batavia

Pavilion's H.O.R.S.E Rescue group hosted an event at Tractor Supply, Batavia, today to help raise money for the organization. There were live horses and demonstrations along with horse rides, face painting and a prize drawing.

Pictured are Victoria Gooch and Deb Nanni with their horses. 

Gooch said the group currently has 25 horses up for adoption.

With the recent economic downturn, Gooch said, a lot of people have been giving up their horses because they can't afford to feed them and keep them in good health.

"You can go onto Craigslist and horses are very cheap or free," Gooch said.

Recently, a ranch in Rochester had 75 horses taken away from it and all of those horses now need homes, Gooch said.

Here are some questions for parents of children with special needs: How often do you feel alone or overwhelmed? Do you ever wish you could connect with other parents and find the resources you need to give your kids what they need?

Firsthand experience and awareness of these anxieties are what motivate Lyndy Branton and Melody McMaster in heading up EaGeR -- "Extra Grace Required" -- a parent support group at the North Campus of Batavia's Northgate Free Methodist Church, 8160 Bank Street Road.

Both are mothers of children on the autism spectrum and each week they -- along with McMaster's husband, Sean -- share their experiences and invite other parents to do likewise.

The last meeting was Friday evening in Room A-3 of the Adult Wing. It was an open discussion involving parents whose experiences ranged from that of the mother of a 2-year-old whose diagnosis is still in the works to that of the mother of an autistic teen getting ready for college.

Topics of discussion included:

• Different approaches to telling kids about their own disabilities

• The frustrations and fears of raising autistic children

• Attention to what sorts of things set their children off and what to watch out for

• Prevalent misunderstandings about autism

• Limitations encountered in getting their children the assistance they need

• The experience of dealing with teachers, relatives and even strangers who make them second guess themselves, thinking that they know the children's needs better than the parents do

• When and how to use discipline

• How to encourage kids to use positive ways of getting attention -- by focusing on their talents, etc. -- instead of socially inappropriate behavior

Many EaGeR attendees are the parents of autistic children -- and their children range widely across the autism spectrum -- but the group welcomes and addresses topics that are important to the families of all special-needs children. Many of their meetings are devoted to specific topics, such as IEP (Individualized Education Program) plans, CSE (Committee on Special Education) meetings, family, behavior modification, social skills, diet and treatment.

"It seems like we get a different group every time," McMaster said, "but it always seems to hit the spot. To connect with someone in the same boat and to know you're not alone...that in itself means a lot."

"These meetings seem to have been especially helpful for families who are noticing things in their young children and are trying to get them diagnosed," Sean commented. "It's very helpful to speak with people who have been through the experience and had to overcome a lot of the same obstacles, and just to know that help is available."

Because EaGeR is sponsored by the church, faith is an integral part of its meetings and mission. McMaster, who leads the group in prayer at the end of every meeting, stated that "our Christian faith has had a positive impact on our journey...

"One of our goals is to help prepare the church to work with special-needs kids, who need Jesus Christ as much as anyone else. As Christians, we always have to be ready to deal with them in a merciful way. If they experience rejection at a young age in church, that could make or break their faith."

At the same time, EaGeR is not limited to Christians. All families who struggle with raising special-needs children are invited to attend and to take advantage of the encouragement and support offered by other parents going through similar experiences. McMaster and Branton hold a Christmas party every December as well as a picnic for families in June in order to make people feel comfortable "regardless of where they are in their faith journey" (McMaster's words).

EaGeR meetings take place on the first Friday of every month from 7 until 9 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

For more information, please contact:

Melody McMaster -- 343-4707, or e-mail <samcmaster@juno.com>

Lyndy Branton -- 409-8079, or e-mail <lbranton@mtb.com>

Too many times, says Tim Walton, people would call him about a possible T-shirt order, ask about bringing something by his place of business, and when they found out he was working out of his garage, he'd never hear from them again.

"People thought, 'oh, he's just a teenager, so it's just a hobby for him," Walton said.

That's why Tim decided to open a shop on Main Street -- he figures it will help potential customers take Topline Shirt Company more seriously. In just a week since opening, Walton said, his walk-in traffic has increased.

The front of the retail shop -- in the former space of Millenium Computers (214 E. Main St.) -- will be a retail retro clothing shop operated by Rob Credi. The shop will be called Retro Reserve. Credi and Walton hope that by combining efforts now, it will help both of their businesses grow.

