batavia

There is dry ice and water available at the fire hall on Evans Street.

The National Grid workers handing out the dry ice advise that you should bring a cooler with you. If you don't have a cooler, bring blankets to wrap the ice in. If you don't have a cooler, you need to be prepared to drive home with your windows open because of the CO2 the dry ice emits. When you get the block, you need good winter gloves to handle the ice.

The crew was also told they should expect to be back at the fire hall tomorrow, which sounds like a sign that National Grid expects a lot of people to still be without power through tonight.

There are still nearly 100 locations in Genesee County with reported power outages affecting thousands of National Grid customers, but several outages should be repaired by this afternoon, including much of Stafford and Bethany and the west side of the Town of Batavia.

National Grid reports that power has been restored to the Village of Le Roy, though a couple of small outages remain in the area of the village.

The major outages in the City of Batavia, including Morton and Central avenues, and State Street as of yet have not ETA for repair.

There are still 615 outages reported in National Grid's service area in WNY, leaving 26,790 customers without power. Immediately after Wednesday's windstorm, there were nearly 100,000 customers without power.

To help residents without power, National Grid is supplying bottled water by the case and dry ice at City Fire on Evans Street. Dry ice was just delivered to the station, twice the amount delivered yesterday, which was all scooped by within an hour.

The dry ice at city station is available now (as of 10:50 a.m.)

Batavia High School's performance of "Hairspray" has been canceled for tonight. A 7:30 p.m. show has been added for Sunday.

Top photo: submitted by a reader. Bottom two photos, I took on State Street while out trying to find a National Grid repair crew working in the city (I didn't find one.)

Press release:

Batavia City School District’s Jackson Primary School staff looks forward to welcoming its new kindergarten students for 2017-2018!

Registration for children eligible to begin kindergarten in the 2017-2018 school year starts Monday, March 13.

Parents/guardians are asked to register their eligible child(ren) by May 25 in order to assure a screening appointment in early June and a placement letter by early August.

Children who will be 5 years old on or before Dec. 1, 2017, are eligible.

Registration is at the District’s Business Office, located in the administration wing of Batavia High School (260 State St.), on school days between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

To register a child, parents must bring:

-- Proof of Residency as evidence of physical address, which must be two (2) of the following: (We will make copies for our records.)

• Mortgage statement/lease
• Electric or gas or bill
• Water bill
• Cable bill
• Letter from attorney/realtor on their letterhead with confirmation of address and anticipated moving/closing date.
• School tax bill
• Current payroll check

--  the child’s birth certificate,

--  the child’s Social Security card, and

--  the child’s complete immunization records.

 Kindergarten screening appointments will be scheduled for June 6-8, and placement letters will be mailed the first week of August. In addition, parents/guardians will be notified of an evening orientation for themselves.

Parents of all new students to the District are also asked to register their child in the Business Office with the same documentation.

Current 2016-2017 UPK students will be provided with information to complete for registration into kindergarten by mail.

If you have questions, please call the Business Office at 343-2480, ext. 1002.

Press release from the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management Services:

To address concerns regarding non-emergency storm needs, call the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management Services at 585-344-0078, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

At this time, there is no confirmed time for restoration of power to various areas. National Grid estimates 90 percent of restoration by midnight tomorrow (March 10) and 99 percent by midnight on Saturday.

An Emergency Shelter was established starting at 5 o'clock tonight at the Batavia Veterans Hospital, 222 Richmond Ave., Building #4, Batavia.

Two warming shelters will be open in Batavia at 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Friday: the Salvation Army, located at 529 E. Main St.; and the Genesee County Office of the Aging, 2 Bank St.

If you're trying to read the tea leaves on whether JCPenney's in Batavia will be among the 130 to 140 stores the company will close this year, this list of underperforming locations might be of interest.

Batavia is not on it.

But that means nothing. There are only 39 stores listed.

The list was created and released by Morningstar Credit Ratings.

