Stories from

A motor-vehicle aciddent is ported in the area of 11151 Alexander Road, Alexander, and one person reportedly has a head injury.

Alexander fire and ambulance responsing.

A tree is down with wires across the roadway on Main Road, Stafford, near Fargo Road.

Stafford fire is responding.

UPDATE 7:13 p.m.: Traffic is being slowed, not stopped, on Route 5.

Genesee County Emergency Management Services was conducting water pump operations training for new recruits this afternoon at DeWitt Recreation Area, with assistance from Le Roy fire and Byron fire departments.

The goal while I was there was to get the flow up to 1,500 gallons per minute. Town of Batavia's Ladder 25 is capable of flowing 2,000 gallons a minute.

If you want to do fun stuff like this, become a volunteer firefighter in your community. Visit Ready Genesee for more information.

A Security Roofing pickup truck was traveling north on Bank Street at about 8 a.m. when it swerved to miss a dog in the road, hit the curb and then a guy wire of a utility pole, causing it to roll onto its side. 

The location was just north of Washington Avenue.

The driver of the pickup, a male in his 30s, was transported to UMMC to be checked out. 

The truck's load of scaffolding spilled onto Bank Street.

National Grid called to the scene to fix the guy wire.

City fire also on location for leaking fluids from the truck.

Photos and reporting by Alecia Kaus / Video News Service.

Jenny Hoehn received her $10,000 prize today as the winner of the Wheels and Heels charity raffle. Executive Director Jeanne Walton presented the check.

Photo submitted by Jeanne Walton.

 

Tomorrow, take the opportunity to tour some of the finest gardens and homes in Batavia.

The Landmark Society of Genesee County is once again hosting the annual House and Garden Tour, this time in cooperation with Vibrant Batavia.

The tour runs from noon to 4:30 p.m. and tickets are $20 per person. Proceeds will go to the Batavia Cemetery Association to assist with efforts to restore the Richmond Mausoleum.

Above, Jim and Kathy Owen of 2 Redfield Parkway in a portion of their garden. The first three photos below are from their garden.

David Gann outside his home on East Avenue. David said the credit for the garden's beauty goes entirely to his wife, Marcia. "I'm just the guy who cuts the lawn," he said. Unfortunately, Marcia wasn't home when The Batavian dropped in unannounced for a picture.

The home and yard of Judith Hale, 14 Jackson Ave.

These pictures are of Lou and Millie Moretto's yard, 65 Edgewood Drive. Millie said the yard is entirely Lou's handy work. Note the fairy garden below.

Lucine Kauffman added this reminder in comments:

Tickets will be available the day of the tour (Saturday) at the Batavia Cemetery starting at 11:30 a.m.

Full press release about the event after the jump:

The Landmark Society of Genesee County will hold its 4th Annual House and Garden Tour on Saturday, August 2, from 12 to 4:30 p.m. Each year the Landmark Society donates proceeds from the tour to support a local preservation effort. This year the proceeds will go to the Batavia Cemetery Association to assist with its efforts to restore the Richmond Mausoleum. Specifically, the stained glass window in the mausoleum is in need of extensive repairs. The Historic Batavia Cemetery on Harvester Avenue will be one of the stops on the tour, and stationed at the mausoleum, Connie Boyd will portray Mary Richmond.

The tour will showcase notable homes and gardens in the City of Batavia. Vibrant Batavia has collaborated with the Landmark Society to organize and plan the event. The Sun Catchers Garden Club has pitched in to help staff the cemetery tour stop and decorate the Richmond Mausoleum exterior with flower pots that its members design. The Youth Bureau Community Garden and the Peace Garden will also be open and staffed with volunteers to provide information and answer questions.

House and Garden Tour Chairperson Marcia Gann’s home will be one of the stops on the tour “The Landmark Society is so pleased to have partnered with Vibrant Batavia this year. Leanna Di Risio has worked with our committee and given us the benefit of her enthusiasm, event planning experience, and contacts in the city. She’s gone above and beyond by opening her beautiful home for one of the tour stops, too. We have an interesting mixture of old and new homes; public and private gardens; and both new and established gardens. We even have a Fairy Garden on the tour this year!”

