Le Roy

Old Barn and Tractor on North Road, LeRoy: Driving down North Road in LeRoy today, I came across this old barn and broken down tractor.

Jell-O, the jiggly treat that has delighted billions of happy childhood days, is the number one thing that helped put Genesee County on the map, according to historian and Holland Land Office Museum direct Pat Weissand.

Americans love Jell-O. In fact, Americans eat more than 300 million boxes of Jell-O every year and about 160 products are sold under the Jell-O name.   Jell-O is as much a part of Americana as baseball, apple pie and Chevrolet. By proclamation of the state governor, it is the official state snack of Utah. Residents of Utah eat more Jell-O per capita than anyone else.

Jell-O is an American icon. Since the early days of the company, Jell-O has mastered the technique of successful advertising campaigns. They used well-known artists such as Rose O'Neil, Maxfield Parrish, Cole Philips and Norman Rockwell in their print advertising; Jack Benny, Lucille Ball and Kate Smith in radio advertising and Bill Cosby in their television marketing campaigns.

Wikipedia says powered gelatin was patented 40 years before it was dubbed Jell-O in LeRoy, N.Y.

Gelatin has been well known and used for many years. It was popularized in the Victorian era with spectacular and complex "jelly moulds". Gelatin was sold in sheets and had to be purified, which was very time-consuming. It also made gelatin desserts the province of the relatively well-to-do. In 1845, industrialist Peter Cooper (who built the first American steam-powered locomotive, the Tom Thumb), obtained a patent (US Patent 4084) for powdered gelatin.

Forty years later the patent was sold to a LeRoy, New York-based carpenter and cough syrup manufacturer, Pearle B. Wait. He and his wife May added strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon flavoring to the powder and gave the product its present name in 1897.

Whether invented in LeRoy or LeRoy was merely the launching pad for one of America's most commercially successful food products, Jell-O has contributed much to life and fame for Genesee County.

Tim Rivers disagrees.

Maybe Jell-O is famous, cute and conjures warm fuzzies about childhood (especially when dolloped with whipped cream). But Jell-O hasn't had the same long-lasting local impact as the muckland in Elba and Byron.

The muck is listed No. 21 in things that made Genesee County famous. The 7,000 acres of muck stretches into Orleans County in Barre and Clarendon. The dark, highly organic soil brought hundreds of hard-working immigrants to the community in the 1920s and 1930s.

...

Unlike Jell-O, the muck is still here, still producing crops, still creating jobs, still unleashing human potential. There are 10 farms today working the muck and those farms continue as community cornerstons. Torrey, Bezon, Yunker, Halat, Starowitz, Vigneri, Mortellaro, Panek, Smith and Shuknecht remain, tilling the soil, planting seeds and harvesting crops.

Well, nothing like a little controversy to close out a months-long instructive and entertain journey through Genesee County history. 

Though, Tom left out another key point: The local ball club ain't called the Jell-O Dogs!

If you've never visited the Jell-O Museum, it's worth the time. Here's the museum's Web site.

A few months ago, Philip produced this video:

Property taxes in New York are outrageously high. In that context, it's kind of amazing that Gov. Paterson would suggest the STAR rebate checks be discontinued.

Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer held a press conference in LeRoy yesterday to call on Paterson to rescind his plan elimination of the checks. It's not surprising that I was the only reporter to show up, but as a property owner (for now) in New York, I think those checks are kind of important.

Further, when you consider, as Ranzhofer points out, that the checks return $8 million a year in cash flow to Genesee County, the rebate program is exceptionally important to the local economy.  It is ironic that at a time when the Federal government is spending trillions of dollars under what the president and Congress label a "stimulus" program, Gov. Paterson would take money out of the economy as fast as he can.

However, I think weakest among Ranzenhofer's arguments against elimination of the checks is the notion that elimination of the checks could cause people to lose their homes.  This sounds more like a play on emotion rather than reason. According to Ranzenhofer's own press release, the average check is for $335 and $420.  At $420, that's $35 per month. I just wonder how many property owners are gazing at the precipice over $35 per month? Yes, I can imagine a retired person on fixed income finding $35 very hard to muster, but when the alternative is losing your life-long home, you're probably going to find some way to make sure that tax is paid.

That said, the effort shouldn't even be necessary. Property taxes in New York or too high and the last thing Gov. Paterson should be doing is essentially increasing those taxes.

Brian Coffta, 36, of Sanford, Maine, was arrested in Batavia last night, on a charge of aggravated DWI. Coffta was allegedly observed driving in an erratic manner. Police say his BAT was .18 or higher.

Beth A. Brugger, 26, of LeRoy, is charged with aggravated DWI and leaving the scene of an accident. Brugger was allegedly spotted by another motorist driving erratically on Main Street in Batavia. A police officer subsequently observed her swerving on the road and then side-swipe a parked vehicle. Police say her BAT was .18 or higher. She was taken into custody this morning at about 1:20 a.m.

