Stories from

Photos and information submitted by Steve Ognibene.

Catherine Roth gathered some local Boy Scouts from Troop #6069 this evening at the Batavia Historic Cemetery on Harvester Avenue to place new flags on veterans' gravesites.

Members in attendance were assistant scoutmasters Paul Crowley and John Petry. 

Boys who assisted were: Senior Patrol Leader Alex Hansen, his Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Dominic Brown, Tyler Mann, Zachary Lovell and LJ Petry. Not pictured but in attendance was Savannah Karn from Venture Crew #164.

A car has hit a bicycle at West Main Street and River Street, Batavia.

It's believed there are injuries.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPATE 9:08 p.m.: City fire back in service.

UPDATE 9:22 p.m.: Mercy ambulance back in service with a sign-off.

Two home-field pitchers, two dominant performances, a pair of very similar results for Batavia and Notre Dame in Section V playoff games at Dwyer Stadium on Friday.

Behind the 15-K, two-hit performance of Zach Hale, the Blue Devils shutdown Newark 1-0.

In the night cap, Alec Covel was just as masterful for the Fighting Irish. In the process of striking out 10, Covel gave up only one hit, and that wasn't until the top of the 6th inning, leading Notre Dame to a 2-0 victory over Alfred-Almond.

Batavia Head Coach Rick Saunders said Hale pitched the game of the year.

"What a performance," Saunders said. "The whole game is Hale. He got the base hit, and then I pinch run for him, and he's the winning run."

Mike Rapone, head coach of Notre Dame, was just as impressed with the performance of Covel, who started only three games this season prior to Friday because of an injury. Both Rapone and Covel said he came into the game, fresh, strong and eager to pitch.

"He threw only 78 pitches," Rapone said. "He was pounding the strike zone. His curve ball was sharp. He's a great player. He really is."

Both Newark and Alfred are lower seed games, but in sectionals top-ranked teams are going find themselves going against the best pitcher of their opponents.

"Their kid pitch great, too," Rapone said. "That's the thing with sectionals. They've got a .500 record, but they probably won every game that he pitched and maybe they lost all the ones he didn't, so you never know what you're going to run into when you get into sectional tournament. I mean, for a nine seed, heck, that kid threw the ball well."

Saunders was equally impressed with Newark's starter.

"i don't know anything about their pitcher, but I'll tell you, he is quality," Saunders said. "He threw a real nice fastball and a sweet curve ball."

Batavia was limited to four hits, but still managed to get a couple of runners to third. It made Saunders a little nervous when his offense couldn't close the deal.

"We had our chances," Saunders said. "Those games bother me more than anything, when we see guys on third base many times, one out, and you don't score, you go 'oh-oh, something bad can happen.' Nothing bad happened because Hale was in control of the game."

Being out on the mound in a big 1-0 game is exactly where he wanted to be, Hale said.

"I usually throw better later, but especially after we got that run," Hale said. "It really gave me a boost. I'm like, hey, better close it out.

"The rush is crazy," he added. "When you're out there every batter means something. It's not like it's a 10-0 game."

Covel said he just likes to be in that commanding situation, taking control of the game.

"All of my pitches working and with the strong defense behind me, it just gives me all the confidence in the world," Covel said.

Slide show from Batavia game. To order prints, click here.

Slide show for Notre Dame game below. Click here to purchase prints.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported at Ellicott and Jackson streets, Batavia.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

There are three vehicles involved and the intersection is blocked.

UPDATE 10:28 a.m.: No injuries.

UPDATE 10:57 a.m.: City assignment back in service.

After covering Section V playoff baseball at Dwyer Stadium, I stopped in Center Street Smokehouse to warm up and found myself enjoying the acoustic duo the Steve Balisteri Band. Since I had my camera with me, I thought I'd make a couple of photos.

I'll have coverage of the baseball games in the morning. Batavia won 1-0 and Notre Dame won 2-0.

Earlier this week, we e-mailed 10 questions to Steve Hyde about the approval of the COR Development Project. Below are the questions and his responses verbatum.

Q. According to the best available information, at the time the GCEDC board passed the resolution finding that COR's project would provide goods and services not readily available, only one of the proposed tenants was known and two others were in negotiations. How can such a finding be made without a certainty as to the exact tenants? What if COR were to change the tenants to include, say, a liquor store and/or a jewelry store (two business categories well represented in Batavia)?

