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The 42nd Annual Chamber of Commerce Awards are getting a bit of a makeover this year with no general Business of the Year honoree and a complete skip of Innovative Enterprise of the Year -- even with a qualified nominee in the mix.

Much like last year, there are two winners for Geneseean of the Year, with awards going to Laurie Mastin, of Pavilion, and Timothy Michael Adams, of Stafford.

Rather than Business of Year, the chamber is honoring a Service Business of the Year, Alex's Place, and Retail Business of the Year, Adam Miller Toy & Bicycles.

The Agricultural Business of the Year is Bonduelle USA, Inc., of Bergen and Oakfield.

The Bergen Business and Civic Association is receiving special recognition with a Special Service award.

Nominated by The Batavian for Innovative Enterprise of the Year was Insource Urgent Care, but no award was given in that category for 2013.

While Insource has transformed the urgent care business through innovative use of telemedicine and cooperative arrangements with doctors and specialists from throughout the region, greatly reducing the cost of care for patients, the Batavia-based company was bypassed by the awards committee. 

It's not unprecedented for the chamber to hand out awards with different titles than previous years or what was on nomination forms.

The awards dinner is Feb. 22 at the Clarion Hotel, Park Road, Batavia. Tickets are $50 or a table of 10 for $450. Hors d'oeuvres are at 5:30 p.m. followed by entree tables (no formal sit down dinner). There is a cash bar. The awards program starts at 7 p.m., which will include coffee and dessert.

Call Kelly Bermingham at 343-7440, ext. 26, to make reservations.

City firefighters gave out 25 brand-new, American-made coats to children at the Agri-Business Child Development Center on Brooklyn Avenue yesterday. This is the first year City fire participated in this national program, which is part of Operation Warm and Firefighters Coats for Kids.

Information and photos submitted by Adam Palumbo.

Counterpunch: Oswald Did It and He Acted Alone?

Tom Redband is feeling like perhaps the luckiest first-year varsity basketball coach in the State of New York.

He's taking over an established program with a long history of success and is able to call on two coaching mentors who are among the best in the business -- Tom Nowak, his predecessor, and Buddy Brasky, whom he worked for in Batavia prior to moving to Elba to teach business and coach the Lady Lancers.

"It's rare to take over a program like this," Redband said. "You have to get a little lucky. You have to be in the right place at the right time. It has to be good timing and a good fit. And to have them both (Nowak and Brasky) here, where I can call them up, I can go to either of their houses right now and watch film, it's just a tremendous resource to have."

Redband was a special education aide in Batavia and coached seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders and assisted with the basketball program before he was offered the job in Elba. Redband is also the older brother of Jeff Redband, the junior forward for Batavia High School who sunk that all-important buzzer beater in last year's regional championship game.

Under Nowak, the Lady Lancers won eight section titles and a state title and was ranked among the top 10 Class D programs in the state each of the past eight years (the furthest the records go back). 

Rather than feeling intimidated to step into such big shoes, Redband is feeling excited and fortunate.

"There's so much passion for basketball here," Redband said. "The girls love it. There's a system all set up. There's a ton of postives. There's a youth program. Having him (Nowak) as a resource is amazing. He wants to spread his knowledge to anybody who wants to listen."

In many ways, Redband doesn't see much changing. He shares the philopsphy of Nowak and Braksy, that building winning varsity teams begins with players in the third grade.

"You don't just hope the girls come to high school ready to play," Redband said.

Redband said he will certainly have his own way of doing things, but the core values will remain the same.

"We're blending a lot of what they know," Redband said. "I 'm learning a lot about what they know and then blending in what I know. Hopefully we can get a great fit."

One aspect of the Batavia program Redband is used to is there's almost always some hoops going on somewhere, even in the off season and he will look for an opportunity to get the girls more involved in basketball -- so long as it doesn't interfere with other athletic pursuits -- in the spring, summer and fall.

"That's one thing I learned from Coach Brasky in Batavia," Redband said. "If you want to be good and you want to be good compared to the best, then you've got to put the time in."

How good will Elba be in 2013-14? It's hard to say.

The team graduated five seniors, losing four starters, so it will be a young team. 

"We lost a lot but we still have a lot of talent," Redband said.

The Lady Lancers will be the only Class D team in the Genesee Region, so they will spend most of the regular season playing mostly against larger schools, which makes for a challenging schedule but also preps them for sectionals.

