police

From the Daily News (Friday):

• Reporter Joanne Beck identified one of the two candidates in the running for the position of police chief as the force's 27-year veteran Sgt. Randy Baker. Beck said two sources named Baker as one of the candidates, but both requested to remain anonymous. Baker told her: "I can't comment on it." City Manager Jason Molino said he will "probably" make his choice by the end of next week, contrary to repeated news stories on WBTA that said Molino would "probably" decide by the end of this week.
• Australian filmmaker Rohan Spong is in town to interview Batavia residents for a documentary on transgenderism, "specifically teachers who transition from male to female within the American school system." Batavia was vaulted into the national news spotlight in 2006, when a Batavia High School teacher announced that he was going have a sex change. School Superintendent Richard Stutzman declined an interview with Spong. Anyone else interested in being interviewed should call Spong at (310) 382-4807. He will be here for the day.
• Genesee Speedway will host a benefit Saturday for racer Don Marsceill who was critically injured at the track last Friday. Gates open at 4:00pm, and drivers will pass their helmets through the stands to collect for Marsceill. Check out the article by Matt Surtel for more about Marsceill.
• Genesee County Farmers Market opens for the season Tuesday in the parking lot at Batavia Downs Gaming on Park Road. The market will be open from 8:00am to 5:00pm Tuesdays and Fridays through to October 24.
• Genesee County's YWCA will host more Women & Issues Luncheons. The next two will be October 1 and November 5 and cost $7 per session, and that includes lunch. Call (585) 343-5808. The article does not mention a location for the luncheons.
• Head to the Old County Courthouse on Main Street from 5:30 to 6:30pm June 17 for the Genesee County Youth Court Open House. The organization is looking to recruit new members — between 8th and 11th grade. From the article: "Youth Court is a voluntary alternative for young people who face disciplinary action through school or law enforcement." Call Jocelyn Sikorski at the Youth Bureau at (585) 344-3960 for more information.
• More than 600 people came out June 1 for an open house at Victorian Manor, the senior living community that is currently undergoing renovations that include the addition of 50 more apartments. The project should be finished by mid-July.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

One Batavia man is in the hospital with serious injuries, another in the custody of Genesee County sheriff's deputies, following an accident between a car and a motorcycle last night in the town of Batavia.

54-year-old William Herrington III, of 7926 Slusser Road, was taken by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital after his motorcycle collided with a car at the intersection of Route 5 and Powers Road, according to deputies. Herrington is being treated for a cervical spine fracture, a laceration to his spine and multiple facial fractures.

Deputies believe that the driver of the car, 37-year-old Kenneth G. Scinta Jr., of 3207 Pratt Road Lot #70, had tried to make a left turn onto Powers Road without yielding the right of way to Herrington. Scinta was charged with felony first-degree vehicular assault and two misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and aggraveted DWI. He was also ticketed with failing to yield the right of way.

Scinta is in sehriff's custody without bail. He is scheduled to reappear in court today at 10:30am.

Herrington was reported in "guarded" condition this morning at 9:00am.

The accident is still under investigation.

Police blotter for Wednesday, June 4:

• 10:47am, 105 Washington Ave. (Apt: Side), larceny
• 12:47pm, 381 Bank St., accident
• 9:56pm, 419 W. Main St., larceny

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

Police Blotter for Tuesday, June 3:

• 6:22am, 317 Ellicott St. Apt: 4, burglary
• 3:29pm, 23 Harvester Ave., aggravated harassment
• 3:47pm, Court Street, accident
• 5:31pm, 20 N. Spruce St. Apt: A2, larceny
• 5:35pm, 218 State St., trespass
• 5:44pm, 8 S. Main St., harassment
• 7:18pm, 204 W. Main St., harassment

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

30-year-old Jonathan J. Connolly, of Darien, was sent to Genesee County Jail last night pending $1,000 cash bail and facing three charges and potentially more.

Conolly was accused of throwing a beer bottle at an on-coming vehicle on Sumner Road, causing damage. He was charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal mischief and two violations: consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle and throwing refuse on the highway.

Genesee County sheriff's deputies said that more charges may be pending.

