A motorcycle accident with minor injuries is reported in Alabama at the curve where Ledge and Reuben roads meet. Alabama Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.
UPDATE 7:24 p.m.: Alabama is back in service.
This is the final story in a series about the 2011 award winners of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.
One of the most satisfying meals Donna Saskowski ever had was simple fare -- pork chops, Tater Tots and corn. It's one she has never forgotten although it was 20 years ago. A gentleman named Curtis cooked the food at his apartment for his special guest, the lady who worked at Genesee County ARC, and who still does, now as the executive director.
Saskowski, who is the chamber of commerce 2011 Geneseean of the Year, could sense the great pride Curtis had for his accomplishment -- from setting the table and serving the food, to having a pleasant conversation and saying a fond farewell. Guest and host became friends. And Curtis, who is still served by ARC, remains Donna's friend.
Seeing people like Curtis, who is developmentally disabled, accomplish new things, learn a skill or develop a hidden talent gives meaning to Donna's work, helps motivate her and keeps her grounded.
Her inclination to help others improve their lives was fostered in no small part by her mother, the late Helen A. Trowbridge, who was a full-time registered nurse, mother of nine children, working farmer, community volunteer and a graduate of Clown Alley. Yes, Helen attended clown school in her 50s and loved entertaining people, for free, at the ARC, nursing homes, hospitals, etc. With her loud suits and zany bag of tricks, "Gorgible" the Clown made a big impression on her big family to do for others.
Donna grew up in Corfu on the family farm, which is still operated by family members today. Both her parents held full-time outside jobs and also raised crops, chickens, dairy cows and black angus cattle. In other words, "all the things my parents needed to keep nine kids fed and give us activities. It was good," she said.
After graduating from high school, Donna went to college to become a social worker and was briefly employed after getting married. But she decided to stay home and raise two daughters until they entered school. Then she looked for part-time work and landed a job as a residential assistant at ARC after "cold calling" the facility seeking an application.
It was, as they say, a good fit.
"They help me, they give me a lot of inspiration and make me feel good about myself," Saskowski said.
When the people in the ARC community get the support and services they need, they often have new experiences that are life-changing.
"Suddenly, they realize -- maybe because they haven't had other opportunities in their life -- the level of skill they have, how much of a contributing part of the community they can be.
"Sometimes people with developmental disabilities aren't given those opportunities and so they kind of lack confidence or the courage to step up. They know they can do it, but I don't think -- because we often don't have faith in them -- that they want to express it."
When they do, the results can be amazing. Donna has a couple of art works in her office, and there are others displayed elsewhere in the facility on Walnut Street, that show real talent, and certainly beauty.
Events like the Challenger Dance and the Sprout Film Festival also give her clients a chance to blossom.
And that helps her stay energized and focused so she can advocate for them effectively.
In addition to her work at ARC, Donna is active in the community. She is currently serving as secretary for the Batavia Rotary Club, which she joined in 2004, and is a board member of the Regional Action Phone Network.
In 2006, she was named a Leadership Fellow at the Community Health Foundation of Western New York and that was a tremendous experience for her. It enabled her to meet leaders from throughout the region and engage them in a dialogue about the state of health care and health in general.
She has also been a Girl Scout leader and served on the board of the YWCA. She is a member of Leadership Genesee's Class of 2005.
She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Social Work from the University of Buffalo and was named Social Worker of the Year in 2010 by the Western Division of the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
Donna is highly regarded for her leadership, exceptional ability to work collaboratively, and her commitment to community development.
She lives in Darien with her husband, Paul.
As for being named Geneseean of the Year, Donna is most pleased.
"I have a great support system or else I wouldn't be able to do the things I do -- my staff here, but especially my family, my husband. If he didn't cook all those meals and do all those things when I was in graduate school, and raise the kids for three and a half years, it would have been a tough go. And he did that."
The Haskell Company, general contractor on Project Wave, and PepsiCo both pledged today to hire, whenever possible, local subcontractors, and say they've been following that practice from the beginning.
In fact, both companies say they have a non-binding agreement with the Genesee County Economic Development Center to hire local workers.
Union representatives from Rochester held a press conference today outside the building site at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park and insisted that Haskell is not awarding enough contracts to builders from Western New York.
Dave Young, president of the Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council, as well as business manager of IBEW Local 86, told reporters to just walk through the parking lot (if allowed) and check license plates on the trucks pulled up behind the construction trailers.
"Pepsi has hired an out-of-state general contractor who is bringing up employees from Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia," Young said. "They're bringing them from everywhere but right in here New York State."
Young made his remarks flanked by union members -- Young said he represents 15,000 workers, 15 percent of whom are out of work -- and in front of a backdrop of earth movers grading the construction site.
The earth movers are owned and operated by Zoladz Construction, based in Alden.
Young (pictured) said the one solid piece of evidence his group has is a video he and some colleagues produced yesterday during their walk-through of the construction site parking lot.
