Demolition should be largely wrapped up today.

Jamie R. Bachorski, 18, of Webber Avenue, Oakfield, and Matthew J. Vandorn, 23, of Trumbell Parkway, Batavia, are charged with burglary, 3rd. Bachorski and Vandorn were arrested yesterday as the result of an investigation into a burglary reported July 5. The investigation began with the report of a barn being broken into and several items stolen. Both suspects were jailed on $5,000 each. The investigation was conducted by Juvenile Officer John Dehm, Investigator Timothy Weis and deputies Timothy Wescott, Cory Mower, Chad Minuto and James Diehl.

Carl Joseph Shelter, 25, of Lewiston Road, Alabama, is charged with unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, failure to stop for stop sign, speeding (139 mph in a 55 mph zone), operation of a motor vehicle by an unlicensed driver and failure to keep right. Shelter was arrested following a pursuit that started on Feeder Road, Alabama, at 12:56 a.m. and concluded later on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation. He is also charged with uninspected motor vehicle, no/inadequate plate lamp and failure to dim high beams.

New jobs data shows that Genesee County gained 200 jobs from February to March, but the March number is still 100 jobs fewer than a year ago.

Last month, there were 21,700 jobs reported, compared to 21,500 in February. In January, 2012 there were 21,800 jobs.

The state's unemployment rate fell from 8.4 percent to 8.2 percent, month over month.

Genesee County's unemployment rate for last month has not yet been released.

Route 19 at Mill Street in the Village of Le Roy is shut down due to the planned demolition of the Wiss Hotel. Only emergency vehicles will be allowed through.

UPDATE 12:04 p.m.: The roadways are being reopened and Le Roy fire is going back in service. The Wiss is about three-quarters of the way torn down, but the work can continue without the streets being blocked off.

A Batavia man entered a guilty plea in federal court yesterday to one count of transporting an individual in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity.

Timothy Logsdon, 29, of Dewey Avenue, Batavia, faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Sheriff's Office initiated an investigation in September after receiving a report that a 16-year-old girl was missing. The girl's parents suspected their daughter might be with Logsdon.

The FBI assisted in the investigation and obtained a court order to allow a trace of Logsdon's mobile phone.

Logsdon was located by Kentucky State Police in Bowling Green.

When located, Logsdon admitted to officers that he was in the process of transporting the victim to the state of Tennessee where the two planned to live together and carry on a relationship. The defendant was placed under arrest and remains in custody.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 5.

Corfu's budget hearing Thursday night wasn't without its moments of conflict.

Newly elected Village Justice David O'Connor confronted Mayor Ralph Peterson over an e-mail O'Connor said he received from former village justice Robert Alexander.

The village board and residents also spent several minutes discussing whether the village should continue to have a police force, or what type of department it should have, especially in light of the recent threat of a lawsuit from six police officer employees.

O'Connor was the first to speak and he wanted to know if Peterson played a tape recording of Tuesday's meeting for Alexander.

According to O'Connor, Alexander sent O'Connor a "vile" and "threatening" e-mail and said he had heard a recording of the meeting.

Peterson did have a tape recorder on the table in front of him during the meeting.

O'Connor made some critical remarks of Alexander, particularly in light of the comptroller's audit of the court and the allegation of missing court funds.

Among O'Connor's pointed remarks was that court commission officials don't often worry about the courts around the state, but they wake in the middle of the night with worry about Corfu's village court.

Peterson denied playing the tape for Alexander.

"I've gotten no control over what other people do," Peterson said.

There was a person at the meeting using a Droid tablet to video record the meeting.

As for the police department, one resident questioned why the village even needs to employ its own police officers.

Peterson said he's researched whether the village could contract with the Sheriff's Office for village law enforcement and found it's an expensive proposition. The Sheriff's Office would charge the village up to $32 an hour for the hours a deputy would work in the village.

Trustee Art Ianni pointed out that a contracted deputy wouldn't generate the revenue village officers do to help pay for the service.

"I'm not a big fan of the Corfu ticket-writing machine, but are deputies going to write 100 tickets a week?" Ianni said.

