Stories from

If you're fascinated by the Doty Mansion, here's a rare chance to see inside.  I just received this e-mail from Lisa Stoddard, who owns the grand old home with her husband, Tim.

We'll be having an open house this Thursday the 23rd  at 7:00 pm and another one Thurs, July 30th at 7:00 pm. This will  be for the lower apt. Any perspective tenants will have a chance to see the apt. and fill out an application at those times. Nosy neighbors are welcome!! and anyone else interested in the history and the architecture. People should park on Highland Ave and go up the back driveway to the first door by the mailboxes.

Previously: Batavia couple slowly, lovingly restoring one of city's grand old mansions

Town and village residents in Le Roy are being asked to consider a new tax for 2010 to help support its local ambulance service, which has been running at a deficient in recent years.

The tax would help offset an anticipated $25,000 shortfall in 2010.

"In order for us to continue to operate in the community, we need tax support," said Bob Boyce, president of the Le Roy Ambulance Service board of directors. "We're only asking for a minimal amount, but if the town residents object and don't allow the tax, the alternative is for us to close the doors."

Boyce said the service is being squeezed by increasing costs and declining revenue from reimbursements from Medicaid and Medicare.

While donations might help, Boyce said even in the best years, the 38-year-old ambulance service raised only $20,000 in contributions.

There will be a public hearing within weeks on the proposal.

Under current state law, it is up to the town to create a tax district and then the village board can enact a local law to extend its authority into the village.

If only the town enacts the new tax, it would mean an addition 12.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about an average of $14.43 per property. If both the town and village adopt the tax, the rate would be 6.5 cents per thousand, or $7.50 annually on each tax bill.

As the new ground ambulance service being set up by Mercy Flight, Boyce expressed concern that with all the ambulances being based in Batavia, the service won't be able to match the under-five-minute response times of the current Le Roy service. He said it takes 10 to 20 minutes for an ambulance from Batavia to respond to a Le Roy call.

At one time, the Le Roy service was staffed entirely by volunteers, but over the years, the organization has relied more and more on paid professionals, either in terms of its own full-time staff (two people) or a rotation of professionals who live in the area, work on a per-diem basis while maintaining full-time jobs with commercial ambulance services.  There are still 4 or 5 volunteers with the service, Boyce said.

The service generates nearly $400,000 annually insurance billing to help support its operations.

The proposal was presented to the town board on June 25. (We'll get back to you on the date of the public hearing).

PDF: Map, Plan and Report for the Establishment of an Ambulance District

Audio: Portion of an interview with Bob Boyce

In discussing consolidation, much has been made of the negative property tax rate paid by Town of Batavia residents -- a nice benefit that may or may not survive the town's need for infrastructure improvements and the potential of a change to sales tax distribution in a few years -- but one hidden impact of the town's tax structure is the benefit derived by the multinational corporations that populate Veterans Memorial Drive.

These corporations -- already beneficiaries of billions and billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies across the USA -- also get a tax break being located in the town.

This is as an additional unfair competitive advantage the big box retailers have over City of Batavia businesses and another issue that will need to be addressed in consolidation.

Town Supervisor Greg Post mentioned to me last week that the town invested millions, in his words, in making it possible for the big box stores to locate in the town. I'm not sure how what he means by that statement, but any large scale investment by the town -- which he sees as a positive -- is a further reason to ensure these businesses are taxed fairly and competitively, on par with other businesses in the region.

Of course, a world of no taxes is ideal, but when you're talking about the vitality of a community, protecting your small businesses form the unfair advantages of multinational retailers should be a priority on the community agenda.

Should consolidation pass, when it comes time to write a new charter, this tax inequality issue must be addressed. And if consolidation doesn't pass, the town board owes it to the community fix this inequity.

The businesses on Veterans Memorial Drive require a good deal law enforcement (an expense shared by the entire county), fire and infrastructure support. The chains should be paying their fair share of taxes just for that reason.

Protecting and enhancing downtown, as well as the diversity of other small, locally owned businesses is essential to the vitality and health of Genesee County.  Allowing the big boxes to avoid an equal tax burden with other businesses threatens one of our greatest resources -- our independent businesses.

A 20-year-old motorcycle rider from Basom is in serious condition at Erie County Medical Center following an accident at the Flying J truck stop last night.

Elias P. Seward, who resides at 812 Gorton Road, Basom, was transported by Life Flight to ECMC, where he is now in ICU. Information on the exact nature of his injuries is not available.

The accident occurred last night about 7:30.

