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City Schools hand out monthly awards
Press release:
Batavia City School District Board of Education Awards on Feb. 7
Two Board members – Karen Tomidy and Leslie Johnson – each received a Certificate of Completion for finishing a NYS-mandated training for Board of Education members.
Batavia Middle School student Garrett Schmidt was presented with an Outstanding Student Award by Board of Education President Patrick Burk at the February Board meeting. He was nominated by BMS Principal Ashley Grillo, who wrote, “Garrett Schmidt is a stellar student who has transitioned into sixth-grade seamlessly. Even with increased expectations and responsibilities, Garrett is going above and beyond on a daily basis. Not only is Garrett kind and helpful to ALL students, he is meticulous in his work and his effort exceeds expectations. He is a quiet leader, which spurred his nomination to a leadership conference this summer. Garrett will attend the Ambassador Leadership Summit with students from 140 different countries that will enhance and refine his strong leadership potential. He is a student you trust. He works in the Counseling Center during his Home Base time and was even chosen to help a student travel to and from classes due to a broken wrist.”
Batavia Middle School staff members Karen O’Donnell, Laura Kaczmarek, Karen Cima, Jessica Korzelius and Frank Ferri were presented with Outstanding Employee Awards by Board of Education President Patrick Burk at the February Board meeting. They were nominated by BMS Principal Ashley Grillo, who wrote, “These Batavia Middle School teachers are being recognized for their help in organizing the fifth-grade Staycation Field Trip. Mrs. Korzelius, Mr. Ferri, and Mrs. O'Donnell approached the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership about having them come to BMS with devices and other technological resources acquired through the GAMETech Grant. These devices included LittleBits, Cubelets, Lego WeDo Robotics, Lego StoryStarters, and Lego EV3 Mindstorms Robotics Kits. Once the Staycation was approved, Mrs. Cima and Mrs. Kaczmarek organized the Staycation and had the students rotate through various stations throughout the school day. Stations were setup for programming and others were set up for building. The technological modules are hands-on activities that fit into instructional learning standards and learning targets. All the students were engaged in problem solving and creativity at each station. The Staycation took two months to plan, as it was extremely involved. Congratulations to these teachers for thinking outside the box and coming up with an excellent idea for our BMS Students.”
Jackson Primary School teacher Kelly Radley was presented with an Outstanding Employee Award by Board of Education President Patrick Burk at the February Board meeting. She was nominated by Jackson Principal Diane Bonarigo, who wrote, “Ms. Radley serves as a Teacher on Special Assignment for Jackson Primary School and is the District’s Mentor/Mentee Coordinator. She is a highly respected teacher leader and serves the school in many different ways. Ms. Radley can always be seen at evening and Saturday events at Jackson Primary and consistently goes above and beyond to serve the needs of our students, staff and parents, and does this with great enthusiasm. Thank you, Ms. Radley, for making a significant contribution to our school community.”
Batavia PD reports local complaints of small denomination counterfeit bills
Press release:
The City of Batavia Police Department has received multiple complaints where small denomination counterfeit bills have been passed at local businesses. The Batavia Police Department is reminding everyone to check their money carefully. If you feel that you may be victim to receiving counterfeit bills, please report it to the Police Department.
A few simple items to check for on U.S. Currency that are hard to recreate on counterfeit bills:
- Color-shifting ink -- the bill denomination on the bottom right-hand corner has color-shifting ink;
- Raised printing -- to detect raised printing, take your fingernail and run it carefully down the collar/jacket. You should feel some vibration on your nail from the ridges.
- Blurry borders/printing/text -- significantly blurry borders, printing, or text, it is an automatic red flag.
- Red & Blue threads -- If you take a close look at an authentic bill, you will see that there are small red and blue threads woven in and out within the fabric of the bill.
- Watermark -- In many of the new bills, the watermark is actually a replica of the face on the bill.
Law and Order: Police locate two people wanted on warrants from previous decade
Gari Lyn Fields, 33, of Lehigh Street, Rochester, is charged with failure to dim headlights and aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd. Fields was stopped at 2:21 a.m., Feb. 8, by Deputy Jeremy McClellan on Morganville Road, Stafford, and arrested on a warrant out of Town of Stafford Court from Sept. 4, 2007. Fields was held on $250 bail or $2,500 bond.
Eileen L. Biaselli, 58, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant from 2005. The warrant was discovered by Batavia PD officers during an investigation of an unrelated domestic dispute. Biaselli was jailed without bail.
