An original Broadway cast member of "RENT," Gwen Stewart, was back in Batavia this weekend, making a side trip while visiting friends in Buffalo, to catch the local performance of the hit musical. Stewart joined the WNY Arts Society cast on stage for one of the production numbers.

WNYAS's final performance of "RENT" is today at 2 at the Ross Street Performing Arts Center, Batavia Middle School, 96 Ross St., Batavia.

The Batavian still has a few specially discounted tickets available. Click here for more information.

A car is reportedly on fire on the Thruway near mile marker 397.4.

It appears the car is in an eastbound lane, though at least a couple of callers have said westbound.

East Pembroke Fire is responding.

UPDATE 6:37 p.m.: A chief on scene reports a fully involved car fire.

The Falleti Ice Arena was packed with both Notre Dame and Batavia fans who were hoping their team would come away victorious. It was the Notre Dame fans that got their wish as their team had a powerful third period and defeated host Batavia 6-2.

"We were pumped to get out there and play them," said Batavia forward Nate Palmer. "It's always a fun game, but unfortunately it didn't end the way we wanted it to."

Batavia Notre Dame got on the board first as Josh Johnson snuck the puck by Batavia goaltender Adam Kurek on a play set up by Dylan Versage. 

Batavia failed to produce a strong offense in the first period, but came out strong early in the second as Conor Holvey set up Tim Finnell to tie the game at 1-1.

Notre Dame responded shortly after by taking the 2-1 as Tyler Kessler stole the puck and beat Kurek for the goal.

Josh Marr capped off the second-period scoring as he broke down the right side of the ice and sniped the puck over the right shoulder of ND goaltender Tom Dehr.

The third period was all ND as they capitalized four times.

The Irish came out hard and Zach Blew lit the lamp off a set up from Josh Johnson and Dylan Versage.

Story continued after the jump: 

Batavia responded shortly after with a great scoring chance as Josh Marr fed Nate Palmer on a 2 on 1, but Palmer was unable to get good wood on the shot.

"We had some chances but couldn't capitalize on them," says Palmer.

Brett Perfit continued the scoring driving as he put the fourth goal on the board in a solo effort.

Notre Dame's Jordan Difilippo got into a small fight in front of Dehr with Batavia's Tim Finnell, which led to coincidental penalties. After an argument with the referee, Batavia was assessed a bench minor penalty, giving ND the powerplay.

Jack Nenni and Brett Perfit set up Tyler Kessler to take advantage of the powerplay and put ND up 5-2.

Nenni scored shortly after to cap off the scoring at the final 6-2. Tyler Kessler and Brennan Brown were credited with the assist.

"We were very happy with our team's effort," says Notre Dame forward Dylan Versage. "We wanted the win and were all gonna do what we needed to get the win. Everyone contributed and it paid off."

We've had pretty steady snowfall today, but nothing to the level that would warrant the National Weather Service to put out an alert or an advisory. Intermittent snow showers are expected to continue into the evening.

The weather seems to have contributed to a number of fender-benders this afternoon.

I went out to Le Roy today and on the route back, I came down Randall Road.

A car has hit a pole in the area of Ellicott Street Road and Transit Road.

There is airbag deployment, but no word yet on injuries.

Bethany Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:25: Correction, Mercy EMS not dispatched. Chief at scene says he should be all set.

 GAME HAS NOT YET BEGAN. PLEASE STAY TUNED! THANK YOU!

ND vs BHS hockey game

We have a limited number of ticket pairs available for this weekend's production of "RENT." The regular price is $30 a pair and we're offering reserved seat tickets for $15 a pair (plus a $1 service fee).

"RENT" is presented by WNY Arts Society at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 13-15 and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 at the Ross Street Performing Arts Center at Batavia Middle School. This cutting-edge musical tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive in New York City.

Readers who take advantage of this special offer will redeem their PayPal receipt at the door to claim their tickets. This offer is valid for any of the four performances. The box office opens one hour before showtime and the house opens 30 minutes prior to showtime.

Ryan Rast, of South Street in Le Roy, stands next to a giant snowman he built in his front yard with his buddy Ben Long.

A Le Roy man accused of making at least one sexually explicit video involving a minor isn't being held in jail because of the case's individual circumstances, said the Le Roy Police Department detective who made the arrest.