The private homes on the tour are:

• RaeAnn Engler and Richard Beatty* (home also open for tour)
• 123 Summit St.
• C. 1870 National/Vernacular Style
• When RaeAnn and Richard moved into 123 Summit in 2000, they gutted the interior down to the old studs. Over the next few years virtually everything was replaced except for the framing and oak wood floors. Remarkably, RaeAnn and Richard are only the second family to live here. In 2005 they were named Homeowners of the Year by the City of Batavia. In the gardens they salvaged peonies, tulips, some raspberries, and perennial springtime star flowers. Over the years a variety of perennials and more raspberries have been added. This year the raised vegetable beds were revamped.

• Georgene and Rocco Della Penna
• 19 Richmond Ave.
• C. 1930 Colonial Revival Style
• “I started buying bulbs and progressed to perennial flowers. Two of my favorites are Chinese Tree Peony and Lime Light Hydrangea. I have been gardening for 25 years; it is my favorite pastime. The garden looks the best in June, but we enjoy it throughout the growing season.”

• Dave and Marcia Gann* (home open for tour)
• 268 East Ave.
• C. 1935 Cape Cod
• Dave and Marcia have resided in their Cape Cod home with Arts and Crafts influences for 25 years. The gardens encircling the house were designed and landscaped by Tim Richley and Holly Dougherty. The gardens feature several varieties of hydrangea.

• Paula Miller* (home open for tour)
• 15 Pearl St.
• C. 1927 Folk Victorian Style
• Paula has used Small Space Gardening techniques to create an outdoor living and entertaining room. Her newly planted garden features annuals, perennials, and vegetables arranged around a large backyard patio.

• Debbie and Mike Barone
• 3919 W. Main Street Road
• C. 1948 Ranch Style
• “I love to add unique things to my gardens such as antique pieces. We supplement the perennial selection with annuals to add further color and appeal. The arbor covered with climbing clematis serves as the gateway from our sunroom to our peaceful backyard.”

• Leanna and Dan Di Risio* (home open for tour)
• 60 Edgewood Drive
• C. 2012 Craftsman Style
• “Our simple landscape blooms from spring to fall, and during the summer months we display flower planters to add bursts of color throughout the front and back yard. We recently installed a back patio to give us additional entertaining space to be enjoyed by family and friends!”

• Lou and Millie Moretto
• 65 Edgewood Drive
• C. 2010 Ranch Style
• Several specimen plants make Lou’s yard unique. In only four years, a vacant field has been transformed into a beautiful landscape with the help of Tony and Michele Moretto Slominski (LANDVISION). Lou’s young garden is designed to have something in bloom throughout the season. Be sure to see the “Fairy Garden.”

• Rose Mary Christian
• 29 Williams St.
• C. 1958 Ranch Style
• “I have lived here for over 12 years and my flower bed garden just keeps on growing! My favorite two flowers are from Poland and I will tell you about them when you visit on the tour.”

• Tim and Lisa Stoddard
• 20 Ellicott Ave.
• C. 1880 Queen Anne Style
• Victorian gardens featuring period plants complement this fairy tale home with a large circular front porch and ornate decorative trim. The Stoddards are Landmark Society of Genesee County Preservation Award recipients for their historically appropriate, meticulous restoration of this Batavia gem.

• Jim and Kathy Owen
• 2 Redfield Parkway
• C. 1930 Colonial Revival Style
• A long-established garden hidden from the bustle of Main Street in a park-like setting. This yard features a variety of hosta plants, an informal perennial garden, and a small pond.

• Judith Hale
• 14 Jackson Ave.
• C. 1951 Cape Cod Style
• Showcasing a beautiful collection of hosta plant varieties, Judith’s gardens flow from the front to the back of the property. Each flower bed is painstakingly cared for.

Refreshments will be served at each tour stop.

Door prize drawings will be held at the Historic Batavia Cemetery at 4:30. Completed tour surveys will serve as the door prize entries. You must be present to win. Prizes were generously donated by: Delre’s Greenhouse and Garden Center; Floral Fantasies; Harvester 56 Theatre; Pudgie’s Lawn & Garden; The Landmark Society of Genesee County; and Vibrant Batavia.

