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County eyes three potential providers to replace city of Batavia ambulance

By Philip Anselmo

BATAVIA, N.Y. — Three potential ambulance providers are being talked about to replace the city of Batavia ambulance service, which will cease to operate as of September 1, according to the Daily News.

Genesee County Manager Jay Gsell told a group of municipal representatives from across the county last night that Rural Metro Corp., Twin City Ambulance and Monroe Ambulance would "likely" submit proposals to the county to take over service.

Explains Joanne Beck in that article:

Volunteer fire companies would still have a role ... and would be able to respond to emergencies and do some transports unless the provider specifically asks for every transport. UMMC has offered space to house ambulances of the future provider and that provider would set itself up as a business, Gsell said. It would make its money by charging customers for each service call. There isn't to be any type of fee charged to the municipality, he said.

Rural Metro is a nationwide corporation whose stock currently trades at $1.25 per share with a six-month high of $2.50 coming at the end of September. The company operates out of 22 states in the continental U.S.

From the company's Web site:

What began with one man's vision has grown today into a company with approximately $500 million in annual revenues and more than 8,000 employees who provide health and safety services throughout the United States. Annually, Rural/Metro's employees respond to more than 1 million calls for assistance.

Monroe Ambulance is a 34-year-old service that operates out of Rochester. From the mission statement:

Monroe Ambulance provides Advanced Life Support with area volunteer ambulance and fire departments, ensuring that patients who live in outlying areas have access to all of our life saving paramedic services. This includes back-up Advanced Life Support to area volunteer agencies, fire departments, and ambulance corps.

We provide medically supervised transports for patients needing transport with minimal assistance (i.e., patients able to move, sit, and walk on their own with slight assistance, such as those traveling home from same day surgery).

We are seeking information on staffing levels for Monroe.

Twin City Ambulance is based in Erie County and serves the suburban Buffalo area. More than 200 technicians make up its core staff.

Twin City was in the news a few years back over a controversial call not to send an ambulance to assist two policemen who had been shot in Buffalo. Critics claimed the call was a callous rejection. Company representatives said that the call was outside the ambulance crew's service area. That report:

We're seeking further information from Gsell on the logistics of having an outside company take over the ambulance service for the county. We will provide those details as they become available.

Tractor trailer rollover on Thruway in Batavia — Updated with video

By Philip Anselmo

BATAVIA , N.Y. — Reports are coming through over the scanner. A tractor trailer has rolled over in the westbound lanes of the Thruway in Batavia, near the Lewiston Road Bridge. Multiple vehicles are believed to be involved in the crash. All available crews are being called to the scene, and Mercy Flight has been placed on standby.

We will provide more details as they become available.

Update (12:11 p.m.): The tractor trailer has rolled over into the median and three other vehicles are involved in the crash. Traffic is still moving westbound on the Thruway at this time.

Update (12:43 p.m.): Visibility at the scene of the crash is reduced nearly to nothing. From nowhere on Lewiston Road were we able to get a clear site on the crash scene. Whipping winds kicking up snow blotted out most of the scene. We were able to shoot a few seconds of video that show the traffic moving at a crawl heading westbound and just barely trickling through eastbound. The overturned trailer could barely be made out in the median. No other vehicles could be scene from the overpass.

We're still waiting on reports of injuries. Emergency crews on scene did report a slight leak coming from the tractor trailer. That was not identified, but it was reported to be contained.


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O-A drops one spot in state rankings after loss; ND up one and Batavia stays the same

By Brian Hillabush

 The Batavia and Oakfield-Alabama boys basketball teams had losses this past week against tough squads and both dipped one spot in the newest New York State Sportswriters Association poll.

The Hornets had the lead for almost the entire game, but lost to Akron in the final minute of the Genesee Region/Niagara-Orleans League Showdown Saturday.

Because of the loss, O-A drops from No. 11 to No. 12 in Class C.

Batavia had matchup problems and lost to Class AAA Irondequoit in the opening round of the Monroe County League tournament Monday, but were not faulted in the rankings. The Blue Devils are still the No. 21 ranked team in the state in Class A.

Notre Dame beat Elba and Lima Christian and are bumped from No. 9 to No. 8 in Class D.

Firefighter union out in force to picket city's decision to scrap ambulance

By Philip Anselmo

A constant chorus of car horns sounded support of the protestors circling the walk out front of City Hall this morning. Some two dozen members of Firefighters Local 896 braved the bitter winds to picket the City Council's recent decision to end its ambulance service by fall.

