batavia

A 3-year-old with a partially amputated finger is reported at a day care facility located at 4007 Pearl Street Road, just west of the Bethany-City of Batavia Townline Road. Bethany ambulance is called to respond mutual aid to the incident.

UPDATE (3:50 p.m.): An emergency responder reports that the 3-year-old was "slammed into a door" partially amputating a finger.

UPDATE (4:12 p.m.): A medic on scene says the victim is a girl boy whose left middle finger was injured. The young patient is too upset and in pain to give any details to emergency workers. She He is being transported to Strong Memorial Hospital.

UPDATE (5:45 p.m.): Like many of our reports, the particulars of this item came from the scanner. The operator of the day care facility called afterward to say the medic at the scene incorrectly stated that the victim was a girl.

"It's obvious he's a boy," she said.

Furthermore, she took issue with the statement that the child was "slammed into a door," stating that the incident was purely accidental and that a door was inadvertantly shut on the tot's hand, injuring his finger.

Cassandra D. Griffin, 37, of Liverpool, is charged with driving while impaired by alcohol, endangering the welfare of a child, and driving with driver's view obstructed. Griffin was stopped by Deputy Kevin McCarthy at 11:13 p.m., Tuesday, on Route 77 in the Village of Corfu. Griffin allegedly had her three daughters with her, all under 17 years old.

Kyle Roger Esten, 25, of South Main Street, Oakfield, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. Esten is accused of making harassing phone calls to his ex-girlfriend.

Tama Lee Reiss, 46, of Genesee Street, Corfu, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI, unsafe backing, refusal to take pre-screen test, failure to keep right. Deputy Patrick Reeves responded to a report of an erratic operator on Route 33 in Pembroke at 8:05 p.m., Tuesday. When Reeves reportedly tried stopping Reiss's car, she eventually pulled over and then attempted to back up, causing both lanes of traffic to stop in order to avoid a collision.

Cody A. Bush, 24, of Oak Orchard Road, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Bush is accused of pushing and striking another person during an argument at a residence on East Main Street Road, Town of Batavia.

The Town of Batavia Volunteer Fire Department is holding its annual Harley raffle.

Tickets are available at the Fire Hall on Lewiston Road and Stan's Harley Davidson. Only tickets 2,700 will be sold. Tickets are $20 each. The drawing is July 24.

Tickets can also be purchased by mail: Town of Batavia Fire Department, C/O Raffle Chairman, P.O. Box 417, Batavia, 14021-0417.

Pictured with the Harley is Bill Leonart, who was at the Fire Hall today selling tickets.

Michael J. Wilkins, 28, of Nunda, is charged with manufacturing/possession/selling of a prescription controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th and unlawful possession of marijuana. Matthew A. Moir, 19, of Portageville, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Wilkins and Moir were arrested by State Police on Route 20 in Alexander at 11:30 p.m., Friday. No further details were released.

Vamaca Noe Velazquez, 22, of Hundred Mark Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, unregistered motor vehicle, switched license plates and operating without insurance. Velazquez was stopped at 1:02 a.m., Monday, on Hundredmark Road, Elba, by Deputy Patrick Reeves. Velazquez was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Assante Darrell Huggins, 18, of Brunswick Road, Buffalo, is charged with petit larceny. Huggins is accused of stealing $416 while employed at Darien Lake. The alleged thefts occurred between June 6-26.

Matthew R. Norstrand, 25, of Vroom Road, Spencerport, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unlicensed operation. Norstrand was stopped at 8 p.m., Friday, on North Street Road, Le Roy, by Matt Butler. Norstrand was allegedly driving on a suspended license. During the traffic stop, a marijuana pipe was allegedly found in his car. Norstrand was jailed on $500 bail.

Samuel F. Richardson, 45, of 231 Vine St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and unsafe backing. Richardson was reportedly involved in a minor traffic accident at 4:15 p.m., Monday, at the Wilson Farms store on West Main Street.

Cindy S. Dudek, 51, of Darien, is charged with harassment 2nd. Dudek was arrested by State Police at 9:45 p.m., Saturday. No further details released.