Tickets are $20 per person and are available for presale at Harrington’s Produce (Batavia), GOART!, and Valle Jewelers. Tickets will also be available the day of the tour at the Batavia Cemetery starting at 11:30 a.m.

Reed Eye Associates held an open house and their official ribbon cutting today at their new location in Batavia on Washington Avenue (the former school administration building).

From left, Dr. Ronald Reed, Chamber President Tom Turnbull, Assemblyman Steve Hawley and Dr. Alan Bloom.

Previously: New home of Reed Eye built with historic preservation and customer care in mind

Press release:

On July 31st the City of Batavia Police Department joined by the Genesee County Drug Task Force (The Genesee Drug Task Force is comprised of personnel from Batavia PD, Le Roy PD and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.), Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and Genesee County Probation participated in the second neighborhood enforcement detail this summer. The purpose of these details was to systematically approach known problem areas within the City and target criminal activity.

In total 12 law enforcement personnel from four different agencies were partnered in focused enforcement details in seven separate locations. NET patrols included State Street, Bank Street, Tracy Avenue, Dellinger Avenue, Holland Avenue, and the Ellicott Street Corridor. The following are results of this year’s second detail:

45 data runs
24 vehicle/traffic stops
14 Traffic tickets issued
4 Vehicles Searched
3 Penal Law Arrests

• Munroe, Isaiah J.A., age 24, Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, Court Date 08/12/14
• Witkop, Michael A, age 22, Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, Court Date 08/12/14
• Lattimer, Henry, L., age 33, Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, Court Date 08/19/14

12 probation checks
3 probation violations

Batavia Police Chief Shawn Heubusch said “The City Police will continue to make a concentrated effort in those areas that need the most enforcement. We are lucky to have the assistance of the other agencies in providing the support to these very productive details. Many major crimes have been solved by starting small; officers know that the simple traffic stop or street encounter has the possibility to turn into a major arrest. These details have a proven track record of producing tangible results and therefore we look forward to implementing them as the year progresses.”

Genesee County Chief Deputy of Investigations Jerome Brewster added “The NET details provide local law enforcement with the resources necessary to address 'quality of life' issues for our citizens. Through the shared efforts of the Batavia Police, Sheriff's Office, Probation and Parole, we can have an immediate impact on drug dealing, drug-related activity, probation and parole violations, as well as related unlawful behaviors in areas previously noted for this type of behavior. Input from our citizens is critical so that our resources can be directed to areas where the enjoyment of property and neighborhoods have been compromised by the actions of others.”

Neighborhood Enforcement Team (NET) details were outlined in the City’s Strategic Plan as part of the City’s Neighborhood Revitalization efforts. They include dedicated patrols for targeted enforcement with the goal of intercepting and interrupting the flow of illegal drugs, weapons and other contraband as well as locating and arresting wanted persons. All agencies involved expect to continue joint law enforcement efforts in the future. These details are not advertised prior to taking place and locations are selected based on criminal data, the presence of nuisance and illegal behavior and ongoing investigations.  

If you see criminal activity or know about a crime that has occurred please contact the Batavia Police Department at (585) 345-6350 or the confidential tip line at (585) 345-6370.

Statement:

A joint statement issued by the Presidents of the Le Roy Fire Department, Inc., and the Le Roy Fireman's Benevolent Association

 "We are both shocked and saddened by the news of the alleged larceny by the Treasurer of the Department and the Association. Both the Department and the Association have been cooperating with the authorities including the Office of the New York State Comptroller and the Le Roy Police Department during this investigation. Our respective organizations would like to apologize to the residents of our fire community, and the Town and Village of Le Roy for any mistrust in our organizations these allegations may have caused. The Le Roy Firemen’s Benevolent Association and the Le Roy Fire Department, Inc., have already taken steps in our financial policies to keep this type of activity from happening in the future. Both our organizations are committed to providing the best emergency service to our community, and will strive to work hard to restore any loss of faith in our organizations.”

