It's the first day of a new school year and the first day for Kia Evans as principal of Jackson School in Batavia.

Evans greeted students this morning with hugs and high fives. 

"I'm excited," Evans said. "This is what we do so I'm excited and I'm excited for the kids."

Evans grew up in Buffalo and started her career teaching in Buffalo. She taught for 10 years in Buffalo and Amherst and then became an assistant principal, working the past five years as an assistant principal in Williamsville.

Adner P. Davila, 62, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, was arrested Friday on a sealed indictment for allegedly selling cocaine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force and at the time of his arrest officers say they found more drugs and cash.

Davila was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, five counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and one count of criminally using drug paraphernalia. 

After receiving a sealed indictment against Davila, members of the Local Drug Task Force observed Davila driving in Batavia on Friday evening. A uniformed deputy initiated a traffic stop as he pulled into a parking lot. 

Once in custody, his car was searched and he was allegedly found in possession of 18 bags of cocaine and $439 cash.

Investigators then searched his residence and report finding cocaine, morphine, drug paraphernalia and more cash.

Davila was arraigned in both Town of Batavia Court and City of Batavia Court and ordered held without bail.

Additional charges pending lab results.

A reader sent in this picture that makes it look like a rainbow is being projected onto clouds.

After tonight's final home game of the 2017 season, we spoke with Brian Paris, president of the Genesee County Baseball Club, a community-based group that co-owns the Muckdogs with the Rochester Red Wings, for his thoughts on the season and the chances the Muckdogs will be back in Batavia for 2018.

The Muckdogs lost tonight to Auburn 6-3 in a game delayed by rain and attended by 494 fans on a night before school starts. The team is 30-44 and plays one last game in Auburn in a matchup that will determine whether the Muckdogs can avoid finishing in the cellar.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) called for Congress to immediately enact a permanent solution to address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program imposed by former President Obama and now rescinded by President Trump. 

In order to reach a quick resolution, Collins is cosponsoring H.R. 1468, the Recognizing America’s Children (RAC) Act, introduced by Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL). 

The RAC Act provides five-year conditional legal status to undocumented immigrants brought into the United States as minors if they obtain a higher education, maintain continual employment, or serve in the United States military. These individuals are eligible for permanent legal status if they continue to demonstrate good moral character, including maintaining a clean criminal record and staying off government assistance for five years.

“Nearly 800,000 minors were illegally brought into this country by their parents. President Obama superseded the authority of Congress by issuing an executive order that was a temporary patch and provided no certainty to these children,” Collins said. “President Trump properly rescinded the Obama DACA program which protected illegal immigrants without Congressional approval.”

Collins said many of the immigration problems the nation is now facing are a direct result of the porous borders under the Obama Administration when millions of immigrants illegally entered the United States, bringing their minor children with them.

Now, President Trump has referred the matter to Congress for legislative action and to send a bill to his desk to be signed into law that gives these young people, so-called Dreamers, certainty with permanent legal work status. At the same time, Congress needs to make sure our borders are secure.

“Just like President Trump and other members of Congress, I recognize that these young men and women were brought to our county illegally, with no fault of their own,” Collins said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to create long-term certainty for these individuals.”

Collins also said it was time for comprehensive immigration reform to address areas such as H-2A and H-2B visas granted to temporary farm workers. In addition, he said it was time to address the estimated 12 million illegal individuals in the country.

“I’m a strong supporter of comprehensive immigration reform that keeps our borders secure and allows farmers to access a willing and available labor force. We need to use this opportunity to address the larger immigration issues facing our nation but cannot award citizenship to adults that enter our country illegally. Labor from undocumented workers is critical to Western New York’s agriculture community and we need to give these individuals the ability to gain legal work status.”

For more information on H.R. 1468, Recognizing America’s Children Act, click here.

Nicole Shultz bought one of her daughters a chocolate lab puppy for her birthday and more than a day ago it got out and ran into a cornfield on Maltby Road in Oakfield.

The family hasn't seen the puppy since and is asking for help in locating it and getting it back home.

