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Lori Doeringer is the chairperson of the GO ART! Appraisal Fair, which is this Saturday, with her own interest in getting a couple of items appraised by one of the eight experts who will be on hand to provide those who bring antiques and items of value that need appraised to the fair.

The fair will be held at Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St., Batavia, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Appointments are encouraged. Call (585) 343-9313.

The event is a fundraiser for GO ART! The first item is $20 and a second item is $10. GO ART! members can get a third item appraised for free.

Yasses Construction did some work this morning repaving a portion of the Valu Plaza parking lot -- the section right in front of El Burrito Loco and Deep Blue Pool and Spa.

Earlier today, antenna maintenance taking place at County Building #2 on West Main Street Road, Batavia.

This morning, scores of local residents gathered at Dwyer Stadium before fanning out around the community to provide volunteer labor to several organizations for spring cleanup and restoration projects as part of the 2015 United Way Day of Caring. We have pictures from the YMCA, Centennial Park, Peace Garden and Genesee ARC.

Bottom photo of the group at Dwyer is a submitted photo.

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Byron-Bergen High School held its pre-prom DWI fatal accident simulation this morning to help remind students not to drink and drive. Bergen Fire Department with assistance from Mercy EMS and State Police conducted the drill. 

Participating students were Andrew Sczepanski, Sean Donovan, Celeste Brownwell, Joelle Meister and Nathan McCarthy. EMS Explorer students assisting were Aurora Zinter, Maddie Wittman, Katie Simmons and Jeremy Boeff.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

The Police Facilities Committee has narrowed the possible locations it might recommend for a new Batavia PD headquarters to three locations:

• Alva Place and Bank Street, in the parking lot at that location;
• Swan Street, at the site of the now demolished Wiard Plow factory building;
• Jackson Street, the current location of the Salvation Army.

Committee members pretty much arrived at the three locations through a process of elimination and largely by consensus. Using a spreadsheet that allowed them to rank each location based on a number of factors, including cost, potential configuration, proximity to the center of the city, and other criteria, these sites scored the highest.

The lowest-scoring locations were the two options for remodeling the current headquarters -- the Brisbane Mansion -- and a co-location of sorts with the Sheriff's Office on Park Road.

The committee will visit each of the remaining sites under consideration May 28, re-score them and then meet again at a later date to hopefully hash out an agreed-upon recommendation for City Council.

Each potential site, committee members acknowledged, has its pluses and minuses.

"There's really no ideal spot," said Jim Jacobs.

Still, the committee will try to come up with one single recommendation for City Council to consider. Committee members agreed that it was their job to present one location as its recommendation, with its rationale in a report, and let the council decide yes or no on that recommendation, rather than bog down a council debate with two or three recommendations.

Both the Alva Place location and Swan Street were not part of the original seven alternatives presented to the committee, but emerged as potential sites through the process of the committee's discussions and review of the geography and topography of the city.

There are committee members with strong feelings about each location, and each has at least one member with strong feelings about its lack of suitability.

Alva Place: Committee members love it for its high visibility downtown, central location to downtown and addition of density to downtown. It's also the lowest cost option, coming in at at least $800,000 less than the Salvation Army location. The location's critics are concerned about traffic congestion on Bank Street and at Main and Bank, the loss of parking in the area and potential conflicts with pedestrian traffic going to and from the YMCA and Senior Center.

Chief Shawn Heubusch was among those expressing concern about traffic congestion. He is very concerned, he said, about the potential for patrols responding to calls getting hung up in traffic at Main and Bank. A committee member countered that typically patrols are not at the office when they are dispatched to calls, which Heubusch agreed with, but if they are responding from the office, traffic could be a problem, likewise in big incidents when patrols and detectives are all rolling from the office.

Marc Staley is particularly concerned about losing parking and the impact that could have on the movie theaters, JCPenney and the doctors' offices on Washington Avenue.

"We could end up with a bunch of vacant buildings on Washington," Staley said. "We don't want to poke JCPenney in the nose and have them go out to where Radio Shack is or leave the city. I don't think we want to be pennywise and pound foolish."

Ashley Bateman initially scored Alva Place high, but after listening to the discussion, expressed some reservations.

"I don't think Alva is really functional as much as I would like to see something there," Bateman said.

Pete Garlock stuck to his guns, however, insisting it's the most suitable location citing its centralness to the city, ease of access, high visibility and lower cost.

