Le Roy

On January 17, Cub Scouts from Pack 6023 in LeRoy gathered for their annual Pinewood derby.  Always a highlight of the scouting year, this event proved to be no exception.  Nineteen cars were entered into the competition and the  final run-off was a close one!  The fastest entries from left to right: 1st place - Alex Hansen, 2nd place - Jacob Coniber and 3rd place - Kyle Glosky.  Pack 6023 is chartered by Our Lady of Mercy Parish.  For information on joining Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts, contact the Iroquois Trail Council in Batavia at 343-0307.

Melissa J. Beaumont, 30, of Rochester, was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital this afternoon where she was treated for a neck injury and released following a two-car crash on Route 19 in Le Roy, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Beaumont was driving on Route 19 when she failed to negotiate a curve and lost control of the vehicle. Her car then slid into the opposite lane, colliding with a pickup truck coming from that direction. The truck, operated by James M. Smith, 45, of Warsaw, was pushed into the guard rail, then off the shoulder and into a snow embankment. Smith did not report any injury.

Several area school districts have delayed opening school for two hours as a result of icy roads, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. They include: Batavia City Schools, Attica, Le Roy and Pavilion. Fischer reports that a number of roads simply have yet to be salted.

In other news, 40 workers have been let go at Lapp Insulators in Le Roy. On its Web site, the company is described as "a world-leading manufacturer of high voltage ceramic and composite insulators for the global electric utility industry." A loss of 40 employees will bring the total workforce down to 98. There is no news on the WBTA site as to why the company enforced the lay offs.

 Congratulations to Le Roy wide receiver Mike Humphrey for making the Democrat & Chronicle All-Greater Rochester football first team.

Humphrey is very deserving of the honor and had one of the best seasons any receiver has had in area football in many, many years.

The senior caught 63 passes for 892 yards and made it in the end zone a whopping 15 times, while guiding the Oatkan Knights to the Section 5 Class C championship.

Humphrey should excel at the University at Bufalo, Brockport or Cortland.

But the D&C again failed to give any love to our local teams, especially the Genesee Region League.

Oakfield-Alabama offensive/defensive lineman Chris Williams has been an all-state selection and has been the most dominant lineman in the GR since Pembroke's Chris Lauzze, who started at center this year for the MAC champion UB Bulls.

Here is the list of the Genesee Region League honorable mentions:

Genesee Region: Craig Campbell (Oakfield-Alabama), Chris Williams (Oakfield-Alabama), Graham Jensen (Pembroke), Craig Houseknecht (Batavia Notre Dame), Derek Hicks (Oakfield-Alabama), Ken Babcock (Pembroke), Kevin Francis (Batavia Notre Dame), Andrew Wright (Pembroke), Andy Ruddock (Attica), Tim Smith (Oakfield-Alabama), Brad Riner (Oakfield-Alabama), David Kleckler (Pembroke), Noah Seward (Oakfield-Alabama), Matt Klotzbach (Pembroke), Ray Paul (Barker), Tyler Kowalczyk (Oakfield-Alabama), Kevin Gallinger (Attica), Rick Lair (Batavia Notre Dame), Josh Hanel (Pembroke), John Koening (Oakfield-Alabama), Shawn Dupuis (Attica), A.J. Kehlenbeck (Oakfield-Alabama), Mike Dibble (Pembroke), Matt Thompson (Batavia Notre Dame).

I can't see how Williams, Smith, Wright and Ruddock (and maybe others) didn't get consideration for at-least second team.

Williams not making first team, heck, not making second team - is about the biggest joke and yet another example of the D&C blowing off the small schools and only caring about the big city schools.

Oh yeah, there was one local second team selection; Le Roy's Jordan Casper. Casper was an excellent offensive lineman and well deserving of an honorable mention selection. But where is Travis Fenstermaker?

Fenstermaker had an amazing career at Le Roy and is one of the top quarterbacks to ever play for the school. As great as Humphrey is - and trust me, he has some of the best hands I've ever seen - he is nowhere where 892 yards and 15 touchdowns without Fenstermaker getting him the ball.

I have a message that I really want the D&C and Section 5 officials to hear. I've said it before, and I'm going to keep saying it.

