A stump fire next to a residence is reported at 3975 Rose Road, Batavia. Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding.

The location is between Donahue Road and Route 98.

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[Editor's Note: Due to technical diffculties, the site has been down for about an hour and we have been unable to post anything until now.]

Shortly after 1 p.m. a pickup truck rollover accident was reported on Assemblyman R. Stephen Hawley Drive near Batavia Stafford Town Line Road. The driver was pinned underneath the wreakage after being ejected.

Town of Batavia Fire Department responded to the scene along with mutual aid from Stafford Fire Department. State police and Sheriff's deputies were also on scene.

The male driver was reported extricated at 1:32 p.m. and it took medics 20 minutes to stablize him in an ambulance before he could be transported via Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

It appears the gray pickup was northbound on Assemblyman R. Stephen Hawley Drive and when it came over the crest of a hill by the MedTech Center, the driver may have lost control of the vehicle. There are skid marks in the middle of the road in front of the MedTech Center.

The pickup skidded off the roadway, flipped over, ejecting the driver and landing in a cornfield.

State police are investigating the accident.

Photos from the scene will be posted later today.

UPDATE 6 p.m.: The State Police have declined to provide any further information about the accident.

UPDATE 7:15 p.m. : non-life threatening injuries, according to a source.

Two young males reportedly fled Le Roy Dry Cleaners headed toward Main Street on foot after swiping the complainant's electronic cigarette about 10 minutes ago.

The youths are possibly Hispanic, both wearing shorts, and said to be between 8 and 14 years of age.

The dry cleaning business is located at 11 Mill St. Police are responding to the area to look for the boys. The complainant is at the dry cleaners.

The Village of Corfu is digging in its heels when it comes to the county’s demand that it sign a new contract allowing the county to increase rates charged for water.

“We want to make sure as a board we let everyone know what we’re dealing with,” said Mayor Joseph Biggs Johnson at Monday night's village board meeting.

Trustee Al Graham explained to the more than 40 residents who attended that the village has a 40-year contract with the county, with 22 more years to go, guaranteeing a rate of 60 cents per 1,000 gallons of water used.

“Now they want us to do away with that contract and sign another allowing them to charge any amounts the county decides are necessary,” Graham said. “The money collected will be used to provide water to other Genesee County residents, and as we already have a water system in place, we won’t get any benefit from this increase.”

Genesee County said the increase is necessary because they underestimated the demand for water throughout Genesee County and the rate needs to be raised substantially to generate the money to pay for more water.

The Corfu Village Board is further upset by what it considers a threat from the county attorney to take away sales tax from the village, even refusing to maintain water lines if Corfu fails to sign the new contract.

One resident remarked the village was essentially being held hostage.

“We don’t like the words ‘blackmail’ or ‘extortion’ but we’ve been told we can sign or we can lose a big portion of our sales tax, which we use to run our village,” the mayor said.

He said then they would be forced to raise taxes.

Trustee Tom Sargent said other towns had already signed, except Corfu, Darien, Pembroke and the City of Batavia.

Johnson said another thing which upset them was the fact the county couldn’t tell them if the charge would increase past 60 cents, and no plans or improvements were ever discussed with the village before the decisions were made.

Graham said the village board has to investigate legal action.

“But we have to expect if we come in with a lawyer, the county will have 20,” Johnson said.

He said the county justifies the increase by rationalizing in this way: When the entire county has water, it will attract more business and more residents, which will result in more sales tax.

“But will it be enough to offset the extra cost?” Johnson asked.

A lady in the audience said there was no guarantee new businesses would be coming in, when businesses are moving out of New York State and people are leaving.

Another resident asked why areas which still need water couldn’t be charged enough to pay the cost, but the mayor explained the county wanted to be fair and charge the entire county.

When someone asked what the board’s stance was, the reply was, “We won’t sign.”

That was met with rousing applause from the crowd.

“If we would benefit by better water, it would be acceptable to pay more,” Graham said, “but we aren’t going to.”

The board said it has been getting pressure from the county for several months to sign.

Village Attorney David Saleh said taking money from one source as a penalty for another may be legal, but it also may be a breach of Corfu’s existing contract, something he is looking into.

