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Tompkins expanding fast in new downtown office space at Main and Center

By Howard B. Owens

The call center -- or as the folks at Tompkins Insurance call it, the "care center" -- that the Batavia-based financial company opened on the second floor of Main and Center streets now has 27 staff members.

That means in less than six months, Tompkins has hit its three-year projected employment goal for the remodeled office space.

Tompkins purchased the building for $550,000 and has invested nearly $1 million in interior and exterior improvements, from gutting and refitting the entire second floor, putting in a new heating and air conditioning system, painting the outside and hanging new signs.

Investing in Downtown Batavia made good sense said David Boyce, president and CEO of the insurance unit.

"Batavia has been and continues to be a great draw for getting great employees," Boyce said. "Batavia is nicely centered within various counties. When we have an opening we get a lot of attention from people who want to work at a good company."

Sponsored Post: Healthy Solutions. Enroll today!

By Lisa Ace

You and your family will receive:
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Take advantage of the YMCA while you are enrolled in the Get Fit Program. Health and Wellness Center, fun fitness classes, swimming, etc... 
Give us a call today 585-344-5420 OR visit our Web site: www.getfitwny.org 
 
Sponsored by: Batavia Rotary Club, UMMC, United Way of Genesee County, YMCA, Batavia City Schools, Genesee County Health Department, City of Batavia Youth Bureau.

Law and Order: Alexander man charged with attempted arson

By Howard B. Owens

Jayson W. Dersham, 31, of Wortendyke Road, Alexander, is charged with attempted arson, 2nd. Dersham was arrested following an investigation into an incident on Maple Street in February. He was jailed on no bail.

Nickolas R. Miller, 23, of State Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant related to an unspecified charge. He turned himself in, was arraigned and jailed on $5,000 bail.

Glenn Homer Quintern, 56, of Jackson Street, Batavia, is charged with exposure of a person. Quintern allegedly exposed his bare bottom at 4:38 p.m. Tuesday while on Central Avenue, in front of an adult and some children.

Kevin A. Cole, 36, of North Lyon Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Cole allegedly visited a person at that person's residence where the protected party resides in alleged violation of a stay away order.

Dan M. Carter, 53, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, and unregistered motor vehicle. Carter was stopped at 6:54 p.m. Wednesday on East Main Street for an alleged traffic infraction by Officer Nedim Catovic.

Vicky L. Devie, 57, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with uninspected motor vehicle and parking in city lot over the 15-minute limit. Devie turned herself in on a warrant and posted a $50 police bail.

Shane Zimblis, 44, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd. Zimblis is accused of stabbing another person in the arm with a kitchen fork during an argument.

Maurice A. Glasco, 36, of North Avenue, Medina, is charged with falsely reporting incident and unlawful possession of marijuana. Glasco is accused of falsely reporting an incident at 12:59 a.m. Saturday at 20 Main St., Batavia.

Colleen Frances Walker, 40, of Garfield Street, Rochester, is charged with possession of more than 400 untaxed cigarettes, speeding and unlicensed operator. Walker was stopped at 11:47 a.m., Thursday, on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves. She allegedly possessed 1,200 untaxed cigarettes.

Feds raid vapor shop on Ellicott Street for allegedly selling fake products

By Billie Owens

An E-cigarette/vapor retail shop at 327 Ellicott St. was raided this afternoon by agents of Homeland Security who had a search warrant for counterfeit E-cigarettes. The shop is across from Hutchins Street in the City of Batavia and has no business name on the outside of the building. The feds are investigating the alleged sale of E-cigarettes made in China but marketed under a competitive brand name.

UPDATE: The business name is A Plus Vapors.

UPDATE: Here's a New York Times piece on China's booming electronic cigarette manufacturing business, including counterfeits.

UPDATE 4:34 p.m.: After initially being told by a federal authority that details would be available later, we're now told the search warrant is still under a court-ordered seal and no more information will be released. We'll continue to try and find out what we can.

Grant moves forward to assist p.w. minor's plans to move jobs from China to Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

The first of the necessary paper is being pushed to move jobs from China to the p.w. minor shoe factory in Batavia with the Ways and Means Committee approval yesterday of a resolution to accept a $750,000 grant from the state to assist the company's local expansion.

The county must accept the grant, which passes through the Genesee Gateway Local Development Corp. (a branch of Genesee County Economic Development Center), which will become part of a grant and deferred loan program for p.w. minor.

The grant was approved by Empire Development Corps after the agency encouraged p.w. minor to apply for the grant.

The application pledges 80 new local jobs added over a two-year period, but p.w. minor is planning to transfer a total of 100 jobs over time from China to Batavia.

