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County legislators were filled in on a few more details Wednesday on a proposal that could save the county money on its motor vehicle fleet by County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens.

Hens wasn't able to attend the Public Service Committee on Tuesday where the proposal was first pitched to legislators, but he was at Wednesday's Ways and Means Committee meeting.

"It's also important to look at that it's not only $80,000 savings on the bottom line, we're also providing a higher level vehicle to departments," Hens said. "In the current fleet mix we have now, we have a number mid-size, almost compact-size cars that departments are using. ... We're providing across-the-board vehicles to departments more suited to what they want and fits department usage and we're still saving $80,000."

There could be more potential cost savings down the road, Hens said, if the program with Enterprise Rent-A-Car works out and the county converts more of its vehicles, such as County Highway pickup trucks, to the program.

The current proposal calls for Enterprise to replace 47 vehicles currently in the county fleet with 47 new vehicles. Enterprise would sell the used vehicles and return the proceeds to the county (as much as $580,000) and the county would make payments on the new vehicles.

One reason the deal works for the county, Hens explained, is that the vehicles the county will get from Enterprise every four years will be cars, SUVs and vans that have higher resale value than the typical Ford the county gets now (nothing against, Ford, Hens noted, but they don't have great resale value).

"The only difference, really the big difference, is that they are getting just a smidge bit better purchasing prices because they're buying so many vehicles nationwide and where they're really beating us is on resale," Hens said.

Currently, when the county retires a vehicle, it's sold through one of two regional auction houses, limiting the size of the potential buyers' market.

"These guys are selling their vehicles at an Enterprise fleet auction that's covering all of North America so they're driving higher prices on the resale," Hens said.

He added, "The other piece of the puzzle that they do, is they have such a knowledge of what vehicles are pulling in -- higher values -- that they'll have you buy the vehicle in the first place knowing that's going to drive a higher price on resale. Right now, we put a bid out and we're stuck with the low bidder."

The county is looking at switching out the fleet at the start of 2018.

Adner P. Davila, 62, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, was arrested Friday on a sealed indictment for allegedly selling cocaine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force and at the time of his arrest officers say they found more drugs and cash.

Davila was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, five counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and one count of criminally using drug paraphernalia. 

After receiving a sealed indictment against Davila, members of the Local Drug Task Force observed Davila driving in Batavia on Friday evening. A uniformed deputy initiated a traffic stop as he pulled into a parking lot. 

Once in custody, his car was searched and he was allegedly found in possession of 18 bags of cocaine and $439 cash.

Investigators then searched his residence and report finding cocaine, morphine, drug paraphernalia and more cash.

Davila was arraigned in both Town of Batavia Court and City of Batavia Court and ordered held without bail.

Additional charges pending lab results.

Nick Cain talks with Batavia Middle School students today during Connect Day at the school, which is a time for new students, mostly incoming fifth-graders, to get acquainted with the school before classes start.

They met eighth-grade mentors and participated in team-building exercises. Cain provided karate instruction to go with a talk on success in school. The other pictures below are from a game that is part four-square and part volleyball.

A proposal to switch out the most of the county's current fleet of vehicles to a national vendor to manage and maintain the fleet could save the county as much as $80,000 a year, according to a proposal presented to the Legislature's Public Service Committee on Tuesday.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car provides the same service to several other counties in New York, said Representative Jimmy Adams, and those counties have achieved the anticipated cost savings and seem satisfied with the service.

The program will start with Enterprise taking 47 of the vehicles in the county's fleet now and selling them at an estimated total of $580,000 returned to the county. Enterprise would then replace those 47 vehicles with 47 new vehicles, purchased at the typical discounted government bid rate, and the county would make payments on those vehicles.

Legislature Chairman Ray Cianfrini wanted to know if Enterprise would guarantee that the 47 vehicles would sell for at least $580,000 and Adams said, in a word, no.

"We are very conservative (in our estimates)," Adams said. "We have a remarketing manager who is in our Rochester office. His sole job is to go through, give these values to new clients and current customers and make sure those are values we can live up to because we know at the end of the day, if we don't we're going to be in meetings similar to this and explain why we missed."

County Manager Jay Gsell said doesn't expect any surprises when Enterprise puts the vehicles on the market.

