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Photos and article submitted by Glenn Adams.

Earlier this month the Bethany Fire Department met for an annual dinner and awards event. In a year with over 200 service calls, this event highlights the time and sacrifice of volunteers who serve our community.

Jeff Fluker received the “firefighter of the year” award. Being a fire chief is a thankless job. It entails the visible time spent at fire and accident calls and the weekly Monday evening meetings. But there is also time spent planning, going to other meetings, filling out paperwork, and a host of other details in keeping a volunteer fire department going.

Top photo: Jamie Fluker, Jeff Fluker, and Jeff Wolak

Jeff Wolak received our “fire service award”.Jeff is the assistant chief, and likewise spends a great deal of personal time on fire department business above and beyond the regular meeting and service times. He works with the Chief going to meetings and planning the things that need to be done to serve our community.

Jamie Fluker, Jeff Wolak, and Chief Jeff Fluker

Jim Duval received the “ EMS award”. Tonight was Jim’s last monthly meeting with the Bethany Vol fire company. Jim has been with us for many years. This past year was one of the toughest we have been challenged with. Losing our EMS captain Mel Davis, Jim took everything over that Mel had previously done. Jim and his family have decided to take another path in life and be closer to his family. We truly appreciate Jim’s time, knowledge and dedication, along with his wife, Jane, for always understanding when he left for a fire call there was not telling what time he would be back.

Jim Duval with Chief Jeff Fluker, Jeff Wolak, and Jamie Fluker

As always, we are looking for more volunteers. We always need EMTs, interior firefighters, fire police, there is a job for everyone! If anyone is interested in joining there is always training you can attend to become qualified!! Join today!

Jeff Wolak, Chief Fluker, Lyle Boundy, Jamie Fluker  and FD Captain John Szymkowiak.

The Bethany Volunteer Fire Department.

Photo submitted by Jim Reinhardt. A rainbow this afternoon, visible over the pond in his backyard in Pembroke.

During Tech Wars at GCC on Thursday, The Batavian spoke with Chris Suozzi, VP of business and workforce development for GCEDC, about how companies that are opening new operations here -- such as La Fermière and PlugPower -- as well as those that are expanding.

With labor markets tight, Suozzi said the future workforce of Genesee County can be found at events like TechWars, among the kids being turned on to engineering and technology.

He pointed to the $700,000 mechatronics training equipment acquired by BOCES on display at TechWars as one of the ways Genesee County is leading the state in workforce development.

GLOW with Your Hands, he noted, has also been a huge success and is also setting the pace in New York for workforce development. 

This summer, GCEDC starts up the Cornell in High School Program, which will provide training and job experience to 40 high school seniors in dairy science and sanitation in a boot-camp format.

Also this summer, people 18-24 will be able to participate in a tech-job training program that includes 16 hours of free classroom training and a 24-hour paid internship, each week for six weeks, that will lead to a paid apprenticeship with a participating local company. 

Both Suozzi and Rich Monroe, who is leading the mechatronics program at BOCES, mentioned several students who have successfully completed workforce development programs.  One went from selling car parts at $12.50 an hour to an apprenticeship at Barilla Pasta at $15 an hour and in less than a year with the company is now making $28 an hour.  Another student went from working at a convenience store to a job at USG where he started at $22 an hour and is now making $25 an hour.

All with student debt, Suozzi noted.

"It’s not to just go get a job," Monroe said. "It’s to further their education and to get more skills and make them more viable in the workplace."

With notifications made to family members, the Sheriff's Office has released the names of two men stabbed to death on March 11 in a bunkhouse on a dairy farm in Alexander.

Their names are

Elibander Morales, 30.  He is also known as Elibander Morales Velazquez, Elibander Ivan Cruz, and Ivan Cruz.  

Marceleno Gomez Hernandez, 29. He is also known as Marcelino Gomez Hernandez.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene by a Genesee County Coroner.

Both were born in Mexico and had been employed and living in the U.S. for an unspecified period of time.

Taken into custody and charged with murder were  Raul Cruz, 18, of Warsaw, and Prince N.K. Wilson, 23, of Albion.

The men are accused of stabbing and killing two men at a dairy farm at 10216 Alexander Road, Alexander.

The investigation is ongoing.

It was back to normal for Batavia on St. Patrick's Day on Thursday as revelers hit the local dining establishments and watering holes to party in public for the first time on the holiday in two years.

We visited O'Lacy's, Center Street Smokehouse, and Eli Fish Brewing. The Rince an Tiarna Irish Dancers performed at both Center Street and Eli Fish.

