Bethany

So I headed out to Francis Road this morning to see if I could get a picture of an intrepid deputy rounding up cows.

There were no cows, but there was this lost beagle. 

Deputy Lonnie Nati picked him up and delivered him to the animal shelter.

The beagle was wandering about 3/4 of a mile south of Lei-Ti Campground. It was a good distance from any nearby home, so not sure where he belongs (could be a she, I didn't check).

No tags. The pooch, very friendly and calm, has a large softball seized growth on its left rear hindquarter.  

More than 2,160 National Grid customers have been without power for an hour and repair crews are unlikely to restore power before 10 p.m.

The effected area covers from just east of the city limits to Morganville and the eastern edge of Stafford down to Little Canada and East Bethany at Roanoke Road.

The outage may be related to a power line reported down and burning on Main Road, Stafford, at 8 p.m.

Erika L. Brumsted, 24, of 5079 Batavia-Bethany Townline Road, East Bethany, and Steven C. Shaw, 24, of 2692 Dunham Road, Varysburg, are charged with petit larceny. Brumsted and Shaw are accused of shoplifting from Tops Market.

Terry David Czworka, 48, of Black St. Road, Pavilion, is charged with DWI, aggravated driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to keep right, moved from lane unsafely, possession/consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Czworka was stopped at 1:19 a.m., Saturday, on Asbury Road, Pavilion, by Sgt. Brian Frieday.

Timothy John Hagen, 27, of Walden Creek, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Hagen is accused of violating and order of protection.

Brian P. O'Grady, 46, of Lymon Road, Bergen, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. O'Grady is accused of violating an order of protection. O'Grady allegedly made several phone calls to his estranged wife that did not pertain to their child.

Robert K. Geandreau, 38, of 404 Ellicott St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to keep right and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. Geandreau was stopped at 7:54 p.m., Saturday, on Ellicott Street by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

Brenden M. Mullen, 26, of 11 Holmes Ave., Batavia, is charged with DWI, no inspection and refusal to take a breath test. Mullen was stopped at 2:38 a.m., Saturday, by Officer Eric Dibble.

All of the photos from this weekend are now available for purchase of prints.  Click here.

The photos include the clean up at Genesee County Park, the tree planting in Austin Park, the track meet at Van Detta Stadium and Saturday at the Carnival.

Again, prints can be purchased by clicking here.

Also, the first weekend in April was also a busy weekend and I never let anybody know the pictures were available for purchase.

That weekend included Eco-Fest, GCC women's softball and men's baseball, the Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner, the fundraiser for Brooklyn Sputore, the Le Roy Fire Department dinner, the Easter Bunny at Oliver's, and I also included the Easter egg hunt at Centennial Park.

To purchase prints of those pictures, click here.

Remember, we offer prices on prints well below the suggested retail price.

Dozens of volunteers came out to the Genesee County Park this morning to walk the trails and pick up trash and debris as part of the park's annual spring clean up.

The top two pictures were taken from almost the same spot on Bethany Center Road, Bethany. The bottom photo was taken on Mayne Road.

A car has hit a tree in the area of 9546 Creek Road in Bethany. There are believed to be minor injuries. There was air bag deployment.

Bethany Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

The location is across from Old Creek and Putnam roads.

UPDATE 12:05 p.m.: There is debris all over the roadway. Fire police are shutting the road to traffic.

UPDATE 12:49 p.m.: The driver was transported to UMMC with minor injuries. They are cleaning up the roadway.

UPDATE 1:14 p.m.: The roadway is being reopened to traffic.

Travis Michael Herold, 20, of Prospect Street, Attica, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Herold was taken into custody following the investigation by Deputy Jason Saile into a motor vehicle accident at 2:18 a.m. in the area of 9406 Alexander Road, Batavia.

Jason Jonathan Reed, 34, of South Pearl Street Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Reed is accused of violating an order of protection issued in Family Court by making a phone call to the protected party.

Connie Lynn King, 40, of South Main Street, Oakfield, is charged with harassment, 2nd. King is accused of punching, kicking, biting and pulling the hair of her boyfriend during an alleged domestic dispute at 12:45 a.m., Monday.

