batavia

A car vs. bicycle accident with unknown injuries is reported in Downtown Batavia on Bank Street near Alva Place. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.

Press release:

A first-of-its-kind, free program is being offered at the Walmart in Batavia. It’s called Walmart Community Academy, and Walmart is offering no-cost classes (virtual, for now) to all community members age 16 or older on the following subjects:

• Personal finance
• Resume building
• Interview skills
• Standardized test prep
• Navigating college admissions

Notable highlights for future courses include:

• Taxes
• Entrepreneurship
• Civic engagement

Free enrollment is open right now. 

As background, Walmart has a network of 200 Training Academies nationwide, including one in the Walmart Supercenter in Batavia. In these, we’ve set up instructional environments with dedicated training staff to train Walmart associates on essential retail skills and lay a path for individual career growth.

Our long-term goal is to use these academies to also help our communities, and this marks an initial step.

Press release:

As players and coaches reported to Dywer Stadium on Tuesday, they were determined to give the fans what they deserved on “Guaranteed Win Night” at the ballpark. Mission accomplished after a 10-1 route of the Elmira Pioneers to get back in the win column.

Pitchers allowing walks, errors in the field, and leaving too many runners on base have been the Muckdogs kryptonite ever since their last victory against the Pioneers at Dunn Field on opening night.

Tonight, Batavia checked off all the boxes to the winning formula, limiting the number of walks to six, playing error-free baseball, and tallying 13 hits.

Reliever Tyler Prospero explained his opinion of the team’s recent struggles saying, “we talked in the clubhouse today and we don’t feel like we’ve lost a game yet. There are some serious competitors and dogs in that clubhouse who come out and work their tails off every day.”

Prospero was crucial to tonight’s success for the Muckdogs, as the Niagara Purple Eagle pitcher pitched a scoreless three and a third innings, two walks, and two strikeouts out of the pen. The Batavia native did not have an ideal debut this past Friday against Elmira. Once the nerves settled down today, you could see that Prospero was locked in and that “dog mentality” held Elmira to just one run and four hits.

Julian Pichardo picked up the win as the Coastal Alabama CC right-hander had another masterful start against Elmira. In his first start of the season against the Pios, Pichardo went four and two-thirds scoreless frames with nine strikeouts and three hits given up. Tonight the Muckdogs ace was still very effective throwing five innings on four hits, one run, and two strikeouts.

After the lethal Muckdogs lineup came back down to Earth the past two games only mustering up five runs and seven hits, Batavia broke things open in the fourth and fifth innings scoring four runs in each inning. Second baseman Caden Walton got things rolling with a leadoff double in the fourth, as he would be driven in by cleanup hitter Daniel Burroway to tie the game at one.

In the next at-bat, shortstop Charlie Szykowny would slice a ball down the left-field line that would score Burroway as the flood gates opened for Batavia. Batavia would score 10 unanswered runs as they continued to put the ball in play against the Pioneer bullpen after starter Holden Wilder ran into turbulence in the fourth.

Instead of pressing the panic button Monday following the 13-3 loss in an exhibition game against the Mansfield Destroyers, skipper Joe Martinez and assistant coach Tony Brewington decided a better course of action would be to motivate their team to reach their full potential. After having deep conversations with both the hitters and the pitching staff, the Muckdogs saw it as a learning experience to build off and learn from the adversity that comes with a three-game losing streak.

Elmira’s win streak was stopped at three in Monday night, as Batavia has been the thorn in their side up to this point with both losses this season coming at the hands of the Muckdogs. With five errors Tuesday night, Elmira will try to get their revenge against Batavia as they host the Muckdogs Wednesday at Dunn Field.

First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. and can be viewed on YouTube Live by subscribing to BataviaMuckdogBaseball. Make sure to follow our Twitter @BataviaMuckdogs and liking our Facebook Page, “BataviaMuckdogBaseball.”

Photos by Jim Burns. For more photos, click here.

Tristine Vanice and her children, Londyn and Carter, spotted a momma duck and her babies crossing Ellicott Street this evening and two of the ducklings got left behind, Vance said.

