batavia

The testimony of Dillon Brito, one of the men who admitted to taking part in a robbery on State Street, Batavia, in September, was the focus of closing arguments for both the defense and prosecution in the trial of Reginald M. Wilson.

Wilson is charged with burglary and possession of stolen property and faces a possible life sentence because of his prior felony convictions if the jury finds him guilty.

The jury began deliberations this morning.

In his summation, Defense Attorney Fares Rumi told jurors that Brito lacked credibility.

"He's a young criminal who took a deal to testify," Rumi said.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman countered that Brito implicated Wilson when he was first arrested, long before the prosecution offered a plea agreement. Brito's testimony was credible, Friedman said, because his statements were consistent from the time of his arrest to his testimony and even under cross-examination.

"It's not like he tried to accuse Reginald Wilson to save his own skin," Friedman said. "How does implicating Reginald Wilson saves his own skin? Why would he implicate Reginal Wislon when it hasn't been shown he has a motivation to lie? I’m not saying people never lie, but people usually lie for a reason. What was the reason?"

Brito said Wilson asked him to act as a lookout during the break-in and that he saw Wilson enter the residence. Brito also testified that he was with Wilson and the other defendants, Quentin L. Gibson, 25; Joseph D. Dash, 24, when they were showing off the allegedly stolen items.

Wilson's possession of the car that was stolen from the State Street house was also a key part of the closing arguments.

Rumi asserted that the prosecution failed to prove that Wilson knew the car was stolen. He relied heavily on the fact that Wilson drove that car around Batavia the day after the burglary, even hanging out with it on State Street.

"Think about it, men and women of the jury, my client rode around all over Batavia all day," Rumi said. "He wouldn’t have done that if he knew it was stolen. He would have taken it out of town or he would have ditched it."

Friedman told jurors that Wilson obviously knew the car was stolen because he gave differing versions of how he came to possess the car. First he told Toni White that his girlfriend gave it to him. Later he told her it belonged to "Joey."  When he was picked up by police, he reportedly said it belonged to a friend.

Obviously, Friedman said, Wilson wasn't worried about being caught with the car. "He had his story ready," Friedman said.

The car not only proves, Friedman said, that he knowingly possessed stolen property, but it corroborates Brito's testimony that Wilson participated in the burglary.

Following the arguments, Judge Robert Noonan instructed the jury on its role in evaluating facts, what they heard in court and that it is not the juror's job to decide what the law should be. He further explained the law and the scope of the case.

A 19-year-old driver says she hit an unknown object on Galloway Road yesterday causing her to lose control of her car, sending it over an embankment and into a group of trees.

Ashley N. Rippel, of 1302 Phelps Road, Corfu, suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported by ground ambulance to UMMC.

The crash occurred at 4:01 p.m.

Rippel was driving a 2001 Plymouth sedan owned by a Batavia resident.

There were no passengers and no other vehicles were involved in the crash.

No citations were issued.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Timothy Weis.

A one-car accident has been reported at Bank and Douglas in the City of Batavia.

A possible health problem may have been the cause.

No word on injuries.

City Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

All the facts in the case against 37-year-old Reginald M. Wilson were presented to a jury today. The jurors will reconvene tomorrow morning at 10 to hear closing arguments and then deliberate the fate of the Rochester man accused of burglarizing a home on State Street and stealing the homeowner's car.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman promised the all-white panel of four men and 10 women that he would prove that Wilson willingly entered the home of an 86-year-old woman with the intent to steal. One of the items taken was her 2001 Saturn, which Wilson was allegedly found driving around Batavia the next day.

Three others have also been charged in the case: Quentin L. Gibson, 25; Joseph D. Dash, 24; and Dillon M. Brito, 18. Brito testified today for the prosecution. The other two men have signed statements saying Wilson was not involved in the thefts.

A number of other items besides the four-door sedan were taken during the crime, which occurred sometime after 11 p.m. Sept. 1 or early Sept. 2, including brooches, medication, an heirloom ring, even Popsicles from her freezer.

Defense Attorney Fares Rumi said he would offer evidence that no one saw Wilson enter or leave the woman's house. Moreover, he told the jury that the prosecution is relying on the testimony of a man who admitted to burglarizing this home and others, and is to be sentenced later today.

"(Wilson) never knew the car was stolen," Rumi said. "He did not act like someone who knew the car was stolen. He was perfectly calm. He did not know the car was stolen until he was arrested after someone reported it stolen."

