Blogs

In a game played Saturday at the Medina Veterans Park, the Pembroke Youth Association Dragons defeated the Akron Tigers 32-0 for the Niagara Orleans Football Association JV championship title.

Coach Jerry Cox's team went 12-0 for the season. The Akron Tigers only losses during the season were to the Dragons.

More pictures of the game can be seen here.

A vehicle has hit a guard rail in the area of mile marker 396 in the westbound lane of the Thruway.

Unknown injuries.

The location is near Slusser Road.

East Pembroke Fire Department and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 8:31 a.m.: No injuries.

Six weeks since opening, Krista Maniscalco, left, says business is good at her new deli on Oak Street, even without much promotion.

Gigi's is in the former location of Salome's and features subs, hot sandwiches and pizza, all made from fresh ingredients and cooked to order.

Maniscalco, pictured with her mother Linda Sprung, said opening in Batavia -- her husband, Charles, owns Scooter's in Le Roy -- means she has to emphasize quality.

"Here you have competition everywhere, so you've got to be a cut above," Maniscalco said.

She then added, "faith and family is a big part of what we do."

New York Times: Preaching Virtue of Spanking, Even as Deaths Fuel Debate

UPDATED 7:25 p.m.

A 42-year-old Niagara County resident died while hunting today in Alabama off Sour Springs Road.

Charles E. Sossong, of Lockport-Olcott Road, Newfane, was not wearing a safety restraint while in a tree stand that was 35 feet off the ground, according to Sheriff's Office investigators.

Sossong was pronounced dead at 3:11 p.m. by Genesee County Coroner Christine Flanagan.

His body was first found by a friend at the base of the tree.

An investigation revealed the tree stand was still affixed to the tree.

Emergency dispatchers received a call from Niagara County dispatchers at about 1 p.m. today reporting that a caller had parked a blue truck somewhere on Sour Springs Road and gone to a location in the woods where he had found his friend fallen to the ground from a tree stand.

The caller was performing CPR and could not immediately be reached by phone to better determine his location.

Volunteers from the Alabama Fire Department as well as Shelby and Akron were called to the scene.

Mercy Flight was dispatched immediately and assisted in the search for the victim.  

It took rescuers 30 minutes to locate the hunter and his friend who had made the call.

Once the victim was located, Mercy Flight was put back in service and Sheriff's investigators and the coroner were summoned to the scene.

Alabama fire personnel were on scene for about three hours.

A brush fire is reported in the woods behind a house at 7405 Reuben Road. Town of Alabama Fire Department is called to the scene. Oakfield Fire Department is called to standby in its quarters.

UPDATE 3:18 p.m.: Indian Falls and Pembroke are called in to provide mutual aid.

UPDATE 3:36 p.m.: Corfu requested mutual aid. Corfu's engine with its "deluge gun" requested to the scene. Firefighters are having a hard time reaching the fire through the woods.  A chief says, "the only way we're going to get back there is with a deluge gun."

UPDATE 3:42 p.m.: Fire is out. Chief says, "we're just wetting things down."

UPDATE 3:58 p.m.: All units back in service.

A brush fire is reported at 9103 Wilkinson Road in East Pembroke. The East Pembroke Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 2:54 p.m.: A brush truck from the Town of Batavia is requested for mutual aid but a firefighter familiar with the terrain says the blaze is in a swampy area and the truck won't be able to get through. They are working to find a solution. "You gotta lot of smoke showin'" ..."I don't know how we're going to get to it. It's going toward a house."

UPDATE 2:57 p.m.: They've "got to upgrade" to an engine from the Town of Batavia.

UPDATE 2:59 p.m.: Some responders have to wait for a train to pass before they can tackle the fire.

UPDATE 3:01 p.m.: A Sheriff's deputy is requested to the scene. The fire is believed to have started when someone lit some brush too close to a hedgerow and "it took off." This is "an illegal burn."

UPDATE 3:08 p.m.: Fire police from Corfu are called to shut down the roadway.

A brush fire behind a house in Bergen is burning a path to the woods. A large column of black smoke can reportedly be seen from the location, which is 7338 North Bergen Road. Bergen Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 2:14 p.m.: The fire is far from the roadway and will not be easy to reach. Brush trucks from Byron and Brockport are called to the scene.

UPDATE 2:17 p.m.: The homeowner says he is burning six to eight rows of hay. He says the location is remote. The mutual aid trucks from Byron and Brockport are cancelled. The fire chief is talking with the homeowner and the fire does not appear to be moving toward the woods.

UPDATE 2:28 p.m.: Firefighters are at the scene working to extinguish what remains of the controlled burn.

UPDATE 2:41 p.m.: The responders are back in service.

A caller has reported finding his friend fallen from a tree stand in an area off Sour Springs Road, Alabama.

There is a truck parked beside the road. The caller is no longer on the phone and is reportedly performing CPR on his friend.

Alabama Fire Department and Mercy EMS dispatched. Mutual aid requested from Akron and Shelby.

Mercy Flight being dispatched.

UPDATE 1:06 p.m.: The caller called his mother in Lockport, who called 9-1-1. The information was relayed to Gensee County Emergency Dispatch by Niagara County dispatchers.

