(Laurie Oltramari)

Laurie Oltramari, new Batavia Business Improvement District director, has a passion for urban design and architecture.

Oltramari is currently the assistant BID director and has worked with the organization for three and a half years. She will replace Don Burkel, director of the BID, who is retiring, and take over as the new director at the end of July. 

She was offered the director position after submitting her application and being reviewed by the BID hiring committee. The committee was formed to give more than 50 applicants a fair shot at the job. The committee included members of the BID board and community members.

As the new director, one task she would like to accomplish is to reach out to the public for their input and let Burkel's contacts know her door is always open. According to Oltramari, you need community involvement for a city to be successful. 

"I want to continue on the legacy that Don has left and what's been done and what has worked," Oltramari said. "Just like when you do a business you need to reevaluate every year so that's what I plan to do."

Another component she thinks is important for Batavia is the BID's ability to manage and balance event planning, help business development, and foster "placemaking," which is a quiet movement that is inspiring people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Placemaking is a multifaceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces that capitalizes on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that promote people's health, happiness, and well being.

"You have to create a place where people want to be and you can't just flap down some papers and put on your facade and your good to go," OItramari said. "It comes down to details and that is where her urban design background comes into play."

Oltramari was born in Hornell and grew up in Belmont. Her father owned an excavating and construction company, which is the reason she has always loved architecture and design. She received her undergraduate degree from SUNY Geneseo in 1999 and master's degree in Architecture and Urban Design in 2003. 

Oltramari has lived in Batavia for nine years with her husband, Felipe Oltramari, director of the Genesee County Planning Department, and their two daughters. Batavia is very different from the small town that she grew up in.

"I like Batavia because it's very family friendly and safe," Oltramari said. "It has all the amenities of a big city without being a big city. There is a real level of comfort here and it's big enough that you don't run into everybody you know but when you do it's really special."

For the future of small business in Batavia, she thinks businesses have to bring out the community in people like they used to. Face-to-face interactions and personal customer service gives small businesses an advantage against Internet businesses.

"I think the biggest competition is the Internet and it's back to TV again," Oltramari said. "People are doing the binge watching of Netflix so they will stay in and have food at home instead of going to a restaurant like people usually do for entertainment."

Upcoming BID events include the Jackson Square Concert Series, Downtown Batavia Public Market and the Centennial Arts Fest.

Don't miss this open house - Sunday from 12-2.
Walk in and fall in love with all of the charm this quant, well maintained home is filled with. Many updates, with many of them being recent; new dining room, bathroom and floors throughout downstairs, new gutters, new thermal windows and deck etc. There's also a nice yard that is fenced in. All natural woodwork throughout. This home is in a great neighborhood and LeRoy schools are excellent! The price of this home was just drastically reduced as owners are motivated to sell. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Please feel free to call Matthew or Stacey Gabbey at (585) 734-5824 if you have any questions or we hope you will venture out on Sunday. 

Press release:

Genesee County and a number of its municipal partners this week released their New York State mandated efficiency plan, demonstrating a projected local savings of approximately $14.3 million for the years covering 2017-2019. Joining in with the County on the shared services initiative is the City of Batavia, towns of Alexander, Byron, Bethany, Darien, Le Roy, Pavilion, Pembroke and the villages of Corfu, Le Roy and Oakfield.

While the plan is a requirement of the recent New York State Property Tax Rebate program, local municipalities have been streamlining programs, cutting discretionary spending, and sharing services for decades, i.e., combined dispatch, snow and ice contracts; shared highway equipment projects and municipal workers’ compensation pools and youth services administration sharing, as well as the privatization of ambulance services, which saved the City of Batavia in excess of $2 million six or seven years ago.

The local municipalities have achieved the most notable savings recently through shared assessment and code enforcement functions, shared waste water facilities between the City and Town of Batavia, sharing of County Health Department functions between Genesee and Orleans counties, workforce reductions, privatization of refuse collection by the City and the anticipated sale of the County Nursing Home.

