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About 150 barbershop singers were at the YWCA on Monday night to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

The singers came from five area chapters -- Rochester, Buffalo, East Aurora, Geneva, Warsaw, Batavia.  The chapters are part of the Seneca Land District of the society, and Batavia resident Eric Saile, who acted as host for last night's event, is president of the district.

The event included lots of signing, of course, but also pauses to watch videos of barbershop singers in TV shows and movies from over the decades.

Our photos include the chorus, the Friends of Harmony Singers, singing "Singin' in the Rain."

The two young men in the bottom pictures are Rocco, 12, and Blaise, 10, Lucciano, of Clarence. Blaise became the youngest member of the society and was given a membership proclamation and a label pin. Rocco became the youngest member ever to be awarded the "Man of Note" pin. The "Man of Note" is a person who recruits a new member. The awards were presented by Mac Sabol, choir director for the Friends of Harmony Singers.

For more on the society, visit the Seneca Land District's home page. The Batavia chapter always welcomes new members, Sabol said.

Tina M. Martin, 33, of 96 Carlyle Ave., Buffalo, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Martin was stopped at 11:47 p.m. Saturday on Pearl Street in Batavia by Officer Arick Perkins.

Eric L. Barnes, 22, of Valiant Drive, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, aggravated unlicensed operation, operating on suspended registration and unlicensed operator. Barnes was stopped for an alleged suspended registration at 4:57 p.m. Friday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

William John Dale, 40, of Lattice Bridge Road, Fillmore, is charged with petit larceny. Dale is accused of shoplifting at Kmart.

Reason: Chemical weapons as a 'red line'

The trustees of the Village of Corfu voted 4-0 on Monday to delay filing a petition with 4th Appellate Division of the NYS Supreme Court for the removal of Mayor Ralph Peterson from office.

Peterson is reportedly hospitalized and under observation by doctors. Peterson has reportedly told trustees and others that his undisclosed condition is related to stress.

After a closed session, Deputy Mayor David Bielec announced the board's decision to delay sending in the petition. The delay is intended to give Peterson time for his health to improve. The trustees want him to meet with Village Attorney Mark Boylan so Boylan can ascertain how Peterson intends to respond to the trustees' demand that he resign.

There was no response from Peterson to the board's demand for a resignation letter by 5 p.m. last Friday.

"We don't want to take any action until he's out of the hospital," Bielec said. "We want to discuss it within and get a firm decision before we go through the court procedure. It's a very expensive process and you can't know the outcome until you get there."

Trustee Art Ianni also asked the board to reconsider its aggressive approach to trying and recover more than $10,000 in missing court funds.

The trustees believe that regardless of how the funds went missing -- former court clerk Brandi Watts is accused of stealing it -- former village justice Robert Alexander is legally responsible to reimburse the village for the shortage.

Watts is the daughter of Alexander.

"Based on our budget, based on our court budget, this (the $10,000) is a small percentage of dollars," Ianni said. "I don't mind trying to recover it, but it's the kill zone we're looking at when it comes to the families and actions that might come out. I would like to ask the board to take another look at what potentially could happen from our actions. ... We could recover $10,000 and find out we destroyed two families. Is this something we could have some compassion about and say, 'Look, they've lost their jobs and their reputations?' "

When asked, though, Ianni said he would still vote yes on any motion trying to recover the funds.

Four people were injured in a two-car accident in the Batavia Downs parking lot at 5:07 p.m., Sunday.

The two cars collided where two cross-lanes of traffic converged. Both cars appeared to enter the intersection at the same time, according to an accident report by Sgt. Jonathan Szumigala.

There were no traffic control devices at the intersection.

No citations were issued.

Injured were Sandra L. Johnson, 55, Alessa R. Naylor, 21, Zachary C. Johnson, 22, and Donna M. Azalone, 52.

Sandra Johnson, of Byron, was driving a 2009 Dodge SUV. Azalone was driving a 2003 Chevy sedan. Azalone had no passengers.

All four patients were transported to UMMC by Mercy EMS for evaluation and treatment. None appeared seriously injured.

