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A bicyclist has been hit by a car on Center Street, across from Adam Miller Toys and Bicycle.

Minor injuries reported.

City fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Photo by Alex Feig, WBTA.

A two-car accident is reported at East Main and Center Street.

Injuries are reported.

City Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 3:12 p.m.: Possible hit-and-run.  Top photo by Dan Fischer, WBTA.  Bottom photo by Lisa Ace, The Batavian.

David Alan Leach, 23, of Morganville Road, Stafford, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to stop at stop sign, and driving a motor vehicle on a sidewalk. Leach was charged following the report of a property damage accident at 12:18 a.m. Thursday at 337 Bank St., Batavia. The accident was investigated by Officer Peter Flanagan.

Brian Thomas Resch, 29, of Buffalo Road, Bergen, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, criminal possession of marijuana, 5th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. At 5:33 p.m. Saturday, the Sheriff's Office received a complaint on Buffalo Road of man who had disabled a phone to prevent a person from seeking emergency assistance. Upon investigation by deputies Ryan DeLong and Richard Schildwaster, Resch was allegedly found in possession of a quantity of marijuana and he was accused of smoking marijuana in a public place.

Derek James Wert, 35, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Wert is accused of pushing another person during an argument at noon Sept. 18 at a location on North Street, Batavia. Wert was also charged with second-degree criminal contempt related to an incident at 7:02 p.m. Wednesday in Austin Park. Wert is accused of violating an order of protection.

Markeda D. Starks, 26, of Highland Park, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant. Starks posted bail and was released.

Adam Ross Atkinson, 29, of Kent Road, Stow, Ohio, is charged with under the influence of narcotics in public. Atkinson was arrested after deputies responded to multiple calls at 6:35 p.m. Friday of a disruptive male at a convenience store in Byron.

Brian R. Barnard, 53, of Leicester, is charged with burglary, 3rd, burglary, 2nd, and criminal mischief. The alleged burglary was reported at 3:08 p.m. Thursday in Le Roy. This is a State Police case. No further information released.

Brandon A. Brott, 20, Jacey L. McGregor, 19, and Jessica H. Shepard, 26, all three of Lockport, are charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Brott, McGregor, and Shepard were arrested at 3:36 a.m. in the Town of Alabama by State Police.

Local farmers and other members of the agriculture industry were briefed Saturday on various legislative issues by Rep. Chris Collins and a member of his staff.

The topics discussed included immigration, the new farm bill, the Waters of the U.S. rule and even a couple of non-agricultural items. The meeting was held at the Cornell Cooperative Extension office on East Main Street, Batavia.

Legislative Assistant Taylor Kloustin provided an update on key issues Collins is working on, including the H2A work visa program, workforce legislation, the upcoming effort to pass a new farm bill, and Waters of the U.S. rules.

Collins is meeting next week with the Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, to discuss immigration issues, most notably expanding the H2A visa program to allow workers from other countries to stay in the United States all year long when employed in certain farm jobs, such as dairy and livestock.

She said Collins is also interested in seeing the program revised for temporary workers so that they can get back into the country easier once they've established ongoing employment, such as a TSA-like precheck, perhaps with a biometric ID card.

There's also legislation pending that would move responsibility for farm labor from the Department of Labor to the USDA, which Kloustin said is an agency more familiar with the needs of farmers for labor.

The committee working on the Farm Bill renewal is expected to have language in place by November.

Collins is chair of the specialty crops caucus so his office is working with United Fresh on setting up a specialty crops awareness program in November for House staffers working on the Farm Bill so they can better understand the needs of specialty crop growers.

Dean Norton, an Elba dairy farmer, was one of those who brought the conversation back during the Q&A time to the Waters of the U.S. rule. The rule was approved during the Obama Administration and Trump has rescinded it by executive order. Farmers were upset by the bill because it could be used to regulate the smallest bodies of water on farms.

Norton and other farmers noted that what can be undone by executive order can be reimplemented by executive order in the next administration. They encouraged Collins to pursue legislation that would make Trump's order permanent.

Craig Yunker, CEO CY Farms, expressed concern about the direction the Trump Administration is taking on trade. He's particularly concerned about the seeming protectionist positions of Peter Navarro, a trade advisor to the Trump Administration. Yunker said with the United States pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership there are already trade problems with Japan.

Collins said there's a lot of uncertainty about what will happen with trade during the Trump Administration because we're only eight months into his presidency. He thinks Trump has the right people around him, though, to handle the issue.

"Trump very clear at the U.N.," Collins said. "It’s America first; he’s going to look out for America’s interest. He is going to expect other countries to do their fair share. He's looking for fair trade.

