Elba Central School teachers Jeremy Rath and Tammy Plucknette were recognized today in a faculty meeting in the school's cafeteria for their recent accomplishments.

Rath (right in the top photo) has been named an Outstanding Music Teacher by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

Plucknette (second photo) was selected from among 3,000 applicants to be among 200 teachers on the Learnzillion Dream Team.

Learnzillion is developing curricula and material to help teachers implement common core lesson plans as part of new federal guidelines.

She just returned from a four-day trip to San Francisco to learn how to make videos for Learnzillion's Web site.

Rath was selected from among music teachers in nine Western New York counties and will be honored at RPO's concern May 9.

"This means great things for Elba," said Stephanie Rudman (with Rath, top photo), who helped organize the recognition reception. "We're a little school in Genesee County and we have two awesome teachers. It's a small reflection of all the teachers we have in Elba. It's a great school."

Below, Principal Chris Salinas presents the teachers with certificates of appreciation.

An anti-religious vandal damaged three church buildings in Batavia overnight.

The person used black spray paint to scrawl "Religion is a mind virus." 

At Grace Baptist Church, 238 Vine St., the tag "NOZ" was added.

Also struck were the Assembly of God at 24 N. Spruce St. and City Church downtown on East Main Street.

The perpetrator, if ever caught, is facing possible prosecution for a hate crime under New York law, said Officer Jamie Givens, who is handling the investigation.

She said the other charges include graffiti and criminal mischief.

At City Church the phrase was sprayed on glass and was easily washed away by church staff.  At Grace Baptist the vandal damaged painted brick, and at Assembly of God, wood, which will be more costly and difficult to repair.

In all three locations, Givens said, the vandal used black spray paint and the handwriting matches in all three cases.

Nobody has reported seeing anything suspicious around the churches last night and there are no suspects or suspect descriptions available.

There were no cameras in the area that could be used to help identify the suspect.

There are no other reports so far of other churches being hit.

Givens said there's no apparent "rhyme or reason" as to why these three churches were targeted.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation can contact Batavia PD at (585) 345-6350.

City fire is on scene at a fire in or near a building behind Ferrallgas at 655 Ellicott Street. It is possibly a building of Hanson Aggregates at 645 Cedar St.

UPDATE 12:53 p.m.: City police are on scene to control traffic and shut it down at Cedar and Edwards. DPW is called to put up barricades at Cedar and Ellicott and Cedar and Edwards.

UPDATE 12:57 p.m.: A third platoon is called into city fire headquarters for standby. A Hanson building rep is arriving at the scene.

UPDATE 1:02 p.m.: Fire knocked down. Checking for extentions.

UPDATE 1:29 p.m.: Crews are picking up equipment and preparing to return to service.

UPDATE 1:37 p.m. (by Howard): Chief Jim Maxwell said the preliminary indication is that some smoldering insulation went unnoticed after crews finished installing some new water pipes and new water meter in one of the rooms of the structure. The fire was contained to the small room. A torch or soldering iron had been used. The facility is used to mix ready-made concrete.

Antonio Lester James, 22, of Rochester, was arrested on a bench warrant from Genesee County Court on a charge of grand larceny, 4th. He was arraigned and bail set at $25,000. He was returned to Monroe County Jail where he is being held on unrelated charges.

Kevin J. Weber, 42, of 5 Columbia Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing/blood circulation, coercion in the second degree, and harassment, 2nd. He is jailed on $2,500 bail or $5,000 cash bond. Weber was arrested after a domestic incident wherein it is alleged that he shoved a female into a wall after an argument and grabbed her by the throat.

Justin C. Hofert, 25, of 81 Woodstock Gardens, Batavia, was arrested May 2 by Batavia Police officer Perkins in the UMMC parking lot after it was reported that he allegedly pushed a female while their child in common was present. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance, charged with harassment, 2nd, criminal contempt, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child,

Lakeisha A. Gibson, 26, of 1353 Lewiston Road, Alabama, was arrested on warrants May 2, and charged with criminal mischief, 4th, harassment, 2nd, and disorderly conduct. She had an arrest warrant for the first two charges, and a bench warrant for the disorderly conduct charge. She was arraigned in city court and released on her own recognizance.

