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Car hits pole at Fargo and Route 5, Stafford

By Howard B. Owens

A car has reportedly hit a utility pole, with wires down, at Fargo Road and Main Road, Stafford.

Stafford fire along with Mercy EMS dispatched.

Motor vehicle accident reported at East Road, Route 20 in Bethany

By Howard B. Owens

A two-vehicle accident with a possible injury is reported on Route 20 at East Road in Bethany.

Bethany fire and ambulance dispatched.

Pavilion fire asked to standby in quarters.

UPDATE 9:03 a.m.: A patient is disoriented and is being cared for inside a neighboring residence.

UPDATE 10:09 a.m.: Patient being transported to UMMC for evaluation.

Local average gas prices jumps eight cents

By Howard B. Owens

Press release from AAA:

Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.39, up 7 cents from last week. One year ago, the price was $2.55. The New York State average is $2.47 – up 8 cents from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.71.

AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:

  • Batavia -- $2.39 (up 8 cents since last week)
  • Buffalo -- $2.43 (up 10 cents since last week)
  • Ithaca -- $2.46 (up 11 cents since last week)
  • Rochester -- $2.45 (up 9 cents since last week)
  • Rome -- $2.48 (up 6 cents since last week)
  • Syracuse -- $2.42 (up 8 cents since last week)
  • Watertown -- $2.51 (up 10 cents since last week)

Crude prices have been fluctuating and remain over $50 per barrel. The current price this morning is $52 per barrel. Prices rose over market optimism that coronavirus vaccines will help crude demand recover this year. Additionally, EIA’s recent report helped bolster prices, detailing that total domestic crude inventories are on the decline.

If crude prices continue to sustain prices above $50 per barrel alongside higher refinery utilization rates and demand, drivers could see pump prices remain at elevated levels. Current prices are up across the region, but they remain lower than one year ago.

From GasBuddy:

"Gas prices have jumped to yet another multi-month high as crude oil price rise amidst perceived improvement in the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to pump prices up as demand shows renewed signs of recovery," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

"In addition, with rumors swirling that President-elect Biden plans to cancel the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would cut off reliable Canadian oil to the United States, oil prices may see additional pressure in the coming days. For now, the upward trend in gas prices may slow from the sharp rise in the last week, but motorists shouldn't expect much of a break from rising gas prices, which now stand less than 20 cents from their year-ago levels."

Photo: Fan's new hair design says the Bills are a cut above the rest

By Howard B. Owens

In case you haven't heard, the Buffalo Bills (15-3) are heading to the AFC Championship game, for the first time since 1993, next Sunday. Barber Joey Williams gave Raymond Schramm Jr. a haircut that matches his team pride after yesterday's playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens 17-3.

Submitted photo.

Report ready for council but members of police stakeholder group plan to keep going

By Howard B. Owens

Members of Batavia Police Advisory Collaboration Stakeholder Group are ready to keep the momentum going.

Their Gov. Andrew Cuomo-assigned task completed, members last night said they felt like some good things had been accomplished for the community and they want to keep going, if not in the group's current form, at least in focus groups and through its participation in police-related committees.

"I don't think the conversation ends here," said Victor Thomas, a member of the group and a member of the Just Kings Social Club. "Like I said earlier, with the chief and assistant chief, these are both people that want to have this conversation with or without this group. They went above and beyond, like I said, to form other groups and actually hear the community's voice. So I don't think this is something that's just going to stop here because Cuomo said we had to do this. We actually have a police chief and assistant9 chief that care about their community. So that's huge."

Chief Shawn Heubush said there is no plan for the conversation to stop.

"One of the things that we talked about is actually inviting the community to our policing community policing meeting because it's usually an internal-facing meeting where we try to come up with ways to integrate ourselves into the community," Heubusch said. "We realized, as Detective (Matthew) Wojtaszek had mentioned that we don't have any citizens on this committee. Why don't we have a citizen or two on this committee to help us in getting into the areas that we need to get into and focusing on those areas? So that would be something that I would see to try to keep this conversation going, inviting more people to talk to those types of functions.