Dennis F. Walter, 53, of Clipnock Road, Stafford, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and one count of criminal possession of a criminal weapon, 4th. Walter was arrested on a warrant out of Bethany Town Court and jailed on $20,000 bail.

Raymond Edmond Allard, 27, of South Main Street, Oakfield, is charged with trespass and harassment, 2nd. Allard allegedly had physical contact with another person and then refused to leave the property when told to do so by the property owner.

The smell of an electrical fire is coming from an apartment at 10537 Bethany Center Road in Bethany. The building is being evacuated.

Stafford Fire and Bethany fire departments are responding.

Alexander is to stand by in its hall for possible mutual aid.

UPDATE 7:52 a.m.: Alexander fire is asked to stand down.

UPDATE 7:59 a.m.: A chief on scene reports that the basement of the building is flooded, burning out the furnace, which apparently tripped a fire alarm.

UPDATE 8:07 a.m.: Stafford fire is standing down.

Jessica R. Johns, 32, of 122 Jackson St., Batavia, is charged with resisting arrest, DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation and uninspected motor vehicle. Johns was arrested by officers Frank Klimjack and Eric Hill, who responded to Elm Street following a report of a disturbance at 7 a.m., Sunday.  Officers reportedly deployed a Taser to help subdue Johns.

Jessie Marie Cramer, 25, of South Lyons Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Cramer is accused of shoplifting $153.53 in merchandise from Kmart.

Sath Paul Dhanda, 31, of Lake Street, Batavia, is charged with aggravated criminal contempt. Dhanda allegedly went to his mother's home in Bethany in violation of a court order. Dhanda was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Andrew Ziemba Perdock, 24, of Dowd Road, Filmore, is charged with petit larceny. Perdock is accused fo stealing a quantity of prescription medication from another person in Bethany.

Bryan E. Benson, 22, of 7 Chestnut St., Batavia, is charged with unnecessary noise. Benson was charged following a complaint of loud music coming from his residence at 1:27 a.m., Saturday.

Passiona C. McConnell, 33, of 23 Harvester Ave., Batavia, is charged with dog running at large. McConnell was cited Friday for allegedly allowing her dog to run at large. Officer Matt Flemming reports that she had previously been warned against such action.

Lesha Vetter, 18, of 3243 Royce Road, Varysburg, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Vetter is accused of sending unwanted text messages to a person in Batavia.

A driver who died in a one-car accident on Little Canada Road, Bethany, this afternoon was reportedly not wearing a seat belt, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Suzanne M. Stratton, 51, of Clipnock Road, Bethany, was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Donald Coleman.

Her passenger, 16-year-old Peter C. Couch, also of Clipnock Road, was wearing a seatbelt. He was transported to UMMC with minor injuries.

Stratton was driving at 1998 Dodge Stratus westbound on Little Canada Road just before 3:30 p.m. when she apparently failed to negotiate a curve. Her car flew off the roadway and overturned several times before coming to rest on its wheels in a field.

Stratton was ejected from the car.

The investigation is continuing and is being conducted by Deputy Cory Mower, Sgt. Greg Walker and Deputy Ron Meides.

Alcohol is not considered a factor.

Assisting at the scene were the Bethany Fire Department, Mercy EMS and State Police.

A serious rollover accident is reported at 5751 Little Canada Road in Bethany. There is a person outside of a vehicle, unconscious.

Mercy Flight is en route and will land at the scene.

Bethany Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. Stafford Fire Department is called to standby in its hall for possible mutual aid.

UPDATE 3:39 p.m.: Stafford is requested to the scene.

UPDATE 3:40 p.m.: A "second passenger" is reported to be out of the vehicle and walking around. Little Canada Road is being shut down to traffic at Fargo Road by fire police. Mercy Flight has been cancelled.

UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: Bethany fire has cancelled mutual aid from Stafford.

UPDATE 4:05 p.m.: The front-seat passenger suffered minor injuries and is being transported by Mercy medics to UMMC.

UPDATE 4:22 p.m.: All emergency personnel are released from the scene with the exception of fire police to control traffic.