She called the nonemergency number for dispatch and Officer Wes Rissinger, Batavia PD, responded to assist with the rescue. 

Photo submitted by Tristine Vanice.

Batavia parents and students protest mask policy at Upton Monument.

A two-car accident with minor injuries is reported at East Main and Cedar streets in the city. City fire, Mercy medics and police are responding.

Dozens of flags in a "Field of Thanks," honoring those who served our community during the pandemic as well as military veterans, has been installed in front of the St. James Episcopal Church in Batavia.

On Sunday, there was an opening ceremony for the field of flags, which will be on display and open to self-guided tours until June 13 at 5 p.m., when there will be a closing ceremony.

Each flag is accompanied by a plaque depicting the story of an essential worker, law enforcement officer, other first responders, and armed forces members.

Visitors during those hours will also be able to stop by a staffed information table where a map will help them find familiar names of locals from World War I through the present. 

Net proceeds will be divided between two nonprofits: WNY Heroes and Meals on Wheels.

Press release:

Batavia’s losing streak extends to four as the Mansfield Destroyers, a team in the NYCBL, beat them 13-3 Monday night. The game will not count toward the Muckdogs PGCBL record due to it being a crossover game between two different summer baseball leagues in New York.

The Muckdogs came out of the gates hot at home with a two-run bottom of the first after hits by outfielders Spencer Marcus and Abner Benitez. Mansfield, who was playing their first game of the entire season, tied the game in the third due to back-to-back doubles from Villanova catcher John Whooley and left fielder Tyler Castelli.

Batavia would answer in the bottom of the frame as Charlie Szykowny would reach via a throwing error by second basemen Randall Hiem that would score Ethan Frasca to take the lead. As starting pitcher Kyle Kohlhafer’s day game to close after allowing four hits and one earned run in four innings, things went south for the Muckdogs in the fifth.

As we have seen multiple times so far this year, opponents have put up crooked numbers against relief pitchers due to walking too many base runners. Mansfield would score five funs in the fifth to take the lead, and tack on four more in the seventh to increase their lead to 11-3. In those two blow-up innings, Batavia allowed nine runs on just four hits and two errors. The Destroyers lead would grow to double digits after right fielder Theron Schilling’s RBI double was Mansfields 10th hit of the ballgame.

Marcus would pick up Batavia’s only other hit of the contest with an opposite-field single to right field in the fifth. Even with only three total hits, Batavia could not cash in one of their eight runners left on base that reached via walks, hit by pitch, and errors. The Mansfield pitching staff of Vaughn, Shimp, Higgerson, and Kahn struck out 11 Muckdogs in the outing as well.

The Muckdogs will play home yet again tomorrow against the Elmira Pioneers who have won four straight games after losing to the Dogs 7-0 on opening night. It will be “Guaranteed Win Night” at Dwyer Stadium as all fans in attendance will receive a free ticket to a game later in the season if the Muckdogs fall to the Elmira.

First pitch tonight night will be at 7:05 and can be viewed on YouTube Live by subscribing to BataviaMuckdogBaseball. Make sure to follow our Twitter @BataviaMuckdogs and liking our Facebook Page, “BataviaMuckdogBaseball.”

Make sure to secure your ticket by calling the box office at (585) 524- 2260 or come to Dwyer Stadium today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Batavia Players cut the ribbon on Sunday night on the company's new dance studio in City Centre.

Director Pat Burk called it a state-of-the-art facility. 

Cutting the ribbon is dance student Lucy LeFevre along with instructor Briana Blair Kelly while students Jocelyn Coburn and Samantha Balbi hold the ribbon.

Batavia's graduating seniors were feted with a parade, led by City fire, through the city on Saturday.

Photos by Eileen Ognibene.

Major Stash Cigar, on Liberty Street in Batavia, teamed up with the American Warrior Festival to honor veterans on Saturday with a cigar night featuring acoustic music from The Remediators and Joel Russlett.

