batavia

An injured skunk is reported in the driveway at 248 Liberty St., Batavia. An animal control officer is responding.

The Dodgers and the Mets faced off today in the Batavia Little League Championship.

The Dodgers needed to win the first game to force a Game 2, or the Mets, if they won the first game, would have become champions.

The Dodgers did win the first game, 5-4 but the Mets came back in a big way in the second game to win 11-3.

Two people were rescued today in the Tonawanda Creek after their canoe overturned and became jammed against a log, which they managed to grab onto until help arrived.

East Pembroke Fire, Town of Batavia Fire, and Gary Patnode, head of the county's rope rescue team, responded.

Volunteer firefighters were able to get ropes to John R. Young, 24, of Basom, and Kaleigh Kasteli, 20, of Beaver Falls, Pa., along with life vests -- which they put over their own life vests -- and pull them safely to shore.

Both Young and Kasteli were examined by medics with Mercy EMS and released from care at the scene.

State Police also assisted at the scene.

(Initial Post) 

A caller reports a dog has been locked in a car for more than an hour in the rear parking lot of UMMC. The caller did not know the model of the vehicle, but said it has out-of-state license plates. An animal control officer is responding.

Two people are reportedly stuck on a tree trunk-- uninjured -- after their canoe flipped while they were paddling through the Tonawanda Creek in the area of 3507 S. Main Street Road, Batavia.

East Pembroke fire and Town of Batavia fire dispatched.

UPDATE 4:37 p.m.: The caller tells dispatchers the people stranded don't want to swim to shore because of the current in the creek.

UPDATE(S)(By Billie) 4:42 p.m.: A safety rope will be put in place downstream, in case initial efforts fail to bring them in. The caller said the canoers can be accsssed through their back yard. A firefighter says those stranded are easily accessible even without a rope. Another says there's an island in the middle of the creek but the water is fairly swift and high.

UPDATE 4:43 p.m.: A firefighter says he's near them, and they are 20 feet away.

UPDATE 4:44 p.m.: The general area of where they are is Route 5 and Kelsey Road.

UPDATE 4:51 p.m.: Some of the rescuers are going up the road to find a better location to place a secondary safety line across the waterway, possibly behind a trailer park.

UPDATE 4:59 p.m.: A rescuer on the north bank of the creek says "I don't think we're going to be able to get a line all the way over." There is some confusion, "possibly a language barrier," regarding others who may have also been in the water with the stranded canoers. The rescuers want to be sure there is not another party stranded somewhere. There are four or five kayaks that were also in the water with the canoe and those people are at the bridge at Route 5 and Wortendyke and are heading to their vehicles. They also reported speaking with the two stranded canoers and said they, too, experienced a language barrier, which they attribute to them being stuck in the water.

UPDATE 5:10 p.m.: Mercy medics are called to evaluate the folks who were stuck in the water. They are safely out. The location on South Main Street is between Wortendyke Road and Lovers Lane Road.

UPDATE 5:22 p.m.: All Town of Batavia units are told they can go back in service. East Pembroke command says they will be packing up and leaving the scene in a couple minutes.

UPDATE 5:35 p.m.: The two stranded canoers were evaluated by Mercy medics and released.

UPDATE: Click here for follow up information and a video of the rescue.

Anne Marie Starowitz, right, and her friend Cathy in July 1968.

Submitted photos and story by Anne Marie Starowitz:

By definition, a Baby Boomer is a person born during a period of time in which there is a marked rise in a population's birthrate: a person born during a baby boom; especially -- a person born in the United States following the end of World War II (usually considered to be in the years from 1946 to 1964).

That is the Webster's Dictionary definition. But it doesn’t adequately define a Baby Boomer.

I am a Baby Boomer along with my high school and college graduating classes of 1968 and 1972. There are a lot of us and our memories growing up during that time are very special.

We grew up in a world that was so different from the one our grandchildren are growing up in. We all heard about going home when the street lights came on, houses with the doors unlocked, and just playing outside.

In the summer we slept out in tents, caught fireflies, and swam at the community pool.

A telephone was attached to the wall. If you were lucky, you would have a long cord so you could stretch the cord into a closet or another room. There was no call waiting and rare was the household with an answering machine.

Fast forward to today's smartphone and see how technology has changed.

I loved the music of the '60s. A few had their very own transistor (AM) radio. You could walk around with it but the reception was usually terrible.

I remember playing kickball in our front yard every day. In the summer, the park program was the place to be. Everyone had their favorite park that was usually located in your own neighborhood. Of course, the highlight was the park parade.

