batavia

A vehicle has struck a pole in the area of 112 Vine St., Batavia.

A minor head injury is reported.

No wires down.

City fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Members of City Church came together today to prepare and serve the church's annual Thanksgiving Day meal for those in our community who are in need or just in need of company and good cheer.

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Press release:

Due to severe weather leaf operations were postponed in Batavia last week. The Bureau of Maintenance will be going through the city one more time beginning Dec. 1. Crews will be working on the Northside from east to west and the Southside from west to east.

Please have leaves properly placed by Monday, Dec. 1.

Also, the yard waste station will remain open one week longer. It will close Dec. 13, weather permitting.

Harrington's Produce on Clinton Street Road has their Christmas trees out, but these trees aren't flocked, at least not in spray-on substance sense. Today's snow is sticking to everything it falls on, putting these pines right in the holiday spirit.

A one-car accident is reported on the eastbound Thruway at mile marker 386.3. The car is off the roadway and the female driver is injured and unresponsive, according to the caller to dispatch. Town of Batavia and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 3:40 p.m.: The male patient is being transported to the hospital via ambulance and CPR is in progress.

On WBTA's Talk of the Town, starring Hiram Kasten and Lucine Kauffman, this morning they had as guests Carmen DelPlato, a teacher at Jackson School in Batavia, and Laura Dubin. They introduced a new recording by the Laura Dubin Trio, with Sage Melcher on vocals, of "Real Old Fashioned Christmas."

The song was written by Mary DelPlato and Anthony DelPlato.

Carmen asked Laura Dubin if she would record the song, and she said she would if she liked it. Obviously, she did. She reworked the arrangement into a more traditional Swing vibe and brought in Melcher to sing it. Both Dubin and Melcher are from Rochester.

There is a structure fire at 22 Manhattan Ave. and city firefighters are on scene. Town of Batavia fire is asked to stand by in its hall.

UPDATE 9:05 a.m.: This was a kitchen fire that was called in about 25 minutes ago. Firefighters were able to contain it to the kitchen and now the fire is out.

UPDATE 9:07 a.m.: A pet cat was found in the house, brought safely out and taken to a neighbor for safekeeping. A code enforcement officer is on scene. There remains a faint smell of smoke inside but the blaze did not produce much smoke.

UPDATE 9:26 a.m.: Engine 12 is back in service. Town of Batavia is released from its standby.

An administrator at Notre Dame High School was disciplined more than a month ago for reportedly shaving the head of a student who showed up to school one day sporting a Mowhawk-style haircut.

Vice Principal and Athletic Director Mike Rapone reportedly shaved the head of Lucus Hull in front of other students during homeroom period while in the cafeteria, according to his mother, Denise Hull.

She describes her son as "humiliated" by Rapone's actions and claims that Rapone violated the school's code of conduct by touching her son without permission.

The reprimand Rapone received, confirmed by letters to Hull by the school and the superintendent of the diocese's schools, doesn't go far enough, according to Hull. She wants Rapone terminated.

"Quite frankly, if what is on the code of conduct is correct, then Mr. Rapone has violated it and should be removed from his position with the school," Hull said in an e-mail to The Batavian.

The incident occurred in Sept. 23. Charles Hull wrote a lengthy letter to Principal Joseph Scanlan on Oct. 2 that made several points, including (but not limited to):

• That while at the Camp Hough Freshman Retreat, Sept. 3-4, Lucas asked Rapone for permission to have a "buzzcut Mohawk style," and Rapone, Hull said, told Lucas he could try it for a day.
• Lucas, Hull said, reviewed the school uniform policy and assured his parents the haircut was permitted. "Nothing was or is noted in the policy which strictly prohibits any type of Mohawk hairstyle," Hull wrote.
• Lucus was given the option Sept. 23 to go home for a haircut (which is 12 miles away) or Rapone would cut his hair.
• About 20 minutes later, Rapone returned to the homeroom, which was held in the cafeteria, and shaved the youth's hair in front of classmates.
• Among the Hulls' complaints -- that the parents were not contacted about the issue before the Mohawk was shaved off.
• The Hulls do not feel the public apology by Rapone was sufficient to assuage Lucas or his sister. They called it "damage control" and "less than sincere."

Denise Hull contacted The Batavian, she said, because she felt Notre Dame had failed to address the situation adequately. 

