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Press release:

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments have Pfizer and Moderna vaccination clinics with appointments available for Genesee and Orleans counties' residents.

Whichever COVID-19 vaccine is available is the right vaccine to get now! All approved vaccines are effective and saves lives. We encourage anyone that is currently eligible to register for an upcoming clinic.

Vaccine is now available for people age 50 and older along with the existing priority groups (http://bit.ly/NYSPriorityGroups).

Pfizer is a two-series dose, 21 days apart (three weeks), and is recommended for people aged 16 and older. Moderna is a two-series dose, 28 days apart (four weeks), and is recommended for people aged 18 and older.

It is important to note that you must be able to return for the second dose 21 days for Pfizer or 28 days for Moderna after the first dose at the location, you received your initial vaccination. You will be making that appointment after you are vaccinated.  If you cannot make that date, please do not make an appointment for a two-dose series until you can make both appointments.  

Visit the vaccination webpage at:  https://bit.ly/GOHealthVaccine.

Choose either the Moderna Clinic or the Pfizer Clinic button to make your appointment. When you register, it will also show which vaccine will be at the clinic during that day.  In Genesee County, the clinics are held at the Athletic Center at Genesee Community College in Batavia and in Orleans County, the clinics are held at the Ridgeway Fire Hall in Medina.

If you are interested in making an appointment to get your COVID-19 vaccination, now is the time to do it locally!

More than 3,000 National Grid customers spread out over more than 15 locations in Genesee County had power outages following heavy winds that swept through the region late this morning and afternoon.

The outages include:

• Le Roy and Bergen (centered in the Village of Le Roy), two outages affecting 2,435 customers. A crew has been assigned and it is accessing conditions.
• Bethany, one outage along Bethany Center Road just south of Ellicott Street Road, 20 customers. A crew has been assigned.
• Alexander, two outages, both just north of the village, affecting 75 and 81 customers. A crew assigned to the southern of the two outages but not yet to the other outage. A third outage, affecting fewer than five customers is reported near Attica.
• A small outage is reported just south of Darien Center. No crew assigned.
• Basom, two outages on the reservation along the county line with one crossing the county line. One outage, 774 customs, a crew assigned. Another, 731 customers, a crew is assigned. Another, more to the eastern side of the reservation, 105 customers. There are also two smaller outages with crews assigned.
• Alabama, one outage along Lewiston Road, 21 customers, no crew assigned.
• Village of Oakfield, multiple outages affecting 821 customers, a crew is assigned.
• Elba, just east of the village, north of Route 262, 22 customers, no crew assigned.
• Batavia, there were two outages but both appear to have been cleared.

Scanner traffic was heavy for awhile late this morning and early afternoon. As for what fire crews responded to, here's what we know:

• Downed lines at 73 W. Main St. in Le Roy prompted the closure on Main at Gilbert and East Bethany - Le Roy roads. National Grid responded to the scene
• Also in Le Roy, a tree and/or wires were down in the roadway blocking traffic on south Route 19 near Washington Street.
• Wires in the roadway at Dodgeson and Hickox roads in Alexander.
• A tree, wires, and power lines were reported down in the 6800 block of Norton Road in Elba.

Data Update – 

• Genesee County reporting 24 new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • The new positive cases reside in the:
    • West Region (Alabama, Darien, Pembroke)
    • Central Region (Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Elba, Oakfield) 
    • East Region (Bergen, Byron, Le Roy, Pavilion, Stafford)
• The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. 
• Ten of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.  
• Two of the current positive individuals are hospitalized. 
• Three of the new positive individuals are inmates at the Genesee County Jail. 

Orleans County reporting seven new positive cases of COVID-19.​

• The positive cases reside in the:
  • Central Region (Carlton, Gaines, Albion, Barre)
  • East Region (Kendall, Murray, Clarendon)
• The individuals are in their, 0-19s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
• Three of the new positive individuals were under quarantine prior to testing positive.
• Two of the previous positive individuals has recovered and has been removed from the isolation list.
• One of the new positive individuals is an inmate at Albion Correctional Facility.
• Zero of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.

Directors of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. this morning voted in favor of paying the Town of Batavia up to $395,000 for property enhancements as part of the Park Road Reconstruction Project that is scheduled to commence construction this fall.

Following the approval at the board’s monthly meeting at Batavia Downs Gaming, WROTB President/CEO Henry Wojtaszek said he was impressed with Town officials’ diligence in making the $3 million street reconstruction a reality and is eager to see the finished product.

“This will be a beautiful entry to our facility,” Wojtaszek said. “We’re talking about sidewalks, a promenade, tree-lined area, street and parking lot lighting, landscaping, road work, valet improvements for hotel purposes and some infrastructure work.

“We had a great meeting with them (town officials). They were very well prepared and they had excellent documents.”

Wojtaszek said that “every bit of the project is very well thought out,” noting that work will be done on one side of the street at a time to keep traffic moving – although at a slower pace. “The town is going to improve the speed bumps that we have, and that will help, also.”

Last June, WROTB granted the town three easements – small parcels to help facilitate drainage, utilities and sidewalk installation.

The major rehabilitation of the road will take place from Lewiston Road (Route 63) to Oak Street (Route 98).

Work will include new pavement, curbs and curbing from Lewiston Road to Richmond Avenue with sidewalks on both sides of Park Road, while pavement will be overlaid and sidewalks installed on one side of the road from Richmond Avenue to Route 98. The project also calls for new water lines and street lights on Park Road between Route 63 and Richmond Avenue.

Town Engineer Steve Mountain said WROTB’s request for “betterments” is typical of road projects in urban areas.

“If somebody wants additional streetscape and improvements to enhance the functionality of their facility – such as Batavia Downs – than oftentimes betterment improvements are performed,” Mountain said. “Things like additional lighting, surface treatments, walkways, landscaping and trees. They’re kind of above and beyond what we would normally do.”

