batavia

The Richmond Memorial Library, at 19 Ross St. in Batavia, will hold its budget vote and Board of Trustees election tomorrow from noon until 9 p.m.

All residents of the Batavia City School District are eligible to vote. Voting will take place in the library's Gallery Room.

The results of the election will be posted tomorrow. Call the library at 343-9550 for more information.

As Victor Thomas, 26, and three of his buddies watched the news of Osama bin Laden's death last night and saw the celebrations in Washington, D.C., and New York, they wanted to be part of something in Batavia.

So they jumped in a car and drove downtown.

"The City of Batavia was dead," Thomas said. "Not one person was out. Nobody was honking horns or celebrating."

So, Thomas, along with his cousin Christopher Thomas, 26, Ordy Edwards, 26, and Jason Armison, 24, decided to drive to the only place open to buy sign materials -- Walmart -- and get a board and some paint and fix up a sign.

They made a red, white and blue sign and painted on it, "Osama Got Obama'd."

He said they then mused for about 20 minutes on where to place the sign. They thought about putting it in front of the courthouse to represent justice, but then they did a little research on Emery Upson and discovered one of his specialities as a general was tactics in invading enemy territory. That made the Upson Monument, they thought, the perfect place to commemorate Osama's sudden demise in a protected compound in Pakistan.

Now they're a little upset that county workers took the sign down -- Christopher Thomas happened to be driving by at the time and retrieved the sign -- and are planning a rally at 4 p.m. in front of the Post Office.

Victor said anybody wanting to show support for freedom of speech or the United States should attend.

Thomas has seen the comments on The Batavian and is surprised that some have taken the sign as a partisan political statement.

"There was no thought about politics," Thomas said. "They both have O's, Osama and Obama. We didn't take it in a political way. He's our president and every soldier fighting is marching to his orders. They (some readers) took it as political and we just were trying to be traditional or patriotic."

He said he was worried the sign would be taken down, but was hoping it would stay up today so people could drive by and honk their horns, "just to give some kind of recognition to what happened on 9/11 and what our troops are doing."

Photo courtesy WBTA.

Timothy V. Meyers, 18, of Walker Road, Darien, along with a 16-year-old from Dodgeson Road, Alexander, a 16-year-old from Centerline Road, Verysburg, and a 16-year-old from Genesee Street, Attica, are charged with petit larceny and criminal trespass. The youths, along with a 14-year-old, were stopped shortly after midnight, Sunday, allegedly removing scrap metal from the Alexander Town Transfer Station. The suspects reportedly fled the scene and were located a short time later with the help of K-9 "Pharoah" and State Troopers.

Brittany Alexis Adams, 20, of Bloomingdale Road, Basom, is charged with petit larceny. Adams is accused of shoplifting $39.84 worth of merchandise from Walmart.

Lynda B. Siplin, 57, of 65 Lakeview Park, Rochester, and Gwendolyn L. Watson, 53, of 91 Reynolds St., Rochester, are each charged with two counts of petit larceny. Siplin and Watson are accused of shoplifting more than $400 worth of merchandise from Aldi's and Dollar General. Siplin and Watson were jailed on $1,000 bail.

A 17-year-old from South Lake Road, Pavilion, is charged with petit larceny. The youth is accused of shoplifting from Walmart.

National Drug Take-Back Day was a success in Batavia, according to Det. Pat Corona.

Corona said Batavia PD collected 320 lbs. of unwanted prescription drugs and hypodermic instruments.

Police detectives will soon travel to Buffalo to deliver the boxes of collected items for proper disposal.

"We were very pleased with the turnout for the detail," Corona said. "We are happy to have been able to offer this service."

Another collection day is anticipated in October.

Some time over night somebody placed a red, white and blue handmade sign in front of the Upton Monument that read "Osama Got Obama'd."

By 9 a.m., the sign was gone.

County Manager Jay Gsell told Dan Fischer at WBTA that county workers removed the sign because the Upton Monument was not the appropriate location to place it.

Photo courtesy WBTA.

City firefighters are being dispatched to South Jackson Street in the area of Garfield Avenue for a report of wires arcing.

All of the photos from this weekend are now available for purchase of prints.  Click here.

The photos include the clean up at Genesee County Park, the tree planting in Austin Park, the track meet at Van Detta Stadium and Saturday at the Carnival.

