batavia

Press release:

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, Genesee County law enforcement agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. 

Bring your pills for disposal to:

Pembroke Town Hall, Route 5 at Route 77 Pembroke

    -- received by Genesee County Sheriff’s Deputies

Batavia Police Department Headquarters, 10 W. Main St., Batavia

    – received by Batavia Police Officers

Le Roy Police Department Headquarters, 3 W. Main St., Le Roy

   – received by Le Roy Police Officers

Only pills and other solids, like patches, can be brought to the collection sites—liquids and needles or other sharps will not be accepted. The service is free and anonymous; no questions asked.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.

Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet.

In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety, health and environmental hazards.

Work crews are getting busy with infrastructure projects in Batavia, starting with a new sidewalk on Liberty Street from East Main Street to Cherry Street.

New sidewalks will also be replaced on Washington Avenue from Ross Street to Bank Street, and on Tracy Avenue from Washington Avenue to North Street.

The sidewalk replacement is part of the state's "Healthy Schools Corridor" project and is funded by 75-percent state and federal grants and 25 percent by the city under the Transportation Alternatives Program.

The width of the sidewalks is increasing to five feet.

Roman Construction, from Tonawanda, won the sidewalk contract with a bid of $721,566.

Other city projects planned this year include milling/paving on South Liberty, Liberty, East Avenue, Vine Street, Swan Street, and Clinton Street, paid for by federal, state, and city funding. The council is expected to award a bid for this contract on at its next business meeting.

City crews will handling paving of Trumbull Parkway, Lehigh Avenue, Eleanor Place and Margaret Place.

In recognition of the dedication of the memorial, this is the story of a family who once lived in Batavia and lost a son to a lynching in North Carolina while another son fled for his life to Canada with a brief visit to Batavia on his way further north.

Rev. William Bullock, a father of 13 children, moved here with his family from Virginia in 1908. He bought a house for $500 and later sold it to Mary Quaslafaro for $3,200 and moved to Macon, N.C., with 12 of his 13 children.

While living in Batavia, he did odd jobs and cleaned offices. During his sojourn in Batavia, he and his family also lived at 103 Jackson St. and 26 Jefferson. When it came time to move, he told the Batavia Daily News that,  "I have all courtesies and respect for the people of Batavia." 

His sons included Plummer Bullock and Matthew Bullock.

According to an account from the March 1922 issue of The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP, Plummer and Matthew ran into trouble in January 1921 in a store in Norlina, N.C. 

Plummer paid for better-grade apples, according to the account, and a white youth attempted to give him rotten apples. Plummer protested and when he "stoutly maintained he should receive what he paid for" a dispute arose. 

As he left the store, people in the store threatened to beat him for daring to talk back to a white man.

That afternoon there was considerable discussion around town, according to The Crisis, about what happened that grew with each telling. 

Soon, there was talk of lynching Plummer.

William Bullock, according to the magazine article, was a respected minister in town. He asked the Sheriff to lock up his son for safekeeping.

Within a few hours, a mob formed and when meeting a group of black youths as they tried to make their way to the jail, a fight ensued. Several people on both sides were injured.

Later that night, the mob reformed and stormed the jail, seized Plummer and another man held at the jail, and lynched them both. 

They then went looking for Matthew Bullock.

Matthew Bullock fled. He was next spotted in Batavia and became the subject of stories in the Batavia Daily News.

The Feb. 3, 1921 story about his arrival in town includes:

Bullock said that about two weeks ago his brother, Plummer Bullock, a 17-year-old boy, was lynched by a mob which afterward riddled his body with bullets. Plummer got into an argument with a white storekeeper over 10 cents worth of apples which the boy had purchased and wanted to return. The argument started a race riot and Bullock, who was working on a farm, began his flight to the North without learning whether anything happened to the other members of his family. Including himself, there were 12 children in the family.

