Press release:
Due to an unexpected plumbing issue, Urgent Care at 8745 Lake St., Le Roy will be closed tonight, Dec. 19. They will reopen tomorrow, Dec. 20 at their regular time, 11 a.m. Patients who require urgent care services are encouraged to use the Batavia location at 16 Bank St.
A comptroller's audit in the Town of Oakfield uncovered what appears to be an accounting error with garbage punch cards.
Some 1,519 cards, with a value of $30,380, are missing.
It doesn't appear that any funds are missing or have been misappropriated, said Town Supervisor Mike Cianfrini, and the comptroller's report doesn't accuse anybody of wrongdoing.
The town has already taken measures to improve controls, according to the report and Cianfrini.
"When we went to the ticket process, it was kind of a work in progress," Cianfrini said. "I don't think proper controls were put in place, and those have since been implemented."
Going forward,
The town received 5,000 press-numbered cards for sale to the public in February 2011. The cards sell for $20 each at the town hall, village hall and three local businesses.
At the time of the audit, 1,446 cards had been sold and 2,035 were unsold with 1,519 missing.
Cianfrini said there doesn't appear, however, to be any missing funds.
"Due to the lack of sufficient record keeping, we could not determine the reasons for these gaps," the auditors state.
While there's no accusation of wrongdoing, the auditors do state, "there is no assurance that the unaccounted cards were not sold, lost or stolen."
The discrepancies were found, Cianfrini said, during an audit of the town's entire recording keeping and financial systems.
"When I met with them after this report came out -- they looked at the entire town's financial transactions -- and this was the only issue noted," Cianfrini said. "They were actually impressed with the financial controls in the town."
With the help of dozens of volunteers and dozens more donations, T.F. Brown's and Batavia Lions will host their annual Christmas Day dinner with two seatings available, noon and 1 p.m.
Tonight, there were free drinks at T.F. Brown's for community members who came in with a new, unwrapped gift for Santa to give to the children who attend the dinners.
The dinners are open to anybody in the community who wishes to attend and are absolutely free. For reservations, call Maud at 345-1000. Maud will want to know which time you will attend along with the gender, age and names of any children in your company.
Please RSVP by the close of business Friday.
Pictured, Pete Arras, Mary Beth Teresi and Rick Mancuso.
The Rotary Club of Batavia hosted its annual lunch kicking off its basketball tournament.
The 24th annual tournament will be Jan. 8 and 10 at GCC, game times of 6 and 7 p.m.
Photo above: Riley Norton, Notre Dame, senior, forward; Kaleigh Cicero, Perry, senior, guard; Tatyana Wayne, Batavia, senior, guard; and, Sarah Loranty, Alexander, senior, guard.
Below, Santa asks attendees to applaud for the coach with the best "do-rag." From left, Brent Gillette, Perry, Marcia Hirsch, Alexander, Dave Pero, Notre Dame, and Bill Wade, Batavia.
Press release:
During her year and a half in Congress, Representative Kathy Hochul (NY-26) worked with members of both parties on behalf of Western New York’s small businesses, middle class families, veterans, students and seniors.
“It has been an honor and privilege to represent and fight for the people of Western New York,” Hochul said.
Thanks to Hochul’s efforts, the temporary guest worker program has been streamlined and is now available electronically, saving farmers across the country time and money.
Under Hochul’s Clothe a Homeless Hero Act, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and local charities to distribute unclaimed clothing left at airport security checkpoints to homeless and needy veterans and their families. This bill passed House and Senate and is expected to be signed into law by the President.
Rep. Hochul is known for working closely with constituents to answer questions, solve problems, or cut through bureaucratic red tape. Hochul secured over $1.3 million dollars for her constituents.
Hochul made it a top priority to ensure the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station (NFARS) would remain in Western New York for the foreseeable future. At Hochul's invitation, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta visited the air base in August and promised to preserve the base.
Additionally, Hochul worked to ensure that American manufacturers continue to grow, create jobs at home, and outperform foreign competition. In her manufacturing jobs plan, she advocated for investing in American workers by closing the skills gap, bringing jobs home from overseas, cracking down on unfair Chinese trade practices, spurring production of America-made energy and resources, and keeping tax dollars in America. Rep Hochul introduced a bill to create incentives for local companies to partner with colleges and universities to match education and job training with the needs of our local businesses.
Please click here to see accompanying document for further information on Rep. Hochul’s accomplishments.
The city has ambitious plans to transform waste collection in Batavia into a service that bills all property owners, encourages recycling and reduces costs through automation.
The details of the city's goals are part of two requests for proposals (RFPs) posted earlier this week on the city's Web site. One RFP covers a supply of wheeled recycling and refuse totes (or carts) and the other seeks a contractor to provide refuse and recycling pick up.
