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What should Corfu become? That was the question hanging over a village planning board meeting Tuesday evening when an agenda item about rezoning evolved into a discussion about how to boost business and get more people to visit.

The conversation was partly spurred by resident Tsabelle Cyra raising concerns about Dollar General looking for a store location in the village.

"It's ugly," Cyra said. "Did you see the facade of this place. It's not only ugly outside, it's ugly inside. It would do nothing for the esthetics of this village. On weekends, it's just packed with kids and indigent people. Is that what we want image-wise for Corfu?"

Trustee Art Ianni quickly turned the discussion to what it would take to get people to stop in Corfu.

He said one problem in Corfu is the village itself is ugly.

"I'm going to raise my hand and say it's ugly," Ianni said. "Yes, it's ugly."

He had a copy of a 2007 study that offered suggestions for improving the esthetics of Corfu, such as applying design standards, putting in sidewalks, street lighting, landscaping and attractive crosswalks, among other things.

"These are the recommendations of 2007 and nobody's moved on it," Ianni said. "Nobody's touched it and some of it is simple."

Several residents and board members agreed that what Corfu needs is a small grocery store.

"Right now, you have to go 26 miles round trip to get groceries," Dave Stehlar said.

Stehlar thinks a five-acre parcel on the east side of the village would be a good location for a new grocery store and bring people into the village and down Main Street.

The problem is, the owner wants top dollar and won't sell the property in divided parcels.

Cyra said when she worked in one of the state prisons years ago, all of the employees would drive out of their way to come to Corfu because they could get great meat at the grocery store. That kind of quality grocery store is needed again, she said.

The other problem, David Saleh said, based on his discussions with previous grocery store owners, is that the stores always did great in the summer, but business would come to a crawl in the winter. That makes it very hard to stay profitable, Saleh said.

Stehlar pointed out that there are about 10,000 people living in a 10-square mile area around Corfu. Those are a lot of potential customers for Corfu businesses if more of them could be enticed into the village.

One of the problems Corfu faces, Cyra noted, is the perception that it's a speed trap, so people avoid the village.

"Would you go on the record with that?" Ianni asked.

Ianni also raised the idea of exploring historical designation opportunities and maybe the village should bring in somebody to talk with them about that process.

Stehlar pointed out that the now vacant Union Hotel has a lot of redevelopment potential.

Ianni mentioned an article he'd seen about all the success with old building redevelopment in Perry, so maybe Rick Hauser should be asked to share his knowledge on the subject.

Whatever the village residents want to do, Saleh noted, it's going to take more support than the handful of people at Tuesday's planning board meeting.

"All of these things take a commitment of time and effort," Saleh said.

Salon: How science nailed the age of the Earth

A fryer fire is reported at Burger King, 134 W. Main St., Le Roy.

Le Roy fire along with Bergen fire is dispatched. Le Roy Ambulance is also dispatched.

UPDATE 8 a.m.: Law enforcement on location. Reports fire out with an extinguisher. Bergen held in quarters.

UPDATE 8:09 a.m.: Le Roy chief is requesting notifications to health department and code enforcement.

UPDATE 8:52 a.m.: Le Roy back in service. Code enforcement on scene.

Photo and information submitted by Sherri Wahr.

The cheer squad for the Batavia Bulldawgs youth football program did very well Sunday at the Niagrara Orleans Football Association cheer competition in Lyndonville. The beginners took third, minis 2nd and JV placed 2nd for cheer and 1st for routine. The girls also captured the Spirit Cup.  The JV team scored the most points in the division to win Grand Champion, with varsity coming in third in its division.

"I'm so incredibly proud of each and everyone one of them," Cheer Director Sherri Wahr said. "They came out and gave it all they had and it really paid off."

A long time ago a reader said to me, "I wish I could get a notification on my phone when you post a new story," and I thought that was a good idea.

After some research, I decided creating an app would be the best course of action, but how to get it done? I had a hard time finding an affordable programmer I could trust and none of the DIY tools seemed satisfactory.