Southern mobs are not satisfied with the killing of the person who aroused them, but seek to exterminate their victim's entire family, Bullock said. Although he was assured that he was among friends and that no harm would come to him in Batavia, the young man declared that he was not far enough away from his southern home and intended to keep on going. If the mob that killed his brother located him it would attempt to take his life, he claimed.

The newspaper continued to track attempts by Southern law enforcement to locate Matthew and reported Jan. 17, 1922, that Matthew was arrested in Canada. 

Two days later, the newspaper reported that local residents had started a fundraising campaign to assist Matthew Bullock, who was a veteran of World War I.

Soon, Matthew Bullock's story wasn't just known in Batavia. The legal fight over his extradition from Canada became international news, gripping the world's newspaper readers for the next four months.

The NAACP hired attorneys in Canada to represent Matthew Bullock. 

The U.S. State Department demanded an extradition. A hearing was held before Judge Snider in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Snider demanded that North Carolina produce witnesses to prove that Bullock was guilty of the crime charged and to disprove that the demand for extradition was a subterfuge to get Bullock back in the state's jurisdiction where he could be railroaded to jail and perhaps lynched. He adjourned the hearing for one week to give North Carolina an opportunity to produce witnesses.

"Bullock admitted freely that he fired several shots in defense of his life when attacked by the mob while the mob was on its way to the jail to lynch Plummer Bullock," The Crisis reported. "Under provisions of the treaty between Canada and the United States, shooting in the defense of ones life is not an extraditable office, while attempted murder is."

Governor Cameron Morrison of North Carolina refused to produce witnesses.

In The New York Times, Feb. 19, 1922, Morrison is quoted, while discussing the Bullock case, as saying, "People in some sections of the country do not seem to understand that so-called lynchings in the South are nothing more than the killing of a criminal by the friends and frequently outraged relatives of the victim of the prisoner's crime."

Snider refused the request to extradite Matthew Bullock and he was released.

On May 1, 1922, the Batavia Daily News reported that Bullock intended to go aboard to escape the reach of the KKK. Other reports said he would flee to England. 

According to family tree records on Ancestry.com, Matthew Bullock eventually returned to Warran, N.C., where he died Sept. 30, 1982.

Thank you to Michael Eula and Judy Stiles of the Genesee County History Department for their assistance with this story.

A bicyclist has been struck by a car at Jackson and Main, Batavia.

No word on how serious the injuries might be. 

City fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Also dispatched, City fire and Mercy EMS for a person who has fallen from a ladder extended to the second floor of a residence on Davis Avenue, Batavia.

UPDATE 6:33 p.m.: The victim of the accident on Jackson is complaining of shoulder pain.

A tractor-trailer rollover accident is reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 389 in the eastbound lane.

No injuries are reported.

Town of Batavia fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 6:35 p.m.: Assignment to the Thruway in service.

Crews from Batavia Turf and DuraEdge have been working diligently at Dwyer Stadium this week (these pictures are from Tuesday) to get the field ready for baseball season.

Local high schools will be able to start playing on the field soon and the Batavia Muckdogs open their season June 18.

Above, a laser on a tripod sends a signal to the grader in the background, which automatically adjusts its blades to level the playing field.

The infield was laser-leveled with the old infield mix and then a DuraEdge professional mix, the same infield mix used by the Miami Marlins, was applied and laser-leveled.

"Mike Robinson and his crew (from DuraEdge) do a lot of professional fields and they know what they’re doing," said Chuck Hoover, with Batavia Turf.

Hoover said the grass in the infield and the outfield was overseeded, fertilized, and top-dressed so it will grow into a smoother playing surface in a couple of weeks.

The lip of the infield was cut down and back about six inches so the lip of the grass is removed. There is a slight incline around the back of the infield. Robinson said it will take more time to repair that than is available before this season.

Hoover said the pitcher's mound, by Major League standards, should be 10 inches higher than home plate. It's just a tad lower. Asked if home plate and the mound were otherwise aligned, Hoover said, "They haven’t gotten to that yet — that’s their game. I’m not sure but we’re going to have to remove the rubber anyway to adjust things."

