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A woman who came home to her River Street apartment about 10:30 p.m., Friday, was unable to rescue her dog and firefighters believe the dog had already passed by the time they found it in a back bedroom.

"She said she tried to get the dog out but the smoke was too thick," said neighbor Ed DeJaneiro. "She crawled but couldn’t reach him."

Lt. Marty Hinz, city fire, said when firefighters arrived a partition in the apartment's living room was engulfed in flames. The first order of business was suppressing the fire. Then they located the dog.

When the dog, "Scooter," was brought outside, the resident and neighbors tried to resuscitate it but where unsuccessful.

As a result of her attempt to rescue her dog, the woman suffered smoke inhalation and was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital by Mercy EMS.

Her name at this time has not been released.

The fire was likely the result of an electrical problem, Hinz said.

There's no damage estimate available.

The fire was contained to 102 River, which is the left side of a duplex. The other apartment had no fire damage.

The woman's husband had left for work at 4 p.m., Hinz said. Investigators have not yet been able to interview the woman and neighbors provided conflicting accounts of when she might have left.

Accounts do agree that she returned around 10:30 p.m. She found smoke coming from her residence and went to her neighbor's apartment to report the fire. The neighbor evacuated his three daughters and called 9-1-1. He then tried to attack the fire with a fire extinguisher, but was unsuccessful.

Batavia PD officers were first on scene.

By that time, DeJaneiro said, flames could be seen in the living room.

According to DeJaneiro, he and his wife left for dinner about 6 p.m. At that time, he said, they smelled smoke and commented that somebody must already be using their wood-burning stove this time of year.

The temperature at 6 p.m. was into the 30s or low 40s.

Another neighbor thought he heard a smoke detector at one point, but didn't pinpoint the location, DeJaneiro said.

"This may have been going on since six o’clock," DeJaneiro said. "I don’t know. It may just have been smoldering and unfortunately, this is the end result."

DeJaneiro said the woman's husband was particularly fond of Scooter.

Officer Thad Mart points out to a parent a newly installed "No Stopping" sign installed on Ross Street across from Batavia Middle School.

Lt. Eugene Jankowski explained that parents parking across from the school on Ross are a traffic hazard. The street isn't wide enough to accommodate parking on both sides. The area had been posted no parking, but parents picking up their children would protest that they weren't parking, but just stopping. Now, no vehicles will be allowed to park or stop on this section of Ross during morning and afternoon school hours.

Officer Mart was assigned the duty today to ensure parents take note of the signs.

At about 3 p.m., we noticed a problem with the Web site. The wrong headlines were appearing on stories. The wrong comments were appearing on stories. If we tried to edit a story, the wrong edit screen would open.

All of the content of The Batavian is served out of a database. Databases have segments known as tables. Different tables perform different functions and are related to each through numeric sequences. One of the tables of our database stores revision history. This table had become corrupted, which caused the content to get scrambled.

We don't believe any malicious act caused this, or even human error. It just happened.

The most recent available back-up of the site was from 10 p.m., Thursday.

It took a great deal of time to first figure out the problem and then look over our options for recovery. We decided to back up some files on the server, back up the back-up database and then install everything on a secondary server and make sure that the restored database wasn't also corrupted.

We then had to restore the primary server.

All-in-all, the site was offline for about seven hours. It came back online at 10 p.m. or so while I was at the Cal-Mum vs. Le Roy football game. Then we had a house fire on River Street, so this is my first opportunity to post something and fill you all in on what happened.

The worst of the news is -- besides being down for seven hours -- is that everything posted on Friday was lost. The good news is, I was able to manually save copies of all the home page posts from Friday, so my next task is to repost those. From the best of my memory I'll time stamp the stories to the approximate times originally posted.

Unfortunately, all of the comments left on those posts are gone. Any obituaries, events, announcements, etc., posted on Friday are gone, too.

We apologize for the inconvenience of all of this. It wasn't any fun for us, either. It reminds me of the time I was a reporter at a daily paper in California and the press broke down just as it started the afternoon paper's run. The sense of helplessness feels the same. It's an unhappy situation, but tomorrow's a new day.

Mike Lullo kept the key tacked to a bulletin board in his office for years.