Det. John Condidorio said it was his recommendation that Stephen M. Smith be released to the supervision of Genesee Justice following his arraignment in Le Roy Town Court on charges of possessing a sexual performance by a child, promoting sexual performance of a child and use of a child in a sexual performance.

The detective said such decisions are rendered on a singular basis and the law.

"Each case needs to be looked at individually and it's totally (up to) the police department, the district attorney's office and the courts," Condidorio said.

It is the "looking at the totality of the case" that explains, Condidorio said, why Smith's case wasn't referred to federal authorities, and why supervision by Genesee Justice while the charges are pending fits the circumstances.

Smith, however, may yet face statutory rape charges once State Police detectives complete their own investigation.

The video, or videos, allegedly involving a minor from Le Roy, were not made in the Village of Le Roy. Condidorio jurisdiction is confined to the village.

Meanwhile, a person who has identified herself as Smith's girlfriend, who is also the minor child who may have been involved in the videos, has left comments on Facebook and sent an e-mail to The Batavian defending Smith.

The girl said Smith is embarrassed by the charges and upset by reading accounts of the case in the media.

She said she's known Smith since 2006 and they've been involved in a relationship since Aug. 24, 2008. She said he is the father of her 8-month-old child.

"I'm writing because I am concerned with what was stated in the posts about Stephen's charges," the girl wrote. "I fully understand that what I have to say most likely won't matter to anyone because people will judge him because of this no matter what is said or isn't said. That is fine, because anyone that KNOWS him on a personal level, knows that he is not some sick predator."

The girl writes that Smith used a camera that had been given to her as a present and indicates that making the video or videos was her idea.

She said she left the camera at Smith's residence unintentionally and it was seized when detectives searched the place.

"I had Stephen call the day after they confiscated our things and informed them that there was going to be inappropriate content on my camera," she wrote.

Condidorio said he couldn't discuss the content of the girl's Facebook post or even confirm that the victim was female.

He said he was prohibited from discussing the case in detail and could only talk in general terms about how similar cases are handled.

"It is our policy in the police department to try and protect victims of any crime as much as possible," Condidorio said. "But it is still a free country and it is not our policy to try and control the actions of victims."

Even though the girl sees herself as somebody who is in a relationship with the accused, at 16 or 17, under New York state law, she is not old enough to consent to sexual relations.

Besides the alleged video involving the girl, Smith is also accused of using a video file sharing service to pass along and download videos involving other minor children engaged in sexual activity.

The type of service Smith is accused of using is called peer-to-peer, which means users install software that allows them to share the contents of specific folders on their own hard drives.

The case was brought to the attention of Le Roy Police when New York State Police Computers Crime Unit notified the Le Roy Police Department that a person at 41 Elm St. in Le Roy allegedly possessed, and was sharing sexual videos of, underage children via the Internet.

Condidorio stressed that there is no evidence that Smith shared video involving the alleged local victim in this case.

The girl said she and Smith were upset when the case was first reportedly publicly.

"It sincerely made me nauseous and shaky when I first read this article on Wednesday night -- to know that the reputation of someone you love has been destroyed for something blown so far out of proportion," the girl wrote.

"And to know that he would be viewed in a disgusting way by the public. The look on Stephen's face when he read this article was unexplainable. I have never felt how I have these past few days."

An 18-year-old Batavia man accused of engaging in sexual activity with a child under 11 years old is less than four months removed from being released from custody on similar charges.

Ronald Smith, of 679 E. Main St., Batavia, was let out of state prison in October as a Level 3 sex offender.

Smith was previously convicted of engaging in sexual activity with girls ages 8 and 9. He was a Genesee County resident at the time of his arrest. He was convicted in March 2008 and sentenced to one to three years in prison.

Upon his release in October, Smith moved to an apartment on Thorpe Street and registered his address with authorities.

In November, Batavia Police sent a notice to residents in the area around Thorpe that a Level 3 sex offender was in their midst.

The address listed was a residence managed by Jeremy Yasses of J.P. Properties. Yasses said residents contacted him immediately about Smith living in one of his dwellings.

He had no idea Smith had moved in with a friend who was a tenant of an apartment.

The day after being notified, Yasses, who manages several properties on Thorpe, demanded that Smith vacate the residence. When he followed up with police, Yasses said he was told that Smith had moved to Oakfield.

"I don't want to live next to them and I don't expect my tenants to live next to them," Yasses said of Level 3 sex offenders. "I wouldn't ask my tenants to live next to anybody I wouldn't live next to myself."