The LDC will package the $750,000 with $125,000 loan from LDC funds to assist p.w. minor in buying shoe-making machinery.

Mark Masse, VP of business development for GCEDC, laid out the terms of the resolution for members of the Ways and Means Committee, who recommended approval of the resolution to the full County Legislature.

Andrew Young, one of the co-owners the New p.w. minor, is also a member of the Legislature, and while he attended Wednesday's meeting, he was not present during the discussion of the resolution.

Young and local entrepreneur Peter Zeliff, purchased p.w. minor after the previous owners announced plans to close the plant, thereby saving dozens of local jobs at Batavia's oldest, continuously running business.

School board looking at offering bus rides to city students who live further from schools

By Jess Wheeler

The 157 city school students who live more than a mile and a half from their schools could soon have the option of riding a bus.

Currently, bus transportation isn't offered to students who live within the city boundaries, but the proposal should change the policy.

The district contracts with Student Transportation of America for bus transportation. Under the proposal, BTA will conduct two pick-ups and two drop-offs at designated locations in the city.

Currently, the buses only do one run and pick-up all of the kids on the first pass. 

“We’re paying for time that we aren’t using,” Business Administrator Scott Rozanski said.

The Board was hopeful that the change for transportation would solve concerns that have been raised.

“This would limit the number of students who have to walk well over two miles,” Rozanski said. “They could just walk to their pick-up and then come directly to the high school."

“Ideally, no student will have to walk more than half of a mile to their pick-up destination,” Superintendent Christopher J. Dailey added.

Safety would increase due to less traffic on State Street. Attendance at the high school is expected to improve during the winter when parents might keep their kids at home in bad weather.

The transportation change will be conducted within the parameters of the current contract with Student Transportation of America. There will be no additional cost to the budget or the taxpayers.

The Board of Education thanked Rozanski for his effort to solve the transportation issue Batavia High School has had for several years.

The proposed increased transportation will be added to the ballot which goes to voters on May 19.

Drug Task Force announces three arrests

By Howard B. Owens

Three people have been arrested as the result of two separate investigations into the illegal sale of narcotics in Genesee County.

In the first investigation, arrested were Sege D. Kalmbacher, 39, of Overlook Drive, Batavia, and Paula R. Kalmbacher, 43, of Overlook Drive, Batavia.

Sege is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 5th, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th. Paula faces one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and one count of criminal possesison of a controlled substance, 3rd.

Both are accused of selling a controlled substance to agents of the Local Drug Task Force.

Sege was arrested Friday and jailed on $10,000 bail. Paula turned herself in Monday and was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

In the second investigation, arrested was Cynthia C. Richardson, 35, of Maple Street, Batavia. 

Richardson is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 5th, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th. 

She is accused of selling a controlled substance to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force.

She was arrested at the courts facility and jailed on $10,000 bail.

Law and Order: Pair of alleged shoplifters charged with multiple larcenies

By Howard B. Owens

Thomas E. Hensel, 31, and Tonya D. Smith, 29, are charged with grand larceny, 4th, and conspiracy, 6th. Hensel and Smith were allegedly caught stealing items from the Target store. Upon further investigation, they were found to have allegedly committed additional larcenies during March at Target and Walmart. Hensel was charged with four counts of petit larceny and Smith was charged with one count of grand larceny, 4th, and two counts of petit larceny. Some of the stolen items were recovered.

Amir D. Gifford, 19, of Cherry Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged violation of probation. Gifford turned himself in. He was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Jessica M. Rivera-Mann, 31, of Liberty Street, was arrested on a pair of warrants related to alleged parking violations. Rivera-Mann turned herself in and entered a guilty plea in City Court. and was ordered to pay a $100 fine within 60 days.

Kerri L. Forsberg, 43, of East Main Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a harassment, 2nd, charge. Forsberg was arrested following a reported incident at UMMC on April 3.

Laura J. Reed, 23, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Reed was allegedly found in possession of marijuana at 6:18 p.m. April 10 by Officer Jamie Givens.

Kenardo R. Fields, 25, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Fields was allegedly involved in a domestic incident at 9:20 a.m., Sunday.

Zachary Michael Burk, 18, of Sparks Road, Pavilion, is charged with petit larceny. Burk allegedly stole a 30-pack of Busch beer from Pavilion Farm Market.

Charles H. Wroten, 54, of Buell Street, Batavia, is charged with aggravated DWI (Leandra's Law), DWI, improper right turn, improper signaling a turn. Wroten was stopped at 11:03 p.m. Tuesday on West Main Street, Batavia, by Sgt. Ron Meides. Wroten is accused of driving while intoxicated with a child less than 15 years old in the vehicle.

