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      Marlek Holmes

There will apparently be no contempt charge against Marlek Holmes after the convicted sexual predator used profanity and hurled insults at the District Attorney today in County Court.

Judge Charles Zambito apparently did not hear the most profane statement by Holmes, when he told District Attorney Lawrence Friedman he could go eff himself while the DA was using a copy machine near the defense table.

Defense Attorney Fred Rarick put his hand on his client's shoulder and advised him to be careful about what he said in court. 

Zambito did hear Holmes say, “I don’t understand anything that stupid ass says," after Zambito asked if he understood the plea offer presented by the district attorney.

Zambito pressed on without acknowledging the remark and clarified that Holmes was declining a plea offer that would have capped his potential prison sentence on his latest conviction and avoid a trial on a charge of failure to register a new address as a registered sex offender.

In May, Holmes, already a convicted sex offender, entered a guilty plea to guilty to a Class C violent felony, attempted criminal sexual act in the first degree. Later that month, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison while proclaiming his innocence. 

In October, Holmes was convicted following a jury trial on two counts of assault in the second degree and criminal mischief for assaulting a fellow inmate at the Genesee County Jail. 

On that conviction, he could be sentenced up to seven years each, for a total of 14 years, on top of the 15 years he's currently serving.

The plea offer from Friedman would have capped the sentence at five years, consecutive to his current 15 years, for a total of 25 years in prison, and satisfied the pending charges against Holmes related to his alleged failure to register a change of address as a sex offender (the oldest of the group of charges that has tied him up in County Court for more than a year).

As part of the deal, Holmes would be required to drop his current appeal on his sexual abuse conviction and not pursue appeals on his other cases.

The deal would have saved the people the expense of another trial.

Holmes refused the deal.

Earlier this month, Holmes sought to have his new trial delayed because he's being shuttled between prisons and doesn't have all of his paperwork and access to the prison law library. Friedman argued against a delay and Zambito agreed a delay was not necessary.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday with a hearing before the actual trial begins on Tuesday on whether Holmes qualifies as a persistent violent felony offender, which could mean an enhancement on his sentence on the jail assault conviction.

After court, Friedman said he wasn't sure what Zambito might have heard Holmes say, and he wasn't sure what was captured on the record.

"I decided at that point not to bother saying anything," Friedman said.

Alex Feig, from our news partner WBTA, contributed reporting to this story.

The weekend before last, I had the pleasure of attending the Alexander Volunteer Fire Department's annual installation and awards dinner.

The next morning, before I had a chance to post the pictures, I got sidetracked by the blockade and fire situation on Washington Avenue, then I had an afternoon event to attend. By the time I got home that night, it didn't even occur to me that I hadn't posted the pictures yet.

Apologies to the folks in Alexander. Here are the pictures.

For 2018, the Firematic Officers are: Chief Marshall Merle, Deputy Chief Paul Hirsch, 2nd Assistant Jim Burkhardt, 3rd Assistant Dean Hendershot, 4th Assistant Tom Green, Ambulance Captain Todd Fleenor, Ambulance Lieutenant Darlene Merle, Truck Captain Aaron Hirsch, Truck Lieutenant Carl Homer, Training Captain Sean McPhee, Training Lieutenant Ryan Hinz, and Safety Officer Nate Fix.

Administrative Officers: Dean Hendershott, president; Tom Green, VP; Amanda Donnelly, recording secretary; Jennifer Merle, financial secretary; Jackqueline Lowe, treasurer; Bob Spiers, chaplain; and trustees Sean McPhee, Darlene Merle, Deb Green, Amanda Donnelly, Ryan Hinz, Matt Pietrzykowski and Nate Fix.

Ladies Auxiliary Officers: Donna Rhodes, president; Ann Buckenmeyer, VP; Kate Goodman, secretary; Colette Guarino, treasurer; Marge Kelsey, flag bearer; Donna Rhodes, chaplain; and directors Sandy Homer; Marge Kelsey and Linda Higley.

Top photo: Ryan Hinz, Firefighter of the Year.

Jenny McPhee, EMS Provider of the Year.

James Burkhardt, EMS Non-medic of the Year.

John Meier received the President's Award.

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A rollover accident is reported in the Thruway in the area of mile marker 401.6 in the eastbound lane.

Dispatchers have received several calls on it.

One person is reported to be still in the vehicle.

Pembroke fire, Indian Falls fire, and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 8:39 a.m.: A vehicle is on its roof on the bridge of the off and on ramp, according to a chief on scene. Traffic is backing up.

