Le Roy

People often debate the benefit of big box stores moving into "hometown" neighborhoods. Books have been published on the subject of Wal-Mart, in particular, running locally-owned shops out of business and replacing what may have been well-paying jobs with minimum wage, "exploitation" labor.

Whether or not you believe Wal-Mart is a malignant or beneficial force in a community, it is too much of a presence not to alter the overall figure. With a 111,000-square-foot Wal-Mart store expected to be up and running by June, LeRoy will soon learn what it's like to have the retail megalith in town.

From an article in the Democrat & Chronicle this morning:

A spokesman for Wal-Mart said the Genesee County store, which could open in spring 2010, would create 200 new jobs, plus another 100 jobs during construction.

The store will be a smaller version of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, with the same variety of products but smaller quantities.

The standalone building will feature a full retail section, groceries, an optical center, a pharmacy and a garden center, said the spokesman, Philip Serghini.

McCulley said he believes most residents support the project. "There was some dissent against it, but it was a small minority," he said.

"People are looking for options of shopping locally. People don't want to travel too far to do their shopping."

The FAA's Aviaition Improvement Program has awarded $2.1 million in federal funding for the LeRoy Airport so that it may complete its runway extension project, Rep. Chris Lee announced today.

From the press release:

The airport intends to use the grant to complete its runway extension project, which will take roughly three months and will occur in two phases. The eastern end of the runway and parallel taxiway will be extended from 2,640 to 3,855 ft., the runway will be sealcoated, and the runway and taxiway will be restriped.

“Improving transportation links in Western New York creates jobs and promote economic growth. I am pleased to see that LeRoy Airport has been recognized for its potential to grow and become a more integral part of the community and the region,” Congressman Lee said.

Raymond S. Detor Jr., president of LeRoy Aviation Services, commented on the grant announcement: “We appreciate Congressman Lee’s support for our efforts to ensure LeRoy has a state-of-the-airport that creates local jobs and meets the needs of the region. Through this grant, our airport will be better able to accommodate the aircraft it was designed for and provide support for Rochester International Airport.”

AIP grants are awarded competitively based on strict eligibility requirements, including an obligation to maintain the airport in a safe and serviceable condition, mitigate hazards to airspace, and use revenue properly. Funds for the program are drawn largely from a trust fund supported by user fees and fuel taxes.

You can visit the airport's Web site for more information on the facility which "is a designated general aviation reliever airport for the The Greater Rochester International Airport."

We've received reports of a car fire on Munson Street in downtown LeRoy near Genesee Valley BOCES. Emergency crews have been dispatched, but I would steer clear of driving through that area for the next hour or so.

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Ryan Darch and Nick Lazarony were sectional champions last year for the Batavia wrestling team and the two were favorites heading into the Section 5 Class BBB Tournament this weekend.

They didn't disappoint and won individual championships, helping to lead the Batavia wrestling team to a third-place finish overall. Palmyra-Macedon won the team title with 272 points with Bath taking second with 190 and Batavia third with 160.

Attica was fifth with 136.5 points.

 Lazarony was a Monroe County League champion for the Blue Devils and remains hot this postseason. The 112-pounder rolled to the sectional championships.

Lazarony first won a major decision of Midlakes' Max Peters 16-1, in 6:00. After that it was a 10-1 win over Ryan Howes of North Rose-Wolcott, earning him a trip to the semifinals.

He blanked Palmyra-Macedon's Dylan Rifenberg 7-0 in the semifinals. Lazarony had a tough match with Bath's Kyle Conrad in the finals but pulled through with a 4-3 decision, earning his second consecutive title.

Darch had a pair of pins at 160 pounds to get to the semifinals. He dropped Pal-Mac's Chris Argus in 2:33 in the first round and Hornell's Zach Bacon in 1:55 in the second.

He won a 7-2 decision over Brad Vecellieo of Wayland-Cohocton in the semifinals before defeating Ethan Lamphier of Wellsville, 9-2, in the championship round.

Troy Ireland almost got a shot at his teammate in the finals as he made the semifinals at 160 pounds, where he lost to Lamphier via pin in 1:30. Ireland went on to take third by beating Vecellieo 10-2 in the consolation finals.

Batavia also had three second place finishes.

Josh Mase knocked off Skyler Hendley of Way-Co in the semifinals before losing to top-seeded Bradley Mayville of Bishop Kearney 7-5 in the finals.

Anthony D'Aurizio was seeded third at 171 pounds, where Bath's Cody Hutcheson was expected to roll to the title. Hutcheson is the defending state champion.

