batavia

There is a power outage in Batavia that covers an area north of East Main Street, from about Bank Street to just east of Clinton Street stretching north in a triangle with the tip on Bank Street Road in East Elba.

About 2,400 National Grid customers are affected.

The cause of the outage is not available at this time and emergency dispatchers are not aware of the cause.

National Grid is giving an estimated time of power restoration of 12:45 p.m.

UPDATE 11:59 p.m.: Steve Brady, spokesman for National Grid, said the cause it not known at this time. A crew is at the substation.  He will provide more information when it's available.

UPDATE 1:42 p.m.: From Steve Brady: "All customers were restored at 12:54 through some switching, but root cause of the outage is still unclear.  There may have been a fuse problem in the station, but crews are still looking at it."

UPDATE 2:03 p.m.: Batavia High School Principal Scott Wilson sent parents/guardians a voice message this afternoon about the power outage. He said power was reported out at 10:55 a.m. and it was restored at 12:30 p.m. and that school officials were in contact with National Grid. The high school remained open throughout the power outage. Backup generators were used and lighting was in place for bathrooms, and the students were provided a hot lunch. They took advantage of natural lighting and students were directed to sit in the atrium and gymnasium. Having Chrome book computers during a power outage was noted as a "new benefit" of the devices, enabling instruction to continue with a minimum of disruption. Wilson said afternoon instruction for BOCES students has been cancelled; students were directed to the library and could be dismissed from there with parental consent. Anyone with questions is asked to call 343-2480, ext. 2000.

Several years ago, dispatcher James Tripp and then Batavia PD Lt. Jim Henning got to talking one day about how cool it would be to have replicas of Batavia patrol vehicles made, and Tripp, being a bit of a collector of fire and police memorabilia, he started researching how to get it done.

Employed by both the Sheriff's Office and Batavia PD, Tripp began with the idea of getting replica patrol vehicles for both agencies. 

For that batch, he found a company in California that could make them.

About five years later, both agencies had replaced most of their old vehicles and members of both agencies were interested in updated models. He and Henning discussed the options and Henning suggested VSP graphics in Buffalo; the company, at the time, did the decals for Batavia's patrol vehicles. 

That set of vehicles was created in 2010. 

VSP was unable to handle the workload this year, so Tripp turned to Vinyl Sticks, with an office in Batavia, and Vinyl Sticks was willing to take on the job in between their larger jobs. 

Trip ordered the blank 1/24 scale of the SUV used by both departments and the first batch was recently completed.

"These replicas as I indicated are not mass produced and each car's decals are manually applied, which can be a time-consuming task," Tripp said.  

The cars are sold to members of both agencies looking for a keepsake and conversation piece. They can be customized with the officer's badge number on the top of the roof and license plate number. 

Tripp said these cars are not sold at a profit. 

"One other footnote is the City of Batavia replicas (and most common folk would not even notice) have the City of Batavia Police Department special 100-year century of service sticker on the back door of the model, just like the real patrol vehicles, which makes them even more unique," Tripp said.

"I would just add it is one of those things likes arts and crafts I guess that you're either into it or not," Tripp said. "My feelings are, for me anyway, it is a sense of pride for me to display and be proud of what I have done and who I have worked for most of my adult life. Serving and working with emergency services to me has been a blessing for me and I am honored that I have had that opportuinty to do just that in this community. While I am semi-retired, I still enjoy walking in the door of both agencies to represent both agencies to the best of my ability. This project for me is part of that pride."

The John Gardner Society gathered for the 20th time last night for its annual reading of works by and about John Gardner, the acclaimed novelist originally from Batavia.

This year, Bill Gardner, John's cousin, attended and spoke at the end about a phone call he received from John near the end of his life. He said John was morose and despondent over the state of his writing.

“I want to come back to Genesee County," John told Bill. "I lost my roots."

He wanted Bill to find him a place to live, ideally a Greek revival home. Bill said he there wasn't much around, but he had seen a place in East Bethany, so he went took at it, but found it had been turned into apartments.

John died in a motorcycle accident in Pennsylvania (where he lived) not long after that, but Bill said he was always struck by the fact that John felt he couldn't write because he had strayed too far from home.

"He had lost his touch," Bill said. "He had lost his ability to write and the problem, as he saw it, was that he lost his touch with the land where he grew up and he wanted to come back."

