batavia

There was a nice turn out on a bright sunny day for Batavia's Memorial Day Parade.

More pictures after the jump:

 

 

 

A residential fire has been reported 5050 Batavia-Elba Townline Road, Batavia.

Batavia Fire and multiple other fire departments are being dispatched to the scene and for standby.

UPDATE 8:58 p.m.: Some fire units breaking down. The porta-pond is being broken down.

UPDATE 9:44 p.m.: Fire out. Town of Batavia Fire picking up.

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Keith J. Lyman, 37, of 47 Clark St., Brockport, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Lyman is accused of contacting a City Court employee by telephone and threatening that person. He was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Keith Joseph Lyman, 37, of 41 High St., Brockport, is charged with harassment, 2nd.  Lyman is accused of kicking a corrections officer while being booked on another charge.

Duffy Starks, 17, of 20 N. Spruce St., Batavia, was arrested for alleged failure to comply with the conditions of his release on a previous harassment and unlawful imprisonment charges. Starks was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Nicole M. Dellapenna, 23, of 6120 Byron-Elba Road, Byron, is charged with disorderly conduct. Dellapenna is accused of repeatedly yelling obscenities outside Billy Goat's bar on West Main Street. She was arrested at 12:48 a.m., Sunday.

LaToya D. Jackson, 24, of 4036 W. Main St., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. Jackson is accused of yelling obscenities while on State Street. She was arrested at 9:50 p.m., Friday.

Kelly A. Sparks, 27, of 235 Orland Road, Rochester, is charged with DWI and refusal to take breath test. Sparks was stopped at 2:45 a.m., Monday, by Le Roy PD Officer Robert Tygart for alleged failure to give half of the roadway and alleged failure to stop for a stop sign.

Michael J. Tobias, 19, of 131 State St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Tobias is accused of shoplifting at Tops Market.

Markeda D. Starks, 19, of 5 Wood St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Starks is accused of approaching a person whom she was ordered to stay away from.

Jonathan Chad Sisk, 37, of Chili-Riga Center Road, Churchville, is accused of petit larceny. Sisk is accused of taking a BB gun from Walmart without paying for it.

A 16-year-old Batavia boy is charged with trespass. The youth is accused of entering a building on West Main Road, Town of Batavia, without permission of the owner.

Jose Juan Santiago Burgos, 21, of Telephone Road, Le Roy, is charged with criminal mischief. Santiago Burgos is accused of breaking the window of a tractor on Bethany Center Road.

Carly A. Herzog, 29, of 25 Morven Road, Rochester, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and having a suspended registration. Herzog was stopped at 3:14 a.m., Saturday, on Church Street in Le Roy by Sgt. Michael J. Hare.

Over the last several months, I've been spending some of my free time exploring Batavia. Not just walking along the side of the road, but finding trails and paths that are relatively untraveled and unknown for the most part. As of late, my exploring and roots in technology have lead me to the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project.

My latest cellphone features a built-in GPS radio and a 5MP camera. Earlier today (yesterday), I went out and mapped part of an abandoned railroad track that was previously owned by Conrail for the OSM project. The tracks were removed long ago and if it weren't for still being listed as part of the Conrail railroad on several mapping services, there would be no way to know otherwise. Eventually, the trail intersects with the Conrail tracks that are still presently used (the tracks that go under part of Rt. 5, intersect with Seven Springs Road/Rt. 63, etc).

While I was out, I took (geotagged) pictures. I've chucked them all into a Picasa album ingeniously labeled "Batavia". Do keep in mind that this isn't the first time I've been out to this location. Most of the pictures in the album were taken in the same general area and the geotags will reflect this. When looking at an album/picture, Picasa shows a terrain view map in the bottom-right corner of the page with a mark point showing the GPS location(s) of the picture(s) being looked at. 

Some of the better pictures are shown after the jump.

Multiple grass fires were reported late this afternoon in the wooded area between the lake at Dewitt Park and Western New York Concrete, 638 E. Main St., Batavia.

The fires were spotted nearly simultaneously by a passerby and a State Trooper.

Town of Batavia Supervisor Greg Post was called to the scene by the passerby and Post said he counted at least 12 separate hot spots.

Officials suspect the fires were set intentionally. 

There was also a series of small fires near the railroad tracks in the area of Buell Street and Webster Avenue yesterday afternoon, which may also have been intentionally set.

The initial call for today's fire came in around 5:35 p.m. The largest of the first was contained some time after 6 p.m.

Three companies of city firefighters and Town of Batavia Fire were called to the scene.

