elba

Submitted photo and press release:

The Wind Ensemble of the Greatbatch School of Music at Houghton College will kick off its 2019 tour by performing Friday evening at Elba Central School.

Comprised of nearly 40 students and faculty, the wind ensemble will perform a diverse musical program in more than 12 communities throughout New York, Vermont and Connecticut from March 1 through 10.

Concert offerings range from hymn settings and classic band repertoire to compositions by George Gershwin and Percy Grainger.

The March 1 concert in Elba begins at 7 p.m. It is free and open to the public. The school is located at 57 S. Main St.

The Houghton Wind Ensemble is a premiere ensemble with critical acclaim for its performances and impact on its players and audiences. This wind band of select members exposes its students and audiences to the highest-quality music written for wind and percussion instruments.

While maintaining an emphasis on newer music, the traditional music for wind bands is well represented.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for our community," said Mike Colletti, band director for Elba Central School District.

Colletti notes that two Elba alumni are members of touring wind ensemble -- Dakota and Dillon Hirsch.

Timothy McGarvey, Ph.D., professor of Conducting, leads the ensemble. Graduate assistants regularly conduct this outstanding ensemble. Guest and student soloists are regularly featured as well as working with composers from around the country on recent compositions and premieres.

The ensemble performs multiple times each semester on campus and in the region, tours regularly in the spring semester, and has full-length CDs on the Mark Records label.

About Houghton College

On his own Friday night, Colton Dillon outscored the entire Bradford team in a second-round, Class D1 Section V playoff game in Elba.

Dillon scored 31 points and the Lancers beat Bradford 70-30.

Jon Boyce was the only other Lancer player to notch double digits with 13 points.

Jordan Suteyk scored eight points for Bradford. Steven Spina scored six points.

Next up for #2 ranked Elba (16-6) is #3 ranked Belfast (14-6).

Also in boys basketball yesterday:

• Alexander beat Geneseo 62-55. Alexander (16-5) is ranked #2 in Class C2 and will play #3 ranked Red Jacket (16-5) in the semifinal.
• York beat Pavilion 68-52 to advance to the Class C3 semifinal.
• Oakfield-Alabama lost to Naples 55-42 in a Class C3 quarterfinal. Joey Burdick scored 16 points. Nick Wissinger scored 12.

At 2 p.m. today, #2 ranked Batavia (11-10) plays #2 ranked Newark (16-3) at Newark.

Tonight #2 ranked Le Roy (12-8) plays #7 ranked Mynderse Acadamy at 7 p.m. at Le Roy in a Class B2 quarterfinal.

In girls basketball, Batavia (18-1), ranked #1 in Class B1, beat #8 ranked Livonia 73-48 (game story).

In Class C2 today, #9 ranked Alexander (7-14) plays #1 ranked Marion (16-4) at 2 p.m. at Marion in a quarterfinal and #10 ranked Byron-Bergen (6-14) plays #2 ranked Red Jacket at 2 p.m. and Red Jacket. And #4 ranked Pembroke (14-7) plays #5 ranked Lyons (14-7) at Pembroke at 2 p.m.

In Class C3 #8 ranked Pavilion (9-12) plays #1 ranked South Seneca (19-1) at South Seneca at 2 p.m. Oakfield-Alabama, ranked #2 (16-4) plays #5 ranked York (11-9) at O-A at 2 p.m.

In Class D1, #1 ranked Elba (18-1) plays #9 ranked Northstar Christian (4-15) at 2 p.m. at Elba.

Kayleigh Marie Perez, 29, of Cone Street, Batavia, is charged with two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony. She was arrested on Feb. 21 for two crimes. In the first incident, she allegedly stole a debit card from Walmart at 7:49 p.m.. on Jan. 13 and used it at several locations. Perez was released on an appearance ticket returnable to Batavia Town Court on March 7. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Chad Minuto, assisted by Deputy Mathew Clor. In the second incident, she allegedly stole a credit card from a resident who lives on Main Street in Oakfield. She was also released on an appearance ticket for that and is due in Oakfield Town Court on March 11. The Oakfield case was handled by Deputy James Stack, assisted by Deputy Minuto.

Jeremy Ryan Eaton, 41, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, is a registered Level 2 sex offender who is on parole and is accused of failure to register a change with authorities as specified in NYS Correction Law 168-F, Section 4 (Must register within 10 days any change of residence, employment, Internet account access provider, enrollment or attendance at any institution of higher education.) Eaton was being held in GC jail on a parole violation at the time of his arrest on Feb. 4. Following his arraignment in Batavia City Court, he was put back in jail with no bail. He is due in city court again at 11 a.m. on March 21. The case was handled by Batavia Police Det. Eric Hill.

