Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Administrator, Honorable Robert W. Perciasepe, at a Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing on the EPA’s overreaching rule proposal entitled “Definition of the ‘Waters of the United States’ Under the Clean Water Act.”

“The problem is the public doesn't trust the EPA, farmers don't trust the EPA not to overreach, Congress doesn't trust the EPA,” said Congressman Collins during today’s hearing.

“Deputy Administrator Perciasepe and the EPA fail to recognize that their agency’s overreach is causing real harm for farmers and stalling business development across our country,” Congressman Collins said. “When I visit with farmers in my district, the heavy burdens under the Clean Water Act come up each and every time. When the bureaucrats at the EPA decide to call a divot in the ground that fills with rain a ‘navigable waterway’ under the CWA, we know our federal government has run amuck. The fact that the EPA and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers are now looking to formally broaden the definition of ‘navigable waters’ is an insult to hard working farmers all across this country.”

Press release:

The City Manager is seeking city residents who are interested in volunteering as a member of the following:

• Batavia Housing Authority
• Planning and Development Committee

Residents interested in applying can obtain an application from the City Clerk's Office or can visit our Web site at www.batavianewyork.com and download a Committee/Board Volunteer Application under Documents.

Applications are due to the City Clerk's Office by Friday, July 18.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

Office of the City Manager

One Batavia City Centre

Batavia, NY 14020

Phone: (585) 345-6330

FAX: (585) 343-8182

E-mail: jmolina@batavianewyork.com

Notice from the city Department of Public Works:

National Grid will be replacing a large power pole on Center Street on Thursday, July 10th. This work will require Center Street to be closed to traffic between Main Street and School Street from approximately 9 to 11 a.m.

Press release:

On Thursday, July 10, Batavia Downs will become the newest stop on the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) fair circuit when the Genesee County leg of that series convenes for the first time.

It's been a long and circuitious route for this to occur.

The Genesee County Agricultural Society has held an annual fair in Batavia, NY, since 1839. And from 1890 through 1946 they called the current site of Batavia Downs their home. The track was known as Exposition Park and every year harness racing was one of the most anticipated events on the fair schedule.

But in 1947 when Batavia Downs founder Pat Provenzano bought the property he had originally leased from the society to expand his growing pari-mutuel empire, the fair relocated to another site and fair racing in Genesee County ceased.

Since the inception of the New York Sire Stake in 1961, there has never been a fair date contest in Genesee County until now and the addition became a reality because of a natural disaster that occurred last year.

Todd Haight, Batavia Downs director/general manager of live racing said “Last year we held the Caledonia Fair races at Batavia Downs when their track in Livingston County was washed out by heavy rain. And it was a great success. We had a large crowd here and the racing was great. So we thought, why not host fair racing here every year?”

Haight contacted the NYSS and the Genesee County Agricultural Society and the groups came together with a plan. The result of that collaboration is the return of fair racing to the track they left  seven decades ago.

“We’re happy to be partnering with the Genesee County Fair folks on hosting the races and all the activities that go along with them. I see no reason why the fair races couldn’t become an annual event here at Batavia Downs,” Haight concluded.

Nick O'Geen, Genesee County Agricultural Society Board member said “This is a unique opportunity for the Genesee County Fair to partner with Batavia Downs to bring harness racing to back the fair.”

Post time for the first race is 1:15 p.m.

In addition to the races, there will be events for the whole family on the track apron including carnival games, a bounce house, a juggler and a balloon artist. Also available will be a $3 lunch special for kids 12 and younger as well as $1 ice cream cones, snow cones and cotton candy. Fair events at Batavia Downs run from 11 until 4.

Batavia Downs will also be offering discounted advance sale tickets for other fair events and with the purchase of any ticket, will provide a $10 free-play voucher redeemable on their gaming floor.

Batavia's annual basketball camp opened this week with sessions at Batavia Middle School and John Kennedy School.

Conducted by Batavia High School head Coach Buddy Brasky and assistants, the camp provides instruction ball handling, shooting, defense and game-play situations, among other skills.

There were sessions today for high school boys at the middle school and younger players at JK. Tomorrow, the girls will have camp day.

The camp runs through Aug. 15.

This is the last in a series of articles about the other communities, located east of the Rocky Mountains, that are named “Batavia.” This one is about Batavia, Arkansas, an unincorporated collection of houses and other buildings west of Harrison in Batavia Township, Boone County. It is nestled in a beautiful area of the Ozark Mountains.

