The Jerome Center at 16 Bank St. in Downtown Batavia is being evacuated due to the smell of smoke in the building. Several electrical circuit breakers have blown, according to maintenance workers in the basement. City fire is responding.
UPDATE 2:17 p.m.: The scene is turned over to the building maintenance workers and National Gird. The city assignment is back in service.
On New Year's Day, 26 lucky young ladies will ring in the new year in the Outback -- that is, in the stadium at the Outback Bowl half-time show in Tampa, Florida.
All 26 girls, ages 8 to 18, are students at Suzanne's School of Dance at 33 Center St. in Batavia. Most are from Genesee County, though there are a couple from Monroe County as well.
Sponsored by Outback Steakhouse and always held on January 1, the Outback Bowl is an annual, nationally broadcast college football game featuring teams from the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences. The 26 dancers from Suzanne's will be representing Genesee County and Western New York in a performance featuring around 500 youth from all over the United States.
If this is an exciting opportunity, it is also going to be a test of skill and focus. The girls will spend a week in Tampa leading up to the big game, and their schedule will be packed with daily rehearsals to coordinate their choreography with the other 500 dancers.
Each participant faces a cost of about $1,300 for room and board, so the group is asking individuals and businesses in Genesee County to help offset the expense. Various fundraisers will take place over the next several months, and private donations are welcome as well.
According to Jennifer Vislay, the mother of one of the participants, the girls were selected as a result of an audition video that they wanted to do as a group rather than individually.
"They do everything as a team," Vislay said. "The older girls help the younger girls...it's just a very team-oriented project."
The first fundraiser will be a chicken barbeque this Sunday. It it set to start at 11 a.m. in the parking lot across the street from the studio, and will continue until sold out. A bake sale, basket raffle and 50/50 raffle will be included.
For more information, call Vislay at 737-5314.
The 26 dancers are, in alphabetical order by first name, Alexis Vasciannie, Allison Kropf, Alynn Franclemont, Amber Fitzsimmons, Ashley Johnson, Ashlyn Puccio, Aubrey Puccio, Cianna Kusmierski, Elizabeth Barcomb, Ella Bridges, Emilee Schroeder, Emily Thompson, Emily Verdaasdonk, Emma Richardson, Gyna Gibson, Haley Sweet, Kali Markek, Katie Raziano, Kendall Senko, Lily Senko, Maddie Phillips, Megan Currier, Micheala Misiti, Mikey Lullo, Mollie Heale, Rylei Odessa and Sarah Whitehead.
Photo taken by Jennifer Vislay
A former tennant of 113 Jackson St., Batavia, has been charged with theft of services for allegedly using an extension cord to provide power to his apartment.
The use of the cord was one of the alleged code violations the city cited to condemn the four-unit complex.
Property owner Guy Pellegrino told The Batavian on April 5 that things sounded a lot worse than they were with the building and he already had restoration projects under way. This morning, Pellegrino confirmed work is continuing on the building.
Arrested was Lonnie Ford Jr., 68, now a resident of Tracy Avenue, Batavia. Ford was issued an appearance ticket.
The electricity issue, like other issues, were easy to address, Pellegrino said, but the biggest area of concern for the 180-year-old one-time mansion was bowing of the south wall.
A structural engineer has determined that the building can be made structurally sound again through the use of a turn-buckle system. That would involve running cables through the building and installing buckles on the outside of the brick facade to secure the cables.
The process was frequently used with old masonary buildings in California after earthquake standards were introduced in the 1930s.
The buckles will be on the outside of the building, which means the city's Historic Preservation Commission must approve the design change.
Pellegrino said the commission will review his application May 28. Assuming it's approved, the buckling work will begin the next day.
We published photos of Whiskey 7 over the weekend from its refueling stop at the Genesee County Airport and shared that the plane is leaving today for France to take part of D-Day anniversary ceremonies.
This morning, The New York Times published a lengthy story about the plane and the historic trip.
The five-person, all-volunteer aircrew is packing life rafts, survival suits and other safety gear in the event of emergency. “There will be five of us onboard,” said Mike Lindsay, the crew chief, “and five parachutes.”
