A pair of birds managed to make it to the seed in suet cake in the Batavia backyard of Jason Smith this morning despite several inches of snow overnight.
Send your snow-related photos to howard@thebatavian.com.
Submitted photo and information from reader Joe Caruso:
My Dad was a resident at the NYS Veterans Home in Batavia and passed in 2017. I have an 11-year-old Granddaughter (top photo left) who donated 20 canvas paintings she spent endless hours painting.
She felt the residents would appreciate having them to display or hang in rooms. Her name is Sofia Falleti and she is a sixth-grade student at Saint Joseph Regional School in Batavia.
Amanda Coggiola submitted these photos of a bald eagle at the Tonawanda Creek off South Main Street Road, Batavia.
She said, "My kids and I saw this eagle at our house this morning. They asked if I could send the pictures to you because we know sometimes you post the pics on your website. Merry Christmas: Amanda, Ben, Lilly, and Jake Coggiola"
Funeral home owner Michael S. Tomaszewski, arrested in July after an investigation that uncovered multiple incidences of potential fraud, was arraigned in Genesee County Court today on more than 200 counts of grand larceny, falsifying business records, offering a false instrument in filing, scheme to defraud, and failure to deposit.
As he did when first arrested and arraigned in Town of Batavia Court, Tomaszewski entered a not guilty plea.
Tomaszewski waived his right to have a grand jury review the evidence against him and potentially issue indictments against him. He was arraigned on what's known as Superior Court Information (SCI) that lays out all the charges in the same form as a grand jury indictment.
It is 101 pages long.
Tomaszewski is accused of taking money people used to prepay for funerals and instead of depositing the money in appreciate bank accounts then using the money for other purposes.
The SCI indicates the majority of customers lost from more than $2,000 up to $15,500 each.
The charges include: 67 counts of third-degree grand larceny; 28 counts of fourth-degree grand larceny; four counts of falsifying business records; 93 counts of failure to deposit; seven counts of petit larceny; and counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; and scheme to defraud.
During the virtual arraignment today, the attorneys discussed the possibility of reaching a plea deal within the next six weeks.
Tomaszewski remains released from custody on his own recognizance. His next scheduled court appearance, which will also be virtual, is 1:30 p.m., Feb. 2.
Alecia Kaus/Video News Service contributed to this report.
Previously:
A 52-year-old Batavia man already previously convicted on child pornography charges has been indicted once again in Federal Court.
Matthew Barber is charged with receipt and possession of child pornography, which carries a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Western New York was previously convicted in 2007 and was sentenced in 2007 to 74 months in federal prison. He was given five years of supervised release but he failed a sex offender treatment program.
Barber reportedly had a job in Batavia. He was dismissed after allegedly placing a USB flash drive into a work computer. He May, he was charged locally with unauthorized use of a computer.
As a condition of his parole, Barber was required to notify NYS Parole if he was terminated from employment. That day, U.S. Probation and NYS Parole searched his residence and seized a cellular phone and a flash drive.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, investigators found 1,100 images and 40 videos of child pornography on the drive. Several hundred other images and 200 videos were allegedly found on the phone.
Barber was arraigned today in Federal Court.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia; the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Sliwinski; and the Batavia Police Department, under the direction of Chief Shawn Heubusch.
John Spyropoulos spotted a pair of bald eagles feasting on a deer carcass this morning along the Tonawanda Creek along South Main Street in Batavia. He submitted this photo where you can see one of the eagles at the top of a tree.
Batavia Middle School -- Grades 6-8 -- Celebrating Academic Success
First Marking Period -- 2020-21 Academic Year
High Honor Roll
Grade 6: Phoebe Beal, Brock Bigsby, Ryan Bigsby, Mallory Boyce, Jeffrey Burton, Genevieve Clark-Scott, Parker Cohen, Eliana Cossitt, Augustin Crawford, Andrew Davis, Anna DiRisio, Luciana DiRisio, Teegan Frens, Thomas Gaylord, Ty Gioia, Lillian Gray, Troy Hawley, Grady Hemer, Jenna Higgins, Nathaniel Kinsey, Connor Krumpek, Gavin LaCarte, Connor Malone, London Martin, Tallulah Mattison, Casey Mazur, Emma McJury, Ayden Midkiff, Emma Moore, Jonah Motyka, Vy Nguyen, Aiden Reimer, Brielle Ricks, Aubrey Sputore, Trey Tyron, Gretchen Weicher, Landyn Wood.
