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State Police Troop A held its 41st Memorial Day for fallen troopers at the Batavia Barracks on Thursday.

Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

Sunset shots from Thursday by Chris Crocker in Stafford (top) and Joannne Meiser in Indian Falls (below).

A Rochester man was arrested yesterday on a charge of petit larceny after allegedly stealing two crossbows from Dick's Sporting Goods on Veterans Memorial in Batavia.

Staff at Dick's reported a theft of crossbows as the suspect drove away and provided dispatchers with a description of the vehicle. 

A car driven by William Jefferey Gould, 39, of Affinity Lane, Rochester, was later stopped by State Police on I-490 and the crossbows were recovered.

Gould was also reportedly driving a stolen car from Freece.

The theft of the crossbows was investigated by Deputy Eric Meyer and Deputy Ayrton Blankenberg.

Gould was released on appearance ticket and turned over to police officers in Greece.

More than 300 community volunteers turned out today for United Way's annual Day of Caring to perform a variety of tasks for local organizations.

Photos are from Crossroads House and Justice for Children.

At Crossroads, a family paid for a new cement walkway and patio and volunteers are planting a garden so that those staying at Crossroads can be taken outside and enjoy a bit of nature.

The groups receiving assistance: 

• Purple Pony
• Peace Garden
• Holland Land Office
• Town of Batavia
• Machpelah
• Crossroads House
• St. Max Kolbe
• GO ART!
• All Babies Cherished
• UMMC
• Gillam Grant
• ABCD
• Eagle Star
• Lifetime Assistance
• Community Garden
• St. Joe's
• St. James
• Justice for Children
• Batavia Cemetery
• BEA- Jr. Achievement
• CCE
• Notre Dame
• Batavia Housing Authority
• Warrior House
• Arc Glow-Elba House
• Tops Food Drive-Arc GLOW

Christopher C. Say is indicted in counts of assault 2nd, criminal possession of a weapon 3rd, attempted arson 3rd, criminal mischief 2nd, making a terroristic threat, and criminal mischief 4th. Say is accused of using a dangerous instrument to cause serious injury to another person on Dec. 26 in the Town of Stafford. He is accused of using brass knuckles. He is attempting to start a fire to damage a detached garage at a location on Main Road in Stafford. He is accused of damaging the property of another person in excess of $1,000 in value. He is accused of threatening several troopers, deputies, and firefighters. He is accused of damaging an armored police vehicle. (Click here for previous reports of this incident.)

Adam E. Bortle is indicted on counts of promoting prison contraband 1st and three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Bortle is accused of bringing narcotics into the Genesee County Jail on March 20, specifically Alprazolam, Fentanyl, and cocaine.

Gerard H. Altenburg is indicted on counts of felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and reckless driving. Altenburg is accused of driving a 2006 Dodge on Route 5 in the Town of Pembroke while intoxicated on Dec. 1. He was previously convicted of DWI in the Town of Pembroke in June 2016.

Eric T. McGrain is indicted on a count of felony DWI.  He is accused of driving a 2019 Chevrolet on Jan. 8 in the Town of Batavia. He was previously convicted of DWI in June 2012 in the Town of Greece.

Marcella F. Greene is indicted on counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd and criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Greene is accused of possessing cocaine in a quantity significant enough to sell and a quantity of Fentynal on Dec. 21 in the Town of Batavia.

Edward S. Demetsenaere is indicted on counts of felony DWI and aggravated unlicensed operation. Demetsenaere is accused of driving drunk on Oct. 27 in the Town of Pavilion.

David B. Kenjockety is indicted on counts of felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and aggravated unlicensed operation. Kenjockety is accused of driving drunk on Aug. 13 in the Town of Darien. 

Jason P. Gorton is indicted on a count of assault 1st. Gorton is accused of causing serious injury to another person by use of a dangerous instrument, a mobile phone.

Isaac D. Abrams is indicted on counts of burglary 1st and assault 3rd. Abrams is accused of entering a dwelling on Bloomingdale Road, Town of Alabama on Dec. 28 with the intent of committing a crime. He is accused of causing injury to another person.

