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While I was out and about this afternoon, I thought it would be fun to take in an inning of Little League baseball.

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This very nice photo came in this morning from Larry Trnka. It's of yesterday's storm. He said it's of outside John Riley's farm on Galloway Road, Batavia.

The Burke family were among the local residents who came out this morning for the community garden open house at the Batavia Youth Bureau. Master Gardener Bob Gray explained how the program worked. The Burkes are Scott, Jennifer, Lilyana and Noah. Denise Young also helped with the open house.

In our story Thursday about Jerald Shea and the winter flooding of his property, we failed to clearly state that part of Mr. Shea's complaint is that the town pumped water onto his property.

Mr. Shea feels this is a significant action by the town that contributed to the damage to his house.

Bethany Highway Superintendent Paul Fleming confirmed the town did pump the water, however, it was to prevent Paradise Road from flooding. The drainage pipe under Paradise Road was frozen solid, Fleming said, so instead of the water flowing under the road as it normally would, it flowed over the road. Either way, Fleming said, the water would flow south to north onto Mr. Shea's property.

Photography students at Genesee Community College have created a series of photographs called "environmental portraits." The photos are currently on display at Genesee County Park and Forest Interpretive Center in Bethany. Above, students Jason Dieter and Lynn Homer hold examples of their work during a reception held this evening.

The students were assigned to photograph a subject in an environment that helped illuminate that subject's life and surroundings.

"Creating a portrait of a subject in its natural surroundings adds elements to their character, and therefore portrays the essence of their personality, rather than merely a likeness of their physical features," said instructor Joe Ziolkowski. 

The works will be on display through August.

A lot of snow and ice meant a lot of salt use on roadways this winter, and the nearly century-old Bethany Center Bridge over Route 20 didn't fare well.

The damage is said to be cosmetic, but the sidewalk is chewed up enough that the State Department of Transportation posted a sign and put up barricades closing the bridge to pedestrian traffic.

The bridge isn't scheduled for replacement until next year at the earliest and a spokeswoman for the DOT was out of the office this afternoon and said she couldn't provide immediate information on the bridge's current status.

We also spoke with County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens. He also wasn't in his office at the time and couldn't double-check the paperwork, but said he wasn't aware of any change in plans.

Hens said he doesn't believe the bridge is in any danger of falling down.

Following a student Mass at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church today, Bishop Richard Joseph Malone toured St. Joe's and Notre Dame, meeting with students and faculty along the way.

At St. Joe's, his tour guide was Principal Karen Green; at Notre Dame, it was Principal Joe Scanlan. His aide Rev. Ryazard Biernat accompanied the tour.

As near as anybody could remember, it's been more than 20 years since a bishop came to Batavia to celebrate Mass and tour a Catholic school. Malone said in Maine, there were 20 schools in his diocese and he made a point of visiting each one at least once a year, but in the Buffalo Diocese there are 40 schools. It would be hard to maintain that annual schedule with so many schools, he said, but when a student asked him if he would come back next year, he said, "if you invite me I will."

Before he left St. Joe's, Principal Green gave Bishop Malone a plate of chocolate from Oliver's.

Bishop Richard Joseph Malone is visiting Batavia today. The bishop attended the student Mass at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church this morning, then went to St. Joe's School for lunch with students before a brief tour. He will tour Notre Dame High School this afternoon.

You wouldn't necessarily associate artistic flare with pickup truck bedliners, but the ability of Nate Fix to precisely spray protective coating helped him land a contract spraying liner on a new model of search and rescue watercraft. 

Bombardier designed the new craft to meet the needs of fire departments involved in all types of water rescue and developed very exacting specifications for the hulls of the craft.

Fix, an art major in college and owner of Rebel Liners, on West Main Street Road, Batavia, is spraying coating on 100 boat bottoms for the Canadian-based company.

Fix is an emergency dispatcher for the county and assistant chief with the Town of Batavia Fire Department, so the contract hits another sweet spot for the lifelong Batavia resident.  

The boats use Bombardier's Ski-Doo snowmobile platform.

The SARs (search and rescue) crafts are suitable for surf and white water rescue as well as bodies of water that are only eight-inches deep.