"I really look forward to a citizens' police academy. I certainly hope we can make that happen because I think that is a perfect opportunity. You know, just looking at other communities that have done it, a perfect opportunity for us to really serve the public a lot better and have that educational piece that I think we need so, so very badly with our community, the back and forth conversation as well. And the focus group, as Victor mentioned, we're going to keep going with that. I think that's extremely important."

Interim City Manager Rachael Tabelski said she expects the city to make community and police relations part of its regular focus in the future, perhaps adding a review process as part of the budget process.

"It is up to myself and the chief to follow up with counsel on an annual basis to see how this is going and how it's evolved," Tabelski said. "The plan doesn't get finished and put on the shelf, is what I'm trying to say. I think both the chief and I are committed to making sure that we are reviewing this and trying to make this into our strategic priorities that come forward to counsel every single year at budget time as well."

The stakeholder's group was charged, by executive order, by reviewing all relevant police policies and procedures and make recommendations for changes. There were no recommended changes in the area of things like arrest procedures and use of force but committee members expressed a strong interest in improving mental health intervention as well as community-police relationships.

The written plan produced by the committee will be presented to the City Council on Jan. 25 and become available for public review at that time. There will be a public comment period and the council will be asked to approve it and send it to the governor's office, to comply with the executive order, on March 8.

Near the top of the meeting, Pastor Marty Macdonald of City Church started the discussion about how far the city has come in the area of community and police relations, especially in regards to people of color.

"Ten years ago, this meeting would have never happened," Macdonald said. "Not with the people that we have on (the committee). I am so grateful for Victor being in this group. Victor, what would you have thought five years ago if you were to be invited to this?

"I'm on the CJAC (Criminal Justice Advisory Council) committee, too," he added. "They approved Greg Monroe to be a part of the CJAC. To me, this is the essence of what this whole thing is about, that to a degree, our community has been, I'm not certain that it's been deliberate, but it's just been there's been no attention to it and we have put attention to it now. And I think we've moved in an incredibly positive way."

Victor Thomas said he was grateful to see progress made.

"I applaud the chief because, from the beginning, before the march, before any of this came down, he was there," Thomas said. "He was willing to hear concerns. He was there the day of the march and he was willing to hear his community's cry. I think that showed even more, like you saying, like this conversation needs to happen even without the governor. Yeah, the governor passed (this order) down, but we took that and we created another focus group to look deeper in once we didn't get the results that we wanted from a survey.

"It shows what's manifesting," he added. "It shows the growth in Batavia, and I'm just happy to be a part of it. I'm happy to have my thoughts and Greg's thoughts and other minority thoughts actually taken it into consideration and actually put down in this plan. Like my friend was saying in the beginning, yeah, it should stand for everybody, but I'm glad that the focus remained where the focus needed to be. And I'm happy to be a part of that. And I'm happy to continue the focus group."

Two COVID-related deaths reported, 49 new cases

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

  • Genesee County received 49 new positive cases of COVID-19.
    • The new positive cases reside in the:
      • West Region (Alabama, Darien, Pembroke)
      • Central Region (Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Elba, Oakfield)
      • East Region (Bergen, Byron, Le Roy, Pavilion, Stafford)
  • The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
  • Sixty-six of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list. Please note there was a miscount for reporting the number of people recovered yesterday. There were 2,517 people recovered from COVID-19 yesterday in Genesee County, not 2,515.
  • Ten of the positive individuals are hospitalized.
  • We are saddened to report the loss of two residents who resided at Premier Genesee Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation. The individuals were both over 65. We do not provide any further information to protect the privacy of the individuals and their families. Our deepest condolences to the families and friends during this very difficult time.
  • Orleans County received 50 new positive cases of COVID-19 from Tuesday through today. 
  • The positive cases reside in the:
    • West Region (Yates, Ridgeway, Shelby)
    • Central Region (Carlton, Gaines, Albion, Barre)
    • East Region (Kendall, Murray, Clarendon)
  • The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
  • Two of the new positive individuals were on quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • Thirty-four of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation.
  • Seventeen of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.
  • Two of the new positive cases is a resident of Orchard Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

