Stories from

With 840 runners and walkers, 51 company teams and 42 corporate tents set up in Batavia's Centennial Park, the third year of the GLOW Corporate Cup proved to be the biggest yet.

The event, organized primarily by executives with the Merrill Lynch office in Batavia, will have raised more than $20,000 for the GLOW YMCA once receipts are tallied.

Batavia City Schools fielded the winning team and Corey Brown of Crickler Vending posted the race's fastest time at 17:42.

The organizers got a lot of positive feedback, said Joshua Dent, a VP with Merrill Lynch.

"If they're serious runners, the racers are very happy with the course Steve Tufts set up," Dent said. "It runs like a professional race. Then, unlike most races, there is this incredible after-party that makes it unique and different. The environment is fun. So we get the serious runners who are happy with the event, and then the businesses who participate and send walkers and then get to hang out after and listen to a band and they're satisfied as well. Those two aspect help make it a successful and unique event."

Dent looks forward to seeing the event grow, especially as the promoters work to attract more corporate teams from Orleans, Livingston and Wyoming counties.

It's gratifying to see the hard work of Tufts and John Ritter pay off in a big way for the GLOW YMCA, Dent said.

"It obviously means a lot to be able to give that much back to the community," Dent said. "The support of all the volunteers means so much. There's just an incredible amount of work that goes into putting this together. John Riter and Steve Tufts worked tirelessly to pull this off.

"It's not a one-day process. It's days and days and days. So to see the culmination, to see all the businesses that participate and do something that is fun and good for you and get the chance to hang out on a beautiful day and network, it clicked on all points."

• For individual race results, click here.
• For team results, click here.

UPDATE: Photos posted previously were from last year.

Top photo: City fire's team.

If you have photos to share, e-mail them this morning to howard@thebatavian.com

Upstate Toyota's team.

Three photos below, from Genesee Community College.

Photo from Elizabeth Downie

The Crickler Vending team. Photo submitted by Bob Brown.

Reader submitted, but company ID not included. Will try to update when we get it.

The smoke-gray, vinyl-sided building may not look like much now, but when Genesee County Chamber of Commerce officials gaze upon the vacant house converted into office space on Park Road, they see a spruced-up facade and a big sign that says "Visitors Center."

It's been a decades-long dream for the Chamber to relocate its headquarters and visitors bureau to space closer to the Thruway exit in the Park Road/Oak Street area.

Now plans are coming together to purchase this building on Park Road across from the Sheriff's Office and just south of the Clarion Hotel.

The building isn't as visible as something right at Park and Oak, but it will still be plenty visible to visitors passing through Genesee County, said Chamber President Tom Turnbull.

"The location is right in the middle of everything," Turnbull said. "There are 800 hotel rooms right in the area. There's the Clarion, Batavia Downs, Alex's, Applebee's. It's where we want to be. It's someplace where we can capture people as they come into the area and bring them into the county. That's what we've always wanted to do. That's been the dream to get there."

There's a sign outside the current chamber offices in the City Church building on East Main Street that says, "Visitors Center," but tourists rarely stop there. There's also the visitors hut in the parking lot of the Holland Land Office Museum, but with the median on Route 5 restricting traffic flow, it's hard to access and is seldom visited.

Turnbull thinks the proposed location on Park Road will get more tourist activity and help the tourism staff and volunteers do a better job of guiding people to the abundance of sightseeing opportunities locally, from HLOM, to Darien Lake, to the Jell-O Museum to Genesee County Park & Forest and the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.

"We want to get people out into the county," Turnbull said.

Turnbull has heard from the critics, the people who are skeptical or concerned about chamber leaving Downtown.

We can do more for Main Street out there than we can down here," Turnbull said, adding, "The chamber itself might be better off here, but tourism isn't. While the chamber can be good out there, tourism can be great out there."

The location, at 8276 Park Road, was first spotted on Google Maps when a committee of chamber members were scouring the area for a potential location.

