A car vs. motocycle accident is reported on the westbound Thruway by mile marker 386.4. The motorcycle rider and his passenger are injured. Both are conscious and alert. One has a back injury and the other is reportedly bleeding from the mouth. Two Mercy rigs are going to the scene along with Town of Batavia Fire Department. The location is between the CSX railroad crossing and Route 33.

UPDATE 3:11 p.m.: Mercy medics are transporting two patients to Strong Memorial Hospital.

UPDATE 3:14 p.m.: State Police have released Town of Batavia responders from the scene.

A tractor-trailer rollover accident is reported on the eastbound Thruway at mile marker 388. Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding. A Sheriff's deputy is on scene.

UPDATE 1:44 p.m.: Injuries are minor. Mercy medics are on scene. The vehicle is in the median.

UPDATE 2:11 p.m.: There were three patient sign-offs. The Batavia assignment is back in service. The rig was empty. It did leak a small amount of fluids.

He was allegedly drunk, in a big truck and packing a hand gun.

Now he's in trouble with the law.

Police arrested 49-year-old Kevin E. Conners, of 206 Richmond Ave., Batavia, after initially receiving a report of an erratic driver in the city at 11:30 p.m., Tuesday.

A witness told police they saw a black Chevrolet Silverado heading north on Oak Street and then turn east onto Richmond Avenue.

The truck proceeded east driving over the grass parkway on the south side of Richmond and just as it tried to pull back into the roadway, it struck a parked car.

The truck then headed down Richmond at a high rate of speed, according to the witness statement, the truck blew through stop signs on North Street at Bank and at Summit. It turned right onto Ross and allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign at Ellsworth.

When the truck reached Washington, it turned right and proceeded west before the driver reportedly tried to pull into a driveway. It over shot the driveway so the driver reportedly backed up and tried again. It missed again.

The witness statement indicates the driver gunned it, jumped the curb and ran into the porch of a house at 303 Washington Ave. The truck's tires spun on the pavement and the truck ran further up the porch.

When Officer Arick Perkins arrived on scene, he approached the driver's side of the truck and said he saw the driver removing a gun from his waist area. More officers arrived on scene and Conners was ordered from the truck.

He was taken into custody without incident.

A gun was recovered from under the driver's seat. It was registered and legal, according to Officer Eric Hill.

Conners was transported to Batavia PD headquarters where he allegedly failed a field sobriety test and registered a .13 BAC on a breath test.

He was issued citations for DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or higher, reckless driving, moving from the lane unsafely (three citations), failure to keep right, passed on right and following too closely. He was arraigned in City Court and remanded to jail.

Conners' vehicle was towed from the scene.

But the story doesn't end there.

At around noon, Wednesday, Conners was released from jail under supervision of Genesee Justice. He retrieved his truck from impound.

At 12:11 p.m., police received a report of a truck striking a telephone poll near 204 W. Main St.

Conners was reportedly the driver. He was injured and transported to UMMC.

No charges have been filed related to the second accident, but the investigation is continuing.

Perhaps it was self-defense. That's the argument William Tedford tried to make in a felony hearing in City Court this morning on behalf of his client, Shane M. Bell.

Bell is accused of punching 52-year-old Scott Baker on Sunday night shortly after the two men left a party at The Harvester on Harvester Avenue.

The purpose of a felony hearing is to determine if there's enough evidence to sustain the key elements of the crime as charged.

Tedford tried hard to expand the scope of the hearing to draw out more possible facts of the case, but Judge Robert Balbick sustained each of District Attorney Lawrence Friedman's objections as Tedford asked questions about Baker's prior criminal history, who other witnesses may be and whether his client was properly given his Miranda warnings.

All of those issues are interesting, Balbick said, but not relevant to a felony hearing. The defense will have every opportunity to raise those and other issues as the case moves forward.

The only two issues before the court were whether Bell hit Baker -- and Tedford acknowleged there was contact -- and whether Bell intended to cause serious physical injury when he allegedly swung his fist at Baker's head.

