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Photos: The 100th Great Batavia Train Show

By Howard B. Owens

For 50 years, the Genesee Society of Model Engineers has hosted a twice-annual model train show in Batavia and after a hiatus for COVID, the train show returned to the Richard C. Call Arena at GCC for the organization's 100th event.

Photos by Howard Owens

Photo: Easter Bunny visits United Methodist Church

By Howard B. Owens

Lauren, 3, and Nathan, 6, of Le Roy, were excited this afternoon to meet the Easter Bunny, as part of an Easter Egg Hunt event, at Batavia First United Methodist Church.

Angelina Pellegrino hosting benefit spring yard sale on State Street

By Howard B. Owens

If you've got nice things around your house that you no longer want, Angelina Pellegrino is ready to sell it for you, with all proceeds benefiting a family moving into a Habitat for Humanity home.

Pellegrino, herself a beneficiary of Habitat's homeownership program, has had previous garage sales to benefit the organization or its clients.

She's now collecting donations for the yard sale at her home, 150 State St., Batavia, on May 21 and 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There are two Habitat homes near completion and Pellegrino said proceeds from this year's yard sale will go directly to the families moving into those homes.

"It's start-up cash," Pellegrino said.  "It's for the little things you need around the house that you don't really think about." 

If you have items to donate -- and it can be pretty much anything that somebody else might want to buy -- you can contact Pellegrino at (585) 356-4867 or angelinapellegrino@ymail.com.

"I know people will be spring cleaning and instead of tossing out what they don't want or donating it elsewhere, we could really use any donations at this time," Pellegrino said. "There is nothing really is off-limits for donations, from clothes to furniture. I am willing to pick up donations or people may drop them off at my house."

After two-year hiatus, Kiwanis Easter Egg hunt is back April 16

By Press Release

Press release:

The Kiwanis Club of Batavia is very excited to bring back our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 16th.  After a two-year hiatus, we are happy to bring the community together again. With COVID restrictions lifted, the Easter Egg Hunt can now be safely run.  There are three age categories for the event: birth-3, 4-7 and 8-10.  The event will begin at 9 AM sharp at Centennial Park in Batavia.

In addition, we will continue last year’s new tradition, the Golden Prize Egg. Starting on Saturday, April 9th, there will be a Golden Prize Egg hidden daily at Centennial Park. The egg will be hidden at different times each day to allow for families with different schedules to search and have an equal chance of finding the egg. The Golden Prize Eggs are restricted to kids age 12 and under, although older siblings and family members can help search!  The winning Golden Prize Eggs must be turned in at the Easter Egg Hunt on April 16th to receive an Oliver's Chocolate Bunny prize. With both events going on, there are now 16 Golden Prize Eggs up for grabs!

We are asking those who find Golden Eggs prior to the Easter Egg Hunt, please send pictures to the Kiwanis Club of Batavia Facebook page.

The Kiwanis Club is very happy to provide these fun and healthy activities for families to participate in.

Photo: File photo from 2018 by Howard Owens

Batavia PD looking for Kwik Fill shoplifting suspect

By Press Release

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is looking for help in identifying a person of interest in a larceny at Kwik Fill which occurred on March 27, 2022, at approximately 11:30 p.m. During the larceny, a bucket of small liquor bottles was taken off the front counter. Anyone with information on the identity of the person in the photos is asked to contact Officer William Yung at (585) 345-6350, the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370.

A collector, medical historian, and humble guy: Atwater siblings recall their dad

By Joanne Beck

Dr. Edward C. and Ruth Atwater. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Briccetti


Edward C. Atwater’s home — initially in Batavia and later in Rochester — was a dead giveaway of his passions.

The late doctor and medical historian kept collections, from thousands of books and print materials to thousands of architectural slides and posters, throughout his and wife Ruth’s home from top to bottom.

Ned Atwater knows the posters well. Collected by his dad on the topic of AIDS for decades, Ned at one point counted out 6,500 duplicates while the artifacts were being organized.

“He never boasted about it at all … it’s the largest collection in the world, and he could have cared less. It was about the messages and content, and he was the messenger,” Ned said from his home in Canandaigua during an interview with The Batavian. “It was important that he collected it and got it out to the public.”