Swan Street: There wasn't as much discussion about Swan Street. Everybody kind of likes the location, except it would have much less public visibility. It would be reasonably accessible to Main and Ellicott streets and cost less than Jackson Street. The property is privately owned and would need to be acquired. The property would come off the tax roles, but it only generates less than $2,000 a year in municipal tax now. A police station in that location might also help spur other economic development activity in the neighborhood.

Jackson Street: The main concern is cost. The property is in the floodplain and mitigating that fact drives up the cost. It's also property that while owned by a tax-exempt nonprofit would still need to be purchased.

Garlock expressed concern about kicking a good organization out of its location, but McGinnis argued that the Salvation Army Thrift Store is struggling in that location in part because of the age and condition of the building, its size and the addition of new competition from Goodwill and Volunteers of America.

"That would be my number-one location if not for the floodplain," Staley said.

Submitted by Lauren Humphrey:

St. Joseph Catholic School student Kate Ricupito has been named a “State Grand-Level Winner” in this year’s Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest! Approximately 300,000 entries were submitted and Kate’s submission will now advance to the Grand National Championship. Kate was awarded an engraved Zaner-Bloser State Winner Medallion. Her teacher, Mrs. Clattenburg, was awarded an engraved Glass Diamond Award, and the school has been recognized with a $200 Zaner-Bloser gift certificate!

Now in its 24th year, the National Handwriting Contest is an annual event sponsored by Zaner-Bloser to promote legible handwriting. The contest is free to enter and open to all students in Grades K–8. Students can win many great prizes, including cash and trophies. Zaner-Bloser estimates that more than 4 million students have participated in the contest over its 23-year history.

Pictured, from left: Mrs. Mary Zehler, Kate Ricupito, Mrs. Marianne Clattenburg and Mrs. Karen Green. (Photo credit: Mrs. Barbara Paserk)

With this post, we catch up with a couple of sports-related submissions that we hadn't gotten to yet.

Above, the Batavia JV softball team after its victory in the Pembroke JV softball tournament. The team beat Notre Dame 8-4 and Pembroke 10-6.

The team: Liz Piedmont, Emma Dunn, Nataleigh Rivera Ellis, Alexis Merriam, Maiya Reinhart, Gabz Havens, Assistant Coach Rick Smith, Stephanie Hoy, Courtney Biegasiewicz, Cheyenne Richardson, Shelby Weis, Katie Ange, Coach Jim Fazio, and Stephanie Shultz. Also on the team are Jasmine Barber and Nashalie Vasquez-Vega.

Submitted by Jim Fazio.

Earlier this week, Jeff Redband advanced to the boys varsity tennis state qualifier tournament in singles for the fourth consecutive year by finishing third in the Class B sectionals. Also Samir Jain and Jon McMaster (not pictured) advanced by finishing third in the doubles tournament.

Submitted by Scott Lawniczak.

The O-AT-KA Hose Company, part of the Le Roy Volunteer Fire Department, honored one of its longtime members. Robert Radley submitted these photos and the message below:

The O-AT-KA Hose Company Number 1 of LeRoy NY would like to congratulate one of their most respected members.

James A. Spear, 82, of LeRoy has been a member of the company since 1969. During his tenure he has held many positions within the company. He served as president from 1978-1982. He was elected secretary in 1985 and continues to hold the position today. He has done the financial work and record keeping for the company for many years. Much of the work that keeps the company in business is done by Jim and his wife, Florence. He is accurate to the penny and is upset if the books for the company are off by as little as nine cents.

At the annual Steak Roast at the company rooms on North Avenue on May 9, 2015 to the surprise of Jim, the meeting room was dedicated to him. As Jim was presented with a permanent plaque to take home, geniune surprise filled his face and for a short time he was speechless. A sign over the door now reads “James A. Spear Meeting room 2015."

The membership of the company thanks Jim for all of his dedicated work over the last 46 years. Much of what we do as a company cannot be done without Jim and at every function we have he can be found near the door cash box and raffle tickets in hand and making sure that tasks are done and things go smoothly. 

Press release:

John Borrelli, Board of Trustees president, announced that Mr. Wade Bianco has been named the new principal of Notre Dame High School of Batavia effective July 1, 2015. After an extensive search process that included several committees of highly respected faculty, administration, staff, students, parents, board members and community members; three rounds of highly qualified candidate interviews, Mr. Wade Bianco emerged as the overwhelming choice to lead Notre Dame High School.

