batavia

One person has been arrested, and one suspect is still at large, in a rash of vehicle break-ins in the City of Batavia over the past month, the Batavia Police Department said this afternoon.

In a press release, the police department indicated the break-ins are ongoing -- if they can be called break-ins -- because most of the times, the cars hit have been unlocked over night.

In most cases, GPS systems and other electronics as well as money and personal checks have been stolen.

Police investigators continue to urge people to lock their vehicles and not leave anything of value insides. GPS units are of particular interest to the thieves.

The name of the suspect arrested was not released.

Tips that might lead to the arrest of suspects can be called into 345-6350 or Det. Kevin Czora at 345-6311.

UPDATE: I asked Det. Czora if the name of the suspect already in custody could be released and he said he is withholding the name while the investigation is in progress.  The release of the name, he said, could jeopardize the eventual capture of the second suspect.

I also asked him about the suggestion brought up in comments on The Batavian when we reported on these burglaries last month that the police try a sting operation, and he said that wouldn't necessarily work in this case because the thieves are operating throughout the city. Their complete M.O. is to seek targets of opportunity -- unlocked cars -- which Czora said are numerous throughout the city.

"If we could just get people to start locking their cars and keeping their valuables out of their cars, it would be slimmer pickings," he said.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, C, I – Batavia) announced his second annual Patriot Trip for veterans to tour Washington, D.C.  This special trip is scheduled for Sept. 24-27 and is being jointly hosted by Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26).

“Last year’s trip was a very special and memorable trip for me on many levels: as a representative, as a veteran and as the son of a veteran," Hawley said. "I was thrilled to be able to share the experience with so many veterans from our region and am even more excited for this year’s expanded trip. I would like to thank Congressman Lee for his support and assistance in the planning of this trip."

The trip, dubbed Patriot Trip II, will include round-trip private-coach transportation from Western New York to Washington, D.C. and accommodations at the Crossroads Hotel on Quantico Marine Base.

It also includes tours of the nation’s Capitol and Arlington Cemetery, as well as visits to a number of monuments and memorials, including World War II, Korean, Vietnam, FDR, Jefferson and Iwo Jima, among other tours and visits. Additionally, the trip includes admission to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the Smithsonian Museum and Quantico Marine Military Museum.

“Any time our veterans take the opportunity to visit our nation’s capital, it’s an important event,” said Congressman Lee. “It’s not uncommon to see vets at our war memorials surrounded by grateful tourists and fellow citizens. I hope all local veterans will seek to take advantage of this unique opportunity. Assemblyman Hawley continues to do great work on behalf of our local veterans, and I look forward to working with him to ensure this trip is a success.”

While many veterans were sent a mailer with the trip’s original dates, due to military personnel commitments at the hotel, the trip’s dates have been changed to Sept. 24-27.  Assemblyman Hawley, who's also Ranking Member of the Assembly Veterans’ Affairs Committee, would like to encourage all veterans within the 139th Assembly District who did not receive the mailing, to call his office and ask to be put on the mailing list.

For more information about the trip and its details, pricing, or to sign-up for the trip or mailing list, please call Assemblyman Hawley’s District Office at (585) 589-5780.

The New York State Police in Allegany County are asking the public for assistance in locating the following person.

Name:  Diane C. Burdick
DOB:  09/08/58 – Age 50

Height:  5’3”
Weight:  100 lbs
Hair:  Red – shoulder length
Eyes:  Hazel

Last seen 10:00 PM on 07/08/09 at 3569 State Route 244
T/Ward, Allegany County

Anyone having contact with the subject is asked to contact the State Police in Amity at 585-268-9030.

Welcome to Batavia, Mr. Douglas Randall. We're sure you will be a fine replacement for retiring City Code Enforcement Officer Mike Smith.

But if you want to keep your job, you better move to Batavia before July -- of next year.

Essentially, that will be the vote before the City Council at tonight's 7 o'clock meeting when the council is asked to approve a residency waiver for Randell, giving him time to locate a suitable abode.

The City of Batavia will go into the real estate business tonight, considering a proposal to sell 19 acres of land to the Town of Batavia for $150,000.

The land could serve number of needs for joint facilities, including a potential location for a Genesee County Chamber of Commerce facility, maybe the visitors' center, according to Town Engineer Steve Mountain. who spoke with WBTA this morning. 

Previously, Assemblyman Steve Hawley pushed through legislation in Albany that would enable Elba, Oakfield and both the town and city of Batavia to share a court facility.

The 19-acre location is on the south side of Park Road near Oak Street.

The City Council meets tonight in Council Chambers at 7 o'clock.

