Driving back from the Elba Onion Festival, I happened down Weathermax Road and spotted this rocket pointed toward the stars in somebody's front yard. Nobody was home, so I couldn't get more information, but the rocket reads "Pack #17 Space Camp" and on the tail fin, "09 Ethan Austin Holden." It looks like Ethan constructed himself a nice rocket. Look for him to join the team at NASA soon.
The first Onion Festival, also known as Field Day, was on Saturday, Aug. 14, 1937. Almost 5,000 people gathered at the Four Corners (Main, Chapel and Mechanic streets) to take part in the parade and other festivities such as bicycle races, dancing, tire-racing, water fights and a pie-eating contest.
Barbie Ognibene, who is the chairman of the festival, says that it was originally planned to celebrate the harvest.
"The farmers wanted everyone to get together for harvest time, when they were all harvesting their crops," says Ognibene, who has been involved in the planning of the festival for 21 years.
Today, the two-day event is held at the Elba Park, and most of the original activities, such as rolling-pin throwing and the soap-box derby, have been replaced by carnival rides and games.
However, many of the old traditions, such as the crowning of the Onion Queen and the Elba Volunteer Fire Department’s car raffle, still remain, and of course the "onion spirit" is still alive. Onion soup, rings, and petals will be available, as well as bags of Elba onions. The parade, another beloved tradition, will kick off the festivities at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Ognibene says that to many native Elbans, the Onion Festival is more than just a carnival:
“A lot of people plan their vacations around this weekend. There's going to be a high school class reunion, two weddings and several family reunions."
Ognibene says that although all the profit from the festival goes to the Volunteer Fire Department, the event is really more about keeping a fun tradition alive than fundraising.
"It's really more of a service act," she says. "The fire department gets one-hundred percent of the profits, and that's put towards serving the community."
The Onion Festival in Elba is this Friday and Saturday, and along with the rides and all things onions comes the chance to win a 2009 Mustang (pictured above) or $18,000, courtesy of the Elba Fire Department.
The winning ticket will be drawn Saturday night at the festival, and the winner will have the choice of the car or money. Tickets are $1.
Art lovers will also have their chance to get lucky, with the Republican Party raffling off an original painting by Bernice Yunker. Tickets are $1 each, or 3 for $2, or 15 for $10. They can be purchased from the Republican booth at the festival.
Don't smoke and drive. Well, at least if you're going to buy more than the legal limit of untaxed cigarettes, and don't get caught speeding when you leave the reservation.
That apparently seems to be the moral of an arrest announced by the Sheriff's Office this afternoon.
Virgil Exis Parker, 29, of 98 Campbell St., upper, Rochester, was stopped on Route 262 in Elba at 6:46 a.m. for allegedly doing 82 mph in a 55 mph zone.
Deputy Meides reportedly spotted 31 cartons of Newport cigarettes and several boxes of cigars in Parker's car. The legal limit is 400 untaxed cigarettes, or about two cartons.
Parker was charged with possession of more than 400 untaxed cigarettes and issued an appearance ticket.
The volunteer fire departments of Genesee County meet and train on Monday nights (I'm not sure if the City's career crew is on the same time table). This Monday, I drove out to the Genesee County Fire Training Center to watch the Elba Volunteer Fire Department practice putting out car fires (it took me some time in between everything else going on to get the video edited and processed and posted to YouTube).
This video is the first in what I hope will be a series highlighting the Monday night training exercises of Genesee County's firefighters. Whenever I have a free Monday, which mostly means no Batavia City Council meeting or other town board meeting, I'll pick a training session to attend and shoot a video documenting the training.
The members of the Elba Volunteer Fire Department at training Monday: Kenny Ball, Rick Dorman, Ryan Hart, Mike Heale, Joe Kartychak, John Mudrzynski, "Rat" Reinhardt, Cale Rice, Brian Russell, Alex Shuknecht, Dave Webster, Mark Wiatrowski, Bill Zipfel, Cait Zipfel.
The DOT today announced a $585,737 project to pave a portion of Route 262 in Elba and Bryon.
The contract is expected to be awarded to Hanson Aggregates New York of Jamesville.
