batavia

District officials have trimmed more than $1.1 million in proposed spending from February's draft budget for the Batavia City School District. Combined with an additional $500,000 in state aid, it means the proposed 2019-2020 tax levy will stay below that state-mandated tax cap amount and allow local homeowners to get their annual rebate checks.

That's a pretty good deal for Batavia homeowners, who have received an average of $500,000 more in rebates each of the past five years than whatever increase in taxes the school district has initiated for the year.

Voters will be asked to approve the $50.518 million spending plan, which anticipates a tax levy of $19.5 million.

Tax rates won't be set until assessments are done but Business Administrator Scott Rozanski said the early estimate is that local property owners will see a tax-rate increase of 27 cents on each $1,000 of assessed value.

In the search to cut proposed spending, Rozanski said the district will delay $300,000 in technology spending, reduce spending on new library books to the state-aid amount of $24,000, and delay additional equipment purchases for another $19,000 in savings. Some personnel's salaries can be covered by grants.

Last year, the tax levy increased by $444,000 and local residents received rebates on school property taxes of $1.1 million. The three previous years, there was no increase in the levy and taxpayers received cumulative rebates of $424,000, $ $825,506, and $535,194.

The 2014-15 school year was the one year in which the tax levy increased more than rebates, with about a $150,000 difference.

Rebates for local residents are set based on an income formula so people with lower incomes receive bigger rebates proportionally.

Since the tax cap became law, the district has kept the tax levy below the allowable tax cap amount. For the 2019-2020 budget, it will be $331,886 below the potential levy amount.

Over the previous seven years, the district budgets, cumulatively, have been $3.8 million under what the tax levies could have been in those years.

Previously: No significant program cuts anticipated as City School District looks to trim spending by $750K

Trevahn Wright, left, with Batavia HS Principal Paul Kesler, and Madeline Dennison graduated from high school at the Batavia City Schools Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday night.

Both recently completed their course work and passed their regent's exams making them eligible in April to receive their degrees.

Dorsie J. McGill Jr., 34, of Quaker Hill Road, Elba, is charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, and second-degree criminal trespass. McGill was arrested at 4:14 p.m. on March 31 on North Spruce Street, Batavia, after allegedly arriving at the home of a family member and kicking the front door in and entering the residence without permission. After arraignment in Batavia City Court, he was jailed in lieu of $1,500 cash or bond. He was due back in court on April 1. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Stephen Cronmiller, assisted by Officer Matthew Wojtaszczyk.

Ryan James Wetsell, 25, address unspecified, of Batavia, is charged with second-degree harassment. At 9:30 p.m. on March 28, he allegedly grabbed another person and struck them in the face while at a hotel on Federal Drive in Batavia. He was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia Town Court on April 22. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore, assisted by Deputy Kevin Forsyth.

Paula A. Cipro, 51, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree -- use of a stolen credit card, and petit larceny. Cipro was arrested following an investigation into the use of a stolen credit card at Northside Deli. The alleged incident occurred at 1:01 p.m. on March 21. She was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on April 9 to answer the charges. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Jason Ivison.

Christine A. Wark, 34, of School Street, Le Roy, was arrested April 1 at 4:32 p.m. on a bench warrant out of Batavia City Court. She allegedly failed to appear in court on Nov. 28 on two misdemeanor traffic charges. She was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice and was due back in court today (April 3). The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay.

An Uber driver has asked to file a police report after alleging that a cab driver threatened her in the area of Park Road and Oak Street, Batavia.

Richard White Jr., 37, of High Street, Brockport, is charged with: second-degree vehicular assault; aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree; operating a motor vehicle with a BAC of .08 percent or more; driving while intoxicated; operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs; driving while ability impaired by alcohol and drugs conbined; and following too closely. White was arrested April 1 at 6 p.m. and arraigned in Byron Town Court. His arrest follows an investigation into a crash that occured at 7:07 p.m. on Feb. 15 at 6385 N. Bergen Road, Byron. It is alleged that White drove while his license was suspended and got in a crash while he was intoxicated. His passenger sustained a serious physical injury. Following arraignment, he was released on his own recognizance and is due back in Byron Town Court at a later date. The case was investigated by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Travis DeMuth, assisted by Deputy Michael Lute.