Attending the debut of a six-years-long project that, at last, puts the senior Atwater’s efforts on proper display at Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery, was “super emotional,” Ned said.

The exhibit, Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster, is a collaboration between Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) and the River Campus Libraries at the University of Rochester. It runs through June 19 at the Gallery. (See related article, "Former Batavia resident's collections ..." )

Exhibit curators and editors chose 165 samples out of the 8,000-poster collection. Ned had seen “all of those,” he said, and remembers Christopher Hoolihan’s frequent visits to their home. Hoolihan was rare books and manuscripts librarian at the Edward G. Miner Library at the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry.

“And he'd come over every Monday night for 20 years to my parents house, and my mom would cook them dinner, and then they’d go down to the basement, which is where the book collection was, and they'd work on the books,” Ned said. “And the AIDS poster collection was in the attic, and so Jessica (Lachman, co-editor of the collection’s book) would come over. Jessica was there every Tuesday, so I got to know her quite well. Those were a couple of important people in the same collecting sphere that he was in.”

Collections, Donations ...
Atwater’s collections have gradually made their way to the University of Rochester as prized relics of medical history. AIDS took hold in the 1980s, and Ned clearly remembers how little the government was doing to prevent or raise awareness about it. Organizations across the globe, including municipal health departments, began to create posters as visual reminders of the life-threatening AIDS epidemic.

Dr. Atwater didn't start collecting posters until 1991, and was in his mid-60s by then, Ned said. Three decades later he was still collecting, shortly before he died in 2019 at 93. Posters are from many countries in multiple languages, and they stray from one another by colors, images, wording, message and target audience. Ned attended the debut with his sister, Rebecca Briccetti, of New Hampshire. 

“Rebecca and I went into the show, we were, I think, both astounded at the show itself, the professionalism in which the Memorial Art Gallery had done it. And, you know, just the messages that it all conveyed. It was really a very good overview of the AIDS posters over history. I thought it was just so well done,” he said. “And the people at the Memorial Art Gallery even told us that in a visual sense, they think it's the best show they've ever had. ‘Wow,’ we thought, and we were pretty surprised and humbled by that. My father would be absolutely thrilled.”

The collection of posters fills in the story, from graphic pictures of men and condoms to more generalized messages that no one is immune to the disease. It was such a heavy and insidious topic and disease that took hold in a public that was ignorant of its causes, symptoms, and life-threatening nature of it. 

“The AIDS epidemic really hit hard. My father was in touch with Dr. Fauci about it,” Ned said. “I had a lot of friends in the gay community in Oregon. One of the biggest turning points was that it wasn’t just in the gay community.”

While Edward C. Atwater was a renowned medical historian and collector, he was also “such a humble guy,” Ned said, someone who took the time to listen during a conversation, take an interest and ask thoughtful questions. Those traits fed his desire for knowledge and details, and he often acquired them in the forms of various rare books, patented medicine bottles, organ pipes, architecture slides and AIDS posters.

“It was important that he collected it and got it out to the public,” Ned said, addressing the poster varieties. “It was a visual thing; some are really funny, and scary, compassionate. Some of the most graphic ones are from Germany and France.”

Those displays may have been more explicit, he said, but the messaging was effective.

Recalling Batavia and the farm ...
Although Ned’s father and mother moved from Batavia before Ned’s childhood, he recalls the fun times he and his sister Rebecca had visiting the small city and Genesee County. The siblings also visited their mother’s homestead farm in Stafford. There were horses, sheep and “the smell of the barn,” Ned fondly recalled. He and his sister would take the bus from Rochester to Batavia and visit both sides of the family.

“I used to love to go there, we’d go on a whim on the weekend … hanging out in that big old house, and we’d sneak over to the RCA factory to see the color TVs,” he said. “You really can't mention my father without mentioning my mother; they were married 67 years, and she was really my father's wing woman.”

One thing his father didn’t do was to push Ned into a similar career path. There was no cajoling or needling on the topic, and Ned’s career took him down a more artistic path as a furniture maker. He and his sister fondly remember taking the bus from Rochester to visit their grandparents, Edward P. and Rowena Atwater, who lived in the well-known Atwater House on East Main Street, a rambling structure that accommodated extended family and the constant presence of dogs, Rebecca said. 