The first witness called was the victim, who has lived at 222 State St. in Batavia all of her life. She lives there alone.

The woman entered the courtroom wearing navy blue pants, Mary Jane-style comfort shoes, a white jacket, and aided by a metal cane. She is maybe 5-feet tall and weighs probably less than 100 pounds. Her soft-spoken testimony was clear and concise.

She said she went to bed around 9 p.m. and read until the 11 o'clock news came on. After the program ended, she took her hearing aid out and went to sleep. She woke up about 7 the next morning and found things in disarray and items missing.

"I noticed the top drawer on my chest of drawers was open," she said. "After I got up, I looked on the dresser and two containers of jewelry were gone."

Her purse, which she kept by the side of her bed, was also missing. Two other bedrooms on the second floor had been ransacked. Downstairs, she noticed the south living room window was open and the air-conditioner was laying on the ground. In the dining room, was her desk with papers scattered all about and things taken from it. In the kitchen, she noticed her blood pressure and allergy medications were gone.

She said she called her niece and nephew first, but before she could call police, a guy from National Grid called her to say he'd found her wallet. Her money was gone but her driver's license was still inside. She called police and then her niece arrived and told her the car was missing from the garage.

That night, Sept. 2, a detective called and told her the car had been found. It was returned to her the following day.

At some point, a detective called and asked her if anything was missing from her freezer. She checked, and sure enough, her Popsicles were gone.

Her testimony included the story of the miraculous return of her ring, the only piece of jewelry she got back.

She had talked to her insurance carrier and was asked to have new locks put in her vehicle. She called a car dealership and spoke with a woman there about ordering the parts. As the two chatted about her ordeal and the theft of her jewelry and all, the employee said her father-in-law had found a ring while he was out in his yard blowing leaves. The witness described the ring and, incredibly, it was her stolen ring.

When questioned by Rumi, the victim said she never saw anyone enter her home.

After leaving the witness stand, she sat in the gallery with four relatives and/or friends.

The next witness called was orange-clad and shackled Dillon M. Brito, who is incarcerated and pled guilty to the burglary.

Brito, who is 18, glanced over at Wilson several times and seemed a bit nervous. He was told to speak up a couple of times but it was still hard to hear him. (The attorneys, practiced orators, used a microphone to be heard, but the witnesses spoke unaided.)

Brito testified that he was at a friend's house on State Street and Wilson, whom friends call Miguel, was there and told him about a burglary plan, "a house where they could get some money out of, said an old lady lived there."

Brito said he told Wilson he wasn't interested, but when he saw Wilson at the same friend's house the next day, he agreed to serve as a lookout during the burglary "for 25 minutes."

Brito testified that he never entered the victim's house. He said Wilson and Dash went to "get in the house" and Gibson was up the street. Later Wilson and Dash were driving in the gray Saturn and they told Brito they were going to Rochester to pawn the jewelry and take the car to a "chop shop." Brito said he and Gibson were asked if they wanted to go along and they said no.

Throughout the proceedings, the jury appeared attentive. The solidly built Wilson, wearing a tan shirt, black slacks and shoes and an earthtone-striped tie, chewed his gum from time to time and wiggled his left foot. His dreadlocks were tied back in two stout ponytails, and later restyled into one large, loosely banded ponytail.

Rumi brought up the plea deal offered by the D.A.'s office, wherein Brito's three burglary charges (including crimes in Monroe County) would be reduced to one count and he'd get sentenced as a youthful offender, in exchange for his testimony against Wilson.

"You only took a deal to save your own skin," Rumi said. "You have a history of criminal charges. Why should this jury believe you?"

Next to take the stand was Toni White, who said she was the aunt of Wilson's niece. She testified that they saw each other driving while she was headed to the college. He was in a gray Saturn and followed her to the college and then to her house where they talked. Her truck was acting up and she took it in for repairs. Wilson followed her there to drop it off.

He took her to an appointment to get a tattoo.

But "my tattooist was running late," White said, so they drove here and there on errands, with her 3- and 4-year-olds in tow.

As they headed back to the tattoo parlor, White testified that she started receiving text messages that the car she was riding in with Wilson was stolen. He dropped her off at the tattooist's. She saw Wilson later that day and followed him in her car. She then confronted him and told him the car he was driving was stolen and that she was upset that he'd been driving her around in a stolen car.

