batavia

A state audit of the Batavia City School District found that through apparent accounting errors, some employees have been overpaid and the district has tended to over estimate expenses and under estimate revenue, resulting in an operating surplus of $6 million.

"As a result, we identified $7.3 million which has been inappropriately placed in reserves but rather should be used to benefit taxpayers," the audit report states. "Had these practices not occurred, and had District officials complied with statutory limitations for retained fund balance, the excess could have been used for District operations, or to fund necessary reserves or to reduce the tax levy."

The district plans to take corrective action, according to both the report and a press release from the district.

Those were the only two nicks on the report, which district officials otherwise characterized as favorable audit.

"The audit report delivered to the Board of Education was very positive. No graft, corruption, or misappropriation of public funds was identified," district officials said in a press release.

Our audit compares very favorably to other school district audits across the state. Other districts have been cited for administrative actions without Board approval, weaknesses in internal controls and purchasing, District actions without voter approval.  We have not been cited for any of these issues.  This audit reflects the hard work that has been done in our District to ensure that the public can trust that the District officials and Board of Education take their fiduciary responsibility very seriously.

The payroll errors, as uncovered by The Division of Local Government and School Accountability of the Office of the State Comptroller of New York, amounted to $50,000 in "improper or unsupported payments." 

Auditors reviewed payroll records for 17 employees, and reported, "Ten employees, or 59 percent, were overpaid or received compensation which was not provided for in the applicable contracts or supported by sufficient documentation."

The district's press release:

The Comptroller’s report highlights several payroll findings, which appear to be overstated when the specific findings were investigated by District staff. The actual legitimate findings amount to less than one tenth of one percent of the total payroll processed over the two year period. There is always room for improvement and we are planning to take several steps to reduce any potential risk for error.

As for the surplus funds, the district says:

The essence of this comes down to the simple fact that the District budgets conservatively, never overestimating its potential revenues or underestimating its potential expenses. This practice allows for flexibility should an unforeseen financial hardship arise, but often results in legitimate surplus.  The District has used this surplus to maintain a stable tax levy and to fund authorized reserves.  Even though the Comptroller’s Report views this negatively, there appears to be an inherent contradiction since these accounts are promoted as providing many benefits to municipalities and their citizens (www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/lgmg/reserves.pdf).  No doubt conservative budgeting practices have allowed us to position ourselves to maintain our educational program even in difficult financial times without turning to tax increases.

Download: Full Audit Report (PDF)

Wayne R. Freeman, 33, of 8545 East Ave., Gasport, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree. Freeman was also reportedly cited for "multiple" equipment violations ("too many to list," states the Sheriff's Office report). Freeman was reportedly driving on Route 77 in Pembroke when Deputy Kevin McCarthy spotted his vehicle with an alleged broken tail light. Upon stopping Freeman, McCarthy discovered that Freeman's license was previously revoked for a prior DWI conviction and that Freeman was allegedly violating the terms of his conditional release. McCarthy then determined that Freeman was allegedly driving drunk. Freeman was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Peter B. Burton, 51, 360 Seward St., Rochester, was arrested and charged on a warrant for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in connection with an incident on May 22. In its press release, Batavia Police did not specify the nature of the alleged incident. Burton was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Nicole M. DellaPenna, 23, of 3842 Rose Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a controlled substance. DellaPenna was allegedly found in possession of marijuana and cocaine during an investigation of a suspicious vehicle parked on Farwell Drive.

William J. Cassidy, 28, of 107 State St., upper, Batavia, is charged with loitering. Cassidy allegedly refused to leave the area of 20 Center St. after being asked to do so by police.

James Joseph Laudico, 19, of 1055 Sliker Road, Pembroke, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Laudico was reportedly a passenger in a vehicle stopped for an alleged traffic violation by Deputy Patrick Reeves. Reeves reportedly found marijuana in Laudico's left front pants pocket.

Kaitlyn Ann Kelly, 22, of 4079 Connecticut Ave., Island Park, is charged with petit larceny. Kelly allegedly stole $53.49 in merchandise from Target.

Allison Irene Thomas, 19, of 15 Robert Quigley Road, Scottsville, is charged wih petit larceny. Thomas allegedly stole $78.47 in merchandise from Target.

Ramon Cortes-Vasquez, 60, of Elba, was arrested by State Police in Elba on Friday at 2:42 p.m. on an unspecified arrest warrant. The State Police blotter item classifies the case as "immigration." It also says it is not a criminal investigation. The arrest took place at State Route 98 and Mechanic Street. Cortes-Vasquez was held without bail.

