batavia

An Alden man is being held in jail without bail after being accused of trying to steal a historic long gun yesterday from the Holland Land Office Museum, 131 West Main St., Batavia.

An observant witness spotted a person leaving the museum with the long gun hidden under a trench coat and followed the suspect's car, phoning the dispatch center with a license plate number, description and direction of travel.

Taken into custody at the intersection of West Main and Oak streets shortly after 1:30 p.m. was Frank J. Bieniek, 55, of 962 Virginia Drive, Alden.

The gun is valued at more than $3,000.

Bieniek is charged with grand larceny 3rd and criminal possession of stolen property 3rd.

The case was investigated by Officer Matt Flemming and detectives Kevin Czora and Todd Crossett.

Bieniek will be arraigned and receive a bail review in City Court at 11 a.m., Monday.

(initial report)

Last evening, I took pictures of Christmas lights of several homes on the south side of Batavia. Above a home on Ganson Avenue.

More pictures after the jump:

Osterhout Street

Highland Street

Jackson Street

Hutchins Street

A minor-injury car accident is reported at School and Swan streets in the City of Batavia.

City fire and Mercy EMS are responding.

John Micheal Parker, 58, of Phelps Road, Corfu, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI (driving with a BAC of .18 or greater), speed not reasonable for conditions. At 12:41 a.m., Dec. 4, the Sheriff's Office received a call of a car in a ditch on Route 77 in Pembroke. Deputy Kevin McCarthy responded and found a car in a ditch, partially blocking the roadway. Parker was allegedly found to be intoxicated.

Charles M. Blatt, 48, of 319 E. Main St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Police responded to a reported domestic incident at 6:25 p.m., Thursday. Blatt was allegedly found in violation of an order of protection that barred him from being intoxicated in the presence of the protected party. Blatt was jailed on $1,000 bail.

William A. Andrews, 31, of 54 Hutchins St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and harassment, 2nd. Andrews allegedly violated an order of protection by making repeated threats of violence against the protected person. Andrews was jailed without bail.

Gordy Abiola Akinpelu, 18, of Lincoln Street, Brooklyn, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd. Akinpelu is accused of entering a room at Oak Hall in College Village without permission.

Police are in pursuit of a black Intrepid that is reportedly heading southbound on Oak Street from Richmond.

The suspect reportedly stole a historical gun from the Holland Land Office Museum.

It may have just been stopped on Oak Street and Main.

UPDATE 1:42 p.m.: The vehicle was stopped. The property has been identified.

A car attempting to cross from the Rite Aid parking lot across Lewiston Road to the Tops parking lot was stuck by an other car in a minor-injury accident at 1:42 p.m., Thursday.

Cited for alleged failure to yield was Nancy L. Alfes, 64, of Darien-Alexander Townline Road, Darien Center.

Alfes was also reportedly injured, but not transported to a hospital.

The other driver, Helen W. Laird, 88, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, was not injured.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Lonnie Nati.

(initial report)

He started his first business when he was 16 and just a day before his 21st birthday, Tim Walton has bought out his first company.

Walton, who is the owner and founder of TopLine Shirt Company, has agreed to terms with Marc Tillery, owner of MT Graphixs, to buy out and merge the two companies into one. This will allow Walton to add a wide variety of graphic design services including advertisement design and consulting.

"Marc is a great designer and his company has really proven itself and was something that I wanted to get involved with," Walton said.

MT Graphixs is a design and advertising firm that has clientele based throughout the United States and has done design work for high-end clients including the Grammy Award winning group Boys II Men, R&B group New Edition and John Neilson of Rebel Spirit Clothing -- a line that is often worn by the stars of the MTV hit show "Jersey Shore."

"It's a great opportuniy for both of us," says Walton. "MT (Graphixs) has a long list of clients and it's great to be able to add them to my portfolio and should result in a revenue increase for both of us."

Tillery has a variety of experience in design and advertising.

"We can help you with a plan to get your ads to reach customers, we can design fliers, logos, business cards, T-shirts or whatever else you may need designed," he said.

As part of the deal, Tillery will now be operating full-time out of TopLine's current location at 214 E. Main St. in Batavia.

"I felt like this was the right move for both of us. It gives me an opportunity to be able to work with Tim and offer the customers I have even more services," Tillery said.

The terms of the deal are not being released.

"This addition isn't just going to add more design services," says Walton. "This allows us to become more of an advertising company as a whole and will allow for us to continue to expand into numerous other markets that otherwise would not have been possible."

