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Text and photos submitted by Steve Ognibene.

Today at Jackson School, friends, family, teachers and staff had their awards assembly and also payed tribute to Shawn Clark principal of Jackson who will move next fall to Batavia High School. 

Many students spoke about Mr. Clark and his contributions over the last four years as principal. They recounted how he was a great proponent of down with bullying and how he served to instill in them all the values that they will carry into the future. 

There was a photo slide show of Mr. Clark with students. They ended with farewells, hugs, but not goodbyes, as they will see him someday at the high school. This afternoon followed with a school-wide picnic day and outdoor fun with bounce houses.

Kathy Hochul supports Obama, Obama is destroying the country, and only Mitt Romney in the White House and Chris Collins in the NY-27 seat can put things right, Collins told local reporters outside Batavia City Hall today.

“We have to defeat a representative who does not represent our core values," Collins said. "My core values are smaller government, personal accountability, local decision making, fiscal discipline, serving taxpayers and respecting future generations.

"These are not only the core values of the 27th Congressional District, they’re the core values of America. They are not President Obama’s core values. They are not Kathy Hochul’s core values."

Not once during his five-minute speech did Collins mention his GOP primary opponent, David Bellavia.

Asked about it, Collins said he is entirely focused on defeating Hochul on Nov. 6. Even if he loses the primary -- which he said he would win -- he will still be on the Conservative Party line and he said he intends to continue campaigning against Hochul right up until the general election.

"Kathy Hochul supports Obama," Collins said. "She is totally out of sync with the values of the 27th District. She won’t even admit she’s a Democrat."

According to recent reports, Hochul has a voting record that has not been in line with Obama or the Democrats.

The Buffalo News reported over the weekend that "Hochul is bucking the party line," noting that "Hochul voted with the Democratic Party line 81 percent of the time and with the Obama administration 78 percent of the time," which is less than other Democrats.

"Politico" noted that Hochul has not been the lapdog for Obama's health care policies that Democrats expected when she beat Jane Corwin -- in part because Hochul latched onto the GOP's Medicare reform plan as a wedge issue.

Still, Hochul did tell the Buffalo News she will vote for Obama, even though she won't attend the Democratic convention and, the News said, "she gives the president mixed reviews."

For Collins, however, Hochul and Obama are inexorably linked. 

The hook of Collins's remarks today was a statement by Obama that "the private sector is doing fine."

Collins said, the private sector isn't doing fine, not when there is 8.2 percent unemployment, China is cheating at trade and corporate tax rates are too high.

“We’ll keep talking about jobs and the economy, jobs and the economy," Collins said.

With Romney as president and Collins part of a GOP majority in Congress, Collins said policies would be enacted to put Americans back to work, most specifically, lowering the corporate tax rate to 25 percent.

He also said the nation's debt is too high and promised smaller government if the GOP is given a chance to lead the way.

"Small businesses have a lack of confidence in the future of our country," Collins said. "We have a president who let that happen because he needs to keep going to China to borrow money. We cannot continue to borrow $4 million a day, $1.4- $1.5 billion a year and have small business invest in our future. They don’t know where the future is going."

One point Collins and Hochul seem to agree on: Trade. 

Hochul kept her campaign promise and voted against free-trade agreements supported both by the GOP leadership and President Obama.

Collins said he would push for tarriffs on China if the nation continues its current trade policies, which include not letting its currency float on the open market, and giving Chinese businesses a 30-percent price advantage over U.S. companies.

Collins's message for China, "Float your currency, respect our IP, open your own markets -- or else. They need us more than we need them."

This afternoon, workers needed to replace the "C" on the City Hall sign.

It was a ceremony of celebration more than remembrance as the students and staff of Robert Morris School said goodbye to their decades-old institution and walked into a new future of consolidated classes at three Batavia city schools.

"They're excited and they're ready," said Robert Morris Principal Diane Bonarigo of the students who walked out of the doors of Robert Morris for the last time today. "They'r in a very good place. It's important that we close our year knowing that they will be looking forward to going to their new school next year."

The district's consolidation plan will make Jackson a pre-K through first-grade school and John Kennedy will contain classes for second, third and fourth grades. Fifth-graders will move to Batavia Middle School.

