batavia

Tuesday evening the Richmond Memorial Library celebrated a new program, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, providing free books to children from birth to up age 5 (but not including age 5). The library hosted a special story time featuring a certain librarian imitating Dolly Parton and guest storytellers.

Leading off story time was Tim Richter (pictured in red below) from the Richter Family Foundation. The foundation is funding the program is assisting with the launch of the Batavia Imagination Library, which is only available to children age 4 and under in the Batavia City School District.

Each participating school district funds and sponsors its own Imagination Library, under the auspices of, and with the assistance of, the Richter Foundation. To date, the foundation has helped launch Dolly Parton's program in Oakfield, Elba, Pavilion and Pembroke.

(Previous Coverage) To sign a child up get free books visit the library or apply on line. 

After being among Batavia's wanted for 18 months, Jacquetta Simmons, 30, appeared in court today following her arrest in Rochester last night, to answer to a charge of harassment 2nd.

Simmons, out of jail on $300 bail, asked for an adjournment of her case because on short notice, her attorney, Ann Nichols, could not appear in Batavia today.

The case was docked for May 25. 

In the meantime, Judge Durin Rogers issued an order of protection, which Simmons signed, barring her from any contact with the alleged victim in the harassment case, a 54-year-old woman.

Simmons was allegedly in an altercation of some sort with the woman back in October during a meeting at the YWCA. A couple of weeks later, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Simmons on the harassment charge. The warrant was reported by local and regional media in January.

The former Batavia resident gained international notoriety after punching a 70-year-old Walmart cashier on Christmas Eve, 2011. In August, 2012, Simmons was found guilty of assault in the second degree by a jury and later sentenced to five years in state prison. The sentence was later ruled too harsh by an appeals court and Simmons was resentenced to one year in jail.

Also in City Court today, 54-year-old Darlene M. Callan, charged with arson, 3rd, for allegedly starting a fire inside her home Monday at 189 South Main St., Batavia. Callan is being held on $25,000 bail and her attorney asked for her to be released under supervision given her lack of criminal record and ties to the community. Citing a low score on a bail review worksheet and concerns over recent substance use issues, Rogers declined to reduce the bail.

A person was reportedly outside his vehicle at John Kennedy School when another vehicle struck it, causing the man's vehicle to strike him.

The man reportedly suffered a minor injury.

City fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Shawn Thomas Rushok, 17, of Church Road, Le Roy, is charged with first degree criminal sexual act. He was arrested on April 26 for allegedly engaging in oral sexual conduct in the afternoon of July 20 with a person less than 11 years old. He was arraigned by Town of Le Roy Justice Welsh and released under supervision of Genesee Justice. The case was investigated by Sheriff's Deputy Timothy Wescott, assisted by Deputy John Dehm.

Brian K. Dyer, 49, of North Street, Batavia, is charged with third-degree assault, third-degree menacing, and criminal obstruction of breathing. He was arrested at 12:14 a.m. on April 23 as the result of an investigation into a domestic incident that occurred at a North Street residence a short time earlier. He was put in jail on $2,500 bail and was to be in court on April 25. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Eric Foels, assisted by Officer Peter Flanagan.

Ryan James Wetsell, 22, of Walden Creek Drive, Batavia, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing and second-degree harassment. He was arrested at 5:30 p.m. on April 21 following an altercation with another male in the area of 335 Bank St., Northside Meadows Apartments in Batavia. It is alleged that Wetsell went after another male at that location, striking him several times and then attempting to choke him. He was issued an appearance ticket for City Court on May 3. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Chad Richards, assisted by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Timothy Jerome Stump, 44, of Montclair Avenue, is charged with: obstructed view; broken windshield; aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree -- having a prior driving while intoxicated conviction; felony common law DWI; and felony DWI with a BAC of .08 percent or more. Stump was arrested at 5:51 p.m. on April 22 following a traffic stop on Porter Avenue. He was allegedly found to be operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and doing so on a suspended NY driver's license. He was to appear in City Court April 25. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Mitchell Cowen.

Rebecca N. Bethune, 27, of Pringle Avenue, Batavia, is charged with trespass and illegal disposal of items. The charges stem from a complaint in which Bethune was alleged to have disposed of a mattress at 679 E. Main St., the Batavia Gardens Apartments, leaving the item against a dumpster at that location at 3 p.m. on April 21. She is not a resident of the complex. She was issued an appearance ticket for City Court on May 3. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Chad Richards.