Shultz said people have told her they've seen the puppy in the area, but they haven't been able to subsequently locate it.

They've put up signs at different locations in the area and left trails of food to get her back home.

"We miss her dearly," Shultz said.

Shultz can be reached at (585) 813-8864.

UPDATED 8:34 p.m.: The puppy is back home. A farmer cutting hay in a field spotted her and the owners tracked her down and caught her and took her home.

Nick Cain talks with Batavia Middle School students today during Connect Day at the school, which is a time for new students, mostly incoming fifth-graders, to get acquainted with the school before classes start.

They met eighth-grade mentors and participated in team-building exercises. Cain provided karate instruction to go with a talk on success in school. The other pictures below are from a game that is part four-square and part volleyball.

Press release:

Join us for some spooky fun on Saturday, Oct. 21st, when the Batavia Cemetery Association will host a candlelight guided ghost walk through the Historic Batavia Cemetery on Harvester Avenue in Batavia.

The tours will feature the famous and infamous movers and shakers who shaped and influenced the City of Batavia. The guided tour will bring guests to meet men and women of Batavia, who, for various reasons, held great power and exerted great influence in their day, were victims of tragic events, or both.

• Philemon Tracy, one of the few Confederate officers buried in the north;
• Ruth the unknown victim of a horrendous murder;
• Joseph Ellicott, a man of great power and great flaws; and
• William Morgan, the man who disappeared and was allegedly murdered before he could reveal the secrets of the Masons, are some of the ghosts who will tell their stories on the tour;
• Also visiting will be Rev. John H. Yates, poet, preacher, philanthropist, journalist and author of nationally known hymns;
• Civil War veteran General John H. Martindale, who was Military Governor of the District of Columbia in 1865;
• Dean and Mary Richmond, who greatly influenced civic life in Batavia in the 1800s, will meet with guests in their mausoleum on the last stop of the tour. Dean Richmond made a great fortune in Great Lakes shipping and was the second president of the New York Central Railroad. Mary Richmond vastly expanded her husband’s fortune after his death and sat on the boards of many businesses and civic organizations.

Tours begin at 7 p.m. and run every 15 minutes until 8:30 p.m. Admission is $10 and includes refreshments. Reservations are strongly recommended.

Some tickets may be available at the gate the evening of the event at Historic Batavia Cemetery, Harvester Avenue, Batavia. Proceeds benefit the upkeep and restoration of the cemetery.

For more information, or to make reservations, contact 343-3220.

Jason Berne spotted a small funnel cloud forming around 2 p.m. off Route 63 in Pavilion and sent in this picture.

Press release:

Monarch Butterflies -- "Masters of Migration" -- travel through New York during the month of September!

Seize the last few days of summer with a visit to a butterfly meadow and a journey into their world! Join us for "Watching Monarchs" from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9th, at Genesee County Park & Forest.

Take part in a nationwide Monarch conservation project, see how they are tagged and released, and meet these masters of migration up close and personal Learn all about their fascinating lives and discover what you can do to help them out!

Price is $5/person, $10/family. Space is limited, preregistration is required! Call 585-344-1122 to register.

GC Park & Forest is located at 11095 Bethany Center Road in East Bethany.

For more information visit their website here or contact Shannon Morley at Shannon.Morley@co.genesee.ny.us or (585) 344-1122.

The GC Sheriff's Employees Association Golf Tournament will be held Saturday, Sept. 23, at Terry Hills Golf Course in Batavia.

Cost is $75 per person and includes green fees, cart, lunch, dinner, awards and prizes.

Registration and lunch starts at 11 a.m.

Shotgun start for golf at noon.

Sponsor a tee or green or $100; sponsor a deputy for $375 -- includes tee/green sings & 1 foursome.

Proceeds go to help support the GCSEA Fundraiser Account and Veterans One-stop Center of WNY Inc.

The golf tournament is open to everyone. Come enjoy a great day of fun and golf; help support our veterans, the GCSEA and the nonprofits is helps throughout the year.

Terry Hills is located at 5122 Clinton Street Road.