When pressed to name out-of-state contractors who have been awarded contracts, Young named one, an electrical contractor out of Kentucky, but said he couldn't remember the names of the others.
He said the bid process for construction work such as this lacks transparency, which makes it hard to know for sure who is being hired for what jobs.
Yesterday, Steve Hyde told The Batavian that 50 percent of the contracts for the project have been awarded and 80 percent of those have gone to Western New York contractors.
Dave Balz, a VP with Haskell, said he didn't have the information in front of him to be able to confirm Hyde's numbers, but said Haskell is firmly committed to hiring local labor on all of its projects.
"In my experience, every community is concerned about the local work force and the local workers," Balz said. "We respect that concern. Local contractors with a good safety record are always welcome to bid on our projects."
Haskell signed a non-binding agreement with GCEDC to hire qualified subcontractors from the local area (which covers Genesee County as well as the surrounding counties), Balz said.
According to Scott Gilmore, a spokesman for Pepsi, the company signed a "local labor pledge" with GCEDC.
"Our pledge is to use a fair and competitive selection process for the construction of the new manufacturing facility, with a view to using as many New York State and local subcontractors and suppliers as reasonable," Gilmore said in a statement.
"As with any pledge of this nature, it is not legally binding, but it is a reflection of the goals and standards we seek to maintain as we proceed with development of the state-of-the-art dairy and yogurt production facility in Batavia, New York."
Gilmore also wrote, "We are committed to providing a measurable, positive impact to the Upstate local community and surrounding areas through the use of available, competitive local labor as we construct a state-of-the-art dairy and yogurt production facility in Batavia, New York."
Among Young's request is that GCEDC create a local labor requirement in its contacts with businesses, saying that the Monroe County IDA has such a requirement in its contracts.
The Batavian spoke briefly with a spokeswoman for COMIDA who said at first the claim was true, but when asked if such agreements were binding, she said she would need to double check. We've not yet heard back from her.
As for the video presented by the union, Balz said he would let it speak for itself, adding, "We are still early in a very long-term project to build a state-of-the-art yogurt plant. As things proceed on site, we intend and will take action on our pledge to do our very best to include local participation."
Previously: Union officials making waves over alleged out-of-state hiring practices of Wave Holding
A rollover car accident is reported on R. Stephen Hawley Drive near Batavia Stafford Town Line Road. The car rolled over several times, according to a witness at the scene. There is entrapment. Mercy Flight out of Buffalo is airborne. Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy Medics are responding. It is not blocking traffic.
UPDATE 1:36 p.m.: The vehicle is a full-size Chevy van. It's on its side. They are going to take out the windshield to rescue the patient. The van is leaking fuel. Mercy Flight has a 10-minute ETA, and the landing zone will be just east of the campus on a grassy hill.
UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: The patient is a male, approximately 50 years old. He lost consciousness but is now conscious. He's complaining of back and arm pain. He will be transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
UPDATE 1:47 p.m.: The patient has been extricated.
UPDATE 1:50 p.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.
UPDATE 1:54 p.m.: A flatbed tow truck is requested. The van came to rest 30 feet off the roadway on the driver's side.
UPDATE 2:01 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne but the destination has been changed to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo.
UPDATE 2:06 p.m.: Town of Batavia fire is back in service.
UPDATE: We'll have more pictures from the scene with our follow-up story, pending release of accident report from the Sheriff's Office.
Accused bank robber Jonathan A. Mills has officially been named a suspect in the April 6 Pavilion Five Star Bank robbery.
The Genesee County Sheriff's Office requested and has been granted an arrest warrant by Town of Pavilion Justice Philip Werner for Mills, who is currently being held in the Columbia County Jail in Hudson.
Mills, with a listed address of 115 Maryland Ave., Rochester, is a possible suspect, along with possible accomplices, in other bank robberies around the state.
The Genesee County warrant accuses Mills of robbery, 3rd, a Class D felony, and grand larceny, 4th.
Authorities believe Mills is the man who stepped into the Pavilion bank about 3:30 p.m., April 6, and presented the teller a note, claiming he had a gun, and demanding money.
Investigators have not said how much money the robber received from the teller.
The suspect then ran from the bank and jumped into a car, according to witnesses, driven by another African-American male.
The second suspect has not been identified.
The operation matches a robbery in Greene County on Monday, which eventually led to the arrest of Mills.
A 24-year-old Batavia resident is accused of intentionally ramming a police car and then running from officers during an incident in the city overnight.
David L. Andrews, of 19 Holland Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 2nd, reckless endangerment, 2nd, resisting arrest, unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, 3rd, and 19 vehicle and traffic violations.
Andrews was reportedly wanted on an arrest warrant out of city court.
He is being held in the Genesee County Jail without bail.
The incident started at 12:28 a.m. when Officer Chris Camp attempted to initiate a traffic stop on Court Street.
