batavia

Efforts to get a better look at what consolidation of  the city and town might look like is moving forward with the award of a $49,500 Government Efficiency Grant from the state.

City Manager Jason Molino said that the city has not yet received official notification of the grant, but once it does, city and town officials will meet to discuss the next steps.

According to a prior agreement between the city and town, officials must appoint, within 30 days of funding, an interview committee charged with recommending members for a Consolidation Charter Task Force.

Once a charter is written, the city and town will need to seek legislation in Albany to allow a referendum vote in both jurisdictions.

Molino said it's still the feeling in the city that consolidation is "worth looking at."

"That's been the mentality of everybody involved in the process," Molino said. "The mentality has been we have a chance to be handed a clean sheet of paper, so let's understand what can be put on that piece of paper."

The funding for moving forward with consolidation comes just a week after voters in the villages of Sloan and Williamsville in Erie County overwhelming rejected dissolution initiatives -- part of a statewide effort to, at least in theory, reduce the size of government.

Molino said he doesn't know why voters rejected dissolution, but he suspects a lack of information had a lot to do with it.

One of the flaws of the dissolution legislation, Molino said, is that it doesn't require any study or planning. Voters in towns and villages (the legislation doesn't apply to cities) aren't exactly told what will come next if their local government is dissolved.

"There was no plan in place," Molino said. "Whatever you do, whether it's put in sewers or sidewalks, you have to have a good plan in place in order to understand what you're getting into. That's true for dissolution or consolidation, too."

While conventional wisdom around the county is that residents in the Town of Batavia will never agree to consolidation, Molino said the only thing to do is develop a plan, educate the public and let the voters vote.

"It's not my job to predict how voters will react," Molino said.

The interview committee will consist of the city council president and two council members as well as the town supervisor and two town board members. The committee will select eight charter task force members -- four from the city, four from the town -- and each member must be unanimously approved by the selection committee.

Charter task for members cannot be a city or town elected official, a member of planning or zoning boards, an employee of the city or town, and spouse of any such person.

The task force will be asked to submit a draft charter by July 30, 2011 and a final proposed charter by Dec. 31, 2011.

UPDATE 5:15 p.m.: We were finally able to talk with Town Supervisor Greg Post today. Post echoed Molino's "clean sheet of paper" remarks.

"I’m interested in seeing what a new charter looks like," Post said. "That’s been my interest from day one. This is the first opportunity in my experience, and probably in more than 100 years, where a group of citizens from the local smallest entity there is can collaborate on a new charter."

Shawn Robert Hugar, 24, of Vandermark Road, Scio, is charged with DWI, a felony count of driving with a child under 15 in the car, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle and unsafe backing. Hugar was located at  12:55 a.m., Monday, on Route 77, south of Sumner Road, Darien, after backing his car into a ditch. Upon investigation, Sgt. Greg Walker found Hugar to be allegedly intoxicated and driving with a child in his car (a felony violation of Leandra's Law).

Tina M. Whitbeck, 43, of Penn Yan, is charged with a felony count of DWI, criminal contemp, 2nd, and aggravated DWI (drivng with a BAC of .18 or higher). State Police responded to a call at 8:40 p.m., Sunday, of a car partially blocking Pearl Street Road. The driver was also reported to be acting strangely. Upon investigation, Whitbeck's BAC was allegedly found to be .22. Whitbeck is also accused of traveling with a passenger that she was ordered to stay away from.

Jason Cleveland, 27, of Leroy, is charged with DWI and failure to keep right. Cleveland was stopped at 10 p.m., Sunday, by State Police on Route 77, Darien. Upon investigation, Cleveland was allegedly found to be operating with a BAC of .10.

Lansing H. Gardner, 35, of Lyndonville, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .15. Gardner was stopped by State Police at 9:32 p.m., Sunday, on Colby Road, Darien.

Eric J. Goodwin, 31, of Lockport, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .13. Goodwin was stopped at 12:45 a.m., Monday, by State Police, on Route 77 in Pembroke.

James E. Leair, 19, of Depew, is charged with unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under 21. Leair was cited by State Police at 7:30 p.m., Friday, on Sumner Road, Darien.

Keith A. Harman, 50, of Lancaster, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI. Harman was stopped at 10:39 p.m., Friday, by State Police on Sumner Road, Darien.

Three Batavia men were injured in a weekend accident in Alabama, according to State Police.

None of the injuries were life threatening, but the driver, 23-year-old Adam L. Durfree, of Bank Street, Batavia, was charged with DWI.

