Batavia celebrated St. Patrick's Day, of course. I made it by Center Street for the McMahon Irish Dancers and came back later for music by Steve Balesteri with Michael DiSanto on guitar. I also stopped by O'Lacy's, but got to City Slickers (where there was live Irish music) after the party had wrapped up for the evening.
More pictures after the jump (click on the headline):
Godzilla's got a new home. At least for a few months. Right here in Batavia, New York.
He'll be hangin' with Rashaad Santiago and Tim Schiefer and their associate from Watertown, Greg Graves, while making a moving staring himself, the King of Monsters.
It's a small budget production -- less than $20,000 -- but much of the filming will be done in Batavia and involve some very talented people, such as Santiago, a costume and monster designer, and Christopher Bloomer, a visual effects expert.
It's mostly a labor of love made for the filmmakers' own enjoyment with an eye toward showing it in Chicago at the 21st annual G-Fest.
That's right, there's a whole festival devoted to the creature who terrorized Japan in the 1954 classic "Godzilla," and went on to star in more than 28 other feature films.
It's that G-loving community that brought Santiago, Shiefer, Graves and Bloomer together.
Right now, Santiago is kind of the star of the show. After signing on to the Godzilla movie project -- the title of the film is "Godzilla: Heritage" (here's the Facebook page) -- Santiago won a sport on the Sci-Fi Channel's reality series, Faceoff.
Originally from the Bronx, Santiago moved to Batavia a couple of months ago, first to work on the Godzilla project, but also because he thought Batavia would be a better place for his two children.
Santiago has had a passion for monsters ever since he saw the original Godzilla for the first time when he was was 5.
"Just seeing something different than a dinosaur, because I was a big dinosaur guy, so seeing something that was like a dinosaur, but different, and the size he was, really got my mind going on monsters," Santiago said.
Already of an artistic bent, Santiago started drawing his own monsters.
And his fascination with monsters grew as movies such as Alien, Predators, Tremors and Jurassic Park, came along.
He went from drawing monsters to building monsters.
People who saw his work encouraged him.
"I didn't know this was a career when I was younger," Santiago said. "As I got older, people would say 'why don't you sell this or why don't you get paid for doing this', and me, being naive and young, I didn't know, and now I'm doing it."
He said he dreams of owning his own monster studio someday.
Faceoff might be a jumping off point to that next career level.
He was selected for the show after an audition in Burbank (where all the filming took place).
The show airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m., and on those nights, Santiago is appearing at City Slickers to watch the show and answer questions from the fans who watch it with him.
Ken Mistler, owner of City Slickers, is giving a good deal of support to the local moviemakers. City Slickers will be a location in the film, as well as other Mistler properties, and his former gym location on East Main Street will be where the filmmakers build their sets and do all of their interior shooting (some filming will also take place in Watertown).
Shiefer said watching Santiago build the Godzilla suit for the movie is truly seeing a master at work.
"After three our four hours he had only the body outline and we're like, 'that's really impressive,' " Schiefer said. " 'This is only the outline. There's not any detail,' he said, and we were like blown away. Then he started detailing the head, making the little grains of the scales with tweezers. It's just the most impressive thing you can possibly see."
Shiefer said that anybody who tunes into Faceoff will be impressed with Santiago's work.
Santiago -- the monster expert -- is also working, appropriately, at Foxprowl, the collectables store on Ellicott Street. So if you want to meet him and miss him at City Slickers, there's Foxprowl on week days.
Photo by the producers of Godzilla being made for the film "Godzilla: Heritage." Used with permission.
A single positive well test Friday set off an alert for residents in the area of Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road and Lewiston Road to boil their drinking and cooking water, officials confirmed this afternoon.
The test found bacteria in the well water of a single residence on Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road, said George Squires, manager of the Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation District.
"It may be attributed to some manure spreading that may have gone on in the area," Squires said. "I was out of town all last week and just found out Friday myself. I don't have a lot of details because I've not been out there myself yet. I spoke briefly with a farmer and his consultant this morning and the health department this afternoon. I don't have a lot of details and I don't feel comfortable about making any conclusions yet."