Some of the signs read: "Think! Where's your ambulance coming from?" and "Chest Pain? How long will you wait?" Such statements punctuated the argument that the gap in service could have quite dire consequences. Union President Greg Ireland spoke of a past incident, before the city had instituted its own ambulance service, when a man in arrest lay in the street with no transport available to get him to a hospital. In another instance, a victim suffering from third-degree burns had to drive himself to the hospital.

The occasion was also used to get out the word on a new Web site the union has launched at www.bataviaambulance.com.

Overall, the mood was civil yet determined as union members stalked the ground with purpose. Ireland stepped aside to speak with the media during the protest. We will post his comments in a video within the hour.

News roundup: Firefighters plan to picket City Hall on ambulance issue

By Philip Anselmo

A union of Batavia firefighters will set up outside City Hall "later this morning" to protest the City Council's decision to end the city-supported ambulance service this fall, WBTA's Dan Fischer reports. No time is given for when members of Fire Fighters Local 896 will hold the rally, which is being called an "informational picket."

Batavia hockey overcomes Geneseo/Livonia and officials

By Brian Hillabush

 The Batavia hockey team had a speed advantage over Geneseo/Livonia, but didn't get much of a chance to use it and because of that had a close game in the opening round of sectionals, which they won 3-2 at Faletti Ice Arena Wednesday.

The fifth-seeded Blue Devils couldn't get the offense going against the 12th seed because officials called a total of 15 penalties in the game.

"I think we tend to play at the other team's level," Batavia coach Paul Pedersen said. "I told the team that anytime you are in sectionals, any team can beat any other team. We have been coming out flat and we need to fix that."

Batavia had a power play early in the first period, but couldn't capitalize and Geneseo/Livonia didn't wait long before starting the scoring. Max Hartnett scored off assists by Jeff Webster and Xavier Copeland at the midpoint of the frame.

It took five minutes, but the Blue Devils managed to tie the game with 2 1/2 minutes left in the opening period when Erik Pokornowski scored an unassisted goal.

The Lakers didn't wait long to get the lead back, scoring just 40 seconds later when Webster scored off passes by Copeland and Mike Donals.

"When we fell behind 2-1, we knew we had to work hard," Pokornowski said. "We had to keep working our system and just work hard and we would be okay."

Batavia failed to convert on three more power play chances before finally taking advantage of one. Geneseo/Livonia's Rick Hilimire was whistled for a cross-check and a game misconduct, meaning the Blue Devils had a power play for 1:30 and Hilimire had to sit for 10 minutes. Pat Finnell scored seconds later to tie the game off an assist by Pokornowski.

All momentum had shifted and Blake Polito scored 1:30 later to give Batavia an edge they wouldn't give up. It was his first varsity goal.

Geneseo/Livonia had some quality chances in the closing minutes, but a pass to the point bounced over a players puck with seconds left, killing any chance of a comeback.

Batavia (14-8) had a 29-16 shots on goal advantage as Austin Thiele made 26 saves for G/L (3-19-2) and Adam Kurek had 14 stops for Batavia.

The Blue Devils will play No. 4 Spencerport at the ESL Centre at Noon on Saturday.

"They beat us pretty good the first time," Pokornowski said. "Our goal is to win sectionals and we are going to have to play our best to beat them."

Batavia gets the Sutherland monkey off its back

By Brian Hillabush

It may have just been a consolation game, but for the Batavia boys basketball team it was a must win.

The Blue Devils had lost to rival Pittsford Sutherland twice during the regular season and didn't want to head into the Section 5 Class A playoffs with two straight losses. So Batavia came out and had a 15-2 first quarter advantage and held on to beat Sutherland 55-52 in the consolation game of the Monroe County League Tournament.

"If we would have lost both games it definitely would have been a set-back heading into sectionals," Batavia coach Buddy Brasky said. "It is a positive getting the win because when you lose, doubt starts to set in. It was just a consolation game, but it was an intense game. It was definitely a good way to end the regular season and it gives us momentum heading into sectionals."

Joe Schlossel had another big game for Batavia and has turned into the team's second scoring option. Early in the year, Brasky believes Schlossel wasn't scoring this much because he played football and took time away from basketball. But now he's hitting his stride.

The senior forward scored eight of his 13 points with eight rebounds in the first quarter to get the Blue Devils out to the big lead.

