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City Fire is being dispatched to 8 Masse Place for the report of a furnace explosion.

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City Fire is being dispatched -- non-emergency -- to 130 Bank St., the scene of yesterday's fire for the smell of propane.

"The caller believes it's from a tank she relocated," according to the dispatcher.

A fire at 130 Bank St., Batavia, destroyed an old garage and the items inside and partially damaged a neighbor's garage.

The fire was reported about 10:45 a.m. when a resident came home and saw smoke coming from the garage. By the time fire crews were on scene, flames were visible.

The homeowner, a 47-year resident, said he lost an ATV, snow blower, two bikes and other equipment. While Chief Ralph Hyde said he suspected a wood-burning stove in the garage, the owner said he had recently cleaned the stove and it wasn't in use at the time. He suspected it was an electrical fire.

Kelly Herold, a claims supervisor for Tompkins Insurance, was on scene quickly meeting with her clients. She watched the City's firefighters move quickly to dose the flames.

“The Fire Department did a great job," Herold observed. "It was a good save. They were able to contain the fire to the barn with limited damage to the surrounding homes."

The photo was submitted by reader Tricia Zdep. The bottom two photos were submitted by another reader.

The Batavia City Church's "City Gals" - featuring women and girls of all ages - display the cards they made for area veterans on Monday as part of an ongoing project.

Valentine's Day is still weeks away, but the City Gals made 80 cards on Monday for the men and women at the New York State Veteran's Home and the VA Hospital. Each attendee decorated cards with hearts, flowers and other designs while writing messages of love and encouragement. The cards will be sent to both facilities on Valentine's Day.

The idea for this project came from City Church member and volunteer Sue Gagne, who is also a member of the Genesee Veteran's Support Network. After talking to GVSN chairman Jim Neider, who wanted to see a community project of this kind undertaken for the residents of area Veterans' Homes, Gagne felt that the City Church's Women's Ministry (which is coordinating the City Gals project) would be "the perfect venue."

"Our church likes to get involved in the community," Gagne said. "This is the first time we've done [a Valentine's Day project for Veterans], so I look forward to seeing where it goes."

Gagne also said that the ladies are looking to schedule another "work party" (in her own words) in the coming weeks in order to meet the quota they set for themselves.

"We sure could use some help," she adds.

Women and girls of all ages are welcome to come in and help, regardless of whether or not they are members of the City Church.

A Rochester man with 12 prior convictions, including five felonies, rejected a plea offer Wednesday from the Genesee County District Attorney and will go to trial instead.

Reginald Wilson was arrested back in September for allegedly breaking into a home on State Street and was charged with burglary in the 2nd and criminal possession of stolen property. He was reportedly caught driving a vehicle stolen from the residence.

Because of his priors, Judge Robert Noonan initially refused bail to Wilson. But in November, Noonan offered him $100,000 bail or $200,000 bond. He remains in custody.

Yesterday, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman offered Wilson the chance to plead guilty to a class D violent felony in the second degree with sentencing as a second felony offender instead of a persistent offender. If convicted as a persistent offender, Wilson could serve a life sentence.

Wilson nixed the offer and a trial date was set for March 29, with a pretrial conference at 9:30 a.m. and jury selection at 10.

Shackled, wearing orange jail garb, his hair in tiny dreadlock braids, Wilson looked over his right shoulder a couple of times during his brief courtroom appearance. He scanned the gallery for friends or family but there were none.

The judge set a cut-off time at which the DA's offer is off the table for good. It's 11 a.m. Feb. 26.

BATAVIA, NY -- A Town of Pembroke board member was fined $200 yesterday following a bench trial in City Court for allowing fireworks to be detonated during a party at his house in June.

Several hundred people attended the party at Gary DeWind's house, according to Michael Mohun, his attorney. Mohun said the party was thrown in honor of DeWind's son, a major in the Army who was being sent to Afghanistan.

