In their first meeting of the season, Notre Dame prevailed Wednesday night at home over archrival Elba, 43-34.
Margaret Sutherland led all scorers with 21 points and Calli McCulley added 16 for Notre Dame.
For the Lancers, Emily Reynolds scored 12 and Madison Howard scored 6.
It was the first win for new Head Coach Tom McCulley.
Updating the Town of Batavia’s Comprehensive Plan that will guide its decisions on zoning, capital improvements and budgeting has turned into a balancing act – a lengthy process that pits the desire to promote commercial development against the need to protect its valuable natural resources.
That was the viewpoint of Town Engineer Steven Mountain as he spoke to about 25 people who attended a public informational meeting on Wednesday night at Town Hall on West Main Street Road.
Mountain, responding to an impassioned plea by town resident Mary Martha Webster to keep the “rural” feel of the community, said town officials – in conjunction with independent environmental planners – are “trying to take a harder look at that (preserving natural resources and the land).”
“The development pressure is there; we’re trying to balance it,” Mountain said. “This is really the first time we’ve taken that approach.”
Webster apparently took exception to a segment of the presentation by Barbara Johnston of LaBella Associates Inc., a Rochester engineering, planning and consulting firm, who has been assisting the Town in its Comprehensive Plan update and with the Green Genesee/Smart Genesee initiative – the latter a grant-funded scientific approach that connects the natural environment and business growth.
“All I have heard is development, development. I moved to a rural area. This is not what I want, this is what you want, Greg,” Webster said, directing her comments to Town Supervisor Gregory Post. “You’re making the Town of Batavia into the City of Batavia.”
Following Mountain’s response, Johnston added that the team charged with updating the Comprehensive Plan is “trying to build it with a natural resource base and agricultural base.”
Daniel Lang, the Town’s code enforcement officer, said the goal is not to expand the amount of land available for commercial development but to “place stricter guidelines for developers (by) looking at consequences to natural resources.”
“We will be setting more limitations … criteria (that developers would have to follow) that would be sent to the planning board for complete review,” he added. “It will add an extra step of protection for the environment … and will keep it rural.”
Mountain agreed, stating that the Town “wants to be on the forefront, (able) to dictate to developers that if you want to come here, you will build to these standards.”
Johnston, in her PowerPoint presentation, explained that the Comprehensive Plan -- a blueprint for zoning and code design for the next 15 years or more -- addresses key issues such as land use, natural resources, agriculture and farmland, parks and recreation, housing and residential neighborhoods, business and economic development, transportation and energy, and government services and budgeting.
The Comprehensive Plan team, which also includes Sheila Hess of CC Environment & Planning, of East Bethany, and Matt Ingalls of Ingalls Planning & Design, of Fairport, has reviewed existing studies in these areas, and has set the following goal: Balancing natural, agricultural and rural landscapes with residential, commercial, industrial and institutional development.
“The keystone of the entire plan in general is the land use map (which defines the different zones and shows areas that are best suited for development),” Johnston said.
She noted that their research has led to a projection that the Town has another 1.5 million square feet of land that lends itself well to future development (currently 2.7 million square feet has been developed in that manner). She also said their model calls for an additional 500 or so housing units.
The Comprehensive Plan committee also is analyzing the Town’s budget, Johnston said, to gauge the plan’s financial impact. She showed a slide that revealed that 62 percent of the Town’s revenue is derived from taxes paid by homeowners.
Post said he expects that number to decrease in a couple years when some of the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOTS) granted to large commercial ventures start to come off the books, and those businesses begin to pay more in taxes.
All involved stated that Wednesday’s meeting is a step in the process, which could go on for another few months.
A public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 21 at Town Hall. Depending upon the feedback, changes could be made, pushing the plan’s adoption to the spring.
“This is not the first or the last of these meetings and this is not a slam dunk,” Post said. “But if you don’t have a plan, change occurs anyway. It’s our kids and our grandkids that we’re looking out for.”
Photo -- Barbara Johnston, left, and Daniel Lang address some of Mary Martha Webster's concerns following Wednesday night's Comprehensive Plan Update presentation at Batavia Town Hall. Photo by Mike Pettinella.