(Photos - Top, Tim Walton, left, and Marc Tillery; lower, Marc Tillery, left, and Tim Walton.)

A downtown storefront is not the usual place you'd expect to find a batting cage, but Bruce Dedman and partner Mike Sputore have moved their baseball business to a location near Liberty Street.

The facility features two 70-foot cages and hitters can either face off against a machine or live batting-practice pitching.

Pitch 'n Hit Baseball Training Center was previously located on Harvester Avenue. With the location change, Dedman said, the cages will now be open year-around. In the past, the business would shut down in the spring, when players return to their teams.

The batting cages were just an off-season workout, Dedman said.

Genesee Community College's ball team is putting the cages to good use, and several high school players also work out at the facility, Dedman said.

He's also working on arrangements to make provisions for softball players.

Most hitters pay for monthly memberships, but half-hour and hourly rates are also available.

The business is located at 214 E. Main St. Hours: 3 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Appointments are also accepted.

Hitters should use scheduly.com For more information, write to pitchnhit@gmail.com or call (716) 560-0031.

GCC was filled with young entrepreneurs today as students from more than a dozen high schools in the region participated in a trade fair, selling wares from their virtual businesses.

Debbie Dunlevy, college tech prep project director at GCC, explains the program:

In September 2003, six districts in the GLOW Region, with the assistance of the College Tech Prep program at GCC, began a pilot program related to the Business Career Cluster. There have been up to 11 GLOW school districts participating in the program and currently there are nine with a company. This program integrates an Entrepreneurship class with the international Virtual Enterprise program.

Students enrolled in the class seek to establish a business from the ground up. They design a business plan, decide on a product to “sell," design a marketing a plan, work with payroll and taxes and, in general, learn about all aspects of running a business without assuming any of the actual risks since the entire project is completed virtually using the internet, fax, phone and U.S. Mail.

Students participate in a Trade Fair during the fall term and an end of year competition in the spring semester. All of the schools are members of the Rochester Area Consortium, which includes 10 Monroe County secondary schools, three Erie County schools, plus the nine from the GLOW Region.

At the Trade Fair, students set up displays with the objective of getting visitors to “purchase” their product. Awards are given to the top three schools in the areas of best booth, salesmanship and most sales. Money from the Trade Fair sales is deposited into the company accounts.

All visitors are given $10,000 in virtual money to spend at any of the booths.

This program exemplifies the main goal of College Tech Prep program, which is to provide rigorous academics coupled with hands on or practical application.

For more than 20 years, the Mancuso family and the Batavia Lions Club have teamed up to host a Christmas Day dinner for any local residents who wish to join in a community meal on the holiday.

Seating times at T.F. Brown's this year will be at noon and 1 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling Maud at 343-2091.

T.F. Brown's is not officially open on Christmas and there will be no bar service that day.

All are welcome to this free meal, which will offer the traditional Christmas Day fare of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, salad and dessert.

Local vendors supporting the dinner this year include Jeffrey Condidorio and Kathy Pettinella, who helped get food donated for the event. The Lion's Club contributes funds to ensure every child under 18 receives a Christmas present. Lion's Club members also work as servers, dishwashers and busboys.

Photo: From left, Ben Mancuso, Bob Swanson, president of the Lion's Club, Joe Teresi, and Rick Mancuso.

Albany needs to tackle unfunded mandates before it imposes a property tax cap on local governments, says a resolution the Batavia City Council will be asked to consider at its meeting Monday.

In a report to the council from City Manager Jason Molino, he says mandates make local spending "artificially high."

The report doesn't specify what unfunded mandates the city is most concerned about, but does say that the New York Conference of Mayors has appointed a 20-member task force to identify unfunded mandates and recommend what to do about them.

In the early stages of looking at the 2011/2012 city budget, Molino says, there is a potential $1.1 million shortfall, due mainly to rising retirement costs.

Retirement costs are expected to go up by $371,000, but with the proposed property tax cap, the city would only be able to realize an additional $72,000 in additional revenue, leaving a deficit of $289,000. That deficit would mean a cut in city services, Molino said.

The city manager's report does not advocate a tax increase, and the proposed resolution notes that New York has some of the highest property tax rates in the nation. Taxes are high, according to the resolution, because state mandates imposed by Albany on local governments are so inefficient.