(The Batavian's Initial Report)

More pictures after the jump:

A large grass fire has been reported behind Western New York Concrete at 638 E. Main St., Batavia.

A State Trooper on scene says there are several small grass fires. "It was definitely started by somebody," he said.

City fire is responding, as well as city police.

UPDATE: 5:45 p.m. (Billie): The Second Platoon is handling the fire now. The First and Third platoons are requested to stand in at the main fire hall. It is reported that fire has spread eastward, nearing the sand wash.

UPDATE 5:53 p.m. (Billie): Now declaring a general alarm fire. Requesting a Town of Batavia grass/brush fire truck to the scene.

UPDATE 6:03 p.m. (Howard): The fire is now along the back of DeWitt Park. Flames are up to five-feet high. It is reported that at least 12 different fires were most likely intentionally set.

UPDATE 6:06 p.m. (Billie): Fire crews from the Town of Batavia are asked to stand-by at the town's fire headquarters.

UPDATE 6:55 p.m. (Howard): Left the fire scene about 6:30. Fire crews were checking for hot spots. Pictures to come in a separate post shortly.

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For the past two days, young ball players from all over Western New York converged on the ball fields at MacArthur Park for the annual Michael Napoleone Memorial Baseball Tournament.

The tournament is named after a Batavia boy who succumbed to a form of leukemia and raises funds for a foundation in his name that assists families of children with cancer.

Ten teams in the 9-10 year old range and 10 teams in the 11-12 year old range competed. There was also a tournament for T-ball-age players.

More pictures after the jump:

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Overheard on the scanner:

"Clear CAD, no report, blotter item only. They were arguing over who gets to ride shotgun in the car."

Dispatch: "The important things in life."

Terry Ross affixes brand new flags to the Upton Monument in preparation for Memorial Day.

Scot Geoffrey Judd, 27, of Caroline Street, Albion, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Judd was stopped for an alleged traffic violation by Sgt. Brian Frieday on West Main Street Road in Batavia.

Lee J. Zawicki, 22, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Zawicki was cited by State Police at 1:05 a.m., Thursday, in Pembroke.

An apparent fight broke out in UMMC's emergency room Thursday evening, and two men were jailed as a result on $7,500 bail each.

The incident started around 7:35 p.m. while a Batavia Police officer and a State Police officer where at the ER on unrelated and separate investigations. The officers observed a commotion in the waiting room and moved to intervene and separate the parties.

One of the men in the waiting room struggled with officers and a woman who was in the ER for treatment of an earlier head injury jumped on the back of the Trooper.

She was Tasered by police.

Another man apparently involved in the altercation is accused of threatening to kill hospital staff.

Backup was called in from Batavia Police and State Police to help get the situation under control.

Charged with disorderly conduct and menacing, 3rd, was Ryan M. Norton, 35, of 45 Summit St., Le Roy. Norton is accused of threatening hospital staff.

Kyle W. Nash, 22, of 38 Church St., Le Roy, is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Alexandria M. Zarty, 18, of 38 Church St., Le Roy, is charged with obstructing governmental administration.

Norton and Nash were jailed. Zarty was released on her own recognizance so she could receive treatment in ER for her earlier head injury.

No he's not high on drugs, he is high in the air! Richard Ohlson, Founder  and the kids from the Ride to Recovery  were invited to the neighborhood cookout held at St. Paul Lutheran Church Wednesday evening. Ride to Recovery is a non  profit mountain biking  organization. Their mission is to share the love of Jesus Christ, promote physical activity, and help keep todays youth on the right track and off of drugs.

They take the kids out and show them that they can have fun without the use of drugs and alcohol. They do weekly rides, go on trips and even have an annual camp held in Varysburg. Extreme Faith Fridays is held the third Friday of the month at the Assembly of God church from 7PM until 9 PM where they do devotions, games eat pizza and fellowship. If you know of a youth that would like to get involved, give Rich a call at 585-993-2180

Just so you know, girls can do it too!

 

Opthamalic surgeon Alan Siegel made a difference in the lives of countless patients over the course of his career and when he stopped performing surgery, it was because he had their best interests at heart.

After being diagnosed a year and a half ago of pancreatic cancer, he worked as long as he could using 100 percent of his skills. But when he grew weaker, he decided the delicate microsurgery he performed was no longer something he ought to do -- the last thing he wanted was to harm a patient.

"He loved his job, he really did," said Rosemary Siegel this afternoon, his wife of 28 years. "He had a wonderful practice with very fair and supportive people."

Dr. Siegel was with University Eye Specialists, on Summit Street in Batavia, for 15 years. He was known to be honest, intelligent and caring -- the rare kind of doctor who typically called patients after surgery to ask how they were doing.

