There were trick or treaters out all over the City of Batavia last night.

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It was an October day when I walked out the front door of my grandmother's home and saw two family friends. They were sitting on the tailgate of a station wagon parked beneath an old maple. They were holding a day's limit of ringneck pheasants and the setting was enhanced by the maple's red-orange foliage.

That took place on Batavia's southside nearly sixty years ago and that was likely the moment I knew I wanted to hunt when I was older.

I'm guessing it was also around the time I began to take note of the various breeds of hunting hounds in our neck of the woods. There were sporting dogs all over the place in those years. I saw Nin Trinchera's beagles every day on my way to St. Anthony's School. And all the regulars at Kibbe Park knew "Colonel," an English setter belonging to the Ficarella family. It was a time when upland game was plentiful and hunting was as American as baseball and apple pie, and setters, spaniels and pointers seemed to be as common as the once-abundant chestnut trees.

Let me fast forward to another day in October. It's a Saturday morning in 1989. A small group of duck hunters and a pair of black labs are hunkered down among the cattails in Oxbow marsh. Decoys have been set out and the hunters make small talk waiting for the break of dawn. Someone mentioned the ongoing murmurings and rumblings being made in reference to gun owners. "Someday they're gonna take our guns," he said, referring to the powers that be. I don't know if he really believed it then. I don't know if any of us did. After all, could it have been anything more than just another bombastic threat?

Today the threat is real and very close at hand.

For decades I was a waterfowler and an avid bowhunter and in the '60s and early '70s I did a bit of ringneck hunting. In recent years I 've spent far more time in the outdoors with a camera. Still, I have pleasant memories of days spent in the marsh and in tree stands or scouring grain fields and swale hoping for pheasants to explode from cover. And I am thankful to those who took me under their wing in my earliest days afield.

And those are just a couple of reasons why I'm voting early Tuesday morning in hopes of preserving a small slice of Americana.

A car and semi-truck have collided on the Thruway in the westbound lane near mile marker 386.6

That's about two-tenths of a mile east of the Bank Street Road overpass.

There are only minor injuries.

Town of Batavia fire is responding along with Mercy EMS.

A chief on scene reports, "we've got one against the inside guard rail and one against the outside guard rail."

The left lane is blocked.

UPDATE 8:33 a.m.: A chief reports a correction on vehicles. One passenger vehicle and one flatbed truck, unloaded.

State funds for a system of bicycle trails around the city of Batavia, which the governor's office announced Monday, are actually eamarked for sidewalk replacements and repairs, not biking trails, according to City Manager Jason Molino.

The Healthy Schools Corridor project is slated to get $720,657 for sidewalk improvements on Summit Street, Liberty Street, South Liberty Street and Washington Avenue.

Today's press release:

With a $720,657 grant from the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funded by the Federal Highway Administration and administered by NYS Dept. of Transportation, the City of Batavia Public Works Department will be able to expand sidewalk replacements along Summit and Liberty streets and Washington Avenue.

The project will include the removal of old sidewalks, installation of new sidewalks, handicap access ramps, high visibility crosswalks and selective tree removal and will be matched with $240,219 of City funds. In total the $960,000 project will include over 12,300 linear feet of improved sidewalks providing safer routes for pedestrians and bicyclists connecting United Memorial Medical Center, Batavia Middle School, St. Joe’s School, the Downtown Corridor and Jackson Elementary School.

“Improving sidewalks has been a priority for City Council and this grant will allow us to do even more over the next few years” said City Council President Brooks Hawley. “With this grant we will be able to make our sidewalks safe for our residents and children.”

The City has approximately 73 miles of sidewalk, and in 2011 it was estimated that more than 20 percent of the sidewalk system needed repair. The City has made a concerted effort since to 2011 and has replaced over 26,500 linear feet, or almost 7 percent of the sidewalk system. This includes more than 130 curb ramps.

“This grant will allow the City to more than quadruple our annual effort,” said Sally Kuzon, director of Public Works.

Sixth Ward Councilwoman Rosemary Christian and longtime advocate for sidewalk improvements added, “I’m ecstatic about getting this grant. Every year I ask for more and more sidewalk improvements and now we are going to do almost $1 million in one year. Our residents deserve it.”

TAP provides funding for non‐motorized transportation alternatives such as bicycle and pedestrian facilities, safe routes to schools projects, trails, and other infrastructure improvements to the transportation system. The City applied for the grant in June 2014 and was one of seven communities in the nine-county Finger Lakes Region to receive an award.

