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At times, last night, it seemed almost impossible for Notre Dame's Tim McCulley to miss a shot from beyond the arc.

The senior standout hit six three-pointers on his way to a career high 35 points for the game and a 82-63 victory for the Fighting Irish (11-3).

"He had a big game," Head Coach Mike Rapone said. "He shot the ball well, but he also passed the ball well. He kept everybody involved. He moved the ball around. That's what he's capable of doing. He's really a multidimensional player. He sets up a lot of guys, too."

McCulley is closing in on a career 1,000 points.

Prattsburg never really threatened Notre Dame and the Irish pretty much closed the game out in the third period, outscoring the Vikings 29-21.

With a little more support around point guard Isaiah King, the Vikings (now 7-8) might have made more of a game of it.

King scored 22 points, but also created numerous scoring opportunities for his teammates with smart, on-target passing and a few key steals. He gave the Irish fits until he fouled out late in the fourth quarter.

"We gave up too much dribble penetration for my liking," Rapone said. "Thirteen (King) hurt us on the dribble penetration. He's a good ball player, but we've got to stop that better than we did tonight.

"He's quick and he's strong," Rapone added. "He's left-handed and you don't see a lot of left handers so kids have trouble adjusting. He caused us quite a few problems."

Rapone said the Irish are maturing as a team and he likes what he's seeing. Even in the loss earlier this week to University Prep, Rapone said he thought the team played well.

"We're starting to come together as a team," Rapone said.

In addition to his 35 points, McCulley 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Josh Johnson scored 14 points, including a pair of threes. Alec Covel had nine points as did Jason Hart. Caleb Nellis had eight. Dylan Fix, coming off the bench in the closing minutes, scored on a layup, bringing a big cheer from the home crowd.

For Prattsburgh, Baird Cameron was the only other player, besides King, in double digits scoring, with 11.

In the stands for the game was Jim Burke, a Section V Hall of Fame coach who amassed 517 wins leading the Prattsburgh boys for a number of years (Burke also had 177 victories coaching girls varsity). The only coach in the room last night with more boys varsity wins was Mike Rapone, who has 617 wins and counting.

Josh Johnson

Isaiah King and Charlie Herbert

Prattsburgh Head Coach Brian Putnam had a few disputes with the refs in the 4th quarter, eventually getting a technical foul after complaining about the foul call (which could have gone either way) that was King's fifth, causing him to foul out.

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A Batavia man was pronounced dead at the scene of a head-on crash in Canandaigua at 2:54 p.m. yesterday, after another driver reportedly suffered a medical condition, causing him to black out.

Barry E. Scutt, 57, of 17 Vernon Ave., Batavia, was driving a 2007 Ford Focus westbound on Route 5 just west of Cooley Road, when his car was struck head-on by a 2006 Honda Ridgeline driven by Steven A. Kloos, 68, of 6034 Grimble Road, Canandaigua.

Witnesses reported seeing the Honda leave the roadway on the westbound shoulder and strike a mailbox and road sign. Calls were made to 9-1-1 reporting a reckless driver. The car then continued westbound in the wrong lane for about one mile before colliding with Scutt's vehicle.

Scutt's Ford Focus suffered heavy damage and members of the Cheshire and East Bloomfield fire departments performed an extrication.

Scutt was wearing a seat belt and his air bag did deploy.

He suffered head and chest injuries, which appear to be the cause of his death, according to the Ontario County Sheriff's Office.

Kloos was not wearing a seat belt, but his air bag did deploy. He suffered chest, pelvis and leg injuries.

He was extricated by firefighters and after being treated at the scene by medics from Canandaigua and Fingerlakes Ambulance he was flown by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.

Kloos was cited for failure to keep right, reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.

Batavia was hit with a couple of inches of snow this evening, but the weather has cleared a bit more now. Photo of East Main Street at Jackson taken about 8 p.m. when snow was still falling.

In Corfu today, the big event was the annual Winterfest, which includes vendors selling and demonstrating various wares, live music, outdoor hockey and snow play, and a K-9 demonstration featuring Deputy Chris Erion and his dog "Destro."

Above, Krystal Chavez and her 6-year-old son Kristian check out items created by members of the Pembroke Woodturners Guild while Mark Williams watches.