Turnbull admits that at first he didn't see the potential for the building.

"My vision isn't very good," Turnbull said. "I looked at it and said it's an ugly old house, but start talking to people and they say you can dress it up and put a nice facade on it."

Ed Smart has been hired to do a feasibility study and initial architectural drawings so officials can see just what can be done with the building.

Turnbull remembers the chamber talking about a project like this in 2000, when he was president of the Board of Directors, and in 2001, the chamber was about to purchase the former armory at Oak and Park, but then the 9/11 tragedy happened and the federal government decided it wanted to hold onto its buildings. The INS now occupies that space.

Then in 2007, the chamber and Town of Batavia started talking about a joint facility a little further west on Park Road, where Park turns south and Veterans Memorial Drive splits off to the west.

The plan was to open a joint court facility shared with Elba and Oakfield. But Elba and Oakfield backed out of the project as it neared the approval stage, so its languished since, which is what sent the chamber on a quest to find another potential location to fulfill its dreams.

The chamber has made a purchase offer that is contingent on the outcome of the study.

The plan is to tap into the $500,000-bed-tax reserve to pay for the tourism bureau's portion of the project. This is the kind of project the bed tax is meant to help fund, Turnbull said -- and County Manager Jay Gsell agrees -- and so the chamber will seek County Legislature approval for the expenditure of nearly all of the reserve.

The bed-tax money can only be used for the facade to promote tourism and the downstairs portion of the building that will be used as a visitors center. That is the bulk of the cost of the project.

But since this project is primarily about promoting tourism, Turnbull said he expects tourism revenue to fund some 70 to 80 percent of the total project. The chamber itself will pay for the balance and he said that balance is within the chamber's financial reach.

If the project goes through, the new visitor center could open in about a year.

Gena Korn and Jennifer Gray are creating a bit of chalk artwork in front of City Hall this morning to help promote GO ART!s Chalk the Walk event Aug. 15 during Summer in the City. (Photo by Howard Owens).

Press release:

GO ART! will be presenting the second annual Chalk the Walk on Aug. 15^th from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. during Summer in the City. Artists, professional and amateur and young and old, will be able to purchase a square section of concrete by the City Center to decorate with chalk pastels. There will also be a children’s section for fun scribbling.

Using materials available, artists will follow the theme “GO ART!...Where does art take YOU?” to create inspired pieces for a crowd of more than 2,000 people. Prizes will be awarded to those whose pieces are most outstanding. Adult First Prize will be $250. People’s Choice Award will be a $20 Alex’s Place gift card, two T-shirts, and two mugs. The Youth Prize will be a basket of goodies worth over $50.

A jury will select the winners for Adult First Prize and the Youth Prize. People’s Choice will be chosen by the general public by way of donation voting (ie: the art piece that receives the most donation money will be the People’s Choice winner). All donations collected for the People’s Choice Award will go to funding GO ART! youth programs.

To sign up for this event, people need to register online at http://www.goart.org/chalk-the-walk/ or register in person at GO ART!, 201 E. Main St., Batavia, from Tuesday through Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. People can also sign up and pay the day of the event but it is highly encouraged to do so ahead of time.

Remember, no one is officially registered until payment is received. Fees are $20 for adults (18+) and $10 for Youths (17 & under). Every registered artist will receive a box of chalks and a drink to get them started. There will be a chalk swap area where people can trade out their chalks for other colors they need. Artists are encouraged to bring their own chalks as well.

It is important to assure that each artist and their work, as well as the event itself, is respected, so there will be rules and regulations. These are available on the Web site at athttp://www.goart.org/chalk-the-walk/.

People can find updates on Chalk the Walk by going to the Web site:http://www.goart.org/chalk-the-walk/ or by following Chalk the Walk on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/BataviaStreetPaintingFestival.

Please consider participating! It's going to be a great event! If you have any questions, please feel free to phone 585-343-9313 or visit americorps@GOart.org.

