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A reader provided this mobile phone photo of Mercy Flight at Area 51. A motocross rider reportedly suffered a back injury in an accident this evening.

More information if it becomes available.

Yesterday, Batavia Downs opened its 64th harness racing season. Officials were kind enough to let me hang out in the stables and take pictures.

Thirty-three more pictures after the jump:

This is the first in a series of videos we're posting to help you get to know your Batavia Muckdogs players better.

Scratch Tom Lewin off Batavia's "Most Wanted" list.

The man city inspectors believe is responsible for another summer of gull poop and stink around the former Latina's Foodland voluntarily appeared in Batavia City Court yesterday morning with his attorney.

An arrest warrant was issued for Lewin after he failed to appear in court last week. 

On Friday, Amherst PD reportedly went to his house looking for him, but he wasn't home.

Lewin did not enter a plea to the code violation charges against his company, LKLWL Properties, which owns the Ellicott Street building. He is schedule to appear in court again at 10 a.m. on Aug. 20.

A motorcycle has hit a deer in the area of 4003 W. Main St. Road, Batavia.

Two people are reported unconscious.

Mercy EMS and Town of Batavia Fire responding. Mercy Flight is on stand by.

UPDATE 3:00 p.m.: Two Mercy Flight helicopters requested to the scene.

UPDATE 4:37 p.m.: No official word yet on the investigation. Two people were transported by Mercy Flight, and at least one of those helicopters went to Strong Memorial Hospital. An officer said it didn't look like either rider was wearing a state-approved safety helmet (though they were wearing helmets). The injured deer was put down after the accident. More information when it becomes available.

UPDATE: The driver and passenger have been identified: Driver, David L. Patrick, 63, of 21 Birchwood Acres, Perry. Passenger, Nancy L. Patrick, 58. The driver was taken to ECMC and the passenger to Strong. The accident investigation revealed that the deer entered road from the southern shoulder and ran into Nancy, causing David to lose control of the bike.

UPDATE: Both people were taken to Strong. Both are listed in guarded condition. At Strong, "guarded" means the patient is in the intensive care unit.

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Workers began cutting up Bank Street today as part of a project to replace sewer and water lines and repave the street.

Nearly a year ago. Gov. David Paterson announced the city would receive $411,000 of stimulus funds for the project.

The contract was awarded to Conestoga Rovers & Associates for plans and administration of the project. B. Beardsley Management & Enterprises is the contractor.

Elizabeth R. George, 19, of 587 Council House Road, Tonawanda Indian Reservation, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Mickey Aaron Jacobs, 18, of Poodry Road, Basom, is charged with menacing, 2nd. George and Jacobs were arrested as a result of an ongoing investigation into an alleged incident on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation at 4:14 a.m., July 21. Previously arrested were Cara L. Skye and Stormy Skye. George allegedly punched another person in the face a couple of times. Jacobs allegedly brandished a rifle, which reportedly caused fear in one witness, who was told to "back off" during the argument.

Timothy J. Becker, 45, of 653 Ellicott St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Becker is accused of pushing another person during a domestic incident. The person who was pushed fell down a flight of stairs. Becker was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Michael A. Shelter, 20, of 1050 Lewiston Road, Alabama, is charged with DWI, failure to stop at a stop sign and inadequate exhaust on vehicle. Shelter was stopped at 3:51 a.m., Saturday, on Washington Avenue by Officer Dan Coffey.

Jameson A. Crocker, 23, of 117 Walnut St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and unsafe lane change. Crocker was stopped at 2:36 a.m., Sunday, on West Main Street in the city by Officer Mark Lawrence.

Sean P. Flynn, 24, address not provided, is charged with DWI and moving from lane unsafely. Flynn was stopped at 11:29 p.m., Friday, on Route 33, Pembroke, by Deputy Brad Mazur.

Douglas Scott Sprague, 43, of South Pearl Street, Oakfield, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Sprague is accused of punching another person in the back of the head.

Sean N. Lindquist, 48, of Judge Road, Alabama, is charged with DWI and failure to keep right. Lindquist was stopped at 9:24 p.m., Friday, on Ledge Road in Alabama by Deputy Jason Diehl. Further charges possible pending lab results.