UPDATE: Curious about the Chamber of Commerce plans, I called Steve Lockwood, chamber chairman, who replied via e-mail: "There is no item on the City Council’s agenda that involves the Chamber.  I have no comment to make."

The driver of a black Pontiac Grand Am or Grand Prix that reportedly hit a motorcycle on Walnut Street on Friday night and then fled the scene is being sought by Batavia Police.

The motorcycle driver, Justin Fagan, 22, who suffered an injury to his lower leg, told police he had seen the Pontiac behind him on Route 98 driving at a high rate of speed and weaving in and out of traffic. Both the car and the motorcycle were northbound on Walnut when they approached the construction area in the 100 block and Fagan said he slowed down and moved left to try avoid being hit.

The black Pontiac allegedly maintained its original speed, striking the motorcycle in the rear, sideswiping it and then continuing northbound on Walnut Street, turning right onto Law Street (its only option with Walnut closed to northbound traffic at that point).

Fagan's passenger, Emily O'Brien (age not available), suffered an unspecified back injury.

Both O'Brien and Fagan were taken to UMMC, but both have apparently been released as of today.

Witnesses at the scene Friday night complained that even with the rough road during construction, cars continue to drive the street faster than they should.

"This was bound to happen," said Walnut Street resident T.J. McAllister. "See how bumpy it is. Look at that police car and how much it's bouncing even as slow as its going.  People come through here going twice as fast. It's just crazy."

Det. Richard Schauf, Batavia Police Department, said the police are aware of speed problems along Walnut and Law streets and are doing as much as possible to address it.

"Whenever we have somebody available that's an area we try to enforce," Schauf said. "We try to be visible."

Another witness, Joe Elmore, who was first on the scene, described Fagan as a bit of a hero, sacraficing his own body to keep his bike upright.

"He said he did everything he could to protect his girlfriend," Elmore said. "He broke his leg just trying to hold up his bike."

Batavia resident Mark Blanch is competing this week in Seattle at the 2009 National Veterans Wheelchair Games, according the D&C.

Blanch, 52, will compete in swimming, table tennis, track and field and pool.

“We’re not people that sit around the house and do nothing,” Blanch said. “We like doing things. We like competing and every one of us feel that we’re not disabled.”

Blanch was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1992.

LaToya D. Jackson, 23, of 25 Hutchins St., Upper, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Jackson allegedly caused a disturbance at Goade Park early Saturday morning about 4 a.m.. She allegedly resisted arrest while being taken into custody. Jackson was placed in Genesee County Jail on $2,000 bail.

Brandt L. Arnold, 28, of 752 Reynolds Road, Darien, is charged with harassment. Arnold allegedly grabbed a woman by her wrist, dragged her to the ground and would not let her get up. He is held on $450 bail. The alleged incident occurred Sunday about 11:45 p.m..

John Nicholas Vaccaro, 21, of 7081 Transit Road, East Amherst, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Vaccaro was reportedly a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation when he was allegedly found in possession of marijuana.

Andrew James Ahmad, 22, of 4120 Gunville Road, Clarence, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Ahmad was reportedly the driver of a vehicle pulled over for an alleged traffic violation. Marijuana was reportedly found in his pants' pocket.

Daniel W. Winters, 25, of 125 Kenwick, Rochester, is charged with DWI. Winters was taken into custody following a traffic stop just after midnight Sunday on Sumner Road in Darien. Winters is also charged with driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. His license was reportedly previously revoked. He was taken to jail on $7,500 bail.

Zachary D. Parisi, 20, of 1752 Broadway, Grand Island, is charged with DWI. Parisi was stopped on Colby Road in Darien for allegedly crossing a double yellow line while driving his 2004 Ford Mustang. Parisi was also charged with driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. The incident occurred at 10:38 p.m. Saturday.

Jesse Matthew Caudill, 28, of 5373 Wethersfield Road, Silver Springs, is accused of causing a disturbance in the beer tent of the Alexander Tractor Pull on Friday night. Caudill allegedly took an open-handed swing at Deputy J.L. Baiocco. Caudill was charged with harassment and issued an appearance ticket.

Ronald E. Quayle, Jr., 42, of 305 Mason Road, Mohawk, was charged with DWI Thursday about 11:45 p.m. following a traffic stop on Route 33 near Lovers Lane Road. Quayle was allegedly driving with a BAC of .08 or greater.  He was also issued a ticket for allegedly driving 67 m.p.h. in a 55 m.p.h. zone. and a ticket for an alleged failure to keep right.

Charles R. Engel, 39, of 1835 E. Albert St., Philadelphia, Pa., was charged with DWI for allegedly driving  while intoxicated on Main Road in Stafford early Friday morning. He was also charged with driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, speed over 55 m.p.h., driving left of pavement markings and moving from a lane unsafely.

