batavia

Press release:

Genesee Community College invites visual artists to submit their work for possible exhibition at GCC's Rosalie "Roz" Steiner Art Gallery located in the Genesee Center for the Arts on GCC's main campus located in Batavia.

This call for work is open to individual artists and group exhibitions in all media interested in the 2020-2021 academic year. The deadline for consideration for the 2020-2021 academic year is Dec. 31.

The Steiner Gallery's mission is to foster community involvement in the arts while enhancing the learning experience for all GCC students, faculty and staff. Proposals are selected by the GCC Gallery Committee, which seeks out exhibitions rich in content and quality craftsmanship. 

"Our gallery attracts artists and visitors from across Western New York, and with our robust international student population, there is also a dynamic community of enthusiastic supporters right on campus," said Mary Jo Whitman, gallery coordinato.

"During the academic year, we average about 300 visitors each month. Our committee is always looking for artists who contribute meaningfully to the education of students while participating in the larger discourse of the contemporary art world."

The Roz Steiner Gallery opened in Spring 2011 and offers 1,700 square feet of outstanding exhibit space featuring 25-foot walls, moveable island walls, bamboo flooring and multimedia capabilities.

To review the space and submit an exhibition proposal go to GCC's webpage for the Roz Steiner Art Gallery here.

Today the YMCA in Batavia is getting about $90,000 in new cardio equipment, part of a six-year replacement cycle (with half of the cardio equipment getting replaced every three years).

Delivered today were new Expresso bikes (digital training programs on video screens), recumbent bikes (ideal for seniors and people recovering from injuries), ellipticals, and arch trainers (options for multiple training motions on one machine), as well as new bikes for the spinning class.

Jeff Townsend, executive director, said the new spinning class bikes are state-of-the-art and few facilities have these. They replace 12-year-old bikes.

"Our cycle club and group that will be coming indoors soon is the one that will be pretty excited to get back into indoor cycling with these new bikes," Townsend said.

The only cardio equipment not replaced today were the treadmills and rowers, which were replaced three years ago.

Story by Dan McComb:

Despite outhitting their opponent, North Town, 9-3, the Batavia 24U Baseball Team came out on the losing end of a 3-2 extra-inning thriller on Aug. 1.

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Batavia rallied to tie the game at 2 when Burnie Jonis singled and went to second on a wild pitch.

Tristan Aldinger then doubled him home, and Jerry Reinhardt singled him home.

The game was tied at 2 in the bottom of the eighth inning when a critical play went against Batavia.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Jonis singled with one out. Jerry Reinhardt then with two outs lined a double down the left field line all the way to the fence, and Jonis was called out at home on a controversial play. The catcher later admitted he never tagged Jonis.

In the top of the ninth inning, North Town would score the winning run when their lead-off hitter walked with one out.

Trevor Sherwood then attempted to pick off the lead-off hitter and appeared to have a successful pick-off, but in the run-down an errant throw went into left field, placing the runner on third base.

With the infield drawn and 1 out, a ground ball was hit to the infield, and despite a perfect throw and tag at home plate, the runner was called safe, and North Town delivered a 3-2 upset win over the previously undefeated Batavia squad.

Sherwood pitched a great game, allowing only three hits and striking out nine in eight-and-a-third innings.

Zeke Lynn came on in relief and struck out the two batters that he faced.

Reinhardt collected three hits and AJ Marcello and Jonis collected two hits each. Also collecting hits were Lynn and Aldinger.

Despite the heartbreaking loss the season was a success.

This squad has been together for seven years and has added key players every year.

The coach referred to this team as the best team he has ever coached, and said the players are all class acts. Although the season ended on a controversial and sour note, nonetheless it was fun and drew a lot of fans to the park.

A sudden downpour a little after noon caused quite a puddle to form on Liberty Street near Cherry Street in Batavia.

• Alcohol Ink Explorations by Patience Wnek
• Works by Kenneth Brant

Important Notice

Due to the severe storms, and projected forecast the city's Summer Recreation Program will be closing early today.

Parents of participants at the parks have been notified.

Program will resume as scheduled tomorrow, Aug. 9, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thank you!

Lydia Schauf, Program Coordinator 

City of Batavia Youth Bureau

For the first time, the annual National Night Out, an event of the Batavia Police Department, was held at City Church's St. Anthony's.

Below: A bonus short video of firefighters hoisting a stokes basket.

