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Press release:

The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Genesee County presents:

Passion for a purpose! "How to Fill Your Personal Bucket" with guest speaker Sherry Crumity, YWCA Domestic Violence Support Services coordinator.

Tuesday, Sept. 26 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the YWCA of Genesee County, located at 301 North St., Batavia.

Join us as we learn tips on how to identify what drains your bucket, and the tools necessary to fill it up again.

Sherry Crumity is a Masters Level Clinical Mental Health counselor with 10 years experience working in therapeutic settings and 12 years experience working in not-for-profit and public school settings.

Light refreshments will be served at 5:30, program begins at 6.

There is limited seating, please register by Sept. 22 by calling the Care and Crisis Helpline at (585) 344-4400 or email hbaxter@ywcagenesee.org

Ladies Night is provided free of charge through the support of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Genesee County, the YWCA of Genesee County and Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee County.

The executive director of the Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse said a proposed 2,700-square foot addition to the agency's campus at 424 E. Main St. in Batavia is on a fast track to completion pending approval by the City Planning & Development Committee next week.

Speaking after Thursday night's Genesee County Planning Board meeting, where the site plan was recommended for approval without stipulations, John Bennett said the clinic could be "up and running in 14 months" and will be funded by an $820,000 Rapid Treament Expansion Grant from New York State.

Bennett attended the meeting with Raymond Murphy, project manager for Fontanese, Folts, Aubrecht, Ernst architects of Orchard Park. Murphy said they will take the plan before the City Planning & Development Committee on Sept. 19 and then prepare drawings for the building permit.

"We've talked to City Council and the Genesee County Legislature about this, expressing our view that it is much needed for the community," Bennett said, noting that the clinic would be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.. Monday through Saturday to dispense the medication to people battling opioid addiction. "And it is very private; that's one thing I like."

According to the American Addiction Centers website, a methadone clinic is a place where a person who is addicted to opioid-based drugs, such as heroin or prescription painkillers, can receive medication-based therapy. Patients receive methadone, or the brand name version known as Dolophine, which is an opioid analgesic. This treatment is often referred to as replacement therapy.

Bennett said the methadone is dispensed in liquid form, with each visit averaging about five minutes. He said it is a long-acting, safe medication that produces "little or no cravings."

Other drugs used to treat this type of addiction include suboxone, vivitrol and naltrexone.

The new clinic, which will be attached to the back of the existing treatment/prevention facility, will be able to provide services for up to 150 people at any given time, Bennett said. It also will result in the hiring of 10 to 12 more employees, including nurses, medical director, counselors and support staff.

GCASA has treated more than 1,200 people for opioid addiction since 2006, Bennett said, adding that the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 65,000 people will die due to opioids in the coming year.

At top, architect's renderings showing the GCASA campus, with the proposed addition in red in lower drawing.

P.W. Minor is doing what businesses do periodically, said owner Pete Zeliff this morning -- reorganizing. 

While the company's reputation was built on its orthopedic shoe line, rebuilding the brand and the business in that market is proving difficult, Zeliff said. Meanwhile, the "white label" shoe business is growing and shows promise for more growth.

"White label" means making shoes on the specifications and under the brands of other shoe companies.

Last week, the company laid off eight employees and more cuts are possible, Zeliff said, based on how things go in the coming months.

"We're cutting costs," Zeliff said. "Sales are down. Revenue is down. I can only keep writing checks out of my own pocket for so long. It's ridiculous to keep doing it."

Zeliff said many of P.W. Minor's former customers dropped the shoe line during the company's previous ownership and winning them back has proven tough. Many of those customers have gotten used to buying shoes made in China and seem willing to accept buying a new pair of shoes twice a year instead one pair every two years of a better quality shoe.

And those orders come in two and three shoes at a time, which make them more expensive to produce.

With "white label" contracts, P.W. Minor is able to produce larger runs of particular shoes at higher margins.

It can take 18 months, though, to land a new white label contract. That's how long it took P.W. Minor to go from introduction through samples to production for K-Swiss.