Allegedly, Andrews did not stop his vehicle and Camp initiated a short pursuit down West Main Street.
At some point, Andrews allegedly hit a police vehicle and then fled on foot. The pursuit area included Holland Avenue, Montclair Avenue, Lacrosse Avenue, North Lyon Street and Allen Street.
Assisting Batavia PD were Sheriff's deputies and state troopers.
Assisting from Batavia PD were officers James DeFreze, Jason Ivison and Lt. G.Q. Steele.
A driver is accused of making an abrupt U-turn, leading to a minor-injury accident at 7:23 p.m., Wednesday, on Route 19 in Le Roy.
Injured was June S. Wood, 58, of Pavilion.
Wood was cited for allegedly making a turn without a signal.
The other driver, Jack E. Benson, also of Pavilion, was not injured.
Wood was reportedly southbound on Route 19 when she allegedly tried to make a U-turn without signaling. Benson reportedly tried to swerve into the northbound lane to avoid striking Wood's car, but a collision ensued.
Wood did not require transport to a hospital.
The accident was investigated by Deputy Matthew Fleming.
Robert Anthony Holley, 41, of Overlook Drive, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, 2nd. Holley is accused of grabbing his son, throwing him to the ground and kicking him during an argument. Holley is also accused of throwing his wife to the ground when she reportedly tried to stop him. Holley was jailed on $500 bail.
Uriah Ian Charles Smoke, 27, of Bloomingdale Road, Basom, is charged with reckless endangerment, 2nd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Smoke is accused of failing to appear in the Town of Alabama Court following his release from the Erie County Correctional Facility and was arrested on a warrant.
David Christopher Dodd, 23, of County Road 132, Ovid, is charged with two counts of aggravated DWI (child passengers under 16), operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs and failure to stop at a stop sign. Dodd was arrested following a report at 9:05 p.m., Wednesday, that a vehicle was operating erratically on Park Road. Dodd was stopped by Deputy James Diehl.
Staff and students of Genesee Community College were on R. Stephen Hawley Drive yesterday picking up roadside garbage. Within two hours, the group gathered more than 17 bags of garbage from along the shoulders of the roadway.
The project is part of the lead-up to Saturday's Cool Kids! ECO-Fest at GCC. On Saturday, you'll be able to come by the Batavia campus and drop off your old electronics for recycling and get the pressure on your tires checked.
Pictured, Kevin Manne, left, Donna Rae Sutherland, Keisha Magruder, Dayami Cruz, Lori Sutch, Michael Garrett and Stephen Morsch. Also participating but not pictured was Tom Klotzbach.
Besides her meeting with the Alabama Fire Department this afternoon, Rep. Kathy Hochul made five stops in Genesee County today.
One of her visits included a tour of Batavia with City Manager Jason Molino and other city officials. The tour ended with a visit to Batavia's landmark sewage treatment plant.
Hochul told city officials she was very impressed with the progress Batavia is making, from the Masse Gateway Project to downtown redevelopment.
"It's a city that's moving forward," she said.
Other stops by Hochul included making a donation of books from the Library of Congress to the Byron-Bergen Public Library, a tour of the trans-load warehouse on Mill Street and a talk with seniors at 400 Towers.
Below, a completely gratuitous picture of one of the treatment ponds, covered by clouds.
Two giant multinational companies received millions in taxpayer subsidies to launch "Project Wave" in Batavia on the promise of creating local jobs and stimulating the local economy, but so far, according to Dave Young, it's not happening.
Steve Hyde, CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, disputed Young's claims saying that Wave Holding has made a committment to hire a majority of local construction workers and that as of last week, 50 percent of the contracts had been awarded with 80 percent going to local firms.
Young is a union man -- president of the Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council, as well as business manager of IBEW Local 86 -- and he will hold a press conference at 10 a.m., Friday, at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park to try to draw attention to the number of out-of-state workers being employed by Wave Holding, LLC.
"There are a lot of construction workers in our area who are out of work," Young said. "This isn't a union or non-union issue. It's a community issue."
Young and Anna Dumont, executive director, Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council, released a pair of videos Dumont said were shot this morning at the job site of Project Wave showing numerous out-of-state license plates on what they say are the cars of construction workers employed by building contractor Haskell and its subcontractors.
We received no reply to an email this afternoon to PepsiCo asking for comment on the situation.
Pepsi along with Germany-based Theo Muller Group formed Wave Holding to introduce a new Greek-style yogurt product to the United States and are spending more than $206 million to build a 363,000-square-foot facility.
The plant will initially employ nearly 200 people and could eventually employ as many as 600 people.
Wave Holding received more than $11 million in tax abatements for the project and the GCEDC has been able to channel millions more into building the ag park and ensuring the park has sufficient infrastructure to support operations there.
Young suggested GCEDC should adopt rules similar to those he claims are already in place in Monroe County -- if you get tax breaks for your project, you need to hire local workers.