Candy R. Coleman, 53, of LeRoy, who is already serving time in the state corrections facility in Albion, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 90 days incarceration.

Coleman was facing other charges stemming from a December 2007 investigation.

The sentence for the guilty plea to the single charge will run concurrent to her current sentence, which stems from a conviction in Monroe County.

Detective John Condidorio, who arrested Coleman yesterday at the prison, said the other charge included alleged possession of stolen property.

In 2007, a search warrant of Coleman's Genesee Street apartment led to the discovery of alleged cocaine and paraphernalia along with items reportedly stolen from a neighbor, Condidorio said.

The investigation was delayed while Coleman went through the legal system in Monroe County on unrelated charges.

People curious how many votes Scott Doll might get in the Corfu mayoral election will wait until tomorrow to find out.

Doll is charged with second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his business partner, Joseph A. Benaquist.

The unusual election made the CBS national news on WBTA this afternoon.

Village elections are usually held on Tuesdays, but Corfu, which has the only village election this year in Genesee County, delayed its election until Wednesday this year because of St. Patrick's Day.

In other news:

• Construction on a $5 million roundabout, the first in Batavia, on Walnut Street, begins tomorrow. WBTA posted an interview with Asst. City Manger Sally Kuzon.
• There will be no curb-side pick up of yard waste in Batavia this year and residents are asked to bring their waste, beginning April 1, to the Law Street collection station.
• The municipal pools in LeRoy will not open this year due to lack of funds for needed repairs.

For more details on these and other stories, visit the WBTA news page.

Joann M. Rusby, 50, of LeRoy, is in custody, accused of dealing drugs.

The LeRoy Police Department identified Rusby as a suspect after a 53-year-old woman in LeRoy was found dead in her apartment. During the investigation of her death, LeRoy police learned that Rusby may have been dealing Fentanyl, a narcotic pain reliever.

Police conducted an undercover operation, which resulted in Rusby's arrest.

Rusby is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. 

After arraignment, Rusby is being held on $7,500 bail.

Harvey J. Lockhart, a.k.a. "Man,"  26, of Batavia, is in custody, accused of dealing crack cocaine.

Lockhart was arrested following an investigation by the Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Police say Lockhart sold a quantity of crack to an undercover officer in late 2008. The Grand Jury issued a sealed indictment for his arrest. Lockhart was spotted in Batavia yesterday and taken into custody.

He is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.

Lockhart is being held pending arraignment.

Brian Tracy, 21, of Attica, was arrested in Corfu yesterday for allegedly taking another person's car for a joy ride.  Tracy is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle.

"They've been around forever. It's just another sign of things in the past," (Police Chief Christopher) Hayward said.

Hayward was talking about the once bright red fire alarm boxes along LeRoy village streets that will soon be removed by an electrician.

Must everything old eventually be replaced, or might preserving the past be a community value worth keeping?

Daily News staff writer Scott DeSmit includes these interesting details:

The first boxes were made in 1852 and used the telegraph system. When the box was triggered, a spring-loaded wheel spun and tapped out a signal, which was telegraphed to a fire station.

Eventually, the boxes were linked to fire stations or dispatch centers using phone lines, about the only advance in technology the boxes ever underwent.

Of course, in these tight times, saving money is a virtue.

Each box has its own phone line, meaning the village will cut its phone bill by almost half by discontinuing the lines, Hayward said. The nine boxes, plus two fire sirens, accounted for $239 of the village's $650 monthly bill. The two sirens will remain.

DeSmit reports that none of the boxes have been used for a real incident in two years.

WBTA will report on its 12:30 newscast that Lapp Industries Corp. in LeRoy is concerned about a proposed environmental clean up, which VP and COO Robert Johnson tells WBTA would cost more than it should.

If forced to pay for a $3.4 million price tag for the proposed clean up on the 80=acre site, the survival of the company would be put in jeopardy.

Johnson says 140 local jobs could be lost. He maintains the job can be done just as well for $1.4 million, which the company can afford and is willing to pay.

This morning, the Daily reports on "earth-friendly" plans for the new Wal-Mart in LeRoy.

Le Roy's store also will include what is known as "daylight harvesting," he said.

A sensor on the floor determines how much sunlight is entering the store. If it's a significant amount, the sensor automatically turns the lights down "so we don't use that energy," Serghini said.

Of course, not all environmentalist buy into a Green Wal-Mart.

This cannot be dismissed as greenwashing. It's actually far more dangerous than that. Wal-Mart's initiatives have just enough meat to have distracted much of the environmental movement, along with most journalists and many ordinary people, from the fundamental fact that, as a system of distributing goods to people, big-box retailing is as intrinsically unsustainable as clear-cut logging is as a method of harvesting trees.

