batavia

Kirk A. Thomas Jr., is indicted on counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, first-degree escape, criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument, criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, 2nd, and public lewdness. Thomas is accused of possessing heroin with the intent to sell on March 17 in the City o Batavia. On that date, having been arrested, he allegedly escaped from custody. On that date, he allegedly possessed a hypodermic instrument. He allegedly possessed glassine envelopes with the intent to distribute drugs. He is accused of exposing himself and masturbating in public with the intent of being observed.

Ronald M. Markek is indicted on counts of felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and is accused of having a prior DWI conviction on Oct. 11, 2011, in the Town of Pembroke. Markek is accused of driving drunk Nov. 28, 2014, on Route 63, Town of Batavia.

Cody Matthews Bedard, 21, of Lake Road, Corfu, is charged with DWI, DWI drugs, DWI with a child less than 16, endangering the welfare of a child and back seat passage age 4-6 without appropriate safety restraint. Police responded to the area of 240 Richmond Ave. at 7:27 p.m. Friday after a report of a driver "not acting right." Bedard was arrested by officers Darryle Streeter and Jamie Givens.

Michael B. Neth, 37, of Summitt Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Neth allegedly made contact with a person he was barred from contacting by court order while at a store in City Centre at 6:25 p.m., Saturday.

Lois Omar Perez Lopez, 34, of Trumbull Parkway, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to stop at stop sign and failure to signal. Perez Lopez was stopped at 2:22 a.m. Sunday on Trumbull Parkway by Deputy Chad Richards.

Joey Robert Tatro II, of Main Street, Attica, is charged with trespass and criminal mischief, 4th. Tatro was arrested on warrants related to the charges. He was jailed on $250 bail or $500 bond.

Ryan Michael Byrnes, 28, of Maple Street, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right and driving while using a mobile phone. Byrnes was stopped at 9:35 p.m. Monday on Main Street, Byron, by Sgt. Gregory Walker.

Press release:

On Wednesday, May 27, the Bureau of Maintenance facility will have a power shut-down that will that will disable telephone and computer communications for the day. Anyone needing to contact the Bureau of Maintenance is asked to contact the Department of Public Works Administration at telephone number (585) 345-6325.  

Press release:

The Town of Batavia Republican Committee is looking for nominations for the 2015 Community Service Award that is presented annually to a person who has contributed to the betterment of the Town of Batavia. They will be looking for a person who has excelled in the community, is involved in area activities and is deserving of recognition.

Over the years the Town of Batavia has been influenced by the efforts of so many people in government, business, fire department and volunteers. We would like to thank and recognize one of them each year and we need your help.

We ask that you send your nomination by e-mail to Teressa.morasco@yahoo.com  or mail it to Secretary, Kathy Jasinski, 2982 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY 14020 by the deadline -- Monday, June 1.

Please submit the name of your nominee briefly stating why you believe your nominee should be recognized and what they have done for the community.

The 2014 Award Winner, Mary Pat Hancock, will assist the committee in selecting the 2015 award recipient. This award will be presented at the Town of Batavia Republican Picnic at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 12th^th at the Town of Batavia/Kiwanis Park.

Other past winners include Robert and Richard Call, James Woodruff, Rubie Levins, Gertrude Penepent and Sharon White.

Shane P. Buyck, 26, of North Bergen Road, Bergen, is charged with burglary, 2nd. At 6:21 p.m. Monday, deputies and troopers were dispatched to a residence on North Bergen Road after the homeowner returned home to find an intruder in his house. The intruder fled on foot, leaving a car in the driveway. The registration reportedly came back to Shane P. Buyck, a resident of North Bergen Road. Buyck was located in a wooded area near the house by Deputy Chris Erion and K-9 "Destro" while lying in thick brush. Buyck was identified as the alleged intruder. He was jailed without bail.

Tonya M. Doell, 45, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with open container in public. Doell was allegedly in possession of an open container at 577 East Main St., Batavia, (Family Dollar). Doell reportedly refused to identify herself to police because of her probation status.

Matthew P. Parker, 25, of Eagle Street, Medina, is charged with trespass. Parker was arrested following an investigation into reports of vehicles being broken into in the City of Batavia on Sunday Morning. He was located in the parking lot of UMMC at 4:30 a.m. and jailed without bail.

Matthew C. Payne, 33, of Chestnut Street, Batavia, is charged with illegal disposal of items. Payne is accused of illegally dumping trash into a trash container owned by the Batavia Housing Authority at 193 S. Main St., Batavia.

Susan R. Fabretti, 52, of Swamp Road, Byron, is charged with petit larceny. Fabretti is accused of shoplifting at Tops Market. 

