Genesee County's unemployment rate was a point and a half lower in November than it was in the previous November, dropping from 5 percent to 3.5 percent.

The state's online records for monthly unemployment rates only goes back to 1990 and in that span, the November rate has never been lower, though it was 3.8 percent in 2000.

The state reports that 29,000 people in Genesee County have jobs, compared to 27,000 a year ago. There are 30,000 people in the local labor force.

The state's unemployment rate is 3.5 percent and was 4.4 percent a year ago. The GLOW region's rate is 3.4 percent, down from 5.2 percent a year ago.

For November, 22,300 non-farm jobs are reported based in Genesee County, compared to 22,200 a year ago. Total private sector jobs has grown from 16,400 to 16,600.

• Section V single season, rushing yards, 3,012;
• Section V single season, touchdowns, 49;
• Section V single season, points scored, 310;
• Section V career record, rushing yards, 6,023;
• Section V career touchdowns, 111;
• Section V career points, 720;
• State playoff record for yards rushing, 474;
• State playoff record for touchdowns, 8 (twice);
• State playoff record for points scored, 50.

So it's no surprise that Leach has been named Football Player of the Year for All-Greater Rochester by the Democrat & Chronicle.

Brennan Briggs, who coached his fourth team in the past five years to a Section V championship. This season was the first time a Briggs-coached team reached the state championship game. 

Also making first team: Joshua Barber and Ethan Biscaro. Taiyo Iburi-Bethel was named to the second team. Alex Rood, Joe Martinucci and Andrew Francis all received honorable mention.

Chris McClinic, Alexander, also made second team. Honorable mentions went to Terrez Smith, Ty Woods, Dylan Busch, Jake Jasen, Ethan Heineman and Hayden Walton.

Honorable mention for Notre Dame: Gabe MacDonald, Keith Szczepanski, Mason Randall, Tim Klotzbach, Tyler Totten.

Honorable mention for Pembroke: Theodore Pintabona, Colby Cerasani, Trent Smith, Trevor Vaughn.

Honorable mention in eight-man football for Oakfield-Alabama/Elba: Colton Dillon, Gage Dieterle, Ty Mott, Kyle Magliocco, Peyton Yasses, Seth Sepalla.

First team in other fall sports:

• Lukas Milligan, Pavilion, boys volleyball
• Maiya Reinhart, Batavia, girls swimming

A 22-year-old Batavia man who was the subject of a manhunt at the end of November after he allegedly drove off with a teenage Bergen girl in a blue SUV, which prompted an Amber Alert, is back in Genesee County and may face federal charges.

Sheriff William Sheron said today that because Jose Guillermo Torres-Acevedo is suspected of taking the girl across state lines, the Sheriff's Office is working with the FBI to determine if Torres-Acevedo should be charged by federal authorities.

Locally, he's been charged with grand larceny, 3rd, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle for allegedly stealing the Dodge Journey he is accused of using to transport the girl from her Bergen home.

He is being held in the Genesee County Jail without bail.

In November, Torres-Acevedo was arrested following an investigation by State Police and charged with endangering the welfare of a child. A judge issued a complete stay away order requiring Torres Acevedo to have no contact with the girl.

The morning of Nov. 29, Torres-Acevedo allegedly drove to the girl's home and picked her up. The Sheriff's Office was soon notified that the girl was missing and an Amber Alert was issued that afternoon.

The girl, authorities said, went with Torres-Acevedo willingly.

The girl and Torres-Acevedo were reportedly located that night at a Walmart in Mansfield, Pa., when authorities were able to ping the girl's mobile phone.

Torres-Acevedo was taken into custody and the girl was returned to her family in Bergen. Torres-Acevedo waived extradition and a deputy picked him up in Pennsylvania on Friday.

The suspect is scheduled to appear in Bergen Town Court next month to face charges stemming from his initial arrest by State Police.

Daniel E. King, 42, of Pembroke, is charged with petit larceny. He was arrested at 5:08 p.m. on Dec. 24 by troopers out of SP Batavia. Troopers were dispatched to Ye Olde Willow Bend Inn in the Town of Batavia for a larceny complaint. Upon arrival, the complainant advised troopers on scene that a green pickup truck pulled up next to the restaurant and tavern, then the front passenger exited the pickup and allegedly proceeded to steal a sign to the business. The registration and suspect description were provided to troopers and the information quickly led to the arrest of King. He was given an appearance ticket returnable to Batavia Town Court in January.

Emily D. Smith, 33, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Smith was arrested at 10 a.m. on Nov. 22 on Liberty Street on the charges and was issued an appearance ticket for Jan. 8 in Batavia City Court. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Matthew Wojtaszczyk.

