UPDATE: The 12-year-old girl has been located.
Press release:
The Batavia Police Department is looking for assistance in locating a missing 12-year-old girl who ran away from home overnight. (name redacted) is a BCSD Student and was last seen in the area of Liberty St. XXXX did not have a cellphone with her. If anyone has any information please contact the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350.
As the former JC Penney’s site, tucked on the northeast side of Batavia City Centre, has rested from its 44-year existence, a West Coast businessman purchased the building in February 2021.
JC Penney closed its doors locally in the fall of 2020, in an onslaught of closings due to corporate bankruptcy proceedings. Batavia’s site then sat quietly as local shoppers mourned the loss of another department store.
Meanwhile, Yong Guang Ye of San Jose, Calif., purchased the 38,524 square-foot site. According to Genesee County assessment records, Ye bought the building for $500,000 on Feb. 2, 2021. The property has been assessed at $400,000.
Ye was contacted Sunday for comment by The Batavian. A representative of Ye’s from California returned the call inquiring if The Batavian was interested in purchasing the property, and it was explained that the call was for comment about the purchase. Ye has a local realtor whose name was to be provided to The Batavian but was not provided by the time of publication.
JC Penney was built in 1978 along Alva Place and remained a strong anchor for the former Genesee Country Mall-turned-Batavia City Centre until its doors were permanently closed in late 2020.
Top photo: File photo of JC Penney during its going-out-of-business sale in late 2020. Photo by Howard Owens.
Whenever the Peca kids would hear the clippity-clop of the horse’s hooves on our street, we knew our friend “Sugar” (his real name was Jimmy) was delivering milk for Branton’s Dairy. It was the year 1954, and we lived on Highland Park. The milkman would always give us time to pet the horse and give the horse a treat. That was such a great memory from our childhood. Later, when we moved to another location, we still excitedly waited in anticipation for the milkman. Gone was the exciting horse hooves sound, but it was replaced with a milk truck. There was this one Fargo Ware milkman, Mr. Barlow. All of the children loved him because he always had a smile for us. He would give you an orange drink if it was your birthday. Even though some of us had at least two birthdays a year, he never let on that he knew what we were up to.
Many changes have occurred over the years with the “milkman.” In our early history, any farmer with a herd of cows could deliver milk. There was no fuss about sterile instruments or the butterfat content of milk. A homemaker could choose a milkman based on his route or the taste of the milk.
Many dairies delivered milk in Batavia. The three dairies that delivered the longest belonged to Augustus Branton, Warren Fargo, and Henry Ware.
In 1916, Warren Fargo sold the ice cream part of the business to Dewitt C. Hopkins and just focused on milk and cream. Cyrus and Wallace joined him in the industry, but the sons took over the company when Warren semi-retired. In 1954, the Fargo brothers built a small dairy store at 208 East Main Street in front of their dairy.
In 1969, Genesee Farms Incorporated bought out Fargo-Ware, which was run under the Genesee Farms name. The owners were Richard and Robert Call. Alvin Scroger from Oakfield was the manager.
In 1889, Augustus Branton started his dairy business when the Fargos were setting up their milk route. He bought an earlier milk route from Robert Earll and began to deliver milk to Earll’s customers. He moved from his farm on South Main Street to one on West Main Street Road two years later. Augustus’ two sons, John A. and Raymond, lived on the farm on West Main Street. John Branton delivered milk with his father and was in the milk business for more than 63 years. He married Isabell Kellogg of Stafford, NY, on October 19, 1921, and together they moved to a home at 12 River Street and built a milk processing plant behind their house. Mrs. Branton was very active in the business. During World War II, young men were off to war, so Mrs. Branton and their son and daughter delivered milk. In 1954 when her husband John died, she became the president of Branton’s and ran it with the help of their children Raymond J. and Jean Branton and Richard and Sibyl Branton Zorn.
Branton’s began pasteurizing milk in 1922 and in 1947 began to clarify and homogenize the milk. In 1952, Branton’s installed a new milk processing plant that weighed and clarified milk in one process. After the milk had been tested for butterfat content, it was pasteurized, cooled rapidly, bottled by automatic machinery, and stored until time for delivery.
In 1959, Branton’s opened the dairy store on West Main Road.
Hackett’s Milk and Cream were also in the business of delivering milk. Henry Hackett founded his dairy business in 1914, and his brother Edgar joined him in 1920. They felt the bottling of the milk needed to be conducted under the highest sanitary standards. The dairy plant was located on Oak Street.
