batavia

A dog is locked inside a Dodge minivan outside Walmart on Veterans Memorial Drive, in the fourth parking row from the food entrance. The plate returns to a Dellinger Avenue address in the city. An animal control officer is responding.

It's 73 outside and somewhat muggy today.

UPDATE 1:01 p.m.: The officer went through the parking lot a couple of times, but was unable to locate the minivan and is back in service.

Connie Bruggman sent us a proud picture of her towering sunflower on Elmwood Avenue on the Southside of the city.

Graham Corporation (NYSE: GHM), a Batavia-based global business that designs, manufactures and sells critical equipment for the oil refining, petrochemical and defense industries, on Thursday announced that it secured $11 million in orders for three oil-refining projects in Asia.

Two projects are in Southeast Asia while the largest project is the first large order received in India by the Company and is with a new customer.

James R. Lines, Graham’s president and chief executive officer, said, “We believe our effective execution on strategy and our consultative selling platform enabled us to capture these awards during a period of intense competition and focus on price.

"We believe that our decision to localize in India provided us the opportunity to successfully compete on that project and is also keeping the bid pipeline in that country quite active. We continued to leverage our global fabrication supply chain where appropriate in order to compete effectively, and we stayed engaged throughout the nearly two year pipeline cycle with both buyers and end users to ensure we addressed their requirements.”

Ten years ago, Bill Hume told The Batavian he was living his dream.

He had just opened Foxprowl Collectables at 440 Ellicott St., Batavia, and was excited to translate his passion for action figures and comic book heroes into a real business.

In 2020, the dream is still alive even if there have been challenges over the past decade.

Hume expanded his Ellicott Street location for awhile, tried a location at Jackson and Main for awhile tried selling just online for awhile, even hosted a couple of collectible conventions in Batavia. Each step of the way he's had to make adjustments, but all along he kept the dream alive.

"People started shopping on the internet more and my sales were going down and then sales started going down because the merchandise that I carry started becoming predominate in Target and Walmart and more mainstream with the success Marvel and Star Wars movies," Hume said. "I came to what was kind of tough realization that you’ve got to teach an old dog new tricks. First, it was, ‘what’s wrong with the people?’ and then I came to the realization that it's me not changing with the times. It was a little difficult to swallow."

He made the changes needed, reducing overhead, switching up inventory, and changing his marketing message, and even so, despite the challenges of a global pandemic, the dream is still alive.

He intends to be around for Foxprowl's 20th anniversary in 10 years, he said, as a "staple in the community."

Top photo: Bill Hume, wife and co-owner Joy Hume, and staff member Brenden Gillard.

File Photo: Bill Hume shortly after Foxprowl opened in 2010.

Previously: Batavia native opens pop culture collectibles store on Ellicott Street

For all of our Foxprowl coverage over the years, click here.

Mechanically home is in great shape not a lot to do interior besides your own decorating. Rooms were just painted. Gas bill is $81 on a budget plan and electric average is $65.00.

Home sits on awesome partially fenced in back yard with plenty of room to play. Large double wide driveway for you and your guests -- an affordable city home!

Press release:

United Memorial Medical Center Department of Cardiology in Batavia has been granted an additional three-year term of accreditation by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) in echocardiography in the area(s) of adult transthoracic, adult stress.

This latest accreditation awarded to United Memorial Medical Center Department of Cardiology demonstrates the facility’s ongoing commitment to providing quality patient care in echocardiography. 

Echocardiography is used to assess different areas of the heart and can detect heart disease or signs of serious conditions. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, followed closely by stroke as the fourth highest cause of death.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), more than 2,150 Americans die each day from cardiovascular disease, which amounts to about one every 40 seconds. 

There are many factors that contribute to an accurate diagnosis based on echocardiography. The training and experience of the sonographer performing the procedure, the type of equipment used and the quality assessment metrics each facility is required to measure, all contribute to a positive patient outcome.

