batavia

Press release:

The NYS Tax Department will be available to help inform homeowners of the Basic STAR exemption at an event for this purpose beginning at 6 p.m., Monday, Sept. 23 at the Old Courthouse in the City of Batavia.

The STAR registration program impacts 11,897 Basic STAR recipients in Genesee County, and 2.6 million homeowners statewide. Senior citizens receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption are not impacted.

The registration facilitates Governor Cuomo’s initiative to protect New Yorkers from fraud and waste in the STAR Program. The average homeowner saves $700 as a result of the Basic STAR exemption, which is available on the primary residence of homeowners with incomes under $500,000.

The registration deadline is Dec. 31 in order to continue receiving the exemption in 2014 and thereafter.

Basic STAR recipients have three easy options to register:

• More than 175 public events such as this one (full list of local events <http://www.tax.ny.gov/press/star_local_events.pdf> )
• Online registration at the Department’s Web site takes only two to four minutes: www.tax.ny.gov <http://www.tax.ny.gov>
• Homeowners without Internet access or with questions should call 518-457-2036

A car vs. deer accident is reported at Bank Street and R. Stephen Hawley Drive. The deer is said to have crashed into the car's windshield and the driver sustained minor injuries. Mercy medics and Town of Batavia Fire Department are responding.

UPDATE 12:53 p.m.: Law enforcement on scene reports the driver is not injured and he is out walking around. Town fire's response is cancelled; the driver will not need medical attention.

It looks like Batavia is going to get a taco stand on Ellicott Street across from the Pok-A-Dot near Liberty Street. This sign appeared in the window recently. The new owners were not around when I stopped by this morning.

UPDATE: One of the new owners is Derek Geib, co-owner of Bourbon & Burger Co.. Mike Hyland, a partner at B&B, is also partner with Casa Del Taco, along with Dick Long. They're shooting for an Oct. 1 opening.

A 26-year-old Rochester resident is being held on $50,000 bail after being accused of dealing crack cocaine in Batavia.

Davon Tamer Michael Bell, of Gillette Street, Rochester, is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.

Bell allegedly sold crack cocaine to undercover agents working with the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force.

The investigation into Bell's alleged activities began nine months ago. He was taken into custody Sept. 10 by Rochester PD.

Bell was indicted in a sealed indictment by the Genesee County Grand Jury.

Tracy Lynn Damato, 47, of Horsehoe Lake Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Damato is accused of stealing $19.99 in merchandise from Kmart.

Jordon Elizabeth Prescott, 19, of Ellicott Street Road, Bethany, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd, and criminal contempt, 2nd. Prescott is accused of being at College Village after being barred from the property. She is accused of violating an order of protection by coming into contact with the security guard that was on duty at College Village.

Travis S. Bartz, 37, of Alexander, is charged with a violation of probation and criminal contempt, 2nd. Bartz was allegedly located at a residence on Route 98, Town of Attica, Wyoming County, by State Police in violation of probation conditions and a current stay-away order of protection.

Kimberley A. Smith, 36, of Alexander, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or higher and failure to stop at stop sign. Smith was arrested at 6:27 p.m. Wednesday on Brookville Road, Alexander, by State Police. Following her arrest, she was released to a third party.

Lamar Iteef Randall, 28, of Spruce Avenue, Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th. Randall was arrested on a warrant out of Stafford Town Court upon his release from Monroe County Jail where he was being held on an unrelated charged. He was jailed on $5,000 bail.

A 28-year-old Batavia man is sitting in the Monroe County Jail awaiting further court proceedings on a pair of third degree robbery charges.

Frank L. Schiavi was originally arraigned in Monroe County Court on the two-count indictment against him July 3. He was picked up by U.S. Marshals last week with the assistance of Batavia PD and the Sheriff's Office for allegedly missing a court date.

He is now being held on $5,000 bail or $10,000 bond.

Schiavi is accused of twice robbing a First Niagara Bank location at 532 Chili Ave., Rochester, on Oct. 24 and again on Feb. 6.

Sgt. Elena Correia, public information officer for RPD, said Schiavi allegedly put a mask over his face just prior to entering the bank and once inside he robbed the bank.

In both cases, the suspect fled and RPD conducted an extensive search of the area and no arrest was made.