The Batavia VA, 222 Richmond Avenue, will open an emergency shelter for county residents for tonight starting at 5 p.m.

Dennis Schafer, with National Grid, carries a case of water for Carol Marriott, of Pembroke, to her car for her outside the City of Batavia Fire Hall this afternoon.

National Grid set up a station at the fire hall this afternoon to provide water and dry ice to residents. Schafer said the delivery of dry ice was late, but once it was there, they were out within an hour.

He said he expects a delivery of twice as much dry ice tomorrow. He hopes the dry ice is delivered by noon.

There's still plenty of water and National Grid will be at the station until 5 p.m.

For most of the county that is out of power, National Grid doesn't expect power to be restored before 10 p.m. tomorrow.

Press release:

In response to citywide tree damage, the City of Batavia Yard Waste Recycling Station on Law Street will open its normal spring operations beginning tomorrow, March 10, and remain open until further notice. The station’s hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. 

Please be aware, only green matter is accepted at the station, (i.e., grass clippings, leaves, branches and twigs). Items cannot be left in containers such as bags or boxes, and all containers used to transport yard waste must be removed – please do not leave them at the waste station. 

No construction debris, fill or other refuse/garbage will be accepted. 

In addition, the City is asking all residents to move storm-related limbs and branches to the parkway in front of their property, being careful not to block storm water drains. City crews from the Bureau of Maintenance will pick up this material throughout next week. 

Please call the Bureau of Maintenance at (585) 345-6400 with questions.

National Grid appears to making progress on restoring power to its customers in WNY, but there are still more than 100 outages in Genesee County affecting more than 10,000 customers.

All of Le Roy and most of Stafford and Bethany are reportedly without power and there are 39 separate outages in the City of Batavia.

There are now more than 800 outages reported for National Grid in WNY, but the total number of customers affected has dropped to 68,000.

Le Roy High School has rescheduled tonight's musical, a performance of "Bye Bye Birdie." A performance has been added for 1 p.m., Saturday. Tickets purchased for tonight's show can be used for any remaining show -- 7 p.m. tomorrow, 1 p.m. Saturday and also at 7 p.m. Saturday.

RWC Bohn's on Clinton Street Road in Batavia is offering a series of discounted entrees this evening for residents without power (the restaurant was without power last night). The meals are $9.99 each and include strip steak, fish fry, broiled haddock, chicken parm, penne pasta with a bolognese sauce and fettuccine Alfredo.

UPDATE: The John Ferrara fundraiser at the American Legion in Le Roy tonight has been postponed.

Here are a couple of more pictures from readers of storm damage:

From Bob Jarnot of a tree down in Stafford.

Lilya Kotmel, a seventh-grader, sent in another picture from yesterday, this one on North Street.

A second warrant has been issued for a Batavia resident whom police believe was involved in an attack on residents on Central Avenue in October.

The new warrant is for alleged failure to register a change of address as a registered sexual offender.

Oliver Thomas was convicted of rape in 2009 and required to register as a Level 2 sex offender when he was released from prison.

From the alleged attack on Central Avenue, Thomas is wanted on charges of burglary, 1st, and assault, 2nd. 

Tips on his whereabouts can be called into police at (585) 345-6350 or the confidential tip line at (585) 345-6370.

Yesterday, we reported on the number of downed trees in Centennial Park and we mentioned coming across a couple cutting one tree into logs for firewood.

As we said, City Manager Jason Molino basically said, while not encouraged, the wood would eventually be taken to the yard waste station anyway where residents could claim it as firewood.

Police have just been dispatched to Centennial Park for a "suspicious condition." A person with a rusted black pickup truck is cutting wood.

There have been two calls tonight that suggest possible unauthorized people at the 7-Eleven at 505 E. Main St., Batavia. 

The first call was of three youths on bicycles who appeared to going in and out of the front door.

A second caller reports seeing people in the store with flashlights going on and off.

The 7-Eleven is closed because of a power outage in the area.