IAC accreditation is a “seal of approval” that patients can rely on as an indicator of consistent quality care and a dedication to continuous improvement. 

Accreditation by IAC indicates that United Memorial Medical Center Department of Cardiology has undergone an intensive application and review process and is found to be in compliance with the published Standards.

Comprised of a detailed self-evaluation followed by a thorough review by a panel of medical experts, the IAC accreditation process enables both the critical operational and technical components of the applicant facility to be assessed, including representative case studies and their corresponding final reports.

Tom Williams, president of the Genesee County Bar Association, issued the following announcement this week:

Hon. Paula L. Feroleto, administrative judge of the Eighth Judicial District, has announced that effective immediately, all Treatment Court proceedings in Genesee County will now be held in County Court.    

The Honorable Michael M. Mohun, Wyoming County Court judge, has been assigned to preside. This change will allow both misdemeanors and felonies to be addressed effectively using an established Treatment Court model.

The Treatment Court coordinator is Sarah Welker. 

Court proceedings both virtual and in-person will be held Monday mornings at 10 o'clock in the Supreme Court Courtroom at the Genesee County Courts Facility, commencing this Monday, Aug. 17, before Judge Mohun. 

Because removing Treatment Court from Batavia City Court seemed rather unexpected and we were curious why a judge from another county was being put in charge of Treatment Court, The Batavian reached out to Judge Feroleto for a more detailed explanation of the decision. She issued the following statement:

The Treatment Court model in the smaller counties of the Eighth Judicial District is to have a county court judge handle the Treatment Court. County court judges can handle felony matters that arise under Article 216 of the CPL, which provides for judicial diversion. These are felony cases over which a county court judge would have jurisdiction. City court judges handle misdemeanors. Rather than having two separate drug courts, one felony level in county court and another in city court, it makes sense to have one drug court handled by one judge. Judge Michael Mohun has handled conflict cases in Genesee County for many years for both judges Noonan and Zambito. This experience has familiarized him with the Genesee County courts and the various stakeholders involved in the Treatment Court model. He has been running the Treatment Court in Wyoming county since 2013. Judge Mohun was honored by the New York State Bar Association in January 2020 for his leadership and innovation with treatment courts. He is ideally suited to handle this change to the Treatment Court model in Genesee County. 

As you are well aware, it has been somewhat of a unique year in terms of challenges. The city courts were unable to process misdemeanor appearance tickets for many months, and Batavia City Court will have no shortage of work as the year moves forward. This change is not a reflection on the city court judges but will hopefully be an enhancement and improvement as the number and types of cases can be expanded. The timing worked out well as Judge Rogers had graduated 10 participants on July 30, so a substantial number of the participants graduated before the program was taken over by Judge Mohun.  Judge Rogers has also taken on all after-hours arraignments of town and village matters during the pandemic, so his plate is full. In my role as administrative judge, I review the caseloads of all the courts and assignments and sometimes it helps to balance workloads or try something different. This seemed like a good time to try something different with the Genesee County Treatment Court model. 

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is looking for anyone with information about a reported car / bicycle accident which occurred at East Main Street and Vine Street in the City of Batavia between approximately 8 and 8:30 a.m. today.

The bicyclist was struck by a pickup truck at that intersection and is being treated at UMMC.

Anyone who was in the area at that time and observed the accident is asked to contact Officer Peter Post at (585) 345-6350, the confidential tip line at (585) 345-6370, or online here.

The Center Stage Dance Company is proudly accepting new families for 2020-21 dance season.

The studio is located at 214 E. Main St. in the City of Batavia.

For online registration details, text at (585) 344-5550 or visit in person at one of two upcoming registration events at the studio, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 19 and 26.

Visit the dance company's Facebook page to learn more.

Diana Lynn Bloom, 62, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with two counts fourth-degree grand larceny, which is a Class E felony: for allegedly taking property with a value greater than $1,000 and for allegedly taking it from a person. She was arrested on Aug. 3. It is alleged that at 1:49 p.m. on July 3 she stole an envelope full of money from the victim's pocket, while inside a business in the 100 block of West Main Street in the City of Batavia. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on Nov. 10. The case was investigated by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay, assisted by Officer Jason Ivison.

