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UPDATE 3:50 p.m.: The Genesee County Sheriff's Department has released the victims' names in this morning's two-vehicle head-on collision in the vicinity of 3837 W. Main St. Road, Town of Batavia.

Killed at the scene was 19-year-old Delores Opuku-Boateng, who was a passenger in a 1999 Honda sedan driven by 21-year-old Levert R. Kimble. Both of them were ejected from the vehicle upon impact.

Kimble was taken to ECMC with serious injuries. Mercy Flight was not available for unknown reasons this morning.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 1995 Chevy SUV, was Justin J. Jaszko, 31. He suffered a leg injury and was taken to UMMC.

According to investigators, the accident occurred at 9:02 a.m. when Kimble apparently lost control of his eastbound Honda and crossed over the center of the road, striking Jaszko's westbound SUV.

Assisting at the scene were the volunteer fire departments of the Town of Batavia and East Pembroke and the Batavia City Police Department.

The investigation continues by the following individuals: Deputy John Duyssen, Deputy Lonnie Nati, Investigator Kristopher Kautz, Investigator Timothy Weis, Sgt. William Scott, Sgt. James Meier and Sgt. Steven Mullen.

At this point, no charges have been made.

Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble said it's too early in the investigation to say what factor weather or speed played in the accident.

"We just don't know about speed," Dibble said. "We have two or three eyewitnesses and they will help us. Obviously, the road conditions are what they are. We have winter road conditions."

(Initial Report)

A person has been ejected from a vehicle in an accident in the area of 3842 W. Main St. Road, Town of Batavia.

There are at least two serious injuries and possibly more.

Mercy Flight is unavailable.

Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Batavia Police requested to shut down all westbound traffic.

UPDATE 9:14 a.m.: All eastbound traffic is shut down at Route 5 and Wortendyke Road. A third ambulance is called for. East Pembroke Fire Department is called to assist. A flatbed tow truck and another tow are called for.

UPDATE 9:30 a.m.: A man with minor injuries is being transported to UMMC. His grandfather had just arrived at the scene and was advised of this.

UPDATE 9:34 a.m.: The city's police chaplain is called to the scene. He is closer than the Sheriff's chaplain.

UPDATE 9:40 a.m.: There is one fatality. A victim is being transported to Erie County Medical Center.

UPDATE: As of 11 a.m., West Main Street Road reopened in both directions.

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City of Batavia Fire is being dispatched to 225 Liberty St. for an unknown type alarm sounding and a strange odor.

UPDATE: Didn't hear much more on this ... I did hear City Fire go back in service.

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City Fire is being dispatched to investigate a possible electrical fire in the wall of a residence at 8 Trumbull Parkway.

If you're a landowner with at least 200 acres in the Batavia area, here's your chance to sell it.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is trying to secure a plot of land that is central to Buffalo and Rochester for a new veteran's cemetery, according to a report in the Buffalo News.

When it was pointed out that most of the land east, west, north and south of Batavia is wide open, he said, “Apparently no one wants to sell.”

At present, the closest VA cemetery for those who have served in the armed forces is more than 100 miles away in Bath.

The parcel being sought by the VA needs to be within seven miles north or south of the Thruway and no farther than 20 miles east of the Thruway and Route 77 or 18 miles west of that rural crossing.

Prospective sellers -- even a mile outside the boundaries -- should call Gary Rothfeld, a VA real estate official at (202) 495-5534.

The deadline for proposals is Feb. 16.

A pair of Batavia hotels are getting some tax relief through the Genesee County Economic Development Center because they are installing new energy-efficient doors and windows.

A GCEDC news release says the project will mean 21 retained jobs.

The Days Inn and Super 8 at 200 Oak St., Batavia, are expected to spend more than $220,000 on the project.

The owners will save about $9,000 in sales tax on materials under terms of the GCEDC arrangement.

There are three primary reasons Cedar Street needs an extreme makeover according to consultant Marc D. Kenward.

First is the poor drainage that causes cracks and potholes; second, the low clearance of the bridge at the south end of Cedar (you know, the one the trucks hit a few times a year); third, a need for improved pedestrian mobility (sidewalks).