D'Aurizio knocked off second-seeded Adam Slater of Sodus in the semifinals, 6-2, and nearly shocked everybody at the tournament in the finals. D'Aurizio took Hutcheson to the wire and wound up losing 3-2 to take second.

Dylan Goodsell finished second at 215 pounds as he made the finals with a 5-4 win over Lester Fanton of Wellsville in the semifinals. He lost a 4-3 decision to Pal-Mac's Pat Krenz in the finals.

 Attica's Doug Beitz won the 285 pound championship.

Beitz beat Mike Pryce of Sodus in the opening round 4-2 and pinned Bryan Wood of Dansville in 3:51 in the quarterfinals. He then pinned Waterloo's Zach Brown in 3:27 to earn a trip to the finals.

In the finals, Beitz held on for a 1-0 decision over Pal-Mac's Mason Judd.

Vinnie Napierski made the finals at 119 pounds with an 11-0 win over William Wells of NR-W in the semifinals, but was pinned by Tyler Marlow of Pal-Mac in 3:31 in the championship.

Dave Jennings pinned Tyler Deuel of Waterloo in 2:54 at 189 pounds to make the finals, where he lost to Zack Simons of Bath 4-1.

Lance Compton took third at 125 pounds and Spencer Ford took third at 152.

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Letchworth brought home the team title in Class BB with 243 points, topping Holley, which finished with 191.5 points. Le Roy took fourth (148), Byron-Bergen was sixth (102.5), Pembroke was 10th (78) and Alexander was 15th (42).

Defending state champion Quentin Murphy won for the Hawks at 119 pounds, pinning Pembroke's Adam Hill in 2:30 in the finals.

Jessi Kimmerly won the title at 112 pounds and Tim Banks is the champion at 130.

Pembroke's Graham Jensen won a 9-4 decision over Holley's Kyle Steadman to win the 189 pound title.

Jake Harvey, Tyler Fenstermaker and Ed Cigno all had runner-up finished for Le Roy with Colby Sanner and Travis Taylor having second place finishes for Pembroke. Byron-Bergen's Zach Green was second at 171 pounds.

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There was no question that Warsaw was going to win Class B and the Tigers easily won the team tournament.

Lyndonville took second and Kendall was fifth.

Josh Brabon took home the 119 pound title and John Brabon won at 160 pounds for Lyndonville.

Jake ReQua won at 96 points for the Eagles.

(Thank you to Tony D'Aurizio for the photos)

The Batavia boys and girls indoor track teams defended their titles Saturday at the Section 5 Class C Indoor Track Meet at Hobart. And the boys barely got it.

It was a second consecutive championship for the boys and it came right down to the last event as the Blue Devils needed the 4x200 meter relay to get at least sixth place.

Well, Ryan Wood, Devonte Rolle, Ray Williams and Francisco Martinez came in sixth and scored one point and Batavia edged Bath 71-70 for the title.

The only event winner for Batavia was Greg Kryman, who won the high jump with a jump of 6-feet. He was also on the second place 4x400 relay team with Rich Baird, Rolle and Adam Pierce.

The girls won a seventh straight championship, crushing second place Palmyra-Macedon 192-63.

Angela Jarvela had a dominant performance in winning the 1500 and 3000 while taking second in the 600.

Jordan Mancuso won the 1000 and triple jump with Samantha Yager taking first in the shot put. Batavia also won the 4x200 relay as Tessa Williams, Erica Williams, Cady Hume and Shannon Shmitt won in a photo finish.

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The Le Roy boys track team scored 127 points to blow out second place Oakfield-Alabama in Class D, as the Hornets scored 51 points. Alexander was fourth (50) and Byron-Bergen (12) was 11th.

Alonzo Wilson won the 55 meter dash with Jake Krautwurst winning the 1600 and 3200 for the Oatkan Knights.

Joe Schwab won the pole vault and Ethan Belcher won the triple jump. Le Roy also won the 4x200 meter and 4x800 meter relays.

Cody Dieterle won the 300 and 600 while Kevin Grazioplane took the 1000 for O-A.

Alexander had a 1-2 finish in the long jump as Tim McGreevy was first and Steve Shaffer was second.

The Alexander and Le Roy girls tied for fourth overall in Class D with Oakfield-Alabama taking sixth and Byron-Bergen finishing seventh.

Le Roy's Jasmine Poles was a triple winner, taking the top spot  in the 55 and 300 meter dashes as well as the long jump.

O-A's Kim Mills took first in the 600 and the Byron-Bergen girls won the 4x800 relay.

