(Updated 7:09 p.m.)

The investigation is still in its preliminary stages, but a Batavia Police spokesman today acknowledged that police have yet to verify the story of a 14-year-old girl who says she was abducted as she walked to school on Washington Avenue this morning.

"We're trying to ascertain if this actually did occur, if there was something along the lines that she made this up for some reason," said Officer Eric Hill. "We don’t know for certain, which is why we have detectives out there (conducting interviews)."

The girl first reported the abduction to Batavia Schools' Superintendent Margaret Puzio.

Puzio said she believes the girl.

The girl wandered into Puzio's office about 10:45 a.m. saying that she had been abducted by a black man, 20 to 30 years old, wearing a black, long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans. She said the abduction occurred about 7:45 a.m. or 8 a.m. in the area of State Street and Washington Avenue.

Puzio contacted Batavia Police at 10:56 a.m.

The story the girl told Puzio, she said, is consistent with the story the girl told to police.

Why the girl wandered into the Washington Avenue location of the board of education, Puzio said she didn't know. She said she assumed the girl had walked by the building many times and knew what office it was.

“I assume she decided that was a safe place,” Puzio said.

Even though the location of the alleged intersection is a busy place that time of the morning -- it's part of the route many people might take to Batavia High School -- there are apparently no witnesses to the alleged abduction.

Investigators have been canvassing the area looking for more information, Hill said.

Hill said investigators have yet to determine how the alleged abductor got the girl into his minivan.

"That's not known at this point," Hill said. "That's a question for us at this point. We don't know what happened."

It's also unclear how the girl got away from her abductor. Hill said the detectives may have information he is not aware of, but said, "she reported to us that she got away. That's all we know, or, that's all I know."

Parents were notified of the alleged abduction some time before 2 p.m. through an automated call of a recorded message from Puzio.

Parents contacting The Batavian say the message did not contain information on the status of the girl or if her parents had been notified, causing them to panic about the safety of their own children.

Puzio said the message was well thought out and she consulted with the Batavia Police Department before deciding to send out a message through the automated call system.

"We always try to err on the side of giving as much information as we possibly can," Puzio said "We certainly deliberated over whether to say anything or not. What we decided to say is what we felt comfortable with."

Asked if she was concerned that fear from this incident would wind up encouraging parents to keep the children home from school tomorrow, Puzio said, "I hope not, but it’s always good to be reminded that students, your kids, are precious and sometimes we take for granted that they know not to go near cars with strangers in them, but sometimes it’s good to have something like this to reinforce that message."

Officer Hill said that if he had kids, he would consider driving them to school tomorrow, at least until this matter is resolved.

Hill said in his five years on the force, there have been no similar incidents in Batavia. He called this alleged abduction an "isolated incident."

In an unexpected twist in the Scott Doll murder trial, Judge Robert Noonan said, outside the presence of the jury, that the accused killer will be taking the witness stand.

The matter of his testimony came up after lawyers on both sides of the aisle took issue with a witness's testimony about her conversation with Doll at the Sheriff's station. She could testify about her state of mind and what she observed and heard, but could not testify about Doll's state of mind.

That would be addressed by Doll himself when he takes the stand.

At the conclusion of the day's session at 4:30, Noonan told the jurors the case is moving along somewhat sooner than predicted. Final evidence will be offered tomorrow, with the afternoon most likely being taken up with complicated legal points between the judge and the attorneys, without the jury present.

Noonan said the jury may get the case by Wednesday afternoon at the earliest, after closing arguments are completed.

A 14-year-old girl allegedly abducted as she walked to school on Washington Avenue in Batavia this morning  was found by police today, but investigators are looking for a suspect.

The abductor is described as a black male, 20 to 30 years old, wearing a black, long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. He was reportedly driving a black minivan.

The girl was picked up and placed in the van, according to police, about 7:45 a.m. or 8 a.m.

The girl was evaluated at UMMC.

The investigation is in its preliminary stages and no further information is available, police said.

(Initial Report)

BATAVIA, NY -- Blood spatter on the coveralls worn by Scott F. Doll the night Joseph Benaquist was killed suggest that Doll was not the one who bludgeoned Benaquist to death, said an expert witness brought in by the defense.