Taylor Maya Miley, 20, of Heidt Avenue, Middletown, is charged with harassment. Miley allegedly threatened another person at Genesee Community College at 2:30 p.m., Feb. 8.
Chevon Mae Duryea, 25, of Watercure Road, Nunda, is charged with petit larceny and possession of a hypodermic instrument. Duryea is accused of shoplifting from Kohl's Department Store. During the investigation he was allegedly found in possession of a needle. Also arrested and charged with petit larceny was Carl Abraham Goossens, 32, of Coverdale Road, Leicester.
Christine Ann Gelardo, 64, of Fargo Road, Stafford, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and possession of a controlled substance not in original container. Gelardo was arrested following the completion of an investigation stemming from an incident reported Sept. 27 on Fargo Road in Stafford. Also arrested and charged with possession of a hypodermic instrument was Daniel Leonard Pelton, 59, of Fargo Road, Stafford.
Katrina L. Drake, 26, of Locust Street, Lockport, is charged with disorderly conduct and aggravated unlicensed operation. Drake was arrested by Officer Peter Flanagan following a complaint of a fight in the roadway at 1:07 a.m. Sunday on Summit Street, Batavia.
Robert S. Sodja, 52, of Lake Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant out of City Court and jailed on $1,000 bail.
Jessie J. Sayyeau, 23, of Iroquois Street, Rochester, was arrested on a warrant out of City Court for alleged failure to appear and jailed on $1,000 bail.
Joseph M. Marsceill Jr., 31, of Pringle Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant by Batavia PD after being located by probation officers in a home of one of their probationers. He was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.
Two-car accident with injuries reported in the Village of Oakfield
A two-car accident with injuries is reported at Main Street and Gibson Street in the Village of Oakfield.
Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS responding.
UPDATE 3:53 p.m.: A second accident is reported at Lewiston Road and Maltby Road. The initial report was no injuries, no possible minor injuries. Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS dispatched. The accident is blocking. On the first accident, we believe we heard that a patient has a complaint of back pain.
Pembroke Fire District hosts first awards and installation dinner in about 20 years
David Olsen was named Firefighter of the Year for the Pembroke Fire District at the district's awards and installation dinner last night at Quality Inn & Suites in Batavia.
It's the first such dinner for the Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments in about 20 years.
Kevin Ross was named EMS Provider of the Year, but he was unable to attend.
The officers for 2017 are:
- Firematic: Chief, Jamie Waff; Assistant Chief, Edwin Mileham Jr.; Assistant Chief, Greg Warren; Assistant Chief, James Garrett; Assistant Chief, Ed Swiatowy; EMS Captain-Pembroke, Kevin Ross; EMS Captain-Indian Falls, Lu Anne Mileham; Line Captain-Pembroke, Peter Sformo; Fire Police Captain-Indian Falls, Lu Anne Mileham; Training Officer, Colby Sanner;
- Administrative officers for Pembroke: President, Greg Warren; Vice President, Randi Garrett; Secretary, Rachel Reiss; Treasurer, Brenda Swiatowy;
- Administrative officers for Indian Falls: President, George Klotzbach; Vice President, Lu Anne Mileham; Secretary, Andrew Dibble; Treasurer, Lu Anne Mileham;
- Directors: Brenda Swiatowy, Ed Swiatowy, Greg Warren, Autumn Waff, Randi Garrett, James Garrett, Tyler Smith, Amanda Smith;
- Commissioners: Ron Tyx, Chairman, Heidi Librock; Secretary/Treasurer, Norm Waff; Jim Reinhardt, Colby Sanner, and Adam Schafer.
Chief Jamie Waff received an Award of Appreciation for his years of service to the district.
Rollover accident with minor injuries reported on Lewiston Road, Oakfield
A rollover accident with minor injuries is reported on Lewiston Road just north of Fisher Road in Oakfield.
Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS responding.
UPDATE 8:29 a.m.: A chief reports a Mercy medic on his way to work is on scene and has checked out the patient and Mercy EMS can go back in service.
HLOM's new director fascinated by the treasures he's finding in the museum's collection
Ryan Duffy decided in high school that he wanted to work in a history museum.
Now, he's running one.
Duffy is the new director of the Holland Land Office Museum in Batavia and yesterday the museum held a reception to welcome him to his new job.
He started Jan. 17 and said he's already fascinated by what he's finding in the museum.
