batavia

Three resolutions enabling Batavia to apply for a RestoreNY grant for the Masse Gateway Project are on the agenda of the City Council on Monday.

The council meets in a special business session to consider the resolutions at 7 p.m.

There is no public comment time scheduled on the agenda of this meeting.

The resolutions authorize the application to RestoreNY, provide for a municipal expense match for the project, and designate the city as the lead agency.

Following the special business session, the council will meet to consider several other items. Among the items on the agenda:

• Batavia Minor League baseball wants to build new restrooms at its facility at MacArthur Park. This would reqire the league to raise funds to build the restrooms, but since the land is owned by the city, the league will be required to donate the restrooms to the city once they are completed. The council will consider a resolution authorizing the project and accepting the donation.
• There is concern that the Bank Street cross walk isn't safe enough, especially for older people going to and from the senior services center on Bank. The council will consider three low-cost options for improving safety at the cross walk, including repainting the cross walk, adding removable "rumble strips" that remind drivers to slow down, and installing a no left turn sign for drivers coming from the YMCA parking lot.

Contrary to the perception that crime is on the rise because of the recession, in the City of Batavia, crime actually went down in 2008 versus 2007.

Calls for service in the city dropped from 17,707 to 15,854; however, serious crime reports were virtually unchanged, with 502 reported cases in 2008 versus 509 in 2007

Motor vehicle accidents involving personal injury increased from 89 in 2007 to 103 in 2008. There were no fatal accidents in 2008.

You can read the full press release (PDF) by clicking here.

Today's Deal of the Day: A $56 gift certificate from Blue Pearl Yoga in Batavia. The Batavian's Good Deal Price: $28 -- HALF off!

Blue Pearl is located in the Masonic Temple on Main Street. With a wide-open fourth-floor location for yoga classes, it provides a great setting for these classes.  The gift certificate provides 7 classes over a seven week session.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value. 

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Ideally, the winner will arrange to stop by my office on Main Street before 5:00 p.m. ON MONDAY to pick up gift certificate. Mail is an option, but it would be better to hand you the gift certificate. 

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

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The downtown carnival was crowded this evening when I stopped by.  It runs through Sunday.

The turn out was OK for a good weather night with the Carnival in town for the Chamber's Business Showcase. There was live music, ice cream and a couple dozen business booths.  Thanks to all who stopped by to say hi at The Batavian booth.

Jeff Gillard, above, was honored as the volunteer of the year for the Business Improvement District, and Kent Ewell, owner of O'Lacy's was given the "Spirit of Downtown" award at today's BID annual luncheon.

St. Joseph School held a "Walk for Education" this morning. Grades 4 through 8 were out walking this morning from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., all wearing St. Joseph's bright-blue t-shirts.

Today's Deal of the Day: A $50 gift certificate from Larry's Steakhouse in Batavia. The Batavian's Good Deal Price: $25 -- HALF off!

Larry's, located at 60 Main St. in Batavia, is one of the newer and finer dining establishments in Batavia. The menu offers many great items, but of course the speciality is steak.  Larry's also features a full bar.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value.  It cannot be used, by state law, to purchase alcohol.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Ideally, the winner will arrange to stop by my office on Main Street before 5:00 p.m. to pick up gift certificate. Mail is an option, but it would be better to hand you the gift certificate. 

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

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Nicholas A. Cinquino III, 25, of Batavia, was allegedly observed driving down the center lane of West Main about 2:30 this morning. After a traffic stop, Cinquino was taken into custody. He is charged with DWI, with a BAC of more than .18 and ticketed for improper lane usage.

Misty D. Palmer, 21, of LeRoy, is accused of trying to walk out of Wal-Mart with three DVDs. She is charged with petty larceny. Palmer was reportedly caught after the inventory control sensor was activated as she tried to walk out the front door. She was issued an appearance ticket.

The Care-A-Van Ministry Team headed out to a local widow's home this evening to

help take care of her wood pile. 10 Face Cord of wood was stacked by the team of 5.

The weather was beautiful and a great time was had by all! 

A fire alarm was triggered at UMMC, 16 Bank St. Firefighters are on scene and investigating. No further information is available at this time.

Our ND "seniors in the spotlight" - Jill Marshall, daughter of Paul Marshall and Maureen Torrey Marshall of Elba and Kevin Francis, son of Mark and Cindy Francis of Batavia - both recently received the prestigious Ronald McDonald Game Sportsmanship Award for their respective teams during the Saturday, March 28, 2009 Ronald McDonald High School Basketball All Star games held at R.I.T. It is a rarity that two student athletes from the same school are selected to represent their [Genesee Region] league and school in this annual showcase of local basketball talent, much less receive the same prestigious award as a result of their performance in this contest! Congratulation on jobs well done!