Harold Gage has been drawing sap from maple trees and turning it into sweet syrup for 15 years at The Ridge NY (formerly Frost Ridge) but its been a long time since his syrup has been a featured menu item at the campground's restaurant. 

That changes this Saturday and Sunday with the first of two Maple Syrup Weekends at The Ridge.

The restaurant, not normally open for breakfast on Saturdays, serves pancakes smothered in Gage's syrup produced from trees right on the campground's property and transformed in a maple shack Gage built himself for more than a decade ago.

Gage learned to make maple syrup from the previous owner of Frost Ridge, who hosted Pancake Sundays, and eventually took over the entire operation.  He now gets help from his son.

Asked what he liked about making syrup he laughed and said, "Well, it's a lot of work."

Breakfast will be served from 9 a.m. to noon this weekend and during the same hours on April 9 and 10.

Patti Unvericht, the new events coordinator at The Ridge, said next year she plans to expand the number of weekends and perhaps even bring back tours of the maple-making operation.

The Ridge is located at 8101 Conlon Road, Le Roy.

The Batavia High School Production Club opens the romantic musical comedy Mamma Mia at 7 p.m. on Friday the school's auditorium.

Tickets purchased online in advance at www.showtix4u.com are $10.   At the door, they are $10 for students and $12 for adults.

Additional performances are Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

A truck hauling an as-yet-unidentified fluid has rolled over on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 381.1 in the westbound lane.

There is a leak.

The driver is out and walking around but may have sustained a shoulder injury.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 2:27 p.m.: Stafford to stand in at Town of Batavia Station #2 and Oakfield to stand in at Town of Batavia Station #1

UPDATE 2:36 p.m.: Stafford cannot get a crew. Standing down.

With too few members present to form a quorum, the Le Roy Planning Board on Tuesday night could not vote on a proposal by developer Eric Biscaro to build a 60-unit housing development on Lake Road.

Even so, Biscaro, planners, and residents were given a chance to discuss the project and it will move forward with the next step in the approval process -- a public hearing with the Village of Le Roy trustees.

Since the property is already zoned for a multi-unit development (R-3) -- Biscaro is planning to build duplexes -- and no variances are required, it's unlikely there are any legal hurdles for Biscaro to clear.

Previously, Biscaro tried to undertake a similar housing development off of East Avenue but because the zoning there is R-1, he needed village approval to modify the zoning.

On Tuesday, Biscaro laid out his plans and answered questions from those in attendance.

The project calls for 30 duplex homes on 16 acres off Route 19. The complex will be open only to people age 50 and older. Megan Hensel, project manager, said in Clinton Crossing in Batavia, which Biscaro developed, the average age of residents is 75. 

Le Roy Fire Chief Craig Johnson expressed concern about the 20-foot-wide streets in the development and whether they would be wide enough to get apparatus to an emergency call if any cars were parked on the street.

Biscaro said given the average age of his tenants, they're not hosting many large gatherings and that while the garages for the units are single-car, the drives are all two-cars wide and most can accommodate up to four cars.

There will be very little on-street parking, he said.  But he stopped short of saying on-street parking is prohibited.

Johnson said he would still like to see wider streets.

"It's just not a matter of not wanting to pave it," Biscaro said.  "You wouldn't want to see it (wider streets).  It wouldn't be a nice neighborly place."

There was also concern from Johnson and others in attendance that the driveway on Route 19 is close to a bit of a hill and the additional traffic will create an accident hazard.

Biscaro said the complex will generate little automobile traffic in and out of the entrance, reducing the risk of accidents.

Neighboring residents expressed concern about losing the open space near their homes, night lighting, and a possible stormwater pond on the property.

The project will use only five of the available 16 acres, Biscaro noted.

"We could take four times the buildings in there and still meet code," Biscaro said.

As for the lighting, in accordance with current standards, the lights will all focus their beams down toward the ground. There won't be lights shining into neighboring homes, Biscaro said.

One neighbor said he had two young sons and expressed concern about the stormwater pond and asked if it would be fenced.

Biscaro said the pond is still a concept and hasn't been engineered yet but if it does go in, it wouldn't be fenced but would be no more than two feet deep.

At Clinton Crossing, Biscaro said, most of the residents come from Batavia but they also come from Attica and Elba and other neighboring towns.  He expects the occupancy of the Le Roy development to be the same.

"Le Roy could use some extra people and our clientele are good people and they will be your neighbors," he said.

Article submitted by Chelsea Green, Genesee County Youth Bureau.

The Genesee County Youth Conference Coalition sponsored the 32nd Annual Youth Conference at Genesee Community College on March 15, 2022.