Bishop E. Williams, 20, of 106 Lake St. Le Roy, is charged with three counts of burglary, 3rd, petit larceny and criminal mischief, 4th. Williams is accused of an early morning forced entry burglary of a business on Mill Street, Le Roy, and stealing several items from the business. Williams, and possibly a conspirator, allegedly used a rock to break the window of the building and that Williams allegedly entered the building three separate times. Police report locating Williams on Lake Street. Assisting were the Sheriff's Office and the Livingston County K-9 unit.

Amir D. Gifford, 17, 139 Bank St., Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd. Gifford was alleged involved in a fight with an acquaintance at 4:43 p.m., Tuesday, at a business on West Main Street, Batavia. He is accused of trying to injure the other person.

Michael C. Kraatz, 34, of 66 Tracy Ave., Batavia, is charged with trespass and harassment, 2nd. Following an alleged domestic incident, Kraatz allegedly returned to a residence he had been advised by police not to reenter. As Kraatz was being removed from a police vehicle following his arrest, he allegedly kicked the door of the car causing it to strike an officer, which led to the harassment charge.

Daniel M. Hacker, 27, of 248 North Meadowbrook Parkway, Cheektowaga, is charged with driving a motor vehicle with registration suspended. Hacker was arrested on a warrant out of Batavia City Court.

Ronda L. Reisman, 41, of 105 State St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Reisman was arrested following an investigation into an alleged incident at 10:22 p.m., Thursday. No further details released.

Mark E. Flaming, 23, of 21 Wood St., Batavia, is charged with menacing, 2nd, criminal possession of a weapon with intent to use and reckless endangerment, 1st. Flaming was arrested following an alleged domestic incident at 10:32 p.m., Wednesday. No further details released.

Michael P. Ashley, 51, of 9455 Clipnock Road, Stafford, is charged with felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or higher, running a red light and aggravated unlicensed operation. Ashley was stopped at 12:54 p.m., Sunday, on East Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Arick Perkins.

Stephen Joseph Holdaway, 61, Pearl St., Batavia, is charged with felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, speeding and failure to yield to emergency vehicle. Holdaway was arrested following a traffic stop at 5:09 p.m. Wednesday on Pearl Street Road, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Kevin A. Roberts, 22, of Perry Road, North Java, is charged criminal mishief, 3rd, petit larceny, unlawful possession of marijuana, aggravated unlicensed operation, bald tire and throwing refuse on highway. Roberts is accused of cutting a locked cage inside Walmart in order to gain entry and damaging the case in the process. He is accused of stealing clothing from Walmart and possessing marijuana. He allegedly drove to the store on a suspended license. Roberts was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Rachel Elizabeth Hyatt, 17, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with stalking, 4th. Hyatt allegedly initiated contact with a person she had been previously warned not to contact. An order of protection was issued.

Stephanie Marie Gilfus, 27, of Genesee Street, Auburn, is charged with petit larceny. Gilfus is accused of stealing an iPod Touch from an employee of Darien Lake Theme Park.

Justin Ryan Smith, 31, of North Pearl Street, Oakfield, is charged felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Smith was allegedly involved in an accident on North Pearl Steet, Oakfield, at 5:55 a.m. Sunday. The accident was investigated by Deputy Matt Fleming.

(name redacted, charges dismissed), 47, of Rochelle Drive, Churchville, is charged with coercion, 1st, criminal mischief, 4th, and menacing, 2nd. REDACTED allegedly coerced a woman while at her residence.

Press release:

For the fourth year in a row, Genesee County, New York has been recognized as one of the fastest growing Food Processing Industry Metros by Business Facilities, a national site selection publication.

The Agricultural and Food and Beverage Sector employs more than 1,500 workers in Genesee County, and throughout the Western New York and the Finger Lakes Region there are more than 20,000 employees within the Food and Beverage Cluster. This number has increased significantly in recent years with the opening of Alpina Foods, LLC, and Muller Quaker Dairy along with the expansion of other food processors in the County.

“The recent construction of two new food processing facilities demonstrates a substantial return on our investment in our Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park,” said Steve Hyde, president and CEO of Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC). “We are honored to be once again recognized by Business Facilities as it keeps us on the radar screen for site selectors throughout the United States and the world.”

The Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park encompasses 211 shovel-ready, pre-permitted acres strategically located between Western New York and the Finger Lakes region in Batavia, NY.  On site, there is access to low cost process water via a local aquifer, a short and main line rail access to move products, and large capacity municipal sewer and water. Through the support of National Grid and National Fuel the site has an enhanced utility infrastructure.

“Genesee County and our strategic partners, GCEDC, GCC, our utility companies, Farm East and other local governments like Batavia, Pembroke, Bergen, etc., made sure that nine-plus years of planning and preparation are paying off in terms of infrastructure, shovel-ready site, employment and training opportunities and good paying, long-term employment options for our community and the region,” said Mary Pat Hancock, chairwoman of the Genesee County Legislature. “The vision and collaboration necessary to make this happen and to sustain development and progress is what our community has always been about.”

Alpina Foods, LLC, a leading dairy producing company in Colombia and South America, recently opened its first specialty yogurt manufacturing plant at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park. This is Alpina’s first United States facility and the company recently exceeded their original job commitments of 50 employees. PepsiCo, in a joint venture with German dairy company Theo Müller, also recently opened its own $206 million yogurt manufacturing facility, Muller Quaker Dairy, and as of June 2013 have hired 110 employees for their Batavia facility. 

“Food manufacturers value our region’s abundant milk supply and access to fresh water,” said Mark S. Peterson, president and CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise. “These assets are just some of the reasons Genesee County has become a magnet for leading yogurt manufacturers such as Alpina Foods and Muller Quaker Dairy.”

“A wealth of agricultural assets, shovel-ready sites, transportation infrastructure and access to major U.S. and Canadian markets have helped to establish Genesee County as a leading location for the food processing industry,” said Thomas A. Kucharski, president and CEO of Buffalo Niagara Enterprise.

“Leading dairy companies like Alpina Foods, Muller Quaker Dairy, Yancey’s Fancy and O-AT-KA Milk are among the almost 400 food processing companies that have grown and prospered in Genesee County and the surrounding area,” Kucharski added.

By the time firefighters got the call at 2:28 a.m., a barn filled with hay at 2311 Bennett Road, Darien, was fully engulfed in flames.

At 9 a.m., firefighters were still on scene tending to smoldering hay bales with potentially hours of work still ahead of them.

A few firefighters who had been up practically all night had to leave for their day jobs.

Responding to the fire with Darien were East Pembroke, Indian Falls, Corfu and Alexander. Crittenden filled in at Corfu's hall and Alden filled in for Darien.

Water was drawn from a pond on Charlie Miller's property at Ellinwood and Brown roads.

The barn property is owned by Miller's Sonshine Acres, Inc.

The barn, of course, was a total loss, but firefighters said that was apparent from the moment they rolled up on scene. From that point, it was just a matter of knocking down the flames.

Reader submitted photo.

Info and photos submitted by Phil Mangefrida.

We had beautiful weather for the debut of the Andrea Mangefrida Memorial Basket Raffle.

We had 140 people show up for golf and dinner or just dinner, with 21 foursomes, not to mention people who just walked in, bought raffle tickets and left. Here are some pictures.

The dancers are from Clann Na Cara School of Irish Dance in Buffalo.

They are, from left: Kelly Patterson, Monica Panzer, Molly Mangefrida, Xavier Patrick Dzielski, and Sarah Ziarniak

The SkyDivers are from Western, NY Skydivers.

Money raised from this event went to the Andrea Mangefrida Memorial Fund at Stepping Stones Learning Center in Irondequoit.

A big thank you to everyone who donated their time, effort, and baskets for this event.

Josh Bachorski shared this picture from Friday of his sons at DeWitt Recreation Area.

The following people were arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office during the Goo Goo Dolls Concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Saturday.

Matthew S. Conover, 28, Green Forrest Court, East Amherst, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, after allegedly operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and with a blood alcohol level of .18% or higher. Conover allegedly drove into a ditch inside the concert venue parking lot. Conover’s license to operate a motor vehicle was also suspended. Conover was jailed on $500 bail.

