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New York Times: Obama Allows Limited Airstrikes on ISIS

Chip O'Hara, from Auburn and representing First Niagara Bank, dusted the field in the GLOW Corporate Cup 5K race at Centennial Park today. O'Hara ran the race in 15.58.

About 700 runners and walkers entered the event.

Joan Marie Paro, 48, of Humphrey Road, Fultonville, is charged with attempting to evade or defeat tax. Paro is accused of possessing more than 8,000 untaxed cigarettes (40 cartons), which is more than the 400 untaxed cigarettes adults are allowed to possess under NYS law. Paro was stopped at 12:39 p.m. Sunday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Chris Parker.

Shaneeka R. Wroten, 21, of Washington Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment ,2nd. Wroten turned herself in on an arrest warrant out of City Court.

James E. Wroten, 47, of Olyn Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Wroten was allegedly involved in a domestic incident at 11:25 p.m. Monday. Wroten was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Summit Street, Batavia, was repaved today.

Interesting auction for car restoration enthusiasts starting at 4:30 p.m. at 27 Summit St., Batavia. A portion of estate of a man who restored cars is being sold. It includes manuals, tools and parts. There are also some household items and antique furniture.

The auction is being conducted by Bontrager's.

Jennifer Gray uses chalk to create a drawing of a cow on the sidewalk outside Batavia city Hall this afternoon. Gray was drawing to help promote the city's first Sidewalk Painting Festival this weekend. The event starts next Friday and will run concurrently Saturday with Summer in the City. So far, 15 artists have signed up and as many as 15 more are expected to register when they show up Friday. The artists will use chalk to transform the sidewalks around City Hall. The event is sponsored by Vibrant Batavia.

CORRECTION: Added "next" in front of Friday. The event is next weekend, not this weekend.

The northbound lane of Lewiston Road, between Main and Park, was resurfaced and re-striped today to create a turning lane for the new Tim Horton's location. Traffic was delayed in the area during the work.

In a move that will make it possible for the county to sell its nursing home, the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday approved a resolution declaring the facility "surplus property."

The nursing home is running at an annual deficit of $4 million and the state is doing everything it can, according to legislators, to ensure it continues operating at a loss so it will be sold.

County Legislature Chairman Ray Cianfrini said the county really has no choice but to sell the nursing home.

The county approached UMMC about buying the nursing home and the hospital's board had no interest in acquiring it.

The county also sent out at least 30 letters, Cianfrini said, to nonprofit agencies to see if any of them wanted to run it and there were no affirmative responses.

"We're pretty much down to our last option, which is to see if there's interest from a for-profit group that would want to buy our facility," Cianfrini said.

A private company would receive higher Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, be able to reduce personnel expenses (potentially, no union, and lower pension costs), accept a wider variety of patients, thereby increasing revenue, and seek other money-making opportunities not available to a government agency.

If the county keeps the nursing home, or is unable to sell it, the burden on local taxpayers is only expected to grow as the state cuts off just about all of the remaining subsidies it provides to the county to help maintain the nursing home.

Cattaraugus and Orleans counties recently successfully sold their nursing homes, Cianfrini said, so the legislature is hopeful the same thing will happen here.

"We're looking at it from the standpoint that it's fiscally irresponsible for us to try to continue to operate it," Cianfrini said.

If a flood came along big enough to wash away the Holland Land Office Museum, the county would have bigger problems than worrying about the loss of an historic structure.

The building is irreplaceable, which had Ray Cianfrini, chairman of the County Legislature, wondering during Wednesday's Ways and Means Committee meeting, whether the county should spend $8,457 a year on flood insurance (The policy also covers county offices at 15 Main St.).

"If you lose the building, you're not going to replace it," Cianfrini said. "It's a loss, but we don't own anything inside. Are we spending good money to go after something we don't need?"

County Attorney Chuck Zambito said it's entirely a policy decision for the Legislature to make, but flood insurance covers more than just a total wipeout of the building (The current structure isn't even the original land office building, which was destroyed by fire in the 19th Century).

A flood could do a lot of damage to the building without washing away the main structure.

"What's more likely to happen is you're going to have significant damage and you'll need to repair it rather than tear down the building," Zambito said.

Committee Chairman Bob Bausch agreed.

"One issue we should be aware of is that in my lifetime that building has flooded at least twice," Bausch said.

