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More than 100 members of the local legal and law enforcement community were at Bohn's tonight to pay tribute to Linda Giambrone, who is retiring after 39 years of service as a clerk at City Court.

Giambrone started her career in 1971 and became chief clerk in 1976.

Speakers praised Giambrone for her knowledge of the court system, her memory for repeat offenders and her kindness toward all the people she came in contact with.

Above, judges Michael Del Plato, left, and Robert Balbick present her with a certificate of appreciation.

Officials were on hand today at the new surgical wing of United Memorial Medical Center for the setting of the cornerstone.

Above, masons Ken Maurer, left,  and Jeff Crevier, set the cornerstone into place.

The expansion project represents a $19.5 million investment by the hospital. It will contain five new technologically advanced operating suites, a treatment room and 19 recovery beds. The project is scheduled to be finished by Dec. 15.

After the brief ceremony, guests were invited to tour the still-under-construction facility.

More pictures after the jump:

CEO Mark Schoell addresses the group on hand for the cornerstone setting.

Schnoell with Rev. Ken Comer watching Maure and Crevier place the cornerstone.

Brian and Michelle Trott are to the left in this picture with their children Brandon and Ashley. Michelle is the architect for the UMMC expansion. She was born at UMMC and her parents still reside in Bethany. Brian is the architect for Pembroke Central Schools.

Schoell called this "the big room." It's the biggest of the surgery suites.

A tractor-trailer on the Thruway reportedly struck a deer and its brakes caught on fire.

The driver tried to extinguish the fire, but could not.

Le Roy Fire is being dispatched.

The truck is parked about 100 yards from the toll booth.

UPDATE 11:15 p.m.: Le Roy Fire went back in service about five minutes ago.

A 44-year-old Le Roy man is accused of video recording a naked developmentally disabled man while the group home resident was in a bathtub.

David C. Ewell was arraigned in Nunda Village Court on charges of second-degree unlawful surveillance, dissemination of an unlawful surveillance image, and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person. 

Ewell was jailed on $25,000 bail or $50,000 bond. He's an employee of the New York State Developmental Disabilities Services Office, and works at the Walnut Intermediate Care Facility in Nunda.

Ewell is accused of using his cell phone, recording the man and then disseminating the 30-second recording to another person.

(Source: Democrat & Chronicle)

An accident has been reported in the Target parking lot, between the store and the AT&T Store.

One person is complaining of a head injury.

Mercy EMS and Town of Batavia Fire are responding.

UPDATE 4:11 p.m.: A fire crew is standing by at headquarters. A chief reports, "the fire department isn't needed here." The first responding Mercy ambulance said the second ambulance could go back in service.  Also, the fire chief on scene has requested that law enforcement respond.

When Nick LaFarnara was a kid, his father opened a pet store in Batavia and Nick worked there from the time he was 5 years old.

He loved it.

But when Anthony LaFarnara was injured in a work-related accident at Doehler-Jarvis, the family had to close the pet store.

But young Nick never forgot.

"That was it," said LaFarnara. "I just couldn't get it out of my system."

In October 1985, LaFarnara and his ex-wife, reopened the store at a location on Ellicott Street. Although LaFarnara would later remarry and move the store to its current location at 33 Liberty St., Batavia, it is still going.

Neptune's Garden specializes in fish -- lots of fish, exotic and freshwater and saltwater and just plain old guppies and goldfish. It's also a favorite place for birds and reptiles.

Occasionally, they have kittens or puppies available for adoption and they also make a bulletin board available for anybody who has a pet to give away.

"Even though we don't make any money on it, it's better than seeing a pet killed," said Kathy LaFarnara, Nick's wife of about 10 years.

Kathy met Nick when she was a legal secretary for an attorney handling Nick's divorce. He told her he owned a pet store.

"I thought, 'big whoop,'" Kathy said. "I'm allergic to everything in your store."

As somebody who grew up never owning pets, she soon fell in love with having animals around.