Antho G. Serrano Jr., 19, Dodge Road, Getzville, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

Riley T. Munger, 19, Greiner Hall, Buffalo, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

Ty T. Buczkowski, 20, Wellington Road, Cheektowaga, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

The following people were cited for alleged possession or consumption of alcohol under age 21.

Benjamion P. Madafferi, 19, Amy Lane, Brockport
Brian M. Grablec, 20, Chapel Avenue, Cheektowaga
Samantha R. Christ, 19, Cottonwood Drive, Williamsville
Zachary T. Williams, 20, Fontaine Drive, Cheektowaga
Nicholas J. Perna, 19, Rosewood Drive, Williamsville
Kayla A. Palmeri, 18, Goodrich Road, Clarence Center
Thomas A. Amabile, 18, Elmhurst Street, Lakeview
Kevin L. Scherer, 19, North End Avenue, Kenmore
Taylor K. Eleming, 19, 62nd Street, Niagara Falls
Michael A. Corbeil Labarbara, 18, Sheffield Avenue, Buffalo
Robert E. Robinson, 17, Columbia Parkway, West Seneca
Patrick D. Oleary Jr., 18, Doncaster Road, Kenmore
(name redacted upon request), 17, Shenandoah Road, Buffalo
Faith R. Caldero, 16, Tuscarora Road, Buffalo
Mary C. Walsh, 19, Eden Street, Buffalo
David J. Miller, 19, Pomander Square, East Aurora

I have a photo assignment to shoot in Great Valley today so Billie and I will be away from the scanners. We're taking the opportunity on the way back to knock another item off our WNY bucket list: Letchworth Park.

Batavia High School's Class of 1953 has been celebrating its 60th reunion this weekend. Last night, they gathered at Bohn's for dinner.

They call it Jam at the Ridge and on Saturday night, the two acts topping the bill fulfilled the promise of that title, cranking out hot tunes and kicking up some heels.

The headliner was Jerrod Neimann, who found a crowd ready to rock after The Farm put on a show that was as much party as concert.

And there was a lot to celebrate for The Farm, with Krista Marie, a native of Alexander, playing her first big-time show in Genesee County.

The amphitheater was packed with friends and family -- so many who lined up for autographs and pictures after the set that security guards were trying to hurry the line along before Niemann took the stage.

Previously: Hometown girl brings big time act to Frost Ridge

Today, Elba community leaders hosted its first Elba Community Pig Roast in the memorial park. The event was organized to raise money to help pay for park maintenance and upgrades.

As a little girl Krista Marie Robusto would watch her mom in Rotary shows and think, "Oh, gosh, I want to do that someday."

About 10 years ago, Krista was the lead of the Batavia Rotary's production of the "Wizard of Oz."

Now, Krista Marie -- just Krista Marie to her fans -- is living in Nashville and hitched to a rising star.

Tonight, her band, The Farm, plays at Frost Ridge Campground in Le Roy.

Krista Marie, Nick Hoffman and Damien Horne were friends in Nashville, all working professionally -- Krista pursuing a solo career and Hoffman toured with Kenny Chesney and Horne with John Legend. The three young artists decided to try writing some songs together.

Soon, their songwriting projects evolved into putting some serious thought into forming a band.

"When we finally decided to be a group we looked at each other and said, 'OK, we've got to be all in,' " Krista said. "We said, 'we're going to be betting the farm.' That was the little bell that went off and we said, 'OK, betting the farm,' and that's it, The Farm."

The Farm was signed with Warner Brothers and they were off and running. The first song the trio wrote together, "Home, Sweet Home," became the band's first hit single.

The last three years have been filled with nearly nonstop touring, and though The Farm has played two gigs in Rochester, tonight is The Farm's first shows "inside the county lines," as Krista put it.

"I'm super excited," she said.

"Every time I come home I absolutely remember how lucky and how grateful I am to be from Western New York," Krista said. "The people are great. The food's amazing and it's just really awesome. I'm really, really proud to be a hometown girl from Upstate New York."