Grade 7: Alexander Allen, Dakota Cook, Brandon Currier, Ava Darling, Cole Davis, Elijah Fancher, Lila Fortes, Emma Godfrey, Elizabeth Grazioplene, Gianna Grillo, Landon Hamilton, Andrew Hunt, Tabitha Jett, Miah Jones, Kyleigh Kabel, Anthony Lecointe- Naegely, Kailyn Lee, Parris Martin, Adrian Martinez, Nathan Mayeu, Harold Mellander, Sydney Parker, Julia Plath, Gretchen Redder, Marley Santos, Ella Shamp, Drew Stevens, Gianna Strollo, Isaac Varland, Gavin White, Nora Wood.
Grade 8: Ava Anderson, Cameron Baiocco, Waquez Bazile, Madeline Bellamy, Aubrey Bisher, Kylee Brennan, Brooke Callahan, Lila Callan, Jeremiah Childs, Allison Debo, Maddison Dennis, Ariana DiSalvo, Nicole Doeringer, Lillian Emerson, Kahler Evans, William Fulton, Cameron Garofalo, Samuel Grillo, Faith Guiste, Ava Higgins, Kelsey Kirkwood, Mia Pellegrino, Jake Phillips, Jesus Reyes, Kayla Richenberg, Campbell Riley, Lylianalynn Santos-Baez, Andrew Smith, Bridget Taggart, Trevor Tryon, Alyssa Turner, Allyson Wormley.
Honor Roll
Grade 6: Arianna Almekinder, Elana Andrews, Chase Antinore, Addison Arroyo, Maddison Bartz, Vivienne Bellavia, Travis Bisher, Carly Brokaw, Alyssa Burgess, Keaton Corcoran, Logan Desautels, Trevor Felker, Nathaniel Gibbs, Aliyah Green, Kylie Heath, Gillian Hildebrant, Donavan Hill, Kaden Jackson, Ryan Kendall, Chase Knapkewicz, Leilah Manuel, Makayla Marr, Adyson O’Donnell, Mya Odom, Madelyne Rapone, Lilyana Rodriguez, Savannah Sanders, Zackery Sumeriski, Autumn Umlauf, Kate Woodward.
Grade 7: Yaomy Acevedo, Mazey Arroyo, Emmeline Bateman, Alora Becker, Maggio Buchholz, Matthew Burns, Aaden Calleto, Keegan Delcamp, Payton Dickinson, Gage Draper, Darleigh Driffill, Branden Flanagan, Miseal Flores, Anri Helsdon, Emma Kilby, Emma Martino, Bella Moore, Lakoda Mruczek, Bryce Nicometo, Serenity Olavarria, Jose Osorio Rodriguez, Cecelia Paliani, Bob Parkhurst Jr, Kaylynn Peyman, Jadyn Radam, Ethan Rambach, Noah Richmond, Xavier Schramm-Sample, Ella Smith, Helaina Staley, William Stevens, Chastin Styer, Mikaylah Sweet, Adriana Volpe, Annabel Wasiulewski.
Grade 8: Abigail Bestine, Allison Bisnett, Matthew Boyce, Bronx Buchholz, Yannis Ciornei, Isabella DeVay, Hanna Dun, Emerson Fitch, Dwaine Graham, Dillon Hale, Thomas Haworth, Jakob Hutchins, Talyn Kennedy, Kassandra Kesler, Anthony Kopper, Javion Krupinski, Abbigayle Leone, Damien Marucci, Brady Mazur, Jaiden Michael, Alexandra Morrill, Jameson Motyka, Bridgette Nordee, Jayla Odom, Madeline Ohlson, Samuel Pies, Tristen Post, Makenzie Rich, Isabelle Scott, Madilyn Underhill, Payton Vickery, Myles Wahr, Jay’Dah Williams, Zebadiah Williams.
Merit Roll
Grade 6: Enrique Bazan, Jay’lee Blackmon, Haiden Brooks, Keagan Calmes, Maxamillyn Chase, Isabella Cheruiyot, Jericho Childs, Jeremy Cooper Jr., Camden Demena, Adeline DeWitt, Brooke Diehl, Brody Ditzel, Kaylub Dunn, Meg Gahagan, Corbin Hanney, Madilyn Jones, Alexander Jursted, Gabrielle Lawlis, Parker Lazarony, Paisley Loranty, Luis Ortiz Carbajal Jr, Carmelina Pellegrino-Scott, Gunnar Pietrzykowski, Nina Pontillo, Aubrey Reinhardt, Trey Rodriguez, Khloe Rozell, Langdon Sage, Kenedi Smith, Frankie Tomei, Karizma Wescott.
Grade 7: Rylan Bohn, Leland Duval, Luke Gutman, Louis Heglund, Aaron Hosek, Nodia Jackson, Sophie Koladzinski, Gracie Lathan, McKenna Mazur, Caydence McQueen, Jessica Morrill, Andrew Perl, Esayas Reinhardt, Jorge Reyes Barranco, Roy Ricks, Kendra Sanders, Amiiya Santiago, Madeline Smith, Dominic Southall, Jacob Stabler, Elaina Stringham, Mimi Weicher, Ariel Whelan, Blake Wimett.