Mountain said that the state-funded project is in its design phase and that the town is hoping to solicit bids in August.

“We’re waiting on our grant application for the water main,” he said. “Depending upon the results of that, replacement of the water main is out ahead of the road project.”

Last month, the Batavia Town Board approved a resolution to apply for a state Community Development Block Grant for around $900,000 to replace a 5,300-foot stretch of water main on Park Road.

Mountain said the plan is to remove the 50-year-old asbestos water main under the roadway that serves Batavia Downs Gaming and other commercial enterprises. The pipe runs along the length of Park Road from Route 63 to the gas station on Park Road, not far from Route 98.

In other developments:

• Chief Financial Officer Jacquelyne Leach reported that the corporation will distribute $66,500 in surcharge to member municipalities for February, despite an operating loss of about $115,000 for the month.

Branch operations declined by about $73,000 in February. As of March 16, however, revenue was up by more than $900,000 compared to that time in 2020, which happened to be the first week of the COVID-19 shutdown.

Batavia Bets, the corporation’s interactive online platform, had a handle of $1.4 million in February, up $354,000, and through March 21, revenue is up by $383,000. Year to date, Batavia Bets’ proceeds are $4 million, a 50 percent increase.

• Directors approved four other spending measures:

$400,000 to Bally’s Casino Marketplace for the installation of a video lottery gaming player tracker and update of related hardware and software;

$55,000 to Kim Crawford for consulting services in respect to the resurfacing and maintenance of the harness horse racing track;

$16,500 to the William Ryan Group, Inc., for an application (app) that will alert gaming personnel when a machine or patron needs assistance;

$21,350 to United Tote Company for a horse racing ticket cashing kiosk.

• Marketing Director Ryan Hasenauer announced that Batavia Downs Gaming is attempting to bring in two more concerts outside of the nine-concert Rockin’ the Downs series. Hasenauer said a first-rate tribute band is likely to perform on May 22, followed by a nationally-known artist sometime in July.

The Genesee County Legislature this afternoon revisited the possibility of adopting rules to cover videoconferencing of its meetings and -- while not coming to any binding decision – is on board with in-person attendance for the purposes of a committee quorum and voting, and allowing remote access for non-committee members to participate.

During a 38-minute Committee of the Whole discussion at the Old County Courthouse and via Zoom, legislators agreed to a “hybrid” approach to videoconferencing as proposed by Chair Rochelle Stein.

The debate followed up on a proposed resolution drafted last August that sought to place guidelines on videoconferencing, a practice necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent executive orders by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which suspended the Open Meetings Law to provide for remote participation in legislative and committee meetings.

That executive order continues in place, although it was reported during today’s meeting that it is set to expire in two days. Stein said Committee of the Whole discussion was called now “to be somewhat ahead of the game.”

County Attorney Kevin Earl emphasized that the “major issue” to achieve a quorum and to facilitate legal voting when videoconferencing is that “you can’t do it by telephone … the legislator has to be available to be seen and be seen by the other legislators to participate formally.”

Earl, with input from Legislature Clerk Pamela LaGrou and County Manager Matt Landers, wrote a seven-point amendment to the original resolution (which was not acted upon), with a key stipulation as follows:

“The videoconference shall be conducted in compliance with state law and ensure that all legislators and members of the public have the opportunity to see and hear a legislator videoconferencing and such videoconferencing legislator can see and hear the other members of the legislature.”

Earl said there aren’t a lot of cases concerning this matter but there are many opinions, including those of the attorneys connected to the Committee on Open Government, an organization that holds a lot of weight with judges.

The attorney also noted that if videoconferencing is used, the public notice of the meeting must inform the public as such, identify the locations for the meeting and state that the public has the right to attend the meeting at any of those locations.

Genesee County has been able to acquire the technology – legislators call it “the owl” – to be able to show all meeting participants on the Zoom call. This prompted Earl to say that he would support having legislators not on a particular committee to be able to call in and participate via Zoom as long as they weren’t going to vote or had no bearing on the required quorum.

Earl also proposed that the legislature could adopt a rule limiting the number of times a legislator could “attend” a meeting through videoconferencing, specifically three times in a calendar year.

Stein then said she understood that most of the legislators “would like to have the meetings in person for those that serve on the committees themselves and (for those not on the committee) to be able to participate through Zoom, and have that kind of hybrid opportunity."

“That’s where I come down on this question but right now our rules don’t allow even that to happen.”

At that point, the individual legislators gave their thoughts. They all stated that it was the responsibility of the committee member to be in the room unless it was an emergency, and also were open to permitting legislators not on the committee to follow along via Zoom.

“I would like to see everybody show up, except for some extreme situation … but I really think you have the responsibility to be here,” Gordon Dibble said, adding that he would support those not on the committee signing in remotely.

Christian Yunker said he was in favor of the hybrid model, noting that the opportunity for others to listen in and participate “probably is valuable enough that the rest of us should do that at least for the foreseeable future.”

Brooks Hawley said “if you’re on the committee, you should be here, but if you want to see what is going on and you have a prior engagement, such as work, family commitment or something like that, I think you should be able to do that (participate remotely).”

Earl advised that the legislature can’t prohibit videoconferencing but also isn’t required to implement guidelines on videoconferencing.

Gary Maha said he was OK with the hybrid approach, but added that “we’re elected to represent our constituents and if you could be here, you should be here."

Chad Klotzbach agreed, stating that videoconferencing “has created a platform for people to actually see what we’re doing.”

Marianne Clattenburg suggested postponing any formal vote until after the coronavirus pandemic.

“I have no problem with having people listening to the discussion remotely, but I think voting remotely, I’m against that and would hate to see that become a precedent,” Clattenburg said.

In closing, Stein summarized the points brought out through the discussion – in-person for a quorum and voting, remote participation for others, expanding the technology to include a laptop at the podium for public speakers, and providing additional technical support for the legislative clerk.

