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New York Times: 2 Tots, a Sailboat and a Storm Over Parenting

A "house fire" is reported at 10 Edgewood Drive, a "new build," but a Town of Batavia chief is on scene reports "nothing showing."

City of Batavia fire and Town of Batavia fire dispatched.

UPDATE 8:57 p.m.: There is a propane heater burning inside.

UPDATE 9 p.m.: City fire and Town of Batavia are back in service.

Press release:

In the Fall of 2014, a new program, the Agri-Business Academy, will be available to students at the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center. The Agri-Business Academy is a one-year partnership program between the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership and Genesee Community College. This college-prep program is geared toward highly motivated high school seniors interested in investigating careers in the agri-business field.

Students will explore multidisciplinary professions through meetings with career guest speakers, in conjunction with job shadows and field trips at a variety of agricultural and business locations. Food management science, environmental science, global position systems technology, power machinery, international trade, or agri-tourism, are a few of the areas that will be studied.

At the completion of this one-year program, students will earn 12 SUNY college credits.  The credit hour cost for academy students is $50, which is one third of the regular GCC tuition rate.

Kerri Richardson has been appointed as the instructor of the Agri-Business Academy at the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center. Richardson’s family has deep roots in the farming community.  Her father is a veterinarian who operates his practice on the family farm. She holds a bachelor of science degree from Cornell University. In 2012, she earned a master of science degree in Agricultural Education from Cornell University. Richardson is a lifelong member, competitor, and leader within 4H and FFA. Richardson recently was employed as a Community Educator for the Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension.

"The Genesee County area has an impressive, welcoming agricultural community that provides youth with a plethora of opportunities. I am excited begin my career as an instructor of the Agri-Business Academy and provide students with the opportunity to explore and delve into the agricultural community through experiences in agri-businesses," Richardson said.

Applications are now being accepted for this program. If you know of a student who might be interested in this program, please contact Richardson at krichardson3@gvboces.org or 585-344-7711, ext. 2140, or Catherine Bennett at cbennett2@gvboces.org or 585-344-7773.

Bradley Jordan

Amber Reinisch

Bradley R. Jordan, 21, of East Bethany, and Amber L. Reinisch, 18, of Castile, are charged with burglary, 3rd, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, 5th.

The investigation that led to the charges against Jordan and Reinisch began with a resident in the Village of Silver Springs reporting that she observed a male and female break glass in an overhead door and enter the garage attached to her apartment. State Police responded, but the suspects fled before they arrived on scene. Suspect and vehicle descriptions were provided to law enforcement officers in Wyoming County.

Police also received a complaint of a male and female fitting the description of the burglary suspects causing a disturbance at the McDonald's in Warsaw. The vehicle description for the two individuals also fit the burglary description. The vehicle was reportedly seen heading toward Save-A-Lot in Warsaw.

A short time later, a customer at Save-A-Lot reported seeing a male customer in possession of a handgun. The person had not threatened anybody with the weapon, but had removed it from his waistband as he walked through the store and then put it back in his waistband.

Village of Warsaw police officers, Wyoming County Sheriff's deputies and troopers all responded to the area. The suspect vehicle was located and Jordan and Reinisch were taken into custody.

Both suspects are accused of stealing merchandise from Walmart and Olympia Sports in North Warsaw, along with the burglary in Silver Springs. The alleged theft from Walmart was of a compact C02 pistol, which State Police say was the weapon later observed by a customer at Save-A-Lot. State Police alleged that when Jordan observed troopers at the front of the store, he ducked into a bathroom and discarded the weapons in a wastebasket. The weapon was later recovered and secured as evidence.

Jordan and Reinisch were arraigned and jailed on $5,000 bail each.

(name redacted upon request), 22, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Clark's vehicle was stopped by State Police in the Town of Attica, Wyoming County, for an alleged equipment violation. He was allegedly found in possession of a small amount of marijuana.

Paul D. Barth Jr., 23, of Cohocton Road, Pembroke, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Barth was allegedly sending text messages to a person he was ordered by a judge not to contact.

