Jason Eric Jones, 42, of Main Road, East Pembroke, is charged with petit larceny. Jones was arrested following the investigation into an employee theft at 9:34 p.m. on Sept. 23 on Main Road in East Pembroke. Jones allegedly stole money from the cash register at a business. He was arraigned in Pembroke Town Court and in to appear there again on Oct. 11. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Rachel Diehl, assisted by Deputy Kyle Krzemien.

Nivek Quadir Tisdale, 19, of Albemarle Street, Rochester, is charged with trespass. Tisdale was arrested at 4:34 this morning (Oct. 1) on a bench warrant out of Town of Batavia Court for failure to appear. He was jailed on $250 cash bail or $2,000 bond. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Mathew Clor and Deputy Chad Cummings.

Robert Lawrence Drozdowski Sr., 34, Main St., Alexander, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. At 10:45 a.m. on Sept. 28, Sheriff's deputies responded to Drozdowski's residence for a report of a disturbance. After a brief investigation into the complaint, Drozdowski was allegedly found to be in possession of a glass smoking pipe containing burnt marijuana residue. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Town of Alexander Court on Oct. 11. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Richard Schildwaster, assisted by Deputy Kyle Krzemien.

Press release:

Batavia High School will hold its annual Open House on Thursday, Oct. 6^th from 6:30 p.m. until approximately 8:30 p.m. All parents of BHS students are invited to attend.

Beginning at 6 p.m. parents may pick up their child’s schedule in the Main Lobby to follow for the evening. Senior parents are encouraged to stop by the Counseling Center during the evening to discuss the College Application Process.

Please attend our annual Open House and be a part of your child’s high school experience.

It was a cool misty night at Van Detta Stadium where the Batavia Blue Devils hosted the visiting Wilson Wildcats for their homecoming game. First half was a bit quiet where both teams' offense could not put points on the board until there was only 1:51 left in the second quarter. J’Zon Richardson (pictured above) picked up a fumble and 75-yard-run touchdown to give Batavia the lead 6-0 after two quarters of play; two-wopoint conversion was no good.

Late in the third quarter Ray Leach recovered a fumble with one minute left on the clock and ran 70 yards for a touchdown to increase Batavia’s lead to 12-0. No extra points were scored afterward.

In the fourth quarter Cody Dioguardi ran in a 15-yard dash from Jerry Reinhart to increase the lead and secure the win for Batavia, leading 18-0. Extra point was no good.

Wilson put some points back on the board with 51 seconds left in the game. Quarterback James Totten did a lateral pass to Ricky Gamble, who threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Jervon Johnson. Two-point conversion was good, but time ran out for the Wildcats and Batavia picked up their fifth-straight win.

Ray Leach carried the ball 18 times for 110 yards. Anthony Ray had 11 tackles, four for a loss of yards and one sack on the night.

The Spirit Stick was won by the Senior Class and Quentin Branciforte was named King and Alyssa Juliano was named Queen.

For more photos and to purchase prints click here.

Highlighting some of the region’s top instrumental musical talent, the Musical Memories evening is always one to remember. This year the St Joe’s Reunion Ensemble and The Mighty St. Joe’s Alumni Drum Corps are celebrating 85 years of entertaining at local, regional and national venues. 

The City Church provides an acoustically stunning setting in the historic former Mancuso Theater. This year the show will be opened by The Batavia Jazz Ensemble. Other bands appearing will be The Hamburg Kingsman Drum Corps, Parkside Avenue Brass and The Hit Men along with The St Joe’s Reunion Ensemble and Alumni Drum Corps.

The concert is always a night of great fun and wonderful entertainment. There will 50/50 and Mega raffles as well so come on out and enjoy a great evening of entertainment for a great cause.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts promptly at 7 o'clock. Advance sale tickets of $5 for general seating and $10 for preferred seating can be purchased at T.F. Brown's, Roxy’s Music Store, Valle Jewelers, The Prospector Restaurant in Attica and Crossroads House. Tickets can also be purchased securely online at https://dailynewstickets.com/e/crossroads-house-presents-musical-memories/tickets

Ticket holders will also get discounts at our ticket partners: Center Street Smoke House, T.F. Brown's, Main Street Pizza Company and Big Pauly’s Pizza. We’ll see you on the 8th!

Press release:

The City of Batavia Police Department has become aware of the reports of people reporting suspicious activity involving people allegedly dressed as clowns. These reports are similar to those other police departments in the area have received.