The driver of a truck, Joel S. Fitzgerald, 66, of 9330 Horseshoe Island Road, Clay, told investigator Deputy T.G. Westcott that he was heading south on Route 77 in the passing lane attempting to make a right hand turn into the Flying J. Westcott's report states, "Operator of vehicle #1 (Fitzgerald) stated he only saw a light as he turned and didn't see vehicle #2 (Seward) in the driving lane.

Fitzgerald was pulling a house trailer. The trailer struck Seward and dragged him approximately 40 feet, pinning him under the trailer at the entrance to Flying J.

A passenger riding in the back of a pickup truck suffered a minor head injury over the weekend after falling from the moving vehicle.

Charles E. Blair, 48, sustained cuts to his head when he lost his balance as the driver, Betty L. Stetzenmeyer, 58, of Canandaigua, pulled from the parking lot of a store at 409 Bloomingdale Road, near Martin Road, in Alabama.

There were six other passengers in the truck.  No other injuries were reported.

David Micahel VanDorn, 20, of 1441 Broadway Road, Darien Center, is charged with harassment. VanDorn was arrested following a domestic dispute. During the argument, VanDorn allegedly spit on a woman, grabbed her by the wrists while attempting to remove a ring and yelled profanities at her.

Marie Erin Schafer, 21, 1441 Broadway, Darien Center, is charged with harassment. Schafer allegedly threatened to punch another person while moving toward her and also threatened to run another person over with a car.

Dennis R. Snell, 46, of 6563 Allegheny Road, Basom, is charged with DWI and failure to submit to a pre-screen device. Deputy Patric Reeves was called to the scene of a dispute in Alabama, with a report of an intoxicated driver. Upon investigation, Reeves charged Snell.

Claire Christin Cade, 25, of 96 Franklin St., Apt. #2, Owego, is charged with petty larceny. Cade is accused of stealing $147.27 worth of merchandise from Darien Lake Theme Park.

Marie Jacqueline Bogart, 32, of 94 Spencer Ave., Owego, is charged with petty larceny. Bogart is accused of stealing $132.08 in merchandise from Darien Lake Theme Park.

UPDATE: Missed these two items earlier:

Catherine Megan Marchese, 22, of 6430 Alleghany Road, Basom, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.  Deputy Brian Thompson made the arrest while investing a litering complaint in Alabama when he stopped Marchese's car.  Marchese allegedly was throwing stuff from her car. During the investigation, Thompson reportedly found heroin in the car.

Elizabeth Marie Kennedy, 27, of 10 Maple Ave., Batavia, is charged with harassment and criminal mischief. The charges stem from alleged July 2 incident.  Kennedy is accused of attacking her boyfriend and destroying property.

Sue Cappiello, right, a Batavia native now living in California, won a new Schecter Tempest electric guitar when her winning ticket was drawn in a raffle at last weekend's Batavia Ramble. The raffle was held to raise funds for the Mental Health Association in Genesee County. Here, she poses with MHA staff member Charley DelPlato and her new guitar. (Picture and caption submitted by Sue Gagne)

Herbly Wonderful, 3701 Pearl St., Batavia, N.Y.: Plants, teas, herbs, mixes, a great place to shop to make your home more cozy, naturally. We have a $25 gift certificate for $10.50.

South Main Country Gifts, 3356 Main St. Road, Batavia, N.Y.: Always a great place for gifts, South Main just brought in a bunch of new merchandise from the region. We have a $20 gift certificate for $9.

Eclectic Creations, 625 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y. Do you like fashionable purses? Maybe a unique watch is more your style. Eclectric Creations a variety of items that you won't find in any other local store. This is a $20 gift certificate for $9.

The Enchanted Florist, 202 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: Brighten up your home or office with flowers!  We have a $20 gift certificate for $8.50.

Note: We're changing pick-up/mail policy. Please read.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies on items more than $10. The fee is 50 cents on items below $10.

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. People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before. Gift certificates cannot be combined with other offers without prior approval of the merchant. Gift certificates bought separately cannot be combined for a single purchase. By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

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. The winner has up to 48 hours to make arrangements to pick up the gift certificate at The Batavian office in Downtown Batavia, or, unless other arrangements are made, the gift certificate will be mailed to the address associated with the PayPal account.

The Enchanted Florist

sold

Herbly Wonderful

SOLD

Eclectic Creations

South Main Country Gifts

SOLD

The Oatka Festival in Le Roy yesterday may have been the place for all the fun, but the former Creekside Inn -- soon to be the Creekside Tavern & Inn -- was where you heard all the buzz.

The site of many grand times, and no small bit of history, was jammed with people looking over what Bill Farmer and his son are doing to the rustic stone building set against the falls of Oatka Creek.

Farmer is a man passionate about restoration, having put a whole career into working on some of the landmark restoration projects in Rochester. The Creekside project was supposed to be a hobby project, but has become Farmer's full-time avocation. 