Stephen S. Bogle, 35, of Batavia, is charged with grand larceny 3rd and falsifying business records 1st. Bogle is accused of going to his place of employment on Bank Street, Batavia, and punching in, then leaving for eight to 12 hours, then punching out, without ever physically being present at work. He is accused of stealing $13,148.63 as a result of this scheme.  He was arraigned in City Court and released on his own recognizance. 

Gerald Brinson Jr., 33, of Rochester, is charged with burglary 2nd, grand larceny 4th, criminal mischief 3rd, criminal possession of a weapon 3rd, endangering the welfare of a child, falsely reporting an incident 3rd, and menacing 2nd. At 9:30 a.m., May 17, Emergency Dispatch received a call of a disturbance and burglary in progress at a residence on Oak Street. Brinson is accused of entering the residence of a woman he knew and attacking her. According to Batavia PD, he was wanted on a gun case in Monroe County.  When patrols arrived, officers determined the victim and her year-old son had escaped from the residence but Brinson was still inside, refusing to exit. Officers from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, NYS Police, and NYS Environmental Conservation arrived to assist. While Brinson Jr was inside the residence, he allegedly called in a fake report of gunfire on Ellicott Avenue. Eventually, Brinson Jr came out of the residence and was taken into custody. Brinson was arraigned in City Court and ordered held on $25,0000 bail, $50,000 bond, or $100,000 partially secured bond.

Tonya M. Weber, 38, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Weber is accused of leaving a business on West Main Street, Batavia, at 5:40 p.m., April 13, with a bag of groceries without paying for them. She was released on an appearance ticket.

Steven M. Lindner, 49, of Albion, was arrested on a bench warrant. Lindner was wanted on a warrant out of City Court.  Linder was arraigned and the case was disposed by the judge. Lindner was released and does not need to return.

Dierdre A. Louchren, 56 of Batavia, is charged with failure to appear. Louchren was arrested on a warrant. She was originally arrested in 2020 on an abandonment of animals charge. Louchren was arraigned in City Court and ordered to appear on May 19.

Cheryl M. Figoura, 42, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Figoura is accused of stealing money from her employer on Oak Street at 5 a.m., May 5.  She was issued an appearance ticket.

Christopher P. Thomas, 38, of Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief 4th. Thomas is accused of damaging another person's property on State Street, Batavia, at 1:22 p.m., April 23.  He was issued an appearance ticket.

Cynthia C. Richardson, 42, of Batavia, is charged with failing obligation of parent or guardian. On 12:59 a.m., May 5, Richardson allegedly failed to stop her child from going outside without a parent or guardian past curfew. Richardson was issued an appearance ticket.

Ashley M. Davis, 33, of Batavia, is charged with failing obligation of parent or guardian. On 12:59 a.m., May 5, Davis allegedly failed to stop her child from going outside without a parent or guardian past curfew. Davis was issued an appearance ticket.

Ronnie J. Flinchum, 63, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd. Flinchum is accused of threatening physical contact with another person during a dispute reported at 8 p.m., April 28, on Bant Street, Batavia. Flinchum was issued an appearance ticket.

Jonathan Chisler, 31, of Bacon Street, Le Roy, is charged with aggravated harassment 2nd. Chisler was arrested following a complaint regarding an incident reported at 9:38 a.m., May 13, at a location on Union Street, Le Roy. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Ethan Thomas Cifeill, 24, of Bernd Road, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Cifeill is accused of stealing something from a location on South Street, Le Roy, at 8:02 p.m., May 14.

Latoya Denise Jackson, 36, of State Street, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd, resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration, and criminal trespass 2nd. Jackson was allegedly at a property on West Main Street Road at 10:11 a.m., May 17, and refusing to leave. Jackson was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released on her own recognizance.