Samantha Brooks, 26, of Myrtle Street, Le Roy, was arrested by a Sheriff's deputy April 30 and and charged with petit larceny. She is accused of shoplifting $21.98 worth of merchandise from Kmart. She was issued an appearance ticket and has to return to Batavia Town Court on May 20.

Stephanie Grace Pelkey, 18, of Snipery Road, Corfu, is accused of stealing $38.87 worth of merchandise from Kmart on May 3. She will be arraigned May 30 in Batavia Town Court on a charge of petit larceny.

Joshua Michael Pierce, 18, of Meadowbrook Terrace, Corfu, is accused of stealing $38.87 worth of merchandise from Kmart on May 3. He will be arraigned May 30 in Batavia Town Court on a charge of petit larceny.

Autumn M. Sierra, 19, of Brooklyn, was arrested by Batavia Police and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and not wearing a seat belt. The defendant was arrested after a traffic stop by officer Darryl Streeter after he allegedly observed her sitting on the lap of the front middle passenger of a vehicle on East Main Street. She was issued an appearance ticket and released.

Caitlin A. Hanley, 24, of 8080 Batavia Stafford Townline Road, was arrested May 3 by Batavia Police officer Marc Lawrence on a bench warrant out of Bergen County, New Jersey, for failure to appear. She was arraigned and put in Genesee County Jail without bail, awaiting extradition.

A car fire with flames shooting from the engine compartment is reported on Wortendyke Road near Route 33. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 11:23 a.m.: A responder on scene says "I think we got it knocked down with a few extinguishers." East Pembroke just arrived at the scene.

With a backdrop of woodland and blue sky, a patch of red osier stands amid the remnants of last year's cattails. 

Also called dogwood and red willow, osier is attractive to a variety of wildlife including this redwing blackbird, another spring harbinger.

Framed by osier, a swamp maple is reflected on the surface of a placid backwater. While the sight and sound of the redwing blackbird was obvious, unseen were the spring peepers whose mating call permeated the air.

A mother goose stealthfully protects her clutch of eggs....

...while a great blue heron stalks the edge of a shallow marsh.

It's early evening on Oak Orchard Creek and soon the diurnal creatures will begin their retreat. 

As day rapidly fades into night, only the spring peepers will remain vocal, joining the nocturnal chorus of the late night denizens.

The Batavian: Dailey says proposed school budget is as lean as it can be

Dispatchers have received a report of an ultra-light airplane going down in the area of 8956 Putnam Road, Batavia.

There's been only one call and the caller isn't sure where it went down.

Bethany fire is dispatched.

UPDATE 7:42 p.m.: The caller was about to call back when law enforcement arrived on scene. Since the initial call, the ultra-light has pass over head again. "He must be practicing stall techniques because the engine cut off and cut back on," the deputy said. Bethany fire is back in service.

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A "bonfire-like" fire is reported near the railroad tracks off Lehigh Avenue, Batavia.

It is growing in size.

City fire responding.

UPDATE 7:39 p.m.: Property owners are "cleaning up a hedgerow" according to a fire captain. 

UPDATE 7:44 p.m.: Fire extinguished. City fire back in service.

Oakfield-Alabama's Salina Stymus connects for a home run during a tournament game in Nunda.

The Hornets advanced to the championship game, but dropped the match 7-0 to Keshequa.

Information and photos submited by Ron Welker.

A brush fire is reported in the area of 10650 Transit Road, Bethany.

Bethany fire responding.

UPDATE 1:02 p.m.: It's a rough road in and the chief wants the truck driver to use caution to avoid damaging the truck. "The fire is pretty much contained," the chief says.

UPDATE 1:08 p.m.: A tanker from Pavilion requested to stage at the road in case needed.