Ryan Micael Flatley, 23, of Union Road, Cheektowaga, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and making a U-turn at grade. Flatley was found stuck off the road at 12:19 a.m., Saturday, on Tinkham Road in Darien by Sgt. Brian Frieday. Flatley apparently tried to make a U-turn and became stuck.

Name Redacted Upon Request, 18, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant stemming from charges of reckless endangerment and harassment, 2nd. xxxx was reportedly spotted in the parking lot of Department of Social Services by a probation officer who knew of the warrant for a failure to pay a fine in Town of Le Roy Court. xxxxxx was detained until Sheriff's deputies arrived. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Melissa Courtney Kent, 18, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Kent is accused of stealing several items from a car parked near a party on Route 19, Town of Le Roy, over Memorial Day weekend.

In what may be the Town of Batavia's biggest party every year, the Volunteer Fire Department held its Harley Raffle at the Lewiston Road Fire Hall/Rec Hall last night. Hundreds of people were there enjoying live music from Seventh Heaven, food and a beer tent.

No word yet on who won the Harley.

UPDATE: Here's the winners:

1st $500.00 Ticket # 833 - Billy Ouweleen
2nd $500 winner Ticket # 1251 - Dave Winzig
3rd $500.00 ticket # 1358 - Scott Adams
4th $500.00 winner ticket # 976 Daniel Stiles
Grand Prize (Fatboy) goes to ticket # 2308 Linda Camp from Adams, N.Y.

A record 934 people attended the event.

I've been contacted by members of the Town of Batavia Fire Department wanting me to remind you that no matter the weather -- sun, rain or even tornado -- the Harley Raffle event at the Fire Hall will go on as planned.

Last year, there was a tornado in Corfu just hours before the event, followed by an absolute torrential downpour during the festivities.

More extreme weather is going to hit the party this year -- and they tell me that won't keep the Town of Batavia Fire Department from partying on.

A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued by the National Weather Service and the storm is expected to hit Batavia.

The watch is in effect until 10 p.m

The Town of Batavia event begins promptly at 7 p.m.

No word, however, on how the weather will effect the Genesee County Fair's hugely popular Demolition Derby, scheduled for 7 p.m.

In order to make the City of Batavia's Citizen Survey viable, at least 1,200 more residents need to log onto its home page and take eight minutes to answer eight questions.

For all those Batavians with a bone to pick, two cents worth, a word of praise or some pointed recommendations, here's a quick, easy opportunity to get it on the record for the city council to consider.

Simply put, more people need to weigh in in order for the data to be useful for planning purposes.

The website is <http://www.batavianewyork.com>.

City residents and those who work in the city are asked to provide input in order to gauge how citizens perceive the quality of several city services.

The survey also inquires as to whether citizens plan to remain in Batavia in five years and provides an area for general comments. The data received from the survey can be broken down by ward, age group and/or gender.

The survey was developed by city administration and is being administered free of charge through the use of software owned by Genesee Community College’s BEST Center.

While the city has contracted with the BEST Center to help it develop a strategic plan, the administration of the survey is being offered at no cost to the city.

“We are grateful to the BEST Center for allowing us to utilize its existing resources,” said City Manager Jason Molino. “This is our first time to administer an electronic survey, and we need more citizen involvement.

"We chose electronic means because it is environmentally responsible, provides efficiency with data interpretation and was offered to us free."

According to Molino, data from the surveys can be organized and reported out with the use of various filters within a matter of minutes.

“Efficiency and environmental consciousness aside; we need enough citizens to complete the survey in order to have quality usable data for our planning process,”  Molino said.

“We are strongly encouraging all residents to log on to the website and spend a few minutes to give us the feedback we need to make citizen-involved decisions during our planning process.”

For individuals without computer access, the Richmond Memorial Library encourages Batavia residents to use its free Internet service to take the survey. The library offers several computer terminals from which the survey can be taken. The service is free; however individuals must sign up to become a library member.

Membership to the Richmond Memorial Library is free and simply requires a few minutes to provide some basic information. Summer library hours are:  9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The library is located at 19 Ross St.

If there are any questions, please contact:

Office of the City Manager
One Batavia City Centre
Batavia, New York 14020
Phone:   (585) 345-6330
Fax:        (585) 343-8182
E-mail:   jmolino@batavianewyork.com

In the other bird matter on the Batavia City Court docket this morning, Oak Street resident Ron Graziaplena appeared before Judge Robert Balbick to answer to charges that his duck pond is in violation of a variance permit.