Late this afternoon, I swung by Centennial Park and found several downed trees or trees that had lost big branches. I also found one couple busy cutting a tree into logs.  

I spoke with City Manager Jason Molino about it and he said the city generally prefers that people wait until the trees are hauled to the yard waste lot on Law Street, but on a day like today, the city wasn't going to do anything to stop people from cutting up the trees in the park.  He said the priority for city crews today was keeping roads clear of trees and debris.

Superintendent Chris Dailey announced this evening that all schools in the Batavia City School District will be closed tomorrow as a result of today's windstorm.

Here are our photos from the fire at 404 S. Jackson St. this morning. At this point, we have no new information beyond what we reported this morning.

These are photos I took of some of the trees down in the city earlier today.

We've received several photos from readers. I'll post those as soon as I can. Keep them coming to howard@thebatavian.com or text (585) 260-6970.

I also have photos to post yet from the fire this morning, but I'm going to need to relocate to a place with electrical power (batteries running low) to get all those uploaded.

Top photo: Morton Avenue.

UPDATE 4:39 p.m.: There's a report of unknown type flames in area of 728 Judge Road, Alabama. Also, Julia Ferrini reports for us on Wyoming County Free Press that winds there have been clocked at 102 mph.

UPDATE 4:51 p.m.: It sounds like the Judge Road flames come from a garbage fire which the fire department will be putting out. There was also a car into a building at Leisure Timers; no injuries and Alabama fire is clearling that scene.

This photo and the one below, Central Avenue.

These two, in the Tully's restaurant parking lot.

A train derailment is reported at the railroad crossing at Donahue Road, Town of Batavia.

UPDATE 2:25 p.m.: I just returned from the scene. The train jumped the tracks in the area of the wastewater plant, about a mile east of Donahue Road. No injuries, no toxic spills.

NOTE: We are out of power at both the house and now the office (power at the house went out about two hours ago), which has hampered our ability to do updates. There are trees down all over the place. I've driven past a few that I didn't even bother to get pictures of. I've got pictures coming of trees down on Morton Avenue, Central Avenue (down at the roots, hitting a house) and behind Tully's restaurant two cars were hit by a downed tree, one was heavily damaged. There was also power lines down on Route 5 near the fairgrounds and a person was reportedly trapped in a car for a time with power lines on it. We have pictures coming of all this plus this morning's on South Jackson Street fire.

ALSO, Our friends at 13WHAM tell me gusts up to 71 mph have been recorded at the Rochester Airport. Also, if you have storm damage pictures to share, send them to howard@thebatavian.com or text them to (585) 260-6970. Let me know if you want your name included with the photo and include location information.

UPDATE 3:10 p.m.: We continue to hear reports of trees down and wires down all over the county. There is a tree down, but I didn't catch the location, that has caught on fire. Also a truck hauling a trailer had the trailer flip at another location. Route 63 from the city line to Galloway Road is closed because of power lines down. A tree reportedly hit the house, according to a reader, and it may be along 63 where the fire is in the tree.

UPDATE 3:27 p.m.: There are 615 power outages for National Grid customers in Western New York, affecting nearly 100,000 customers. There is close to 100 in Genesee County affecting more than 12,000 customers.

CSX crews are en route to a CSX freight train derailment in the vicinity of Donahue Road in Batavia. Crews and other CSX personnel will work with local officials to render any necessary assistance. The train derailed at approximately 1:15 p.m. today.

The number of rail cars involved in the incident is still being determined. There are no reports of any leaks or spills of any freight from the train, and no injuries to the crew.

The train was headed from Chicago to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The train has two locomotives and 29 loaded freight cars. The train is carrying a variety of freight including rubber gloves, dry goods, toilet paper, food products and furniture. One rail car containing black powder, which is characterized as a hazardous material, is also among the freight.

The cause of the incident is subject to investigation.

Also Route 98 in the city is being shut down, but not sure of which end. Also tree down on North Avenue near Naramore Drive, completely blocking.

