batavia

A dog is locked in a red Chevy Malibu in the 10th row of the parking lot at Walmart. A Sheriff's deputy is responding.

UPDATE 7:13 p.m.: The deputy reports that all four windows are down and the dog has water to drink. Despite these precautions against overheating, someone called dispatch with concerns.

Rep. Kathy Hochul heard a good suggestion from constituents today during an agriculture roundtable she hosted in council chambers at Batavia City Hall: Young people need to be taught more about farming.

Lorna Klotzbach first raised the issue.

In the Oakfield-Alabama Central School District, Klotzbach noted that "there is no FAA and there wasn't when I was in school that I can remember. There are very few teachers with an agricultural background. There is no training for farm careers. There is very little of that in Genesee County altogether."

Klotzbach noted that she's heard students suggest that farm work is really only for illegal immigrants.

"The smartest, most skilled people I've known are farmers and we hold them in such low esteem," Klotzbach said.

Hochul said she could envision supporting some sort of pilot project to help fund agriculture training in local schools and getting support for an informational campaign to elevate farming as a career choice.

Domestically produced food is a key component of national security, said Hochul, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee.

"Congress has a roll to play in directing funds (to ag training)," Hochul said. "We need to help people embrace the patriotic sense you get from the American family farm. That's what we're all about, the entrepreneurial spirt that this country is built on."

Farm labor was a big part of the morning discussion, with much of it centered on the difficulty farmers have these days in finding qualified, legal labor.

Hochul noted that with the opening soon of the Alpina and Pepsi yogurt plants, the demand on local milk supplies will increase 15 percent, and that doesn't mean more cows and milking parlors. It means more farm workers will be needed.

"If we don’t get more people in this workforce, we’re not going to be able to capitalize on the opportunities that we have right here in Genesee County," Hochul said.

The congresswoman said she is looking at how to move some of the recent refugees -- who are mostly from agrarian countries -- in Rochester and Buffalo to work on Genesee County farms.

There is apparently a growing Burmese immigrant community in Buffalo, with many people from rural communities.

The problem Hochul said she wanted to tackle is transportation, but Matt Lamb said transportation isn't an issue.

"We can house these people," he said.

If the workers are qualified and willing to work, there's work and shelter available for them now.

Klotzbach said that if Burmese workers were going to be brought to Genesee County to work on farms, it needs to be approached in a comprehensive way, with assistance to school districts for appropriate classes and ensuring Burmese families have a chance to retain their culture while assimulating to a new one.

"It doesn’t do any good to bring one Burmese family to Pavilion," she said. That doesn’t work. They need a community."

Hochul said she will look into available options to help find qualified refugee labor and ensure any move of the labor force to the area is done the right way.

Some farmers complained about overzealous U.S. Border Patrol agents, even conducting raids when there was no apparent probable cause for illegal workers being on a property.

Hochul said she's spoken with the director the border patrol and suggested that the Western New York border with Canada has too many agents for the threat level and perhaps some agents should be transferred to Texas or Arizona.

"Our homeland is not in any danger or threat from our farmers," Hochul said. "We need a different attitude."

A tractor-trailer's brakes are reportedly on fire on Route 5, in front of Kiwanis Park. It is hauling another trailer. Smoke is coming from the tractor, according to a responder at the scene. Town of Batavia Fire Department is en route.

UPDATE 4:36 p.m.: The fire is out. Town of Batavia is back in service.

Jonathan Martinez is a happy, energetic young man who has come across a tough break.

Known by the nickname "Tan-Tan" to his co-workers at Rancho Viejo Mexican Restaurant (and formerly to his co-workers at Margarita's), Martinez is well liked by everyone.

"He's always smiling," said his sister, Elena Vega. "He's a really humble, amazing person."

Martinez, 24, was diagnosed with germ cell cancer in December. The cancer was successfully removed, and he enjoyed a period of remarkable recovery until he returned to the doctor for a follow-up in March. It was then that he was diagnosed with spindle cell cancer, which was found around his liver.

He is now in hospice at Batavia's Crossroads House. Things are tough, but he has a positive attitude and is confident that he can beat the cancer.

There is a benefit fundraiser for Martinez today at Austin Park, at the corner of Washington and Jefferson Avenues in Batavia. It started at 1 p.m. and will last until dusk. There is no admission fee, but donations will be collected.