"I go upstairs every day to work on some things and I find something new that I find I’m amazed that it’s here, that you would expect to be some place much bigger than here," he said.
One reason Duffy is going through the collection is he's trying to plan future exhibits, which he said may focus on local history, or he may explore cooperative efforts with other museums for exhibits with ties to Genesee County, but not specifically Genesee County. He's currently working on a possible World War I exhibit and he's found some items he was surprised might be part of the local collection, such as a war department document. He said he's also impressed with the range of military uniforms the museum owns, representing all branches of service spanning the history of the country.
To help get more people to visit the museum, he's exploring the idea of trivia nights and more family-oriented events.
Duffy, originally from Eden, received his BA in history from St. Bonaventure University. He received a master's dpegree in history from Bowling Green University and a Master's Certificate in Museum Studies from SUNY Buffalo State College.
"I’ve become more and more interested in local history as I’ve gone along, so I thought, ‘I’m still in Western New York -- it’s still my history in that regard,’ " Duffy said, explaining why he applied for the job when he heard HLOM was looking for a new director. "I still feel a connection to it and I get to do what I actually want to do.”
Photos: Sno-Packers host annual bikini rally
No snow? No problem for the Genesee Sno-Packers, who went ahead with their third annual Bikini Snowmobile Rally at their clubhouse in Oakfield.
The event is a fundraiser for the Roswell Cancer Institute.
Collins backing legislation to gather data on firefighter responses to help spot cancer trends
Research released last year concluded that firefighters suffer incidents of cancer at a higher rate than the general population and Congressman Chris Collins thinks more data needs to be gathered to help researchers figure out why.
Collins is sponsoring legislation that will task the Department of Health and Human Services with creating a nationwide database to track and retain information on the emergency responses of firefighters, both career and volunteer.
"I like to call this good common-sense legislation," Collins said during an announcement event at the Town of Batavia Fire Hall on Lewiston Road. "We know Congress is very divided these days, but this is a piece of legislation that will be bipartisan. There is no difficulty whatsoever in getting both Republicans and Democrats to step forward something that is very commonsense and very low cost."
The legislation is backed by firefighter groups both in New York and across the nation. It is in response to a CDC report (pdf) based on a study of 30,000 career firefighters in three large metro departments who served from 1950 to 2010 as well as data from 18,000 current firefighters. The six-year study found a greater number of cancer diagnoses and more cancer-related deaths among the cohort. These were mostly digestive, oral, respiratory, and urinary cancers. Firefighters may also be exposed more frequently to asbestos, increasing the rate of malignant mesothelioma.
Firefighters tend to respond to many instances where not only asbestos might be present, but a whole range of hazardous materials.
Dan Coffey, Town of Batavia's fire chief, said helping HHS gather the data may not be much of a burden on volunteer chiefs. Currently, every firefighter who responds on every call is logged and if there is suspected exposure to something hazardous, that is also logged and kept on file forever. If there are additional data points HHS requires, that may mean a little more work, but he said he would just have to wait and see about any additional burden, if any.
He thinks the effort is worth it, he said.
"It is very important and something that hits near and dear to us," Coffey said. "There has been a lot of discussion about higher cancer rates in this profession and certainly that would lead to a little more comfort knowing why we have higher rates and hopefully that leads to better equipment and protection and reduces the rate among firefighters."
Winter weather advisory issued for Sunday
Freezing rain, snow and wind are in the forecast for Sunday from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m., Monday.
Snow accumulation could range from four to seven inches.
Winds will be from the northwest at 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.
Blowing and drifting snow on top of icy conditions are expected.
Visibility could be as low as a half mile at times.
Batavia Players presents The Magic Kingdom On Broadway VIII
This weekend and next, Batavia Players, now in its 85th season, is presenting "The Magic Kingdom On Broadway VIII." The musical review features performances from a variety of Disney productions, including "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," "A Spoonful of Sugar," "A Whole New World," "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," songs from "Frozen," and songs from "High School Musical," plus several other numbers.
The cast includes 37 local dancers and singers from age 8 to 40. The show consists of five segments with a 15-minute intermission and a total run time of an hour and 45 minutes. The show is appropriate for theatergoers of all ages.
There is a performance at 56 Harvester today at 7:30 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m. Next weekend there are performances on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for students and seniors.