"He said no, it wasn't stolen, his friend Joey gave it to him," White said, then Wilson started "playing around and acting crazy."

He took off and she followed him and called 9-1-1. The police came and pulled him over on Lehigh Road and he was arrested for criminal possession of stolen property.

Rumi said White has been convicted of petit larceny and disorderly conduct and stated that the "reason you testified today is to save your own skin," a puzzling argument because she has been in no way linked to the crimes Wilson is accused of.

The People's next witness was Dana Barrett, a sales manager at a local car dealership, whose testimony centered on the value of the victim's vehicle. With 30 years in the car biz, he appraised her car last October at $4,500 retail. There was a lot of minutiae back and forth about car appraisals, the upshot being Fumi sought to prove the car had less value than the D.A.'s witness, based on an appraisal he obtained a few days ago. Judge Robert Noonan said Rumi's brand-new appraisal was useless.

The final witness for the prosecution was Sgt. John W. Peck, a 26-year veteran of the Batavia Police Department. He testified that sometime before 8 p.m. on Sept. 2 he was on duty and received a report of a stolen vehicle. He went to the location and found Wilson driving the Saturn. Wilson immediately pulled over when the officer approached and was cooperative. When asked about the car, he told Peck that it was his friend, Joey's. He was arrested without incident.

After a lengthy lunch break, the jury returned but the victim and her supporters did not. The People rested their case and the first defense witness called was Jacob Camarerera, who carried his right arm stiffly up to his chest as though it were broken and wore a long-sleeved gray shirt and dark slacks.

He testified that he saw Wilson about 9:30 a.m. near Pringle Street on the day in question and that they hung out together all day. They went to a friend's house and played video games, and at 10:45 that night, Wilson left with two friends to get his sister's car in Rochester.

On cross-examination, Friedman brought out that Camarerera could not actually recall the day, the month or even the year that he spent hanging out with Wilson.

"I was incarcerated with (Wilson) and he told me I was with him on the night the burglary happened and asked me to be a witness for him," Camarerera told the jury.

When Friedman again tried to pin him down on when he spent the day with Wilson, Camarerera said "It was some time before I was incarcerated, some time last year. If I'm correct that would be '09."

In addition to his memory, Camarerera's credibility was also called into question, with Friedman noting he had been convicted of criminal contempt in the second degree, possessing marijuana, six petit larcenies and resisting arrest.

The second defense witness was Elizabeth Fuchs, whose sister is Wilson's girlfriend. Wearing her hair in a single plait and clad in a simple black dress, she testified that on Sept. 2 at about 10:30 a.m. she talked with Wilson on the front porch of her State Street house for about an hour.

She said there was a silver car parked on one side of the double driveway, which she shares with her next-door neighbor -- the aforementioned friend Wilson and his buddies like to visit. She said police drove down the street a couple of times and Wilson had no reaction to them whatsoever.

Friedman asked her if she had talked with Wilson since he was jailed. She seemed puzzled and said yes. When asked what they talked about, she said it concerned what occurred that day. Asked if they discussed any testimony for court, she answered no.

The third and final witness called by the defense was Elizabeth's sister, Wilson's girlfriend. She wore her hair up, a navy blue dress with small white print, and four-inch-high blue-suede pumps. She testified that she saw Wilson at her sister's house and he had the silver car, they talked nearly an hour, and cops drove by and Wilson paid them no attention.

Friedman asked if she'd seen him during his stay in jail. She said yes, "numerous times."

"Like about 50?" Friedman asked, who'd obviously checked the jail visitors' log.

He asked her what they discussed.

"We talked about our relationship on that date (of the crimes)," Fuchs said.

"Never once in all those times did you talk about what you would testify to at this trial?" Friedman asked.

"We talked about that ... up to a point," Fuchs said.

Friedman also quizzed her about a previous statement in which she said Wilson was not her boyfriend on Sept. 2. I thought you just said you discussed your relationship on that date, Friedman said.

She said she wasn't in a relationship with him at that time. Friedman asked if she was dating Wilson. She asked him to explain what he meant by dating. He asked her to define dating.

Then she said their relationship was purely sexual and later grew into a relationship. She said she might therefore describe her sexual encounters with Wilson as dating.

One of the men on the jury smiled broadly at the surprising exchange between the prosecutor and the witness.

Lastly, Rumi asked the judge to dismiss both charges against his client because two witnesses offered factual evidence, via their testimony to the jury, that they saw Wilson with the car, and the police drove by and Wilson didn't act like someone who'd stolen a car.