When the legislature does decide to act upon formalizing the rules and adopting the amended resolution, the matter would go to the Ways & Means Committee for further discussion and a vote.

Legislators agreed to wait until after the pandemic, with Maha suggesting “the simpler the better.”

With that, Stein said, “I hope the executive order is extended” and adjourned the meeting.

Grant Would Assess Broadband Situation

In another development, the legislature during its regular meeting approved applying for a $95,000 grant from the Northern Borders Regional Commission’s State Economic & Infrastructure Development Investment Program to subsidize a countywide broadband inventory/availability study and develop a subsequent business plan.

Landers said the county was informed of the grant by the Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council, which is currently being led by former Genesee County Manager Jay Gsell.

“This grant would provide a pretty comprehensive broadband study throughout the county,” Landers said. “The G/FLRPC is submitting this on our behalf and it’s a $95,000 grant with a 20-percent local match ($19,000). If we get it, we could find what our gaps are in broadband access in our community and it would also fund a survey of the homes to get a better understanding of where the gaps are and the level of residents’ desire for broadband access.”

Landers said two other counties may partner with Genesee to increase the odds of getting the grant.

“Federal funds are out there to help alleviate this, but we need to understand what our gaps really are before we can go after those bigger grants,” Landers said.

Landers Warns of 'Cluster Pop-up'

Landers reported that the COVID-19 positivity rate is down, the number of people receiving the vaccine is up and many restrictions have been lifted, but urges citizens to remain vigilant.

"It's easy to get cluster pop-ups," he said. "We had 20 to 25 cases (recently) that were linked to a few events -- a birthday party here and a couple of other events there."

Anthony J. Welch aka "Science," 40, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, a Class B felony, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, also a Class B felony. It is alleged that Welch sold a quantity of crack cocaine to an agent of the Genesee County Local Drug Task Force, comprised of officers from the GC Sheriff's Office and Batavia Police Department. Welch was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Clinton Street Road in the Town of Stafford (date and time not provided). He also had a bench warrant out of Genesee County Court for pending drug charges from last May. He was arraigned in county court, then released under supervision of Genesee Justice. The task force was assisted by uniformed deputies, a NYS officer from the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the DA's office.

Stephen Richard Hart, 34, of Cedar Street, Batavia, is charged with: criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree -- with intent to sell; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree; speeding in excess of 55 mph. At 10:46 a.m. on March 21, Hart was arrested after a traffic stop on Route 33 in the Town of Bergen. It is alleged that he possessed one or more preparations of a narcotic drug with an aggregate weight of one-eighth ounce or more, with intent to sell it. He was arraigned in Bergen Town Court and released on his own recognizance. He is due in Genesee County Court on May 5. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Travis DeMuth.

Following a presentation by Superintendent Anibal Soler, the city schools' Board of Trustees approved a plan Monday night that could have full in-class learning for all students whose families want it starting Monday, April 19.

Families who want learning to remain 100-percent virtual will be able to continue online education for the remainder of the school year.

The hybrid model, where students split time between in-home virtual classrooms and on-campus classrooms, will be eliminated.

The decision to return to full-time learning is being driven by data and what state and national leaders are saying about the importance of in-class learning, Soler said.

"I feel, along with the board, that this is why it is time for us to take some significant steps to get us back to school the way it used to be," Soler said during the meeting.

Soler noted that the Centers for Disease Control has changed its guidance on classroom instruction, providing the option to keep students three feet apart instead of six feet. While this change makes it more realistic to get students back in classrooms, six feet is still ideal and where possible, the district will strive to keep students six feet apart, Soler said, or at least five feet, or at least four feet, going to only three feet apart where a greater distance is not feasible.

Previously, one of the issues with opening up the schools was transportation. Currently, students who are transported by bus must sit one to a bench seat. In the new plan, two students will be allowed to share a single bench seat so long as both are masked.

Students will sit on the bus according to a seating chart, so that if later a student does test positive for coronavirus school officials can identify students who were within six feet of the COVID-19-positive student. Such students will be asked to quarantine.

The buses will be disinfected between runs.

The state's Department of Health has not yet approved these guidelines, but Soler anticipates that the state will approve the changes. Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a Feb. 19 briefing said he believes schools should go back to in-class teaching where COVID-19 prevalence is low and that the change should be a local decision. 

One factor in the district's favor is that at least 50 percent of the staff will be fully vaccinated by April 10. Soler believes the number of staff members vaccinated is actually higher but the district only has data for those individuals who accepted their vaccination through the district. Every staff member has been offered the vaccine.

Soler has already met with leaders of the teachers' and clerks' unions and both support a reopening plan as long as safety protocols are in place.

To prepare, support staff will start moving furniture in classrooms and cafeterias during spring break, March 29 to April 2.

From now until April 9, Soler will be holding virtual meetings with staff members to roll out the plan, answer questions, and address concerns. 

"They may have ideas we haven't thought about," Soler said.

All cohorts will be in virtual classrooms on April 15-16 in order to give teachers a final two days of prep before starting in-classroom teaching.

"This will give us a full 10 weeks of in-person learning for 80 percent of the district," Soler said.

The potential barriers to carrying out and continuing the plan, Soler told the board, are: if the district receives a directive from the Department of Health; or receives a court order; or if there is a spike in community spread or some other sign of the infection rate going up in the community. 

"Then we have to reset, go back to virtual learning for two weeks before resuming the hybrid model," Soler said. "We will continue to protect staff and students if we see a large number of cases."

The timeline allows two weeks between spring break and the resumption of classes. This means if increased social contact during spring break leads to a spike in cases, the district can reevaluate whether April 19 is the right time to go back to in-class learning.

But given all the evidence experts have gathered, Soler said, the district does need to get back to normal classroom instruction. It's better for the students academically, emotionally and socially. It will also be less stressful for teachers.

"Our teachers have been burning the candle at both ends," Soler said. "They have been working hard and managing two groups of students. I commend them on what they do but it's time to get them back to doing what they do best, which is teaching kids in front of them."