There should be two All-Greater Rochester teams, so the large school and small school kids can be honored. And the Eddie Meath game has turned into a joke, with coaches only playing the large school kids and giving the kids from the GR and smaller Livingston Conference schools little to no playing time. It is also time for two Eddie Meath games.

Come on. Oakfield-Alabama and Pembroke had great teams with an epic battle in the semifinals, O-A lost to Le Roy in the finals and Notre Dame advanced to the finals as well. Not a single GR player even earned second team honors. 

UPDATE: This has become a very heated debate on Talksback.

For over a month now, The Batavian has been following along as the 4-H Student Legislators learn the ropes of local government. We first met up at a meeting of the Genesee County Legislature. Then, we followed along when the interns got together at the Genesee County Nursing Home, where a couple dozen county government staffers came together to talk about what they do and take questions from the interns. Everyone from the sheriff to the clerk of the legislature was present.

In our first video, we asked the students their first impressions. In the next, we talked a bit about what they had learned so far. When we met up with them again yesterday, most of them had finished drafting up a resolution that they plan to present to their fellow legislators when they convene in a mock session of the Legislature in the spring. So we asked about their resolutions.

Before we get to that video, however, we're going to test your knowledge of local government. Chip Malone, the mastermind behind the student government program, devised a test of about a dozen questions—though some have several parts to them—all about local government. I took the test. I scored a 39 out of 46, which is about 86 percent. Not too bad, but not as well as I would have liked to have done. Although, I'm sure that if I were to take it again, I would ace it.

Now, we can't reprint the entire test here, because that would give away all of the answers for the students who have yet to take the test. Nevertheless, Chip has been kind enough to allow us to reprint a few of the questions.

First, allow me to brag that I knew every one of our federal and state representatives, including the incoming and outgoing state senators and congressmen. But those questions should be easy for anyone who has any eye on politics in the region. So, instead, I'll share a couple of the questions I found most difficult, and a few others that were a breeze—try to figure out which. Questions are reproduced exactly as they appear on the test.

1. Describe the special provision (rule) which provides opportunity to bring business before the (county) legislature which is not previously written on the agenda.

2. By law, a town is viewed as a:

a. Independent municipal corporation.

b. Involuntary subdivisions of the state, established to make state government more effective.

c. Any group of more than 2000 citizens who choose to start a local government and enact law.

3. What is weighted voting?

4. What are county governments' three top sources of revenue?

5. List the three committees of the county legislature.

We will post the answers Monday.

Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle featured a reader-submitted story yesterday about the Le Roy-based Mighty St. Joe's Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps, which is readying its members for the upcoming season. The crew met for their first practice a little over a week ago. Here's what Bob Wielgosz had to say about that first session:

There were over 80 current, former and new members in attendance, including 44 brass, 20 percussion and several from the guard and staff. The corps, one of the oldest alumni corps in existence, is in its 19th year of performing this coming year, including events like indoor and outdoor concerts, parades and field shows.

It turns out the group got its start here in Batavia more than three-quarters of a century ago.

St. Joseph's Drum Corps was originally founded in 1931 by the Rev. T. Bernard Kelly, pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Batavia. In 1951, corps graduates formed St. Joseph's Drum Corps Association Inc. to perpetuate Father Kelly's work. The corps operated as a parade corps till the late 1950s when it became a field competition corps. During the 1960s, Mighty St. Joe's rose to National and International prominence, consistently ranking among the top ten junior corps in the country. In top level competition, St. Joe's placed as high as fourth in National and second in World Open competition. Unfortunately, 1971 was the final year of competition for the pride of Batavia.

Anyone can join the crew. You only have to be at least 21 years old. Check out their Web site for more information, show times and how to join.

With just four minutes left in the game, something clicked for the Le Roy football team. In a situation where the Oatkan Knights had turned the ball over six times and was trailing by 18 points, they didn't quit.

There was a sudden burst of momentum as the team that hadn't lost all season long wasn't about to take its first defeat lying down.

Le Roy came back and had a shot to win the game in the final minute, but turned the ball over a seventh time and walked off the field with a crushing 38-35 defeat against the most skilled team it has seen all year, Jamestown Southwestern.

The start to the game was strange as the teams took the field and there was a penalty on the kickoff, then had to wait four minutes to re-do the kick because of the television coverage.

