Trucks weighing more than five tons are supposed to drive down Law Street, but according to City Councilman Frank Ferrando, over the past eight years complaints from Law Street residents have continued, and he's skeptical that enough is being done to correct the situation.

It's time to get tough, he said at the end of last night's council meeting.

"If there are police there and there is an overweight vehicle, my feeling is, that overweight vehicle ought to be ticketed. Period," Ferrando said. "It ought to be ticketed and ticketed until word gets around that you better stay off the street or you’re going to get a ticket."

According to Chief of Police Randy Baker, however, that's the job his department has been doing.

"There have been numerous special details and zone cars assigned to the area," Baker said in an email this morning. "Several tickets have been issued."

Clor's Meat Market, 4169 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: For the best, most flavorful, juiciest chicken or hamburger in town, hands down, stop by Clor's. Oh, and the steaks are great, too. And the sausage. Clor's also serves lunch and dinners from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. We have a $15 gift card for $7.50.

Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center, 3646 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Fall colors are here, and with Pudgie's you an cozy-fy your home with a range of decoration ideas. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, NY: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, NY: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

SOLD OUT

Those who pay close attention to the arrest reports on The Batavian will recognize the name Nicholas Jacob Ridge Adkins, 18, of 6954 Swamp Road, Byron.

Adkins has made two previous appearances in our crime reports. First in July when he was accused of burglary for entering a neighbor's house and allegedly stealing stuff, and again in August when he was arrested along with four other young men and charged with criminal mischief for allegedly causing $3,500 in damage to a rental property.

He was scheduled to appear in court today for a sentencing.  I don't know what happened in court. I couldn't make it because of prior appointments.

I do know that Adkins was arrested again last night for allegedly taking the vehicle of another person without permission.

Adkins was arrested by Investigator Weis and Sgt. Brian Frieday. No further details of the case are available.

Is consolidation a dead issue?

City Council President Charlie Mallow thinks so.

He thinks so after, for a second time, the council tabled "indefiniately" a resolution to hold a public hearing on a proposed joint charter review commission.

“It’s a political maneuver to kill something permanently without actually going on the record and voting against it," Mallow said after the meeting. "We’ve had things in the past, you know, we’ve had all this controversy about that slumlord act that was tabled indefinitely. It’s killed. It means you voted against it but you don’t want the public to recognize it. That’s what happened here tonight.”

The resolution, while moving forward the idea of consolidation of the city and town of Batavia, would hardly have committed either community to joining forces in a single municipal body. It would have simply allowed a joint committee to come up with a plan of what a consolidated Batavia might look like as a legal entity.

It was clear from the motion of of Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian that at least some of the council members who voted to table the motion did so as a maneuver to block further consolidation talk.

"I have a problem with it simply because once it takes effect, there’s no turning back," Christian said. "The fact is that consolidation is good, but, I don’t see why we can’t have shared services. We can share facilities. We can share equipment. Why do we need consolidation?"

Councilwoman Kathy Briggs said after the meeting, however, that most of the council was focused on language in the resolution that would have had the city council president sitting on the committee, and many council members think that job should go to the new council president, whomever that might be, once Mallow is out of office and a new council is seated among a group of people who would appoint committee members. They want the new council president, whomever that might be, be part of that process.

City Manager Jason Molino told the council that Town of Batavia officials are interested in revising the resolution anyway to clarify some of the language and add a little more substance.

"They want to add more specifics on the parameters of what committee with do," Molino said.

Councilman Frank Ferrando didn't sound hopeful that consolidation would move forward.

“I hope that there’s support, because that’s an important move that this community has to make," Ferrando said. "Right now, it’s hard to read."

It was Ferrando who requested the resolution be placed back on the council agenda after it was tabled two business meetings ago.

"When you table something, you don’t table it into perpetuity. It has to come back again," Ferrando said. "I haven’t heard a good reason yet as to why we’re not moving forward."

