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Two ambulances are requested to the scene of an accident at Lewiston Road and West Main Street, Batavia.

Unknown injuries.

Town of Batavia fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE: A 64-year-old man was transported to UMMC with minor injuries.

Customers who order a large pizza during the month of October will have it delivered in a pink pizza box and a portion of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to Genesee Cancer Assistance.

Pictured are Main St. employees Brandi Heidenreich and Canssa Visalli.

Batavia Middle School held its first-ever pep rally this afternoon, celebrating the participation of students in sports and clubs. Teachers and students also participated in some fun competitions.

Press release:

Turn 27 Blue believes that the breaking news about Rep. Chris Collins' serious ethics issues makes it absolutely clear that the voters of New York's 27th District deserve better from their member of Congress.

The coalition of grassroots leadership and the eight-county Democratic chairs who make up Turn 27 Blue call on Mr. Collins to leave all corporate boards on which he serves and divest himself of all investments that create potential conflicts of interest and begin immediately to do the job he was elected to do: serve as our congressman and actually represent us rather than his portfolio.

"It has never been more obvious that the term 'Representative' is misapplied when it comes to Chris Collins, and the decision released today by the House Ethics Committee to continue its investigation of him reinforces that," said Judith Hunter, the Livingston County Democratic chair. "His actions prove that his priorities are his own bottom line and those of his cronies', not the interests of the hard-working voters of New York 27."

Jeremy Zellner, the Erie County Democratic chair, pointed out that, "Just because an investment goes bust doesn't mean you didn't try to use your public office for personal gain. Failing doesn't make it all OK. And Collins continues to this day to pad his own pockets but not deliver for Western New York."

"I wish I were in a position to make laws for my own personal benefit, but I'm not. Chris Collins shouldn't be, either. And he shouldn't be trying to 'make millionaires' out of his buddies," said Amber Hainey, of GLOW Progressives. "He should be focused on the ordinary people of this district, not just the rich and powerful he sees as his constituency."

Jeanne Crane, Democratic Chair of Orleans County, noted that Collins' statements about his ethics troubles have all focused on Congresswoman Louise Slaughter's role in bringing the original complaint, even though ordinary citizens also filed their own complaints.

"My part of Orleans County used to be represented by Congresswoman Slaughter, and I know how hard and how long she worked to get the STOCK Act against insider trading by members of the House and Senate passed," Crane said. "No wonder she is furious that a neighboring member of Congress would so recklessly violate the spirit of that law.

"You know, just shrieking the words 'witch hunt' over and over again doesn't change the fact that the Office of Congressional Ethics felt the evidence was serious enough to warrant a full investigation of Mr. Collins, and today the House Ethics Committee agreed."

Press release:

The Batavia Ramparts Peewee III Hockey Team and Frank Lord -- psychic, clairvoyant, medium and spiritual advisor -- are teaming up for a two-night fund-raiser event.

• 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 16^th at the Polish Falcons in Batavia (123 S. Swan St.)
• 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 19^th at the American Legion in Le Roy (21 Lake St.)

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance or at the door on the night of the events.

This is a Group Psychic Reading. If you've been to one of these events before, you know how amazing the connections can be. If you've never been, don't be afraid to check it out. Help support a local hockey team! 

Frank Lord is New York State’s youngest and most accurate registered psychic, clairvoyant, medium and spiritual advisor who grew up in Batavia. His spiritual guidance emphasizes mainly on what the past, present, and future hold for the individual who seeks the answers they need. Frank also works in an array of the metaphysical realm, specializing in areas such as astrology, dream interpretation, and spiritual investigation.

He has worked professionally since the age of 12. Frank has read more than 9,500 individuals and continues to read on a daily basis. Frank has worked in areas such as New York City, Buffalo, Rochester and New Jersey.

Featured on the Sci-Fi Channel at age 18, Frank has worked with such individuals such as Raymond Buckland, former Genesee County Historian Sue Conklin, The Boo Brothers, and The Ghost Hunters. He enjoys all areas of work in the aspect of spiritualism and ensures guidance that will help with an individual's situation at hand.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at Millennium Computers, 156 Washington Ave., Batavia; or contact Michelle Johnson at 409-9299; Alicia Cook at 815-3478; or Holly by email at   hollyesch@yahoo.com; or from any Peewee III Hockey parent.

The students at Pembroke Elementary School in East Pembroke learned about fire services and fire prevention today.

The participating agencies included East Pembroke fire, Pembroke fire, Indian Falls fire, Corfu fire, Town of Batavia fire, Mercy Flight, and Emergency Services.

Reader submitted photos.

There's brick-oven pizza in Batavia now, handmade by Ken Mistler.

You might know Mistler's restaurant as City Slickers but that's changed, too. The entire restaurant, not just the front, fast-food counter, is now Ken's Charcoal Pits (new signs have been ordered for the building, but haven't yet been installed).