Desiree Michelle Hutchinson, 18, of Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Hutchinson allegedly admitted to Officer James DeFreze that she was hold her baby while in same room with a friend who was smoking marijuana.

Scott P. Rodon, 48, of Garfield Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Rodon was allegedly involved in a domestic incident at 1 a.m. Thursday.

Oliver Thomas, 22, of Chestnut Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Thomas allegedly hit a person in the face during an argument, which was reported at 3:45 a.m. Friday.

Taylor M. Andrews, 20, of McKenzie Road, Caledonia, is charged with menacing, 2nd. endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy, 5th. Andrews is accused of encouraging a juvenile to use a crowbar against another person during an argument. The victim was not struck with the crowbar. The alleged incident was reported at 2 a.m. Friday at 21 Wood St., Batavia.

Robi Liam Terziani, 19, of Route 19A, Portageville, is charged with petit larceny. Terziani is accused of stealing hydrocodone pills from a residence in Byron where he was hired to do service work.

Billy Joe Budziszewski Jr., 22, of Route 77, Corfu, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and bail jumping, 2nd. Budziszewski was arrested on warrants out of Village of Corfu Court. He is also allegedly the subject of warrants out of Erie County on burglary, 2nd, and petit larceny charges and out of Wyoming County for failure to pay fine. Budziszewski was jailed on $25,000 bail or $50,000 bond.

(name redacted), 19, of Route 5 & 20, Canandaigua, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. xxxx was allegedly found in possession of marijuana in a medicine container and a glass smoking pipe with marijuana in it. Cooley was the passenger in a vehicle stopped for an alleged traffic violation at 12:15 a.m. Sunday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Chris Parker. Also charged was (name redacted), 22, of Terri Drive, Farmington, who was also issued a traffic summons for no front plate and no insurance.

Christopher C. Berg, 27, of Pavilion, is charged with a misdemeanor under the vehicle and traffic law. Berg was stopped by State Police at 8:36 p.m. Wednesday on Veterans Memorial Drive. No further details released.

Adam J. Bobzin, 43, of Byron, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Bozin was stopped at 9:42 a.m. Thursday on West Sweden Road, Bergen, by State Police.

Batavia Blue Devils Head Coach Brennan Briggs sent along this photo of members of the football team following a 7-on-7 scrimmage last night in Rochester. The team played non-scoring scrimmages against Rush-Henrietta and Churchville-Chili. "The team did a great job competing," Briggs said.

New York Times: Mickey Rooney, Master of Putting On a Show, Dies at 93

More than 100 Le Roy High School students and community members attended a candlelight vigil tonight at the Le Roy Fire Hall in honor of Joshua Ian Mouery, who died six days ago at age 16.

The vigil was organized by Le Roy students Joseph Pratt, Josh Janiszeski and Amy Kaplun.

Pratt said Mouery was a best friend and urged all who attended to remember all of the good times with Josh and carry him in their hearts for the rest of their lives.

The Oakfield Historical Society held its annual open house today, marking the opening of its museum for the season.

Above, reenactor Jim Ferris shows off his flint smooth-bore rifle.

Sue Conklin shows Olivia Tobias, age 7, how to spin yarn.

Reenactor Pete Bosch sits for a photo next to one of the displays in the museum.

The Holland Land Office Museum hosted a Civil War Tea and Fashion Show this afternoon. Dona LaValle (gray dress) lectured in detail about Civil War fashion, mostly in the South; a model did show off a typical dress from the North during the era.

Participants included Melissa Landers, Kaitlyn Landers, Candice, Rachel and Elien Bachorski, Mary Joe Eddy, Rita Reichle and Anne Marie Starowitz.

Vocalist Amy Savino, accompanied by Jeffrey M. Fischer, performed (bottom photo).

It was test day today for the 10 students who took the 14-class course in tractor safety through 4-H.

The class is open to 14- and 15-year-olds.

The tests were conducted at Empire Tractor on East Main Street Road, Batavia.

Above, Matt Horine backs a tractor to a hitch while being graded by Tim Adams.

Below, a student drives through the obstacle course.