Kelsey Bezon, a starter on the 2012 state champion team, returns as a senior and the point guard.

"We're going to rely heavily on her," Reband said. "That's no secret."

Alex Reigle, Haley Brown, Alyssa Bogue, Bri Pangrazio are also all returning players and Redband said there is a lot of talent in that core group of players.

He praised Reigle, a guard, as smart and strong, a player who loves the game and has a good attitude.

"We're going to be competitive," said Redband, who will be assisted this year by Nathan Shirk. "There's no reason (reaching sectionals) shouldn't be our goal."

Redband also expects the team will benefit from the strong support the Elba community always gives its basketball teams.

"I'd rather coach some place like this where there's an expectation and where people come and they're into it and they watch and it's a community thing rather than some place where it's not that big of deal," Redband said.

Kelsey Bezon

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Pavilion fire is on scene of an apparent accident with a vehicle off the road on its side about a quarter of a mile west of Texaco Town.

Mercy EMS is responding.

Unknown injuries, if any.

UPDATE 8:14 p.m.: Extrication will be required. Traffic being shut down at Route 63 and Transit Road.

UPDATE 8:33 p.m.: Patient extricated and aboard Mercy ambulance. Patient being transported to UMMC.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) criticized Governor Andrew Cuomo today on the House floor for continually delaying hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in New York.

Congressman Collins was speaking in support of legislation to limit the ability of the Obama Administration to regulate fracking. The Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act (H.R. 2728), which Congressman Collins voted for, prevents the federal government from imposing new and burdensome fracking regulations on states.

“In New York we are already facing significant challenges in regards to fracking at the state level. We do not need additional, burdensome federal regulations like those proposed by the Obama Administration, which are over-the-top and step all over the state’s authority to regulate this type of activity,” Congressman Collins said. “Federal ‘one size fits all’ regulations are designed to wrap fracking efforts in endless red tape which will do nothing but slow job creation, decrease domestic energy production and increase the cost of business. “

“States should control their own destiny when it comes to fracking,” continued Collins. “In New York, I remain baffled as to why Governor Cuomo continues to cater to the state’s fringe anti-business interests by upholding the moratorium on fracking. Across the border in Pennsylvania, the economy is growing leaps and bounds because they are taking full advantage of their strategic location along the Marcellus Shale. It is sad that New York is squandering this same opportunity.”

It is estimated that, if finalized, the new regulations being proposed by the Obama Administration will cost $345 million annually or $96,913 per fracking well.

The Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act also places parameters on a current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study related to fracking and potential impact on drinking water resources. The bill’s provisions will help ensure the EPA study produces an objective evaluation.

“There is a real and legitimate fear that the bloated bureaucracy at the EPA will once again produce an open-ended, biased and non-transparent study,” Collins said. “For any study to be helpful to both decision-makers and scientists, it needs to contain an objective risk assessment.”

Masons are making good progress on the new enclosure for commercial garbage cans in the parking lot off School Street, near Center.

The city used $20,000 from a state grant and the Business Improvement District put up $10,000 to construct the enclosure.

The American Conservative: Nixon and Kennedy: The Myths and Reality

It will be impossible in 2014 for the Notre Dame girls basketball team to repeat as Class D state champions.

Section V officials made sure of that.

If the Fighting Irish make it to the post season -- very likely given the fact that all but one top player from last year is returning -- making a deep run in the post season will be difficult.

Again, thanks to Section V officials.

Notre Dame, with only 149 students, has been moved from Class D to Class B2 where eight of the 10 schools in the class have an average of 283 students, and all but Le Roy (283) and Bishop Kearney (216, and last year's Class C state champions) have more than 300 students.

Section V officials moved Notre Dame past Class D1 and three Class C divisions to get the team in with schools nearly twice as big.

"I always thought sports was about the kids, but they're doing what they have to do to make it difficult for the private school and that's just the way it is," Pero said.

Any shot at a State Championship will mean getting past several schools in Class B1 with more than 400 students.

"I'm not crying wolf," Head Coach Dave Pero said. "To me it's not fair, but sometimes life just isn't fair. There's a lot worse things out in life than us going to Class B."

Rather than cry over what he can't change, Pero is doing what good coaches do -- getting his players ready to play, running through offensive and defensive drills, working on conditioning and planning how to use his available resources for the best possible results.

