Mayor Ralph Peterson is taking over supervision of the Corfu Police Department with the resignation today of Police Administrator Jim Meier.

In a resignation letter read to the village board this evening, Meier cited what he called "numerous attacks" leveled at him by Peterson and Officer Gene Nati as the reason for his resignation.

He said the attacks began with a claim, later found to be unsubstantiated by a State Police investigation, that the department was filing for DWI grant money it didn't deserve. The recent complaints -- and potential lawsuit -- about how part-time officers are scheduled for work are a continuation of those attacks, Meier wrote in his letter.

As soon as Trustee Ken Lauer finished reading the letter, Peterson quickly said, "resignation accepted."

Trustee Art Ianni asked whether the board should vote to accept the resignation and Peterson agreed to a vote.

Peterson, along with trustees Keith Busch and David Bielec voted yes. Lauer and Ianni voted no.

Through the course of the meeting, it was determined that Peterson would not only oversee scheduling of officers, but other supervisor duties, at least until the village figures out what to do with the police department.

Former mayor Todd Skeet said he hired Meier because he figured out he couldn't do the things the village needed to maintain a police department, such as ensuring officers are properly certified with their weapons and process tickets.

"I didn't know about any of that stuff," Skeet said. "I don't think the current mayor is trained in law enforcement. It opens the whole village up to a possible lawsuit. The things the police administrator does is more than just scheduling, which is only about 10 percent of his job."

The board agreed to form a committee to study what should happen with the police department -- whether to continue with the current system of a part-time administrator and several part-time officers, hire a full-time officer with fewer part-time officers or contract with the Sheriff's Office.

Two residents along with Peterson and Ianni will serve on the committee. The first action, Peterson said, will be to set up a meeting with Gordon Dibble, chief deputy in charge of road patrol for the Sheriff's Office.

At the start of the meeting, Peterson announced the meeting would be run according to standard open meeting rules -- sticking to the agenda and allowing public comment only during a prescribed portion of the meeting.

Public comments were held until after village business was completed.

Village resident Greg Lang spoke first and complained about all of the negative scrutiny the village has received recently, and without naming Peterson, said there was only one person responsible.

Lang rattled off several incidents that Peterson has been implicated in recently, from reportedly calling Lauer saying a meeting was canceled, to allegedly firing the village clerks, to today's controversy over an anonymous letter sent to the owner of Camden Group trying to silence former trustee Al Graham.

While nobody directly accused Peterson of being behind the letter, Graham said the letter was turned over to the special prosecutor looking into the village court's missing money case and that it would be tested for fingerprints.

Lang asked that Peterson resign his office. Peterson shook his head, "no."

Another resident pointed out that the letter threatens to get Camden's contract pulled for operation of the sewer plant, but only somebody on the village board would have the power for such action.

The second speaker was Justice David O'Connor.

On April 10, O'Connor spoke to the board about the village court budget and questioned some of what has happened in the court over the past couple of years and brought it under the scrutiny of the Judicial Review Commission.

Following the meeting, O'Connor claimed that former village justice Robert Alexander sent him a nasty e-mail saying that somebody had played a tape for him of his comments at the April 10 meeting.

Alexander's daughter, Jenny Warner, left a comment on The Batavian challenging O'Connor's claim that Alexander wrote a "vile" e-mail.

She wrote:

The allegations that were made by Justice O"Connor about a "vile" and "threatening" email from my father Robert Alexander bothered me since it was so out of character for my Dad. Howard I think this email should be posted so the public can decide if they think it is vile and threatening.

Tonight, O'Connor read the e-mail he said came from Alexander at the meeting.

Dave please do not email me ever again. I want no communications or interaction with you in any form. I heard the tape from the meeting and read the comments of you trowing (sic) me under the buss (sic) and making those comments about me. You are not a friend and obviously all that bull about thanking me for dropping out of the Corfu race and asking support of you was a big lie. I guess I should have had your arrested after you flipped out and physically attacked me with those body blocks when I came to do the arraignment, but I gave you grace and forgiveness.

O'Connor said the accusation of a physical attack was complete fiction.

Graham also addressed a comment left by Warner saying the disagreements with Peterson are over his race.

"There is not one person here or in this village who has ever heard me ever say anything racist," Graham said. "I don't even tell racist jokes, but Bob's daughter wants to make this about race. This is not about the color of the man's skin. This is about a man's integrity and the truthfulness of the man. It's about me letting you as residents of the village know when he's lying to you."

