The way Hiram Kasten and Lucine Kauffman see it, Genesee County is a great place to live.

It's beautiful, there's a lot going on, and you'll meet some of the nicest and most interesting people if you just get out on the town a bit.

It's these qualities that they want to highlight in their new weekly, one-hour radio show on WBTA, which debuts Oct. 1.

"Talk of the Town" will feature talk about what's going on and some of the region's interesting people.

It's a cultural show -- arts and entertainment -- but it's more than that.

"There's a national trend toward localism," Kauffman said. "It's not just shopping local. It's living local. We want to capture that idea."

Kasten and Kauffman like interesting people, but they are, of course, interesting people themselves.

Kasten has been a professional entertainer for decades with a long resume in New York and Hollywood that included recurring roles on "Seinfeld" (Hiram and Jerry came up through the New York comedy club circuit together) and "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Diana Kisiel Kasten, Hiram’s wife, is from Batavia and operates Pinnacle Manufacturing on Harvester Avenue. She convinced Hiram to move here a year ago. The couple has a grown daughter who attends Cornell University.

Kauffman is the former town supervisor for Elba and has been active in local theater for years. She grew up in Southern California and graduated from USC. She moved to Genesee County with her Batavia-born-and-bred husband, Bill, 25 years ago. Their daughter attends Notre Dame University. Bill Kauffman is the author of nine books and the screenplay "Copperhead," which had its theatrical release last year.

"We're going to talk about the cultural aspects of Genesee County and the region," Lucine said. "It's more than just arts and entertainment. There are farm co-ops and local artisans and people who enrich life in Genesee County. It's all about quality of life and the quality of life here is very good."

Hiram said he often knows the comedians passing through Rochester and Buffalo, so that will be an opportunity to hear from nationally recognized talent, but they'll also feature the volunteers who make community theater so vital to Batavia.

"There's a lot to celebrate in Genesee County," Lucine said.

"Celebrate. That's a good word," Hiram added. "There is a lot to celebrate here."

The show will air Wednesdays from 9 to 10 a.m. on WBTA-1490.

A tractor-trailer rollover accident with minor injuries is reported at 7524 Selden Road. The driver is out and walking around. The vehicle is loaded with hay. Le Roy fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 2:29 p.m.: The vehicle is partially in the road.

UPDATE 2:32 p.m.: Selden Road will be shut down.

The Sheriff's Office would like to interview the man in this picture.

During the early afternoon of Sept. 10, this man is believed to have picked up a woman's wallet seconds after she dropped it while exiting the grocery side vestibule at Walmart.

The Walmart greeter saw the man pick up the wallet and the greeter offered to take it to customer service. The man said he was heading to customer service himself. 

Investigator William Ferrando said he never made it to customer service. He walked into the restroom and allegedly left the store without turning in the wallet.

He is believed to have left in the maroon crew cab pickup truck depicted in the picture below.

Anybody with information that might assist in the investigation is asked to call Ferrando at (585) 343-5000.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley, checkered shorts, is with a group of constituents on his annual Patriot Trip to Washington, D.C.. With Hawley at the National Museum of the Marine Corps are Ed and Dorothy Morgan, Robert Ballard and Rose Schlegal.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced $675,699 in federal funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for three local airports. Akron Airport received $222,402 for runway repairs. Buffalo-Lancaster Regional Airport received $150,726 for removal of existing on-airport obstructions to a runway. And Le Roy Airport received $302,571 to upgrade its lighting and beacon systems.

“Supporting local governments by maintaining, repairing and building critical infrastructure is a beneficial use of federal tax dollars,” Congressman Collins said. “Providing these local airports the necessary funding for a variety of improvements will allow for more efficient and safer airport operations. Continued investment in local infrastructure is necessary to ensure that valuable economic assets like local airports can continue to grow and successfully operate.”

