batavia

A car has struck a utility pole in the area of 2 Law St., Batavia. 

Wires are down. Unknown injuries. 

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Yes, it's cold, and getting colder.

The overnight low is expected to be two or three degrees below zero with wind chill dropping it down to -24, then in the morning, the temperature will fall even more.

And it will snow. A couple of more inches tonight and another an inch or two tomorrow.

The winter storm warning is effect until 6 p.m., Sunday.

In their third matchup of the season today at Falleti Ice Arena, Batavia and Notre Dame battled for three periods in a physical, fast-paced game that ended 2-1 with the Ice Devils on top.

When Pete Zeliff and Andrew Young first walked onto the factory floor of the p.w. minor building on Treadeasy Avenue, they knew nothing about the shoe industry.

"We could tie our own shoes," Young said with a wry smile Friday morning following a tour of the production line with Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

In the six months since Zeliff and Young rescued the 150-year-old shoe factory from closure, the two local businessmen have not only proven quick studies of the shoe business, they've pulled the firm from the brink of an abyss and placed it on the precipice of success.

After his walking tour, Hawley was impressed with what he saw and heard.

"With Pete and Andrew's investment here, and their hard work, the possibility of success in their eyes, their demeanor, and the people I've seen here working today with their smiles, you can see it," Hawley said. "It's great for the local economy, it's great for Western New York, to see people take a chance and that's what these two gentlemen have done. The State of New York ought to use them and p.w. minor as an example of how to be successful."

As neophytes in the shoe business, when Zeliff and Young first sat in their new offices, they wondered, why do shoes that feel good on your feet need to look dowdy and unimaginative?

The p.w. minor speciality are shoes designed and constructed for people with orthopedic needs, but why should orthopedic shoes be frumpy?

"We've been able to, with some stitching and some designs and some beautiful leathers that we're using, to upgrade those shoes," Young said. "The same lasts (forms used to make shoes), same fit, same feel, but it looks way more 'today,' I guess would be the word."

p.w. minor has long had some great-looking shoes in its line -- one shoe was bought as a prop for the former HBO series "Boardwalk Empire," after all -- and there are high-end brands that turn to p.w. minor to shod voguish-minded Wall Street bankers and urban hipsters.

But the persistent image of p.w. minor is for shoes that favor comfort over fad, In recent years, much of the shoe line had the look of something a doctor might prescribe to dowagers or retired postmen.

"When we got here, we were wondering why people who had to wear shoes that they needed for their feet, but they couldn't also look good," Young said.

One of the first of their new hires was a shoe designer out of Michigan who had experience with shoe company turnarounds.

Every shoe the company sells is getting a makeover. The first samples of the new line will make their industry debut at a trade show in Las Vegas.

"This is a company that designed about three shoes in the previous decade and we're going to a show next week where we're going to introduce three dozen shoes," Young said.

Of course, nobody is going to buy shoes if there are no feet on the street selling the revamped shoe lines to retailers and distributors.

The old p.w. minor got rid of the last of its sales staff years ago, Young said. He and Zeliff have hired five new sales reps so far and plan to hire as many as five more.

"That's already paying dividends," Young said. "We need to get our name out there. I think most of the marketplace thought we were basically dead, and there was good reason for that because we sort of were. I think they're starting to see, and they will really see it at this show next week, that we're definitely back."

The total new hires for Zeliff and Young is 16 so far, and Young says there's more to come. Part of the reason to let the media tag along on Friday's tour was to get the word out locally that p.w. minor is truly a new company. It's a place people should want to work, Young said, and Young wants to attract the best local employees.

p.w. minor was also a company that needed to do a better job of meeting the needs of existing customers. To that end, back orders have been cut tremendously. The company has gone from making 80 pair of shoes a day to 160. It used to take 25 to 26 days for a pair of shoes to wind through the production line. On Wednesday, the crew completed a line of shoes in 4.8 days.

That's a lot of change not just for the marketplace to absorb, but it's even been an adjustment for p.w. minor's employees.

