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For communities grappling with bath salts, ease of purchase seems to be key

By Howard B. Owens

There are some communities in Western and Central New York where law enforcement and emergency personnel have reported problems with users on "bath salts," but some communities have been untouched.

In the GLOW region, for example, Le Roy, Albion, Medina and Warsaw, according to law enforcement sources in each place, haven't seen many emergency calls related to bath salts.

In communities such as Batavia, Fulton, Utica, Watertown and Syracuse, however, there has been an explosion of calls for bizarre behavior, people having seizures, people demonstrating extreme paranoia and agitation.

What's the difference between these two sets of communities: In the villages and cities where there are problems, there is at least one retail shop -- usually a head shop -- suspected of selling synthetic drugs. Where no such shop exists, there haven't been many people buying and using the products.

In Batavia, first there was The Laughing Buddha, which was suspected of selling bath salts and other synthetic drugs until it closed around the beginning of May.

At about the time it closed, The 420 Emporium opened at 400 Ellicott St.

There are four other 420 Emporium locations in New York. The first one opened in Fulton in September 2011. A short time later, a second head shop opened in Fulton.

"Ever since that store came to town, well, let me put it this way, we never had a bath salt problem until these stores came to town," said Sgt. Joseph Agigo of the Fulton PD. "It seems to have contributed to the problem. It may not be the only source of the problem, but it has contributed to it."

While bath salts and other synthetic drugs are available online, an online purchase requries a credit card and creates a paper trail. For a person on parole or probation, that could be a problem.

When a retail store allegedly sells synthetic drugs, anybody with cash and knowledge of the location can acquire a product that may or may not have been banned by state or federal law.

Sgt. Steven Hauck, public information officer for the Utica PD, doesn't want to overstate the level of bath salt problems in his city, saying that because his department's policy is to be completely transparent about the issues it deals with, Utica got more media attention than some other municipalities.

However, Hauck said there is certainly a correlation between ease of access to a retail location that seems to be selling synthetic drugs and the problems it creates in a community.

"Part of the thing with any type of drug is a person's ability to obtain that drug," Hauck said.

What Hauck said he doesn't understand is why a business that might otherwise be legitimate would want to get involved in something as ethically questionable as selling synthetic drugs.

"The thing I've always found really odd about the whole bath salt thing is that while I can understand to a certain degree, though I certainly do not condone it, a person on a street corner selling crack or selling marijuana, these are businesses, legitimate business," Hauck said. "Why would you want to get involved in something that you hear every day is killing people?"

The 420 Emporium's Web site lists locations in Rochester, Henrietta, Brockport (top photo), Syracuse, Fulton and Batavia.

The bath salt issues in Batavia are well documented. Fulton's police have dealt with bath salt issues. Media reports confirm numerous bath salt issues in Syracuse, though there are other possible retail outlets allegedly selling the compounds in that city. 

As far as Brockport, its chief of police has not responded to multiple phone calls and emails requesting comment. The Batavian did speak to a lone police officer Saturday who said he wasn't aware of any problems related to 420 in Brockport; however, Jason Lang has told The Batavian previously that he has purchased bath salts in Brockport.

TVYLFSL softball tourney benefits Crossroads House

By Rick Franclemont

On Saturday the Tonawanda Valley Youth Ladies Fastpitch Softball League (TVYLFSL) hosted a Junior Division small ball softball tournament to benefit Crossroads House.

Four teams of 10-12-year-old girls participated, representing Batavia, Le Roy and Byron-Bergen.

Participants and their families were asked to bring donations from the Crossroad House wish list.

http://www.crossroadshouse.com/

"Crossroads House is a comfort care home for those who have a terminal illness and have been medically determined to be in the last three months of life. Crossroads House is an alternative to a hospital or nursing home when care can no longer be provided in the patient's own home."

Le Roy 2 coached by Micky Hyde won the tournament. Tied in points going into the last game with Le Roy 1, Hyde's team scored a run in the last inning to pull off the win.

More pictures from the games can be found here.

Car in ditch, power line down at Brown and Wilkinson roads

By Billie Owens

A car is reportedly in a ditch at Brown and Wilkinson roads, unknown injuries, and a power line was taken down as a result. Emergency responders are told to proceed with caution. East Pembroke Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 8:29 p.m.: The caller states the vehicle has one occupant. The high-tension wires are across the roadway and it is "completely blocked." A train close to or crossing Wilkinson Road is stopped. The driver has head injuries and Mercy Flight and a landing zone set-up are requested. But Mercy Flight says there's no Batavia bird available; checking on Buffalo now.