NYS-run Vaccination Sites:  Updated 01/14/21 – The "Am I Eligible" website has changed this afternoon to only show the NYS-run vaccination sites. The COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline is for scheduling vaccination appointments for eligible New Yorkers at the New York State-run vaccination sites only: 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829). Use their online tool to find a location. Appointments are required. If you visit a location without an appointment you will not receive a vaccine. We apologize for any confusion, the State just updated this information late this afternoon.

County ready to ramp up COVID vaccine delivery once supply is sufficient

By Howard B. Owens

Once the supply is available, officials in Genesee County will be ready to distribute 600 COVID-19 vaccine doses a day, three days a week at Genesee Community College, Public Health Director Paul Pettit said this morning during a press briefing.

The question is, though, when will the federal-to-state-to-regional-to-local distribution system be able to deliver that many doses on a weekly basis.

This week, Genesee County received only 300 doses of vaccine.

"The biggest challenge we're going to have is, again, the vaccine coming to us in a reasonable time," Pettit said.

It's a frustration every county in the Finger Lakes region shares, Pettit said. It's hard to say where the bottleneck in delivery is, at the state or federal level, but the vaccines have been produced and are ready for delivery.

Once distribution glitches get worked out, Pettit is hopeful we will have a sufficient and steady supply of the vaccine to meet local vaccination goals.

"I think I think as we go forward, the expectation is they'll get more supply into the system, into the chain, which then we will be able to receive locally," Pettit said. "You're going to have pharmacies, you're going to have providers, you're going to have our public clinics all up and running. Hopefully, the availability at some point will start to balance with the eligibility and the requests and we'll get to where we need to be so that all everybody that wants the vaccine is going to be able to get it."

The process of vaccinating people in the 1A group -- mostly frontline health care workers -- is nearing completion. This week, the governor authorized vaccinations for people in the 1B Group, which includes people 75 and older and people 60 and older with health risks that make them more vulnerable to the disease.

You can't call and get an appointment for the vaccine, however. People who are eligible are being called randomly and offered the chance to receive the vaccine, which is optional.

There are an estimated 13,000 people locally in the 1B group.

"In that 60 to 65 (age) group, you have medically some type of underlying health issue where if you've compromised (you're at risk)," Pettit said. "The state has not put out guidance yet on what that really means as far as who would be eligible under those criteria. As soon as that information comes out, we'll make sure to push that out to everybody. "

Once there is sufficient vaccines available locally, the health department will run clinics at GCC on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays indefinitely.  

The testing sites the department has been running the past few weeks for asymptomatic residents have given staff and volunteers plenty of experience to help them run vaccination clinics efficiently, Pettit said.

Pettit noted that area pharmacies are starting to receive and will soon receive their own supply of vaccines. The pharmacies will operate independently of the health department.

"We're not overseeing that process," Pettit said.

NOTE: Because of unexpected computer issues, we weren't able to livestream the first 30 minutes of the briefing but we did capture most of what Paul Pettit had to say.

LIVE: Genesee County COVID briefing Jan. 14, 2021

By Howard B. Owens
Video Sponsor
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This is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m.

UPDATE: We had audio trouble at the start and I had to restart my computer, which took 20 minutes.

Genesee County reported 49 positive COVID tests

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

  • Genesee County received 49 new positive cases of COVID-19.
    • The new positive cases reside in the:
      • West Region (Alabama, Darien, Pembroke)
      • Central Region (Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Elba, Oakfield)
      • East Region (Bergen, Byron, Le Roy, Pavilion, Stafford)
  • The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
  • Forty-seven of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.
  • Sixteen of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.
  • Four of the new positive cases are residents of Premier Genesee Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
  • Six of the new positive cases are residents of the LeRoy Village Green Residential Healthcare Facility.