During the meeting, Peterson did not address any of the comments made about him, except to deny any involvement in either the civil service complaint or the potential lawsuit over scheduling of police officers.

Tom Rivers is publishing a series of stories for OrleansHub.com about grand buildings in Western New York that were built with Medina sandstone.

Today: The beautiful building at 14 West Main Street that was once the Sheriff's Office and is now home to Genesee Justice and connected to the jail.

A farmer rolls a field just off Lewiston Road, Batavia, in preperation for spring planting.

A shed fire, possibly started by a controlled burn, is reported at 6492 Main Road. Stafford Fire Department is responding. Open burning is prohibited under state law at this time of year.

UPDATE 3:49 p.m.: Fire is out. Stafford is back in service.

Join us for the Our Lady of Mercy Parish - 2013 Ten Trip Dinner Raffle on Saturday, April 27th from 6 to 10 p.m.!

This year's trips include: 

• Cancun
• Toronto
• Thunderhart Golf Resort
• Florida
• Splash Lagoon
• & more!

Tickets to this event are $25, which includes 10 chances to win, buffet dinner, dessert, beer, wine and soda. For more information about this event or to purchase tickets, please call (585) 768-6543. Our Lady of Mercy Parish is located at 44 Lake St., Le Roy, NY. Come out and help support Catholic education!

Press release:

On April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Genesee County law enforcement agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public its sixth opportunity in three years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office will be manning a collection site at the Pembroke Town Highway Barns, located routes 5 and 77, East Pembroke.

There will be no collection site at the Sheriff's Office on Park Road.

Last September, Americans turned in 244 tons of prescription drugs at over 5,200 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners. In its five previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in over 2 million pounds — over a thousand tons — of pills.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act. Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

More controversy in Corfu today has put the owner of a sewer facility management company in the unusual position of defending his employee's free speech rights.

Kenneth G. Scherrieble, president of the Camden Group, received an unsigned letter that threatened to seek a termination of his company's contract with the Village of Corfu unless one of his employees stops speaking at public meetings.

Camden manages Corfu's wastewater treatment facility and former trustee Al Graham is a Camden manager.

"While Al Grahm (sic) attends board meetings and railroads village business and spews negativity about certain board members," the letter says, "I will consider this brash situation of a huge conflict of business between your company and I will look to generate interest to replace your company. I don't believe that is good business for you or your company!"

In response, Scherrieble fired off a letter today to the trustees that defends Graham's right to participate as a village resident in village discussions.

"I will not be threatened by anyone," Scherrieble writes. "If I lose the Village of Corfu contract because one of my employees exercised their CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT, then so be it. But that will be a truly sad day for the Village and for America."

In his letter, Scherrieble notes that Graham's son served in Iraq and Afghanistan and his own son is entering the Marines.

"Why do these young men put their lives at risk?" he writes. "Because they believe in the rights guaranteed to them as a Citizen of this Country. They believe that United States Constitution is a sacred document, and that the tenants within, those Rights given to all Citizens of this Country are worth laying their lives down for. "

There is a regular village board meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

A grass fire is reported off Route 490, westbound, near mile marker 2.7. Bergen firefighters are responding.

UPDATE 1:39 p.m.: A grass truck from Le Roy, mutual aid, is called.

UPDATE 1:43 p.m.: The fire is out. Le Roy's response is cancelled.

UPDATE 1:50 p.m.: Bergen is back in service.

Tiffany Vanderworth, curator with the Buffalo Zoo, leads a group of children at Jackson School this morning in a discussion about polar bears. Vanderworth covered the nature, habits and habitat of polar bears.

Crime Victims' Rights Week kicked off in Genesee County today with the raising of a ceremonial flag by a local law enforcement color guard at Genesee Community College, followed by a daylong seminar for students, police and others who work with crime victims on human trafficking.

Theresa Asmus delivered opening remarks. U.S. Attorney for WNY William Hochul was the morning's keynote speaker.

Russell L. Penepent, 50, of 218 State St., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, 2nd, and resisting arrest. Penepent is accused of yelling obscenities at passing traffic while in the area of 19 Oak St., Batavia, and causing a disturbance. Penepent then allegedly fought with police when officers attempted to take him into custody. Penepent was jailed on $10,000 bail or $20,000 bond. The incident was handled by officers Eric Dibble, Kevin DeFelice, Marc Lawrence and Sgt. Chris Camp.