The board urged residents to contact their state and county lawmakers and express their concerns.

The county was invited to send a representative to the meeting, but no one attended.

It was decided to schedule another public hearing on a date which is convenient for someone from the county to attend.

The Muckdogs fell to State College on Monday night at Dwyer Stadium, 3-0.

Bryce Howe worked the first three innings and gave up only one run but took the loss.

Gunnar Schubert, out of Gonzaga University, drafted in the 28th round this year and added to the roster June 25, had two hits, raising his average to .333.

Batavia doesn't play today and travels to Connecticut for a three-game series. They're back home Saturday for a 7:05 p.m. game against Lowell.

Top photo: Michael Donadio stole second base in the fourth inning.

A strike-out, throw-out double play in the fifth inning. The Spikes' Edwin Figuera struck out swinging and Batavia's catcher Igor Baez threw out Nick Dunnwtih second baseman Luke Jarvis taking the throw on a short-hop.

Matt Brooks dives back to first safely in the fifth inning.

Spikes shortstop Delvin Perez.

Update: Oscar is home safe tonight! 
Lost kitty alert: Oscar got out of his Main Street, Le Roy, residence Sunday night. He’s a 3-year-old black male, curious and friendly.

If you find him, please call Trisha at (585) 297-0999‬.

During a visit to Batavia today, Rep. Chris Collins, when asked about debating his challenger for the NY-27 congressional seat called Nate McMurray a "carpetbagger."

McMurray has been using social media and press releases to dog Collins about the incumbent's refusal so far to schedule a candidates' debate.

"Desperate politicians do desperate things," Collins said. "Carpetbagger Nate McMurray, who’s never lived in the 27th Congressional District, who opened his district office in Brian Higgins' district — I’m still trying to figure out why he didn’t run a primary against Brian, since he’s never lived in this district and then had the audacity to open his campaign office not in this district. He lives and works in Higgins district. I don’t know why he’s running in the 27th."

The Batavian contacted Chris Grant, campaign manager for Collins, a couple of weeks ago and offered to host and moderate a debate but we had not received a response. Collins said he was unaware of the offer but that it's too soon to talk about debates anyway.

"That’s a decision to be made in late September into October, when we see where the campaign is, where our campaign is, where his campaign is," Collins said. "It’s certainly not a decision now for July."

In a phone interview this afternoon, McMurray called the "carpetbagger" charge by Collins "ridiculous," noting that Collins didn't live in the district when he first ran and that district lines change every 10 years.

"I'm from here," McMurray said. "I was born and raised in Western New York. He's from North Carolina. I've got a cousin who works at Moon Java. I've got family in Batavia. For him to use this name calling, it's stupid. I could call him a white collar criminal all day but then we could have a debate and have a more insightful conversation."

Collins was in town for a visit at Genesee Community College, where he met with students in the TRiO Upward Bound program, which is college-prep coursework partially funded by the federal government, and then received a tour of the campus by President Jim Sunser.

After lunch at the Pok-A-Dot and a couple of other stops, Collins dropped by Dwyer Stadium to learn from General Manager Dave Chase about the effort to keep minor league baseball alive in Batavia.

A silage fire is reported at 5020 Edgerton Road, Elba.

Elba fire along with Town of Batavia, Byron, and Bergen dispatched.

The fire is not near a residential structure.

UPDATE 5:36 p.m.: Fire units are about to clear.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office reports that at 2:45 p.m. a black bear was spotted in the area of Putnam Road and Francis Road, Bethany.

Last week a bear was reported around the Village of Attica.

UPDATE 4:52 p.m.: Photo of the bear provided by the Sheriff's Office.

Press release:

The  48^th Annual Genesee County 4-H Market Animal Auction will be held Thursday, July 19, at the Genesee County Fair.

The auction begins at 7 p.m. in the main show ring.

New this year, 4-H members will be selling market chickens and dairy steers.

The auction will feature approximately 28 lots of market chickens, 10 goats, 19 lambs, 29 beef steers, two dairy steers and 44 hogs.

There will be a complementary buyers' dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the fairgrounds.

Auction supporters will receive buyer’s dinner meal tickets after registering for a buyer’s number.

Special thanks to William Kent and Family for providing 48 years of support of the 4-H Market Animal Auction Program.

