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Larry J. Jones, 35, of Hamlin Street, Buffalo, is charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, 1st, a Class C felony, and tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony. Jones allegedly tried to buy French fries at Darien Lake Amusement Park using a fake $50 bill. An employee suspected the bill of being counterfeit and notified security. Jones allegedly produced a large number of $50 bills also believed to be counterfeit. While being transported to the security trailer, Jones allegedly tried stuffing additional fake $50 bills he possessed in his mouth and eating them. Security officers were able to prevent consumption of the bills and, though damaged, they were also determined to be allegedly counterfeit. Jones was jailed without bail. The case was investigated by Deputy Patrick Reeves and Investigator Kris Kautz.

Shawn Anthony Suarez, 23, of Bernhardt Drive, Snyder, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Suarez is accused of possessing marijuana at a concert at Darien Lake on Aug. 29. Also charged was Samantha Lee Jindra, 18, of Westminster Road, West Seneca.

Antonio Velazquez-Hernandez, 25, of Oak Orchard Road, Albion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, reckless driving, driving left of pavement markings, failure to keep right, no signal, unlicensed operator. Velazquez-Hernandez was stopped at 2:50 a.m., Sunday, on Route 98 in Batavia by Deputy Howard Carlson. Velazquez-Hernandez was also allegedly in the United States illegally and was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Here are the results from today's 5K race sponsored by the Batavia Area Jaycees.

For the men:

• Ty Demmer, age 15, time 17:45
• Kevin Sheehan, age 50, time 18:05
• Dave Bateman, age 29, 18:39

Fore the women:

• Emily Heale, age 22, 23:51
• Kathryn Bellamy, age 31, 24:13
• Andrea Ridings, age 28, 25:01

Top time 55 and over was Larry Pelkey, age 55, 21:22.

Top time age 65 and over was Tom Dutton, age 66, 21:54.

Tom Demmer, at age 15, finished in 19:39 and Emma Eastridge, at age 14, finished in 25:44.

Bill White, age 70, finished at 27:23 and Ed Duncan, age 71, finished at 45:39.

Dispatcher: "Copy, 253 on scene, investigating burnt rice."

The chief (253 is from Town of Batavia Fire) is "on scene" at Cedar Hall at College Village.

Yes, school is back in session.

Engine 21 is on location.

UPDATE 3:01 p.m.: Town of Batavia is back in service. Confirming burnt food.

Sarah Patricia Nichols, 29, of Pinehollow Drive, Batavia, is charged with falsely reporting an incident, 3rd. Nichols is accused of falsely reporting a larceny from her vehicle while it was parked in the Walmart parking lot. An investigation by Deputy Brad Mazur led Mazur to believe the larceny did not take place.

Patricia M. Anderson, 27, of 6281 Walkers Corners Road, Byron, is charged with petit larceny. Anderson is accused of shoplifting from the Kwik Fill 99 at Jackson and Ellicott streets. Anderson was located at a residence on Central Avenue following a complaint of the theft.

Francis Scott Smith, 18, of Lake Avenue, New York, is charged with petit larceny. Smith was taken into custody in the lobby of city court on a warrant out of Batavia Town Court. Smith was jailed on $250 bail.

Jennifer J. Maggio, 27, of Kingston Road, Leicester, is charged with petit larceny. Maggio is accused of shoplifting $95.32 in merchandise from Kmart by hiding it in her purse.

Raymond Michael Pfalzer, 41, of Brown Road, Corfu, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Pfalzer was charged in connection with an accident at Wilkinson Road and Brown Road, Batavia, at 8:20 p.m., July 22, in which he was seriously injured.

Angela A. Starling, 30, of Pembroke, is charged with disorderly conduct/fighting/violent behavior and harassment, 2nd. Starling was arrested by State Police following the report of an incident at Godfrey's Pond at 10:11 p.m., Saturday. No further details were released.

Out and about for a bit this afternoon and I snapped a couple of pictures.

