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The Kiwanis Club of Corfu/Pembroke/Darien sponsored its annual Classic Car Show at the Pembroke Town Park today.

There was also a basket raffle benefiting Crossroads House.

Photos by Lenora Kohorst.

A free check of child safety seats will be available at the City of Batavia's Fire Headquarters from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23.

The location is 18 Evans St.

Nationally certified technicians will be on hand to answer questions, check product recalls and assist people with making sure their child safety seat is correctly installed.

For questions, please call the Fire Headquarters at 345-6375.

City firefighters are responding to 38 N. Lyon St. for the report of someone burning trash in the back yard. They are responding in non-emergency-mode.

A one-car accident with unknown injuries is reported in Le Roy in the area of 491 North Street Road. It is off the road, possibly "east of the bridge in the stream bed." Le Roy fire and ambulance are responding and Caledonia fire is called for mutual aid.

UPDATE 10:25 p.m.: Le Roy command on scene requests all units responding to proceed in non-emergency mode.

UPDATE 10:34 p.m.: Command orders the roadway shut down and lights turned on to illuminate the scene.

The public is invited to attend the Lanmark Society of Genesee County's annual Preservation Awards & Dinner on Oct. 7 at Batavia First United Methodist Church.

Dinner begins at 6, with the awards ceremony to follow. The church is located at 8221 Lewiston Road, Batavia.

RSVP by Sept. 30 to (585) 757-2714 or mullinsjc@gmail.com.

Cost is $15 for a chicken dinner. If you prefer a vegetarian meal, please request this when making your reservation.

The 50-year-old society supports the many people who enhance the quality of our county by the preservation and improvement of their homes, churches and businesses.

The awardees for 2017 have not yet been announced.

A complaint came in a few minutes ago of two dogs locked inside a red Volvo in the Walmart parking lot. An officer was called to respond; and susbsequently it was reported that a verbal argument was underway between shoppers and the dog's owner, who returned to the Volvo.

(The National Weather Service in Buffalo says it's 83 degrees outside, with 48-percent humidity.)

Craig Gillard sent in this picture of a couple of men fishing the Tonawanda Creek in Batavia this morning.

(Photo credit Nicole Boyce)

With photography being more popular than ever, the Batavia Photography Club is about to start its 31st year. 

In those 31 years, the club has seen the change from film to digital and the definition of what a photographer is change dramatically. Today anyone with a cell phone can be considered a photographer. Cell phone photo art (picture below).

If you have a desire to create images, learn how to make better images, or just want to meet with others who like to do the same. You should make a point of getting to a Batavia Photo Club meeting. Anyone can attend up to two meetings a year, to attend more or enter the contests you need to be a member.

(Photo credit Sue Meier)

Our first meeting is a walking tour through DeWitt Recreation Area at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18. We are going to take a walking tour around the grounds. Please come on out and join us. Bring a smartphone or a camera or just come for the walk. We are meeting at the playground. Our walk guide Scott Neumann took the photo below at the park.

Most meetings are held at the Richmond Memorial Library.

For more information please join us on Facebook or on our website:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/312745832128502/

https://batavia.visualpursuits.com

2017 - 2018 Batavia Photography Calendar

• Sept. 18th -- Walk DeWitt Park and cell phone photography
• Oct. 2 -- Table Top Photography
• 16 -- Member critique -- Each member submits three or four images.(Digital OR/& prints)
• 30 -- Extra Monday — Star Shoot
• Nov. 6 -- Race car speaker
• 20 -- Shoot & talk about exposure compensation, HDR exposure &  Photo
• Presentation
• Dec. 4 -- Member photo retouch show and tell (with image limit and time limit)
• 18 -- Christmas dinner somewhere & walk around shoot
• Jan. 15 -- Focus stacking (hands on?) & Develop Black and White
• 29 -- Extra Monday — Possible fun day/field trip or studio day
• Feb. 5 - Member critique - Each member submits three or four images (Digital OR/& prints)
• 19 - Studio night at Sue’s
• Mar. 5 - Hands on different Lenses uses and examples
• 19 -- End of Year Competition
• 31 -- Saturday Morning -- set up Richmond Library Exhibit
• April 2 -- Gallary Show Reception Open House at Richmond Library
• 16 -- Scavenger Hunt
• May 7 -- End of Year Dinner -- Robert Williams Banquet Dinner

(Photo credit above Marcy Morgan)

(Photo creedit above Barbara Paserk)

(Photo credit above Christy Hibsch)

(Photo credit Jim Burns)

A motor-vehicle accident with unknown injuries is reported on the westbound Thruway in the area of mile marker 403. Both lanes of traffic are reportedly blocked. Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments are responding along with Mercy medics.