At this time the City Police have responded to a handful of such complaints and all have turned out to be false or unfounded. The Police Department is working closely with the City of Batavia School District in regards to reports that were made to the District. At this time there is no credible information that leads to any credible threat.

The public is asked, as always, to report any suspicious activity they may see or hear, but do not attempt to detain or interfere with anyone based on the way they are dressed or appear. The public is further reminded that making certain false allegations could be criminal in nature and all investigations into such events shall be taken seriously. 

This is the official Bergen Boy School Troop 31 neckerchief, which C.M. Barons shared with us in response to a post the other day about the eastern massasauga rattlesnake being listed a threatened species. 

Barons said his mother, Virginia, designed the neckerchief while C.M.'s father was troop leader in the late 1960s.

The design features the snake, the white ladyslipper orchid (also a rare species in the Byron-Bergen Swamp).

Boy Scouts often trade patches and neckerchiefs at jamborees and other events and Barons said the Troop 31 neckerchief is highly sought-after.

The Swallow Hollow Nature Trail, located on Knowlesville Road inside Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge is a fun little adventure for nature lovers. The 1.3-mile trail is a virtual biology field trip, offering an incredible variety of wildlife and natural environments. This is not only an enjoyable trail for some exercise, but has many opportunities to learn about animals and trees that inhabit the refuge.

The trail's education mission recently took another step with the addition of an audio tour which enhances the visitor’s experience. There are several audio tour signs along the way that help you get facts or answers about certain aspects of the trail. Each audio session is about a minute long and provides interesting information about where you are standing. A combination of the audio and visual is a strong learning tool. On a recent visit, this blogger learned that you walk through three different habitats along the trail: forested wetlands, upland hardwood forest and the emerging marsh. In addition to the audio tour, the trail features many educational signs that shed insight on the nature that surrounds you.

Another great bonus is that the Swallow Hollow Nature Trail is wheelchair accessible, with one half of the trail located on a boardwalk, and another half of the trail smooth cinder walkway.

If you still have a thirst for knowledge after your nature walk, go over to the nearby Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge Interpretative Center for some fun learning opportunities.

Visit www.VisitGeneseeNY.com to learn more...

Statement from Matthew E. Calderón, superintendent, Pembroke Central School District:

It brings amazing joy to announce that the Pembroke Central School District, in partnership with the Alexander Central School District, will initiate “PALS for Healthy Lifestyles” after winning another U.S. Department of Education Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) grant!

The full name of our project is “Pembroke and Alexander Schools for Healthy Lifestyles,” and only 5 percent of organizations that applied for the PEP nationwide received awards. We are super excited to report we were awarded over $1.8 million to invest over a three-year period!

PALS for Healthy Lifestyles will address the physical and nutritional needs of both districts by implementing nutrition education at the elementary level, adding hands-on practical components to nutrition education at the secondary level, shifting to a lifelong fitness-focused PE curriculum, and adopting a comprehensive school physical activity program.

Between the two districts this project will provide services to at least five project sites and nearly 1,800 students. This program will introduce new equipment, new lessons for students, enhanced education for individualized fitness plans, partnering with various community organizations to maximize services provided to students, and age appropriate nutritional education for students.

Through the implementation of PALS for Healthy Lifestyles, we plan to improve the overall health and wellness of students, starting with education at the primary level, and encouraging a continuation of the developed skills through adulthood.

We plan to implement research-based standards-aligned curriculum, to increase students’ daily physical activity levels and overall fitness, and to increase students’ consumption of recommended daily amounts of fruits and vegetables.

Billie had to go out of town today unexpectedly. I'm still in Chicago and the LION Publishers' conference is in full swing.

For most of the day, we won't have anyone monitoring the scanner. I think we'll have some news flow today, but a slight unexpected disruption.

Press release:

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that, following his push, $36 million in federal funding for the construction phase of the newest National Veterans’ Cemetery in Western New York has been included in the final continuing resolution (CR) package.

This final appropriations bill includes the FY2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Bill and it is set to be signed into law by the president soon. The cemetery will be located on 132 acres on Indian Falls Road in Pembroke.

Schumer said the Veterans’ Cemetery in Genesee County will be the first and only of its kind in the Buffalo-Rochester area, and will save thousands of military families from having to travel upward of 100 miles to visit their loved ones at what is now the closest vet cemetery in Bath.

