batavia

Press release:

On Saturday, July 28, the Town of Batavia Fire Department will hold its 13th Annual Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Raffle. (The model is a 2012 FLSTFB.)

The event runs from 8 p.m. until midnight -- rain or shine. It will feature a beer tent and live entertainment by the band 7th Heaven. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase from Alex’s Place.

The event is free admission and open to the public, a ticket purchase is not necessary to attend. Tickets are limited to 2,500 and the money raised benefits the town fire department. Each ticket costs $20 and they are still available, sold on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

This year we are offering a $10,000 cash prize in lieu of the motorcycle to the Grand Prize winner. They will have the option of the bike or the cash prize.

To buy a ticket, checks and money orders can be made out to the “Town of Batavia Fire Dept. Raffle” and mailed to:

C/O Raffle Chairman
Town of Batavia Fire Dept.
P.O. Box 417
Batavia, NY 14021-0417

For further information please visit: <http://townofbataviafire.com>, call 344-3284, ext. 12, or email tbfdraffle@townofbataviafire.com

A dog has been locked inside a white Ford Chevy Equinox for at least 10 minutes in the parking lot of Target in Batavia. A Sheriff's deputy is responding.

The vehicle is registered to a person in Darien.

In California, I didn't see many asphalt driveways. For whatever reason, most homeowners there prefer concrete (weather, I imagine, is a factor).

It didn't take long after moving to Western New York to figure out that here asphalt is the preferred surface for driveways, and if you're a homeowner who takes routine maintenance seriously, you periodically get your driveway sealed.

A couple of years ago I suggested to Scott Kopper, owner of WNY Blacktop Sealers, that I come out to one of his jobs some time and take a few pictures and learn a little bit about why sealing an asphalt driveway is important. This morning, we actually finally got together for one of his jobs.

Here's what he told me: "A blacktop drive way is a big investment and you want to protect that investment. What blacktop sealing does, not only does it look good, but it makes your driveway more resistant to oil, gas leaks, power steering fluid, and it doesn't oxidize as quickly from the sun beating on it, which means it doesn't crack and break as easily. "

I was surprised to learn the sun does more damage to asphalt than winter salt and snow. Winter damage occurs when a driveway does crack and then ice gets into those cracks, expands and makes them worse.

Josh Dibble was helping Scott this morning at a residence on Vine Street.

Batavia Little League played a championship game at MacArthur Park on Wednesday. When I left, Batavia was ahead 7-1 or 8-1, but I've not yet received final results from anybody. Evan so, here are photos from yesterday's game.

UPDATE: Batavia won 9-4 and now advances to a sectionals round, which is hosted in Batavia this weekend. Teams in the tournament besides Batavia: Penfield, Auburn, Fredonia, Portville and Orchard Park.

Up until Friday, Melissa Broadbent thought her brother Bradley was really turning his life around.

He had a job, he was trying to do the best he could by his son, within the limits of court orders and the demands of the child's mother.

Then, seemingly overnight, and just three months removed from his last prison term, Bradley Broadbent discovered "Amped," a form of bath salts that is reportedly sold at a shop in Batavia.

"Previous to that day, he was doing well for himself," Melissa said. "He worked in a flower shop, he gained better employment, he was trying to become a good member of society."

Last Friday, Bradley thrust himself into local headlines when he climbed atop the roof of a home on Hutchins Street and then began jumping from roof to roof, yelling something about the police being after him.

He was taken by Mercy EMS to UMMC for evaluation, but that night, Bradley reportedly fled the hospital and went to his ex-wife's house on Tracy Avenue and entered her home.

That action led to a charge of burglary in the second degree.

"I don't believe anybody should be selling it," Melissa said. "For some people it’s a high, but for other people something doesn’t quite click and it’s not safe to us and the rest of the world."

If convicted of the burglary charge, it would be Bradley's third strike and mean from 20 years to life in prison.

And that's what has Melissa Broadbent most concerned.

She thinks the system has failed her brother. And the failure of the system, she said, was never more apparent than it was on Friday.

Melissa said when she came across Bradley that morning, she could tell he was high and learned from a friend that he had allegedly ingested bath salts, a substance for which she had no real prior knowledge.

She said she tried contacting her brother's parole officer, but he was on vacation and nobody from the parole office "bothered," as she put it, to call her back.

A call back and an effort to pick him up might have meant the entire Friday would have gone completely different for her brother, she said.

