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AJ's Crafts moves to Ellicott Street

By Howard B. Owens

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Andre Gliwski Jr. has moved his retail store, AJ's Crafts, from its original East Main Street location to 240 Ellicott St. The move into the slightly smaller space will reduce his overhead, Gliwski said, and with a city-plowed lot next door, parking will be easier for his customers. With the move, a couple of new vendors added their wares, increasing the store's inventory.

Self-inflicted fatal gunshot wound at public gun range in Bergen

By Billie Owens

Shortly before noon, Bergen fire and an ambulance were called to The Firing Pin for an accidental gunshot to the head. The incident is a fatality. Sheriff's investigators are on scene.

The Bergen facility is a public indoor shooting range, retail gun shop and firearms training center located at 8240 Buffalo Road, between Parkview Drive and Route 33.

UPDATE 12:40 p.m.: The Sheriff's Office has confirmed this is a suicide and there will be no additional information released.

Law and Order: Man accused of public urination in Pringle Park

By Howard B. Owens

John W. Walsh, 32, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with open container, public lewdness and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17. Walsh allegedly urinated in Pringle Park, Batavia, at 1:25 p.m. Sunday while children were present.

George G. Johnson, 62, of Scotland Road, Akron, is charged with petit larceny. Johnson is accused of shoplifting at Tops Market.

James E. Wroten, 48, no permanent address, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Wroten allegedly violated a stay away order of protect. He was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Latoya Yalanda Stanley, 27, of Holland Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on warrants for alleged aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, and, 3rd. Stanley allegedly failed to appear on the charges. Bail was set at $100.

Remodeled Aldi's reopens

By Howard B. Owens

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A cleaner, brighter Aldi's reopened this morning, right on schedule, after being closed for nearly a month for remodeling. A couple of dozen people lined up to be the first in the upgraded store. The biggest visible upgrade, an expanded produce section.

Pictured above are Store Manager Eric Murphy and District Manager Jenna Bruning.

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A Lego memorial for Barry Miller

By Howard B. Owens

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Christopher Cameron‎ shared this on Facebook and gave us permission to republish it on The Batavian.

Here's what he wrote:

My son was home sick today. He was on our porch with his mother when the funeral procession for Barry Miller passed. Like any 4-year-old he was amazed by it and asked a hundred questions. Later when his mom took him to Dunkin' Donuts he saw "a sad firefighter drinking coffee." When I got home from work he was playing with his Legos on the floor. He told me he made a memorial for the ambulance guy and all of the rescue guys were sad. So I promised him I would take this picture so that the Lego men could say goodbye. His memorial is in the center.

Ending The Batavian Club as we know it

By Howard B. Owens

We're ending this little experiment we called The Batavian Club. It's a lot of work that we're always behind on for too little return. That's the bad news.

The good news is, we're still going to offer the same fantastic deals with local businesses in special gift certificate packages.

Essentially, it's The Batavian Club without calling it a club. The big difference on our end is we save the work on tracking members and printing membership cards, which always seemed to bog us down and create a lot of unnecessary expense. We will be able to send out money-saving gift certificates much sooner after an order is placed when we don't have to make batches of individual membership cards. 

For local businesses, it's the same great promotion as before. There's no additional expense beyond honoring the gift cards when customers come in. If your business is not already participating, call me at (585) 250-4118.

For those who had recurring payments set up in PayPal, I just canceled all of those so there will be no future payments from your account. There are three people who have joined since we last sent out membership packages. They will get a refund. For all other members, they should be up-to-date with membership cards and gift certificates and the stated expiration dates still apply.

Pristine 1999 Corvette seized in drug arrest to be auctioned by Sheriff's Office

By Howard B. Owens

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Long and lean, this silver streak of a machine practically still has that new car smell with only 28,000 miles on it.

And it could be yours, if you're the highest bidder in an online auction that will open Oct. 6.

The 1999 Corvette was surrendered by its former owner, Anthony A. Leone, a 47-year-old former Jackson Street resident who is currently in prison. Leone signed over the car to the county under forfeiture laws pertaining to drug possession. Leone was stopped by a Le Roy police officer while driving the car and a subsequent investigation, which included the Local Drug Task Force, found a quantity of crack cocaine and pills in the vehicle. 

