Sarah Veazey sent this picture over from today's snowstorm, which dumped two or three inches of snow on the Veazey property on Lockport Road, Oakfield.

"Perfect sledding whether," Veazey said.

Unfortunately, the Veazeys' annual snow box derby has already been canceled for 2012 because of lack of snow.

Steven Rebert, the former Oakfield resident convicted of killing a married couple in Pennsylvania and a suspect in the murder of Bill Fickel in 2005, will spend the rest of his life in prison, a Jefferson County jury decided after four hours of deliberation.

The jury could have sentenced Rebert to death -- which in Pennsylvannia currently would be 23 hours a day in solitary confinement for the rest of his life -- but instead said Rebert should receive four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Rebert was convicted of two counts each of first- and second-degree murder and aggravated assault, theft, burglary and robbery.

Rebert reportedly told a Jefferson County television news reporter that he plans to appeal his conviction.

Genesee County DA Lawrence Friedman is expected to make a decision soon on whether to prosecute Rebert for Fickel's murder.

Rebert is also a person of interest in the unsolved murder of an Orleans County man, Kevin Smith.

Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster has long sought the identity of a witness who may have been at the scene the night Fickel was murdered, but even with a $100,000 reward, no such witness has yet come forward.

Brewster said last week, however, that there is sufficient evidence, even without the witness, for the DA's office to consider a murder charge against Rebert.

More than 100 brides visited Terry Hills today for a bridal show that featured 33 local vendors, such as Valle Jewelers, Stella's Bridal Boutique, Charle's Men Shop and Sweet Ecstasy Bakery.

It's the second year for the show and Lisa Fickel, marketing manager for Terry Hills, said the number of vendors is three more than a year ago, but the show can't get much bigger (maybe one or two more vendors next year) and she thinks that's a good thing.

"Rochester and Buffalo already had their shows and brides say lines are 12, 14 people deep and a lot of times they can't even get a business card from a vendor," Fickel said.

The show is helping expose local brides to the advantages of shopping locally for their gowns, cakes and accessories, Fickel said.

"People are very surprised to find we have all of this locally," Fickel said. "A lot of brides automatically think they need to go to Buffalo or Rochester for a quality wedding dress or a quality photographer," Fickel said. "They have been amazed to find they can find it all right here."

For a complete list of vendors who participated this year, click here.

As snow fell on Batavia Sunday afternoon, Evan went for a walk on East Main Street sporting a unique mohawk-style winter hat. Evan said it was a gift from his mother.

While the snowfall today was interesting, not much stuck and roadways remained pretty clear.

That may change tonight.

The National Weather Service is predicting two to four inches of snow overnight and drivers are warned that visibility may be reduced to a quarter of a mile. During the heaviest periods of snowfall, the rate could be as much as an inch an hour.

When I was in ninth grade, science teacher Ron Warren, having posed a question to the class, said, "Mr. Nigro, would you please stand up and give us the wrong answer." 

I didn't do too bad scholastically during my junior high school years -- but I should have done better. The reason being, I seldom paid attention. A good deal of my classroom time was spent daydreaming about catching fish. Later, as my high school years were drawing to a close, instructor and fellow angler Don Andrews told me that, if I were ever to fall down and crack my head open, northern pike would spill out all over the floor. 

My early pike fishing fantasies were limited to the Tonawanda Creek, occurring anywhere from Parker Grinnell's pasture to the entire stretch of creek downstream from Whiskey Run.

Sometime in my 20s the wilderness waters of the Far North beckoned, and those imagined scenarios began to take place in a land of muskeg and jack pines, places only accessible by float plane. But regardless of the location, those daydreams never involved catching a lot of pike, just one big tackle-smashing brawler that would inhale a wobbling spoon and peel line from my reel like a runaway freight train.

Before those dreams became reality, there was a short stint where I tried my hand at ice fishing. Back then I wasn't so bothered by the cold and pulling pike through the ice helped the winter months pass quickly.

Whether fishing in remote locations or close to home, the pursuit of northern pike provides a volume of memories. Yet after float-plane rides into the wilderness of Manitoba, the far north of Ontario, the barrens of the Northwest Territories, and along the way discovering the tenacity of wilderness lake trout, by the late '80s my zeal for pursuing the toothy northern had diminished a great deal. Thus, the stage was set for a most unexpected and exciting encounter with old esox lucious................stay tuned!