The judge denied the motion to dismiss the charges.

If convicted, the D.A. could ask that Wilson get life in prison because of prior felony convictions (five). He turned down the District Attorney's pre-trial offer of two to four years in state prison for a conviction on one count of felony possession of stolen property.

As for Brito, he was sentenced late in the afternoon to one to three years of incarceration as a youthful offender, with his time running concurrently with his other burglary convictions in Monroe County and including his current incarceration. He will be required to pay more than $2,000 in restitution, at a rate of $50 a month, starting 60 days after his release. He was also barred from contacting six individuals, including the victim, until Sept. 9, 2020.

At 230 Ellicott Street, there is a vacant lot, but it's more than just an unsightly gap between two commercial buildings. It also represents unfinished business.

Richard Borrell, owner of Borrell Fitness, right next door, figures the fire that destroyed Cristina's Restaurant on July 12, 2008, has cost or will cost him from $340,000 to $375,000.

So far, neither Charles Brumsted Jr., Cristina's owner, nor Brumsted's insurance company, Mid-State Mutual Insurance, have reimbursed Borrell for his losses.

Borrell said he's retained a lawyer out of Buffalo and said a lawsuit was filed last week on his behalf, but the suit is not on file with the Genesee County Clerk. The Batavian has called the law office of Eugene C. Tenney seven or eight times since last Thursday, where receptionists say Edward J. Schwendler, III, is handling the case, but Schwendler has returned none of the calls.

It's unclear if Brumsted -- we couldn't find contact information for him -- settled his claim against Mid-State.

An attorney for Brumsted, Charles Ritter, of Buffalo, filed a lawsuit May 18, 2009, against Mid-State, alleging that Mid-State had failed to honor the contractual terms of its insurance policy. Brumsted sought at least $1.5 million in damages, which included a $375,000 claim by Borrell.

In the filing, Brumsted claims that Mid-State representatives indicated he would have no trouble collecting on his insurance claim and that he would be able to reopen for business by Spring of 2008.

On Dec 3, 2009, Ritter and Mid-State's attorney, Joseph Rizzo, of Rochester, signed a "stipulation of discontinuance." The short document is ambiguous on whether this constituted a settlement of Brumsted's claims and contains no details on whether Brumsted received any payment from Mid-State. 

Neither Ritter nor Rizzo returned calls placed today.

Mid-State has also not returned a phone call seeking more information about Cristina's.

Borrell is unsure why Mid-State has not settled with him and preferred not to comment in detail about his legal situation. He said his building suffered extensive fire and water damage. The floors on the second floor are warped, the bricks and mortar on the outside of the building were heavily damaged, he suffered water damage to equipment and his HVAC system. 

The cause of the fire has never been determined. Captain Michael B. Drew of the City of Batavia Fire Department issued a report following a thorough investigation July 12, 2008.

While the investigation team was able to eliminate many accidental hazards, it was not able to eliminate all hazards, namely electrical wiring or equipment malfunction.

In addition, the investigation team was unable to eliminate the possibility that the fire cause may have been other than accidental and is therefore undetermined at this time.

Drew's report says the fire started in the area of the central stairway.

A possible accidental cause that was not ruled out was a malfunction in a electrical junction box on the east wall of the basement. Damage to the box, which included a hole burnt through the cover, could not have been done by an external fire source, Drew wrote.

At the same time, given the location of the box and the location of the fire origin, that junction box could not conclusively be ruled as causing the fire.

In interviews with investigators, Brumsted said he had electrical problems with a fan and was bringing an electrician to fix it. "Fire damage to this unit was noted to be inconclusive with its direct involvement in the fire's ignition," Drew wrote.

Brumsted said the building had been up for sale since 2001. He also said he was seeking a demolition permit for the restaurant portion of the building. 

In 2000, news reports said Brumsted was planning to convert the building into office space.

Cristina's was named after Brumsted's aunt, Cristina Meleca, who crafted some Italian recipes for the restaurant. Cristina Meleca died in 1995 at age 95. Brumsted purchased the restaurant from his uncle, Frank Meleca, in 1985.

As part of a statewide program to concentrate police enforcement on seat belt and mobile phone laws, Batavia Police wrote 37 tickets over a 44-hour enforcement period that began March 9, according to Sgt. John Peck.