A few days ago, I found a tool I wanted to try and after some futzing about, I uploaded our first app to Google Play (so the app right now is only available for Droid -- it's coming for iPhone, but it's a little harder to get into the Apple Store and that process could take two or three weeks).

It's a very simple app. Right now, it's just a feed of what appears on our home page and the ability for us to send you push notifications.

And that's really the point of the app: Push notifications, or alerts. If you download the app, we will use push notifications to alert you to breaking news, important news, features and important sports stories. We won't do every minor scanner call and routine press releases. Some stories will be a judgment call, but the idea will be to alert you to things posted that we want to draw your attention to and hope you'll want to be sure and know about right away.

Getting the app to this stage has cost us $150 and with hosting fees, there will be recurring costs, so we've set a one-time fee on the app of $1.49.

Here's the link to Google Play to download it. Or search Google Play for "The Batavian."

Michael C. Kraatz is indicted on a count of robbery, 2nd, a Class C violent felony, and grand larcney, 2nd, a Class C felony. Kraatz is accused of robbing the 7-Eleven store at 505 E. Main St., Batavia, on Oct. 6, and in the process injuring another person who was not a participant in the crime. Kraatz is accused of stealing cash from the store, regardless of value, by extortion of the victim.

Jon T. Magliocco is indicated on eight counts of rape, 3rd, a Class E felony, and nine counts of criminal sexual act, 3rd, a Class E felony. Magliocco is accused of being older than 21 years old and on at least eight different occasions, engaging is sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with a person less than 17 years old. All but one occasion is alleged to have occurred in a house in the City of Batavia and the other incident was allegedly sexual intercourse in a tent in the Town of Batavia.

Aaron W. Clark is indicted on one count of burglary, 2nd, a Class C violent felony, and 11 counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, a Class E felony. Clark is accused of entering a garage of a house on South Bennett Heights, Town of Batavia, on Aug. 3, with the intent of committing a crime. He is accused of unlawfully possessing eight credit cards and three gift cards.

Patrick M. Hackett is indicted on a count of rape, 3rd. Hacket is accused of being 21 or older and engaging in sexual intercourse with a person less than 17 years old.

Heather D. Stone is indicted on a count of burglary, 3rd, a Class D felony, and a count of petit larceny. Stone is accused of entering a residence on Hebard Road, Town of Le Roy, on Aug. 2 or Aug. 3, 2012, with the intent to commit a crime. Stone is accused of stealing deep cell marine batteries.

Brett C. Bartolotta indicted on a count of DWI, a Class E felony. Bartolotta is accused of driving drunk in the Village of Corfu on July 6. Bartolotta was allegedly convicted of a prior DWI in the City of Rochester in July 2010.

New York Times: Civilian Deaths in Drone Strikes Cited in Report

Local law enforcement agencies will host another drug take-back day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday in Batavia, Le Roy and Pembroke.

Drug take-back days are times when residents and turn in no-longer-needed prescription drugs so they can be disposed of safely.

Drugs can be disposed of with no questions asked.

The locations are at the Batavia Police Headquarters in the back parking lot, at the Le Roy Police HQ at the Village Hall, and at the Town Highway garages at Route 77 and Route 5 in Pembroke.

For people unable to make it to the designated locations during those times, both Batavia PD and Le Roy PD will accept discarded prescription drugs during normal business hours. The State Police Batavia Barracks, on West Saile Drive, also has a disposal bin in its foyer for drop off at any time.

Press release:

On Friday, Nov. 8th at 11 a.m. a dedication of an historic marker for the former Richmond Mansion will be held at the Richmond Memorial Library. The Mansion, built in the 1830s by Col. William Davis and enlarged by Dean and Mary Richmond in the 1850s, stood in the parking lot that now serves St. Joseph’s Church and the Richmond Memorial Library. For many years after the death of the Richmonds, it housed the Children’s Home. The structure was torn down in 1970.

Dean Richmond amassed a fortune in Great Lakes shipping. He was instrumental in the creation of the New York Central Railroad and served as the railroad’s second president.  Dean Richmond was also instrumental in bringing the State School for the Blind to Batavia, which is why the street running in the front of the School is named Richmond Avenue. The Richmond Memorial Library was a gift to the community from Mary Richmond in memory of a son who died in early adulthood.

