A portion of Main Street, Downtown Batavia, was blocked off by traffic cones this morning in advance of clean-up work by city crews along the street and sidewalk. The work is expected to take most of the morning.

Local artist Larry Buckley gave an oil painting demo Tuesday evening at GO ART! for members of the Batavia of Society of Artists.

Other events coming up for the society:

• Spring Show, opening reception 6:30 to 8 p.m., May 7, Richmond Memorial Library;
• Steve BonDurant, plein air demo and picnic at Kiwanis Park, 6 p.m., July 14;
• Joint event with Batavia Players at Jackson Square, free and open to the public, where the players will practice parts and also serve as models for artists, 6 p.m., Aug. 11;
• Kevin Feary, oil-graisalle demo, Sept. 8;
• Brian Kemp, acrylic abstract demo, Oct. 13;
• Dennis Wood, perspective drawing, Nov. 10.

For more information on the Batavia Society of Artists, e-mail bsa.bataviasocietyof artists@gmail.com.

Batavia boys beat Brockport 79-62 Tuesday in a track meet at Van Detta Stadium. The girls won 84-45.

Activity is picking up on the muck this week as onion growers finally have suitable conditions for planting. One onion grower told us yesterday that ideally, growers like to have all of April to plant and they're getting a late start this year, but they should still get all of the fields filled with seeds and seedlings by May, if the weather holds.

New York Times: Abraham Lincoln, the One President All of Them Want to Be More Like

A semi-truck is said to be tipping over on Akron Road, Pembroke. Unknown cargo. Law enforcement is responding.

A car vs. semi-truck accident with injuries is reported at Oak Street and Richmond Avenue. City firefighters and Mercy medics are responding.

Oral arguments in the latest appeal of Scott Doll's murder conviction were heard by Judge Robert C. Noonan this morning in Genesee County Court.

Timothy P. Murphy represented Doll and ADA William Zickl represented the people.

Murphy's appeal is based on a few key points:

• There was no "emergency doctrine" need to transport Doll from Pembroke to the Sheriff's Office on Park Road the early morning of Feb. 19, 2009 after Doll was found in blood-covered clothes and blood was found on his vehicle parked at North Lake Road and Main Road. Doll, Murphy argued, was taken into the custody, not just merely held in an attempt to find out if somebody was hurt and in need of help;
• There was no DNA evidence taken from under the fingernails of the murder victim, Joseph Benaquist. If there had been, it's possible the presence of a third party at the scene might have been discovered, which could have changed the outcome of the trial;
• The failure of Doll's defense attorneys, Paul Cambria and Dan Killelea, to raise these issues at trial constitutes incompetent representation.

Zickl countered:

• Doll's defense had every opportunity to raise these issues and did in fact raise these issues, at the trial level and through the appeals process and they lost on the rulings;
• The emergency doctrine does apply to the transport of Doll because the emergency continued unabated until the body of Benaquist was discovered;
• The transport was necessary because investigators felt certain that Doll was covered in human blood and even though they didn't yet know what happened, it was likely a crime might be discovered and the evidence needed to be secured, rather than letting Doll walk around in 10-degree weather;
• Because Noonan served as trial judge, he knows Doll received a vigorous, cogent and coherent defense that can hardly be characterized as incompetent;
• Even if DNA had been collected, and even granting for the sake of argument that a third-party presence might have established, that fact wouldn't have changed the outcome of the case. The evidence that Doll killed Benaquist is simply overwhelming and conclusive. Where Murphy argued that physical evidence indicates Benaquist was involved in a struggle against attackers, Zickl argued the evidence is clear that Benaquist was ambushed and had little opportunity to defend himself. 

Noonan said he should have a written ruling in about a week.

The Batavia City Council took a step back from a proposal aimed at spurring investment in vacant and abandoned residential properties.

Rather than send a resolution to state representatives asking for legislation to make a tax exemption for investment in such properties possible, the council asked that the proposal be brought back to a future conference meeting.

City Manager Jason Molino warned that with the legislative session under way and ending in June, a delay could decrease the opportunity for timely passage of the legislation.

Councilman Eugene Jankowski took the lead role in opposing passage of the resolution last night.

Jankowski said what little feedback he's gotten on the proposal from constituents is opposition to other homeowners getting a tax exemption not available to them.

He also said he would like to provide residents with more time to digest the proposal and provide feedback to council members.

Molino said the idea that current homeowners are missing out on something is a misunderstanding what the tax exemption is about.

The proposal would provide a limited tax exemption on select owner-occupied properties to offset the significant investment required to rehabilitate vacant and abandoned homes. 