UPDATE 8:36 p.m.: The driver has serious injuries. A brother is on scene. National Grid is notified.

UPDATE 8:43 p.m.: A Mercy Flight helicopter is expected to arrive from Canandaigua in about five minutes.

UPDATE 8:46 p.m.: The helicopter is expected any second now. It will land north of Brown Road, on the east side of that road. Fire police are on scene also.

UPDATE 8:49 p.m.: National Grid is on scene.

UPDATE 9:04 p.m.: The patient is described as a 52 41-year-old male who was thrown from the vehicle and has symptons consistent with a serious head injury.

UPDATE 9:28 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne and headed to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Fence on fire on North Street

By Billie Owens

A fence is reportedly on fire at 21 North St. City firefighters are responding.

UPDATE 2:50 p.m.: The fire is out.

More church burglaries reported, suspect arrested

By Howard B. Owens

Four more burglaries, two at churches, were reported Sunday morning and a suspect was taken into custody, Batavia PD reports.

John A. Cabrera Jr., 22, of Batavia, was allegedly caught in the act of burglarizing St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Batavia.

It's unknown how it came to Batavia PD's attention that an alleged burglary was in progress at St. Paul's.

Right now, Cabrera is a suspect only in the alleged St. Paul's burglary.

A burglary was also reported this morning at Ascension West (formerly St. Anthony's Church) on Liberty Street (photo).

The 10:30 mass was canceled after the burglary was discovered.

There was also burglaries reported at the Genesee County Nursing Home and Parkside Manor Apartments.

Detectives say DNA evidence was collected at least one scene in the overnight burglaries.

Three church burglaries were reported July 8 in the city. DNA evidence was collected at least one of those locations.

Person unconscious on the ice at Falleti arena

By Billie Owens

A person was injured while playing on the ice at Falleti Ice Arena. He's down on the ice, unconscious. City fire is on scene and Mercy medics are responding. The arena is at 22 Evans St.

UPDATE 12:14 p.m.: City police also responded and they are back in service along with the firefighters. Mercy is transporting a male to UMMC.

Photos: Tractor pull at the Genesee County Fair

By Howard B. Owens

More than 1,000 people -- when organizers considered 700 fans a good turn out -- showed up at the tractor pull at the Genesee County Fairgrounds on Saturday evening.

Competitors brought their machines -- small, medium and mighty -- to compete in various classes of competition, from stock, street-legal trucks and modified law tractors up to souped-up full-sized tractors.

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

Rollover accident reported on off ramp of Thruway in Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

Five people are reportedly out of the vehicle and walking around after a rollover accident on the off ramp of the Thruway in Batavia.

Unknown extent of injuries, if any.

Batavia Fire Department responding.

UPDATE: Batavia's assignment held to Engine 24, non-emergency.

UPDATE 10:12 a.m.: Engine 24 back in quarters. Mercy EMS transporting five minors to UMMC, all with very minimal injuries.

Man suffers stab wound in early morning fight on Ellicott Street, Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

Updated 9:25 a.m.

Two men reportedly got into a fight early this morning at 509 Ellicott St., Batavia, over a job one of them lost, leading to one of them stabbing the other in the stomach.

The victim sustained a non-life-threatening injury and was taken by Mercy EMS to Strong Memorial Hospital.

The suspect, James Smith Jr., 55, of 19 Porter Ave., Batavia, was taken into custody and is being held without bail. He is charged with assault, 2nd, and criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd.

The stabbing was reported at about 12:15 a.m.

The weapon allegedly used is described as a folding pocketknife.

Free-lance journalist Alecia Kaus contributed to this report and provided the photo.

Smell of natural gas reported in the area of Dewey Avenue

By Howard B. Owens

A caller reported the smell of natural gas in the area of Dewey Avenue.

Another person reported the smell on South Main.

Batavia fIre's Ladder 12 and Engine 12 are in the area trying to detect the smell but negative results so far.

UPDATE 11:17 p.m. Smell located at South Main and River.

UPDATE 11:22 p.m.: Engine 12 back in service.

Man reportedly walking around on Overlook Drive with a shotgun and yelling

By Howard B. Owens

A deputy just received a walk-up complaint of a person with a shotgun walking around and yelling in the area of Overlook Drive.

The deputy, who was already with a trooper, is responding, and another deputy is responding, too.