At 2:35 p.m., Bill Albert, representing the Le Roy Central School District, issued the following press release. It came more than two hours after a sometimes confrontational impromptu press conference with national and regional media (and one local news reporter), Albert and Superintendent Kim Cox (both pictured above).

This morning, without any prior notice to the District, camera crews from a number of media sources, including both national and local outlets, entered District property for the purpose of filming an unidentified individual taking soil samples.

It is appalling that whatever group or entity employing this individual, as well as the media outlets participating in this effort, chose to conduct themselves in this way -- which can only be characterized as grandstanding. Not only was this criminal activity which forced the District to call in local law enforcement to maintain the security of its property, it disrupted the District’s preparations for a weekend music event involving students from over twenty-two schools as well as other student activities.  No legitimate organization would function in this manner.

As previously indicated, the District is working in conjunction with local and state agencies relative to this matter. Based upon the results from testing already conducted at the District as well as review of other information from multiple sources, environmental factors have not been identified as a cause of the symptoms that have manifested in some students. Testing conducted with rogue samples is of no scientific value, as it is not conducted in accordance with scientific methodologies and safety protocols utilized by reputable environmental experts in all testing situations. In fact, such actions could hamper the coordinated effort already underway by the District in conjunction with environmental, health, and safety experts to address this matter. The District will continue to provide information with respect to these efforts as it becomes available. 

Local law enforcement will continue to monitor the security of the District’s property. 

Here's the background:

I arrived at district propety at 11:15 a.m. At the time, there were not even a dozen cars in the parking lot of the school. There were no students to be seen.

I could see a group of people, and recognize a boom mic, clear across the athletic fields, so I drove around to that side, which is a public park. Several members of national and regional media were at the location. 

The media and members of the Erin Brockovich team left the location and drove to a location on Route 5. Bob Bowcock wanted to gather well water samples from that location. When he was finished there, he wanted to drive back to the school because he was told an attorney would be there to let him know whether he could have access to the school grounds.

Shortly after the caravan arrived at the park, Albert and Cox arrived.

While the questioning was at times pointed and aggressive, it wasn't unprofessional.

Bowcock was told by Albert that he could walk the grounds, just like any other citizen in Le Roy, but could not take soil samples, and the media would not be allowed on the grounds. Albert said that while members of the media were citizens, they could not go on the property while acting in capacity as media, even though numerous Supreme Court cases have not drawn a distinction between a "person" and a "corporate entity" (most recently Citizens United) for the purpose of First Amendment rights.

School property is public property and public access cannot be denied so long as it does not disrupt the educational purpose of the campus.

The media was on site during non-school hours and there was no evidence of educational activity. To label the media presence as "criminal activity" is beyond ludicrous.

One additional note: The additional law enforcement was two overtime patrols from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. The school district paid for the extra enforcement. The patrols will be in the area throughout Sunday.

An environmental specialist from Los Angeles in Le Roy on Saturday scoffed at studies used by the Le Roy Central School District to say there was no environmental cause for a tic outbreak among a group of students at the high school.

“In my opinion, that (the reports released by the district) wasn’t even close to science," said Robert W. Bowcock (top photo), an environmental investigator with Integrated Resource Management, based in Claremont, Calif.

Bowcock said he was in Le Roy at the request of Erin Brockovich, a famed environmental crusader, but "working for free" to try and help uncover the cause of the tic disorder.

As many as 15 students of the school reportedly suffer from tics and verbal outbursts similar to Tourette Syndrome.

At a Jan. 11 community meeting, district officials and the NYS Department of Health released reports on environmental studies conducted at the school by BOCES.

"Nobody has received any information that can be checked or tested," Bowcock said. "We’re not out here to invalidate anybody’s work or validate anybody’s work. We just want to see all of the information so we can help gain further knowledge."

The Brockovich team attempted to walk onto school district property around 11 a.m., Saturday, and were stopped by local law enforcement. They were told they didn't have the proper permits to gather soil samples on the property.

At around noon, William Albert, a public information specialist with the law firm Harris Beach, along with Kim Cox, superintendent of the school district, appeared at the public park adjacent school property to issue a statement (click here to read the statement delivered to media representatives at the site).

Albert initially said neither he nor Cox would answer questions, but wound up in a debate/discussion with media representatives about access to school grounds.

At the impromptu press conference, Cox characterized the Brockovich team's actions as unprofessional and Albert would later issue a press release labeling the media presence as unprofessional and "criminal."

