batavia

The mother of a child who fell from a second-floor window on Aug. 22 has been charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

The woman turned herself in to Batavia Police today following an investigation into the incident.

Charged was Jessica R. Lyke, 23, of 18 East Ave., Batavia.

The 17-month-old child who fell from the window was treated at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and has since been released. 

It's $6.5 million worth of life-saving machinery and now it's based in Batavia.

Mercy Flight #5 was officially dedicated at the Genesee County Airport on Tuesday morning.

The Bell 429 helicopter equipped with state-of-the-art technology was paid for with a $3 million loan from the USDA and a USDA-guaranteed loan from M&T Bank.

Without the 20-year loan, instead of a traditional five- or six-year loan, said Margaret Ferrentino, CFO of Mercy Flight, there's no way the air and ground ambulance service could have afforded the new helicopter.

The dedication was attended by Mercy Flight and Mercy EMS staff, local elected officials and a variety of local emergency and law enforcement representatives.

Mercy Flight #5 will serve Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties.

The new helicopter was blessed by Rev. John Gaglione, left, pictured with Mercy Flight CEO Doug Baker and Sister Sheila Marie Walsh.

A Batavia man admitted in Genesee County Court today that he possessed a forged insurance check as part of a plea deal that could have him serve a six-month intermittent sentence and a period of time on probation.

Sentencing on the charge for Ryan Shrauger, 41, of 6 Hull Park, Batavia, was set for Oct. 26.

Shrauger was initially charged in Batavia City Court on Aug. 18 with two counts of possession of a forged instrument, two counts of forgery and two counts petit larceny. On Aug. 22, Shrauger was charged in city court again with new counts of possession of a forged instrument.

Today, Shrauger told Judge Robert Noonan that he possessed an insurance check on June 27 in the amount of $900 that belonged to another person, and that he knew the signature on the check was forged.

The admission satisfies the other forgery charges.

On July 28, Shrauger was arrested on a arrest warrant out of city court and allegedly found in possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and criminal use of drug paraphernalia, 2nd.

Those charges are still pending. 

Shrauger remains in jail on $10,000 cash or bond bail.

A person on a bike reportedly ran into a pole on West Main Street near Woodrow Road and sustained an injury.

The description of the bike reportedly matches one stolen earlier from a trailer park on West Main Street.

City fire is on scene with Mercy EMS and police are responding.

It's official -- it's a tie.

Batavia Downs officials announced late this afternoon that, after spending hours reviewing all available pictures and video of the 2011 Wiener Dog Race, the final match ended in a dead heat.

Lindsay Ryan, owner of first-year runner Gordon, will receive $200 in free play at the casnio. 

After Sunday afternoon's race, when Jake Arnold, owned by Jane Smart, was declared the winner, Smart received the $200 in free play prize.

Hours after the race, evidence began to surface suggesting that Jake Arnold wasn't a clear-cut winner, leading Batavia Downs officials to delay certifying the race results.

A rematch is in the works, tentatively set for Sept. 24. Officials are waiting from confirmation from the Jake Arnold camp.

“It’s simply too close to call," said Todd Haight, general manager of live racing. “I know there is video out on the Internet that appears to show Gordon in front, but our official photo-finish camera shows both dogs hitting the line simultaneously. So in all fairness a dead heat was the right way to go.”

The rookie Gordon came a breath away from upsetting defending champion Jake Arnold.

In a statement released by Batavia Downs, Lindsay Ryan said, "We came to the dog races because we wanted to get my friend's mom, who has cancer, out of the house. We knew Gordon would run his heart out for her and he did. She had so much fun. I am so happy with how things turned out." 

James R. Straub, 37, of Stoneham, Mass., is charged with DWI and refusal to take a breath test. Straub is accused of driving a golf cart on a public road while under the influence of alcohol. Witnesses contacted dispatch at 8:40 p.m. Sunday to report that a man in a "clown suit" (as the photo shows, more like a wild golf outfit) had taken off in a cart owned by Terry Hills and was heading toward the City of Batavia on Clinton Street Road. Straub was eventually located at a residence in the city where he was taken into custody by Deputy Bradley Mazur. Straub was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and committed to the Genesee County Jail without bail. Straub is reportedly out on $500. Batavia PD assisted in the investigation.

