batavia

The first-ever Taste of the Holidays event in Downtown Batavia kicks off this evening.

Here's the schedule of events for this weekend:

Friday, Dec. 2 (5:30-9 p.m.)

• Lighting of the Christmas tree (5:30 p.m.)
• Sample tastings by area restaurants and caterers (6-9p.m.)
• Entertainment: The OHMS Band (6-9 p.m.)

Saturday, Dec. 3 (11 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.)

• Holiday activities for kids and families
• Divine Dance Group (11-11:20 a.m.)
• Entertainment: Kevin & Bart (12-3 p.m.)
• McMahon Irish School of Dance (1-1:20 p.m.)
• Horse & Wagon Rides Around Downtown (12-3 p.m.)

Also, this weekend, Le Roy has its Winterfest. For more information, click here.

This week the Genesee County Grand Jury issued the following indictments.

Mitchell J. Irish is accused of assault, 2nd, a class D felony, for allegedly recklessly causing serious physical injury to another person on June 9 by means of a deadly weapon and dangerous instrument, a motor vehicle.

In count two, he is accused of vehicular assault, 2nd, a class E felony, for allegedly operating a 1998 Chevrolet in an intoxicated condition on June 9 in the Town of Darien, thereby causing serious physical injury to another person.

In count three, he is accused of driving while intoxicated, a class E felony.

Christian J. Johnson is accused of driving a 2002 Cadillac while intoxicated, a class E felony, on July 23 on Pearl Street in the City of Batavia.

In count two, Johnson is accused of aggravated driving while intoxicated, a class E felony, for allegedly having a .18 BAC.

In count three, he is accused of allegedly operating the same vehicle without an interlock, a misdemeanor, although he was court-ordered to have an ignition interlock device on it.

Press release:

On behalf of city hall, the Batavia Development Corporation (BDC) has distributed a request for proposals to attract developer interest in the former Carr’s warehouse building located on Jackson Square in Batavia. The city has asked for proposals to convert an historic 1880 warehouse into a productive mixed-use, office, commercial or residential building.

“This 6,000-square-foot historic conversion project, considered small to some, could have a real impact in downtown Batavia,” said Jason Molino, city manager. The city acquired the property in 2010 through a delinquent tax foreclosure process.

Consultants have recently indicated a lack of Class A office space availability, a void in certain retail sectors and a gap in modern housing stock for professionals. Each of these uses would be permitted for this project under the city’s C3 zoning law.

Inciting revitalization efforts through public and private partnerships has become the norm for the City of Batavia.

Neighboring to the warehouse, other public-private efforts have resulted in the redeveloped Center Street Smokehouse restaurant and the 19-25 Jackson Street mixed-use redevelopment by the Valle family to house their jewelry store. Habitat for Humanity also acquired a distressed residential property though a unique public-private arrangement with the city.

On a grand scale, the Mancuso Business Development Group wrapped up its multimillion dollar Masse Gateway redevelopment project to improve the product mix, accessibility and infrastructure to the century-old 30-acre industrial site. The city had secured a $1,500,000 RESTORE NY Communities grant that was redistributed to the developer upon satisfactory completion of the project.

“Substantial renovations to more than 100,000 square feet of flex-industrial space would not have been possible without the city’s support,” said Tom Mancuso, president, Mancuso Business Development Group.

Earlier this year, the city submitted a NY Main Street grant request that is expected to leverage a $275,000 private investment to improve 30 downtown commercial and residential properties. And just last month the city applied for a $100,000 grant through the consolidated funding application process to foster job creation at the new Save-A-Lot store prepping to open after considerable renovations to a longtime vacant building. Both of these projects anticipate award announcements this month.

The City of Batavia serves as the regional economic center for Genesee County situated between Buffalo and Rochester at Thruway exit 48. Four State Routes (5, 33, 63 and 98) traverse the city and provide easy access for both consumers and workers. Daily traffic counts top 40,000 vehicles and more than 3,000 people are employed within walking distance of the featured redevelopment site. To request a proposal package, contact the Batavia Development Corporation at 585-345-6380 or jpacatte@BataviaDevelopmentCorp.org.

