batavia

The Verizon Wireless store at 8351 Lewiston Road, Batavia, has been evacuated because of the smell of natural gas inside the store.

Batavia Fire is responding.

It's a complaint I heard from Downtown Batavia merchants last winter, and a sore subject that came up at a BID meeting over the winter -- snow piled up along Main Street. Now merchants are grumbling again after the first big snow storm this year.

The big mounds make it exceptionally hard for customers to come downtown, park on Main and walk into a business. Generally, when the snow is piled up like it is, only the driver can get out of a car and then must walk a half a block or more in traffic to the nearest opening to gain access to the sidewalk -- and then walk back to the business he or she wants to enter.

Ken Mistler, who is opening a gym at Main and Jackson in a few weeks, is also concerned about the practice of city public works crews piling up snow right in the middle of the parking lot behind his building. The large pile can take up as many as 20 parking spaces, and with several popular businesses on Jackson, that doesn't leave much parking room left with convenient access to those businesses and the gym.

He said he isn't worried about his customers walking some distance to get into the gym -- they are, after all, into fitness -- but he is concerned that the additional parking his gym requires means that customers of the Jackson Street businesses will find it harder to park and face longer walks.

Those 20 or so spaces are much needed, Mistler said, so he suggested the snow be piled behind the empty Latina's market, not in the middle of the most used parking area off Jackson.

City Manager Jason Molino said the city is constantly reviewing snow plowing and removal procedures, but removal is not a priority during a storm and can only be accomplished as manpower and equipment availability dictates.

"Our first priority, when we have a snow storm like yesterday, is to make sure the thoroughfares are clean, the major arteries in the city are clear, and then the side streets and then we get into snow removal," Molino said during an interview on Friday.

At the BID meeting this summer, Board President John Roche said downtown merchants need to be vocal about letting City Hall know that they want to see snow removal become more of a priority this year.

We'll see what happens.

Hearkening back to a speech Jason Molino made at a City Council meeting in October, the city manager has asked council members to read a 74-page report from Geneva about its community-improvement efforts.

It isn't that Molino thinks the specific recommendations in the Geneva report are right for Batavia, but he's impressed by the process Geneva went through, and the effort it's putting forth at community development.

The report fits right in with everything Molino previously said about the need to improve community engagement among residents at a neighborhood level.

"It was an engaging process, a planning process where they took actual housing data, actual income data and data from residents in the community and said 'This is what the neighborhoods are made up of. Here are areas to focus on in each neighborhood to achieve some better results,'" Molino said during an interview Friday. "When you’re dealing with limited resources, I think that’s the targeted approach you have to take."

Based on the report and Molino's previous speech, the city manager is aiming to take a much broader approach to improve the quality of life in Batavia. Just throwing money at a problem or ramping up code enforcement isn't going to do the job, and he said as much Friday.

"What’s interesting is they talk about how different neighborhoods need to have different senses of identity and community building aspects of that -- you know, neighborhood pride, neighborhood identity, more so than we need to get in and inspect all these properties."

The approach Geneva is taking isn't for pansies or naysayers. It says quite clearly the city needs to become more entrepreneurial, which means risk, which means trying things that might not work, and not stop trying.

A word on success. The strategies here are not bulletproof. Not all will work the first time. Some won't work after repeated attempts, and so iteration and persistence will be required. The city must be willing to experiment and be flexible. We strongly recommend that the City of Geneva itself become entrepreneurial, that it take measured risks. In these economic times the margin for error is small, but we think the conditions in Geneva require that the city be innovative. This may mean failing in order to succeed, but learning from failure and moving forward, and always within the context of the guiding principles contained in this report.

It wasn't a Christmas card in the mail that put a bit bigger smile on Guy Clark Jr.'s face this morning -- it was a notification from Cub Cadet that Cedar Street Sales and Rentals has been named its 2009 Region 1 Dealer of the Year.

It's the first time Cedar Street has won the award and Clark couldn't wait to spread the news.

"I'm very excited," he said.

The award recognizes both the increased sales volume of Cub Cadet products at Cedar Street, but also the extra effort Clark puts into displaying and marketing Cub Cadet products.

One of the innovations Clark introduced that drew the attention of the Cleveland, Ohio-based company is a utility vehicle test track that Clark installed at his location.