John Bennett, executive director of GCASA, has gone in a short time from the shock and disappointment he felt when people in the City of Batavia reacted with anger to a proposed social center at the former St. Nick's on Swan Street, to gratitude for the acceptance the same proposal for another property in the Town of Batavia.

Tuesday night there was a public hearing on a request for a special use permit to convert the former Bohn's Restaurant location on Clinton Street Road into a recreation center for people in recovery. There was no opposition and several people spoke in support of it. The Town of Batavia Planning Board subsequently passed all the necessary resolutions unanimously to give the project a green light.

"I'll say when I came to the town to meet with the town board originally, that I got a little choked up," Bennett said. "I got a little emotional because my reception was so different than what happened on the Southside in the city.

"(Town officials) were welcoming and they really had seemed to have an understanding of addiction and they said that this is needed in the community. I just feel blessed, actually, to be connected with this project and the town and they've welcomed us with open arms and they see the benefit of it."

The center will be the first of its kind in Batavia, a place where people who don't want to be an environment where beer, wine and liquor are part of the fabric of the party, and some people might show up with drugs. That's because the context of such an atmosphere makes it harder to resist the temptation to partake. Instead, they'll have a place to go to relax, socialize, make friends, and have a good time.

Several speakers at the public said the new center will make it easier for people in recovery to stay in recovery.

"The recovery center itself is it really a meet and greet," said Kathy Miller. "After you go in and you get treatment, you start living your life and you start getting normal, doing normal everyday things like get a job, buy a house, buy a car, have a baby -- living your life.

"You're not meeting anyone in recovery because now you're doing things and there's no place to go unless you can go into a recovery center. Then, when you're meeting other people, you don't have to say, 'hey, I'm in recovery,' because you already are there meeting people in recovery."

If you don't change the people you hang out with, Miller said, it's harder to stay in recovery.

"You need to change the people, places, and things around you," Miller said. "And sometimes that means your old friends, sometimes that's the people that are still doing the same old things they used to do. You have to find a new place. You have to find a way to live in it."

Jason Adams said a social and recreation center for people in recovery will be a game-changer for people locally. It will give them a place to engage in a variety of activities, watch sports on TV, or just hang out and talk, all without thinking about easy access to booze.

"The sky's the limit of what the program is available to do," Adams said.

The closest thing to an objection to the proposed recreation center on Clinton Street Road came from a nearby neighbor who said she supports the concept -- she understands the struggle of people in recovery because she's a cigarette smoker herself -- but was concerned that people using the center might loiter in the area or along the street, which could diminish her privacy.

A board member asked if a privacy fence would help. She said it would.

As soon as the public hearing was completed, the woman left.

During the board discussion of the project, Code Enforcement Officer Dan Lang looked up her property on a parcel map and said it was really too far from the actual Bohn's property to warrant a privacy fence.  

There is a parcel in between the Bohn's Restaurant property and the woman's property, and that property, Bennett revealed is subject of a negotiation with the town -- GCASA may swap that property with the town to settle some tax issues.

The board agreed to approve the project without the privacy fence, but left the door open to revisit the issue should circumstances make it more apparent a fence is needed.

Bennett said he totally understands the concern about people loitering and smoking cigarettes outside. He's aware of complaints about similar activity outside the GCASA property along East Main Street.

The state agency that oversees drug rehabilitation facilities has always frowned on designated smoking areas on the property of such programs or facilities but that policy is changing. GCASA has been given the approval to have a designated smoking area on the Bohn's property. He said he's working on getting approval for smoking areas on all of GCASA's properties.

"I think smoking in general in front of restaurants and other buildings the community is an eyesore and we working to remedy that," Bennett said.

Bennett said the community opposition to GCASA opening a recovery center on Swan Street caught him by surprise but admitted it may have been his own fault. He wasn't prepared for the opposition and therefore did a poor job of setting the stage and explaining the project.

At a 400 Towers community meeting where residents expressed a great deal of anger about the proposal, he could barely say anything to try and explain the project, there were so many other voices dominating the conversation.

"I guess I didn't get out ahead of this in terms of really getting out and educating people because it was such a quick grant that we got," Bennett said. "And I really guess I didn't think people would have an issue with a recovery center because people in recovery really are just like you and I.

"If you stood in a room full of  -- I bet you couldn't tell tonight who was in recovery and who wasn't, right? And the methadone clinic kind of went off without a hitch, so I just kind of thought the recovery center would, too.