"It is what it is," Pero said. "We're preparing our girls to play and I think they'll handle that, and the chips will fall where they may."

There will be a lot of tools at Pero's disposal: Mel Taylor, the MVP of the state championship game, returns to her play-making guard position; Laurie Call, a Scottish terrier on defense who gets a hold of an opposing player's leg and won't let go; and Burgundy Bartlett, who's quick and strong with three-point range, but is coming off a missed season because of a knee injury.

Then there's Shea Norton, who's grown from last year's 5'10" to 6'1" and added some muscle. The sophomore may be primed for a breakout year. She worked hard on her game over the summer, improving her ball handling and perimeter shooting, making her a threat in the paint and from long range.

"Last year, she was here, but learning," Pero said. "She's improved by leaps and bounds. She's playing the inside, but also making shots outside."

At the post positions, Pero can also look for big contributions from two other tall and strong sophomores, Taylor DiMartino, returning from last year's team, and Becca Krenzer, a transfer from Pavilion. Both are six-footers who can pull down rebounds on both ends of the court.

Also returning are Bailee Welker (who is also made big off season strides, Pero said), Hannah Green, Emily McCracken and Emma Francis, who all made significant contributions during the course of ND's championship run.

"We have 11 players who can contribute, who can come off the bench and I won't feel like we're losing much," Pero said.

That kind of quality player rotation will be important in a season where coaches are expecting refs to call more fouls.

Just like the NCAA, officials have decided the pendulum in basketball has swung too far toward the defense and it's time to let the offense reassert itself. There are no new rules, but rules about hand checking and giving driving shooters space will be more rigorously and consistently enforced.

So far this season in NCAA men's hoops, there have been an average of 10 more fouls called per game. In last Saturday's Niagara and Seton Hall game, there were 72 fouls called and 102 free throws. Men's game scoring has increased to 76 points per team, up from 67.5.

Notre Dame made it through the post season last year in large part because of a never-let-up defensive style that kept opponents off balance and out of sync.

Nobody was more tenacious or aggressive on defense than Call, but after a scrimage yesterday in which the Irish were called for 21 fouls in the first quarter, Pero believes his team learned a valuable lesson, and the lesson wasn't lost on Call.

"She's matured so much and I think her eyes really opened up last night in the second quarter," Pero said. "Even last year through the run, we were worried she was going to get into foul trouble but she changed her game and I think she's mature enough to do that again."

Pero still expects Call to spark the defense.

"If Laurie's on you, you're going to have a lot of problems," Pero said.

Last year Call lead Section V with 120 steals. If she hits that mark again -- and Pero believes she will -- that would put her at 400 career steals, which Pero said would be quite a milestone.

Taylor will also be closing in on a career milestone of 1,000 points scored.

The lone senior to graduate after the state championship was Shea's older sister, Riley Norton. Riley was the team's leading scorer, hitting about 14 points per game, but Pero believes with the improvements in his younger players and the strong rotation he can put on the floor the team can fill the scoring gap.

The Lady Irish will only go as far as the girls are willing to focus and play hard, Pero said, and that's true whether they're in Class D or Class B.

The Genesee Region League -- the majority of ND's regular season opponents -- is comprised mainly of Class C teams. Only Elba -- which won the state championship in 2012 and had a seven-game winning streak against ND snapped in Sectionals last year -- is Class D. The Irish are probably the pre-season favorites to when the GR title.

Which puts them into sectionals, where anything can happen, even when playing bigger schools.

"It's all breaks," Pero said. "When you get into the post season, you've got to catch some breaks and the post season is so far away right now that we want to get through our 18 games and then the post season will be here and we can concentrate on that."

Top photo: Dave Pero.

Mel Taylor

Asst. Coach Dave Pero Jr.

Laurie Call

Bailee Welker

Shea Norton

A car reportedly hit a deer and then a tree in the area of 5641 Ford Road, Elba.

Elba fire and Mercy EMS is responding.

UPDATE 9:27 p.m.: Elba has enough manpower on scene. No need for further response.

UPDATE 9:43 p.m.: Patient being transported to UMMC.

Work is proceeding pretty much on schedule for the county's new emergency communication system and phase I should be up and running by the Feb. 10 deadline, Steven Sharpe told members of the Public Service Committee today.

