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A person reportedly suffered a compound fracture of a leg bone in a three-wheeler accident at 39 S. Pearl Street, Oakfield.

Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

(name redacted upon request; defendant granted youthful offender status, 19, of East Main Street, Le Roy, is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.

xxxx is accused of selling a controlled substance to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force on two occasions.

He was arrested on a warrant during a traffic stop in the Town of Batavia.

He was arraigned this morning in Genesee County Court and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

The Department of Environmental Conservation has completed clean up of environmental contamination on city property next door to the former Batavia Iron and Metal Co. property at 301 Bank St.

The former metal recycling plant is a state Superfund site and has been a target of environmental remediation for toxic waste since 2013.

The property in question is land along the northern end of the Dwyer Stadium parking lot.

Clean up of the entire site is almost complete.

From August 2017 to June 2018, crews removed soil along the property line and at the rear of the property.

"The primary goal of the cleanup effort was to ensure effective removal and property disposal of contaminated soil and debris on City property and to restore the property with clean soil," the DEC stated in a report on the project.

The contractor was Nature's Way Environmental, from Alden.

During remediation, 17,000 tons of soil and debris was removed. 

The city property received clean soil and grass seed.

The DEC estimates the remaining surface clean up of the Iron and Metal property will be completed by late 2018.

The site was operated as a metal recycling facility from 1951 to 1999. Two furnaces operated on the property from the early 1970s until 1994. The furnaces reclaimed wire and smelted white metals. Before the furnaces were installed, the company used open-burn dumpsters to remove insulation from wiring.

From these activities, contaminants leached onto city property and three neighboring residential properties.

Cleanup of the residential properties was completed in 2014.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) approved incentives for two projects at the agency’s July 12th board meeting. The combined projects are anticipated to create 20 new jobs and approximately $7.6 million in capital investment.

J. Rental is receiving sales, mortgage and property tax exemptions of approximately $723,000 to build a new 60,000-square-foot facility on 19.5 acres in the Apple Tree Acres business park in Bergen. The $6.3 million project will create 15 new jobs. For every $1 in public benefit, the company is investing $14 into the local economy.

Lancor Development Corp. is proposing to invest $1.3 million to build a 12,000-square-foot facility in the new Le Roy Food and Technology Park. The project would create five new jobs and retain seven jobs. Lancor is receiving sales and property tax exemptions of approximately $122,000. For every $1 of public benefit, the company is investing $28.5 into the local economy.

The board also accepted an application from Pearl Solar LLC for the construction of two 2MW community solar farms for a combined total of 4MW at 2901 Pearl Street Road. Both projects have the same address but would have separate parcel tax map numbers. Pearl Solar LLC would make an approximate $6 million investment and is seeking approximately $288,000 in sales and property tax exemptions.

Press release:

At its July 12th board meeting, the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) Board of Directors unanimously approved providing $10,000 for a feasibility study to determine uses for the Batavia City Centre site.

The GCEDC is collaborating with the City of Batavia and the Batavia Development Corporation in conducting the study. The city and the GCEDC also are applying for funding from Empire State Development’s Strategic Planning Program for matching funds.

“We continue to strongly support economic development initiatives in the City of Batavia,” said GCEDC Board Chair Paul Battaglia. “The redevelopment of Batavia City Centre site is critically important to the efforts to bring more capital investment and jobs to the region’s urban center as it has such a prominent footprint in the city.”

The intent of the study is to evaluate various redevelopment scenarios for the site, including remaining as a retail center. Other components of the study may include site planning, engineering, architectural renderings, cost estimates, permitting and financial analyses. The study also is intended to build off of current plans that have been developed for the site through the DRI process.

“After a number of discussions with our partners on this effort, we came to the conclusion that a feasibility study would build upon and advance the goals of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative,” said GCEDC President and CEO Steve Hyde, who also serves on the DRI advisory group. “In essence, a study will help create a vision for what the site could be and we believe that the information and analysis resulting from the study will generate interest among the development community.”

Press release:

The Oakfield-Alabama Central School District’s Board of Education held a special board meeting on Friday, July 13 to appoint Michael Crumb as the Interim Superintendent effective July 30 until Jan. 4, 2019. Crumb replaces Mark Alexander who recently announced his resignation to accept a position as Director of Transportation for Akron Central Schools.

Matt Lamb, Oakfield-Alabama Central School District’s Board president, said, “The Board is duly impressed with Michael Crumb’s background and experience. We are confident that Michael will guide our District through these next five months as we begin our formal search process for a Superintendent of Schools.”

Crumb retired in 2017 after serving the Spencerport Central School District for 19 years where he worked as an assistant principal, assistant and deputy superintendent, and superintendent.