It's nearly impossible, said Herbert MacDonell, of Corning, that the spatter on the coveralls and the spatter on a Ford Windstar, which Doll seems to have been driving that night came, from the same impact event in a source of blood.

In fact, MacDonell said, the spatter on the coveralls is more consistent with expirated blood (such as if Benaquist coughed it up while talking with Doll).

MacDonell postulated that if the person who killed Benaquist was holding him down with his left hand, kneeling over him, beating him using a blunt object in his right hand, then the left sleeve of the coveralls should be covered with a lot more blood than it is.

Further, MacDonell said, the back swings of the assislant would cause spatter on the back shoulder and the back leg of the coveralls, and there is only one spatter spot on the back leg of the coveralls.

The inconsistancy with MacDonell's testimony -- which was not clearly drawn out by either the prosecution or the defense -- is that there has been no evidence introduced thus far (and the prosecution has rested its case) that the murderer was kneeling and holding Benaquist down at the time of the attack.

In fact, Cambria has pursued a line of questions with other witnesses that suggests Benaquist fought for his life, causing blood transfer on two nearby vehicles, including the underside of a Nissan Altima.

It's unclear, based on today's testimony, where MacDonell came up with the assumption that Benaquist's killer was kneeling and holding him down with his left hand.

Based on his examination this morning of the blood spatter on the coveralls, MacDonell concluded that the spatter was from a blood source that had already started to clot.

Fresh blood, he said, would immediately soak into the fabric, but in this case, MacDonell said, the blood drops landed on the coveralls and didn't penetrate the cloth, sitting there, he said, "like a fried egg."

This would suggest, he said, that the person wearing the coveralls came in contact with a source of blood spatter some time after the initial attack. 

He also said the spatter on the Windstar was consistent with a stronger-force impact into a source of blood than that of the spatter on the coveralls.

Assistant District Attorney Will Zickl asked a series of questions related to possibly faulty assumptions and how a different assumption might change MacDonell's conclusions. But he never asked just why MacDonell thought the killer was holding Benaquist with his left arm.

Autopsy photos show that Benaquist received blows to the sides, front and back of his head, not just one side.

Zickl did try to impeach MacDonell's testimony by drawing out of him that he did not produce a written report for the trial.

MacDonell at first said he didn't need to produce a written report because the conclusions were obvious. He then said that in the months leading up to the trial, he only had photographic evidence to review. He said that if he had received the coveralls to examine, he would have produced a written report. Yet, MacDonell never asked to examine the coveralls and did not do so until about an hour before this morning's testimony.

Zickl also wanted to pursue a line of questioning about peer review, noting that the prosecution's bloodstain-pattern expert wrote a report and put it through technical "peer" review with a colleague of MacDonell's. But after a discussion with the jury out of the room, Judge Robert Noonan ruled that a discussion of the peer review would mean the use of hearsay.

A house on South Main that was knocked off its foundation when it was hit by an allegedly speeding pickup truck in early March is just about gone.

Workers started demolishing the house this morning and say by tomorrow there will be a level, gravel-covered vacant lot where the duplex once stood.

More than a dozen parents have contacted The Batavian in the past 15 minutes saying they've received calls from Margaret Puzio, superintendent of the Batavia School District, informing them that a student in the district was abducted this morning.

Det. Rich Schauf is currently investigating the case and is not available for an interview at this time and all media calls about the case are being referred to Schauf.

At this time, no further information is available about this case.

UPDATE 2:22 p.m.: WBTA's Geoff Redick reached Puzio by phone and Puzio told Redick that "the child is with police." She refused further comment. The child, according to the pre-recorded message automatically phoned to parents this afternoon from Puzio, said the child was abducted this morning while headed to school.

UPDATE 2:40 p.m.: WBTA spoke with Det. Todd Crossett who said a girl was picked up and placed in a car on Washington Avenue this morning. Police found the girl this afternoon and she is now with police, according to Crossett.

Cindy Herzog, superintendent of the Le Roy Central School District, announced her resignation on Friday, effective immediately.

School district staff learned of Herzog's abrupt departure in a memo from Donald Holbart, board of education president.

Hobart thanked Herzog for "all of her many contributions" to the LeRoy School District.

Herzog has been superintendent for three years.

