The new Jersey Mike's franchise opened this morning with a "ribbon" (in this case, a strip of sandwich paper wrap) cutting.

The location on Lewiston Road is in the parking lot of the former Kmart store.  The new shop's neighbors are Starbucks and Tropical Smoothie.

Town planners in Batavia heard from multiple Lewiston Road residents about potential traffic issues and a perceived lack of transparency before the board voted to approve a site plan for a new Tractor Supply location.

The site plan approval was the last step in a long process for developers, who are building a location at 8727 Lewiston Road, which will allow the company to close its smaller, older store on East Main Street Road in the Town of Batavia.

The northbound lane of Lewiston Road, between Main and Park, was resurfaced and re-striped today to create a turning lane for the new Tim Horton's location. Traffic was delayed in the area during the work.

Only minor injuries are reported.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS responding to the scene.

There is great beauty to be found in Genesee County, but the best shots can't always be captured from public roads. Once in a while, I see a shot I want, but need to get permission to walk across private property. Today, I drove out to a house on Lewiston Road because I knew there was a barn I liked, also I've been interested in getting the best angle on the shot above. For both pictures, the best shot wouldn't come from the roadside. Fortunately, the landowner was home and kind enough to let me wander around on his property.

Crews are completing roadwork at the intersection of Lewiston and Park roads, creating a good deal of congestion in the area.

The victim was identified as James Maher, 27, a VA Home resident.

His family, from Mechanicville, was notified.

The official could answer no further questions and said the police department is planning a press release for Monday morning.

His body was apparently found in some shrubs near the business.

UPDATE 6:54 p.m.: Det. Pat Corona of the Batavia Police Department called a little while ago to emphasize that the police have not yet determined the cause of Mr. Maher's death. While suicide has not been ruled out, a "by the numbers" investigation has yet to arrive at a conclusive determination. There was no obvious signs of trauma, Det. Corona said. Within days, some initial facts will be available from the medical examiner, but it will take weeks (as usual) for toxicology reports to come back.

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The City of Batavia Police Department has not yet released a statement about the discovery and there is no information available at this time about the condition of the body or exactly where it was located.

Our news partner WBTA has attempted to learn more information about the discovery.

Here's one e-mail account we received at 11: 52 p.m. about the situation:

I was just at Sportos and was told that there was a body found behind  Blockbuster. There was police going to the scene at about 10:15. A news van  is present right now with about 3 police cars. This was confirmed by a  Trooper going into the restaurant. He could tell us no more.

Genesee County Emergency Management Services coordinator Timothy J. Yaeger said the victim's mother, Judy Clark, 41, had been smoking in an nclosed porch about half an hour before the fire broke out ... 

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WBTA reports that a discarded cigarette may have been the cause of the fire Friday morning that took the life of 17-year-old Erik Mooney.

The investigation continues and no conclusion has been reached.

The News 8 video report (warning: pre-roll advertising) says that Erik suffered from asthma and that may have contributed to his in ability escape the smoke-filled house.

The Buffalo News story includes quotes from officials and students at Erik's high school.

Erik was known among his classmates for his sense of humor and love of video games.

Fellow sophomore Roosevelt Little, 16, who shared several classes with Erik, described him as “laid back,” someone who loved to crack jokes and brighten others’ lives. Roosevelt said Erik was capable of getting all of the students he shared a table with in the cafeteria to laugh.

Erik was well-liked among his peers and became more outgoing as he got to know others, Roosevelt said.

“Some students were crying when they found out [about Erik’s death],” Roosevelt said. “Some were trying to hold in emotions. A lot left school early today.”

“Sometimes it feels like these things happen all at once,” he added, referring to another recent tragedy in the community.

The D&C story hasn't been updated, but a video has been added (again, pre-roll advertising).

Our Previous posts: Post #1, Post #2 (with our own video).