Sgt. Kurt Schmidt said investigators concluded the accident was the result of alleged speeding and drinking.

Durfree's car struck a tree at 6324 Knowlesville Road, Alabama, after he apparently lost control of it and it slid off the roadway.

Also injured were William Morgan, 18, of North Lyons, Batavia, and Anthony Ogden, 18, of Holland Avenue, Batavia.

The accident occurred at 5:47 a.m., Saturday.

Durfree was treated and released at UMMC. Ogden was taken to UMMC and Morgan was taken to ECMC by ground ambulance. Schmidt said Morgan suffered multiple cuts.

A 17-year-old from Ellicott Street, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The youth allegedly became involved in a verbal argument with another person during "Summer in the City." When police officers approached, the youth allegedly yelled obscenities at the officers. When the officers, who were on foot patrol for the festival, attempted to arrest the youth, the youth allegedly resisted.

John Martin King, 34, of Cockram Road, Byron, is charged with harassment, 2nd. King allegedly placed his hands around a woman's throat during an argument. King was jailed without bail and an order of protection was issued.

Joshua Stanley Martaus, 26, of Overlook Drive, Batavia, is charged with menacing, 3rd, harassment, 2nd, and possession of a controlled substance outside its original container. Martaus is accused of striking a female family member several times and causing fear of serious physical injury. He also allegedly choked her. Martaus was jailed on $500 bail.

Elizabeth Leach, 19, of Le Roy, and Cassandra Majors, 18, of Le Roy, along with a 17-year-old from Stafford and a 16-year-old from Le Roy, are charged with criminal mischief, 4th. The four teenagers are accused of vandalizing park benches on Main Street in Le Roy.

Tyler Ewell, 18, of Le Roy, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Ewell is accused of borrowing a car and not returning it within the "short period of time" he agreed to borrow the car. He was jailed on $250 bail.

Jeffery J. Cervone, 42, of Trumbull Parkway, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. Cervone is accused of making verbal threats toward another person. He was jailed on $750 bail.

Jose Lopez-Torres, 21, of Oak Orchard Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, illegal entry, speeding and unlicensed operation of a vehicle. Lopez-Torres was stopped at 9:21 p.m., Saturday, on Route 98, Batavia, by Sgt. Brian Frieday. Lopez-Torres was handed over to the Border Patrol following his arrest.

Phyllis Arlene Brew, 40, of 6741 Main Road, Stafford, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Brew was arrested following a report of a physical altercation between mother and daughter. Brew was jailed on $500 bail.

John Alfred Jensen, 43, of 5751 Little Canada Road, East Bethany, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Jensen was arrested following a report at 7:01 a.m., Saturday, of a man sitting in a car drinking on Federal Drive, Batavia. Upon investigation, he was allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance.

William Floyd Engle, 43, of Sackett Road, Bergen, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, refused breath test and unsafe start. Engle was allegedly involved in a motor vehicle accident at 1:08 a.m., Sunday. He is accused of driving his motorcycle while intoxicated.

Brenda Lea Freida, 43, of Munger Road, Holley, is charged with DWI and unlawful parking on a highway. The Sheriff's Office received a report of an unresponsive woman in a vehicle in the parking lot of Batavia Downs at 4:05 p.m., Saturday. Deputies responded with Mercy EMS. Upon investigation, Sgt. Greg Walker concluded that Freida drove her 2000 Jeep to the parking lot in an intoxicated condition and parked in a driving lane. Freida also allegedly refused a chemical test.

William A. Muoio, 39, of Byron, is charged with a felony count of DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to obey traffic control device, driving while using a mobile phone, and running a red light. Muoio was allegedly observed by Le Roy Police Officer Emily Clark talking on his phone while stopped at a green light. Clark then reportedly observed Muoio drive through a red light.

Kristina Marie Green, 22, of Buffalo Street, Attica, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and failure to keep right. Green is accused of being involved in a single-car accident on Alexander Road, Alexander, at 3:25 a.m., Saturday.

Robert C. Hinett, 22, of 5682 McPherson Point, Livonia, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI - driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and failure to yield right-of-way when entering roadway. Le Roy Sgt. Michael Hare reports that Hinett nearly hit Hare's patrol vehicle at 3:45 a.m., Saturday, when Hinett attempted to pull out in a lane of travel, causing Hare to break abruptly to avoid a collision. Upon investigation, Hinett was allegedly found to have a BAC more than three times the legal limit.

Batavia Fire is responding to a report of a transformer arcing in front of the Richmond Memorial Library, 19 Ross St.