Zeliff said there are more white label deals coming. There's one company P.W. Minor has been working with for 20 months which will likely place an order soon. Another potential contract could mean increasing production by 40,000 to 50,000 pairs of shoes a year.

Before the recent layoffs, the factory was producing 180 pairs of shoes a day, sometimes 200 pairs. Since the layoffs, the factory has hit a production target of 200 pairs a day consistently.

"I think it opened some people's eyes," Zeliff said. "I've told them there will probably be more layoffs in the near future. Now all the production picks up. Nobody wants to be the guys getting laid off."

The 150-year-old company was about to close in 2014 when Zeliff and then partner Andrew Young stepped in saved it. Zeliff has been focused on revamping the business since, bringing in top marketers and designers and investing in new equipment.

In 2015, the company ended all production in China, bringing those jobs back to Batavia, with assistance from New York.

The other part of the P.W. Minor showing promise is the Abram Boots line and Batavia Boot & Shoe Company collection, introduced last fall. Both brands are showing sales growth, especially the boots, he said.

"I think we're on a good path," Zeliff said. "Has there been some pain? Yeah, but I've been sticking 200 grand into the business each month to keep it going and I don't know anybody else in this town who would keep on doing that."

Wyoming County writer and photographer Barbara Knight was on hand Thursday night at GO ART! for an artist's reception featuring her photos of Ireland. Knight has worked for 25 years as a writer and photographer and she traveled to Ireland in April. The photos on display at GO ART! capture the beauty and grandeur of what she saw during her visit.

GO ART! also opened its latest member show, "Guilty Pleasure."

Alex Segouia, of Avon, with his painting, "Lust." 

Lydia Zwierzynski with "Dreams of Fortune." 

Top picture, "West of the Fields" by Kevin Hammon, and "The Fishing Shack" by Julie Lambert.

Backed by data that shows a definite need for senior housing in Genesee County, developer Ronald Long envisions a 35- to 40-unit townhouse complex at 47 W. Main St. in the Village of Corfu.

Long, a resident of Judge Road in Alabama, presented a site plan for his project’s initial phase – two six-unit buildings -- to the Genesee County Planning Board on Thursday night.

And he left the meeting with an approval from the board, contingent upon modifications that include creating buffers from neighbors, placing a sidewalk to an existing building on the site, providing lighting and landscape plans to the Corfu Village Planning Board and obtaining a permit from the state Department of Transportation.

“We’ll probably have them (the apartments) rented before they’re even finished,” Long said, adding that they will rent at the market rate. “We’ve been working with the (Genesee) County Office for the Aging, which indicates a dire need for reasonably priced housing (for seniors).”

Planning Director Felipe Oltramari backed up Long’s statement, pointing out that housing located close to “shops and services is one of the reasons we see this as a good thing – adding density to the village.”

Last night’s site plan review was for Long’s plan to construct 12 units, six in each building.

He said his company, Toor Inc., would like to expand the project to 35-40 units – all in structures located behind the existing 3,400-square-foot building formerly known as The Market.

He said The Market building could be used as a clubhouse for residents (as is the current plan) or converted into another business.

Long said he would like to begin construction on the first phase by the end of this year. He said he will conduct a contest to name the complex, which currently is being called Corfu Senior Apartments.

In other action, the board:

-- Approved with modifications a special-use permit to construct two cabins for the R2R Christian ministry at 9936 Simonds Road, Darien.

Rich Ohlson, ministry president, said the cabins would be used for overnight programs for the 50 or more youth -- mostly teens from troubled homes – who participate. He said activities include indoor sports (in the main building’s gymnasium) as well as fishing.

“We’re reaching kids before addiction,” Ohlson said, noting that many young people in these situations turn to alcohol and drugs.

R2R conducts programs and religious services every Saturday from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and also hosts day camps at selected times throughout the year. The cabins, with eight bunks each, are to be built behind the campsite’s main building.

Planners OK'd the permit as long as R2R: puts in an access drive with a turnaround adequate for emergency vehicles; provides a parking plan acceptable to the Darien Town Planning Board; and obtains an elevation certificate by a licensed surveyor or engineer to ensure the cabins are not built within the flood hazard area.

