What should Corfu become? That was the question hanging over a village planning board meeting Tuesday evening when an agenda item about rezoning evolved into a discussion about how to boost business and get more people to visit.

The conversation was partly spurred by resident Tsabelle Cyra raising concerns about Dollar General looking for a store location in the village.

"It's ugly," Cyra said. "Did you see the facade of this place. It's not only ugly outside, it's ugly inside. It would do nothing for the esthetics of this village. On weekends, it's just packed with kids and indigent people. Is that what we want image-wise for Corfu?"

Trustee Art Ianni quickly turned the discussion to what it would take to get people to stop in Corfu.

He said one problem in Corfu is the village itself is ugly.

"I'm going to raise my hand and say it's ugly," Ianni said. "Yes, it's ugly."

He had a copy of a 2007 study that offered suggestions for improving the esthetics of Corfu, such as applying design standards, putting in sidewalks, street lighting, landscaping and attractive crosswalks, among other things.

"These are the recommendations of 2007 and nobody's moved on it," Ianni said. "Nobody's touched it and some of it is simple."

Several residents and board members agreed that what Corfu needs is a small grocery store.

"Right now, you have to go 26 miles round trip to get groceries," Dave Stehlar said.

Stehlar thinks a five-acre parcel on the east side of the village would be a good location for a new grocery store and bring people into the village and down Main Street.

The problem is, the owner wants top dollar and won't sell the property in divided parcels.

Cyra said when she worked in one of the state prisons years ago, all of the employees would drive out of their way to come to Corfu because they could get great meat at the grocery store. That kind of quality grocery store is needed again, she said.

The other problem, David Saleh said, based on his discussions with previous grocery store owners, is that the stores always did great in the summer, but business would come to a crawl in the winter. That makes it very hard to stay profitable, Saleh said.

Stehlar pointed out that there are about 10,000 people living in a 10-square mile area around Corfu. Those are a lot of potential customers for Corfu businesses if more of them could be enticed into the village.

One of the problems Corfu faces, Cyra noted, is the perception that it's a speed trap, so people avoid the village.

"Would you go on the record with that?" Ianni asked.

Ianni also raised the idea of exploring historical designation opportunities and maybe the village should bring in somebody to talk with them about that process.

Stehlar pointed out that the now vacant Union Hotel has a lot of redevelopment potential.

Ianni mentioned an article he'd seen about all the success with old building redevelopment in Perry, so maybe Rick Hauser should be asked to share his knowledge on the subject.

Whatever the village residents want to do, Saleh noted, it's going to take more support than the handful of people at Tuesday's planning board meeting.

"All of these things take a commitment of time and effort," Saleh said.

Salon: How science nailed the age of the Earth

A fryer fire is reported at Burger King, 134 W. Main St., Le Roy.

Le Roy fire along with Bergen fire is dispatched. Le Roy Ambulance is also dispatched.

UPDATE 8 a.m.: Law enforcement on location. Reports fire out with an extinguisher. Bergen held in quarters.

UPDATE 8:09 a.m.: Le Roy chief is requesting notifications to health department and code enforcement.

UPDATE 8:52 a.m.: Le Roy back in service. Code enforcement on scene.

Photo by Michelle Taylor.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported on West Main Street Road in the Town of Batavia, which has its fire department responding along with Mercy medics. Mercy Flight is called to the town's Highway Department.

UPDATE 7:46 p.m.: Sheriff's deputies are also responding. The highway department is located at 3833 W. Main Street Road.

UPDATE 7:49 p.m.: The accident is blocking both lanes of traffic.

UPDATE 7:50 p.m.: One patient has an "angular fracture to the right leg."

UPDATE 7:57 p.m.: Mercy Flight has landed in the parking lot of the Town Hall. That option was chosen due to concern about the gravel on the ground at the adjacent Highway Department.

UPDATE 8:45 p.m.: Town of Batavia's assignment is back in service and both westbound lanes are reopened.

A man caught his arm in a piece of machinery at Ed Arnold Scrap Processors, located at 2216 Angling Road in Corfu. Employees were able to carry the victim to the front of the facility for medical aid. East Pembroke Fire Department, Mercy medics are responding and law enforcement is on scene. The availability of Mercy Flight is checked.

UPDATE 12:16 p.m.: Mercy Flight in Batavia is unavailable because it is on a call and has another one pending. Mercy Flight Central is deemed too far away. "We'll handle it from here," says a responder at the scene.

