The annual spring ban on controlled burns and open fires ends today, but the National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement warning of an elevated fire risk for the region.
Statement:
A combination of dry conditions and wind today will create an
elevated risk of wildfire spread across western and north central
New York. Relative humidity values will drop to as low as 15 to 25
percent, with winds gusting up to 35 mph at times. Despite the
recent green-up, these conditions may allow for rapid spread of
fires if ignition occurs.
A barn fire is reported at 2044 Sumner Road, Darien.
Darien Fire, Corfu Fire, and Alexander Fire, along with Mercy EMS dispatched.
A second alarm has been sounded for East Pembroke, Town of Batavia and City Fire's FAST Team.
UPDATE 10:20 a.m.: When The Batavian left the scene 20 minutes ago, firefighters were still battling with hot spots, and officials at the fire were not yet ready to release information. The cause of the fire has not been confirmed yet.
Brittany L. Richway, 32, of Syracuse, and Angel M. Scott, 34, of Batavia, are charged with petit larceny. Richway and Scott are accused of stealing from a location in the Town of Batavia at 7:46 p.m. on May 11. They were arrested by the State Police and released on an appearance ticket. No further information was released.
Michael R. Vickery, 45, of Lackawanna, is charged with petit larceny. Vickery is accused of stealing from a location in the Town of Batavia at 12:52 p.m. on May 10. He was arrested by State Police and released on an appearance ticket. No further information was released.
Daniel Stevens, 49, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Stevens is accused of stealing from a location in the Town of Batavia on May 8 at 9:46 a.m. Stevens was released by State Police and released on an appearance ticket. No further information was released.
Cody Middlebrooks, 32, of Akron, is charged with criminal mischief 4th. Middlebrooks is accused of damaging property in the Town of Alabama on May 9 at 4:15 a.m. He was arrested by State Police. His release status is unknown. No further information was released.
Tony Robert Graber, 44, of Main Road, Pembroke, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Graber is accused of violating a complete stay-away order of protection on May 5 in the Town of Batavia. He was processed at the Genesee County Jail, arraigned, and released on bail.
Brian N. Miles is indicted on counts of attempted forgery in the second degree, a Class E felony, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, a Class D felony, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, a Class A misdemeanor, and criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Miles is accused of attempting to fill out JP Morgan check that belonged to another person in order to obtain cash on Nov. 15, 2021,d while at the ESL Federal Credit Union on Veterans Memorial Drive in Batavia. He was allegedly found in possession of a stolen JP Morgan checkbook. On that date, he was allegedly found in possession of cocaine.
Timothy W. Szurgot is indicted on counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, a Class D felony and criminal impersonation in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Szurgot was allegedly found in possession of a stolen 2018 Focus on Oct. 25 in the Town of Batavia. He is accused of assuming the identity of another person on Oct. 25 with the intent to defraud another person.
Joseph G. Bauer is indicted on a felony count of DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, a Class E felony. Bauer is accused of driving drunk while on a suspended license on July 4 in the Town of Darien, on Park Road.
The Batavian brings you more local news coverage than any other news source in Genesee County. Here are the stories we reported before the competition in the past week.
Members of the New Breed Motorcycle Club out of Rochester lead a funeral possession from Monroe County to Machpelah Cemetery on North Street in Le Roy on Saturday for Dustin Rich.
The 25-year-old Batavia resident was killed in an accident while driving his motorcycle in Brighton on May 1.
A friend of Rich's, Gordon Montgomery, said the turnout of the motorcycle club demonstrated how motorcyclists treat their fallen.
He shared the quote, “Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness, the tender mercy of its people, their respect for the law of the land and their loyalty to high ideals.”
Design rendering from area variance application submitted by Genesee BIogas for a tall digester tank for a proposed plant in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park in the Town of Batavia.
A long-discussed plan to build a biogas plant in the Genesee Valley Agri-business Park in the Town of Batavia is again moving forward with the recommended approval on Thursday of a height variance for a storage tank on the property.