"We’ve been working very closely with professionals across the state and across the country trying to keep the community as involved and up to date as possible," Cox said. "We’re disappointed about how this has unraveled today. We would have expected to be contacted ahead of time. The district was taken by surprise by this. There was no pre-arrangement. We would have expected that this would have taken place in a professional way."

Cox said if Bowcock and his team were allowed on school property to gather samples, the research would have lacked validity because they would have been gathered in an unprofessional manner.

"I've never been kept out of a public place in my history of environmental investigation," Bowcock said. "Usually, we’re welcome because entities want us to rule them in or rule them out, or give them information to help them deal with the problem."

Brockovich's team and the media were being kept off the property, Cox said, because it was a disruption to education of students.

At the time, there were fewer than a dozen cars in the school's parking lot and no students in sight.

"We would have welcomed the help if they had gone through the appropriate channels and contacted us instead of just showing up on a Saturday morning with camera crews," Cox said. "It's a bit of a grandstand. We would be happy to talk with those folks and coordinate it through the appropriate channels.

"Why would you show up on a Saturday morning with a camera crew without a conversation with the superintendent of the district if you were truly interested in helping us? This doesn’t feel like support."

When a parent pointed out that community residents walk on school grounds all the time, particularly using the track for exercise, Albert clarified that any citizen could walk on the grounds, but Bowcock could not take samples and the media could not tag along.

After walking the grounds, Bowcock said he did gain valuable information from the walk.

"I noticed things like, the public roadway drains onto the school property, or through school property," Bowcock said. "What that means to me is that the school property is not wholly intact. It is subject to intrusion from outside sources of water and perhaps outside sources of contamination that could come in onto the property, cause an event and evacuate from the property. Did that happen? I don’t know."

Bowcock said his goal for his Saturday visit to Le Roy was to gather water and soil samples and analyze them for any contaminants. He said there might be a 100 chemicals that could cause problems for students, but of most interest was trichloroethene (TCE).

A 1970 train derailment in Le Roy dumped approximately one ton of cyanide crystals and around 30,000 gallons of Trichloroethene (TCE) onto the ground, polluting soil and groundwater.

Bowcock said the TCE plume in Le Roy is the largest in the United States.

The EPA has considered the plume's movement to be mostly eastward, but Bowcock said a number of factors -- such as capping of wells, storm patterns and new wells opening to the east -- could influence the direction of the plume.

"All those different things could have caused a release of the TCE into the surface environment from the subsurface environment for a period of time and then it could have ceased," Bowcock said. "You just won’t know until you get out here to investigate."

He was careful to point out that he has no evidence to suggest any such change has actually taken place.

TCE is typically a carcinogen (it can cause cancer), but Bowcock said that depending on the amount of exposure, can cause neurological disorders.

Bowcock and his team spent the day traveling to various locations in the town and village, examining the topography and environment as well as gathering soil and water samples.

There were dozens and dozens of places in Le Roy that residents suggested through emails to Brockovich that Bowcock check, he said.

One of the key sites was the location of the 1970 train wreck (bottom six photos).

It's still a Superfund clean-up site, and Bowcock said he was shocked by the condition of the site (located on Gulf Road on the east side of the Town of Le Roy).

The site contains breached and leaking barrels of contaminated water and soil and "the berm and liner is pretty much gone."

"Unfortunately, and I’ll say it like it is, we found a remediation site that has housekeeping issues," Bowcock said. "It is pretty much a mess."

The real threat, Bowcock said, is to anybody with well water. The village residents and its businesses on municipal water have nothing to worry about.

It's slim odds, Bowcock indicted, that TCE is the cause of the tic symptoms in the girls, but local residents, he said, need to be aware that the government hasn't adequately addressed the 1970 spill.

"The good outcome from that is that the people of Le Roy realize that they have the largest TCE plume in the eastern United States under their community and the government has given them lip service for 40 years telling them 'we’ve cleaned it, we’ve cleaned it up,' " Bowcock said. "Frankly, I’m here to tell you, they haven’t done a darn thing."

Bowcock said the only thing that has really been removed was the railroad tracks -- which are worth money -- but the old bedding and ties are still on the site.  Near the entrance of the site are two piles of bedding stones. One is covered by a heavy plastic tarp, as if it might be contaminated, and the other -- complete with exposed railroad ties -- is uncovered.

