batavia

The first night of Taste of the Holidays in Downtown Batavia had hundreds of people turn out to sample food from local restaurants and visit downtown merchants.

The event continues from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, with Jason the Juggler, music by Bart & Kevin, and horse and wagon rides.

Donors drove up to Ken Barrett Chevrolet and Cadillac today by the dozens to deliver presents for Genesee County youngsters who might not otherwise get a visit from Santa and filled up two pickup trucks with new toys.

It was one of the biggest hauls for the toy drives in recent years.

Besides a big donation from Genesee ARC, the folks at Lawley Genesee (above) turned up in a Mancuso limo on the way to a Christmas party and dropped off several toys.

Pictured above are Lt. Marty Hinz and Chuck Harmon, of the City of Batavia Fire Department, Beth George, Nancy Hale, Patricia Kurtz, Tom Ditzel, Marissa Weaver, Susie Boyce, Wendy MacKay, Kim Morello.

Dan Fischer of WBTA with Kurtz.

Firefighter Green and Mary Blevins, manager of the Batavia branch of Key Bank.

Blevins with WBTA's Sloan Martin.

Edward and Beverly Corcoran were honored today by the UMMC Foundation and the Jerome Foundation with the 28th annual Health and Humanitarian Award.

The Corcorans founded and run Stephen’s Table, a soup kitchen that provides lunches six times a week, on average to 30 people a day.

The Corcorans prepare the meal each day. A typical lunch is homemade soup, sandwich, fruit, dessert and beverage. Volunteers help serve the meal. Ed and Beverly spend hours each week visiting local businesses that donate food to Stephen’s Table. Mrs. Corcoran also completes reports and correspondence.

The lunch was held at Terry Hills.

Trevon L. Armstrong is indicted on counts of burglary, 2nd, criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, two counts of criminal mischief, 4th, falsely reporting an incident, 3rd, six counts of forgery, 2nd, three counts of offering a false instrument for filing and tampering with a witness, 4th. Armstrong is accused of entering a residence on East Avenue on Oct. 9 with the intent to commit a crime inside the residence. Armstrong is accused of possessing stolen property, a 46-inch Hisense LCD TV, a HP laptop computer and two boxes of jewelry. Armstrong is accused of damaging a window at the East Avenue property, as well as a door. Armstrong is accused of falsely reporting a burglary at a neighboring residence. He is accused of falsely implicating another person in possessing the stolen property. He is accused of signing a fake name on a fingerprint card, a witness statement and a deposition, as well as other government documents. Armstrong also allegedly tried to keep another person from testifying before the grand jury.

Earl F. Sprague III, is indicted on a count of criminal solicitation, 2nd. Sprague is accused of trying to engage another person in a Class A felony, murder in the second degree.

Janet M. Brady is indicted on counts of felony DWI, felony DWI with a child under age 15 in the car. Brady is accused of driving drunk Aug. 9 in the parking lot of Darien Lake Theme Park, Darien.

Martin F. Jones is indicted on counts of felony DWI, two counts of aggravated unlicensed operation and criminal mischief, 4th. Jones is accused of driving drunk Oct. 9 in the City of Batavia in the parking lot of Settler's Restaurant and Hess Mart. He is accused of damaging property at Settler's Restaurant with a value that exceeds $250.

Dennis E. Hopkins is indicted on charges of burglary, 3rd, and grand larceny, 4th. Hopkins is accused of entering a residence in February on Lewiston Road, Batavia, with the intention of committing a crime inside. He is accused of stealing $2,000 in cash.

Guillermo Roman Roque is indicted on three counts of incest, 3rd. Roque is accused of having sexual relations with a person he knew to be a family relative.

Elaina J. Mead is indicted on counts of menacing a police officer, assault, 2nd, criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and obstructing governmental administration, 2nd. Mead is accused of placing a knife to the chest of a deputy while attempting to block the arrest of her son, Michael Mead Sr., on June 17. Mead is accused of intentionally injuring a Le Roy police officer with a knife. She is accused of unlawfully using a knife as a weapon. She is accused of attempting to prevent the arrest of another person.