UPDATE 12:28 p.m.: The victim is being transported via ambulance to Erie County Medical Center. The East Pembroke assignment is back in service.

A dog reportedly attacked someone in the area of 65-57 South St. in Le Roy. A dispatcher said a caller reported "some sort of disturbance," then people shouting at each other, then the alleged dog attack. Police responded and secured the canine and now an animal control officer is going to take custody of the dog.

Photo and information submitted by Sherri Wahr.

The cheer squad for the Batavia Bulldawgs youth football program did very well Sunday at the Niagrara Orleans Football Association cheer competition in Lyndonville. The beginners took third, minis 2nd and JV placed 2nd for cheer and 1st for routine. The girls also captured the Spirit Cup.  The JV team scored the most points in the division to win Grand Champion, with varsity coming in third in its division.

"I'm so incredibly proud of each and everyone one of them," Cheer Director Sherri Wahr said. "They came out and gave it all they had and it really paid off."

A long time ago a reader said to me, "I wish I could get a notification on my phone when you post a new story," and I thought that was a good idea.

After some research, I decided creating an app would be the best course of action, but how to get it done? I had a hard time finding an affordable programmer I could trust and none of the DIY tools seemed satisfactory.

A few days ago, I found a tool I wanted to try and after some futzing about, I uploaded our first app to Google Play (so the app right now is only available for Droid -- it's coming for iPhone, but it's a little harder to get into the Apple Store and that process could take two or three weeks).

It's a very simple app. Right now, it's just a feed of what appears on our home page and the ability for us to send you push notifications.

And that's really the point of the app: Push notifications, or alerts. If you download the app, we will use push notifications to alert you to breaking news, important news, features and important sports stories. We won't do every minor scanner call and routine press releases. Some stories will be a judgment call, but the idea will be to alert you to things posted that we want to draw your attention to and hope you'll want to be sure and know about right away.

Getting the app to this stage has cost us $150 and with hosting fees, there will be recurring costs, so we've set a one-time fee on the app of $1.49.

Here's the link to Google Play to download it. Or search Google Play for "The Batavian."

Michael C. Kraatz is indicted on a count of robbery, 2nd, a Class C violent felony, and grand larcney, 2nd, a Class C felony. Kraatz is accused of robbing the 7-Eleven store at 505 E. Main St., Batavia, on Oct. 6, and in the process injuring another person who was not a participant in the crime. Kraatz is accused of stealing cash from the store, regardless of value, by extortion of the victim.

Jon T. Magliocco is indicated on eight counts of rape, 3rd, a Class E felony, and nine counts of criminal sexual act, 3rd, a Class E felony. Magliocco is accused of being older than 21 years old and on at least eight different occasions, engaging is sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with a person less than 17 years old. All but one occasion is alleged to have occurred in a house in the City of Batavia and the other incident was allegedly sexual intercourse in a tent in the Town of Batavia.

Aaron W. Clark is indicted on one count of burglary, 2nd, a Class C violent felony, and 11 counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, a Class E felony. Clark is accused of entering a garage of a house on South Bennett Heights, Town of Batavia, on Aug. 3, with the intent of committing a crime. He is accused of unlawfully possessing eight credit cards and three gift cards.

Patrick M. Hackett is indicted on a count of rape, 3rd. Hacket is accused of being 21 or older and engaging in sexual intercourse with a person less than 17 years old.

Heather D. Stone is indicted on a count of burglary, 3rd, a Class D felony, and a count of petit larceny. Stone is accused of entering a residence on Hebard Road, Town of Le Roy, on Aug. 2 or Aug. 3, 2012, with the intent to commit a crime. Stone is accused of stealing deep cell marine batteries.

Brett C. Bartolotta indicted on a count of DWI, a Class E felony. Bartolotta is accused of driving drunk in the Village of Corfu on July 6. Bartolotta was allegedly convicted of a prior DWI in the City of Rochester in July 2010.

New York Times: Civilian Deaths in Drone Strikes Cited in Report

Local law enforcement agencies will host another drug take-back day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday in Batavia, Le Roy and Pembroke.

Drug take-back days are times when residents and turn in no-longer-needed prescription drugs so they can be disposed of safely.

Drugs can be disposed of with no questions asked.

The locations are at the Batavia Police Headquarters in the back parking lot, at the Le Roy Police HQ at the Village Hall, and at the Town Highway garages at Route 77 and Route 5 in Pembroke.

