The green heron pictured above appears to be doing its hunting in a grassy field but that is probably not the case. Never one to venture far from their favored haunts, the small stream barely visible behind the heron is probably where it was hunting before being disturbed.

After taking flight, the heron flew only a short distance before coming to rest on some dead branches.

Dead tree limbs overlooking marshy confines and surrounded by thick brush or cattails makes for a preferred hunting location for the green heron.

The heron has something in its sights and begin to crane its neck forward.

Its neck fully extended, the green heron is on full alert.

Great blue herons, along with great white herons, are the largest of the heron family. Mostly seen wading the edges of small streams and marshes, this great blue heron opted for an aerial view from a dead tree.  

This is the marsh bordering the hedgerow of dead timber where the heron is situated. Whether he's simply resting or watching for prey, it has a great view of its wetland haunt.

Ever vigilant, the great blue looks to the west...

before looking to the east...

with nothing in sight, it takes a moment for a bit of preening.

There may be some opposition in Pembroke to placing a veterans cemetery on one of two parcels in the town, according to Bill Joyce, the new veterans services administrator for the county.

Joyce raised the issue with the Public Service Committee today during his first departmental review with the Genesee County Legislature.

He said the Town of Pembroke Planning Board may have some members concerned about taking farm land off the tax roles.

Pembroke Town Supervisor Ed Mileham confirmed this evening that he thinks there may be some opposition to converting farmland to a veterans cemetery, but said the issue hasn't come before the planning board yet.

"There's no doubt in my mind there could be some opposition because Pembroke is a farming community and they like their farm atmosphere here," Mileham said.

There's also likely to be support for the project because it will benefit the community, Mileham said.

"It would be something no other community got and we would be fortunate to get it," Mileham said. "Would we have to give something up, would we give up some tax dollars for it? Sure, but it's something a lot of communities would want to have and we've got good spots right here."

The advantages for Pembroke, Mileham said is attractive properties, close proximity to Buffalo and Rochester and easy access to the Thruway.

These are points in Pembroke's favor that Joyce, a Pembroke resident, also made and said the two locations in Pembroke under consideration make more sense than the location on the short list in Erie County, which is an industrial area.

"To me, not just because it's Genesee County, a veterans cemetary should be peaceful and serene," Joyce said.

Added Legislator Mary Pat Hancock, "and the locations I've seen are just gorgeous."

Mileham said the two locations in Pembroke under consideration by the Veterans Administration are at Indian Falls Road and Route 77, about 135 acres, and a similar-sized location at the end of Cleveland Road. 

About 50 or 60 acres of farmland would be taken out of production for the project, Mileham said.

The supervisor said the indications he's received from officials with the VA working out of Bath -- currently the closest vets cemetery to Buffalo and Rochester -- are that Indian Falls and Route 77 is a favored location.

County Manager Jay Gsell told legislators that the short list of sites has changed a couple of times as the VA came across unwilling sellers, inappropriate locations or environmental issues. Site planning experts with the VA have reduced the list now to these three possible locations.

It will take willing sellers at any one of the three locations to move the project forward.

As it is, construction is at least two-and-a-half years away.

The deluge of rain has flooded roadways and drainage pipes causing driving hazards and other problems.

There are reports of flooding on Route 5 and Gilbert Street, Route 19 and Hilltop, Route 19 and Wolcott in Le Roy.

In the city, Watson and Thorpe are flooded again, about six to eight inches of water as the storm wound down. The basement of 14 Watson St. flooded again. Watson and Evans was also flooded.

We'll add more info as we get it.

UPDATE 3:50 p.m.: According to the National Weather Service, it's about 72 degrees out with humidity of 87 percent. More showers and possibly a thunderstorm are predicted until midnight, with showers forecast thereafter. Route 5 is reopened.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing fire hydrants on Thursday, Sept. 6, at approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the general area south of East Main Street and east of Jackson Street. Homes and businesses nearby will be affected. These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area. As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored.

Larry J. Jones, 35, of Hamlin Street, Buffalo, is charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, 1st, a Class C felony, and tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony. Jones allegedly tried to buy French fries at Darien Lake Amusement Park using a fake $50 bill. An employee suspected the bill of being counterfeit and notified security. Jones allegedly produced a large number of $50 bills also believed to be counterfeit. While being transported to the security trailer, Jones allegedly tried stuffing additional fake $50 bills he possessed in his mouth and eating them. Security officers were able to prevent consumption of the bills and, though damaged, they were also determined to be allegedly counterfeit. Jones was jailed without bail. The case was investigated by Deputy Patrick Reeves and Investigator Kris Kautz.

