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The Genesee County Fair has gotten better each of the last two years and attendance figures bear that out, Norm Pimm told the County Legislature's Human Services Committee.

Last year, attendance was up 30 percent and fair organizers are taking aim at even more growth in 2015.

"Attendance is up double figures two years in a row," Pimm said. "That doesn't happen if you're not putting on a good product."

This year, there will be new local bands, bigger tractor pulls and a significantly expanded Midway.

The board is planning on nearly doubling the budget for rides, going up to $40,000 this year.

The midway isn't a big money maker for the fair, but a good midway is essential to overall fair attendance. Not everyone is interested in livestock and stock cars.

"When we looking for vendors, we said we had $25,000 to spend and we couldn't even get vendors to call us back," Pimm said. "The ones that did sort of laughed and said 'that's 20 years ago money.' So we realized we had to invest more money into the midway so we had something where people want to come and bring their kids."

The fair runs July 21 through 25.

The county will contribute $11,000 to the 4-H program.

Pimm said the fair's success can also be judged by the number of local businesses supporting the fair, either through donations, sponsorships or taking a booth as a vendor. In all three categories, the fair did better last year than previous years and will at least match that level of participation this year, based on indications so far, Pimm said.

"This is the most active board we've had in years, and it's making a difference," Pimm said.

Pimm is confident that people who haven't been to the fair in recent years, if they come this year, they will have a good time.

"It's just $5 a car load to attend," Pimm said. "Come on, spend your $5 and you won't be disappointed. If you are, come and find a member of the board of directors and we'll give you your $5 back."

Upton Monument

Redfield Parkway

Washington Avenue

Washington Avenue

Centennial Park

State Street

VA Center

Holland Land Office Museum

There was one bidder at a Sheriff's property seizure auction this morning, Melissa Marsocci, owner of Genesee Urgent Care (formerly Insource Urgent Care).

Three parcels were available in the auction, the result of a judgment against Advanced Imaging won by General Electric. Marsocci bid on two properties.

GE was owned nearly $1 million by Advanced Imaging, according to court records.

Marsocci paid $1 for each of the two properties she won at auction. The Sheriff's office gets a 5-percent fee of the auction, resulting in 10 cents for the county, with $1.80 going to GE.

Marsocci paid cash, but has 24 hours to change her mind.

She will be responsible for $54,000 in taxes owed to the City of Batavia in back taxes if she keeps the two parcels.

The big issue, and what probably kept other bidders away, Marsocci said, is a question of whether other creditors of Advanced Imaging can try to collect judgments against the new property owner.

Over the next day, Marsocci is going to try and determine the answer to that question, which will figure into her decision on whether to keep the property.

If she keeps it, she knows her current business location, 35 City Centre, will be protected from potential eviction if somebody else bought the property.

She will also be able to expand her business into the Advanced Imaging office. She intends to open office space for more medical specialists.

Advanced Imaging owner Mark Zdrojewski attended the auction (top photo, far side of the conference table), but did not register to bid. He refused to comment following the auction and left quickly.

Deputy Ed Vlack accepts the $2 payment from Melissa Marsocci for two parcels of property in City Centre that were auctioned at the Sheriff's Office this morning.

Previously: Public documents reveal deep financial hole for local medical business

Myrtle Burrell didn't want her picture taken. She isn't really interested in a news story about her. She only agreed to talk with a reporter because she had been wondering how best to thank all the people in Le Roy who have been such a big help to her these past few months.

The community rallied around Burrell after her husband, Roy, passed away, followed two weeks later by the death of her lone surviving sibling -- one of six, a sister in Poughkeepsie.

Roy and Myrtle moved into their small ranch house, brand new at the time, on Munson Avenue, in 1954. She worked at the Sylvania plant. He worked for Lapp Insulators.  

Eventually, the Sylvania plant closed. Myrtle took a year off, then went to work for the Le Roy PD, first as a dispatcher, then as a crossing guard, a job the 87-year-old Rochester native has now held for 30 years with no plans to quit.

Humble, diminutive, with a lyrical and mellifluous voice, Burrell said she overwhelmed by the generosity being shown her Sunday as a group of high school students and police officers raked leaves and spread mulch in her yard (Bubba's Landscaping donated the mulch).

The spring clean-up was the least they could do for a woman who has given so much to the community, said Officer Eric Miller.

"She's had a great impact keeping kids safe as they go to school in the morning and come back in the afternoon," Miller said. "We just want to give a little back to her."

Student Tom Kelso said he's known Burrell his entire life and understands how much people appreciate her.

"Parents have faith that their kids will get to school safe," Kelso said.

