batavia

A fire with flames showing is reported at 3 Walnut St., between South Main Street and Walnut Place in the City of Batavia.

"Looks like a pretty good header in the air," says a first responder.

Flames showing from the second story of the two-story wooden residence.

It's gone to a second alarm.

City fire is responding along with mutual aid from Darien, Town of Batavia and Alexander fire, plus Mercy Medics.

"Engine #11 has water on the fire," a firefighter reports.

UPDATE 6:58 p.m.: "Fire knocked down," says command.

UPDATE 8:59 p.m.: City Engine #12 is responding.

UPDATE 9:01 p.m.: City Engine #12 is on scene.

UPDATE 9:07 p.m.: Alexander #101 on scene. City #17 en route to 3 Walnut. "Fire is out," reports command. "Overhauling."

UPDATE 9:10 pm.: City #17 is on scene. Darien is told to continune in non-emergency mode.

UPDATE 10:11 p.m. (By Howard): The cause of the fire is still under investigation said Chief Stephen Napolitano. There were no injuries. All residents evacuated before firefighters were on scene. The upstairs apartment, where the fire started, was occupied by two adults and an infant. The downstairs apartment was occupied by one adult and a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old. One family can stay with friends or family; the other family will be assisted by the Red Cross. There is heavy smoke damage and the utilities to the building have been turned off. Video will be posted later.

UPDATE 10:34 p.m.: A police patrol has been asked to search the area of the Walnut Street footbridge for a beagle with a leash attached. The dog was last seen running from the fire in that direction.

Photo by Andrea Stasko.

A fence is reportedly on fire, flames showing, at 21 Trumbull Parkway, Batavia.

City fire responding.

Batavia, New York, residents young and old donned Halloween costumes of all colors, shapes, and sizes at the Trunk or Treat event hosted by Just Kings Social Club, a newly formed racial justice group that advocates for community members of color. Outreach events like Trunk or Treat are part of the organization’s initiative to mobilize for criminal justice reform, a political issue at the forefront of the 2020 election.

Though the group is not affiliated with Black Lives Matter, Just Kings has shown its solidarity with nationwide police reform movements following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Just Kings has organized outreach events like the June 7 “March for Justice” protest in downtown Batavia and Juneteenth “Teach Thy Neighbor” celebration at the YWCA of Genesee County.

Over 400 demonstrators attended the March for Justice, and the organization has received an outpouring of community support on its Facebook page. In addition to large gatherings, Just Kings works with those in need of financial assistance and emotional support on an individual basis. 

“From giving free haircuts and back-to-school bags to selling chicken barbecues to put on things like [Trunk or Treat], the community’s responded, and it’s been awesome,” said Just Kings member Otis Thomas. “They’re enjoying the movement, and we’re going to keep pushing forward and hoping for bigger and better things.”

Eventgoers spoke highly of the grassroots organizing work that Just Kings is doing to bring all Batavia and Genesee County, New York, residents into a cohesive discussion about racial justice.

“Every single member of Just Kings really has their heart put into this,” supporter MaKayla Armstrong said. “They’re really trying to make Batavia a better place, a safe place.”

Vocalizing Underrepresented Concerns About Police Reform

Three Just Kings members are on the City of Batavia Police Collaboration Advisory Stakeholder Group, a board of local leaders and residents tasked with reimagining the city’s policing practices. One of the original objectives of Just Kings was to join the board. Group members said it is meaningful to be engaged in dialogue with the Batavia Police Department.

“To be invited, to have a few of our members on that board, was a huge accomplishment for us, not for the clout but for the actual voice that we can have in the community,” Just Kings member Haven Armstrong said.

As one of the first community groups for people of color in Genesee County, which is a predominantly white, conservative region, Just Kings has been spearheading efforts to gain representation for Black and brown residents and confront the racial disparities that exist in local policing policies.

