batavia

A fire alarm has sounded in Spruce Hall at College Village. Town of Batavia firefighters are responding. The address is 8170 Batavia-Stafford Townline Road.

UPDATE 9:02 p.m.: Firefighters on scene report "nothing showing."

UPDATE 9:06 p.m.: The chief says a second unit should search the center of the building for burnt food. "Looks like they were fryin' food a little too hot," says a firefighter. They've checked Room 206 and found nothing, but then checked G105 and found evidence of smoke. "It seems to be coming from the heater, but the heater hasn't been turned on for several hours."

UPDATE 9:27 p.m.: The alarm is deemed unfounded. Town of Batavia is back in service.

A caller tells dispatch his girlfriend was "jumped" about 15 minutes ago by a man near Jackson Street and Dawson Place. The suspect then ran into some bushes. He is described as black, with a "salt and pepper goatee," wearing black shorts and a black sweatshirt. Police are searching for him now.

UPDATE 12:25 p.m.: The suspect was last seen headed eastbound on the railroad tracks. Mercy medics are responding to the scene for the victim's possible shoulder injury.

UPDATE 12:46 p.m.: The 24-year-old victim is very distressed and is being transported to UMMC complaining of shoulder pain and experiencing an anxiety attack.

Press release:

The Batavia Town Board will hold its September meeting outside at Kiwanis Park on Wednesday, Sept. 12. While it is unclear if the board has ever held a meeting outdoors before, it certainly has not been done in recent memory.

“I've been with the town since 1994 and I don't remember a meeting that hasn't taken place at Town Hall,” said Town Clerk Teressa Morasco.

The meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m., will be followed by a dedication ceremony for the new canoe launch which was built with a $6,000 grant from the Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation District to promote recreational access to the Tonawanda creek.

The Town of Batavia Engineering Department designed the launch and completed all the permitting and the town Highway Department built the canoe launch. It is approximately 12 feet wide to accommodate multiple canoes and kayaks and provides a safe and easy access point to the Tonawanda Creek.

Also at the meeting, the board will recognize John O'Brian, who was a member of the planning board in 1975, when the park was first conceived. O'Brian later served as the group's chairman.

The park was built in 1976 and first included 12 picnic tables, three grills and a 25-foot flagpole. The stone pillars that still stand at the park's entrance were constructed by longtime highway superintendent Bob Smart, who personally collected the rocks used in the structures.

Following the meeting, Councilperson Patti Michalak, will make a special announcement regarding the park. A reception with refreshments will follow. The public is invited.

Andrew Zimba Perdock, 25, of 17 Holland Ave., lower, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Perdock is accused of shoplifting from Tops. He is also charged with menacing, 2nd, and attempted petit larceny. Perdock was observed allegedly putting merchandise in a backpack while inside Walmart. After Walmart were alerted to the situation, Perdock reportedly removed the items from the backpack. Perdock allegedly displayed a knife with the blade showing while in the presence of Walmart employees.

Brian J. Lambert, 30, of 1 Prune St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny and trespass. Alert Cedar Street residents spotted a suspicious vehicle pull behind Arctic Refrigeration and observed an individual allegedly stealing scrap metal. Lambert was later located at his residence and the allegedly stolen property was recovered and returned.

Alexis A. Czaja, 30, no permanent address, is charged with petit larceny. Czaja is accused of shoplifting from Tops.

Kristine Szumigala, 38, of 260 Ross St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Szumigala is accused of shoplifting from Dollar General.

Samantha A. Bowles, 22, of 33 Williams St., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Batavia PD officers received a report of loud noise coming from a residence on Williams Street. On call back, the person making the complaint reported a physical altercation. Upon arrival, officers made contact with Bowles, who was described as agitated and irate. Bowles reportedly pushed past officers during questioning. Bowles reportedly physically struggled with officers while being taken into custody.

Steven N. Utter, 26, of Route 96, Waterloo, and Cory A. Miles, 34, of County Line Road 13, Shortsville, are charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument. Utter and Miles were arrested following an investigation by Deputy Brad Mazur and Deputy Jason Saile into a suspicious vehicle at Wilson Farms on South Lake Road, Pavilion. Both men were jailed on $2,000 bail.