This video captures just a slice of the early hour or so of the 4th Annual Ramble Music & Arts Fest.  By the afternoon, T.F. Brown's was wall-to-wall music fans both inside and on the patio. The spirit of the event is can only be captured if you show up in person, and from all over the country.

A person reportedly suffered only a minor injury after being struck by lightening outside of Wal-Mart in Batavia at about 11:30 a.m.

At this time, no further information is available.

Because of the weather, the Ramble Music and Arts Fest has been moved indoors to T.F. Brown's on E. Main St.

There is an indoor stage for eletric bands and the acoustic bands are playing on the patio.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the region.

An apparent hit-and-run driver injured two people tonight after reportedly rear-ending a motorcycle as it slowed to pass over an unpaved area of Walnut Street.

A witness, Joe Elmore, of Walnut Street, said he heard a loud crack followed by a woman's "blood curdling" scream, and he rushed from his back yard out to the roadway.  He assisted the driver and his female passenger, trying to get a passing BMW to call 911 and and follow the hit-and-run driver. He doesn't believe the BMW driver did either.

Elmore said he screamed at a semi-truck driver to stop and put on his flashers, and he did, to slow down traffic.

The location of the accident, about 143 Walnut St., is the start of a road construction area where the pavement has been completely removed and replaced by stones. There is an at least four-inch drop from the paved area to the rocky surface.

Both Elmore and T.J. McAllister, who lives adjacent the accident scene, said cars continue to come flying down Walnut as if there's no construction at all.

Elmore said the motorcycle driver told him that he slowed when he hit the unpaved area, but the car behind him didn't and plowed right into him.

"He said he did everything he could to protect his girlfriend," Elmore said. "He broke his leg just trying to hold up his bike."

Just in the five minutes or so Elmore, McAllister and myself stood there talking, after the accident scene had been cleared, at least a half dozen cars passed in each direction driving at or above the normal speed limit. One car hit the bump so hard something fall off of it.

Elmore said he wanted attention brought to the street so that people will be more aware that they need to slow down.

A few minutes earlier, while McAllister and I talked, he pointed to a police car pulling away and said, "This was bound to happen. See how bumpy it is. Look at that police car and how much it's bouncing even as slow as it's going. People come through here going twice as fast. It's just crazy."

No official report on the accident is available at this time.

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Mercy Flight announced job openings tonight, thanks to its new ground ambulance service, which is scheduled to start serving Genesee County Sept. 1.

We received the following announcement from Wade Schwab with Mercy Flight at 9 p.m.:

Mercy EMS, a ground ambulance service operated by Mercyflight of Western N.Y.  is seeking qualified individuals to fill numerous job opportunities.

The company will be providing ambulance service to all of Genesee County as of September 1st.

The positions will be EMT's, paramedics, paramedic shift supervisors and dispatchers.

There will be open job fairs at the Mercyflight Batavia base at 4781 E. Saile  Dr. Batavia on Wednesday 07/15 and Thursday 07/16 from 6pm until 8pm and on Saturday 07/18 from 9am until 11am.

Anyone interested in these local job opportunities is welcome to attend one  of the sessions.

We'll need to wait until Monday to talk with officials with Mercy Flight to see how the open hiring and job fairs squares with statements previously indicating the organization was looking to hire many, if not all, of Batavia's ambulance personnel.

Kelly Kiebala is the new executive director for Go Art!.

She replaces Linda Blanchet, who retires at the end of the month.

Most recently, Kiebala is executive director of the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce, and previously she spent nine years as program director for Go Art!

(Originally reported by WBTA.)

(Note: This almost seems like a trade -- We give Orleans County Pat Weissend (who is becoming branch manager for Bank of Castile in Medina), and Orleans gives back to Genesee County with Kiebala.)

Ok so it is not Halloween yet, but according to some young folks at our picnic tonight, they say their house is haunted. They were thankful for the crosses that Pastor Charlie Piscitello and his wife Judy from the Batavian Christian Fellowship church gave them tonight at our weekly picnic.  However, we did hear haunting stories of troubles folks are going through. There were stories of abuse, job loss, broken relationships and so much more. The youth of Elba Baptist church were with us tonight to provide uplifting music.

It was a busy night! We had about 30 folks attend 

Pastor Charlie Prays and gives a young boy hope!

Bridget always has hugs for the kids!

Even the pet ferret made it to the picnic! 

Ok this is me, Miss Public Relations Director with my new friend Joey. He helped me knock on doors to invite people to the weekly picnic. I love where God has led me to with volunteering with Care-A-Van. As you know we are a non profit organization and are  just like other agencies who rely soley on private donations. Paul states if God gives a vision, he gives provision. We all see the hard times folks are facing right now. Care-A-Van goes forth to brighten their days and give them hope. We are always looking for folks to come on board to help us out. If you feel you are being led to volunteer within the community to make a difference, come join us!