 

  • Orleans County received 39 new positive cases of COVID-19 from Tuesday through today.
  • The positive cases reside in the:
    • West Region (Yates, Ridgeway, Shelby)
    • Central Region (Carlton, Gaines, Albion, Barre)
    • East Region (Kendall, Murray, Clarendon)
  • The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s.
  • Eight of the new positive individuals were on quarantine prior to testing positive.
  • Twenty-six of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation.
  • Fourteen of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.
  • One of the new positive cases is a resident of Orchard Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
  • We are saddened to report the COVID-related loss of a community member. The individual was less than 65. We do not provide any further information to protect the privacy of the individuals and their families. We express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of this person during this very difficult time.

Jacobs defends vote against impeachment of Trump, accused of inciting an attempted insurrection

By Howard B. Owens

President Donald J. Trump was impeached for alleged crimes while in office for a second time today and Rep. Chris Jacobs did not join his house colleagues in accusing the president of inciting an attempted insurrection on Jan. 6.

Jacobs released the following statement:

“The events of last week were horrific, and the violence we witnessed has no place in our democracy. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions. I want to thank the brave men and women of the United States Capitol Police who showed true heroism while protecting me, my colleagues, and thousands of staff members and aides. 

“Our nation is clearly divided. Healing this division and moving the country forward should be our first and foremost priority. This rushed impeachment proceeding accomplishes none of these goals, especially given that the President has agreed to an orderly and peaceful transition of power on January 20th, 2021.

“Impeachment has been used rarely in our nation’s history, and when it has been used the House of Representatives has carried out a full and deliberate process complete with an investigation, hearings led by the Judiciary Committee, and a mark-up of the articles of impeachment before a vote is called. We witnessed none of that today. The process was rushed, avoided due process, and set a dangerous precedent to further politically weaponize impeachment. 

“Because of the abbreviated process, the short length left in the President’s term, and his commitment to a peaceful transition, I voted against the articles of impeachment today. Our nation has significant challenges we still need to address – including the on-going COVID-19 crisis.

“Our focus should be on tackling these very serious and pressing issues while we work to heal a deeply divided nation. Now is the time to move forward, not take additional divisive action at a time when our country cannot bear it. 

“The peaceful transition of power is a hallmark of our American democracy; it is what sets us apart. Now more than ever, I believe all Americans need to see that transition process occur, as it always has, to reaffirm that our democracy is still strong, healthy, and unbreakable.

Ten Republicans joined the Democratic majority in voting for impeachment.

Trump invited his supporters to Washinton, D.C., on Jan. 6, the date both houses of Congress were to meet in joint session to certify the Electoral College votes, to "stop the steal." At the rally, Trump falsely claimed he won the election by millions of votes, by a landside, and told the crowd of supporters that they needed to march to the Capitol Building and Cheer members of Congress who stood strong with him but suggested VP Mike Pence wouldn't have "the courage" to send certification back to the states. 

“We are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women,” he said, “and we are probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them — because you will never take back our country with weakness.”

Members of the crowd set up a gallows outside the capital and were overheard saying they intended to hang Pence.

A police officer was killed during the riot and another committed suicide afterward.  Three other people died, including a Trump supporter who was shot by police and one who was trampled to death by other Trump supporters.

Since Jan. 6, dozens of Trump supporters have been arrested by the FBI for their alleged participation in forcefully entering the capital building.

Last night, we emailed Jacobs the following question: If inciting an attempted insurrection isn't an impeachable offense, what is? Here's his response received earlier today before the impeachment vote:

“This process is rushed, absent due process or Judiciary hearings, and sets a dangerous precedent for politically weaponizing the process of impeachment. Given the President’s commitment to a peaceful transition and the short amount of time left in his term, this process will bring about more division at a time when our country cannot bear any more. Instead, we all need to mindful of our rhetoric and work to move our nation forward, and those who committed violent acts last week must be brought to justice.”