The Memorial Day parade was always a really special event. There would be the fire trucks, Little League players, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts walking down Main Street. There would be convertibles with our veterans that served in the early wars.

I always remember the Army tanks and jeeps going down Main Street and the feeling it brought seeing them. You also couldn’t wait for the Mighty St. Joseph Drum & Bugle Corps marching down the street.

It wouldn’t be Memorial Day if we didn’t go to the cemetery and walk to every gravestone that belonged to a relative. I would see my aunt and uncles, cousins standing by our grandfather's and grandmother's graves.

In the mid '60s there were tennis court dances and, in the winter, there was ice skating on the tennis courts. Also, in the summer the local churches would hold their annual lawn fete. We always looked forward to them. A Baby Boomer could drink at 18 and the lawn fetes had the best beer tents.

My memories were filled with a time of change. It seemed every generation was associated with a war. My uncle John was in the Korean War; my father in World War II; we were associated with the Vietnam War.

I remember being in college and there was the talk of classmates being drafted. That changed many lives as my college classmates said goodbye to their boyfriends and husbands.

There were protests against the war and I remember marching down Main Street in Buffalo. We wore bracelets of soldiers who were POWs (prisoners of war) or were MIA (missing in action) from the Vietnam War. We never understood why we were over there, and most of all we never understood when our vets were not honored or remembered like the other war veterans once they returned home.

My father told all of us how difficult it was growing up when he did. How many jobs he did and the best story was about the long walk to school in the snow and rain every day and going home for lunch.

Today this Baby Boomer treasures those memories along with my memories growing up during a much slower time, filled with our music, the Beatles, our dances -- the Twist, the Jerk, the Mashed Potato, the Pony, the Swim, the Boogaloo, Watusi and more.

(To view a YouTube compilation of '60s dances, click here.)

I tried to tell our daughters what it was like back then and now I see our daughters telling their children what it was like, their music, the fashion, and the war associated with them growing up.

Technology has changed our world and our children and their children.

All I really remember as a Baby Boomer was we didn't use the word "bored" because we really weren't bored.

Our music was played on a hi-fi system and we actually danced to a band in high school that just might have been your brother’s band.

I wouldn’t change a thing growing up as a Baby Boomer except honoring our Vietnam vets more.

Please share your Baby Boomer memories. They just might be similar to mine.

Survivor opened the 2019 concert season at Batavia Downs on Friday night.

Here's the lineup for the rest of the summer:

• June 28 -- Queensrÿche
• July 5 -- Kim Mitchell
• July 12 -- Journey Former Lead Vocalist Steve Augeri
• July 19 -- Gin Blossoms
• July 26 -- Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
• Aug. 2 -- Tanya Tucker
• Aug. 9 -- Theory Of A Deadman

Here's a couple of sunset photos from yesterday taken at Oak and Main looking down West Main Street, Batavia.

The annual Jackson Square Friday Night Concerts series opened last night with Genesee Ted.

The line up for the rest of the season:

• June 28 – The Skycats
• July 5 – It’s My Party
• July 7 – Downtown Batavia Music Ramble Festival -- Bands & Times for The Ramble will be announced soon!
• July 12 – Old Hippies
• July 19 – Red Creek
• July 26 – Mitty & the Followers
• Aug. 2 – Ohms Band
• Aug. 9 – The Ghost Riders

Jackson School in Batavia hosted two promotion ceremonies today. This video is from the 9 a.m. session.

The sound of lawn mowers and the smell of freshly cut grass are signs of summertime in Genesee County.

However, those familiar noises and scents can far too often mean motorcycle accidents if homeowners do not properly remove road hazards like grass clippings, leaves and gravel.

“The people most to suffer from these things when it comes to motor vehicles is the motorcyclist, specifically, in a corner,” said Jon DelVecchio, riding coach at Street Skills LLC motorcycling school in Rochester and author of "Cornering Confidence: The Formula for 100% Control in Curves."

“Motorcyclists and car drivers alike, we want nothing between our tire surface and the road surface," DelVecchio said. "That’s how we’re going to get the best traction really in any condition.”

Grass clippings in summer months are reportedly as slippery as winter ice on road surfaces. Yard waste that blows onto road pavement presents safety hazards to motorcyclists whose two-wheeled vehicles speed over the slick grass clippings.

Clearing grass clippings from roadways is not a choice; it is mandated by state and local law.

NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1219 prohibits any substance that is likely to cause injury from being placed on highways. If grass clippings from a lawn mower are either accidentally blown or intentionally deposited onto the pavement, homeowners are legally obligated to remove them immediately.

