Batavia residents are being asked today to vote on a $3.9 million capital improvement project that would upgrade Van Detta Statdium (including artificial turf) as well as athletic fields at John Kennedy School.

To help pay for the project, the district expects it will need to collect about $110,000 annually in additional taxes from district residents.

When & Where to Vote 
Date: Tuesday, March 29
Time: Noon to 9 p.m.
Place: Polling places are at Jackson, Batavia Middle School, and Robert Morris.
Note: Identification and proof of residency are required.
Voting Requirements: In order to vote, you must be a citizen of the United States, a registered voter, at least 18 years of age, and a legal resident of the Batavia City School District for at least 30 days prior to the vote.

Below, a video produced by the school district in support of the project.

Previously: City School District presents plan for $3.9 million upgrade to Van Detta

Capt. Pat O'Donnell is on his final shift with the Batavia Fire Department tonight.

He joined the department Sept. 5, 1979 and decided it's time to stow his boots permanently.

"The body is not like it used to be," O'Donnell said. "It takes a few days to recuperate after being here for four."

Divorced with two daughters in college, O'Donnell has no sure plans for his retirement. He is staying in Batavia (His family was in Elba when he was born and moved to Batavia when he was in third grade.) and looking forward to a summer of taking it easy, playing golf and taking a couple of trips with his girls.

Asked if he had a message for the community, O'Donnell said, "The community should feel blessed that they’ve got this place. The guys do a hell of a job with the equipment that they’ve got. I know over the course of the last two or three years we’ve gotten a lot of bad publicity but the people in the city don’t realize what they have in this place. They do a good job."

UPDATE: The woman's last name has now been provided.

This is a news release from Batavia Downs Casino.

Marilyn Brightman from Rochester doesn’t drive -- but she may learn now that she’s the owner of a 2011 Cadillac CTS.

She and her husband were among the thousands of Player’s Club members who crowded into Batavia Downs Casino Saturday night for the chance to win the shiny new Caddy or $25,000 in cash.

“I was thrilled when I learned I won,” Brightman said.

She and her husband are still deciding on whether to take the car or the cash.

The big drawing at 10 p.m. topped off the Genesee County casino’s second-busiest day for coin-in since opening in May 2005.

Ken Barrett Chevrolet-Cadillac of Batavia partnered with Batavia Downs Casino on the grand prize.

Batavia Downs Casino is licensed by the New York State Lottery to conduct casino operations, including slots. Batavia Downs Casino is owned and operated by Western Regional Off-Track Betting, a public benefit corporation.

After much talk about the need to locate a new veterans' cemetery close to Batavia, only two potential sites announced today by Sen. Charles Schumer are in Genesee County.

Three sites are in Alden and one is in Akron.

The two potential sites in Genesee County are in Le Roy and East Bethany.

Schumer was in Batavia on March 7 to announce his plans to fast track the construction of a cemetery, ideally close to Batavia since it's centrally located between Rochester and Buffalo.

Currently, the closest veterans' cemetery to either city is in Bath.

Officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs are expected to visit the six potential sites this week.

The exact locations were not released.

The sites were identified after the VA solicited proposals from area landowners willing to sell at least 200 acres of land to the government

“I have long fought for this veterans' cemetery in Western New York to become a reality, and today’s news that the VA will be visiting six potential cemetery sites in Western New York is an important step towards finally finding a suitable resting place for Western New York vets,” Schumer said in a statement.

Full press release after the jump:

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to visit six potential veterans cemetery sites this week in Western New York: three sites in Alden, one site in Akron, one site in Leroy, and one site in East Bethany.  The six sites were generated from the VA’s Expression of Interest solicitation which was issued earlier this year.  Earlier this month, Schumer wrote a letter to Secretary Shinseki of the VA, urging that the VA establish a firm timeline for completion of the long overdue veterans’ cemetery in Western New York, specifically in choosing the cemetery site. The VA has yet to acquire the necessary land for the cemetery, further delaying the design and building phase that will ultimately lead to a suitable resting place for Western New York veterans. Today’s announcement marks a step in the right direction towards bringing a long overdue cemetery to over 200,000 veterans in Western New York.