Batavia City Manager Rachael Tabelski hasn’t found time to completely move into her new office, but she has wasted little time acting to fill two key administrative positions.

Tabelski, following tonight’s City Council Conference Meeting at the City Centre Council Board Room, said job descriptions for an assistant city manager and director of the Department of Public Works are up on the city’s website and other social media sites and have been sent to municipal and trade associations.

When asked how her first two weeks as the permanent city manager have gone, Tabelski said it has been business as usual except for the task of transferring her workload and possessions to the city manager’s office.

“Well, it doesn’t really feel different. I started moving my office today – I finally got a break .. and this morning I took about 20 minutes to start moving things,” she said. “But I think that the most exciting thing that we have is that we just announced the posting for the assistant city manager job and the director of DPW.”

The city has been without an assistant city manager since June of last year when Tabelski moved up from that role to replace Martin Moore. Just recently, she appointed Ray Tourt to replace Matt Worth (who retired) as DPW director but Tourt has decided to return to his former position of superintendent of the Bureau of Maintenance.

“So, that certainly is progress in terms the first two weeks as the official manager,” Tabelski said. “And that will certainly help with the workload that the managers’ currently have (by) filling those positions and getting projects moving.

“We just released a job description and advertisement on Friday afternoon and started posting on social media. We will be advertising with our local partners as well as with associations across the state to find the qualified candidate that wants to come in and do a lot of project work, actually.”

Tabelski said the assistant manager position is going to be “very project based.”

“This person should have a degree in Business or a business-related field or Public Administration, and with years’ experience and be very comfortable in a top executive role with our city,” she said.

The actual job description indicates the assistant will execute projects “in a timely and professional manner with a focus on financial tracking and compliance … (and) provide … accurate and timely information to support decision-making and policy direction …”

Some of the many “typical work activities” listed include assisting with collective bargaining, operating and capital budgets, and evaluation of the city’s fiscal position in relation to the budget. The assistant manager also will oversee the creation of an administrative services budget to include the clerk/treasurer, youth, information technology, assessor and human resources.

The salary range for the assistant city manager is $82,946 to $100,604, and the selected individual will have to move into the city within six months of the appointment.

No salary range is listed for the DPW director, who is responsible for the management of the Bureau of Engineering and Inspection, Bureau of Water and Wastewater, and the Bureau of Maintenance.

In other developments:

• As first reported on The Batavian, the Genesee Country Farmers’ Market is looking to move across Alva Place into the former JC Penney parking lot this summer (actually beginning on June 4).

Council members seemed to be pleased with the move, especially after Tabelski said that there would be plenty of parking available even if another store moved into the empty building.

Council Member Rose Mary Christian noted that alcohol will be served and questioned whether farmers’ market officials had the appropriate permits or licenses. During a brief back and forth, she asked several times for City Attorney George Van Nest to check into it.

The application submitted by Sharon Brant, farmers’ market treasurer, indicates that the organization has a special permit through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and the NYS Liquor Authority for tasting only, and that vendors can sell alcoholic beverages in approved sealed containers.

The market is scheduled to run on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Oct. 29.

Tabelski mentioned that she has been meeting with farmers' market officials on a regular basis and is planning a downtown "walk-through" to look at potential permanent sites for the operation.

• Council moved two resolutions to its Business Meeting on April 12.

One was to create a temporary position of superintendent of water and wastewater as a result of current Superintendent Bill Davis’ intention to retire within the next eight to 12 months.

Tabelski encouraged Council to “fill the position in advance to avoid a large knowledge gap,” adding that similar action was taken in the case of police officer retirements.

She said she expects to advertise for the Civil Service position soon, with an eye on filling it by the end of May.

Council Member John Canale asked if the city’s hiring freeze pertaining to this position.

Tabelski said the freeze was for jobs in the general fund, while this is being paid for by the water and wastewater funds.

The other resolution was to authorize the Community Garden board to apply for an AARP Community Challenge Grant of up to $10,000 to improve the garden on MacArthur Drive.

Tourt said proposed enhancements would be for materials to construct a hardscaped patio with a pergola (outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars) and to add more planting beds.

Deadline to submit the grant is April 14.

Press release:

The Genesee and Orleans County Health departments have several upcoming vaccination clinics with appointments available for Genesee and Orleans County residents.

Whichever COVID-19 vaccine is available is the right vaccine to get now! All approved vaccines are effective and saves lives. We encourage anyone that is currently eligible to register for an upcoming clinic.

The Governor has also announced New York will expand vaccine access to people age 50 and older beginning tomorrow, March 23, along with the existing priority groups.

Visit the vaccination webpage here.

Direct links to the first-dose vaccination clinics are:

• Genesee clinic at GCC, Batavia
• Orleans clinic at Ridgeway Fire Hall, Medina

If you are interested in making an appointment to get your COVID-19 vaccination, now is the time to do it locally!

A man evading a traffic stop in Stafford on Sept. 9 may have been able to outrun a Motorola* that day but police believe they've caught up with him after arresting a suspect in a firearms incident Sunday morning in the City of Batavia.

Charles L. Jackson, 26, of Garson Street, Rochester, faces multiple criminal charges stemming from Sunday's incident as well as the Sept. 9 incident. 

Sunday's incident began at 2:28 a.m. at the Speedway gas station at the corner of Main and Oak streets with the report of a person "not acting normal." Batavia police officers arrived on the scene and found three people inside a vehicle. An officer reported spotted a firearm inside the vehicle and when the officer attempted to secure the weapon a struggle ensured. The officer discharged his service weapon. 

Nobody was hit by the bullet or bullets.

The driver of the vehicle, later identified as Jackson, was able to free himself and flee in the vehicle, leading police on a high-speed chase the ended when the vehicle crashed on Woodland Drive in the Town of Batavia. Jackson and two other occupants were then taken into custody without further incident.