Here's the key issue. Wal-Mart's carbon estimate omits a massive source of CO2 that is inherent to its operations and amounts to more than all of its other greenhouse-gas emissions combined: the CO2 produced by customers driving to its stores.

The post asserts that big box stores encourage us to drive further -- an average two miles longer each trip -- to do our shopping.

People often debate the benefit of big box stores moving into "hometown" neighborhoods. Books have been published on the subject of Wal-Mart, in particular, running locally-owned shops out of business and replacing what may have been well-paying jobs with minimum wage, "exploitation" labor.

Whether or not you believe Wal-Mart is a malignant or beneficial force in a community, it is too much of a presence not to alter the overall figure. With a 111,000-square-foot Wal-Mart store expected to be up and running by June, LeRoy will soon learn what it's like to have the retail megalith in town.

From an article in the Democrat & Chronicle this morning:

A spokesman for Wal-Mart said the Genesee County store, which could open in spring 2010, would create 200 new jobs, plus another 100 jobs during construction.

The store will be a smaller version of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, with the same variety of products but smaller quantities.

The standalone building will feature a full retail section, groceries, an optical center, a pharmacy and a garden center, said the spokesman, Philip Serghini.

McCulley said he believes most residents support the project. "There was some dissent against it, but it was a small minority," he said.

"People are looking for options of shopping locally. People don't want to travel too far to do their shopping."

The FAA's Aviaition Improvement Program has awarded $2.1 million in federal funding for the LeRoy Airport so that it may complete its runway extension project, Rep. Chris Lee announced today.

From the press release:

The airport intends to use the grant to complete its runway extension project, which will take roughly three months and will occur in two phases. The eastern end of the runway and parallel taxiway will be extended from 2,640 to 3,855 ft., the runway will be sealcoated, and the runway and taxiway will be restriped.

“Improving transportation links in Western New York creates jobs and promote economic growth. I am pleased to see that LeRoy Airport has been recognized for its potential to grow and become a more integral part of the community and the region,” Congressman Lee said.

Raymond S. Detor Jr., president of LeRoy Aviation Services, commented on the grant announcement: “We appreciate Congressman Lee’s support for our efforts to ensure LeRoy has a state-of-the-airport that creates local jobs and meets the needs of the region. Through this grant, our airport will be better able to accommodate the aircraft it was designed for and provide support for Rochester International Airport.”

AIP grants are awarded competitively based on strict eligibility requirements, including an obligation to maintain the airport in a safe and serviceable condition, mitigate hazards to airspace, and use revenue properly. Funds for the program are drawn largely from a trust fund supported by user fees and fuel taxes.

You can visit the airport's Web site for more information on the facility which "is a designated general aviation reliever airport for the The Greater Rochester International Airport."

We've received reports of a car fire on Munson Street in downtown LeRoy near Genesee Valley BOCES. Emergency crews have been dispatched, but I would steer clear of driving through that area for the next hour or so.

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Ryan Darch and Nick Lazarony were sectional champions last year for the Batavia wrestling team and the two were favorites heading into the Section 5 Class BBB Tournament this weekend.

They didn't disappoint and won individual championships, helping to lead the Batavia wrestling team to a third-place finish overall. Palmyra-Macedon won the team title with 272 points with Bath taking second with 190 and Batavia third with 160.

Attica was fifth with 136.5 points.

 Lazarony was a Monroe County League champion for the Blue Devils and remains hot this postseason. The 112-pounder rolled to the sectional championships.

Lazarony first won a major decision of Midlakes' Max Peters 16-1, in 6:00. After that it was a 10-1 win over Ryan Howes of North Rose-Wolcott, earning him a trip to the semifinals.

He blanked Palmyra-Macedon's Dylan Rifenberg 7-0 in the semifinals. Lazarony had a tough match with Bath's Kyle Conrad in the finals but pulled through with a 4-3 decision, earning his second consecutive title.

Darch had a pair of pins at 160 pounds to get to the semifinals. He dropped Pal-Mac's Chris Argus in 2:33 in the first round and Hornell's Zach Bacon in 1:55 in the second.

He won a 7-2 decision over Brad Vecellieo of Wayland-Cohocton in the semifinals before defeating Ethan Lamphier of Wellsville, 9-2, in the championship round.

Troy Ireland almost got a shot at his teammate in the finals as he made the semifinals at 160 pounds, where he lost to Lamphier via pin in 1:30. Ireland went on to take third by beating Vecellieo 10-2 in the consolation finals.

Batavia also had three second place finishes.

Josh Mase knocked off Skyler Hendley of Way-Co in the semifinals before losing to top-seeded Bradley Mayville of Bishop Kearney 7-5 in the finals.