The winds of dissolution are blowing strong in the Village of Corfu.

There's been a committee formed, consultants are advising, documents are being prepared and trustees are talking the talk.

If the wind doesn't change direction, inside of two years, there will be no Village of Corfu, just a Town of Pembroke with a quaint little hamlet centered around the intersection of routes 33 and 77.

We'll still call it Corfu, but life will be different, but how different are among the details to be worked out.

Right now, it looks like the property taxes paid by village residents to maintain their current small government will vanish. Whether special districts need to be formed for sidewalks and lighting is an open question. Some village employees would be out of work, others positions would be shifted to the Town of Pembroke.

What Corfu would do for part-time police service is still under study, but committee members and the few residents who attended the committee's meeting last night seem to favor a contract with the Sheriff's Office for extra patrols.

The four trustees in Corfu (there is currently no mayor) are unanimously behind the dissolution effort, said Trustee and Deputy Mayor Dave Bielec.

"The population of the village is reducing tremendously," Bielec said. "We lost 100 people roughly since the last census. We've lost some businesses. We don't have much in the village anymore at all. Plus, the state is kind of pushing this a little bit, so there's some benefits for us there."

The committee was formed in April and has been meeting monthly. The Department of State has been providing a staff member as a free-to-the-village consultant.  

The list of considerations is long. It's no simple matter dissolving a village. There are laws that need to be changed or taken off the books, planning and zoning boards to wind down, decisions to be made about dealing with village records and documents, issues to be resolved around any existing village debt, plans to be made for maintenance issues and property to transfer.

The committee is in the midst of drafting a dissolution plan to present to village residents.

The residents would need to vote at some point on whether to eliminate their local government.

The plan probably will not be ready for a vote prior to the regular village election in March, so the vote would come at a later date.

The earliest the village could be dissolved would be Dec. 31, 2016.

Pembroke Town Councilman Ed Arnold, who is a member of the dissolution committee, said so far his fellow board members have been supportive of dissolution, but it's not like the town has a lot of choice in the matter.

The decision to dissolve or not is entirely a village decision, and if voters choose that route, the jurisdiction becomes part of the town regardless.

The town's participation at this point is about ensuring an orderly transition.

"If the village says this is what it wants to do, really from our end, that's what we need to follow through with," Arnold said. "What we're trying to do is be involved with it, seeing what are the concerns of the residents of the village and then seeing how we an incorporate that into the town side of it. But really, if the village says yes, we want to dissolve, we have to pick it up one way or the other."

It was approximately 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23rd, when Mike Corbelli experienced the encounter of a lifetime. 

A Batavia resident, Mike was archery hunting for black bear with a group of local men from Genesee and Wyoming counties. The group was hunkered down in Sterling Forest State Park in the Ramapo Mountains of Downstate New York. Their outing ran from Oct. 19th to the 25th. On Tuesday a nor'easter passing along the New England coast began permeating the area and for two days the hunters dealt with the storm's wind and rain. 

By that Thursday there was no let up and with the wind gusts toppling trees, rather than use a climbing tree stand, Mike opted to conceal himself in a fallen tree situated at the edge of a shallow ravine. As things turned out, the weathered blowdown worked good- - almost too good.

Eventually Mike saw movement off in the distance, something black appeared, moving slowly through the forest. It was a bear and moving in his direction. Then he spotted another.

Mike knocked an arrow, waiting to see if either was big enough to take. Suddenly he spotted a third bear, a large sow. It then became evident the first two were cubs. Slightly further back of this trio were two more cubs. Because it's illegal to take a bear with cubs, Mike let off on the bow string and switched modes.

"Seeing the cubs made me drop my guard," he said. "I changed perspectives, going from hunter to enthusiast."

Keeping in mind these are wild animals, he never put his bow down, instead simply switching hands, holding his bow in his right hand and using his left to take photos with his phone.

While Mike had switched modes, that wasn't the case with momma bear. She was looking for food and she and three of her offspring continued in Mike's direction with one of the cubs deciding to climb a nearby tree. The closest cub was gamboling about, playfully working its way toward Mike when momma, possibly on alert, gave the cub a hard shove with her head, possibly sending her offspring a message which said, "pay attention -- something's not right."  

By now the sow is in the lead and within five feet of Mike and he realizes he needs to do something. But what? With the ravine at his back he has nowhere to go. So, he stood up and shouted "NO" with all the authority he could muster. 