The only injuries sustained as a result of the confrontation were to Jackson and the other occupants of the vehicle, who have not been identified by law enforcement.

Jackson was taken into custody by Sheriff's deputies and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 2nd, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd (he allegedly possessed large-capacity magazines). He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and ordered held on $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond.  

The other occupants of the vehicle have not been charged.

Following his arrest, Jackson was identified as the suspect in the Sept. 9 chase, which started with a traffic stop in the Town of Stafford where a deputy allegedly observed marijuana in the vehicle. The driver in that case fled and allegedly hit speeds over 100 mph. The driver made it to Route 490 and fled toward Monroe County and exited at Brooks Avenue and with apparent damage to the vehicle slowed to 30 to 40 mph before stopping. The driver fled on foot and was able to evade capture.

In that incident, Jackson is charged with two counts of reckless endangerment, unlawful fleeing a police officer, obstructing governmental administration, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. On those charges, Jackson was arraigned in Town of Stafford Court and released on his own recognizance.  

Chief Shawn Heubusch, Batavia PD, said any charges related to the incident in the city are being incorporated in the Sheriff's investigation.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible.

*Editor's note: *New York lexicologist / etymologist / linguist Barry Popik says "you can't outrun a Motorrola" is a version of the law enforcment saying "you can't outrun a police radio."

Press release:

At approximately 2:30 a.m. Sunday, March 21, officers with the City of Batavia Police Department responded to the Speedway gas station, located at 204 W. Main St. The officers were called to check the welfare of individuals reported to possibly be under the influence of drugs and “not acting right.” Upon arrival officers located three individuals and a vehicle. 

The officers made contact with an individual and observed a handgun in plain view inside the vehicle and within reach of the occupant(s). The officer attempted to secure the handgun, at which time a struggle occurred between the officer and a male occupant. 

During the struggle, an officer discharged their duty-weapon at the suspect. Neither the suspect or the officers were struck during the incident. 

The suspect broke free from the struggle and proceeded to lead police on a pursuit through the City of Batavia and into the Town of Batavia. Additional City of Batavia police officers joined the pursuit, along with deputies from the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. 

The suspect vehicle crashed on private property near Woodland Drive in the Town of Batavia. The male suspect and two other individuals were taken into custody at the scene of the crash without further incident. Officers recovered a gun at the scene of the crash. 

The male suspect was taken to RRH-UMMC for treatment of injuries sustained from the crash. No civilians or passersby were injured as a result of the incident.

The incident is being investigated by the City of Batavia Police Department. The discharge of the duty weapon and the incidents that took place outside of the City of Batavia are being investigated by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

As information becomes available the City of Batavia Police Department will release it.

A Bergen resident was killed in an overnight accident on Dublin Road, Bergen.

Bryan S. Holland, no age provided, was reportedly driving eastbound on Dublin Road at 12:30 a.m. when his vehicle left the roadway along the south shoulder, struck several mailboxes, a utility pole, and a tree.

The utility pole was sheared from its base, according to first responders, and the tree, with reportedly an 18-inch trunk and 30-feet tall, was knocked over.

Why Holland's vehicle left the road has not been determined.

The call came in at 12:32 a.m. When the first Bergen fire chief arrived on scene, he found Holland unresponsive. Coroner Tom Douglas was called to the scene and he pronounced Holland dead from injuries sustained in the crash.

The accident is under investigation by the Sheriff's Office Crash Management Team. Town of Bergen fire and Mercy EMS also responded.

(Initial Post)

Data Update – 

• Genesee County received 36 new positive cases of COVID-19.
  • The new positive cases reside in the:
    • West Region (Alabama, Darien, Pembroke)
    • Central Region (Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Elba, Oakfield) 
    • East Region (Bergen, Byron, Le Roy, Pavilion, Stafford)
• The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 80s. 
• Nine of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.  
• One of the current positive individuals are hospitalized. 
• Two of the new positive individuals are inmates at the Buffalo Federal Detention Center.

Orleans County received six new positive cases of COVID-19.  

• The positive cases reside in the:
  • West Region (Yates, Ridgeway, Shelby)
  • Central Region (Carlton, Gaines, Albion, Barre)
  • East Region (Kendall, Murray, Clarendon)
• The individuals are in their, 0-19s, 40s, and 50s.
• One of the new positive individuals was under mandatory quarantine prior to testing positive.
• Seven of the previous positive individuals has recovered and has been removed from the isolation list.
• Three of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.

The Sheriff's Office has recovered the remains of another person apparently turned over to Michael S. Tomaszewski Funeral Home and Cremation Chapel for interment.

Chief Deputy Joseph Graff said no other information about the recovery will be released at this time. The case is under investigation and Graff said there will be a press release about the case if new charges are filed against Michael Tomaszewski.

Tomaszewski is already facing criminal charges for an alleged failure to properly bury the remains of a military veteran along with more than 200 criminal charges for allegedly misappropriating funds deposited with his business by families expecting to make prearrangments for funerals. The criminal complaint indicates the majority of customers lost from more than $2,000 up to $15,500 each.

There was also an allegation last year that Tomaszewski mishandled the remains of a baby but that case has never resulted in charges.

Graff said the discovery of the remains this week was the result of information provided to the Sheriff's Office by Tomaszewski's attorney. Tomaszewski is represented by Thomas Burns.

There is a plea offer pending for Tomaszewski and the defendant was expected to accept the plea at a hearing earlier this week but after an off-the-record conference with Judge Charles Zambito, the hearing was postponed until April 13.

This week, Tomaszewski's bankruptcy case was converted from a Chapter 11 (reorganization of debt) to a Chapter 7 (liquidation).

Charles Lewis Hull Jr., 63, of 9460 Warsaw Road, Le Roy, is charged with allowing his dogs to bark loudly habitually, in violation of Le Roy Town Code Section 63-11 sub 3, according to a report from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responded to his home at 12:13 p.m. March 13 for an animal complaint, which alleges he allows his dogs to bark habitually thereby disrupting other citizens in the neighborhood. He was issued an appearance ticket to be in Le Roy Town Court at 1 p.m. on April 6. The case was handled by Deputy Zachary Hoy, assisted by Deputy Erik Andre.

