A bit of rain didn't dampen spirits in Bergen this morning where officials dedicated a new "life trail" system in Hickory Park.

The system, made up of seven, three-sided stations with a series of exercises people can perform, is designed to give seniors in particular a chance to be active and improve their physical health.

It was funded by a $50,000 state grant, secured with the help of Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer, Assemblyman Steve Hawley and County Legislator Bob Bausch.

"We have put in place a parks master plan with a focus on fitness and wellness," said Mayor Anna Marie Barclay. "In particular, we want to give opportunities to seniors, which is our fastest growing population, an opportunity, because there are not as many opportunities for seniors as there are for other age groups. We want to encourage our seniors to come out, and not just our seniors. We invite seniors from all of the surrounding communities to come out to our park."

Ranzenhofer said he was proud to have helped bring about the project.

"I'm very excited to be here," Ranzenhofer said. "The comment about the weather, we were talking before about it being a rainy day, but it really is shining today, even though you may not see the sun. On a project like this, with your hard work, collectively, we were able to do a very good thing for the village residents, and thanks for including me."

On a unanimous vote Tuesday night, the Batavia City Council agreed to move ahead with the formation of a citizen task force to study the future of the headquarters for the Batavia Police Department.

The task force will be asked to look at options that include building a new station at one of five  different locations or remodeling the existing headquarters, which is currently in the former Brisbane Mansion on West Main Street.

The commission will be comprised of one appointee from each of the city council wards, one business owner within the Business Improvement District, one business owner outside the BID and one city resident with a financial background, for a total of nine members.

Police Chief Shawn Heubusch will be a non-voting member and attend meetings to provide feedback and guidance on local law enforcement needs and limitations related to a police station.

Interested residents can apply through the city's Web site or the city clerk's office. Council members representing wards will receive copies of the applications from residents within their wards and can provide feedback and recommendations on the candidates. The final selection will be up to council members Patti Pacino, John Deleo and Kathy Briggs.

The BID member will be selected by the director of the district, and the non-bid member will be selected by the Chamber of Commerce president.

The appointments are expected to be final by the council's November meeting.

On Tuesday, the council also approved, on a 6-3 vote, the expenditure of $100,000 for a consultant to update the city's master plan.

A master plan is a community's primary development document and sets both strategy and guidelines for growth. The city last updated its master plan in 1996.

Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian expressed concern that not all of the items in the 1996 plan were completed and that this isn't a good economic time to spend money.

"People are moving out of our community," she said. "We need to be careful what we're spending our money on."

Joining Christian in voting no were Kathy Briggs and John Deleo.

Workers found a few surprises when they started work on restoration of the Old Courthouse roof and cupola.

The copper cupola was pockmarked from gunshots, probably bullets from a .22 rifle, and beams that supported the cupola were far more rotted than anybody anticipated.

It's probable there is a bit of a connection between the two sets of unanticipated damage. County Manager Jay Gsell suggested that at least more than 20 years ago, somebody thought he could solve the pigeon problem on the roof with a rifle. That didn't work, of course, and the pigeons kept coming back and coming back and coming back, and their nesting in and around the cupola caused the rotting beams.

Repairs to this damage caused a $30,000 cost overrun for the restoration project, which was originally budgeted for $180,000.

The Public Service Committee approved a recommended budget amendment yesterday to cover the cost of the overrun.

Photos courtesy Tim Hens, county highway superintendent.

A worker fills bullet holes with copper welds.

The view down West Main from atop the Old Courthouse.

Jeremy S. Yantz, 34, of South Gravel Road, Medina, is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd. Yantz is accused of selling cocaine to an undercover agent with the Local Drug Task Force sometime during the past 18 months. Yantz was arrested while in custody at the Orleans County Jail. He was arraigned in Elba Town Court and jailed on $3,000 bail. Yantz was arrested April 1 on a warrant out of Orleans County and he was also allegedly found in possession of an amphetamine and a central nervous system depressant. He was charged today with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, as a result.

Cheryl A. Smith, 47, of Pratt Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, criminal sale of a controlled substance, 5th, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th. Members of the Local Drug Task Force report that on Monday, agents intercepted a drug-sale transaction involving multiple types of prescription pills in multiple quantities in the parking lot of a business on Lewiston Road. It's alleged that Smith was making the sale. The pills and an amount of cash were recovered at the scene. Smith was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Robert A. Morrison, 57, of Watson Street, Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, criminal sale of a controlled substance, 5th, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Morrison is accused of selling heroin and flurazepam to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force within the past six months. When task force members went to his residence with parole officers to arrest him on a warrant, he was allegedly found in possession of cocaine. Morrison was held in jail without bail on an alleged parole violation.