"That's true of all IDA subsidized projects in Monroe County," Young said. "Some go union and some go non-union, but either way people in our community get to go to work every day. They earn paychecks that support their families. This is truly a community issue."
Hyde, who answered a couple of questions even though he's out of town on vacation, said the GCEDC supports local labor.
"We have done everything we can to encourage local labor and are a huge fan and advocate of local labor," Hyde said. "We have done so with Wave many times."
Young claimed the unemployment rate among construction workers in Western New York is about double the rate of the rest of the work force.
The problem with out-of-state workers (and Young thinks some of the workers at the site aren't even U.S. residents) is that they send their wages back home rather than spend the money here.
Studies, he said, put the multiplier effect of locally based construction work at three to seven times the worker's wages.
"They're paying taxes, going to local stores, getting things fixed locally, sending their kids to local schools and colleges," Young said.
Young said he hopes public attention on the matter will get Haskell to hire more local workers.
Meanwhile, throughout the construction of the Alpina yogurt plant, the parking lot -- including today -- has been consistently filled with vehicles with New York license plates.
In separate press releases today, the Environmental Protection Agency and federal lawmakers moved to assure the public that every possible safety measure is being taken to deal with a toxic plume in Le Roy.
The EPA announced that ongoing testing has confirmed earlier results about the concentration levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) in ground water and the location of the plume.
Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Kathy Hochul hailed the EPA for agreeing to further testing to see if the plume has moved into Livingston County.
It was created in a 1970 train derailment and came to renewed public light this winter when environmentalists with renowned environmental litigator Erin Brockovich visited Le Roy in response to local health concerns.
While even members of Brockovich's team ruled out a connection with the TCE plume and an outbreak of movement disorders among a few students at Le Roy High School, it appeared that the EPA had made no real progress at the Superfund clean-up site.
Both press releases are available after the jump (click on the headline to read more):
From the EPA:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made available today the results of ground water sampling taken in December 2011 at the Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Superfund site in Le Roy, New York. This sampling is part of an ongoing investigation of the nature and extent of the contamination from that site.
The results, currently available online, are consistent with previous results from quarterly sampling. These results continue to show that the heaviest contamination is in the western end of the plume area, the source area, with concentrations tailing off as the area moves to the east toward Spring Creek.
In previous work, the EPA installed granulated-activated carbon treatment systems on 35 private wells affected by the contamination. The EPA also sampled for contaminated vapors in nearby homes and installed vapor intrusion mitigation systems in eleven homes that needed them based on the testing. The mitigation systems have been effective in controlling the vapors.
This sampling data, along with previous data already publicly available, is being analyzed as part of an overall investigation that will allow the EPA to determine the extent and concentration of contamination and what actions may be needed to control or cleanup the contamination.
A report detailing all of the testing and summarizing all of the results is expected this summer. As part of the ongoing investigation, the EPA is working to develop plans to conduct further sampling to more specifically identify the eastern edge of the contamination to ensure that the contamination is not impacting areas east of Spring Creek.
“Protecting the health of people who live and work near the Lehigh Valley Superfund site is our highest priority,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA regional administrator. “We are working with local residents and business owners to ensure that the contamination is not entering their homes and businesses.
"The work at the Lehigh Valley site is being done under the Superfund law, which operates on the principle that polluters bear the full costs of hazardous waste cleanups, rather than passing the expenses to taxpayers."
Levels of trichloroethene (TCE) in the ground water range from 6,000 parts per billion in the immediate spill area on the western end of the plume to 14 parts per billion toward the eastern edge. The EPA continues its work to ensure that the vapors from this contamination are not seeping into homes or buildings, similar to the way that radon gas can, and causing vapors at unacceptable levels.
The Lehigh Valley Derailment Superfund site is the location of a Dec. 6, 1970 train derailment, where approximately one ton of cyanide crystals and approximately 30,000 to 35,000 gallons of TCE spilled on to the railroad right-of-way. The spilled TCE contaminated soil and the ground water beneath the site. The plume of contaminated ground water extends approximately four miles to the east and southeast of the site. Exposure to TCE can have serious health impacts, including liver damage and increased risk of cancer. The Lehigh Valley Railroad will pay the cost of the cleanup, not taxpayers.
For the ground water sampling results, visit: http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/lehighvalley/relateddocs.htm.
For more information about the site, visit: http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/lehighvalley/.
From the office of Kathy Hochul:
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congresswoman Kathy Hochul (NY-26) today announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct further testing to confirm that the eastern boundary of an underground TCE contaminated plume, caused by a Lehigh Valley Train derailment in 1970, does not extend beyond Spring Creek near Caledonia-Mumford Central School, located only a quarter of a mile east of Spring Creek on North Street.
“This testing should bring relief to Western New York homeowners who worried for decades about what this derailment might mean for the health and safety of their families,” Schumer said. "We’re pleased that the EPA is stepping up to the plate to get some answers once and for all, and will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the areas impacted by the Lehigh Valley spill are safe and secure.”