The Presidents want to remind the public that the Fire Department and the Association do not receive any real property tax money. The Association receives their money from the State Insurance Department’s 2-percent fund, while the Department’s budget is derived from fund-raising and donations.  

Frost Ridge Campground is on the brink of insolvency, the attorney for Greg and David Luetticke-Archbell told Judge Robert C. Noonan during a court hearing today.

He's seeking at least temporary relief from the ban on live shows at the campground in Le Roy.

Today's hearing was held so attorney Mindy Zoghlin, representing the people suing Frost Ridge over live music shows at the campground, could make a motion to re-argue one of the issues under consideration by Noonan.

Attorney David Roach, representing Frost Ridge, would have liked today's appearance to have been a hearing on his motion to dismiss the lawsuits against his clients.

Roach was hoping there would be testimony today on when the Zoning Board of Appeals filed minutes from its September 2013 meeting where it determined Frost Ridge was in compliance with Town of Le Roy zoning law.

Roach tried to make the case during the hearing that Noonan needs to revisit sooner rather than later his temporary order barring live music and alcohol service at Frost Ridge.

Noonan wanted the attorneys to focus on coming up with a time for a hearing on the ZBA filing.

After attorneys met privately and then met with Noonan in his chambers, it was determined that the hearing will be at 9 a.m., Aug. 21.

In the meantime, Noonan agreed to let Roach draft an order that would temporarily lift the temporary restraining order and allow Frost Ridge to hold a live music concert Aug. 9.

That's the date Blackberry Smoke, one of the more popular acts to perform at Frost Ridge each year, is scheduled to return.

In open court, Zoghlin tried to suggest to Noonan that allowing any shows prior to resolution of the ZBA filing status isn't necessary because Noonan has already ordered that if Frost Ridge prevails in the lawsuit, they are entitled to nearly a quarter of a million dollars in restitution.

Of course, even a quarter of a million dollars somewhere down the road won't necessarily help a shuttered business reopen, which is why Roach is pushing for some mechanism to allow the bands to play on.

"The reality they are not facing is where the preliminary injunction effectuates the relief the town is seeking and (in previous cases) courts are loathe to allow preliminary injunctions to provide ultimate relief," Roach said during the hearing.

The big hold up in the case is getting either the ZBA's clerk or the town's code enforcement officer, or both, to testify as to a general time frame of when minutes from the ZBA's meeting in September 2013 were filed.

The town clerk has provided an affidavit attesting to the fact that the minutes were filed, she just couldn't remember when.

If the filing date is proven to be any time before April 8 (even if the exact date is not established), then Roach's motion to dismiss the lawsuits filed by the Town of Le Roy and the Cleere and Collins families could potentially be granted by Noonan.

Under New York law, people who wish to challenge a board's decision have 30 days to file such a challenge. The clock starts ticking when a written, public document memorializing the decision is filed with the jurisdiction's clerk.

Noonan ordered more than two weeks ago that a hearing on the ZBA minutes should be held immediately.

The hearing still hasn't taken place, in part because Noonan's court has been busy, which Noonan admitted, but Noonan also laid much of the blame on the shoulders of the attorneys for not agreeing on a time.

Roach expressed a great deal of confidence that either the town clerk, the ZBA clerk or the code enforcement officer for the Town of Le Roy, should be able to testify that the minutes were filed well before April 8, and probably in 2013.

The threat of losing that motion is apparently what prompted Zoghlin's motion today to invalidate the ZBA's determination favoring Frost Ridge all together.

Zoghlin's motion is for a "jurisdictional defect." In essence, she's arguing that because there is no formal document memorializing the ZBA's decision, and no formal process that Frost Ridge followed requesting a ZBA ruling, the ZBA had no authority to make its determination.

Roach said there's no written law and no case law that support's Zoghlin's position, also for a motion to re-argue a point from a previous hearing to be successful, the point must have been argued in the first place. Roach said that since Zoghlin (and she disagrees with Roach on this) didn't raise the "jurisdictional defect" argument the first time around, she doesn't get to re-argue it now.