Jayson L. Bryant, 26, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt/disobeying a court order. Bryant was arrested in Oakfield at 1:45 p.m., Sunday, by State Police. No further details were released.

Cheryl A. Vagg, 53, of Warsaw, is charged with driving under the influence of drugs, 2nd offense in 10 years. Vagg was arrested at 5:22 p.m., Friday, by State Police on Ledge Road, Alabama. Vagg was jailed on cash bail. No further details were released.

Mercy Flight picked up a patient at the Batavia Downs parking lot around 9 a.m.

According to a witness, a man apparently fainted and fell off a truck at the Farmers' Market.

No further information is available.

Melissa C. Kent, 18, of 131 State St., Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 4th. Kent is accused of being with Kyle Monroe when he made purchases at a local store using an allegedly stolen credit card. Monroe is accused of stealing a credit card from a car on Gateway Drive on June 14.

Juanita Jackson, 53, of 214 Ellicott St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. While investigating a report of two children fighting, Officer Kevin DeFelice found that a 9-year-old had allegedly been left to care for a 3-year-old. The 3-year-old was reportedly left alone in the house. Jackson was located and arrested.

Annette C. Eleczko, 50, of Gilbert Street, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and failure to dim headlights. Eleczko was stopped at 11:20 p.m., Saturday, on Route 77 in Pembroke by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Lisa Marie Elmore, 45, of Pearl Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and failure to dim headlights. Elmore was stopped at 2:37 a.m., Sunday, on Route 33, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Jamie Lynn Haseley, 25, of 30th Street, Niagara Falls, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and driving left of pavement markings. Haseley was stopped at 11:06 p.m. on Harlow Road, Darien, by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Cheryl Adele Vagg, 53, of Warsaw, is charged with promoting prison contraband and unlawful possession of marijuana. Vagg was arrested at 3 a.m., Sunday. She was allegedly found to have marijuana in her purse while in Genesee County Jail.

Abram W. Harrison, 21, of Pratt Road, Batavia, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs. Harrison was stopped at 9:57 p.m., Friday, in the Walmart parking lot by Deputy Chad Minuto.

Jarrett Tyler Pietrowski, 21, of Broadway Road, Lancaster, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, criminal possession of a controlled substance, improper right turn, failure to keep right. Pietrowski was stopped at 1:40 a.m., Saturday, on Route 20 in Darien by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Tashara Moore, 28, of Andrews Avenue, Cheektowaga, is charged with petit larceny.  Moore and James Alfred Hicks, 40, of Andrews Avenue, Cheektowaga, were detained by loss prevention officers at Kmart, where they were accused of trying to steal more than $450 in merchandise.

Adam James Robertson, 23, of Pennels Drive, Rochester, is charged with assault, 3rd. Robertson is accused of breaking the arm of another person while attending the Dave Matthews concert at Darien Lake on June 2.

Justin Mathew Forrester, 29, of Evergreen Circle, Fairport, was arrested in Monroe County on a family court warrant and turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

Robert J. VanPelt, 33, of Council House Road, Alabama, is charged with vehicular assault, 1st, DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. VanPelt's arrest stems from an investigation into a motor vehicle accident May 2 at 7605 Sandhill Road.

A gas line is broken at the gas station at 16 Clinton St., Batavia.

Fuel is spilling.

City Fire is responding.

UPDATE 7:44 p.m: There's about 30 gallons of gas on the ground. The line has been shut off.

The Batavia Muckdogs provided the second of two July 4th Weekend fireworks shows after tonight's game.

Note: There is no home game July 4, so don't expect fireworks.

More pictures after the jump:

It was a beautiful day in Batavia, a beautiful day for the city's music and art lovers to come together for an afternoon and evening of music, art and games.

More photos after the jump:

Digital signs are nothing new for area schools -- but Robert Morris Elementary, at 80 Union St. in Batavia, is the first school in the Genesee Valley to have a solar-powered digital sign, which was unveiled last month.

The new 3x8 sign, which shares important information with the school community, is fully powered by the sun's energy, collected and converted into electricity by solar panels on the school's roof.