UPDATE 11:01: p.m.: National Grid requested to the scene. It's described as primary wires arcing at the top of the pole.

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Thank you again to Dr. Russ and Dr. Marcella for your generosity given to the community and a special thanks to their spouses too!  God Bless you all!

Food, music and a day out with your friends and neighbors -- Downtown Batavia's 6th Annual Summer in the City festival appeared to be a success on all of those counts yesterday.

Main Street was bustling all afternoon and into the evening.

More photos after the jump:

Thanks to Abby Scalia and Samantha Luce for helping with balloons at The Batavian booth.

A person in East Pembroke suffered a severe arm injury at a garage at 2452 Main Road. The victim is reported to be in and out of consciousness and bleeding severely.

Mercy Flight is responding and a landing zone is set up at the back of a nearby elementary school. East Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments and Mercy EMS are also responding. Town of Batavia is called to help with traffic control.

A chain reportedly broke, creating a "mechanical malfunction," resulting in the injury.

UPDATE (12:50 p.m.): Mercy flight has landed. Medics will have the patient there in a minute or so. The patient is now alert and oriented, with a severely injured, possibly fractured, arm.

UPDATE (1:05 p.m.): Mercy Flight is airborne, heading to Erie County Medical Center. All emergency responders are back in service.

Citizen tips have led to the arrest of a suspect in an alleged hit-and-run accident on Richmond Avenue early Saturday morning.

David R. House, 28, of 140 Summit St., Batavia, is being charged with leaving the scene of a personal motor-vehicle accident, moving from lane unsafely and operating a vehicle without insurance.

House is accused of hitting a car that was legally parked on Richmond Avenue near VanDetta Stadium around 2:15 a.m., Saturday.

A woman who had attended an event at the stadium that evening was sleeping in the car.  She was injured in the accident.

On Monday, Batavia Police issued a statement to local media asking for information that might help investigators identify a suspect.

State Police assisted in the investigation.

Batavia's biggest day of the summer arrives tomorrow (Saturday): It's time for the annual Summer in the City, when people from all over the region join in for a day of great food, cool music and hot, classic cars.

And The Batavian will return with a booth this year handing out our free balloons, as well as selling T-shirts for $5 and a limited number of barn-picture prints for $12 (You love our barn pictures, right?).

While the annual event is taking place only on Saturday this year, it will cover a large portion of downtown, stretching from Main and Ellicott to Main and Liberty streets.

The Main Stage will be on Main Street next to the Old County Courthouse, with vendors on Court and Jefferson. Main near City Centre will contain food vendors and a kids' zone, with space set aside for classic cars on the rest of Main as well as Jackson, Bank and Center streets.

All of those streets will be closed to automobile traffic from 8 a.m. until at least 11 p.m.

The festival opens at noon and runs until 10 p.m.

Elvis impersonator Terry Buckwald and the Ghost Riders provide headline entertainment along with Nik and the Nice Guys.

Nonprofits which might want to donate to the former Cristina's Restaurant location on Ellicott Street in Batavia need to act quickly, said owner Charles Brumsted today.

He set a deadline of 3 p.m., Aug. 26, for nonprofits to apply for ownership of the property.

At the same time, Brumsted is facing a deadline of his own -- he has until Sept. 17 to dispose of the property one way or another, or go to trial on a series of misdemeanor charges levied by Batavia code-enforcement inspectors.

Brumstead was summoned to Batavia City Court today -- his attorney appeared on his behalf -- to answer to a series of complaints by the city that Brumstead has not been maintaining his property in compliance with local codes.

The allegations include: problems with the roof; cracks in exterior walls; a front door boarded over with plywood; and the structure's vacant appearance, all of which create a blighted appearance in the neighborhood, among other complaints (Source: WBTA).

Brumsted told WBTA's Geoff Redick today that the deadline in court and the new deadline for the nonprofits is merely a coincidence.

"The deadline that was set for Thursday, August 26th," says Brumsted, "was solely...to the effect that we were overwhelmed with the amount of response, and the not-for-profit organizations that have come forth for the interest in Cristina's restaurant."

Brumsted told The Batavian that some 15 nonprofit organizations have expressed an interest in the property.

The selection criteria, he said, will be based on what the nonprofits want to do with the property and how well that use will serve the community.

Of course, if the property is donated to a nonprofit, it will be taken off the city's tax rolls. At the same time, if the right nonprofit put the property to good use, it would bring people and activity to that section of Ellicott Street.

