Four grisly murders were committed during an 18-month period between 1922 and 1924 in the tiny hamlet of Linden, near Bethany, between Attica and Batavia. An additional murder in 1917, in which the modus operandi (M.O.) and crime signature were identical, caught the attention of local author Rob Thompson as well. Not an enthusiast of unanswered questions, Thompson began to dig.

“It was a form of criminal reverse engineering,” Thompson said. “In 1917, 1922, 1924 and 1934 six people were butchered and the killer was never caught.”

Frances Kimball, Hattie Whaley, Tom Whaley, Mabel Morse and Ben Phillips in Attica, and “Ruth” in 1917, were all brutally murdered, yet the cases have remained unsolved for close to 100 years. That is until Thompson’s inquisitive mind took him to the Genesee County Historical Society “just to see what they had.”

In his second book on the subject – “The Twisted Tree -- Final Words on the Linden Murders” – Thompson, who will be holding a book signing at the Alexander Fire Department from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, believes he knows the name of the killer.

Thompson’s interest in the Linden murders began with a casual conversation. Sometime during the 1980s a small book – "The Linden Murders...Unsolved" by William F. Brown – was written about the murders, however, Thompson noted that is was a “just a review of the facts of the crime.” 

“I wanted to know why they weren’t solved. I didn’t set out to solve the case, but I wanted to know why...As far as I can tell, the case was never solved because people were getting killed because they knew who the murderer was. I also believe there were a few cover-ups in the case as well.

“I connected ‘Ruth’ to the others by M.O. and signature...nearness to the killer's workplace and all cases being kept together as though there were a link.”

He became interested in the subject because it was something that happened in the area. According to Thompson, the murderer would be considered one of the most prolific serial killers in New York State. Not only because the case was never solved, but because there were at least six – and possibly more – deaths. The murderer is in the top 10 group of serial killers in the state.

“You find little pieces of information and that gives you hope. If you don’t tell the stories, they are going to get lost. History will get buried if you don’t talk about it.”

Studying the existing case files and using modern profiling techniques, Thompson enlisted the help of Mark Safarik, a retired FBI agent and media expert on serial killers. Safarik was host to the NBC Universal show “Killer Instinct” which explored notorious crimes as seen through the eyes of an FBI criminal profiler.

"It was about control. These were not murders committed for financial or sexual gain. He also struck fear into the hearts of the other residents of Linden, likely preventing them from telling authorities enough to result in his arrest.”

While locals were fearful of going to the police, one theory Thompson suggested included a cover-up by the killer's wife, Lorraine, immediate family members and the killer’s doctor, Dr. Bradley. While he suggests all knew of his crimes, they were remiss to go to the authorities.

“I think Dr. Bradley knew Lorraine was messed up her whole life and his thinking may have been ‘am I going to send two women to the electric chair or move on with my life and let the authorities deal with it?’ They (police) knew where the killer was and he was under constant observation. Additionally, how can you convene a Grand Jury without any real hard evidence.”

Thompson’s theory suggests, after the murder of Kimball, the killer had come home and wiped his hands on his wife Lorraine’s dress.

“He transferred the blame onto her when he wiped his bloody hands on her dress.”

When Thompson spoke with Safarik, he went to him with photos and supporting documentation and asked him to give him an idea of the type of person he was looking for.

“To me, it didn’t look like delusional behavior, but had a pattern of behavior. He (the murderer) was cunning, manipulative, glib...he felt like he could get away with things when speaking with authorities. He gave clues. He said he couldn’t fire a pistol but he could fire a rifle, but they didn’t pick up on that. I hit all these points in the research.”

In 1934, Rochester Police Det. John McDonald had said Phillips died when a fire in the bedroom caused the sheetrock to fall on his head. However, the photo of the crime scene shows the man's head is caved in, yet the detective dismissed those injuries to anything other than the falling sheetrock.

“So you had a detective come in and throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing and a DA who shot himself... there were so many conflicting stories, but once I matched up the signatures, I couldn’t help but make the connection.”

Thompson’s background in psychology, schizophrenics specifically, became the backbone to his research. While in Memphis, Tenn., he dealt with the most serious mentally ill people. Thompson called them the “most dangerous you can think of.” He worked in the field for 12 years, handling 50 clients a week.

“They weren’t in prison; they were the unmedicated. My job was to go out and bring them into the system. I worked with the police doing crisis stabilization, identifying the mentally ill. I can identify a pattern. You don’t necessarily need more than an image, a photo of the killer, to get a feel for the person.”

Pointing to one photo he notes the people around the murderer – he is standing in a dominant role, in front of everyone else, the 1924 victim was in the photo, barely seen in the back. Thompson says a photograph will tell you everything.