There have certainly been some bumps along the way, Young indicated.

"I always say if I had a nickel for every time somebody says that's not the way we used to do things, I wouldn't need to sell any shoes," Young said. "This company was on a trajectory down, steeply down, and we want it to be on a trajectory steeply up. The change is sometimes hard for us to get through and hard to understand and accept. We're making great progress in that regard, but I like to say it's a big ship to turn. It's turning, but it takes some time."

Top photo: From a fit and feel perspective, the two shoes are essentially the same. They're made with the same fasts, but the one of the left uses more attractive leather and an updated design.

Hawley, Zeliff and Young in the leather room at p.w. minor.

Hawley holds another example of a p.w. minor shoe transformed by design and the material used to make it.

A pair of newly designed fashion boots near the end of production.

Soles waiting to become shoes.

A worker making a shoe.

Hawley with Young and Zeliff.

Glue on shoes.

Cork spread on the bottom of a shoe before the sole is attached. The cork helps ensure the comfort of the shoe's wearer.

This all-weather sole is on a shoe made for another company that sells it under its own brand name. Young said he and Zeliff love the sole, but it's only made in England, and p.w. minor's own shoes will be 100-percent made-in-America.

Nearly finished boots on the factory floor.

Zeliff, Hawley and Young with an employee near the end of the production line.

The slide show below is of pictures sent over by Young of some of the shoes that will be making their industry debut in Las Vegas next week.

A Livingston County-based agency has received a $400,000 state grant for rehabilitation of 15 affordable housing units in the City of Batavia, the governor's office announced.

The agency, Genesee Valley Rural Preservation Corporation, will use the funding to rehab 15 owner-occupied homes over the next 18 months, said GVRPC President Jill Alcorn.

GVRPC provides assistance with for such things as energy reduction measures, handicap accessibility and other improvements for the health and safety of the residents, Alcorn said.

The agency has previously worked with low-income housing stock in Batavia, providing $3.8 in public/private investment assistance over the past 16 years.

Cuomo's office announced that the state has made $7.3 million in investment in low-income housing in 2014 across the state with a $1 billion commitment by 2018.

“Everybody should be able to afford to live in New York – and we’re making record progress today,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Ensuring a safe and decent home for all New Yorkers is paramount to enhancing opportunities for community success and economic growth. By keeping affordable housing a priority of our administration, more New Yorkers have the resources they need to capture this opportunity and for our communities to remain vibrant for generations to come.”

Since 2011, the Cuomo's office said, New York has:

• Created 13,458 units;
• Preserved 13,326 units;
• Returned more than 37,000 units to rent regulation.

There is $486 million in the 2015-16 budget earmarked for affordable housing.

GVRPC will be able to begin this new round of work in Batavia once the contract with the state is signed, Alcorn said.

Jeanne Graber and Margaret Hughes are quitters, and we mean in a good way. Graber and Hughes were among a group of Washington Tower residents who were recognized Friday for successfully quitting the cigarette habit. Some of the quitters have stopped within the past year, and others haven't smoked in up to 60 years.

The third of five meetings for the Police Facilities Task Force had members looking at drawings and maps and thinking about traffic patterns, parking and floodplains.

The committee reviewed the proposed sites for a new police station, looked at the options for remodeling the current location -- the old Brisbane Mansion -- and asked why a variety other locations in the city weren't considered.

The task of the task force is to come up with a recommendation for the City Council by July 1.

They meet next on March 10 to look at financing options.

Their virtual tour of potential locations started at 56 Ellicott St., the former Santy Tires location.

Advantages include access to Ellicott Street and Evans Street (a driveway would extend along the north side of the Salvation Army building), high visibility Downtown and the opportunity for all new construction.

The downsides include being in the floodplain (though, by a slight margin, the highest of the sites in floodplains), some level of environmental remediation because of the former auto repair shop and gas stations, and proximity to the Della Penna property.

The Della Penna property itself has been taken off the list because the lot size is slightly too small and it will require significant environmental remediation.

Next up was the Salvation Army building on Jackson Street.