Since the Sheriff's Office has no legitimate law enforcement use for the Corvette, the county is putting it up for sale. The proceeds will be shared by the agencies that comprise the local Drug Task Force -- Sheriff's Office, Batavia PD, and Le Roy PD. The money can only be used for law enforcement purposes and only for expeditures beyond normal annual budget spending. For example, if the county wanted to buy new surveillance cameras for the task force, but those cameras aren't an otherwise anticipated purchase, the money could be used for that purpose.

Pictured with the car are Undersheriff William Sheron and Sheriff Gary Maha.

The auction site is www.teitsworth.com Bidding opens Oct. 6 and closes Oct. 13. The minimum bid is $15,500.

The car can be viewed by potential bidders at the Sheriff's Office, 165 Park Road, Batavia. For an appointment, contact Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster at (585) 345-3000, ext. 3503.

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Law and Order: Rochester man accused of using stolen debit card

By Howard B. Owens

Chrisjon M. Canty, 20, of Rochester, is charged with felony forgery, felony criminal possession of stolen property, identity theft and petit larceny. Canty is accused of making unauthorized purchases totalling $350 with another person's bank debit card. Canty was identified through the use of video surveillance. He was jailed on $10,000 bail.

McKenzie D. Stevens, 21, residence not disclosed, is charged with petit larceny. Stevens is accused of placing three DVDs, burritos and laundry soap, worth approximately $21, in her baby stroller and exiting Walmart without paying for the items.

Joshua Jake Macklem, 23, of Jackson Street, Attica, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs, unlawful possession of marijuana, driving with a broken windshield, side windows non-transparent. Macklem was stopped at 8:16 p.m. Monday on East Main Street Road, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Audio: Final Call, Bergen Assistant Chief Barry Miller

By Howard B. Owens

Your browser does not support the audio element.

For those who missed the final call for Barry Miller, broadcast by Genesee County Emergency Dispatch, at 1:30 p.m., yesterday.

 

Suzanne Corona can avoid prison on drug sales conviction if she can stay out of trouble

By Howard B. Owens

Though she admitted to selling $60 worth of suboxone to an undercover agent of the Local Drug Task Force, Suzanne Corona won't be going to prison, at least so long as she can abide by the terms and conditions of her probationary sentence.

Corona, often in trouble with the law from 2010 to 2014, had never faced a felony charge until her arrest for criminal sale of a controlled substance earlier this year.

She entered a guilty plea to that charge Aug. 3 and though Judge Robert C. Noonan predicted a prison term for Corona, on the recommendation of the county's Probation Department and without objection from the District Attorney's Office, Noonan granted Corona probation.

If she abides by the terms, she avoids time by prison.

Corona made headlines worldwide when she was arrested on an adultery charge in 2010 after being observed in an apparent sexual act with a man not her husband on a picnic table in Farrell Park. Then came accusations of shoplifting from a local restaurant, which led to a disturbance there and Corona being wheeled away on a gurney into a waiting ambulance, and various other shoplifting charges, including an arrest at Target on a day when a Sheriff's deputy was there doing a K-9 demonstration.

For a long stretch after that, Corona seemed to avoid getting into trouble and then came the drug sales arrest.

(Our news partner WBTA assisted with this report.)

Explosion and power outage reported on Edwards Street

By Howard B. Owens

City fire is responding to Edwards Street following a report of an explosion in the area.

There is a power outage reported on Edwards Street as well as Ellicott Street.

UPDATE 12:15 a.m.: National Grid reports power is out for 11 customers. A crew has been assigned. No ETA on when repairs will be completed.

Hannah Dibble can live at home during outpatient treatment, Noonan rules, but no church on Sundays

By Howard B. Owens

From The Batavian's news partner, WBTA:

A young Pembroke woman, charged with manslaughter stemming from a fatal February accident in Bethany, will only be allowed to leave the home of her parents to attend outpatient rehab treatment.

Hannah Dibble, 22, appeared in Genesee County Court today asking permission to attend outpatient treatment and to attend church on Sunday morning.