Mistler added the brick oven to the enclosed (during winter) patio on the west side of the restaurant and started serving pizza two weeks ago.

He makes it himself. He described the pizza as artisanal, Neapolitan-style and wood-fired. The oven cooks the pizza at 750 to 800 degrees, so each pizza cooks in about 90 seconds. It comes out hot, with a crisp crust and a bit of that wood-fired flavor.

There are seven pizza options on the menu and he also offers a vegetarian pizza and all pizzas can be made with gluten-free dough.

The pizza oven is fired up from 5 p.m. 'til closing time on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Ken's Charcoal Pits is located at 59 W. Main St., Batavia.

Tyler Wood was promoted to the rank of Eagle Scout at the Old Courthouse last night.

His Eagle Project was the renovation of the restrooms at the Akron Free Methodist Church. He is a member of Troop 64 in East Pembroke. Pictured with him are his Scoutmaster Bryan Schiefer and his parents, Charles and Heather Wood.

Photo and info submitted by Heather Wood.

Derek Meister, of The Meister Consultant's Group Inc., and trainer for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, spoke in Stafford on Thursday night for the town's committee studying the impact of potential solar farms.

Meister provided details on the implementation of the Unified Solar Law. The law is a template for local jurisdictions who wish to approve regulations for large-scale industrial solar plants on farmland.

This was the third in a series of talks sponsored by the solar committee. The committee is gathering all the information it can on solar farms, including community, environmental and economic impacts.

The town is halfway through a six-month moratorium on new industrial solar installations in Stafford, giving the committee time to complete its work.

A car has reportedly rolled over after being involved in a collision with a semi-truck on Route 77, in front of the Flying -J, in Pembroke.

Unknown injuries.

Pembroke fire, Indian Falls fire, and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Lee Uzarowski, 50, of Main Street, Akron, is charged with DWI, no tail lamps, driving left on crest of grade or curve, and driving left of pavement markings. Uzarowski was stopped at 1:28 a.m. today on Hopkins Road, Pembroke, by Deputy Matthew Clor.

Lamar Lee Mobley, 23, of Warren Street, Batavia, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and speeding. Mobley was stopped at 10:17 a.m. Thursday on Lewiston Road, Batavia, by Deputy Howard Wilson.

Press release:

A piece of history is being saved -- a 1912 compressor pump manufactured under the name Snow has been donated to the Western New York Gas & Steam Engine Assoc. Inc. in Alexander. The company was the predecessor of Worthington Pumps of Buffalo. It was installed in the Heath Pumping Station of National Fuel Gas located in Segil, Pa.

The total weight of the engine is 192,600 lbs. with a 13-foot flywheel. While this was a donation to the WNY Gas & Steam Assoc. Inc. they need to raise an estimate of $35,000 to cover the first step in getting it here. That will cover the cost of removal and transportation to the Alexander grounds. During the week of Oct. 9^th they started dismantling the engine and working on moving it to 10294 Gillate Road in Alexander.

The local organization could use your help preserving this 1912 engine. Donations are gratefully accepted. Make check payable to WNYG & SEA, mail to: P.O. Box 75, Alexander, NY 14005. Attn: Pat Peterson, Sec.

A motor-vehicle accident, possibly with multiple people trapped inside a vehicle, is reported in the area of 5955 Ellicott Street Road, Bethany.

The vehicle may have rolled over.

Bethany Fire, Stafford Fire and two ambulances from Mercy EMS requested to the scene.

Mercy Flight being put on ground standby.

Pavilion Fire requested to standby in quarters in case needed.

UPDATE 11:40 a.m.: Everyone got out of the vehicle. Stafford went back in service. At least one person was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital.

UPDATE 11:45 a.m.: There were never "mulitple people" involved in this accident, only the driver, who was taken to Strong. It was a rollover accident and State Police are investigating.

Press release:

Officials from the Batavia Development Corporation, the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce and the Batavia Business Improvement District, collaborators on the Foodie Challenge, recently presented the proceeds from the People’s Choice Tasting Event to Chef Burgio and Culinary Arts students. Chef Tracy Burgio noted how this $750 donation would support student activities.

“This contribution to the Culinary Arts Club will help to enrich our students’ culinary education by helping to fund field trips, projects and student competitions,” Chef Burgio said.

“We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the Batavia Development Corporation and the freshLAB project. It is our hope that this partnership sparks more involvement with our community partners,” said Jon Sanfratello, executive principal of the Batavia CTE Center and Campus.

