Business

Alpina Foods officially opened its yogurt-making plant in Batavia's new ag-park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour Monday afternoon, which was attended by local dignitaries and state lawmakers.

Truck unloading station

Alpina Foods office

Quality control lab

Batch blending room

Fermentation and culturing room

Cup-filling machine

Big event in Batavia today that I wish I could have attended and covered -- the grand opening of the Alpina yogurt plant. We did assign a photographer and should have more coverage later, but meanwhile, here's the official photo and press release from Alpina:

Alpina Foods today celebrated the official Grand Opening of its first North American manufacturing facility, the latest yogurt plant to open in Upstate New York. Though the 67-year-old company has sold its broad line of dairy products in American markets for several years, the Batavia, N.Y. facility is its first plant in the U.S.     

Joined by U.S. Congresswoman Kathleen Hochul, New York State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer, and Empire State Development President and CEO Kenneth Adams, top officials from Alpina Foods and its Colombian parent company, Alpina, marked the occasion with a ceremonial ribbon cutting.

“This is a momentous day for Alpina,” said Julian Jaramillo, Alpina’s CEO. “We would like to recognize the many people and organizations across the state that have helped make this moment a reality. We are excited to get started and continue to grow along with our employees, the region, and the yogurt industry in New York.”

The Alpina Foods plant already employs 30 new employees, and expects to hire at least 20 additional team members in the coming months. This is in addition to the 20 employees located in Alpina Foods’ Miami offices and in regional positions elsewhere in the U.S.

Over the past year, with the help of co-packing partners, the company has launched several new products for U.S. consumers: Alpina Revive Greek yogurt, Alpina Restart traditional yogurt, Alpina Renew oat smoothie, Bon Yurt by Alpina low-fat vanilla yogurts, and Juan Valdez Café Latte by Alpina.

“Today’s opening of Alpina Foods marks an exciting new phase of economic development in Genesee County and Western New York,” said Rep. Hochul. “With the initial creation of up to 50 jobs, Alpina will significantly contribute to the economic vitality of the region. I look forward to working with Alpina, the Genesee County Economic Development Center, and local farms as we work to strengthen Western New York’s economy.”

"The State Legislature, working with Governor Cuomo, has made tremendous strides in improving New York State's business climate,” said Senator Ranzenhofer. “Especially during the last two budget cycles, the decision to cut spending and lower taxes has signaled to many companies that New York is the right place to do business, and for many yogurt companies, such as Alpina, it has positioned Genesee County and Batavia as the 'Yogurt Capital' of the world. I applaud Alpina for opening its first U.S. facility in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park."

Drawn by access to the thriving agriculture and dairy industry of Upstate New York, along with a ready labor market, Alpina chose Batavia for its 10th global manufacturing facility, following locations in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. The company worked closely with the State’s Excelsior Jobs Program and numerous state and regional economic development organizations on the location of the 10-acre site, and was further attracted to the region after its work with nearby Cornell University and Rochester Institute of Technology.

“Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, the production of Greek yogurt has become a critical job creator and driver of economic activity in New York State,” said Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Kenneth Adams.  “A number of major yogurt manufacturers have taken advantage of this region’s existing infrastructure, including the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, which is available for dairy processing, as well as its skilled workforce, proximity to milk supply and ability to reach target markets. We welcome Alpina Foods to the U.S. and are so proud that they have chosen to locate its first specialty yogurt plant in the U.S. right here in Genesee County.”

All Upstate New York residents are likely to appreciate Alpina Foods’ new location. The company is well known for its commitment to the communities in which it operates. With a philosophy that leadership refers to as “collective prosperity,” Alpina Foods wants to transfer success beyond the company, and positively impact the surrounding community, including their employees, business partners, the environment, and others in the region.

“We are committed to our success in Batavia and the U.S.,” said Alpina CEO Julian Jaramillo. “It is our corporate practice to grow with our surroundings, hand-in-hand with our neighbors.”

Photo, from left: Juan Pablo Fernandez, GM, Alpina Foods; Julian Jaramillo, CEO, Alpina; Roger Parkhurst, Director of Operations, Alpina Foods; Congresswoman Kathy Hochul; state Senator Michael Ranzenhofer; Kenneth Adams, President & CEO, Empire State Development.