From this day forward, when city firefighters pass down the hall leading into the aparatus bay to answer an alarm for a fire or medical call, they will pass a picture of Capt. Loren J. Michel, the only city firefighter to ever die in the line of duty.

The memorial to Michel also contains his badge, ID and the page from the logbook of his final call Aug. 5, 1965.

Looking over the mementos of his late friend, Bill Benedict stared at each item intently. It was a sad, sad day, the day he died, Benedict said.

"A lot of sadness that day," he said. "I was there that day. I was driving the aerial truck. I was on the top floor ventilating the roof. After I cut a hole in the roof, I nearly passed out with the gas. It was bad, bad gas."

The structure fire was reported at 402 Bank St. and a resident indicated her two children might still be inside. As acting chief that day, Michel led his crew into the house, kicking down the front door. As firefighters entered ahead of him, a fireball of flames exploded out of the house and Michel apparently inhaled the flames, burning his lungs. His face was also burned.

Michel was not wearing an air pack and staggered out of the house to get some oxygen. Wilbur Hinz, president of the Western New York Volunteer Firemen's Association, helped Michel walk to the truck.

Hinz drove Michel to Genesee Memorial Hospital.

Michel told Hinz to go to his house and tell his wife and daughter that he would be OK. By the time Hinz returned to ER, Michel was dead.

The service today, attended by members of Michel's family, included prayer and remembrances. A plaque was dedicated that will be placed on the outside of the fire hall and a wreath was lain at the grave of Michel in Grandview Cemetery.

The service was intended to recall the kind of man Michel was and his dedication to firefighting. He was an instructor, instrumental in creating the mutual aid and emergency management coordination that is still in place today.

He served the city for 24 years and was an honorary member of every volunteer fire company in the county.

"Capt. Michel's death was a devastating loss to his family, his community and the entire fire service," said Adam Palumbo, president of Local 896.

Palumbo and firefighter Mike Dorgan took the lead in organizing today's service.

Leonard Smatak, a firefighter and son-in-law of Michel's, recalled how this fallen hero devoted his life to serving others.

He shared one story of a structure fire that started with a boy who accidently lit his sister's bed on fire. The alarm was sounded quickly and the house was saved, but the boy was nowhere in sight when it was all over. Firefighters and police began a neighborhood search, but Michel said he would handle matters.

He figured the boy was hiding in the house, and he was right. Soon he and the boy came walking out of the house hand-in-hand. Michel sat the boy on the front seat of a fire truck and had a private chat with him. Smatak said that to this day, that boy, now a man, credits Michel with changing his life.

"To truly honor Capt. Michel in all that you do, do it right the first time, take no shortcuts, do it by the numbers, just as you were all trained to do," Smatak said.

Standing before the memorial, all city firefighters will pass from this day forward. Benedict said he'll never forget his friend or that tragic day.

"He was a nice man, a good leader," Benedict said. "Everybody liked him. He was well respected. We all miss him."

Firefighter Greg Ireland presents the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the service.

Firefighter and Local 896 President Adam Palumbo with opening remarks.

City Fire Chief Jim Maxwell.

Firefighter Ryan Hendershott sounds the final bells for Capt. Michel.

Michael Szustak and Michel Lujan

Retired firefighter, Capt. Mike Mullen.

The service pin, as shown above, is the same one city firefighters will wear from now on on their Class A uniforms to honor Capt. Michel and the date of his death.

The laying of the wreath at Grandview Cemetery.

Four of the county's volunteer firefighters pay tribute to Capt. Michel.

Comics have been a hobby, a career and now an ambition for Batavia resident Dan Hosek.

The Long Island native is a former Marvel Comics editor who came to Western New York when his wife started school at SUNY Brockport. He happened to work for a graphics company at the time that had an office in Buffalo. They settled in Batavia, and now Hosek is a free-lance graphic designer.