The farthest the Whiskey 7 has flown recently is to Wisconsin for an air show. But Mr. Lindsay and his fellow airmen say they are confident, even if the men they intend to honor are a little less so.
“I think it’s kind of nuts,” said Richard Ladd, 89, a local Veterans of Foreign Wars member who jumped out of a similar C-47 on D-Day as part of the 101st Airborne. “They’ve got more guts than we have.”
Great and great-great nieces and nephews of Gabriel De Fabbio were at the Holland Land Office Museum this evening for a ceremony honoring De Fabbio and Paulo Busti.
De Fabbio was a resident of 38 Center St., Batavia, when he joined the Marines. He was killed in Vera Cruz during the Mexican-American War in 1914. One hundred years ago today De Fabbio was buried at the St. Joseph Cemetery in a huge public ceremony, the largest funeral in Batavia history (see the front page of the Buffalo Evening News from 1914 for photo depicting Downtown Batavia on that day).
Pictured are Joan Tresco, Kailyn Tresco, Peppi Palmer, Paul Tresco and Kay Emanuel.
A wreath was placed in front of the marker, erected in 1915, in the side yard of HLOM honoring De Fabbio, by Michelle Fuller, Jeff Donahue and Barb Toal. Assemblyman Steve Hawley presented a resolution honoring De Fabbio. HLOM board VP Garth Swanson gave a presentation on the life and military service of De Fabbio.
Paulo Busti was the principal agent of the Holland Land Office starting in 1800 and gave Batavia its name.
Frank Penepento played horn accompaniment just outside the museum while Anne Marie Starowitz inside read the lyrics to a song sung at De Fabbio's funeral.
Tom Cecere
At least 56 vendors will be on hand, including homemade crafters and retailers.
The event is open to the public with free admission.
Food and refreshments available for purchase.
Pictured, representing the Ag Society's event organizers, Kristen Meeder.
Volunteers from throughout the county turned out today for the United Day of Caring and provided free labor for several local projects.
Above, members of the Lions Club outside Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle with the dozens of bikes they spent the day getting into working order for needy children and adults. Some of the bikes were taken in by Batavia PD after being found abandoned and never claimed and others were put out as garbage and picked up Genesee ARC. Many of the bikes will be returned to ARC clients.
Pictured, from front: John Huntzinger, Chuck Brenner, Bob Swanson, Tom Clark, Pier Chipollone, Dave Cuttia, John Roach and Van Scoy.
Denise Danzig-Rotolo at GO ART!
Ginny Tiedi at GO ART!
Tiede shows how to make a pair of pink bunnies using a bloom from a bleeding heart.
Glenn Simon at GO ART!
Eric Olson and Joe DiSalvo at Kiwanis Park.
Gilbert Mulcahy at Kiwanis Park.
Matt Gray at the community garden.
Denise Young at the basketball courts behind the Batavia Youth Bureau.
Group photo from this morning at Dwyer Stadium by Kevin Carlson of Carlson's Studio.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northwestern Genesee County along with other portions of Western New York until 6:45 p.m.
The Weather Service's Doppler radar has indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing quarter-size hail and damaging winds in excess of 60 mph.
This storm was located near Akron, or 11 south of Medina, and it's moving northeast at 15 mph.
This is a dangerous storm. If you are in its path, prepare immediately for damaging winds, destructive hail and deadly cloud-to-ground lightning. People outside should move to a shelter, preferably inside a strong building but away from windows.
David R. Gross, 23, was stabbed several times, according to State Police on May 11 and flown to Strong by Mercy Flight after first being transported in a private vehicle to Wyoming County Hospital.
His brother, 26-year-old Richard J. Gross, of Byron, allegedly stabbed him following an argument.
They were camping in a wooded area off of Bank Road, State Police said.
David Gross suffered a punctured and deflated lung along with multiple other injuries.
Richard Gross, pictured, was charged with first-degree assault, a Class B felony. He was arraigned in Town of Warsaw Court and jailed on $50,000 bail.
