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Bethany Fire Police are asked to shut down Dublin Road at East Road, at the county line, to provide mutual aid to Wyoming County first responders who are working at an accident site in the vicinity.

From Operation Lifesaver:

Seventy-five people have died in New York State from collisions with trains since 2017. Nearly 125 more people statewide have been injured during that period.

Recognizing that more publicity about track safety would save lives, a partnership between railroads, Operation Lifesaver, and state and local law enforcement, and local, state and federal agencies created Rail Safety Week in the United States and Canada in 2017.

It runs Sept. 22-28. Nearly a thousand rail safety events occur throughout North America during Rail Safety Week.

In Genesee County, there will be an event billed as a "motorist safety blitz" on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the railroad crossing on Colby Road in Pembroke, south of Route 33 (Genesee Street). The sponsors are the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, CSX and Amtrak. The time frame is 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

This year, Rail Safety Week introduces a campaign called #STOPTrackTragedies featuring a daily release of videos with personal stories of people whose lives were affected by rail crossing or trespassing incidents.

Last year, about 2,100 people throughout North America were killed and seriously injured from collisions with trains. For nearly every collision death or injury could be avoided if people made better decisions around railroad tracks.

Nationally, vehicle-train collisions at highway-rail grade crossings rose 4.3 percent in 2018. New York bucked that trend with a 35 percent reduction in collisions from 2017 to 2018.

Operation Lifesaver state coordinator Phil Merens says the safety partnership that exists between railroads, Operation Lifesaver, law enforcement and other government agencies was productive in helping reduce collisions even before Rail Safety Week began two years ago.

A head-on two-car collision is reported at 8042 Lake Street Road in Le Roy. Unknown injuries. There is entrapment.

The vehicles are blocking traffic. Smoke is coming from one of the vehicles.

Le Roy fire and ambulance are responding, and Bergen and Pavilion are called for mutual aid.

UPDATE 1:14 p.m.: Le Roy Fire Police are called to shut down Route 19 in the area of the accident.

UPDATE 1:25 p.m.: Mercy Flight has been dispatched.

UPDATE 1:29 p.m.: Mercy Flight is hovering nearby and plan to land in the roadway. The pilot asked for a fire engine to be moved and for firefighters to vacate the landing zone.

UPDATE 1:31 p.m.: Both ends of Parmalee Road are shut down for traffic control. The trapped patient has been extricated and will be boarded on Mercy Flight.

UPDATE 1:56 p.m.: Fire police are or have opened Parmalee Road.

UPDATE 2:12 p.m.: Route 19 is reopened. The assignment is back in service.

Information from a press release:

U.S. senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today (Sept. 21) announced $1.3 million for Genesee County under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program.

The senators explained that the funding will allow Genesee County to continue addressing and removing lead-based paint hazards in homes, a problem it has grappled with for years.

The purpose of the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program is to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately owned housing for rental or owner-occupants. These grants are used to assist municipalities in carrying out lead hazard-control activities.

Schumer explained that following his relentless advocacy for Genesee County, HUD Secretary Ben Carson called him directly Friday afternoon to confirm the funding.

“During my call with Secretary Carson, I made it clear that even 40 years after the federal government banned the use of lead paint, children in the Rochester-Finger Lakes Region still continue to suffer the insidious consequences of toxic lead," Schumer said. "I’m pleased to announce that he agreed with me, and committed to sending Genesee County $1.3 million to remove lead hazards from communities.

"I’ve long fought tooth and nail for federal funding and programs that work to remove lead in area homes, because lead poisoning is an irreversible, preventable tragedy that robs too many children across the region of their futures. I couldn’t be more thrilled to announce today’s fantastic news, which will be a major boon for public health."

"No child in the Finger Lakes Region should be forced to live in a home with dangerous lead," Gillibrand said. "This funding is a critical investment to start remediation and help keep some of our most vulnerable families safe. I will continue fighting so that our communities have the federal support they need to remove lead from their homes."

A caller on East Main Street in Batavia reports the padlock on his bicycle is broken and "he's insisting that police have the tools to remove it," says a dispatcher. "He won't take no for an answer."

Batavia police just arrived at his location.