For more information, contact Norman Itjen at (585) 409-4540 or email  nitjen@co.genesee.ny.us

Press release:

A Fourth Annual Taste of Independence food-sampling extravaganza is being held by Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

Taking place at Batavia Country Club, 7909 Batavia-Byron Road, Batavia, the event will offer guests a chance to try some signature dishes of the Genesee Region’s finest restaurants, plus a basket raffle and 50/50 split club.

The participating restaurants include: D & R Depot Restaurant, Sweet Sarah’s, Pizza Land, Lori’s Delectable Edibles, Tops Friendly Markets, T.F. Brown’s Restaurant, Rock & Roll Bar & BBQ, The North Pole Restaurant and Party House, Red Osier Landmark Restaurant and Wegmans.

Our thanks to non-restaurant event Bronze Sponsors: iCircle Services of the Finger Lakes Inc., Arctic Refrigeration Company of Batavia Inc., Henry J. Mager Scholarship Fund, Debra McKnight, and Thrivent Financial Action Team. Friend Sponsor: Tompkins Insurance Agencies.

Tickets are $15 and can be picked up at the ILGR office, 113 Main St., Suite 5, Batavia. Space is limited! To R.S.V.P., become a sponsor, or get more information call Donna at 585-815-8501, ext. 411, or email dbecker@wnyil.org.

Independent Living expects the event to increase awareness of its programs to help people with disabilities living in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties to remain independent and empowered, to which programs the funds raised will be directed.

Its services include independent living skills training, advocacy, peer counseling, diabetes self-management classes, a loan closet of medical equipment, housing and employment assistance, Social Security and Medicaid assistance information and referral, and many more.

A proposal to switch out the most of the county's current fleet of vehicles to a national vendor to manage and maintain the fleet could save the county as much as $80,000 a year, according to a proposal presented to the Legislature's Public Service Committee on Tuesday.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car provides the same service to several other counties in New York, said Representative Jimmy Adams, and those counties have achieved the anticipated cost savings and seem satisfied with the service.

The program will start with Enterprise taking 47 of the vehicles in the county's fleet now and selling them at an estimated total of $580,000 returned to the county. Enterprise would then replace those 47 vehicles with 47 new vehicles, purchased at the typical discounted government bid rate, and the county would make payments on those vehicles.

Legislature Chairman Ray Cianfrini wanted to know if Enterprise would guarantee that the 47 vehicles would sell for at least $580,000 and Adams said, in a word, no.

"We are very conservative (in our estimates)," Adams said. "We have a remarketing manager who is in our Rochester office. His sole job is to go through, give these values to new clients and current customers and make sure those are values we can live up to because we know at the end of the day, if we don't we're going to be in meetings similar to this and explain why we missed."

County Manager Jay Gsell said doesn't expect any surprises when Enterprise puts the vehicles on the market.

"Based on the current age of our fleet and the condition in which the motor pool maintains those, I don't think we've got any hidden upsets as far as that's concerned, but there is nothing absolute in terms of what the whole 47 will generate in net value," Gsell said.

The other potential problem, Cianfrini said, is what if the partnership doesn't work out and the county wants out of the deal. He thinks the county will be out 47 vehicles and will need to buy 47 vehicles.

Adams said, first, that has never happened with one of these vendor arrangements for a government entity, and second, even if that were the case, the county will be in a "positive equity position" on each vehicle because the government bid price on the vehicles is so low. Over the first year or so of such an agreement, the county would be paying down the principal owed on each vehicle and if Enterprise sold the car at that point, "Enterprise would be writing a check to the county," Adams said.

That positive equity position would make it easier, Adams said, for the county to walk away from the deal if it decided to go that route.

There are also potential cost savings because Enterprise will be responsible for maintenance and mechanical repairs on the vehicles, which could mean the elimination of a mechanic's position from the county's budget. Cianfrini suggested that instead of eliminating a job, perhaps that service could be sold. Gsell said the county has a history of not competing with private enterprise and thought it would be logistically difficult to offer that service to another county. Committee Chairwoman Shelly Stein noted that Tim Hens, county highway superintendent, has said (he wasn't at the meeting) that there is plenty of backfill work that is going undone that could be done if a mechanic was freed up from his current duties.