The county's Public Service Committee recommended approval Tuesday of four construction contracts for a new airport terminal with an expected expenditure of $5.1 million.

That's about $800,000 less than Highway Superintendent Tim Hens originally estimated for the job.

State and federal grants will pay for about 20 percent of the terminal and the county will bond the remaining $4 million.

Once approved by the full Legislature, contracts will be awarded to: Building Innovation Group, of East Rochester, a general contractor, for $3.3 million; Hewitt Young Electric, of Rochester, for $600,000; Nairy Mechanical, of Union Hill, for $550,000; and HMI Mechanical Systems, of Lyons, for $660,000.

C&S Engineers, of Syracuse, is also receiving up to nearly $400,000 for engineering work on the project.

In all, 31 bids were received on the four different construction contracts -- general contractor, HAVC, electrical and plumbing. Hens said the recommended companies all met the lowest, responsible bidder criteria for bid specification.

Hens showed up the plans for the new terminal to legislators and reiterated that the project is necessary both because of the poor condition of the current terminal and its proximity to the airport's runway.

Repairing the building would cost more than $500,000 and Hens said, "even if we wanted to spend the money, I'm not sure the FAA would let us."

The current terminal violates current FAA regulations for being a fixed object within 200 feet of the runway and is not even within the bounds for allowable moveable objects.

While allowing that an accident is unlikely, it wouldn't be good for the county if there is one, Hens said.

"You could have a plane veer off runway and hit one of our buildings and there could be potentially be liability involved," Hens said.

The new building will have modern amenities, an attractive design and be more comfortable for pilots with layovers in Batavia, but it won't be extravagant.

"There's nothing super fancy in the new facility," Hens said. "Everything is meant to be very low maintenance and practical.

While as a matter of energy efficiency, the building would qualify for LEED certification (and be the first such building owned by the county), Hens said he has no intention of applying for certification.

"I don't feel it's worth spending $25,000 or $30,000 just to have a plaque to hang the wall," Hens said.

The new terminal will only be about 1,000 square feet larger than the current terminal, which was built in 1964, but will use space more efficiently, Hens said.

Hens said about three or four corporate jets fly into the Genesee County Airport every week. Some of those jets bring executives from businesses already located in the area, but some of them are bringing site selectors and executives looking for new business locations. That makes the airport terminal a pretty important facility for the county.

"Our airport is a first impression for a lot of folks," Hens said. "The first impression on people who are going to have a big impact on the long-term future of our county."

Press release:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed legislation making yogurt the official snack of New York, in advance of the second New York State Yogurt Summit being held today. The Summit will bring together industry experts to discuss how to further grow the yogurt business and continue creating new jobs. The Empire State is the top producer of yogurt in the nation, generating 741 million pounds of yogurt in 2013 alone.

"This designation is a fitting recognition of the importance of this state’s yogurt industry, which has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, making New York the top yogurt producer in the nation,” Governor Cuomo said. “We will continue to work with New York producers and dairy farmers to build upon this progress and further strengthen this critically important industry.”

The tremendous boon in Greek-style yogurt has been the catalyst for the dairy industry's revitalization in New York. The State produced 741 million pounds of yogurt in 2013, up from 695 million pounds in 2012, accounting for 15.7 percent of the total U.S. yogurt production. Additionally, dairy manufacturers in New York employed an estimated 9,478 people with total wages of $513 million in 2013, an increase from 7,749 jobs and $401 million in wages in 2010.

Designating yogurt as the official state snack will continue to raise public awareness of the economic and health benefits of yogurt and the dairy industry. The Yogurt Summit convened in 2012 resulted in a number of initiatives to eliminate barriers to business growth and help manufacturers continue to grow.

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer said, “Yogurt is now the official snack of New York State, and the fourth-graders at Byron-Bergen Elementary School deserve all of the credit. From initially suggesting the idea to traveling to the State Capitol earlier this year, these students deserve high marks for their efforts to get this legislation signed into law. I am pleased that the Governor has signed my bill into law.”

The Harlem Wizards, a traveling basketball team that entertains through trick shots and comedy routines, visited Elba on Tuesday for a charity game against the Sherwood Shooters, a team comprised of community members, including teachers, administrators, pastors, doctors, coaches and family members.

The event was hosted by Batavia Assembly of God Church. Proceeds benefited the church's building fund and the Stan Sherwood Memorial Scholarship.

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Alpina Foods today informed 32 employees that their services will no longer be needed.

Each employee received a letter that blamed the layoffs on the cancellation of a contract by a "principle customer" on Oct. 10.