Ronnie J. Sumeriski, 37, of Batavia, was arrested on March 28 by Wyoming County Sheriff's Deputy Aaron Chase on Route 98 in the Town of Orangeville following a traffic stop. He is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. Sumeriski was stopped for allegedly having a tinted license plate cover and inadequate plate lamps, making the rear license plate barely visible. After a roadside investigation, Sumeriski was allegedly found in possession of a THC vape cartridge containing concentrated cannibis. Sumeriski is also charged with inadequate plate lamps and obstructed license plate. He was released with appearance tickets and is due in Town of Sheldon Court on May 6.

Vidal Chavez, 63, of Oakfield, was arrested on March 26 by Wyoming County Sheriff's Deputy Aaron Chase on Route 20A in Sheldon following a traffic stop. Chavez was found to be operating a vehicle with a suspended registration due to insurance lapse, an unclassified misdemeanor. He was released with an appearance ticket returnable to Town of Sheldon Court on April 15.

After a meticulous investigation inside the burned-out home at 109 Evans St., Batavia, fire investigators have determined the fire that claimed the life of John Sherman, Sr., 41, has been ruled accidental.

In a press release, City Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano said investigators concluded the fire started on a stove top in the kitchen.

Joining city fire investigators in the investigation was a Batavia PD detective and two investigators from the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

There were eight people in the residence Saturday morning when the fire broke out and spread quickly. Smoke detectors and closed doors helped save the lives of several occupants, Napolitano said, but Sherman was unable to escape from a room on the second floor.

After Sherman was rescued by firefighters, medics initiated CPR and he was transported by Mercy EMS to UMMC, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Sherman was born Aug. 8, 1977, to Jan Beach of Batavia. He was a graduate of Alfred State and Empire State College and worked at Pizza Hut in Batavia and was recognized locally for his culinary and sculpting skills. He was a member of City Church and volunteered at the Animal Shelter. For his full obituary, click here.

Multiple pets were rescued or managed to escape the fire but one dog did die inside the residence.

In City Fire's release, Napolitano reminded residents of the importance of working smoke detectors and sleeping with bedroom doors closed.

Saturday, Napolitano said, "A room that has a door closed is a safe haven," Napolitano said. "They were alerted by a smoke detector and they were able to safely exit the house. That is why it's so critical when you have young children or yourself in a home, you need to sleep with the door closed. It stops the fire from entering. It gives you a shelter so you can shelter in place, a safe haven, or whatever you want to call it. But it gives you an opportunity to escape."

Laura J. Reed, 27, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree harassment. Reed was arrested at 10:22 p.m. on March 25 after a disturbance at 160 Bank St. She was processed and is due to be arraigned in Batavia City Court on April 2. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Mitchell Cowen, assisted by Officer Jamie Givens.

Valentin Brito III, 21, of Seven Springs Road, Batavia, is charged with trespass. It is alleged that after being issued a written trespass warning, Brito returned to College Village at 4:05 p.m. on March 31, in violation of the written warning. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Town of Batavia Court on April 8. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Mullen, assisted by Deputy Joshua Brabon.

Andrew Michael Pridmore, 34, of Mechanic Street, Elba, is charged with: driving while intoxicated; operating a motor vehicle with a BAC of .08 percent or more; and speed not reasonable and prudent. On March 30, following a complaint of a property damage accident at 2:13 a.m. on Byron Road in the Town of Byron, Pridmore was arrested. He was issued appearance tickets for Town of Byron Court and is due there on April 15. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Brabon.