“I am extremely honored to have been asked by the Oakfield-Alabama Board of Education to provide leadership and support during the upcoming transition,” Crumb said. “Further, I am excited about the opportunity to collaborate with the staff, parents and school community on the education provided to each of the District’s students.”

Kevin MacDonald, District superintendent of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, assisted with the interim search and will also act as the final search consultant. He noted that the Board will develop and implement a rigorous process that will help determine the best candidate.

Press release:

The Genesee County Youth Bureau is seeking applicants for the Genesee Youth Lead Program. Applicants should be a Genesee County high school student entering their freshman through senior year.

The program is focused on developing leadership skills within an individual through each specific session and through hands-on experience.  Each session will have a different focus on our community and leadership.

The Youth Lead Program will take place at GVEP BOCES beginning Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will be held once a month on the second Wednesday of each month.

The program dates are Oct. 10, Nov. 14, Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Feb. 13, March 13, April 10, and May 8.

Youths who complete the program are encouraged to use the skills and information gained through their experience to support the communities in which they live.

The selection process will be done through an application and interview process by the staff. The class size is limited.

The program will cost $75 for each student. If there is an economic hardship please contact the Genesee County Youth Bureau.

Applications for the program can be found here. 

Please contact the Genesee County Youth Bureau with questions at (585)344-3960 or at youthbureau@co.genesee.ny.us.

An accident with injuries is reported at Ellicott Street and Liberty Street, Batavia.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 10:39 p.m.: Roadway cleared about 10 minutes ago. Rear-end accident just east of the railroad tracks that cross Ellicott Street.

Twenty-five years ago, at age 38, Norm Itjen decided to become a corrections officer in the Genesee County Jail figuring it would be the kind of job that would offer security and help him reach retirement.

Tuesday, he proved his hunch right. He retired and was given a warm send off by his coworkers, and colleagues within the Sheriff's Office and Batavia Police Department.

A native of Elba and graduate of Elba High School, and currently the mayor of Elba, Itjen's first career was as a maintenance worker at St. Jerome's Hospital. He also had a security officer job before taking the civil service exam and getting hired at the jail.

The best part of the job, Itjen said, was the people he met.

"Through the years, I've become president of our local union, president the New York State Deputy Sheriff's Association," Itjen said. "I met people all over the state and made lots of lifetime friends."

Over the years, many people have started their employment with the Sheriff's Office at the jail and later moved onto road patrol. That wasn't part of Itjen's plan.

"At the time, I wore glasses," Itjen said. "At that time you couldn't work on the road if you wore glasses. And then my age also played a factor."

Now at retirement age, Itjen says he has plenty to keep him busy. Besides being mayor, he likes camping, golf, and he's a volunteer at his church in Morganville.

"I also have a beautiful granddaughter," he said.

Corrections officers, Sheriff's Office command staff, several deputies and Batavia PD officers, saluted Itjen as he walked out of the Genesee County Jail for the last time.

On his last day of duty, Itjen shakes hands with Officer Kyle Krtanik, working his first day of duty with Batavia PD. 

We're only in July and Batavia has already exceeded its "normal for a year" number of days of highs reaching 90 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Normal is six days of 90 degrees or higher. Batavia has reached that mark seven times so far.

Batavia could see temperatures as high as 90 degrees again on Sunday and Monday.

Image via the NWS Buffalo Twitter account.

All signs point to a tight labor market in Genesee County with more than 1,000 known job openings and only 1,100 people considered unemployed.

While local companies struggle to find workers, Genesee County's labor force size may have shrunk. 

Labor force participation has declined from May 2017 (the most recent month of data available), when it was 29,900, to 29,500 in May 2018. It was 30,400 in 2016 and 30,800 in 2015. The highest level since 1990 was 33,800 in 2009.

The decline could reflect Baby Boomers retiring, out-migration of prime-age workers, or a number of prime-age workers still sitting on the sidelines. There are not detailed enough statistics for a small county to say.

Nationally, the labor force participation rate is 62 percent, well below the pre-recession level of 66 percent. At the same time, wages have started to go up but not as fast as inflation.

Genesee County's unemployment rate -- as a measure of prime-age working people who either have a job or are looking for work -- was 3.8 percent in May, lower than a year ago, at 4.4 percent, but the same rate as May 2016.

It is the lowest unemployment rate in the GLOW region.

The lowest rate for May since 2000 was 3.5 percent in 2001 and the highest was 7.5 percent in 2012.

That reflects 1,100 people in the county who don't have adequate work but want work. The highest that number has been since 1990 was 2,700 in 1992.

The number of employed Genesee County residents in May was 28,400, down from 28,600 a year prior. It was 29,200 in May 2016 and 29,400 in May 2015. The highest its been since 1990 was 32,300 in 2006.

The Job Development Bureau has 1,036 job listings. That may not reflect all of the job openings in the county.

The sector with the highest number of listed job openings is agriculture, with 307, followed by manufacturing, 222, healthcare, 193, and retail, 65.

Every major employer in Genesee County has openings to fill, with many at hourly rates from $15 an hour to $25 an hour.

Back in 2014, when we did a story about job listings at the agency, there were only 279 listings. In April 2017, Director Scott Gage said there were 760 jobs listed.

The Job Development Bureau, 587 E. Main St., Batavia, is hosting a mini job fair from 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, July 24.

Police responded to Jefferson Avenue at about 1:15 this afternoon after a caller reported a youth had a handgun stashed in a backpack.

 Officers were told the youth had "brandished" the gun in Austin Park.He was with a group of other teens and police performed a stop on the group in the parking lot behind Tim Hortons, ordering them to the ground with guns drawn until the backpack could be retrieved.

Upon investigation, it turned out the backpack contained a paintball gun.

A juvenile was taken into custody and will be turned over to a parent.

The City of Batavia will file an application with the State of New York to fund a feasibility study on the possible expansion of the Falleti Ice Arena. 

The study will look at expanding the size of the building to add a second ice rink and possibly a field house suitable for indoor soccer, lacrosse, flag football and other indoor sports.

The study will look beyond just what Genesee County will support but whether an expanded facility can bring in more tournaments and attract sports tourist dollars from throughout the region, including Rochester and Buffalo, said Interim City Manager Matt Worth.

"That's probably the key as much as anything," Worth said, "to capture a tournament that would draw from both of those cities and be convenient. Absolutely that will probably be the key to it."

The impetus for the grant request came from parents involved in hockey at Falleti.

"The hockey parents there they are organized and are very interested in expanding that," Worth said. "Nowadays, virtually all these ice rinks are built with two sheets of ice. It's the most economical way to do it. Usually, for tournaments, things like that, it's ideally at least two sheets of ice."

The grant would come through the state's portion of Community Development Block Grant funding and a feasibility study would cost from $30,000 to $50,000.

The study would look at the demographics of the region, the need, the opportunity, the viability of an expanded facility and what, if any, economic impact it might have on Batavia. The study would also help determine the anticipated cost of expansion and how it might be funded.

The City Council approved an application for the grant at its meeting Monday night.

"The planning grant is to determine the feasibility of adding an additional sheet of ice to the ice rink as well as the possibility of a field house, which would be basically an indoor turfed area that would be available for indoor soccer, lacrosse, flag football, things of that nature, to see if the community in the sporting area, if there's enough interest, enough economics to support that type of investment," Worth said.

A pickup truck has reportedly hit a tree in the area of 6472 Alleghany Road, Alabama, between Casey and Lewiston Road.

Unknown injuries.

Alabama Fire, Mercy EMS, and Shelby's rescue dispatched.

UPDATE 11:24 p.m.: Minor facial injury due to airbag deployment.

Deb Meier, a retired Batavia art teacher, provided a demonstration in watercolor plein air painting for members of the Batavia Society of Artists at Kiwanis Park on Monday.

Painting en plein air, or outdoor painting, which often requires the painter to work quickly in direct response to the scene before the painter, was a technique favored by the French impressionists of the 19th century and has continued to remain popular with artists.

Jason F. Cole, 44, of Quaker Hill Road, Elba, is charged with rape (intercourse by forcible compulsion), second-degree rape, second-degree criminal sexual act, and second-degree strangulation. Cole is accused of engaging in sexual intercourse and oral intercourse with a person less than 15 years old on numerous occasions. He was jailed on $50,000 bail. The investigation was conducted by Investigator Joseph Loftus and Deputy Howard Carlson.

Joseph Michael Tornabene, 26, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Tornabene is accused of violation of a no-offensive conduct order of protection. He was allegedly involved in an incident where he damaged property in the presence of the protected person. He was jailed on $2,500 bail.

The arrest of White and Wozniak by Batavia PD officers Klimjack and Catherine Mucha on Friday. (Photo by Howard Owens.)

Keith R. White, 46, of Oliver Street, North Tonawanda, and Jeffery P. Wozniak, 49, of 79th Street, Niagara Falls, are charged with petit larceny, conspiracy, 6th, and criminal possession of stolen property, 5th. White and Wozniak are accused of stealing $985.27 in merchandise from Tops Friendly Market at 11:54 a.m. Friday, including steaks, lobster, shrimp, a roast, and several household items. They are also accused of stealing merchandise from Walmart in Batavia. Both suspects were issued appearance tickets. The case was investigated by Officer Catherine Mucha and Officer Frank Klimjack. White is also charged with third-degree burglary and fourth-degree grand larceny. White was arrested by Deputy Travis DeMuth in connection with the alleged Walmart theft. On that charged, he was arraigned and ordered held without bail. (see previous)

Juaquin Enriquo Davis, 23, of Milton Street, Rochester, is charged with violating an order of protection, obstruction of governmental administration, and resisting arrest. Davis was arrested following an investigation into a dispute reported at 12:25 a.m. Thursday on Thomas Avenue, Batavia, by Officer Peter Flanagan. He was jailed on $5,000 bail or $10,000 bond.

