batavia

Editor's note: The 2018 Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Awards banquet will be held Saturday, March 2, at the Quality Inn & Suites in Batavia.

As Batavia’s oldest service club prepares to celebrate its 100^th anniversary, it will be honored by the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce with the Special Service Recognition of the Year on Saturday.

Rotarian Christopher White stressed the importance of the Rotary Club of Batavia in the community when he nominated it for the Chamber award.

“Founded by local businessmen looking for camaraderie and an opportunity to give back to their community, the Club has made meaningful contributions, not just financial, but of their time, talent and expertise to make Batavia a better place to live,” White wrote.

Rotary’s contributions to the Batavia community include support of Batavia Concert Band, Genesee County Youth Bureau Community Garden, Genesee Cancer Assistance, Crossroads House, Genesee Symphony Orchestra, GO ART!, Fourth of July Picnic in the Park, Genesee/Orleans ARC and United Memorial Medical Center.

And they support local youth in ice hockey, minor league baseball, Boy Scouts, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), YMCA Camp Hough and the YMCA Summer Adventure Program. 

The Rotary Scholarship Program provides $18,000 each year to high school students from Batavia, Notre Dame and Genesee Valley Educational Partnership.

Rotary also gives local high school students a chance to spend a year abroad, and has hosted foreign exchange students looking to experience life in the United States and Western New York. Two of these students, one from Australia and the other from Denmark, are in Batavia now and attended a recent meeting to tell of their experiences at Algonquin Provencial Park in Ontario, Canada.

Rotary has also provided youth leadership training to many local high school and college students through Rotary International. And they support the world by continuing to raise funds from club members to support Rotary International in its quest to eradicate polio from the face of the earth.

Batavia Rotary hosts the annual girls’ and boys’ high school basketball tournaments, the annual Father’s Day Fly-in Breakfast at Genesee County Airport, the annual Beerfest and raffle, and the Memorial Day Flags and Flowers Sale.

Not to be forgotten are the Rotary shows which were put on for so many years.

White noted that many of the current 75 Rotary members sit on boards of local organizations and nonprofit agencies, lending their support and knowledge to them. They can be found making an impact outside of the Club itself, he said. Members range in age from 28 to 88 and all believe in the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self.”

Batavia Rotary was founded in 1919 by Batavia businessman Carlton M. Sleight, who had only lived in the city little more than a decade, according to William F. Brown Jr. in his book "Service Above Self: The Story of a Rotary Club."

Sleight had attended a Rotary meeting in Elmira, while living and doing business in Canandaigua, and Brown believes that his visit may have inspired him to form a club in Batavia. On March 13, 1919, Sleight invited 25 business and professional men to meet at the Holland Club with Dr. John H. Ready from the Rochester club to learn how to form a Batavia unit.

The group was so enthused that, two months later, a dinner meeting was held at the Batavia Club to discuss the reports of committees working on bylaws and a constitution. Officers were installed May 26 at the Odd Fellows Temple (the former St. James Episcopal Church on Ellicott Street). More than 200 Rotarians attended from Rochester to Niagara Falls and enjoyed a five-course dinner served by the Eastern Star. 

Batavia became Rotary International’s charter No. 491.

Batavia dentist Joseph Rowbottom is a 50-year member of Batavia Rotary, along with Dave Schwartz and Don Iwanicki.  

Rowbottom first became exposed to Rotary after moving to Corfu. When he was a freshman in dental school, he had a friend whose fiancee’s mother knew a dentist in Corfu who was retiring. That turned out to be Guy Patterson and Rowbottom bought his building. (Guy Patterson's daughter was the famous swimmer Greta Paterson, who swam across Lake Erie in 1955.)

In 1966, the Vietnam War was heating up, and Rowbottom didn’t want to be drafted, so Patterson agreed to hold the building and Rowbottom enlisted. He served two years in the military and after returning home, started attending Rotary meetings with dentist Patterson. 