The letter informs employees they are being terminated effective Oct. 19 and tells them they will receive all earned wages and benefits and will be eligible through the Department of Labor for benefits, job training and job search assistance.

The Batavian received a copy of the termination letter from a source and requested confirmation of the layoffs from Alpina.

The following response was attributed to Gustavo Badino, U.S. general manager for Alpina Foods:

Alpina Foods confirms that the company will be reducing the workforce at its Western New York yogurt plant in October, in response to the early termination of one of our principle contracts.

Alpina Foods remains committed to Batavia and Western New York and views this current workforce reduction as a temporary but necessary approach to address mediate business challenges facing the company in the short term.

It's been less than 10 days since new protocols related to Ebola were put in place at United Memorial Medical Center, but emergency room staff have already passed one key preparedness test.

In an unannounced drill, a man showed up claiming a fever and suffering from weakness and a headache, a staff member asked a newly implemented set of questions that included whether he had traveled recently from Western Africa.

He uttered, "yes," and within 60 seconds he was in an infectious disease isolation room.

"I was very encouraged by the outcome," said Dan Ireland, president of UMMC. "Any time we do an exercise, do a drill, we like to hear the positive feedback that things are working as they should be."

Following CDC guidelines, UMMC, the whole county's health and emergency response leadership, really, have been implementing Ebola protocols, even if it seems like a far-off, distant problem that may never reach Genesee County.

"We do a lot of things based on a long shot," Ireland said. "We prepare for the rare circumstances because those are the ones that can be really significant. Hopefully, it never happens, but we want to be prepared. I was here during the SARS era. We never had a SARS case in this facility, even while it was in Toronto, but we were ready. We have to be ready for those things or you're not doing the public the service that they need."

Ebola is a virus transmitted among mammals through contact with bodily fluid. Symptoms start with fever, sore throat, muscle pain and headaches, much like the flu. Death occurs in about 50 percent of the patients who contract it.  

The first known outbreak was in 1976 in South Sudan and there have been periodic outbreaks since. The latest outbreak started in March and currently about 10,000 people are believed to have the disease. But some scientists believe exponential growth (the number of people with the disease during an outbreak doubles about every 20 days) could mean as many as 500,000 in West Africa could be ill from Ebola (perhaps more than a million, if there is under reporting).

There is currently no Ebola-specific treatment or vaccine, though scientists are fast-tracking research.  

That's way isolation and quarantine are essential to controlling the disease.

Ireland said hospital officials are continuously communicating with staff about Ebola and CDC-recommended protocols.

It's a rapidly evolving situation, Ireland said, and directives and procedures sometimes change with little notice.

For example, today's identification protocol involves questions about travel. If the outbreak grows, that protocol could change.

"It could be very different story for you tomorrow," Ireland said. "That's health care and that's medicine. As new information comes out, health care evolves."

To help with the communication process, so essential to control of the disease should it ever reach Genesee County, the hospital hosted a meeting today of officials from UMMC, Genesee County Emergency Services and the County Health Department.

The word on how to deal with Ebola needs to get out to doctors and nurses throughout the local health community, including health workers at clinics and on ambulances, both paid and volunteer, as well as local law enforcement and fire chiefs.

Anybody who might come into first contact with an Ebola patient needs to know how to respond to the situation, since isolation and quarantine are so critical its control.

Tim Yaeger, emergency management coordinator for the county, said communication is already starting with the agencies his department deals with, and Ebola will be on the agenda of upcoming fire chief and fire service meetings.

"Our job is to maintain awareness and communication," Yaeger said. "We discuss it with our 9-1-1 center, emergency responders and law enforcement officers need to be aware and not make assumptions about how to protect themselves from people who might be infected. The common theme every day is that we're getting new information regarding Ebola and we need to coordinate that with emergency responders."

The county health department hasn't fielded any calls from concerned citizens about Ebola (there's been more calls about enterovirus, which has been reported in Rochester and Buffalo, but not Genesee County), but that doesn't mean county health officials aren't staying on top of the latest information, said Director Paul Pettit. 

The first person to contract Ebola in the U.S. is a Dallas nurse. She appears have been infected while treating a Dallas resident who contracted the disease in Africa.

Another health care worker in Spain contracted the disease after caring for a patient in that country.

In the case in Spain, it's been determined that the health care worker likely did not follow proper protocol for removing protective gear.

It's still speculation, but that may also have been the situation in Dallas.

Typically, health care workers are covered from head to toe in protective garb while interacting with Ebola patients (only those who have actually become sick can transmit the disease).  

The probable cause of health care workers in Spain and Dallas getting sick certainly has local nurses paying close attention to the proper procedures, said Mary Beth Bowen, vice president of nursing for UMMC.