Once the infield is level, an overcoat will be applied, with a similar material added to the warning tracks.

"It will be a pretty red," Hoover said.

Press release:

Batavia Middle School and High School ensembles will be performing at the 11th Annual Jazz Cabaret on Friday evening in the Batavia High School gymnasium beginning at 6:30.

Dessert, coffee and water will be served. A $5 donation is suggested.

Ensembles performing tomorrow evening include MS jazz and string ensembles, HS jazz and brass ensemble, string ensemble, beautyshop ensemble, saxophone and flute ensemble.

The event supports our music scholarships given out every year for our graduating seniors. Music students hope to see you there!

Submitted photo.

Press release:

O-AT-KA Milk Products is proud to announce that Donna Maxwell, vice president of Human Resources, was presented with the prestigious HR Executive of the Year Award by the Rochester Affiliate of the National Human Resources Association (NHRA).

Maxwell was honored at the NHRA’s fifth annual awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 18th, at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford.

The award recognizes exceptional leadership in innovation and operational excellence. Nominated along with four of her peers in the region, Maxwell was selected for her exemplary leadership in organizational development.

She was also presented with the Transformational Business Partnership Award in recognition of outcomes achieved in labor relations management.

“To be effective as a leader it takes courage; strength of character; intellectual honesty; the ability to build trust; integrity; experience and wisdom,” said Bill Schreiber, CEO of O-AT-KA. “These are all personal characteristics that Donna Maxwell brings to the job each and every day. She never mails it in.”

Maxwell has had responsibility for Human Resources and Technology strategy for O-AT- KA Milk Products for the past three years. During that time she has driven the company to a new and sustainable technology vision that includes mobile technology and remote functionality in a manufacturing environment.

She has solidified O-AT-KA’s position as an employer of choice with the renegotiation of cost effective, best-in-class employee benefit options.

For information about working at O-AT-KA and to view open positions, visit www.oatkamilk.com/careers.

Michelle A. Condidorio is indicted for the crime of driving while intoxicated, as a Class E felony. It is alleged that on Feb. 2 in the Town of Alexander that Condidorio drove a 2013 Chevrolet on Telephone Road while intoxicated. In count two, she is accused of the crime of driving while intoxicated per se, as a Class E felony, for allegedly having a BAC of .18 or more at the time. In Special Information filed by the District Attorney, the defendant is accused of being convicted of a misdemeanor DWI on Jan. 20, 2011, in the City of Batavia, and that conviction was within 10 years of the crimes currently alleged.

Jeremy J. Schraufstetter is indicted for the crime of driving while intoxicated, as a Class E felony. It is alleged that on Oct. 28 in the Town of Darien that Schraufstetter drove a 1984 Chevrolet on Broadway Road while intoxicated. In count two, he is accused of the crime of driving while intoxicated per se, as a Class E felony, for allegedly having a BAC of .08 or more at the time. In Special Information filed by the District Attorney, the defendant is accused of being convicted of a misdemeanor DWI on March 19, 2008, in Village of Depew Court, and that conviction was within 10 years of the crimes currently alleged.

Michael J. Smith is indicted for the crime of driving while intoxicated, as a Class E felony. It is alleged that on Nov. 2 in the Town of Le Roy that Smith drove a 2003 Chrysler on East Main Street while intoxicated. In count two, he is accused of the crime of driving while intoxicated per se, as a Class E felony, for allegedly having a BAC of .08 or more at the time. In Special Information filed by the District Attorney, the defendant is accused of being convicted of a misdemeanor DWI on Dec. 1, 2008, in the Town of Le Roy, and that conviction was within 10 years of the crimes currently alleged.

