pembroke

Press release:

Residents of the Pembroke Central School District are being reminded to vote on Tuesday, May 16, at the Pembroke High School from 12  to 9 p.m. Posters and signs about the Corfu Free Library vote featuring local residents who are library patrons can be seen throughout the area. The signs and posters are a reminder for residents that their votes will determine the future of the Corfu Free Library.

About 45 people attended the April 18 public meeting held by the Corfu Free Library Board of Trustees at the Pembroke Community Center to learn about the proposition. The Trustees also hosted two small group sessions at the library in late April for residents.

At these meetings, Kristie Miller, president of the Corfu Library Board of Trustees, and Diana Reding, Library director, provided information about the May 16 vote that proposes to transition the Corfu Free Library to a school district public library. The library would remain housed in the same building with the same staff.

The school district would have no direct control of the library but would collect funds for the library. This transition would stabilize the funding needed to operate the library and provide elected representation to the taxpayers, as library trustees will be elected rather than appointed.

According to Board President Miller, “We hope that residents remember to vote on May 16. At our meetings, we have explained that library usage has increased steadily while our funding has not. With this vote, the proposed level of community-based funding would amount to 24 cents per $1,000 of assessed values on properties in the Pembroke School District.

"Without this transition, the future of the library is uncertain. We have been encouraged the positive comments we have received from the community who believe that the library is important to all of us.” 

Slides from the presentation at the April 18 public meeting and additional information about the upcoming library vote are available online at the library’s website atwww.CorfuFreeLibrary.org. Residents with questions can also contact Miller at 585-599-4266.

Pembroke firefighters Troy Williams, left, and Kurt Pasturszynski hold pet oxygen masks, which were donated to the department by Emma's Mission. The pet masks will be stowed on Pembroke's trucks, ready to use in the case of a fire where a pet suffers from smoke inhalation.

For more information about Emma's Mission, click here.

Submitted photo and information.

Submitted photo: Batavia CTE Center FFA members, from left: Alex Morales (Batavia), Rebecca Meyers (Batavia), MacKenzie Fox (Byron-Bergen), Melissa Keller (Pembroke), Tracy Rudgers (Attica), Stella Glosser (Warsaw), Cherie Glosser (Warsaw), Rebecca Semmel (Warsaw), Elizabeth Jurs (Elba), Allison Pajda (Attica), Rachel Smith (Churchville-Chili), and Tyler Curbelo (Batavia).

Press release:

Two Batavia Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center students will be representing the Western Region at the New York State FFA Convention in Leadership Development Events on May 11-13 at the State University of New York at Morrisville.

While competing at the FFA sub-states competition on March 18 at Pioneer High School, Allison Pajda, an Attica High School junior in the Animal Science program, placed first in the People in Agriculture Leadership Development Competition, and Melissa Keller, a Pembroke High School senior in the Agri-Business Academy, placed second in the Employment Interview Skills competition.

In the Employment Interview Skills competition, students had to complete a phone interview, an in-person interview with three evaluators, and write a follow up letter. In addition, students’ resumes, cover letters, and applications were also evaluated. The judges’ scores in all of the above areas were averaged to determine the overall placing. For the People in Agriculture competition, Allison had to research and present on five different careers in agriculture and choose one career to write an essay about. Allison interviewed a local livestock producer and wrote her essay on his career.

New York State has three different sub-state regions and the top two students in each region move on to compete at the State Convention for the Leadership Development Competitions. Prior to the sub-states competition, 12 Batavia CTE Center students competed at the district competition, which was held at Springville High School on Feb. 28. Those 12 students scored high enough to advance to the sub-states competition.

The Batavia CTE Center FFA program focuses on premier leadership, personal growth and career success. The advisors are Holly Partridge, Animal Science instructor, and Kerri Richardson, Agri-Business Academy instructor.