The section will stretch from Route 98 to Route 237.
The announcement was contained in a press release that announced several projects across WNY. All of the projects will take about two weeks each, with most of the work being done before the end of the summer, but all projects completed before 2010.
Also from the press release:
The economic-recovery funds coming to New York State for transportation projects must follow the same process required for distributing all federal transportation funds. The funds are allocated to projects that are selected by the 13 regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) across the state, which are comprised of local elected officials, local transit operators and NYSDOT representatives. MPOs vote unanimously on projects for their Transportation Improvement Program, and the projects are candidates for economic-recovery funds. These paving projects were approved by the Genesee Transportation Council to be eligible to receive ARRA funding.
Today members of the Batavia Police Department received a Certificate of Merit from New York State Assemblyman Steve Hawley.
They were specially recognized for their part in swiftly apprehending an armed robbery suspect involved in the M&T Bank robbery on June 18 in Elba.
Officers pictured from the left are Lt. Jankowski, Sgt. Kleinbach, Officer Davis, Officer Mullen and Chief Baker.
Batavia police assisted the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department, NYS Police and other law enforcement officials responding to the call.
Assemblyman Hawley also honored members of the Sheriff's Office on Wednesday and also plans to present Certificates of Merit to State Police next week.
Daniel Nathan Bernard, 20, of 6083 Route 5, Stafford, is charged with petty larceny. Bernard is accused of stealing $60 in winning scratch-off lottery tickets from his father's locked car, which was parked at his father's house.
Eileen Barbara Ferrando, 37, of 53 W. Main St., Corfu, was picked up on a bench warrant issued in the City of Batavia for alleged unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Ferrando was turned over to the Batavia Police Department.
Scott Webb, 19, of 12 Grote St., Buffalo, is charged with petty larceny. Grote is accused of stealing game prizes from a game stand at Darien Lake Theme Park.
A 17-year-old from Corfu is accused of reckless driving and endangering the welfare of a child. The youth allegedly drove at a high rate of speed down Chapel Street in Elba, losing control and coming within feet of striking a child riding a bicycle. The youth was issued an appearance ticket.
BATAVIA, N.Y. -- Michael J. Wells, the third suspect in the June 18 robbery of the M&T Bank in Elba, entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment this morning.
Wells is being represented by Thomas Burns. Burns made no application for bail this morning, so Wells continues being held in Genesee County Jail without bail.
Because there was no bail hearing, none of Wells statements or his background were discussed in court.
Last week both Damone Dillon and Dennis Abrams pleaded not guilty and Judge Robert Noonan assigned each $250,000 bail and $500 bond.
UPDATE: I just spoke with Thomas Burns, who is representing Wells, and he said he is communicating with District Attorney Lawrence Friedman on the eventual disposition of the case. Burns said he agreed not to make a bail application as part of that process. "We felt compelled to honor the request as a sign of good faith in negotiations," Burns said.
Previously:
It didn't take Dennis M. Abrams long on the morning of June 18 to figure out he apparently had made a huge mistake.
Within 30 minutes of leaving the M&T Bank in Elba with one of his buddies holding a bag full of more than $20,000 in cash allegedly taken at gunpoint, Abrams was lying in the brush along Lewiston Road sending a text message to his wife, Bianca.
"I messed up," was the simple message, according to Abrams' written confession.
"She called me because she did not know what I was talking about," he wrote. "I told her I could not talk because the police were close. I told her we had robbed a bank and that it had gone wrong. I then hung up because the police were close."
A few minutes later, Abrams was taken into custody.
His confession closes, "I would like to state that I made a mistake and that I am sorry for ever making this type of decision."
Abrams reportedly said he "messed up," but it wasn't like he wasn't warned.
According to the statement of one of his alleged accomplices, Demone Dillon, Dillon told Abrams and co-suspect Michael Wells that robbing a bank wasn't smart.
Dillon was the alleged look out who stood in the doorway of the bank while Abrams and Wells reportedly pulled off the stick up.
"I told them that it was a bad idea to rob a bank, but they decided to go in anyway," Dillon reportedly told investigators. "I followed them to the foyer area of the bank because I was told to do so."