Patrick A. Dudley, 18, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 5th. Batavia police conducted a traffic stop at about 12:30 a.m. on April 24 and Dudley was a passenger in the vehicle. During the course of the traffic stop, police allegedly disovered 28 grams of marijuana on Dudley's person. He was subsequently arrested and released with an appearance ticket for May 10 in City Court. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Arick Perkins, assisted by Officer Matthew Wojtaszczyk.

    Darlene M. Callan

A 54-year-old South Main Street woman has been charged with arson in the third degree for allegedly setting a fire in a bedroom of her home around 5 p.m., Monday.

The bedroom had fire and smoke damage but city firefighters were able to put the blaze out before it spread.

Interim Fire Chief Dan Herberger said that the actual cause of the fire cannot be released yet because it's still under investigation. 

City fire was dispatched after a woman ran to a neighbor's house and said her bedroom was on fire.

After an investigation, it was determined the only person at home at 189 S. Main St. was Darlene M. Callan and police say evidence indicates she started the fire.

Several subjects at the scene were interviewed, police say.

Callan was held on $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond.

The investigation was conducted by Officer Jamie Givens, Sgt. Dan Coffey, Det. Kevin Czora and Capt. Craig Williams.

 Jacquetta Simmons

More than a year after a warrant was first issued for her arrest, Jacquetta Bernadine Simmons, who first made international news after punching a Walmart cashier on Christmas Eve in 2011, is back in custody.

Simmons was picked up by Rochester PD last night and turned over to Batavia PD on a warrant for an alleged incident at a church meeting in Batavia in October, 2014.

The warrant was issued Oct. 20, 2014, but information wasn't released until January. 

Simmons, 30, allegedly made some sort of physical contact with a 54-year-old woman.

She is charged with second-degree harassment.

The meeting reportedly involved church members at a business meeting being held at the YWCA, 301 North St., Batavia.

Simmons was convicted in August 2012 of assaulting a 70-year-old cashier at Walmart and later sentenced to five years in prison, but that sentence was later overturned on appeals and she was given a year in jail. She was also ordered to pay restitution, which became the subject of several court appearances as she appealed the amount and sought modifications to the payment plan.

Simmons, held on $300 bail, is scheduled to appear in City Court at 1 p.m. today to answer to the harassment charge.

Throughout his life, Joe Gerace has helped so many people in our community, and now it's our turn to help him, but he doesn't look at it that way.

"I'm a little humble," Gerace said. "I'm humble because I'm not looking for somebody to pay me back. I've done everything from my heart, and, yeah, now it is payback time, but I'm not looking for it that way. I'm not that way."

Gerace was diagnosed earlier this month with lung cancer and bone cancer, at the same time, he also suffered a broken femur. He's currently staying at the State Veterans Home but plans on attending his annual spaghetti dinner Thursday in Stafford, which is a fundraiser for Genesee Cancer Assistance, a local organization he's worked tirelessly for since 1995.

"I'm looking forward to going to my spaghetti dinner Thursday," Gerace said. "I'm not going to get to put my hands in the sauce. I'd like to, but they all know what to do. I gave them all instructions."

He thinks just being there is important, not for him, but for others who need the support.

"I did it for 20 years and I want to be there to root other people on," said Gerace, who is 80. "I'm not the only guy who has cancer. There's a lot of people out there. I don't want no one to feel sorry for me because I'm going to fight this. I'm going to fight it."

Gerace has been deeply involved in our community for decades. He was the first person selected for the Italian-American of the Year Award at Batavia Downs in 2008. That year he was also Humanitarian of the Year for United Memorial Medical Center and the Jerome Foundation. In 2006, he was named City of Batavia Volunteer of the Year and Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Genessean of the Year in 1993 and was honored for his community service by the Paolo Busti Foundation Scholarship Committee.

He has long been active in Rotary and Knights of Columbus. He's a former president of the Batavia Youth Bureau, co-chair of the Genesee County Cancer Society's Festival of Hope and a director of the Genesee County Baseball Club (co-owners of the Batavia Muckdogs).

"I've got the urge to help," said Gerace, who served in the Army from 1957-59. "I call myself a public servant for Christ. I'm not a very religious guy, but I believe in God."

For two decades he's devoted a lot of time and effort helping people afflicted with cancer, but he never had it himself until now.

