batavia

A man claims his girlfriend struck him with her vehicle in the parking lot behind the Genesee County Jail on Main Street. He reportedly has an arm injury. The driver has since left the scene. City police and Mercy medics are on scene.

A fire alarm has sounded at Willow Hall in College Village, located at 8170 Batavia-Stafford Townline Road. Town of Batavia Volunteer Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 4:38 p.m.: Firefighters on scene report "nothing showing."

UPDATE 4:40 p.m.: The alarm was caused by burnt food in room I-101. The town assignment is back in service.

Submitted by Batavia resident Rachellyn Burek

I learned that my daughter, Zala Marie Cooper, had medical issues at around the age of 3. She has unusual difficulty dealing with change, and gets extremely upset. Her meltdowns can last from minutes to hours.

Zala is an animal lover. She would, and has tried to, take strays in off the street. She loves to draw. But because of her meltdowns, she has very few friends. Little things set her off. It could be a simple thing like a dinner change and she has a meltdown.

We heard about 4 Paws for Ability (a nonprofit agency) and their service dogs. We think obtaining a dog for Zala would be beneficial to her and us. It would be trained to distract and calm her when she has her meltdowns.

4 Paws has a unique approach to placement. They partner with their clients and by doing so can place dogs without a long waiting list. It will cost 4 Paws $22,000 to place a dog with Zala. We are committed to raising $13,000 in support of the 4 Paws mission and can reach our goal with your help.

If you can help us with a tax-deductible donation, please visit 4 Paws Donation Page (http://www.4PawsForAbility.org/donate-now) or mail a check with Zala’s name on the memo line to: 4 Paws for Ability In Honor of Zala Cooper 253 Dayton Ave. Xenia, Ohio 45385.

Melissa Anne Williams, 42, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Williams is accused of stealing $33.57 in merchandise from the Bergen Sugar Creek.

Mark Wayne McWethy, 44, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. McWethy is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.

A former resident of Prestige Circle in Batavia has been indicted in Ontario County of 340 counts of sexual abuse.

Michael S. Lewis is accused of sexually abusing two girls in Bloomfield. According to WGRZ, he entered a not guilty plea in Ontario County Court.

The crimes were alleged to have occurred between April 2010 and November 2011 in two homes in Bloomfield.

The alleged victims were between age 12 and 14.

Lewis, who faces up to a maximum of four life sentences, is being held in Ontario County Jail on $250,000 bail.

The indictment includes eight counts of predatory sexual assault against a child and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child. There were reportedly two children who witnessed the alleged crimes.

The case has been set for trial Feb. 25.

Genesee County lawyers gathered for a photo shoot on the Old Courthouse steps Thursday. This was to conclude the ceremony celebrating the Genesee County Bar Association's 100th Anniversary.

In attendance were Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer (who joined the lawyers in the photo), Assemblyman Stephen Hawley, Genesee County Legislature Chairperson Mary Pat Hancock and professionals from the justice system at the state level.

Hawley and Ranzenhofer presented the proclamation to GCBA President Durin B. Rogers (middle).

Here are some closer views of the lawyers who attended:

For more information on GCBA, visit their Web site: www.gcbany.com.

Robert P. Leiser Jr., is indicted on three counts of aggravated criminal contempt in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, reckless endangerment in the second degree and criminal contempt in the first degree. Leiser is accused of causing serious physical injury to a person under protection of a court order on July 24 in the Town of Alabama. He is accused of hitting the person with a flashlight causing serious physical injury. He is also accused of driving in a reckless manner, at a high rate of speed and without obeying traffic devices, with that person on a motorcycle while the protected person was not wearing a helmet. He is also accused of threatening that person with a flashlight.

Bradley J. Broadbent is indicted on three counts of criminal mischief in the fourth degree, criminal trespass, burglary in the second degree and petit larceny. Broadbent is accused of damaging ceilings in three bathrooms and the sink in one bathroom at the Liberty Square office complex at between 3 and 3:30 p.m., July 6. On the same date, at 4:05 p.m., Broadbent is accused of damaging the door frame and door plate of an apartment on Hutchins Street. He is accused of entering that dwelling without permission. On the same date at 8:13 p.m., he is accused of damaging the exterior door of a residence on Tracy Avenue. He is accused of entering that residence with the intent of committing a crime once inside. He is accused of stealing a pair of shorts and a Buffalo Bills blanket from the residence.

Connie L. King is indicted on a misdemeanor charge of DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation. King is accused of driving drunk May 28 on Dodgeson Road, Alexander. She was previously convicted of driving while ability impaired in June 2009 in the Town of Batavia.