“It says a lot about a person's personality. Did that person’s personality match anything else about him? What about his hands? They matched the physical genetic deformity that was noted by his doctor.”

Among other clues Thompson found was at the same time Michael’s mother, Sophia, and sister, Julia, went to Detroit to visit another sister in September 1921, several arsons and crimes started to occur in Linden. When Michael was found guilty of those crimes, the judge’s house was set on fire. Witnesses say they saw two people enter the house and saw Michael leaving. Additionally, only two of the murders happened prior to his mother’s death.

Although the victims, witnesses, and the murderer himself have been dead several decades, Thompson believes that his research can contribute to closing the case. While he believes positively that he's identified the murderer, he noted what journalist Dan Hurbeck said about his certainty: “ ‘Don’t use 100 percent, use 98.6 percent.’ When guys like Hurbeck, who sat with Timothy McVeigh and looked into his eyes and knew what it was like to deal with these people said ‘You got it right man. This case is closed.’ I can be pretty confident I came to the right conclusion.”

Thompson’s conclusion stemmed from the killer's signature elements, a blitz attack, trauma to the head, overkill, and arson – Kimbell was hit in the head 22 times with a rock; Ruth’s face was beaten so severely, that to this day her identity is still uncertain; Morse’s head was crushed; and Phillips experienced blunt force trauma to the head.

The tough part was separating it all and putting together the process.

“The most interesting part of it all was discovery. Discovering something new – his marriage certificate, the cover up that Dr. Bradley hid, Julia and Lorraine’s involvement, what they knew but didn’t say. 

“In a small town everybody would have known everybody and they certainly would have known if a stranger got off the train and killed three people. And they would have likely known who the suspect was. There were a lot of gatherings at that time, so people talked.

“On the night of the triple murder, Morse’s son, Howard, who lived in Buffalo, got a call saying ‘you will never see your mother again.’ Then the caller hung up. Who would have had his number? Who would have known about the crime right after it had taken place?”

At one point in the investigation, Morse’s husband, George, was a focus because “Mable was allegedly romancing the younger farm boys.” 

In the end, George was cleared and Howard ended up owning the store, which closed about 26 years ago.

“There is a woman who lives in Linden and her father was born there. When the school closed he would travel to Attica to go to school. She said she remembers her father had said someone from Westinghouse (a factory in Attica) would ask him about the murders in Linden...what’s going on there? She believes it was the killer because he was working for Westinghouse and he knew the train’s schedule. She says her dad had said he was ‘very afraid’ of that man. She also says, that is all ‘makes sense now.’ ”

Thompson holds a college degree in English Literature and a bachelor of science degree in Human Services with practical experience.

“I liked solving puzzles and there is no greater puzzle than the human psyche. And if you can look at a person who is sleeping under a bridge and figure out the reason why – addiction, mental illness, a combination of both. Could the killer have been at that place? We don’t know because we know nothing about the first 27 years of his life.

“My goal is to write a history book that doesn’t read like one. The Linden murders is history. I’d like people to think about it (history) and ask questions. It’s to keep history alive.”

Other books by Thompson include:

    • “The Linden Murders...Solved”

    • “Notorious”

    • “The Prince of Java”

    • “Attica Gateway to the West”

    • “Attica Gateway to the Civil War”

    • “From Hell The Final Days of Jack the Ripper”

    • “They Fell Together” Emory Upton Biography (2017)

    • “The Emperor's Robe” (Ernest Hemingway biography due out 2018)

In farming, there's little time to dwell on losses and already the Torreys are moving on after a fire caused more than $3 million in losses to their Big O Farms onion packing and storage facility in Elba yesterday.

They're still shipping onions from two other facilities they own and making plans to replace the equipment lost in yesterday's fire.

"That’s what we’ve got to do," said Mark Torrey, who stopped by the scene of the fire at 5520 N. Byron Road this afternoon to meet an insurance adjuster. "That’s what keeps you going today. We got up this morning and had to figure it out. We had loads we had to get out today. We had to figure out how to get them out. We actually started working on that yesterday afternoon."

There were three lines of onion-packing equipment in the building, Torrey said. Some of the equipment was installed within the past year. The property is assessed at more than $400,000 and each line costs more than a half-million-dollars each.

"It's not something you can just buy off the shelf," Torrey said.

Most of the equipment is manufactured in Europe, so even if suppliers have already assembled the parts, it will take some time to get everything to Elba and get it installed.

Meanwhile, the Torreys still have onions from this season's crop to get to market and some 70 employees to keep working.

A few employees posted on Facebook about how sad they were about the fire and praised the Torreys as good people to work for.

"A lot of these people have worked for us for a long time," Torrey said. "They’re working in the other places (today), but yeah, we’ve got a lot of good employees and you try to treat them right."

