Buffalo Sabres legend Danny Gare has an important Genesee County tie -- his daughter and son-in-law live in Le Roy. And now he has a grandchild. His daughter just gave birth at UMMC, so he was in Batavia tonight and stopped in at South Beach for dinner with his son-in-law.
Above, South Beach owner Ken Mistler takes a mobile phone picture of Mary Kline with Gare. Below, Chef Arvin Ortiz -- a HUGE Sabres fan -- poses with Gare.
On Friday and Saturday, Aug. 6 and 7, The City Church in Batavia is having a "motorcycle event" at the Holiday Inn.
This is an annual event through STAR Touring and Riding. The charity of choice through STAR is "Feed the Children."
On Friday, Aug. 6, a tractor-trailer from Feed the Children will be coming to the Holiday Inn, Batavia, around noon. The hotel is located at 8250 Park Road.
From there, bikers will escort the truck to The City Church parking lot on Center Street. City Church will then distribute goods to families in need.
From inside the County Legislature's chambers.
The 86th season for the Batavia Concert Band is drawing to a close. Tonight, the group of experienced professionals and enthusiastic amatuers presented its second-to-last show of the summer at Centennial Park.
More than 200 people were on hand in the warm, beautiful evening to hear a mix of classic and popular tunes.
The Concert Band performs its finale of the season at 7 p.m. next Wednesday in Centennial Park.
An apparent attempt to steal DVDs from an adult product store on Ellicott Street led to a search of the Buell Street neighborhood this afternoon.
A Batavia Police officer believed the man ran into a wooded area near train tracks off of Edward Street and the search was called off.
A short time later, the owner of Pandora's Boxxx, 4818 Ellicott St., Batavia, drove down Edward and spotted a man fitting the description of the suspect.
The store owner remained in his car, called 9-1-1 and followed the suspect down Edward and into the Elmwood/St. Joseph Cemetery.
Uniformed and plain clothes officers from the Sheriff's Office and the Batavia Police Department arrived on scene and at about that time the suspect decided to try to run.
He was apprehended quickly.
The man is identified as Micahel J. Piasta, 30, of East Main Street, Batavia.
He is charged with attempted petit larceny.
The store owner praised his employee for providing an exact description of the suspect to Deputy Chris Parker, who handled the investigation.
Batavia resident Frank VanApeldoorn was positioned on Ellicott Street this afternoon with his religious sign. VanApeldoorn said today wasn't the first time he's stood in front of the former Dellapenna building with his sign. He's also travelled around the region, and even around the country, with his sign. VanApeldoorn, a member of Calvary Baptist Church on Galloway Road, said he likes the Dellapenna's location because it's visible, but still out of people's way and, "It's where God put me."
A 21-year-old Holland Avenue resident has been arrested by Batavia Police and accused of rape.
Detectives say Michael Lanham had consensual (see clarification below) sex one time with a 15-year-old girl, and on another occasion forced himself on her.
Both incidents occurred in July, according to Det. Kevin Czora and Det. Todd Crossett.
Lanham is also accused of taking and possessing explicit pictures of the girl.
He is charged with rape, 1st, rape, 3rd, promoting sexual performance with a child and possessing sexual performance with a child.
Lanham is being held in Genesee County Jail without bail.
CLARIFICATION: The original press release said one of the sex acts was "without consent," and I changed that into "consensual," which legally means something different. The girl, being underage, can't have consensual sex. Det. Czora clarified it this way: "On one occasion, there was no 'force' used, and the charge was based on the ages of the defendant and the victim. On a second occasion, she was considered legally 'physically helpless' and her age was not a contributing factor."
A motor vehicle accident involving either a pedestrian or bicyclist is reported on Ellicott Street in front of the courthouse.
Batavia Fire Department and Mercy EMS have responded.
The person who wasn't in a vehicle is walking and complains of knee pain.
Former Batavian Barry Bower and Batavia Daily News reporter Virginia Kropf will explore the mysterious disappearance of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart next week at the invitation of GO ART!
The event is part of the regional arts council's popular Salon Series.
Titled "The Cryptographers: Barry Bower & Virginia Kropf," it will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 10 in the Gathering Room of the Shirt Factory Cafe, located at 115 W. Center St., in Medina.
A contribution of $20 for non-members and $18 for GO ART! members is requested. Reservations are required and can be made by phone at (585) 343-9313, e-mail at info@GOart.org, or by stopping in to GO ART!, Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St. in Batavia (open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays).