Press release:
The Batavia City Council is seeking City residents who are interested in volunteering as a member of the following:
***The Audit Advisory Committee was established to provide oversight to the financial and compliance reporting process and external audit process. The Committee aids in the communication between the City Manager and the independent auditor in areas including integrity of the City’s financial statement, compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and the performance, qualifications and independence of the auditors. The Committee will be responsible for meeting with the auditor’s prior to the audit, reviewing risk assessment, reviewing the draft financial statements and making a recommendation on acceptance of the external audit reports to the City Council.
Additional responsibilities include reviewing the management letter and establishing internal controls. The Committee is made up of five members, two of whom are City Council members. The qualifications for audit advisory committee members are: an understanding of GAAP (General Accepted Accounting Principles; an understanding of GASB (Government Accounting Standards Board); a financial background in Municipal Reporting; recognition of significant deficiencies and risk exposures.
***Batavia Housing Authority -- Residents interested in applying can obtain an application from the City Clerk’s Office or can visit our Web site at www.batavianewyork.com/Files and download a Committee/Board Volunteer Application under Documents.
***Applications for the Centennial Committee are being accepted by the Vibrant Batavia Committee. It is a planning committee for the City’s Centennial Celebrations in 2015.
Residents interested in applying to volunteer for a Committee or Board can obtain an application from the City Clerk’s Office or can visit our Web site at www.batavianewyork.com/Files.
Applications are due to the City Clerk’s Office by Friday, May 30.
Press release:
The Manhatten Dolls will perform for veterans in Batavia beginning at 3 p.m. this Saturday, May 17, and the public is invited. It's free.
Manhattan Dolls have traveled all over the world, performing at different military bases and air shows for United States veterans and service members. This Swing-style female vocal trio sings to the tunes of the 1920s, '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s. A throwback to the original USO group, the Manhattan Dolls have been written about in many publications for their performances and classic style.
The VA Western New York Healthcare System welcomes them to Batavia, where they will perform for veterans of the Community Living Center, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Residential Program facility, and the NYS Veterans' Home.
The location is 222 Richmond Ave., Building #4, Auditorium.
A Gun Raffle & Spaghetti Dinner to benefit Operation Injured Soldier will be held starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, at the Sacred Heart Social Center in Batavia. It's located at 17 Sumner Ave.
Cost for dinner only is $10. Gun raffle and dinner is $20. Plus there will be a Chinese Auction, 50/50.
For tickets, contact Edward Spence at 716-560-0697 or John McDonald at 585-509-6465.
The event is sponsored by the Medina War Veterans, General John S. Thompson, Post # 59.
The goal of Operation Injured Soldier is to help our disabled veterans get back to doing the sports and hobbies they enjoyed before being deployed. This benefit pays to take them on fishing charters this summer.
These are the guns to be raffled off:
A flash flood watch is in effect from 2 p.m. today through Friday afternoon. According to the National Weather Service, this includes portions of Western New York, including Genesee County and the City of Batavia.
The Weather Service says showers and thunderstorms are forecast to develop in a warm and humid airmass this afternoon and tonight. These storms will be capable of producing localized downpours with rainfall rates of 1 to 1.5 inches per hour. As a slow moving cold front approaches from the west, the showers and thunderstorms will become more widespread Thursday afternoon and night.
A flash flood means the threat of flash flooding exists along rivers and creeks. If you are in the watch area, you should monitor weather conditions closely. Be ready to move to higher ground if flooding is observed or a warning is issued.
Jennifer L. Sprague-Clark, 31, of Vine Street, Batavia, is charged with assault, 2nd, menacing, 2nd and criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd. Sprague-Clark allegedly stabbed another person in the leg during a dispute at 9:20 p.m., Tuesday. The investigation was conducted by Officer James DeFreze. Sprague-Clark was jailed without bail
Zachari R. Morgan, 18, of Pearl Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal mischief, 4th. Morgan was allegedly involved in a domestic incident at 11:38 a.m., Tuesday.
Mark S. Allison, 52, of Medina, is charged with assault/recklessly causing serious injury with a weapon. The alleged incident was reported at 11:44 a.m., Jan. 17 in the Town of Alabama. Allison was arrested by State Police. No further details released.