Ned often preferred the country life in Stafford, where his mom Ruth grew up. She and Edward C. married in 1951 and lived in Batavia, where Edward grew up and attended school. The couple later moved to Rochester closer to his workplace, the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Briccetti was looking at a screenshot she had taken of her father’s childhood diary, with notations about current events and the $5 his grandmother gifted him. He noted when the Hindenburg crashed in New Jersey while carrying 99 passengers. 

“What a thing for a little boy to write,” she said. “I’m just completely going down memory lane here.” 

The Renaissance man, The Godfather ...
A part of that memory bank includes how much his parents embraced people, from children to adults, with their generosity and care for humanity. So much care, in fact, that Dr. and Mrs. Atwater were asked to be godparents to at least a dozen children, including Kathleen Harleman, Director Emerita of Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois. Her parents became good friends with the Atwaters and thought there would be no couple better for the symbolic guardian role than Edward and Ruth. 

“I always thought of Edward as a Renaissance man or polymath, a person with wide-ranging knowledge and interests in many fields and deep expertise in several areas,” she said. “He epitomized the characterization, being highly educated, a gentleman, cultivated in the arts, and immensely charismatic. Edward’s professional and personal practice, teachings, writings, and collections extended beyond internal medicine (specifically rheumatology), to embrace the history of medicine, as well as major health reforms and global activism.”

Later in life, Edward wrote Women Medical Doctors in the United States Before the Civil War: a Biographical Dictionary. Harleman loved that his efforts “highlighted these female pioneers,” she said. She came from Illinois to see the exhibit, and rated it as “superbly conceived and presented.”

“They explore multiple aspects of the subject with a truly impressive range and depth of voices and expertise. The individual contributions of writers in the publication and for the QR codes in the exhibition are very powerful, as is the exhibition design of the installation and the book's graphic design,” she said. “Edward would have been happy and impressed with the levels of thought, care, and execution that have gone into the exhibition, publication, and programming. My hope, shared by many others, is that this exhibition will travel globally.”

Given his proclivity for research and detail, it may come as no surprise that dinners at the Atwater home included open conversation “about pretty much everything,” Rebecca said. However, she learned more about HIV and AIDS by reading about it for herself.

“The crisis became apparent for what it was … so I didn't have to hear about the AIDS epidemic and HIV from my father, I was reading about it myself. I was living in New York City, a horticultural and culinary editor at the time. And I was reading about it. Rolling Stone Magazine did a very important job in communicating the urgency of this emerging crisis and a lack of national attention, and political attention,” she said. "I know there are a lot of people still out there that really associate this as being a gay disease. And there's still an enormous amount of people there that just don't understand it. And my hope is, this is going to provide good information and change those misconceptions if it's possible. Still, the poster has as much power as anything, you know, to change people's minds, or just to make them realize basic things about AIDS.”

Her father loved to play piano and organ, and sang as a youngster in choir, she said. His collection began then, with organ pipes, and later one of his first collections was of patent medicine bottles, which he researched, and then wrote papers on the patented medicine purveyors, she said. 

“He just loved that. And then finally he and mother realized, you know, this is just too many bottles, this is too big a collection to keep. And they gave it to the university,” she said. “And from there, he moved on to a different kind of collection. And that was medical trade cards. I mean, my goodness, I remember coming home from school and, instead of picking up a comic book, or you know, a favorite young adult fiction book, or maybe working on your math homework, I would eat an afternoon snack while leafing through these enormous bound books of plastic pages into which father was keeping his medical trade card collections. And he was constantly adding to them for years until my mother realized this is just too much to keep at home … and they gave those to the University of Rochester. I think during all of this time, as an historian, he was interested in collecting ephemera in the realm of popular medicine. And that became a thread through his entire historical collecting life.”

It was a passion he was devoted to until he died at age 93. Shortly before that, Rebecca’s husband Fred took him out on a snowy day in New York City and Greenwich to scour collector’s shops. Atwater talked to fellow antiquarians, and they would step out from behind their display tables to say “Dr. Atwater, it’s so good to see you.”

“Obviously surprised that this ancient gentleman would be still out looking for more material," she said. "It was very moving.” 