Amelia Earhart disappeared July 2, 1937. She became the first woman to win the Distinguished Flying Cross after being the first woman to solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Earhart worked to inspire and help women interested in flying careers and formed the Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. She disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to circumnavigate the world. Her mysterious disappearance has been a source of speculation and conspiracy theories ever since.
Barry and "Ginny" will share what tantalizing clues they have uncovered in their quest to decrypt this riveting legend. Barry is a former City of Batavia councilman who now resides in Pennsylvania and devotes most of his time to researching Earhart's disappearance. When not working for The Daily News, Ginny has also devoted a lot of time piecing together clues of this famous mystery.
This Salon is paired with a themed dinner that includes "airline" chicken, fresh fruit and bread and dessert. Refreshments, wine and beer included.
Limited edition posters of Roz Hayes' original painting that depicts Amelia Earhart will be available for sale!
The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO ART!) is a private nonprofit organization, which believes that art and culture enriches, inspires and educates, while strengthening a community's identity.
Therefore, GO ART! initiates a broad range of opportunities for artists and cultural organizations, and facilitates cooperative efforts among the cultural, business, service and educational communities for the people who live in and visit Genesee and Orleans counties.
Thirty Batavia students have been awarded a Back-to-School Shopping Spree from Target and The Salvation Army.
They are among the more than 12,000 kids nationwide who will each receive an $80 Target GiftCard to buy school supplies.
From 8 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30, the local students will have the opportunity to visit the Batavia Target on Veterans Memorial Drive. They will get to buy backpacks, calculators, pens and pencils, art supplies, binders, clothing and other must-have supplies just in time for back-to-school.
Each child will also be given a reusable Target shopping bag and be paired with a volunteer chaperone for their fun day of shopping.
Batavia Police are looking for a subject in the area of Buell Street, west of Cedar Street.
The subject may have committed a petit larceny at Pandora's Boxxx on Ellicott Street.
A partial description, a white male with a tanned complexion wearing a plaid shirt and gray undershirt.
UPDATE (3:25 p.m.): The owner of Pandora's Boxxx reportedly spotted the suspect and followed him down Edward Street, where he ran into Elmwood/St. Joseph Cemetery. Police arrived and he tried to escape but appeared to run out of energy, or willpower, and was quickly apprehended.
A Batavia man who stole a wallet from a car on Gateway Drive and used credit cards to make purchases at stores on Veterans Memorial Drive is facing two to four years in prison after pleading guilty in Genesee County Court today.
Kyle C. Monroe admitted in court that he stole the wallet and removed a credit card and a debit card, he also admitted to a violation of probation.
Monroe was convicted of possession of stolen property, 4th, on March 9 and is now considered a second felony offender for purposes of sentencing.
Defense Attorney Jerry Ader asked that his client be released under supervision so that Monroe can take care of some personal matters before going away to prison. Ader said that Monroe has been living with his girlfriend on State Street Road and started classes at GCC before his last arrest.
"I won’t forgo the possibility of release, but that doesn’t sound like a promising plan," Judge Robert Noonan said.
Bail on the larceny case is set at $5,000 and bail on the probation violation is $10,000.
Sentencing was set for Sept. 23.
Previous coverage:
Eric D. Johnston, 32, no permanent address, and Lisa M. Rugh, 37, no permanent address, are charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Johnston and Rugh were charged in connection with a search warrant executed on March 11 at 13 Hutchins St., Batavia. Charges were pending while awaiting lab results from Monroe County. Johnston and Rugh were issued appearance tickets. (Also, Johnston was reportedly a resident at 13 Ross St. in February where a suspected small meth lab was found.)
Joseph Arthur Ababurko, 35, of Military Road, Niagara Falls, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Ababurko was allegedly found in possession of marijuana while at Darien Lake Theme Park.
A 17-year-old Batavia resident is charged with sexual misconduct. He is accused of having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl.
Community members young and old came to Austin Park tonight for Batavia's "National Night Out," a chance for residents to mingle together, see old friends, make new ones, learn about public safety issues, have their children receive ID cards and play a few games and enjoy some local music.
More pictures after the jump:
An interesting situation arose tonight that's just kind of worth noting for the record: Mercy EMS ran out of ambulances.
When a girl fell from a scooter on Summit Street at about 10:45 p.m., just a block from UMMC, a dispatcher asked Batavia City Fire who should respond. The city asked for Oakfield.