But he still has a passion for the comic book business, and love that goes back to his childhood and a passion that survived a rocky bankruptcy reorganization by Marvel in the 1990s.

Hosek shared some of his expertise in comic book creation, marketing and distribution with a room of like-minded people at the Richmond Memorial Library on Tuesday night.

His advice: If you want to get published, work at it. Be prepared for long hours and don't be afraid to self-publish -- that can be a road success.

It's certainly a road he and his partners Keith Koppenhoefer and Ryan Gutierrez hope helps propel their series, File 13, to a bigger audience.

The trio hatched the idea for the series a few years ago -- based primarily on a character developed by Hosek when he was 12 years old. A year ago, they raised enough money through a Kickstarter campaign to get the first edition printed.  

Without a distributor, however, it's been a lot of work getting the comic book onto store shelves, but they have been making headway and sales.

"The micro-distribution route, that can be a full-time job in itself," Hosek said. "Calling comic shops, visiting comic shops, sending e-mails, and the whole follow-up is a lot of work, but we're getting there. It's growing. We're hoping the numbers get high enough that we can go back to Diamond (the only comic book distributor in the nation) and say 'we've sold this many,' and hopefully they'll look at the numbers and look at what we're doing and decide to distribute it."

The story is about two twin brothers who inherited a company and they have opposing views on the value of science. One brother believes science should only be used for the greater good, while the other believes science should be used in the service of the bottom line of the company they own. One brother is fired from the company, and he steals battle armor developed by the company. This leads to a whole universe of super heros who return to Earth after not being around since the 1980s.

While being both one of the creators and part of the whole marketing and distribution effort is a lot of work, the reception File 13 has received has been worth it, Hosek said.

"When you hold that finished comic book in your hands or somebody tells you how much they enjoyed it, it's a reward, so part of the drive comes from that, hearing from other people that they liked it and that you're producing something other people enjoyed," Hosek said.

You can find out more about the comic book series at www.whatisfile13.com, like the series on Facebook, or purchase editions at Foxprowl Collectables on Ellicott Street, Batavia.

The City of Batavia hosted its annual National Night Out community event at Birchwood Village on Tuesday evening.

A 22-year-old Buffalo resident is in critical condition at ECMC after an overnight accident on Route 77 in Indian Falls that required volunteer firefighters to extricate him from his vehicle.

Luis A. Martinez-Morales was airlifted by Mercy Flight following the 12:10 a.m. collision at the intersection of Route 77 and Indian Falls Road.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office is investigating the crash.

The Buffalo-man allegedly failed to stop at the intersection. He was westbound on Indian Falls Road. His car was struck by a northbound 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe driving by Dixie Woodworth, 53, of Maple Avenue, Lyndonville.

The Honda Accord driven by Martinez-Morales and the Santa Fe both skidded off the west shoulder of Route 77 just north of Gabbey Road.

A passenger in the Accord, 22-year-old Brian Ortiz-Guevara, of Puerto Rico, sustained minor injuries. He was taken by Mercy EMS to ECMC for evaluation.

Woodworth also sustained minor injuries and was transported by the Darien ambulance to ECMC.

The Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments responded to the scene.

The investigation is being conducted by Deputy Rich Schildwaster and Sgt. Ron Meides. Charges are pending. Alcohol is not considered a factor in the crash.

(Initial Report)

The following people were arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office during the Kid Rock Concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Tuesday:

John C. Difante, 21, of Garden Drive, Batavia, is charged with strangulation in the 2nd degree after he allegedly choked another subject unconscious. Difante was arraigned in Darien Court and put in jail in lieu of $1,000 bail.

Tayler J. Appell, 19, of Pullman Street, Brockton, is charged with false personation and unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly providing false personal information and being found in possession of a quantity of marijuana. Appell was arraigned in Darien Court and put in jail in lieu of $500 bail.

