batavia

An accident has been reported at the intersection of Jackson and Ellicott streets.

A victim reportedly has glass in his eye.

City Fire Department and Mercy EMS responding.

Press release:

The 28th annual Health and Humanitarian Award of Genesee County will be presented to Dorothy M. Baker on Friday, Dec. 2 at an awards luncheon at Terry Hills Restaurant. The award presented by The Jerome Foundation and United Memorial Medical Center Foundation recognizes volunteer men and women of Genesee County who have helped promote emotional, physical and spiritual well-being of the area’s residents.

In naming Dorothy Baker for this year’s award, the foundations will recognize her volunteer efforts and leadership at The Jerome Center Gift Shop and Kiosk, Genesee County Tourism Information Booth, Office of the Aging, Veterans Administration, and St. Joseph’s Church. Dorian Ely, coordinator of the RSVP Program of Genesee County, keeps a record of volunteer service by retired seniors.

“Dorothy logged 1,750 hours of service in 2010, bringing an exemplary sense of responsibility to her volunteer service," Ely said.

Since 1987, Baker has helped improve Genesee County’s economic health by volunteering at the Tourism Information Booth, providing information, direction and recommendations to visitors.

“Many visitors have a better impression of Genesee County because of Dorothy’s friendliness and knowledge of the area," said Dawn Ireland-Monsees, Genesee County tourism information coordinator in her letter nominating Dorothy for the Health and Humanitarian Award. "She is a great ambassador for our county and its residents."

At the VA Western New York Healthcare System, Baker regularly serves as a wheelchair escort on outings for veterans. At the Genesee County Office of the Aging, a senior citizen meal site, she helps serve seniors meals and provides needed socialization.

“Most dear to her heart is her volunteer service at The Jerome Center Gift Shop and Kiosk where she begins volunteering most mornings at 7 a.m. and has done so for years”, said Mary Barbeau, a friend and fellow volunteer.

Profits from the gift shop and food kiosk benefit United Memorial Medical Center.

The Health and Humanitarian Award luncheon is open to the public.  Reservations can be made by contacting United Memorial Medical Center Foundation at 344-5300. Seating will be limited so early reservations are encouraged.

Released by the school district:

Highlights from the BCSD Board of Education meeting on Oct. 17, 2011, include the following:

One Vote Each Day Can Yield $50,000 for Music Department

Student Ex-officio Board Member Taylor Harkness reported on an opportunity for the district’s music department to win up to $50,000 by having people vote at least once each day through early November for a quartet from the district’s student ensemble, The Batavia Blue Belles.

Citing drastic cuts to education, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC, Ryan Murphy (the creator of GLEE), and the National Association for Music Education teamed up to create a music-celebrating contest to support music education to the tune of $1 million. The Blue Belles -- including members Melzie Case, Sarah DiBacco, Catherine McAllister, and Catherine Taylor, working under the direction of district vocal teacher Daniel Grillo -- entered the nationwide contest to compete for one of three Grand Prizes for $50,000 each. There are also 10 First Prizes for $25,000 each and 60 Second Prizes for $10,000 each.

Winning is based on public vote, and all community members (as well as other family and friends who would like to support the music department) can vote for The Blue Belles once per day per computer IP address until Nov. 7. To vote, go to www.gleegiveanote.com, click on “VOTE NOW”, type in “BATAVIA HIGH SCHOOL” in the box for entering school name, click on the video clip of the Batavia Blue Belles, and click “VOTE”. Winners will be announced Dec. 15.

Parent Shares Concern Regarding Consolidation

While acknowledging that the Board of Education and administrators have been responsive to hearing parents' and residents' concerns about consolidation proposals and thanking them for their consideration, as well as the decision to postpone a vote on the proposal until March 2012, one parent attended the meeting to urge board members not to vote for any proposal that would include moving fifth-grade students to the middle school. Stating that she had spoken to various individuals who work with youth and with troubled youth, she believes, overall, it is not beneficial to the fifth-graders to be moved to the middle school.

Click on the headline above to read full report

Board Vacancy Applications Received

Superintendent of Schools Margaret Puzio publicly thanked Andy Pedro for his years of work for the students and community through his service on the Board of Education, which will end on Nov. 1. The ensuing vacancy to finish out his term (through June 30, 2012) has been announced, with five individuals expressing interest in the position.

Those applicants are: Phil Ricci, Alfred McGinnis, Dennis Warner, Raymond Walker and Rodney Brinkman. The board plans on reviewing each application and interviewing all five individuals on or about Monday, Oct. 24 so that a timely decision can be made.

Changes to Budget Voting Procedure

In response to parents’ requests voiced at several public meetings, the board approved a plan presented by business administrator Scott Rozanski to change polling hours for the district’s annual vote on proposed budgets and board member elections. Rather than being open from noon to 9 p.m., polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. Parents had said that earlier polling hours would help accommodate work schedules.