Live music will be featured, including performances by Soulcraft and Amos Williams. Jerry Smith, known in local circles as "Honeybun," will be the master of ceremonies.

Donations will be used to help with the medical expenses of Martinez' treatment, which are quite daunting.

"It's really expensive," Vega said. "We haven't paid for anything yet."

Services from the past seven months for which Martinez' family must still pay include chemotherapy, surgery, X-rays, CAT scans, biopsies and blood transfusions (Vega said her brother's cell count is still very low).

Throughout all the challenges he has come to face, Martinez has been sustained by the love he has for his family -- especially his 3-year-old daughter, Jonelis (pictured).

"He keeps saying he's going to 'come out standing like a rock for his baby girl,' " Vega said. "She is his life."

Martinez' faith has also been key to his positive outlook.

"He has tremendous faith in God," Vega said. "We know there's a purpose in this. We're just waiting for a miracle."

Photo taken by Nelle Williams

A large dog is locked in an older green car in front of Michael's craft store in the Target shopping center. It is barking furiously. A deputy is on scene and reports "I'll be attempting to locate (the owner). The dog is very aggressive. You can't get near it." The car is registered to a man in the City of Batavia.

UPDATE 3:02 p.m.: When the deputy first arrived, he noted the windows are down. An animal control officer is responding.

A dog is sweltering inside a silver-grayish Chevy TrailBlazer in the parking lot of Walmart in Batavia. The SUV has Florida plates. A Sheriff's deputy is responding.

The sister of Jason Lang, as promised, has announced a date for a protest against bath salts. It will take place in front of 420 Emporium, 400 Ellicott St., Batavia.

The protest, Brandi Smith said, is set for 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 18.

"We're asking anyone who would like to join us to please meet at the location," Smith said. "This protest is against the sale and use of bath salts. I have seen bath salts ruin lives, families, people have died, and the bizarre actions of people using bath salts puts everyone in the community in danger."

On Tuesday, Smith's mother Nicole Lang confronted store employees because she believes 420 Emporium has been selling bath salts to her son, Jason Lang.

A store employee told police that Lang entered the store that night "and began yelling and screaming ‘You’re selling bath salts and killing my son.' "

At the scene -- Nicole Lang was cited for alleged trespass -- Lang and Smith vowed to mount a protest against the store.

"I'm sending out a plea to the whole community to please give a little of your time to participate in the protest," Smith said last night. "I feel this is an emergency situation that needs immediate attention. My hope is people will become more aware to this nightmarish situation."

Jason Lang is the former owner of The Laughing Buddha, a tattoo parlor and head shop on Ellicott Avenue. Smith worked for a time as manager of the shop.

While Lang has admitted to selling synthetic marijuana in the past, he's always denied selling bath salts.

The bath salt issue, however, has recently hit the Lang family hard. Jason Lang has been arrested for allegedly calling the landlord of 420 Emporium and impersonating law enforcement, trying to convince the landlord not to rent to the Brockport-based business, allegedly warning the property owner that the retail chain sells bath salts.

In recent weeks, Lang has reportedly made several 9-1-1 calls and was arrested July 1 for allegedly falsely reporting hearing gunshots at a local hotel.

The mother of Lang's child, Ashley Keene, is accused of giving bath salts to a 14-year-old girl. According to the girl's statement to police, Lang and Keene drove to the 420 Emporium location in Warsaw to buy two packages of "Amped," a brand of bath salt, on Memorial Day.

City Manager Jason Molino said the planned protest might be an appropriate neighborhood response.

"If that's what's going on inside that establishment, and if the neighborhood is fed up, it's certainly within their right to do that," Molino said.

The Batavian called the 420 Emporium in Batavia today to get reaction from the store manager to the planned protest, but he wasn't available for comment.

Besides Brockport, Batavia and Warsaw, 420 Emporium operates stores in Rochester, Syracuse and Fulton.

The photo above was taken Thursday morning. Up until at least Wednesday afternoon, the store had its business name painted in the windows of the shop.  Employees have apparently removed the name of the business from the window.

Even if people can't come out on Wednesday, Smith asked people to pray about the bath salt issue.