Christine Michelle Jones, 33, of Hutchins Place, Batavia, is charged with third-degree grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree. She was arrested and arraigned in Genesee County Court on March 16, then released on her own recognizance. She is accused of filing an application for SNAP benefits on May 1, 2018 that either contained false information or omitted information, and as a result she received $17,197 in benefits that she was not eligible for. The investigation was completed by Genesee County Department of Social Services Investigator Robert Riggi and she was arrested by Genesee County Sheriff's Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello, assisted by Deputy Chad Cummings.

Trina Leigh Grimmer, 49, of Townline Road, Byron, is charged with third-degree grand larceny and six counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree. She was arrested and arraigned in Genesee County Court on March 17, then released on her own recognizance. She is accused of filing applications for SNAP benefits that either contained false information or omitted information, and as a result she received $8,104 in benefits that she was not eligible for. The investigation was completed by Genesee County Department of Social Services Investigator Dakota Nicholson and she was arrested by Genesee County Sheriff's Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello.

Dawn Marie Puleo, 54, of Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with third-degree grand larceny and four counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree. She was arrested and arraigned in Genesee County Court on March 16, then released on her own recognizance. She is accused of filing applications for SNAP benefits on Nov. 1, 2018 that either contained false information or omitted information, and as a result she received $4,555 in benefits that she was not eligible for. The investigation was completed by Genesee County Department of Social Services Investigator Robert Riggi and she was arrested by Genesee County Sheriff's Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello, assisted by Deputy Chad Cummings.

Erin Marie Rutoskey, 34, of Columbia Avenue, Batavia, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal mischief, and fifth-degree conspiracy. At 7:52 p.m. on March 3, Genesee County Sheriff's deputies responded to Walmart in Batavia. After an investigation, Rutoskey was arrested for allegedly stealing property valued in excess of $1,000 and allegedly damaging property. She is due in Batavia Town Court on April 8. The case was handled by Deputy Kyle Krzemien, assisted by Sgt. Andrew Hale.

Angeline Ella Lorreine Escudero, 28, of Columbia Avenue, Batavia, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal mischief, and fifth-degree conspiracy. At 7:52 p.m. on March 3, Genesee County Sheriff's deputies responded to Walmart in Batavia. After an investigation, Escudero was arrested for allegedly stealing property valued in excess of $1,000 and allegedly damaging property. She is due in Batavia Town Court on April 8. The case was handled by Deputy Zachary Hoy, assisted by Deputy Erik Andre.

Although sales tax receipts continue to lag compared to last year’s figures, Genesee County Treasurer Scott German said he is optimistic that 2021 will prove to be financially robust.

“The county continues to receive less sales tax than 2020 – receipts are down about 9 percent for the first three months -- but hopefully as business continues to reopen sales tax will get stronger,” German said. “The county adopted a fiscally conservative budget for 2021 and, barring any other catastrophe, county finances should end in 2021 strong.”

German, in presenting his departmental report Wednesday to the Genesee County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee, emphasized that the county’s decision to adopt a “conservative” budget for the 2021 fiscal year (Jan. 1-Dec. 31) will go a long way in stabilizing its economic picture as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

“Last year was very tumultuous,” he said, noting that state officials projected a 20- to 30-percent loss in sales tax and 20-percent decrease in state aid. “Remarkably, however, our sales tax revenues declined by only 2.66 percent from 2019.”

His report indicated that the county shared 16 percent or $6.5 million of the sales tax amount received with the City of Batavia, and that New York State has approved additional withholdings from the county’s share of sales tax revenues for 2021 for a distressed provider assistance fund.

German also mentioned that the county received a boost from the first federal stimulus package as its Medicaid shares resulted in a savings of $900,000.

At the end of 2020, the county had an unassigned balance of $14,644,551, a decrease of $520,514 from 2019, German reported. Meanwhile, the county’s self-insurance fund reserves went up from $743,193 at the end of 2019 to $1,493,261 at the close of 2020, with the increase attributed to a drop in medical procedures.

The county received $58,863 more in mortgage taxes in 2020 compared to 2019, he said.

Looking ahead, German said the $11.1 million allocated to the county through the American Rescue Plan will be divided into equal installments in 2021 and 2022. The utilization of these funds has yet to be determined, he added.

In a related development, Kevin Andrews, director of Real Property Tax Services, reported home sales are “trending up” and that most of the county’s towns and villages are working on reassessment projects for the 2021 assessment rolls.

Last year, RPTS supported reassessments in the towns of Bergen, Byron, Elba, Oakfield and Stafford, while similar projects in the City of Batavia and towns of Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Darien, Le Roy, Pavilion and Pembroke were canceled due to COVID-19, Andrews said.

Update: March 19, 4:30 p.m.

A spokesperson for Gap Inc. told The Batavian that 30 to 50 employees are expected to be hired at this location.

The Batavia store adds to the company's Western New York footprint that currently has five stores in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area and four in the Rochester area.

"Our brand offers on-trernd, affordable and high quality products that we now are excited to make available for families in the Batavia community," the spokesperson added.

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Two new stores – Old Navy and Ulta Beauty – will be coming to the Towne Center at Batavia on Veterans Memorial Drive within the next few months.

Town of Batavia Building Inspector Dan Lang confirmed at tonight’s Town Board meeting that the merchandising giants are expected to open at the retail hub this spring.

He said that the Old Navy clothing store at 4222 Veterans Memorial Drive will feature 14,588 square feet of retail space, while the Ulta Beauty cosmetics store at 4192 Veterans Memorial Drive will have 10,723 square feet of retail space.

The Old Navy store is taking space formerly used by Bed Bath and Beyond.