Burrell works three hours and 15 minutes a day on school days, in a morning shift and afternoon shift. 

Until her husband died, she had missed only one day of work (Roy, who worked after his retirement from Lapp at McDonald's on the Thruway, never missed a day of work in 17 years at that job).

"I love the kids," Burrell said. "The kids are really fascinating. They know my rules on that corner. They don't want to hear my whistle."

The love is mutual.

Children of all ages sent her cards and letters after Roy died. From the community, she received flowers, well wishes and assistance of all types -- including awning and gutter repairs after a winter storm damaged her house.

"I just don't know what to say," Burrell said. "It's just been something else. Thank God for neighbors and everyone around here in Le Roy. They've been so good to me."

A red flag warning has been issued for Western New York as the National Weather Service anticipates low humidity and strong winds from noon today until 7 p.m.

A red flag warning is issued when conditions appear ripe for fires to get out of control quickly.

Temperatures are expected in the low 70s with winds of 20 to 25 mph.

An accident with minor injuries is reported at 6125 Broadway Road, Bethany.

That's the intersection of Route 20 and Transit Road.

Bethany fire and ambulance responding.

UPDATE 6:12 a.m.: Patient sign-off. No transport.

Steve Foster, of Adams Welding, has a new side business -- turning metal left over from commercial jobs, and maybe mixing in some horseshoes they buy, to create lawn art and other household decorative items.

Foster and Tim Adams were in front of their shop on Main Road, Stafford, this afternoon selling the items, though they've also started attending various festivals in the area. They've done two so far.

It was a friend in the Chamber of Commerce who suggested the sideline, Foster said. 

"He said, you have all this extra metal, why don't you start making something out of it," Foster said. "It would go to the scrap yard otherwise."

Genesee ARC hosted a dance recital today at John Kennedy School for its Challenger program participants. The show was created around a Disney theme. We mistakenly missed the show, but some of the participants posed for us after it was over. Pictured are Cassidy, Mosha, Benny, Aries, Christy and Max.

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Michelle Farina couldn't have been happier with the first day of the Batavia Public Market, a new venture she decided to undertake this summer at the home location of her bakery and catering service on West Saile Drive.

With a license from the Town of Batavia for 160 vendors, she was happy to have 80 on the first day. There was a steady stream of shoppers throughout the morning and into the afternoon. And the weather was perfect.

"I'm just so happy to see all these people here," Farina said. "Everyone has just given us great feedback about how happy they are to be here. To see these people happy makes me happy. It's a great turnout. It's good to see a gathering of people in the community to come out, sit down at picnic tables and get a bite of food from these food trucks and to listen to our local band. It's just great."

The market will run every Saturday through Oct. 31, and as fresh, locally grown produce comes into season, Farina said there will be vendors offering the bounty of our local ag community.

Plus she anticipates more vendors signing on throughout the summer.

There will be live music every week supplied by local musicians, plus she hopes to add more activities for children.

Today, the Rochester Mustang Club brought their cherry rides to display.

"I wanted to have a place where the community meets," Farina said. "A gathering place for good people, kind of bring us back to the good old days."

A brand-new locally owned business making its debut at the market was Wakefield Coffee Roasters, owned by Scott and Cassie Wakefield. Scott fell in love with coffee roasting while in the Coast Guard stationed in Hawaii when a friend roasted a few ounces of coffee for him. He took it up as a hobby and when Farina learned about his very successful hobby, she suggested he set up a booth at the market. Coffee is best when it's freshly roasted, he said. "It's better than the stale stuff you get at the supermarket."

For customers who come to the market, he'll provide a batch of coffee beans roasted the night before that should last them the week. He hopes to develop a steady base of customers that will continue to get coffee from him throughout the winter. He does deliver coffee beans. As for a retail location someday? That's a thought, but just a thought at this point, he said. For more information, visit the Wakefield Coffee Roasters Web site.

The late Ed Anderson was remembered Friday by former colleagues and players as a man dedicated to the education of children and a keen interest in guiding young female athletes in the pursuit of excellence and confidence.

One speaker noted that Anderson did for generations of female student athletes what Coach Dan VanDetta did in boys sports.

Speakers include:

• Dr. Roy Dexheimer, superintendent from 1968 to 1981;
• Dr. David Van Scoy, superintendent from 1981 to 1998;
• Nancy Viola, athletic director 1981-1998;
• John Jakubowski, principal of Batavia Middle School, 1990-2003;
• James Tetter, parent and BHS graduate, Class of 1966;
• Ally Shirtz Howe and Sue Medley, BHS graduates who pushed through the idea of naming the field after Anderson;
• Michael Bromley, current athletic director.