The Pembroke cemetery will provide a fitting burial option to approximately 96,000 currently underserved veterans and family members living in Western New York. Veterans with a qualifying discharge, their spouses and eligible dependent children may be buried in a VA national cemetery. Also eligible are military personnel who die on active duty, their spouses and eligible dependents. Burial benefits available for all eligible Veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone or marker.

Additionally, with the anticipated completion of the VA’s required Environmental Review by the end of November 2016, the VA anticipates it will complete the acquisition of the two adjoining parcels, a 60-acre parcel and a 77-acre parcel, by the second quarter of FY17 (early calendar year 2017) to enlarge the area of the cemetery. Currently the VA parcel is 132 acres. The acquisitions of the two parcels would effectively double the size of the cemetery.

According to guidance provided by the VA on cemetery development timelines, it can typically take up to 24 months to complete the cemetery master planning and design process. Following the completion of that phase, the construction phase typically requires 24-30 months to compete, with early-use burial areas made available approximately 12 months after the start of construction. Now that the $36 million to fund the construction is secure, the VA anticipates it will begin solicitation of a General Contractor to award construction. Solicitation and contract award is anticipated to require approximately six months.

On Wednesday night, Alexander Elementary School hosted an event designed to bring families together to have fun with math, called Math & Movement. It is a multi-sensory approach to teaching math and reading the uses physical activity and visual elements.

The program uses specially designed floor mats and banners that enable students to hop, walk, crawl, or dance their way to mastering math and reading concepts.

Among the reasons for a program like this is that eight of ten children are what's known as kinesthetic learners and the program taps into a child's natural kinesthetic learning style.

The program is based on research that shows that moving during learning facilitates muscle memory, an important factor with younger children whose abstract thinking skills are not fully developed. Studies show this type of activity allows teachers and students to feel more energized, focused, and prepared to learn.

Information and photos provided by Matthew Stroud, principal of Alexander Elementary School.

Prominent 81-year-old attorney Randolph Zickl was sentenced to five years probation in Genesee County Court today and ordered to pay $400 a month in restitution to his victim, the widow of a former client.

Zickl admitted stealing $75,398 dollars from the woman, who is "well into her 80s," and on June 24th he pled guilty to second-degree grand larceny, a Class-C felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Prosecuting attorney Candice Vogel, an assistant DA in Erie County, said after today's proceedings: “The sentencing order was for five years probation. During that five years of probation the defendant was ordered to make restitution payments at the rate of $400 a month through the Probation Department here in Genesee County. He had already made a payment of $11,300 before we arrived here today.”

That leaves a remainder of $64,098 in restitution to be repaid to the victim. At the rate set today, she will not see the full restitution payment for approximately 14 years.

Zickl was once one of the most respected attorneys in the county, heading up the County’s Office of Legal Assistance. He also has two sons currently working in the Genesee County District Attorney’s Office.

One of Randolph Zickl’s defense attorneys said before sentencing that his client “feels horrible” about his crime; Zickl declined to speak before sentencing.

His defense also requested that he be given 60 days before continuing restitution payments as he has already paid a large sum of the amount and is currently living off of Social Security.

Presiding Judge James Bargnesi gave Zickl 30 days before the resumption of monthly restitution.

Vogel said that the perpetrator's age, the victim's age, the sizable amount of restitution paid to date and Zickl's assets and capability of paying the remaining amount all factored into the judge's decision to grant probation and determine the amount of monthly restitution. Vogel said the victim's family is aware of the terms and indicate they are comfortable with them.

Asked about the likelihood that the victim will live to reap the benefits of full restitution, Vogel said: "This is one of the biggest issues of financial exploitation of the elderly. It's kind of a race..." to try and prosecute such crimes and recoup what was stolen before the victim dies.

Vogel said, technically, if Randolph Zickl dies before he completes restitution, the balance will be the liability of his estate and its heirs.

One of the six Cuban nationals who operated out of Batavia and Lockport to run a massive credit card fraud operation was sentenced today to 12 months in federal prison for his part in the scam.

Yasser Carrillo Chartrand, 24, who previously pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, was also ordered to pay $13,786 in restitution. 

Previously convicted co-conspirators were Eduardo Hernandez Quinones, Claudia Diaz Diaz, Yaily Santurio Milian, Jose Valdivia Quinones and Misael Toledo Rios, all citizens of Cuba.