“For over 40 years, the residents of Livingston, Monroe and Genesee counties have worried about the effects of the train derailment at the Lehigh Valley site,” Congresswoman Hochul saod. “Senator Schumer and I hope that today’s announcement by the EPA to continue testing will bring reassurance to these communities that everything is being done on the federal level to ensure that the health and safety of Western New Yorkers is our top priority.
"And the release of the December 2011 report today will hopefully provide residents with the answers they need to know that this area is a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.”
After hearing from local officials in the Town of Caledonia in Livingston County, Hochul and Schumer urged the EPA to conduct additional soil gas sampling in Caledonia, east of Spring Creek. The sampling will help the EPA determine if the plume is spreading eastward beyond Spring Creek toward the Caledonia-Mumford Central School by assessing whether there is evidence of TCE vapors in the subsurface area over the underground water table. If TCE vapor is detected, the sampling results will then help the EPA determine where to place permanent underground monitoring wells. The EPA expects to begin the soil gas sampling within the next few months, and may begin as soon as May.
The EPA also announced today that in response to a letter from Congresswoman Hochul, Senator Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand earlier this year, they will publicly release the results of ground water sampling taken last December at the Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment Superfund site in Le Roy, New York. A copy of the letter can be found here.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Derailment federal Superfund site is the location of a train derailment in 1970 that spilled one ton of cyanide crystals and approximately 30,000 gallons of TCE along portions of Gulf Road, the former railroad bed, and the properties next to the railroad crossing in the Town of Le Roy. The TCE leached into the underground water table, creating an underground TCE contaminated plume that covers approximately 4.5 square miles. EPA ground water testing reveals the underground TCE plume extends approximately four miles to the east, toward the Town of Caledonia. The site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1999.
By all accounts, when Don Sage climbed aboard an Alabama Fire Department engine a couple of weeks ago, he was all smiles, like a kid getting to blare the siren for the first time.
It had been several months since Sage -- a former chief and former fire district president with more than 50 years of fire service under his belt -- had been out on an emergency call.
Sage has been out on one other call since, but he says he'll go on more as he gets his health back.
"To me, being a volunteer fireman is a good way to serve your community and help your neighbor," Sage said. "That's what life is all about, isn't it?"
The 70-year-old Alabama resident was seriously injured July 7 in a head-on collision in East Pembroke. Sage suffered massive internal injuries and would eventually have a leg amputated.
When he arrived via Mercy Flight at Strong Memorial Hospital, doctors gave him only a 30-percent chance of surviving.
Sage has three children, including two sons who are also volunteers with the Alabama department.
Brian Sage said it's good to see his dad back out responding to calls.
"On that first call, he was barking orders, so I knew he was back," Brian said. "It was good to see him back."
In his 50 years, Sage said he's been there to help other people, "but I never needed help myself, and when I did, my brothers and sisters (in fire service) came through for me."
As I was getting ready leave, Don Sage pulled me aside and said, "I know you're going to do a little write-up. Be sure to mention that I'm here only by the grace of God. That's important to me."
Photo: Don Sage is back row, left. Next to him are, Bill Schutt, Tony Mudrzynski, Todd Thompson, Gloria Abrams, Ralph Bauer, Hank Mudrzynski, and front row, Brian Sage, Kasey Thompson and Kaitlyn Allen.
When there is an emergency call on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, the Alabama Volunteer Fire Department never shirks its duty -- the volunteers suit up, jump on their trucks and head out to whatever emergency is toned out.
Even though, for a number of years, there's been no money coming in to support the department from residents of the reservation.
For years, the department has lobbied the Bureau of Indian Affairs for some reimbursement of its expenses -- something not uncommon across the nation, and even in Western New York.
Today, Rep. Kathy Hochul announced that after some efforts on the part of her staff, the bureau has agreed to reimburse the department for its calls on the reservation up to $69,000 a year.
"There are a lot of people over there who need our services," said Past Chief Bill Schutt. "This was never about not providing those services, but getting funding for those services. They are part of our town and they're our neighbors. We've never considered not going there."
Hochul announced the agreement during a brief visit with the Alabama firefighters at their fire hall today.
The department has a budget of $180,000, mostly funded by a fire district tax levied against town landowners, but since the reservation is sovereign land, residents there don't pay the tax.
Schutt said exactly how the new pot of money will be allocated in the department hasn't been decided yet, but there's always equipment to replace or repair.
The department has about 50 volunteers, two of whom live on the reservation, according to Schutt.
This is the fifth story in a six-part series about the 2011 winners of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce awards.
As much as a good idea and toil played a role in growing Baskin Livestock from a company with four employees into one with 40, the word serendipity can't be left out of any story about Bill Baskin and Susan Blackburn.
The couple met because work brought them together.