UPDATE 8:42 a.m.: The chief believes the driver is out of the vehicle. There is a snowplow pushing it onto the median.

UPDATE 8:46 a.m.: There were two people in the vehicle. They are in a State Police car. One has a complaint of shoulder pain. The other is apparently uninjured.

UPDATE 9:10 a.m.: Pembroke and Indian Falls back in service.

A rollover accident is reported on Route 238 near Bowen Road, Alexander.

No word on injuries.

Alexander fire and ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 11:55 p.m.: Minor injuries.

After stopping to see somebody about a possible story on South Main Street Road, I noticed several trees hanging over the Tonawanda Creek dripping with icicles.

Raymond EJ Smith Jr., 43, of Lockport Road, Oakfield, is charged with operating a snowmobile while impaired by alcohol, operating a snowmobile on a street or highway, operating a snowmobile without liability insurance, operating an unregistered snowmobile, and refusal to take a breath test. Smith and his snowmobile were found by a passerby overturned in a ditch at 10:19 p.m. Saturday on Lockport Road, Oakfield. He was not injured. The accident was investigated by Deputy Jeremy McClellan. (Initial Report)

Katherine Marie Wilkinson, 21, of Buffalo Street Road, Alexander, is charged with falsely reporting an incident. Wilkinson is accused of falsely reporting that a person hit her in the face. When deputies arrived to investigate the complaint, Wilkinson allegedly told the deputies the incident did not happen.

Jeffrey D. Freeman, 37, of South Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Freeman allegedly threw a plate at another person while at Denny's on West Main Street, Batavia.

Winston Ashton Lockhart Sr., 22, of Holland Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and acting in a manner injurious to a child. Lockhart was charged following a report of a domestic incident on Holland Avenue at 11:55 a.m. Jan. 7.

Douglas A. Curry, 66, of Grand Avenue, Rochester, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Curry was arrested on a warrant for allegedly violating an order of protection.

Franciso Martinez, 44, of Bridgeman Street, Buffalo, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, harassment, 2nd, endangering the welfare of a child, and robbery, 3rd. Martinez was allegedly in a fight with another person at a residence on Bank Street at 8:36 p.m. Thursday. During the domestic incident, he allegedly stole an item from the victim. He was jailed without bail.

Matthew J. Vickers, 38, of Court Road, Pavilion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, speed not reasonable and prudent, and failure to keep right. Vickers was reportedly involved in a motor-vehicle accident at 8:28 p.m Jan. 6 on West Main Street, Batavia.

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A caller reports finding an overturned snowmobile in a ditch off Lockport Road near Bliss Road in Oakfield.

Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 10:31 p.m.: Snowmobile driver is conscious and alert.

UPDATE 10:54 p.m.: The driver is not injured but is being transported to UMMC for evaluation. 

A resident in Byron noticed a cat carrier on her porch on Friday. The door was open and when she took a quick look inside, there was no cat.

She left the tan carrier, with a black handle, on the porch not thinking much of it until today when she looked inside and found a male black and white cat.

The unneutered cat is about 9 months old, said Animal Control Officer Agie Jaroszewski.

The cat has apparently been going in and out of the carrier since being abandoned.

Jaroszewski said there was a blanket in the carrier but this morning it was covered with snow.

The cat is now warm and safe at the shelter.

If anybody knows who abandoned the cat, call the Sheriff's Office at (585) 343-5000.

A lot of Batavia residents were busy this morning clearing snow from their driveways and walkways, including Nate Baker on Ellicott Place, above, after a storm dropped about a foot of snow on the city.

Eric Haile on Summit Street.

Cliff Vagg on Ellicott Avenue.

The National Weather Service has warned of possible flooding as the Tonawanda Creek through Batavia nears the 9-foot level.

Currently, the water level, as measured at the bend behind the County Courthouse, is 8.64 feet.

It's been on a steep climb since 7 a.m.

It's expected to crest at 9.1 feet.

The minor flood stage is 9 feet.

Kibbe Park is expected to flood, and possibly Walnut Street and Law Street.  

There is flooding in Alexander and the Town of Batavia along the creek.

There is a flood warning in effect until 1 p.m.

A caller reported he's stuck in his vehicle, which is in the water on a flooded old Creek Creek Road, south of Peaviner.

Now he says he's out of the vehicle but has a shoulder injury.

Old Creek Road is closed due to flooding.

Alexander fire and ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 5:53 p.m.: The road is washed out. Responders will need to come in from Hunn Road and should exercise caution.

