In two years, the Songbirds, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, has gone from playing for a couple of dozen people at a block party in Batavia to headlining at some of Western New York's top music venues.
On Monday, they closed out, as headliners, the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival, drawing, likely, in the area of hundreds of fans for a three-hour set of all the best of Fleetwood Mac along with some deep tracks.
After the parade, on a beautiful blue-sky Labor Day, the third and final day of the music portion of the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival opened with power trio Salvatore, an Albion-based band, followed by Elvis impersonator Terry Buchwald.
More than 50 years after the war ended, Vietnam War veterans in Oakfield, at long last, have an appropriate memorial in Triangle Park.
A new granite bench in the park was dedicated on Monday during the final day of the Oakfield Labor Daze Music and Food Festival.
About 18 months ago, an Oakfield resident, George Norway, sat in Triangle Park in his electric wheelchair with a sign on the back.
It read, "Shame on Oakfield."
When people inquired, he disclosed he was upset with the fact that in the park there were memorials to veterans of the world wars and Korea but nothing honoring the sacrifices of Vietnam War veterans.
Norway was not himself a veteran but he had seen friends and family go off to war and was not happy that they were forgotten.
Jill Klotzback, Robyn Gage and Laurie Nanni, along with members of the Oakfield Historical Society, got together and began to plan an appropriate memorial.
After the company they were working with to create the memorial more than doubled the price of the monument, Justin Calarco Smith of H.E. Turner spoke with the company's distributor and he was able to get the bench for less than the original quote.
Before the bench was unveiled, Assemblyman Steve Hawley spoke about how Vietnam veterans were forgotten, ignored, even shunned after the war. He recalled that for the first five years of his annual trip to Washington D.C., the Patriot Trip, there were never Vietnam War veterans who took the trip. Over the past few years, their numbers have been increasing. When the tour stops at the Vietnam War Memorial, Hawley speaks with those veterans and thanks them for their service and apologizes on behalf of the nation for how they were treated upon their return. "Thank you for your service and welcome home," he says.
The brother and sister-in-law of George Norway then placed a bouquet of roses on the bench to dedicate it.
Shawn Woodward fries up a blooming onion. Woodward said he thinks the first time he tried a blooming onion himself was as a child at the Elba Onion Festival. Photo by Howard Owens.
The Oakfield Labor Daze Music and Food Festival has two main components. We've covered the weekend's music. Here's a look at the other part of the festival -- all the good food being served up by about a dozen vendors.
Monday's Schedule:
10 a.m.: Parade
11 a.m.: Salvatore
1 p.m.: Terry Buchwald (Elvis)
4 p.m.: Songbirds (Fleetwood Mac)
And food vendors all day.
Joel Hamm cooking in the Oakfield Betterment Committee food booth. Photo by Howard Owens.
Felix Elimihele from Kitchen Africana in the Greece Mall. Photo by Howard Owens.
Like any serious collector of vinyl records, Cheektowaga resident Joe Spath comes across many decades old records with little to no value—copies of the soundtrack to “South Pacific,” for example, or any Mitch Miller LP. Ditto Burl Ives. To say these records are a dime a dozen is to overstate their value.
That's why Spath grabs those records from the pile when he finds them to turn them into wall art.
Using computer-guided cutting tools, Spath turns the vinyl records into tributes to legendary artists, such as Chuck Berry, Paul McCartney, Elton John, ABBA, the Bee Gees, and so on.
He carves an artist's image or logo into the record and prints out a faux record label he downloads from the Web to cover over the original less desirable label.
Spath is one of the vendors this weekend at the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival.
He started cutting records about 12 years ago.
"I've been doing this because it makes people happy," the Navy veteran said Sunday.
A former DJ, Spath said he has cataloged in his collection of "keepers" 8,000 LPs, 2,000 45s, 1,500 CDs, and even a lot of cassettes.
The collection spans the 1940s to the 2000s and pretty much every genre of music.
"Variety is the spice of life," he said.
There are close to three dozen vendors at the festival this weekend.
Five-year-old Lukas Kastelic was quite pleased with the tie-dyed Buffalo Bills T-shirt his parents were buying him. Photo by Howard Owens
Sunday night's headliner, Nerds Gone Wild -- perhaps Western New York's most popular cover band -- thrilled all their fans who turned out in Triangle Park for their headlining performance on the second day of the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival.
While waiting for the band make its grand entrance, one woman from Arizona approached a reporter and praised the festival. She couldn't believe all the music was free. And she loved all the food options. She said she extended her vacation an extra week just to see Nerds in Oakfield.
