Bergen

Press Release:

On June 26, the Bergen Business and Civic Association handed a check for $2,000 to some of the Hickory Park Project committee members. These funds will go towards the purchase of trees for a tree-lined track that will grace the park this fall. The funds were donated thanks to money raised at the Bergen Park Festival that took place on June 10. The Hickory Park committee is thankful to have this beautiful gem in Bergen, and is thrilled to see it receive the upgrades it deserves!

Press Release:

On Friday, June 23, the Byron-Bergen Class of 2023 crossed the stage at Roberts Wesleyan’s Hale Auditorium and into the next chapter of their lives. Amidst the cheers of their friends and families, the graduates were recognized for their years of hard work and welcomed to the ranks of proud Byron-Bergen alumni. Although the graduates were not promised an easy ride, the mantra that echoed through the auditorium was “perseverance”.

A traditional rendition of “Pomp and Circumstance” by Edward Elgar, performed by the Byron-Bergen High School Concert Band under the direction of High School Music Teacher Kevin Bleiler, provided the ambiance for the practical but optimistic ceremony. Jr./Sr. High School Principal Ashley John Grillo welcomed family, friends, and faculty present at the ceremony.

“You are a big part of the success we celebrate today,” said Grillo. Grillo enumerated some of the many accomplishments to which the seniors contributed including varsity athletic championships, the show-stopping spring musical “Hairspray”, and notable achievements for academic teams and clubs. Grillo then encouraged the graduates to take risks and never stop striving for their goals. “Move on to what is next. Choose your adventure. Don't be afraid to fail.”

Byron-Bergen Superintendent Pat McGee took to the stage with a personal message for each student. “I have known you for four years as principal and two years as superintendent,” said McGee. “I will miss your honest feedback, side conversations, and informal hallway check-ins. You will be missed.”

He then recited a poem by American author Shel Silverstein:

Listen to the Mustn’ts, listen to Don’t.
Listen to the Shouldn'ts, the Impossibles, the Won'ts.
Listen to the Never Haves, then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child,
Anything can be.

This sentiment was reinforced by Salutatorian Zoey Shepard. “I didn’t want to talk about COVID today,” said Shepard. “We are collectively a pretty challenging class, but the pandemic made us stronger.” She went on to tell her classmates to make sure they are happy and to work hard, have fun, and always stand tall. 

The graduating members of the Singing Silhouettes, under the direction of High School Music Teacher Joseph Paris, performed “Vienna” by Billy Joel. The arrangement featured a series of short duets allowing each member to shine. “But you know that when the truth is told, that you can get what you want or you can just get old,” sang the young musicians, with the dedication of those ready to work for their goals. 

Then, invoking the iconic lyrics of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, Valedictorian Kendall Phillips said, “Everyone is unique. Everyone has their quirks. ‘Haters gonna hate’ but we have a wonderful support system back home.” 

“Being kind is so important,” said Phillips. “It’s such a simple thing, but a powerful thing. It can change the course of someone's day or even life.”

The diplomas were conferred by Board of Education President Debra List and the Class of 2023 tossed their mortarboards into the air. The collective congregation rallied around the graduates and, for that moment, blocked out the Mustn’t and the Don’t, the Impossibles and Won’ts. 

The graduates move on from high school knowing that they have weathered personal and global challenges and they are ready for what comes next. Haters gonna hate, but anything can happen. Anything can be.

Photos submitted by Gretchen Spittler

A four-wheeler accident is reported in the area of 6683 West Sweden Road, Bergen.

The accident is in the woods.

Unknown injuries.

Bergen Fire and Ambulance, along with Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:04 p.m.: Bergen command on scene. Patient complaining of a broken hip.

A car has reportedly struck a tree in the area of 100 Hidden Meadow Drive, Bergen.

There was reportedly airbag deployment, and the elderly driver is not alert.

Bergen Fire and ambulance dispatched.

Press Release:

Oxbo is expanding its presence and product portfolio in the hay and forage industry, through acquiring H&S Manufacturing in Marshfield and Clintonville, Wisconsin. The acquisition is designed to foster high-quality, customer-focused product innovation, to ensure customer service, and to strengthen the Oxbo and H&S position in the global hay and forage market.