County Health Director Paul Pettit said the affected area is no more than 25 parcels.
"We haven't pinpointed the exact source," Pettit said. "We wanted to alert the residents of those houses right around that area that there may be an issue with wells in the area."
There was a communication miscue on Friday, Pettit said. The health department alerted the Emergency Dispatch Center and the Emergency Services Office with the expectation that the alert they drafted would be sent only to the affected 25 or so residents. There was no intention to send out a media release, since it was such a small section of the county. Instead, the alert was sent out countywide and regional TV stations mistakenly reported that there was a boil water advisory for all of Genesee County.
The confusion led today to the City of Batavia putting out its own announcement informing residents that there is no boil water advisory for the city.
The communication Friday is "something we need to review and look at," Pettit said.
Both Squires and Pettit discussed the difficulty farmers face this time of year. They're eager to prepare crop lands for tillage and planting, which requires properly timed manure spreading, but there are also regulations for larger farmers that govern when they can do it.
"Larger farms are supposed to monitor weather and predict significant melting events," Squires said. "They're not supposed to spread in advance of an event like that. This time of a year, predicting warm temperatures in advance gets to be a little bit of a challenge."
It's a violation of a farm's permit, Squires said, to contaminate ground or surface water.
There may have been one or two other spills in county recently, Squires said, but there's been complaints about wells elsewhere in the county (Squires said he didn't have details yet; the spills could have been in areas that are already on public water, therefore well water wouldn't be contaminated).
"I need to get ahold of the DEC and find out what's going on," Squires said.
A week ago, a reader in Oakfield contacted The Batavian to complain about a possible manure spill. We requested info from the DEC but have not received any further information. Neither Squires nor Pettit were aware of any reported spills in the area prior to the well complaint received on Friday.The single well on Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road is the only confirmed instance of well contamination at this time.
For more on what to do when a boil water advisory is issued for your area, click here.
UPDATE: Here's a map of the affected area, provided by the County Health Department.
Xaio, who lived and worked in New York City, tried to find out all he could about Batavia and the local restaurant market, Xaio said.
"It's six hours," Xaio said, "I drive here more than 10 times. I check out everything. Other businesses, Applebee's, dine-in restaurants, how are they doing, and how is traffic, how is the casino. I check all and the past history and see that the people here are nice and I think with the traffic here we're going to have a nice business."
A little more than a week ago, Xaio, and his partner, Chris Huang, opened Yume Asian Bistro at 4140 Veterans Memorial Drive.
An article in The Batavian helped alert local sushi aficionados to Xaio's and Huang's plans and the business is off to a good start.
"It's amazing," said Xaio with a broad smile.
He smiles often when talking about his new business. And he's most pleased that many customers have already been back three times within a week, trying something different on the menu with each visit.
There are a few facts to correct from that original article, which was based on a conversation at a public meeting that neither Xaio nor Huang attended.
Xaio doesn't own any restaurants in NYC. Neither he nor Huang are planning to return to NYC (Huang moved here from New Jersey, not NYC). They've both taken up residence in Batavia and both work at the restaurant full-time with no plans to leave.
Xaio grew up in a small town in Missouri, near St. Louis, which is part of the reason he liked Batavia as a possible location for his dream restaurant.
"The location is good and the people are nice," Xaio said. "That is the most important. It is country-sized. I'm from country-sized."
Xaio's father has been a chef for 30 years and Xaio started working in the kitchen at 16 years old and has been a chef now for 10 years.
When he talked with a cousin, who lives in Batavia, about his ambition to open his own restaurant, his cousin told him Batavia had only three Chinese restaurants, no other Asian cuisine and no sushi.
"At first, I didn't think sushi would be good for people here, but I hang around and I ask people, do you like sushi and they say yeah, I do, but I need to drive 30 or 35 minutes to Rochester or Buffalo to get it," Xaio said. "Then I think, I need a sushi bar here, and alcohol, that's what I think."
Yume doesn't have its liquor license yet, but the blue-lit bar in back has three wide, empty shelves, and it's looking thirsty for clear glass and amber and green bottles of whiskey, scotch, gin, vodka and other spirits.
