news

A field of straw is on fire in the area off Richley Road, between Ridge and Simonds roads. A tractor near a barn is also on fire now; "it has been separated from the power unit." Darien Fire Department is responding. About one acre is in flames.

UPDATE 4:24 p.m.: Corfu is called to assist. UTV units will be deployed. Four separate fires in the vicinity are spotted.

UPDATE 4:26 p.m.: "Multiple grass and equipment fire reported." Alexander and East Pembroke UTVs requested to the scene. Hale bales are burning, too.

(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 crowning of the Onion Queen returns in Elba tomorrow!

Saturday, July 14, is Pig Roast and Parade Day in Elba.

All are welcome for the Elba Betterment Committee's annual Pig Roast and the return of the Elba Firemen's Onion Queen Parade.

The fun starts at noon with a Kiddie Parade into the Village Park.

Food, bounce houses, live music, vendors, crafts, Mr. Scribbles and more!

The big parade, featuring the contestants vying for Onion Queen, starts at 4 o'clock, followed by the crowning of the Onion Queen. Fun continues at the park until 7 p.m.

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.

Public Notice -- July 13

Notice is hereby given that there has been introduced before the Legislature of the County of Genesee, a Local Law Introductory No. Four Year 2018 entitled:

"A local law amending Local Law No. One of the Year 1967 in relation to increasing and staggering the terms of office of the members of the Genesee County Legistature."

The Genesee County Legislature will conduct a Public Hearing on the proposed local law at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 8, in the Old Courthouse, 7 Main St., Batavia.

All interested persons will be heard.

Pamela LeGrou

Clerk, Genesee County Legislature

A mulch fire is reported at Kohl's Department Store, 4170 Veterans Memorial Drive. Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 2 p.m.: A firefighter at the scene says it's a small fire that he will be put out with his water can. No exposures. All equipment to be held in quarters.

UPDATE 2:46 p.m.: The mulch fire has reignited. Town of Batavia Fire Department is called back to Kohl's to squelch it.

A caller to dispatch reports a newer model Ford Mustang in the parking lot at 4300 Veterans Memorial Drive just rolled into a pickup truck and "there's nobody around."

A Sheriff's deputy is responding.

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.

Press release:

Batavia’s premier consumer-run human service and advocacy agency for people with disabilities, Independent Living of the Genesee Region (ILGR) will hold an ADA Picnic to celebrate the 28^th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Open to the general public, and offering FREE food, fun, and games, the event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 26, at Kiwanis Park, 3808 W. Main Street Road, Batavia.

Contributing to the fun will be the University Heights Art Association (UHAA), which regularly partners with ILGR on the ARTiculations Ability Exhibition in the Independent Living reception area. Artists with disabilities are given the opportunity to display and sell their artwork at the Center. UHAA will bring projects and materials that will enable picnickers to creatively celebrate the birthday of the ADA.

To ensure that we have enough food and materials for the fun, if you plan to attend, please R.S.V.P. to Donna Becker at (585) 815-8501, ext. 411.

At the time the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990, a patchwork of laws existed to protect the civil rights of citizens with disabilities only in certain situations, such as access to airports, fairness in housing, and non-discrimination by federally funded institutions.

The ADA broadly bars disability-based discrimination in employment, telecommunications, by state and local governments, in places of public accommodation such as stores, restaurants, banks, theaters, hotels, and stadia, among other protections.

This has made it the single most important body of law for a particular population, the disability community, since the protections for racial and ethnic minorities and women of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which inspired some of the ADA’s provisions.

We look forward to having you celebrate with us, but please remember to R.S.V.P.!

Press release:

New York gubernatorial candidate Larry Sharpe (L), will meet with citizens of Batavia to share a Sunday afternoon of music and fun on July 22.

Joining Larry will be Lieutenant Governor Candidate Andrew Hollister and Mark Glogowski, who is running for the 139^th District NY Assembly seat. Music will be provided by the Old Hippies.

The event, hosted by the Genesee County Libertarian Party will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at T. F. Brown's (214 E. Main St., Batavia). Tickets are $20 and include a buffet lunch to be served at 2 o'clock.

Proceeds from ticket sales benefit the Sharpe campaign. Music will begin at 1 p.m. and continue until 2:30, at which point the candidates will make their remarks and answer questions. 

