Press release:

In the two weeks since Congressman Chris Collins was indicted by the FBI, Nate McMurray’s campaign for New York’s 27th  Congressional District has steamed ahead with huge momentum.

Nate McMurray, the current Grand Island supervisor and Democratic and Working Families Party candidate for Congress, has run nonstop across the 27th District, meeting with hundreds of voters, doubling the number of volunteers helping his campaign, making key staff hires, and raising more than $100,000 in just a few days.

“I’ve spent the last seven months crisscrossing the district talking to voters and I can tell you that there was always a palpable grassroots energy but now it’s absolutely booming,” McMurray said. “Everywhere I go, I meet voters of all parties and I’ll tell you what I hear: they tell me that the system is broken.

"They feel ripped off by politicians who abuse their power and feel insulted by party bosses playing kingmaker. They use the word ‘corrupt’ and they’re right. Every day I hear them say that the system isn’t working for them and that want a real change.&rdquo

“The energy here in the 27th District is electrifying,” said Campaign Manager Victoria Dillon, Western New York native and an alumna of the Obama Administration, Iowa Caucuses and Capitol Hill, where she helped Congresswoman Louise Slaughter pass the STOCK Act to stop insider trading in Congress. “The campaign’s growing, Nate’s everywhere and voters are listening.”

In the two weeks since Congressman Collins was indicted:

McMurray has crisscrossed the 27th District eight times.

McMurray's campaign has received more than $100k in donations in the past two weeks from thousands of contributors.

McMurray's campaign has more than doubled the number of volunteers in our movement to get him elected to Congress.

McMurray's campaign has hired two additional staffers including Amherst-native Victoria Dillon as campaign manager.

Local leaders have publicly cheered Nate on including: Former Congressman John LaFalce, former WKBW anchor Susan Banks, and Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster.

McMurray has received huge support from the labor community including: the United Steelworkers, Service Employees International Union 1199 and the New York State United Teachers.

That adds to his support from the Western New York Area Labor Federation, New York State AFL-CIO, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1342, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local One, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and United Auto Workers.

In Ontario County: McMurray walked into a standing-room-only crowd in Farmington, a town that hadn't had an established Democratic committee until six months ago.

In Livingston County, he talked to more than 100 voters in Hemlock.

In Wyoming County: the day after Congressman Collins was indicted, our expected crowd doubled at a house party in Silver Springs.

McMurray has held rallies and barnstorms and house parties in Avon, Clarence, Canandaigua, Hemlock, Farmington and Silver Springs and received support from friends and neighbors at events in Grand Island, Amherst, and Buffalo.

He drove in the World’s Largest Demolition Derby at the Erie County Fair and attending the Wyoming County Fair.

He has conducted more than 30 national and local media interviews and held four press conferences.

About Nate McMurray

Nate McMurray is a native of North Tonawanda. He is one of seven children raised by his widowed mother when his father died of cancer at the age of 39. Nate worked his way through community college, earned a bachelor’s degree at SUNY-Buffalo, then went on to law school and a successful career in business.

For the last two years, he’s served as town supervisor of Grand Island, a conservative community in Western New York, where he has been instrumental in bringing fiscal responsibility to local government and millions of dollars in new business investment to the town. For more on Nate McMurray and his campaign for Congress in NY-27, visit www.votemcmurray.com.

Press release:

It looked like a trackside racing crowd from the 1960s at Batavia Downs as a gathering of more than 4,000 people jammed the stands and the apron to watch the 14th annual “Dachshund Dash” on a beautiful late summer Sunday afternoon (Aug. 26). The Wiener Dog Races were the centerpiece of Batavia Downs Family Fun Day presentation.  

Eighty dogs were programmed to compete in 10 heats with one winner from each advancing to the final. And after several close finishes, three romps and one runaway dog, “Louie” nosed out “Jasper” in a photo finish with “Dexter Tyberius” finishing a close third in the championship heat.

Louie is owned by Bruce Hummel, of Pittsford, and quickly became a fan favorite in the Purple Haze winner’s circle after the race.