This conference is offered on an annual basis to local seventh- and eighth-grade students in Genesee and Orleans County in an effort to address pertinent social issues of interest to youngsters of middle-school age. There were approximately 175 seventh- and eighth-grade students in attendance.

This year’s theme of the conference was “We Are Stronger Together.” 

The inspiring speaker, Earl Ameen made the trip up from Texas to speak with our students. Earl’s message inspired youth to believe in themselves, embrace love, and to become more kind and compassionate while respecting everyone.

A variety of human service organizations in Genesee County contributed to the event by organizing a workshop for students to attend that day. Workshops were tailored to be interesting, engaging, and hands-on while being taught valuable lessons. Some of these workshop topics were: healthy eating habits, building functional relationships, Geocaching, learning about disabilities, teambuilding, and internet safety. Dance, Yoga, and WERQ were popular workshops attended as well!

Members of the Youth Conference Committee are extremely grateful to the workshop presenters who volunteered their time to educate our area's seventh and eighth-graders. We are also grateful to the following businesses/organizations that provided discounts or donations for the conference…Genesee Community College, Genesee and Orleans County Stop DWI Programs, Community Action of Orleans & Genesee County, and Subway.

The Genesee County Youth Conference Committee is comprised of representatives from the following agencies: Genesee-Orleans County Youth Bureau, Genesee Community College, Genesee County Job Development, YMCA, Community Action, and Reality Check/Roswell.  

For more information on this year’s Genesee County Youth Conference or to find out how you can participate in the next event, call the Genesee County Youth Bureau at 585-344-3960.

Photos by Howard Owens

There are two power outages reported by National Grid in Alexander, one affecting 372 customers and the other 907.

About half of the Village of Alexander is without power and that outage area stretches down Route 98 to Attica Central School, also north to Hunn Road and east almost to West Bethany/Molasses Hill Road.

The outage affecting 907 customers is along much of Route 238 and also covers a substantial portion of Wyoming County.

Nearly all of the National Grid service area in Wyoming County (a panhandle down the middle of the county) is without power.

The power outages in Alexander started at 2:54 p.m. and are expected to be resolved by 5 p.m.

Mercy Flight transported a farmer worker to ECMC this morning after he was trampled by cows that were being inseminated on a farm at 8569 Oatka Trail Road.

His condition is guarded.

Le Roy Fire with UTV 61 and Le Roy Ambulance responded to the scene shortly before 10 a.m.

The man was unconscious when were dispatched to the scene.

His name has not been released. 

Information and photo provided by Le Roy Fire.

Alexander Supervisor David Miller informed the Town Board on Monday night that it's time for the town to update its comprehensive plan.

The current plan was approved in 2003.

A comprehensive plan is a document that is created by a community to help guide future planning and zoning decisions, setting goals for growth and defining the kind of community its members desire in the future.

Miller said potential members of the comprehensive plan committee include planning board members, zoning board members, along with representatives from key businesses in the community.

Anybody in the community can apply to serve on the committee.

Those interested in applying for a seat on the committee should contact Town Clerk Shannon Tiede at townclerk@townofalexander.com or (585) 591-2455 ext 101.

Eric Wagner, Alexander Town Board member, came to Monday's meeting after doing his homework, ready to ask Highway Superintendent Thomas Lowe why a proposed plow truck purchase was seemingly so expensive.

In the end, the board agreed to table the resolution to purchase the truck, and Wagner and Lowe along with the equipment committee members will meet to discuss other options.

The truck Lowe proposed would have cost $311,000 with a manual transmission.

First, Wagner questioned why Lowe wanted a manual transmission when Lowe, Wagner said, had previously told him a manual transmission would limit the hiring pool, eliminating people with disabilities, most notable people with knee or hip issues.

Then Wagner cited recent plow truck purchases the Town of Pembroke and Middlebury.  He said the Pembroke truck was almost identical and cost $275,000 and the Middlebury truck was $290,000.

He said another municipality got a quote from Western Star for an automatic transmission truck for $290,000.

Lowe said the biggest issue driving up the cost of trucks is the continuing rise in steel prices, especially over the past six months.

Wagner countered that the trucks he cited have been fairly recent purchases.

After a bit more discussion, the board agreed to table the purchase resolution for the time being until more research can be done.

 

The Town of Alexander Board appointed its third town justice in less than a year on Monday after its most recent appointment, Paul Tomaszewski, resigned, citing health reasons, without serving one session on the bench.