Batavia man wins $1 million with lottery scratcher

By Press Release

Press release:

Carl Ribbeck, Jr. of Batavia has claimed his $1,000,000 prize on the New York Lottery’s 25X The Cash scratch-off game.

The winning ticket was purchased at Harry’s Niagara located at 563 East Main St. in Batavia.

Ribbeck, Jr. received his $1,000,000 prize as a single lump-sum payment totaling $579,390 after required withholdings.

All top prizes on the 25X The Cash game have been claimed. Players may continue to cash lower-tier prizes through 2/16/23. New York Lottery players can check the status of any scratch-off game by downloading the Game Report at nylottery.ny.gov.

New York scratch-off games generated $4,231,742,980 in total sales during the fiscal year 2020-2021. School districts in Genesee County $13,961,635 in Lottery Aid to Education funds during the same time period.

Star Wars fan film, a mashup with Shakespeare, shot partly in Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

Don Burns did something recently he probably never imagined when he graduated from Batavia High School in 1992 -- dress up as Darth Vader and recite one of Shakespeare's famous monologues in the Richmond Mausoleum. 

Burns, now a teacher in Rochester, was both Darth Vader and executive producer of a Star Wars fan film, Tomorrow & Tomorrow.

The production was a project of 501st Legion's Garrison Excelsior, a worldwide not-for-profit costuming group that raises awareness and money for charities while spreading its members' love for Star Wars.

So far, the film has raised $1,200 for Make-A-Wish.

Burns and another Garrison conceived of the film.

"While researching for upcoming lessons, I happened upon a short film about a Stormtrooper reciting Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech," Burns said. "As an English teacher, and Darth Vader, I've mused with Vader as the title character in Macbeth and was disappointed that I was beaten to the punch. My friend, who is a mask-maker by profession, encouraged me  to look further into it and together we mapped out a way to get it done."

Half the movie was shot at Rochester's Sunken Garden and half at the mausoleum in Batavia.

The film was directed by Joseph Palluconi. The editor was Mark Lukenbill

"When all was said and done, it turned out better than I ever had a right to imagine," Burns said.

Here's a behind-the-scenes video about the making of the film.

Marshalls store being evacuated, smoke in the building

By Howard B. Owens

The Marshalls store on Veterans Memorial Drive in Batavia Town Center is being evacuated because of sparks and smoke coming from a light fixture in the building.

Town of Batavia Fire responding.

Photos: This morning's colorful sky

By Howard B. Owens

This morning's sky was stunning, and Frank Capuano, Batavia (top photo), and Jodi Carmichael, Alabama, shared these two photos.

Law and Order: Pembroke man accused of pushing child

By Howard B. Owens

Kerwin Eric Ransom, 58, of Genesee Street, Pembroke, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and harassment 2nd. Ransom is accused of pushing a pre-teen child. He was arraigned in Town of Pembroke Court, issued an order of protection, and released.

Tina Marie Baase, 59, of Hamlin, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and moving from lane unsafely. Baase was stopped at 9:34 p.m., March 26, on Route 98 in Batavia, by Deputy Jeremiah Gechell. Baase allegedly failed a field sobriety test. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Jessica Jean Easton, 38, of Easton Road, Esperance, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of.18 or greater. Easton was stopped at 8:50 p.m., March 26, on Gillate Road, Alexander, by Deputy Morgan Ewart. Easton was released on an appearance ticket.

Sierra Nicole Biegasiewicz, 31, of Ross Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Biegasiewicz is accused of shoplifting at Walmart. She was released on an appearance ticket.

Richmond unveils new library cards featuring new logo

By Press Release

Press release:

To coincide with National Library Week, April 3-9, 2022, the Richmond Memorial Library is offering a selection of new library cards featuring classic and contemporary images.  The cards also feature a new library logo, in use since earlier this year.  The new cards will be available beginning Monday, April 4.

Images on the new library cards include a striking photograph of the historic 1889 building in winter, taken by local photographer Jim Burns, and a certified “reading therapy” dog named Tillie reading a very unlikely selection.

