Stories from

Yesterday, we reported on the number of downed trees in Centennial Park and we mentioned coming across a couple cutting one tree into logs for firewood.

As we said, City Manager Jason Molino basically said, while not encouraged, the wood would eventually be taken to the yard waste station anyway where residents could claim it as firewood.

Police have just been dispatched to Centennial Park for a "suspicious condition." A person with a rusted black pickup truck is cutting wood.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported in the area of 112 W. Main St., Village of Le Roy.

Le Roy fire and Le Roy ambulance dispatched.

There are still nearly 100 separate power outages affecting about 10,000 National Grid customers in Genesee County.

WBTA has a complete list of school closings for today.

UMMC just announced the following closures:

• Cardiac Rehabilitation, 215 Summit St., Batavia
• Genesee Orthopaedics Batavia, 33 Chandler Ave., Batavia
• Internal Medicine, 229 Summit St., Batavia
• Laboratory & Diagnostics Le Roy, 8745 Lake Street Road LeRoy
• Laboratory Pembroke, 860 Main Road, Corfu,
• Pain Care Center, 229 Summit St., Batavia
• Surgical Associates, 229 Summit St., Batavia
• Tountas Family Care, 3 Tountas Ave., LeRoy
• Urgent Care LeRoy, 8745 Lake Street Road, LeRoy
• Women’s Care Batavia (Prenatal visits will be seen at 127 North St.), 33 Chandler Ave., Batavia
• Elective surgeries have been canceled  

The travel advisories for Genesee County and the City of Batavia were lifted at 11 p.m.

There are several roads in the county that are closed:

• Fargo Road, between Sweetland and Route 5
• Route 5 between Keeny Road and Bater Road
• Transit Road between Bridge Road and North Byron Road
• Warboys Road between Merrill Road and Sautell Road
• Sanders Road between Bartoff Road and Route 5
• Gilbert Street southbound from Route 5
• Creek Road between Putnum Road and East Road
• State Street between Denio Street and MacArthur Park
• East Avenue at Naramore
• Dodgeson Road between Day Road and Beaver Road

The Sheriff's Office cautions roads may have debris. Be alert and careful. Give working crews plenty of space and slow down. A traffic light that is dark is treated as a four-way stop. The Sheriff's Office (dispatchers) have no information on estimated time of power restoration for those affected.

UPDATE 11:04 a.m.: Darien Town Hall is open and residents are invited to using it as a warming center.

There have been two calls tonight that suggest possible unauthorized people at the 7-Eleven at 505 E. Main St., Batavia. 

The first call was of three youths on bicycles who appeared to going in and out of the front door.

A second caller reports seeing people in the store with flashlights going on and off.

The 7-Eleven is closed because of a power outage in the area.

A robbery just occurred at the 7-Eleven in Bergen.

The suspect is described as a white male with a bandage on his nose.

Unknown direction of travel.

No weapon was displayed.

UPDATE 11:35 p.m.: The suspect may have fled in a vehicle. Unknown description. Unknown direction of travel.  It's possibly a dark-colored Jeep.

UPDATE 11:40 p.m.: The vehicle is described as a dark-colored Jeep Wrangler, last seen heading toward I-490.

Late this afternoon, I swung by Centennial Park and found several downed trees or trees that had lost big branches. I also found one couple busy cutting a tree into logs.  

I spoke with City Manager Jason Molino about it and he said the city generally prefers that people wait until the trees are hauled to the yard waste lot on Law Street, but on a day like today, the city wasn't going to do anything to stop people from cutting up the trees in the park.  He said the priority for city crews today was keeping roads clear of trees and debris.

A caller on Attica Road, Alexander, reports that a person tried to break into their house.

The subject is described as a tall black male wearing a white and black stripe jacket with a hood. He was last seen running west.

Law enforcement is responding.

Here are more pictures from our readers. These are ones that were sent in via text.