Joshua Jones, 20, of Sanders Road, Stafford, is charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Jones is accused of his truck hitting a vacuum pump at a car wash on Pearl Street and then driving off. Jones turned himself in to Batavia PD after seeing a picture of his truck on The Batavian. Officer James DeFreze said Jones contacted him a very short time after the picture was posted and said he didn't know he had struck anything. "He was very cooperative," DeFreze said.

Michael David Pacer, 24, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with felony DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Pacer was arrested at 2:31 a.m., Thursday, by Deputy John Weis following an investigation into a report of a car parked on Sweetland Road, Stafford.

Mark and Tammy Schmidt figured they needed a little time to hone their coffee making and smooth mixing skills before dealing with a big crowd of customers.

The six weeks they took honing their craft paid off Wednesday when hundreds of people showed up at the Richmond Memorial Library for the grand opening of Best Sellers Cafe.

The coffee shop is the result of a survey of library patrons who made a little coffee shop their number one request.

The Schmidts were able to open their new business after winning the request for proposal process and then working with the library to carve out an appropriate place among the stacks.

"My wife has wanted to run a coffee shop since before Angel's Café was in town many, many years ago, and when this came along she tought we better jump on it," Mark Schmidt said.

With an a cappella choir singing in the background, a crush of customers at the counter and blenders whirring nearby, Schmidt explained that the library's 600 daily patrols provide a good, solid business base, he and Tammy will be looking for ways to attract people to the library, and Best Sellers, who might not otherwise stop in the library.

The Town of Batavia is set to award a $300,000 grant to Genesee Economic Development Center for further infrastructure development at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

The town board approved a resolution in a special meeting Wednesday night setting a public hearing for 7 p.m., Dec. 21, which is a precursor to formerly approving the grant.

The funds will be used to construct a water line for the park. 

Part of the funds, $100,000, were granted to GCEDC in January 2010 for construction of electric transmission lines, but those funds have not be spent, so GCEDC requested that the $100,000 be combined with another $200,000 for the water line project.

"Without infrastructure, we cannot continue to attract business to that park," Supervisor Greg Post said. "It gets us and our partners in a much better position for that construction. I don't think anybody anticipated how quickly this project (Project Wave, or the possible PepsiCo yogurt plant) has moved forward. I am happy to be in this position to utilize money like this."

A two-car injury accident is reported on Veterans Memorial Drive near the Home Depot. One driver is complaining of back pain and has a history of back problems. Batavia Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 7 p.m.: A responder on scene reports the cars are blocking traffic.

A disabled vehicle is obstructing the flow of traffic at Bank and North streets in the city. FYI...

We got about 20 minutes of heavy, blowing snow in Downtown Batavia this afternoon. There is no visible accumulation, but it looked like a good amount blowing through the sky. The forecast for the rest of the day is no more than 20-percent chance of precipitation. It should be sunny tomorrow.

Cody Alan Bush, 26, of Oak Orchard Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Bush is accused of shoplifting $56.50 worth of merchandise from Walmart.

We don't get enough fog in Batavia. Fog creates great opportunities for light and shadow and atmosphere, which photographers love. After leaving Genesee Community College this evening, I decided I really need to take some time to have some fun with fog.

Besides the GCC picture above, we have a picture of Masse Gateway and the Upton Monument.

Jim and Tracy Rodemeyer remember their son's smile.

"He was developing such a sarcastic nature," said Tracy when asked about a memory of their 14-year-old son who took his own life after prolonged bullying from classmates. "He was becoming so funny. His smile. If we could just see his smile one more time."

The Rodemeyers were at Genesee Community College on Tuesday night to take part in a panel discussion about bullying.

The forum was sponsored by the Gay/Straight Alliance and The Christian Students Alliance.

