Village of Corfu officials have been notified that five part-time police officers are considering a lawsuit against the village over an alleged violation of civil service law.

Some of the village's part-time officers have been upset that Police Administrator Jim Meiers is not scheduling them for work shifts while scheduling other part-time officers for more than 19.5 hours of work a week.

The officers who have retained legal representation are in what is known as "competitive" positions, meaning they took exams and went through the civil service hiring process. The officers reportedly receiving more work hours were hired on a "non-competitive" basis.

A letter to Mayor Ralph Peterson and village board from attorney Andrew P. Fleming of the Hamburg-based law firm Chiacchia and Fleming, states the village is on notice of a possible suit and should explore whether it is interested in pursuing a settlement.

"We believe that you and the Village Board are familiar with the factual basis for the complaints that our clients have made," the letter states. "In essence, your so-called police administrator, James Meier, has been running roughshod over the rights of our clients in retaliation for their having raised a number of concerns and for their stated intentions of forming a union."

Represented by Fleming are Gene Nati, Richard Retzlaff, Peter Scanio, Michael Okal and Simon Biegasiewicz.

The letter also alleged that one of the clients was threatened because of his political activity.

Fleming also claims that back pay is owed to his clients, without specifying the amount of back pay being sought.

"We urge you and the Board to take a proactive approach to trying to resolve the problems that have arisen in your Police Department," Fleming writes. "It is my opinion that things are out of control, but that sound leadership can restore some semblance of balance in the future."

The board is holding a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the village's proposed budget.

A high wind watch has been issued for Friday afternoon through Friday evening with gusts up to 60 mph expected.

The forecast is for thunderstorms, with temperatures hitting 70 by 10 a.m. and then dropping to 45 degrees throughout the day.

Sustained winds are expected to blow southwest at 25 to 35 mph during the watch period.

The National Weather Service warns of scattered power outages and some downed trees with minor property damage possible.

Michael J. Penvose set out to Dollar General in Le Roy on Saturday with a simple mission: buy a thermometer that might give him an accurate reading of his infant daughter's temperature.

She had received a vaccination shot and the doctor told Penvose her temperature might creep up. It might even hit 100, but if it hit 100.1 he should call for help or bring her into the hospital.

"We were taking her temp with a thermometer we got from the hospital," Penvose said. "It was saying 99.6, 99.8. I've got it all written down in the house. Then I put it in my mouth and checked my temperature and it said 97.9 and my girlfriend's was different. I panicked. I'd been up all night with her and we're short on money. I went down to Dollar General and I was a few dollars short. I kind of panicked."

What Penvose, 33, did next landed him in The Batavian's "Law and Order" column for Monday. He was charged with petit larceny. It also led to a phone call to The Batavian from Penvose's landlord with "the rest of the story."

Yes, Penvose stole a thermometer, but he also received a bit of charity from an unexpected source: A Le Roy police officer.

Officer Emily Clark purchased that thermometer and gave it to Penvose as he was released from custody and told him to go home and take care of his daughter.

"I told him when I gave it to him that it wasn't that I condoned the fact that he stole it, certainly," Clark said. "And it wasn't condoning that he wasn't very cooperative with Officer Robb, it's just that I can appreciate having a sick child at home and just the situation he's in. How do you not have sympathy for somebody who can't afford something for a child that's a necessity?"

Penvose is originally from Angola and he and his fiance have lived in Le Roy for two months. He said he's had his "fair share" of brushes with the law over the years, but he feels like in the past six months things have been turning around for him, even as he struggles to find a job locally.

There's a sign on the couple's door instructing visitors to remove their shoes before entering and their infant daughter was cute as a bug and dressed a snug jumpsuit when a reporter dropped by unexpectedly.

The big issue with finding a job, said Penvose (he said he can "do anything" -- construction, including roofing and siding, and even build cars) is that he doesn't have a car. Every contractor he's applied with for a job -- 33 in all, he said -- has demanded he have a car. 

That issue may be settled by now. The couple was planning on trying to buy a car today using a a tax refund check his finance received.

The thermometer Penvose tried to purchase was more than $7 and Penvose only had $4.50 in cash on him at the time.

"I panicked," he said. "She was burning up and I just felt something was wrong and I didn't want to take a chance."

After he left the store, Officer Daryl Robb found Penvose walking east of the Yellow Goose.

Penvose admits he wasn't entirely honest with Robb when they first spoke.

"I gave them a little line of a story because I was panicking," he said. "I just wanted to get home. I'd been taking her temperature every three hours."