David DeLoria, Ph.D, will serve as interim superintendent.

Genesee county crews were hard at work on Pratt road this morning removing trees and branches that were a potential hazard to drivers.

BATAVIA, NY -- The prosecution rested its case -- meaning District Attorney Lawrence Friedman has presented all of his evidence -- on Thursday, and Monday morning opened with defense attorney Paul Cambria calling his first witnesses on behalf of Scott F. Doll.

Doll is accused of killing Joseph Benaquist on Feb. 16, 2009, in Pembroke.

During last week's testimony, Friedman presented evidence that showed the blood of Benaquist was found spattered on Doll's coveralls and the Ford Windstar he was reportedly driving that night.

The defense does not dispute that it was Benaquist's blood at the crime scene and on Doll, but Cambria does dispute how the blood got there.

In his opening remarks, Cambria said Doll arrived at the murder scene after Benaquist was attacked and heard his dying words, "The boy. The boy." Those final words haunted Doll, Cambria said, who wondered if his son Josh might have beaten Benaquist to death.

In his opening remarks, Friedman said he would ask the jurors to "connect the dots." 

Those dots include a flat tire on a Pontiac G6 that Friedman says was at the heart of a dispute between Benaquist and Doll, and a broke jack next to a Nissan Altima that had a blood smear on the undercarriage.

In cross examination of a blood-pattern expert last week, Cambria suggested that maybe that blood got there as Benaquist fought for his life, not as a stain transfer from a bloody glove of Scott Doll.

Doll was found that night walking on North Lake Road toward the murder scene carrying a jack, a lug wrench and a screwdriver.

Included in the prosecution's case were records of phone calls made to and from Doll's mobile phone, including one to the Adesa auto auction and five incoming calls from Josh Doll. 

Cambria said it will take "a couple of days" to present his case.

Daniel C. Healy, 19, of Le Roy, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and possession of stolen property. Le Roy Police originally responded to a disturbance call on North Street. Upon arrival, they found that Healy allegedly damaged a door inside the residence. While investigating that incident, Patrolman Robert Tygart found Healy allegedly in possession of several parking signs removed from various locations in Le Roy and Avon.

Cheryl Ann Szdlowski, 50, of Main St, Strykersville, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana. Szdlowski was reportedly a passenger in a car that was stopped for an alleged traffic violation on Route 77 in Darien. During a search following her arrest for alleged possession of marijuana, she was allegedly found in possession of two different kinds of controlled substances.

Brandon Cody McCoy, 19, of Angling Road, Corfu, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, possession/consumption of alcohol in a vehicle. McCoy was stopped for an alleged traffic violation at 2:15 a.m., Saturday, on Angling Road, Corfu, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Eric Lynn Skeet, 21, of Cohocton Road, Corfu, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana, and possession of a controlled substance not in its original container. Skeet was stopped by Deputy Patrick Reeves for an alleged traffic violation shortly after midnight, Saturday, on Cohocton Road. Upon a search after Skeet was found allegedly in possession of marijuana, Skeet was allegedly found in possession of hydrocodone hidden in his footwear.

Craig Alan Tiberio-Shepherd, 20, of Lathrup Road, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana, and speeding (80 mph in a 55 mph zone). Tiberio-Shepherd was stopped at 1:15 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy Frank Bordornaro on Route 5 in Le Roy, for allegedly speeding. A passenger in the car, Jourdain J. Holly, 20, of Le Roy, was also charged with an open container violation.

William Karl Vaughn, 26, of West Bergen Road, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, improper right turn, driving left of pavement markings, uninspected motor vehicle. Vaughn was stopped at 2:11 a.m., Sunday, by Deputy John Weis on Route 19, Le Roy.

Recent Genesee County Grand Jury indictments:

Christopher J. Elmore, indicted on a charge of criminal possession of a forged instrument. Elmore is accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $10 bill on Sept. 22, 2009. (Previous report on Christopher J. Elmore).

Paul D. Berggren, indicted on a charge of rape, 3rd. Berggren is accused of being older than 21 and engaging in sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old female on or about Aug. 30, 2009.

Kyle D. Faron, indicted on a charge of DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Faron is accused of driving drunk on Akron Road in the Town of Pembroke on Jan. 23, 2010.