The reconstruction of Cedar has been a goal of the city for years, but the project is now in the pipeline because 80 percent of the $3.7 million price tag will be covered by the federal government and state grants will pay the rest.

An informational meeting at City Hall this evening, which about a dozen people attended, was an introduction of the plan and an opportunity for community members to provide feedback.

There will likely be one more such meeting as the planning progresses, Kenward said.

A three-car accident has been reported at East Main and Cedar streets.

It is believed to be property-damage only at this point.

A driver who was pulling out of the Arby's drive-thru exit on West Main Street apparently had her van roll in front of a westbound tractor-trailer.

The truck spun the van around, onto the sidewalk and into the front of an office building.

It's unknown at this point if the driver was unable to stop on ice or if she failed to yield the right-of-way.

The trucker drove on to the Tops Market parking lot where he reportedly felt it was safer to stop than on West Main Street.

Batavia Police and Fire responded along with Mercy EMS.

UPDATE: The driver of the van was Patricia A. Tomaszewski, 74, of Dodgeson Road, Alexander. Sgt. John Peck said Tomaszewski allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way and was issued a citation. He said her van struck the right rear axle of the trailer. The truck driver was John L. Kinnaird, 58, of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada. Kinnaird was cited for allegedly driving on a suspended license.

It's an annual complaint from downtown merchants -- piles of snow that mound up between roadside parking and the sidewalk on Main Street. The snow, merchants say, discourages foot traffic into their stores.

This morning, one merchant made an effort to open a little walk way through the snow after a loader closed it with a pile of ice. The merchant said he couldn't even budge the ice block that fell onto the sidewalk.

City Manager Jason Molino said it's cost prohibitive to remove the mounds after every snowstorm, but the city does schedule a time for removal as resources permit.

Molino said there was a full city crew on last night plowing and salting, so the city is down to about half staff for today.

"Everything will be removed," Molino said, "but it depends on when we have the manpower."

Because of the heavy traffic on Main Street and the equipment needed for the removal, it can only be done at night, Molino said.

Vic Marchese, owner of Main St. Pizza Company, was excited to get an e-mail today of a Sri Lanka resident wearing one of his T-shirts in the country once known as Ceylon. He said a friend sent the Sri Lankan the T-shirt and arranged for the picture.

Jorge Alberto Rojas Cazares, 16, of Gully Road, Le Roy, is charged with illegal entry. Cazares came to the attention of the Sheriff's Office while Deputy Joseph Graff investigated the complaint of a person receiving unwanted text messages. The youth was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Mark H. Poole, 44, of 104 Oak St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, 2nd. Poole is accused of being in a physical altercation with a person under 17 years old. Poole was jailed on $750 bail.

Somebody has built a large snow fort on Ellicott Street, in the city, in front of St. Joe's Cemetery. It looks like the developer used one of the city's blue recycling buckets to pack snow in and then piled the blocks on top of each other.

Three residents of the West End Trailer Park are accused of beating another resident with a metal baseball bat causing injuries serious enough to send the victim to the hospital.

The three suspects turned themselves in Jan. 22 and were each charged with assault, 2nd.

The alleged beating occurred Dec. 16 at the trailer park, 4016 W. Main St. Road, Batavia.

Charged were Anthony J. Loverdi, 41, Paul A. Loverdi, 42 and Steven L. Maltese, 41.

Anthony Loverdi and Maltese were jailed on $2,000 bail and bail was set at $10,000 for Paul Loverdi.

As many as five individuals, and possibly more, were involved in the altercation, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The victim suffered facial and back injuries.

The investigation was conducted by Deputy Brad Mazur with assistance from Investigator Timothy Weis, Deputy Tim Wescott, Deputy Cory Mower and Deputy Chris Parker.

A pickup truck is on fire at 610 Ellicott Street, at the intersection with Buell Street. The truck has a full tank of gasoline in it and is fully in flames. The driver is out.

Ellicott Street at Harvester Avenue is being shut down to traffic.

Batavia City Fire Department and police are on scene.

UPDATE 1:02 p.m.: Semi-trucks are backing up on Route 63. Some traffic is being routed down Harvester. A tow truck has been called.

