batavia

Caught this on the fly this morning.  The pumpkin vine goes up the porch column, and the pumpkin is growing on the porch roof.  It is supported by a board so it won't tumble off.

Kind of cool, don't you think?

A semi-truck is on fire at 99 Jackson, in front of Kwik Fill. City fire units are being dispatched.

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UPDATE: Photos:

Engine 12 and Ladder 15, City of Batavia, are responding to a general fire alarm at 29 Cedar St., the office of Time Warner Cable.

UPDATE 1:47 p.m.: False alarm due to construction.

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Apparently, officials at Batavia City School District feel they haven't adequately explained their consideration of new park facilities at the district's North Street property.

This past Saturday, Councilman Bill Cox held a community meeting on the proposal and tonight, Superintendent Margaret Puzio issued a press release detailing the district's position:

"The School District apologizes for not better advertising to the public, the presentation of this material at our September 1 School Board Meeting. At that meeting, we presented to the staff and elected officials from the City of Batavia, Towns of Batavia and Stafford and Genesee County. The consensus of those staff and elected representatives as well as the BOE was that the first step should be to investigate grant funding. This is just the first step in a very long process."

The district contends that there are insufficient youth facilities in the Batavia area and that it is seeking state or federal grants to improve the situation.

Read the full press Release (PDF)

UPDATE: Margaret Puzio spoke with WBTA this morning (mp3).

She said there will be a public meeting on the topic at 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 at Batavia High School.

Without discussion, but with one dissenting vote, the Batavia City Council tonight approved a 2.8 percent pay raise for City Manager Jason Molino.

The vote came following a closed session and before the vote, Council President Charlie Mallow read a statement expressing the council's support for Molino.

Councilman Bill Cox voted no and said after the meeting his decision was based on a "personnel matter" and wouldn't reveal the reason for his no vote.

"I felt at this time a raise was not in order and that's all I want to say," Cox said.

Mallow characterized the pay increase as a cost-of-living raise that Molino wouldn't have gotten if he didn't deserve it.

Prior to the vote, Mallow said, each council member submitted a review of Molino's work.

“The city is in good shape and a lot of that has to do with our city manager," Mallow said. "The council supports the city manager and that’s the reason for the raise."

The motion passed 7-1, with Council Bob Bialkowski absent.

Molino was also not at the meeting.

UPDATE: Councilman Cox released this statement this morning:

"The primary reason that I voted against the raise for City Manager Molino is the same reason I voted against the raises for the other non-union staff previously, which is economics.

Our citizens and taxpayers have heavy burdens of property taxes, school taxes, and water/sewer taxes. We have property owners and citizens who have lost their jobs due to the economy. We have retired people on pensions that have been reduced and those same retired citizens have lost health benefits or had them reduced in many cases.

When you are in a position of senior management and leadership you should demonstrate to the people that you understand the dire circumstances many are under and forgo a raise until the economy turns around."
 

For five years, members of the Police Benevolent Association patrolled Batavia's streets without a labor contract with the city.

Recently, an arbitrator awarded back pay to the union members, which they probably would've received in cost-of-living increases if they had had a contract.

Tonight, the City Council approved unanimously, without discussion, transfer of $235,000 from the city's contingency fund to the police department budget to cover the arbitration award.

The city could have wound up owing the PBA members more than $288,000.

As part of the same resolution, the council approved transferring $23,000 to the fire department budget to repair the air-conditioning system at the Evans Street station.

Report of a no-injury auto accident on Ellicott Street between Swan and Otis.

The vehicles are blocking a portion of Ellicott currently.

A former Oakfield-Alabama bus driver who pled guilty in April to criminal sexual conduct in the second degree for inappropriately touching a 13-year-old student was back in court this morning to receive a new sentence in the case.

Alan D. Tidd, 50, of 3191 Galloway Road, Batavia, initially received a "determinant" prison term of seven years. Under sentencing rules, this means a defendant is not eligible for release for "good behavior" or because the defendant is believed rehabilitated.

But the determinant sentence statute was passed until 2007, and Tidd's crime was reportedly committed in 2004.

Today, Judge Robert Noonan issued the maximum sentence available under 2004 rules, which is seven years, but Tidd could be released after two-and-a-third years.

Meanwhile, Tidd's guilty plea is under appeal. His attorney, Timothy Murphy, said outside of court that Tidd, who entered his plea only days after his arrest, felt rushed and pressured to plead guilty because he wanted to get out of jail in a hurry to care for his wife, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and is confined to a wheelchair.

Tidd, who has three children and a grandchild, has no prior criminal record.