A 17-year-old, name and residence withheld by Batavia PD, is charged with harassment, 2nd. The youth is accused of striking a female several times after a verbal argument escalated.

Angela Irene, 45, of South Gravel Road, Medina, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and failure to stop at at stop sign. Irene was stopped at 1:41 a.m. Sunday on Lewiston Road, Alabama, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Alan James White, 18, of South Lake Road, Bergen, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, driving while ability impaired by alcohol and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Deputy Chad Cummings along with Mercy EMS were dispatched at 7:51 a.m. Sunday to Dublin Road, Bergen, for a report of an unresponsive male behind the wheel of a stopped car on the road. White was treated and released at the scene by medics. He was allegedly found in possession of a switchblade knife.

Sandra Lynn Fry, 43, of Sunset Park, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Fry allegedly violated a complete stay away order of protection.

Jason Scott Stanley, 22, of Judge Road, Alabama, is charged with DWI on an ATV, unlawful operation of an ATV on private property, unregistered ATV and driving an ATV without insurance. Stanley was arrested following an investigation into an ATV accident on Hutton Road, Oakfield, at 6 p.m. on Monday.

Mark David Heidenreich, 25, of Sumner Road, Darien, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Heidenreich allegedly violated a complete stay away order of protection by placing phone calls to the protected person.

Samantha Rose Docteur, 24, of Ellicott Street Road, Pavilion, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and facilitating aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, 2nd. Docteur was arrested following a traffic stop on South Main Street, Oakfield, at 11:55 a.m. Saturday by Deputy Michael Lute. She was allegedly in possession of marijuana, a grinder and smoking paraphernalia.

Andrew Michael Boyce, 20, of Oak Orchard Road, Elba, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, unlawful possession of marijuana and no seatbelt. Boyce was stopped at 4:18 p.m. Friday on Judge Road, Alabama, by Deputy Chris Parker, for allegedly driving without wearing a seatbelt.

A 17-year-old resident of Main Road, Pembroke, is charged with second-degree harassment and criminal mischief, 4th. The youth allegedly threatened another person and damaged property of that person. He was jailed on $250 bail.

Matthew Brian Starowitz, 26, of Whitney Mill Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Starowitz was charged at 2:22 a.m. May 19 on Bank Street Road, by Deputy Chris Erion.

Nicholas Anthony Lord, 19, of North Division Street, Buffalo, is charged with criminal mischief. Lord allegedly damaged another person's property during a dispute.

Matthew J. Pasternak, 25, of Amherst, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Pasternak was stopped by a trooper on Route 77, Corfu, for allegedly speeding. He was allegedly found in possession of five grams of marijuana after the trooper said he detected the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle. The search also allegedly led to the discovery of a multicolored smoking pipe with marijuana residue.

• Massive Air Balancing
• Advanced Podiatry
• Kreative Kitchens and Designs
• Knights of Columbus (Batavia)
• Five Star Bank
• Bank of Castile
• Knights of Columbus (Le Roy)
• S & S Limo
• First Choice Travel
• Mike Stasko 
• Ameri-prise Financial
• Dr. Salmon

Here's a picture that came in over the weekend that we didn't get to: Members of St. Joe's Key Club placed flags on the graves of VFW members buried at St. Joseph and Grandview cemeteries. 

The video is comprised of photos from the Memorial Day ceremonies at the VA, Upton Monument and the War Memorial at St. Jerome's. Audio provided by WBTA, our news partner.

More photos in the slide show. To purchase prints, click here.

Press release:

The Conservative Party of Genesee County has made the following endorsements:

Paul Viele (Republican) -- 1st Ward
Lisa Whitehead (Libertarian) -- 2nd Ward
Richard Richmond (Republican) -- 3rd Ward
Al McGinnis (Conservative) -- 4th Ward
Kathy Briggs (Democrat) -- 5th Ward
 
Paul Viele and Richard Richmond will running Republican primaries elections against the incumbents.
 
We had no request from the 6th Ward.

A city resident turned to the Fire Department this morning for help rescuing a cat whose curiosity, or insatiable appetite, got the better of him and perhaps cost him one of his nine lives. The cat stuck his head in a can and couldn't get unstuck. Engine 15 responded at 7:58 a.m. and firefighters used handheld cutting tools to peel the can open and extricate the feline.

The cat is fine.

Photos and information submitted by Lt. Bob Fix, Batavia FD.

It's an adrenaline rush to see one of his border collies racing through four jumps, grabbing a tennis ball and streaking back to him, said Hamburg resident Peter Russell, who was in Batavia on Saturday to compete in a biannual flyball competition at the Fairgrounds.

Flyball is a dog-racing sport. Teams are comprised of four dogs and four handlers. Each dog runs down a track, jumping over four hurdles, hitting a platform at the end of the track, which releases a tennis ball, and then the dog runs back through the hurdles with the ball. The race is a relay, so once the first dog returns, the next dog runs the next leg.