According to the program’s requirement, the efficiency plan will be submitted to the State Division of Budget so that homeowners are able to receive their rebate checks in the Fall of 2016.

“Compiling the efficiency plan has been a valuable exercise in self-assessment and a worthwhile review of the way we have operated over the past dozen years," said Genesee County Manager Jay Gsell. "As local leaders, we need to continue to communicate with our residents regarding the savings we have accomplished, the difficult decisions we have had to make to cut programs and staff, and our plans for redefining what our county and our partners in local government do.

"Unlike school districts in New York State who are also required to submit efficiency plans and live with the property tax cap, other local governments in complying with the four year old tax cap/levy freeze are unable to exclude long-term debt from the tax-cap mandate, which in turn resulted in two to three Genesee County municipalities being unable to participate in this Efficiency Plan as they will likely have to exceed the tax-cap percentage growth factor due to water district debt funding. The New York State Executive and Legislative branches need to level the playing field for tax cap compliance for all units of local government/public agencies.”

Counties across the state continue to provide and fund essential programs and services as mandated by the State, while also seeing revenue decrease with the property tax cap, flat or falling sales tax revenue, and rising costs for health benefits, materials and equipment and double digit New York State pension assessments. However, Genesee County government along with the surrounding local municipalities have found ways to continue providing these crucial programs and services even while funds decrease, as demonstrated in the jointly submitted efficiency plan.

The Smokin' Eagle BBQ & Brew in Le Roy kicked off a summer series Battle of the Bands on Wednesday night.

For each of the next 10 weeks, 10 bands will compete to move on to the next round. One band each Wednesday is playing from at least 8 to 9 p.m. (the period of judging, the bands may play longer).

The series kicked off with a performance by JP Shaggy, from Syracuse.

There will also be bands in the competition from the local area as well as Buffalo and Rochester, said Jimmy B, from Jimmy B entertainment, who is organizing the event with Smokin' Eagle co-owner Jon Marcello.

There is a panel of five judges. They will judge the bands on stage presentation, time management, sound quality, band synchronization, band enthusiasm, and attitude and audience response.

The top six bands move onto the semi-finals. Round 2 will be three weeks of two bands each week, top seed vs. bottom seed. 

The finalists will compete Sept. 19, which is a Saturday, from 2 to 10 p.m. That event will be a fundraiser for a charity yet to be selected. There will be other entertainment along with raffles and drawings.

JP Shaggy is Jason Krueger.  To find out more about him, visit his Facebook page.

Press release:

When Florence Colton saw a group of Genesee Community College students walking past her Bank Street home with a broken bicycle, she decided to give them a hand...or rather some wheels. Colton, who will be 70 on June 29, had two of her late son David's bicycles in her barn. The students helped her retrieve them and were delighted that Colton offered the bikes to them. GCC welcomes donations of working bicycles to help students get back and forth from campus to destinations in town for groceries, haircuts, clothing or recreation.

A recent forum between GCC students and Batavia area merchants revealed that one big hurdle preventing students from patronizing businesses in town is transportation. Downtown Batavia is about three miles from College Village, the residential community at GCC. Merchants on Veterans Memorial Drive are five miles away. Bus service is limited and walking is time-consuming.

"We have a collection of bikes that students can use and we even provide bike helmets purchased from Adam Miller's," said College Village Director John Sisson. "But because the bikes are generally reused from previous College Village student residents, some are not in the greatest condition. We'd welcome the donation of new bicycles or reused bikes in good working order. Our students definitely put them to use."

GCC houses more than 400 students at College Village. A number of them come from other countries, including Japan, France and Timor Leste. Students from these countries encountered Colton on a spring day.

"These kids were so nice and so polite," Colton recalled. "They commented on how nice my yard is."

Their predicament with the broken bike prompted Colton to offer the bikes that belonged to her son, David, who had passed away in December 2014.