Searches on the companies’ websites reveal that Old Navy, part of Gap Inc., is advertising for part-time brand associates and Ulta Beauty is advertising for part-time beauty advisors at Towne Center at Batavia.

Founded in 1994 and headquartered in San Francisco, Old Navy has approximately 1,106 stores worldwide. Its total revenue in 2019 was $4 billion. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its flagship stores, located in New York City, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Manila, and Mexico City.

In business for more than 30 years, Ulta Beauty has approximately 1,200 stores in all 50 states and, according to its website, has created more than 22,000 new jobs since 2015. Ninety-two percent of its 45,000 store, distribution center and corporate associates are women. Its headquarters are in Bolingbrook, Ill.

The Batavian has reached out via email to Old Navy and Ulta Beauty media relations for additional information.

The Genesee County Soil & Water Conservation District enjoyed a record year in 2021 as it initiated and finished 13 grant-funded agricultural and other projects designed to ensure the continued flow of clean, safe water, the department’s manager said on Wednesday.

“It was extremely busy,” said Brad Mudrzynski, during his yearly report at the Genesee County Legislature’s Public Service Committee meeting at the Old County Courthouse.

He said projects included cover crop implementation, small erosion control systems and manure management-related topics.

“Another one is a manure storage cover that goes on top of the manure lagoon to capture any burn-off of methane, rather than having methane emissions, and there were a couple of different stream riparian buffers – native plantings along the side of the stream to prevent sediment nutrients from going into the stream,” Mudrzynski said.

Furthermore, he said that seven more similar endeavors will be moving forward in 2021 thanks to another $750,000 in grant funding secured by the district.

Awards from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets will be going to six applications to the Climate Resilient Farming program and one to the Agricultural Non-point Source Abatement and Control program.

“We will continue to be busy for the foreseeable few years with just those projects alone,” he said, noting that payments took longer to arrive due to COVID-19. “We didn’t get some of the (funding) hits we were bracing ourselves for.”

On the municipal side, Mudrzynski said the district’s primary function over the past year was to hydroseed for town and village highway departments to facilitate vegetative growth.

“If they clean their road ditch – opening it up – one of the things that we don’t like to see … is a bare ditch at the bottom, the brown soil,” he said. “When water goes through there, it can really cause erosion in the road ditch, which is not good from an infrastructure standpoint. And we don’t like seeing that because the water is carrying the dirt down to a receiving body of water somewhere.”

GCSWCD employees seeded and stabilized 1.2 acres of soil disturbed during the construction of the new Genesee County Sheriff’s Office communication tower in East Bethany, he said.

Mudrzynski said the district has another “pretty good sized” forested riparian buffer project, planting more than 1,000 trees along a stream bank at a local nonprofit conservation club.

He said the agency had to cancel the Genesee County Envirothon, a two-part scholastic competition, for the second straight year but hopes to offer it again starting in 2022.

“Remaining duties, including agricultural environmental management, tree and shrub program, and the fish stocking program, are continuing this year and we expect them to be strong in the coming years,” he said.

The district employs five full-time staffers.

Per its website, the mission of the GCWWCD is to work directly with county landowners to provide for the conservation of soil and water resources, improvement of water quality, and prevention of floodwater and sediment damages, thereby protecting the natural resource base and promoting health, safety, and general welfare of the county residents. For more information, click here.

Rather than reorganizing his debt, Michael S. Tomaszewski, the local funeral director also facing more than 200 criminal charges, is now seeking to dismiss all of his debt.

Today U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Carl L. Bucki signed an order converting Tomaszewski's bankruptcy filing from Chapter 11, in which a judge helps debtors and creditors arrive at a repayment plan, to Chapter 7, which would allow Tomaszewski to liquidate most of his assets and have any debts not paid after liquidation discharged.

Tomaszewski, both personally, and his company Acme Holdings of New York filed for bankruptcy in Federal Court on Feb. 5. Combined, Tomaszewski lists $1,094,346 in assets against $3,242,390 in liabilities. 

That doesn't include any restitution he may be ordered to pay if convicted of the nearly 200 criminal charges he faces locally.

The 48-year-old funeral director and owner of Michael S. Tomaszewski Funeral Home and Cremation Chapel is charged with 91 counts of failure to deposit monies paid in advance in connection with agreements for funeral merchandise or services. He also charged with 61 counts of third-degree grand larceny, 29 counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, and three counts of petit larceny.

According to the Sheriff's Office arrest report from July 23, Tomaszewski received deposits from customers ranging from $350 to $15,500. His customers allegedly suffered a combined loss of more than $525,000.

The bankruptcy filing for Acme Holding remains Chapter 11, but there has been no activity on that case since February.

Yesterday, Tomaszewski was expected to formally accept a plea deal in his criminal case but for reasons unstated in court, the defendant declined to proceed and was granted a continuance of his case until April 13.

A year ago today the first case of COVID-19 was identified in Genesee County and officials at United Memorial Medical Center were already preparing for what was widely feared would be a surge of cases that could overwhelm the hospital system.

The first wave never crested locally in the way it did in New York City or Italy, but the preparation did serve the staff at UMMC well when the second wave hit in December.

It was "all hands on deck," said Dr. Peter Janes, chairman of the Department of Medicine at UMMC and director of the hospitalist group.

'All Hands On Deck'

At the height of the winter surge, when dozens of local residents were hospitalized with COVID-19, every staff member at UMMC was pressed into service. Medical providers affiliated with the hospital assisted. Residents (doctors in training) worked extra hours. Nurses from other departments cared for coronavirus patients.

"The help we got in the second wave was shocking," Janes said. "We doubled our workforce, basically. We tripled our patient population and we at least doubled our workforce. It was just incredible to see. I was just so thankful because I just didn't know.

"I saw the numbers going up -- I'm just like, 'I'm not going to go home. I'm going to be here 24 hours a day. We're going to be sleeping in the hospital.' And people just kept coming in. We got extra people that work nights. I mean, that's amazing. We were able to shift people to do 12-hour overnights.