"If the court did not have that jurisdictional defect argument advanced before it in response to my motion to dismiss, there's nothing for the court to have overlooked or misapprehended," Roach said. "The court of appeals has ruled that you cannot bring a new argument to a motion to re-argue."

If Noonan grants the order being drafted by Roach to allow live music at Frost Ridge between now and the hearing on the motion to dismiss the lawsuits, Roach said there will be reasonable restrictions attached. For example, there would be a limit on the decibel levels of the show.

"Frost Ridge, and I want to make this perfectly clear, Frost Ridge did not and does not presently have any intent of causing an unreasonable noise disturbance to its neighbors," Roach said.

Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame?

New York Times: Pete Rose Awaits His Return, 25 Years Into Exile

It took a Genesee County jury all of 95 minutes to conclude that Sean Vickers did in fact molest five boys in Batavia over the several years prior to 2013.

The guilty verdict on five counts concludes a three-day trial in County Court.

Vickers, 45, will be sentenced at 10:30 a.m., Aug. 28 29.

The defendant stood motionless in a pressed black suit as the jury foreman was asked to recite the verdict on each of the five counts against Vickers.

Sodomy in the first degree: Guilty.

Sodomy in the first degree: Guilty.

Criminal sexual act in the first degree: Guilty.

Criminal sexual act in the first degree: Guilty.

Sexual abuse in the first degree: Guilty.

Previous coverage:

• Former Batavia resident accused of sex offense against a child more than a decade ago
• Grand Jury indicts man for alleged sexual conduct with a child under 13
• Former Batavia resident accused of sexual conduct with a child appears in court
• Brothers suspected of having multiple sexual abuse victims over three-decade period
• Detective worries there may be more victims locally of alleged child molester
• Chance at bail revoked for man accused of sexually assaulting children in the city years ago
• Grand Jury indicts convicted child molester on 11 new counts
• Alleged child abuser picks trial over plea deal with a possible 40-year prison term
• Trial of convicted sex offender Sean Vickers begins today
• Molester had abundant opportunities to sexually abuse kids in this case, but so did many others
• Child gives explicit testimony in sex abuse trial of Sean Vickers
• Two experts testify about characteristics of child sexual abuse and its effects in Vickers trial
• Attorneys present their cases to the jury in sexual abuse case

The Raceway Mini-Mart at 629 E. Main St., Batavia, has closed.

A customer contacted us last week about the impending closure and said the store shelves were nearly bare as the owners wound down their operation of the location. She said the owners told her annual rent increases were making it harder to keep the business going. 

She said she was sad to see them close.

"They are the nicest store owners I have encountered," she said. "Every time I’ve gone in there I have just felt that they were so appreciative of my business, and their friendly nature is just so welcoming."

The property is owned by Kevin Brady, president of Townsend Energy in Le Roy.

Brady wasn't available for comment, but a Townsend employee said the building has been leased to another operator and will reopen, but no name or opening date is available at this time.

Photo and some reporting by Alecia Kaus / Video News Service.

Inconsistencies in witnesses testimonies, a lack of evidence, and a witness who had motivation to lie are all reasons to find Sean Vickers not guilty of sexually abusing five boys in Batavia, defense attorney Jerry Ader told jurors today in closing arguments of the three-day trial.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman countered that Ader "nibbled around the edges" of the case and ignore inconvenient facts.

Jurors are being asked to decide whether Vickers is guilty of sodomy (the title of the law at the time of the alleged offenses) and criminal sexual act.

Vickers, a former Batavia resident, was living in Geneva at the time of his arrest. 

Ader, of the Public Defender's Office, told jurors that one witness told investigators at one time that he was eight years old when Vickers molested him; at trial, the same person said the acts occurred in 2011. 

Both statements couldn't be true, Ader said.

"You have people here who just don't remember what happened and when," Ader said. "That leads to whether these things happened at all."

Friedman said that while a person's childhood memories may be faulty about dates, they aren't faulty -- at least in this case -- about the searing memories of abuse.

None of the alleged victims at any point were inconsistent or recanted their testimony about specific acts of abuse, even if they couldn't place them at the right time in their lives.