Today we buy milk at almost any place in the area, from supermarkets, chain stores, gas stations, and our very own Northside and Southside Delicatessens.
Photos courtesy of the Genesee County History Department
CORRECTION: "Robert and Richard Call owned Fargo-Ware Dairy. Oakfield Farms Dairy was owned by Albert Scroger who also used to deliver milk to homes. When Albert retired, his son Alvin took over the business and they merged with Fargo-Ware to become Genesee Farms Dairy, Inc. Alvin Scroger was manager of the business but he was also a 50% owner in partnership with the Call brothers."
Three members of Boy Scout Troop 6006 in Batavia became Eagle Scouts today in a ceremony at First United Methodist Church.
Luke Geiger: Eagle Scout project was a one-mile prayer trail behind Northgate Methodist Church Batavia, that included a 12 ft wooden cross, birdhouses, and gardens on the ground with sundial, and benches. The monetary value of the project is $18,000 with 500-man hours invested. He gave his mentor pins to each of his Cub and Boy Scout leaders Tracy and Nick Grover. Also, a mentor pin to Steve Ognibene.
Nicholas Grover: Eagle Scout project was in the Town of Batavia at Galloway Park on Galloway Road. He designed and built a trail through a wooded area that is 8-feet wide, adding one new bench and refurbishing another bench. He also made trail markers to mark the path. He gave his mentor pin to Steve Ognibene.
Aidan Clark: Eagle Scout project was at St. Joseph Cemetery. He refurbished seven pillars made of concrete He also cleaned, repaired, and painted the front-facing raw black iron fence on Harvester Avenue. He gave his mentor pin to adult leader Dan Geiger and Steve Ognibene
Congressman Chris Jacobs presented congressional awards to each of the boys during the ceremony. Assemblyman Steve Hawley was absent due to a state budget session and will present his awards at a later date.
Top photo: Luke Geiger, Nicholas Grover, Aidan Clark, take the Eagle Scout oath, administered by Eagle Scout Thomas Ognibene.
Photos by Howard Owens except bottom photo.
Photo by Steve Ognibene. Jess Markel former scout executive, Ron Bernard Scoutmaster of Troop 6, newly Eagle Scouts Nicholas Grover, Aidan Clark, Luke Geiger, Ron Schmidt troop commissioner and Erik Volk, Eagle board of review panel.
Press release:
The City of Batavia would like to encourage members of the community to “adopt a park” and volunteer in cleaning city parks in honor of Earth Day. Residents are encouraged to take part in “adopt a park” on Saturday, April 23rd.
Batavia is very fortunate to have several local park settings with over 35 total acres of playgrounds and open land to offer to the public. Groups and individuals are encouraged to assist the City with improving parks through litter and debris pick-up in an effort to help keep parks and playgrounds clean and attractive. Your volunteer effort in our parks generates pride in our parks system, increases awareness of the importance of protecting our natural resources and will demonstrate commitment to your community in a way that promotes appreciation to beautify and keep our parks clean in Batavia. Director of Public Works, Brett Frank said “On behalf of the City of Batavia, we’d like to thank all of our residents for the pride they take in keeping our parks clean and thank them in advance for their participation and support.”
Please use the receptacles within the parks or bring your own bags for refuse and gather yard waste in a separate pile that will be removed by the City.
Brielle, 3, and Everly, 5, with their Easter Egg finds at today's hunt at Batavia First Presbyterian Church.
Press release:
This is an invitation to all members of the community to participate in this year’s Batavia Memorial Day parade on Memorial Day, Monday May 30th, 2022.
The City of Batavia is sponsoring the parade and we are looking forward to community participation. The parade will begin at 09:45 am from the Eastowne Plaza and end at the Alva Place parking lot.
Any veterans wishing to participate in the parade can just show up at 09:15. Veterans needing a ride in the parade please contact me. Any groups wishing to participate please let us know as all are welcome. Please keep the theme of respect to all our veterans and first responders.
We will be handing out small American Flags to the children
Let’s show our support to our veterans and first responders. Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy our annual parade.
Thank you,
Bob Bialkowski
City of Batavia
Councilmember at Large
(585) 409-3624
9000 S Lake Road, Pembroke. Click here. Great opportunity for the person who is looking for a chance to have a nice ranch home in the Pembroke School System and with the added benefit of added business opportunity! There is almost 8000 sq ft of warehouse space with loading dock-also an almost 1500 sq. ft., 2 bay truck garage, currently houses a long term tenant so there is instant rental income of $600 plus utilities and a residential ranch home with attached garage and office space that could easily be converted to more living space or in law situation!! Home currently rents at $1350 plus utilities monthly. In total there is 4.1 acres -huge parking area with extra wide driveway for easy access and within minutes of NYS Thruway. Loads of opportunity for the entrepreneur!