The grand jury also returned a "no bill" (meaning, the grand jury found insufficient evidence to sustain the charges) in the case of Leeann Marchese, who was accused of burglary in the second degree. The charge stemmed from an incident in the Town of Stafford on April 3.

An alarm of fire was reported from Beech Hall at College Village, located at 8170 Batavia Stafford Townline Road. Town of Batavia Volunteer Fire Department is responding. A call-back from the facility indicates the alarm was prompted by burnt food in room B302.

UPDATE 8:55 p.m.: Firefighters are told to bring a box fan to the third floor and a gas fan to the door on the north side of the building.

UPDATE 9:07 p.m.: Having ventilated the stench of burnt food from the entire floor of the dormitory, the volunteer firefighters are back in service, as are the fans.

A Rochester man accused on two different occasions of selling cocaine in Batavia was given a prison sentence of four years Tuesday, and the time will be served concurrently with a prison term he's already serving on Monroe County charges.

Thomas L. Hill Jr., 22, entered a guilty plea June 29 to two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th.

He originally faced four counts of criminal possession of controlled substance, 3rd, following arrests for selling cocaine on Oct. 8 at 335 Bank St., Batavia, and on Jan. 7 at 174 Ross St., Batavia.

Hill received two years on each of the counts he entered a guilty plea on, which will be served consecutively.

Lori L. Mullen, 45, of 101 State St., Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd, and four counts of possession of a forged instrument, 2nd. Mullen is accused of taking the checks of an acquaintance, the forging the checks and cashing them. Mullen allegedly received more than $5,000. Mullen was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Cynthia Owens, 37, of 28 Buell St., Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, criminal mischief, 4th, harassment, 2nd and endangering the welfare of a child. Owens alleged forced her way into the apartment of an acquaintance on Ross Street, damaging the door in the process. She allegedly hit the resident in the presence of a child. Owens was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Shane Zimblis, 41, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with promoting prison contraband. Zimblis is accused of bringing "dangerous contraband" into the Genesee County Jail while serving a weekend sentence. No further information provided.

Ryan Nicholas Bartholomew, 18, of Adams Street, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Bartholomew allegedly entered private property on Kelsey Road, Batavia, without permission and caused car alarms to sound with the intent of disturbing the property owner. Also charged with trespass was Kyle James Bump, 19, of West Main Street Road, Batavia.

Jeremy Adam Schultz, 22, of Buffalo Street, Attica, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd, and petit larceny. Schultz is accused of damaging an umbrella stand and stealing a security camera by prying it off a building on Attica Road in Alexander, damaging the camera and the wall.

It will take $125,000 of donated money, but Tom Lichtenthal, assistant town engineer and highway superintendent, hopes the community will come together to support a project that will be unique in Genesee County.

Lichtenthal is supporting a proposal to transform Kiwanis Park into a facility full of fun and activities for children with disabilities.

Central to the plan is a set of playground equipment built to accommodate children with disabilities, though can also be used by children without disabilities.

The plan also includes accessible paths and a small fishing pier on the Tonawanda Creek that is wheel-chair accessible and has guard rails.

The playground with wheel-chair swings, a tub-like marry-go-round, a conveyor-belt type of play set and a wheel-chair accessible glider would be built near the new boat launch, in an area well shaded by big, old trees.

On the opposite end of the park, to the east, would be an area of berms, sand, logs and rocks. Lichtenthal described it as "a natural play area."

The proposal was shared with the Town of Batavia Planning Board on Tuesday, but no action by the board is required at this time.

Genesee ARC supports the project, Lichtenthal said.

Town of Batavia planners are pushing forward with a proposal to add a second roadway into the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, connecting the park with Route 63.

Town Engineer Steve Mountain said the need and opportunity for the roadway is driven by the requirement of the Muller Quaker yogurt plan for a gas main into the park and a $1 million grant for infrastructure upgrades from state's Office of Community Renewal.

The roadway was always part of the plan, Mountain said, but not until Phase 3.

In the nearer term, the town was going to construct an emergency vehicle access road through the County Highway Department's lot on Cedar Street, but it is more cost effective, Mountain said, just to build the connector to Route 63 now.

The design of the roadway needed to coincide with the gas main design for Muller Quaker, and Muller Quaker wanted to bring the line in through vacant property to save costs.

The vacant land is primarily made up of parcels owned by O-AT-KA Milk Products and local farmer Don Partridge.