Christian Dean Boyce, 55, of Watson Road, Elba, is charged with: unlawful possession of marijuana; aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree; unlicensed driver; operating a motor vehicle out of class; and unregistered motor vehicle. At about 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 9, Boyce was arrested following a traffic stop on North Byron Road in Elba. It is alleged that the defendant had an arrest warrant and a bench warrant out of Town of Elba Court and that he was operating a tractor-trailer without a license. Boyce was recognized by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy McClellan, who initiated the traffic stop. Boyce was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and put in jail in lieu of $500 cash bail. He was due in Town of Elba Court on Feb. 20 to answer the charges. Deputy McClellan was assisted in the case by Deputy Christopher Erion.

Jill M. Turner, 36, of Burke Drive, Batavia, is charged with dog running at large. It is alleged that she allowed her dog to run at large onto her neighbor's property on Burke Drive at 5:19  p.m. on Feb. 17. Turner is issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on March 5. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Frank Klimjack, assisted by Officer James Sheflin.

Press release:

ELBA – The Elba Central School Board of Education is seeking Elba residents interested in filling a seat vacated by the resignation of Board Member Candy Bezon. This appointment would fill the vacancy until June 30.  

Bezon served on the board for five years and resigned to take a position within the District. By law, school board members may not be employees of the District.

The Board of Education will have three seats on the May ballot; two will be for a five-year term with the third for a four-year term.

Any qualified voter of the Elba District who is interested in serving on the Board of Education is asked to contact Donna Harris, district clerk at (585) 757-9967, ext. 1033, by March 1^st.

The Elba Central School Drama Club presents Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" this week with performances on Friday and Saturday.

Performers, in a cast of 45 people, include Lindsay Augello as Belle, Garrett Sinemus as Beast and Young Prince, Devyn Reigle as Gaston, Carolyn Sybertz as Lumiere, Herman Sinemus as Cogsworth, Lucy LoBello as Mrs. Potts, and Elliott Walsh as Chip. Steve Hawley is the narrator.

Performances are in the Elba Central School Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Friday, and Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. The school is located at 57 S. Main St., Elba.

Presale tickets are $6 for students and seniors and $8 for adults, available at Roxy's Music Store and the ECSD Office.

All tickets are $10 at the door.

Longtime rival Notre Dame stopped Elba's effort to finish the regular season undefeated Tuesday night, beating the Lancers on their home court, 59-47.

Elba is now 18-1 and the Lady Irish are 18-2. Both teams have 13 league wins and so finish the regular season tied atop the Genesee Region.

Entering Class D2 sectional play, Elba should be the #1 seed as it shoots for its third consecutive sectional title.

Notre Dame is ranked #6 in Class B1. Batavia High School is ranked #1 entering into sectionals.

For the Irish, Callie McCulley scored 23 points and had 13 rebounds. Stevie Wilcox scored 12 points and had seven rebounds. Morgan Rhodes scored 10 points and Amelia McCulley scored eight.

UPDATE: Stats for Elba: Taylor Augello, 19 points and eight rebounds. Maddie Muelhig, 13 points, and Leah Bezon, seven points and seven rebounds.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported at North Byron Road and Transit Road, Elba.

Elba fire and Mercy EMS dispatched. Byron's ambulance also requested to the scene.

Friends and family surrounded Kimberly Albanese and David Robb on Sunday evening in Elba with love and support as they mourned and remembered their mother, Teresa M. Norton, and brother, Thomas M. Norton, at the spot on Route 98 where they were killed eight days earlier.

Teresa, 53, and Thomas, 22, both of Albion, were northbound on Oak Orchard Road when the 2008 Suzuki SUV Teresa was driving hit a deep patch of snow that had blown across the roadway. The Suzuki slid sideways and was struck by a southbound pickup truck.

Both mother and son died at the scene of the accident.

"She was a great mom," Albanese said. "She tried her best. She was my best friend. I miss her so much. Every day I want to call her just to ask her if everything is great. I don't know how I'm going to raise my 2-year-old and my baby. I have a baby due in two months.

"That's when you need your mom the most. My kids are never going to know her. And my brother was only 22. His birthday is in two weeks and he just, he got cheated out of life so much. But what are you going to do? You just go day by day."

A GoFundMe online fundraiser also has been established to assist the family, which has not only suffered the loss of Teresa and Thomas but they are also dealing with the health issues faced by Roger Norton, Teresa's husband. He has been in intensive care at Strong Memorial Hospital since several weeks prior to the accident.

Story courtesy of the Orleans Hub:

ELBA – A mother and her son who were killed in a car accident on Feb. 2 in Elba will be remembered with a vigil at the crash site on Sunday (Feb. 10).

The vigil will be at 5 p.m. for Teresa Norton, 53, and her son, Thomas Norton, 22.

Family friend Kamryn Nickel urges family and friends to attend the vigil and light a candle in their memory.

Nickel said she will bring the candles for the vigil.

A GoFundMe online fundraiser also has been established to assist the family during this difficult time. Karen Zok sent up the GoFundMe and said Teresa’s husband Roger was in intensive care at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for several weeks prior to the accident in Elba.

Teresa Norton was driving a 2008 Suzuki northbound with her son at about 1:30 p.m. last Saturday in Elba.

State Police say Norton lost control on the snow-covered roadway and slide sideways into the path of a 2011 Chevrolet pickup truck. The Chevrolet struck the passenger side of the Suzuki.

The Nortons were both declared deceased at the collision scene by Karen Lang, Genesee County coroner.

The accident happened on Route 98 between Edgerton Road and Batavia Elba Townline Road.

An elderly man who lives on Warsaw Road in Le Roy called dispatch stating he "believes his roof is coming off because he can hear it going up and then sliding back down." A sheriff's deputy just arrived to check on the roof and the welfare of the resident.

The deputy says "The roof is starting to come off." Code enforcement will be called to respond.

Also, in Elba, a tree is down and blocking the roadway on Norton Road between Edgerton and Batavia-Elba Townline roads. Elba Fire Police are called to control traffic.

A tree has reportedly fallen into a house at 5057 Hundredmark Road, Elba.

No report at this time of injuries.

Elba fire responding. A chief reports a large tree in the roadway.

UPDATE 3:24 p.m.: Code enforcement requested to the scene.

Teresa was born July 29, 1965, in Dansville, a daughter of Paul Dieter, of New Hampshire, and Sandra Demmer, of Batavia. 

According to her obituary, "she loved crafts of all kinds and really enjoyed making beautiful wreaths to give to family members."

To read her full obituary click here.

Thomas was born Feb. 27, 1996, in Olean, a son of Roger and Teresa Norton. 

He was a graduate of Albion High School.  

To read his full obituary, click here.

With his three children in his minivan, along with one of their friends, returning to Elba on Saturday afternoon, Justin Calarco-Smith was being cautious, he recalls. He had already come through a couple of snow drifts on Route 98. 

Shortly after passing Batavia Elba Townline Road, he came upon another drift with near whiteout conditions when he noticed a silver SUV ahead of him lose control and start to slide sideways.

He didn't actually see the southbound pickup truck driven by Jeffrey S. Toussaint, 59, of Albion strike the silver SUV because of the poor visibility but he was able to stop in time to avoid being entangled in the accident.

Calarco-Smith is the funeral director at H.E. Turner Funeral Home. He's been to fatal accident scenes before but on Saturday he was one of several passersby who tried to render aid to the victims of the crash. This was a close call involving his own family and he said it took him some time to process what happened.

Despite the efforts of people on the scene to assist Teresa M. Norton, 53, and Thomas M. Norton, 22, a mother and son from Albion, they did not survive the crash and were pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Karen Lang.

"Upon seeing the SUV and pickup truck on the west shoulder of Route 98, I immediately pulled my van over to the east shoulder (it got stuck in the ditch) and called 9-1-1 to report the accident," Calarco-Smith. "After I hung up with dispatch, I exited my car, and along with three other bystanders who stopped to try to help, I got out to see what I could do to help. A female bystander asked if I had blankets for the victims to keep them warm. I ran back to my van and got a blanket out of our trunk and handed one to her."

The accident was reported at about 1:30 p.m. Winds through Genesee County that day were about 30 mph, two days after a major snowstorm had hit the area. Several sections of Route 98 that afternoon had significant snow drifts on the roadway, including the area where the accident occurred. The state's Department of Transportation is responsible for the maintenance of Route 98 and there was no snow fence erected on the west side of Route 98 where the accident occurred.

Calarco-Smith estimates there was one to two inches of snow covering the roadway at the time of the accident.

Because of Calarco-Smith's job, and as a resident of Elba, he knows many of the first responders who arrived at the accident. He praised his friends for how they conducted themselves at the scene.