Tedford aimed to base a self-defense claim on testimony by Det. Pat Corona that Bell said Baker followed Bell out of the bar and across the street, that on the way, Baker chest bumped Bell at least once and possibly twice, and then Baker tapped Bell on the neck just before the punch was thrown.

"I submit your honor that there is sufficient information before the court today that while certainly my client had alleged involvement, the individual Scott Baker also has a role in this matter and the court should revisit that issue," Tedford said. "With assault in the second degree it's necessary to prove intentional injury and in this case the intent element is not so clear."

Friedman quickly rose from his chair when it was his turn to refute Tedford's argument.

"Mr. Tedford is right that his client was involved," Friedman said. "He's the one responsible for the serious physical injuries to Scott Baker. He's right that Scott Baker had a role. His role is that of the victim of this assault ...

"He said he was chest bumped before he punched him and he was touched on the back of the neck," Friedman added. "Your honor, this would not be a reasonable response even if you believe that is what happened. It does not in any way justify what happened to Scott Baker. (Bell is) not claiming his life was threatened or that he feared serious physical injury or even injury. He was bumped by Scott Baker and he turned and punched him."

Balbick upheld the felony charge of assault in the second degree and ordered Hill's no-bail status be continued.

During the hearing, Tedford asked whether Corona knew that The Harvester had been serving free beer from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Corona did not.

Corona said that Bell told him Baker and Hill had been in the bar hours prior to the incident and that they had exchanged a number of "drunken hugs."

In the courtroom during the hearing were the families for both Baker and Bell.

Baker remains in the trauma unit at ECMC unconscious with a serious head injury. One reason Bell is held without bail is that there's concern Baker will not survive, in which case Bell will be facing upgraded charges. Bell also has a prior felony conviction and 18 prior arrests, according to Balbick.

A car vs. pedestrian accident is reported at Vine and North streets in the city. The bicyclist is lying in the roadway. Police, fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 12:16 p.m.: The bicyclist was taken to Erie County Medical Center. All responders have cleared the scene.

A man is reportedly acting weird in the area near the Kwik Fill gas station at Jackson and Ellicott streets. He's described as white, wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans, last seen walking southbound. He was said to be talking to himself, rolling around on the ground and flailing his arms about. City police are looking for him now.

It seems that everywhere we went this month there were outdoor photo ops, one of which was this bullfrog basking in the morning sun while waiting for an easy meal.

This Circumpolar Bluet rested on shoreline vegetation long enough for its photo to be taken.    

Unlike its older and bolder counterpart, this young bullfrog remains mostly hidden, keeping only its head above the soggy vegetation. It's learned early on that it can be the hunter one second before becoming the hunted moments later.

Long-legged waders such as herons and egrets consider frogs choice morsels.

Frogs needn't worry about this fella. Strictly a herbivore, this young forkhorn will be shedding his velvet in the coming days.

Teasle highlighted by the sun, in the background a shaded brook covered with duck weed.

August provided us with a number of interesting cloud formations -- this one occurring in early evening.

Last week's full moon on the rise, climbing above the upper branches of our apple tree....

and several hours later its descent in the Southwestern sky.

With only 19 varsity players this year, Alexander's Head Coach Tim Sawyer hopes what the team lacks in quantity it will make up in quality.

"We don't have a lot of kids, but they're definitely a tight-knit group," Sawyer said. "They care about each other and they work hard together.

"We've got a chance every week and it's nice for a small school like us to be able to say that," he added.

The offensive and defensive lines will be anchored by Johnny George and Kelsey Patton, a pair of three-year starters now in their senior year.

"They're both about 250 pounds," Sawyer said. "They're pretty strong. Those guys love the weight room. It's nice to have some size there."

At tailback, Dylan Scharlau brings 205 pounds of strength to the job and Tyler Laird isn't far behind him in ability or strength.

Sawyer said he would like 24 or 25 varsity players, he also sees hope going forward in the JV team, which has 30 players this year.

Last year, the Trojans were 2-6. Sawyer thinks his team this year can improve on that record.

"We had a lot of growing pains last year," Sawyer said. "I think I have 12 seniors on this year's team. They're excited. They've worked hard. We've got quality kids."