Rep. Kathy Hochul is boarding a plane in Washington, D.C., right now, heading back to her district for an election-period recess, but she would rather stay in the Capitol, she said, and give local farmers what they need to run their businesses -- the certainty of a farm bill.

"I'm ready to turn around right now and stay in Congress as long as it takes day and night and do what's right for our farmers," Hochul said.

"This is just another sign that Washington is broken and we've let our farmers down," Hochul said.

Every five years, Congress must pass a new farm bill. Last passed in 2008 as the Food, Conservation and Energy Act, the $288 billion appropriations bill not only provides crop insurance and price support for farmers, it also provides subsidies for private land conversion back to a natural state, biofuel subsidies and is the funding source for food stamps.

A version of the bill was passed with bipartisan support by the Senate, but even after winning Agriculture Committee support in the House, the bill hasn't come to a floor vote.

The 2008 act expires in a week.

Hochcul said it's baffling and unconscionable that the House leadership has blocked a floor vote.

Agriculture, Hochul said, is a $739 million a year industry in her district, and $4.7 billion statewide. 

Regardless of the legislation's provisions -- the Senate and House versions would need to be negotiated into a compromise bill in conference committee -- farmers need the certainty of a farm bill in order to operate their businesses on a daily basis.

According to an NPR article, the near-term fallout of the failure of the House to pass a farm bill is pretty minimal. The provisions of the current farm bill that most effect farmers remain in place through the end of the current growing season, which for something like winter wheat means until spring.

However, it is very uncertain what will come next, according to NPR, because some deficit hawks have their eyes set on greatly reducing expenditures in the farm bill, including for food stamps, and there may be a lot of political pressure in Washington next year to reduce spending.

"We need to keep spending under control, yes, and we need to find ways to do it," Hochul said, "but the farmers need the certainty that comes with passage of this bill."

There is bipartisan support for passage of a farm bill in the House, Hochul said, and she won't speculate on why its leadership is blocking a floor vote on such a critical piece of legislation.

"The fact they won't let us get to a compromise means that they refuse to govern and that's just inexcusable," Hochul said.

Town of Batavia planners are pushing forward with a proposal to add a second roadway into the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, connecting the park with Route 63.

Town Engineer Steve Mountain said the need and opportunity for the roadway is driven by the requirement of the Muller Quaker yogurt plan for a gas main into the park and a $1 million grant for infrastructure upgrades from state's Office of Community Renewal.

The roadway was always part of the plan, Mountain said, but not until Phase 3.

In the nearer term, the town was going to construct an emergency vehicle access road through the County Highway Department's lot on Cedar Street, but it is more cost effective, Mountain said, just to build the connector to Route 63 now.

The design of the roadway needed to coincide with the gas main design for Muller Quaker, and Muller Quaker wanted to bring the line in through vacant property to save costs.

The vacant land is primarily made up of parcels owned by O-AT-KA Milk Products and local farmer Don Partridge.

The town is negotiating now with both property owners for a right-of-way access, but all of that land (in green on the map) was always intended to be part of the Phase 3 development of the agri-business park (and has already been through the environmental review process).

Mountain said Phase I of the park is already nearly full and it's his understanding that Partridge has received offers on his land.

Currently, the only developed roadway into the park is from Route 5.

Alpina Products will hold a ribbon-cutting Monday for its new facility, which will initially employ 50 people.

Next year, the Muller Quaker plant, a joint venture between PepsiCo and the Theo Muller Group, will open with an original staff requirement of about 200 people. A mushroom farm and labeling facility (already open) are also among the park's first announced tenants.

Initially, Phase 2 of the development was to extend the rail line into the park, but there's been no demand for it yet from potential tenants.

Among the benefits of the Route 62 access point is that O-AT-KA will be able to use the roadway for truck traffic to his own facility, making the intersection of Route 63 and Cedar Street safer.

A public hearing on the revised planning map is set for Tuesday, Oct. 16, at Batavia Town Hall. More details of the project will be revealed then.

To help address a possible shortage of primary care physicians in the future, UMMC today announced a partnership with Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine to transform the local hospital into a teaching hospital.

UMMC completed a credentialing process by American Osteopathic Association in August and will begin accepting medical students in residence in 2013.