All those who entered received doggie bags courtesy of Genesee Feeds of Batavia, the official sponsor of the race. The owners of all heat winners received $25 in gaming Free Play and the top three finishers in the championship race received two Clubhouse buffet certificates and $100, $75 and $50 (first through third) in Free Play for the gaming floor. The top winner’s total prize package including the gaming Free Play is valued at $200.

Photos by Howard Owens.

A one-vehicle rollover accident is reported in Stafford on Route 237, south of Route 33. The vehicle is leaking gasoline; no one is inside or around the vehicle. Stafford fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! You have a right to safe workplace. Federal laws state that your employer must provide a work area with no known health or safety hazards. You also have the right to: 

• Be protected from toxic chemicals;
• Request an OSHA inspection, and talk with the inspector;
• Be trained in a language you understand;
• Work on machines that meet safety regulations;
• See copies of the workplace injury and illness log;
• Get copies of test results done to find hazards in the workplace;
• Be provided required safety gear, including but not limited to: hardhat, gloves and harness;
• Report an injury or illness, and get copies of your medical records If you or someone you know has been injured or fallen ill due to unsafe work conditions. 

Call Dolce Panepinto at 716-852-1888 immediately. We understand how life altering a work injury can be, and we are here to help.

It was a near capacity crowd at The Ridge NY in Le Roy last night for Travis Tritt.

Co-owner David Luetticke-Archbell said both VIP tickets and the campground were sold out. Once the Frostridge Campground sold out, he started referring customers to other campgrounds in the county and three other campgrounds sold out.

He doesn't have an exact ticket count yet but he said it may have been the largest crowd ever for a concert at The Ridge.

Last night's sunset looking down East Main Street, Batavia.

Legendary local sports broadcaster Wayne Fuller was honored before Saturday night's Batavia Muckdogs game. Last week, Fuller was inducted into the NYPL Hall of Fame and the league provided the team a plaque that will be placed in the press box at Dwyer Stadium.

Accepting the plaque on behalf of his friends, colleagues, and family were Martha Bailey and Paul Spiotta. Representing the Muckdogs, Brendan Kelly, assistant general manager, left, and Dave Chase, general manager.

The Muckdogs beat Williamsport 4-2, scoring all four runs in the second inning with two outs. Tanner Andrews (2-0) got the win and C.J. Carter picked up the third save.

Batavia is home again this afternoon, starting the final home three-game series of the season, against State College. Game time is 4:05 p.m.

Bill Hayes, with his grandchildren Joshua Prong, William Hayes Prindle, and Matthew Robert Prindle Jr., threw out the first pitch.

The Genesee Chorale sang the National Anthem.

Starting pitcher Chris Vallimont.

Bubba Hollins, third base, hops as each pitch is delivered.

Michael Donadio

Sean Reynolds lead off the 2nd with a double. He was later thrown out in a play at the plate.

About a dozen players and coaches, including manager Mike Jacobs, came out to the ballpark Saturday morning to provide baseball instruction to 30 or so young ballplayers at the Batavia Muckdogs annual youth camp.

Young players were given tips on fielding, hitting, running the bases, and pitching.

Genesee Community College's History Club will begin its fall lecture series on Wednesday, Sept. 5, when Kevin R. Pawlak speaks on "The Jewels of War: Robert E. Lee, George B. McClellan and the Battle of Antietam."

The free lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in Room T102 in the Conable Technology Building at GCC's Batavia Campus, located at One College Road. All are invited.

The History Club will host a lecture on the first Wednesday evening of every month this fall as part of its Historical Horizons Lecture Series. 

Pawlak is the author of "Shepardstown in the Civil War."

The Battle of Antietam is America's bloodiest single day. In totality, 12 hours of fighting on Sept. 17, 1862 left approximately 23,000 casualties. During this lecture, Pawlak will assess the dramatic events of the Civil War battle from the unique perspective of the commanders on the field.

(Photo of author Kevin R. Pawlak, courtesy of GCC.)

Women of the Moose in Le Roy will host a Pig Roast to benefit the YWCA of Genesee County from 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29, at the Loyal Order of Moose No. 1132, located at 21 Bank St. in Le Roy.

Open to the public.