Robb took Penvose back to the station and at that point Penvose opened up and told the full story.

"I just thought I should tell him exactly what the situation was," Penvose said. "Everybody in the room, it looked like, they all had tears in their eyes."

Clark left, went to the store, and paid for the thermometer, and Robb finished processing Penvose on the petit larceny charge.

"I guess if I was that situation I would want somebody to do that for me," Clark said. "We're not just cops. We're people, too. It's not part of the job, but I guess I like being able to do that as part of the job."

Making a bit of charity part of her job is something Clark has done a few times before said Chief Chris Hayward. For example, when homeless people have passed through the village, she's bought them food.

"That's the type of officer you want," Hayward said.

Clark was surprised when a reporter showed up at headquarters today asking about the incident. It's not something she expected anybody to find out about. When we first asked Hayward about it, he didn't even know Clark had helped Penvose.

Penvose is worried what the misdemeanor charge might mean for him, but he's still in disbelief that a police officer, or anybody, would help him in that situation.

"Not a lot of people out there do stuff for me and I do a lot for a lot of people," Penvose said. "I'm always a helping hand. My past has not been very good, but I'm always helping somebody. It doesn't matter what it is. If somebody needs their yard raked or (has a) flat tire, it don't matter what it is, a rainstorm, I'll pull over. When she did that for me, it was shocking. I was like wow, there are people out there who ... well, I guess it was the situation. It wasn't for me anyways. It was for my daughter."

Branding, customer service, marketing: it's all in the way you present yourself! Presented by: Patrick Finan, founder and principal of Block Club, a Buffalo-based branding and marketing agency.

Workshop Topics:

• Customer Service Training    
• Team Building Activities
• Branding & Visual Merchandising 

$10 for BID Members, $15 Chamber/Non BID members. RSVP and payment by Friday, April 19th.

Light refreshments will be available.

Please make checks payable to: Batavia Improvement District (BID)
B.I.D. 200 E. Main St., Suite 12, Batavia, NY 14020 
(585) 344‐0900 (585) 815‐0233 fax 
www.DowntownBataviaNY.com

A white-haired man estimated to be in his 70s was struck be a vehicle within the last half hour in front of Burger King on West Main Street in the city. But he got up and walked away from the scene.

City firefighters went to the location and could not find him, so they returned to quarters. City police scoured the area of Oak and Main and found him in front of Parise's Automotive & Towing. A medic was sent to check him out. Police are back in service.

UPDATE 2:49 p.m.: Mercy medics are transporting the 71-year-old pedestrian to UMMC. He was "lightly struck" by a vehicle and is complaining of left knee pain.

Batavia Middle School is in lock-down. No one is being allowed to leave or enter the buildings but law enforcement is not giving a reason just yet.

Law enforcement told WBTA's Dan Fischer that "there's nothing to be concerned about at this time."

The incident began within the last hour and four city police cars and a State Police K-9 unit responded to the Ross Street school.

UPDATE 2:27 p.m.: The students are safely inside the school. Howard is now on scene.

UPDATE 2:34 p.m.: The lock-down is over. According to Superintendent Chris Dailey, there was a verbal threat made and authorities investigated it and determined it to be unfounded. Responders are back in service.

UPDATE 2:59 p.m.: Superintendent Dailey made this statement to the media: "We contacted the police. They came in, did an assesement and we were given the all clear. Now we’re out of the lock-down. And they are following up on the verbal threat as we speak."

The lock-down lasted about 45 minutes.

"There was a verbal threat against the school. We'll have more to say when they are done with the investigation."

Asked if the tragic bombing Monday at the Boston Marathon made people all the more edgy today, he said it did.

"We're all on edge, absolutely, and looking to make sure everyone is safe, which is our number one priority. That's why we went through all the policies and procedures and made sure we followed through on everything and made sure the students were safe."

UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: Here's a press release from Police Chief Shawn Heubusch:

"At approximately 1325 hrs. the Batavia Police Deparetment responded to a 'bomb threat' at the Batavia Middle School. The threat was called into the school by an unknown person.

"Upon arrival Asst. Chief Yaeger and Sgt. Camp directed patrols to perform a cursory search of the interior and exterior of building with the assistance of Middle School staff, looking for anything suspcious. Nothing was located. The Bomb Disposal unit from the New York State Police was requested to the scene. Trooper Jackson responded and performed a more detailed search utilizing a K-9 trained in explosive detection. No device was located and the school returned to normal activity.

The Batavia Police Department is currently investigating the matter and has developed leads from the investigation.

The Batavia School District should be commended for its quick response and action taken during this event."