In addition, Mr. Rozanski proposed that the number of polling places for the budget vote also be revised for greater cost efficiency. Instead of three polling places (Robert Morris Elementary, Batavia Middle School, and Jackson Elementary), he proposed that there be two, and that those locations would be Batavia High School and John Kennedy Elementary. Both BHS and JK, he noted, have better parking and ease of access, and redrawing voting districts to assign a voting location should be a simple process. Once done, the proposal can be brought back to the board for a vote. Board Member Pat Burk suggested that all Town of Batavia residents vote at one location, as he has observed much confusion through the years as to how their proper voting site is determined.

External Audit Report

David Mancuso of Freed Maxick & Battaglia, CPXs, PC, presented a summary of their audit of the basic financial statements of the district for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011, indicating that there were no significant, unusual, or controversial transactions or accounting practices.

Some specific points from the report and presentation follow.

The district currently maintains an A1 credit rating from Moody’s Credit Corporation, which is among the highest in Genesee County.

Amid uncertain economic times, the district has been successful in efforts to spend and budget conservatively, as well as to plan for the long term by setting funds aside in reserve for specific areas of concern: unemployment insurance, NYS employees retirement, repairs, and employee benefit liability. In an economic climate where the future is likely to see reduced state aid as well as increased expenses, continued economic conservatism is to be encouraged.

The district has been able to have a minor tax levy over the past five years, averaging .5 percent, while at the same time maintaining most of the educational program offerings.

The district finished the year with an unexpected general fund surplus of approximately $730,000. This was primarily due to conservative budget estimates in difficult-to-predict categories such as to special education services, foster care tuition, and utilities; being able to cover some budgeted payroll costs with money from grants; savings in transportation that were achieved by bidding out and consolidating routes. The district was able to put this money into unemployment reserves to help with current and future staff reductions.

The audit also noted that the approval for the transfer of the above-mentioned surplus to the reserve fund was secured after the official state deadline of June 30 (when the fiscal year ended). The recommendation for the future was to have to obtain the necessary open-ended authorization before the deadline.

The unassigned fund balance (formerly referred to as undesignated fund balance) of the district’s general fund was $1,443,354 and this amount was within the state’s limit of 4 percent of the ensuing year’s budget, excluding of the amount designated for the subsequent year’s budget.

Two items related to the fundraising for extracurricular activities which pose difficulty for most school districts are (1) there being no irrefutable accountability for student fundraising activities from the time a student collects the donation or payment from a donor/customer until the money gets delivered to the dstrict; and (2) a recommendation that student organizations be treated as small businesses and have members prepare a program outline similar to a business plan at the beginning of the school year for approval. The outline would include projected expenses for and profits from events, and plans for the accumulated funds. Then, as each event is completed, a profit/loss analysis should be filed.

The complete report will be available on the district’s website (www.bataviacsd.org) : go to the “District” tab for a drop-down menu, scroll down and click on “Business Office”, click on “Financial Reports,” then scroll down to the appropriate report.

Legislative Items to be Addressed at School Boards Convention

Board Member Pat Burk, who is also a Resolutions Committee member for the NYS School Boards Association (NYSSBA), presented the 2011 Proposed Resolutions and Voting Delegate’s Guide for the Annual Business Meeting of the NYSSBA. He asked board members to review all of the proposals and respond to him with their comments and recommendations before he votes at the NYSSBA meeting in late October.

While much greater detail is available on the NYSSBA website (www.nyssba.org), the proposed resolutions listed below provide a quick guide to the scope of concerns and challenges facing NYS boards of education:

Tuition Tax Credit and Educational Vouchers -- to oppose legislation at the state and/or federal level that would provide tuition tax credits or educational vouchers for private or parochial schools.

Standards for Education Funding Reform -- to demand that the New York State Legislature act now to reform the state education funding system in a manner that provides for:
•       Adequacy – to provide sufficient resources to assure the opportunity for a sound basic education for all students.
•       Equity – to distribute a foundation level of state aid for every student that is based on the actual cost of providing a sound basic education that fairly compensates for differences in community costs, needs and resources. The legislature should preclude municipalities from using state aid to replace local education resources.
•       Flexibility – to increase the percentage of operating aid so that boards of education retain the discretion to determine what educational programs best address local needs. Local communities should not be restrained from determining the level of funding they will expend to support educational programs.
•       Predictability – to provide timely passage of the state budget and stable funding distributed through a consistent, uniformly applied formula that would not require annual manipulation by the legislature and that would facilitate long-term planning by school districts.
•       Clarity – to establish a funding formula that is easily explained and understood.