Trustee Keith Busch said on average, deputies won't respond as quickly to a complaint as an on-duty village police officer responds.

Trustee Ken Lauer suggested that the village go to a department with one full-time officer and two part-time, which could solve some of the current conflicts within the department about work hours.

The entire discussion seemed prompted by the threat of a lawsuit over an alleged violation of civil service law.

There was also some confrontation over Peterson's pay.

The mayor's budget is $5,700, which includes $1,500 for mayoral training.

"Obviously, I need it," Peterson said.

Resident Greg Lang wondered why, if Peterson is new on the job, why is he being paid the same as former mayor Todd Skeet? Lang pointed out that the trustees cut O'Connor's salary by $2,000 annually because he's new in the job.

When asked if he would take a pay cut, Peterson said flatly, "no."

Ianni said none of the trustees are taking a pay cut.

Lang wanted the mayor's pay put to a vote, but none of the trustees made such a motion.

Some residents complained that Peterson wasn't taking a pay cut when employees were being asked to take a pay cut, but Clerk/Treasurer Sandra Thomas pointed out that the only employees with pay cuts are employees who came forward and volunteered to take a cut in pay.

The total general fund spending plan for the village totals $682,109. The proposed tax rate is $3.11, up from $2.97.

The trustees meet again at 6:30 p.m., Monday.

The Batavia High School Boys Tennis Team beat Honeoye Falls-Lima today, 6-1.

Head Coach John Kirkwood thinks this team will be notching quite a few more wins this season.

"I see us going very deep in sectionals and I see us representing very well in the Class B  tournament as we've done the past three or four years," Lockwood said.

Batavia is now 1-1 in Monroe County league play and 1-0 in its division.

In this early part of this season, with all the bad weather, Lockwood is letting his younger guys play a few more matches so they can gain some experience before the team heads into a tougher part of the schedule.

"That helps young guys develop and that will pay dividends for us down the road," Lockwood said.

The top three singles players are Nate Palmer, Jeff Redband and Samir Jain.

Palmer hasn't played yet this year, but Redband and Jain are off to good starts. Today, the two sophomores won their matches easily, 6-0 and 6-0 for Redband over Max Wilkinson, and Jain beat Leo Orsini 6-0, 6-1.

"We've got one of the tougher schedules we've had in five or six years," Lockwood said.
"We picked up Fairport. We picked up Webster-Schroeder. We've picked up the top programs for our top three or four guys. We need to make sure we had the best teams on our schedule for them to develop."

Advancing in sectionals will take a couple of the younger guys stepping forward and forming a strong doubles tandem.

Palmer, Redband and Jain are all candidates to go deep in singles play when sectionals arrive, Lockwood said, if not make it to state qualifiers.

Also today, Ken McMaster won over Alex Lazarus-Hall 6-1, 6-0.

In doubles, Tim Martin and Jon McMaster defeated Brett Peters and Garrett Fletcher 6-1, 6-0; Avery Midla and Caleb Jackson defeated Joe Moore and Ed Schauber 6-0, 6-0; and
David Knaudt and Ross Chua lost to Austin Ainsworth and Josh Geary 6-0, 6-0.

To purchase photos from today's match, click here.

A structure fire is reported 735 Genesee St., Corfu.

Corfu fire along with Pembroke, East Pembroke, Darien and the City's Fast Team all dispatched.

Firefighters on scene say people are still in the house and they're trying to get them out. The fire is at the back of the structure, possibily on a porch.

UPDATE 11:34 p.m.: The City's Fast Team is cancelled.

UPDATE 11:35 p.m.: The fire is knocked down. Crittendon and Akron were also called, but now are cancelled.

UPDATE 12:15 a.m.: Corfu returning to quarters.

A one-car accident with injuries is reported at Law and Chestnut streets. City fire, police and Mercy medics are responding. This is at a sharp curve in the roadway.

UPDATE 9:59 p.m.: The scene is clear. The woman driver did not appear to suffer any serious injury. She may have had a medical injury prior to the accident. A utility pole was badly damaged and National Grid was on scene.

Press release:

Batavia, N.Y. – State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has announced that he has added his name as a cosponsor to legislation (S3948) repealing the NYSAFE Act.