Tomorrow, Saturday, Walton and Credi will host an open house from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for their two businesses.

Coming back from the accident this afternoon, I spotted this old twisted tree on State Street Road near Batavia-Elba Townline Road and thought with the overcast sky it would make an interesting picture.

A patron picks up her baked goods from the bake sale table of the Genesee Christian Academy in the foyer of Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union and Lawley Genesee Insurance. From left are Anthony Conlin, Kenny Cheeseman, Amy Colopy, Allissa Bischoff, holding son Taylor, and Stephen Conlin. The customer left before we got her name.

There are now pots of yellow tulips surrounding the statue of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus in front of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Ellicott Street, Batavia.

BATAVIA, NY -- Congress is behind the times, according to Rep. Chris Lee (NY-26). While society is moving to an increasingly paperless existence, the congressional printing office still delivers five printed copies of every bill to the staff of each bill's co-sponsors.

Those can be pretty hefty tomes -- hundreds of pages long -- to dozens of congressional offices.

And they are bills that usually just get tossed in the garbage or recycling bin, because most legislators and their staff members read and track bills on computers.

At the Genesee ARC recycling center today, Lee announced legislation he hopes will pass to end the practice of printing these copies of bills. He called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has talked before about the "greening of DC" to support the bill, which already has nine Democratic co-sponsors.

"We don't practice what we preach," Lee said.

If passed, Lee said he estimates that the bill would save taxpayers $2.5 million per year.

"This is a win-win," Lee said. "It takes care of our environment and it shows that we’re looking after every penny that comes into our treasury."

As an example, Lee held up all five copies of a recent bill that was 153 pages long and was delivered to the offices of 80 co-sponsors. 

The freshman congressman is concerned that the bill won't be taken seriously in the House, because in an environment were most legislation is dealing with billions or trillions of dollars, $2.5 million is practically "spare change."

"To me, $2.5 million is a lot of money," Lee said. "Unfortunately, there’s this premise that unless it has a “B” or a “T” after it, in Washington, most of the people don’t care."

Joshua K. Williams, 18, of 4 Laura St., Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Williams was reportedly a passenger in a car stopped for alleged traffic violations at 12:50 a.m., Thursday, by Officers Daniel Coffey and Frank Klimjack on Clinton Street. During the stop, it was discovered that Williams allegedly had three outstanding arrest warrants. During a search, officers say they found crack cocaine and marijuana. Possession of controlled substance in the third degree carries the allegation that there was an intent to sell the substance.

Michael Lynn Bropst, 39, 3 1/2 Tracy Ave., upper, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Bropst was stopped by Deputy Brian Thompson at 12:45 p.m. on March 26 on Route 33 for alleged tailgating. Bropst was allegedly found in possession of marijuana during the traffic stop.

Thomas F. Rudolph, 18, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession marijuana. Rudolph was arrested at 4:36 p.m., Wednesday, by State Police in the Town of Batavia. No further details were released.

Billy J. Johnson, 32, of Oakfield, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Johnson was arrested at 8:37 p.m., Wednesday, in the Village of Oakfield by State Police. No further details available.

NOTE: This is an updated version of the story that corrects the implication from the Albany Times-Union story that the Batavia Kmart was involved, and the error in the TU story that warning letters were sent to the stores.

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Six grocery stores in New York -- including one in Batavia -- were notified by the state that some fish products the were selling were apparently overpriced.

The allegation is that the stores were selling seafood packed in ice, and the ice was being weighed so that consumers were paying not just for filets and shrimp, but ice as well.

The Batavia Tops was one of the six stores asked to remove products from its selves and either re-label the packaging or return it to the distributor, a company out of New Jersey, according to Jessica Ziehm, spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Tops reportedly sold fish fillets packed in ice that was counted as part of the weight.

Press release available here.

The City of Batavia and the union representing many its workers have apparently reached a tentative contract agreement.

Details of the agreement with the Civil Service Employees Association have not been released.

The new five-year contract, which will run from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2015, will give union workers graduated raises (no raise in the first year, but a $1,000 bonus and compensation instead), and 2-percent raises in the fourth and fifth year.

The total impact of the raises over the next five years will be $79,000 in additional expense.