Then, after her brother was taken to UMMC, Melissa wonders why he was lightly restrained at the hospital. Melissa believes he should have been shackled by handcuffs so he couldn't escape until he came down off his high.

Then there's the issue of the burglary charge for entering his ex-wife's home.

"She was leaving a key in the mailbox for him," Broadbent said. "How was he supposed to know he wasn’t supposed to come in that day?"

Now that Melissa has gotten a quick personal and Google-search lesson in bath salts, she is perplexed why the substance is so easily available in Batavia and why anybody in good conscience would sell the substance to another human being.

"There's a chemical in it, a specific chemical, that makes you come out of your element and makes you do things you would not normally do," Melissa said. "It is not safe, not for anybody, not for the person doing it and nor for the person walking down the street.

"There's no way to test for it. People who want to find a mental escape, they're going to do it because it's legal and it's so easy to get. It needs to come off the street before somebody dies."

Bradley Broadbent was first arrested, she said, on a robbery charge when he was 16. He and a partner stole one dollar from a store and Broadbent spent eight years in prison.

When he came out, Melissa said, he was a changed person. He was anti-social, didn't know how to interact with people, distrusted everyone and was hostile to people he met for the first time.

The family wanted to help him, they said, so in the hope of getting him into treatment, they provided information to law enforcement that led to his arrest.  Rather than receiving treatment, however, she said Broadbent was sent back to prison.

"That didn't help him at all," she said. "That made him worse."

Now, with a possible third strike, Melissa is worried the system will once again come down hard on him and send him to prison for the rest of his life.

She hopes, somehow, someway, the system will do better than that by her brother.

"He is in need of mental care," Melissa said. "We know him. The people who know him, know he needs that. The system doesn’t know him. They don’t know he needs that and the system doesn’t care. That’s what I would like to see happen. My brother needs mental care. He needs help mentally. He doesn't know how to handle himself emotionally or mentally."

She isn't of a mind to sugarcoat any of the things Bradley has been accused of doing in the past. She just wants the best outcome for her brother.

"I don’t defend anything my brother has ever done," she said. "If he’s wrong, he’s wrong."

The rapid lessons in bath salts has made her very afraid of what the presence of the substance means for Batavia. She's worried -- more certain -- that not enough will be done soon enough about bath salts.

"It seems nothing ever gets done until it's the absolute worst and then people open their eyes and do something," she said.

Nicole Lang, the mother of another person whose life is allegedly being harmed by bath salts has said she's ready to set up a picket and a protest of a local shop allegedly selling the now controlled substance.

"I’m with her," Melissa said. "I’m all with her. The people selling this stuff, they’re not dealing with the consequences. Yet the people who love their family are the people who have been tainted by the effects of it."

Nearly every day of late, emergency dispatchers in Genesee County field multiple calls related to people getting into trouble or causing problems while apparently high on a substance benignly called "bath salts."

Area law enforcement officials recognize the problem, and even though most of the compounds known as bath salts are now a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance under federal law, the tools available to police officers to deal with these sometimes bizarre events are limited.

In the City of Batavia, Police Chief Shawn Heubusch said the approach his department is taking to deal with bath salt-provoked incidents is first a public safety issue.

"First and foremost, any responding officer is checking the welfare of people," Heubusch said. "First comes public safety, the safety of the people involved, checking to see if medical attention is needed, giving it to them."

If a crime has been committed, an individual under the influence of bath salts might be arrested, Heubusch said, but the first order of business is that person's health and safety.

However, since at a local level, the possession and even the sale of these so-called bath salts are legal, there isn't much local law enforcement can do to combat the spread of the drug.

But that doesn't mean any Genesee County residents or businesses that might sell bath salts should feel comfortable distributing the compounds outlawed as a result of legislation sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer.

The federal government's top law enforcement official in Western New York said today that investigators will respond to any complaints of the substances being sold locally, whether the complaints come in the form of tips from concerned citizens or media reports suggesting such sales are taking place.

"What the public can expect as with any reports of criminal activities is that law enforcement will look into it as appropriate," said William Hochul, U.S. Attorney for Western New York. "I can’t comment on specific cases, but the way we do our job in law enforcement is we look for possible violations of crime and we investigate it. If it rises to the level of a federal offense, we will prosecute."

Hochul praised The Batavian and Rochester's WHAM 13 for aggressive reporting on the bath salt issue during an exclusive interview with the two news outlets at the Sheriff's Office in Batavia.