There will be basket raffles, prize raffles, and 50/50. Also, the YWCA will be on hand selling their cash raffle tickets for a chance at the Grand Prize of $10,000. Only 200 tickets at $100 apiece will be sold for the Grand Prize. Drawing will be held Dec. 6.

Food: roasted pork, salt potatoes, macaroni salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, roll and butter, dessert. All you can eat; includes a bottle of water. Cash bar. No take-out containers will be provided for in-house dining.

Price: Adults -- $12; Kids 11 and older -- $7; Kids 10 and under eat free.

Tickets available at the Le Roy Moose Lodge or at the YWCA, 301 North St., Batavia; or by calling Martha Bailey at 261-0714.

All proceeds benefit the YWCA of Genesee County to help with the important work they do in our community.

The 71st annual Batavia Gun and Sportsman Show, sponsored by the Alabama Hunt Club, will be held the weekend of Sept. 15 and 16 at Quality Inn & Suites in Batavia. There will be more than 100 vendor and exhibitor tables and plenty of free parking.

Hours on Saturday are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The hotel is located at 8250 Park Road and features a restaurant and a water park.

Admission is $6. Children under 12 get in free when accompanied by adult.

Exhibitors will bring items for collectors, including antiques and investment firearms, swords and knives, Revolutionary War to World War II militaria, plus books, traps, pistols, gun parts, ammo and hunting accessories, black powder accessories, reloading equipment, archery, medals and more.

The public is urged to participate by bringing items to sell or trade with dealers.

Note: All Firearm Laws MUST Be Obeyed.

A national instant criminal background check, which is free, MUST be completed prior to all firearm sales.

Exhibitors/dealers may only set up Friday, Sept. 14, from 1 to 7:30 p.m. or Saturday, Sept. 15, from 7 to 8 a.m.

No dealing is authorized out of autos, trucks or in the parking areas.

Exhibit tables require a $40 deposit per table and are available on a first-come basis. (Cancellations will be charged a $25 fee per table.) You must received a confirmation card in order to get a table(s).

(Editor's note: On Sept. 21, 2019, personal contact information for this event's organizer was redacted upon request of that organizer; and the request was granted because the information is no longer relevant.)

A caller reports smoke coming from under the porch and possibly from the basement of a residence at 5 Franklin St., Batavia.

The occupants have been advised to evacuate. 

City fire dispatched.

UPDATE 10:25 p.m.: Fire contained to the porch, smoldering right now.

UPDATE 10:31 p.m.: Fire is out. Overhauling.

Sunday morning from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Batavia High School Cheer squad will hold a car wash fundraiser to help support their fall season.

Location is at Ziebart automotive store in Batavia, 311 W. Main St..

An 80-year-old resident of Medina was pronounced dead at the scene Friday evening of a two-car accident at the intersection of Pearl Street Road and Wortendyke Road, Batavia.

The investigation so far indicates that Irene B. Cichocki was driving a 2018 Kia Sportage westbound on Route 33 when it was hit broadside by a 2016 Honda Pilot that was southbound on Wortendyke Road.

The Pilot was driven by Lauren D. Power, 17, of Scotch Plains, N.J.

Power reportedly told investigators she was unfamiliar with the area and did not see the stop sign on Wortendyke.

Power, along with her passengers, suffered minor injuries and were transported to Strong Memorial Hospital for evaluation and treatment. Her passengers were Marianna D. Ban, of Hamlin, Sophia E. Buono, of Rochester, and Justin R. Barnard, of Rochester.

The investigation indicates that after Power's Pilot hit Cichocki's SUV, the Sportage overturned multiple times and came to rest in a grassy area on the south side of Pearl Street Road.

Neither alcohol nor drugs are considered a factor in the accident.

Power was issued a citation for alleged failure to stop at a stop sign.

The cause of the accident is officially still under investigation.

The investigation is being conducted by Undersheriff Gregory Walker, Sgt. Andrew Hale, Investigator James Diehl, Investigator Joseph Loftus, Deputy Kyle Krzemien. Trooper Brackett assisted at the scene along with Mercy EMS, East Pembroke fire, and Town of Batavia fire, and L & L Towing.