Seconds later, a Mercy EMS ambulance noted they were in service (meaning free to take a call). The dispatcher asked city fire if Mercy EMS should respond. City fire responded that it was only a "BLS call" (basic life support).
Dispatch informed the Mercy EMS unit that Oakfield was responding. The unit, with a siren blaring in the background, informed dispatch it was only three minutes out. The dispatcher responded that the agency with jurisdiction had already requested Oakfield.
Oakfield's ambulance was on scene within minutes and had the patient quickly transported to UMMC.
I can't think of another time in which I've personally heard a volunteer ambulance service responding to a call in the city since Mercy took over ambulance service.
At National Night Out in Austin Park this evening, Batavia City Fire Department was on hand with Ladder 15. My joke, pointing to the top, "What's the price of the ride?"
That evolved into permission to get an actual ride high over Batavia aboard the platform of Ladder 15.
Thank you to city fire for letting me get a view of Batavia from such a great vantage point.
Firefighter Bob Fix drove the rig up and back down, and I know he was laughing under his breath when he said, "You know you can let go of the railing. You're wearing a harness."
The wind and any movement causing the bucket to sway wasn't frightful so much as it was disconcerting. I politely declined his offer to not keep one hand on the railing to steady myself.
More pictures after the jump (and more pictures from National Night Out T/K):
A Batavia woman is accused of making her 13-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old friend ride in the trunk of her car going to and coming from a bonfire at a friend's house on Old Creek Road this past Friday.
Julie C. Stevens, 57, of 18 Harvester Ave., is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
She appeared in Batavia City Court this morning and Judge Michael Delplato required her to take her daughter to the girl's father's house in Perry before imposing an order of protection barring her from contact with the girl while the case is pending.
She was also given time to arrange for representation through the Public Defender's Office.
Stevens is scheduled to appear in city court on Wednesday and enter a plea and receive the order of protection.
In a statement to police, Steven said she had six children riding in her car after they had spent some time playing at the spray park. She said the back seat of her car folds down and there were children sitting on the folded down seats and her daughter and another child in the trunk.
She said they spent two hours at the bonfire.
A mother from Varysburg filed a complaint with city police after one of her children -- who had been left at Steven's house to be babysat -- told her a couple of days later what allegedly happened.
The city court file contains statements from the mother and two of her children, including the 11-year-old boy who was allegedly told to ride in the trunk.
The make and model of Steven's car were not listed in the court file and the information is not available through city police.
The case was investigated by Officer James DeFreze and Officer Jason Davis.
The City Church in Batavia is going to have a "Back-to-School Giveaway" this Sunday, Aug. 8, at its 10 a.m. service.
A readers writes: "I am so thrilled that an organization is finally realizing that school supplies are such a burden come the time that school starts!
"With a family that has more then one child, it is so hard to afford everything they need for the coming school year."
The church plans to give away folders, binders, pens, pencils, crayons, highlighters... everything needed for going back to school.
The nondenominal church is located at 210 E. Main St. in Downtown Batavia.
For more information, call the church at 343-6895.
Here's a news release sent today from Assemblyman Steve Hawley's office.
For the last two years, I have written numerous letters and made several phone calls to the NYS Attorney General’s Office and personally met with a representative of the office concerning the drastic fluctuation in the price of gas from county to county.
In my letters, I cited the discrepancy of gas pricing and frustration felt by citizens in the 139th Assembly District.
The district I represent consists of all of Orleans County, most of Genesee County, the Town of Somerset in Niagara County and the towns of Clarkson, Parma and Hamlin in Monroe County.
In most instances, the price per gallon of gas is considerably higher in Genesee and Orleans counties than in the surrounding counties. I know there are many variables which determine the price per gallon of gasoline, but with the price per barrel of crude oil falling, this discrepancy should not occur in Western New York.
In his response to my letters, the Attorney General’s Executive Director of Legislative Affairs and State Policy Jim Malatras notified me that the issue of price gauging was still under investigation.
A two-year investigation without a concrete and definitive answer other than “it’s zone pricing” is long enough.
For this reason, I encourage citizens who feel the variance in pricing should be investigated to express your opinions by contacting the NYS Attorney General’s Office or by signing the New York State Consumer Protection Board CPB Gasoline Price Gouging Complaint Form.
Attorney General’s Office
Phone: (585) 546-7430
Website: http://www.ag.ny.gov/resource_center/complaints/complaints.html
NYS Consumer Protection Board
Website: https://www1.consumer.state.ny.us/cpb/GASComplaintForm.html
Copyright © 2008-2022 The Batavian. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