Kevin Francis is a very talented student-athlete and has been a stalwart member of our Fighting Irish Football, Basketball and Baseball programs throughout his high school career. He has been a member of our Section V Class D Varsity Football Championship team as a Sophomore and Section V Class D Varsity Baseball Championship team as a Junior earning Sectional [Section V – Rochester Region] patches during both of these seasons. He played a key role in the success of our Fighting Irish Baseball team last year which captured the NYS Far West Regional championship and advanced to the NYSPHSAA “Final 4” at SUNY Binghamton last June. Kevin earned a spot on this year's 2009 Section V Class D- All Star team for his exemplary play during our recently concluded season. Regardless of the sport, Kevin can always be counted on to play hard and give it his all. He consistently plays within the parameters of the rules and lets his performance on the field or court “speak for itself.” Kevin has been a very unselfish team member throughout high school and makes everyone else that much better by his presence in a line up. He was selected to receive the "Birdseye Player of the Year" in the Genesee Region by a vote of league coaches in addition to being selected to play in this year's Ronald McDonald High School Boys All Star Basketball contest!

Kevin is also the type of student who is capable of “stepping up” and taking on leadership roles. A two time Genesee Region All-Star in both football and basketball, Kevin is a leader by example both on and off the field of play. He has captained each varsity sport that he has competed in during his Junior and Senior years at Notre Dame. He is a role model for all of the younger student-athletes in our athletic programs. 

An individual who enjoys spending time helping others, Kevin has volunteered to assist others through his involvement with Salvation Army bell ringing at Christmas time, reffing grade school basketball games and assisting veterans at the Batavia Veterans Administration Hospital and Home.

Kevin is considering attending St. John Fisher College in Rochester, SUNY Fredonia and D’Youville College in Buffalo and is interested in pursuing a degree in business administration. He also has aspirations of continuing his football and/or basketball career at the collegiate level.

Jill Marshall has a never-ending thirst for knowledge and exhibits an outstanding work ethic on a daily basis at Notre Dame. She is the type of student that any instructor would love to have based on her appreciation for education and willingness to work hard to achieve her goals. She is the type of individual who is not afraid to challenge herself academically having spent the second semester of her Junior year as a Page for United States Representative Louise Slaughter in Washington, DC, as well as having taken summer courses at Cornell and Georgetown Universities.

A very well rounded individual and member in good standing of the National Honor Society, Jill served as her Class President during her 9th, 10th and 11th grade years at Elba. She is currently a contributing member of our Notre Dame Environmental Club, as well as our ND Mission Club and SADD organization during her senior year, as well as a member of the Genesee County Youth Court, a position to which she was appointed in December 2008.

A very talented student-athlete, Jill has been an integral part of our highly touted Fighting Irish Varsity Girls Cross Country and Basketball teams during the 2008-2009 school year. She has received numerous individual Genesee Region honors in Basketball and Soccer, as well as Section V NYSPHSAA All Star recognition in both Cross Country this past fall and in Basketball twice - once at Elba and this season at ND. She [like Kevin Francis] is the consummate team member, sacrificing individual recognition for the success of a team victory and was a fitting representative to this year's Ronald McDonald High School Girls All Star game from the GR league. She makes everyone better just by being in the lineup. She is a leader by example and has achieved prestigious NYSPHSAA student athlete status (minimum 90% team average) during each varsity sports season she has played during her combined high school career at Elba and Notre Dame.

Jill plans to continue her education at Cornell University while pursuing a degree in the area of nutritional science next fall.

The Notre Dame Family is proud to salute Kevin Francis and Jill Marshall as our spotlighted seniors for the month of April 2009 and wish them the best of luck next year at the collegiate level!!!

Pictured: Jill Marshall ‘09 and Kevin Francis ‘09

www.ndhsbatavia.com

Today, we have a special Deal of the Day -- three gift certificates offers in one day.

• T.F. Brown's, 214 E. Main St.: A $25 gift certificate for $12.50.
• Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle, 8 Center St.: A $25 gift certificate for $12.50
• Batavia Downs Casino, Grandstands Bar & Grille: $25 gift certificate for $12.50

Rules: Gift certificates must be used within 30 days of purchase.  People who have won a gift certificate in the past 30 days cannot win a gift certificate from the same business again. State law prohibits using gift certificates to purchase alcohol.

Process: Purchase your gift certificate through the PayPal button below. There is only one gift certificate available from each business. The first completed purchase wins.  PayPal will notify you if the gift certificate has been purchased and is out of stock. It's best if you're able to stop by The Batavian office and pick up your gift certificate prior to 5 p.m. today, however mail is an option.

T.F. Brown's ($12.50):

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 Adam Miller ($12.50):

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Batavia Downs ($12.50):

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After the public hearing last night, Dan Fischer of WBTA and I spoke with Tom Mancuso, of Mancuso Development Group, about the Masse Gateway Project.  Mancuso has been on vacation, so the public has not yet heard from him on the proposal, so this video represents the full interview.