At the time of his arrest today, Smith was, according to police, located at a residence at 679 E. Main St. in Batavia. He was also charged with failure to register his current address, as required by a registered sex offender.

Det. Kevin Czora said the recent allegations that Smith engaged in sexual conduct with a child under 11 were brought to police attention by a parent of the victim.

Smith was jailed on $25,000 bail.

(Initial Post)

At least when it comes to a decrease in smoking rates, California is well ahead of New York and that has grabbed the attention of Smoke Free NOW.

This organization in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties is eyeing the Golden State in an effort to match or exceed the results of a tobacco study recently released by California's Department of Public Health.

It shows Californians are smoking less than most other Americans -- and this is no doubt making a difference in their health and wallets. In 2010, 13.1 Californians reported smoking, trailing only Utah, compared to 20.6 percent nationally and 18 percent in New York.

“The key to their success is twofold,” says Kevin Keenan, local program coordinator for Smoke Free NOW. “California has adopted strong anti-smoking laws in public places and increased the tax on cigarettes; both have contributed to the drop in smoking.”

Health officials maintain that California’s sustained anti-smoking campaign has led not only to lower smoking rates, but also to public health benefits. They point out lung cancer rates are going down more than three times as fast in California than the rest of the country, and the state has saved an estimated $86 billion in health care costs.

New York has also witnessed declines in smoking; however, without adequate funding for tobacco-control programs, smoking levels won’t decline further but will more likely taper off at current levels; or worse, increase to levels seen 20 ago.

“It’s imperative that we continue the fight against the tobacco industry’s crafty marketing tactics,” says Angela Barbeau, coordinator for Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming Reality Check, the youth component of the state's Tobacco Control Program.

“The only way to see marked declines in New York’s smoking rate is to ensure that our programs are sufficiently funded so that we can continue with our media campaigns, community events and educational activities."

Next month, the Genesee County Economic Development Center officials will hold a public information meeting to discuss preliminary results of the draft environmental impact report concerning STAMP.

That stands for Science, Technology, Advanced Manufacturing Park -- a proposed large scale, high-tech/clean-tech, manufacturing park planned near the intersection of Judge Road and Route 77 in Alabama.

The meeting will take place beginning at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 10 at the Alabama Fire Hall, located at 2230 Judge Road, in Basom.

The draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) includes an economic impact study, environmental study, master plan update, traffic impact study, the utility plan summary and provisions for farmland protection.

The proposed location for STAMP, according to its supporters, is considered ideal because of immediate access to transmission level electric power, reduced cost hydropower, a high capacity gas line, and the New York State Thruway.

STAMP is being developed as a campus-like setting to attract companies which produce computer chips, flat panel display units, semiconductors or similar products. Operations of this size could provide thousands of medium- to higher-income jobs to residents of Genesee and surrounding counties.

Alabama residents will receive an informational postcard in the mail encouraging attendance to February's public informational meeting. But everyone interested in this critical project is encouraged to attend.

Ed Minardo, the former director of Genesee Justice, who sacrificed his management job in order to help save the pioneering restorative justice program, is back at work.

It's a part-time job and not a supervisor's position, but Minardo is back in a role helping handle DWI conditional release cases.

The 19.5-hour position became available on Jan. 1 when another member of the staff quit, County Manager Jay Gsell told WBTA. Minardo was hired by the Sheriff's Office, which oversees Genesee Justice, to fill the position.

"Ed, of course, is familiar with the programs, and with the DWI program," said Sheriff Gary Maha. "He's already had his background investigation completed, he's already been fingerprinted...it just makes sense that if he was interested, we'd hire him.

"It's a win-win situation for us."

For more on the story from WBTA, click here.

A Level 3 sex offender has been arrested and accused of having sexual contact with a child under 11 in the City of Batavia on more than one occasion over a period of several months.

Ronald Smith, of 679 E. Main St., Batavia, is facing three charges of sexual abuse, 1st, and failure to report address change.

About a month ago, residents around Thorpe Street were notified by Batavia Police that Smith moved into an address at that location. He apparently did not stay long there.

Smith was jailed on $25,000 bail.

An early morning accident in Newstead near the Genesee County border claimed the life of a 44-year-old Basom resident.

Bryan J. Oczkowski was driving westbound on Carney Road in Newstead at 6:30 a.m. when his truck went off the road, rolled over and struck a utility pole.