Marshawn J. Singletary, 38, of Oak Street, Batavia, is charged with: first-degree criminal contempt; third-degree menacing; and second-degree harassment. At 6:33 p.m. on Aug. 6 on Oak Street, Singletary allegedly shoved a person who has a stay away order of protection against him and threatened that person with a vacuum cleaner. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and put in jail on $3,000 cash bail, $6,000 bond, or $12,000 partially secured bond. Singletary was due to return to court on Aug. 10. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Wesley Rissinger, assisted by Miah Stevens.

Nateeka M. Gibson, 31, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with failure to appear. Gibson was located and arrested on three separate warrants for failure to appear in Batavia City Court. Gibson faces charges of second-degree harassment, third-degree robbery, and two counts of petit larceny. Gibson was transported to Batavia Police Headquarters, processed and released. He was due in city court Aug. 3. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer John Gombos, assisted by Officer Felicia DeGroot.

Jimpce Jay Etienne, 44, of Warren Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree harassment. Etienne was arrested at 8:36 p.m. on Aug. 8 on Warren Street after allegedly swinging a fist at the victim. The defendant was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on Nov. 17. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Adam Tucker, assisted by Officer Sean Wilson.

Edward R. Freida, 49, of Pringle Avenue, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Freida was arrested after an investigation into a shoplifting incident at 10:22 p.m. July 28 at the Kwik Fill gas station and convenience store at Jackson and Ellicott streets in the city. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on Oct. 27. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer John Gombos, assisted by Officer Felicia DeGroot.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department would like to remind citizens of its Batavia SafeCam Registration Program. The program allows citizens / businesses to register their camera systems with the police department to aid in crime prevention strategies and investigations which may occur in the proximity of their cameras.

The registration process is very easy and free. Simply go to http://www.batavianewyork.com/police-department/webforms/batavia-safecam-program and fill out the form. 

Surveillance cameras have been an integral part of fighting crime in Batavia. Privately owned camera footage has helped solve a variety of serious offenses in Batavia over the years, including various burglaries, a fatal hit-and-run accident, and even a homicide. Working together, we can keep Batavia a safe place to live and work.

Please note that the police department will not have the ability to freely or remotely access your cameras, claim ownership, or dictate the camera systems functions. This program is simply a database that will allow the Batavia Police Department to see who might have captured footage related to a particular crime.

Thank you for signing up and joining us in the fight to keep our city safe!

A man from Rochester and another from Batavia are facing narcotics dealing charges following a raid by the Local Drug Task Force on Wednesday morning of residence at 22 Hutchins Place, Batavia.

Donald Brown, 46, of Liberty Pole Way, Rochester, is charged with: two counts of criminal possession of controlled substance, 3rd; criminal possession of a controlled substance, 4th; criminal using drug paraphernalia, 2nd; criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th; criminal mischief, 4th; and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Ronnie K. Johnson, 50, of Hutchins Place, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of controlled substance, 3rd.

Both men were arraigned in Batavia City Court and ordered held without bail.

The press release from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office doesn't state what drugs the two men were suspected of selling.  

Also arrested was Madalyn R. Muntz, 34, of Hutchins Place. She is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. She was released on an appearance ticket.

Assisting in the investigation and raid were Batavia PD, the Sheriff's Office, State Police, City fire, Batavia Code Enforcement, and the District Attorney's Office.

Top photo: Reader-submitted photo.