A. We cannot comment on private negotiations between a developer and prospective tenants.  Like every project that is presented to our board, we have to rely on the information provided to us by the applicant which included a confidential disclosure of not only the known Dick’s project but two additional tenants as well. If the tenants that ultimately reach an agreement with the developer fail to fulfill the new criteria as defined by state law, we would ask our legal counsel for an opinion as to whether the applicant is living up to their end of the agreement and initiate appropriate claw backs. We are confident that COR will fulfill their obligations as they are a reputable developer.

Q. GCEDC has asserted that the COR project is bringing in retail with goods and services not readily available in Genesee County, but there's never been any specific information from GCEDC to substantiate this claim. What exactly is it about the known COR tenants that provides goods and services not readily available in Genesee County? Beyond the assertion, what are the facts to back up the assertion?

A. Again, we are relying on information provided by the applicant that the tenants both know and where private negotiations are occurring will provide goods and services that are not readily available in our community. We confident that COR will fulfill their commitments as it pertains to the GCEDC board’s finding which allows for GCEDC participation in the project under the retail exception as a part of the new state law.

Q. Does GCEDC have any obligation to provide mitigation for the tax breaks given to COR to the existing retailers, be they an independent business such as Batavia Marine or long-standing national chains such as Kmart (which also sells sporting goods)?

A. Any business in the community can submit an application for assistance to our agency and if they fulfill criteria such as the creation of new jobs and investment then they may be eligible for assistance. Our goal is to help businesses create jobs and bring new investment to our community and we stand ready to do everything we can to do that. We encourage businesses to learn more about the incentives provided by our agency. Information about these incentives as well as an application for assistance are available on our Web site at www.gcedc.com.

Q. Calculating from COR's own sales tax estimates, their tenants will generate somewhere in the neighborhood of $26 million in annual sales. On what basis are we to believe that Batavia is a marginal market in need of tax incentives in order to attract these retail businesses? The figures appear to be right in line with Dick's per store gross sales average, which means they should be able to project $500,000 in net annual profit. At that kind of return, do these retail stores really need tax breaks in order to come to Batavia? Aren't the things that make Batavia an attractive place to do business -- centrally located in a large rural area, Thruway proximity, promising economic growth -- sufficient for retail without tax breaks, and if it not, what will keep these business in town when the subsidies run out?

A. The fact that we do not have large retailers like Dick’s indicates that Batavia is a marginal market, however as we grow our economy through projects like Alpina and Muller Quaker and longer term STAMP, we will become a destination market. The fact remains, the developer applied for tax relief to conduct an adaptive reuse and expansion of the property at Batavia Towne Center that will create jobs and new investment in our community and just as important the application submitted fulfills the criteria for retail under the new state law.

Q. According to COR, the stores will invest a collective $11 million in opening their stores. If a retail business is willing to make that kind of financial comment to a community, how can we believe that tax incentives are critical to attracting national retail to Batavia?

A. Think about that for a moment. If you had an opportunity to make a $1.8 million investment over 10 years, which is essentially what our incentive package totals, and the return on that investment was $11 million worth of capital investment, who would not make that deal. On top of that, our investment of $1.8 million is going to be returned in the first year alone based on sales tax revenue generation which will benefit our community and help keep property tax rates down.  Without our assistance, there is no $11 million capital investment and no new sales tax revenue for our community thereby creating additional pressure to raise property taxes which hurt residents and businesses.

Q. GCEDC has asserted that it's bad for the community and bad for attracting business to have Lowe's vacant. In the time since it's been vacant, GCEDC has landed two major tenants and is about to land a third for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park. What evidence is there that a vacant Lowe's hurts business development?

A. When both Alpina and Muller Quaker were touring the area, the Lowe’s store was in fact still open which showed the companies that we did in fact have a vibrant retail center immediately located off of the I-90. Moreover, we are trying to take a holistic approach to economic development here in our community. You seemingly are taking the view that the Lowe’s vacancy does not “hurt” business development; we take the view, based on our years of experience in the company attraction business, that a vibrant retail center located at the gateway of our community enhances our ability to attract companies to our community in this very competitive world of economic development.

Q. GCEDC has asserted that it's bad to have a vacant Lowe's, but COR has said that it's bad for the rest of Batavia Towne Center to have a vacant Lowe's. Doesn't COR have a strong motivation to lease that space even without tax abatements?