A three-vehicle accident is reported on the eastbound Thruway at mile marker 383.9. All occupants are said to be out of the vehicles. Unknown injuries.

Le Roy Fire Department and Ambulance Service are responding and Bergen fire is called for mutual aid.

UPDATE 12:04 p.m.: The assignment is back in service.

Photos and information from reader Brian Fose:

Darien Center -- The Buffalo-based Zuut Belly Dancers will perform at Six Flags Darien Lake tomorrow (Sept. 21), the last weekend of Harvest Festival.

See them from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Showplace Stage at the park's Beaver Brothers Lakeside Cafe area (next to the Boomerang Roller Coaster). The amusement park is located at 9993 Alleghany Road, Darien Center.

Zuut was founded in 2006. The name of the group combines their mutual love for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Peter Shaffer's "Equus," and the French language.

They currently have fivedancers in the troupe (Mandy, Andrea, Yumi, Sandy & Cassie).

Mandy said they love all of their dances, but think they are especially fond of the "La Résistance" piece in which they wear Guy Fawkes masks and belly dance with double revolvers to the song "Uprising" by Muse.

They offer dance classes at House of Hips at 1863 Clinton St., Buffalo.

Experienced dancers who like to push the boundaries of what belly dance can be and who support and encourage our collective geekiness, silliness, spookiness, and "that what she said" jokes are accepted into their troupe as new members.

They perform mostly at local WNY bars, festivals and events. Their website is here.

In the Six Flags Darien Lake map below, the area where the belly dancers will be performing is circled in red.

(Above: "Cowboy Mouth.")

Submitted photos and information from Genesee Community College.

At Roz Steiner Gallery at Genesee Community College artist Nigel Maister's tight. word. lit. will be on display Oct. 1 - 31.

There's an Artist Talk at the gallery Oct. 10 at 12:30 p.m., with receptions at 1 and also 5 p.m.

tight. word. lit. -- Through the pairing of unrelated photographic images, Maister creates a narrative both implied and explicit and manifested in emotional, formal, aesthetic, intuitive and intellectual expression, and an evocation of action.

About Nigel Maister

He is a South African born, Rochester-based photographic artist, using found, appropriated and original imagery in his work.

His work has been a finalist in Klompching Gallery’s Fresh 2016 (New York), and seen, most recently, at Gallery Q (Rochester), Main Street Arts (Clifton Springs), and at the Cleveland Print Room.

A work from the series "tight. word. lit." as chosen by SaveArtSpace for public art exhibition during August 2018 on a billboard in the Neighborhood of the Arts in Rochester. He was a MacDowell Colony Fellow in 2018.

Maister is also a collector of 19^th century and vernacular/functional photography, as well as a director, writer and designer of theater. He currently serves as the Russell and Ruth Peck Artistic Director of the University of Rochester International Theatre Program.

(Below: "Drag.")

Here's Maister's statement about his exhibit tight. word. lit.

This work explores narrative both implied and explicit; and narrative in the form of a past photographic action that, through a contemporary recontextualization and dialogic combination, is brought into the present.

The raw material for tight. word. lit. is snapshot photography. These images, from the 1980s onward — the last gasp of the analog snapshot — are overlooked in the current vogue for vernacular photography, which fetishizes the snapshot as art object (albeit an inadvertent one).

These "late" snapshots frequently betray little of the charm that characterize the genre at its zenith. I was drawn to images that might have been discarded by the picture-taker: those that are out of focus, inexpertly composed, blanched by a too-close flash, etc. In others, content or composition might be considered banal in their simplicity or apparent “artlessness.”

And in yet other selections, the performative nature of the subject matter — divorced from its context and rendered enigmatic, perplexing, or disturbing—was my departure point. But in all these variants, the series recontextualizes the nature and meaning of the snapshot: that object that serves as a commemorative artifact with a distinct function in the world.

It discards that function and meaning and allows the image to transform and to evoke a potential narrative event far from the intent of the original maker. The title of the series, tight. word. lit. similarly refers to recontextualization, but this time of vernacular language and slang, repurposing adjectives, nouns and verbs for utterances of approbation, enthusiasm, and affirmation.