Again, prints can be purchased by clicking here.

Also, the first weekend in April was also a busy weekend and I never let anybody know the pictures were available for purchase.

That weekend included Eco-Fest, GCC women's softball and men's baseball, the Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner, the fundraiser for Brooklyn Sputore, the Le Roy Fire Department dinner, the Easter Bunny at Oliver's, and I also included the Easter egg hunt at Centennial Park.

To purchase prints of those pictures, click here.

Remember, we offer prices on prints well below the suggested retail price.

The annual Downtown Carnival is taking place on Jackson Street this weekend. It continues this afternoon.

More pictures after the jump:

Student athletes from high schools throughout Western New York converged on Van Detta Stadium late Saturday afternoon for a regional track meet.

Here are a few pictures from the competition.

More pictures after the jump:

The annual St. Joe's Mammoth Sale was apparently another huge success. One person told me people were lining up before 8 a.m. (doors opened at 9 a.m.) and it was wall-to-wall bargain hunters for the first hour or so (crowds had thinned out quite a bit by the time I got there after 2 p.m., but there were still bargains available and plenty of people looking for both the useful and the merely interesting used items.

Winners of the 5th Annual National Poetry Contest -- sponsored by Present Tense Books and Gifts and GoArt! -- were announced Friday. Some of the winners were at Present Tense on Washington Avenue, Batavia, Saturday afternoon to receive their prizes.

Pictured above are Joe Gagne, Abby Sapecky, Faith Finnin (back row), Lindsay Augello, and Chloe Shuskey.

A complete list of winners and their poems are posted on the Present Tense Web site.

Each winner received a gift certificate from Present Tense.

A steady stream of people stopped by Clor's Meat Market this afternoon to buy chicken BBQ dinners from the Batavia Area Jaycees. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the family of Jonathan Colby, who died in an auto accident on West Main Street Road, Batavia, April 20. Colby's wife, Cathy, is a member of the Jaycees.

Earth Day/Arbor Day was celebrated by the city today with a volunteer park clean-up effort and then the planting of a pair of trees in Austin Park.

The Austin Park event included a chance for children to engage in environmentally themed crafts.

Area residents were invited to drive by the Batavia Police headquarters this morning and early afternoon and drop off unwanted prescription drugs and hypodermic needles. The drop off started at 10 a.m. and by noon, detectives had collected four large boxes full of discarded prescription drugs. Above Det. Charles Dudek makes a collection.

Members of the Batavia Downtown Business Improvement District gathered Friday for a luncheon and awards presentation to a few of the people who supported downtown in 2010.

Charles Men's Shop received the “Spirit of Downtown” award. Above Don Brown, left, and Dave Howe, second from left, accept the award from Victor Gautieri, outgoing president of the BID board, and Don Burkel, BID director.

Jeffrey Gillard, who could not be at the luncheon, was honored as BID member Volunteer of the Year.

Krysia Mager and Leanna DiRisio, pictured below, received Community Volunteer awards.

Victor Gautieri, above, finished his term as president and by BID rules must take a break from serving on the board. Paul Marchese, below, finished his term as vice president and is also termed out of the board.  

UPDATE 12:38 p.m.: Due to illness, the Benny Baker comedy performance that was scheduled tonight at the Batavia Party House has been cancelled. Tickets will be refunded.

Like Johnny Cash's boy named Sue, Benny Baker's fate was determined when he was just a lad.

"I was ugly and my name was Benny Bobby Baker," he says. "I had to be either funny or tough."

Forty-something years later, it's obvious which path he chose.  The semi-retired comedian has been in the funny business for 25 years and has made quite a name for himself, having toured internationally and in 49 states, including a 3-year stint with Carrot Top. Apart from performing his own critically-acclaimed Las Vegas act, "Hellbent 4 Humor," Baker has also appeared on and written for TV and films and co-hosted a morning radio show in San Diego. This Saturday night, he will be returning to Batavia to perform one show.

"It's edgy, critical, and just more common sense," he says of his act. "I don't believe that kinder and gentler is always the answer. If you're tired of society being molded to satisfy the few square pegs that don't want to go into round holes while all the other round pegs suffer, then you'll like my show."

No topic is safe from this "common sense" with his routine touching on a wide range of subjects, from the Octo-Mom to his own family.

