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Performances of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by the BHS Drama Club will go ahead as scheduled on Saturday and Sunday (7 p.m. and 2 p.m.) with Friday's postponed performance being moved to 7 p.m., Sunday. Tickets for all three shows are still available here. 

Previously: BHS Drama Club presents Sherlock Holmes play

 

Press release:

After a thorough investigation of the social media threats against the Batavia City School District (BCSD) that surfaced on Thursday, December 2, the Batavia Police Department has found no evidence of a credible threat to the district.

BCSD has been cleared to resume all activities beginning Saturday, December 4, and schools will open for all students on Monday, December 6.

As a precautionary measure, there will be an increased police presence in and around BCSD buildings for all activities this weekend and next week.

The Batavia Police Department continues to work in collaboration with the FBI and Secret Service to monitor all social media threats to ensure the continued safety of the district’s students and staff.   

If any student or family has any additional information regarding the threats, we ask that you please contact the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350 or the confidential tip line at (585) 345-6370. 

Press Release:

The Genesee County 4-H Program is now accepting registrations for its 2022 4-H Tractor Safety Program.  The program is open to youth age 14 and over and covers farm safety, tractor safety, tractor operation and other related topics.  

The National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program is a certification program that allows youth age 14 and 15 to be certified to legally operate farm equipment for hire.  After completing the training course, youth will need to pass a written knowledge test and driving test to receive the certification.

The program is scheduled to run Saturdays, 8:00am to 12:00pm, January through April at farm machinery dealerships throughout Genesee County.  The fee for the program is $10 and youth must also be currently enrolled 4-H members.  Registrations are due January 29, 2022.  To register for the program or receive more information, please contact the Genesee County 4-H Office at genesee4h@cornell.edu or (585) 343-3040 ext. 131.  Registration forms are also available online at http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/4htractorsafety

Press Release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) Board of Directors approved assistance for a $4.5 million project investment by Valiant Real Estate USA Inc. for a bus operations facility in the town of Batavia at its board meeting on Thursday, December 2, 2021.

Valiant Real Estate USA Inc.’s 20,000 sq. ft. facility will include office space, training space, repair areas and storage in order to support school districts and school bus operators across the Western New York and the Finger Lakes regions. The proposed facility will be located less than a mile of Interstate 90 Exit 48, providing a strong logistics base for the project.

The project includes infrastructure to support future utilization of electric/clean energy vehicles and related initiatives.  Over the next three years Valiant Real Estate USA Inc. plans to create up to 19 new jobs and 12 part-time jobs. The $430,120 in estimated assistance to the project is estimated to produce a $50 return for every $1 of assistance.

The GCEDC Board also accepted an application from Mega Properties Inc. and approved scheduling a public hearing on the potential assistance for the purchase of a vacant 142,000 sq. ft building in the town of Batavia and plans to develop the building into a warehouse distribution facility. The proposed $8.5 million financial investment by Mega Properties Inc. would retain nine full-time employees and the creation of up to 11 new jobs. The project has requested approximately $600,000 in property, sales, and mortgage tax exemptions.

 

John Kenneth Hobbs, 34, of Clinton Street Road, Batavia, is charged with burglary 2nd and violation of an order of protection.  Hobbs is accused of entering the home of a protected party at 1:10 p.m., Nov. 24. He then allegedly fled the property and was located in  the nearby woods by Deputy James Stack and K-9 "Rayzor."  He was also accused of burglary 2nd and disobeying a mandate for a similar incident at 11:30 p.m., Nov. 4.

Alexander Douglas Scheg, 27, of Warboys Road, Byron, is charged with bail jumping 3rd.  During an unrelated incident, Scheg was identified who allegedly failed to show up for a scheduled court appearance.  He was issued an appearance ticket.

Gerard Hart Altenburg, 26, of Main Road, Pembroke, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, speeding, unsafe passing, and reckless driving. Altenburg was stopped at 7:02 p.m., Dec. 1, on Main Road in Pembroke by Deputy Kyle Krzemien.

 

Press release:

Earlier today the City of Batavia Police Department was made aware of threats being spread on social media involving students from the Batavia City High School. Officers have been investigating, and continue to investigate this matter with assistance from our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in order to determine the credibility of the threats circulating.

Out of an over-abundance of caution, the District, in consultation with the Police Department, has made the decision to close all buildings within the Batavia City School District tomorrow, Friday, December 3.

"The Department is taking this matter seriously, and will devote the resources needed to ensure the safety and security of the students in the Batavia City School District.", stated Chief Shawn Heubusch, "We remind parents to continue to monitor their child's social media presence and report anything that is suspicious."

We ask that parents and students report any information relative to the threats going around by contacting the City of Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350 or submit a tip on the Department's CrimeWatch page (www.bataviapolice.org). Further, we discourage the public from continuing to share any posts as it can create unnecessary fear within our community.  

Previously: City Schools to close Friday due to threats of violence on social media

Press release:

Over the last few hours, it’s been brought to the attention of the Batavia City School District (BCSD) administration that reports of threats of violence at buildings in the district are circulating on social media.