Shawn Anthony Suarez, 23, of Bernhardt Drive, Snyder, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Suarez is accused of possessing marijuana at a concert at Darien Lake on Aug. 29. Also charged was Samantha Lee Jindra, 18, of Westminster Road, West Seneca.

Antonio Velazquez-Hernandez, 25, of Oak Orchard Road, Albion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, reckless driving, driving left of pavement markings, failure to keep right, no signal, unlicensed operator. Velazquez-Hernandez was stopped at 2:50 a.m., Sunday, on Route 98 in Batavia by Deputy Howard Carlson. Velazquez-Hernandez was also allegedly in the United States illegally and was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

An Alabama man indicted on 28 counts of sexual abuse with alleged acts going back 13 years entered a not guilty plea and had his bail reduced in county court this morning.

Earl Francis Sprague, 42, of Church Street, Alabama, can get of jail pending further court proceedings if he can come up with $25,000 cash or secure a $50,000 bond.

He was being held on $50,000 cash or $500,000 bond.

Under a review system developed by attorneys and judges that helps determine a defendant's suitability for release under supervision or some level of bail, Sprague scored 11 points out of 20 possible.

Normally, 11 points would make Sprague eligible for supervised release. But given the possible lengthy prison term for Sprague if convicted of more than one count of the lengthy indictment, and a prior offense when Sprague was a youth, Noonan said some level of bail was appropriate to help assure Sprague's appearance at future court dates.

Attorney William Harper argued that his client had no adult criminal convictions, though he did have a probation violation in 2009 (his last previous contact with law enforcement).

Harper also said Sprague had some "dim hope" of retaining his current job if he were able to make bail, though Harper acknowledged the current accusations against Sprague diminished his chances of keeping that job.

He said, however, Sprague was considered a good employee.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said that while the person who conducted the bail evaluation scored Sprague at 11 points, she wouldn't have had access to Sprague's youthful offender status records. As a youthful offender, Sprague was accused of what Friedman said was charged under the former sodomy statute at the time and convicted of sexual abuse. That was in 1986.

"That is a relevant factor," Friedman said. "He also expressed a use of alcohol and marijuana."

Friedman requested no modification in the bail status for Sprague.

Noonan noted that if Sprague is convicted of multiple counts of the indictment, he would face possible consecutive prison terms on each count.

Sprague is accused of sexually abusing a single child victim over a period of years starting in 1999.

A work crew has reportedly hit a gas line in the area of Black Street Road and Asbury Road, Pavilion.

Pavilion Fire Department is dispatched.

National Fuel has been notified. No ETA on a crew's arrival.

UPDATE 9:04 a.m.: It's a three-inch line, completely severed.

UPDATE 9:13 a.m.: Le Roy fire asked to have an engine stand by in quarters.

The members of the Oakfield Betterment Committee couldn't have asked for better parade weather today.

Hundreds of people lined the parade route, which began at Oakfield-Alabama Central School and stretched a village mile to Elroy Parkins Memorial Town Park.

The hour-long parade featured all the floats, bands, fire trucks and other small-town hoopla any true parade fan would appreciate.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here. To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

Four people have been charged with burglary following a three-and-a-half month investigation by the Sheriff's Office into a pair of break-ins at a residence on Telephone Road, Pavilion.

The burglaries occurred at 2:18 a.m., May 18, and 2:45 a.m., May 21.

In the first break-in, cash was stolen from a wallet and a purse on the kitchen table.

In the second case, three people reportedly entered the home and took a safe containing cash and savings bonds.

Arrested where:

• John H. O'Shea, 20, of Wolcott Street, Le Roy. He is charged with two counts of burglary, 2nd, and one count of grand larceny, 2nd. He is accused of being involved in the May 21 burglary. He was arrested June 1 and has been held in jail on $25,000 bail since.
• Dylan J. Hawkins, 20, of Morrow Road, Pavilion, is charged with burglary, 2nd, grand larceny, 4th, and grand larceny, 2nd. Hawkins is accused of partaking in both burglaries. He was jailed on June 7 on $25,000 bail.
• Anthony J. Gonzales, 20, of Myrtle Street, Le Roy, is charged with burglary, 2nd, and grand larceny, 2nd. He allegedly participated in the May 21 break-in. Gonzales was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.
• Joshua M. Bratcher, 22, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with burglary, 2nd, and grand larceny, 4th. Bratcher was allegedly involved in the May 18 break-in. Bratcher was arrested Friday and jailed on $20,000 bail.

O'Shea was accused in July of falsely reporting a theft of jewelry and marijuana in Le Roy.

