batavia

The 90 or so employees of the Lowe's store in Batavia were called in for a mandatory meeting Sunday night and told that the store will be closing.

While employees after the meeting said the closing date is set for Jan. 13, store Manager Ray Robare said there is "no sure, hard date" for the closing.

Starting tomorrow, every item in the store will be 10-percent off, Robare said, and the store will start operating on reduced hours. Tomorrow it will open at 7 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.

The employees we spoke with said there is a severance package available, perhaps as long as three-months pay, but the clock starts ticking on it tomorrow, even for those employees who finish out the final weeks of the store.

Robare said, however, that those details are still being worked out and, "it's something that tomorrow we'll start discussing with employees."

As for whether some employees, especially managers, might have job opportunities at other Lowe's locations, Robare said that's something that is still being worked out.

Robare said he couldn't discuss the reason for closing that corporate leaders might have shared with managers.

One employee said, "If I told you the real story, I might get in trouble."

The Lowe's location is leased and sits directly across Veterans Memorial Drive from The Home Depot.

UPDATE 9:26 a.m., Monday: Lowe's issued the following press release this morning:

Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW), announced today the company is closing 20 underperforming stores in 15 states. Ten locations closed at the end of business Sunday, Oct. 16. The remaining 10 locations will close within approximately one month, following an inventory sell-through.

In addition, after completing a comprehensive review of its pipeline of proposed new stores, the company announced it has discontinued a number of planned new store projects. Lowe's now expects to open 10 to 15 stores per year in North America from 2012 forward, compared to a prior assumption of approximately 30 stores per year. The company is on track to open approximately 25 stores in 2011, as planned.

The expected financial impact of today's announcements of $0.17 to $0.20 per diluted share was not contemplated in the business outlook for fiscal 2011 which the company provided on Aug. 15 when it released its second-quarter earnings. Additional details regarding the impact of the store closings will be provided in the next quarterly earnings release on Nov. 14.

"Closing stores is never easy, given the impact on hard-working employees and local communities," said Robert A. Niblock, chairman, president and CEO. "However, we have an obligation to make tough decisions when necessary to improve profitability and strengthen our financial position.

"Lowe's remains committed to making strategic investments and focusing resources in a manner that will generate the greatest shareholder value, enhance the customer shopping experience and create sustained customer loyalty over the long term," added Niblock.

Approximately 1,950 employees will be affected by these closings. Employees will receive pay and benefits for 60-90 days. In addition, Lowe's will be working with local government agencies to help employees with outplacement assistance.

The stores affected by today's announcement are located in:

Los Banos, CA        Biddeford, ME        Old Bridge, NJ 
Westminster, CA    Ellsworth, ME    Batavia, NY 
Denver, CO    Ionia, MI    N. Kingstown, RI 
Aurora, IL    Rogers, MN    Emporia, VA 
Oswego, IL    Claremont, NH    S. Tacoma, WA 
Chalmette, LA    Hooksett, NH    Brown Deer, WI 
Haverhill, MA    Manchester, NH

St. Joe's hosted its 52nd annual Popcorn Ball on Saturday night, with the music of Rochester-based Up 2 Somethin’, featuring local bass player Rickey Ellis.

There were 500 tickets sold for the 2011 Wine Walk in Downtown Batavia, and despite some strong winds, a bit of a chill and a little rain, attendance for the second annual event was still high.

And everybody had a good time.

This year, 20 downtown merchants participated -- up from 13 last year.

UPDATE: Carlson's Studio had their photo booth set up for wine walk guests, and Kevin Carlson was also shooting group photos on the studio couch. Below are two of the shots from the evening.

The following indictments were issued last week by the Genesee County Grand Jury.

Rodney A. Barber is charged with one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, a Class B felony, after he was allegedly found on March 17 to possess the narcotic cocaine with the intent to sell it. The location was 3967 W. Main St. in the Town of Batavia. He is also charged with one count of criminal possession of a controlled subtance, 4th, for allegedly knowingly and unlawfully possessing one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing cocaine which had an aggregate weight of an eighth of an ounce or more.

Mark C. Gregori is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, a Class B felony, after he was allegedly found on Nov. 3, 2010 in the Town of Elba in possession of the narcotic cocaine with the intent to sell it.

Michael B. Pfaff is charged with one count of driving while intoxicated, a Class E felony, after he was allegedly found driving a 2008 Suburu on Myrtle Street in Le Roy on April 17 while intoxicated. He is also charged with one count of driving while intoxicated with a BAC of .08 or greater, a Class E felony.

