Darien

While we were out covering the mobile home fire in East Bethany earlier this afternoon, we received reports of a two-car crash out in the town of Darien. Fortunately, nobody was injured, but one of the cars had apparently run into a tree. So, already on the road, we drove out to take a photograph. Here's the car and the tree:

Not exactly what we had expected.

While we were on the scene, however, we got to talking with a fellow who told us that this corner (County Line Road and Sumner Road) is a frequent site of accidents. What might the county do to make the roads safer here?

The Buffalo News reports that John E. Stocking, 48, of Pembroke was fatally shoot while hunting pheasant in Darien Lake State Park.

The shooting occured around 3 p.m. yesterday.

Authorities are investigating.

Party supporters packed into the Democratic headquarters last night in the Genesee Country Mall. They came for signs. They came for cider. They came to meet their candidates.

I was there to meet some of the candidates, too, though I was mostly hoping to run into Alice Kryzan. Unfortunately, the congressional candidate wasn't expected to arrive until sometime around 6:30pm due to a plane delay—the event started at 5:00pm—and I had to head out before then.

No matter. I had a chance to chat with a couple other candidates.

Larry Stabell is running to keep his seat as judge for the town of Darien. Stabell told me that his work with the department of corrections made him interested in the position and capable of doing it well.

We soon got to talking about what's going on out in Darien. Stabell told me that the town is currently facing a problem with its school districts: it's got four of them, none of which are in Darien. All the school kids are going in different directions, he said. This in a town where the population is maybe 3,200.

Darien used to be a farming community, he said. But it has since become "somewhat of a bedroom community for Rochester and Buffalo." The town has about 10 to 15 new homes going up every year, and is down to maybe eight or nine full-time farmers.

Of course, they've got Darien Lake Theme Park, which means that at any given time, you could have ten times the population of the town packed in there, and those folks "come out to have a good time," he said. That's the prime reason why the judge in Darien never wants for work, in the summer months especially.

I also had a few minutes to chat with Le Roy Councilman Tom Stella, who is also running to keep his seat. Stella told me that things have been pretty quiet in Le Roy over the past few months. Most of the major projects have gone through, including the Walgreen's and the Wal-Mart. What they'll be looking at next is something called the Farmland Protection Program, which would allow landowners—farmers in particular, but not exclusively—to get their land placed on a protection list that would say it could only be used for farming, never for development.

Should be interesting to see how that plays out.

30-year-old Jonathan J. Connolly, of Darien, was sent to Genesee County Jail last night pending $1,000 cash bail and facing three charges and potentially more.

Conolly was accused of throwing a beer bottle at an on-coming vehicle on Sumner Road, causing damage. He was charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal mischief and two violations: consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle and throwing refuse on the highway.

Genesee County sheriff's deputies said that more charges may be pending.