Wesley A. Ground, indicted on a charge of DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Ground is accused of driving drunk on Akron Road, Pembroke on Feb. 4, 2010.

Adam D. Pattridge, indicted on a charge of DWI driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Pattridge is accused of driving drunk on Route 19 in the Town of Le Roy on March 24, 2010.

I've passed this barn many times thinking I need to get a picture.  Today, I did.  It's at the junction of Route 63 and Bethany Center Road -- either in Bethany or Batavia, not sure which town.

Today, Pachuco went for a walk in Genesee County Park -- great place to walk with a dog and a camera.

I happened to be out to Lei-Ti Campground (on Francis Road, Batavia) this morning and while there strolled over to the miniature golf course and snapped these two pictures.

Here's a news release from Genesee Community College:

The Board of Trustees voted earlier this week to hold tuition at current rates for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Under the plan, tuition will remain $1,700 per semester (or $3,400 per year) for full-time students. Tuition for part-time students will remain $140 per credit hour.

This is the second year that trustees have held the line on tuition. Trustees cited challenging economic conditions faced by students and families as the reason for the decision.

The flat tuition rate is part of the $34.191 million "maintenance-of-effort" budget approved by the board for the upcoming academic year. The new budget, 3 percent  more than the 2009-2010 budget, keeps all college programs intact and permits the creation of new academic programs in Veterinary Technology and Polysomnographic Technology.

The budget now goes to the Ways and Means Committee of the Genesee County Legislature, which will review the plan prior to consideration by the full Legislature. The Genesee County Legislature is the college's sponsor.

Genesee County's contribution to the college under the 2010-2011 budget would be $1.936 million, the same as the 2009-2010 contribution. The county's contribution would account for 5.7 percent of the college's operating budget.

Are you ready for some baseball?

The Dwyer Stadium Box Office opens at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 22 for the 2010 season.

This is also the day when the Muckdogs will host their summer Job Fair, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Positions available include picnic supervisor, cashiers, cooks, bartenders, batboys, and ushers. All applicants must be at least 16 years of age.

Additionally on Saturday, the Muckdogs will conduct the 3rd annual National Anthem contest. This event will begin promptly at noon. Auditions will take place at home plate and will be preformed a cappella.

The winner will sing the National Anthem and God Bless America at the July 3rd game between the Muckdogs and Auburn Doubledays. Runners up will be eligible to sing at remaining home games during the 2010 season. 

The Muckdogs open their 2010 home schedule on at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, June 19 vs. the Auburn Doubledays.

Beginning May 22, the Dwyer Stadium Box Office's regular season hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday.

A tree on fire in the Town of Covington, which is the Pavilion Fire District, has been reported at 709 Wyoming Road.

It's unclear how the tree caught on fire.

It's not threatening any structures.

Pavilion Fire is responding.

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On Wednesday, Assemblyman Steve Hawley voted against legislation introduced by the Assembly Majority that he claims further imposes on the 2nd Amendment Rights of lawful gun owners and places costly mandates on firearm manufacturers.
 
“The legislation introduced...is an absolute violation of the 2nd Amendment Rights of New Yorkers," Hawley said in a news release. "Although the intention of the legislation is to prevent violent gun crimes across the state, the fact is that most gun-related violence is committed by criminals who obtained their firearms illegally.
 
“Unfortunately, the Assembly Majority has disregarded this fact, as these new restrictions will not only end up hurting the sportsmen who value the tradition of hunting, but also the small businesses and manufacturers that they support.

"Instead of continuing to place more restrictions on law-abiding citizens and businesses, the Majority should be working on legislation that will help pursue the criminals who obtain their firearms illegally.”
 
Assemblyman Hawley opposed bill A.6468-C, which requires that manufacturers micro-stamp ammunition, and bill A.10894, which requires firearm owners to re-license their pistols every five years. Both bills passed. They were introduced as part of what Hawley calls the "Assembly Majority’s annual Anti-Gun Package."

“Protecting New Yorkers from violent gun crimes should not be done in a way that hurts law-abiding citizens. I...will continue to vote against future legislation that violates our constitutional rights."

The location I found to get a shot of the State Police on the Thruway was at the end of Westbrook Road, which is where I also found this small, but nice old barn.