Update 11:40 a.m. with media release from Acting City Manager Rachael Tabelski:

The City of Batavia Interim City Manager and Police Chief will move forward to assess the draft City of Batavia Deer Management Plan and will make recommendations to the City Council in the near feature (sic) regarding how the City could move forward to evaluate and reduce the deer population in the City of Batavia. The Interim Manager and Police Chief will look to review the plan amidst the current COVID-19 circumstances, City liability considerations, and best practices as put forth by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

“The plan is a great start and we do not want to lose site (sic) of the City’s goals to evaluate and manage the deer population that is problematic to resident’s vegetation and quality of life,” said John Canale, City Council member, 3rd Ward, and liaison to the Deer Management Committee. “The City of Batavia would like to thank the members of the City of Batavia Deer Committee for their work.” 

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Update: 11:10 a.m. with Council Member Robert Bialkowski's comments:

"That was a surprise and I'm very sorry to see it happen. I've sat on a couple committees that all of a sudden were just disbanded, and it's a lot of work. It's bad, and I didn't expect it. Going forward, I suggest that we just set it aside for a little while and take a breath. Everybody calm down, and let's decide which way we want to go. I respect all the work that the committee did."

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In a meeting that lasted 33 seconds this morning, the City's Deer Management Plan Committee announced that it was resigning, effective immediately.

Committee spokesperson Russ Nephew, in a prepared statement, said:

"For the past month and a half, the committee members consisting of Sam (DiSalvo), Gus (Galliford), Fred (Gundell), Kent (Klotzbach) and I have been used, disrespected, lied to and lied about. In lieu of this, we are removing ourselves from the Deer Management Committee as of this moment."

To which Acting City Manager Rachael Tabelski replied “Thank you.”

The four committee members at the meeting at City Hall Council Chambers (Klotzbach was unable to attend) did not sit down as Nephew spoke, and left right away.

The Batavian reporter asked Tabelski and City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. if they wished to comment. Both declined.

Others at the meeting included Police Chief Shaun Heubusch, City Attorney George Van Nest and Council Member Robert Bialkowski.

Council Member John Canale, the committee liaison, was on his way up the stairs to the meeting when he was told what had transpired. He, too, said he did not wish to comment.

In recent days, the committee has publicly claimed that it has been kept out of the loop regarding changes in the plan.

Today's developments are unfortunate along all fronts as the committee met more than 30 times over the past eight months and even walked the areas identified as hunting zones in the plan that they developed.

And now the city is faced with challenges of how to implement the plan to reduce the deer population without the guidance of a committee initially charged with monitoring its progress over a three-year period. 

"We put in more than 300 hours," Galliford said afterward at Nephew's home on State Street. 

"Every page of that plan (which has 24 pages) we hashed over, argued about and researched, making numerous revisions along the way," Gundell added.

DiSalvo, an experienced hunter and trainer, said recent changes in the plan were made without committee input.

"This is beyond disappointing," DiSalvo said, calling a change that allows only city employees to hunt on two areas of primarily city-owned property "a slap in the face to the Genesee County Federation of Sportsmen," members of the 12 clubs who, according to the plan, are the first priority when it comes to selecting those deemed qualified to hunt.

DiSalvo said the decision to exclude the Sportsmen club members from those zones, which he said was made by Tabelski and Van Nest, "is descrimination by the book."

"This goes against everything in the plan," he said. "I have looked at plans from Syracuse to Buffalo and Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania and none of them have those restrictions. What they have done is create a hunting preserve for city employees."

Furthermore, DiSalvo contends that Tabelski asked him to write something detailing the procedure for selecting the hunters and their unit, which he did, but that information did not end up in the plan.

Nephew has been vocal about the lack of communication from city management since former City Manager Martin Moore departed in late June. He said he requested a full committee meeting with Tabelski a few days after she moved up from assistant city manager to acting city manager, but was rebuffed.

"Her exact words were 'I don't have time for that. I'll just deal with you,' " Nephew said. "She basically slammed the door in our face from the word go."

Gundell said if Moore was still involved, the outcome would have been different.

"If Mr. Moore was here today, we wouldn't be talking about this," he said. "He was at every meeting and he even went to sportsmen club meeting because he wanted to learn more about them and what they thought. This committee is defunct because our two leaders -- Moore and Russ -- are done."

