batavia

As a little girl Krista Marie Robusto would watch her mom in Rotary shows and think, "Oh, gosh, I want to do that someday."

About 10 years ago, Krista was the lead of the Batavia Rotary's production of the "Wizard of Oz."

Now, Krista Marie -- just Krista Marie to her fans -- is living in Nashville and hitched to a rising star.

Tonight, her band, The Farm, plays at Frost Ridge Campground in Le Roy.

Krista Marie, Nick Hoffman and Damien Horne were friends in Nashville, all working professionally -- Krista pursuing a solo career and Hoffman toured with Kenny Chesney and Horne with John Legend. The three young artists decided to try writing some songs together.

Soon, their songwriting projects evolved into putting some serious thought into forming a band.

"When we finally decided to be a group we looked at each other and said, 'OK, we've got to be all in,' " Krista said. "We said, 'we're going to be betting the farm.' That was the little bell that went off and we said, 'OK, betting the farm,' and that's it, The Farm."

The Farm was signed with Warner Brothers and they were off and running. The first song the trio wrote together, "Home, Sweet Home," became the band's first hit single.

The last three years have been filled with nearly nonstop touring, and though The Farm has played two gigs in Rochester, tonight is The Farm's first shows "inside the county lines," as Krista put it.

"I'm super excited," she said.

"Every time I come home I absolutely remember how lucky and how grateful I am to be from Western New York," Krista said. "The people are great. The food's amazing and it's just really awesome. I'm really, really proud to be a hometown girl from Upstate New York."

Krista grew up in Alexander and attended Alexander Central School through 10th grade before starting home school. Her mother and father owned and operated Pat's Meat Market in Batavia. They were both musicians and performers and Krista's father was an internationally acclaimed accordian player.

All of those influences -- along with the Rotary shows, singing in church, dance lessons at That Dancing Place -- all pointed her in the direction she wanted to go, which is performing country music.

"If you're from here you know how country we are," Krista said. "I grew up riding and in 4-H and my dad was a butcher. I grew up riding horses, got into four-wheelers and motorcycles, and we have beautiful farmland up here. It's as country as it gets. I live in Nashville, Tennesee now and I'm always bragging on what awesome country we've got up here."

Krista is feeling pretty good about the trajectory of her career -- a career that started playing country music locally with Richard Fink and Johnny Cummings, including a series of summer-long gigs at Darien Lake Theme Park (she hopes The Farm can play there as soon as next summer) that helped her earn the money to buy her first motorcycle.

She said she's very grateful for Genesee County making her into the hometown girl she still is, even on any stage anywhere in America.

"I grew up with the Rotary shows and I grew up singing in church and I grew up riding and showing horses at the Genesee County Fair," Krista said. "I raced mini-stocks at the Genesee County Fairgrounds, so all of this is who I've become and it's a big part of who I am today."

The Farm takes the stage at Frost Ridge at 7 p.m., opening for Jerrod Niemann.

Krista Marie and her mother, Barb Galliford, with a school bell that was once belonged to Krista's grandfather (it may have been a school bell for a school in Batavia originally). It was a gift to Krista today from her family. Barb said, "Of course I'm proud of her, and my thing is whatever you do, try to do it well and with all your heart, and she's done that."

Press release:

Late August is considered the "Dog Days of Summer" and it also must mean it's time for the annual Petco Wiener Dog races. The popular event is once again part of "Family Fun Day" at the races, this Sunday afternoon (Aug. 25) at Batavia Downs with the dachshund race competition getting under way at approximately 4:15 p.m., after the completion of the live 11-race harness racing card.

Gordon, owned by Lindsay Ryan, is the two-time defending champion. He dead-heated with another wiener dog legend, Jake Arnold, in 2011 and then scored an extremely narrow win last year. He'll try to make wiener dog history by winning this event three consecutive years in a row.

There will be up to 10 heats with each winner scoring a $25 free play voucher to Batavia Downs Gaming. The heat winners then return for a championship race with the winning owner getting $100 in free play, second place gets $75 in free play while the third place finisher receives $50 in free play. The owners of the top three finishers will also get two complimentary buffets.

The first 70 entrants also receive doggie bags from the official sponsor of the Wiener Dog races, Petco of Batavia.

"It's a day we look forward to every year and judging by the size of the crowd we draw, so do our fans," said Batavia Downs General Manager of Live Racing Todd Haight.

Besides $1 Sahlen's hot dogs, soda, draft beer and snow cones, there will be free pony rides for the kids from 2-4 p.m. sponsored by Castilone Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep of Batavia, along with appearances by Pringles The Clown and Mr. Scribbles.