The cast of "The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring" (photo by Daniel Crofts)

“Terror!”

“Intrigue!”

“Romance, blooming like a lotus in the springtime…”

Entire cast in unison: “What?!?”

“Just kidding.”

There you have it — the opening lines of “The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring," the latest play put on by the Drama Club at Batavia Middle School. The first performance took place last night.

The show was directed by Matthew Mayne, English/Drama teacher at Batavia High School, and starred 22 BMS students (grades 6-8) in a variety of comedic roles.

From a stage play written by Janie Downey Maxwell, “Missing Ring” centers around a Queen — played by 7^th grader Mica Pitcher — who has lost her royal ring and hires several competing teams of detectives to find it. All of the detectives — from the pratfall-prone, tap-dancing Oliver (Blake Carter) to the nervous, germaphobic Kat (Spencer Hubbard) — prove to be hysterically incompetent.

Mayne, who is certainly no stranger to local theater (see article about his recent Thornton Wilder production at http://tinyurl.com/yknj4bu), began work on the production of "Missing Ring" in late September. He took Maxwell’s play and made of it an opportunity for everyone involved to bring his/her own ideas to the performance.

"We added a lot to this,” Mayne said. “I added some characters that weren’t in the original script. That’s good for me as a director, because then the story has more characters to work with. And it’s good for the kids, because there are more roles available and they can add their own personal touches to the overall performance.”

Additionally, there were numerous jokes and humorous bits that were not in the script.  Mayne said the students “came up with a lot of ideas and put so much of their own unique humor into it.”

In so doing, they drew plentiful laughter from the audience.

Thursday night’s performance was well performed and well received, but the production was far from easy. Because of his extracurricular duties at BHS, Mayne could only devote three days a week to rehearsals. So with a total of only 20 rehearsals, the cast had to exercise a great deal of dedication in order to make the play work.

If this weren’t enough, a number of students became ill during the course of production and had to quit the play. There was even a last-minute cancellation the night before the performance, forcing one of the cast members to learn new lines overnight.

“I’m amazed at how much the kids care about the show,” Mayne said. “They really pulled themselves together.”

The play also featured set designs made by BMS teacher Lucille DiSanto and BMS students Riley Cole, Megan Draper and Kayla Gannon.

“Missing Ring” will have one more performance, this time intended exclusively for BMS students, faculty and staff; this will take place during the school day Monday.

The Christian Students United Group of GCC came out tonight with Care-A-Van Ministries for our monthly visit to the college dorms. Pictured above is Jason and Charles f rom the CSU group with Sonara, who is a member of the GCC Cougars Women Basketball team.

We knocked on all 95 dorm rooms and offered cookies and prayer. Sonara's prayer request was that the team do well on their upcoming game this Saturday.

All students in the rooms were also given a personal invitation to attend the weekly meetings that the Christian Students United group has every Tuesday at 12:30 in room T122. This is a great time to share pizza and fellowship together.

There were many prayer requests this evening. The students are very thankful for the monthly visits , prayers and treats.

A special thanks to Jason, Alan and Charles from CSU for coming out with us tonight.

Go lady Cougars! Good luck Saturday!

Paul Ryan Tenney, who admitted back in September that he stole more than $106,000 from his employer, Elcon, Inc., has still not been sentenced for his crime.

He remains in jail without bail. This afternoon, Judge Robert Noonan gave the 39-year-old Tenney until Dec. 8 to find and secure financing for an in-patient drug-addiction treatment program. If he fails, the judge said he may be forced to "warehouse" Tenney in prison.

The one-time high school athletic star claims he's already completed an in-patient program as required. Trouble is, no one can find any proof of it. His attorney, Gary Horton, said he has no documentation, other than the statements of Tenney's friends and relatives.

Noonan said Tenney was stonewalling, and expressed a great deal of frustration with this case.

"I've tried to figure out how to wake you up to take charge of your life," Noonan said. "You've shown no backbone."

He said Tenney needs to stop making excuses and relying on his relatives for help.

"I could sentence you to five years in prison, but you'd just be five years older," Noonan said.

Tenney's criminal record certainly justifies doing that, the judge said, but numerous people in the community have vouched for Tenney and say he can be redeemed. He just needs to show the judge he is willing make the effort.

