Stafford

UPDATE 3:59 p.m.: This information is courtesy of WBTA's Geoff Redick. The motorist was 26-year-old Joshua Arnold, who sustained minor injuries after he fell asleep at the wheel of his 2000 Isuzu, according to State Police.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported at 5631 Clinton St. Road (Route 33) in Stafford. One person is said to be unconscious. The car is well off the road, about 40 feet. Stafford Fire Department and Mercy EMS are en route.

A utility pole was snapped in half and there are live wires in the roadway. National Grid has been notified.

Assistance is requested from South Byron Fire Department. Mercy Flight is available if needed.

UPDATE 12:53 p.m.: The fire chief asks that fire police shut down Route 33 at Prole Road and at Caswell Road and detour traffic.

UPDATE 1:22 p.m.: This accident involved only one vehicle. It is an SUV-type vehicle and the air bags did not deploy. Witnesses said the driver just drifted off the road. State Police said they do not know how the accident happened but they are investigating. The victim is being transported to Strong Memorial Hospital via Mercy EMS. The wires in the roadway were determined to be telephone wires and Verizon has been notified.

A service company from Bethany will receive $45,956 in tax abatements to assist in its expansion and relocation to Stafford, announced the Genesee County Economic Development Center today.

Adams Welding and Fabrication is constructing a new 5,616-square-foot building at 5782 Main Road, Stafford (next to the Batavia Party House).

The project will create half a job and retain one.

Adams is investing $175,000 in the project.

The estimated PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) on the project is $39,131. Adams will also receive a sales tax exemption on construction materials of $5,200 and a mortgage tax exemption of $1,625.

The company is also seeking $25,000 from GCEDC's revolving loan fund.

The direct economic benefit to the community is estimated at $855,000 ($18.61 for every $1 of abatement).

A grass fire is reported at 8215 Batavia-Stafford Town Line Road. Stafford Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 5:29 p.m.: They are still trying to find the fire. Dispatch got two calls on this, one from a driver on the Thruway, and another from someone at GCC, who said the fire was across from College Village in a field.

UPDATE 5:46 p.m.: All Stafford units are back in service. No fire was located despite scouring several roads in the area.

Robert Frost wrote that "Good fences make good neighbors."

Mr. Frost never met James Pontillo (pictured above) nor Tom Englerth.  

The two Stafford residents and fellow small business owners are in the midst of a dispute that has led to at least three visits by police and is making it more difficult for Pontillo to get his building renovated and a new business open.

"He drew the line," Englerth said. "He put up a fence. He said, 'you stay on your side,' so I told him to stay on his side."

In August 2010, Pontillo purchased a historic building at the intersection of Morganville and Main roads, Stafford. For as long as anybody can remember, there's been a store there that met community needs, but then Englerth put up a new building on land next door.

Shelley Macan-Mouery moved her business, the Stafford Trading Post, to Englerth's new structure. 

With his key commercial tenant gone, the owner of the former Stafford Odd Fellows' Hall, Terry Platt, decided to sell the building. He put it up for auction.

The Stafford Historical Society was concerned that the highest bidder -- possibly Englerth -- would tear down the 120-year-old building. The society secured $35,000 in financing to try and buy the building.

Englerth bid on the building, and the historical society bid on the building, but so did Pontillo and Pontillo won with a bid of $37,500.

And that, according to Pontillo, is part of the reason that Englerth is bent on disrupting his restoration efforts.

Plus Pontillo plans to open a store that will compete directly with the Stafford Trading Post.

Nonsense, says Englerth.

"I own the building," said Englerth. "I rent the store. The rent's the same regardless of what they do."

For Englerth, it's all about fences, he said.

First there is the fence that Pontillo put up, but then there is the fence that Englerth was forced to cut down from eight feet to six feet.

When Pontillo applied for a permit for his fence, he needed a variance to construct an eight-foot-high fence. Part of his argument for the variance was that Englerth had been allowed to construct an eight-high-foot fence.

But it turned out that Englerth never applied for, nor received, a variance for a higher fence than allowed by code.

Englerth accuses Pontillo of turning him in for the out-of-code fence, but Pontillo said that he spoke in favor of Englerth keeping his fence at a town planning board meeting. If Englerth had been granted a variance, Pontillo would likely also get a variance.