The burglaries were investigated by Deputies John Baiocco, Frank Bordonaro, Matthew Butler and Investigator Roger Stone. The Sheriff's Office was assisted by Det. John Condidorio, Officer Darryle Rob and Officer Emily Clark, of the Le Roy PD.

The investigation is ongoing, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Here are the results from today's 5K race sponsored by the Batavia Area Jaycees.

For the men:

• Ty Demmer, age 15, time 17:45
• Kevin Sheehan, age 50, time 18:05
• Dave Bateman, age 29, 18:39

Fore the women:

• Emily Heale, age 22, 23:51
• Kathryn Bellamy, age 31, 24:13
• Andrea Ridings, age 28, 25:01

Top time 55 and over was Larry Pelkey, age 55, 21:22.

Top time age 65 and over was Tom Dutton, age 66, 21:54.

Tom Demmer, at age 15, finished in 19:39 and Emma Eastridge, at age 14, finished in 25:44.

Bill White, age 70, finished at 27:23 and Ed Duncan, age 71, finished at 45:39.

Dispatcher: "Copy, 253 on scene, investigating burnt rice."

The chief (253 is from Town of Batavia Fire) is "on scene" at Cedar Hall at College Village.

Yes, school is back in session.

Engine 21 is on location.

UPDATE 3:01 p.m.: Town of Batavia is back in service. Confirming burnt food.

Sarah Patricia Nichols, 29, of Pinehollow Drive, Batavia, is charged with falsely reporting an incident, 3rd. Nichols is accused of falsely reporting a larceny from her vehicle while it was parked in the Walmart parking lot. An investigation by Deputy Brad Mazur led Mazur to believe the larceny did not take place.

Patricia M. Anderson, 27, of 6281 Walkers Corners Road, Byron, is charged with petit larceny. Anderson is accused of shoplifting from the Kwik Fill 99 at Jackson and Ellicott streets. Anderson was located at a residence on Central Avenue following a complaint of the theft.

Francis Scott Smith, 18, of Lake Avenue, New York, is charged with petit larceny. Smith was taken into custody in the lobby of city court on a warrant out of Batavia Town Court. Smith was jailed on $250 bail.

Jennifer J. Maggio, 27, of Kingston Road, Leicester, is charged with petit larceny. Maggio is accused of shoplifting $95.32 in merchandise from Kmart by hiding it in her purse.

Raymond Michael Pfalzer, 41, of Brown Road, Corfu, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Pfalzer was charged in connection with an accident at Wilkinson Road and Brown Road, Batavia, at 8:20 p.m., July 22, in which he was seriously injured.

Angela A. Starling, 30, of Pembroke, is charged with disorderly conduct/fighting/violent behavior and harassment, 2nd. Starling was arrested by State Police following the report of an incident at Godfrey's Pond at 10:11 p.m., Saturday. No further details were released.

Out and about for a bit this afternoon and I snapped a couple of pictures.

Above, irrigation on Kelsey Road, Batavia. Below, a tractor parked on a lawn off Route 5, Batavia.

Oakfield's Labor Day celebration kicked off today with live music, fun for the kids, a craft show and food.

Tonight, there will be a fireworks display.

The fun continues Monday starting with a parade at 10 a.m.

On a less pleasant note today, their was a raffle for two prizes today, a handmade quilt and a Christmas tree skirt hand sewn by one of Oakfield's 80-year-old residents. 

After the prizes were awarded, somebody stole the skirt.

"Nice people," Melissa Haacke said. "They're going to enjoy Christmas with a stolen skirt."

Upcoming fifth- and sixth-graders and their families got to see their new school, meet their new teachers, and connect with their peer mentors at Batavia Middle School's open house on Thursday.

What is a peer mentor, you ask? Well, here are a few:

Paige Hameister, Brianna Ball and Madison Mitchell are part of a team of more than 50 eighth-graders whose task it will be to welcome, support and serve as role models for their younger classmates throughout the 2012-2013 school year.

Their mentorship is part of "BMS Connects," an orientation program that was started in 2009 to welcome sixth-graders to the Middle School. This year, the program has been expanded to welcome both fifth- and sixth-graders in the wake of the school district consolidation.

According to a press release from the Batavia City School District, the purpose of "BMS Connects" is "to help fifth- and sixth-grade students feel more comfortable as well as help them achieve success in their first year at the Middle School."

Wednesday, Sept. 5, will be "Connect Day," a day of activities for fifth- and sixth-graders. It will follow a regular school day schedule. Students will come in at 8 a.m. (reporting to their homerooms by 8:07) and leave at 2:45 p.m.

The day will include team building activities involving Cain's Taekwondo, the City of Batavia Youth Bureau, the eighth-grade mentors and all BMS staff.