“When a bill is rushed to passage without proper review by the public and then passed in the middle of the night, the end result has a negative impact on residents. Since passage of the NYSAFE Act, I have heard from many concerned citizens, mental health professionals, county clerks and local government officials with very serious concerns about this new law.  In the past week alone, there have been numerous news reports that illustrate the law is not working for Western  New Yorkers. That is why I have signed on to legislation that would repeal the NYSAFE Act,” said Ranzenhofer.

Senator Ranzenhofer has written to New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico, requesting a meeting to discuss recent reports that the State Police may have been instructed to investigate personal medical records for mental health cases and prescriptions for mental health issues.

The letter states: “Any unwarranted search of personal medical information could not only violate federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules, but raises serious ethical and constitutional concerns. Furthermore, simply owning a firearm should not be grounds for reviewing a citizen’s medical history.” 

Senator Ranzenhofer plans to introduce new legislation in the State Senate to prevent law enforcement officials from accessing medical records without a warrant or in violation of federal HIPAA privacy rules.

"The SAFE Act Law has dominated our office activity, staff time, and resources since the middle of January.  From the Opt-Out forms to registration of "assault" rifles and shotguns, from Mental Health Notifications to recertification procedures, we find we are besieged on all sides. Previous "unfunded mandates" for our office pale in comparison to what it will cost the county, and its taxpayers, to operate under the new gun laws this year," said Genesee County Clerk Don Read.  

“Never in my experience have I seen such a terrible law as the NYSAFE Act. A law that local and county governments, and law enforcement professionals from all across New York State have expressed opposition. On behalf of the members of SCOPE and the citizens of New York, I join Senator Ranzenhofer in calling for the repeal of this overreaching law, and for an investigation into the allegations of State Police unwarranted intrusions into New Yorkers private medical records,” said New York State SCOPE President Stephen Aldstadt.

"As the Chairperson of the Genesee County SCOPE Chapter, I represent a very concerned and frustrated group of law-abiding citizens. We are fortunate to have Senator Ranzenhofer representing us in Albany and supporting our endeavors to repeal the NYSAFE Act. We will continue to be diligent until the law is repealed," said Genesee County SCOPE Chapter Chairman Bill Fox.

Senator Ranzenhofer voted against the NYSAFE Act. 

The 61st Senate District encompasses: the Towns of Amherst, Clarence, and Newstead and the Villages of Akron and Williamsville in Erie County; all of Genesee County; and the Towns of Chili and Riga, the Village of Churchville and part of the City of Rochester in Monroe County.

On my way out of Le Roy, I stopped by the Wiss again and got there just before Tim Hens did.

I know from previous conversations, Tim was pretty interested in how a third floor was added to a wood-frame building.

It looks like the third floor was just built right on top of the roof of the original structure. What we're seeing is the back of the original structure and a portion of the added on third floor, which was built across the original structure and a later extension to the back of the building.

The other key thing -- and this picture doesn't really capture it as obviously as it is visible in person -- is how much the third floor and second floor ceiling is sagging.

Hens and Bob Lathan talked about the condition of the building a bit. As you know from our previous tour of the building, there was a sheet of ice on a large portion of the third floor.

Lathan said since then we've have a few thaws and refreezes.

Hens said ice weighs as much as concrete.

Lathan said the string he had stretched through the second floor to measure settling of the building had dropped 3/4 of an inch in the last month.

Though Hens said it's just his opinion and not scientific, based on what he observed today, he doesn't think the building would have lasted through another winter.

Hens said it probably still would have taken a developer gutting the building to accurately access the soundness of the structure.

Widely acclaimed as the original American-designed ceramic cooker, the Big Green Egg was derived from an ancient clay cooking device known as a “kamado”. Originally a clay vessel with a lid, today’s EGG® is a modern ceramic marvel known for producing amazing culinary results for novice and experts alike for over thirty years!

Just a photo to show the progress of the Wiss Hotel demolition.