Michael David Wiedrich, 52, of Boyd Road, Pavilion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and driving left of pavement markings. Wiedrich was stopped at 1:45 a.m., May 18, on North Street, Le Roy, by Deputy David Moore. He was released on appearance tickets.

Suzanne Marie Kennelly, 32, no address specified, Batavia, is charged with unlawful fleeing a police officer 3rd, DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding, and moving from lane unsafely. Kennelly is accused of failing to pull over at 7:14 p.m., May 6, when Deputy Trevor Sherwood attempted to stop her on Wight Road, Alabama.  She is scheduled to reappear in Town of Alabama Court at 6 p.m., July 5.

Michael James Fox, 37, of Park Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with forcible touching. Fox was arrested following a complaint lodged at 5 p.m., May 9, on Park Avenue, Oakfield. An order of protection was issued and he was released on his own recognizance.

Maria Lynn Dimartino, 56, of Rollin Circle, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Dimartino is accused of using the bar code on a 32-inch TV to purchase a 50-inch TV at BJ's Wholesale Club at 7:25 p.m., April 21.  She was issued an appearance ticket.

Pembroke High School held a special "assembly game" of its United Basketball team against the Pioneer Panthers, of Section VI, on Wednesday afternoon.

Unified Basketball, sanctioned by the NYS High School Athletics Association and Special Olympics, brings together teams of students with disabilities and those without to compete regionally.

"The purpose of an Assembly Game is to help spread the word about Unified sports and encourage more involvement, as well as provide some student-athletes with a once-in-a-lifetime experience to compete before a packed gymnasium of their peers," said Principal Nathan Work.  "This is a pretty big deal in the world of Special Olympics and Unified Sports."

Pembroke won 44-38.

After Town of Batavia Planning Board members gave the final approvals to Benderson Development for two new commercial buildings in the former Kmart parking lot on Lewiston Road, they had but one question: "who is it?"

The rep from Benderson wouldn't say.

He said he couldn't release the names until leases are signed. He said that lease signing could come soon for at least one potential tenant, with construction to begin on that building in July.

Benderson is planning:

• A 4,000-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru and bypass lane to be located in the southwest corner of the property;

• A 6,752-square-foot retail/restaurant building with a 2,000-square-foot endcap coffee shop with drive-through in the southeast corner of the property.

On Tuesday, the planning board approved the project's environmental review, special use permit for a drive-through, and site review plan.  With those final approvals, Benderson is ready to sign agreements with the intended tenants of the buildings.

Before the vote on the special use permit, Chairwoman Kathy Jasinski noted that the only opposition had come from pizza shop owner Jerry Arena, who objected to the entire project.  She said it was her understanding that Arena had modified his position and town engineer Steve Mountain said that is correct. 

"He's not here tonight so I'm assuming that he's okay with that," Jasinski said. "So we really don't have any opposition." 

UPDATE: Jerry Arena said he was not aware of the meeting and that his position hasn't changed at all.  He still opposes the project.

Mega Properties is planning another massive warehouse for the Gateway II industrial park east of Route 98 in the Town of Batavia.

This time it will be a 200,000 square-foot warehouse available for area retailers to store inventory overstock.

Lucas Bushen, with Marathon Engineering, presented initial plans to the town planning board on Tuesday.  

He said there will be few employees at the warehouse at any one time, so only about 20 parking spaces will be needed.

A full environmental review is required for the building, and the planning board approved a resolution to be the lead agency on the review.

The 22-acre parcel is off of Call Parkway. It will be a Butler Building with typical remanufactured metal building elements: concrete foundation, metal siding, and sloped roof. 

The building will be constructed in phases with Phase One including 71,000 square feet of warehouse space and 3,200 square feet of office space.

There are two ponds on the property. In order to construct the building, one of the ponds will be relocated. There are also two federally designated wetlands on the property.  The wetlands will not be disturbed.

Mega Properties intends to invest more than $3 million into the project.

Mega Properties has long-standing ties to Batavia, having launched in Batavia’s Harvester Business Incubation Center more than 30 years ago. The business is currently based at the Gateway I Corporate Park in the Town of Batavia.