Bonarigo said students felt more comfortable with the transition after a series of open houses where they ran into friends from other schools that they met through sports and other activities and realized they will now all be in the same school.

"We will be one city school family," Bonarigo said.

Press release:

Representative Kathy Hochul (NY-26) announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Services Agency (FSA) can now file weather-related disaster reports for damage done by armyworms due to the fact that they have arrived earlier than expected and in unprecedented numbers because of the unseasonably warm weather this spring.

“I am pleased to hear the USDA Farm Services Agency will now allow farmers to file weather-related disaster reports for damage done to crops from armyworms," Hochul said. "This is an important step toward the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets declaring the armyworm infestation a disaster, allowing farmers whose crops have been devastated access to low-interest emergency loans to help in the recovery. I urge farmers that have been affected by armyworms to contact their local Farm Services Agency and report their loss immediately.”

Farmers should report their losses to their county Farm Services Administration to begin documenting the extent of the damage. If the FSA can document a countywide loss of 30 percent or greater for a single crop, they can then submit their data to NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets for a potential disaster declaration – allowing access to low-interest emergency loans.

Press release:

United Memorial Medical Center is pleased to announce that Urgent Care Services will open at the Jerome Center located at 16 Bank St., Batavia on July 2. Urgent Care will be co-located with Laboratory and Medical Imaging Services.

Urgent Care services are a cost effective and convenient way for patients to receive quality medical care when their primary care physician is unavailable and they do not want to spend time waiting in an emergency room to be treated for a non-life-threatening injury or illness. Co-payments for urgent care are typically less than emergency room co-pays.

UMMC’s Urgent Care Center in Batavia will be well equipped to treat a variety of ailments, including sprains and fractures; cuts and lacerations, animal and insect bites and stings, cold and influenza symptoms; ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, asthma, sore throats/strep and mono and influenza vaccines.

Urgent Care at the Jerome Center will be supported by United Memorial’s state-of-the-art medical imaging services, the most advanced in Genesee County. The Jerome Center is conveniently located in the heart of Downtown Batavia. It offers handicap accessibility, convenient parking, a gift shop and refreshment kiosk.

In July 2010, United Memorial opened Genesee County’s first Urgent Care Center at 3 Tountas Ave., Le Roy. There were more than 5,000 patient visits to the Urgent Care Center in Le Roy during 2011. This volume had no noticeable impact on the number of emergency room patients treated at United Memorial during the same time period.

Both Urgent Care centers will operate from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.

During the rescue of Brandon C. Smart, 34, of Batavia, and Michael C. Hayes, 24, of Rochester, yesterday at Buttermilk Falls, Le Roy, a member of Genesee County Emergency Management Services, D.R. Roblee, had his camera and took several pictures. The Batavian requested copies of those pictures and Tim Yaeger, director of emergency management, agreed to share them.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

A worker from CY Farms applies pesticide to the border area of Batavia Sports Park, off Bank Street Road, Batavia. The pesticide is being used as a precaution to protect the fields from armyworms. The actual playing fields were not sprayed, but soccer teams will be kept off the fields for at least 24 hours.

Investigators have ruled out homicide as the cause of death for William Hastings, 52, who fell to his death from the seventh floor of 400 Towers on Tuesday.

In a press release, Batavia PD detectives said today that thorough examination of the apartment building's surveillance system and interviews, Hastings was alone at 2:52 p.m. when he fell out of the window.

Detectives, in cooperation with the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office are still working to determine whether the death as an accident or suicide.

"It's just hard to know what happened," Det. Pat Corona said. "I don't know if we ever will determine if it's a suicide or an accident."

No note was found in the apartment, Corona said, but "it sure was nice that 400 Towers had the surveillance system installed so we could sit down and review those tapes and determine he was alone at the time."

Witnesses said they heard no sounds indicating a disturbance in the apartment prior to Hastings' fall.

Corona said the M.E.'s office has also not yet determined whether Hastings had any sort of medical issue prior to his fall.

Monroe County has yet to complete toxicology tests, which could take 90 days or more.

A car fire has been reported at 2878 Batavia Oakfield Townline Road, Oakfield.

The car is in front of the Arnold Farm.

Oakfield Fire Department is responding.

The first chief on scene reports heavy smoke.