Thus this work undermines the notion of the primacy of the individual image as a valuable artifact in and of itself, or even of the image as a signifier of a particular meaning or referent fixed in an identifiable past. Rather, it looks at the combination of photographic artifacts in dialogue with each other for its worth.

It is this that serves my goal: to rewrite these visual histories, making the viewer an active participant, forcing them to forge connections and create personal narratives that are compelling, mysterious and durable.

The world portrayed in these works is decidedly not our world. I hope they speak to us viscerally on some other level. They are intended to present us with a "third reality": not a document of their time, nor a document of ours.

These works are evocations of that interstitial space where past and present intersect and create an emotional, imaginative bridge into the subconscious, which should feel immediate yet also prescient.

www.nigelmaister.com

Above, Byron-Bergen Girls Varsity Soccer Team.

Submitted photos and press release:

Bergen -- On Saturday, Sept. 14, the Byron-Bergen and Attica soccer teams joined forces to raise money for good causes.

Modified, JV, and varsity girls and boys faced off for a full day of competition at the Byron-Bergen Soccer Stadium.

All the teams played hard, but the ultimate winners were the Wilmont Cancer Institute and Crossroads House. The two organizations will split the more than $2,300 in proceeds.

“We all love being part of the charity event, the whole team does,” said Byron-Bergen senior and varsity co-captain Miriam Tardy. “Honestly, the hardest part is choosing which type of cancer to support. That’s why this year we chose to support all cancer research.”

The student-led event began at 9:30 a.m. and continued until the close of the last game, which began nine hours later.

The annual fundraiser to support cancer research was launched almost a decade ago by the varsity girls soccer team in support of a teammates’ loved one.

Although those players have long since left the Byron-Bergen soccer fields, the event has grown into a community tradition, raising thousands of dollars annually and more than $12,000 since its inception. Free and open to the public, money is raised through donations, T-shirt and food sales, and vendors.

“I love this fundraiser,” said senior and co-captain Kelsey Fuller. “It’s a great opportunity to show who we are as people and really give back to the community.”

“This is my sixth year participating,” said senior and co-captain Melissa MacCowan. “It’s about raising money, but also about raising awareness.”

This year, the teams decided to expand their philanthropic efforts to include Crossroads House in Batavia. The organization provides hospice services to residents of Genesee and Wyoming counties free of charge.

“We have been supporting cancer research for years and really wanted to find ways to support differentparts of the community,” Fuller. said

“Our athletes take great pride in giving back to the community,” said Athletic Director Richard Hannan. “These are both wonderful organizations and I’m always impressed by the teams’ dedication.”

Below, Byron-Bergen Girls Junior Varsity Soccer Team.

A larceny of several coats is reported at Dick's Sporting Goods in Towne Center at Batavia. A black female and male reportedly left the store with the merchandise, got into an unknown make vehicle, and left the parking lot in an unknown direction of travel.

Law enforcement is responding. The store employees are trying to get more information from the customer who allegedly spotted the larceny.

UPDATE 1:28 p.m.: The getaway car is reportedly a black four-door sedan; another person allegedly was driving the vehicle -- so there are three people involved. No clothing descriptions provided.

Natalie Helen Brown, 25, of Weber Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with: Driving while intoxicated, with a BAC of .08 percent or more; DWI; insufficient stop lamp; speeding in a 55-mph zone; and moving from lane unsafely. Brown was arrested at 1:45 a.m. this morning (Sept. 20) on Route 63 in Alabama following a traffic stop. She was released on appearance tickets and is due in Alabama Town Court on Oct. 9. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jordan Alejandro, assisted by Deputy Ryan Young.

Geoffrey Paul Jamele, 25, of North Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, unlawful possession of marijuana, and having an obstructed driver's view. On Sept. 19 Jamele was arrested at 4:18 p.m. at Genesee Community College after a traffic stop on 1 College Road in the Town of Batavia. He allegedly possessed two THC oil cartridges (THC -- tetrahydrocannabinol -- is the principle psychoactive compound in marijuana.). He was issued an appearance ticket to be in Town of Batavia Court on Oct. 10. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kenneth Quackenbush, assisted by Deputy Mathew Clor.