Neither got a variance, and Englerth had to take a chainsaw to the top of his fence.

Pontillo is convinced that Englerth has certain town officials on his side, such as Code Enforcement Officer Lester Mullen, whom he accuses of making random inspections on his construction work and roadblocking his efforts.

Mullen has been out on medical leave and wasn't available for comment.

Pontillo is planning to open a pizza shop that will include a deli, ice cream stand and grocery items (much like Stafford Trading Post) called "Talk of the Town." The new building name, which he said he's already trademarked, is "Pontillo's Place."

Other problems Pontillo has faced, he said, has come from the NYS DOT.

Pontillo said he's also been hassled by a guy named "Dan" from the NYS Department of Transportation over parking for the building, even though his parking plan is right in line with the parking that has always been available at the building.

But his problems with the DOT don't stop there. The DOT resurfaced Morganville Road (Route 237), creating a drainage problem that has caused his basement to flood (see photo below). The flooding has caused the hardwood floor on the first level to buckle in several areas -- after the restoration on the floor was almost complete.

The DOT, Pontillo said, has refused to either discuss compensation or fix the drainage issue.

Nonetheless, Pontillo is pushing forward with restoration.

This week he's had workers on the roof ripping off the old shingles with plans to install an entirely new roof.

Which brings us back to the two latest State Police responses to the location.

Pontillo rented a high-lift so his workers could safely get atop the three-story high roof and safely remove old shingles and bring materials to the rooftop.

When it came time for workers to work on the west side of the building, Pontillo asked Macan-Mouery for permission to park the high-lift on the west side of his building.

Since the property line is right at the edge of the building, the only place to park the high-lift was in the parking lot of the Stafford Trading Post.

Englerth reportedly called in State Troopers and accused Pontillo of trespassing.

The troopers said they believed Macan-Mouery had given Pontillo permission to park the high-lift where he did, but after Englerth complained, withdrew permission.

On Friday afternoon, the troopers had Pontillo move the high-lift from the Stafford Trading Post parking lot.

To work on the west side of the building, Pontillo's crews will need to use ladders, which is far less safe and will slow down work.

Meanwhile, on Friday and Saturday, Englerth parked his truck next to the west side of Pontillo's building.

On Saturday morning, he called State Police to complain that debris falling from Pontillo's roof damaged his truck.

Troopers responded but took no action on the complaint.

"The bottom line is he doesn't care about the safety of my workers," Pontillo said Saturday morning. "They could fall and get killed and he wouldn't care."

Joshua Ray Radley, 25, of Old Meadow Lane, Batavia, is charged with unlawfully growing cannabis, unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of fireworks. Radley was arrested following an investigation into a complaint filed on July 27.

Loralyn L. Bateman, 35, 874 Gabbey Road, Corfu, is charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol. Bateman turned herself in at Batavia PD on a warrant out of Batavia City Court.

Michael A. Witkop, 19, 249 Ross St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation and improper right turn. Witkop was stopped at 12:38 a.m., Sunday, on River Street, Batavia, by Officer Darryl Streeter.

Brian M. Raphael, 23, of 4 Noonan Drive, Batavia, is charged with aggravated DWI, moving from lane unsafely and improper turn. Raphael was stopped at 1:09 a.m., Saturday, on Liberty Street, Batavia, by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Peter J. Kaiser, 50, of Jackson Road, Middleport, is charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol, failure to stop for stop sign and speed not reasonable and prudent. Kaiser was charged following an investigation into a traffic accident that occurred Sept. 16 on Lockport Road, Alabama.

Rusty Everett Vanson, 46, of Jefferson Street, Attica, is charged with felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and driving left of pavement markings in a no-passing zone. Vanson was stopped at 12:57 a.m., Sunday, on Attica Road in Alexander by Deputy Jason Saile.

Eric Michael Duda, 49, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st. Duda allegedly asked a third party to contact a person he is barred by court order from contacting. He has a previous conviction for criminal contempt, 2nd, within the last five years. Duda was jailed on $5,000 bail.

A one-vehicle rollover accident is reported at 7855 Fotch Road. It is blocking traffic. Unknown injuries. Mercy medics and Stafford Fire Department are responding.

