elba

These two old barns and silo are along Route 98, probably in the Town of Batavia, near Elba.

Mike Randall, meterologist with Channel 7 News in Buffalo, was at Elba Central School today to entertain and instruct children with his magic show.

The assembly kicked off the school's "Celebrating Reading" program. The title of today's program was "Reading is Magic."

Elba Elementary Principal Jason Smith sends along the following report:

On the morning of March 17, 2010, Elementary students at Elba Central School enjoyed and participated in an assembly which recognized March as Art and Music in our School’s Month while honoring Black History which was celebrated in February.

Third Grade students studied the Underground Railroad Quilt Code in art class and applied that knowledge through creating painted quilt squares. Students were selected to share the meaning of their quilt code with the audience during the assembly. In addition, each grade level performed, through song and dance, an African-American Spiritual.

Some songs were accompanied by rhythm instruments created in art class.

Elementary Drama Club members presented a reader’s theatre skit “Riding to Freedom” using scenery crafted by Elementary Art Club members.

Special Education teacher, Tina Schultz, played the role of Harriet Tubman, who narrated the entire assembly by presenting facts about the Underground Railroad experience.

This was a wonderful opportunity for Elba’s students to appreciate the relevance and historical significance of the arts as vital roles in our education.

The assembly concluded with a sibling trio featuring Elba’s talented folk/spiritual singers: Michaela, Gabe and Judah Stewart singing “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.”

Charles Daniel Bucci, 34, of 22219 Judge Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, and criminal mischief. Bucci is accused of kicking in the basement door of his ex-girlfriend's house, breaking the glass in the process. He was reportedly found at 2:49 a.m., Saturday, sleeping in the basement.

Sara Jo Likus, 24, of School Street, East Pembroke, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and criminal trespass. Likus is accused of entering a residence in Le Roy without permission on Wednesday evening and getting in a fight with a woman at that residence. A 5-year-old child was home at the time.

Malik I. Ayala, 18, of 44 Walnut St., Batavia, is charged with robbery, 2nd, petit larceny and endangering the welfare of a child. Ayala is accused of stealing an MP3 player from a 15-year-old youth in the parking lot of MacArthur Park. Another suspect has been identified and is being sought by police. Ayala was jailed without bail.

Amy Lynn Showler, 34, of 9 Pearl St., lower, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Showler is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.

Wendelyn Leigh Ruiz, 48, of 177 Menard Drive, Rochester, is charged with DWI and reckless driving. After receiving a report of a vehicle operating erratically and forcing oncoming vehicles on to the shoulder on Route 33 in the Town of Batavia, Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello made contact with a vehicle allegedly driven by Ruiz. Upon investigation, Sgt. Sanfratello concluded that Ruiz was allegedly operating under the influence of prescription drugs.

Adam A. Fusco, 28, of 3613 Retsof Road, Retsof, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Fusco was reportedly stopped by Deputy Patrick Reeves at 9:58 p.m., Friday, in the area of 675 Main Road, Pembroke.

Kurt Walter Guhman, 37, of 6213 Route 5, Stafford, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Guhman is accused of taking his wife's mobile phone during a domestic dispute, preventing her from making a call for help. Guhman was arrested at 8:15 p.m., Friday. He was jailed on $500.

William Holtz McGorray, 44, of 237 Wright Road, Alabama, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08, and unsafe turn/failure to signal. McGorray was reportedly stopped by Deputy Jason Saile on Wright Road 2:44 a.m., Friday.

Joseph Nicholas Striegel, 19, of 509 Main Road, Pembroke, is charged with unlawful dealing with a child. Striegel is accused of hosting an underage drinking party. He was arrested at 1:14 a.m., Sunday.

Matthew Scott Williams, 22, of 5012 Hundredmark Road, Elba, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Williams is accused of stealing a shotgun.

Matthew Legler, 20, of 736 Paul Road, Chili, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Legler is accused of stealing a shotgun.