UPDATE 2:01 p.m.: The fire was put out about 20-30 minutes ago and all units are back in service.

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It was a long day of baseball at Dwyer Stadium Saturday as offense dominated in all four games leading up to a 19-1 tournament championship win for the Batavia Blue Devils over the pitch-weary Oakfield-Alabama Hornets.

This was the 15th year for tournament, sponsored by the Batavia Rotary Club.

To reach the finals, Batavia beat Attica 8-6 and O-A beat Notre Dame 10-9, erasing a 7-0 deficit for the comeback victory.

In the consolation game, Attica downed the Irish 14-10 in a game punctuated by numerous complaints about the ball-strike calling of the home plate umpire.

Zach Hale was named tournament MVP after fanning 15 in the nightcap.

And nightcap it was. The game was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but with the high-scoring games prior to the championship game, the Blue Devils and Hornets didn't take the field until 8:15 p.m.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Town of Batavia Fire took delivery Thursday of a new ladder truck.

The 100-foot platform ladder has been designated Ladder 25 and should go into service this week, replacing the old Ladder 25, which will be sold.

The new truck was built by Spartan ERV out of South Dakota.

The truck committee members were: Chief Paul Barrett, First Assistant Chief Nate Fix, Second Assistant Chief Bob Hunt, Deputy Chief Dan Coffey, Captain Bob Tripp, Lt. Jason Holman and firefighters Scott Malay, Joe Aveno, Chris Long, Ryan Palmer and John Fitzsimonds.

The total cost of the truck was $915,000.

Dispatchers have received a report of a grass fire behind a building in the area of 66 Lake St., Le Roy.

Le Roy Fire and Le Roy Ambulance responding.

UPDATE 12:12 p.m.: A chief on scene reports "a pretty good brush fire going."

UPDATE 12:31 p.m.: Fire is out. Le Roy should be back in service shortly.

UPDATE 12:32 p.m.: Fire is out. They are doing overhaul and expect to go back in service shortly.

A grass fire is reported near the pond at Lei-Ti Campground, 9979 Francis Road.

Bethany Fire is dispatched.

UPDATE 10:40 a.m.: Fire is out.

Once again, hundreds of Genesee County residents came out to Terry Hills today for Derby Day, one of the annual major fundraisers for the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation.

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If I'm out in the county driving around on a beautiful spring day, as I was to hit some of the spots on the GO ART! trail, then you know I'm going to make some photos.

Above, dandelions off Jericho Road, Bethany.

This GMC truck is always parked off Route 20 in Alexander, across the street at Ivy Lane Pottery.

At Ivy Lane Pottery.

In the field next to Sticks and Stones on Broadway, Darien Center.

I've published a photo of this barn on Route 20, Darien, before, but from the other side.

Barn at Route 20 and Smithley Road, Darien.

Spring trees off Walker Road, Darien.

Yellow magnolia in front of the Doty Mansion, Jackson Street, Batavia.

This afternoon, I made the rounds on a portion of GO ART! 2013 Artists Road Show.

Above, Bernice Yunker and Marilynn Palotti at the studio of artist Terry Weber, 5769 Ellicott Street Road, Bethany (the former East Bethany General Store).

Below, Heather Burroughs, of Alexander, gives a pottery demonstration at Ivy Lane Pottery, 3384 Broadway Road, Alexander. Burroughs is a student of Jean Grinnell and started pottery lessons a year ago when she received the lessons as a birthday present from her parents. Grinnell said Heather has picked up the craft quickly.

Bottom photo, Anita Haefner at Sticks and Stones, 2339 Broadway, Darien Center. Our photos of Michael Haefner, unfortunately, did not turn out. He makes rock sculptures.

A diner at the Log Cabin Restaurant has reported three youths in the Indian Falls gorge.

Also, calls in the past 20 minutes we haven't quite kept up with: Youths were throwing rocks from a train bridge in Le Roy. A woman reports her windshield was damaged. In another location, two white males placed something on a train track, which was struck by a train, and the youths fled in a white pickup truck.