Players had to keep clearing snow away from the ice hockey rink in order to keep playing.

Deputy Chris Erion and Destro during a demonstration of what Destro is able to do.

Destro alerts on a "bad guy." If Erion gives the command, Destro will let a person know he better watch it. The "bad guy" was played by a Corfu police officer.

Peter Lotz with Venus, a goshawk. Venus and the other birds below were brought to Winterfest by Kkyhunter Birds of Prey, a company that provides wildlife educational programs and displays throughout Western New York.

 

If you've ever driven down Route 33 heading into Corfu, you've seen this barn.

When I left Le Roy at 2:30, there was no snow falling. As I arrived in Corfu at 3:15, it was coming down pretty good.

A group of local residents who came together on Facebook to organize a Batavia Neighborhood Watch committee have postponed a meeting originally announced for today at Tim Horton's.

A new meeting time is not yet announced.

Keith Reamer

A 38-year-old Pavilion man has been arrested and accused of selling Clonazepam to an agent of the Genesee County Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Keith G. Reamer Jr., of Hartwell Road, is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 5th, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th.

Clonazepam is a sedative sometimes used to treat epilepsy, panic attacks and other ailments. Recreational users have described a slight euphoric feeling from the drug. An overdose can cause respiratory failure.

Reamer was arraigned in Town of Pavilion Court and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

The task force was assisted by uniformed deputies in the arrest of Reamer.

The winter weather warning previously issued for today has been cancelled by National Weather Service.

There is a weather advisory in place through 11 p.m.

A wind chill advisory remains in effect from midnight through noon, Sunday.

Snow accumulations through tonight are expected to be 2 to 4 inches. Winds will be 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.

Wind chills could be 20 below.

A car has reportedly hit a tree in the area of 8786 Keeney Road, Le Roy.

Injuries are reported.

Le Roy fire and Mercy EMS responding. Le Roy Ambulance is tied up. Bergen's ambulance requested to stage in quarters.

UPDATE 10:45 p.m.: Dispatchers are informed everyone is out of the vehicle. A Le Roy chief has just arrived on scene.

UPDATE 10:46 p.m.: A chief on scene reports the assignment can be held to one Le Roy engine and Mercy EMS. He requests notification of Monroe County Water. The car is on the hydrant.

UPDATE 10:50 p.m.: A chief reports they won't know if the hydrant is damaged until the car is removed from on top of it.

UPDATE 10:52 p.m.: One person from the car reports neck pain. The other two occupants report no injuries.

UPDATE 11:19 p.m.: A chief has requested the Le Roy Ambulance respond in emergency mode for a victim from the accident with a head injury.

UPDATE 11:22 p.m.: The vehicle is off the hydrant. No apparent damage.

UPDATE 11:35 p.m.: Le Roy is back in service.

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The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning with a prediction of 3 to 6 inches of snow falling on Genesee County tonight and tomorrow, winds of 20 to 30 mph and a wind chill of 20 below.

The warning is in effect for 24 hours started at 7 p.m.

The wind chill advisory starts at midnight Saturday and goes to noon Sunday.

Travel conditions tonight could deteriorite quickly.

Press release:

The Harlem Wizards are coming to Le Roy.

The world-famous Wizards will bring their brand of "Trick Hoops and Ally-Oops" to a fund-raising game against Le Roy school faculty and staff on Thursday, Jan. 30, at Le Roy Junior-Senior High School gymnasium. Proceeds will benefit students via the Le Roy Parent Teacher Service Organization.

Doors open at 6 p.m. The game will start at 7 p.m.

The Wizards have been delighting fans for more than 50 years with their magical display of tricks, coordinated ball handling, fancy passing and athleticism combined with high-energy comedy and audience participation. Throughout their history, the Wizards have played thousands of games across the United States and abroad, while helping raise millions of dollars for schools and non-profit organizations.

Proceeds from the Jan. 30 game will benefit the PTSO, which provides grants to support activities and projects that directly benefit all students at every grade level, pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade.

Refreshments and souvenirs will be sold at the game. A free autograph session will follow.