"I told my wife, 'I'm going to ride that motorcycle again.' "

Her response, "yeah, yeah, yeah."

Soon, Lullo will ride that motorcycle again.

The motorcycle in question arrived in Batavia last night and was uncrated outside his insurance office on Center Street this morning.

It's a 1969 BSA Rocket III, a highly desirable bike in its day that Lullo acquired in 1975 while attending college in Albany.

It was his primary transportation for awhile. He took it on some road trips, and on one of those trips it broke down.

Lullo took the bike into the basement of a building he owned and started repair work.

"It was at the time what’s known as a basket case," Lullo said. "It had broken down, had some engine problems and was being repaired. It was somewhat disassembled, so to the untrained eye it was just a bunch of parts, a frame with some wheels on it."

One of Lullo's tenants took it upon himself to sell the bike to somebody locally. It was some time before Lullo discovered the bike was missing and about 11 years ago, he reported it stolen.

The former tenant still lives in Batavia and recently told police, Lullo said, that he sold the bike because Lullo told him to clean out the basement and get rid of everything.

"Yeah, right," Lullo said.

Even if the former tenant admitted to stealing the bike, it wouldn't matter much now.

"The statute of limitations is only five years," Lullo said. "That was 14 years ago. There's no touching him at this point. I'm just happy to get the bike back."

The tenant got $150 for the BSA and it changed hands a couple of times before it was sold to a man in Syracuse for $200.

That buyer sold the motorcycle on Ebay last November for $3,350.

In March, one of Lullo's insurance customers came into his office and they started talking motorcycles.

Lullo mentioned he once owned a BSA, and the customer said, he once did, too.  Lullo asked him to describe the bike.

"It was your bike, wasn't it, Mike?" the customer said.

With that clue, Lullo was able to find the guy in Syracuse who wound up with the motorcycle and sold it on Ebay.

At that point, Lullo recontacted Batavia PD. Det. Pat Corona got involved in the case and between the two of them -- Corona contacted Ebay for help -- they were able to track down the online transaction and the buyer in England.

The buyer in England is a retired fellow, Lullo said, who is quite into motorcycles and buys and sells parts on Ebay.

"He was a bit taken aback when he discovered he had purchased a stolen motorcycle and really didn’t want to give it back because he had invested a lot into the restoration," Lullo said.

The man shared receipts with Lullo showing $7,500 in work on the motorcycle.

The restoration project was never completed because once the man found out he would be sending the motorcycle back to the U.S. he stopped working on the project.

He returned the bike and all the original and restored parts, professionally packed in a well-constructed crate.

Lullo paid for the shipping and reimbursed the man in England for some of the restoration, otherwise, the man in England is out his purchase price and some of the restoration expense.

While Lullo expressed some sympathy for the man, he did buy a motorcycle without absolutely no documentation and once Lullo established rightful ownership the man in England, legally, had to turn it.

According to Lullo, because the buyer is in England, Ebay's buyer protection program doesn't apply to the transaction.

Proving Lullo owned the BSA wasn't necessarily easy. 

Back in the 1970s, New York didn't issue title on motorcycles, so all he had was sales receipt and a registration. Those documents disappeared with the bike.

One of the things Lullo learned about the bike the man in England had was that it was missing a side panel.

When the bike was originally stolen, the thief and/or buyer left behind a side panel.

The paint job was a custom color and that color matched the color of the bike at the time the buyer in England received the motorcycle pieces.

That helped prove Lullo was the proper owner of the motorcycle.

Getting the motorcycle back to the United States proved problematic. It was shipped to England as motorcycle parts along with other freight, so there was no export record for a motorcycle, so to customs it looked like a new import. Lullo had to produce police records and other documentation to prove the bike was being repatriated to the U.S.

After not hearing from customs, Lullo called Newark and this time he apparently got the right guy on the phone who said simply, "Your bike is ready. Come and pick it up."

Immediately, Lullo jumped in his pickup truck and drove down to Newark to retrieve a very important connection to his youth.

After unpacking it today, he stood back, held his arms out wide and with a broad grin said, "It's back home."

The winner of last week's contest was Jacob Quinn, who was among six people who picked Curtis Lofton for most tackles. Quinn's name was selected in a random drawing of those six people.

To enter this week's contest, click here.