The live harness racing action begins at 1:15 p.m. Admission and parking is free.

A trooper assigned to Troop A-Batavia died of a heart attack Friday while attending a conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

William P. Keane, a 26-year veteran of the State Police, was assigned to the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit and was attending a commercial vehicle safety conference.

Prior to join NYSP, the 56-year-old Keane served in the Navy for four years.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon, his seven children and his five grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Tonight at T.F. Brown's I met Howard Johns, who retires after five more days of work from a 43 1/2-year career at Graham's. Johns was at Brown's with a group of coworkers celebrating his career as a set-up helper, supervisor and manufacturing engineer. Pictured with Johns, at the front of the picture are, from left, Justin Stramitis, Carrie Bell, Pete Corbelli, Pete Brade and Steve Censak.

A picture of the marquee under the Oliver's Candies sign has been making the rounds on Facebook. Is "Molly Pops" a mistake, people want to know.

It is not.

A molly pop, according to general manager Jeremy Liles, is a "peppermint molasses sucker covered with chocolate." And he adds, "Very good stuff!"

That's a nominee for understatement of the year.

I stopped by late today to get a picture and as I left, an Oliver's employee offered to let me take a sample sucker.

I took my first bite as I walked through the parking lot toward my truck. I immediately turned on my heel and headed back into the store. I bought a package of eight. Tonight, I shared one with Billie. She insisted that I share the rest.

"It's terribly delicious," she said.

Batavia Motor Speedway on Harloff Road is hosting a national ATV race that has brought racers to the track from all over the United States, including world record holders.

Racing started Friday and continues on Saturday, with the first race at 11 a.m. and main races starting about 4 p.m. and the professionals expected to take to the track for pro-only races at about 9 p.m.

If you saw Lt. David Morales walking down Main Street in Downtown Batavia this afternoon you might have wondered why a man in uniform with a badge and a gun was walking to-and-fro with a television antenna in his hand.

If you happened to be walking behind him as he searched for an elusive "beep, beep, beep," your mind might have flashed on an image of an old-time dowser plying a divining rod over sun-parched desert sands.

If you were David Morales, you might have felt like you were searching for a needle in a haystack.

Morales is a cop with the Veteran's Administration. At the VA hospital, Alzheimer's patients wear ankle bracelets that emit an AM-band radio signal so that if the patient wanders off, it might be easier for VA police to location the patient.

Each bracelet is coded with its own frequency. The device used by Morales today can be programmed to listen for the beeps on that specific frequency.

One difficulty is, other systems can emit tones on the same frequency.

"This device, as far as on the VA campus, is very useful," Morales said. "It's a big area and it's mostly wooded. Outside the base, in a city environment like this, we get a lot of interference. It can be from vehicles wtih powerful radios emanating strong signals. The police station, for example, that can have a strong signal for us, and as you know from walking with us, we hit on the Verizon building and we hit on one other location for whatever reason. Those are the handicaps we can run into."

Morales was called to the city today because a 78-year-old man from Livonia with advanced Alzheimer's Disease had gone missing. His wife told police the man was wearing an ankle bracelet that emitted the very kind of radio signal Morales is trained to track.

Because Det. Pat Corona had been in a training class on law enforcement response to events involving Alzheimer's patients with the local VA Police Chief Mike Messina, Corona knew the local VA had a receiver for AM-frequency tracking signals. It would have taken the Sheriff's Office in Livingston County an hour to get a receiver to Batavia PD, which Corona, from his training, knew could be a critical amount of time to wait.

"Finding people affected by Alzheimer's or dementia quickly is critical," Corona said. "It's not like a typical missing person. You have to bring all of your resources together quickly because history has shown that very quickly they get into a situation of distress. Typically they don't go very far. They try to get into a secluded area and secrete themselves so they can't be found. A lot of times they don't respond. If you call to them, they don't respond, so you have to act quickly."

The search for Robert Tutt started about 1:45 p.m. when his wife came into the police station and said her husband had gotten out of the car while she was stopped on Jackson Street at Main Street.

Tutt crossed Main Street and headed north, which is when his wife lost track of him.

Nearly all of Batavia's patrol units were dispatched to help search for Tutt along with troopers for the State Police and deputies from the Sheriff's Office. The State Police dispatched a helicopter to assist in the search.

Corona learned from Tutt's wife about the ankle bracelet and was able to find out the frequency set on the bracelet, so he called Messina at the VA to see if the VA could help.

Morales responded and the search started at Main and Jackson.