-- Approved a 7,200-square-foot storage building at S&S Limousine at 7160 W. Main Road, Le Roy, recommending that the applicant, Joe Spadaro, merge three parcels into one.

Spadaro said the building, which will be placed on the west side of his property, is needed to “get the limos out of the snow.”

Currently, he has a fleet of more than 50 limousines.

-- Recommended for disapproval a request for a special-use permit and area variance by Peter Zeliff to convert the former Michelle's Bakery on West Saile Drive into a rental home.

Planners cited a Town of Batavia zoning law that says such a conversion in a commercial district is allowed only if the location is within 500 feet of other residential structures. The request was for a variance of 2,000 feet.

They also said that locating a single-family home next to the County Airport is "questionable and may pose significant impacts."

Zeliff has the option of taking his request to the Town Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.

-- Approved a site plan submitted by O-At-Ka Milk to construct a 29,075-square-foot addition at its food manufacturing facility on Cedar Street.

It didn't take long for a jury, after a weeklong trial, to deliberate and find Charles Schilling, of Pembroke, guilty of counts of second-degree burglary and second-degree criminal trespass.

The charges stem from an incident Thanksgiving Day 2015 when Schilling broke into a house where his girlfriend was living, got into an altercation, and she grabbed a .357-Magnum to defend herself, fired three times, striking him at least once in the leg.

In closing arguments, Public Defender Jerry Ader tried to convince the jury that there was ample reason for a not-guilty verdict based on reasonable doubt.

"What really happened?" Ader told the jury. "Since yesterday, those words keep coming back to me. What really happened?"

He said the only version of events the jury had to go on was the testimony of Schilling's girlfriend, who admitted to being confused on some points.

"She is admittedly not sure about what happened," Ader said. "Anything is possible, she said. When she was asked, she said, 'Anything is possible.' She could remember certain things and she couldn't remember certain things."

Ader said the couple had been together for years with a well-established pattern in a dysfunctional relationship of fighting and talking, and texting, then fighting more, with verbal and physical abuse going both ways.

In order to convict Schilling of burglary, Ader said, the jury would have to find that Schilling went to the house, owned and occupied by the father of Schilling's girlfriend, with the intent to commit a crime once he got inside.

It seemed quite probable, Ader said, that Schilling went to the house on Thanksgiving only to talk, but as usual, the talk escalated into a fight.

If Schilling didn't intend to assault and menace the victim, then he couldn't be found guilty of burglary, Ader said.

"Based on the testimony you heard, reasonable doubt is clear," Ader said.

When Assistant District Attorney Robert Zickl stood to begin his closing arguments, he stepped to the lectern in front of the jury and for a few minutes, just stood there and looked at them.

His point was, he said, that when he approached the lectern, his intention was clear. His intention was to speak. The jury didn't expect him to remain silent. The context explains intent, he said. The jury knew that if he stood up and walked to the lectern, he intended to speak. They didn't really have to guess at his intention.

In the same way, Schilling's intention was clear. He had told a friend that he was angry with his girlfriend because he believed she had performed in a pornographic video that had been posted online. Schilling's intent was also clear because he had been at the house a few days earlier and gave his girlfriend "a stiff beating," Zickl said. Zickl said Schilling's intent was also clear because when he arrived at the house on Nov. 26, 2015, he tried to break down the front door, damaging it, and then gained access by kicking down another door.

"How can anyone say he did not have the intent to commit a crime when he got inside, when the first thing he did when he got inside was commit a crime?" Zickl said.

It was also clear that Schilling was guilty of criminal trespass because he well knew that his girlfriend's father had barred him from his property. Schilling's girlfriend had even warned him on prior occasions not to come over because her father wouldn't allow it.

Schilling will be sentenced at a later date.

Independent Living of the Genesee Region held a fundraiser at Batavia Country Club yesterday, A Taste of Independence.