The farm Baskin ran in Rhode Island forced him to find creative ways to feed his 700 head of cattle. The feed he used opened up a business opportunity in Western New York. The farm they bought in Batavia -- perfectly suited for their business, but not for dairy operations -- came available at the right time through a bank foreclosure. The location proved critically centered to a host of vendors and customers.
A combination of a business acumen and a bit of serendipity proved to be the right mix and today, Baskin Livestock is one of Genesee County's most successful ag businesses. It is, in fact, the Agriculture Business of the Year, according to the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.
"It’s a great ag community with a lot of businesses that are more sophisticated and successful than we are," Baskin said. "I’m flattered to be considered in that group. It’s just, it’s humbling … just wow! It's a great feather in our cap."
Baskin grew up in Massachusetts with a father he describes as a "frustrated farmer." He ran a small farm and a owned a tire and fuel business. After college, Baskin moved to the Midwest where he worked as a hog buyer and later exported livestock.
When he returned to the East Coast, he took over 70 acres of rocky farmland -- pasture but no tillable soil to grow feed -- and ran 700 head of cattle.
"All you could see was rocks," Baskin said.
Blackburn was a Pennsylvania farm girl whose life goal was to be a veterinarian and work with cows and horses.
When she was offered a job in Rhode Island as the state vet, she took it.
"The problem was, I was working 110 hours a week and here was an opportunity for a state job that was 45 hours a week and a couple thousand dollars more in salary," Blackburn said.
Once in Pennsylvania, part of Blackburn's job was to travel to the state's farms and administer tuberculosis test on import/export cows.
The test requires injecting the cows on day one and checking the results on day three, and with as many cows as Baskin was bringing in and sending out, Blackburn was visiting the farm three and four days a week.
Working that close together gave them plenty of opportunity to get to know each other.
"We were friends way before we were married, and we stil are, that’s the amazing part," Blackburn said.
To feed his cattle, Blackburn contracted with a man who would drive a small truck to the McDonald's muffin and biscuit factory, collect all their day-olds and mistakes and deliver it to Baskin, who would convert it into feed.
"It was a hard job," Baskin said. "He had a small truck and he went in and loaded it all by hand. One day he got mad and he said, 'I only got one truck and it's hard work and blah, blah, blah. I'm going to quit.' I said, 'Well, Johnny, you might be wealthy enough and old enough to retire, but I'm not.' "
So Baskin got his own truck and driver and found a large bagel factory with waste to recycle into feed.
The manager of that factory was then moved to the company's West Seneca plant, which didn't have a good waste-recycling operation.
So he contacted Baskin, who arranged to start a business in Western New York that would be run by a friend's brother.
Once the contracts were signed and the equipment bought, the would-be employee backed out.
"I told her, somebody has got to go take care of this thing and one thing led to another," Baskin said.
Once the couple bought the farm on Creek Road in Batavia, they were able to build facilities that could accommodate recycling tons of bakery waste into feed, with 40 or 50 truck trips a day of waste coming in and feed going out.
Baskin Livestock collects waste from more than 40 bakeries and ships out to feed companies all within about a 400-mile radius of Batavia.
According to Baskin, the amount of feed the facility produces annually replaces the need for about 16,000 acres of corn.
The process involves taking waste bakery products -- it might be a poorly mixed batch, or returns, or just factory rejects (Lay's Potato Chips rejects any bag that is as much as one chip too heavy or one chip too light).
The waste is dumped into a giant warehouse -- twice the size of a football field -- with a floor 10-feet below ground level. The wet material (uncooked dough, typically) needs to be dried out. The product is then all mixed together, dried further, churned and chopped and then moved to the loading dock for shipment to feed mills, which sell it to farmers.
The timing of pick up and delivery is critical, Baskin said.
"You don't show up when you're supposed to show up and they get backed up, you could potentially shut down a plant with 300 or 400 employees," Baskin said.
To keep his trucks running, Baskin runs his own repair and machine shop, with workers doing basic maintenance on trucks and heavy repairs.
The farm -- originally 874 acres, now more than 1,700 -- also runs 995 head of cattle locally, plus as many as 5,000 more at other locations. The cattle are raised as replacement heifers or meat cattle available locally or for export to places such as Turkey, Russia and Mexico.
Blackburn thinks the business her husband has been able to build is pretty amazing.
Often, Blackburn said, when people find out she's a vet, the common response is, "I've always wanted to be a veterinarian.
"Well, how many times have you heard that," she added. "But I say to them, anybody who can read and has great retention and pays attention can be a veterinarian. But what my husband does, not very many people can do, because he has it all just come out of his head."
A lot of the credit, Baskin said, goes to his employees, who all know their jobs very well.
"The other thing I preach is that I can be here working with you 12, 15 hours a day, side by side, but in 15 years, we're not going to have any business," Baskin said. " I need to be out growing the business and I'm depending on you guys to do the work."
