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Jeff and Dave Pero see a business opportunity in Batavia -- picking up garbage.

The brothers took over management of rental properties owned by their grandfather after he died last year and when they started getting pricing for garbage collection under the new open-market system in Batavia, they thought it would expensive to hire a company to pick up trash at all of those properties.

They decided they would just take care of garbage collection at their own properties themselves, but that thought was quickly followed by another, "why don't we just do it for the whole city?"

Jeff and Dave won't be the first Peros to offer garbage collection in Batavia. Their great-grandfather had a trash company at one time.

They're buying a dump truck and will operate as Trash Away, picking up residential garbage. Customers who put out fewer than six 30-gallon bags per week or three standard trash cans per week will pay $18 bucks a month.

People who live alone and generate no more than one bag of trash per week will get a special price of $10 a month.

Trash Away will also pick up an unlimited amount of recycling.

When customers need bulk item pick-up or yard waste pick-up, Trash Away will offer the service by appointment and the price will be negotiated based on the size of the job.

The company will also offer attic, garage and basement clean-up for a fee.

For information call (585) 250-4065 or e-mail them at bataviatrashaway@gmail.com

Batavia High School lost to Frewsburg, out of Chautauqua County, 51-50, this afternoon in the final of Regional Mock Trials Tournament.

Both teams were 1-1 in the finals, presided over by Eugene F. Pigott Jr., associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals.

Frewsburg will compete in the state championship rounds in Albany.

It's the first time in the 31-year history of the tournament that a team from neither Monroe County nor Erie County will represent WNY and the Southern Tier region, according to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman.

The morning's semifinal rounds were close, with all four teams going 1-1. Batavia and Frewsburg advanced with 117 points each. Pittsford Mendon and Clarence had 116 points each.

Judge Robert C. Noonan and Judge Eric R. Adams presided over the morning rounds.

The Batavia team for 2013: Katie Porter, Elena Chmielowiec, Trey Abdella
McKenzie Stevens, Becca Canale, Eric DiLaura, Cara Ranalli, Katie Kesler, Kaitlin Logsdon, Matt Gabriel, Bryce Rogers, Danielle Quinn, Beth Bennion, Brandon Smart, Samir Jane, Dylan Beckman, Chelsea Jensen, Adam Weaver and Alex Mott.

The Frewsburg team: Sarah Moller, Samantha Mann, Tera Anderson, Alanna Blanchard, Jesse Ernewein, Anthony Mole and Morgan Knight.

Author and journalist Tom Rivers was at Present Tense books and gifts on Washington Avenue, Batavia, today to sign copies of his newest book, "All Ears."

The book is a collection of some of Rivers' best pieces about community life during his 15 years at the Batavia Daily News.

Rivers is now editor of OrleansHub, an online news source serving Orleans County.

"All Ears" is available at Present Tense.

Pictured with Rivers, his 7-year-old daughter, Lucy.

Photo: Looking from Albion Road toward Bliss Road, Oakfield.

Today, parts of the county had a mixture of snow and hail, a bit of wind and cold -- under 40 degrees.

Tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 48.

Samantha Pangrazio pulls a bag of garbage from under a tree off Albion Road, in Oakfield.

Pangrazio, along with Jacqualine Chamberlain (pictured) and Debbie Martin, were on Albion Road this morning picking up trash and litter as part of a community Earth Day clean up. More than a dozen other volunteers participated.

This is the fourth year for the event, which Pangrazio started her sophomore year in high school.

"As a kid I grew up out in the middle of nowhere and I saw how people always threw garbage around and it really bothered me," Pangrazio said. "My mom would take us out and we would clean up the garbage. I thought it was something other people don't really think about, so I wanted to raise awareness about how gross some people can be."

This year's sponsors were: Genesee County Roofing, Lamb Farms, Loraine's Day Care, Caryville Inn, Alli's Cones & Dogs, Santino's Pizza and Becky's Treasures and Crafts.

A car has gone off the roadway on I-490 near mile marker 4.5 in the eastbound lane.

One caller reports no injuries and another caller told a dispatcher "there must be injuries."

Bergen fire and Bergen's ambulance responding.

UPDATE 6:04 p.m.: Bergen transporting a patient to Strong.

Press release:

The City of Batavia is proud to announce the promotion of Officer Jason Davis to the rank of Sergeant in the City’s Police Department effective April 21. Officer Davis will fill the Sergeant’s position created on April 1, 2013 by City Council resolution.