"These same friends who were out in the elements constantly checked on my children assuring them all would be fine, while I was away from my vehicle," Calarco-Smith said. "I can't say enough about the professionalism, kindness and caring they demonstrated while on the scene. They are truly the calm in the eye of the storm."

A note about the video: I shot it Sunday afternoon so I make reference to "the accident yesterday." At the time I shot it, I anticipated publishing it Sunday, not Monday. That didn't happen. The video is intended to provide a look at the area of the accident scene and discuss what conditions were like on Saturday.

The farm field west of the location of the double fatal crash on Route 98 in Elba.

The site on Route 98 in Elba of a double fatal crash on Saturday.

Snow fence west of Route 98 a location south of Townline Road.

A mother and her adult son from Albion were killed Saturday afternoon in a two-vehicle collision on a snow-covered Route 98 in Elba.

Teresa M. Norton, 53, was driving a 2008 Suzuki SUV north on Route 98, with her son, Thomas M. Norton, 22, in the passenger seat, when the vehicle hit a long patch of deep snow in an area about a mile north of Batavia Elba Townline Road. Norton apparently lost control of the Suzuki and it slid sideways. A 2011 Chevrolet pickup truck was southbound. The truck, driven by Jeffrey S. Toussaint, 59, of Albion, struck the Suzuki on the passenger side.

Toussaint was transported to Erie County Medical Center by Mercy EMS for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The property west of the accident, according to county records, is owned by Torrey Farms. According to sources, there were no snow fences installed along the west side of Route 98. NYS Department of Transportation is responsible for maintenance of Route 98, including erecting snow fences where they might be needed.

The Batavian was at the crash scene shortly after the accident and that section of Route 98, as well as a section south of Townline Road, were heavily covered in snow, at least several inches thick.

First responders described the roadway as hazardous when they were arriving on scene.

DOT snow plows arrived at Route 98 about 30 minutes after the accident.

Both mother and son were pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Karen Lang.

New York State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit responded to the accident and is leading the investigation with assistance from troopers and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The investigation is not yet complete.

The Elba Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the accident with mutual aid from Town of Batavia and Town of Oakfield fire departments.

Photos: Reader submitted photos.

A motor-vehicle accident, with two people unconscious, is reported on Oak Orchard Road (Route 98), between Edgerton Road and Batavia Elba Townline Road. Elba Fire Department is responding. Road conditions are said to be icy and hazardous.

UPDATE 2:12 p.m.: A law enforcement officer confirmed this is a double fatal accident. No other information is available at this time. The scene is under investigation.

UPDATE 6:05 p.m.: After more than a three-hour wait, troopers refused to allow media access to the scene or release further information. We did have access to the scene for a few minutes shortly after the accident. The roadway, for at least a 100-yard stretch, was covered in several inches of snow, blown over the roadway by wind. Route 98 coming out of Batavia had at least two stretches of similarly snow-impacted roadway. It was only after the accident that State DOT plow trucks showed up (after troopers contacted the DOT about the need for plowing). We're not sure when or if the State Police will release more information.

UPDATE 6:32 p.m.: The state has the legal authority to go onto private property to erect snow fencing. In past years, the state has put up snow fences on Route 98 along sections of roadway subject to snow drift. This year, the state has not put up snow fencing on state-maintained Route 98.

UPDATE 11:05 p.m.: State Police have yet to release any further information.

Attica dealt Alexander only its fourth loss on the season, only second in league play, knocking the Trojans out of a first-place tie with Lyndonville and Elba, with a 64-54 win at home.

Alexander's Chris McClinic was the game's top scorer with 25 points. Ryan Davis scored 11 points for the Trojans.

For the Blue Devils, Devon Henderson scored 15 points, Frankie Bisceglie, 12, Trevor Goll, 11. Dawson Nelson scored 10 points, added 16 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Ayden Goll scored nine points and had six assists, six rebounds, and two steals.

"I was very proud of the team tonight," said Attica Coach Rob Crowley. "This was two good teams going at it. It was a great game in December over there and I would not have expected anything less tonight. It's always nice to win at home versus your rivals. "

Attica is now 10-6. Alexander is 11-4.

Elba (15-3) was also lost its share of first place in the Genesee Region League on Friday night with a 52-41 loss to Lyndonville (15-1).

Oakfield-Alabama (8-7) beat Pembroke (7-9) 64-51.

Byron-Bergen (6-9) beat Holley 65-47.

Pavilion (7-9) (in the Livingston League) beat Geneseo 71-63. 

Batavia plays North Tonawanda this afternoon at North Tonawanda. Batavia, in the Monroe League, is 6-7.