“Le Roy Airport is a ‘state-of-the-art’ ‘reliever airport’ for the Greater Rochester International Airport,” said Raymond Detor Jr., president of Le Roy Aviation Services, Inc. “Le Roy Airport will be accepting a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and New York State Department of Transportation to upgrade taxiway lighting, wind direction indicators, Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPIP), and various other lighting upgrades.”

The Congressman’s office remains available to assist any local government pursuing a federal grant.

A person fell to the ground and has hip and leg injuries in front of St. Mary's Church, Pavilion. Mercy medics and Pavilion fire are responding. The church is located at 11097 St. Mary's St. and the person is lying in the middle of the road.

A possible house fire is reported at 9091 Creek Road. Town of Batavia fire is responding along with an engine from the city. The location is between Dorman Road and Lehigh Avenue.

UPDATE 11:38 a.m.: A call from the resident says the smoke came from a cooking fire and they believe they have it out. A firefighter on scene reports light smoke and the odor of burnt food in the area.

UPDATE 11:40 a.m.: All units are told to hold in quarters.

UPDATE 11:47 a.m.: The Town of Batavia assignment is back in service.

A four-car accident with three people injured is reported by the Thruway and Mercy and Le Roy medics are responding along with Le Roy Fire Department. Law enforcement on location says it's on the westbound on-ramp.

UPDATE 8:57 a.m.: Le Roy medics on scene say Mercy medics can go back in service. Two children will need to be evaluated. Le Roy fire is on scene for traffic control. State Police are also going there.

UPDATE 9:20 a.m.: Three people were evaluated by medics; all were sign-offs.

New York Times: Cuomo Presses Candidates to Back Women’s Equality Act

A recliner sitting roadside along Pratt Road near Powers Road is reportedly on fire.

East Pembroke fire dispatched.

Reader Laura Pedro submitted this photo of yesterday's sunset.

A tractor-trailer rollover accident is reported on the eastbound Thruway at mile marker 397.2 Unknown injuries. East Pembroke fire and Mercy Medic #1 are responding.

UPDATE 3:53 p.m.: The Thruway Authority reports the driver is out of the vehicle and has minor injuries.

A Le Roy Police officer made a traffic stop Monday and found a Batavia man allegedly in possession of crack cocaine and five different types of pills as well as drug paraphernalia.

Arrested was Anthony A. Leone, 46, of 7 Jackson St., Batavia.

He is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 4th, a Class C felony, five counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and criminally using drug paraphernalia, 2nd. 

The traffic stop was conducted by Officer Jared Dent, who is also a member of the Local Drug Task Force. The task force assisted at the scene.

Leone was jailed without bail.

Baybhann Osman Tagber, 38, of North Almond Drive, Beverly Hills, was arrested as a fugitive from justice. Tagber was being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Center on a possible immigration issue. While in custody, authorities learned of a warrant in the City of Los Angeles. Tagber was wanted on a burglary charge. Tagber is being held in the Genesee County Jail pending an extradition hearing.

Gary William Bird, 60, of Vine Street, Batavia, is charged with stalking, 4th. Bird is accused of contacting a person at their place of employment while knowing that such contact was unwanted and would cause alarm and annoyance.

Carrie A. Stewart, 34, of Attica, is charged with conspiracy, two counts of criminal trespass and petit larceny. Stewart was arrested at Walmart by State Police at 10:10 p.m., Sunday. No further details released.

Timothy M. Ryan, 20, of East Pembroke, is charged with burglary, 2nd. Ryan is accused of entering the residence of a family member and taking more than $600 worth of electronics. The items were sold to a pawn shop. Ryan was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

There's a report of heavy smoke coming from a building at 401 Ellicott St., Batavia.

City fire dispatched.

A first responder reports smoke showing and smoke detector activated.

UPDATE 8:41 a.m.: Second platoon requested to the scene.

UPDATE 8:44 a.m.: A firefighter reports, "we can handle it with a water tank."