More than a dozen businesses participated, among them Red Osier, T.F. Brown's, Amber Lantern and D&R Depot.

Independent Living provides assistance to people with permanent or temporary disabilities and funds raised through the event will be used to support those services.

Press release:

New York State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer today has launched a 2017 Hunters and Sportsmen Survey.

“Sportsmen and women share their opinions with me every year about hunting issues, and I believe that it is important to listen to their thoughts,” Ranzenhofer said. “That is why I hope that you will consider answering a quick 10-question survey.” 

Residents can complete the survey online by visitingranzenhofer.nysenate.gov. The legislative survey asks questions about hunting and wildlife management in New York State, including crossbow hunting, antler restrictions, and other issues.

“I would like to know how hunters in the 61st Senate District feel about these issues,” Ranzenhofer said. “It is imperative to promote and expand responsible conservation practices while ensuring that future generations have access to quality hunting experiences. I remain committed to working with sportsmen organizations across our state to expand hunting opportunities.”

Sept. 23rd is recognized as National Hunting and Fishing Day. New York ranks third in the nation– behind only Texas and Florida– with nearly two million sportsmen and women hunting and fishing across the state.
 

There's no more benefit of the doubt for Nicole Kimberly Sullivan in Judge Charles Zambito's courtroom.

The 32-year-old Perry resident, already charged with assault, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, was arrested on allegations this week that she and a partner concocted a scheme to steal more than $700 in phone cases from Walmart. She's also been accused of continuing to use drugs while in a residential treatment facility.

Zambito canceled her release under supervision contract Wednesday afternoon and ordered her held on $5,000 bail or $10,000 bond. 

While Assistant District Attorney Shirley Gorman argued that Sullivan should be considered a flight risk, her attorney, David Silverberg, argued that she wasn't a flight risk but clearly is having difficulty complying with her release terms pending her trial. He asked for reasonable bail.

Sullivan is accused of fleeing the scene of an accident on Fargo Road in the Town of Stafford on June 10, 2016, and leaving behind a seriously injured person who also had a disability.

The Town of Oakfield is holding a Scarecrow Contest.

You can make a scarecrow at home at work or at school or at the Oakfield Community & Government Center, located at 3219 Drake Street Road, Oakfield. 

If you opt to make one at the Community & Government Center, the opportunity to do so is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30. You can bring your own supplies or purchase them from the "Scarecrow Boo-tique." (We did not make this up.)

Sept. 30 is also the date of the Oakfield Fall Vendor Blender (also 11 to 4) at the Community & Government Center. Invite your family and friends. If weather permits, vendors will be allowed outside, but there's plenty of room for them inside. For more information on both the Scarecrow Contest and the Oakfield Fall Vendor Blender, visit online at www.townofoakfieldny.com

These are the Scarecrow Contest rules:

• Register your scarecrow by mail prior to Sept. 27, or in person at the Community & Government Center scarecrow-making opportunity on Sept. 30; once registered, you will receive a lamppost assignment where you will display your scarecrow;
• As early as Sept. 30, hang your scarecrow on your assigned lamppost using zip ties, bungee cords or rope -- NO tape or wires, please (and absolutely "No more wire hangers!");
• Scarecrows must face oncoming traffic and be easily visible;
• Scarecrows must be made in good taste and constructed to withstand wind and rain. The committee (presumably, the "Scarecrow Contest Committee") has the complete and unequivocal right to remove any scarecrow that is inappropriate or in disrepair (tacky people take note);
• The scarecrow must be maintained while on display between Sept. 30 and Nov. 1 (which happens to be All Saints Day);
• To be eligible for contest awards, scarecrows must be secured to ASSIGNED posts no later than 3 p.m. on Sept. 30 (punctuality actually does matter here);
• Scarecrows must be taken down by 7 p.m. on All Saints Day (see above). After that time, they will be "removed and recycled" for next year. (We like the notion of recycled scarecrows, so long as they are tastefully recycled, nothing dodgy.)