Clark started selling Cub Cadet products in 2001.

“We are happy to present Guy Clark Jr. of Cedar Street Sales and Rental with the 2009 Retailer of the Year Award for the Northeast region,” said Tom Rossman, Cub Cadet director of sales, in a prepared statement. “What makes Cub Cadet such a great organization is having dedicated retailers, like Guy Clark, who embody the Cub Cadet brand in all aspects of their business. Guy’s progressive attitude and innovative ideas have helped Cedar Street Sales and Rentals evolve in a competitive market to continually meet the demands of their customers. In 2009, Cedar Street Sales and Rentals truly set itself apart from the competition.” 

Cub Cadet divides the United States into four sales regions, so Clark is one of only four dealers in the nation recognized by Cub Cadet in 2009.

As a parent, it feels good to be able to give your children the gifts they want on Christmas. Unfortunately, not all families have the means to do this, especially in these hard economic times.

Luckily, there are people like Don Carroll who are here to look out for these children. He started Toys For Kids seven years ago as a way of "paying it forward." 

“I lost my parents when I was 5 and people were very generous to me and my sister at Christmas time," Carroll said. "That’s something I never forgot. So, that’s why I do it.”

He collects money year round to plan for the holiday season. He has been collecting gifts, monetary donations, and has even been getting some help from a collection jar full of change at Clor’s Meat Market. Each year he organizes a solid routine to prepare for the toy drive.

“The way our program is set up is that we go shopping with the money that has been donated. This year we’re probably going to spend a little over $7,000 on buying gifts for the kids. Then we’ll wrap all of the presents the day before. On Sunday, the 20^th we invite the families to the Y at noon and we have Santa Claus come, and we provide a hot meal and we give out the gifts. We give out some of the gifts there and we give gifts to the parents to give to the kids at Christmas time."

This year, there are more families in need than ever, so all donations are graciously accepted.

“We’ve helped a lot of people like mothers who have a lot of kids or grandmothers who are raising their grandkids, and there are working parents who don’t make a lot of money. We get the names of the families from schools, churches and the YMCA.”

If you’re not able to donate gifts or money to the cause, you are welcome to donate your time. The event is expected to be pretty large and all volunteers can be put to good use.

“We’re putting out a sign-up list that’s going to be at the Y for people who want to help us wrap gifts on the 19^th.  Also, on the 20^th we’ll need people to help parents put gifts in their cars and we’ll need help serving food.”

All gifts and cash donations will be accepted at the Batavia YMCA until Saturday, Dec. 19. Checks can be made out to the YMCA including “Toys for Kids” on the memo line.  Anyone who is interested in volunteering their time can sign up there also.

The YMCA is located at 209 E. Main St. Phone is 344-1664.

Diane Paine was all smiles today during the grand opening of her new store at 315 Ellicott St. The store is called Firefly, which captures the spark and sparkle of the eclectic collection of accessories and jewelry (some of it handmade by Paine in the store).

Town of Batavia Fire is being dispatched to 22 Woodland Drive for a fire alarm.

UPDATE 8:10 p.m.: Engine 24 on scene. Nothing showing.

UPDATE 8:13 p.m.: Burnt food.

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When I drove down Redfield Parkway this evening, I saw several homes with nice Christmas lights, but I took only one picture tonight because it was just so darn cold for wandering around with a tripod.

City Fire is responding to The Manor House on East Main Street, where somebody reports smelling something burning.

An apparent drunken driver hit a snow plow in the area of Kelsey Road.  Crews tried to keep him in the area, but he successfully negotiated a three-point turn and fled on Pratt Road toward Route 5.

Witnesses did provide dispatch with a plate number.

The number comes back to a Kelsey Road resident with a suspended driver's license.

If you're a low- or moderate-income home owner and your property needs some TLC, they city may have a program soon to allow you catch up on all that deferred maintenance.

The grant program could help you with home repairs and improves on such things as replacing a water heater, replacing electrical systems or re-roofing.

But first, the city needs to know if you're interested. There will be no grants unless enough property owners step forward and request an application.

City Manager Jason Molino said the city is looking for 40 or more property owners to express an interest in the home rehabilitation.