Jacquetta Simmons made it to court today, and despite a recommendation from her new attorney that she be sent to anger management classes, she was sentenced to 15 days in jail on her misdemeanor harassment conviction.
Previously, Simmons admitted to having physical contact with a 55-year-old woman at a church event in 2014.
City Court Judge Durin Rogers said he didn't think SImmons was a good candidate for counseling given her criminal history and lack of remorse.
According to a pre-sentence report, as discussed in court, Simmons blamed the victim for the altercation in 2014.
A week ago, Simmons failed to appear for her sentencing and her attorney at the time, Ann Nichols, asked to be removed from the case.
Public Defender Jerry Ader represented Simmons in court today.
Simmons made national headlines in 2011 when on Christmas Eve, while shopping at Walmart, she delivered "a roundhouse punch" to an older woman who was working as a cashier that day. The victim had asked to see a receipt from Simmons for prior purchases that Simmons brought with her when she came through a checkout line for a second time.
The case went to trial and Simmons was convicted by a jury of a felony assault charge. She was sentenced to five years in prison, but an appellate court overruled the sentence and the sentence was reduced to a year in jail.
(Via our news partner, WBTA.)
A week of wrangling and discussions has helped county legislators come up with a 2017 budget that will increase the property tax rate to $10.07 per thousand dollars of assessed value.
A week ago, it was looking like the rate would be about $10.25 cents.
The rate still represents a jump over the 2016 rate of $9.86 and requires a tax levy override by the County Legislature.
While there were some minor spending adjustments made since last week, much of the change is rate is based on an agreement by the Legislature to take $1 million from reserve funds, rather than $500,000, to balance the budget.
At the Ways and Means Committee meeting tonight, only Legislator Ray Cianfrini voted against sending the budget to the full Legislature for approval. Cianfrini said he didn't think the proposed budget accounted enough for the anticipated sale of the Nursing Home, expected to close before the end of the year, and what that will mean for the county's reserve funds and expenditure savings.
The Batavian will have a more complete county budget story posted sometime tomorrow morning.
Elba's Dean Norton has been replaced as president of the New York State Farm Bureau in an election held this evening at the bureau's annual meeting.
Norton, a dairy farmer, has been president and face of the farm bureau for eight years, representing the bureau not just in New York but in Washington, D.C., and around the nation.
The membership instead elected David Fisher, who owns a large dairy farm in St. Lawrence County, as president.
The nominees were Norton, Fisher and Mark Dunau.
(Information via the NY Farm Bureau's Twitter postings.)
UPDATE: Press release:
During the New York Farm Bureau State Annual Meeting in Albany, voting delegates elected David Fisher, a dairy farmer from St. Lawrence County, as the new president of the organization.
Fisher and his family have operated Mapleview Dairy in Madrid, N.Y. for four generations. He has served on the New York Farm Bureau Board of Directors for the past five years and previously was president of St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau. A graduate of Cornell University, Fisher earned a degree in Animal Science.
Fisher replaces Dean Norton who served as president for the past eight years.
“I am humbled that the farmer members of New York Farm Bureau have placed their confidence in me to lead this great organization. My family has a long history with Farm Bureau, and I am excited to work on behalf of our diverse membership to increase the value and visibility of New York agriculture. I would also like to thank Dean Norton for his service and commitment to New York Farm Bureau,” said David Fisher, president of New York Farm Bureau.
Vice President Eric Ooms, a dairy farmer from Columbia County, was re-elected to his position.
In addition, representatives to the State Board of Directors were elected, too. This concluded the annual two-day long meeting where resolutions were discussed and voted on to set NYFB’s 2017 public policy agenda.
Those elected include Pat McCormick of Wyoming County, re-elected as District 2 Director; Lin Davidson of Tompkins County was elected as District 4 Director; Jacob Schieferstine of Oneida County was re-elected as District 6 Director; Dean Casey of Rensselaer County, re-elected as District 8 Director; Chris Kelder of Ulster County, re-elected as District 10 Director; Kristen Brown of Orange County as the new Young Farmer and Rancher Chair on the State Board and Phyllis Couture of Cattaraugus County was re-elected as the Promotion and Education Chairperson on the State Board.
