batavia

Latifa Aminya Abdullah-Muhammad, 19, of Tibbets Road, Medina, and Merle Franklin Agee, 19, of Ontario Avenue, Niagara Falls, are charged with disorderly conduct. Abdullah-Muhammad and Agee were reportedly at 8204 Park Road, Batavia, at 7:54 p.m., Sunday, where they allegedly used abusive and obscene language while in a public place.

Porfirio Diaz Gomez, 35, of Merriman Road, Byron, has been charged with illegal entry. Gomez was taken into custody at 5:15 a.m., Sunday by Deputy Frank Bordonaro and turned over the the U.S. Border Patrol.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries has been reported at State Street Roads and South Bennett Heights Road, Batavia.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS are responding.

First responder reports one car is in a corn field, the other is on the road.

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More than 100 members of the local legal and law enforcement community were at Bohn's tonight to pay tribute to Linda Giambrone, who is retiring after 39 years of service as a clerk at City Court.

Giambrone started her career in 1971 and became chief clerk in 1976.

Speakers praised Giambrone for her knowledge of the court system, her memory for repeat offenders and her kindness toward all the people she came in contact with.

Above, judges Michael Del Plato, left, and Robert Balbick present her with a certificate of appreciation.

Officials were on hand today at the new surgical wing of United Memorial Medical Center for the setting of the cornerstone.

Above, masons Ken Maurer, left,  and Jeff Crevier, set the cornerstone into place.

The expansion project represents a $19.5 million investment by the hospital. It will contain five new technologically advanced operating suites, a treatment room and 19 recovery beds. The project is scheduled to be finished by Dec. 15.

After the brief ceremony, guests were invited to tour the still-under-construction facility.

More pictures after the jump:

CEO Mark Schoell addresses the group on hand for the cornerstone setting.

Schnoell with Rev. Ken Comer watching Maure and Crevier place the cornerstone.

Brian and Michelle Trott are to the left in this picture with their children Brandon and Ashley. Michelle is the architect for the UMMC expansion. She was born at UMMC and her parents still reside in Bethany. Brian is the architect for Pembroke Central Schools.

Schoell called this "the big room." It's the biggest of the surgery suites.

An accident has been reported in the Target parking lot, between the store and the AT&T Store.

One person is complaining of a head injury.

Mercy EMS and Town of Batavia Fire are responding.

UPDATE 4:11 p.m.: A fire crew is standing by at headquarters. A chief reports, "the fire department isn't needed here." The first responding Mercy ambulance said the second ambulance could go back in service.  Also, the fire chief on scene has requested that law enforcement respond.

When Nick LaFarnara was a kid, his father opened a pet store in Batavia and Nick worked there from the time he was 5 years old.

He loved it.

But when Anthony LaFarnara was injured in a work-related accident at Doehler-Jarvis, the family had to close the pet store.

But young Nick never forgot.

"That was it," said LaFarnara. "I just couldn't get it out of my system."

In October 1985, LaFarnara and his ex-wife, reopened the store at a location on Ellicott Street. Although LaFarnara would later remarry and move the store to its current location at 33 Liberty St., Batavia, it is still going.

Neptune's Garden specializes in fish -- lots of fish, exotic and freshwater and saltwater and just plain old guppies and goldfish. It's also a favorite place for birds and reptiles.

Occasionally, they have kittens or puppies available for adoption and they also make a bulletin board available for anybody who has a pet to give away.

"Even though we don't make any money on it, it's better than seeing a pet killed," said Kathy LaFarnara, Nick's wife of about 10 years.

Kathy met Nick when she was a legal secretary for an attorney handling Nick's divorce. He told her he owned a pet store.

"I thought, 'big whoop,'" Kathy said. "I'm allergic to everything in your store."

As somebody who grew up never owning pets, she soon fell in love with having animals around.

"They run up to the door to greet you, they sleep in your bed, they just love you, and I realized, 'this is great,'" Kathy said. "I take a lot of medicine to work here."