Top photo: Maureen Maas-Feary.

Gretel Kauffman

Byron Hoot, who travels from Pittsburgh each year for the reading.

Helen Maier

Bill Gardner

Timothy Bucknam stands in for Philemon Tracy, the only Confederate officer lain to rest north of the Mason-Dixon line, who is buried in the Batavia Cemetery.

Bucknam provided visitors to the cemetery last night with information on Tracy's life during the Batavia Cemetery Association's annual ghost walk.

Also pictured below are Tracy Ford as poet Rev. John Henry Yates and Patrick Weissend as Joseph Ellicott.

A pair of large obelisks at grave sites in the Batavia Cemetery, which were knocked by falling tree branches in recent years, were placed and positioned on their stands earlier this week by Craig Wolcott and his crew from Wolcott Lawn and Cemetery Maintenance.

The project was funded through a grant from the Rochester Area Community Foundation and a donation by the Landmark Society of Genesee County.

Photos and information from Sharon Burkel.

James Dillon explained to more than a dozen people who attended the open house Saturday night at the new Harvester Makerspace what a makerspace is all about and what they can do there.

Members will have access to a variety of tools to help them turn their ideas into useful items, art or new products to try and bring to market.

The space provides 3D printing, CNC milling, laser cutting and vacuum forming.

Wet and cold and a slippery pigskin defined much of Batavia's opening round game against University Prep at Van Detta Stadium on Friday night.

Batavia pulled out a win, 24-12, after falling behind in a first half 12-8 marked by four fumbles.

In all, both teams would combine for more than 10 turnovers on the rain-soaked night.

U-Prep held Batavia's season-leading rusher, Ray Leach, to less than 40 yards on the ground. He did score the opening touchdown.

It was a tough night for passing, and with Leach pretty well bottled up by U-Prep's defense, Batavia turned to QB Jerry Reinhart to run the ball. He rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns.

The star of the night was likely Anthony Ray, who had 10 tackles and two sacks, including one for a safety.

To purchase prints, click here.

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Press release:

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and, as often as domestic violence is discussed during October, there is often one missing component in the message.

“Domestic violence is a devastating social problem that affects every segment of the population. Children are considered secondary victims of domestic violence and this is not the case,” says YWCA’s Support Services coordinator Sherry Crumity. “Children often hear and see violence at home, and through that exposure they have emotional, mental and social damage that can affect their developmental growth.”

That was the message during YWCA’s annual Partner Agency Breakfast Wednesday at the nonprofit’s North Street site. The event is a way to recognize those people that work in law enforcement, legal and justice systems, government, business and human service fields to help reduce domestic violence in the community.

Why the focus on children? Since 2015, two dozen victims and 46 children have sought safe housing at YWCA’s shelter. That means 46 little lives have all been touched by domestic violence right here in Genesee County this past year alone. Nationally, one in 15 kids is exposed to intimate partner violence each year and 70 percent of abusers seeking treatment witnessed domestic violence as a child.

This type of violence does not happen in a vacuum, said Dr. Alisa Hathaway of Project Stronger at Mount Hope Family Center. She explained it simply after a video showed one young girl’s sadness due to the abuse in her home.

“She feels invisible,” Hathaway said to the audience of about 50 people. “There’s not something wrong with her but what has happened to her.”

Children exposed to domestic violence exhibit signs of aggression, anxiety, stress, destruction of property, depression, bedwetting, challenging authority, headaches and/or nightmares, Crumity said.

Since services for children began at YWCA earlier this year, seven out of 10 have met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. It can be a long-lasting struggle, she said. She has worked with adult clients who have gotten “stuck” at the age they first witnessed domestic violence.

“Children who have witnessed domestic violence often have confused and contradictory feelings.  When the violence happens, children may feel scared and ashamed, or they may even think that they caused the problem,” she said. “Worse, they can grow up thinking that it's okay to hurt others or let other people hurt them.”

While most people are aware that domestic violence may include emotional, verbal, physical, sexual and even financial abuse, trauma and its signs may not be as obvious. Trauma is one’s response to a perceived threat to survival or emotional well-being. Even if a child seems “fine” on the outside, that doesn’t mean he or she is truly emotionally stable, Hathaway said.