Tyler Michael Powers, 21, of Frederica Street, North Tonawanda, is charged with second-degree contempt. He was arrested after an investigation into an incident in the City of Batavia. He allegedly disobeyed a court mandate. Powers was arraigned in City of Batavia Court and jailed in lieu of $500 cash or $1,000 bond. He was due to return to court on March 29. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Lute.

Kevin Wayne Howard, 19, of Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with promoting prison contraband in the first degree. Howard was arrested while being processed at the GC Jail on March 21 after he was allegedly found in possession of a dangerous drug upon entering the facility. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court on March 28 then jailed in lieu of $1,000 cash or bond. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Lute, assisted by Deputy  Matthew Burgett.

Joseph J. Kuzma, 39, of North Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with criminally possessing a hypodermic instrument. During a home visit at 10:32 a.m. on March 29 by GC Probation, Kuzma was allegedly found in possession of nine hypodermic instruments. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and put in jail in lieu of $2,500 cash bail. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Frank Klimjack.

Jacob J. Sponaugle, 20, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. At 10:40 a.m. on March 30, Sponaugle was arrested at his residence on Liberty Street in Batavia after a search by GC Probation. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on April 9 to answer the charge. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Peter Post, assisted by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

Hannah Kujawski, education and outreach coordinator for Restore Sexual Assault Services, places a small flag in the ground outside the County Courthouse at Main Street and Ellicott Street, Batavia.

Kujawski and two other people from Restore planted 720 flags in the grass, one each to represent the 720 victims of sexual assault daily in the United States.

Restore, which provides a number of programs to assist the victims of sexual assault, is a service of Planned Parenthood.

Terelle Spinks, winner of Mr. Batavia 2019, presents a check for $2,776.50 to Stacy Squire, a volunteer with Volunteers for Animals, Spinks's charity for the annual event at Batavia High School.

This year, the Mr. Batavia competition brought in $5,553, bringing the seven-year total of funds raised for local charities to $25,743.

The event is student organized and run.

Sam Rigerman, first runner-up, presents a check for $1,388.25 to Jaylene Smith-Kilner, Habitat for Humanity.

Griffin DellaPenna, second runner up, presents a check for $1,388.25 to Laurie Napoleon, for the Michael Napoleon Memorial Foundation.

If you grew up in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s, or to put it another way, if you're old, the term “communist” had a very negative connotation and the color red was probably not your favorite. To be called a “commie” or a “red” was an unpatriotic insult to most people during that time.

Following World War II, the Soviet Union and China, both communist countries with their respective leaders Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong became political enemies of the United States. When the USSR obtained nuclear weapons and China supported North Korea against South Korea and the United States in the Korean War in the early 1950s, it was the beginning of the so called “Cold War.”

The world was in fear that nuclear war would break out and the spread of propaganda by both sides became rampant. Spying increased dramatically to try to gain an advantage. The ideologies of Democracy vs. Communism were in a power struggle for world domination.

So, what did all this mean to a kid in Batavia growing up in this era? As you were trying to navigate through your kid life of going to school and watching the news in between the "The Howdy Doody Show" and "I Love Lucy" on your black and white TV, how did the Cold War affect you?

Bomb Drills at School Were Routine

In school (I went to St. Mary's Elementary), one thing I remember vividly is having bomb drills. In the event of nuclear attack, we practiced getting under our desks and putting our heads down.

Later on in life this jokingly became known as the “kiss your butt goodbye” drill. Also, I recall getting together as a school and praying for the new Pope when Pius XII died in 1958 and for the defeat of “godless communism.”

On TV, we went through the news cycle of the Korean War, the arrest, trial, and execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg for selling nuclear secrets to the Russians, and the Congressional hearings concerning Senator Joseph McCarthy and his investigations of Americans he suspected of being communists.