"As a Christian and a member of the Batavia Assembly of God, I urge people to pray for any and all who have been affected by bath salts," Smith said. "Jesus is love. Bath salts are evil."

For more information on Smith's plans or to help in organizing the protest, contact her at 585-300-7790.

Eric Betz says he and a lot of his friends are pretty unhappy with what they're seeing in Batavia right now.

Betz wants to do something about it: raise awareness of the dangers of bath salts and send a message that not everybody who enjoys an alternative lifestyle approves of this behavior.

"We don't want people who enjoy their freedom of expression to be equated to these scumbags," Betz said.

He's working on organizing a community event sometime soon that he hopes will bring the community together to rally against bath salts.

He said a few local businesses, such as Bourbon & Burger, Foxprowl Collectables and CPR Computer, have signed on to support the event. Next he wants to talk to the City of Batavia to get permission to hold the event in Austin Park. 

He's also looking for a donation of a car that people can take a whack at with a sledge hammer as a "your brain on bath salts" message.

At $5 a hammer swing, Betz is hoping to raise money for GCASA or another substance abuse program.

Betz, manager and a tattoo artist for Affliction Ink, 440 Ellicott St., Batavia, said "almost every one of my clients is against this crap."

Affliction Ink is owned by Eric Weiss. Both Weiss and Betz are former employees of The Laughing Buddha (440 Ellicott is the Buddha's original location) who left their jobs there, Betz said, because they were concerned about Jason Lang allegedly selling synthetic marijuana. 

Now they're just down the street from 420 Emporium (located at 400 Ellicott St.), which Betz believes has sold bath salts, and he said if they were or are, it's bad for the neighborhood.

People sometimes confuse the two businesses, he said, and he wants to make the distinction clear. Affliction Ink has nothing to do with bath salts, he said, though some people still come into the store looking to buy packages of the narcotic.

"It's getting out of hand," Betz said. "We see people walk by every day high on this stuff. It's disgusting."

One of the big dangers of bath salts, Betz said, is that it makes people paranoid and they might act irrationally, making them a danger not just to themselves but anybody in the community.

"We want to raise awareness about it," Betz said. "I'm tired of hearing people saying they want to leave Batavia because of it. This is my home. I love it here."

Rich Clark of CPR Computers has set up a Facebook page for the planned event, "Let's Beat Bath Salts."

UPDATE: The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., July 28, at L&L Transmission, 8781 Alexander Road, Batavia.  Additional businesses supporting the event: Neptunes Gardens Pet Shop, Rochester Metal Booking, B-Town Yellow Taxi, My T-Shirts Etc.  Also, I'm told I got Eric's profession wrong. He does piercings for Affliction Ink.

This morning city employee Colton Cole was watering the city's hosta garden outside of City Centre.

Andrew J. Ashley, 25, of 91 W. Main St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and using a mobile phone while driving. According to Le Roy PD, Ashley was driving on Route 19 and allegedly texting while driving when he failed to negotiate a curve at Route 19 and Wolcott Street. Ashley's vehicle struck a curb and the vehicle's axle broke.

Danielle Marie Stevens, 35, of Ford Road, Elba, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd. Stevens was arrested on a warrant by State Police following a traffic stop. Stevens was turned over to the Sheriff's Office, arraigned and jailed on $1,250 bail.

Rebecca Louise Batt, 31, of East Bethany Le Roy Road, Bethany, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Batt was arrested following a trespassing complaint at 1:48 a.m., Thursday, when Batt allegedly drove her vehicle into the back yard of a residence on East Bethany Le Roy Road and parked without permission of the homeowner.

Wendy L. Mucher, 42, of Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny and criminal mischief. Mucher is accused of stealing $29.34 worth of merchandise that she removed from its packaging from a business on Veterans Memorial Drive.

Joseph Daniel Barone, 30, of Woodbriar Drive, Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Barone was stopped at 8:38 p.m. Thursday on Route 77 in Pembroke by Deputy Patrick Reeves. A search of the vehicle allegedly found alcohol, crack cocaine and marijuana.

Melissa Ann Neely, 42, of Lincoln Mills Road, East Rochester, is charged with controlled substance not its original container. Neely was charged following a traffic stop at 9:09 p.m. Thursday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Jacob D. Waite, 20, of 3661 Pike Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and driving left of pavement markings. Waite was arrested by Attica PD following a traffic stop at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday on Market Street, Attica.

