batavia

Announcement: 

From Governor Andrew M. Cuomo:

Fellow New Yorker,

New York is one of the largest dairy producers in the country, being home to nearly 5,000 dairy farms and more than 600,000 dairy cows.

And the majority of the farms in the state are family-run operations -- that's why it's crucial the state invest in hard working New York families and ensure they have the support they need to succeed.

Tomorrow, I am announcing the details of a new partnership that will create hundreds of new jobs at an idle dairy facility in New York.

Join me tomorrow, July 11th at 12:30 p.m. as I unveil the details of this new investment.

WHAT: Announcing new investment in New York dairy industry
WHEN: Tuesday, July 11th at 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park
5140 Ag Park Drive, Batavia 14020

Thank you for your support, ever upward.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Dana Ryan, 39, of Galloway Road, Alabama, is charged with two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny. An investigation by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office was initiated after two complaints reported to the Sheriff's Office, one in the Town of Pembroke, the other in the Town of Batavia. The complaints concerned payments which were allegedly made to Ryan by two different customers pursuant to construction contracts for work agreed upon but not completed. It is alleged that the payments to Ryan for home-improvement contracts were not allocated into a proper account and that these funds were used by the defendant for purposes other than the agreed upon work. The time frame of the allegations in the complaints, according to the Sheriff's Office news release, is February 2016 through May (2017). Ryan is due in Town of Pembroke Court on July 11 and in Town of Batavia Court on July 13. The case was investigated by Sheriff's Office Investigator J.M. Graff, assisted by Deputy K.M. McCarthy.

Danny D. Williams Sr., 28, of Pearl Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, second-degree menacing, and endangering the welfare of a child -- a child less than 17 years old. The charges stem from an incident which occurred at 8:01 p.m. on June 9 on Central Avenue, Batavia. It is alleged that Williams pulled a knife on an individual during an altercation and that there was a child in close proximity at the time. He was jailed in lieu of $15,000 cash bail or $30,000 bond and was due in Batavia City Court on July 7. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Chad Richards, assisted by Officer Christopher Lindsay.

Dustin L. Landin, 38, of Sierk Road, Attica, is charged with grand larceny -- value greater than $1,000. Landin was arrested for allegedly stealing money/property from a local business at 8:20 p.m. on June 28 on East Main Street in Batavia. He was issued an appearance ticket for Batavia City Court on July 11. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Matthew Wojtaszczyk, assisted by officer Stephen Cronmiller.

Christopher Harris Pompa, 45, of Byron Road, Byron, is charged with DWI, refusal to take breath test, and speeding. At 6:16 p.m. on July 8 on South Lake Road in Bergen,  the defendant was stopped in the Village of Bergen following the observation of an alleged traffic violation. The defendant was arraigned on the charges and then released on his own recognizance. He is due in Bergen Town Court on July 19. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan DeLong.

Joseph K. Schlossel, 58, of Linwood Avenue, Batavia, is charged with: moving from lane unsafely; backing unsafely; drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle; and DWI -- first offense. The charges stem from a one-car accident that occurred at 11:45 a.m. on March 11 on Clifton Avenue in Batavia. He was issued tickets and released and is due in City Court July 12. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer James DeFreze, assisted by Officer Nicole McGinnis.

Salvatore M. Schwable, 19, no permanent address, is charged with failure to appear. He was arrested on a bench warrant out of City Court for failure to appear for a scheduled court appearance and jailed on July 6 in lieu of $2,500 cash bail or bond. He was due back in court on July 7. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Chad Richards.

Salvatore M. Schwable, 19, no permanent address, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny and two counts of petit larceny. The charges stem from an incident at McDonald's on East Main Street in Batavia at 6:33 p.m. on May 12. It is alleged that Schwable took property from three different individuals without their permission. The defendant was jailed without bail and was due back in court on July 7. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Chad Richards.

Felicia Dianne Swartenberg, 20, of Willowbrook Road, Brockport, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and speeding. At 9:51 p.m. July 8, the defendant was stopped on Waterman Road in the Town of Stafford for an alleged vehicle and traffic violation. The defendant allegedly possessed a quantity of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Swartzenberg is due in Stafford Town Court on Aug. 1 to answer the charge. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan DeLong.

