batavia

These two old barns and silo are along Route 98, probably in the Town of Batavia, near Elba.

Henry Homelius had no formal education, but the man born in Buffalo in 1850 would be, by the late 19th Century, perhaps Batavia's foremost architect. Together, with his son, Frank Homelius, he would design some of Batavia's grandest homes and commercial buildings.

Bill Kauffman shared a little booklet with me the other day titled "Henry and Frank Homelius: The Men Who Built Batavia."

Late this afternoon, I drove around and snapped pictures of some of the homes they designed. In the course of doing so, I also came across a number of homes not included in the book that were equally as grand as those credited to the Homelius's. So maybe they didn't build Batavia single-handedly, but they sure did build some great homes.

They also built some of Batavia's great commercial buildings as well, such as: the Batavia Daily News building on Jackson Street; the Batavia Times building on Center (now Center Street Smoke House); the former State Police barracks (now home to the Batavia Police), and the old firehouse on Main Street.

Henry Homelius is responsible for several of the homes on Ellicott Avenue.

Start with Ellicott Avenue, after the jump below are the pictures I took of some of the homes designed by Henry (mostly) and Frank:

(Top photo above is 130 W. Main St., originally built for George D. Weaver in 1889)

7 Ellicott Ave.

8 Ellicott Ave.

16 Ellicott Ave.

24 Ellicott Ave.

32 Ellicott Ave.

33 Ellicott Ave.

39 Ellicott Ave.

41 Ellicott Ave.

52 Ellicott Ave.

57 Ellicott Ave.

23 Summit St.

151 Summit St.

111 Washington Ave.

145 State St.

35 Richmond Ave.

56 Redfield Parkway

2 North Ave.

39 Ross St.

308 E. Main St.

A Ross Street resident has been arrested in connection with an alleged home-invasion burglary in Batavia last week and jailed without bail.

Robert D. Wright, 18, of 149 Ross Street, is charged with burglary, 2nd. Additional charges are pending, according to police.

A second suspect remains at large.

Wright is accused of entering a home at 20 Vine St. around 5 a.m., March 18, with a white male -- both of them had their faces covered -- and demanding drugs.

Police said the suspects claimed to have a gun, but didn't display a weapon.

Police at the time said they didn't believe the home was selected at random.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350 or the Batavia Police Department’s Confidential Tip Line at 585-345-6370. Information can also be left via the Suspicious Activity Reporting link at the Batavia Police Department’s Web site.

A medical condition appears to be the cause of an accident Wednesday afternoon that left three poles -- called bollards -- splayed across the sidewalk next to the Oak Street Roundabout.

A 66-year-old woman turned herself in after learning from Attica Police that she had knocked down the bollards. She thought she had merely driven over a curb.

The Batavia woman's doctor recently changed her medication for diabetes and the woman told police she became drowsy.

The Batavian agreed not to release her name because it was a private medical condition and there were no citations issued.

The woman was coming off Pearl Street and drove up onto the curb just before she normally would have entered the roundabout.

The bollards are decorative posts meant to guide traffic along the roundabout. No word on the estimated cost of the damage.

Wikipedia defines bollard:

A bollard is a short vertical post. Originally it only meant a post used on a quay for mooring. The word now also describes a variety of structures to control or direct road traffic, such as posts arranged in a line to obstruct the passage of motor vehicles.

A Batavia man died in a head-on collision in Connecticut yesterday, according to WBZ, A Boston-area TV station.

Lance Lewis, 36, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lewis reportedly was driving the wrong way on I-95 near Norwich.

The driver of the other car, Terrence Garbuzinski, 46, of Attleboro, Mass., also died at the scene.

UPDATE: The Day has a longer story with more details. The Norwich Bulletin reports that Lewis lived at 137 Summit St. He was driving a Honda CRV with New York plates.