Anderson's grandchildren threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

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Principal Paul Kesler is a man of his word. 

The die-hard Red Sox fan promised the students of John Kennedy School that if they met their fundraising goal to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, he would don Yankees garb, get on the roof of the school and sing "Let it Go."

In the "Pennies from Parents" program, the students raised $1,619.89.

On Friday, Kesler followed through on his promise, much to the delight of the JK students.

Notre Dame's Anna Warner, a multiple Section V title holder in cross-country, signed a letter of intent to attend Mercyhurst University, an NCAA Division I school in Erie, Pa.

Her athletic honors include:

• Outdoor Track and Field Genesee Region [GR] All Star       2011-2015
• Cross-country Genesee Region [GR] All Star                 2010-2015
• Cross-country Genesee Region [GR] Division III Champion  2012 and 2014
• Cross-country Team Section V Champions                    2010 and 2012
• Cross-country Individual Section V Champion                2011 and 2014
• Cross-country Section V NYSPHSAA All Star                2010-2015
• Cross-country All Greater Rochester [AGR] Honorable Mention – 2013
• Track and Field All Greater Rochester [AGR] Honorable Mention -- 2013 
• Cross-country All Greater Rochester [AGR] – First Team -- 2014
• Cross-country All Section V Recognition – 2^nd Team [Class D -- 2011 and 2014]

She also excelled in academics at Notre Dame, said Principal Joseph Scanlan.

"Anna is the classic example of hard work paying off," Scanlan said. "Anna is the epitome of a student-athlete."

Pictured are Judy Warner, Anna Warner, Coach Eric Geitner, Principal Joseph Scanlan and Athletic Director Mike Rapone.

Press release:

Culinary Arts students from the Batavia Career and Technical Education Center brought home the Culinary Cup for the fourth consecutive year! These students took first place in the ninth Annual Taste of Culinary Competition hosted by the American Culinary Federation of Greater Buffalo. This event was held at Niagara Falls Culinary Institute, Niagara Falls.

Chef Nathan Koscielski's culinary team of 17 students consisted of morning and afternoon juniors and seniors. The team competed against student teams from other colleges, high schools and BOCES. During the event, this team prepared and presented their menu to more than 300 attendees in a three-hour time period. Each student needed to be familiar with each dish and be able to answer questions. Mystery judges adjudicated the teams and their menus.

Jonathon Quinn is a first-year Culinary Arts student from Batavia City Schools.

“Chef K. is passionate about our work and he builds our confidence. We were well prepared for this competition because of what he taught us. This was a real-world work experience,” Jonathon said.

Adrian Lambert, a second-year Culinary Arts student from Byron-Bergen, was thrilled to be part of this team for the second year.

“This was a huge accomplishment to win first place for the fourth year in a row. We worked together as a team to learn the skills necessary to be ready for this contest,” Adrian said.

Chef Koscielski is proud of his team not just because this group of students won, but because of the professionalism and enthusiasm these students showed while in the kitchen and at the serving tables at this competition.

“This team is made up of students who have a good attitude, excellent attendance and a work ethic that shows a passion for the culinary arts. This year we won the People’s Choice Award. We were chosen by over 300 people who attended this event as the best overall culinary team,” he said.

The team began their presentation with a roasted poblano gazpacho garnished with farm fresh, hard-boiled duck eggs. The main entrée was guinea hog carnitas served with fresh-made flour tortillas topped with an avocado-lime crème and mango cheese. The meal was served with freshly made iced hibiscus tea.

This menu was prepared with products that were raised by the Animal Science Program at the Batavia CTE. These students raised the guinea hog used in the main dish along with the duck eggs that were used to garnish the gazpacho.

“Culinary Arts students learn to prepare a wide variety of foods throughout the school year, including production animals raised by the Animal Science program. The collaboration between Culinary Arts and Animal Science results in a unique experience for these students as they begin to understand the farm-to-table concept and, thereby, gain respect for mankind's food sources. The end result of this process is better food production, more knowledgeable chefs and food processors, and ultimately, a more healthy choice for the consumer,” said Holly Partridge, Batavia CTE Animal Science instructor.

Jon Sanfratello, principal of the Batavia CTE, noted how this cross-curriculum has provided students with the opportunity to cut through traditional subject matter lines and explore relationships of subjects to one another.

“The collaboration between the Culinary Arts and Animal Science programs has brought the farm-to-table concept into the classroom and kitchen. This partnership has played a major role in the success of our students in making them career and college ready. We are so proud of our students and instructors on their winning streak of four first-place finishes!” Sanfratello said.