Ferrando indicated that he'll take the next opportunity -- the next conference meeting -- to get the issue before the council again.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski raised the first procedural question after Ferrando finished speaking. He seemed to think that tabling it previously killed it. City Attorney George Van Nest said there was no procedural reason -- nothing in Roberts Rules of Order or prior council practice -- to prevent the council from taking action on the resolution.

Councilman Bill Cox also raised procedural objections.

Mallow was having none of it and accused his fellow council members of being cowards for not taking a yes or no vote on the resolution.  He said killing consolidation without a vote was a waste of state taxpayers money (a state grant paid for the consolidation study) and that council members owed it to citizens to give them at least a chance to discuss the idea.

"If you don’t want this, vote against it," Mallow said. "Vote against it. We owe that at least to the members of the public, but you don’t even want to give the members of the public and the people in this city the right to even talk about this issue?  That’s stealing the state’s money. That’s stealing taxpayers money. Let them talk about it. Let them come up with a proposal.

"Fear of change," Mallow added. "We all have little seats here on council. Maybe they don’t like us. Maybe they don’t like the idea that we have a city council. Maybe they’ll change it. Maybe they’ll give us a mayor. Who knows what they’ll do? That's the fear. That’s the fear of the unknown."

Christian's motion to table, passed 6-3, with only Mallow, Ferrando and Councilwoman Marianne Clattenburg voting to keep the issue alive.

I'm sure you've heard the joke that in Western New York there are only two seasons - winter and construction. Around this time of year, the road work wraps up and we are able to enjoy the results of our paid taxes. Unfortunately, not all taxpayers are pleased.

This was the first topic of discussion at the LeRoy Town Board meeting Thursday night. Randall Road resident Paul Mooney brought attention to concerns he had about the work done in his and his neighbors' front yards.

"They did the water project out there much to the dissatisfaction of almost all of the folks on that short strip," he complained.

"I think my driveway is the biggest problem that I have. Installing the pipe along the road required that the construction company dig up a good portion of residents' lawns and driveways to complete the project. When they finished, the way they repaired the lawns and driveways were not up to everyone's standards.

Mooney was left asking, "...where do we go from here?" The board assured him that they would have the work reviewed again, but other residents have taken repairs into their own hands. Another Randall Road resident spent over $1,000 of her own money to have her damaged driveway repaired to its pre-construction condition.

While the building process was a temporary nuisance, the scars are here to stay. The driveways show apparent damage that no homeowner wouldn't appreciate. When does improvement become damage? 

This driveway shows a wide strip that was taken out along with a concrete patch placed there to repair damage. There are no plans to bring the property back to its original state.

NOTE: Randall Road is a county road and the construction was carried out with the Genesee County Highway Department, not the Town of LeRoy Highway Department.

Barbara Hale, executive director of the YWCA, receives a City Council Resolution from Councilwoman Marianne Clattenburg. Hale and the YWCA were honored for the Y's work on behalf of victims of domestic violence. The Y's program has been in place for 15 years and is the only local provider of domestic violence services such as counseling and advocacy.

Well, I guess we could all see this coming, and within the past couple of months it seemed pretty inevitable as work crews stripped the building of pretty much all equipment and furniture, but the former Mother's Chicken-N-Fish location is for sale.

It's too bad. At one time, it was a great place to eat.

A bicyclist has reportedly been injured -- no word on how seriously -- after being struck by a car at Summit and North streets.

Mercy EMS and Batavia PD are in route.

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Food safety has been in the news recently, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, has a plan to improve food inspections, recall response and public education.

Gillibrand said she is calling for:

• Improving testing of ground beef
• Improving regulation of all other food, with a focus on prevention, more oversight and higher quality lab testing
• Increasing FDA resources
• Improving the safety of imported food
• Making recalls of contaminated food mandatory
• Improving public education

“In America, in 2009, it is unconscionable that food is still going straight to our kitchens, school cafeterias and restaurants without being properly tested to ensure its safety,” Sen. Gillibrand said. “It’s spreading too many diseases and costing too many lives. We need to do a better job of catching contaminated food before it ever comes close to a kitchen table. My plan addresses the gaps in the inspection process and improves recalls and public education, so parents have access to the information to keep their families safe.”

