Town of Batavia firefighters proved once again they know how to throw a party.

Saturday night, the department hosted its annual Harley Raffle party, the biggest fundraiser of the year for the volunteers.

Mary Miesner, of Albion, with ticket #1281, won the Harley Fat Boy (or she could choose a cash prize). The four $500 winners were Andrew Chapman, of Batavia, David Metzger, of Buffalo (his ticket being drawn above), Roy Baker, of Medina, and Joseph Sherman, of Le Roy.

The band this year was Audibull.

To purchase prints, click here.

This dog was found this evening wandering on Mechanic Street in Elba. It has tags, but the village hall is closed until Monday. If it's your dog, call Carol at (585) 757-6856.

Nate Fix sent over these photos he took with his drone earlier this evening of the Town of Batavia Fire Department's annual Harley Raffle party.

The party goes until midnight. Audibull is the band and they're rockin' the tent.  

The fire hall is on Lewiston Road, across from Kmart.

I'll have ground-level photos posted in the morning some time.

Batavia Downs.

Kaden Lyons, 9, models his Harley-Davidson gear atop his dad's bike at the YWCA's Wheels and Heels fundraiser today at Stan's Harley-Davidson.

The event featured a fashion show and Kaden was one of the models.

Funds raised will be used for the YW's for domestic violence programs.

The event's band was "driVen," with Mike Warren on bass and vocals, Dylan DeSmit on lead guitar and vocals and Alex DeSmit on drums.

A motor-vehicle accident with minor injuries is reported at 711 Sumner Road at the intersection of Harlow Road. Darien Fire Department and its ambulance are responding.

UPDATE 12:47 p.m.: Two children and the driver are injured.

UPDATE 12:49 p.m.: There are reportedly five injuries now. Mercy medics are called to the scene.

The following people were arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office during the Keith Urban concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Friday.

Veronica E. Dudla, 19, of Carolyn Avenue, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, is charged with criminal impersonation, 2nd, after allegedly impersonating another person. She was also issued a ticket for alleged possession of another’s license.

Tyler J. Sobkowiak, 19, of Dean Road, Depew, is charged with trespass after allegedly reentering the concert venue after being ejected and told not to return.

Nicholas M. Boulard, 22, of College Road, Stevensville, Ontario, Canada, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd, after allegedly reentering the concert venue after being ejected and told not to return.

Sara E. Friedman, 26, of Ayrshire Lane, Henrietta, is charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly causing a disturbance in the campground.

Dominic J. Manarasi, 24, of 26th Street, Niagara Falls, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly punching a security guard.

Breanna M. Rivers, 23, of Rhode Island Avenue, Niagara Falls, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly pushing and hitting a security guard.

The following people were ticketed for alleged possession of a fictitious license:

Nicole D. Dugo, 18, of Dansville
Caroline A. Grande, 18, of Scottsville
Brittany M. Copeland, 19, of Warsaw
Ryan S. Cordis, 19, of Springville
Samuel E. Anderson, 20, of Kane, Pa.
Mackenzie C. Garby, 18, of Great Valley
Megan E. Arno, 20, of Clarence
Thomas C. Schena, 18, of Great Valley
Danielle N. Mueller, 19, of Rochester
Michael Gallagher, 19, of Hamburg

The following people were issued tickets for alleged possession of another person's license:

Anthony J. Laurienzo, 19, of Akron
Lydin N. Kallin, 19, of Orchard Park
Haley M. Waple, 20, of Lockport
Kayla B. Kreuder, 19, of Hamburg
Angela N. Creek, 19, of Cheektowaga
Alec E. Davis, 18, of Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada – 2 counts
Molly K. Gorski, 19, of Akron
Chelsea D. Rzepka, 20, of Rochester
Patrick G. Stairs, 18, of Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada

A car has reportedly struck a pole in the area of 11017 South Street Road, Pavilion.

A person is pinned in the car. Wires are down.

Injuries are possible.

Pavilion Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Le Roy's rescue requested to the scene.

UPDATE 9:31 a.m.: Mercy Flight dispatched.

UPDATE(s) by Billie 9:36 a.m.: Mercy Flight #5 is airborne.

UPDATE 9:40 a.m.: Mercy Flight has landed. National Grid is expected to arrive in 20 minutes for repairs.

UPDATE 9:50 a.m.: National Grid is on scene.

UPDATE 10:11 a.m.: The victim has been extricated.