The policy through Wright National Flood Insurance in St. Petersburg, Fla., has a $10,000 deductible on the land office on a $1,000 deductible on the office at 15 Main.

The buildings are covered under a separate policy for casualty and liability and damage other than flood.

Another reason for the insurance policy, Zambito said, is that for the county to file a claim with FEMA in the event of a disaster, if a building is within a flood zone and it didn't have flood insurance, FEMA could deny the building owner any assistance.

At the end of the discussion, the committee unanimously approved a resolution recommending the Legislature authorize purchase of the insurance.

The lowest price isn't always the best deal, but awarding public works contracts to the lowest bidder has been the law for Genesee County for some time.

The Legislature is considering a change in local law that would allow the county to consider such things as differences in warranty, materials used and quality of workmanship.

"Sometimes the better value is not just the lowest cost," County Attorney Chuck Zambito said during a meeting of the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday. "But there is a process to go through to approve a bid. You can't just do it."

Among the requirements, the request for proposal must specify the criteria for awarding a bid, the contractor must specify value-added aspects of the bid and department heads and purchasing agents must review and make recommendations to the Legislature based on these specifications.

A public hearing on the proposed change to local law is set for 5:30 p.m., Sept. 10.

Two things that don't change under the proposed change -- giving preference to local vendors (barred by state law) and the county can still eliminate from considerations vendors that don't measure up to "responsible" (business reputation matters).

New York is one of the last states to change the law to allow local governments to change its own rules governing contracts and accept "best value" bids.

The specific criteria that could be considered for "best value" bids are:

• Lowest cost of maintenance for goods or services;
• Durability of goods or services;
• Higher quality of goods or services;
• Longer product life of goods or services.

"As long s you protect the interest of the taxpayer then you're going to be OK (awarding bids on these criteria)," Zambito said.

Vixie is missing and owner Alli Crawford is looking for her. She's a red pomeranian and was groomed recently. When she took off, she still had her leash attached. Alli has only had her about a week or so and she's very timid, Alli said. Vixie went missing in the area of Shepard Road about 2 p.m. yesterday. Alli can be contacted at (940) 368-3899.

UPDATE Thursday, Aug. 7, 6:13 p.m.: Vixie has been found and reunited with her family!

Press release:

Koolatron Corporation is increasing its footprint in Batavia with a major expansion this fall. The consumer goods manufacturer is nearly doubling its warehouse and shipping capacity in Genesee County with a planned expansion of its facilities from 25,000 square feet to 45,000 square feet.

Koolatron is a leading manufacturer and distributor of 12 volt coolers and accessories, wine cellars, Pants Saver brand car mats, Michelin auto care products, Coca-Cola personal fridges, Biteshield mosquito and pest repellant lines, along with rain barrels and garden décor products.

The decision to expand in Batavia, NY, is fueled by major growth in the company’s e-commerce business. In addition to its growing list of traditional retail customers, major e-retailers such as Amazon, Overstock, Costco, Home Depot, Walmart, and Sam's Club all carry Koolatron products, along with dozens of other online sites.

“Our business keeps growing and we can barely keep up with the warehouse space we have right now,” says Koolatron President Arun Kulkarni. He adds that keeping pace with the boom in online shopping is priority for the company.

“We have seen a 30 percent compounded growth in our e-commerce business in the past five years and for us Batavia, New York is the perfect gateway in which to build up our U.S. shipping hub,” Kulkarni said.

The expansion of Koolatron’s property on 4330 Commerce Drive is under way with construction set to be completed by December 2014. Koolatron will also be looking to boost staffing as it fully rolls out its warehouse expansion plan by the end of this year. Hundreds of parcels of Koolatron products are shipped daily from the warehouse to homes across the United States. The expansion will help ensure rapid delivery and prompt service for Koolatron’s growing U.S. customer base.

Previously: GCEDC board approves Koolatron and Premiere Credit projects

Wall Street Journal: Russian Hackers Steal 1.2 Billion Usernames and Passwords, Security Firm Says

UPDATED 9:25 a.m., Thursday.

It took more than an hour, but police did nab a warrant suspect late this afternoon after a police officer spotted him on Walnut Street, Batavia.

The suspect was listed as a missing person and also had a county arrest warrant. The charges are not listed in in the Batavia PD press release. The Batavian is not publishing the suspect's name at this time.

The youth is a resident of Walnut Street.

Officer Chad Richards spotted the youth walking on Walnut and when he turned around, the suspect fled. Backup units were called from Batavia PD and the Sheriff's Office, including Deputy Chris Erion with K-9 Destro.