Committee members also said they were betrayed by Jankowski, who, according to Nephew, "threatened to shut the committee down if we continued to go to the press."

As it currently stands, the plan has yet to be approved by City Council. The board, at Monday night's meeting, tabled it until September's Business meeting.

Previous story: Council, manager attempt to smooth things over with deer management plan committee

Press release:

New Cases – As of 2 p.m. 

• Genesee County received one new positive case of COVID-19.
  • The new positive case resides in Batavia.
  • The positive individual is in their 20s.
  • The individual was on mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • Zero of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been released from mandatory isolation.
  • Three new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.
  • Two of the positive individuals are hospitalized.
     
• Orleans County received zero new positive cases of COVID-19.
• Five new individuals are on precautionary quarantine due to travel from restricted states.

Edward George Ruckdeschel, 58, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with third-degree grand larceny, a Class D felony. The defendant was arrested after an investigation into the theft of a vehicle at 8:54 p.m. on Jan. 13 on Genesee Street in Pembroke. He was arraigned in Pembroke Town Court at 11 a.m. Aug. 11 and ordered held on cash bail (unspecified) and put in jail "where he is currently residing." He is due in Genesee County Court at a later date. The case was investigated by Genesee County Sheriff's Investigator Howard Carlson.

Edward George Ruckdeschel, 58, of Liberty Street, Batavia is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, and third-degree criminal trespass. On Aug. 10, the defendant was arrested after an investigation into the theft of a vehicle at 1:05 a.m. on Dec. 10 from West Main Street Road in Batavia. He was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Town of Batavia Court on Sept. 24. The case was investigated by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Forsyth.

Brian L. Dutton, 62, of Pavilion, is charged with unlawfully growing cannabis (marijuana) and unlawful possession of marijuana in the second degree. He was arrested Aug. 12 following a joint investigation by the U.S. Border Patrol and the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office. A U.S. Border Patrol helicopter allegedly located cannabis growing inside a metal enclosure behind Dutton's residence on Aug. 7, and the pilot led deputies to the location. The plants, allegedly grown by Dutton, were seized and destroyed. Dutton was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Town of Covington Court on Aug. 31. The case was handled by Wyoming County Sheriff's Sgt. Colin Reagan, Deputy John Button, and Investigator Aaron Anderson.

An investigation has concluded that a residential fire at 13 Hutchins St. on July 4, 2019, was intentionally set but police do not yet have a suspect and are looking for information from the public that might help them solve the crime.

The fire was reported at 2:45 a.m.

At the time of the fire, all four apartments in the building were occupied. Residents on the second floor became trapped and needed to be rescued. One person sustained a serious injury.

The Batavia Police Department can be reached at (585) 345-6350; the confidential tip line at (585) 345-6370.

Previously: City PD assisting in investigation into Hutchins Street fire

If you drive down Ross Street past the Richmond Memorial Library, you are likely to spot a full and beautiful bed of flowers along the driveway leading to the library entrance.

The flowers -- lisianthus -- are a gift of Nancy Mortellaro, who started buying and donating the plants to the library's garden four years ago. Billy Truitt has volunteered each year to plant the flowers and help tend to them.

"I think they’re gorgeous," Mortellaro said. "They look like roses. They’re gorgeous and they last a long, long, long time in a vase."

Mortellaro buys the seedlings from Aaron Harrington Byron. She also grows them at her own house and at the community garden. The plants at the community garden can be used to replace any at the library that fail to flourish. 

Truitt said he doesn't remember the flowers producing as many blooms as this season.

Lisianthus grows as an annual in the Northeast but is a perennial on the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico, where it's known as Prairie gentian or Texas bluebell.

With the assistance of the Emergency Response Team and City fire, Batavia PD executed a search warrant this morning at a residence on Hutchins Place.

Chief Shawn Heubusch said Batavia PD will issue a press release this afternoon with more information about the situation.

Reader-submitted photo.