batavia

Dozens of homeowners along Route 5 could get a public sewer system if the Town of Batavia receives Community Development Block Grant funds.

The second of two public hearings regarding a proposal for the use of the CDBG money was held Wednesday evening. No one from the public attended.

Now the town will apply for $600,000 in CDBG grants to cover about half the cost of a putting in a public sewer line along a portion of Route 5.

Supervisor Greg Post explained that, “We have a concept plan to provide sanitary sewer facilities along Route 5 -- from the end of the existing district (near Duro-Shed, Inc.) -- that would go west to the mobile home park, which is just past Wortendyke (Road).”

He said residents along that stretch of roadway have septic tanks and most of those need repair or replacement. But that would be a serious financial burden for them.

“There are limits to what New York State will allow people to construct on facilities they have owned for generations,” Post said. “These extraordinary restrictions weren’t in effect when those houses were constructed and it leaves homeowners somewhat out of options as far as improving the value of their homes.”

About 75 residents would benefit from CDBG funds being used to install the proposed public sewer system.

“This differs from some other grant funding to improve the economic vitality or commercialization in a development," Post said. "This is essentially scoped around a residential aspect here. Using the funds this way will greatly improve the quality of their lives.”

When and if a public sewer system is installed, residents will have to connect a line to it within a certain period of time, although Post he didn't know offhand what the time frame was.

For the homeowners, there are several factors to consider, including how much they have invested in their current septic system.

As for how much it might cost residents to be part of a sewer district, Post says it's too soon to tell. The town hasn't yet applied for the grant.

"This is the first of many steps," the supervisor said.

This afternoon a jury returned a verdict of guilty in the trial of Donald F. Stillwagon, 25, of South Main Street, Batavia, who was accused of biting a Batavia Police officer.

Stillwagon was convicted of assault, 2nd, and faces a possible seven-year prison term.

On Sept. 29, Batavia Police responded a reported disturbance at Stillwagon's residence. A man there was reportedly choking another person. When police arrived, they tried to take Stillwagon into custody and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, Stillwagon bit Sgt. John Peck on his forearm.

Peck was cut deeply enough to bleed significantly. He was treated and released at UMMC and missed two days of work.

In order to convict Stillwagon, the jury needed to decide whether the defendant had the intent of harming Peck.

Much of the closing arguments of both Public Defender Gary Horton and District Attorney Lawrence Friedman centered on whether Stillwagon was too intoxicated to form a coherent intention.

"Either Donald Stillwagon is a huge jerk or he had to be intoxicated," Horton said. "You saw Donald Stillwagon as he sat in this courtroom, you saw his demeanor, you saw him testify, can you believe he would have done these things without being intoxicated?"

Friedman argued that Stillwagon, who had apparently been at a local bar drinking prior to the incident, clearly had the presence of mind to form intent because he was able to unlock a deadbolt after his mother had locked it in order to go outside, and when he tried to escape from police, he told a State Trooper, "That's a bad idea."

"He was aware enough to know his plan of escape wasn't working out for him," Friedman said.

Sentencing has been scheduled for June 20.

In March, Stillwagon turned down a plea offer that would have capped his sentence at six-months "shock probation" and opted to take his case to a jury.

The  second driver involved in yesterday's fatal head-on collision on West Main Street Road, Batavia, remains in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Angelo A. Merica III, 27, of Pavilion, was westbound on Route 5 when his car was struck by an eastbound car driven by Jonathan M. Colby, 37, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia. Colby was pronounced dead at the scene.

At Strong, a patient in the intensive care unit (ICU) is listed as as "guarded."

While investigators have determined that Colby's car made a slow, steady drift into the oncoming lane, what hasn't been determined is why Colby's car drifted.

Colby had recently been working overnight shifts at Lowe's and may have been fatigued at the time of the crash.

Colby, a Muckdogs fan and involved in community theater, was married and the father of a 7-year-old girl.

Francisco Martinez Jr., 37, no permanent address, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Martinez was taken into custody by Batavia Police on an arrest warrant issued in City Court after Martinez allegedly violated a "stay away" order of protection. Martinez was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Eric M. Duda, 49, of 6303 Main Road, Stafford, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Duda allegedly violated an order of protection by going to an apartment where the protected person was staying. Duda was jailed on $1,000 bail.