“This is an exciting moment for United Memorial Medical Center,” said President and CEO Mark C. Schoell (top photo). “As a teaching hospital, United Memorial will be at the forefront of the latest medical developments and be able to provide improved quality of care; advanced treatment therapies; a shorter length of stay for major illnesses; and achieve superior outcomes and survival rates for our patients.”

Dr. Anna Lamb, herself an osteopathic doctor, said the announcement today is "awesome" news for Batavia.

"We need to grow our own," Lamb said. "We’re going to have significant primary care shortage in the next few years as some of our physicians are getting a little older. We have to grow our own. Batavia is just not on people’s radar, so we have to get people in here to see it, to like it, and as Dr. Terry said, 'if we grow our own, they’ll stay here.'"

Dr. Richard Terry also said that local kids with medical aspirations will now have a way to complete their education locally and stay in their hometown, if they choose that route.

UMMC will use a variety of incentives, such as student loan repayment, to help convince residents to stay in Batavia and become primary care physicians.

Many young doctors, Schoell said, no longer want to go into private practice and would rather work for a medical institution.

The reason, he said, are reductions in government medical reimbursements, increasing regulation and the difficulty inherent in owning and running your own business.

There will be four residents accepted for each year of the program (for an eventual total of 12). They will reside in the community and receive compensation and benefits from United Memorial while participating in the program.

Serving as program director for United Memorial is Laurie Kilbury-Taylor, D.O.  Dr. Kilbury-Taylor is an emergency room physician at United Memorial with the group FDR Medical. She is a graduate of the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and holds additional degrees including a master of science degree from the State University of New York-Roswell Park Division, and bachelor of science degrees in Biology and Engineering.

The first year of residency emphasizes the inpatient experience. For second-year residents,a significant emphasis is placed on taking more clinical responsibilities and enhancing decision-making skills. There are four months of inpatient medicine where residents are the primary physicians for their patients.

Each resident will manage his/her own inpatient service with supervision by an attending physician. The third-year resident has a significant role in teaching and supervising junior residents and assumes direct responsibility for leading the Medicine Teaching Service and Family Medicine Inpatient Teaching Service.

Individuals who have completed a baccalaureate program and wish to pursue a career as a physician in the United States must be accepted to and complete an additional four-year course of study at an accredited osteopathic medical school in order to continue in the osteopathic residency program.

When it comes to transportation, you want it to be safe, reliable and on time. Batavia's most elite and professional taxi service is now B-Town Yellow Taxi. Open 24 hours per day 7 days per week, when you need a ride across town, to Buffalo or even farther, B-Town is the company to call. Batavia rates start at just $5 for a full car in the city of Batavia, and just $8-12 for the town. Starting in October, B-Town will be basing all out of town rates off of a meter for accurate and affordable pricing!

Meet the owner: Phil Adamski: Phil has been driving taxi cabs for going on 7 years. He started off working for other companies and decided to open his own with improved service. Phil has goals of friendly and personalized service, safe transportation, courteous drives and low wait times!

To get a taxi ride, call them at 585-356-1881 (Note to prepaid customers it is a Verizon phone). Credit cards accepted.

Want an even better deal? Check out the website at http://www.btownyellowtaxi.com for pricing details and follow B-Town on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/btownyellow for weekly specials and more!

A year or so ago when the Rathod family opened Salsa & Curry on Jackson Street, Downtown Batavia, they offered only a few Indian dishes along with a full menu of Mexican food items.

With no Indian restaurants in Genesee County, the Rathods weren't sure how the unique cuisine would be received.

It turns out, it was received very well.

After closing for a few weeks while the family traveled to India for a wedding and then did some minor remodeling, Salsa & Curry reopened a week ago with a daily buffet of Indian food, more Indian food items on the printed menu and slightly fewer Mexican food items.

While Indian food has a reputation for being spicy -- and WNYers have a reputation for not liking spicy food -- not all Indian dishes are spicy, or need to be prepared with a hot flavor.

The buffet features only mild items.

What the Rathods have learned, however, is some kick has its place.

"We were actually surprised -- a majority of people like it spicy," said Sonny Rathod, who is managing the restaurant with his brothers Raveen, Nick, sister Anupa Hirani and her husband Peter.

Customers who don't want to partake of the milder buffet can order spicy alternatives prepared immediately in the kitchen and over the past week that's exactly what a lot of customers have requested, Sonny said.

Meanwhile, in a couple of weeks the restaurant will have a liquor license and will be able to serve domestic, Mexican and Indian beer as well as margaritas.

The restaurant is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday until 10 p.m. and Sunday, Noon to 7 p.m.

It used to be "The Barn," today it's The Farm, and it's now open on Route 77 in Corfu, stocked full of local produce and locally made products.

Renee Franclemont said she opened the store with her family because she's always liked country items.

"I love the warm feeling," Franclemont said.

The store carries all kinds of decorative and useful items for the home, including handmade wood items created by Renee and her father, Richard Franclemont.

As for fruits and vegetables, what isn't grown on the The Farm is bought from local growers. Renee's partner, Clinton Konfaderath, has years of experience in the produce business.

Right now, the store has large selection of pumpkins, mums and cornstalks for fall decorating.

Most of the retail items for sale are handmade and in the country primitive style. There are also candles and potpourri.

The store will be open daily through Christmas from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

City council approval of liquor licenses are generally routine matters, but this one is noteworthy: Daphne's Restaurant & Lounge at 341 S. Swan St., Batavia.

That's the former location of St. Nick's Social Club.

The building was recently purchased by Jeremy Yasses and after being unable to drum up interest in reestablishing St. Nick's or something similar, Yasses has leased the location to Daphne L. Cross, a former manager of Scooter's in Batavia.

The council voted unanimously tonight to support the liquor license request.

We've been unable so far to get in contact with Cross to find out more information about the new restaurant, but when we stopped by the location today, there was a good deal of remodeling taking place.

Press release:

Today, Representative Kathy Hochul, joined by Bill and Terry Zittel of Zittel Farms, renewed her call for a comprehensive five-year Farm Bill. In a letter to House leadership, Hochul urged passage on a five-year Farm Bill to ensure farmers in Western New York and across the country have the certainty and support they require.

“I have heard firsthand from farmers across Western New York about the crucial need for a comprehensive, five-year Farm Bill,” Rep. Hochul said. “It is critical that Washington stops playing politics with the future of American agriculture.

"Our region is the largest producer of agricultural goods in New York, and I will continue to fight to ensure farmers have the support and certainty they need.”

Rep. Hochul has sent two letters to House leadership urging a vote on a five-year Farm Bill – one letter in July, and another this week.

With nearly 3,500 farms and an annual output of more than $739 million in the region, agriculture is an essential part of Western New York’s economy and a key component of Hochul’s plan for economic development.

At 5:30 p.m., traffic entering Darien Lake for the Zac Brown Band concert Saturday night moved briskly and the lines on Route 77 from both the north and south were less than a half-mile long.

That wasn't the case two weeks ago for the Jason Aldean concert, when all of the roads around the concert venue were heavily congested and it took some patrons hours to get into the parking lot.

Traffic didn't clear until nearly 8 p.m. that night.

Last night, by 7 p.m., there were no cars waiting in line to enter the facility.

"We left our hotel at 7 and were in the park grounds by 7:15," said Syracuse resident Shannon Coholan.

Several other Zac Brown Band fans shared similar stories. None of the concertgoers interviewed Saturday said they experienced any kind of delay entering the venue.

"So far, this is a million times better," said Ashlee Miller, of West Seneca, who attended the Aldean concert. "There is probably triple the people directing traffic.  Everything was a million times easier. Walking in right now, a million times easier. It was horrible last time."

Officials were also pleased with the results, which they attributed to adjustments by the Sheriff's Office and Darien Lake in how traffic was directed and changes in access points.

A polite, mature and well-behaved group of concertgoers also helped make things go smoother, officials said.

Asked for his assessment on the inbound traffic situation, Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble said, "Outstanding."

"We were worried because once again, traffic didn't come in early," Dibble said. "You would think you would have a last-minute rush, but it cleared up fast. It cleared out by 7. That's just outstanding. There is no other way to put it."

Gerald Rakestraw, VP of development for Darien Lake's owner, Herschend Family Entertainment, said there were several adjustments made by park officials following the Aldean concert.

He described the changes as:

• Active inbound traffic management from the toll booths to the checkpoint;
• Allowing inbound traffic through the performing arts center exit to relieve congestion as needed;
• A defined and communicated plan for taxis, limos and parental drop-offs;
• More staff directing traffic;
• Further reducing pedestrian traffic at the area known as "the crossover."

"The crossover" is a two-lane roadway that flows east and west and crosses the north and southbound Employee Road. It's a main connector between the front entrance on Route 77 and the grass lots on the east side of the property.

Keeping Employee Road clear of inbound concert traffic, including VIP parking and pedestrians, allows the crossover to flow more consistantly and evenly. 

In the past, when the private parking lots on Sumner Road were open, the crossover was usually heavily congested with both cars and pedestrians. 

At the end of concerts back then, the crossover couldn't even be used for outbound traffic until more than an hour after a concert ended because of heavy pedestrian traffic exiting to the private lots.

Yesterday, the only private lot operating was Cherry Hill Campground and there was a minimal amount of traffic coming from the lot to the concert.

Afternoon rain may have kept many Zac Brown fans from attending the show earlier, but the late arrivals helped Darien Lake officials test their new parking plan.

Rakestraw said the learning process is ongoing and officials will continue to evaluate the process and make adjustments as needed.

"Tonight was a good night," Rakestraw said. "I think we’ve been able to learn from our experiences thus far and we did some things to facilitate a quicker parking experience."

He said the plan used for Zac Brown was built around providing "relief valves" to move traffic to alternate routes when congestion started to build.

"If we have a 22,000-person show and people choose to all come at the same time, there is going to be some level of back-up," Rakestraw said. "We encourage people to come earlier in the day and enjoy the park or enjoy themselves with their friends. It worked out well today, even with the weather."

Chad Zambito, an appointed Town of Batavia board member and candidate for the GOP nomination for that seat, expected the assets of his former laundromat to sell for somewhere close to $30,000.

The actual highest bid on Tuesday, in an auction conducted by the Bank of Castile, was $3,500.

That's enough to cover Zambito's debt to the bank, but he still owes more than $14,000 to the Batavia Development Corporation, which provided Zambito with a low-interest loan in 2010 to finance upgrades to the laundromat.

This morning, Zambito issued the following statement:

I continue to work towards resolving the issues related to the closing of my business and intend to meet with the BDC board to resolve any outstanding issues. I have started the Chapter 13 process which in the short term will provide me 60-90 days to get my finances in order. If I complete the process, the result would be a court ordered and monitored five-year repayment plan. 

Grammy's Laundry closed earlier this year and Zambito said much of the business's difficulties stemmed from a plumbing problem in the mall where Grammy's was located. He said the business never recovered from the set back.

A former laundromat owner who observed Tuesday's auction said just one of the high capacity dryers at Grammy's retails new for about $3,500. There was some 40 or so washers and dryers, some in apparent disrepair, in the facility. The buyer is an out-of-county laundry owner who reportedly plans to remove all the machines and take them to another of his laundromats.

Zambito's GOP primary opponent is John Gerace, who held the office for nearly a decade before resigning in April after a Town of Batavia Fire Department awards and installation dinner where Gerace reportedly had some sort of confrontation with Supervisor Greg Post.

Bill Ripple can now claim he's the fastest sub eater in Genesee County.

Ripple won a sub eating contest this morning at Molasses Hill, the food store at 466 Ellicott St., Batavia. The contest was held in conjunction with the Batavia location's one-year anniversary.

In all, six men who thought they could eat an entire, meat-packed sub faster than anybody else, showed up for the event.

The grand prize, $100, was presented to Ripple by Neal Harder.

The other contestants were Brian English, John Brenkus, Earl Reimer, Frank Bellucci and Patrick Morris.

Public notices: they’re paid for by taxpayer funds, created by public employees, intended for wide public distribution, but publication is dictated by a monopolistic government subsidy for newspapers.

It’s a law I and every other independent online publisher in New York State would like to change.

When I last wrote about this issue, a guy who has created a national public notices Web site contacted me and told me he was already compiling all of the public notices available online for Genesee County. For the simple price of sending him over our logo, he would provide a link where visitors to The Batavian could go and view public notices in a user-friendly fashion.

He wants to work with independent publishers to help prove online-only publications are just as capable of handling public notices as print publications, so he was offering the service for free.

The Batavia Daily News, under the current law, is the carrier of most paid public notices in Genesee County.

Since the notices originate not from the Daily, but from public agencies, it was our belief the notices are public property and not proprietary to the Daily. Besides, the only action The Batavian was taking was providing a link to a third-party Web site for the benefit of readers.

Now, months after we provided the link, the parent corporation of the Batavia Daily News, has decided to take a different view.

A few days ago, I received a “cease and desist” email from John B. Johnson, an executive with the chain of newspapers that owns the Daily.

The note was cordial, but also asserted legal authority to require us to stop posting public notices that originated from the Daily.

The note accused The Batavian of “copying” notices from thedailynewsonline.com, which was a factually untrue statement. As I noted in a reply to Johnson, the service was provided by a third party for which The Batavian has no contractual relationship and no monetary interest.

The assertion that The Batavian was violating the Daily’s copyright of notices also flies in the face of case law that substantiates the idea that a newspaper cannot claim copyright on material that it did not create. Since public employees create public notices, the notices are public property.

And besides, since no advertising appeared on the third-party’s public notice page, and since print publication of public notices is an income stream protected – a monopoly subsidy -- for newspapers courtesy of the State Legislature, the Johnson Newspaper chain cannot establish an important element of any assertion of copyright violation: financial loss as a result of the use of the material.

All that said, the Johnsons can afford corporate lawyers and The Batavian, still a small, family owned start-up, cannot. When you factor in that there is no monetary benefit to The Batavian for providing the free public service of increasing access to public notices, the risk-reward equation for challenging the newspaper chain’s claims falls well short on the reward side.

There’s just no point in fighting the corporation’s claims. 

But we want to continue to provide the service.

The owners of the third party Web site, at no charge to The Batavian, have graciously agreed to start accepting public notices directly from town, village and city clerks along with the agents of every other public entity in Genesee County that create public notices.

Such agencies can now email those notices to (notices at the batavian dot com) (reformat that address into a proper email address, of course).

I’ve already been in touch with about a half dozen town clerks and all cheerfully agreed to start sending their notices directly to this email address.

While the service is free to the public agencies and won’t cost taxpayers a dime, it is no substitute – under current law – for an agency’s legal requirements to publish public notices in a newspaper that has been designated by state law to publish such notices.

While we wish our friends at Johnson Newspapers well in their effort to protect a business model that is being disrupted from a variety of competitive forces, we believe public notices should not be a State Legislature-sanctioned monopoly subsidy for print publications.

In this day and age, public notices should be widely available to the public, and publications other than strictly print should be able to compete for the business of providing verified, legal publication. We will continue to encourage lawmakers to change the law.

Saturday was the first big test for a new pedestrian access policy at Darien Lake and while officials are satisfied with the results overall, they admit there are some kinks to work out.

On the positive side, officials said, traffic control after the concert was much better than used to be expected for a sold-out concert.

On the negative side, there was some confusion over what to do with taxis, how to handle passenger drop-offs and dealing effectively with people trying to circumvent the policy.

Cherry Hill Campground was open for concert parking and apparently tried to establish a private vehicle shuttle service for its patrons. 

Part of the terms of service now for ticket holders is there is only one vehicle entry and one vehicle exit per person and you must have a valid ticket to come onto the property.

Drivers of cars observed coming off The Hill were threatened with arrest for criminal trespass when they were observed coming in through Employee Road and then leaving immediately.

Many of the dozens of people who tried to walk in through Employee Road managed to bum rides from other concertgoers in cars. Of course, they became pedestrians after the concert trying to exit the venue on Employee Road.

Those people were told either to walk to the main gate to leave or to the exit point at the east side of the property.

Officials wanted to keep Employee Road open for vehicle traffic, so a strict no-pedestrian rule was enforced.

"The overall objective is just to make the traffic flow smoother and just create a safer environment for our guests," said Darien Lake General Manager Bob Montgomery. "To that extent, it’s working. If we’ve got a few little leaks here and there, we’ll correct them were we can. If people are really working hard to beat the system, I guess they can if they think it’s really worth all the effort."

Some issues will just work themselves out, Montgomery said, as guests become more familiar with the new system and fewer of them are willing to hassle with private lot parking.

From just before 5 p.m. until shortly after 8 p.m., vehicle traffic to Darien Lake was gridlocked from both the south and the north.

While some concertgoers blamed the new parking policy for the stop-and-go entry, Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble, of the Sheriff's Office, said he doesn't see the connection.

"We've had traffic being backed up in the past when the private lots were open, so I don't see that being the issue," Dibble said.

What surprised authorities, Dibble said, was how relatively few concertgoers started arriving at noon or one o'clock.

Typically, a Saturday concert attracts a lot of early arrivals, and this show didn't for some reason. Many people waited until later in the afternoon to arrive, which meant more people trying to drive in closer to showtime.

Dibble said he spoke to some patrons prior to the show who said they expected other concertgoers to come early, so they decided to come late.

There also seemed to be a higher number of concertgoers coming from the south of Darien.

"There’s something about this place," Dibble said, "that no matter how long you work out here, when you think you’ve got it figured out, there’s just something to do with who the band is, whether they're drawing from the Rochester market, the Syracuse market, the Canadian market, that makes a little different pattern. To a degree it’s unpredictable, it really is."

The worst traffic-related incident prior to the show occurred just before 8 p.m. when the passenger of a vehicle stuck in traffic jumped out of the car and ran into the path of a motorcycle heading south.

Jessica Freeman, 23, of Rochester, suffered head and facial injuries and is in critical condition at ECMC, where she was flown by Mercy Flight.

Prior to the show, concertgoers turned away at Employee Road were clearly frustrated, some of them, but didn't hassle police or security about the policy.

One group of three young men did manage to talk their way onto Employee Road and enter the venue.

Apparently, they had bought their tickets and made their reservations at Cherry Hill Campground in June. After the new policy was announced, one of them had an email exchange with officials at Darien Lake and was told, incorrectly by somebody, that they would be allowed to walk onto the property.

Gerald Rakestraw, VP of development for Darien Lake's owner, Herschend Family Entertainment, was at property Saturday both observing and supervising implementation of the new policy.

He snapped an iPhone picture of the young man's email and then allowed the trio to walk up Employee Road into the venue.

The biggest conflicts of the night came after the concert was over and some people tried to exit the venue on Employee Road.

Rakestraw had predicted some 500 people would try to leave via Employee Road -- far fewer than the thousands walking out in concerts past.

The actual number of pedestrians trying to leave on Employee Road was probably far fewer than 500.

Most were cooperative when told to head in another direction.

One gentleman who was highly intoxicated got lost in the employee parking lot (which was used for regular guest parking last night).

Two people were arrested after apparently wearing out their welcome, so to speak, arguing with deputies about the pedestrian policy.

Rebecca A. Pickem, 25, of Olive Drive, Baldwinsville, discussed the situation with a couple of different cops, went round and round with Sgt. Tom Sanfratello. After several minutes of discussion, Sanfratello told her to leave or she'd be arrested.

Her alleged reply: "I guess you'll have to arrest me," which at that point became a refusal to follow an officer's order, so she was arrested.

Her companion, Tyler A. Vincent, 24, of Olive Drive, Baldwinsville, wouldn't leave and was also arrested.

Reportedly, Pickem and Vincent had parked their vehicle more than two miles from the concert facility and were apparently concerned about how to get back to their car.

The thing is, if Pickem and Vincent had been a little more patient, they were two minutes away from a cab ride to their car.

Sgt. Steve Mullen had called a cab for them.

There was another group of young ladies, four of them, who were stranded at the park. They were reportedly staying at the Attican Motel. The Attican charged them $20 for a shuttle ride to and from the show, according to Mullen. When the driver dropped them off, he reportedly informed them the shuttle might not be available for a ride back to the hotel.

When the women called the motel, they were reportedly told the van had broken down (Note, I was on Employee Road when I saw the van, with Attican Motel written on it, pull into the parking area).

Mullen called a cab for the young ladies and escorted them out to Sumner Road and waited with them for the cab.

By the time Mullen returned to bring Pickem and Vincent to their cab, they were already in custody.

While all of this was going on, there was a young Canadian woman in full agitation mode, running around from one cop or security guard to another yelling at them, hurling insults and threatening to call the Canadian Embassy.

Deputies said she had been difficult to deal with prior to the concert when she tried to walk into the venue.

After the show, she claimed her "bestfriend" had gotten separated from her and her other friend during the concert, three hours prior to her first notifying law enforcement.

She gave three different ages for her missing friend and changed the clothing description.

Any time an official would try to ask her questions about her friend and their travel plans, she would just start yelling again.

She also claimed she wanted to walk out of the facility, but continued to yell at deputies for not doing more to find her friend.

At one point, she yelled at a deputy, "I hope your daughter gets raped some day."

There was another young woman from Canada who was also missing her travel companion, another young woman. She was calm, but clearly worried about her friend.

At 1:30 a.m., Darien Lake security officials were still involved in trying to help both young women locate their friends.

At 1:30 a.m., all Darien Lake parking lots were empty, which under normal sold-out concert nights was at least an hour earlier than might be expected.

Dibble said with Sumner Road free of traffic from private lots, it was much easier to get cars out of the parking lots. Both lanes of Sumner Road could be used for traffic leaving the facility. If not for a couple of minor accidents on Sumner Road, patrons would have gotten out even quicker.

While there were 15 arrests at the concert, the majority of them were related to the new policy, such as three people accused of climbing the new fence to try and gain access to the property.

I spent two hours at the entry gate known as "South PAC," where concert security will bring any unruly patrons for deputies to deal with and potentially arrest or release. South PAC is normally bustling with activity during a concert. During the two hours I was there, not one patron was escorted from the concert.

Batavia resident Carrie Hylkema, who's attended several country shows at Darien Lake, was at the show Saturday as a volunteer for a beer concession set up to raise money for Batavia Ramparts.

She said the atmosphere Saturday was very different from any country show she had ever attended at Darien Lake.

She said concertgoers were much less aggressive than she's seen in the past.

"A lot of times we come driving in, whether we’re working the concert or just going to the concert, you can see it’s out of control before you even come into the gates," she said. "It just seemed more managed tonight. My husband I both commented tonight that it just seemed more in control."

Some of the explanation for the mellower atmosphere, Dibble said, is the fact that so many people came later to the show, got caught in traffic, and had less time to get intoxicated in the parking lot before the concert.

"I’d like to think the underage drinking work that we’ve been doing is paying off, too," Dibble said.

There were 48 underage drinking citations issued Saturday, which is far fewer than have been issued at big country concerts over the past two seasons.

Among the kinks in the system Saturday was what to do with taxi cabs. The plan was, officials said, to only allow cabs into a designated area after 10 p.m. -- for pick up only, not for drop off. But cabs were entering the facility prior to the show.

There was also some confusion over how parents dropping off concertgoers were to enter and leave the facility.

Montgomery acknowledged he and his staff are going to need to figure out these issues for future concerts.

"What we'll do with the team here is, we'll meet again tomorrow and kind of put those issues on the table," Montgomery said. "There's nothing big, nothing that would be a big concern. You're right about the issue with taxis and where do we place them. We want to go back specifically and address that. That's one of the issues that stood out."

Traffic entering the venue, heading toward the main gate, backed up on Sumner Road, with a group of pedestrians in the distance getting into a passenger vehicle offering them a lift.

Pedestrians being told they would not be allowed to walk into the venue.

This vehicle came down off The Hill and is heading toward the main gate.

A trio of concertgoers (third person already in the back seat) get a lift into the venue.

A vehicle that had allegedly previously come off The Hill and delivered concertgoers into the venue gets a trespass warning, and would not be allowed in with another group.

Another driver allegedly issued a trespass warning.

This gentleman was eventually allowed to walk on Employee Road and into the venue after displaying an email from Darien Lake saying that he would be allowed in on foot.

Subject taken into custody after allegedly refusing a police officer order to leave the facility.

Concertgoers party in a 1968 stretch Checker Cab.

A reportedly highly intoxicated individual is taken into custody, charged with disorderly conduct, after allegedly causing a disturbance in a parking lot at about 11 p.m.

This photo submitted by a reader. One concertgoer decided to drive his tractor to the show.