In addition to Yaeger and Camp and Trooper Jackson, the investigating officers are: officers Davis, Lawrence, Richards and Hill.

UPDATE 4:28 p.m.: Below is a copy of a letter that is being sent to middle school parents.

Dear Middle School Parent/Guardian,

Today the Middle School received a verbal threat to the school via the telephone. Law enforcement officials were notified immediately and the building was placed in a low level shelter in place situation until we were cleared by the authorities.

Although we cannot plan for every type of emergency that might occur, we want you to know that we have increased our surveillance, including locking the outside door of the attendance office.  Please feel free to call an administrator if you have any questions about this or about our Emergency Management Plan.  The safety of our students and staff is of the utmost importance to us all.

Sincerely,

Sandra C. Griffin
Principal
 

How long does it take a police officer to learn how to get people to blow into a plastic tube?

This isn't the set up to a joke. The fact is, the NYS Department of Health requires police officers to take a three-day course and pass a certification test before he or she can administer a breathalyzer test to a suspected drunken driver.

Seventeen law enforcement officers from as far away as Stuben County have been in Le Roy for three days earning their breath-test certification.

The class is being taught by Sgt. Michael Hare of Le Roy PD and Sgt. Brian Frieday.

Accurate results from a certified tester are needed in case the test is challeged in court.

Crews have spent the morning getting the demolition site ready for removing the former Wiss Hotel building from the corner of Main and Lake streets in Le Roy.

The first backhoe whack at a wall will take place sometime after lunch hour.

A supervisor for Empire Dismantlement Corp. said demolition starts at the back of the building and works toward the front. First order of business is to make room for dump trucks to park on the building site.

By Saturday, crews should be ready to take down the front facade. When they get to that point, Main Street will need to be closed for a time.

The building is being taken down "hot," meaning that any existing asbestos in the building has not been removed prior to demolition.

We've also learned that the iron awning that was on the west side of the building has been removed. The owners of the Smokin' Eagle (formerly the Eagle Hotel, and soon to be the last standing old hotel in the Village) plan to use it on their back entrance. Demolition crews will recover the chains that held it to the Wiss when demolition gets to that point.

UPDATE 4:36 p.m.: Had to leave Le Roy a little earlier than anticipated because of the situation at the middle school, but did snap a couple shots following the start of actual demolition.

Robert Thomas Seager, 43, of East Main Road, Batavia, is charged with felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .08, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, failure to stop at stop sign, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle and refusal to take breath test. Seager was arrested following the investigation into a property damage accident reported at 9:51 p.m. Tuesday at Putnam and Creek roads, Bethany. (Initial Report)

Autumn Marie Sierra, 19, of 77nd Street, Brooklyn, is charged with criminal nuisance, 2nd, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Sierra is suspected of covering the smoke detector in her room at College Village making it inoperable. Upon investigation, Sierra was also allegedly found to possess marijuana. Also charged was Mona'e Kristin Damon, 18, of Thompkins Avenue, Brooklyn, as well as Oumou Sy, 18, of East 102nd Street, New York City.

Christopher Leo Stone, 30, of Willow Pond Way, Penfield, is charged ith DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Stone was stopped at 1:09 a.m. April 13 on Route 33, Byron, by Sgt. Greg Walker, for allegedly driving 84 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Rodeny Ira Dean, 45, of Bloomingdale Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, is charged with felony DWI, moved from lane unsafely, refusal to submit to pre-screen device, drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle. Dean was reportedly involved in a single-car accident at 8:18 p.m., Monday, on Akron Road, Pembroke. Dean's vehicle struck the guy wire of a utility pole, shearing the pole and knocking electrical wires to the ground. Dean suffered minor injuries and was transported to ECMC for evaluation. Additional charges may be pending. The accident was investigated by Deputy Chad Minuto.

Michael Lewis, 42, most recently a Batavia resident, was found guilty Tuesday of sexually assaulting two girls under age 14 in East Bloomfield over an 18-month period in 2010 and 2011.

Lewis was originally indicted on 335 counts by an Ontario County Grand Jury. It took a jury more than four hours to reach a guilty verdict on 38 counts.

According to an Ontario County District Attorney's press release, "Under the law, in indictments of this magnitude, a judge is authorized to submit representative counts of the indictment to the jury. In this case, Hon. Frederick G. Reed submitted 8 counts of Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child, 4 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and 26 counts of Rape in the first, second and third degrees. The jury convicted Lewis of every single submitted count."

Lewis faces up to life in prison. Sentencing is set for June 26.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James Ritts.