The new program would move the city away from the current use of garbage bags, cans and small blue recycling buckets.
And if Genesee ARC doesn't win the contract -- or fails to bid on it -- it could mean the end of a 30-year relationship with the agency that serves the local developmentally disabled community.
Under terms of the RFPs, the city would purchase the totes and handle all billing, accounting and fee collections.
Property owners would pay the fees and be responsible for determining which size refuse and recycling carts they would use (outside of just accepting the default options).
The fee paid by each property owner would be based on the size of the refuse cart. A 95-gallon tote would cost more than a 65-gallon tote.
The actual amount of the fee will be determined based on the cost of the contracts awarded.
The variable fee program will end the practice of charging for waste collection through property taxes. City Manager Jason Molino said this should lead to a reduction in property taxes for city residents.
Customers would receive free recycling totes, regardless of number or size.
The default options for a single family home is a 95-gallon refuse container and a 65-gallon recycling tote.
Molino said the city hopes residents will put the emphasis on recycling, not waste disposal.
"The city wants you to request 95-gallon recycling tote and a 65-gallon refuse tote because it’s cheaper and you generate less refuse tonnage and you divert more to the recycling stream," Molino said.
Multiple dwelling units, up to four families, would each get a 95-gallon refuse cart per family and one 65-gallon recycling cart per property.
The property owner could request a different configuration, and requesting bigger recycling containers and smaller refuse containers would save the property owner money.
The wheeled totes would come in 35, 65 and 95 gallon sizes and meet certain specified quality standards. according to the RFP. They would be covered by a 10-year warranty.
The waste collection company would be expected to deploy two trucks each weekday (except specified holidays).
According to the RFPs, the city generates 4,487 tons of refuse annually, and though statistics have not been kept on recycling collection, the city estimates local residents and businesses generate 800 to 900 tons of recycling material annually.
As part of the waste program, large items left curbside for pick up will require a city-purchased sticker -- at $5 per sticker. Since 2008, an average of 3,070 bulk waste stickers sold annually.
The city anticipates a need for 5,300 garbage totes and 5,000 for recycling.
Refuse would be picked up every week and the recycling bin for each customer would be picked up every other week.
Molino said the city will also try to encourage composting by residents of organic matter to help reduce the amount of garbage going into the refuse stream.
"That’s more of an education effort," Molino said.
Bids will be opened in a public meeting at 1 p.m., Jan. 9.
The contract award will be based on meeting RFP specifications and costs.
Molino and a committee will review the bids, reject any that don't meet specifications and then recommend a bid winner to the city council.
The city council would have to approve the contracts -- at a Jan. 28 meeting -- and could potentially reject any recommended bid.
If a bid is accepted, the contractor would be expected to finish delivery of totes to customers by the end of May and the new collection service would start in June.
The request for bids comes near the end of a five-year contract between the city and Genesee ARC.
Genesee ARC has provided the city's garbage service for nearly 30 years and at an annual cost, recently, of $810,000 a year. The agency, based in Batavia, employs 30 people in the service, including 20 with developmental disabilities.
In order to compete for the bid, ARC would likely need to consider buying at least two new garbage trucks, and possibly a third just to handle recycling, in order to meet the specifications of the new proposed contract.
Each truck costs a minimum of $100,000, with prices ranging up to $200,000 each.
Donna Saskowski, executive director of the ARC, said the agency continues to evaluate its options and hasn't made a decision about how it's going to proceed.
Currently, ARC employs two people per garbage truck and three people per truck for recycling pick up.
The automated trucks designed to pick up totes only need one employee per truck.
The potential impact on the agency's employment per truck isn't necessarily the agency's primary concern, Saskowski said.
"We’re tring to be as businesslike and as professional as we can and address the needs of citizen of Batavia," Saskowski said. "That really is our goal."
A prayer vigil for Kelsey Milks is being organized for tomorrow night in Pembroke.
Milks is the 19-year-old Corfu resident who died Sunday night following an automobile accident on Route 63, Town of Shelby.
Participants are asked to bring a candle or flashlight and gather at the Pembroke Fire Hall at 7 p.m. A prayer walk to the Milks' home will begin at 7:30.
Press release:
A “Candlelight Gathering” on Thursday, Dec. 20, will honor the victims of last week’s elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., while helping the local community come to terms with the tragedy.
The event will begin at 7:15 p.m. in Trigon Park.
Le Roy school officials and representatives, and local clergy have been invited to speak during Thursday’s gathering, which is aimed at supporting peace, reaffirming that safety is of the utmost importance and honoring the victims of the shooting.
Among the organizers is Christine Gephart, a social worker with the Honeoye Falls-Lima School District who has a private practice in Le Roy.