Krista grew up in Alexander and attended Alexander Central School through 10th grade before starting home school. Her mother and father owned and operated Pat's Meat Market in Batavia. They were both musicians and performers and Krista's father was an internationally acclaimed accordian player.

All of those influences -- along with the Rotary shows, singing in church, dance lessons at That Dancing Place -- all pointed her in the direction she wanted to go, which is performing country music.

"If you're from here you know how country we are," Krista said. "I grew up riding and in 4-H and my dad was a butcher. I grew up riding horses, got into four-wheelers and motorcycles, and we have beautiful farmland up here. It's as country as it gets. I live in Nashville, Tennesee now and I'm always bragging on what awesome country we've got up here."

Krista is feeling pretty good about the trajectory of her career -- a career that started playing country music locally with Richard Fink and Johnny Cummings, including a series of summer-long gigs at Darien Lake Theme Park (she hopes The Farm can play there as soon as next summer) that helped her earn the money to buy her first motorcycle.

She said she's very grateful for Genesee County making her into the hometown girl she still is, even on any stage anywhere in America.

"I grew up with the Rotary shows and I grew up singing in church and I grew up riding and showing horses at the Genesee County Fair," Krista said. "I raced mini-stocks at the Genesee County Fairgrounds, so all of this is who I've become and it's a big part of who I am today."

The Farm takes the stage at Frost Ridge at 7 p.m., opening for Jerrod Niemann.

Krista Marie and her mother, Barb Galliford, with a school bell that was once belonged to Krista's grandfather (it may have been a school bell for a school in Batavia originally). It was a gift to Krista today from her family. Barb said, "Of course I'm proud of her, and my thing is whatever you do, try to do it well and with all your heart, and she's done that."

Robert E. Alexander has been suspended with pay effective Thursday as justice in the Town of Pembroke in an order signed by NYS Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman.

Alexander is under indictment on charges of coercion and official misconduct. He's also been accused -- but not charged with any crime -- of threatening a Town of Pembroke board member.

A former Village of Corfu justice, Alexander's troubles started June 2012 when a NYS Comptroller's Office audit allegedly uncovered at least $10,000 in missing court funds.

In June, Alexander's daughter, Brandi Watts, who was the Village of Corfu court clerk during the period of time covered by the audit, was indicted on 61 counts, including felony counts of grand larceny.

In July, Lippman ordered Alexander removed from all pending court cases in Pembroke and barred him from hearing any future cases pending the outcome of the criminal case against him.

The charges against Alexander stem from a compliant lodged by the current court clerk, Pam Yasses, that Alexander harassed her after initially directing her to conduct an audit of the court records and then reportedly being unhappy with the results when Yasses said she confirmed at least $10,000 in missing funds.

Alexander has denied any wrongdoing.

Further Reading: This morning we found this undated story about Alexander on the 700 Club Web site.

Corfu Mayor Ralph Peterson did not respond to an Aug. 16 letter from Village Attorney Mark Boylan demanding his resignation.

The letter was sent to Peterson at the direction of the board of trustees and alleges Peterson has taken several actions not in the best interest of the village.

Peterson was given a deadline of 5 p.m., Aug. 23, to submit his resignation or face a petition to the appellate division of the NYS Supreme Court seeking his removal from office.

It will not necessarily be easy to convince the court to remove an elected official from office. In prior cases, justices have ruled that removal under Section 36 of the Public Officers Law is a "drastic remedy."

According to a ruling in 2011 on an attempt to remove the mayor of the Village of Middleburgh, the trustees seeking Peterson's ouster will need to build a case that shows "unscrupulous conduct or gross dereliction of duty or conduct that connotes a pattern of misconduct and abuse of authority."

Actions that are considered "minor neglect" or "administrative oversights" and even some violations of the law do not rise to the level of misconduct serious enough for the "drastic remedy."

If the removal case against Peterson goes forward, it will be up to a panel of justices in the 4th Appellate Division to determine if the case presented against him is sufficient.

Boylan's letter to Peterson probably lays out the case the trustees will try to make against the mayor.

The letter accuses Peterson of:

• A general pattern of obstruction and interference with village board attempts to hold Judge Robert Alexander and his daughter Brandi Watts, a former court clerk, accountable for court funds found to be missing by a state audit. "It's clear your relationship with the judge has influenced many of your decisions in this matter."
• Peterson is accused of withholding a settlement offer letter from an attorney representing part-time police officers who have threatened a lawsuit against the village over pay and scheduling issues. Peterson reportedly received the letter in May but kept knowledge of the letter to himself until August despite repeated requests by trustees for updates on the threatened suit. During an Aug. 12 closed session meeting, Peterson allegedly told trustees, with Boylan in the room, that he wanted the suit to go forward so the village's insurance company would pay off the officers.
• During his time in office, Peterson is accused of trying to use his power as mayor to retaliate against former Deputy Mayor Al Graham over a long history of disagreements by getting Graham removed from his job as supervisor, working for Camden Group, of the Corfu sewer plant. Peterson allegedly threatened to "see to it" that Camden's contract with Corfu would be terminated if Graham was not removed.
• Peterson is also accused of harassing and intimidating village employees Sandra Thomas, clerk, and Denise Beal, deputy clerk. The letter states that Peterson's actions have subjected the village to potential litigation.
• During his time in office, Peterson is accused of abusing his authority several times, including hiring police officers without board approval and renewing village insurance policies without board consent.

In example cases we can find, courts have shown some reluctance for removing elected officials.

In a 1976 case, a justice wrote:

The court certainly recognizes the sacred right of the people to choose their elected officials. Section 36 of the Public Officers Law is in no way intended to interfere with this vital aspect of democratic society. Rather, this section has been enacted to protect the citizens from an elected official who by his misconduct, malfeasance, maladministration or malversation, abuses his public trust, harms the public interest and violates his oath of office.

The case cites a prior case with this observation:

The intent of the law is to bestow on the courts discretion to draw a line between an actual intentional breach and mere oversight. Thus, certain administrative oversights and municipal accounting deficiencies by the Mayor of a village, though clearly technical violations of village law, were found attributable to the Mayor's inexperience and did not constitute grounds for removal. (Matter of Pisciotta, supra.) Had the deficiencies continued unabated, such continuation could be found to constitute an intentional disregard of duty.

Removal of an elected official by the court, however, is not without precedent. In 1997, Victor R. Grant, supervisor of the Town of Lake Luzerne was removed from office.

In that case, Grant was found to have engaged in a willful conflict of interest by acting as insurance broker for the town's insurance policy, drawing commissions on the sale and renewal of the policy.

Press release:

Late August is considered the "Dog Days of Summer" and it also must mean it's time for the annual Petco Wiener Dog races. The popular event is once again part of "Family Fun Day" at the races, this Sunday afternoon (Aug. 25) at Batavia Downs with the dachshund race competition getting under way at approximately 4:15 p.m., after the completion of the live 11-race harness racing card.

Gordon, owned by Lindsay Ryan, is the two-time defending champion. He dead-heated with another wiener dog legend, Jake Arnold, in 2011 and then scored an extremely narrow win last year. He'll try to make wiener dog history by winning this event three consecutive years in a row.

There will be up to 10 heats with each winner scoring a $25 free play voucher to Batavia Downs Gaming. The heat winners then return for a championship race with the winning owner getting $100 in free play, second place gets $75 in free play while the third place finisher receives $50 in free play. The owners of the top three finishers will also get two complimentary buffets.

The first 70 entrants also receive doggie bags from the official sponsor of the Wiener Dog races, Petco of Batavia.

"It's a day we look forward to every year and judging by the size of the crowd we draw, so do our fans," said Batavia Downs General Manager of Live Racing Todd Haight.

Besides $1 Sahlen's hot dogs, soda, draft beer and snow cones, there will be free pony rides for the kids from 2-4 p.m. sponsored by Castilone Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep of Batavia, along with appearances by Pringles The Clown and Mr. Scribbles.

The live harness racing action begins at 1:15 p.m. Admission and parking is free.