She said she believes the board of directors, which she characterizes as made up primarily of sports boosters and former athletes, are unduly protecting a popular athletic director and successful basketball coach.

Her communications included copies of letters from the school and diocese and a copy of the student handbook.

The handbook, dated July 2014, clearly states "Outlandish hairstyles (e.g. Mohawks, wild colors, etc.)" are prohibited.

The letters clearly state that Rapone was reprimanded, that he and Scanlan must attend sensitivity training, and that the policy for dealing with such situations would be revised.

The letter from Charles Hull to Scanlan indicates that Rapone may have misunderstood the question from Lucas about a "buzzcut Mohawk."

"Mr. Rapone misunderstanding a question does not give him the right to humiliate Lucas," Charles Hull wrote.

Of course, a "buzzcut" and a "Mohawk" are two different styles of haircuts. One involves completely shaving the head, the other leaves a streak of hair down the middle of the scalp.

Denise Hull also said she believes the school is applying a double standard because there are students who have come to school with what might be considered "outlandish" hairstyles.  

We shared one specific complaint with Scanlan (we're avoiding being specific so as not to publicly drag another student into the issue) and Scanlan said, "that's a completely separate issue," but said he couldn't elaborate.

The Hulls also contacted Child Protective Services, which told them, Denise Hull said, this wasn't a CPS issue, and Batavia PD, which investigated and found insufficient evidence to sustain a charge of harassment.

Scanlan said he couldn't comment on a personnel matter. He e-mailed The Batavian the following statement authorized by the school's board of directors:

The incident in question occurred in September, and was promptly and appropriately addressed by the Notre Dame High School Board of Trustees and the school administration.

A student came to school with a mohawk haircut that violated the School’s dress code policy. After the student declined the opportunity to leave school to get his hair cut, the assistant principal cut the student’s hair in the student’s homeroom. The assistant principal has since apologized to the student, his parents, and the school community for his error in judgment in cutting the student's hair in the student’s homeroom before discussing the violation with the student’s parents.

Additionally, the School’s Board of Trustees recently amended to the School's student dress code policy to provide that parents will be consulted prior to any action if a similar situation arises in the future.

This action by the Board, coupled with the previous actions by the School's administration, has fully and thoroughly addressed this situation, and the School will have no further comment on this private matter.

Batavia Middle School was put on lockdown just before the dismissal time this afternoon because of a report of a man with a gun inside his residence just a block or so from the school.

The lockdown was requested by police, Sgt. Dan Coffey said, because of the proximity and the potential for students to be walking through a potential danger zone once they were released.

It turned out the man may have only had a BB or pellet gun, Coffey said, but a State Police K-9 was brought in just in case to sniff for actual firearm in and around the residence, which was near the corner of Ross and Miller.

The initial call came from the man's girlfriend who said her boyfriend was in an upstairs bedroom pointing a gun to his head and threatening suicide.

Coffey said police surrounded the area and the man eventually came out of the house on his own and was taken into custody without incident.

He was taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Coffey said officers are considering what if any charges might be brought.

The incident lasted about 10 minutes and after the man was in custody, students were released from school.

A Batavia man accused of selling drugs earlier this year was sentenced today by Judge Robert C. Noonan to five years in state prison.

Dajuandrick C. "Omega" (and "X") Gardner, 37, of East Avenue, entered a guilty plea to a count of attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd on Oct. 24.

He was indicted on six counts related to the sale of cocaine and possession of enough cocaine to constitute suspected drug dealing. The plea satisfied all the counts of the indictment.

The sales to agents of the Local Drug Task Force occurred in January.

Gardner's arrest in March was announced with two other suspects.

"For my part in this case that I committed, I probably wouldn't if I wasn't on drugs," Gardner told Noonan. "I wouldn't have committed the crime and I want to take responsibility for my part that I did regardless of the fact that I was on drugs. I want to apologize to the court and the community."

Noonan told Gardner that his turnabout was a little late.

"You've had many opportunities over the course of your life to clean yourself up from drugs and you never seized them," Noonan said. "You just dove into criminal activity over and over again."

The judge also ordered Gardner to pay $150 in restitution upon his release from prison.