Douglas Brian Uberty, 39, of South Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with two counts of disorderly conduct. Uberty was taken into custody by Deputy James Diehl following an investigation into reports of a man in the Target store at 7:30 p.m., Aug. 17, attempting to look up the shorts and skirts of women in the store. Uberty is also accused of peeping over the wall of a fitting room in the women's department.

Shawn Dowain Phillips, 18, of Bartlett Street, Rochester, is charged harassment as a violation. Phillips is accused of dragging a person outside and punching the person in the face. The incident was reported at 1:44 a.m., Sunday.

Rexine Evelyn Johnson, 45, of Seldon Road, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Johnson is accused of pushing a female friend twice.

Vincente Antonio Torres, 20, of Willowen Drive, Rochester, is charged with DWAI, speeding (63 mph in a 40 mph zone) and driving out of class. Torres was stopped at 2:48 a.m., Saturday, on Main Street Road, Batavia, by Deputy Howard Carlson.

Ryan Andrew Grady, 20, of Pearl Street, Lancaster, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Grady was found to allegedly possess marijuana while in the parking lot at Darien Lake at 11 p.m., Aug. 7, by Deputy Brian Thompson. 

A 17-year-old of Black Street, Sloan, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. The youth was charged after allegedly being found with marijuana while in a car parked at Darien Lake Theme Park by Deputy Brian Thompson.

Paul Anthony Swartz, 36, of Route 20 A, Orchard Park, is charged with unlawful imprisonment, 2nd. Swartz was arrested in Darien on a warrant out of Tonawanda. Swartz was turned over to Town of Tonawanda Police.

Charnika Darshae Givens, 19, of Northumberland Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with petit larceny. Givens is accused of shoplifting from the gift shop at Darien Lake Theme Park at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 6.

The Batavia Bulldawgs Youth Football Team sold raffle tickets for a 2011 Johnny Pag Spyder motorcycle provided by Grease Lightning. The tickets were $40 each and only 150 were sold.

The winner was Chris Schafer of West Falls (He was not present.)

More pictures of the game can be found here.

Officials are reviewing the photo finish of the Wiener Dog Race at Batavia Downs on Sunday afternoon.

The official results will be announced Monday morning, according to Todd Haight, general manager of live racing.

Haight said he wants to review the photos more closely and talk with officials who were in the upstairs booth to better understand what they saw.

A handful of people on the ground after the race thought Gordon won, but a ruling came from the upstairs booth that Jake Arnold had pulled out another victory.

Haight released photos of the finish that seem to show Gordon, owned by Lindsay Ryan, beating odds-on favorite Jake Arnold (wearing pink and #7) by a head. Jake Arnoald is owned by Jane Smart.

"I feel bad for Jane and Jake Arnold, but as of right now it appears Gordon won by a head," Haight said.

If the results are overturned, Arnold will have failed at his try at a threepeat. If Gordon is declared the winner it will be a major upset for the first-time competitor.

Photo below: Gordon and Lindsay Ryan.

Previously: Wiener Dog Races: Jake Arnold does it again

A person dressed in a clown suit is believed to have stolen a golf cart at Terry Hills Golf Course just a few moments ago. Staff tried following the person down Clinton Street Road and it is believed he or she may have fled into a nearby field.

Law enforcement is responding.

UPDATE 8:49 p.m.: The brother-in-law of the suspect along with the suspect himself are speaking with law enforcement now at a residence on Clinton Street.

UPDATE 11:18 p.m.: Race results are under review.

For the third-straight year Jake Arnold bested a large field of eager wiener dogs -- and some not so eager -- to take the 2011 Wiener Dog Race championship title.

A large crowd of wiener dog race enthusiasts were on hand to cheer for their favorite hungry little dachshund.

Jake Arnold, a 4-year-old owned by Jane Smart, won the big race in a photo finish, beating out first-year entrant Gordon, owned by Lindsay Ryan, and long-time rival Rudy, an 8-year-old owned by Ron Schiller.

Rudy, a previous race winner, finished second ton Jake Arnold for the previous two years.

In all, 63 elongated canines raced at the Downs on today.

More photos in the slide show below (if you have trouble viewing the slide show, click here.) 

To purchase photos from this event, click here.

An argument in a back yard on Central Avenue over clothes led to two people being charged with harassment, 2nd, including one woman accused of striking a man with a baseball bat.

Arrested and released on appearance tickets were Paul C. Wapniewski, 55, of 410 Ellicott St., Batavia, and Cheryl M. Lyons, 45, of 14 Vine St. Batavia.

Lyons is accused of hitting Wapniewski with the bat after Wapniewski allegedly shoved Lyons' mother.

The arguement broke out around 7 p.m., Saturday.

Officer Marc Lawrence investigated the incident.

The driver says it was Saturday morning's fog that caused him to miss a stop sign on Freeman Road, South Byron, but that didn't stop a deputy from charging him with DWI.

Charged was Brian R. Dilcher, 25, of Clinton Street Road, Batavia, who was also cited for alleged failure to stop for a stop sign.

Dilcher was eastbound on Freeman Road at 5 a.m. in a 1994 GMC pickup when he allegedly went through the sign at Coward Road, Byron.

His truck struck a Verizon utility box and then a tree.

Dilcher suffered minor injuries, but did not require ambulance transport.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Eric Seppala.

A driver who said she didn't see another car coming, attempted to make a U-turn on Route 5 near Powers Road, Batavia, leading to a two-car accident. This happened at 6:19 p.m., Friday.

The drivers of both cars suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported to UMMC by ground ambulance.

Amanda M. Scherer, 18, of Beach Road, Cheektowaga, was driving west on Route 5 when she attempted the U-turn. Her car was struck in the back left quarter panel by a 1999 Honda SUV driven by Mary F. Doktor, 49, of Boyce Road, Corfu.

Scherer, who was driving a 2011 Toyota sedan owned by West Herr Toyota in Williamsville, was cited for allegedly making an illegal U-turn.

Steven J. Raimondi, 18, a passenger in Scherer's car, was not injured.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Brad Mazur.

Press release:

Please be advised that Batavia City Council will hold a meeting with the Batavia Town Board on Wednesday, Aug. 31. It will begin at 7 p.m. at the Batavia Town Hall, 3833 W. Main St. Road, to discuss the City / Town Charter Task Force consultant's recommendation.

Two Rochester residents were charged with various offenses Thursday after the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force initiated a traffic stop on the car they were in.

Arrested where Abdullah H. Shareef, 30, of Locust Street, and Michael D. Brewer, 41, of Grand Avenue.

Shareef was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, plus unregistered, uninsured and uninspected motor vehicle.

Brewer was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Both suspects were issued appearance tickets.

Sara K.L. McCabe, 26, of Lincoln Avenue, Le Roy, is charged with felony DWI, aggravated DWI (children under age 15 in the car), driving without an interlock device and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. McCabe was stopped by Le Roy Police on Thursday after a witness complained of seeing a person in a car consuming alcohol. McCabe was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Geoffrey Charles Saxton, 28, of North Byron Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08, failure to reduce speed and moving from lane unsafely. Saxton was charged following a one-car accident at Mullen and Morganville roads, Stafford, at 11:59 p.m., Monday.

Shuvon J. Williams, 36, of 5 Lewis Place, Batavia, and Rochelle V. Tomlin, 35, of 2 Lewis Place, Batavia, are charged with petit larceny. Both are accused of shoplifting from Tops Market on Wednesday.

Barbara Jean Alessi, 52, of Rand Street, Rochester, was arrested on a warrant stemming from a petit larceny charge. Alessi is accused of stealing from a business on Lewiston Road. She was taken into custody by the Rochester Police Department and turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

Batavia police are looking for two males allegedly involved in a fight behind the board of education building on Washington Avenue.

One is described as wearing a white shirt and red shorts and the other male is reportedly wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans.

The initial call had 30 people involved in the fight. When the first police car arrived on scene, everybody took off running.

A head-on collision, with one victim complaining of chest pain, has been reported on Route 5 at Powers Road in the Town of Batavia.

The road is blocked.

East Pembroke Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 6;30 p.m.: A second ambulance is requested to the scene.

A tour bus returning from dropping off passengers at the Buffalo Airport broke down this morning on West Main Street at the intersection with Ellicott Street.

The call came in at 9:04 a.m. and the bus wasn't moved until after 11 a.m., causing a bit of a traffic jam for eastbound travelers.

The driver reportedly told Officer Eric Dibble that he was concerned the bus was experiencing mechanical difficulties, which is why he didn't drive on the Thruway back to Rochester.

No passengers were on the bus at the time of the breakdown.