UPDATE 11:33 p.m.: The fire is out. A tow truck is en route to haul the vehicle away. The road is reopened. Oakfield is back in service.

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Do you eat Broccoli?

New York Times: How one vegetable became the symbol of the health care debate

The nets on two tennis courts at MacArthur Park, Batavia, are damaged and a third is missing, according to a maintenance worker.

Batavia PD is being dispatched to take a report.

A Batavia man may be lucky to be alive after falling more than 30 feet from the top of Buttermilk Falls on Thursday evening and landing on a small rock ledge rather than dropping another 40 feet into the churning waters below.

More than 60 of Genesee County's emergency responders were on scene within 30 minutes of the 6:54 p.m. 9-1-1 call, which initially indicated a juvenile male had fallen over the falls and was being swept downstream.

Brandon C. Smart, 34, of Batavia, was taken by ground ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital with a head injury, a cut and complaint of neck pain.

The cause of Smart's fall, according to the Sheriff's Office, is a combination of drinking and Smart trying to pass a case of beer to another person further down the cliff.

Buttermilk Falls is less than a mile east of Route 19, and just north of North Road, where the road makes a sharp turn in an area where it crosses Oakta Creek. Crocker Ace Hardware is nearby.

Based on the original information given to dispatchers, Le Roy Fire responded and sent one rescue team downstream and positioned another team near the top of the falls. When Chief Tom Wood (on the right on the top inset photo) learned the victim had landed on the ledge, he requested the county's rope rescue team respond.

Smart, who was initially reported as being unconscious, was on the ledge until 9:11 p.m.

Initially, Mercy Flight was requested to the scene because of the possible serious injuries, but once Smart was brought back to the top of the falls, responders decided to take him to Strong Memorial Hospital by ground ambulance.

After Smart's fall, Michael C. Hayes, 24, of Rochester (wearing the Sheriff's raincoat top photo; shirtless in the picture below), climbed down to his position.

Although Hayes was uninjured, the rope team needed to rescue him as well.

Sgt. Steven Mullen (bottom inset photo), Sheriff's Office, said Hayes getting on the ledge himself just made the rescue that much more dangerous for all involved.

"As these gentlemen have spoke about, a technical rescue like this on the face of a waterfall, which is slippery and overgrown with moss and vegetation, is nothing that I would suggest," Mullen said. "It makes their job that much tougher when you have two people that need to be rescued as opposed to one."

When rescuers were ready to try and hoist Smart back to the top of the falls, he reportedly became uncooperative.

"It was a little bit of a precarious situation considering that these rescuers are on a ledge with a 40-foot drop below them," said Tim Yaeger, Emergency Services director (on the left in the top inset photo), "We had a situation where we tried to talk to that individual for a while to help him understand the situation so we could secure the person into a harness to bring him back up to the topside. That was deemed to be unsuccessful, so law enforcement was asked to assist."

Mullen made his way to the ledge and talked with the Smart for 10 or 15 minutes and convinced him to get into the harness.

Yaeger said officials were unsure if Smart was uncooperative because of his head injury -- patients with head injuries often become combative -- or if other factors played a role.

Mullen said Smart had been drinking prior to the fall.

"He wasn’t making a whole lot of sense," Mullen said. "He was somewhat irrational. That’s one reason he was transported by ground ambulance. If he becomes aggressive, he would be much easier to handle."

The two men who were rescued were apparently part of a group of at least seven people who went to the falls Thursday and Mullen said all appeared to have been drinking.

Seven people have been charged with trespass. They are, Hayes; Tatijana M. Kacurovski, 19, of Everwood Run, Webster; Sara M. Gianni, 20, of Quincy Street, Rochester; Donald E. Hayes, 27, of Quincy Street, Rochester; James A. Sharpstene, 25, of Morrow Road, Pavilion; Nathanial D. Clark, 20, of Milburn Street, Rochester; and, Melany M. Schlicker, 18, of Countess Road, Henrietta.

All seven suspects were issued appearance tickets.

Charges are pending against Smart.

Buttermilk Falls is owned by Carla Crocker, a Le Roy resident.

Yaeger said people trespassing at the falls not only put themselves at risk, but all of the people who need to respond when an accident occurs.

"That’s something to think about," Yaeger said. "The fact that these kids may be sightseeing and walking and seeing the falls from both sides, but if something were to happen, they’re putting a lot of individuals at risk."