But the Oatkan Knights received the ball on the kick and fumbled the ball away on their third play. Southwestern quickly scored as Levi Bursch scored on a 19-yard run.

The Trojans got the ball back on an interception, then gave it back to Le Roy when they fumbled it.

The Oatkan Knights marched right back down the field and was knocking on the end zone door when the ball popped out again, giving Southwestern the ball at their own 20-yard line.

Zack Sopak lofted up a 54-yard pass to Will Sleggs and the Trojans were deep in Le Roy territory. Bursch capped off the drive with a 2-yard dive into the end zone.

Le Roy marched on the next drive, with the highlight being a 35-yard pass to Quentin Humphrey. This time,  the turnover directly resulted in points for Southwestern.

Travis Fenstermaker was trying to get the ball to Mike Humphrey for a touchdown, but Bursch stepped in front and snagged the pass. He took it 97 yards to the house, giving Southwestern a 21-0 advantage.

The Oatkan Knights again were moving the ball as a Fenstermaker pass to Andrew Alexander was a big gainer, especially when you add the face mask penalty.

But, Alexander wound up coughing up the ball inside the red zone.

Southwestern punted and Le Roy finally got on the scoreboard just seconds before the first half ended. Alexander hauled in a pass by Fenstermaker and rumbled 63 yards for the TD.

After making a stop and punting the ball away at the start of the second half, the Oatkan Knights got a turnover when Southwestern fumbled. That led to a 13-yard touchdown pass to Mike Humphrey. The extra point attempt failed and Le Roy trailed 21-13.

After a big kick return by Tanner Delahoy, Southwestern didn't take long to make it a two-score game as Sopak hooked up with Will Sleggs on a 29-yard scoring pass.

Le Roy got some major help on the next drive. On a fourth-and-2, Fenstermaker tossed a first down pass to Alexander, but there was a face mask and late hit penalty issued on the play.

The Oatkan Knights faced another fourth down later in the drive and Fenstermaker ended up tossing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Mike Humphrey on the fourth-and-1.

The next 10 points came by the Trojans, seeming to put the game away.

Bursch caught a 3-yard touchdown pass and Dan Imfeld nailed a 28-yard field goal, giving Southwestern a 38-20 lead with just 6:49 left on the clock.

The game appeared to be over. But it wasn't.

Fenstermaker - who ends his high school career with a 20-2 record - capped off a three minute long drive with a 1-yard TD run.

The Oatkan Knights recovered the onside kick and it started to look like something special was going to happen.

But, Mike Humphrey fumbled the ball away after catching a short pass. Again, the game looked to be over - that is, until the Trojans fumbled while trying to run time off the clock. Le Roy recovered with 1:28 left in the game.

Humphrey immediately caught a 42-yard touchdown pass and the impossible, now seemed possible. The Oatkan Knights were only trailing 38-35 and when they recovered the second onside kick, looked like they were going to win the game.

Fenstermaker threw a pass to Mike Humphrey and Le Roy had the ball at the Southwestern 22-yard line and just over 30 seconds to work with.

But the Southwestern defensive backs had the Le Roy receivers covered, forcing Fenstermaker to scramble. He was hit by Eric Mazgaj and the ball popped out, with the Trojans recovering and ending Le Roy's season.

Fenstermaker went 21-of-37 for 283 yards and four touchdowns, with Humphrey hauling in 14 passes for 136 yards and three scores. Alexander rushed the ball 19 times for 61 yards and caught two passes for 91 yards and a score.

Southwestern improves to 11-0 and moves on to the state semifinals next weekend at PAETEC Park.

UPDATE: More photos from Pete Karl.

The LeRoy fans who braved the dismal weather for today’s Western Regional football matchup with Southwestern were treated to an emotional roller coaster ride.

As the rain began to intensify, so too did LeRoy’s turnover problems. Turnovers - in the form of a fumble and interception - on their first two possessions proved frustrating. A sustained drive on LeRoy’s third possession had the Oatkan Knighs faithful cheering. Then, just as suddenly, the LeRoy crowd was silenced as the ball was fumbled away near the Southwestern goal line. LeRoy turned the ball over twice more in the first half, both times after moving the ball deep into Southwestern territory. To compound the problem, the Trojans capitalized on LeRoy’s miscues.