Kathy mostly handles the birds, the reptiles, the grooming and the saltwater fish. Nick takes care of ordering, the freshwater fish and pretty much everything else.

Besides selling pets, the LaFarnaras give tours to local schoolchildren and bring pets into schools so they can learn about different kinds of animals.

"We tell them what it's like to own a business, take care of the pets and never get to take a vacation," Kathy said.

A person alerted me earlier that a parking enforcement officer was on Center Street chalking tires. I went out to try and get a picture, but couldn't find him, only the chalked tires (FWIW, this picture is not of my car. Mine was in a parking lot with one chalk mark at the time).

The person who told me about the tire chalking said she had never seen parking enforcement downtown before. I spoke to a business owner and another office worker -- who always parks on the street -- and neither of them had seen it before. One shop owner remembers parking enforcement one day last summer.

I called Chief Randy Baker to ask if this was something new or what's going on? He said nothing has changed.

"I beg to differ that people haven't seen him out before," Baker said.

Baker said there is a two-hour parking restriction downtown and the city employs a part-time parking enforcement officer who monitors parking, addresses problems when he sees them and responds to complaints.

I asked the chief for statistics on the number of parking tickets written per month and he said that number should be available in a couple of days.

Terrance D. Bauer, 48, of Church Street, Alabama, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and criminal possession of marijuana, 5th. Bauer was taken into custody by the Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force following the execution of a search warrant at his residence on Oct.15. Bauer was allegedly found in possession of marijuana and a billy club, which he cannot legally possess. Bauer was released on his own recognizance following his arraignment in Town of Alabama Court.

Craig A. Tiberio, 21, of Lathrop Avenue, Le Roy, is charged with assault, 3rd. Tiberio is accused of getting into an argument at a residence on St. Mary's Street, Pavilion, and punching another person in the face causing physical injury.

Robert Adam Barnhart, 25, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Barnhart was arrested on a warrant out of Wyoming County.

Aaron John Gugel, 18, of Donahue Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. A K-9 handled by Deputy Brian Thompson reportedly alerted on Gugel's car, parked at 260 State Street.

Sharmice Shantell Gibson, 18, Wood Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. A K-9 handled by Deputy Brian Thompson reportedly alerted on Gibson's car, parked at 260 State Street.

A bicycle rider has been struck in the area of 8322 Park Road, Batavia.

Mercy EMS and Town of Batavia Fire are being dispatched.

UPDATE 8:13 a.m.: Town of Batavia back in service. This is not a motor vehicle accident, a chief reports. A man fell off his bicycle.

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There is great beauty to be found in Genesee County, but the best shots can't always be captured from public roads. Once in a while, I see a shot I want, but need to get permission to walk across private property. Today, I drove out to a house on Lewiston Road because I knew there was a barn I liked, also I've been interested in getting the best angle on the shot above. For both pictures, the best shot wouldn't come from the roadside. Fortunately, the landowner was home and kind enough to let me wander around on his property.

At least two Batavia Police units are responding to a laundromat on Ellicott Street where four individuals are reportedly fighting.

Police were at the same location earlier this evening for a reported argument between a woman and her boyfriend.

A Batavia man previously accused of stealing from local stores is in trouble again -- this time for allegedly burglarizing a business on Harvester Avenue and forging checks from that business.

Michael J. Piasta, 30, of 415 East Main St., was arrested by Batavia Police following an investigation and charged with burglary, 3rd, and criminal possession of a forged instrument.

Piasta is accused of breaking into a business at 56 Harvester Ave. and stealing checks and credit cards.

He allegedly tried to cash two business checks at area banks and is accused of using the credit card at various locations.

Piasta was jailed without bail.

Previously, Piasta allegedly stole some DVDs from Pandora's Boxx and fled on foot. He was the subject of a short manhunt at St. Joseph Cemetery off of Buell Street. Also, he was previously accused of stealing beer from Wilson Farms on East Main Street. In that case, Piasta was apparently caught on camera at the store, and at the time of his arrest he was wanted on a warrant out of Niagara County.