Hazzard County, a Buffalo-based country music band, got a late start due to heavy rain, lightning, and thunder but still put on an all-out performance for music fans Sunday in Oakfield.
One of Batavia's most accomplished bands, The Bluesway Band, packed the house on Friday in Jackson Square for a night of classic rock and blues-based rock.
A train is stopped, blocking multiple roads, in Corfu for a reported fire.
Ellinwood and Colby roads are blocked.
Corfu Fire is on scene.
UPDATE 10:13 a.m.: A train car at a crossing, apparently at Ellinwood, is smoking.
UPDATE 10:14 a.m.: A deputy emergency coordinator on scene confirms a fire in a train car. A thermal imaging camera will be used to locate the precise location of the fire.
UPDATE 10:18 a.m.: A CSX truck is just arriving on scene. Firefighters are looking to consult with CSX personnel before proceeding.
UPDATE 10:21 a.m.: The car is full of construction material -- 200,000 pounds. The fire is at the bottom of the car. The question is whether to fight the fire at the present location or send the train on its way.
UPDATE 10:23 a.m.: The fire is starting to burn through the bottom of the car.
UPDATE 10:25 a.m.: A CSX dispatcher advises that if firefighters can inject water into the location of the fire, do it. It might be possible to get water in through the hole. Chiefs on scene have decided to move the train so that the car is at Snippery Road where there is a fire hydrant. It may be necessary to bring a ladder truck.
UPDATE 10:53 a.m.: The water main leading to the hydrant at Snippery has cracked open. Tankers are required to the scene. A second alarm is being called.
UPDATE 10:58 a.m.: The thermal camera indicates the fire is burning at about 400 degrees. Since firefighters already laid out a line from Route 33 to the crossing, tankers will charge the line from the Corfu Fire Hall parking lot.
UPDATE 11:29 a.m.: The plan is to fill the car up with water and drown the fire. This will be a long operation.
UPDATE 12:20 p.m.: The Corfu operation is shutting down. The train is going to be moved "elsewhere."
A 48-year-old man accused on Wednesday of firing a gun at an unoccupied car at a mobile home park in Batavia was accused in Texas in 2014 of plotting an insurrection and planning the mass murder of men, women, and children at a mosque in Washington D.C.
Robert James Talbot Jr., who attended Pembroke High School and once lived on Pratt Road in Batavia, was admitted in Federal Court in 2014 to attempted interference with commerce by robbery and solicitation to commit a crime of violence and was sentenced to Federal Prison in November 2015.
State troopers arrested him on Wednesday following an investigation into an incident at Babcock Mobile Home Park, 5066 Clinton Street Road, Batavia, and charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree, criminal mischief in the third degree, and two counts of criminal possession in the fourth degree.
The vehicle was apparently struck six times by bullets. State Police gathered forensic evidence to determine where the shots had been fired from, along with interviews, which led to the arrest of Talbot. Talbot was allegedly found in possession of a Savage Mark II .22 LR Rifle and an H+R 1871 Pardner Pump 20-gauge shotgun.
According to court documents from 2014, Talbot created a Facebook page in 2013 called the American Insurgent Movement, where he shared his plans and tried to recruit "like-minded" people.
He reportedly recruited undercover FBI agents.
Then a Katy, Texas resident, he said his goal was to “to restore America Pre-Constitutionally and look forward to stopping the Regime with action by bloodshed.”
According to the documents, he planned to fund his insurgency by robbing banks and to kill everybody working for banking cartels.
He also said he wanted his recruits to use full-automatic AK-47s to send the "Muslim brotherhood a message they will never forget."
He also wrote a manifesto that said, “We must rebel. There is no other option no. Blood and bullets are the only two things that will change this world, short of divine action.”
NYSP investigators have not shared any information about Talbot's possible motivation for firing gunshots at the 2016 Ford Explorer, which did have the appearance of a law enforcement vehicle.
The date of his next court appearance has not been released. As of Thursday morning, he was being held pending arraignment in Centralized Arraignment Part Court. His current release status is unknown.
State Police said he has no known residential address.
Bruce Scofield on a small deck outside his office overlooking the transfer station for Scofield Transfer & Recycling. Photo by Howard Owens.
As a small business owner, Bruce Scofield says trying to operate in the great State of New York is like being part of an abusive relationship.
You know it's wrong and bad for you, but you can't give up the relationship.
"Everybody else can recognize it, but in your heart, you're hoping it gets better," Scofield told The Batavian on Wednesday. "Maybe that's a bad analogy, but in my eyes, it's a great analogy for being a New York State business owner. It's an abusive relationship. You love (the state). It's not the perfect thing but you're always hopeful it will get better."
The latest slap in the face for Scofield, the founder and owner of Scofield Transfer & Recycling in Stafford, was a call from his Mack truck dealer.
The stark message: Don't expect to ever again be able to buy a diesel truck in New York.
The reason is a new state regulation that aims to decrease the number of carbon-emitting trucks on the roads in favor of fully electric vehicles.
It's not that diesel trucks aren't still being sold in New York; they're just a lot harder for a small business owner to buy. New regulations favor fleet buyers, large companies that buy multiple trucks annually. The guy who only buys one truck every two or three years has been pushed to the margins.
Under the new rules, truck dealers must ensure that 10 percent of all new trucks sold are electric.
"'When we sell one electric truck,'" the dealer told Scofield, "'we get one credit, and we can take that one credit and turn around and sell a diesel motor fuel truck.' He says, 'But if we can also take that one credit,' and he used (a large grocery chain) as an example, just as a matter of speaking, and he said, 'Just say, (the chain) wants 10 trucks?' He says, 'We can use that one credit and sell one customer, a fleet of up to 10 trucks off of that one credit.' He said, 'So if we get one credit, who do you think we'll use it for?' He says, 'Do you think we're going to use it on Bruce Scofield or we're going to use it (for the fleet customer)?'"
The dealer told Scofield, "Your chances as the law reads now of ever getting a brand new truck again -- it will never happen. It's slim to none because we can't use that credit for you."
Scofield isn't against electric vehicles. He accepts the threat of climate change. He just doesn't think the current technology is practical.
An electric truck is $600,000 to $650,000, compared to up to $400,000 for a diesel. Then Scofield would need to buy a charge station. A charger that takes 12 hours is $50,000. A charger that takes six hours is $150,000. He would also still need to buy a packer for the back of the truck, which is another $200,000.
Then, the truck would need to be charged every 100 miles.
"In my situation, our trucks go 300 to 400 miles every day," Scofield said. "They haven't perfected it yet. If they had it perfected where they could go 300 or 400 miles, I'd be the first one to have electric because it's hard to find mechanics. In the grand scheme of things, if they ever do, it'll be a great thing, yeah, but they're trying to ram something down our throat that isn't perfected yet."
Scofield said he understands the need to reduce carbon emissions. That isn't his issue with the mandate.
"I'm all for the environment, you know," he said. "I want our environment for my grandchildren. A lot of things, such as when I do things for the County Fair (for example), that's not for me; that's not for publicity. I've got little, young grandchildren. I want that fair thriving, so when they're 8, 10, or 12 years old, things are just rocking, and they have that thing going, that they have the fair sustaining, like when I was a kid, you know. So a lot of my thinking at this stage of the game is for my future generations."
A new business challenge to overcome Scofield grew Scofield Transfer & Recycling from the ground up, so he's not daunted by challenges.
After selling an oil business, he became a landlord and was shocked to find that Waste Management charged $500 for a Dumpster roll off.
He figured if somebody came with a Dumpster roll off that was half the size, "they would sell like hotcakes."
"I started with one truck and four boxes and within two weeks, I had 10 boxes," Scofield said. "Now between Dumpsters and roll offices, I'm over 1,000."
He employs more than 20 people. His son Tyler is now a partner in the business.
When he decided to expand, it wasn't easy. He decided to buy a shuttered transfer station in Stafford owned by Waste Management. The purchase agreement took two years to negotiate, and WM dragged its feet.
He said he boycotted WM, not hauling garbage to the company's facility. That got their attention.
When he got a call about it, he told the company, "You guys screwed me on this transfer station that you said you were going to sell to me."
A local manager decided to help get the deal pushed through with upper management.
Then, it took two years to jump through the state's regulatory hoops and get financing. The state required a $50,000 deposit on any potential fines.
He had difficulty convincing a regional bank to give him a loan. Eventually, he secured $75,000 from the bank and a $75,000 low-interest loan from the Genesee County Local Development Council (part of GCEDC).
He was raising his son alone at the time.
"When I opened this place in 2011, I was flat broke," Scofield said. "I was hauling fuel by five-gallon pails. That's how broke I was. I shut off the cable in my house."
The industrial development agency was particularly helpful in the process, he said. He gives VP of Business Development Chris Suozzi all the credit.
"They were huge, and (Suozzi) was instrumental in getting me financing for that."
He also received tax abatements through GCEDC for construction costs.
He said that he pledged to create five new jobs within five years, and he blew past that goal.
With that background, Scofield isn't intimated by the new state mandate.
"You know," he said, "I'm going to be crafty enough. I'm going to buy used trucks, or I'm gonna go out of state, even if I have to start a business in Ohio just as an entity; I've got friends out there that they've got a commercial location, so I'm always gonna be crafty enough to get around it. But why should we, as business owners in New York State, have to do that?"
Not public knowledge Scofield doesn't think the new rules have been widely publicized and a lot of people haven't learned yet what the impact will be on New Yorkers.
This was perhaps illustrated by a conversation he had with Tim Hens, county Public Works commissioner, after a Wings Over Batavia committee meeting.
Hens did some "napkin math" and figured out that, at a minimum, the new regulations could cost the county $40 million. Hens confirmed the conversation with The Batavian.
"I wouldn't have known this if it didn't pertain to me," Scofield said. "It's not public knowledge. "There wasn't any publication. Nobody knew about it. They did it with the swipe of a pen without any understanding of what's going on."
It's that lack of forethought that bugs Scofield the most. He's willing to accept sensible rules. Without the proper forethought, he suggests, this isn't one of them.
He understands that not all regulations are inappropriate. The waste management business is one of the most regulated in the state. The regulations help make him a better operator, he said. He understands why they exist.
"Every law that the state puts on me to run this business, I agree with 100 percent," Scofield said. "I don't feel like all the state's against me. I understand it. I comply with it. I agree with them. So I'm an advocate for the laws they put on me, but a lot of times, the customers don't understand. So like coming in, we can't allow untarped loads, and I enforce it to the hilt. A lot of people will come in and think they're entitled or they don't have to do it next time. No, I say, 'My daughter-in-law is going down the road with my grandchildren in the car -- do you think because you're lazy, that I want stuff flying off at her to get in an accident and kill my grandchildren? That's how seriously I take it, but they want to argue back."
He has a sign at the entrance to the transfer station that invites customers who don't want to follow the rules or be rude to take their business elsewhere.
So, like any troubled relationship, his with New York is filled with mixed emotions.
He loves the people and the community here. He doesn't think the small-town values of Genesee County can be found in Florida or Texas. He helped Le Roy Ambulance raise $40,000 for a new ambulance. The community pulling together like that isn't happening in a lot of other places, he said.
"I don't want to go anywhere, and I'm free to fold up my tent and go wherever I want. I choose to be here," he said. "It's just a great area. I love the area."
This is a 1999 Mack Truck that Scofield invested $90,000 in to keep operational and emission-compliant. He pointed to it as an example of his willingness to meet regulations and find creative solutions to problems. Photo by Howard Owens.
Bruce Scofield. Photo by Howard Owens.
A sign that reminds customers to be polite and follow the rules (expletive blurred out). Photo by Howard Owens.
State Police are investigating an apparent shots-fired incident at 5066 Clinton Street Road, Batavia.
A photo of a white SUV submitted by a reader looks like it could be an unmarked law enforcement vehicle and shows, potentially, six bullet pockmarks, including four in the windshield.
According to Trooper James O'Callahan, the public information officer for Troop A, there were no injuries. However, O'Callahan was not on duty Wednesday night, and he said he couldn't provide more information until Thursday.
The vehicle was unoccupied at the time the shots were fired, O'Callahan said. O'Callahan did not comment on whether the vehicle was law enforcement or not.
He said an arrest has been made.
UPDATE: Press release from NYSP, Troop A:
On August 28, 2024, The Bureau of Criminal Investigation arrested Robert J. Talbot, 48 with no known address for Reckless Endangerment 1st degree, Criminal Mischief 3rd degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4th degree (2 counts).
On August 28, 2024, at 12:39 P.M., Troopers out of SP Batavia responded to a complaint of a parked vehicle believed to be shot by a weapon at Babcock Mobile Home Park, Clinton Street Road in the town of Batavia. Investigation determined that an unoccupied 2016 Ford Explorer parked on the street was shot multiple times in the windshield. The NYSP Forensic Identification Unit began processing the scene to designate an area of interest as to where the shots originated from. With further interviews and after processing the scene, Talbot was arrested and the two weapons a Savage Mark II .22 LR Rifle and an H+R 1871 Pardner Pump 20 gage shotgun were recovered from the residence following a consent to search. Talbot is a convicted felon.
Talbot was transported to SP Batavia for processing and taken to Genesee County CAP Court pending arraignment.
Chapin CEO Tim Onello and Assemblyman Steve Hawley. Photo by Howard Owens.
The seemingly anti-business posture of New York's government dominated a conversation on Tuesday at Chapin International in Batavia during Assemblyman Steve Hawley's visit with CEO Tim Onello and other Chapin executives.
Onello said it would help the state's business climate by lowering taxes and reducing mandates and regulations.