Sub-states Competition Results:
Employment Interview Skills -- Melissa Keller (Pembroke), second
People in Agriculture -- Allison Pajda (Attica), first
People in Agriculture -- Tyler Curbelo (Batavia), third
Parliamentary Procedure Team -- third

District Competition Results:

Prepared Public Speaking -- Melissa Keller (Pembroke), first
Prepared Public Speaking -- Rebecca Meyers (Batavia), sixth
Extemporaneous Public Speaking -- Tracy Rudgers (Attica), fifth
Extemporaneous Public Speaking -- Cherie Glosser (Warsaw), ninth
FFA Creed -- Liz Jurs (Elba), third
FFA Creed -- Alex Morales (Batavia), fourth
Employment Interview -- Tracy Rudgers (Attica), second
Employment Interview -- Melissa Keller (Pembroke), third
Employment Interview -- Stella Glosser (Warsaw), fifth

People in Agriculture -- Allison Pajda (Attica), first
People in Agriculture -- Tyler Curbelo (Batavia), second
Agricultural Issues – MacKenzie Fox (Byron-Bergen), Rachel Smith (Churchville-Chili, and Rebecca Myers (Batavia), second
Parliamentary Procedure -- Rebecca Semmel (Warsaw), Melissa Keller (Pembroke), Tracy Rudgers (Attica), Cherie Glosser (Warsaw), Elizabeth Jurs (Elba), and Stella Glosser (Warsaw), second

About the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center

The Batavia Career and Technical Education Centeris a program of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership. The Partnership operates as a Board of Cooperative Educational Services providing shared programs and services to 22 component school districts located in Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston and Steuben counties in New York.

Members of Girl Scout Troop 42025, from Corfu, set up a Little Free Library outside Seaman's Hardware in East Pembroke as part of their Earth Day project on Saturday. They stocked it with a large collection of children's and adult books they collected.

"We wanted to put a free library in our neighborhood with hopes that it will be used greatly!" said member Lilly Senko.

"Reading is so important to being a good learner, and when everyone can get free books to read, it will help them read more," said Hannah Beach.

Photos and info submitted by Julie Beach.

Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble, right, and Undersheriff Greg Walker were on hand Wednesday night at Pembroke Elementary School for an initial neighborhood watch program organized by residents of East Pembroke and attended by about dozen residents.

Dibble went over some of the crime issues and calls for service in East Pembroke and talked about what residents can do to help fight crime.

The group will meet again in about three months to talk about further actions and perhaps have another speaker in.

One thing of interest to the group was getting residential and neighborhood signs noting that neighborhood watch is active in the community.

"If somehow we can get at least 50 percent of the homes with neighborhood watch signs in the windows, they (would-be criminals) might just move on," said resident Taylor McCabe. 

Dibble encouraged residents to call in any suspicious activity or report anything that seems out of place. 

One interesting note from Dibble: If you accidentally dial 9-1-1, don't hang up, Dibble said. It's better to stay on the phone and just tell the dispatcher, "oops, sorry," because otherwise, dispatchers must send two patrols to the location of the 9-1-1 call to confirm the reason for the call.

Members of the County Legislature expressed support yesterday for two projects that will need some financial backing to move forward.

Mark Masse, VP of operations for Genesee County Economic Development Center, presented the projects to the Ways and Means Committee. There was no formal vote, just a sense of the committee that he should come back at a later date with formal resolutions for the Legislature to vote on.

The first proposal is loan/grant support for Ellicott Station, the proposed brewery, tap room and beer garden at the former Della Penna building on Ellicott Street in the City of Batavia.

GCEDC is proposing using the local development corporation's revolving loan program to provide $210,000 in assistance. Half of the funds would be a term loan, the other half would be a loan that would become a grant if specified project criteria are met.

The money originates from the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.

The brewery and tap room -- a $700,000 project overall -- is the anchor tenant of the $15 million Ellicott Station renovation, and is anticipated to create 15 full-time equivalent jobs, with 75 percent of the jobs going to low- to moderate-income people.

In the past, similar programs have assisted Yancey's Fancy, O-AT-KA, and P.W. Minor.

While the Legislature must approve the loan/grant, the Genesee Gateway Local Development Corp. would administer the loan and monitor it for compliance.

The CDBG criteria require two public hearings, one before approval to consider whether other projects might be more worthy of the funds, and one during the project to take testimony on whether there are any violations of the program requirements.

The other project moving forward is an expansion of the sewer plant in Corfu. Right now it's processing 135,000 gallons of sewage per day, which is the plant's capacity.

The two travel plazas off the Thruway on Route 77 want to start using the facility and, more importantly, Yancey's Fancy, with production facilities on Main Road and a new one just down the street, wants to expand capacity. 

GCEDC has already approved a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) for the expansion, but the lack of capacity at the Corfu plant is holding up the project.