Peter J. Gravante, 25, of Churchville, is charged with petit larceny. Gravante was arrested by State Police for an alleged theft at a location on Veterans Memorial Drive that was reported at 9:04 a.m., Sunday.
A semi-truck has broken down on Route 19 in Le Roy and is blocking the road.
Le Roy Fire Police requested to respond and close Route 19 at Perry Road. Pavilion Fire Police requested to shut down traffic at Stubb Road.
The trucking company has a tow on the way.
A black male is reportedly walking along Main Street in Batavia and exposing himself, according to a caller to dispatch. He is allegedly accompanied by a female who was allegedly seen urinating in public.
Even without the profanity, celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay is profane. He’s mean even when his soliloquies aren’t bleepin’ tirades.
Some of the students in the Culinary Arts program at BOCES compare Chef Nathan Koscielski to Gordon Ramsay. Even "Chef K" himself makes the comparison.
“I do yell in the kitchen sometimes,” Koscielski said.Of course, Chef K never drops f-bombs. No teacher would. But neither is he mean. There are no insults tossed around like pizza dough in Chef K’s kitchen. If he raises his voice, it’s more like a stern version of Hugh Beaumont than a vein-popping drill sergeant.
Ramsay — star of such shows as "Hell’s Kitchen" and "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" — has high standards and high expectations, which seems to be the fuse that ignites his expletive-deleted critiques of other chefs and restaurant owners.
Driving home those same points about quality and consistency is also the growl in Chef K’s bark.
“There have got to be standards,” Koscielski said. “Everything has got to be uniform and everything has got to be high quality. It’s got to be done the right way, the perfect way, or it’s wrong. If it’s wrong, we’re not going to sell it to a customer.”
Click here for the full story.
Oh, that smell. That whiff of manure spread on a farmfield. The odor of animal waste in a barn filled with holsteins or jerseys. The stench of a pigsty.
The first time Chef Nathan Koscielski brought a group of his Culinary Arts students into the animal science department at BOCES, their instant response was to pinch noses firmly between thumbs and forefingers. "Oh, that smell."
Animal Science instructor Holly Partridge remembers it well.
“They walked in and said, ‘oh, this is gross. What a disgusting stink,’ ” Partridge said. “Chef turned to them and said, ‘that is the smell of money, because without that smell, you don’t have anything to sell. You don’t have anything to cook. You don’t have a restaurant.’ ”
That visit came near the start of what has turned into a fertile partnership between Koscielski and Partridge, one that is perhaps unique in culinary education circles.
“We had a documentary film producer come in to show us his film ‘American Meat’ and he said visited 150 FFA (Future Farmers of America) programs and he saw what we were doing and said he had seen nothing like it,” Partridge said.
For the past three years, the animal science program has been producing the meat used in the meals prepared by the Culinary Arts students — chicken, eggs, lamb, pork and guinea hens. The partnership has helped the BOCES culinary program produce a three-peat in the Taste of Culinary Competition hosted by the American Culinary Federation of Greater Buffalo, but it’s also produced a new recipe for educating high school students about the source of their meals.
“If you ask my students at the beginning of the year where food comes from, they say it comes from the grocery store,” Partridge said. “Where’s your eggs come from? It comes from the grocery store? Where’s your milk come from? It comes from the grocery store. That’s the mindset that Americans tend to have now because we’re so far removed from production.”
Both Partridge and Koscielski said that by bringing the two programs closer together, they’re teaching future cooks to respect the ingredients that go into their recipes and teaching future farmers about quality ingredients. The farmers learn about how to raise animals properly and the cooks learn to reuse waste in a way that is better for the planet.
“I make every student hold a little chick that was just hatched in their hands and tell them that in 16 weeks, that chicken is going to be on your cutting board,” Kosciekski said. “I don’t do that to be mean. I do that to teach them respect for the ingredients. When you’re holding a living animal and you know in 16 weeks, that’s going to be on your cutting board and you’re going to cook it, well, I can’t teach that through a textbook. There’s no better way to teach them to respect the animals.”
“When they wheel it down, they wheel it down knowing it will feed animals that they will eventually use in their class,” Partridge said.