Thomas J. Torres is charged with one count of driving while intoxicated, a Class D felony, after he was allegedly found driving a 2004 Chevrolet on Route 237 in Stafford while intoxicated on April 23. He is also charged with one count of aggravated driving while intoxicated, also a Class D felony, for allegedly having a BAC of .18 or greater.

Jamie L. Broadbent is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, a Class E felony, for allegedly knowingly possessing stolen property with the intention of benefitting herself or a person other than the owner. She was allegedly found in possession of a public benefit card belonging to someone else while in the City of Batavia on May 9.

Chester L. Sherman II is charged with one count of driving a 1998 Chevy pickup truck while intoxicated and one count of driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. The charges stem from his arrest April 20 on Route 262 in Byron.

Jonathan J. Langenfeld is charged with one count of burglary in the first degree, a Class B violent felony, after he allegedly entered private property on Ellicott Street Road in Pavilion on April 17 with the intent to cause, then actually causing, physical injury to a person who was not a participant in the crime. He is also charged with burglary, 2nd, a Class C violent felony, for allegedly entering private property with the intent to commit a crime. And he is charged with assault, 2nd, a Class D violent felony, for allegedly intending to seriously injure a person and then causing serious injury to that person.

Barry L. Posey, 19, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Posey was arrested following a traffic stop on a bench warrant out of the Town of Batavia Court. He was jailed on $2,000 bail.

Gina Lynn Schmidt, 22, of Forest Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with disorderly conduct. During an investigation into an unrelated matter it was discovered that there was an active bench warrant in place for the arrest of Schmidt. She was held on $175 bail.

City fire is on scene at North Street and Chandler Avenue, the site of a natural gas leak.

The call originally came in from UMMC as a report of a natural gas smell in the hospital, but the strongest concentration of the odor turned out to be at Chandler and North, where construction is taking place.

A two-inch line was struck, but workers didn't want to shut off the gas because many of the older homes in the area have pilot light systems that would cause the houses to fill with gas.

The leaked gas was apparently being picked up by the hospital's HVAC system, so the hospital has switched to recirculated air until the problem is mitigated.

National Fuel is on scene.

Members of the Town of Batavia Fire Department stopped by Grandma's Luv'n Care on Clinton Street Road on Thursday afternoon to help educate the children there about how they save lives and prevent fires.

Oct. 9 through 15 is Fire Prevention Week and departments throughout the county are taking part in similar education and outreach programs.

At the child-care center today, Assistant Chief Nate Fix (top photo, right) and firefighter David Tran (bottom photo) showed the children what firefighting gear is and Tran suited up so the children can learn that a firefighter in their house during an emergency isn't a scary monster, but a friend there to help them.

Earlier in the day, the volunteers were at GCC's child-care center. They've made similar presentations at BOCES and will be at Lucky Duck Day Care next week.

Joshua Gerald Bachorsk, 26, of South Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with three counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, and petit larceny. Bachorsk is accused of possessing a Pembroke woman's credit card without her consent and using it on three separate dates to purchase gift cards at a retail store on Veterans Memorial Drive. Bachorsk also allegedly removed a washer and dryer set from the basement of the same woman's home and sold them without her consent. Bachorsk was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Aaron Walter Pahuta, 19, of Route 20A, Warsaw, is charged with petit larceny. Pahuta is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.

Matthew Scott Williams, 23, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. Williams is accused of sending threatening text messages to another person.

Matthew S. Williams, 23, of Hundredmark Road, Elba, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Williams is accused of stealing his father's RG Industries .22 caliber revolver from their residence. Williams was jailed on $10,000 bail.

William Heany, 75, of 400 E. Main St., Batavia, is charged with forcible touching. Heany is accused of touching the intimate parts of a woman by force.

name redacted, 25, of Tracy Avenue, is charged with petit larceny. redacted is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.

Kelly M. Stalker, 33, of Indian Falls Road, Pembroke, is charged with burglary, 3rd. Stalker allegedly broke into a locked storage area in a trailer on Indian Falls Road and removed prescription medication and money belonging to somebody else. Stalker was jailed on $5,000 bail.

An accident has been reported at West Main and Oak streets.

A mother is reporting that she and her 3-year-old may have hit their heads on airbags.

The cars have been moved to the parking lot of Oliver's Candies.

Batavia Fire Department and Mercy EMS are requested to the scene by Batavia PD, non-emergency.

Stella was quite happy posing for her mother, Anna Molino, at Centennial Park this morning until she noticed me starting to take pictures, too. Then she got camera shy.