UPDATE 7:10 p.m.: The assignment went back in service about 45 minutes ago. Fire personnel brought the victim to the medics, who were staged nearby. The truck's rear wheels were on dirt; the front wheels were submerged in floodwater. A tow company winched out the vehicle and removed it.

Heather Adams of Pembroke lived in this tiny house on wheels for a year and a half before buying a bit of land that already had a house on it so now she would like to rent it out as a bed and breakfast room during the summer.

To do that, Adams had to request a temporary use permit.

Thre's no zoning regulation locally that handles tiny houses on wheels.

"Tiny houses are their own unique thing," Adams said. "They're not an RV; they're not a mobile home. They don't really fit any codes existing at this time."

If her experiment using it for a bed and breakfast unit is successful, the Town of Pembroke may need to come up with the appropriate zoning regulation to allow its use.

Last night, the County Planning Board recommended approval of the temporary permit.

Adams said she wants to set it up as a B&B on her South Lake Road lot so more people can experience tiny house living. 

"The plan is to rent this out as little B&B so people can learn about tiny houses and try it out for themselves," Adams said. "A lot of people see is such a small space and think 'I could never live in that,' but when you see how they're set up, they are there really nice.They make a great use of space and they're really liveable."

This tiny house (pictured) is actually split level. It's 8 foot by 24 foot with 200 square feet of livable space. Adams said she liked it because the bed was on the first floor so her dogs could sleep with her.

"I lived in another tiny house previously when I lived in Alaska and only had a bed upstairs and I had a ladder," Adams said. "And so I couldn't sleep with my dogs."

The tiny house movement began years ago, Adams said, when people wanted small, unencumbered, uncluttered spaces to live in but the places where they tried to build them would run into building code issues because they were so small. So people came up with the idea of putting them on wheels and then they were unregulated.

She thinks they really meet a need for people who want to live a simpler life.

"It's simple living," Adams said, "just really simple living. You don't have a lot of stuff so you don't have to spend a lot of time cleaning, your expenses are a lot less, and you can just spend much more time enjoying life."

Press release:

On Friday Jan. 12, City of Batavia Manager Jason Molino delivered to the City Council a 2018/2019 Recommended City Budget. The budget supports quality City services; sustained investment in infrastructure; reasonable and reliable employee wages and benefits; and a budget that proposes a 3 percent tax rate decrease to $8.99 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The Proposed Budget supports total expenditures of $24.3 million (an increase of 1.9 percent). It meets the City Council’s budget goal of staying below the City’s tax cap. Due to a substantial 4.1 percent increase in the City’s tax base, half of which is due to the Genesee County nursing home becoming privately owned and taxable, the budget contains a property tax rate that will go down, to $8.99 per $1,000 -- a reduction of 3 percent.

This is the lowest City tax rate since 2006. Under the Proposed Budget, the City property tax bill for the owner of a home valued at $90,000 would decrease by $25.20.

“The Proposed Budget is a result of growth in our tax base,” said City Manager Molino. In his budget message to City Council he said, “We are committed to our focus to an unabashed “all in” approach to growth.”

Last year the City set a path to achieve $100 million of new investment through the efforts of four distinct priorities: FOCUS on growth, operational excellence, neighborhood investment and BIG Collaborative projects. While the City has made significant gains with all priorities, none are more noticeable than the City winning the Governor’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

“Through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, the City of Batavia will accelerate the redevelopment of existing buildings, and create additional business and residential opportunities downtown,” the manager states.

“By investing in the entrepreneurial climate and downtown environmental qualities, and by encouraging ethnic diversity and active lifestyles, Batavia hopes to foster a creative class of workers who will spur continued job growth.”

Currently, the City has made significant movement towards our goal of $100 million. As of Dec. 31, the City’s “I’m All In!” Scoreboard revealed over $8.8 million in completed investments, $15.8 million in-progress for completion in the next two years and another $58.8 million planned by 2022. In total, after just one year of commitment, we have over $83.5 million on our horizon for completion by 2022, and more still to come.

The Recommended Budget includes:

  Completion of Healthy Schools Corridor sidewalk project, a $1 million federal grant for the construction of over 12,000 linear feet of new sidewalk;

  Completion of Highway PM grant, $2.55 million federal grant for the resurfacing of six streets;

  $256,000 of additional annual street resurfacing;

  $285,720 of additional annual sidewalk replacement;

  Resurfacing of the East Parking Lot at the City Centre;

  Supporting the Town of Batavia in the construction of the Ellicott Trail;

Sales Tax: The budget projects that sales tax collections will increase slightly, .4 percent for next year, a somewhat improvement from the past two years of decline.