The historic marker is being placed at the foot of the walkway between the parking lot and the Library. It has been funded by a $1,050 grant to the City by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse.

Attending the dedication ceremony will be Harold Richmond III of New Jersey, the great-great-grandson of Dean and Mary Richmond. Also in attendance will be a representative of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. City Historian Larry D. Barnes will lead the dedication.

Later in the day, historic markers funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation will also be dedicated in Stafford and at the former county home in Bethany.

Michael Joseph Dorigo, 56, of Buxton Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or higher and moving from lane unsafely. Dorigo was reportedly involved in a motor-vehicle accident at 10:10 p.m., Sunday, on Fotch Road, Stafford. Dorigo's 2009 GMC was reportedly traveling north on Fotch Road and Dorigo failed to negotiate a curve in the road and drove off the road into a ditch where the vehicle hit an old utility pole base and a large rock. Dorigo's passenger was transported to UMMC with minor injuries. The accident was investigated by Deputy Joseph Graff.

Nina M.E. Kelso, 29, of 142 Hutchins St., Batavia, is charged with unlawful possesion of marijuana. During a check on the welfare of a child at Kelso's residence, Officer James DeFreze allegedly observed marijuana in plain view.

Zackary H. Kelly, 19, of 8 Dartwood Ave., Cheektowaga, is charged with petit larceny. Kelly is accused of shoplifting Amp Engery Drink from Southside Deli.

David Bernard Marsceil, 36, of Arnold Road, Elba, is charged with attempted criminal contempt, 1st. Marsceil, an inmate in the Genesee County Jail, allegedly attempted to send a letter to a person protected from contact by court order.

Colton Andrew Cole, 22, of Warner Road, South Byron, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or higher and no seat belt. Cole was stopped at 4:41 p.m., Sunday, in Byron, by Sgt. Ron Meides after Cole allegedly accelerated quickly and squealed his tires.

Time Magazine: Schools Cancel Halloween

After having difficulty yesterday while covering the Batavia Bulldawgs with the auto focus on my camera, I wanted to test some alternate settings while shooting sports, so I went out this afternoon to see if I could find any kids playing football or basketball.

There was a three-on-three football game being played by a group of Batavia High School students on Woodward Field.

Thanks to Ty Armison, Griffin Moore, A.J. Marcello, Richard Lamkin, Alex Snell and Alex Sugerman (all pictured in the bottom photo) for accommodating my experiments.

Top photo, Marcello celebrates his interception.

Le Roy PD is dispatched to Trigon Pork to investigate a complaint of "kids playing football, being loud."

In its third year, the Batavia Bulldawgs football program is putting up some good numbers, both in the number of players on each roster and on the field.

Today, the JV and varsity squads posted big wins against the Hawks in Holley, with a 35-0 win for JV and a 35-6 win for varsity.

There are 120 kids participating. For the beginners (ages 6-7), the minis (8-9), JV (10-11),  there are 35 players on each team. Varsity (12-13) has 25 players and five cheerleaders.

Varsity is 7-2 and JV is 5-4.

"I think overall things are going very well," Head Coach Matt Della Penna said. "I think our numbers speak well for themselves. We've got some good numbers throughout and we're winning some games. We're beating some teams that have been in the league for awhile. I think that's a pretty good pat on the back for us."

The Bulldawgs wrap up the regular season next Saturday with games on Woodward Field at Van Detta Stadium.

For pictures of the minis' game against Holley by Pete Welker, click here.

To purchase prints, click here.

Information and photos provided by Greg Ireland.

City firefighters hosted a lunch today for winners of the first fire safety poster contest sponsored by IAFF Local 896.

Above, Ian Keberle, with Chief Jim Maxwell and Local 896 President Greg Ireland.

Emma Bigsby with Maxwell and Ireland.

Children who participated today.