There's even a place for chocolate syrup in the training.  

You see, if there's chocolate syrup on your protective gear and then you take it off and find chocolate syrup on your skin, you've done something wrong.

One reason Ireland wanted to talk about this issue, and bring these local experts together, is that he doesn't want anybody in the community to panic about Ebola.

He's concerned there's a lot of hysteria and misinformation in the media about the disease, and if panic sets in, it may lead to somebody avoiding medical treatment for other conditions, a decision that could be even more dangerous.   

If people understand more about the disease and what the hospital is doing to minimize any risk of transmission, he hopes it will eliminate any such panic in the community.

"We want to avoid any misinformation in the community," Ireland said. "We are doing everything by what the CDC advises."

Photo: Gathered at an office in UMMC to discuss Ebola are Tim Yaeger and Jim Bouton, Office of Emergency Management, Mary Beth Bown, VP of nursing, Paul Pettit, county director of health, and Dan Ireland, president of UMMC.

On the Web:

• The CDC's Ebola Web site.
• Genesee County Health Department
• Emergency Management Services
• UMMC

Christine M. Wyder, 47, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Employees of 7-Eleven, 505 E. Main St., Batavia, allege that Wyder stole a coffee mug and coffee. They also claim she ordered a slice of pizza and taquitos and then was unable to pay for the food items and told staff to call police. Wyder then allegedly refused to pay for the coffee and left the store, leaving her shoes behind.

Daniel T. Gannon, 53, of Liberty Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear in City Court. He posted $60 cash bail and was released.

Ballard Polk Maye, 28, of East Main Street, Batavia, was arrested on warrants for alleged failure to appear on a ticket for aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, and overnight parking in the city. Maye was observed by officer James DeFreze exiting his residence and getting in a vehicle and leaving. The vehicle was stopped and Maye was arrested without incident. He was released on $500 bail on the AUO, 3rd, charge and $100 on the parking ticket.

William J. Mellema, 50, of Almay Road, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, aggravated unlicensed operation, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and speeding (70 in a 55 mph zone). Mellema was stopped at 3:36 p.m. Saturday on Route 98, Elba, by deputy Joseph Loftus.

Cory B. Buckenmeyer, 24, of Alexander, is charged with falsely reporting an incident, 3rd. Buckenmeyer was arrested by State Police. No further details released.

Joseph R. Myers, 25, of Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Myers is accused of stealing from a location on Veterans Memorial Drive.

Coretta M. Pitts, 46, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17 years old. Pitts was arrested by State Police related to an incident reported at 10:55 a.m. Saturday on West Main Street, Batavia. No further details released.

Press release:

A water valve will be replaced on Elm Street Wednesday, Oct. 15. This requires an interruption of water service while the work is completed. It is expected that water service will be shut off in the late morning and it will remain off for a few hours so the valve can be replaced.

The work may result in a temporary discoloration of water and low or no water pressure, in the surrounding area as well, until the work us completed.

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A two-car accident is reported at State Street and Hutchins Place, Batavia.

There are no injuries, but extrication is needed.

City fire responding.

It's been nearly two years since Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., closed, and the building and restaurant have been for sale that entire time.

Fans of the restaurant have held out hope that Bill and Patti Cultrara would reopen the popular restaurant, an auction sign now in front the the building is a pretty strong indication that's not going to happen.

Eric James Flowers, 27, of Seven Springs Road, Batavia, is charged with aggrevated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, 2nd, reckless driving, trespass, speeding in a 55 MPH zone, trespass, and moving from lane unsafely. On Oct. 12 at about 5:50 p.m., Flowers was allegedly observed driving a white pickup truck at a high rate of speed. He allegedly changed lanes unsafely and turned into a residence on Judge Road in Alabama, almost striking a child in the driveway. He then allegedly jumped out of the truck and ran into a field behind the residence, hiding there until being located by the resident. Next, he allegedly ran further into the field before being taken into custody by Sheriff's deputies and booked on the listed charges. The incident was investigated by deputy Joseph Loftus.

Richard D. Ryan, 38, of Lehigh Avenue, Batavia, is charged with attempted petit larceny, trespass, and unlawful possession of marijuana. He was arrested after allegedly being caught going through a tool box in the bed of a pickup truck in a driveway on Ellicott Street. Subsequently, he was allegedly found in possession of marijuana. He was jailed in lieu of $500 bail. The incident was investigated by officer James DeFreze, assisted by officer Nedim Catovic.

Morgan L. Cox Jr., 22, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with menacing, 2nd, and first-degree coercion. He was arrested following an incident where he allegedly threatened someone with a knife. He was jailed in lieu of $2,500 bail.