"I didn't really see people being upset and angry about this. I missed that and then I should have done a couple more things to educate the public, especially down on the Southside."

Photo: Sue Gagne and John Bennett.

Last month, the Genesee County Economic Development Center issued an open letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo asking for his help in getting final approval on a complex financial package -- involving private investment, state and local tax incentives, grants, and investment credits -- from state officials.

Following an event today about workforce development (more later), we asked Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul about the delay of the project. She says the governor's office is working to finalize a financial package for Ellicott Station.

The Ellicott Station project will transform the former Della Penna property on Ellicott Street from a crumbling and distressed property into a mixed-used development that will include housing, office space, and a restaurant/brewery.

The bedrooms are very spacious with plenty of closet space. There is oversized family room in the lower level for all your rec room fun. Also an awesome sunny and bright bonus room with lots of windows overlooking private back yard, which has in-ground swimming pool, plenty of privacy for all your summer fun!

This home is large bright, cheerful and ready for lots of energy! Easy to see! Call Lynn Bezon today at 344-HOME or click here for more information on this listing.

Kayaking at the pond at DeWitt Recreation Area, which was cancelled last month due to the heat wave, will be offered this Saturday.

Preregistration is required on or before Thursday Aug. 8th, call 585-344-1122.

A maximum of 20 participants will be allowed.

Seize the day with a guided kayak tour of DeWitt Pond! Explore the pond by water and discover a new world.

• Session 1 takes place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Session 2 takes place from 1 to 3 p.m.

Meet at the boat launch at DeWitt Recreation Area. No experience needed, a beginner kayaking lesson is provided! Rent a kayak or bring your own. Kayak rentals with life vests are provided by Adventures in Fitness Inc. Solo kayak rentals are available for ages 12 and up, tandem kayak rentals are available for kids under 12 and must be piloted by an adult.

Guided tour fee is $20/person without rental or $25/person with kayak rental per session. Fee for children under 12 is $12 per session. Maximum 20 participants per session.

For more information visit the website here, or contact Kayla Edmunds Park.AmeriCorps@.genesee.ny.us or (585) 344-1122.

Press release:

On Saturday, Aug. 24^th from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Mercy Flight will host its annual open house at the Mercy EMS Base.

The Mercy Flight Batavia Base, located at 8050 Call Parkway, will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day. We kindly ask you to support this remarkable celebration.

The day will be filled with plenty to enjoy, including a tour of the base, food, refreshments, and activities for the family.

Mercy Flight was founded on the premise of wanting to help more patients during their time of need. Since our inception in 1981, Mercy Flight has grown from one part-time crew to 24/7 air operations in Buffalo, Batavia, and Olean, and ground ambulance operations in Springville, Genesee County, and Niagara County.

Having transported more than 26,000 patients by helicopter and conducting countless ground ambulance missions, Mercy Flight has truly been Western New York’s beacon of hope WHEN MINUTES MATTER.

At Mercy Flight, we pride ourselves on performing our lifesaving services without regard to our patients’ insurance status or their ability to pay. While third-party payers reimburse a portion of each flight’s cost, we rely heavily on the generous support of community contributors like you.

We would greatly appreciate the donation of a product or service to support this essential and well-attended community event. Would you so generously consider donating an item or certificate for our basket auction?

I would be happy to pick up any donations you offer. Please contact me at 585.250.3002 or pcherry@mercyflight.org to arrange.

Pam Cherry, Outreach Coordinator - Batavia, Mercy Flight Inc.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Police Department is proud to announce, in partnership with City Church, National Night Out 2019.

The event is tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at the St. Anthony's facility at 114 Liberty St..

Liberty Street and Central Avenue in the area of St. Anthony's will be closed starting at 4 p.m.

There will be many displays by first responders, including: the Wyoming County Sheriff's Posse Mounted Patrol; City of Batavia Fire Department; the NY State Park Police, who will demo high-angle rope rescue; and the NY State Police, who will demo the Seat Belt Enforcer.

Car seat installation and safety checks will be provided by the city fire department. There will be a K-9 demonstration and much more.

There will also be face painting, balloon animals, a dunk tank and a live band.

The event is free and City Church will be cooking for those who attend.

Raffles and giveaways will take place throughout the evening.

National Night Out will also serve as a fundraiser to bring back the Police K-9 Program to the City of Batavia Police Department and any donations will go directly for that purpose.