Prior to sentencing, among the requests from Gardner's attorney was one for instructions from Noonan to the Department of Corrections that Gardner's head not be shaved. He said Gardner is a Rastafarian and it would violate his religion to cut his hair.

Noonan said he has no authority to tell the DOC what to do.

The Tonawanda Creek has reached a minor flood stage of nine feet high and is expected to crest this afternoon at 9.3 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

Photo from about an hour ago at the spillway behind the County Courthouse.

The Town of Batavia needs to treat more wastewater these days, and possibly into the future, so it must purchase additional capacity in the treatment plant on Treadeasy Avenue.

If plans are approved, the town will pay the city nearly $2 million for an additional 500,000 gallons of capacity. 

The $2 million can be used by the city to repair and upgrade existing sewer lines or sewer-related infrastructure. Legally, it can't be used for anything else.

The treatment facility opened in 1990 with the intention that it serve both the town and the city. The total cost was $48 million, with $39 million being paid by state and federal grants. The city covered more than $8 million of the local share of the cost and the town more than $500,000.

For the price, the city obtained 3.5 million gallons per-day capacity and the town 350,000 gallons per day.

The town now occasionally exceeds its capacity, City Manager Jason Molino said, especially after two yogurt plants opened in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

Molino said the town also anticipates additional manufacturing growth, which means an even greater need for sewer capacity.

Residential growth, such as the new housing development on East Main Road, doesn't greatly increase the need for more capacity, Molino said.

The process of increasing capacity for the town will take up to 12 months, since the town is broken into sewer districts and there will need to be a series of public hearings before the town board can approve bonds to cover the $2 million expense.

The fee is based on a series of complex, and legally mandated, calculations that Public Works Director Sally Kuzon explained briefly for council members.

Previously: Batavia Wastewater Treatment Plant, one of city's hidden treasures

Comcast, which is taking over Time-Warner Cable if the merger is approved by regulators, has agreed to address the apparent breaches by Time-Warner in its franchise agreement with the City of Batavia.

According to a presentation by City Manager Jason Molino at Monday's City Council meeting, Time-Warner has:

• Failed to pay $16,345 in franchise fees -- state regulators reported Time-Warner withheld the money following an audit of the cable company's revenue and fees from 2006 to 2008;
• Time-Warner has continued to under-report gross revenue, according to what the state says the company should report;
• Failed to operate a community television studio and staff it appropriately.

Molino said Comcast has agreed to address all of those issues in a new franchise agreement once the merger is approved.  

Comcast will also agree to provide free Internet service to City Hall and the public schools in the city. Comcast will also pay $2,590 of city's legal fees associated with negotiating the terms of the agreement.

In exchange, the City Council is being asked to approve, before Dec. 8, a resolution in support of the Comcast/Time-Warner merger.

On the franchise fee issue, Molino said Comcast will agree to calculate revenue in accordance with recommendations laid out by state regulators during an audit published in 2011. The increase in gross revenue will mean higher franchise fees paid to the city.

Time-Warner disputed the revenue adjustment and would only pay the past-due franchise fees after tacking on 22 cents per month to each customer's bill in Batavia. The city decided that arrangement as not in the best interest of local customers and had no other legal means to pursue the unpaid fees.

A memo on the topic to council members does not explicitly say Comcast will itself pay the back fees, but says Comcast will address the issue as part of a new franchise agreement, which will be negotiated after the proposed merger is final.

A letter from Phillip Fraga, an attorney representing the city on the merger and franchise agreement, informed Comcast that he would recommend the City Council oppose the merger without the franchise issue being addressed by Comcast.

Molino also shared with city council a letter from 2007 complaining to Time-Warner about the cable company falling out of compliance with its franchise agreement by laying off production employees and removing production equipment from its Batavia office that was supposed to be available for community access programming.   

This is another issue Comcast has agreed to address.

The council will be asked to vote on a resolution approving the merger at its first meeting in December.

By unanimous vote Monday night, the City Council approved the appointment of a Police Facility Task Force to study the need for a new or remodeled Batavia PD headquarters.

The Task Force is charged with making a critical appraisal of recommendations by city staff and Geddis Architects for either building a new facility at one of four locations in the city or remodeling the current location.

Picking any one of the options could lead to expenditure for the city of $9 million to $17 million.

The current headquarters -- in the former Brisbane mansion -- has a number of deficiencies, officials say.