A state audit found a flaw in how the county was accounting for its fleet expense and this agreement would help resolve that issue, Gsell said, which is one reason why he's recommending the Legislature move on the proposal this budget year instead of waiting until 2018.

An ongoing expense struggle for the county's Department of Social Services said Commissioner Eileen Kirkpatrick is the cost of supporting children in foster care, and especially those who are institutionalized because of serious behavioral problems.

There are about 15 kids in institutional care, which costs the county about $225,000 per year per child.

These are children whose parents could either no longer handle them, or the parents are out of the picture and the children caused problems in foster care settings.

"Some kids' behavior is so extreme not only are they not safe, their families aren't safe and their foster parents aren't safe," Kirkpatrick said. "I'm talking about kids who assault staff, who actually beat up their caretakers."

Kirkpatrick talked about one child who has been in DSS care since she was 12. She frequently ran away from her foster homes and later her institutional care homes.

"I'm responsible for her until she's 21," Kirkpatrick said. "That young lady, she got out of OCSF at 18 and a month beforehand, we moved her into a supervised independent living program. I'm surprised. She's been there since June and actually has stayed there."

That $45,000 annual fee is better than the $225,000 it cost to keep her institutionalized.

There are currently 51 children in foster care, Kirkpatrick said, and the vast majority of them are typical children, going to school and staying out of serious trouble.

The county needs to find more local foster parents, though. Kirkpatrick anticipates an increase in need with school starting when schools are more likely to identify children with problems at home. Today's problems that lead to foster care often involve parental drug addiction. Opioid addiction takes a toll on the children, too.

It's better for the county to place children with the county's own foster parents than through one of the volunteer agencies, she said. That's because when the child goes to an agency, the county often ends up handling case management for the child; making sure they get registered for school, go to school and make any doctor's appointments, for example. So the county doesn't escape that expense, even though it's paying a higher fee for outside placement.

This was Kirkpatrick's last department review with County Legislators before retiring. Her presentation, she said, was meant to inform legislators of one of the significant cost issues facing DSS as the county heads into another round of budget preparation.

The county's veterans' services officer, William Joyce, tries to ensure claims filed by veterans are processed in a timely manner so they get the benefits they deserve.

That means he sometimes comes in at nights during his vacations to catch up on things. He sometimes comes in early so veterans can stop in before they go to work. If he does go away on vacation or a conference or training, he immediately jumps in on the large stack of files that have piled up on his desk.

In short, he made the case Tuesday to the Human Services Committee that he could use the help of a part-time assistant.

Joyce's presentation was part of his periodic department review with the Legislature and was not a formal request, but it's the kind of information, Chairwoman Shelly Stein acknowledged, that is timely for the Legislature as they prepare to start looking at another annual budget for the county.

Legislator Ed DeJaneiro said he appreciated Joyce's efforts.

"We're lucky to have you," Joyce said. "The veterans are definitely satisfied with the service. I hear you loud and clear, you need a little help. You should not be spending your vacations on work."

The Veterans Services Office provides a host of services for area veterans and their families, including helping with service-connected compensation, obtaining education benefits, vocational training, medical benefits, home loans, burial benefits, and survivor's benefits.

A veterans' services officer must go through training with the VA and become certified in order to assist veterans. That requirement would also apply to even a part-time assistant. The next training class is in October.

"Without accreditation, the work doesn't go out the door," Joyce said.

And there is more work in recent years, Joyce said.

"We've seen an increase in the number of claims being submitted," Joyce said. "I'm surpassing surrounding counties that have multiple service officers, Wyoming, Orleans, and they have just about the average (number of) veterans I have and I'm over the top with the claims. In fact, as I've said last year and the previous year, their veterans are coming to me."