Police Blotter for Monday:

• 6:58am, 18 Thorpe St. (Lower Apt), trespass
• 7:37am, Oak Street, accident
• 11:58am, 376 Bank St., burglary
• 12:14pm, 111 Liberty St. (Lower Apt), identity theft
• 1:25pm, 8315 Park Rd., counterfeiting
• 3:24pm, 21 Wood St., larceny
• 7:48pm, 36 Elm St., harassment
• 8:57pm, Maple Street, harassment
• 10:06pm, 127 North St., assault

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

Thursday:

1. 11:53am, 25 Liberty St., trespass
2. 12:57pm, 5130 E. Main St., possession of controlled substance
3. 4:50pm, 111 Liberty St., harassment
4. 8:21pm, 15 McKinley Ave., trespass
5. 9:33pm, 10 W. Main St., harassment
6. 10:30pm, 72 Birchwood Dr., harassment
7. 11:09pm, 30 Cedar St., harassment

Friday:

1. 1:23pm, 657 Ellicott St., larceny
2. 7:36pm, 17 Holland Ave., harassment
3. 8:10pm, 390 W. Main St., larceny

Saturday:

1. 1:01am, 390 W. Main St., larceny
2. 9:35am, 52 Tracey Ave., criminal mischief
3. 8:46pm, 27 Spencer Court, harassment
4. 9:18pm, 161 Bank St., trespass
5. 10:36pm, 214 E. Main St., trespass

Sunday:

1. 4:37pm, 312 Ellicott St., harassment
2. 5:22pm, 99 Jackson St., larceny
3. 6:43pm, 10 W. Main St., harassment
4. 10:58pm, 18 Thorpe St., trespass

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

From today's Daily News:

• Scott DeSmit reports that Le Roy trustees voted Wednesday to merge its dispatch operations with the county. Trustees hope to transfer some jobs to county dispatch, but recognize that may difficult since Batavia agreed to the same consolidation previously and is already slated to transfer two jobs.
• Cold War veterans may get a tax break. The County Legislature is pursuing a 10 percent tax credit on the first $60,000 of a home's accessed value for Cold War veterans.  The Batavian posted on this story two weeks ago.
• Holli Gass, 17, when she graduates from Pembroke High School, will represent the fifth generation from her family to graduate from a school in the Pembroke district.  Kristen Kotz, a Daily News intern, wrote a nice feature story on the family.  It's the center package of today's paper.  Nice clip, Kristen.
• The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council at 201 E. Main St. will host a "Building a Vibrant Community Identity" workshop from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., June 5.  It's all about "building a brand" that people remember is geared primarily toward non-profits, but writer Joanne Beck suggests that some commercial businesses are participating.  The deadline to register is Monday.
• Hot Shot's Caffe has opened a second location at 56 Harveter Ave., according to an article on page A2.
• Scott DeSmit passes along a reminder from fire officials to check your smoke detector.  You want to make sure your smoke detector doesn't have a dead battery or otherwise won't function properly in an emergency.
• A letter to the editor from Rose M. Ruhlman praises Lt. Eugene Jankowski and questions the wisdom of passing him over for the chief-of-police role.  She makes good points.  The Batavian broke the story last week that Jankowski was apparently out of contention for top post.
• Former Buffalo Bills guard Joe DeLamielleure will be at Terry Hills Golf Course from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday signing autographs.  Joe D. is in town for the Jim Kelly Celebrity Golf Classic, which takes place Monday at Terry Hills.
• Former Batavian Patric Donaghue was inducted into the Rochester United States Bowling Association Hall of Fame.  Before moving to Rochester in 1981, Donaghue started his bowling career at Mancuso Lanes.

The Daily News is available at local news stands, including at Main Street Coffee, and you should subscribe, and can do so on the Daily News web site.

There were inspiring moments during Batavia's Memorial Day parade, and there were moments of significant community pride, but what may have been the single wow! moment was when Lt. Eugene Jankowski drove by on his restored Harley-Davidson police bike.

Yesterday, I visited the acting police chief and 30-year department veteran at his home and shot a short video interview with him about the bike. He was kind enough to supply some pictures to help tell the story of the bike.

Here's the video:

In case you missed it, here's our video from the Memorial Day parade.