In addition, New York Farm Bureau handed out the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Awards to two worthy individuals who have made an impact on New York Farm Bureau and agriculture in this state. The awardees were Chris Fesko of Skaneateles, N.Y. and member of Onondaga County Farm Bureau, and Michael DellaRocco of Melrose, N.Y., a member of Rensselaer County Farm Bureau.
Finally, New York Farm Bureau announced two recipients of the James Quinn Award that recognizes extraordinary efforts by individual Farm Bureau members during the course of a given year “to serve and strengthen agriculture”. The honorees were Joe and June Swyers of Livingston County Farm Bureau and Brad and Carolyn Almeter of Wyoming County Farm Bureau.
A chicken coop is reportedly on fire at 5929 Cook Road, Byron. It's behind a house and near a large barn. The location is between Upper Holley and Merriman roads.
Byron and South Byron fire departments are responding along with the Town of Batavia's Fast Team, Bergen and Elba. A unit from Bergen is also called to fill in at Byron's fire hall.
A 31-year-old Batavia resident with multiple prior arrests will be evaluated for his mental capability to understand the charges against him before he's allowed to plead guilty to felonies stemming from an incident in October.
Interim Genesee County Court Judge Micheal Pietruszka wasn't satisfied with the explanation of attorney Lisa Kroemer, of the Public Defender's office, that Matthew D. Derrick could competently understand the legal proceedings today, even though Kroemer needed to rephrase what Pietruszka was telling the defendant.
The problem started as soon as Pietruszka asked Derrick if he was ready to plead guilty to the document in front of him, called a Superior Court Information (or SCI).
Kroemer turned to Derrick, pointed to the document and told Derrick, "this is what we discussed earlier."
Pietruszka stopped the proceedings immediately and wanted to know what was going on.
Kroemer tried to explain how she was helping her client and Pietruszka wondered why there was a problem. Kroemer tried to explain there was a language barrier and Pietruszka wanted to know if Derrick spoke English. He does, and Kroemer tried to explain that he needed help understanding what he was being told, so Pietruszka wondered if a there should be a forensic evaluation.
When it looked like Pietruszka wasn't going to continue with the proceeding, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman asked if the attorneys could approach the bench.
The attorneys and judge then held a conversation audible in the courtroom about Derrick's ability to understand the legal process.
Kroemer told Pietruszka that her client couldn't process the judge's spoken words quickly and that he needed to be shown the documents in front of him to make the connection between what Pietruszka was asking and what she had explained to him just an hour before his appearance in court.
She tried to explain that Derrick did understand the legal system and could process the information, he just needed help with the language of the system.
"You're the judge and if you don't feel comfortable with that, well, we've got to find a different way," Kroemer said.
"The questions are as simple as I can get them," Pietruszka said.
The Batavian reported on arrests of Derrick in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Kroemer told Pietruszka she has represented him previously and that he could understand what was going on in court.
She told Pietruszka, "he understands the legal process," and Pietruszka replied, "I'm not seeing that."
The attorneys returned to their tables and Pietruszka again asked Derrick if he understood the SCI (a SCI is much like a grand jury indictment, but is used when a defendant has waived a grand jury hearing and agreed to plead guilty as part of a plea agreement).
Derrick nodded his head yes and Pietruszka told him he needed to provide an audible answer. Derrick didn't move.
Kroemer asked him if he needed Pietruszka to repeat the question and Derrick said, "No, your honor."
At that point, Pietruszka ordered Derrick to undergo a forensic evaluation to determine his competency to understand the proceedings.
Derrick was arrested in October on charges of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree menacing,endangering the welfare of a child, and second-degree harassment.
On Oct. 8 at 10:30 a.m., Batavia Police responded to 335 Bank St. for the report of a male with a knife threatening to harm other people. Upon arrival, Derrick was taken into custody. Further investigation revealed that Derrick allegedly possessed a corkscrew and threatened a 14-year-old male with the corkscrew.
The College and Career Center at Batavia HS, now led by Anita Strollo, has launched a new program called, "Lunch with the Pros," where students can sit down with local professionals and business leaders to learn about what it takes to pursue and succeed in various career fields.