"Based on the current age of our fleet and the condition in which the motor pool maintains those, I don't think we've got any hidden upsets as far as that's concerned, but there is nothing absolute in terms of what the whole 47 will generate in net value," Gsell said.

The other potential problem, Cianfrini said, is what if the partnership doesn't work out and the county wants out of the deal. He thinks the county will be out 47 vehicles and will need to buy 47 vehicles.

Adams said, first, that has never happened with one of these vendor arrangements for a government entity, and second, even if that were the case, the county will be in a "positive equity position" on each vehicle because the government bid price on the vehicles is so low. Over the first year or so of such an agreement, the county would be paying down the principal owed on each vehicle and if Enterprise sold the car at that point, "Enterprise would be writing a check to the county," Adams said.

That positive equity position would make it easier, Adams said, for the county to walk away from the deal if it decided to go that route.

There are also potential cost savings because Enterprise will be responsible for maintenance and mechanical repairs on the vehicles, which could mean the elimination of a mechanic's position from the county's budget. Cianfrini suggested that instead of eliminating a job, perhaps that service could be sold. Gsell said the county has a history of not competing with private enterprise and thought it would be logistically difficult to offer that service to another county. Committee Chairwoman Shelly Stein noted that Tim Hens, county highway superintendent, has said (he wasn't at the meeting) that there is plenty of backfill work that is going undone that could be done if a mechanic was freed up from his current duties.

A state audit found a flaw in how the county was accounting for its fleet expense and this agreement would help resolve that issue, Gsell said, which is one reason why he's recommending the Legislature move on the proposal this budget year instead of waiting until 2018.

The dedication ceremony and open house for the Richard C. Call Arena and the Student Success Center at GCC will be at Thursday, Sept. 7, at Genesee Community College. Open house begins at 5, with the dedication ceremony commencing at 6, with a reception immediately following.

Press release:

The Dedication Ceremony of the Richard C. Call Arena is a special event to officially open the new 54,000 square foot facility that now houses many of Genesee Community College's physical education classrooms and coaches offices, a new Fitness Center, meeting rooms, a press box overlooking the Turf Field, and the 20,400-square-foot field house that can accommodate many different types of events-from sporting competitions to trade shows and community gatherings.

The Dedication Ceremony also honors and recognizes the many donors who contributed to the "Creating Our Future Together" capital campaign. (The event is by invitation only.) The Ceremony commences at 6 p.m. in the Richard C. Call Arena with a reception immediately following. GCC's new facilities, including the Student Success Center which was occupied in July, will be open for visitors to see before and after the ceremony.

In January 2015, Genesee Community College kicked off its "Creating Our Future Together" fundraising campaign with the goal to raise $5 million to support the construction of two new facilities at the College's Batavia Campus, and also to support student scholarships emphasizing outreach to students living near GCC's campus centers in Albion, Medina, Arcade, Warsaw, Dansville and Lima. By the end of 2016, "Creating Our Future Together" exceeded its goal and a total of $5.5 million was raised.

In May 2016, Genesee Community College's Board of Trustees formally dedicated the College's new event center in honor of longtime College supporter Richard C. Call, who was a member of the GCC Foundation Board from 2001 until his death in 2014. Mr. Call was a strong proponent of volunteerism and philanthropy, and also an advocate of a new event center at GCC. He recognized its potential economic impact on the overall region as well as its intrinsic value to the teaching and learning experience for students of all ages.

Over many decades, Mr. Call and his brother, Robert, built Call Farms into a highly innovative and nationally-known agricultural enterprise. Mr. Call's brother and their children continue to operate the farm. Not surprisingly, Mr. Call encouraged other agricultural leaders across the region to get behind the "Creating Our Future Together" campaign and collectively, they were instrumental in making the new Arena possible. Mr. Call was also a strong supporter of many community causes, and had a special interest in youth. In addition to his local volunteer commitments, he was well-known across the United States for his leadership in agricultural organizations and he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University.

A 33-year-old Vine Street resident has been arrested and accused of selling crack cocaine on at least two occasions to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force.

Quinton L. Spinks is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.

He was arrested on a grand jury warrant Aug. 28.

He was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Press release:

On 09/02/2017 at approximately 11:41 a.m., the Batavia Police Department responded to an incident involving a knife where a subject had been cut in the upper arm. The injured subject was treated and released at the hospital. Police were able to locate and speak to all parties involved in the incident. Further police assistance was declined.