In 2020, just prior to the start of the pandemic, Mega Properties sought financial assistance from GCEDC for the project.  At the time, they were seeking approximately $558,497 in assistance, including a property tax exemption of $400,497, a sales tax exemption of $128,000, and a mortgage tax exemption of $30,000.

There was a public hearing on the request but the application did not go any further because of the disruption of the pandemic.  No announcement has been made yet on when the GCEDC board will next take up the application.

Top photo: Lucas Bushen presents plans for a warehouse off of Call Parkway in the Town of Batavia to the town's planning board. Photo by Howard Owens.  Below, drawings of the project from planning documents.

Batavia PD responded to Subway, 412 E. Main St., at 5:56 p.m. after receiving a report of a robbery in progress, and upon arrival learned the suspect had fled in an easterly direction.

After obtaining a description of the suspect, officers located a man matching the description at an apartment complex on East Main.  He was taken into custody and identified as Benito A. Gay, 34, of Batavia.

He is charged with robbery and another unspecified charge. He was arraigned in City Court and ordered held without bail.

There were no weapons displayed during the robbery, police said. 

Additional evidence was recovered after Gay's arrest, according to police. 

He is scheduled to appear in City Court again at 1:30 p.m. May 19.

Gay has other prior arrests in Batavia, most recently in March when he was accused of stealing three beers from the Kwik Fill at Jackson and Ellicott.

This evening's sunset somewhere in Pembroke by Joanne Meiser.

A decision by the Alabama Town Board in April 2019 to oppose the installation of a roundabout at the intersection of Ledge Road and Route 77 has led to a lawsuit filed by an Oakfield woman who sustained severe injuries in an accident at that intersection on Oct. 2, 2020.

Marianne Molaro sustained permanent injures, "including but not limited to, a fracture of the cervical spine at the C-2 level," according to the suit filed in November by attorney Bradley D. Marble of Lockport on her behalf.

Also named is Genesee County; the other driver, Amber M. Messervey, of Naples; the owner of the car Masservey was driving; and Victor Chase, of Rochester. 

The amount of damages, if the plaintiff prevails, are left up to a jury, the suit states.

At the time of the accident, the DOT had not yet announced its decision to drop its proposal for a roundabout, or a traffic circle, at the intersection.  That decision wouldn't be made public until May 2021.

It's not clear that Molaro can recover damages from the town since Route 77 is property of New York State, and the Town has no authority to install or block a traffic circle at the intersection. Marble did not respond to a request for comment on the suit.

The state is not named in the suit.

The town's insurance agent is handling the legal response to the suit.

The suit seeks to hold both the town and the county liable for "negligent reckless and careless" action in "failing to provide a safe roadway" and in failing to "correct a known safety risk," in failing to "perform an adequate highway safety plan study; in failing to abide by a highway safety plan that provided a reasonable basis for the decisions made; failing to follow the guidance of the NYS DOT to install a roundabout at the location of the collision" and to fail to take any other reasonable action that could help prevent serious accidents at the intersection.

In 2019, the town sent a letter to the Department of Transportation opposing a proposed $1.8 million roundabout out of concern that "while it may decrease high-impact accidents, it will increase low-impact accidents, which will, in turn, increase the amount of emergency calls for our volunteer firemen."

The letter raised concerns about farmers moving equipment through the roundabout, plowing it in winter, increased noise from trucks slowing and applying their jake brakes, and the danger of traffic slowing as vehicles approach the roundabout.

"The proposed roundabout will be approximately 30 feet from a residence," the letter stated. "This poses a significant safety hazard to this property owner."

Supervisor Janet Sage signed the letter, along with Deputy Supervisor Kevin Fisher, board members Gordon Linsey, Jill Klotzbach, and William Cleveland.

The county is named in the suit even though the County Legislation declined in May 2019, when the Town of Alabama requested the County to join Alabama in opposing the roundabout.  Members of the Legislature listened to Highway Superintendent Tim Hens when he outlined why roundabouts help save lives.