The job is one Joyce says he enjoys and he has no plans to retire anytime soon, though he said he is sometimes asked by other veterans when he might step down. But an assistant would likely be the person to replace him when he does step aside.

"Whenever I get my fill (I'll retire)," Joyce said. "Whenever that date is, I don't know. I enjoy what I'm doing. I took care of troops for 40 years, now I'm taking care of veterans."

The Batavia Town Planning Board on Tuesday night approved the placement of three face lit, red, white and blue acrylic wall signs for the proposed Five Star Urgent Care project on Veterans Memorial Drive, adjacent to The Home Depot.

Tracey Diehl, expeditor for the national chain of walk-in clinics that treat people with illnesses and injuries and perform physicals, immunizations and X-rays, said that the 16-foot-high signs each measure 133.12 square feet and will allow patrons to identify Five Star Urgent Care when coming from all directions.

“We wanted to make the signs (depicting the firm’s red, white and blue logo) equal in size so that they don’t look awkward,” Diehl told the board. “They will be face lit and made of acrylic with a vinyl overlay.”

Diehl said the site, which has yet to be developed, is close to The Home Depot and the NYS Thruway, with visibility from Veterans Memorial Drive, the Thruway and Park Road.

Previously, Five Star Urgent Care’s variance requests were approved by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals and recommended for approval by the Genesee County Planning Board.

According to the company’s website, there are 12 locations in New York, including Jamestown, Geneva, Ithaca and Plattsburgh. Diehl said that “six more sites are in the process” of being finalized.

She also noted that there are some in other states.

The New York locations were founded in 2012 by Dr. John Radford, a physician based in Ellicottville who spent time as an emergency department employee in Batavia early in his more than 20-year career.

Diehl said that a major benefit provided by Five Star Urgent Care is that it takes walk-ins. Plans are to open by the end of the year.

In other action, the board approved a site plan and the construction of one building for Gateway GC LLC’s commercial office building/parking lot project in the Gateway II Corporate Park on Call Parkway off West Saile Drive.

Further expansion, however, would be subject to the completion of conditions from the original list of Gateway II park improvements that focus on traffic flow and a water main.

According to David Ciurzynski, project manager for general contract Manning Squires Hennig Co. Inc., the $2.6 million plan calls for the construction of five 27,00-square-foot buildings with ample landscaping featuring several varieties of trees, including maples, oaks, chestnuts and birch.

Board Chairperson Kathy Jasinski noted the importance of proper landscaping.

“This is something that I was interested in, since you will be setting the bar," she said. "For anything that follows, we would like to keep the same look."

Town Engineer Steve Mountain pointed out that there could be traffic flow issues as buildings are added to the site, adding that the expense of highway improvements would likely be split among developers, the Genesee County Economic Development Center and state and/or federal grants.

Ciurzynski said that his company is working with GCEDC to complete Call Parkway (a path to Route 98) and the water lines needed to service the buildings.

He said that the project “doesn’t work if we have (approval for) only one building,” adding that his company already has attracted a possible tenant for the first building.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) will consider approving incentives for a $5.5 million capital investment by Yancey's Fancy and a $2.6 million capital investment by Gateway GS LLC. Both matters will be considered at the Sept. 7 GCEDC Board meeting.   

Gateway GS LLC has applied for approximately $140,000 for sales tax and mortgage tax incentives for the new company’s proposed 25,000-square-foot spec building at the Gateway II office park.

Artisan cheese maker Yancey's Fancy is proposing to invest $5.5 million to expand and renovate the Kutter's Cheese facility on Main Road in Corfu. The project is expected to create 15 new jobs. Yancey's Fancy has applied for approximately $1.2 million in sales and property tax exemptions.

All GCEDC Board meetings are open to the public. The Sept. 7 meeting will take place at 4 p.m. in the Innovation Zone board room on 99 Medtech Drive, Batavia.

Press release:

Please take notice that a workshop meeting will be conducted by the East Pembroke Fire District from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 5^th at the East Pembroke Fire Hall, located at 2623 W. Main Road, East Pembroke.

Purpose of the meeting is 2018 Fire District Budget.