The town is negotiating now with both property owners for a right-of-way access, but all of that land (in green on the map) was always intended to be part of the Phase 3 development of the agri-business park (and has already been through the environmental review process).

Mountain said Phase I of the park is already nearly full and it's his understanding that Partridge has received offers on his land.

Currently, the only developed roadway into the park is from Route 5.

Alpina Products will hold a ribbon-cutting Monday for its new facility, which will initially employ 50 people.

Next year, the Muller Quaker plant, a joint venture between PepsiCo and the Theo Muller Group, will open with an original staff requirement of about 200 people. A mushroom farm and labeling facility (already open) are also among the park's first announced tenants.

Initially, Phase 2 of the development was to extend the rail line into the park, but there's been no demand for it yet from potential tenants.

Among the benefits of the Route 62 access point is that O-AT-KA will be able to use the roadway for truck traffic to his own facility, making the intersection of Route 63 and Cedar Street safer.

A public hearing on the revised planning map is set for Tuesday, Oct. 16, at Batavia Town Hall. More details of the project will be revealed then.

A 22-year-old man admitted in Genesee County Court today to illegal sexual intercourse with a girl age 15 years of age or younger.

Jonathan Garcia entered a guilty plea to rape in the second degree with no sentence cap in satisfaction of charges that also included rape in the first degree (forcible rape) and sexual abuse.

Garcia faces a sentence of up to seven years in prison and will be sentenced Nov. 15.

When Garcia was asked to admit to factual allegations by Judge Robert C. Noonan, Garcia balked admitting to sexual intercourse on May 16.

"I was there, but there are witnesses who were there who said I didn't do it," Garcia said.

Under questioning, however, Garcia admitted to sexual intercourse with the girl at another, unspecified, time.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman suggested the charging document be amended to cover the time frame of May through June rather than specifically May 16.

The crime took place in the City of Batavia.

A Pavilion man who was arrested multiple times in early spring will serve two to six years in state prison on a third-degree-burglary conviction.

Joshua Lanair Webster, 25, of 7882 York Road, Pavilion, admitted to the burglary charge June 28 and was sentenced in Genesee County Court on Monday.

Webster was identified as the suspect in one crime after a picture of him walking through Batavia Downs was posted on The Batavian.

In April and May, in various unrelated incidents, Webster was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and failure to yield right-of-way, burglary, 3rd, grand larceny and criminal mischief, 4th, and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

There are a few openings left, and so the Batavia City School District has extended the deadline to submit an application for participation in the Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program for the 2012-2013 school year.

UPK provides an opportunity for 4-year-old children to be involved in half-day, developmentally appropriate educational classes at no cost to their families. The district offers morning and afternoon programs at Jackson Primary School and partners with the Batavia YMCA to provide Pre-Kindergarten at the YMCA.

Children who are residents of the district, are 4 years of age on or before Dec. 1 and who are not enrolled in a special education program with the GV Educational Partnership are eligible to apply.

Letters/applications were mailed to all known eligible families, but also are available for pick-up at the administra­tion building, by calling Julie Tybor at 343-2480, ext. 7516, and requesting that one be mailed, or on the district’s Web site: <http://towww.bataviacsd.org>, use the pull-down menu under “District,” click on the link for Curriculum and Instruction, then the link for Universal Pre-K Information.

Applications for the remaining openings will continue to be processed through early October and students placed in the order that they are received. Please return the completed application to the information/regis­tration office (39 Washington Ave., Batavia, NY, 14020, Atten­tion: Julie Tybor).

YWCA of Genesee County is seeking nominations for this year's Fabulous Female.

The recipient will be honored during the annual Fabulous Females brunch, which has moved to a new venue. It is set for noon, Saturday, Nov. 17, in the Paddock Room at Batavia Downs & Casino, 8315 Park Road.

Deadline for nominations is Oct. 1.

Criteria to be considered includes the candidate's background, interests, achievement and/or any unique obstacles that she has overcome; how she actively serves as a role model for women and girls, contributes to her community (volunteer, civic or in other ways) and how her background or achievements are consistent with the YWCA's mission. That is, to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

The committee represents a cross-section of business and community leaders. They will review all nominations and announce the honoree(s) prior to the event date.

Cost is $25 a person or $160 for a table of eight. That includes a sit-down brunch, entertainment and entry for a door prize. Sponsors are invited to participate and promote your business for $250 a table, which includes four seats at no charge.

Nomination forms are available at YWCA, 301 North St., in the City of Batavia, or at www.ywcagenesee.org.

For more information or to reserve your seat, call 343-5808.