Alexander

The parking lot at Alexander High School was packed with cars and people from all over the Genesee County community. Folks came out to give their support to an 18 year old 2012 Pembroke High School graduate who has been battling a rare juvenile cancer since last February.

The fundraiser for Austin Heineman during last night's Alexander Boys Basketball match-up with Lyndonville was organized by the Alexander Varsity Cheerleading squad.

"I wanted the girls to see what it's like to give back to the community," Varsity Cheerleading Coach Erin Coles said. "This is their chance to shine for a second, I just didn't expect this many people here." 

Admission was free. Donation buckets, 50/50 raffle, a half-court basketball shoot, a bake sale, and the sale of Austin's Army T-shirts and wristbands collected a total of $1,500 for the night. All proceeds will go toward Austin's medical expenses. 

Austin was scheduled to be at the fundraising event, but had to go to Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo for stem cell replacement yesterday morning. 

Doctors want to boost his platelet count to prepare him for a bone marrow transplant next week at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md. 

According to Tricia Heineman, Austin's aunt, they have found two good candidates for the bone marrow transplant.

"He has the best attitude -- if there was one to make it through this, it would be him," Tricia Heineman said.

The Alexander Boys Basketball Team defeated Lyndonville 59-39 to make the night complete.

To keep updated about Austin's condition go to www.facebook.com/austinsarmy

A flatbed truck on Route 98 lost some of its scrap metal load, striking a parked snowmobile in front of Sunnyside Cycle Sales in Alexander. A vehicle driving behind the flatbed called 9-1-1 to report that the driver did not stop after the incident.

Sheriff's deputies reported a large back end of an old pickup truck in the road. The damage to the snowmobile is minimal.

Law enforcement has the flatbed truck stopped on Angling Road. The driver will return to Sunnyside Cycle Sales with his insurance information.

A barn fire in the Village of Attica at 69 High St. has closed down Route 98 between Dunbar Road and Route 354. Alexander, Bethany and Darien fire departments are responding.

UPDATE 3:30 p.m.: Town of Batavia also responding.

UPDATE 7:10 p.m.: According to the property owner Gene Reding, the barn was fully engulfed when he arrived home. The two horses that are normally housed in the barn were out in the field at the time and not injured. There was some equipment and hay for bedding inside. He says he has owned the property since 1975 and the barn was built in 1919.

Attica Fire Chief Bob Willard says the wood frame barn went up in flames in five minutes. It looks like the fire started in the basement and it could have been an electrical problem that caused it. It is a total loss.

Seven companies were called to the two-alarm blaze and no one was injured.

A vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on Route 98 in Alexander has pulled into a driveway near Lang Road in Alexander. The driver has exited the vehicle and is now running on foot.

No direction of travel has been given. Genesee County Sheriff's deputies have responded and are investigating.

Maurice G. Leach, 36, of 212 State St., Batavia, is charged with menacing, 3rd, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and criminal tampering, 3rd. Police officers Eric Hill, Thad Mart and Chris Camp responded to a report of a male subject hitting a woman outside 212 State St. at 8:39 a.m., Sunday. During the investigation, Leach allegedly became combative and when officers attempted to place him into custody, he allegedly resisted arrest. While at police headquarters, Leach allegedly urinated and defecated on the floor of the holding cell. Leach was jailed on $50,000 bail.

Edward R. Freida, 41, of 47 Tracy Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd. Freida was allegedly found in possession of a switchblade knife during a routine search of his residence by a probation officer. Because Frieda has a prior conviction for criminal possession of a weapon, 4th, the charge is elevated to third degree. Freida was jailed without bail.

Jessica L. Polk, 36, of 202 Bank St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Polk is accused of pushing and grabbing a child during a domestic incident.

Ann M. Schlegel, 35, Lawrence A. Atkins, 35, and Leon D. Atkins, 16, all from Medina, are charged with petit larceny. The trio is accused of attempting to steal $337.31 in merchandise from Kmart at 5:54 p.m., Sunday.

Scott Dwayne Kingdon, 46, of Sparks Road, Pavilion, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Kingdon is accused of sending e-mails to a person in violation of an order of protection.