The four-unit apartment building at 113 Jackson Street has been condemned by city officials and its residents relocated, but the owner says things sound a lot worse than they really are.

The most notable problem is the south wall, according to Guy Pellegrino, which is clearly bowed out, but Pellegrino said it was that way when he purchased the building 15 years ago and was in that condition years before he bought it.

It's never been an issue with city officials until now, he said, and it may not even be necessary to repair. He will need to hire a structural engineer to make that determination and present findings to the city.

The 4,000-square-foot building is 180 years old. The property is assessed at $115,000.

City Manager Jason Molino said 113 Jackson was closed for electrical, mechanical and structural code violations.

Molino said the Red Cross assisted, at least for the first day, the two tenants living in the complex after the building was condemned.

City officials only acted on the property after there was a report of a possible fire in one of the apartments Tuesday, Molino said. Firefighters found suspected code violations and a code enforcement officer was called to the scene.

According to Molino, tenants at the apartment were living in "deplorable conditions." The building was condemned, he said, because it was unfit for human occupancy.

Pellegrino has a different version of what city inspectors found at the complex.

First, the second-story apartments have been vacant since the Fall and are currently undergoing a complete restoration. The apartments have been gutted. The floors have been removed, the walls are being repainted and all the junk left by previous tenants thrown out.

"My plan has been once Spring rolls around is to finish the apartments and turn them into better quality units," Pellegrino said.

Pellegrino believes that it was the former upstairs tenants who have been the source of suspected criminal activity in and around the apartment building. After there was an armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver reported at that location, Pellegrino evicted both tenants, having them physically removed from the property.

A lifelong Batavia resident with a large family locally and other business interests, Pellegrino said the reports of criminal activity at the address, especially the suspected armed robbery, were a real embarrassment.

"That's not who I am," Pellegrino said. "I don't want people to have that impression of me. Once I thought they had something to do with it, I got rid of the tenants."

What Pellegrino didn't know, he said, was that one of his downstairs tenants was a hoarder and was stealing electricity from a neighboring apartment.

"The only person living in deplorable conditions was the hoarder," Pellegrino said.

The woman who lived in the other apartment kept her place clean and there was no problem with that unit, Pellegrino said.

The man had lived in the apartment for 10 years, according to Pellegrino.

"His rent was $600 a month and he paid it like clockwork," Pellegrino said. "I had no reason to believe he was a problem and I had no cause to go into his apartment."

The resident, Pellegrino said, created the alleged electrical code violations by removing electrical panels so he could tap into the power lines of another apartment, and running extension cords into his apartment.

Each apartment has its own electric meter and tenants are responsible for their own utilities, so Pellegrino doesn't get the electric bills and had no idea the tenant no longer had his own electric service to his apartment, he said.

One thing people don't understand, Pellegrino said, is that when a landlord rents to Section 8, HUD or any other social services tenant, the apartments are inspected by the government before the tenants move in. There's never been a problem with his apartments, Pellegrino said.

Other than the issue with the south wall, everything the city says is a code violation will be easy to fix, Pellegrino said. If a structural engineer clears the long-standing bowed south wall, then it will no longer be an issue, Pellegrino said.

There's a dumpster behind the apartment that's half filled with junk and garbage bags. The dumpster was originally brought in to help with the gutting of the two upstairs apartments. It's also being filled with the decades-long accumulation of junk left in the basement by former tenants, and, Pellegrino said, the hoarder has already started cleaning out his apartment and throwing stuff in it.

After 15 years in the residential rental business, Pellegrino is ready to get out. All of his properties are going up for sale, he said.

He was leaning in that direction before 113 Jackson was condemned, he said, but he's been "just sick" about what happened with the property and he's had enough. He thinks a lot has changed about the kind of tenants a landlord has to deal with in Batavia over the past 15 years. It's just not a good business to be in, he said, especially for someone who values his reputation in the community.

