James John Bachorski, 49, of Weber Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with possession of a weapon on Genesee County property. Bachorski allegedly possessed a cutting instrument during a meeting at the Genesee County Probation Office, in violation of Genesee County municipal law.

Joseph Martin Blatchley, 40, of Pratt Road, Batavia, is charged with falsifying business records, 1st. Blatchley is accused of removing and altering business records from a business on Oak Street while employed there.

Joseph Earnest Marr, 39, of Nesbitt Road, Attica, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Marr is accused of violating a stay away order of protection.

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The Empire Hockey Youth Conference 12 and under Peewee Batavia Ramparts beat the Tri-County Golden Eagles of Brockport 7-0 yesterday afternoon at the Faletti Ice Arena on Evans Street in Batavia.

Tyler McClurg and Greg Narburg both led the game with two goals and one assist each.

Also scoring goals were Logan Narburg, Ian Kepple and Preson Tobolski. Justin Valyear had two assists.

Goaltender Robert McCarthy recorded his eighth league shutout between the pipes for the ramparts and 11^th overall to finish the regular season.

Empire Conference this weekend is the playoffs are known as play downs. Friday night and Saturday morning games will be played at the Bill Gray’s Ice Complex in Rochester.  Saturday afternoon the finals will be at SUNY Brockport.

To purchase or view game photos click here.

For a list of team divisional standings click here.

For the first time in awhile, Ricky Palermo -- whose own charity has raised more than $720,000 for spinal injury research -- was the center of attention at a fundraiser on Sunday night at T.F. Brown's.

"People don’t realize what it’s like when you’re at a fundraiser and it’s directed at you," Palermo said. "It’s kind of a weird thing. We all want to help other people and we do but when it’s directed at you, it doesn’t seem real.

"I’m pretty damn lucky, as you can see. It’s not just my relatives, though we’re a huge crowd. It’s my relatives and friends from all parts of my life that makes it all fun."

There were more than 300 people at T.F. Brown's to make donations so Palermo can receive experimental treatment at the Miami Project that, if successful, could give him more mobility.

Palermo, who was a three-sport star athlete at Byron-Bergen High School in the 1970s, suffered a spinal injury in an automobile accident 37 years ago and became paralyzed from the chest down.

For 15 years, Palermo and family and friends, have used the Ricky Palermo Foundation -- with an annual golf tournament and other events -- to raise funds for spinal injury research. Now it's Palermo's turn to take advantage of some of the scientific advances led by the Miami Project.

"My goal in life — everybody thinks it is to walk again — but my goal in life is to be able to take care of myself," Palermo said. "What they’ve got going on, it’s no longer a whacky dream. It’s pretty much a possibility. That’s my goal. If I could recover enough to actually take care of myself, I would consider that — not a victory, but a big, big, big advance toward victory."

The Miami Project was cofounded in 1985 NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti after Buoniconti's son, Marc, sustained a spinal cord injury during a college football game. A team of 250 doctors and researchers led by cofounder Dr. Barth A. Green have since made breakthrough discoveries in the field of spinal injury treatment. 

"A lot of people thought the book was closed (on spinal injury research), but it's not," Palermo said. "The Miami Project is getting people back up on their feet. Yes, their injuries are minute compared to mine, but (people with) slight injuries today are getting back up on their feet."

Wade Bianco, a good friend and a business partner with Ricky's brother, heard that Palermo had a chance for treatment at the Miami Project but that it would cost $10,000 plus he would need to bring two nurses with him. So Bianco got together with friends and family members at breakfast and said they should organize a fundraiser.

They all agreed. Bianco called Rick Mancuso at T.F. Brown's, who quickly agreed to host the fundraiser, donate the food and reduce the price of drinks at the bar.

Others donated items for auction, including four Yankee tickets, Sabre tickets, and Jim Kelly donated autographed footballs and a book.

It just so happened the fundraiser fell on Bianco's birthday.

"I can’t think of a better birthday present than to help somebody else, especially Ricky," Bianco said.