"They run up to the door to greet you, they sleep in your bed, they just love you, and I realized, 'this is great,'" Kathy said. "I take a lot of medicine to work here."

Kathy mostly handles the birds, the reptiles, the grooming and the saltwater fish. Nick takes care of ordering, the freshwater fish and pretty much everything else.

Besides selling pets, the LaFarnaras give tours to local schoolchildren and bring pets into schools so they can learn about different kinds of animals.

"We tell them what it's like to own a business, take care of the pets and never get to take a vacation," Kathy said.

A person alerted me earlier that a parking enforcement officer was on Center Street chalking tires. I went out to try and get a picture, but couldn't find him, only the chalked tires (FWIW, this picture is not of my car. Mine was in a parking lot with one chalk mark at the time).

The person who told me about the tire chalking said she had never seen parking enforcement downtown before. I spoke to a business owner and another office worker -- who always parks on the street -- and neither of them had seen it before. One shop owner remembers parking enforcement one day last summer.

I called Chief Randy Baker to ask if this was something new or what's going on? He said nothing has changed.

"I beg to differ that people haven't seen him out before," Baker said.

Baker said there is a two-hour parking restriction downtown and the city employs a part-time parking enforcement officer who monitors parking, addresses problems when he sees them and responds to complaints.

I asked the chief for statistics on the number of parking tickets written per month and he said that number should be available in a couple of days.

Terrance D. Bauer, 48, of Church Street, Alabama, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and criminal possession of marijuana, 5th. Bauer was taken into custody by the Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force following the execution of a search warrant at his residence on Oct.15. Bauer was allegedly found in possession of marijuana and a billy club, which he cannot legally possess. Bauer was released on his own recognizance following his arraignment in Town of Alabama Court.

Craig A. Tiberio, 21, of Lathrop Avenue, Le Roy, is charged with assault, 3rd. Tiberio is accused of getting into an argument at a residence on St. Mary's Street, Pavilion, and punching another person in the face causing physical injury.

Robert Adam Barnhart, 25, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Barnhart was arrested on a warrant out of Wyoming County.

Aaron John Gugel, 18, of Donahue Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. A K-9 handled by Deputy Brian Thompson reportedly alerted on Gugel's car, parked at 260 State Street.

Sharmice Shantell Gibson, 18, Wood Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. A K-9 handled by Deputy Brian Thompson reportedly alerted on Gibson's car, parked at 260 State Street.

Some time ago, during one of our discussions on The Batavian about big box stores, it occurred to me that it might be interesting to get Assemblyman Steven Hawley's take on the issue. Hawley is somebody with deep roots in the community, a small business owner and as a legislator he is in a position to deal with issues that impact small business owners.

Steve was gracious enough to write a response to my question about his position on these issues. Below is his response.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, I, C – Batavia): What the state legislature and local community can do to support New York’s small businesses.

In our free market economy, practiced in the United States, consumer demand is the driving force behind the success or failure of all businesses. Products and services are produced on an as-needed basis, with increased sales or transactions or product made and another job created. In truth, the way you spend your dollar has a ripple effect that can reach across your community, the state of New York, the country and sometimes across the globe. That’s the beauty of the free market – the power is in your hands.

Armed with the knowledge that the market conforms to your decisions, the question becomes how you want to spend your hard-earned money. In communities across our great state, consumers are faced with the same decision each and every day; should I take my dollar to a locally owned business or to the nearest “Big Box” location?

Surely, I recognize the minor advantages presented by global conglomerates offering generic products in bulk at deflated prices, but the consequences of abandoning your neighborhood shop in favor of a multi-national corporation go far beyond the bill at the bottom of your receipt.

For example, the money made by a business is used for, among other things, creating and maintaining positions of employment. Companies like Home Depot are world-renowned for hiring almost exclusively on a part-time basis so that they can avoid paying benefits afforded to full-time employees, such as health insurance and paid vacation.