Sara Gilbert, of Pinewood Engineering, asked the board to Genesee County Planning Board on Thursday to recommend approval for the company to build a digester storage tank taller than allowed by zoning code. The biogas plant seeks approval for an 83.5-foot tall digester tank.
Gilbert noted that the board previously recommended approval of the variance for a plant location that was going to be just outside the ag park but the Town of Batavia board prefers the company build the plant inside the park so the application for the variance needed to be resubmitted for the new location in the park.
She also noted that HP Hood was granted a variance for a much taller tank, and Oatka Milk has tanks with heights that do not conform to the zoning code so the Genesee Biogas proposal is consistent with existing construction in the area.
The board approved the recommendation with one no-vote, from Eric Biscaro, who expressed concern about potential odor from the plant.
Eric Biscaro Photo by Howard Owens.
"I don't care what the height of the tank is, personally," Biscaro said. "I mean, I'm right next to this thing, and I would just as soon get back into that park further because I work at Armor (Building Supply) right down the road from Oatka and Let me tell you, it's pretty ripe there sometimes. And I'm close to this plant, living near there then I am at work. I'm under the impression that this plant is going to smell worse than Oatka."
No, Gilbert said, everything at the plant is enclosed, and the air coming out of the plant is filtered.
"It is different than maybe a more traditional digester," Gilbert said. "It actually has a negative pressure system that can pull the air out and put it through a biofilter system that filters the air. So it does not have a strong smell. And it doesn't have any animal waste at all associated with it. It's only food-grade waste from the plants in the park."
Genesee County Planning Director also informed the board that the only matter on the agenda for Thursday was the high variance. Genesee Biogas will present at a later date a site plan review, where issues such as odor can be considered.
In 2014, at a previous public meeting, Paul Toretta, CEO of CH4 Biogas, explained how the plant works: "We make green power out of organic waste. Once the digester does its thing, it captures methane and powers an engine that makes green power and puts it on the grid. The engine produces heat that can be used to heat Quaker Muller and Alpina (the plants in the park at the time), helping them cut their heating bill."
Quaker Muller's plant is now owned and operated by HP Hood, and Alpina is owned and operated by the Upstate Milk Cooperative.
Postal workers Dominic Iacuzza, Mitchell Muskopf, and Chris Holley, in front of food donations gathered by mail carriers on Saturday as part of a postal-worker-initiated food drive that encouraged postal customers to leave bags of food for carriers to pick up. Photo by Howard Owens.
On Saturday, postal carriers in Batavia -- as part of a national campaign -- collected food donations from postal customers. Folks on carriers' routes were asked to leave food in bags for pickup.
Brandon Snyder, who organized the drive locally, said that as of 2 p.m., 1,136 pounds of food were donated to Care-a-Van and another 1,435 points to the Salvation Army, with other local charities expected to pick up donations.
Ava Davids decorating an egg in a Ukrainian style called pysanky at GO ART! on Saturday. Photo by Howard Owens.
GO ART! today hosted the first of a two-part class on Ukrainian egg decorating, or pysanky. Pysankar master artist Irene Grassman is leading the class as part of GO ART!'s Explore Art! program.
GO ART! staff member Jodi Fisher with her decorated egg. Photo by Howard Owens
A 62-year-old Batavia man has been arrested by the Sheriff's Office, accused of an ongoing series of sex offenses against a child.
Alvin Ezra Way, of West Main Street, is charged with six counts of predatory sexual abuse against a child, six counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree, and course of sexual conduct against a child.
In New York's penal code, predatory sexual abuse against a child is a Class A-II felony and accused the defendant of being older than 18 years old, and the victim is younger than 13 years old.
If convicted, Way faces 10 to 25 years in prison.
The alleged incidents occurred over multiple years at a residence in the Town of Batavia.
Way was arraigned in the Central Arraignment Court on Friday and ordered held in custody.
The Hornets improved to 12-2 on the season with a 16-6 win over Alexander on Thursday.
Kyle Porter got the win, splitting the workload with Colton Yasses. Porter went three innings and give up four runs on one hit and struck out eight. Yasses gave up two hits and two runs (one earned).