Russell R. Miles, 46, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st. He was arrested on Oct. 10 after allegedly arriving at the residence of a person protected by a temporary stay away order issued the same day. The court order set specific times for him, with a police escort, to retrieve his property. He was allegedly at the residence after the court-ordered times and without a police escort in violation of the court order. Thus he was arrested and jailed without bail. The incident was investigated by officer Jamie Givens, assisted by officer James DeFreze.

Alicia May Lyons, 34, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with trespass. She was arrested Saturday afternoon on Bank Street after allegedly being told repeatedly to leave the property, leaving, then returning. She is to appear in court on Oct. 28. The incident was investigated by officer Nedim Catovic.

John Bruce Pritchard, 36, of South Main Street, Warsaw, is charged with petit larceny. He was allegedly observed stealing merchandise valued at $84.68 from Walmart on Oct. 12. He was issued at appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in Batavia Town Court at a later date. The incident was investigated by Sheriff's deputy Chad Minuto.

Rebecca E. Mulholland, 23, of Lake Street, Le Roy, was arrested Oct. 1 on a bench warrant in Le Roy and transported to Batavia PD headquarters. A judge then released her on her own recognizance pending her next court appearance. The incident was investigated by officer Peter Flanagan.

As a young man, Tim Hayes had every intention of being a firefighter. Born and raised in Chili, he got an associates degree in fire protection technology, but then found paid firefighting jobs were few and far between, so just for the heck of it he took the police exam.

And passed.

That opened the door to a 30-year career in law enforcement, most of it spent with Le Roy PD.

This month, Hayes closes the curtain on that career and becomes a school bus driver.

Hayes said the recent death of Deputy Frank Bordonaro caused him to reflect on the length of his career and the fact that sticking around longer wouldn't do much to increase his pension.

Law enforcement, he said, isn't very conducive to family life, especially as a sergeant and second in command.

"You can never get away," he said. "Your phone rings at night, it rings on weekends, it rings while you're on vacation. There's good benefits. It pays well. I've met a lot of interesting people, and I've had a chance sometimes to have an impact on people's lives, but it's not a family friendly schedule."

Hayes is married to Trish and they have two adult sons -- Eric, 21, a corrections officer at the jail, and Dan, 19, who is studying to be an astrophysicist.

The most memorable part of his career, Hayes said, accounts for only about 1/30th of it -- the year he spent working undercover for the Local Drug Task Force.

"You get a chance to see things you never see in uniform," he said. "I can remember being in houses for undercover buys and the kids were right there and mom and dad were puffing a crack pipe. They would sell their soul if it was another $20 for the next rock they were going to buy.

"You see what people will do to score that next hit and it makes you wonder if there isn't a better answer, because it ensnares them and they can't get out," Hayes added.

Working undercover also changed the way he dealt with people, Hayes said. As an undercover agent, he grew his hair out into a ponytail and had a Fu Manchu moustache. He looked bad. He looked mean. Even if he was the same nice guy he's always been. People would cross the street to avoid crossing his path.

"My son was sick and in the hospital and I came to find out that they were going to have security come and check me out when I went in to visit him," Hayes recalled.

It's an old lesson, but one Hayes said stuck with him. You can't judge a book by its cover.

"That's what I tried to take forward," Hayes said. "I really didn't care what you looked like, I could still treat you politely and professionally until you give me a reason not to, and then I would do what I needed to do. Just because somebody looks a certain way, you have no idea what's on the inside."

The full lineup of award winners on Saturday, includes, from left: Michael Bonafede, of Albion, for his role as a musician and his work in planning many community events; Kim Buczek (Linda Blanchet Award) for earning doctorate in music arts and performing in the Cincinnati area; Jim Hancock, of Medina, for his volunteer work with many community causes and events; Albion native Lance Anderson, president of the Lake Plains Players – a community theater group; Cassandra Prong (daughter of honoree Bill Hayes – honored for his years of support for GO ART!); Vincent Pastore, a lifelong Batavian and accomplished musician; and Leslie DeLooze, accepting on behalf of the Richmond Memorial Library, which offers many arts and cultural programs throughout the year.

Photo and caption courtesy Tom Rivers, Orleans Hub.

Daybreak along the power lines

A view from Molasses Hill Road

A chipmunk enjoys some sweet corn from our autumn decor

A gray squirrel has similar taste - except he'd prefer to eat alone.

A wagonload of pumpkins on the side of the road

This maple was so resplendant and riveting I failed to notice the cattle beneath it.

Cornstalk tassles silhouetted at dawn