Photo: Barb Shine, front, left, and Pierluigi Cipollone from the Batavia Development Corporation; Mary Vandenbosch, student; Steve Pies, Batavia Development Corporation; Chef Tracy Burgio, Culinary Arts instructor, Batavia CTE Center; Danny Pernesky, Debra Moore, students. Back left: Austin Deck, student; Jon Sanfratello, executive principal, GVEP Batavia Campus; Julie Pacatte, Batavia Development Corporation; Tom Turnbull, Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

More after the jump:

 

“I want to leave a legacy of Puerto Rican cooking to my family. I want to leave that legacy to my kids,” said Victor Figueroa, of Batavia.

Figueroa will get that opportunity after being named the People’s Choice winner and Selection Committee Top Contestant at the freshLAB’s Foodie Challenge, held at Batavia Career and Technical Education Center (CTE) on Sept. 23.

Figueroa was one of eight competitors who created a sweet or savory dish for the challenge. He found inspiration from his culture’s love of finger food by creating Puerto Rican Cheeseburger Empanada with passion fruit chili sauce – a secret family recipe.

As the winner, Figueroa will be offered free tuition to attend the freshLAB restaurant ownership Boot Camp and the opportunity to win $30,000 to open his own restaurant on Main Street, Batavia.

Local restaurant creativity advocates conceived the freshLAB restaurant incubator to strengthen the local food service industry and to capitalize on more that $20,000,000 that leaves Genesee County each year when residents eat, drink and pay for entertainment elsewhere. The project is funded, in part, by USDA Rural Development to intentionally link regional agriculture to the menu.

The proceeds from the Foodie Challenge, $750 in total, were donated to the Culinary Arts Club at the Batavia CTE Center.

Chef Tracy Burgio, the Culinary Arts instructor at the Batavia CTE Center, and four students guided the contestants through all-day cooking preparations.

“I hope this will open the door for my students in seeing the path from the classroom to an actual career,” Chef Burgio saida.

During the competition, the kitchen was open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for contestants to prepare their dishes. They were required to create at least 150 samples, with one ingredient being locally sourced.

Gina Bianco, of Middleport, created Eggplant Busiolo -- her mother’s recipe. She enjoys cooking homemade, authentic food that comes from the heart. In fact, Bianco’s confident she could open a restaurant using family recipes.

“I’ve always wanted to have my own restaurant. I have my own food truck. My mom was a cook and my dad was a cook, and I have good, traditional family recipes,” Bianco said.

At 5 p.m., the contestants had to stop cooking and plate their food. Ticket holders were then invited to sample the food and cast their votes for their favorite dish.

“I read an article about this competition and I thought it would be fun to support people who want to start their own business,” said Janice Spiotta, a counselor at Churchville-Chili Central Schools.

Her friend, Catherine Johnston, a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at Pavilion Central Schools, also enjoyed the event.

“I’m a foodie and this is a great event,” Johnston said.

Friends Andrea Fetterly, from Batavia, and Wendy Bailey, from Churchville, have been on a weight-loss journey together. They chose to attend the Foodie Challenge because they wanted to get food ideas for their families and be able to sample food, instead of sitting down to eat a large meal.

Andrea enjoyed Figueroa’s dish, while Wendy raved about Bianco’s eggplant and a dish called “Bahama Mama” made by Daniel DelPlato, of Batavia.

Ronald Smith, of Rochester, is a roofer by trade but has always dreamed of opening his own restaurant. He wanted to bring diversity to the competition with his dish of Pollo de Miel.

“So many cultures have good food but people don’t travel far to eat,” Smith said. “People don’t get that exposure and I want to bring that to them.”

Additional contestants included Lisa Casey, Judy Hysek, Christopher Hysek and Rob Rudnicki, all of Batavia.

Officials from the Batavia Development Corporation, the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce and the Batavia Business Improvement District, collaborators on the event, recently presented the proceeds from the People’s Choice Tasting Event to Chef Burgio and Culinary Arts students.

Chef Burgio noted how this $750 donation would support student activities.

“This contribution to the Culinary Arts Club will help to enrich our students’ culinary education by helping to fund field trips, projects, and student competitions,” Chef Burgio said.

“We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the Batavia Development Corporation and the freshLAB project. It is our hope that this partnership sparks more involvement with our community partners,” said Executive Principal Sanfratello.

Joseph Lee Henry, 31, of Chaddock Avenue, Hornell, is charged with felony DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation first, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle, and moved from lane unsafely. Henry was stopped at 11:47 p.m., Tuesday, on Tinkham Road, Darien, by Deputy Eric Meyer. Henry was also cited for inadequate exhaust and illegal stickers. He was jailed without bail.

Thomas A. Culver Jr., 38, of Wood Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear for his intermittent jail sentence for several weekends. He was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Roseann Cooper, 48, of Pearl Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a charge of second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation. Cooper posted $500 bail and was released.

Aisha I. Culver, 19, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Culver was arrested in Le Roy by State Police. No further details released.

The Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation presented Outstanding Italian-American awards last night at Terry Hills to Thomas Cecere and Justin Calarco-Smith.