Chartrand and his cohorts acquired the credit card numbers of real people, including at least two Genesee County residents, from online databases of stolen data and by using card skimmers placed on gas station credit card readers. They then created new, authentic-looking credit cards, which they used in stores throughout the Western New York region.

Investigation of the case began with a complaint to State Police in Batavia of fraudulent credit card transactions. The case expanded from there to include law enforcement in other jurisdictions and federal investigators.

A home on Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road that was used as a base of operation by the group was raided in January 2015.

Previously: Group of Cubans running massive credit card fraud ring had base in Batavia

From our news partner WBTA:

Cynthia Eggleston told the judge she was “very, very, very regretful” for stealing more than $40,000 from Pavilion’s Parent Teacher Organization in Genesee County Court Tuesday morning. She was the PTA's treasurer.

Eggleston’s last appearance in court made news as Judge Michael Pietruszka rejected an agreement in which Eggleston would plead guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny and receive a probation only sentence after it was revealed she was accused of stealing from yet another organization.

Those allegations were never brought to fruition and no additional charges were filed.

However, Eggleston maintained her guilty plea and was sentenced to five years probation and four months of weekend work release in the County Jail.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is reminding residents that Saturday, Oct. 1, begins Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every October, pink streaks of hair, shirts and even cleats on sports stars help raise awareness the devastating disease. 

Cancer is a scary word. In New York, more than 15,000 women and 150 men are diagnosed with breast cancer annually. Hawley is encouraging his residents, women and men alike, to visit their doctors to get screened for this disease, as early detection is crucial to survival.

“I encourage everyone to talk with their doctors and schedule exams. Our community is so fortunate to have many organizations dedicated to fighting breast cancer, including the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester (BCCR). Preventive measures and early detection can be life-saving decisions,” Hawley said. “The health and well-being of our daughters, sisters, wives and loved ones is important. I encourage everyone to learn more and get involved in the fight against breast cancer.”

BCCR is devoted to sharing information and supporting those touched by a breast cancer diagnosis. BCCR efforts include hosting fundraisers to raise money for research, as well offering educational seminars and support programs. Its Peer Advocates Lending Support (PALS) program helps connect breast cancer survivors with those new to the disease.

BCCR covers and provides services for a nine county region and is easily accessible via a variety of methods. Visit http://bccr.org/programs/, call 585-473-8177 or email info@bccr.org to learn more about the programs and services available from the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester.

Press release:

The 32^nd annual Health and Humanitarian Award of Genesee County will be presented to Paul and Bridget Ohlson on Friday, Nov. 4, at an awards luncheon at Terry Hills Restaurant. They are the founders of Care-A-Van Ministries, which is now supported by 23 local churches, and partners with a variety of agencies including The Salvation Army, Cornell Extension, GCASA, among others.

The award presented by The Jerome Foundation and United Memorial Medical Center Foundation recognizes volunteer men and women of Genesee County who have helped promote emotional, physical and spiritual well-being of the area’s residents. Nominations reflected “ordinary people who reach far beyond themselves to the lives of those in need, bringing hope, care, and friendship, and helping build a stronger, healthier community.”

In naming the Ohlsons for this year’s award, the Foundations will recognize 16 years Paul and Bridget, along with other devoted volunteers, have ministered to the needy in Batavia. Their outreach program focuses on “seeking out and serving the lost, the less fortunate, and the hurting.”

It all began in May of 2000 when the Ohlsons recognized neighborhoods in Batavia where families had a great need for groceries. Using their van, they would park at various street corners and distribute food. They would rotate to different neighborhoods in the City of Batavia every Saturday morning. The Ohlsons used their vans and bus “to bring food, clothing, compassion, love, hope and prayer to many areas of the city." They have not missed a single Saturday morning in reaching out to those in need.

The Health and Humanitarian Award luncheon is open to the public. Reservations can be made by contacting United Memorial Medical Center Foundation at 344-5300. Seating will be limited so early reservations are encouraged.

Seen a creepy clown hanging around the City of Batavia? There have been reports...

"A neighborhood kid thought he saw a clown in a vacant lot," said Batavia Police Officer Marc Lawrence. "(Subsequently) A neighbor observed an open window in a residence on Central Avenue."

But the child did not actaully see anyone inside or entering the residence.

"Have there been any other reports of clowns in the city?" an officer asked Lawrence.

"There've been a couple, all unfounded," Lawrence replied.