“I have long fought for this veterans cemetery in Western New York to become a reality, and today’s news that the VA will be visiting six potential cemetery sites in Western New York is an important step towards finally finding a suitable resting place for Western New York vets,” Schumer said. “After everything the many thousands of veterans in this region have done for us, it is imperative that they have a local resting place where they can receive the honor they deserve.”
VA National Cemetery officials announced that they will be in Buffalo on Wednesday, March 30th,  to conduct site visits at 6 potential cemetery sites within the VA’s target area in WNY. This target area is the area 7 miles to the North and south of the Thruway, and about 20 miles to the East and West of the Town of Pembroke in Genesee County. The six locations being assessed are three sites in Alden, one site in Akron, one site in Leroy, and one site in East Bethany.  These six potential sites were generated from the VA’s Expression of Interest solicitation which was issued in January 2011.

In a March 7th letter to Secretary Shinseki of the VA, Schumer wrote, “There are some 200,000 veterans in the Buffalo-Rochester region who are not served by a national cemetery.  They have waited too long for this important project and they have been disturbed by a lack of information and communications with the VA.  I urge you to ensure timely progress in selecting and developing a site, and I request that a firm schedule for the project be established and shared with the community.” In today’s announcement, the VA outlined the firm schedule that Schumer had strongly lobbied for. During the VA’s visits to each location,  the officials will assess which sites best fit the VA’s criteria, which includes factors such as the site’s topography, access to highways, proximity to wetlands, and the impact of neighboring facilities. After this assessment is complete, the VA will rank and score each site as part of its evaluation process.  The VA will then narrow the field of candidate sites to the top two and will  proceed with a more detailed due diligence analysis.  The VA anticipates that this review will continue for most of this year.  If it proceeds accordingly, the VA would then be on track to acquire the 200-acres of property by the end of this year or the Spring of 2012.  The VA will then hire an architectural/engineering firm to help develop the master plan for the site, clearing the way for construction.

There are currently six National Cemeteries in New York State, but the facility in Bath is the only one in all of Central New York, Western New York, the Southern Tier and the Rochester Finger Lakes Region.  Current VA regulations allow for establishment of a new cemetery when it would serve 80,000 or more veterans within a 75 mile area. In Western New York alone there are approximately 125,000 veterans. Combined with the Rochester area, which is also more than 75 miles away from the nearest national cemetery in Bath, there are more than 200,000 veterans without appropriate access to a cemetery. A cemetery location in Western New York not only makes sense, but would fulfill an urgent need of these veterans.

Veterans Affairs began seeking a cemetery site in August 2010, with the effort focused within a 50 mile diameter area which included parts of Ontario, Canada, Lake Erie, Erie County, Orleans County, Niagara County and Genesee county. In January 2011, the VA announced that they were starting over and had moved the area under consideration to the east and would center it in Genesee County. Today’s announcement means that these milestones in the process will not continued to be pushed back.

Schumer has long argued that it is critical for the veterans cemetery location to be decided on and for building to begin immediately.  Half of New York Veterans are 65 years of age or older, and now is the time to start planning for the future of those veterans, and ensuring that they are treated with the honor they deserve.  Schumer has heard from local veterans groups that veterans in Western New York desperately want to be buried in a national shrine, but don’t want to force their families to travel long distances to visit, potentially at great hardship to do so.

Today, there are more than 22 million veterans who are eligible for the honor of burial in a National Cemetery. Veterans with discharges other than dishonorable, their spouses and dependent children may be eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. Those who die on active duty may also be buried in a national cemetery.

A driver involved in a fatal car accident on West Main St. Road, Batavia, on Feb.  8 has received two traffic citations and been charged with reckless driving.

Levert Kimble, 21, of 3456 West Main St. Road, Batavia, who was also seriously injured in the head-on collection with an SUV, was cited for failure to keep right and not wearing a seat belt.

Delores Opuku-Boateng, 19, a student at Genesee Community College and a passenger in Kimble's car, died at the scene of the accident.

The other driver, Justin J. Jaszko, 31, suffered only minor injuries.