The location is not as visible as 56 Ellicott, but not entirely hidden either. It's also in the floodplain, but would offer a good configuration for the actual building as providing separate parking for police and civilians with separate access points.

The current building is not suitable for retrofitting to meet the needs of a modern police headquarters, so would need to be torn down and a new building constructed.

Another location for a new building is 165 Evans St.

The location would offer a lot of space, but it also creates a lot of problems. It would eliminate the current parking for Falleti Ice Arena, forcing new parking behind the building and perhaps changing the primary entrance for the rink to the back of the building or the north side.

"We've identified that there was a parking issue with the ice rink and that we would need to reconfigure it, but we didn't come up with a solution," City Manager Jason Molino said.

There's a seven-acre lot behind that location and Molino said the city is getting some serious interest in redeveloping that land.

Also under consideration is co-locating with the Sheriff's Office on Park Road.

This is not the clear win advocates of shared services might think. One of the big cost drivers (making it a very expensive option) is that the new building would require new mechanicals. If the two buildings had been constructed as one facility or built at the same time, then they could share heating and air and such; but they weren't, so they can't.

"If it's not that much cheaper, why are we discussing it?" Molino said. "Because, for 25 years, people have been suggesting it, so it at least deserves a good evaluation or people will always be asking the question and saying, 'well, you didn't look at this site.' "

The biggest challenge, Molino said, would be for the city and county to come up with an operating agreement -- how costs would be allocated, what would be shared, what would remain separate, and similar operations issues.

The location, being well outside the heart of the city, would also require a satellite office for the department somewhere Downtown.

For the current facility, which is more than 150 years old, there are two options: Tear down the 1963 addition to the facility (the entire back of the building) and build new or remodel the existing wing.

Neither option offers significant cost savings over building an entirely new building at another location. It doesn't solve the parking and access issues currently faced by the department and no new floor plan could be fashioned that meets the needs of a small city police department in 2014.

But officers could have an indoor firing range in the basement.

Another option Molino presented to the task force was maintain the status quo.

Such an option wouldn't improve the layout of the building, because no substantial changes could be made.

The current building isn't compliant with the American with Disabilities Act, so any design changes beyond just the cosmetic would force the city to make the entire building conform to ADA rules. The cost thing skyrockets back up to the range of a complete remodel. 

Enlarging the bathrooms and adding air conditioning to the parts of the building that don't have it are both examples of pressing needs with the current building that would kick in ADA rules.

Chief Shawn Heubusch offered that early on, officials looked at the mall as a possible location, but there's no good solution to some of the access issues it would create.

Any location on Main Street would present access and parking problems.

The city at one time looked at the old armory on State Street, locations around Alva Place and on Bank Street and the Harvester Avenue area and found significant deficiencies in access and traffic patterns with each.

The bottom line: There is no easy answer to the question of where Batavia should house its police force.

Top photo: John S. Brice, architect, Geddis Architects, who facilitated the discussion. Bottom photo: City Manager Jason Molino.

Stephen J. Turkasz, 24, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Turkasz is accused of posting photos of people who are the subject of a protective order on a social media Web site, in alleged violation of the order of protection.

Malcolm A. Kea, 27, Porter Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant related to a charge of operating while registration suspended or revoked. Kea was arrested at his residence for alleged failure to appear.

Curt Thomas Randall, 27, of Swamp Road, Bergen, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Randall was stopped for an alleged traffic violation at 4:05 p.m. Wednesday on Byron Holley Road, Bryon, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Benjamin G. Evans, 26, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Evans is accused of stealing from Tops Market, Batavia. Evans was arrested by State Police.

A little bit of snow fell on Batavia overnight and this morning, but that isn't the worst weather news you're going to get today.

It's going to get cold. Very cold.

A wind chill warning is in effect from 6 p.m. until noon Friday.

With winds of 10 to 20 mph, the wind chill value will be 20 to 30 degrees below zero.

The National Weather Service warns of the dangers of frostbite and hypothermia.

Stay warm.