Amanda Lynn Abrams, 26, of Council House Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. The Sheriff's Office received a complaint at 5 p.m. Sunday of several broken windows, including broken windows on a vehicle, at a location on Sand Hill Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation. Upon investigation, it's alleged that Abrams broke windows "with no reasonable grounds to believe she had such a right," damaging the property of another person.

Joseph A. Saraceni Jr., 21, of Linwood Avenue, Batavia, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, unlicensed driver, following too closely and failure to signal a turn. Saraceni was stopped at 9:45 a.m. Aug. 28 in Wyoming County after a trooper observed Saraceni allegedly following another vehicle too closely. When the trooper attempted to follow Saraceni, he made an abrupt turn reportedly without signaling. During the traffic stop, State Police say Saraceni presented an expired license. He provided a list of medications he was taking that included controlled substances. The trooper conducted a field sobriety test and he was processed at SP Warsaw by a drug recognition expert. He was issued an appearance ticket and turned over to Monroe County Sheriff's Office on an active probation warrant.

Bill Buckenmeyer won the Batavia Area Jaycees' Labor Day 5K race yesterday with a time of 18:11.

The female winner was Kimberly Mills with a time of 19:53.

The top walker was Gina Giese with a time of 36:13.

There were also winners in various age categories.

At the youngest level, 14 and under, the top male and top female were Kameron Kuszlyk (22:46) and Maya Ciocola (29:20).

In the over 60 category, Frank Gioia (21:24) and Janice Spiotta (26:12) had the best times.

For a complete list of participants and times, click here.

Multiple fire companies have been dispatched to 9792 Ridge Road, Darien, for a house struck by lightning with smoke reported in the residence.

Darian fire was initially dispatched.

Mutual aid requested from Alexander, Town of Batavia, Corfu, East Pembroke, Indian Falls, and City Fire.

UPDATE 11:23 p.m.: City's fourth platoon requested to the station. Emergency management requested to the scene.

There is a severe thunderstorm warning in affect until 11:15 p.m. The storm is moving through the area at 60 mph. Wind gusts up to 60 mph possible. Damaging hail possible. Downed tree limbs and power lines possible. 

A couple of City firefighters today had Ladder 15 in the parking lot of Yancey's Fancy on Evans Street to practice with one of the truck's unusual capabilities, lifting the front wheels off the ground.

Typically, if firefighters wanted to swing the bucket to the rear of the truck and lower it to the ground, the negative angle would only be 5 percent.  With wheels up, the bucket can reach a negative angle of 20 percent.

That might come in handy if the bucket was needed, say, to rescue somebody from Tonawanda Creek, or down in a gully or any situation where the truck was being used on a slope and the bucket needed to be lowered to the ground. The old Ladder 15 didn't have a frame strong enough to handle this maneuver.

A two-car accident with a possible head injury is reported in the area of 93 W. Main St., Le Roy.

Le Roy fire and Le Roy ambulance dispatched.

Clarence J. Carithers, 32, of West Academy Street, Albion, is charged with: unlawful fleeing a police officer; three counts of endangering the welfare of a child; reckless driving- speeding (86 in 55-mph zone); failure to stop at blinking red light; unsafe turn without signaling, speed in excess of 55 mph (111 mph); and inadequate lights. Carithers allegedly drove his vehicle past a Sheriff's patrol at an excessive speed on Lewiston Road, Alabama, at 12:44 a.m. and then failed to stop at a blinking red light at the intersection of Lewiston and Alleghany roads, continuing southbound on Route 77 at a high rate of speed. Carithers then allegedly turned onto Bloomingdale Road and failed to signal. He is accused of driving in excess of 55 mph on Bloomingdale before stopping at a gas mart located on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation. He was arrested by Deputy Eric Meyer, arraigned in Town of Alabama Court and jailed without bail. Assisting were Sgt. John Baiocco, Sgt. Jason Saile, Deputy Ryan Young, and Deputy Howard Wilson.

Devan Dashaun Hazel, 23, of St. Mary's Street, NYC, is charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 5th. He was arrested on a warrant out of Town of Stafford Court and jailed on $250 bail.

