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Aspiring restaurant owners are going to get a unique opportunity to start their own businesses in a Downtown Batavia location that will be anchored by a new microbrewery, economic development officials will announce tomorrow.

A press conference is scheduled at 109 Main St., Batavia, at 3:45 p.m. to announce plans for freshLAB and the Batavia Brewing Company.

The freshLAB concept is borrowed from other successful restaurant incubators in larger markets, such as Dallas, Denver and Los Angeles. 

Batavia Brewing will be owned by a current local restaurant owner. Attempts to reach that owner to confirm his participation have been unsuccessful.

The announcement from officials of the press conference, however, makes clear a brewery is part of the plan (the logo included with the announcement is at the top of this post).

The concept of the restaurant incubator will be fully explained tomorrow, but Julie Pacatte, economic development coordinator for Batavia Development Corp. said the idea grew out of what the BDC board has observed for a number of years. The board had to turn down several requests to provide low-interest loans to proposed restaurants because of either undercapitalization or inexperienced aspiring owners.

With the incubator concept, aspiring restaurant owners can get started with a smaller initial investment and there will be advisors available to help them plan their concept, get up and running, manage the operations and hopefully, eventually, expand into a bigger, stand-alone location.

"Opening a restaurant is a big undertaking," Pacatte said, "60 percent fail within the first two to three years. This will provide those owners with a more affordable space and more coaching and guidance."

The location, 109 Main St., is the former Newberry's building. Most recently it was the location of T-Shirts Etc. and the Red Cross. It was previously the location of Main Street Coffee. Previous owner Ken Mistler has sold the building. The new owner will be announced tomorrow.

Also participating in the press conference is the Rural Development division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA will provide grant assistance for the restaurant incubator.

Part of the concept of the incubator is that aspiring restaurant owners must source most of their ingredients from farms from throughout the WNY region. The restaurant/food station concepts must also be unique to Batavia. The menu needs to be a different concept with offerings that vary from what's available in restaurants currently.

Part of the driver for creating the incubator is marketing surveys that show a lot of the entertainment and dining dollars spent by Batavia residents is flowing out of the county. Economic development officials hope to create a stronger cluster of restaurants in Batavia to help keep more of those dollars in the local community.

Press release:

The Genesee County Agricultural Society is accepting proposals to lease and operate the 1/3 mile dirt oval race track for the 2016 racing season. Detailed proposals should be sent to geneseefair@yahoo.com by Nov. 17th.

A conservative Christian group based in Arizona has issued a press release challenging the Le Roy Central School District for its handling of a reportedly transgender student and the student's access to locker rooms and restrooms. In a separate letter to the district and released by Alliance Defending Freedom, the advocacy group states that some male students are uncomfortable sharing facilities with a female student who identifies as male, but gives no indication that ADF actually represents any local residents.

The press release invites any district parents concerned about the issue to commence legal proceedings against the district. The district has not issued a statement in response to the press release from ADF.

Press release (links within the press release are to third-party sites):

Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter Friday to the Le Roy Central School District Board of Education that asks it to reverse a recent decision by district staff to allow students to use locker rooms and restrooms of the opposite sex. The letter provides a suggested policy that addresses the school district’s concerns about discrimination without allowing the sharing of restrooms.

The ADF letter explains that no federal law requires public schools to allow boys into girls’ restrooms or girls into boys’ restrooms. In fact, as the letter notes, the district could be exposing itself to legal liability for violating students’ right to bodily privacy.

“Protecting students from inappropriate exposure to the opposite sex is not only perfectly legal, it’s a school district’s duty,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “Letting boys into girls’ locker rooms and restrooms is an invasion of privacy and a threat to student safety.”

In December 2014, ADF sent public school districts nationwide a similar letter that it has now provided to Le Roy Central School District. All of the ADF letters cite pertinent legal precedent, including court rulings that support the ability of public schools to limit restrooms to members of the same sex for privacy and safety reasons without violating Title IX, a federal law concerning sex discrimination in public school programs and activities.