Information on the court status of those cases is not immediately available.

A pole fire has been reported in the area of Route 33 and Upton Road, Batavia.

East Pembroke Fire has responded.

With a vacant $80,000-a-year position, the City of Batavia is moving forward to eliminate its own youth director position and share the top youth manager position with Genesee County.

By restructuring Youth Bureau staffing, the city hopes to save $15,600 a year while maintaining current programs -- some of which have been around since the 1950s -- at current levels.

"We really need this program to work," said Councilman Bill Cox. "What I like about this proposal is (it's) not only is a reduction in our budget, it's another step toward working together. Whether you call it consolidation or call it shared services, it's one more step toward working with the county."

Under terms of the proposal, the county's current youth director would become the top manager of the city's Youth Bureau. The shared director would work for the city one day a week and the county would provide an additional five hours of clerical support.

The total cost to the city will be $21,365.

Under the current budget, total compensation for the Youth Director position is $78,960, which is based on the salary, taxes and benefits paid out for the former youth director, who retired six months ago. Her base salary was $59,369. However, according to Jason Molino, she didn't use the city's health care plan, so replacing the director position could actually cost $12,000 more.

The projected $15,000 savings with the shared-services agreement is based on the current budget.

In the restructured Youth Bureau, the city would retain a youth coordinator position, raising the compensation from $56,676 to $60,853. A new position, youth program specialist, would be created with a compensation package of $50,000 (base salary of $29,457), and a part-time rec leader position would be retained at $9,453.

Much of the funding for youth programs in the city comes from state grants that have been in place for decades. Among the programs funded is a six-week summer youth program at all five city parks. The summer programs have been in place since the 1950s and are free to the public. They mostly serve youths 6 to 14. Without the grants, the programs wouldn't exist.

Grants also fund a youth/neighborhood technology center, open 2 to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Funded by Time Warner, the center provides seven computers and tutoring.

The Town of Batavia also makes a contribution toward the cost of the city's youth programs because some town children participate in the programs.

"It’s very important there are some opportunities for youths," said Councilman Sam Barone (pictured). "There’s an old saying, 'You can pay me now, or you pay me later,' but if we give our youths an opportunity to learn and grow it will pay off for us later."

Paul Schlaggel stands with the giant pumpkins he's selling in front of his place on Walnut Avenue, Batavia.

Apparently two cars in separate incidences have had accidents within the last half hour at or near the roundabout on Oak Street. Traffic is now backed up "all the way around," an officer says, "so expect some complaints."

One car struck a curb, flattening a tire. A mechanic service is going to change out the tire with the driver's spare and she'll have to pay the expense. The cost will be $54 cash or credit, which the driver says she has. The service is en route.

The woman told police she was "confused," and an officer said she should go to the hospital.

Another car, a silver Mustang, reportedly struck a light pole whereupon the male driver abandoned the vehicle. He is known to police and has friends on Oak Street, which is where he is believed to be.

National Grid has been notified. The Department of Public Works has been notified about the pole.

South Beach owner Ken Mistler announced today that he won't require Suzanne Corona to carry a sign in front of the restaurant saying "I stole from South Beach."

"Her sincere apology was restitution enough for me," Mistler said.

Corona, already facing a public lewdness conviction for her part in a sex act at Farrall Park in June, could have been charged with a felony for trashing the South Beach lunch buffet one afternoon last month. To avoid the charge, she signed a contract with Mistler last week admitting her deed and agreeing to carry the sign for four hours.

Mistler said Corona's husband reached out to him through a mutual friend to ask if during the four-hour walk he could be their to protect his wife from public abuse.

"It was at that point that I realized that this affects more than Suzanne," Mistler said. "It affects her whole family. I can't punish her family for something she did."

Reached this afternoon, Corona said she was grateful to Mistler for his decision.

"That is very wonderful of him," Corona said. "I told this to the media before and it got cut out -- he's a very fair man, a nice man and I respect him very much. I can't thank him enough that he's chosen this direction for my family."