UPDATE 3:51 p.m.: On Roanoke Road there's a tree down in a yard with power lines down. There's a person on location attempting to cut the tree despite the live wires and "he won't stop."

UPDATE 4:05 p.m.: One-vehicle rollover, believed with no injuries, on the Thruway overpass on Route 98.

UPDATE 4:10 p.m.: Center Street in both directions and School Street in both directions are being barricaded. National Grid has a prolonged repair in progress.

UPDATE 8 p.m.: Statement we received from Sen. Chuck Schumer's office:

“Our office is in close contact with Federal Railroad Administration and local officials in Batavia. Our thoughts are with those who were impacted by this derailment, and with the first responders currently on scene. While we don’t yet know why the CSX train derailed, Senator Schumer will work closely with FRA and other federal safety organizations to quickly get to the bottom of what caused this serious accident,” said Jason Kaplan, spokesman for Senator Schumer.

A structure fire is reported at 404 Jackson St. It's across from Jackson School. Multiple calls have been received. Flames are seen coming from the rear of the house, which has three or four apartments. City fire just arrived.

UPDATE 9:46 a.m.: This has gone to a second alarm. Alexander Fast Team is called to respond along with Elba and Town of Batavia. Mercy medics are to report to the school's bus loop to treat a patient with possible smoke inhalation. Command at the scene reports potential fire exposure problems to nearby property.

UPDATE 9:55 a.m.: The multi-family dwelling is next to Max Pies Furniture.

UPDATE 10:06 a.m.: Jackson School has been evacuated.

UPDATE 10:10 a.m.: A neighbor at the scene says four dogs also live at the house. Their status is unknown.

UPDATE 10:13 a.m.: A worker(s) from National Fuel just arrived.

UPDATE 10:22 a.m.: National Grid is on scene.

UPDATE 10:24 a.m.: Command asks a dispatcher to contact the city's Public Works department to see what can be done to improve water pressure.

UPDATE 10:36 a.m.: Students at Jackson School are being dismissed. Schoolchildren who use bus transportation are directed to the back of the school where they will be picked up by busses in about 15 minutes and taken to their appropriate stops.

UPDATE 11:04 a.m.: Jim Sanders, who was inside Max Pies Furniture when the fire broke out, said: "I walked out of the store because I seen smoke. So I walked around the building and I could see the fire coming out the whole back of the house. So I called 9-1-1. ... It wasn't more than a few minutes than the fire company arrived. They were putting water on our building (Max Pies) so it wouldn't catch ours."

UPDATE 11:20 a.m.: Five dogs perished in this fire. The loading area for the children to board buses was changed to the nearby Ascension Parish parking lot. Some children have been picked up or are waiting for buses/rides inside the parish rec hall.

UPDATE 11:26 a.m.: "Heard like a car going by, revving it's engine," said eyewitness Tim Balonek. "A heard a whoosh, a big whoosh. Then I looked out and the back window was totally engulfed in flames. That's when I called (for) the fire department. They already had trucks on the way."

UPDATE 11:41 a.m.: Interim Fire Chief Dan Herberger said the fire call came in shortly before 10 o'clock this morning and upon arrival firefighters found advanced fire and started an aggressive interior response. Subsequently, high winds prompted them to change to defensive tactics and crews were ordered out of the building. "(The structure) was a business at some point. So it's heavily cut up with additions. It makes it challenging." Max Pies store is only 10 feet away but suffered no significant damage. Two adults and one child made it out of the burning structure safely. "Unfortunately, five dogs perished," Herberger said. No firefighters or other people were injured; the person who was evaluated in the school bus loop for possible smoke inhalation was not transported to the hospital. Herberger said they called for the school to be evacuated as a precautionary measure. There was a lot of smoke blowing around. Witnesses said the school evacuation went smoothly; some children were scared and crying when they left and some parents appeared "a little freaked out," but things were handled calmly and orderly nonetheless. All bags/belongings were supposed to be left at the school.