Also, a note, while a number of businesses had to close early, including some downtown restaurants, the restaurants around town that were open did a booming business tonight. Big Pauly's was packed, Settler's was full as was Ken's Charcoal Pits. John Spyropoulos, owner of Settler's, said he noticed that it seemed to be that way for all the restaurants that were able to stay open. A note about Big Pauly's, a reader sent me a message: Even though Stafford is normally out of Big Pauly's delivery area, they delivered a pizza to the reader's mom. "That was the only option for an old woman without power and I truly appreciate it," said John Michael.

These first two photos are from Lilya Kotmel, a seventh-grader. They are on State Street and North Street.

Emily, a student at Pavilion, took this picture while in study hall of a piece of metal roof lodged in the grass.

A reader sent in a picture of a tree down in his back yard on Ellicott Street Road.

Mark Fanara sent in this of a tree down River Street, Batavia.

A reader sent in this picture, and the two below, from the Trigon Park area of Le Roy.

From a reader, another view of the overturned truck on Route 98 overpass.

Damaged utility pole by Batavia HS on State Street, submitted by a reader.

This is from 7030 Lyman Road, Byron, Honqualac Haven Farm.

This last two photos are from Jim Elmore on Galloway Road, Batavia.

NOTE: If I get more pictures overnight, I'll try to post them in the morning. howard@thebatavian.com or (585) 260-6970.

The severity and the duration of today's windstorm has created numerous challenges for National Grid, according to a spokesman for the utility. 

Steve Brady said the amount of damage, with calls coming in all day, has been significant.

"Lots of wires down, broken poles, services out, all compounded by the difficulties of moving around and the safety hazards of trying to put buckets in the air in the high winds," Brady said.

There is currently no estimate for when power will be restored to all National Grid customers, but technicians are have been working all day and will continue to work to restore electricity to affected areas.

The utility is bringing in crews from other service areas that haven't been hit by wind to help with the restoration efforts.

By midmorning tomorrow, Brady said, the company should be able to provide a better estimate of when the work will be completed.

"The long duration has made it very hard to assess all the damage," Brady said. "It’s clear this will be a long event, well through tomorrow and likely beyond for many customers."

At one point today, National Grid reported more than 97,000 customers in WNY without power. Brady said as of a few minutes ago, the report was about 90,000, with Niagara, Genesee, Orleans and western Monroe counties being the hardest hit.

"Our divisional crews have been at it all day, and we will have at least some work being done through the night," Brady said.

PLEASE NOTE: Genesee County's emergency dispatchers are very busy and they DO NOT KNOW when power will be restored.

A caller reports a person has started a bonfire in the driveway of 31 Myrtle St., Le Roy.

Le Roy fire dispatched.

Superintendent Chris Dailey announced this evening that all schools in the Batavia City School District will be closed tomorrow as a result of today's windstorm.

These are photos I received from readers via email. I went through them in the order received and since I received so many, there were a few duplicates of the same scene shown in the same way, so I left those out. If you submitted a photo, sorry I didn't use yours. This is just from email. I'll start working on those that were texted to me next and post those in a separate post.

Top: From Tricia DiFilippo, a downed utility pole on State Street, smoldering.

A downed tree on Lewiston Road, Batavia, sent in by Rachel Wommack.

A building on Route 33 that lost its roof, sent in by Ashley Smith.

Reader submitted photo of trees down on Prospect Street.

Reader submitted photo of a tree down at the Blind School.

Reader submitted photo of a damaged tree on State Street.

The sign for the Crossroads House knocked down, photo submitted by Joseph Richmond.

This and the next two photos submitted by Sharon Herdtner of power lines down on State Street near the Batavia Nursing Home.

A reader submitted photo of a tree down on Harvester.

Submitted by Joseph Richmond, a tree down on the roof of the former dentist office on Washington Avenue, Batavia.

Photo submitted by Patrick Patmos of pine tree down on Osterhout Avenue, Batavia.

Truck on its side on the Route 98 bridge over the Thruway, submitted by a reader.

Here are our photos from the fire at 404 S. Jackson St. this morning. At this point, we have no new information beyond what we reported this morning.

These are photos I took of some of the trees down in the city earlier today.

We've received several photos from readers. I'll post those as soon as I can. Keep them coming to howard@thebatavian.com or text (585) 260-6970.