Water & Sewer Rates: The proposed rate adjustment for FY18/19 includes a water rate increase of $.18 or 3.5 percent. In addition, the plan includes a capital improvement fee increase for all meter sizes. The impact to a typical residential customer with a 5/8-inch meter will be $.54 per quarter. The proposed water rate for a typical residential user is $5.30 per 1,000 gallons and the capital fee per typical residential user is $5.99 per quarter. The total impact to a typical residential customer (approximately 95 percent of customers) from the proposed rate and fee adjustments is approximately $4.49/quarter. There is no rate increase proposed for the sewer rate this year.

“I wish to thank City Department Heads and Bureau Chiefs, and their staff, for their professional approach to the challenges that mark every budget,” Molino said. “They continue to serve the community with highest standards, and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with them.”

The 2018/19 proposed Budget is posted on the City website at http://www.batavianewyork.com/office-of-the-city-manager/pages/city-budget.

Public copies of the Proposed Budget are available for review at the City Clerk’s office, One Batavia City Centre (1st Floor).

A Batavia man accused of threatening to shoot police officers and then of barricading himself inside of an apartment and setting it on fire has been charged with arson in the second degree and two counts of making terrorist threats.

Eddie "Pops" Miles Jr., is also charged with criminal contempt and aggravated criminal contempt.

The incident began Sunday morning just before 9 a.m. when police were dispatched to a report of a domestic at 207 Washington Ave., Batavia. 

When patrols arrived, Miles allegedly threatened to shoot police. That caused police to establish a perimeter, evacuate neighboring homes, and initiate a reverse 9-1-1 call to other residents with a shelter in place notice.

Then Miles allegedly started a fire inside the apartment where he was staying with his girlfriend.

His girlfriend managed to climb out on the roof of the front porch and escape with the assistance of police officers.

While the apartment burned, city firefighters could only shelter behind their trucks.

Eventually, Miles surrendered and climbed down a ladder at the back of the building.

There was also a warrant out for his arrest. He is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd. 

He also still has charges pending from 2017. 

Miles was arrested in August for allegedly putting his arm around the neck of another person and injecting a dog with an unknown purple liquid.

In July, he allegedly took a car belonging to another person without permission.

He is being held in the Genesee County Jail without bail.

A proposed new Dollar General store for East Pembroke should meet the goal of making the hamlet more walkable, according to county planners.

That would mean removing parking from the front of the building and bringing the structure closer to the sidewalk.

Last night, the County Planning Board approved the site review with that recommendation. It will be up to the Town of Batavia's Planning Board to decide whether to implement the recommendation.

Planning Director Felipe A. Oltramari explained that the Town of Batavia is adopting form-based planning as part of its comprehensive plan and has already adopted a policy that should help the town, which includes East Pembroke, become a walkable community. 

East Pembroke currently scores a 15 at WalkScore.com and is considered car-dependent.

Since the policy is not yet part of the town's codes, the Planning Board could only make a recommendation and not take a stronger stand.

There are already six Dollar General stores in Genesee County.

This location will be on Main Road at Barrett Drive.

The developer is Zarembra Group Inc., based in Cleveland, Ohio.

The single-story building will be 9,100 square feet.

A minor-injury pedestrian accident is reported on West Main Street, Batavia, in front of Arby's.

City fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 4:14 p.m.: The victim, who had not been transported, has traveled to the Emergency Room at UMMC seeking treatment.

Tomorrow the Batavia Players will screen a premier showing of "Macbeth," filmed and produced in Batavia, at the Harvester 56 Theater.

"Though the language is true to the original Shakespeare, the period is modern with a 'West Side Story' flare," said Emily Crawford, publicist for Harvester 56.

"The roles of nobility and the murderous rivalry between them has been adapted to a gang environment. This is the first time many of our actors are appearing on screen, though we do have a few veterans in the mix."

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a reception. The screening starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 at the door.

We've been notified of the following closings and cancellations:

• All evening activities for The Mental Health Association of Genesee & Orleans Counties;
• All activities for Pavilion Central School for Friday and Saturday are canceled;
• The Richmond Memorial Library will be closed Saturday;
• A talk at the Holland Land Office Museum tonight and a panel discussion tomorrow with author David Fitzgerald has been rescheduled for March;
• All events and activities are canceled for Batavia City Schools today and tomorrow;
• GCASA is closed Saturday.

Send notifications of closings and cancellations to howard@thebatavian.com. Send your weather pictures to howard@thebatavian.com