Appointed to the task force are Durin Rogers, Ashley Bateman, Peter Garlock, Alfred McGinnis, James Jacobs, Marc Staley, Bill Hayes and David Lone.

There's no representative from the Fifth Ward because no volunteers could be found willing to take on the job. One person agreed and at the last minute backed out.

Previously:

• Batavia Police Department tour shows current working and building conditions need to be addressed
• Current police headquarters has its problems, but so do available alternatives
• Council ready to form citizen task force to study police headquarters issue

Uriel Ramirez-Perez, 26, of Oak Orchard Road, Elba, is charged with first-degree rape, a Class B felony. The defendant was arrested after allegedly raping a female victim at an Elba residence. The charge is related to the previously reported charges of rape against three other Elba men. This defendant was allegedly present during the Nov. 16 incident. He is in county jail on $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 property bond. The incident was investigated by investigator Kristopher A. Kautz, deputy Dana Richardson and Angel Santos, investigator with the State Police.

Shannon Ann Caton, 39, of Fisher Road, Oakfield, is charged with: driving while intoxicated with a previous conviction within the last 10 years; resisting arrest; attempted escape, 3rd; speed not reasonable and prudent; and following too close. She was arrested Nov. 19 on the charges after she allegedly rear-ended another vehcile twice on East Main Street near Harvester Avenue in the City of Batavia. While at police headquarters, she slipped out of handcuffs and attempted to escape. She allegedly physically resisted her re-apprehension and was then jailed without bail. She is also charged with refusing to take a breath test. The incident was investigated by police officers Jason Ivison and James DeFreze.

Thomas K. Lee, 51, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration. He was arrested Nov. 18 after allegedly interfering with a Batavia police officer's investigation into a domestic incident involving Lee. He allegedly resisted arrest and "attempted to kick patrols." He is in jail in lieu of $2,500 bail. The incident was investigated by police officers Jason Ivison and Chad Richards.

Shane Zimblis, 43, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with: operating a snowmobile with a BAC of .08 or higher, first offense; operating a snowmobile without liability insurance; no/inadequate headlight; operating an unregistered snowmobile; and following too close. The charges stem from an accident Nov. 18 on Pearl Street in the city wherein Zimblis was allegedly operating his snowmobile and struck an SUV. He is to appear in city court on Dec. 3. The incident was investigated by police officers Chad Richards and James DeFreze.

April L. Walradt, 37, of Bank Street, Batavia, was arrested Nov. 11 and charged with second-degree harassment. She allegedly made comments to another person and a youth that caused them alarm. She was issued an appearance ticket for city court. The incident was investigated by police offier Matthew Wojtaszczyk.

Matthew Michael Biggins, 25, of Rail Road Avenue, Alexander, is charged with third-degree forgery and petit larceny. He was arrested Nov. 14 after allegedly stealing three checks, making the checks out in his own name and then cashing them. He was issued an appearance ticket and is to appear in Alexander Town Court on Dec. 2. The incident was investigated by Sheriff's deputy Cory Mower.

Terrance Trae Allen Harley, 18, of Frandee Lane, Rochester, was arrested Nov. 22 on Clinton Street Road in Stafford and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, speed violation (67 in a 55 mph zone), and having no or inadequate taillights. The charges were issued following a traffic stop for alleged vehicle and traffic law violations. Harley is to appear in Stafford Town Court on Dec. 11. The incident was investigated by sheriff's deputy Joseph Corona, assisted by deputy Andrew Hale.

Jennifer Lynn Stack, 28, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. She was arrested Nov. 23 after she entered the Batavia Walmart and remained in the store. These alleged actions violated an active order of protection issued by Batavia Town Court, prohibiting her from being on the premises. She was issued an appearance ticket and is to appear in court on Dec. 18. The incident was investigated by Sheriff's deputy Chad Minuto.

Adam Paul Hoopengardner, 34, of Bank Street Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or more and speeding (52 in a 40 mph zone). He was stopped on Lewiston Road Nov. 23 for allegedly speeding and an investigation revealed he was allegedly intoxicated while driving the vehicle. The incident was investigated by Sheriff's deputy Thomas Sanfratello.

James Russell Kosiorek, 22, of East Main Street, Batavia, was arrested Nov. 20 on a state parole warrant. He responded to the Sheriff's Office to turn himself in and was placed in county jail.