I also have photos to post yet from the fire this morning, but I'm going to need to relocate to a place with electrical power (batteries running low) to get all those uploaded.

Top photo: Morton Avenue.

UPDATE 4:39 p.m.: There's a report of unknown type flames in area of 728 Judge Road, Alabama. Also, Julia Ferrini reports for us on Wyoming County Free Press that winds there have been clocked at 102 mph.

UPDATE 4:51 p.m.: It sounds like the Judge Road flames come from a garbage fire which the fire department will be putting out. There was also a car into a building at Leisure Timers; no injuries and Alabama fire is clearling that scene.

This photo and the one below, Central Avenue.

These two, in the Tully's restaurant parking lot.

A structure fire is reported at 10959 S. Lake Street Road, Pavilion.

It's gone to a second alarm.

It was reported about 20 minutes ago, but we couldn't confirm the address until just now.

Pavilion, Bethany, Stafford, Le Roy dispatched.

There has been a lot of radio traffic since the dispatch, but none that we can hear specifically from the fire.

If any readers have photos, send to howard@thebatavian.com or text (585) 260-6970.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office has issued a travel advisory.  

Press release:

A train derailment is reported at the railroad crossing at Donahue Road, Town of Batavia.

UPDATE 2:25 p.m.: I just returned from the scene. The train jumped the tracks in the area of the wastewater plant, about a mile east of Donahue Road. No injuries, no toxic spills.

NOTE: We are out of power at both the house and now the office (power at the house went out about two hours ago), which has hampered our ability to do updates. There are trees down all over the place. I've driven past a few that I didn't even bother to get pictures of. I've got pictures coming of trees down on Morton Avenue, Central Avenue (down at the roots, hitting a house) and behind Tully's restaurant two cars were hit by a downed tree, one was heavily damaged. There was also power lines down on Route 5 near the fairgrounds and a person was reportedly trapped in a car for a time with power lines on it. We have pictures coming of all this plus this morning's on South Jackson Street fire.

ALSO, Our friends at 13WHAM tell me gusts up to 71 mph have been recorded at the Rochester Airport. Also, if you have storm damage pictures to share, send them to howard@thebatavian.com or text them to (585) 260-6970. Let me know if you want your name included with the photo and include location information.

UPDATE 3:10 p.m.: We continue to hear reports of trees down and wires down all over the county. There is a tree down, but I didn't catch the location, that has caught on fire. Also a truck hauling a trailer had the trailer flip at another location. Route 63 from the city line to Galloway Road is closed because of power lines down. A tree reportedly hit the house, according to a reader, and it may be along 63 where the fire is in the tree.

UPDATE 3:27 p.m.: There are 615 power outages for National Grid customers in Western New York, affecting nearly 100,000 customers. There is close to 100 in Genesee County affecting more than 12,000 customers.

CSX crews are en route to a CSX freight train derailment in the vicinity of Donahue Road in Batavia. Crews and other CSX personnel will work with local officials to render any necessary assistance. The train derailed at approximately 1:15 p.m. today.

The number of rail cars involved in the incident is still being determined. There are no reports of any leaks or spills of any freight from the train, and no injuries to the crew.

The train was headed from Chicago to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The train has two locomotives and 29 loaded freight cars. The train is carrying a variety of freight including rubber gloves, dry goods, toilet paper, food products and furniture. One rail car containing black powder, which is characterized as a hazardous material, is also among the freight.

The cause of the incident is subject to investigation.

Also Route 98 in the city is being shut down, but not sure of which end. Also tree down on North Avenue near Naramore Drive, completely blocking.

UPDATE 3:51 p.m.: On Roanoke Road there's a tree down in a yard with power lines down. There's a person on location attempting to cut the tree despite the live wires and "he won't stop."

UPDATE 4:05 p.m.: One-vehicle rollover, believed with no injuries, on the Thruway overpass on Route 98.

UPDATE 4:10 p.m.: Center Street in both directions and School Street in both directions are being barricaded. National Grid has a prolonged repair in progress.

