Stories from

The Genesee ARC today held its 38th annual golf tournament at Stafford Country Club, which also included tournaments in bocce ball and tennis.

Above, Steve Pies watches a put just barely slide by the cup during his tournament round.

Ken Barrett hitting a tee shot.

Ray Shirtz playing tennis.

Krysia Mager, Lisa Dechau, Bob Bennett and Marth Bailey, the champion bocce ball team.

Representatives from Alpina yogurt at the bocce ball tournament. Alpina was a silver-tier sponsor this year.

Work has finally begun on the new McDonald's location in Eastown Plaza, Batavia.

First order of business, removing the paving on the parking lot of the site pad.

Crews were on South Jackson Street all day today laying down new asphalt over the recently milled road bedding.

It's one of a handful of streets in the city getting repaved this week.

The lighted path leading to the door of the YWCA was intended to be a symbol of hope for the victims of domestic violence and a remembrance for a former Batavia woman who died recently.

The lights were installed just a week ago.

This weekend, they were all destroyed.

"I personally think it was a malicious, intentional act," said Jeanne Walton, the YWCA executive director. "I think somebody did it to be mean and nasty and to make a statement."

Ever single Malibu light was broken. None remain usable.

"It was a symbolic remembrance of recent murder victim Nicole Sheehan, who had been killed during a domestic dispute," Walton said. "We put in the Walkway of Hope up in her honor."

If anybody has information that may assist in the criminal investigation, Walton asked that they call Batavia PD at (585) 345-6350.

Press release:

The Batavia City Council is seeking City residents who are interested in volunteering as a member of the following Committee/Board:

- Cable TV Advisory Board 

Residents interested in applying can obtain an application from the City Clerk’s Office or can visit our Web site at www.batavianewyork.com and download a Committee/Board Volunteer Application under Documents.  

Applications are due to the City Clerk’s Office by Friday, Aug. 8.

Chapter 193 of the Vietnam Veterans of America sponsored the 25th annual Duck Derby in Le Roy today, with an assist from the Le Roy Volunteer Fire Department.

Luke Gottsi won. Rich Noble, second, and Jerry Castantino, third.

While at Darien Lake for the Gus Macker Tournament, I found out three members of the Harlem Globe Trotters were inside the park putting on a show. I got just the tail end.

Herschend Family Entertainment, owners of Darien Lake Theme Park, also own the Harlem Globetrotters.

For years, the Gus Macker Tournament has been played in Buffalo. This year, for the first time, it was played at Darien Lake Theme Park. The tournament was spread over Saturday and Sunday (some Saturday games were delayed to Sunday because of rain). I showed up in time for a portion of two games and the final championship game of the day (among various divisions). The team in the light gray tops won 20-6.

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A resident on Alexander Road near Stroh Road reports that a neighbor's dog has killed 36 of his chickens.

A deputy is responding.

Heading back from Le Roy yesterday afternoon, I spotted a sign off Route 5 that said "Model Airplane Show."

Well, that sounded interesting.

I followed the signs to Randall Road and discovered an airfield behind a set of barns and met members of the Radio Controlled Flying Club of Batavia.

They were hosting special guests yesterday, professional flyers from Rochester, Devin McGrath and Kyle Stacy.

McGrath, Stacy and club member Don Lefever.

After 30 years of coaching Le Roy High School football, Andrew Paladino is retiring at the end of the 2014 season.

Paladino was defensive coordinator under Head Coach Brian Moran for 25 years. This season will also be Moran's last, and he and Moran always said they would retire together.

"Also, it's time to go," Paladino said during a party in his honor at the shop of Bill Fox. "We've got three former players on staff now. We're leaving them in good hands. Brian Herdlein is a very capable coach. He'll do fine."

Paladino's Le Roy football career started as a player with junior varsity in 1970. In his junior year, as the only junior on the team, he was the starting center and made the All County Team. The following year he slimmed down and started at full back and line backer and was named to the All Rochester Team, the All State First Team, and was named a Prep All American.

Rather than go to college, Paladino decided to get married, take a job and stay in Le Roy.

His coaching career started a couple of years later when he became a youth football coach (as a kid he couldn't play youth football, he said, because he was too fat).

During the Moran/Paladino years, the Oatkan Knights won a state championship (1995) and more than a dozen sectional titles. 

At the party Saturday was Paladino's high school coach, Don Santini, who joined Paladino for a cigar. Paladino said, "This is the man who started it all right here."

Photo: Santini, Paladino and Ron Plummer.

Big crowd and lots of great community spirit were on display Saturday during the annual Oatka Festival Parade, followed by fun and games at the festival in Trigon Park.

The biggest cheers of the parade went up when the Class of 1984 came through and the announcers said among the things the class supports is saving Frost Ridge, and then again when the Save Frost Ridge group itself came through the parade (above).

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More than 20 volunteers hauled out 180 pounds of garbage from the Tonawanda Creek this morning under the supervision of Boy Scout Alex Hansen.

The cleanup was the culmination of Alex's Eagle Scout project, which he said took a year to plan and execute.

It required the cooperation of Genesee ARC (who hauled away the garbage for free) and Sloat Tire to pick up the tires that were collected, and Alex had to coordinate the volunteers through the Tonawanda Watershed Committee and Troop 6069.

"The creek over the years has become really polluted with trash," Alex said. "People just throw tires and water heaters and even air conditioners right over the bridges in town. All this stuff gets washed to places, such as Kiwanis Park, and so we have people people cleaning because there's trash everywhere."

The 16-year-old scout said volunteers dispersed to Kiwanis Park, Kibbe Park, behind the courthouse and behind Valu Plaza.

"We think this will make a positive difference for the community because people want to enjoy the creek again," Alex said. "We want to make it a better place for people and wildlife."

Press release:

Tonight’s game between the Batavia Muckdogs and Connecticut Tigers has been postponed due to rain. This game will be made up as part of a double header on Sunday, July 20th. We will play two seven-inning games, with the first game starting at 1:05 p.m. Gates will open at noon. Any person with tickets to tonight’s game can exchange their tickets for any other regular season game, subject to availability.

The marsh on Pearl Street Road, just east of Angling Road, Corfu, as seen this morning as I left the fire at Ed Arnold's.

Taken this afternoon: Trees and barns at the end of a sweet cornfield on South Street Road, Le Roy.

A 77-year-old resident of Sunny Brook Trailer Park in Oakfield never even left his property today to cut limbs from a tree in his neighbor's yard.

His tree trimming with a chainsaw on a pole resulted, however, in a trespassing charge.

James Herbert Manes, of Sunset Parkway, Oakfield, was arrested by Deputy Chris Parker.

Parker said Manes and his neighbors have a documented history -- at least two prior law enforcement contacts in 2011 and 2012 -- of disputes.

The trespassing charge, Parker said, is the result of that history and the assertion that the park manager told Manes he couldn't cut the tree limbs.

Manes allegedly stood on the roof of his storage shed to cut the limbs.

Parker was dispatched to the scene at 11:30 a.m.

"Obviously, you're allowed to cut tree branches on your side of the property, but he reached over and cut the limbs down to the base," Parker said.

Manes was issued an appearance ticket.

One of the great annual community events in Genesee County is the 4-H livestock auction at the fair. This year's auction was held last night. The event draws people from throughout Genesee County -- not just farmers and those involved in ag. The event is the culimination of a lot of hard work by 4-H members in raising their sheep, goats, swine and beef. 

Auctioneers from William Kent kept the bids flowing.

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