Complete results from the championships can be found here.

 (Thanks to Mary Jo Hume for the photos)

An ice damn that formed on Oatka Creek caused some flooding in the Village of Le Roy, according to a report on the R-News Web site.

LeRoy Fire Chief Bill Wood told R-News that crews spent the day pumping water from basements along Munson Street.

There were also problems with the sewer system, according to the report, but those issues have been cleared up.

No word on an estimated amount of damage to any property.

We've received reports of a possible fire at Stella's Collision on East Main Road in LeRoy. Reports on the scanner indicate smoke in the building. Fire crews from LeRoy, Caledonia and Pavilion have been dispatched. We will update as more information becomes available. 

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Update (11:45 a.m.): Additional manpower has been requested to the scene as a second alarm was just sounded over the scanner.

Update (1:05 p.m.): LeRoy dispatch reports that all crews have returned to base. No fire was present on scene. Firefighters reported a haze in the building that was not exactly smoke, but the cause of the disturbance has not yet been identified.

Investigators out of the Rochester division of the FAA will look into the accident at the LeRoy Airport over the weekend, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Sixty-one-year-old Peter Bonneau, of Rochester, was landing his single-engine Cessna in LeRoy Friday morning when his plane flipped over the end of the runway.

Bonneau was coming in from the Monroe County Airport on a recreational flight when he attempte to touch down on the runway and wound up sliding off the northern edge and into a snow embankment. From there, the craft continued on in the snow until it slowed and overturned, deputies said. Bonneau was fortunately uninjured.

The Genesee County Sheriff's office received a phone call at 11:23 this morning from the Le Roy Airport.

A plane slid off the end of the runway and flipped over, according to dispatcher Steve Robinson.

There was one person inside the plane and no injuries were reported. Deputies are still on the scene investigating.

A man who was found dead in his home earlier today following a police standoff in the village of LeRoy was being investigated for "unlawful videotaping of underage persons," village police said this hour.

The man's identity is still being witheld pending notification of his next of kin. He lived at 128 Lake Street in LeRoy, where the apparent suicide took place earlier today. Please see our earlier post for the rest of the details.

Updated (6:06 p.m.): Village police have identified the man who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound today as 38-year-old Cary M. Felgenhauer of 128 Lake St., LeRoy.

A 38- or 39-year-old man who has not yet been identified was found dead inside his home of a gunshot wound following a police standoff outside the Lake Street residence, according to LeRoy Chief of Police Christopher Hayward. Police will not yet comment if the wound was self-inflicted, though Hawyard said that it does not seem to be otherwise.

Hayward explained that village officers went to the home at 128 Lake Street at 10:30 a.m. to execute a search warrant. When the officers approached, they heard a gunshot and immediately backed off to "establish a perimeter." Assistance was requested from the state police, county sheriff personnel and the city of Batavia's Emergency Response Team. A robot was also brought to the scene to enter the residence and establish contact with the individual believed to be inside.

Police attempted to enter the residence with the robot, but it was unable to negotiate the "layout" of the home. Entry was made by the SWAT team into the home some time before 1 o'clock and officers found the individual inside dead from a gunshot wound.

Residents in the homes adjacent to the property were all evacuated, but they have since been allowed to return to their homes, said Hayward.

"What brought us here, the investigation itself, was less than 24 hours old," said Hayward, adding that the individual in question was "not known" to himself prior to this incident, indicating no prior criminal history. "It would not be appropriate to comment at this point."

Hayward also declined to comment on the nature of the search warrant.

"I don't want to leave it open to speculation as to why we were there."

We are expecting more information on the incident later today. We will report it as it becomes available.

Chief Hayward:

After slimming the budget by a half million dollars last night, the Batavia City School Board has already cut the proposed property tax increase from 23 to 16 percent, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. City Schools Superintendent Margaret Puzio told Fischer that she hopes an offer of early retirement option to three labor unions could help stave off any outright layoffs of teachers or staff. Puzio also hopes and expects to further reduce the tax increase. Visit the WBTA Web site to hear her comments on that.

Batavia city schools are closed today for Superintendent's Conference Day. Also, LeRoy BOCES school is closed today due to a water main break.

Well, folks... we're stumped. You see, there's this old highway traffic sign posted up along Route 19 in the town of Le Roy, just outside the village. On it, a flashing message board communicates the message: Shop Main St Leroy in glowing orange letters.