“I’ve been coming ever since,” Rowbottom said. “I continued to block off time on my schedule from noon to 1:15 p.m. so I could attend Rotary. I’ve always had a lot of fun at Rotary. I also liked the Buffalo Club, but they were so formal.”

Rowbottom said his friends challenged him in the beginning to propose that women be allowed to join Rotary. At the time, the Batavia Jaycees were thrown out of the organization for accepting a female member. He proposed Rotary welcome in Terry Carauna, the dean of Business at Genesee Community College.

“They didn’t accept her and I almost got thrown out of Rotary,” Rowbottom said. “Today, we would be in a world of hurt without women. This club could not function as it does without women.”

One of the newer, younger members is Pam Sivret, who joined in 2017. Her sister, Teri Yasses has been a member since 1994 and Sivret has helped her with the fly-in breakfasts and Rotary shows. 

When Yasses said Sivret should join, she did.

“I love the friendship and how we are all very like-minded,” Sivret said. 

She was the first winner of a Rotary Youth Leadership Award to become a Rotary member. She won the award in 1990 while a student at GCC.

Lori Aratari was working for Triple AAA when she joined Rotary. 

“They encouraged us to be part of our community and get involved,” Aratari said. “I explored the service clubs locally and Rotary stood out.”

She has chaired fundraisers and is in her second term on the board.

“I’ve made amazing friends through Rotary and my husband enjoys participating in Rotary events,” Aratari said.

A two-vehicle accident is reported at West Main Street Road (Route 5) and Hartshorn Road, Town of Batavia. One vehicle rolled over and there is entrapment. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding along with Mercy medics.

UPDATED 7:56 p.m.: A second Mercy rig is called to the scene.

Smoke is reportedly coming from a residence at 210 S. Main St. in the City of Batavia. The location is between Meadowcrest Drive and River Street. City fire is responding.

Michael L. Jackson, 38, no address provided, was charged at 10:45 a.m. on Dec. 3 with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the second degree and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He was arrested at or near the JCPenney store in Batavia City Centre, arraigned in Batavia City Court and released on his own recognizance. He was to appear in city court at 9 a.m. on Jan. 10 to answer the charge. Then at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 18, he was arrested at the Sav-A-Lot grocery store on Ellicott Street in Batavia and charged with petit larceny. He was also to appear in city court at 9 a.m. on Jan. 10 to answer the second charge. When he failed to appear at the appointed time in city court to answer the charges, an arrest warrant(s) was issued for him. He was subsequently arrested on the warrant(s) by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and turned over to Batavia police. After his arraignment at 4:47 p.m. on Feb. 25, he was jailed in lieu of an unspecified amount of bail and is due in city court Thursday (Feb. 28). The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Stephen Cronmiller, assisted by Officer Felicia DeGroot.

Othello Garwo, 19, of Halford Street, Rochester, is charged with: operating a motor vehicle while registration suspended; unlawful possession of marijuana; unlicensed operator; and driver's view obstructed. At 2:26 a.m. on Feb. 26, Sheriff's deputies conducted a traffic stop on Clinton Street Road in Stafford (Route 33) and Garwo was arrested on the charges. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Stafford Town Court on March 28. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Erik Andre, assisted by Deputy Andrew Mullen.

A robbery at the Speedway at Oak and Main in Batavia was reported at about 9:55 p.m., Tuesday.

Det. Eric Hill said Daryl Leach, 37, of State Street, Batavia, has been identified as the suspect and taken into custody.

Leach, who is currently on parole, made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The suspect was found at a location on Swamp Road and taken into custody with the assistance of NYS Parole and the Sheriff's Office.

It's believed Leach acted alone.

Nobody was hurt in the robbery.

In October 2003, Leach was sent to prison by a judge in Livingston County on a 12- to 15-year sentence on convictions for grand larceny, 4th, attempted robbery, 1st, attempted assault, 1st, and robbery, 3rd. He was released from prison in July with parole lasting into 2023. He also had an attempted robbery conviction in 1999.

