Using a detection device to identify students who might have been drinking at high school dances is nothing new, said Batavia City Schools Superintendent Chris Dailey, and previous uses have gotten no pushback from students or parents.

Yesterday, The Batavian published a picture of Batavia High School receiving two new wand-like devices that act as breathalyzers to help school officials identify students who may have been drinking prior to arrival at a school dance or other social function where they might be used. The publication of the picture raised a lot of questions among readers about the legality and ethics of such devices.

Dailey said the district's first priority is the safety of the students.

"Ninety-nine point nine percent of our kids don't generally show up under the influence, so it's rather a moot point to them," Dailey said. "They're not thinking we're trying to take away their rights and we're not trying to take away their rights. We're trying to provide a safe environment for all. It's all about safety for us."

All of the complaints that surfaced after yesterday's picture publication surfaced online, Dailey said. There have been no calls to the district office and he met with high school officials today and there was no mention of complaints at the high school.

The wands donated to the school by STOP-DWI and local law enforcement are not at all invasive, Dailey said, unlike the previous alcohol sensor used by the school, which was only used if a student was suspected of drinking. The wands, Dailey said, can detect a potential use of alcohol by a person in a group of people.

"Alcohol consumption by students is something that is illegal and is not tolerated," Dailey said. "We want to make sure we provide the safest possible environment for all of our students."

That's critical, Dailey said, when you have 200 to 300 students coming together for an event.

If a student is found under the influence of alcohol at a school event, the first step, Dailey said, is to make sure the student is safe. Next, school officials call the teenager's parents.

"We reach out to the parents," Dailey said. "(the student) is not allowed to leave if under impairment and we will work with the parent so the child will learn from the mistake."

There isn't necessarily disciplinary action taken against the student.

"(It) depends on the situation," Dailey said.

As for whether the sensors violate students' rights, Dailey said, any student or parent who might be concerned about it are free to not attend the school function.

"If people choose not to come to the dance because of it, that's their choice, absolutely," Dailey said.

Today was the Holiday Give Back Day for students at Batavia Middle School who traveled throughout the community visiting more than a dozen organizations and businesses to thank them for their support of BMS and education.

Two of the visits were to Batavia PD and the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

The students presented a bag of gifts and cards made by the students.

Members of the Kiwanis Club of Batavia have prepared gift bags filled with all the ingredients of a holiday meal to help feed 85 local families for Christmas and those selected families will receive their bags, gifts and a visit with Santa tonight.

The families were selected by the Salvation Army, through the United Way Backpack Program, and through the city's elementary schools, including St. Joe's.

Town of Batavia board members are moving toward a cable TV franchise renewal with Time Warner Cable Northeast LLC and at the same time are leaving the door open to doing business with another cable provider, Empire Access.

The board, at its meeting on Wednesday night, voted to schedule a public hearing on the Time Warner (also known as Charter or Spectrum) franchise agreement renewal for 7 p.m. Jan. 3 at Batavia Town Hall.

Terms of the 10-year agreement include the ongoing 5-percent franchise fee that goes to the Town for all cable-related services offered by the company, said Board Member Patti Michalak, who serves on the cable television committee.

“While our contract doesn’t expire until March 2018, we’re doing this now because all towns (in Genesee County) basically will have the same contract (heading into the new year),” Michalak said.

She said that Philip Fraga of the Cohen Law Group of Pittsburgh, Pa., has negotiated the franchise agreement on behalf of all county municipalities, and “the agreements are pretty much the same, except for a few tweaks here and there.”

As far as Empire Access is concerned, Michalak said representatives of that business “asked us to settle the Time Warner contract first before they talk to us.”

However, she said, the Town may not be able to deal with Empire Access “since they want so many customers per mile” and many people without cable services live in less-populated areas.

Michalak did say that the Town is willing to talk with Empire Access personnel, despite rumors to the contrary.

In other action, the board:

-- Appointed Kimberly McCullough as Batavia Town Planning Board secretary, effective Jan. 1, replacing Brittany Witkop, who resigned to pursue other opportunities. It is a part-time position.

McCullough, a legal document analyst for M&T Bank in Amherst, lives in East Pembroke. Her husband, Paul, is a member of the planning board.

-- Authorized the purchase of three parcels of land for right-of-way purposes to advance the Ellicott Trail Project.

The parcels were bought from the Elmwood Cemetery Association on Harvester Avenue for $25,600, Sikes Realty LLC on East Main Street for $2,200 and Jeffrey D. Freeman on East Main Street for $5,700.

The purchase prices were subject to appraisals by an independent appraisal firm.