Student admission is $9 in advance and $10 at the gate. General admission is $10 in advance or $12 at the gate.

Tickets are available to the general public, and can be purchased in advance at the Junior-Senior High School main office, 9300 South Street Road, (585) 768-8131; or at the Wolcott Street School office, 2-6 Trigon Park, (585) 768-7115.

James R. Kosiorek, 21, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny.  Kosiorek allegedly stole a Playstation 3, three controllers and 13 games from a location where he was residing on East Main Street and sold those items at a video game store in the city. Kosiorek is being held in the Genesee County Jail on a parole warrant.

Sath Paul Dhanda, 33, of Pearl Street, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Dhanda was arrested after allegedly showing up at T.F. Brown's and being informed that he was banned from the restaurant by management. Dhanda was reportedly informed by staff to leave the restaurant. Dhanda reportedly did leave, but returned a short time later and allegedly caused a disturbance. Dhanda was jailed on $500 bail.

Glenn E. McClurg, 46, of Summit Street Road, Le Roy, was arrested on a bench warrant out of City Court. McClurg posted bail and is scheduled to return to court Jan. 29.

Jerald Alfred Shuler III, 20, of Graham Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and unsafe start. Shuler's vehicle was stopped at 2:45 a.m. Jan. 18 at Porter Avenue and Washington Avenue by Officer Peter Flanagan.

Michael P. Beedham, 55, of Prospect Avenue, Attica, is charged with assault, 3rd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Beedham was allegedly involved in a domestic incident in a vehicle that was parked on Lewiston Road, Batavia. Beedham allegedly punched a juvenile victim in the ribs causing sweling and bruising.

Joshua A. Musielak, 27, of Alden, is charged with trespass and criminal mischief, 4th. Musielak was arrested by State Police for an alleged incident reported at 5:54 a.m. Jan. 15 on Seven Springs Road, Batavia. No further details released.

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A car reportedly rear-ended a school bus at Lake and Mill streets, Le Roy, at about 6:50 a.m.

No injuries were reported.

There was air bag deployment on the passenger vehicle, but the driver claimed no injuries.

A Le Roy fire chief responded to the scene and determined that fire police could handle traffic and Le Roy's engine need not respond so traffic could be kept moving.

By 7:09 a.m., the vehicles were moved off the road and Le Roy fire was back in service.

Le Roy Ambulance reported no injuries to the school bus passengers either. A school official arrived on scene to take charge of the three passengers on the bus.

The city reports a water main break on Woodrow Road. Water service is currently interrupted on Woodrow between Main and West Avenue and on West Avenue between Woodrow and Union. Crews are on scene for repairs.

UPDATE: Water main repaired. Service restored at 9:30 a.m.

Charles Johnson

A convicted rapist slated to spend 18 years in prison has been charged with a new crime: criminal solicitation, 4th.

Charles Daniel Johnson Jr., 29, allegedly tried to convince another person to harm a Genesee County Jail corrections officer.

Sgt. Greg Walker said not a lot of information about the case is available  tonight. 

He said Johnson apparently made no offer of money or other compensation to the person he contacted, but he did try to get another person to hurt a corrections officer.

It's not known at this time how serious of an injury Johnson allegedly wanted to inflict on this officer or why the officer was targeted.

The corrections officer allegedly targeted has not been publicly identified.

Judge Robert C. Noonan sent Johnson to prison for 18 years Jan. 17 for the home-invasion rape of a woman in Le Roy.

Johnson has been incarcerated at the county jail pending the NYS Department of Corrections accepting him into the DOCS system.

To you, it probably just looks like a picture of a vacant lot with a piles of snow at the far end, but to Joseph Barclay Jr. it is -- or was -- a skate park.

Barclay asked on Facebook if The Batavian would look into why the city's skate park off Evans Street, behind the Falleti Ice Arena, disappeared.

Today, City Manager Jason Molino said the skate park had become a problem and it's future is uncertain.

"The park keeps getting vandalized and we were just putting good money after bad," Molino said.

In the fall, when city workers went to remove a couple of damaged ramps, they found drug paraphernalia and hypodermic instruments inside the equipment.

At that point, officials decided to remove the skate park all together. Molino said the city will decide what to do with it in the spring.