Also, City of Batavia Municipal Code 113-2 states “No person shall sweep, throw or deposit or cause to be swept, thrown or deposited any ashes, dirt, stone, brick, leaves, grass, weeds or any other debris … into any public place or upon any private property without the owner's permission within the city.” A violator of this law can be fined $250, face imprisonment up to 15 days or be sued civilly if their grass clippings cause a motorcycle accident.

Jesse Underwood is a motorcyclist from Holley who has been riding motorcycles for 40 years. He was shopping at Stan's Harley-Davidson dealership in Batavia on Thursday when asked about encounters with grass clippings while tooling around.

He said it is important enough to him that, if he sees a problem, he stops his motorcycle and informs homeowners of the dangers of grass clippings during his rides with other motorcyclists.

"Every time we go on a big ride, every time we see people blowing grass in the road, we stop and give them a brochure on the dangers of it," Underwood said.

When homeowners receive the information, they are often surprised.

"A lot of them didn't even realize what they were doing is wrong," Underwood said. "I explain to them that wet grass clippings in the road — it's like ice to a motorcycle.

"If you come up and you're on wet grass ... or you're coming into a blind curve, even if you're doing the speed limit and you hit the wet grass, you're going down."

Underwood said that there are already enough dangers, such as texting and driving, that threaten the safety of motorcyclists, so grass clippings just add to the road hazards.

To effectively dispose of yard waste, homeowners are encouraged to leave their grass clippings on their lawns. This solution benefits the environment because clippings act as a natural, nutrient-rich fertilizer and decrease the amount of store-bought fertilizer homeowners purchase. This option also saves time because grass clippings do not need to be bagged after each mowing.

“I would advise homeowners, as a person who rides a motorcycle, to just simply be aware that their grass clippings could cause real trouble for people who ride motorcycles,” DelVecchio said.

DelVecchio encourages homeowners to take preventative measures to clear the roads near their property. He also advises motorcyclists to receive both basic and advanced riding instruction through videos, books or training courses so they can navigate grass-covered roads.

Lost control of motorcycles can lead to injury and death among motorcyclists who cannot regain their traction on grass-covered streets. It only takes a few moments to clean up grass clippings if they blow into the road in order to keep motorcyclists safe.

A six-vehicle pileup is reported on the westbound Thruway at mile marker 389.7. Traffic is snarled.

Three ambulanes are on scene.

Town of Batavia Fire Department is there, too.

Brandon Fogg agreed to a plea deal this afternoon in Genesee County Court after being charged with placing an individual at risk of serious injury or death -- in this case a Batavia police officer -- by displaying a BB gun on June 5.

The 32-year-old Batavia resident entered a guilty plea to first-degree menacing and faces one-and-a-third to four years in prison.

Batavia police officers first encountered Fogg after he trespassed at a location on Ellicott Street. Due to an illegal tire on Fogg’s vehicle as he drove away from the location, officers initiated a traffic stop.

According to police, Fogg attempted to flee the vehicle, but he was taken to the ground by Officer Darryle Streeter. Fogg then removed from his pocket what appeared to be a handgun during the struggle between himself and Streeter.  

A local citizen then came to the aid of Streeter by stepping on Fogg’s wrist, which caused him to drop the BB gun from his grasp. Streeter took Fogg into custody shortly afterward.

Judge Charles Zambito scheduled sentencing for 3:15 p.m. Aug. 1 at Genesee County Court.

Jeff Musial from Nickel City Reptiles and Exotics was at Jackson School on Thursday morning showing off some of the exotic live animals he keeps for educational purposes.

Super solid and spacious 3 bedroom 2 and one half bath home in a super peaceful pretty location -- you will want to pull up a chair and enjoy the views:) There is nothing to do-everything is updated and meticulously maintained.

Public water quite literally installed as of the day of listing! Roof was a tear off in 2018 -- interior freshly neutrally painted-carpets look like they haven’t been stepped on!

Basement is full and huge -- great workshop space -- 2-car attached garage -- large deck overlooking peaceful wooded backyard and a great 24 x 32 barn for all the extras or the hobbyist. Just a really nice home! Click here for more information on this listing. List with us, call Reliant Real Estate today.

Click here for more information on 59 Pearl Street Road. 
Click here for more information on 7773 Macomber Road.

Katie Kesler accepting the award with BU Sargent College Dean Chris Moore. Photo by Katherine Taylor for Boston University Photography.

Katie Kesler, of Batavia, received the Twiness Award from Boston University (BU) College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College at the annual Senior Awards Reception on May 17.

The Twiness Award is presented to graduating seniors who exemplify the ideals of service, loyalty, thoughtfulness, and excellence of scholarship.