Twenty-two of the tickets were for failure to wear a safety belt. The rest were mostly for mobile phone violations, but some were also for things such as uninspected motor vehicle  or suspended license.

The increased enforcement effort was paid for with a state grant that allowed patrols to concentrate strictly traffic enforcement and not handle routine calls.

"We were able to get out and concentrate on enforcement, which is something we don't get much time for with our call volume," Peck said.

Officers on the detail worked in four-hour blocks, Peck said. 

The next enforcement detail window is in May, when officers will be scheduled for an extra 120 hours of enforcement.

Christopher P. Ball, 27, of 4902 Ellicott St. Road, Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal contempt, 2nd. Ball is accused of contacting an ex-girlfriend he was previously ordered to stay away from. Ball was jailed on $2,000 bail.

Susan Marie Devault, 40, 11 N. Main St., Apt. A, Holley, is charged with petit larceny. Devault is accused of shoplifting $111.94 in merchandise from Target.

Accidents from the State Police blotter:

12:45 p.m., March 28, Thruway, mile marker 398, westbound, Pembroke, one vehicle; Driver 1: Lori C. Pittman, 52, of Niagara Falls. No injuries reported.

Bigness is killing New York dairy farmers.

Big and ever-growing milk processors and retail chains are controlling the market and driving down the prices paid to farmers, but not passing on the cost savings to consumers.

That was the message of a meeting yesterday at GCC of dairy farmers and the Assistant U.S. Attorney General Christine A. Varney, who is in charge of the Antitrust Division.

From the Buffalo News:

"Our farmers are getting paid less and consumers are paying more," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, who invited Varney to the meeting. "Someone's walking away with all the money."

Schumer said processors are making record profits at a time when farmers are on the brink of losing their family businesses. He wants the Justice Department to investigate anti-competitive practices in the dairy industry.

Consolidation among milk processors is one of the chief reasons prices paid to farmers has gone down, Varney was told. There are simply fewer outlets for farmers to sell their product to, meaning less competition, and without the competition it's easier for the buyer to set ever lower prices.

In some states, Dean Foods controls as much as 90 percent of the market, and about 70 percent in New York.

From the D&C: 

Bill Cook, who milks 1,800 cows near Aurora, Cayuga County, said he used to deal with five different milk buyers who were willing to pay a premium for the high-quality milk his cows produced. Premiums can mean the difference between just paying the bills and actually making a profit.

Meanwhile, Cook said none of those buyers is still operating because they went out of business or were consolidated into larger operations, such as Dean Foods, a giant among dairy processors. Cook had to borrow $500,000 to cover his losses last year.

The Buffalo News quoted a sixth-generation Wyoming County Farmer who used USDA figures to point out that the dairy farm share of retail dollars have dropped from 37 percent to 25 percent in the past three years.

Bigger and bigger retail chains were also blamed for downward prices on milk products.  Walmart's outsized pressure for lower and lower prices isn't helping farmers.

"Walmart's 'everyday low prices' applies constant downward pressure on all commodities, squeezing the supply chain while demanding more," said Ed Schoen of Shoe-Acres farm in Phelps, Ontario County. Pricing at Wegmans, on the other hand, is sensitive to the prices farmers are getting, he said.

Barbara Brown, a county legislator in Oswego County, said her district once had 26 dairy farms. Now it has three. She recently sold off her cows and closed her farm.

Varney offered the farmers hope.

"We will not let you down," she said, according to the Buffalo News. "We know the problem you're facing."

Sen. Schumer has called on the federal government to take several steps to help dairy farmers:

• Deal with the consolidation of milk processors and the lack of competition.
• A program called MILC provides aid to farmers when milk prices fall to a certain level. That target price needs to be raised.
• Raise MILC reimbursement from 45 percent of the price difference.
• Reform the milk marketing order system, which helps set commodity prices, used by the USDA. The current system doesn't adequately measure the cost of milk production in the Northeast.
• Return to a dairy compact system that helps New York farmers set prices.
• Pass a Milk Import Tariff act to ensure that milk producers and processors in other countries are playing by the same rules as the United States.

Slow news day. That's not entirely bad, because it gives me a chance to catch up on other work, especially the work related to revenue. Though, I'm sure on any given day, you would rather have the stories.

After all day in the office doing business stuff, I went out and searched around for something to take a picture of, hoping, really, for a good sunset shot. None was forthcoming, so these are the two pictures I did get.

Top barn is on Sprague Road, and bottom is on Upton Road. I think both are still in the Town of Batavia.