Jessica J. Hawkins, 30, of Park Street, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, is charged with second-degree harassment after allegedly punching and pulling another patron's hair. Hawkins was arraigned in Darien Court and put in jail in lieu of $500 bail.

Christopher G. Cooke, 18, of Bush Road, Leicester, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd, after allegedly reentering the concert venue after being ejected.

Brian P. Moody, 33, of Greenview Terrace, Niagara Falls, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly punching another person in the face.

Matthew C. Amesbury, 34, of Parkway Drive, North Chili, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly pushing and grabbing a deputy by the throat.

D&C: Cuomo: Subsidies needed for business growth

An accident with injuries is reported at Route 77 and Gabbey Road, Pembroke.

Extrication is required and Mercy Flight is dispatched.

A landing zone is being set up at the Methodist church in Indian Falls. Darien's ambulance also dispatched.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments have responded.

UPDATE 12:34 a.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.

UPDATE 12:36 a.m.: Darien ambulance in route to the church.

UPDATE 12:47 a.m.: Mercy Flight transporting patient to ECMC.

Vinyl Sticks in Batavia finished a project for Mercy Flight today involving a retired helicopter that the Buffalo-based medical emergency organization wants to display at events and at its headquarters.

A BOCES class in Erie County restored and painted the exterior of the craft and then it was trucked to Batavia for Vinyl Sticks to apply the ship's decals.

Adam Lowder handled the project.

Their baby-back pork ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork, Southern-style collard greens, and five-bean chuck-wagon beans were beloved by those who enjoyed the food. But the location of The Rib Shack on Ellicott Street Road proved too difficult, so the owners have pulled up stakes and are looking for a new location, said co-owner Melissa Penders.

The lack of a lunch crowd in an isolated location hurt cash flow, Penders said, but part of the decision to close was landlord due to difficulties.

The landlord is Rosemary Christian. Jim and Melissa Penders claim she illegally evicted them.

Melissa Penders said she will be happy to meet Christian in court because she has all the cancelled rent checks. She said Christian is claiming they owe "a ridiculous amount of money," but that all of the rent was paid.

Christian said she doesn't care what Penders has to show in court, the restaurant owners owed her money.

Over the weekend, all the signs came down and on Monday the Penders tried to remove the rest of their equipment, Penders said.  

Christian called the Sheriff's Office, Penders said, and Christian confirmed that local law enforcement responded.

"They were robbing me blind," Christian said.

Christian claims the building was left in "a mess." Penders said Christian wouldn't allow her inside the building to complete a final clean-up.

Penders said Christian was pushing them to sign a new lease, but they didn't want to commit to being in that location for another year, both because of the lunch-crowd issue and because she didn't want to deal with Christian for another year.

"Rosemary is very difficult to deal with," Penders said.

She said Christian presented them with an ultimatum to either sign a lease or get out, they chose to get out. As they were on their way out the door, Christian issued an eviction notice.

Christian said there was no demand to sign a lease or close. This was nothing but an eviction, she said.

Meanwhile, Jim and Melissa are looking for a new location and running their catering business out of their home, getting their kitchen upgraded to commercial and health department standards. All of their obligations for weddings and graduations and other events will be met, she said.

NOTE: Deal of the Day buyers, Melissa Penders said if you hold on to your gift certificates, they will be honored with the restaurant reopens. The expiration date will be honored. They are also good toward catering services. However, per The Batavian's policy, if you purchased your gift certificate within the past 30 days, we'll refund your money. Mail the gift certificate back to The Batavian, 200 E. Main St., #5, Batavia, NY 14020. If you elect to hold onto your gift certificate, e-mail howard@thebatavian.com and we'll send you a coupon code for a free ad posting on Batavia's List.

If county funding of the local library system had kept pace with inflation, the Legislature would be looking at a budget expenditure of about $80,000 annually, instead of the $45,000 used to help support the service this year.

With that in mind, Robert Conrad, director of the Richmond Memorial Library, made the case to the Human Service Committee on Monday that in the upcoming budget, the Legislature should consider a modest increase in funding of about $4,500.

