Stories from

Great Kutz, in the Valu Plaza, 4152 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Men, enjoy a $5 haircut again with this offer exclusive to The Batavian. (gift card can be applied toward other services, but not products).

Matty's Pizzeria, 4152 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Matty's is another Batavia favorite for pizza and wings. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Sallome's Italian Deli, 40 Oak St., Batavia, NY: Wraps, subs, paninis and pasta, Sallome's offers a tasty variety of Italian deli items for eat-in or take-out.

Kravings Kafe, Valu Plaza, W. Main Street, Batavia, NY: Recently opened, it offers soups, salads and sandwiches, fresh and flavorful; Monday through Saturday. We have $10 gift certificates for $5.

Margarita's Mexican Restaurant, 15 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: When you're looking for an authentic Mexican meal, Margarita's is the place to go. The food and atmosphere are perfect and the service is always outstanding.

Adam Miller Toy & Bicycles, 8 Center St., Batavia, NY: 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.

Main St. Pizza Company, 206 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: Pizza, wings, subs and even hamburgers and hot dogs, Main St. Pizza makes everything deliciously. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, NY: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, NY: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

South Main Country Gifts, 3356 Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Handcrafted items, gifts with a regional flair, candles, teas and spices -- South Main has a wide selection to please most any interest. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Present Tense Books and Gifts, 101 Washington Ave., Batavia, NY: Whether your taste runs to local authors, the finest in fiction or nonfiction or you're looking for a unique and special gift, this charming store in a cozy Victorian house on the edge of downtown is a great place to stop and shop. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Clor's Meat Market, 4169 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: For the best, most flavorful, juiciest chicken or hamburger in town, hands down, stop by Clor's. Oh, and the steaks are great, too. And the sausage. Clor's also serves lunch and dinners from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. We have a $15 gift card for $7.50.

The Mane Attraction, 99 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: The Mane Attraction is a spa and salon offering pedicures, manicures, hair styling and massage. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

O'Lacy's Irish Pub, 5 School St. Batavia, NY: In Irish pubs, it doesn't get more authentic than O'Lacy's. Be sure to try the homemade chips. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Carlson's Studio, 39 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: Family photos are more than just photographs. When you need photos for that special occasion, Carlson's is a great choice in Genesee County. We have a $50 gift card for $25.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: 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. "If it happens in sports, it happens at Brown's." We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Settler's has a 25-year history of serving great, affordable breakfasts, lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Jackson St. Grill, 9 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: Try the fresh, skinless haddock fish fry on Fridays. We have a $10 gift certificate for $5.

Total Image - Dawn Williams, 226 Ellicott St., Batavia, NY: Dawn offers clipper cuts for men, women and children, as well as coloring, highlights, perms and waxing. We have a $22 gift certificate for $11.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

Black Friday shopping at Walmart was disrupted this morning by a small fire in the back of the store, according to County Legislator Jay Grasso, who was there shopping.

The entire store was evacuated, he said, with people leaving behind shopping carts of merchandise.

"It was orderly, but people were not happy," he said.

We have no further information available at this time.

The Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting that occurred at 8800 Keeney Road, Le Roy, last night at 9:41.

The victim was shot in the arm and transported to Strong Memorial Hospital by Le Roy Ambulance. She is scheduled to be released following treatment.

The shooting occurred during an apparent domestic dispute but is characterized as non-intentional.

Wounded was Michelle L. Baumgart.

The gun belonged to Robert M. Jackson, according to the Sheriff's Office. Jackson was holding the gun during a struggle with Baumgart when it discharged, according to the report. The gun discharged during the struggle.  From the report, It's not clear who was holding the gun at the time.

Jackson and the two children in the house were not harmed.

No charges were listed in the Sheriff's Office press release.

The investigation is ongoing and being conducted by Deputy Christopher Parker, Deputy Chad Minuto and Sgt. Gregory Walker.

Whatever Thanksgiving means to you, Billie and I would like to wish you and your family a happy and good day.

We're grateful that we can spend the day with our family.

While we are many miles away from our new home in Batavia, we are also grateful to all the people who have welcomed us to the community and become our friends.

Thank you to all the readers of The Batavian. We appreciate your support.

And, of course, without all of the businesses -- the owners of many of these businesses have also become our friends -- there would be no Web site. 

We're thankful for all of this support.  We're having a great time doing what we're doing. For me, it's probably the best job I've ever had. There simply is nothing else I would rather be doing. Thank you.

We invite you to use the comments on this post to tell us what you're thankful for.

Michael Todd Dibble, 18, of 1313 Indian Falls Road, Pembroke, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful dealing with fireworks. Dibble was stopped by Deputy Patrick Reeves in Pembroke for alleged traffic violations. During the investigation, Dibble was found to allegedly possess marijuana and fireworks.

Timothy P. Young, 47, of Batavia, was arrested by State Police at 8:45 p.m. and charged with unlawful imprisonment, criminal mischief, criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana, harassment, and two counts of acting in a manner to injure a child. He was jailed without bail. No further details were released.