-- Renewed shared services agreements with the state Department of Motor Vehicles (hearing room at the Town Hall), Town of Pavilion (code enforcement), Town of Stafford (financial clerk services), Town of Alexander (code enforcement), East Pembroke Fire Department and Fire District), and voted in favor of an agreement with the Town of Elba Water District No. 2 for operation and maintenance of water facilities.

-- Scheduled a rabies clinic coordinated by the Genesee County Health Department for 4-7 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Town Highway Facility on West Main Street Road.

-- Renewed the Town’s contract with the Town of Batavia Fire Department for fire protection under the same terms as the 2017 pact.

-- Scheduled a special Town Board meeting for 5:30 p.m. Dec. 28 to consider authorizing an amended water agreement with Genesee County.

Lamar I. "L-Boog" Randall, 32, of Walnut Place, Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd.

Randall is accused of selling a quantity of crack cocaine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force on two occasions within the past four months.

Task Force members located Randall walking on Washington Avenue, Batavia, and took him into custody.

His arrest is the result of an investigation into the sale, transportation, and possession of crack cocaine in and around the City of Batavia.

Randall was jailed without bail.

The District Attorney's Office assisted in the investigation.

Two-time Grammy Award winner Travis Tritt will be in Le Roy on Aug. 25 to play a concert at The Ridge (Frostridge Campground).

Tritt is the first headliner announced for the annual summer concert series, Jam at the Ridge, by owners David and Greg Luetticke-Archbell. The venue's owners are still working on booking more acts for the season.

David and Greg expect to announce a headliner for Aug. 24 soon to make for a weekend of great music.

Tickets and campground sites for the weekend will go on sale after the first of the year.

Denise Marie Busiere, 32, of Townline Road, Byron, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, failed to stop for stop sign, and driving with obstructed view. Busiere was stopped at 6:26 p.m. Monday on Lake Avenue, Bergen, by Deputy Ryan DeLong.

Olivia Maria Lyons, 24, of Sokol Drive, Attica, is charged with petit larceny. Lyons is accused of shoplifting from the Dollar General in Oakfield.

John G. Kindig, 59, of Batavia, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs, and stopping or standing on a roadway. Kindig was stopped by State Police at 8:50 a.m. Monday on Veterans Memorial Drive. No further details released.

Today Batavia PD, the Sheriff's Office, and the STOP presented Batavia High School with two breathalyzers that school officials can use at school dances and similiar social functions to see if any students had a drink prior to arriving at the event.

Pictured are Matt Landers, STOP-DWI, Anita Strollo, a counselor career center coordinator at the school, Interim Principal Dennis Kenney, Chief Shawn Heubusch, and Sheriff William Sheron.

Kenney said the devices will be used to test every student entering such events, no exceptions, so everybody is treated equally. 

Carmen Del Plato has shared with us another Christmas song written by his mother Mary Del Plato. It was performed and recorded by Anthony Del Plato.

The first year that seniors at Batavia High School could paint personalized parking spaces was a big success, representatives of the Class of 2018 told school board members at Tuesday's meeting.

They recommended the board approve the same project for the class of 2019.

Not only were there no problems, the project raised $795 for the senior class.

“That’s probably one of the easiest fundraisers ever,” said Senior Mikey Lullo.

There were 35 spaces painted and 19 spots reserved by students.

Several faculty members wanted to get in on the act, offering as much as $200 to have their parking spaces painted by a student, but since that wasn't part of the agreement the senior class had with the board, the class declined to sell those services.

Mikey said that was one of several recommendations this year's class had for the Board of Education.

First, the biggest recommendation was that the Class of 2019 be allowed to move forward with the same program.

The students also recommended that seniors be given a whole week to get their spots painted. Two days isn't enough time when students have sports activities starting up that time of year, family vacations wrapping up, and jobs. Some students found it hard to fit in painting on just a Thursday and Friday. That meant some of them painted over the weekend, which technically was against the rules, but Lullo said the board should consider that there were no problems as a result and all of the students (many accompanied by parents) were respectful.

The few problems encountered by the students were minor, the students said. Lauren Leone said one time some garbage got left behind but other students took care of it right away. There was also an incident after the first snowfall where one student parked in another student's spot, but that was quickly resolved. Nobody purposefully caused a problem with another student over parking.

The project was also successful, Mickey said, because it helped raise senior class spirit.

"It was so great," she said. "Even though I didn’t paint a parking spot, I was just there helping other people, and it was so relaxing, just getting to paint and be with each other before senior year started."

Photo: Amand Patel, Lauren Leone, Mikey Lullo, and Kiara Cherry.

There will be a free, public Open Labyrinth Walk for Peace from 4 to 8 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Batavia on Friday, Dec. 29.

A Community Group Compassion Meditation will take place at 7 p.m. at the church, located at 300 E. Main St.

(Inclement weather date for both events is 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30.)