Officer Davis joined the Batavia Department in 1999 after having served as a Police Officer in the Town of Ellicottville and Deputy Sheriff for the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department. During his career with BPD Officer Davis has served as a Field Training Officer, has been a member of the Department’s Emergency Response Team, served as the Department’s Drug Recognition Expert and recently became a NYS Certified Instructor.

Officer Davis will provide veteran leadership and skill to the Department. Officer Davis lives in the Town of Batavia, is married with four children. When not on the job Officer Davis enjoys being a Cub Master for Cub Scout Pack 650.

The Emergency Response Team was deployed in Bethany yesterday to help authorities arrest a parolee who was considered armed and dangerous.

Christopher Allen Harzynski, 30, a parolee from Buffalo who was residing on West Bethany Road, was wanted for an alleged parole violation.

Harzynski was taken into custody without incident.

He has allegedly been on the run since Sept 27.

Deputy John Baiocco investigated his possible whereabouts for two weeks before locating him.

Besides the ERT squad, the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force and Deputy Lonnie Nati assisted Baiocco in the arrest.

Harzynski is being held at the Genesee County Jail pending pick up by his parole officer.

Demolition should be largely wrapped up today.

Jamie R. Bachorski, 18, of Webber Avenue, Oakfield, and Matthew J. Vandorn, 23, of Trumbell Parkway, Batavia, are charged with burglary, 3rd. Bachorski and Vandorn were arrested yesterday as the result of an investigation into a burglary reported July 5. The investigation began with the report of a barn being broken into and several items stolen. Both suspects were jailed on $5,000 each. The investigation was conducted by Juvenile Officer John Dehm, Investigator Timothy Weis and deputies Timothy Wescott, Cory Mower, Chad Minuto and James Diehl.

Carl Joseph Shelter, 25, of Lewiston Road, Alabama, is charged with unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, failure to stop for stop sign, speeding (139 mph in a 55 mph zone), operation of a motor vehicle by an unlicensed driver and failure to keep right. Shelter was arrested following a pursuit that started on Feeder Road, Alabama, at 12:56 a.m. and concluded later on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation. He is also charged with uninspected motor vehicle, no/inadequate plate lamp and failure to dim high beams.

New jobs data shows that Genesee County gained 200 jobs from February to March, but the March number is still 100 jobs fewer than a year ago.

Last month, there were 21,700 jobs reported, compared to 21,500 in February. In January, 2012 there were 21,800 jobs.

The state's unemployment rate fell from 8.4 percent to 8.2 percent, month over month.

Genesee County's unemployment rate for last month has not yet been released.

A Batavia man entered a guilty plea in federal court yesterday to one count of transporting an individual in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity.

Timothy Logsdon, 29, of Dewey Avenue, Batavia, faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Sheriff's Office initiated an investigation in September after receiving a report that a 16-year-old girl was missing. The girl's parents suspected their daughter might be with Logsdon.

The FBI assisted in the investigation and obtained a court order to allow a trace of Logsdon's mobile phone.

Logsdon was located by Kentucky State Police in Bowling Green.

When located, Logsdon admitted to officers that he was in the process of transporting the victim to the state of Tennessee where the two planned to live together and carry on a relationship. The defendant was placed under arrest and remains in custody.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 5.

Corfu's budget hearing Thursday night wasn't without its moments of conflict.

Newly elected Village Justice David O'Connor confronted Mayor Ralph Peterson over an e-mail O'Connor said he received from former village justice Robert Alexander.

The village board and residents also spent several minutes discussing whether the village should continue to have a police force, or what type of department it should have, especially in light of the recent threat of a lawsuit from six police officer employees.

O'Connor was the first to speak and he wanted to know if Peterson played a tape recording of Tuesday's meeting for Alexander.

According to O'Connor, Alexander sent O'Connor a "vile" and "threatening" e-mail and said he had heard a recording of the meeting.

Peterson did have a tape recorder on the table in front of him during the meeting.

O'Connor made some critical remarks of Alexander, particularly in light of the comptroller's audit of the court and the allegation of missing court funds.

Among O'Connor's pointed remarks was that court commission officials don't often worry about the courts around the state, but they wake in the middle of the night with worry about Corfu's village court.

Peterson denied playing the tape for Alexander.