UPDATE 8:54 p.m.: One patient is a sign-off; a second ambulance is called to the scene.

UPDATE 9:03 p.m.: Pembroke assignment is back in service. A Mercy rig is asked to stand by in case needed by EMS.

Press release:

The Chamber’s Annual Awards Committee has announced the 46th annual Award Ceremony -- for 2017 honorees -- will be held on Saturday, March 3, at The Quality Inn & Suites, Park Road, Batavia (formerly The Clarion Hotel). This is the County’s premier event that honors businesses and individuals for their achievements in business, community service and volunteerism.

Please note that a brief write-up will qualify your nominee for consideration. (Members of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors are NOT eligible for these awards.)

Nominations are now being accepted for:

• Business of the Year -- The nominee must have demonstrated significant business stability, commitment to the business community, community service and leadership;
• Entrepreneurial Business of the Year -- Leading the way in the development of business through opportunities created uniqueness of business ideas and initiation of the owner;
• Agricultural Business of the Year -- Nominee must be considered an Agri-business and have demonstrated steady or increased growth in this industry;
• Innovative Enterprise of the Year -- A business that is successfully generating and implementing new or novel ideas and methods;
• Special Service Recognition -- Does not have to be a business. Can be an organization, club, government agency, educational institute or health care facility that is recognizing a major event or activity/activities. Must have had lasting benefit to the community at large for that organization;  
• Geneseeans of the Year -- A person who has made an outstanding contribution to the community, contributed or volunteered beyond the call of duty; a true unsung Hero of today. Person must be a resident of Genesee County.

Business nominees must be a Chamber Member in good standing. (If unsure of your nominee, call the Chamber to verify.)

Nomination forms are available at the Chamber of Commerce office, 8276 Park Road, Batavia, and can also be down loaded from the Chamber Website at www.geneseeny.com.

Nominations MUST BE RECEIVED BY Dec. 29 to be eligible for consideration.

If you would like more information, feel free to call Kelly J. Bermingham, director of Membership & Special Events, at the Chamber office, 343-7440, ext. 1026.

You can fill out a nomination form available at the chamber, located at 8276 Park Road, Batavia, of print out a nomination form from their website by clicking here.

The River Street bridge replacement project is progressing toward an expected end-of-October completion.

This afternoon, crews from Ramsey Constructors Inc., of Lakeville, used a 350-ton, $3.2 million crane to set the last two beams of the bridge.

“The crane has s super-lift on it that straightens the boom out so we can use just one crane to pick the beams, which weigh between 31 ½ tons and 28 tons,” Darin Florian said. “Today, we’re setting from the beginning abutment out to the pier and on Monday we will do the same procedure from the end abutment back to the pier.”

The beams were made by the L.C. Whitford Co. in Wellsville.

Florian said since this is a “post-tension” bridge, crews will have to grout all the joints between the beams and then will “tension" the cables that make up the post-tension part of the bridge.

“Then we will begin to form the deck and pour the deck -- hopefully before the end of the month,” he added.

Per the BBR network website, post-tensioning -- at its most basic level -- is a clever way of reinforcing concrete while you are building, and allows thinner concrete sections, longer spans between supports, stiffer walls to resist lateral loads and stiffer foundations to resist the effects of shrinking and swelling soils. 

Benefits of post-tensioning include design flexibility, faster construction, lower construction costs, reduced maintenance costs, enhanced durability and reduced environmental impact.

Press release:

The students of John Kennedy Intermediate School will host its inaugural community-wide My School Color Run on Saturday morning, Oct. 21, to raise money for their school. Check-in begins at 9 and the race starts at 10.

Cost is $25 for preregistration; $30 day of the event.

The My School Color Run is an untimed three-mile fun run for everyone in the community, of all ages and fitness abilities. Along the route, participants pass through vibrant color zones, making it a “colorful experience.”

Additionally, each pre-registered participant is provided with a single powder color packet that will be thrown in the air at the final color celebration at the finish line.

“Rather than sell goods, we want to engage the entire student body in a fitness initiative that aims to encourage a lifelong healthy way of living,” says run coordinator Courtney Marsh.

Participants who register by Oct. 2 will receive a T-shirt, race bib, and individual color packet.

You can sign up for the run by visiting www.JKISmscr.eventbrite.com or by completing a paper registration form.