"It's so easy to tell somebody, you're going to be OK," Gerace said. "Well, you know, you experience it and then you'll know what they're going through. It's not only the cancer. It's the treatments. It knocks the heck out of you. It makes you tired. I want to go faster, but they slow me down, my wife slows me down all the time."

Gerace has received hundreds of get-well cards and countless bouquets of flowers over the past couple of weeks. He knows hundreds of people are praying for him and he says his own prayer every time he goes into treatment. 

"I say, 'dear God, those people prayed for me. Please answer their prayers.' "

He vows to beat cancer.

He said the other day he was doing a little religious reading and came across the story of a woman who got cancer and asked, "why me?"

She told people, "I have the Big C."

"Another gentleman wrote a letter," Gerace said, "and wrote her back and said, 'It's OK to have the Big C. The Big C is Christ and Christ is bigger than cancer.'

"That's what keeps me going," Gerace added. "I'm going to have a fight and I'm going to win. I will win. I've got a lot of spirit."

The dinner Thursday is from 4 to 7 p.m. Gerace vows he'll be there for at least some of the time. It's at the Stafford Fire Hall. Adults $10 (includes a 50/50 raffle ticket), children $5. Takeouts available.

Whether Vibrant Batavia gets funded in 2016-17 depends on how a resolution passed a year ago by the City Council is interpreted by the City Council this year, and that decision will wait for another meeting, this year's City Council decided last night.

A year ago, the council made 2016-17 funding contingent on Vibrant Batavia securing $15,000 from another funding source, but the available language of the resolution seems unclear whether Vibrant Batavia must already have that funding in place or if the group of volunteers must have a plan in place for raising the money before the end of the fiscal year.

City Manager Jason Molino wasn't at the meeting last night and council members would like to hear from him and to review the minutes from a year ago to help with the interpretation of the resolution.

That said, it's a resolution, so it isn't binding. If there are five votes against Vibrant Batavia, the meaning of the resolution could be moot.

When Council President Eugene Jankowski asked council members to vote on a motion to request more information from Molino, four members -- Rosemary Christian, Kathy Briggs, Al McGinnis and Paul Viele -- all voted against even getting more information before making a decision.

Councilman Brooks Hawley was not at Monday's meeting, but it's not clear that other council members would support Vibrant Batavia if came down to a binding vote.

McGinnis likened Vibrant Batavia to socialism. He thinks the government shouldn't take the initiative on what private citizens should do.

Rosemary Christian said she was promised years ago that a spray park would be built on the Southside and she wonders whatever happened to that idea, and there are sidewalks that need repaired and police cameras that should be purchased.

"We need other things more than we need Vibrant Batavia, no ifs, ands and buts about it," she said.

Jankowski said everybody agrees that Vibrant Batavia has done good work over the past three years.

"There's no debate about it," Jankowski said. "The debate is on how to fund it. That's where the split is."

While the motion failed on the 4-4 vote, it really only takes one council member to request an item be placed on a conference agenda (it takes majority approval to place an item on a business agenda), so the council will be able to take up the issue again at the next conference meeting that Molino is able to attend.

Submitted photo and press release:

The History Heroes Summer Program for the Holland Land Office Museum was established in 2011. It was our mission to immerse children in their local history and provide them with a foundation to understand how their hometowns fit into their history.

In four years, the History Heroes Summer Program has evolved into an experience where the youth of Genesee County can explore their roots and prepare for their futures as educated young citizens. 

The theme for the 2016 History Heroes Summer Program is Carnival Days at the museum. This year the children will work together to create a Penny Carnival. The program ends with the carnival and a multimedia musical production showcasing our local history with the children taking on the persona of a famous Batavian.

Each day of the summer program is packed with exciting and educational activities, field trips, games, crafts, and more! The program begins on Tuesday, July 19^th and runs for eight days, ending on Friday, July 29^th. The cost for the program is $25 a day for non-members and $20 a day for museum members. The program is open to children ages 7-12.

The program is staffed by Jeffrey Fischer, interim director for the Holland Land Office Museum, and Anne Marie Starowitz, a former elementary teacher, along with a certified art and music teacher, a profession photographer, along with volunteers from the community.

Please call the museum at 343-4727 for more information and to save a place for your child.

Press release:

This Saturday, April 30, the Batavia Police Department, the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and the Le Roy Police Department will be participating in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

The annual event is aimed at providing a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

It will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. in the parking lots of the Batavia Police Headquarters, the Le Roy Police Headquarters, and the Pembroke Town Highway barns located at routes 5 and 77 in East Pembroke.