UPDATE 7:06 a.m.: Injuries are reportedly minor.

John M. Forte, 23, of 4898 Ridge Road, Williamson, is charged with burglary, 3rd. Forte is accused of forceably entering a business in the Village of Le Roy on or about Nov. 8 and stealing copper from the basement of the building.

Eric Bratcher, 22, of 7 ½ North St., Le Roy, is charged with burglary, 2nd, and petit larceny. Bratcher is accused of entering the residence of a friend over the weekend and stealing a game system and games. Bratcher was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Marianne Dawson, 50, 20 N. Spruce St., Batavia, is charged with DWI. Dawson was charged with DWI. Dawson was arrested at 5:18 p.m. Monday on Seneca Avenue by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

A 16-year-old resident of Snipery Road, Darien, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. The youth got into an argument with her parents about getting ready and going to school. She allegedly became verbally abusive and threw an item at her father. Family Court had issued an order of protection requiring her not to engage in offensive conduct toward her parents. The youth was released after arraignment and transported to school.

Darleen Angie McComb, 53, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. McComb is accused of stealing a $30 pair of boots from R and D Outlet Center on Clinton Street Road, Stafford.

Basillo Martinez, 48, of Clinton Street Road, Bergen, was arrested on a bench warrant for alleged criminal possession of stolen property and criminal possession of a weapon.

Jeffrey Allen Good, 36, of Route 98, Alexander, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal use/possession of a hypodermic instrument and criminal use of drug paraphernalia. Good was allegedly found by his probation officer in possession of heroin in packaging along with hypodermic needles while in his home. Good was taken into custody by Deputy Brian Thompson. Good was jailed on $5,000 bail.

John Cheston Townley, 36, of Liberty Street, Bliss, was arrested on a bench warrant for DWI. Townley had been incarcerated on unrelated charges in Wyoming County.

A car has hit a pole in the area of 6123 Main Road, Stafford.

No injuries are reported, but there are apparently wires down in the road. Stafford Fire Police requested to the scene for traffic control.

UPDATE 10:29 p.m.:  The lines hanging low over Route 5 are power lines. National Grid has been notified. No traffic can go through.

UPDATE 11:05 p.m.: National Grid has a 15-minute ETA.

The following indictments were issued last week by the Genesee County Grand Jury.

Rodney A. Barber is charged with one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, a Class B felony, after he was allegedly found on March 17 to possess the narcotic cocaine with the intent to sell it. The location was 3967 W. Main St. in the Town of Batavia. He is also charged with one count of criminal possession of a controlled subtance, 4th, for allegedly knowingly and unlawfully possessing one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing cocaine which had an aggregate weight of an eighth of an ounce or more.

Mark C. Gregori is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, a Class B felony, after he was allegedly found on Nov. 3, 2010 in the Town of Elba in possession of the narcotic cocaine with the intent to sell it.

Michael B. Pfaff is charged with one count of driving while intoxicated, a Class E felony, after he was allegedly found driving a 2008 Suburu on Myrtle Street in Le Roy on April 17 while intoxicated. He is also charged with one count of driving while intoxicated with a BAC of .08 or greater, a Class E felony.

Thomas J. Torres is charged with one count of driving while intoxicated, a Class D felony, after he was allegedly found driving a 2004 Chevrolet on Route 237 in Stafford while intoxicated on April 23. He is also charged with one count of aggravated driving while intoxicated, also a Class D felony, for allegedly having a BAC of .18 or greater.

Jamie L. Broadbent is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, a Class E felony, for allegedly knowingly possessing stolen property with the intention of benefitting herself or a person other than the owner. She was allegedly found in possession of a public benefit card belonging to someone else while in the City of Batavia on May 9.

Chester L. Sherman II is charged with one count of driving a 1998 Chevy pickup truck while intoxicated and one count of driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. The charges stem from his arrest April 20 on Route 262 in Byron.

Jonathan J. Langenfeld is charged with one count of burglary in the first degree, a Class B violent felony, after he allegedly entered private property on Ellicott Street Road in Pavilion on April 17 with the intent to cause, then actually causing, physical injury to a person who was not a participant in the crime. He is also charged with burglary, 2nd, a Class C violent felony, for allegedly entering private property with the intent to commit a crime. And he is charged with assault, 2nd, a Class D violent felony, for allegedly intending to seriously injure a person and then causing serious injury to that person.