"After a while you develop a perception of life that you just can't take it too seriously," Baker says. "I guess I would say that your mind does immediately evaluate the humor in every situation no matter how tragic."

And what kind of humor does he find in his native Western New York?

"I grew up in this area as a kid," he explains. "It has its humor because it really still is small-town, and there are a lot of things that really are funny about being from a small town.  It does have that family elemnt that you don't find in other places. It has that blue-collar, small-town family charm in it, but there is always humor in that."

Although Baker was born in Batavia and attended Greece Arcadia High School, he moved to Florida soon after his graduation. 

"I had a job on the muck when I was a teenager," he explains. "I didn't really see any future in rotating crops, so I left."

Baker has recently taken up residence in Orleans County. Much of his family still lives in the area, and will be there supporting him at Saturday's show.

"I don't mind performing in front of family members," he says. "They enjoy it because I do talk about my family - the struggles, my brother being a big hunter, things like that.  It gives them a kick to be brought into the show and makes them laugh because a lot of it's true."

The act can be enjoyed by audience members of any age--Baker gives the example of an elderly couple who came to his show and needed an extra oxygen tank brought in because they were laughing so hard--but parents should know that the material is what could be described as "R-rated":

"I'd say the cutoff is 18, maybe 16 if you're sharp.  If you're 16 and walking around with your pants around your ankles and smoking 20 blunts a day, you're not going to like it or get the jokes. But if you're 16 and with it and carry a C average in high school, you'll be fine."

The show will be tonight at the Batavia Party House. Dinner starts at 6 pm and the show begins at 8 pm. Tickets for the prime rib buffet and show are $40 per person at the door. Show only tickets are $15 at the door.

Three people indicted in Federal Court today on racketeering charges have Genesee County ties.

All three are said to be associated with the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in Rochester.

James Henry McAuley Jr. (aka "Mitch"), 62, is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity.

Indicted as co-conspirators after the fact were Richard E. Riedman (aka "Eric"), 37, and Timothy M. Stone, 31, who were previously arrested in Corfu in June 2009 for allegedly stealing scrap metal.

McAuley, described by Federal authorities as vice president of the Rochester Hells Angels, is married to Donna L. Boon (aka Donna L. McAuley). Boon, 45, was arrested at her Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road residence on July 9, 2010, in connection with an alleged methamphetamine ring headed by Donald G. Vanelli, 48, of 8394 Lake St., Le Roy.

Vanelli, who was said to be president of the Road Agents Motorcycle Club at the time, entered a guilty plea in Federal Court in January to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Boon faces federal charges related to conspiracy with intent to distribute narcotics. Her case is still pending.

The case against Riedman and Stone is still pending.

McAuley, Riedman and Stone were indicated along with Robert W. Moran Jr. (aka "Bugsy"), 59, and Gina Tata, 47.

According to the indictment, McAuley, Moran and Tata beat up a patron of an unidentified restaurant on May 31, 2006. Tata allegedly told Moran that the patron threatened the motorcycle club. Moran allegedly struck the head and body of the patron repeatedly with a baseball bat. 

Tata, Riedman and Stone allegedly conspired to help Moran and McAuley avoid apprehension.

A press release from the office of William H. Hochul, U.S. Attorney for Western New York, describes the Hells Angels as a criminal organization whose members function as a continuing unit for the common purpose of facilitating criminal activity, including acts involving narcotics trafficking and murder."

It also says, "Members of the Rochester Hells Angels claim to control certain territory up to Syracuse, and allegedly use violence for a number of illicit purposes, including those who did not show proper respect to the organization."

The indictment alleges that all defendants acted with the specific purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions in the Hells Angels. 

"The country’s federal racketeering statutes were specifically designed to help combat acts of violence committed by members of a criminal organization," Hochul said in a statement. "This office stands ready to utilize these statutes – and aid our local law enforcement partners - whenever circumstances warrant."   

McAuley is currently locked up in the Elkton Federal Corrections Facility in Elkton, Ohio.

He was sentenced in April 2008 to eight years for participating in a conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering. 

McAuley conspired to murder members of the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club in Fulton, N.Y., because the Kingsmen, who were affiliated with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, were establishing a chapter in the Hells Angels territory.

According to public records, McAuley has lived in Rochester, Spencerport, Brockport and Fairport. There is no record of his having lived in Genesee County.