It’s a long walk down hallways with tile on the walls and past many, many classrooms to get from the cooking class to the animal class. There’s a right turn, a left, a right and a left again. A walker might be tempted to leave breadcrumbs the first time on the trail, but it is a two-way path. Students from both classes will visit each other during the course of a school year as eggs hatch, grow into chickens, are sent off to a meat processing house and finally return to Chef K’s kitchen so they can fulfill their culinary destiny.
When chicks grow into chickens, the culinary students weave through those hallways to pay a final visit to the birds that will soon provide broth for their noodle soups or thighs for their cacciatores.
“They get to feel what a live bird feels like; to feel what the breast of a live bird feels like; to feel the weight of a live bird; to feel its breathing and its warmth,” Partridge said.
Poultry is slaughtered off campus by professionals. The plucked and dressed birds are returned to BOCES frozen and ready for whatever recipe Chef K might be cooking up for his students to learn. The Animal Science students are then invited into the kitchen to see how a bird is broken down for meal preparation.
“I don’t know of a college that is doing what we’re doing here with the integration of the farm,” Koscielski said. “That’s one of the reasons I work here, because I can’t get this anywhere else. Being able to work with my farmer on a daily basis, I don’t get that anywhere else.”
Two years ago, BOCES hosted members from throughout WNY of the American Culinary Federation. The main course: chicken. The cooks: students. The guest speaker: Holly Partridge. The federation members learned about the breed of bird and how it was raised and then got a taste of what Partridge preached.
“They were blown away,” Partridge said. “I showed them the difference between a commercial chicken, which is a very different breed of bird, and the chickens we produced. They were amazed at the difference in flavor because of how they were raised and the breed of the animal.”
The animals raised by Animal Science are farm fresh, which makes for a better meal, but they’re also organic, which Koscielski said not only means a richer flavor, but also a farming process that is healthier for the environment.
Books such as "The Omnivore's Dilemma," "Food Inc." and "King Corn" are required reading in Koscielski’s class, he said.
“We want students to learn about organic, healthy food that leaves a small footprint on the environment,” Koscielski said. “It’s something I’m very passionate about.”
The partnership is only going to expand in the coming years, both Koscielski and Partridge said.
By next year, Animal Science will have an expanded hen house, producing more eggs — enough eggs to stock Koscielski kitchen for the entire school year. With 100 percent of the culinary program’s eggs grown on campus, BOCES will save money on egg purchases.
Partridge and Koscielski are also hatching a plan to sell duck eggs along with breads and pastries at a local farmers market this fall.
“The goal is to not only promote the Animal Science Program, but also give kids an opportunity to run a business venture,” Partridge said.
The plan will need approval of the BOCES board.
Animal Science students spend a lot of time with the pigs, lambs, ducks and chickens they raise. They hold them, feed them, shepherd them and learn their traits and personalities. Learning to read an animal is an important skill to develop, Partridge said. They’re easier to herd when you can predict their next move and you can avoid trouble if you understand their moods.
Students also help care for the dogs of BOCES faculty and students. There are lessons, too, in canine socialization, grooming, feeding and walking.
Rather than a contradiction between mixing household pets with animals raised purely to provide sustenance, Partridge said students learn valuable lessons about farming and the humane treatment of livestock.
“They understand that if you want to eat meat, you’re going to raise the animal humanely, but you’re not going to raise them like your dogs,” Partridge said. “You’re going to raise them in an environment that is economical and humane for that animal. The needs of a pig are different than the needs of your dog. The needs of a chicken are different than the needs of your canary. They understand that food comes from an agriculture process. It comes from driving down the road and watching that manure spread on the field and understanding it’s not just there to make your life miserable because it smells. It’s a byproduct of what we’re doing so you can eat.”
It’s a lesson that doesn’t take long for students to learn, Partridge said.
“The kids have really gotten over that, ‘oh, I don’t want to eat that pig, it’s so cute,’ to ‘we are raising a quality product for a reason,’ ” Partridge said. “I’m not getting kids coming in crying that that little pig is going to get killed for somebody to eat. I’m getting kids with the understanding that production animals that we raise, we handle different than the companion animals that we raise.”
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