UPDATE 10:17 a.m.: Mercy Flight is in the air, going to Strong Memorial Hospital.

UPDATE 10:47 a.m.: Howard at the scene reports that officials believe the seriously injured driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel of his pickup truck. He appears to be in his mid-40s. It took at least 45 minutes for rescuers to extricate the victim. They had to use a winch to pull the front of the cab from the rear of the truck. The man was conscious and able to talk throughout the rescue effort. He suffered serious injuries to his legs and chest, and possibly internal injuries.

UPDATE 11:30 a.m. (by Howard): The truck's front end was heavily damaged and the pole was sheared in half. The wires were pulled off the house at that location and a second pole near the house was on the ground. The truck came to rest in a cornfield. Pavilion Assistant Chief Dewey Murrock said, "When I first pulled up, I thought it was going to be very bad, but he was awake and talking. I was actually surprised at that." We'll post pictures from the scene after we receive word that family notifications have been completed.

UPDATE 12:10 p.m.: Family notifications completed, but we don't have the victim's name yet.

UPDATE 12:21 p.m.: The driver is identified as Steven Lantz, 47, of North Street, Le Roy.

UPDATE 5:22 p.m.: Lantz is listed in satisfactory condition, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Dick McClurg says "they don't call me the dreamer for nothing."

"The Dreamer." That's what's stenciled on his 1932 Ford hot rod roadster. His dream car.

"I wanted one all my life. I waited 50 years for that one."

McClurg has about a dozen classic cars scattered around his shop location, Old World Collision on West Main Street Road, Batavia, that many of us would consider dream cars -- a Mustang, Corvette, BelAir, Thunderbird, Charger,  '41 Mercury, Cadillac El Dorado, and old coupes buried under a a couple of dozen rusted bicycles.

Many in some state of restoration; some in permanent disrepair and destined for Ed Arnold's.

"Rust is my life," he said.

Now that McClurg is retired, he has more time to work on his own projects (he emphasized, he's not looking for new business), hence the completion of the roadster.

He's just about finished the restoration on his shop car, a 1949 Chevy panel truck. It hasn't been on the road for 31 of the 36 years he's owned it.

What was wrong with it?

"Everything," he answered. "Body off the frame, every nut and bolt. It's probably one of the most rotten pieces I've never tackled."

The old delivery wagon sat out front of his shop for awhile this morning, gleaming in the July sun.

"I've probably had plenty of opportunities to sell it, but if the day ever came where I could handle getting it on the road, then I'd have to go buy another one, so I'm glad I didn't."

My stop in McClurg's shop this morning -- a stop I've intended for a long time -- was prompted by a 1957 Caddy. 

At the accident near Wortyndyke today, I was reminded of a classic Caddy I'd seen -- and a firefighter had seen -- parked over on Pearl Street, at LaWall's Collision.

The shop owner there told me, yeah, it had been parked out front, a real traffic stopper while it was there, but after some rear end repairs, it had gone back to Old World.

McClurg said the baby blue Caddy is a project for one of his few remaining customers.

Another dream car about to become reality.

Via Orleans Hub, a documentary on the difficulty WNY dairy farmers face because of current immigration policy.

Fruit and vegetable farms have access to legal foreign workers through the H2A program, but the federal government hasn’t made that possible for dairies because the work isn’t considered seasonal. Dairies haven’t had much success finding local Americans to work the night shifts.

Many dairies say they have been forced to hire Mexicans who don’t have proper documents. They are hard-working and dedicated, but they are also vulnerable to sudden removal by immigration officers. Germano interviews one dairy farmer who will soon have long-term milking employees deported.

“I am tired of the inaction in Washington,” a WNY dairy farmer tells Germano. “We’re trying to run a business. We’re the ones caught in the crosshairs between the government that makes the laws and the other agency that has to enforce the laws.” 

Guitarists tend to have dream guitars -- a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Stratocaster, a Guild Starfire, a Martin D-28 ... all expensive guitars.

And these days, often machine made.

What if there was a guitar available locally that was handmade and affordable?

That's the market Dave Watson is going after with Watson Guitars.

Watson has been making custom guitars for more than 20 years and started selling his handcrafted creations in 2009.

This week, he finally was able to open a storefront where he can sell guitars he's finished or take orders for custom guitars (soon, he'll have a new Web site that will allow customers to order custom guitars).

"A lot of your handmade guitars are three, four, five thousand dollar instruments, which, you know, I've made a few that are up in that price range, but for the most part, I try to keep my basic models affordable," Watson said. "My basic models start at $399. If you can find a better guitar for $399, buy it."