So when you buy your groceries at a “Big Box” store, you are perpetuating their cycle of under-employment and inadequate compensation for their workers, who are also your neighbors. When you buy locally made products at your neighborhood store, your dollar is providing full-time, gainful employment for the members of your community.

The industry that may rely the most heavily on the loyalty of the local consumer is agriculture. No other profession requires the amount of dedication and hard work displayed by Western New York’s farmers.

This is why it is so vital for consumers to partake in local farmers’ markets that display the best agricultural products in the community in one convenient location. I have introduced legislation A11270 that would encourage businesses -- large and small -- to sell NY grown (goods), and produce an income-tax credit based on receipts scale. We all need to take pride in our citizens and businesses ingenuity and incredible capacity to produce high quality products.

Buying locally from small businesses provides jobs that offer adequate compensation for their employees, which feeds back into the economy on even deeper levels. If a worker has access to vacation days, they are able to travel with their family to state parks and other attractions, keeping revenue in the state that funds our schools, hospitals and community projects.

Travelers eat at local restaurants, which use their profits to employ residents of their communities, who in turn can contribute to the state’s economy in the same fashion. In a free and open market, every dollar spent embarks on a cyclical path, and the results are felt on a bafflingly large scale.

This is why it is so important that consumers pass up the allures of “Big Box” stores and stay committed to the products and services being provided by the members of their own communities; every dollar you spend has a ripple effect that will eventually circulate and positively affect you.

As an independent businessperson, I know firsthand the impact of nationwide “Big Box” companies who attempt to impact my own bottom line. I employ eight people in my business, whose jobs are jeopardized by these “Big Box” insurance companies that employ the bare minimum of local residents, if at all. All businesses like mine face a heightened, adversarial impact from national companies located outside NY. The impact requires us all to utilize differing methods of business acumen.

If the power is in the hands of the consumer, this begs the question: what role does the state legislature play in the realm of business? The main responsibility of the state legislature in this area is to create and foster opportunities.

There are multiple approaches to achieving this end and, for New York, the most pressing is creating a more welcoming business environment. Surveys consistently rank New York near the bottom for being business-friendly. As reported by the National Federation of Independent Business, 79 out of 150 (53 percent) New York State Assembly members voted against business interests a staggering 80 percent of the time.

This poor ranking is attributable to stringent regulations and oppressive taxes, which put an undue burden on businesses both large and small. The state legislature plays a key role in setting these unfortunate policies. To truly help strengthen small business and heightened employment, the state legislature must cut taxes, drastically reduce oppressive mandates and put an end to out-of-control state spending.

I have personally sponsored legislation to work with businesses instead of against them, such as my bill to extend the agricultural property tax credit to qualifying farmers, legislation to repeal the $50 registration fee for businesses to collect sales tax and legislation to repeal the 2 percent utility tax.

These actions create a more permissive environment, in which all businesses will have an environment more conducive for success. These changes would particularly help small businesses, as taxes create extra cost that they do not have the capacity to absorb, forcing them either to close their doors or relocate. With the shackles of regulations and taxes relieved, small businesses will be given an opportunity to compete, thrive and innovate in the free market.

The spread of the globalized economy has ushered Big Box stores into communities across the state, threatening the small businesses that are the backbone of our local economies. This shift in the structure of the marketplace must be answered by legislation that supports our small businesses so that they are still able to compete and offer products to consumers. In a free market, consumers have the power to make the choice of supporting local businesses -- our own neighbors.

UPDATED 11:50 a.m.

A diesel fuel delivery truck hit a passenger vehicle on Route 19 just north of Bergen a little after 7 a.m., causing 50 to 70 gallons of diesel fuel to spill and severely injuring the driver of the passenger vehicle.

Route 19 has been closed since the accident and will be closed for well into the afternoon.

The name of the driver of the passenger vehicle is not available at this time and nobody else was in the car with him. He was taken by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital.

Two drivers where entrapped, but the truck driver was suffered only minor injuries, according to Tim Yaeger, the county's emergency management coordinator.