Lindsay Rae Crist, 20, of Redman Road, Brockport, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. At 9:51 p.m. July 8, the defendant was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped on Waterman Road in the Town of Stafford for an alleged vehicle and traffic violation. The defendant allegedly possessed a quantity of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Crist is due in Stafford Town Court on Aug. 1 to answer the charge. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan DeLong.

Press release:

Noonan Drive will be closed on Thursday, July 13, between the hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for cold milling operations.

While work is being performed in this area, the roadway will be closed to all through traffic. Local traffic will be permitted to and from their residence/property but should plan accordingly for delays.

All residents/businesses within the work area are asked not to park on the roadway during cold milling operations.

This is weather-dependent work. If work is postponed, it will progress next on the work day. Please, plan accordingly and contact the Bureau of Maintenance with any questions. Thank you for your cooperation in advance. 

Chris Bauer, a member of the Explorer troop sponsored by Batavia PD, got to play the bad guy during a demonstration of police dog work at Batavia High School on Sunday evening.

Deputy Chris Erion and K-9 "Destro" showed the Explorers how a police dog takes down a criminal suspect, hunts for drugs, seeks out a human hiding from police, and can find fresh human scent.

In each scenario, Erion had a different pattern of commands and motions, and a different toy for Destro's reward, so Destro would know which task he was supposed to perform in which circumstance. Destro is motivated to get that toy, his favorite being an old piece of fire hose he gets after finding drugs.

Erion spoke with the students about the value of dogs in police work, which not only makes it easier to find drugs, evidence, and people, K-9s have a great calming effect in disturbances involving combative suspects. 

Destro searching for drugs. He's close. The sample of meth was in the mate to this Nike sneaker.

Destro with his fire hose toy.

Erion with the tennis ball used when he wants Destro to search for fresh human scent. This search might be used to find an item a criminal suspect might have left behind while fleeing from a scene. We saw Destro display this skill in January 2014 when he found a note dropped by a robbery suspect near the crime scene.

Destro alerting on a wallet that had been dropped in the grass by one of the Explorers.

The Sheriff's Office dedicated two new signs in the garden outside the department's Park Road office this afternoon to the memory of William H. Johnson, who died in 1895, and Raymond F. Thompson, who died in 2002.

Pictured above, Deputy Brian Thompson on the left, with Undersheriff Greg Walker, and on the right, other members of the Thompson family with Sheriff William Sheron.

Brian Thompson is Raymond's brother. Raymond served eight years in the USAF in Security Police, then returned home, working in a couple of different manufacturing jobs before joining the Sheriff's Office as a corrections officer. He died on duty a few years later of a heart attack at the age of 37.

The dedication service comes on the third anniversary of the death of Deputy Frank Bordonaro, who is also honored with a sign in his memory in the garden.

The ceremony was followed by lunch for all in attendance, with hot dogs, hamburgers and sausage grilled by, from left, Undersheriff Greg Walker, Chief Deputy Jerry Brewster, and Sheriff Bill Sheron.

Saturday morning, Siobhan Larkin (left) and Jennifer Petry (right) celebrated their grand opening of a holistic home goods store, Hearth & Soul, located at 214 Ellicott St. in Batavia.

Hearth & Soul offers handmade Bohemian décor, holistic accessories, jewelry, organic skin care, clothing and more. 

Petry said the building recently got a new coat of paint, just in time for the grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony. 

Visitors enjoyed wine tastings, courtesy of Christine Crocker, owner of The Yngodess Shop on Main Street, music from local artist Justin Reynolds, and light hors d’oeuvres.

(name redacted upon request), 19, and (name redacted upon request), 18, both of Pacecrest Court, West Seneca, are charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. At 8:02 p.m. on July 3, the driver, (name redacted upon request), was stopped on Clinton Street Road in the Town of Batavia following the observation of an alleged vehicle and traffic violation. At the time, both (name redacted upon request) and (name redacted upon request) allegedly possessed a quantity of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The defendants were issued appearance tickets for Town of Batavia Court on July 31. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan DeLong and Deputy Michael Lute.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) will consider approving incentives for three projects at its meeting on Thursday, July 13, in the Innovation Zone board room on 99 Medtech Drive, starting at 4 p.m.