"The public needs to be aware that the side effects of these substances is that to an extent they can be deadly," Hochul said. "We've had any number of episodes where people have acted violently, or they've gone into cardiac arrest, and that's just what we know. There's a long-term effect that still remains to be seen. So, the best defense, as with most drugs, is for the public to get educated."

Schumer's legislation bans MDPV (methylenedioxypyrovalerone) and mephedrone, the active ingredients in bath salts.

Reportedly, the chemicals found in bath salts cause effects similar to those of cocaine and methamphetamine, including hallucinations, paranoia and suicidal thoughts.

In Batavia in recent cases, people have climbed on rooftops, waved knives at people in a threatening manner, claimed to be attacked by ghosts, reported hearing gunshots and have been combative toward medical personnel during emergency responses to deal with their seizures.

Family members of individuals reportedly on bath salts have said that users  expressed suicidal thoughts and engaged in self-destructive behavior.

The paranoia, violence and self-destructive thoughts of people on bath salts are a safety concern for the public and emergency personnel, local law enforcement officials say.

"People using these substances are sometimes unpredictable and sometimes become violent," Heubusch said. "The officers do a great job of limiting contact with these people and ensuring everybody is safe."

Sheriff Gary Maha said fortunately, no situations involving his deputies have gotten out of hand, but officers have been responding to numerous medical calls involving bizarre behavior.

"Our officers are trained to protect themselves," Maha said. "It doesn’t matter what type of situation. It can be a dangerous situation. This person could have a knife he’s swinging around or whatever and they will have to take appropriate action to protect themselves and protect the public.

"We haven’t come across a situation yet where an officer needs to use a Taser, but our officers are armed with Tasers and trained in using them," Maha added.

Det. Rich Schauf said that with all the information available now about bath salts, and the fact that it says right on many packages, "not for human consumption," the real question is, why are people using them.

"The unfathomable situation in all this is why would somebody do this to themselves," Schauff said.  Why would somebody ingest something that they don’t know what it is. ... that's the real question: How do you stop somebody from hurting themselves?"

While that may be a question without an answer, Hochul's office is taking seriously the issue of enforcing the new ban on bath salts and synthetic marijuana, he said.

"We will now be able to treat bath salts the same way we treat cocaine and heroine," Hochul said. "(We can) use all of our federal techniques that we have available, including wiretaps, undercover operations, and hopefully bring these cases to closure much easier and much more successfully."

Up until the new ban was signed into law by President Barack Obama, federal law enforcement had very limited tools to combat bath salts and synthetic marijuana.

The chemicals used to manufacture these drugs were part of a DEA emergency schedule as controlled substances, but that only meant that law enforcement had to prove in a court of law that a person selling the substance did so with the intention they would be used for human consumption and that the effect of the substances was in fact similar to that of meth or cocaine.

That all changed on Monday.

"It’s much better for the community to know now that the substances are -- no ifs, ands or buts -- illegal to possess, to sell or posses with intent to sell," Hochul said.

While law enforcement officials take seriously the apparent increase in bath salt-related calls, they also say it shouldn't be overstated as some sort of community epidemic.

The majority of calls, according to Schauf, involve the same people repeatedly, and those calls are generally confined to people who have had law enforcement contact prior to bath salts becoming an issue.

Heubusch agreed.

"I don’t believe this is a widespread, mass hysteria type of event," Heubusch said. "It does seem to be a small group of people."

The other factor that may contribute to bath salts being part of a greater consciousness in Batavia, Schauf said, is more people understand what bath salts are and what they do, including cops and medical personnel.

"We might have been dealing with this before and we didn't know it," Schauf said. "Now that it's identified, you have this effect of everything is bath salts the minute you see somebody who is irrational."

All of the law enforcement officials we talked to today also said bath salts are just the latest fad drug. They pointed to either Ecstasy, PCP, sniffing glue, meth and even LSD as "fad" drugs of the past that eventually stopped being a common problem.

"We've seen different peaks and valleys in the past," Maha said. "We've seen LSD and we don't see that much anymore, or PCP, and we don't see that much anymore. They have all come and gone and hopefully this will as well."

What worries law enforcement officials that while federal -- and even possibly, someday, state legislation -- might outlaw bath salts as we know them today, there are probably chemists somewhere trying to cook up the next intoxicating brew.

"We have to be concerned about it," Hochul said. "I read one report that said this (the new law) is like raising the wall a little higher as the floodwaters grow. We certainly hope at a certain point that there won't continue to be creation of illegal substances, but given the advances in science and the willingness of people located throughout the world to try and make money through the selling of illegal drugs, it’s reasonable to assume there will be continued efforts to avert this law."