"That's not something they forget," Friedman said. "That's not something they confuse with something else. That's something that sticks with them for the rest of their lives."

Ader said only one police officer testified at trial and provided only one fact relevant to the case.

"The people did not offer any evidence to support the alleged victim's testimony from an unbiased law enforcement investigation," Ader said. "You heard testimony from a forensic expert that interestingly can explain every inconsistency as being consist with child abuse. How convenient that every possible inconsistency can support sexual abuse."

There was an investigation, Friedman said. That's how some of the witnesses were located and their stories of past abuse -- or knowledge of abuse -- were brought to light.  

And the forensic expert didn't testify that inconsistencies were evidence. She explained, Friedman said, why children who have been abused sometimes lie, hide the truth, are fearful of coming forward and change their stories. 

"We're not at all suggesting that this is evidence of abuse," Friedman said. "This is not a diagnostic tool. We're not saying if you find those factors it proves abuse. The purpose of her testimony is for you to hear from an expert with her speciality explaining why these things happen and don't happen."

The alleged victims were consistent in the key facts: their abuse, Friedman said.

"With five victims in this case, there is no indication of them ever retracting the allegations of sexual abuse," Friedman said. "There's no indication of peer pressure. There's no indication of suggestions by others."

Ader was especially critical of one witness, now an adult serving a state prison term for sexual abuse, who claimed to have been abused by Vickers when he was 12.

The witness has been denied parole before and has another upcoming parole hearing. That's motivation to lie, Ader said.

"He's been in prison for years," Ader said. "He's had more than enough opportunity to make statements, to contact police, to say something about (Vickers) for years, without any threats or promises. (Vickers) can't get him in prison. He can send an anonymous letter. Nothing. But now he needs to get out of prison, so he makes the allegations against (Vickers). How convenient."

The fact is, Friedman said, the witness had shared his allegation of abuse at the hands of Vickers 10 years ago, just not in as much detail as now.

Also, it's not like the witness came forward. An investigator located him and questioned him. There's no evidence the prisoner asked for or received special treatment in exchange for his testimony.

The jury started deliberations after receiving instructions on the law and the counts against Vickers this afternoon.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story left out the word "not" in the following quote from DA Lawrence Friedman: ""This is not a diagnostic tool."

Jim Fulmer John McKenna

Press release:

After 26 years as president and CEO of Tompkins Bank of Castile, James W. Fulmer is retiring from those roles at the end of this year, but will remain as chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors, said Stephen S. Romaine, president and CEO of Tompkins Financial Corporation, the bank’s parent company.

“Jim has been instrumental in Tompkins Bank of Castile’s growth and success for the last quarter century, growing the bank from five locations with assets of $85 million in two counties, to an influential financial services organization with 17 offices in five counties and $1.2 billion in assets,” Romaine said. 

In addition to remaining as chairman of Tompkins Bank of Castile’s Board of Directors, Fulmer will retain several other corporate roles, including vice chairman of the Tompkins Financial Board of Directors, chairman of the board of Tompkins Insurance Agencies, and member of the boards of Tompkins Financial Advisors, Tompkins Mahopac Bank and Tompkins VIST Bank, all affiliates of Tompkins Financial Corp. 

“My position with Tompkins Bank of Castile has been extremely fulfilling because of the team of employees who are dedicated to providing top quality financial services and serving our Western New York communities,” Fulmer said. “Any success we have accomplished is the result of their combined efforts and the expertise of so many talented coworkers.

“My continued involvement at a strategic level will allow me to assist further growth of our affiliates, but also to enjoy some of the benefits of retirement,” he added. 

Fulmer is active in a variety of professional organizations, including the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and was recently appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Community Depository Advisory Council. He actively serves as a member of the board of directors of Erie and Niagara Insurance Association of Williamsville, Cherry Valley Insurance Agencies of Williamsville, the United Memorial Medical Center of Batavia, and is vice chairman of WXXI Public Broadcasting Council of Rochester. 

He and his wife, Marjorie, live in Le Roy. They have three grown children. 

