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Batavia PD is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the person in this photo. He is suspected of entering unlocked cars and stealing items from the vehicles. He may have an accomplice.

If you have any information you are asked to contact the Batavia Police at (585) 345-6350.

Press release:

St. Joe’s Regional School recently experienced a successful Mini Mammoth Sale at their new location in the school’s Annex building across from the school. The new location has five rooms loaded with items of all types, from furniture to a shop of collectibles and vintage articles.

The sale has expanded to include Fridays, 5 to 8 p.m., and Saturdays 8 a.m. to noon for the months of April and May, and sales throughout the year.

Donations of jewelry, furniture, household items and collectibles are greatly appreciated and can either be dropped off on the Annex porch or picked up by calling Randa Williams at (585) 356-5333.

A huge thank you to all who have supported our school through donations or purchases since we are no longer connected to a parish.  Also, thank you to Carmen Campbell from the PennySaver as our promotional partner, Rick and Tom Mancuso for our storage facilities, and Dave at Tim Hortons for keeping our volunteers in Timbits and coffee.  Also, Anibal Soler, city schools superintendent, and his executive secretary Brittany Witkop for advertising support.

John Bowen, Randa Williams, and Norm Argulsky and the school could not be successful without the support of the community.    

Photos by Howard Owens. Top photo, sale cochairs Randa Williams and John Bowen.

A trial date has been set for a Batavia man accused in 2018 of arson and attempted murder following a structure fire at 35 Maple St.

Plush Dozier appeared in court for a short hearing where Genesee County Court Judge Charles Zambito scheduled the trial to start on June 7.

Zambito noted the court system will likely still be under COVID-19 protocols in June and said the jury will need to be socially distanced and the trial will require the use of two courtrooms. He scheduled a meeting for July 3 with the attorneys to go over trial arrangements and protocols.

Dozier was originally being held without bail and being housed in Attica after alleged disturbances at the Genesee County Jail (which led to additional criminal charges) but after bail reform at the start of 2020, Dozier was given the opportunity at cash bail of $100,000 or $100,000 bond.

He is currently out of custody.

A brush fire is reported on Buffalo Road in Bergen.

Bergen fire responding.

A chief requests Department of Environmental Conservation to the scene.

There is a burn ban in place through May 14. (Click here for more information.).

City fire crews were with Ladder 15 out behind the Batavia Ice Rink on Evans Street this morning giving it a good scrub before re-greasing it to help the equipment operate more smoothly. The task is part of the ladder truck's regular maintenance.

JoAnne Meiser submitted this photo of last night's sunset in Indian Falls.

Emergency responders have been dispatched to the eastbound lane of the Thruway near mile marker 393.

A male reportedly suffered minor injuries after the female driver crashed the car. She has exited the vehicle and is in "the weeds" and on her phone and armed with a Taser, according to dispatchers. 

Law enforcement has arrived on the scene.

Town of Batavia fire dispatched. Mercy EMS also dispatched.

UPDATE 2:29 p.m.: The female says the male has the Taser. It is in the glovebox, she said.

UPDATE 2:40 p.m.: Town assignment back in service.

Batavia High School's Production Club presents the musical comedy "Sister Act" this Saturday, April 17, in both a limited in-performance and an on-demand video, which will be available April 24.

For this Saturday's live performance, each member of the production is allowed to distribute only two tickets due to COVID-19 restrictions. The performance will be recorded and available for a limited time starting a week from tomorrow.

The stage production is based on the 1992 movie with original music by Tony- and eight-time Oscar winner, Alan Menken. The musical was nominated for five Tony Awards.

To purchase tickets for the recorded performance, click here.

Photos by Howard Owens, except full cast photo at bottom, by Steve Ognibene.

Jilian Helwig won a large, wine-filled gift basket in a drawing yesterday in a drawing at The YNGodess Shop as a fundraiser for Batavia Players, which is moving its theater on Harvester Avenue to a Main Street location in City Centre in Downtown Batavia.

YNGodess owner Chris Crocker drew the winning ticket.

The raffle raised $5,800 for Batavia Players.

Nici Johnson, radio personality with WBTA, reads "Flamingo Watching" by Kay Ryan.

A motor-vehicle accident in the area of 62 S. Main St., Elba, is blocking traffic in the Village of Elba.

The location is by the Central School and Crosby's convenience store. 