According to investigators at the time, the accident occurred at 9:02 a.m. when Kimble apparently lost control of his eastbound Honda and crossed over the center of the road, striking Jaszko's westbound 1995 Chevy Suburban.

Jane Corwin was apparently for it before she was against it -- high-speed rail, that is.

The Buffalo News reported this morning that a pair of freshly minted Republican congressmen have come down hard on the idea of spending billions of dollars on a high-speed rail system connecting Buffalo and Albany (and passing through Genesee County).

Corwin, the GOP candidate to fill Chris Lee's vacated seat, said this:

"While I am in overall support of the concept of modernizing our passenger railways, with $1.5 trillion deficits we simply cannot afford to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on this project at this time," the assemblywoman from Clarence said. "Instead, I will fight for infrastructure projects that have an immediate and direct return on our economic bottom line."

Honestly, when I first read the Buffalo News story, I didn't read far enough down to see that both Corwin and her Democratic opponent Kathy Hochul had been asked by the Buffalo News for comment, so I e-mailed both campaigns seeking comment.

After I read the statement, I also did a little Google search and found the statement below on Corwin's official Assembly Web site:

A high-speed rail would make travel between upstate and downstate far more energy efficient and be a huge boom to economic development. Construction of the rail would create an estimated 12,000 jobs. By strengthening the connection between our smaller metropolitan areas and New York City, we could also reverse the upstate decline in population by making Western New York universities and colleges more attractive to downstate and out of state residents.

As part of the statement, Corwin did note that there was no guarantee New York would be granted federal funds for a high-speed rail project, and she asked constituents for their opinion and called the project, "worthy of further discussion and debate."

The headline on Corwin's two-year-old statement was, "High-Speed Rail Could Provide Economic Boom to Upstate NY."

After finding that statement, I sent a second e-mail to Corwin's campaign asking about this seeming contradiction and received this response from Communications Director Matthew Harakal:

As the statement we issued on Friday states, Jane is supportive of the concept of modernizing passenger rail, and that support was indicated in the newsletter from two years ago. But because Congress has failed to get spending, the debt and deficits under control, funding this is not practical at this time. Jane believes that we need to focus on getting our nation’s fiscal house in order before we invest in long-term spending such as this.

According to treasurydirect.gov, the national debt today is $14 trillion. In March 2009, it was $11 trillion.

Meanwhile, here's the statement we received from Hochul's campaign:

"A high speed rail in Upstate New York will reduce our dependence on oil, create thousands of much needed jobs right here in Western New York, and provide New Yorkers with a safe, efficient, and fast mode of transportation to travel the Empire Corridor,” said Kathy Hochul, candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District. “While I support the idea conceptually, we are still analyzing what the fiscal impact will be on New York taxpayers."

Genesee County lost 291 residents according to 2010 Census data released in the past week, but the losses were not evenly distributed throughout the county.

Over the last decade, some areas gained residents, such as the Town of Batavia, most notably, and the Village of Le Roy.

The City of Batavia was the big loser, shedding 791 residents, with the southeast section of the city getting hammered with a 15.7-percent drop in population.

The Town of Batavia gained 894 residents, with 6,809 people in its jurisdiction, up from 5,915 in 2000.

The Village of Le Roy grew from 4,716 to 4,739 residents. The Town of Le Roy dropped 2.2 percent, to 5,361.

The Basom area, which includes the Tonawanda Indian Reservation now has 483 residents, a 9.9-percent drop from 2000.

Other counts: Alabama, 6,161 -- down 3.8 percent; Oakfield and Elba, 5,620 --  down .4 percent; Byron-Bergen, 5,489 -- down 3.3 percent; Pavilion and Bethany, 4,260 -- up .8 percent; Alexander and Darien, 5,692 -- up 3.2 percent.

The county's African-American population has increased from 1,284 in 2000 to 1,612, now comprising 2.7 percent of the county's population.

The Hispanic population here has increased from 904 in 2000 to 1,616. It's now 2.7 percent of the population.

The numbers of Asian-Americans grew from 292 to 355.

Total housing units have expanded over the past 10 years from 24,190 to 25,589. Occupied housing units stands at 23,728 compared to 22,770. There are a little more than 400 additional vacant housing units than 10 years ago.