Joseph C. Wind, 42, of Horseshoe Lake Road, Stafford, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Wind is accused of stealing $4,000 cash while employed at The Home Depot.

Brandy R. Douglas, 33, of South Main Street, Elba, is charged with petit larceny. Douglas is accused of shoplifting $48 in merchandise from Target.

Patrick D. Moore, 34, of Strouts Road, Elba, is charged with petit larceny. Moore is accused of shoplifting $29.99 in merchandise from Target.

Brett M. Doran, 21, of East Main Street, Le Roy, is charged with obstruction of breathing and harassment, 2nd. Le Roy PD responded to a report of a disturbance where a female was heard screaming to stop choking her. Doran is accused of kicking the female in her face and choking her during an argument. Doran was jailed on $500 bail.

Kyle Andrew Bilby, 22, of North Pearl Street, Oakfield, and Adam Andrew Dixson, 22, of Cary Avenue, Oakfield, are charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 5th. Bilby and Dixson were arrested after Deputy Patrick Reeves stopped to check on a suspicious condition at St. Cecillia Cemetery and allegedly found the defendants smoking, and in possession of, marijuana.

Darrel D. Smith, 56, residence not listed, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and DWAI. Smith was stopped by State Police at 3:16 a.m., Saturday, on Route 77, Darien.

A Notre Dame offense propelled by Nick Taylor, Tim McCulley and Andrew Mullen dominated on the gridiron Saturday against Oakfield-Alabama.

With a 32-0 win, the Fighting Irish move to 2-0 while the Hornets top to 0-2.

Taylor carried the ball 15 times for 161 yards and one TD. McCulley tossed a 26-yard TD pass to Charlie Hebert, rushed for a touchdown and returned an interception for a score. He also rushed for 48 yards on seven carries. Mullen scored once on nine carries for 65 yards.

O-A's stats are not available, nor are defense stats.

Head Coach Rick Mancuso said his young team is still learning and needs to take each week of the season day-by-day.

"A lot of kids played in their first varsity game last week," Mancuso said. "Today, they played in their second, so I think we’re getting a little more experience as we go on so we can develop a little bit of an edge and we can get some momentum going through the season."

Oakfield-Alabama has talent -- such as Austin Schroeder, Chase Manzella, Chris Nanni, Ryan Emery and Allen Chatt -- and Mancuso said the Hornets should not be taken lightly.

"I think Brian (Palone) is doing a job with that group of kids," Mancuso said. "He’s got them motivated week-to-week. He’s got them playing very hard. It was not a walk over by any means."

In other local football action this weekend:

• Batavia beat Cardinal O'Hara High School 36-8 and is now 2-0 on the season. Justin Washington carried the ball twice and scored both times. Andrew Budlong had nine carries for 77 yards and one TD. Brandon Stevenson rushed for 74 yards and a TD. Nick Canzoneri carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards and scored once. Zac Bromley kicked four successful PATs.
• Le Roy dominated on offense and defense for the second week in a row, beating Warsaw Central School 42-0. Warsaw (0-2) was held to 99 yards of offense. Ryan McQuillen had four receptions for 115 yards and a TD. Dylan Johnson rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Peter Privitera scored twice with 57 yards on the ground. Johnson had seven tackles and Zack Fitzsimmons had five.
• Elba/Byron-Bergen (2-0) beat Pembroke 43-0 (0-2), jumping to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Zack DuBois had another solid game, rushing for 264 yards, scoring four times on runs of 58, 69, 59 and 35 yards. Zac Gillard tossed two TDs, one for 60 yards, completing four passes on seven attempts for 127 yards. Receiver Kyle Morse caught three passes for 97 yards, including that 60-yard TD pass from Gillard. For Pembroke, QB Tyler Bruning was 6-12 for 42 yards. Andy Underhill had 14 tackles for the Lancers, with 11 more for Nate Jonathan.
• Alexander (1-1) beat Finney 29-8.