UPDATE 8:45 a.m.: Small contents fire in bedroom. Fire knocked down. Checking for extension. Ventilating ing the premises.

UPDATE 8:47 a.m.: Fire under control. No extension.

Photo submitted by Frank Capuano

A family-owned communication company that has provided phone service in Genesee County for more than 100 years is bringing true high-speed Internet to Batavia.

Empire Access, an affiliate of Empire Telephone, with a location in East Pembroke, is installing fiber optics throughout the city.

The network will be able to deliver business and residential service with download speeds of 100 megabits and upload speeds of 20 megabits.

Verizon DSL only offers a 10mb down and 1mb up service in Batavia and Time-Warner's top-end service locally is 30mb down.

Senior VP Jim Baase said the prices will be better, much better, too. That 100mb/20mb service will cost only $50 a month.

This is the sixth market Empire is introducing high speed Internet in, Baase said.

"We've had great success competing against companies like Time Warner and Verizon," Baase said.

Business customers can order high-speed Internet now from Empire, said local manager Tom Hare, and delivery is about 30 days out currently.

The first neighborhood to get residential service will be in the northeast quadrant of the city, Hare said, starting in about three our four months. The rest of the city should be covered within six months.

Empire is also offering phone service over the fiber network, as well as cable TV and security systems.

All of the regulatory hurdles at the state and federal levels have been cleared, Baase said, and Empire is just starting negotiations with the city for a cable franchise agreement.

As previously reported, the city is also in the midst of negotiating a new agreement with Comcast.

Empire Telephone is a third-generation, family-owned business based in Prattsburgh. For most of its history, it's been a rural telephone network in such places as East Pembroke, Pembroke and Indian Falls where it has some 700 telephone customers (that area is also scheduled to receive a fiber network service from Empire).

Baase said Empire decided to bring a fiber because it's an open market (Verizon has shown no interest in introducing FiOS here) and it will have a large enough customer base to support the network.

"It's a very attractive market for us," Baase said. "It's densely populated and we don't like to over build where there's FiOS. We don't like to go where there's already a company like ours."

On its marketing material, Empire Access bills itself as "The Local Company," and Empire will have an office in Batavia (while maintaining a switching station in East Pembroke, where the office was located). Baase said Empire will employ people locally and hire more and more people as its local network grows.

Another Empire advantage, Baase said, is when you call customer service your call is immediately routed to a real person, rather than a long telephone tree of button pushing.

Empire has plans to expand into other parts of the county, primarily along Route 5, once the Batavia network is built.

Interested business customers (not residential yet) can contact Tom Hare at (585) 813-9861 or THare@etcnpt.com. (e-mail address corrected)

Top photo: High speed fiber-optic cable ready for installation in Batavia.

Tom Hare in Empire Telephone's current switching room in East Pembroke.

Empire Telephone's longtime facility in East Pembroke.

Press release:

UR Medicine's James P. Wilmot Cancer Institute will soon introduce a full menu of cancer diagnosis and treatment services in Genesee County, anchored at 262 Bank St. in Batavia.

UR Medicine has agreed to purchase Batavia Radiation Oncology Associates, the longtime practice of cancer specialists Kevin J. Mudd, M.D., and Jan Dombrowski, M.D.

Once the deal is complete, Mudd will continue to see patients as a member of the University of Rochester Medical Center faculty. Staff within the practice will also become University of Rochester employees.

The purchase, which includes the practice and the building, requires approval by the New York State Department of Health to make the practice part of Wilmot’s parent hospital, Strong Memorial Hospital.

"Dr. Mudd is a skilled and experienced clinician who will make a wonderful addition to our regional team of physicians,” said Jonathan Friedberg, M.D., director of the Wilmot Cancer Institute, a component of Strong Memorial Hospital. “His practice will form the hub for an expanded set of cancer services available right in Batavia.”