“We are excited to welcome Wade to our administrative team. His experience in education is extensive and includes instructional leadership at the high school level. He comes with a wealth of knowledge not only in academics, but also in co-curricular activities and athletics,” Borrelli stated. “Wade is a creative and effective communicator and listener and is a very insightful and knowledgeable leader. His high expectations and genuine caring for students, staff, and families will serve the Notre Dame community well,” added Borrelli.

Mr. Bianco demonstrated the attributes the Notre Dame High School family sought for its Catholic co-educational school including outstanding leadership abilities with a dedication to the concept and practice of positive school culture and core values. His understanding of the value parents as partners bring to the educational experience, expertise as an instructional leader and deep understanding of the current standards and assessment processes made him the clear choice for the position.

Wade is replacing long-time, beloved Principal Dr. Joe Scanlan, who is retiring at the end of this school year after 43 years in education, which includes 15 years at Byron-Bergen, 17 years at York and the last 11 years serving at his alma mater as principal of Notre Dame High School.

Opportunities for faculty, staff, parents and members of the community to meet and welcome Mr. Wade Bianco to the Notre Dame family will be announced in the near future. 

The city's effort to come up with a strategy for dealing with stray cats, aka, "community cats," will now move to a committee phase with the inclusion of representatives from county government.

Assistant City Manager Gretchen Difante told Council on Monday night that she's met with County Manager Jay Gsell, which led to a meeting with Public Health Director Paul Pettit, who agreed to assign a staff member to the committee. The committee will also include a representative of the Animal Shelter.

Difante said the committee is nearly in place, but she's still trying to find a local veterinarian to serve on the committee.

The job of the committee will be to review all the research, explore what's going on in the community now related to feral and stray cats, and come up with a comprehensive plan for how to deal with the issue.

People care passionately about the issue, Difante said, and she and others in the city have gotten a tremendous amount of feedback from local residents since she first presented potential solutions to the problem in March. The range of suggestions from residents include doing nothing up to poisoning them all.

Difante's original presentation included three members of a pro bono legal team out of Buffalo that specializes in this matter and a lengthy written report detailing the pros and cons of every potential option for dealing with stray cats with the recommendation that communities follow a practice known as TNVR (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return).

That program, since first proposed, has generated some opposition, including from some on Council.

Councilman Eugene Jankowski expressed some interest in alternatives including getting captured cats adopted or euthanized. 

But TNVR doesn't exclude those options, Difante said. 

"There's a lot of pieces of TVNR that we're not talking about," Difante said. "It's a very comprehensive piece."

Part of the job of the committee will be to explore ways to bring into the process those people in the community, either as inviduals or as part of groups, who are already dealing with stray cats, either through their own mini-TVNR effort or simply by feeding and sheltering stray cats.

"People who take care of feral cats, of community cats, are not likely to stop, no matter what you do, so best practice TVNR says make those people part of the solution; bring them in, give them training," Difante said.

After the meeting, Difante said she thinks the committee approach is the next best step.

"When we're all on the same page and putting all of our effort into targeting them in one approach and we're all bought into that, we're going to have a lot more positive impact that we could ever have when we're scattered," Difante said.

While a great deal of fact-based research backing TNVR has been presented to Council, the committee will present an opportunity for a more local approach.

"It was a solid research piece, but getting people involved in the community in the research is what Council needs to hear," Difante said.

The inclusion of the county, the wider geographic area, is going help the city secure grants to fund any sort of TVNR program, Difante said.

"I believe that if we don't try to have this be a citizen, community effort and explore every opportunity to be able to work with existing nonprofits who can help us with access to grants, then we're doing a disservice," Difante said. "That's where we need to start because trying to figure out how to get money from taxpayers to fund this is not the way to start."

Since this is an issue a lot of people are passionate about, whatever the final determination is, there will be detractors, Difante said.

"We need to acknowledge the fact that we're not going to please everybody," Difante said. "There's no way we're going to come up with something where everybody is going to be happy about. We have to decide what we're going to do and then march towards that."

Residents of Vernon Avenue are organizing opposition to a proposed new Arby's Restaurant on West Main Street, at the end of Vernon.

In a petition presented to City Council Monday night, residents say the proposed development -- which would replace three existing residential buildings -- would create more noise, result in 24-hour lighting, destroy trees, increase traffic congestion at the intersection and on Vernon, and decrease property values.