 “We are so pleased to officially reveal the logo,” Library Director Bob Conrad said.  “It captures many facets of who we are and how we serve the community.” The logo was the culmination of a brand marketing initiative that solicited stakeholder input and community feedback, according to Conrad. The library worked with Causewave Community Partners in Rochester, an organization that assists non-profits and libraries with marketing, workplace development, board training, and more. A group of employees, trustees, and community members met for several workshops to learn about brand marketing, and then to articulate the library’s many roles and purposes in the community. After a “brand platform” was developed, graphic designer Andrew Soucier of Soucier Design created a bold new logo based on the results.

According to a “logo rationale” provided by Soucier , the “logo mark” represents several ideas. “The essence of a trusted community hub is represented by the ‘hub and spokes’ design. The mark can also been seen as an abstract book spine, with pages radiating around it, or a nod to the prominent architectural feature of the library itself: an arch. It is meant to not explicitly depict any of these, but is left open to the viewer’s interpretation.”

Viewers’ interpretations of the abstract logo have run the gamut, according to Community Outreach Librarian Samantha Basile. One patron interpreted it as “Friends, sitting together at a table.” A library volunteer found the circles reminiscent of a motif in the library Reading Room’s leaded-glass windows.  Still another saw a sunrise.

“The earthy colors of red, yellow, blue, and green … present as a grown-up version of a primary palette,” the logo rationale continues. “This retains an element of playful youth, but keeps the logo in a more usable and sophisticated color space.”  Conrad translates: “It’s kid-friendly.  It’s family-friendly.  But it still has grown-up appeal.”

Just as much consideration was given to the “word mark” portion of the logo.  “The word ‘Richmond’ is set large, based on our experience that ‘Richmond’ is what people actually call us,” Basile explains.  “Like, ‘Mom, I’m going to the Richmond.’ But ‘Batavia, NY’ is included, too, because we’re not known or recognized very far beyond Genesee County – and sometimes, we want to be, for example with our vendors, or within the library industry.”

“The logo communicates a lot, very quickly,” Conrad agrees.  “It tells you exactly who, what, and where we are, and some indication of how we try to be.  Many of the world’s most famous logos don’t do that much.”

To celebrate the new logo, the library will waive the usual $1.00 replacement fee during the month of April 2022. But be careful.  “A new card will have a new number,” Conrad warns, “So if you already have your account number memorized, or if it’s saved in all of your eBook and audio apps, then you might be better off just sticking with what you’ve got, at least until you lose it.”

How to get a library card
A first library card is free for most area residents. To qualify, be a resident of Genesee, Orleans or Niagara County OR work, own property or attend school within the borders of the Batavia City School District and provide proof thereof.  Provide a current, valid form of photo identification with your current address.  If your ID does not have your current address, bring an alternate proof of address like a recently postmarked piece of mail, a utility bill, or car insurance.

For people under 18 years of age, the patron must be able to sign their own name and have photo ID with proof of current address OR their parent or legal guardian must provide the same to establish proof of residency.

Non-residents can also obtain a card for an annual fee of $40.00 (for 12 months), or a quarterly fee of $12.00 (for 3 months).

Sponsored Post: Reliant Real Estate; don't overlook this property

By Lisa Ace


1 Thorp St., Batavia. This is an opportunity not to be overlooked-one of kind super solid City home! This unique, hand stoned home has loads of character, a super spacious and well laid out floor plan and an almost "hidden garden" aspect to it that is super charming. Tucked back into the end corner of the street, this home has a great front porch to enjoy and a fully fenced side yard for the gardener, or perfect for kids and or pets to enjoy! There is a shaded patio area with walkway back to large shed for extra yard supplies as well! Inside there is so much room that you will be surprised as to all the entertaining and storage areas as well as 5 large bedrooms! There is a bedroom and 1/2 bath downstairs as well as a great laundry/utility area for those that don't want to do stairs. As unique as the hand placed stoned exterior there is an enclosed stoned patio room with grill/fireplace that would make the most awesome bar/he/she den. The roof is approximately 4 years young as well as a 5 year old furnace with brand new motor - The water main has been replaced and this home has been recently insulated as well! With some fresh paint and flooring and your modern touches this home would shine! Click here to view this property.