Once a professional musician, Watson found that it was hard to find bass guitars really suitable to his size. Bass players tend to be tall and lanky. Watson's under six feet tall, so he wasn't entirely comfortable with an off-the-shelf model.

He decided to build his own bass.

He found he really liked working with wood.

"It's in my blood, just as much as playing," Watson said.

After suffering some hearing loss, Watson had to step off the stage and away from bands, but he couldn't stop making guitars.

He figures he's made and sold hundreds of guitars.

Each one handmade, unique.

"I always put it this way: It's the imperfections that make a guitar perfect," Watson said.

He thinks something has been lost for the discriminating guitar player with the market flooded by cookie-cutter guitars, sliced and sanded to identical specifications by computer-controlled machines.

"There isn't a personal touch," Watson said. "As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a guitar made today that will ever be as valuable as a '59 Les Paul, because someone made that guitar with their own two hands."

The typical Watson guitar has his signature look -- both the headstock and bottom of the guitar are cut out with a kind of W shape.

Watson's target market is the local musician -- the player with an ear tuned enough to recognize a quality sound, fingers sensitive enough to pick up the response of quality material and an eye for beauty, but who can't afford to lay down thousands on a guitar.

"There's a big difference between the sound of a machine-made and a handmade guitar," Watson said.

Watson's shop is at 57 Mill St., Le Roy, and he had to get a zoning code variance to open the front up as a retail shop, but with that done and the space spiffed up, he's ready to meet with players who either want to select something hanging from his walls or sit down and design the guitar of their dreams.

"As long as it's not a copy of something, we try to build their design the way they've always wanted it," Watson said.

Customization can include airbrush designs by a local artist and fiber-lighted top dots on the fretboard.

Kids participating in the city's summer program at Lambert Park toured the recycling center at Genesee ARC this morning.

A car accident is reported at 3299 W. Main Street Road, just west of Wortendyke Road. The vehicle is on its side. East Pembroke Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 11:04 a.m.: (from Howard at the scene) There is no vehicle on its side. A black sedan was eastbound on Route 5 and a FedEx truck was westbound. The truck attempted a left turn into a car dealership and allegedly did so in front of the sedan, causing the initial collision. Then the sedan veered into the car lot, hit a barrier pole and the front end of a car. The female driver was extricated and is being taken to ECMC by Mercy ambulance. She suffered a possible head injury, possible pelvic injury, and a face laceration. The FedEx driver was a sign-off. The truck has a damaged right rear panel and a flat left rear tire.

Reason Magazine: Public attitudes about war.
Washington Post: Obama and Putin

A one-vehicle rollover accident is reported on the eastbound Thruway at mile marker 388.2. Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 5:47 p.m.: Town of Batavia command reports the driver is out of the vehicle.

An investigation into an alleged assault which occurred in January 2013 resulted in the arrest Wednesday of a 29-year-old Le Roy native living in the City of Rochester. Kenneth G. Smith III, of 911 Lake Ave., was arrested by the Le Roy Police Department on July 23 and charged on two counts: criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, a Class-D felony; and first-degree assault, a Class-B felony.

It is alleged that on Jan. 10, 2013, Smith was involved in an altercation in an apartment on Main Street in the Village of Le Roy. Smith allegedly possessed a dangerous instrument in the form of a glass item with intent to use it against another (while having a prior criminal conviction). He then allegedly used it to strike the victim numerous times about the face causing permanent facial disfigurement/scarring. Smith was arraigned in Le Roy Town Court and released under supervision of the Genesee Justice.

Michael J. Stack Jr., 37, of 7450 Randall Road, Le Roy was also arrested by the Le Roy Police Department on Wednesday. He is charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, a Class-B felony.

It is alleged that yesterday, while in an apartment on East Main Street in the Village of Le Roy, Stack engaged in oral sexual contact with the victim while the victim was incapable of consent by the reason of being physically helpless and by forcible compulsion.

The charges stem from an allegation by the victim that the victim was sleeping and awoke to Stack kneeling over the victim having oral sexual contact with the victim.

Stack was jailed in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Colin J. McCullough, 17, of Telephone Road, Pavilion, is charged with first-degree rape following an investigation by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office that determined he allegedly had forcible sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old female acquaintance on June 6. He was arrested on the felony charge July 21 and arraigned in Town of Pavilion Court, then released under supervision of Genesee Justice. He is to reappear in court on Aug. 12. Colin was arrested by Deputy Matthew Fleming, following the investigation by Sheriff's Investigator Timothy Weis and Deputy Frank Bordonaro.