“We felt for years being from here and living here so long that our voice was kind of suppressed,” he said. “Having the members that we know that are out doing the right things or trying to make an actual reform happen … was huge for us and the community.”

Gaining Representation and Reform Through the Vote

Criminal justice reform has also been taking place at the polls. Encouraging voting among its supporters is a component of Just Kings’ work to educate youth and raise awareness of racial inequalities at the local level.

“When it all comes down to it, this is a good place to be,” Just Kings member Oraid Edwards said. “We want to prove that but, at the same time, make changes so that way equality spreads throughout.”

To facilitate those changes, Just Kings has shared voting resources with its supporters so they are informed about how to cast their ballots this election season.

“We believe the local government — your governor and your local things in your city — is what’s really going to matter for us right now,” Thomas said. “… Get out and vote. Push the [police reform] issue. If you’re 18 or over and you have that voice, use it.”

Lauren Leone is a journalism student at Ithaca College, a graduate of Batavia High School, and a former intern for The Batavian. This article originally appeared in Ithaca Week.

Bottom video by Howard Owens/The Batavian. The video was runner-up in the Best Multimedia Competition in 2020 sponsored by Local Independent Online News Publishers (LION).

Two employees at Jackson Primary School tested positive for COVID-19 and were symptomatic while on campus so Superintendent Anibal Soler today announced that the school will be moving to 100-percent virtual learning for the next two weeks starting tomorrow.

Jackson, with pupils in grades pre-kindergarten through second, is the only school in the City School district moving to virtual learning for the time being.

"This has caused a growing number of students and staff to be identified and deemed in “close contact” and they will need to quarantine for a 14-day window immediately," Soler said. "Staff and students who have been identified as 'close contact' will be notified by both school administration and the Genesee County Health Department starting today."

Virtual learning will be in effect until Nov. 30.

"This decision was extremely difficult as I know the impact that this has on our students and families," Soler said. "As positive cases continue to grow in our Genesee County region, please know that this decision was done out of extreme caution to protect our youngest learners, families, and staff."

Letter to parents and staff:

I am writing to provide you an important update regarding COVID-19 and Jackson Primary School.  

I have been notified and in contact with the Genesee County Health Department and the District’s Medical Director that there have been two positive COVID-19 cases on the Jackson Primary campus. The employees were in school while exhibiting symptoms. As a result, this has caused a growing number of students and staff to be identified and deemed in “close contact” and they will need to quarantine for a 14-day window immediately. Staff and students who have been identified as “close contact” will be notified by both school administration and the Genesee County Health Department starting today. 

Out of an abundance of caution, we will be moving Jackson Primary School to 100-percent Virtual Remote Learning effective immediately and will return back to our hybrid in-person learning model on Monday, Nov. 30.

This decision was extremely difficult as I know the impact that this has on our students and families. As positive cases continue to grow in our Genesee County region, please know that this decision was done out of extreme caution to protect our youngest learners, families and staff. 

This extended period of in-person learning closure is our attempt to disrupt the spread of COVID-19 on our Jackson Primary campus and will hopefully avoid us having multiple interruptions or closures to our school programming as we continue to await additional test results.

Please also note, all non-identified staff will report to work tomorrow as normal to continue to teach and support students remotely. Access to meals including breakfast and lunch, will continue to be provided daily for any individual 18 and under in the household.  

New York State has launched the “School COVID Report Card” site, where you can view COVID-19 data associated with all schools in New York. To protect the privacy of students and staff, we will never release personally identifiable information.

Please continue to be vigilant in your efforts and help us prevent the spread of COVID-19. For additional reliable information on preventing the spread of COVID-19, please go to www.cdc.gov or www.health.ny.gov. 

Please also don’t hesitate to contact Jackson Primary School or the District if you have any questions or concerns. 

Better Together… WE are Batavia!

Anibal Soler Jr.

Superintendent of Schools

A small group of local residents drove through Batavia this evening, honking horns in cars adorned with political signs, to celebrate the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris victory in the 2020 presidential election.