Jamie L. Ayala, 33, of 10 Wood St., Batavia, is charged with trespass. The alleged incident was reported April 16 at 412 E. Main St., Batavia, and Ayala turned herself in on a warrant Thursday. No further details released.

Robert L. Stanley, 53, of 26 Ganson Ave., lower, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Stanley is accused of violating a stay away order of protection at 7:24 p.m., Friday. Stanley was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Matthew A. Poole, 21, of 5 Warren St., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. Poole was charged following an alleged incident reported at 2:16 a.m. Sunday at 262 East Ave. in Batavia.  No further details were released.

Jeremy R. Eaton, 36, of 129 State St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, criminal mischief, 4th, and endangering the welfare of a child. Eaton turned himself in on a warrant related to an alleged incident at 12:40 a.m., Friday. Eaton was jailed on $1,000 bail. No further details were released.

Danny J. Torok Jr., 25, of 34 Maple St., upper, is charged with harassment ,2nd, criminal obstruction of breathing/blood circulation and endangering the welfare of child. Torok was arrested in connection with an alleged incident at 11:45 a.m. Friday at 34 Maple St., Batavia. Torok was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Jordan Matthew Brown, 20, of Ellicott Street, upper, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Brown is accused of shoplifting at Kmart on Friday.

Michael Foster Brandt, 22, of Montclair Avenue, Batavia, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, tinted windows, no front plant and loud exhaust. Brandt was stopped at 4:01 p.m. on Feb. 2 by Deputy Kevin McCarthy. Further investigation revealed Brandt was allegedly under the influence of drugs at the time of the stop.

Michael Foster Brandt, 22, of Montclair Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, for allegedly kicking and damaging the car of another person at a location on Route 5, Stafford, at 4:24 p.m. Jan. 26.

Destiny Mikel London, 22, of Hanlon Road, Albion, is charged with two counts of felony aggravated DWI, driving while ability impaired by drugs, driving on a suspended registration, aggravated unlicensed operation and no insurance. London was stopped at 6:33 p.m., Friday, on Main Street, Oakfield, by Deputy Howard Carlson. She allegedly had two children in the vehicle at the time, ages 2 and 3.

Minnie Henry, 25, Pearl Street Road, Batavia, is charged with resisting arrest, DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Henry's vehicle was stopped for allegedly driving 69 in a 66 mph zone on Hartshorn Road at 2:10 a.m. Saturday by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Jared Shaun McDonald, 19, of Lake Street Road, Pavilion, is charged with assault, 3rd. McDonald allegedly pushed another person causing a back injury at 3:57 a.m., Sunday. McDonald was jailed on $1,000 bail or $2,000 bond.

A 17-year-old from Darien Center, is charged with petit larceny. The youth is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.

Summer R. Prentice, 19, of Knowlesville Road, Alabama, is charged with obstructing governmental administration, 2nd, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment, 2nd. Prentice was arrested and held on bail related to alleged events reported at 12:46 p.m., April 5, in the Town of Oakfield.

Stephanie A. Wixson, 36, of North Street, Batavia, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation and driving while impaired by drugs. Wixson was stopped at 10:31 p.m. April 16 in the Town of Alexander by State Police. No further details released.

Press release:

Attention parents, guardians, fourth-grade teachers and art instructors, the Landmark Society of Genesee County is calling for entries to the 23d Annual Architectural Drawing Contest for fourth-graders.

All Genesee County schools and homeschoolers are invited to participate. Please also note that the contest has expanded to include artistic photography and mixed media of historic sites and/or architectural details such as friezes, columns, etc.

Please be creative! Do not feel you have to copy from the "Architectural Heritage of Genesee County" book. Judges are especially looking for unique pieces -- photographs, images manipulated on the computer, etc.

Please send all entries by Thursday, May 2nd to the Richmond Memorial Library circulation desk or to Elba Central School.

The entries will be hung as soon as they are received on Thursday, May 2nd. This year's contest and awards ceremony will be held at the Richmond library beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 9th.

Reason Magazine: National poll results about distribution of wealth.

This horned grebe spent much of last weekend in our backyard after the Tonawanda spilled its banks. "Tamer" than other grebes, it allowed Claudia to take these photos without much alarm on its part. Still in its winter plumage in these pics, as it nears its breeding season the neck will turn rufous, the head and back will darken drastically and its russet "horns" will be more prominent.