Please come join us for a night of fun and get to know your first responders.

Thanks to the following sponsors for their generous donations to make this event happen:

• Ken Barrett Chevrolet
• Chapin International
• Batavia P.B.A.
• Graham Corp.
• Sheriff's Association
• Target
• Brian Kemp, T-Shirts Etc.
• Batavia Family Dental
• Blondie's Sip-n-Dip
• Human Energies
• CSEA
• Carquest Auto Supply
• WNY Chiefs of Police
• Hillside Children's Center
• Bill's Auto
• Batavia's Original
• Salmon Orthodontics
• City Church
• Southside Deli
• The Radley Family
• O'Lacy's Irish Pub
• The Benedict Family
• Red Osier Landmark Restaurant
• Tompkins Bank of Castile
• T.Y. Lin International
• Kiwanis Club of Batavia
• Artic Refrigeration
• Dunkin' Donuts
• GCASA
• Extended Sound, DJ & Event Rentals
• Toyota of Batavia
• Northside Deli
• Batavia Tailor & Cleaners
• Bohm-Calarco-Smith Funeral Home
• 7-11

The stenographer whose Grand Jury work has been called into question in a few criminal cases in Genesee County testified in open court today in a hearing on motions brought by the attorney for Antwan Odom.

Odom is charged with attempted assault, 1st, and criminal possession of a weapon in a case stemming from an altercation with a high school teammate a year ago yesterday.

Susan Ryckman, who is contracted with the county for Grand Jury transcription through Forbes Court Reporting Service, testified today about the equipment used to make transcriptions of proceedings and how that was tied into an automatic audio recording feature on her transcription device.

In 22 years of transcribing grand jury proceedings neither her employer nor any staff member with the District Attorney's Office ever informed her it was against state law to make an audio recording of a grand jury proceeding, Ryckman testified.

While Ryckman said she started handling grand jury work for the county in 1997, she wasn't asked nor did she say in what year she started using a transcription machine that enabled audio recordings of proceedings.

While motions have been made in other criminal cases, and there has been at least one prior hearing on the topic, and in each case, Judge Charles Zambito denied defense motions related to the audio recordings. Odom's attorney, Frank Housh of Buffalo, elected to require another hearing on the issue.

Housh is seeking disclosure of the grand jury minutes -- typically kept confidential and not disclosed to the defense attorney until the start of a trial -- to see if the audio recording resulted in anything prejudicial against his client. An example might be the stenographer asking somebody to speak up so the audio recorder would pick up the sound of the reporter not asking an inaudible word to be repeated.

If Housh could prove to Zambito that the grand jury proceedings were improperly influenced by the audio recording, then Housh would have a basis for dismissal of the charges against his client.

Zambito indicated he is skeptical that the actual substance of the grand jury testimony was changed because of the audio recording.

On another front, Housh is asking the case against Odom be dismissed because of "prosecutorial misconduct," which he said stemmed from the failure of the DA's office to ensure Ryckman knew she couldn't audio record grand jury proceedings.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman called the accusation "ridiculous."

As for the audio recording material affecting the case, Housh noted that based on Zambito's prior ruling, the burden of proof falls on the defense, which he said he found unusual but that he was in a no-win situation if he couldn't review the transcript to prove there was an issue material to the case.

Zambito said he first had to be convinced that it would be possible there would be something in the transcript revealing the audio recording impacted the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.

Ryckman testified that with her present transcription setup she can record audio in one of two ways -- directly into her transcription machine or onto her laptop computer when it is connected to the machine. She said she doesn't always use her laptop during grand jury proceedings.

The recording is only activated when she touches a key on her transcription machine keypad. When she's not typing, if she pauses for any reason, there is no recording.

The quality of the audio is not good, she said, and doesn't necessarily pick up everything that is said. It can be affected by the position of the speaker, other room noise, or even a piece of paper left sitting on the internal mic of the laptop.

She said she doesn't rely on the audio recording for making the official transcript. She has used it to spot check her notes if she thinks something is unclear but she never listens to the audio recording from beginning to end. Her software allows her to highlight a questionable word or phrase and it will open that section of audio recording for her to check if the recording can help her clarify what was said.

The audio recordings only came up as an issue because Assistant District Attorney Shirley Gorman called Ryckman about a case citation contained in a completed transcript. Ryckman said she checked her notes and her transcript and then mentioned to Gorman that she also checked her audio recording. That was a red flag for Gorman.