The event will also include a basket raffle and silent auction for the benefit of the Genesee County Libertarian Party. Results will be announced at 3:50 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online here: 

For more information regarding this event or to purchase tickets directly, please contact Deborah Kerr-Rosenbeck as 585-356-1712.

Larry Sharpe (L) is a Bronx native, a Marine Corps veteran, an entrepreneur, and a management consultant with 15 years of experience mentoring international executives, entrepreneurs and sales people.

He is also a teacher, previously serving as a guest instructor for business management and leadership at institutions such as Yale University, Columbia University, Baruch College and John Jay College.

He is running for Governor of New York in order to make education more effective through innovation, reform the criminal justice system to focus on rehabilitation, and build an economy that works for all of New York State.

To schedule Larry for an interview, contact Lauren McKinnon at (347) 916-7732, or lauren.mckinnon@larrysharpe.com.

For more information about Larry Sharpe’s plan for New York, visit http://www.larrysharpe.com/.

Press release:

Girl Scouts of Western New York will recognize eight honorees at the 2018 Women of Distinction Dinner & Awards Ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 5:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Buffalo.

The public is invited to attend this top women’s event of the year. (To purchase tickets, click here.)

The 2018 Women of Distinction are:

• Lindsay Cray: Co-Founder & Executive Director, Earthworks, Inc. (Monroe County)
• Roseanne Frandina: President of Frandina Engineering and Land Surveying (Erie County)
• Althea E. Luehrsen: CEO, Leadership Buffalo, Inc. (Erie County)
• PattiAnn Pacino: Batavia City Council Member, Second Ward (Genesee County)
• Venus Quates: Founder and CEO, launchTECH (Erie County)
• Dr. Dilara Samadi: OB/GYN, Buffalo Medical Group (Erie County)
• Honorable Joanne Winslow: Associate Justice of the New York State Supreme Court (Monroe County)
• Betsy Wright: President, UPMC Chautauqua WCA Hospital (Chautauqua County)

The honorees were nominated by members of the community because of their demonstrated leadership in their careers and in their communities through public service. These women are considered role models for all girls, and in accepting this award, they commit to mentoring the young women involved with the Women of Distinction event.

This program is part of the nationwide Girl Scouts of the USA program and is designed to recognize the achievements of women, provide mentoring opportunities for older Girl Scouts and fund local Girl Scout educational opportunities and programs for girls 5 to 17 years of age.

“Our outstanding 2018 Women of Distinction honorees have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and are both personally and professionally committed to making our world a better place,” said Judith A. Cranston, CEO of Girl Scouts of Western New York. Each of the 2018 honorees exemplify what it means to be aG.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ and are an inspiration to the next generation of female leaders.”

This event is open to the community. Tickets and sponsorship information can be found at gswny.org. Proceeds from this event benefit programming for girls throughout Western New York.

About Girl Scouts of Western New York

Girl Scouts of Western New York (GSWNY) serves nearly 15,000 girls and 7,000 adult volunteers across the GSWNY jurisdiction, including Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties. The council’s administrative service centers are located in Batavia, Buffalo, Jamestown, Lockport, Niagara Falls and Rochester.

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. Through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, girls discover their personal best and prepare for a positive future, connect with others in an increasingly diverse world and take action to solve problems and improve their communities.

A Le Roy native will be attending his 65th class reunion today and debuting his newest book at the O-at-ka Festival.

Bill Brown worked on a secret project, now declassified, for a nuclear-powered bomber which could fly continuously for 30 days. His book, “The Atom Plane and the Young Lieutenant” is a true story of Huron’s United States Air Force military service at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.

Brown was privileged to play an engineering role in the testing of critical components of the General Electric X-211 nuclear turbojet.

Very little is known today about the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion project, which spanned 10 years and the expenditure of $1 billion, Brown said. This was a highly advanced technology program conducted during the 1950s Cold War to provide a continuous 30-day flying bomber ready to respond to any attack on the United States, he said.

Although the nuclear-powered bomber never became an operational weapon system, the technology advancement was a major contribution to the nation’s military and civilian air and space programs, Brown added.

The author complements the story with several interesting experiences at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, including aircraft and security incidents, along with a flying saucer investigation.

“These were indeed adventurous years exploring the challenge of the unknown,” Brown said.

Brown will donate proceeds from his book sales at the O-at-ka Fest to the Le Roy Historical Society. The book will be for sale in the Le Roy Historical Society’s booth and at Amazon.com.

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.