The fire may have started with a tractor that was stored on the southeast corner of the building and had its engine block plugged into an electric socket to keep it from freezing. Nearly every fire department in the county, along with companies from Monroe and Orleans counties, responded to the Thanksgiving Day fire. There is reportedly a community effort underway to organize an event to recognize the volunteers.

Local contractor Vito J. Gautieri also was at the facility today. He built the plant in 1958 for the Ognibene family. He came with a model of a truss used in the main arched barn. The county's online property database doesn't list the size of the facility. Gautieri said it was greatly expanded from what he originally built, but he estimated the entire space to be about 25,000 square feet.

"It's the first building I ever built that burned down," Gautieri said.

Torrey acknowledged it's a difficult loss, but that the business will continue as usual.

"This is a big set back, but we’ve still got people, we’ve got product we’ve got to pack," Torrey said. "You’ve just got to get doing it and that sort of keeps your mind off of this today."

Previously:

• Barn fire reported in Elba
• Photos: Big O, Torrey Farms barn fire, Elba, Thanksgiving Day, 2016
• Torreys keep farming all in the family
• Large onion processing plant in Elba total loss after massive fire

A start-up in Oakfield made the front page of the The Wall Street Journal today (account required) as part of a story on a game that seems to be growing in popularity in some part of the country, even though it has been around a long time.

We've told you before about MöbileSchlägen, the portable version of a game that involves, traditionally, a tree stump, a nail, a hammer, and beer. MöbileSchlägen was invented -- they actually got a patent on the key technology -- by Marc Johnson, James Betters and Dan Mangus. Their big innovation was the sturdy stand that holds a stump-like piece of wood into which game players pound nails.

A reporter for The Wall Street Journal visited Oakfield a couple of days ago to learn more about the game and wrap mention of it into a story she was working on about the rise in popularity of Hammerschlagen, or Stump.  

The game has become popular enough, as reporter Rebecca Davis O'Brien notes, that there has even been a little legal wrangling over who owns the rights to it. Jim Martin, of Lake Elmo, Minn., asserts he owns the trademark for Hammer-Schlagen. According to the WSJ article, Martin has sent a cease-and-desist letter to a competitor, The Stump Company, and has also sent messages to Johnson and his partners. (He also contacted The Batavian demanding that we correct our previous story and include mention of his company and what he says are the true origins of the game.)

Johnson said their version of the game is gaining interest and they should have a product ready for market soon.

Also, here's a couple of photos Johnson supplied from the Oakfield Historical Society, from a company picnic for U.S. Gypsum in the 1950s, showing a similar game being played locally.

Here's the company's promotional video:

Batavia's own Mike Pettinella was edged out in the Genesee Region USBC Senior Masters tournament at the Perry Bowling Center by Bob Santini.

Santini is owner of Mount Morris Lanes and the title was his first senior masters win.

The 52-year-old bowler beat Pettinella 189-180.

Pettinella was trying for his third title in the scratch event for bowlers age 50 and over.

This year's tournament attracted 49 bowlers, the most in its 11-year history.

Santini, a 1994 Perry Bowling Association scratch memorial tourney champion, rolled a 700 series in qualifying to place third behind Joe Trigilio of Attica (721) and Paul Spiotta of Batavia (705). He followed that with 422 in the two-game semifinals to reach the round of six.

In that round, and as the lanes hooked more and more, he posted 187, second to Pettinella's 190, to reach the stepladder finals along with Oakfield's Scott Gibson, who shot 179.

In the first game of the finals, Pettinella defeated Gibson, 188-168, to earn the right to face the top-seeded Santini.

Santini earned $300 plus a free entry into the GRUSBC Masters in February, while Pettinella won $175 and Gibson took home $125.

Trigilio, Spiotta and Roger Stone won $75 each, while Fred Gravanda, of Batavia, Don Parrott, of Warsaw, Mike Kime, of Caledonia, Scott Shields, of Batavia, Bob Hodgson, of Medina and Bill Logan, of Albion, each won $60 for making the top 12.

Photo -- Mike Pettinella, left, and Bob Santini -- GRUSBC Senior Masters finalists.

Photos: File photos

Press release:

The Genesee Society of Model Engineers will host the club's Annual Holiday Open House on Saturday, Dec. 3rd, at the club's facilities at 50 Main St. (Route 63), Oakfield (above the M&T Bank). The free event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The club's facilities feature operating layouts in O Gauge (Lionel), HO & N scale as well as push trains for the little ones. Refreshments will be served and club members will be available to answer your model railroading questions. Fun for kids of all ages. Stairway access only.

"The Christmas holidays seem to bring back those childhood memories of a model train around the Christmas tree," says club President Mike Bakos. "Our members are keeping the traditions of trains and the holidays alive. We invite you to visit and enjoy one of Genesee County's best kept secrets." 