At half time I spoke with LeRoyan John Arneth, a long time Oatkan Knight supporter. “You can’t beat a good team with that many turnovers in one half. Period.” He went on to specify the need to control the ball, particularly at this stage of the season. “This time of year all the pretenders have gone home. Good teams will capitalize on your mistakes.” Southwestern fit’s the latter category well as they turned three LeRoy turnovers - two fumbles and an interception - into scores. “Right now they are not beating us so much as we are beating ourselves. But they are playing a mistake free game”, Arneth concluded.

Two former Oatkan Knights, John Piazza and Kevin Pike were on hand to root for LeRoy. When I asked Piazza, a former LeRoy linebacker in bygone years, what he thought of LeRoy’s chances, he said, “You’ve got two great teams on the field. LeRoy’s got a lot of heart. They’re hanging in there. Hopefully the momentum will swing our way.” It takes one to know one. Once a Knight, always a Knight. Or so it seemed. Though it took some time in coming, John Piazza’s words would be prophetic. In the meantime, LeRoy capitalized on a Southwestern fumble. Travis Fenstermaker put the ball in the air and Mike Humphrey made a remarkable catch in the end zone to put renewed life into the LeRoy crowd. Just as quick as their hopes soared, they came plummeting back to earth Soutwestern returned the ensuing kickoff for considerable yardage and the very next play scored on a pass play of their own. But the LeRoy faithful would not be deterred. “LeRoy has some amazing athletes on the field”, said Kevin Pike. ”It’s a great atmosphere here at UB. We’ll have a better second half.”

Trailing by eighteen points with four minutes left, the Oatkan Knights kicked the roller coaster into high gear - and on an uphill ride. In the time remaining, LeRoy brought the fans to their feet, scoring two touchdowns, both conversions - one for two points and two successful onside kicks.

Then, just as quickly, despite all the last minute gut checking, time ran out on a great season, with a seventh turnover.

 Le Roy (10-0) vs. Jamestown Southwestern (10-0)

10 a.m. Saturday, at University at Buffalo

The Le Roy football team has cruised to big wins for most of the season, and then ran into its biggest challenge of the season in the Section 5 Class C finals last week in Oakfield-Alabama.

This might be an even bigger challenge as Southwestern is traditionally a very strong Class B team that has moved down to Class C this season.

The Oatkan Knights do have experience with Class B schools, beating Batavia 27-13 and Hornell 41-19.

But Southwestern has had a bigger year than either Batavia or Hornell. The Trojans are undefeated, the second-ranked team in the state (Le Roy is No. 1), has a strong defense and an amazing offense.

While we all know about Le Roy's big wins, Southwestern has many of its own, including a 44-2 win over Westfield/Ripley, 28-0 victory over Allegany-Limeston and a 42-6 win over Falconer.  Falconer beat Le Roy the last time the Far West Regionals were played in Buffalo in 2006.

Westfield's last victory came in the Section 6 Class C championships with a huge defensive effort, beating Silver Creek 21-0.

The Oatkan Knights will have their hands full with the Trojan offense.

Coach Jay Sirianni is an offensive-minded coach and has the ultimate weapon in quarterback Zack Sopak. Sopak is one of three rushers that are over 600 yards rushing, but also has the ability to throw the ball.

Running backs Levi Bursch and John Mistretta are both at about the same number of yards as the quarterback.

The offense will keep the defense guessing.

“Our line does different things on different plays and they do a great job up front and it just opens holes for our backs,” Sopak told The Buffalo News after winning the sectional title, the second for the program. 

2004 is the only other time Southwestern has won a sectional championship, playing Hornell in the Class B Far West Regionals. You can find a complete history of the Far West Regionals in this complete  look at the history of the game.

Le Roy's offense has been spectacular all season long and will be battling a very good defense, which has not given up more than 14 points in a game this season.

Linebacker Ryan Buzzetto leads the defense with 83 tackles.

Class C offensive Player of the Year Travis Fenstermaker leads the Le Roy offense with 1,234 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions, with most of those passes going to Mike Humphrey, who has caught 49 balls for 747 yards and 12 scores.