We got nurse practitioners who were working as nurses on the floors and helping out. Everybody was doing things, even the administration. We had people from the administrative hallway, people who have a background in health care, helping."

That included Dan Ireland, UMMC's president, who started his medical career as an orderly.

"I've seen him put on his scrubs and do some work," Janes said.

Planning for Widespread Contagious Disease

Like a lot of people, early in 2020, Janes saw the news coming out of China of a new SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) strain causing hospitalizations and death but thought -- as many people did -- that new viruses come along once in a while and don't cause a pandemic.  

Even so, Janes and his colleagues at UMMC and Rochester Regional Health, began to review plans and procedures for dealing with a widespread contagious disease.

"I think initially, we were like, 'oh, here is another story,' " Janes said. "But as it sort of built up, we realized this was going to be something."

Then, during the week of March 11, the whole nation realized at once, SARV-CoV-2 was here and it was serious. The NBA, the NHL, seasons were suspended and spring training was canceled. Colleges and schools started shutting down.

"March 11th was a Wednesday, and I think right around there, that might have been the Sabers' last game, and that's when my daughter was told she's getting school canceled," Janes said. "That was the last in-person meeting I had with Rochester Regional Health, March 11th.

"I was in Rochester and I took my daughter up to Rochester to meet some friends because she was home for college. And after that, I go to pick her up, and there she tells me her college is canceled. And that's the last time I had an in-person meeting in Rochester."

UMMC staff reviewed every part of the hospital in order to plan how best to use the space if there was a surge of patients as well as reviewing personnel rosters.

"In preparing, we went through and with a clipboard and paper looking at all the possible places," Janes said. "We went through and looked at different providers and their skill sets and different nurses and their skill sets and where they could be redeployed to. Then we looked at PPE (personnel protective equipment), saying, you know, 'are we going to have enough of this stuff?'

'It Was Kind of Crazy'

"And again, it was kind of crazy at first because we got a case, we got a couple of cases. then it was a few, or five or six cases, in the first couple of weeks and we're making all these big preparations and we're like is this it? But we knew from what was going on in New York and what was going on out on the West Coast, like in Seattle, we knew it was going to affect us."

Janes said he was always worried more about staffing to deal with a large wave of patients than he was about capacity at the hospital.

"We thought, 'is this going to be wartime medicine?' " Janes said. "Is this going to be like we get people in, we have a different setup. We have wards in different areas and hallways, whatever it is. But I said we can squeeze people in here.

"But if it's as bad as they say it could be, then it's going to be just that bad in Rochester, just that bad in Buffalo. It's going to be the providers, the nurses, the staff, the cleaning crews, the people making lunches and dinners, and everybody here. I'm thinking, manpower is going to be our biggest limiting step."

Early in the pandemic, the big worry was whether there would be enough ventilators to treat the most serious COVID-19 patients. That was why there was a major push -- "two weeks to flatten the curve" -- to slow the spread, to give hospitals time to be able to handle the influx of patients, and ensure there were enough ventilators to treat serious cases.

Treatment Evolves, Scientists Learn More

We did flatten the curve but the treatment of COVID-19 also evolved as doctors and scientists learned more about the new disease.

"During the second surge, we got up there with the ventilators in the system, for sure, we got to a point where we start to get a little nervous again," Janes said. "I think a couple of different approaches, and it's hard to put your finger on exactly what it was, but I think we utilized different medications like Decadron that we started after the hydroxychloroquine didn't really pan out.

"Decadron, and then there's another medicine, Remdesivir, that that may have really cut back on the progression of the disease to the ventilator. But we also early on, there's a question whether BiPAP should work or the high flow oxygen would work. So initially, I think you may be put on a ventilator sooner but now we hold off and get people through it without a ventilator."

The second surge was "pretty darn serious," Janes said, and it came in stages. At first, most of the patients were in their 40s to 60s and primarily had low oxygen levels (hypoxic) and the new treatments were effective with these patients.

In the next stage, nursing homes in the area here getting hit hard by the disease and older people were more frequently the patients being treated at the hospital. UMMC went from seeing an average of 30 to 35 patients per day to more than 80 patients were day.

"We really need people in here. And people came in and it wasn't just the providers, it wasn't just doctors," Janes said. "There were a lot of people who came in and there were nurses working in totally in different areas, our techs acting as aides upstairs, people who you have never seen before but they're all over the place and everybody pitched in. It was pretty amazing to see."

The Pandemic Has Changed Medicine, Maybe Society, Too

The pandemic has changed medicine, Janes said, it has probably also changed society. Certainly, he said, we won't stop wearing masks in some situations anytime soon.

Face coverings, he said, have proven their efficiency at slowing the spread of infectious diseases. The big drop in flu cases this season is one piece of evidence that people wearing masks, washing hands, keeping distance helps stop the spread of viruses.

"I don't see masks going away from health care any anytime soon," Janes said. "I don't see masks going away from Wegmans or Tops anytime soon, but I worry about a little bit about complacency and lack of vaccination. I think we're getting a lot of people vaccinated, but not everybody. And so I think a third surge is very possible (in the fall or winter)."

The one message he wants to leave readers with, though, is "don't neglect your health." People, he said, should not let apprehension about SARS-CoV-2 keep them from seeing their doctors and seeking preventive and ongoing care for their medical conditions and concerns. 

"I think people were so scared of the health care system in the spring, they pushed off of their care," Janes said. "And so in the spring, what we found was that you didn't come to the hospital unless you had COVID. People with chest pain and people with infections and people with lots of uncontrolled diabetes or heart failure were staying home and sort of suffering through that.

"And I think that led to a lot of worse outcomes. I want to really encourage people to take care of their health. They can't be scared of the doctor's office. They can't be scared of making a phone call. People have to still reach out to the providers, make sure that they're in contact with their doctors, with their providers."