batavia

Thomas Monte Carlo, 57, of Lewiston Road, Basom, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, unlawful possession of marijuana and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Carlo was apprehended by Deputy Joseph Corona following a reported one-vehicle motorcycle accident at 7:23 p.m. Saturday on Lewiston Road, Basom.

Matthew James Florian, 25, of Slusser Road, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant related to an aggravated unlicensed operation charge. Florian was stopped by State Police on Route 5, Town of Batavia, and turned over to the Sheriff's Office on a warrant. Florian was jailed on $200 bail.

Michael Scott Vanburen, 46, of Alexander Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, unsafe backing and consumption of alcohol in a vehicle. Vanburen was arrested after he reportedly backed his 2004 Pontiac GTO out of his driveway, across the road and into a ditch at 12:27 a.m. on Saturday.

Dana Lewis Toates, 19, of Roosevelt Highway, Hilton, is charged with unlawful possession of alcohol under age 21. Toates was reportedly a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation and found to allegedly be in possession of alcohol.

Corey M. Vickers, 29, of Morrow Road, Pavilion, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, unlicensed operation and stopped on pavement. Vickers was charged after being observed by a Wyoming County deputy allegedly stopped on the roadway in the Town of Perry, outside of his vehicle, vomiting. Vickers' driving privilege was suspended after he allegedly failed to appear for a summons in the Village of Portville.

Alissa A. Fodge, 23, of Bergen, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Fodge was arrested by State Police in the Town of Barton for an alleged act reported Oct. 18. No further details released.

A donation fund has been set up to assist Candee McConnell, who lost her husband and had a portion of her house damaged in a fire last week.

Donations can be made at any Bank of Castile location in the name of Candee McConnell.

Candee and George McConnell were married for 25 years and were active in the SPCA. George was retired from the U.S. Postal Service and a World War II vet and avid baseball fan, according to his obituary.

For health reasons, George was unable to exit a second-floor bedroom of the McConnell's home on Davis Avenue after the fire broke out in that part of the house.

The back section of the house was heavily damaged.

Donations will assist Candee with various needs arising from the tragedy.

City firefighters got their hands on new extrication tools tonight that were acquired with a FEMA grant the department received in January.

The tools are manufactured by Holmatro and include a cutter, a spreader and two rams along with rocker panel support.

The grant was for $60,000 and the money as also used to purchase struts for building and vehicle supports.

Tonight's training was conducted by Tim Norris, a rep for Holmatro.

Capt. Craig Williams said the department reviewed equipment from six different companies and invited four of them in for a head-to-head competition.

What he likes about the Holmatro products, he said, is the tools are the only one on the market that cut and spread in three stages. When there's no pressure on the blades, they move easily. As they feel pressure, they clap down harder, and in the third stage, when extra pressure is needed to finish the cut, the tool delivers maximum pressure.

Also, Williams said, the tools can be hot swapped from their hydraulic lines, meaning the line doesn't need to be drained of pressure before trading out a tool for a particular job.

Shifts of firefighters will be training with the new tools over the next few days.

Holmatro rep Tim Norris, center, conducting training.

The lower apartment at 142 State St., Batavia, is reportedly filling with smoke.

City fire responding.

The occupants have been advised to evacuate.

Engine 11 is on scene with light smoke showing.

UPDATE 7:30 p.m.: Small fire in bathroom. Fire knocked out. Checking for extensions.

UPDATE 7:55 p.m.: City assignment back in service.

Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding to a stove fire at Alex's Place restaurant, located at 8322 Park Road. Darien's rescue truck is requested to stand by in quarters.

UPDATE 10:45 a.m.: Fire is out. The assignment is back in service.

• Able to integrate a menu that suits your company's special considerations while maintaining and enhancing the holiday spirit.
• Tasteful, classic, and elegant holiday decorations.
• Traditional Friday & Saturday nights available along with the increasingly popular weekday events.

Press release:

Community members, area businesses, ARC families and staff have donated more than 100 baskets for Genesee ARC’s 3rd Annual Chili & Chowder Fest and theme basket raffle.  The event is scheduled for Saturday, November 16 at the Genesee ARC Community Center, 38 Woodrow Road, and runs from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

“We have a wide range of themes this year ranging from movies and tools, to candles and restaurants and everything in between,” said Shelley Falitico, ARC Development Director and event chair.