The top three pictures are from the watermelon relay, a drill Sawyer said is also designed to keep practice fun. The drill came right before the dinner break and watermelon was the dessert. Drop the watermelon and your team will have to deal with grass blades mixed in with the melon. Despite some coaches best efforts to jar the melons loose, not one broke.

A dog is locked inside a vehicle at Pump #9 at the Travel Center in Pembroke. A Sheriff's deputy is responding. It's 80 degrees outside.

A pair of utility poles are broken in two and leaning, but not in the roadway, on Railroad Avenue in the Village of Alexander. A downed power line is in a field. Traffic is being closed to Railroad Avenue at Route 98 and at Sandpit Road. Also, traffic will be blocked at Sandpit and Dry Bridge roads. Alexander Fire Department is on scene. National Grid is aware of the problem and a crew will be responding.

UPDATE 5:02 p.m.: National Grid is on scene.

UPDATE 7:08 p.m.: The roads are reopened. Alexander is back in service.

In the past few weeks, we've had four people hospitalized with serious injuries. Here's what we know about them today.

• Jason McNeil: McNeil's health is improving according to a Facebook post by his wife. He may be able to return home soon. McNeil was hit following the Kid Rock concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on July 6. Craig Lawson was recently indicted on a charge of assault, 2nd, and is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge next week.
• Benjamin L. Falker, 16, was critically injured in an ATV accident Aug. 3. He remains listed in serious condition at ECMC.
• Ashley M. Stillwell, 19, was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by her boyfriend Derek Sheldon when the bike struck a car at the intersection of Selden and West Bergen roads. Sheldon was killed in the accident. Stillwell was transported with serious injuries by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital. As of today, Strong does not have Stillwell listed as a patient and we have no further information.
• Scott Baker, 51, was critically injured during an apparent fight Sunday night on Harvester Avenue. He remains in a coma, listed in critical condition, at ECMC. Shane M. Bell is accused of hitting Baker and is charged with felony assault.

UPDATE 5:05 p.m.: We were contacted by State Police and told Stillwell remains a patient at Strong, regardless of Strong's patient record which does not list her.

UPDATE: Since the last update, I had another conversation with Trooper Victor Morales, Troop A's PIO. He said Stillwell is doing well. She's listed in good condition at Strong and could be released from the hospital soon. She suffered a broken pelvis, broken back and fractured knee cap. The accident reconstruction is not complete, but investigators believe that speed was not a factor. Stillwell does not remember them speeding prior to the accident, but even if they were, the other driver had clear visability for at least a mile down the road. At this point in time, no citations have been issued.

A dog is reportedly locked inside a gray pickup truck in the parking lot at Kmart. A law enforcement officer is responding.

UPDATE 3:13 p.m.: The officer was unable to locate the gray Dodge pickup -- gone upon arrival. The officer is back in service.

Lifting a 255 ton bridge is just as much work as it sounds.

A team of workers put in more than 12 hours yesterday lifting the Genesee Valley Transportation bridge that runs over the south end of Cedar Street -- the ones the trucks always hit -- exactly 36 inches.

Lifting the bridge took a mere 20 minutes. All of the other hours went into getting the hydraulic lifts -- called gantry lifts -- precisely into the their proper locations.

Raising the bridge is part of the Cedar Street reconstruction project. When the project is done, the bridge will provide a clearance of 14' 3" for trucks to pass under.

That's a foot higher than the former height and two feet higher than the sign on the bridge indicated.

The iron bridge was built some time around 1918 for the Lehigh Valley Railroad (the same rail line involved in that train derailment in Le Roy in 1970). It's the last of Lehigh's old line that's still operational. It's just a spur off the main CSX line and is used by GVT to move freight for Chapin Industries.

Rail cars are moved on the line only once every three weeks, meaning the window for lifting the bridge and putting it back in its new place is three weeks.

Yesterday, a crew of five men lifted the bridge.

Watching them do the bulk of the actual labor over a four-hour period was much like watching a well-practiced basketball team weave in and out of a triangle offense.