Trump becomes the first president in history impeached twice.  In the first impeachment, the Senate did not vote to convict Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. There are legal scholars who maintain that the Senate does not have to act on the impeachment (equivalent to an indictment by a grand jury) before he leaves office on Jan. 20.

Near the end of the riot on Jan. 6, Trump praised his supporters, saying " We love you; you're very special," he added, later saying: "But go home, and go home in peace."

Later, he condemned the violence and a few days later said the rioters were likely Antifa, which House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who had received intelligence briefings on the riot, told Trump wasn't true.

Tonight, after his second impeachment, Trump delivered a pre-recorded speech and called for calm.

"No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag," he said.

"Now I am asking everyone who has ever believed in our agenda to be thinking of ways to ease tensions, calm tempers, and help to promote peace in our country," he said.

With lease expiring, Girl Scouts local service center closing until new location can be found after pandemic

By Howard B. Owens

The Girl Scouts branch office on Jackson Street in Batavia closed its doors at the start of the coronavirus pandemic with services to members being provided virtually, by mail, and by other service center locations.

Now that location is closing, said Callie Johnson, VP of Marketing for Girl Scouts in WNY, but the organization hopes to find another service center site in Batavia once it's safe to reopen.

"Our Batavia office lease expires February 1, 2021," Johnson said. "We had originally planned to identify a new location and relocate to a new space in Batavia that better fit our needs, but due to COVID-19, we are postponing the move.

"To use our resources wisely, we will not renew our lease at this time, and we will wait to move to a new location until after the pandemic and at a time when we can safely reopen. Our goal is to maintain a physical presence in Batavia. In the meantime, we are surveying our members on their input on a new Batavia Office space."

VIDEO: Muckdogs to take the field again as collegiate league team

By Howard B. Owens
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The Muckdogs will bark again.

True, no longer will the team be comprised of players affiliated with a Major League Baseball team but the majority of players in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League are legitimate professional baseball prospects.

As many as 30 current major league players have passed through the league previously, said Robbie Nichols, the former professional hockey player who already owns a PGCBL team in Elmira and will own the expansion PGCBL Muckdogs in Batavia.

The Genesee County Community Baseball Club, which owns the Muckdogs trademark, has agreed to let Nichols use the team name.

PGCBL is a "wooden bat league" -- a league comprised of amateur players who play or will play Division I or Division II college baseball.

A couple of advantages of collegiate ball over low-level minor league ball, Nichols said, is that the players with a team tend to spend the entire season with a team, so fans get to know them and Nichols said his organization -- CAN-USA Sports -- is committed to fielding a team with about four players from the local area.

The PGCBL regular season consists of 60 games from late May until the end of July. The playoffs and championship are in the first week of August.

Season tickets are on sale now and start at $99. There is also a VP ticket package for $199. Existing Muckdogs season ticket holders will have priority to retain the seats they had in previous seasons.

Police looking for vehicle involved in hit-and-run on Holmes Avenue

By Howard B. Owens

Police are looking for a vehicle and driver involved in a hit-and-run accident on Holmes Avenue in Batavia yesterday.

The incident was reported at about 11 a.m. Monday.

A resident described the suspect vehicle as a gray Jeep Cherokee that will be missing a front headlight.  

The vehicle struck a parked car and hit a mailbox.

Anyone with information that may assist in the investigation can contact Batavia PD at (585) 343-5000.

County reports 170 new COVID cases Friday to Monday

By Howard B. Owens

NOTE: Apologies for not posting this yesterday. We moved back into our house (from our fire in April) yesterday and it was a very busy day and evening, and has been crazy so far this morning).

Press release:

  • Genesee County received 170 new positive cases of COVID-19.
    • The new positive cases reside in the:
      • West Region (Alabama, Darien, Pembroke)
      • Central Region (Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Elba, Oakfield)
      • East Region (Bergen, Byron, Le Roy, Pavilion, Stafford)
  • The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
  • One hundred and 55 of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.
  • Twenty-one of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.
  • Eight of the new positive cases are residents at the LeRoy Village Green Residential Healthcare Facility.
  • Sevenof the new positive cases are residents at Premier Genesee Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation.
  • Two of the new positive cases are residents at the Batavia VA Medical Center.