The sport was created in California in the late 1960s and has grown to international proportions.  

Russell is a member of the Buffalo Wings Flyball Team, which has won national championships.

More than 15 teams competed yesterday, with dogs and owners traveling to Batavia from throughout the Northeastern United States and Canada.

The exhibition hall at the fairgrounds on Saturday was a cacophony of yelps and yaps and a whir of flashing fur.

"I think people enjoy the sport because of how quick it is," Russell said. "Races come down to hundredths of a second."

It's also a social sport, said Cindy Henderson, a resident of Massachusetts and regional director for the North American Flyball Association.

"You're with four different people," Henderson said. "That's what's fun about it. You're working with a whole team of people. It's not like other sports where you're just one handler working with a dog. You're a team."

Each member of the team has a specific role. The lead dog needs to have stamina since false starts can mean multiple trips down the track before there's a legal start. There are the middle leg dogs who need to be fast and agile, and then there's the anchor dog, who ideally loves to race and has the competitive drive to overtake another dog if the team has fallen behind. There also needs to be a height dog. The height dog is the smallest dog on the team. The shorter the dog, the lower the hurdles for the team.

Russell and his wife own 13 border collies. Four of them are retired and nine of them race. They're also breeders.

Border collies are particularly well suited to the sport, Russell said.

"It gives them a job to do," he said. "Border collies are bred to herd sheep, so they need a job to do. Their job is to go get the ball and come back to you and tug on their toy. In essence, that's their job for the day. It gives them some mind stimulation, because it's a difficult sport to learn and master and it gives them the physical stimulation because they're running over four jumps, hitting a box, coming back, tugging on the tug when they get back to you."

Alissa Schwab, of Amherst, owns a Jack Russell terrier, the height dog for the Buffalo Wings.

"I got started because obedience training wasn't enough for Jack Russell terriers," Schwab said. "The Buffalo wings needed a fast height dog and they came to training and spotted him and he was hired."

She's been racing for seven years now and now owns three Jack Russells.

"It's great for my dogs," she said. "They look forward to it. The community of people from our region is just fantastic and the racing is good."

The owners enjoy the race. The dogs enjoy pleasing their masters and getting a treat at the end of the run, usually a tug on a rope, but maybe something a little more tasty.

"They like to be rewarded for doing things they love," Schwab said. "You're part of the reward. They want to come back to you."

Dozens and dozens of families passed through the St. Joseph Cemetery today to place flowers on the graves of loved ones who served in the military. Above, Adam Figlow adjusts a flag on the veterans marker for the grave of his grandfather Anthony LaFarnara, who served in the Army during World War II, while his son Noah looks on. Below, Adam with is father, Tony.

Laurie Napoleone speaks during the Awareness Ceremony on the second day of the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation Baseball Tournment.  The tournament has grown to a three-day event spread out over every available baseball field in Batavia.

The foundation has provided more than $170,000 in assistance to families with children dealing with medical issues. The foundation has also purchased a new scoreboard for the ball field at Williams Park, has donated more than $48,000 to pediatric cancer research and has pledged $50,000 to the Golisano Children's Hospital.

Michael Napoleone succumbed to Burkitts Lymphoma/Leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer, in 2006. Mark and Laurie Napoleone formed the foundation in response to the outpouring of support their family received from the community after Michael was diagnosed.

Genesee Pride AAU boys and girls basketball donated $350 players raised for the foundation.

The family of Kenny Hazlett. Hazlett was a longtime umpire and dedicated volunteer for the tournment who passed away. A sign on the backstop of the Little League field honoring his memory was unveiled during the ceremony.

David Pero speaking about Hazlett.

Unveiling the sign.

Chase Bordonaro received a Spirit of Michael Napoleone Award, along with Tony Piazza and Griffin Dellapenna (pictured below).

Veterans in attendance were invited to stand along the first base line during the playing of the National Anthem

Mary Valle and Paula Miller were at the Oak Street roundabout this morning planting flowers. The project is sponsored by Vibrant Batavia.

Register today for our 3rd annual Glow Corporate Cup!
At 6 p.m. Aug. 6, Merrill Lynch in Batavia will sponsor the third annual GLOW Corporate Cup. Each year local businesses form teams to compete in a 5K race wherein the company with the lowest combined time takes home the GLOW cup. Following the race is the region’s largest office party. Businesses are encouraged to set up tents in Centennial Park, bring refreshments and prepare to have a great time as they mingle with other local companies. Live music is provided as runners and supporters enjoy the post race “AfterGLOW.” 