This environmentally friendly and money-saving technology allows the sign to store energy and stay powered up even at night and in overcast weather. 

The sign is part of Robert Morris' "Going Green" project, which is being coordinated by the all-volunteer parent group FORM (Friends of Robert Morris).

The "green" project, in turn, is part of the school's committment to educating students and keeping them informed about renewable energy and environmentally responsible technology.

As the current school year drew to a close, Principal Diane Bonarigo went to each of the classrooms and explained the new solar sign to students -- including how it would turn the sun's energy into electricity, etc.

"Our students are very excited about learning how solar energy is powering this sign," Bonarigo said in a news release. "(It) will engage (them) for years to come."

FORM co-chair Roseann Quinn said that they would like to focus more intensely on "green" education in September. She mentioned the possibility of having professionals come in and speak to the kids about different renewable energy technologies, as well as basic education in the classrooms.

"Now with the solar sign, the kids have something they can see and touch (to go along with lessons)," Quinn said.

Quinn also said that FORM and Bonarigo would like to put the students in charge of the sign when the next school year starts. Right now, Bonarigo controls what words appear on the sign from her laptop computer; in September, they hope to give the kids more input into the way words appear and change.

At Robert Morris, going green also involves lots of landscape planting on school grounds. Here are some pictures of new trees and bushes that have been put in already: 

FORM chair Lorie Reinhart came up with the idea for this project early in the 2008-2009 school year after looking online and reading about an education grant offered by Lowe's.

"We wanted to do something different," Quinn said. "We wanted to actually try to do something that a lot of schools talk about but never get around to doing."

Reinhart and Quinn wrote the grant proposal along with co-secretary Michelle Turnbull. In response to FORM's request, Lowe's granted the school $5,000 for the solar sign.

The project also received funding from the New York State Power Authority -- which was unprecedented, since NYSPA does not, as a rule, give money to schools. But the NYSPA president was so intrigued by the idea that he contributed $5,000 to the project.

Seven or eight local businesses also donated money to the purchase of the sign. Quinn said that the total cost came to about $18,000.

In addition to being a valuable educational venture, Quinn sees the construction of the sign as a grassroots effort to promote renewable energy, which she calls "the way of the future."

FORM wanted to make this as locally focused an effort as possible. The sign was produced by LeRoy-based Unitech Applications, in collaboration with XPress Signs and Agile Displays.

If you would like more information on the solar-powered digital sign or the "Going Green" project, see the FORM webpage for contact information.

Gary Draper, known throughout the community for his efforts to raise money for the American Diabetes Association while riding his three-wheel bike around Genesee County, will be arraigned this morning on felony sexual abuse charges.

Draper was arrested on a warrant yesterday following a Batavia Police Department investigation.

Det.Todd Crossett stressed this morning that none of Drapers alleged victims were children he met while fundraising. Two of children, between ages 9 and 12, were family members and a third was a family friend.

"We believe he victimizes those he has easy access to," Crossett said.

Draper is facing three counts of sexual abuse, 1st, five counts of criminal sexual act, 1st, and two counts of sexual abuse, 2nd.

He is accused of abusing the children between August 2008 and May 2009.

Draper has no prior criminal record.

Since 1995, Draper has been riding a bike around Genesee County and into Wyoming, Orleans and Erie counties, to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. In April, he told The Batavian he had raised more than $110,000.

UPDATE: Draper was arraigned this morning. Since he was just arrested, he initially did not have an attorney. After he was handed a copy of the Grand Jury indictment, he told Judge Robert Noonan that he couldn't read. Noonan immediately assigned Jerry Ader,  from the public defender's office, to represent him. After a recess, Draper entered a not guilty please and bail was set at $25,000.

(initial report)

An airplane engine is reportedly on fire at the Genesee County Airport.

The plane is on the ground.

Town of Batavia Fire is responding.

It's on the east runway.

UPDATE 9:47 p.m.: Engine 24 to proceed emergency, all other Town of Batavia units, non-emergency. Mercy EMS requested to the scene for victim with burn to his hands.