For those who think entrepreneurs won't invest in Genesee County, Farmer will have sunk more than $1 million into the project by the time the restaurant and tavern opens next spring.

I spent at least 30 minutes just chatting with Farmer.  He's passionate about the project and believes it will become a destination point, drawing diners and beer lovers from Buffalo and Rochester to a village that has seen better days.  Farmer believes, and I think he's right, the Creekside restoration could spark interest from other developers in the village, which he thinks is one of the great undiscovered villages in WNY. 

The Village of Le Roy is well located, with some great older buildings and plenty of local history to be a draw for shoppers and diners from all over the region.  It's great to see an entrepreneur like Farmer take such a huge step to help save one great building and hopefully spark a new economic era for Le Roy.

I stopped by the Oatka Festival in Le Roy briefly yesterday.  It was a great crowd and everybody seemed to be having a great time. The weather was prefect.

Whether your group is a Rotary or Lions club, a historical society, a volunteer fire department or just a group of people who like to get together once in a while and talk about interesting things, you might want to know that I have a presentation available that will ensure an informative and interesting afternoon or evening meeting.

My presentation is entitled "Reinventing Journalism." I've given the same talk at the national Society of Professional Journalists convention and the New England New Media Association convention as well as other national and regional groups. I've boiled down the key points so it would be appropriate to a local community group meeting (where the time limit is often 20 minutes, rather than the hour I usually take).

Some people might think The Batavian is nothing more than a wild thought -- let's publish a Web page and make it something like a blog. As if it were that simple.

Actually, a lot more thought and experience went into it than that -- a lot of study of media history and media theory, and "Reinventing Journalism" hits some of the key points. (If you're interested in my qualifications for giving such a talk, check my LinkedIn profile.)

So my talk covers some interesting journalism history and challenges, and concludes with theory on why The Batavian is the kind of news Web site it is.

I've found that anybody with any interest in media at all finds the topic a great discussion item.

The presentation includes multimedia -- I can bring audio speakers, but I don't own an LCD projector, so your group will need to provide the projector and a suitable location.

If you're interested in booking a "Reinventing Journalism" talk and a discussion about The Batavian, call me at 260-6970.

Would it surprise anybody that New York has a tax that raises tens of millions of dollars that doesn't go to its intended use?

The buck-twenty you pay every month on your cell phone bill to pay for 9-1-1 service isn't supporting the intention,  according to the Buffalo News.

Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha is quoted:

“Basically, they’re using that money as general revenue,” said Genesee County Sheriff Gary T. Maha, whose office oversees 911 operations. “We have not seen any of that money.”

With these startling numbers:

The surcharge — raised in 2002 to $1.20 per month — has generated about $600 million over 15 years, but just $84 million has gone to the municipalities that operate 911 centers, the State 911 Coordinators Association found.

The driver working with the Kid Rock tour when it came through Darien Lake hadn't been drinking the night he was arrested for alleged DWI, according to a Buffalo attorney contacted by Buffalo TV station.

Thomas J. Eoannou has reportedly been retained by Joseph Devlin, the 37-year-old Florida man accused of driving a Kid Rock tour bus while intoxicated on Tuesday night.

Eoannou reportedly told WBKW that his client has a clean record.

WBTA reported Thursday that Devlin's BAC was allegedly twice the legal limit.

Kid Rock's web site says Devlin wasn't directly employed by the tour and he has been fired from his job.

Devlin is out of jail after posting $10,000 bail.

Nineteen people age 20 or younger were issued tickets for possessing alcohol yesterday while attending the Van's Warp Tour concert at Darien Lake.

None of the 19 were Genesee County residents.

Seven of the people who received tickets from the Gensee County Sheriff's Office for violation of ABC Section 65-c were under 18 years of age.

Now here's something you don't see on Main Street every day -- I have no idea what this protest parade is about. The guy in denim is holding a sign that says "Free ..." and I could not read the rest. I didn't get a better picture because I wasn't looking through viewfinder -- I was too busy trying to read the dang sign and figure out what this was about. I'm hoping they walk back by on the south side of Main, and if they do, I can ask what this is about. Anybody know what those two flags in the back are? (and thanks to whomever texted me to alert me, or I might not have noticed -- hope you weren't texting while you were driving!)

UPDATE: From a reader:

The one with the star on a blue field is Burma

The Star on red is the flag of the National League of Democracy--a Burmese group for peace.

There was a van parked out front for awhile that had a sign on the side that said "March for Burma, Ft. Wayne, IN to NYC"

From another reader:

I'm guessing the protest is to free Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only incarcerated Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Could be wrong -- but there's been some news about her. And the other flag - though I can't really tell what it really looks like -- looks like the ones she has pictures with.