A one-car accident on Lockport Road, Oakfield, claimed the life of a 21-year-old South Alabama resident and sent another man to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The accident occurred at 7:19 p.m. near the intersection of Bliss Road.

Stephen T. Ferry was driving a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix when he lost control of the vehicle for unknown reasons. The car slid sideways, struck a small pine tree and then a larger tree on the driver's side.

Ferry was pronounced dead at the scene.

His passenger, 19-year-old Jonathan T. Coombs, of Orchard Street, Oakfield, was apparently ejected from the vehicle.

Coombs was transported to ECMC by Mercy Flight with what authorities describe as life-threatening injuries.

The cause of the accident has not been determined.

Responding to the accident were Oakfield and Alabama fire departments and Mercy EMS.

The investigation is being conducted by Deputy James Diehl, Deputy Eric Seppala, Deputy Patrick Reeves and Investigator Timothy Weis.

Assisting at the scene were Deputy Joseph Graff and Trooper Holly Hansel.

(Initial Report)

At about 6:12 p.m., Thursday, a gold-colored Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck reportedly struck another vehicle on East Main Street at Elm Street and fled the scene.

Batavia PD is looking for assistance in locating the vehicle and driver.

The other car reportedly suffered extensive damage.

While the license plate number is unknown, it's believed the truck had New York Empire gold and blue license plates.

The truck should have extensive hood and front passenger-side damage.

The vehicle was last seen heading north on Elm Street.

The driver is described as a white male, from 30 to 40 years, average height and blond hair.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Batavia PD at 345-6350. The confidential tip line is 345-6370.

'

One thing I haven't spent enough time doing is exploring the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge -- what a great resource for Genesee County.

Prior to the public hearing in Alabama Thursday night, I headed out to the refuge a few hours ahead of time with the specific idea of going to a part of the park I'd seen previously and thought was quite scenic. It's actually in Orleans County, but hey, most of the refuge in in Genesee County. I believe the area is called Ridgeneck Ringneck Marsh. It's off Oak Orchard Ridge Road, which is in the northern part of the refuge.

Here are the pictures I took.

BTW: Not that any of these pictures are worthy of entry, but entries are being accepted now for the Friends of Iroquois NWR photo contest. The deadline is Sept. 1, 2013.

'

For Holly Nelson, the proposed 1,200-acre technology business park in the Town of Alabama is both something to dread and something that seems like a good opportunity.

She's not alone in her conflicted feelings. Nearly a dozen people spoke at a public hearing Thursday night in the town's fire hall and expressed both a wish that Alabama remain a small, rural community, and that it embrace jobs and growth.

"I moved back here so I could be in the country," Nelson said during a short statement where she fought back tears. "If we had known what would happen, that this would be proposed, when we started building our home, we never would have built it. My whole family is here and loves Alabama. I don't want to lose that, but I do want my kids to be able to stay here and have a place to work. I'm so torn."

After speaking another minute or so, she said, "I'm scared," and seemingly unable to hold back the tears any longer, she walked away from the mic.

The purpose of Thursday's meeting was to give interested members of the public -- especially Alabama residents -- a chance to raise any issues with a proposed compensation package from the Genesee County Economic Development Center and the necessary changes in zoning for the site.

In all, the total estimated benefit to the town is $8.5 million, including $5.2 million for a new public water system. The town will also receive a commission on the sale of the land in park -- to be known as the Science, Technology, Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) -- as manufacturers are signed to build facilities on the property.

The first speaker was an organized labor representative who encouraged Alabama residents to support STAMP because both in the construction and in the new factories, it could bring good-paying jobs to the region.

He was followed by Alabama resident Doug Crosen who encouraged the town board to not be swayed by outside voices.

"There's going to be huge pressure from the outside both for and against it, but the decision better be about our town," Crosen said.

Among Crosen's concerns is whether the money for public water will cover hook-ups for residents, and whether residents will have the option to say on well water.

Anita Goras said she had split feelings about the project.

"This is going to be in my back yard and that's where my cows are right now," Goras said. "I am open. I know I'm not going to live forever and I would like to see my grandchildren be able to come back here and work."