The necessary equipment has been installed on the towers at Cedar Street and in Pembroke, and the Pavilion tower should be completed shortly.

The microwave-transmission system should be operational soon.

New radios have been installed in more than 200 town and county highway vehicles. Installation started today with Batavia Fire Department's mobile units and volunteer fire departments will start getting their new radios soon.

Sheriff Gary Maha also shared with the committee that Uniden announced over the weekend a new emergency frequency scanner that will be compatible the Phase II P-25 TDMA system being installed by Harris RF.

The new scanners from Uniden should solve the problem being faced by local media, off-duty emergency responders and others who need access to police and fire communications to help them serve the public.

Legislator Marianne Clattenburg asked Maha if the media will have the same access to communications as under the current system and Maha said he believed media outlets would.

The new Harris system makes it easier for law enforcement to encrypt communications, but Maha said encryption will be limited to law enforcement situations and not widely or regularly used.

One hold up with getting equipment installed on the Pavilion tower has been negotiations with American Tower Asset, the company that owns the tower. American Tower apparently wanted a lease fee to have the equipment installed on the tower, but Sharpe believed the company had previously agreed to provide such access for free.

Today, Sharpe said, he obtained the public documents showing that American Tower agreed in 1998 to allow Pavilion fire and Genesee County public safety agencies to use the tower facility at no cost as a term of getting approval to build the tower.

The county is also planning to build -- as part of phase II -- towers in Darien, Bergen and Alabama.

The Darien tower installation was somewhat delayed a few weeks ago when prehistoric human artifacts were found at the site. Researchers have determined, according to Sharpe, that the site was neither a burial ground nor an encampment, but rather a place were items were discarded along a travel path.

Previously:

• Prehistoric artifacts found at site of planned emergency communications tower in Darien
• Grants and bond will pay for $10.8 million upgrade to emergency communications system
• It turns out, nobody currently makes scanners for the county's new emergency radio system
• Sheriff's Office receives $5.4 million grant for radio system upgrade
• Sheriff's communications to dispatch all State Police calls in Genesee County

The forced resignation, said Special Prosecutor Donald O'Geen, of Robert Alexander from the justice position in the Town of Pembroke is a stiff punishment for the former Village of Corfu justice who was charged with official misconduct.

As part of a plea deal that included the restitution of more than $10,000 by Brandi Watts, Alexander's daughter, and her guilty plea to falsifying government documents, Alexander has a chance to have all three charges against him dismissed in six months.

It's called an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. Alexander need only stay out of trouble for the next six months and the counts of official misconduct and coercion will be dropped.

He is also barred from seeking judicial office.

"The end game, Corfu got their money back," O'Geen said. "The person who stole the money, or at least tampered with the public records, is being held accountable. I think having him resign, basically in disgrace is justice for the people of Corfu."

While that outcome may not satisfy those in Corfu who wanted to see Alexander behind bars, O'Geen said people need to understand how the system works.

The charges against Alexander were misdemeanors and Alexander has no prior record.

"Justice comes in many forms," O'Geen said. "We have to deal with the case as it's given to us. Not everything is cut and dry. We also have to figure out what the judge (in the case) is going to do. I just felt like in a case like this, Judge Alexander wasn't going to jail. I don't think he would even been given probation, so as part of a package deal with Brandi, I think this does bring it to a just resolution."

Alexander says the outcome was justice because he hadn't broken the law.

"As Jesus Christ as my witness, as God as my witness, I never intended, nor thought about, or never did, anything in the last 30 years that I've been saved as a Christian that I would ever do anything that would even think about violating the law," Alexander said. "I just thank God this case has ended the way it has. I think it's a fair disposition."

One thing people need to look at in the case, O'Geen said, is how quickly it came to a resolution once it got in the hands of a prosecutor. O'Geen was critical of the Judicial Conduct Commission for, first, taking so long to investigate Alexander's courtroom and, second, to take two yeas to issue a report on its investigation.

"Why did this drag out?" O'Geen asked. "They had the case for over two years. Why didn't they speak to the DA when the DA is investigating the case? Why does this get dragged out? I've only had this case since February and I've brought it to resolution for the Village of Corfu in a quick manner."

O'Geen praised the cooperation of the village attorney, the comptroller's office and the state police for working cooperatively to bring the case to a speedy conclusion.

