The village office in Corfu will open tomorrow morning, but rather than being staffed by longtime Clerk Treasurer Sandra Thomas and assistant Denise Beal, Trustee Ken Lauer said he expects he will be answering phones and handling whatever business he can.

The trustees held a budget meeting Thursday night, but didn't address the clerk situation in public session.

After the meeting Lauer agreed to discuss the clerk issue and said the actual employment situation with Thomas and Beal has yet to be resolved.

He said he's hopeful they will return to work. He said he spoke with both of them Wednesday night and had "productive" conversations, but he all he knows is they are considering their options.

On Monday, Thomas and Beal filed a complaint through Lauer against Mayor Ralph Peterson, accusing Peterson of trying to pressure them into handing over their computer passwords.

On Wednesday, Peterson showed up at the village office and by the time he left, Thomas and Beal had packed up their belongings and turned in their keys.

Whether the two women were fired or walked out is a fact in dispute between Peterson and people who say they witnessed the exchange.

We initially tried to ask Peterson, after the meeting, about the clerk situation and he said he was done talking with The Batavian and silently packed up his briefcase.

Trustee Art Ianni said he had "no statement" on the matter.

The budget meeting was held entirely in closed session.

Prior to going into closed session, Peterson said the session was being held to discuss personnel matters, specifically to talk about salary considerations with the two highway department employees.

More than an hour later, the trustees emerged (some 10 minutes after the two employees had left the meeting) and reported to community members at the meeting what they had discussed.

Besides the two employees agreeing to a cut in pay, Peterson said the trustees also agreed to sell some surplus equipment, expecting to raise $26,000, and cut $3,000 from the equipment budget.

Resident Greg Lang objected to the non-personnel issues being discussed in closed session as a possible violation of the New York Open Meeting Law.

Ianni said, "You know how it is. You get into a discussion and it just starts to flow."

Lauer almost didn't make the meeting.

When the meeting was first called to order, Peterson said, "Where's Ken?"

After Peterson, Ianni and Keith Busch went into closed session, former trustee Al Graham called Lauer and when Graham came back in the room he said Lauer told him that Peterson had called him earlier to say the meeting was canceled.

Lauer confirmed later he did receive such a call from Peterson. He also said Peterson had tried calling him just prior to the meeting but didn't leave a message.

Once Lauer arrived, Lauer said that Peterson apologized, but didn't elaborate.

A public hearing has been set for COR Development's request to receive financial assistance to renovate the former Lowe's location in Batavia Towne Center.

UPDATE 7:40 p.m.: The hearing has been rescheduled. It is now at 4 p.m. April 23 at Batavia Town Hall. (It was previously set for April 22.)

COR is seeking nearly $1 million in tax incentives for the project.

Genesee Community College's second-highest ranking administrator, the interim VP for Academic Affairs, Michael Stoll, was reportedly arrested on Good Friday in Rochester for alleged public lewdness.

The 66-year-old resident of Warboys Road, Bergen, allegedly exposed himself to an undercover police officer at 11 a.m. while in a Rochester municipal park.

Our news partner WBTA learned of the arrest from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

The charge against Stoll is a Class B misdemeanor.

Stoll posted $250 bail the same day.

The senior administrator began his career at GCC 42 years ago when the college first opened.

GCC spokesman Richard Ensman told WBTA that the college was not aware of Stoll’s arrest. Ensman said GCC is investigating.

The 2013 Regional Mock Trial Tournament will be held Saturday, April 20, in the Genesee County Courthouse with four teams competing for the regional title.

The first trials are at 9 a.m., are free and open to the public.

Round one will pit Frewsburg vs. Clarence and Batavia vs. Pittsford Mendon. In the second round, Batavia will go against Clarence and Pittsford Mendon will square off with Frewsburg.

The top two teams will advance to the final round, which will start at 1 p.m.

Judges will be Eugene F. Pigott Jr., who sits on the NYS Court of Appeals (the highest court in the state), Genesee County Court Judge Robert C. Noonan and Family Court Judge Eric R. Adams.