Tomaszewski was appointed in November to replace Ronald Merrill, who resigned after six months, deciding the job wasn't for him. 

The town spent $800 on Tomaszewski's training and he became a town justice on Jan. 1 but he never opened the required checking account to accept fines during his term.

The debate on Monday was whether Tomaszewski should be paid the nearly $2,400 salary he may be due in the first quarter of 2022 or if, legally, the board can withhold the pay since he didn't perform any duties of a town justice during that period.

Supervisor David Miller has a request in with the town attorney to advise the board on its legal obligations to Tomaszewski but the attorney, David DiMatteo, is currently out of the country.

"I don't feel that Paul should be paid for a quarter that he did not fulfill any duties of his appointment," said Board Member Laura Schmieder

Roy H. Haller, III said that since the town paid for his training, perhaps the town is legally obligated to pay him for the one-quarter of his term he served before his resignation, which is effective March 31. 

"I accept his resignation but technically, is he an employee? We sent him to school through the taxpayer's money, through the town's money, we paid for it all, and now ... this is two judges in a row," Haller said.

Schmieder made a motion to not pay Tomaszewski pending appropriate legal advice from the attorney.

Haller again expressed concern about the town's legal obligation.

"I think it's a bit tricky," Haller said. "He said he is resigning because of health reasons.  If he had resigned because he said he didn't like us but he said he resigned because of his health.  I do not  think we should get in a court fight over one-quarter of pay."

The resolution failed with only four board members present on a 2-2 vote.  Eric Wagner voted yes and Miller voted no.

When Tomaszewski was selected in November, there were two other candidates for the post, Molly Meek-Grimes, and Sarah Kohl.  Miller indicated they could both be considered to fill the new vacancy but a third candidate was at Monday's meeting: Troy Robbins.  

After a brief closed-door interview, Robbins was appointed with a unanimous vote of the board with no further discussion of the appointment.

Officials recently discovered that two residences on Broadway Road in Alexander were using the same numerical address -- 3248.

Steven Sharpe, director of emergency communications for Genesee County, addressed the Alexander Town Board on Monday to explain how the county will straighten out the issue.

"This causes confusion and the last thing we want is for emergency services to get confused about which residence they're responding to," Sharpe said.

Sharpe's office handles address assignments in the county because the addresses are linked to the 9-1-1 system.

There are three adjoining parcels with a set of three apartments nestled between the two properties sharing 3248.

Sharpe's plan is to renumber the property to the west 3238, the apartments 3240 zero with apartment numbers 1, 2, and 3, and the third parcel, 3248.

The 3240 address was originally assigned to the apartments but was not being used, Sharpe said.

Sharpe's office will send letters to the residents, which can be used with creditors and the IRS to make official changes to their mailing address, as well as the assessor's office, the county clerk, the town clerk, the county real property office, and the county's GIS map division (in the planning department).

Associated local fees, such as updating a gun permit, will be waived for the residents, he said.  He suggested the town waive any local fees, such as dog license fees, which the town board agreed to do.

"We think this resolves it with the least amount of conflict among the individuals," Sharpe said. 

The Alexander Fire Department got a legally necessary nod of approval on Monday night to purchase a new $488,572 new fire engine.

The 2023 Spartan Rescue Pumper will be financed by the Bank of Greene County and as part of the financing package, the fire department needed the Town Board of Alexander to pass a resolution supporting the purchase in order to get an exemption on sales tax.

The department will be replacing the current Engine 7, which is a 1998 Spartan. 

Department leadership researched various financing options and choose Greene because of the 2.74 percent interest rate and a lack of penalty for early payoff.

After a $200,000 down payment, the department will finance $284,660 of the purchase.

The new truck has a Cummins ISL 450 HP engine, Allison 3000 EVS transmission. It can carry 1,000 gallons of water and 20 gallons of foam. It pumps 1,500 gallons per minute.  The Harrison 6K generator can power the LED lighting system.

While LED lights are harder for Mercy Flight pilots to see, using LED lights saved the department a substantial amount of money because generators with greater capacity are more expensive. Department personnel will use flares at night when the truck is deployed to a Mercy Flight landing zone.

The department will attempt to sell the old engine but Assistant Chief/Department President Dean Hendershott said the current market is flooded with used fire apparatus.  He said they will try to get the best price they can for it.

Photo: Assistant Chief/Department President Dean Hendershott with a schematic of the new fire truck.

The body of Lewis Hyde, missing for three days, was recovered this afternoon after an extensive water search in Tonawanda Creek.

Batavia PD requested a search of the creek by City Fire's water rescue team and other first responders because Hyde's jacket was found near the creek yesterday.