A car vs. pedestrian accident is reported at East Main and Summit streets in the City of Batavia. The victim has a head laceration. Mercy Flight #7 is put on ground standby in the Batavia hangar. Mercy medics are on scene along with city police, and city fire is responding.

East Main Street will be shut down at Ross Street.

UPDATE 8:09 p.m.: The patient is reportedly in cardiac arrest.

UPDATE 8:22 p.m.: The victim will be transported by ambulance to the hangar in Batavia and then via Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

UPDATE 9:45 p.m. (By Howard): Based on witness accounts gathered by police at the scene, it appears the person who was struck ran across the street and was struck by a minivan. Unconfirmed by police but according to witnesses at the scene, he may have been with another person who fled the scene.  The victim was administered CPR at the scene. He may be transported to Strong by Mercy Flight but he was first taken to UMMC where he apparently remains under treatment. The driver of the minivan, an older gentleman, appeared uninjured but was transported to UMMC for evaluation. His wife arrived on scene after the accident and comforted him. The Crash Management Team for the Sheriff's Office is on scene to assist with the investigation.

The victim has not been identified.

UPDATE 12:19 a.m.;  Press release:

At approximately 8:02 p.m. on 11/06/2020, the Genesee County Dispatch center was notified of a car/pedestrian accident that occurred on East Main Street just east of Summit Street. Officers from the Batavia Police Department, along with the City of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy Medics, responded where the male pedestrian was found with severe injuries, laying in the middle of the roadway. The pedestrian was transported to UMMC where he was later pronounced dead.

The preliminary investigation shows the vehicle was heading east on East Main Street when the pedestrian entered the roadway just east of Summit Street. The pedestrian was on the south side of the roadway and heading north. The vehicle struck the pedestrian as he was crossing the road. The investigation is still ongoing and no further updates should be expected until 11/09/2020. The identity of the pedestrian is being withheld at this time at the family’s request.

Anyone with information in reference to the case may contact Detective Sergeant Lutey at (585) 345-6311 or the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350, the confidential tip line at (585) 345-6370.

Fire, possibly leaves or rubbish, was reported between residences at 7 and 9 Farwell Drive. Now flames are showing and a garage has caught fire. City fire is responding.

UPDATE 4:04 p.m.: Fire is out.

Jennifer M. Moore, 35, of River Street, Batavia, is charged with: two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, a Class B felony; and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a Class B felony. It is alleged that Moore sold crack cocaine to an agent of the Genesee County Local Drug Task Force on two separate occasions. Moore, who had an active arrest warrant, was located sitting in a vehicle that was parked in a parking lot on Park Road in the Town of Batavia, where she was taken into custody. She was also allegedly in possession of crack cocaine at the time of her arrest. Moore was arraigned in Genesee County Court and released under the supervision of Genesee Justice. The task force is comprised of law enforcement officers from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, the Batavia Police Department, and the Village of Le Roy Police Department. The task force was assisted by deputies and the District Attorney's Office.

James O. Weathers, 47, of Teralta Street, Rochester, and Ayeola N. Williams, 46, of East Path Rise, West Henrietta, were arrested on Oct. 31 on Route 33 in the Town of Stafford. At 12:38 a.m., Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore was on patrol in a marked Sheriff's vehicle and stopped their vehicle after observing a traffic violation. Williams was the driver and was put through field sobriety tests, which she allegedly failed. Further investigation and a vehicle search allegedly found marijuana and a loaded firearm. She is charged with: criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree -- a loaded firearm, which is a Class C felony; driving while ability impaired by alcohol, a violation; speeding -- over 55 mph, a violation; and operating a motor vehicle while having an open container of an alcoholic beverage in the vehicle. Her passenger, Weathers, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, too. The District Attorney was consulted for bail recommendations and the defendants were arraigned by Town of Alabama Judge Pamela Thurber via Skype due to COVID-19 protocols. Both were then put in jail with Williams bail set at $1,000 cash or bond; Weathers' bail was set at $15,000 cash or $30,000 bond. The case was investigated by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore, assisted by Deputy Nicholas Chamoun.