According to Dillon's statement, Abrams called him about 10 o'clock the night before the robbery and said he had an idea to make some easy money.
In the Abrams' confession, Abrams said he and his friends were playing football the night before and started talking about how they needed more money.
"I said I know about this bank that I drive by when I go to Orleans Corrections to visit my cousin," Abrams wrote. "I said the bank was secluded, so we agreed to rob it."
The next morning, Abrams reportedly drove his black Chevy Blazer to pick up Dillon and Wells and then they stopped at Rite Aid to buy rubber gloves. Dillon said he knew the gloves were meant to avoid fingerprints, but he said he still didn't know the plan was to rob a bank.
It wasn't until they arrived at the bank, he indicates, that he learned of the plan. While sitting in the bank waiting for drive-up customers to leave, Dillon said, "I think this is a bad idea."
Inside the bank, the statement of teller Patti Hackett paints a terrifying picture. She said two men rushed into the bank while she was on a conference call with other M&T employees and the men started yelling, and she heard another teller scream "don't hurt me."
She writes, "The guy who grabbed me yanked me out of my chair and threw me to the ground." The men were yelling "get on the floor. We're not going to hurt you."
Hackett told investigators that the same man who threw her to the ground pointed a gun at her head.
In his confession, Abrams said he brought his Walthers P22 into the bank. He said it can hold 22 rounds, but he thinks it had only nine rounds in it at the time of the robbery, and that he waived it in the air with the safety on.
After leaving the bank, Abrams said he drove his Blazer at the speed limit until a state trooper spotted the vehicle and turned on his lights. Abrams said he stepped on the gas believing he could out run the trooper's Tahoe.
By that time, either Dillon or Wells had reportedly opened the money bag only to have an apparently pepper-spray-laced dye pack explode. Dillon said within a half mile of the bank, he threw the bag out the back window.
Abrams said that both Dillon and Wells were screaming for him to let them out of the car and he stopped at the first intersection he came to and the two men jumped from the Blazer and ran.
Dillon said he first went to a nearby house and lied down on the porch, but he quickly got up and started running. He removed his clothes because they had become wet and heavy, he said in the confession.
Dillon never directly explains why he agreed to go along with Abrams and Wells on what he admits in his statements clearly seemed to be a plan for some sort of criminal activity.
But the need for cash seems to be a factor.
"The reason I did this is because I'm in serious need of money," Dillon told investigators. "I have a 6-month-old baby and also two 5-year-old kids."
Abrams, who admits in his signed confession to coming up with the plan, owning and carrying the gun, and driving his own vehicle to and from the bank, is about to become a father. In his confession, he said his wife Bianca is seven months pregnant. In his Genesee County Justice interview, he also says he is a foster father, and while being employed with the same company for more than five years, his gross earnings were $700 a week.
The third suspect, Michael Wells, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday at 10:30 a.m.
Yesterday, Judge Robert Noonan ordered Abrams and Dillon held on $250,000 cash bail and $500,000 bond each.
Pictured above, from the top, are Abrams, Dillon and Wells.
Dennis M. Abrams, one of the three men accused of robbing the M&T Bank in Elba on June 18, was, according to his attorney, a respectable, upstanding, taxpaying citizen prior to the alleged crime and subsequent chase and six-hour manhunt.
Abrams reportedly has no prior criminal record, is employed full time (with a collections agency that is supposedly keeping his job open for him), married and expecting the couple's first child in a month on their fourth anniversary. Abrams is also a foster father to his wife's nieces.
Yet, Dennis M. Abrams, 26, is also accused of using a pistol he bought and registered to put a teller "in fear of her life," according to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman.
In his written confession, Abrams reportedly admits to waiving his gun in the air inside the bank. Friedman said a teller tells a different story. She said Abrams pointed the gun at her head.
Friedman said Abrams admitted to hatching the bank robbery plan and driving his vehicle to and from Elba, after removing the license plates to help avoid identification.
Abrams, and co-defendant Demone D. Dillon, 25, both plead not guilty to three counts each of robbery. The third defendant, Michael J. Wells, 24, appears in court to answer the charges on Monday.