This event is sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Press release:

The Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office Commander of the Drug Task Force, Captain Ed Till, announces that Members of the Wyoming County Drug Task Force have arrested two Genesee County individuals on drug charges over the last several days as a continuation of Operation Spring Sweep. (Six others were arrested in Wyoming County.) Several additional investigations are continuing. 

JOHNNEY SHANNON, age 57, of Creek Road, Batavia, was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree. Shannon allegedly sold heroin to an undercover agent on two occasions in the Village of Attica in December. Shannon was being held in the Wyoming County Jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail and has since been released.​

DAVID T. RILEY, age 33, of East Main Street, Batavia, was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree. Riley allegedly sold heroin to an undercover agent on two occasions in the Village of Attica in December. Riley is currently being held in the Genesee County Jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail on a similar heroin sale allegation in the City of Batavia. Bail was also set at $25,000 cash in Wyoming County.

Wyoming County Sheriff Gregory Rudolph says: “These arrests are a continuation of “Operation Spring Sweep” and are the culmination of investigations that took several months. The opiate problem seen nationally and across the state is in Wyoming County. The Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Task Force and all the Law Enforcement agencies in Wyoming County are committed to aggressively investigate the possession and sales of illicit drugs.

"We will do our enforcement part in curtailing the use and distribution of these highly addictive drugs. The Wyoming County Drug Task Force is an operational and investigative unit that has dedicated Deputies and Officers working together from the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office, the Arcade Police Department, the Attica Police Department, the Perry Police Department, the Warsaw Police Department and the Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Wyoming County Drug Task Force maintains a Tip Line: 585-786-8965 and encourages the reporting of drug activity in our community.”

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The odor of rubber burning in the library at John Kennedy School caused a fire alarm to sound and the school was evacuated. City fire crews are on scene investigating.

UPDATE 2:49 p.m.: School officials have called the police to provide traffic control. It is apparently congested.

UPDATE 3 p.m.: The city assignment is back in service. There was a "burn out" in the rooftop.

Heidi A. Pahl, 42, of French Road, Attica, is charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a BAC of .08 percent or more. She was allegedly involved in an accident at a restaurant in the City of Batavia at 9:18 p.m. on April 25. The vehicle was located at a relative's house in the Town of Alexander a short time later. An investigation revealed that she was allegedly intoxicated at the time. She was arrested and released with appearance tickets for Alexander Town Court on May 31. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Kyle Krzemien, assisted by Sgt. Ron Meides.

Alexandria M. Provens was arrested on April 24 on an outstanding bench warrant issued by the Town of Byron Court for failure to pay fines. She was arraigned before Town of Stafford Court and jailed in lieu of $2,000 bail. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Richard Schildwaster.

Ellen Marie Martinez-Brayley, 28, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with violation of Family Court Act. She was arrested on an outstanding Family Court warrant and arraigned April 25 and released. She is due back in court at a later date. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Richard Schildwaster.

Keiyana S. Clark, 35, of Bronx, was arrested April 23 by state police for petit larceny after she allegedly took more than $270 worth of clothing from Target. Clark was allegedly observed selecting multiple clothing items and hiding them in a large reusable bag; Clark then paid for the items in her cart but failed to remove the items concealed in the bag. Clark was arraigned on $200 bail. She is scheduled for Town of Batavia Court on May 10.

Amanda M. Rumble, 28, of Clipnock Road, Stafford, is charged with petit larceny. She was arrested at 5:50 p.m. on April 25 as the result of a shoplifting complaint at Walmart. She allegedly stole $86.63 in merchandise. She was issued an appearance ticket for a later date in Town of Batavia Court. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Richard Schildwaster.

The Batavia City Council handed out its annual awards at last night's meeting.

Above, Debbie and Dan Fischer, owners of WBTA, receive the Business of the Year Award from Councilman Adam Tabelski.

For more on the awards, click here.

Don and Pam Hirons, Homeowners of the Year, with Councilwoman Patti Pacino.

Tonya Passamonte and Adam Steadman, Homeowners of the Year.

Employee of the Year, Officer Chad Richards, and Volunteer of the Year, Larry Barnes, were unable to attend the meeting.