Chairman Frank Ferrando indicated he thought that was a reasonable request.

"I can't speak for the entire Legislature, but for myself absolutely, I think it's really important that we have good, updated libraries available for our citizens with all the modern technology we now have available to garner information," Ferrando said.

He's interested in hearing what other members of the Legislature have to say about it.

"We're probably going to have some interesting discussion come budget time, but they're asking for $4,500 above last time, which would be the total up to around $50,000, which is still less than $1 per citizen in the county," Ferrando said.

The county funding for the library system flows through the Richmond Memorial Library and Conrad said a few years ago the county provided the library with a little more than $63,000.

While based in Batavia, the Richmond serves the entire county, especially those towns and villages in the county, such as Elba, Alexander, Bethany and Darien, without their own libraries.

Primary funding for Richmond comes from its own district, which is contiguous with the Batavia City Schools' district.

"About one-third of our cardholders live outside of the district," Conrad said. "The same is true for the other libraries in the county. We're the defacto public library of the county because we have the most available in our local history collection. We receive the grant for homebound services for senior citizens throughout the county, along with other services we provide to the entire county."

The local library service area is unique, Conrad said, in that it ensures even those people who live outside of the district receive library services. That isn't always true in other parts of the nation. For example, in Chicago, where Conrad worked for many years, citizens who didn't live in a library district received no library services.

Conrad is optimistic the funding request will be approved.

He characterized the reception he received from the committee as warm, with a discussion full of penetrating questions.

"I think the legislators generally look favorably upon libraries," he said.

A steam locomotive built in 1944 cut through a corner of Genesee County, in Darien, yesterday, and a reader captured a few images with his drone.

For more on the train and its journey, read the Buffalo News.

Suzanne Corona, infamous because of her 2010 arrest on an adultery charge, and who's been in and out of trouble with the law ever since, admitted this morning to her first felony conviction.

In Genesee County Court, as part of a plea deal, Corona entered a guilty plea to a single count of attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance, 5th, a Class E felony.

As a result, she faces up to one-and-a-half years in jail, but as a first-time felony offender, and no limitation on her sentence as part of the deal, Judge Robert C. Noonan will have latitude to give her a shorter jail term or even probation.

She is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m., Sept. 29.

Corona admitted to selling an amount of suboxone to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force in May 2014.

As part of the plea deal, she agreed to restitution to the county of $60.

The story of Suzanne Corona made international tabloids in June 2010 after a Batavia police officer responded to a complaint in Farrall Park of a couple engaged in sexual activity. The officer, knowing Corona and knowing the man she was with wasn't her husband, charged her with adultery, a seldom used criminal charge in the State of New York. In the following months and years, Corona was arrested on a series of petty theft charges, and then didn't make the news for a long time prior to this arrest.

She was initially charged with fourth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Photo: file photo.

Finally, we have an e-mail newsletter we can send you.

We will deliver the newsletter every day at 5 p.m. It will contain the top stories of the previous 24 hours or so, plus the latest marketplace posts from Batavia's List.

To sign up, click here.

Don't forget: Post your ad on Batavia's List for a chance to win an iPad Mini. No purchase necessary; e-mail howard@thebatavian.com for a coupon code for a free post.

A large field fire that is heading toward a house is reported at 620 Wyoming Road, Town of Covington.

That's part of the Pavilion Fire District and Pavilion fire is responding.

There is also a vehicle in the fire's path.

UPDATE 3 p.m.: Pavilion command reports being set with two engines that are responding.

A car has reportedly hit a bicyclist on South Swan Street, Batavia.

A minor injury is reported.

City fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Adams Welding & Fabrication hosted a customer appreciate/grand opening/sign unveiling party today at its location in Stafford. Standing with the glistening stainless steel sign are Tim Adams and Steve Foster.

Below, the celebration cake designed to look like a welding machine.