In all, the event brought in about $30,000.

Bianco said he was awed by the response and chalks it up to the special nature of the Batavia community.

"I’m from Long Island," Bianco said. "I moved here. I couldn’t believe what a great place this is. It’s just an awesome place to raise kids, to live -- my wife says 'don’t you want to go Florida?' I’ll go for two months. My friends are in Batavia. I really don’t want to go a long time. I’ll take February and March when I retire, but I don’t want to be gone. I want to hang out with my friends and my friends are in Batavia."

Palermo said he has long felt grateful to the local community for their support, their help, and for just being there for him. It all started 37 years ago when he was injured and has never stopped. He said he feels lucky, very lucky, to have so many great people around him.

"It’s an incredible feeling to know that when you go places that everybody there wants to do something for you," Palermo said. "It makes me feel good about our society. There are so many good people out there.

"They don’t get the credit. All you see is the bad stuff. All I can say is if people want to see what's positive in life, get involved with some of these people that support us. It’s incredible. It wakes you up in a good mood and it puts you to sleep in a good mood."

Laura Del Carmen Vazquez Coronado, 38, of North Byron Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, unsafe backing, moving from lane unsafely, driving on the shoulder. Vazquez Coronado was charged following a motor-vehicle accident reported at 7:06 a.m. Thursday on North Byron Road, Elba. The accident was investigated by Deputy James Stack.

Devon Robert Peters, 23, of Franklin Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, driving a vehicle without an inspection sticker, and failure to notify DMV of an address change. Peters was stopped at 9:26 a.m. Sunday on Route 33, Bergen, by Deputy Kyle Krzemien.

Joseph Earnest Marr, 39, of Nesbitt Road, Attica, and Jenna L. Josephite, 29, of Main Street Road, Batavia, are charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Marr and Josephite are accused of using cocaine while in the presence of a 1-year-old child before driving the child from Attica to Batavia while under the influence of drugs.

Douglas Brian Uberty, 45, of North Main Street, Warsaw, is charged with unlawful surveillance, 2nd. Uberty is accused of using a mobile phone to take pictures under the clothes of a person while at Walmart.

Eastridge High School held its annual "Battle on the Ridge" cheer competition this past Saturday in Rochester. The Batavia Varsity squad finished second place in its division. 

Judges score on difficulty and execution in the following catagories: Jumps, pyramid, stunts, tumbling and cheer.

This Saturday Rochester Institute of Technology hosts the Section V competition. 

For more photos to view or purchase click here.

Curtis Foss rolled a 300 game -- his second in three weeks -- while Roger Allis posted a 300 game to highlight the list of league bowling leaders for the week of Feb. 12.

Foss, a Medina resident, finished with a 775 series in the Sneezy's Monday Night League at Oak Orchard Bowl, while Allis, also of Medina, finished with 732 in the Thursday Firefighters League at Medina Lanes.

At Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen, Caycee Landers registered 782, the highest series ever by a woman in the Genesee Region USBC (she was featured in Mike Pettinella's Pin Points column).

For more "high rollers," click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the page.

The first installment of Oakfield Historical Society’s 2018 lecture series is about the Orphan Train at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6^th. This will be held at the Town of Oakfield Community & Government Center, 3219 Drake St.,  Oakfield

By the 1850s, large eastern U.S. cities had massive numbers of orphaned children. New York City alone had an estimated 30,000 children without parents, making placement with local families virtually impossible in a city of 500,000. 

The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating about 200,000 orphaned, abandoned or homeless children.

Perennially favorite speaker Jeff Donahue is presenting this fascinating program. As always, this event is free and open to the public.

Visit www.VisitGeneseeNY.com to learn more about Genesee County's unique attractions and local events.

Earlier this week, both the boys and the girls Alpine Ski teams finished in ninth place at the sectional championships at Bristol Mountain in what Coach Matt Holman described as a deep Class A field.

For the boys, top finishers for were Brandon Bradley (33rd in Slalom, 38th in Giant Slalom), Zack Wagner (35th in SL, 43rd in GS) Alec Wagner (40th in GS), Matt Grover (41st in GS), Ryan Bowen (36th in SL, 47th in GS).