The New York Times recently ran an interesting investigative piece about ongoing issues with E. coli in ground beef.

Full press release after the jump:

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the first New York senator to sit on the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly 40 years, today announced a comprehensive plan to overhaul the nation’s food safety laws by improving inspection, recall response, and public education.  A cornerstone of Senator Gillibrand’s plan is new legislation to mandate E. coli inspections of ground beef.
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every year an estimated 87 million Americans are sickened by contaminated food, 371,000 are hospitalized with food-borne illness, and 5,700 die from food-related disease.  While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made some progress improving food safety regulations, the nation’s food safety laws have not been significantly overhauled in more than a century, according to the Congressional Research Service.

“In America, in 2009, it is unconscionable that food is still going straight to our kitchens, school cafeterias and restaurants without being properly tested to ensure its safety,” Senator Gillibrand said. “It’s spreading too many diseases and costing too many lives. We need to do a better job of catching contaminated food before it ever comes close to a kitchen table. My plan addresses the gaps in the inspection process and improves recalls and public education, so parents have access to the information to keep their families safe.”


Across New York State, approximately 5 million people are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year.
·        In New York City, an estimate of nearly 2.1 million are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year;
·        In Western New York, an estimate of nearly 360,000 are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year;
·        In the Rochester-Finger Lakes Region, an estimate of over 310,000 are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year;
·        In Central New York, an estimate of over 250,000 are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year;
·        In the Southern Tier, an estimate of nearly 170,000 are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year;
·        In the Capital Region, an estimate of over 280,000 are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year;
·        In the North Country, an estimate of nearly 125,000 are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year;
·        In the Hudson Valley, an estimate of an estimate of over 570,000 are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year;
·        On Long Island, an estimate of over 715,000 are afflicted with a food-borne illness each year.
Salmonella is the most common food-borne illness – causing over 1 million illnesses each year in the U.S., according to the CDC. Another 70,000 in America fall victim to E. coli each year. From meat and poultry to peanut butter, fruits and vegetables, almost every type of food we eat each day has the potential for contamination because of outdated, insufficient safeguards and testing processes.


Responsibility for enforcing America’s food safety measures is shared by 15 federal agencies – with the FDA and USDA responsible for the bulk of the oversight.  However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is often limited to reactive regulations once outbreaks have already begun instead of preventing contaminations from spreading, and risking the safety of our food and the health of millions.

Senator Gillibrand’s plan to improve food safety will streamline and strengthen regulations at the USDA and FDA.  Senator Gillibrand’s efforts will also alter the fundamental approach to food safety by focusing on prevention to catch food-borne illnesses, and more quickly preventing further illness when an outbreak is detected.


 
STRENGTHEN INSPECTION AND SURVEILLANCE

Improve Testing of Ground Beef
During a 2008 industry-wide sampling of all ground beef produced, the CDC found that nearly 1 in every 200 samples of ground beef was contaminated with E. coli.  Ground beef is especially vulnerable to E. coli because its source material is not from a single cut of meat, rather, from a compilation of trimmings from many parts, including fat that lies near the surface of possibly contaminated hide. While some grinders that process ground beef voluntarily test the meat before and after grinding, there is currently no federal requirement for grinders to test their ingredients for E. coli. 

To reduce the risk of E. coli ending up in the hamburgers and other food we eat, Senator Gillibrand is authoring the E. Coli Eradication Act – new legislation that would require all plants that process ground beef to test their products regularly before it is ground and again before it is combined with other beef or ingredients, such as spices, and packaged. If ground beef is found to be contaminated, the bill requires the company to properly dispose of the contaminated batch, or cook the meat to a temperature that destroys the E. coli. Senator Gillibrand’s legislation will include appropriate penalties for companies that fail to implement testing mechanisms at their facilities. 