Prize categories are:

-- Most Original

-- Scariest

-- Funniest

-- Best Traditional Scarecrow

-- Grand Prize for Best Overall

-- Special kids categories

Winners will be announced at 7 p.m. on Oct. 27 at the Town of Oakfield Halloween Party at the Community & Government Center. (We think it would be especially pleasing and of entertainment value if adults dressed up for this party in a goofy costume or wore some audacious socks or a dumb hat or something.)

Any Genesee County resident who would like to participate can most certainly participate, says Town Clerk Melissa Haacke. (There, the gauntlet is thrown down.) And if a scarecrow contestant wants to register via mail, that person can send a check for $10, payable to Town of Oakfield, along with the following information:

• Name/Organization
• Phone number
• Email address

Mail to:

Town of Oakfield

Atten: Melissa Haacke, Town Clerk

3219 Drake Street Road

Oakfield, NY 14125

You will subsequently be given a lamppost pole number, which is the location where you will put up your scarecrow.

May the best scarecrow win!

A 62-year-old man facing multiple drug-dealing charges is being released from jail while awaiting further legal proceedings after a bail review hearing before Judge Charles Zambito in County Court this afternoon.

Adner P. Davila, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, scored well enough on a bail evaluation worksheet that he was deemed not a flight risk and eligible for release under supervision of Genesee Justice.

The bail evaluation is based on numerous factors such as ties to the community, potential jail term if convicted, appearance record on prior charges and prior charges, if any.

In Davila's case, he does have six prior felonies, including three violent felonies, in his past, as well as a failure to appear, but those charges were years ago and were not really a factor in his bail evaluation.

Davila is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, five counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and one count of criminally using drug paraphernalia. 

During his release under supervision, Davila is confined to his residence at a trailer park on West Main Street Road, except for doctor's appointments. Upon request, Zambito also granted him permission to visit DSS to recertify his Medicaid eligibility, with notification of the trip to Genesee Justice.

A person is reportedly pinned between a tractor and a tree at a residence on Cohocton Road, Pembroke.

He's believed to have suffered only minor injuries.

Pembroke fire, Indian Falls fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:27 p.m.: East Pembroke's utility vehicle requested to the scene. The location is well off the road, behind a barn. Also a chief asked for the availability of Mercy Flight as a precaution. Mercy Flight 4 out of Buffalo is on ground standby.

UPDATE 5:25 p.m.: We've received word that the person did not require medical treatment beyond being evaluated at the scene.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is asking fellow New Yorkers who are willing and able to consider making a donation or volunteering with the American Red Cross in its efforts to help victims and their families of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma recover.

Large portions of Texas and Southern Florida have been devastated by these two recent natural disasters, leaving thousands homeless and much of the states’ infrastructure in ruins.

“What has happened in Texas and Florida as a result of these hurricanes is nothing short of tragic,” Hawley said. “It is at times like these that we must truly band together as Americans and help our friends in the south, because that’s what New Yorkers do.

"Our friends at the American Red Cross do tremendous work in crises like these, and I can attest to their effectiveness because I partnered with them in 2005 to deliver two truckloads of supplies after Hurricane Katrina. I encourage all Western New Yorkers who are able to make a small donation to the Red Cross and help inject some hope back into these struggling communities.”

Mail a check to your local Red Cross chapter:

• Western New York Chapter (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming.)

            786 Delaware Avenue

            Buffalo, NY 14209

• Visit redcross.org

• Call 1-800 RED CROSS or text the word IRMA to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
• Call your local Red Cross chapter. The Western New York chapter phone number is (716) 886-7500. The Greater Rochester chapter phone number is (585) 241-4400.

The Red Cross honors donor intent. Donors can designate their donation to Hurricane Harvey or Irma relief efforts by choosing that option when donating on redcross.org, or by designating it on the memo line of their check.

Assemblyman Hawley represents the 139th District, which consists of Genesee, Orleans and parts of Monroe counties. For more information, please visit Assemblyman Hawley’s Official Website.

Byron Fire Department will hold a Sportsman’s Raffle on Saturday, Sept. 30^th at Byron Fire Hall, 6357 Townline Road, Byron.