For the girls, top finishers were Aubrey Towner (30th in SL, 31st in GS) and Lily Whiting (38th in GS).

Holman said Batavia has had a ski team since 1991 and he's encouraging more students to participate.

"With the Olympics in full swing," he said, "if anyone who is a student in the Batavia Middle or High School is interested in learning more about ski racing can contact Coach Matt Holman by emailing him at mholman@bataviacsd.org."  

If you are not a Batavia City School District student and interested in ski racing, contact your school's athletic director. In the past Notre Dame High School and Elba Central Schools have been represented in the Southern Tier Race League and have trained with the Batavia Ski Team.

Article by Drew Muehlig. Photo by Dan Carnevale​.

High school graduation rates increased slightly across New York in 2017 -- to 80.2 percent, up from 79.7 percent in 2016, according to data released Wednesday by the New York State Department of Education.

And some Genesee Region schools had a lot to do with that.

Elba, Lyndonville and Pembroke high schools all boasted 97-percent graduation rates last year, while Attica (94 percent), Pavilion (93 percent), Le Roy (93 percent), Alexander (91 percent), Batavia (91 percent), Byron-Bergen (91 percent), Holley (91 percent) and Kendall (90 percent) all came in with more than 90-percent commencement numbers.

Elba saw the biggest increase in graduation rates, climbing from 89 percent in 2016.

Elba’s superintendent, Keith Palmer, attributes the results to the school’s size and the teacher-student relationship building over time.

“Given our small size and low student to staff ratio, the faculty is better able to work with students one-on-one or in small groups,” Palmer said. “This allows for knowing and responding to individual student needs as well as developing meaningful relationships.”

For a complete list of 2017 graduation rates click here. 

Information by Le Roy Coach Jay Laitenberger. Photos by Tim McArdle.

Le Roy's boys winter track and field are the 2018 Section V champions a year after missing the title by one point.

Clayton Allen finished sixth in the 1,000 meter with a career personal record after being seeded 10th.

Ryan Driscoll finished fourth in the 3,200 meter with a career personal record that was 14 seconds faster than his indoor PR and 7 seconds faster than his outdoor PR.

Maxin Mckenzie finished second in the mile before anchoring the 4 x 800 team with Clayton, Ryan, and Jacob Montoya. The boys team ran their fastest time of the season -- and the fastest time of the past two seasons.

Jordan Stephens ran an official career personal record in the 3,200.

Bryce Bordonaro threw for a personal record in the shot put to finish sixth overall after being seeded ninth and then went on to finish third in weight throw.

Tom Mellon finished fourth in the weight throw, joining Marshall Schultz with a fourth-place finish in shot put.

Ethan Roy finished third in the pole vault, while Ethan Pocock finished sixth -- both equaled their indoor personal records.

Gaven Cassidy set personal records in the 600 and 55m Hurdles on his way to a pair of second-place finishes. His 600 came up .04 away from the school record. He then finished fourth in the 300.

Athletes of the Meet:

• Gavin Luckey finished second in the triple jump with a career personal record before winning the high jump with another career personal record. He then picked up a fourth place finish in the long jump with his third personal record of the day.
• Collin Stauffer started the meet with a fourth-place finish in the 55 meter after being seeded seventh before his first-place finish and one-foot career personal record in the triple jump. He then finished third in the long jump with a near-personal record.

Seniors Gavin Luckey, Gaven Cassidy and Ethan Roy won their second title in four years as freshman members of the 2015 team.

The boys team won for the fifth time since the first indoor title in 2008, and the 10th title in Le Roy Track & Field History (boys / girls / indoor / outdoor).

• 2018 -- 1st Place
• 2017 -- 2d Place
• 2016 -- 5th Place
• 2015 -- 1st Place
• 2014 -- 1st Place
• 2013 -- 3rd Place
• 2012 -- 3rd Place
• 2011 -- 1st Place