Blue Pearl Yoga is sponsoring the walk and the meditation -- "mind-body practices."

Regarding the self-directed Labyrinth Walk, Blue Pearl says "moving meditations are a beautiful way to experience stillness while still in motion."

Donations welcome, which support the Labyrinth Project.

bp-yoga.com

bpyoga@gmail.com

813-8623

After more than a year of design and planning, construction on several capital improvement projects in the Batavia City School District is set to begin in less than a year.

Voters approved the $26.7 million improvements, which will be accomplished without a tax increase, last March.

Marco Marascio, a project manager with Campus Construction Management in Pittsford, and Tracy Conshiser-Uy, an architect with Wendel, in Buffalo, updated district trustees Tuesday night on the construction plans.

The biggest of the projects is the demolition and reconstruction of Van Detta Stadium.

Demolition will begin, Marascio said, in the fall of 2018. The area will be fenced off and also include storage of construction equipment. The new stadium will consist of pre-built grandstands and a press box and these will be wheeled in and assembled on site.

Construction will be completed by September 2019, Marascio said.

At the high school, restroom and auditorium renovations start in April 2019 during the spring break and work should be completed by August of that year. Roof work begins in June and will be finished by November.

At the middle school, auditorium renovations begin in October 2018 and will be finished by December. The fitness room is scheduled for February 2019 through April 2019. The music room in April 2019; the attendance office in June 2019; interior renovations from December 2018 through August 2019; exterior improvements begin in June 2019; asphalt shingle roof in May 2019; and HVAC modifications in May 2019, completed by August.

At Jackson School, flooring replacement, window replacement, boiler room work, and toilet room renovations in April 2019 and all completed by September 2019.

At John Kennedy School, classroom addition and toilet room renovations are from October 2018 through April 2019. Gymnasium improvements also begin in October 2018 but will take until November to complete. The auditorium demolition is in December 2018. Window replacements begin April 2019.

The work at Richmond Memorial Library includes restroom renovations, painting, floor replacement, reading room lighting, upgrade to the fire alarm system, and landscaping. All of that work is scheduled for December 2018 through May 2019.

Marascio said that where work is performed on campus during the school year, construction workers will either have a separate ingress and egress from the student entrance to the construction zone or they will be instructed to remain in the construction zone during any time students are out of classrooms.

This Christmas season, as in previous years, Paul and Bridget Ohlson and the rest of the folks with Care-A-Van ministeries are serving the elderly community in Batavia to help ensure they do not feel forgotten.

The ministries have prepared more than 400 gift bags and last night 74 of them were delivered to residents at Washington Towers, along with cookies and coffee and a short concert of Christmas carols. Care-A-Van will also visit 400 Towers and several local residents at their homes.

The Batavia City School District Board of Trustees handed out its monthly awards at the start of its meeting Tuesday night. 

Sarah Gahagan and Lindsey Leone – Outstanding Staff Award

I just wanted to pass along praise for Sarah Gahagan and Lindsey Leone for their hard work and dedication to making the B-Squad program a success. My son participated in the program and he learned so much from it. Sarah and Lindsey perfectly balanced physical fitness, community involvement, career development, and social responsibility with this program.

They kept the participants motivated and taught life lessons that would be hard to duplicate in a classroom setting. I imagine they spent a significant amount of their personal time on this program and wanted to recognize their efforts with the administration. Please know that they are assets to BCSD and the City of Batavia who have made a difference in the lives of these young men. -- Nominated by Jill Halpin, Parent

Shirley Boyd – Outstanding Staff Award

Shirley always goes above and beyond for all students; not just the ones she works directly with in the inclusive classroom. She is patient and very receptive to the students’ needs. She takes on additional responsibilities that are not required of her throughout the entire school. She is more than willing to assist the teachers she works with directly and those that she does not. Shirley takes time out of her personal schedule to build relationships with students that need it most. She is truly an amazing individual we are blessed to have her on board. --Nominated by Laura Kaczmarek & Cindy Morgan

The board also presented a proclamation to Caryn Wood for the Drama's Club's successful production of "Sally Cotter and the Censored Stone." The proclamation cited the cast and crew and said the show "exceeded all expectations of a high school drama performance, bringing laughter, jest, and extreme entertainment to the audience it gathered for this event."

Updated - Dec. 20 - 9 a.m.
From Tompkins County Legislature

Legislature Approves Appointment of Jason Molino as County Administrator

Molino confirmed the appointment as he returned from Ithaca with his family.

In a published report, Legislature Chair Mike Lane acknowledged Molino’s strong background in budgeting, labor relations, and management oversight, and was confident that county personnel "would work with him to keep them on a course for success."

Molino is expected to continue to serve as Batavia's manager until the end of January.