Alarmed, the sow retreated slightly -- and only slightly -- a matter of a few feet. Now definitely aware of a threat, her protective instincts kicked in as she snarled and held her ground before lowering her head and making a false charge.  

With 300 pounds of protective mother bear threatening him, it's totally understandable if Mike's pic is a tad blurry. 

After bluffing her charge, the sow ran around the tree one her cubs had climbed and tried to come at Mike from a different angle. Now it was all about survival.

Mike recalled a video by veteran bow hunter Wayne Carlton, explaining that, "a bear coming toward you is coming for one reason -- to eat. You need to make yourself bigger than the bear." ... Recalling those words Mike Corbelli raised his arms over his head in an effort to make himself appear as big as possible and then he audibly growled. That seemed to do the trick as the big sow finally turned and ran into the ravine.

In this pic you can see two of the cubs treed and another about start climbing. That black blur on the floor of the ravine and just to the right of a big tree is the sow.

Mike's hunting companions, L to R: front, Tracy Mallon, Charlie Heintz; middle, Shawn Kibler, Dick Cecere; back, Tony Davoli, Mike Hallagan, Bob Botel, Mike Corbelli. Upon seeing the video Mike took of his encounter, each of his fellow hunters expressed amazement at the turn of events, how close he was to the bears and the outcome.  

Photos and video courtesy of Mike Corbelli. Check out the video at the link below.

Video on YouTube

A motor-vehicle accident is reported at 8572 Lake Street Road. A person may have a broken foot, according to dispatch. Le Roy fire and ambulance are responding.

UPDATE 4:23 a.m.: Mercy medics are asked to respond, mutual aid, to the accident. The location is between Randall and Red Mill roads.

UPDATE 4:44 a.m.: Le Roy ambulance is transporting one patient to Strong Memorial Hospital. Mercy medics #2 are taking a patient to Warsaw Community Hospital. A fire hydrant was damaged as a result of the accident and Monroe County Water Authority is being notified.

Press release: 

The City of Batavia Fire Department is joining nearly 6,000 fire departments nationwide in promoting the annual Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries campaign on Sunday, Nov. 2.

Fire Prevention Officer Lt. Jeff Whitcombe encourages all residents to adopt the simple, lifesaving habit of changing smoke alarm batteries along with the batteries in carbon monoxide (CO) detectors when they change their clocks back from daylight savings time to standard time.

“It’s an easy, inexpensive and proven way to protect your family and your home,” Whitcombe said.

Since 1987 the International Association of Fire Chiefs has joined forces with Energizer batteries to spread the message that non-working smoke alarms are responsible for needless death and injuries. Now 27 years later, thanks to the change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries campaign, home fire deaths continue to decline.

Recent surveys conducted for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Consumer Products Safety Commission found that 96 percent of all homes have at least one smoke alarm, but only 75 percent have at least one working smoke alarm. Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

Smoke alarm failures usually result from missing or dead batteries or disconnected wires. The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most families are sleeping. A working smoke alarm can provide the critical extra seconds needed to get people out safely.

According to the NFPA, the maximum life cycle of a smoke alarms and CO detectors is 10 years from the date of manufacture, not the date of installation. Beginning in 2002, all smoke detectors must have a manufacture date marked on the outside of the smoke alarm. If your smoke alarm does not have a manufacture date, then it is older than 10 years and must be replaced. The City of Batavia Fire Department recommends purchasing smoke alarms with 10-year lithium batteries. All smoke and CO alarms should be tested monthly.

Along with working smoke alarms and CO detectors, home escape plans are another way families can avoid injury or death in their homes. By identifying at least two different escape routes, families can practice the plan together – before an emergency strikes. Practicing the plan helps educate younger children to the danger of hazardous situations and the importance of recognizing that the sound of a smoke alarm or CO detector signals a potential hazard in the home.

“Changing the battery in your smoke alarms and CO detectors, along with developing and practicing a home escape plan, are three of the best ways to protect your loved ones and yourself from fire and carbon monoxide poisoning,” Whitcombe said.

The City of Batavia Fire Department has a free smoke alarm and battery installation program.

“We have installed hundreds of smoke alarms and batteries over the past 20 years and will continue to do so until everyone who needs them has them,” Whitcombe said.

For information about the free smoke alarm and battery installation program, City of Batavia residents should contact the City of Batavia Fire Department at (585) 345-6375.

Batavia Downs is in the home stretch of a $20 million expansion that includes a new gaming floor, a new sign, new offices, and in the final phase, a new facade and entry on Park Road.

