A Sheriff's deputy investigating the case of a pickup truck doing donuts in the snow at two locations in Darien, one where a building was damaged, obtained a close-circuit videotape that showed a black Chevy pickup truck with a female passenger.

Any damage on the vehicle would be on the driver's side rear.

The time frame has been narrowed to 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday.

The photo above is NOT of the truck, but the truck is believed to look a lot like it.

The first part of the old farmhouse at 7694 Batavia Stafford Townline Road was built before the Civil War. Today, all of those years became ashes in a controlled burn conducted by the Town of Batavia Fire Department that capped a morning training session at the structure.

Firefighters showed up at the former Dorman family farmhouse early this morning and conducted several interior firefighting exercises.

Town of Batavia Fire First Assistant Chief Nathan Fix said some of the fires really got going, and all were knocked down by interior firefighters in training.

"We had fireman who got to see real fire in real conditions for the first time," Fix said. "We had at least 10 firefighters here who never experienced real fire, real heat, before."

Volunteers from Batavia as well as Bethany, Byron, Bergen, Corfu, South Byron, Oakfield and Elba all participated in the morning exercises.

Bergen's ladder truck was then set up in position to help contain the anticipated inferno, as well as a handful of charged fire hoses, then using road flares, Fix set the structure on fire.

Once the house was ablaze, the firefighters were give a chance to do something that never happens at a real fire scene -- pose for a group photo in front of the burning building.

It took more than an hour for the structure to be completely consumed.

Mark Hare, who was about 5 when his family moved into the house in 2000, made a video of the destruction of his childhood home while his mother, Dawn Hare, looked on. Andy Hare, a retired city firefighter, is in Georgia and couldn't be here for the fire. The Hares' daughter is also out of town.

The Hares built a new home on the hill behind the old farmhouse two years ago, and it's now for sale.

Dawn said the whole family was sad to see the old house go, but it had to be done. The structure had numerous deficiencies and had deteriorated beyond repair. Even when the Hares lived in it, there was no heat on the second floor, the kitchen sink backed up every winter and the electric was out of date.

Fix said it took him six months of work to get all of the proper permissions to burn down the structure, including insurance letters, letters from every utility company that ever serviced the house, the Hares themselves and the DEC.

Since all of the proper paperwork was only recently completed, and it's the onset of winter, the fire department decided to do all of its training and the final bonfire in a single day.

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

There are 10 black and white photos in the slide show. They were shot with a Nikon F4 and Illford XP2 film.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

A motor-vehicle accident has been reported in the area of 56 River St., Batavia.

Two vehicles involved with air bag deployment. An elderly woman has a complaint of nose pain.

Batavia fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Town of Batavia fire is on scene of what started as an automatic alarm of fire, but upon arrival there was smoke in the building.

No flames have been reported at this point.

The location is on Route 98, but we didn't get details on the original dispatch ("alarm of fire" is pretty much always a false alarm).

Town of Batavia's ladder truck is out of service, so Le Roy's ladder is responding mutual aid.

Oakfield is requested to the Town of Batavia fire hall to fill in.

Crews are investigating the structure and there is a smell of smoke at the front of the building, but nothing has been found yet.

UPDATE 6:20 p.m.: Source located (didn't hear what it is), but all units still responding can back it down to non-emergency mode.

UPDATE 6:25 p.m.: Le Roy and Oakfield back in service.

UPDATE 6:31 p.m.: Burned out electrical strip. No damage to the structure.

A fully involved house fire is reported at 5 Myrtle St. in Le Roy. Heavy smoke and flames showing. There are still people inside the house -- entrapment. Le Roy fire is responding along with mutual aid from Caledonia.

UPDATE 2:19 p.m.: It is believed everyone is out of the house. Bergen and Pavilion are also responding. The address is between Clay and Bank streets. Le Roy medics are on scene.

UPDATE 2:25 p.m.: Town of Batavia's Fast Team is called in and National Grid is notified about the fire.

UPDATE 2:26: "It looks like they've got it knocked down."

UPDATE 2:28 p.m.: They are going to bring in fans to clear the smoke. National Grid has no ETA.

UPDATE 2:31 p.m.: Stafford is standing by in Stafford's quarters, in case needed for any other Le Roy incident. Firefighters on Myrtle Street are taking out their tools for overhaul.

UPDATE 2:34 p.m.: "It looks pretty clear on the second floor."

UPDATE 2:37 p.m.: They are asking the Town of Batavia to go back in service. Fire is out. Doing overhaul.

UPDATE 2:43 p.m.: Caledonia is released from the scene.