Today, a group of students talked about law enforcement with Officers Matthew Wojtaszczyk and Marc Lawrence to learn about becoming a police officer.
Coincidently, Batavia PD is about to launch a new Explorer program and will host a meeting for potential Explorer Post members at 7 p.m., Jan. 10 and BPD headquarters, 10 West Main Street. High school interested in joining the program are welcome to attend. RSVP to either officer at mlawrence@batavianewyork.com or mwojtaszczyk@batavianework.com.
A new 165-foot communications tower is being installed today on Town of Le Roy property off of Asbury Road (the site at one time of an airport).
The tower is part of the county's upgraded 800 megahertz digital communications system and will help fill in some dead spots in the town and village of Le Roy. It will also help in spots in Le Roy where communication was harder inside of buildings.
Steven Sharpe, director of emergency communications for Genesee County said the tower will also help complete the phase of building interoperable capabilities with Monroe County's emergency dispatch center, which will then also create a bridge for communications with Ontario County.
"Our goal is to improve interoperable capabilities throughout the region," said Sharpe (in the bottom photo, taking a video of the shelter for communications equipment being lowered into place.
The tower is funded with a $3 million grant from the state.
Three Lancers scored in double digits Monday night in the home opener for Elba against archrival Notre Dame, a game won by Elba, 72-34.
Tucker Bezon put up 19 points and Henry Pflaumer had 17 and Shane O'Halloran added 12. Pflaumer knocked down four three-point baskets.
For Notre Dame, Ryan Mukkat scored 11 points, anchored by a trio of three-point baskets.
Tonight, the Notre Dame girls host the Elba girls in their newly renovated gym. Game time is 7 p.m.
A caller to dispatch says a man "violently handled a dog" a short while ago before moving out of the Royal Apartments at 103 W. Main St. in Batavia Le Roy.
He and others left in a U-Haul truck, driving on Main toward Tops Market. No other details/description provided.
Law enforcement is responding.
The first of what may be two arrests in the case of stolen batteries from farm equipment in Genesee County has been made.
Amber L. Heveron, 28, of Rice Road, Albion, is charged with grand larceny, 4th, a Class E felony.
Heveron was arrested following an investigation by Chad Minuto, Bradley Mazur and Joseph Graff, of the Sheriff's Office, into the series of thefts of heavy-duty batteries from tractors and trucks throughout Genesee County between July and September.
Investigators contend that Heveron was not working alone.They anticipate another arrest before the investigation is completed and that Heveron will face additional charges.
Heveron was arraigned in Stafford Town Court and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.
In an ambitious plan to improve facilities at the district's four schools and build a new stadium and field at Union and Richmond avenues, Superintendent Chris Dailey told the City Schools Board of Trustees on Tuesday night that the $23 million to $27 million project won't increase property taxes at all.
When a board member said, "0.0," Daily emphasized, "$0.00."
Voters will still need to approve the capital improvement project March 2. There will be public forums prior to the vote, assuming trustees approve a resolution at their Jan. 10 meeting to move forward.
At Tuesday's meetings, trustees gave every indication they like the plan.
While every school in the district will get upgrades as part of the plan, the plan's signature expenditure might be the reconstruction of Van Detta Stadium and replacing the grass of the current field with artificial turf and surrounding it with a new, larger synthetic track surface.
The location of the field would also shift diagonally on the athletic facility's current parcel and move more to the east of the parcel. This would create additional parking to the west side.
There could even be more parking near the stadium if the district is able to move the playground at the former Robert Morris School, which is currently adjacent Richmond, and put parking in that spot. The playground would be closer to the back of the current school building and would still be available to neighborhood residents.
The new stadium would have home and visitor locker rooms with tunnels leading out to the field at the 50-yard line and a new press box over the stands, as well as all new lighting.
"We were given Woodward Field, and we built Van Detta in 1947," Daily said. "We have not done significant renovation since. Most battleships that were built in '47 are retired or are currently museums. Ours holds 2,500 screaming fans on a Friday night.
“Pretty soon it’s going to get to the point where we’re going to have to do it one way or another," Dailey added. "We can do it now with a zero tax impact and it will be called Van Detta Stadium and Woodward Field, still. It will provide a community asset."