Business sponsorship opportunities are also available. Please contact the event organizer (Courtney Marsh) for more information.

At a glance:
WHAT: My School Color Run for John Kennedy Intermediate School

WHEN: 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 21
WHERE: John Kennedy Intermediate School, 166 Vine St, Batavia

REGISTER: www.JKISmscr.eventbrite.com
CONTACT: Courtney Marsh – 585-343-2480, ext. 5000

Press release:

The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Genesee County presents:

Passion for a purpose! "How to Fill Your Personal Bucket" with guest speaker Sherry Crumity, YWCA Domestic Violence Support Services coordinator.

Tuesday, Sept. 26 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the YWCA of Genesee County, located at 301 North St., Batavia.

Join us as we learn tips on how to identify what drains your bucket, and the tools necessary to fill it up again.

Sherry Crumity is a Masters Level Clinical Mental Health counselor with 10 years experience working in therapeutic settings and 12 years experience working in not-for-profit and public school settings.

Light refreshments will be served at 5:30, program begins at 6.

There is limited seating, please register by Sept. 22 by calling the Care and Crisis Helpline at (585) 344-4400 or email hbaxter@ywcagenesee.org

Ladies Night is provided free of charge through the support of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Genesee County, the YWCA of Genesee County and Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee County.

The executive director of the Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse said a proposed 2,700-square foot addition to the agency's campus at 424 E. Main St. in Batavia is on a fast track to completion pending approval by the City Planning & Development Committee next week.

Speaking after Thursday night's Genesee County Planning Board meeting, where the site plan was recommended for approval without stipulations, John Bennett said the clinic could be "up and running in 14 months" and will be funded by an $820,000 Rapid Treament Expansion Grant from New York State.

Bennett attended the meeting with Raymond Murphy, project manager for Fontanese, Folts, Aubrecht, Ernst architects of Orchard Park. Murphy said they will take the plan before the City Planning & Development Committee on Sept. 19 and then prepare drawings for the building permit.

"We've talked to City Council and the Genesee County Legislature about this, expressing our view that it is much needed for the community," Bennett said, noting that the clinic would be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.. Monday through Saturday to dispense the medication to people battling opioid addiction. "And it is very private; that's one thing I like."

According to the American Addiction Centers website, a methadone clinic is a place where a person who is addicted to opioid-based drugs, such as heroin or prescription painkillers, can receive medication-based therapy. Patients receive methadone, or the brand name version known as Dolophine, which is an opioid analgesic. This treatment is often referred to as replacement therapy.

Bennett said the methadone is dispensed in liquid form, with each visit averaging about five minutes. He said it is a long-acting, safe medication that produces "little or no cravings."

Other drugs used to treat this type of addiction include suboxone, vivitrol and naltrexone.

The new clinic, which will be attached to the back of the existing treatment/prevention facility, will be able to provide services for up to 150 people at any given time, Bennett said. It also will result in the hiring of 10 to 12 more employees, including nurses, medical director, counselors and support staff.

GCASA has treated more than 1,200 people for opioid addiction since 2006, Bennett said, adding that the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 65,000 people will die due to opioids in the coming year.

At top, architect's renderings showing the GCASA campus, with the proposed addition in red in lower drawing.

P.W. Minor is doing what businesses do periodically, said owner Pete Zeliff this morning -- reorganizing. 

While the company's reputation was built on its orthopedic shoe line, rebuilding the brand and the business in that market is proving difficult, Zeliff said. Meanwhile, the "white label" shoe business is growing and shows promise for more growth.

"White label" means making shoes on the specifications and under the brands of other shoe companies.

Last week, the company laid off eight employees and more cuts are possible, Zeliff said, based on how things go in the coming months.

"We're cutting costs," Zeliff said. "Sales are down. Revenue is down. I can only keep writing checks out of my own pocket for so long. It's ridiculous to keep doing it."

Zeliff said many of P.W. Minor's former customers dropped the shoe line during the company's previous ownership and winning them back has proven tough. Many of those customers have gotten used to buying shoes made in China and seem willing to accept buying a new pair of shoes twice a year instead one pair every two years of a better quality shoe.

And those orders come in two and three shoes at a time, which make them more expensive to produce.

With "white label" contracts, P.W. Minor is able to produce larger runs of particular shoes at higher margins.

It can take 18 months, though, to land a new white label contract. That's how long it took P.W. Minor to go from introduction through samples to production for K-Swiss.

Zeliff said there are more white label deals coming. There's one company P.W. Minor has been working with for 20 months which will likely place an order soon. Another potential contract could mean increasing production by 40,000 to 50,000 pairs of shoes a year.