Frank James Davis, 31, of East Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Davis is accused of entering the Totem Pole Smoke Shop at 10:50 a.m., March 3, loading 15 cartons of cigarettes into a basket, then walking past cashiers and then running out of the store without paying for the cigarettes. The cigarettes are valued at $502 and the basket is valued at $10.

Davis is also accused of stealing $204 worth of Winston Lights on the same date from Arrow Hawk Smoke Shop. Davis was charged with petit larceny for that alleged crime.

Jennifer L. Coombs, 27, of 103 West Main St., Le Roy, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Coombs is accused of slashing three tires on a car in November.

Andrew Paul Dentinger, 20, of Broadway Road, Alexander, is charged with unlawful dealing with a child. Dentinger is accused of hosting an underage drinking party. Deputies responded to an address on Broadway Road, Alexander, at 12:58 a.m., Saturday to investigate the party.

David A. Burr, 23, of Elba, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. Burr is accused of intentionally damaging the front door of T.F. Brown's restaurant at 1:40 a.m., Sunday. Burr was jailed without bail.

Janie B. Burgess, 57, of 7 Maureen Drive, Rochester, is charged with DWI, unsafe turn. Burgess was stopped at 10:13 p.m., Saturday, on Oak Street by Officer Chris Camp. Burgess was jailed on $500 bail.

Daniel G. Crane, 34, of 9395 Upton Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and inadequate lights. Crane was stopped at 12:52 a.m., Sunday, on Main Street by Officer Dan Coffey.

Mark D. Hoerbelt , 42, of 152 State St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and inadequate headlights. Hoerbelt was stopped at 12:43 a.m., Friday, on West Main Street by Officer Matthew Fleming.

A 16-year-old resident of Wood Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. The youth is accused of stealing an iPod in January while at Batavia High School. The youth was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Jennifer L. Stack, 25, of 12 Oak St., is accused of failing to pay a fine. Stack was convicted in May on an unnecessary noise charge. She was released on $100 bail but allegedly failed to appear at her next court appointment.

Scott C. Brown, 22, and Ashley M. Yunke, 31, of 11 1/2 Wood St., are charged with criminal nuisance. Brown and Yunke are accused of hosting a party where people under 21 were allowed to drink. They were arrested at 12:20 a.m., Sunday. They were jailed on $500 each bail.

Amanda A. Barclay, 23, of Oakfield, is charged with false report of an incident, 3rd. The alleged incident occurred at 4:27 a.m., March 18, in the City of Batavia. Barclay was arrested by State Police on Thursday. No further details were released.

Jared C. Reese, 31, of Stafford, is charged with controlled substance not in original container and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Reese was stopped by State Police at 6:09 p.m., Thursday, on Route 33, Stafford. No further details were released.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 29^th, is the vote on raising taxes to pay for upgrades at Van Detta Stadium. Just vote NO.

The School Board has money saved, use that money for the needed repairs. Do not borrow money and raise taxes for extras or anything else.

Remember, the School Board has property it can sell to pay for the Van Detta upgrades, but does not want to.  Until they do everything they can to not borrow money and raise taxes, just vote NO.

A two-car accident with a minor injury has been reported at the intersection of Walker Road and South Street Road, Pavilion.

A responder requested that Monroe County Water Authority be notified that a fire hydrant was struck.

Pavilion Fire Department and Mercy EMS dispatched.

View Larger Map

A kitchen isn’t just for cooking anymore. A modern kitchen can be used as a gathering space, for entertaining guests, and much more.

Local Nothnagle Realtor Nancy Crocker weighed in on what makes a desirable kitchen in the home-buying market today.

“Today’s homebuyers have different desires in a kitchen than they did in the '80s and '90s," she said. "Living room and family room activities are merging into kitchens, making them a gathering place for family, a central work space or just an open area to pursue craft projects or even to simply entertain.”

Crocker has been in the real estate business for more than 35 years and with Nothnagle Realtors for the past 11. When it comes to what folks are looking for lately, Crocker said that having a versatile and open floor plan for kitchens has become a hit with recent homebuyers.