The feed mill is in operation non-stop from 9:30 Monday morning to 9:30 Friday night.
If a business isn't growing, Baskin said, it's shrinking. It's never staying the same, so he's always looking for new opportunities and ways to grow.
Three years ago, they added 20,000 square feet of office space and this summer, they'll add another 5,000 square feet.
Customer service is the name of the game, Baskin said. He lives by and teaches his employees, "The customer is always right."
He prides himself on fixing problems and being able to get along with people others might find difficult.
It's a trait, he said, he picked up while working for his father.
"I fixed all my father's problems," Baskin said. "My old man'd get in a business deal, somebody get pissed off at him. I’d go fix it. I’d go talk to them. I’d go smooth it over. I’d go talk them into ... whatever."
These days, Blackburn doesn't do much vet work -- some here and there -- she's busy helping Bill with his business. She said he's the big-picture guy and she handles a lot of the details.
"Being a veterinarian is a great job, but I like helping my husband out more than I like the ego gratification of going in and telling somebody about heartworm medicine," Blackburn said.
Bill and Susan have a 17-year-old daughter who may some day join the family business, but Bill wants her to experience a little more of life first -- go to college, work for somebody else, see the world from a different perspective.
"I told her, you’ve got to want it," Baskin said. "If you want it, fine, I’ll show you everything. I’m not going to force you to do this."
To be successful in farming, Baskin said, you've got to love it.
He recalled being there for a family gathering during his first marriage and going into the bathroom to wash up for dinner a minute after his brother-in-law had done the same.
"I'm in there and he comes flying in, 'my watch, my watch, my watch,' and I said, 'what's the big deal about your watch?'
"He was a computer engineer for Hewlett Packard, big money in those days. He said, 'In my office, I don't have a clock. If I don't have my watch, I don't know what time it is. If I've got to sit there a minute past four o'clock that just makes me bananas.' He says, 'At four o'clock, I'm going home.'
"So I told my wife at the time, I said, 'You know, you don't like my work. You don't like the smell, you don't like the dirt and you don't like the people and you don't like the cows, but if I had to have a job where I just prayed for four o'clock coming, regardless of what I'm getting paid, it ain't worth it in my opinion.'
"I like the people," Baskin concluded. "I like the dirt. I like the cow business."
Baskin loves it, but he also knows serendipity played a role in what he's achieved in business and at home.
"I was lucky to find her (Susan), lucky to find this place, lucky to find a few opportunities along the way," Baskin said.
"I have no regrets," he added. "I've made a lot of friends, had a lot of fun. If you do what you like and have good people around you, and you're able to go home to a couple of people who love you. Life is good."
Mary Lea Caprio holds up a "sweet" little baby outfit in the "Baby Boutique" at St. Joseph School (more pictures at the bottom).
Featuring clothes, toys and other babyware for newborns through 3-year-olds, the boutique is one of this year's added features for St. Joe's ginormous and burgeoning Super MAMMOTH Indoor Garage Sale.
Chairwoman Kathy Stefani and her committed crew of 127 volunteers have been working hard all year to prepare for the event, which takes place Saturday, April 14, at the 2 Summit St. school from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and has something to offer for just about everybody.
Items for sale will include your usual antiques, furniture, upholstery, jewelry, paintings, etc. But for those of you manly men out there who don't much care for that stuff, another of this year's "newbies" is a "Tool Town." This will be outside and will include hand tools, power tools and a gas grill.
There's plenty of cool stuff for kids as well, like these Buffalo Bills binoculars that volunteer Colton Bellimer held up for the camera.
According to Stefani, the volunteers have been taking tip-top care of every item.
"Everything sparkles, because it's all been washed," she said. "Our toys are complete -- no pieces are missing, and everything works."
In keeping with the MAMMOTH tradition, the prices are extremely affordable. From a $2 Rolex quartz to 25-cent cat food to a $10 microwave, the merchandise reflects the prices that Stefani and the other MAMMOTH workers have long been proud of.
All of the merchandise will be restocked at 12:30 p.m., so nobody has to worry about missing out on the good stuff by sleeping in.
Some of this year's other new features will include:
The sale will be divided into two shifts -- one in the morning, the other in the afternoon. Each shift will have 23 cashiers ready to check customers out.
Baked goods and coffee will also be available inside, so bring your appetite!
Here are some more pics of available merchandise:
More pictures after the jump (click on the headline to see more):
...And I'll end where I started -- the Baby Boutique!
All proceeds benefit St. Joseph School. If you have any questions, call Stefani at 344-2701.
Please note that Stefani is looking for new storage space for next year's MAMMOTH merchandise. If anyone is willing to volunteer space, that would be appreciated.
In an effort to educate students and the community on recycling, conserving energy, and going “green” in general, the City of Batavia Youth Bureau is sponsoring its annual Earth Day event beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 21 at Austin Park.
Morning refreshments will be provided by Tim Horton's.