Huang is the sushi chef. He's been preparing sushi for 10 years. He became a popular sushi chef in New Jersey, Xaio said.
"When Chris started in a restaurant there, it is low business, right, but after Chris there, it is high," Xaio said. "The business is growing because of Chris."
Huang's English is not as good as Xaio's, so he answers questions in just a few words.
He said people should eat sushi because it's healthy.
"It's good for the body," he said.
Huang's sushi speaks for itself.
Batavia resident Michael Robbins is one of those customers who has already returned at least three times since the restaurant opened.
Part of the appeal is that the menu contains rolls he's never tried before, such as the marble roll and the Godzilla roll.
He has primarily come back, though, because of the flavor and freshness of the fish. He's also impressed by the presentation, he said.
"It's really all about taste, but it's nice that they put such detail in it, because to me, if they're putting out a great presentation, it shows a lot of care," Robbins said. "It shows they care a lot about what they're doing. That's the thing that impresses me is they care a lot about what they're doing. That's what the presentation means to me. 'We worked hard on this for you.' "
Robbins and his wife have regularly driven to Buffalo for sushi and they were excited that Yume was opening across from Walmart.
"We kept checking and checking and it opened, and my wife and I said 'Ok it's open. Let's go.' And it was really enjoyable experience."
The sushi hits another sweet spot for Robbins. It's affordable and Huang serves up hearty rolls with plenty of fish. Robbins is saving the expense of a trip to Buffalo, he said, and he's not paying as much for the same quality.
"It's a big lump of fish mixed with a lot of good ingredients and there's plenty of it," Robbins said. "When you buy a roll you want to be filled up after you pay for the roll. A lot of times when you buy a roll somewhere else and it's not packed with sushi, it's not going to fill you up."
Jeff McIntire brought his family into the bistro for the first time Friday night and his three children seemed as to be excited to be there as he was. There was Derek 12, Kayla 11, and Randy, 8.
Soon after the children were seated at a table, they headed over to the sushi bar and clambered up on three chairs where they could watch Huang and his assistants work their magic on gorgeous creations of fish, rice and vegetables.
Derek and Randy are more the California Roll-type sushi diners, but Kayla has already expanded her options, McIntire said.
Asked if she loved sushi, Kayla's eyes got big, she grinned and we learned that sometimes the word "yes" contains more than three letters.
A former Marine, McIntire was deployed in Japan a few times, but never tried sushi in its country of origin. It wasn't until he was stationed in California that he ate sushi for the first time.
He started, as many neophytes do, with the California Roll.
Sushi was first introduced in the United States in Los Angeles in the 1960s. Chef Ichiro Mashita, at the Tokyo Kaikan restaurant, is credited with developing the California Roll by trying to incorporate avocado into a roll. A California Roll is comprised of cucumber, crab meat and avocado (though there are variations).
It's become a popular dish in the United States, though scorned in Japan.
When you know sushi, you know what good sushi is, Robbins said. He compared it to the kind of hamburger you get at a place like Fudrucker's to what you might expect from a drive-thru joint. One is a meal made from fresh, quality ingredients, and the other is just thrown together for quick consumption.
An ironic comparison since sushi is kind of the original fast food.
Sushi as we know it today was invented, most likely, by Hanaya Yohei near the end of Japan's Edo period (roughly the 1860s). He created a meal that could be made quickly with inexpensive ingredients and eaten by hand (no chopsticks required) by people on the go.
When the government outlawed sushi street vendors, the cooks moved indoors into restaurants and became chefs and sushi evolved into an art form.
Though sushi has become popular in this country -- seemingly passing the trend stage many years ago and skirting the edge of mainstream -- Americans often eat sushi all wrong according to some.
To understand how to eat sushi, it helps to understand what it is and how it's made.
The key ingredient is vinegared rice. It is Japanese rice mixed with a dressing of rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Sometimes a wrapper is used. The wrapper is usually a kind of seaweed that has been dried, compressed and rolled paper thin.
We generally think of sushi as raw fish, and while that might be the heart of the sushi experience, main ingredients can also be a variety of cooked meats -- octopus, squid and shellfish are always cooked -- or vegetables.