Fifth-graders will have their activities in the morning, sixth-graders in the afternoon.

Prior to the activities, the sixth-graders will get to know the school, go over their class schedules, travel around to their various classrooms, find their lockers and meet their teachers.

After morning activities, the fifth-graders will spend time getting to know their homeroom teachers (fifth-grade classes will retain the traditional elementary school model of one classroom, or "homeroom," throughout the day, broken up at intervals by "special" classes like art, music and physical education) and exploring such topics as Internet safety and "Q & A" about BMS.

The first day of school for all BMS students, grades five through eight, will be on Thursday.

A change of scene for kids and teachers

A yearly occurrence, "BMS Connects" takes on a special significance because of this year's transition. It is part of a larger process involving dedicated staff and students collaborating to welcome not only more new students than usual, but also a new batch of teachers.

Lynn Matteo is one of the fifth-grade teachers moving up to BMS (in her case, from Robert Morris School). She is pictured up top interacting with her new students and their families.

Here is a sampling of the fifth-grade teachers and aides who are "moving on up" with their students:

Pictured front row, from left: Kelly Mallaber, Shirley Boyd, Lori Easton-Penepent, Beth DeFreze, Christa Palmer, Deborah Murray, Karen Cima and Laura Kaczmarek. Back row, from left: Matteo, Charlene Barrett, Debbie Caruso, Richard Peek, Nathan Moore and Andrew Reagan.

Julia Rogers, who stepped into her new role as house administrator for fifth- and sixth-grades on July 1, talked about the large amount of effort everyone has put into making sure that the kids and their teachers enjoy as smooth, comfortable and welcoming a transition as possible.

"(The work) started last year when everyone knew about the consolidation," Rogers said. "(BMS Principal) Sandra Griffin and Tim McArdle, our assistant principal, worked tirelessly with the school district administrators to get this rolling."

She credits Interventions counselor Eric Knapp with being the "huge organizer" behind this year's "Connect Day" program.

"He is very multi-talented," she said. "He's done this in the past, but this time he's coordinating two different programs for two different groups of students on the same day."

That said, she also stressed that this whole process has been a team effort building-wide and district-wide, from the top administrators to the BMS custodial staff who had the fifth-grade classrooms ready for the teachers by mid-August.

"The teachers and support staff have really embraced this."

Fifth-grade staff members shared their perspectives on the transition as well.

"So far it's gone very well," Matteo said, "because everyone here is very warm and welcoming. They have made us feel right at home."

Shirley Boyd, formerly an aide at Jackson School, said the experience has been very exciting.

"You have to be willing to welcome change," she said, "and they (BMS staff and other fifth-grade staff) are doing that."

Mentors, models, friends

As is the case every year, the eighth-grade mentors have embraced their role with enthusiasm as well.

"It really is a big honor," mentor McKenna Dziemian said. "You have a lot of respect on your shoulders, but it's a huge responsibility as well."

"BMS Connects" is designed to benefit the mentors as well as the mentored. According to the district's press release, "the 'Connect Day' program helps mentors develop leadership skills, responsibility and team work as they begin their transition process to the high school."

Dajah Williams and Jhensy Etienne, both eighth-grade mentors, said that they were prepared for their task through training that included:

• "trust exercises" in which one person would stand on a desk and fall backward, and a partner would have to catch him/her;
• a "scavenger hunt" to find the new students' classrooms; and
• an exploration of the "middle dchool mindset" (positive and negative attitudes, etc).

Mentors will be assigned to individual fifth- and sixth-grade homerooms, and they will spend all of Wednesday with their charges. They, as well as staff, will help to answer students' questions and orientate them to the middle school.

According to Rogers, the mentors will be involved with their younger peers to varying degrees throughout the school year. For example, they might assist with activities in fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms, or a mentor might be "called upon if a child needs a friend or support."

"The big thing is that the fifth- and sixth-grade students will see faces they know (when the school year officially starts)."

High expectations are set for all of the mentors. As role models, they are expected to keep their grades up and model good behavior throughout the year.

Excitement for a new beginning

Rogers said that Thursday's open house, which included separate sessions for fifth-graders and sixth-graders, went very well.

"The students are really excited," she said. "I've noticed that most of their questions are focused on who their teachers will be."

Any families who were not able to attend the open house can access the House Student Handbook and Thursday's PowerPoint presentations by visiting the BMS 5/6 House Web page.

A motorcycle accident with injuries is reported at the corner of Walnut and South Main streets. City firefighters, police and Mercy EMS are responding.

UPDATE 12:49 p.m.: City fire is back in service.