Kalil T. Walker, 23, of Isabelle Street, Rochester, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear in City Court. Walker posted bail and was released.

Timothy J. Wood, 28, no permanent address, was arrested on a warrant upon release from the Niagara County Correctional Facility. He was turned over to Batavia PD, arraigned in City Court and sentenced to 15 days in jail.

Nicholas D. Martino, 37, of Main Street, Alexander, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear. 

Darryl Robinson, 53, of East Main Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant. Robinson was taken into custody during an investigation into an unrelated incident. Robinson allegedly failed to appear in City Court on charges of harassment, 2nd, and unnecessary noise.

Robin A. Pickering, 33, of Electric Avenue, Lackawanna, was arrested on a warrant. Pickering allegedly failed to comply with terms of DWI conviction in 2015. She was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Shuvon J. Williams, 41, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Williams was allegedly involved in an altercation in the Dollar General parking lot on East Main Street, Batavia, at 6:10 p.m. Friday.

Kelly A. Morrison, 44, of Skyline Drive, Lady Lake, Fla., is charged with menacing, 2nd, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal possession of a weapon (prior conviction). Morrison allegedly brandished a large pocket knife during an altercation at 6:10 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of Dollar General in Batavia. Morrison was jailed without bail.

A 17-year-old resident of Edward Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 2nd, resisting arrest, and unlawful possession of marijuana. The youth allegedly damaged a parked vehicle in the area of Bank Street and Washington Avenue, Batavia, and then resisted when officers attempted to place him under arrest. He was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Maria Katriliotis, 35, of North Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Katriliotis allegedly kicked another person at 3:40 p.m. Saturday.

Brandon C. Smart, 40, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant. Smart was arrested after police responded to a location on Hutchins Street to investigate a noise complaint.

A 17-year-old resident of Batavia Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. The youth was allegedly found in possession of marijuana at a location on Cedar Street, Batavia.

Dora L. Poodry, 23, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with failure to appear on a petit larceny charge. Poodry is in custody on an unrelated charge.

Meredith H. Cutro, 40, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and criminal trespass. Cutro allegedly entered the home of another person at 4:44 p.m. Aug. 22and refused to leave when told to leave. Cutro allegedly pushed another person when that person was trying to get her to leave.

Dustin L. Landin, 38, of James Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for an alleged violation of his release under supervision contract. He was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Traci Lynn Abrams, 19, of Skye Road, Alabama, is charged with possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle. Abrams was arrested by Batavia PD and turned over to the Sheriff's Office on a warrant.

Rudy P. Bail, 23, of Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Bail was charged by State Police at 8:36 a.m. Thursday in the Town of Bethany.

It took Rep. Chris Collins little time to turn news of a House Ethics Committee investigation into his financial dealings, and his continued involvement with the biotech firm at the center of the investigation, into a fundraising opportunity.

This morning, the Buffalo News reported that Collins has been re-elected to the board of Innate Immunotherapeutic and within hours Collins delivered a fundraising email to his supporters (and others on the list, including news media) into a request for a $12 donation (the price, he said, of a month's digital subscription to the Buffalo News) to his reelection campaign.

He didn't explicitly ask people to drop their subscriptions to the online version of the newspaper.

"Join us today and tell them we won't stand for their fake news," Collins wrote.

Controversy about Innate Immunotherapeutic and Collins involvement with the company have been swirling around the Congressman for months, including allegations that he bragged about making a lot of people in Buffalo rich on stock deals with the company, accusations that he steered other members of Congress to the stock, and speculation about whether he used his position in Congress to help pass key legislation that could have helped the firm.

When a clinical trial for drug developed by Innate showed negative results, the stock price plummeted and Collins reportedly suffered a paper loss of $17 million.

News broke two days ago that the House Ethics Committee was opening a probe into the stock deals. The Buffalo News followed up this morning with stories about the congressman's reelection to Innate's board and a story yesterday taking a closer look at what the probe means.

The term "fake news" grew out of a trend during the presidential campaign of completely fictional stories getting repeatedly passed around social media, no matter how outlandish and clearly false the stories were. The stories were generated by websites created with the sole purpose of making up fictitious stories in order to drive clicks and then generate revenue from ad networks.

President Donald Trump adopted the term to attack the legitimate media's truthful and generally accurate reporting of his administration. 