From the NYS Sheriff's Association:

Governor Andrew Cuomo has proclaimed Sept. 22 – 28 to be Sheriffs Week in New York State. Sheriffs Week celebrates the significant contributions made by the Office of Sheriff in county government and in the statewide criminal justice system.

Fifty-five of New York's 58 sheriffs are elected officials, accountable to the citizen voter every four years and responsible for the complex operations of a Sheriff’s Office, which can include criminal law enforcement, traffic patrol, emergency rescue operations, homeland security programs, SWAT operations, civil emergency response, jail operations, correctional alternative management, courtroom security, and civil litigation process, among others.

William A. Sheron Jr., who has worked for the Genesee County Sheriff's Office since age 18 and was elected Sheriff in 2017, currently serves as one of three trustees for the New York State Sheriff's Association.

To mark Sheriffs Week, the New York State Sheriffs’ Association is sharing the public service announcement above, designed to inform the public about all the public safety services provided by their Sheriff. 

The New York State Sheriffs’ Association Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation formed in 1934 to assist all 58 of New York’s sheriffs in serving and protecting the citizenry through training programs, accreditation programs, governmental advocacy, and safety programs for the public. Visit www.nysheriffs.org.

A larceny of tomatoes from a stand at the Downtown Batavia Public Market is reported.

A caller to dispatch reports the alleged tomato nabber is driving a silver SUV that is now in the drive-thru at Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union, adjacent to the outdoor market on Alva Place. Batavia police responding.

UPDATE 11:52 a.m.: It is said that the complainant is "not interested in pursuing (charges); they just want him advised that he's not welcome back here."

Volunteers for Animals (VFA) is preparing for the 16^th annual Fur Ball to be held at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28. The event has been moved to a larger venue this year – Slomba Hall at Ascension Parish (17 Sumner St., Batavia).

The Fur Ball is the largest fundraiser for the VFA with proceeds going toward spays/neuters, medicine and the health care of the animals.

In addition, a portion of this year’s proceeds will be donated to an animal rescue program in the Bahamas. Parts of the Bahamas were devastated by Hurricane Dorian earlier this month with animal care shelters also bearing significant damage and loss.

The Fur Ball will feature food catered by Main Street Pizza Co. There will be 200+ baskets along with a silent auction and a 50/50 raffle. Ticket are $25. each (children 12 and under $15).

The volunteers will give a review of the past year’s work and programs as well as an update on the canine "graduates" from the Path to Home prison-based dog-training program.

Tickets are available for purchase at the Genesee County Animal Shelter. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

The VFA is a nonprofit group that works in partnership with the Genesee County Animal Shelter. For more information about Volunteers for Animals and the work they do please go to: www.vol4animals.org/

UPDATED Sept. 19, 1:23 p.m.: The following event is postponed. A new date will be announced once the parties' availablity is confirmed.

Ithaca Beer Co. and Batavia Downs announced today they will launch the sale of the new Thurmanator Beer at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19th at the 34 Rush Sports Bar.

“We’ve been looking forward to this special release for some time," said James Sapienza, head of Brand Development for Ithaca Beer Co. “The Thurmanator beer is an easy-drinking lager we hope will score big with hardcore Buffalo football fans, as well as those seeking a refreshing and crisp, light golden lager with a subtle sweetness and restrained hop character that lends a gentle floral quality and clean finish.”

The public event will include an appearance by the beer’s namesake, Buffalo Football Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas, and sampling from many of Ithaca’s line of products while attendees enjoy the Thursday Night Football game on the big screens.

Batavia Downs is located at 8315 Park Road in the City of Batavia.

About Ithaca Beer Co.

Begun in 1998 in a small renovated retail store just outside of Ithaca, the original space had a small seven barrel brewhouse, a modest tasting bar and sold full growlers to go as well as homebrew supplies.

Today, Ithaca Beer brews about 25,000 barrels of beer per year and features both 50 and five barrel pilot brew houses. In addition to a state-of-the-art brewing facility, Ithaca Beer has fully automated packaging capabilities for bottling, canning and kegging.

Ithaca Beer distributes beer to 54 wholesalers in 14 states in the Northeast from New England in the East to Ohio in the West and Virginia and North Carolina to the South.