It was a quiet weekend in the City of Batavia.  From about 6 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. this morning, 185 items were recorded in the city's police blotter. None of the items -- which includes everything from calls regarding fights to escort detail -- were particular serious, according to police officials.

Below is a list of some of the items copied from the blotter, covering early Friday morning through this afternoon.

We hope that including a blotter posting will become a regular feature of The Batavian.

Friday, Main 23
10:11 a.m., 17 School St., larceny
12:32 p.m.,  W. Main St., accident
12:56 p.m., Genesee Country Mall, larceny
2:20 p.m., 390 W. Main St., accident
2:26 p.m., 587 E. Main St., larceny
6:36 p.m., North St, accident
8:54, Farwell, Dr., animal complaint
8:59 p.m., Walnut St., criminal mischief
11:23 p.m., 427 Jackson St., criminal mischief
11:23 p.m., 1 Ellsworth Ave., animal complaint

Saturday, May 24
1:43 a.m., 317 Ellicott, fight
2:28 a.m., 116 State St., fight
7:08 p.m., Otis St., criminal tampering

Sunday, May 25
1:27 a.m., 127 North St., fight
1:08 p.m., Otis St., accident
7:56 p.m., 16 Chesnut, animal complaint
9:30 p.m., Jefferson Ave., criminal tampering

Monday, May 26
12:28 a.m., Ellicott St., public lewdness
8:51 a.m., Macarther Dr., animal complaint
12:30 p.m., 9 Tracy Ave., accident
3:53 p.m., 390 W. Main St., larceny
8:47 p.m., Pringle Ave., fight
9:07 p.m., Thorpe St., fight

Tuesday, May 27
6:52 a.m., 120 Jackson St., larceny
10:56 a.m., 401 E. Main St., accident
11:18 a.m., 26 W. Main St., accident
1:24 p.m., Pringle Ave., animal complaint
1:42 p.m., 639 E. Main St., animal complaint
2:23 p.m., Ellsworth Ave., burglary

From the Daily News (Thursday):

• City Manager Jason Molino told the Daily News that the city has narrowed the field of candidates to two for the position of interim police chief. There is no mention of the names of the candidates in the article. The position of fire chief will be vacant as of this weekend. Current Chief Larry Smith retires Friday. Molino said that the city has not yet chosen a temporary candidate to hold the position until an interim candidate is appointed followed by a permanent replacement. Aso vacant is the position of code enforcement officer, which will likely not be filled until later this summer.

• A report of the departure of Deputy Finance Director Shelly D'Alba is reported today. That story was covered by WBTA and The Batavian yesterday. Also reported on the front page is the upcoming technology conference at Genesee Community College, first noted on The Batavian some weeks ago. Go to the GCC site for more information.

• The town approved pursuing state permission for a pair of water districts last night. Some financing could come through federal grants and loans for rthe two districts: about 14,830 feet of main for the Rose Road district at a cost of about $658,000; and about 11,300 feet of main for the Alexander-Pike district at a cost of about $1,175,200. In other business, the town approved "a shared services agreement with the town of Byron for code enforcement officer coverage when needed," writes reporter Roger Muehlig.

• Genesee Community College student Briana Coogan-Bassett was awarded the Virginia Carr Mumford Scholarship from the Batavia Society of Artsits. For more about Briana and other artists featured at the art show at Richmond Memorial Library, check out the article by John Loyd.

• Batavia Blue Devils girls track won their seventh straight title in the Monroe County League Division III. The Blue Devils beat East Ridge 129-12 yesterday to go to 35-0 in the league.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

From the Daily News (Tuesday):

• Rich Baird stepped up at Monday's game versus Eastridge and threw a no-hitter to take his record to 4-0 for the season. The Blue Devils won that match 11-1 — the one run for Eastridge came when two errors and a walk loaded the bases and "a fielder's choice knocked in the run," writes reporter Brian Hillabush.

• Batavia senior Mike Spiotta won the Section 5 golf championship for 2008 with an even-par 72 at Stafford Country Club Monday. Hillabush writes: "Spiotta will lead a group of nine Section 5 golfers at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Tournament June 1 and 2 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Cornell University."