Press release:

The American Legion Botts Fiorito Post is hosting a World War II remembrance on April 21st. The reception, open to all World War II Veterans and their families, will be held on Sunday April 21st beginning at 1 p.m. at the Post Home, 53 W. Main St. Le Roy.

Local dignitaries are expected to join with current Legionnaires in recognizing those veterans of World War II who will be in attendance.

The intent of the program is to provide an opportunity for these veterans to join together and renew old acquaintances, share experiences and memories from World War II Era. Transportation will be provided if needed. Contact Post Adjutant Don Vescovi 768-7017.

Pictured: John Graney -- 2nd Vice Commander; Tim Sheflin -- Past Commander; Don Schafer -- Commander; Don Vescovi -- Adjutant; Jerry Diskin -- Vice Commander; and Dave Moore -- of Sons of The Legion.

A down wire(s) requires the closure of Bethany Center at Batavia-Bethany Townline roads. The pole is across from 4986 Batavia-Bethany Townline Road.

UPDATE 3:16 p.m.: National Grid is notified. No ETA given.

UPDATE 3:19 p.m.: The Town of Batavia fire responded and removed a broken pole from the roadway. Their assignment is back in service.

Press release:

The City Yard Waste Station will open for the season on Friday, April 12. The station will be open from noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

City residents are requested to bring all yard waste material (grass, leaves and limbs) to the Law Street Yard Waste Station as there is no spring curbside pickup of these materials.

No building materials or other debris will be accepted. Please use Law Street to enter and exit the City Yard Waste Station.

Le Roy Fire Department is responding to a report of smoke filling an apartment on Lake Street. A firefighter on scene reports nothing showing outside, but confirms smoke is inside. Bergen is also called to provide mutual aid. A woman said she returned home to find her son's bedroom filled with smoke. The building is being evacuated. Pavilion is also called. The address is 33 Lake St., apt. A.

School and Bacon are the crossroads. Le Roy medics are also called to the scene.

UPDATE 2:54 p.m.: Fire in the room is confirmed. They are shutting down the Route 5 and 19 intersection. Fire police are called.

UPDATE 2:57 p.m.: Fire command reports it's not clear where the fire is coming from. An engine from Stafford is called in. Mill Street is shut down.

UPDATE 3:02 p.m.: Caledonia is asked to stand by in their fire hall. A check of an upstairs apartment found no fire. They are checking the basement.

UPDATE 3:06 p.m.: National Grid is contacted.

UPDATE 3:13 p.m.: The source of the fire has been found and they are extinguishing it.

UPDATE 3:21 p.m.: The fire is out. They are overhauling the scene. Caledonia is released. Stafford will stand by in Le Roy's fire hall.

UPDATE 4:04 p.m.: The Le Roy assignment is back in service.

A benefit for the family of the late Marie Fragnito will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, at the Travelodge in Batavia.

Marie ("My My") was a lifelong Batavia resident who worked most recently at the ARC. She is survived by her daughter, Vanessa Aquino, three granddaughters, her mother, Josie Fragnito, brother, Joe, and sister, Patty.

Tickets for admission to the event can be purchased pre-sale at the Enchanted Florist on East Main Street downtown and Salvania’s Restaurant, located at 41 Jackson St., for $20 or at the door for $25.

Some of the highlights of the benefit will be a Chinese auction with prizes that have been donated by the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bisons and Darien Lake, among other personal donations.

Food will be included with admission and a cash bar will be provided.

Jim Catino’s band will be performing and her family members, friends and coworkers will be in attendance.

For more information or to purchase your pre-sale tickets, please contact the event organizer, Alexis C. Banks, directly at 716-480-0905.

A person was struck by a vehicle in the parking lot of Walmart, sustained minor injuries and is now inside the store near the customer service area. Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding to the store on Veterans Memorial Drive.

UPDATE 1:46 p.m.: The car is only described as "a small four-door" and it's near the main entrance. The victim reportedly knows the driver.

UPDATE 1:53 p.m.: Town of Batavia fire is told to stand down.

UPDATE 1:59 p.m.: The pedestrian is being transported to UMMC.