“Allowing students to use opposite-sex restrooms and locker rooms would seriously endanger students’ privacy and safety, undermine parental authority, prejudice religious students’ free exercise rights, and severely impair an environment conducive to learning,” the ADF letter to Le Roy Central School District explains.

“ADF’s policy allows schools to accommodate students with unique privacy needs, including transgender students, while also protecting other students’ privacy and free exercise rights, and parents’ right to educate their children.”

The ADF letter also offers to evaluate the situation and potentially offer free legal assistance if anyone files a lawsuit against the recommended policy.

“Schools can accommodate a small number of students that have different needs without compromising the rights of other children and their parents,” added ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “No child should be forced into an intimate setting – like a bathroom or a locker room – with a child of the opposite sex.”

It's Election Day in Genesee County. There are competitive races in the City of Batavia as well as the towns throughout the county. For a complete list of offices with candidates, click here. Be sure to get out and vote.

Jeffrey D. Bald, 33, of 30 Craigie St., Le Roy, and Ted E. Kingsley, 43, of 61 Myrtle St., #7, Le Roy, are charged with two counts each of second-degree burglary and one count each of petit larceny and attempted petit larceny. Bald and Kingsley were arrested after Village of Le Roy PD received a complaint from a neighbor of suspicious persons inside and then leaving a residence on Myrtle Street. Bald was allegedly located by a patrol walking nearby carrying a duffle bag of property. Kingsley was later determined to also be involved in the alleged burglary and was arrested. Bald and Kingsley are also suspects in a prior burglary of the same residence two days earlier. Kingsley was jailed on $15,000 bail and Bald on $25,000.

Sara A. Howard, 20, of 8486 W. Bergen Road, lot #15, Le Roy, was arrested on a pair of warrants. The first was out of the Town of Le Roy for an alleged theft of money and an iPhone from an acquaintance in the Village of Le Roy. The second was on a charge of petit larceny out of Rochester. Howard was arraigned and issued an appearance ticket on the local charge and then turned over to Rochester PD.

Amy M. Kaplun, 20, of 31 Gilbert St., Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Kaplun allegedly stole money from a Village of Le Roy business while employed there.

Habib Kassim Abdullah Nasser, 34, of East Ferry Street, Buffalo, is charged with evading cigarette tax on 10,000 or more cigarettes and speeding. Nasser was stopped 1:34 a.m. on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Joseph Corona. He as allegedly found in possession of 12,000 untaxed cigarettes.

Jessica L. Ford, 24, of Oak Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st. Ford was allegedly found driving a vehicle with a passenger whom she is barred from contacting by a complete stay away order. Ford was jailed without bail.

Glenn H. Quintern, 56, of Central Avenue, Batavia, is charged with assault, 2nd. Quintern allegedly stabbed a woman in the leg with a pair of scissors at about 11 p.m. Friday.

William Edward Bissette, 53, of Gibson Street, Oakfield, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Bissette was stopped at 4:47 p.m. Saturday on South Main Street, Oakfield, by Deputy Joseph Corona, following a complaint of an altercation between two people at the 7-Eleven in Oakfield.

Dillon Lee James Farley, 23, of Ridge Road, Elba, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and failure to keep right. Farley was arrested by Deputy Joseph Loftus following a report of an accident at 2:40 a.m. Saturday on Ridge Road, Elba.

Melanie Mary Matesz, 50, of Schurr Road, Akron, is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle. Matesz allegedly used a vehicle owned by another person for several days without knowledge or consent of the owner. Matesz was also charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, for allegedly being at a residence she was barred from visiting.

Jordan J. Hardy, 26, of Sunset Parkway, Oakfield, is charged with sex offender failure to report a change of address. Hardy, a registered sex offender, allegedly failed to report a change of address. He was jailed without bail.

Reggie, on the left, a 3-year-old Rottweiler, and Zoe, a 5-year-old Austrailian shepard, have been missing in the Asbury Road and Route 20 area of Pavilion since yesterday afternoon. Owner Crystal Geitner thinks they may have ran off into the woods chasing a deer. 