The casings for a total of eight rocket-type fireworks were recovered, Mohun said. "Not hundreds, but eight."

The trial was moved from Town of Pembroke Court to City Court because of DeWind's status as a board member and to avoid any possible conflict of interest. Judge Robert Balbick presided.

The charge was an infraction and carried fine of $80 plus a $120 surcharge.

"There was no property damage and nobody was hurt," Mohun said.

A blue Pontiac Trans Am is on fire with flames coming from the engine on the eastbound side of East Main Street between 400 Towers and Pizza Hut.

Bret L. Bellacosa, 51, of 7852 Hewes Road, Bergen, is charged with grand larceny 4th. Bellacosa is accused of allegedly using his employer's credit card to fill up his personal vehicle with gas on several occasions. The total amount purchased reportedly exceeded $1,000. The case was investigated by Det. Charles Dudek of the Batavia Police Department.

Sean Douglas Lacy, 23, of 7248 W. Bergen Road, Bergen, is charged with harassment 2nd. Lacy was arrested late last night for allegedly punching another person in the face.

Lisa M. Smith, 37, of 5 Thorpe St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Smith allegedly called another person in violation of an order of protection.

John T. Kingsley, 32, of Stafford, is charged with 30 counts of petit larceny. Kingsley was arrested Jan. 14 by State Police for allegedly stealing from a business on Veterans Memorial Drive. No further details were released.

Accident reports from the State Police blotter:

8:54 a.m., Jan. 19, Route 77, Pembroke, two vehicles; Driver 1: Tammy M. Corbin, 29, of Batavia; Driver 2: Cody L. Pahuta, 18, of Corfu. No injuries. No citations.

My fascination with the old barns of Genesee County continues. This one is on Griswald Road near Route 33.

UPDATE: I changed out the picture. The more I looked at it, the less happy I was with the blue tinge of the previous photo.  I ran it through PhotoShop again and got a better color.

Also, a correction: The barn is in Stafford.

It's that time of year again -- when the City of Batavia officials sit down to look reality in the face and try and figure out how to balance tougher-to-get revenue with ever increasing expenses.

Sales tax is expected to be down, some longtime employees are coming up on retirement, the city's infrastructure is aging and some key pieces of equipment haven't been replaced in decades.

So what about that proposed 3-percent increase in property taxes?

Councilman Frank Ferrando asked City Manager Jason Molino if there is any way to cut it back and Molino said that would be hard, especially if the city wants to start replacing old equipment and start planning for the future.

"Rather than my trying to take apart a budget that's pretty complicated, I look at it as best I can," Ferrando said. "You know the budget and the staff better than all of us. I would rather give you a charge and say, here's what I think our taxpayers would take and you make the adjustments as opposed to me telling you what you should and shouldn't be doing."

Molino explained that the city isn't looking at a tax increase just to raise revenue, but to put the city on a sounder financial footing.

"What we’re starting to look at is if we’re going to invest -- and I look at it as an investment -- you’re going to have to maintain certain levels of service," Molino said. "We're going to have to look at a marginal tax-rate increase. That’s what we’re starting to look at here. All right, if we’re going to have to increase the tax rate a marginal amount, what do we get in return?"

Council President Marianne Clattenburg, after noting how much more difficult the budget picture looks because of weaker-than-expected sales-tax projections, said making the cuts necessary to bring down the tax increase could be difficult.

"There’s always a possibility to cut things," Clattenburg said. "But this year we’re trying to bring back some equipment we’ve deferred and purchase things that we’re going to need if we’re going to fix the streets. We’ve really been budgeting conservatively for quite a number of years now, so when you get to the point we’re in now, with the economy the way it is and dropping revenues, it gets really tough to do."

About the only time the staff-council discussion became animated tonight was when Fire Chief Ralph Hyde tried to explain the need for his department to become ALS (Advanced Life Support) certified. It would allow firefighters to provide critical lifesaving care in those few instances when they are on scene before Mercy EMS. Fourteen firefighters are already trained as paramedics, in part because of current state firefighter hiring requirements.