After Corona got out of the hospital following an eight-day stay, she immediately came to Mistler ready to sign the contract, Mistler said. He said he figured that was a hard eight days lying in a hospital bed thinking about what she had done and the anticipation of the walk was probably difficult to think about.

He said he didn't feel the need to ask any more of her.

"She never said she wouldn't do the walk," Mistler said.

While Corona is off the hook for the four-hour "walk of shame," Mistler said he is suggesting to her -- only a suggestion -- that she volunteer for four hours with a local agency such as the animal shelter or help with a charity event.

"I've done that before," Corona said. "I've volunteered in soup kitchens. I've volunteered at a hospice. I can certainly do something for him in that regard. I most certainly will."

If the city were to sell the Falliti Ice Arena, it would have to get at least $450,000 for the 30-year-old facility according to City Manager Jason Molino.

That base price would cover current debt on recent improvements to the facility, the Zamboni ice resurfacer as well as the cost of separating the HVAC and sewer line, which is shared with the Batavia Fire Department headquarters.

Councilwoman Patti Pacino, for one, doesn't think any investor will pay as much as $450,000 for a facility that old and attached to a municipal building. What's more, she's worried that once the building has new owners, they will be under no obligation to provide community services, such as hosting local hockey leagues and high school programs.

What if some day they wanted to turn it into a discotheque, or something else, she mused.

"That (loss of community use of the facility) frightens me," Pacino said.

Councilman Bill Cox  (pictured) said he's pleased with how well things are going with the current management company, but doesn't think the city should own an ice arena.

"The ice arena is (a) great service and it’s enjoyed by people from throughout the county, but it’s not a vital service to the city," Cox said. "I believe we have to get out of areas that really aren't vital city services and involve private business."

Councilman Bob Bialkowski is all for selling the facility. He said he already received calls from local business people supporting the idea of selling it, wondering what the city was doing running an ice rink to begin with.

Technically, the city doesn't run it. For the past four seasons, a management company, Firland, has run the rink, and by all accounts, has done a good job. Firland has made all of its obligated payments to the city, totaling more than $160,000.

If the agreement were renewed -- which Firland wants to do -- the city could expect $400,000 from Firland over the next 11 years, enough to cover debt service, including the $75,000 still owed on the Zamboni machine.

If the city were to sell the facility, Molino said in a report, the sale price might only be four or five times current revenue, or between $300,000 and $400,000.

That's just a guess at this point. If the city were to get serious about selling the arena, a request for proposal would need to be written and an appraisal done -- a process that would cost the city thousands of dollars.

That cost scared off some council members from supporting the RFP process and by consensus, the council went along with a suggestion by Molino that the city generate a request for interest statement and float it around to potential buyers -- just to see if there is a market for the facility.

"It’s not every day that an ice rink goes on the market that’s 30 years old in a rural market like this," Molino said.

City Attorney George Van Nest also cautioned council members that finding a buyer could be difficult.

"There are going to be several strings attached, which is going to make it less attractive to a purchaser," Van Nest said.

Councilman Frank Ferrando said the currant arrangement with Firland seems to be working out well and from what he hears, hockey and ice skating are "booming" at Falleti.

"We need more booming kind of things happening in Batavia," Ferrando said. "I would hate to see us lose that just because we want to get rid of (the building)."

Michelle Richmond, 41, of 207 Washington Ave., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and speeding. Richmond was stopped at 2:52 a.m. on West Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Darryle Streeter.

William L. Verney, 29, of Alexander, is charged with conspiracy, 6th. Verney was arrested by State Police on Monday for an alleged incident reported on Oct. 10 on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation. No further details were released.

Jeffery A. Fitzsimmons, 18, of Medina, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Fitzsimmons was arrested by State Police at 1:05 a.m., Saturday, on Route 63 in the Town of Alabama.

Harold Miles, 52, of Batavia, is charged with introduction of prison contraband, 2nd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Miles was arrested by State Police on Saturday for an alleged incident reported on Oct. 19. No further details were released.