If you can assist in locating them, call Jaret (716) 474-1881 or Crystal (716) 560-3644.    

Here's just a few shots of Halloween 2015 on Lincoln Avenue, Washington Avenue and Ellicott Avenue.

If a number of photos in this post seem to feature a bit too much of the Bath, well that was pretty much the story of the game Saturday as the Le Roy Oatkan Knights dropped a Class C sectional playoff game to Bath 44-0.

Josh Laurie was held 105 yards passing and Nick Egeling gained only 15 yards on the ground.

For four quarters, it was pretty much all Bath, with the Rams amassing 353 yards of total offense.

Reed Kacur had three receptions for 28 yards and Ryan Boyce, two for 37 yards.

The way Greg Mruczek sees it, the challenge Hornell gave Batavia in the first quarter of Saturday's sectional semi-final for Class B gives a Blue Devils team that has faced little adversity all season long a taste of how tough advancing in the post season will get.

Mruczek and his teammates adjusted and ended up smashing the Red Raiders 43-7.

Four second-quarter touchdown passes from Mruczek sealed the deal. He hit Anthony Gallo on a 16-yard route, Ray Leach on 46 yards, Ryan Hogan on 24 yards and Malachi Chenault on 41 yards.

"We had to pick up some blitzes in that first quarter," Mruczek said. "We definately had some adversity, but we definately fought through the adversity. We definately got a feel for playing in a close game and that's definately going to happen in the finals."

In the finals, Batavia will face Livonia, and while that's a 6-3 team (compared to Batavia's 9-0 record), they scored 70 points yesterday against Penn Yan, who ran up 60 points.

The diversity of receivers Mruczek called upon for those four second-quarter TDs demonstrates the array of weapons any defense must try to counter when playing Batavia, and the ability to strike quickly from anywhere on the field gives the team a lot of confidence, said Dom Mogavero.

"We a dynamic team," Mogavero said. "Every single person on this team can play football, the twos, the threes, everyone on the depth chart can play football and we all know we're really talented atheletes.

"We stick together as a family. The only stat that matters to us is wins and losses."

Mruczek was coming off a stretch over two games where he was 19-20 passing, including a 10-10 performance last week, with his only prior missed pass a throwaway under pressure two weeks ago. Those blitzes of Hornel had Mruczek a little off balance in the first quarter and he gave up a rare interception.

Still, he went on for a 12 for 25 performance for 303 yards and four TDs.

Batavia's other two touchdowns came on runs of 56 yards by Leach and 47 yards by Caleb Burdett.

 Mogavero had 77 yards on seven carries and Ray Leach rushed for 79 yards on five carries for the Blue Devils.

Gallo caught four passes for 126 yards.

In additional to his TD reception, Hogan had two interceptions. His steller performance came less than a week after his father's death.

"He's a gamer," Mruczek said. "He's got a lot of heart. I love that kid. He works hard every day."

Malachi Chenault said the team was there for Hogan throughout the week.

"He's a tough player," Chenault said. "We knew his situation and we just tried holding him up as much as we can and be as supportive as possible, that's all."

Defensively, Danny Williams had 10 tackles (two for loss) and Trent McGraw had eight tackles (two for loss) for the Blue Devils.

Top photo: Leach celebrates his second quater TD, which came off a tipped pass (second photo).

Hogan with one of this two interceptions.

Gallo with a TD reception.

Leach on a run play.

Leach.

Leach on defense.

Gallo with a reception.

Mruczek with a second quarter pass

Williams buries Hornell's Trenton Smith.

To purchase prints of photos by Howard Owens, click here.

Jim Burns was also at the game and took photos:

A tree fire has been reported in the Byron Mobiehome Park, 6162 Swamp Road, Byron, Lot #42. 

Byron and South Byron fire dispatched. 

Law enforcement is being dispatched to West Main Street, Batavia, in the area of Dave's Ice Cream, to check out a report of cars with Texas plates drag racing, reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph.