UPDATE: Anna sent over some pictures from her photo session with Stella. Here's two of them.

By this time next year, there will be a factory in Batavia turning out 4,000 tons of yogurt on an annual basis, employing 55 people and buying milk from local dairy farmers.

The first step toward that goal was taken today with a ceremonial groundbreaking by South America-based Alpina Products at the site of its planned 40,000-square-foot facility.

“Alpina’s decision to locate in Batavia is a success for the entire region,” said Town of Batavia Supervisor Greg Post.

Alpina started marketing yogurt products aimed at U.S. consumers in the Northeast several years ago. The Batavia plant will be its first U.S.-based manufacturing facility.

Managing Director Carlos Ramirez Zavarce said Alpina was built on European tradition and now embraces American pride in expansion in New York.

Batavia, he said, was part of a list of 50 potential sites for the plant when Alpina first started planning for growth, but quickly moved to the head of the class.

Besides a strong dairy tradition and an abundant supply of milk, as well as trained workers and easy access to a market area of 125 million potential consumers, local leaders demonstrated, he said, that they would be as committed to Alpina's success as the company's executives.

"We understood that you got the message that if we were successful, you would be successful," Ramirez said. "That was very important for us. We have no doubt we're going to have success here. This is the right location, the right place."

After the groundbreaking, attendees were invited to sample Alpina's yogurt products and there was a strong sense of excitement about this initial factory opening in the long-anticipated agri-business park.

“Today’s groundbreaking of Alpina Foods’ first manufacturing facility in the United States is proof that Batavia is a great place to do business,” said Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer. “Alpina’s $15 million investment and its decision to create 50 jobs sends a clear message that other private-sector companies should consider Genesee County for their next investment.”

GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde has said previously that there are other prospects for the business park in the pipeline, but until deals are signed, he is unable to provide public details.

VIDEO: Promotional video from Alpina.

Alpina CEO Julian Jaramillo

Alpina Managing Director Carlos Ramirez Zavarce

Roger Parkhurst, who will be director of operations at the new plant

Sen. Mike Ranzenhoffer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley

GCEDC CEO Steve Hyde

An allegedly intoxicated mother who apparently lost track of the whereabouts of her children initially told a Sheriff's sergeant who knocked on her door that she lost track of her youngsters during a game of hide-and-seek.

From WBTA:

Genesee County Sheriff’s Sgt. Greg Walker says 31-year-old Jolene Goodell of Attica Road was drinking at her own home on Monday evening. Her 10 and 7-year-old daughters were home with her, but left the house and walked over to the neighbors' place, telling the folks next door that mommy couldn’t make them dinner right now.

The neighbors called 9-1-1, and lawmen showed up and found Jolene Goodell alone.

"We asked her where her children were," says Sgt. Walker, "and she originally said she didn't know. Then she said she'd last seen them about 30 - 45 minutes ago...and then she said she was playing 'hide-and-go-seek' with them."

Goodell was jailed on $1,500 bail, charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Previously: Law and Order: Allegedly intoxicated woman accused of not knowing whereabouts of her children.

"In for a dime, in for a dollar" seemed to be the argument that won the night at Batavia City Council meeting when it came time to vote on a proposal to hire a facilitator to help the Consolidation Charter Task Force do its job.

The facilitator will cost $55,000, but will be paid for by a state grant.

Bill Cox and Rosemary Christian -- the two no votes in a 6-2 vote -- argued that consolidation has no chance of approval by Town of Batavia voters and therefore the money should be spent.

But other council members argued that state grant money has already been spent on consolidation studies so the city should support finishing the process.

Perhaps some good ideas will come out of the task force with a facilitator's help, said Tim Buckley.

"We're on our own 10-yard line," said Tim Buckley. "We've got 90 yards to go. Let's get to the end zone."

Frank Ferrando said that he could be pursaded to vote against the proposal if voting no would actually save taxpayers money, but if the city doesn't spend the grant money, he said, then some other municipality will.

"Any time we can take advantage of money from a broader base of taxpayers to do something that could save our taxpayers money, we should," Ferrando said.

As for the town voters possibly not approving a consolidation plan, Ferrando argued that first, the town's leadership must believe consolidation has a chance of passing in the town, or they wouldn't keep voting to approve consolidation measures.

"I want to see information on consolidation because there is a possibility it could be very beneficial to the city," Ferrando said. "It could it be beneficial to the town, we’ll see, but I don’t represent the town. I represent the city."