The exemption would be graduated over a number of years, starting at 100 percent of the difference of taxes due on the increase in assessed value that would result from rehabilitation. The homeowner would still pay taxes on the original assessed value.

The exemption is called "gap financing" because it's designed to address the fact that it simply isn't financially realistic to expect somebody to invest tens of thousands of dollars to save a home that has limited value in a market not known for a rapid increase real estate values.

"We're trying to create a tool that attracts investment," Molino said.

The value of the tax exemption, Molino said, would be less than what the city would start receiving in water and sewer payments once the house was occupied again.

In some cases, it would return properties back to tax roles that previous owners have abandoned and allowed to go into foreclosure.

Councilwoman Patti Pacino pointed out that by saving these homes, it would help protect the home values of neighboring residents.

Both Jankowski and Councilwoman Rosemary Christian voted against a motion to suspend the rules for moving the proposal to the same night's business meeting. A rules suspension requires a unanimous vote to pass.

Monday evening, Batavia City Council presented its annual awards, including the Business of the Year Award to the New p.w. minor. Owners Andrew Young and Pete Zeliff brought some longtime company employees to the council meeting for the award presentation.

Ray and Patty Chaya received the Homeowner of the Year Award from Kathy Briggs.

Steven Grice was named Volunteer of the Year and received his award from John Canale.

Kerry Driscoll, a human resources clerk, was named Employee of the Year for the City of Batavia, and received her award from Eugene Jankowski.

Press release:

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office recently filled four vacant Correction Officer positions with the hiring of Eric T. Hayes, James M. Smart, Brett J. Peters, and Kevin P. Thomas. 

These four Correction Officers graduated in a class of 19 on Thursday, April 2, 2015, from the Erie County Basic Corrections six-week Academy that was held at the Erie County Training Facility. Speakers at the graduation were Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard, Genesee County Sheriff Gary T. Maha and Wyoming County Sheriff Gregory J. Rudolph.  Training at the academy included instruction in the care and custody of inmates, inmate supervision, defensive tactics, firearms training, and other topics pertaining to corrections.

Sheriff Maha stated, “Correction officers Hayes, Smart, Peters and Thomas will be great assets to the Jail Bureau and excelled at the Corrections Academy."

A vehicle found burning in a field off Bloomingdale Road, Basom, early yesterday morning, was stolen, according to Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster.

The 2002 Ford F150 pickup was stolen from a residence on Draper Road, Akron.

The fire was reported at 4:43 a.m. and the truck was completely engulfed by the time first responders arrived on scene.

The criminal investigation is being handled by the Erie County Sheriff's Office.

Alabama fire handled the call.

The Batavia City School district is not expected to meet the 95-percent mandated participation rate for the Common Core standardized tests that started today and continue into next week. A letter released from the office of Superintendent Christopher J. Dailey said the district could lose local control of the schools and the funding for teaching positions as a result.

“No one wants to see funding stripped from our schools,” said Brian Odachowski, a father of two daughters. “No one wants to lose teachers. But there is an obvious growing number of parents who are not buying into these standardized tests and Common Core as a whole.”

On Monday Night, Loy Gross, math tutor and co-founder of United to Counter the Core, met with a group of nine parents and three students to talk about testing refusal. The parents agreed that their kids are stressed out about the tests and none are participating.

Gross's 15-year-old daughter was taking college-level math classes and getting a 4.0 when she took the Common Core Regents math test last year. She only just passed. Gross pulled both of her kids out of school to homeschool them in September. “These tests are no good. They are designed for the kids to fail,” she said.

Eighth-grader Gabrielle Crespo said she doesn’t understand the material and doesn’t think she will do well on the exam.

“2x + dog = kitty poop. That’s what math is like in my head,” she said.

Crespo’s mother, Julie Bolas-Carasone, is frustrated that she can’t help her daughter do her homework.

“There is no material given to the parents to help,” she said. “The staff just tells us to ‘Google it.’ Google is great, but what about those of us who don’t have Internet access at home?”

Parents are not only frustrated because they can’t help their children, they are concerned that their children may not have reached the targeted cognitive level of the test. Common Core testing is also used to evaluate teachers across New York State and some people believe the educators are teaching in fear for their jobs.

“The kids can sense the fear from the teachers and it’s stressing them out,” Bolas-Carasone said. “Teachers are not teaching because they’re passionate.”

The Common Core tests are graded as a cut-score on the level of one through four. Three and four are considered passing grades. The school receives the results for each student, but according to parents, they do not receive the tests back. Parents voiced concerns of not knowing how to help their children succeed when they don't know where they struggled on the tests.