UPDATE 10:52 p.m.: One deputy is clear of the scene and says the other deputy will update dispatchers.

UPDATE 10:53 p.m.: The first deputy has spoken with a complainant about the alleged man with a shotgun. It may not be a shotgun. It may be a play gun. Another deputy has located a kid who was on a bike with a Nerf gun.

UPDATE 11:01 p.m.: Law enforcement is clear the "gun complaint."


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Fight on Jackson Street, Batavia

By Billie Owens

A fight is reported on Jackson Street in the City of Batavia, and one person is reportedly wielding a stick. Police are responding. A vehicle believed to be associated with the fight has been stopped Pringle and Central avenues.

Photos: Ghost Riders in Jackson Square, both bands

By Howard B. Owens

The Ghost Riders played Jackson Square on Friday night -- both bands.

The Ghost Riders country band shared the venue with the Ghost Riders Drum and Bugle Corps, which is also based in Batavia.

If it's ever possible to say Jackson Square is SRO, then last night was one of those nights. The square was nearly wall-to-wall music fans.

Batavia Downs opens 66th season on Monday

By Howard B. Owens

Press Release:

A bigger signature race, a new first race post time and Sunday afternoon racing in August are just some of the changes in store when racing returns for the 66th season on Monday (July 23) at Batavia Downs Casino. The pacers and trotters will meet at America’s oldest lighted harness track for 72 exciting race dates.

The Robert J. Kane Memorial Invitational Pace, the track's signature event, will now offer a $50,000 purse. This year’s Kane Memorial is slated for October 6. Last year, Aracache Hanover with Trevor Henry in the bike, lowered the Downs all-age record when he paced to victory in 1:51.1. Aracache Hanover is locally owned by William Switala and James Martin.

Racing fans will need to arrive 15 minutes earlier with first race post for all evening racing programs now slated for 6:25 p.m. Racing gates open at 5 p.m. with the exception of August 11 and September 15, when racing gates open for Old Fashioned night at 4:30 p.m.

A total of six matinees will be offered, including all four Sundays in August. The other two afternoon race cards are Labor Day and Columbus Day. Post time for all matinees remains at 1:15 p.m. with racing gates opening at 12 p.m.

Racing will be conducted on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Saturday night basis for the first two weeks of the annual Summer-Fall meet with Sundays replacing Mondays in August. Twelve races will be carded nightly except on Saturdays when the Genesee County racetrack will host 13-race programs.

A complete racing calendar is available for download at www.batavia-downs.com.

Changes were made to the wagering menu, with the major change being the minimum on trifecta wagering has been lowered to 50 cents. However a $1 wager is required. One dollar daily double wagering is also being offered.

Superfecta wagering is now offered on all races with the exception of races one and seven. The Pick-4 has been moved to the third race and the late-late double moves to the last two races nightly. The popular Pick-6, which paid $10,000 to one lucky ticket holder last season, begins on race seven.

North America’s leading dash winning harness racing driver in 2011, Dan Noble, will make his Batavia Downs debut on opening night. Noble led all drivers last year with 773 wins. He currently sits fourth this year with 320 wins.

Shawn Gray, currently the leading driver at Buffalo Raceway, will also be racing at Batavia Downs for the first time. The Maine native shipped to Buffalo in January and has notched 185 wins so far this season there.

Jim Morrill Jr., who recently won the $445,594 Yonkers Trot with Archangel, makes a special appearance on Monday night. Morrill established records for most wins and earnings in a single season at the Downs in 2006.

Again this season all racing programs will contain $2 free play coupons that can be redeemed at Players Club. The cost to purchase a program remains at $2, however on opening night and on July 28, the first New York Sire Stakes event of the season, racing programs will be free.

Player’s Club members dining in the track's historic clubhouse will receive $5 in Casino free play with the purchase of a buffet. On Sunday afternoon, the cost of the lunch buffet minus the free play coupon is just $3.95.

The entire racing season will be broadcast via live streaming video at www.batavia-downs.com. Race replays are available at the same web address.

The 2012 season features a variety of promotions, including two old fashioned nights, the biggest free handicapping contest ever and the annual family fun day at the races featuring the hilarious wiener dog races.

UMMC makes changes to eight nursing staff positions

By Howard B. Owens

In an effort to better match patient care training with patient needs, UMMC recently eliminated eight licensed nurse practitioner positions in one department, but most of the people in those positions still have jobs, said Colleen Flynn, spokeswoman for UMMC.