UPDATE (by Howard): At the time I left the scene, about 3 p.m., the cause of the fire was under investigation. Chief Tom Woods said when he arrived on scene, there were flames showing in the back of the structure and two people were partially out of a window. It's a little unclear, but apparently they had tried to put the fire out and thought the fire was out. Investigators had not yet completed interviews with them. Woods told the people to get out of the building and they did. Crews were quick the scene and interior firefighters made entry and knocked the fire down before it could do serious damage. A neighbor called the fire in, not the residents. Woods said that if the fire had been going five more minutes before fire crews arrived the whole structure would have been lost and it would have been a difficult fire to fight because of how close together units are on Myrtle.

When I left Le Roy, there was a long line of children waiting to talk with Santa and fill his ear with their Christmas dreams. I drove straight to Oakfield, and by the time I arrived, Santa was already there. It's amazing how that guy gets around.

Above, Santa with Mrs. Claus and their 5-week-old grandson.

Oakfield held a new Christmas event for the village today. It included the annual Christmas tree display, but moved this year to the memorial park between South Main and Pearl. The event included wagon rides, cookie decorating, games and the Genesee Model Train Engineers held an open house.

Organizers expect the event to become an annual celebration of Christmas in Oakfield that will get a little bigger each year.

Le Roy held it's annual Winterfest, which is a chance for the children to visit Santa and mom and dad to check out the local merchants. 

A motor vehicle accident with injuries is reported on Route 77, just south of Herkimer Road.

Darien fire and ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 4:48 p.m.: It's a car/deer accident at 1784 Route 77.

UPDATE 5:10 p.m.: Accident victim signs off on medical treatment. All Darien units returning.

The Sheriff's Office is investigating some property damage at two different locations in Darien apparently caused by a driver doing donuts, rubber burns and spinouts in the parking lots of two establishments.

One building, Johnny Bears Family Restaurant, 1415 Broadway, was struck during the overnight incident and sustained damage.

The vehicle is believed to be a pickup truck and it struck the building with it's rear driver's side.

After damaging Johnny Bears, the pickup traveled to Triple C Shop Mart on Route 20 and did extensive burn outs and spins, damaging the parking lot and gas tank covers.

All of the damage was caused between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact the Sheriff's Office at (585) 343-5000.

When I interviewed retired State Police Investigator Leo Hunter for an article on his career and his family, Leo told me a secret and made me promise not to include it in the story: He and his fiancé Dawn Rindel were going to get married at the end of the retirement ceremony.

Judge Robert C. Noonan, who MC'd the retirement party and then officiated the wedding, quipped that Hunter didn't do a very good job at keeping a secret. At least half of the 300 or so people at the party at the Clarion Hotel on Friday night knew what was coming.

With all of Hunter's six children, his sisters and many friends present, Hunter and and Rindel exchanged vows and were pronounced by Noonan husband and wife.

After the service, each of Leo's children spoke briefly and said how proud they were to have Dawn as part of their family now and thanked their father for being a great dad.

A State Street resident involved in a brief standoff with police after he allegedly fired a shot from a .357 magnum in his rooming house is facing three criminal charges.

Dennis G. Wolfe, 51, of 218 State St., Batavia, is being held without bail on charges of criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, reckless endangerment, 1st, and menacing a police officer.

Officers responded to 218 State St. at 3:52 p.m. after receiving two 9-1-1 calls from neighboring tenants who said they heard a single gunshot from inside the building.

Within minutes, Wolfe was located in room #10 and the responding officer radioed for backup, reporting that Wolfe was holding a gun.

According to police officials, Wolfe allegedly pointed the gun alternately at himself and a police officer.

After about 15 minutes of negotiations, Wolfe was convinced to drop the weapon.

According to police, Wolfe was involved in an ongoing dispute with a neighbor and was being evicted from the rooming house as a result.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

The investigating was conducted by Sgt. John Peck, Det. Paul Caffo, Det. Todd Crossett, Det. Kevin Czora, officers Thad Mart, Kevin DeFelice, Matt Lutey and Jamie Givens.

Also responding to the scene were deputies and troopers.

There are numerous locally owned shops in Genesee County that are ready to lift your spirits this holiday season, including our locally owned liquor stores.

Our locally owned businesses give to the community all year long. During the holiday season is a time to give back by keeping your hard-earned dollars in our local community and shopping locally as much as possible for your gift and entertaining needs.

Above, Christine Crocker, owner of YNGodess.

Chris Blossom, West Main Wine and Spirits

Priya Rathod, Mr. Wine and Liquor

A motor-vehicle accident with minor injuries is reported at 6081 Byron Elba Road, east of Byron Road. A utility pole there is snapped in half. South Byron Fire Company is responding.

UPDATE 6:17 p.m.: National Grid is contacted because the pole presents a hazard. No ETA given.

