batavia

The annual giant yard sale put on by Crossroads House opened yesterday and continues today and tomorrow. The location is on School Street, between Liberty and Swan.

Students participating in the History Heroes summer program at the Holland Land Office Museum organized and hosted their own penny carnival today.

Crews with Blue Heron Construction set a manhole today at Washington Avenue and State Street, park of the sewer reconstruction project this summer along Washington Avenue.

The area around Jefferson Avenue, Washington and State has been closed for a few weeks, but the project is getting closer to the finish line, said Matt Worth, director of Public Works.

Here's what Worth told us in an email:

They expect to be through the intersection tomorrow (State/Washington will open back up) and then the bypass pumping should no longer be required. Next week an additional crew is expected and it is anticipated that the new water and sewer services to the houses between Jefferson and State Street will be connected along with the unexpected water main work that is required on Jefferson Avenue.

If all goes well, everything west of State Street would then be back open (or very close) to traffic by the end of next week. This would leave construction between State and Bank and the storm sewer crossing on State Street to up near Park Avenue and final milling and paving (Ellicott Avenue to Ross Street) left to complete, with completion of the project before school is back in session.

James Pontillo is doing some restoration work on one of properties, in this case, on Swan Street, and he dug up this slab of stamped concrete inscribed for J. McBride.

Pontillo thinks this was a marker for John McBride, a contractor or engineer in the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and that the house on South Swan was once his residence.

The house was built in the 1880s or 1890s, Pontillo thinks.

There was a John McBride from Batavia born in 1862 who died in 1937. Online records indicate, though not conclusively, his sons were John McBride, born in 1892, and a Robert McBride, born in 1882. This McBride family does not appear to be related to the family that ran McBride Steel Plate Construction Company in Batavia for many decades, and whose patriarch was an immigrant from Ireland.

Pontillo also uncovered the remains of a granite hitching post.

He isn't quite sure what to do with this piece.He isn't sure if one of the historical agencies would be interested in it.

(Submitted photo of Jake Oberg.)

Press release:

The Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s, the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research, will be heading to Warsaw this October. 

The Batavia walk will take place at the Genesee County Nursing Home, located at 278 Bank St., Batavia, on Satruday, Sept. 24. On-line registration is available now at alz.org/WNY. On-site registration and check-in, basket and 50/50 raffles, and refreshments will be available from 9 to 10 a.m. with a brief opening ceremony to launch the Walk at 10.

The walks are organized by the local Alzheimer’s Association and are a vital source of funding for local services and resources. The walks also provide funding for research into a disease that “kills more people than breast and prostate cancers combined,” and touches almost 250,000 people across the greater Buffalo Niagara region.

“My grandpa died of Alzheimer’s...and I walk with my mom because I don’t think anyone else should lose their grandpa to this disease,” said Jake Oberg. 

The 11-year-old has been taking part in the event since before he could walk. Additionally, he has raised more than $7,000 with a lemonade stand and baked goods sale to support his Walk team, which has also earned him some special incentives.

In addition to fundraising participants, the Walks rely on hundreds of volunteers and the support of corporate sponsors like Elderwood. Eighty-five percent of residents in skilled care facilities exhibit at least some form of dementia including Alzheimer’s.

“Understanding firsthand the personal and health care ramifications of dementia, Elderwood has a long-standing history of supporting the Alzheimer’s Association through its Walk to end this disease,” said Elderwood Director of Business Development Anna Bojarczuk-Foy. “Finding a cure is one of the single most important goals in extending and improving the lives of the elderly in our communities.”

“Northtown Automotive is very proud to continue to support the mission set forth by the Alzheimer’s Association WNY Chapter. We understand the importance of supporting our community and have done so for over 45 years,” said Northtown Auto Group Chief Marketing Officer Mike Ahern. “Doing our part to support the Walk is a way for our organization to make a difference to thousands and thousands of WNY families who know the impact of this disease. We are confident these efforts will one day find a cure."

Additional corporate sponsors include the law firm of Cellino and Barnes, WDCX Radio and Tim Hortons. 

For more information or to register call 1-800-272-3900 or visit alz.org/WNY.

Colonial Style 3 bedroom, 1 bath with 1,300 square feet! This home features a new driveway, electric panel/breakers, front porch. New patio doors leading to a new backyard deck. New energy efficient windows & light fixtures. New kitchen cabinetry, counter tops, flooring, along with microwave and dishwasher. Newly remodeled bathroom and finally new laminate flooring and carpeting throughout. This house has been completely repainted inside and out with updated landscaping. Easy maintenance, charming and move-in ready! $104,900

Offered by owners: Call 585-344-1286

(Submitted photos.)

Press release:

Eugene Jankowski Jr. of Batavia finished in 8th place in the Tactical Division and 20th place overall at the 2016 Precision Rifle Series (PRS) Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) Challenge on July 23-24 at Peacemaker National Training Center in Gerrardstown, W. Va.

Jankowski is a retired Batavia City police officer and current president of the Batavia City Council.