Ken Mistler has been booking more live music into City Slickers. Friday night, Erin Sydney Welsh performed. While I was there, at least six people came up to me and said something along the lines of, "Doesn't she have a beautiful voice? Are you going to take her picture and post it on The Batavian?" Welsh does have a beautiful, strong, clear voice. She performed a variety of covers and original songs. Welsh is 18 and a senior at Clarence High School.

Press release:

The Genesee County Magistrates Association held its Annual Banquet Dinner at Terry Hills Golf Course and Restaurant on Friday, April 4. Local judges, town board members and politicians from varying areas of New York State were in attendance. GCMA President, The Honorable Michael Cleveland, Batavia Town Justice, was Master of Ceremonies. 


The keynote speaker at the banquet was The Honorable Michael V. Coccoma, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge (Outside NYC) who is responsible for managing the courts in the 57 counties outside of New York City, which includes more than 700 justices and over 5,500 nonjudicial employees. He works with local administrative judges to allocate and assign judicial and nonjudicial personnel resources to meet the needs and goals of the State-paid trial-level courts as well as town and village courts.

During the banquet, Judge Coccoma was presented with a crystal sculpture created by glass artist Victor Trabucco which recognizes his contributions to the town and village courts of Genesee County. 

Supreme Court Justice, The Hon. M. William Boller, was also recognized for his service to the Genesee County Judiciary. Judge Boller was the Supervising Judge for Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, and Wyoming counties. The Honorable Michael M. Mohun has now been appointed as Supervising Judge for Genesee and Wyoming counties.

Pictured: Hon. Sara Sheldon Farkas, Hon. William Boller, Jeannine Wilson-Sikora,
 Hon. Paula Feroleto, Hon. Michael Coccoma, Hon. Gary Graber, Hon. Michael Mohun.

Photos and information submitted by Hon. Patricia Buczek.

Today, dozens of Batavia High School Z-Club (Zonta) students participated in the Ugandan Water Walk. The walk was a fundraiser to pay for a rainwater collection device at a school in Uganda. James Harrington, the tallest person in the picture, is a Rochester resident and director of the Uganda Water Project. He will travel to Uganda soon to install the water collection device and report back to the BHS students before the end of the school year on its installation. The device will last for 35 years, Harrington. Above, Chelsea Jensen, left, and Marissa Carbonell carry water through the hall of BHS as part of the walk.

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer announced today that the 2014-15 State Budget will provide an additional $40 million to help municipalities repair potholes and road surface damage caused by the harsh winter weather.

“While spring has finally arrived, the aftermath of a brutal winter still remains. There are still a significant number of potholes and surface damage all over the roadways. At the same time, the harsh winter has depleted municipalities’ budgets to repair roads,” Ranzenhofer said. “These investments will benefit towns and villages throughout Genesee County so that new infrastructure repair projects can be undertaken.”

The 2014-15 State Budget includes $40 million in Extreme Winter Weather Assistance Capital and $438 million for the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS). The new budget maintains a record level of funding for the CHIPS program for a second consecutive year. The 2012-13 State Budget first increased CHIPS funding by $75 million.

Breakdown: CHIPS/Extreme Winter Weather Assistance by Municipality

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) approved applications for two projects at its April 3 meeting.

Mega Properties, Inc., (Koolatron) will implement a 20,000-square-foot expansion to its current facility in Gateway I Corporate Park in Batavia. The company was approved for a sales tax exemption of approximately $39,200, a mortgage tax exemption of approximately $6,250 and a property tax abatement of $144,648 based on incremental increase in assessed value. The planned capital investment will total an estimated $775,000 and is projected to create 5.5 new full-time equivalent jobs in three years after a certificate of occupancy is issued.

Mega Properties, Inc., is a Canadian company headquartered in Brantford, Ontario, with locations in the United Kingdom and the United States. The company began business with its flagship product line of 12-volt portable thermoelectric coolers and has expanded to manufacture, market and distribute a wide range of items through dealer/distributor network and the Internet. 

Premiere Credit was approved for a sales exemption of $32,000 to expand is call center in the City of Batavia. The capital investment of the expansion project is $400,000 and the company has pledged 25 additional jobs, bringing the facility’s total employment up to 150 full-time equivalent employees.