Here are the winners of the contest:

• First Place: Andrew Beal -- “Turn off the Stove”; John Kennedy School, Mrs. Grammatico, Room 20, second grade.
• Second Place: Sophie Fryer -- “Call 9-1-1”; John Kennedy School, Mrs. Grammatico, Room 20, second grade.
• Third Place: Emma Bigsby -- “Blow out Candles”; John Kennedy School, Mrs. Grammatico, Room 20, second grade.

• First Place: Amelia McCulley -- “Turn off the Oven”; St. Joseph School, Mrs. Clattenburg, third grade.
• Second Place, Maylee Green -- “Don’t Leave Candles Lit”; St. Joseph School, Mrs. Clattenburg, third grade.
• Third Place, Ian Keberle -- “Keep an Eye on what you Fry”; St. Paul Lutheran School, Mrs. Porter, Art Room, third grade.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Firefighters, IAFF Local 896, will provide new winter coats to warm the hearts, minds, and bodies, of the students at Agri-Business Child Development (ABCD) School on Brooklyn Avenue in Batavia. This campaign is led by the City of Batavia Firefighters to provide at-risk children that attend school in Batavia with brand-new, American-made coats for the winter. 

This is the first year the City of Batavia Fire Department has joined forces with national non-profit Operation Warm to launch the program, “Firefighters Coats for Kids,” a movement led by firefighters across the United States to combat the effects of childhood poverty while saving American jobs.

This distribution event is the culmination of the firefighters' fundraising efforts since August. 

The City of Batavia firefighters are raising funds to provide coats to 30 children at ABCD, which utilizes a system of points, in accordance with the Head Start Performance Standards, to ensure that the neediest of the eligible families receive services. The coats, manufactured especially by Operation Warm, have been ordered in just the right size and in a variety of colors so that the children may enjoy a unique coat that fits properly. “Keeping them warm and safe throughout the winter is the least we can do,” firefighter Adam Palumbo stated. 

City firefighters will surprise the students with their new coats, personally fitting each child, and help them to write their names in the interior tag, which reads, “Made Just for You.”  “This is a program that strengthens communities and the overall well-being of children,” said Carey Palmquist, executive director of Operation Warm. “A new coat boosts a child’s self-esteem and allows families to stretch limited financial resources to other basic necessities, such as food and shelter.”

Operation Warm is dedicated to providing new winter coats to U.S. children in need and has reached more than 1.2 million children since 1998. The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) represents more than 300,000 professional firefighters who are dedicated to serving their communities beyond the traditional call of duty. In 2012, Operation Warm joined together with the IAFF to form a widespread, high-impact program called Firefighters Coats for Kids.

The collaboration of these two organizations deepens the reach and support of our efforts, as firefighters protecting communities across the USA has become the face of this mission and the catalyst for a multidimensional program that not only provides coats to impoverished children but also helps Americans get back to work and out of poverty.

Through this unprecedented partnership firefighters are distributing coats made and sourced 100 percent in the USA. This collaboration provides relief for families who struggle to meet basic needs and to children who will now experience the joy and pride of owning something brand new – a gift of warmth from their local firefighters.

To learn more and donate, please visit: www.operationwarm.org/batavia

Residents of 6568 N. Lake Road have evacuated the structure after reporting smoke in the house from a possible electrical problem.

The call came in through Monroe County dispatch.

Bergen fire is being dispatched. Brockport ladder and a Churchville engine are in route.

A chief on scene reports nothing showing from the single-story ranch home.

UPDATE 6:04 p.m.: First Bergen crew arriving on scene, will be deployed to the basement with a thermal camera.

UPDATE 6:06 p.m.: A chief reports "a basement charged with smoke." Also, Mercy EMS responding from Batavia.

UPDATE 6:10 p.m.: Mercy's response cancelled. A firefighter reports, "basement's been checked. Everything's cool down there." Proceeding to check ground floor.

UPDATE 6:18 p.m.: Fans are being brought in to air out the structure. No cause found at this time.

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The lines just seem to get longer and longer each month Pastor John Gariboldi and a group of volunteers host a free food pantry in the parking lot off Mill Street Park in Le Roy.