With every $10 ticket, participants will have 25 chances to win, along with a chance to win one of two door prizes. There is a group of specialty baskets, valued at $50 or more with 10 tickets at $15. Featured specialty items include Sabres baskets with tickets and parking passes and a wheeled trash can full of cleaning supplies.

This year’s grand prize is a chest freezer that comes with gift cards to area grocers and meat markets, so the winner can fill the freezer. Grand prize chances are $2 each, 3 chances/$5.00 and 8 chances/$10.

A baked goods sale is also planned along with chili and chowder in bowls, to eat in or quarts to take home.

Winners need not be present. The drawings will begin promptly at 1:30 p.m. Funds raised will benefit disability services in our community.

New this year is a ticket-only sale on Friday, November 15 from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.

“We know this is a busy time of year with a lot of weekend events,” Falitico said. “The Committee wanted to offer everyone a chance to win, even if they cannot attend the actual event."

Community members with questions may call Shelley Falitico at the Genesee ARC Community Relations office at (585) 343-4203, ext. 222.

In recent years, even on the first day of practice, Buddy Brasky said he was eager for go-time. He thought his teams were ready for their first regular season game.

This year, with six seniors graduating and a roster stocked with sophomores and juniors, it's going to take a little time to get the team into championship form.

"We've got to get better throughout the year," Brasky said following a practice at Batavia High School today. "We get a little bit better, a little better, a little bit better, and hopefully we peak by the end of the year. Where in the past couple of years we've been really good right from the beginning, I think it's going to take a little while this year."

The core of the starting squad appears to be Justice Fagan, a senior guard, and Jeff Redband, a junior forward whose clutch buzzer beater in last year's regional championship helped send the Blue Devils to the state championship semi-finals.

"We've got two really good players, two first-team, all-league type of players," Brasky said. "If we can get the guys around them to step up, yes, we can win the league title and then the next step from there is sectionals."

It's a little bit of a setback, Brasky said, that Redband is sitting out pre-season wth an injured ankle. He's already been sidelined for three weeks and is at least two weeks away from returning for action. He may not be ready for the opening tip-off.

Also missing a big chunk of practice time is starting senior guard Andrew Turner, who will miss the next 10 days of practice after suffering a mild concussion.

Brasky is also expecting a big contribution from sophomore forward Malachi Chenault, who made the varsity last year as a freshman.

Coming up from JV is that squad's second-leading scorer last year, guard Jerrett Laskett, a junior.

"These are good kids," Brasky said. "They listen. They're coachable. Our schemes are pretty complicated. Our defenses are not easy to pick up, so little by little, I see improvement every day. I'm pretty pleased with how they're working right now."

The Blue Devils, in Class A-II this year, opens the season Dec. 7 against Williamsville South at Niagara Falls HS. There are no home games scheduled before the Lions Tournament, Dec. 27 and Dec. 30 at Genesee Community College.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Two callers, one on Wood Street, report hearing the sound of a gunshot.

The sound was a single boom with a sustained echo (we heard it, too).

Batavia PD is responding to the area.

UPDATE 8:56  p.m.: A reader e-mails saying he heard what sounded to him like a 12-gauge shotgun in the area of Cherry/Wood/Jackson.

UPDATE (by Billie) 9:02 p.m.: An off-duty police officer told dispatch it sounded like a pop from a blown transformer. Subesequently, a police officer reported that people interviewed on Wood Street say the noise came from Cherry Street. Officers are now scouring the area of Cherry and Pringle Avenue to try and determine the cause of the sound.

UPDATE 9:11 p.m. (by Howard): An officer I spoke with over on Pringle said the sound I described sounds more like a wire arcing than a shotgun, especially since the sound has reportedly been heard over a wide area of the city, not just the Southside. He said a gunshot sound would not carry to such a wide area. Also, another caller reports seeing a bottle rocket in the area of Cherry and Liberty. One officer expresses skepticism that that was the cause and another recalls there were reports of fireworks from that area over the summer.

UPDATE 9:28 p.m.: Officers are clearing the call. "It's probably a power arcing issue," reports an officer. "Nothing else has been found."

With 25 years in the auto repair business -- a career that took him from mechanic to district manager and vp of operations for other people's businesses -- Steve Getty says he's found a place he wants to put down roots, in Batavia.