An ATV vs. car accident is reported in the area of 41 S. Main St., Oakfield.

An injury is reported.

South Main is being closed at Coe and at Pearl.

Oakfield fire on scene. Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 8:27 p.m.: The suspect, who was driving the ATV, fled on foot to a wooded area off Pearl Street. A deputy is out with him and will use his flashlight to direct medics to his location.

UPDATE 9:23 p.m.: Road is open. Oakfield back in service.

Yesterday afternoon we stopped by the ARC Recycling Center on West Main Street, Batavia, to check out the truck the folks there have decked out for Halloween.

Photos provided by our news partner, WBTA.

Press release from UR Medicine:

Patients in Genesee and surrounding counties can now access a full range of cancer treatment services in one location at Wilmot Cancer Institute Batavia.

The office at 262 Bank St. is the former Batavia Radiation Oncology, which joined UR Medicine’s Wilmot Cancer Institute in 2014. With renovated and expanded space, the office features larger clinical examination rooms, and it has added medical oncology, hematology, and an infusion center.

Kevin J. Mudd, M.D., who has been Batavia’s radiation oncologist for more than 14 years, continues to see patients at Wilmot Cancer Institute Batavia. He is joined by Nayana Kamath, M.D., of Interlakes Oncology and Hematology, who provides the medical oncology and hematology services at the office.

“It’s exciting to continue providing high-quality, comprehensive cancer care here in this community and to see our services growing with our integration with URMC and Wilmot Cancer Institute,” Mudd said.

Services for patients who need medical oncology, hematology and chemotherapy/infusion began in July. The office’s new infusion center was designed with patient comfort in mind.

“Our new infusion center is bright and open,” Kamath said. “While that might not sound significant, it can make a real difference for patients who need to be here for three or four hours at a time. ”

As part of Wilmot Cancer Institute, the Batavia office provides access to clinical trials, which are available for a variety of cancers at different stages and help lead to the next generation of therapies, and to advanced diagnostic testing for certain cancers, which helps physicians to tailor treatments more precisely to a patient’s needs.

“Cancer care is more complex than it has ever been before, and it requires a coordinated team with expertise in many disciplines to identify the best course of treatment for each individual patient,” said Jonathan W. Friedberg, M.D., M.M.Sc., director of Wilmot Cancer Institute. “Our office here in Batavia brings Wilmot Cancer Institute’s precision medicine approach closer to home for patients and families who might otherwise have to travel an hour or more for care.” 

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee Gateway Local Development Corporation (GGLDC) passed a budget for Fiscal Year 2016 at its board meeting today with anticipated cash outflows of $2.4 million. Funding will be realized primarily through grant revenue (restricted to the project for which the funding was awarded), rents and loan repayments. 

Major sources of revenue includes a $750,000 grant from the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal program for the p.w. minor project and the remaining balance of a $200,000 grant from New York State Empire State Development. The balance of the ESD grant will be used for the development of the Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (WNY STAMP). 

Rent revenue of $672,000 will be generated from the MedTech Centre facility and common area maintenance fees from the Buffalo East Tech Park and Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park (Ag-Park). In addition, $672,200 in revenue will be received through the Empire Pipeline PILOT Increment Financing (PIF) and grant revenue from the United States Economic Development Administration that is restricted to support development at the Ag-Park.  

Additional revenues include $14,000 in grants from National Grid and $498,600 in principal and interest payments from several different companies for loans made in previous years.

Anticipated 2016 expenditures include the distribution of the state grant to support the p.w. minor project and building maintenance, an economic development program support grant, professional services and site/corporate park maintenance.

In 2015 the GGLDC made progress on a number of projects including: the widening of Route 63 to support commerce in the Ag-Park; assisting Bergen and Le Roy in securing an America’s Best Communities grant to create an economic development revitalization plan; and, completed enhancements to Buffalo East Tech Park, including roadway installation and improvements to the Route 5 entrance. The improvements at the Buffalo East Tech Park enabled the construction of Yancey’s Fancy new $20.6 million facility. 