Zachary Vernon Donald Seeley, 22, of Central Avenue, Batavia, and Krista Swan, no age or address provided, are both charged with petit larceny. They were arrested at 8:56 p.m. on Dec. 18 on West Main Street in Batavia after Tops Friendly Market reported a larceny in progress to Batavia Police Department. Police responded and located the suspects, who matched descriptions provided by Tops employees. Numerous items totaling $306.81 in value were recovered. The defendants were released on appearance tickets and are due in Batavia City Court on Jan. 8. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Felicia DeGroot, assisted by Officer Jamie Givens.

Iszon C. Richardson, 18, of Lewis Place, Batavia, is charged with trespass. He was arrested on Dec. 21 after he allegedly entered and remained on the property of another person on Jackson Street in the City of Batavia without permission at 9:20 p.m. Dec. 20. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on Jan. 8. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay.

Kiha S. McNear, 21, no permanent address, Batavia, is charged with: second-degree criminal contempt -- disobeying a mandate (arrest warrant); harassment in the second degree -- physical contact resulting in arrest warrant; and execution of a bench warrant. McNear was arrested on Dec. 19. All three charges stem from separate cases, all with warrants. The defendant was issued three appearance tickets and then released. McNear is due in Batavia City Court on Jan. 8. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Nicole McGinnis, assisted by Officer Eric Bolles.

Patrick M. Viscuso, 54, Evans Street, is charged with second-degree harassment and unlawful possession of marijuana. He was arrested at 4:33 p.m. Dec. 18 on Evans Street in Batavia following an incident wherein it's alleged that Viscuso struck another subject on the side of the face during an argument. Viscuso was allegedly also found to possess a small amount of marijuana at the time of his arrest. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on Jan. 8. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Chad Richards, assisted by Officer Jamie Givens.

Guillermo Jose Torres-Acevedo, 22, of Collegeview Drive, Batavia, is charged with third-degree grand larceny and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was arrested on a warrant Dec. 21 following an investigation into an incident that occurred Nov. 29 at about 7 a.m. in the Town of Batavia. Torres-Acevedo allegedly stole a motor vehicle from a residence. He was arraigned in Batavia Town Court and jailed without bail.

Triton Adam Drock, 24, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree and failure to use headlights while operating windshield wipers. He was arrested on an outstanding Batavia City Court warrant issued for failure to appear on charges made Nov. 18. He was arraigned on Dec. 20 and is due in city court Jan. 17. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Kevin DeFelice.

For the third straight year some members of the Batavia's Original staff, led by manager Tom Scott, and with the help of Bailee Welker, delivered pizzas on Christmas Day to those emergency responders who worked on the holiday, helping to keep the community safe while the rest of us enjoy the day with our families.

"We’ve been doing this because we felt it was the least we could do for the people serving and working throughout our community while not being able to spend their holidays at home with family," Scott said.

Photos by Marc Tillery.

A family in Pavilion had a very Griswold-Christmas this year, outfitting the family wagon with an uprooted Christmas tree, decorating with a greased-up sled, tangled lights on an old camper -- all staples of the 1989 classic comedy, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold.

“We watch the movie every year,” Jesse Coots told 13WHAM. “We love it.”

What started as a good laugh about imitating the movie became a reality for the Coots family.

“We got joking about how the movie goes, and how they uproot the Christmas tree and all that jazz,” he said. “We like to laugh around here, so I was sitting around one day, just screwing around and looking for station wagons, and we found this one, and it’s got 33,000 original miles.

“I kind of surprised the wife and the kids and made a deal in the middle of the night, and this guy brought it out,” he continued. “Bought it, and we uprooted a Christmas tree with a couple of friends of mine and tied her up, strapped it up, Chevy Chase-style.”

The Coots family had intended for theirs to be an inside joke – but they couldn’t contain their neighbors’ glee.

“Really, it was just going to be between us, then a couple people posted videos of us driving through town, and the community kind of laughed,” said Coots.

And that humor, says Coots, is what the display is all about.

“Every night, there’s cars pulling up, and I like it because they’re here to laugh, and that’s what we like to do, is laugh,” he said. “It’s good for your heart.

“I have gotten so many nice phone calls and emails and text messages about how it’s brightened people’s spirits and made them laugh,” he said, “and a lot of people have told me they get on Facebook every day to see what kind of nonsense we’re up to with this.”

Will it be a Christmas tradition? Coots isn’t sure – but he says, if it is, his kids will be on board.

“I build custom cars for a living,” he said. “You’d think, all the great cars I have, they would love some of the hot rods. They love this stock station wagon more than anything. They don’t want it to go!”