"They were good solid bikes. I really didn't have any use for them and I knew David would like for somebody to have the bikes," Colton said. "And they [the students] were so happy and it just touched my heart that those were my son's bikes and these kids really appreciated these bikes."

The students posted photographs with Colton in social media under the hashtags #GreatDay and #CoolPeople.

"We were so happy to receive these bicycles," said Arsenio Ferreira, a student from Timor Leste. "We have been using them a lot."

The students continue a relationship with Colton, often stopping to say hi when they pass her home. Some have even offered to help her with the yardwork.

"I'm so independent," she said. "But I may take them up on it in the fall when it's time to rake leaves."

For Colton, the best part has been seeing her son's life touch others.

"It made me feel so good that David, through his mom, helped out these college kids," she said. "I just felt so blessed that they were such good kids and they could really use those bikes."

If anyone has bikes they'd like to donate to College Village, please contact John Sisson at (585) 343-0163 or JTSisson@genesee.edu.

College Village will accept bikes in good, working condition, but any bikes or bike parts received that are not in working condition will be donated to Trailside Bicycles located at 16271 Canal Road, Hulberton, NY in Orleans County, www.trailsidebicycles.com. Owner, Chris VanDusen hopes to one day help develop a program similar to R Community Bikes, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Rochester that collects and repairs used bicycles for distribution to needy families in the Rochester area. (Go to http://rcommunitybikes.net/ for further information).

Le Roy High School hosted a student Fine Arts Festival yesterday evening. Here are 12 photos from the event.

The premiere Pig Roast Motorcycle Ride of the Hogs and Heroes Foundation is Saturday, June 6, at the Alabama American Legion, 6554 Alleghany Road, Alabama.

Cost is $10 per person and includes food, fun and a great ride.

Proceeds will be divided, with half going to hospice care at Crossroads House, and half to the PTSD Clinic at the NY State Veterans Home.

Registration is from 10 a.m. to noon. Kick-stands up and ride begins at noon. Route is Alabama to Stan’s Harley-Davidson in Town of Batavia to Attic American Legion, back to Alabama.

There will be a basket raffle, 50/50 and a Prize Wheel.

Rain or shine. Come join the fun and bring a friend or two!

The June Cat Sale begins tomorrow, June 5th, at both the Genesee County Animal Shelter and Petco. Adoption costs are reduced by 50 percent for all cats a year old or older. Sale price is $20 per adult cat and includes an adorable feline over the age of 1, complete with a rabies vaccine, distempter combo vaccine, FIV/ FeLV testing, deworming treatment and flea treatment.

Anyone adopting a cat that's not already spayed or neutured will be also charged a $35 refundable deposit, paid back upon proof of surgery.

The sale runs through June 21.

According to ASPCA, each year about four million cats and kittens enter U.S. animal shelters. Open your heart and your home by taking advantage of this 50-percent-off adult cat adoption bonanza!

The county Animal Shelter is located at 3841 W. Main St. Road in the Town of Batavia. Petco is in Batavia Town Center shopping mall at 4226 Veterans Memorial Drive.

www.vol4animals.org

(585) 343-6410

Press release:

The Downtown Batavia Business Improvement District (BID) is sponsoring the 16th Annual Jackson Square Concert Series, each one is from 7 to 9 p.m. on Fridays, June 12th – Aug. 28th, in Downtown Batavia. Free to the public. Food and refreshments available. Rain Days at Batavia City Centre. Bring your own seating. More Info: Don Burkel at B.I.D. at 585-344-0900. Visit: www.downtownbataviany.com

The Jackson Square Concerts “ Friday Nights In The Square” will be featuring:

• Genesee Symphony (Friday, June 12th)
• Emerald Isle (June 26th)
• Fat City (July 3rd)
• Mitty & The Followers (July 10th)
• Penny Whiskey (July 17th)
• OHMS Band (July 24th)
• Ghost Riders (July 31st)
• Ghost Riders Drum & Bugle (July 31st)
• It’s My Party (Aug. 7th)
• Bluesway Band (Aug. 14th)
• John Cole Blues Band (Aug. 21st)
• C’est Bon Dance Band (Aug. 28th)

A Cessna airplane have landing gear difficulties needs to make an emergency landing at the Genesee County Airport, according to the FAA facility in Rochester. Town of Batavia Fire Department is dispatched to the airport in case they are needed when the plane lands. Only the pilot is aboard and the plane is carrying five hours worth of fuel.

