batavia

City Ladder 15 and Engine 11 were called to the Senior Center on Bank Street after employees of St. Jerome's called 9-1-1 and reported smelling smoke outside the building. They discovered an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) unit on the roof that was smoking and resolved the issue.

The Holland Land Office Museum, located on 131 W. Main St. in Batavia, will have its collection, “Over there to over here: 100 years later,” on display only for a couple more weeks.

The artifacts in the collection all pertain to World War I with a connection to Genesee County, said Ryan Duffy, the museum’s executive director.

“I decided to put [the artifacts] on display to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry in the war,” Duffy said.

The collection includes military and personal items, Duffy said, noting that the collection also has items used to support the war, and each piece is labeled with what it is, who it belonged to and the year it was from.

“For the most part, all of the items were used by Genesee County residents,” Duffy said. "For instance, all the uniforms we have were worn by someone from the area that was donated to the collection.”

Duffy said there are around 60 items on display. The collection was put together with items already donated to the museum.

“It’s good to show off some of the things in our collection that pertain to the time period,” Duffy said.

Also in the collection is a list of the World War I veterans in Genesee County.

Duffy said it is as complete as it is going to get, but sometimes visitors look at the book and tell him another name that should be included.

The collection was on display starting on April 11 and will remain open until June 10.

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $1 for a child or student, $2 for an adult and $5 for a family.

The Knox Choir, a youth choir from Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, is coming to Batavia on Wednesday, June 7, to perform a free concert.

The youth choir will be touring this summer and performing at different communities in the Northeast.

Batavia will be this tour's debut performance. It's at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, located at 300 E. Main St. in Downtown Batavia.

A wide variety of music will be sung, including works by Faure and Bach, as well as music from the Gospel tradition, and songs from around the globe.

Since 2007, this choir has completed eight tours, including three Presbyterian Heritage Tours of Scotland.

The assistant district attorney who prosecuted Heather Ace believes the Batavia mother whose 2-year-old twin boys died in a house fire 8157 State Street Road, Batavia, in May of last year is genuinely remorseful for leaving her children home alone unattended.

Ace was sentenced yesterday to a year in jail after previously pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.

ADA Melissa Cianfrini said Ace has been remorseful since the night of the fire.

"As I said at sentencing, if she could go back and undo it she would a million times over," Cianfrini said. "I didn't doubt her remorse or that it was sincere."

Cianfrini said the DA's office is obligated to follow the evidence and the law and prosecute suspects with the highest charges available to them based on the evidence and the law. Since there is no indication that Ace was involved in any way with starting the fire or causing the fire, the only charge that fit the crime, Cianfrini said, was endangering the welfare of a child.

She originally faced two charges, but since both charges stemmed from the same event, she could not receive separate, consecutive one-year sentences. The maximum available sentence was a year in jail.

The cause of the fire has never been determined and this morning Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said that while electrical has been ruled out as a cause, there was no evidence uncovered that suggested any other cause.

Ace wasn't at home at the time of the fire. There was also nobody else with Michael and Micah Gard when the fire broke out. They were locked in a bedroom and nobody was able to reach them in time after the fire was spotted by neighbors. The boys died of smoke inhalation. 

According to her statement, Ace left the tots home alone to go to a friend's house. She said she stopped to buy a malt liquor and also smoked some marijuana while she was out of the house.

When Ace's mother heard about the fire, she tried calling Ace, who didn't answer her phone. She then sent a text to her daughter, according to statements to investigators, "Answer your f---ing phone."

Ace answered on the next ring. She was hysterical by the time she reached her house a few minutes later.

"She had no role in the fire," Cianfrini said. "It was a serious lack of judgment (leaving the boys alone)."

Jolene Michelle Lawson, 35, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Lawson allegedly stole a purse from a person at Delre's Greenhouse & Garden Center, 4062 W. Main Street Road, Batavia. The purse reportedly contained a debit card, money, and personal papers. Lawson was located on West Main and taken into custody. The property was recovered from a wooded area and returned to the victim.

Michale Paul Bartovich, 34, of Burncoat Way, Pittsford, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Bartovich was charged following a traffic stop on Judge Road, Oakfield, at 5:48 p.m. Saturday, by Deputy Chris Erion.

John Paul Daley, 36, of Alleghany Road, Alabama, is charged with felony DWI, muffler violation, and refusal to take a breath test. Daley was stopped at 12:19 a.m. Sunday on Route 77, Alabama, by Deputy James Stack.

James K. Clarke, 26, of 4th Section Road, Brockport, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, driving without an ignition interlock device and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. Clarke was stopped at 5:37 a.m. Saturday on North Bergen Road, Bergen, by Deputy Jeremy McClellan.