Hochul had two other bits of advice for community members who are concerned about bath salts.

First, if people plan to picket -- as Jason Lang's mother suggested doing -- an establishment suspected of selling bath salts, they shouldn't worry that such action would interfer with a federal investigation.

"If you’re a mother or a parent with concerns, you still have to do what you have to do to protect your family within the bounds of the law," Hochul said.

"We have an obligation to investigate violations of the federal law using all of our tools and there are ample tools to investigate the fact that somebody may be illegally selling drugs," Hochul added. "If somebody is protesting on the one hand, they should not be worried that would impede our ability to use one of our other tools to investigate violations of federal law."

The second bit of advice was directed at any landlords who might be leasing property to a business that could be selling bath salts.

The property can be seized under the federal forfeiture law.

If a judge determines the property owner knew a business was selling a controlled substance -- and media reports indicating such transactions were allegedly taking place -- a judge could rule the property owner should have taken action to ensure such sales were not being conducted on his property.

"If the landlord wants to keep his property, the landlord's obligation should be to make sure there’s no illegal activity occurring on his property," Hochul said. "That’s another advantage of having very assertive media in exposing this to the public at large. What did the particular owner know and when did he know it?"

Heubusch and Hochul also said the entire community has a role to play in combating bath salts in Batavia.

Community members, they said, need to call the police about suspicious activity, cooperate in investigations and educate each other about the dangers of these chemicals and compounds.

"This is a perfect opportunity for the community to come together and help others out," Heubusch said. "Whether they call us, they call 9-1-1 to report a suspicious event, or when the officer does arrive, report what they saw to that officer. ... We will do what we can to protect this community, but we do need help from the community itself."

PHOTOS: Top, Chief Shawn Heubusch; first inset, U.S. Attorney for WNY William Hochul; second inset, Sheriff Gary Maha.

This story was produced in conjunction and cooperation with The Batavian's official news partner, WBTA, and Sean Carroll, reporter for WHAM 13 in Rochester.

Related stories:

• Batavia Police Plan To Deal With The Trend Of "Bath Salt" Use (WBTA)
• Home : News : Top Stories Batavia Police Eye Plan Of Attack To Combat Bath Salt Use (WHAM 13)

A red car in the parking lot of Walmart allegedly has a dog locked inside with the windows rolled up this summer afternoon. A Sheriff's deputy is responding to the complaint.

UPDATE 4:13 p.m.: The deputy is going to have someone at the customer service desk inside the store page the registered owner of the car over the PA system. The car is registered to a woman in Stafford.

UPDATE 4:22 p.m.: A few minutes ago, the deputy reported "The owner has come out of Walmart and is taking the dog away." Next, the officer asked what the temperature is and a dispatcher replied: 84 degrees.

UPDATE 4:32 p.m.: Typically on these types of calls, no other information is put forth over the scanner. If a citation is issued, there's no press release about it. But we will do a follow up on this issue soon.

Two vehicles crashed at Main and Bank streets in the city. There are no injuries, but it is blocking traffic, which the police are handling.

PHOTO (by Howard): I was walking on East Main just west of Jackson, heard the collision behind me, turned around, snapped this shot before the smoke even cleared.

It's July 11, and you know what that means -- free Slurpees at 7-11 convenience stores.

Above, Zach Paris, of Alexander, draws himself a cold one at the store in Batavia, corner of East Main and Elm streets.

Emily Smith, 28, of 31 Williams St., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. Smith is accused of waving a carving knife while in the middle of Williams Street, threatening people and alarming them. The alleged incident was reported at 11:52 a.m., Tuesday. According to a police report, Williams and a neighbor were allegedly intoxicated on bath salts and began to believe they were mad at each other, leading to a confrontation.

Jason Barnhardt, 25, of 108 Tracy Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Barnhardt is accused of living at a residence on Tracy Avenue since June that he was allegedly barred by court order from being at. Barnhardt's residence was reportedly discovered during an emergency call to the residence Monday.

The mother of Jason Lang marched into 420 Emporium, at 400 Ellicott St. Batavia, tonight and demanded that employees sell her "Amped," a brand of bath salts she believes had been sold to her son at the store earlier in the evening.

She said she is trying to make a point -- that the recently opened head shop is killing her son by selling him the chemical substance.