Another news service in Batavia published an editorial supporting tax incentives for a retail plaza.

http://thedailynewsonline.com/opinion/article_89f5b4b4-a5f6-11e2-a613-0019bb2963f4.html

I sent them this letter. I want to thank them and I want to share it here as well.

Thank You Howard & Billie Owens for this open, public forum.

Regarding your April 16, 2013 Editorial: The Arguments for Tax Incentives, I as a founding member of the Genesee County Libertarian Committee, respond.

Sorry, editor, but the basis of your argument for tax incentives is flawed right from the onset. The only reason the former Lowe's location is empty now is because it probably never should have been built in the first place. Certainly the developer should never have received incentives to help them do it. Not to mention the ludicrously laughable notion of calling a shopping plaza a tourist destination. The Batavia Towne Center is a classic example of over-development. Communities all across New York State desperate to improve their economies continue to waggle tax incentives at large retail chain stores in the mistaken belief that there will be future sales tax income and jobs. The reality, unfortunately, is usually a bit different. The jobs are typically entry-level, non skilled and part time with low pay and high turnover. The actual sales don't result in a net bottom line increase for a community - they're sales that would have been captured by another retailer, but now at a lower price thereby actually generating less sales tax revenue for the community while the business profits leave town. Lowe's leaving shows that Batavia is already over-developed, and you admit in your editorial that it never lived up to it's expectations. Neither will Dick's in my opinion. It's fine if Dick's and whoever else will be sharing the space want to take the risk, then I'll wish them good luck. It's the American way: if you take the risk, you should reap the rewards. I do not, however feel the taxpayers should be sharing in this risk. That to me is precisely what COR Development is asking us to do, they took the risk (albeit with our help) and it didn't work out, predictably. Now they want the taxpayers to mitigate their loss. Sorry, you can't have it both ways guys.

Your argument that the local companies, such as Adam Miller and Genesee Lumber have survived in the face of big box retailers may have some merit. Yes, Dick's will never match the service of a homegrown Batavia sporting goods store, and maybe they will all survive, but at what cost? Just because they did not immediately close doesn't mean they have been doing well all this time. How do we know that if demand had increased, one of those companies could not have expanded, or a new local start-up would have come along? The answer is we don't know and we never will as long as incentives are continued to be offered to large chain retailers. It's true that the land where The Batavia Towne Center sits was under utilized and producing much less revenue before the plaza was built, but it's also true that we will never know what might have been there instead. What we can predict is Lowe's will not be the last empty store in that plaza. COR themselves have admitted in your paper that they ask for these types of incentives routinely. Will we have to ante up again in a few years?

If the county wants to help spur retail activity, then they can instead spread the million dollars that would otherwise be designated for COR evenly among all retail businesses in Genesee County, including the ones at Batavia Towne Center, to use as the owners see fit. One of the base libertarian principles is that people know best what to do with the fruits of their labor, not government and certainly not an unelected, semi-private-sort-of-public entity which appears to lead the County Legislature around by the nose. However, I would be against that as well, even though it would be better, because we will never get property taxes and government reined in if we continue to allow the GCEDC to choose who gets to pay less and who should keep on shouldering the rest of the load. Government costs keep rising, the population keeps shrinking and there is no magic powder. We can make Genesee County prosperous again, but we have to think differently, we can't keep trying the same tired old failed practices of the past. According to Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and the author of “Big-Box Swindle”: “…between 1990 and 2005, the amount of retail space per capita in the U.S. doubled, from 19 to 38 square feet. In contrast ............. since the early 1990s, per capita retail spending, adjusted for inflation, has increased by only about 14 percent.” (Site www.ilsr.org/wp-content/uploads/files/msnarticle.pdf ) It appears to me that Batavia is a microcosm of this oversupply that has occurred around the state, and actually we are running about 8 years behind.

Let's take the lead instead, let's continue to find ways we can reduce government through privatization where feasible. It has worked with the ambulance service, it will work for the city's trash collection and it can work in other areas as well. Let's find functions that can be consolidated or eliminated completely. Ultimately, the goal should be a lower and lower tax burden on everyone in Genesee County. We can't control the state and federal taxes, but we can whittle away at our property and sales tax. If Genesee County has the lowest property tax rate and the lowest sales tax rate of our surrounding counties, what might that do for Economic Development, organically? We wouldn't need an EDC, and we wouldn't have to endure the chairperson of our county legislature making us a joke by declaring a shopping plaza a tourist destination.