This isn't the first time Collins has referred to the Buffalo News, also a legitimate news outlet, with the false claim of publishing "fake news." Collins has offered no factual refutation of any reporting by the Buffalo News or other news outlets' reporting on the Innate dealings and ethical probe.

Collins’ Spokeswoman Sarah Minkel has told news outlets that the ethics announcement had been expected and denied Collins had engaged in any wrongdoing.

“Congressman Collins has followed all ethical and legal guidelines when it comes to his personal investments and he looks forward to their review," Minkel said.

Hofford Lindsay Ian, 53, of Bluff Trail, Nobleton, Ontario, Canada, is charged with: DWI; unauthorized use of a vehicle; leaving scene of an accident; refusal to take breath test; and moving from lane unsafely. Ian allegedly drove a golf cart without the owner's permission while at Darien Lake. While operating the golf car, Ian allegedly struck another vehicle and left the scene of the accident. He was jailed on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond. 

Melissa R. Reinard, 24, of Pine Ridge Road, Cheektowaga, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and speeding. Reinard was stopped for allegedly driving 53 in a 35-mph zone in Corfu by Officer Richard Retzlaff.

Galen Bena Sundown, 24, of Council House Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, is charged with: DWI; driving with a BAC of .18 or greater; unreasonable speed; drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle; and driving on public highway while using a mobile phone. Sundown was reportedly involved in a personal-injury accident at 2:34 a.m. Sunday on Council House Road, Alabama. The accident was investigated by Deputy Howard Wilson and Deputy Howard Carlson.

Sandra J. Kessler, 45, of Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving while impaired by drugs. Kessler was arrested following an investigation of a reported suspicious condition on Ellicott Street, Batavia, by Deputy Howard Wilson, at 11:12 p.m. on Friday.

Anthony Professor Blackwell, 39, of George Urban Boulevard, Cheektowaga, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. Blackwell turned himself in on a warrant. He was jailed on $5,000 bail.

A car vs. pedestrian accident is reported on Route 77 in front of the Flying J Travel Plaza, Pembroke. 

Pembroke fire and Indian Falls fire along with Mercy EMS are responding. 

Mercy Flight also dispatched. 

Corfu fire requested to shutdown all northbound traffic at Route 5.

UPDATE 8:26 p.m.: Southbound traffic shutdown at the interchange. 

UPDATE 8:30 p.m.: ETA for Mercy Flight #5 out of Batavia is six to eight minutes. Landing zone at the Town Hall. 

UPDATE 8:36 p.m.: Mercy Flight on the ground. 

UPDATE 8:58 p.m.: Mercy Flight in the air. Flying to Women and Children's Hospital in Buffalo. Road reopened. Pembroke and Indian Falls back in service. 

A 19-year-old Batavia man has been charged with arson and petit larceny after allegedly setting a box on fire that contained Apple ear buds in an attempt to steal them.

The suspect then disposed of the burnt box under a metal display rack and attempted to leave the store before being intercepted by store security officers.

Arrested was John Rai Delara, 19, of MacArthur Drive, Batavia. He was charged with petit larceny, fifth-degree arson, and criminal mischief, 4th.

He was released on an appearance ticket.

A man charged with attempted murder accepted a plea deal in County Court today that guarantees a 15-year prison term.

Jeremy R. "Boog" Armstrong, 27, faced a six-account indictment for the shooting of a victim on Jackson Street, Batavia, on Dec. 2. Today was his plea cut-off date and if the case had gone to trial and he was convicted, the maximum available sentence could have locked him away for 37 years.

Armstrong hesitated when first asked by Judge Charles Zambito if he was ready to agree to the terms of the plea. His attorney asked for a recess to confer with his client.

Because there was also a jury trial scheduled for the morning, the recess lasted two-and-half-hours while the attorneys in that case delivered their closing statements.

The plea deal satisfied two indictments, with the one that included the attempted murder charge being reduced to a lesser included offense under count two of attempted assault in the first degree. The second indictment included a count from a separate incident of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.

When Zambito read the supporting circumstances for attempted assault, his attorney, Mark Foti, objected to "knowingly caused serious physical injury," and with the suggestion of District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, the language was changed to "intent to cause serious physical injury."