"I've gotten no control over what other people do," Peterson said.

There was a person at the meeting using a Droid tablet to video record the meeting.

As for the police department, one resident questioned why the village even needs to employ its own police officers.

Peterson said he's researched whether the village could contract with the Sheriff's Office for village law enforcement and found it's an expensive proposition. The Sheriff's Office would charge the village up to $32 an hour for the hours a deputy would work in the village.

Trustee Art Ianni pointed out that a contracted deputy wouldn't generate the revenue village officers do to help pay for the service.

"I'm not a big fan of the Corfu ticket-writing machine, but are deputies going to write 100 tickets a week?" Ianni said.

Trustee Keith Busch said on average, deputies won't respond as quickly to a complaint as an on-duty village police officer responds.

Trustee Ken Lauer suggested that the village go to a department with one full-time officer and two part-time, which could solve some of the current conflicts within the department about work hours.

The entire discussion seemed prompted by the threat of a lawsuit over an alleged violation of civil service law.

There was also some confrontation over Peterson's pay.

The mayor's budget is $5,700, which includes $1,500 for mayoral training.

"Obviously, I need it," Peterson said.

Resident Greg Lang wondered why, if Peterson is new on the job, why is he being paid the same as former mayor Todd Skeet? Lang pointed out that the trustees cut O'Connor's salary by $2,000 annually because he's new in the job.

When asked if he would take a pay cut, Peterson said flatly, "no."

Ianni said none of the trustees are taking a pay cut.

Lang wanted the mayor's pay put to a vote, but none of the trustees made such a motion.

Some residents complained that Peterson wasn't taking a pay cut when employees were being asked to take a pay cut, but Clerk/Treasurer Sandra Thomas pointed out that the only employees with pay cuts are employees who came forward and volunteered to take a cut in pay.

The total general fund spending plan for the village totals $682,109. The proposed tax rate is $3.11, up from $2.97.

The trustees meet again at 6:30 p.m., Monday.

The Batavia High School Boys Tennis Team beat Honeoye Falls-Lima today, 6-1.

Head Coach John Kirkwood thinks this team will be notching quite a few more wins this season.

"I see us going very deep in sectionals and I see us representing very well in the Class B  tournament as we've done the past three or four years," Lockwood said.

Batavia is now 1-1 in Monroe County league play and 1-0 in its division.

In this early part of this season, with all the bad weather, Lockwood is letting his younger guys play a few more matches so they can gain some experience before the team heads into a tougher part of the schedule.

"That helps young guys develop and that will pay dividends for us down the road," Lockwood said.

The top three singles players are Nate Palmer, Jeff Redband and Samir Jain.

Palmer hasn't played yet this year, but Redband and Jain are off to good starts. Today, the two sophomores won their matches easily, 6-0 and 6-0 for Redband over Max Wilkinson, and Jain beat Leo Orsini 6-0, 6-1.

"We've got one of the tougher schedules we've had in five or six years," Lockwood said.
"We picked up Fairport. We picked up Webster-Schroeder. We've picked up the top programs for our top three or four guys. We need to make sure we had the best teams on our schedule for them to develop."

Advancing in sectionals will take a couple of the younger guys stepping forward and forming a strong doubles tandem.

Palmer, Redband and Jain are all candidates to go deep in singles play when sectionals arrive, Lockwood said, if not make it to state qualifiers.

Also today, Ken McMaster won over Alex Lazarus-Hall 6-1, 6-0.

In doubles, Tim Martin and Jon McMaster defeated Brett Peters and Garrett Fletcher 6-1, 6-0; Avery Midla and Caleb Jackson defeated Joe Moore and Ed Schauber 6-0, 6-0; and
David Knaudt and Ross Chua lost to Austin Ainsworth and Josh Geary 6-0, 6-0.

To purchase photos from today's match, click here.

A structure fire is reported 735 Genesee St., Corfu.

Corfu fire along with Pembroke, East Pembroke, Darien and the City's Fast Team all dispatched.

Firefighters on scene say people are still in the house and they're trying to get them out. The fire is at the back of the structure, possibily on a porch.

UPDATE 11:34 p.m.: The City's Fast Team is cancelled.

UPDATE 11:35 p.m.: The fire is knocked down. Crittendon and Akron were also called, but now are cancelled.

UPDATE 12:15 a.m.: Corfu returning to quarters.