If you think you might qualify, call Jodie Freese at 345-6333 to request an application.

The application is two pages and the package contains more information on the program. The completed forms must be returned to the consultant reviewing the applications by Jan. 31.

Funding for the program will come from the federal government through the Community Development Block Grant process, but the city must prove there are enough interested and qualified homeowners with sufficient need.

The program is part of the city's wider community building efforts to improve neighborhoods and local home values.

"This is the sort of thing that can be contagious and what we hope is that this will sort of catch on and filter into other areas," Molino said.

The program will provide up to $24,500 per structure. If the homeowner doesn't sell his property within five years, the grant does not need to be repaid.

Homeowners who do sell within that time frame, will be required to repay the grant.

The provision, Molino said, is to lessen the interest of speculators in flipping grant-improved homes, but when funds are repaid, the money will just go back into the grant program to assist other home owners.

Based on previous experience with a similar program on Jackson Street some years ago, Molino is hopeful this program will bring about a broad range of home improvements.

But ongoing success requires sustained effort, Molino said.

"To build on it, you need to continue to do it. It's not a one-time fix," he said.

To qualify, homeowners need to meet specified income criteria. For a sole-occupant, the very low income level is $13,050, and the upper level is $34,800.

The two-occupant range is $14,900 to $39,750, and the scale goes all the way up to eight occupants, with a range of $24,600 to $65,600.

The very-low income qualifiers will receive priority funding if approved. Applicants will be required to provide proof of income.

I took this picture of Kibbe Park during my driving around this morning.

Ladder 15 and Engine 12 have responded to an apartment with report of smoke inside.

The resident is disabled.

First responder reports, "nothing showing."

(I didn't catch the address).

UPDATE 1:15 p.m.: Ladder 15 back in service.

I drove around Batavia a bit this morning -- lots of people shoveling and snow blowing this morning.

And, of course, the roundabout is plowed.

City Fire has been dispatched to 228 Summit St., Batavia -- UMMC -- for a fire alarm.

There is a report of smoke in Suite 5.

These cars were lined up on Walnut Street this evening with their 4 ways on waiting to be able to get into their driveways.  Care-A-Van loaded the bus up with hot chocolate, chili and snow shovels and hit the streets this evening to give a lending hand.

The bus drove around the city looking for folks in need. We stopped and helped shovel people out and helped push cars that were stuck. Warm treats were offered to all.

Traffic is reportedly at a standstill on Route 63 near Johnny's bar.

Dispatch reports numerous calls, but the dispatcher says, "we're trying to figure out what's going on out there."

Law enforcement is in route.

UPDATE: The situation on Route 63 sounds like a mess. There is a jack-knifed truck holding up traffic, and (unrelated) one truck driver is filing a complaint against another truck driver for assault.

UPDATE 8:10 p.m.: Westbound Route 20 is being closed so that a DOT plow can be extracted from a ditch.

UPDATE 8:15 p.m.: Looking at the radar map, the storm is well south of Batavia. The heaviest concentration of snow is falling from Attica up to Bethany. Darien and Alexander are on the border of the storm.

UPDATE 8:44 p.m.: A driver stuck on Richmond Avenue called for a tow. He was told: Four-hour wait.

UPDATE 9:47 p.m.: It sounds like the car mentioned in the update above has been freed from its snow  bank. Also, it sounds like a truck in Pavilion is blocking traffic now.

UPDATE 9:57 p.m.: Route 63 is open again. Also, a law enforcement officer in Texas Town is reporting one of his suspects is eight-months pregnant and is feeling pressure and discomfort. We don't know why she was arrested. She's being taken to UMMC.

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Emergency crews responded to a report of a rollover accident on the Thruway and when they got there, there was nobody in the car and nobody around, but the car was on its roof.

Meanwhile, a semi-truck on Route 33 is reportedly "driving people" off the road. He happens to be heading toward a roadblock set up earlier this evening because of a jack-knifed truck near Seven Springs Road.

Also, inmate trustees are clearing Porter Road so law enforcement has access to the jail.

There continue to be reports of accidents, cars and trucks stuck in various locations.

UPDATE 6:08 p.m.: Route 33 is open.

UPDATE 6:13: Route 19 is open.