A. I don’t want to single COR out; they are a prominent developer and like many developers they have options and choices as to where to lure their retail clients. Our decision was based on an application that our board believes fulfills the criteria under the new state law specific to retail projects. We believe the return on investment that will be generated through the tax assistance provided will create a vibrant towne center.

Q. What do you say to a comment such as Mike Barrett's, that tax incentives are like "using your own tax money to put yourself out of business"?

A. Alpina and Muller Quaker and the related economic benefits would not have occurred without the incentives being provided through the GCEDC. To the contrary, we are using incentives to create new jobs and new wealth and subsequently new tax revenues to make our community more prosperous and an even better place to work, live and play. I can assure you that Alpina and Muller Quaker are not putting local dairy farmers out of business.

Q. Based on our polls and nearly daily discussions with people in our community, it's difficult to find local residents who support tax breaks going to COR. Is it appropriate for GCEDC to go against the wishes of the vast majority of Genesee County residents on such an important issue?

A. Genesee County has a population of approximately 60,000 residents. A public hearing was held in the evening which was open to the public; about 30 residents attended and six spoke against the project during the hearing. One letter was received at the offices of the GCEDC opposing the project and was officially included in the transcripts of the hearing. The board was provided a written copy of the transcripts from the public hearing prior to voting to approve the adaptive reuse and expansion project at Batavia Towne Center. I think if we were to start relying on polling that admittedly in not statistically accurate and to use that data to make decisions about economic development, you would not see many businesses even contemplating coming to our community.

Q. Will GCEDC continue to have a policy of providing tax breaks to retail projects even though there is a significant body of research that shows tax incentives to retail have no tangible return to local communities and even though the vast majority of Genesee County residents oppose such tax breaks?

A. The GCEDC as a matter of practice does not pursue retail projects. This is evidenced to our not participating in the Tim Horton’s project locating at the west end of Batavia and the McDonald’s project planned for Aldi plaza in the City on the east end. We will continue to comply with state law while advancing our vision and mission to provide a positive place to do business for all companies. There is a significant body of evidence that shows there is a tangible return to local communities. To claim that the “vast majority” of residents oppose such tax breaks is subjective at best without any real statistically accurate information to substantiate such a claim.

Over the past 90 years, the Kiwanis Club has become part of the fabric of the community, Secretary Peter Guppenberger told his fellow Kiwanians during the club's anniversary celebration at Bohn's Restaurant last night.

So many of the club's activities have come cherished community events, from the Easter Egg Hunt in Centennial Park, to Pancake Days, to the Thanksgiving Day Skate and the Golf Ball Race at Picnic in the Park.

Many of these events serve the children of the community, which is the primary mission of Kiwanis.

"When you see the smiles on the kids' faces, you realize that's what it's all about," Guppenberger said.

Past President Lawrence Friedman spoke about how the club's current long-term project has re-energized the organization.

The Kiwanis Club is working to raise $150,000 to provide the Child Advocacy Center with a permanent home that the agency owns. So far $80,000 has been raised, with $60,000 of it coming from a pair annual auction galas.

The project was meant to position the club to do something meaningful for the community, but it has also served to bring in new members, with about 15 people joining last year and another half dozen so far this year.

This year's gala will be Sept. 21 at Genesee Community College.

Current Club President Ed Minardo

Frank Romeo, Lt. Governor of the Genesee Division of Kiwanis

Barb Lewis, from Ladies of Kiwanis

Past President Patrick Forsyth

Charles Walker Brown, 37, of Canterbury Lane, Bergen, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd.  Brown, who was managing a restaurant on West Main Street Road, Batavia, is accused of using funds in excess of $3,000 for his own personal gain.

Jon Thomas Magliocco, 36, of Jackson Street, Batavia, is charged with failure to report a change of address as a sex offender. Magliocco was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Pamela J. Brochu, 53, of Portage Drive, Polk City, Fla., is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, failure to keep right and moving from lane unsafely. Brochu was stopped at 1:08 a.m., Thursday, on Judge Road, Alabama, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Brendan D. Curry, 32, of Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving drunk with a child in the car. Curry was stopped at 1:50 a.m., Thursday, by State Police in the Town of Batavia.

Should the War on Terror come to an end?

New York Times: The End of the Perpetual War

A 28-year-old Warsaw resident is in the Genesee County Jail tonight after being accused of throwing his 7-year-old son to the floor while in the toy department at Walmart this afternoon.

Christopher P. Cummings was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court in front of Justice Thomas Williams on charges of harassment, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child and ordered held on $2,500 bail.