Grade 8: Nolan Barnes, Joshua Barone, Aiden Bellavia, Zoe Bradley, Sofia Branche, Brecken Capone, Brady Carney, Hannah Carney, Carson Crane, Roan Finn, Greyson Fix, Grant Gahagan, Trishelle Gibson, Leo Gray, Kate Hernandez Rivas, Sonny Kasmarek, Karissa Kendall, Owen Kilby, Cooper Konieczny, Madden Legler, Judith Newton, Yadiel Rosario, Riley Stephenson, Gavynn Trippany.
Woodrow C. Horseman, 44, no permanent address, is charged with second-degree assault. Batavia Police Officer Peter Post arrested Horseman at 9:03 a.m. Dec. 9 on North Street, Batavia. It is alleged that Horseman struck another male in the face multiple times with his fists, causing serious physical injury to the victim. Horseman was arraigned in Batavia City Court and jailed without bail. He was due back in city court Dec. 17. Post was assisted by Officer Felicia DeGroot in this case.
Alex Scott Dumbleton, 27, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with: endangering the welfare of a child; second-degree burglary -- illegal entry into a dwelling; first-degree criminal contempt -- violating an order of protection with physical contact; second-degree criminal contempt -- disobeying a court order; and criminal misdemeanor -- acting with intent to damage property. Dumbleton was arrested on the charges at 1:05 p.m. on Dec. 11 at an apartment on Pearl Street in Batavia. He was arraigned virtually in Batavia City Court and held in jail on unspecified bail. He was due back in city court Dec. 15. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Austin Hedges, assisted by Officer Felicia DeGroot.
Blake R. Terry, 20, of North Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with third-degree assault. He turned himself in at Batavia PD headquarters during the afternoon of Dec. 14 on an arrest warrant out of Batavia City Court that stemmed from a reported physical altercation Oct. 8 on Bank Street, Batavia. He was arraigned virtually in city court and released on his own recognizance. Terry is due in city court on Feb. 2. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Felicia DeGroot.
Alicia M. Lyons, 41, of Washington Avenue, Batavia, is charged with second-degree menacing. Lyons was arrested at 2:05 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Kwik Fill at Jackson and Ellicott streets in the city after it was reported that she displayed a knife after an altercation with an employee. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on Feb. 2. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Felicia DeGroot, assisted by Officer Kevin DeFelice.
Christopher A. Sewar, 34, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree criminal contempt. He was arrested after an investigation of an incident that occurred Dec. 4 wherein Sewar allegedly violated an order of protection. He was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on March 2. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Samuel Freeman, assisted by Officer John Gombos.
Dennis Paul Kiener, 49, of Hagen Avenue, North Tonawanda, is charged with: driving while intoxicated, with a BAC of .08 percent or greater; DWI; moving from lane unsafely; and speed not reasonable and prudent. Kiener was arrested at 3:48 a.m. on Dec. 19 on Sand Hill Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, following a single-vehicle accident. He was released on appearance tickets and is due in Alabama Town Court on Jan. 13. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy James Stack, assisted by Deputy Austin Heberlein.
Terry Michael Roth, 45, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with: driving while ability impaired by drugs; moving from lane unsafely; and expired vehicle inspection. He was arrested at 12:52 p.m. on Dec. 19 following an investigation into an accident that occurred at 5:06 p.m. on Oct. 30 on East Main Street in Batavia. Roth was issued uniform traffic tickets and is due in Batavia City Court on Feb. 24. After his arrest, he was released on his own recognizance. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Dimmig, assisted by Deputy Kenneth Quackenbush.
Craig James Alexander, 48, of Lewiston Road, Alabama, is charged with: driving while intoxicated, with a BAC of .08 percent or more; DWI; and moving from lane unsafely. Alexander was arrested at about 11 p.m. on Dec. 17 on Albion Road in Oakfield after a single-vehicle accident. He is due in Oakfield Town Court on Jan. 18. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Gauthier.
Matthew Metahan Osmancikli, 28, of South Lake Road, Pavilion, is charged with second-degree harassment. He was arrested at 2:45 a.m. on South Lake Road after an alleged physical altercation with another person. He was released with an appearance ticket to be in Pavilion Town Court on Jan. 5. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore.
A trio of ladies who have never met before got together yesterday to help spread some holiday cheer at a time when our local “Holiday Man” has been missing in our hearts.
Bob “The Holiday Man” Zeagler spread much joy, smiles and laughter to many people in about a decade of his festive decorated Jeep Wrangler and clothing attire. He passed away in 2016.