It is apparently a noninjury accident but the car ran up the guy wire of a utility pole. A tow will be required.

Elba fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Reader-submitted photos.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley was joined today at the Genesee County Veterans Service Agency by Senator Ed Rath, Genesee County Legislator Gary Maha, Genesee County Veterans Services Director Bill Joyce, and Chris Kreiger and Lynn Magistrale of WNY Heroes, the organization that operates the Dwyer program in Genesee County, to discuss funding of the Joseph P. Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Program and the impact the program has on local veterans. 

The final enacted budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year included $4,505,000 for the Dwyer Program across New York State, with $185,000 allocated for Niagara County, $185,000 for Monroe County, and $185,000 for Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties. This funding was secured even as Governor Cuomo proposed eliminating it entirely in his executive budget proposal.

“As a member of the Assembly Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and being a veteran myself, I am proud to have secured this funding for our service members after yet another attempt by the governor to eliminate it from our state budget,” Hawley said. “This funding saves lives, and operating programs such as the Dwyer program is the least we can do for those that risk their lives to defend our liberties.”

"I was pleased that the Dwyer Program funding was included in the final 2021-22 budget,” Senator Rath said. “The services that the Dwyer Program provides to our veteran community are critical. The State has continuously tried to cut or delay this funding, so I am happy that it was included in full."

“We are honored to take care of veterans and assist their families,” said Chris Kreiger, president of WNY Heroes and Iraq War veteran. “Our programs are about providing a hand up, not a handout. It takes more strength to ask for help and even more strength to accept it.

"Here at WNYHeroes, we are no different than you, the veteran. We don’t dress in fancy clothing, we don’t drive fancy cars, we simply just want nothing more than to provide support while sustaining your dignity at the same time.”

A child has reportedly been bitten in the face by a dog on Wolcott Street in Le Roy.

The caller has secured the dog.

Mercy EMS and law enforcement responding.

Genesee County COVID-19 Briefing April 15, 2021

Batavia had little trouble scoring against winless Midlakes on their way to running up their season record to 5-0.

The final score was 56-0.

Terez Smith carried the ball 13 times for 217 yards. He scored two touchdowns. Ethan Loarza ran nine times for 57 yards and a TD, and Aidan Anderson, 11 times for 55 yards and a TD.

Jesse Reinhart was 10-13 passing for 188 yards and four TDs. 

Alex Hale caught two TD passes, of his five receptions, for 87 yards. Tyler Budzinack also hauled in a pair of TD passes and gained 69 yards.

Anderson had seven tackles, Kaden Marucci and Mathew Mcwethy, six each, and Jayden Osborne, three.

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

Oakfield-Alabama/Elba ran all over York/Pavilion in their game on Wednesday, gaining 460 yards on the ground on their way to a 54-0 win.

"This was a great bounce-back win for our guys after last week," said Head Coach Tyler Winter. "They came out of the gate fast and played well for four full quarters. We set some goals for our squad to clean a few things up on both sides of the ball, and I think we accomplished those goals tonight. We'll go back to the drawing board tomorrow and look to continue improving this week as we prepare for a big challenge in Avon."

Ty Mott ran 22 times for 211 yards and four touchdowns. Mott has now rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season.

Gaige Armbrewster, three carries, 105 yards, one TD. Ty Kornow, five carries, 70 yards, 1 TD. Jayden Hughes, three carries, 35 yards, one TD.

Bodie Hyde completed a 64-yard TD pass to Zach Howard.

Peyton Yasses and Dontrell Jenkins each had 12 tackles.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.

For National Poetry Month, David Reilly reads "Nostalgia" by Billy Collins.

The adoption of a proposed 2021-2022 school budget for Batavia nearly brought Board of Education President Alice Ann Benedict to tears on Monday night.

She wasn't upset. If anything, she was overjoyed.

The budget doesn't increase the district's tax levy one penny over the 2020-21 budget. With rising property values and commercial properties that were previously covered by tax abatements known as PILOTs* rolling out of those programs, most property owners should see the education portion of their property taxes going down next year.

Superintendent Anibal Soler said a rough guess right now is that a home assessed at $100,000 will pay $64 less in school taxes.

He called that a win for the community and in remarks at the end of the meeting, Benedict agreed and thanked Soler, Business Administrator Scott Rozanski, and the rest of the board of education for their work on the budget.

"I just want to say how pleased I am that we got to zero percent because I think it is quite important for our community," Benedict said before fighting back tears. "This has been a tough year. I just wanted to say I appreciated it."

Rozanski said it was possible to balance the budget because of additional state and federal aid being provided to local school districts.

The tax levy this academic year is $19,493,958 and under the proposed budget will be exactly the same in the coming year.

The total budget will increase from $51,470,726 to $52,096,661, a 1.22-percent increase in spending, which is just below the consumer price index increase of 1.3 percent.

The tax rate based on the proposed levy has not yet been set.

"The tentative PROJECTED tax rate (using the current assessed values) is $20.65," said Rozanski in an email to The Batavian. "This amount WILL change because all the information (assessed values, equalization rates, omitted taxes, and removed exemptions are NOT finalized until the summer. The OFFICIAL tax rate will be calculated in August/September 2021."

There will be a public budget presentation on May 10 and the budget will go before voters on May 18.

*PILOTs -- Payment(s) In Lieu Of Taxes.

A federal bankruptcy judge in Buffalo has ruled that three debts of former funeral director Michael Tomaszewski cannot be discharged under bankruptcy law.

The three debts are part of more than $3.2 million in liabilities Tomaszewski listed when filing for bankruptcy in February 2020. He initially filed for Chapter 11, a reorganization of debts, but changed the filing to a Chapter 7, forgiveness of all debts not covered by available assets, last month.

Yesterday, in a separate criminal matter, Tomaszewski entered a guilty plea to grand larceny, scheme to defraud, offering a false instrument for filing, and untimely burial. Over the summer, the 40-year-old Batavia native was charged with more than 200 counts of criminal conduct stemming from a scheme to divert deposits made on prearrangements for funeral services to his own personal use.

The amount of restitution he will owe former clients will be set at his sentencing on July 13. He faces a possible sentence from two and one-third to seven years in prison. The restitution order could approach $500,000.

In his ruling, Judge Carl L. Bucki cited a section of federal bankruptcy law that says a debtor cannot discharge any debt that was the result of fraud or misrepresentation. 

According to the ruling, Tomaszewski will remain liable for prearrangement deposits from individuals for $10,500, $8,000, and $8,000. Under bankruptcy law, the three individuals are entitled to priority repayment for the first $3,025 of each debt.

The bankruptcy proceedings only include debts listed in the filing. Not all victims of Tomaszewski are listed as claimants in the case.

Previously: School districts responding to new COVID-19 guidance from state

While working on a story today about new state guidelines for local schools, we emailed questions to the Public Health Director, Paul Pettit, and asked him about the new guidance, which makes local health departments (LDH in his response below) responsible for ensuring local school districts are adhering to state guidelines.

We asked if this was an additional burden for his department. We asked about what guidance he's offered superintendents given the seeming confusion the new guidelines may have created. Here is his response:

Yes, the shift of putting the LHDs into the role of compliance with the new state guidance was not discussed prior to the release of the document last Friday. This again is an example of the state adding additional requirements on the local agencies without notification and recognition of the current burden and lack of capacity for additional work with the current pandemic response needs.

Up until this guidance came out, LHDs have been in a guidance role and focused on case investigations and dealing with COVID cases in the school populations. Currently, as this was just released, there has been no clarification or process developed for ensuring compliance with these guidelines.

We have had weekly meetings with our superintendents and have discussed this new guidance and are seeking clarification from the state on several areas that are shifts from the previous guidance including, the 100-percent masking mandate, the use of barriers as a mitigation strategy for reducing distance and the data sources for determining community transmission.

Currently, based on the CDC data, our county is in the high transmission category (Red Zone), which restricts distancing below 6 feet for middle and high school students unless they are able to cohort the students.

Many of these shifts have created barriers and challenges for increased in-person instruction in many of our districts. Each school is required to seek their communities risk tolerance to reducing distancing prior to changing their plans with their stakeholders and adhering to the new guidance.  

The LHD has not currently received or reviewed any school plans to date, nor are we planning to. The new guidance does also not require this review/approval component. Similar to all reopening plans (for businesses etc.) we do not review/approve them but would reference for compliance if complaints were brought forward.

The schools are responsible to adhere to the guidance and ensure their plans incorporate and follow the new guidance. This is to be posted and available public included submitted/filed with the department of education and the LHD. We are working to get further clarification.