Public, BSA members invited to enjoy intuitive painting accompanied by Genesee Wind Ensemble

By Press Release

Press release:

Set the date aside for a fun night on April 12 from 7 to 9 PM at the GoArt-Seymour Art Center at 201 E.Main St.  Batavia Society of Artists is proud to be able to present the opportunity for its members as well as guests to experience the intuitive painting process. This process is a tool to allow artists the experience to be inside color, paint, and process. Reference has been made to being spontaneous and to not over-think your painting. Taking away all expectations for your art may free your mind from the normal constraints of “getting it perfect”.

Batavia Society of Artists will have a program in collaboration with the Genesee Wind Ensemble, led by Conductor Philip Briatico, who has been in the music education field for 15 years. His background includes music education at  Buffalo State College and the University of Buffalo. He has extensive experience in conducting and holds the GIML Level 1 certificate. Mr. Briatico has been a member of Genesee Chorale and the Eastman Community School Music Educator’s Wind Ensemble and is also co-manager of the Batavia Swing Band. He currently works at Niagara Falls City School District and has worked at Elba and Warsaw Central Schools. 

As the ensemble plays in various parts of the facility, artists and guests are invited to “let the music take you” and practice this free-form, loose style of painting. This promises to be a new experience for many painters and may even inspire a new category at local art shows.  No over-thinking or evaluating your work….. after all, it’s ART!
All members are welcome, the non-member fee is $5.00

With property values rising, City prepares for annual assessments

By Press Release

Press release:

City Assessor, Rhonda Saulsbury, announces beginning April 1, 2022, Change of Assessment Notices will be mailed to property owners within the City.  Instructions will be included with each notice indicating the procedure for requesting an informal review, how to obtain forms and where to get information.  Ms. Saulsbury reminds property owners to review the full market value estimate found on the Change of Assessment Notification. If you do not agree with this estimate AND can offer proof for a change, you can follow the process of filing a challenge.  Informal reviews will be held in April.  Appointments are required. 

Information regarding property assessments, inventory data and sale information will be available beginning April 1st online at: https://cityofbatavia.prosgar.com

Please call 1-866-910-1776 to inquire about the valuation process or Informal Review process.

The City of Batavia strives to maintain a 100% equalization rate (sale price to assessment ratio) which means that we keep our assessments at 100% full market value across all property types. To accomplish this we do yearly re-valuation and make adjustments accordingly during the assessment update project. Values can adjust due to physical changes and/or market changes. 

As part of this process, we run each property through our appraisal software system, comparing the building style, square footage, year built, bedrooms, baths, lot size, et cetera, against the recent sale data. We then do a field review to determine the fair full market value based on the aforementioned data.

Although we review each neighborhood within the City yearly, we only update values in those that have experienced an increase in market values. For 2022, we will send out just over 4,400 change-of-assessment notices throughout the City.

As high sale values have continued to climb upwards of 9 - 22% +/- above assessments, we must adjust assessed values in accordance with NYS Real Property Tax Law guidelines, sometimes in consecutive cycles.

If a property owner feels that they could not sell their property for the new assessed/market value, they can request an informal review of their assessment. The Informal Review Application form can be found at the links below, or at the City Clerk’s Office, (Formal Grievance Day is held May 26th from 2:30-4:30 PM and 6:00-8:00 PM). The procedures to request the review are included with the change-of-assessment-notices. As at any time, we practice an open-door policy to anyone with a question or concern.

To access the above-mentioned information online, go to: https://cityofbatavia.prosgar.com/ and look for the RED links. Please keep in mind that only the new preliminary assessed values for comparable properties can be used in comparison to the reviewed property’s new preliminary value.

To submit the Informal Review Application, email it to: batavia2022@garappraisal.com or bring it in to the City Clerk’s Office and we’ll email it for you by April 22nd. There is a week processing time prior to May 1st needed.

If a property owner does not have access to a computer, printer or scanner, all relevant forms can be picked up at the City Clerk’s Office Monday-Friday 8:30-4:30.

If you wish to challenge your new assessed value after the April 22 informal timeframe has concluded, you can submit a formal Grievance any time up until the start of Grievance Day, May 26th at the City Clerk’s Office, or you can attend Grievance Day on May 26th from 2:30-4:30 PM & 6:00-8:00 PM.  Grievance Day is held in Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of City Hall, located at One Batavia City Centre.