Kevin Sheehan, deputy mayor for Albion, told the board that if Alabama didn't want STAMP, Orleans County will take it. He encouraged the board to approve the project for the sake of all of Western New York.

Bruce Pritchett -- who grew up in Alabama, still lives on Maple Road, and teaches in Albion -- said he understands the desire to keep Alabama a small farming community, but young people, he said, need jobs, they need a reason to say in Genesee County.

"There are not a lot of jobs available," Pritchett said. "We send our jobs overseas. There's nothing here for people. This is a great opportunity. As a community, I hope we take advantage of this opportunity we have and make the best of it."

Tom Walsh, a Corfu resident, said he understands the resistance from some, but encouraged Alabama to move forward with the project.

"I know it scares a lot of people," Walsh said. "If it came to Corfu, I'd probably be a little scared for me at first, but I would know at least there would be some work for people."

Vance Wyder Jr., said he's a 40-year-old disabled military veteran who really only knows farming. He isn't sure he and other farming community members can really be trained for the kind of jobs STAMP will bring. He's worried about losing farming jobs, which are harder and harder to come by in Alabama, and then the new jobs not being filled by local residents. He said nobody has really assured him that local residents can and will be trained for the jobs.

"My message to the board is be cautious, be wary, make sure you are doing the right thing for our town and not for the almighty dollar, because in the end, the almighty dollar might kick us in the ass," he said.

Another speaker, a gentleman who has worked in IT for 20 years and is a resident of Alabama, said the board should be mindful of the potential for spinoff businesses from high-tech manufacturers.

He encouraged the board to ensure any businesses coming in reinvest in the local business community, such as by creating an incubator for start-up tech firms.

"We don't need some monolithic company with 1,800 jobs that never talks to the town after it's in place," he said.

Max Merten seemed the most strongly opposed to STAMP. He said he moved to Alabama 20 years ago to live in a rural community and he doesn't want it to change. He said he raised his kids to work, not push paper.

He's worried, he said, that the project is being pushed through the process too quickly.

"We don't need more jobs in a cornfield," Merten said.

Angela Kost concluded the round of speakers with the same ambiguity that set the tone for the meeting.

"I don't want to see it in my back yard, obviously," Kost said. "I don't think anybody in Alabama wants that, but it is a good opportunity."

The town board will meet within two weeks to take formal action on the proposals.

Investigators are on scene in the area of 2625 Lockport Road, Oakfield, for a fatal motor vehicle accident.

At least one other person was seriously injured and transported by Mercy Flight to an area hospital.

The vehicle hit a tree and came to rest about 50 feet off the road and at least one person was trapped in the vehicle.

It's unknown at this time if there were other victims.

The accident was reported at 7:19 p.m.

Oakfield Fire and Mercy EMS were dispatched and Alabama Fire provided fire police to close Lockport Road.

Oakfield Fire is now back in service.

Press release:

Genesee ARC saluted local business partners during a luncheon Thursday, celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The event is an opportunity to thank local businesses for believing in the abilities of the ARC workforce, both in the community and through Work Center subcontracts.

The theme of this year’s NDEAM awareness campaign is "Building an Inclusive Workforce" and focuses on recruiting, hiring and retaining employees with disabilities. Scott Jones, Genesee ARC director of Vocational Services, thanked business partners and asked them to share their ARC experience with colleagues in the business community.

“We can help place, train and work alongside an individual to help them succeed at a job placement,” Jones said. “Our success rate is phenomenal and we have a team of enthusiastic workers, with a variety of skills."

One individual on the ARC workforce was singled out for recognition at the luncheon. Roxy Kio of Batavia is one of 59 Joslin Outstanding Performers recognized through NYSID’s annual people-centered awards program.

NYSID (New York State Industries for the Disabled) is a not-for-profit business which administers Preferred Source contracts for goods and services in support of state and local government procurement budgets, to achieve its mission of “Turning business opportunities into JOBS for New Yorkers with disabilities.”

Roxy joined the Genesee ARC workforce in February 2011. She learned about different types of contract work jobs and was initially trained on piecework tasks. She quickly mastered her new work skills and was open-minded to learning more about training and new assignments.

In March of last year, she began working with the janitorial crew and due to her thoroughness and attention to detail, she worked at 100-percent productivity rate. Over the summer, Roxy joined the Culinary Arts team at the Genesee ARC Community Center and has been assisting daily with the Meals on Wheels contract.