Photo: The Batavia CTE Culinary Cup Champions.
First row, from left: Adrian Lambert, Byron-Bergen; Olivia Majors, Batavia; Elisabeth Skillman, Le Roy; Hannah Baumgart, Le Roy; Noah Garcia, Batavia; Maylee Zipfel, Pavilion.

Second row, from left: Alyssa Wilson, Caledonia-Mumford; Emily McVicker, Le Roy.

Third row, from left: Nicholas Shepard, Le Roy; Cameron Kleist, Le Roy; Steven Horn, Caledonia-Mumford; Nicholas Amico, Batavia; Chef Koscielski.

Back row, from left: Jonathon Quinn, Batavia; Jamall O'Neil, Batavia; Conner Gricius, Le Roy; Clinton Nickens, Le Roy; Brandon Jones, Caledonia-Mumford.

Previously:

• Pair of BOCES teachers mixing the right ingredients for culinary and animal science students
• In Chef K's kitchen, if it's not right, it's wrong

The Kiwanis Club of Batavia and the Genesee County Bar Association hosted their annual Law Day Criminal Justice Awards dinner at Batavia Country Club on Thursday evening.

Among the winners, Det. Kevin Czora and Det. Richard Schauf, Batavia PD, for their work in the successful apprehension and conviction of child molester Sean Vickers. Vickers received more than 100 years in prison as a result of the work of the two detectives, who also assisted the victims in the case. 

Other awards went to:

William Zipfel, jail superintendent, for his more than 32 years of service in law enforcement and what Undersheriff Bill Sheron said is the outstanding work he's done as head of the Genesee County Jail.

Susan Gagne, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Genesee County, for the services she provides to the criminal justice community. Her efforts have assisted in criminal justice professionals gaining knowledge of people dealing with mental illness. She's also helped arrange events and speakers that have raised awareness and knowledge of mental health and criminal behavior.

The Batavia High School Mock Trial Team received the Charles L. Mancuso Award for winning this year's competition.

Judge Robert C. Noonan, who is likely to retire within the next year, received an exceptional jurist award. A graduate of Batavia HS, Noonan attended St. Lawrence University and Fordham Law School. He worked in the District Attorney's Office for 19 years, eventually becoming District Attorney. He was elected to the bench in 1996. The award recognized his years of dedicated service to the community and his "great intelligence, fairness and knowledge of the law" while working as a jurist.

Judge Michael DelPlato, who has retired as a City Court justice. A graduate of Notre Dame High School, he attended Canisius College and SUNY Buffalo School of Law. He's been practicing law since 1973. He's been a teacher in Alexander and substitute with Batavia City Schools. He's been a director and president of the Bar Association. He served as a City Court judge from 2003 to 2015. He was honored for his lifelong commitment to the people of Genesee County.

Deputy Brian Thompson was honored by GCASA for exceptional service for his work with the DWI/Victim Impact Panel. On a monthly basis, Thompson meets with panel members to discuss his own experience as a victim of a drunken driver. He also helps keep panel gatherings civil and respectful. 

Batavia High School Mock Trial Team

Judge Robert C. Noonan

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Buffalo News: Is boxing down for the count?

The Batavia Improvement District held its annual luncheon this afternoon at the City Church Generations Center on Center Street.

Top photo: Steve Krna, vice president of Genesee Patrons, an insurance company, accepts a Spirit of Downtown Award.

David Boyce, CEO of Tompkins Insurance, receiving a Spirit of Downtown Award for Tompkins.

John Roche, Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle, was honored as a volunteer.

Mary Valle, Valle Jewelers, was also honored as a Volunteer of the Year.

The keynote speaker was Michael Schmand, executive director of Buffalo Place.

The City of Batavia is wired. Wired for high-speed broadband, that is. 

Empire Access can now deliver download speeds of 100 megabits to more than 95 percent of the properties in the city. There are only about 40 or 50 households that would be hard to reach, but once a couple of access hurdles are cleared, Empire will be able to service those customers as well.

"We're very pleased with the response we've received," said Jim Baase, president of Empire. "Even without video, we've sold a lot of internet-only packages. We're ahead of plan of where we thought we would be and video will only help with more penetration."

While broadband and telephone service is licensed through the state and requires no local approvals to provide service, federal law requires cable TV providers to sign franchise agreements with local municipalities.

Empire has been in negotiations with the City of Batavia for a franchise agreement for at least six months. Councilman John Deleo has raised the issue at two consecutive City Council meetings and City Manger Jason Molino hasn't wanted to comment further in public than "we're in negotiations."

Empire already has franchise agreements with 35 other municipalities in New York.