There was the “blackballing” of actors, producers, writers and artists suspected of having communist leanings, the forceful Soviet put down of an uprising against the communist government in Hungary in 1956, and Secretary of the Communist Party and Premier Nikita Khruschev's strident denunciation of “American imperialism” at the United Nations General Assembly in 1960.

So how we were affected by all this was that I think almost every kid in Batavia would have considered themselves anti-communist. That's how our parents felt, that's how our teachers felt and that's how our government felt.

In 1959 and 1960 the communist scare came closer to the United States with Fidel Castro's rise to power in Cuba. Originally acclaimed for his overthrow of the longtime Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, it soon became clear that Castro was aligning his government with the Soviet Union and that Cuba would be a communist regime only 90 miles from Florida.

Looking Askance at 'Beatnik' Types

Furthering Americans' dislike of the cigar-chomping Castro was his wearing of military fatigues and sporting a bushy beard; 1950's Americans, including the kids, tended to be pretty conservative and looked skeptically on any “beatnik” looking type of people.

So, with all this anti-communism coursing through our American school kid brains, my friend Charlie and I decided to make a political statement.

Looking back on it now, we were probably more highly motivated by trying to get some attention rather than any sincere “down-with-the-commies” convictions.

Charlie and I (I'm pretty sure he went along with it just to humor me) went to work in my basement on North Spruce Street constructing an effigy of Fidel Castro. I can't remember exactly what we used to build it, but I'm positive an old fur “ear-flapper' hat was cut up and glued on the face for the beard. My mom helped, but she was mostly amused at the project. Kids will be kids was probably how she viewed it.

(Actually, adults during that era were known to put up effigies of Castro, too, as this link from 1961 shows.)

Old-school Truly Fake News

The most important aspect of our plan was to find a credible place to “hang” Fidel where the media (i.e. the local newspaper) would be alerted to it. We hoped they would send a photographer and a reporter and, even though we had to remain unknown, once the “Big News” was revealed we would be famous in our own minds.

We could picture the photo of Fidel's faux body hanging from a pole with an attached “Down with Castro” sign in the middle of the paper's front page. Under it would be a headline like: “Batavia Patriots Stand Up to Commie Castro” -- fellow Batavians would see our brazen display and we would be the talk of the town for our anti-communist bravery.

Since I lived on North Spruce Street and we were about 12 years old with no way to transport “Fidel,” we picked the nearest public place with a flagpole -- John Kennedy School on Vine Street.

Of course in lieu of how things turned out with President Kennedy and the Cuban Missle Crisis of a couple years later, in October of 1962, the symbolism would have been extra sweet.

But, as all good Batavians know, the school was named for a former superitendant not the president.

At any rate, Charlie's dad was a car dealer and he “borrowed” some of those colorful triangular flags which used to be hung on poles around the car lots to help draw attention. Carrying these, fake Fidel, and our sign, we headed down North Street in the dark (probably about 8 p.m.) toward the back entrance to the school at the end of Elm Street.

In those days, North Street ended at North Spruce, so there was little traffic at that hour. Nonetheless, about halfway there, we heard a car coming. Thinking on our feet (literally) we carried Fidel between us much the same way many of us later helped our inebriated college friends back to the dorm after a night of drinking.

Holding our breath we tried to appear normal until the car went past and then let out a sigh of relief like somehow we were on a secret mission to Cuba itself.

Hoisting Fidel and Scurrying Away

The school flagpole was on the south side of the building by the empty parking lot. We quickly looped the rope around the effigy with sign attached and tied on the multicolored flags. We hoisted it to the top of the pole and stood back briefly to admire our patriotic handiwork.

Then we scurried away through the darkness like commandos returning to base, or in reality to probably go do our homework.

Our plan was to return on our bikes the next morning like we were just casually riding by. We hoped that there would be all sorts of commotion going on and that we would pretend to be as shocked but pleased as everyone else to see the heinous dictator swinging in the breeze.

