Even though the New York Yankees couldn't get a victory to open up their new stadium Thursday, it was still a pretty big day for 1995 Notre Dame graduate Dave Pero.

Many of the former greats made an appearance, the weather was great for baseball and the local man made history.

 Pero - a high school teacher in Syracuse - was the first guy to ask his girlfriend to become his fiance at the new Yankee Stadium when he proposed to Heather DeCarolos.

"There's nothing better than to kick off this opening day and this stadium by making a commitment to my future wife," Pero told the New York Daily News.

Pero, 31, got down on one knee and popped the question while The Skycoasters - a band out of Rochester - was playing the Earth, Wind and Fire song "September" nearby. DeCarolos said yes.

"I'm stunned," DeCarolos, 23, told the Daily News. "I'm on top of the world. I can't think of a better place for this to happen."

Firefighters are scrambling to fight a fire near in the LeRoy/Caledonia area, with firefighters responding to Asbury Road and Flint Road.

One firefighter in asking for more manpower said, "They better get out here quick or we're going to lose this truck and us."

When a dispatcher asked another dispatcher about more crews responding, the second dispatcher said, "Send everybody you can get. They need lots of manpower."

I'm heading out that way now.

UPDATE 4:50 p.m.: The fire was declared under control at 4:09 p.m.  The fire was actually in Mumford, but LeRoy found the fire first (units were returning from covering another fire), while Caledonia was out covering an other fire. Crews from Genesee County (I saw trucks from Bethany, Pavilion, Stafford and LeRoy on scene and spoke with a firefighter from Bergen), Livingston and Monroe counties help battle the flames. The fire was contained to a wooded area that covers a couple of acres.  I'll have pictures shortly, and a video in a couple of hours.  The video is an interview with LeRoy 2nd Asst. Chief Tom "Woody" Wood, who found the fire and was the one mentioned above asking for more crews quickly.

UPDATE 5:17 p.m.: Most of my photos turned out to not be very interesting.  Here's this one (video TK).

Fire crews are responding to a field fire at 2893 West Main Road, between Hopkins and Powers.

The nearby house is not threatened, according to reports.

A man from Hermitage, Penn., driving a 1996 Ford sedan reportedly didn't see a car ahead of him northbound on Route 63 and hit a utility poll after swerving to avoid rear-ending the lead car.

David M. Doxtater, 56, suffered minor cuts on his face, according to a police report.

The accident occurred at 10:05 a.m. at Route 63 and Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road.

National Grid was called to the scene to deal with the damaged utility poll.

The other vehicle, and no other vehicles were involved.

Deputy C.A. Parker investigated the accident.

A driver pulling out of a parking lot at 189 Pearl St. reportedly failed to yield the right of way and collided with an Alden man driving a 2008 Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Injured was Patrick G. Schwab, 42. He reportedly suffered a serious leg injury and was transported by ambulance to an area hospital. No further information on his injury is available.

The driver of the car, Lynn E. Sanders, 38, of Batavia, was cited.

The accident occurred at 3:24 p.m.

This is a follow up from a post we did yesterday.

A controled burn reportedly got out of control at 9363 Warsaw Road in LeRoy.  Units are being dispatched now.

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Today's Deal of the Day: A $50 gift certificate from Larry's Steakhouse in Batavia. The Batavian's Good Deal Price: $25 -- HALF off!

Larry's, located at 60 Main St. in Batavia, is one of the newer and finer dining establishments in Batavia. The menu offers many great items, but of course the speciality is steak.  Larry's also features a full bar.

The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value.

Rules: 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. Ideally, the winner will arrange to stop by my office on Main Street before 5:00 p.m. to pick up gift certificate. Mail is an option, but it would be better to hand you the gift certificate. 

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

SOLD.  Next Monday, look for a gift certificate from our newest sponsor, Main Street Pizza.