Charlene Rae Cook, 31, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree harassment, resisting arrest and second-degree criminal contempt. Cook was arrested after a domestic incident at 1:10 p.m. Oct. 25 on Liberty Street for allegedly violating an order of protection. She was arraigned in Batavia City Court and put in jail on $5,000 cash bail, $10,000 bond, or $20,000 partially secured bond. She was due to return to city court on Oct. 28. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Felicia DeGroot, assisted by Officer Nicole McGinnis.

Kevin Maurice McCoy, 54, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree criminal contempt and failure to appear in court as ordered. At 7:54 p.m. on Oct. 31, McCoy was arrested after allegedly violating a stay away order of protection by being in the presence of the protected party on East Main Street. There was also an arrest warrant for him out of Batavia City Court. McCoy was arraigned in Batavia City Court and put in jail, with bail set at $1,500 cash, $3,000 bond or $6,000 partially secured bond. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer John Gombos, assisted by Officer Samuel Freeman.

Brandon C. Dodd, 33, of Highland Park, Batavia, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny -- theft of a motor vehicle; and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. At about 1 a.m. on Nov. 1, Dodd was arrested after the theft of a motor vehicle at a residence on Highland Park. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court via Skype and is due there on Nov. 10. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Joshua Girvin, assisted by Officer Nicole McGinnis.

Mathew Ray Albaugh, 35, of Townline Road, Bergen, is charged with driving while intoxicated and speeding -- exceeding 55 mph. At 1:42 a.m. on Nov. 1, Albaugh was arrested on Townline Road in Bergen after a traffic stop for speeding. It is alleged he was driving over 55 mph while having a BAC of .08 or more. He was released on an appearance ticket to be in Bergen Town Court on Nov. 11. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore.

Kristen Elizabeth Sekuterski, 34, of Orleans Avenue, Batavia, is charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs -- first offense; and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. Following a "check-the-welfare complaint" at 10:04 a.m. Oct. 30 on Alleghany Road in the Town of Pembroke, Sekuterski was arrested. She was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Pembroke Town Court on Nov. 19. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Forsyth, assisted by Deputy Ryan DeLong.

Justin D. McQuillen, 32, of Freeman Road, Byron, is charged with: driving while intoxicated -- with a BAC of .08 percent or more; DWI -- common law; and speeding. McQuillen was arrested Oct. 31 on Oak Street after allegedly being observed speeding at 8:52 p.m. He was released on appearance tickets and is due in Batavia City Court on Feb. 3. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Sean Wilson, assisted by Officer Mitchell Cowen.

Benjamin G. Evans IV, 32, of Federal Drive, Batavia, is charged with second-degree criminal contempt. He was arrested Oct. 30 after allegedly not following court mandate on Oct. 19. Evans was issued an appearance ticket to be in Batavia City Court on Nov. 10. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy  Jacob Gauthier, assisted by Kenneth Quackenbush.

Tricia Marie Ruth Martinez, 27, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. She was arrested after allegedly agreeing to purchase a Halloween costume from the victim and then taking the costume without paying for it at 5 p.m. Oct. 30 on Colby Road in Darien. Martinez was issued a ticket to appear in Darien Town Court on Dec. 1. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Gauthier.

Walter Tomlin Snell, 32, of Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with failure to appear. He was arrested Oct. 26 when located by Genesee County Probation after allegedly failing to appear in court as scheduled. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and released on his own recognizance. He is due back in city court Nov. 18. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Felicia DeGroot.

Press release:

The forecast for the weekend looks warm and sunny! You are invited to enjoy one last Yoga in the Park with Elena, 200 RYT*, for a slow vinyasa flow with a short guided meditation.