Barclay thinks he and his skating friends need a place to roll.

"I know all the BMXers, skateboarders and rollerbladers plan on using the streets again if the park isn't returned to us," Barclay said. "We should have a place where we can do our sports where we won't be in danger. Instead they take it away from us. It makes us use the streets again putting people and kids in danger of getting hit by cars."

Molino said he's aware there are a few users of the park, but Chief of Police Shawn Heubusch is concerned about the location on Evans, Molino said. Tucked behind the ice arena, it's not easily visible to people, which perhaps gives some visitors to the park the idea that it's a good place for illegal activity.

Vandalism in all of the city parks has become an increasing problem, Molino said. Water fountains, bathroom fixtures, tennis courts and nets, ball fields and basketball hoops have been regularly targeted by vandals, Molino said.

"It's a constant problem that we're trying to deal with in our parks," Molino said.

Shane M. Bell

Rather than accept a potential plea offer that could limit his prison term to two years, a 47-year-old Batavia resident would apparently rather take his chances with a Genesee County jury on a felony charge of assault in the second degree.

Shane M. Bell is accused of hitting and seriously injuring a fellow patron of The Harvester outside the bar on Harvester Avenue in August.

Scott Baker, 52, reportedly suffered a serious head injury in the incident.

If convicted by a jury, Noonan could potentially sentence Bell to seven years in prison.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said that an offer that would have capped Bell's prison term at four years was rejected, but in doing so defense attorney William Teford ask if Friedman would entertain the idea of a two-year sentence cap.

Friedman said he told Tedford to ask his Bell if he would accept such a plea deal, but never ever actually offered the plea deal.

After court, Friedman said he didn't make the offer because he didn't want to put Baker's family through a discussion about such a plea deal unless there was a chance Bell would accept it.

According to Tedford, Bell said he wouldn't agree to such an offer.

At Bell's pre-trial hearing five months ago, Tedford raised the possibility of a self-defense claim by Bell.

Earl Sprague

Earl Sprague, sentenced yesterday to 21 years in prison for child sexual abuse, will have a new attorney when he goes on trial -- possibly in March -- on a separate set of charges, including predatory sexual assault.

During an appearance today to set a trial date on the eight counts still pending against Sprague, attorney Fred Rarick told Judge Robert C. Noonan that it was apparent to him that Sprague no longer had confidence in him and that a new attorney should be appointed to represent the 42-year-old Alabama resident.

Noonan expressed some skepticism that Sprague really needed a new attorney, praising Rarick's ability as a criminal defense attorney.

"Mr. Rarick is one of the most experience criminal defense attorneys we have around here in handling very serious matters such as yours," Noonan told Sprague. "He worked very hard on this case. If there was a difference over strategy, that's not unusual."

Sprague told Noonan that he felt there was evidence that Rarick didn't bring out at trial that he thought should have been presented to the jury.

"I won't get into specifics, but there was a point in the trial where he said if we do this, they're (motioning toward the prosecution) is going to try and do something else," Sprague said. "We talked about it. I thought about it and then I said go ahead and he didn't go ahead and do it. None of it was brought up."

Noonan expressed concern that a change in attorney could delay the second trial, but after a little more conversation with Sprague and Rarick agreed to refer the case to the Public Defender's Office.

Sprague faces a trial on eight felony counts, including two counts of burglary, 1st, sexual abuse, 1st, criminal sexual act, 1st, aggravated sexual abuse, 1st, two counts predatory sexual assault, a Class II-A felony, and one count of assault, 1st.

Noonan set a trial date of March 24.

Sprague be back in court Jan. 30 to ensure a new attorney has been appointed and is working on the case and can be ready for trial on that date.

There are 100 new jobs in Genesee County compared to a year ago, but the jobs number remained unchanged from November to December, 2013, according to data released today by the Department of Labor.

There are 22,300 non-farm jobs in the county, according to the report.

The state is touting 10,400 new jobs statewide and a drop of the statewide unemployment rate to 7.1 percent.

The unemployment rate for Genesee County has not been released.

Wyoming County now has 13,500 jobs, up 100 from a year ago. There is no separate job data available for Livingston and Orleans counties.