Andrew Steven Novak, 47, 7235 Telephone Road, Le Roy, is charged with DWI as a felony and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater as a felony. Novak was reportedly involved in a car accident on Linwood Road, Le Roy, at 5:58 p.m., Sunday. Novak was also issued tickets for alleged failure to keep right and moving from lane unsafely.

Jason M. Wolf, 46, of 8770 Wenner Road, Williamsville, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding and passing in a no-passing zone. Wolf was stopped by Deputy Patrick Reeves at 6:30 p.m., Sunday, on West Main Street Road, Pembroke, after the Sheriff's Office received a complaint of an erratic driver on Route 5, who was allegedly driving at a high rate of speed and passing other cars illegally.

Karri A. Kunst, 36, of 43 Ballantyne Road, Rochester, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI, operating with a BAC of .08 or greater. Kunst was stopped at the intersection of Clinton Street and East Main Street in Batavia by Officer Matthew W. Baldwin after the dispatch center received a report of an erratic driver on Clinton Street Road, Town of Batavia.

Steen L. Bordonaro, 43, of 30 Woodcrest Drive, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, possession of an open alcoholic beverage in a vehicle and unlawful possession of marijuana. Bordonaro was stopped by Officer Frank Klimjack, who was following up on a report of a subject getting involved in a fight at a bar in Oakfield and driving to the city. Klimjack reportedly stopped Bordonaro's vehicle on Lewiston Road in the City of Batavia. Bordonaro was arrested at 12:24 a.m., Sunday.

James N. Lauricella, 23, of Le Roy, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, equipment violation and a license plate violation. Lauricella was arrested by state police at 7:30 p.m., Saturday.

Scott B. Humel, 23, of Pembroke, is charged with disorderly conduct (creating a hazardous condition). Humel was arrested by state police at 12:49 a.m., Sunday. No further details available.

Accidents reported on the state police blotter:

8:41 p.m., Saturday, at Park Road, Batavia, two vehicles; Driver 1: Not identified (apparent hit-and-run); Driver 2: Margaret V. Janus, 39, of Albion. One injury reported.

5:36 p.m., March 12, parking lot of 48 Deli Express, Town of Batavia, two vehicles; Driver 1: Mark J. Geitner, 40, of Attica; Driver 2: Marsha K. Barton, 71, of Batavia. No injuries reported.

Batavia boys and Elba girls, each played close games on Saturday, but Batavia will advance to the next round of the state tournament while Elba's impressive season comes to a close.

The Blue Devils (20-3) locked in a 40-38 victory over Olean at Buffalo State when Andrew Hoy sunk two free throws with 32 seconds left to play. A desperation 3-point try by Ryan Carney for Olean (20-3) came up short.

Later Saturday at Gates-Chili, Elba fell to Clymer, 39-36.

Elba finishes the season with a 22-1 record.

McKenzie Bezon led the Lancers with 9 points.

Saturday, Andrew Hoy knocked down 14 points and Josh Budlong added 10. Coco Irvin and Justin Washington each had 8.

Batavia's next game is in Glens Falls at 8:30 p.m., Friday against Section III champion Westville (20-2). If the Blue Devils beat Westville, the state championship for Class B will be played at 9 p.m., Saturday in Glens Falls.

The basement of a house at 6163 Quaker Hill Road has reportedly flooded.

The quarter is believed now to be above the power panel and water is coming up through the kitchen floor.

Elba Fire is being dispatched.

Elba Central School District is leading Genesee County schools in the percentage of students who graduate from high school, according to a report released by the New York Education Department.

Elba's 97-percent graduation rate is well above the state average of 74 percent.

Superintendent Joan Cole told WBTA that teachers pay close attention to each student in Elba.

"Where there's a concern in terms of student academic performance or any other struggles a child might have in the classroom, we're able to right away address it through working with the family to make sure the students are successful," Cole said. "Teachers are very attuned to the kids."

None of the schools in Genesee County fell below the state average, but Alexander High came close, with a 76-percent graduation rate.

Batavia's rate was 81 percent.

Principle Chris Daly said because Batavia is larger and in a bigger population area, it has different dynamics to deal with.