For people unable to make it to the designated locations during those times, both Batavia PD and Le Roy PD will accept discarded prescription drugs during normal business hours. The State Police Batavia Barracks, on West Saile Drive, also has a disposal bin in its foyer for drop off at any time.

Press release:

On Friday, Nov. 8th at 11 a.m. a dedication of an historic marker for the former Richmond Mansion will be held at the Richmond Memorial Library. The Mansion, built in the 1830s by Col. William Davis and enlarged by Dean and Mary Richmond in the 1850s, stood in the parking lot that now serves St. Joseph’s Church and the Richmond Memorial Library. For many years after the death of the Richmonds, it housed the Children’s Home. The structure was torn down in 1970.

Dean Richmond amassed a fortune in Great Lakes shipping. He was instrumental in the creation of the New York Central Railroad and served as the railroad’s second president.  Dean Richmond was also instrumental in bringing the State School for the Blind to Batavia, which is why the street running in the front of the School is named Richmond Avenue. The Richmond Memorial Library was a gift to the community from Mary Richmond in memory of a son who died in early adulthood.

The historic marker is being placed at the foot of the walkway between the parking lot and the Library. It has been funded by a $1,050 grant to the City by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse.

Attending the dedication ceremony will be Harold Richmond III of New Jersey, the great-great-grandson of Dean and Mary Richmond. Also in attendance will be a representative of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. City Historian Larry D. Barnes will lead the dedication.

Later in the day, historic markers funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation will also be dedicated in Stafford and at the former county home in Bethany.

The Akron Tigers rolled into Alexander Saturday trying to solidify the standings with only one more week of regular season games before playoffs.

The beginners: (No score / standing are kept at this level.)

Mini Division:

Akron (7-1-0) beat Tri-Town (5-3-0) by a score of 13-0

Scoring for Akron: Ty Nicometi reception from Aidan Smith (no extra point)

Travis Fry touchdown (extra point by Aidan Smith)

JV: Akron (3-5-0) beat Tri-Town (0-8-0) by a score of 26-0

Scoring for Akron:

Jacob Mazza (nephew of the legendary Daryl Mazza) (extra point by Adam Mietz)

Ryan Yager (extra point by Joseph Abrams)

Adam Mietz (no extra point)

Adam Mietz (no extra point)

Varsity:

Akron (8-0-0) beat Tri-Town (4-4-0) by a score of 32-0

Pictured above: A blocked field goal attempt.

Scoring for Akron:

Note -- I am doing my best to decipher the names from the roster, which was blurry.

Touchdown: #34 Jacob Sarow (extra point by #45 Morgan Smith)

Touchdown: #99 Robbie Pequeen (no extra point)

Touchdown: #99 Robbie Pequeen (extra point by #34 Jacob Sarow)

Touchdown: #99 Robbie Pequeen (no extra point)

Field Goal: #42 Dillon Adamczak

Field Goal: #42 Dillon Adamczak

This was the last home game for Tri-Town this year.

Thank You to all the coaches, players, cheerleaders, parents, fans, announcers and volunteers for a memorable season.

More pictures from this weekend can be found here: NOFA 2013 Alexander - Akron

Michael Joseph Dorigo, 56, of Buxton Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or higher and moving from lane unsafely. Dorigo was reportedly involved in a motor-vehicle accident at 10:10 p.m., Sunday, on Fotch Road, Stafford. Dorigo's 2009 GMC was reportedly traveling north on Fotch Road and Dorigo failed to negotiate a curve in the road and drove off the road into a ditch where the vehicle hit an old utility pole base and a large rock. Dorigo's passenger was transported to UMMC with minor injuries. The accident was investigated by Deputy Joseph Graff.

Nina M.E. Kelso, 29, of 142 Hutchins St., Batavia, is charged with unlawful possesion of marijuana. During a check on the welfare of a child at Kelso's residence, Officer James DeFreze allegedly observed marijuana in plain view.

Zackary H. Kelly, 19, of 8 Dartwood Ave., Cheektowaga, is charged with petit larceny. Kelly is accused of shoplifting Amp Engery Drink from Southside Deli.

David Bernard Marsceil, 36, of Arnold Road, Elba, is charged with attempted criminal contempt, 1st. Marsceil, an inmate in the Genesee County Jail, allegedly attempted to send a letter to a person protected from contact by court order.