In every discussion with media, Bowcock was careful to say there is no apparent environmental cause of the tics and that further testing needs to be done.

He said he and the team -- along with possibly Brockovich and "Dr. Drew" (Dr. David Drew Pinsky) -- in three or four weeks hope to do more specific and detailed testing of soil and water in the community and at the school.

"The one common factor for the students affected is the school," Bowcock said.

Bowcock said parents wouldn't even have asked the Brockovich team to come to Le Roy if government officials had been more forthcoming and transparent at a Jan. 11 community meeting about the tic outbreak.

"Since the fall they’ve been asking for answers and I think they anticipated they would receive something of substance (at the meeting)," Bowcock said. "They would have heard, 'This is what we’ve done. This is how we’ve tackled the problem.' I think they felt like they were paid lip service. It was like, we did some testing and here’s some air samples. They weren’t even scientists (the parents) and they could recognize the deficiencies of the reports."

FOOTNOTE: An interesting aside to the "Brockovich is coming to Genesee County" angle, some prankster called the the legendary Red Osier Restaurant in Stafford to convince staff she was heading there for dinner. At about 9:45 p.m., Friday, a person called Red Osier and identified himself as a member of Brockovich's security team. He said Brockovich would be arriving in five minutes. He said Brockovich required a private dining area and a Stoli martini. Staff had no reason to doubt the authenticity of the call, according to co-owner Michael Moore, so one of the empty dining rooms was prepared and the fire in the fireplace was lit. The chef stayed on duty, ready to prepare a meal for Brockovich. After nearly an hour of waiting, Moore sent the staff home. Bowcock confirmed Brockovich wasn't even in town and said she would never make such demands.

A vehicle occupied by two adults and one infant is reportedly on its side in the area of 5801 E. Main Road, Stafford, but only minor injuries are reported.

The location is just east of Batavia Party House.

Stafford Fire Department and Mercy EMS dispatched.

A one-vehicle rollover accident without injuries is reported on Route 20 in the area of West Bethany Road. The driver is out of the vehicle. Bethany Fire Department is responding. So are medics as a precaution.

A two-car accident with minor injuries is reported at 4029 W. Main St. Road in Batavia. It's in the area of the Marks Trail Motel. One person is complaining of a shoulder injury. Town of Batavia firefighters and Mercy EMS are responding.

A utility pole is reportedly on fire on the northeast corner of Route 33 and Maple Avenue. Bergen Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 5:18 p.m.: "National Grid has been notified and will be sending someone out."

A structure fire at 2460 Orangeville Center Road in Wyoming County is prompting a mutual aid response from Genesee County volunteer firefighters. Darien is sending a tanker and an engine to fill in at Attica's fire hall, which is going to the scene. Alexander is sending a unit to fill in at Darien's fire hall.

UPDATE 12:30 p.m.: Alexander is back in quarters.

UPDATE 12:52 p.m.: Darien is in quarters, in service.

State Police and Sheriff's Deputies are on scene in Elba, in the area of the village park, looking for an individual who may intend harm to himself.

The State Police helicopter is arriving on scene to assist in the search.

The Genesee County Sheriff's K-9 unit has been dispatched and a K-9 unit from Erie County is also responding.

UPDATE 7:17 p.m.: The person has been found and law enforcement will be handling the transport for mental health evaluation.

When Dennis Taber heard from a friend in another town how well he was doing with a gold, silver and coin exchange business, he decided it sounded like something he should do.

His friend actually invested in Taber's business and helped him open American Trust Gold and Coin Exchange at 239 Ellicott St., Batavia.

"He said it was a lucrative idea and I decided to take a chance on it," said Taber, who has worked for 30 years as an antiques dealer.

The lifelong Batavia resident said he deals in gold and silver, coins and any antiques he thinks he can make a buck on.

One of the Barker Brothers -- the two men charged over the summer with drug crimes and conspiracy to commit murder -- has been arrested again, this time for allegedly assaulting a fellow jail inmate.

Derick W. Barker, pictured left, of Jonesboro, Ga., was charged with strangulation, 2nd, and assault, 2nd.

At 11:54 a.m., Thursday, the 26-year-old Barker was reportedly playing cards with two other inmates of the Genesee County Jail when, for an unknown reason, he got up from the table in the common area, went behind an inmate sitting nearby and allegedly placed a choke hold on him.