“Thanks to the County’s assistance and our funding partners, the GGLDC has been successful in completing many projects,” said Thomas H. Felton, chairman of the GGLDC Board of Directors. “We continue to see significant attention from new businesses interested in locating in our County, and we are excited to work with our partners to bring new jobs and investment here.”

The recent death under questionable circumstances of a 91-year-old resident along with a series of complaints from tenants of 400 Towers has prompted Councilwoman Rosemary Christian to contact NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and request an audit of the senior housing complex, which is operated by the Batavia Housing Authority.

A spokesman for the comptroller's office said it's not unusual for the office to receive requests for audits from public officials and it is a factor in deciding audit priorities. 

Public housing complexes in New York do fall under the office's jurisdiction to audit, said Brian Butry.

He couldn't comment at this time, of course, on whether or when there might be an audit of 400 Towers.

"There seems to be a lot of problems and complaints from the residents there," Christian said in her e-mail to DiNapoli. "I have heard from many people who live there and they aren't very happy there."

Earlier this month a man was found dead on the roof of 400 Towers. It appears that the man, who may have suffered from mild dementia, wandered in the middle of the night from his apartment and onto the roof. A magnetic lock on the door leading to the roof may not have been operating correctly at the time, make it easier for the man to access the roof, but then he was unable to find his way back into the building.

Yesterday evening, Christian, along with Kyle Couchman, who had been hired by the deceased gentleman's family to help provide day care for the man, addressed a meeting of the housing authority board and said they would like answers to why certain things are taking place at 400 Towers.

Concerns include:

• A resident other residents seem to fear wanders freely and may have access to other residents' apartments;
• There have been a few thefts from apartments and there are concerns that somebody has a master key, or that there are too many master keys floating around; Christian would like to know why the locks haven't been changed;
• Why residents are not allowed to sit in the lobby for more than 30 minutes at a time and face fines if they violate the rule; Couchman said his client had been written up for such a violation and he found that disturbing and also suggested the rule violated existing leases;
• Christian wonders why a resident in a wheelchair was fined $45 after his wheelchair hit a metal door frame;
• Residents have been fined when the tires of their cars are on the yellow lines of parking spaces;
• Fine money must be paid separate from rent checks, and Christian wonders where the money goes and what it's spent on;
• Christian expressed concern that applicants for apartments are interviewed at the window in the lobby instead of a private room to protect their privacy.

Christian also raised these issues in her e-mail to DiNapoli.

While housing authority board members are appointed by City Manager Jason Molino, the city's involvement with the housing authority pretty much ends there. The authority operates independently of the city.  

Following the remarks by Christian and Couchman at Thursday's meeting, the board said it would not be discussing the questions or concerns at that meeting.

After a couple of years of considering his options, City Slickers owner Ken Mistler has settled on a design for an awning over the patio of his Downtown restaurant. The steel beams for the awning are being installed today and the awning should be completed in about a week. While the patio will be open, it will be heated, Mistler said.

A woman who was pulling her car out of her driveway about 8:30 a.m. was trapped in her car after it was struck by another vehicle on Edward Street Batavia.

The woman, whose name has not yet been released by Batavia PD, was extricated by city firefighters and transported to UMMC for evaluation.

The other driver was evaluated at the scene.

Officer Kevin DeFelice said the accident appeared to be a case of an obstructed view and unfortunate timing, but it remains under investigation.

A 25-year-old Pavilion resident is being held in the Genesee County Jail on $10,000 bail after being found allegedly growing marijuana.

The Local Drug Task Force executed a search warrant today at 10831 South Lake Road, Pavilion, and allegedly found marijuana growing, dried marijuana, smoking devices, U.S. currency, brass knuckles and several pieces of equipment used for growing marijuana.

The Task Force described the quanity of marijuana as "large."

Kyle R. Washington was charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 2nd, unlawful growing of cannabis by an unlicensed person and criminal possession of a weapon, 4th. 

The District Attorney's Office and uniformed members of the Sheriff's Office assisted in the investigation and arrest.