UPDATE: To clarify the time line:

• The single criminal act charged dates to 2004
• The law on determinant sentencing changed in 2007
• Tidd was arrested in November, 2008
• Tidd plead guilty within days of his arrest, according to his attorney
• Sometime between November and April, his attorney filed a motion to withdraw the guilty plea.
• That motion was denied April 9, 2009.
• He was sentenced on that day in April to a determinant sentence of seven years.
• Today, he was resentenced to an indeterminate sentence of 2 and-a-third years to seven years (the maximum sentence available.)

Peter William Stapley, 19, of 3797 Piffard Circle, Piffard, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Stapley allegedly possessed a pipe with marijuana residue on it. He was arrested Friday at 3:39 a.m. in Pavilion.

Robert Lawrence Drozdowski, 27, of 14 W. Main St, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Drozdowski allegedly violated a court order which required him to have no contact of any kind with his ex-girlfriend. He allegedly sent a letter to her while incarcirated in Genesee County Jail. Drozdowski remains in jail.

William Dolose Hirsch, 22, of 10025 Buckman Road, Pavilion, is charged with two counts of harassment and stalking. Hirsch was arrested after allegedly calling his ex-girlfriend several times in June after he reportedly was told not to contact her again. He also sent her a picture for "no legitimate purpose," according to the Sheriff's Office press release. Hirsch was jailed on $2,000 bail.

A reader called to report that a train has stopped at the Seven Springs Road crossing and hasn't moved for more than five minutes.

I'm in court all morning. If anybody has any other information or update, please leave a comment.

It was found out Saturday evening that the Genesee Cougars Men's Basketball team has a new star player. Sign him up folks, Batavia's own Paul Ohlson, founder of Care-A-Van Ministries! It seemed Pastor Dale Gooch of the Emmanuel Baptist church was negotiating the deal.

I just could not resist sharing this breaking news! Ok, well maybe it is just his dream,, to be a star basketball player  but the reality of it all is that the vision of Care-A-Van Ministries is strong and truly is a key player in bringing hope and encouragement to all.

On Saturday evening Care-A-Van Ministries was at GCC for our annual Fall cookout.

We served over 150 students at the cookout. It was a great night out! Many of the students remembered Care-A-Van from last year with our monthly visits to the  door rooms with treats and prayers. This group of young men joined us for the cookout.

Debbie Crossett of the GCC CSU ( Christian Students United) was on hand to lend her support and provide information for the students in regards to the opportunity of becoming involved with that campus organization.

Patti Chadwick of the Reading Room, located here in Batavia set up a table and offered free books to the students while her huband John was busy cooking on the grill.

It just amazes this PR director how Bridget, Paul's wife does all the cooking for the weekly cookouts.

Dave Holenbeck and Ron Mazulla provided entertaining music for all.

Care-A-Van Ministries will be returning the campus on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 for street church, where Pastor Dale will give the message.

Thank you to everyone who made this evening possible and thank you to the students for such a warm reception. As the bus pulled away, the team was busy on the practicing on the outdoor court. I just had to holler out Go Cougars! You may just want to catch one of their games in this upcoming season, I am sure you will not be dissapointed!

These young gals enjoy the evening on the hillside

It's a common question people ask me: "Why Batavia?"

People often want to know how I wound up in Batavia with this crazy idea of launching an online-only news site.

It all started the second weekend of September 2006, my first weekend as a Western New Yorker, when, after spotting a notice in a garden magazine, I decided to drive out to Batavia for the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County’s Master Gardeners'  annual Fall Harvest Gala.

In California, I began growing roses as a hobby and was eager to continue growing roses, even though my new job was bringing me to the Rochester area. 

I had just completed my first week in my new job and was living in a hotel in Fairport. I had no idea how far Batavia was from Fairport, but I jumped in my rental sedan, punched the address into the GPS and off I went.

When I hit town, I was immediately smitten. Here was a small town that struck me as what small town should be. There were cool old buildings, lots of local businesses, nice Victorian-era houses and it just seemed like a place where some sense of community still existed.

I didn't see the warts that so many often note, and I still don't much see them.

I thought, "I'd rather live here than Fairport."  

But, my company's office was in Fairport and I've never been a fan of long commutes.

So we wound up living in Pittsford, but I didn't forget Batavia.

When my bosses asked me to come up with a plan for launching an online-only news site, Batavia was my first choice. After a few more scouting trips out to Genesee County, I felt confident Batavia was the right-sized town with a vibrant local business community. 

I was actually a bit disappointed that I couldn't move to Batavia to run the project. I still had other job responsibilities in Fairport.

Then an amazing thing happened: The Batavian was mine, if I wanted it. Of course, that would mean moving to Batavia. That was fine with me and Billie. We moved to Batavia on June 1, glad to be out of the rat race and eager to be entrepreneurs.

We're quite happy with our life here. It's the kind of small-town life we long sought but could never find in California. We're grateful to all the readers and sponsors of The Batavian. You're helping us live "life as it should be" (the link is an irony hint; we previously lived in Bakersfield).