Judge Robert Noonan allowed the outpatient treatment but denied permission for Dibble to attend church.

An evidence suppression hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 20th for lawyers to argue the admissibility of statements made by Dibble and others following the accident.

Dibble was driving the car in which 18-year-old Alyson Krzanak was killed and three others were seriously injured.

Dibble is accused of driving the car while intoxicated.

Group wants to restore and donate 'Rocket Car,' a piece of Batavia history, to the city

By Howard B. Owens

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Backup cameras on cars, they're practically standard features on new cars and soon they'll be required. You might say, they were invented right here in Batavia, but long before cars even had air bags.

Oh, those were first dreamed up, in a fashion, by a Batavia inventor, too.

Charles D. Thomas, born in Batavia in 1910, grew up to be a car designer and his dream car was Thomas Rocket Car. Designed to be sleek and powerful, Thomas also dreamed of a car that was affordable and safe at a time when safety wasn't a high priority in Detroit. 

So he invented the "Ventriscope": a periscope-type of device that gave drivers of the world to their rear. He also came up with the idea of extra padding in the passenger compartment to protect occupants in a crash. Your car has four-wheel independent suspension. That didn't exist in 1938 when Thomas built his Rocket Car, which did have four-wheel independent suspension. 

When Thomas showed off his car in Detroit, experts agreed it was at least a decade ahead of its time.

You might say Charles Thomas was the Preston Tucker of Batavia, but it was also Tucker's failure to bring his own car to market as a mass-produced automobile that also doomed the Rocket Car. When Tucker failed, investors were scared off of such a unique and inventive conception of motoring. 

There was only one Thomas Rocket Car ever made. It was built in an auto shop about where Dunn Tire is now. A group of antique car buffs think it's time for this unique piece of Batavia history be returned to its rightful home, but it will take the cooperation of the City Council to make it happen.

Local businessman Dave Howe, owner of Charles Men's Shop and the Masonic Temple building, and an antique car collector, represented the group of would-be Rocket car restorers at Monday's council meeting and said the group has a simple request: That the city agree to accept the car, once it's fully restored, as a gift and agree to keep it and display it for the public.

Howe said he and the group believe the car will be a tourist attraction since its well known to auto history enthusiasts and car collectors and will give Batavia a unique perspective on the city's history.

The council will consider the request at its next business meeting.

Accepting the car as a gift will cost the city nothing, Howe said, and outside of keeping it clean and acquiring antique car insurance, which Howe described as inexpensive, the ongoing expense for the city will be minimal.

The group interested in restoring the car is really only interested in purchasing it (the car and all its parts have been located, but not yet acquired) if the city is willing to accept the gift.

Photos: Barry Miller's funeral

By Howard B. Owens

Here is a complete set of pictures from today's funeral services for Barry Miller, the Bergen resident, small business owner, county coroner and volunteer EMT, who died last Wednesday when the ambulance he was riding in while responding to an emergency call ran into a piece of highway equipment.

Among the speakers was his friend, Town of Bergen Supervisor Don Cunningham, who noted the support and recognition the community showed by decorating the village with purple and black ribbons in Miller's honor. Cunningham said:

Barry wouldn't recognize those ribbons as for him. Barry would want those ribbons and that outpouring of kindness and the formal plans of today to be recognition for every man and woman in his department, for every uniformed individual here today, and for everyone who responds to help another. We can quickly forget that it could be any one of these first responders lynig before us here today. Barry wouldn't want us to forget that.

Top Items on Batavia's List

Tourism Marketing Assistant Position The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, serving as the official tourism promotion agency for Genesee County, NY is seeking an experienced marketing professional to assist in the overall Chamber tourism and marketing initiatives for Genesee County. https://visitgeneseeny.com/about/join-our-team
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Town of Batavia Court Department is seeking a part time as needed Court Officer. Court Officers are responsible for maintaining order in the court room and court facility during proceedings. Please send resume to Town of Batavia, Attention Hiedi Librock, 3833 West Main Street Road, Batavia, NY 14020. Complete job description is available on the Town web site or at the Town Hall Application deadline is April 15, 2024.
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