I happened to stop by the Holland Land Office Museum today and found a number of trees already ready for Saturday's opening of the Wonderland of Trees. Several local organizations and businesses already have their trees in place and decorated.

These young volunteers were kept busy sorting the jeans

 Recently, the Elba School students helped clothe others with their jeans.

Christine Bucceri and students of the Elba school got together to help and bless others. At a recent school dance instead of the normal admission fee to get in,the students were asked to bring a pair of jeans for admission.

They then delivered the jeans to Care-A-Van Ministsries to bless others that may be in need. I will say it was a huge pile! There had to be over 100 pair of jeans if not more.

A special thanks to Christine and the students at the school for this wonderful donation to the ministry. Those that received the jeans were very appreciative.

What a wonderful creative way to help others!

BATAVIA, NY -- Patricia Hawley, who has a long history of working with the arts community in Genesee County, has been hired by the Mancuso Business Development Group, to create an artisan center at the Harvester Center on Harvester Avenue.

Harvester, formerly known as the Batavia Industrial Center, is the world's first business incubator and helped launch a number of successful businesses since its inception 50 years ago.

“Creating this center is a huge step forward for a community that is so richly steeped in a tradition of fine artists," Hawley said in a statement released by the Mancuso Group. "I’m thrilled to join such a great team of innovative thinkers where, together, we can make art happen.”

Hawley, who submits occasional pieces to The Batavian on issues related to localism and the locavore movement, has extensive experience in arts management, having worked at Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council & Genesee Center for the Arts in Batavia and Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, Mass. Hawley studied communications at SUNY Brockport and volunteers for various organizations including Orleans County Adult Learning Services, Genesee Symphony Orchestra and the Genesee Country Farmer’s Market Association. She is also the owner of Fountain of Youth Organics in Brockport.

From the Mancuso press release:

It is expected that the participants in the new artisan center will be able to take advantage of the programs, rental space, shared equipment, support services and management guidance that contributes to the success of the other entrepreneurial businesses at the BIC.

Patricia Hawley is married to Ted Hawley, current president of the Batavia Rotary Club and a member of the Genesee County Planning Board. Ted is brother of Steve Hawley, our current Assembly representative.

Santa is coming to Oliver's Candies at 211 West Main Street Batavia on November 21st. (this Saturday) from 10am till 2pm.   There will be a petting zoo, Santa (every kid gets an Oliver's Candy Cane) and the Jaycees selling hot dogs, popcorn and hot cocoa.

Bring your kids and camera's!

Ribbon Candy is ready!  Hand made candy canes, Christmas gifts and so much more . . .!

(photo's from 2008)

The retired ambulances of the discontinued service of the Batavia Fire Department are up for auction today.

The ambulances and related items are being sold through the Teitsworth auction site.

A 2008 Ford F350 XLT w/McCoy Miller body and a 6.4-liter diesel engine is bringing in the highest bid so far -- $10,000. The next highest bid is $3,500 for a 2005 Ford F350. The auction closes in a little more than 5 hours.

Bianca Hervey, a 20-year-old student at GCC and former Batavia resident, was put in an awkward, and potentially dangerous, situation by the Attica Police Department recently, according to the Buffalo News.

Hervey, who's only apparent criminal record is a traffic ticket or two, and who was not known to police as a drug user, was apparently coerced into becoming a snitch -- going undercover to help catch drug dealers.

Now, there is little disagreement that illegal drug dealing is a bad thing, but the News rightly editorializes against the Village of Attica Police Department for employing tactics that sound much like those used by the Stasi, the East German Secret Police.

... the apparent drafting of a neophyte drug informant is not only cruel behavior, it is astoundingly bad police work. If the relevant officials are unwilling to strongly renounce what could have been an anomalous misstep in an otherwise professionally run operation, then their own professional judgment must be called into serious question.

The idea that law enforcement officers chasing drug dealers can do absolutely anything they want is itself a kind of drug, one that is as addictive and as destructive of society as any amount of heroin or cocaine.

Hervey was saved the fate of entering an underground world she knows nothing about because her attorney father was able to intervene, but the News reports an unnamed young man was not so fortunate, and now he fears for his safety.

Officer Christopher Graham, who is also the officer accused of trying to recruit Hervey into undercover work, reportedly told the young man that the minor charges against him could keep him out of the military. He offered the youth a way out -- help catch a drug dealer. The young man followed through, according to the News, but when the police asked him to get involved in a second drug deal, the informant refused to cooperate. A short time later, he was arrested for failure to appear on the original charges.