Our pro-American hearts must have been thumping as we approached the school in the sunny morning. We turned onto the gravel path and emerged onto the school grounds to see “Fidel” and the flags on the pole and … nothing.

No photographers, no reporters, no police cars, nothing. Cars of school staff were parked in the lot and there was a custodian nearby cutting some grass. 

Completely taken aback, we sat on our bikes and stared. Didn't anyone see “Fidel”? Maybe that was it. Perhaps we needed to stir things up.

We pedaled over to the flagpole and began pointing and talking in exaggerated voices.

No One Pays Attention

“Wow! Look at that! It's a dummy of Fidel Castro up there! That's really something! Who could have done that?” 

The custodian kept mowing, cars kept driving by on Vine Street, a couple people left the school, got in their cars and drove away. No one paid “Fidel” a single bit of attention.

We were crushed, or at least I was. All that patriotic work and surreptitious sneaking around in the dark and no one even cared. Plus, it was too embarrassing to even tell anyone about. I'm not sure what I told my mom, but in retrospect she probably knew how it was going to turn out anyway.

The saddest (or funniest depending on how you look at it) part of the whole episode was that on our way home, Charlie said he'd really like to get those flags back so he wouldn't get in trouble with his father. 

That evening we rode back to John Kennedy and the effigy and the flags were gone from the pole. Nearby was a dumpster and we looked in to see “Fidel” forlornly staring up at us, albeit from one eye as the other has apparently been knocked loose.

Charlie retrieved his flags and as we rode away we made a pact to keep the fiasco between ourselves. Communism and Fidel Castro unfortunately would continue to plague the good old U. S. of A. for many years to come, despite our heroic attempts to raise the ire of the apparently apathetic citizens of Batavia.

The Genesee Society of Model Engineers, founded in Batavia 50 years ago, hosted their biannual Model Train Show at the Richard C. Call Arena at Genesee Community College today.

The next show is Nov. 10, at the Call Arena, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Dispatchers have received a report of people fighting outside a residence on Thorpe Street, Batavia.

Batavia PD responding.

UPDATE 1:17 a.m.: A police officer reports nobody on scene on Thorpe Street. The officer suspects the caller heard firefighters shouting back and forth at the 109 Evans St. fire rekindle and mistook the commotion for a fight.

City fire is on scene of 109 Evans St., Batavia, the location of a fatal fire Saturday morning, after smoke was spotted coming from the building.

A commander on scene reports that there is some smoke coming from the second-floor eave.

The fourth platoon is requested to the Fire Hall.

Engine 11 and Ladder 15 are on scene.

The annual All-County Music Festival is underway and began with a performance this afternoon by the Elementary Chorus, Middle School Band, and Senior High Chorus at Batavia High School.

The performances followed rehearsals yesterday and this morning at the high school.

Next Saturday, April 6, at 2 p.m. there will be performances by the Elementary Band, Middle School Chorus, and Senior High Band at Attica High School. It is located at 3338 E. Main St. in Attica.

A  caller reports a large number of people fighting in the area of Brooklyn Avenue and Pearl Street in the city. Batavia PD is responding.

UPDATE (by Howard): When patrols arrived, most of the people in the area had dispersed, several by vehicle.

Above photo: Commemorative marker in the International Peace Garden at No Gun Ri Peace Park and flanked by Paula Savage, South Korean officials and, on the right, one of only two known survivors of the July 1950 No Gun Ri massacre.

When Paula Savage, of Batavia, founded the first International Peace Garden in 1990, little did she know her efforts would result in a trail which would stretch around the world.

Savage was working in Washington, D.C., for Canadian tourism at the time and was asked to create a project signifying the special relationship between Canada and the United Sates, since the two countries have shared the longest undefended border in the world since 1812.

The first Peace Garden was dedicated in 1991 in Washington, D.C., starting a tradition which continues today, spanning five continents as Peace Gardens are passed from country to country. There are now 23 in the world, Savage said. 

