Mercy Flight is responding to an accident involving a motorcycle at Bloomingdale and Parker roads.

The motorcycle driver is reportedly unconscious.

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A special-use permit for a new RV, boat and auto storage facility in Elba were among several items approved last night by the Genesee County Planning Board.

The 37,000-square-foot facility will, be located on Drake Street Road at the former location of Drake Street Motors. The lot is adjacent business owner's home.

If final approval is granted by Elba's planning commission, the facility will be required to only store operational vehicles -- no parts or junk.

Other business included:

• A resident at 8846 Kenney Road in Le Roy is seeking permission to kennel up to seven rescued dogs on that property. If approved by the Le Roy Planning Commission, the owner will not be allowed to operate a commercial kennel without seeking a new special-use permit. Some board members expressed concern about barking dogs, but Jim Duval, director of planning, said that issue is really the responsibility of the local planning board. "In her application, she assures everybody they're quiet dogs," Duval said.
• A site plan review for Jeffries Ag Services, 6905 Ellicott Street Road, Pavilion, for construction of a new loading area, conversion of a former tank area to dry fertilizer storage and conversion of the front storage area into office space. On the recommendation of Mel Wentland, board president, the board added a provision that the DEC be contacted to review the dike capacity and ensure it is sufficient to protect Oatka Creek from any spills.
• A sign-variance approval for Coffee Culture, going in at 6 Court St., for signs on the three public-facing sides of the building.
• Both Bergen and Stafford are proposing changes to their zoning laws.

A few people had a question for us yesterday: Why was a State Police helicopter circling over the City of Batavia?

Answer: Marijuana eradication.

Rebecca Gibbons, spokeswoman for the State Police, just provided the answer.

"This is the time of year that it is very visible," Gibbons said.

The helicopter is in the air again today, but Gibbon's doesn't have information what areas it would be covering during its marijuana eradication mission.

Valle Jewelers, 21 Jackson St., Batavia, N.Y.: Does your ring need a good cleaning, re-sizing or the prongs fixed? Your gift certificate from The Batavian can be used for jewelry repair services, too. We have a $50 gift certificate for $25.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, N.Y.: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a 50 gift certificate for $25.

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, N.Y.: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, N.Y.: Ribs, brisket, steak, prime rib -- Center Street is a meat lover's paradise. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: T.F. Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. When you need to book your next party, think T.F. Brown's. See the ad on the right side of the page for contact information. We have a $20 gift card for $10.

O'Lacy's Irish Pub, 5 School St. Batavia, N.Y.: In Irish pubs, it doesn't get more authentic than O'Lacy's.  Be sure to try the homemade chips. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies on items more than $10. The fee is 50 cents on items below $10.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value. Only one gift certificate per-merchant per-person every six months. Gift certificates cannot be combined with other offers without prior approval of the merchant. Gift certificates bought separately cannot be combined for a single purchase. Individuals buying gift certificates must use their own personal PayPal account for the purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Unless other arrangements are made immediately after purchase, the gift certificate will mailed to the winner at his or her PayPal-provided postal address within two or three days of purchase.

Valle Jewelers

Alex's Place

SOLD

Center Streak Smoke House

SOLD

Delavan's

SOLD

O'Lacy's

sold

T.F. Brown's

SOLD

Checkpoints were set up in Genesee County yesterday by the Batavia Police Department and the New York State Police, leading to the arrests of 14 people.

The checkpoints were at Clinton Street, as well as in the Town of Darien and on Colby Road in Pembroke.

Sally C. Dixon, 39, of 5801 Byron-Holley Road, Byron, is charged with DWI. Dixon was stopped on Clinton Street by Batavia police.

The following arrests were made by State Police:

Robert Davis, 24, of N. Tonawanda, NY,  charged with DWI, allegedly driving with a BAC of .10 percent.

John Blackmore, 36, of Ewing, N.J., charged with three counts of criminal possession controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Michael Hirsch, 26, of Tonawanda, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .14 percent.

Richard Gentilozzi, 25, of Fairfield, Conn., charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Ryan Rich, 23, of Norwalk, Conn., charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Lawrence Taylor, 36, of Depew, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .08 percent.