Officers cordoned off the area and conducted a search. After the search area was expanded, the suspect was spotted on Franklin Avenue and taken into custody.

Assisting in the search were Sgt. Dan Coffey, Det. Thad Mart, Det. Eric Hill, Officer James Defreze, Officer Jason Ivison, Officer Wojtaszczyk along with Det. Paul Caffo and Investigator Greg Walker. 

The youth was taken into custody on Franklin by Mart and Defreze.

James Herbert Manes, 77, of Sunset Parkway, Oakfield, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Manes allegedly stood on a shed in his yard and used a saw to cut branches from a tree in his neighbor's yard. Manes was previously charged with trespass in the incident. He was arraigned in Town of Oakfield Court on Monday night on the upgraded charge.

Alfredo Jalowayski, 52, of Saint Paul Street, Rochester, is charged with possession of more than 400 untaxed cigarettes, speeding (43 in a 30 mph zone) and no or inadequate exhaust. Jalowayski was stopped at 6:25 p.m. Tuesday on Main Street, Village of Oakfield, by Deputy Patrick Reeves. 

Gregory John Richenberg, 56, of South Holley Road, Holley, and Jeremy John Richenberg, 34, of Fancher Road, Albion, are charged with trespass. The two men were allegedly on property in Byron owned by a family member after being advised by the propery owner to stay off the property.

Mercy Flight is being dispatched to a landing zone the Indian Falls Methodist Church on Route 77, Pembroke, for accident on the Thruway.

The accident involves a motorcycle, though the driver was last reported as conscious. 

Indian Falls Fire and Pembroke Fire dispatched to the accident scene, along with Mercy EMS. Corfu Fire requested to the landing zone.

UPDATE 12:03 p.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.

UPDATE 12:30 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne, "possibly to ECMC." The assignment is back in service.

UPDATE: Photo and update info by Alecia Kaus / Video News Service. Chief Ed Mileham said the rider was headed east on the Thruway with a group of other riders when the accident occurred. He landed in the median. Mileham said his helmet saved his life. There was a big softball-sized dent in it. He was transported to ECMC with apparent serious injuries.

Press release:

On Thursday Aug. 7, the City of Batavia Infrastructure Improvement Project will finish paving on Summit Street, weather permitting. This phase of the project includes paving the roadway; the work zone will be from East Main Street (RTS 5 / 33) to North Street.

Given the scope of this work Summit Street will be closed to all thru traffic on Thursday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Local traffic will be allowed to access their residences throughout the duration of this phase, however thru traffic will be detoured by use of Ross Street and Bank Street. No parking will be permitted on Summit Street during this time.

Weather permitting, it is anticipated that this phase of the project will be completed in one day. The City of Batavia and Keeler Construction Co., Inc., appreciates your patience and cooperation during the construction and asks motorists and pedestrians to abide by this closure and use the posted detour whenever possible.

The point of contact is the Department of Public Works at 345-6325.

Salt supplies are down after our long, cold winter, so prices are going up, County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens told county legislators Tuesday.

American Rock Salt in Mt. Morris is increasing its prices by 8 percent, so the county will be spending $2.96 per ton in 2014-15.

"It's nothing we can't manage," Hens told the Public Service Committee.

One way the highway department is handling the increased expenditure on salt is cutting back on road work this summer.

Hens said the county went from a surplus of salt at the start of the 2013-14 winter (after two consecutive mild winters) to currently storing only about 1/5 the total amount of salt the county will likely need this winter.

That means the county will need to spend $25,000 to $30,000 before the start of winter just to get even.

That's after going over budget by about $25,000 in salt last winter, when cold weather carried into spring.

Hens has to shift spending priorities to keep up with the salt demand, he said.

A few years ago, Hens said he regularly budgeted $115,000 for salt, but last year, when the county had built surpluses, the budget was only about $50,000. In the coming year, he will budget again for at least $115,000.

Legislator Bob Bausch said he's heard from private contractors that they are being put on an allotment system by American Rock Salt for salt as the company makes salt deliveries to municipalities a priority. Hens said he's heard the same thing.

Boston Globe: What are your chances of getting Ebola?

Daphne's Restaurant & Lounge, at 341 S. Swan St., Batavia, has closed.

The restaurant opened in September 2010 at the former location of St. Nick's Social Club.