Jessie P. Polito, 40, of 407 Frederick Douglas Street, Rochester, is charged with three counts of grand larceny, 4th, and one count of petit larceny. Polito was arrested following a lengthy investigation by Le Roy PD into a stolen purse in the Village of Le Roy and use of credit cards in the purse in Monroe County. Polito was identified as the suspect through video surveillance as the user of the cards and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Polito turned himself into Le Roy PD.

Olivia Nichole Smith, 21, of School Street, Batavia, is charged with driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs, possession of a forged driver's license, and open container. Smith was arrested after Deputy Ryan DeLong responded at 11:30 p.m. Friday to Route 33, Bergen, to a request to check the welfare of a person on a roadside vehicle.

Richard Sampel, 48, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st. Sampel was arrested by State Police based on a report at 10:17 p.m. Tuesday, in the Town of Alabama. No further details released.

Chelsea E. Vercruysse, 21, of Medina, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Vercruysse was stopped by State Police at 9:12 p.m. Monday on Route 63 in Batavia.

Phyllis Seager sent in this picture about an hour ago of a possum stuck on a fence in the 300 block of East Main Street, Batavia.

She said she wanted to get the possum down but the folks at the neighboring business wouldn't let her.

UPDATE 9 p.m.: Seager said the possum was still there as of 8 p.m. I drove by at 8:45 p.m. and it was gone. Seager said she doesn't know how it got down. She's hoping once it got dark the possum got brave enough to get down on its own.

A caller on Thorpe Street in the city says a man threw a rock through her window and also threw a bicycle at her. He is reportedly pacing outside. Police are responding.

Press release:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today called on U.S. trade officials to secure a level playing field with Canadian producers during the renegotiation of the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Schumer said that in recent years, Canada has established dairy pricing policies and has maintained high tariffs that have effectively created a “Dairy Wall” stopping most U.S. dairy products from accessing Canadian markets and distorting global trade.

Dairy farmers and producers, like the 340 dairy farmers who make up Upstate Niagara Co-Op, which supplies O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative Inc. in Batavia, have been severely hurt by Canada’s manipulative trade practices and it will only get worse without action.

O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative Inc., with more than 400 employees and majority owned by Upstate Niagara, has already lost millions of dollars in contracts due to Canada’s actions “Dairy Wall.”

Schumer said that the time to secure a level playing field with Canada by expanding market opportunities and eliminating Canada’s unfair pricing policies – is now and we cannot let this opportunity go to waste.

“Our hardworking New York dairy farmers and producers like Upstate Niagara Co-Op’s 340 farm family members across the Finger Lakes and O-AT-KA Milk Products in Batavia are the most competitive in the world, but they depend on stable and fair rules to compete in a global economy, to sell their dairy products, expand their business and create new local jobs,” Schumer said.

“As trade officials near a deal to renegotiate NAFTA – an issue President Trump and I both agree on – we must make it a top priority to begin reversing restrictive dairy pricing policies in Canada that are hurting our dairy producers at their core, and now is a real opportunity to do just that.”

Schumer explained Canada has an unfair advantage over New York dairy farmers and producers. In addition to Canada’s 270 percent tariff on milk, a program called the “Class 7” pricing program, a market-distorting supply management system, has caused severe pain to New York dairy producers like Avon’s Anderson Farm and their fellow Upstate Niagara Co-Op dairies since it came into force last year.

In fact, Canada has used the Class 7 program to triple its milk powder exports in the past year by creating excess milk production capacity within Canada, then dumping the resulting milk powder onto world markets. To further prove this dumping exists, Schumer added that Canada’s dairy farmers are some of the highest paid in the world, yet Canadian dairy companies are still able to be among the lowest cost sellers of Class 7 products globally.

Anderson Farm is one of the 340 dairy farm members of the Upstate Niagara Co-Op, which is the majority owner of the O-AT-KA Milk Products facility in Batavia. More than 400 employees work at O-AT-KA. Upstate Niagara dairies throughout the Rochester Finger Lakes Region like Anderson Farm depend on O-AT-KA to purchase their milk to then manufacture and sell milk products for the domestic and international markets.