"Typically, it takes a couple of months to get through negotiations," Baase said. "It's taking a little longer with the City of Batavia. There are still a few outstanding issues that the city is requiring us to agree to. We haven't resolved those issues yet. We're hopeful in the next few weeks those issues will get resolved."

For residential customers wanting affordable, high-speed broadband now, the installation process typically takes about two weeks.

The photos with this story are of an Empire crew doing a line drop on a residential street in Batavia and at a Downtown location.

Once a customer signs up for the service, an outside crew drops a line to the location and tests it. An inside crew comes later, at an appointed time with the customer, to finish the install inside the residence.

The installation make take a little longer with apartment complexes serviced by underground utilities.

Empire is also working on expanding service beyond the City of Batavia. The company is working with Town of Batavia officials now to start stretching beyond the city's borders and engineers are drawing up plans for providing service in Le Roy.

The company hopes to start building the network in Le Roy by the fourth quarter of this year.

As for reaching more rural parts of the county, Baase said the company is looking for municipal partners in that process and is in fact talking with Town of Batavia officials along those lines.

With such partners, it might make it possible to tap into the $500 million in seed money Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed for expansion broadband in rural New York.

They're also looking for more partners like the Town of Big Flats, in Chemung County, where officials didn't want to wait around for grant money, so the town helped Empire secure a low-interest loan to build out the network.

"There are limited resources and we can't build everywhere at once," Baase said. "We're in the Town of Big Flats because they reached out to us. We're looking for more partnerships like that."

Photos: The work crew handling the outside installation work yesterday was Rick Burke, Kasey Wetmore, Don Todd, Joe Kirchner and Roy Faulkner. Pictured are Burke, in the cherry picker, and Wetmore, seen in the fourth photo splicing together a line from the outside of a house to the inside wire.

A truck driver passing through a railroad crossing in Bergen tells dispatchers that his tractor-trailer was still in the crossing when the gates came down.

He had not choice but to continue through the crossing to avoid being hit by a train.

The gates were damaged. He's waiting roadside. A deputy is responding. The railroad company has been notified.

Le Royans will often tell you, they live in a special place. Now they have some proof and a chance to demonstrate just how special it is, with the chance at a $3 million prize at the end of the rainbow.

Frontier Communications, drawing from 138 applications in 27 states, has picked Le Roy as one of the Top 50 communities in America.

The honor comes with a $50,000 prize to help fund writing a comprehensive plan aimed at spurring business growth with assistance from business leaders at IBM.

"For those of us who choose to live here, and those people who have chosen to move away and come back, there is a draw to la-roy, or lee-roy (pause for laughter), and we need to capitalize on that, and I think maybe that's why we were so strong with our application," said Lynn Belluscio, curator of the Le Roy Historical Society, who helped with the application process. "It is going to take all of us going in the same direction, which we know is sometimes difficult in this community, but I think we can do it."

The impetus to apply came from County Legislator Shelly Stein, who worked with the staff at GCEDC to get the ball rolling, but the application process and letters of support brought together not just Stein and the GCEDC, but Belluscio, Supervisor Steve Barbeau, the Rotary Club of Le Roy, the Chamber of Commerce, Superintendent of Schools Kim Cox, the Le Roy Business Council, County Planning Director Felipe Oltramari and the Village of Le Roy.

The Village and Town of Bergen also pitched in because Le Roy by itself didn't have a big enough population to qualify.

The business project that will be targeted for infrastructure improvement -- a bigger natural gas pipe and broadband -- is the park at Route 19 and West Bergen road.

Robert Smith, the Rochester area general manager for Frontier, said he though Le Roy and Bergen were a great choice.

"But the work doesn't end here," Smith said. "You have a lot more to do because there is a lot more that can come from this."

The comprehensive plan will be reviewed in November and after that the Le Roy group will find out if it moves onto the next stage.

The eventual payoff for the winner is a $3 million prize, but second plays will earn $2 million and third, $1 million.

Growing the local business base is critical, Barbeau said.

He noted that for every tax dollar generated by a commercial property, businesses consume about 60 to 70 cents and services. For agriculture, it's about 30 cents in services. But residential, he said, eats up about $1.30 in services.

"We feel like this is a perfect opportunity to expand our infrastructure and bring in more business," he said.

Steve Hyde, CEO of GCEDC, said this is an exciting opportunity for Le Roy and Bergen and fits right in with everything GCEDC is trying to do to attract more industry to Genesee County.

"When you try to grow an economy, you need to be able to talk about the quality of life and the factors that make it a place where people want to live, work and play," Hyde said. "This community has that."

Photo: Smith presenting a finalists' certificate with Rotary president Randy Vink and Stein in the background.