New hires will not be able to accrue sick leave to use to purchase health care upon retirement. They will not be able to purchase health care from the city when they retire.

Health care contributions for current workers will increase, with the first-year contribution being 10 percent, then 12.5, then 15, then 17.5, then 20 percent. There are cash incentives, up to $1,000 per employee and spouse, for participation in wellness programs.

New hires will contribute 30 percent to health care, an amount that can be reduced if they participate in wellness programs. If both spouse and employee participate, the total health care contribution by the employee would be reduced by 25 percent.

Information on the settlement is contained in the Batavia City Council's agenda for Monday night. The council will be asked to approve the agreement.

The council meets Monday at 7 p.m.

The Batavian apologizes for the incorrect information in the original version of the story.

The cherry blossoms (or I assume they are cherry blossoms) are in bloom behind the Upton Monument outside the Old Court House at Main and Ellicott streets.

BTW: We still might get thundershowers today and tonight, and there's still a chance of snow on Friday night.

New York's top jurist, Jonathan Lippman, will be in Batavia April 23 for Law Day at the Genesee County Courthouse.

It may be the first time a Chief Judge of the State of New York has visited Batavia.

County Court Judge Robert C. Noonan said a chief judge has never visited Batavia in the 35 years he's been involved in the local legal community, and he doesn't believe a chief judge visited during his father's time practicing law in Batavia, which goes back another 35 years.

"It is possible that this is the first time the Chief Judge EVER came here (of that, I am not certain), but this is a big event and we in the legal community are excited at the prospect of Judge Lippman's visit," Noonan told us in an e-mail.

Noonan anticipates a large turnout, with members from the legal community in Genesee, Wyoming and Orleans counties expected to attend. The event is open to the public, but space will be limited.

The Chief Judge will make a presentation at 9:30 a.m., and the one-hour session is likely to include time for questions and answers in a Town Hall format.

Lippman was appointed to his current position in January 2009 by Gov. David Paterson. Before that, he was Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, First Department. His legal career spans six decades. A full biography is available here.

Recent news items involving the Chief Judge:

• Lippman wrote the opinion on a unanimous decision limiting the scope of police search warrants, prohibiting, in certain cases, the search of persons who just happen to be in a house subject to search.
• Lippman has called the lack of pay raises for the past 10 years for State judges "demoralizing."

The 17-year-old who was allegedly the subject of a manhunt in the City of Batavia on April 2 has been charged with an additional crime stemming from the search.

Christopher Allen Laird, of 30 South St., Le Roy, has been charged with obstructing governmental administration, 2nd.

Batavia Police and Sheriff's Office police, at least one State Trooper and a State Police helicopter were out looking for Laird the morning of April second in the area of State and North streets.

Laird was not captured that day, but was arrested in Le Roy on April 5. Laird was wanted on a warrant for alleged violation of probation stemming from a burglary charge.

Laird was the subject of a manhunt, also involving the State Police helicopter, on Sept. 23, 2008, following a burglary, 3rd, charge. Laird reportedly went missing a few days before, and was spotted in Elba. He was eventually found, according to reports, at a Transit Road residence where he had been accused of stealing a Polaris Trail Blazer off-road four-wheeler.

The Sheriff's Office put out a wanted notice for Laird on Feb. 2. He apparently remained at large until his arrest a few days ago.

Laird is being held without bail. His next scheduled court appearance is April 14.

Fast action by three people on Swan Street this evening saved a Batavia man from possible serious injury after a car he was working on slipped off a jack and trapped him.

The man, Dean Case, started yelling and two men nearby heard him as well as two boys.

The boys, Peter and Philip, ran to get their mom, Kim Koziol, who called 9-1-1. Jeremy Fitzsimmons and his friend Josh Fye, who was visiting from Darien, rushed to see what was going on.

They said all they could see was Case's legs sticking from under the car. Fitzsimmons ran to get a jack and Fye pushed the car from behind to keep it from rolling back further onto Case. Koziol then came with two wheel ramps and pushed them behind the rear tires to help hold the jacked-up vehicle in place.

Case, who was working on his transmission, stood up immediately after he was pulled from under the vehicle, and he was fully conscious. Fitzsimmons said his first words were, "Next time, I'm calling L&L."