For her trouble, she was issued an appearance ticket for alleged trespassing.

Jason Lang, previously arrested for allegedly making false reports to law enforcement in 9-1-1 calls, was bailed out of jail recently, according to his mother, Nicole Lang, by an employee of Lang's cab company.

"I want them to stop selling to my son because they are killing him right now," Mrs. Lang said.

Sgt. John Peck said that as a parent he sympathizes with Mrs. Lang's position, but said, "she's not going about it the right way."

Mrs. Lang said she went in the store, tried to buy bath salts, was told to leave and then left. Peck said store employees saw and what he observed himself is something different.

According to Peck, Mrs. Lang was told to leave, and did, but then stormed back in, disrupting business transactions in the store. After Peck and Officer Kevin DeFelice arrived on scene, Peck said Mrs. Lang reentered the store and started yelling at employees.

The store manager, Peck said, wanted to press trespass charges.

"We could have charged her with other possible crimes," Peck said. "We charged her with simple trespass."

Simple trespass is equivalent to getting a traffic ticket.

Mrs. Lang said she isn't done protesting against 420 Emporium for allegedly selling bath salts. She and her daughter, Brandi Smith, said they are going to organize a protest picket against the store to raise community awareness about 420 allegedly selling the chemical compounds.

They're hoping, they said, other community members concerned about bath salts in Batavia will join the protest.

The date of the protest will be announced at a later time.

According to Mrs. Lang, a person she encountered coming out of 420 Emporium when she arrived told her he had just purchased Amped in the store and snorted a line in front of her.

"He said he loved it," she said, and then he laughed and walked off.

While Mrs. Lang was out on the sidewalk after one of her previous entries into the store, she said two people -- a former employee of Lang's and a relative of Lang's -- walked past and one of them shoved her into the roadway on Ellicott Street.

She wanted the woman charged with assault, but Peck told her that complaint is still under investigation.

Peck told The Batavian that witnesses who don't know any of the parties involved said Mrs. Lang was trying to prevent the couple from walking down the sidewalk and one of the people simply tried to push her out of the way.

The two people would be interviewed, Peck said, before he reached any conclusions about the case.

Meanwhile, Peck said Batavia PD are dealing with an increasing number of bath salts related calls.

Today, he said, there were at least three bath salt related calls in the city, including one where two people allegedly on bath salts both started thinking the other was mad at the other. One of the people involved ended up going into the street brandishing a knife threatening the other person.

"We've been dealing with it (bath salts) all day," Peck said.

While police were on scene at 420 Emporium, Lang reportedly drove up to a Batavia PD cruiser and told an offer that gang members were out to kill him and drove off.

Brandi Smith said Lang's report to police isn't entirely bath-salt-inspired paranoia. According to Smith, a couple of months ago, Lang turned over to State Police all the Amped he had in his shop -- the former Laughing Buddha -- and that Lang  acquired the supply of Amped from a well known alleged criminal enterprise.

According to Smith, members of the crminal enterprise had laced the Amped with meth, unbeknownst to Lang, and Lang is facing possible criminal charges for selling the substance.

Now, she said, members of the gang are demanding Lang either return the Amped or pay them the money they're owed. 

The Amped in question, she said, is in the custody of State Police.

Finally, both Mrs. Lang and Mr. Lang (Jason's father) expressed displeasure with The Batavian's reporting about Jason Lang. They said The Batavian's stories leave people with the impression that Jason is some sort of "low life."

"Jason is really a good person," Mrs. Lang said. 

She said she wants the community to know he's really a good person just having a problem right now. She said she is worried about his health, but, "he's a really good person."

Photo: Nicole Lang sobs in front of 420 Emporium while awaiting Batavia PD to issue her an appearance ticket for alleged trespassing.

A controlled burn at 311 Bank St. is requiring the response of city firefighters and mutual aid from the Town of Batavia. According to authorities, this address has previously been advised regarding the requirements of controlled burns.

UPDATE 10:30 p.m. (approximately): Fire is out.

Monday the Batavia Lions Club held its annual Ballpark Bicycle Drawing during the Batavia Muckdogs game at Dwyer Stadium.

This year's winners are Aliyah Curry, left, of Batavia who won the girls bike, and Shane McClurg, of Le Roy, winner of the boy's bike. Also pictured, Paul Bisig, first VP of the Batavia Lions Club.

Again this year, several local nursing home residents were guests at the game, courtesy of the Batavia Lions.

Submitted photo.

City Manager Jason Molino's 1.5-percent raise approved unanimously by the Batavia City Council on Monday is "reasonable," said Council President Tim Buckley after the meeting.

"In today’s economy (it) is very reasonable," Buckley said. "It’s not a lot of money, but it shows something that council supports him and his efforts."

Molino will now make $86,009.

Councilwoman Patti Pacino said, "he deserves it. Trust me, he does."

Pacino credited Molino with greatly improving the city's financial standing.

"When I started on this council we were ready to turn the lights off in the city and now we have a rating of A2," Pacino said. "He knows what he’s doing and he’s taking us there."

Buckley said Molino's recent performance review "came back with high marks."

The only criticism of Molino's raise heard in council chambers Monday was from John Roach, who suggested Molino should be required to give up his six-month severance package before getting any more raises.

"If he's ever fired, even for cause, he gets six months severance," Roach said. "I think $43,000 is excessive."

Roach added, "Obviously, the council didn't agree with me."

The 1.5-percent raise was part of the city's last approved budget and is in line with what other non-union workers are getting.

Molino said he's grateful for the vote of confidence from the council.

Joseph M. Dispenza, 18, of 36 Church St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, unlawful possession of marijuana and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Dispenza was taken into custody after Batavia PD received numerous reports of a vehicle operating erratically at 6:48 a.m., Monday, in the Valu Plaza parking lot. Witnesses reported seeing the vehicle being driven at a high rate of speed in the parking lot and squealing its tires. The vehicle struck a light utility pole causing a significant amount of damage and rendering it inoperable. Dispenza and two passengers allegedly fled the scene but were located by patrols in the Batavia Commons Plaza. (Initial Report)

Bradley J. Broadbent, 32, no permanent address, is charged with burglary, 2nd, and petit larceny. Broadbent is accused of forcibly entering a residence on Tracy Avenue, causing damage to the door, and once inside, allegedly stealing clothing. Broadbent was arrested on these charges Monday while appearing in Batavia City Court stemming from his arrest Friday for alleged incidents on Hutchins Street. Broadbent is being held in Genesee County Jail without bail.

Kelly J. Rhim, 33, of 30 Bell St., Cheektowaga, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Rhim was allegedly involved in an argument with a female acquaintance. Rhim is accused of throwing a bowl of food at the friend, striking her with the object. There were allegedly two children in the room at the time.

Jernie Edward Kuhns, 44, of Ridge Road, Elba, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. Kuhns allegedly sent text messages to another person threatening to come to the residence of that person and physically harm another person. Kuhns allegedly went to the residence but left when the occupants did not answer the door. Kuhns was jailed on $350 bail.

Jason A. Klinkbeil, 24, of Le Roy, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Klinkbeil was taken into custody by State Police at 8:15 p.m., Saturday, at 80 South St., Village of Le Roy. No further details released.

Will Greek yogurt mean a boom for local dairy farmers? Marwa Eltagouri takes a look at that question for the Buffalo News.

Local dairy farmers Gordon Offhaus and Dale Stein are featured.

In order to keep up with the Greek yogurt demand, it is estimated that milk produced by Western New York farmers must increase by 15 percent over the next four to five years, said Dave Dean Norton, president of the New York State Farm Bureau.

Since there isn't enough milk in the state right now to feed the Alpina Foods and PepsiCo plants, the plants will have to pay additional costs to freight the milk in from another state, likely Michigan, said Stein, the farmer from Le Roy.

The article is full of useful information to know if this segment of the local economy is important to you.

From County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens:

The work scheduled to start tomorrow on the River Street Bridge in the City of Batavia has been postponed until Friday due to a rescheduling of contractors. Milling of the existing asphalt overlay will be performed Friday and should be completed that day. The bridge will be reduced to one lane during the work.

A 24-year-old Batavia resident who allegedly gave bath salts to a minor did so, she reportedly told a DSS caseworker, because she thought the chemical was legal, "therefore it was OK."

Ashley R. Keene, of 244 Liberty St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Her alleged admission to giving bath salts to a 14-year-old girl are contained in court documents on file with Batavia City Court.

According to a DSS worker who made a statement in support of Keene's arrest, Keene said she didn't understand on May 28, Memorial Day, that giving a child bath salts was illegal.

Keene is the girlfriend of Jason D. Lang, 28, of 244 Liberty St., Batavia, who is currently being held in Genesee County Jail. He is accused of falsely reporting an incident for allegedly calling 9-1-1 to report gunshots at a local hotel July 2.