“H&S products complement Oxbo’s industry-leading hay and forage merger product line; adding H&S to Oxbo’s hay and forage business allows us to better serve our mutual customers now, and in the future,” commented Joe Perzia, COO of Oxbo.

“The H&S high quality products, dealer network, manufacturing facilities, and dedicated management and employees supplement our existing hay and forage business and will help us grow in this critical market
segment,” stated Roel Zeevat, Oxbo’s CEO.

“We knew an acquisition by Oxbo would deliver enhanced value for our customers. Oxbo’s commitment to reliability, innovation, and customer service are a perfect fit for H&S products and customers,” commented Chris Heikenen, former owner of H&S Manufacturing.

Over the last 30 years, Oxbo has continued to grow through acquiring manufacturers in specialty agricultural markets. With each acquisition comes Oxbo’s commitment to drive customer value through innovative products and industry-leading customer service. 

“The acquisition by Oxbo is an exciting next step for the H&S brand; I’m confident Oxbo’s customer-focused mindset will benefit our customers as we grow the business together,” said Craig Harthoorn, president of
H&S, who will remain onboard and manage the newly expanded hay and forage business unit for Oxbo.

With the addition of H&S, Oxbo continues to Optimize farming together and aims to be the clear customer choice in the hay and forage market.

H&S will continue operating at its existing facilities. Customers will continue to purchase products and parts from their existing H&S or Oxbo dealer.

Going forward, and in partnership with its dealer network, Oxbo will further optimize the offering for its customers in all regions served. “We are committed to serving our valued customers,” said Zeevat.

Oxbo operates seven additional manufacturing facilities around the globe including its global headquarters in Roosendaal, the Netherlands, and operates 13 sales and service locations.

Press Release:

On June 27 there will be a Republican Primary election ONLY in the Towns of Bergen and Byron. Only registered Republicans from Bergen and Byron are eligible to vote. There will be early voting for the Bergen and Byron Primary. 

There will be 9 days of early voting beginning June 17 – June 25 at the ARC Community Center, 38 Woodrow Rd., Batavia. Schedule as follows:

• Saturday, June 17, 9 a.m - 5 p.m.
• Sunday, June 18, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Monday, June 19, 9 a.m. 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 20, 12 p.m. - 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 21, 12 p.m. - 8 p.m.
• Thursday, June 22, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Friday, June 23, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Saturday, June 24, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Sunday, June 25, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Polling sites in Bergen and Byron will be open on June 27 from 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. Check your poll-site at https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/ or call Genesee County Board of Elections at (585) 815-7804. All poll sites are accessible.

Absentee Ballot Information for Bergen and Byron Primaries Call the Board of Elections to request an absentee ballot or use the NY State Portal; https://absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov/ The last day for the Board of Elections to receive an absentee ballot application is June 12.

Last day to apply in person is June 26 and ballot must be received at the poll site or Board of Elections no later than 9 p.m. on June 27. Last day to postmark ballot is June 27 and must be received by Board of Election no later than July 3. 

Registration Deadlines June 17 is the last day Application must be received by Board of Elections to be eligible to vote in the June 27 Primary. Registration forms can be found here; https://www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/elections/index.php

Any questions, requests for registration forms, absentee applications, please call Genesee County Board of Elections at 585-815-7804 or visit our website https://www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/elections/index.php

More than a year ago, Gina Schelemanow went through a bit of a rough patch and decide to take a more positive turn with life.

 Schelemanow started creating art with linoleum cut prints.

"t was just kind of nice, like a nice release for me," the budding artist said. "A lot of them are like animals or books or just things that I enjoy in life that make me happy."

This month, Schelemanow's show at the West Main location of Independent Living of the Genesee Region put Schelemanow's work on display, and the show had its official opening on Thursday.

The Bergen resident was a housing coordinator for ILGR and is now doing a similar job for Project Blue in Buffalo.

At Byron-Bergen High School, Schelemanow wasn't particularly into art.

"I did like art classes in school for school, but nothing like extra," Schelemanow said. "I wasn't in any of the fancy art classes or anything."

There's nothing dark in Schelemanow's work, and the artist said that's by design.

"It's just as kind of like a creative outlet," Schelemanow said. "I never thought that you have to be good at doing art to do it. It was never something that I thought I was good at or thought I was creative. And when I started doing it, I really was able to come up with a lot of different things. So it was nice to go through the process of it."

The show runs through August.

Photos by Howard Owens.

It's been a day-long party in Bergen on Saturday for the 33rd Annual Bergen Park Festival, which included a parade through the village followed by a picnic and events at Hickory Park.

The festival is sponsored by the Bergen Business and Civic Association.

It also included a basketball tournament, a car show, along with 60 vendors, five food vendors, two bounces houses, a dunk tank, a petting zoo, pony rides, book sale, and live music.

At 10 p.m., there is a fireworks show scheduled.

Photos by Nick Serrata.

The Matsiko Orphan Choir performed a series of shows Wednesday for employees throughout the plant of Liberty Pumps in Bergen.

The choir is a group of children from Africa who tour the nation to encourage people to become sponsors of the program, which provides educational opportunities for the children.

"The main goal of us performing at so many places around the United States is trying to find sponsorship for these kids and kids just like them back home," said Sam Windham, one of the group's directors. "What the sponsorship is, is people who step into their lives, they give $40 a month, and that $40 takes these kids all the way through university, takes them through elementary school, high school university, so when they graduate, they'll be able to accomplish any of their dreams. They have grown up to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, and anything they've ever dreamed of. And hopefully, when they graduate, they'll be able to change their country from the inside and stop the cycle of poverty that's been going on from generation to generation and the next generation of kids."

To learn more about becoming a sponsor, click here.

Residents and veterans of Bergen held a parade and ceremony today honoring local fallen heroes.

Photos by Nicholas Serrata.

Three car accident with injuries is reported in the area of 61 South Lake Avenue, Bergen.

Bergen Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Press Release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) board of directors will consider an initial resolution for LNK Holdings Inc.’s acquisition and expansion of an agribusiness manufacturing facility in Bergen at its board meeting on Thursday.

The proposed $1.645 million project enables Craft Cannery to expand operations at Apple Tree Acres by adding 4,000 sq. ft. to its existing 5,000 sq. ft. facility. The USDA-certified contract manufacturer provides dozens of customers with the capacity to ramp production of sauces, dressings, marinades and other foods, produce small-batch foods, and pilot unique recipes for commercialization.

LNK Holdings Inc. plans to create four additional full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs and retain six FTE as part of the expansion. The project follows Craft Cannery’s victory in the 2022 Grow-NY Global Food and Agribusiness Competition, which awarded the company’s planned expansion a $500,000 prize.

The company has requested the GCEDC transfer the existing facility’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement, and PILOT, sales, and mortgage tax exemptions valued at $70,413 to support the acquisition and expansion. The proposed incentives for the additional 4,000 sq. ft. are estimated to return $3.06 million in projected wages and municipal revenues for a $64.1 economic impact for every $1 of requested incentives.

An open house and special celebration at Liberty Pumps Thursday meant as much to employee Dylan Mackey as it did for any of the top brass speaking on stage in the newly debuted Link Building.

Mackey, 27, has been with the company since 2013, going from part-time in fabrication, earning his degree at Genesee Community College and eventually moving into a full-time information technology position as supervisor.

The announcement of another expansion — an 80,000-square-foot warehouse and 30,000-square-foot Link Building — was good news for everyone, Mackey said.

“Working at Liberty Pumps is wonderful. Everybody is very kind. There's no arguments in the workplace. Everybody knows we're all on the same team. We're all doing the same thing,” he said. “Tonight … it’s definitely a celebration for sure.”

Employees watched a video about the company’s growth along with an audience of several hundred visitors and local officials. Mackey said that not everything goes smoothly with each attempt, but seeing this expansion “and seeing the changes made to it and seeing the new parts of the company added into that, it’s a sense of pride, right?”

“It's a hey, I'm part of that, there's a ton of us that are a part of that,” he said. “That's really what it is.”

This is the third expansion for Liberty, located at 7000 Apple Tree Ave., Bergen. The last one was in 2016, when it “literally felt like we had a sea of space that was going to meet our needs for a very long time,” President and CEO Robyn Brookhart said.

“But as we introduced new products and expanded existing lines, and have been ultra fortunate to experience steady and solid growth, our building was busting at the seams,” she said. “So the building expansion team was assembled, and the planning began. And here we are 18 months later in this beautiful and seemingly enormous new space.”

The cavernous Link Building temporarily featured tables and chairs for guests, a photo booth, serving stations for beverages and hors d’oeuvres and a stage for the speakers and musical entertainment. Other open house activities included a self-guided tour with a map and QR codes to learn more about several areas, such as accounting, the cafeteria, customer support, product engineering, a fitness center, machine shop, purchasing, sales and marketing, shipping and technical customer support.

A few guests were late to the special presentation, and staff member Jenna graciously seated them in a golf cart to zip them through the spacious plant, zig-zagging left and right down lanes, to party central — the Link Building.

Genesee County Economic Development Center was given a nod for having been involved in the early inception days of Liberty Pumps, and CEO Steve Hyde asked, “where would you rather be but right here right now, celebrating your guys' collective success?”

“This has just been a great story. I’ve been working with (Board Chairman Charlie Cook) now, and our paths have connected in so many ways. He was the chairman of the GCEDC board for a few years and did a great job. I worked with him on the Regional Economic Development Councils, and we’re nothing but thrilled to be a small part of participating in their ongoing growth,” Hyde said. “And you see a company like Liberty Pumps just growing like they have. I’ve been in this position 20 years now, and I’ve been here for three of those major expansions. When I got the role Charlie, you just finished your first 60,000 square feet. And now look at it today. You’re five times bigger … six times larger employment than back in 2003.”

When the company broke ground for the project, the employee total was at 300, with an expected 30 more to be added. At that time, Cook said it will “relieve congestion in our current structure and free up much-needed manufacturing space for large pump systems. That’s become a significant part of our business, and we’re pleased to better support our customers with this addition.”

Since opening in 1965, Liberty Pumps has become a leading manufacturer of sump, effluent, and sewage pumps and systems for residential, commercial, municipal, and industrial applications.

The 185-acre business park developed by the GCEDC has approximately 350,000 square feet of facilities at Apple Tree Acres.

“Your success is going to continue to roll, and we look forward to being there for you the next time you're ready to expand,” Hyde said. “Thank you, Robyn. Thank you, Charlie. Thank you, team. We're thrilled to be here tonight.”

Genesee County Legislators Christian Yunker, Shelley Stein and Gregg Torrey attended the event. Torrey took a tour of the massive facility and saw nothing but positives everywhere.

“It just means a tremendous amount for just the jobs it creates. It’s a homegrown company that’s created 350, 330 jobs. It's amazing. And I see all these employees here at this event, and it’s like 600 people here for this cutting edge facility, and they’re on a continual path to increase the square foot and growing the company, it’s just a great local story for Genesee County,” he said. “It’s really impressive. Everything is state of the art. It’s probably the cleanest manufacturing facility I’ve ever seen, it’s just beautiful.”

Top Photo: President and CEO Robyn Brookhart welcomes guests and announces the expansion project during an open house at Liberty PumpsThursday evening; guests tour the facility in Bergen, watch demonstrations, and enjoy refreshments, and live musical entertainment. Photos by Howard Owens.

It's been less than four weeks since a fire in the firing range at The Firing Pin on Buffalo Road in Bergen nearly shut the business down.

But it isn't shut down.

A sign of that was owner Brandon Lewis and his staff hosting an After Hours event for the Chamber of Commerce -- an event that had been scheduled before the fire.

Lewis saw no reason to cancel it.

His 7,500 square-foot retail space and indoor firing range are gutted, but he rented a mobile firing range and converted a 500 square-foot storage area and studio into a new retail space, so the Firing Pin Remains open to take care of its customers, conduct classes, and keep everything going while he works out recovery details with his insurance carrier.

"It's been an adjustment, but we're making the most of it," Lewis said. "Obviously, if it were up to me, we'd already be half rebuilt already. But, you know, we're working within the limitations that we've got. I couldn't be more thankful for my team. You know, I couldn't imagine where we'd be without their efforts."

Previously: Three days after devastating fire, owner of The Firing Pin looking ahead

Photos by Howard Owens: Top photo, Brandon Lewis and his daughter Emmie.

Kelly Bermingham, membership director for the Chamber, with a cookie made for the chamber event featuring The Firing Pin logo.

John Huther, director for training at The Firing Pin, inside the mobile firing range.

There are two things that Gino DeMino knows about tomato sauce: taste and price.

When locally produced Guglielmo’s sauce came onto Batavia Tops shelves, DeMino, the store manager, knew another good one had arrived.

“I’ve had it, it’s fantastic. It has great flavor, and it’s not watered down. It has a more homemade taste,” DeMino said. “His sauce is a premium. They’re starting to do better with inflation.”

Premium equals higher quality and also means a higher price. Since inflation has been driving up prices of most everything, that has helped sales of those more expensive items, he said.

DeMino has the qualifications to know products, he said: he’s been in the business for more than 20 years and “I’m Italian.”

“I tend to eat more pasta than most people,” he said.

Guglielmo’s, a generational sauce made at Craft Cannery in Bergen, is sold at a long list of stores in neighboring counties, including Tops Friendly Markets. The sauce arrived at Batavia Tops about six months ago, but DeMinio had discovered it before then, at a Rochester store.

Several small businesses bring their recipes to Craft, which manufactures their products as a safe, reliable end result. Red Osier of Stafford is another local client that has marinades and sauces in Tops and Wegmans, and more distant places, such as Hotdog Charlie’s from the Albany area, is a hot seller, Tom Riggio said.

The ever-expanding vendor list is just one sign of Craft Cannery’s robust health, said Riggio, Guglielmo’s business partner. They have more than 75 clients.

“We’re growing,” Riggio said. “As far as the size of the expansion, we’re not exactly sure of the exact size at this point in time, but anywhere between 3 and 5,000 square feet. It’ll allow us to build a separate warehouse behind our building for storage purposes and allow us to put in a second kitchen, essentially a second bottling line facility.

“Our sweet spot is the local restauranteur that says they think they've got the best pasta sauce. And it was actually very, very helpful during COVID when these restaurants weren't open,” he said. “They would come to us with their pasta sauce recipe, we would make it food safe and bottle it for them. And then they get it on shelves.”

Craft Cannery is one of six USDA-certified manufacturing canneries in New York State that allows the company to produce meat-based products. It’s a good opportunity to continue to grow the business, he said. Based at 7100 Appletree Ave. in Bergen, the site on the east end of Genesee County continues to update its products and hire new personnel, especially after the expansion is completed by the first half of 2024.

One of its more recent products has been the EZ cap using new technology “which allows people that struggle to open jars to essentially push a button and be able to open a jar with a lot less force,” he said.

“Our business continues to grow, we’re experiencing growth,” Riggio said. “We’re looking to add more people. We’re up to eight, we’re adding one new this Monday. Two more next week. And seven to eight to run the second line.”

With all of the good, there have been a few bumps along the way since purchasing the company in May 2020. Craft lost a client they had been producing six varieties of sauces for, which meant taking a financial hit. They had purchased raw materials, made product and shipped it out before learning that Real Eats out of Geneva had gone out of business. It was a loss of “tens of thousands of dollars,” Riggio said.

“It stings. It’s the cost of doing business for us. Thankfully, you know, we plan for these situations,” he said. “Our business will be fine; it hasn’t impacted our business. Our employees will be able to use some of the raw materials.”

Contrary to how some news articles made it seem, Craft Cannery is alive and well, he said. If anything, he will take a page from that other company’s last chapter and learn to move carefully with Craft Cannery. The site is big enough for options.

“We’ve got land that we could expand even further. But what we don’t want to do is, we don’t want to over-expand. We’re going to take the steps that we need to do to keep up and grow the business,” he said. “I don’t want to overstep it and put the business at risk, which is exactly what happened with Real Eats. I’ve got a background in building businesses and brands. And obviously, Paul is the face of the company. So the two of us make a good one-two punch.”

Top Photo: Paul Guglielmo shows some of his sauce that's locally made at Craft Cannery in Bergen and now available at Batavia Tops on Lewiston Road. Photos by Howard Owens.

Some business owners would look at the destruction of a fire ripping through their store and be ready to throw in the towel, but not Brandon Lewis.

Three days after flames erupted in his building, the owner of The Firing Pin on Buffalo Road in Bergen is already looking forward.  He's going to rebuild.

When a reporter quipped, "you can build back better," Brandon said, "absolutely."

He was pretty young when he opened The Firing Pin in 2013, and though he had worked in the industry, this was the first firing range and gun shop he owned.  Now he's got some experience as he contemplates a fresh start.

"Not that I have all the answers, but I've got at least 10 years' worth of more answers," Lewis said.

The fire was spotted just before 5 p.m. on Friday. A customer noticed some smoke coming from a backstop in the firing range and alerted an employee.  Some employees tried attacking the hot spot with fire extinguishers but quickly realized the effort was futile, so they dialed 9-1-1 and evacuated the building.

Everybody got out of the firing range and retail shop safely.

Once the rubber in the range got going, Lewis said, it was an extremely difficult fire to put out.  Firefighters battled until about 9 p.m.

"I can't thank the Bergen volunteers enough," Lewis said. "I mean, they're incredible. They came, and that's the only reason there's anything here to look at now."

The walls are still standing, but Lewis said professionals will need to evaluate how much of the building, which contains a lot of wood construction, can be saved.

"The important thing is the concrete looks salvageable," Lewis said. "The electrical infrastructure, the plumbing, the septic system, all that is some of the most expensive parts of the building, and that all looks saveable."

The fire got into the rafters and spread across the building, so the store sustained a good deal of smoke and water damage.

All of the firearms in the store were safely retrieved.

"They're at a secure off-site storage location right now under armed guard," Lewis said. "A lot of the ammunition was saved. Luckily, the fire didn't get anywhere close to where the ammunition was stored."

The business is open on a limited basis, Lewis said, particularly for customers who purchased firearms and were waiting on registration with the Clerk's Office before picking them up.

Lewis already has a tentative meeting set up with the town's planning board.  He's also working on trucking a portable firing range up from North Carolina so he can provide range service for his customers during the rebuild.  He had been planning an expansion anyway, acquiring a couple of neighboring acres and including a possible indoor/outdoor firing range.  He said he will talk about sound and safety issues with the town with a possible outdoor firing range in place during the rebuild.

There's also the annual freedom festival in June. That, he said, will go on as planned even if it means setting up 20 tents.

The planned After Hours event with the Chamber of Commerce, scheduled for April, may need to be rescheduled, he said.

While Lewis expects insurance to cover all of the property losses, that doesn't replace any lost business in the coming months.  He said he isn't worried about it.

"We're gonna be okay," Lewis said. "I just have so much faith in this community and not just Genesee County, but like the gun community and not just the community in general, but all of Western New York. We've got an amazing customer base behind us. And I know they'll be there to support us."

He said members who stay current on their dues or sign up for new memberships will get their names memorialized in some way, such as a plaque, in the rebuilt business.

Information about membership can be found at nytfp.com.

The mother of one of his employees set up a GoFundMe page to help assist, and Lewis said he's grateful for the support.

"I'm too modest, I guess. I don't feel right setting that up myself, but someone else felt like it was necessary, and I'm forever grateful to them," Lewis said. "But I'm putting it out there now, so you know, for anybody who donates, we're gonna donate half of that money, whatever is raised, to the Bergen Fire Department because, like I said, we'd be looking at just a pile of rubble completely if it wasn't for them and all those volunteers. It was amazing. I always knew I had a lot of customers that were firemen, but I saw it on Friday. I saw how many of my customers showed up in turn-out gear to save this place. It was touching."

Photos by Howard Owens.

It's good news, Bergen Fire Chief Kevin Bruton said this evening after a structure fire at The Firing Pin, 8240 Buffalo Road, that the building was still in tact.

It's even better news that nobody was hurt.

It's not easy heading to a fire, listening to dispatchers report flames showing, for a popular business such as The Firing Pin, which stocks live ammunition.

"It's very difficult to listen to something like that," Bruton said. "People are the biggest priorities, but now they're surrounded by dangerous things that under heat and fire aren't really good to be around."

When Bruton arrived on scene, he learned all occupants exited the building safely.

He could see heavy smoke in the sky as he left the Village of Bergen and immediately requested a second alarm, he said.

The fire seems to have started near the back of the building, in the firing range, Bruton said. The cause is still under investigation.

There was heavy smoke damage throughout the building, including the front retail store.

"Luckily, the fire didn't get down to the walls and take up that whole building," Bruton said. "There is still a lot of smoke damage and I honestly don't know what the inside condition is of that building, so I can't really comment on that."

"Right now, we've got a good portion of it still standing so it's pretty awesome," Bruton said. "Right now everything's under investigation as to what happened, but everybody's safe, and, you know, it's gonna be a long night."

Among the responding departments were Stafford, Town of Batavia, Churchville, and Brockport.

Photos and interview by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

Jessica L. Holtz, 39, of Austin Street, Rochester, was arrested on two bench warrants out of City Court. The first bench warrant stems from a petit larceny charge at Kwik Fill, 99 Jackson St., on Nov. 18, 2021. She was issued an appearance ticket at the time of her arrest on Nov. 27, 2021. She was subsequently arrested for alleged failure to appear on Feb. 2, 2022. She was arraigned in City Court and released. She was subsequently arrested on May 1 for alleged failure to appear. She was arrested again on Jan. 29 for alleged failure to appear and arraigned in Centralized Arraignment Court, release status unknown.   The second warrant stems from a petit larceny from a church on South Swan Street on Nov. 27, 2021. She was arrested on a warrant on Feb. 2, 2022, arraigned in City Court and released. She was arrested on May 1 and on Jan. 29 for alleged failure to appear on that charge. She was again arrested on March 11 on both warrants. She was arraigned in Centralized Arraignment Court. Her release status is unknown.

Alexandro Rodriguez, 26,  of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 1st. Rodriguez allegedly violated an order of protection during a disturbance at a location on East Main Street on March 9 at an undisclosed time. He was arraigned in City Court on his own recognizance.

James N. Laurich, 37, of Buffalo Road, East Aurora, is charged with DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd, unlicensed driver, and open alcohol container in a motor vehicle. Laurich was arrested by Officer John Gombos on March 11 following an investigation into a disturbance at an undisclosed location and an undisclosed time. Laurich was stopped on Washington Avenue. He allegedly failed a field sobriety test. He was processed at Batavia PD and issued traffic tickets.

Carolyn L. Kurek, 80, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. Kurek is accused of shoving another person during a disturbance on State Street at an undisclosed time on March 10. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Shawn Lewis Anderson, 42, of Linwood Road, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, unregistered motor vehicle, unlicensed operation, uninspected motor vehicle, and moving from lane unsafely.  Anderson was arrested following an investigation by Deputy Travis Demuth into a single-vehicle rollover accident on Linwood Road at 1:51 p.m. on March 14. Anderson was issued traffic tickets.

Steven Andrew Wasielewski, 39, of Phelps Road, Pembroke, is charged with criminal contempt 1st and assault 3rd. Wasielewski is accused of violating an order of protection and hitting another person, causing an injury at 10:07 p.m. on March 19 at a location on Phelps Road in Pembroke. His release status was not provided.

Mark Samuel Robbins, 41, of South Lake Avenue, Bergen, is charged with two counts of harassment 2nd.  Robbins is accused of shoving one person and striking another during a disturbance reported at 9:44 p.m. on March 16 at a location on South Lake Avenue, Bergen.  Robbins was issued an appearance ticket.