Above, irrigation on Kelsey Road, Batavia. Below, a tractor parked on a lawn off Route 5, Batavia.

A motorcycle accident with injuries is reported at the corner of Walnut and South Main streets. City firefighters, police and Mercy EMS are responding.

UPDATE 12:49 p.m.: City fire is back in service.

A fight is reported at Ellsworth and Manhattan avenues and it is physical at this time.

Police are dispatched.

One person is leaving in a black GMC pickup truck.

There is reportedly an off-duty police officer, unknown from what jurisdiction, who is reportedly trying to intercede.

Police have located and stopped a woman who was reportedly involved in the altercation.

UPDATE 12:03 p.m.: Police officers are conducting interviews. No further updates available.

Bill Ripple can now claim he's the fastest sub eater in Genesee County.

Ripple won a sub eating contest this morning at Molasses Hill, the food store at 466 Ellicott St., Batavia. The contest was held in conjunction with the Batavia location's one-year anniversary.

In all, six men who thought they could eat an entire, meat-packed sub faster than anybody else, showed up for the event.

The grand prize, $100, was presented to Ripple by Neal Harder.

The other contestants were Brian English, John Brenkus, Earl Reimer, Frank Bellucci and Patrick Morris.

A trooper assigned to the State Police barracks in Batavia suffered non-life-threatening injuries Thursday morning after a mechanical failure on the helicopter he was flying forced it down in a wooded area in the Town of Bath.

Trooper Thomas A. Shultz, 41, was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital.

The Aviation Bell 407 helicopter was based at the Genesee County Airport.

Shultz, an experienced Army combat pilot, according to State Police, was returning to Batavia following a search for a missing person.

According to the press release, Shultz "took appropriate action and made a controlled but powerless descent, which resulted in a hard landing."

The cause of the incident is under investigation, as required, by the NTSB, FAA, and New York State Police.

Press release:

New York State Police Troop A will now accept unused and expired prescription drugs as part of new legislation enacted by Governor Cuomo to help fight prescription drug abuse.

Effective immediately, citizens can go to the Troop A Headquarters, SP Batavia, to dispose unwanted prescription drugs as a result of the governor's initiative.

This self-service medication drop box will allow the public to safely and anonymously dispose of unused or unwanted prescription medications, keeping it out of the hands of those who may choose to abuse it.

Items that can be dropped off include: prescription medications, medicated ointments, over-the-counter medications and inhalers. Hazardous materials and needles are NOT accepted.

The Medication Drop Box is located in the front lobby at SP Batavia, located at 4525 W. Saile Drive.

The abuse of prescription medications continues to be an issue facing the citizens and law enforcement agencies of New York State. Governor Cuomo recently signed legislation to help fight prescription drug abuse.

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Tickets are on sale for Downtown's third annual "Taste of Fall Wine Walk," which will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15. The event includes 21 tastings, a commemorative wine glass, and a discount card for dinner and shopping.

Tickets cost $20 and are going fast. Designated drivers pay $5. Twenty-one stores and businesses are on the itinerary.

Only 500 tickets will be sold and last year they were gone two weeks prior to the event.

You can buy them at:

• Coffee Culture, 6 Court St.
• T-Shirts Etc., 111 Main St.
• Valle Jewelers, 21 Jackson St.

All participants must be age at least 21 years old.

On the night of the event, registration is at the Genesee Orleans Art Council, 201 E. Main St.

The host and major sponsor is the Batavia Business Improvement District, the Genesee Valley Pennysaver and T-Shirts Etc.

Visit www.downtownbataviany.com or Facebook: Downtown Batavia Improvement District for more information about this and other events. To phone the BID, call 344-0900.

About a week ago, a black swan flew into the Batavia Wastewater Treatment Plant and has been hanging out ever since.

Black swans are native to Australia and it's highly unlikely this rare species made it to Batavia on its own.

The bird is likely an escapee of a private collection.

Because black swans were thought not to exist prior to the 18th Century, when they were unexpectedly discovered in Australia, statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb named his theory of extremely rare events "black swans." (Recommend reading: Taleb's book "Fooled by Randomness.")