Before the recent layoffs, the factory was producing 180 pairs of shoes a day, sometimes 200 pairs. Since the layoffs, the factory has hit a production target of 200 pairs a day consistently.

"I think it opened some people's eyes," Zeliff said. "I've told them there will probably be more layoffs in the near future. Now all the production picks up. Nobody wants to be the guys getting laid off."

The 150-year-old company was about to close in 2014 when Zeliff and then partner Andrew Young stepped in saved it. Zeliff has been focused on revamping the business since, bringing in top marketers and designers and investing in new equipment.

In 2015, the company ended all production in China, bringing those jobs back to Batavia, with assistance from New York.

The other part of the P.W. Minor showing promise is the Abram Boots line and Batavia Boot & Shoe Company collection, introduced last fall. Both brands are showing sales growth, especially the boots, he said.

"I think we're on a good path," Zeliff said. "Has there been some pain? Yeah, but I've been sticking 200 grand into the business each month to keep it going and I don't know anybody else in this town who would keep on doing that."

Wyoming County writer and photographer Barbara Knight was on hand Thursday night at GO ART! for an artist's reception featuring her photos of Ireland. Knight has worked for 25 years as a writer and photographer and she traveled to Ireland in April. The photos on display at GO ART! capture the beauty and grandeur of what she saw during her visit.

GO ART! also opened its latest member show, "Guilty Pleasure."

Alex Segouia, of Avon, with his painting, "Lust." 

Lydia Zwierzynski with "Dreams of Fortune." 

Top picture, "West of the Fields" by Kevin Hammon, and "The Fishing Shack" by Julie Lambert.

Backed by data that shows a definite need for senior housing in Genesee County, developer Ronald Long envisions a 35- to 40-unit townhouse complex at 47 W. Main St. in the Village of Corfu.

Long, a resident of Judge Road in Alabama, presented a site plan for his project’s initial phase – two six-unit buildings -- to the Genesee County Planning Board on Thursday night.

And he left the meeting with an approval from the board, contingent upon modifications that include creating buffers from neighbors, placing a sidewalk to an existing building on the site, providing lighting and landscape plans to the Corfu Village Planning Board and obtaining a permit from the state Department of Transportation.

“We’ll probably have them (the apartments) rented before they’re even finished,” Long said, adding that they will rent at the market rate. “We’ve been working with the (Genesee) County Office for the Aging, which indicates a dire need for reasonably priced housing (for seniors).”

Planning Director Felipe Oltramari backed up Long’s statement, pointing out that housing located close to “shops and services is one of the reasons we see this as a good thing – adding density to the village.”

Last night’s site plan review was for Long’s plan to construct 12 units, six in each building.

He said his company, Toor Inc., would like to expand the project to 35-40 units – all in structures located behind the existing 3,400-square-foot building formerly known as The Market.

He said The Market building could be used as a clubhouse for residents (as is the current plan) or converted into another business.

Long said he would like to begin construction on the first phase by the end of this year. He said he will conduct a contest to name the complex, which currently is being called Corfu Senior Apartments.

In other action, the board:

-- Approved with modifications a special-use permit to construct two cabins for the R2R Christian ministry at 9936 Simonds Road, Darien.

Rich Ohlson, ministry president, said the cabins would be used for overnight programs for the 50 or more youth -- mostly teens from troubled homes – who participate. He said activities include indoor sports (in the main building’s gymnasium) as well as fishing.

“We’re reaching kids before addiction,” Ohlson said, noting that many young people in these situations turn to alcohol and drugs.

R2R conducts programs and religious services every Saturday from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and also hosts day camps at selected times throughout the year. The cabins, with eight bunks each, are to be built behind the campsite’s main building.

Planners OK'd the permit as long as R2R: puts in an access drive with a turnaround adequate for emergency vehicles; provides a parking plan acceptable to the Darien Town Planning Board; and obtains an elevation certificate by a licensed surveyor or engineer to ensure the cabins are not built within the flood hazard area.

-- Approved a 7,200-square-foot storage building at S&S Limousine at 7160 W. Main Road, Le Roy, recommending that the applicant, Joe Spadaro, merge three parcels into one.

Spadaro said the building, which will be placed on the west side of his property, is needed to “get the limos out of the snow.”

Currently, he has a fleet of more than 50 limousines.

-- Recommended for disapproval a request for a special-use permit and area variance by Peter Zeliff to convert the former Michelle's Bakery on West Saile Drive into a rental home.