Photo: Dan Clor, director of the American Warrior Festival, and Doug Palmer, owner of Major Stash Cigar.

Lynn Scarpa, 25, of Le Roy, was arrested June 4 after a five-car collision on North Main Street in the Village of Castile. Scarpa was driving a white 2004 Chevrolet Silverado southbound on North Main Street when her vehicle left the roadway, sideswiping a parked vehicle in front of the post office. Scarpa's vehicle continued southbound, striking a Ford work van from behind, which was also parked in front of the post office. Scarpa's vehicle pushed the work van into a Ford Fusion, which was parked in front of Carney's Market, which then struck a Toyota RAV4 that was parked in front of it. The Fusion was occupied and the occupant was transported by Castile Ambulance to the Wyoming County Community Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. A tow company removed two vehicles from the scene that were not drivable. It is alleged that Scarpa had concentrated cannabis in her pants pocket and throughout her vehicle. She allegedly performed poorly on field sobriety tests and was taken into custody, transported to the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office and evaluated by a Drug Recognition Expert. The expert reportedly deemed her impaired by multiple categories of drugs. She is charged with: driving while ability impaired by drugs; DWAI by the combined influence of drugs; and moving from lane unsafely. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Town of Castile Court on June 14. Scarpa was released to a sober third party. The case was handled by Wyoming County Sheriff's Sgt. Colin Reagan.

Michael Snyder, 49, is charged with second-degree harassment. He was arrested June 3 at 9:59 a.m. for an incident that occurred at 10:10 p.m. May 30 on Highland Park in Batavia. Snyder allegedly threw an unopened can of beer at another person, striking the person in the head. Snyder was processed, issued an appearance ticket and released. He is due in Batavia City Court June 22.

Kevin McCoy, 54, was arrested by Batavia Police Officer Peter Post and charged with second-degree harassment after a disturbance at 4:11 p.m. June 2 on East Main Street. It is alleged that McCoy struck a female during an argument. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court, released on his own recognizance and is due back in court June 10.

Eric Swede, 32, was arrested at 10:05 a.m. May 26 and charged with criminal contempt in the second degree after a complainant alleged he violated a stay away order of protection by being in the presence of a protected party. His presence was confirmed by police. Swede was issued an appearance ticket to be in Batavia City Court at a later date, then released from custody.

Brandon Crawford, 19, is charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief. He was arrested at 10:50 a.m. May 24 on Ross Street in the City of Batavia after he allegedly broke a front door and a closet door that did not belong to him during a domestic incident on Vine Street. Crawford was arraigned in city court and released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court July 8.

Michael Fisher, 51, is charged with: operating a motor vehicle without a license; driving while intoxicated with a BAC of .08 percent or more; driving without head lamps; drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle; and aggravated unlicensed operation in the third degree. At 10:33 p.m. on May 30, Fisher was arrested after a traffic stop on Ellicott Street in the city. He was issued an appearance ticket for Batavia City Court and released from custody.

Kyle John Gugel, 35, of Genesee Street, Le Roy, is charged with refusal to take a breath test and driving while intoxicated. At 1:52 a.m. on May 18, deputies conducted a traffic stop for speeding over 55 mph in the 5700 block of Clinton Street Road in the Town of Stafford. Gugel was allegedly operating the vehicle while intoxicated and he was issued appearance tickets returnable to Stafford Town Court June 1. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Zachary Hoy, assisted by Deputy Nicholas Chamoun. 

Joanne Krutchen Harper, 56, of County Road 16, Dalton, is charged with petit larceny. She was arrested at 4:32 p.m. on June 3 after a police investigation into a larceny on Vallance Road in the Town of Le Roy May 30. She was issued appearance tickets and released from custody. Harper is due in Le Roy Town Court on June 17. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jenna Ferrando, assisted by Deputy Jonathan Dimmig.

Lindsey Densmore, 26, was arrested May 31 and charged with petit larceny after an investigation into the theft of $166.38 worth of merchandise from a business in the City of Batavia at 4:20 p.m. that day. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court at a later date.