Ryan James Sharpstene, 27, of Chili Rigi Center Road, Churchville, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property with a value exceeding $3,000 and unauthorized use of a vehicle, 1st. It is alleged that Sharpstene was in possession of a stolen vehicle out of South Byron on July 16 and was operating this vehicle following the alleged theft without the owner's consent. He was jailed on today in lieu of $10,000 cash bail. The case was investigated by Deputy Joseph Corona

Bart A. Towne, 45, of Highland Park, Batavia, was arrested July 22 on two misdemeanor drug-related charges following an investigation by the Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force, comprised of Sheriff's deputies and Batavia Police NET officers, plus the Le Roy Village PD. They were investigating the possession and transportation of heroin in and around Genesee County. Officers conducted a traffic stop in the Town of Byron, and Towne was allegedly found in possession of a quantity of heroin and a hypodermic needle. He was jailed on $2,500 cash bail and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, a Class A misdemeanor, and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument, also a Class A misdemeanor.

Jessica Jane Moscicki, 24, of Briarwood Terrace, Batavia, was arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office on Saturday, July 23, on an active bench warrant issued out of the Town of Batavia. The warrant stemmed from her failure to appear for sentencing on an original charge of petit larceny, which occurred Aug. 27, 2013, on Lewiston Road. She was jailed on no bail and is to reappear in court on July 29. The case was investigated by Deputy Joseph Graff, aasisted by Deputy Dana Richardson.

A 17-year-old and a 16-year-old, both from Albion, are charged with petit larceny for allegedly stealing merchandise from Darien Lake Theme Park on July 20. The cases were investigated by Sheriff's Deputy Kevin McCarthy, assisted by Deputy Christopher Parker.

So far, the YWCA has at least 108 Malibu lights to replace the 36 that were destroyed by a vandal over the weekend.

The lights were part of a display called the Walkway of Hope, and were meant as a symbol against domestic violence. The lights were placed during a ceremony honoring Nicole Sheehan, who was murdered, allegedly by a domestic partner.

Sheehan's mother, Suzanne Ball, was at the YWCA on North Street on Wednesday evening to help reinstall some of the lights, along with Steven Foster of Adams Welding and Fabrication.

Stevens said Adams wanted to donate lights because giving hope to the victims of domestic violence is important.

"If one person walks up the walkway and saves a life and gets help, it's not in vain," Foster said.

Lights have also been donated by Mike and Norine Adams and John Peck, and at least one other man has called, according to Executive Director Jeanne Walton, to say he was bringing lights.

"It's been overwhelming," Walton said. "We've been shocked by the support we've gotten from so many people like Adams Welding and Fabrication, as well as a few others, that have just come forth and brought us lights to replace the ones that were destroyed."

All of the lights will be placed outside the Y, Walton said. That will send a powerful message, she said, to whomever destroyed the first set of lights.

Ball agreed.

"We're letting them know nobody is putting our lights out," Ball said.

Mike Adams called The Batavian after the story appeared and said he wasn't looking for any publicity of the plan (at that time) of his wife and he to make the donation, but he didn't mind being quoted calling the vandal a "coward."

"My only statement would be I guess is getting the point across, who's the coward out there who would do something like that, destroying a memorial for that young girl?" Adams said. "We're pretty upset about it."

So are a lot of other people.

When Stuart Lowe stopped at the visitor's information booth in the Holland Land Office Museum parking lot on West Main Street, he may not have been expecting the kind of welcome he received.

Lowe is from the U.K. and is riding a bicycle from San Francisco to Boston, following the path of Thomas Stevens, the first person to successfully cross the United States on a bike, which he did in 1884.

Lowe is making the trek in support of Doctors Without Borders.

Members of the Batavia Kiwanis Club often volunteer to staff the information booth, so when Lowe arrived and spoke with the volunteer there, local help for him was quickly mobilized. Kiwanis members came up with an expired gift certificate for the Days Inn and convinced the Days Inn manager to honor it. They also contacted Ken Mistler at City Slickers. Mistler provided Lowe with a hot meal.

By this morning, Lowe was heading east once again, following the trail first blazed by Stevens.

Top photo submitted by Anita Strollo. Bottom picture from Marc Tillery.

A video about Stevens: