Stan's Harley-Davidson hosted its annual classic car and classic bike drive-in today.
Nathan and Abby Lake, of Batavia.
Hugh and Mary Ann Steves, of Strykersville.
Don McDonald, of Stafford.
Mercy Flight/Mercy EMS, with the help of local volunteer fire departments, the Sheriff's Office and State Police, hosted an open house today in the parking lot of Home Depot. The highlight might have been the flyover of Mercy Flight #5, piloted by Brian Smith.
The Ghost Riders and the Ghost Riders Drum and Bugle Corps put on a unique show Friday night on Main Street.
The bands performed right on the sidewalk next to Larry's Steakhouse (the show's sponsor) and music fans, maybe about 300 hundred of them, gathered around standing or finding seating as best they could.
The music was great, of course.
The Ghost Rider's great pedal steel player Jimmy "Steel" Duvall.
A working fire is reportedly coming from building 'B' at 20 N. Spruce St. in the city. The city's fourth platoon is called to the scene and the first platoon is called to headquarters.
UPDATE 1:30 a.m. (by Howard): At least 13 people, including young children, living in six apartments, were displaced by the fire. The fire started in a second-floor apartment occupied by a grandfather and three grandchildren. All four were home at the time and escaped unharmed. That apartment was gutted. A third-floor apartment was heavily damaged. There is smoke and water damage throughout the Group B part of the complex. The cause of the fire has not been determined. A witness said he arrived on scene seconds after the first fire crew. He saw fire burst through a window and within 45 seconds, firefighters had the fire knocked down. At this hour, city fire crews are still on scene.
Paul Berardini, owner of Big Pauly's Pizza, donated $200 to the YWCA's domestic violence program today and presented the donation to Linsey Vallett. The donation is comprised of $2 from each large pizza Pauly's sold on Monday.
When workers from Tompkins Insurance move into their new second-floor offices at Main and Center, they will have Doug Rebmann to thank for the bit of extra sunlight spilling into their space.
Rebmann has been working this week cutting through masonry to create two new window openings as part of extensive renovations to the second floor.
Tompkins expects to move its customer service center to the location in mid-September.
Today was the day to fill the boot and a lot of people did. City firefighters, members of IAFF Local 896, were positioned on Ellicott, Main, and Court streets this morning to collect donations from passing motorists as a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
It was another banner year for the firefighters with a new record amount of $9,635.39, according to Local President Greg Ireland.
Above, Adam Palumbo collects a donation.
Jeff Stevens collects a donation.
Firefighter Tim Stengel collects a donation.
Giovanni Louis Rosario, 21, of Conkey Avenue, Rochester, is charged with burglary, 2nd. Rosario was arrested on a warrant out of Town of Darien Court. He's accused of being involved in a burglary reported at 1 p.m., Dec. 27, on Tinkham Road, Darien. Rosario was ordered held on $10,000 bail. The suspect is currently being held in the Monroe County Jail on unrelated charges.
James Ross Sweet, 53, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st. Sweet allegedly initiated contact with a person he is barred from contacting by court order.
Timothy Joseph Clark, 54, of North Bergen Road, Bergen, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Clark allegedly grabbed a woman he knows. The alleged incident was reported at 2:45 p.m., Wednesday.
Mark Anthony DiManno, 56, of Ridgeview Drive, East Rochester, is charged with criminal trespass. DiManno was arrested on a warranted and arraigned in Town of Batavia Court.
Alyssa N. Bannerman, 20, of Brockport, is charged with conspiracy, 6th, criminal possession of stolen property, 5th, and unlawful possession of marijuana; A 17-year-old from Brockport is charged with conspiracy, 6th, and criminal possession of stolen property, 5th; and, Antonio J. Goodson, 24, of Medina, is charged with conspiracy, 5th, and petit larceny. The trio was arrest by State Police in relation to an alleged larceny reported at Kmart at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday. No further details released.
Todd R. Stanton, 32, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and harassment, 2nd. Stanton was arrested by State Police for an alleged incident reported at 7:48 a.m., Monday. No further details released.
How far would you drive for really good BBQ? Yesterday, somebody reportedly drove 70 miles to try out Batavia's newest BBQ joint -- The Rack Shack, on Ellicott Street Road.
Open just a week and with little fanfare, the owners of the new restaurant are finding their location just a bit outside the city is well suited to the business they want to build.
"The location presented itself and we thought it was a good opportunity," said co-owner Mandee Hopkins.
The location was most recently Rosie's Diner. Rosie's nor the prior diner, Fedora's, really worked out for those owners. But Hopkins said she and her partners like the location because of the high volume of traffic on Route 63, the fact that the east side of Batavia -- with the ag park -- is growing, and they are confident good BBQ will make the restaurant a destination for smoked pork and beef aficionados.
The co-owners are her husband Jason, who has 25 years experience in the restaurant business, including working as head chef at the Hillside Inn and sous chef at the Valley Inn, and Jim and Melissa Penders. Jim is an award-winning BBQer who has worked in catering for 15 years.
"BBQ is what they love," Mandee said. "It's what they love to eat. It's what they love to cook, and it's a skill that needs to be mastered."
Mastered it, they have. The menu boasts that the pork ribs are so tender they melt off the bone. They'll never be accused of false advertising on that point.
The menu is filled with Southern flavor, from cole slaw to collard greens to cajun catfish along with WNY favorites such as salt potatoes, Pittsburgh salad, and their own version of the garbage plate, called the Shack Attack.
"We want to offer a warm, comfortable atmosphere where people can enjoy their food," Mandee said. "We believe in high standards and treating people like family."
It's been a year since the city went to a new garbage collection system that allows residents to hire their own trash hauler.
One of our local vendors, Trash Away, owned by David and Jeff Pero, celebrated their first year in business over the weekend with a picnic for their customers.
It's been nearly two years since multiple law enforcement agencies raided The 420 Emporium, the erstwhile head shop once located at 400 Ellicott St., Batavia, but today authorities announced federal indictments against two alleged owners of the business.
Charles Darwin Fitzgerald, 39, and Amber Lynn Snover, 23, both of Rochester, have been charged with conspiracy to distribute, and distribution of, Schedule I controlled-substance analogues and maintaining drug-related premises.
They face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a possible $1 million fine.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western New York, the defendants are accused of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute alpha-PVP, pentedrone and AM2201, which are all Schedule I controlled-substance analogues. The indictment also charges the defendants with maintaining four drug-related premises in New York for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing and using alpha-PVP, pentedrone and AM2201:
Federal authorities are also seeking forfeiture of more than $770,000 in cash seized July 25 from the Fiztgerald-Snover residence in Greece as well as the property.
The 420 Emporium in Batavia was an infamous business for the 10 or so months it was open. The operators were suspected of selling various kinds of synthetic drugs, known generically as bath salts, and synthetic marijuana.
Usage of the drugs was suspected in several bizarre and odd incidents locally.
Previously:
The sudden prevalence of bath salts in the community led to citizen protests.
After the 420 shut down, bath salt-related incidents became much less common (though did not completely go away) in Genesee County.
At the time the 420 was open, its ownership seemed murky.
Fitzgerald is listed in Monroe County documents as the owner of 420 Emporium, Inc. Snover once claimed on Facebook to own the 420 Emporium locations in Brockport, Fulton, Henrietta and Syracuse, but not Batavia. When contacted in 2012 by The Batavian, she denied ownership and then filed a harassment complaint with Greece PD against the reporter working on the story. State and local records showed Joshua Denise owned the 420 Store, LLC, at 400 Ellicott St., Batavia.
The 39-year-old Denise was arrested, along with Michelle Condidorio, during the July 25, 2012, raid. Both entered guilty pleas to possession of a controlled-substance analogue. Denise will be sentenced Aug. 21 and Condidorio on Sept. 18.
The 420 Emporium also operated a store in Fulton. That store is not listed in the indictment, but it is outside the jurisdiction of the WNY U.S. Attorney's Office. We don't know at this time if there is a separate indictment in the Central New York jurisdiction.
The July 2012 raid in Batavia was part of a one-day, nationwide effort to crack down on alleged bath salt distributors.
See also: From China White to bath salts, designer drugs ongoing public safety challenge
All photos are file photos from previous coverage.
Oftentimes, young boys can be seen playing with Matchbox cars or Tonka trucks, building roads and ramps in playground or backyard sandboxes during the summer. As they get older, remote-control cars and trucks get tested on homemade ramps, curbs or other obstacles boys deem interesting. On rare occasions, one may find a young boy who races stock cars. Now we’re not talking modified stock cars to fit a growing boy’s frame, these cars are full-size NASCAR-style vehicles, equipped with all safety modifications required of NASCAR.
Meet 12-year-old Dante Mancuso, of Batavia. The seventh-grader is currently ranked number one in the Bandit Class division at Raceway 5 at the Genesee County Fairgrounds. The 12- to 18-year-olds, race on an oval dirt track and can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
“There’s no chance of me going anywhere because I’m so locked in there,” Mancuso said. “I can only move to shift and steer.”
Backtracking just a bit, just how did this young lad become interested in racing?
“On my first birthday my dad got me one of those little four-wheelers,” Mancuso said. “I have loved driving ever since.”
Racing does seem to run in the family. Mancuso’s grandfather, Steven Popovich, was a stock car driver in the '50s, driving on both dirt and asphalt tracks. He raced at Lancaster National Speedway when it was still a dirt track under the nickname “The Royal Rebel,” driving car number 30. Additionally, family friends, Larry Richmond and Larry Corp, would also take Dante to the races.
Yet the real beginning was when Mancuso started racing RC (radio-controlled) cars competitively at the age of 9 at the KRZ Raceway and Hobby, Batavia.
“The more I competed, the more I wanted to try and race with something I can sit in and drive,” Mancuso said.
The 1988 Ford Mustang LXT Mancuso drives is a standard six-speed, sporting a number one on the door and “Elvis” where the license plate is normally found.
“The safety precautions,” David Mancuso, Dante’s father, said, “they’ve taken the NASCAR safety features and applied them to the cars these boys drive.”
“I hit the wall in a recent race,” Dante said, “and it felt more like a tap because I’m so strapped in.”
“When he hit the wall, he hit the tires first and bounced back a bit before actually hitting the concrete wall and that slowed the impact,” the older Mancuso said. “Even with all the safety features my wife still can’t watch. She puts her head in my lap during the race.”
The aforementioned tires are ones that line the concrete barricade for just such incidents. It’s a safety feature built into the track.
Although the young Mancuso participates in what most would consider an adult sport, he is still a kid and school takes precedence over racing.
“After school I’d do my homework and if I can, I work on my car,” said the Batavia native. “But Saturdays are the best day because I get to do my favorite thing -- other than spending time with my family -- and that’s working on my car.”
The deal with his parents is this: “If I fail a class, I don’t get to race."
“I’m really excited about summer,” Dante said, “because I also play football.”
Last year, Mancuso played for the Batavia Bulldogs, the Batavia town league. This first stringer played many different positions on the defensive line.
“I like to say he’s got the ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ ” the elder Mancuso said. “He likes to win.”
“When you lose, you learn something. When you lose, you lose with pride,” Dante said. “I learn something when I lose. As the racing saying goes ‘Don’t let your head get too big.' In other words, don’t get overconfident in yourself. Learn something from every race.”
While the middle-schooler prepares himself to go further in racing -- having his eye on the Winston Cup or the Daytona 500 -- right now he says he wants to be the best he can be “in life, in racing, in general. Just to be the best I can be.
“Racing is a team sport. It’s no use getting angry at losing, just learn something for the next race, because you never know, you could take first in your heat and then win.”
Mancuso races against six to 10 other drivers. There are two races on race night: the heat, then the feature.
“To qualify in a heat, you need to finish the heat,” Dante said. “Depending on where you finish, that places you for the feature.”
Racing is a point system from both the heat and the feature races. Each placement -- first, second and so on -- garners points and position. With races held every weekend, weather permitting, he never really knows what’s in store for him.
“Before I even get out on the track I take 10 seconds to just breathe and clear my mind,” the boy said. “When I get on the track I focus on the track and nothing else. I’m focused on winning.
“Most important of all, other than my mom and dad’s support, if I didn’t have (the support of) fellow racer Jason Babbitt (Babbitt Racing) and Larry Corp (chief mechanic at Mancuso Limo),” Mancuso continued. “I wouldn’t be able to race.”
More often than not, Mancuso works alongside his crew to learn not only the basics of car mechanics but the more intricate details of owning a car.
“They teach me the mechanics as I go along,” Dante said. “I’ve learned how to change racks and transmissions and things like that.”
Mancuso’s sponsors include his dad, David Mancuso of Mancuso Limo and Buses of WNY, Batavia; Nate Mancuso of Caesar Auto and Truck, Bergen; and James Gayton of The Detail Shop, Batavia.
When asked why he is involved in a potentially dangerous sport: “It’s my passion. I love to do it.”
Ted and Patty Hawley have been working for three years to open a malting house in Batavia. The process is almost done, and Tuesday, the Hawleys provided a tour of their new facility on their farm on Bank Street Road to members of the Batavia Rotary Club.
Ted Hawley spoke for about 20 minutes about the history of malting and beer brewing in New York, why he decided to get into malting and how the process works.
Rotary members were able to sample the taste of about a half dozen different barley grains.
At one time, New York was number one in barley and hops, but the emergence of better growing areas and prohibition killed the industries in the state.
In Batavia, decades ago, there was a malt house off Elm Street owned by Charles Fisher, and Genesee Brewery made malt in a facility on Lyons Street.
Even though there are no commercial breweries in Genesee County now, microbreweries are popping up all over the state, even in WNY. The growing demand for malt is what got the Hawleys interested in starting their own operation.
Once the new malt house is fully up and running, Hawley said there's already enough demand from microbreweries in WNY that he doubts any of his malt will be sold to downstate markets.
Before a resurgence in microbreweries in New York (there are now 128), it had been generations since malting barley was grown locally.
It's a challenge to grow in New York because of moist air. Fungus can wipe out whole crops and at harvest time, there's a short window of opportunity to combine the stocks before the grain starts to germinate.
Last year, the Hawley's lost 40 acres of grain because of a day or two of rain right when the barley should have been harvested.
Hawley said the grain looked good in the field. It looked good after the straw was cut and the grain was brought to the malt house, but when he did a pre-germination test, he found that at a microscopic level, it had already germinated, killing all of the enzymes.
Some of that barley went to area distilleries, which can still use barley at that stage, but most of it became livestock feed.
In order to grow enough barley for his three-tons-a-day malting operation, Hawley needs to partner with local farms to grow his barley (and Hawley is still running experiments with Cornell Cooperative Extension to find the right variety of barley to grow locally -- a four to five year process).
It can be daunting to introduce the idea to a farmer who has no experience with malt varieties of barely (which are higher in enzymes and lower in protein than feed barely).
"It's a real challenge to grow it," Hawley said. "When I talk with a farmer about growing it for me, it's hard not to deter them."
To grow it, a farmer must use about half as much nitrate fertilizer as he would for feed or wheat. There's a limited five-day window to spray for fungus, which if missed means the crop is lost. And at harvest, the combine must be run at about half speed so the grain heads aren't scabbed.
For all that, Hawley said, it's still a worthwhile crop for the right farmers.
"It's a very good gamble," Hawley said. "I'll pay them twice what it's worth as feed. It could be very lucrative to somebody who takes good care of the crop."
Previously:
Press release:
A water service replacement is scheduled for Thursday June 19 on Summit Street. This work will require Summit to be closed to traffic from Ellsworth Avenue to North Street until the repair is completed. The road will be closed at approximately 8:30 a.m. This work should not impact water service to customers.
A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported at Bank and Ross streets, Batavia.
Head and face injuries are reported.
City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.
Law enforcement on location.
The Ghost Riders and The Ghost Riders Drum and Bugle Corps team up again for another free concert in Downtown Batavia at 7 p.m., Friday.
The venue this time is Larry's Steakhouse -- well, the concert is outside on the sidewalk and Ghost Rider Bill McDonald encourages music fans to bring their lawn chairs.
Larry's will be serving drink and food specials for the event.
(File Photos)
The way 29-year-old Curtis Gallagher sees it, he's finally found a niche in business that isn't already occupied by a hundred other guys doing the same thing.
He's tried blacktop sealing and for two years he ran his own detailing and tinting shop. Now he's selling everything you need to start and maintain your own hydroponic garden.
A week ago he opened Nature's Best Hydro-Garden Center on Cedar Street, Batavia.
Hydroponics is an increasingly popular way for people to grow fruits, vegetables and even flowers without soil. The main medium is water, supplemented with nutrients.
"It's really pretty simple," Gallagher said. "A lot of people are intimidated. They think there's a lot to it, but it's very simple, and the growth rate for the plants and vegetables is twice as fast with hydroponics than in soil."
Gallagher sells everything a hydroponic gardner needs -- the trays and bins, grow tents, grow lights, nutrients and other items gardeners might use.
He settled on hydroponics for his new business because he found that he had a hard time getting what he needed locally to support his own hobby.
So far, he's drawing customers from throughout the GLOW region.
"There's a lot of people who have to travel out of town, so instead of spending their money in the community, they're spending it in Rochester or Buffalo," Gallagher said. "I'm trying to keep it in the community."
His parents loaned him the money to get started, though they were skeptical at first.
"My parents asked me, are you sure, and I'm like, 'the only way to find out is to try it,' " Gallagher said.
He got out of the detailing business when his lease expired on his building and the landlord wouldn't renew it. He decided it wasn't worth it to try and open a new location.
When he started thinking of a new career, he realized he already had one growing.
"I'm really the only person around here doing this kind of work, and I think around this area, Genesee County, you have to be more creative," Gallagher said. "You have to have something that's more unique to be able to succeed verus just opening up something that everybody else is doing already. Whoever has their foot in the door first is the one who stays with their foot in the door."
Now, Gallagher is looking forward to each new workday.
"It's almost like having a pet," Gallagher said. "Like my tomato plants over there, every day when I come in it's like another tomato and another tomato. It's growing so fast I can't believe it. It's fun. I'm into hunting and fishing. It's like another hobby. Now it's turned into a career, I guess."
With a bachelor's degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Brockport, Tori Ganino understands the benefits of positive reinforcement in the development of children.
Conversely, this understanding has traversed into her developing business, Calling All Dogs.
She, along with husband Rich Ganino, opened the training and obedience "school" in February, this year. Both hold the belief that positive reinforcement is essential when training dogs with fear and aggression issues.
“Positive training teaches a dog that something is a good thing,” the Elba resident said. “Punishment techniques only reaffirms fearful behavior.”
Using techniques referred to as "luring," "shaping" and "capturing," Ganino is able to assist dog owners with reshaping their animal’s negative behavior. These training methods use dog treats as a reward system for positive behavior. For example in luring, the owner holds a treat in front of the dog’s nose, brings it back over the top of the dog’s head, the animal then follows the treat and has no alternative but to “fall” into a sitting position; that is when the dog gets the reward. Shaping, though similar to luring, breaks down a command into small steps using treats for the “jackpot” reward.