Elliott M. Hickman Jr., 19, of 148 Hutchins St., Batavia, is charged with robbery, 2nd, petit larceny and endangering the welfare of a child. Hickman is accused of robbing an MP3 player from a 15-year-old in a parking lot at MacArthur Park on March 10. Hickman was jailed without bail. Previously charged in the same case was Malik I. Ayala.

Destany AnnMarie McNutt, 21, of 1302 Phelps Road, Apt. 4, Corfu, is charged with petit larceny. McNutt is accused of stealing merchandise and money from Walmart while employed at the store.

Nicholas Jerome Lucarelli, 38, of 35 E. Gatewood Ave., Gates, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding (73 in a 55 mph zone), and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Lucarelli was stopped at 12:52 a.m. by Deputy Timothy Weis on Route 19 in Le Roy for allegedly speeding.

Accidents from the State Police blotter:

6:06 a.m., March 24, Griswald Road, Le Roy, one vehicle; Driver 1: R.W. Fitzsimmons, 41, of Linwood. No injuries reported.

6:16 a.m., March 24, Lake Street Road, Town of Le Roy, one vehicle; Driver 1: Thomas M. McCullough, 53, of Le Roy. No injuries reported.

6:40 a.m., March 23, Route 33, Pembroke, one vehicle; Driver 1: Shirley A. Kensek, 51, of Batavia. No injuries reported.

To hear William Cassidy tell it, the students at Genesee Community College "run a bus service," sort of.

He's a senator in the student government who's lobbying to change the status quo for funding bus transportation. As it stands, the B-Line Bus Service to the college is paid for with student activity fees, a practice that's been in place for years and years.

What many at the college would like to see, is a "market-based" system wherein the students who use the B-Line buy a bus pass. Now, the entire student body chips in to pay for something that a small minority of students use regularly.

Currently, $118 per full-time student and $22 per part-time student goes into the student activities fund each semester. This pays for major equipment repairs, as approved by the college Board of Trustees, pre-season and post-season athletics, and day care.

The fund is left with $322,000 for trips, pizza parties, movies, etc., and to finance B-Line Service, which costs $52,000. Individual riders show their student I.D. cards and pay nothing to get onboard. Non-students, those without I.D.s, pay $1.

The current three-year contract with B-Line expires in May and negotiations are under way for a new one. The latest talks occurred Monday.

Linda Knox, who is in charge of the B-Line Service in Genesee County, said she could not discuss the matter due to the negotiations. Cliff Scutella, a student advisor at GCC, is working to bring student government reps and transportation officials together to discuss the issue.

"Last time I checked the SUNY Charter, it allows student government to spend its activity funds as the campus sees fit," Cassidy said. "It doesn't mention running a bus service."

Cassidy facetiously suggests starting a "Bus Club" for riders to earn money to pay for B-Line Service. All the other campus clubs are obliged to raise their own funds.

"We could have a bus wash," Cassidy said.

The transit authority has suggested reducing the cost of the B-Line by having fewer runs, a solution Cassidy finds "absurd" because the GCC loop has more riders than any other route in the county.

When asked about other options for funding bus service to the college, Rochester General Regional Transportation Authority, which B-Line is part of, apparently likes things the way they are.

Myriam T. Contiguglia, its regional marketing coordinator, offered this statement:

"The 30-year partnership between BBS and GCC has provided students with reliable transportation allowing them to access higher education. Removing the transportation barrier creates less stress for students so they can concentrate on academics thus increasing graduation rates.

"People living in rural areas face many of the same challenges as people living in urban centers seeking educational opportunities but often have to travel greater distances, have less opportunities for part-time jobs and income levels are often lower. The availability of public transportation in rural areas removes two barriers from people going to school: the lack of private transportation and the expenditure of limited income to pay for insurance, gas, car payments. The money saved can go towards paying for tuition and books."

Robert Griffin said he was leaving the Dollar General about 3:45 p.m. when he heard a pop and then smoke started billowing out from under the hood of his car.