Since Canada’s implementation of Class 7, O-AT-KA lost $19 million in annual sales of Ultra Filtered milk (UF Milk), a product used to make cheese and other dairy products that it had been exporting into Canada. Moreover, the production of this UF milk for the Canadian market had accounted for 20 percent (about 180 million pounds) of all of O-AT-KA’s milk volume.

This severely undercut a $16 million investment made by O-AT-KA in 2012 to build a two-story addition at its Batavia plant to manufacture UF Milk to support its export business to Canada. When Canada unfairly cut off UF Milk imports and implemented Class 7, it dealt a significant blow to the local agriculture economy and was a factor in the current U.S. milk inventory imbalance that is contributing to now drive the price of milk down.

Schumer was joined by Jim Anderson, fourth generation owner of Anderson Farm, O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative Inc. President & Chairman John Gould, local dairy farmers, and elected officials.

Gould, who also owns an Upstate Niagara Co-Op dairy farm in Genesee County, said “Canada has a long history of erecting barriers to trade when it comes to dairy and the creation of Class 7 is an example of that. Canada's Class 7 market manipulation has caused harm to O-AT-KA Milk Products and their farm family owners, whose investments in serving legitimate customers in Canada have been blocked.

"As NAFTA is renegotiated, it is time that Canadian gamesmanship ends and a constructive agreement is reached that allows market participation and access under rules that all trading partners can follow. We thank Senator Schumer for his leadership and work in keeping this important issue top of mind as negotiations proceed."

As U.S., Canadian and Mexican trade officials are closing in on a deal to revamp North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Schumer said now represents a real opportunity to dismantle Canada’s market-distorting policies and ensure a level playing field for American dairy farmers and producers.

Schumer noted that he has directly stressed the importance of securing meaningful changes in our dairy trade relationship with Canada to past and current administration officials, including current United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, President Trump, Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton, and the U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft who have all committed to address this issue.

Right now, products manufactured by O-AT-KA Milk Products include non-fat dry milk powder, buttermilk powder, whey powder, canned evaporated milk, butter, fluid condensed milk, iced coffee, nutritional beverages and other various drinks.

O-AT-KA has gross annual sales of more than $300 million and is a significant employer and economic development engine in Upstate NY’s dairy and manufacturing industries. Schumer said that in order for Upstate Niagara member dairies and O-AT-KA to continue to be global leaders, Canada’s rapacious dairy-related trade policies need to be addressed and that NAFTA represents a major opportunity to do so.

Here's Schumer's letter to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, United States Trade Representative:

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer:

As the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations come towards a conclusion, I would like to again emphasize the importance of securing meaningful concessions from Canada to provide stable market access for our dairy producers. Securing meaningful and enforceable commitments that will allow U.S. dairy producers to compete with Canada’s on a level playing field should be a top priority in NAFTA renegotiations. As I have expressed to you many times, I strongly believe that we should not miss this opportunity to protect our dairy producers from Canada’s recent predatory trade practices.

As you know, Canada’s Class 7 pricing program, a market-distorting supply management system, has caused severe pain to New York dairy producers since it came into force last year. Canada has also maintained large tariffs on dairy products, including a 270 percent tariff on milk. New York’s dairy farmers and companies like Cayuga Milk Ingredients, O-AT-KA Milk, and Ideal Dairy Farm, rely on market-based trade with Canada for a significant percentage – millions of dollars – of their revenue. Not only are New York’s producers locked out of Canada’s ultrafiltered milk market, but in just a year’s time, Canada has used its Class 7 program to triple its milk powder exports, dumping powdered milk products into global markets and undercutting New York dairy producer’s exports. This Class 7 system is likely a violation of Canada’s World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, but addressing it quickly through NAFTA renegotiation is needed, rather than waiting for years for a WTO determination. This Class 7 system should be dismantled through new NAFTA commitments.