We will start class by setting an intention, flow through a series of poses and finish with a guided meditation.

Register here through Eventbrite. Chance of rain is small, however you will receive an email no later than one hour before class if cancelled.

Please bring your own mat, water, and blanket. Dress for the weather! If you typically use a block, you may choose to bring one. Social distancing will be followed, please wear your mask until you roll out your mat.

November Food Drive for the Little Free Pantry and Fridge

You are invited to bring nonperishable or perishable food (fresh and frozen) to Yoga in the Park and help fill the bellies of families experiencing food insecurity in our neighborhoods. There will be a collection box at the park for your donations. Whether a need for food or a need to give, mini pantries help neighbors feed neighbors, nourishing neighborhoods.

The Little Free Pantry is a grassroots, crowdsourced solution to immediate and local need.

The Free Little Free Pantry and Fridge we are stocking Saturday was started in the summer by a resident on State Street who wanted to make a difference in her neighborhood. The Good Samaritan was joined in her efforts by Blue Pearl Yoga, Ryan’s Rose Organic Farm on Rose Road in Batavia, Sharon and Michael Kubiniec, DDS, The Just Kings, and others.

It is located outside Kubiniec’s dentistry office at 180 Washington Ave. in Batavia and is open every day with updates posted on Facebook.

Soon, a collection box for future food donations will be available soon in the first-floor foyer of the Yoga Studio at 200 E. Main St. in Downtown Batavia, as well as other locations around Batavia.

• Yoga in Centennial Park -- FREE
• Food Drive Donations Gratefully Accepted
• 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7
• 151 State St., Batavia

*Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) is a designation given by the Yoga Alliance U.S. to an individual who has completed the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification.

Restoration work on the Richmond Mausoleum was recently completed by the Batavia Cemetery Association.

A global pandemic didn't dampen Halloween spirits in Batavia though many people took care to keep their distance and wear masks as trick-or-treaters descended on area homes.

These photos were taken on Redfield Parkway and Ellicott Avenue.

 

From the mid 1800s until the 1960s Batavia could rightfully be called a railroad town. With four different rail lines going through it from Walnut Street, through the Jackson / Ellicott area and across Harvester Avenue and Cedar Street, there was train traffic 24 hours a day.

Many of the local men employed by the railroads were of Irish or Italian descent. So, on a summer day along the line you could probably smell the aroma of boiling potatoes and corned beef (on the rare occasions when it could be afforded) or garlicky marinara sauce made with homegrown tomatoes wafting from open windows.

There are many former or current Batavians of a certain age (meaning old) whose parents or grandparents made their living working for one of the rail lines in some capacity. I think my grandfather was unique in that regard because in his 30-year career he worked in several varied job positions for three different railroads: the Lehigh Valley, Erie, and New York Central.

James D. Reilly was my paternal grandfather. He died in 1931, 16 years before I came along. He was born in 1870 in Mendon to Irish immigrants Patrick and Bridget Costello O'Reilly. Patrick, who was a farm laborer, and Bridget raised six children in a house about the size of today's two-car garage. The term “dirt poor” certainly applied to them -- all the way down to the earthen-floored root cellar of their tiny house.

Rochester Junction

The house was located very close to Rochester Junction, which was a stop and transfer point on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. From there some passengers would switch trains onto a spur, which went to downtown Rochester to a station now occupied by the popular Dinosaur Barbecue Restaurant on Court Street.

As today's patrons gobble down ribs and sauce-slathered brisket they might picture in their mind the chaotic hubbub of travelers in their suits, bowler hats and corseted dresses rushing to and from the steam-emitting trains.

About 1900 James D. Reilly got a job as a laborer working for the Lehigh Valley. By 1905 he had moved to the position of Towerman and worked in the interlocking tower at Rochester Junction. It was the responsibility of the men in the tower to operate the switching equipment to enable trains to change from one track to another.