"There's just all the extra laws and things you have to maneuver when you're in New York," said Onello, a Buffalo native who became CEO four months ago.
The barriers to business expansion drove Chapin, said Bill Kegler, VP of operations, to open a plant in Kentucky a few years ago.
"We had to go out of state ... unfortunately, because the environment in New York is restrictive and tough, just tough to grow a business," Kegler said. "It's just not conducive to success, to the continued company success."
Hawley noted the echo of history. Chapin occupies the former Sylvania factory, which relocated to Tennessee in 1976.
"It has been a recurring theme economically speaking and business speaking for many, many decades," Hawley said. "Apparently, we didn't learn from our past mistakes."
Onello said Chapin has no specific legislative requests at the moment and with the Legislature in between sessions, Hawley didn't have much to offer in the way of possible business-related bills the Legislature might consider.
After the talk, Hawley was provided a tour of the factory.
Jon H. Bush, Jr., 41, of Batavia, was arrested on two warrants and also charged with assault 2nd and obstructing governmental administration 2nd. On Aug. 5, Batavia patrol officers conducted a traffic stop on Park Road and observed Bush attempting to hide in the back seat. Officers were aware of warrants for Bush's arrest. He was ordered to exit the vehicle. After getting out, Bush allegedly attempted to flee on foot. He allegedly fought with officers and injured one of them before he was taken into custody. He was arraigned in City Court and jailed without bail.
Vinayek A. Graves, 20, of Kansas City, Kansas, is charged with possession of a forged instrument 2nd, identity theft 1st, and forgery 2nd. Graves was arrested on Aug. 8 following an investigation into a fraud complaint. He was arraigned and released.
Nicholas M. Ricigliano, 40, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Ricigliano is accused of stealing an umbrella stand from a business on Bank Street on Aug. 21. He was issued an appearance ticket.
Branco J. Blanco, 60, of Batavia, is charged with dog running at large and owning an unlicensed dog. It is alleged that Blanco allowed two dogs to run at large on State Street on Aug. 18. The dogs allegedly bit a person who was walking in the area. Blanco was issued an appearance ticket.
Jeffrey G. Ellinwood, 65, of Batavia, was charged with criminal trespass 2nd and criminal mischief 4th. It's alleged that Ellinwood broke into a residence on Porter Avenue on Aug. 15. He was arraigned and released.
Jerry T. Saddler, Jr., 48, is charged with criminal mischief 4th, criminal obstruction of breathing, and harassment 2nd. Saddler is accused of striking another person, grabbing that person by the neck, and taking the person's phone to keep the person from calling for help. He also faces charges from an Aug. 14 of criminal obstruction of breathing involving the same victim. He was arraigned in City Court and held in the Genesee County Jail.
Michael C. Smith, 32, of Batavia, was arrested on four warrants. The warrants were issued after Smith allegedly failed to appear in court on four separate criminal cases. He was arraigned in City Court and remanded to the Genesee County Jail.
Geoffrey M. Anderson, Jr., of Brockport, was arrested on Aug. 16 on two warrants, including a warrant alleging bail jumping 3rd. The warrants were issued after Anderson allegedly failed to appear in court on a trespassing charge from 2017. He was arraigned in City Court and released.
Aaron Joshua Anwar, 18, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Anwar is accused of stealing merchandise from Dick's Sporting Goods on July 31 at 3:03 p.m. He was processed at the Genesee County Jail and released on an appearance ticket.
Leeanne Krull, 55, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Krull is accused of violating an order of protection at 12:43 p.m. on July 31 at a location on West Main Street Road, Batavia. The order of protection had been issued in Centralized Arraignment Part Court just hours earlier. Krull was processed at the Genesee County Jail and released.
Justin Timothy Gladney Sr., 35, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with promoting prison contraband 1st and criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Gladney is accused of bringing crack cocaine into the Genesee County Jail at 9 a.m. on Aug. 1. He was held for arraignment.
Tricia M. Blatt, 37, of East Main Street, Byron, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Deputies were dispatched at 1:40 a.m. Aug. 3, to Byron to investigate a complaint of a broken window, possible criminal mischief. Deputies located Blatt and determined she was allegedly too impaired to care for her child. There was no evidence of criminal mischief. Blatt was arraigned and released.
The following people were charged on Aug. 1 while attending the Kenny Chesney concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center:
Jonathon M. Morris, 19, of Rochester, was charged with trespass after allegedly reentering the concert venue following an ejection.
Avery J. Dieterle, 19, of Akron, is charged with trespass after allegedly reentering the concert venue following an ejection.
William A. McCray, 57, no permanent address, is charged with harassment 2nd after allegedly striking another person while inside the concert venue.