Press release:

Batavia, N.Y. – State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has announced that he has added his name as a cosponsor to legislation (S3948) repealing the NYSAFE Act.

“When a bill is rushed to passage without proper review by the public and then passed in the middle of the night, the end result has a negative impact on residents. Since passage of the NYSAFE Act, I have heard from many concerned citizens, mental health professionals, county clerks and local government officials with very serious concerns about this new law.  In the past week alone, there have been numerous news reports that illustrate the law is not working for Western  New Yorkers. That is why I have signed on to legislation that would repeal the NYSAFE Act,” said Ranzenhofer.

Senator Ranzenhofer has written to New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico, requesting a meeting to discuss recent reports that the State Police may have been instructed to investigate personal medical records for mental health cases and prescriptions for mental health issues.

The letter states: “Any unwarranted search of personal medical information could not only violate federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules, but raises serious ethical and constitutional concerns. Furthermore, simply owning a firearm should not be grounds for reviewing a citizen’s medical history.” 

Senator Ranzenhofer plans to introduce new legislation in the State Senate to prevent law enforcement officials from accessing medical records without a warrant or in violation of federal HIPAA privacy rules.

"The SAFE Act Law has dominated our office activity, staff time, and resources since the middle of January.  From the Opt-Out forms to registration of "assault" rifles and shotguns, from Mental Health Notifications to recertification procedures, we find we are besieged on all sides. Previous "unfunded mandates" for our office pale in comparison to what it will cost the county, and its taxpayers, to operate under the new gun laws this year," said Genesee County Clerk Don Read.  

“Never in my experience have I seen such a terrible law as the NYSAFE Act. A law that local and county governments, and law enforcement professionals from all across New York State have expressed opposition. On behalf of the members of SCOPE and the citizens of New York, I join Senator Ranzenhofer in calling for the repeal of this overreaching law, and for an investigation into the allegations of State Police unwarranted intrusions into New Yorkers private medical records,” said New York State SCOPE President Stephen Aldstadt.

"As the Chairperson of the Genesee County SCOPE Chapter, I represent a very concerned and frustrated group of law-abiding citizens. We are fortunate to have Senator Ranzenhofer representing us in Albany and supporting our endeavors to repeal the NYSAFE Act. We will continue to be diligent until the law is repealed," said Genesee County SCOPE Chapter Chairman Bill Fox.

Senator Ranzenhofer voted against the NYSAFE Act. 

The 61st Senate District encompasses: the Towns of Amherst, Clarence, and Newstead and the Villages of Akron and Williamsville in Erie County; all of Genesee County; and the Towns of Chili and Riga, the Village of Churchville and part of the City of Rochester in Monroe County.

On my way out of Le Roy, I stopped by the Wiss again and got there just before Tim Hens did.

I know from previous conversations, Tim was pretty interested in how a third floor was added to a wood-frame building.

It looks like the third floor was just built right on top of the roof of the original structure. What we're seeing is the back of the original structure and a portion of the added on third floor, which was built across the original structure and a later extension to the back of the building.

The other key thing -- and this picture doesn't really capture it as obviously as it is visible in person -- is how much the third floor and second floor ceiling is sagging.

Hens and Bob Lathan talked about the condition of the building a bit. As you know from our previous tour of the building, there was a sheet of ice on a large portion of the third floor.

Lathan said since then we've have a few thaws and refreezes.

Hens said ice weighs as much as concrete.

Lathan said the string he had stretched through the second floor to measure settling of the building had dropped 3/4 of an inch in the last month.

Though Hens said it's just his opinion and not scientific, based on what he observed today, he doesn't think the building would have lasted through another winter.

Hens said it probably still would have taken a developer gutting the building to accurately access the soundness of the structure.

Just a photo to show the progress of the Wiss Hotel demolition.

Meet Dave. Dave is an employee of Waste Management, tasked with walking every residential street in Batavia to hang door hangers promoting the company's garbage collection service.

Starting June 1, city residents will be responsible for contracting with their own refuse and recycling company.

Besides Genesee ARC, local companies such as Gardner Disposal and PSI (and a third one that will announce its new business soon), are competing for customers.

Asked if WM will offer totes, Dave said only if enough customers sign up for WM's service.

Dave's worked nearly the entire city since Saturday by himself, with just some help on Saturday and Monday. He had only two more blocks to visit when we spoke.