This year’s event will feature a short presentation on energy efficiency and how to reduce your "carbon footprint" to kick off the event.
The following agencies will set up booths and interactive displays for the participants to visit:
Students will also receive giveaways at some of the booths. After folks have visited all of the booths, school/student groups from John Kennedy, Robert Morris, Batavia Middle schools, Students United for Positive Action as well as others, will be sent out to clean a park or an area in the city.
Volunteers from Kiwanis Club will accompany several of the student groups. We will then meet back at Austin Park and will proceed to Centennial Park for a Tree Planting Ceremony, where the students in attendance will actually plant the tree. Everyone will then be invited back to Austin Park for a pizza lunch. The event will conclude at approximately 12:30 p.m.
If you would like more information on Earth Day or would like to participate, call the Batavia Youth Bureau at 345-6420.
This is the fourth story in a series about the winners of the 2011 Genesee County Chamber of Commerce awards.
In the daunting world of delicate machinery, complicated tools and hulking robotic manufacturing systems, Adept Equipment Services provides peerless expertise for customers around the globe.
Both in house and on site, the company services, repairs, refurbishes and maintains specialized equipment used in automotive, medical, consumer electronics, machining and packaging industries, and more. It can also, of course, take care of run-of-the-mill gizmos.
Adept boasts the ability to create tooling, develop fixtures, design, fabricate, test and train to meet their clients' wide-ranging needs. It is located at 5130 E. Main St. Road, Suite 1, in the Town of Batavia.
The company has so impressed the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, it was selected as the 2011 Entrepreneurial Business of the Year.
Tom Steffenilla, Adept's president and CEO, is largely responsible for its success and has a long history working with machinery, beginning years ago in the military.
In 11th grade, he had enough credits to graduate from high school and he enlisted in the service. With some experience repairing electronics, he started his military career working with various equipment and machinery.
After three years in Germany, working with nuclear missiles during the Reagan and Gorbachev Era, he returned to the states. His knowledge of these intricate systems helped him build machines, kilns and other equipment, and he worked his way up the ladder.
When the company he worked for was bought by a competitor and being relocated to another state, he and other workers had to decide if they would follow.
Maintaining relationships with established customers was the deciding factor in Steffenilla's choice to stay put. Not wanting to strand these customers, “I asked my service team to take this risk with me to start out on our own,” he said.
So in 2009, Adept Equipment Services was established.
It's the only company of its kind in Genesee County and that made it a prime candidate for the entrepreneurial award.
“We can design, build and service it all,” he said.
Adept's focus on providing quality service and meeting customers' needs is the cornerstone of its operating philospohy. Everything revolves around that.
This commitment has prompted Adept to expand its borders and connect to consumers wherever they might be.
“Most of our customers are outside of Genesee County. We have people all over the world,” Steffenilla said. “We have been overseas, to Mexico, Canada, and are going to Brazil ... If someone needs something, we service them no matter the cost."
If a customer in the field has an immediate requirement, Adept's crew simply stops what's being done in the shop to make sure it gets handled.
Bottom line: The company’s strongest desire is customer satisfaction.
“Sometimes this gets lost with the bigger (competitors) -- They get arrogant,” Steffenilla said. “With us, we will come do the job and worry about the details later. Quality is ingrained in all of us. We keep everyone happy as best as we can."
That goes for employees, too. After all, part of success is having a contented work force.
Even though the staff is small, their collective savvy is great. With more than 50 years experience together, the handful of technicians and an administrative manager combine a kaleidoscope of abilities to earn customers' trust and deliver the best service in the industry.
Steffenilla grew up in Genesee County. He and his family reside in Stafford.
That may be the contributing factor for his passion to see this area succeed. He wants his company to be known for helping other businesses here to prosper and to use as many local vendors as possible.
“If they thrive, then I thrive,” he said.
Photo provided by Tom Steffenilla. (Typically, for the chamber awards, we take photos of each of the winners, trying to get at least one nice portrait shot and then presenting a print of that to the winner at the awards dinner. Unfortunately, a hard-disk failure wiped out the pictures we had taken of Tom before they were processed and Tom hasn't been available for a new picture. We thank Tom for the photo above and apologize for the lack of one of our own photos.)
Press release:
Approximately 700 National Grid customers in the Byron-Bergen area will experience a brief electrical service interruption on Saturday (April 14) morning to allow technicians to safely replace a vital transformer in a substation servicing that region.
Affected customers are receiving automated telephone calls from the company prior to the outage, which is scheduled from 4 to 6 a.m. on Saturday. In addition, National Grid has notified local police and fire officials.
National Grid makes every effort to minimize both the number and length of planned service outages, and attempts to schedule events during times that will have the least impact on most customers. Work in the Byron-Bergen station is part of the company’s commitment to provide safe and reliable service.
The brief interruption should have no lasting impact on service, but customers may wish to disconnect sensitive electronic equipment during the outage as a precaution.
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