UPDATE 12:39 p.m.: Mercy medics are also responding.

UPDATE 12:41 p.m.: "You will observe a low-flying plane approaching the runway," says a dispatcher. "They are trying to get the landing gear down manually." The airport is located at 4701 E. Saile Drive.

UPDATE 1:09 p.m.: The plane safely landed with all three landing wheels touching ground. Mercy medics are back in service, along with Town of Batavia. (There are three sets of landing wheels on the Cessna, in front, on left, and the right of the fuselage.)

Top photo is of the pilot and plane heading to the hangar. Photo above, seconds after a safe landing.

The Cessna passing over the airport for a visual inspection of his gear by ground crews.

The pilot with ground crew members looking over his plane shortly after being pulled into the hangar.

The pilot declined an interview request, but he could be heard telling a member of the ground crew when his cockpit door was first opened, "that scared the shit out of me."

The pilot, safe in the hangar. He was flying from Batavia to Rochester when he experienced a problem with his gear and returned to Batavia for a possible emergency landing. The gear functioned properly on landing.

Charlene Mess pled not guilty today in Wyoming County Court to the seven count indictment handed down by the Grand Jury. Mess is accused of murdering her husband Douglas Mess, April 19, at their farm in Attica. Douglas Mess was found dead April 20, following a missing persons report filed earlier that day. The 52-year-old farmer and Baskin Livestock employee was found stabbed, shot in the back of the head and buried under a pile of manure on the farm the couple owned and worked.

Charlene Mess is charged with murder in the second degree, a Class A felony; criminal use of a firearm in the first degree, a Class B felony; assault in the first degree, a Class B felony; assault in the second degree, a Class D felony; tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony; offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, a Class E felony; and making a punishable false written statement, a Class A misdemeanor.

“There are seven counts in the indictment, with the most serious charge of murder in the second degree,” said Wyoming County District Attorney Donald O’Geen. “The allegations contained that the murder was performed by Mrs. Mess with a small caliber, .22, weapon. The evidence revealed... The allegations are that Mr. Mess was shot in the back of the head. Mrs. Mess pled not guilty, which is typical at this state of the proceeding.”

Wyoming County Court Judge Michael Mohan set bail at $1 million cash or $2 million bond. It was stated that Charlene Mess sold all her livestock at a significant profit and therefore has the resources for the bail set.

“It is our understanding that those resources are tied up,” said Public Defense Council Greg Kilburn. “Mrs. Mess is a lifelong resident of Wyoming County, a graduate of Letchworth High School, is 48 years old, and has no criminal record. We submit bail to be set at $100,000.”

“Because of the possibility of the risk of flight,” Mohan said. “I will set bail at $1 million cash and $2 million bond.”

“With this type of case, the person, when they are facing life in prison, they are considered a very high flight risk,” O’Geen said. “Bail is about flight risk. I wanted to make sure that Mrs. Mess is where she needs to be until trial, which is hopefully in jail. However, she does have the opportunity to post bail and that would secure her attendance at future proceedings.”

It is alleged in the indictment that prior to shooting the victim in the back of the head with a .22 rifle, Charlene Mess struck Douglas Mess in the head and body with a pitch fork. It is then alleged that she tampered with physical evidence by attempted to hide the body by burying Douglas Mess in a pile of manure in the back of the family farm.

At this time, the DA’s Office does not know what happened prior to the murder.

“There is no indication that there was a domestic incident prior to this incident (the murder),” O’Geen said. “We do not know what happened prior to the events that took place.