A car has reportedly hit a pole in the area of 7921 Hopkins Road, Pembroke, and the pole is down and blocking the roadway.

Unknown injuries.

Pembroke fire and Indian Falls fire dispatched along with Mercy EMS.

UPDATE 1:33 p.m.: The accident is just inside Alabama's district. Alabama fire being dispatched. Indian Falls chief on scene advised Alabama to come in from Sand Hill Road. Pole is completely sheared off, blocking the road, wires are down. Both occupants are out of the vehicle and walking. One ambulance should be sufficient.

Michelle Ann Case, now 50, and twice convicted of stealing money from her former employer, HomeCare & Hospice, has yet to pay back any of the more than $14,000 she took by falsifying business records.

The former Bergen resident was back in County Court today for a restitution hearing, which consisted primarily of her attorney, Public Defender Jerry Ader, and District Attorney Lawrence Friedman providing Judge Charles Zambito reams -- one of the four folders was three-inches thick -- of reading material.

The folders contained trial transcripts, transcripts of the 2012 restitution hearing, and documentation of the falsified reports.

By law, Case will be required to pay at least $3,000, the amount specified by the language of the statute in penal law she violated, but only a judge, after reviewing evidence, can order a defendant to pay more than that statutory amount.

Legal troubles for Case go back to at least 2010 when she was arrested and accused of stealing more than $35,000 from two elderly patients. Those charges were dismissed with no explanation from Judge Robert C. Noonan and the case files were sealed.

In 2011, Case was arrested again, this time accused of submitting false claims for hours worked and miles driven to HomeCare & Hospice. She was convicted March 1, 2012, and sentenced to four months in jail and probation.

Nearly two years later, an appeals court overturned her conviction and ordered a new trial.

The jury again returned a guilty verdict in July 2014.

At her sentencing in August 2014, Case told Noonan, she had done nothing wrong and said the real criminals were the executives at HomeCare & Hospice.

"These rules were new and used retroactively to make my legitimate paid time into unpaid time in an attempt by Hospice to claim I stole from them and in effect steal themselves," Case said. "They then fraudulently submitted their so-called losses to insurance and filed a false report to the police."

Noonan sentenced Case to probation.

But that left the matter of restitution unresolved. 

Friedman argued that there had already been a restitution hearing on the same facts and Case had been ordered to pay $14,000 in restitution. An appeals court saw it differently and ordered a new restitution hearing. Fortunately, Friedman said, it was unnecessary this time to call all the witnesses in again. The transcripts are all Zambito needs to review the case and render a decision.

Zambito will review the documents over, at least, the next 30 days, perhaps longer, before issuing a decision.

There was only one thing Kali Zelakiewicz wanted from Judge Charles Zambito as she stood before him in Genesee County Court this morning and that was permission to continue in a drug treatment program.

The 26-year-old resident of East River Road in Grand Island was sent to the Willard Drug Treatment Center in Romulus following her conviction on fourth-degree grand larceny charges in Erie County.

With her dark hair cropped tight and clothed in prison-issued tan pants and a starched, white, button-down shirt, Zelakiewicz said Willard has been life-changing.

"There's a lot of stuff," Zelakiewicz said as she started to sob briefly, "that I've learned in 23 days that I never learned before in my life."

Zelakiewicz was arrested in Genesee County in November 2017 after a resident of Pembroke connected with Zelakiewicz on Facebook and hired her to do landscaping work. The victim provided Zelakiewicz a credit card number to cover a down payment on the work and Zelakiewicz used the information to make unauthorized purchases in Grand Island.

Information isn't available on the recent arrest in Erie County that landed Zelakiewicz in Willard but one of Zelakiewicz's prior arrests, from 2012, was for identity theft and grand larceny. Zelakiewicz was accused of using her grandmother's identity to go on a $25,000 spending spree.

Sandra Cassidy, Genesee County's newest assistant district attorney, argued for a harsh sentence given Zelakiewicz's three felony convictions.

"There doesn't appear to be an abatement or learning process by treatment and probation," Cassidy said.

But Zelakiewicz told Zambito that prior to Willard she had never been placed in drug treatment before.