A big, fun Easter Egg Hunt begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 23 at Centennial Park in the City of Batavia.

This annual event -- for children age 10 and under -- is put on by the Batavia Kiwanis.

Centennial Park is located at Ellicott Avenue and Richmond Avenue.

Travis Michael Herold, 20, of Prospect Street, Attica, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Herold was taken into custody following the investigation by Deputy Jason Saile into a motor vehicle accident at 2:18 a.m. in the area of 9406 Alexander Road, Batavia.

Jason Jonathan Reed, 34, of South Pearl Street Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Reed is accused of violating an order of protection issued in Family Court by making a phone call to the protected party.

Connie Lynn King, 40, of South Main Street, Oakfield, is charged with harassment, 2nd. King is accused of punching, kicking, biting and pulling the hair of her boyfriend during an alleged domestic dispute at 12:45 a.m., Monday.

Dennis F. Walter, 53, of Clipnock Road, Stafford, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and one count of criminal possession of a criminal weapon, 4th. Walter was arrested on a warrant out of Bethany Town Court and jailed on $20,000 bail.

Raymond Edmond Allard, 27, of South Main Street, Oakfield, is charged with trespass and harassment, 2nd. Allard allegedly had physical contact with another person and then refused to leave the property when told to do so by the property owner.

A tractor-trailer has reportedly dragged down a live wire from a power pole at a residence at 3766 Batavia-Elba Townline Road. It is in the roadway.

Town of Batavia Fire Department is called to the scene. The location is west of Pekin Road.

UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: National Grid has been notified. No ETA given. The residence is completely without power for now.

UPDATE 3:54 p.m.: National Grid is now on scene to fix the problem.

UPDATE 3:57 p.m.: The Town of Batavia fire units are back in service.

UPDATED 2:40 p.m.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene and another person transported by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital following a head-on collision on West Main Street Road, Town of Batavia, just before 7:30 a.m.

The two-car collision occurred about 3/4 of a mile west of Wortendyke Road and about two miles west of another fatal head-on collision two months ago.

Jonathan M. Colby, 37, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.

The other driver was Angelo A. Merica III, 27, of Pavilion.

The Sheriff's Office release said for "unknown reasons" Colby's 2007 Dodge, heading eastbound, crossed into the westbound lane and struck Merica's 2000 Pontiac.

Driver fatigue may have been a factor in the crash. 

Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble said witnesses described Colby's vehicle drifting over the center line in a slow movement, rather than a jerk, which is conisistent with somebody falling asleep or some prolonged driver distraction.

Colby's car drifted all the way over to the eastbound lane's fog lines, Dibble said, before it struck Merica's car.

What exactly was going on in Colby's car may remain an open question.

"In the end, those are the things you never know with 100 percent certainty," Dibble said.

The cars appear to have hit squarely head-on at a significant rate of speed. The pavement was wet this morning following an overnight rainstorm.

Merica was transported to Strong and was conscious and alert during an extrication procedure, Sheriff Gary Maha said. The man's leg was pinned in the vehicle.

Colby is originally from Olean, according to his Facebook profile. He was a big Batavia Muckdogs fan who attended most home games and sat in the third-base bleachers. When he was at a game, he had a scorebook in his lap and recorded every pitch.

He studied at the University of Rochester and worked at Lowe's.

His last Facebook status update, posted four hours before the crash from a mobile phone, read, "Overnights really starting to hit me now." Previous posts referenced working a spate of overnight shifts recently.

WBTA's Geoff Redick remembers Colby from his time at Notre Dame High School. ND was phasing out its Latin courses and Colby was brought in as a temporary teacher to instruct the third-level Latin course.

Redick described Colby as "very knowledgable" and "hard working."

"He used to come into teach class on his lunch hour from his job at Skalny Basket," Redick said.

"He was a very nice guy, but goal oriented," Redick recalled. "He could be tough on us at times."

Colby leaves behind a wife and 7-year-old daughter.

East Pembroke Fire responded to the accident along with mutual aid from Town of Batavia and Oakfield fire departments. Mercy EMS sent two ambulances.

The investigation is being conducted by Sgt W.C. Scott of the Sheriff's Office Crash Management Team, Deputy Brian Thompson and Investigator Rodger Stone.