In court documents, a Batavia PD officer reports that in a jailhouse interview, Lang denied participating in giving the girl bath salts and says he warned Keene against it, but admits, according to the officer, of "having a problem with bath salts."

Lang has reportedly been involved in other bizarre calls to the emergency dispatchers, placing multiple calls to 9-1-1 one morning in late June and either he or Keene reported a toxic chemical odor at 244 Liberty St. in June that city fire later declared unfounded.

Lang is the former owner of The Laughing Buddha, 238 Ellicott St., Batavia, which was a head shop and tattoo parlor. The shop has been closed for a few weeks and is reportedly out of business.

In late May, Lang was arrested by State Police for allegedly calling the property owner of 400 Ellicott St. and telling the landlord that he was a "State Police detective." Lang was allegedly warning the landlord not to rent to 420 Emporium because, according to Lang, the business sold bath salts.

According to court documents, on May 28, the 14-year-old girl was given permission to go with Lang and Keene to a rib festival in Rochester. She was reportedly going along as a babysitter for Lang and Keene's daughter.

At about 5 p.m., her parents gave her permission to go home with them. On the way back to Batavia, Lang drove to Warsaw and stopped at a 420 Emporium location there.

The girl reportedly told officers that Lang gave Keene $100 to buy two packages of "Amp" (aka Amped).

When Keene came out of the store, according to the girl, she gave one package of the compound to Lang and kept one for herself. Lang, the girl said, got in the back seat and Keene got behind the wheel. Before driving away, according to the statement, Keene snorted a half line of the bath salt.

Jason slept in the back seat during the drive home, the girl said.

Upon arriving at 244 Liberty, according to the girl's statement, she got permission to stay with Lang and Keene overnight.

In the statement, the girl is reported to have said that Keene was going to do her hair and makeup for her last day of school.

Once home, the girl reported that Lang and Keene argued about "cheating and lying."

Then they decided to go to McDonald's and Tops for food.

When the group returned to 244 Liberty, Keene allegedly asked the girl, "do you want to do caffeine powder with me?"

The girl said she had never snorted anything before, according to the statement, and Keene allegedly showed her how to snort the powder.

At 10:30 p.m., Lang reportedly said he was hot and wanted to go for a walk. The girl also said they were going to look for Lang's dog, which had apparently run off.

When the got home, the girl took a swig from a Sprite bottle, according to the statement, that she later learned contained some "Amped" mixed in the bottle.

The girl said she started feeling hot. Keene, she said, got a bag of peas from the freezer and put them on her forehead. Lang asked her if she needed to take a shower. She declined the shower.

The group stayed up all night watching TV, the girl reportedly said. She said she couldn't sleep.

At 5 a.m., she started getting ready for school. 

She took a shower and Keene stayed in the bathroom during the entire shower, the girl said.

When she got out of the shower she said she noticed scratches on both of her forearms but didn't know how they got there.

Keene did the girl's hair and makeup.

When she got to school, she said, she wasn't feeling well. At about lunchtime, she started throwing up.

Her mother came and took her home.

According to the report, the girl didn't eat for two days.

Lang has previously denied selling bath salts at The Laughing Buddha, but has admitted to selling what is commonly accepted as synthetic marijuana, which Lang called incense and potpourri (previous coverage here). Just before his store closed, Lang said he had found a new kind of synthetic marijuana that was all organic and wasn't covered by a recent statewide ban on most substances known as synthetic marijuana.

After the jump (click on the headline) a press release from Sen. Charles Schumer on President Obama signing legislation making it illegal to sell (as a federal crime) many of the chemicals used in bath salts and synthetic marijuana.

Press release:

Today, United States Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that President Obama has signed into law new drug legislation that will permanently ban the deadly chemical compounds marketed and sold as bath salts and incense in the New York State and the United States.

Schumer successfully fought to include three bills relating to synthetic substances – S. 409 (Bath Salts), S. 605 (Synthetic Marijuana) and S. 839 (Synthetic Hallucinogens) – as part of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. Schumer and his colleagues were able to pass this ban over the strenuous objections of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Schumer applauds President Obama today for his swift approval of the bill once it arrived at his desk for signature.

“President Obama’s swift approval of this federal ban is the final nail in the coffin for the legal sale of bath salts in smoke shops and convenient stores in New York State and throughout the rest of the country,” Schumer said. “This law will close loopholes that have allowed manufacturers to circumvent local and state bans and ensure that you cannot simply cross state lines to find these deadly bath salts, and I’m pleased that after a great deal of effort, it has become law.