Brayden Smith went 3-4, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Aiden Warner, Brodie Hyde, and David Schnuafer also had two hits each. Warner also had three RBIs.
Mason Bump was 1-1 with a walk for Alexander, scoring twice and knocking in a run.
Another big score and a big win for Alexander in Girls Softball on Thursday, with the Trojans cruising to its fifth consecutive win 19-7.
Melissa Sawyer hits for the cycle going 5-5 at the plate. Sawyer had a home run, a triple, a double, two singles, five RBIs and four runs scored.
Senior MaKenna Boyce went 4-4 with three RBIs and three stolen bases. Sister Madison Boyce crushed a three-run homer to center, while Faith Goodenbury and Brianna Neyman both had Multiple hits on the day.
Briann Neyman pitched part of the first, allowing one hit, three walks and five runs with a strikeout. Emily Pietrzykowski tossed five innings, allowing five hits, no runs, no walks and eight punchouts. Melissa Sawyer pitched the last frame, giving up one hit, two runs and getting two strikeouts. Alexander improved to 11-5 and heads to Barker on Monday.
Notre Dame beat Lyndonville 9-6 in Girls Softball on Thursday in a game played at GCC.
The Irish collected 14 hits, but coach Otis Thomas said pitching and defense were key.
Loretta Sorochty went the distance, pitching seven innings, giving up six hits, six runs (three earned) and striking out eight batters.
Offensively, for Notre Dame, Katie Landers and Sorchty each had three hits to pace the offense. Landers finished with two doubles, a single, a walk, two runs scored and an RBI, while Sorochty had three singles and two runs scored.
Mia Treleaven, Kaydence Stehlar and Anna Panepento each had two hits for the Lady Irish.
"This is a big win for us, and I am proud of the effort given by the ladies this evening," Thomas said. "It got a little shaky in the seventh giving up the 4 runs, but we settled down and got that last out. As big as this one was, we need to put it behind us and continue our run to Sectionals."
Developer David Mazur fields questions from the Genesee County Planning Board about Countryside Apartments, the 80-unit complex he is proposing for the Medtech Park by GCC. Photo by Howard Owens
Developer David Mazur said he's been building apartment complexes and running the ones he builds for 18 years. He has a formula. He knows it works. And he knows the type of tenants he expects to be attracted to his units.
With that experience, he's sure the 80-unit complex he is proposing for Medtech Park by GCC will be market rate, with rents ranging from $1,350 to $1,895 per month (that rate could be as much five percent higher once construction is done, he said).
To qualify for a rental agreement, tenants must have a job, if not retired, and a monthly income of 3.5 times the monthly rental rate.
That rules out college students as potential tenants, he said, and parents can't co-sign for a child. Whoever signs the rental agreement must live in the apartment, he told the Genesee County Planning Board at Thursday's meeting.
After his presentation, when told that other developers have promised market-rate complexes only to change the terms during construction, he said he's 100 percent certain that won't be the case with his development.
"I have never had a project go a different direction other than market-rate," Mazur told The Batavian ."So I'm not sure what happened in the past with other developers or what their performers were, what their plans were, but this is 100 percent designed to be market rate."
The Grand Island-based developer said in his other projects, 60 percent of his tenants are seniors, sometimes retires, with the balance being working professionals. The seniors, especially, he said, are looking for and demand quality units.
"(Countertops are) either gonna be quartz or granite," Mazur said. "All the finishes are higher end. That's where go back to, like I said, retirees because it's 60 percent of my base at other locations. They want it. They want just new, fresh, crisp places. Some have never lived anything brand new. They look at it, like, I want it, this is what I'm going to live in."
There will be 60 garages for the 80 units, with outdoor parking available for the rest.
Amenities will include a dog park, and the complex is pet friendly, with some restrictions on dog sizes. Tenants in apartments with shared hallways are limited to smaller dogs, less than 30 pounds. The townhouse apartments will have a bit more flexibility, he said.
When Mazur found out the Medtech land was available for development, he said he saw an opportunity to do what he's done successfully in places like Grand Island and Tonawanda -- to build a complex for people that want to be close to a city center -- such as Batavia -- while taking in the country air.