We thought, that's kind of curious. How could an old traffic sign be appropriated to advertise downtown businesses? Seems like a clever idea, and we wanted to find out more about it. Unfortunately, no one seems to know anything about it. We started with a call to the Le Roy village clerk. Sharon Jeary didn't know anything about it. She told us to call Gene Sinclair, the code enforcement officer. Sinclair couldn't tell us anything, either. He knew of the sign, but he hadn't the foggiest where it came from and who put it there. So we called the Le Roy town clerk. Nothing there either. We were told to contact Sinclair again.

Bizarre.

Anyhow, in addition to the message: Shop Main St Leroy, the sign also flashed the messages: Vintage and Vogue and Hobby Horse. Now, I don't know what "vintage and vogue" might mean, but I've been to the Hobby Horse, a neat little shop on Main Street in Le Roy that sells everything from alpaca wool socks to antique gewgaws. In fact, The Batavian interviewed the shop's owner, Anne Walters, last summer. You can watch the video of that interview and learn more about the Hobby Horse by checking out that post.

We'll see what we can find out in the meantime.

(Updated 1:00pm): It seems we've solved the mystery of the sign. Anne Walters, over at the Hobby Horse, told us that the sign is owned by a fellow in Le Roy whose sister-in-law is an antiques dealer who rents space at the Hobby Horse and... you guessed it, Vintage and Vogue, also a shop on Main Street in Le Roy. He likely bought the sign at a state auction and thought it might be a good way to advertise downtown business.

Most of my day out in Le Roy today was spent wandering around Main Street and environs, snapping photos of whatever caught my eye. I've put together this post to share a few of those pictures with you. A few of these places have much more going on that what I have been so far able to dig up. While I continue the dig, maybe you can share some of what you know.

This façade is typical of the fronts on Main Street: tall, flat and home to a Christian fellowship. You can see that the top row of windows are all boarded up. Do you know of any plans for those flats?

This here is the front of One Main Street, one time home to the Ganson Inn, though most recently occupied by the Creekside Inn restaurant and bar. A fire put the place out of commission a few years back, we were told. Fortunately, the building is being renovated and will once again be transformed into a restaurant and bar.

This is what the building renovations look like on the side of One Main Street. As you can see, they're pretty extensive. A lot going on. We're hoping to get more details once we get in touch with the current owner. Look for more on that in the future.

This photo doesn't quite capture the splendor of this view. It's too small. Anyhow, the view is of a liberty statue next to what I believe is the school, looking out over the frozen creek.

I'll be back out in Le Roy next week, looking for more stories, more news. Please don't hesitate to contact me in the meantime with tips and suggestions.

It's been a placid day out here in Le Roy today. It's cold but not too cold. Grey but not too grey. So many homes here have shutters. It reminds me of the Parisian suburbs, peopled with tree-lined rues and avenues and stately, majestic homes. After a morning of work and wandering and talking up the few folks I already know in the area, I pulled up a stool at the Eagle Hotel for a hot lunch.

You can't read the plaque in this photo—obviously—but it's there, behind the tree. It reads: "Here at the Eagle Hotel the LeRoy village government was organized on July 12, 1834. Presented in honor of the LeRoy Sesquicentennial 1984." Sesquicentennial means 150th anniversary. Of course, 2009 would then make this the 175th anniversay of the village. Rochester and Toronto are also in the midst of their 175th. That's the demisemiseptcentennial for you other logophiles out there.

So we know that the Eagle Hotel, too, has been around for at least 175 years, likely more. Unfortunately, the owner, Nancy Scott, was not around to chat with me when I stopped by for a fish fry—tasty and served with a smile—earlier today. I'm looking forward to finding out more about the place. A couple folks at the bar were able to tell me enough to only whet my appetite further. For example, it used to be a stagecoach stop on the route between Buffalo and Canandaigua. A few folks even swore that much of the furniture inside, including an old liquor cabinet and the bartop, are leftovers from the days when the Eagle likely served sarsparilla and the clientele knew the difference between the withers and the croup.

Anyhow, the Eagle is old, and, according to the bartender who readily admits a fear of the ghosts who haunt the place, it's got its share of stories to tell. Once we find out more about the place, we'll share it with you.

The Batavian is spending the day in Le Roy today. In fact, I'm already sitting, sipping a coffee at Javas on Main—p.s., they make a fine breakfast sandwich: the bacon is crisp, the egg tasty and the bagel oozes buttery goodness. Plus the service is a dream. Of course, I'm working, too. Of course.

So if you've got any ideas for what we should do while we're here—places to see, people to talk to, shops to visit, restaurants to patronize—please let me know. I'm on the hunt for Le Roy stories. I'm sure they're out there.