batavia

During the half time of last nights finals in the Batavia Rotary Girls Basketball Tournament, 6th graders from St. Joseph School and Pavilion matched up in a game of their own.

More pictures after the jump:

An Erie County man has been accused of selling narcotics to a Genesee County undercover agent.

John L. Tillman, 34, of 87 Phyllis Ave., Buffalo, was picked up by the Erie County Warrants Office and turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office today.

Tillman is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance 3rd and criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd.

The Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force received a sealed indictment against Tillman after he allegedly sold crack cocaine in the City of Batavia to an undercover agent.

Tillman was arraigned in Genesee County Court and jailed without bail.

A two-vehicle accident with injuries is snarling rush-hour traffic on Main Street. The accident occurred in front of Denny's on West Main and one of the vehicles is said to have heavy front-end damage.

No word yet on injuries. Medics and tow trucks have been called to the scene.

A 20-year-old Stafford man has been arrested following an investigation into the theft of more than $7,000 worth of construction tools in 2008.

John R. Testa, of 6005 Bartof Road, was arrested Wednesday by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and charged with one count of criminal possession of stolen property in the 3rd degree, a class D felony.

He is accused of allegedly taking about $7,331 in tools reported stolen from trailers at the Lowe's construction site on Veteran's Memorial Drive in Batavia. The goods were believed to have been taken during the night hours June 25 - 26, 2008.

The tools were allegedly found in Testa's possession on July 1, 2008 at a location in the Town of Stafford. They were recovered by the Sheriff's Office, with the exception of two saw-alls and a cordless drill, which are still missing.

Testa was arraigned before Stafford Town Justice Call and released under the supervision of Genesee Justice. His next court date is set for 1 p.m. on Feb. 2.

Investigator Timothy Weis handled the case, with assistance from Deputy Daniel Vanvalkenburg and Deputy Ronald Meides.

Batavia-based Graham Corporation is bouncing back from the economic downturn, CEO James R. Lines told the Buffalo News.

The company has recently booked $37 million in orders and that revenue should start hitting the books by the fall.

“We believe that sales over the next few quarters will continue to reflect the sporadic nature of order receipt that began over a year ago,” Lines said. “We also believe this should be the bottom of the cycle for us.”

Graham still expects its sales during the fiscal year that ends in March to be between $60 million and $65 million, down from its record sales of $101 million the year before.

Wanted by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office: Gene S. Schmidt. The Sheriff's Office has two warrants for Schmidt: Alleged violation of probation and alleged harassment 2nd. Any information on his whereabouts can be provided to the Sheriff's Office at (585) 343-5000.

Jeffery Owen Coats, 45, of 10553 Bethany Center Road, Bethany, is charged with stalking 4th. Coats is accused to sending text messages to his ex-wife after State Police ordered him to stop texting her.

A 16-year-old from Batavia has been charged with menacing 2nd. The boy is accused of brandishing a large kitchen knife during a domestic dispute.

Pavilion beat Batavia 52-25 in game two of the Batavia Rotary Girls Basketball Tournament last night at GCC.  Pavilion moves to 6-0.

For Pavilion, Amie Brooks scored 21 points. Danielle Tallo added 9.

For Batavia, Michelle Jordan scored 6 points and Lashonna Mims added 5.

More pictures after the jump:

Notre Dame (7-1) beat Alexander 56-43 in game one of the Batavia Rotary Girls Basketball Tournament.

Liz Geandreau scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds for Notre Dame. Trish Pike had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals.

For Alexander, Anna Dominick scored 17 points and Chelsea Turcer added 11.

This was the first appearance for Alexander in the annual tournament.

More pictures after the jump:

It's a big question that figures into any conversation people have about business in Downtown Batavia -- what's the future of Latina's Market?

The empty hulk on Jackson and Ellicott sits like a concrete elephant that obscures any notion of increasing Downtown's business vibrancy.

And conventional wisdom around town is that a trio of lawyers in Buffalo owns it and has no intention of doing anything with it -- they're happy to just let it sit.

"That's (bunk)," said co-owner Vito Gautieri during an interview today. 

Local business man Gautieri is a co-owner and broker of the building that has served as a location for Montgomery Ward, Super Duper and Jubilee as well as Latina's over the past 20 years.

Gautieri said he's trying to lease or sell the 40,000 square foot building (which also has 11,000 square feet of office space above the retail floor).