Four part-time LPNs -- employees working no more than 20 hours a week -- were offered positions elsewhere in the hospital, Flynn said. Two accepted, one decided to go back to school and Flynn hasn't heard yet what the fourth LPN decided to do.

The four per diem positions -- LPNs who filled in for vacations or to shore up other staffing shortfalls -- in the medical surgical floor unit were eliminated but these nurses were given the opportunity to train for new per diem positions with the hospital.

Three were retirees who elected to stay retired, Flynn said, and the fourth will continue to work on a per diem basis for UMMC.

"We separated the positions to better match up skill sets for staffing reasons," Flynn said. "In most cases, hospitals no longer utilize LPNs in acute-care settings, but we still need them in other places. The scope of the practice and licensure determines what they can do for a patient."

In modern health care, patients are not as routinely hospitalized as in the past, so when patients arrive at UMMC now, Flynn said, their needs are much more acute.

"To be a hospitalized patient these days, you have to be very sick," Flynn said. "Because the acuity of patients there are more demands for patient care, so that’s why we decided just to use registered nurses (in that department)."

Photo: Yard sale at 400 Towers

By Howard B. Owens

Residents of 400 Towers are hosting a yard sale today on the shuffle board court in front of the building.

The same location from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday will be the site of a concert by The Ghost Riders and the public is invited.

Law and Order: Batavia resident accused of using forged business checks

By Howard B. Owens

Richard Lee Maston, 30, of Colorado Avenue, Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, 2nd. Maston is accused of possessing two forged business checks at two separate locations within the City of Batavia, one on July 9 and one on July 18. Deputies are  investigating whether Maston allegedly cashed more than 12 other checks at locations in the City of Batavia and one location in the Town of Batavia, all between July 8 and July 17. Maston was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Michael C. Buzzell, 34, of 6 Lewis Place, Batavia, is charged with menacing, 2nd, and criminal possession of a weapon, 4th. Buzzell allegedly threatened to kill a person while holding a knife. Police were called the scene at 9:15 p.m., Thursday. Buzzell was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Tyrone N. Thigpen, 35, of 5 Pearl St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Thigpen is accused of violating a "stay away" order of protection.

Ronald J. Murray, 17, of 7 Wood St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Murray is accused of stealing a bicycle that was parked outside of a downtown restaurant. Police report later locating Murray with the bicycle a short time later.

Ian C. Blain, 23, of Ashland Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and unlawful dealing with a child. Blain is accused of taking a vehicle from the parking lot of the Log Cabin Restaurant in Pembroke and leaving it abandoned in a field off Indian Falls Road. He's also accused of providing alcohol to a person under age 21.

Stephen P. Pahuta, 50, of Oakfield, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing, strangulation, coercion, three counts of criminal mischief, and harassment, 2nd. Pahuta was arrested following a report of an incident at 11:40 a.m., Thursday, in Oakfield. State Police responded. No further details were released.

'Quite the ceremony' reported on Seven Springs Road

By Howard B. Owens

A caller in the area of Seven Springs Country Club, 8600 Seven Springs Road, Batavia, reports hearing a loud boom in the area of the clubhouse.

Another caller reports hearing a crackling noise like the sound of fire.

Town of Batavia Fire Department was responding to investigate, but then another caller reported there is some sort of ceremony going on in the area.

Town of Batavia fire is backing down to non-emergency response.

A voice on the radio quips, "Quite the ceremony."

UPDATE 9:03 p.m.: The fire was the result of a "small combustible liquid." A responder says, "at least I didn't catch them dancing around."

Person suffers neck injury on racetrack at the county fair

By Billie Owens

Mercy medics are called to the Genesee County Fairgrounds' racetrack for a subject with a neck injury. Town of Batavia Fire Department is on scene. Not long ago, medics took a pit worker to UMMC who had abrasions on his arms and his knuckles were sliced on one hand.

UPDATE 7:35 p.m.: A 15-year-old boy is being taken to UMMC complaining of neck pain as a result of a collision on the racetrack. He is accompanied by his mother.

Car accident in Tops parking lot, Batavia

By Billie Owens

A two-car accident with minor injuries is reported in the parking lot of Tops Friendly Market, 390 W. Main St. in Batavia. It is near the traffic light. City fire and Mercy EMS are responding.

UPDATE 4:57 p.m.: The city assignment is back in service.

UPDATE 5 p.m.: Mercy is transporting one patient to UMMC.

UPDATE 5:04 p.m.: The patient is a 46-year-old female complaining of pain on the left side of her neck.

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