As a ‘Joslin Outstanding Performer’ Roxy received a certificate of achievement and cash award in a presentation by Assemblyman Steve Hawley. She will also be featured in NYSID’s annual yearbook.

Genesee ARC works with about 60 local business partners through individual employee placements, the trash & recycling center, work center and community contracts.

Businesses who want to learn about the benefits of building an inclusive workforce may contact Scott Jones at 343-1123 or scjones@rochester.rr.com.

Submitted photo: Scott Jones, ARC, Roxy Kio, award recipient, Margie Werder, NYSID, Donna Saskowski, ARC executive director, and Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

A Rochester man accused of robbing the Five Star Bank branch in Pavilion on April 16 has been formally charged with the crime.

Jonathan Alexander Mills, 25, was arraigned in Genesee County Court on Wednesday. He is charged with robbery, 3rd, and grand larceny, 4th.

While bail was set at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond, Mills is currently being held in the Columbia County Jail on similar charges. He is scheduled to reappear in Genesee County for further court proceedings Dec. 11.

Press release:

Please be advised the Genesee County Highway Department will be replacing a culvert on North Pearl Street in the Village of Oakfield.

Pavement cutting will be performed on Friday with a temporary road closure during this time. The road will remain open over the weekend, however, the road will be closed on Monday, Oct. 15, to allow for the culvert replacement and relocation of storm drains to occur.

The project is anticipated to take less than two weeks to complete.

Police are being dispatched to the area of Park Road to look for a silver SUV that reportedly struck a dog on Richmond Avenue.

The caller who reported the incident is "quite upset" according to a dispatcher.

There is no further description available on the suspect vehicle.

New York law requires drivers to stop after hitting a dog or cat.

James G. Cox II, 27, of 46 Holland Ave., Lancaster, is charged with petit larceny, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle and permitting unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Cox was identified as a suspect of a heist of a 12-pack of beer from Tops Market at 11:29 p.m., Wednesday. His vehicle was located on School Street and Officer Frank Klimjack initiated a traffic stop.

Jamie A. Showler, 16, of 19 Manhattan Ave, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and unlicensed operation. Showler was allegedly driving the vehicle (see Cox, above) seen leaving the scene of an alleged beer theft from Tops Market.

(Name redacted upon request), 22, of River Road, Pavilion, is charged with petit larceny and criminal tampering, 3rd. xxx was located in Target on Wednesday and identified as a suspect in the theft of the beverage Red Bull on Oct. 6. Besides allegedly stealing the Red Bull, Losh is accused of tampering with the security device on a Dyson vacuum.

Rena P. Argento, 53, of Chili, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Argento was stopped by State Police on Caswell Road, Stafford, at 2:36 a.m., Tuesday.

Press release:

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Committee has announced the 2012 Annual Award Dinner will be held on Saturday, April 13 at the Clarion Hotel, Park Road, Batavia. This is the county’s premier event that honors businesses and individuals for their achievements in business, community service and volunteerism.

The chamber has streamlined its nomination forms to make submissions less cumbersome and time consuming. Please note that a brief write-up will qualify your nominee for consideration. Nominations are now being accepted for: Business of the Year; Entrepreneurial Business of the Year; Agricultural Business of the Year; Innovative Enterprise of the Year; Special Service Recognition; and Geneseean of the Year. Business nominees must be a chamber member (If unsure of your nominee, call the chamber to verify). 

Nomination forms are available at the chamber of commerce office, 210 E. Main St., Batavia. and can also be downloaded from the chamber Web site at www.geneseeny.com.

If you would like more information, feel free to call Kelly J. Bermingham, director of Membership & Special Events, at the chamber office, 343-7440, ext. 26.

In May, Village of Corfu trustees met in closed session and discussed whether the village court really needed both a full-time and part-time clerk.

A portion of that closed session conversion was leaked to Justice Robert Alexander.

At Monday's meeting where the full-time clerk, Pamela Yasses, raised a formal complaint about alleged harassment by Alexander, Trustee Ralph Peterson was accused of being the source of that leak.

At the meeting, Peterson flatly denied it, but a May 24 memo from Alexander to the village trustees suggests Peterson was the source of the information.