A third car was involved, but was only a minor part of the accident, according to Sgt. James Meier. The car just clipped the truck as it was coming to rest, Meier said.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation and the cause of the accident. Names of the victims are expected to be released later.

Yaeger said the truck, after striking the car, turned on its side and rolled into some trees. 

The fuel on the truck needed to be transferred to another truck before it could be up righted.

UPDATE 11:05 a.m.: The road clean up is going to take longer than expected. Special equipment needs to be brought in from Victor. Once on scene, the work is expected to take as long as two hours, so this section of Route 19 could be closed for up to three more hours.

UPDATE 12:21 p.m.: The drivers have been identified: James E. Simons, 36, of Mount Morris, was driving a 2001 Jeep. Aron S. Flatt, 38, of Ontario, was driving the tanker truck. Patrick J. Donahue, 21, of Batavia, was driving a 2008 Ford pickup truck. 

According to the Sheriff's Office, Simons was heading north on Route 19 at 5:30 a.m. when his Jeep crossed the center line and collided with the tanker. The tanker was loaded with approximately 2000 gallons of diesel fuel.  Donahue was not injured and his truck sustained only minor damage. 

Simons and Flatt were both transported to Strong. Flatt was taken by ground ambulance, Simons by Mercy Flight.

The crash is being investigated by deputies James Weis, Frank Bordonaro, Ron Meides and Sgt. James Meier. Assisting at the scene were the Bergen and Churchville fire departments as well as Genesee county Emergency Management and NYTS Department of Environmental Conservation.

A bicycle rider has been struck in the area of 8322 Park Road, Batavia.

Mercy EMS and Town of Batavia Fire are being dispatched.

UPDATE 8:13 a.m.: Town of Batavia back in service. This is not a motor vehicle accident, a chief reports. A man fell off his bicycle.

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There is great beauty to be found in Genesee County, but the best shots can't always be captured from public roads. Once in a while, I see a shot I want, but need to get permission to walk across private property. Today, I drove out to a house on Lewiston Road because I knew there was a barn I liked, also I've been interested in getting the best angle on the shot above. For both pictures, the best shot wouldn't come from the roadside. Fortunately, the landowner was home and kind enough to let me wander around on his property.

At least two Batavia Police units are responding to a laundromat on Ellicott Street where four individuals are reportedly fighting.

Police were at the same location earlier this evening for a reported argument between a woman and her boyfriend.

A Batavia man previously accused of stealing from local stores is in trouble again -- this time for allegedly burglarizing a business on Harvester Avenue and forging checks from that business.

Michael J. Piasta, 30, of 415 East Main St., was arrested by Batavia Police following an investigation and charged with burglary, 3rd, and criminal possession of a forged instrument.

Piasta is accused of breaking into a business at 56 Harvester Ave. and stealing checks and credit cards.

He allegedly tried to cash two business checks at area banks and is accused of using the credit card at various locations.

Piasta was jailed without bail.

Previously, Piasta allegedly stole some DVDs from Pandora's Boxx and fled on foot. He was the subject of a short manhunt at St. Joseph Cemetery off of Buell Street. Also, he was previously accused of stealing beer from Wilson Farms on East Main Street. In that case, Piasta was apparently caught on camera at the store, and at the time of his arrest he was wanted on a warrant out of Niagara County.

Information on the court status of those cases is not immediately available.

A pole fire has been reported in the area of Route 33 and Upton Road, Batavia.

East Pembroke Fire has responded.

For the next 30 minutes, parts of Genesee County are in the path of a thunderstorm that has prompted a warning from the National Weather Service.

The thunderstorm warning is effect until 7 p.m.

Winds may exceed 60 mph.

The line of storms were located 17 miles west of Medina and 13 miles west of Darien and moving east at 50 mph.

The weather service said that while these thunderstorms contain very little lightning, "do not wait for the sight of lightning or sound of thunder to seek shelter."