Twenty-six people — 20 of them first-graders — were killed on Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., by a gunman who then committed suicide. The tragedy received widespread media attention.
Gephart said children are affected more than we might assume by minor and major losses.
“Tragic events, such as what happened in Sandy Hook, can leave a profound impact on young children,” Gephart said. “As a community it is important to come together to support each other, allow our children and ourselves to grieve, to support our district’s initiative to promote peace and to help our children feel reassured of their safety and well-being.”
The event is supported by Girl Scout Troop 42027 — which Gephart leads — and the Le Roy Parent Teacher Service Organization.
For more information, contact organizer Holly Eschberger, Le Roy PTSO secretary at hollyesch@yahoo.com; or visit the Facebook event page at www.facebook.com/events/574633139228867/
Jamie R. Bachorski, 18, of Oakfield, is charged with two counts of burglary, 3rd. Bachorski is accused of stealing two ATVs from a storage shed on Batavia Oakfield Townline Road over the summer. He's also accused of entering a pole barn on Fisher Road and stealing an ATV. Bachorski was jailed on $10,000 bail for alleged violation of probation. The case was investigated by Deputy Tim Wescott, Youth Officer John Dehm and Investigator Roger Stone.
Joseph Thomas Bortie, 41, of Knowlesville Road, Alabama, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, moving from lane unsafely and driving across hazardous marking. Bortie was stopped at 4:28 p.m. Monday on Route 262, Byron, following a report of an erratic driver on westbound Route 262. Deputy Chad Minuto located Bortie's vehicle a short time later near Transit Road. Minuto said he saw Bortie's vehicle cross into the eastbound lane and almost collide with another vehicle. Bortie was taken into custody following field tests. He was released on an appearance ticket.
Jennifer Lynn Sprague, 29, of Pringle Avenue, Batavia, is charged with falsely reporting an incident to law enforcement. Sprague was taken into custody on Central Avenue on a warrant for the charge out of Town of Bergen Court. She was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.
People ask me from time to time why we created The Batavian Club. The simple reason is, it's all about creating an ongoing business.
A newspaper makes money from retail advertising, from classified advertising and subscription fees.
For an online news site, we already know people are no longer willing to pay for classified ads and they don't want to pay for news.
Typically, then, that leaves one revenue source for an online news site: advertising.
Billie and I very much appreciate the revenue we get from our sponsors. It has allowed us to keep up with our bills and hire a single employee. We would like to hire more people, but the advertising pie is going to get only so big (and it's probably as big as it's going to get now).
That's where you come in: Help support The Batavian by becoming a member. The membership fee is less than a typical newspaper subscription.
Here's our promise of what we'll do for you in return: Not only will we work to make The Batavian better, we'll work to bring you real member benefits, primarily in the form of savings at local businesses.
Tonight we e-mailed coupons from three local businesses -- Valle Jewelers, West Main Wine and Spirits, and Southside Deli -- to our current members.
With these three coupons, plus the discounts previously available, members have achieved a potential savings of more than $50 (not counting the free calendar for annual members).
Here's the exciting part: We're working with local businesses to bring you even more savings. We are developing a membership package that will include gift certificates to local businesses. So far, 11 local businesses have agreed to participate. The total value of the gift certificates so far is $173. Over the next few weeks, I'll talk with more local business owners about participating (We'll announce details of the membership program in January; the first membership packages will go out when we reach 100 members (we're at 58 now)).
So, already, we can tell you, a membership in The Batavian Club more than pays for itself. If you love The Batavian, as many of you tell me everyday that you do, please help us become even better.
Here's how to JOIN:
Join via PayPal below, or for annual and one-time memberships paid by check or credit card, click here to download this form (monthly, recurring payment memberships must be via PayPal or credit card. To pay by credit card, use the form, or call (585) 250-4118.
Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker and entry into iPod Nano drawing.
Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers and entry into iPod Nano drawing.
Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker and entry into iPod Nano drawing.
Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers and entry into iPod Nano drawing.
First Presbyterian Church, 300 E. Main St., Batavia, is holding a special remembrance service at 6:30 p.m., Friday, to honor those who have passed in 2012 and also to pray for those touched by the recent tragedy in Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Pastor Roula Alkhouri holds a service annually for those who have lost loved ones during the year, but this year, there's greater sorrow for the nation following the massacre in Newtown, Conn.
"We are reminded once more that Christmas can be a painful time for some," Alkhouri said. "In the face of loss, we struggle to find joy in this season. For some this may be the first Christmas without a loved family member who has recently died."
Alkhouri said she is reaching out to pastors and congregations throughout the county to join in this year's service.
"This will be a quiet service of remembrance and hope," she said. "We will light candles for the loss of loved ones. We will also light special candles for the victims of violence of last Friday’s tragedy. We will hear through Scripture and music that God’s presence is (there) for those who struggle and mourn and how God’s Word offers us strength as a light shining into our brokenness."
A three-car accident with one car rolling over is reported on South Lake Road near Route 5.
Indian Falls and Pembroke fire departments responding. Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 8:45 p.m.: A second ambulance requested to the scene, non-emergency.
UPDATE 8:54 p.m.: One patient will be transported (we don't know where) and two people are not injured.
UPDATE 9:56 p.m.: Pembroke and Indian Falls back in service. Roadway is reopened.
Funeral services will be held Friday for Kelsey N. Milks, 19, of Corfu, at Indian Falls United Methodist Church, 7908 Allegheny Road.
Milks died Sunday night at ECMC following a motor vehicle accident on Route 63 in the Town of Shelby.
A graduate of Pembroke Central School, she was the daughter of Gregory and Roxane Savage Milks.
She was attending Genesee Community College, loved dogs and hoped to become a dog trainer.
Calling hours are from 3 to 7 p.m. at the church, with a funeral service to follow at 7.
Carmen Vega, the 40-year-old Le Roy resident who was seriously injured Dec. 8 when her car was hit head-on on Route 33 in Stafford remains in Strong Memorial Hospital, but is listed in satisfactory condition.
The accident claimed the life of Collin Crane, 17, a senior at Batavia High School.
The accident remains under investigation by the State Police and no cause has been released.
Another member of an alleged meth distribution ring in Genesee County that was broken up in 2009 has been sentenced in federal court, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced today.
Andrew Chapman, 42, of Batavia, will serve two years on probation for his part in the distribution of methamphetamine.
In June, Chapman admitted in federal court to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, methamphetamine.
Chapman received the meth he sold from Donald G. Vanelli II, 49, of Le Roy, who is serving more than 17 years for his role in the sale and distribution of meth locally.
Three other people were arrested in the raids in 2009.
All of the cases have been resolved, except that of Donna L. Boon (aka Donna McAuley), who lives at 3658 Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road. Her original charges were dropped but she remains under federal indictment for other alleged offenses.
Roxanne G. Rowe, 25, of Maple Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with animal cruelty and unlawful possession of marijuana. Rowe is accused of trying to harm a neighbor's dog by placing pieces of metal in a meat product and making it available for the dog to eat. At the time of her arrest -- 10:15 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy Brian Thompson -- Rowe also allegedly possessed marijuana.
Lakiesha A. Gibson, 26, of 13 Williams St., Lockport, is charged with disorderly conduct and endangering the welfare of a child. Gibson is accused of shouting obscenities while outside on Thorpe Street at 10:20 p.m., Saturday. Gibson also allegedly refused to remove two children out of the roadway and away from a dispute.
Timothy J. Wenzel, 19, of 13 Harvester Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Wenzel was allegedly seen with a person who is protected by a "stay away" order of protection.
Makeen K. Ithna-Asheri, 52, of 111 State St., Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd. Ithna-Asheri allegedly entered a residence he had previously been advised not to enter.
Danielle M. Stevens, 36, of Ford Road, Elba, is charged with three counts of petit larceny. Stevens is accused of stealing $140 and a gold pendant from a relative's house within a six-week period. Stevens was jailed on $500 bail.
Brenden Kirstipher Steck, 23, of Broadway Road, Darien, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Steck was allegedly found to be the operator of a disabled motor vehicle on Route 20 in Darien at 1:15 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy James Diehl.
Joseph E. Marr, 34, of Attica, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Marr was reportedly involved in a motor vehicle accident at 10:13 p.m. Friday on Keeney Road, Le Roy. He was arrested by State Police.
For the second time in eight days, a motor vehicle accident has claimed the life of a Genesee County teen.
Kelsey Milks, 19, of Corfu, died Sunday night in a three-car accident on Alleghany Road, Town of Shelby, just north of the county line.
The cause of the accident has not been determined.
Milks was a passenger in a vehicle driven by 20-year-old Dana R. Cipra. Cipra is hospitalized at Erie County Medical Center.
Two Mercy Flight helicopters were called to the scene Sunday and Town of Alabama volunteer firefighters provided traffic control and set up a landing zone at a location in Genesee County.
According to WIVB, "a red minivan was traveling north on Route 63, near the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge Swamp, when it collided head-on with a southbound car. A third vehicle then collided with the car."
Walter C. Hawkins, 73, of Medina, was driving the minivan. He was treated and released at Medina Memorial Hospital.
The driver and passenger in the third vehicle were uninjured.
Milks was a senior at Pembroke High School when she participated in a GO ART! art show.
Copyright © 2008-2022 The Batavian. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