Chief Wood said during his 12 yeas with the department, there are been three people who fell from the top of the falls. The first two victims died as a result.

Eric Friedhaber, a Le Roy resident whose property abuts the top of Buttermilk Falls, said trespassers are common on both sides of the creek around the falls.

"There's no guard rails so you can get pretty close to the edge," Friedhaber said. "When you go back there, there are lots of beer bottles and cans and graffiti on the bridge. Any time the weather's nice and there's water in the creek, people go back there and hang out. It's a party spot for kids."

Friedhaber said he's seen people get pretty close to the edge of the falls, even dancing at the edge of the falls.

"Every day three or four cars are parked out here and people go back there all the time,"  Friedhaber said. "I’m kind of surprised it (people falling) hasn’t happened more often."

Responding to the scene today: Le Roy fire, Sheriff's Office, Mercy EMS, Mercy Flight, Bergen fire, Genesee County Emergency Services and the rope rescue team.

Bottom photo of Buttermilk Falls taken by Eric Friedhaber on an earlier date.

In a statement posted on its Web site, Le Roy Central School District Superintendent Kim Cox announced today that tests conducted by a Rochester environmental firm found "no adverse health impacts from contaminants in the air, soil or water in or around our high school campus."

The air, soil and water testing was completed by Leader, and Cox said the district received an extensive report on Leader's findings.

Leader did recommend the stack of the school's boiler be made taller to eliminate noxious odors that were coming into the school.

"While not considered a health issue, the odor was an annoyance and so we proceeded with this project in March," Cox said. "Additional work will be done this summer so that this issue is effectively alleviated."

While not releasing the cost of the stack replacement nor the cost of the testing, Cox said the state has agreed to pay for 92 percent of the cost of both projects.

Cox said the state picking up most of the bill, "is truly good news for everyone in the district," adding, "We are hopeful that other incidental costs will also be supported by the state."

Key among the findings, Cox noted, is that no TCE was found on campus.

The entire testing issue arose as a result of a number of students at the school developing a movement disorder, often called tics. 

Many Le Roy residents speculated about a link between a Lehigh Valley train wreck in the 1970s that spilled massive amounts of TCE about a mile-and-a-half upstream from the school, and that possibly crushed stone was used from the quarry in the school's construction, or construction of ball fields.

Environmental researcher Bob Bowcock from California, sent to Le Roy by Erin Brockovich, brought to public light the apparent failure of the EPA to adequately clean up the Superfund site. Though, Bowcock was skeptical of any link between the TCE spill and the movement disorder and through his own research eventually concluded there was likely no tie.

The disorder was labeled "mysterious" by national and international media as dozens of camera crews from major networks and syndicated talk shows along with print and online media converged on Le Roy in February.

The tics turned out to be the result of pre-existing conditions for many students or conversion disorder for others, which is a response to stress and can be transmitted as a form of mass psychogenic illness.

"The best news of all is that our students are doing well," Cox said today.

The full report, more than 6,000 pages, can be downloaded in a series of eight files linked to the bottom of Cox's statement.

Another of the five defendants rounded up July 9, 2009, as part of a local and federal investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine in Genesee County entered a guilty plea today in federal court.

Andrew Chapman, 42, of Batavia, admitted to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute,  methamphetamine.

He faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine, or both.

Chapman received the meth he sold from Donald G. Vanelli II, 49, of Le Roy, who is serving more than 17 years for his role in the sale and distribution of meth locally.

Also charged as a result of the investigation by the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force, the FBI and the DEA, were David H. Cohen, 51, of 918 Goodman St., Rochester, Donna L. Boon (aka Donna McAuley), 46, of 3658 Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road; and Kerry A. Ball, 53, of 7202 Meadville Road, Basom.

The status of Ball's case was not released, but the case against Cohen is still pending.

Boon's charged related to the initial arrest were later dismissed and Boon proclaimed her innocence, but she was subsequently re-arrested.

Chapman will be sentenced Sept. 17.

Jeremy Yasses really misses those Friday afternoon lunches with his dad at St. Nick's, and after a while, he figured the only way he was going to get them back was if he bought the building on South Swan Street, Batavia, and provided the help to reopen it.