A short time later, Officer John Zola and Batavia Fire personnel arrived on scene. Mercy EMS transported Chase to UMMC for evaluation.

Fitzsimmons and Fye demurred when asked if they were heroes. "We were just in the right place at the right time," Fye said.

A two-car accident on West Main Street, Batavia, reportedly caused minor injuries.

The two cars have pulled into the Parisee's parking lot and West Main is not blocked.

City Fire and Mercy EMS are responding.

This minivan became disabled as it turned from East Main Street to Bank Street, Batavia, and was partially blocking the intersection.

A Batavia police officer arrived, spoke with the driver, the boy got out of the passenger side and helped the officer push it out of the way.

Jared Michael Stalker, 26, of 8874 Hartshorn Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, failure to keep right, and consumption or possession of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Stalker was stopped by Sgt. Brian Frieday at 4:11 a.m., Saturday, on Hartshorn Road in Batavia.

Vincent J. Monteiro, 31, of Buffalo, is charged with DWI. Monteiro was stopped by State Police on the Thruway in Le Roy at 3:09 p.m., Saturday.

Accidents from the State Police blotter:

9:28 a.m., April 4, Arrow Hawk parking lot (Bloomingdale Road), Alabama, two vehicles; Driver 1: Richard A. Ferris, 55, of Interlaken; Driver 2: Zulfiqar A. Syed, 44, of Rochester. No injuries reported.

3:29 p.m., April 4, Kendall Road, Le Roy, two vehicles; Driver 1: Cortney Lee Green, 16, of Byron; Driver 2: Russell A. Lyons, 49, of East Bethany. No injuries reported.

Murrie Hokenson sent along this picture of a tree that fell in his neighbor's yard on Sunday.  The neighbors are the Szczesnys, and one son was visiting from New Jersey. His car was narrowly missed by the falling limb. The other son, Father Szczesny, normally parks right where the tree fell, but was tied up with Easter duties at the time.

With a nod of approval (no official vote could be taken) from the Legislature's Human Services Committee today, Marilyn Drilling and Barb Toal are ready to push forward with plans for a peace garden next to the Holland Land Office Museum.

They need to raise $55,000 in the next 11 months, and Drilling said a key component of the fundraising campaign will include a dinner with Terry Anderson as the keynote speaker.

Anderson, who was held captive in Lebanon for more than 6 years, from 1985 to 1991, hasn't visited his hometown of Batavia in 19 years.

He didn't want to make it 20, said Drilling, executive director of HLOM, and he agreed to support the peace garden effort at no cost to the organizers.

"Who better to talk about peace than a man who spent so much of his wonderful life behind locked doors," Drilling said.

The dinner is planned for Sept. 9.

The county owns the land next to the museum and must approve any new use of the strip of real estate hard against the Tonawanda Creek. To grant approval, the Legislature must receive a finished plan, which includes at least the potential of approvals from the City of Batavia and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as contract language from County Attorney Charles Zambito and final engineering plans.

Without that, the Human Services Committee couldn't even poll members for consensus, but it was clear there were no objections from members for pushing forward with the project.

"Of all the people I've heard talk about it, I don't think I've heard anybody say they're not in favor of it," said Hollis Upson. "It's very interesting the amount of outpouring and number of volunteers who support it. It's been vary contagious."

Drilling is concerned that without a sense that the county supports the project, it will impede fundraising, which needs to proceed now.

There are 20 countries with official Peace Gardens, which is an international effort to promote and recognize peace among nations. The Peace Garden Foundation promotes the effort and was founded by current president Paula Savage, a resident and native of Batavia. The Batavia garden would be an honorary, not official, member. It would feature the 20 flags of the countries with official gardens.

Each country would be represented by its flag, and flag poles would be sold for donations of about $2,500 each, according to Drilling.

Drilling sees the peace garden as a natural extension of HLOM, helping to bring in tourists.

Toal, who chairs the local Peace Garden Committee, said it's a natural fit for Batavia and the strong interest in the region from War of 1812 enthusiasts.

Batavia, she said, served as a key defense in stopping the British advance after Buffalo was destroyed. Many tourists interested in the War of 1812 make the trip to Batavia, she said, and the peace garden at HLOM would be an appropriate destination point.

No county funds would be used in building and maintaining the peace garden, which is why, Drilling said, it's important to get started on fundraising now.