"He's playing with more confidence," Brasky said. "Joe played football and it took him a while to get rounded back into basketball shape. He was playing well during the summer and football was a major commitment. He didn't touch a basketball for three months."

Just like any other Sutherland game, it wound up being a battle.

Batavia missed a few easy layups in the second quarter and Brian Lewis, Wayne Dillworth and Dan O'Keefe hit 3-pointers to get the Knights back into the game. Sutherland was back within three points near the end of the first half, but Andrew Hoy hit a 3-pointer to give Batavia a 27-20 lead at the break.

The third quarter was even and Sutherland cut the deficit to three points with two minutes left. But Hoy hit a 3-pointer, Schlossel had two free throws and Marcus Hoy hit 1-of-2 attempts and the Blue Devils held on for the three point win.

Hoy led all scorers with 21 points as Batavia (17-3) will be hosting Marshall in sectionals on Saturday, Feb. 28. In the meantime, Batavia will be scrimmaging East High and C.G. Finney to prepare for the tournament.

Genesee Region League girls MVPs

By Brian Hillabush

 I believe that the MVP of a league should usually be the best player on the best team, but picking that player for Division II of the Genesee Region League is impossible this year.

Elba didn't lose a league game all season long and were obviously the best team in both divisions. Picking an MVP from that squad is not so obvious.

Coach Tom Nowak has used a unique style of play for his squad this season where he rotated two groups of five players and they pressed the heck out of their opponents. It worked, but there was no one player that stands out as the MVP of that squad.

It would not be fair to vote Cassy Engle or Sarah Schwartzmeyer as the top player when girls like Chelsie Pangrazio, Julie Marshall and Rachael Cook were also just as important to that team.

So with that being the case, the MVP award for Division II is deferred to the best player on the second place team. Notre Dame has several stars as well, but I'd give the division MVP award to Nichole Hart.

Hart is a pure shooter that had many big games for the Fighting Irish. With Liz Geandreau and Brittany Morelli providing a solid inside presence, Hart's ability to hit long jumpers and 3-pointers makes Notre Dame a tough team to defend.

The Division I MVP is a much easier call as Alexander's Anni Lehtola was a scoring machine. The addition of the foreign exchange student from Finland turned a very good team into a great team. 

There was little doubt this season that the Trojans were going to win Division I, and the team is the top seed in Class C.

Who is the overall girls MVP of the Genesee Region League?
( surveys)

Players of the Week

By Brian Hillabush

Batavia point guard Marcus Hoy was named Monroe County League Division III Player of the Week this week.

The senior scored nine points while handing out 15 assists with five steals in Batavia's 68-46 win over Lackawanna of Section 6 on Friday.

Byron-Bergen's Tyler Sass earned the honor for Genesee Region League Division I after a week in which he averaged 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and three assists per game over three contests. 

The Bees beat Holley while losing to Alexander and Barker.

Andy Lund from Wheatland-Chili picked up the award for Division II after scoring 18 points with eight rebounds in a win over Lyndonville and 11 points with nine boards in a loss to Kendall.

Alexander's foreign exchange student from Finland, Anni Lehtola, was the girls Player of the Week for Division I.

She scored a whopping 35 points with 21 rebounds and six assists in wins over Attica and Byron-Bergen.

Elba's Cassy Engle won the award in Division II after scoring 23 points in wins over Notre Dame and Lyndonville, helping the Lancers wrap up an undefeated league season.

Poll: Should city officials get raises?

By Philip Anselmo

Earlier today, we reported that the city of Batavia may not release the salaries of its city employees until after the City Council has already voted on the budget. Several individuals have come to us to express concern over the choice by Council to institute raises for city officials when unemployment is on the rise and every week seems to bear the news of another downtown business closing shop.

Is it just? Should city officials and department heads get raises just because all other city employees are guaranteed a raise under their union contract?

Should the city approve raises for all city officials?
( polls)

City employee salary info may not be available until after budget vote

By Philip Anselmo

For those of you who missed it, Daily News reporter Joanne Beck turned out an excellent piece Saturday on the proposed pay raises for city officials. When Beck questioned city leaders about the raises slated for department heads, despite the down economy, and about the significant increase in pay for the assistant city manager—$24,000 more than past assistants—she was accused of being sexist.

From that article:

Council President Charlie Mallow believes it's a ''sexist'' form of badgering for no good reason.