Principles of 21st Century Retirement Benefits -- to seek legislation based on the following Principles of 21st Century Retirement Benefits: Portability, Predictability, Affordability, Flexibility, and Acceptable Risk.

Pension Contribution Reserve Funds -- to support legislation amending Chapter 260 of the Laws of 2004 to permit boards of education and boards of cooperative educational services to establish pension contribution reserve funds for all employees and to authorize such boards to deposit surplus monies into such funds.

State Share of District Superintendent Salary -- to support the continued appropriation of the state share of the district superintendent’s salary.

Reserve Fund for Other Post-Employment Benefits -- to seek legislation authorizing school districts to create a new reserve fund to finance Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) as envisioned under Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 45.

District Superintendent Salary Cap -- to seek legislation amending Education Law Section 1950(4)(a) to repeal the limitation on the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) district superintendents’ salaries.

Technological Consolidation -- in support of the use of video conferencing, online learning and other digital technologies to achieve greater efficiency in school district organization. These efforts will include, but not be limited to: a) the use of State Education Department (SED) reorganization feasibility study grants for use by school districts wishing to compare “cyber-consolidation” to physical consolidation; and b) the use of reorganization aid to help offset the costs of the technology infrastructure necessary for districts to consolidate educational services in this manner.

School District Retirement Contributions -- to seek legislation to create new pension tiers of the state Employees’ Retirement System and Teachers’ Retirement System that would provide the predictability and affordability that would limit school district contributions.

Performance Pay for Teachers -- to seek legislation to change the current system of teacher compensation in favor of a system where teachers are compensated for meeting local performance benchmarks.

Change in Tax Collection Schedule -- to support legislation which would permit school tax collection schedule(s) to be adjusted to minimize the need for school district borrowing so as to permit tax collections to coincide with encumbrances that are incurred by such school districts.

Cooperative Purchasing for School Districts -- to seek legislation to authorize school districts and other local municipalities the ability to purchase through national purchasing cooperatives.

Teacher Layoff Rules -- to seek legislation that would limit teacher seniority in determining the process of teacher layoffs.

Civil Service Law Reform -- to seek and support legislation amending the New York State Civil Service Law so that it is more responsive to the current needs of school districts and the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), including, but not limited to: increasing disciplinary options; updating tests and specification books; creating more flexibility in hiring lists; providing lists in electronic form; and increasing probationary periods.

Employee and Retiree Health Care Contributions -- to seek legislation requiring current and retired school employees to contribute at least 15 percent of the cost of individual health care coverage and at least 25 percent of the cost of family health care coverage.

Conforming Special Education to Federal Requirements -- to seek legislation to limit state special education mandates to those required by the federal government.

Placement of Students with a Disability -- to support efforts, and recommend legislation and/or regulations, to ensure that the New York State Education Department (SED) facilitates the ability of school districts to locate out-of-state placements for the appropriate placement of students with a disability when no SED-approved residential school may be determined as appropriate from the list of SED-approved schools.

Teacher Retirement and Health Care Reserve Funds -- to seek legislation to authorize school districts to create dedicated reserve funds to help offset the costs of teacher pensions and retiree healthcare costs.

Core Principles of Education Policy -- in support of state proposals affecting public education be evaluated according to the following core principles: provide access to programs that prepare students to be college and career ready; achieve equity and adequacy in funding; promote efficiency and cost-effectiveness; advance high expectations for all students; embrace innovative approaches; and foster community engagement and regional cooperation.

John M. Forte, 23, of 4898 Ridge Road, Williamson, is charged with burglary, 3rd. Forte is accused of forceably entering a business in the Village of Le Roy on or about Nov. 8 and stealing copper from the basement of the building.

Eric Bratcher, 22, of 7 ½ North St., Le Roy, is charged with burglary, 2nd, and petit larceny. Bratcher is accused of entering the residence of a friend over the weekend and stealing a game system and games. Bratcher was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Marianne Dawson, 50, 20 N. Spruce St., Batavia, is charged with DWI. Dawson was charged with DWI. Dawson was arrested at 5:18 p.m. Monday on Seneca Avenue by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

A 16-year-old resident of Snipery Road, Darien, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. The youth got into an argument with her parents about getting ready and going to school. She allegedly became verbally abusive and threw an item at her father. Family Court had issued an order of protection requiring her not to engage in offensive conduct toward her parents. The youth was released after arraignment and transported to school.

Darleen Angie McComb, 53, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. McComb is accused of stealing a $30 pair of boots from R and D Outlet Center on Clinton Street Road, Stafford.

Basillo Martinez, 48, of Clinton Street Road, Bergen, was arrested on a bench warrant for alleged criminal possession of stolen property and criminal possession of a weapon.