Informants are used by law enforcement all the time. It was an informant that helped local law enforcement break up an apparent meth ring here in Genesee County last week. But reliable informants are usually people who step forward on their own because they know something, or are people recruited from the drug world they already know. 

It seems to smack of incredibly poor judgment and an abuse of power to try and recruit informants from among young people who have little experience either in the drug world or in dealing with the criminal justice system. We trust our local law enforcement officers use better judgment.

Thomas M. Lashure, 42, of 218 North St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to submit to breath test, failure to keep right and failure to use a turn signal. Lashure was stopped at 12:54 a.m. by officer Dan Coffey for alleged traffic violations.  Coffey arrested Lashure on the DWI charges following the traffic stop.

Michelle Lynn Sanders Evans, 28, of 115 S. Main St., lower, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Evans is accused of shoplifting from Wal-Mart.

Kelly Anne Morrison, 36, of 115 S. Main St., upper, is charged with petit larceny. Morrison is accused of shoplifting from Wal-Mart.

However slowly and incrementally, the ball is rolling forward on the Masse Gateway Project.

Tonight, property owner Tom Mancuso presented preliminary development plans to the Batavia Planning Board. The plans, sort of a rough sketch of the project, are the first step in an approval process that will involve a few agency reviews and more than a couple of public meetings.

Tonight's meeting was an opportunity for the planning board to see the plans for the first time and offer feedback, before Mancuso invests fully in project planning.

"We’re trying to move forward as quickly as possible, so the first step was to come here and get a review," Mancuso said after the meeting. "We need to do that before we do an application for a demolition permit, which we would like to do as soon as possible. We’re just finalizing construction funding. And just trying to get the appropriate approval so we can move forward as quickly as possible."

Mancuso said he hopes to have a demolition permit within 30 to 60 days.

The Masse Gateway Project will open up the former Masse/Harvester manufacturing plant to an entrance off Masse Place. The initial opening and refurbishing of the buildings around the entrance will potentially bring new business tenants into that part of the facility and help spur further redevelopment of the property into a mix-used business park.

The project is funded in part by a $1.5 million RestoreNY grant.

Mancuso said there is a lot of interest in the space from prospective tenants, but they do want to know when space will be available.

"The activity’s been good," Mancuso said. "It’s just that the hold-up that will continue to be an issue, is the delivery date. People need to know when we can get them in there and we can’t tell them that right now. There’s plenty of interest. It’s going to be a neat looking space. We’re going to be stymied until we can give them a delivery date."

The project plans will need to be reviewed at a city and county level for environmental impact, drainage, parking, Main-Street access, signage, use of utilities, lighting and code compliance. There are unlikely to be many applications for variances from current code, Planning Board Chairman Ed Jones noted, but he also suggested the City Council may want to take an active role in the environmental review process.

"Given that the source of the funding is coming from the city, this may very well be something that the City Council may want to take on as lead-agency status," Jones said. "This is going to be a high visibility project."

The death of James Maher in Batavia on Nov. 7 brought the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan a little bit closer to home for many of us.

Here was a young man -- Maher was 27 -- who served his country with distinction, but was battling demons that apparently lead him to drink heavily and had friends fearing on that crisp Saturday night that James was out somewhere with thoughts of self destruction swimming through his mind.

Maher came to Batavia looking for help. He was one of more than 150,000 returning Iraq and Afghan war veterans who have reported to a clinic seeking help and answers for PTSD (about another 150,000 vets are estimated to suffer from PTSD, but have not sought help).

In the past year, the Jack H. Hisby, Jr. PTSD Center at the VA Hospital in Batavia has treated 557 men and 84 women in its residential clinic. Another 450 veterans are currently in out-patient treatment, according to Dr. Terri Julian, who runs the clinic.

"These patients are our sons our daughters and our bothers and our sisters and our fathers and our mothers and our aunts and our uncles," Julian said when I spoke with her at the clinic last week. "The fact that they come for treatment, we should be honoring them and patting them on the back for doing that. It’s a hard thing to do."

Until the late 1970s, when the term was coined, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) was largely characterized as "battle fatigue" or "shell shock." It wasn't until Vietnam-era veterans made an issue about what they and their colleagues were experiencing, that PTSD became recognized as a treatable clinical condition.

Nearly 30 years later, two ongoing wars are taking a high toll on active duty soldiers and returning veterans according to recent media reports.