"My worry is your worry," Collins added. "Typically, the retaliation is on ag. That’s the gotcha. Whether it’s Canada or whether it’s Mexico or whether it’s something like apples going to Asia, we do know they retaliate using ag. I share that concern, but the administration knows this. They’re smart guys. To me, it’s too early to tell."

Maureen Torrey, of Torrey Farms, a large grower of produce, said her big concern remains trade restrictions in Canada, which makes it harder to sell U.S.-grown produce north of the border, even though there is no restriction on produce from Canada being sold here.

"It’s pretty sad that within five miles of the border you have 95 percent the population of Canada and the only time I can sell is if they don’t have it and then I have to go through a process to have them to say 'yes, you can ship something', " Torry said. "We need to get that door a little bit more open."

One farmer wondered if the bipartisan spirit displayed by Trump when he reached a deal a couple of weeks ago with Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi is something the GOP leadership in both houses will pick up on and follow.

"To be honest I think Trump is going to lead it from start to finish," Collins said.

While Trump's deal on the debt ceiling and relief for the victims of Harvey and Irma may have shocked and even upset some members of Congress, the leadership is going to have to fall in line, Collins said. 

"I think he's telling Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, 'You better get behind me,' " Collins said. " 'I'm the president. I'm the CEO.' "

Collins said he's solidly behind the president on this point and thinks a lot of what the president wants to get done this congressional term, most notably tax reform, will require bipartisan effort. Even within the GOP, he noted, there are too many divergent interests for the Republicans to act unilaterally. 

"I applauded him for doing what he did, though others just thought it was the worst thing that ever could have happened," Collins said. "There are a lot of folks that want to protect their own turf, if you will, and they didn’t like it. But as I’ve said, 'How did we do on health care?' Not so good, and that’s something we unanimously agreed on until the rubber hit the road and the document’s there. That’s the whole problem."

The other non-farm issue to come up was North Korea.  

" 'Rocket Man', " Collins said with a chuckle. "I’ve got to give Trump credit. He is so good with nicknames. I think Rocket Man is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s poking at Kim Jong-un. It’s getting under his skin. And it’s appropriate. He’s going to be Rocket Man from now on.”

Dean Norton, dairy farmer from Elba.

Victor Figueroa's ambition is to open a Puerto Rican restaurant in Batavia specializing in empanadas, and after winning both the Top Competitor Award and the People's Choice Award on Saturday night at the FreshLAB's Foodie Challenge, that dream is a step closer to reality.

Figueroa along with four other top finishers in the cook-off held at BOCES will now be able to take a tuition-free course in restaurant management and then compete in a Shark Tank-like business plan pitch. The top two contestants will be offered spots to try out their restaurant concept in the new FreshLABs facilities inside the former Newberry Building on Main Street along with Eli Fish Brewing Company.

In all,12 aspiring restaurateurs signed up for the Foodie Challenge, eight competed Saturday night and the other finalists were: Gina Bianco, of Middleport, with an Eggplant Busiolo; Judy Hysek, of Batavia, with a vegan mushroom and sage stuffed ravioli with a cashew cream sauce; Rob Rudnicki, of Batavia, with a fish taco; and Ronald Smith, of Rochester, with a pollo de miel (honey chicken).

The contestants are expected to come up with a restaurant concept and menu that is unique to Batavia and Figueroa is counting empanadas as his path to victory. He made a Puerto Rican cheeseburger empanada with a passion fruit chili sauce.

“It’s one of our favorites in Puerto Rico," Figueroa said. "We eat them for lunch, lunch breakfast and dinner every single day. You can walk with them. It’s just one of those things, when we eat it takes you back Puerto Rico.”

Photo of the winning empanadas by Alex Figueroa.

The Blue Devils varsity football team took on Franklin Pennsylvania Friday night in their homecoming game. 

The Blue Devils scored on their opening drive and then scored a saftey on because of a bad snap of Franklin's first offensive play.  Franklin answered with a touchdown of their own later in the 1^st.  But the game proceeded with Batavia out scoring Franklin about 2 to 1.

In the mid 3^rd  quarter Franklin seemed all but defeated until a long pass and reception that was run in for a touchdown.

Franklin rallied and came back bring the score to within 8 points to 28-20. The Franklin rally was killed when a pass bounced out of a receivers hands and was intercepted by Batavia. The rest of the game was all Blue Devils.

Final score, Blue Devils 42, Franklin Pennsylvania 20.

Alex Rood rushed 24 times for a total of 136 yards and 1 TD

Chandler Baker rushed 8 times for a total of 60 yards and 2 TDs

Baker also attempted 24 passes completed 20 for 1 TD and a total of 180 yards.