The Genesee Society of Model Engineers is located at 50 Main St. (Route 63), Oakfield, (above the M&T Bank) and is open Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. Business meetings are held the last Tuesday of each month. Visit www.gsme.org.

It's been more than 12 hours since the first alarm sounded for a barn fire at  5520 N. Byron Road in Elba and volunteer firefighters are still on scene.

On Thanksgiving Day.

It was a massive fire. It consumed the entire onion packing and storage facility owned by the Torrey family. It's a facility that 15 years ago was owned by the Ognibene family, hence the name of the business location, "Big O Farms."

The facility is just a mile or so north on Transit Road from the Elba Mucklands, where the Torreys are one of the largest onion growers in the county.

Family members told firefighters that most of the recent season's crop was stored at other locations, so while about 1,000 crates of onions were lost, most of this season's harvest was not in the building.

What was in the building was all of the company's sorting and packing machines, all of which were destroyed in the fire.

"Obviously, these agriculture-design buildings have no built-in protection systems, so that’s a game changer for us," said Tim Yaeger, emergency management coordinator. "Then not having the adequate water supply for us initially, we were playing catch-up the entire time."

Clearly, the fire started in the southeast corner of the building. The cause, however, is unknown. Yaeger said investigators will look at electrical and equipment as the potential spark that lit the inferno. 

Elba crews were first on scene and started an exterior attack. Yaeger said that it's possible even by that time, given the wide-open spaces inside the building, the fire could have spread extensively.

It didn't take long for flames to reach the west end of the building, and a short time later, five- and six-foot high flames could be seen flitting through the roof.

Heavy equipment was brought in to knock down walls and open holes in the roof to help firefighters get water onto the fire.

But all morning, the water supply was a major obstacle to fighting the fire.

There was only one low-volume fire hydrant in the area, so as many as 20 tankers were called in from four counties to help shuttle water from fill sites (ponds, generally) and to porta-ponds set up on North Byron Road.

"Some of the primary fill sites weren’t adequate because of the drought we had this past summer so they had to establish and look for other fill sites, which unfortunately were further away," Yaeger said. "Some points were four, five, six miles away."

While nobody wants to be dragged away from friends, family, parades and football to fight a fire on Thanksgiving Day, the timing of the fire had one benefit: plenty of manpower. Many volunteers were home today instead of at work on a typical Thursday.

"I was fearful on the way here when the alarm came in, you know, people go away, go to visit family, a lot people go out of town, so I was concerned about what our manpower situation was going to be," Yaeger said. "Surprisingly, it may have worked in our favor. We had more than adequate manpower."

Every fire company in Genesee County was mobilized in some way for the fire. If the department wasn't on scene, and most of them were, they were acting as standby or fill-in for the departments who did respond.

Responding from the county included Elba, Byron, South Byron, Bergen, Oakfield, Stafford, Alabama, Alexander, Le Roy, East Pembroke, Bethany, Pembroke and Indian Falls, with Darien and Pavilion placed on standby or fill-in.

Departments from Orleans County, including Albion and Barre, responded, as well as Brockport from Monroe County and inmates from Wyoming Correctional Facility.

All volunteers, all giving up all or a portion of their Thanksgiving to fight a fire.

But Yaeger suggested we not concentrate on the sacrifice of the volunteers.

"It’s difficult, but our hearts and thoughts go out to the business owner," Yaeger said. "That’s the primary concern. We don’t ever want to see this kind of destruction. It’s a total loss. That’s our real thought. For the firefighters, to be away from their families is difficult, but that’s what we do. In times of need, the fire services have got to be there and we were. It’s unfortunate it was today."

Previously: 

• Barn fire reported in Elba
• Photos: Big O, Torrey Farms barn fire, Elba, Thanksgiving Day, 2016
• Torreys keep farming all in the family

Photos from the fire that broke out about 7:30 a.m., today, at Big O Farms, a property of Torrey Farms, where onions are processed.

We'll have more coverage later. Initial coverage, here.

Give thanks for our volunteer firefighters.

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A barn fire is reported at 5520 N. Byron Road. Elba and Byron fire departments are responding. "It is believed to be 'The Big O', which is the onion growing company's name. Smoke is seen coming from the structure.

UPDATE 7:35 a.m.: This is a confirmed, working barn fire. Town of Batavia Fire Department is called to stand by in Elba's fire hall. Bergen, Oakfield and Stafford are also called to the scene.

UPDATE 7:39 a.m.: This has gone to a third alarm. Alabama, Alexander, Bethany and East Pembroke fire departments are also called to the scene, along with the Town of Batavia's ladder truck.

UPDATE 8:05 a.m.: South Byron Fire Police are called to shut down traffic at North Byron and Transit roads. Churchville is asked to fill in at Bergen's fire hall.