Jeffrey Allen Good, 36, of Route 98, Alexander, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal use/possession of a hypodermic instrument and criminal use of drug paraphernalia. Good was allegedly found by his probation officer in possession of heroin in packaging along with hypodermic needles while in his home. Good was taken into custody by Deputy Brian Thompson. Good was jailed on $5,000 bail.

John Cheston Townley, 36, of Liberty Street, Bliss, was arrested on a bench warrant for DWI. Townley had been incarcerated on unrelated charges in Wyoming County.

A car has reportedly struck a pole in the area of 309 S. Jackson St., Batavia.

Unknown injuries.

Wires are down on the road.

City Fire Department and Mercy EMS responding. Law enforcement on scene.

UPDATE 2:19 a.m.: The driver reportedly fled the scene. The only description is he was wearing a sweatshirt.  He ran east on South Jackson.

UPDATE 3:26 a.m.: The alleged driver returned to the scene. He immediately started picking up his sporting equipment strewn in the road until a police officer came over and began an interview with him. The driver said he left the scene because he panicked. He said he didn't think he was going that fast, "but obviously I was." Adding, "my car is totaled." After a brief chat with police officers, he was examined by Mercy medics. He complained of back pain. He was transported by private vehicle to UMMC where he will be questioned further.  National Grid arrived on scene just before 3 a.m. City firefighters cleared the scene at 3:20 a.m. The pole replacement work is expected to take several hours. The identity of the driver has not been released yet.

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A Mercy EMS ambulance is being dispatched to the scene of an alleged attempted burglary where the would-be female burglar reportedly fell and hit her head.

She is semi-conscious.

Batavia PD is just arriving on scene at the Seneca Avenue residence.

Batavia PD responded to a 9-1-1 call this morning reporting a domestic disturbance at 110 Walnut St. and when officers arrived, one of the people allegedly involved in the disturbance fled the scene.

The subject was seen heading into the woods behind the house.

Joshua A. Harris, 22, of no permanent address, was taken into custody by Batavia officers after a short pursuit. Deputy Brian Thompson and his K-9 "Pharoah" assisted in the search.

Harris was wanted on three warrants related to charges of criminal contempt, 2nd.

This morning Harris was charged with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.

Press release:

The partners of the Perry Veterinary Clinic, PLLC, have purchased the Batavia Animal Hospital from Dr. Raymond Pray.  The transfer was effective Oct. 1, 2011.

The Batavia Animal Hospital was founded by Drs. Jack E. Wilkes and Irving W. Wiswall in 1955 on Lewiston Road. In 1958 it moved to its current location on W. Main St. Road. In 1961, Dr. Pray joined the practice and purchased it in 1974.

The Perry Veterinary Group includes 28 veterinarians with additional small animal clinics in Perry, Livonia and Yorkshire (Arcade). In addition, it provides veterinary services to dairy, equine and other farm animals in a 13-county area.

Dr. Pray and his associate veterinarians are continuing to practice at the Batavia Animal Hospital. Dr. Pray said that he is looking forward to the new arrangement which will allow him more free time while providing the opportunity to continue practicing veterinary medicine. He also stated that he was happy to see the clinic moving forward and knows that the clients that have supported him for many years will continue to receive excellent veterinary care for their pets from the Perry group.

Dr. Stephen Stoddard, senior managing partner, for Perry Veterinary Clinic stated: “The Partners are delighted with the purchase of the Batavia Animal Hospital. Dr. Pray and his associates have excellent reputations and we look forward to working with them. The Perry Veterinary group has long had a significant presence in Genesee County with residents from the Southeast corner of the county coming to our Perry clinic for their pets medical care. In addition, the practice is currently servicing dairy, equine and livestock clients in Genesee County. The Batavia Animal Hospital is a natural fit and we are excited about the opportunity it presents.”

Theodore Murphy, 51, of 29 Central Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd. Murphy is accused of possessing an electronic stun gun on Sept. 25 while on Central Avenue. Murphy was jailed without bail.

Reginald J. Hawker, 56, of 220 W. Main St., #4, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Hawker is accused of entering Wilson Farms on West Main Street after previously being barred from the store.

Jerome S. Dennis, 25, of 15 Thorpe St., Upper, Batavia, is charged with harassment. 2nd. Dennis is accused of spitting on another person.

Phillip Michael Busch, 19, of Bowen Road, Attica, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to signal and moving from lane unsafely. Busch was stopped at 3:06 a.m., Sunday, on Bowen Road in Alexander by Deputy Jason Saile.

Jennifer Lynn Hoehn, 38, of Dublin Road, Bergen, is charged with criminal mischief. Hoehn is accused of damaging a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado belonging to another person.

Ryan Donal Spencer, 22, of Sumner Road, Darien, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and inadequate exhaust. Spencer was stopped at 12:51 a.m. Saturday by Deputy Jason Saile.

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.