A car and pickup truck have crashed at 5270 Main Road in Stafford, near the Seven Springs Road intersection. Injuries are reported. Stafford fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 10:58 a.m.: The roadway is almost completely blocked. The truck was towing heavy machinery, which will need to be lifted. A tow-truck company is called to assist. Fluids are leaking. A Sheriff's deputy is on scene along with a medic.

UPDATE 11:03: "Everything is intact but the truck is kind of sitting on the car," says a responder at the scene.

UPDATE 11:11 a.m.: The tow-truck driver is not injured. The occupants of the car will need medical attention and will be transported via ambulance.

Photo submitted by Steve Tufts, taken at Horseshoe Lake in Stafford. For a larger version, click here.

Doug Call, 71, a former Genesee County Sheriff now finishing out his final term as a Town of Stafford justice, was honored with a picnic today in Stafford.

It was organized by local Democrats, and is one of their annual fundraisers, but Call was the guest of honor and several Republicans attended.

County Chairwoman Lorie Longhany said Call has been a good Democrat, but more importantly, he's been a good public servant.

"He's one of the best public servants Genesee County ever had," Longhany said.  "His service transcended politics. It was always about public service."

As Sheriff -- perhaps the only Democrat ever elected to Sheriff in Genesee County -- Call initiated the Stop DWI program, which included DWI checkpoints on roadways. The program would be challenged in court, but the county won appeals all the way up to the state's Court of Appeals. It's a program that is now widely used across the country.

Call was also instrumental in getting Genesee Justice started, a program Call estimates has saved the county millions and millions of dollars over the years.

For one thing, by putting criminals in intervention programs rather than locking them up, the county was spared the expense of a new, larger jail.

On hand to honor Call today were Congresswoman Kathy Hochul and Sheriff Gary Maha. Assemblyman Steven Hawley sent a letter and Darien Town Justice Gary Graber, who is incoming president of the state magistrates' association, spoke in praise of Call. Graber was first elected in 1980, when Call first became Sheriff.

A quiet man, Call doesn't put much of a spotlight on his own accomplishments.

"I’m humbled by (the honors today) because I just did things," Call said. "Apparently people think it’s important and they’re here."

He then added, "Other's could have done it."

Saturday afternoon we were on our way to East Shelby when we spotted upwards of two dozen egrets wading the Upper Stafford Marsh on the Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Area. I regretted not having a camera along, but vowed to have one the next morning.

It was 9 a.m. today when we pulled into the overlook on Albion Road and, fortunately, the egrets were still there. There are 17 great egrets in the above photo, with several more outside of the lens angle.

I've not seen such a gathering of the large wading birds before, not even in South Florida. Whether they were stalking small fish, frogs or reptiles, I couldn't say but something to their liking must have been plentiful in the shallow marsh.  

Normally, great blue herons are the largest wading birds in the marsh. While the blue heron is nearly identical in size to the great egret, on this day it was certainly in the minority.

Volunteers from at least four fire companies -- I saw Le Roy, Batavia, Stafford and South Byron while I was there -- were on hand Sunday at The Home Depot to raise a flag in honor of the 9/11 victims and give community members a chance to meet with local volunteers and learn about fire safety. Children could tour the firetrucks and receive hats and coloring books.

Eric Michael Duda, 49, of Main Road, Stafford, and Summer Ogden, 35, of State Street, Batavia, are both charged with criminal contempt. Duda and Odgen were seen walking together on Main Road, Stafford, at 4:15 p.m., Wednesday. There are court orders in place barring Duda and Odgen from being in contact with each other.

Dennis Kaijage Stambuli, 19, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with trespass and unlawful possession of marijuana. Stambuli was allegedly found on College Village property after being banned.

Scott E. Hodgins, 47, of 9394 Creek Road, Batavia, is charged with felony DWI, passing a stop sign, speed in zone and obstructing governmental administration, 2nd. Hodgins was stopped at 8:40 p.m., Thursday, on Blakely Place, by Officers Jerry Casper and Chris Camp. Hodgins was allegedly observed speeding on South Jackson Street. Hodgins allegedly tried to flee on foot following the traffic stop and was located after an extensive search of the area. New York State Police assisted in the search. Additional charges may be pending. Hodgins was jailed without bail.