Rebel Liners was the fifth or sixth company that was contacted by Bombardier and the first that could assure the manufacturer of a coating application that would meet spec. The coating can't vary in thickness from stem to stern, from port to starboard, by more than 2.6 to 3.2 millimeters. Any greater variation would inhibit the proper water intake of the craft's engine as well as affect steering.

"I've been spraying for a little over 10 years now and when you get into bedliner equipment and machinary -- and being that I'm a speciality guy and I spray $50,000 and $60,000 trucks and I have to make them look pretty -- I was the only one in the country they could find who could do the job," Fix said.

When Fix was first approached about the project, however, he was skeptical. In fact, at one point, he was going to turn it down.

The project was at that time top secret.

"I couldn't know what it was about or who it was for," Fix said. "It went on for two months and got to the point where I told them, you know what, I'm not interested. I don't even know who I'm doing this for."

Then he received the CAD plans and notice the copyright down in a lower corner. Bombardier.

"Then I realized it wasn't just mom and dad making a couple of boats and wanting to see if it would work," Fix said. "I realized this was big time."

The coating fix uses is by SPI, a K5 polyurea. It's the same coating he sprays into pickup trucks. It protects the hull of the rescue crafts if they hit rocks or buried tree stumps. Fix said Bombardier tested one of the boats he sprayed and dropped it 17,000 times.

"If it was just the fiberglass, it would have cracked," Fix said.

That's art.

Sherri C. Butler, 54, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and trespass. Butler allegedly remained on a property at 5:18 p.m., Thursday, after the owner asked her to leave. She allegedly threatened the owner. Butler was jailed on $500 bail.

Andrew R. London, 22, of Goodrich Street, Albion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, driving in violation of a conditional license, and refusal to take breath test. London was stopped at 2:11 a.m. Monday on Pearl Street, Batavia, by Officer Eric Foels, for an alleged equipment violation. London was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Michael Patrick Murphy, 29, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd. Murphy was arrested after Officer James DeFreze observed a switchblade knife in his residence. Murphy was jailed without bail.

National Journal: Everyone's Lying to You About Benghazi

Linda Metcalf's painting "Hussies" was honored with the Best in Show ribbon in the 2014 Batavia Society of Artists Art Show at the Richmond Memorial Library.

Metcalf arrived at the reception this evening surprised to learn she won.

The show runs through May 28.

First place went to Kevin Feary ("End of the Season"), second to Terry Weber ("Poppy's Garden") and third to Dennis Woods ("Cosomos in Cosmos"). Honorable mentions: Carole LaValley, Kathryn Roblee and Maidul Kahn. Metcalf and Wood also received honorable mentions for their paintings "Finally Spring" and "Fancher Fill-Up."

Katherine Clark, pictured with Peter Mumford, won the Virginia Carr Mumford Award. Clark attends GCC and plans to pursue a career in art.

Terry Weber

Press release:

The Landmark Society of Genesee County announces the winners of the Society's 2014 Fourth Grade Architectural Drawing Contest.

The Awards Ceremony was held Wednesday night (May 7) at the Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia. Fourth-grade students from Elba Central School, Byron-Bergen Central School, and John Kennedy School participated.

This year's award winners are (pictured from left):

-- First Place – Elli Schelemanow from Byron-Bergen.
-- Second Place – Laci Sewar from Elba.
-- Third Place – Logan Pocock from Byron-Bergen.

The first-place winner received $50, a framed certificate, and a signed copy of The Architectural Digest of Genesee County.

The second- and third-place winners received $25, a framed certificated, and a signed copy of The Architectural Digest of Genesee County. 

Honorable Mention awards from John Kennedy include: Noah Dellcamp, Claire Taylor, Katherine Spiotta, Gavin Konieczny, and Devin Harmon.

Honorable Mention awards from Elba include: CJ Gottler, Adrianna Long, Caden Muehlig, and Selena Franco.

Honorable Mention awards from Byron-Bergen include: Emil Robinson, Meghan Kendall, and Corden Zimmerman.