On Defense Taio Iburi Bethel had 8 tackles

Anthony Ray had 6 tackles for a loss of 3 yards. 

The Games key plays are pictured below.

During Half time we were introduced to the Batavia HS Homecoming court.

Also during halftime there was an emotional remembrance of fellow student, senior Lorne Brudz who passed away recently. The stadium observed a long moment of silence as classmates lit luminaire balloons as a tribute.

The Alzheimer's Association held its annual Walk to End Alzheimer's through Batavia today.

A car flipped over in front of Five Star Bank, 401 W. Main St., Batavia. No word on injuries, if any. City fire and Mercy medics responding.

UPDATE 9:31 a.m.: The accident occurred on the opposite side of the street from the bank, near the corner of West Main and Redfield Parkway. A driver lost control of his vehicle somehow and struck the two pylons filled with gravel that protect a utility box at that location. It damaged the pylons and gravel spewed onto the ground. The car landed on its wheels and medics are evaluating the driver, who does not appear to be seriously injured. Redfield resident Jim Owen said it sounded like a truck dumping a load of gravel out and when he saw a cloud of dust, that's initially what he thought had happened.

Submitted photo and press release:

Mrs. Fischer’s fourth-grade class was visited by Mr. Penepent, an aeronautical engineer who has worked at NASA's launch site in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for 27 years.

His team works to launch Delta II and IV rockets for NASA. The students came up with some great interview questions and learned some awesome things about the design process, construction and launching of these rockets.

Mr. Penepent attended St. Joseph School from kindergarten through second grade and is Mrs. Fischer’s older brother.

He said he first became interested in his field of aeronautical engineering when he was in third grade while reading a book on airplanes. Who knows, there may be future aeronautical engineers right here at St. Joe’s. 

The trails have not always been happy for "Cowboy," and now, the roads he's traveled have brought him back to the Genesee County Animal Shelter and into the care of Volunteers for Animals.

A couple of years ago, Cowboy was found abandoned in a field with a herd of cows. That's how he got his name. He had health issues, including a broken jaw that required his muzzle to be wired shut.

The volunteers nursed him back to health, but while he was still living at the shelter, a couple allegedly stole him. Cowboy was found with them after the duo allegedly robbed a store in Le Roy and then were involved in an accident on Keeney Road.

Cowboy was returned to the animal shelter. Eventually, he was adopted. His new owner seemed to be doing great with him. She was seen out regularly walking him and Cowboy seemed to be in great shape -- except for maybe wolfing down a few too many calories -- on home visits.

"It was a great adoption," said volunteer Gina Lippa, who was keeping tabs on Cowboy. "I actually went and did home visits for a while. Great adoption. The owner, well there were two owners, but the primary owner was doing wonderfully with him and multiple volunteers had seen her walking around town with him. When I did home visits his coat was clearing right up. She was doing great with him."

After about two months, Lippa lost contact with the owner.

Last week, by coincidence, Lippa found a picture of Cowboy on the adoption page of Fairport-based Lollipop Farm's website.

Arrangements were made to return Cowboy to Batavia and he arrived here at the shelter this afternoon.

It's not clear how Cowboy wound up at Lollypop. The adoptee owner was originally from New York City, so Lippa speculates that she returned to NYC, giving Cowboy to a new owner. At some point, Cowboy was delivered to Lollypop with all of his paperwork intact from the Genesee County Animal Shelter.

Lippa said he's available for adoption. He's a sweet and gentle boy and shows no signs of food aggression or other aggression, but he's not at all fond of cats. He gets along with other dogs.

Bennie "Beans" Wright, 32, of Jay Street, Rochester, was arrested on a sealed indictment Wednesday night at a residence on Maple Street for allegedly selling drugs in the City of Batavia.

Wright was located and identified as a warrant suspect while police were looking for evidence in a shooting earlier in the day on Thorpe Street.

He is accused of selling crack cocaine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force.

He is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Wright was arraigned in Genesee County Court and jailed on $25,000 bail.

An adult male has reportedly fallen 30 feet from a tree at a residence on Richmond Avenue, near Verona Avenue, Batavia.

The patient is alert at this time. No other word on possible injuries.

City fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Kathleen Mary Barnes, 31, of Gaines Basin Road, Albion, is charged with petit larceny. Following a complaint of shoplifting at the Rite Aid on West Main Street, Batavia, at 12:39 p.m. Wednesday, the suspect vehicle was spotted passing the Sheriff's Office on Park Road and a traffic stop was initiated. It's alleged that Barnes stole $300 worth of dental and oral care merchandise. The driver, Shane Beardsley, was arrested on a warrant. The investigation was conducted by investigators Joseph Graff and Chad Minuto and deputies Chris Erion and Kevin McCarthy.