Doors open at noon, event is from 1 – 5 p.m., meal included with ticket.

Tickets ($20 each) for the event may be purchased from any member of our department.

Tickets may only be purchased by those 18 years of age and older.

Each ticket allows the holder entry on the day of the event, food (snacks & meal) and beverage, as well as a chance to win one of 15 prizes (refer to ticket itself).

Ticket holders do not need to be present to win; winners of firearms will be subject to federal background check. Event will also include a door prize, additional side raffles and pull tabs.

Proceeds benefit Byron Fire Department.

For more info contact Joe Wells 585-409-1270.

Mike Pettinella's Pin Points bowling column returns for its second year on The Batavian, starting Thursday.

The column focuses on organized bowling at the local, state and national levels, highlighting outstanding individual performances and timely topics.

The Batavian thanks the following businesses who have signed on as sponsors this season:

Al Vlietstra Masonry

Genesee Region USBC

Letchworth Pines, Portageville

Medina Lanes

Mount Morris Lanes

Oak Orchard Bowl, Albion

Perry Bowling Center

Rose Garden Bowl, Bergen

Sheelar's Auto, Batavia

Sloat Tire, Batavia

Turnbull Heating & Air

Businesses interested in advertising on the Pin Points page can contact Mike at mikepett2002@yahoo.com.

Submitted photo and press release:

The 17th Annual Van Hulburt Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit Crossroads House took place on Thursday, Aug.17^th at the Batavia Country Club.

The tournament is hosted by the Hesperus Lodge No. 837 in Bergen and the Hulburt family. Van Hulburt was an educator and leader in the Bergen community and his family dedicates the proceeds from the tournament each year through the Lodge of which Van was a member.

The tournament is the longest running outside fundraiser for Crossroads House and has raised over $80,000 since its inception.

A check in the amount of $7,300 was presented to Crossroads House on Sept. 7^th at the Lodge.

Pictured from left are: Marty Krause, tournament chairman; Helen Hulburt, wife of Van Hulburt; and Jeff Allen, Crossroads House executive director.

A pole is down and wires are in the roadway at 140 Elm St., Batavia. City firefighters and Mercy medics responding.

UPDATE 1:35 p.m.: A semi truck was traveling down Elm Street when it snagged a tree branch, which snapped off and took down a pole and wires. It lodged between the cab and the trailer of the semi. No one was injured. The ambulance was sent as a precaution; the driver was a sign-off.

The monthly meeting of the Batavia Society of Artists last night featured a demonstration by Patricia Tribastone in a style of painting known as Alla Prima.

The Alla Prima style of painting is a technique in which the artist completes a painting in one sitting. The painting is done “wet into wet” and the main characteristics are fresh color, minimized detail, and brush work. 

Tribastone, who is involved in numerous national art organizations and has won several awards for her pastel and oil paintings, set up a still life scene for the demonstration and explained how she arranged her subject and the materials she used to complete the painting.

Tribastone has a gallery and studio in Canandaigua at 32 S. Main St.

This weekend the Batavia Players present at Harvester 56 a three-act play, "The Laramie Project," which is based on the murder of Matthew Shepard.

Shepard was a 22-year-old student at the University of Wyoming when he was beaten and robbed and left tied to a fence post in the fall of 1998. Two friends of Shepard's soon after claimed he was killed because he was gay and Shepard's death gained national attention and led to the creation of hate crime laws in most states. Whether Shepard was killed because he was gay has been called into question during the intervening years.

The play is written by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project in New York City.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $13 for adults, $10 for seniors and students.

The show contains content that may not be suitable for young children.

The cast: Dorothy Gerhart, Michele Stamp, Joe Kasmierczak, Anthony Giambrone, Micheal Flanagan, Wendy Williams, Kathy Johns, Lucine Kauffman, Peggy Marone, and Norm Argulsky. All cast members play multiple roles.

Ron Burroughs was out on Ellicott Street yesterday evening in one of his custom-made bicycles. In this case, a two-seater made to look like a UPS delivery truck.