1367 Lewiston Road, Alabama. Click here. Large two family home, in need of some TLC but is solid and consistently rented. Each apartment is large with two and three bedrooms decent kitchens, laundry available in both units and has good size yard! Conveniently located minutes from thruway and all major routes for quick commute access. Located next to Alabama Hotel and Holley Farms for great food and tenant convenience!
205 Liberty Street, Batavia. Click here. Awesome City Money Maker and great owner occupant situation! This is truly a property where you can have your mortgage paid for while you build your portfolio! Or just rent all four units and build your equity faster–either way its a step in the right direction!
19 Dellinger Avenue, Batavia. *UPSTAIRS NOW CURRENTLY VACANT AND WILL REMAIN SO FOR EASY SHOWINGS* Lovely double owned by one owner for last 60 years! Well maintained and and consistently occupied. Location is wonderful for tenants that need walking distance to all amenities also there is large parking area so everyone has a place to park without bothering anyone else to move a vehicle! Tear off roof installed in 2009. Owner pays heat and water. Rents are currently priced below market rate
A two-vehicle collision is reported at Main and Bank streets in Batavia.
Injuries are a sign-off.
City Fire and Mercy EMS on Scene.
Traffic is blocked.
It was a busy year for the Batavia Police Department, with officers answering 20,341 calls for service in 2021, according to an annual report released by the deparment.
Those calls included:
Officers also:
There was one murder investigation, 13 rape investigations, 11 robbery investigations, 49 aggravated assaults, 61 burglaries, 12 kidnappings, 41 DWI.
Officers made 501 arrests, of those, three were juveniles.
There were eight arrests for rape, 14 for aggravated assault, 21 for burglary, 52 for theft, 22 for drugs, 40 for DWI
Investigations included 651 motor vehicle accidents. Of those, 107 were injury accidents.
Patrols conducted 2,526 traffic stops and issued 1,490 traffic tickets.
They also handled 1,712 parking incidents and issued 612 parking tickets.
Domestic violence calls were down from 2020, 248 to 233.
The report also states that in response to community feedback during the 2020 meeting of the Batavia Police Advisory Collaboration Stakeholder Group, there is additional training available for officers, including mental health training and implicit bias training, as well as de-escalation, defensive tactics, and community engagement.
There is also an officer wellness training program available.
The stakeholder group discussion also prompted the department to work on recruiting more minority candidates.
Goals for the department include working with architects at Ashley-McGraw on a new police facility and obtaining police accreditation for the department.
To read the full report (pdf) click here.
Press release:
The Law Street Yard Waste Station will open for the season on MONDAY, APRIL 11th, 2022 for City Residents.
The station will be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday until November when time changes to 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The station will also be closed on May 30th for Memorial Day, July 4th for Independence Day, September 5th for Labor Day and November 24th for Thanksgiving. The station will close for the season in early December.
City residents may bring yard waste material (grass, leaves and limbs) to the Law Street Yard Waste Station as there is no spring curb side pickup of these materials.
The following items cannot be accepted at the station:
Tree stumps, building materials, rock, fill (soil and stone) other debris. Yard waste shall be free of trash (paper, plastic, bottles, cans…etc.), as this material cannot be processed.
Use Law Street entrance to enter and exit the City Yard Waste Station only.
Daniel W. Knauss is indicated on counts of assault on a police officer, a Class C violent felony, assault in the second degree, a Class D violent felony, criminal contempt in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor, criminal contempt in the first degree, a Class E felony, resisting arrest, a Class A misdemeanor, and two counts of harassment in the second degree. Knauss is accused of assaulting and causing serious physical injury to Trooper Mark Catanzaro while the trooper was attempting to perform his lawful duties during an incident on Sept. 29, in the Town of Pavilion. Knauss is accused of violating an order of protection on Sept. 29 by striking a football out of the hands of a protected person. He is accused of intentionally attempting to prevent his arrest.
Tarrence Y. Williams is indicted on counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a Class B felony and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, a Class C felony. Williams is accused of possession of cocaine with the intent to sell on Dec. 16 in the City of Batavia. He is accused of possessing preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing a narcotic drug, cocaine, with a weight of an eighth of an ounce or more.