The press release praises the work of Ritts and the four girls who testified:

ADA Ritts did a masterful job of preparing the case and presenting it to the jury, making the huge number of crimes manageable and understandable. And real credit goes to the four young girls who testified in this case — two victims and two other witnesses. Each of them was able to summon the courage to describe to the jury, while sitting mere feet from the defendant, the sordid acts they endured or witnessed.

The Batavia Daily News: COR: Tax breaks would be offset by jobs, new revenue
The Batavian: It doesn't always take massive tax subsidies to get COR to build in a community

The main concerns of residents who live near a proposed housing development off Route 5 and Seven Springs Road are traffic and the proximity of duplexes to their own homes.

The project was the subject of a public hearing before the Town of Batavia Planning Board on Tuesday night.

Peter Zeliff, the lone investor in the development, said the plans he's presenting at this point are preliminary.

The location of streets in and out of the 120-unit development are subject to change and the configuration of where homes are placed isn't written in stone, he said.

A Batavia native, Zeliff made his money building power plants and eventually sold his company.  While he's built houses before, this is his first housing development.

Asked why was doing it, he said, "I like seeing Genesee County, Batavia grow. I saw a need for this and it seemed like a good project."

Zeliff doesn't own the 100-acres of farmland he would like to development. He has a purchase agreement in place contingent on the project being approved.

The homes Zeliff is planning are more patio homes than townhomes, he said. The price range for the houses will range from $150,000 to $300,000.

Some of the houses and duplexes will be be pre-built and sold as completed homes, while other lots will be filled with custom homes.

Everything will be built according to a design standard and there will be a homeowners' association that approves new development.

The current site map shows multi-family units on the east side of the property, closest to the current homes on Seven Springs Road.

A couple of area residents asked if the site plan could be flipped so the single family homes were closer to Seven Springs Road and Zeliff suggested he was open to such changes, but geology and topography may prevent a different configuration, said Keith Ewald, project planner from Barton & Loguidice.

Ewald said people who buy single-family homes are likely to want basements and to ensure proper soil compaction, the single-family homes would need to be on the west half of the property.

The current plan has three streets going into the development -- one on Route 5 and two on Seven Springs Road. These are subject to change based on upcoming traffic studies.

The main entrance will be on Route 5.

Zeliff has already purchased the former location of Zigrossi Buick. The property will serve partially as an entrance into the housing project and Zeliff plans some sort of commercial development on the rest of the property.

Development of the parcel will begin at that entrance because that's where the development will connect with water, sewer and electrical.

If the approval process goes as planned, Zeliff hopes to break ground in August with the first houses being built during the winter or next spring.

Zeliff figures and hopes it will take three to five years to complete the development, but that will depend on how quickly the homes sell.

With anticipated growth at the Genesee Valley Ag Park and the proposed STAMP project, Zeliff (who joined the GCLDC board less than a year ago) thinks there is going to be more demand for housing locally).

"This area is going to boom," Zeliff aid. "It's about time Western New York booms."

A chief is on scene in Pembroke of what was initially reported as a grass fire off the Thruway but now appears to be a motor vehicle accident where the car caught fire.

The car was pretty far along burning by the time it was found.

No indication at this point that there is any victims in the area.

The location -- I think on Stage Road -- is actually in Newstead's district. Newstead is being dispatched.

It's possible the location is in Erie County.

UPDATE 10:53 p.m.: Nobody is in the car.

UPDATE 10:55 p.m.: Fire is out. Scene has been turned over to Erie County Sheriff. Pembroke not yet back in service. 

A motor-vehicle accident is reported Putnam and Creek roads. The vehicle is in some water in a ditch; wires are down and arcing. The male driver reportedly fled on foot. No one else is in the car. Power is said to be out on Ellicott Street Road. National Grid is notified. Bethany Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 10:03 p.m.: The driver is said to be tall and white. The wires are no longer arcing, but power is out. The car is a red Ford.

UPDATE 10:05 p.m.: The suspect is wearing blue jeans, sneakers and a light-colored ball cap.

UPDATE 10:40 p.m.: A flatbed tow truck requested to the scene. The vehicle is in four feet of water about 50 feet off the road. 

UPDATE 11:06 p.m.: Bethany back in service.

Contractors will arrive in the Village of Le Roy tomorrow to start demolition of the former Wiss Hotel building, Mayor Greg Rogers confirmed.

Tomorrow, work crews will begin prep work.The entire demolition process is expected to take about a week.
 