After receiving a Tip Line report that youths under the legal drinking age were using fake IDs to buy alcohol at local businesses, Batavia Police investigators ran a series of compliance checks on Friday.

No problems were found at the locations in the Tip Line report, but undercover agents did continue an investigation looking for adults buying alcohol and giving it to teens.

Police say when a person was seen getting into a car with a teen in it after purchasing alcohol, the car was stopped "to determine the circumstances."  The results of the stop were not released by police.

There was alcohol that was confiscated on Friday night, according to police, and one case was referred to Genesee County Probation.

The press release states:

The Batavia Police will continue to be proactive in the attempt to deter underage access to alcohol with these types of programs with the assistance of funding from the Drug Free Communities.

A rollover accident has been reported at the intersection of Walnut and Law streets in the City of Batavia.

City Fire and Mercy EMS have been dispatched.

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After 15 years of working for other people in the home-improvement business -- both as a hired hand and in sales -- Tim Stoddard began to get the itch to do it himself.

"My wife Lisa was a big instigator of it," Stoddard said. "She kept telling me I could do it.”

So he enrolled in free classes from the Small Business Administration at Geneseo College and began planning what would become American Home Remodeling.

Ten years ago, Tim and Lisa launched their company with a vision for a firm that would be known for its quality and its personal attention to customer care.

"We didn't need to be a big fish," Stoddard said. "We didn't need to be the biggest company out there. We wanted to be a company known for honesty, doing the right thing and having the right people in place."

In part, that's how the name of the company came to be. American Home Remodeling sounded to Tim like a name that would stand for quality. It also helped that the company name would begin with "A" so it would be at the top of Yellow Page listings.

The company name also led to one of American Home Remodeling's signature marketing features -- its fleet of trucks painted in patriotic red, white and blue.

Lisa's cousin paints murals professionally and one day Tim asked her, "Can you make my truck look like it ran through an American flag?" She said she would give it a try.

The company now has four flag-painted trucks, each one a little different, he said.

"I went to the bank to make a deposit one day and a lady came up to me and said, 'Are you the fellow with the flag truck?'" Stoddard recalled. He said he was. "She said, 'I looked at the truck and I looked away and then I looked at it again and I thought, it's not offensive at all.'"

Stoddard said that's when he knew the trucks were helping project an image of a reputable, local company.

American Home Remodeling's bread-and-butter business, according to Stoddard, is roofing and siding, but he's also proud of his carpentry department, which allows him to take interior and exterior building jobs.

The siding business isn't about taking any job and putting the least expensive siding on a house, in keeping with Stoddard's goal of being a reputable mid-size business.

Stoddard said his company uses top-of-the-line materials and tries to maintain the character of the house. For example, the slats of the siding will match the width of the original wood clapboards, and if the house had gingerbread shingles, that decorative feature will be retained.

"I don’t do many rental homes because we’re too high for rentals," Stoddard said. "They want to go with the cheapest product they can in most cases. We don’t really want to have jobs out there with our name on it that look like that."

The Stoddards clearly have a love for Batavia's older homes. They live in -- and are restoring -- one of the Homelius-designed houses on Ellicott Avenue -- and in 2004 they purchased the Doty Mansion at the corner of Jackson Street and Highland Park.

In 2006, they completed the major indoor renovation of four apartments inside what was once one of Batavia's grandest residences (maybe only the long-ago destroyed Richmond Mansion could beat it).

The Stoddard's bought the mansion with only $5,000 down, with the previous owner carrying the mortgage and a bank financing more than $50,000 in restoration work.

"Once we went into the Doty Mansion, it was just a mess," Stoddard said. "It was just HUD. There was no heat into two of the apartments for two years. They had space heaters. There was raw sewage coming from the upper apartment to the lower one.

"We started demo’ing and you could see past all the dirt and debris that it was really a nice house at one time," Stoddard added.

At first, buying the Doty Mansion was just an investment. For the price, the Stoddard's figured they could fix it up and rent out the apartments to reliable tenants and turn a profit, but the restoration work had unexpected benefits for American Home Remodeling.

Through the work, the Stoddards tapped into a regional network of specialists in woodworking, masonry, stained glass and other specialties.

"Now, I’m not really too unsure of myself or afraid to try stuff," Stoddard said. "There’s so many people out there whom I now know who can do special things. It was kind of a blindfolded thing. I didn’t realize how beneficial it would be by working on that mansion."