Scoreboard: Elba scores 71 to beat at Lyndonville
Boys Basketball
- Alexander 69, Attica 56 FINAL
- Byron-Bergen 48, Holley 33 FINAL
- Elba 71, Lyndonville 43 FINAL
- Hornell 70, Le Roy 55 FINAL
- Cal-Mum 91, Warsaw 41 FINAL
- Mt. Morris 77, Pavilion 56 FINAL
- Newark vs. Batavia – PPD due to weather
Girls Basketball
- Pavilion 54, Mt. Morris 46 FINAL
- Cal-Mum 47, Warsaw 34 FINAL
- Hornell 73, Le Roy 38 FINAL
Hockey
- Victor 5, Notre Dame 0 FINAL
New Golden Gopher debuts in Pavilion
On Senior Night, with a girls and boys basketball doubleheader, Pavilion officially unveiled its new Golden Gophers logo, with their gopher mascot carrying the flag.
In the girls' game, Pavilion prevailed over Mt. Morris 54-46. Mt. Morris won the nightcap over the boys 77-56.
Freezing rain advisory for tonight and tomorrow morning
The National Weather Service is predicting freezing rain starting at 11 p.m. with an advisory in effect through noon Sunday.
An accumulation of a 10th of an inch is possible.
Lows will be in the lower 30s overnight and upper 30s Sunday afternoon.
Driving and walking conditions could be hazardous.
Brandon Burke becomes Byron-Bergen's first boys basketball player to tally 1,000 points
Byron-Bergen's Brandon Burke scored his 1,000th point last night, becoming the first player at the school to hit that milestone in boys basketball. In a submitted photo, Burke is pictured with his family.
Car fire reported behind M&T Bank, Batavia
A car fire is reported in the Court Street Plaza parking lot behind the M&T Bank in Batavia.
City fire is responding.
UPDATE: Photo via City of Batavia Firefighters -- IAFF Local 896. Firefighters reported a quick knock down. No injuries. This was also the first fire for two new members of the department, Sean Huggins and David Pollock.
Third Annual Eve Conference to be held at Northgate in March
The women organizing the third annual Eve Conference at Northgate Free Methodist Church are excited about the event next month that they believe will help bring more joy into the lives of all the women who attend.
The conference is March 25 and will feature keynote speaker Pam Washburn, whose talk is titled "Defending Our Joy."
The Eve Conference is open to teen girls and women of all faiths.
There are also 12 breakout sessions, including three specifically for teens, two worship services, and an optional lunch.
Sessions include "The Interruption of Joy," "Surviving Divorce," "Marriage," "Living the Full Life," "Daughters of Miriam: Hearing the whispered heroism of the women of the Old Testment," and "Jesus 1st."
Registration is $25, $15 for teens and the optional lunch is $7.
“We’ve had people’s lives transformed in here in one day," said Jennifer Berry. "It’s amazing. It’s a day where you walk away thinking anything is possible and you have the tools you need to improve your life.”
For more information and tickets, click here.
Photo: Jennifer Berry, Jessica Barone, Meg Hoistington, Gloria Roorda, and Julie Varland.
Two solar projects in Town of Batavia move forward in approval process
Two solar farm projects in the Town of Batavia were recommended for approval by the Genesee County Planning Board on Thursday night.
One project is at 3833 W. Main Street Road. It is an 11.6-acre project on a 83.5-acre parcel.
The other is at 8169 Bank Street Road, Batavia. It is 11 acres on 93.3 acres.
Both projects are being developed by Forefront Power, formerly SunEdison, with Forefront agreeing to leases of 25 years with the property owners.
The projects are expected to produce enough electricity each to power the equivalent of 300 residential homes.
Timothy P. Ahrens, in charge of project development for Forefront, said the projects will help create additional renewable energy sources for the region.
The projects will be eligible for state and federal incentives to help offset the costs.
Planning Board members asked questions about what happens to the farm if it's ever decommissioned and Ahrens said part of the agreement with the landowners is to remove all of the infrastructure and return the land to its prior use.
Both lots are less-than-prime farmland.
Pending final approval by the Town of Batavia, Ahrens said Forefront hopes to begin construction by the fall.
Watson Street resident accused of selling crack cocaine
Thomas L. Gibson, 29, of Watson Street, Batavia, has been arrested on suspicion of drug dealing and jailed on $20,000 bail or $40,000 bond.
Gibson was arrested on a warrant. The arrest stemmed from an investigation by the Local Drug Task Force into the alleged sales of crack cocaine in the City of Batavia.
He is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.