Reminder: Each of the next two weekends, I'll be traveling so won't be able to cover any games.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here. To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

Children with shovels are reportedly digging holes in the baseball field at John Kennedy School. City police are responding.

Kids are reportedly "throwing bowling balls down the street" by 22 Tracy Ave. in the city and the caller would like them spoken to, although they are not performing the mischief at this time.

A fight is reported involving several individuals in front of 161 Bank St. Police are on scene. One person is said to have a gun, but a gun has not been displayed.

A convicted child molester told police, according to court documents, that he obtained six child pornography DVDs from a 53-year-old woman from Pembroke.

That accusation is contained in a statement filed in Pembroke Town Court in support of the arrest of Beverly Hensel, 53, of 8921 Alleghany Road, Pembroke. Hensel was charged with one count of possession of a sexual performance of a child following an investigation by Batavia PD.

According to James L. Little Jr., 41, formerly of Batavia, he first met Hansel in November 2007 at the Genesee House in Corfu.

"Bev knew I was having certain feelings," Little wrote in his deposition. "Bev gave me my first child porn DVD around January of 2008."

Earlier this week, Little was sentenced to 15 years in state prison followed by 20 years of release under supervision for sexually abusing a 2-year-old child in Batavia over a three month period.

Det. Kevin Czora said Little's stash of child porn DVDs were uncovered in a search of Little's residence when he was arrested for molesting the toddler. When questioned, Little named Hansel as the source of the DVDs.

"She acquired it for him," Czora said.

As far as Czora knows, he said, he isn't aware of Hensel downloading child porn prior to meeting Little, or providing child porn to any other people, or that Little had ever obtained child porn from any other source before meeting Hansel.

Czora does not believe Hansel received any compensation for the alleged child porn DVDs.

Over a two-year period, Little said he received DVDs with such titles as "X," "Gay Boys 6/3/09," "XXX July 13, 2009" and "Fun 08/27/09."

He said in September 2009 he was at Hansel's house and he saw two desktop computers in her basement.

He wrote, "She said one was hers and the other was her husband's."

During the execution of a search warrant at the Hensel residence Aug. 15, weapons were reportedly found and Frederick Hensel Jr. is being charged with four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Press release:

The City of Batavia would like to remind residents that the special yellow bulk item stickers that were in your last water bill will only be valid until Oct. 1.

As part of the city’s Strategic Plan for Environmental Sustainability, the city included two (2) yellow bulk item stickers in the June, July and August water bills.

During the city-wide limited bulk pickup program only ONE sticker is necessary for the disposal of one bulk item regardless of size. Place the bulk item with the sticker securely affixed to it at the curb/parkway on your regularly scheduled garbage day.

Please remember to use your yellow stickers by Oct 1^st.

The special yellow bulk stickers will not be valid or accepted after that date and you must once again purchase orange sticker to have bulk items picked up.

A former Batavia resident who admitted to filing a false social services claim was sentenced in Genesee County Court today to one-and-a-half to three years in state prison.

Michael Schramm, 36, entered a guilty plea July 13 to offering a false instrument for filing.

He was arrested in May along with his wife, Deborah Schramm, and accused of submitting claim forms with DSS for temporary assistance and food stamps.

As part of his sentence, Schramm must repay the county $17,026.39.

Schramm failed to report full-time employment at a farm in Niagara County.

He will be disqualified from receiving temporary assistance and food stamps in the future.

Deborah Schramm is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 10.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department wishes to provide an update in regards to the investigation into the death of Alyce M. Huntoon. An acquaintance reported finding Ms. Huntoon in an unresponsive condition, in her vehicle, in the parking lot of The Manor House Apartments, 427 E. Main St., Batavia, NY, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012 at or about 10:30 p.m.

The findings by the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office indicate an undetermined cause and manner of death.

The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office indicates finding no physical injuries that would have caused the death of Ms. Huntoon.

The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office has completed an initial and additional toxicology tests. All toxicology tests indicate no findings that would have attributed to the death of Ms. Huntoon.

The investigation to date indicates nothing to suggest the death of Ms. Huntoon was the result of an intentional or accidental overdose. Nothing in the investigation to date indicates the death of Ms. Huntoon was the result of suicide.