“I want to state for the record that these are just allegations,” O’Geen said. “Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty of what they are accused of. We will find everything out in court.”

Both the DA’s Office and defense counsel will be in court at 9 a.m. on June 11 to argue a motion regarding the taking of a DNA sample from the defendant. Other motions made may be ruled on when the case resumes at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 6.

See related: Murder of Douglas Mess a big loss for Baskin Livestock 

See related: Attica woman charged with murder in missing man's death 

See related: Missing man found dead in Attica  

The Genesee Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce an addition to their 2015 concert series. They will perform free of charge at Jackson Square, Downtown Batavia, at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 12.

"This is a departure from our typical four-concert schedule," says Board Member Patty Hawley, "but not unheard of. The GSO has performed benefit concerts in the past."

While this is technically a free event goodwill donations will be gratefully accepted.

"Like any local nonprofit, the GSO depends on the support of local arts agencies and our loyal audience," Hawley says. "This is a way for us to reach out to people who may be unfamiliar with the GSO while raising some much-needed funds for programming." 

Greg Docenko, GSO's concertmaster, will conduct the orchestra through a series of popular tunes. The musical selections include: "Star Spangled Banner," "Gabreielli," "Blue Danube," "My Fair Lady," "Can Can," and Brass Group featuring Kevin MacLaud, Typewriter, Pirates of the Caribbean, "The Frog Prince," "Star Wars" Theme.

The GSO is also looking for board members to begin serving in August 2015. Terms are three years in length. For more information about this concert of how you can become a GSO board member contact Paul Saskowski at psaskowski@geneseearc.org. 

Some 1,270 customers are without power in the Darien Area, around Richley Road, but the cause has not yet been determined, a spokesman for National Grid said.

Stephen Brady said crews have been dispatched to investigate the issue and devise a repair.

A Genesee County dispatcher said there was no related emergency call that might help suggest a cause for the outage. Dispatchers have received several calls from residents about the outage. They know about it, but don't know why it happened and have no further information to provide to callers.

The incident has been reported as three separate outages.

We'll update this post with more information as it becomes available.

UPDATE 12:46 p.m.: Stephen Brady, spokesman for National Grid, said: "Stations and lines were re-energized at 11:24 a.m." There was a problem found with National Grid equipment on one of the utility's lines that caused a trip, he said.

(The Silver Solarium going through Batavia Wednesday morning. Photo taken by David P. Smith.)

Roy Wullich, Batavia native, traveled through the city from the West Coast on his deluxe rail passenger car, the "Silver Solarium."

The railcar passed through the area around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. It was attached to an Amtrak train, the Lakeshore Limited, and departed from Buffalo at 9:50 a.m. The charter originally started its journey in Los Angeles and has gone to Oakland and Chicago.

The Silver Solarium takes passengers aboard on train tours usually around the West Coast.

"It's rare that we get this far East," Wullich said. "Typically we go between Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, Seattle and Denver."

Wullich has his own private charter service company, Rail Journeys West. Several couples or families will book a tour and ride to different Western cities for vacation trips or special events.The deluxe railcar has several accommodations for passengers including a bar, lounge and sleeping space.

"It's like taking a cruise but your on a train," Wullich said. "So you have your own private chef and a steward."

The dome observation railcar was built in 1948 and a part of the Amtrak California Zephyr Train. After Amtrak retired the Silver Solarium in the 1980s, the railcar was sold to a private owner who then sold it to Wullich in 2002. He restored it to reflect its original 1940s appearance.

Wullich grew up in Batavia and has loved trains since he was a child.

"I have always had a love for trains," Wullich said. "It started out with a Lionel train set around the Christmas tree like all kids have and I went from there."

In high school he was a part of the Genesee Society of Model Engineers. He became interested in rail tours after graduating from St. Bonaventure University and working with a historical society that did rail tours in Buffalo. 

Traveling to Western New York on train tours is a not a common occurrence for him anymore. The Silver Solarium made a second trip through Batavia to head back to Albany late Wednesday evening.