Andrew V. Mohawk, 20, of Batavia, is accused of going onto another person's property on Clinton Street Road and damaging a series of walkway lights. The alleged incident occurred yesterday morning about 1:45 a.m. Mohawk is charged with criminal mischief in the fourth degree and trespass.

Denis N. Pirincci, 21, of Batavia, was arrested early this morning following a complaint of an erratic driver on Oak Street. Pirincci is charged with DWI with a BAC of .08 or higher, and possession of alcohol in a vehicle.

Derek G. Thomas, 32, of Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt in the first degree and harassment in the second degree following an alleged physical altercation with a person he had been ordered to not contact. The alleged incident took place yesterday evening around 7:30 p.m. on South Main Street. Thomas is in jail in lieu of $2,500 bail.

What a beautiful spring evening it was for Care-A-Van to be out! The newness and freshness of spring was in the air at our local college GCC as we pulled in. The basketball court was busy and in full swing with a game going on. Students were busy milling around enjoying the evening.

We got busy knocking on the doors- I believe 94 in total. The music was blaring and I swear the whole building was shaking as we knocked on the one door. A young man opened the door and stood there with a couple of his friends. They knew us and were happy to see us. We asked them how they were doing and if they needed prayer. He stated well we do have something going on that maybe you can help with. We are having an argument about something they said I did and that I was wrong about. We just can’t settle it. Can you help? Well, we knew that we could not settle it, but we knew with a little prayer that someone bigger than us could settle the dispute. We offered to pray with them.

Paul, Dave and I gathered around with the 6 students held hands and prayed. In the prayer Paul prayed that God would bring peace over the room and that the situation at hand would be settled. As the prayer ended, another student came out of the bathroom and said Amen! The young man said “well now what do we do”? Our reply was wait, don’t argue, and let God settle it. They seemed to be a bit stunned, but said ok.  You see there is someone who knows all and sees all. All of the arguments, all the dissention, the Lord knows exactly what is going on and who is at fault.  If we seek and pray, answers will be shown. 

Just like at another room, someone refused the brochure about the ministry, the cookies and the message booklet. One has to wonder in this type of situation, exactly what is going on inside of this person. Who or what is at fault that this person is hurting so much that they refuse any type of assistance? Now please understand, we know that there are folks including college students have their own beliefs and values. We respect that. However we also know behind those doors, are some very lost hurting souls.

One young gal was from Canada and her home is 30 hours from here. She was so thankful that we stopped by to give a little cheer. Another young gal, said “so you got those church cookies for us”? We like those cookies; we even crunch them up and put them in cakes. She even gave us a bag of donated clothing for the ministry. Here admist all of her trying times in college, she took time to give back to others. How awesome is that!

On May 9th, Care-A-Van will be holding their annual college cookout at GCC. The fun will begin at 4:00 PM. There will be hotdogs, hamburgs and all the fixings to go with them. There will also be music provided. It will be held in the parking lot of the dorms.

If you are interested in coming out and helping we would love to have you join us. This is the end of the year bash for them. Each month from September through May, Care-A-Van makes a monthly visit to the college dorms. We have built wonderful trusting friendships with the students. We go forth and let them know that we care, but most importantly that the Lord cares about them and their well being while they are students here in our local community.

Thank you to all of you who partner with us to take forth the light into the darkness of the college campus and all other areas of the city. As the bus headed back home down Main Street, we looked ahead and there right in front of us in the bluish, black sky was a huge orange cross! Our Lord is an awesome God!  Seeing that cross, gave this writer such an inner feeling of peace.  May you all have a very peace filled day!

We can be reached at 585-343-0328 if you are interested in volunteering or know of someone in need.

A brush fire has been reported well behind the residence at 3693 Maltby Road in Oakfield.

Funds earmarked for the GCEDC to develop an agri-park off Route 5 in the Town of Batavia has finally been released and construction could resume within weeks, according to Chad Zambito.

Immediately, GCEDC is getting $2 million from Empire State Development and another $1 million is expected to come from the DOT.  The phase 1-funding will be used for building infrastructure for the park -- roads, sewer, water, gas and electricity.