Elise Mikhalyla Ruckdeschel, 24, of Chestnut Ridge, Buffalo, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Ruckdeschel was stopped at 12:46 a.m. today (Sept. 22) in the area of 3194 Route 5, Batavia, by Deputy Howard Wilson.

Ballard Polk Maye, 31, of Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 4th, and headlight violation. Maye was stopped at 9:26 p.m. Tuesday on East Main Street, Batavia, by Richard Schildwaster.

Press release:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer today has announced $167,000 in state funding for student programs throughout Genesee County.  

“As a State Senator, I am committed to delivering state dollars to ensure our students are successful inside and outside the classroom,” Ranzenhofer said. “As another academic year begins, this funding will help to support existing tools and create new tools for students across Genesee County. Each one of these programs will help to develop student achievement in high school and beyond.”

School districts and organizations receiving funding are as follows:

Byron-Bergen School District: $85,000 to Expand Existing STEM Program
The funding will be used to further develop the District’s Inquiry-Based STEM Program to include a STEM Robotics and Programming Career Exploration Lab. The program utilizes engineering, robotics and coding to develop solutions to real-world science problems and exposes students to skills and careers in the STEM fields.

“It is projected that 65% of today’s students will be employed in jobs that don’t yet exist, and STEM programs will help our youth to become future innovative creators of programs, apps and inventions,” said Byron-Bergen Superintendent Mickey Edwards. “On behalf of the children of Byron-Bergen Central School District, I am overjoyed to express our thanks to Senator Ranzenhofer for obtaining state funding to expand our STEM program.” 

Pavilion Central School District: $55,000 for a New Ag Education Program
The funding will be used to purchase equipment and supplies for a new Ag education program being offered to students for the first time this academic year. The program consists of classroom instruction, supervised work experiences, and integrated student leadership development activities through FFA.

“The Pavilion Central School District and Board of Education deeply appreciate Senator Ranzenhofer's strong support of our Ag program. This state-of-the-art program will benefit Pavilion students in many areas of college and career readiness,” said Pavilion Superintendent Kenneth Ellison. 

Agriculture and its related industries are the number one economic driver for Genesee County and New York State.

Genesee County Youth Bureau: $17,000 for Afterschool Programs
The funding will be used to support programs throughout the county to provide safe, structured and healthy afterschool programming for youth.

“The Youth Bureau’s main mission is to support programs in Genesee County for the betterment of our children, youth, and families. We appreciate the additional funds to help us achieve our goals,” said Genesee-Orleans & City of Batavia Youth Bureaus Executive Director Jocelyn Sikorski. 

Learning Center at Gillam-Grant: $10,000 to Support Afterschool Enrichment Programs
The funding will be used to support tutoring services, afterschool homework help, and educational enhancement classes for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

“With the support of Senator Ranzenhofer, there are so many benefits for students at the Learning Center. Students can get involved in new interests– art, computer classes, robotics– and receive additional support to help them excel in their studies,” said Gillam-Grant Community Center Executive Director Peggy Swapceinski. 

The Learning Center at Gillam-Grant is the first nonprofit tutoring center in Genesee County. Services are available to students in area school districts in Genesee and Monroe counties.

A suspect has been arrested and charged with attempted murder in the shooting yesterday on Thorpe Street in Batavia.

Being held without bail is Tyshawn King 24, of Maple Street, Batavia.

King is also charged with assault in the first degree.

The shooting was discovered by Batavia police officers after receiving a complaint around 4:50 p.m. of a fight on Thorpe Street.

Upon arrival, officers learned that there had been a shooting and the victim had gone to a house on Evans Street to seek medical attention.

Assistant Chief Todd Crossett said investigators still don't know what started the fight.

Two other people were detained yesterday and after being questioned were released.

The victim, who was shot in the hand and abdomen, is in stable condition at ECMC after surgery last night and is alert and able to talk, Crossett said.

Batavia PD thanked community members for assisting in the investigation.

People in the area of Thorpe and Maple pointed police to the residence where the suspect fled, at the corner of Thorpe and Maple, and shared information about what they saw.

"To them, it is very generic information, but in the big scope of things, when we put the pieces together, it really helps us," Crossett said.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley, left, with three of the veterans joining him this morning for his annual Patriot Trip to Washington.

The annual trip is a chance for veterans in Hawley's district to tour some of the historical landmarks in Washington, D.C.

Pictured with Hawley are Jime Freas, Earl Schmidt (director of Veterans Services in Orleans County), and David Kusmierczak (in back).