When you get your plate of sushi, it will likely contain a dab of wasabi (a green paste similar in taste to horseradish). There will also be an empty dish where you might pour a little soy sauce.
You may also receive a dish of pickled sliced ginger, which acts as a palate cleanser between bites, the way a wine connoisseur might use crackers between tastings.
For a visitor to Yume Asian Bistro on Thursday, one of the sushi chefs, Jerry Zhao, explained the dishes and how to eat them.
It's traditional to use your fingers to pick up nigirizushi, but chopsticks are acceptable.
Americans, typically, will place some soy sauce in a dish and mix in a dash of wasabi, Zhao explained. Some might put a dab or three of wasabi on top of the fish.
What's more important than how you use wasabi, or whether you grab the serving with your fingers or chopsticks, is what you do next.
What you don't want to do is try to cut the fish or let the rice touch the soy sauce (the rice will soak up too much soy sauce, destroying the flavor of both the rice and the fish, and cause the packed rice to fall apart).
Rather, you turn the nigirizushi-fish-side first into the soy sauce. Just a dab will do it.
You then put the whole piece into your mouth, fish side on your tongue.
For a roll, you would likely not dip it in your wasabi-soy-sauce mix.
For traditionalists, they eat sushi as served, and it's chef's choice, not the diner's. In Japanese, "trust the chef" translates into "omakase." In some sushi bars, diners have no other choice.
At Yume Asian Bistro, of course, the choices are much more expansive. There is a menu loaded with an array of sushi choices, such as chirashi, sashimi, spicy maki, eel dragon roll, thunder roll, Mexican roll and naruto maki. Sushi can also be ordered a la carte.
While Huang runs the sushi bar, Xaio is in charge in the kitchen, which provides both additional Asian flavors to experience, but also gives the person not ready to try sushi meal options while the rest of their party may be in the mood for some raw yellowfin tuna or striped bass.
Yume's kitchen menu includes teriyaki, hibachi, and tempura dishes. Entrees include pad thai, curries, salt and pepper shrimp, duck, and pineapple chicken.
Xaio admits to being a little unsure yet what Batavia's diners would prefer on the kitchen menu, so he will run regular specials to find out what people like.
"I know how to cook a lot of stuff, but I don't know if people like it or lot," he said.
He's also brimming with ideas.
"I have so many things on my mind to put on the menu, but I can't do it all at once, so I try maybe (to) switch menus, a summer menu, maybe," Xaio said.
Everything that is served out of the kitchen is prepared with the same eye toward presentation as the sushi. Great care is taken to ensure dishes are as artful as they are flavorful.
A customer favorite already is Xaio's pineapple fried rice, which is rice, shrimp, chicken and bits of pineapple served in half a pineapple husk.
Xaio and Huang put a great deal of thought into designing the interior of their restaurant, as well. A spare, contemporary theme of cut rocks along the walls sets the tone, with touches of Asian art. The predominant feature is water flowing through two panes of thick glass near the entry.
The chairs and booths are covered in leather and Xaio said he picked seating with extra padding to ensure customers are comfortable.
The lighting is kept low so those who want a romantic atmosphere will find it at Yume. The light across the room is actually gradiated. More light near the bar, where people can socialize, less light along the far wall; seating in the back is arranged for couples.
"I feel when people are eating, they need a comfortable place," Xaio said. "Music, good food and a comfortable place."
It took a lot of work to get his dream restaurant open, but now that he's serving food to happy customers, Xaio is glad to see the effort paying off.
"We try (the) best we can do," Xaio said. "Seven months. That is long story. I was just trying to do things perfect."
So far, it seems the customers like Batavia's new Asian bistro and Robbins thinks more local residents need to try Yume, and they should try sushi.
"Life is about trying different things," Robbins said. "You have to try different things, right? Why have the same old thing all the time. Like traveling around the world and going to different places, and it should be the same thing when you eat. You should try different things to see if you like it. You might surprise yourself."
Chris Huang
Kevin Xaio
John S. Dueppengiesser, 53, of Page Road, Perry, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Dueppengiesser is accused of stealing more than $3,000 worth of steel from a business on Route 63 in Pavilion during a night in February. Dueppengiesser was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice. The case was investigated by deputies Bradley Mazur, John Duyssen and Joseph Loftus. Deputies from Livingston County and Wyoming County assisted in the investigation.