Improve Regulation of All Other Food
Ground beef isn’t the only food infecting people with E. coli and salmonella. Fruits and vegetables can also be contaminated. Senator Gillibrand is co-sponsoring the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act – legislation authored by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) that would make comprehensive improvements to the safety of fruits and vegetables, and help prevent outbreaks before they start.
 
·        Focus on Prevention, requiring all facilities to establish preventive plans to address hazards upfront, prevent adulteration, and give the FDA access to all of these plans and procedures.


·        Expand Access to Records, giving the FDA access to the records of all food processing facilities.


·        Establish Oversight of High Quality Testing Laboratories, by granting the FDA authority to check the credibility of the laboratories testing the safety of food, requiring the labs to report all of their findings to the FDA, and certify that foreign food facilities comply with U.S. food safety standards.


·        Improve Detection, by increasing inspections at all food facilities, including annual inspections of high-risk facilities, and inspections of all facilities once every four years; enhancing food-borne illness surveillance systems to improve the collection, analysis, reporting, and usefulness of data on food-borne illnesses; and creating a pilot project to test and evaluate new methods to quickly and accurately track and trace fruits and vegetables in the event of a food-borne illness outbreak.
 
·        Enhance U.S. Food Defense Capabilities by helping food companies protect their products from intentional contamination, and commence a national strategy to protect our food supply from terrorist threats, and rapidly respond to food emergencies.


·        Increase FDA Resources, increasing federal investments to give the FDA all the resources it needs to implement comprehensive food safety improvements.

Improve Safety of Imported Food
15 percent of America’s overall food supply is imported from overseas, including 60 percent of fruits and vegetables and 80 percent of seafood.


America imports $5.2 billion worth of food from China alone – including 10 percent of our shrimp. In 2007, the FDA issued important alerts for five kinds of farm-raised fish and shrimp from China due to unsafe additives, inadequate labeling and poor manufacturer registrations, as well as potentially harmful veterinary drug residues in farm-raised fish and shrimp.

To ensure the safety of food we import matches the standards of food grown and processed in America, Senator Gillibrand is calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prioritize the hiring of inspectors to protect consumers from contaminated imported food. 
 
In 2003, when the DHS took over the inspection of agricultural products on the border, the position of “agriculture specialists” was created.  While the number of people in this position has been slowly increasing, we are still one-third short of the number of specialists needed to test the ever increasing array of agricultural products coming into the country. 
 
The overall agricultural inspection rate for cargo has declined from nearly 70 percent in 2001 to about 40 percent in 2008 and down to 13 percent for passenger inspections.  Better inspections will not only protect humans from pathogens, but will protect American farms from agricultural pests and disease.

Additionally, Senator Gillibrand will work to require importers to verify the safety of foreign suppliers and imported food by allowing the FDA to require certification for high-risk foods, and deny entry to a food that lacks certification, or that is from a foreign facility that has refused U.S. inspections.
 
 
IMPROVE RECALL RESPONSE

Recall Contaminated Food in School Lunches
Last month, in response to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09649.pdf>  that revealed federal agencies are not adequately alerting schools about recalls, Senator Gillibrand introduced the Safe Food for Schools Act – legislation that would protect the 31 million schoolchildren who participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs by requiring federal agencies to issue proper alerts to schools.


Make Recalls of Contaminated Food Mandatory
For additional improvements to our food recall processes, Senator Gillibrand will work with her colleagues to give the FDA the authority to order a mandatory recall of a food product when a company fails to voluntarily recall the produce upon FDA’s request.  Right now, recalls are only voluntary. 
 
 
IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION

To make sure information about food-borne illnesses and recalls is distributed accurately and efficiently, Senator Gillibrand is authoring the Consumer Recall Notification Act ­– legislation that would direct the Secretaries of the Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA, as well as the Commissioner of the FDA to improve communication among states, state and local health departments, food distributors and vendors to provide consumers with faster and more complete information. 