At one time, Batavia, Ark., was an incorporated community. It had a post office, stores, hotels, a canning factory, a train depot, a stockyard, mills, a blacksmith shop, a school, and churches. Today, the railroad is gone, the post office closed, and only houses, three churches, and a small repair business still exist. A convenience store and the bar and grill into which it had recently been converted, were both out of business in the spring of this year.

The local historians assert that the community was named about 1880 by Rowell Underwood who became the first postmaster and named the town after his hometown of Batavia, N.Y. They also claim that Underwood had worked for four years in Genesee County as a surveyor for the Holland Land Co. The latter claim seems improbable because the Holland Land Co. had ceased its operations in Western New York in the mid-1830s. If the claim were true, it would make Underwood at least 70 years old at the time he became postmaster in Arkansas.

A person is stuck in an elevator at 172 1/2 S. Main St. City fire is responding. The location is The Meadows senior apartment complex.

UPDATE 1:49 p.m.: The person is safely out of the elevator.

UPDATE 1:54 p.m.: City Ladder #15 is returning to service.

The following arrests were reported by the Sheriff's Office in connection with the Vans Warped Tour on Tuesday at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center.

Kayla M. Cihak, 18, York Street, Olean, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

Kristen M. Kwitowski, 19, of Morning Sun Court, Erie, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

Hayden J. Cypressi, 18 of Pine Terrace, Macedon, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

There were also three individuals cited for alleged possession or consumption of alcohol under age 21.

NOTE: The Sheriff's Office has decided to not include the names of people receiving underage citations in their concert press releases this season.

UPDATE: Right after posting this, we received a revised press release from the Sheriff's Office with three additional arrests listed.

A 16-year-old resident  of Swamp Road, Byron, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

Nickolas C. K. Mancuso, 18, of Redleaf Drive, Chili, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

Matthew C. Sofia, 18 of Pemberton Road, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

On calls, he was known as GS-29, but there was no mistaking Deputy Frank Bordonaro's slow-rolling baritone.

GS-29 answered his final call some time this morning. 

Bordonaro's shift ended at 7 a.m. He went home, went to bed and was later found unresponsive.

Sheriff Gary Maha said Bordonaro may have had a heart attack.

Bordonaro was 44. He was with the Sheriff's Office for 19 years. He is survived by his wife, Robin, and two sons, Bryce, 14, and Chase, 12.

No further information is available at this time.

A car struck a tree at 3903 Maltby Road, just west of Weatherwax Road. Unknown injuries. Elba Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 3:26 p.m.: Responders report there is one patient with minor injuries.

UPDATE 3:36 p.m.: One patient is being transported to the hospital in Medina.

Press release:

The Batavia Bulldawgs Youth Football & Cheer program will hold its 5th Annual Extreme Youth Football and Cheer Camp. This year’s camp cosponsored by Extreme Streetwear will be held at GCC Fields this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday July 10th – 12th.

Walk-up registration still available. Cost for the camp is only $30.

Campers will receive quality instruction from USA Football certified coaches, a camp T-shirt, and lunch at the end of camp on Saturday July 12th.

Camp on Thursday & Friday will run from 4 to 6:30 p.m. with check-in at 3:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 to noon with check-in at 8:30 a.m..

The camp is open to ALL athletes no matter what league affiliation between the ages of 6 to 13 years old by Dec. 1st. Birth certificate is required.

Camp is a stationed-based training where campers are divided by age and experience level so each athlete receives the right level of instruction and support. The Bulldawgs staff and volunteers will teach techniques, skills, and appreciation for all football positions and cheerleading in a fun, positive way!

For more information, please contact:
Extreme Streetwear at 585-344-4411
League Commissioner John Reigle – 716-228-5787
Cheer Director Sherri Wahr – 585-356-0639
Or by e-mail at bataviabulldawgsfootball@gmail.com

With a vast meadow in the heart of Pembroke stretching before him, Sen. Charles Schumer envisioned its new purpose. "We stand in front of hallowed ground," he said.

The site has been selected for a new Western New York Veterans Cemetery. This was Schumer's first visit to the location since it was chosen.

“With so many thousands of local veterans,” Schumer continued, “it was an insult to Western New York not to have a National Veterans Cemetery close for loved ones to pay their respects.”