The contest was coordinated by Stephanie Rudman, Elba Central School art teacher, with assistance from Melissa Coniglio, Byron-Bergen School art teacher. The contest was judged by Lorie Longhany, a former art teacher with Holy Family School in Le Roy, and a local artist specializing in architectural renderings.

Photos by Howard Owens

Jerald Shea would sure like the Town of Bethany to do something about the way his property floods and the damage flooding did to his house this winter.

To the degree the town has a position on the issue, it's that the problem wasn't created by the town.

Shea bought his house at the corner of Bethany Center Road and Paradise Road four years ago.

A retired truck driver, he suffered back and neck injuries when his truck was rear-ended while he was driving through North Carolina a few years ago. He was living in a retirement home in Oakfield when he was awarded custody of his teenage granddaughter (since moved from his house), so he used his insurance settlement money and bought the house in Bethany.

What he didn't know or didn't notice was that his property is lower than the parcel on the south side of Paradise Road. That parcel is a bit of a swamp and there's a small culvert under Paradise Road that drains the swamp into Shea's back yard.

He wasn't happy when he figured that out and asked the town for help, but it wasn't a big issue until this winter when frozen ground topped with heavy precipitation caused his yard to fill with two or three feet of water.

The cement foundation of his house raised two or three inches, causing some damage to the building (no known structural damage).  

"I've always had problems with this, but I could live with it," Shea said. "If I had to flush the toilet, I could just use a pail of water if I had to, but now, (geez), I'm telling you. It seems like nobody (cares) because every time I talk to anybody all I get is I'm not going to get involved because of politics. What the hell is so big about this town that they've got to be afraid of politics?"

There's evidence of the exterior of the house being damaged along the north exterior wall, with faux brick popping off in places. The paneling in a back room has warped and some of it has popped off, exposing framing and insulation. His septic system is damaged, he said, and muddy, dirty water backs up into his bathtub.

Shea always had problems with his yard filling with water, but his house was largely undamaged from flooding until this winter.

The town is in a bit of a transition right now. Supervisor Louis Gayton died April 14 and that has left things a bit unsettled.

In fact, Shea believes Gayton promised him two days before he died that the town would fill in his back yard and make it less susceptible to flooding. 

Town Highway Superintendent Paul Fleming said he doesn't see the town giving Shea dirt and rock for his yard. That just isn't something towns do.

As far as Fleming knows, the culvert under Paradise Road has been there for 50 years, and probably a lot longer. 

The problems Shea is having with his property aren't from "anything abnormal the town did," Fleming said.

Fleming said years ago the property wasn't residential. It was a mechanic's shop. Some of the structures on the property could be more than 100 years old.

In our short talk today, he wasn't really sure what if anything the town should or could do for Shea.

Shea said he's on fixed income -- $1,000 a month -- and though his home is paid for, he doesn't have the means to move or fix the damage that's been done.

"I didn't know about this when I bought the house or things would have been very different," Shea said.

When the foundation of the house rose, the siding of the house pushed down on a pair of yard tools Shea had leaning against the house, causing small indents in the siding.

Photo provided Jerald Shea he took in February showing a portion of his back yard flooded.

Village of Le Roy resident Ryan Crossett sent in these pictures on this information on the Machpelah Chapel in the Machpelah Cemetery on North Street, and it's pretty interesting.

The chapel was designed by architect Robert Fayfield of Buffalo and was built in 1910-11 of local stone by masons Charles Sherman and Ray Peck. The total cost was $5,126.75

It was renovated in 1950 through a gift from Helen Woodward Rivas.

Further renovations were made in 1953 through a gift by Rev. Raymond Calkins in memory of his wife’s family, the Lathrops. A stained-glass window was installed in the west wall at that time

The present stained-glass window was installed in 1959 by Rev. Calkins because he was displeased with the previous window. This window was crafted by the Willet Stained Glass Studio in Philadelphia, and is known as the “Lathop Window.”

The theme of the window is taken from the Gospel of Matthew 28:1-6, and the description is as follows:

“It represents Christ’s victory over death, bearing aloft the banner of the Church Triumphant. His tri-radiant nimbus signifies His Divinity, and the rayed vesica His glory. The two guards are turned away in wonder and awe at the miracle.”