Residents David Steele and John McCauley spoke up during public comments at Monday's meeting and Steele presented the Council with a petition signed by almost every resident of Vernon Avenue (City Manager Jason Molino lives there but didn't sign it, Steele said, citing a conflict of interest).

"Many residents, especially those at the southern end of Vernon Avenue, have said if this development goes through as presented to the Planning and Development Committee, they will list their homes for sale," Steele said. If many residents do that, there will be a housing glut on that street with supply and demand decreasing property values."

McCauley (top photo) said he purchased his home about a year ago, moving here with his wife from Buffalo, expecting to live on a quiet street. If the Arby's is built, he said, then he'd likely move.

"We were sad to hear that (an Arby's was going in)," McCauley said. "If they were going to do something like that, it would probably force us to put our house up for sale."

The proposed development will be on Thursday's agenda for the County Planning Board and at a future meeting of the city's Planning and Development Committee. Steele said residents plan to be at both of those meetings.

The planning committee operates independently and the Council has no real input on what development gets approved or denied.

Glenn Quintern

The man on Jackson Street who was the center of local law enforcement attention for four hours Sunday afternoon has been charged with two counts of second-degree harassment and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Glenn H. Quintern, 56, of 102 Jackson St., rear upper apt., is being held on $20,000 bail or $40,000 bond.

Quintern allegedly threatened to shoot children who were playing near his apartment.

Batavia PD responded to the complaint and tried to talk Quintern out of the apartment. Because it couldn't be determined whether he actually had a weapon and the level of threat he posed, backup patrols, including deputies and troopers, were called in and eventually the Emergency Response Team was deployed.

Following a 40-minute negotiation with police, using a phone that had been tossed into the apartment, Quintern surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident.

A subsequent search of his apartment did not turn up a weapon.

Additional charges are possible, according to police.

Also assisting at the scene were the Office of Emergency Management and Batavia FD.

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for our area through 10:45 p.m.

A storm is heading our way from Erie County at 45 mph, according to the National Weather Services.

The storm is capable of producing winds up to 60 mph. Torrential rainfall is occurring within this storm and may lead to flash floods.

The flowering crabapple trees that line the streets in the Village of Alexander perfectly capture the spirit of her father said Emily Conable, daughter of the late Barber Conable, the former U.S. Congressman and World Bank president.

"The trees are really typical of the way he thought," Emily said. "He liked color, he liked trees, he liked the shape of the crabapple trees and he liked that they didn't produce a lot of fruit that would create a mess for neighbors to deal with."

Inspired by the seasonal bloom of cherry trees in Washington, D.C., many years ago Conable embarked on a mission to populate his hometown village with its own distinctive arborous splendor. 

A placist and Alexander loyalist even as he rubbed shoulders with presidents and potentates, Conable dreamed of a village that would burst forth in vibrant raspberry sherbet every spring, giving Alexander its own distinctive flavor.

"He loved Alexander," said Jane Schiemder, another daughter. "He was so enormously attached to that place as his home that he wanted to give it a beautiful gift and pay it back, at the same time making it more beautiful with its own special identity."

Conable offered to buy trees every year for the village, for the school, for any resident, business or church willing to have one planted in a yard or along a drive.

"One year he did five, another 10, another three," Emily said. "It really came down to how much time he had and how many people wanted trees."

At one point, Jane said, village officials were concerned they were running out of places to plant new trees, yet the statesman of local values wanted to buy more, and more.

Both Emily and Jane said Conable would certainly want to see his gift to the village enhanced by residents and officials buying more trees. The tree is not necessarily common anymore, said Emily, who currently works at an arboretum in Pennsylvania, Longwood Gardens. She said the tree can still be found at some garden shops locally and online.

Conable planted nearly a dozen trees in the Alexander Cemetery. He always planned to be buried there, as he was, even though he could have been buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The cemetery is next to the Schmieder property.

"He wanted the Schmieder cows to come to his funeral," Emily said.

Jane lives in Bethany now and drives through Alexander frequently, where she can take in the rugged, radiant brilliance of her father's bequest. He would be heartened to know, she said, that people still notice.

"I'm proud he did that," Jane said. "I really enjoy seeing such a beautiful addition to a really nice small town."