The new LCD-based sign, replacing the old neon sign, atop Batavia Downs was illuminated for the first time Thursday evening.

A dog is reportedly locked in a black four-door sedan -- "with minimal air" -- in the parking lot of Walmart, near the food entrance. At 6 p.m., the temperature was 88, according to dispatch. Law enforcement is responding.

City police are responding to an address on Burke Drive after it was reported that a young female, approximately 20 years old, was in the area soliciting free vacuuming service. A white vehicle, unfamiliar to the caller, was reported to be parked on the street, however it is now gone.

A field fire is reported at 4271 Drake St. Road in Elba. Elba Fire Department is responding. The location is between South Main Street and Weatherwax Road. Fire equipment from the towns of Oakfield, Batavia and Byron are also requested.

UPDATE 4:11 p.m.: Drake Street Road and Weatherwax are being shut down.

UPDATE 4:16 p.m.: Fire police are stationed at routes 262 and 98. A Bergen tanker is requested to fill in at Byron's hall. The wind is 10 mph out of the east.

UPDATE 5:01 p.m.: Batavia and Oakfield are back in service.

UPDATE 5:06 p.m.: The fire is out. Elba, Byron and Bergen are back in service. The roadway is reopened.

Press release:

On Saturday, July 28, the Town of Batavia Fire Department will hold its 13th Annual Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Raffle. (The model is a 2012 FLSTFB.)

The event runs from 8 p.m. until midnight -- rain or shine. It will feature a beer tent and live entertainment by the band 7th Heaven. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase from Alex’s Place.

The event is free admission and open to the public, a ticket purchase is not necessary to attend. Tickets are limited to 2,500 and the money raised benefits the town fire department. Each ticket costs $20 and they are still available, sold on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

This year we are offering a $10,000 cash prize in lieu of the motorcycle to the Grand Prize winner. They will have the option of the bike or the cash prize.

To buy a ticket, checks and money orders can be made out to the “Town of Batavia Fire Dept. Raffle” and mailed to:

C/O Raffle Chairman
Town of Batavia Fire Dept.
P.O. Box 417
Batavia, NY 14021-0417

For further information please visit: <http://townofbataviafire.com>, call 344-3284, ext. 12, or email tbfdraffle@townofbataviafire.com

A dog has been locked inside a white Ford Chevy Equinox for at least 10 minutes in the parking lot of Target in Batavia. A Sheriff's deputy is responding.

The vehicle is registered to a person in Darien.

In California, I didn't see many asphalt driveways. For whatever reason, most homeowners there prefer concrete (weather, I imagine, is a factor).

It didn't take long after moving to Western New York to figure out that here asphalt is the preferred surface for driveways, and if you're a homeowner who takes routine maintenance seriously, you periodically get your driveway sealed.

A couple of years ago I suggested to Scott Kopper, owner of WNY Blacktop Sealers, that I come out to one of his jobs some time and take a few pictures and learn a little bit about why sealing an asphalt driveway is important. This morning, we actually finally got together for one of his jobs.

Here's what he told me: "A blacktop drive way is a big investment and you want to protect that investment. What blacktop sealing does, not only does it look good, but it makes your driveway more resistant to oil, gas leaks, power steering fluid, and it doesn't oxidize as quickly from the sun beating on it, which means it doesn't crack and break as easily. "

I was surprised to learn the sun does more damage to asphalt than winter salt and snow. Winter damage occurs when a driveway does crack and then ice gets into those cracks, expands and makes them worse.

Josh Dibble was helping Scott this morning at a residence on Vine Street.

Batavia Little League played a championship game at MacArthur Park on Wednesday. When I left, Batavia was ahead 7-1 or 8-1, but I've not yet received final results from anybody. Evan so, here are photos from yesterday's game.

UPDATE: Batavia won 9-4 and now advances to a sectionals round, which is hosted in Batavia this weekend. Teams in the tournament besides Batavia: Penfield, Auburn, Fredonia, Portville and Orchard Park.

Up until Friday, Melissa Broadbent thought her brother Bradley was really turning his life around.