"We have seen bath salts catalyze some of the most heinous crimes in recent months across Upstate New York, and the President’s signature ensures that the federal government can fight this scourge with a united front, across state lines and at our borders.”

Schumer’s bath salt legislation will specifically ban MDPV (methylenedioxypyrovalerone) and mephedrone, the active ingredients in bath salts and are now being sold online, at convenience stores, and in smoke shops under names like Tranquility, Zoom, Ivory Wave, Red Dove, Legal Phunk and Vanilla Sky.

According to numerous reports, the chemicals found in bath salts cause effects similar to those caused by cocaine and methamphetamines, including hallucinations, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts. In one case a user was reported to have resorted to self-mutilation after abusing the substance. In several cases, users have died after overdosing or because of violent behavior.

Schumer’s legislation will make bath salts illegal in the United States by adding the active ingredients, MDPV and mephedrone, to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which classifies drugs that are illegal and cannot be prescribed under any circumstances. In addition to MDPV and mephedrone, there are 29 other substances that Schumer’s bill bans.

Over the past year, New York State has seen a drastic increase in both the use and the occurrence of destructive incidents involving bath salts. This new federal ban will significantly curb the accessibility of this life-threatening scourge.

Below are a list of all 31 substances that Schumer’s legislation would ban on a federal level:

A) Synthetic Marijuana:

1.      2-(3-hydroxycyclohexyl)phenol with substitution at the 5-position of the phenolic ring by alkyl or alkenyl, whether or not substituted on the cyclohexyl ring to any extent.

2.      3-(1-naphthoyl)indole or 3-(1-naphthylmethane)indole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring, whether or not further substituted on the indole ring to any extent, whether or not substituted on the naphthoyl or naphthyl ring to any extent.

3.      3-(1-naphthoyl)pyrrole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the pyrrole ring, whether or not further substituted in the pyrrole ring to any extent, whether or not substituted on the naphthoyl ring to any extent.

4.      1-(1-naphthylmethylene)indene by substitution of the 3-position of the indene ring, whether or not further substituted in the indene ring to any extent, whether or not substituted on the naphthyl ring to any extent.

5.      3-phenylacetylindole or 3-benzoylindole by substitution at the nitrogen atom of the indole ring, whether or not further substituted in the indole ring to any extent, whether or not substituted on the phenyl ring to any extent.

6.      5-(1,1-dimethylheptyl)-2-[(1R,3S)-3-hydroxycyclohexyl]-phenol (CP-47,497);

7.      5-(1,1-dimethyloctyl)-2-[(1R,3S)-3-hydroxycyclohexyl]-phenol (cannabicyclohexanol or CP-47,497 C8-homolog);

8.      1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-018 and AM678);

9.      1-butyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-073);

10.  1-hexyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-019);

11.  1-[2-(4-morpholinyl)ethyl]-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-200);

12.  1-pentyl-3-(2-methoxyphenylacetyl)indole (JWH-250);

13.  1-pentyl-3-[1-(4-methoxynaphthoyl)]indole (JWH-081);

14.  1-pentyl-3-(4-methyl-1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-122);

15.  1-pentyl-3-(4-chloro-1-naphthoyl)indole (JWH-398);

16.  1-(5-fluoropentyl)-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole (AM2201);

17.  1-(5-fluoropentyl)-3-(2-iodobenzoyl)indole (AM694);

18.  1-pentyl-3-[(4-methoxy)-benzoyl]indole (SR-19 and RCS-4);

19.  1-cyclohexylethyl-3-(2-methoxyphenylacetyl)indole (SR-18 and RCS-8);

20.  1-pentyl-3-(2-chlorophenylacetyl)indole (JWH-203).'.

B) Bath Salts

21.  4-methylmethcathinone (Mephedrone).

22.  3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV).

C) Synthetic Hallucinogens

23.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylphenyl)ethanamine (2C-E).

24.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)ethanamine (2C-D).

25.  2-(4-Chloro-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C-C).

26.  2-(4-Iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C-I).

27.  2-[4-(Ethylthio)-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl]ethanamine (2C-T-2).

28.  2-[4-(Isopropylthio)-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl]ethanamine (2C-T-4).

29.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C-H).

30.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-nitro-phenyl)ethanamine (2C-N).

31.  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylphenyl)ethanamine (2C-P).'.