A car vs. pedestrian accident with injuries is reported at 215 E. Main St., in front of the Continental School of Beauty. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 7:59 p.m.: The location is actually just east of Liberty Street in front of the First Presbyterian Church.

UPDATE 8:08 p.m.: The adult male victim is conscious and alert and being transported to UMMC for evaluation. He was struck by a vehicle that was making a left turn from Summit Street onto Main Street as he crossed south. The investigation is continuing.

In an effort to more effectively and efficiently deal with vacant and abandoned properties, the city, the county and the counties of Livingston and Orleans are considering the formation of land banks.

Land banks have been around for just this purpose since 1971 but didn't start to get traction for county and municipal governments until the early 2000s when Genesee County, Mich., started a successful land bank.

Land banks, which are nonprofit corporations formed by local governments, are able to acquire tax-foreclosed property on a streamlined basis and then more quickly get that property back into residential or commercial use.

Typically, land banks are self-funding, generating revenue from real estate sales that is reinvested in the process of moving more property from unproductive use to productive use.

They're particularly popular in rust-belt communities where populations have declined and industry has left hulks of buildings vacant. 

The proposed agreement between the three counties and the city has a provision for the land bank to hire an executive director and potential staff members.

The board of directors would be appointed by the government bodies and those members would serve without compensation.

The corporation would be known as the GLO Regional Land Bank.

County Manager Jay Gsell introduced the potential agreement to members of the County Legislature on Wednesday evening. The Legislature has not yet been asked to take action on the proposal.

Currently, when a property owner allows a parcel to pass into tax foreclosure, the property is sold at auction. Each local government would have the option to let a property go up for auction or transfer that parcel to the land bank.

Batavia -- Joseph Richard Gerace, 80, proprietor of Gerace's Hair Care Center and along with his wife owned the former Bob Harris Realty Company, died on Thursday (Nov. 17, 2016) at the New York State Veterans Home in Batavia.

Mr. Gerace was born March 15, 1936 in Batavia, a son of the late Joseph A. and Sarah (Gazzetta) Gerace.

A 1955 graduate of Batavia High School, he served with the Army from 1957 to 1959. Prior to the hair care center he operated the Trailways Diner.

The lifelong Batavian was a member of many organizations, including: the Batavia Rotary Club, where he amassed 33 years of perfect attendance, served on the Board and also was the Sergeant at Arms; Knights of Columbus Fr. Vincent Capadanno Assembly 0755; Msgr. Kirby Council #325; City of Batavia Republican Committee, which he chaired for many years; Batavia Muckdogs Board of Directors and was on the team's Wall of Fame; Genesee Cancer Assistance program, where he served on the Board since its inception and founded the Simply Beautiful Hair Service; Resurrection Parish; former St. Nick’s Social Club; Batavia Youth Bureau; and a past president and co-chair of the Festival of Hope; Genesee Cancer Assistance golf tournament committee; and was on the city of Batavia zoning board for 12 years.

He was an avid New York Yankees and Buffalo Bills fan. He proudly attended each Super Bowl the Bills appeared in and was on the Founders Wall at the New Era Stadium tunnel entrance, recognizing season ticket holders since the beginning of the Buffalo Bills in 1960.  A favorite activity of his was the large selection of Christmas lights he displayed each year at his home.

Among the recognition and awards he received over the years included the two-time recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award, which is Rotary’s Club highest award, 2008 Humanitarian Award presented by the United Memorial Medical Center Foundation and the Jerome Foundation, 2006 Volunteer of the Year Award for the city of Batavia, Italian-American of the year awarded by the Batavia Downs and a similar award from the Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation, 1993 Geneseean of the Year and the Batavia Lions Club Italian American Award.

Surviving are his wife, Lois (Wagner) Gerace, of Batavia, whom  he married July 16, 1960; two sons, Robert J. Gerace  and  John P. (Rhonda Saulsbury) Gerace, both of Batavia; one daughter, Karen A. (Scott) Rowland, of Perry; one brother, Alfred J. (Patricia) Gerace of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and one sister, Theresa (late Joseph) Irrera, of Batavia. He is the grandfather of Ashley Gerace, Chelsea (Josh) Smith, Justin Gerace and Kirsten Rowland, Lindsey Rowland and David Rowland. Several nieces, nephews and cousins also survive. 

He is a brother of the late Louis Gerace and Sarah Bateman.

Family and friends may call on Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Bohm-Calarco-Smith Funeral Home, 308 E. Main St., Batavia. The Knights of Columbus #325 will hold a prayer service on Sunday at 5 p.m. His Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. on Monday at Resurrection Parish -- St. Joseph’s Church, 303 E. Main St., Batavia. Burial with full military honors will be at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Batavia.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Crossroads House, P.O. Box 403, Batavia, NY 14021 or online at http://crossroadshouse.com/donations, or to Genesee Cancer Assistance Inc., c/o United Memorial Medical Center, 127 North St., Batavia, NY 14020 or online at http://geneseecancerassistance.com/donate/or to the New York State Veterans Home, Attention: Activities Fund, 220 Richmond Ave., Batavia, NY 14020.

Please leave a condolence, share a story or light a candle at www.bataviafuneralhomes.com.

The Batavia HS choir plans on competing in a chorus competition in Washington, D.C., next year and they need to raise $50,000 to make the trip, so a novel fundraising idea they hit on is to sing Christmas carols for the community.

Local businesses can hire them to sing Christmas carols and other holiday songs on Dec. 19. The cost is $15 for two songs and $5 for each additional song.

The choir will also go to private homes on a date yet to be determined. The price is the same.

Director Jane Hagett said the group would also be happy to hear from service clubs, such as Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary or Zonta to sing at one of their gatherings in December.

The school's phone number is (585) 343-2480, ext. 2000.

Press release:

One of Assemblyman Steve Hawley’s (R,C,I-Batavia) signature legislative accomplishments this past Legislative Session, The Charitable Gaming Act of 2016, has finally hit Gov. Cuomo’s desk and is awaiting his signature, which would make the bill a law, or his veto. The bill was delivered to the governor on Wednesday and he has 10 days to decide whether to sign or veto the legislation.

The bill, which Hawley and Assemblyman Schimminger (D-Buffalo) ushered through the house and Sen. Gallivan (R,C,I-Elma) sponsored in the Senate along with support from Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer and Sen. Robert Ortt, would allow  “raffles” to accept legal tender, credit and debit payment for their charitable auctions and games, and allow purchases toward the raffles to be made online. The new law would restore the Stafford Fire Department’s famous annual car raffle that ended last year after decades due to archaic provisions that restricted how the charity raffle could operate.

“I am excited that the ‘Charitable Gaming Act’ has finally hit the governor’s desk and is awaiting his approval,” Hawley said. “I worked diligently with colleagues in both houses to pass this legislation and it is crucial for fire departments, nonprofits and other charities that hold raffles and games to revise these archaic and outdated requirements, which hamper their ability to give back to the local community. I encourage all of my constituents and local charities to call or write Gov. Cuomo and urge him to sign this important bill. This will go a long way toward helping to restore the Stafford Fire Department’s annual car raffle.”

Hailey Kirkpatrick, one of the winners of City Fire's annual fire safety poster contest, got a special ride in a fire truck to Batavia Middle School today with firefighters Greg Ireland and Matt Pillsbury.

Yesterday, Xavian Cramer got a ride to John Kennedy School and tomorrow Lillian Clarke gets a ride to Jackson School.

Press release:

Tiffani Brown receives Outstanding Student Award. She was nominated by BMS teacher Sarah Gahagan, who wrote, Tiffani is an eighth-grade student who shows dedication, perseverance, dependability, and a positive attitude in everything she does. She is one of 19 original founders of the BMS Girls on the Run team, hasn’t missed a single session, and always arrives on time and prepared. She partakes in every race, volunteer activity, and community-sponsored Girls on the Run event. Tiffanie has become so much more confident over the course of three years and many of her teachers think it’s because of this club. She is a great role model to her peers for her positive attitude and has developed her natural talent of working with others.

Maria DiMartino receives Outstanding Employee Award. She was nominated by Assistant Principal Maureen Notaro, who wrote, Maria DiMartino is a very special person. She is a classroom aide, often helping some of our most difficult students, and she goes above and beyond to make every child successful in school. She develops close relationships with the students and also supports them emotionally. The Board and Middle School are very fortunate to have such a dedicated employee.

Muriel Burns receives Outstanding Community Member Award. She was nominated by Assistant Principal Maureen Notaro, who wrote, Recently, one of our students from BMS was walking in the rain, late to school, and with no coat. A woman pulled over and offered him her umbrella. She asked him where he went to school and he said Batavia Middle School. She called the school, spoke to Julie Tybor, and asked us to get his sizes. Ms. Tybor called her back after the counselor provided his sizes. The next day Mrs. Burns returned to school with a brand new coat, three pairs of gloves, a back pack, and a blanket. The next day she returned with boots, hats, and nearly a dozen pairs of socks for him. The smile on the child’s face was priceless. This child does not have it easy, and she truly made his day.

Superintendent of Schools Christopher Dailey was invited to become a member of the National Center for Education Research and Technology (NCERT), an organization comprised of a maximum of 85 prominent school district superintendents as well as select corporate leaders from education-related industries. NCERT’s goal is to network creative and innovative thinkers who are leaders in education with the leaders of the industries they depend upon for products and services, technology, and research. The group focuses on contemporary issues of interest to school districts.

School Board Recognition: In honor of NYS School Board Recognition Week (celebrated this year from Oct. 24-28), several District organizations made donations to local charities in the Board’s honor. The JK Parent Teacher Group made a $50 donation to the Michael Napoleone Foundation, the Jackson Home School Association made a $50 donation to United Way – Community Action, the Batavia Clerical Association made a $50 donation to the United Way for the BCSD Backpack Program for BCSD students, and the Batavia Teachers’ Association made a $200 donation to the Salvation Army’s Backpack Program for the BCSD students. The New York State School Boards Association sponsors School Board Recognition Week to recognize school board members for their commitment to New York public school children and the crucial role they have within a school district.

Photos by Kathy Scott.

Press release:

Batavia Middle School is hosting a Family and Community Night from 5-6:30 on Thursday, Nov. 17.  This year’s theme is “Warm the Night” and FREE hats, mittens and scarves will be distributed. Enjoy a FREE light supper of soup and bread with Timbits and coffee, courtesy of Tim Hortons.

There will also be a FREE bicycle raffle and you’ll also receive a FREE basket raffle ticket at the door, one raffle ticket for EVERY family member!

Prepare to be dazzled by former Harlem Globetrotter, Corey “The Dribbler.” Plus, the Batavia Police Department will be on hand to license bikes in the gym and give you a coupon for a FREE bike helmet from Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle.

Gain insight into the opportunities to learn how to support your child this year and help your children succeed. See you there!

Event Date and Time: 5-6:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 17.

A car has reportedly hit a pole in the area of 7136 Quinlan Road, Le Roy.

Le Roy fire and ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 11:01 p.m.: Pole is down on north side of the road with wires across the road.

There seems to be no path county legislators can go down with the 2017 county budget that doesn't hurt taxpayers.

Nobody wants to see a tax increase, especially one that is higher than the state-mandated tax cap, but that's exactly what is under consideration by the nine-member body.

Legislators must also decide whether to spend tomorrow's money today or make drastic cuts in personnel that will leave taxpayers with curtailed essential services.

The hard choices discussed at a meeting Wednesday night left everybody a bit frustrated, Chairman Ray Cianfrini most of all, who said if the legislators can't reach a consensus and pass a budget by Dec. 14, the county will be left, by law, with the budget proposal originally drafted by County Manager Jay Gsell.

"If we're not careful, the budget we get will be Jay's budget, which is the budget we all like the least," Cianfrini said.

That budget doesn't raise taxes -- though it does increase the tax levy above the state-mandated level -- but it grabs two big buckets of money the county will need in future years and spends it in 2017.

Gsell's budget is balanced because it takes $1 million in sales tax revenue that would normally be rolled over into funding for future capital projects, such as roads and bridges, and it draws down the county's reserve funds by yet another $1 million.

The tax rate for local property owners would be $$9.76 per thousand of assessed value, which is slightly lower than 2016 rate, but because of an increase in assessed value for county properties, would actually raise more money.

Because of the state's tax-cap formula, which adjusts the cap based on changes to assessed value, the county can't approve a rate above $9.86 without overriding the tax cap.

That's something the legislators seem willing to do under the circumstances.

None of them like the idea of diverting sales tax revenue away from roads and bridges (and the likelihood the county will be forced to build a new jail within the next five years), so that proposal is no longer under consideration.

But legislators can't agree on whether to tap into reserve funds to balance the budget. There's no more than four votes for that option, even if the amount taken from reserves is reduced to $500,000.

"I'm much more concerned about what's going to happen long term," said Legislator Bob Bausch. "I'm not willing to have my kids and my grandkids paying our bills."

Legislator Andrew Young was adamant that the Legislature needs a plan to ensure the county's financial viability before he could agree to spend any more reserves.

"We're working on deficit budgets and eventually that's going to catch up with us." Young said. "We need to put a pencil to this budget and cut things."

Young noted that Treasurer Scott German has warned that if the county continues to spend down reserves, it's looking at insolvency within five years.

To that end, Young was ready to push for the Legislature to eliminate the two corrections officer positions requested by the Sheriff's Office, but also leave unfilled a road patrol vacancy that will open up at the beginning of the year.

That would save the county about $200,000 in 2017.

Cianfrini said if that was part of the final budget, he would have to vote no. The Legislature was split on whether to then eliminate just the two CO positions or just the deputy position.

The reason the Sheriff requested the CO positions is those new hires could start handling prisoner transports for female prisoners between Genesee County's courts and the county jails where they are housed (because Genesee County's jail can't house female prisoners). The county is facing rapidly rising overtime costs because of the transports and road patrol shifts are sometimes short of manpower.

Bausch and Legislator John Deleo were both opposed to any significant tax increase, especially the nearly $1 million increase needed to make up for not spending reserves and not diverting sales tax revenue.

Even when asked to consider spending only $500,000 of reserves, Deleo looked at the potential tax rate, shook his head and muttered, "that's just too much."

He said he was concerned about the burden on taxpayers in the city.

"People tell me all the time to hold the tax cap," Deleo said. "They stop me in the street. But even if we hold it to the 2016 rate, we can't make this work. It's just unreal."

Bausch said there is another constituency to seriously consider -- farmers, who own most of the land in the county.

"Even a 10-cent increase would have a big negative impact on our farmers and they're the number one industry in the county," Bausch said.

There will be some budget relief once the county closes on its deal to sell the County Nursing Home, but the impact will mostly be a one-time benefit and not help the longer term, growing fiscal crisis facing the county.

The legislature meets again on Monday evening to take up the budget discussion once again and see if they can come to an agreement on taxes and spending for 2017.

The total proposed buget for 2017 is $146,249,625, which includes all expenses covered by all funding sources, including revenue received from various other funding sources besides property and sales tax. A property tax of $9.76 per thousand would raise $27,844,499 (the tax levy). The county is also budgeting for about $18 million in sales tax revenue. A large proportion of the county's expenditures are mandated by state law and can't be eliminated.

With hours upon hours of meetings as well as comments from the public behind them, Batavia Town Board members on Wednesday night formally adopted the municipality's 2017 budget -- an $8.5 million spending plan that moves the tax rate from $1.42 to $2.64 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

And moments after the unanimous vote, Supervisor Gregory Post thanked Deputy Supervisor Dan Underhill, Councilwomen Sharon White and Patti Michalak and Councilman Chad Zambito for their efforts, advised them to take a Thanksgiving holiday break and reminded them that work on the 2018 budget will begin when they report back the following week.

"Discussions on the 2018 budget will start right away," Post said.

For 2017, town residents will be contributing $1 milliion in taxes -- up from the $500,000 that was levied in 2016. The board authorized spending $475,000 out of the town's reserves to balance the budget, which includes the financial needs for the fire, sewer and water districts.

The board also passed the proposed water rates -- $5.10 per 1,000 gallons as the base rate and $3.73 per 1,000 gallons as the agricultural rate -- and set the rates for both sewer districts in the town at $6.13 per 1,000 gallons. The new rates represent increases of about 3 percent (water) and 10 percent (sewer) from last year.

As far as fire protection is concerned, the board scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. on Dec. 21 at the Town Hall in connection with the town's contract with the Town of Batavia Fire Department. The 2017 contract calls for the town to pay the fire company $916,858 -- an increase in actual dollars from 2016 but at the same tax rate of $2.34 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

Post said both the board, in conjunction with Town of Batavia and East Pembroke Fire department personnel, spent the past 18 months working to come up with a tax rate that "would sustain the community's fire protection services as far into the future as we can forecast."

He noted that any excess tax revenue will go directly to dedicated fire reserve accounts to cover the increasing costs of facilities and equipment.

"Our volunteer fire departments give extraordinary value," Post said. "Compare their budget to the budget of the city (of Batavia) fire department, and they are providing the same service at a third of the cost."

In other action, the board:

-- Approved a $63,597 contract with New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal to provide the town with insurance coverage (including cyber coverage) from November 2016 through November of 2017, and a $1,111 contract with Franz-Manno Service Corp. for excess employer's liability insurance.

-- Set a public hearing for 7:05 p.m. on Dec. 21 for input on the town's updated Comprehensive Master Plan, which is available for viewing at the Town Hall on West Main Street Road or on the town's website -- www.townofbatavia.com. A CMP meeting has been scheduled for 7 p.m. on Dec. 7 at the Town Hall.

-- Received a report from Dan Lang, codes official, indicating that the new East Pembroke fire station is in the early stages of construction, and that the new Chamber of Commerce building on Park Road is nearing completion.

Pictured: Instructional coaches of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership with Jim Knight, director of the Kansas Coaching Project. (Courtesy of Jim Thompson.)

A new program for the improvement of teaching techniques has begun to take root in the Genesee Valley Boces school districts. The new program connects educators with trained coaches who review video footage of teaching sessions and provide commentary and advice to improve quality and effectiveness.

Jim Thompson, director of Instructional Coaching Services at Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, began installing the program during the 2014 school year. The program has since grown from 10 teachers in its first year, to being used in over nine districts in the area. Jim has worked as the primary coach since its inception, and is currently working on training educators in each district to become coaches themselves.

“We strive for excellent instruction, every day, in every classroom, for every student. That is our true north.” Thompson said, quoting his mentor Jim Knight, director of the Kansas Coaching Project at the University of Kansas.

The program itself involves several stages. First, teachers will meet with coaches, in order to establish goals and develop a positive relationship between them. Next, the teacher submits a 15-20 minute video clip from a teaching session. The coach will then review the video multiple times, implementing time-stamped commentary, concluding with a meeting and review session with both the educator and coach in person.

Thompson emphasized the importance of the teacher-coach relationship in the program, as well as the program’s non-evaluative nature, confidentiality and volunteer basis.

“The program is built on strong relationships and trust. We set up a relationship with teachers which not only generates trust, but also promotes a willingness on the part of both the teacher and coach to reflect on instruction and help improvement.”

One school in which the program has found a receptive home is in the Byron-Bergen district, where superintendent Mickey Edwards has instituted it in both the secondary and elementary levels. As of now, 40 percent of teachers in the school have participated in video coaching, and the school has begun training its own coaches.

“We offer it to teachers to help them improve on their craft and delivery,” Edwards said. “At Byron-Bergen, teachers are not done learning yet.”

Edwards compared the program to the model presented by sports film study, saying that watching yourself teach and seeing what you do well and what you need to improve on – terms which the program refers to as “glows and grows” – is an eye-opening experience.

Diana Walther, an eighth-grade English teacher from the school, is currently being trained as a coach for the district. As an educator who has seen the program from the perspective of a teacher as well as a coach, she claims that it was one of the most effective professional development programs she has been a part of.

“It draws your attention to things you’ve never thought of before,” she said. “Personally, I speak very quickly, so slowing down was something I needed to improve a lot.”

Walther also echoed Jim Thompson’s emphasis on the teacher-coach relationship. “Each session begins by getting to know each other,” Walther said, “in order to identify goals.”

Deborah Slocum, another coach from the Byron-Bergen district, says that her experience in the program also led to her desire to get involved.

“I had an epiphany, it was the most valuable professional reflection I’ve had over the past 24 years of teaching.”

The school has enjoyed the benefits of the program, so much as to implement it into their quarterly evaluation process. Each teacher goes through four annual evaluations, which often include a supervisor sitting in on a class. This option allows teachers to present a video session with a coach as one of their four evaluations.

“This ties into a growth model, where teachers can hone their craft,” Edwards said.

In the future, Edwards hopes to increase the size of the program to include many more coaches within the district.

“I’d like to see one in each content area, and a few at the elementary level.”

The program is in what Edwards referred to as a “fledgling stage,” and it will be evaluated at the end of the school year.

The 15th Annual Wonderland of Trees Gala opens this Friday Nov. 18th at 7 p.m. at the Holland Land Office Museum at 131 W. Main St., Batavia.

Featuring decorated trees by local area businesses, food, music, a basket raffle and silent auction with proceeds to benefit the museum. The trees will be on display until Jan. 4.

The costs are $25 per ticket or $40 per couple. R.S.V.P. is required to attend. Tickets are available in person at the museum, by phone 585-343-4727 or online at www.dailynewstickets.com

Pictured above is the Batavia Business Professional Women's Club tree.

Batavia Girl Scouts Tree

Robin Weinstein is pictured with a menorah, "The Festival of Lights."

The ARC of Genesee Orleans tree

It's full steam ahead for academics at John Kennedy School, according to Principal Paul Kesler, who delivered a progress report to the Batavia City Schools board at Tuesday night's meeting.

On standardized testing, John Kennedy students are outpacing their peers in other districts, Kesler said.

Kesler completed a comparison of third- and fourth-grade students among 16 similar-sized cities and JK's third-graders have the highest English Language Arts scores and second highest in math. For fourth-graders, they rank third and fourth in ELA and math.

"As you can see from the pattern," Kesler said standing in front of a bar chart, "there's really a straight line year after year in terms of small cities."

The third-grade class is the first to pass through the district since the realignment of schools before their kindergarten year.

Kesler also compared JK results with the 22 other districts in the region and JK students are in the 80th percentile in ELA and 90th in math.

On another math test, 35 percent of the students tested at level 4, which Kesler said was impressive.

"I'm really proud of that because now it's no longer just our top A students who performing at that high level," Kesler said. "It's really all of our students are moving along."

Kesler, who is in his 12th year at the school, praised the work of the school's staff and thanked the district board for helping him recruit and hire talented teachers.

The school also undertook an aggressive STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts/design and math) curriculum this year and Kesler said it's going well so far.

There have been three STEAM sessions for the students and STEAM topics are being worked into other parts of the curriculum.

For example, students are going to read "Charlotte's Web" this year, so there will be corresponding instruction on insects and how spiders build their webs, which gets into engineering.

"It's exciting," he said. "When the kids get excited, I get excited."

As for the future, with the district now supplying each student with Chromebooks, there's no longer a need for a computer lab. The plan, Kesler said, is to turn the former computer lab into a STEAM lab and a maker space. It will be a paperless space, he said. For example, the desktops will be white boards, which students can use for their calculations. 

Jordan Fluker has continued to participate in organized youth bowling into his late teens, and the Batavian's dedication to the sport was rewarded at the highest level last Saturday (Nov. 12) when he rolled a 300 game at Mancuso Bowling Center.

Jordan, 19, joined a handful of Batavia youth bowlers who reached perfection by starting with 12 strikes in a row on lanes 17-18 in the Turnbull Heating Junior League, that is coordinated by his father, Tom Fluker, president of the Genesee Region USBC (in photo above).

A second-year student at Genesee Community College, Jordan said he started in the youth program at the age of 9, and has received coaching from his dad, who is a USBC Silver Level instructor.

"I saw my dad walking around behind me, and checking the scores but he didn't say anything to me during the game," Jordan said. "I think that he didn't want to mess up my game."

The slim right-hander said he became more and more nervous as the string of strikes increased, but kept his composure enough to keep the ball in the 1-3 pocket on all but one delivery -- the 11th ball.

"That one came up a little high and I got a good break to carry," he said. "That was the closest one to not being a strike."

The 12th ball was flush in the 1-3 pocket and all 10 pins flew into the pit. Hugs (the first one was from his dad) and handshakes from his teammates, other youth bowlers, parents and coaches followed.

Jordan said he was still shaky in the second game, suffering a few splits for a 181, but bounced back in the third game for 248 and a 729 series, a personal best.

A 200 average bowler, he has competed in two NYS Team Tournament finals and the NYS Youth Pepsi finals. He said that this is his final year of youth bowling, but wants to continue with the sport -- either when he transfers to a college with a bowling program or as part of an adult league.

Jordan, a former Mr. Batavian at Batavia High School, is on track for an associate degree at GCC in the spring, and said he is leaning toward majoring in Accounting or Web Design.

By the way, Tom Fluker rolled his first of his 10 USBC-certified perfect games at the age of 29.

Frederich Welch, 57, and Doncella Loyd, 53, both of Rochester, are charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 5th. Welch and Loyd are accused of making several trips in and out of Kohl's, taking merchandise worth $719.91. Troopers stopped the vehicle in the Batavia Towne Center parking lot. Welch was jailed on $2,500 bail and Loyd was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Jonathan Dylan Jacob, 23, of Meadville Road, Alabama, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Jacob was arrested following a report of an incident in the Town of Alabama. During law enforcement contact, he was allegedly found in possession of marijuana.

James Rosie Thomas, 20, of 367 West St., Lake George, is charged with resisting arrest, escape and he was arrested on a warrant out of Elba. Thomas allegedly ran and resisted arrest when Deputy John Dehm attempted to take him into custody on a warrant at a location on South Main Street, Oakfield.

Tracy L. Miller, 32, of South Lake Road, Pembroke, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Miller is accused of stealing a purse, which contained several debit and credit cards. 

Nicholas Price, 29, of Batavia, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs. Price was stopped by a trooper after a report of an erratic driver, including a witness reporting seeing the vehicle hit a mailbox and continue down the road. Price was stopped and administered a field sobriety test before being arrested. He was also charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th.

Daniel Hinca, 21, of Alexander, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and speeding. Hinca was stopped by State Police in Byron. A trooper administered a field sobriety test prior to his arrest. 

Joshua Taro, 38, of Auburn, is charged with petit larceny. Taro is accused of shoplifting from a store in Pembroke. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Brandi Heidenreich, 26, of Oakfield, is charged with petit larceny. Heidenreich was arrested by State Police for allegedly stealing items from Walmart worth $45.18.

The farm equipment of Massey-Harris, which ran a factory in Batavia for five decades, will be honored at the 51st Annual WNY Steam Show in Alexander next September and organizers are looking for information, photos and artifacts that help shed light on the work done at the Massey-Harris factory locally.

At the Harvester Center, the factory produced farm equipment for the Canada-based company, but there isn't easy-to-find information on what exactly was produced there.

Organizers are hoping there are local residents with direct knowledge or documentation about the work done at the factory.

The factory closed in 1958.

If you are able to help, email Kelly Rapone at the Genesee County Tourism Office, KRapone@GeneseeNY.com.

UPDATE -- 11/16/16 - 2:15 P.M.

The Batavian received a return phone call from Jocelyn Bos, Calamar's senior housing development director, and she stated that the project is at the "very conceptual level, with no landowner contracts or business details in place."

She did mention that Town of Batavia officials had asked her company to consider another senior apartment complex due to the "incredible need" for that type of housing, and commended David Ficarella for putting together a "substantial plan."

-------------------------------------------------------

The Town of Batavia Planning Board on Tuesday night threw its support behind the idea of a proposed three-story, 110-unit senior apartment complex off Route 33 near Donahue Road, west of the city.

“I definitely like the concept and would be willing to write a letter to the Town of Batavia (board) recommending our approval,” said Kathleen Jasinski, planning board chair, after learning of the plan from David Ficarella, a Lovers Lane Road resident, who said he is working with Calamar Enterprises of Wheatfield on the development.

Ficarella, at the meeting with his wife, Katie, said it will take about $11 million to create the 55-and-over senior community of apartments that would rent at market rate -- $800 to $1,100 per month, with all major appliances and utilities included.

His summary outline to the board states that up to four full-time and two part-time positions will be created, and that about 200 construction jobs will be created to build the facility.

More importantly, he said, his proposed tax structure would generate $1.3 million in county and school tax revenue over the first 10 years, and would provide a sewer system that the town could tap into in the future.

“As it stands now, it’s a piece of land that brings in a couple thousand dollars in taxes, and it would stay that way for the next 30 years if nobody does anything about it,” he said. “The way we have it set up is that this facility will generate long-term tax base without adding demands for services on the school district.”

Ficarella said he is hoping that the Town of Batavia approves a sliding scale, percentage-based tax structure that starts with a low assessment ($250,000) for the first five years and increases to full valuation (estimated at $9 million) by year 10.

The project would not include tax abatements from the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

 “We’ve already been turned down in our request for incentives (from the GCEDC),” he said.

Ficarella owns about 140 acres in the area along Route 33 and would relinquish 10 to 15 acres for the project.

He said he prefers to partner with Calamar based on the company’s “excellent reputation in senior housing” and also is working with East Coast Commercial for financing.

Calamar previously wanted to build a senior citizens housing complex on West Main Street Road, but its request for tax incentives was turned down by the GCEDC Board of Directors. The Niagara County firm then filed a lawsuit against the GCEDC, which it lost. As a result, that project was scrapped.

Phone calls to Jocelyn Bos, senior housing development director for Calamar, were not returned this morning.

This latest proposal also includes the future extensions of Donahue Road north across Route 33 and of Edgewood Drive, which is sandwiched between Route 33 (Pearl Street Road) and the Fairway/Valle/Woodland residential area developed by Gary McWethy, Ficarella said.

“We’re looking to put in some more (single family) building lots, since Gary is out of lots on Edgewood,” Ficarella said. “With the STAMP project coming in (notably the 1366 Technologies solar wafer plant), there will be a lot of people looking for places to live.”

Ficarella said that McWethy has been working toward extending Edgewood Drive onto Pearl Street but has been delayed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which has concerns over wetlands located at the west end of the road.

At the end of his presentation, town planners voted unanimously to accept the conceptual proposal and authorized Jasinski to draft a letter of recommendation to the Town Board.

Photo -- David Ficarella of Lovers Lane Road in the Town of Batavia displays his preliminary sketch of the area of a proposed senior housing apartment complex -- along with single-family building lots -- along Route 33 (Pearl Street Road), west of the city. Photo by Mike Pettinella.