There are three primary reasons Cedar Street needs an extreme makeover according to consultant Marc D. Kenward.

First is the poor drainage that causes cracks and potholes; second, the low clearance of the bridge at the south end of Cedar (you know, the one the trucks hit a few times a year); third, a need for improved pedestrian mobility (sidewalks).

The reconstruction of Cedar has been a goal of the city for years, but the project is now in the pipeline because 80 percent of the $3.7 million price tag will be covered by the federal government and state grants will pay the rest.

An informational meeting at City Hall this evening, which about a dozen people attended, was an introduction of the plan and an opportunity for community members to provide feedback.

There will likely be one more such meeting as the planning progresses, Kenward said.

A murder of crows -- that's what you call a group of them, not a flock -- were hanging out on Summit Street early this evening.

With their constant caw-caw-caw they were making quite a ruckus -- like something out of Hitchcock's "The Birds." 

At one point, they seemed to have every branch in this tree covered.

A three-car accident has been reported at East Main and Cedar streets.

It is believed to be property-damage only at this point.

A driver who was pulling out of the Arby's drive-thru exit on West Main Street apparently had her van roll in front of a westbound tractor-trailer.

The truck spun the van around, onto the sidewalk and into the front of an office building.

It's unknown at this point if the driver was unable to stop on ice or if she failed to yield the right-of-way.

The trucker drove on to the Tops Market parking lot where he reportedly felt it was safer to stop than on West Main Street.

Batavia Police and Fire responded along with Mercy EMS.

UPDATE: The driver of the van was Patricia A. Tomaszewski, 74, of Dodgeson Road, Alexander. Sgt. John Peck said Tomaszewski allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way and was issued a citation. He said her van struck the right rear axle of the trailer. The truck driver was John L. Kinnaird, 58, of Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada. Kinnaird was cited for allegedly driving on a suspended license.

While at the accident scene this afternoon, I noticed some people looking at something in the sky behind me. I turned around and it was a C-130 circling the area. One of the Mercy Flight pilots told me the C-130 pilots -- wherever they're from -- routinely make practice runs in the area.

UPDATED Feb. 4, 12:37 a.m.

Crews from Bethany and Stafford volunteer fire departments worked for more than an hour and 15 minutes to extricate an accident victim from his car on East Bethany-Le Roy Townline Road this afternoon.

The victim, Jordan Paul Fleming, 22, of East Bethany-Le Roy Townline Road, East Bethany, appears to have suffered leg injuries, according to Bethany's 2nd Assistant Chief John Szymkowiak. 

Fleming was taken by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital.

The 1996 Mercedes sedan passed through a slushy part of the roadway, slid off the pavement and struck a tree on the front driver's side, according to the accident investigation report. The force of the impact collapsed the front of the car, including steering wheel and column onto the driver's legs.

The car essentially had to be dismantled into order to extricate Fleming.

One veteran firefighter described the extrication as the toughest he's ever been involved in.

Szymkowiak requested mutual aid from Stafford to help with the extrication.

(Initial Report)

More pictures after the jump:

A car has struck a pole, trapping the driver inside, at East Bethany-Le Roy Road and Transit Road in Bethany.

Mercy Flight is in air, on standby. Bethany Fire Department and Mercy EMS are responding.

UPDATE 12:34 p.m.: Responder requests Mercy Flight to the scene. Serious injuries reported.

UPDATE 12:37 p.m.: Stafford Fire Department is called in for mutual aid.

UPDATE 12:38 p.m.: Law enforcement is there and controlling traffic. A landing zone is being set up on Transit Road.

UPDATE 12:42 p.m.: The "jaws of life" are called for to extricate the driver, who is the sole victim.

UPDATE 12:50 p.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.

UPDATE 1:04 p.m.: Alexander Fire Department is called to standby in its quarters.

UPDATE 1:36 p.m.: The male victim has yet to be extricated and they are working diligently to do so. The car's roof has been removed in the process. The car's front end is heavily damaged.

UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: The man has been extricated from his vehicle.

UPDATE 2:08 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne, heading to Strong Memorial Hospital. Alexander is released from standby.

UPDATE 2:17 p.m.: Bethany fire units are back in service. The site is being cleaned up and the roadway reopened.

It's an annual complaint from downtown merchants -- piles of snow that mound up between roadside parking and the sidewalk on Main Street. The snow, merchants say, discourages foot traffic into their stores.

This morning, one merchant made an effort to open a little walk way through the snow after a loader closed it with a pile of ice. The merchant said he couldn't even budge the ice block that fell onto the sidewalk.

City Manager Jason Molino said it's cost prohibitive to remove the mounds after every snowstorm, but the city does schedule a time for removal as resources permit.

Molino said there was a full city crew on last night plowing and salting, so the city is down to about half staff for today.

"Everything will be removed," Molino said, "but it depends on when we have the manpower."

Because of the heavy traffic on Main Street and the equipment needed for the removal, it can only be done at night, Molino said.

Vic Marchese, owner of Main St. Pizza Company, was excited to get an e-mail today of a Sri Lanka resident wearing one of his T-shirts in the country once known as Ceylon. He said a friend sent the Sri Lankan the T-shirt and arranged for the picture.

Jorge Alberto Rojas Cazares, 16, of Gully Road, Le Roy, is charged with illegal entry. Cazares came to the attention of the Sheriff's Office while Deputy Joseph Graff investigated the complaint of a person receiving unwanted text messages. The youth was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Mark H. Poole, 44, of 104 Oak St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, 2nd. Poole is accused of being in a physical altercation with a person under 17 years old. Poole was jailed on $750 bail.