The Board will vote on whether to approve incentives for a $7.1 million expansion for a new 40,000-square-foot warehouse and service center for West Seneca-based Freightliner Western Star.

The expansion will create 24 new jobs and the center will be located adjacent to the New York State Thruway and next door to the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership (GVEP).

The GVEP graduates are seen as an "ideal" workforce for the new facility. Freightliner Western Star is seeking approximately $662,000 in sales, mortgage and property tax exemptions.

The popular Coach Tony’s, which makes a wide variety of food sauces, is seeking to expand its operations in the Town of Bergen. The company is expanding and planning on constructing a 5,000-square-foot building on three acres at Apple Tree Acres. The project will create three new jobs. Coach Tony’s is seeking approximately $50,000 in sales, mortgage and property tax exemptions.

The third project for consideration by the GCEDC is a $170,749 GAIN! loan fund for First Light Creamery in East Bethany. The loan will be used to assist with its existing production of goats' milk cheese from local distribution to regional distribution by adding to their barn, and associated infrastructure, to house more goats.

The GCEDC Board meeting is open to the public.

Press release:

New York State, as part of the Adopted 2017/18 State Budget, included another mandate on all local governments, and possibly school districts. It is the requirement to discuss and develop shared service ideas and plans for eventual submittal to the Genesee County Legislature in August/September. Then, these must be submitted to the NYS Department of State by Oct. 15.

Part of the process for discussing and developing these public-sector shared-service plans is to have public meetings/opportunities for citizen input. These provide forums to take suggestions on opportunities for possible public-sector shared services that have not already been put forth or are not already in place.

In order to satisfy this public-forum mandate, the GC Legislature will hold an open comment period at the beginning of each of its next three legislative body meetings. These will take place at approximately 5 p.m. on July 12, July 17, and Aug. 9 in the third-floor chambers of the Old Courthouse, located at 7 Main St. in the City of Batavia.

A car vs. pedestrian accident with injuries is reported in front of the Movies in Motion shop at 511 E. Main St. between McKinley Avenue and Harvester Avenue. City fire is responding along with an ambulance from Alexander.

UPDATE 5:07 p.m.: Law enforcement arrived on scene and the patient was GOA -- "Gone on Arrival." The scene is clear.

Farmers Market Coupons will be distributed at the Genesee County Office for the Aging, 2 Bank St. in Batavia, on:

Wednesday, July 12^th – 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Friday, July 14^th – 1-4 p.m.

Tuesday, July 25^{th —} 10 a.m - 12 p.m.

Thursday, July 27th – 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Genesee County Office for the Aging also plans to distribute coupons at the Le Roy Farmer’s Market* on Saturday July 8^th from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Booklets are available to adults age 60 years and older who are income-eligible. Proof of age identification must be provided.

Income guidelines are as follows: household of one $1,860 per month; household of two $2,504 per month; and, household of three $3,149 per month.

Maureen Estabrooks, Office for the Aging’s coordinator for the program, noted that, “It still remains, that anyone 60 or older in a household may receive a coupon booklet as long as they are income eligible. This means that in a qualifying household, multiple individuals may receive booklets. This program is a wonderful way to help older adults with limited income to purchase healthy fresh produce from our local farmers.”

Questions may be directed to the Genesee County Office for the Aging at 585-343-1611.

*A distribution date for the the coupons at the Downtown Batavia Public Market has not yet been determined.

Reliant Real Estate is hosting two open houses this Saturday. Stop in and ask Lynn Bezon any questions you may have. For more information on 10368 Alleghany Road, please click here. For more information on 68 Oak St., click here. Call Reliant Real Estate today. We'll help you find the perfect home!

HP Hood, the Lynnfield, Ma., dairy processor who is taking over the former Muller Quaker Dairy facility, already has human resources staff in Batavia so the company can start hiring immediately for its new dairy plant.

The company hopes to break ground on reconfiguring and expanding the plant this fall, and it won't be until early 2019 that the new plant is in production. But a source familiar with HP Hood's plans said the company is excited about coming to Batavia and is eager to start lining up its workforce.

People interested in applying for a job at the plant can call (1-800) 428-6329 for more information.