I spent more than 90 minutes this morning at the treatment plant, but with 20 mph winds, all of the big birds, including white swans and blue herons, not to mention the black swan, seemed to have sought shelter elsewhere.

A plant worker told me other photographers have been at the plant this past week and successfully captured pictures of the swan. I'll try again on a less windy day, but if a reader has a picture of this bird in Batavia they would like to share, please send it to howard at the batavian dot com (reformat, of course).

Meanwhile, I did get the picture below this morning of some ducks.

Timothy J. Petrie, 41, of Telephone Road, Pavilion, is charged with one count of sexual abuse, 1st. Petrie is accused of sexually abusing a child under age 11 at his house several years ago. Following an investigation by Deputy Matthew Fleming with assistance from Deputy Matthew Butler, Deputy Cory Mower and Investigator Roger Stone. Petrie was arrested Aug. 24 and arraigned in Town of Pavilion Court and released under supervision of Genesee Justice. UPDATE: In July 2013, a jury acquitted Petrie on all counts.

A 16-year-old resident of Warsaw is charged with petit larceny. The youth was arrested at 6:35 p.m., Thursday, by State Police in the Town of Darien.

Christian M. Hilken, 21, of Pike Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful dealing with a child. Hilken is accused of hosting an underage drinking party on Wednesday evening.

Henry Lee Banks, 42, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Banks is accused of stealing scrap metal from a business on Orchard Street, Oakfield.

The Batavian received a reply from the City of Batavia today on its FOIL request regarding the loan that Chad Zambito received through the Batavia Development Corp. for his business, Grammy's Laundry, which is set for an asset auction Sept. 4.

Answers to key questions:

• Date loan approved: Conditional approval, May 2010
• Amount of initial loan: $20,000
• Purpose of the loan: working capital/equipment
• Amount still owed on the loan: The pay off is $14,532.15
• Date of last payment: July 3

Zambito also owes money to the Bank of Castile. He said previously that his total debt is less than $20,000 and he expects the asset auction to raise enough money to satisfy both debts.

Previously: Business owned by Chad Zambito closed, assets up for auction to pay debts

Kyle W. Nash, 25, of 7 Myrtle St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and felony aggravated unlicensed operation. Nash was involved in a motor vehicle accident Tuesday night in the area of 76 North St., Le Roy. Nash was reportedly looking for an item inside the vehicle and his car veered to the right and struck the rear of a tractor-trailer parked alongside the roadway. Two passengers in the vehicle were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Following arraignment, Nash was jailed on $5,000 bail.

David Bruce Piechowicz, 36, Eagan Drive, Lackawanna, is charged with trespass. Piechowicz allegedly went to the home of his ex-girlfriend after being told to stay away.

James J. Angelo, 48, of Churchville, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Angelo was stopped by State Police on Route 77 in the Town of Darien at 12:05 a.m., today.

Reuben L. Bumpus, 29, of Newark, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08. Bumpus was stopped by State Police in the City of Batavia, at 12:35 a.m., today.

Walter L. Knickerbocker, 54, of South Street, Pavilion, is charged with unlawful growing of cannabis. Knickerbocker was arrested by State Police at 12:45 p.m., Tuesday. No further details were released.

A 14-year-old from Albion is charged with petit larceny after being arrested by State Police for allegedly shoplifting at Kmart on Tuesday. No further details were released.

Kelvin B. Murphy, 39, of Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, and second-degree harassment/physical contact. Murphy was arrested by State Police Tuesday for an alleged incident reported at 1:01 a.m. in Oakfield. He was ordered held in jail, no bail information given in the report. No further details released.

A group of at least five men showed up at 400 Ellicott St., Batavia, Wednesday evening to box up the inventory and remove the fixtures of the former location of The 420 Emporium.

The 420 was suspected of selling synthetic marijuana and synthetic amphetamines from the time it opened in Batavia in May.