And here's how four of my rose bushes are faring in Batavia.

My morning started at the Pok-A-Dot. Just as I sat down, so did another couple and the lady happened to mention she was visiting from California. Well, that caught my ear for sure. "Where are you from?" I asked.

"Temecula."

"Oh, one of my best friends is a math teacher in Temecula. I grew up in San Diego."

"What brought you out here?"

"The weather."

After she picked her jaw up off the countertop, we started chatting. It turns out she's a singer. You might have known her as Debbie Chamberlain. Now she performs as Debbie Voltura.

Debbie is in town for her daughter's wedding today.

After a while, Bill McDonald, on the right, above, walked in and the two musicians with deep roots in Batavia greeted each other warmly. Debbie asked her manager Marc Gabriel, left, to go out to the car and get a copy of her latest CD, "Live on Broadway."

Bill said, "This lady can sing." And can she. Check out some of the song samples here.  If you like swinging jazz, as Billie and I do, you'll love Debbie's music.

As is his tradition, Ken Mistler hung a giant flag on the Carr's Building today to commemorate 9/11.

I spoke with Kenny a bit outside of "The Daily Grind," which will be his new coffee, tea and juice bar at the corner of Jackson and Main streets. He said he's about two weeks from opening because noisy work is still going on inside of the gym he's building adjacent to it.

Two men have been charged with burglary for allegedly breaking into a home on State Street on Sept. 2.

One of the men had been previously arrested and charged with possession of stolen property after he was reportedly caught driving a car stolen from the residence.

Burglary in the second degree charges were filed against Reginald M. Wilson, 283 Seneca Manor Drive, Rochester, who was reportedly found driving the car, and Dillon M. Brito, 17, of 15 Maple St., Batavia.

The duo allegedly stole jewelry, cash, prescription medications, a clock, liquor, wine and food items. 

The resident was home sleeping at the time of the break-in, according to Det. Pat Corona.

Brito, who is also accused of breaking into a house on Maple Street this week, was taken into custody Wednesday.

Both men are being held without bail.

Photos: Wilson top, Brito bottom.
 

A spokesman for the task force reviewing Off Track Betting operations in New York wrote to The Batavian yesterday to say:

With reference to the item on the Genesee County Legislature's opposition to a purported takeover of regional Off Track Betting corporations, I wish to assure your readers that the New York State Task Force on the Future of OTB has proposed nothing of the kind.

Joseph Mahoney, public information officer for the New York State Task Force on the Future of OTB was responding to an article The Batavian posted about the Genesee County Legislature passing a resolution opposing any state takeover of OTB, specifically, Batavia Downs.

By this time, Assemblyman Steven Hawley had been very clear that there has been no discussion in Albany of any such takeover.

What I find curious was the wording of Mr. Mahoney's message to The Batavian. He said there has been no proposal. That leaves unsaid, could there be a proposal?

So I wrote back to Mr. Mahoney and asked that and other specific questions such as, "Is there anything on the table that could, possibly, maybe reduce the amount of local control, control of the current operators?"

Mr. Mahoney's response: Visit our web site. 

Well, among the first documents I open is the minutes from the group's first meeting, June 25, in which Chairman John Van Lindt is reported to say  that topping the list of possible outcomes of the Task Force's work is "consolidation to achieve cost savings by efficiency of operations."

To me that sounds like centralization of OTBs, which logically implies a state takeover, don't you think?

In the next meeting, Aug. 2, Van Lindt made a motion that requires OTB's to have early termination clauses in any new contracts. That sounds like a prelude to centralizing administration.

Placed on the agenda for the next meeting: "Various options for continuation of OTBs in the state, e.g., joint venture with tracks, consolidate, privatize with or without consolidation, maintain status quo."

OK, so consolidation isn't the only option, but it's on the table.

At that meeting, Aug. 25, during public comment, Charles Hayward, president the New York Racing Association, includes a suggestion to consolidate operations and overhead "(accounting, marketing, insurance etc.)."

So, Mr. Mahoney is right: There is no proposal, at least in a formal sense, to consolidate OTB operations, but the idea certainly seems to be on people's minds.

Mahoney in his initial e-mail:

The goal of the Task Force members is a clear one: They wish to increase the level of revenue produced by OTB corporations -- especially to local governments.

But Mahoney never directly answered this question, and I think it's an important one for the task force to address: "With a successful operation like Batavia Downs, why should the state intervene at all? Shouldn't we assume the current operators know what they're doing and don't need outside intervention?"

Making bigger government entities is no way to increase efficiency or improve profits for the communities that host these operations.

The allegation by critics of the task force is that this is an opening for a revenue grab by the state fueled by the failures of downstate racing and OTB operations. The task force's own meeting minutes are not terribly reassuring that there isn't some truth to that concern.