When Western New York was getting ready to celebrate the bicentennial of the War of 1812, the Bicentennial Committee knew of the International Peace Gardens and asked Savage to create a Peace Garden Trail along the border to commemorate this important anniversary.

Creating a Peace Garden Trail

The first Peace Garden in this trail sprang up in 2012 at a historic battle site along the Niagara River, followed by 13 others in New York State, one of the most elaborate being in Batavia. 

The United States had chosen Poland in 1991 as the next country to receive a Peace Garden, because it was the first country in Eastern Europe to achieve democracy, Savage said. 

For some reason, however, Poland never received its stone marker for its Peace Garden, something which is finally scheduled to occur in late June in Warsaw, Poland.

“It has always been my intention to deliver the official stone to those countries that were honored,” Savage said. “Details of the ceremony have not yet been released, but I plan to bring the stone to Warsaw, ceremony or not, at the end of June.”

The most recent commemorative International Peace Garden stone was dedicated in late 2018 in South Korea and, keeping with her custom with every new Peace Garden, Savage attended the dedication, an experience she said was exceptional.

“When does a native of Batavia get to stand with costumed children and top officials of a country like South Korean on a historic site, having brought them all together to celebrate world peace?” Savage asked.

“One thing which was very profound was that the committee which organized our tour said we were visiting a site which would be an honorary Peace Garden.”

Making Peace at a Massacre Site

Savage and her group was taken to a village 100 miles southeast of Seoul where the No Gun Ri massacre occurred July 26-29, 1950, when soldiers from the 2^nd Battalion, 7^th U.S. Calvary and a U.S. air attack killed an estimated 250-300 South Korean civilian refugees, mostly women and children.

“We were out in a rural area in a huge parking lot,” Savage said. “There was a theater and they showed us a movie. During the Korean War, the United States occupied this part of the country and the U.S. was planning a big battle in this area. Refugees fleeing the village got stuck here under the bridge.

“An American general on the phone with the unit said to shoot them. It was a massacre by our own government. They were devastated. The country has been waiting for the U.S. to apologize, but they never did.

"I’m glad there’s going to be a Peace Garden there. I’m sorry this tragedy had to happen, but if there’s a way through our Peace Garden to help Korea heal, then we have done our part.”

Savage had previously made a certificate and gave it to the executive director of their Memorial Day observance and they had enlarged it and encased it in a stone monument at the site.

Savage said she will never forget standing there with one of only two survivors of the No Gun Ri massacre. 

Currently, Savage said the landmines are being removed from along the DMZ -- demilitarized zone -- and it has been suggested they be replaced with Peace Gardens.

Paying It Forward

“Every time I go to a different country, I see the significance of the Peace Garden to that area,” Savage said. “They have made amazing differences to so many around the world, such as the garden Poland gave to Germany after what Germany did to Poland in World War II.”

As is tradition, each country who dedicates a Peace Garden then chooses the country to have one the next year. Savage has attended the openings of every one around the world.

The original International Peace Garden was a tulip garden, celebrating a tradition started 75 years ago, when the Netherlands gave the first gift of tulips to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

This year 2019 will mark the 75^th anniversary of that gift, which came about when Princess Julianna of the Netherlands was expecting. They knew the Germans were coming and the family fled to Ottawa, where the city allowed the Dutch flag to be flown over Parliament for one day, so the child, named Princess Marguerite, could be born a Dutch citizen.

Savage has had the privilege of meeting Princess Marguerite, she said. 

Thus, when Canada gave the first garden to the United States, it had to be tulips, Savage said. 

In 1992, Savage found a way to expand on the International Peace Garden when she founded the International Peace Garden Foundation.

“I had met a composer in Las Vegas and told him about how the gardens were developing,” Savage said. “He wrote a symphony for tulips, but said you can’t have music with no strings attached. He told me I must establish a scholarship for the underprivileged in the arts.”