“To some extent it’s old news because it was announced, but it is a huge relief because we didn’t know where we stood with the state under its current situation," said Zambito.

The funds were originally committed to the project by former Governor Elliott Spitzer and in anticipation of securing the money, some construction work has already begun. Zambito said the GCEDC hopes to complete phase 1 by the end of the year.

A Canadian firm is hoping to open a $15 million processing plant, employing 100 people, Zambito, pending securing its own financing.

Last year, CCEDC staff told the Batavia City Council the Agri-Park, when fully built out, could be worth $1.5 billion in economic growth Genesee County. 

Phase 1 development covers about 200 acres, while the park could eventually cover 300 acres.

SOLD

On Tuesday, we offered a $25 gift certificate to the Batavia Downs Casino Grandstands Bar and Grille, and two people who expressed interest in the gift certificate have been unable to pick up and pay for the item.

So I'm taking this as an opportunity to try something different with Deal of the Day.  I'm using PayPal to allow the first person who wants to buy it for $12.50 to do so paying immediately online.  Once the item is purchased the next person will not be able to buy the certificate.

When you complete your purchase -- if you win -- let me know if you will be able to come by the office to pick up the gift certificate.

SOLD

Reports are coming in that a person suffered a serious leg injury in a car vs. motorcycle accident at Pearl and River in Batavia.

Ambulances are arriving now.

BREAKING: We've had some discussion about Time Warner's tier pricing plan, so here's the latest news: The cable company has raised the white flag, according to the D&C. The D&C story states flat out that TW is bowing to the negative reaction of customers.

Today's Deal of the Day: A $25 gift certificate from Present Tense Books and Gifts in Batavia. The Batavian's Good Deal Price: $12.50 -- HALF off!

Present Tense is a popular local bookseller as well as a great place to find unique gifts. It's located at 101 Washington Avenue

The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value.

Rules: E-mail me at howard (at) thebatavian dot com. First e-mail wins, but the winner must arrange to stop by my office on Main Street before 5:00 p.m. today to pay for the gift certificate. If the first e-mailer can't or doesn't make it in, the certificate goes to the second e-mailer.

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

Yesterday, we asked the Poll Question: What inhibits job growth in WNY?  Obviously, we left out one possible answer: The New York Power Authority.

You may remember reports previously of the NYPA chasing Google away from Medina.

This morning the Buffalo News reports that a start-up steel firm that would have employed 200 people in WNY will not open its factory gates thanks to NYPA.

It was the second time the company had looked to the Empire State to build a plant. After being turned down for its first request for power a few years ago, which also might have been in Orleans County, it decided to build its first plant, now under construction, in Mississippi.

The company now will look for a site outside New York State for a second plant, Chief Commerce Officer Mark Bula told The Buffalo News on Wednesday.

For its part, NYPA claims there are other new businesses looking for the power and there just isn't enough to go around. That may or may not be true, but as the News points out, NYPA has a long history of turning away job-producing companies from WNY.

DaQuan Reynolds, 18, of Rochester, a student of Genesee Community College, is accused of harassing another student. An order of protection has been issued barring him from contact with the student. He allegedly physically contacted the student. He is charged with harassment in the second degree.

City Paper's Jeremy Moule caught up with Congressman Chris Lee at a press conference and asked an unrelated question: What is his position on Time Warner's plan to tier broadband pricing.

Here's what Moule wrote about Lee's response:

Representative Chris Lee says that the federal government should get involved with Time Warner's broadband rate change only as a last resort.

He's looking into Time Warner's proposal and is aware that there's broad concern over it. Public officials should make sure "consumers are protected and that they pay a fair rate," he said after an unrelated press conference this afternoon.

The company has agreed to hold a public session on the plan, which would implement tiered, usage-based rates. Ideally, it would be able to develop fair-rate plans, said Lee, Monroe County's lone Republican Congressional representative.

Lee had called the press conference to support his push for a passport office in Western New York.