Here its slightly tilting its head to accommodate a small fish down its gullet. Despite the murky floodwater, this grebe had no trouble finding prey beneath the surface. While its diet consists mostly of small fish, the horned grebe will also eat some crustaceans and aquatic insects. We watched as it would quickly dive and surface several seconds later, a process it would repeat several times throughout the day.

Excellent swimmers, young horned grebes can swim and dive immediately after hatching but most often they hitch a ride atop their parent's backs.

Horned grebes are rarely seen in flight, they migrate under cover of darkness and once on their wintering grounds they seldom leave the water. It spent all of last Saturday morning, afternoon and night in our flooded back yard. It was still there early last Sunday morning but with the floodwaters quickly receding, our visitor finally departed.

Batavia Players opened "On Broadway IV" tonight with a dinner theater production at Terry Hills.

The show offers selections from several Broadway musical hits, such as "The Heights," "Footloose," "Jersey Boys" and "Mamma Mia!"

The show continues this week at the 56 Theater, 56 Harvester Ave., Batavia, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday.

"On Broadway IV" is directed by Scott Laird and choreographed by Nikki Lanich.

The cast includes Brenda Andrews, Shellene Bailey, Alex Balbi, Aryn Bielski, Gabrielle Henry, Teressa Hirsch, Nash Johns, Kim Laird, Scott Laird, Nikki Lanich, Trevor Lee, Andrew Magin, Amy Martin, Paul Spiotta, Erin Stamp, Brianna Strassner, Anita Strollo, Serena Strollo-Dicenso, Amanda Melissa Taylor and Keara Zerillo.

As we announced previously, we have a special limited edition T-shirt coming out that was designed by Brian and Beth Kemp at T-Shirts Etc.

Existing members should have received an e-mail with a link where you can buy the shirt for $9 each. If you didn't get the e-mail, write to me at howard@thebatavian.com and I'll forward the link to you.

Readers who aren't members can purchase the T-shirt for $16 each. Use the PayPal buttons below or to order by check or credit card, download this form.

Join The Batavian Club before the end of the month and I'll send you the link to purchase shirts for just $9. The next three people to join will also receive a $20 gift card from Smokin' Eagle BBQ & Brew. Use the PayPal buttons below or click here to download the membership form.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual membership, one payment of $60

Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Jennifer Spychalski, a freshman at Genesee Community College, is the winner of the college's "Fine Arts Student Show."

Her work, and that of other students enrolled in GCC's Fine Arts program, will be featured in an exhibit that will be open through Thursday.

According to a press release from Elisa Di Pietro, this exhibit "features two- and three-dimensional artwork" and "reflects the diverse coursework from drawing (to) painting, photography, 2D and 3D design and ceramics."

The exhibit is at GCC's Rosalie "Roz" Steiner Art Gallery at 1 College Road in Batavia.

For more information, contact Di Pietro at 356-2338.

Photo and information submitted by Elisa Di Pietro.

James Pontillo sent this picture of a sink hole that opened up at his property at 15 Oak St., Batavia. He said it opened at spot where he was standing and he fell in. The hole is now five-feet deep.

It may be an old city sewer line.

City DPW put up barricades for the night.

Jeff and Dave Pero see a business opportunity in Batavia -- picking up garbage.

The brothers took over management of rental properties owned by their grandfather after he died last year and when they started getting pricing for garbage collection under the new open-market system in Batavia, they thought it would expensive to hire a company to pick up trash at all of those properties.

They decided they would just take care of garbage collection at their own properties themselves, but that thought was quickly followed by another, "why don't we just do it for the whole city?"

Jeff and Dave won't be the first Peros to offer garbage collection in Batavia. Their great-grandfather had a trash company at one time.

They're buying a dump truck and will operate as Trash Away, picking up residential garbage. Customers who put out fewer than six 30-gallon bags per week or three standard trash cans per week will pay $18 bucks a month.

People who live alone and generate no more than one bag of trash per week will get a special price of $10 a month.

Trash Away will also pick up an unlimited amount of recycling.

When customers need bulk item pick-up or yard waste pick-up, Trash Away will offer the service by appointment and the price will be negotiated based on the size of the job.

The company will also offer attic, garage and basement clean-up for a fee.

For information call (585) 250-4065 or e-mail them at bataviatrashaway@gmail.com