The expansion would consist of adding two processing units capable of handling 75,000 gallons per day (the twin units are needed so use can be rotated for cleaning and maintenance) at a cost of $2.7 million.

The county and school district would be asked to give up some tax revenue (for the county, about $272,000 over 11 years) to help fund the project. The Town of Pembroke currently has a zero-rate property tax, so its share of funding would only kick in if it passed a property tax over the next 11 years.

The travel plazas would pay about $1 million in hook-up fees, the GGLDC has already committed $100,000 to design and engineering plus another $40,000 a year over 11 years, and the balance of about $500,000 would be covered by grants.

The expansion would create 15 new jobs, Masse said.

Legislator Mike Davis, who works in the dairy industry, pointed out how important this project is. Yancey's Fancy's parent company is based in Pennsylvania and has already looked at expanding in that state. The plan here is to expand the original production facility on Main Road by 6,000 square feet and increase production of natural cheese.

The other Pembroke facility is used for processing cheese.

Dairy farmers are finding there is a local shortage of milk processing facilities, so the expansion will help local dairy farmers, Davis said. 

"I would say this is important to us all the way around," Davis said.

Kayla Simone Foster, 27, of Brunswick Boulevard, Buffalo, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, reckless driving, speeding, and failure to keep right. Foster was allegedly observed driving in the wrong lane in excess of 55 mph at 11:52 p.m., Friday, on Route 33, Byron. Foster was stopped by Deputy Eric Meyer and also charged with tinted windows, failure to attach registration, and failure to notify DMV of change of address.

Cristina Gabriele Vella, 24, of Pat Street, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and speeding. Vella was charged following a traffic stop at 6:47 p.m. Saturday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Micheal Lute. Also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana was Nicholas Joseph Niedbala, 25, of Manitoba Woods Lane, Spencerport.

An employee at the Econolodge in Pembroke told dispatchers she had to lock herself in a closet because of the conduct of a person in the lobby.

The activity was described as "unwanted advances" by the female guest. 

The woman has apparently left the front desk area now, but the caller reports she kept repeating the phrase "the angels are with us."

She also reportedly "destroyed" the front desk area.

It's not known what room she is staying in.

Law enforcement is responding.

UPDATE 6:28 a.m.: The female has been located in front of the Flying J.

A motor-vehicle accident, with one person "possibly injured," is reported on the eastbound Thruway at mile marker 402.5. A car struck a wall. It is blocking both lanes of traffic on top of the Route 5 overpass bridge of the Thruway. Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments are responding along with Mercy medics.

UPDATE 4:18 a.m.: A male is out and walking around. His vehicle has heavy front-end damage and there was air-bag deployment. State troopers are responding.

UPDATE 4:24 a.m.: "We're being told the driver left the scene," says a first responder. About 200 feet of the guard rail on top of the bridge is down and the Thruway Authority is being notified of this. The left (inside) lane of traffic is flowing smoothly, but the other lane remains blocked.

UPDATE 4:44 a.m.: The male at the scene has minor injuries and is being transported to UMMC. The Pembroke and Indian Falls assignment is back in service.

Reader submitted photos.

Submitted photo and press release:

Pembroke Corfu Darien Kiwanis Club is sponsoring its Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday and it begins promptly at 12:15 p.m. at the Pembroke Town Park (Route 77 and next to the high school).

This is for kids ages 2 to 10 years old and there are 3,500 plus eggs. Please bring your camera since the Easter Bunny will be there.

The PCD Kiwanis has been sponsoring this event for 40+ years!

This is an outdoor event and please dress appropriately for the weather. For more information, call Pat at 762-8419.

Crime isn't out of control in East Pembroke, but the idea of a neighborhood watch program in the hamlet is to make sure things don't get worse, said Amber Winters, one of the group's organizers.

There is crime in every neighborhood, she said, and East Pembroke isn't unique.

"It’s a pretty normal rate of crime here but that doesn’t mean we have to be OK with it," she said.

More than 150 people have joined a Facebook neighborhood watch group. The group has joined National Neighborhood Watch, a division of the National Sheriffs' Association, and is planning a meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. at the elementary school April 19.

The Sheriff's Office is fully supportive and will participate in the meeting, said Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble.

"Years ago we used to have several neighborhood watch groups in the county and they kind of died off," Dibble said. "We're very interested in neighborhoods that want to start these up.