The new facility will be able to host a larger variety of events more frequently because officials will no longer need to worry about damage to the grass field. This means not only the district's soccer and lacrosse teams will be able to compete and practice on the field, but it will be available to youth football and soccer as well as adult leagues, such as the local rugby league.
It will be able to host large regional track meets and Section V and Section VI competitions, Dailey noted, and this will benefit local restaurants and hotels and help generate revenue for the district and the community.
The project can go forward without a tax increase because the district believes both that it has enough in reserves and that much of the project can be funded through state aid. Whether the price tag is $23 million or up to $27 million will depend on how much aid the district receives. If there isn't as much aid as hoped, the project can be scaled back or more reserves can be put into the pot.
There was no discussion Tuesday as to whether any kind of bond would be required to bridge any expenditure.
For the schools, improvements include:
If approved by voters March 2, it would be at least six months before state funding could be approved, then design work could start. Construction would likely begin in the summer of 2018, with much of the construction finishing up by the fall of 2019 into early 2020.
This animation from ECMWF shows the projection for ultra-cold air (the dark blue/green areas) associated with a polar vortex rotating into the United States.
This could lead to much colder temperatures over the next 10 to 15 days, forecasters say.
Potentially good news for us, the cold air is expected to moderate somewhat as it shifts eastward.
Community members, young and old, are eligible to participate in the Ellicott Trail project logo competition that has been set up by the bicycle/pedestrian path’s steering committee.
Three cash prizes -- $100 for first place, $75 for second and $25 for third -- are being offered to those who submit the logos that are judged the best to represent the 4.6-mile trail that will run from Seven Springs Road to Pearl Street Road (Route 33).
A story about Tuesday night’s public information meeting can be found below.
The new logo will be used in a variety of ways, including but not limited to, all-weather exterior signs, way-finding maps, stainless steel sidewalk emblems and, eventually, banners, stickers and fliers.
The contest calls for submissions to be simple, single-color designs that can be converted into stainless steel emblems. Every entry must include the trail’s official name or initials (or both), and include a graphic element or design. Entries should be approximately 8-inches by 8-inches.
“We’re looking for the logo to be fairly simplistic – not overly intricate,” said Thomas Lichtenthal Jr., project coordinator.
Submission guidelines are as follows:
-- Send hard copies to Lisa Casey, City of Batavia, One Batavia City Centre, Batavia, NY 14020;
-- Electronic submittals to lcasey@batavianewyork.com, emailed as JPG files, no smaller than 500KB and no larger than 3MB;
-- No limit to the number of entries one person or team can submit;
-- No entries will be returned, and winning entry becomes the exclusive property of the City and Town of Batavia for its unlimited use;
-- All entries must include the designer’s name, address, phone number, email and age;
-- Questions should be directed to Donna Rae Sutherland, at 585-343-0055, ext. 6616, or dsutherland@genesee.edu.
Deadline for all entries is Jan. 30.
Graphic above depicts possible logos -- example, the E and T on each side of railroad tracks.
It was story time with Santa at the Richmond Memorial Library last night.
Photo courtesy Adam Tabelski.
A 4.6-mile, east-west pedestrian and bicycle path known as the Ellicott Trail is at the halfway point to completion, according to the coordinator of the $1.7-million venture that will traverse through roads, parks, wetlands and abandoned railway beds in the Town and City of Batavia.
Speaking at a public information meeting on Tuesday night at the City Centre Council Chambers, Thomas Lichtenthal Jr., Town of Batavia highway superintendent and assistant engineer, said the project is on schedule.
“We hope to be on the path (pun intended) by late summer or early fall of next year,” Lichtenthal (in photo at top) said to about two dozen people in attendance. “And we’d like to see it finished before Christmas, hopefully by Thanksgiving.”
Lichtenthal’s presentation took the audience from one end of the trail to the other, pointing out specific tasks that need to be done at various points. The trail’s eastern entrance will be on Seven Springs Road, near the new Oakwood Hills subdivision, and its western entrance will be on Pearl Street Road, in the vicinity of River Street.