Although bank employees were able to see the suspect's face in both robberies and the public was alerted to the suspect information through media releases, RPD investigators were unable to develop any concrete leads.

That led investigators to believe the suspect was not from Monroe County.

On the same day as the second robbery, Batavia PD received a report from a concerned citizen about a suspicious person in the area.

Batavia PD and the FBI followed up on the information and obtained a photograph of the suspicious person.

The photo was used to help identify Schiavi as the robbery suspect.

There was apparently no public announcement of Schiavi's arrest at the time. The Batavian learned about the case from a Batavia resident who also claimed knowledge of related law enforcement activity.

The source said there was a subject arrested Monday at an address on Jackson Street. While neighbors said they saw members law enforcement at that address Monday and one neighbor said he saw a man in handcuffs, a check with the Sheriff's Office, Batavia PD and the FBI turned up no record of law enforcement activity at that address on that day. The U.S. Marshal's Office did not return our phone calls, but the U.S. Attorney's Office for WNY also found no records of federal law enforcement activity at that address.

The source also claimed federal law enforcement was looking for a subject who has left the state. While coworkers of a person this subject is believed to be traveling with said that people they believed to be federal agents came looking for the the peson, no agency contacted by The Batavian has any knowledge, they say, of who the person is, and they say he is not the subject of an investigation and they are not actively trying to find him.

It's unknown at this time how much money may have been taken from the banks. 

Two white males are reportedly fighting on Dellinger Avenue and another is yelling from a nearby porch. City police are on scene.

The smell of smoke coming from an apartment at 19 Maple St. prompted city fire to respond and they had to force entry because no one was home. They found burning food on the stove and are now ventilating the residence.

UPDATE 4:52 p.m.: The resident returned. The dwelling was ventilated. The city assignment is back in service.

Boys and girls in grades 9-12 looking to advance their hoop dreams are invited to a basketball mini-camp starting Oct. 7 at Batavia High School.

The camp is hosted by Batavia Boys Varsity Basketball Coach Buddy Brasky and sponsored by the Batavia Boys Basketball Booster Club.

The camp will focus on improving offensive skills and it will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. every Monday and Thursday in October.

The cost is $125 and Brasky said the camp is designed for experienced and serious players only.

For more information, contact Brasky at (585) 356=4050 or e-mail him at mbrasky@bataviacsd.org

A vehicle is believed to have struck a person in a wheelchair in the parking lot of Sport of Kings restaurant on West Main Street. A female is lying in the roadway and has minor injuries. Mercy medics, police and city fire are responding.

A reader sent me a note this morning to draw my attention to the handiwork of a beaver on the Tonawanda Creek near the Lyons Street bridge. This afternoon, I found the beaver's felled tree, perhaps the beginning of a new dam project, and also this blue heron hunting for lunch.

Tom Hunt sent in this picture of the Batavia HS Class of 1963, which held a 50th Anniversary Reunion dinner at Bohn's this past weekend.

A working barn fire is reported 9418 Roanoke Road, Stafford. There is heavy black smoke visible. Stafford Fire Department is responding, along with mutual aid from Bethany, Le Roy, Pavilion and Town of Batavia. The latter is to stand by in Stafford's hall.

UPDATE 7:28 p.m.: A secondary explosion is reported and there is livestock involved.

UPDATE 7:31 p.m.: A firefighter in the area says the barn "looks like it's fully involved."

UPDATE 7:33 p.m.: Command asks that National Grid be contacted.

UPDATE 7:42 p.m.: Stafford commands says all responding tankers can go back in service. The equipment on scene with suffice.

UPDATE 7:44 p.m.: South Byron is asked to stand by in Stafford's fire hall instead of Town of Batavia.

UPDATE 7:46 p.m.: An engine out of Caledonia is asked to stand by in Le Roy's fire hall.

UPDATE 8:03 p.m.: Bethany is back in service.

UPDATE 8:23 p.m.: Howard interviewed property owner Terry Smart at the scene and the man said he lost four pigs, 16 chickens and two dogs in the blaze. He said he had just completed work on his new pig pen today and doesn't know how the fire started. Three years ago, in the same location, his house burned down.