A proposed joint court facility for the Town of Batavia, Elba and Oakfield will move forward now that the Batavia City Council has approved the sale of a 19-acre parcel off Park Road to the town.

The purchase agreement was approved on a vote of 8-1, with Council President Marianne Clattenberg casting the lone no vote.

Clattenberg said she doesn't believe the building is needed. There's no reason, she said, that consolidation couldn't take place in the existing city court building or another existing government building. She said she didn't see the need to build any new government buildings.

Two years ago, Clattenberg voted against the court plan.

At the last council meeting, other council members proposed the sale and the matter was tabled, however members such as Rosemary Christian had a change of heart.

Previously, she didn't think the city was getting enough money -- $150,000 --  for the property, but after learning that the town will also spend $140,000 on a sidewalk that will stretch from Park Road and down Richmond Avenue, she decided to support the sale.

"It's fine by me," she said.

The Veteran's Administration had to grant a "release of restricted use" for the sale to go forward. The VA deeded the land to the city in 1968 and placed restrictions on how the land could be used. As part of the deal to allow sale of the land to the town, the town had to agree to put in the sidewalk.

The town must also revitalize the wetlands on the property.

UPDATE 11:30 a.m.: Route 5 is reopened. The scene is "all clear." Residents of the area can resume normal activity.

UPDATED 8:54 a.m.

There is a report of a strong odor of ammonia on West Main Street Road between Hopkins Road and Powers Road in the Town of Batavia.

East Pembroke Fire Department along with Genesee County Emergency Services, Sheriff's Deputies, State Police and Mercy EMS are on scene.

One person has reportedly complained of eye irritation.

The strongest area of the odor is reportedly right at Hopkins Road.

Route 5 is shut down at Wortendyke Road and at Hartshorn Road. The emergency staging area is in the parking lot of First Choice Travel.

UPDATE 9:20 a.m.: Charlie Woodruff, owner of Woodruff Doors, said he and his wife came into work this morning and were unloading a truck of yesterday's debris and after about 10 or 15 minutes, his eyes started watering. After two more employees showed up and reported irritated eyes, he told them to leave and his wife called 9-1-1. He said, "I didn't really smell anything. It was just more irritation to the eyes."

UPDATE 9:51 a.m.:  The cause is a chlorine chemical spread on a farm field north of Route 5. It's a common chemical used on agricultural soil. Typically, the chlorine would dissipate quickly, but because of the low winds over the past couple of days, the chemical has hung close to the ground. With the low winds and cloud cover today, it became more concentrated leading to throat, nose and eye irritation. At the current concentration, the chemical is not seriously harmful. About 177 residents in the area are being notified via reverse 9-1-1 to stay in their homes and call 9-1-1 if they notice any issues. Route 5 will be closed for some time yet. Emergency personnel will remain on scene until the rains start and the wind picks up, which will cause the chemical to dissipate or settle back into the ground.

At the beginning of the Batavia City Council meeting Monday night, Jim Neider, left, and Ron Konieczny made a brief presentation about the proposed veterans' war memorial, planned for the corner of Bank Street and Washington Avenue.

The memorial replaces one that was removed from outside UMMC to make way for the hospital's new surgical wing. The previous memorial listed all of the men and women from Genesee County killed in action, as will the new memorial. The name plaques of the former memorial were all saved and will be buried at the site of the new memorial in a ceremony Nov. 12. The new memorial is expected to cost local veterans and supporters nearly $500,000.

Jolene Janelle Goodell, 31, of Attica Road, Alexander, is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Goodell is accused of being intoxicated at 7:29 p.m., Monday, and not knowing at that time the whereabouts of her two small children.  Goodell was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Matthew R. Klump, 25, of 61 Myrtle St., Le Roy, is charged with felony DWI, driving with a BAC .18 or greater and no turn signal. Klump was stopped early Saturday morning by a Le Roy Police officer. Klump was jailed on $2,000 bail.

Matthew Scott Williams, 23, of W. Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass and unlawful possession of marijuana. Williams was arrested following a brief pursuit at 1:57 a.m., Monday, with Williams on a bicycle, riding through property in the area of 8127 Lewiston Road, Batavia. Williams allegedly tried to conceal himself in a large building containing equipment and produce, and was located there by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Samantha Mary Williams, 30, of Warsaw Road, Le Roy, is charged with criminal mischief 4th. Williams is accused of damaging a window screen.

For such a beautiful, unseasonably warm fall day, a holiday, it sure was quiet in Dewitt Park today.