The 132-acre parcel located at Route 77 and Indian Falls Road, Pembroke, is about 100 miles closer to Western New Yorkers than its sister in Bath, Steuben County.

At a gathering Monday, Schumer, alongside former military members and their families, proposed the new site to be named after local war hero William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan. 

“ ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan is a true Western New York Hero,” Schumer said. “I cannot think of any better way to commorate his life and honor our region’s veterans than by naming the Western New York Veterans Cemetery the ‘General William Donovan Western New York Veterans’ Cemetery.' ”

However, not all veterans received the proposed name with enthusiasm.

“Placing a name on a building is nice,” Joy Joyce, Oakfield-Alabama American Legion Post 626 vice commander, said. “But what makes this general any more important than other veterans?” 

“It doesn't matter who it's named for, it’s what it stands for,” said Vietnam Veterans of America New York State Council Western District Director Ted Wilkinson. “General Donovan is a respected man and deserves to be recognized. He should be an inspiration for people to come here.”

“I look at it as, by giving (the cemetery) an individual name, it gives it a tourist-attraction appeal,” said veterans advocate Patrick Welch. “By using a name, it will give people an opportunity to do the research; it's a way to honor an individual. From a historical standpoint, Donovan’s career (and its impact) spans the 1800s to the 21st Century.”

Donovan was born to immigrant parents in Buffalo, and attended St. Joseph Collegiate Institute and Niagara University. He remains the only American to earn all four of the highest military awards in the United States: The Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security Medal. Furthermore, he earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart, as well as honors from several other nations for his service during both World War I and II.

Additionally, Donovan founded the Office of Strategic Services, currently known as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 

“We are alive today because of Bill Donovan,” Schumer said. “People don’t realize it, but praise God there hasn’t been another terrorist incident that succeeded like the one on 9/11. That’s because our CIA, as well as our NSA, our Navy SEALs, and all of our armed forces have done a great job.

“(The terrorists) have tried,” he continued. “Believe me, I read the intelligence documents. I know. But because these people (CIA) are so good and unknown ... people don’t know one tenth of what they know, and it all started with Bill Donovan.”

In addition to the 132 acres currently procured, Robert and Frances Haegar have offered their 60-acre plot of land adjacent to the cemetery -- to enlarge the site to the 200 acres originally wanted. Robert Haegar is a 30-year veteran with the Navy Reserves.

“The land was my grandfathers farm,” Frances Haegar said. “It needs to have a purpose. We can’t do anything with it and it hurts me to see it go wild. It feels great for the land to be used for a veterans' cemetery.

“My father helped with this land. I spent my childhood here,” she continued. “It is a pretty site and it needs something to put it back to a nice site.”

The 60 acres will not only increase the size of the cemetery, but will also allow for better access.

“Hopefully we will live long enough to see this completed,” she said.

According to Schumer, the hope is that groundbreaking will take place at some point next year and 2016 for the first veteran to be interned.

“There is an old saying,” Wilkinson said. “Never judge a vet by the medals on his chest.”

Young, aspiring basketball players are invited to a youth basketball camp Aug. 11-15 at the Jackson School Gym in the City of Batavia.

The camp is sponsored by Batavia Boys Basketball Boosters and is open to boys and girls entering grades 3 through 7.

The cost is $65 and includes a camp T-shirt.

Coach Jim Fazio, youth director for Batavia Junior Blue Devils, will lead the camp, with assistance from other coaches and current Blue Devil basketball players.

The camp will focus on the offensive fundamentals of the game including shooting, passing, dribbling, and ball handling, with a major emphasis on shooting. There will be daily contests with full-court and half-court games.

For more information and the registration form, click here.

"There is even a low chance for a tornado," concludes a National Weather Service statement establishing a severe thunderstorm watch for Ohio, Pennsylvania and Western New York.

"The strongest storms may form into a line and quickly move east along the New York and Pennsylvania border affecting the western Southern Tier and upper Genesee Valley," according to the weather service.

Strong winds, heavy rain and small hail are expected.

All of Genesee County is under the watch. It's in effect until 8 p.m.

This is the sixth in a series of articles about the other communities, located east of the Rocky Mountains, that are named “Batavia.” This one is about Batavia, Iowa, an incorporated city of around 500 people located west of Fairfield in Jefferson County. The city (no, that is not a typo) is governed by a mayor and five councilmen.