A bedroom fire is reported in a residence at 189 S. Main St. City fire is responding. A neighbor called dispatch and said her neighbor yelled her bedroom was on fire. A first responder reports smoke is showing. Fire police are to shut down South Main at River Street.

UPDATE 6:06 p.m.: The call has gone to a second alarm. It is a working structure fire. Alexander's FAST team is called in, along with Darien's rescue unit. Town of Batavia Fire Department is asked to stand by in quarters.

UPDATE 6:12 p.m.: Mercy medics are called in. National Grid is notified -- No ETA.

UPDATE 6:13 p.m.: All off-duty personnel called to headquarters. National Fuel is notified; one of the natural gas sources could not be shut off -- ETA less than 30 minutes. Command reports fire is knocked down.

A two-car accident is reported at 3310 W. Main Street Road, just west of Wortendyke Road. A person suffered a minor back injury. Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding along with Mercy medics.

UPDATE: A female was transported to UMMC with back pain.

The Batavia City Council will be asked tonight to reaffirm its five-year commitment to community improvement during a discussion about continued funding of Vibrant Batavia.

Vibrant Batavia grew out of the City's Community Improvement Plan, approved by the council in 2012.

The plan was to undertake a series of initiatives aimed at creating stronger neighborhoods, "reenergizing the sense of pride that defined Batavia for so many years, yet which has, to a certain extent, become dormant," City Manager Jason Molino wrote in a memo to council in advance of tonight's meeting.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The proposed funding for the next two years of activities:

• $25,000 committed by council for current fiscal year
• $24,000 remaining from prior year appropriations
• $33,000 received from the auction of house at 109 Walnut St.
• $15,000 Community Development Block Grant funds from the Healthy Blocks initiative for low- and moderate-income areas.

The remaining two years of the Vibrant Batavia plan would include hiring a new coordinator, neighborhood initiatives for Summit Street, an open house with an architect on best practices for home improvements, more neighborhood initiatives in the second year, coffee talks, publication of positive stories about Batavia, a community-wide yard sale, support for neighborhood groups, and landlord and homeowner workshops.

Over the first three years of Vibrant Batavia, it received local resident and business support and more than $135,000 in donations, mostly for the Centennial celebration, and more than $50,000 in revenue from the publication "Vibrant Times."

Molino lists 15 accomplishments for Vibrant Batavia, including bringing community groups together, five coffee talks in which 50 residents attended, more than a dozen neighborhood activities, the Centennial celebration, a bike rack project, a community-wide yard sale and publication of "Vibrant Times."

The winners of last week's Mr. Batavia contest at Batavia High School presented their checks to the charities of their choices today in the school's library.

Above, Mr. Batavia Ross Chua presents a check for $2,055 to his father, Dave Chua. Dave is with the Batavia Kiwanis Club and leads the club's 5K team, which raises funds for research into autism.

Micheal Hughes, one of two second-place finishers, presented a check for $1,020 to Jaylene Smith-Kilner and Jessica Maguire Tomidy for Habitat for Humanity.

Dwayne Fonda presented his check to Chuck Marra, with the American Red Cross.

Submitted photo and press release:

A mixed group of local First Responders participated in the premiere Police and Fire Hockey Tournament last Friday and Saturday at the Harborcenter in Downtown Buffalo.

The event featured 12 teams composed of police officers and firefighters. Participating organizations included Buffalo police, Buffalo fire, Niagara Falls police, Niagara Falls fire, Niagara County Sheriff's deputies, Town of Tonawanda police, Genesee County Sheriffs deputies, Batavia police, Batavia fire, Lackawanna police, Lackawanna fire, NY State Department of Corrections, and Hamilton (ON) fire.

Team members included: front, (from left) Dave Tran -- Town of Batavia Fire Department; Kevin Czora -- Batavia Police Department; Ryan Whitcombe -- City of Batavia Fire Department; Pete Welker -- Genesee County Sheriff's Department; Back (L-R) Stephen Cronmiller -- Batavia Police Department; James Diehl -- Genesee County Sheriff's Department; Matt Lutey -- Batavia Police Department; Jeff Whitcombe -- City of Batavia Fire Department; C.J. Lindsay -- Batavia Police Department; Arick Perkins -- Batavia Police Department; Russ Borden -- Town of Batavia Fire Department; Paul Dibble -- Town of Batavia Fire Department; Connor Wilkes -- Town of Batavia Fire Department; and Dan Coffey -- Batavia Police Department/CBFD.