"Bullying hurts everyone," said Candice Faulring, the faculty member who helped organize the event (pictured below). "The GSA and the CSU may disagree on a lot, but we realize that some issues are much bigger than our individual points of view and require that we take action and find solutions together."

Prior to the event, students were asked to write on pieces of paper hateful things that have been said to them and the answers ranged from "You're a stupid dyke." to "Only idiots believe in God."

It's the same sort of torture Jamey Rodemeyer faced in the months and years leading up to his suicide and it's the kind of cruelty that's got to stop, even if it takes tougher laws to punish bullies, the Rodemeyers said.

They're planning on approaching their Albany representatives to discuss tougher anti-bullying and harassment laws. But meanwhile, they said, everybody has a role in helping to stop bullying, from parents who need to help their children with self-esteem to the police who investigate the crimes.

"You've got to be a pain (if you're a parent)," said Jim Rodemeyer. "Complain. Don't let it go. Don't pass it off. You've got to complain and make a fuss. If you don't, you might wind up in our situation."

"There's got to be a stop to this," Tracy added. "These kids need to realize that they have a right to be on this planet as much as the person next to them, even if they're different, because everybody is different in their own way."

As part of the summer program at the Holland Land Office Museum, students who were members of the program participated in making a quilt. Each student drew a picture of their favorite item in the museum and then the picture was scanned into a computer and printed on a piece of cloth. The Museum Quilt Guild then sewed the pieces together. 

The quilt was presented to the museum today and will be placed on display.

Pictured are some members of the guild (not all guild members were present, and not all pictured participated in the quilt's creation). In the picture are, from left, Cheryl Doody, Jeff Donahue (executive director of HLOM), Jean Butzer, Ethyl Sojda, Dodie Morrison, Ann Gouinlock, Christine Hansen and Anne Marie Starowitz.

Starowitz was leader of the summer program and said the quilt was the highlight project of the summer.

With the planned yogurt plants for Alpina and PepsiCo in Batavia, there's nothing but opportunity ahead for regional dairy farmers, according to Kim Pickard-Dudley, general manager of the membership division of Upstate Niagara Cooperative.

More yogurt means more milk and farmers are ready to meet the demand, Pickard-Dudley said.

"We're obviously excited for this opportunity for farmers," Pickard-Dudley said.

Upstate built its own yogurt plant in West Seneca in 2006 and a year ago purchased a 100-year-old plant in Watertown.

Alpina and PepsiCo have both broken ground on sites in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, though PepsiCo has yet to reach a purchase agreement with the GCEDC (negotiations are, we hear, currently going on at the Albany level) for the 81-acre parcel. 

Regional farmers will be able to adjust capacity to meet all the demand for milk to make yogurt, Pickard-Dudley said.

Whether that milk comes through Upstate or yogurt manufacturers go directly to farmers is unknown at this time, Pickard-Dudley.

"Farmers are always up for a challenge for meeting new demands on supply," Pickard-Dudley said.

Pickard-Dudley was in Batavia at the O-AT-KA offices on Monday to meet with Rep. Kathy Hochul, who discussed with Upstate representatives her bill to create a guest worker program to assist New York's agricultural industry.

Batavia PD is looking for the operator of this red pickup truck. The truck was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run property damage accident on Pearl Street. No further details were provided. Anyone with information should contact Officer Officer James DeFreze (email address removed as no longer relevant).

UPDATE 9:44 p.m.: Within an hour of this post going up, Officer DeFreze received information that helped him get in contact with the alleged operator. No further information available at this time. Officer DeFreze thanks the readers of The Batavian who responded for their assistance.

A female driver was transported to UMMC with a complaint of chest pain after this fender-bender on West Main Street at Porter Avenue shortly after 11 a.m. Police worked quickly to clear the scene, but traffic was tied up for about 15 minutes.