Nathaniel L. Beglinger, 21, of Peaviner Road, Alexander, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Beglinger is accused of recklessly causing damage to a building in Darien, causing more than $250 damage, at 12:35 a.m., Dec. 1.

Dennis J. Saporito, 25, of Culver Road, Albion, turned himself in on a bench warrant out of Batavia City Court for alleged driving while ability impaired. Saporito was arraigned and sentenced to 10 days in jail.

Robert Lee Ealey, 26, of Phelps Road, Rochester, Ealey was taken into custody by Rochester PD on a bench warrant issued by Genesee County Court and turned over to the Sheriff's Office. Ealey was held pending arraignment today.

Adam M. Miller, 20, of Oakfield, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Miller is accused of damaging property with a value greater than $250 at 4 a.m., Jan. 1, in the Town of Shelby. Miller was arrested by State Police. No further details released.

The Alexander High School Varsity Cheerleaders will host a benefit basketball game for Austin Heineman at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18.

Come to Alexander High School and watch the Alexander Trojans (varsity boys) take on Letchworth. The school is located at 3314 Buffalo St.

Donations are welcome at the door. Plus, there will be a 50/50 raffle, half-court shootout, bake sale, and gift certificates from local businesses to be raffled off.

All proceeds will be donated to Austin as he battles a rare childhood cancer. He is currently awaiting a bone marrow transplant.

The Alexander Fire Department held its annual awards and installation dinner Saturday night at the fire hall.

Above from left:

• Dylan Scharlau, who was honored for completing the most hours training -- 103 hours
• Ryan Hinz, most calls -- 118 calls
• Dean Hendershott, Firefighter of the Year
• Debra Spires, president and EMS captain
• Chief Lance Scharlau
• Tom Green, Chief's Award
• Patricia Merle, President's Award

Spires is holding a flag that was flown in Afghanistan and was presented to the department last night.

With a record of 7-0, Alexander's girls were riding the high of a good start to a season.

Then they hit the brick wall of a team that hadn't lost its previous 31 games and are defending state champions, the Lady Lancers of Elba.

Keyed by McKenzie Bezon's 18 points, the Lancers, now 7-0 themselves, notched a decisive 57-31 at home.

Alexander Head Coach Marcia Hirsch wasn't too happy with her team's performance.

"We were playing a tough team," Hirsch said. "I expected my team to step up a little better. Our defense is the not the defense we’ve seen. They shut down all my scorers."

Her girls can expect to drill more on defense in the coming days and weeks, Hirsch said.

Elba's head coach, Tom Nowak, said in preparation for the game, his girls drilled on pressuring Alexander with an aggressive defense, forcing turnovers and limiting scoring, which is what they did Thursday.

And the team will continue to work on defense, he said.

"Hopefully, we can polish things up a bit," Nowak said. "You just keep playing. You never know where it's going to take you."

To go with her 18 points, McKenzie had six rebounds.

Kelsey Bezon had five rebounds and 11 points. Jamie Marshall had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Anna Dorman had seven points and five rebounds.

For Alexander, Sarah Loranty led the way with 13 points.

Next up, Elba hosts Bergen on Monday and Alexander plays in the Rotary Tournament at Genesee Community College on Tuesday.

A Bergen resident, Jasvir Kaur, bought a $20 scratch-off ticket Nov. 13 at the Country Deli in Alexander and won $5 million, lottery officials announced in Rochester today.

After taxes, Kaur pockets $3.3 million.

A Batavia man died today after he lost control of his Ford Ranger on a snow-and-ice covered Route 20 in Alexander and hit a westbound semi-truck.

The 48-year-old State Street resident was not wearing a seat belt, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Frank R. Demarco was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Donald Coleman.

Demarco's passenger, Brandon J. Eck, 32, of Graystone Lane, Rochester, suffered a serious leg injury in the accident. Eck was belted in his seat prior to the accident.

The driver of the 2010 Freightliner, 54-year-old Douglas E. McPherron, of County Route 9, Clayton, was not injured, though he was transported to UMMC by the Alexander ambulance as a precaution.

Unsafe speed for the road conditions is considered the preliminary contributing factor to the accident, according to investigators.