Michael Robert Sigl, 22, of Pratt Road, Batavia, is charged with possession of a forged instrument, 2nd. Sigl was arrested on a warrant. He was jailed without bail.

Taylor Nicole Tillotson, 19, of Perry Road, Le Roy, is charged with trespass. Tillotson allegedly returned to College Village after being banned from the property.

Two-car accident, minor injuries, blocking traffic at Oak and Prospect in the city

By Billie Owens

A two-car accident with minor injuries is reported at Oak Street and Prospect Avenue in the city. It is blocking traffic. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 3:54 p.m.: An 80-year-old female is complaining of chest pain due to the seat belt.

UPDATE 4:21 p.m.: The patient is being taken to UMMC.

Sponsored Post: What's in your mouth?

By Lisa Ace

When I was in dental school, one of our requirements was to fill a certain number of cavities with pure gold. Gold works well in our mouths but very few dentists use gold for fillings anymore. In dental school and after, we placed many silver amalgam fillings in the teeth of our patients. Eventually we would polish them up and marvel at how nice they looked. But, times have changed. Many people these days don’t have any fillings at all. But as far as filling materials go, they do get better and better. Someday, maybe before we completely rid our mouths of tooth decay, we will discover that perfect filling material. What are we using now? Basically, silver amalgam, composite resin and sometimes porcelain.
 
We have been using silver amalgam for 150 years and it is very hard to deny how well it has worked. Amalgam is a mixture of metals. Amalgam fillings are about half silver and half mercury with maybe some tin and copper thrown in. Once mixed, those metals come together to form another substance. We place it in the tooth and it eventually hardens. There may be a very low level release of mercury vapor over time but the overwhelming majority of evidence is that it does little or no harm. Amalgam is easily placed, extremely hard, and no material, to date, will last as long especially if they are small fillings. Some disadvantages besides the mercury content are that amalgam fillings can turn black and become very unattractive. They can also absorb moisture and expand to the point where they can crack teeth. Eventually, all fillings will break down and leak, causing decay around the filling.
 
Many dentists use predominantly the tooth‐colored filling material called composite. This is a particle‐filled resin or plastic material that hardens when exposed to a certain wavelength of light. Composites are bonded to teeth which makes them very strong. And there are many kinds of composites. Some are harder, some are prettier, some are smoother. Unlike amalgam, composites are more difficult or tricky to place, but they have many advantages. Of course they are tooth‐colored. And because they are bonded to the tooth, a dentist takes less tooth structure away, thus preserving more healthy tooth. Also when bonding in composite, larger fillings can be placed without pins or posts that have the possibility of hurting the tooth. In general, resin‐bonded composites will help a tooth stay together as opposed to causing it to break apart. Historically though, composites do wear faster than amalgam, and again, they can be tricky to place.
 
Porcelain is another option. These fillings are made outside of the mouth and then bonded into the tooth. Porcelain is very pretty, very hard and can preserve tooth structure. But it is usually the most time consuming and expensive option. We might see more porcelain restorations in the future as more dental offices become equipped to make them “in‐house”. Of course things keep changing.
 
So, what’s in your mouth? Dr. Russell Marchese Jr. -- 585-343-2711. Like us on Facebook for more information.

Photo: Traffic cones on Main Street

By Howard B. Owens

A portion of Main Street, Downtown Batavia, was blocked off by traffic cones this morning in advance of clean-up work by city crews along the street and sidewalk. The work is expected to take most of the morning.

Photos: Oil painting demo by local artist Larry Buckley

By Howard B. Owens

Local artist Larry Buckley gave an oil painting demo Tuesday evening at GO ART! for members of the Batavia of Society of Artists.

Other events coming up for the society:

  • Spring Show, opening reception 6:30 to 8 p.m., May 7, Richmond Memorial Library;
  • Steve BonDurant, plein air demo and picnic at Kiwanis Park, 6 p.m., July 14;
  • Joint event with Batavia Players at Jackson Square, free and open to the public, where the players will practice parts and also serve as models for artists, 6 p.m., Aug. 11;
  • Kevin Feary, oil-graisalle demo, Sept. 8;
  • Brian Kemp, acrylic abstract demo, Oct. 13;
  • Dennis Wood, perspective drawing, Nov. 10.

For more information on the Batavia Society of Artists, e-mail bsa.bataviasocietyof artists@gmail.com.

Council delays on proposal to deal with vacant and abandoned homes

By Howard B. Owens

The Batavia City Council took a step back from a proposal aimed at spurring investment in vacant and abandoned residential properties.

Rather than send a resolution to state representatives asking for legislation to make a tax exemption for investment in such properties possible, the council asked that the proposal be brought back to a future conference meeting.