Malign Libertarians if you must editor, but we are the ones who truly have a vision for the future of ALL Genesee County residents, and we are the ones who are advocating for freedom.

David Olsen, Vice Chairperson, Genesee County Libertarian Committee

Meet Dave. Dave is an employee of Waste Management, tasked with walking every residential street in Batavia to hang door hangers promoting the company's garbage collection service.

Starting June 1, city residents will be responsible for contracting with their own refuse and recycling company.

Besides Genesee ARC, local companies such as Gardner Disposal and PSI (and a third one that will announce its new business soon), are competing for customers.

Asked if WM will offer totes, Dave said only if enough customers sign up for WM's service.

Dave's worked nearly the entire city since Saturday by himself, with just some help on Saturday and Monday. He had only two more blocks to visit when we spoke.

The best estimate John Pontillo has received so far for repair of the former Pontillo's Pizza location in Le Roy is $33,000.

The building was damaged Aug. 6 when it was struck by a car owned by Marie Costa.

Costa's insurance company is apparently denying a claim for damage to the building under something known as the "emergency doctrine."

In New York and other states, a person is not liable for injury or damage in an accident if a person is "faced with a sudden and unexpected circumstance, not of their own making, that leaves them with little or no time for reflection."

What exactly happened that caused Costa's vehicle to careen over a curb and ram into the Pontillo's building seems to still be a matter of medical dispute, but from John Pontillo's interpretation of what he's been told by Costa's insurance company, she died prior to the accident so the company isn't responsible for any claims.

Costa was insuranced by Adirondack Insurance.

The way Pontillo sees it, Costa was driving the vehicle before any sort of medical condition arose -- if one did -- and therefore Adirondack should pay up.

"Like others have said, she is the one who put the car in motion and there was damage done before the car finally came to a rest," Pontillo said.

When Costa's car hit the building, it dislodged a large limestone brick from the archway by the front door. The repair will require extensive safety measures to keep other stones from cracking or falling.

Meanwhile, Pontillo has foreclosed on the property, claiming substantial debts to himself from the Elizabeth Pontillo estate. The property will go up for auction, but Pontillo fears with the damage it won't even sell.

The more the building sells for, the more of the estate's debts (which Pontillo said are substantial to himself and others) can be paid.

If the building doesn't sell, John Pontillo is stuck with a heavily damaged building that he can't use without repairs.

He's thought in the past of opening another pizzeria at the location, but with the damaged building, that isn't possible.

The condition of the building is also a major concern to the village, according to Mayor Greg Rogers.

Pontillo said Adirondack has refused to pay Le Roy for damage to a planter and signs. Rogers said he isn't even thinking about that claim.

"I would much rather worry about getting that building back in shape," Rogers said.

The village is working with its insurance company, Tompkins, to try and resolve the dispute.

One option for Pontillo would be to sue the estate of Costa. He doesn't really want to do that to her family, but such a suit might force Costa's family to sue Adirondack. He's hoping the family will put pressure on Adirondack to settle with Pontillo. He suspects -- though can't prove -- that Adirondack paid the family for a claim on Costa's car.

We requested a statement from Adirondack on the case but have yet to hear back from the company.

Press release:

The Batavia Business Improvement District will hold its annual meeting and awards luncheon on Friday, April 26, from noon to 1:30 p.m. (registration is at 11:45 a.m.) at the City Church Generation Center, 15 Center St. in Downtown Batavia.

The agenda will include a review of the B.I.D.’s accomplishments and the announcement of the newly elected members to the Board of Directors.

The “Downtown Spirit” Business Awards are to be presented to: Michael DelPlato & Peter Casey of DelPlato & Casey Law Office, Howard Owens of The Batavian, and Harry Wortzman of Wortzman Furniture.