According to the New York State Education Department Web site, 2014 saw an improvement from the previous year. Statewide, math scores rose in levels three and four from 31.2 percent to 35.8 percent. English Language Arts went from 66.9 percent to 69.6 percent. The scoring represents proficiency level.

Parents at the United to Counter the Core meeting last night said they do not believe the test results accurately reflect their child’s proficiency.

“The only way to win this game, is not to play,” Gross said.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Water Department will be making repairs to a water main on Clifton Avenue near Ellicott Street on Wednesday, April 15th. This work may result in water service being interrupted in the areas of Clifton Avenue, James Street, William Street, and Ellicott Street near Clifton Avenue and Otis Street. Residents should be aware that temporary discoloration of water or low water pressure may result for a period of time while repairs are made.

A woman in a wheelchair is stuck in a wheelchair elevator at the rear of the property 316 E. Main St. City fire is responding.

UPDATE 1:08 p.m.: Problem resolved. City assignment back in service.

The number of incidents handled by Sheriff's deputies during the first quarter of 2015 reflect a 19-percent increase over the same time period of 2014, according to a department review delivered by Sheriff Gary Maha to county legislators.

There were more felony investigations; the jail population was down during the first quarter of 2015, according to Maha.

There were complicating factors during the first three months of the year.

Dispatchers handled more calls, medical expenses rose for the jail, and the department has operated with fewer deputies following some key departures.

Jail Superintendent William Zipfel said the jail population is older and substance abuse problems are more complicated, leading to increased medical expenses.

While there were only 11 female inmates during the first quarter, some of them were harder to place in area facilities that can handle female prisoners. Some jails don't want to take on some of the kind of substance abuse issues some inmates have, and while the local jail is careful to keep pharmacy expenses down, other jails don't necessarily seek out generic prescriptions for inmates with health problems.

Some female inmates have monthly pharmacy bills of $3,000 to $5,000 per month.

Deputies made 470 prisoner transports compared to 465 a year ago.

The department currently has six fewer deputies following retirements, a medical injury to one deputy and the death of Frank Bordonaro. The Crash Management Team is down an investigator.

Two more deputies may retire this year.

Three new deputies are in training and there are two background investigations under way for potential candidates.

As the number of calls for service keeps increasing in the county, Maha is considering a request for more personnel in the 2016 budget.

Since 2009, the number of calls in to the dispatch center has increased 38.8 percent. There were more than 75,000 calls in 2014.

The calls are increasingly complex and require more staff time to handle.

The department will likely need to add a senior dispatch position in 2016.

Deputies responded to 7,197 incidents during the first quarter, a 19-percent increase from a year ago.

There were 58 felony cases handled by investigators during the quarter, compared to 70 a year ago.

Investigations have grown more complicated with the rise of identity theft and computer fraud.

There is an increase in felonies committed by people outside of Genesee County.

Genesee Justice handled 145 release under supervision cases in the first quarter, significantly more than the typical 100 per quarter in previous years.

The department is dealing with more opiate addictions, which complicates supervision.

The DWI caseload has remained steady, the reports says.

By early this evening, the wind was whipping enough to really turn the blades on the windmills on Partridge Farms on Ellicott Street Road, Batavia.

There is a weather advisory in place until 9 p.m. There's a 90-percent chance of rain storms after 9 p.m.

The good news is, clear skies tomorrow, or so they say.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today called on the New York State Education Department (SED) to provide guidance to parents and school districts about the consequences of opting out of Common Core tests and what it could mean for future funding. Hawley said school districts are operating in the dark about what will happen as a result of a large number of students opting out of the upcoming Common Core tests, and that State Ed should provide more information so parents can make informed decisions.  

“I realize that Common Core is an increasingly controversial issue and thousands of students have already opted out of the tests,” Hawley said. “While I respect parents’ rights to opt their children out of the Common Core tests, I do not want them to make a decision that will negatively impact the funding received by their school districts. This is why I am calling on SED to clarify how opting out will impact schools’ funding. At this point, SED has created a complex situation where many factors are still undetermined. It is their obligation to provide direction to schools. SED has an equal responsibility to provide us with accurate information as to how funding will be impacted if a large number of students chose to forgo the state assessments this year.”

Common Core tests for English Language Arts begin tomorrow and Math Assessments begin later this month. In 2014, more than 100,000 students opted out of both the English and Math tests. Schools are required to maintain adequate yearly progress and show 95 percent participation in state assessments for grades three through eight to remain eligible for full Federal funding.

Members of the Batavia Area Jaycees and the Junior Jaycees joined forces Saturday to do a little community clean-up work along Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia.

Photos submitted by Cathy Colby.