In fact, care providers need to pay attention to those kids in particular, she said. They can be feeling shutdown, numb and separated from normal life, and therefore pull away from activities and relationships.

Crumity believes that it’s crucial for partner agencies, which also include health care professionals, schools and churches, to be trained in trauma-informed care and the effects domestic violence has on children.

“This way they are able to identify and refer families to services,” she said. “The training conducted today by Dr. Hathaway was a major step in addressing the gaps in services for children exposed to domestic violence.”

What to do? Hathaway offered some “essential elements” for providing this type of care:

• Recognize the impact trauma has had on a child;
• Help the child to feel safe and understand his or her problem behaviors;
• Respect and support the child’s positive, stable relationships;
• Be an advocate for the child and encourage trauma-focused assessment and treatment.

There is another element that is the anchor to all of these suggestions, Hathaway said.

“Take care of yourself,” she said. “It is equally important that trauma care providers take care of themselves.”

For more information about domestic violence and YWCA’s services, call (585) 343-5808 or YW’s 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline at (585) 343-7513.

Press release:

Eugene Jankowski Jr., of Batavia, president of the Batavia City Council and a former Batavia Police officer, and has just returned from hosting Season 1 of "Shot to the Heart" reality TV show.

“The crew and contestants were great to work with and it’s one of the top 10 most fun projects I've ever been involved with!” Jankowski said.

"Shot to the Heart" is the brainchild of Stephanie Shipman and is produced by the Shipman Agency. Filmed on location in Texas, it's an outdoor television original and the first of its kind in reality outdoor programming.

A true outdoor-oriented reality show, based on the couples' abilities in the outdoors. Think "Survivor" meets "The Apprentice" outdoor style!

The show features couples that are experienced in various outdoor disciplines. They will compete in events that range from shooting sports, various hunting techniques, wilderness survival, trekking and sporting challenges. Only one couple will emerge the Champion.

The program will air mid-January on the BLAZETV network, check your local listings for times.

For more information and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show, click here.

Eugene can be found here.

Turning math into playtime was the theme of Family Fun Night at Jackson School last night. 

The elementary schoolchildren and their parents were given a booklet with math problems to solve, and then they went through various game boards to help them solve those problems.

Prizes were award to students who successfully filled in their booklet with the correct answers.

Christopher J. Campbell, 38, of Chaddock Road in Bethany, is a registered sex offender who, on Oct. 18, was charged with failure to report a change of address as required by law. It is a felony. He formerly resided on West Main Street Road in Batavia. Campbell was arraigned in Bethany Town Court and jailed in lieu of $5,000 cah bail. He is due to return to court at 7 p.m. on Nov. 15. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Christopher Parker, assisted by Sheriff's Sgt. Jason Saile.

Teresa M. Bosdyk, 54, of Water Street, Perry, is charged with DWI, speeding lane violation and not wearing a seat belt. The defendant was involved in a motor-vehicle accident at 11:50 p.m. on Oct. 18 on Ellicott Street Road in Bethany. It appears she crossed into the oncoming lane and struck a tractor-trailer. Further investigation revealed she was allegedly driving while intoxicated. Bosdyk was transported via Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital for evaluation of her injuries. She will return to Bethany Town Court at a later date. Additional charges are pending. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Howard Carlson, assisted by Deputy Andrew Hale.

Douglas Duane Brown Jr., 34, of Meadow Farm, North Chili, is charged with insufficient tail lamp, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree, aggravated DWI, per se, with a BAC of .18 or more, DWI. The defendant was stopped on Alexander Road in the Town of Alexander at 11:50 p.m. on Sept. 22 for an alleged equipment violation. Further investigation allegedly revealed that the defendant was driving while intoxicated. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy McClellan, assisted by Howard Carslon.

Adam Louis Zichitella, 18, of Cole Road, Colden, is charged with DWI, operation of a motor vehicle with a BAC of .08 percent or more, and stopping, standing or parking upon a highway. The defendant was found parked roadside in the southbound lane of Route 77 in the Town of Alabama at 12:43 a.m. on Sept. 25. An investigation allegedly revealed that the defendant was allegedly driving while intoxicated. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy McClellan, assisted by Deputy Howard Carlson.

Once a year, the Sheriff's Office is required to test its backup emergency dispatch center and tonight's the night for dispatchers to work out of the location at 14 W. Main St., instead of their normal home on Park Road.