Specifically, the legislation would:
·        Provide information to health professionals to improve diagnosis and treatment of food-related illness;
·        Develop a procedure to distribute regional and national advisories concerning food safety;
·        Allow the FDA to share trade secrets, and commercial or financial information, and its list of registered facilities with other federal, state, local and foreign agencies – provided those agencies can assure confidentially of the information;
·        Allow the FDA to share confidential information with the public when necessary to protect public health;
·        Develop standardized formats for written and broadcast advisories;
·        Mandate on-site notification of a recalled product by posting notification in the freezer case or shelving unit where the product is, or has been sold.

Herbly Wonderful, 3701 Pearl St., Batavia, NY: Winter teas, spices and fall colors for your home in stunning floral arrangements and seasonal wreaths are now available at Herbly Wonderful. We have a $25 gift certificate for $11.

South Main Country Gifts, 3356 Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Handcrafted items, gifts with a regional flair, candles, teas and spices -- South Main has a wide selection to please most any interest. We have a $20 gift certificate for $9.

Matty's Pizzeria, 4152 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Matty's is another Batavia favorite for pizza and wings. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Settler's has a 25-year history of serving great, affordable breakfasts, lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Adam Miller Toy & Bicycles, 8 Center St., Batavia, NY: Feel like a kid in a toy store again, or treat your kids to the greatest toy store they will ever see. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: T.F. Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. "If it happens in sports, it happens at Brown's." We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Clor's Meat Market, 4169 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: For the best, most flavorful, juiciest chicken or hamburger in town, hands down, stop by Clor's. Oh, and the steaks are great, too. And the sausage. Clor's also serves lunch and dinners from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. We have a $15 gift card for $7.50.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

SOLD OUT

There's no executive session scheduled for tonight's City Council meeting.

That's not usually noteworthy, except the last time the council met, several members were upset. A citizen complaint about City Manager Jason Molino, including a copy of the letter and the citizen's name, had been leaked to the Daily News.

The leaker has not yet been identified, and some council members have expressed a reluctance to meet in closed session so long as one of their own appears to be untrustworthy.

So, we emailed City Council President Charlie Mallow, who previously vowed "no closed sessions during the remainder of his term" and asked him where he stood on closed sessions now, and the status of the complaint issue.

Here's his response:

I will deal privately with the letter, the review and the citizen complaint. The issue will be closed out by the end of the week. I will not be issuing a press release or discussing this issue further.
 
As I have stated before, a majority of Council is unwilling to speak about these issues in a group setting. Individual Council people have the right to speak to the city manager at any time and I have asked them to do so privately about any matter they wish. If we have need for an executive session about another issue, it will be scheduled. If there are updates in the future of a sensitive nature, that can be done one-on-one. There are no votes that take place in executive session; all decisions are made in public.

Here's what's on the council agenda tonight at 7 o'clock in City Hall:

• A resolution to schedule a public hearing on forming a joint charter commission with the Town of Batavia as a prerequisite to consolidation.
• A resolution to declare three DPW vehicles as surplus.
• A resolution to accept a $20,000 grant appropriated by Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer.
• A resolution to schedule public hearings on CDBG (Community Development Block Grants).

A dog was hit by a car yesterday at 1:30 p.m. and Deputy Brian Thompson, a K-9 officer, and Animal Control Officer Bill Taylor responded to the scene.

The accident occurred at Route 77 and Reynolds Road, where a stray boxer-mix darted into the road, according to Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble.

The dog was struck by a car driven by a person from Florida.

Thompson and Taylor first took the dog to an animal hospital, which recommended treatment at Corfu Vet Clinic, so Taylor and Thompson transported it there.

From what I heard on the scanner, the dog didn't sound seriously injured. Dibble said there's no information on how the pooch did after being transported.

I spoke with Shannon at the vet, who was off that day, and she said the dog was transferred to another facility, although she doesn't know where.

But it was good to hear on the scanner Monday about the extra effort Thompson and Taylor went to to care for the stricken animal.

Manuel Zuniga Perez, 28, of 10248 Brookville Road, Alexander, is charged with DWI, unlicensed operation of a vehicle, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Perez was stopped in the City of Batavia by Officer Chris Camp after a domestic dispute was reported at his home in Alexander. Perez reportedly had two children in the car with him at the time he was stopped. He was jailed on $2,000 bail.