According to local records, Batavia, Iowa, was laid out in 1846 by David Switzer, a county surveyor, for William McKee, Henry Crease, and Elijah O’Bannor, proprietors. Besides the proprietors, other early settlers included Henry Punnybecker, Joseph Crease, and Benjamin Abbertson. At that time, the community was named “Creaseville (or Creeseville)."

Seven years later, in 1853, in response to a petition presented to the State by William Hambrick with the unanimous consent of the people in the town, the name of Creaseville was changed to “Batavia.” Who Hambrick was, where he came from, and how he persuaded fellow residents to change the name is lost in history.

In a later Federal census, the same apparent Hambrick shows up in Western Iowa. In this census, he is identified as a German immigrant. This leads to the speculation that William Hambrick may have been a native of Passau, Germany, a city once named “Batavia” after the Batavii, the same Germanic tribe that temporarily gave its name to the Netherlands and, thus, indirectly to Batavia, N.Y. If this is correct, it would explain why Hambrick liked the name, but it still leaves a major mystery. How did Hambrick persuade the residents of Creaseville to change the name of their town, named after two of the first settlers, to the former name of a city in Germany?

The likely culprit in Saturday's fire Le Roy that destroyed the home of Greg and David Luetticke-Archbell is electrical.

Whether it was an electric device that first caught on fire or wiring in a wall hasn't been determined.

There is no evidence of any deliberate action that caused the fire.

Jim Bouton, a coordinator and investigator with Genesee County Office of Emergency Management, discussed the investigator's findings with The Batavian this morning.

"On the report it will say the cause is undetermined," Bouton said. "The primary principle is electrical."

The fire started in the garage, Bouton said, not on the porch as initially reported.

Also, the explosion during the fire was caused by backdraft, which is caused by the rapid reintroduction of oxygen into an enclosed area where oxygen has been depleted by fire.

There was lots of fuel available for a fire -- what firefighters call "fire load" -- big wood beams and all of the accoutrements of a modern lifestyle.

Bouton said these days people have a lot more polyester, plastic and other flammable materials around the house, which is just fuel for flames.

In the Luetticke-Archbell garage there was a motorbike, snowmobile and woodchipper, all with gasoline in the tanks, not to mention the fiberglass of the snowmobile to add fuel to the fire.

The house at 8005 North Road was built in 1806. There had been many upgrades to the residence, including upgraded electrical, Bouton said, but that still doesn't mean an electrical problem can't creep up.

Asked how concerned other residents should be about electrical fires, Bouton explained people should pay attention to how they're using electric and what's going on with the electric in their house.

Houses built before the electronic gadget age are susceptible to problems.

Most people don't understand how they overload their circuits.

(NOTE: During our conversation, Bouton wanted to make it clear he wasn't implying Greg and David did anything to cause the fire -- the cause remains undetermined.)

Bouton used this example: In your bathroom you probably have a 15-amp circuit. You plug in a curling iron and hair blower. Each draws 1,500 watts. Divide those 3,000 watts by 120 voltage and you're drawing 25 amps on a single 15-amp circuit.

That overload causes wires to heat and over time the wires become damaged.

It can take many years, but it's a fire hazard.

If you read the instructions for your microwave, refrigerator and freezer, you are warned that each should be on their own 20-amp circuit. Often, however, people just plug these items in with no consideration to what circuits they're on.

For those of us using power strips for our home entertainment centers or desk areas, chances are the devices are not drawing enough concurrent electricity to create a problem, but the preponderance of electronic devices -- mobile phone chargers, computers in every room, TVs in multiple rooms, etc., should be a concern.

In older homes, the fusebox has been replaced by a circuit breaker (perhaps not by a licensed electrician), Bouton said, but it's still a 60-amp service when it should be 100 amps for all the electronics in a typical home today.

If your lights flicker when you turn on electronics, or you keep blowing a circuit breaker, perhaps you're overloading circuits, Bouton said.

Bouton noted that it's ironic that in the City of Batavia, only a licensed plumber can do plumbing work in another person's home, but there's no prohibition against using unlicensed electricians.

Bouton recommends using licensed electricians for any wiring or rewiring for inspecting any suspected issues with circuits.

"I'm not saying we have a big problem out there, but people should be aware," Bouton said. "If you've got a question call an electrician."

Reason Magazine: Save the Lion-Hunting Cheerleader, Save the Lions!