BCSD is currently working closely with the Batavia Police Department, and out of an abundance of caution, BCSD has decided to close all buildings in the district tomorrow, Friday, December 3, while the Batavia Police Department continues its investigation into whether these threats are credible.

All after-school activities are also canceled for Friday, December 3.

BCSD will continue to update students, families, and staff as relevant information on the investigation becomes available. The safety of BCSD students and staff is the top priority, and the district is taking these allegations against our community very seriously. 

If any student or family has any information regarding the threats, we ask that you please contact the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350 or the confidential tip line at (585) 345-6370. 

UPDATE: News release from the Richmond Memorial Library.

Along with the Batavia City School District, the Richmond Memorial Library will be closed on Friday, December 3 to deal with an emergency situation. 

For more information on 181 Vine St., Batavia, click here.
For more information on 6457 Mill Pond Road, Byron, click here.

Devon Wright

Devon Wright remains a fugitive, according to Chief Shawn Heubusch, Batavia.

Wright, who entered a guilty plea to multiple charges during a trial on Nov. 16, is wanted on two warrants.

The public's assistance is being sought in locating Wright.

Wright is accused of shoving two females on Nov. 27 while at a location on Central Avenue and of tampering with the property of one of the women by throwing it all over the residence.

He is also wanted for violating his terms of release following his guilty plea on counts of attempted criminal possession of a weapon 2nd, assault 3rd, attempted assault 1st, and criminal sexual act 4th.

The plea came during a rare two-defendant trial.  A jury would eventually find Wright's co-defendant, Jacob Sponaugle guilty of attempted murder, along with other changes, in connection with a shooting outside the Days Inn in Batavia in July 2020.

Anyone with information on Wright's whereabouts is asked to contact the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350, the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370.

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Dana Michael McGill, 61, of Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, driving while impaired by drugs, moving from lane unsafely, speeding, failure to obey traffic control device. On Aug. 8, at 2:29 a.m., on Townline Road, Byron, McGill allegedly failed to yield to the lawful command of a police officer and led deputies on a vehicle pursuit.  At the conclusion of the pursuit,  officers suspected he was driving under the influence of a drug and that he was allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance.  He was arraigned in Byron Town Court and released on an appearance ticket.

Brian J. Miller, 40, of Ellicott Street Road, Bethany, is charged with criminal mischief 4th, obstructing governmental administration 2nd, and menacing 3rd. Miller was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with another person at a residence on Ellicott Street Road at 10:51 p.m., Wednesday. He allegedly fled the scene into a wooded area prior to the arrival of deputies. Deputy Andrew Mullen and K-9 "Frankie" were called to the scene and located Miller. He was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released on his own recognizance.  Also assisting in the case were Sgt. Mathew Clor and Officer Peter Flanagan, Batavia PD.

Thomas James Leonard, 38, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with burglary 3rd and petit larceny. Leonard is accused of stealing merchandise from Walmart. He was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released.

Press Release:

Sheriff William A. Sheron, Jr. is pleased to announce the appointment of Diana M. Prinzi to the position of Program Coordinator at Genesee Justice, a  division of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. Mrs. Prinzi is a retired, 22-year veteran of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement where she held the positions of Detention Officer, Lead Detention Officer, Deputy Chief, Deportation Officer, Supervising Deportation Officer, and Assistant Field Office Director.

Mrs. Prinzi is a Batavia native and a 1986 graduate of Notre Dame High School. In 1990, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Magna Cum Laude, in Criminal Justice, from SUNY Brockport. She resides in Genesee County with her husband, Samuel. Diana was recently hired in February of this year as a part-time Community Services/Victim Assistant at Genesee Justice.

"I am excited to have someone with such character and experience lead Genesee Justice and look forward to working with Diana. She will assume the duties of Program Coordinator as of January 3, 2022," stated Sheriff William A. Sheron, Jr.

Press release:

U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Matthew Barber, 53, of Batavia, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography and violating supervised release, was sentenced to serve 147 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron J. Mango and Michael DiGiacomo, who handled the case, stated that in April 2007, Barber was convicted on a federal charge of possessing child pornography and sentenced to serve 74 months in prison and five years’ supervised release. Barber’s supervised release was revoked on July 5, 2017, after he was unsuccessfully discharged from sex offender treatment. As a result of this violation, Barber was sentenced to six months in prison and five years of supervised release.

On May 20, 2020, Barber was found in possession of and using a cell phone and a USB device to view child pornography. A forensic examination of the cell phone and USB device recovered over 1,000 images and 200 videos of child pornography on the two devices. Barber was subsequently charged and convicted of possession of child pornography. 

The sentencing 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 Brian Gould; the Batavia Police Department, under the direction of Chief Shawn Heubusch; and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, under the direction of Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci.

Devon Wright

Devon Wright, who entered a guilty plea to multiple charges during a trial on Nov. 16, is wanted by Batavia PD on two warrants and police are seeking the public's assistance in locating the fugitive.