Ashley Anne Dunham, 24, of Edward Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to keep right and speeding (69 in a 55 mph zone). Dunham was stopped at 2:25 a.m. Sunday on Hartshorn Road, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Corona.
Alicia Susan Hough, 22, of Bridge Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speed not reasonable and prudent and moved from lane unsafely. Hough was reportedly involved in a property damage accident at 7:35 a.m. Friday on Norton Road, Elba. The accident was investigated by Deputy John Weis.
Iesha Marie Vetter, 21, of Royce Road, Varysburg, was arrested on a warrant for alleged petit larceny. Vetter turned herself in on the warrant. She was jailed on $500 bail.
Brent E. Keheley, 34, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with failure to answer summons. Keheley was arrested on a warrant and taken to BPD headquarters where he was released upon posting $260 police bail.
Ricky A. Leach, 33, of Central Avenue, Batavia, harassment, 2nd. Leach is accused of hitting a woman in the stomach during an altercation on State Street at 10 p.m. Thursday. Leach was released to the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office on a warrant.
A car versus tractor-trailer accident is reported at Oak Street and Richmond Avenue in the city. Unknown injuries. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.
UPDATE (by Howard): The driver of the SUV was checked out by Mercy medics, but reported no injuries.
About 150 people registered for yesterday's auction of foreclosed properties at Bontrager's on Wortendyke Road.
The county was owed about $310,000 in back taxes for the properties included in the auction. The properties sold for a total of $665,000. Those figures are preliminary, said County Treasurer Scott German.
The city also had a handful of properties up for auction, but those figures are not available at this time.
All of the properties auctioned were seized by either the county or city for failure to pay property taxes for a number of years.
We'll provide more details when they become available.
Bontrager's owner and auctioneer Todd Jantzi.
A successful bidder.
Falleti Ice Arena today hosted a fundraiser for the Collin Crane Memorial Fund.
The fund provides scholarships to deserving local hockey players. This was the second year for the fundraiser, which honors the memory of Collin Crane, a Batavia teen killed in an auto accident in December 2012.
The event featured a full day of hockey, including a match involving a team comprised of Crane's teammates, as well as a chance auction.
After their game, members of Crane's team held a pray for their teammate.
Arianna Pray, with her mother Vera, needed a break after a couple of hours of a fundraiser for children with special needs at Daphne's Restaurant today.
The fundraiser is an advance of the 52nd annual Variety Kids Telethon on Channel 7, March 30.
The fundraiser continues today until 6 p.m. The chance auction winners will be announced started at 5 p.m.
Daphne's is located at 241 S. Swan St., Batavia.
Sandy Misiak looking for the right prizes to try and win in the chance auction.
Three separate investigations by the Local Drug Task Force have led to the arrest of three Batavia residents suspected of dealing crack cocaine in the city.
Arrested where:
Richardson allegedly sold cocaine to undercover agents Sept. 12 while on Jackson Street and again on Sept. 20 while on Pringle Avenue.
Gardner allegedly sold cocaine to undercover agents Nov. 22 while on State Street, Jan. 2 while on State Street and Jan. 15 while on State Street.
Bloom allegedly sold cocaine to undercover agents while at her residence at 117 State St. on Oct. 30 and again Oct. 31.
All three were arrested on sealed indictments within the past week. Their arrests were announced today.
All three were arraigned in County Court and Richardson was jailed on $50,000, Gardner on $75,000 bail and Bloom was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.
Assisting in the investigation and arrest were uniformed Batavia PD officers, Genesee County deputies, NYS Parole and the District Attorney's Office.
This morning contractors working on the former Lowe's location, getting the remaining space ready for new retail stores, apparently forgot to turn the water off to the sprinkler system before deciding to disconnect a pipe. The pipe needed to be relocated to make room for a new entrance to the new store. Workers undid two bolts and whoosh! An explosion of water. Perhaps as much as 1,000 gallons spilled out before the water was shut off. The break caused the water flow alarm to go off resulting in a response from the Town of Batavia Fire Department. Volunteer firefighters grabbed squeegees and brooms and helped clear the water out from inside the building.