UPDATE 1:08 p.m.: Medina ambulance in route. Mercy Flight may be needed to help spot the location of the victim from the air.

UPDATE 1:15 p.m.: The truck has been located. It's in the area of Onondaga Nature Trail.

UPDATE 1:16 p.m.: Patient not located, but the caller has a visual on Mercy Flight 5 overhead. Chief states, "I believe we're in the right area." (At some point, dispatch got the original caller on the line and patched the caller through to a chief on scene.)

UPDATE 1:20 p.m.: The caller said they were more than a mile off the road. A chief is cutting a chain off a gate. Contact with the caller has been lost.

UPDATE 1:24 p.m.: Responders have reached the end of the trail. "We're going to have to backtrack. We're unable to locate anybody."

UPDATE 1:26 p.m.: The caller has been found and is walking responders back to the patient's location.

UPDATE 1:28 p.m.: Manpower needed to carry the patient out. The trail is not accessible by vehicle.  

UPDATE 1:31 p.m.: Medina put back in service. If Shelby has manpower on the south side of the bridge, they are requested to the scene.

UPDATE 1:35 p.m.: Patient located. 

View Larger Map

A grass fire is reported at 510 Bloomingdale Road in Alabama. Alabama Fire Department is called to the scene.

UPDATE 11:12 a.m.: "We've got it knocked down pretty good. We're all set." The assignment is being held to Engine One.

UPDATE 11:48 p.m.: The fire is out. Alabama fire is back in service.

An ATV rider on an newer model green four-wheeler reportedly tried to run down a deputy somewhere on the east side of Batavia near Route 5.

We're not sure where or how the initial call started, but there were two four-wheelers in the area and when approached by a deputy, they took off in opposite directions.

One reportedly headed straight toward a deputy.

The ATV was last seen on Seven Springs Road doing donuts.

State Police offered to send in a helicopter to assist in the search, but a deputy said, "they're long gone."

The ATV has green and black, with flared mud flaps. The rider is wearing black. Both riders were white and wearing helmets.

The riders were apparently in a wooded area on foot, before hopping on their ATVs and riding off.

We've asked each of the candidates in the city council and county legislature races to answer a couple of questions regarding why they're running and what they hope to accomplish if elected. Election Day is Tuesday.

Here is the response from Bob Bialkowski, candidate for city council, 4th Ward.

The primary reason why I should receive your vote is:

I have worked very hard during my first term on city council to represent the citizens of the 4th Ward. My track record is a 100-percent attendance rate at council meetings. I have demonstrated how I respond to all my constituent concerns and have made myself totally available to all the residents of the ward.

My voting record is very conservative with taxpayer’s interest always in mind.

In response to your request of what key issue would be priority and how it would “be tackled."

This is a bit more difficult as city council has numerous priority-one issues to deal with.

The key major issues that are of concern to me are:

• Economic and business development and retention to include employment
• Downtown improvement
• Infrastructure
• Neighborhood improvement
• Crime prevention

We on city council have addressed these issues by:

• Hiring an economic development director
• Forming a strategic plan for the city
• Initiating an infrastructure plan
• Expanding and staffing our code department

I intend to follow these plans closely and ensure that we adhere to our goals.
With the present economy, we are tasked with some great economic challenges in the near future.

I am strongly against the typical government attitude of trying to fix problems by throwing the taxpayers' hard earned money at them. 

Most importantly, I strongly oppose tax increases that are unjustified.

In conclusion, I am a strong advocate for my constituents and for the citizens of the City of Batavia. I am honored to serve this wonderful city and look forward to Batavia’s best days to come.

Please vote for me on Election Day so that I may continue to represent you for the next four years.

Thank you for allowing me to comment on this forum.

One of the things I've wanted to find time to do all fall is take Pachuco for a walk in Genesee County Park. Today, we took a short walk and, of course, I brought my camera. Above was taken by a pond on the north side of the park.

This weekend, the First Presbyterian Church on East Main Street, Batavia, is hosting a Fine Arts Festival. The annual festival has traditionally featured arts and crafts from world cultures, but this year the organizers included local artists. Church choirs will provide a concert at 3 p.m., Sunday.

This week workers have been repairing the corner of the facade of the building at Main and Jackson streets. The century-old facade of the former Bank of Genesee had expanded away from the brick and masons restored it to its former look. The building is owned by Ken Mistler.

There's a report of smoke on the first floor of Leisure Timers Apartments, 364 Bloomingdale Road, Basom.

Alabama Fire Department along with mutual aid from Indian Falls and Akron, is responding.

The residence has not yet been evacuated.

UPDATE 2:18 p.m.: Akron and Indian Falls put back in service. Alabama units still in route can respond non-emergency. Residence is evacuated.

View Larger Map

City police are being sent to the parking lot of the old market on the corner of Ellicott and Jackson to talk to a person in a beige car about an animal complaint. The person wants to report seeing a black and white "terrier-style" dog walking on the roof.

The site has been for the birds for quite some time. Has it now gone to the dogs, too?