Almost immediately, Morales picked up some sort of signal, but it was indistinct and hard to pinpoint.

He let Corona listen through his headphones. They then entered City Centre, but the signal faded.

The two men then headed east on Main Street, with Morales making periodic stops to point the antenna this way or that and listen for the beep-beeps he hoped to hear.

The possible signal Morales thought might be lurking in the neighborhood led him and Corona down Center Street. It grew stronger, but it wasn't the clear beep-beep Morales wanted to hear.

At Jackson and School streets, Morales learned that Verizon has a building that straddles the block between Center and Jackson.

That explained the interference he was getting, he said.

After checking Jackson Square, which is a logical place where an Alzheimer's patient might try to hide, Corona and Morales headed north on Center over to Bank Street and down to Washington Avenue, where they turned left.

As they headed down Bank, a reporter asked Morales if the ankle bracelet has a battery and if it needs to be periodically charged.

It does.

Corona radioed to the police station and learned that Tutt's braclet was last charged on Monday, but without knowing the brand and make of the bracelet, Morales had no way of knowing if the battery could already be dead.

The battery's in the bracelets at the VA can keep a charge for two or three months -- they are serviced every 30 days.

After getting to State Street, Morales explained to Corona that they needed to head back in the other direction.

Because the radio signal carries only two miles, a search needs to be conducted in a grid fashion -- the search goes so far in one direction and then tries the opposite direction and then will head to the next grid space if no signal is found.

About this time, a reader of The Batavian -- which had posted information about the missing man at the request of Batavia PD -- reported seeing somebody who might have matched the description on Elmwood Avenue (near Kibbe Park). It didn't take long for Corona to learn it wasn't Robert Tutt.

When Morales and Corona reached Ross Street, Morales turned south. About halfway down the block he picked up a faint signal. He turned the antenna toward a large white house across the street. Corona noted that there was plenty of area behind St. Joe's that might attract an Alzheimer's patient looking for someplace to hide.

The men crossed the street.

In a side yard, Morales let Corona listen to the signal. The signal strength was 80 percent, Morales said, and was clearly coming from the house. He said it was probably a false signal.

Corona knocked on the door and a man answered and said he hasn't seen anybody matching Tutt's description. He checked a side door that could possibly be unlocked and leads to a vacant room and he also checked the garage door and a travel trailer that was unlocked, but Tutt wasn't there.

As Morales and Corona left the house, dispatchers informed Corona that Tutt had apparently been located at the Department of Social of Services office.

Without confirmation, the search for that all important beep-beep continued. Morales and Corona crossed Main Street and once they did, Corona was informed the man at DSS was indeed Tutt.

Tutt would be transported to the Batavia PD station. Corona learned, and Morales wanted to go there and confirm, that if they had gotten within a close enough distance to Tutt, the receiver would have worked.

At the station, Morales showed a reporter the signal he was picking up from Tutt's ankle bracelet. The signal was at 99-percent strength. If Tutt had stayed in the downtown area, he would have been located.

How Tutt made it all the way out to the DSS office on East Main Street isn't clear. Logically, it doesn't make much sense that he got there on his own without being spotted along the way.

"He can't help us with that," Corona said. "He has no idea how he arrived there. All security at the county building knows is he walked through the front doors.

It seems to be a long distance for him to have traveled on foot and not be seen, especially with everybody we had looking for him," Corona added. "It seems to me like logical place if somebody had contact with a disoriented person that it might be where they would take that person, but we don't know and he can't help us."

The only thing we know is that Tutt was reunited with his wife and after a brief discussion with police they continued on their way.

Top photo: Morales and Corona at Main and Jackson.

On Center Street

Between buildings on School Street, heading toward the Verizon building.

Checking an area that would be potentially attractive to an Alzheimer's patient.

In Jackson Square

Heading north on Bank Street

In front of a house on Ross Street that was emitting a matching signal.

Morales let's Corona listen to the signal he was hearing.

Near the end of the search -- Tutt was already potentially located at DSS -- Morales and Corona prepare to cross Main Street. If Tutt hadn't been located by this point, Corona was going to set up a command center at the police station and Morales would widen the area of the grid search by vehicle.

A car versus motorcycle accident is reported in front of Scooter's restaurant on West Main Street in the Town of Batavia. An officer on scene reports everyone involved is "up and walking around." There is one minor hand injury on the motorcyclist. The officer says there's no need for Town of Batavia Fire Department. Mercy medics are responding non-emergency, to get a sign off.

"He dumped his motorcycle and there's some small laceration to his hand," says the officer on scene.