Few words were spoken and even fewer commands given. Each member of the team knew where he was supposed to be and when and what he was supposed to do.

You would think these men had worked together for years.

That isn't even close to the case said Kevin Seely, project manager for Tonawanda-based Hohl Industrial. It's quite possible this is the first time all five men worked together on the same project at the same time. Only two of the team members had much actual experience together.

That's one advantage, Seely said, of union labor. The workers who are hired for a job already know exactly what they're supposed to do.

All the men -- Seely, Carl Larson, Adam Swanson, Chris Wells and Fred Howry -- told stories of working on bridge lifts all over Western New York, including bigger bridges in Buffalo, bridges that had to be lifted half at a time in Corning, and a bridge in Lockport that was lifted, floated down the canal, turned around and put back in place.

It's not exceptionally dangerous work -- no more so than another other construction work -- but it is work, the kind of work that leaves a man tired, sweaty and grease-and-grime-covered.

It's also precision work.

When you're talking about lifting 255 tons of old iron (weighing a bit less than two jumbo jets), you better make sure the load balances properly. There's little margin for error.

Work started in the morning with laying the rail bed for the gantry lifts. Those had to be perfectly level. Then the lifts were rolled into place. Each of the four lifts -- which are rated for 113 tons each -- had to be measured and placed precisely under the bridge's beams.

Next, two steel beams weighing a few tons each had to be swung into place. Well, swung is too strong of a word. It took an hour for each beam to be meticulously moved onto the lifts, measured, moved, and bolted down exactly where engineers determined they should be placed.

Once in place, hydraulic lines were connected to the lifts and to a control panel so an operator could guide each lift up simultaneously. One lift going up too fast could throw off the load balance.

Before the lift, Howry cut off the dozen or so bolts that were tightened in place more than 100 years ago to anchor the bridge to its rock and cement base.

When workers were ready to start the lift, each jack only went up one inch while other members of the team checked to make sure each of the four corners of the bridge were clearing the base and lined up evenly. Howry thought the second jack needed to come up another half inch, so it was raised to keep everything level.

In looking for a quote about how carefully the operation proceeded, we asked Seely about the process and it put it in pretty obvious terms: "We don't want to drop it or have anything catastrophic happen."

Larson operated the control panel. He then lifted the bridge another 11 inches. It didn't make a sound. No dust or sparks flew. The movement of the bridge was almost imperceptible.

Workers again checked measurements. The bridge had come up with no more than a 1/4-inch variance on any lift.

Larson then started the to lift again, bringing up the bridge to its final 36 inches above its previous location.

The extra space will give construction crews room to operate to build the new seat for the bridge.

Dick Kraft, resident engineer for Erdman Anthony, said high-capacity concrete -- rated for 3,000 psi -- will be poured for a new bridge seat, allowed to cure, and then more concrete will be poured as a new back wall. Once that's cured, the bridge can be lowered to its new seat. And then Chapin can start moving shipments again.

If any of the workers wish to obtain prints of these photos, they can be purchased by following this link.

A few of the people involved in Wednesday's operation left before we could do a group picture, but pictured are, from left, Craig Stachowiak, Zoladz Construction, Tom Langiewicz, also with Zoladz, Kevin Seely of Hohl Industrial, Carl Larson, a resident of Boston, Adam Swanson, from Greece and with Iron Workers Local #33, Chris Wells, from Cattaraugus, and Fred Howry, Local #6 and from West Valley.

There's a couple of dozen more photos in the slide show and you can expand them to full screen.

Six-year-old Emily Lokken of Le Roy has spent a lot of time in hospitals over the course of her young life. She's had 12 major surgeries at Golisano Children's Hospital, at Strong and at Boston Children's Hospital. She is currently awaiting a kidney transplant.

With all of that time in children's hospitals, Emily has made friends with other children being treated in the hospitals. Those children often have cancer.

Emily's mother Sarah said one evening about a year ago, Emily said she wanted to grow her hair long.