View Larger Map

A Town of Batavia resident is accused of sexually abusing children in the City of Batavia.

Gary E. Draper, 57, of 9175 Batavia-Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, is facing three counts of sexual abuse, 1st, five counts of criminal sexual act, 1st, and two counts of sexual abuse, 2nd.

Draper was arrested on a warrant following an investigation by Batavia detectives.

He is accused of sexually abusing children from August 2008 and May 2009.

Draper was placed in Genesee County Jail without bail, awaiting arraignment in County Court on Friday.

Bonnie Battaglia and John Quincey of Oliver's Candie's on West Main Street stand in the store with a certificate and flag that flew over Afghanistan.

The flag was presented to Oliver's by Bonnie's nephew, Matthew Graber, who was an Army Ranger in Afghanistan. It was a "thank you" for all the candy Oliver's sent to Graber and his comrades while serving in Afghanistan.

Graber is the son of Gary and Linda Graber of Darien and Shirley and Fred Ingles of Warsaw. He's currently stationed in South Africa.

The flag will fly over Oliver's on Fourth of July weekend.

"We're proud of the troops," Quincey said. "We're proud of what they do, so we're happy to support them."

An unknown odor has been reported in the area of the loading dock of Walmart, 4133 Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia.

The odor has apparently caused some nausea.

Town of Batavia Fire has been dispatched.

Personnel at Walmart declined an ambulance response, but a Town of Batavia chief requested Mercy EMS respond non-emergency.

View Larger Map

If you noticed the bright red trucks of Scalia's Landscaping around Latina's today, don't get your hopes up that purported property owner Tom Lewin of Buffalo has suddenly taken responsibility for the rotting hulk of a former supermarket.

Scalia's was hired by the city after LKLWL Properties allegedly failed to comply with a code violation posted on the building on June 24.

LKLWL Properties will be billed for the clean up -- which included weed abatement and hosing down the sidewalks, which were covered with gull poop, along with a $250 fine.

The city took the same enforcement action against LKLWL Properties last year. The city is also working on a court case alledging that the hundreds of gulls nesting on the roof of the former Latina's Food Store are creating an "unsanitary condition."

Neither court nor city officials were able to say today when that case might be heard in Batavia City Court.

For previous coverage, click here.

Whether the Suzanne Corona case will lead to a constitutional challenge to New York's adultery law is not a given, according to her new attorney Brian P. Degnan.

After Corona appeared in Judge Michael Delplato's courtroom for the first time today after selecting Degnan to represent her (Degnan is the son-in-law of the original judge on the case, Robert Balbick), Degnan told reporters that he wants to examine a plea offer from the District Attorney's office and decide how to proceed from there.

"We have not reached a deposition in this case and I'm interested in whatever would enable my client to get the best disposition in her best interest at this time," Degnan said when asked whether he would persue a constitutional challenge to the adultery law.

He called the law bizarre and unusual, noting that it has been prosecuted only 13 times in New York since 1970.

Degnan would not discuss the specifics of the plea offer.

Even if the adultery charge were dropped, attorneys have told The Batavian on background that Corona, merely because she has been charged with the crime, could seek judicial review of the statute.

Today, in her second court appearance on the case, Cornona did not enter a plea to the adultery or public lewdness charges.

A hearing was set for Aug. 18, where Corona could either agree to any plea deal still on the table, or Degnan could begin filing pre-trial motions.

In court, Degnan said he may file a motion for the prosecution to produce any additional evidence it may not yet have turned over in the case. Degnan said the main issue is, he doesn't know whether there are recordings available of any 9-1-1 calls.

"I need to have all of the evidence before me so I can advise my client of the best avenue to take," Degnan later told reporters.

Corona, 41, is accused of engaging in a public sex act in Farrall Park in early June with Justin Amend, 29, of Oakfield.

Amend did not appear in court this morning, but his attorney did and said he's seeking a plea offer from the District Attorney's office.

Police have been dispatched to a "public lewdness" complaint on West Main Street.

A man is reportedly mowing his lawn in the buff.