The space left vacant by Valu Home Center for the last 20 months on the city's west side is under construction by its future occupant, Mike Conroy says.

The commercial broker for the property at 4152 W. Main St., Batavia, confirmed Monday that Ashley Home Furniture plans to move into the building at Valu Plaza that was emptied by the longtime hardware store in September 2022.

"Their target date was in June, but some things had to be addressed," Conroy told The Batavian. "It might be July."

Ashley sells room-to-room furnishings and has 37 store locations in New York, according to its website, with sites including Amherst and Henrietta.

Photos by Howard Owens

Walls came tumbling down, finally, on Monday as workers began to overhaul the silo entrances at Batavia City Centre. 

Work has been planned for several months, and equipment and crews arrived at the downtown site to begin the demolition process.

"Based on the timeline we received from the architect and project manager, we are looking at a 60 to 90 day timeline from today for completion," Assistant City Manager Erik Fix said Monday afternoon.  "The demo today was a welcome site as you can imagine.  We started with the Sunny’s entrance and will proceed with demolition to the three other Silo’d entrances estimated a 10 to 12 day demolition timeline for all four entrances.  

"Once demo is complete they will work on concrete work/foundations and then structured steel (estimated time is another 24 days). That will be followed up with framing, roofing, and installation of the glass and other materials for the storefront entrances."

That work is scheduled to take four to five weeks. Masonry, brick and interior finishes will follow all of that, and take about two to three additional weeks, Fix said.  

"Site work will wrap it up and we hope to be done by mid-August to early September. The plan is to keep contractors on and work on all four sites at one time," he said. "So rather than start one entrance, finish it and work on the next, we save time and money by doing each phase on all four pieces at the same time. Of course this is all tentative and dependent on materials and manpower, but that is the plan going forward."

Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding of about $1 million has been set aside for the silo project, with $120,000 for the design process and the remaining money for actually redesigning the silos.

Photos by Howard Owens

Genesee County's justice system took another step forward on Monday in the prosecution of Michael J. Elmore, implicated in the March 10 death of Sgt. line-of-duty death Thomas A. Sanfratello, and co-defendant Lyndsey J. Wilcox.

Both Elmore and Wilcox appeared in County Court before Judge Donald O'Geen for the first time and their attorneys, on their behalf, entered not-guilty pleas to the criminal indictments filed against each of them.

What can you accomplish in six and a half minutes with a photographic feline, some choice hometown architecture and a $5,000 grant?

Batavia native and film producer James DiLullo will answer that soon enough with his self-penned work, “Kitty,” which he plans to shoot in his hometown next month with a local cast and crew.

Today's Deals:

• Ficarella's Pizzeria
• The Vintage Cow Farmers Market
• Smokin' Eagle BBQ and Brew
• Chap's Elba Diner
• Angry Charlie's Smokehouse BBQ
• Dave's Ice Cream

Alexander Volunteer Fire Department members were proud to show off their renovated rec hall on Saturday during its 2024 awards and installation dinner.

With freshly painted walls, ceiling and a newly poured epoxy floor, the $50,000 renovation gives the hall a fresher, newer look.

It was also a night to recognize a few of the department's key contributors in 2023, including Firefighter of the Year Matt Pietrzykowski, who responded to a fatal fire in February.  He was the firefighter who found the deceased's body and was commended for his career and professionalism in handling the situation.

Jim Burkhardt and Regan McPhee were named EMS Providers of the Year. 

Regan McPhee received the Chief's Award.

The newly installed officers are, on the Firematic side:

• James Burkhardt, chief
• Nathan Fix, deputy chief
• Thomas Green, 1st assistant chief
• Anthony Johnston, 2nd assistant chief
• Matthew Pietrzykowski, 3rd assistant chief
• Jenny McPhee, EMS captain
• Todd Fleenor, EMS lieutenant
• Nicholas Yackeren, truck lieutenant
• Lance Scharlau, training captain
• Bernie Fix, safety officer
• John Meier, parade chairman
• Heidi Richmond, parade co-chairman

Administrative officers:

• Sean McPhee, president
• Thomas Green, vice-president
• Amanda Donnelly, recording secretary
• Heidi McPhee, financial secretary
• Barbara Pietrzykowski, treasurer
• Robert Spiers, chaplin
• and, trustees Matthew Fernaays, Nathan Fix, Amanda Donnelly, Nicholas Yackeren, Anthony Johnston, Darlene Merle, Matthew Pietrzkowski, and Matthew Grimes.

Volunteers for Animals celebrated its 40th anniversary on Saturday at Batavia First Presbyterian Church.

Previously: Chamber Awards: VFA earns special recognition in its 40th year caring for animals

Lance Donald Beals, 53, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with menacing 2nd.  Beals is accused of pointing and shooting a BB gun toward another person, placing that person in fear of injury at 7:16 a.m. on May 14 at a location on West Main Street Road, Batavia. He was arraigned and released.

Nathan Wayne Campbell, 43, of Oak Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Campbell was accused of stealing merchandise from Walmart at 12:56 p.m. on May 13. He was released on an appearance ticket.

Daniel J. House is indicted on counts of criminal contempt in the first degree, a Class E felony, and harassment in the second degree, a violation. House is accused of violating an order of protection on Jan. 23 at a location in the town of Batavia and of having unwanted physical contact with another person.

James A. Williams is indicted on counts of DWI, a Class D felony, aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, a Class E felony, circumventing an interlock device, a Class A misdemeanor, and obstructing governmental administration in the second degree. Williams is accused of driving a 2008 Hyundai with an Ohio license plate on Route 33 in the town of Stafford while intoxicated on Sept. 24. He was allegedly driving intoxicated while knowing or should have known that his driving privileges were suspended. The Hyundai was not equipped with an interlock device. He is accused of trying to prevent a government official from performing his official duties. The felony DWI charge stems from a prior DWI conviction in March 2019 in Rochester.

Isaac C. King is indicted on a count of bail jumping in the second degree, a Class E felony. King is accused of failing to appear in Genesee County Court as ordered on a felony charge after being released on bail or on his own recognizance on Dec. 4.

Tanisha N. Gibson is indicted on a count of criminal mischief in the second degree, a Class D felony.  Gibson is accused of intentionally damaging the property of another person on Jan. 8 with a value in excess of $1,500.

Lashayia S. Bussey is indicted on counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree, a Class E felony, and conspiracy in the fifth degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Bussey is accused of stealing property with a value in excess of $1,000 on Sept. 14, 2022, in the town of Batavia. She is accused of concluding with another person to commit the crime.

Shameek T. Taylor is indicted on counts of criminal contempt in the first degree, a Class E felony, and burglary in the second degree, a Class C felony. Taylor is accused of violating a stay-away order of protection on Feb. 24 in the town of Batavia. On that same date, Taylor is accused of entering a building with the intent to commit a crime within.

Evan J. Vanskiver is indicted on a count of bail jumping in the second degree, a Class E felony. Vanskiver is accused of failing to appear in City Court as ordered on a felony charge.

Jacob W. Patterson is indicted on a count of promoting prison contraband in the first degree, Class D felony. Patterson is accused of introducing two glass pipes into the Genesee County Jail on Feb. 6.

Adrian L. Sheppard is indicted on a count of bailing jumping in the second degree, a Class E felony. Sheppard, having been released on his own recognizance, is accused of failing to appear in City Court as ordered on felony charges.