batavia

Memorial Day ceremonies in Batavia.

A vehicle has reportedly run under the back of a semi-truck on the Thruway in the westbound lane at about mile marker 388.4 and a female is reportedly trapped in the vehicle that is under the semi.

Extrication will reportedly be required.

Town of Batavia fire and Mercy EMS dispatched. 

UPDATE 10 p.m.: The victim has self-extricated with minor injuries.

UPDATE 10:01 p.m.: Mercy Flight cancelled. Fire crews needed for fluid spills.

Press release:

Youth Detective Rich Schauf retired today after 32 years of dedicated service to the City of Batavia and City of Batavia Police Department.

Schauf started his law enforcement career in June of 1983 as a Jailor at the Genesee County Jail. He was hired by the City of Batavia Police Department on Jan. 25, 1987, and promoted to Youth Detective on Oct. 20, 2003.

Schauf spent the majority of a career dedicated to the youth of the City. He was an integral part in the creation of several organizations designed to provide support services to the youth of the community.

A luncheon was held at City Hall to honor Schauf ’s 32 years of service and to wish him well in his retirement.

 Germayne Sessions    Shakerra Walker

A traffic stop in the City of Batavia last night by police officers working a Neighborhood Enforcement Team detail yielded a cache of drugs and a pair of felony arrests.

Germayne D. Sessions, 25, of Cummings Street, Rochester, is charged with: criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd; criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th; unlawful possession of marijuana; promoting prison contraband, 1st; falsify business records, 1st; criminal impersonation, 2nd; driving without a license; and a license plate violation.

Sessions was allegedly found in possession of crack cocaine and marijuana during the traffic stop. At the jail, he was allegedly found in possession of nine bags of heroin. He is also accused of providing police officers with a false identification.

Shakerra B. Walker, 18, of North Goodman Street, Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd. She was allegedly found in possession of 35 baggies of crack cocaine.

Both Sessions and Walker were jailed without bail.

Participating in the traffic stop, along with Batavia PD, were the Sheriff's Office and members of the Local Drug Task Force.

TeeSean T. Ayala, 20, (inset left file photo) of Walnut Street, Batavia, was arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office for a series of burglaries, which occurred in the towns of Batavia and Stafford last fall.

Ayala is charged with: first-degree burglary; two counts of second-degree burglary; three counts of third-degree grand larceny; and two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny.

He was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released on his own recognizance on all charges.

He remains in the custody of the Genesee County Jail on unrelated charges.

Laqueasha M. Taylor, 25, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with: criminal obstruction of breathing; endangering the walfare of a child; and second-degree harassment. She was arrested on May 19. She was allegedly involved in a fight with another person at 5:39 p.m. on May 18 on Bank Street at Northside Meadows apartments. Taylor was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on May 28. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay, assisted by Sgt. Matthew Lutey.

Robert Oliver Taft, 45, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree. At 2:39 p.m. on May 15, Taft was taken into custody on a sealed indictment warrant returnable to Genesee County Court. He was allegedly found in possession of drug paraphernalia during the course of his arrest Taft was arraigned in Batavia City Court and released on his own recognizance. He is still currently being held in jail without bail on the charges in the sealed indictment. The case was handled by Deputy Ryan DeLong.

Kaleb James Bobzien, 21, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with second-degree coercion, criminal obstruction of breathing, and second-degree harassment following the investigation of a domestic dispute on Dellinger Avenue at 10 a.m. on May 17. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and jailed in lieu of $5,000 cash bail or bond. He was due back in city court on May 21. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Peter Post, assisted by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

Tiesha D. Smith, 32, of Prune Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. She was arrested at 1 p.m. on May 19 after allegedly shoplifting from the 7-Eleven convenience store on East Main Street in Batavia. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on May 28. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Stephen Cronmiller.

Mark B. Skeet, 65, of Batavia Oakfield Townline Road, Batavia, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree -- mandatory suspension. On May 20, Skeet was arrested for allegedly driving outside of the parameters of his driver's license at 2:06 p.m. on May 17 on Evans Street in Batavia. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and released under supervision. He was due back in court on May 20. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Miah Stevens, assisted by Officer Jason Davis.

Press release:

To highlight the importance of crosswalk safety and the proper use of a crosswalk, not only for pedestrians but motorists as well, there will be a Crosswalk Day on Wednesday, May 29, at the Bank Street crosswalk in front of the Office for the Aging and YMCA.

The event is sponsored by the City of Batavia in conjunction with the City of Batavia Police Department, City of Batavia Fire Department, City of Batavia Youth Bureau, Genesee County, Genesee County Office for the Aging, Genesee County Youth Bureau, Batavia YMCA, Boys Scouts of America, Rochester Regional Health (UMMC) and GO ART!

There will be a morning session taking place from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and an afternoon session taking place from 3 to 5 p.m.

There will be volunteers from the YMCA, Rochester Regional Health (UMMC), Boy Scouts of America and Office for the Aging assisting throughout the day.