Today, a pair of 7,500-pound escalators are being installed and soon a statue of Fortuna, the goddess of good luck, will arrive from Wisconsin.

With the last major pieces in place, it's just a matter of putting on the finishing touches.

The new gaming floor, now on the first floor, opened last October. The old gaming floor on the second level is now offices for Batavia Downs and Western OTB staff.

The escalator to the second floor will provide access to the clubhouse and grandstands as well as a new OTB inter-track wagering facility, which will move from its current location across the street on Park Road.

The entry way will feature lighted neon and Fortuna will stand through a hole in the ceiling so she can be viewed from ground level or from up above.

"It's just going to look incredible," said Ryan Hasenauer, marketing director for Batavia Downs.

Deputies spent 8,544 hours on inmate transports in 2013.

Most of those transports involve shuttling female inmates from Genesee County to jails in other counties that can house female prisoners (something the local jail was never designed to do).

Some of those transports involve taking inmates to and from court, and to and from doctor's appointments.

Those 8,544 hours equal more than 1,000 eight-hour shifts, or about 213 weeks of work for a deputy working five, eight-hour shifts a week.

In other words, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office is using the equivalent of four full-time deputies to move prisoners from one location to another.

Rather than spending their time out on road patrol fighting crime and assisting residents, deputies are stuck behind the wheel of a police cruiser driving on roads far from Genesee County.

Not coincidently, Sheriff Gary Maha is planning to request adding four new deputies to the department in 2016.

Members of the Legislature are asking if there isn't a better way.

Options were the topic of discussion during a budget session in the Old Courthouse on Wednesday.

With Undersheriff William Sheron, Jail Superintendent William Zipfel and Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble in attendance, legislators talked about whether it would be best to hire a part-time staff to transport inmates or try to expand teleconferencing for court appearances.

"We're looking for some middle ground where we might be able to get these deputies back to where they belong," said Ray Cinanfrini, chairman of the Legislature.

A few part-timers, who would have the flexibility to meet the demands of unpredictable transport needs, would cost less than hiring new full-time deputies, though no analysis has been done yet on the cost.

Sheron said the part-timers will still need to be sworn police officers, but their duties could be limited to transports.

At a previous meeting, legislators suggested hiring a private security company with bonded guards, but Sheron said the inmates need to remain under the custody of the Sheriff at all times for legal and liability reasons.

In an era of expanding technology, teleconferencing seems to be an option. Thanks to a state grant received two years ago, the jail already has a room set up for teleconferencing.

It's never been used.

Local courts have resisted the teleconferencing option, but Cianfrini said maybe it's time to start pushing local justices and defense attorneys to use the system.

Sheron said it would be helpful if all the local courts ended night court proceedings and scheduled all appearances during the day.

No decisions were made Wednesday.

As the current proposed 2015 county budget stands, property taxes would be reduced from $10.04 per thousand to $9.86.

A caller reported seeing youths trying to break into cars on Kibbe Avenue, and seconds later said they were leaving the area at a high rate of speed, heading southeast on South Jackson Street.

Within a minute, a patrol stopped a vehicle with two or three occupants.

The officers were attempting to question them.

On a car-to-car transmission, one officer drolly tells another, "they have no idea who they are."

The individuals are being separated for further interviews.

At the same time, officers are tracking individuals who are going through one of the cemeteries on Harvester Avenue. A K-9 is on scene.

UPDATE 10:45 p.m.: Both incidents are related. A total of six people are involved. When Batavia police officers pulled over a pickup truck to question the driver about the Kibbe complaint, two passengers fled the vehicle on foot and were seen going into the cemetery. The cemetery area is cordoned off; the K-9 was taken off leash to hunt for the two suspects. One has been apprehended; the other remains at large. Three additional passengers remained inside the truck; one is a female who appears to be in her teens. One of the males at large is described as white, about 15 years old, with a thin build.

UPDATE 11:23 p.m.: Batavia PD is still on scene questioning two individuals. One individual remains at large. Police located a GPS unit in the vehicle and are trying to determine if it's stolen. We don't anticipate any further updates tonight unless there's a significant development.

UPDATE noon, Thursday: No arrests were made. The investigation is continuing, according to Assistant Chief Rob Yaeger.

Heading toward the incident on Lewiston Road this morning, while heading down Richmond, when I got to Union Avenue, I came upon City firefighters in the midst of hydrant flushing.