Traffic engineers generally support roundabouts, they say, because roundabouts lead to a 60 percent reduction in all types of accidents and a 99 percent reduction in fatal accidents because they eliminate head-on and right-angle, high-speed collisions. 

On Oct. 2, 2020, Molaro was driving northbound on Alleghany Road when her vehicle was struck by one driven by Messervey, according to the suit, when she failed to stop for a stop sign in the eastbound portion of Ledge Road.

The Batavian requested a copy of the accident report, which is public record, from State Police, which, contrary to the state's open records law, declined the request.

During the state's proposal process for the roundabout, the DOT stated that between April 1, 2013, and May 31, 2018, there were 56 crashes in the area and 31 of them at the intersection. Two of the accidents were fatal.

The DOT said at the time of the proposal for a roundabout that they did consider alternative solutions and had implemented minor safety enhancements, such as upgraded signs and modified striping, but proposed a modern roundabout as the best solution to the propensity for accidents at the intersection. The engineers proposed an elliptical-shaped roundabout.

The intersection of Route 77 and Indian Falls Road is deemed safe in that it meets or exceeds all state and national design standards, according to a draft report released this week by the Office of Veterans Affairs.

The latest report is based on data and a study by an independent engineering firm, Larson Design Group.

The location is outside the Western New York National Cemetery, which opened a year-and-a-half ago and where two veterans (Christopher Rowell and Arnold Herdendorf, both of Lockport) were killed in a motor vehicle accident in September of 2021.

Glenn Elliott presented the report at a meeting hosted Monday in Corfu by Rep. Chris Jacobs. Elliott is the environmental director in the office of facility planning, construction and facility management at the VA.

"The draft study concludes that the intersection meets NYSDOT standards for sight distances and the US Federal Highways Administration Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices," Elliott said. "This is the standard used by roadway managers nationwide to install and maintain traffic control devices on all public streets, highways, bikeways and private roads open to the public."

He also said, "It finds that the sight distance is at the State Route 77 in Indian Falls Road intersection for greater than design criteria. Concluding sight distances do not propose a safety issue for traffic turning off Indian Falls Road. It concludes neither an all-way stop nor a traffic signal are required for the applicable criteria of METCB. It finds the expected crash frequency not significantly higher than the predicted crash frequency. Therefore safety performance is consistent with what is expected at this intersection. Since November 2020, when the cemetery opened, the crash frequency incident rate did not increase."

And, "The study finds that the expected crash frequency is not significantly higher than predicted crash frequency. Therefore, the safety and performance of the intersection is consistent with what is expected for this type of intersection."

However, because of the interest within the veterans' community in the safety of the intersection, the report reviews seven potential changes to the intersection.

• Eliminate the existing departure passing zones at the Indian Falls Road intersection.
• Install a flashing intersection control beacon or alternatively install side-mounted flashing warning devices along Route 77 intersection warning and involves road stops.
• Install rumble strips on the shoulder and centerline on State Route 77.
• Eliminate the existing departure and passing zone mentioned earlier.
• Installed larger right and left stop signs with reflected posts on Indian Falls Road, including placards for cross traffic does not stop at stop pavement markings on Indian Falls Road.
• Install larger intersection signs on State Route 77.
• Install a roundabout at the intersection of route 77 and Indian Falls Road.  

None of the possible changes are explicitly recommended though flashing beacons, signage and pavement markings, and a roundabout all score the best when mathematically weighted for effectiveness in reducing accidents.  Roundabouts reduce accidents by 60 percent and fatal accidents by 99 percent.

One suggestion by the study explicitly deemed ineffective is reducing the speed limit approaching the cemetery.

Jacobs said he organized the meeting in order to give community members a chance to review the report and make their own comments about it and potential changes to the intersection. 

"It is clear that more needs to be done to make this intersection safer for our veterans and our families who come to pay respects to our fallen heroes," Jacobs said. "I am committed to working with the veteran community to ensure meaningful changes are made."