Every model railroad enthusiast worth his salt (or coal) knows that each rail company had their own distinctive color scheme for their towers. The Lehigh Valley was light and dark gray, the Erie was dark green, and so on.

The Batavia tower shown in the top photo of the track gang at the Jackson and Ellicott Street crossing was eventually bought and moved to Fairport and placed next to the Erie Canal, where it now serves as the office for a canoe rental company. This is somewhat ironic because it was the boom in railroad transportation that sounded the death knell for the canal in the late 1800s.

When James was a towerman, according to the 1905 State Census and the Mendon Town Historian Diane Ham, it is likely that he was living on railroad property in a small “shanty” with his wife, Catherine Nussbaumer Reilly, whom he had married in 1904, and her elderly father George.

By 1910 James was promoted to foreman of a track crew. It was harder work but more pay. Track maintenance was backbreaking work in the blazing heat of summer and even harder in the freezing and snowy winters, but the family needed the money.

By then his father-in-law had passed away and he and my grandmother had two children, George and Margaret. They moved to a rented house still near the railroad but near what is now Clover Street in Mendon.

Moved to Batavia

In 1911 my father James Francis was born and then my aunt Katherine in 1913, both in Mendon. At this point the Reillys (the O had been dropped from their name) with a growing family had need for better housing. You can almost hear my grandmother saying to her husband, “James, I'm sick of living in shacks with all these kids! We need a house!” So, about 1915 the family moved to Batavia. Their final child, Mary, was born there in 1919.

In Batavia, James continued as a track gang foreman, but with the Erie Railroad. At first the family lived in a rented place on Wiard Street off East Main Street between Bank and Summit streets.

But sometime before 1920 he finally was able to purchase his own home at 27 Cedar St. The house wasn't large, but had three bedrooms and two floors, which must have seemed like a mansion to someone who grew up in what was little more than a shack.

The house was directly adjacent to the four tracks of the New York Central Railroad. Chugging and hissing steam engine trains passed by at all hours of the day and night, plus they lived next to a crossing so whistles had to be blown on every approach.

This cacophony of sound might have bothered some people, but the Reillys were used to it and slept like proverbial babies.

Their next-door neighbor was Marty O' Brien, another Irish immigrant and also a railroad employee. Back in those days, crossing gates had to be raised and lowered manually and that was Marty's job, so he just had to walk past Reilly's house to his work shanty by the tracks. Marty played the violin and would bring memories of faraway Ireland with his tunes.

Cedar Street was the ideal place for railroad employees to live because the tracks of four rails -- Erie, New York Central, Peanut and Lehigh Valley -- all bisected that road at some point. But, since three of the railroads crossed Cedar at street level (the Lehigh had a bridge) traffic could be held up interminably -- horse-drawn wagons and later automobiles.

Union Man

James was a loyal union man and paid dues of $3.50 every six months to The United Brotherhood of Maintenance and Way Employes (sic) who were affiliates with the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

This union membership paid off for him when sometime between 1920 and 1925 he sustained a serious leg injury on the job. Apparently, a section of track was inadvertently dropped on his limb causing a severe enough injury so as to make it impossible to continue on the track crew.

However, the union stepped in to make sure their brother and his family would be provided for by arranging a transfer to the New York Central Railroad. In the late 1800s that railroad had built and staffed a nursery in Batavia for the purpose of growing and providing plants and flowers for all the grounds of NYC Stations between Buffalo and Syracuse. 

James was assigned to that nursery to raise and care for the flowers as it was a less strenuous task for a man with a debilitating condition, but one that continued to enable him to earn a salary.

The End of the Line

Unfortunately, my grandfather was stubborn about his medical care, as it seems many men were in that time, and he refused to see a doctor on a regular basis. In 1931 he developed sepsis (blood poisoning) due to continued infection in his leg.

He passed away at the age of 61 in his home on Cedar Street next to railroad tracks that had been a part of his life for 30 years.