The inmate lost consciousness for a short period and jail staff were able to intervene and lock Barker inside his cell.

The inmate was treated at the jail by medical personnel and remains in custody.

Barker was arraigned in Batavia City Court on the new charges and sent back to jail without bail.

On Jan. 19, Derick's brother Justin entered a guilty plea to burglary, 3rd, for a break-in at a restaurant in Darien and an "Alford Plea" on the conspiracy charge.  He is in jail awaiting sentencing.

The search for a cause of a tic disorder in more than a dozen teenagers in Le Roy is moving toward a look at environmental causes.

The Democrat & Chronicle was the first to report that Erin Brockovich, Lois Gibbs and the Sierra Club are joining the investigation into what may have caused the tics, apprently not accepting the diagnosis of Dr. Laszlo Mechtler and others that the problem is "conversion disorder."

While other theories -- such as problems with vaccines -- have not been ruled out among those searching for other answers, the new environmental focus is getting a lot of play in the national media. Brockovich's interest has particularly drawn coverage.

On the vaccine front, Marcella Piper-Terry, contacted The Batavian today to offer her help.  Her site talks about "vaccine injury," and not just from the HPV vaccines.

We wanted to drill down a little more on the HPV vaccine issue and PANDAS, which is a strep-related neuropsychiatric disorder, so we called the NYS Department of Health and requested an interview with Dr. Gregory Young.

Jeffrey Hammonds, spokesman for the department, returned the call. 

He said HPV vaccines were ruled out because a majority of the original 12 girls have not been vaccinated.

He said he would get back to us on the details of why PANDAS was ruled out.

As for Brockovich, there are rumors that she will be in Le Roy either Saturday or Sunday.

The Southern California resident first gained fame as a paralegal (for the Westlake Village law firm of Masry & Vititoe) who helped initiate a lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (She lives in Agoura Hills, a tony community just over the Ventura County line in Northwest Los Angeles County. Ronald Reagan once owned a ranch there.)

The success of the suit, which resulted in the largest toxic tort injury settlement in U.S. history, eventually led to a popular movie titled "Erin Brockovich" with Julie Roberts in the lead role. (Roberts won an Oscar for Best Actress and the film, released in 2000, was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.)

In some circles, Brockovich is a bit controversial. Journalist Michael Fumento has been especially critical of Brockovich since 2000.

In 2003, Time Magazine published Erin Brockovich's Junk Science:

The suit, on behalf of Hinkley, California residents, focused on an ionized form of chromium called chromium-6, a rust inhibitor that was carelessly dumped by the giant utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, and seeped into the groundwater used by the town's residents. In bringing suit against PG&E, Brockovich's law firm charged that chromium-6, in addition to causing cancer, was responsible for disorders ranging from rashes and nosebleeds to lupus, miscarriage and Crohn's Disease in 600 of Hinkley's residents. The case eventually went to arbitration, and a panel of judges awarded residents a settlement of $333 million dollars, 40 percent of which went to the lawyers. For her efforts Brockovich received a two million dollar bonus.

And what are the facts? There is no doubt that PG&E irresponsibly dumped chromium-6, and that the substance is a carcinogen. When inhaled regularly over long periods of time, it can cause cancer of the lung and the septum. But current studies show that, ingested in the trace amount found in Hinkley's water, or in food, it's harmless. According to a 1998 Environmental Protection Agency report on chromium-6, "No data were located in the available literature that suggested that it is carcinogenic by the oral route of exposure."

According to the D&C, the environmental investigators -- including Gibbs of Love Canal fame -- and the Sierra Club will be looking at gas wells and alleged toxic dumping at the Le Roy school site.

Five natural gas wells owned by the LeRoy school district ring the junior/senior high school building, which opened in 2003. The wells have undergone the controversial procedure known as hydraulic fracturing, state environmental officials said. About 25 Western New York school districts own gas wells, though none have more active wells than Le Roy.

"We believe that it would be premature to draw any correlation between these tragic and unexplained illnesses and the gas wells on the school's playing fields," said Roger Downs of the Sierra Club's Atlantic Chapter. "But we have seen no evidence that these wells were adequately considered by the Department of Health as potential contributing factors to the illnesses in the initial investigation."

...

Rumors persist that the school or ground sit atop rock and soil trucked in from a part of Le Roy still suffering the after-effects of a huge spill of the toxic solvent trichloroethylene in a 1970 train derailment.