Anthony D'Aurizio was seeded third at 171 pounds, where Bath's Cody Hutcheson was expected to roll to the title. Hutcheson is the defending state champion.

D'Aurizio knocked off second-seeded Adam Slater of Sodus in the semifinals, 6-2, and nearly shocked everybody at the tournament in the finals. D'Aurizio took Hutcheson to the wire and wound up losing 3-2 to take second.

Dylan Goodsell finished second at 215 pounds as he made the finals with a 5-4 win over Lester Fanton of Wellsville in the semifinals. He lost a 4-3 decision to Pal-Mac's Pat Krenz in the finals.

 Attica's Doug Beitz won the 285 pound championship.

Beitz beat Mike Pryce of Sodus in the opening round 4-2 and pinned Bryan Wood of Dansville in 3:51 in the quarterfinals. He then pinned Waterloo's Zach Brown in 3:27 to earn a trip to the finals.

In the finals, Beitz held on for a 1-0 decision over Pal-Mac's Mason Judd.

Vinnie Napierski made the finals at 119 pounds with an 11-0 win over William Wells of NR-W in the semifinals, but was pinned by Tyler Marlow of Pal-Mac in 3:31 in the championship.

Dave Jennings pinned Tyler Deuel of Waterloo in 2:54 at 189 pounds to make the finals, where he lost to Zack Simons of Bath 4-1.

Lance Compton took third at 125 pounds and Spencer Ford took third at 152.

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Letchworth brought home the team title in Class BB with 243 points, topping Holley, which finished with 191.5 points. Le Roy took fourth (148), Byron-Bergen was sixth (102.5), Pembroke was 10th (78) and Alexander was 15th (42).

Defending state champion Quentin Murphy won for the Hawks at 119 pounds, pinning Pembroke's Adam Hill in 2:30 in the finals.

Jessi Kimmerly won the title at 112 pounds and Tim Banks is the champion at 130.

Pembroke's Graham Jensen won a 9-4 decision over Holley's Kyle Steadman to win the 189 pound title.

Jake Harvey, Tyler Fenstermaker and Ed Cigno all had runner-up finished for Le Roy with Colby Sanner and Travis Taylor having second place finishes for Pembroke. Byron-Bergen's Zach Green was second at 171 pounds.

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There was no question that Warsaw was going to win Class B and the Tigers easily won the team tournament.

Lyndonville took second and Kendall was fifth.

Josh Brabon took home the 119 pound title and John Brabon won at 160 pounds for Lyndonville.

Jake ReQua won at 96 points for the Eagles.

(Thank you to Tony D'Aurizio for the photos)

The Batavia boys and girls indoor track teams defended their titles Saturday at the Section 5 Class C Indoor Track Meet at Hobart. And the boys barely got it.

It was a second consecutive championship for the boys and it came right down to the last event as the Blue Devils needed the 4x200 meter relay to get at least sixth place.

Well, Ryan Wood, Devonte Rolle, Ray Williams and Francisco Martinez came in sixth and scored one point and Batavia edged Bath 71-70 for the title.

The only event winner for Batavia was Greg Kryman, who won the high jump with a jump of 6-feet. He was also on the second place 4x400 relay team with Rich Baird, Rolle and Adam Pierce.

The girls won a seventh straight championship, crushing second place Palmyra-Macedon 192-63.

Angela Jarvela had a dominant performance in winning the 1500 and 3000 while taking second in the 600.

Jordan Mancuso won the 1000 and triple jump with Samantha Yager taking first in the shot put. Batavia also won the 4x200 relay as Tessa Williams, Erica Williams, Cady Hume and Shannon Shmitt won in a photo finish.

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The Le Roy boys track team scored 127 points to blow out second place Oakfield-Alabama in Class D, as the Hornets scored 51 points. Alexander was fourth (50) and Byron-Bergen (12) was 11th.

Alonzo Wilson won the 55 meter dash with Jake Krautwurst winning the 1600 and 3200 for the Oatkan Knights.

Joe Schwab won the pole vault and Ethan Belcher won the triple jump. Le Roy also won the 4x200 meter and 4x800 meter relays.

Cody Dieterle won the 300 and 600 while Kevin Grazioplane took the 1000 for O-A.

Alexander had a 1-2 finish in the long jump as Tim McGreevy was first and Steve Shaffer was second.

The Alexander and Le Roy girls tied for fourth overall in Class D with Oakfield-Alabama taking sixth and Byron-Bergen finishing seventh.

Le Roy's Jasmine Poles was a triple winner, taking the top spot  in the 55 and 300 meter dashes as well as the long jump.

O-A's Kim Mills took first in the 600 and the Byron-Bergen girls won the 4x800 relay.

Complete results from the championships can be found here.

 (Thanks to Mary Jo Hume for the photos)