Northbound Ellicott Street is temporarily closed, with traffic being diverted into the center turn lane, because of a concrete mix spill from a Hanson Aggregates cement truck. The mixture is thin and covers an area about 100 yards long. Hanson workers are cleaning it up.

After first providing her alcohol in April, a Batavia man allegedly subjected a 16-year-old girl to unwanted sexual contact according to state troopers in Warsaw.

Charged with sexual abuse, 1st, criminal sexual act, 3rd, and unlawful dealing with a child is 24-year-old Preston Matthew Ruble.

Ruble allegedly served alcohol to two teenage girls, one 16 and the other 17, on the night of April 12 and 13, then sexually abused the younger girl.

Ruble was arraigned in Village of Warsw court and jailed in Wyoming County on $20,000 bail or $40,000 bond.

Firefighters clear snow from around a fire hydrant on Clifton Avenue, Batavia. There are some 640 hydrants in the city. A firefighter noted, "I know it's our job, but we can't get to them all." He said it would be great if residents would adopt the hydrants on their streets and help keep them clear of snow. "After all," he said, "it's their property we're trying to protect."

Minor injuries are reported following a rollover accident on the westbound Thruway. One car is involved. It's near mile marker 386.9. Town of Batavia fire and Mercy medics are responding.

Notable during last night's City Council meeting were the words not spoken.

For all the talk in the community the past few weeks about eliminating the Batavia's assistant city manager position, not a single council member raised the issue when given the chance.

The council passed five budget amendments, all recommended by City Manager Jason Molino, eliminating $53,000 from the spending plan. But after those five motions passed and Council President Brooks Hawley asked if members of the council had any other amendments to offer, the panel was silent until Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian piped up.

"What's the use to raise an amendment if you won't compromise over here?" Christian asked.

After the meeting, Christian expressed frustration that she believes residents want more spending cuts but she doesn't feel anybody is listening to her pleas.

"It really bothers me," Christian said. "There are a lot of people out there who are having a difficult time living."

While there has also been a move afoot to eliminate spending for Vibrant Batavia, since that expenditure is not part of the budget, it will be addressed as a separate resolution at a future council meeting.

The assistant city manager position, however, is part of the budget.

Christian said she would certainly support eliminating the position, but she said she didn't make a motion because she believes only three other council members would vote with her, giving such a motion no chance of passing. 

"I didn't bring it up, you're right," Christian said. "What's the use?"

Councilman Eugene Jankowski said after the meeting he didn't bring it up because he's not ready to eliminate the job.

"I made the motion last year not to put it in the budget and it was voted down," Jankowski said. "This year I've seen some of the good work that she's done and I personally feel it's premature to just fire her after only a few months. I'm still keeping an eye on it to see how it's going to pan out."

Jankowski said he doesn't sense a strong sentiment from fellow council members for eliminating the assistant city manager position.

As for Vibrant Batavia, Jankowski said he intends to bring a motion reduce the proposed $45,000 allocation, but not cut it out completely.

He wants a compromise position, he said, because some constituents feel passionately that no more money should be spent on Vibrant Batavia and others are just as passionate in their support of Vibrant Batavia.

He wants to see Vibrant Batavia stand on its own and would like to find a mechanism to make that possible.

He said he doesn't know what the timetable would be to wean Vibrant Batavia off of city support.

"If it's impossible in 12 months, then I want to see what the plan is," Jankowski said. "If it's a reasonable plan and it looks viable and everybody in the community knows what it is and knows when that time is going to end, then it's up to them to decide whether they accept it or not."

He also said that partial funding wouldn't close the door to the council providing more assistance if Vibrant Batavia found it needed more time to stand on its own after making a verifiable and honest effort to be self-sufficient.

In a winter of unrelenting cold and regular, periodic snowstorms, the snow keeps piling higher and the frustration of Downtown merchants has been mounting.

While merchants might be expected to shovel their own walks, there's nothing they can do, realistically, about the mounds of snow that gets piled up between parking spaces and sidewalks. It takes the city's heavy equipment to move that much snow.