UPDATE 8 p.m.: Statement we received from Sen. Chuck Schumer's office:

“Our office is in close contact with Federal Railroad Administration and local officials in Batavia. Our thoughts are with those who were impacted by this derailment, and with the first responders currently on scene. While we don’t yet know why the CSX train derailed, Senator Schumer will work closely with FRA and other federal safety organizations to quickly get to the bottom of what caused this serious accident,” said Jason Kaplan, spokesman for Senator Schumer.

Press release:

Genesee County STOP-DWI Coordinator Matt Landers announced today that Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, City of Batavia Police Department and the Village of Le Roy Police Department will participate in a special enforcement effort to crackdown on impaired driving.

The statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown efforts start on March 17th and will end on March 19th. St. Patrick’s Day Weekend is a notoriously deadly period for impaired driving due to the number of celebrations and drivers on the road.  New York State Police, County Sheriff and municipal law enforcement agencies across the state will be out in force in this across the board effort to reduce the number of alcohol related injuries and deaths.

Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron says, “St. Patrick’s Day is one of those holidays that often involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages. For those who will be celebrating this holiday, please remember that planning a safe way home is an important part of any party plan.”

The STOP-DWI St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the New York State STOP-DWI Association and funded by local STOP-DWI programs as well as the STOP-DWI Foundation and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. This partnership has allowed local programs to significantly increase their enforcement and public awareness efforts. The Statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign also targets Memorial Day, 4^th of July, Labor Day Weekend, Halloween and the national Holiday Season in December.

While STOP-DWI efforts across New York have made great strides in reducing the numbers of alcohol- and drug-related fatalities, still too many lives are being lost because of crashes caused by drunk or impaired drivers. You can do your part to become part of the solution by downloading our FREE mobile app “Have a Plan” at www.stopdwi.org/mobileapp and may the luck of the Irish be with you!

High winds have just hit Genesee County -- there is a high wind warning in effect throughout the day -- and the first report of poles and wires down comes from Alabama.

Wires and poles are down on Lewiston Road and Knowlesville Road with arcing and sparking.

UPDATE 9:37 a.m.: Lines down on Vine Street, Batavia.

Whether through fatigue, Notre Dame's defense or just that's the way the ball bounces, a dearth of scoring in the fourth quarter last night cost the Elba Lady Lancers a chance to advance to the regional championship round of post-season basketball.

The Lady Irish prevailed in the Class D consolidation game between the two Section V champions. The final, 44-31.

Elba had a first half lead after scoring 15 points in the second quarter, going into the locker rooms up 19-18, were down by only two points, but a four-point fourth quarter for Elba enabled Notre Dame to pull away and secure the win.

Head Coach Tom Redband said his girls struggled with free throws and layups in the second half and fell out of rhythm.

"I don’t think it was adjustments they made," Redband said. "We just missed free throws and some layups that normally we make and that’s basketball. Sometimes they fall, some times they don’t. It just kind of caught up to us."

Tom McCulley, head coach of Notre Dame, said he thought Elba trying to guard a couple of his bigger players, such as Callie McCulley and Margaret Sutherland, took a toll on Elba.

"Eventually our size and strength just wore them down to where we could get the ball to where we wanted to and make our shots down the stretch," McCulley said.

He said he was exceptionally proud of his team.

"All season long I’ve been telling the girls, 'we just have to do what we do,' " McCulley said. "We are going to have nights where we can’t find the basket and nights where we’re a little sluggish but if we stay to who we are, we just don’t press and try to relax, these girls are good enough to where eventually it’s going to happen for them.

"That’s what you’ve seen in the second half of the season. We’ve figured out what works and doesn’t work and these girls are playing phenomenally well together and it’s nice to watch."

For Notre Dame, Sutherland scored 16 points, McCulley, 13, Morgan Rhodes, 9.

For Elba, Maddie Muehlig scored seven, as did Nicole Boldt. Tatum Draper scored six and Madison Howard scored five.

Notre Dame plays for the Far West Regional Championship in Class D at 3 p.m., Saturday, at Buffalo State.

Top three photos by Destin Danser. For more photos of the game and a chance to purchase game photos, click here. Bottom photo by Howard Owens.