Last year the race included 700 runners and more than 1,000 people participated in the post-race celebration. In the first two years, more than $30,000 was raised for the GLOW YMCA and this year event is expected to exceed last year's total in participants and funds raised.

“Our purpose is to bring the businesses of the GLOW region together for a common cause,” said Joshua Dent, one of the race organizers. “The after-party was intended to celebrate the outstanding companies we have in the region that are giving back to their community.” 

The GLOW YMCA serves the communities of Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, and Wyoming counties.

“This year we would like to see even more participants from beyond Genesee County,” Dent said.

Registration is $25 per person and individuals must be 18 or older to participate. The route has been certified as a USA Track and Field Course. All funds raised go toward programs for the GLOW YMCA.

Register today! Click here for more information. Questions concerning the event may be sent to: info@glowcorporatecup.org

A letter shared with Judge Robert C. Noonan by District Attorney Lawrence Freidman makes it pretty clear, Kesean Shannon doesn't want to go to prison.

The jailhouse letter alerts a friend of his possible court dates and asks him to get a woman he knows in court for his appearance.

"Tell her to be ready just in case I have to run," Shannon reportedly wrote. "I need a gun for real."

After entering guilty pleas today to five of the counts against him -- four of them for sexual activity with women who were asleep -- Shannon faces a possible maximum prison term of 15 years.

The guilty pleas were to counts of first-degree attempted rape, first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree incest, first-degree sexual abuse and first degree criminal contempt.

In all, five women were victims of Shannon's crimes, including a blood relative and a woman identified in court today as his fiancée, and who is pregnant with his child.

That woman, whom he contacted in violation of an order of protection, leading to the criminal contempt charge (a felony because of a similar previous conviction), has been allowed to visit with Shannon in jail.

Friedman said his office objected to a City Court judge granting those visits, and even so, Friedman said, Shannon allegedly continuously violated the order of protection by writing letters to the woman.

"If this case had gone to the Grand Jury, we would have sought numerous criminal contempt charges against the defendant," Friedman told Noonan.

The discussion about Shannon's relationship with this woman came up after his attorney, Fred Rarick, asked Noonan not to extend the order of protection for the woman.

The woman does not fear Shannon, Rarick said, and wants to have contact with him.

Friedman argued that the order of protection should stay in place. He said he has a deposition from the woman where she says she does fear Shannon. The order of protection arises from a prior domestic violence case, Friedman said.

Noonan issued the order of protection, pending Shannon's sentencing, at which time, Noonan said, he would review any written request to forego an order of protection from the woman.

The reference to the gun came up while discussing Shannon's bail status.

Rarick sought a bail amount for his client pending his sentencing July 17.

Friedman cited the letter as well as the 22-year-old Shannon's criminal record, previous violations of court orders, the alleged ongoing disregard for the court order with his fiancée (today was the first time he heard of their plans to marry, Friedman said) as well as the potential lengthy prison term.

Noonan ordered Shannon held without bail.

In pleading guilty, Shannon admitted to attempting to rape a woman while she slept in June, 2014, and of sexually abusing women in 2012 while they slept, and of doing so again in October 2014.

City of Batavia firefighters have been busy with training much of the day, working on accident-scene response and patient extrication in the parking lot next to the fire hall.

Among those getting in more practice time, Matt Pillsbury, the newest member of the department. Originally, from Massachusetts, currently living in Chili, he will soon move to Batavia.

At 2:30 this afternoon the three-day Michael Napoleone Memorial Baseball Tournament begins at the ball park on State Street in Batavia. It promises to be a fine time for families to enjoy the Great American Pastime and help a worthy cause. There will be lots of baseball games, food, kids' activities and on Saturday, the Lions Club will offer free cancer eye screenings at the Main Tent on State Street.

Also, don't miss The Awareness Ceremony which will be at 1 o'clock at the Little League Field on Saturday.

Game starts today are at 2:30, 4:30 and 6:30 for Little League and Minor League.

On Saturday, games are at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m. for Minor League and Little League.

Sunday Little League and Minor League:

10:15 a.m. -- Playoff
12:15 p.m. -- Playoff
3:15 p.m. -- Championship

Williams Park
----------------

Friday -- 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. (under lights)

Saturday -- 10, 2:30

Sunday -- 10, 12:30, 3:30 playoffs and Championship

 

The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation, Inc., was founded in 2007 in memory of Michael C. Napoleone, the eight year old son of Mark and Laurie Napoleone from Batavia, who passed away from Burkitts Lymphoma/Leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer. During Michael's illness, the community rallied around the family to assist with food, gas, medical bills, and other necessities. The not-for-profit Foundation, a 501(c)3, organization, was created to give back to those who cared, to give forward to those in need, and to support research efforts to find a cure for childhood cancer.

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