FOOTNOTE: We use the word "placist." In our conversation, Jane said the trees were part of her father's "placism." Though already familiar with the word, for whatever reason, I decided to google "placist." Every online dictionary defines the word along the lines of "somebody who discriminates against people from other places." That's never been my understanding of the word's meaning. So I called Bill Kauffman, one of the nation's leading experts on placism. Bill was surprised the word is even in dictionaries. "I thought I made up the word," he said (he's used it in his books). "No, that's not what the word means," he said. "It means somebody who loves their own place." Loving one's place is hardly the same as resenting those from other places. We hope they love their place, too. Bill and I agreed -- we're taking ownership of the word. There's no negative connotation in it whatsoever.

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) and Genesee Gateway Local Development Corporation (GGLDC) approved projects at the May 7 board meetings.  

The GCEDC approved an application from the Depew, Lancaster & Western Railroad for the purchase of a specialized forklift and two track vehicles for servicing truck and rail service at the transload warehouse facility in the City of Batavia.

Depew, Lancaster & Western Railroad company also received approval for a sales tax exemption of $9,512. The anticipated capital investment will be approximately estimated $118,000. Further, for every $1 of public benefit, the company will invest $12.50 into the local economy.

The GCEDC Board also passed an amended insurance policy to allow for the approval of lower insurance limits specifically for small-scale sales-tax exemption projects on a case by case basis. The new policy will allow smaller projects to take advantage of GCEDC’s incentives without having to incur the increased costs of changing insurance coverage to receive the benefits.

The GGLDC, the real estate arm of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC), approved a purchase and sale agreement with Fancher Properties LLC for 2.6 acres of land in the Buffalo East Technology Park. 

Fancher Properties plans to build a 15,000-square-foot facility at the Technology Park to house an office, manufacturing and warehouse facility. The company, which manufactures and installs specialty signs and closets for housing developments and hotels, plans to invest $500,000 in the project and will work with the GCEDC to seek IDA benefits.

“While it’s great to see new businesses coming into the community, it’s also very important that our agency can assist existing companies with their expansion and growth needs,” said Steve Hyde, GCEDC president and CEO. 

Hyde also stated that “the change approved by the GCEDC Board in the insurance requirement policy will allow us more opportunities to help small businesses take advantage of IDA benifts for their projects."

Chad A. Allen, 36, of Oak Street, Batavia, is charged with burglary, 2nd, and criminal mischief, 3rd. Batavia PD observed Allen allegedly inside a vacant residence on Oak Street, Batavia. He allegedly damaged copper pipe inside the residence. He was ordered held without bail.

A 17-year-old resident of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd, and criminal contempt, 1st. The youth is accused of causing more than $250 in damage to the property of another person. That person was also the subject of a protective order. The youth was jailed without bail. Name withheld by Batavia PD.

Robert M. Freeman, 23, of Pearl Street, Batavia, was arrested on warrants related to several charges and for alleged failure to abide by terms of a drug treatment program. Freeman's charges include forgery, 2nd, and two counts each of criminal contempt, 2nd, and petit larceny. Freeman was located during a traffic stop on West Main Street, Batavia. He was order held without bail.

Matthew S. Williams, 27, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation and uninspected motor vehicle. Williams was stopped at 11:29 a.m. Thursday on Ellicott Street by Officer Frank Klimjack for allegedly operating an uninspected motor vehicle. A license check revealed an alleged five previous license suspensions. Williams was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Samual R. Smith, 28, of Columbia Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on an overnight parking ticket. The ticket was issued in March 2014. Smith posted $100 cash bail.

Ralph A. Golding III, 50, of Buell Street, Akron, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a petit larceny charge. Golding was arrested by Akron PD and turned over to Batavia PD. He was jailed on $2,500 bail or $5,000 bond.

Nicholas J. Elmore, 26, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Elmore allegedly sent several threatening text messages to another person.

Dixie Lee Smith, 49, of Kriger Road, Attica, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely and failure to keep right. Smith was involved in a property damage accident at 3:48 p.m. Sunday on Day Road, Alexander. The accident was investigated by Deputy Michael Lute.

Larry William Toal, 60, South Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, reckless driving, speeding and driving left of pavement markings. Toal was allegedly operating a motorcycle on Route 5, Batavia, at 6:35 p.m. Sunday while intoxicated when stopped by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Aaron Paul Soloman, 38, of Liverpool Heights, Chili, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, speeding and unlawful possession of marijuana. Soloman was stopped at 12:30 a.m., Sunday, on Lewiston Road, Batavia, by Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello.