Colton Andrew Cole, 22, of Warner Road, South Byron, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or higher and no seat belt. Cole was stopped at 4:41 p.m., Sunday, in Byron, by Sgt. Ron Meides after Cole allegedly accelerated quickly and squealed his tires.

Time Magazine: Schools Cancel Halloween

After having difficulty yesterday while covering the Batavia Bulldawgs with the auto focus on my camera, I wanted to test some alternate settings while shooting sports, so I went out this afternoon to see if I could find any kids playing football or basketball.

There was a three-on-three football game being played by a group of Batavia High School students on Woodward Field.

Thanks to Ty Armison, Griffin Moore, A.J. Marcello, Richard Lamkin, Alex Snell and Alex Sugerman (all pictured in the bottom photo) for accommodating my experiments.

Top photo, Marcello celebrates his interception.

Lynette Gawron, clinical supervisor and licensed creative arts therapist at Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism & Substance Abuse (GCASA), proudly presented clients' artwork at the "Fall Recovery Art Show" on Saturday.

Organized in groups of eight people or less, art therapy sessions focus less on the finished product and more on the creative process. For this reason, Gawron likes to meet with people individually before they start. She says people sometimes come into it with the misconception that it is "arts and crafts" or training in how to be a better artist.

In reality, the process is quite different.

"It's about getting in touch with your true self," Gawron said, adding that the "true self" tends to be suppressed by addiction.

Gawron said art therapy helps to bring the unaddressed problems and issues that fuel or are suppressed by addiction to light.

"The emotional bubbling-up can be overwhelming," Gawron said. "(Art therapy) can be a way to channel that."

Samples:

The artist made this to show how her faith in God is helping her to "pick up the pieces" of her life and move forward.

Another made and showcased three masks:

One representing lovableness and happiness, but with memories of his/her deceased father, uncles and grandmother on the inside...

...another with various colors symbolizing the artist's hopes, fears and mistakes throughout the years...

...and a third depicting a calm exterior with "chaotic" emotions inside that come out "a little at a time."

This poster reflects the unidentified artist's anger at what addiction has done to his/her life.

Here is the bottom half:

Here is the artist's own description of this work: "This is about Light on the face and a path like the 'yellow brick road.' I look through the windows on my path at new things as I make choices in my life."

The artist who made this was present at the event. She said this represents, at the same time, the oppression of her addiction and the freedom (symbolized by the butterfly) of her recovery.

Other projects in which the clients are involved include:

1. Altered books...

...such as this one containing tiny drawers, pockets, pictures and other items. Gawron described it as a kind of journaling. Each page might have a separate theme relevant to the artist.

2. Writing about all the negativity in one's life, painting over the writing and overlaying it with positive words and/or imagery.

For more information, call Gawron at 815-1850 or e-mail llex@gcasa.org.

An injury accident is reported on the westbound Thruway at mile marker 384.6. Le Roy fire and ambulance are responding.

UPDATE 3:04 p.m.: Two vehicles are involved. This is possibly "an intox" -- a driver allegedly may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A State Trooper is on scene and they are closing one lane to traffic.

What was initially reported about 10 minutes ago as possible gunshots in the area of Porter and Washington avenues by at least two callers to emergency dispatch, turned out to be fireworks. After searching the area police found the source of the noise: some people firing off so-called bottle rockets on Willow Street. Police spoke with the individuals, then cleared the scene.

A one-vehicle rollover accident was reported about 20 minutes ago at 1050 Route 98 in Alexander. (Due to a computer glitch, we were unable to post it then.) The female driver was reportedly unresponsive. Mercy Flight was called, then cancelled. The location is between Main and Stroh roads. Mercy medics and law enforcement are on scene and no further development have been heard on the scanner.

UPDATE 5:02 a.m.: Mercy medic #2 is transporting the patient to Erie County Medical Center. A tow truck is called for the vehicle.

UPDATE 10:52 a.m. (by Howard): In a news release, the Sheriff's Office identified the driver as Ann L. Cox, 42, of Attica. She was driving a 2006 Pontiac G6 south on Route 98 when the car left the roadway and struck a sign post and continued south until it struck a culvert at 10850 Route 98. Cox suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to ECMC by Mercy EMS. The investigation is continuing and charges are pending. The investigation is being handled by Deputy Kevin McCarthy, Deputy Bradley Mazur and Deputy Frank Bordonaro.