The “Downtown Spirit” Volunteer Awards are to be presented to: James Isaac (Crossroads Abstract), serving as B.I.D. vice-president and on the Organization Committee and Michael Marsh (Edward Jones Financial), serving on the BID Promotion / Taste of the Holidays committees. 

Guest Speaker: Patrick Finan, Founder & Principal of Block Club (Buffalo-based branding and marketing agency). His topic will be:  Downtowns and the Importance of Building Strong, Local, Living Economies.”  Patrick business was named "The Third Fastest Growing Company In WNY" and he's the youngest recipient of Business First 40 Under 40 Aaward. 

All B.I.D. members and area business are invited. A special buffet will be served at T.F. Brown’s. Price is $15 per person. RSVP and payment by Monday, April 22. To make reservations contact Don Burkel, B.I.D. Director, at 344-0900 or e-mail at  dburkel@downtownbataviany.com.

The county's 22-year-old emergency communication system is antiquated and flawed, according to Sheriff Gary Maha, which is why the county receiving more than $7 million in grants to help pay for a new system is a welcome turn of events.

The county has wanted to upgrade the system for a few years, but the project is expensive.

In all, between the grants and a $4.2 million county bond, more than $10.8 million will be spent on the new system.

"The low-band paging system is antiquated," Maha said. "I don't know if you ever listen to some of these monitors that the firemen are carrying, but you can hardly hear them at times, especially on the outskirts of the county. We've been working on it for years and finally we got a revenue source through the state and NextTel to put toward this project."

The state grant of more than $5 million is coming through the Department of Homeland Security and the FCC is requiring NexTel to help pay for rebanding of 800 MHz systems where their communication system conflicts with emergency communication systems.

Still, the county will need to borrow $4.2 million to pay for the entire system.

"We've been working with a system for the last 22 years where we have limited coverage," said Steve Sharpe, director of emergency communications. "What we're trying to do is capitalize on the reconfiguration and the grant, combining all these funding resources together to build out a system that meets our public safety needs for our responders in the field.

"That's the end goal because this isn't just about the 800 MHz; it's also about VHF high band paging. We're trying to build a more reliable paging network for our responders, especially our fire and EMS folks. At the end of the day it's about life safety."

On Wednesday, the Ways and Means Committee passed a series of resolutions that authorize the county to proceed with the upgrades, from accepting the grants, to issuing the bands and approving a contract with Harris Corporation, out of Rochester, to build the new system.

A key factor behind the availability of Homeland Security funds for the project is the push to build a nationwide 800 Mhz channel that all responders can share regardless of jurisdiction or agency in an emergency.

Use of the inter-operable channel in Western New York is being held up, at least in part, by Genesee County, because the county is using the 800 MHz band specified for the channel.

This project will move that portion of the county's emergency communication off that band to another band.

Part of the upgrade project is to build three new radio antenna towers in the county.

There are three now: Cedar Street (pictured), Pavilion and Pembroke. 

The Sheriff's Office is looking at potential new locations in Darien, Bergen and Alabama.

All of these changes of course, will effect the hundreds of county residents who regularly monitor scanner channels.

Residents with analog scanners will need to buy new scanners and have them programmed to the correct channels. 

Public use of scanners is a benefit to local law enforcement, Maha said, and the new system's ability to encrypt transmissions will be used only when necessary.

"We will have encryption available, but it's not our intent to be on encryption all the time," Maha said. "There may be times when we need to go on encryption, but people out there who have scanners will be able to continue listening to the day-to-day activities."

People with scanners, Maha said, help solve crimes.

"We're few and far between out there," Maha said. "We need all the eyes we can possibly have. If we have a bank robbery, we put that information out over the air so some citizen down the road may see the vehicle we want and can call 9-1-1. It's a benefit to us to have the people out there watching. They're our eyes and ears out there."

Pembroke native Rich Funke, who started his broadcast career at WBTA, will receive a lifetime achievement award from St. John Fisher College.

The award is named after Jack Palvino, a member of the university's first graduating class who became well known in Rochester media.

The award ceremony is this evening.

Funke's broadcast career in Rochester and Batavia spans 40 years.

His first big assignment in broadcast news was covering the Attica prison riot for WBTA.

(via WHEC)