Bret Cimerman, 27, of Buffalo, charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Hunter Ciliberti, 20, of Redwood, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC .13 percent.

Adam Drexler, 30, of Rochester, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .10 percent.

Thomas Lalomia, 26, of Getzville, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .16 percent.

Gregory Martin, 31, of Niagara Falls, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .09 percent.

Michael Sargent, 29, of Rochester, charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs.

The following arrests were made last night in conjunction with the Phish concert at Darien Lake Theme Park:

Matthew Maziarz, 26, of 216 Spaulding St., North Tonawanda, charged with criminal possession of marijuana.

Ryan P. Flannery, 20, 52 Lookout View Road, Fairport, allegedly found with LSD and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Ramon Ratiniskiy, 18, of 1048 N. French Road, Amherst, and a 16-year-old companion where charged with petit larceny for allegedly pushing a Darien Lake water cart through the crowd allowing patrons to take water for free.

Nhut D. Frawley, 41, 2 Brookside Drive, Catawissa, Pa., was allegedly found in possession of LSD and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Michael R. Sunley, 26, of 3893 Foleys Trail, Lexington, Ky., was charged with selling a noxious material. Sunley was allegedly selling balloons containing nitrous oxide. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Michael E. Mugridge, 24, of 47 Coldwater St., Hillsdale, was charged with disorderly conduct. He was jailed on $250 bail.

Justin D. Ritchie, 27, of 19 Chestnut St., Waretown, N.J., was allegedly found in possession of psilocybin (hallucinogenic) mushrooms. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance. Ritchie was jailed on $500 bail.

Robert J. Krueger, 37, of 38 Kenneth Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly trying to break into vehicles in the parking lot. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Richard W. Tweedy, 24, of 6011 Fallough St., Taylor, Mich., was charged with selling a noxious material. Tweedy was allegedly selling balloons containing nitrous oxide. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Dianna M. Quinn, 36, of 65 Ashwood Lane, Phoenixville, Pa., was charged with selling a noxious material. Tweedy was allegedly selling balloons containing nitrous oxide. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Batavia resident Ben Long - a Pittsburgh Steelers fan - is shown here holding the first legally sold copy of Madden 10 sold in the city.

He showed up at FYE at around 11:30 p.m. and waited for the midnight opening for the sale of the game. I have heard other residents obtained the game yesterday and during the day today as some local stores were illegally selling the game before EA Sports allowed the release.

Ok, I grew up in the hills of Pennsylvania and I got to tell you I never saw cabbage like this before! Care-A-Van was blessed this evening by local farmers ( I apologize I do not know which farmer)s donated corn for our cookout this evening  at East Main Street Parksite Apartments along with fresh cabbage ,  zuchini  and beets for  the folks to take home as well.  Thank you to these  farmers and all who help make a difference here in the city!  We will be back there Sunday afternoon at 2:30 for street church. 

Rick a volunteer with Care-A-Van cooks up the corn

Our Friend Larry and the kids sure did enjoy the ice cream

The Muckdogs (27-27) got their record back up to .500 by completing the sweep of the Lake Monsters (24-29) by winning 7-1.

Scoring began in the 5th starting with a double by Jon Edwards and a RBI double by Luis De La Cruz.  Ivan Castro then had a base hit to score De La Cruz and Castro came into home himself on another double by Michael Swinson.

They added one more to make it a 5-0 game in the 6th.  Matthew Adams took the second pitch of bottom of the inning over the right field wall.

Vermont was able to avoid a shut out by scoring one run in the 7th but Batavia answered right back with two more insurance runs in the 8th.  Edwards singled and then Niko Vasquez got his second homerun of the season.

Starter Dan Calhoun (1-0, 1.48) got the win, going six strong innings with three hits and six strikeouts.  Tyler Leach followed him through one and two-thirds with one run on one hit with a walk and a strikeout.  LaCurtis Mayes sat down the Lake Monsters quickly to end the game on two strikeouts and a groundout.

Edwards finished 2-for-4 on the night with a double, RBI and two runs scored.  De La Cruz and Castro also had two hits each with one RBI and one run scored.