Thomas Edward Murtagh, 57, of Parkview Drive, Bergen, is charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol, refusal to take breath test and drinking in a motor vehicle. Murtagh was located in his vehicle parked on Townline Road, Alabama, at 10:30 p.m. Saturday by Deputy Michael Lute.

Tyler Austin Stoddard, 20, of Meiser Road, Alabama, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. Stoddard is accused of continuing to contact and leave messages for another person that were harassing in nature to that person.

New York Times: Recycled Drinking Water: Getting Past the Yuck Factor

Ferguson. Los Angeles. Chicago. Cleveland. Brooklyn. Baltimore. The national media has reported several examples of aggressive police conduct in these cities in the past few months that ended in violence.

In those same months. Batavia PD has dealt with at least three incidents, including one today, that easily could have gotten bloody but ended quietly.

Chief Shawn Heubusch said it's by design.

"Our number-one goal is to resolve every situation we run into as peacefully as possible," Heubusch said. "We want to use as little force as possible."

Today's incident began with a report of a man at 102 Jackson threatening to shoot children in the head for causing a ruckus near his residence.

Police weren't certain he had a gun, but it was a distinct possibility, so they proceeded with caution -- calling in extra back-up, eventually deploying the Emergency Response Team and even positioning two State Police sharpshooters on the roof of the Salvation Army with a clear line of sight into the man's second-floor window.

They also interrupted the relaxing Mother's Day that Officer James DeFreze was enjoying with his family.

Defreze is a trained negotiator. ERT members tossed a special, wired phone into the man's apartment. DeFreze and the man talked.

"The broad procedure we try to follow is to build rapport and be empathetic and try to understand what people are going through," DeFreze said. "We try to get them to open up and then see what we can do to help them. They're really just looking for help."

The negotiation took 30 to 45 minutes, Defreze said. The entire time, police officers, troopers and deputies remained in positions with long guns trained at the suspect's second-story window.

In the end, no shots were fired. The man walked out of his apartment and surrendered to a police officer.

Officer Marc Lawrence said the investigation is ongoing, but charges likely against the suspect, whose name has not yet been released.

There were high fives among a couple of the officers, pats on the back for DeFreze and a crowded gathered at Central and Jackson applauded the effort by police to resolve the potentially deadly situation peacefully.

"I did hear them applauding," DeFreze said. "It was nice. At first it seemed like they weren't paying attention, having a little bit of fun over there, but it was nice that they appreciated us and our work in the end."

About a month ago, DeFreze and a deputy who is also trained in negotiation helped talk a woman into surrendering and in March, a knife-wielding man on Central Avenue came at officers and threatened them, but the officers involved were able to defuse the situation and take the man into custody without incident.

"Our number-one goal is to make sure everybody goes home safe, the suspect included," Heubusch said.

Some passersby yelled out suggestions for police, of the type that veered toward a more violent, quick-resolution response.  

"Let me have a gun," one man said. "I'll end this."

Others wanted to see tear gas lobbed into the building and ERT members swarm the apartment.

Unless it's a hostage situation, the best response is a slow, methodical approach, Heubusch said.  The suspect isn't going anywhere, is a minimal threat and can probably be talked out of any drastic actions.

"We would rather take the time to ensure that everybody involved is safe and avoid anything that could cause harm to anybody, including the suspect himself," Heubusch said. "There's nothing wrong with slowing it down."

Heubusch said a good rapport with the community helps officers take their time to resolve conflicts.

He said he can't speak for what goes on in other communities. Of course, he and his officers pay attention to news accounts of violent confrontations involving other police officers, but since he isn't involved and doesn't have all the facts, he doesn't want to compare what happens in Batavia with what happens elsewhere.

"We're constantly evaluating and constantly changing tactics as needed," Heubusch said. "Back in the '80s or '90s, for example, if the SWAT Team showed up for a call out, guess what, they were going in the door. We have new techniques now. If there's no danger, we've learned it's better to sit and wait."

Today's incident lasted more than four hours, but in the end, the patience of trained and skilled police officers proved the perfect response.

Officer James DeFreze on the right.

'

A grass fire is reported at 3562 E. Lockport Road, Oakfield.

That's the East Oakfield Cemetery.

Oakfield fire dispatched.