John McKenna Named New President & CEO

The company Board of Directors has named John M. McKenna president and CEO to succeed Fulmer. McKenna has been a senior vice president at Tompkins Bank of Castile for five years, concentrating in commercial lending.

“John has the depth of knowledge of banking, our company’s culture and the Western New York community to continue the bank’s success,” Fulmer said. 

McKenna brought more than 20 years of banking experience to Tompkins Bank of Castile when he joined the organization in 2009. 

A Rochester native, McKenna earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Rochester in 1988 and his M.B.A. in finance and marketing from the William E. Simon School of Business Administration in 1992. 

He resides in Brighton with his wife, Martha, and their four children. Active in the community, he is a board member of the Bishop's Stewardship Council for the Diocese of Rochester, Medical Motor Service of Rochester and Monroe Community Hospital Foundation, and treasurer of Al Sigl Community of Agencies.

Tompkins Bank of Castile is headquartered in Batavia, where McKenna will have his office.

Should Cuomo resign in wake of ethics panel scandal?

Capital New York: Cuomo critics charge illegality after Times' Moreland expose

In the past, when Dr. Ronald Reed has expanded his practice, he's erected gleaming new buildings from the ground up.

But not in Batavia.

Reed Eye Associates has opened its sixth location and Reed selected a location with character and ambiance and a bit of history.

The brick building at 39 Washington Ave., across from Austin Park, was most recently the City Schools administration building, but when originally built in 1903 by Edward Dellinger, it was an elementary school.

Batavia's most prominent architectural firm of the time, Henry Homelius and Son, designed the building.

In remodeling the interior, Reed has kept to an art deco theme with a touch of modernism in keeping with the character of the building.

"I saw the building listed online and went to the site and looked at the building and liked it," Reed said. "I called Tony Mancuso, who had the listing, and he gave me a tour. I thought, 'this building needs a lot of work, but it has some great bones.' "

Refurbishing the building also uncovered a little history. One brickmason left behind a note found in the stairwell that said the best men laid the bricks. Another worker in 1939 put a note in a bottle, which was found in a wall, that said "if you're reading this note, it means by now we're all in hell."  

Then there was letter on YMCA letterhead and postmarked 1913, address to a young Myron Fincher. The apparently mimeographed letter speaks of a young man worthy of attention who exchanged a correspondence with Frank Crane, a Presbyterian minister and newspaper columnist. The letter references the enclosed newspaper column, but the column was not in the envelop.

Fincher was born in 1898 in Corfu and worked on the family farm. His fondness for animals brought him to Cornell University. He became an internationally prominent veterinarian. Early in his career he received the Borden Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association. By the 1960s, he was working overseas in places such as Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Greece, Nigeria and Italy.

Reed said it was thrilling for these little bits of history to be found in his old building.

Reed's company purchased the property from the school district in 2012 for $500,000 and its 13,452-square-foot building. The renovations cost more than $1.5 million and helped put the property back on the tax roles. Reed Eye received $140,861 in tax incentives through Genesee County Economic Development Center for the project.

The expansion of the practice, which was founded in Bushnell's Basin (Pittsford) in 1978 has come, Reed said, as the practice attracted more and more patients. Each time an office would grow beyond its capacity, rather than expand that location, Reed looked at his patient list and figured out where he had a concentration of patients who were driving some distance to get to his office.

First, Reed Eye expanded to Greece, then Irondequoit, then Newark followed by Sodus.

Expansion has been driven, Reed said, by his belief that doctors should focus on their patients.

No long ago, he said he was asked to speak to a group about the secret of his success. He declined, he said, because "there is no secret."

"My word of advise is 'take good care of your patients and your patients will take care of you,' " Reed said. "If that's the focus of your practice, the patients will build your practice. If you don't, you won't have a practice."

With more and more patients from Genesee County, particularly because of a partnership with Dr. Bill Lapple in Le Roy, Batavia seemed to be the natural choice for a sixth office complex.

Reed said there were simply no suitable sites for the office, which was one reason he considered the old school administration building.

The fact that it's large, with plenty of parking (and room for more), centrally located in the city and across the street from a park, where all advantages.

"The park helps give it a nice bucolic feel," Reed said.