They are both being held on $250,000 bail and $500,000 bond.
Abrams has retained renowned defense attorney Paul Cambria, who is currently also representing Scott Doll, who is accused of killing a business associate in Pembroke. Daniel Killelea appeared today on behalf of Cambria.
With at least a dozen friends and family members, as well as his pastor, present, Killelea tried to convince Judge Robert Noonan to reduce his bail to $25,000.
"I think Mr. Abrams isn't typical of a defendant who stands before the court accused of bank robbery," Killelea said. "He has an actual life beyond the charges currently before the court."
Killelea also noted the Abrams gave himself up within 15 minutes of the manhunt starting and cooperated fully with law enforcement from the moment of his arrest.
Friedman countered that Abrams is accused of being the mastermind, the getaway driver and the man who owned and used a loaded handgun to help commit the crime.
"I'm confident in the strength of the people's case," Friedman said. "Mr. Abrams gave a full written confession. I find it hard to believe that a reputable collections agency would continue to keep him employed."
Noonan said that while he was mindful of Abrams clean background, he had to take into consideration the nature of the crime.
"I'm extremely shocked that a licensed handgun was used by the licensee in such a brazen manner," Noonan said. Noonan said that in 30 years he's only seen a licensee us his own gun in a crime once. "This never happens," Noonan added.
The trio allegedly left the bank with more than $20,000, according to Friedman.
Abrams' uncle, John Abrams, was among the family members in court. He seemed eager to talk about the case, but was advised by Killelea not to speak with the media. John Abrams -- who is reportedly in law enforcement and showed up at the State Police Barracks in Batavia during the manhunt to encourage Dennis Abrams to continue cooperating with the police -- did say there are two sides to the story and more to the case than what has come out so far.
Contrasted with Abrams, Dillon does reportedly have a prior record. He reportedly also has parole and probation violations in his past.
Two of the three suspects in the June 18 robbery of the M & T Bank in Elba will be in court tomorrow to answer charges related to the alleged crime.
Appearing at the 10 a.m. arraignment at the county court house will be Dennis M. Abrams, Jr, 26, of 202 Merrimac St., Buffalo and Demone D. Dillon, 25, 128 LaSalle Ave., Buffalo.
Both men, along with Michael J. Wells, 24, 69 Camp St., Buffalo, were indicted by the county grand jury on June 23 on a charge of robbery in the first degree.
Dillon is represented by Gary Horton and Abrams is represented by Robert Convissar.
Previous coverage:
One driver complained of back pain and was transported to UMMC following a two-vehicle accident in Elba on Saturday afternoon.
A 2006 Chevy sedan reportedly driven by Kelly M. Pope, 38, of Attica, was traveling eastbound on Batavia-Elba Townline Road at about 3:50 p.m. and apparently failed to yield the right-of-way to Robert G. Turner, 76, of Elba, who was driving a 2008 Nissan SUV.
Pope reportedly stopped at the intersection of Batavia-Elba and Bank Street Road, and then attempted to proceed through the intersection, but did not see Turner's vehicle.
After the collision, Turner's vehicle reportedly traveled into the yard at 7626 Bank Street Road, coming to rest in a group of shrubs.
Elba firefighters are responding to a report of live electrical wires down at 5969 Oak Orchard Road. The report says there are flames visible.
I am in the process of planning a 20 year high school class reunion at Elba Central School. There is only one person I have not been able to find any contact information for. His name is Steve Hall. If you know him or his whereabouts, please comment so that I can get in contact with you.
The three suspects in Thursday's bank heist in Elba have been indicted by the Genesee County Grand Jury on charges of robbery in the first degree, according to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman.
The trio will be arraigned on July 1.
The men were identifed after the robbery of the M&T Bank in Elba as Dennis M. Abrams, Jr, 26, of 202 Merrimac St., Buffalo; Demone D. Dillon, 25, 128 LaSalle Ave., Buffalo; and, Michael J. Wells, 24, 69 Camp St., Buffalo.
Following the robbery, the three men allegedly fled the scene leading to a massive multi-agency man hunt that lasted more than five hours.