Demarco's Ranger was westbound when it crossed the center line and hit the truck head on. McPherron tried to break but couldn't slow quickly enough to avoid the accident, an investigator said.

The Ranger exited the road on the north shoulder.

The accident was reported at 1:34 p.m. at a location on Route 20 about half way between Browns Mill Road and West Bethany Road.

Alcohol is not considered a factor in the accident.

Assisting at the scene were the Alexander Volunteer Fire Department, State Police and Mercy EMS. The Bethany Volunteer Fire Department and Pavilion Volunteer Fire Department assisted with traffic control.

Route 20 was closed to all westbound traffic for about three hours. Westbound truck traffic was diverted onto Route 63 at Texaco Town.

The accident investigation is being conducted by Deputy Christopher Parker, Deputy Joseph Corona, Sgt. James Meier, Deputy John Duyssen, Investigator William Ferrando and Sgt. Greg Walker.

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Wires are arcing, but not down, on a utility pole at 11230 Genesee St. in Alexander. There's also a fire in the center of the top of the pole. The location is near the county line. Alexander Fire Department is responding. The utility company has been notified. No ETA given.

UPDATE 4:01 p.m.: A responder on scene says the utility company should be advised that the pole is well off the roadway. It does not have a transformer on it. But the fire is now four feet down from the top pole and it's "burned pretty good." The ETA of the utility company is 30 minutes to an hour and a responder says he will "babysit" the situation until the workers arrive.

A pickup truck and tractor-trailer crashed at 4176 Route 20 and there are injuries. Mercy Flight is unavailable due to weather. The location is between Brown's Mill and Molasses Hill roads. Alexander Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding along with law enforcement. One person is reportedly unconscious. The westbound lane is blocked. Bethany Fire Police are called in for traffic control.

UPDATE 1:46 p.m.: No westbound traffic from Molasses Hill Road will be allowed onto Route 20 (Broadway Road).

UPDATE 1:52 p.m.: Route 63 will be shut down at Route 20 (Texaco Town) for westbound vehicles and Pavilion Fire Police are called to provide traffic control.

UPDATE 2:05 p.m.: One person is being transported to Strong Memorial Hospital.

UPDATE 2:15 p.m.: The driver of the pickup truck sustained fatal injuries. The passenger was taken to Strong. The driver of the semi, which has Oklahoma plates, is not injured.

UPDATE 2:24 p.m.: A heavy wrecker is called to tow the semi, which lost all of its fluids in the crash, and has / had a weight of 79,000 pounds.

UPDATE 2:42 p.m.: The driver of the semi is being transported via Alexander ambulance to UMMC for evaluation. He was able to get out of his rig unaided and any injuries he sustained are believed to be minor.

UPDATE 3:09 p.m.: The medic tells ER personnel the man has "zero injuries" and his transport there is precautionary.

UPDATE 4:25 p.m.: Route 63 at Route 20 is being reopened. Pavilion Fire Police will be in service shortly.

UPDATE 4:29 p.m.: All of westbound Route 20 is reopened and Bethany Fire Police are going back in service.

The Rotary Club of Batavia hosted its annual lunch kicking off its basketball tournament.

The 24th annual tournament will be Jan. 8 and 10 at GCC, game times of 6 and 7 p.m.

Photo above: Riley Norton, Notre Dame, senior, forward; Kaleigh Cicero, Perry, senior, guard; Tatyana Wayne, Batavia, senior, guard; and, Sarah Loranty, Alexander, senior, guard.

Below, Santa asks attendees to applaud for the coach with the best "do-rag." From left, Brent Gillette, Perry, Marcia Hirsch, Alexander, Dave Pero, Notre Dame, and Bill Wade, Batavia.

Tips from readers of The Batavian have helped lead to the arrest a man suspected of driving his truck into the building of a restaurant in Darien Center on the night of Dec. 1.

Johny Bear's, on Broadway Road, reportedly suffered significant damage from a truck that spun out in the parking lot while the asphalt was covered with a dusting of snow.