Getty has acquired a former oil change and auto repair location at 4003 W. Main St. and opened up Syd's Automotive.

"It feels really good to own my own business," Getty said, "especially being where I live."

Asked what will set his business apart, he said, "quality."

"Most companies in the industry I'm in focus on the fast," Getty said. "We'll be quality first, fast second. It's still a fast oil change, but you're getting a quality oil change, quality repair work."

Photo: Getty left with Scott Levensailor, who is also working in the shop.

A male claims he was chased by a trio of individuals on Jackson Street. He called police at the Kwik Fill gas station, at Jackson and Ellicott streets in Batavia, where officers met up with him to take him to his residence on Central Avenue. He described those who allegedly chased him as two black males and a black female.

Sean M. Vickers, the man accused of being a predatory child molester in Niagara and Genesee counties, with alleged victims from up to 20 years ago, won't get a chance to post bail.

Vickers appeared in County Court today to be arraigned on a new 11-count indictment that accuses him of sexually assaulting four children in Batavia from the 1990s to the early 2000s.

Citing the possible multiple life sentence faced by Vickers, Judge Robert C. Noonan said Vickers posed too great a flight risk to have an opportunity to post bail.

Bail was set at $500,000 when Vickers was arrested on the first set of sexual assault charges in May.

Public Defender Gary Horton asked Noonan to set a bail amount, saying that bail out of Niagara County Court, he believed, was set at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond.

As is usually the case for defendants at an arraignment on new charges, Vickers entered a not guilty plea to all 11 of the counts.

He was indicted by a grand jury last week on: one count of a course of sexual conduct against a child, a Class B felony; two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, a Class A-II felony; six counts of criminal sexual act first, a Class B violent felony; one count of sexual abuse, 1st, a Class B felony; and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

The 44-year-old Vickers was a resident of Geneva at the time of his arrest in May.

The local investigation into Vickers started after detectives in Niagara County contacted Batavia PD about a case they were working on. That helped to bring to light alleged molestation against at least one victim and the ongoing investigation turned up more victims and more evidence to base the new charges on.

Det. Kevin Czora, leading the local investigation, said over the weekend that it's possible there may be alleged victims in the community local law enforcement doesn't even know about. 

Anybody with information that may assist in the investigation can contact Batavia PD at (585) 345-6350 or outside the city, contact your local law enforcement agency.

Previously:

• Former Batavia resident accused of sex offense against a child more than a decade ago
• Grand Jury indicts man for alleged sexual conduct with a child under 13
• Brothers suspected of having multiple sexual abuse victims over three-decade period
• Former Batavia resident accused of sexual conduct with a child appears in court
• New charges filed against former Batavia resident accused of child sexual abuse
• Detective worries there may be more victims locally of alleged child molester
• Grand Jury indicts convicted child molester on 11 new counts

A "cherry picker" truck, or portion of it, landed on a car causing a hand laceration at Walnut and South Main streets in the city. Mercy medics and city fire are responding.

UPDATE 12:07 p.m.: Responders tell medics they can proceed in non-emergency mode. Police are on scene.

UPDATE 12:32 p.m.: An adult male is being transported to UMMC with a minor hand laceration.

A motor-vehicle accident with a possible minor head or neck injury is reported on Park Avenue, City of Batavia.

City fire and Mercy EMS are on scene.

The vehicle hit a utility pole. 

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Investigators have determined that the fatal fire early this morning at 10 Davis Ave., Batavia, was caused by "careless use of smoking materials, i.e., cigarettes and lighters."

The fire, first reported around 2 a.m., took the life of 87-year-old George A. McConnell.

McConnell's wife, Candace McConnell, was not injured in the fire.

George was apparently unable to exit his second-floor bedroom after the fire started. Candace made her way to the first-floor back porch and was assisted from the house by Officer Darryl Streeter.

The fire investigation was conducted by the Batavia Fire Department and the Batavia Police Department.

Previously: Fire on Davis Avenue claims life of 87-year-old resident

I couldn't make it to the marker dedication for the East Boundary of the Holland Land Purchase at Four Corners in Stafford on Friday. Sue Conklin sent along this photo and the press release below.

On Friday, November 8th 2013 a historical marker commemorating the Eastern Boundary of the Holland Land Purchase was dedicated in Stafford at the intersection of routes 5 and 237. More than 20 people attended the dedication ceremony, which included a brief reading of the history of the survey and a gun salute provided by the War of 1812 militia. 