"This will save a lot more lives than just fighting fires in a city this size," Hyde said, "because there are sometimes these four- and five- and six-minute gaps in response time."

The certification would allow trained and experienced paramedics on the Fire Department staff to provide lifesaving services that right now they cannot legally perform, even though they know how.

Some council members expressed concern about training costs and overtime, but Hyde and Molino said the process of getting and maintaining ALS certification can be cost neutral. That's because of state grants and how internal training programs can be set up --  using the City's on-staff trainer to train personnel from other fire companies.

The council also heard reports on the departments of finance, personnel, youth bureau, assessment, police, public works, and water and sewer.

The next budget workshop is at the Council's next regular Monday meeting.

Pictures: Top, Chief Hyde, left, and Molino. Middle, Police Chief Randy Baker with Molino. Bottom, full council at session.

In honor of the service-based philosophy of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Genesee County AmeriCorps and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) held the "Be a Star - GO Volunteer Fair" on Monday at the Batavia Senior Center.

"AmeriCorps headquarters encourages us to do something on Martin Luther King Day in the spirit of Dr. King," said Kathy Frank, AmeriCorps program director for Genesee County.

Many businesses and organizations from Genesee and Orleans counties participated.

Notable examples included:

Genesee County AmeriCorps Frank provided information about the opportunities Genesee County AmeriCorps has for anyone age 17 and older. This organization is well known for matching applicants with local organizations based on the individual interests and organizational needs. Participants earn a stipend and are eligible for an education award that will help pay for college tuition or, in the case of college graduates, student loans. Frank said that legislation was passed in October allowing participants age 55 and older to use that education award to help pay for their children's or grandchildren's college. Anyone interested in learning more should contact Frank through the Genesee County Youth Bureau.

The Ministry of Concern's "Just Friends" Program Bill Hawthorne, who works for the Just Friends program through AmeriCorps Vista, offers information for people ages 18 and older who are interested in volunteering their time to building friendships with children and teens.

"We took over the Big Buddy program in August when the director retired," Hawthorne said. "We have people from all walks of life who devote time to making a difference in kids' lives."

Only eight hours a month are required for each volunteer, and activities can include simple things like playing catch, going for walks, cooking or even just talking. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Bill at vista@ministryofconcern.org.

CASA for Children Volunteer Linda Buzzell (left) and board member Ed Liesing represent CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for Children, part of a national volunteer association that seeks to help children who are victims of abuse and/or neglect. For more information, contact Tara Pariso at tpariso@co.genesee.ny.us.

Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO ART!) Joe Langen, who works at Go Art! through AmeriCorps, provides information about volunteer opportunities for people of all ages in a variety of capacities (assitance at events, office work, ambassadorship, etc). Visit www.goart.org for more information.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS are at the scene of a rollover accident on the Thruway near the Batavia exit.

Injuries are reportedly minor. One vehicle is on its roof.

A State Trooper has been requested to the scene.

A Batavia woman awaiting trial in Erie County jail for allegedly trying to suffocate her baby tried to commit suicide, the Buffalo News reports.

Even though she was on suicide watch and reportedly under constant supervision, Marcia Mitchell, 29, somehow managed to swallow the entire contents of a bottle of aspirin.

The News reports Mitchell is in critical but stable condition at a hospital in the Buffalo area.

Mitchell is accused of trying to suffocate her baby in May 2008 while in a Buffalo-area hospital following a fire at her family's home.

Elisa Dipietro, left, and Lynn McKeown prepare a lunch in the YWCA kitchen for a special meal in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. today while Gordo Gonyo works in the background.

Diane G. Geary, 44, of 4036 West Main St., Apt. #8, Batavia, is charged with two counts of petit larceny and possession of stolen property. Geary was arrested by Det. Kevin Czora following an investigation into the theft of prescription hydrocodone (pain pills) and a social services check from another individual. Geary was jailed on $1,000 bail.