Batavia PD is asking for the public's help in locating a man with advanced Alzheimer's who is missing in Downtown Batavia.

He went missing on Jackson Street, but may have wandered over to City Centre.

The subject is described as a black male with white hair about 5' 8" tall wearing blue jeans and a sleaved shirt with a blue stripe.

The man is not from the area. He is wearing a tracking braclet on his ankle, but the equipment needed to work with it is not in Genesee County. It is being transported here at this time.

Multiple law enforcement units from the city and county are searching the area. A helicopter may be dispatched.

If you see this individual contact Batavia PD at 345-6350 or 9-1-1.

UPDATE (By Billie) 2:58 p.m.: He was last seen on the north side of Main Street by the Showtime Movie Theater sign.

UPDATE 3:06 p.m.: A faint signal from his tracking device can be heard by authorities in the area of the mall. They are checking inside.

UPDATE 3:13 p.m.: A City Police officer is going to the State Police hangar to join helicopter personnel to scour the center of the city from the air.

UPDATE 3:26 p.m.: A light-skinned black male matching the description was located by a citizen on Elmwood Avenue. Officers are en route.

UPDATE 3:28 p.m.: Meanwhile, officers are told to check shrubs and hedges. A tracker from Livingston County just arrived at the Police Station to join in the search.

UPDATE 3:36 p.m.: It was confirmed that the guy on Elmwood Avenue is NOT the person they are searching for. The Alzheimer's patient is a dark-skinned black male.

UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: The missing man's ankle tracking device is not GPS-related. Rather it is an A.M. radio signal. Batavia PD obtained the signal for the device and a receiver operated by Lt. David Morales of the VA was deployed.

UPDATE 3:37 p.m.: It is confirmed that the subject has been located at the Department of Social Services on East Main Street.

UPDATE 3:55 p.m.: The subject is being taken to the police station to join his family.

Here at The Yngodess Shop we are celebrating 1 1/2 years of business already! Thank you to all of our new friends and many old ones, too! Cheers!
The Yngodess is located at 73 Main St., in Batavia. 585-343-3170.

Dana Bowen and his dog Jake were out for exercise on Bank Street this morning on another beautiful day in Batavia. The seven-day forecast indicates we should expect more of the same, though slightly warmer.

The YWCA is sponsoring a Stiletto Walk on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in the City of Batavia, and to help promote the event, some local community leaders showed up this morning at the Y for a photo.

Men need not wear high heels (though local photographers encourage it) for the walk. Women are encouraged to wear any kind of women's footwear, even pink tennis shoes.

The event is aimed at raising awareness about domestic violence and costs $28 for the walk and supper afterward (or $20 just for the walk, or $8 just for the dinner).

To register visit ywcagenesee.org or call (585) 343-5808.

Pictured from left, David Boyce, Linsey Vallett, Det. Rich Schauf, Chief Shawn Heubusch, Sgt. Greg Walker, Jim Fulmer, Sgt. Dan Coffey and Cindy Earl.

The First Presbyterian Church, 300 E. Main St., Batavia, is hosting a community clothing and household item giveaway Sunday and Monday.

Donations are still be accepted today. Organizers are looking for clean, gently used clothing and household items such as towels, bedding, curtains, tablecloths and throw rugs.

There's always a need for donations of clothing for infants, boys and girls, and for men and women, shoes, sneakers, purses and hats, plus winter clothing for children and adults.

Donations can be brought to the church today from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m.

Items that cannot be left include large items, furniture, appliances and similar items.

For those who need to receive such donations, the giveaway is from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday.

Press release:

Phase 1 of the Cedar Street road reconstruction will be starting on Monday Aug. 26. Cedar Street will be closed to traffic from Edward Street to the north side of the Genesee County Highway Dept. drive. A traffic detour will be in place directing traffic around the project via Harvester Avenue. This road closure will be in place for approximately five weeks.

NOTE: I spoke with Guy Clark at Cedar Street Sales and Rental. His shop will remain open and accessible throughout the reconstruction process. He also said, "look for some fun events" during the next five weeks.

Latoya D. Jackson, 27, of 112 State St., Batavia, is charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17, assault 2nd, and assault 2nd (recklessly causing serious injury with a weapon). Jackson was allegedly involved in a fight at 121 Liberty St., Batavia, in which she injured two people with a knife at 8:39 p.m., Monday.

Dustin W. Bogue, 31, of 109 Oak St., Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, criminal contempt, 1st, harassment, 2nd. Bogue is accused of violating a no-offensive-conduct order of protect.