UPDATE 2:06 p.m.: The victim is a female who was struck in the back of the knee by a vehicle backing out of a parking spot.

UPDATE 4:06 p.m.: The "victim" was later arrested a charge of falsely reporting an incident, which is a Class A misdemeanor. She is identified in an arrest report as Brandi L. Gimlin, 19, of Jerome Place in the city. State Police Sgt. Ron Lobur said the arrest was made after a review of Walmart's video, which showed she was not in proximity of the sedan when it backed out of the parking space. He also said Gimlin subsequently admitted that she made up the story. Troopers, firefighters and medics responded to the initial call.

The Genesee County Emergency Dispatcher Center announced that the following roads in Alexander are closed or partially closed due to flooding:

• Dorman
• Creek
• Peaviner
• Old Creek Road

Hannah Marie Traub, 30, of West Kendall Road, Kendall, is charged with petit larceny. Traub is accused of stealing metal snow fence posts that are owned by the Oakfield Highway Department from a location on Lewiston Road, Oakfield.

Justin Terrance Lee Abbott, 23, of Denrose Drive, Amherst, and Michael T. Robb, 21, of Condon Avenue, Buffalo, are charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Abbott and Robb were in a vehicle stopped for an alleged traffic violation on Quaker Hill Road, Elba, at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday by Deputy James Diehl. Abbott was issued an appearance ticket and Robb was turned over to North Tonawanda PD on an arrest warrant.

Tresia DonMarie Brace, 19, of Crimson Heights Street, Albion, is charged with petit larceny. Brace is accused of shoplifting at Kmart. Brace allegedly fled from store security after being confronted and was later located at Subway.

Terryl Kiev Coombs, 21, and Donte Angel Meredith, 22, both of Oak Street, Batavia, are charged with petit larceny. Coombs and Meredith are accused of stealing $180 in DVDs from Walmart.

A freezing rain advisory remains in effect until 6 p.m. today and a flood watch is in effect through 5 p.m., Friday.

The Tonawanda Creek is already flowing near the top of its banks.

Photo: Branch on a tree on Jackson Street.

As some Corfu residents feared last night, the village office did not reopen this morning.

There's no word on when it might reopen.

Previously: Apparent blow up between Corfu mayor and employees has village administration in jeopardy

Police believe they've solved a burglary from 2008, arresting a man yesterday who was initially indicted in December as 'John Doe' based on a DNA profile.

Samuel G. Malone, 27, of 36 Walnut St., Batavia, is facing a new charge of burglary, 3rd.

Malone was arraigned in City Court after appearing in County Court on three burglary charges that investigators believe he committed because his DNA allegedly matches the DNA found at burglary more than four years ago.

The latest charge stems from a break-in at Clor's Meat Market when the business was located at 29 Brooklyn Ave., Batavia.

The perpetrator had broken into the building Aug. 20, 2008, and taken a cash register. The register was later located by maintenance workers broken and empty in Williams Park.

Buffalo News: Rosy ad reinforces status quo in New York

The big worry on the minds of a lot of people on Corfu tonight is, will their village office open in the morning?

An employment dispute between the mayor and the village clerk/treasurer and her assistant blew up this afternoon and depending on who you believe, the two employees were either fired or walked out.

Mayor Rosie Peterson would prefer to call the incident a misunderstanding, but people who say they were witnesses to whatever happened claim Peterson fired Sandra Thomas and Denise Beal.

What is certain by all accounts is that Thomas and Beal cleaned out their desks and turned in their keys this afternoon.

The event led Peterson to call an emergency meeting of the village board to try and figure out what to do.

Without a clerk and a treasurer, the village has no way to pay bills, issue paychecks, collect bill payments or deal with residents issues.

Three trustees and Peterson met at 7:30 p.m. and immediately went into closed session.

An hour later they emerged and Peterson said, "The result of our executive session is that we agree there was a misunderstanding today and as a board we reconciled the situation and we would like the office personnel to return to work."

Trustee Art Ianni said the board agreed that Thomas and Beal can come back to work, knowing that they will have jobs through the remainder of Peterson's term as mayor.

When asked if Thomas and Beal had agreed to stay on, Ianni said they had no choice under civil service law.