UPDATE 9:13 p.m. (by Howard): Photo at the top by Doug Yeomans. Doug also sent over video that I'll post as soon as it's uploaded to YouTube. We also have our own photos coming.

UPDATE: Video by Doug Yeomans. Copyright by Doug Yoemans. Used with permission.

UPDATE 9:24 p.m.: Le Roy fire back in service.

UPDATE 10:34 p.m.: Stafford units back in service.

A black male reportedly was outside the Holland Land Office Museum on Main Street "striking everything" and he is now in the adjacent Batavia Peace Garden where a female is on her knees; unknown if she was struck. City police are responding.

UPDATE 5:37 p.m.: An officer at the scene told Howard that the situation is "purely medical" and that the passerby was mistaken in what she thinks she saw.

UPDATE 5:39 p.m.: Mercy medics are transporting a patient to UMMC. Police are back in service.

There's more demand than space for student housing, so officials are planning two more housing units at College Village.

The expansion will provide housing for 42 more Genesee Community College students than the 389 accommodated now in the nine existing buildings.

College Village is owned and run by Genesee Community College Foundation Housing Services Inc.,

Director John Sisson shared the development plans with the Town of Batavia Planning Board last night. He said if site plan approval is granted Oct. 1, construction will begin almost immediately with plans to have the new units ready for students at the start of the 2014 school year.

Of course, any discussion of College Village quickly turns to the issue of fire department calls to student housing.

Sisson said the college is working very hard with students to reduce the number of fire calls.  Last fall, there were 24 fire alarms at College Village. So far this year their have been 10.

Town of Batavia fire, an all-volunteer department, responds to each and every call of burnt popcorn, burnt grilled cheese and smoking pots of overcooked soup.

"When they get a call they want to come out," Sisson said. "They support coming to calls 100 percent because it's a high volume of people that needs extra attention paid to them."

College Village now offers cooking classes for students at the start of the year along with fire safety training.

First Assistant Chief Nate Fix conducts a fire safety class that is mandatory for all village residents.

"Nate Fix does a great job," Sisson said. "The students are there. They're attentive and they listen. I think you'll see a reduction in fire calls."

If there is a fire call, once construction is completed, firefighters will find it easier to get their new 80,000-pound ladder truck into the quad, giving the ladder truck access to all the buildings. The sidewalk into the quad is being widened to 24 feet, with concrete poured deeper to support the weight of the truck.

GCC is unique among the state's two-year schools because it attracts about a quarter of its students from outside its market area, said Rick Ensman, director of development and external affairs for GCC.

Even with the expansion, there will remain more demand for student housing than available units, he said.

"Housing adjacent the campus makes or breaks a decision to attend specialized programs," Ensman said.

UPDATE: The total cost of the project is $2.81 million, according to Ensman. That includes all planning, building, furniture, equipment, etc., as well as debt financing. The project will be funded through a private loan to the foundation and repaid through fees paid by students.

It looks like a go for a new Tim Horton's on the west side of Batavia. The Town Planning Board was given a chance to see the final plans for the coffee shop and adjacent retail building last night and it doesn't appear there will be any opposition.

The final site plan is expected to be approved at the board's next meeting Oct. 1.

The location is between West Main Street Road and Lewiston Road behind Rite Aid. There will be driveways on Lewiston Road and Colonial Boulevard.

One Colonial Boulevard resident was at Tuesday's meeting, Amy DiSalvo. Tim Horton's architect Matt Oats showed how the plans included a privacy fence along DiSalvo's property and she said she was satisfied with the plan.

The Tim Horton's will seat 48 people, including 16 in an outdoors patio area. it will also have a drive-thru.

On the West Main Street side of the road will be a retail building that can accommodate from one to three tenants. There are no signed leases yet for the space. 

The entire parcel with both buildings erected will have 45 parking spaces.

Construction on the retail building can begin as soon as the site plan is removed. 

Workers can't build the Tim Horton's building until the current brick building on Lewiston is removed, with demolition requiring environmental approvals.

Bob Bender, project manager for Benderson Development, said he hopes construction can begin in November and weather permitting, construction will take 90 days.

The franchise owner for the location has not yet been announced.

The Wyoming County father who slammed his 7-year-old son to the floor while shopping at Walmart in May will spend nearly six months in jail.