 

  • Orleans County received 100 new positive cases of COVID-19 for.
    • Orleans is only reporting the number of positive cases since late Friday through Monday. We expect the data will be updated in tomorrow’s report.
    • There will be no data chart for 01/11/21.

Jacobs won't back effort to impeach Trump over incitement of riot at the Capitol

By Howard B. Owens

Some members of Congress plan to introduce at least one resolution in the House on Monday to impeach President Donald Trump following a riot -- what has been called an insurrection or attempt to overthrow the government -- by hundreds of his supporters at the Capitol Building on Tuesday.

Rep. Chris Jacobs said he does not support impeachment.

“To carry out an unprecedented, politicized, and rushed impeachment proceeding with less than two weeks left in the President’s term would have catastrophic effects on the civil fabric of our nation," Jacobs said in a prepared statement. "President Trump has committed to a smooth and orderly transition of power and that should be our focus for the next 10 days."

Congress was in joint session at the time, meeting to certify the Electoral College votes confirming Joe Biden as the victor in the nation's Nov. 3 presidential election.

Trump has made numerous baseless claims of a stolen election. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud nor that he actually won by "millions of votes" as he has claimed. Trump and his team have filed 62 lawsuits claiming election irregularities and all but one of them have been dismissed by state and federal courts, including two that reached the conservative-controlled Supreme Court. In cases where Trump's attorneys were asked to produce evidence of fraud, they've admitted they have no evidence to present. 

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Trump staged a rally in Washington, D.C., inviting his followers to come to the nation's capitol to "stop the steal."

At the rally that morning, Trump said, "You'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength. You have to be strong."

There are news reports of Trump followers threatening the life of Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Police officers have reported finding off-duty police officers and military veterans among the protesters who came prepared for violence. 

Five people died during the riot, including a capitol police officer and war veteran, Brian D. Sicknick, who was reportedly bludgeoned to death with a fire extinguisher. Two Trump supporters died -- a woman from San Diego who was shot by Capitol police while she was part of a group trying to breach a section of the Capitol Building, and a Trump supporter who was trampled to death by other Trump supporters. 

Trump has condemned the actions of the rioters

"The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy," Trump said. "To those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will pay."

It's unclear what path the House might take leading up to a vote on articles of impeachment. If passed, the articles would be transmitted to the Senate. It would be up to the Senate to decide whether to hold a trial. Trump could only be removed from office if the Senate voted to convict him of charges in the articles of impeachment. Some legal scholars believe Trump could be potentially be tried by the Senate even after he leaves office.

If convicted, he would be barred from running for federal office again.

Here's Jacobs' full statement: 

“The events of this past week represent a dark period for our nation. The kind of reprehensible violence we saw has absolutely no place in our democracy, and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. I cherish our First Amendment right to protest, but we must settle our differences peacefully, not with mob rule. Right now, many feel disenfranchised, our nation is divided, and tensions are high. The last thing our country needs is more division.

“To carry out an unprecedented, politicized and rushed impeachment proceeding with less than two weeks left in the President’s term would have catastrophic effects on the civil fabric of our nation. President Trump has committed to a smooth and orderly transition of power and that should be our focus for the next 10 days.

Stakeholder group moves beyond governor's edict, plans ongoing police and community dialogue

By Howard B. Owens

The Batavia Police Collaboration Advisory Stakeholders Group, formed in response to an executive order from the governor, is nearing the completion of its official task but that won't mean the end of an effort to improve relations between police officers and local residents.

A draft resolution and draft report expected to go to the City Council in a few weeks for approval says the city meets all of the state's requirements on a variety of areas the group needed to review, but it also says there will be efforts to increase communication between the Police Department and residents both broadly and individually.

That outcome wasn't explicitly called for in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order, which was intended to bring community members, local leaders and police officials together to discuss and review policies related to use of force, arrest, de-escalation, dealing with mental health issues, and how police officers are hired and fired.