This photo of black-crowned night heron was taken by Claudia along the Feeder Ditch on the Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area. The Tonawanda WMA borders the western perimeter of the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge while Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Area lies to the east. Together they compromise more than 19,000 acres of wildlife habitat that beckons to the springtime outdoor enthusiast, be it hiking, bird watching or nature photography. And so it was that Claudia and I spent several days this spring partaking of all three activities at the three locations.   

Our takeoff point for Tonawanda WMA -- facing west on the Feeder ditch.

The black-crowned night heron was hidden from our view by tall reeds as it stalked the shallows. Finally aware of our presence it made quite ruckus as it took flight, emitting several loud guttural squawks, literally one after the other.

Hard to say who was more startled, my wife and I or the heron. Anyway, as disturbed as it seemed to be, we were surprised when the heron alit in a tree and allowed us to take its picture.

It's that time of year when female turtles are making their annual trek to deposit eggs. This gal doesn't look so pleased with the delay, does she?

I really enjoy wild mustard greens and having come across an abundance of it atop one of the berms, the day's hike turned out to be a bit longer than planned.

A great blue heron perched atop wood duck nesting box

A great blue heron perched in the tree tops.....saw more blue herons on this day than ever before, most of which were on the wing.

A gust of wind reveals a red-winged blackbird's scarpular

To be sure, there is quite a history behind what the locals refer to as, "the Feeder Ditch."

A strong odor of natural gas at Batavia City Centre is reported and the city fire department is on scene investigating.

UPDATE 8:18 a.m.: National Fuel has been notified. No ETA given.

A 7-year-old girl had to run a half-mile to get assistance from an area farmer after the ATV she was riding in overturned and trapped the driver under the rollbar in an accident that occured at 6:50 p.m. near Colby Road, Darien, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The driver, James E. Lipinski, 52, of Richley Road, was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later by Coroner Karen Lang.

The child was a family acquaintance.

She and Lipinski had stopped a short time before the accident and visited with local farm owner Daniel Miller. Lipinski then drove off toward another field.

The ATV, a 2012 Polaris Ranger, was reportedly driving in a field along a wood line when it came down a slope. Lipinski apparently attempted a right turn. It's unknown if the Ranger came down the hill too quickly or if Lipinski attempted too sharp a turn, but the ATV overturned onto the driver's side. Lipinski was partially ejected and trapped under the rollbar frame of the Polaris.

After the accident, the girl ran to Miller's location and took him back the site of the accident. Miller called 9-1-1 and assisted law enforcement in getting to the accident scene.

It's unknown whether the girl was wearing a seatbelt or if she was also ejected. She appeared to have sustained only bumps and bruises.

Lipinski's remains were taken to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office by C.B. Beach Funeral Home, of Corfu.

The girl was transported by Darien Ambulance to Womens' and Children's Hospital in Buffalo for evaluation.

The Darien and Corfu volunteer fire departments assisted at the scene. Also assisting the Sheriff's Office were Officer Richard Retzlaff, Corfu PD, and a state trooper. 

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by Deputy Michael Lute, Deputy James Diehl and Investigator William Ferrando.

Mercy Flight is landing at a location off Route 33 in Stafford following a report of a car hitting a deer in the area.

A person was initially reported suffering a head injury.

Stafford fire and Mercy EMS are on scene.

UPDATE 10:19 p.m.: Mercy Flight is in route to Strong Memorial Hospital.

Bruce Reisdorf stopped at Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle today for some repairs while in Batavia as part of his "Tour de Empire." Reisdorf is riding from New York City to Niagara Falls to help raise money for diabetes research and education. 

In Niagara, Reisdorf will take part on the Tour de Cure, sponsored by the American Diabetes Association.

One reason he came through Batavia is his brother-in-law is Mike Easton, manager of the M&T Bank branch here.

You can find out more about Reisdorf and his ridet on his blog.

Also pictured, Adam Miller's owner, John Roche.