When a citizen pointed out that if they were fired, any such law wouldn't apply, Ianni said it was his understanding that they weren't fired and that it was just a "misunderstanding."

Trustee Ken Lauer said he attempted to contact Thomas and Beal during the closed session, but couldn't reach them.

So the board really doesn't know if Thomas and Beal will come back to work in the morning.

Former Trustee Al Graham said he witnesses the exchange between Peterson and the employees.

He said Peterson arrived at the village hall and asked both women to go into the conference room with him. When he attempted to close the door, Beal wouldn't let him, Graham said.

When Peterson asked why, Beal said, "I don't trust you."

Peterson then said, "Well, you might as well know, I am not going to reappoint you."

Under village law in New York, the mayor must reappoint certain key positions each year.

Beal asked, "are we being fired?" and according to Graham, Peterson said, "yes."

Thomas and Beal then began packing up their stuff and Peterson, he said, "started to back track," telling them they weren't fired and that they needed to say on the job.

About two dozen residents attended the emergency meeting and all of them seemed upset with Peterson.

Several citizens demanded that Peterson better explain his actions, but he said he had and that as he said, the whole affair was just a misunderstanding.

Peterson is only a few weeks into his new job as mayor after narrowly beating former mayor Todd Skeet in the last village election.

Lauer said his understanding of what happened was much like Graham explained, but he also knows that Peterson explained it as a misunderstanding.

"Rosie is definitely learning and moving along," Lauer said. "It's not an easy process and unfortunately, it plays havoc with people's lives.

"The thing is," he added, "we need to play together better. We have to learn to get along better and we're going to do that."

Late Wednesday night, a firefighter gave Dr. David Paul a tour of his home at 33 Ross St., Batavia, so he could survey the damage.

A fire that had started in the basement and wormed its way up to the top level of the house leading to extensive fire, smoke and water damage.

But the good news is that the structure largely remains intact.

"I'm glad I have good insurance," Paul said.

Paul purchased the stately home some 30 yeas ago, restored it and in the late 1980s, the house won a Landmark Society award.

"I was at my office in Buffalo and my daughter called me as said the house is on fire," Paul said. "I shot right back here. By the time I got here, the fire department and outlying departments were here and taking care of it. I didn't see any flames, but it was really smoking and they were actively working on it."

Along with City fire, departments from Elba, Alexander and the Town of Batavia rushed to the scene.

A quick response by all concerned helped save the house.

The fire appears to have started in the basement, though Chief Jim Maxwell said the fire is still under investigation and no cause has yet been determined.

The house was built in 1902 and used balloon construction, meaning the exterior walls are open from basement to ceiling, making it easy for flames to jump from floor to floor.

Typically, balloon construction homes become fully engulfed rather quickly, but firefighters were able to contain the fire and then work on isolating hot spots on the upper floors.

"I think they did an excellent job," Paul said. "They were here right away. They were considerate. It's a mess inside, but they seemed to control what they needed to do."

The fire was reported at 4:19 p.m. as smoke coming from the basement. By the time the first firefighters were on scene, flames were shooting out of two basement windows.

"We had a good interior attack by everyone involved here," Chief Maxwell said.

Genesee County Emergency Management and Darien fire also assisted at the scene.

Dr. Paul noted that usually he's the one donating to the Red Cross. Tonight he was grateful for a cup of coffee from the agency.

Maxwell said it will take some time to determine the cause of the fire because of the heavy damage to the basement. He noted there were reports of lightning strikes in the area prior to the fire being reported.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

This is one of a series of articles we will run over the next three days highlighting the winners of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce awards for 2012. The awards gala is Saturday evening at the Clarion Hotel.

St. Joseph School has been around since 1873 and currently has an enrollment of 300 students from pre-K through eighth grade. The Catholic elementary school employes 14 full-time teachers, four part-time teachers, six full-time aides, six support staff and two school nurses.

Karen Green has been a part of St. Joe's school for 17 years. She started out teaching first and second grade and has been the school's principal for the last seven years. She has witnessed much change in those 17 years. However, the school's mission of teaching faith, academics and service has always remained the same.