UPDATE 8:17 a.m.: Alexander, Darien, Pembroke and Indian Falls are asked to have crews stand by in their respective fire halls in case needed. Two tankers out of Brockport are requested to the fire.

UPDATE 8:48 a.m.: National Grid is on scene. Barre is responding. Attica is asked to fill in at Alexander.

UPDATE 9:12 a.m.: "We have rolling flames," says a firefighter.

UPDATE(S) 10:49 a.m. (by Howard): When I left the scene 20 minutes ago, the fire was still burning. Fire crews are likely to be on scene all day.  I'm going to start working on my pictures and head out later for follow up.

UPDATE 11:14 a.m.: This story from 2013 contains some shots of onion processing in this building.

UPDATE 12:23 p.m.: Le Roy's rescue engine is requested to the scene.

UPDATE 12:32 p.m.: Pavilion being requested to fill in at Le Roy's hall. (CORRECTION: Pavilion asked to stage in their own hall to cover Stafford and Le Roy)

UPDATE 1:36 p.m.: A man just showed up with "a bunch of Thanksgiving dinners" for the firefighters.

UPDATE 1:42 p.m.: Le Roy returning.

UPDATE 2:23 p.m.: Alexander is returning.

UPDATE 2:36 p.m.: Several other departments have been released, including all of the out-of-county departments

UPDATE: More coverage here.

UPDATE 4:59 p.m.: Town of Batavia's Ladder 25 is back in service.

Batavia-based p.w. minor held an official kickoff party for its two new lines of shoes on Tuesday night in the future home of its new retail store, the former Chamber of Commerce headquarters on East Main Street.

Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley were both in attendance and they tried on some new shoes.

The new shoe lines are Abram Boots, an affordable, steel-toed work boot, and a line of higher end men's fashion shoes, under the brand of the Batavia Boot and Shoe Company.

The store will be a joint venture between p.w. minor and Charles Men's Shop, run by owners Dave Howe and Don Brown.

Next year, p.w. minor will celebrate its 150th anniversary. It recently moved all of its production back to Batavia from China and the new store will stock only American-made products.

Howe said owner Pete Zeilff, his family and the rest of the team at p.w. minor have done something a lot of people talk about but few do: make a real investment and commitment to the local community.

"I will tell you," Howe said, "we need your commitment as a community to support us. We're hoping for a partnership that everyone can be proud of."

Brian Benedict, the new director of sales for p.w. minor who was lured from a good job in Chicago to return to his hometown and work for Zeliff, said he's amazed at how far p.w. minor has come as a company in a short time and that he's excited about the potential of these shoe lines.

"We have 86 people employed at p.w. minor, so when you buy a pair of shoes, a pair from the Batavia Boot and Shoe Company, seven people touched that shoe as it goes through production," Benedict said. "And, 94 percent of our employees live in Genesee County. It’s not buying an American-made shoe. You’re buying a shoe from people who are your neighbors, your friends, people you see in the street, you see at Tops.

"If you buy two pair we can actually hire more people," he added, which got a laugh from the invited guests in the room.

The kickoff party is the first of six such events over the next couple of months, including a factory tour and chance to check out the new shoe lines at the factory in late December. The invited guests for that event will be people who have liked p.w. minor on the company's Facebook page.

Zeliff said he doesn't think he could have better partners for this venture than Howe and Brown.

"I had to learn a new profession (in taking over p.w. minor) and a new way of making a living over the past two years," Zeliff said. "I really didn't think I would do that at my age, but I really didn't want to learn another one doing retail, so Dave and Don are great people to partner with. I'm happy we're able to do this with them."

Howe has been in the retail business for 50 years, and owned Charles Men's Shop for 31 years, a business that has been in Batavia for 70 years.

The new shoe lines were developed by Kristine McCarthy, a graduate of Batavia High School, who returned home after working in New York City, to join the team at p.w. minor.

Zeliff said he's excited to reach this point of growth for p.w. minor. He sees bright days ahead.

"We've finally turned a corner and we've got a new product out," Zeliff said. "We've got a lot of exciting things happening. I think in these next 12 months will really be the turning stone for us to become a proftable company again and grow more."

Photo and information provided by John Sisson and GCC.

A turkey was fried at College Village today to help demonstrate how to safely cook with oil for residents at the apartment complex at Genesee Community College.

Chief of Safety, Bob Guesno and College Village Director John Sisson are seen lowering the turkey into the oil.

"As many of our fire calls at College Village are related to cooking with oil, we thought that we would take this opportunity to give the residents not only a safe example but also a chance to share some tips for cooking with oil in their apartments as well," Sisson said.

The residents will be served a turkey dinner with all the fixings, including stuffing and mashed potatoes.