A barn is reportedly fully engulfed in flames at 6476 Randall Road, Stafford.

The structure is about 50 feet from a house.

Stafford fire along with several other companies responding.

UPDATE 3:31 a.m.: It was more of a small outer structure than a barn. Stafford Fire responded quickly and had the fire knocked down shortly after arriving on scene. The Sheriff's Office will likely release more details in a few hours.

UPDATE: The homeowner is Douglas Frew. He believes a wood stove, which he last stoked at 9:30 p.m., caused the fire. The fire completely destroyed the detached garage. Vehicles parked next to the structure suffered minor heat damage. Frew's barking dog woke him and alerted him to the fire.

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An 17-year-old Alexander girl was seriously injured in a two-car accident on Wortendyke Road, Alexander, at 4:20 p.m.

Cassandra R. Koepp was transported by ground ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital.

Justin Neureuter, 22, of Corfu, who was not injured, was cited for alleged failure to keep right, no seatbelt and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd.

Neureuter was reportedly driving northbound on Wortendyke when his car crossed the center line and was struck by a car driven by Deborah D. Buckenmeyer, 54, of Attica.

Buckenmeyer was not injured.

Koepp was a passenger in Neureuter's vehicle. Alexander firefighters needed to extricate her from the car.

Alexander fire crews were on scene until 9 p.m. providing traffic control during the investigation.

First responders reported icy road conditions in the area.

(Initial Report)

The county is keeping it local with the purchase of snow and ice control devices under terms of a resolution passed by the Ways and Meetings Committee this afternoon.

Companies in Oakfield and Corfu were awarded the bids.

The highway department will use state grant money to purchase an 11-foot stainless steel hopper spreader at a cost of $9,500 from Viking-Cives, 2917 Judge Road, Oakfield.

The second purchase is two 8-foot stainless steel hopper spreaders at a cost of $5,575 each from Unicorn Specialties, 2141 Main Road, Corfu.

Bids were received from six vendors for the road salt spreaders.

It's not the major storm once predicted, but Batavia is getting hit by a stiff wind and moderate snowfall.

A two-car accident with injuries, possibly serious ones, is reported at Wortendyke and Dodgeson Roads. Mercy Flight is called but unable to fly due to weather conditions.

Alexander Fire Department and Mercy EMS are responding.

UPDATE 4:29 p.m.: A responder says "If you're coming around the corner at Goodman Road, be careful -- it's nothing but a sheet of ice." A fireman says a person involved in the accident "is barely breathing." They also need to employ the jaws for extrication. Authorities are asked to control and/or close traffic at Wortendyke and Rose Pike roads.

UPDATE 4:38 p.m.: Traffic at Wortendyke and Dodgeson is being shut down.

UPDATE 4:42 p.m.: A teenage girl involved in the accident has a respiratory rate (breaths per minute) of 12, which is within normal range. They are unable to get her out and expect it will be at least 15 minutes before they can.

UPDATE 5:37 p.m.: One victim was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital at least 20 minutes ago. No word on the teenage girl's extrication. A young man involved in the accident has both parents and an uncle on scene with him.

UPDATE 5:55 p.m.: Media trying to access the scene are stopped by a State Trooper who says "This is a crime scene."

UPDATE 6:13 p.m.: An Alexander fire unit has returned to the hall.

UPDATE 9:14 p.m.: As of about 9 p.m., all Alexander units back in service and the road is reopened.

A possible chimney fire is reported at 2185 Route 5. A passerby called dispatch and said heavy smoke, with a yellow-brown hue, was pouring from the chimney.

East Pembroke and Pembroke fire departments are responding.

A firefighter said it is possible that they've responded to that address previously for the same kind of report but the heavy smoke was due to the type of wood the residents burn.

UPDATE 4:20 p.m.: This was not a chimney fire. Responders are put back in service.

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Somebody has built a large snow fort on Ellicott Street, in the city, in front of St. Joe's Cemetery. It looks like the developer used one of the city's blue recycling buckets to pack snow in and then piled the blocks on top of each other.

Three residents of the West End Trailer Park are accused of beating another resident with a metal baseball bat causing injuries serious enough to send the victim to the hospital.

The three suspects turned themselves in Jan. 22 and were each charged with assault, 2nd.

The alleged beating occurred Dec. 16 at the trailer park, 4016 W. Main St. Road, Batavia.

Charged were Anthony J. Loverdi, 41, Paul A. Loverdi, 42 and Steven L. Maltese, 41.

Anthony Loverdi and Maltese were jailed on $2,000 bail and bail was set at $10,000 for Paul Loverdi.

As many as five individuals, and possibly more, were involved in the altercation, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The victim suffered facial and back injuries.

The investigation was conducted by Deputy Brad Mazur with assistance from Investigator Timothy Weis, Deputy Tim Wescott, Deputy Cory Mower and Deputy Chris Parker.

A pickup truck is on fire at 610 Ellicott Street, at the intersection with Buell Street. The truck has a full tank of gasoline in it and is fully in flames. The driver is out.

Ellicott Street at Harvester Avenue is being shut down to traffic.

Batavia City Fire Department and police are on scene.

UPDATE 1:02 p.m.: Semi-trucks are backing up on Route 63. Some traffic is being routed down Harvester. A tow truck has been called.

UPDATE 1:28 p.m. (by Howard): The truck was being driven by Fred Haslip. He said, "It just started to smoke. The cab started to fill up and we just pulled over and jumped out as fast as we could. There was a lot of smoke, but nothing under the hood. Then all of the sudden, it just burst into flames." Haslip said both he and his wife got out of the truck safely. Ellicott Street is now clear.