It is a fanciful notion, but it gives comfort to think that perhaps as James D. Reilly passed from this life a lonesome whistle blew on a passing train signaling the end of shift for a hard-working railroad man.

Epilogue: Even though James D. Reilly had passed away, the house at 27 Cedar St. remained a part of the Reilly family for almost 60 more years. In 1939 his wife Catherine, my grandmother, also died there.

Their son George, my uncle, married in the early 1940s and purchased a house up the street at 5 Cedar St. He and his wife, Helen, lived there until the 1980s when he passed away.

James' and Catherine's daughters, Catherine and Margaret (my aunts Kate and Peg) never married and lived at 27 Cedar until 1990. Neither of them ever had a driver's license but they both managed to work at the P. W. Minor Shoe Factory on State Street for more than 40 years.

My brothers and I spent many an hour and night at our aunts' house. We could always count on two Christmases, two Easters, and two Halloweens, courtesy of aunts Kate and Peg who fondly (and embarrassingly) called each of us “Honey Boy."

The New York Central was moved farther down Cedar Street in the late 1950s when the tracks became an interference with traffic in the City of Batavia. You could certainly still hear the sounds of the trains, but it no longer seemed that they were barreling right through the living room.

In 1989 Kate died and soon thereafter Peg went to a nursing home. The contents of the longtime Reilly home were disposed of at auction and the house was sold. It was the end of a 75-year era of Reillys at 27 Cedar St. in Batavia. 

Top photo: Track crew at the intersection of the Erie and New York Central railroads in Batavia circa early 1900s, from the Dan Orr Collection courtesy of the Holland Land Office Museum.

Photo below: James D. Reilly, right, his daughter Mary Reilly and an unidentified man sitting outside a railroad crossing guard shanty in Batavia in the early 1920s. Courtesy of Dave Reilly.

Below: Interlocking tower at Rochester Junction in the early 1900s, courtesy of Diane Ham, Town of Mendon historian.

Bottom, postcard of New York Central Railroad Station in Batavia in the early 1900s, courtesy of the Holland Land Office Museum.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department joins fire departments nationwide in promoting the annual “Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery” campaign on Sunday, Nov. 1. Fire Chief Stefano Napolitano encourages all residents to adopt the simple, life-saving habit of changing smoke alarm batteries when they change their clocks back from daylight savings time to standard time.

“It’s an easy, inexpensive, and proven way to protect your family and your home,” Chief Napolitano said. “Plus with winter quickly approaching and most everyone turning their heating systems on, it also makes this an ideal time to make sure your heating system is working properly. This is a great opportunity to check your carbon monoxide detectors as well.”

Today’s home fires grow in size faster than ever, typically allowing as little as one to two minutes to escape a home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds, due to current home furnishings burning faster and producing more toxic gases and smoke. One thing that is instrumental in reducing deaths is to close doors to prevent the fire from spreading and to facilitate escape.

Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with either no smoke alarms or non-working smoke alarms. Smoke alarm failures usually result from missing or dead batteries or disconnected wires. The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most families are sleeping; a working smoke alarm provides the critical extra time needed to get out safely.

According to the NFPA, the maximum life cycle of a smoke alarm is 10 years from the date of manufacture, not the date of installation. Beginning in 2002, all smoke alarms must have a manufacture date marked on the outside of the smoke alarm. If your smoke alarm does not have a manufacture date or if you’ve had it for more than 10 years, it needs to be replaced.

The City of Batavia Fire Department recommends purchasing smoke alarms with 10-year lithium batteries. All smoke alarms should be tested monthly.

"The City of Batavia Fire Department has a free smoke alarm installation program,” Chief Napolitano said. “If you do not have a smoke detector or if you are unsure the batteries are working properly, members of the City of Batavia Fire Department will come to your home and ensure that you have a working smoke detector, absolutely free of charge. Call (585) 345-6375 to set up an in-home appointment.”

Photo by Howard Owens.