"We've been spending tons of money trying to find a buyer," Gautieri said. "We've showed it 10 or 12 times in the past year. "

Gautieri's partners are indeed a group of lawyers in Buffalo, but he said they are just as anxious as anybody else to see the building sold or leased.

Don Burkle, director of the Batavia Improvement District, said it's good news if the owners are indeed trying to sell the building, but he's been unaware of any effort to sell or lease the building and that there's never been any response from the current ownership whenever the BID has referred potential buyers.

The BID is very interested in seeing a grocery store go into the location, or maybe it could serve as a retail business incubator, or perhaps a hotel and convention center could be built on the location -- anything that would help downtown would interest the BID, Burkle said.

"(The building) has a lot of potential and any grocery store in that location would certainly enhance downtown," Burkle said.

Gauiteri said the asking price on the location is $1.8 million.

In 2008, the property was assessed at $700,000.

One obvious potential buyer is Ken Mistler, who just opened a new gym and a coffee shop at the corner of Main and Jackson and has a history of buying downtown buildings -- he owns 10 now -- and renovating them.

Both Gauiteri and Mistler confirmed they've talked about the building, but it doesn't sound like there are any ongoing negotiations.

Mistler said he's both concerned about the vacant building and, now that his gym is open, wonders what will happen to parking if anything is opened in that location.

"That's a big vacancy and any possible business that might want to come Downtown looks at that big vacant building and starts asking why?" Mislter said in between signing up new gym memberships this afternoon. "We know it has a negative impact on Downtown when it's such a massive location and it's empty. But I also think, what if it is filled? What is the city going to do about parking? Did you see the parking lot last night -- people were parking down by South Beach and we (the gym) opened only four days ago."

Several weeks ago, I ran into local musician Bill McDonald in the parking lot at Tops, and as it usually does, our conversation ranged from music to all things local. He asked me if I had ever seen the paintings of old Downtown Batavia in the Genesee County Nursing Home. I didn't even know about them.

So yesterday, since I needed to stop by the nursing home anyway, I decided to make a special point of seeking out the paintings and taking a couple of pictures.

The paintings are truly stunning and great art. I'm sure they would be especially appreciated by anybody who remembers Batavia as it once was.

They are the work Patricia Burr, an artist from Elba.

I believe there are eight panels total (forgot to take an exact count). Above is a detail of one panel and two more panels below. 

I'm not sure how the staff at the home would feel about a bunch of people showing up to gaze at the paintings, but they are worth the trip.

The Genesee County Department of Social Services reports that a former Batavia resident, Alexis Oberlander, now residing in Buffalo, was sentenced in Genesee County Court on Monday on welfare fraud charges.

She bilked the Genesee County Department of Social Services out of $60,523.50 and was sentenced as a second-felony offender and will serve one-and-a-half to 3 years in prison.

The case has a long history.

Oberlander was originally arrested on March 23, 2006 and charged and convicted in December 2006 on 12 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st Degree and one count of Grand Larceny in the 2nd Degree.

She filed an appeal and was given a stay on her sentence. In March 2009 the Appellate Division overturned 12 of the 13 counts and granted her a new trial on the remaining count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st Degree.

After a jury trial, she was convicted last August of one count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st Degree.

Anyone wishing to report suspected cases of Welfare Fraud in Genesee County can contact the Genesee County Department of Social Services at (585) 344-2580 ext 6417 or 6416. All calls are confidential.

Patti Pacino said she showed up to City Hall 10 minutes early this morning ... just to make sure.

Pacino, who said she thought last night's Council meeting was at the usual 7 p.m., missed the 6 p.m. meeting where she was slated to take the oath of office.

So Pacino was sworn in at 9 a.m. by Deputy Clerk Aimslee Cassidy.

The long-time community activist replaces Marianne Clattenburg, who was elected to an at-large seat in November.

Patti Pacino said a little while ago that she thought she was doing really well to get to City Hall a bit after 6:30 p.m.

"I'm normally running late, but tonight I was feeling so proud to show up early," Pacino said.

Problem was, the Batavia City Council meeting didn't start at its usual 7 p.m. time. It started at 6 p.m.  By the time Pacino arrived, almost everybody else had left.

Still, the council approved Pacino's appointment to the Ward 2 seat vacated by Marianne Clattenburg by a unanimous vote.

Pacino will be sworn in at 9 a.m. in the City Manager's office.

Meanwhile, Clattenburg, who won an at-large seat in the November election, assumed the role of City Council president.