Andrew Alexander will also get plenty of opportunities to run the ball, having picked up 1,466 yards and 14 touchdowns on 188 carries.

Le Roy has 14 sectional championships, and one state title. That lone championship came in 1995. 

Last week, The Batavian reported that Pontillo's Pizzeria owed in excess of $112,000 in state taxes. That report came on the heels of an article in the Daily News in which Sam Pontillo claimed that he closed the restaurant in order to make renovations and officially purchase the property. A second article appeared in the Daily a couple days after our post that further confounded an already ambiguous story. Since then, more information has become available that may help us to ask some better questions in the hopes of getting some better answers.

On October 31, a civil suit was filed in Genesee County in which all three Pontillo brothers were named. That suit was brought by Buffalo attorneys Amigone, Sanchez, Mattrey & Marshall LLP on behalf of the plaintiff: John Pontillo. Listed as defendants in that case are: Sam, Paul and Salvatore Pontillo. No other details of the case were available at the Office of the Genesee County Clerk, and we have so far been unable to contact any of the brothers. We had left messages for Sam Pontillo last week that were never returned.

A week later, on November 7, a mechanic's lien was filed with the county by Roy H. Turnbull Inc. againt the estate of Elizabeth Pontillo and Pontillo's Batavia Pizzeria Inc. in the amount of $1,181.29. No specifics were listed in the record.

Those are the most recent facts. A search earlier today revealed no new filings with the county. Let us now take a moment to review the news as it was reported in the Daily. We feel that there are some contradictions and ambiguities that may help to shed some light on the situation.

From the first article, which appeared on November 4:

(Sam) Pontillo was advised that it would be better to just close the shop down and then re-open under new ownership. He regrets that he had to cancel a pre-election night party ... But he had no choice, Pontillo said. He was told that renovations were to happen now.

Firstly, who "advised" Sam Pontillo to close and "told" him that renovations had to "happen now"? In the same article, Beck writes that: "Sam has been on site running the Batavia and Le Roy operations the last several years." So if he's running the place, who is telling him to close it? Secondly, what are these renovations that they cannot be postponed even a single day so that the restaurant could cater a local party?

What's most confusing, however, is that in this first article, Sam Pontillo claims responsibility for both operations, in Le Roy and in Batavia. He would have to be running the place in order to make the decision to close it down, right? But in the article that appeared in the Daily on November 7—after The Batavian broke the news that the Batavia restaurant owed some $112,000 in unpaid taxes to the state—Sam Pontillo is quoted as saying: "I was locked out of the whole operation. John and Paul worked there (in Batavia). John was operations manager." Doesn't that contradict the claim in the previous article that Sam has been running the place for "years"?

Joanne Beck writes:

It was only after (Sam Pontillo) started the paperwork to buy the city property that Sam Pontillo became fully aware of the tax situation, he said. He doesn't dispute that tax warrants have been filed by the state Finance Department and Genesee County Clerk's office against the family business, which includes Pontillo's Batavia Pizzeria, Inc. and Sam's Tomato Pies, Inc.

But he doesn't claim them as his, either. The business is still owned by his mother and was not run by Sam, he said.

What!? Does Sam Pontillo run the business or not? What does it mean to be "fully aware"? Could he have been "partially" aware? What would that have signified? How can Sam not claim the tax warrants filed against Sam's Tomato Pies?

It is also reported in the most recent Daily News article that: "Genesee County records did not show any outstanding tax warrants on the Le Roy Pontillo's." That's true. As Sam Pontillo himself says of the Le Roy location: "I don't owe one cent for this place."

But Pontillo's Le Roy Pizzeria Inc. has been named in a civil suit filed by the Workers' Compensation Board of the State of New York that was filed on October 20. The Board also filed a money judgement in the amount of $1,250 against the Le Roy operation. As for any outstanding tax warrants, there are none. Pontillo's Le Roy Pizzeria Inc. was, however, served with a tax warrant by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in the amount of $700.63 in November, 2007. That was paid.

All in all, there are more questions than answers at this point, and I have yet to see a single car parked at the Batavia Pontillo's, which is supposed to be undergoing renovations right now. I guess we ought to take Sam Pontillo at his word when he says: "The remodeling won't be an obvious change that patrons will notice."