People come from throughout the region to gather up as much food as they can carry, all provided by Foodlink at no cost.

And it's good food, too. Fresh apples, bread, Greek yogurt along with sweet baked goods and cases of water.

"You get everything you can fit in your arms," Gariboldi said. "There are no requirements. Even if last week you went to another pantry, it doesn't matter."

The pantry is a Godsend, said Mary, from Geneseo, who adopted her granddaughter when she was 3 months old.

Mary is raising her granddaughter with only her Social Security check to cover household expenses.

"I got complete custody of her because her mother broke her back," Mary said. "I'll be 80 in November. I'm raising her. She's 14 now and I would love to see her graduate and I'm sure the Lord is going to let me."

Gariboldi said he's had a lifelong passion for helping the poor, the homeless and people in need. He became pastor of Penuel Christian Fellowship, 10 Main St., Le Roy, 10 years ago and started praying for the opportunity to feed the poor.

He got involved with Paul Ohlson and Care-a-Van Ministries in Le Roy.

"I met the Foodlink representative there and she said there was a high need in Genesee County and I thought, 'wow, this is a God thing,' " Gariboldi said. "I said 'would you be willing to do it in Le Roy?' and she said, 'yeah.' "

The pantry started slowly this summer, but by August, the line stretched from the parking lot up to the post office on Mill Street.

Last month, more than 100 people showed up even though it was pouring rain the entire morning.

"A long line shows that it kind of sucks," said Ashley, the mother of two children, a third on the way and a husband who can't work because of disabilities. "It shows that this place is so bad that people have to come out to get free food when there's no jobs."

Government assistance just isn't enough in this economy, Ashley said.

"I get food stamps, but sometimes food stamps isn't enough when you have growing kids," Ashley said. "They eat you out of house and home. I know it's not much, but at least I've got food on the table for my kids. They're not going to go hungry."

When people have a hard time getting food, social service experts call it "food insecurity." An estimated 14.7 percent of New York's residents live in food-insecure situations and 21.3 percent of children don't necessarily know where their next meal is coming from.

According to its Web site, Rochester-based Foodlink "rescues and redistributes more than 16 million pounds of food annually to a network of 450 member agencies in a 10-county service area: Allegany, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties."

In the past four years, Foodlink has seen a 30-percent increase in the number of people it serves.

Cheryl Maxwell, a Le Roy resident who teaches nutrition for Cornell Cooperative Extension, has been coming out to the Le Roy pantry almost from the start, and she said she's seen it grow and she thinks it's an economic issue.

"The last time out, it was pouring rain and they all came out and it was just amazing, the need that I saw," Maxwell said. "Some people might have bills to pay and if they can just get this little bit of extra food it might help them pay an electric bill or something throughout the month. With the economy the way it is, that little bit of food might help them get by and pay an extra bill."

Tracy, friends with Ashley, and a Batavia resident, said she has "a houseful of children" and a grandchild with cystic fibrosis. The food bank is a big help, she said, and not just because of the free food. It's also nice to know there are still people who help others.

"Even if it's just one bag of food, that bag of food is maybe a day or two worth of meals for a family that's having a rough time right now, so it really benefits them," Tracy said. "People need it nowadays to see that there are people out there who really do care."

Pastor Gariboldi delivers a mini-sermon for volunteers followed by a short prayer minutes before the food pantry line opens.

While Pastor Gariboldi hands out donuts, his son fills cups with cider for people waiting in line.

Sarah, from York, said with she and her husband and their child on a limited income, the free food from the pantry is a big help.

Mary brings her own cart to the pantry to gather food for her and her 14-year-old granddaughter, whom she's raising on just her Social Security benefits.

Tracy, left, and Ashley.

Town of Batavia's newest fire truck, Ladder 25, saw its first live firefighting Thursday at the large factory fire in Albion. Photo by John Spaulding, a Livingston County-based fire services photographer. For complete coverage of the fire and its aftermath, visit Orleans Hub and scroll down.

CORECTION: First structure fire. The truck was used in Ed Arnold Scrap fire.