Members of the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors visited the Mercy Flight hangar at the Genesee County Airport today to present $10,000 in donations raised through golf a tournament sponsored by the association. Mercy Flight WNY and Mercy Flight Central each received $5,000.

Representing the realtors were John Leonardi, Christy Rothschild, Joe Rivelino, Sharon Ciminelli, Dorreen Fahey, Debbie Norman, Rebecca VanDorn, Diana Carney and Lynn Gleason. On hand from Mercy Flight were Lynn O'Donnell, Andy Gill, Jason Miles, Ross Feinmann, Samantha Ryan, Jeff Bartkowski and Taryn White (listed not by picture order).

Ted E. Kingsley, 42, of Prune Street, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant. Police responded to a tip that Ted Kingsley, wanted on a City Court warrant, was residing at 11 Prune St., Batavia. Patrols went to the residence but were unsuccessful in locating Kingsley. Patrols checked the surrounding area, including the cemeteries on Harvester Avenue. During the check, a subject identified as Kingsley was seen running through Batavia Cemetery. Officers gave chase and Kingsley eventually stopped at the request of a police officer and he was taken into custody without incident. Kingsley was jailed on $100,000 cash bail. (Photo: Monday's arrest in the Batavia Cemetery submitted by Jim Woodhams III.)

Maleak H. Green, 21, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, harassment, 2nd, criminal obstruction of breathing and unlawful imprisonment. No details released on the alleged incident reported at 1:20 a.m. Green was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Christina L. Fox, 26, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Fox is accused of stealing the property of somebody she knows.

Samantha L. Hicks-O'Connell, 27, of Ellsworth Avenue, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, unlicensed operation and back seat passenger under age 16 without a safety belt. Hicks-O'Connell was stopped at 5:34 p.m Oct. 8 on Liberty Street, by Officer Jason Ivison after a complaint was received of a female driving a pickup truck with a 10-year-old child riding in the back. NOTE: After reviewing the press release following a complaint by Hicks-O'Connell (see comments), we should note the release does not specifically state a traffic stop was involved in the chargers.

(name redacted upon request), 25, of Harlem Road, Amherst, is charged with possession of a hypodermic instrument, operation of an unregistered motor vehicle and no seat belt. xxxx was stopped at 3:50 p.m. Tuesday on Lewiston Road, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Corona for alleged traffic violations.

Curtis Lamont Williams, 34, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, was arrested for an alleged Family Court Act violation -- failure to pay child support. Williams was arraigned in Family Court and released because his child support is almost up to date. He was ordered to return to court Nov. 10.

Ronald Warran Sloat, 73, of Godfreys Pond Road, Bergen, is charged with trespass. Sloat is accused of failure to leave another person's property after being told several times to leave.

Bruce Devan Reid, 52, of Saint Paul Street, Rochester, is charged with possession of burglary tools and attempted petit larceny. Reid is accused of possession of tools that would have helped him steal items from parked cars. He was jailed on $4,000 bail.

CSX has postponed its planned closure of the crossing on Route 262 in Bergen.

The closure had been scheduled to start tomorrow.

No new closure date has been announced.

Two individuals are in custody because they have warrants out on them and two others were released following an incident that occurred late this morning at Tim Horton's on Lewiston Road.

Law enforcement initially responded to a report of four people loading a gun in the parking lot of the Tops Market plaza. After a search of the area, including a foot patrol, nothing was found. Soon thereafter, the suspect vehicle was spotted by an officer as it pulled into the parking lot of the new Tim Horton's.

Sheriff's deputies, City PD and State Troopers responded and with guns drawn apprehended the four suspects. A search turned up nothing except a small amount of marijuana inside their vehicle. The two people with active warrants were kept in custody and two others were released.

UPDATE 3:50 p.m. (by Howard): Initial information above based on what we were first told at the scene. Only one person was released without charges. The driver was arrested and charged with unlicensed operation and unlawful possession of marijauna. Investigators spent a good deal of time interviewing the four individuals. Det. Thad Mart, Batavia PD, said the investigation is ongoing, but declined to discuss what investigators are still looking at in the case. The vehicle was initially reported near the Verizon store. Mart said based on the report originally called in, it was something to take seriously. "Obviously, in this day and age, somebody loading ammunition into a firearm in a public parking lot, it raises some eyebrows and some cause for concern. We have to be concerned about the public and be concerned about officers investigating."

UPDATE: We should have included that the vehicle was a rental. Two of the subjects were from Orleans County and two from Monroe County. The vehicle was impounded.