For more details and for comments from among those who attended, watch the video above.

Philip Casper made this composite of photos he shot of last night's lunar eclipse.

Philip has made high-resolution copies of his photos available for free download by community members who might want to use the images for screensavers or desktop backgrounds.  Click here to select your downloads. To find out more about his photography, visit philipcasper.com.

This evening's sunset in Indian Falls.

Photo by Joanne Meiser.

The Batavia Society of Artists' Member Spring Art Show opened last week at the Richmond Memorial Library's Gallery Room, 19 Ross St., Batavia.

The event included awarding the Virginia Carr-Mumford Scholarship to Ben Wilkins.

Submitted photos.

Richard Ellingham, 1st place and two honorable mentions.

Adrian Morris donated his painting to raffle off for the BSA.

Brian Kemp, 3rd Place

Julie Lambert, honorable mention

Nicole Greenbaum, honorable mention

David Burke, honorable mention

Julie Jensen, honorable mention

Four people are each vying for one of three trustee seats on Le Roy Central School's Board of Education during Tuesday's school budget vote.

The two candidates with the most votes will be elected to the two three-year terms that are open, and the candidate to come in third will fill the remaining two years on the other available seat.

The four candidates are Peter W. Loftus, Randa Williams, Jason Karcher, and Rachael Greene.

Also on the ballot is the district's $27,708,988 spending plan.  Voters are being asked to approve a $10,663,025 tax levy.  In-district property owners in Pavilion, Bergen, and Caledonia are looking at a projected tax rate of $19. Property owners in the Town of Le Roy pay the same rate they did this year, $24.14. For further explanation of the tax rates and budget, see The Batavian's previous coverage: Le Roy trustees support $66,000 tax levy increase, still lowering tax rate for property owners with assessment adjustments

During the May 10 school board meeting, the four candidates were given time to introduce themselves:

Peter W. Loftus
Loftus has served on the school district board for six years and is seeking a third term.  He is married to Tammy and they have two children.   

He is an engineering manager at RL Kistler Inc.

"Kistler places a real high value on their employees giving back to the community and providing service wherever they can," Loftus said. "This has allowed me a lot of flexibility to get out of work when I need to, to get back here for any committee meeting, interview negotiations, anything like that that takes place in the normal working hours. My work is really understanding about that and provides me with that opportunity."

He said he learned two things when he first started on the school board. 

"The first thing that I learned is that it's just a massive operation," he said. "The running of this district is all the fast-moving parts. Everything's changing all the time. People are leaving. It's a natural path for people to come and go. So you're always filling slots. It's just the way it is.

"And the other thing that I learned -- and this is the biggie -- that they care; the education, and the life preparation of every student in this district, is what drives everybody here."

Six years ago, when he showed up at the Jr./Sr high school to participate in his own children's educations, he picked up a positive vibe just walking around the hallways. Loftus said, and he decided he wanted to be a part of it, so he decided to run for a seat on the board.

"Now, I do understand a lot of the challenges, and there are many things we need to do to be better," Loftus said. "It's not just a happy place where that vibe is going all the time. There are underlying issues. There are things that we need to improve."

And Loftus wants to help guide that improvement, he said, and his experience will prove to be an asset.

"My six years on the board equips me with some experience and some tools to be a more effective, more impactful board member," Loftus said. "I really look forward to putting that experience to use in a third term."

Randa Williams
Williams, a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother of Le Roy students, started her involvement with the Le Roy Central School District when her daughter entered kindergarten in 1976. She served on the PTSO and helped get the first playground built, and then a second.

She's been involved with Girl Scouts for 66 years.

"I think that the most important thing is to be involved in your community," Williams said. "I think that's what brought me here."

She thinks more people should get involved with their local schools.

"In a case like this, if you're involved, you know what's going on in your school. And it's very important what's going on here," she said.

Williams said she is excited to get more involved with the district through a seat on the school board.

"I'm very interested in what's going on and I would like to be involved in it," she said.