Tomorrow night the Staten Island Yankees come in to town.  As always, there will be fireworks Friday night and Saturday is team photo giveaway.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: T.F. Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. When you need to book your next party, think T.F. Brown's. See the ad on the right side of the page for contact information. We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: Settler's has a 25-year history in Batavia of serving great, affordable breakfasts, lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Sport of Kings Family Restaurant, 419 W Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: A favorite locally owned family restaurant that is open 24 hours per day, seven days a week. We have a $15 gift card for $7.50.

Jackson St. Grill, 9 Jackson St., Batavia, N.Y.: Try the fresh, skinless haddock fish fry on Fridays. We have a $10 gift certificate for $5.

The Enchanted Florist, 202 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: Brighten up your home or office with flowers!  We have a $20 gift certificate for $8.50.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies on items more than $10. The fee is 50 cents on items below $10.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value. Only one gift certificate per-merchant per-person every six months. Gift certificates cannot be combined with other offers without prior approval of the merchant. Gift certificates bought separately cannot be combined for a single purchase. Individuals buying gift certificates must use their own personal PayPal account for the purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Unless other arrangements are made immediately after purchase, the gift certificate will mailed to the winner at his or her PayPal-provided postal address within two or three days of purchase.

T.F. Brown's

SOLD

Sport of Kings

SOLD

Settler's

SOLD

Jackson St. Grill

SOLD

The Enchanted Florist

SOLD

The Genesee County Legislature plowed through a 39-item agenda last night, taking vote after vote on a series of resolutions with little discussion of the items.

(The legislature confines most of its discussion and fact finding on proposed resolutions to its committee meetings.)

Among the items approved:

• Authorization for the Sheriff's Office to accept a $23,000 grant to buy Tasers.
• Approved $59,100 allocation (part of the funds coming from a Homeland Security grant) for a rapid-response vehicle for the Sheriff's Office. The vehicle will be used in SWAT actions.
• In order to facilitate the merger of the Le Roy dispatch center with the Genesee County dispatch center, purchase of a $7,200 upgrade to the New World Systems software that powers the dispatch center.
• Appointed Cheryl Pfund of Batavia to the Mental Health Community Service Board.
• Authorization of communication tower construction by ITT at the Genesee County Airport. The tower will be a 46-foot high monopole and require .015 acres of land. The FAA is requiring installation of Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Broadcast technology at the airport.
• Renewed the county's extra 1-percent sales tax for another two years. The tax generates about $8 million annually for the county.

PDF: Download copies of all resolutions passed.

Charles Zambito will be honored by Batavia Downs on Aug. 29 as the second Genesee County resident to receive its now annual "Italian-American of the Year" award.

Joe "The Mayor of Batavia" Gerace received the first award last year.

Zambito, an attorney who was born and raised Elba and now serves as a Genesee County legislator, will receive the award inside the winner's circle at Batavia Downs.

The award honors a local Italian-American who has made a significant contribution to the community.

Zambito was elected to the Genesee County Legislature in 2001. He serves as the legislature’s liaison to the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce and Genesee Community College.

A father of three, Zambito, 57, is a trustee of St. Padre Pio Roman Catholic Parish, where he also serves as a lecturer and usher. He is chairman of the Town of Elba Republican Committee and member of the county GOP committee.  Zambito is a former attorney adviser to the Genesee County Mock Trial Program, member of the Batavia Rotary Club, Genesee-Orleans Cornell Club and active with the Paolo Busti Foundation.

Zambito and his wife, Pat, will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in September.

Italian-American Night is one of several ethnic celebrations at the Downs during racing season, now through Dec. 5. Anyone wishing to make reservations to attend the Aug. 29 festivities may contact Arna Tygart at (585) 343-3750 (Ext 437).  A special Italian Buffet will be served and live music will be featured with The Formula Band.

A new utility tax that costs consumers between $40 and $200 annually is in the cross hairs of Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

Hawley announced this week that he's introducing legislation to repeal the new 2-percent tax, which was put into effect as part of the governor's budget plan on July 1.

"Already residents are struggling to pay their utility bills, especially our seniors. This tax is a perfect example of Albany shifting the burden of their out-of-control spending in our state and I am working to relieve residents and businesses from this unnecessary tax," Hawley said.

The new tax is expected to take $557 million out of the economy and siphon it to the state's general fund. The tax would generate $2.8 billion through March 31, 2014.