Planners cited a Town of Batavia zoning law that says such a conversion in a commercial district is allowed only if the location is within 500 feet of other residential structures. The request was for a variance of 2,000 feet.

They also said that locating a single-family home next to the County Airport is "questionable and may pose significant impacts."

Zeliff has the option of taking his request to the Town Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.

-- Approved a site plan submitted by O-At-Ka Milk to construct a 29,075-square-foot addition at its food manufacturing facility on Cedar Street.

It didn't take long for a jury, after a weeklong trial, to deliberate and find Charles Schilling, of Pembroke, guilty of counts of second-degree burglary and second-degree criminal trespass.

The charges stem from an incident Thanksgiving Day 2015 when Schilling broke into a house where his girlfriend was living, got into an altercation, and she grabbed a .357-Magnum to defend herself, fired three times, striking him at least once in the leg.

In closing arguments, Public Defender Jerry Ader tried to convince the jury that there was ample reason for a not-guilty verdict based on reasonable doubt.

"What really happened?" Ader told the jury. "Since yesterday, those words keep coming back to me. What really happened?"

He said the only version of events the jury had to go on was the testimony of Schilling's girlfriend, who admitted to being confused on some points.

"She is admittedly not sure about what happened," Ader said. "Anything is possible, she said. When she was asked, she said, 'Anything is possible.' She could remember certain things and she couldn't remember certain things."

Ader said the couple had been together for years with a well-established pattern in a dysfunctional relationship of fighting and talking, and texting, then fighting more, with verbal and physical abuse going both ways.

In order to convict Schilling of burglary, Ader said, the jury would have to find that Schilling went to the house, owned and occupied by the father of Schilling's girlfriend, with the intent to commit a crime once he got inside.

It seemed quite probable, Ader said, that Schilling went to the house on Thanksgiving only to talk, but as usual, the talk escalated into a fight.

If Schilling didn't intend to assault and menace the victim, then he couldn't be found guilty of burglary, Ader said.

"Based on the testimony you heard, reasonable doubt is clear," Ader said.

When Assistant District Attorney Robert Zickl stood to begin his closing arguments, he stepped to the lectern in front of the jury and for a few minutes, just stood there and looked at them.

His point was, he said, that when he approached the lectern, his intention was clear. His intention was to speak. The jury didn't expect him to remain silent. The context explains intent, he said. The jury knew that if he stood up and walked to the lectern, he intended to speak. They didn't really have to guess at his intention.

In the same way, Schilling's intention was clear. He had told a friend that he was angry with his girlfriend because he believed she had performed in a pornographic video that had been posted online. Schilling's intent was also clear because he had been at the house a few days earlier and gave his girlfriend "a stiff beating," Zickl said. Zickl said Schilling's intent was also clear because when he arrived at the house on Nov. 26, 2015, he tried to break down the front door, damaging it, and then gained access by kicking down another door.

"How can anyone say he did not have the intent to commit a crime when he got inside, when the first thing he did when he got inside was commit a crime?" Zickl said.

It was also clear that Schilling was guilty of criminal trespass because he well knew that his girlfriend's father had barred him from his property. Schilling's girlfriend had even warned him on prior occasions not to come over because her father wouldn't allow it.

Schilling will be sentenced at a later date.

Independent Living of the Genesee Region held a fundraiser at Batavia Country Club yesterday, A Taste of Independence.

More than a dozen businesses participated, among them Red Osier, T.F. Brown's, Amber Lantern and D&R Depot.

Independent Living provides assistance to people with permanent or temporary disabilities and funds raised through the event will be used to support those services.

Press release:

New York State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer today has launched a 2017 Hunters and Sportsmen Survey.

“Sportsmen and women share their opinions with me every year about hunting issues, and I believe that it is important to listen to their thoughts,” Ranzenhofer said. “That is why I hope that you will consider answering a quick 10-question survey.” 

Residents can complete the survey online by visitingranzenhofer.nysenate.gov. The legislative survey asks questions about hunting and wildlife management in New York State, including crossbow hunting, antler restrictions, and other issues.

“I would like to know how hunters in the 61st Senate District feel about these issues,” Ranzenhofer said. “It is imperative to promote and expand responsible conservation practices while ensuring that future generations have access to quality hunting experiences. I remain committed to working with sportsmen organizations across our state to expand hunting opportunities.”

Sept. 23rd is recognized as National Hunting and Fishing Day. New York ranks third in the nation– behind only Texas and Florida– with nearly two million sportsmen and women hunting and fishing across the state.