"Our goal every year is to get to 100-percent graduation," Daly said. "We look to incrementally increase each year to get there."

He also faulted the state report for not considering the students who complete their education at BOCES, which may take five years.

"That sometimes delays graduation on time," Daly said. "The way the state counts it, they're not graduating on time, yet they'll come out with a skill that will earn them more than some college graduates will have for starting pay."

The other schools: Byron-Bergen, 87 percent; Le Roy, 86 percent; Oakfield-Alabama, 80 percent; Pavilion, 91 percent; Pembroke, 88 percent.

Batavia had 200 freshmen in 2005, the biggest class in the county. Elba's was the smallest, at 33. The next smallest was Alexander with 70.

(via WBTA)

Jessica L. Culver (a.k.a Jessica L. Langmaid) has been indicted on a charge of grand larceny, 3rd. Culver is accused of stealing property between Oct. 29, 2008 and March 17, 2009 from Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union with a value in excess of $3,000.

Amanda J. Richardson is indicted on two counts for falsifying business records, 1st, and two counts of petit larceny. Richardson is accused of falsifying a money order record and of stealing $54 from the Mother Goose store in Elba on July 14. She's also accused of falsifying a deposit envelope and stealing $100 on July 24.

Sparked by a freshman, the Lady Lancers remained unbeaten and clinched a spot in the state tournament Monday night beating a tough Canaseraga team 61-54.

Freshman McKenzie Bezon scored 29 points for Elba (22-0). She hit five three-point goals on the night.

"We got a great game from McKenzie tonight," said Head Coach Tom Nowak. "For a freshman, that was unbelievable."

It's a good thing, as Cassy Engle of Canaseraga (18-4) scored 34, to keep her team within striking distance of the Section V champions until the closing seconds of the Class D qualifying match.

"We tried to be able to run and push them as much as we could this game because we knew with our bench, hopefully we could try to tire them out a little bit," Nowak said. "I give them a lot of credit, they played hard the whole game."

Nowak said one of the keys to locking down the win was the team making the most of its free throws in the closing minutes of the game.

Elba returns to the Gate-Chili gym on Saturday to play in the first round of the State Championship tournament.

A couple of more pictures after the jump (BTW: I pretty much missed most of this game, having put a little too much trust in my GPS -- Gates-Chili is at 2 Spartan Road, but there's two 2 Spartan Roads in Rochester, as I discovered ... I went to the one 20 minutes past the actual location ... sadly).

A 16-year-old Batavia girl is charged with two counts of petit larceny. She allegedly stole items from Walmart and Kmart. She was arrested at 9:31 p.m., Tuesday.

Deborah Ann Butler, 42, of 5335 Egerton Road, Elba, is charged with issuing a bad check. Butler was picked up on a warrant on the charge.

Lynda Lee Snyder, 27, currently in state prison, is charged with criminal facilitation, 4th. Snyder allegedly allowed a person who had been ordered to stay away from her child to be in the residence and company of the child.

Kelly J. Rhim, 31, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Rhim was reportedly stopped by state police on the Thruway in Batavia at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 28.

Accidents from the state police blotter:

8:58 p.m., March 1, Route 98, Alexander, one vehicle: Driver 1: Joyce M. McNutt, 46, of Darien Center. No injuries reported.

6:05 a.m., March 1, Quaker Hill Road, Elba, one vehicle; Driver 1: Karen J. Vancott, 49, Albion. No injuries reported.

This is a reader-submitted photo of the rollover accident in the Village of Elba last night. The driver was reportedly unhurt.  We've received no further official information on this accident at this time.

UPDATE: We received a copy of the accident report from the Sheriff's office later this evening.

The car was driven by Mark J. Schultz, 24, of 4658 Barryville Road, Elba. Deputy J. M. Graff reported the Schultz said he fell asleep. The car drifted off the roadway and struck a utility pole. No tickets were issued.

A car has struck a poll and rolled over on Main Street in Elba.

No word yet on possible injuries.

Elba Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDTE 9:55 p.m.: One person out of the car with minor or no injuries.

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