In the redesign, as much of the old building was preserved as possible -- the arches, the worn stairway trampled by thousands of students over the years, and the old woodwork. There's even an old desk from the library that is being restored and will be a centerpiece of the entry hallway.

"I've had an interest for some time in historic preservation," Reed said. "We have a 100 year old house in East Rochester that we've been restoring. This seemed like the right thing to do."

The focus on historic preservation shouldn't imply that the practice isn't state of the art. Reed's optometrists, opthamologists and opticians (and even a facial plastic surgeon) have all new equipment to work with.

Read also believes in supporting the communities he does business in. He hires locally as much as possible, he said. Four key employees already with the Batavia office are longtime Batavia or Le Roy residents.

"When a patient walks in the door, they should recognize the people who work there as members of their community," Reed said. "I want to support the town because if the town supports me, it has to be mutual. We want to keep the dollars local."

There will be a ribbon-cutting and open house for Reed Eye Associations at 2 p.m., Friday.

Optomistrist Kimberly Rosati with patient Tanner Richardson, who was in the clinic Wednesday learning how to put in his new contact lenses (picture below).

A Batavia Downs patron is alive today because of the training and calm professionalism of a security guard who started CPR and helped administer defibrillation.

Cory Lapp is only 21, but he's already been a volunteer EMT with the Attica Fire Department for three years (he joined the department at age 16). His medical training came in handy while working security at the casino when he checked on a report of a patron who was down and unresponsive.

"There were a couple of people standing around, so I peaked over and realized he wasn't moving at all," Lapp said.

Lapp immediately started CPR and summoned a partner, Officer Bob Humphrey, to retrieve the defibrillator.

Together, they used the machine on the patient and the man revived and was later transported to the hospital.

The name of the patient has not been released.

As an EMT, Lapp has been called on to perform CPR before, but he said it still feels pretty good to save a life.

"It feels good to know that when he was in my hands, he was alive," Lapp said. "It's a good feeling. It's kind of hard to describe it."

As Lapp walked with a reporter through the facility, coworkers congratulated him.

"Good job, Cory," they said as he walked by.

Due to the likelihood of rain, the Batavia Concert Band's performance this evening is moved to the Stuart Steiner Theater at GCC.

From the announcement:

Tonight's concert will feature bandmembers' and conductor John Bailey's favorite pieces from this Summer and years past. It'll be an audience (and musician) pleasing mix of movie themes, Big Band and Broadway tunes, and of course -- marches!

A child has reportedly been struck by a car in the area of 3314 Buffalo St., Alexander.

Alexander fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 10:54 a.m.: Dispatchers are checking the available of Mercy Flight.

UPDATE(S) by Billie 10:58 a.m.: Mercy Flight 5 out of Batavia is going to the scene and has an ETA of about 7 minutes. The child was struck in front of Alexander Central School and Mercy Flight will be landing in the school's football field.

UPDATE 11:01 a.m.: Mercy medics have arrived. Responders are cautioned that a portion of Route 98 in that area is down to one lane of travel due to construction work.

UPDATE 11:08 a.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.

UPDATE 11:23 a.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne and transporting to Women & Children's Hospital in Buffalo.

UPDATE 11:50 a.m.: Howard at the scene said a child was crossing Buffalo Street southbound and struck by a Ford SUV that was eastbound. The child suffered possible internal injuries. Howard is about to speak with a Sheriff's sargaent to get more details.

UPDATE 12:07 p.m.: Law enforcement is not releasing the name or age of the child, who was a boy. They don't know at this point exactly what happened, if the child just darted out into the street or what. Speed is not considered a factor and other children were nearby. Witnesses are being interviewed. While there's concern about possible internal injuries, the extent of injuries are unknown at this time. The child did suffer leg injuries.

UPDATE 3:40 p.m.: The Sheriff's Office has issued a press release on the accident. The driver is identified Christopher D. Earsing, 30, of Alexander. The child is 8 years old, but not further identified. He is in stable condition at Children's Hospital. The investigation is being conducted by Deputy Matthew Butler and Investigator Roger Stone.