The 29-year-old's body was recovered at 12:35 p.m. and positively identified as the missing man.

"At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Lewis Hyde," stated Batavia PD in a press release.

The release says there has been an extensive search for Hyde since he was reported missing and that the creek became a focal point of the search yesterday.  The first phase of the search included air reconnaissance. 

The water rescue team meticulously searched the creek between South Lyon Street and River Street starting early this morning.

There is an ongoing investigation by Batavia PD. There will also be an autopsy but investigators do not suspect foul play.

The release states:

The Batavia Police Department greatly appreciates the assistance of the City of Batavia Fire Department, Genesee County Emergency Management, New York State Police, ALERT – Advanced Local Emergency Response Team, Mercy EMS, Alden Fire, Niagara Frontier Search and Rescue, Massasauga Search and Rescue Team, Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center and the Genesee County Coroner’s Office in this matter.

A water rescue team from City Fire with assistance from other local agencies has been searching the Tonawanda Creek off of West Main Street, between South Lyon and River streets, for a missing Batavia man.

There is no reason to believe the man, Lewis Hyde, went into the creek, said Investigator Eric Hill, Batavia PD, but because he was last seen in the area and his jacket was found yesterday on the bank of the creek, officials decided it best to undertake a search.

"We're doing our due diligence and hoping we don't find him," said Hill.

By 12:30, crews had searched the north half of the creek and were halfway done with the south side, and Hyde had not been located.

If his body is not found in the creek, it provides hope he's still alive, Hill noted.

Hyde is described as being 5’10”, 180 pounds.

He was last seen at 2 a.m. March 11, wearing a tan coat, jeans, and black boots.

Anyone with any information is asked to please contact the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350.

Anthony Daniel Micucci, 27, of Darien Alexander Townline Road, Alexander, is charged with five counts of criminal contempt 1st, criminal contempt 2nd, stalking 3rd, and stalking 4th. Micucci was arrested on a warrant for allegedly violating a complete stay-away order of protection. Micucci was also arrested by State Police on charges of stalking 3rd and two counts of criminal contempt 2nd.  He was jailed without bail.

Matthew Scott Williams, 34, of Hundredmark Road, Elba, is charged with harassment 2nd and endangering the welfare of a child. Williams is accused of head butting a person while in the presence of a child during a disturbance reported at 9:15 a.m., March 10, at a residence on Hundredmark Road, Elba

Michael Joseph Elmore, 31, of Washington Avenue, Batavia, is charged with obstructing governmental administration. Elmore allegedly refused to obey lawful orders by deputies during an investigation at Days Inn in Batavia at 4:45 a.m., March 13.

Michael Andrew Kos, Jr., 43, of Hampton Brook Drive, Hamburg, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater.  At 8:25 p.m., March 10, Deputy Nicholas Charmoun and Sgt. Andrew Hale were dispatched to the Kwik Fill on West Main Street Road, Le Roy, for a report of a suspicious condition behind the building. At that location, they located Kos and upon investigation determined he was allegedly too intoxicated to operate a motor vehicle. He was transported to the Genesee County Jail for processing and issued an appearance ticket.

Lauralee Pacer, 36, of Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear.  Pacer had previously been issued an appearance ticket. 

Shante R. Williams, 38, of Batavia, is charged with bail jumping 3rd. Williams was arraigned in City Court and released under supervision.

James D. Hooten, 33, of Batavia, and Brittanee J. Hooten, 33, of Batavia, are charged with petit larceny and conspiracy 6th. James and Brittanee are accused of shoplifting from the Kiwk Fill at 99 Jackson Street, Batavia. They were issued appearance tickets.

Shawn M. Twardowski, 39, of Le Roy, was arrested on multiple warrants for failure to appear for trespass and petit larceny.  Twardowski was arraigned in City Court and released under supervision.

Lyndsay T. Young, 38, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. Young is accused of striking another person in the face causing a scratch under the person's eye at 2:34 p.m., March 4, at a location on State Street, Batavia. Young was issued an appearance ticket.

Jolene Y. Stevens, 33, of Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear. Stevens was arraigned in city court and released on her own recognizance. 

Rufus G. Johnson, 28, of North-Chili, is charged with petit larceny. Johnson is accused of stealing merchandise from a business in Batavia. He was allegedly located with the merchandise and arrested. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Matthew S. Williams, 34, of Elba, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and criminal contempt 2nd. Williams was arrested by State Police in connection with an incident reported at 1:03 p.m., March 11, in Elba.  His release status is unknown.  No further information released.