Green says, "We are an option for families that are looking for something different. If they want that Catholic and Christian-centered education we are here to give that to them."

She says she is very proud of St. Joseph students. Their work habits, their character and how they treat each other make the teachers' jobs very easy.

Academics and service are what make St. Joseph students stand out.

"I often hear from high-school teachers and administrators that they love getting St. Joe's kids, they have good work habits and they participate in class. Knowing that they leave here doing that is a great feeling," Green says.

Chad Zambito, who has been working at St. Joseph's for the past year running their marketing campaign, nominated the school for the special recognition award. After walking through the halls of the school and seeing the kids and their families, Zambito realized that it was different at St. Joe's. It was a special place.

"They have a strong tradition of supporting the community while struggling to make ends meet," Zambito says. "The school continues to find ways to expand programs like advanced math and sciences along with athletics and music while other institutions have been cutting their programs."

St. Joe's gets very little funding from the state.Tuition and enrollment are very important. "It's what we are used to, we have always done more with less," Green says. 

The parents also play an important role. They help with raising funds by volunteering to work at Friday night bingo, the Mammoth sale, fruit sale, Walk-a-thon, Popcorn Ball, and the Penny Carnival. According to Green, "Those big events give us enough money so that we can give our kids and teachers extras like iPads and SMART Boards to work with. We've tried to make the technology really important here and I think that's how we stay afloat."     

In Genesee County, St. Joseph School is the last remaining Catholic elementary school. St. Mary's closed in 2004 and St. Anthony's in 2006. 

Last year, with the closing of Holy Family School in Le Roy, St. Joseph School had to deal with an influx of about 100 students. "We had a couple of tough months over the summer last year trying to prepare," Green says. "We had mixed feelings and it was bittersweet, we felt bad their school had to close and we know what it would have been like and it very well could have been us put in that position." 

St. Joe's hired six aides and two teachers to accommodate the larger class size. Next year they will be looking for a part-time teacher for their Earth Science class at the middle-school level. 

Looking forward to the 2013-14 school year, the first, third and fourth grades are full and have a waiting list. Kindergarten is filling up fast with only five spaces open. At the middle-school level, sixth, seventh and eighth grades are all open.

Parents who have enrolled their children in 3- and 4-year-old preschool can take advantage of the school's Wrap Around Program which was started two years ago. Green says this program has taken off. It's for parents who need an affordable safe place to take their kids after the half day pre-school session.  

Green says her group of teachers, aides and support staff are amazing. They go above and beyond every day. Some run the After School Program, some are involved in extracurricular activities like Drama Club and Art Class and all are available after school each day to provide support for students and parents.

"It takes a special person to work here, to put that much time and dedication in and they do it on a daily basis. The salary is not like in the public school systems," Green said.

Each school year there will always be challenges. Green thinks that is not always a bad thing. 

"St. Joseph School will always be looking to improve in every aspect," she says. "We just don't want to sit back and say things are working well the way they are. You have to always be looking forward to the future. We are always trying to think ahead to make our school stronger and I think that's why we continue to do what we do here." 

For more information on St. Joseph School at 2 Summit St. in Batavia call 585-343-6154 or check out their Web site at www.sjsbatavia.org/

Photos by Howard Owens.

Karen Green

This is the first of a series of articles we will run over the next three days highlighting the winners of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce awards for 2012. The awards gala is Saturday evening at the Clarion Hotel.

When Barb Toal went on a sightseeing trip to Rome, Italy, with her sister six years ago, she sat in a beautiful garden across from the Colosseum to rest for a few minutes. At the time she had no idea what the garden was, only that it was a wonderful peaceful spot to sit and take a break.

Fast forward two years later to 2009.

Barb is sitting in the living room of Paula Savage, president of the International Peace Garden Association, who is trying to convince Barb to help set up an International Peace Garden commemorating the War of 1812 in the City of Batavia.

As the two women sat discussing the project, Paula had a laptop on the coffee table running pictures of International Peace Gardens from around the world. Barb froze when she saw a photo of the beautiful garden she remembered sitting in a few years earlier on her trip to Rome.