City Fire responded and quickly doused the small fire.

Batavia Police are looking for a blue color SUV that lost its wheel well and has damage to its right front bumper after striking sign posts in the roundabout and driving off.

The car was last seen heading south on Walnut Street.

UPDATE: Sign posts weren't struck down -- light poles were -- three of them coming off of Pearl Street into the roundabout. It looks like the driver never even entered the roundabout, but drove through the median coming off of Pearl and onto the parkway, then off onto Walnut. One of the light poles was dragged a good 80 feet.

Nice sunny day -- a good day for hoisting a new heating and air-conditioning unit atop the St. Jerome's building as part of ongoing renovations.

At one time, Batavia School District officials spoke of a possible 10-percent tax increase on local property owners, but the final approved budget includes only a 1.23 percent increase.

District Business Manager Scott Rozanski told The Batavian's news partner WBTA, that past years' conservative budgeting -- underestimating revenue and holding a line on expenses -- has made it easier for the district to weather big cuts in state aid.

"There may be a greater impact next year and in future years if the trend continues," Rozanski said.

The 1.23-percent increase works out to 27 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, so on a home assessed at $80,000, the taxpayer will pay the school district an additional $21.60.

Rozanski said that over the past few months, the district has been able to cut expenses, which contributed to the district's ability to hold down the tax increase.

WBTA has posted a historical chart of tax increases (and decreases) from the district as well as an MP3 of its interview with Rozanski (click here).

Voters will be asked to approve the budget May 18.

Dozens of local officials were on hand for the grand opening ceremony for Batavia's Mental Health Treatment Court, a new program -- one of the first in the state -- of the Batavia City Court.

Judge Robert J. Balbick was the first speaker.

The court is a program for defendants who have serous mental health issues, who need treatment and other services, and who chose to participate in the program instead of having their cases proceed through the regular court process.

The court will accept defendants who, in addition to mental issues, need substance abuse treatment or who have developmental disabilities, or those who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Today's ceremonies opened with musicians playing guitar and flute (in separate rooms). Besides Balbick, other speakers included Judy Harris Kluger, chief of policy and planning for the court, Paula Feroleto, chief administrative judge, Augusta Welsh, clinical director of Genesee County Mental Health Services, Ed Minardo, Genesee Justice, Gary Horton, public defender and Robert Zickl, assistant district attorney, among others.

For more information on the court, see our previous story.

Batavia Police continue to dig into the activities of a Warsaw man who is accused of running a complicated scheme to use stolen credit card numbers to buy building materials and then bill customers for the materials.

Today, detectives executed a search warrant at a property in Bethany and reportedly recovered thousands of dollars worth of material that was allegedly purchased with stolen credit cards from Armor Building Supply during a three-month period in 2009.

Two more counts of grand larceny have been added to the four already filed against Dustin Hurlburt, of 32, of 21 Elm St., Warsaw.

There may be other suspects in the case and Batavia detectives are asking anyone with information that might be relevant to the case to call them.

Because of the alleged use of credit cards and the amount of money involved, the U.S. Secret Service has joined the investigation.

Det. Kevin Czora is the lead detective on the case.

David J. Schultz, 27, of 3124 W. Main St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Schultz was stopped at 2:32 a.m. on Tuesday by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

John A. Akok, 30, of Hartford, Conn., is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Akok was stopped by State Police on the Thruway in Stafford at 7:42 a.m., Monday.

Isreal A. Amador, 22, of Rochester, is charged with criminal contempt. Amador was picked up at 11:08 a.m., Monday, by State Police in Le Roy at the Thruway exist for allegedly violating an order of protect. No further details available.

Even though local laws regulating where convicted sex offenders can live have been overturned by courts, the Batavia City Council wants more information on what sort of laws it can pass regulating sex-offender residency around daycare centers, parks, schools and churches.

The issue is being pushed hardest by Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian, who has received complaints about a Level 3 sex offender in her ward.