Competitors used semiautomatic rifles with magnified optics in various shooting positions to complete 14 tough courses of fire over two days. Each course of fire required shooting multiple steel targets of different sizes at distances of 165 to 600 yards with a 90-second-maximum time limit. Shooters were tested on marksmanship as well as their ability to overcome physical and mental stress.

The Precision Rifle Series is a rifle sports competition series utilizing the most recognized and reputable long range rifle matches in the nation based on individual effort. To learn more about PRS http://www.precisionrifleseries.com/

Press release:

On July 20, uniformed members of the City of Batavia Police Department along with members from the Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force (comprised of members from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, Le Roy Police Department and City of Batavia Police Department), the Genesee County Probation Department and uniformed members of the Genesee County Sheriff's Office conducted a N.E.T. -- Neighborhood Enforcement Team -- detail in the City of Batavia.

The detail focused on quality-of-life issues, drug enforcement, warrant checks and probation checks in targeted neighborhoods.

The following arrests were made:

• A 17-year-old male of Batavia was charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana (a violation) and criminally using drug paraphernalia (a Class A misdemeanor) following a traffic stop
• A 17-year-old male of Batavia was charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana (a violation) following a traffic stop;
• John Burns, 26, of Erie, Pa., was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana (a violation) following a traffic stop;
• David Draper, 36, of Batavia, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana (a violation) and driving while ability impaired by drugs (a misdemeanor) following a traffic stop;
• Officers conducted 21 parole checks where Probation officers located: one Probation violation; conducted 37 traffic stops; and issued 20 traffic tickets for various violations.

(Submitted photo.) Pictured are students in grades three through eight who participated last week in the Batavia Jr. Blue Devils Summer Basketball Camp.

Kelsey Scott-Avery, a Genesee County Youth Court member who recently graduated after being homeschooled, won the Association of New York State Youth Court’s Judge Judith Kaye Memorial Scholarship.

Judge Judith Kaye was the first woman to serve as the New York State’s Chief Justice and the longest-serving Chief Justice, who unfortunately passed away in January.

Judge Kaye was an advocate for the Youth Court System and she lived the example that when you are inspired to act, do it. She was inspired by youth courts in Alaska and she brought that inspiration to New York. 

To qualify for the scholarship, the youth court member must be a graduating senior and a member of a Youth Court Program that paid membership dues to ANYSYC in 2015.

The applicant must enroll in a two- or four-year program at an accredited college/university. The individual must be of good moral character, have demonstrated civic responsibility through volunteerism, and have a good strong desire to make a contribution to his/her community. The process included an application, an essay specified in the honor of Judge Kaye. Applicants were to write on the topic of how they plan to impact their field of study the way Judge Kaye impacted the court system.

On behalf of ANYSYC, Kelsey was awarded $500 to put toward her college education. She will be attending Genesee Community College and transferring to a four-year university to become a school counselor.

Student athletes deserve every opportunity to be successful, said Batavia High School Athletic Director Micheal Bromley at Tuesday evening's Batavia City Schools board meeting, which is why the district needs a tighter tardy policy for those students participating in school sports.

About 54 percent of Batavia's students are involved in athletics during at least one season of the school year, so a stronger tardy policy will have a positive impact on academics overall, Bromley said. 

"We want our students to be successful," Bromley said. "To be successful, they need to be in school."

The proposed policy will require student athletes to be on time for their first class of the day. If they're even five minutes late, it's a tardy. They get two freebie tardies during the season. A third tardy means they can't participate in the next practice or athletic event.

Currently, there are no consequences if the student arrives by at least 11 a.m., which means they miss the first two blocks of classes.

There were seniors this year, Bromley said, who were in danger of not meeting academic standards for graduation.

Bromley thinks the change this fall will be a big adjustment for students and their parents. He expects some push back but wants to deliver the message that this policy will help students and their teams succeed.

"We want you to be here," Bromley said he would tell the students. "We want you to represent our school. It's a great honor. With that comes responsibility. Athletics teaches life skills and life skills include being on time, being responsible, being respectful to your coach and your teammates by doing the right things."

The need for a policy change arose, Bromley said, because of frustrations expressed by coaches and teachers.

Many teachers questioned how students could represent the school in athletic events while not showing up regularly to classes, he said.

"We're not trying to be mean here," Bromley said. "We just want people to be here. Teachers are very frustrated when students don't show up for the first block of the day."

School board members responded favorably to the new policy, which was crafted by a committee of school officials who looked at policies from several area school districts before crafting the one presented to the board.

The policy is intended to be both stricter than what exists now, but also flexible. The two freebie tardies recognize that things happen -- cars break down, assignments are forgotten at home and need to be retrieved, family members get sick and hold things up, etc., but student-athletes also need to be held accountable if they want to faithfully represent the community in competition.

The policy will be evaluated during the fall, comparing this fall's data with data from previous fall seasons to see if tardiness is reduced and attendance is improved. If the policy works and is refined, it could be rolled out to cover students participating in other extracurricular activities.