"I still own property in that area," Brumsted said. "I want to see something that helps other businesses in the area."

In a brief conversation today, City Manager Jason Molino said he didn't have a position on whether the property remains with a private owner or goes to a nonprofit.

"It's his property and he can do what he wants with it," Molino said, adding "Of course, he has a few issues to clear up first."

In other Batavia City Court actions on code-violation allegations:

• Latina's is in significant compliance with city codes, officials said. The deadline for full compliance was extended to Sept. 17.
• Ron Graziaplena, who has upset some neighbors with his 19 mallard ducks and other issues in his yard on Oak Street, appeared with an attorney, Frank Zinni. Judge Robert Balbick gave the attorney until Sept. 17 to get up to speed with the case.

When the overture began and the curtains opened, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had seen the 1954 film "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" years and years ago but didn’t remember it at all.

(My mother reminded me that it was the movie with the extremely agile male dancers; surprisingly, that didn’t help.)

The show takes place in an Oregon fur-trapping town circa 1850, and tells the story of the seven Pontipee brothers, who all live together without parents or wives.

Because they have no women around to do the housework, the oldest brother, Adam, goes into town -- where the Pontipees are not welcome due to their rowdy behavior-- and quickly proposes to Milly, a waitress.

The two get married and Milly takes on the seemingly impossible task of training Adam’s brothers to be gentlemen. But when the brothers fall in love with girls from the town, they abandon all they’ve learned from their sister-in-law and mayhem ensues.

It’s a cute, fun story with a happy ending and upbeat songs and the actors all seemed to be enjoying themselves while telling it.

Retired schoolteacher Carol Smith said she came because she likes to follow some of her former students in the cast.

“I think it’s amazing,” she said at intermission. “I’m really enjoying it. The leads especially are doing amazing.”

I agreed. Brittany Mruczek and Justin Soble were outstanding as Milly and Adam; both of them were believable as their characters and they have fantastic singing voices. The rest of the ensemble provided solid backing.

Nicholas Dunn, Kraig Marsh, Casimir Mruczek, Adam Secor, Matthew Smith and Eric Waples were audience favorites as the other six brothers, entertaining the crowd with their boisterous antics and impressive harmonizing.

Their brides -- played by Melzie Case, Rachel Fischer, Erin Kruppner, Kaitlin Logsdon, Maryssa Peirick, and Katelyn Rogers -- were equally entertaining as they giggled and flitted around the stage, becoming more and more bold as the show went on.

Even many of the smaller characters who only had a few lines, such as James Barcomb and Alyssa Buckley as Mr. and Mrs. Perkins and Charles Smith as the Preacher, were memorable.

And of course everyone knows that a cluster of dancing 5-year-olds in 19th Century attire just cannot be beaten.

Sixteen-year-old Rosalie Mortellaro is a veteran of the Summer Youth Theatre program but was unable to participate this year because of family plans this weekend (a wedding, coincidentally). However, that didn’t stop her from coming to support her friends from shows past.

"It’s excellent,” Rosalie declared. “I’m surprised to see some new faces and it’s nice to see old faces.”

The show at Batavia High School seemed to go off without a hitch, earning a standing ovation early into the bows.

As I walked out, people all around me were raving about the performance, using words like “incredible” and “phenomenal.”

All in all, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” is great entertainment for the whole family. (The only glitch was the venue's ridiculously long line spilling out of the ladies' room at intermission.)

Editor's Note: Video submitted by Penguin Multimedia.

Timothy V. Meyers, 17, of 2481 Walker Road, Darien, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Meyers is accused of stealing a 2006 Yamaha Blaster four-wheel ATV from a house on Dodgeson Road, Alexander.  The ATV was recovered by Erie County law enforcement at a house in Clarence.

Jeffery Allen Good, 34, of Route 98, Alexander, was picked up on a bench warrant. The charges prompting the warrant were not released. Good was jailed on $500 bail.

Charles Anthony Smalls, 26, of Shefflen Avenue, Bronx, is charged with assault, 2nd. Smalls was a passenger in a car involved in a rollover accident on Route 33, Town of Batavia. Smalls reportedly left the scene of the accident and was located a short time later. When he was identified, deputies learned there was a warrant for his arrest from NYS Parole.

Matthew D. Derrick, 25, of 4036 West Main St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Derrick allegedly sent eight text messages to a person he was ordered not to contact.

Roger A. Laird Jr., 41, formerly of 11 Mix Place, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Laird was found inside of a particular residence in alleged violation of an order of protection.