The composer was Thomas Deering, whose parents couldn’t afford to send him to college. He became self-taught. 

“I thought about how much more we could do than a music scholarship,” Savage said. 

The Foundation has been blessed with monetary donations and gifts in kind. A student in Washington, D.C., has received financial assistance; an instrument has been purchased for a child in Poland; money has been sent to help a school in Slovania.

One of the most heartwarming cases is the 14-year-old boy from our nation's capital whom Savage met and set up a concert gala for him at the Polish embassy.

“I asked him what his dream was and he said it was to perform at Carnegie Hall,” Savage said. “I told him I didn’t have powerful contacts, but whatever I could do to make that happen, I would.”

A month later, Savage was in New York City on a business trip and went to Carnegie Hall. She told them her story and they were all moved. Three months later, the young boy, named Henry, was in full concert with Thomas Deering at Carnegie Hall, wearing a tuxedo Savage had bought him.

“The Canadian government paid for a huge reception for him after,” Savage said. “At that point, I knew we were onto something spectacular. The last I heard, Henry had gone back to New York City and was performing on Broadway.”

Accolades for the Peace Lady

The experience has not been without its rewards for Savage, she said. In 2000, she was presented with the “Merits of Two Worlds” award, which recognizes contributions made by individuals who help unite the countries of Europe. In 2012, Savage was honored with the “World Harmony Torch Bearer Medal” during a ceremony at the United Nations. 

In 2018, Savage launched the International Peace Garden Registry. Through the Internet, the registry gives individuals and communities the opportunity to share their stories and images of the world. Details are available here. 

The International Peace Garden Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit and tax-dedictible donations may be made online here or by calling Savage at (585) 300-9252.

Although Savage is very proud of what she has accomplished throughout the world, she is also passionate about her roots in Batavia.

As a graduate of Genesee Community College, she said the college considers her one of their success stories and sends out releases promoting her endeavors every chance they get. She has just completed a release on her recent visit to Korea and will be sending it to GCC.

“For the college, it is a way for them to take a bit of credit for my success, and hopefully attract new enrollments,” Savage said.

Photos courtesy of Paula Savage.

Below, Paula Savage meets mayor Seok Huh in Suncheon City, South Korea, which is the site of the International Peace Garden dedicated in late 2018.

He said it's too soon yet to even speculate on how the fire started.

There were at least six or seven other people in the residence when the fire started, Napolitano said, and some of them owe their lives to smoke detectors and the fact that they were sleeping with the doors of their bedrooms closed.

"A room that has a door closed is a safe haven," Napolitano said. "They were alerted by a smoke detector and they were able to safely exit the house. That is why it's so critical when you have young children or yourself in a home. You need to sleep with the door closed. It stops the fire from entering. It gives you a shelter so you can shelter in place, a safe haven, or whatever you want to call it. But it gives you an opportunity to escape."

Sherman was the owner of the 1,528-square-foot house, which was built in 1890 and has an accessed value of $69,000.

Evans Street remains closed during the ongoing investigation but Napolitano said the investigation is nearing completion. 

Joining city fire investigators in the house is a Batavia PD detective and two investigators from the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

It's city fire policy to call in state investigators when there is a fatal fire.

Napolitano described the investigation process as meticulous.

"They're methodically going through layer by layer, removing debris, removing furniture, trying to put a puzzle together, if you will," Napolitano said. "You know when you open up that box with all the puzzle pieces and you have to find the outside edge first, and then you build. That's what they're doing. They're building a puzzle."

It's a bit like reverse engineering the fire, he said.

"We're trying to figure out, OK, from the patterns and the indicators that were left, how and where that fire started, and how it traveled, where it migrated to, what could be a cause, what could be the origin."

The chief said the results of the investigation will be released as soon as some conclusions are reached about the findings.

Previously:

• One person dead in house fire on Evans Street, Batavia
• Working house fire reported on Evans Street in the city