UPDATE 6:24 p.m.: Little Canada Road has been reopened.

A 17-year-old was seriously injured in an accident on Bethany Center Road, Bethany, at 2:09 p.m., Friday, after the driver of a truck apparently pulled onto the roadway off Cacner and struck the car the youth was in.

The car continued southbound, striking a mailbox, going off the left shoulder of the road.

Karl R. Kennedy, no address given, was flown by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital where he is listed in guarded condition this morning (at Strong, any patient in the intensive care unit is listed as "guarded").

Kennedy was unconscious following the accident, according to the Sheriff's Office accident report. He suffered a head injury and was bleeding severely.

Charges are pending against the truck driver, said Deputy Bradley D. Mazur in his report.

The driver is identified as Dean W. Knauss, 53, of 9931 Bethany Center Road, East Bethany. He was driving a 1995 truck owned by a local dairy farm.

The car Kennedy was in was a 1998 Ford sedan driven by Michaela E. Baudanza, 17, of 7303 Morrow Road, Pavilion.  

Baudanza suffered minor injuries. Knauss was uninjured.

(Initial Report)

A motor-vehicle accident with possibly serious injuries is reported in Bethany at 10330 Bethany Center Road near Cacner Road.

Mercy Flight is airborne and heading to the location. The helicopter is to land right at the scene, in a field south-southeast of the accident.

Bethany Fire Department and Mercy medics are called to respond.

UPDATE 2:55 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne and headed to Strong Memorial Hospital. Another victim was taken to UMMC via ambulance.

After much talk about the need to locate a new veterans' cemetery close to Batavia, only two potential sites announced today by Sen. Charles Schumer are in Genesee County.

Three sites are in Alden and one is in Akron.

The two potential sites in Genesee County are in Le Roy and East Bethany.

Schumer was in Batavia on March 7 to announce his plans to fast track the construction of a cemetery, ideally close to Batavia since it's centrally located between Rochester and Buffalo.

Currently, the closest veterans' cemetery to either city is in Bath.

Officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs are expected to visit the six potential sites this week.

The exact locations were not released.

The sites were identified after the VA solicited proposals from area landowners willing to sell at least 200 acres of land to the government

“I have long fought for this veterans' cemetery in Western New York to become a reality, and today’s news that the VA will be visiting six potential cemetery sites in Western New York is an important step towards finally finding a suitable resting place for Western New York vets,” Schumer said in a statement.

Full press release after the jump:

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to visit six potential veterans cemetery sites this week in Western New York: three sites in Alden, one site in Akron, one site in Leroy, and one site in East Bethany.  The six sites were generated from the VA’s Expression of Interest solicitation which was issued earlier this year.  Earlier this month, Schumer wrote a letter to Secretary Shinseki of the VA, urging that the VA establish a firm timeline for completion of the long overdue veterans’ cemetery in Western New York, specifically in choosing the cemetery site. The VA has yet to acquire the necessary land for the cemetery, further delaying the design and building phase that will ultimately lead to a suitable resting place for Western New York veterans. Today’s announcement marks a step in the right direction towards bringing a long overdue cemetery to over 200,000 veterans in Western New York.

“I have long fought for this veterans cemetery in Western New York to become a reality, and today’s news that the VA will be visiting six potential cemetery sites in Western New York is an important step towards finally finding a suitable resting place for Western New York vets,” Schumer said. “After everything the many thousands of veterans in this region have done for us, it is imperative that they have a local resting place where they can receive the honor they deserve.”
VA National Cemetery officials announced that they will be in Buffalo on Wednesday, March 30th,  to conduct site visits at 6 potential cemetery sites within the VA’s target area in WNY. This target area is the area 7 miles to the North and south of the Thruway, and about 20 miles to the East and West of the Town of Pembroke in Genesee County. The six locations being assessed are three sites in Alden, one site in Akron, one site in Leroy, and one site in East Bethany.  These six potential sites were generated from the VA’s Expression of Interest solicitation which was issued in January 2011.