Graziaplena is also accused of various other code violations.

After entering a not guilty plea, Graziaplena was informed that he was entitled to an attorney to represent him in the matter.

Graziaplena asked for a continuance of his case to Aug. 20 so that he get an attorney.

"I don't know who I'm going to get," Graziaplena.

He said he couldn't afford an attorney, but Balbick said that because these alleged violations are not under penal law, Balbick couldn't offer a court-appointed attorney.

Previously: Dispute over ducks, other complaints, has Oak Street man headed to court.

Tom Lewin is a wanted man.

Lewin, representative of LKLWL Properties, did not appear in Batavia City Court this morning on the matter of alleged code violations at the former Latina's Market property and Judge Robert Balbick issued a warrant for his arrest.

Meanwhile, attorneys for IPTV-B-C-45, LLC, the current mortgage holder on the property at 45 Ellicott St., did appear in court.

Franklin Hiller, attorney for the mortgage company, said that IPTV, not LKLWL as previously indicted by Lewin, hired PestRX to evaluate the gull issue at Latina's and come up with a plan for deal with the issue.

To implement that plan, which was turned over to the court by the attorney for IPTV, will cost IPTV $16,600. It will involve cleaning bird debris off the 41,580-square-foot roof, power washing the sides of the building, cleaning drains and putting in new drain covers, and implementing an "exclusion" procedure to deter the gulls from coming back.

The exclusion method was not specified.

"We intend to put forward our best effort and resolve this issue and put it right with the city," Hiller said.

As mortgage holder -- having only recently been assigned the mortgage, Hiller said --  IPTV has the right to protect its financial interest in the property and insure the building is well maintained.

Without IPTV stepping in now to try and resolve the issue, IPTV could ultimately face a bigger bill down the road.

"The cost of any fines or penalties or the cost of the city's remediation would ultimately come out of the mortgage holder's pockets," Hiller said.

One potential stumbling block is that before PestRX will begin work, Lewin must sign a liability waiver.

Outside of court, another attorney for IPTV, Mary Redmond, said that one way or another, IPTV will handle the issue.

As for Lewin, Judge Balbick wants to see him in court.

"The defendant will answer in my court independent of what you (Hiller) do," BaIbick said. "It’s imperative that this man appear in city court."

City Manager Jason Molino said the city will actively pursue the warrant against Lewin to ensure he appears before Balbick to answer the code violation charges.

Photo: Franklin Hiller, courtesy Geoff Redick, WBTA.

 

Lucas David Trzecieski, 18, of Broadway Road, Alexander, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd, and petit larceny. Trzecieski is accused of being on Alexander School property without permission and of stealing latex gloves. A 17-year-old from Attica was also charged.

Jason L. Adams, 66, of Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd. Adams was arrested by State Police at 5:17 p.m., Wednesday. No further details were released.

After 29 years of driving Western Regional Off-Track Betting, Martin Basinait is stepping down as CEO.

Basinait announced his retirement to the OTB board in a letter yesterday.

His legacy will be the revival of Batavia Downs. It was Basinait who convinced OTB to buy the vacility and bring back horseracing.

Dick Seibert said it was also Basinait who championed the addition of video lottery terminals.

"Horseracing is a declining industry and there's nothing you can do about it," Seibert told WBTA. "Without the VLTs, we would be facing a dismal future. We have a bright future now."

Basinait's resignation is effective in February 2011. The board will now begin the search for a new CEO.

A Batavia-based drug dealer admitted in U.S. Federal Court today that he was involved in the distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana.

Kenneth Munnings, 44, faces a maximum federal penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $1 million after telling U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa that he was guilty of conspiracy to possess, with intent to distribute, illicit drugs, and to distributing them.

The charges stemmed from a joint federal, state and local wiretap investigation that revealed Munnings was responsible for obtaining significant quantities of meth, cocaine and marijuana from a drug-trafficking network in Rochester, according to U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey. Harvey said Munnings then redistributed the drugs in Genesee County.

The investigation uncovered Munnings dealings from 2006 through October 2008.

Munnings will be sentenced at 4 p.m., Nov. 1, in Rochester.