A 55-year-old Batavia man is in the hospital tonight after being struck by a hit-and-run driver on Center Street.

The unidentified victim was riding a three-wheel bicycle at about 5:52 p.m. on Center near School Street.

He was transported to the hospital via Mercy Flight and suffered internal injuries.

The vehicle that hit the cyclist was described as a dark colored, possibly black, older pickup truck. The driver fled the scene and may have turned south on Jackson Street from Ellicott Street.

Anybody with information about the accident are asked to call the Batavia Police at 345-6350.

Photo courtesy WBTA.

Sen. Charles Schumer was in Batavia yesterday to tell local dairy farmers that he is working to bring in federal dollars to help their beleaguered industry.

But he also gave a pep talk for America. WBTA posted the audio (MP3).

Here’s the truth. People do’t like to hear it, but it’s the truth. For the last 15 years under Democratic and Republican presidents, here’s what America did: We consumed more than we produced. We borrowed more than we saved. We imported more than we exported.  We were the great production giant of the world. In the last 15 or 20 years, you know what we were? This big giant, big muscles, strong, astride the globe, stuffing our face with candy.

Schumer said Americans need to become a nation of producers again -- saving and exporting, rather than spending and importing.

But America has one advantage, Schumer said: there's no barrier to any person doing whatever he or she wants with his or her life.

We’ve gotten off track. We’ve gotten too fat. We can get back on track. Only America has the system that says, ‘I don’t care who you are, how much money you have, what your daddy did, or mom, you can achieve the stars if you work hard.' So the $64,000 question is, what are the policies that get us back and we’ll be giant again.

Photo courtesy WBTA.

As we wind into the holiday season, Batavia Police are reminding businesses that sell alcohol that it's illegal to sell wine, beer and liquor to people under 21 years of age.

There will be compliance checks during the holiday season, the Batavia Police Department announced this morning.

"The Batavia Police are reminding all establishments where alcohol is served or sold to remember to be carefully checking for the proper ID of the customer or consumer who is purchasing the alcohol," reads the police statement "The police along with the community’s goal is to deter underage persons from purchasing alcohol without proper identification."

Employees are encouraged to carefully check IDs.

They should also be on the look out for customers of legal age buying booze for minors. A common practice to look for, according to police, is a customer who buys a large amount of alcohol with small bills and then delivers the packages to a waiting car. Employees who observe such activity are encouraged to contact police.

An Alexander woman reportedly heard Sheriff's Deputies were looking for her at a house on Griswold Road, so rather than return that residence Sunday evening, she parked her car on Attica Road and ran off into the woods.

After her car was spotted on Attica Road, Sheriff's deputies searched the wooded area, but that's not where they found Brittany L. Frey.

The 19-year-old woman was allegedly hiding in an apartment in Northside Meadows in Batavia.

Frey, whose residence is listed as 9568 Alexander Road, Alexander, was wanted on a bench warrant for an alleged violation of probation.

After learning that Frey was at Northside Meadows, deputies responded to that location and reportedly saw Frey inside the apartment, but Frey allegedly refused to come to the door. Eventually, she did come out and was arrested.

Frey was jailed Sunday night without bail.

Morima Custodo, 27, of 65 Mead St., Rochester, is charged with harassment. Custodo was arrested yesterday following an alleged fight between employees at Allen Canning in Bergen. She is accused of grabbing the other employee's hair and pushing her head to the ground.

Matthew Thomas Holmes, 30, 14 W. Main St., Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant for allegedly failing to pay fines and restitution. Holmes was arrested following his release from Monroe County Jail.

Joseph Lee Shanley, 37, of 7199 Dublin Road, Bergen, is charged with harassment. Shanley is accused of threatening a person while using his mobile phone.

A 12-year-old boy from Bethany has been arrested by State Police and charged with sexual contact with an individual under 11 years old. No further details were released.

A group of Western and Central New York lawmakers continued to push yesterday for up to $4.7 billion in federal aid to construct a high-speed rail system across the state.

The proposed rail system would connect Niagara Falls and New York City.  Moving at 110 mph, it would cut travel time from Buffalo to Albany by nearly two hours.

The rail system would likely bypass Batavia.

Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, and Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt are among those pushing to get the project funded.  Maffei called it "the Erie Canel of the 21st Century."  Slaughter said the track could be laid along an unused CSX line.

The competition is stiff for the announced $8 billion in funding.  California is also seeking $4.7 billion to fund part of its proposed $45 billion project.  Florida and Texas are also seeking funding.

Councilman Sam Barone's effort to push for a new fee system for garbage collection is stalled.

WBTA reports that the proposal went nowhere at last night's City Council meeting, and the issue has been delayed until the new council is in place at the first of the year.

Councilman Frank Ferrando said there is no public demand for changing the current method for paying for garbage collection, which is part of the city property tax.