“This will be our 12th year holding this annual feast in honor of Thanksgiving,” said Mary-Clare Stokes, assistant director of Residence Life and Learning at College Village. “It’s a great way for our students and resident assistants to come together in a bonding experience. And, as the semester winds down, it certainly is a ‘de-stressor’ as well.”

Each resident assistant of College Village works throughout the day to prepare the meal, and are being charged with cooking one turkey apiece to share with residents. That usually is approximately 10 turkeys and will feed at least 150 student residents. For some students, this will be their only Thanksgiving celebration, and for some international students, it may be the first time they’ve experienced the holiday or tasted the traditional foods of an American Thanksgiving.

“The tradition is a great experience for everyone,” Stokes said. “Not only is it the first Thanksgiving experience for some of our residents, but it may also be the first experience for some of our resident assistants and staff at cooking a Thanksgiving meal. We look forward to a great turnout and a fun evening!” 

Since Sept. 1, mixed martial arts competitions have been legal in New York, and Batavia will be at the forefront next month of hosting tournaments.

Rich Mitchell, of Le Roy, and originally from Stafford (far right in photo) is a former professional MMA fighter and for the past five years has judged fights. Now he's moving into the promotional side of the business, sponsoring his first tournament Dec. 17 at the Quality Inn & Suites in Batavia.

"I’ve been involved with this sport and it was just time (to become a promoter)," Mitchell said. "It’s a natural progression."

There was a promoter in Buffalo, but he's become a deputy commissioner for the sport in New York, so that opened up the WNY market to competition.

Mitchell is planning on promoting six events a year, three in Batavia and three in Buffalo.

At first, the events will be all amateur bouts because professional fights, especially for insurance, are a lot more expensive to stage, but moving up into the promotion of professional fights is definitely part of the plan, Mitchell said.

"It's a little way off," Mitchell said, "maybe a year or two."

The event Dec. 17 starts at 6 p.m. and will feature Morgan Cavanach and Tom Shelby. Tickets are $30 pre-sale, $35 at the door, and VIP cage-seats are $50.

For more information, visit groundforcefights.com.

Top photo: Eddie Ortiz and Pete Flanagan, both on the left, are two of the local fighters who will participate Dec. 17. Joe Loftus, second from right, was originally on the card but will have to sit out because of an injury; and Mitchell.

Bottom photo: Wrestling students and MMA participants at Main Street Fitness, Le Roy.

Wow! 2016 is flying by. It’s hard to believe that it’s Thanksgiving week. We have a lot of things to be thankful for in Genesee County – including items that will make your “Turkey Day” awesome. Whether you are cooking Thanksgiving dinner, or are going to someone’s house on Thursday, here are five places/items that will enhance your holiday.

Greg’ry’s Bakery (13 N. Lake Road, Bergen, NY)   – You will certainly be a superstar if you show up to Thanksgiving dinner with one of Greg’ry’s Bakery’s 25 delicious pies. Everything at this beloved Bergen bakery is made from scratch, so you know it will be great. Greg’ry’s also has a slew of breads, coffeecakes and rolls that will be welcomed at the dinner table. If you visit their website, Greg’ry’s Bakery has a special online Thanksgiving ordering form to help facilitate the process.

(Photo by Howard Owens.)

Oliver’s Candies (211 Main St., Batavia, NY) – Since 1932, Oliver’s Candies has been a sweet tooth’s favorite destination in Genesee County. Oliver’s uses original proven family recipes and the very best in ingredients. Glazed cashews and ribbon candy are two of Oliver’s specialty items that are welcomed at any Thanksgiving table. The fact that Oliver’s is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week should make it easy for you to stop by.

Kutter’s Cheese Factory (857 Main Road, Corfu, NY) – This is your destination for award-winning cheeses. There are so many different flavors to choose from, including all your Yancey’s Fancy favorites (smoked Gouda and bacon is this writer’s top choice!). A large selection of curds, dips, cottage cheeses, jams, spreads, and crackers are also available in the outlet store, as well as Hunt Country Vineyard wines.

Midgard Wines (purchase at West Main Wine & Spirits, Batavia) – Bring some local wine to the table! Genesee County’s only meadery turns honey into wine (also known as mead). Midgard’s delicious flavored wines are made from their own bee colony on the family farm. Mead is quite the rage in the food and beverage world – so not only will you bring a great wine to Thanksgiving, but it’s also catching the wave of a popular trend.

The Mill (7061 Old Orchard Road, Elba, NY) – If you want to spice up your house with some seasonal decorations, or purchase a small gift for your Thanksgiving host, The Mill gift shop is a wonderful place to shop. Set in an old grain mill, The Mill has a wide array of gift items that fit right in with the holiday season. Lots of items to discover throughout.