Following the dedication the Stafford Historical Society served cider and donuts and several people toured their award-winning museum.

Prior to the dedication a survey using original links and transit was conducted by:

• Rochelle Stein, Genesee County legislator for District No. 5
• Lynne Belluscio, Le Roy House director and LeRoy Village historian
• Susan Conklin, Genesee County historian
• Phyllis Darling, Stafford Historical representative
• Jeffery Donahue, Holland Land Office Museum director

This survey revealed the location of the marker and the actual boundary line is over by 83 links. Had the marker been installed in the actual location, it would be in the center of the intersection of Route 237, something the Department of Transportation would have forbidden. The Town of Stafford graciously provided the Genesee County History Department with an alternative spot.

Welcoming Remarks / Mary Pat Hancock Genesee County Legislator:

"Genesee County included not only the Holland Land Purchase, but many other smaller land tracts. The County had six land companies with the Holland Land Purchase being the largest. It included two-thirds of the county lands and was located west of the Transit Line.  The other smaller companies were located east of the Transit Line and include one third of the county lands. The other land tract companies were the Connecticut, Triangle, Phelps & Gorham, Craigie and the 40,000 Acre.  

"When the Holland Purchase was made, the land was in Ontario County, with the county seat in Canandaigua. On March 30, 1802, Genesee County was formed with the county seat in Batavia. As populations grew, eight other Western New York counties were carved from the original Genesee County.

"The eastern boundary of the 3.3-million acre Holland Land Purchase bisects the old State Road, now known as Route 5, in the Town of Stafford. This boundary runs from the State of Pennsylvania north to Lake Ontario. The Holland Land Purchase extends west from this line to Lake Erie and the Niagara River.

"Today we honor the Holland Land Purchase and commemorate their Eastern Boundary."

A former Batavia resident accused of five burglaries locally has a chance to carry on his life without serving any time in prison.

Judge Robert C. Noonan ruled in County Court today that Samuel G. Malone, 27, can serve a year's interim probation before he is officially sentenced on his guilty pleas Aug. 12 to two counts of burglary, 3rd, and one count of attempted burglary, 3rd.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman told Noonan he thought a prison term was the appropriate way to deal with Malone, who committed his local burglaries in 2008 and avoided detection until he was arrested in another county in January.

The arrest in another jurisdiction helped Batavia PD match Malone's DNA to blood found at three burglary scenes in the city.

Malone was later charged in another local residential burglary and admitted to burglarizing the former Clor's location on Pearl Street.

Noonan was apparently persuaded to give Malone another chance based on pre-sentence reports from the probation departments in Allegheny County, where Malone now lives, and Genesee County. Both reports recommended no prison time for Malone.

The maximum sentence available to Noonan was eight to 16 years in prison.

Malone is on probation on his conviction in another county, so he faces consequences there as well as Genesee County if he violates the terms of his release.

For previous coverage of the Samuel Malone case, click here.

Davis Avenue is a quiet street tucked in a corner of Batavia between Franklin Avenue and Williams Park.

The residents tend to be homeowners who have lived on Davis as neighbors for many years. They all know each other, said Officer Darryl Streeter.

As word spread early this morning that 87-year-old George A. McConnell did not make it out of his house at 10 Davis Ave. before the back of the structure became engulfed in flames, the shock and grief was apparent among the neighbors who watched the scene on a cold and snowy night.

"It's a very tough situation," Streeter said moments after comforting a neighbor.

Streeter was the first emergency responder on scene. He found George's wife, Candace, on the back porch trying to get out.

"I made entry into the house and got to the main kitchen, living room area and tried to make it upstairs but the smoke was too intense," Streeter said. "I stepped out, tried it a second time, but I just couldn't get any further than the kitchen itself."

At that point firefighters arrived and the back area of the second floor -- where George's bedroom was located -- was fully engulfed in flames.

The fire was knocked down in less than 20 minutes but firefighters found it difficult to make entry into the house because of what Chief Jim Maxwell characterized as "clutter." 

"It was quite a chore getting through everything," Maxwell said.

The cause or origin of the fire has not yet been determined.

Candace McConnell, who is 61, was uninjured and was taken in and being assisted by a neighbor.

George McConnell was born Dec. 25, 1925.