According to public documents, Hood plans to hire 250 people locally and expand the plant with a new 100,000-square-foot warehouse.

The source said details are still being worked out, but the plant will be used to manufacture extended-shelf-life beverages, both dairy and nondairy.

It's expected that Dairy Farmers of America, who initially purchased the plant from Muller Quaker for $60 million and held onto it until last Friday, when the cooperative sold the plant to Hood for $54 million, will be at least one of Hood's milk supplier. There are several DFA dairy farmers in the region.

There is still a lot of work and planning to do, but the source said that right now, Hood's focus is hiring a workforce for the plant.

Since DFA acquired the $206 million plant in December 2015, there have been seven to eight workers at the plant helping to keep it maintained and ready for the next producer. That staff has been offered jobs with Hood and our source believes all current workers accepted positions with Hood.

The source said the acquisition process has taken a year and now that the deal is closed, Hood executives are eager to see things move forward and get the plant into production.

Multiple sources have told The Batavian that staff for Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been trying to coordinate a visit by the governor to Batavia to celebrate the acquisition of the dairy plant by HP Hood. That could happen within the next couple of weeks.

Previously:

• HP Hood closes deal to acquire former Muller Quaker plant
• New England's large dairy company, HP Hood, buying former Muller Quaker plant

UPDATE: Here's a video about HP Hood:

There have been multiple lawsuits filed by state and local governments around the nation against major drug manufacturers over their marketing and distribution of opioids, and Genesee County officials are thinking about becoming one of the plaintiffs.

Several counties in New York are part of the effort to pin at least some of the financial burden for the opiate epidemic on pharmaceutical companies.

County Attorney Kevin Earl is researching the feasibility of the county filing suit, either individually as a member of a multi-plaintiff action, against major drug manufacturers to recover current and future damages to the county taxpayers from abuse of opioid pharmaceuticals.

“If you want, [I can] investigate whether it would be better for us to join an existing lawsuit or (file) on our own,” Earl said at the Ways and Means Committee meeting on Wednesday.

Finding out the costs and expenses needed is something Earl will be researching as well.

Earl said most counties are doing research, then bringing a recommendation back to the legislative body.

Committee Member Raymond Cianfrini said every state is beginning to go after pharmaceutical companies in that regard.

“I don’t see a problem with us piggybacking on somebody else in a class-action lawsuit,” Cianfrini said. “But, we need to know who is going to do it, what it’s going to cost us, [and] what are the time frames.”

Most mobile phone users pay a surcharge that goes to county government, but that surcharge hasn't been paid by about a quarter of mobile phone users -- those who buy phones with month-to-month fees rather than with sign a contract with a carrier.

A public hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. on July 12 at the Old Courthouse in Batavia on a law that would repeal the current wireless communications surcharge and impose new surcharges on disposable phones.

County Manager Jay Gsell said in an interview with WBTA, the change would offer new revenues for the county governments and State of New York.

“Those who are going from established plans where they sign up for contracts through typical carriers now go to a month-to-month disposable phone kind of thing,” Gsell said. “They will see the change in terms of how much that device will cost them because of the 30-cent surcharge.”

With the new law, the county and state would collect from approximately 25 percent of cell phone users who prefer prepaid or month-to-month cel lphone plans.

The money collected will provide funding for local and statewide emergency service communication systems.

“It appears that it would be more equitable for everyone who is using these devices and therefore would come in contact with our 9-1-1 centers,” Gsell said. “They would also be helping pay for a portion of the state revenue distribution that goes out for us operating these public safety answering forums, [also known as] 9-1-1 centers.”

Genesee Cancer Assistance planted its Festival of Hope tree yesterday outside the Wilmot Cancer Institute on Bank Street, Batavia.

Participating were Bev Henning, Lois Gerace, Nickie Fazio, John Morrill and Ed Kirby.

Henning and Kirby are cancer survivors. Gerace is the wife of the late Joe Gerace, cofounder and former board member of Genesee Cancer Assistance. Fazio is with Genesee Cancer Assistance, and Morrill is owner of Bubba's Landscaping.

Below, Sue Underwood and Fazio hang ribbons for cancer survivors on the hydrangea tree.

The event was catered by Red Osier Landmark Restaurant in Stafford.