Anyone having any information in regards to this investigation may contact the Batavia Police Department’s Dispatch at (585) 345-6350 or Batavia Police Department directly at (585) 345-6444.

Information can also be left on the Batavia Police Department’s Confidential Tip Line at (585) 345-6370 or via the Suspicious Activity Reporting link found on the Web site of the Batavia Police Department.

UPDATE: We asked Batavia PD about toxicology in this case. There are hundreds of possible chemical compounds used in synthetic drugs and we requested further information on how wide ranging the toxicology screening went, whether it would detect any chemical or just specific chemicals included in a screening panel. Here's the response from Det. Pat Corona: "I have the answer in regards to synthetic cannabinoids and analogs to stimulants and hallucinogens. The Medical Examiner’s Office is very confident in regards to their toxicology findings that rule out those substances as contributing to the death of Alyce Huntoon. They were not found to be present in her system. "

Daniel Roger Sumeriski, 26, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny, criminal tampering, 3rd, and harassment. Sumeriski was arrested in the Family Court lobby on a bench warrant out of Town of Batavia Court for alleged failure to pay a fine.

Sarah Lee Marcello, 20, of South Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Marcello is accused of shoplifting $76.65 in merchandise from Kmart.

Accident with a minor injury reported on Route 98 at Pike Road, Batavia.

One patient complaining of back pain.

Town of Batavia fire and Mercy EMS responding.

A bit of Batavia's history will be up for auction next Wednesday at Bontrager's Auction house on Wortendyke Road, Batavia: A cross that once adorned the old St. Joe's Church.

A fire on Aug. 18, 1970, destroyed the church and the Gilhooly family in Attica acquired the cross. The family has decided it's time to let somebody else care for the historic relic.

Pictured with the cross are Todd Jantzi, right, owner of Bontrager's, and one of his employees, Dave Harms, who was a young volunteer firefighter with East Pembroke in 1970.

Harms said he remembers the fire well. He and Gail Seamans were among the first on scene and manning a hose line.

Flames, he said, were jumping out of the bell tower and church windows. It's one of the most involved structure fires he's ever seen.

Along with East Pembroke, assisting Batavia City Fire Department, were Stafford, Oakfield, Elba and Bethany fire departments.

At the time of the fire, the church, built in 1864, was scheduled for demolition. The cause of the fire was never determined.

A large tree limb is down in the roadway at River and South Main streets in the city. City crews are notified.

UPDATE 3:17 p.m.: Howard drove by and said the limb is about seven feet long, less than a foot in diameter, and it's at the side of the roadway.

A server and bartender at Center Street Smoke House has been arrested and accused of stealing more than $3,000 from his employer.

Charged with grand larceny, 3rd, is Adam J.Hoag, 36, of 162 Ross St., Batavia.

Hoag, who was employed at the restaurant from May 2010 until May of this year, allegedly voided transactions and falsely documented receipt of discount coupons and gift certificates.

Following arraignment in city court, Hoag was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Third-degree grand larceny is a Class D felony.

Burnt food in Room 102 in Spruce Hall at College Village resulted in a fire alarm to which the Town of Batavia Volunteer Fire Department's Engine 24 responded. Upon investigation, burnt food was confirmed to be the cause for alarm and Engine 24 is back in service.

Following a multi-agency, months-long investigation, a 53-year-old woman in Pembroke has been arrested and charged with possession of a sexual performance of a child.

Beverly Hensel, of Allegheny Road, is accused of possessing child pornography from January 2008 until December 2009.

Hensel was arraigned in Town of Pembroke Court today.

Det. Kevin Czora said Batavia PD became the lead agency because the investigation originated with a different suspect in the city, but as the investigation progressed detectives connected the case to Hansel.

The pornography allegedly possessed by Hansel was obtained over the Internet, Czora said, and Hansel did not know any of the subjects in the material.

During the execution of a search warrant at the Hansel residence Aug. 15, weapons were reportedly found and Frederick Hensel Jr. is being charged with four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Batavia PD detectives led the investigation with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, Tonawanda PD, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force.