Gloria Susan Moretti, 37, of Main Road, Corfu, was arrested Nov. 7 and charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle. She was a co-renter of a vehicle from Sikes Enterprises, which allegedly has not been returned and has not been paid for. She was issued a computer-generated appearance ticket and is due in city court Dec. 2. The incident was investigated by Batavia police officer James DeFreze.

UPDATE: below, a rainbow in Bergen sent in by a reader.

At Tops, they might be singing "Yes! We Have No Bananas," and no asparagus and no pink grapefruit and no celery -- the produce section is running low on just about everything.

But help is on the way, according to managers. The fresh produce truck is in route, making other deliveries along the way. There's just no ETA.

Blame heavy snow, of course.

Speaking of running low on supplies, Janelle Larsen and Laura Kauppi, both of Batavia, and, Timothy Zorn, of Rochester, spent the day volunteering in the Buffalo area delivering food and other supplies to people who have been trapped in their homes by heavy snow.

Laura writes:

The efforts of the National Guard and police are concentrated on snow removal. Many people are stuck in their house with little or no food or supplies. We purchased water, milk, soup, bread, cereal, granola bars, crackers and peanut butter, Pop Tarts, (infant) formula, soy formula, diapers, cat food, dog food and baby wipes. We also had medicine, but we were thankful no one needed it.

Most people we helped were disabled or had very small children at home. Many roads are still closed, and lots of people are stuck with no food in travel bans. We drove to the edge of the bans, and then we had to walk, even as much as a mile to get to homes. These were people not receiving help anywhere else, and were very grateful.

We were surprised at how honest people were. One women told us she only wanted cat food and one milk (carton), and she wanted us to "keep the rest for people who needed it more." A young dad took Pop Tarts, saying "I just want something for my kids."

Another women took only milk, but told us about a single dad snowed in next door. He was grateful for some cereal, milk and bread. At a trailer park, we made up bags with two soups, one milk, a cereal, bread and several granola bars. We dropped them on the porch of every snowed-in house. Another mom was incredibly grateful for soy formula, diapers, milk and cereal. She was in the driving ban and with two babies was unable to walk the .5 mile to reach the nearest open store. Another women took wipes, diapers and cereal for the seven children she was caring for.

There is a Facebook group, WNY Storm Help 2014, where people have been posting needs for themselves or neighbors. It didn't take much time or money for us to make a difference, and I hope we have inspired others to do so, either to help with this storm, the inevitable flooding or the next storm.

We also received this storm-related e-mail fromReginaKoehler:

My husband is a truck driver and was stranded on the highway during the snowstorm. There were people from Alexander who got him and his truck to a safe warm place, a fire station, where he remained for three days. There were several people there who had also been rescued. The Red Cross brought in food and cots. I just want to say on behalf of my family and myself a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to the Town of Alexander for saving my husband and my son's dad, and my grandchildren's grandpa. It will be a happy Thanksgiving for us. It could have gone very bad had he been stuck out there and run out of fuel. Bless you all and have a GREAT holiday season....

UPDATE 5:25 p.m.: I almost forgot about this picture below. I stopped by the Tonawanda about 4:30 to see if the creek was rising.

A vehicle traveling west on West Main Street lost a wheel at about 1 p.m. causing a bit of traffic congestion, which just cleared a few minutes ago.

Photo submitted by Greg Rada.

This isn't what anybody wants to wake up to on a Sunday morning -- water filling basements, bubbling over onto streets only recently covered with smooth, black asphalt, and the exact location of the water main break a bit of a mystery.

That's the situation at North Street and Trumbull Parkway in the city this morning.

It started with three calls for city fire to pump flooded basements on Trumbull Parkway.

That's when the water main break was discovered, most likely somewhere in the middle of the intersection of Trumbull and North, which was resurfaced this summer.

The leak is likely within the area of the intersection, but exactly where along the line won't be determined until a backhoe cuts into the new pavement, pulls up dirt and uncovers the line.

Water has been shut off, arresting the leak, but that also means four houses on North Street are without water. Other residents in the area may experience water discoloration, said Matt Worth, superintendent of the Bureau of Water & Wastewater.  

The repairs will likely take most of the day, Worth said.