For more information, contact the Genesee County 4-H Office at 585-343-3040, ext. 101.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) will consider approving incentives for two projects at the agency’s July 12^th board meeting. The combined projects would create 20 new jobs and approximately $7.6 million in capital investment.

The board also will consider accepting an application from Pearl Solar LLC for the construction of two 2MW community solar farms for a combined total of 4MW at 2901 Pearl Street Road.

Both projects have the same address but would have separate parcel tax map numbers. Pearl Solar LLC would make an approximate $6 million investment and is seeking approximately $288,000 in sales and property tax exemptions.

J. Rental is seeking sales, mortgage and property tax exemptions of approximately $723,000 to build a new 60,000-square-foot facility on 19.5 acres in the Apple Trees Acres business park in Bergen. The $6.3 million project would create 15 new jobs. 

Lancor Development Corp. is proposing to invest $1.3 million to build a 12,000-square-foot facility in the new Le Roy Food and Technology Park. The project would create five new jobs and retain seven jobs. Lancor is seeking sales and property tax exemptions of approximately $122,000.

Press release:

Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, sponsored by Turnbull Heating and Air, is hosting its annual Angels in Action Golf Tournament on Sunday, Aug. 5^th, at Hickory Ridge Country Club in Fancher.

*Golfers and sponsors are needed!  

Price for golfing (including cart, lunch, buffet dinner) is only $70!  

Donations of products and/or services are also graciously accepted for our raffle.  

Please join us for a fun filled day with raffles, prizes, food and FUN!

Please call Lisa at 585-343-7798, ext. 116, or Michelle at 585-589-5605.

Proceeds benefit Emergency Services Programs in both Genesee and Orleans counties. Thank you for your support.

*P.S. -- Also Needed:

Press release:

Congressmen Chris Collins (NY-27) and Bill Pascrell Jr. (NJ-09) today celebrated President Trump signing H.R. 931, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, into law. The legislation they authored together will require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and maintain a voluntary registry to collect data regarding the incidence of certain cancers in firefighters.

This registry will allow researchers to have a greater understanding of the impacts that smoke inhalation and other occupational hazards have on a firefighter’s health, and lead to better treatment options.

“The brave men and women who selflessly keep our communities safe while fighting fires deserve for us to do everything in our power to also keep them out of harm’s way while they are on duty,” Collins said. “We currently have a lack of information about how being exposed to certain fires will impact a firefighter’s health, and this is a common sense way to collect that data to improve protocols and equipment.

"I express my deepest gratitude for our nation’s firefighters and first responders, and take pride in knowing that this registry could lead to reforms that will save lives.”

“I’m proud that this legislation has been signed into law. The Firefighter Cancer Registry will bring together information on firefighters’ history to help doctors and researchers find any connections between firefighters’ work and increased risk for cancer,” said Pascrell, co-chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus.

“This will improve the safety of the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every single day. This legislation has long enjoyed bipartisan support because all of us want to protect those who protect the rest of us. Thank you representatives Chris Collins and Frank Pallone, and senators Bob Menendez and Lisa Murkowski for your efforts getting this bill through Congress and into law. I look forward to working closely with the CDC and members of the firefighting community to see that the new registry is implemented to its fullest use.”

“Day after day, firefighters all across the country are quick to answer the call of duty. Whether they do so in volunteer service or as a career, they put their communities first on a daily basis without question,” said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX).

“This commonsense bill will create a national registry to better document the physical toll these everyday heroes undertake and help lead to better treatment options. We look forward to seeing this registry come to fruition and applaud Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) for his leadership on this issue.”

The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act authorizes $2 million in federal funds to the CDC from FY2018 to FY2022. Data gathered would include a number of potential risk factors, including but not limited to the status of the firefighter (volunteer, paid-on-call, or career), number of years on the job, the number of incidents attended, and the type of incidence.

The collection of this data would allow for improved equipment, enhanced safety protocols and preventative techniques for our firefighters.

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 931, the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2017, by unanimous consent on June 22, 2018. H.R. 931 first passed the House in September 2017, by voice vote. The Senate passed the bill, with an amendment, in May by unanimous consent. H.R. 931 was signed into law today by President Donald Trump.