The boy was taken to UMMC by Child Protective Services for a precautionary evaluation and is reportedly uninjured.

In court tonight, Cummings said, "I was in the wrong, obviously."

The alleged incident was reported at 2:30 p.m. after a witness reported seeing Cummings pick the boy up by his shoulders and "slam" him to the floor.

"I screamed at the man and told him to leave the child alone," the witness said in a written statement.

The arresting officer, Trooper Eric Daigler, wrote in the report filed with the court -- known as an accusatory -- that Cummings was seen lifting the boy over his head and then "throw him to the floor."

Cummings then reportedly picked up the boy and started to walk away. He was joined by a young woman and two children and all five quickly exited the store.

The man who said he had screamed at Cummings called 9-1-1.

Several witnesses reportedly either saw the incident or heard the commotion. Cummings was reportedly yelling very loudly at the boy.

In a written statement, Cummings admits to the incident.

He said the boy had been with his mother who was looking at clothing, but the mother complained the boy was misbehaving and asked Cummings to watch over him.

Cummings took his three boys to look at video games, but the oldest boy wasn't interested, so they went to the toy section.

The boy became interested in some playing cards, something like, Cummings wrote, "Pokemon or Skylander." The boy asked for the cards and Cummings said no. The boy then tried to open the cards and Cummings told him not to and the three boys and their dad walked to the next aisle.

The boy then said he was going back to put the cards away. When he returned, he had the cards out of the packaging and the wrapper was gone.

Cummings said he slapped the 7-year-old with an open hand. The boy fell to the floor and started to cry.

"He argued about the cards," Cummings said. "That's when I picked him up and slammed him down.

"That's when people in the store started yelling at me," Cummings added. "(The boy) had sprawled himself out and was throwing a temper tantrum."

Cummings said he picked the boy up, was joined by the boy's mother and he told her people were yelling at him and that he had slapped the boy.

He was aware, he said, that people said they were going to call the police, but he wasn't sure if anybody actually had.

The family drove to the Tonawanda Indian Reservation and while there received a phone call from the mother of the mother who said the incident had made the news.

The family returned to the Pavilion residence of the mother and three children and Cummings continued on to Warsaw.

"I know I have anger management problems and I want to get help for it," Cummings wrote at the end of his statement.

The mother called the Sheriff's Office and was put in touch with Trooper Holly Hanssel who convinced her to have Cummings return to Pavilion, which he did. By that time, Cummings had already been identified as the suspect by several callers who had seen the news report. State Police were at the residence by the time Cummings returned.

He was taken into custody without incident.

Justice Williams issued a complete stay away order of protection for Cummings. For the time being, at least, he's to have no contact whatsoever with his three sons.

In a news release to all WNY media outlets, State Police said that investigators had no leads on who the suspect was until the post appeared on The Batavian.

"Within minutes of the posting leads as to the suspect’s identity began coming in," the news release reads, and concludes, "Troopers credit the swift apprehension of Cummings to the posting of his picture by the online news outlet and the public’s willingness to come forward with the information that led to his identity."

Police are concerned for the well being of a young boy whom witnesses say was slammed to the floor by a male subject while inside Walmart and are seeking the public's quick assistance in locating the boy and the suspect.

A witness said he saw a man pick up a boy who is believed to be about 8 or 9 years old, lift him over his head and slam him to the floor.

Trooper Holly Hanssel said she believes the boy suffered injuries.

The man, the boy and a woman along with two other boys, believed to be ages 4 and 5, left their basket of items and exited the store after a man who witnessed the incident confronted the suspect and told him to stop.

The group ran toward the exit and drove away in a dark-colored sedan in the style of a Buick Century or Chevy Lumina.

The alleged incident was reported just before 2:45 p.m.

The male suspect is described as white with dirty blond hair and 5'8" tall. The female is blonde, wearing a red tank-top and skirt. The boy was wearing a green shirt.

Anybody with information that may assist in locating the boy so police can check on his welfare are asked to call the State Police Batavia Barracks at (585) 344-6200.

(Initial Report)

UPDATE 6:30 p.m.: Law enforcement has taken into custody 28-year-old Christopher Cummings, of Pavilion, in connection with the incident. Charges, if any, are as yet unspecified. Child Protective Services responded and notes there are bruises to the child's arm.