UPDATE 6:26 p.m.: National Grid has a 10-minute ETA. A tow will respond to remove the damaged vehicle(s) after National Grid clears the pole/wires.

A motor-vehicle accident with minor injuries is reported at 853 Genesee St. in Corfu. Corfu Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. Law enforcement is on scene.

UPDATE 4:33 p.m.: Three people are signs-offs and one person will likely be transported to a hospital.

A standoff is in progress wherein Batavia police are on scene at 218 State St. and a man with a gun is in Room 10, refusing to come out. Not long ago a caller to dispatch reported hearing a gunshot, possibly from a .357-caliber weapon, in that area.

City traffic on State Street is being stopped at North Street and Fairmont Avenue.

UPDATE 4:08 p.m.: The subject is now in custody. Police in the area will remain in place until it can be confirmed that the building is clear.

UPDATE 4:14 p.m.: The traffic stops are cleared and the roads reopened.

UPDATE 4:52 p.m. (by Howard) : The man who allegedly had the gun -- his name has not been released yet -- will likely be charged with reckless endangerment, according to Chief Shawn Heubusch. The suspect is at the police station being questioned by detectives.

Investigators on scene were also taking evidence kits into the building, but Heubusch said there are no details available on what kind of evidence they might be gathering.

Nobody was hurt in the incident.

When police officers arrived, Heubusch said, they found a man holding a gun and managed to talk him into surrendering the weapon.

He characterized the officers' work as exemplary.

"The officers did exactly what they needed to do protect themselves as well as all the other residents of this building as well as the suspect," Heubusch said.

UPDATED, 3:56 p.m.

A NYS Supreme Court Justice has stayed the five-year prison term of Jacquetta Simmons pending an appeal of her sentence. The 27-year-old Batavia woman was convicted of punching a 70-year-old Walmart cashier a year ago Christmas Eve.

Simmons can be released from prison on either $50,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond or other security.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman and ADA Melissa Cianfrini appeared in the chambers of Associate Justice Rose Sconiers, Appellent Division, 4th Department, this afternoon to argue against defense motions in the case.

Friedman said Sconiers isn't required to offer a reason for issuing the stay, but the argument that seem persuasive to her was the defense contention that Simmons' sentence was overly harsh.

Three attorneys represented Simmons, Friedman said, and argued that no other first-time felony offender convicted of second-degree assault in Genesee County since 2006 has received a prison term.

Two of the attorneys for Simmons said this afternoon that there were several reasons they believe the sentence was overly harsh, including all of the arguments raised by Attorney Ann Nichols in her statement to Judge Robert C. Noonan at the sentencing.

Among the factors -- she said she believes Noonan should have given more weight to Simmons' lack of documented encounters with the law, her college education, her steady employment, her volunteer work in the community and the broad range of support from "people who actually know her."

Attorney Earl Key added, "There are lots of things in our report that were raised at sentencing, but we put the law behind them and really detailed the law on what harsh and excessive is."

The defense team is also pursuing an appeal on the conviction of Simmons, and still believe they can get the conviction overturned, but Key said they led off today with the issue of the sentence.

Friedman said he and Cianfrini could have argued the case over the phone, but went to Buffalo to represent the people of Genesee County and the victim, Grace Suozzi, in person, rather than let only the defense appear in chambers.

The defense has until May 31 to finalize its motion and present its legal briefs.  Assuming Simmons makes bail, she could be out of prison until a ruling on the motion is issued.

Key said the actual order by Sconiers hasn't been signed yet, and until he has it in hand, he declined to discuss the process by which Simmons might be released from prison.

Le Roy's Winterfest/Stroll the Village/Holiday Bazaar will be held this Saturday, Dec. 1.

This year's "Stroll Through the Village" will include:

• Full card business BINGO (10 a..m. -2 p.m.), with prizes
• A window display contest
• Children's crafts & activities
• Gift wrapping at the Town of Le Roy Building and the Woodward Memorial Library, including a coloring contest.

A Holiday Bazaar will be held at the Moose (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to raise money for the LCCP and Le Roy Food Pantry, with several vendors and homemade crafters. Also, LCCP will offer a bake sale and gift wrapping, and there will be a visit from Santa Claus (1 p.m.).

A Chinese Auction will be offered, too. (Raffle tickets will be given at the Moose in exchange for non-perishable items.)

The Hobby Horse is having 20-percent off all scarves, storewide sales, and a free gift with $20 purchase; Vintage and Vogue Inspirations has 20-percent off all "Department 56" Snowpinions; The Personal Preference Salon & Spa is holding their 13th Annual Holiday Gala; Java's On Main will have $2 Peppermint Lattes or Peppermint Cocoa; Le Roy Hardware has Winterfest specials including stocking stuffers, plus there are several more participating businesses.