Emma Krolczyk goes up for a layup.

Jenae Colkey (34) and Mackenzie Reigle attempt to stop Pal-Mac's Sophie Lyko.

Ryann Stefaniak looks to drive to the hoop.

A steal by Reigle leads to a Batavia basket.

Bryn Wormley controls the loose ball.

Part of the large contingent of Batavia fans react to the victory.

Finding themselves up by only two points with about five minutes to play, the top-seeded Batavia High Lady Blue Devils were in need of a spark, something to put some distance between them and the No. 4 Palmyra-Macedon Lady Red Raiders in their Section 5 Class B1 semifinal girls’ basketball game tonight at Caledonia-Mumford High.

Pal-Mac, a decided underdog, had jumped out to a seven-point quarter lead and hung in there through three quarters as Batavia was unable to get its offense in gear.

But just when it looked as though Pal-Mac was about to tie the game, key plays by a trio of Lady Devils in a minute’s time resulted in a 7-0 spurt and propelled Batavia to a 44-32 victory.

The win puts Coach Marty Hein’s team in the championship game at 8 p.m. Friday at Cal-Mum against Midlakes, a 58-32 winner over Greece Odyssey in the first game of the doubleheader.

On a night when top scorer Ryann Stefaniak struggled from the field (4-for-11 including 0-for-5 from three-point territory), Emma Krolczyk and Mackenzie Reigle came through with 14 and 13 points, respectively, and Jenae Colkey led a stifling defense that allowed only 15 points over the final three quarters.

Colkey, a senior guard/forward who has to play inside on defense, came up with a remarkable defensive stop when she got in position in the lane to prevent a fast-break layup that would have tied the game. The missed shot eventually made its way to Krolczyk who drove to the hoop to make it 31-27 – a four-point swing.

Krolczyk then rebounded a Pal-Mac missed and kicked the ball out to Reigle, who sank Batavia’s first three-pointer of the game to make it 34-27 at the 3:52 mark. Following a Pal-Mac timeout, Reigle stole the ball and flew in for a layup to give the Lady Devils a 36-27 edge.

Another three-pointer, this one by Bryn Wormley, and pair of baskets by Stefaniak in the closing 1:30 sealed the win.

The decisive seven-point run came just after Stefaniak had been called for her fourth foul, sending her to the bench. The fact that her teammates picked her up should give Batavia a lot of confidence heading into Friday’s match against No. 2 Midlakes, 19-3.

Hein credited the defense for saving the day while lamenting the team’s offensive execution.

“In all the interviews that I have been giving, I have said I’m not worried about the offense, but I almost shot myself in the foot (with this game),” Hein said. “We were helter-skelter and impatient and didn’t move the ball very well. Hopefully, we will put the pieces together on Friday.”

He called Reigle (she also had five steals and three rebounds) a “huge sparkplug” and praised Colkey, one of three seniors on the team, for “taking on the leadership role tonight and settling the team down.”

Colkey had three assists, six rebounds and two steals to go with her two points, while Stefaniak, who was coming off a 35-point outburst in the quarterfinals, finished with 10 points – nine less than her average -- along with four rebounds and four steals.

Overall, Batavia was 18-for-50 from the field (36 percent) and just 2-for-10 on threes.

For Pal-Mac, senior forward Gretchen Earl was the top scorer with 12 points while junior guard Katie Smith sank a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter and finished with seven points.

Photos by Steve Ognibene. To view or purchase photos, click here.