In a March 7th letter to Secretary Shinseki of the VA, Schumer wrote, “There are some 200,000 veterans in the Buffalo-Rochester region who are not served by a national cemetery.  They have waited too long for this important project and they have been disturbed by a lack of information and communications with the VA.  I urge you to ensure timely progress in selecting and developing a site, and I request that a firm schedule for the project be established and shared with the community.” In today’s announcement, the VA outlined the firm schedule that Schumer had strongly lobbied for. During the VA’s visits to each location,  the officials will assess which sites best fit the VA’s criteria, which includes factors such as the site’s topography, access to highways, proximity to wetlands, and the impact of neighboring facilities. After this assessment is complete, the VA will rank and score each site as part of its evaluation process.  The VA will then narrow the field of candidate sites to the top two and will  proceed with a more detailed due diligence analysis.  The VA anticipates that this review will continue for most of this year.  If it proceeds accordingly, the VA would then be on track to acquire the 200-acres of property by the end of this year or the Spring of 2012.  The VA will then hire an architectural/engineering firm to help develop the master plan for the site, clearing the way for construction.

There are currently six National Cemeteries in New York State, but the facility in Bath is the only one in all of Central New York, Western New York, the Southern Tier and the Rochester Finger Lakes Region.  Current VA regulations allow for establishment of a new cemetery when it would serve 80,000 or more veterans within a 75 mile area. In Western New York alone there are approximately 125,000 veterans. Combined with the Rochester area, which is also more than 75 miles away from the nearest national cemetery in Bath, there are more than 200,000 veterans without appropriate access to a cemetery. A cemetery location in Western New York not only makes sense, but would fulfill an urgent need of these veterans.

Veterans Affairs began seeking a cemetery site in August 2010, with the effort focused within a 50 mile diameter area which included parts of Ontario, Canada, Lake Erie, Erie County, Orleans County, Niagara County and Genesee county. In January 2011, the VA announced that they were starting over and had moved the area under consideration to the east and would center it in Genesee County. Today’s announcement means that these milestones in the process will not continued to be pushed back.

Schumer has long argued that it is critical for the veterans cemetery location to be decided on and for building to begin immediately.  Half of New York Veterans are 65 years of age or older, and now is the time to start planning for the future of those veterans, and ensuring that they are treated with the honor they deserve.  Schumer has heard from local veterans groups that veterans in Western New York desperately want to be buried in a national shrine, but don’t want to force their families to travel long distances to visit, potentially at great hardship to do so.

Today, there are more than 22 million veterans who are eligible for the honor of burial in a National Cemetery. Veterans with discharges other than dishonorable, their spouses and dependent children may be eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. Those who die on active duty may also be buried in a national cemetery.

Veshuan Dequise Thomas, 33, of East Bethany-Le Roy Road in Bethany, was arrested at 12:43 a.m. this morning and charged with criminal obstruction of breathing and criminal mischief, 4th. He was arraigned in Bethany Town Court, where he is to appear at a later date, and jailed in lieu of $1,500 bail. The suspect was involved in a domestic incident wherein he allegedly choked and struck his girlfriend, then damaged a telephone when she tried to call 9-1-1 for help. A stay-away order to protect the girfriend was issued. The case was investigated by deputies Howard Carlson and Frank Bordonaro.

A tractor is reportedly on fire at a farm in the area of 10423 East Road, Bethany.

The tractor is near a structure.

Bethany Fire Department being dispatched.

UPDATE 1:39 p.m.: Pavilion fire is being dispatched, along with Wyoming fire for mutual aid.

UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: The structure is smaller and not yet involved in the blaze.

UPDATE 2:12 p.m.: Fire is out.

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LeeAnna M. Kiefer, 18, of Transit Road, East Bethany, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Kiefer is accused of being involved in an incident on Big Tree Road in Pavilion where she allegedly punched another person in the head and face.

Stephanie Marie Macchia, 33, of Munzel Road, Medina, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Macchia was involved in a traffic stop by Deputy Patrick Reeves at 11:57 p.m., Friday, on Route 77 in Pembroke, and found to allegedly be in possession of marijuana.

I had a little time to drive around a bit late this afternoon and headed out to Bethany. Driving down Francis Road, I came across a couple of picture opportunities.