"Our preliminary investigation shows a strong leaning in the courts -- because there is such an extensive body of state statute dealing with this matter -- there is a strong feeling in the courts that this is an area that the state legislature has preempted," said City Attorney George Van Nest. "It would be beyond the ability of local municipalities to create a whole other body of regulations."

A Web page maintained by David Hess, pastor of the West Henrietta Baptist Church in West Henrietta, tracks local sex-offender laws and writes that such laws have been thrown out in Schuyler, Albany and Rensselaer counties.

"We need to do something to protect our children," Christian insists.

Council President Marianne Clattenburg suggested the city ask the New York Conference of Mayors if any local laws have been upheld. Those might be the model for Batavia, she suggested. Then the council can better direct Van Nest on any draft laws or other action.

Three residents spoke in favor of creating tighter local regulations on where sex offenders can live, including Tara Pariso, a mother of three children who is also executive director of CASA, an agency that acts as advocates for children caught up in the legal system.

Pariso discovered while searching for daycare for her own children that one daycare center in Batavia is operated by the wife of a Level 2 sex offender who lives in the house next door to the facility.

"I have no trust left in our state that they’re protecting our children," Pariso told local media after the meeting. "They have no licensing requirement that there are no sex offenders in their neighborhood. I would not trust the state to tell me who is safe and who is not, and the licensing really means nothing to me at this point. I have to do my own background investigation to figure out who I can trust my children with."

The home Pariso is concerned about is Teddy Bear Day Care, at 25 Pearl St., Batavia. 

The New York Office of Children and Family Services lists Marsha Coy as the operator of Teddy Bear Day Care.

Ronnie Coy, a Level 2 sex offender, lives at 27 Pearl St. He was convicted in 2002 of promoting sexual performances by a child and served more than a year in prison. According to local law enforcement officials, Coy has not been in any trouble since his release from prison.

A Genesee County database indicates Ronnie and Marsh Coy purchased 27 Pearl in March, 1983.

The owner of 25 Pearl is another Batavia resident, so Marsha Coy apparently rents the location of Teddy Bear Day Care.

According to the state site, the daycare business was first licensed in June, 2003. It's current license runs through June 2011. It was last inspected on Jan. 25. There have been no state enforcement actions against Teddy Bear since it opened in 2003. There are no pending complaints against the facility, which is licensed to handle 10 children ages 6 months to 12 years old, and two additional school-aged children.

Teddy Bear's only signage on the house is hand-painted and hanging from a window by the front door.

In researching this article, we found Hess's Web site, mentioned above, and he asserts that local laws restricting where sex offenders can live are counterproductive.

The common view is that the recidivism rate is high among sex offenders. It is not. New York regularly publishes 3-year follow-ups of all those released from state prisons. Between 1985 and 2002 a total of 12,863 sex offenders were released. Only 272 of these (2.1%) were returned to prison for new sex crimes within three years of their release.  (2002 Releases: Three Year Post Release Follow-up, State of New York Department of Correctional Services, p.16) 

This corresponds with an Associated Press story from 2003 that states that only 5.3 percent of sex offenders are arrested for the same offense after their release. Wikipedia also has a good summary of studies and stats about the very low recidivism rates among convicted sex offenders.

Batavia Police are being dispatched to State Street in the area of Batavia High School where a man has been observed dancing in the rain.

The subject was "last seen sashaying south on State," a dispatcher said.

The caller also reports that the man allegedly took a bottle from his pocket, took a swig and returned it to his pocket.

Josh Stendts, a 17-year-old senior at Batavia High, is pretty impressed with the slide shows ESPN creates for its Web site, so a while back he tried his hand at creating one about the Buffalo Bills losing season. Friends and family liked it and started encouraging him to do one about the Blue Devils boys basketball team.

At first, he resisted the idea, but when Batavia beat Sutherland and went to 8-1, he got excited about the team's prospects for the season.