David W. Wells, 21, of 6962 Townline Road, Bergen, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle, unlicensed operation, improper left turn and failure to stop. Wells was stopped at 1:44 a.m. Saturday by Deputy Jason Saile on Route 19 in Bergen.

Gene Robert Schmidt, 42, of 3150 Dodgeson Road, Alexander, was picked up on a warrant for an alleged violation of probation. Schmidt was stopped for an alleged traffic violation on Dodgeson Road by Deputy Jason Saile and it was discovered there was a warrant for his arrest. Schmidt was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Rebecca Jo Cornell, 35, of 439 Sandhill Road, Caledonia, is charged with petit larceny. Cornell allegedly left the Target store in Batavia without paying for $101 worth of merchandise.

Robert M. Hopkins, 27, of 234 North Spruce St., Batavia, and Jason W. Lebar, 24, of 8170 Batavia-Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, are charged with trespass. Hopkins and Lebar were reportedly on the grounds of the New York State Veterans Home without permission. They were jailed on $250 each.

Kimberly A. Brodsky, 18, of 4 Elm St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or more, operating with one headlight, operating with one headlamp and unlawful possession of marijuana. Brodsky was stopped by Officer Dan Coffey at 2:44 a.m. Sunday on Jackson Street.

Joshua R. Gebhard, 22, of 279 Palmer Road, Churchville, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Officer Dan Coffey reported finding a small quantity of marijuana during a traffic stop.

Reported accidents from the State Police blotter:

4:34 p.m., Jan. 10, Route 98, Batavia, one vehicle; Driver 1: Susan A. Haight, 20, of Albion. No injuries. No citations.

4:00 a.m., Jan. 11, Route 5, Indian Falls, one vehicle: Driver 1: C.C. Bennett, 23, of Corfu. No injuries. No citations.

1:40 p.m., Jan 15, T/A Truck Stop, Route 77, Pembroke, two vehicles; Driver 1: John R. Stellingwerf, 41, Fulton; Driver 2: Murphy Maurice, 44, of Denver, Colo. No injuries. No citations.

5:41 p.m., Jan. 15, Roanoke Road, Stafford, one vehicle; Driver 1: Kevin P. Heiman, 27, of Pavilion. No injuries. No citations.

6:34 p.m., Jan. 15, Shanks Road, Alabama, one vehicle: Driver 1: Cody L. Pahuta, 18, of Corfu. No injuries. No citations.

FULL HOUSE: A packed house at the Falleti Ice Arena is just one of many times it fills the bleachers for events each year.

In this tough economy, getting people to spend money may be a hard thing to come about, as they are looking to cut back on expenses. This weekend at the Falleti Ice Arena, it showed that one area people didn't cut back on was youth sports and hockey tournaments. This weekend the Genesee Amateur Hockey Association (GAHA), hosted the Batavia Winter Classic Tournament and the turnout was one that had a positive effect on Batavia and Genesee County.

The tournament ran from Friday through Sunday and brought in teams from Buffalo, Rochester and Oswego in the Pee Wee A and B divisions, which is the age group for kids ages 11 and 12. There were a total of 8 teams that were in the tournament including two of the Batavia teams.

"Teams come into town, get hotels for the weekend, go out to eat and shop at the stores in the area in between their games." said tournament director John Hylkema. "They are spending money here".

How much are they spending? "I spent way more than I wanted to, but it's for the kids so I'm doing it for them" jokes Tom Strenberg who came to support the Oswego team. "There was the cost of the hotel (2 nights), meals all three days, and snacks here (at the rink). All the money is spent so the kids can have an enjoyable time." 

GAHA hosts about 7 tournaments each hockey season and this year, they will have the privilege to host the Midget 19-U New York State Championships in March which will bring teams from all over the state.