Barone argues that a fee-based system would be more equitable, since under the current system the city's non-profit agencies that own their own buildings and land don't pay property tax. Those agencies get free garbage collection.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, NY: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, NY: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: 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. "If it happens in sports, it happens at Brown's." We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Settler's has a 25-year history of serving great, affordable breakfasts, lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Jackson St. Grill, 9 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: Try the fresh, skinless haddock fish fry on Fridays. We have a $10 gift certificate for $5.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

SOLD OUT

Note: There won't be a deal of the day Wednesday or Thursday. Look for a big one of Friday.

Three men from Utica have been arrested and charged with burglary for allegedly breaking into apartments yesterday at 5219 Clinton St. Road, Batavia.

They reportedly broke into the apartments during the late morning hours and stole or damaged clothing and electronics.

Taken into custody were:

• Rastafari A. Brown, 20, of 124 James St., Utica
• Kayshawn Jones, 21, of 1556 Elm St., Utica
• Sirdell L. Ruffin, 21, of Faxton St., Utica.

Each of the three men were charged with four counts of burglary in the second degree and jailed on $25,000 bail.

The case was investigated by Deputy John Duyssen, Deputy Bradley Mazur, Sgt. Gregory Walker, Investigator William Ferrando and Investigator Kristopher Kautz with assistance from the Batavia Police Department, the New York State Police and the District Attorney's office.

A state audit of the Batavia City School District found that through apparent accounting errors, some employees have been overpaid and the district has tended to over estimate expenses and under estimate revenue, resulting in an operating surplus of $6 million.

"As a result, we identified $7.3 million which has been inappropriately placed in reserves but rather should be used to benefit taxpayers," the audit report states. "Had these practices not occurred, and had District officials complied with statutory limitations for retained fund balance, the excess could have been used for District operations, or to fund necessary reserves or to reduce the tax levy."

The district plans to take corrective action, according to both the report and a press release from the district.

Those were the only two nicks on the report, which district officials otherwise characterized as favorable audit.

"The audit report delivered to the Board of Education was very positive. No graft, corruption, or misappropriation of public funds was identified," district officials said in a press release.

Our audit compares very favorably to other school district audits across the state. Other districts have been cited for administrative actions without Board approval, weaknesses in internal controls and purchasing, District actions without voter approval.  We have not been cited for any of these issues.  This audit reflects the hard work that has been done in our District to ensure that the public can trust that the District officials and Board of Education take their fiduciary responsibility very seriously.

The payroll errors, as uncovered by The Division of Local Government and School Accountability of the Office of the State Comptroller of New York, amounted to $50,000 in "improper or unsupported payments." 

Auditors reviewed payroll records for 17 employees, and reported, "Ten employees, or 59 percent, were overpaid or received compensation which was not provided for in the applicable contracts or supported by sufficient documentation."

The district's press release:

The Comptroller’s report highlights several payroll findings, which appear to be overstated when the specific findings were investigated by District staff. The actual legitimate findings amount to less than one tenth of one percent of the total payroll processed over the two year period. There is always room for improvement and we are planning to take several steps to reduce any potential risk for error.

As for the surplus funds, the district says:

The essence of this comes down to the simple fact that the District budgets conservatively, never overestimating its potential revenues or underestimating its potential expenses. This practice allows for flexibility should an unforeseen financial hardship arise, but often results in legitimate surplus.  The District has used this surplus to maintain a stable tax levy and to fund authorized reserves.  Even though the Comptroller’s Report views this negatively, there appears to be an inherent contradiction since these accounts are promoted as providing many benefits to municipalities and their citizens (www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/lgmg/reserves.pdf).  No doubt conservative budgeting practices have allowed us to position ourselves to maintain our educational program even in difficult financial times without turning to tax increases.

Download: Full Audit Report (PDF)

Buckle up -- that's the message from local law enforcement.

The State Police announced increased seatbelt enforcement and the Genesee County Sheriff's Office will join the effort, according to Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble.

"There have been a number of deaths recently that would not have occurred had the victims been wearing their seat belt and shoulder harness," Dibble said in a press release.

The law requires all occupants in a moving vehicle to be wearing a restraint system that includes lap belts and shoulder harnesses.

From Dibble:

It is also important to understand that both the seat belt and shoulder harness make up the occupant restraint system that is designed to keep a crash victim from leaving their seat. The use of just the seat belt without the shoulder harness is illegal, and greatly decreases the effectiveness of the system. The law requires the proper use of both the seat belt and the shoulder harness. Those that buckle their seat belt, but slide the shoulder harness behind their shoulder, are in violation of the law and will be ticketed.  Unfortunately, too many people believe that wearing just the lap belt is legal. 

Anyone who has a medical excuse for not wearing the restraint system must have a doctor's note with them to show a police officer.

Seat belts and shoulder harnesses reduce injuries and save lives. Put them on and make sure everyone in your car does the same.