N. L. Beglinger, 21, of Peaviner Road, Alexander, is being charged with reckless driving and leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

According to Deputy Brian Thompson's report, Beglinger drove into the parking lot at 12:35 a.m., with a 2006 Chevy pickup registered to Harlan L. George, of Peaviner Road. He drove in a northwesterly direction, spun counterclockwise and struck the building. He then allegedly headed southwesterly, and peeled out in the grass in front of a fire hydrant. Tire marks then showed the truck heading northwest and doing a donut in the parking lot.

Thompson said in his report that the investigation revealed that Beglinger intended to report to an insurance company that the truck struck a tree on Sprague Road.

The initial report in The Batavian suggested the truck involved in the accident also did donuts at the Triple C Shop Mart, Darien, and a video surveillance system captured some images of that truck.

It turned out the two incidents were unrelated -- different trucks -- though similar-looking -- and different drivers.

There were three passengers in Beglinger's truck, Shelby L. Fryer, 17, Douglas J. Knauss, 22, and Christopher King, 21.

Beglinger is scheduled to appear on the matter in Darien Town Court at 5 p.m., Dec. 18.

Deputy Kevin McCarthy assisted in the investigation.

A motor-vehicle accident, believed to be with minor injuries, is reported at Route 98 and Stroh Road. Alexander Ambulance and Fire Department are responding.

UPDATE 3:31 p.m.: A fireman on scene reports there are no injuries and it is not blocking traffic. Ambulance is cancelled.

UPDATE 4:03 p.m.: There were two sign-offs and one patient is being taken to UMMC.

UPDATE 4:13 p.m.: The patient is a 20-year-old male complaining of head and right knee pain. Alexander fire is back in service.

Alexander native and rising star soprano Emily Tworek-Helenbrook will perform with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday night in a program titled "A Classical Christmas."

Fresh from her recent appearance on the nationally broadcast radio show "From the Top," she will perform pieces by Handel and Massenet. The concert is at 8 p.m. at the Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, in Buffalo. Tickets range in price from $32 to $77.

Tworek-Helenbrook has performed at the Music Festival of Perugia in Italy, and with the Rochester Philharmonic, Genesee Symphony and with other regional groups. She is studying at Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester, in the dual degree program for vocal performance and pre-law.

JoAnn Falletta will conduct this concert, which also features music from Amahl and the Night Visitors and works by John Rutter and Leroy Anderson.

Tickets are available by calling (716) 885-5000 or visiting www.bpo.org.

Tovia Poles, 24, of 77 W. Main St., Le Roy, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Poles is accused of finding a wallet and rather than turn it into police, kept the wallet, destroyed the contents and then used the wallet herself. The person who lost the wallet reportedly left it on top of her car and then drove off from a parking spot on West Main Street, in the Village of Le Roy. The wallet fell to the ground at that location. The wallet contained personal identification, a credit car, a driver's license and a checkbook.

Chad Edward Merle, 31, of Broadway Road, Alexander, is charged with violation of a Family Court act. Merle was picked up on a Family Court warrant.

Note: When the grand jury indicts individuals who have not been arrested, the indictments are sealed until the suspects are arrested and arraigned in county court. There have been a spate of recent arrests on sealed indictments. At the request of The Batavian, the District Attorney's Office today released all of the recent sealed indictments that have led to arrests. Some of these arrests have already been reported, but the indictments may contain additional relevant information.

Shawn Lardner is indicted on two counts of of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd. Lardner is accused of selling oxycodone on Dec. 14 at the intersection of Peviner Road and Route 98, Alexander. On Dec. 15, Lardner allegedly sold oxycodone at the same location.

Robert Andreasen is indicted on counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd. Andreasen is accused of possessing and selling cocaine in the parking lot of Pizza Hut/Dollar General in Batavia on Feb. 4.

Randy Wilmet is indicted on a count of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 4th. Wilmet is accused of selling hydrocodone at a location on Ross Street on May 23.

Tracey Cook is indicted on two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd. Cook is accused of selling hydrocodone at 52 Columbia Ave., Batavia, on April 4 and April 18.

Cody Bush is indicted on a count of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd and two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 4th. Bush is accused of selling oxycontin at a location on North Street, Batavia, on April 19. He is accused of selling hydrocodone at 162 Bank St., Batavia, on May 4, and of selling suboxone at 412 E. Main St., Batavia, on May 17.