“Existing homes typically have a wall separating kitchens from dining rooms and other parts of the home but with a modern kitchen, those walls are removed and the room is designed in a less utilitarian way.”

Crocker cited larger windows, fewer and more user-friendly cabinets, soft lighting and sleek countertops as a few indicators of what a modern kitchen should look like.

“Improvements to kitchens are a major appeal to homebuyers and they certainly enhance the value of the home for sale,” Crocker said.

She suggested a few improvements for anyone interested in revamping their home to sell.

“Modern, eye-appealing kitchens and bathrooms are major wants of almost every homebuyer,” she said. “If a seller wants to make a worthwhile investment, they should consider a few improvements.”

A kitchen island that has functional benefits but also provides space for entertaining, informal dining and extra storage. Crocker said that buyers are attracted to size-appropriate islands that are consistent with existing décor in the kitchen.

Crocker maintained that any seller can make a good investment in his or her property by updating their kitchen and/or bathrooms.

“A serviceable, eye appealing and updated kitchen is high on the list of most people looking to buy their home. A kitchen needs good strong bones which can be enhanced by updated countertops, hardware, flooring, cabinets and appliances.”

A local cancer survivor is working hard to spread awareness about colorectal cancer with a certain message that he feels saved his life -- No matter how embarrassing or trivial one's symptoms may be, it’s important to talk to your doctor.

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and Corfu resident Walt Kolmetz is helping to publicize the importance of screening for the disease. He'll be featured on WNED-TV tomorrow at 9 p.m. (Monday, March 28) with another showing on April 11 on ThinkBright and Well TV, also at 9 p.m.

Kolmetz told The Batavian about his personal journey, which started when he applied for a new job. He went through a physical and found out he had high blood pressure.

“I’ve always been in good shape and an athlete, so I thought it was weird and went to my doctor,” he said.

His doctor, whose also a friend, prescribed medicine to try and lower the numbers and asked to see him again in a month. But his blood pressure was still quite high.

“At that point, I mentioned to my doctor that I’d been noticing traces of blood in my stool,” he said. “Yeah, it’s embarrassing but I figured I should just let him know.”

Kolmetz’s doctor suggested that even though he was 41, he should have a colonoscopy done.

“You know, they say you don’t need to get a colonoscopy until you’re 50. Doctors and insurance companies and all of them say it,” Kolmetz said. “Well, if we had waited until I was 50 I wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

He found out about his tumor the day of the test. It was a stage two tumor that was developing into a stage three. The doctor walked into the room, gave the bad news and left.

Kolmetz and his wife, Lisa, didn’t know what to do. They contacted Roswell Hospital and were told to expect a phone call with more information. Then, using a few contacts and friends he made during his days as a paramedic, Kolmetz called some people in the medical field to recommend where he should go.

He ended up going to Buffalo General Hospital to see Dr. Mamauhod Kuylat. Within one week, he was on the operating table having his tumor removed.

“Technically, you’re cancer free once the tumor is removed but chemotherapy and radiation are (used) to make sure there isn’t one cell left with the cancer in it,” Kolmetz explained.

He went through the arduous treatment while continuing to work. He recalls the difficulty he had dealing with a colostomy bag.

“It was hell,” he said. “And no one knew how to help. The doctors, nurses and even my at-home nurse just didn’t know.”

Kolmetz remembered that his greatest fear was the possibility of having a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. He remembers having seriously painful rashes and embarrassing moments.

“There should be some kind of support group or informational group for people who have to deal with colostomy bags,” he said. “I’d be more than willing to be involved because I can tell you firsthand that there’s a real need for a group like this.”

Although it was an awful 21 weeks, Kolmetz says it's all worth it for the opportunity to see his kids grow up and to enjoy this life as much as he can. He only hopes that his survival story can help others take charge of their health.

“I feel obligated because I’ve been blessed,” he said. “Even though I went through a lot with this, I need to try and enlighten people to say ‘Hey, just talk to your doctor, your body is trying to tell you things and don’t be embarrassed.'”

Earlier this week, people told me Matty's Pizzeria was closed. I tried contacting owner Brad Fairbanks for confirmation, but could not reach him.