"It seems we have chosen to disrespect and take for granted those who have come in to clean up the mess others have left us with," Mallow said Thursday. "I also believe there is sexism in this whole line of questioning. There are at least four other men that make more money than (Assistant Manager Sally Kuzon) and I don't see repeated questions about them."

Mallow and City Manager Jason Molino felt the same way, they said: The assistant's salary is justified and the topic is not really news. But it wasn't Kuzon, who has worn many hats to oversee public works, community development and code enforcement, being questioned. Her salary of about $84,000 was. Past assistants have made about $60,000.

The issue of salary increases has been raised on a few occasions. When The Batavian asked about the raises for department heads last month, we were told that it was only fair because all the other city employees were guaranteed raises as a result of union contracts.

Mallow told us in an e-mail at the time:

There is a sense of right and wrong here. I do not believe non-union employees should be punished for not being part of a collective barging unit. Keep in mind that our administrative people have worked hand in hand with council to eliminate close to a $3 million dollar spending deficit in the last two years. The hard work of these administrative people reduced the size of city government. Some people out of sheer ignorance would like to single these people out; I think the rest of the community understands how far we have come and who helped us along the way.

Since then we have been trying to break out the budget info that pertains specifically to employee salaries. Last week, in what ought to be the ultimate effort, we filed a Freedom of Information Law request with the city clerk's office. In it, we requested the salaries for all city employees for the current fiscal year, the proposed salaries for the coming year, and those of the previous year.

On February 13, five days after we filed the request, we were informed that it would require 45 days for the city to compile the information. From Heidi Parker, city clerk: "With regards to the request for salary information, gathering that data could take a significant amount of time and therefore will be available within 45 days. I will forward you the information sooner, if I get it before the 45 days."

If you do the math, that would make the information available on March 30. City Council has until March 31 to approve the budget. Right now, they plan to vote well before that date, likely early in March at the next business meeting, we were told.

The question is simple: How can the city justify pay raises when the economy is so obviously in a funk? In downtown Batavia alone, five business have closed their doors since November, and more are rumored to follow suit. More than just a loss to the business community and downtown shoppers and diners, these closures signify a loss of tax revenue.

It turns out we weren't the only ones who had trouble procuring such information. A councilman and the Daily News also ran into road blocks. Fortunately for the Daily, their FOIL request was approved in time.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski has asked to add salaries to the agenda for council's conference meeting Feb. 23. He wants to discuss the topic of salaries versus personnel, he said.

That won't happen during public session, Mallow said. He feels it is about personnel, which is personal, and it won't be a free-for-all in open session, he said.

Bialkowski had asked to get administrative salary information but was rebuffed by council, he said. He was not aware what the top salaries were until they were published in The Daily News recently, he said. That information, which was obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request, listed the assistant manager's salary at the top with $83,959, followed by the city manager's salary at $83,487. Those salaries are contingent on a proposed 2.85 percent raise in the 2009-10 budget. City Council has until March 31 to adopt a final budget.

News roundup: Highest Rotary honors for a lifelong supporter

By Philip Anselmo

Wilma Nichols of Alexander was awarded the Rotary Club of Batavia's highest honor for a non-Rotarian yesterday afternoon. WBTA's Dan Fischer tells us that Nichols was surprised at lunch yesterday with the Paul Harris Fellowship, named for the founder of Rotary. Nichols was 8 years old when the Batavia Rotary was formed in 1919. She is 98 today.

Fischer writes:

Wilma has served lunch to the Rotary Club every week for more years than anyone can remember. The club surprised Wilma yesterday, secretly inviting her family to attend the ceremony. Past Rotary Presidents served lunch to Wilma.

Wilma accepted the award with her typical humility and grace.

Visit WBTA online to hear Nichols.

HS girls highlights for Tuesday

By Brian Hillabush

The Batavia girls basketball team was outscored 21-2 in the fourth quarter and lost to Pittsford Sutherland in the opening round of the Monroe County League tournament Tuesday.

Kayli O'Keefe had 10 of her 14 points in the frame and Caitlin Ryan added eight points and 10 rebounds in the game for the Knights (13-6).

Brittany Wormley had 14 points and Brittany Mazurkiewicz added 11 for the Blue Devils (14-5). 

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Elba wrapped up the top seed in the Section 5 Class D playoffs with a 47-27 win over Lima Christian in girls basketball action.

Rachael Cook had 12 points and five boards with Cassy Engle scoring eight points and McKenzie Bezon getting seven for the Lancers (18-2).