City Manager Jason Molino warned that with the legislative session under way and ending in June, a delay could decrease the opportunity for timely passage of the legislation.

Councilman Eugene Jankowski took the lead role in opposing passage of the resolution last night.

Jankowski said what little feedback he's gotten on the proposal from constituents is opposition to other homeowners getting a tax exemption not available to them.

He also said he would like to provide residents with more time to digest the proposal and provide feedback to council members.

Molino said the idea that current homeowners are missing out on something is a misunderstanding what the tax exemption is about.

The proposal would provide a limited tax exemption on select owner-occupied properties to offset the significant investment required to rehabilitate vacant and abandoned homes. 

The exemption would be graduated over a number of years, starting at 100 percent of the difference of taxes due on the increase in assessed value that would result from rehabilitation. The homeowner would still pay taxes on the original assessed value.

The exemption is called "gap financing" because it's designed to address the fact that it simply isn't financially realistic to expect somebody to invest tens of thousands of dollars to save a home that has limited value in a market not known for a rapid increase real estate values.

"We're trying to create a tool that attracts investment," Molino said.

The value of the tax exemption, Molino said, would be less than what the city would start receiving in water and sewer payments once the house was occupied again.

In some cases, it would return properties back to tax roles that previous owners have abandoned and allowed to go into foreclosure.

Councilwoman Patti Pacino pointed out that by saving these homes, it would help protect the home values of neighboring residents.

Both Jankowski and Councilwoman Rosemary Christian voted against a motion to suspend the rules for moving the proposal to the same night's business meeting. A rules suspension requires a unanimous vote to pass.

Photos: Council honors city's 2015 award winners

By Howard B. Owens

Monday evening, Batavia City Council presented its annual awards, including the Business of the Year Award to the New p.w. minor. Owners Andrew Young and Pete Zeliff brought some longtime company employees to the council meeting for the award presentation.

Ray and Patty Chaya received the Homeowner of the Year Award from Kathy Briggs.

Steven Grice was named Volunteer of the Year and received his award from John Canale.

Kerry Driscoll, a human resources clerk, was named Employee of the Year for the City of Batavia, and received her award from Eugene Jankowski.

Parents meet, discuss pulling students from Common Core test

By Jess Wheeler

The Batavia City School district is not expected to meet the 95-percent mandated participation rate for the Common Core standardized tests that started today and continue into next week. A letter released from the office of Superintendent Christopher J. Dailey said the district could lose local control of the schools and the funding for teaching positions as a result.

“No one wants to see funding stripped from our schools,” said Brian Odachowski, a father of two daughters. “No one wants to lose teachers. But there is an obvious growing number of parents who are not buying into these standardized tests and Common Core as a whole.”

On Monday Night, Loy Gross, math tutor and co-founder of United to Counter the Core, met with a group of nine parents and three students to talk about testing refusal. The parents agreed that their kids are stressed out about the tests and none are participating.

Gross's 15-year-old daughter was taking college-level math classes and getting a 4.0 when she took the Common Core Regents math test last year. She only just passed. Gross pulled both of her kids out of school to homeschool them in September. “These tests are no good. They are designed for the kids to fail,” she said.

Eighth-grader Gabrielle Crespo said she doesn’t understand the material and doesn’t think she will do well on the exam.

“2x + dog = kitty poop. That’s what math is like in my head,” she said.

Crespo’s mother, Julie Bolas-Carasone, is frustrated that she can’t help her daughter do her homework.

“There is no material given to the parents to help,” she said. “The staff just tells us to ‘Google it.’ Google is great, but what about those of us who don’t have Internet access at home?”

Parents are not only frustrated because they can’t help their children, they are concerned that their children may not have reached the targeted cognitive level of the test. Common Core testing is also used to evaluate teachers across New York State and some people believe the educators are teaching in fear for their jobs.

“The kids can sense the fear from the teachers and it’s stressing them out,” Bolas-Carasone said. “Teachers are not teaching because they’re passionate.”

The Common Core tests are graded as a cut-score on the level of one through four. Three and four are considered passing grades. The school receives the results for each student, but according to parents, they do not receive the tests back. Parents voiced concerns of not knowing how to help their children succeed when they don't know where they struggled on the tests.

According to the New York State Education Department Web site, 2014 saw an improvement from the previous year. Statewide, math scores rose in levels three and four from 31.2 percent to 35.8 percent. English Language Arts went from 66.9 percent to 69.6 percent. The scoring represents proficiency level.

Parents at the United to Counter the Core meeting last night said they do not believe the test results accurately reflect their child’s proficiency.

“The only way to win this game, is not to play,” Gross said.

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