To further integrate care, Wilmot will renovate the building and introduce new medical oncology services, including chemotherapy and infusion services and will upgrade IT systems so that medical records and other information can be shared across Wilmot’s expanding network.

“This is part of our vision of bringing progressive cancer treatment directly into smaller communities throughout the region,” Friedberg said.

Mudd said "I have worked closely with the Wilmot Cancer Institute since coming to the region in 1996 and I look forward to continuing my practice as an integrated member of the University faculty."

The Wilmot Cancer Institute is the Finger Lakes Region’s leader for cancer care and research. As part of UR Medicine, Wilmot provides specialty cancer services at the University of Rochester Medical Center and at a network of satellite locations. Wilmot Cancer Institute is a component of Strong Memorial Hospital. The Institute also includes a team of scientists who investigate many aspects of cancer, with an emphasis on how best to provide precision cancer care.

The first thing Jason Harasimowszi thought when he saw Cross Fit on TV a few years ago was, "that's too hard."

He thought, "there's no way I could do that."

But he gave it a try and found, yes, it is hard, but, he said, "I wanted to keep doing it and get good at it."

Three years ago, he took a Cross Fit course in Chicago and became a certified trainer.

"It's nice seeing people succeed," Harasimowszi said to explain why he likes training others in Cross Fit.

Recently, Harasimowszi opened his own Cross Fit gym, Cross Fit Silver Fox, inside the Harvester Center.

Cross Fit is designed to be a complete, functional work out, often using heavy weights and complex, compound exercises that work more than one muscle at a time.

"(Cross Fit) is going to help you outside in life," Harasimowszi. "If you pick up boxes off the ground, it's like you're doing a deadlift. If you put a box on a top shelf, obviously, you're pressing something overhead. Everything is transferable to your outside life."

Silver Fox is equipped with about $20,000 worth of racks, weights, barbells, kettle bells, medicine balls, rowing machines, parallel bars, tires, boxes and other training equipment.

Classes are: Monday through Friday at 5, 6 and 7 a.m., and 4, 5 and 6 p.m.; Saturdays at 7, 8 and 9 a.m.; and Sundays at 11 a.m.

To locate Silver Fox, go into the Harvester Center through the main entrance and then down the hallway straight back from the door. The gym is on the left.

A fun family Harvest Festival in the country will debut from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Kozy Kabin at 922 Genesee Street (Route 33) in Corfu.

Hosting are the property owners, Charles and Lenora Kohorst, who started the business three years ago. They build custom cabins and sheds of all sizes, with delivery, and custom-made polywood outdoor furniture, plus a colorful array of mums for the Fall season.

Why the festival?

"We have seen businesses in Corfu and Pembroke diminish these past few years, unfortunately, and have lost some great businesses -- The Market, IGA, Burling Drug, and more," Lenora said. "We see the need to come together as businesses and promote what the Corfu and Pembroke area has to offer the public. iI's a great place to live and visit (Darien Lakes)."

The scarecrow is the fest's theme.

Corfu and Pembroke area businesses are invited to participate in a scarecrow display that allows them to show off what they offer. They can dress it in any way that best shows the attendees their business with all their business information (addresses, contact info, specialties, etc.) also displayed alongside the scarecrow. Scarecrows will be displayed along the roadside (Route 33), craft vendors will have them at their booths, and they will be along the hayride that will go around the property.

There will be a bounce house, food vendors, craft vendors, kettle corn, hayrides, alpacas from Alpaca Delights, homemade desserts for sale, mums, pumpkins for sale. Browse Kozy Kabin, listen to live music, "needle in a haystack" game, face painting, balloon man.

There will also be a cabin raffle. First prize is a 10' x 20' cabin with a porch, or choice of $3,000 cash. Second, third and fourth prizes are a polywood folding Adirondack chair in the color of the winner's choice. Tickets are $5 or three for $10. Rain or shine. There will be tents.

For more information contact Lenora Kohorst at 409-7424.