There is now an ad in this week's PennySaver for an auction of all Matty's equipment and fixtures at 2 p.m., March 31.

If you purchased a Matty's gift card in The Batavian's Deal of the Day on Feb. 18 or later, we will refund your money. You must return the unused gift card to us. Our address is 200 E. Main St., #5, Batavia, NY 14020. Refunds will be issued through PayPal.

The Buffalo News is reporting that Batavia resident David Bellavia failed to turn in the proper paperwork to qualify for a line on the May 24 special election ballot for the NY-26.

While Bellavia's campaign turned in 3,600 signatures and the other campaigns apparently indicated they were not going to challenge the petitions, Bellavia was required by law to turn in an "acceptance letter," which he did not do by today's deadline.

The letter is required for a candidate running on a line that is not his party.

Meanwhile, Roll Call is reporting that Jack Davis should qualify for the ballot and is expecting to spend $3 million on the campaign. He reportedly plans to use most of the money targeting Republican candidate Jane Corwin, especially on jobs and free trade issues.

Davis is running on the "Tea Party" line, which has upset Buffalo's Rus Thompson, according to Roll Call.

Thompson said the "Tea Party" is a movement, not a political party.

We had a little snow -- about an hour, dropping maybe a half inch -- but it was pretty while it lasted. It was one of those snowfalls where big fluffy flakes fall slowly and stick to whatever they hit. I kind of liked this hedgerow on South Swan Street flocked with a bit of snow. The storm has passed.

A two-car accident has been reported on Route 77 near McGregor Road, Darien.

Darien Fire Department and ambulance responding.

UPDATE 7:34 p.m.: Chief on scene reports one car blocking, another in a ditch. Corfu fire police being dispatched to block southbound traffic. A Sheriff's deputy will close the northbound lane. An ALS ambulance from Mercy EMS requested. There are three people injured.

UPDATE 8:20 p.m.: The victims have all been transported via ambulance to Erie County Medical Center.

UPDATE 8:32 p.m.: Corfu is told it can open Route 77 to traffic. Darien fire and Mercy medics are now responding to another accident on Route 20, just east of the county line.

UPDATE 8:42 p.m.: Mercy medics are cancelled. The Route 20 incident involves two cars.

UPDATE 8:51 p.m.: Darien fire is back in service following the accident on Route 20.

View Larger Map

The staff of Pauly's Pizza are wearing "Brooklyn" shirts tonight as part of an effort to raise awareness of the plight of little Brooklyn Grace Sputore, who suffers from Vein of Galen Brain Malformation, which is a form of an aneurysm. This is a life-threatening condition that requires special care.

Pauly's is accepting donations on behalf of baby Brooklyn.

There is a fundraiser planned from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 10 at St. Joseph's School at 2 Summit St., Batavia. This will include a spaghetti dinner, a Chinese auction and other raffles.

The tickets can be purchased pre-sale from Paul Sputore 781-8138 and other committee members. Tickets will also be available at the door. Brooklyn's Journey T-shirts are $15 and can be purchased from Bruce Dedman 716-560-0031 or T.F. Brown’s/Mancuso Bowling Center. All proceeds will assist the Sputore family in this difficult time.

The Sputore famly were at Pauly's this evening. Below is a picture of Brooklyn and her mom, Julie.

It's illegal to pass a stopped school bus with its stop signs flipped out and lights flashing, but apparently, some people still do it.

On Wednesday, the Batavia Police Department will engage in dedicated patrols aimed at enforcing the no-passing law.

It's part of a statewide effort called "Operation Safe Stop" funded by a grant.

"The objective of the traffic detail is to make drivers aware of the dangers of passing stopped school buses, to keep students safe while entering or exiting school buses," reads a department press release.

Police officers will be out in marked and unmarked cars on selected city school bus routes looking for violators where there have been complaints of vehicles passing stopped school buses. 

Police officers will also be conducting speed enforcement details in school zones.

The press release concludes, "Operation Safe-Stop is a statewide cooperative effort supported by the NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, NYS Association of Public Transportation, NYS School Bus Contractors Association, First Student Bus Company and all law enforcement agencies."