On Feb. 8, 19-year-old Delores Opuku-Boateng, a nursing student at GCC, was killed in a head-on collision on West Main Street Road near County Building #2. Investigators allege that the driver of the car she was in, Levert Kimble, 21, was driving too fast for conditions. Kimble has been charged with reckless driving.

This post will be updated with more information as it becomes available.

(Initial Report)

A head-on collision with serious injuries is reported at 3265 W. Main St. in the Town of Batavia. A responder on scene says one person is unconscious and another person is semiconscious.

Mercy Flight is unavailable. East Pembroke and Town of Batavia fire departments are responding with all available manpower. Two Mercy ambulances are responding.

East Pembroke personnel are shutting down traffic at Route 5 and Hopkins Road. Town of Batavia's crew is shutting down traffic at Wortendyke Road and Route 5.

Oakfield is called to provide extrication equipment.

UPDATE 7:41 a.m.: Mercy Flight in Batavia became available and is launching momentarily to go to the scene.

UPDATE 7:50 a.m.: Mercy Flight is circling and preparing to land in a field of grass northeast of the crash site. Light winds out of the south, the flight crew is told.

UPDATE 7:54 a.m.: Mercy Flight is on the ground. Both patients have been extricated.

UPDATE 8:05 a.m.: A chief reports that a portion of Route 5 will be shut down for at least an hour. One patient is being taken to a hospital via Mercy Flight and the other is going in an ambulance. Hospitals have not been specified. Two flatbed tow trucks are en route.

UPDATE 8:13 a.m.: Sheriff Gary Maha confirmed that one of the crash victims has died and a coroner has been called.

UPDATE 8:28 a.m.: Mercy Flight is going to Strong Memorial Hospital. The next of kin is being notified regarding the death, then the name of the victim will be released.

UPDATE 9:07 a.m.: Route 5 has been reopened. All fire units back in service.

Statement from Tom Allocco, New York Department of Health:

United Memorial Medical Center has properly reported its cases of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) to the State Health Department. The department has been working with United Memorial on the implementation of proper infection-control measures to help reduce the spread of illness. These include proper hand hygiene (simple, but probably the most important control measure), cleaning and disinfecting portions of the facility, and the separation of those who are infected from other patients. The department’s investigation of the outbreak continues. Once the investigation is finalized, the findings will be available. 

Additionally, the state health department has a public report on "Hospital Acquired Infections" that was released in late 2010 and covers data through 2009.

According to the report, in 2009, UMMC performed 28 colon procedures and of those, two patients contracted infections. That puts UMMC's infection rate at 7.1 (a number adjusted to calculate infections per 100 procedures to enable statewide comparisons). New York's infection rate for colon procedures in 2009 was 4.8.  

UMMC's rate of 7.1 is considered within the range of state average.

Strong Memorial's rate for 2009 was 5.5, also within the state average.

In 2008, UMMC's rate was 6.4, the state average was 4.4 and Strong was 4.8

In 2008, Strong performed 327 procedures and there were 16 infections. The following year, Strong performed 317 procedures and there were 17 infections.

Erie County Medical Center performed 86 colon procedures in 2008 and 98 in 2009 with three reported infections in each year. Numbers also fell within the statistical average at Highland Hospital in Rochester, while Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo reported no infections, with about 50 procedures for each year. (For some reason, the report called W&C's zero-infection rate "statistically insignificant" and didn't give it a "blue star" on its report card).

For hip replacement surgery, UMMC's infection rate in 2008 was 3.1, and 2.5 in 2009. Both numbers fall within the range of the state average of 1.1. In 2008, UMMC performed 81 procedures with three infections and in 2009, 84 procedures with two infections. For the same procedure, Strong performed 50 operations in 2008 and 60 in 2009 with no infections.

Tyrone L. Richardson, 35, of 17 Walnut St., Batavia, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing / blood circulation and harassment, 2nd. Richardson is accused of grabbing another person by the throat and also placing that person in a headlock and applying pressure. Richardson reportedly left the scene of the alleged incident at 8:20 a.m., Sunday, and turned himself in on Monday.