Jason Karcher
Part of what brought Karcher to Le Roy is that he married a young lady from the community and they both wanted a place with a strong sense of community and family.

The Buffalo native arrived four years ago and immediately got involved.  He joined the Le Roy Rotary Club and is now set to become president-elect in July. He's also been involved with the PTSO.

"One of the big things for me was about (finding) some place that I could actually dig in, get my hands dirty, and be a part of something that was larger than myself," Karcher said. "When we made the decision, it wasn't a foregone conclusion about where we would go, but it presented itself really quickly that, with family here, and with all the opportunities that are available here, to be able to come back here and (get involved)."

He and his wife Shannon have a daughter and it was his daughter's love of softball that got him even more involved in the community. 

"About two years ago, we had a huge opportunity where there was going to be no softball, there's gonna be no community of girls softball," he said. "That was a big thing for our daughter to make sure that ( girls softball) could continue on. So Shanna and I jumped in and we formed a 501(C)(3) and got it off the ground, and in two years. Now we have over 100 girls playing softball again here in the community, which we think is fantastic, and we're really excited about it."

The level of involvement led to Karcher being appointed to a vacant seat on the school board.

He works for Apple as an employee relations specialist.

"For me, it's about involvement," he said. "One of the things I would call out is, this is our budget meeting, this is where people could come in and actually get to know our candidates. And this is what we have to write (motion it the largely empty auditorium). And I'll call out, why aren't there more people here? That bothers me. So that's one of the big things, if ever voted on to the school board, is wanting to make a commitment that we need more people here."

Rachael Greene

Greene enters the race with more than two decades of experience in education. She started her career as a teacher in her hometown of Warsaw before becoming a principal in Mount Morris.  She was an instructional coordinator for BOCES (a position her husband, Peter, now holds) before becoming superintendent of the Stanley G. Falk School, which is a NYS-approved special day school that provides educational programming for students aged five to 21 who have special learning, social, and emotional needs.

"We have 600 students," Greene said. "We're the largest special education school in New York State -- seven locations and (there are) 44 different districts that we collaborate with. So when I think about what I could bring to the board, I think there's some insight and perspective in the fact that I've been able to sit in many of your positions within the district, not this district, specifically, but in a school system, and understand the roles that each of you plays to make decisions on what's best for kids. But also the perspective of being able to say, wow, you know, 44 districts, what are they doing with this?"

She said she wouldn't see her role as another superintendent in the district, a role Merrit Holly currently fills. 

"I think there's some value in being a thought partner at the table with the board," said Greene, a life-long resident of Le Roy. "In my experience, the other piece I think I would bring to the board is I'm a huge advocate for underrepresented students. When I look at our community of Le Roy and youth, and look at where we were 20 years ago, our poverty levels amongst our families and our students coming through our doors hovered around 10 percent. That trend line has done nothing but grow, where we are at almost 40 percent of our students that come into our school buildings living in poverty every day."

The Greenes have three children going to Le Roy schools, including Andrew, a ninth-grader who attended the meeting with his mother.

"I have a lot of confidence that he also will be in some form of leadership because he's class president, and now president of the Junior Honor Society," she said. "So I'm super proud of that. I think it's important for me as a parent to also model that when you're passionate about something, you want to have a seat at the table. So I'm super proud. He's here to support me."

 Greene said she would serve to support educators and see that both instructors and students -- especially those coming from poor families -- get what they need to succeed.

"I can tell you that our teachers in this district and our staff work so hard to do what's best for kids every day," Greene said. "So, as a board member, I'd want to think about what can we do, not just instructionally, but structurally to provide for what every kid needs in this district. Because the sad part is that two-thirds of those 40 percent don't pass the state exams. That tells me that there's a big gap there and it's our obligation, my duty, I would feel as the board member, and all of ours, to really look at what can we do to break down those barriers for kids every day."

Photos by Howard Owens.

Chris Crocker submitted this photo of this evening's sunset.

Eight children had their first communion today at Resurrection Parish.

Photo submitted by Jason Smith.