Bonus locations: After stuffing yourself for a few days, you might want to get some exercise by going for a hike at either Genesee County Park & Forest and Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.

Visit www.VisitGeneseeNY.com to learn more...

David C. Truesdale, 26, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Truesdale was arrested by members of the Local Drug Task Force after being called by NYS Parole to assist in an investigation. Truesdale was allegedly found in possession of marijuana and crack cocaine. Truesdale was jailed on an alleged parole violation. He was issued an appearance ticket on the drug charges. Additional charges possible pending a lab report. Deputy Chris Erion and K-9 "Destro" assisted in the investigation.

Shane Zimblis, 45, of Pearl Street, Batavia, is accused of criminal mischief, 3rd. Zimblis is accused of spray painting the headlights and grill of a pickup truck at 1:47 a.m. Tuesday at a location on Pearl Street, without the owner's permission. He was ordered held without bail.

A winter weather advisory has been issued for Genesee County starting at 6 p.m. and lasting until 10 a.m. because the National Weather Service expects freezing rain to hit the region.

Winds will be from the southeast at 10 to 20 mph.

Extremely slippery conditions on roadways and sidewalks are expected. Caution is advised.

James D. Pontillo is indicted on four counts of falsifying business records, 1st, and one count of grand larceny, 4th. Pontillo is accused of filing false business records with Pathstone related to Section 8 housing by filing a false information sheet, a request for tenancy approval, owner responsibility form and lead paint disclosure form. In the course of these filings, he's accused of defrauding the agency of more than $1,000.

Michael J. Jarmuz II, is indicted on a count of driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol, aggravated unlicensed operation, criminal impersonation, 2nd, four counts of forgery, 2nd, forgery, 3rd, and two counts of offering a false instrument for filing. Jamuz is accused of driving while under the influence in the Town of Elba on Aug. 13. He was allegedly driving while his privilege was suspended. He allegedly provided a false identity when stopped and provided a false identity when submitting to a blood sample, a fingerprint record and a patient record at UMMC.

A car vs. deer accident is reported in the area of 7373 Pekin Road, Elba.

Injuries are reported. 

Elba fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 9:19 p.m.: A Mercy medic first on scene reports minor injuries. All responders can come in non-emergency.

Press release:

On Tuesday, Nov. 22, the Genesee County STOP-DWI Advisory Board sponsored its premiere STOP-DWI Awards Luncheon at Terry Hills Restaurant & Banquet Facility.

Seven young people from districts in the county were honored for their commitment to the community for entering the Board’s STOP-DWI Poster Contest. There were First- through Third-place winners in two grade categories, 6-8 and 9-12, as well as a Grand Prize Winner. Additionally, the luncheon recognized two Top Cop Awards and a Coordinator’s Award.

The following young people were recognized for their STOP DWI poster submissions: 6-8th grade winners; Jessica Andrade, Isabella Biviano, Taylor Hutton and Grace Shepard. The 9th-12th grade winners are Isabella Riner and Morgan Harrington. The Grand Prize Winner whose artwork will appear on two billboards in Genesee County throughout the month of December is Kallie Totten, an eighth-grader from Elba Central School.

Batavia Police Officer Matthew J. Wojtaszczyk and Genesee County Sheriff Deputy Rich Schildwaster received the Top Cop Award for going above and beyond with DWI arrests during a twelve month time period. They were also honored for their dedication to keeping our community safe. Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha received the Coordinator’s Award for his outstanding commitment to our community for the last 49 years.

The law enforcement honorees each received a challenge coin. STOP-DWI coordinator Matt Landers explained that there have been only 50 such coins made, each is sequentially numbers and they will be given out to honorees in the coming years. Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha, who is retiring at the end of this year, received coin #1.

Dolce Panepinto is proud to announce the hiring of Attorney Kristin Allen and the grand opening of our new Batavia office located directly above the New York State Worker’s Compensation Board at 83 Main St., Suite 220, Batavia, NY 14020. Kristin has been practicing Workers’ Compensation law for the past 16 years and has been handling Workers’ Compensation claims on behalf of injured workers in Batavia for the past 10 years. Her vast knowledge of the Workers’ Compensation system combined with her remarkable work ethic and friendly personality make her an ideal fit for our legal team.

“It had long been a dream of my late partner Frank Dolce to have a Workers’ Compensation Department at Dolce Panepinto and we were able to make that dream a reality in 2013 with the hiring of Holly Schoenborn and Colleen Malchow,” explained Senior Partner Marc Panepinto. “The addition of Kristin Allen and the Batavia office are an extension of that dream. Kristin is a very intelligent attorney and an extremely hard worker. I know Frank would be proud to have her.”