In 2012, capital expenditure of Premiere Credit was $350,000 with 100 pledged jobs. In 2013, capital expenditure was $325,000 with 50 additional jobs pledged, resulting in the creation of 134 positions at the Batavia location.

“Companies in our county keep expanding operations at their facilities due to the increasing success they’ve experienced with the business climate here. The growth of these companies will continue to positively contribute to our job creation efforts,” said Wally Hinchey, GCEDC board chairman.

When Rod Rankin -- the new general manager of Darien Lake Theme Park -- was a young man, he never thought he'd wind up running facilities with rollercoasters and waterslides.

"If you'd asked me I would have said you were crazy," Rankin said. "I was going to be a high school teacher."

He studied secondary education at the University of Southern California and was working as a production manager at Paramount Pictures when Paramount bought a chain of six entertainment parks. Paramount transferred him to the theme park division. He's been working in and running theme parks for 25 years now.

But it's worked out for the would-be high school teacher. Asked what his favorite part of his job is his first response is that it's working with the youngsters who take jobs in the parks each summer.

"It's the good and the bad of this industry," Rankin said. "You're training a new generation of children every year, because this is really kind of a first job. That's the good part." Then he laughs (Rankin, a big man, has a hearty laugh). "The bad part is you're training a new generation of kids every year."

Rankin replaces Bob Montgomery, who ran the park for two years, but decided over the winter that he wanted to return to his native Canada to pursue opportunities closer to home.

Under Montgomery's leadership, Darien Lake was working on developing more of a local flare, bringing in Anchor Bar to serve wings, serving Weber Mustard and Dippin' Dots. That's a trend that will continue, Rankin said.

Besides hiring Nik Wallenda to provide entertainment throughout the season, Three Brothers Winery has agreed to set up a wine-tasting area, a wine shop and will cross promote Darien Lake with tags on its bottles at retail locations.

Another change coming to Darien Lake is a redesigned menu for Beaver Brothers and Maria's Italian Kitchen. The new menu will focus on lighter fare for health conscious diners, Rankin said. Just this week he hired a new chef to oversee the creation of the new menu.

With Paramount, Rankin started out as a project manager and was involved in rollercoaster development.

He describes himself as a coaster junkie. A native of the Los Angeles area, Rankin had plenty of access to coasters at numerous theme parks growing up, notably, of course, Disney and Knotts Berry Farm (he spent a lot of time at Knotts, he said).

Does that mean there's a new coaster in the works for Darien Lake? He won't say. He did say, "It's really fun when you go into a facility to learn the new coasters and then hopefully, eventually, build a new coaster."

Rankin spent 22 years with Paramount and its successor company, before leaving in 2007 as the Western regional vice president. He's been with Herschend Family Entertainment for four years, most recently as general manager of the company's park in Denver (unrelated side note: Herschend recently acquired the Harlem Globetrotters).

A certified master gardener, Rankin is looking forward to putting down roots in Genesee County.  He was excited that he had no trouble selling his home in Denver. He's looking forward to visiting the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Batavia. His gardening interest drifts toward heirloom tomatoes and roses. In fact, he's started a rose garden at every theme park he's run and Darien Lake will be no different, he said.

Darien Lake Theme Park's opening day is May 10. The park is hiring now for seasonal positions.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported at Bank Street Road and Cockram Road, Byron.

Byron and South Byron and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Injuries are reported.

It involves a sedan and tractor-trailer.

A responder is asking dispatch to check on the availability of Mercy Flight.

UPDATE 8:36 a.m.: A chief on scene says the injuries are not serious. A female driver has cuts on her face.

UPDATE 8:47 a.m.: Equipment and manpower needed for extrication.

A wind advisory has been issued for 5 p.m. through noon, Saturday.

Winds of 20 to 30 mph are expected with gusts up to 50 mph.

Winds of this magnitude could bring down tree limbs resulting in isolated power outages. Drivers of high-profile vehicles may find travel difficult.

There's a 90-percent chance of rain this afternoon with a quarter inch expected.