After scrolling through a few more of Paula's photoss, Barb recognized another garden she visited the following year after her trip to Italy -- in Dublin, Ireland.

"It's pretty ironic. I've been to two of them now. This is a no-brainer. I gotta get involved," Toal said.

Being president of the Holland Land Office Museum at the time, she thought this would be good use for the vacant land to the east of the museum and a good way to bring more people in to visit the Holland Land Office."This is a great fit, a perfect fit," Toal thought. The idea was now planted.

She then solicited the help of longtime friend Carol Grasso. The two have been friends since ninth grade and both graduated from Pembroke High School together.

"I just knew I had to be a part of it," Grasso says.

"This community, we knew since we were little, would come together to make this happen," Toal added.

Armed with seven solid volunteers, the group now referred to as "Friends of the Batavia Peace Garden" went to work. After four years of meetings, fundraising, and solicitations, they were ready to make the garden a reality.  

Running into many obstacles along the way, the project had to be accomplished one day at time. The electric wiring and digging through the base of Walnut Street and the old bridge was a stopper.

"After the electric meeting we were whipped. We thought, 'we can't do this and it's not gonna happen,' Toal said. It was like climbing a mountain, I slipped went down 10 notches then had to go up another 10 again." She said she learned a lot about patience over those four years.

Toal said they knew what they had to do, but had no money. It was amazing how the community came out to help. There were 15 landscaping trucks in the prime season that showed up and volunteered to revamp the once-barren land.

Martin Dilcher, of Dilcher's Excavating, who nominated the group for the award, was driving by the work in progress one day and spotted Barb using a jackhammer. She was making her way through layers of old buildings and solid rock to create a 5-foot hole in the ground for the electric and base for the globe. Dilcher yelled out to her, "What are you trying to do kill yourself ?" Dilcher showed up at 9 a.m. the next morning with a backhoe to help out.

When Toal needed someone to make the giant metal globe she turned to her neighbor Rob Barone who is a welder. He didn't know what she really wanted.

Toal made a trip to BJ's Wholesale and purchased a glass globe in a box and showed it to Barone. She also handed over a few pictures of one located in the Town of Lima. Barone then solicited the help of Patrick Waite, and together they created the globe that is currently on display at the Garden.

According to Grasso, "There were a lot of ups and downs. We didn't think we were going to make it, especially moneywise, but we did it."

She says people can't wait to help out and fund-raise now.

The Friends of the Batavia Peace Garden will be holding their third annual fundraiser dinner to be held at Terry Hills April 27th. They are planning a fashion show and are honoring Joe Gerace and Carolyn Pratt this year.

May 11th they will be having a birthday party and celebrate by raising the 23 flags for the year. It will be a community day from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Everyone is welcome to come out and join in the festivities.  

The Batavia Peace Garden commemorating the War of 1812 is stop number 13 of 25 on a 600-mile trail that runs through Canada and the United States. Batavia became the rallying point in the War of 1812. British forces burned 200 homes in Youngstown, many families then relocated to the Batavia area to take shelter.

Three more gardens were added to the trail last year. All are located in the Thousand Islands region of New York State. Brussels, Belgium, will be the location of the next garden. It will be created in 2014.

Toal says the group has plans on expanding the Batavia Garden in 2014. They want to extend the grounds to include the area behind the Genesee County Courts facility near the falls of the Tonawanda Creek. They will add more flags and possibly a gazebo.

Toal, who is now retired, says she is more busy now being president of the Friends of the Batavia Peace Garden. She says, "It hasn't been a hard road, just a long road to get to this point."

"To think what we've done in a couple of years, it's humbling to think we got this award," Grasso says. "It's was worth every drop of sweat that we had. All the hard work, the back-breaking digging. It's amazing."  

Anyone interested in buying a brick or path stone can contact Barb Toal at 585-344-2548 or e-mail her at btoal@ rochester.rr.com.

The group also has a new Web site, bataviapeacegarden.org.

Photo by Howard Owens. From left, Barb Toal, Mary Ellen Wilber, Carol Grasso, and Berneda Scoins.