Benjamin Gove Evans, 22, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Evans is accused of shoplifting at Kmart in April.

Kristen L. Brightenfield, 18, of 6559 Main Road, Stafford, is charged with petit larceny. Brightenfield is accused of stealing a box of hair dye from Tops Market during the early morning hours of Wednesday.

Micaheal J. Elmore, 20, of Sumner Road, Darien, is charged with two counts of petit larceny. Elmore was arrested by the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office following an investigation into thefts in Orangeville. Elmore was identified as the suspect with the help of a pawnshop in Batavia. Another piece of stolen property was recovered in the Village of Attica.

Diane E. Winger, 46, of 329 Eva Road, Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, is charged with driving while ability impaired and failure to keep right. Winger was stopped at 11:43 p.m., Sunday, on Snipery Road in Darien by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Fifteen volunteer firefighters from five companies in Genesee County are headed east this morning to assist in relief and recovery efforts in one of the hardest hit areas of the state from Hurricane Irene.

The volunteers gathered at the Emergency Servcies Training Center on State Street Road at 6:30 a.m. to be briefed on their mission by County Coordinator Tim Yaeger.

The group then headed to the Thruway to make it to Schoharie County by noon for a 72-hour deployment.

"They're in bad shape down there and now they've got more rain coming," said Yaeger, who was among the state's emergency coordinators dispatched to the region right after the storm hit.

The firefighters will be relieving other volunteers who have been working in the county since the storm hit last week.

"There's still places that are getting drops by Blackhawk helicopters of food and water because they're still isolated," Yaeger said.

Yaeger said it's amazing what these guys have signed up for with no pay. They will likely be sleeping on cots, living on pizza and pumping sewage out of basements during their 12-hour shifts.

They might also be called upon to deliver relief supplies to residents isolated by storm damage or just help with general clean up and recovery.

"And they're offended if I don't offer them a chance to go," Yaeger said. "These guys have been waiting for this for a week."

Darien Chief Dale Breitwieser couldn't make the deployment, but he was at the training center this morning to see off the three volunteers from his department.  He said it's events like this where you see that volunteers are a special breed of person.

"There will be volunteers there from all over the state and they'll all pull together," Breitwieser said.

Besides Darien, participating departments are Bergen, Town of Batavia and Stafford along with staff from Emergency Services.

Yaeger is not joining this group, though he may be deployed later today to Green County where a village of 700 people in the Town of Plattsville was wiped off the map. The town supervisor lost his house and his gas station and now he's trying to help his town through the devastation, Yaeger said.

The Albany Times Union has a photo slide show of the damage in Schoharie County.

On Tuesday, Jim DiSalvo invited me to his house on Fargo Road, Stafford, to meet his son, Jason, and Jason's racing team. I thought I'd get a picture and share a little bit about the great season Jason is having.

I set up a shot with a couple of bikes in the background and just as we were getting ready to make a photograph, Jason asked, "When will your picture run?" I told him, "probably tonight."

Well, that would never do. See that Triumph in the background -- the racing world didn't yet know that Jason would be running it this week at the final race of the season in New Jersey.

I agreed to hold the picture until the bike change was officially announced, and I also redesigned the shot to better include the bike in the picture.

This evening, the DiSalvo team officially announced that for the last race as well as next season, Jason will race a Triumph 675 Triple in Daytona Sportbike class races.

Jason said the team felt they would get great support from Triumph and he was excited about the switch.

Race 1 on Saturday will start at 2 p.m., and Sunday's race starts at 2:15 p.m.  Live timing for both events can be viewed at www.amaproracing.com.

Speed TV will air the races at 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Jason is currently third this season in points standing with three wins and four pole positions.

Pictured with Jason are Jordan Fielder, left, Bubba Evoy, Chase McFarland and Ronnie Saner.

A motorcycle accident, possibly with injuries, isreported on Assemblyman R. Stephen Hawley Drive, Batavia, just west of Batavia-Stafford Townline Road.

Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy EMS dispatched. 

UPDATE 9:38 p.m.: Batavia fire back in service. No fluid leaks, not blocking traffic.