Treyvaun T. Filbert, 23, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and following too closely. Filbert was stopped at 1:05 p.m. June 29 on West Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Matthew Wojtaszczyk.

Nicole L. Matia, 43, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Matia allegedly entered a neighbor's home and refused to leave when asked.

Bleyke Z. Culver, 21, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Culver allegedly violated a stay away order of protection during a disturbance on Maple Street at 9:34 p.m. on July 5.

Ronnie Joe Flinchum, 59, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd. Flinchum was allegedly involved in an incident at his residence on East Main Street at 3:45 a.m. on July 1. He was ordered held on $1,000 bail.

Pavel V. Yefremenko, 30, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Yefremenko allegedly damaged property belonging to a woman he knew at 7:47 a.m. on July 4.

Erica M. Raphael, 33, of Pratt Road, Batavia, is charged trespass. Raphael allegedly entered a local business on East Main Street, Batavia, after being previously banned.

Sath Paul Dhanda, 38, of Clapsaddle Road, Bethany, is charged with criminal trespass and endangering the welfare of a child. Dhanda allegedly entered the residence of a person he did not know on Swan Street at 6:08 p.m. on July 2. He was jailed on $5,000 bail. Dhanda is also charged with second-degree harassment for allegedly spitting on another person at 7:24 p.m., July 2.

Iszon C. Richardson, 18, of Lewis Place, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Richardson was arrested on a warrant by members of the Local Drug Task Force and jailed without bail. 

Michael Alan Shetler, 28, of Judge Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Shetler allegedly violated a stay away order of protection at 10:41 p.m. Sunday in Oakfield. He was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Kelly Patrick DiMatteo, 34, of Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with felony DWI, refusal to take a breath test, failure to keep right, and moving from lane unsafely. DiMatteo was reportedly involved in a single-vehicle accident on Lyman Road, Byron, at 8:14 p.m. on July 4. He was jailed on $10,000 bail or $20,000 bond. The accident was investigated by Deputy Andrew Mullen.

Ronald G. Metz, 69, of Lewis Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to signal, and failure to keep right. Metz was arrested following a complaint of an erratic driver at 4:51 p.m., June 29, by Investigator Christopher Parker.

Becky L. Frens, 56, of Batavia, is charged with torture to an animal (not feeding). Frens was arrested by State Police in relation to an incident reported at 3 p.m., Tuesday, in the Town of Batavia. Frens was issued an appearance ticket. No further details released.

Frank R. Cratsenberg, 57, of Akron, is charged with trespass and petit larceny. Cratsenberg was arrested in connection with an incident reported at 3:26 p.m., June 11, in the Town of Alabama. He was arraigned and ordered held in jail. He was arrested by State Police. No further details released.

Ryan Bartholomew, 24, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Bartholomew was stopped by State Police at 10:25 p.m. Sunday by State Police at the Batavia Thruway interchange.

Always Something Farm, on Sumner Road, in Darien is one of 27 finalists in the Ignite Buffalo business funding competition.

The competition, which received 500 entries from throughout Western New York, is expected to award seven companies with $50,000 to $100,000 to help that company grow and expand, along with mentoring.

The contest is supported by Facebook, M&T Bank, Intuit, Amazon, WordPress, and WooCommerce in partnership with 43North, a startup accelerator in Buffalo.

A finalist competition is taking place tonight at Erie Community College.

We don't have any information on what Always Something Farm pitched in its application as either a product or service it sees as an opportunity to grow, but owners Michael and Stephanie Parkot posted on Facebook, "This could change the face of the western NY food scene permanently!"

A story in Buffalo Spree in June indicates the Parkots raise heritage breed Mangalitsa hogs.

There were at least four or five companies from Genesee County that entered the competition. Always Something Farm is the only one from Genesee County to make it this far. There are 24 companies from Erie County still in the competition.

A burning bush is reported at Ascension Parish on Sumner Street, Batavia.

The bush is right next to the building.

City fire responding.

UPDATE 12:15 p.m.: A first responder reports, "It looks like they got water on the fire with a garden hose."

UPDATE 12:17 p.m.: Scene commander, "Fire contained to the outside. No extension."

UPDATE: Photo submitted by Dick Long. He said the neighbor at Sumner and Swan provided the garden hose and sprayed it on the fire before City fire arrived.