"In moving forward, the city needs to focus more on planning," Clattenburg said in a speech after assuming the president's chair. "It will be my recommendation that this council works together to develop a strategic plan for the future. We must set our priorities and develop polices that address the most urgent needs of the city."

AUDIO: Full speech (mp3, courtesy WBTA)

The motion to appoint Clattenburg was made by Frank Ferrando. Democrats Rose Mary Christian and Kathy Briggs rushed to second the motion. Clattenburg was appointed to the chair unanimously.

At the end of the meeting, Clattenburg thanked outgoing Council President Charlie Mallow for his service and, on behalf of the council, presented him with a plaque.

A 21-year-old Batavia mother is accused of hurting her baby after the infant would not stop crying.

Nikki Stonebraker, of 25 Vine St., is charged with assault 2nd and endangering the welfare of a child.

She was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Stonebraker allegedly placed her hand over the 6-month-old infant's mouth and pushed down after the baby's cries awoke her around 11 a.m. on Dec. 21.

Batavia Police say the baby is doing fine now and has been placed with the father.

BATAVIA, NY -- Contrary to the perception that might be out there, there is no "for sale" sign hanging on the Genesee County Nursing Home.

That doesn't mean the county couldn't seek a buyer, but according to County Manager Jay Gsell, the only thing the county is doing right now is looking for a consultant to help it study options for dealing with escalating costs associated with the home.

One of those options is sale, which is what has former legislature candidate Chris Charvella so concerned.

Charvella has been drafted to organize and speak for a group of concerned citizens -- including some residents of the home -- seeking to block any possible sale, even before the option is fully studied.

"I realize it's not set in stone," Charvella said. "But our county government has a history of looking for sale as the first option rather than fully considering other options."

The local businessman is pretty convinced that given the option, the legislature would seek a buyer for the home pretty quickly.

"The County Legislature's first duty is to the taxpaying citizens and this is an essential service," Charvella said. "We have people who pay taxes here their entire lives and expect this safety-net option."

Human Services Committee Chairwoman Esther Leadley said that, of course, sale is an option. It has to be, she said, if the Legislature is to act responsibly in protecting the interests of taxpayers.

The county is in a difficult position, she said.

"This has been coming at us like a freight train and we're sitting on the tracks," Leadley said. "The taxpayers are sitting on the tracks and we can't let them stay there. This is something that we're not rah-rah to do. It is something that we've got to look at."

Last month, the county put out a request-for-proposal seeking bids from potential consultants. The RFP spells out clearly what the county is looking for:

"Genesee County, New York, a non-chartered county government located in western New York between Buffalo and Rochester is seeking a professional service/consultant to assist the County in evaluating its options for the operation, management and/or sale of its 160 bed Skilled Nursing Facility and adjoined 80 bed Public Adult Home which comprise a complete long term care facility located at 278 Banks Street, Batavia, NY 14020.  Said service/consultant will be asked to assist the County in outlining options for future public and/or private ownership/operation of the present 240 bed facility and to help the County develop a strategy and plan of action for going forward with said facility and residents."

The big-cost bullet the county is looking to dodge, according to Gsell, is escalating personnel costs, especially in regard to benefits.

"Public employees cost more than private-sector employees and that's the kind of thing we will factor in where this going," Gsell said.

Gsell said that he wouldn't expect any current employees to lose their jobs if the facility was sold or operation was turned over to a private company. Because of the skills and experience required for such a facility, any new provider would almost certainly need to keep the current staff.

He also said the level of service would unlikely change, because of all the state mandates on such a facility.

Charvella isn't convinced service wouldn't suffer.

"If the margins are so thin, then a private company is going to pay more attention to the bottom line rather than patient care," Charvella said.

If the county did sell or lease the facility, Gsell said the local government would still have a substantial cost burden associated with its ongoing operation. The county would still pay more than $1.6 million in social services, such as its share of Medicaid payments, to keep the facility open. The consultant will be asked what the ongoing costs to the county will be with any of the possible options.

An Alexander woman who reportedly fled after she got wind of deputies going to her residence to arrest her on a warrant, entered a guilty plea today to a probation violation.

Brittany L. Frey failed to appear at Genesee Justice on four occasions under terms of her probation, so Judge Robert Noonan issued an arrest warrant.

According to a Sheriff's Office release in November, Frey heard deputies were looking for her, so she parked her car on Attica Road and fled into the woods. She was later found at a Batavia apartment.