Story and photos courtesy our news partner, 13WHAM

Submitted photos and press release:

St. Paul's Lutheran School in Batavia held its annual school Christmas program on Dec. 20.

The mission of St. Paul Lutheran School is to enable the families of the community to know Jesus as their Savior by providing a Christian educational environment which fosters academic excellence.

At St. Paul's, school is a family!

All teachers, staff, students and families work together to create a loving, inspiring and encouraging environment in which children can thrive to their greatest potential -- a great way to begin your child's education experience.

At St. Paul's they like to say "We don't raise little Lutherans, we develop Disciples of Christ."

A structure fire is reported at 10 Maple St. in the city. Smoke is pouring from the second floor. An alarm is sounding; unknown if the structure is occupied. City fire is responding and it's gone to a second alarm.

UPDATE 6:21 p.m.: Firefighters searched inside and no one was there.

UPDATE 6:37 p.m.: The dog in the photo below was rescued from the structure and given air as a precaution for the effects of smoke inhalation.

UPDATE 10 p.m. (By Howard): The dog's name is Sadie. She is fine. The fire appears to have started with a space heater. There was no apparent structural damage, no extension to the walls or ceiling. There are three apartments in the building and only one was occupied at the time of the fire. That occupant was sleeping and was awoken by Capt. Marty Hinz when he arrived on scene. Nobody was hurt in the fire. Video at top of the story replaced original breaking news video.

This is our annual look back at photos from the year of our first responders. We thank our first responders for all they do to make our community better and safer.

Merry Christmas to all.

It looks like we're having a White Christmas after all.

Stephen Hall blowing snow on Ross Street.  

Jonathan Hoca and Quintin, 5, building a snowman on Ross Street.

Jennifer Desautels submitted this photo of Teigan Desautels, 5, with a snowman.

The high scores keep rolling in at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion.

In the Sneezy's Monday Night League last week, proprietor Randy Hanks recorded his second 300 game in four weeks -- 300-259-228--787, and in the Friday Night Mixers League, Curtis Foss posted 278-248-275--801.

At Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen, Chris Bardol registered a 299 game en route to a 780 series in the Tuesday G&W Vending League.

For a list of high scores from the Genesee Region, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

Mike Pettinella's next Pin Points column is scheduled for this Thursday.

Merry Christmas to all!

Earlier, several callers reported a dangerous condition in the area of Brickhouse Corners -- a woman in a motorized scooter was driving on Route 5 along the shoulder, causing cars to swerve around her.

A police officer responded and shortly after locating her reported that a Good Samaritan stopped, loaded up her scooter in his vehicle and gave her a ride to her friend's in Batavia, which is where she was trying to get to.

CORRECTION: This wasn't the call at Brickhouse Corners. The woman in an electric wheelchair that was picked up was on Route 63 between Oakfield and Batavia.

Two shoplifting suspects are running from Walmart.

They are described as white males. One is in a brown jacket the other in a green jacket.

A deputy is dispatched and Batavia PD asked to assist.

UPDATE 11:27 a.m.: Two males are stopped in the Auto Zone parking lot.

Press release from AAA: 

Merry Christmas!

Motorists are getting the gift of cheaper gas at area pumps – prices are down across the entire region. A full report is attached. Here is a look at prices:

• Batavia -- $2.71 (down 3 cents since last week)
• Buffalo -- $2.73 (down 4 cents since last week)
• Ithaca -- $2.51 (down 4 cents since last week)
• Rochester -- $2.63 (down 4 cents since last week)
• Rome -- $2.64 (down 5 cents since last week)
• Syracuse -- $2.55 (down 3 cents since last week)
• Watertown -- $2.76 (down 8 cents since last week)

We wish everyone safe travels and happy holidays!

A three-car accident is reported at West Main Street and South Lyon Street, Batavia.

Minor injuries reported.

Traffic is blocked. 

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: One minor leg injury, reported. Also, city fire responding reports a property damage accident at Main and Court.

A truck is on its side in a ditch in the area of 9806 Creek Road, Bethany.

Minor injuries reported.

Bethany fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 11:17 a.m.: Confirmed minor injuries. Responding units can proceed with caution, non-emergency.

A motor-vehicle accident with no injuries is reported at 9481 Alexander Road, Alexander.

Alexander fire and ambulance dispatched.

An Alexander chief on scene requests fire police for traffic control.

The roads are slick and units should proceed non-emergency and with caution.

UPDATE 10:52 a.m.: Shortly after a chief mentions "we need to get people to slow down," he reports, "we've got another one in a ditch." The roads are slippery.

UPDATE 10:54 a.m.: A DOT salt truck is in route.

UPDATE 11:04 a.m.: One member of fire police warns the other to "be carefull -- these people are not listening or following directions."