"These events at least double the spending at the concessions here and people are going to Timmy Ho's (Tim Horton's), Tully's, and other restaurants are making money too." says rink manager Bob Filighera.

The team from Oswego had plans to stop by the Miss Batavia diner and some of the team from the Buffalo Regals wanted to tryout TF Brown's and Sport of Kings in between their two games on Saturday.

GAHA tournaments aren't the only reason teams come to the rink. Each week many of the teams have league games that draw teams from Rochester and Buffalo area.

Both the local high school teams, Batavia Ice Devils and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish bring in out of town crowds as well including this weekend when the Ice Devils hosted Saranac/Peru and Notre Dame earlier this season hosted Eastchester/Bronxville/Tuckahoe in addition to the usual teams from the Rochester area.

Beginning today, Monday January 18th, you will be seeing more and more of that big red bus around town. Four local pastors have teamed up with Care-A-Van to travel around the city on Monday and Tuesday mornings.  .

The above sign is the sign that will be outside the bus greeting folks.  There is  no set schedule for where the bus will be on the morning outings. Paul along with the team will just allow the spirit to move them as to where they should go for the day.

The ministry has just seen the need increasing and growing for people that are hurting and need  encouragement. prayer and just someone to talk to. Inside the bus there will be hot coffee, treats, but most of all wonderful pastors that will talk and pray with the people.

The Pastors that have volunteered their time are Pastor Mark Perkins of Oakfield-Alabama Baptist Church, Pastor Dale Gooch of Emmanuel Baptist, Pastor Larry Becker of City Church and Pastor Charlie Piscitello of Batavia Christian Fellowship church.

Paul Ohlson , founder of the ministry stated the bus needs to be more mobile and

going out more often, and more days of the week,  but to do this we need Pastors that are willing to volunteer time. If there are any Pastors that would like to become involved on the morning outings, please contact Paul at 343-0328.

Also there are many different volunteer opportunites within the ministry as well for people.  Care-A-Van will be at the local Be A Star- Local Volunteer Fair being held at the Senior Center today from 4:00 PM-6:00 PM.  Be sure to stop by and say hello!

A special thanks to these Pastors for helping get the bus rolling. A special thanks to all of you for your continued support of Care-A-Van.

As the sign says, "God Cares and So Do We" !

If you think you don't have a creative bone in your body, you haven't been to Art Ah La Carte yet.

Kimberly Argenta says she can teach anybody to create art.

"People have come in and said, 'I have no talent. I don’t know how to do anything,'" Argenta said. "I’ve actually had people come in and watercolor for the first time and their work comes out beautiful. They say they don’t have any creativity, yet I can pull it out of them. I believe everybody has creativity, you just have to find the right medium.”

Argenta has turned her passion for art and teaching into a business at the new Artisan Center at 56 Harvester Ave., Batavia.

Classes started this week and cover a range of mediums, from painting to paper mache. Art Ah La Carte also has classes on altered tins, beading, drawing and turning old junk into art.

Caledonia artist Robert Garland is helping Argenta and teaching drawing. He said getting involved in Art Ah La Carte has sparked his own creativity.

Among the students in class on Friday evening was Linda Carson, who raised her hand when Argenta spoke about students coming in thinking they had no talent. She completed two watercolors so far, one in class and one at home, and she seemed to think the second one turned out pretty good.

"I thought I would just enjoy expressing myself in painting," Carson said. "I always wanted to try it, but ... " at which point Carson just shrugged.

Art Ah La Carte is open to individual students as well as groups. Argenta said people can form groups for a girls' night out or a guys' night out or any special event, such as a bridal shower.

“I just really felt that the community needed an inexpensive way to come out and enjoy an evening without breaking the wallet, yet they’re learning something," Argenta said.

Art Ah La Carte is part of the new Artisan Center being created by Patricia Hawley for Mancuso Business Development Group at the Harvester Center.

Hawley has been in talks with a number of artists, multimedia companies, writers and others about taking space in the new center.