Again, Armstrong Hesitated, but after conferring with Foti entered his guilty plea.

He didn't hesitate when pleading guilty to the drug dealing charge.

Friedman said the agreement to nine years for criminal possession and the 15 years for attempted assault were "no more and no less," meaning Armstrong agreed to exactly that time in prison. The sentences would be served concurrently. His term of parole will be decided at the time of his sentence but will be between two-and-a-half and five years.

Sentencing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Oct. 6.

More than 200 local residents came together Thursday night at the YWCA on North Street, Batavia, to share words of peace and unity in response to the message of hate and bigotry in Charlottesville, Va., two weeks ago.

Speakers expressed both hope that our society can learn to live in harmony, and anger at chanted slogans and actions of the white supremacists who descended on Charlottesville.

Rev. Sheila Campbell recalled the murder of Heather Heyer, a counter-protester who was killed when a car allegedly driven by a white supremacist drove into a crowd of people, whom she celebrated as a hero who confronted the reality of injustice and inhumanity.

The last social media post by Heyer, Campbell said, was, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

Heyer, she said, was paying attention.

"The call for the removal of the Confederate statue was a cry for help and she responded in love by standing on the line of justice and equality," Campbell said. "Heather chose to stand on the side of that which unites humanity, which is encased in compassion and empathy. She made the ultimate sacrifice and her name will be forever etched in the annals which recall the blood of the slaughtered voices of justice."

Diana Kastenbaum, a Batavia resident and local business owner, openly confronted her own fear and anger sparked by what she saw on TV in Charlottesville and what she judged to be an inadequate response from some elected leaders and some in the media.

"Don't kid yourself," Kastenbaum said. "This march was not about statues and permits. It was about a group of people marching for equality and another group marching for superiority. There is no moral equivalency."

There were those, she said, who were slow to denounce the bigotry and hate, and even those who did denounce racism while glossing over the overt anti-Semitism, such as the neo-Nazis marching with tiki torches chanting, "Jews will not replace us."

She recalled driving to work the Monday after the protests and seeing two different pickup trucks driving in Batavia flying the Confederate flag from poles in the beds of their trucks.

"One pickup truck was parked in the same driveway of the house where three men on a darkened porch Heil Hitlered my family and I as we left Rosh Hashanah services last year," Kastenbaum said. "From that incident, I knew they were anti-Semitic. Now I know they are also racists. I wondered how many more Confederate flags I would see that day."

Brandon Armstrong, a local business owner, said he came to say a few words about racism.

"I can live my life and not worry about someone who hates me, but I need to know if I go to apply for a job am I going to get the same treatment as everyone else?" Armstrong said. "And if I do get the job, am I going to be treated fair or am I going to get the loan from the bank? See, it's not all about hate."

He said there needs to be a better understanding, and a better response, to what it is that holds poor minorities back from greater achievement, whether it's what they can and should do for themselves, or what needs to be done to help those who can't help themselves.

Other speakers included Father Ivan Trujillo, Dr. Mohammed Rumi, Pastor Jim Renfew, Pastor Ruth Warner (who also played a rendition of "What a friend I have in Jesus" on her oboe), Stan Schumann, president of Temple Emanu-El, and Jeannie Walton, director of the YWCA.

Rev. Roula Alkhouri, of First Presbyterian Church of Batavia, one of the event's organizers, helped open and close the vigil.

She said she was stunned about the news coming out of Charlottesville two weeks ago.

"I didn't know how to respond," Alkhouri said. "I was afraid. A part of me was afraid. As a woman. As an Arab-American. I thought of the fear that people like me experienced because of the hate of others. So I didn't know what to say, what to do. How do I respond? Do I even dare speak up? But then my faith, the example of Jesus in my life led me to say you have to speak up. You have to say something, you have to stand up for what is right.

"And these words from Romans 12:21 came to me. 'Do not overcome evil by evil but with good.' And so I thought what is good in this moment? I thought of the good that comes from us coming together, our standing and say we can love across the boundaries that separate us or seem to separate us, of race, of religion, of different wants or thoughts or political persuasions. We can come and say hate has no place in our country."

Rev. Sheila Campbell

 Rev. Roula Alkhouri

Pastor Ruth Warner

Father Ivan Trujillo

Brandon Armstrong

Stan Schumann