Interim City Manager Rachel Tabelski said at Thursday's group meeting that she was impressed with how the group conducted its business.

"We came together because there was an executive order passed but I think and I'm really proud of this group," Tabelski said. "We've taken it beyond the executive order that we've looked at, the part we got through, all the policies we've got through, all the procedures that we felt that those were up to date, in my opinion, and that they were kept up to date and then we talked about the community and engagement. So the plan really moves us into strategies of community engagement and strategies of increased interaction with our community."

There's already been one focus group meeting -- members of the stakeholders' group, some other community members, and police leaders -- focused on issues related to interactions between police officers and people of color in the community. It's expected there will be other similar meetings. 

Chief Shawn Heubusch shared a preview of an app and a website he said will help the department communicate with the public.

There's strong support, too, for increased foot patrols, community events, and the development of personal relationships between officers and community members.

Thursday's meeting started with a review of a recent survey of residents about community and police relations.

Survey respondents seemed to generally have a favorable view of Batavia PD.  

About a third of the respondents indicated that their last interaction with the department was at a community event. Almost 80 percent rated their interaction with police officers as being professional or very professional, and only 8 percent deemed the interaction was unprofessional and or very unprofessional. 

"Interestingly enough, I was able to dive into that question a little bit," Heubusch said. "As you can see, the respondents who indicated that they were arrested by the department, every single one of those respondents stated that the officers treated them very professionally. I was very proud of that fact just to see, even though it's somebody that we dealt with, unfortunately, in a negative light or had a bad day for them, they still rated the department as very professional."

Respondents said the presence of police officers in their neighborhoods makes them feel safer and said the top three priorities for police should be engaging with the community, assigning more officers to work with youth, and assigning more resources to help people with substance abuse issues.

"I kind of alluded to the fact that the people responding to this survey want to see the officers out of the cars walking the beat, more bicycle patrols," Heubusch said. "They want to see their faces more. They want to have more personal interactions. And that's something that we talked about at the focus group, as well as having those personal interactions with the officers, aside from just the response to a call."

There is a lot of interest among group members for officers to be better equipped to deal with mental health issues, either their training, the ready availability of specialists, or officers on duty with that specific responsibility. 

There are officers who currently specialize in responding to mental health situations, Heubusch said, and there is also a group of civilians who are mental health specialists who assist in mental health situations. There is an effort underway in both areas to expand these programs.

"This (program) gives (officers) that added training to de-escalate and really intervene in those crisis mental health crisis situations," Heubusch said. "There's curriculum in the state right now that will certify you as a crisis intervention officer if you go through a certain number of hours of the training. It's a very competitive process. We were lucky enough to put three officers through that training a few years back with a grant that the county received."

The draft resolution and report have not been released to the public yet, but the video below contains a discussion of it and much of it is displayed on the computer screen used during the Zoom call.

House fire reported on South Street Road, Pavilion

By Howard B. Owens

A structure fire is reported at 10828 S. Street Road, Pavilion.

Smoke is coming from the HVAC system.

Pavilion fire and Le Roy fire dispatched.

Law enforcement is also dispatched to the scene.

UPDATE 8 a.m.: A chief on scene reports nothing showing. Le Roy's response is canceled.

UPDATE 8:12 a.m.: A chief is out with the homeowner. There is no fire. The initial caller reported possible criminal activity at the scene. So far, none of that is confirmed.

Photos and Video: Retirement Ceremony John Condidorio and Chris Hayward, Le Roy PD

By Howard B. Owens
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The long and distinguished careers in law enforcement for Le Roy PD Chief Chris Hayward and Detective John Condidorio came to a close Thursday with a ceremony at Village Hall attended by members of the law enforcement community from throughout the county.

The two men were honored also with commemorative shadow boxes presented by incoming Chief Greg Kellogg, a new sidearm, and awards from the Le Roy Fire Department, presented by Chief Tom Wood and District President Jerry Diskin.

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