"One night sitting in her hospital room Emily out of the clear blue said, 'Mom you know what?,'" Sarah recalled. "I said, 'No, Emily, what?' She responded, 'I know that I have broken kidneys and a lot of my friends have broken blood (meaning in her world cancer) and they have to take medicine and lose their hair. I have hair and my medicine does not make it fall out. So I want to grow mine long like Rapunzel and give them some of mine. This way they can wear happy hair bows and being sick won't be so bad.' "

Yesterday, a year after she started growing her hair like Rapunzel, she had it cut so her locks could be donated to another little girl who might like bows in her hair.

Information and photos submitted by Sarah Lokken.

NY Times: Concussion Case Nears Key Phase for N.F.L.

Rep. Chris Collins stopped in Oliver's Candies today, but it wasn't for the famed Molly Pops. He was making one of his regular visits to small local businesses in his district.

Oliver's is also famed for -- among other things -- sponge candy, which Collins discussed at some length with Deborah Palmer, left, and Jeremy Liles. Sponge candy is another of WNY's unique foods that is little known in other parts of the country. Liles said it's probably a candy that was brought to WNY by Polish immigrants.

Anita Strollo submitted this photo of Collins at the lunch at the Senior Center today. Her mother, Serena Strollo, celebrated her 91st birthday today and Collins presented her with a Congressional certificate.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand stopped for a tour of Liberty Pumps in Bergen today to promote Genesee County's "Foreign Trade Zone" designation.

Liberty is the first company in Genesee County to apply for the benefits of an FTZ.

Charlie Cook, president and CEO of Liberty Pumps, said the designation will help his company grow and create more jobs.

"It's certainly going to help reduce our costs," Cook said. "We are initially limited to three companies because it's crucial to monitor everything and control the inventory on the floor, so our most expensive components are duty free and there's an advantage there. It's our intent to flow the savings to the bottom line and generate more profits, which fuels future growth."

Profits, Cook, explained, means more research and development and more funds to bring new products to market, which means expansion.

Liberty Pumps is surrounded by three parcels of land that are suitable for expansion and Cook mentioned that the company is considering it options and will almost certainly expand in the next couple of years.

The FTZ allows Liberty Pumps to buy some of the parts it needs to build products without paying tariffs, but then it can also avoid tariffs on its exports.

Cook wanted to note, however, that not every component it could buy overseas is imported.

"We really try to limit our foreign purchases of components," Cook said. "If we can buy it domestically, we always prefer domestic components, but the fact is, these particular motors you can't get from a U.S. manufacturer anymore. They've all closed down these lines. Other components, like castings, we could do that, but we're trying to contain that business, a lot of it, to domestic sources rather than foreign."

Gillibrand said FTZs are important to help New York's economy grow.

"I encourage all manufacturers who can benefit to apply," Gillibrand said. "We make some of the most amazing things in the world right here in New York. We produce some of the greatest agricultural products of anywhere in the world. We want to be able to increase the world markets for our goods and services. We want to keep local busineses in a position of strength."

Robert Hinett apparently picked the wrong time and the wrong place for some flirting Friday night in Le Roy.

A passing police officer reports that at 11:30 p.m. he observed Hinett inside a convenience store on Lake Street staggering around and then go behind the counter toward the female clerk.

The officer entered the store and the clerk informed him that the man in the store seemed to be intoxicated and had tried to kiss her even as she tried to thwart his advances.

Upon further investigation, the officer determined that that 25-year-old resident of Montclair Avenue, Batavia, allegedly drove to Le Roy intoxicated.

Hinett was charged with one count of felony drunken driving and refusal to take a breath test. He was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) released the following statement today on potential military action in Syria:

“Today I signed a letter from Representative Scott Rigell (VA-2) to President Obama urging the President to consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria.

The images coming out of Syria are deeply troubling. There is also no question that the circumstances on the ground are complex and any military response by the United States will not only impact the ongoing civil war within Syria but possibly have ramifications throughout the region. For those reasons alone, I believe the President has an obligation to consult Congress and communicate with the American people about what our response should be.

President Obama himself wrote that 'the President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation' in a 2007 response to a Boston Globe questionnaire.

It is my hope that President Obama will remember these words and call for Congress to reconvene for discussion should he deem military action in Syria necessary.”