UPDATE 1:28 p.m. (by Howard): The truck was being driven by Fred Haslip. He said, "It just started to smoke. The cab started to fill up and we just pulled over and jumped out as fast as we could. There was a lot of smoke, but nothing under the hood. Then all of the sudden, it just burst into flames." Haslip said both he and his wife got out of the truck safely. Ellicott Street is now clear.

The anticipated storm didn't deliver as much snow as expected, but still enough that Batavia residents were out this morning clearing three or four inches of heavy snow from their driveways and walks.

Above, Bob Terry clears snow from his driveway on Osterhout Avenue.

If Steve Hyde said it once, he said it at least a half-dozen times Tuesday during a public hearing on providing tax incentives for a proposed Holiday Inn Express in Batavia: The Genesee County Economic Development Center wants the input of other hotel owners on the potential economic impact of the proposed project.

"We are most interested in your views on what’s going on in the marketplace so we can share that with the board and they can give it thoughtful consideration," said Hyde, CEO of the GCEDC, near the end of a sometimes slightly contentious public hearing.

About a dozen local hotel operators attended the 4 p.m. meeting.

Typicall at such hearings, members of the public speak, officials listen with little or no response and the meeting ends. But Hyde repeatedly engaged speakers, either with questions or by challenging them to deliver more facts.

"If you have additional facts from validated sources that can justify your position, you should present that to us," Hyde said. "We hear you loud and clear but we need you  to provide us with verified facts."

The meeting opened with Mark Masse, VP of operations for GCEDC, presenting an overview of the proposed project and the proposed tax incentives the GCEDC can help deliver.

The developer is Michael Patel and an investment group, Chase Hotel Group, which operates in four states and eight markets. Previously, Patel owned and developed Comfort Inn in Batavia and he currently owns Hampton Inn in Batavia.

The proposed hotel would have 80 rooms and cost $3.5 million to develop.

When completed, the hotel will employ 19 full-time equivalent staff members.

Under the tax abatement proposal, Patel and Chase Hotel Group would receive $112,000 in sales tax exemption, a mortgage tax exemption of $37,500 and a property tax abatement over 10 years of $400,136.

These are taxes, according to Masse, that won't be generated if the project isn't built. 

There will be no tax reduction -- meaning no abatement of existing taxes -- for existing tax liabilities on the property.

If the project is built, it should generate more than $800,000 in sales tax over 10 years and $38,700 over 10 years in fire district fees.

The total economic benefit to the community over 10 years is estimated at more than $8.5 million.

Local hotel owners took issue with these numbers saying the figures don't account for lost business, not to mention the potential closure, of existing hotels.

"You say after the Hampton Inn opened there was an occupancy increase," said Chan Patel, owner of the Clarion Inn on Park Road (formerly the Holiday Inn). "I can prove to you that over the next two years, my occupancy went down by 10 percent."

The operators who spoke said they've all seen occupancy rates drop as new hotels have come into the market and they don't see how a market with a 48-percent occupancy rate in market with 1,000 rooms will benefit by adding 80 more rooms.

Jayesh Patel, owner of Travel Lodge, Batavia, argued, as did other hotel owners, that more rooms will mean that all of the hotels will wind up charging lower rates. The Holiday Inn Express, he said, with the benefit of tax breaks, would then have an advantage over established hotel owners who are paying all of their taxes.

"If the developer has faith in the market then they should spend money out of their own pockets rather than out of taxpayer pockets," Jayesh Patel said.

Rashi Dev, owner of the Comfort Inn, said if Michael Patel believes there is such a need for more hotel rooms in Batavia, why is he charging rates at his other property, the Hampton Inn, that are as low or lower than similarly priced hotels in the area.

"The Hampton Inn should have rates $5 or $10 (per night) higher than us," Dev said. "If he's so confident in the market, why does he need to decrease his rate?"

There were no GCEDC board members present at the meeting. GCEDC staff will present the feedback from the public hearing to the board prior to the board voting on the proposal at its March 3 meeting.

Hyde said any factual information hotel owners can provide at least two weeks prior to the March 3 meeting will also be presented to the board and that hotel owners will be given a chance to speak at the March 3 meeting.

Today, Town of Batavia also announced a public hearing on the project with the town's planning board at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 15.

Top photo: Steve Hyde; inset, Chan Patel; bottom, Mark Masse opening the meeting.