Cecere and Calarco-Smith, both lifelong Batavia residents, were honored for their service to the community.

For more about Cecere and Calarco-Smith, click here.

Photos by Frank Cupuano.

From Science teachers Sherri Lovria and Mike Chiulli:

Science classes at Le Roy Jr. Sr. High School have current technology available to them. Digital microscopes provide students with an easier and more accurate way to view the microscopic world. Digital microscopes contain cameras for easy viewing through a software interface.

Images visible through the eyepiece are accurately viewed on a computer allowing for students to view specimen together so they can collaborate on identification and analysis. Images can be captured and saved as still photos or as videos. 

Thanks to an alumni technology donation, a classroom set of digital microscopes are being used by students in Sherri Lovria and Mike Chiulli’s Living Environment, AP Biology and Infectious Disease classes to explore and more easily observe the natural world. For example: the process of osmosis in onion cells; cell structure comparison; cyclosis in elodea; microscopic organisms in pond water; chromosome spreads from HeLa cancer cells to identify abnormal chromosomes; simple stains of bacterial smears and Gram stain results to identify bacteria; sickle-shaped red blood cells to detect the presence of malaria parasite; human cell comparison due to gene expression; and Daphnia as a model to design and perform experiments to detect environmental effects on organisms.

Students have found the microscopes to be much easier to manipulate. Mrs. Lovria’s Living Environment classes recently performed a lab investigation that introduced the microscopes to the students. Students were gathered around laptops and adjusted fields of view to follow the progress of several microscopic pond organisms as the organisms fed on algae and detritus.

The students were fully engaged in exploring the microscopic world with exclamations of “Whoa, look at that!”, “Oh, this one is different,” and “That one is really weird -- it’s a vorticella!” throughout the classroom.

For many years students were unenthused about using microscopes; it was an individual experience and not always one in which all students actively engaged. In addition, since only one person could view a specimen at a time, teachers were not sure of the students’ understanding of what they were observing.

Having this more up to date technology is a definite benefit. Because the students enjoy working with them they use the microscope for longer periods of time and Mrs. Lovria reports that they already have a better understanding of the microscope parts and functions. But, just as important, they are finding their curiosity to explore!

From Principal Tim McArdle:

"We are very fortunate to have a community that supports our endeavors in the classroom and beyond!"

"Our teachers are always ready and take great pride in implementing new and exciting opportunities for our students. I cannot thank them enough for their efforts and willingness to learn and grow professionally to better our students."  

Photos submitted by Tim McArdle.

Photos and information submitted by Batavia City Schools:

As part of a school-wide STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) Day, all students in Batavia Middle School rotated through three grade-specific learning stations to participate in a variety of interactive STEAM-based activities.

Fifth-graders, at one station, used a Bloxel application and kit to design and build their own video game settings and characters, then upload them for virtual gaming adventures. At another, they created useful items -- such as wallets, bookmarks and lanyards -- using nothing but decorative duct tape and their imaginations. At the third, they tried different size wheels on a robotic car to determine how wheel size changed the amount of time it takes to travel a given distance.

Sixth-graders played challenging coding games at one station. At another, as part of learning about simple machines, they worked in groups to build a catapult and test its launching capabilities by hurling an eraser down a measured track. After each shot, they returned to their building table to make adjustments that would improve their machine’s performance. At their third learning station, the students made paper jack-o-lanterns lit by a small bulb that was powered by a circuit they had completed.

Seventh-graders also created circuits using copper tape and a battery laid out on a piece of paper and used the power to light a small bulb that completed a picture they had drawn on the reverse side of the paper. At another station, they simulated the popular Escape Experiences exercise and solved puzzles to discover the necessary information for unlocking a mystery box. At a third, they used several different apps to drive and design programs for driving robotic sphero balls. 

Eighth-grade students had the opportunity to program a robotic space-rover so it would move around to pick up and capture objects. At another station, the classroom became a live computer game with scenarios and situations being announced, then students determining what their next move should be. At their third station, students learned how to create a flip book out of index cards -- a book with a series of pictures that depict gradual changes from one page to the next, so that when the pages are flicked rapidly, it looks like a moving picture. 

The kits for these learning adventures were provided through the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership Library Services, which also helped to plan and facilitate the Middle School’s STEAM Day.

A bit of rain didn't hold back the K-5 students at St. Paul's Lutheran School today from their annual walk-a-thon to help raise money for the school's tuition assistance program. They just moved the money-raising trek inside.

It's been a few years since baseball fans at Dwyer Stadium could see the names of hitters at the plate and their batting averages, but when next spring's first "play ball" is called that will have changed.

Crews were at the stadium today making long-desired (by the fans) repairs of the outfield sign that will restore the lighting to the upper portion where players' names and averages appear.

The project is part of the city's maintenance budget for Dwyer.