GO ART! is providing the sidewalk chalk art for the event. The new signs and striping have been provided by City of Batavia Public Works and Genesee County. Also, City of Batavia Police and Fire Department will be assisting with the event.

Open House Saturday 11a.m. - 1 p.m.: 5 Holmes Ave., Batavia. Here's one to see! This midcentury modern home is superbly built, lovingly maintained, and well cared for. The layout to this almost 2,400-square-foot home is spacious and well planned. There's a spot/space for everything and everyone!

The lower family room area with wet bar and sliding doors opens to sweet backyard, a beautiful and bright front living room that really outdoes itself, leading to formal dining area with gorgeous built-in hutch.

Kitchen is large and more cupboards then most use these days. Upper level offers three large bedrooms, two with beautiful hardwood floors and an oversized master bedroom with half bath and large walk-in cedar closet.

Basement has poured walls, an extra shower stall, should someone need it, and loads of storage space. Garage has been used for workshop/puttering area!

Call Lynn Bezon today, 585-344-HOME or click here for more information on this listing.

The Batavia Muckdogs hosted auditions Thursday for community members to sing the National Anthem at the start of a ballgame sometime this season. In this video, Jessica Beal, of Batavia, auditions and Kerri Schmidt, director of sales and marketing for the Muckdogs, explains a little about the process.

 

Last year, the Batavia Muckdogs hired Cooper Thomson, trained in Australia, as new head groundskeeper. But visa issues delayed his arrival in Batavia, so he didn't get to work on the field the two months before the season that is ideal for getting it ready for professional ballplayers.

This year, he's back, and he's here early. He said both the players and the fans will be pleased with the field in 2019.

Previously: Muckdogs hire minor league groundskeeper with major league dreams

 

 

Thursday was United Way's annual Day of Caring, where people volunteer for various projects around the county.

UMMC's annual Teddy Bear Clinic was Wednesday in Batavia. Here's a video for you (warning: cute kids).

The movie version of the Memphis Belle is based at the Warplane Museum in Geneseo but it often flies to other parts of the country for airshows, like one recently in Virginia. The airfield in Geneseo is grass, so when it returned to Western New York, it landed in Batavia because the field in Geneseo was soggy.

While it was at the Genesee County Aiport, several people asked me to go out to the airport and take pictures of it.  On Tuesday, while driving down East Saile Drive, I thought, I have a little time, I should stop.

Good timing. The pilots showed up while I was setting up my camera for video.  They were there to fly it back to Geneseo. I got a tour of the plane, an interview with Craig Wadsworth, and shots of it departing. 

Other news the past couple of days delayed my efforts to edit the video but here it is.

Mobile app users can tap here to view the video on YouTube.

This colorful cutie landed on the person of reader Karen Laney while she was outside gardening today.

She lives on State Street Road in Batavia. Laney said the friendly avian is "very obviously a hand-raised bird."

She would very much like to find the owner of this affectionate pet and hopes the owner will contact her via email and make arrangements to reunite with it.

Her email is nclaneys@gmail.com

UPDATE 12:04 p.m., Friday, May 24: Karen Laney, whom the bird landed on, sent us this good news a minute ago: "A person who knew the owner saw the post about the bird in the Batavian and bird and owner have been reunited! Thanks so much for getting the word out!" You are welcome. We are glad!

Submitted photos and press release:

Boy Scouts from Troop 6069 with the help of some of the Cub Scouts from Pack 6069, placed flags in front of the headstones of veterans at the Batavia Cemetery on Wednesday, May 22nd.

There were 16 scouts and eight leaders in attendance. The Troop has been working with the Historic Batavia Cemetery Association for the past several years on this project. It is a pleasure for the Scout Troop to provide this service to their community.

This was the first time that the Cub Scouts have been invited by Troop 6069 to help them with this community service project.

Assistant Scoutmaster Brown made sure to take the Cub Scouts to the grave site of Samuel Wood who is buried there. Wood is the namesake of Iroquois Trail Council's Cub Scout Resident Camp located in Pike. He was the first Eagle Scout recorded in Genesee County.

Boy Scout Troop 6069 is chartered through the First Presbyterian Church in Batavia, and it meets at Jackson Primary School.

 

Eli Fish Brewing Company in Downtown Batavia hosted a Farm-to-Pint "Tap Takeover" on behalf of the Buffalo Niagara Brewers Association on Sunday.

By chance and circumstance, I've been spending a lot of time at Eli Fish recently, and it was a Sunday, so I thought I'd have a little fun with the video. I shot the video entirely hand-held (no stabilizer or tripod), with a 50-year-old 50mm lens, so only manual focus, using a shotgun mic I'd never used before. It was, indeed, fun experimentation and practice. And it was a fun event.

For brewers here to check out this video, you might also like to see Episode #2 of Batavia's Best Businesses, Eli Fish Brewing.