Bob dressed up for every holiday occasion, which he had a different outfit for nearly every month of the year. The group organizers pictured from left above are Courtney Dawson, Jenn Noon and Danielle Nigro. They wanted to brighten the holidays since the past year has been difficult for so many. They want to make it an annual event.
A Facebook group started some discussion to dress up their vehicles “Bob style” to make it fun and entertaining for all. About a dozen vehicles of parents, kids and families took part in driving around to many streets around Batavia showing off their vehicles in a drive-by mini parade.
Many local businesses helped support the event and after it concluded they were going to meet back at Ficarella’s Pizzeria to pass out prizes for various categories and the kids who participated.
When Bob’s wife, Bridget, was contacted about the event, she was overwhelmed with joy to see it take off. She spoke about how Bob used to travel to Walmart, the Broadway market sharing his joy with many people, and how he loved to make the children smile. She also said how happy he would be to see everyone dress up their vehicles like he did -- Bob style.
Photos by Steve Ognibene.
To view more photos from the event, click here.
Press release:
The staff at The Manor House would like for you to send their seniors holiday cards, who especially need them because of COVID-19 restrictions and not being able to see their families for the holidays.
We want to show them how much the community cares and is thinking of them!
We are also looking for cards for three very special ladies who turn 100, 101 and 102 in January!
There are boxes for cards and pictures at the front doors of The Manor House at 427 E. Main St. in the city or mail to the attention of Kristin Cronk at that address.
Happy holidays and stay healthy!
A motor-vehicle accident is reported at Lewiston Road and West Main Street, Batavia.
Town of Batavia fire and State Police are on scene.
Mercy EMS dispatched.
At least two vehicles involved and traffic is blocked.
Photos and information from Jason Clark, of St. Paul Lutheran School.
The children at St. Paul Lutheran School have been practicing for their Christmas Program since the beginning of November.
"We have the kindergarten through third-grade students spaced out 12-feet apart in the Sanctuary as the choir, with the fourth- and fifth-grade students on the 'stage' having memorized the lines," says Clark. "We will be videotaping the play during school hours, then sending out a link to the school families and church members to watch the play at home."
The title of this year's play is "The First Leon, Discovering the True Meaning of Christmas." It's a dramatic 35-minute children's musical created by Dennis and Nan Allen in which the Christmas story is told as seen through the eyes of Leon. He's special. See, Leon's name spelled backward is Noel, and since discovering that, he's felt called to tell the world the true meaning of Christmas.
The play is being directed by Jennifer Dunn.
Top photo: Members of the fourth- and fifth-grade class at St. Paul's Lutheran School.
Below: Sam McMillan and Lilly.
Below back row from left: Addison Kilian, Amelia Paratore and Cordelia Rivers. Addison Forsyth is in front.
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Below five photos: members of the choir comprised of the kindergarteners through third-graders.
A three-car accident that is blocking traffic is reported in the area of 4140 Veterans Memorial Drive, in front of Planet Fitness. "Appears to be no injuries at this time -- a couple of people are shaken up," says a first responder on scene.
Town of Batavia Fire Department, law enforcement and Mercy medics are responding.
UPDATE 12:36 p.m.: Fluids are leaking from the vehicles.
UPDATE 12:38 p.m.: Speedy Dry and some brooms and shovels are needed.
Chris Crocker submitted this photo taken on South Main Street in Batavia of geese lounging on the Tonawanda Creek.
Yesterday, the first members of UMMC's staff received the COVID-19 vaccine.
The video was shot by Rochester Regional Health staff and edited by Howard Owens.
Submitted photo and press release:
The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) program at John Kennedy Intermediate School in Batavia received a $500 Educational Alliance Program grant from the ExxonMobil Corporation, which was then matched by the local distributor that had initiated the grant application, Reid Petroleum Corporation.
Mike McCarthy, vice president of Reid Petroleum, along with his grandson, Jack, currently a third-grader at John Kennedy, presented the two checks to John Kennedy’s STEAM teacher, Melissa Calandra at the Crosby’s convenience store/gas station in Batavia. Crosby’s is a subsidiary of Reid Petroleum.
Reid Petroleum had taken the lead initially by applying for the ExxonMobile grant on behalf of John Kennedy. When their office received word that the school would receive a check for $500, they decided to match it. As the money can only be used for math or science, it will go to support hands-on activities that go along with science lessons in the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) program, which is run by Calandra.
“I am so excited, and so grateful,” Calandra said. “This will be such a big boost for our students and our STEAM program.”
Photo: Melissa Calandra, John Kennedy’s STEAM teacher, left, and Vice President of Reid Petroleum Mike McCarthy, right, with his grandson, Jack.
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