Wright is accused of shoving two females on Nov. 27 while at a location on Central Avenue and of tampering with the property of one of the women by throwing it all over the residence.

He is also wanted for violating his terms of release following his guilty plea on counts of attempted criminal possession of a weapon 2nd, assault 3rd, attempted assault 1st, and criminal sexual act 4th.

The plea came during a rare two-defendant trial.  A jury would eventually find Wright's co-defendant, Jacob Sponaugle guilty of attempted murder, along with other changes, in connection with a shooting outside the Days Inn in Batavia in July 2020.

Anyone with information on Wright's whereabouts is asked to contact the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350, the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370.

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In 1926 a young woman purchased Batavia's Central Hotel.  She renamed it the Palace Hotel.  The red brick structure was located just south of the New York Central Railroad tracks.  The hotel consisted of three floors.  The main living space for the family was five rooms on the first floor, with nine bedrooms on the second floor and six unused bedrooms on the third floor.  The stately hotel would soon be known as Edna's or the 'house of ill repute.' No one knows how Edna got into prostitution, but there is mention that she was raped at a young age.  She was determined never to allow another woman to go through that violent, humiliating experience.

Edna Geyer was born on July 28, 1882, into a poor family in Buffalo, NY. By the age of 13, she began working in a barroom scrubbing floors. At the age of 15, Edna married Joseph Gruber and had a daughter, Florence in 1901.

In 1935 Edna's daughter Florence died in an accidental fire in Sandusky, Ohio. The death of her daughter was traumatic for Edna. Florence had two children, William and Edna, ages five and three. They moved into the Palace Hotel to live with their grandma, the infamous Edna, upon their mother's death. 

It was difficult for young Edna to lose her mother, move to Batavia and live with her grandmother.  When young Edna's father Charles returned to Batavia to find his wife and children, Grandma Edna took him to the cemetery and pointed to her daughter Florence's headstone.  When Charles wanted to take his children back with him, Edna had him beaten and implied that if he didn't leave town now, then he never would. 

Edna was a powerful woman.  She had connections and was not afraid to use them. As a result, Charles seldom saw his children, except when Edna went to prison for a year for "operating a disorderly house." At that time, Edna asked Charles to come to Batavia and run the Palace Hotel until she returned.

Edna, as the grandmother, was obsessively clean and neat.  She maintained an immaculate house, scrubbing the kitchen floor and bleaching the sidewalk every single day.  She was not your stereotypical madam or your demonstrative loving grandma.  She was an alcoholic and would be drunk for days on end.  As a petite woman of 5 feet stature, she raised her grandchildren with very high morals.  Her grandchildren were completely separate from Edna's prostitution business. Her grandchildren said, "She tried very hard to save us from hurt. She didn't care if people respected her, but they had to respect her grandchildren." The children were never told what went on at the Palace Hotel.

It was challenging to grow up in the Palace Hotel.  Other children ostracized young Edna. If Edna thought her granddaughter was being shunned by her classmates, she had no trouble calling the family and asking the parents if their child had a problem walking to school with her granddaughter.  Just hearing the threat in her voice was enough to instill fear in her granddaughter's classmates.  Ultimately, Edna wanted to save young Edna and Bill from hurt.

Edna was a shrewd businesswoman.  When the earnings from the Palace were divided, she took fifty percent of the profits for herself, and 50 percent went to the girls to be shared with their pimps.

Young Edna and her brother, Bill's lives, were a contradiction.  On the one hand, Grandma Edna was very generous with gifts, but on the other hand, she had young Edna work on the muck to earn money for school clothes.

The Edna the public knew was different from the madam. Edna's generosity to children in the area was legendary.   In the 20s, Edna noticed three young girls living near the New York Central railroad in squalor.  She took the girls home, cleaned them up, fed them, found homes for the older children, and adopted the youngest.

Rather than Edna the madam from Jackson Street, you heard stories about Edna taking care of the less fortunate.  At Christmastime, she would spend hundreds of dollars on toys for children at the Children's Home, the local orphanage in Batavia.  She was known for purchasing communion dresses and suits for needy children of the neighborhood. She told sales clerks at Thomas and Dwyer to be on the lookout for children walking to school barefoot.  She would ask that they be fitted for shoes, and then she would pay the bill.  Edna would send men into McAlpine and Barton in need of a warm suit, and again, the clerks would fit that person and send the invoice to Edna.  She also bought uniforms for the police and fire departments.

Yes, Edna had politicians in her back pocket and probably was connected to the Mafia. She knew how to outsmart the local police and could be very strict and often cold. However, most stories about her described her generosity. She believed that you did not hurt someone who was already down but rather should help them. 

Edna died in 1953. Her granddaughter, young Edna, found her in their living room slumped over a chair.  The Palace Hotel was left to Edna and her brother Bill.  Today the building has been sided and made into apartments.  If only the walls could talk!

Photographs are courtesy of Edna's Gruber's Family and the Holland Land Office Museum.