In past seasons, Batavia vs. Sutherland games "have had a lot of tension and produced exciting games," Josh said in an e-mail today. "When I heard the Blue Devils had won in Sutherland, I knew it was going to be a special season. No one, including myself, thought this team was going to be as successful as they ended up being. I stopped doubting the team when the Blue Devils defeated Sutherland."

Josh's dad was also pushing him to do a video about the Blue Devils.

There was problem, Josh had a song idea, but not enough pictures. When Batavia reached Sectionals, however, The Batavian started going to games and shooting and posting lots and lots of photos.

The song was Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," because, Josh said, it was fast and he could pack a lot of information about the team into the lyrics.

When he first uploaded the slide show, he didn't have all the pictures he would eventually include, but as more and more friends and fans saw the video, it began to become popular around the campus.

He continued to polish the effort.

"On March 12th, I put together a slide show with a few pictures," Josh wrote. "I finished a rough copy and posted it on YouTube. When I returned to school on Monday the 14th everyone, including the teachers, congratulated me on such a great video. My last class of the day on Monday was GYM and my teacher is Coach Brasky. As I entered the gym to check in, he immediately pointed at me and told me 'Great Job, unbelievable.'"

Buddy Brasky and Principle Chris Daily wanted to show the video at a pep rally on Friday, before the team left for the state championship games in Glens Falls.

"I was absolutely shocked and incredibly thankful for the opportunity," Josh said.

He did one more edit on the video and then handed it over to school officials to play at the rally.

"On Friday, the video was played in front of the entire school," according to Josh. "I was nervous about what everyone would think. As the video came to a close, I received a standing ovation from the entire auditorium, including the basketball team. It was definitely one of the best experiences of my life."

Josh is definitely thinking about the idea of going into media production, but he's also interested in sports medicine. He says he has plenty to think about when he starts classed at GCC in the fall.

"I would like to sincerely thank everyone who was involved in making this video a success, Mr. Dailey and Mr. Mullen for allowing me to show the video at the assembly," Josh said at the close of his e-mail. "Mr. Bromley (Sports director) who e-mailed the video to all the teachers. All my family and friends who viewed the video, and a special thanks to The Batavian for giving me permission to use their pictures for the slide show."

The Batavian would like to thank Josh for using our pictures. That's a great honor. We did ask Josh to add credit to The Batavian in his video, and we are grateful that he readily agreed to so. Congratulations to Josh on such a great tribute to the Blue Devils. It's definitely a great piece of quality work.

Katrina L. Drake, 20, of 14 South Main St., Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th; Toni M. White, 29, same address, is charged with disorderly conduct. Drake and White were allegedly involved in a domestic dispute at 10:53 a.m., Saturday, with Drake allegedly destroying property belonging to White, and White allegedly yelling obscenities repeatedly while outside.

Stephen A. Lewis, II, 29, of 18 Cherry St., Batavia, is charged with DWAI (Drugs); aggravated unlicensed operation; moved from lane unsafely and inadequate headlamps. Officer Jason Davis stopped Lewis stopped Lewis at 12:15 a.m, Sunday, after reportedly observing him driving on East Main Street with out headlamps, turning onto Harvester Avenue and striking the curb.

Gregory L. Brennan, 41, of 8044 Kelsey Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, and driving the wrong way on a one-way street. Brennan was stopped at 5:06 a.m., Friday, by Officer Daniel J. Coffey after allegedly being observed driving the wrong way down North Spruce Street.

Summer Ogden, 31, of 112 State Street, lower, rear, is charged with assault, 3rd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Ogden is accused of attacking her boyfriend and biting him causing an injury. She also allegedly destroyed some property. She was arrested at 8:15 p.m., Thursday. She was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Andrew J. Duckworth, 31, of 128 Jackson St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Duckworth was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend at their residence. He was arrested at 4:08 a.m., Sunday, and jailed on $1,000 bail.