There isn't enough restoration work in Batavia, Stoddard said, to make that a focus of American Home Remodeling, but he thinks that if more people knew the option was there -- even though it can be expensive work -- they might take that approach with their older homes.

"Somebody might have molding that is really ornate plaster, but bits and pieces are broken," Stoddard said. "If they knew we could come in and save that and restore it, then I think they would entertain that idea. I think a lot of people don’t realize it can be restored and fixed so they turn around and get rid of it."

But whether through renovations, siding or roofing, American Home Remodeling has been growing, Stoddard said. He projects this year the company will gross $1 million for the first time.

During peak building season, Stoddard said he employs as many as 18 people, and that's as big as he wants to get.

"We had 22 one summer, our fourth year in business, and I was just pulling my hair out. It got to be a little too much to deal with," Stoddard said.

Photo: Tim Stoddard, right, talking with the owner of a home his company re-sided for the previous owner.

A car is reportedly on fire in the eastbound lane of the Thruway around mile marker 388.

Town of Batavia fire is being dispatched.

The dispatch center has received multiple calls.

UPDATE 3:39 p.m.: A firefighter responding said the smoke can be seen from Bank Street. "It must be going pretty good," he said.

UPDATE 4:12 p.m.: Fire crews are picking up and the Thruway is being reopened.

UPDATE 4:19 p.m.: Town of Batavia Fire back in service.

When I'm out and about in the county, I usually try to find roads I've never driven down before. In coming back from the two accidents this morning, I came across three photo opportunities.

Above, the Magadore Hillton and Pembroke Hotel, at the intersection of North Pembroke and Beckwith roads. The spelling on the sign is "Hillton." That's not  a typo. The proprietor, according to the sign, is Linda Smith. It's hard to tell if this is an active business. There is a sign next to the building that advertises fish fry and beef on weck, but it also looked like it might be vacant, except for a possible residence on the side.

UPDATE: We just got this e-mail:

"Hi, my name is Linda Smith I have owned the bar for 30 years. It was built in 1850 and has been a working bar for a very long time. I have a little restaurant that serves fish frys every friday. We are open 6 days a week."

Below is what looks like an old hunter's cabin along Stegman Road, across from the Tonawanda Creek. 

The last picture is of a yellow barn -- don't see too many of those. It was on Powers Road.

A 37-year-old Batavia man was taken by Mercy Flight to ECMC this morning after he apparently drove into a telephone pole and across a field into a brush line.

His car travel another 150 yards after shearing the pole off at its base, leaving behind pieces of his minivan as he continued rolling across the cow pasture.

Luis Gomez was reportedly driving southbound on Read Road when he reached the intersection at Route 33 and allegedly failed to stop for a stop sign and continued straight across Route 33, striking the pole on the other side of the T intersection.

The possibility of drinking and driving has not been ruled out, according to Deputy Ron Meides. (See update below.)

There was a partially consumed 12-pack of beer in the back seating area, though no open cans were visible.

No other people were in the minivan at the time of the accident. No other cars were involved. 

Meides said Gomez was semiconscious as he was being prepared for Mercy Flight transport and was taken to ECMC "for evaluation."

East Pembroke Fire and Mercy EMS answered the initial call, which came in before 8 a.m.

UPDATE10:53 p.m.: Deputy Meides report was just released.  Luis Gomez had a BAC of only .04.  No citations were issued in the accident.  The minivan traveled 329 feet after striking the the utility pole. The home address for Gomez was listed at 20 Thomas Ave., left apartment.

Connecticut law enforcement officials continue to investigate an accident that took the life of a Batavia man and another driver, according to the New London Day.

The Day reports:

Why was Lance Lewis, 36, of Batavia, N.Y., driving his Honda CRV southbound in the northbound lane?

Which ramp did Lewis use to access the highway?

Where was he coming from?

As they continue to investigate the circumstances of the three-car crash, state police are trying to retrace Lewis' steps to find the answers to these and other questions.

State police spokeswoman Kelly Grant said police will contact Lewis' family to try to determine what he was doing in Connecticut and where he was before getting into his car and driving the wrong way on I-95.

On Facebook, Paul Wishman said, "he worked at UPS with us, was on the morning shift loading the trucks." Laura Russell-Ricci identified him as a 1992 graduate of Batavia High.

The Day also posted a picture from the crash  (click link above).

UPDATE Click here for Lewis's obituary.