Press release:
Genesee County STOP-DWI Program announced today that Genesee County police agencies will participate in a special enforcement effort to crackdown on impaired driving.
The statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown efforts start on March 15th and will end on March 18th. St. Patrick’s Day week is historically a deadly period for impaired driving. This year St. Patrick’s Day is on a Monday and that will extend the weekend until Tuesday for many people. The New York State Police, County Sheriff and municipal law enforcement agencies will collaborate across the state and will be out in force in this coordinated effort to reduce the number of alcohol-related injuries and deaths during this period.
Batavia City Police Chief Shawn Heubusch stated, “The City of Batavia Police Department encourages everyone celebrating to do so safely and have a designated driver. Do not get behind the wheel of a vehicle if you have been drinking. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend.”
Genesee County Undersheriff William Sheron stated, “St. Patrick's Day is well known as of day of celebration. Please celebrate responsibly. Avoid tragedy; Don't plan on the luck of the Irish, arrange for a designated driver.
The St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the New York State STOP-DWI Association. The Statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign also targets Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day Weekend, Halloween and the national Holiday Season in December.
Genesee County STOP-DWI Coordinator Matt Landers stated, "Enforcement efforts like these have contributed to the steady decline in DWI accidents since the program was established. Families in Genesee County are safer while traveling the roads with a program like STOP-DWI funding extra patrols by our fine law enforcement professionals."
While STOP-DWI efforts across New York have led to significant reductions in the numbers of alcohol- and drug-related fatalities, still too many lives are being lost because of crashes caused by drunk or impaired drivers. Highly visible, highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign aim to further reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving.
Batavia City Schools are among five finalists in the state for a $10,000 prize from the NYS Lottery. The contest is built around the idea of students saying thank you for the support of the lottery. Choirs produced a video for the song "Thank you for being a friend." The prize money would go to the school district's music program.
To vote, click here (you'll be asked to log into your Facebook account).
Smoke and flames are reportedly coming from the basement of a house at 229 S. Swan St. The residents have been advised to evacuate. City firefighters are responding.
UPDATE 5:13 a.m.: City fire on scene with nothing showing.
UPDATE 5:28 a.m.: A code enforcement officer is called in.
UPDATE 5:30 a.m.: Code enforcement ETA is 20 minutes.
"A house fire," with the caller reporting it as a microwave problem, is at 9 Lincoln Ave., near Thomas Avenue. The occupants are out. Ladder 15 and Engine 11 are on scene.
UPDATE 8:17 p.m.: "The fire is out on the stove, checking for extensions."
UPDATE 8:20 p.m.: No extensions. Now ventilating.
UPDATE 8:58 p.m.: City assignment back in service.
A stove fire is reported in the kitchen at 97 River St. City fire is responding. The location is between Birchwood Drive and Pearl Street.
UPDATE 7:53 p.m.: Engine 11 is on scene. Dispatch says the caller is now reporting "that she got the fire out."
UPDATE 7:56 p.m.: They are ventilating the structure.
UPDATE 8:08 p.m.: The assignment is back in service.
A few of these signs popped up along downtown streets today. A couple of the business owners who found them in front of their store fronts this morning didn't know who put them out.
They hare the handiwork of Brian Kemp, of T-Shirts Etc.
Kemp took on the project himself -- not through the BID or Vibrant Batavia -- because he thinks local business owners should be encouraged to keep the sidewalks in front of their establishments. The ones who do so should be rewarded.
"They don't realize you've got to be able to see the cement," Kemp said.
He only made a few signs, so he'll rotate them around tomorrow, making sure businesses that haven't received the recognition yet, but deserve it, will.
Bottom photo submitted by Jessica Budzinack. She wrote, "My husband Christopher Budzinack works at The City Church. He was so happy his hard work was recognized during this rough winter.
A city worker clears away snow from the corner of Ellicott and Court.
The front of the former NY State Armory on Bank State Street.
The snow might stick around for awhile. The five-day forecast has a lot of cold in it.
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