James Smith Jr.,  is indicted on counts of criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of menacing, 2nd, and assault, 2nd. Smith is accused of using a weapon with the intent to injure another person. He allegedly displayed a knife. He allegedly injured another person using a knife on July 22.

Submitted by Tom Ingalsbe:

Members of the Batavia Teachers' Association pose for a picture at the culmination of their "No Shave November" competition. The competition raised nearly $200 for Anna's Wish and the Kay Dean Memorial Scholarship Fund. For more information on Anna's Wish, please go to http://www.annaswish.org/.

Press release:

Local entrepreneur Tim Walton, has decided to pull the plug on bringing a teen nightclub to Batavia after many hurdles and a bigger opportunity.

Walton had plans to turn the former Powerhouse Gym into a 7,500-square-foot venue that would cater toward the under-21 crowd, bringing them dances, parties and other events to keep them out of trouble.

The process had been delayed several times by the city due to codes that had to be met.

"We installed a sprinkler system, then needed another entrance, so we made that, then needed this and that, and things just kept adding up," Walton said.

Despite the setbacks, Walton said that the main reason for pulling the plug was due to bigger opportunities that were presented to him.

Walton recently took over as marketing and events director at LUX Nightclub in Buffalo.

"I got an offer that I couldn't turn down," Walton said. "It's the largest nightclub in the area so it's a great opportunity to do what I love to do."

The building at 624 E. Main St, which Walton had leased for a little over a year, has been put back up for lease by building owner Ken Mistler and Walton still has hopes to see something similar in there.

"It's a great wide-open structure that would be a great business opportunity for the right person, and I'd even be willing to help promote it if something were to come about in there," Walton said. 

Although the club is no longer in the works, Walton still hasn't given up on bringing quality entertainment to the area.

"It's something that people enjoy and it's something I have the experience to bring to the city," he said.

Currently, he has scheduled for Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson to make an appearance at City Slickers. The appearance will be headlined by Johnson's cousin, national recording artist YB the Rockstar (Ya Boy) and Batavia native DJ Macy Paradise. The event is set for Dec. 21. That event is sponsored by IR Systems DirecTV and The Batavian.

There was a long line of people waiting for tattoos this morning at 10 when High Voltage Tattoo and Piercing opened its doors for its second annual fundraising event.

The event continues on Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with patrons being able to choose from a set of predetermined designs for $30 per tattoo and piercings for $20 (includes jewelry).

All proceeds benefit Don Carroll's Toys for Kids and Golisano Children's Hospital.

High voltage is located at 110 W. Main St., Batavia.

Above, Kenny McCarthy inks John Veitch with a four-leaf clover.

H.E. Turner Funeral Homes hosted their annual Service of Prayer and Remembrance this evening at Grace Baptist Church, Batavia. The service is a chance for local families to remember and honor loved ones who have passed on in the last year. A candle is lit for each of the departed and family members are encouraged to take the candle home and light it on Christmas morning.

Pastor Donal Shirk spoke briefly during the service, which featured hymns and prayers.

For music lovers, the best place to be in Batavia this afternoon was Terry Hills, where Serendipity Swing serenaded a lunch crowd of more than 100 people.

Chef Gene Hewitt (pictured below) prepared a lavish buffet lunch that featured fish, roast beaf, soups (including Terry Hill's famous seafood bisque) and salad.

There's a new game shop in town and if the owner -- Bruce Reynolds, of Elba -- looks familiar it's because he's been in the retail entertainment business in Batavia before.

Reynolds is the former owner of CD Splash, which he closed five years ago when he had an opportunity to open a game shop in Warsaw.

"That business is doing really well and I always wanted to get back here," Reynolds said.

Gamezilla is located at 214 E. Main St. and the large space will give Reynolds plenty of room to stock up on video games, movies, music and other retail items as well as have space for a game room, sodas and candy.

Reynolds said he wants to create an atmosphere where gamers feel comfortable just hanging out, and regular tournaments are part of the plan.

"Competitive gamers always like to show off how good they are," Reynolds said.