Kristin joins attorneys Holly Schoenborn and Colleen Malchow in our dedicated Workers’ Compensation Department, which works hand in hand with the rest of the Dolce Panepinto team. We take the team approach to practicing in the areas of Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation, Social Security, Disability, and all injury-related matters, which means that all of our clients' cases are evaluated by several attorneys to devise the proper legal strategy for each matter. You and your family may have the ability to file several types of claims relating to the same incident. We handle those claims simultaneously as a team, working hand in hand to ensure that you receive the best possible outcome.

When asked about her new position with Dolce Panepinto, Allen said, “I am thrilled to be joining a firm comprised of Western New York’s brightest and hardest working attorneys. Working in a true team environment is a dream come true and I am excited for the results we will provide for my clients.”

All three of our Workers’ Compensation attorneys are available to speak to the leadership and/or membership of your union or volunteer fire department about Workers’ Compensation basics and the ways in which the law applies to your specific field. If you would like to find out more, or to schedule a presentation, please contact Carlos Torres at our Buffalo office at 716-852-1888.

Once again, our Batavia office is located directly above the Workers’ Compensation Board office at 83 Main St., Suite 220, Batavia, NY 14020. There is free parking in the rear and an elevator is available to reach the second floor. If you or anybody in your family has been injured and are in need of legal assistance, do not hesitate to contact Kristin today at 585-815-9003 for a free case evaluation.

Here's something you don't hear often in the chambers of the Old County Courthouse: Members of the Genesee County Legislature raising their voices and talking over each other during a policy discussion.

Members of the normally decorous body got a little testy with each other at times Monday night during negotiations over the 2017 county budget that has no easy answers as state and federal mandates continue to drive up expenses, eating up more of what local taxpayers contribute to the county budget, leaving precious little left for essential local services.

A substantial property tax increase looks inevitable, bringing it up to a rate as high as $10.30 per thousand. That's a 5-percent increase in the levy. That would mean the Legislature would need to override the state-mandated tax levy increase, which the full body approved earlier in the evening.

As members chattered near the end of the discussion about what level of increase they could accept, Legislator Shelly Stein said, "We know we’re going over. We absolutely know we’re going over."

It's just a question of if they can find a way to cut expenses enough to shrink the size of the increase, and with each member of the Legislature having a good reason to protect this or that expenditure, reaching a consensus on what to cut is proving difficult. They agreed not to eliminate the request for two new corrections officers in the Sheriff's Office, nor to eliminate a road patrol position next year. They also won't eliminate a case worker position in the Public Defender's Office after PD Jerry Ader explained that the position legislators thought was grant funded really isn't. They couldn't agree on whether to make cuts in the planning department or the District Attorney's Office -- and County Manager Jay Gsell explained why a hiring freeze would be a bad idea.

Cuts to the highway department would leave an already depleted staff with fewer people to get road work done. You would have, Gsell said, all flagmen and no workers on road projects, for example. In social services, there has been a significant increase in case load post-Obamacare with no increase in staffing. Any cuts to the Department of Motor Vehicles would reduce county revenue. 

“We are a service business," Gsell said. "Even in this day and age with all the technology, the bottom line is, we deal with people, and most people on a face-to-face basis, and if we don’t, they still end up coming in our offices to get their problems resolved. If we were retail, we could do that kind of stuff, just stop hiring people, but then of course our shelves wouldn't get stocked."

Over the course of his tenure as county manager, Gsell said, the county has eliminated nearly 100 jobs, leaving all departments operating at a bare-minimum staffing level.

When Chairman Ray Cianfrini did a straw poll asking members what percentage of tax increase would members be willing to support, there was no support for a 7-percent or a 6-percent increase, but a passing majority was willing to go along with a 5-percent or 4-percent increase.

Cianfrini joked that he knew Legislator Andrew Young wants to hold it at zero percent, but Young said he raised his hand for 5 percent.

"I understand we’ve got to increase taxes," Young said. "We can’t help it and we should increase it less by cutting more is my opinion, but can’t allow ourselves to become insolvent either. "

The potential of insolvency is a real concern for Young, who has raised it several times during budget discussion. The concern is a big reason legislators are unwilling to take more than $500,000 from reserves to help balance the budget and don't want to transfer nearly $1 million in anticipated sales tax revenue from the road and bridge fund and use it to balance the 2017 budget.

Young, Robert Bausch and Marianne Clattenburg are all arguing that the county needs to come up with a five-year plan that will guide budgeting decisions, with more data and some anticipation of the variables the county might face on revenue and spending in the coming years.

"I've never been part of an organization that didn't have a plan for the future, and we don't have a plan," Young said.

If the budget process doesn't start sooner next year, Bausch said, and there's no budget discussion prior to an October meeting, then that meeting might as well be canceled right now because it will be a waste of time.

The Legislature will meet at 5 p.m. Monday to discuss the budget again.