Policy summary:

• Student athletes will get two free tardies each sports season, fall, winter and spring.
• A third tardy will result in the student not being allowed to participate in his or her team's next athletic event, be it practice or game.
• A tardy can be excused by a doctor's note; parental notes will not be accepted as an excuse.
• The tardy clock begins as soon as the bell rings for the first class of the day.

Batavia High School, led by Head Coach Brennan Briggs, has been hosting 7-on-7 drills for the past few weeks as players get ready for the fall football season.

Yesterday, Batavia's varsity and JV teams participated along with Medina and Oakfield-Alabama combined with Elba. On some Tuesdays as many as six teams from throughout the region have participated.

Mini-camps open in two weeks, followed by pre-season camp and, then, the season.

The debut of a community blood drive dubbed "The Battle of the Badges" will take place from noon to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 11, at Quality Inn & Suites, 8250 Park Road, Batavia.

It's being presented by Tompkins Financial for the American Red Cross.

The question looms: Who will be the 2016 First Responder Champion for the premiere of this contest?

A Trooper? Sheriff's Deputy? A city or village Police Officer? City firefighter? A volunteer for a town fire department? A Mercy EMS technician? Ambulance personnel?

All help save lives on the job and by donating blood, they help save lives off the job, too.

For appointments, please call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or sign up online at redcrossblood.org

Press release:

The GLOW Region Solid Waste Management Committee is pleased to announce that it will hold a single Household Hazardous Waste Collection on Saturday, Sept. 17, in Batavia.

Funding is provided by GLOW’s County contributions and a grant from the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation with assistance from the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department and Covanta Niagara. Residents from Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming counties are eligible to participate.

Materials accepted include household cleaning products, pesticides/insecticides, oil base paint/stains, vehicle batteries and fluids (except motor oil), oil filters, pool chemicals, driveway sealer and home computers, TVs & microwaves FREE OF CHARGE. (NOTE: NO MORE THAT TWO (2) CRT TVs AND/OR MONITORS PER REGISTRANT CAN BE ACCEPTED.)

Passenger/light truck tires will be accepted for $4 each and truck tires for $10.

For the seventh year, pharmaceutical waste -- outdated, unwanted or unusable medicines -- will be accepted.

Items that will not be accepted include latex paint, used motor oil, empty containers, asbestos and household batteries.

Appointments are required on a first come, first serve basis. A total of 600 spots are available. Details and additional information can be obtained by calling the GLOW office at 585/815-7906 or 800/836-1154 or 585/344-2580, ext. 5463.

“Collections such as this provide residents with an excellent opportunity to safely dispose of materials they no longer want or need and that have the potential to harm the human and environmental health," said Peggy Grayson, GLOW’s recycling administrator.

"The addition of medicines helps not only the environment but other sectors of the community such as law enforcement and the public. The GLOW Committee is happy to offer the collection of medicines to the program and hopes that residents will take full advantage of the opportunity to rid their homes of these hazards."

Press release:

For the second year in a row, local health care organizations, Rochester Regional Health United Memorial Medical Center and Oak Orchard Health will be hosting an event for breastfeeding mothers that will attempt to break international records as well as raise awareness on the important health benefits of breastfeeding.

Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and their children are invited to attend the event that will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Jerome Center at 16 Bank St. in Batavia on Friday, Aug. 5.

It's part of the Global Big Latch On, a synchronized breastfeeding event that will include thousands of breastfeeding women and their babies/children across the world. In addition to the 10:30 a.m. count, the Latch On event at the Jerome Center will also have Foodlink’s Curbside Mobile Market, a baby clothing swap, refreshments, freebies, face painting, car seat check, and door prizes.

Anyone who wishes to donate gently used baby clothing for the swap can drop it off at Oak Orchard Health WIC at 314 Ellicott St. in Batavia by Aug. 4 or bring it to the event. Attendees can register at the event or pre-register at www.biglatchon.org

The Global Big Latch On was organized by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action as part of World Breastfeeding Week to raise awareness on the important health benefits of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding contributes to the normal growth and development of children, and children who are not breastfed are at increased risk of infant morbidity and mortality, adult obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and premenopausal breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of a baby's life to optimize these benefits, continuing to breastfeed for 2 years and as long thereafter as is mutually desired by a woman and her child. World Breastfeeding Week will take place Aug. 1-7.

Jeremy Michael Depasquale, 26, of Pixley Hill Road, Scio, is charged with false personation. At 6:15 p.m. on July 22, a dump truck was stopped on Route 33 in the Town of Pembroke for an equipment violation. Investigation revealed that the driver's license was suspended. The defendant who was the owner of the dump truck arrived on scene and allegedly identified himself to officers with a false name in an attempt to make officer believe that he possessed a commerical driver's license to drive the truck. Depasquale was arrested, arraigned in Town of Pembroke Court, and jailed on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin McCarthy, assisted by Trooper Kosowski and Trooper Hansel.

Michael Shawn McKenzie, 27, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree harassment -- physical contact. At 7:50 p.m. on July 23, McKenzie was arrested for second-degree harassment following a physical distrubance at the Genesee County Jail. He was issued an appearance ticket for July 25 in City of Batavia Court. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Ryan DeLong.