Warren H. Gaskin, 51, of 541 East Main St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and operating without headlamps. Gaskin was stopped at 2:17 a.m., Saturday, by Officer Thad Mart after allegedly being observed driving on West Main Street without headlamps.

Robert J. Scott, 35, of 30 West Ave., Medina, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd. Scott was taken into custody on a warrant from 2005 by Batavia Police on Friday after being released from Orleans County Jail on unrelated charges. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Dennis F. Johnson, 49, of 901 Akron Road, Pembroke, is charged with DWI, driving with BAC of .08 or greater, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle, inadequate plate lamps and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. Johnson allegedly failed to stop at 8:30 p.m., Saturday, for Deputy Kevin McCarthy who was attempting to make a traffic stop for an alleged equipment violation. Johnson allegedly didn't stop until he was in the driveway of his home.

Justin Zane Barker, 21, of 52 Columbia Ave., Batavia, was taken into custody on a bench warrant out of Cheektowaga Court for alleged petit larceny.

Julie Skye Besser, 42, of 380 Council House Road, Alabama, is charged with DWI, failure to yield right of way to emergency vehicle, refusal to take a breath test and failure to dim lights. Besser was reportedly stopped at 12:47 a.m., Sunday, on Hopkins Road in Pembroke, by Deputy Jason Saile.

Justin James Jaszko, 30, of 8087 Kelsey Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, two counts of criminal trespass, 2nd, unlawful imprisonment, 2nd, menacing, 3rd, harassment, 2nd. Jaszko allegedly violated an order of protection at 4:30 a.m., Saturday. He was jailed on $20,000 bail.

A 17-year-old from Oakfield is charged with aggravated harassment. The youth allegedly sent unwanted text messages and made unwanted phone calls to a young victim after being told to have no further contact with that person.

Lacey Ann Easton, 21, of 13369 Steiner Road, Akron, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Easton was stopped at 12:34 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy Patrick Reeves for alleged traffic violations on Route 5, Pembroke.

Anthony John Ferris, 28, of 43 Longs Lane, Corfu, is charged with six counts of criminal contempt, 2nd. Ferris allegedly tried to call his ex-girlfriend in violation of a court order while locked up in Genesee County Jail.

Henry Leon Polanowski, 30, of 7205 E. Superstition Springs Blvd., Mesa, Ariz., is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Polanowski was arrested by Deputy Chad Minuto at 2:21 p.m., Friday, in Oakfield.

James R. Presnal, 51, of Penfield, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely and refusal to take a breath test. Presnal was reportedly stopped by State Police at 7:46 p.m., Saturday on the Thruway in the Town of Batavia.

Accidents from the State Police blotter:

4:32 p.m., March 18, Pekin Road, Elba, two vehicles; Driver 1: Mary R. Maciag, 26, of Darien Center; Driver 2: Joan C. Whyman, 68, of Oakfield. No injuries reported.

7:40 a.m., March 20, Thruway toll entrance, Town of Batavia, two vehicles; Driver 1: Ashton L. Smith, 27, of Le Roy; Driver 2: M.L. Klinkbeil, 36, of Rochester. One injury reported.

Brandon M. Maldonado apparently needed a place to sleep Monday night, but where he wound up on Tuesday evening probably isn't what he had in mind.

That night, he was sleeping in the Genesee County Jail, locked up on no bail and charged with burglary, 2nd, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful possession of marijuana.

At 7 a.m., Tuesday, the 21-year-old Batavia resident was reportedly found sleeping on a couch, wearing only a T-shirt and covered with a blanket, in an upstairs bedroom in a house on North Spruce Street. That isn't where he lives. His address is 42 Spencer Court.

It's unknown what time Maldonado allegedly entered the house as an uninvited guest, but he was reportedly highly intoxicated at the time.

The rest of his clothes were reportedly found in a child's bedroom, where a 5-year-old was sleeping that night, leading to the charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

The child was not injured.