Brian Andrew Simpson II, 38, no permanent address, is charged with: promoting prison contraband in the first degree, which is a felony; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree; criminal use of drug paraphernalia in the second degree; driving while ability impaired by drugs; unlawful possession of marijuana; and a window tint violation. At 11:04 a.m. on Feb. 12, Simpson was stopped on Ellicott Street in the City of Batavia following the alleged observation of a vehicle and traffic violation. After an investigation, the defendant was allegedly found to be driving while impaired by drugs. After Simpson's arrest, he was processed at the Genesee County Jail and allegedly found to possess drug paraphernalia and a white powdery substance identified as cocaine. Simpson was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and jailed without bail. In the same incident, his passenger was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana: Walter S. Bennett, 29, no address noted, of Rochester, was issued an appearance ticket for City of Batavia Court. The case was investigated by Deputy Ryan DeLong, assisted by Deputy Lonnie Nati, and other members of the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, including Corrections officers.

Paul G. Avery, 41, of Indian Falls Road, Pembroke, is charged with: driving while intoxicated; aggravated DWI wwith a BAC of .18 percent or more; throwing trash on a highway; driving left of pavement marking; and failure to keep right on a highway with four lanes or more. Avery was arrested at 9:21 p.m. Feb. 23 on West Main Street Road in Batavia following a traffic stop. Avery is due in Batavia Town Court on March 21. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Mathew Clor, assisted by Dpeuty Lewis Henning.

Nathan S. Bowes, of Buffalo Street Road, Alexander, is charged with: driving while intoxicated; DWI with a BAC of .08 percent or more; and moving from lane unsafely. He was arrested at 6:41 p.m. on Feb. 23 following the investigation of a motor-vehicle accident in the Town of Alexander. He was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Alexander Town Court on March 19. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Mathew Clor, assisted by Deputy Travis DeMuth.

Joseph Dimitri Rivera, 36, of Cole Avenue, Gates, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Rivera was arrested on the charge at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 24 on Lake Avenue in Bergen following a traffic stop. He is due in Bergen Town Court on March 13. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy James Stack.

Kelly Anne Vanbortle, 32, of Parkwood Lane, Hilton, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. It is alleged that she possessed a quantity of marijuana and a glass smoking pipe with burnt marijuana residue following a traffic stop at 5:14 p.m. Feb. 23 on Clinton Street Road, Bergen. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Bergen Town Court on March 13. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy McClellan.

Phillip P. Heale, 40, of Linwood Avenue, Batavia, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree and inadequate or no stop lamps. Heale was arrested at 3:54 p.m. on Feb. 17 on Cedar Street in Batavia after he was allegedly observed driving a vehicle and he has a suspended driver's license. Additionally, he was ticketed regarding the stop lamps. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and is due to return there at a later date. The  case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Stephen Quider.

Michael E. Weichman, 24, of Pratt Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument. Weichman was arrested at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 at Tops Market in Batavia after he allegedly attempted to leave the store with a cart full of items which he did not pay for. He was also allegedly found in possession of a hypodermic instrument at the time of his arrest. He is due in Batavia City Court on Tuesday, Feb. 26. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Mitchell Cowen.

Brittany L. Bolton, 18, of Cedar Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. She was charged after a complaint of a larceny of a gold chain from a vehicle. The defendant turned herself in at Batavia Police Department headquarters and was processed. She was issued an appearance ticket for Batavia City Court and is due there Tuesday, Feb. 26. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Darryle Streeter.

Taking a break from posting. Will update as warranted if something major happens. Try to stay inside and stay safe!

(The list of updates was made "unsticky" and is back in the lineup in accordance with its original time stamp of 2:30-ish this afternoon. Scroll down to find it.)

Due to dangerous winds, Chassix-Automotive LLC, located at 4320 Federal Drive in Batavia, will be closed for the third shift this evening at 10:30 p.m. (Feb. 24) and will reopen Monday for the first shift at 6:30 a.m. (Feb. 25).

A reader sent this photo of wind-caused damage at City Centre. Some bricks fell from the top ledge and a light fixture's glass got broken. The business is located at 46 City Centre.

Unknown wires are down in the roadway at Colby Road and Genesee Street. Corfu Fire Department is responding.

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A tree is down on wires, which are smoking, at 2679 Galloway Road, Batavia. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding. National Grid has been informed.