Jayson Michael Connolly, 37, of Weathersfield Road, Silver Springs, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Connolly is accused of placing a phone call to a woman he is barred by court order from contacting. Connolly was jailed on $2,500 bail. (from Sheriff's Office press release)

Jayson M. Connolly, 37, of 5405 Weathersfield Road, Silver Springs, is charged with criminal contempt ,2nd. Connolly was allegedly found in a car with a person he was barred from contacting by court order. Connolly was jailed on $1,000 bail (City Police press release)

Travis J. Weatherall, 23, of 7216 Griswold Road, Bergen, is charged with petit larceny. Weatherall was arrested by Le Roy Police. He is accused of shoplifting a package of jerky from Tops Market.

A view of Tonawanda Creek at about 3 p.m., Today.

Name Redacted Upon Request, 19, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with burglary, 2nd, criminal possession of stolen of stolen property, 5th, petit larceny, growing cannabis without a license and unlawful possession of marijuana. xxxx was arrested following the execution of a search warrant on his residence, which was the result of an investigation that began April 15 after a village resident complained a home had been entered and various items stolen. The investigation pointed to xxxx as the suspect and a search warrant was obtained. During execution of the search warrant, numerous allegedly stolen items were found as well as marijuana plants and marijuana paraphernalia. xxxxx was jailed on $15,000 bail.

Michael B. Pfaff, of Keeney Road, Le Roy, is charged with felony DWI, aggravated DWI and failing to stop at a stop sign. Pfaff was stopped Sunday by a Le Roy police officer. He was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Jonathan Cornell Robinson, 24, of Buffalo (no street address released), is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, operating on a suspended license and driver's view obstructed. Robinson was stopped at 12:39 a.m., Saturday, on Main Street, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Keith Patrick Snyder, 30, of Lewiston Road, Alabama, is charged with unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Snyder was stopped at 2:58 a.m, Saturday, on MvVean Road, Darien, by Deputy Jason Saile. Snyder was also charged with refusal to take breath test, failure to signal and failure to yield right-of-way to an emergency vehicle.

Charles Linwood Muntz, 22, of Crosby Road, Basom, is charged with a felony count of DWI, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and parking on a public highway. Muntz was allegedly found asleep at the wheel of his vehicle while it was stopped at an intersection on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation at 3:11 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy Eric Seppala.

Jeremy John Patterson, 20, of Medina (no street address released), is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, tinted windows and plate obstructed. Patterson was stopped at 1:53 a.m., Sunday, on Alleghany Road, Basom, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Earl Elsworth Sands, 53, of Batavia (no street address released), is charged with harassment, 2nd. Sands was arrested following a disturbance at his residence at 10:30 p.m., Saturday. Sands is accused of striking a visitor to his residence.

Jennifer Rae Champlin, 31, of Bloomfield (no street address released), is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Champlin was stopped for an alleged traffic violation at 5:06 p.m., Sunday, on Ellicott Street, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

An elderly member of one of Batavia's most prominent local families lies in a United Memorial Medical Center bed tonight gravely ill, and family members are fairly confident UMMC is responsible for her serious condition.

The aunt of local business woman Lois Gerace, and the great-aunt of Town of Batavia Board Member John Gerace, Margaret Wagner, 86, contracted clostridium difficile, more commonly called "C diff," after being treated for a fractured hip at UMMC.

She's been in the hospital for two weeks and medical personnel, according to Lois and John, have told the family she will likely succumb to the bacteria.  

"They have her in what's called 'comfort care,'" Lois said.

UMMC CEO Mark Schoell acknowledges that there has been a slight spike in the incidents of C diff at the hospital, but said it's a common infectious bacteria at hospitals and UMMC takes every standard precaution to prevent its spread.

"I believe our infection controls procedures and policies are excellent," Schoell said. "They comply with all of the standards of the industry and all of the requirements of the health department of New York State. In fact, when we saw the spike in our absolute numbers of C diff, we immediately got the health department involved in the effort to manage those cases."

C diff most commonly strikes elderly people while hospitalized, especially when they're on antibiotics, but according to the Mayo Clinic (link above), C diff can make even healthy people not on antibiotics ill. While it is treatable, C diff is potentially fatal for anybody who contracts it.

Annually, more than 480,000 people are diagnosed with C diff. Of those, 28,000 die as a result. Not quite half of those deaths occur after people contract C diff in a hospital. The majority of deaths occur in nursing homes.

Schoell said typically, UMMC  has a count of 40 to 45 patients and with that number of patients, at least two or three contract C diff.