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia) is set to host a public forum on New York’s new gun laws. The event, taking place on Thursday, April 25 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Genesee Community College (GCC) in Batavia, will give residents a chance to ask questions and learn about what passage of the NY SAFE Act means to their rights as law-abiding gun owners. Hawley will be joined by New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) President Tom King, Shooters Committee on Political Education (S.C.O.P.E) President Steve Aldstadt and a number of local law enforcement and government officials at the event.

“New York’s new gun control laws were jammed through the legislature with no time for public input or review,” Hawley said. “As a result, many law-abiding gun owners are unaware of the new rules, regulations and requirements that now encroach on our Second Amendment rights. This forum will give residents a chance to ask questions and voice their concerns over the NY SAFE Act, helping ensure that we can all protect our privacy and civil liberties to the fullest extent possible.”

Details on the event are as follows:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley Presents: An Educational Forum on the NY SAFE Act.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

6:30 to 8 p.m.
Genesee Community College
Auditorium at Conable Technology Building
Room T102
Assemblyman R. Stephen Hawley Drive (1 College Road)
Batavia

Special Guests Include:
Tom King-NRA board member and president of the NYSRPA
Steve Aldstadt - president of S.C.O.P.E
Chief Deputy and Supervisor of Criminal Investigation Jerome Brewster - Genesee County Sheriff's Office
Representative from Orleans County Sheriff's Department
Karen Lake-Maynard - Orleans County Clerk
Don Read - Genesee County Clerk

A young female in Le Roy who fell into Oatka Creek about 10 or 15 minutes ago, was rescued and medics are at her home on Myrtle Street to get parental permission for treatment. Le Roy fire and rescue were initially called to Trigon Park.

UPDATE 4:51 p.m.: Responders are back in service.

This item was submitted by Byron Hoot, from Wexford, Pa., who has made a couple of trips to Batavia in the past year in connection with his appreciation of John Gardner, including this past Saturday's John Gardner Conference at GCC.

“The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” So began the first presenter for the 15th Annual John Gardner Conference hosted by Genesee Community College organized by Tracey Ford and Charley Boyd of GCC, coordinated by Sandy Hortdahl of Northeast State, Tennessee. 

It was “the spirit (that) giveth life” throughout the conference. The spirit of Gardner was alive and well among the conference attendees, who came from across New York state, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. 

Presenters spoke on a wide range of topics, from Paul Johnston’s “Taggart Hodge, Antinomian” to John and Helen Maier’s reading of “The Miller’s Tale” in Chaucer’s Middle English, to Denise Divins’ probing look at the archetypical world of Grendel. In addition, there was Bette Smith’s excellent performance of Gardner’s one-act play, Days of Vengeance, and Jennifer Duncan’s talk of Gardner’s influence on her own writing. 

Attendees had a chance to examine some of the original Gardner materials housed at GCC and overseen by librarian Phyllis Andrews. Finally, as a visual coda, there was a screening of "The Sunlight Man," a documentary made by Gardner’s son, Joel. As important as the ideas and insights, the presence of Gardner’s brother Jim and his wife, Wanda, added the personal touch of stories from family members who loved and love Gardner still.

A pilgrimage to the Pok-a-Dot for lunch gave conference attendees added time to socialize. A hidden gem, Genesee Community College deserves much credit for keeping alive the spirit of an important American writer. This is a pilgrimage well worth making.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) announced today that the public hearing on the COR Development project application, originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 23rd at 4 p.m., has been rescheduled to April 30th at 7 p.m. to accommodate requests for the meeting to be conducted outside of normal business/working hours.

“The GCEDC strives to be a transparent and accommodating agency so when we get these types of requests we do everything we can to honor them,” said Charlie Cook, GCEDC board chairman. “It’s evident that this project has generated quite a bit of interest so we want to make sure that the community has the opportunity to learn more about the project and have their voices heard.” 

At the meeting, the GCEDC will provide a comprehensive overview of the project – including the benefits COR Development is applying for to develop the vacant Lowe's building – as well as a full disclosure of the fiscal and economic impacts the Batavia Towne Center has had on the surrounding community since it came to fruition. Following the presentation, the hearing will be open for public comment; the GCEDC also will read any written comments received by the agency prior to the public hearing.

Written comments can be sent to the GCEDC’s Marketing and Communications Director, Rachael Tabelski at Genesee County Economic Development Center, 99 MedTech Drive, Suite 106, Batavia, NY 14020.  Written comments must contain the individual’s contact information, including address and phone number, and should indicate if he or she would like the comment read at the hearing. All comments and public hearing testimony will be reviewed by the GCEDC board prior to a vote on the COR Development application for support.