batavia

The first work toward revitalizing the Della Penna buildings into Ellicott Station -- apartments, office space, a restaurant, and brewery -- began today with a contractor digging test pits and checking soil samples.

The tests are the first step in any contamination remediation process. The tests will provide officials with information on the scope of any remediation that is needed.

The old industrial parcel on Ellicott Street will undergo a $17 million transformation that will eventually bring in Buffalo's Resurgence Brewing Company as the anchor tenant.

For previous coverage, click here.

James L. Ozzello, 29, of Kathryns Way, Livonia, is charged with: pedestrian failed to yield right of way to a vehicle; pedestrian proceeded into the path of a vehicle; disorderly conduct; and resisting arrest. The alleged incident was reported at 2 a.m. Saturday on West Main Street, Batavia. Ozzello was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Geoffrey M. Anderson, 51, no permanent address, was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear. He was jailed without bail.

Bonnie Mae Marrocco, 47, of Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. During an argument, Marrocco allegedly damaged property of another person with a value of more than $250.

Rebecca A. Edwards, 23, of Central Avenue, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Edwards was arrested on a warrant and jailed on $500 bail.

Wendy Lee Henry, 32, of Central Avenue, Batavia, is charged with obstruction of governmental administration. Henry allegedly interfered with a medical situation at 4:08 a.m. Friday at a residence on Central Avenue.

Christopher S. Usselman, 25, of Hamilton Street, Albion, is charged with criminal impersonation, 2nd, two counts of aggravated unauthorized operation, 2nd, open alcoholic beverage in motor vehicle, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Usselman was stopped at 1:49 a.m. Friday on West Main Street, Batavia, for an alleged traffic violation by Officer Mitchell Cowen. Usselman allegedly initially gave the officer the name of another person for his identity. Further investigation allegedly led to the discovery of an open container of an alcoholic beverage in the vehicle, marijuana and a revoked driver's license.

Bleyke Z. Culver, 20, of Willow Street, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct, trespass, and criminal mischief, 3rd. Batavia PD responded to a residence on Maple Street at 8:02 p.m. Friday for a report of a disturbance involving several people. Police were able to separate the parties and after an investigation, Culver was arrested. Culver was jailed (bail status not included in press release). Also arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, Laqueasha M. Taylor, 23, of Bank Street, Batavia.

Bryan S. Harris, 35, of Stratford Road, Buffalo, was arrested on a warrant stemming from an incident reported at 9 a.m., Feb. 23, 2015. No further details released.

Sandra Ann Muhs, 50, of South Street Road, Pavilion, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, failure to keep right, and unsafe tires. Muhs was arrested by Deputy Mathew Clor following the report of a motor-vehicle accident, no injuries, at 5:56 a.m. Tuesday in the area of 9778 South Street Road, Pavilion.

Corey B. Rieser, 29, of Darien Center, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, insecure license plate, and visibility distorted by broken glass. Rieser was stopped in the Town of Sheldon by Sgt. Colin Reagan, Wyoming County Sheriff's Office, for alleged traffic violations. He was jailed on $500 bail or $2,500 bond.

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.