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UPDATE 2:38 p.m.: A broken tree branch is pulling wires from a house at 3104 Dodgeson Road, Alexander. Lines are in the roadway. The location is between Beaver and Seward roads. Alexander Fire Department is called.

UPDATE 2:42 p.m.: City of Batavia Fire Department is called for a tree and wires down at 66 Franklin St. between Davis Avenue and the dead end.

UPDATE 2:56 p.m.: A tree and wires are down, completely blocking the roadway, at 7116 Tripp Road, Byron. Byron and South Byron fire departments are called. National Grid crews are no longer on scene (after responding earlier when seven poles toppled into a field).

UPDATE 2:58 p.m.: A tree and wires are down at 2623 Brown Road, Corfu. The location is between Wilkinson Road and Ridge Road. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 3:02 p.m.: A tree and wires are down at 3650 Batavia Oakfield Townline Road. Town of Batavia Fire Department is called to respond.

UPDATE 3:07 p.m.: A fire alarm is sounding at city Public Works Department, 147 Walnut St. A power failure has occurred and the "supervisory alarm" has been tripped. City Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 3:15 p.m.: A tree is down in the roadway at 2879 Batavia Oakfield Townline Road. Town of Batavia Fire Department is called.

UPDATE 3:52 p.m.:  A tractor-trailer has tipped over on Bank Street Road at Cockram Road. Byron and South Byron fire departments are called to respond along with Mercy medics.

UPDATE 3:53 p.m.: A tree is down and wires are on fire at 10498 W. Bethany Road. Alexander Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 3:57 p.m.: A tree and primary wires and secondary wires are down at 3073 Pearl Street Road, Batavia. East Pembroke Fire Department is called. The location is between Upton and Wortendyke roads.

UPDATE 4:08 p.m.: Wires are down on a house and arcing at 8885 Keeney Road in Le Roy. The home is being evacuated. Le Roy Fire Department is responding. The location is between West Main Street and Quinlan Road.

UPDATE 4:11 p.m.: A celler pump detail is requested at a house at 7509 Mechanic St. in Byron. The power is out there. Byron and South Byron fire departments are called.

UPDATE 4:53 p.m.: Power lines are down in the road and in water on Powers Road, Batavia. East Pembroke Fire Department is called.

UPDATE 4:58 p.m.: Town of Batavia Fire Department is called to 3658 Batavia Elba Townline Road for wires down in the roadway.

UPDATE 5:56 p.m.: A tree and wires are down at 8151 Kelsey Road, Batavia. East Pembroke is called to respond.

UPDATE 5:58 p.m.: A tree is down across the front steps of a residence at 7041 N. Pearl Street Road, Oakfield. Oakfield Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 6:07 p.m.: East Pembroke command requests mutual aid from Town of Batavia fire to shut down traffic at Kelsey and Galloway roads because of multiple trees and wires down in the roadway.

A reader sent us photos just taken in Batavia showing the apparent readiness of utility crews staged by businesses, ready to deploy as needed due to the  high wind warning in effect today and tomorrow.

In addition to these staging areas photographed in Batavia, there are about a dozen vehicles in the KMart parking lot and 15 or so in the lot at BJs Warehouse Plaza; and there may be other staging areas in Batavia as well.

"Seems like a high degree of readiness," a reader commented.

Above, at the Quality Inn & Suites.

Staging area by Target and Quality Inn & Suites.

More utility vehicles in Batavia Towne Center parking lot.

Tonight Downtown Batavia was buzzing with the smiling faces of participants of the first winter craft beer walk.

Based off of the success of summer's Beertavia, orchestrated by Downtown Batavia’s Business Improvement District, a winter version of the popular event was created.

The FeBREWary Brew Walk appeared successful by an informal survey of attendees and some of the 20 business owners that were open and hosting the craft breweries and cideries.  

Pictures above and directly below from The Yngodess Shop.

Photo below, Charles Men’s Shop

Below, Pollyanna and Dot

Last two photos from Tavern 2.0.1 inside GO ART!