Zambito had the option to sentence her to one and a half to three years in prison, with the sentence to run either concurrent to her Erie County term or consecutive to it.

The judge made the local sentence consecutive to the Erie County term but explained to Zelakiewicz that by allowing her to continue at Willard while making the sentence consecutive, he is giving her a chance to succeed but with consequences if she slips back into her old habits.

"This provides you an opportunity to prove you deserve a second chance but it also protects the community," Zambito said.

A T-bone accident is reported at Wortendyke Road and Pearl Street Road in the Town of Batavia. East Pembroke firefighters and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 6:21 p.m.: Injuries are reported. One vehicle rolled over.

UPDATE 6:22 p.m.: A second ambulance is requested to the scene.

UPDATE 6:26 p.m.: Serious injury accident. Mercy Flight is called to the scene. Town of Batavia Fire Police are asked to shut down Route 33 at Donahue Road, and Corfu Fire Police are to shut down 33 at Read Road.

UPDATE 6:32 p.m.: "The landing zone is no longer needed to be secured."

UPDATE 6:41 p.m.: This is a fatal accident. Mercy Flight was cancelled. An official at the scene said four young people from New Jersey were traveling in a blue SUV southbound on Wortendyke Road when the driver, who says she never saw a stop sign, blew through the intersection and T-boned a westbound SUV on Route 33, killing the female driver. The westbound SUV rolled after it was struck and landed on the shoulder of the roadway. The four occupants from New Jersey are being evaluated at the scene, but none have life-threatening injuries. A portion of Route 33 will remain closed for awhile while the accident is being investigated.

The family of Ray Morgan misses him every day, said daughter Raelee Morgan in an interview earlier this week, which is making it so hard to wait for justice in his murder case.

Batavia PD has a person of interest and that person is being held in the Genesee County Jail on an unrelated charge, but until the State Police lab reports back on the results of DNA tests from the crime scene it would be premature to try and charge that person with murder, said Chief Shawn Heubusch.

Raelee said members of the family don't feel the case is moving fast enough nor is much information being shared with the family.

"I'm not sure what they're looking for but we're doing everything we can to prepare a case to present to a grand jury," Heubusch said. "The worst thing that can happen is we present a case and the grand jury returns a no bill, then we're done. We can't present the case again."

Heubusch said the State Police lab is cooperative and has expedited the case but it still takes time to get results.

He also said investigator's sisters communicate regularly with Raelee's sister, Faith, but the police cannot release all of the information they have because there is information, if made public, that could compromise the investigation.

The 47-year-old Morgan, who besides two daughters, had seven grandchildren, was reportedly badly beaten in the attack.

Heubusch sounded a little exasperated at one point to even be talking about the case publicly.

"When you go on social media or you go to the media and start talking, it hurts the case," Heubusch said. "You could put something out there that makes it harder to get a conviction."

Raelee said the family just wants justice and they don't want the public to remember him as a person who had a criminal record but as a man who was a kind, loving family man, and friend to many people. She said everything he did, even the things that got him into trouble, was to help other people.

"He was the type of guy that no matter who you are what you've done in the past, he will give you the shirt off his back," Raelee said. "If he had 10 dollars in his pocket he would give it to you if you needed it. He was an amazing guy. He really was."

She's also upset that after Morgan's murder the night of July 24 at 111 Liberty St., Batavia, that once police left his apartment, the room was left open. Morgan's belongings disappeared, she said, and a neighbor posted gruesome, bloody pictures on Facebook.

Raelee blames the police.

"I would like to find a lawyer for the wrongdoings of the Batavia Police Department handling his crime scene because, like I said, his crime scene was not taped off; his crime scene was completely opened up," Raelee said. "Myself and my sister only received three bags of bloody clothes -- all the rest of his belongings were thrown away."

The day after the murder, Heubusch told The Batavian that once investigators finish processing a crime scene, the property is turned over to the property owner and the owner from that point is responsible for securing the scene. As a matter of Constitutional law, the police cannot maintain control of private property once it has finished processing the crime scene.

The Batavian's news partner, 13WHAM contributed to this story.