Alexis Mairano had nine points for Lima Christian (7-13).

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Kelsey Lewis and Nicole Sharick had 14 points apiece as Pembroke downed host Byron-Bergen 50-42.

Danielle Kelsey added 10 points for the Dragons (12-8).

Rori Partridge had 12 points for Byron-Bergen (9-11).

HS boys highlights for Tuesday

By Brian Hillabush

Matt Thompson hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 16 points to lead Notre Dame to a 64-43 win over host Wheatland-Chili Tuesday.

The Fighitng Irish had a 21-10 advantage in the first quarter, 13-10 in the second and 19-5 in the third.

Kevin Francis scored 13 points and Greg Barr and Nick Wetherwax each contributed seven points for Notre Dame (16-3), which will be the top seed in Class D1.

Rick Agosto scored 14 points with five boards for the Wildcats (4-14), with Evan Price pitching in 12 points.

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Tate Westermeier went 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and scored 13 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter as Attica dropped Holley 54-46.

Zach Fleiss had 10 points and Brad Clark added seven for the Blue Devils (10-10).

Brian Mitchell had 24 points and John Wharram added six steals and four dimes for the Hawks (4-16).

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Ken Babcock had the top performance in the Genesee Region/Niagara-Orleans League Showdown on Saturday, and he followed it up with another huge performance Tuesday to lead Pembroke to a 67-52 win over visiting Byron-Bergen.

Babcock poured in a game-high 30 points on 13-of-14 shooting in the win.

Andrew Wright and Eric Leffel had 10 points apiece for the Dragons (13-7).

Trevor Laurie had 13 points to lead the Bees (4-16).

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Josh Laureano had 23 points as Kendall beat Lyndonville 60-45.

Laureano was helped up by Phil Kludt's 12 points and Colt Tooley's 11 as the Eagles improve to 11-8.

Erik VanWycke scored 23 points with eight boards and Muhammad Akram scored eight points with seven assists for the Tigers (1-18).

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Lima Christian needed two overtimes to beat visiting Elba.

LC beat the Lancers 70-62 as Trevor Maiorano went 4-of-4 from the foul line in the second overtime session. He finished the day with 13 points as Lima Christian improves to 11-9.

Darius Cox had 21 points with 12 boards and Josh Arnold scored 16 points.

Sonny Giuliano scored 19 points and Phil Ostroski added 18 for the Lancers (11-9).

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The Notre Dame hockey team was knocked out of the Section 5 Class B playoffs as Brockport won 1-0 in the opening round.

The only goal of the game came at 4:29 into the first period as Zach Stahl scored off an assist from David Roberts.

Thomas Dehr stopped 43-of-44 shots in net for the Fighting Irish, who end the year with an 8-10-2 record.

Mike Picard only had to stop 13 shots for Brockport (11-9-5) in the shutout.

 

Batavia wrestling coach Stewart is D3 Coach of the Year

By Brian Hillabush

When Rick Stewart took over the Batavia wrestling team in 2002-2003, there were only six kids on the roster and the city had very little interest in the sport.

 But Stewart started a youth program and recruited some good athletes that had the potential to be good wrestlers. Now there are 27 wrestlers listed on the roster and the Blue Devils ended the season with an 18-6 record.

Stewart was named Monroe County League Division III Coach of the Year this week because of the record-setting year for the program.

"It is nice being recognized for the year that we had," Stewart said. "It isn't just me, it's the entire coaching staff. Kenny (Darch) was as big a part of this as I am. This is a team thing here. I was kind of surprised when I found out we were given the award."

It really has been an amazing year for Batavia as the team had a Monroe County League champion in Nick Lazarony for the first time in 23 years and both he and Ryan Darch repeated as sectional champions last weekend.

"This group of kids we have now, I have to thank Kenny for that," Stewart said. "They came up through the youth program and Kenny grabbed these kids and got them into wrestling. He was down coaching modified and he came up with them. He's a big part of this class."

But winning was far from the norm when Stewart became coach.

With just six wrestlers on the roster, wins were impossible and it looked like the sport was on the verge of being dropped at the school because of a lack of interest.

"We started with just six kids and we had very little success," said Stewart, who is a 1996 graduate of Batavia that finished his wrestling career with a 117-16 record. "We had six tough kids with Bobby Darch winning sectionals and Rich Lovria and Brian Greening. We had tough kids, but not a lot of them. We were going into dual meets knowing we weren't going to win. It was an individual sport then. Now it is a team thing."