Note: No further phone calls about this incident are necessary. Law enforcement has enough information at this point, but thanks the public for their assistance.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) highlighted a piece of legislation passed by the Assembly addressing yet another flaw in the NY SAFE Act as further proof that the law must be fully repealed. The bill would exempt certain retired law enforcement officers from restrictions related to magazine capacity. Hawley agreed with the principle of the effort, but noted that such loopholes illustrate the need to repeal the law and start from scratch.

“Not only should retired police officers be exempt from the NY SAFE Act, but so should veterans and every other law-abiding American citizen,” said Hawley. “It seems that as more time passes, more glaring flaws come to light. It comes as no surprise that the bad process used to force this law on New Yorkers has led to bad policy. The sad truth is, I have little doubt we will be amending this irresponsible law piece by piece for a long time to come. That’s why we must repeal the SAFE Act and approach sensible, life-saving measures the correct way; by incorporating the voices of law-abiding New Yorkers whose lives are affected by the legislature’s actions.”

Hawley recently wrote to Governor Andrew Cuomo sharing the results of a petition he circulated advocating the repeal of the NY SAFE Act. In less than three months, the petition garnered 1,050 signatures from local law-abiding citizens.

To help promote an anti-smoking message, GCASA has placed about 50 T-shirts on PVC-pipe hangers along the edge of the agencies property at 430 E. Main St., Batavia.

A contractor is on Summit Street, Batavia, this morning working on the sewer system. A worker told me they were putting in a lining.

Bruce Jeramie Brade, 32, of Stroh Road, Attica, is charged with identify theft, 3rd. Brade allegedly used the personal information of another person, including a credit card number, for personal benefit.

Llani Marie Gerrastzu, 18, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Gerrastzu was allegedly found in her home with marijuana at 6:35 a.m., Wednesday.

Shannon Ann Caton, 38, of Fisher Road, Oakfield, is charged with harassment. Caton was allegedly involved in a fight at her place of employment on April 2.

Eric A. Ion, 40, of Brant, is charged with criminal contempt. Ion is accused of violating a court order in Alexander at 4:14 p.m., May 14. Ion was arrested by State Police. No further details released.

Michelle G. Robb, 55, of Corfu, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs. Robb was stopped at 8:06 p.m., May 14, by State Police on Route 77, Pembroke. No further details released.

Richard A. Demmer, 20, of Oakfield, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Demmer was arrested by State Police related to an alleged incident reported at 5:20 p.m., May 14.

Should NYS set up tax-free zones for businesses at SUNY campuses?

Syracuse.com: Gov. Andrew Cuomo to businesses: Yes, I said tax free

Current booking photo Sex offender registry

One of the two brothers recently accused of sexually abusing children in multiple jurisdictions over the past three decades appeared in Genesee County Court this afternoon to answer to a felony grand jury indictment.

Sean M. Vickers, 44, of 117 Andes St., Geneva, entered a not guilty plea to single count of a course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree, a Class B felony.

Vickers is accused of sexual relations with a child while a resident of Batavia more than a decade ago.

According to Batavia PD, after media reports of his arrest, more people came forward accusing either Vickers or his brother of sex-related crimes.

While Sean Vickers, already a registered Level-3 sex offender, has yet been charged with any additional crimes, the FBI arrested David Allen Vickers, 49, of Stanley, and accused him, while working as a truck driver, of transporting a child to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Canada and engaging in sexual activity.

The two brothers are suspected of sexual activity with children going back 30 years.

Police are asking that anybody that may have children who came into contact with the Vickers or people who are now adults that may have had contact with the Vickers to contact police or the FBI.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is calling on members of the Assembly Majority to make their stance clear on sexual abuse against women by voicing their support for, or opposition to, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) has found that Speaker Silver launched a wide-ranging cover-up of a sexual harassment scandal involving recently resigned Assemblyman Vito Lopez, which included the use of taxpayer dollars as hush money. In 2001, the speaker helped shield his chief counsel, Michael Boxley, from sexual assault charges. Boxley was charged and found guilty of misconduct two years later.

Hawley, who has never supported Silver’s bid for speaker, is calling on the Assembly Majority to draw a line in the sand and vote him out of his leadership role.

“No woman should ever have to deal with sexual abuse in our society, let alone in the State Assembly, where public servants should be held to a higher standard,” Hawley said. “It takes tremendous courage for victims to confront their attackers; yet, time and time again, Speaker Silver has swept the acts of his members and staff under the rug.