Oczkowski was wearing a seat belt and an autopsy has been scheduled to determine his cause of death.

(via Buffalo News)

A Darien resident who wants to open a small business for auto repairs and sell a few cars at 606 Broadway got a little push back from the Genesee County Planning Board.

On Thursday, the board disapproved the proposed business because it apparently does not have a complete site plan according to code.

However, a representative of owner Mark Bernen said the site plan was completed exactly according to instructions from the Town of Darien Planning Board.

"We went back and forth and back and forth with the Town of Darien Planning Board," said Joyce Stevens. "He did everything on plans exactly like they said."

Planning Director Jim Duval said that the county's vote is advisory and the town board has the capacity to override the vote.

In another matter, Andrew Schmieder received approval to construct a new small house at 3438 Railroad Ave., Alexander.

Schmieder purchased the property at the county auction with the intent to restore the existing home, but it was too badly damaged by flooding and had to be torn down.

He said his mother will live in the new house.

The courthouse at 1 W. Main St. has been evacuated because of a fire alarm.

The alarm may be related to construction.

City Fire arriving on scene.

UPDATE 12:30 p.m.: There was no fire. False alarm. City fire is back in service. People are back inside the building. (Didn't hear when the scene was cleared.)

It's one of the biggest games of the year. This Saturday the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1-2-1) will host the Batavia Ice Devils (4-6-1-0) at the Falleti Ice Arena in front of an almost guaranteed sold out arena. The netcasting will begin shortly before the game that is set to faceoff at 1 p.m.

The game will be netcast live right here on The Batavian. It will include play-by-play updates and an up-to-date scoreboard and time-clock. Anyone following the netcast will also be able to participate in game polls, and get the chance to ask questions in a chat room style.

This matchup will be the first time the two teams meet this year. Notre Dame will be led by leading scorer Jack Nenni and goaltender Tom Dehr, who again this year, is ranked one of the top goaltenders in Section V. Batavia will be led by Junior forward Josh Marr, who is currently leading the team in points.

Press release from Genesee ARC:

Batavia, NY -- Family and friends of Genesee County ARC’s first PREP for Life Class gathered Thursday, Jan. 13 for a graduation ceremony at Genesee Community College’s Stuart Steiner Theatre.

Ten students walked across the stage to obtain their achievement certificate, marking completion of the program aimed at expanding their educational and vocational options.

PREP is an acronym which stands for People Realizing Education and Employment Potential. The program is a partnership between Genesee ARC and Genesee Community College and was established to improve student transition from high school to employment. It is a non-credit certificate program for individuals with developmental disabilities who desire a college experience.

The graduates are: Melissa Cook, Jesse Gray, James Grudzien, Dwight Hicks, Sherrie McKenzie, Andrew Moyles, Jason Northrup, Corinne Phelps, Christine Tinklepaugh and Janette Vick.

"PREP for Life grew out of our conversations with families who wanted their children to have access to more life experiences and skills," says Genesee ARC Executive Director Donna Saskowski.

Students learned skills in the areas of socialization, self-advocacy, time management, transportation, adaptive living skills, career exploration, job readiness and employment training. Another aspect of the curriculum included community volunteerism. Students used classroom space at the Genesee ARC Community Center, and at GCC they used the library, cafeteria, computer lab and meeting space.

According to Clifford Scutella, GCC director of Student Activities, it has been a pleasure interacting with the PREP for Life Students.

“They love life and being here brings so much joy to us and everyone at the college,” he said.

Since PREP for Life began, Mr. Scutella has always reached out to include the students in college activities. He was a speaker at Thursday’s graduation. PREP for Life Teacher and Genesee ARC Day Habilitation coordinator Kim Weber also addressed the students and guests.

“As a teacher, I believe that every day is about learning -- not just for the students, but for the teacher as well,” she said. “Each day the students have taught me something about myself, life and becoming a better person."

Graduates can now use the skills they have developed to help focus on their future. Opportunities include a new program option called AIM (Adults In Motion). It is a community-based enrichment program that gives individuals an opportunity to further explore their interests and goals.

It offers a variety of instruction and experiences designed to increase independence in various functional living skills such as safety, health and nutrition, hygiene, recreation and leisure, career exploration, and community access.

There is also the potential for training in prevocational/vocational areas through the Vocational Department at the Genesee ARC Work Center and the new Culinary Arts Program at the Genesee ARC Community Center.

Photo submitted by Sandy Konfederath.