The Grievance form, sale & inventory data, and the Citywide new assessments to assist you in comparing property values, can be found in the City Clerk’s Office, at the library, and on the City of Batavia’s website:  https://www.batavianewyork.com/  (Departments/Assessment) as well as https://cityofbatavia.prosgar.com

It's no Fishtale: Restaurant on Evans has closed

By Howard B. Owens

Fishtales Hideaway, an intimate fine dining restaurant at 107 Evans St., Batavia, has closed.

Ryan Fannin, who has run the restaurant recently for his parents Todd and Grace Fannin, said the prolonged slow down in the restaurant business since the start of the pandemic made keeping the doors open unsustainable. 

"It was a tough decision for me," Ryan said. "I would have loved to keep it open for everybody in town."

As manager of a seafood restaurant, Ryan said he was hoping Lent would generate a return to pre-pandemic customer volume, but it didn't happen. He said when he's driven around town on Friday nights and looked into other restaurants, it seems those establishments haven't returned to previous customer volume. 

Lynn Bezon, broker with Reliant Realty, represents property owner Chuck Keating and she said she's already looking for a new tenant for the building.  She will list the vacancy with the multiple listing service soon.  

Todd and Grace moved to Florida for Todd's health some time back and are now operating a small restaurant there, Ryan said.

Man reportedly throwing tables and chairs at Tully's

By Howard B. Owens

Batavia PD is responding to Tully's for a report of an intoxicated male causing a ruckus. 

He was reportedly throwing tables and chairs around in the restaurant.

When police arrived, he was reportedly in a vehicle about to leave.  An officer is with him now.

Law and Order: Woman charged with soliciting alms

By Howard B. Owens

Nancy L. Lawrence, 69, of Batavia, is charged with soliciting alms on a public street or public place. Lawrence is accused of soliciting alms in the parking lot of a business on Ellicott Street at 12:30 p.m., March 18.  She was issued an appearance ticket.

Kiha McNear

Kiha S. McNear, 24, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd. McNear was arrested following an investigation that began with a traffic stop by a Batavia patrol officer at 4:18 a.m., March 17. McNear was allegedly found in possession of an illegal substance. McNear was arraigned in City Court and ordered held without bail.

Adam E. Bortle, 38, of Wayland, was arrested on a warrant. He was arraigned and released.

NaQuan J. Shepard, 22, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. Shepard was allegedly involved in a disturbance in an apartment complex on North Spruce Street, Batavia, at 11:22 p.m., March 23.  Shepard is accused of throwing a cardboard box at another person. Shepard was issued an appearance ticket.

Curtis Williams, 55, of Batavia, is charged with grand larceny 4th. Williams is accused of stealing more than $1,000 from his employer on Ellicott Avenue over a period of time. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Erik R. Motquin, 29, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Motquin is accused of trying to leave a store on West Main Street, Batavia, with $316.03 in merchandise without paying for it. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Joshua Leneir, 35, of West State Street, Albion, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Leneir is accused of violating a complete stay-away order at 3:36 p.m., March 17, at a location on Lent Avenue, Le Roy. He was ordered to appear in Town of Le Roy Court on April 5.

Garrett Berntsen, 25, of Stewart Street, Rochester, was arrested on a warrant in Rochester and brought before the Town of Le Roy Court to answer to charges of criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of the stolen property. He was released under supervision. 

Kasondra Lynn Hubbard, 36, of Myrtle Street, Le Roy, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Hubbard is accused of endangering the welfare of a child during a disturbance at a residence on Myrtle Street, Le Roy, at 8:11 p.m., March 24. Hubbard was ordered to appear in Town of Le Roy Court on April 21.

Earl Benson, 33, of Lyan Road, Byron, is charged with DWI, unlicensed operation, aggravated unlicensed operation, no distinctive plate, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle, and refusal to submit to a breath test. Benson was stopped at 9:23 p.m., March 25, on Bank Street, Le Roy, by Officer John Ceneviva. He was issued traffic tickets.

Francesca G. Pieter, 21, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Peter is accused of stealing something at 4:23 p.m., March 27, at a location in the Town of Batavia. An 18-year-old from Batavia whose name was not released was also arrested. Both suspects were issued appearance tickets. The State Police did not release additional information.

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