“The Assembly Majority, who elected Silver as speaker, has been deafeningly silent on this issue,” Hawley continued. “This isn’t about politics. This is about right and wrong. I have never voted for Silver as speaker and believe he should relinquish his leadership post, and the members of his conference must publicly renounce him as well. Anything less would make them implicit in this despicable turn of events.”

Terry Platt, a landlord who owns numerous properties, says he's done investing in Genesee County.

On Tuesday, the City of Batavia Planning Board voted unanimously to disapprove Platt's proposal to convert a single family home at 316 E. Main St. into a boarding house.

"I hate to say it, because I would love to stay here and spend my money in the city, but after today, I think they've proved to me that Terry Platt's not wanted in this city," Platt said. "Therefore I will be looking to sell some things, but keep many so I can keep the income and take it to a different city that deserves it."

According to Platt, he put down $5,000 on a purchase offer for the property after city officials assured him the parcel was properly zoned for a rooming house and approval of his application wouldn't be a problem.

Then, last Friday, in a meeting with the city, he got the impression the attitude had changed.  Sudden, he said, city officials had found laws that limit the size of the rooming house.

He was told that instead of 12 rooms, he could only have nine, if approved.

At Tuesday's meeting, council members Rose Mary Christian and Kathy Briggs, along with John Roach and two neighboring property owners spoke against Platt's plans.

Christian noted that 316 E. Main St. is next to a pair of well-maintained Victorian-era houses, including one that won an award from the Landmark Society this year.

"These are extraordinary properties that are well maintained and cared for by the owners," Christian said.

Both Christian and Briggs noted that converting a single-family home to a multi-unit dwelling goes against the city's recently adopted strategic plan, which aims to convert many of the existing apartment buildings that were once single-family homes back to single-family homes.

Roach objected to the idea that Platt would likely take in NYS parolees as tenants.

Christian noted that some of Platt's properties have sex offenders living in the dwellings.

April Walroot, Platt's property manager, said out of the 28 rooms the company has rented now, only four are the homes of registered sex offenders.

She also said that because the house is within 500 feet of a school -- St. Joseph's -- NYS Parole won't allow sex offenders to be placed in the residence.

According to this online mapping tool, St. Joe's is more than 800 feet from the house, as is the Richmond Memorial Library. 

Elizabeth Jess, who recently acquired the red brick home next to 316, said she and her husband bought it because the neighboring homes were single family and well maintained. She said she was worried about sex offenders moving into a residence next to her family.

"If there was ever any indication this could happen, we never would have bought this home," she said.

The Bialys, who own the recently designated Landmark home, have invested thousands and thousands of dollars into maintaining their house and they are concerned that putting a rooming house two doors down from their home would diminish the value.

Platt said, yes, his company does work with NYS Parole to find homes for former prison inmates. He also said all of his rooming homes are supervised and there are rules enforced on the residents. There's a strong motivation to obey the rules, Platt said, because offenses get reported back to parole officers.

It's an advantage to the city, he said, to have parolees living at his properties rather than elsewhere in the city because they are expected to follow certain rules and are monitored by the property manager.

The conversion also fits within the city's strategic plan, Platt said, because they city wants more residents downtown.

"We have a location downtown where people will be able to walk to everything and be able to spend their money downtown, keep the traffic downtown," Pratt said. "It will be a positive for the city."

After the application was denied, Pratt talked of possible legal action. He said he will consult with an attorney.

He feels there is an issue with the city giving him indications it would be approved and then, from his point of view, changing the rules at the last minute, and he also feels the city is discriminating against a certain class of people.

"There is a shortage of this type of housing for the good people who need a place to live," Platt said.

The denial is just one more piece of evidence, Platt said, that the city doesn't want him around so he's going to stop investing his money locally.

"It's pretty obvious the City has made many gestures and many ways to let Terry Platt know he's not wanted in the City of Batavia," Platt said.

Asked if the City isn't also making it harder for other landlords to do business, or was he just being singled out, Platt said, "It has lot to do with Terry Platt and his rooming houses, because how can they let a single-family home on Oak Street be converted to a rooming house several years ago and now all the sudden they don't want to see rooming houses near downtown where they need the traffic?"

City Fire Department is on scene in the area of Woodrow Road and Soccio Street, Batavia, where white smoke is seen coming from the second-floor window of a residence.

UPDATE 8:54 a.m.: It's a dryer fire.

UPDATE 8:55 a.m.: Third platoon to stand by at headquarters.

UPDATE 8:56 a.m.: Fire is out.Ventilating.

UPDATE 10 a.m.: City fire back in service.