At Monday's City Council meeting, Director of Public Works Sally Kuzon addressed the issue.

"We certainly understand (the complaints)," Kuzon said. "We would love to have a 24-hour operation, but we just can't do it."

This season so far, 90 inches of snow has fallen, including 52 inches in the past 13 days.

That has kept public works staff busy plowing and salting, often in 10-hour, overnight shifts.

That leaves at most two public works employees on the clock during the day.

"That's a little scary if something happens," Kuzon said.

Crews that are plowing and salting aren't available for the tedious, time-consuming, manpower-intensive task of snow removal.

Snow removal needs to be done at night when there is less traffic, fewer parked cars and no pedestrians to interfere with the operation. The project takes from 10 to 12 public works employees at a time.

And it ties up all of the city's loaders and trucks.

It so happened that crews started working on snow removal for the first time this winter last night.

The project was scheduled to start at 10 p.m., but before the workers could hit the streets, the plows and salters from the trucks needed to be removed. It also turned out two trucks had flat tires.

The work started just before midnight.

Crews cleared the south side of Main Street, Court Street and the parking lot near Jackson Street (where we caught up with them for photos at 5:30 a.m.).

Tonight, they will work on the north side of Main Street.

Weather permitting, they will work on Ellicott Street the night after that.

Photos and information submitted by Marsha Geiger.

Noah Burke, Luke Geiger, and Nicholas Grover were honored by Pack 112 of Batavia on Sunday for receiving both the Arrow of Light Award and the Super Achiever Award. The Arrow of Light is the highest award in Cub Scouting. To earn the Super Achiever Award, the boys had to complete all 20 Webelos achievements.

A proposed new cancer center at UMMC will help the hospital treat more patients in Genesee County and provide those patients with a comprehensive, one-stop location, according to spokeswoman Colleen Flynn.

New new $6.5 million addition to the hospital will be fitted in the triangle area on the west side of the hospital known as the Summit Street entrance.

The wing will handle chemotherapy, radiology, infusion and include a linear accelerator. The staff will include a board-certified oncologist and a radiation oncologist.

"This has been in planning for a long time," Flynn said. "It will help save some patients that 45-minute drive each way to Rochester. One of our goals was to keep care in Genesee County for those who are our most vulnerable."

The proposed expansion will be reviewed this week by the Genesee County Planning Board and the City of Batavia Planning Board.

The new building will be 9,850 square feet and while it is currently planned as a one-story addition, the construction engineering will allow for a second floor to be added if needed, Flynn said.

UMMC, already expanded to 800 employees since the affiliation with Rochester General, will add more employees as a result of the addition, Flynn said.

Plans for the cancer center were started many months ago, before the affiliation with Rochester General was finalized, but the affiliation is helping the process along.

A license is required for a linear accelerator and Rochester General happened to have obtained a license it had no immediate plans to use. The NYS Department of Health has approved the transfer of the license to the UMMC location.

Among the issues planners will consider with the addition is the loss of parking outside the Summit Street entrance.

There are currently 15 spaces. The expansion will require 20 spaces, creating a deficit of 35 spaces. 

Officials plan to draw on the 71 spaces in the existing parking lot on the west side of Summit Street, which is shared with 207 Summit St. and 215 Summit St.

Employees will park at St. Jerome's on Bank Street, which currently has 50 to 60 extra spaces available and is already served by a shuttle for hospital employees.

The shared parking lot will have signs and markings to ensure the spaces closest to the cancer center are reserved for cancer center patients.

Officials hope to break ground on the new facility in the Spring with completion and opening for patient treatment in January.

The County Planning Board meets at 7:30 p.m., Thursday.

Also on the agenda is a plan by Darien Lake Theme Park to add a new ride called the Turbo Twister. The slide, which covers an area that is 191 feet by 76 feet, features an 80-degree drop angle to start, an inclosed tube, and it propels people at an average speed of 35 feet per second.

Plus, the agenda includes plans by East Pembroke Fire District for a new, voter-approved fire hall.