"We’re excited to see what we can do to give this group what it needs," Dibble said.

The main purpose of neighborhood watch group is just to help neighbors get to know each other better, which helps residents identify things that are out of the ordinary.

"There are more rental properties now and people are coming in and we're looking at a lot of new faces all of the time," Winters said. "We just don't know anybody anymore and we want to connect all of the new families and the faces and the houses who don't know each other so we get to know each other."

One impetus for the group was the assault at the Arrow Mart a couple of months ago. Some community members thought, Winters said, that maybe they should do something before crime does become a serious problem in the hamlet.

"With all the car break-ins, people attacked in their homes, the assault at the Arrow Mart, we were feeling more frustrated," she said.

At the meeting on the 19th, people will be able to meet each other, but the Sheriff's Office will also be on hand to let the community know what it has available to help the group.

"We just don’t know our neighbors like we did back in the day," Dibble said. "It’s the truth. We know that."

East Pembroke residents are looking for a chance to change that.

What started out as a single alarm of fire is now multiple alarms sounding at the Yancey's Fancy manufacturing plant in Pembroke, including in the boiler room.

The address 8818 Brickhouse Corners Drive.

Pembroke Fire and Indian Falls fire were initially dispatched. Once more alarms sounded, Newstead Fire was dispatched. Corfu Fire has been put on standby.

UPDATE 12:50 a.m.: A chief on scene said the alarm box shows only alarm sounding. Several employees are on scene and there is no sign of fire. The boiler room has been checked, nothing showing.  All equipment can standby in quarters.

UPDATE 12:53 a.m.: Corfu and Newstead can go back in service. A chief is on scene awaiting the arrival of a company rep for further investigation, but there's nothing showing.

UPDATE 1:12 a.m.: Faulty smoke head. Pembroke assignment back in service.

The Pembroke Lady Dragons Varsity Softball Team dropped its home opener to the visiting Alexander Trojans 6-2 on Monday night.

Leading scorers for Alexander were Hannah Paolucci and Lindsay Czechowski, with two runs each. 

Photos provided by Destin Danser Photography. To view complete album and purchase prints, click here. 

A possible house fire is reported at 569 Scribner Road, Pembroke.

A fire responder reports heavy smoke.

Pembroke fire, Indian Falls fire and City of Batavia Fast Team are dispatched.

City's second platoon requested to the hall.

Mercy EMS dispatched to stand by at scene.

UPDATE 1:35 p.m.: It was a dryer fire. Fire is out. Ventilating. The structure is described by a source as "a brand-new house."

UPDATE 2:10 p.m.: All units back in service.  

Reader submitted photos.

Tracy Lynn Miller, 32, of South Lake Road, Pembroke, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Miller was taken into custody on a warrant after being released from the Erie County Holding Center. Miller allegedly failed to appear in County Court after being indicted by a grand jury. The indictment stems from an alleged theft/or use of a stolen credit card. She was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Jeffery Lee Tennity, 52, of Keeney Road, Le Roy, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Tennity was charged following an investigation into an unspecified complaint at 4 p.m. Thursday on North Byron Road, Elba. The complaint was investigated by Deputy Jeremy McClellan.

Kendra Quinette Thomas, 29, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with driving on a suspended registration. She was arrested on a warrant for the charge following a traffic stop by Deputy Cory Mower.

Pembroke High School took first place, beating Byron-Bergen in the finals yesterday, in the regional Mock Trial competition.

The final was held in the Orleans County Courthouse with Michael Rivers presiding.

Pembroke team members: Kassandra Sanner, Matthew Reeb, Eli Fox, Seth Librock, Tyler Wood, Bethany Zwolinski, Sophia Zwolinski, Aiden Costich, Rachel Tebor and Theodore Pintabona.

The Byron-Bergen team members: Nathan Knickerbocker, Shaun LoVerdi, Jared Fregoe, Michael Caruso, Reanne Dressler, Rebecca Johnson and Hannah VanSkiver.

Advisors: Marian Gerhardy and Donna McJury; Attorney Advisor: Jake Whiting.

An accident with a possible injury and entrapment is reported on Main Road east of  Lake Road, Pembroke.

Pembroke fire, Indian Falls fire, and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:11 p.m.: A witness in the area said no entrapment.  Patients were sign offs.