Tierance Davis, 34, was arrested May 26 on a bench warrant out of Batavia City Court for failing to appear in court on March 22. He was processed at Batavia Police Headquarters and released. Davis is due back in court June 15.

Tierance Davis, 34, is charged with third-degree bail jumping. He was arrested at 1 p.m. April 24 on West Main Street in Batavia on a warrant out of Batavia City Court. He was processed at Batavia Police Headquarters and released. Davis is due back in court June 15.

An officer is responding to BJ's Wholesale Club for a report of a dog locked inside a yellow Chevy Cavalier. It's 83 degrees outside now.

A reader spotted this young couple dancing in the parking lot of Towne Center at Batavia off Veterans Memorial Drive shortly after 9 p.m., Saturday.

He said, "It was a cool moment. Most of the plaza was closed and they were just out there by themselves. You could hear the music from the car radio. Right after I snapped that picture, the guy spun her around. I wish I had waited a split second more. Made me smile."

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is investigating a personal injury motorcycle accident that occurred on Saturday, June 5, at approximately 2:30 a.m. in front of 7 Main St.

The motorcyclist was traveling eastbound on West Main Street at an excessive speed. The motorcyclist failed to navigate the curve on West Main Street at Ellicott Street, striking the curbing in front of the Upton Monument.

The motorcyclist was ejected from the motorcycle, coming to rest in front of 7 Main St. The motorcyclist was transported by Mercy Flight to ECMC where the motorcyclist was listed as stable with non-life-threatening injuries.

The investigation is ongoing and the Batavia Police Department will not be releasing the name of the motorcyclist at this time.

The Batavia Police Department would like to thank the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, City of Batavia Fire Department, Mercy EMS, and Mercy Flight Air Crew for their assistance with the initial investigation. 

Press release:

The City of Batavia Water Dept. is responding to a water main break at the corner of South Swan and Sumner streets.

The water will be shut off on South Swan from Ellicott to Hutchins, and on Hutchins from South Swan to Hutchins. It will be off from approximately 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Water in the surrounding area may become discolored. Please refrain from doing laundry during this time period.

We appreciate everyone’s patience while the repairs are being made.

City fire is on scene of a small porch fire at 202 S. Swan St., Batavia.

No information is available at this time on the cause of the fire.

Memories have a way of making you shed the years and return to the times when you were young. Life was simple and uncomplicated then. It doesn't matter what decade; many of us share a similar memory of a corner grocery store in Genesee County.

They all were a little different in size but carried the same items. It depended on where you lived, and this determined which store was considered your grocery store. At one time, there was a mom-and-pop store on almost every corner.

We would load up the wagon with pop bottles that we could return for money. If we had 20 bottles, we could earn 40 cents, and that could buy a whole bag of candy!

The excitement was when you would ask to see the box of penny candy. You could choose from many sugary treats such as Chum Gum, Pixy Sticks, Tootsie Rolls, wax lips, Bazooka bubble gum, and Safety Pop suckers, to name only a few. For a nickel, you could also buy a giant chocolate bar.

When was the birth of the mom and pop stores? One advertisement for such a store dated back to 1841. The ad stated that G. Diamond had a store that sold groceries and liquor. In 1871 Dailey's store was located at 28 and 30 Main St. In 1877, Charles G. Huggins had a store at 64 Main St. called Choice Groceries. Combs and Kerslake had a meat market and grocery store in 1889. Another store, L.C. Lorish Store, was located at 21-23 Jackson St. in 1890.

The Oriental Company at 43 Main St. sold tea, coffee and baking powder. There was a Jones Central Market at 5 Jackson St., J.S. Callahan Grocery at 26 Main St., and Kellogg Grocery on Oak and West Main streets. The Phelps Store was located at 113 Main St. The Flatiron Cash Grocery building was moved from Pearl Street to another retail location on the same street.

Caito brothers had a store at 56 Main St.; they sold fruits and vegetables. John S. Brown of 18 Main St. served customers from 1890 to 1928. Casey Brothers store at 118 Main St. was the longest-running store. They were in business for 40 years.