Born in Brooklyn, raised in New Jersey, his first practice after medical school was on Long Island. Before that, he had been a physician's assistant, which is what he was when he met a certain registered nurse named Rosemary at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx.

They fell in love, got married and he went to medical school.

"He went into opthamology because he liked microsurgery, he enjoyed that," Rosemary said. "And he had big hands, too, it's amazing."

The couple have two children, 26-year-old Jacqueline, and 22-year-old William. Both are residents of Millport, NY, and have taken leaves of absence to stay with their mother awhile. For nearly seven years, Rosemary has contended with ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's disease."

"Everyday when he'd come home from work, he'd pick me up off the couch and put me in my wheelchair. He took care of me. He never, ever once complained. That's the kind of man he was."

She said at times she felt like she was a burden, and told him so.

"He said 'I never want to hear you say that again. Ro, this is what we've been dealt in life and we just have to deal with it.'"

Like every couple, they occasionally had their differences but they never had a fight. At some point it dawned on William as a boy that his parents didn't fight like a lot of other parents.

"Mom, you and Daddy never fight. Why?" he asked.

I don't know, she told him, "maybe because we're best friends."

You've got to love a guy whose wife is so proud of the way he always loved and cared for his own mother, who lives in Florida. And who never missed his children's school plays or dance recitals or hockey games.

"Al loved hockey and he would scream so at the high school hockey games that he'd come home hoarse."

When the local team went to the state competition, the distinguished surgeon went wearing war paint on his face, toting a specially designed hockey stick.

"Oh God, they were a riot."

At the pro level, he was a die-hard fan of the Buffalo Sabres and in baseball, the Yankees.

His daughter has an extra-special memory of the time she spent with her dad on The Great White Way.

"My dad took me all over for auditions when I was applying for undergraduate (studies)," Jacqueline said. "We had to fly all around to private schools. One time we got off the plane, got on the subway, got a hotel and then went to see a couple of shows -- "The Producers" and "Chicago."

"My audition was the next day. I didn't get in, but we didn't care because we had a great vacation together, just the two of us."

Another great vacation took place three years ago at Christmas, when the whole extended family went on a cruise to the Mexican resort of Cozumel and Belize, in Central America.

The last vacation they would take as a family was last summer, after Alan had already been diagnosed with cancer. They rented a house in Hilton Head, S.C., were William was working as a lifeguard. They stayed a week, went parasailing, had a ball.

Great times were also had when Dr. Siegel and his friends jumped in their cars and went on a "road rally," a sort of mystery game.

"They'd get a clue, and blast off to the next clue," Rosemary said. "It took weeks to figure out the clues. People got lost, went to the wrong place. When they got all the clues, then they'd go back over the route.

"One year Al and Dr. (Gary) May put on masks and wigs on the road rally. They went into an old church. Then Dr. May didn't see or hear Al. Al had dropped through the floor. The next day he couldn't move his arm and Dr. (Matthew) Landfried had to give him a shot."

Whether it was electronics or snow skiing or any of the above, Dr. Siegel was a "take charge kinda guy" who enjoyed the camaraderie of friends. He didn't talk about doing things, he did them.

But this take-charge man also made a mean meatloaf, a tradition which began when Rosemary used to work nights on Mondays back in Long Island. Monday was meatloaf night.

Anytime was cookie time, however.

"He was a Cookie Monster," Rosemary said. "I made the chocolate chip cookies and he ate them."

This activity, more often than not, may have occurred while Dr. Siegel was in the company of his three-pound "terror." A rescued chihuahua named "Oji," who was his best pal and fiercely guarded him in his final days.

"When my husband was dying, 'Oji' never got off the bed," Rosemary said. "And if anybody tried to touch him, he went crazy. He protected him so much."

It's safe to say "Oji" is grieving for his master. Dr. Alan Siegel was only 57. He will be missed by many.

Dr. Siegel's obituary is available here.

Late this afternoon, Chris Hamel and his friend James Bonning were on the Tonawanda at the falls fishing.

Batavia Polcie are looking for a man allegedly involved in an altercation on Wood Street around 5:30 p.m.

The man allegedly stuck another person in the face with an unknown object.

According to Det. Kevin Czora, the suspect and the victim were involved in a verbal argument. The assailant went to his car, grabbed some sort of object, came back and struck the victim in the face.

The victim suffered facial cuts and was transported by ambulance to UMMC.

The suspect is described as a black male in his late 20s. He fled the scene in a red Chevy Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo may already have had a busted passenger window.

It's unknown, Czora said, whether the suspect was also injured.