Full press release here.

There may be some federal relief coming to Corfu and Darien for tornado damage clean up after all, according to Assemblyman Steve Hawley.

Hawley announced this morning that the Genesee County communities will be included in an omnibus relief rquest to the Federal Inspection Team along with other counties recently damaged by severe weather events.

Federal relief requirements mandate that eligible areas damaged by storms must have at least 25 uninsured houses, or five damaged businesses, among other guidelines, which means Darien and Corfu alone may not qualify.

The single relief package would include Cattaraugus, Erie, Chautauqua & Allegheny counties, also hit by heavy storms recently, and Columbia, Rensaleer, Cortland and Chenango counties, which also suffered storm-related damage.

"We will continue to keep all residents and businesses who were adversely 
affected apprised of the progress regarding possible monetary assistance as a 
result of these catastrophic weather patterns of destruction," Hawley said in a statement.

It took a full nine innings, but Batavia (26-27) was able to come through to beat Vermont (24-28) by a score of 4-3.

With the score deadlocked at 3-3, Luis De La Cruz led off the ninth inning with a single. Devin Goodwin followed with a walk.  Michael Swinson then put down a perfect sacrifice bunt moving both runners in scoring position.  With the potential winning run already on third, the Lake Monsters decided intentionally walk Ryan Jackson, loading the bases.   And that was all the Muckdogs needed as Alan Ahmady came up with a sacrifice fly to score the winning run.

Josh Squatrito (2-1, 1.89) picked up the win after entering the game in the eight to record the final out on a strike out. He then proceeded to go 0-2 on each of the three batters he faced in the ninth, striking out all three.

Batavia pitchers notched 16 Ks on the evening.

Batavia jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the 2nd inning.  Kyle Conley started the scoring off with a solo homerun to left field.  Later, Niko Vasquez and Luis De La Cruz picked up base hits and bases became loaded when Goodwin walked.  Swinson then singled to score two.

The Lake Monsters answered with two runs in the 4th and tied things up in the 8th, but the Muckdogs were able to prevail.

Jesse Simpson went four innings in the start, letting in two runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts.  Tyler Lavigne followed him in one inning of work with a strikeout.  Justin Edwards filled in the other two and two-thirds innings, giving up one run on two hits while striking out five.

Conley finished 2-for-3 with a homerun, double, RBI and run scored.  Vasquez and Swinson both went 2-for-4, Vasquez with a double and a run scored and Swinson with two RBI.

Are the kids driving you crazy in the evening? Are they full of energy that need to be put to a good use? Why not send them on over to Street Jam at Centennial Park.

Northgate is sponsoring Street Jam for all kids every night this week at the Park. They have been there all this week. It is not to late to send the kids on over. They will still be there Thursday night and Friday night from 6:00 pm until 8:00 PM. On Friday evening there will be a carnival. Everything is free!  There is praise and worship music, dramas, crafts, games and much more.

Care-A-Van has partnered with them in this endeavor. While the kids are having fun, stop by and have a fresh cup of coffee and just relax and enjoy the evening with us.

Great Job Northgate on providing fun and outreach to the kids of the community!

Oh to be young again and duck under a parachute!

The kids really enjoy craft time!

Rocking and Jamming with Jesus on opening worship time

Little ones learning how to pray to God

Everyone enjoys a good game of kickball

Care-A-Van is Always there because God cares and so do we

This is a legitimate challenge to all critical thinkers.  Watch the two youtube videos below (a total investment of less than 3 minutes of your time), then without the filter of partisanship, without claiming "out of context" since the videos are completely in context.  Using only critical thinking skills, explain how the statements in each of the videos can be reconciled.

Alan Ahmady, Santo Maertz and Luis De La Cruz have been named to this year's NYPL All-Star team.  The game is to be held next Tuesday, the 18th, in State College.

Ahmady is currently batting .311 with 23 RBI and 11 doubles.  Maertz has been one of Batavia's best relievers, with a 1.21 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 22.1 innings.  De La Cruz has started the majority of the season behind the plate.  He has thrown out 34% of the runners attempting to steal on him.

The host Spikes have a fun-filled three days planned for the All-Star break, including a concert, fan fest and baseball clinic.