“This method rewards the dog for trying, so the dog doesn’t think 'Why am I not winning? This isn’t fun.' It’s a way to make a dog think,” Ganino said.
Capturing on the other hand, rewards a dog when it’s “caught” in an acceptable behavior like lying down. The animal is rewarded with a dog treat or other positive motivation, like petting or playing catch with its favorite ball.
Tori developed an interest in positive dog training methods when she adopted a dog from a shelter who had a negative experience with a person. Furthermore, she had a negative experience when she took her dog to a basic training course, then a second negative experience with a different trainer.
“I knew that my dog had outward aggression and the techniques used by the other trainers were not helping me or my dog,” she said. “I needed to be an advocate for my dog and find training strategies that use positive reinforcement as a method for obedience.”
To develop her ensuing passion as an advocate for dogs with fear or aggression issues, Tori went to Animal Behavior College via an online course. In addition to classwork and tests, she had to also volunteer at a local shelter or training facility as well as intern with a certified trainer for seven sessions.
“The course taught me the basics, but I wanted to learn more,” the certified trainer said. “It was a great start though.”
Tori interned with a trainer near Irondequoit for one-and-a-half years. During that time, she continued reading, watching videos and asking “lots of questions,” but she credits the hands-on experience for her enthusiasm to help other dogs and their owners.
“I am constantly learning and updating my knowledge with books, seminars and other trainers,” Tori said.
Calling All Dogs can also prepare a dog to earn the Canine Good Citizen Certificate. Upon completion of this “rigorous” training, owners can have their dogs test through AKC.org to receive a certificate assuring that the dog is a “really good dog."
“However, emergencies happen and I am here to help,” Tori said. “One client adopted a dog from a shelter, brought the dog home and the dog bit her husband. This happened later at night, I was there the next day to work with the dog.”
Behavior adjustment helps a dog change its thought process, kind of like Pavlov’s Law. Another method is called "Clicker Training" -- work first, then rewarded for work.
“With fear, anxiety and aggression, we take the behavior out of the dog and make it excited that that person or object is really okay,” she said. “It also works with anxiety or fear of sounds such as thunder.”
Ganino also volunteers at the Genesee County Animal Shelter with Volunteers 4 Animals. There she teaches group classes with the volunteers to work with dogs to help them become more adoptable.
“We recently worked with one dog with barrier problems,” Ganino said. “He had a fear with people coming near his crate. We helped make him excited for people to be there.”
Currently, Calling All Dogs holds private lessons in both Genesee and Monroe counties. However, group classes will be starting in the near future at the Tractor Supply on East Main Street, Batavia. While their “ultimate goal” is to open their own building to foster, train and socialize dogs, the business does host Moderate Day Care sessions.
“It’s like taking your dog on a play date with 10 to 15 other dogs,” Ganino said. “They need to socialize. It’s good for them mentally as well as physically.
“We encourage our clients to do the research,” Ganino said. “Communication is the key between me and our clients; call, text, e-mail; anything to keep the lines of communication open.”
Ganino stresses that her training techniques are based on positive methods, using tools that physically and mentally exercise the animal. She also emphasized that dogs want to learn and owners need to make it fun and get dogs excited about training. According to the dog trainer, oftentimes owners become impressed with what their dogs can do.
“Our business motto is ’Training for all breeds!’ There are always breeds being discriminated against for aggressive personalities,” Ganino said. “For this reason some major training chains do not allow them in their play group or training classes.
”Right now the breed being targeted the most is the pit bull,” Ganino continued. ”We accept all breeds. Every dog can learn and deserves the chance to.”
For more information visit CallingAllDogsNY.com or to volunteer at the Genesee County Animal Shelter visit www.vol4animals.org.
George and Wilma Garrison Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on July 26th at Batavia Country Club with a 2pm shotgun start. For more information, call Mark at 716-474-7960 or Penny at 716-474-6581.
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