Getting the young kids involved is how Stewart is going to keep the program growing and hopefully produce more sectional champions in the future. The kids in the youth program get to work with the top wrestlers on the varsity squad.

"The youth program we are running has 36-37 kids from ages five through 11," Stewart said. "We have some good athletes out there and seeing Batavia wrestling doing so well is going to spark more interest. Hopefully we can keep replenishing the youth and keep a nice feeder program going."

A total of nine Batavia grapplers are going to be competing in the SuperSectionals this weekend at Rochester Institute of Technology. That is the highest number the school has ever sent to the event and there are several wrestlers with a chance to move on to the state tournament.

Those numbers show why Stewart won the award, and shows the progress Batavia wrestling has made since he became coach.

"This is the most amount of kids Batavia has ever sent to Supers and we have high seeds and kids with a legitimate shot to go to states," Stewart said. "There are vetarans like (Josh) Mase, Darch, (Troy) Ireland, (Anthony) D'Aurizio, Lazarony and (Dylan) Goodsell as well as the younger kids like (Will) Ely that are going to get good experience wrestling at this level. They are getting a taste of the big show and they know they can get there based on this week's performance."

Genesee Region League boys MVPs

By Brian Hillabush

 It is often hard to choose MVPs because competition is typically so close in the Genesee Region League.

But this season it is pretty simple to pick the best player from each division as Oakfield-Alabama won Division I pretty easily and Notre Dame clinched Division II several games ago.

The Hornets are 16-3 and Noah Seward is a big reason why.

O-A would have still been in the running for the Division I title with solid players like Brad Riner and Tim Smith, but Seward was a problem for the other team in every game this season. The 6-foot-3 center/forward seemed like he had a double-double every time he got on the court. 

The only other player in Division I that I had in the running was Pembroke's Ken Babcock, who dominated at times this season in helping his team to second in the division. But Seward wrapped up the award in my mind when he scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds when the Hornets clinched the title in a 61-39 win over the Dragons last week.

Kevin Francis was easily the MVP in Division II for the Fighting Irish, who are 15-3.

With several question marks as to which players were going to be regular contributors this season, Francis took on the role as quiet leader early in the season and helped the young players like Vinny Zambito and Matt Thompson find their niche on the team. 

His stats were also incredible as he was able to go off for 20 points on any given night at the point guard position while playing a well rounded game. Francis also distributed the ball, caused turnovers and grabbed rebounds.

Who is the overall MVP of the Genesee Region League?
( polls)

No injuries reported in small plane crash off Ivison Road

By Howard B. Owens

BYRON, NY -- A small plan has  reportedly crashed into trees behind 6946 Ivison Road.

There are no reported injuries and minor damage to the plane.

There is reportedly a small, personal runway behind the house at that location.


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UPDATE 2:00 p.m.: John Sackett of Batavia said it looked like a beautiful day to take in World War II era Ercoupe prop plane for a short air patrol. Unfortunately, the battery was a little short on juice, so he needed to start it by turning the propeller.

That's where things went wrong. Sackett said the engine got a little too much gas and when the engine started, the plane pushed over its chocks and started rolling down the runway.

Sackett was able to avoid getting hit by his own plane, but the grape vines of a neighboring house were less fortunate.  As the plane entered the yard from Sackett's private runway, it headed straight for the grapes, hit a post, spun nearly 360 degrees and rolled into three pine trees, where it came to rest.

There were no injuries.

Sackett valued the plane -- used to train pilots near the end of WW II -- at $25,000.  One wing was damaged and there's dent on the engine compartment. He said he isn't sure how much it will cost to repair the damage.  He's owned the plane since April.

HS girls highlights for Monday

By Brian Hillabush

The Genesee Region League Division I champion Alexander girls basketball team wrapped up the regular season and clinched the top seed in the Section 5 Class C tournament with a 54-28 win over visiting Oakfield-Alabama Monday.

Anni Lehtola led the way for the Trojans (14-4) with 24 points, four steals and five rebounds with Katie Kochmanski finishing with a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Brynne Perfitt had 11 points to lead the Hornets (10-10).

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Nichole Hart scored 24 points - including five 3-pointers - as Notre Dame thumped visiting Wheatland-Chili 57-24.

Jill Marshall had eight points and Trisha Pike added six for the Fighting Irish (16-4).

Lauren Drago had 10 points to lead the Wildcats (4-16).

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