Tamaneek T. Perez-Smith is indicted on counts of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree, felony DWI, felony driving while ability impaired by drugs, resisting arrest, harassment in the second degree, and circumvention of an interlock device. Perez-Smith is accused of driving a 2010 Dodge on Park Road in the Town of Batavia on Sept. 30, while knowing her license was revoked and of driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. She is accused of intentionally trying to prevent her arrest. He is accused of kicking Deputy Kenneth Quackenbush. She is accused of driving a vehicle without an interlock device as previously ordered by a court.
Tyrone Nathan Thigpen, Sr., 44, of Summit Street, Batavia, is charged with aggravated family offense, endangering the welfare of a child, menacing 2nd, and criminal possession of a weapon 4th. Thigpen was charged after allegedly displaying a rifle during a disturbance in the presence of a woman and her children while on Batavia Elba Townline Road, Batavia, at 3:15 p.m., April 3. Thigpen was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and ordered held without bail.
Mohammad Imran Nasir, 48, of Grandview Drive, Amherst, is charged with possessing 30,000 or more untaxed cigarettes for the purpose of sales and failure to signal a lane change. Nasir was stopped at 6:53 p.m., March 31, on Route 77 in Pembroke, by Sgt. Andrew Hale.
(name redacted upon request), 47, of Alexander Road, Alexander, is charged with disobeying a mandate. xxxxx is accused of violating an order of protection at 7:20 a.m., March 28, in the Town of Alexander. He was issued an appearance ticket. He is also charged with criminal contempt 2nd for allegedly violating a stay-away order on five different occasions.
Jordan Ellsworth Brodie, 35, of West Bergen Road, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and driving an uninspected motor vehicle. Brodie was stopped at 2:54 a.m., April 3, on Griswold Road, Le Roy, by Deputy David Moore. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Logan Nathaniel Norcott, 25, of Lockpit Road, Clyde, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. A person filed a complaint with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office that Norcott violated an order of protection at 7:45 p.m., March 24. Norcott was taken into custody by the State Police in Wayne County and transferred to GCSO custody. He was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released on his own recognizance.
Alicia K. Urban, 36, of Batavia, is charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17 years old, driving while impaired by drugs, and aggravated DWI with a child in the car. Urban was stopped by State Police at 7:49 p.m., March 29, in the Town of Batavia. She was issued an appearance ticket.
Sarah P. Lytle, 39, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Lytle is accused of stealing in the Town of Batavia at 6 p.m., April 1. She was arrested by State Police. She was released on an appearance ticket. No further details released.
Trevor T. Cook, 31, of Holley, is charged with felony DWAI/Drugs. Cook was stopped by State Police at 3:02 a.m., April 2, in the Tonawanda Indian Territory. He was issued an appearance ticket. No further information released.
Devin J. Manning, 22, of Le Roy, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Manning was arrested by State Police in connection with an incident reported at 4:36 p.m., March 31, in the Town of Le Roy. He was released on an appearance ticket. No further details were released.
A car and semi-truck collision is reported at Oak Street and Park Road in the City of Batavia.
Unknown injuries.
City Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 2:41 p.m.: No injuries reported.
The Wayne D. Foster Foundation, Inc. had the distinct pleasure of honoring a high school hockey player in memory of Wayne D. Foster during the BND hockey banquet held Sunday at Batavia High.
Addison Warriner was selected as this year’s recipient, earning the award for his ceaseless display of good character including his wisdom, determination, and his fortitude and for his achievements both on and off the ice.
The foundation, represented by board member, Chase Pangrazio, selected and presented Addison with a trophy, certificate, and a scholarship, honoring Addison's values while remembering Chase’s grandfather for their shared qualities.
The Wayne D. Foster Foundation is a recently formed foundation with pending non-profit status.
The afternoon’s ceremonies complemented and awarded several deserving student-athletes for their achievements in the classroom and at the rink while recalling deep Batavia hockey roots and traditions, expressing the enduring sense of community, and sharing the comradery and love that the 2021-2022 teammates enjoyed and will forever cherish. The foundation presenting the W.D.F. award is privileged to recognize Addison and to collaborate with a respectful program full of profound pride and rich, well-established heritage.
Rhonda Pangrazio is founder and president of the Wayne D. Foster Foundation, Inc. Her son Chase Pangrazio is a board member. Wayne D. Foster was her father and Chase's grandfather who passed in December 2020.
John Bruggman credits his dad’s past hobby for how the 21-year-old got involved in collecting and drawing — and now joining the ranks of being published for — the comics genre.