There is a Facebook event page with info as well: http://www.facebook.com/events/536564393037516/ <http://www.facebook.com/events/536564393037516/>

It's "all about the Beef" Saturday, Dec. 1, at Batavia Downs where there will be a benefit for popular and beloved youth sports coach James "Beef" Soggs.

He is ill and needs assistance with his medical bills.

Admission to the event, to be held in the Paddock Room, is $20 and you get $10 in free casino play upon entry.

Time is 7 to 11 p.m. and music will be provided by Unruly and venue DJs.

Attendees will get a chance to win an overnight stay at the Clarion Hotel in Batavia, a buffet meal for two at the clubhouse, and $25 in free casino play. There will also be basket raffles.

Food will include pizza and wings, pasta and meatballs, and salad.

Donations are most welcome!

The eighth race will be dedicated to Beef and a family picture will be taken.

Batavia Downs is located at 8315 Park Road in Batavia.

The Wiss Hotel building in Le Roy can be saved, village renewal expert Rick Hauser told about 50 people gathered in the village hall last night to hear his presentation.

The foundation is straight. The walls are straight. It needs a new roof and nothing in the interior can be saved, but it's got "good bones," he said.

And the two-floor apartments on the second and third floors would be pretty awesome.

The total cost of the renovation? About $1 million, financed by the formation of a limited liability corporation that would raise $400,000 in equity and borrow another $600,000.

"In my experience, nice apartments are hard to come by, and in my experience, and again, that's all I'm going on, as well as the supply and demand in Le Roy, and that's more anecdotal -- there's a shortage of apartments," Hauser said. "These kind of apartments get good rent and rent for the full amount. They become your anchor tenant. You are going to fill the apartments."

The first floor would consist of four or five retail or business spaces, in the draft plan created by Hauser, CEO of InSite: Architecture. 

Hauser has been consulting with people in communities like Le Roy for a number of years, but the best example of his work can be found in Perry, his hometown, where he has helped community residents rehabilitate several old buildings and turn them into profitable, attractive, productive mixed-use complexes.

The property values of those buildings have gone, in general terms, from the tens of thousands up to $150,000 and even $250,000.

Every building has gone from a deteriorating eyesore to an attractive, money-making venture.

The first part of Hauser's presentation included pictures of the accomplishments of the Perry community in revitalizing their downtown area. He also shared how a Main Street, LLC works.

It involves getting 30 or 40 local residents to invest in the LLC, either making a monetary contribution or in-kind (a plumber doing the plumbing work in the building, an electrician doing electrical, etc).

This isn't charity. The investors can potentially share in profits.

They could also realize any tax benefits.

The biggest tax advantage would be realized if Le Roy could successfully get its downtown designated a National Historic District (Le Roy is totally appropriate for such a designation, Hauser said), then 40 percent of investments in building preservation becomes a tax write-off for investors.

If $400,000 of the $1 million restoration cost came from investors, each one would realize a 100 percent, potentially, write-off on their share of the investment.

The project isn't without difficulties and risks, Hauser said. There will be critics who try to stop it, creditors will want tenants before loaning money, tenants will want improvements before they commit and no improvements can be made until the LLC has some loans in place to help get the project started.

However, Hauser said, the trick to solving this "chicken and egg" problem is to treat it like a flywheel -- get a little momentum going and build on it. If a bank says, "yeah, we can loan you some money if you have a tenant" find a tenant willing to commit if financing is in place, and keep building piece by piece from there.

Part of Hauser's suggestion for the Wiss is for the LLC to borrow $200,000 from the village at no interest.

The estimated demolition cost for the Wiss is $200,000. Rather than spend that money with no possibility of return on investment, Hauser is suggesting that the money be committed to something that will turn the Wiss into an asset that will help spur economic growth and generate more tax revenue for the village.

When a group of people make this kind of investment in their community, Hauser said, they become the champions of the village that help drive economic growth. They shop more in the village and encourage others to support local businesses. They have a greater stake in the economic vitality of the community.

"When you ask people to put their money where their house is, it's self interest, but it's self interest writ large," Hauser said.

Asked if the Wiss was worth saving when it's not really an obvious architectural beauty, Hauser said he never really looked at the building that way. It's a potential asset to the community because of its size, scale and location. It's more valuable where it stands than as a vacant lot.

"Saving an old building is a tool for economic growth," Hauser said. "It creates jobs. It creates business opportunity. It brings nice apartments that attract people who have stable incomes and is a catalyst for other initiatives that make Le Roy a better place to live. I don't really care about the architectural beauty of the building."

A brush fire is reported by the side of the road at 955 Lewiston Road, Basom.

Alabama fire is responding.

UPDATE 10:11 a.m.: Alabama fire back in service. All units returning to quarters.

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