Alexander said he will have more to say about the case six months from now. He's next scheduled to appear in court at 9:15 a.m., May 19.

Four men were allegedly caught in the act Sunday stealing scrap metal from a scrap yard on Route 33 in Bergen and after further investigation they may be facing upgraded charges, Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said.

The four men were allegedly found on the scrap yard property when the owner's son drove by and spotted a suspicious vehicle parked near the lot.

It's not unusual, Brewster acknowledged, for scrap metal thieves from Rochester to hit locations in Genesee County.

"You know how scrap is these days and when you can go right to a scrap yard, it's like one-stop shopping," Brewster said.

The yard was apparently so attractive to the thieves, they allegedly got away with more than originally thought yesterday.

When they were arrested yesterday, they were charged with petit larceny, but the owner of the scrap yard visited a location in Rochester and was apparently able to prove more of his scrap was stolen earlier in the day.

That aspect of the case is being turned over to Rochester PD and the four men could face grand larceny charges as a result, Brewster said.

Arrested where Sekou Singhor Howard, 40, of Parkway, Rochester, Ricky Todd Williams, 54, of Parkway, Rochester, Isaac Brandon McCrea, 30, of North Union Street, Rochester, and Kenneth Russell Hernandez, 47, of Chesnut Street, Rochester.

All four men were issued appearance tickets.

Thomas Monte Carlo, 57, of Lewiston Road, Basom, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, unlawful possession of marijuana and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Carlo was apprehended by Deputy Joseph Corona following a reported one-vehicle motorcycle accident at 7:23 p.m. Saturday on Lewiston Road, Basom.

Matthew James Florian, 25, of Slusser Road, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant related to an aggravated unlicensed operation charge. Florian was stopped by State Police on Route 5, Town of Batavia, and turned over to the Sheriff's Office on a warrant. Florian was jailed on $200 bail.

Michael Scott Vanburen, 46, of Alexander Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, unsafe backing and consumption of alcohol in a vehicle. Vanburen was arrested after he reportedly backed his 2004 Pontiac GTO out of his driveway, across the road and into a ditch at 12:27 a.m. on Saturday.

Dana Lewis Toates, 19, of Roosevelt Highway, Hilton, is charged with unlawful possession of alcohol under age 21. Toates was reportedly a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation and found to allegedly be in possession of alcohol.

Corey M. Vickers, 29, of Morrow Road, Pavilion, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, unlicensed operation and stopped on pavement. Vickers was charged after being observed by a Wyoming County deputy allegedly stopped on the roadway in the Town of Perry, outside of his vehicle, vomiting. Vickers' driving privilege was suspended after he allegedly failed to appear for a summons in the Village of Portville.

Alissa A. Fodge, 23, of Bergen, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Fodge was arrested by State Police in the Town of Barton for an alleged act reported Oct. 18. No further details released.

A donation fund has been set up to assist Candee McConnell, who lost her husband and had a portion of her house damaged in a fire last week.

Donations can be made at any Bank of Castile location in the name of Candee McConnell.

Candee and George McConnell were married for 25 years and were active in the SPCA. George was retired from the U.S. Postal Service and a World War II vet and avid baseball fan, according to his obituary.

For health reasons, George was unable to exit a second-floor bedroom of the McConnell's home on Davis Avenue after the fire broke out in that part of the house.

The back section of the house was heavily damaged.

Donations will assist Candee with various needs arising from the tragedy.

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A house at 8949 Clipnock Road, Stafford, has reportedly had its roof blown off.

The residence is being evacuated.

Also, about 520 National Grid customers are without power in an area starting just north of the city and in a triangle that stretches up to Elba. No ETA for power restoration.

There are also small power outages in Basom, Alabama, East Oakfield and Darien.

UPDATE 3:14 a.m.: Dispatchers are now saying the roof is "separating from the residence."

The Moose Lodge in Le Roy honored local veterans Saturday night with a prime rib dinner.

Besides the volunteers (pictured below) who helped put it together and run it, the event was supported by Smokin' Eagle, T.F. Brown's, Le Roy Country Club, BW's, 58 Main and Red Osier. Volunteers included Justin Mattice, Bob Sovocoll, Judy Mills, Shane Burger and the staff at the Smokin' Eagle.

Photos by Shane Burger.