Military leaders acknowledge rampant psychiatric problems in their midst. According to the Army, the suicide rate among soldiers in Iraq is five times that seen in the Persian Gulf War and 11% higher than during Vietnam. The Army reported 133 suicides in 2008, the most ever. In January of this year, the 24 suicides reported by the Army outnumbered U.S. combat-related deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Marine Corps also reported an increase in suicides in 2008, to 41. The Army and Marine Corps have provided most of the troops in the two wars.

After the tragedy at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, PTSD emerged again as a topic of national discussion, with some speculation that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was suffering a form of PTSD stemming from his treatment of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. There is some evidence that doctors who treat patients for PTSD can suffer "secondary trauma."

Regardless of the validity of any condition potentially suffered by Maj. Hasan, the difficulties returning veterans face has largely been ignored by the media.

The Veterans Administration, however, seems to have taken steps to deal with the psychiatric issues of returning veterans and their families.

According to Julian, the VA prepared for an increase of PTSD patients. In Batavia, for example, the residential clinic expanded in 2007 from 16 to 30 beds.

The VA also created a Web site to help families understand the difficult transition many returning vets face.

"Anybody coming back from a war zone is going to have some readjustment needs," Julian said.

The four-week residential treatment at the Batavia clinic is hard and challenging, according to veterans I met at a memorial for Maher on Veteran's Day.

Julian says, yes, in fact, treatment can be hard.

"Of course we don’t like to confront our pain because it hurts," Julian said, "but that’s exactly what we know helps.

"These are folks who go through some pretty awful stuff," Julian added. "They’re survivors and pretty courageous people. The fact that they can talk about how tough it is, we applaud that. We want them to talk about what's tough, about the work."

The treatment involves psychotherapy, group discussions, family meetings, medication, and fitness regimes.

Patients are also taught techniques to help them re-learn how to control anxiety.

There are also opportunities for patients to explore artistic abilities in pictures or music. An area fly-fishing group also offers fly-fishing classes.

“It’s all of the kinds of things that we know work from the research," Julian said.

The doctor is confident that the program is helping the vast majority of men and women who seek treatment.

"I can tell you, moving-on day," Julian said, "which is what we call our graduation, there is a  difference in those men and women who come in feeling disconnected from one another. I think one of the tough things that treatment does is, it lets you connect with your own heart and with other people again. That’s pretty scary after you’ve had losses due to war. When you let yourself do that, you remember what it’s like to feel again."

The clinic treats more than just Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (about 30 percent of the PTSD patients are from those two conflicts). There are also still a number of Vietnam vets who seek treatment for the first time (either they reach retirement and have more time to think or the current wars conjure up suppressed memories), and there are still Gulf War veterans who seek treatment.

She said after 9-11, their was a sharp increase of Korean War vets seeking treatment.

"One last thing I want to say," Julian added near the end of our interview. "It really is a privilege to be here every day and an honor to serve those who served us. I say that on behalf of our entire staff."

It was a day of giving thanks this past Saturday when Care-A-Van was on Central Avenue for Grocery Distribution.  It was one of our busiest days at this location!

We saw over 47 families with a total of 121 family members that were in need of food.

Two young seniors from Kane Area High School in Kane PA, Marissa Walters and Natalee Anderson  were volunteering with us today. They had a thankful box that they used to encourage those in need to share what they were thankful for and any prayer requests they had.  At the end of they day , Elder Ron prayed over the requests. Pictured above is the team and some residents of the neighborhood. We always  pray before leaving a neighorhood.

There were many needs and prayer requests today.

Marissa and a little Robert. Marissa has a dream one day to be a physician asisstant. Today was a great opportuntiy for her to help take care of God's little ones!

A special thanks to Marissa and Natalee for volunteering with us today!

So as the picture says- What are you thankful for today? Hmm- me, this PR Director is thankful for the week-end I had with my daughter and her friend and how they had the opportunity to see the needs of others and how they had a heart to want to make a difference..

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Franklin K. Zimmerman, 75, of 535 Bauman Road, Williamsville, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and driving left of pavement marking. Zimmerman was stopped by Deputy Jason Saile on Lewiston Road in Alabama.

A 17-year-old from Batavia is charged with petit larceny. The youth is accused of stealing $120 in merchandise from Target.

Jordon John Giglia, 20, of 9202 Allegheny Road, Corfu, is charged with criminal contempt and harassment. Giglia is accused of violating a no-offensive-conduct order out of Genesee County Family Court. Giglia allegedly pulled a chair out from under the protected person, causing her to fall and strike her head.