In between, it will pass over a refurbished existing bridge over the CSX railway off of East Main Street Road, wind its way through DeWitt Park off Cedar Street (where a “boardwalk” will move bikers and walkers over wetlands there), move on to Lions Park and Elmwood Cemetery, travel down Ellicott Street Road, behind the proposed Ellicott Station development, across a new trail bridge on Walnut Street over the Tonawanda Creek, and past Williams Park to Pearl Street Road.
But before all that can happen, construction crews have much dirt to move and concrete to pour as plans include the construction of a 10-foot wide stone dust trail on the off-road sections and a 10-foot wide sidewalk on the road sections.
Furthermore, right-of-way agreements (easements) with owners of about 16 private properties that are affected by the trail need to be signed, Lichtenthal noted.
“We are talking to property owners, and letting them know what needs to be done,” he said. “All right-of-way owners (and several of them were at the meeting) are on board with the project at this point.”
The Town of Batavia is acting as lead agency for the project, which is being funded for the most part – 80 percent -- by a New York State Department of Transportation grant. The Town of Batavia and City of Batavia are contributing 10 percent each.
A Municipal Facility Grant of $250,000 acquired through the efforts of Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer will pay for the new bridge on Walnut Street, Lichtenthal said, while a portion of funds from a Genesee County Parks Department capital project will pay for the boardwalk at DeWitt Park.
Lichtenthal said the trail will be populated by sidewalk way-finding signs and bicycle route signs, and will be open only during daylight hours – dawn to dusk.
He said providing clear directions and making sure those who use the trail are safe are priorities. He and Matthew Worth, director of public works for the City of Batavia, are working together on the signage details.
“With the on-road segments, the big thing with that is going to be way-finding – to let the people know that if you’re on the trail, you’re on the trail, and to be able to follow that trail all the way through the city so that you don’t get lost as you’re making your way from one end to the other,” he said.
City Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian said she was in favor of the project but was concerned about the safety of pedestrians and bikers, especially those who may be in need of help.
Lichtenthal and Worth responded by stating that fire, medical and police vehicles will be able to drive on the trail – except over the Walnut Street bridge – and that city police will employ their bicycle patrols during the spring and summer months. Otherwise, no motor vehicles will be allowed on the trail.
An Edward Street resident said parking and traffic in his neighborhood when Batavia Youth Football League games are being played at Lions Park would make it tough on those using the trail. Worth said city and football officials are talking about relocating the games to a “more suitable” location.
The trail’s main purpose, in Lichtenthal’s view, is to provide an alternative mode of transportation for those wanting to go shopping or enjoy time at city parks.
“Or you can use this as a physical exercise trail … you’ve got 4.6 miles,” he said. “If you go from one end to the other, you’ve got nine miles available for walking and physical fitness.”
He said the primary challenges deal with the off-road sections.
“They’re old, abandoned railroads that haven’t been maintained (and) there’s a lot of tree growth, culverts; there’s all kinds of stuff on those off-road sections that we need to improve those to make this … an off-road experience that’s pleasurable,” he noted.
For Jacob Bodway, a city resident affiliated with the WNY Mountain Biking Association, the Ellicott Trail project is a key tool in attracting Millennials to Batavia.
“If you want to draw young professionals to a community, this is a way to do it,” he said, adding that future plans to extend the trail to Le Roy and also further west will result in people from outside the area coming to use it.
With two of eight milestones on the project timetable in the books (stakeholder meeting and public meeting), the next steps are the submission of the trail’s reevaluation statement by Dec. 9 and advanced detail plans by Jan. 6. Final plans are scheduled to be submitted by February and right-of-way acquisitions completed by March. Bidding on construction is set to take place in April, with work starting in June.
Press release:
The City of Batavia Police Department is asking for help in locating a person of interest in the shooting that occurred on 12/02/2016 in front of 107 Jackson St. The Batavia Police Department is attempting to locate Jeremy Armstrong (A.K.A. "Boog") for questioning in this case. Jeremy is described as a light-skinned male black about 5’10”- 6’ with a thin build. He has a deformity to his right ear and also to one of his hands.
If seen, do not confront. Call 9-1-1 immediately. You may also contact the Batavia Police confidential tip line at 345-6370, or Det. Sgt. Crossett at 345-6353.
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