Michael S. Lytle, 24, of 11 Wood St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd, for allegedly violating an order of protection.

Raymond Paul Meshlovitz, 34, of Main Road, Corfu, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 4th, and unlawful possession of a prescription form. During a search of his residence by probation, Meshlovitz was allegedly found in possession of brass knuckles, a switchblade knife and prescription forms.

Jacob Duane Defisher, 17, of Roanoke Road, Pavilion, is charged with petit larceny. Defisher is accused of stealing money from Darien Lake while employed there.

Amanda Marie Bowles, 28, of Williams Street Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Bowles is accused of shoplifting from Walmart.

Tammy L. Draper, 46, of 22 Porter Ave., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. Draper is accused of making obscene gestures and yelling obscenities while on State Street at 3:39 p.m., Saturday.

Landrea D. Wroten, 41, of 5 Dellinger Ave., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Wroten is accused of stealing a friend's purse.

Cody D. Cutitta, 26, of 5 Fairmont Ave., Batavia, is charged with aggravated harassment and disorderly conduct. Cutitta is accused of standing in the middle of Fairmont Avenue and swearing at 2:15 a.m. He's also accused of making threats by phone.

Nicola Marchesoni, 53, of Hamilton Street, Albion, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs, unlawful possession of marijuana, failure ot keep right and moving from lane unsafely. Marchesoni was stopped at 9:20 p.m. Tuesday on Quaker Hill Road, Elba, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Craig M. Lawson is indicted on one count of assault in the second degree, a Class D felony. The indictment accuses Lawson of hitting another person with intent to cause serious physical injury. Lawson allegedly hit Jason McNeil following the Kid Rock concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on July 5. McNeil suffered a serious head injury when he fell to the ground and remains hospitalized at ECMC. Lawson, a Canadian who was originally arrested on a misdemeanor charge, is out of jail on $1,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the felony charge Sept. 3.

Felipe R. Fernandez is indicted on a count of aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree.  Fernandez is accused of driving a motor vehicle on May 8 in the Town of Batavia while knowing that his license to operate a motor vehicle was revoked with 10 or more suspensions.

Hector A. Leon-Figueroa is indicted on a count of criminal possession of marijuana in the third degree, a Class E felony. Leon-Figueroa is accused of possessing more than eight ounces of marijauna March 10 on the Thruway in the Town of Bergen.

Jimmy T. Garcia Jr., is indicted on a count of grand larceny in the fourth degree. Garcia is accused of of stealing $3,010 sometime between Aug. 24 and Aug. 29 in the Town of Batavia.

At Monday's meeting, the City Council rejected on a 6-2 vote a plan to spend $35,000 to build a dumpster enclosure on School Street.

City administrators have been looking for a way to clean up the collection of dumpsters used by nearby businesses and sought approval to use VLT money (money from slot machines at the Batavia Downs Casino) for the project.

Council members said that money should be spent elsewhere or saved.

"That money should be used for other things," said Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian, "like reducing our budget or the fact that we need new sidewalks or resurfacing our city streets, just helping our taxpayers all the time instead of businesses all the time. And I have nothing against businesses, but nobody helped me pay for a dumpster."

Pier Cipollone also said taxpayers should benefit from the VLT money, not private businesses.

"The VLT money will end up in the budget," Cipollone said. "It will end up in a contingency fund that will offset sidewalk construction, infrastructure improvements which would, in the end, decrease the tax levy."

City Manager Jason Molino agreed to try and rework the enclosure to reduce its cost by $10,000 eliminating any direct contribution by either business owners or taxpayers.

The measure defeated Monday night also called for spending $30,000 to mill and resurface the parking lot around the proposed dumpster enclosure.

(Based on story by The Batavian's news partner, WBTA.)

A traffic stop initiated by members of the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force has led to the arrest of a suspected drug dealer who was allegedly found in possession of 55 individual packets of heroin.

Jarett J. Locicero, 23, of West Main Street, Batavia, was also allegedly found in possession of marijuana and $1,085 in cash.

Locicero, who was driving a 2002 Mitsubishi, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, a Class B felony, criminally using drug paraphernalia, 2nd, and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Following arraignment in City Court, Locicero was jailed without bail.

Assisting with the arrest were uniformed deputies and state troopers.

Heading home tonight, I came upon these three young ladies out on Ganson Avenue practicing their cheer routine. Tryouts for the JV cheer squad at Batavia High School are this week and they're leaving nothing to chance. Pictured are Taylor Smith, Mikey Lullo and Chloe Rapone.