The Geraces believe Wagner contracted C diff when, after her surgery, she was placed in a third floor recovery room with a C diff patient. At least, they say, that's what a nurse told them, though Lois admits they don't have lab tests or hospital records to support the assertion.

Recently, the hospital had 65 patients and currently has six C diff patients, Schoell said.

Up until yesterday, John Gerace said, his aunt was in a room on the third floor, but after he let a head nurse know that he had notified the media of the situation, the hospital removed all patients from the third floor and sterilized it from top to bottom.  

"Now, if there wasn’t a problem, or if I didn’t say anything, there would still be people up on that third floor," John said.

Schoell said the decision to vacate the third floor and clean it was made well before the media was contacted by Gerace. He said the hospital could only make the move after the number of patients dropped, which typically happens on a weekend, so beds could more easily be relocated and all the C diff patients could be consolidated in the same wing.

"We would have done that, taken the same actions whether there was media involvement or not," Schoell said. "It was the right thing to do."

Schoell said by consolidating C diff patients in one wing, hospital staff can do a better job of controlling who enters and who leaves rooms, but on Sunday evening, two reporters were able to walk right up to the second floor, ask for a family member of a C diff patient, and be escorted down the hall to the area of the room (though the reporters made no attempt to enter the room). No staff members offered any objections or warnings.

John Gerace also disputes the assertion that there are only six C diff patients at UMMC. He said he's counted at least a dozen of the red "stop" signs similar to one placed outside his aunt's room on the second floor. 

The Geraces are especially concerned for the sake of the community that there is no security on the second floor warning visitors that a potential lethal bacteria is present, nor are there adequate warning signs and information posted when you arrive on the floor warning of the danger.

"If you come in and you’re having a bad stomach day and your antacids aren’t kicking in, you’re done," said Robert Gerace. "In three or four days, you’re going to be in the same bed."

The Gerace's first learned of Margaret Wagner's condition when they came to visit her a few days after her hip surgery. They started toward her room, John said, and a nurse stopped them and said, "You don't want to go down there."

The nurse said they didn't know what was wrong with Wagner, but it was potentially communicable. Family members were eventually allowed into the room, but only after donning gowns and masks. They told Wagner they were dressed up for Halloween.

After visiting with Wagner a couple of times while wearing masks, another nurse pulled John aside and said the masks weren't necessary because C diff is not airborne.

All along the line, John said, communication from the hospital about how to protect themselves from C diff has been spotty and inconsistent.

"I'm leaving one day and a staffer says, 'Oh, by the way, you want to wash the bottom of your shoes off with chlorine and water,'" John said. "Nobody told us this before. You could be tracking it into your house with small children. Nobody is telling us this stuff. Why wouldn’t somebody come in and say, ‘oh, by the way, these are all the things you guys need to do'?"

Family members have been concerned about some of the sanitary practices they've observed over the past two weeks. They said they've seen janitors cleaning out contaminated rooms, sweep everything into the hall and then use ungloved hands to pick up the waste and put it in a trash can.

Lois's husband, Joe Gerace, is partners with her in Bob Harris Realty and he operates Gerace Hair Care (he's also chairman of the City of Batavia Republican Committee). She said she doesn't understand why the state requires barber shops and beauty salons to keep all trash in covered receptacles but all around the hospital, she's seen open containers used to dispose of potentially contaminated materials.

The Gerace family has a history of supporting UMMC and said one of the things they've valued about living in Batavia is that the city has a local, nearby hospital. Now all they want, each of them said, was to ensure that local residents get safe, quality care at their local hospital.

"I really don’t want to get into lawsuits and stuff like that," Lois said. "What I want to see is protection for the patients here."

This story produced in cooperation with The Batavian's news partner, WBTA.

A kitchen grease fire was reported in the rear of the residence at 111 Liberty St. in the City of Batavia and its fire crews responded. Smoke was showing when they arrived, but the blaze was quickly extinguished.

The building was evacuated. Two people suffered second-degree burns, according to responders.

An ambulance is en route.

The location is between Central Avenue and Cherry Street.

UPDATE 9:24 p.m.: A Mercy Medic unit is called.

UPDATE 9:43 p.m.: City Ladder 15 is returning to quarters. Mercy Squad 2 is back in service. The burn victims have been transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Top photo by Howard Owens, bottom photos by Frank Capuano.