The facility is configured exactly like Park Road for an easy transition from one location to the other.

The backup facility would be used if Park Road couldn't be used for some reason.

The room in the old Sheriff's Office on West Main was the dispatch center for the Sheriff's Office for decades before the Park Road office was built.

These days, emergency dispatchers handle all traffic in the county for the Sheriff's road patrols, Batavia PD, Le Roy PD, State Police and the fire departments.

Dispatchers handle somewhere in the neighborhood of 30,000 calls for service annually.

A consolidation plan enacted by Batavia City Schools four years ago has led to cost savings in some key areas, Sandra Griffin, now a retired principal from Batavia Middle School, told the school board at Tuesday's meeting.

Overall, personnel costs have decreased by $31,000.  

The first year of consolidation, in 2012-13, there was a $1.2 million cost savings, but since then the district has added new staff or AIS support and personnel for arts and music. Even so, there has been a payroll savings each year since consolidation.

When consolidation was implemented, district administration moved from its offices on Washington Avenue to offices at Batavia High School, closed Robert Morris School and shuffled grade levels between Jackson, John Kennedy, and Batavia Middle School.

One of the biggest areas of cost savings was in operations and maintenance, which is down $414,000.

Unemployment costs are down $103,000.

Utility expenses are down $292,700.

The one area of increase is bussing, which has jumped $484,000, the result of a more open bussing policy which has mean 305 more students are able to take a bus to and from school.

Academically, Batavia High School is in good shape, Principal Scott Wilson told school board members at Batavia City Schools regular meeting Tuesday night.

Last year, the high school hit a 95-percent graduation rate and Wilson is pleased with regularly hitting a 90-percent-plus rate, but repeating 95 percent will be a daunting challenge, he said.

In eight of the 10 regents exams, the school has improved its passing rate. He said there as been a steady growth in improved scores, especially in math, where staff has invested more time and resources.

"I'd like to see a higher passing rate, but a slow and steady climb is continuing to sharpen the saw," Wilson said.

He described the passing rate for students in advanced placement classes as "healthy."

Last year, 49 percent of students went on to a two-year college and 25 percent to a four-year college. Wilson would like to improve those numbers, but, "those are good numbers and very healthy for us."

About 19 percent of graduates leave school, after study at BOCES, with skills to enter the workforce in a trade.

The introduction of Chrombooks into the classrooms has gone over well with students and parents, Wilson said.

"All you have to do is walk the halls and see the progress in action," Wilson said.

Peter Stanley Hawkins, 49, of A Cayuga Village Street, Niagara Falls, is charged with third-degree assault. He was arraigned on the charged in Darien Town Court at 4:20 p.m. on Oct. 18. His arrest stems from an unspecified incident that occurred at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center at 9 p.m. on Aug. 31. Hawkins was released under supervision of Genesee Justice and is due back in Darien Town Court at 1 p.m. on Nov. 17. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Forsyth.

Guillermo Avila-Ramirez, 64, of Port Bay Road, Wolcott, is charged with: third degree criminal possession of a weapon; unlawful possession of marijuana; unsafe tire; and uninspected vehicle. The subject was arrested for allegedly possessing a dagger in his truck after it was involved in a motor-vehicle crash on Bloomingdale Road at the Tonawanda Indian Reservation at 8:03 a.m. on Oct. 16. The subject also allegedly possessed a bag of marijuana in his pocket at the time of his arrest. He is due in Town of Alabama Court on Nov. 3. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Christopher Parker, assisted by Sheriff's Sgt. Eric Seppala and NYS Trooper Mark Catanzaro.

Joshua John Dibble, 34, of Pearl Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. At 4:28 p.m. on Oct. 15, following the investigation of a shoplifting complaint on Lewiston Road in the Town of Batavia, Dibble was arrested. He allegedly stole merchandise from a department store by passing all points of purchase without paying. He was issued an appearance ticket for Oct. 27 in Batavia Town Court. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Henning.

A caller reports being hit by a car on Swan Street, Batavia, with the vehicle fleeing the scene.

The caller says it was a red or maroon Jeep.

The caller went home to his residence on Jackson Street before calling dispatchers. He denied the need for EMS, but an ambulance is being sent to that address as a precaution to check on head, arm and knee injuries.