The store was raided by the DEA on July 25 and its apparent local owner, Joshua Denise, was arrested. The store never reopened after the raid, though its shelves remained stocked -- until Wednesday night -- with glass pipes, bongs, rolling papers and other retail items.

For our prior coverage of The 420 Emporium, click here.

Grammy's Laundry, a business located on West Main Street and owned by Chad Zambito, a candidate in the GOP primary for Batavia Town Board, has been closed and its assets are being sold at auction.

The auction is set for 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the order of the Bank of Castile.

Besides owning money to the Bank of Castile, Zambito also borrowed money from the Batavia Development Corporation (BDC) to help upgrade and modernize the laundry.

In total, Zambito said, he owes less than $20,000 against the business's assets, which he said he expects to fetch close to $30,000 in the auction.

Zambito said today his business got into trouble in January when a plumbing problem forced him to close the laundry for two months. Even after the doors were open again, customers did not return with the same frequency as before.

He believes another business caused the blockage in the plumbing system, but it wasn't resolved in time between the other business and the landlord to get his doors reopened in a timely manner.

"It wasn't my responsibility to fix it, but yet I'm left to deal with the consequences," Zambito said.

The failure of Zambito's business was brought to the attention of The Batavian by his GOP primary opponent John Gerace. Gerace didn't accuse Zambito of stirring the pot on Gerace's own personal issues, but said if others are going drag the campaign into personal issues rather than real issues, people should know about the auction proceedings.

Zambito was appointed earlier this month to fill the vacant spot left on the Town Board by Gerace's resignation from the board in April. Zambito is also the endorsed candidate by the town's GOP committee in the Sept. 13 primary race.

While the notice on the door of Grammy's Laundry confirms the auction, The Batavian has not been able to confirm the amount of debt Zambito incurred and has not repaid. A FOIL request to the City of Batavia for related BDC documents has not yet been answered.

Zambito is a former BDC board member, but said he left that position when he was no longer employed by Genesee County Economic Development Committee, and didn't request the loan until after he was no longer a BDC member.

Grammy's Laundry, Zambito said, went through three or four years of ups and downs as he tried to get the business going and in time, prior to the plumbing problem, the laundry was not much more than a break-even proposition.

"I worked with both lending institutions in an attempt to stay on track, but it got to be too much," Zambito said.

Richard Russell Vetter, 57, of Main Street, Varysburg, is charged with grand larceny and 10 counts of falsifying business records. Vetter is accused of making false metal purchase entries into business records while employed at Stanley Staba & Sons in Darien and writing himself checks in excess of $7,000.

Brian Mark Mahaney, 24, of Indian Falls Road, Pembroke, is charged with reckless endangerment. Mahaney is accused of being involved in a domestic dispute. He allegedly drove a motor vehicle eastbound on Indian Falls Road, crossed the center line into the path of a westbound vehicle. The westbound vehicle reportedly had to drive off the pavement to avoid a collision. Mahaney then allegedly followed the vehicle to a residence and threatened to fight the vehicle's occupants.

Thomas Jacob Wolcott, 26, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and harassment, 2nd. Wolcott is accused of being involved in a physical altercation with a protected person whom he was ordered not to engage in any criminal act against. He allegedly grabbed the victim by her neck and threw her about a room. Wolcott was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Steven James Scott, 21, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .10 or greater, open container and unlawful possession of marijuana. Scott was taken into custody following a report at 8:36 p.m., Tuesday, of a motorist needing assistance on Route 33 in Bergen. The motorist reportedly attempted to flag down passing cars. Upon investigation, deputies Joseph Graff and Matthew Butler identified Scott as the operator of a motor vehicle who was allegedly driving while drunk.

Triton Adam Drock, 18, of Buell Street, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse, 2nd. Drock allegedly had an ongoing relationship with a minor female. Drock is accused of acting in a manner injurious to the physical and moral welfare of a minor. Following arraignment in Darien Town Court, Drock was released on his own recognizance and issued a stay-away order for the minor female.