Jenny Wood hosted the Batavia Society of Artists today at her home on West Main Street Road, Batavia, for a "sketch out," a chance for artists to paint and draw the landscape of her yard, which is well known locally for the annual bloom of forget-me-nots.

"A lady says she waited at the red light for half an hour," says a dispatcher about the complaint of a caller regarding the traffic signal at the exit of the Tops Market parking lot on West Main Street, Batavia.

"There's definately a problem with the light," says an officer.

Law enforcement is aware of the issue and the state Department of Transportation has been notified.

"Can it wait until tomorrow?" someone asks about the need to fix it.

"We have to wait on the DOT," is the response.

The New York State High School Rodeo Association held its annual state championship rodeo at the Genesee County Fairgrounds today.

This is the first time Batavia has hosted the rodeo, which in the past has generally gone to Attica or Caledonia. 

The three-day event includes two days of competition, a dance tonight and awards presentation tomorrow.

A two-car accident with possible injuries is reported at Center Street and Ellicott Street, City of Batavia.

City fire and Alexander's ambulance are dispatched.

UPDATE 3:47 p.m.: This was an accident between a Cadillac Escalade and a milk truck. The Escalade rear-ended the truck. The Escalade driver is being transported to UMMC for evaluation.

Customers of RTS will find it easier to get from Le Roy to shopping in Batavia, or from Batavia to neighboring counties, or from Batavia to Genesee Community College now that the transportation company has devised a new plan to help people get around better; it's based on an efficiency study RTS conducted.

• There are new connections between Genesee, Orleans, and Wyoming counties on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays;
• There are now 10 trips a day to and from Big Tree Glen, the new apartment development on West Main Street;
• Trips to and from GCC have been bumped up from five to six;
• There is one new trip to and from Le Roy, which is an afternoon route, and times have been changed for two other Le Roy trips (to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.).

The routes are also linked together more smoothly, so it's easier to change buses in a timely manner.

“Somebody coming in from Le Roy can go all the way to Tops, all the way to Walmart, all the way to Kmart," said Jamie Mott, regional manager for RTS for Genesee and Orleans. "With the current system, if you come in from Le Roy, you’re done at the City Centre and then you have to wait. Now it’s a little bit different. You can actually continue on."

The former dial-a-ride service in the city and the current countywide service have been combined to add flexibility to the program. Riders more than a quarter mile off the regular routes can make appointments for pick up and drop off at least 24-hours in advance of their planned trips.

All these changes came with the requirement from RTS management that service be expanded without increasing expense.

"We had to do redesigns based on what we were already budgeted for, so that was a big challenge -- to figure out how we could expand our services, especially when you have on-time performance that you have to maintain," Mott said.

A bicyclist has reportedly hit a car at 375 W. Main St. Batavia.

Injuries are reported.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Plastic model hobbyists from throughout the Northeast were in Batavia today at the Quality Inn & Suites for their convention, NOREASTCON, which included displays, vendors, demonstrations, and contests that provided awards in multiple categories.

GO ART! opened two shows at Seymore Place last night -- the member's show, with the theme, "Summer of Love," in honor of the 50th anniversary of the hippies' heyday --summer of 1967, and "The Dream of America."

"The Dream of America: Separation & Sacrifice in the Lives of North Country Latino Immigrants," is a display of the photography and writing of Lisa Catalfamo Flores. It originally was on display at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls. GO ART! is its first stop on a statewide tour. The show will be on display through July 7.

There should be no lack of motivation for Dairy Farmers of America to start production back up at the former Muller Quaker Dairy plant in Batavia it acquired in January 2016 for $60 million.

That was a big outlay on a plant that is considered state-of-the-art, is USDA certified, close to milk supplies, in the midst of a transportation hub, and cost PepsiCo and Theo Muller Group more than $200 million to construct.

There is also more milk being produced than there are places to process it in the Northeast and that has led to some milk dumping so it doesn't get added to the market supply.

Finally, there is the whopping $655,155 tax bill DFA paid in 2017 over and above what their obligation could have been with a new PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) agreement, which is wholly contingent on Kansas City, Kansas-based DFA putting the plant to productive use.

Genesee County Economic Development Center CEO Steve Hyde notified officials with City Schools, Genesee County and the Town of Batavia in January that those jurisdictions could expect suspension of the PILOT agreement Muller Quaker received to build the plant because there was no clear indication what DFA planned to do to live up the basic premise of the PILOT, which is that there would be people working at the plant.

"They will pay full taxes until it's back in productive use and people are back to work," Hyde told The Batavian. "DFA has been good with us and good to work with, but we want to see the plant back in productive use, and they want their members to be able to ship milk to that plant."

The Batavian obtained copies of the letters sent to local officials through a FOIL (Freedom of Infomation Act letter) request. The letters show that City Schools received an extra $427,397, the county received $180,476, and the Town received $47,282.

Hyde said the payment requirement was consistent with the original terms of the PILOT and would not have come as a surprise to DFA.

As for DFA's plans, spokeswoman Kim O'Brien said the plans are taking shape. It's a lot of work to bring a number of big players together to get a plant like this back into production, but she said DFA would announce its plans within weeks.

It's unclear if DFA will operate the plant itself, partner with other companies, lease it or sell it, and O'Brien said she couldn't comment beyond acknowledging that DFA would make an announcement soon.

There are reportedly other major players in the dairy industry interested in the plant and Shelly Stein, a co-owner of Stein Farms in Le Roy, a DFA member, said it's common knowledge that DFA has had the plant on the market, but she also doesn't know what DFA's plans are. She said she's just eager to see it processing milk again to help alleviate the oversupply problem for dairy farmers.

"In the dairy business, there are a lot of partnerships and relationships that go into running plants like this, and that's the model DFA uses," Stein said. "I believe that is still the thought process and as a member of the cooperative, I look forward to that plant being up and running, but at this point, all of the stars have to line up. The size of that plant means it's not going to be an overnight fix."

Sarah Noble Moag, of Noblehurst Farms in Linwood, and also a DFA member, said they are eager to see the plant reopen, but they also understand why it's taking so long to get something going.

"After having seen Muller Quaker come in with its business plan and fail, we want to see something for our local economy and our local jobs that is more stable, and if that takes a little more time to plan, then so be it," Noble Moag said. "We all know in this business how long those negotiations can take, especially for an asset that size."

According to documents obtained by The Batavian as part of a FOIL request, there was active communication between GCEDC and DFA, but in July, the communication, at least the written communication, abruptly stopped. We are told that's an accurate reflection of the state of things from that point forward, that there isn't any communication not part of the response to the FOIL request.

In February of 2016, DFA officials were diligent about making sure its logo was added to the business part sign along Route 5. In March, Chris Suozzi, VP of business development, started trying to find out from DFA officials what their plans were so he could put together a new incentive package that recognized the expense of the retooling of the plant.

Jackie Klippenstein, with DFA, asked for clarification on possible incentives on April 28, telling Suozzi, "it appears discussions at the end of the hall are intensifying."

In response, Suozzi wanted to know how much DFA was planning to invest in the plant. 

The number he got back was $250,000 for equipment and $100,000, rough estimate, for labor.

On April 29, 2016, he emailed Jackie Klippenstein to try and clarify DFA's plans.

"Based on other food processing facilities in our county, that number appears low, unless you're making yogurt," Suozzi wrote. "Can you share what products will be produced? Maybe I can understand better. Will you be using existing equipment from Muller Quaker Dairy? Do you already own equipment that you're bringing in? If so we will need to understand the capital expense."

He also asked, "is the 150 jobs to start or is a ramp-up schedule over the course of time (i.e. 2-year ramp up)?"

Suozzi apparently didn't get a response and followed up on May 3 and suggested a phone call.

Klippenstein responded May 10 and said, "We aren't quite ready -- but I expect information in the next 2-3 weeks. Stop and go, stop and go ... sorry but feeling optimistic."

Suozzi again followed up on June 1, 2016, and Klippenstein responded, "Thanks for checking in. I've been told July is the golden month when things will start to come together -- decisions made."

On July 6, 2016, Suozzi again requested a project update and the documents obtained by The Batavian, which we are told are complete, contains no response from Klippenstein or anybody else from DFA.

As part of the documents obtained by The Batavian, there is a state form DFA was required to fill out which lists employees and wages paid for 2016. The NYS-45-ATT shows DFA had seven employees at the plant with a total payroll of $408,006. The names of the employees are redacted, but the top gross pay was $72,195, with one other employee earning more than $70,000, two making more than $50,000, one making $41,883, and three earning at least $35,000. Their job duties are not listed as part of the form.

Hyde, like other officials we've talked to around the county, remains optimistic that the plant, so big, so well situated and well suited to dairy processing, will eventually be put to productive use. It's just a matter of time.

"It's not perfect what happened, but we have a couple hundred million dollar processing plant that is essentially new and largely funded on the backs of PepsiCo and Theo Muller," Hyde said. "We'll eventually have a production facility in there. It's a great asset to have in our community."

Stein, who is also a county legislator, agreed.

"It’s an asset that continues that get a lot of traction," Stein said. "I’m glad it’s in DFA’s hands. It’s the largest dairy cooperative in the nation. As a member, when a deal is worked out, whomever or whatever it’s going to be, it's going to be good for all milk producers in the area one way or another because it’s still milk."