Press release:

After a 15-year hiatus pop rock group Seven Day Faith, featuring their original lineup of Rob Ferenc, John Rosini, Kevin Ernst and Rob Bilson, will reunite for a one-night-only concert experience.

Taking place on Saturday, Sept. 15th, the four original members will perform such hits as “Everything,” “Ready To Go” and “Forever and a Day” on stage together for the first time in more than 15 years.

“We are looking forward to hosting Seven Day Faith’s reunion show,” said Henry Wojtaszek, CEO/president at Batavia Downs Gaming. “These talented musicians have entertained thousands of Western New Yorkers and we’re excited to welcome their fans to experience what’s sure to be a great night of music.”

“The four of us John, Kevin, Rob Ferenc and Myself, we have not been on stage together for over 15 years. I am looking forward to performing our songs and reliving those years of making great music and traveling together. This is sure to be a magic evening," said Rob Bilson, lead singer of Seven Day Faith.

“The time is right, it has been this is the 15th Anniversary of our second release "Somebody Save Me." That record gave us arguably our biggest single in “Forever and A Day” which was a top 5 hit on the Kiss 98.5 charts. It will be an amazing night revisiting this record as well as the wonderful music from our debut release “Life Says We Think Too Much.”

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, July 10th, at 10 a.m. on bataviaconcerts.com. On concert day, doors open at 7 p.m., with live music starting at 8. Tickets are just $7. Each concert ticket is also redeemable at Player’s Club that night for $7 in Free Play to be used on one of Batavia Downs Gaming’s 800+ gaming machines.

About Batavia Downs/WROTB

Owned and operated by 15 Western New York counties and the cities of Rochester and Buffalo, Western Region Off-Track Betting Corporation is a public benefit corporation with headquarters in Batavia. WROTB owns and operates 17 branches, as well as Batavia Downs Gaming, a standard bred racetrack and gaming facility. Since its inception, Western Region OTB has generated more than $215 million in operating and surcharge revenues to the taxpayers of those participating municipalities.

About Seven Day Faith

Founded in 1996 by Western New York musicians Rob Ferenc, John Rosini, Kevin Ernst and Rob Bilson, Seven Day Faith’s musical and lyrical talents helped them earn the distinction of the Top Original Rock Group at the 2002 Buffalo Music Awards, with Rob Bilson winning the Top Original Male Vocalist award at the 2003 Buffalo Music Awards.

They claimed the number one spot in Billboard magazine’s Independent music Charts in 2004 and have gone on to open for national acts such as John Entwhistle, Pat Benetar, Michele Branch, Simple Plan, Switchfoot, Gavin Degraw, Avril Lavigne, Shaggy, LLCool J, Vanessa Carlton, JC Chasez, Papa Roach, Fuel and Our Lady Peace.

The Muckdogs have split the first two-games of a three-game series with State College at Dwyer Stadium.

Saturday night the home team lost 7-4 despite a strong start by Alberto Guerrero, of Panama, who went six innings and gave up only one earned run on three hits, striking out seven.

This afternoon, the Muckdogs scorched the Spikes 8-3. First baseman Sean Reynolds hit his fourth home run of the season. He had two hits, two RBIs, and scored three times. The winning pitcher was Dylan Cyphert, who tossed two innings in relief and gave up two hits and no runs.

Photos are from Saturday's game, which would have been posted this morning with a game story but for the Stumblin' Inn fire.

The good guys will try to capture the three-game series tomorrow night. Game time is 7:05 at Dwyer Stadium.

Top photo: Reynolds slides into third, taking an extra base on a single to center by Denis Karas.

Once again, lots of music fans, lots of musicians, lots of music, and lots of fun at the Ramble Music and Arts Festival in Jackson Square and on Center Street, Batavia.

The bands performing during our visit to the festival yesterday were Lonesome Road, Sierra, Noah's Reign, Rock Soulgers, and The Bluesway Band.

A maroon Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck reportedly hit a mailbox and drove into a ditch in the area of 8055 Lake Street Road, Le Roy, and then continued on Route 19 toward Monroe County.

The license plate comes back to a Monroe County address.

Law enforcement is responding and Monroe County law enforcement being notified.