Christopher P. Cummings. 28, could have avoided straight jail time if he hadn't violated the terms of his plea bargain, which included no additional arrests.

Cummings entered a guilty plea in June to one count of endangering the welfare of child and would have received a sentence known as "shock probation" (intermittent jail followed by five years probation). But he was subsequently arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol in Genesee County and on a DWI charge in Wyoming County.

"Whenever you've appeared in court you've been polite and cooperative," said Town of Batavia Judge Thomas Williams. "Outside of court is where the problem is, and it seems you have not really accepted accountability for your conduct. You haven't dealt with the issues that brought you here in the first place."

Cummings said nothing during sentencing nor did Williams ask him for a statement.

He was immediately taken into custody by a deputy in the courtroom along with two other current jail inmates.

Williams also barred Cummings from any contact with his son for three years, though that order could be modified to allow visitation by Family Court.

Cummings was located by State Police within two hours of the incident after a photo of Cummings was posted on The Batavian and dozens of readers contacted local law enforcement agencies with tips.

Police, and readers, were concerned that the boy may have been injured. The boy was not injured in the incident.

Also in Batavia Town Court today:

• Two of the four men suspected of participating in a $10,000 heist of smartphones from the AT&T store on Veterans Memorial Drive appeared in court. The cases of James P. Garcia and Anthony F. Bovenzi-Ortiz were continued until Oct. 15 pending possible grand jury indictment or a plea offer.
• John J. Saddler, 26, charged with attempted rape, appeared in court and his attorney Mehmet Okay said he was seeking a pre-trial hearing for his client. ADA Will Zickl said he would oppose such a hearing at this time because there is a parole detainer on Saddler. Justice Williams acknowledged that under state bail guidelines he should not have set bail for Saddler (at $10,000) at his initial court appearance, though bail was continued at that amount pending any possible petition by Saddler to Judge Robert C. Noonan in County Court for a bail review.

On Friday, we reported on an inmate at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility who was taken to UMMC after missing 55 straight meals while on a hunger strike. We sought further information from Immigration Customs Enforcment and today received this statement from Vincent Picard, a public information officer with ICE:

A Liberian immigration detainee at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility was placed on Hunger Strike protocol by the ICE Health Service Corps Aug. 28 after missing nine consecutive meals. He was hospitalized Sept. 13 in order to ensure he receives appropriate medical care and supervision. The detainee, who was convicted of felony burglary in Virginia in 2011, has stopped eating in protest of his pending removal from the United States.

Over the last four years, ICE has focused on sensible, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators.

The inmate remains hospitalized at this time.

Gregory S. Snyder, 45, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful possession of marijuana. The Wyoming County Sheriff's Office received two separate complaints of a man walking in the middle of the roadway on Route 98, Town of Attica. About 90 minutes later, there was a complaint of a man walking in the middle of the roadway on Route 98 in the Town of Bennington. Synder was reportedly located by deputies walking on Route 98. Snyder was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing the flow of traffic. Upon his arrest he was allegedly found in possession of marijuana. Snyder was reportedly transported to the Village of Attica and released to a sober third party.

Charles Howard Sims, 43, of McIntyre Road, Caledonia, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing and two counts of criminal mischief. Sims allegedly choked a woman during a domestic incident. He also allegedly ripped her shirt and also damaged a door. Sims was jailed on $250 bail.

Jacob Duane Defisher, 17, Roanoke Road, Pavilion, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Defisher allegedly pushed another person and then punched that person causing the person's lip to bleed and swell.

Louis Michael Biro, 52, of East Shelby Road, Oakfield, is charged with DWI, refusal to take breath test, failure to stop for stop sign, speeding (unreasonable speed, special hazards), unapproved/no face shield on motorcycle. Biro was allegedly driving at the time when a one-vehicle accident occurred involving a motorcycle at 10:12 p.m. Sept. 9 on Bloomingdale Road, Alabama. The accident was investigated by Deputy James Diehl.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing fire hydrants on Tuesday Sept. 17 from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the general area north of East Main Street and east of Bank Street. Homes and businesses nearby will be affected.

These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area. As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored. If you do experience a discoloration of your water, run cold water for about five minutes or until clear.