• Muckdogs General Manager David Wellenzohn is pleased with the team's opening day sales Saturday. Reporter Joanne Beck tallied "130 tickets and four season tickets, 13 coupon books and three ticket packs." Wellenzohn sat atop a scissor lift out front of the stadium from Friday to Saturday morning — a stunt likely intended to bring people down.

• The Daily News followed-up on news that city police Lt. Eugene Jankowski is out of the running for the police chief position — a story that broke at The Batavian yesterday. There was nothing new to the story to report. City Manager Jason Molino was unavailable for comment.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

Check out WBTA for these and other stories:

• Investigation into the fire that killed four at a Byron apartment complex Monday continues today. Fifty-one-year-old Sherri Reis is confirmed dead, along with her three children: Timothy Reis, 17; Emily Reis, 19; and Virginia Reis, 21.

• Polls are open at Batavia city schools from noon to 9:00pm today for the school budget and school board votes.

Genesee County Sheriff's deputies got into a tussle with a suspect Saturday night outside the man's home in Batavia. Fifty-six-year-old William G. Horner, of 8013 Bank Street Road, allegedly shoved and kicked deputies when they tried to arrest him around 8:30pm Saturday based on reports that Horner had chased someone with a knife earlier that night. Horner was charged with second-degree menacing, resisting arrest and two counts of second-degree harassment. He was sent to Ontario County Jail on $1,000 cash bail.

Lt. Eugene Jankowski, acting police chief in Batavia, told The Batavian this afternoon that he believes he is no longer a candidate for the vacant police chief's job.

"They've conducted the final four interviews without me," Jankowski said.  "I'd say I'm pretty much out of the running."

Jankowski said when he was told he didn't make the final four, he filed a written appeal, but since he hasn't been interviewed, he believes that appeal was rejected.

"It’s not over yet. Anything is possible. I’ll be in my position for several more weeks yet. I’m going to stay on and continue to work as I have been."

It's possible, he said, that none of the four remaining candidates will receive nor accept an offer, in which case he might still have a shot.

But it doesn't sound like he's holding his breath. 

He said he's sad that he didn't get the job, but he's proud of his 30 years of service to the city and vows to support whomever gets the job.

"I'm still very passionate about my profession, enjoy my job, enjoy helping people and plan to stay on for five or six more years, as long as I’m able, as long as I’m in good health I’d like to stay," Jankowski said.

Check out WBTA for these and other stories:

• After ten interviews over the phone, four candidates for the position of city police chief will come in for personal interviews with City Manager Jason Molino, who told WBTA that he hoped to have the position filled within the next month. Meanwhile, an ad was posted this week for a new fire chief.

• "A Batavia couple has separate cells in county jail this morning," says Dan Fischer. Police say that 22-year-old Ryan Krupp took prescription drugs from his girlfriend's apartment.  She didn't like that he was arrested and got belligerent with police. Now, she's in jail, too. No mention of the charges.

Another day of sun and blue skies. Another day of running all over the city plugging in connections.

First stop: the Batavia Fire Department. Chief Larry Smith was kind enough to come out for a curt yet pleasant introduction. He passed me off to Sally Hilchey — officially the "senior typist" of the department, though it seems like she does a lot more than type. She'll be passing on any department updates to us, so expect instant communication from that side of the public safety duo. As for the other half...

Second stop: the Batavia Police Department (third time). Unfortunately, Lt. Eugene Jankowski was out on SWAT training this morning and couldn't yet green light my hopeful connection with the department. He should be back to me by late afternoon (I hope).

Third stop: back to City Hall. I'm still waiting to hear back from City Manager Jason Molino. In the meantime, I thought to stop by the Public Works department and see if we could get updates from them on construction and maintenance projects around the city. We'll have to get Jason's approval for that. So I tried to catch him in person, but he was tied up on a call.

Fourth stop: I couldn't drive by this sculpture another time without stopping by and getting the story. No one was home. Maybe we'll hear from the artist another time.

Fifth stop: Richmond Memorial Library. I met with Library Director Diana Wyrwa who was kind and helpful. Looks like we'll be getting regular updates from their corner. Plus, we will have the results of the library budget vote as soon as the ballots are counted. Look for that post tomorrow evening.