Most avid gamers are 13 to 19 years old, but there are plenty of gamers in their 20s, 30s and 40s, and Reynolds said his inventory will carry the kind of variety all ages like to play.

He's still stocking up the store, but he said the inventory at Gamezilla is always evolving.

"We're always buying. We're always selling. We're always trading," Reynolds said. "You never come in and see the same thing every time."

The store will be open six days a week for 10 hours and on Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m.

The extra hours and the store's central location, Reynolds said, will be a competitive advantage, and he said Gamezilla offers the highest trade-in value for games.

"We offer friendly, honest service and we treat people nice," he said.

Tonight, the St. James Bell Choir and the St. James Choir performed a Christmas recital for the residents of Manor House.

The Christmas displays in the former Carr's building won this year's Downtown Batavia Holiday Window Display Contest, the BID announced today.

The windows were sponsored by Next Level Fitness & City Slickers.

Honorable mentions went to Valle Jewelers, Adam Miller Toy & Bicycle, The Spa at Artemis, Genesee Patrons, and Charles Men’s Shop.

This year’s judges were City Manager Jason Molino, GO ART! Director Kelly Kiebala and Diana Wyrwa, director of the Richmond Memorial Library.

The winner of the contest will receive $200 in cash.

A Tim Horton's is only the first phase of planned development for a parcel of property wedged in between Lewiston Road, Main Street and Colonial Boulevard, the developer revealed Tuesday night at a Town of Batavia Planning Board meeting.

Besides the coffee shop, Benderson Development Co. plans to erect a retail building and a drive-thru ATM location.

No tenants have been found for those uses, yet, said Matthew J. Oates (photo), the company's chief engineer, but the company didn't want to surprise planners later, after Horton's is approved -- assuming it is -- with an expanded development.

Kathy Jasinski, board chairwoman, said the town only found out about the planned additional uses on Monday.

Benderson has recently completed a traffic study covering the anticipated impact of both Tim Horton's and the proposed retail location and those results were turned over Monday to the town and the DOT for analysis.

Town Engineer Steve Mountain said that traffic study will be given to the town's traffic consultant for review.

Traffic was one of the chief concerns raised by town residents, primarily those on Colonial Boulevard, who attended Tuesday's public hearing on the Tim Horton's plan.

Lewiston and Main is already a congested intersection and traffic patterns down Main Street can make it difficult, Colonial Boulevard residents said, to get on and off their street.

What that traffic impact will be and how any problems might be mitigated remains an open question until both the town's consultant and the DOT complete an analysis of the traffic study.

The board made no decision about the planned development, but did begin the process of declaring itself the lead agency for environmental review purposes.

Residents also expressed concern about light and noise coming from the 24-hour operation.

Amy DiSalvo said her house is right next to the proposed Tim Horton's location and she's concerned about parking lot light spilling over onto her property as well as headlights shining on her house.

Oates said the position of the building will act as a buffer for headlights and noise for Colonial Boulevard residents, and Bob Bender, real estate project planner for Tim Horton's, said the project will use "dark sky lights," which will have zero spill over onto adjacent property.

The stop-and-go lights at Lewiston and Main weren't doing a great job this afternoon of managing traffic. Drivers were pretty much on their own in the congested intersection to take turns based on the flashing yellow for Main Street cars and the flashing red for vehicles on Lewiston Road. The DOT has restored the lights to proper operation now.The exact cause of the technical problems has not been released.

Edward Jordan White, 17, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 3rd, and burglary, 3rd, after he allegedly stole a Ford pickup truck and then some gas cans from a garage on Monday. He lives on East Main Street in Batavia.

It is alleged that he took the truck from Ellsworth Avenue in the city and then drove to West Main Street Road in the Town of Batavia where he allegedly entered an unattached residential garage and stole three gas containers in order to fuel the truck.

He was apprehended by law enforcement officers after he abandoned the truck and fled on foot. He was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and then booked into county jail. He is to appear in town court at a later date.

The incident was investigated by Sheriff's deputies Ferrando and Nati.