James E. Murray, 23, of 1 Cone St., Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal contempt, 2nd, unlawful imprisonment, 1st, strangulation, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Murray was arrested following the investigation into a domestic incident reported at 4:45 a.m., Monday. Murray was not on scene when police arrived at the alleged incident location. He turned himself in at Batavia PD headquarters at 2 p.m., Monday. He was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Lawrence D. Williams, 51, of 148 Hutchins St., Batavia, is charged with falsely reporting an incident. Williams is accused of calling the dispatch center at 10:46 p.m., Monday, and reporting a "gunfight" at a city address. Williams allegedly knew the information was false. Williams was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Sean P. Case, 34, of 50 S. Main St., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. Case was arrested following a report at 11:38 p.m., Monday, of a person on South Main Street near the Oak Street Extension yelling obscenities. Case was identified by witnesses.

Roger Lee Ballard, 18, of Liberty Street, Castile, and a 16-year-old of Route 362, Bliss, are charged with petit larceny. Ballard and the youth are accused of going into Kmart and taking several pieces of an Xbox gaming system out of their packages and concealing them in their pants and walking out of the store without paying for the items.

Aaron M. Zastrocky, 27, of 6870 Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with falsely reporting an incident, 3rd, and making a punishable false written statement. Zastrocky is accused of falsely reporting a vehicle stolen. Zastrocky allegedly signed a written statement reporting the vehicle stolen. Allegedly, the statement was false.

Daniel L. Russell, 36, of 152 S. Main St., Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Russell was stopped at 2:09 a.m., Sunday, on West Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Rachel A. Fromwiller, 27, of 164 Main St., upper, Akron, is charged with throwing refuse on a public highway (littering), DWI and refusal to take a breath test. Fromwiller was arrested after Officer Kevin DeFelice received a complaint of a woman in a car at Wilson Farms on Pearl Street who may need assistance. Following an investigation, Officer DeFelice made the arrest.

A Central Avenue resident who admitted last month to attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd -- a drug-dealing charge -- will spend four years in state prison, Judge Robert C. Noonan ruled today.

Derek Leach, 31, of 29 Central Ave., Batavia, was arrested in March following a parole check of his residence.

When law enforcement searched the apartment, investigators reportedly found numerous bags of cocaine.

Leach was on parole at the time of his arrest and he entered a guilty plea Nov. 7.

Also arrested with Leach were Eric Williams, 45, of 219 Washington Ave., and Randy G. Leach II, 24, of 58 South Main St. The status of their cases is not available at this time.

Patrick Raymond Krieger, 21, of East Main Street, Corfu, is charged with menacing, 3rd, reckless endangerment, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Krieger was arrested following an investigation by Deputy Jason Saile and Deputy James Diehl into a 9-1-1 hang up call in the Village of Corfu at 3:50 a.m., Saturday. Krieger is accused of grabbing the steering wheel of a vehicle he was riding in and jerking it in an alleged attempt to scare or cause harm to the female driver. The vehicle nearly struck a tree and a mailbox when the driver lost control of the car. Krieger then allegedly took the ignition key and shoved it into the neck of the woman and made threats of physical harm. When the woman wouldn't exit the vehicle, Krieger allegedly grabbed her by her throat and hair and threw her out of the car and onto the ground. Krieger was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Nicholas J. Pascucci Jr., 21, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, unlawful possession of marijuana and inadequate stop lamps. Pascucci's vehicle was stopped by Le Roy Police on Friday afternoon for an alleged traffic violation. The officer suspected there may be narcotics in the car and requested the assistance of the Sheriff's K-9 unit. The K-9 reportedly alerted on the vehicle and Pascucci was found allegedly to be in possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. Pascucci was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Willie C. Armstrong, 40, of Tolland Avenue, East Hartford, Conn., is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Armstrong was charged following a traffic stop at 4:30 p.m., Nov. 20 on State Street, by Deputy Brian Thompson.

Christopher Nathaniel Johnson, 24, of Salina Street, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Johnson was charged following at traffic stop at 8:41 p.m., Saturday, on Route 33, Bergen, by Deputy Brad Mazur.