UPDATE: Warning cancelled. The Weather Service reports that doppler radar showed the storm weakening at 6:46 p.m.

With a vacant $80,000-a-year position, the City of Batavia is moving forward to eliminate its own youth director position and share the top youth manager position with Genesee County.

By restructuring Youth Bureau staffing, the city hopes to save $15,600 a year while maintaining current programs -- some of which have been around since the 1950s -- at current levels.

"We really need this program to work," said Councilman Bill Cox. "What I like about this proposal is (it's) not only is a reduction in our budget, it's another step toward working together. Whether you call it consolidation or call it shared services, it's one more step toward working with the county."

Under terms of the proposal, the county's current youth director would become the top manager of the city's Youth Bureau. The shared director would work for the city one day a week and the county would provide an additional five hours of clerical support.

The total cost to the city will be $21,365.

Under the current budget, total compensation for the Youth Director position is $78,960, which is based on the salary, taxes and benefits paid out for the former youth director, who retired six months ago. Her base salary was $59,369. However, according to Jason Molino, she didn't use the city's health care plan, so replacing the director position could actually cost $12,000 more.

The projected $15,000 savings with the shared-services agreement is based on the current budget.

In the restructured Youth Bureau, the city would retain a youth coordinator position, raising the compensation from $56,676 to $60,853. A new position, youth program specialist, would be created with a compensation package of $50,000 (base salary of $29,457), and a part-time rec leader position would be retained at $9,453.

Much of the funding for youth programs in the city comes from state grants that have been in place for decades. Among the programs funded is a six-week summer youth program at all five city parks. The summer programs have been in place since the 1950s and are free to the public. They mostly serve youths 6 to 14. Without the grants, the programs wouldn't exist.

Grants also fund a youth/neighborhood technology center, open 2 to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Funded by Time Warner, the center provides seven computers and tutoring.

The Town of Batavia also makes a contribution toward the cost of the city's youth programs because some town children participate in the programs.

"It’s very important there are some opportunities for youths," said Councilman Sam Barone (pictured). "There’s an old saying, 'You can pay me now, or you pay me later,' but if we give our youths an opportunity to learn and grow it will pay off for us later."

Paul Schlaggel stands with the giant pumpkins he's selling in front of his place on Walnut Avenue, Batavia.

South Beach owner Ken Mistler announced today that he won't require Suzanne Corona to carry a sign in front of the restaurant saying "I stole from South Beach."

"Her sincere apology was restitution enough for me," Mistler said.

Corona, already facing a public lewdness conviction for her part in a sex act at Farrall Park in June, could have been charged with a felony for trashing the South Beach lunch buffet one afternoon last month. To avoid the charge, she signed a contract with Mistler last week admitting her deed and agreeing to carry the sign for four hours.

Mistler said Corona's husband reached out to him through a mutual friend to ask if during the four-hour walk he could be their to protect his wife from public abuse.

"It was at that point that I realized that this affects more than Suzanne," Mistler said. "It affects her whole family. I can't punish her family for something she did."

Reached this afternoon, Corona said she was grateful to Mistler for his decision.

"That is very wonderful of him," Corona said. "I told this to the media before and it got cut out -- he's a very fair man, a nice man and I respect him very much. I can't thank him enough that he's chosen this direction for my family."

After Corona got out of the hospital following an eight-day stay, she immediately came to Mistler ready to sign the contract, Mistler said. He said he figured that was a hard eight days lying in a hospital bed thinking about what she had done and the anticipation of the walk was probably difficult to think about.

He said he didn't feel the need to ask any more of her.

"She never said she wouldn't do the walk," Mistler said.

While Corona is off the hook for the four-hour "walk of shame," Mistler said he is suggesting to her -- only a suggestion -- that she volunteer for four hours with a local agency such as the animal shelter or help with a charity event.

"I've done that before," Corona said. "I've volunteered in soup kitchens. I've volunteered at a hospice. I can certainly do something for him in that regard. I most certainly will."