An unknown type of fire is reported in a field on Gorton Road, just north of Ledge Road. Alabama Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 3:33 p.m.: Firefighters on scene report this appears to be a controlled burn.

UPDATE 3:34 p.m.: Alabama fire crew is returning, in service.

Press release:

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office has now made accident reports available online at http://geneseecsony.policereports.us/ or by clicking on the link from the Sheriff’s Office home page http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/sheriff/index.html or from the Sheriff’s Office records page.

Reports can be searched by date of accident, driver or registered owner’s last name, or the accident report number. Downloads are available in pdf or tiff format and cost $10 each. Reports will be uploaded to the site within approximately five business days from the date of the accident. Payment can be made through the secure site with a credit card or by contacting PoliceReports.US at 1-800-489-0190 to see if you qualify for a prepaid account.

This service will save time and make the accident report process more efficient. It is available 24/7 and allows immediate access to the report once it is uploaded. Accident reports can still be acquired by contacting the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office Records Division directly by phone at 585-345-3000, ext. 3560; by fax at 585-345-3089; in person or by mail to Genesee County Sheriff’s Office -- Records Division, 165 Park Road, Batavia, New York 14020; but this is now the preferred method of accident report distribution.

Steven R. Cox, 29, of Franklin Street, Machias; Jessica A. Cox, 26, of North Union Street, Olean; and, Bonnie J. Bremiller, 33, of 4th Street, Olean, are charged with grand larceny, 4th, and conspiracy, 5th. The trio was arrested at 2:26 a.m., Thursday, following a routine property check by Deputy Kevin McCarthy of Deluxe Machine & Tool Co. at 8825 Route 98, Batavia, which revealed heavy equipment parts were missing. The suspects appeared to have left traveling south on Route 98, and with the assistance of Deputy Howard Carlson and Officer Brian Marceill of the Attica PD, a truck overloaded with metal was located on Route 98 in the Village of Attica. The suspects are accused of stealing $1,500 worth of used heavy equipment parts from Deluxe Machine & Tool. Steven Cox was jailed on $20,000 bail. Jessica Cox and Bremiller were given also jailed and bail was set at $10,000 each. Sgt. Brian Frieday and Deputy John Weis also assisted in the investigation.

Christopher J. Fiorentio, 21, of 622 Four Rod Road, Alden, is charged with petit larceny. Fiorentio is accused of shoplifting from Dollar General. Fiorentio allegedly fled from the store when confronted and was located by Batavia PD a short distance from the store.

Raymond Paul Boskat, 38, of Dorwood Park, Ransomville, is charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, 2nd. Boskat is accused of presenting a legitimate NYS prescription form containing forged information to obtain Oxycodone from the Kmart pharmacy.

Joel Brent Zajaczkowski, 18, of Main Street, Alexander, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Zajaczkowski is accused of damaging flowers and a flower urn at Alexander Central School.

As a jury deliberates the fate of former Oakfield resident Steven Rebert -- life in prison or the death penalty for killing a Pennsylvania couple -- Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster is hoping one more piece of evidence will emerge to help authorities convict Rebert of killing Bill Fickel in August 2005.

"If in fact there were people out there who were afraid of him, they now know that he's either going to spend life in prison or get the death penalty," Brewster said. "He's no longer a threat to them."

Brewster has believed throughout the investigation that there was a passenger in the truck being driven by the man who shot Fickel.

If Rebert is the killer, that person may be the key to solving the case.

A cigarette butt gathered as evidence at the scene of the shooting, Brewster said, was found to have Rebert's DNA on it.

"We've been about where we have been with the case," Brewster said. "We were sort of waiting to see if the trial (in Pennsylvannia) might yield us anything else on Mr. Rebert, and at this point it doesn't look like it will. We're proceeding with what we have and we'll be meeting with the DA in the near future to see if we can get going with what we have."

Investigators are always hoping for new evidence to make a case stronger, Brewster said, and eyewitness testimony would certainly help formulate a case against Fickel's killer.

"We're hoping somebody will come forward in the next couple of weeks who decides to cooperate and then our case will be much stronger," Brewster said.

He added, "and, of course, there's still that $100,000 reward out there."

Meanwhile, the jury that convicted Rebert of killing Wayne and Vicky Shugar on April 10 is hearing testimony from people affected by the case, from members of the Shugar family to Rebert's mother and father.