"That's our portfolio," Mazur said. "It's full of what I call country or township apartments. When I found the parcel was available, to me, it made sense. You're a stone's throw from the action downtown. And, you know where the property's sitting -- we can't promise what's going to happen in the future, what else is going to be built there, but right now, it's farmland. So it's gonna be a nice setting for people to have the dog park, walking areas, things like that."
He said he hasn't investigated bus routes in the area but said that most people moving into market-rate apartments own a vehicle.
The plan calls for six 12-unit buildings and one eight-unit building with 24 three-bedroom apartments, 42 two-bedroom, and 14 one-bedroom, with 36 single-car detached garages.
The total project cost is expected to exceed $12 million.
Jim Krencik, senior director for marketing and communication for the Genesee Economic Development Center, said the Genesee Gateway Local Development Corporation, an adjunct to GCCEDC, approved a sale agreement for Mazur to acquire the 14 acres for the proposed development in December for $200,000.
"With the support of the Town of Batavia, City of Batavia, and GCEDC, we're pleased to see Countryside Apartments moving forward," Krencik said. "This project enhances our market-rate housing stock and can accelerate our Batavia Home Fund to support future residential improvements in the city."
The Batavia Home Fund collects revenue from developments and makes the funds available for rehabilitation and similar projects for residential homes in Batavia.
Krencik said the Countryside development is eligible to contribute to that fund but not draw from it.
Mazur said he doesn't know yet if he will apply to GCEDC for any potential project assistance. It's early in the planning process, he said, "and that's putting the cart before the horse."
Based on his previous experience, Mazur said he believes he won't have an issue filling all 80 units once the project is complete.
"Like I said, we've been in the business now for about 18 years, and I've had people with me that have been there the whole 18 years. So, again, the style of buildings that we're building, we build the same buildings in different townships, we already know our cost structure, we know our problems, and we tweak the issues from the first project to the second project. We may change color, and it will be different for different townships, but really, it's a process that works for us. And it takes a lot of the risk out of the game."
Tony Mancuso for the United Way Day of Caring was where he usually is on the Day of Caring, at Adam Miller Toys and Bicycles getting bikes ready to donate to Arc GLOW. Photo by Howard Owens
More than 400 area residents hit about 40 sites in Genesee County to volunteer their labor to make the community a little bit better as part of the annual United Way Day of Caring on Thursday.
The Batavian stopped by a handful of the volunteer locations, such as Adam Miller Toys and Bicycles, GO ART!, the YMCA, the War Memorial, Dwyer Stadium, and the Community Garden.
Volunteers also went to six different locations for Arc GLOW, the Batavia Cemetery, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cross Roads House, the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena, Eagle Star Housing, Ellicott Trail, the Peace Garden, Gilliam Grant Community Center, Holland Land Office Museum, Machphelah Cemetery, Purple Pony, Resurrection Parish, St. James Episcopal Church, St. Paul Lutheran, UMMC, and the Village of Elba, among other locations.
City of Batavia firefighters flushing a hydrant on Ellicott Street on Thursday morning. Photo by Howard Owens
It's an annual rite of spring: Fire hydrant flushing, which helps keep the hydrants servicable for emergencies. City Fire crews flushed hydrants in a couple of city neighborhoods this morning.
In a release, City Fire explained the necessity of fire hydrant flushing:
This annual testing is essential to maintain the communities class III Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification, and to assure that fire hydrants are operating efficiently for fire protection purposes. Along with maintaining the fire rating, the test monitors the health of the city's water system, identifies weak areas in the system, and removes material that settle in the water lines.
It took eight innings for Oakfield-Alabama to pick up its 11 win of the season Wednesday, finally beating Attica, 7-4.
The Hornets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, and scored its fourth run in the fifth, but Attica pulled even after scoring two in the first and two more in the fifth. O-A (11-2) secured its win in the seventh with three runs.
Brodie Hyde had three hits, scored twice and an RBI. Brayden Smith was 2-3 with two RBIs. David Schaufer also drove in two runs.