After a long weekend off, Deputy Chief Jerome Brewster got back to us on some questions we had about the arrest of Nick A. Hawkins for allegedly robbing the Five Star Bank branch in Pavilion.

He referred most of the questions to the district attorney's office, but did say: "...the jacket did not play as significant (a) role as we thought it would. "

The bank robber wore a light blue and black jacket with "Husqvarna" lettering on the left sleeve. 

Brewster said, "The arrest was the culmination of a thorough, cooperative investigation conducted by the Sheriff's Office and State Police."

He also provided this mug shot of Hawkins.

Previously:

• Accused bank robber comes from Le Roy family having a tough time
• Le Roy man arrested and charged with Pavilion bank robbery
• Search continues for Pavilion bank robber
• Manhunt in Pavilion for bank robber winding down

Brian M. Raphael, 21, of 4 Noonan Drive, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and criminal possession of a weapon. Police Officer E.E. Bolles reports that he found Raphael sleeping in his car with the engine running Saturday at 3:10 a.m. at 419 E. Main St., Batavia. Upon his arrest, Raphael was allegedly found in possession of a collapsible billy club.

Michael D. Snyder, 37, of 679 E. Main St., Apt. 4a, is accused of criminal contempt and harassment. Snyder allegedly violated the terms of an order of protection by shoving his girlfriend. He was jailed without bail.

Timothy P. Tucker, 35, of 12 Ellicott St., is charged with DWI, refusal to take breath test, failure to stop for a stop sign, speed not reasonable and prudent, improper turn and leaving the scene of an injury accident. On Sunday at 1:48 a.m., Tucker allegedly ran a stop sign from northbound Union Street at Oak Street. His vehicle reportedly continued through the intersection until it hit a tree. Officer Dan Coffey reports that Tucker allegedly fled the scene on foot. His female passenger suffered minor injuries in the accident. Tucker was found a short time later at his residence, according to Officer Coffey.

James Frank Webb, 27, of 10215 Colby Road, Darien, is charged with criminal contempt and harassment. Webb is accused of violating an order of protection that barred him from contacting a particular person. He allegedly called that person on the phone.

Shaundalee M. Hill, 20, of 81 Lyncourt Park, Greece, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Hill was arrested by Deputy Tim Wescott after Hill was reportedly involved in a one-car accident Fisher Road in Oakfield at 6:46 p.m. on Friday. Hill was also charged with unlicensed operation of a vehicle and having an open container.

Adam M. Ganzhorn, 25, of Town of Batavia, is charged with obstruction of governmental administration and filing a false report of an incident. He was arrested at 4346 Batavia-Elba Townline Road by State Police and jailed on $2,000 bail. No further details available.

Christopher A. Saddler, 25, of Albion, is charged with petit larceny. Saddler was arrested in the Town of Batavia by State Police. No further details available.

A garage fire that destroyed a car, a truck, a lawn tractor and an ATV last night was sparked by a short in an electrical outlet, according to a Sheriff's Office investigation.

The fire was first reported at 12:47 a.m. at 8880 Allegheny Road in Corfu and well before the first fire units could arrive, the garage was fully engulfed in flames.

No residents of the Swiatowy home were injured, nor were any firefighter injuries reported.

The garage was unoccupied at the time.

Destroyed were a 1984 Olds Delta 88, a 2003 Ford F150 pickup truck, an ATV and a lawn tractor. A tractor parked outside of the garage was also damaged.

The home is insured.

Sgt. Brian Frieday investigated the incident.

UPDATE 10:29 p.m.: Above is a reader-submitted photo of the fire we received a little while ago.

Previously: Garage fire reported in Corfu

An electrical extension cord running through a basement window to a detached garage is the likely cause of a fire this morning at 2320 Judge Road, Alabama.

All five family members at the home escaped safely, and firefighters rescued the family's dog and cat.

Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger called the use of the extension cord "improper."

The fire caused $60,000 to $70,000 damage to the structure and contents of the home.

The extension cord ignited the window frame, and the fire climbed up the outside wall, crawling into second-floor bedroom, into the eaves and eventually into the attic. It also was just beginning to ignite a first-floor living room couch when the fire was suppressed.

It took units from Alabama and Oakfield an hour to fight the fire.

The home, owned by Jim Venzey and rented by Dave Kinney, was insured, Yaeger said.

Previously: House fire reported on Judge Road in Alabama

It's been a rough couple of months for the Hawkins family of Le Roy.

Lori Hawkins, after 32 years working for area dairy farmers hasn't been unable to find a job. On Sept. 5, her second-oldest son, Mike Burrs, died at age 31 after a lifetime battle with a congenital heart disorder.

Now her 25-year-old son, Nick A. Hawkins, is charged with robbery, accused of handing a demand note to the cashier at the Five Star Bank branch in Pavilion last Monday. He is in Genesee County jail being held on $25,000 bail.

We first met Lori Hawkins at a dairy rally at Dale Stein's farm organized by Assemblyman Steve Hawley. She showed up with a cardboard sandwich sign that read "Exp. milker 4-hire. Unemployment benefits denied. Labor dept. not much help. Can you afford to hire me? I want to work!"

So far, Hawkin's efforts to land a job haven't panned out.

Hawkins said she knows how to milk cows, care for calves, administer medication and do any of the tasks associated with being a dairy farm hand. But her experience doesn't seem to matter much these days.

"Now they're hiring Mexicans," Hawkins said. "I'm 50 years old. They look at me and I think they think I'm too old. I don't know what they are thinking."

Hawkins is the mother of four children, but she said Nick is always the one she had trouble with. School counselors advised her when he was young that Nick might be borderline ADD (Attention-deficit disordered). She said he's never been properly checked out, but wonders if he might be bipolar or have obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"When he was younger, he would always act out and then regret it later," Hawkins said.

Nick Hawkins has a criminal history that Lori said started when he was a teenager. At 14 or 15, he he was accused of stealing a bike.

She said Nick was on probation from 2002 to 2007 for stealing a four-wheeler, plus she's heard of various petty crimes.

"I'm sure he's done stuff that I don't even know about," she said.

Lori said she last saw her son one evening last week and they watched TV together.

"It (news of the bank robbery) was a shock to me," she said. "I didn't even know about it."

She said Nick has no stable work history. He learned welding at BOCES and has some dairy farm experience ("I taught him how to milk cows," she said), but he never seems to be able to hold a job.

"I don't know if he develops an attitude problem or what," she said.

The death of Mike Burrs has been hard on the entire family, Hawkins said, and there's been some dispute over what to do with Mike's belongings, which includes a snowmobile and a dirt bike. Nick didn't want his grandmother to sell those items, Lori said, and the issue upset him.

"Since his brother died five weeks ago, I've been telling him he should go to counseling," Lori said. "But he's 25 years old. He's not going to listen to what his mother tells him to do."

We saw a couple of busts this summer of people accused of growing pot, and of course the State Police flew its helicopter around looking for marijuana fields, but it turns out, increased domestic production maybe putting more hurt on Mexican drug cartels than years of "the war on drugs."

American pot growers now produce half of all the weed sold in the United States.

Contrary to traditional images of rural pot farming, small-scale production and indoor farming may have played a large role in the increased production. "While the trafficking of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine is the main focus of U.S. law enforcement, it is marijuana that has long provided most of the revenue for Mexican drug cartels," the reporters write.

And like Starbuck adjusting its brand to meet increased local competition, the drug cartels are changing the way they do business.

Mexican cartels are improving their product and streamlining delivery to compete with increased U.S. production, they report. The National Drug Intelligence Center says cartels are increasingly growing pot on public lands in the U.S. to move closer to the market.

Of course, state treasuries aren't seeing a dime of benefit from all of this commerce.