An alumna of Batavia High School, Kesler graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in behavior and health on May 19.

“Student leadership taught me how to utilize my passion for disability advocacy to start meaningful dialogues surrounding perception of disability,” Kesler said. “I am a proud sibling of an individual with Down syndrome, and I am a vocal advocate for inclusion and the destigmatization of intellectual disability.”

While at BU, Kesler served as vice president of BU Student Volunteers for Special Needs, a Camp PALS counselor, and a peer mentor for Partners for Youth with Disabilities.

She was a member of the Navigators Christian Fellowship leadership team at BU, a member of the BU Student Occupational Therapy Association, a Sargent College peer mentor, and an assistant teacher at the BU Children’s Center.

Kesler was a Dean Elsbeth Melville Scholarship recipient, awarded for academic and extracurricular excellence as well as demonstrated promise in future fields. She was also inducted into the Sargent College Honor Society and received the Pamela Posen Endowed Memorial Scholarship.

“Katie is empathic and insightful and looks out for fellow students -- she is bright, dedicated, and hardworking,” said Clinical Assistant Professor Anne Sullivan-Soydan.

“Most importantly, Katie is, quite simply, a good person, with high moral character and personal integrity. I believe she has excellent potential to make significant contributions in her chosen field; indeed, I believe she will be a leader.”

After graduation, Kesler will pursue her doctor of occupational therapy degree at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions.

About Boston University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Sargent College:

It is an institution of higher education which fosters critical and innovative thinking to best serve the health care needs of society through academics, research, and clinical practice. As reported by U.S. News and World Report, its graduate programs in Speech-Language Pathology and Physical Therapy rank in the top 6% of programs while Occupational Therapy is #1 in the nation.

The College has more than 25 on-campus research facilities and clinical centers and offers degree programs in occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech, language and hearing sciences, health science, athletic training, human physiology, behavior and health, and nutrition. For more information, visit bu.edu/sargent.

Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 33,000 students, it is the fourth-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges, along with a number of multidisciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission. In 2012, BU joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.

A new proposal was brought before the Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday for an I Love New York selfie sign on the lawn outside the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center at 8276 Park Road, Batavia.

It's one of the most recognizable logos of New York State. The iconic “I Love New York” letters and bright red heart are frequently seen on tourist souvenirs and apparel.

But its $47,000 price tag raised eyebrows at the meeting.

It would be paid for with bed tax reserves -- not by local taxpayers, according to Chamber President Tom Turnbull, who presented the preliminary design of the selfie sign to the Ways & Means Committee.

He sought the initial reactions of committee members as he spoke about the proposed I Love New York sign, which would showcase the logo with a semi-transparent background and backlighting.

The goal of the selfie sign is to attract visitors to Genesee County and draw tourists to the Visitor Center once they stop for a photo opportunity next to the sign. Similar selfie signs are currently featured at popular destinations like the Finger Lakes and the Adirondacks.

“We think this will be a big hit for people … People are into taking pictures at places like that. We hope it will attract people to come inside our visitor center,” Turnbull said.

The chamber worked with Batavia-based companies like smartDESIGN Architecture and John’s Studio in the engineering and design processes.

The price includes design, construction and installation costs.

The bed tax revenue that would pay for it comes from a 5-percent administrative fee that is added to the price of a hotel room in Genesee County and collected annually by the county Treasurer’s Office.

Each year, bed tax revenue is capped at $420,000, and surplus funds are placed in a reserve.

The expected surplus total for 2019 is approximately $100,000, and $47,000 for the proposed sign would come from this surplus.

“The money is there," Turnbull said. "It’s dedicated for tourism, and we think this is a good use of some of that money. We can spruce up our property a little bit more and attract even more tourism to Genesee County.”

Legislators Andrew Young and Shelly Stein opined that $47,000 is a high price for this potential investment. Stein questioned the life expectancy of both the selfie-sign trend and the durability of the design in winter weather.

Turnbull said he is confident that the sign and its popularity will last well into the future.

Legislator Marianne Clattenburg said that the sign would most likely see a good amount of traffic in that area due to hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and Batavia Downs casino.

“I think we’ve got the funds," Clattenburg said to Turnbull. "And if your board is saying that this is something that is advantageous and you’ll see results from it, then I would support it."

The Chamber of Commerce received tentative permission from NYS Empire State Development to use its trademark logo. Approval of the project can occur once a finalized design has been agreed upon by the chamber and the legislature.

Now the chamber has a better sense of the legislators' thoughts on the project before it drafts a resolution asking for a portion of bed tax money to pay for it.