A property tax rate cap will only work, according to the resolution, if mandated expenses are repealed. It also says that without mandate relief, and a property tax cap, local governments will be forced to drastically reduce services and eliminate jobs.

Hundreds of local residents gathered at Northgate Free Methodist Church in Batavia on Wednesday evening for "A Service of Prayer and Remembrance."

The annual service sponsored by funeral home company H.E. Turner and Co., is a chance for people to remember loved ones who have passed and light a candle in their honor. The candles can then be taken home and relit on Christmas Day.

Rev. Greg Brotzman and Rev. Donald Shirk (pictured at the microphone below) participated in the service, which included music and a memorial sermon.

A two-car accident with injuries has been reported on Lewiston Road in front of Tops Market.

The vehicles are blocking the roadway.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Michael Aaron Witkop, 18, of Ross Street, Batavia, is charged with sexual misconduct. Witkop is accused of having sexual intercourse with a girl under 17 years of age, who is considered too young to give consent.

Timothy J. McGall, 22, of Mill Pond Road, Byron, is charged with aggravated DWI and DWI. McGall was arrested Monday following an investigation into an accident on Swamp Road in Bergen at 10:10 p.m., Oct. 31. Based on an investigation by the Monroe County Toxicology Laboratory, McGall was allegedly found to be driving with a BAC of .18 or greater.

Brittany Lynn Frey, 20, and Scott Alexander Lawrence, 19, both of Griswold Road, Darien, are charged with petit larceny. Frey and Lawrence are accused of shoplifting from Kmart on Tuesday.

A two-car accident with minor injuries has been reported at the intersection of Bank Street Road and East Saile Drive.

Town of Batavia and Mercy EMS responding.

Joshua Carney, 33, and Holly Carney, 27, both of 64 Spencer Court, Batavia, are changed with several felonies following an investigation by the Department of Social Services. Joshua Carney has been charged with nine counts of offering a false instrument for filing, 1st, and one count of grand larceny, 3rd. Holly Carney is charged with 11 counts of offering a false instrument for filing, 1st, and one count of grand larceny, 3rd. DSS investigators alleged that the Carneys failed to report commission income from his employer. The alleged failure to report the income meant the Carneys received $14,017.14 in food stamp and medicaid benefits from May 1, 2008 to June 30, 2010 to which they were not entitled. They were taken into custody by Deputy Chad Minuto and arraigned in Batavia Town Court.

Brandy Miller (aka Brandy Osmancikli), 37, of 2093 Lewiston Road, Basom, is charged with four counts of offering a false instrument for filing, 1st, and one count of petit larceny.  Miller is accused of failing to report income from March 11, 2010 to May 27, 2010. She allegedly received $612 in food stamp benefits to which she was not entitled.

Jamie Hamill, 33, of 4311 Lockport Road, Elba, is charged with grand larceny, 4th, and three counts of offering a false instrument for filing, 1st. Hamill is accused of submitting forms to DSS without revealing that her husband was employed full-time. Hamill allegedly received $542.41 in temporary assistance benefits and $661 in food stamps to which she wasn't entitled between July 2009 and November 2009.

A driver who allegedly hit a young woman's car at Prole Road and Route 33, Stafford, on Oct. 10, has agreed to help pay for her new car, she said this morning.

Danielle Lovett, who used The Batavian to appeal to the community to help find the alleged hit-and-run driver, e-mailed us this morning and said the driver was apparently identified and he will pay her $500 deductible on her insurance. Her car was totalled in the accident, she said.

Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble confirmed that the Sheriff's Office arrested William Pitcher, 64, of Thomas Avenue, Batavia. He was charged on Oct. 24 with failure to yield the right-of-way at a stop sign and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. 

Pitcher's car was apparently spotted by a reader parked at a local auto body shop within 20 minutes of the post going up on The Batavian and notified Lovett of the location.

A tractor-trailer and another vehicle are reportedly involved in a traffic accident on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 394.1 in the westbound lane.

East Pembroke Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 10:51 p.m.: Everything's off the road. One minor injury. Responding units can proceed carefully.

A two-car property damage accident, which is blocking the roadway, is reported at 288 Ross St. in the City of Batavia.

City fire is responding.

UPDATE 8:35 p.m.: Mercy EMS is asked to respond in nonemergency mode to evaluate two children involved in the accident.

A utility pole is reported to be arcing at 33 Center St. in the City of Batavia.

City fire is responding. The location is between School and Ellicott.