An eight-car funeral procession passed through Main Street off of Bank a few minutes ago -- smooth as silk, even with DPW crew setting up to paint the crosswalk on Bank Street (far right of picture).

Today's Deals:

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, N.Y.: People come from all over the region for a fine dinning experience at Alex's. Alex's is best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $50 gift certificate for $25.

Larry's Steakhouse, 60 Main St.  The name says it all -- Larry's is a great place for steak. Larry's is a fine dining atmosphere with a great menu and outstanding service.  We have a $50 gift certificate for $25.

Valle Jewelers, 21 Jackson St., Batavia, N.Y.: Need a gift? Need some sparkle? Valle's has a large selection of jewelry and gifts starting at under $25. We have a $50 gift certificate for $25.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: T.F. Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. The patio is open. It's also a great place to host group events. See the ad on the right side of the page for contact information. We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, N.Y.: Ribs, brisket, steak, prime rib -- Center Street is a meat lovers paradise. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Batavia Downs Grandstand Bar & Grille: Enjoy lunch or dinner at one of the regions most popular entertainment venues. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Adam Miller Toy & Bicycles, 8 Center St., Batavia, N.Y.: Feel like a kid in a toy store again, or treat your kids to the greatest toy store they will ever see. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Note: We're changing pick-up/mail policy. Please read.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies on items more than $10. The fee is 50 cents on items below $10.

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. People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before. Gift certificates cannot be combined with other offers without prior approval of the merchant. Gift certificates bought separately cannot be combined for a single purchase. By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

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. The winner has up to 48 hours to make arrangements to pick up the gift certificate at The Batavian office in Downtown Batavia, or, unless other arrangements are made, the gift certificate will be mailed to the address associated with the PayPal account.

Alex's Place

SOLD

Larry's Steakhouse

SOLD

Valle Jewelers

SOLD

Center Street Smoke House

SOLD

T.F. Brown's

SOLD

Batavia Downs

SOLD

Adam Miller

SOLD

Sometimes, I don't even need to leave the office to find something interesting to post. I just look out my window.

A few minutes ago, I happened to glance out and spot this group of, um, chefs?, on Main and Bank.

I have no idea what this is about.

UPDATE: Just received this from Melinda Chamberlin:

You might be wondering what was going on today in Batavia when a bunch of student chefs were seen walking across Main Street. 

The Genesee County Business Education Alliance is an organization directed by Melinda Chamberlin.  The organization works to foster partnerships between business and education and to prepare students for the world of work.  Each summer, the BEA offers two career camps for students who will be entering 7th or 8th grade in the fall. 

The 2009 Culinary Arts Camp was Monday, July 13 – Friday, July 17, 8:30am-12:30pm.  The camp began on Monday with a tour and a behind-the-scenes look at the operations of Tops Food Market.  Tuesday through Thursday was spent learning culinary skills and cooking under the tutelage of Chef Kyle Haak, the Genesee Valley BOCES Culinary Arts Instructor.  Some of the food that the students prepared included: ham and cheese frittatas, orange flavored French toast, roasted potatoes, oven fried chicken tenders, broccoli with homemade cheese sauce, brownies with a chocolate glaze, scones with strawberries and homemade whipped cream, and frozen smoothie popsicles.  The students all received aprons, chef hats, cookbooks, and cookbook holders.  The cookbook, There’s a Chef in My Soup: Recipes for the Kid in Everyone by Emeril Lagasse, provided the majority of the recipes.  Chef Kyle Haak shared some of his personal recipes with the students.  The final day of the camp was spent touring restaurants in downtown Batavia.  The camp started at Jackson Street Grille/Belladessa’s where each student made their own personal pizzas.  Then, they proceeded across Main Street to Sunny’s Restaurant where they all helped make the garlic butter.  At Larry’s Steakhouse, the students learned about the differences in the cuts of meat offered on the menu.  The students wrapped up the tour and the camp back at Jackson Street Grille/Belladessa’s where they enjoyed their pizzas. 

The other career camp offered this summer is M.A.S.H. (Medical Academy of Science and Health) Camp.  It is July 28 – 31.  Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30am-4:30pm, the camp will be hosted by United Memorial Medical Center.  Thursday, 8:30am-4:30pm, the camp will be at the New York State School for the Blind.  The final day of the camp will be a half day, 8:30am-12:30pm, at the Genesee County Nursing Home.  Students will receive scrubs and other medical tools.  The camp is $35.

If you are interested, have questions, or would like to register a student, please contact Melinda Chamberlin at 343-7440 ext. 25 or at mchamberlin@geneseeny.com.  Transportation is not provided.