The city directories for 1939 show there were 25 mom-and-pop stores operating that year. In 1940 there were 23 stores open. The figures jumped dramatically in 1947 to 42 stores. In 1959 there were 22 stores, and then in 1968, there were only 19 stores. By 1975 there were 21 stores, and in 1988 there were just five. Sadly in 1995, only two stores remained.

The names of the stores often changed, but the locations stayed the same for many years. An example would be the store on Oak Street. In 1939 it was called Burch's. Later it became Reinhardt's, then the Short Stop.

Do you remember going to a store on Washington Avenue that you had to walk downstairs to the basement to reach the store? In 1947 it was owned by Regina Murphy and was called Downy's. I remember the store when it was known as Quartley's. Guastaferro and Pelletteries owned a store at 103 Jackson at different times. Johnston Food Store was located at 106 W. Main St. Later this store was called Corrigans.

On Main St., there was Ashes Grocery and Peter's delicatessen. On the corner of Bank and North streets was Lambert's Northside Grocery. That was where my friend Cathy and I, on a snow day, walked in a blizzard to buy Beatles cards in the '60s.

There were two stores on Ross Street -- 13 Ross and 132 Ross. The latter store changed hands many times from John Lowe to Howard Lentz, Samuel Caito, Hart and Hart, Red and White, Cummings, and then to Say's Grocery. You can't forget Perk's Red and White on the corner of Hutchins and Ellicott. Scaffetta's was on the corner of Maple and Evans Street.

I remember Bill's Meat Market at 208 Swan St. Like many others, I would go in there and buy my meat in the '70s. Bill would let you charge your purchases, and his bookkeeping method was unique. He would use meat-wrapping paper to record what customers bought and owed. When you paid your bill, he would cross off your name. Previous owners were Casimer Krause and Edwin Kiebala.

The store at 162 Jackson also had many owners. Sara Brown and Charles McNall were owners of this store in the '60s.

On the corner of Liberty and Ellicott streets was a store that had many owners. In 1937 Rose Maniace was the owner; it later changed hands and was called Bennett's Grocery. It later became known as Pieo Grocers. Salvadore Marchese and later the Riccobonos owned it for many years. Another fond memory I have was going in there as a young girl and watching my father buy Italian cheese for our Sunday meals. Now known as Southside Deli, it has been a landmark in this area for many years.

The one store that was a constant was Granger and Company. That was the tall building located at 17-23 Evans St. This was where most of these mom-and-pop stores bought the food items to sell. Granger's was a wholesale grocer and served small grocery stores and restaurants. It was initially a mill where flour was made and also had two roundhouses on the property.

Today, the last roundhouse is a UR Medicine Primary Care office.

As with the birth of the mom-and-pop store, we also have their deaths. One by one, these little landmarks would close their doors, taking with them the memories of family-owned establishments. Inevitably the big stores came to Batavia. Loblaws, Super Duper, Star Market, Jubilee, and Tops were the big names in grocery stores.

Today we have Tops Friendly Market, Save-a-Lot, and Aldi for grocery shopping. We still have corner stores, but larger supermarkets usually own them, not individual families.

I was inspired to write this story about the early stores because my father-in-law worked at Granger's for 47 years. He knew where every mom-and-pop store was located and all of the former owners by name. He had wonderful stories to go along with each store; I only wish I had written them all down.

This article is dedicated to Henry F. Starowitz Sr., the wholesale grocer who kept the mom-and-pop stores' shelves filled with groceries.

Please note that this article only contains the names of the stores for the years: 1939, `40, `47, `59, `61, `68, `75, `88, `95, and 2000. This is just a sampling of the mom-and-pop stores that were in Batavia. I know that all of the hamlets, villages, and towns in Genesee County have their mom-and-pop store memories, too.

This article is from my book "Back In the Day, Snapshots of Local History, The Way I See it."

Photos from the Genesee County History Department and Holland Land Office Museum.

Editor's note: Slight changes have been made to reprint this article.