The Chapel seats 60 and is available for religious ceremonies such as weddings and funerals.

The Chapel is maintained by a bequest from Rev. Raymond Calkins. Recent projects have included: painting of window frames and doors; repairs to the slate roof; painting of masonry walls and parts of the foundation; replacement of the ceiling fan; repairs to the chimney; replacement of the north roof soffit; and replacement of the front door frame.

The City of Batavia has denied The Batavian's request for the incident reports and possible video related to an unintended discharge of a weapon by a Batavia police officer last month.

From City Clerk Heidi Parker, the city's Freedom of Information Law Officer:

Your request for the incident report, witness statements and video, if any, has been denied after discussion with Bob Freeman from the Committee on Open Government based on NYS Civil Rights Law section 50-a since the incident in question is part of the officer’s training and evaluation process to continue employment with the City. The incident report specifically is denied based on unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

The Batavian has taken the next step in the process for demanding disclosure of public documents and filed an appeal with City Manager Jason Molino.

To say that routine incident reports are used in officer evaluation would essentially make all police documents related to incidents confidential. Even routine arrests would be hidden from the public. That's clearly not the intent of the legislature.

Numerous sources have provided information to The Batavian indicating that there is more to this incident than Chief Shawn Heubusch is disclosing. 

UPDATE Friday, 4:50 p.m.: We received a letter from Jason Molino informing The Batavian that he is partially granting our appeal.  The incident report will be released after personal information has been redacted. Up to five business days. He's denying the request for "Special Reports" and "Police Training Reports" (we didn't specifically request those documents, because we didn't know the names of the documents, but they could be generally construed as covered by our request).  Molino said those documents are expect from disclosure under Civil Service Law 50-a.  He provided copies of the complete redacted reports, with only the memo heads remaining.  Since these reports appear to have been generated in conjunction with an internal investigation, it's likely these documents would be considered "used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion." 

Previously: Accidental weapon discharge leads to internal police investigation

County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens sent over this picture from a roadway in Montgomery County (near Utica), saying, "it could have been worse" -- a comparison to the dramatic sinkhole incident in Byron last month.

The state's county highway superintendents are concerned about these issues and are lobbying Albany for funding to deal with aging roadways and infrastructure. Hens is currently president of the NYS County Highway Superintendents Association.

Hens also said the culvert on Byron Road has been replaced, backfilling is nearly complete and if there's dry weather tomorrow the road could reopen by the afternoon.

UPDATE 4:06 p.m.: More from Tim Hens:

A demolition crew spent the morning tearing down the second house on West Main Street next to Castilone Chyrstler Dodge to make room for the dealership's expansion. Rather than move out of the city, the owners Steve Castilone and Greg Strauss decided to remodel their existing showroom and expand on West Main.

Joseph A. Saraceni, 17, of Linwood Avenue, Batavia, is charged with first-degree rape, a Class B felony. Saraceni was arrested by Batavia PD following an investigation by Det. Charles Dudek and Det. Thad Mart in an alleged incident reported Nov. 11 on School Street, Batavia. No further details released.

Lance Mercado, 23, of Holland Avenue, Batavia, is charged with operating a motor vehicle impaired by drugs. Mercardo was arrested after Batavia PD received a reported of a possible intoxicated driver in the parking lot of McDonald's at 1:18 a.m., Tuesday. Mercardo was arrested by Officer Matthew Lutey.

Eric J. Davis, 36, of Corfu, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Davis was arrested by State Police for an alleged incident reported at 6:52 p.m. Tuesday on Drake Street, Oakfield. No further details released.

Timothy M. Gardiner, 38, and Maria A. Gardiner, 48, both of Scottsville, are charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 3rd. Timothy and Maria were arrested by State Police in connection with an alleged incident reported at 9:39 a.m. Feb. 16 in the Town of Bergen. No further details released.

Heidi H. Stumbo, 48, of Lima, is charged with petit larceny. Stumbo was arrested by the State Police on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation. The alleged theft was reported at 1:04 p.m., Monday. No further details released.