And that was the first time Ryckman -- who is also a court reporter in a variety of other kinds of court cases, not just grand juries, throughout Western New York -- learned that she couldn't audio record grand jury proceedings.

Ryckman said she did not retain the recording from the Odom proceeding. She had deleted the recording by the time of Gorman's call per her standard procedure. She said once a transcript is done, she backs up the transcript and her notes to an external hard drive. The software she uses asks her if she would like to save the audio recording as well and she always checks "no" in the box. She then deletes the original files from her laptop.

She said she doesn't save the audio recordings because they are no longer needed once the official transcript is done and they take up too much storage space.

She did have audio recordings for Nov. 7 and Jan. 15 (Odom's hearing was in early December) when Gorman called. She had the Jan. 15 recordings because she hadn't finished the official transcript yet for that proceeding. She had no explanation for why she still had Nov. 7 recordings on her computer at the time of Gorman's call.

"I don't know how I missed the backup for Nov. 7," Ryckman told Housh during cross-examination. "I don't know why for some reason it was still on my computer."

Under questioning from Zambito, Ryckman said there is nothing in the final transcript that would indicate an audio recording had been made during the proceedings.

Earlier she testified that she didn't always use the audio recording feature and that she couldn't remember if she used it specifically during the Odom proceeding, and if she did, if she referred to it at all while preparing the final transcript. And if she did make a recording, she couldn't recall specifically deleting it, but if she did make it she deleted it according to standard procedure.

Zambito said he will make a decision on Housh's motions within a couple of weeks.

Friedman noted that Housh has said he is going to file a motion to make raise the character and background of Ray Leach at trial and that no such motion has been filed. In the interest of judicial expediency, Friedman asked that a deadline be set for the motion.

Housh countered that if judicial expediency was at issue, he should be given access to the grand jury transcript prior to the trial. He argued that if standard procedure is followed and he doesn't receive a copy until the first witness takes the stand, then the trial will need to take a recess while he reads the transcript and reviews it with his client.

Zambito ordered Friedman to turn the transcript over to Housh 30 days before the Sept. 30 trial date.

So, one way or another, Housh will soon get the transcript -- either 30 days before the trial, or sooner, if Zambito rules to his favor on his motion regarding the stenographer issue.

A fight in progress is reported at Dwyer Stadium. Several juveniles are involved. City police are responding.

Check out the new fitness facility in Batavia, join us Saturday, Aug. 10th from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. – featuring raffles, giveaways, demonstrations, sign-up specials, competitions, and meet our staff!

For more information, click here.

Martin D. Moore, Ph.D., Batavia’s city manager, announces his appointment of Rachael Tabelski (inset photo, right) to the position of assistant city manager. Tabelski was selected following an extensive candidate search.

“I believe that Rachael has the unique skills and leadership qualities we need in the City of Batavia to advance our mission and strategic priorities," Moore said.

"She will be responsible for different projects and issue areas in the City including: administrative services; organizational risk management; organizational values; community and neighborhood development; public relations; information technology; and implementation of the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. She will also be assisting with the annual budgeting preparation."

The Director of Economic Development for the Batavia Development Corporation (BDC) for the past year, Rachael Tabelski has held executive government positions in Genesee County since obtaining her master’s degree in Public Administration from SUNY Brockport in 2008.

Her professional roles have included legislative assistant to Assemblyman Steve Hawley, elected councilwoman in the Town of Bergen, director of Marketing & Communications for the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC), as well as her current position with the BDC. 

“Rachael has a thorough knowledge of the principles, methods and techniques used in government, economic development, community development, planning, marketing and communications,” added Moore. “She has experience in municipal budgeting, grants, organizational culture and policy development — all of which will be extremely helpful as we work together to move Batavia forward.”

Tabelski has volunteered for multiple local community boards and various fundraisers over the years including Genesee County Cancer Assistance, Vibrant Batavia, City of Batavia Planning & Development Committee, City of Batavia Comprehensive Plan Committee, the Batavia Business Improvement Business Development Committee and Batavia Kiwanis Club. She is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Genesee. She has received numerous awards for her work at the GCEDC for her efforts in marketing and communication.  

Tabelski lives in the City of Batavia with her husband, Adam, and their two children, Adrian and Anna. When Rachael steps into the role of assistant city manager on Monday, Aug. 12, Adam will step down from his position as an at-large member of City Council.