He had a job, he was trying to do the best he could by his son, within the limits of court orders and the demands of the child's mother.

Then, seemingly overnight, and just three months removed from his last prison term, Bradley Broadbent discovered "Amped," a form of bath salts that is reportedly sold at a shop in Batavia.

"Previous to that day, he was doing well for himself," Melissa said. "He worked in a flower shop, he gained better employment, he was trying to become a good member of society."

Last Friday, Bradley thrust himself into local headlines when he climbed atop the roof of a home on Hutchins Street and then began jumping from roof to roof, yelling something about the police being after him.

He was taken by Mercy EMS to UMMC for evaluation, but that night, Bradley reportedly fled the hospital and went to his ex-wife's house on Tracy Avenue and entered her home.

That action led to a charge of burglary in the second degree.

"I don't believe anybody should be selling it," Melissa said. "For some people it’s a high, but for other people something doesn’t quite click and it’s not safe to us and the rest of the world."

If convicted of the burglary charge, it would be Bradley's third strike and mean from 20 years to life in prison.

And that's what has Melissa Broadbent most concerned.

She thinks the system has failed her brother. And the failure of the system, she said, was never more apparent than it was on Friday.

Melissa said when she came across Bradley that morning, she could tell he was high and learned from a friend that he had allegedly ingested bath salts, a substance for which she had no real prior knowledge.

She said she tried contacting her brother's parole officer, but he was on vacation and nobody from the parole office "bothered," as she put it, to call her back.

A call back and an effort to pick him up might have meant the entire Friday would have gone completely different for her brother, she said.

Then, after her brother was taken to UMMC, Melissa wonders why he was lightly restrained at the hospital. Melissa believes he should have been shackled by handcuffs so he couldn't escape until he came down off his high.

Then there's the issue of the burglary charge for entering his ex-wife's home.

"She was leaving a key in the mailbox for him," Broadbent said. "How was he supposed to know he wasn’t supposed to come in that day?"

Now that Melissa has gotten a quick personal and Google-search lesson in bath salts, she is perplexed why the substance is so easily available in Batavia and why anybody in good conscience would sell the substance to another human being.

"There's a chemical in it, a specific chemical, that makes you come out of your element and makes you do things you would not normally do," Melissa said. "It is not safe, not for anybody, not for the person doing it and nor for the person walking down the street.

"There's no way to test for it. People who want to find a mental escape, they're going to do it because it's legal and it's so easy to get. It needs to come off the street before somebody dies."

Bradley Broadbent was first arrested, she said, on a robbery charge when he was 16. He and a partner stole one dollar from a store and Broadbent spent eight years in prison.

When he came out, Melissa said, he was a changed person. He was anti-social, didn't know how to interact with people, distrusted everyone and was hostile to people he met for the first time.

The family wanted to help him, they said, so in the hope of getting him into treatment, they provided information to law enforcement that led to his arrest.  Rather than receiving treatment, however, she said Broadbent was sent back to prison.

"That didn't help him at all," she said. "That made him worse."

Now, with a possible third strike, Melissa is worried the system will once again come down hard on him and send him to prison for the rest of his life.

She hopes, somehow, someway, the system will do better than that by her brother.

"He is in need of mental care," Melissa said. "We know him. The people who know him, know he needs that. The system doesn’t know him. They don’t know he needs that and the system doesn’t care. That’s what I would like to see happen. My brother needs mental care. He needs help mentally. He doesn't know how to handle himself emotionally or mentally."

She isn't of a mind to sugarcoat any of the things Bradley has been accused of doing in the past. She just wants the best outcome for her brother.

"I don’t defend anything my brother has ever done," she said. "If he’s wrong, he’s wrong."

The rapid lessons in bath salts has made her very afraid of what the presence of the substance means for Batavia. She's worried -- more certain -- that not enough will be done soon enough about bath salts.

"It seems nothing ever gets done until it's the absolute worst and then people open their eyes and do something," she said.

Nicole Lang, the mother of another person whose life is allegedly being harmed by bath salts has said she's ready to set up a picket and a protest of a local shop allegedly selling the now controlled substance.

"I’m with her," Melissa said. "I’m all with her. The people selling this stuff, they’re not dealing with the consequences. Yet the people who love their family are the people who have been tainted by the effects of it."