From Alexander's memo:

I was amazed when Trustee Peterson informed me this morning that Trustee Graham reported to the Board that the Village Court Clerk Pam Yasses told him that she didn't need the Part Time Court Clerk, (Tom Ingram) and that she can and is handling all the court business without in the him (sic) in her 40-hour-work week. The court clerk does not have the legal right to speak for the Court or evaluate and or comment on the duties or her performance of the court duties to the Board of Trustee members.

Al Graham said today the only place Peterson would have heard about his conversation with Yasses was in the executive session, held the night before Alexander's memo was issued.

Here's the conversation from Monday's meeting:

Peterson: My question is, what do we do?

Attorney Mark Boylan: What do you not do. What you do not do is get on the phone after the meeting and call the judge and tell him what just happened, first of all.

Peterson: I’m asking a question, the question I’m asking is related to this particular situation and the action of the board to pursue this.

Boylan: I’m concerned about action with individuals, too.

Peterson: Well, OK fine, but ...

Boylan: If you’re not acting in concert, in other words, as a board, you're acting individually against the board's wishes ...

Peterson: Are you accusing me of something?

Boylan: Well, I don’t know how this last issue with executive session could have gotten to the judge so quickly. I don’t have any information, but I’m just wondering.

Yasses: Let me say on the record, Rosie, I’m going to call you out because it was you.

Peterson: Well, I asked, that's right.

Yasses: You lied to my face and then you tried to tell me you didn’t tell Judge Alexander something. You did.

Peterson: Where did I lie?

Yasses: You came to me and then we had that meeting ...

Peterson: Whoa, whoa, whoa ... where was the lie.

Yasses: You breached executive session and then he came to me and told me.

Peterson: No I did not.

Yasses: It's the only way ...

Peterson: I did not.

Yasses: Rosie, ...

Peterson: I did not. I did not tell him. I don't know how he found out, but I did not tell him.

Boylan: What I'm telling you is if anybody, if anybody acts against the agreement of the board, you are subjecting this board to potential litigtion.

Tonight, Peterson said he did talk with Alexander, but only after consulting with a staff member at the New York Conference of Mayors who said the board met in a session that should not have been closed to the public.

Under New York law, elected bodies can -- but are not required to -- go into closed session to discuss personnel matters. Peterson said he was told that since the board was discussing a staff position and not the person who held the position, there was nothing confidential about the conversation. The conversation should have taken place in an open meeting.

In his May 24 letter, Alexander accused the board of conducting an illegal executive session and said he, or any village resident, had the option of pursuing litigation to overturn any decision in an illegal executive session.

Graham said the issue came up in May because he went into the court clerk's office prior to a trustee meeting and happened to ask if the part-time position was really necessary.

Yasses, he said, shared with him her thoughts on the matter. He conveyed those thoughts to the rest of the board, which voted to eliminate the position.

At the time, Graham said, the part-time clerk was apparently working on a project for Alexander and Yasses was handling all of the court's business during her 40-hour work week.

The issue has apparently become a sore point for Alexander (who hasn't responded to our request for a statement or interview) because Yasses said he's raised several times with her his belief that she should have no communication with trustees about court business, even though Yasses is employed by the village.

Because Yasses is an employee of the village, according to Boylan, it's perfectly acceptable for trustees to communicate with her and for her to respond to questions about her duties, responsibilities and how they're are discharged.

In emails obtained by The Batavian as part of a larger FOIL request this summer, after this May meeting, Alexander begins a long argument with Mayor Todd Skeet about the re-appointment of Yasses as his clerk.

In a May 31 email, he suggests that the board of trustees didn't follow proper legal procedure in her re-appointment and that he needed a meeting with Skeet. He concludes: "I would like to fulfill the last year of my 24 years as Village Justice with an experienced clerk. I am therefore asking that you confer with me and re-appoint my court clerk."

Alexander maintains in several emails that he has not been properly consulted, as required by state law, on the re-appointment of Yasses.

According to Graham, the trustees feel Alexander gave his consent to her re-appointment in the May 31 email and in a voice mail he left for Skeet.

The board has taken the position that Yasses is an employee of the board and cannot be dismissed by Alexander.