Previously:
HAWLEY PASSES 15 BILLS FOR WESTERN NEW YORK
As the regularly scheduled legislative session drew to a close, Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, I, C – Batavia) was pleased to have been able to have over a dozen pieces of his legislation passed, despite a banner year for Albany’s notorious dysfunction.
“Despite all the chaos, changes in leadership and gridlock, I was able to get some common-sense and important pieces of legislation passed that will greatly help the communities in Western New York, as well as the rest of the state,” said Hawley.
Of the 15 pieces of legislation that Hawley sponsored, which passed the Assembly, five bills specifically helped local communities in Western New York. These bills include measures to help town court proceedings in the towns of Elba, Oakfield and Batavia, and the city of Batavia. These four municipalities are leading the way in the state for finding an innovative solution, to their individual need for new and upgraded court facilities, will help local governments save taxpayer dollars by sharing services and building a joint court facility.
Perhaps Hawley’s largest statewide initiatives that passed were measures to help firefighters. Assembly Bill 2733-A establishes the volunteer firefighter and volunteer emergency services recruitment and retention fund. Assembly Bill 6051-A allows firefighters to operate a fire truck without possessing a commercial driver’s license, saving fire districts endless amounts of time, which can be better spent training, as well as thousands of dollars annually. This measure was passed by both houses and signed into law.
Hawley’s passed legislation also includes a number of initiatives to help those with disabilities. Assembly Bill 7848 requires access aisles of handicapped parking spaces to be marked with a sign and stripes; and Assembly Bill 7849 requires that handicapped parking spaces be at least 8 feet wide.
The Assemblyman also played an instrumental role in leading the fight against some of the more dangerous bills that came to the floor, such as the “Farm Death Bill.” Hawley stated, “The fight against this harmful bill, brought together farmers, farm workers, and agribusinesses, and bipartisan legislators from across the state. This opposition was an example of Albany at its finest. Unfortunately, its passage in the Assembly highlighted the standard dysfunction in the State Capitol, but I am hopeful that our collective voices will help prevent this bill from coming to fruition in the Senate.”
Hawley also lead the charge for other important measures, such as property tax relief. During and after budget negotiations the Assemblyman stood on the Assembly floor to demand relief for overburdened homeowners and businesses, specifically calling on both houses and the Governor to reinstate the STAR Rebate Check and restore cuts made to the traditional STAR programs. Hawley also called on the Governor to make smart usage of the $1 billion in federal stimulus dollars which have not yet been appropriated. He commented, “We need to begin looking at ways to make it easier for residents and businesses to survive. Maintaining jobs, and attracting new ones, are necessary to keep our economy moving.”
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Townline Road is closed between Fox Fotch Road and Bank St. for culvert replacement.
UPDATE: A reader pointed out that Fox and Townline don't intersect, so we're seeking a clarification.
UPDATE: Townline Road was reopened about 10:45 a.m.
The suspects who struck the M&T Bank in Elba yesterday may have thought they picked an easy mark, but they over looked a few details.
Most importantly, they didn't even know the area. They knew only one route to and from the Thruway and under estimated the response times of local law enforcement.
"They were totally out of their element," said Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster of the Sheriff's Office.
(LISTEN, MP3s: Full audio of interview with Chief Brewster, Part 1, Part 2)
They didn't even know the difference between a field and a wooded area.
"When we talked with them, it had to be explained that a field is an open area and that woods is where trees are," Brewster said.
Brewster said the suspects, once captured, were quite easy to deal with.
"They were cooperative," Brewster said. "They did tell us what was going on and why they did what they did and why they chose that location and who did what inside the bank."
At least two of the suspects have no prior record.
"I think people from outside the area naively believe that because we're out in the sticks that law enforcement isn't on the ball like they are in urban areas," Brewster said. "It turns out it was just the opposite. These guys chose a bank that was probably within two miles of the state police and sheriff's barracks."
All of the money was recovered, and the gun recovered was loaded and had a bullet in the chamber.
The quick response and eventual capture of all three suspects could send a message to other would-be criminals, Brewster said.
"The message is out there, you're probably going to get caught," Brewster said.
(Suspect Michael J. Wells pictured)
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