Today, Yasses closed on his $40,000 purchase, which included the contents of the building.

At 6 p.m., June 24, Yasses will host a meeting at the St. Nicholas for anybody who is interested in talking about forming a new club.

So far, he said, many former St. Nick's members have expressed interest in getting the club going again.

Yasses has also tried contacting former Elks Lodge members about sharing the space, but so far the response from the Elks has been cool.

"I'm willing to give free rent or a free lease for some period of time," Yasses said. "I really want to get the club going again. If that doesn't happen, well, OK, I have other people interested in the building."

Yasses said there are doctors interested in the space, or it might work for a veterinarian's office, and of course with all the space, the kitchen and large parking lot, it would also work for a restaurant. Whatever the space becomes, Yasses said, it needs to fit the zoning for the sake of the residential neighbors.

Recently, Yasses renovated a house at 38 Montclair St., Batavia, that he purchased out of an estate sale. Prior to that, he renovated a house on Ellicott Street that he purchased at a city tax lien auction.

"I've gotten only positive feedback (from city officials) on the properties I'm going to flip or renovate," Yasses said.

He said the initial feedback from the city has been supportive of his purchase and plans for the St. Nick's building.

Officially, if the new club is formed, it can't be known as the St. Nicholas Club. That business name has too many judgements against it and there are too many vendors that won't work with that business any longer.

Still, Yasses is hopeful the club -- if not in name, at least in spirit -- can be revived.

"I was a member, my dad was a member and my granddad was a member," Yasses said. "My idea is if we can get 300 members -- I believe they had 500 or 600 members when they shut down -- get 300 members to give $100, that's 30 grand. That will get the place going."

Matthew Charles Olcott, 33, of Overlook Drive, Batavia, is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and aggravated unlicensed operation. Olcott is accused of taking his wife's car and using it without permission. Olcott allegedly does not have a NYS license.

Lisa A. Fleming, 44, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd, disobeying a court order and acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17 years of age; Anthony D. Alexander, 38, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd, disobeying a court order. Fleming and Alexander were arrested by State Police as part of the same criminal investigation. The incident was reported at 1 p.m. on May 23. Fleming was arrested June 6 and Alexander was arrested Tuesday. No further details released.

A Batavia man tried to break up a fight between two girls in Attica on Tuesday night and wound up in the hospital with a head injury after the boyfriend of one of the girls allegedly hit him.

Grayson Stock, 20, was found semiconscious by EMS personnel and transported to an area hospital where he received stitches to his mouth and back of his head.

Taken into custody and charged with assault, 3rd, was Brandon B. Harrington, 17, of 2719 Humphrey Road, Varysburg.

The incident was reported at 10:30 p.m. at Main and Prospect streets, Village of Attica.

According to the Attica PD, Harrington hit Stock once and Stock fell backward hitting his head on the sidewalk.

Stock was initially transported to Wyoming County Hospital and later transferred to ECMC for observation.

Harrington was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Genesee County Economic Development Center has approved the following projects for development incentives:

Batavia Animal Hospital (Perry Vet), 3699 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, is constructing a new 6,300-square-foot facility behind its current building. The project will receive a sales tax exemption of $76,960, a mortgage tax exemption of $16,250 and a property tax exemption of $80,994. Perry Vet is investigating $1.733 million in the project. The project will create five new jobs and retain 11 jobs.

Merrill Lynch, 24 Masse Place, Batavia, is moving into new office space. Merrill Lynch is receiving a $13,360 sales tax exemption. The company's total investment is $867,000. The project will create 16 new jobs.

Genesee & Mohawk Railroad - GVT, 100 Evans St., Batavia, is adding a 2,800-square-foot headquarters building next to a 31,000-square-foot transload warehouse constructed in 2008 for $2 million. The headquarters project will receive $13,600 in sales tax exemption, $3,750 mortgage tax exemption and $42,762 property tax exemption.The company is investing $360,000. The project will create two new jobs and retain 19.

Le Roy Motors, 7000 W. Main Road, Le Roy, is expanding its current facility by 2,400 square feet and renovating its interior. Le Roy Motors will receive $33,600 sales tax exemption, $9,375 mortgage tax exemption and a $29,631 property tax exemption. The company is investing $785,000. The project will create three new jobs and retain 35 jobs.