Bruggman just celebrated the debut of his first published book cover, Slumber #1, for Image Comics. It depicts a dark- and hollow-eyed woman holding a shotgun in a large doorway. He didn’t actually design the character, he said, but studied the sample pages, examples, and a brief description provided by the company. He submitted his version of lead character Stetson, which was chosen for the March cover release.
“I’ve always been interested in drawing, and in high school, I started taking it more seriously in my junior year. As a kid opening up my dad’s comics, this is like a dream come true to be published with this company. But also professionally, it's a confidence boost in a weird way," the Batavia native said during an interview with The Batavian. “ "When I first came to college I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to find work or if my style would be popular with an audience. And it was a really nice confidence boost to see the praise from not only the company, but the people who bought it, and the orders that came in, and the support from the local area as well.”
The book is available at 3D Comics in Lancaster, Pressing Matters LLC in Buffalo, and through Bruggman’s website. It’s a freshly written comic with new characters and storylines. The premise features Stetson, a nightmare hunter and a dream detective.
From Image Comics:
"She runs a shoddy back-alley business where she helps clients sleep at night by entering their dreams and killing their nightmares. But Stetson’s past comes back to haunt her when she tracks down a literal living nightmare—a serial killer that murders people in their sleep. SLUMBER is an ongoing series from the twisted minds of writer Tyler Burton Smith (Kung Fury and Child’s Play), and rising-star artist Vanessa Cardinals.”
Bruggman remembers how his passion was ignited for classic comic books. The then-middle school student had been down in his family basement and discovered his dad’s filing cabinet full of old comics. The paper materials were kindling for his own desire to join in as a collector.
“It’s like our family thing that we do. My brother started doing it as well. So we got into comics that way,” John Bruggman said. “It’s mostly from the artists I’ve been influenced by who worked in comics, they kind of worked more in horror. I’ve also taken influence from several tattoo artists as well.”
Bruggman’s process for the cover submission was to select a few key details from the premise — in this case, a door, the woman and a shotgun — and began with a loosely based sketch of poses, he said. He then figured out which poses he liked and worked out a final compilation in black and white to get an idea of the light and shadow placement. He finished it by digitally painting the work in color.
A 2019 Batavia High School graduate, Bruggman is attending Daemen College pursuing a bachelors in illustration. His future goal is to be a freelancer working for Marvel and/or DC Comics. He’s into 1990s style comics, and likes “the diversity” of characters devised by individual artists. For example, Batman has been around since the 1930s, he said, and yet “no one has really drawn him the same.” He leans toward figures of horror with a punk, edgy influence.
His practice has been to nail down human anatomy, so often integral to comic book characters. Take a look at one of his favorites, Silver Surfer, depicting a well-chiseled body displaying many muscular poses. His work displays those fine-tuned details of muscles and curves, and he also appreciates the complexity of one’s limbs.
“Figure drawing has been a super big help, with live models. Hands and feet were the hard ones, because they’re so expressive,” he said. “We’re always progressing as artists and trying to be better.
“And I feel like my work, especially as I keep working, I've noticed a lot of improvement, even in this last year. My work has come a long way and I'm very excited to see where it goes moving forward.”
He has been influenced by such artists as Simon Bisley, Frank Frazetta, Bill Sienkiewicz and Glenn Fabry. He believes there has been “kind of a resurgence” in the comics market with exclusive and limited covers and special editions. Those items have drawn a wider pool of collectors, he said.
Drawing helps to relieve stress, he said, and is “a highlight of my day.” He hopes to work his way into a freelance status and sees this published book cover as just the beginning.
“I really want to promote that because I really do think this is going to go somewhere very special. And usually when it comes to artists’ first issues that they work on, are like drawings: they do become more valuable. And I could see this happening with this book,” he said. “And then just looking at the story, the book, it's very well-read and the writers worked on a lot of comics and movies that were more horror related and artwork on the interior. I didn't do it, but it's a very unique style, a little cartoony, a little loose, and it's a good read. And, I don't know, I love it.”
For more information, go to: johnbruggmanart.com
Top photo of John Bruggman's published book cover for Slumber #1, by Image Comics. Above, Bruggman works on a project at school. Photos courtesy of John Bruggman and Image Comics.
For 50 years, the Genesee Society of Model Engineers has hosted a twice-annual model train show in Batavia and after a hiatus for COVID, the train show returned to the Richard C. Call Arena at GCC for the organization's 100th event.
Photos by Howard Owens
Lauren, 3, and Nathan, 6, of Le Roy, were excited this afternoon to meet the Easter Bunny, as part of an Easter Egg Hunt event, at Batavia First United Methodist Church.
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