In our discussions, you have committed to me that you would prioritize addressing this issue through NAFTA renegotiations. The President has also privately expressed to me his explicit desire to address this issue and has publically emphasized, many times, the unfair way that Canada has treated our dairy producers, noting just last month: “Canada must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive.”

Our hard working dairy producers are the most competitive in the world, but they depend on stable and fair rules to compete in a global economy. Again, I urge you to make meaningful and enforceable commitments that level the playing field for our dairy producers a top priority as NAFTA renegotiations conclude.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Press release:

The Genesee Community College Nursing Program produces qualified and skilled candidates for positions in the healthcare each year. Under the direction of the Alumni Affairs Office, the Nursing Program Alumni are working hard to help qualified Nursing Program students overcome financial obstacles.

The GCC Nursing Alumni Committee established a new scholarship opportunity for future Nursing Program students to help mitigate financial obstacles to GCC student success. The entire community is invited to kick off National Nurses Week at the Batavia Downs at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 4, for the debut of the Gatsby Gala to support the GCC Nursing Alumni Scholarship.

Guest registration at the event begins at 5:30 p.m.. followed by a delicious sit-down dinner with a cash bar at 6 p.m. Emcee Scott Gardner, president of the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce, will introduce: GCC's Director of the Nursing Program Laurel Sanger; Chase Hughes, of Buffalo, who will testify to the difference qualified and passionate nurses made for him and his family; and Jennifer Sonricker, of Warsaw, who will share her journey battling her daughter's cancer.

At 7:15 p.m. all guests have chances to win big with door prizes and a cash raffle! The evening will conclude with a beautiful dessert and dancing the night away to the DJ talents of students from GCC's radio station 90.7 WGCC.

Tickets to the Gatsby Gala cost $100 per person and all proceeds go directly to the GCC Nursing Alumni Scholarship.

Tickets are on sale now! RSVP online here. You can also contact the Alumni Affairs Office at alumni@genesee.edu

The Nursing Scholarship is generously sponsored by the following:

Bronze Sponsors:

Summit Family Dental Care

Laurel Sanger

Jerilyn Constantino

Brenda Schiavone

Michelle Grohs

Jeffrey Erickson Law Office

In-Kind Supporters:

Bobette and Dan McCormick

Tops Friendly Markets in Warsaw

Healing Hands Massage & Spa LLC

Steuben Trust Company

Envision Salon & Spa

Michelle Grohs

Jeffrey Erickson Law Office

Additional Donations:

Robert O. Holley

There are still opportunities available to sponsor Nursing Program scholarships at many levels.

For online details go to: https://www.genesee.edu/home/offices/alumni/alumni-events/gatsbygala/ which offers commitments of $100 - $3,000 and also includes In-kind Support for those wishing to customize their sponsorship. All sponsorship levels include a variety of benefits from free advertising to photos, and GCC Foundation recognition.

For more information, contact Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs Jennifer Wakefield at (585) 343-0055, ext. 6265, or via email at jgwakefield@genesee.edu

Eden, the new vegan food booth inside the Eli Fish Brewing Company restaurant at 111 E. Main St., Batavia, held a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting Sunday afternoon.

Eden is one of two new food establishments opening inside Eli Fish, as part of an initiative sponsored by the Batavia Development Corp. called FreshLAB. 

Owner Judy Hysek cuts with the ribbon Jim Turcer, left, the first paid customer, Chamber of Commerce President Tom Turnbull, Chris Hysek, Judy's husband, Tracy Burgio, representing FreshLAB, and David Balonek, Judy's father.

The Batavia Rotary Club hosted its second annual meat auction Saturday night at the social hall of Ascension Parish on Swan Street in Batavia.

The event was sold out. Participants bought chances to win packages of meat, from hamburger to bacon and steaks to shrimp. Some tickets had more than one chance to win, with each prize often being available to more than one winner.