We will be going back on Sunday afternoon for street church, where Pastor Glenn Bloom of the Elba Baptist church will be giving the message. Boy, God is good! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! We truly do appreciate it!

At this point, all signs are go for the City of Batavia’s revised charter proposal to be on the voting ballot in November. And that means a vote on the consolidation of the city and town will have to wait.

The nine-member Charter Review Commission met last night at City Hall. The focus of the meeting was to vote on whether to put the charter proposal up for a popular vote in November. The commission did not officially move to do so; they’ll wait until Aug. 24 to decide. But Commission Chairman John Roach says they’ve already got a majority within the commission who want to move forward with the charter.

Besides, says Roach: “The consolidation people should have been aware that we have a charter commission that legally has precedence.”

One of the new additions to the charter is the ability of city council to appoint committees to work on issues outside of council meetings. Currently, every issue before the council must be debated in regular meetings. Roach says an approach-by-committee would streamline city operations.

“Most bigger governing bodies have sub-committees,” said Roach. “It makes things a little more efficient. Instead of nine people arguing over every little detail, you have a committee of three or four who work it out.”

Roach said he doesn’t believe a committee approach would stifle the public comments that have become a staple of regular city council meetings. He says citizens would simply have to attend more meetings, like the committee appointees, if they wanted to voice their opinions.

Today members of the Batavia Police Department received a Certificate of Merit from New York State Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

They were specially recognized for their part in swiftly apprehending an armed robbery suspect involved in the M&T Bank robbery on June 18 in Elba.

Officers pictured from the left are Lt. Jankowski, Sgt. Kleinbach, Officer Davis, Officer Mullen and Chief Baker.

Batavia police assisted the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department, NYS Police and other law enforcement officials responding to the call.

Assemblyman Hawley also honored members of the Sheriff's Office on Wednesday and also plans to present Certificates of Merit to State Police next week.

Some back pay is due Batavia Police Officers who have been working without a contract for the past four years.

The state Public Employees Relations Board has issued an arbitration finding that gives city police a retroactive pay raise of 1 percent for the period April 2005 to March of 2006. A raise of 2-percent has been directed for the period April of 06 to March of 07.

City Manager Jason Molino declined to comment on the award pending receipt of the final report.

www.perb.state.ny.us/pdf/ia2009-10/ia2007-003.pdf

Daniel Nathan Bernard, 20, of 6083 Route 5, Stafford, is charged with petty larceny. Bernard is accused of stealing $60 in winning scratch-off lottery tickets from his father's locked car, which was parked at his father's house.

Eileen Barbara Ferrando, 37, of 53 W. Main St., Corfu, was picked up on a bench warrant issued in the City of Batavia for alleged unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Ferrando was turned over to the Batavia Police Department.

Scott Webb, 19, of 12 Grote St., Buffalo, is charged with petty larceny. Grote is accused of stealing game prizes from a game stand at Darien Lake Theme Park.

A 17-year-old from Corfu is accused of reckless driving and endangering the welfare of a child.  The youth allegedly drove at a high rate of speed down Chapel Street in Elba, losing control and coming within feet of striking a child riding a bicycle. The youth was issued an appearance ticket.

The Genesee County Legislature on Wednesday unanimously reappointed Eileen Kirkpatrick to a second five-year term as Commissioner of Social Services. Her salary was established at $84,487 per year.

As commissioner, Kirkpatrick manages the most expensive department of county government that includes the supervision of welfare and Medicaid benefits.

Legislature Chair Mary Pat Hancock created an ad-hoc committee to study the length of terms for county legislators as well as the total number of legislative districts. Hancock instructed each legislator to name one representative from each legislative district to serve on the panel. She said the committee would also investigate whether or not the legislator’s terms should be staggered, as to avoid all positions coming up for re-election in the same year.

Hancock left open the possibility that two or three additional members would be named to the study committee in order to insure “a cross section representation” of the county. She said she would expect the committee to issue recommendations by October or November of this year. No recommendation could take effect until after the general election this year.

There are currently nine members on the county legislature, each serving a two-year term. All the terms expire in the same year.

Prior to the start of the meeting, County Election Commissioners Richard Seibert and Dawn Cassidy announced that their office had received an American Flag flown on board a C-17A aircraft on missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. The flag was sent on the recommendation of Sgt. Paul R. Dillion of LeRoy who wanted to recognize the Department of Elections for insuring the receipt of his absentee ballots while he is on duty with the Air Force in Iraq.