elba

Today, the Elba Historical Society held its 14th annual antiques and collectibles sales at the Elba Fire Hall and The Mill, Route 98 and Route 262.

Above, Jean Price, of Byron, demonstrates some old-fashioned loom weaving, while her daughter, Margy Hayes, in the background, spins yarn.

Below, Barb Toal, left, with Cheryl Kowalik, at the booth promoting the International Peace Garden.

Elba students were given today what firefighter Steve Hynesfisher called "shock camp" this morning, seeing firsthand what a fatal DWI accident scene is like, from the extrication, to Mercy Flight landing and the remains of a fellow student being placed in a body bag and carted away.

Hynsfisher drove the point home while narrating events. If this where a real accident, their fellow student was gone. All that was left was a body, no life, no person.

After the drill, Hynesfisher said he wanted the students to see that "one bad decision can ruin their lives and the life of somebody else."

"If we can change one person's mind," Hynesfisher added, "and keep them from drinking and driving, then we've done our job."

And Hynesfisher thinks the Elba Fire Department is getting through to students with the program. The department has been conducting these drills for four years and Hynesfisher said since they started, Elba has been fortunate to not have any serious, DWI-related accidents involving a Elba student since.

The drill provides students with a thorough dramatization of an accident scene, with all the power tools, medics and an actual Mercy Flight helicopter landing. Elba Superintendent Jerry Piwko said he believes the impact of a tragedy being portrayed in such a life-like performance really has an impact on students.

"We can call it a drill, but it's all there," Piwko said. "It looks real. It sounds real, but thank God the kids actually walk away."

ALSO: Elba is recruiting volunteers to join the fire deparment. Anybody interested in more information please call 757-9011. Support your local community: join your local volunteer fire deparment. All departments always have a variety of openings for people of just about all ages. A resource for potential volunteers is ReadyGenesee.com

Members of the Genesee County Harley Owners Group were out on Route 98 recently picking up trash as part of an ongoing effort to help keep local roadways clean.

The Harley club does clean-ups four times per year.  

The group is responsible for Route 98 from the Thruway to Elba.

Pictured are Paul Ballard, Bob Aiken and Fred Devore.

Photo submitted by Frank Capuano.

Michelle DiFalco, 22, no permanent address, is charged with unlawful imprisonment, 1st, reckless endangerment, 1st, strangulation, 2nd and criminal mischief, 4th. DiFalco is accused of being involved in an incident at 3 a.m., Saturday, in which she allegedly damaged personal property, choked another person and would not allow that person to leave the residence. DiFalco was jailed without bail.

A 16-year-old from Wyoming Road, Wyoming, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. The youth, a student at Pavilion High School, was found allegedly in possession of marijuana while in the school.

David Walter Cook, 46, of Lockport Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding and failure to keep right. Cook was stopped on Maltby Road, Elba, at 1:55 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy Jason Saile.

Ryan Eugene Davis, 27, of Mashall Road, Medina, is charged with felony DWI, aggravated driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, felony aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, driving without an interlock ignition. Davis was stopped at 3:48 p.m., Friday, on Park Road, by Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello. Davis was allegedly driving an other person's car without the owner's permission. He was jailed on $15,000 bail.

Martin F. Jones, 40, of 4036 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Jones is accused of stealing beer from Hess Mart at 12:30 a.m., Sunday. Following a complaint, Officer Frank Klimjack reportedly located Jones walking on West Main with beer in his possession.

Trevor M. Rich, 30, of 8943 Creek Road, Batavia, is charged with aggravated harassment and criminal contempt. Rich is accused of sending annoying text messages to a person in violation of an order of protection. Rich was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Dashawn A. Butler, 30, of Batavia, is charged with four counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17 years old. Butler was arrested by State Police and jailed on $5,000 bail. No further details released.

Jodi L. Teed, 43, of 6785 Creek Road, Mt. Morris, is charged with operating a vehicle while impaired by drugs, unlawful possession of marijuana and inadequate headlights. Teed was stopped at 10:24 p.m., Saturday, on South Jackson Street, Batavia, by Officer Matt Fleming.

It's a family tradition, and has been for 12 years.

On the first weekend in May, the Esten family hosts antique tractor enthusiasts for two days of plowing on land owned by Torrey Farms off Oak Orchard Road in Elba.

The tradition started one year when Louis Esten and one of his sons took out one of their old tractors for some plowing and Louis, who had heard of similar activities in other states, thought why not host a "plow days" event.

So Esten approached John Torrey about the idea.

"It's nice to have the Torreys let us use this land," Esten said.

Those who enjoy antique tractors come from towns throughout the region.

This year, though, not much plowing got done. After all the rain we've had, the fields were too soggy. At one point today, Esten said, it took two tractors to pull out another one that got stuck in the mud.

"Normally, this whole field is plowed by now," Esten said, pointing to a northern plot that shows only a few passes of a plow.

Esten said his wife, Ginger, sons Mike, 29, Nick, 27 and Matt, 24, are a big part of getting the weekend organized, which includes manning booths in a barn for local community groups.

Pictured above are, Louis, Ginger, Mandy, Ayden, Nick, Mary, and on the back of the tractor, Chuck (Louis's brother), Josh, Memphis and Nathan.

I discovered the antique tractor plow days yesterday afternoon, arriving at the farm when nobody was around. I took several pictures of tractors and then headed back today and met Louis and his family and took a few more pictures.

More pictures after the jump:

Late yesterday afternoon, I took a drive out through Elba, Oakfield and the Town of Batavia. Here's four photos from the drive.

Above, a horse at Macomber and Townline roads, Batavia.

A tree on Pekin Road, Elba.

I suspect this is an old outhouse, but I'm not sure. On Pekin Road, Elba.

Flowers by a pond on Slusser Road, Batavia.

More than 500 National Grid customers along the Route 98 corridor from Batavia to Elba are without power.

The power outage spreads like triangle from the City of Batavia, where the tip starts, up to the Village of Elba, where the base of the triangle stretches east and west.

Power is expected to be restored by 2:15 p.m.

The outage caused one person to become briefly trapped in an elevator at the Hampton Inn. (Back-up generators corrected the problem.)

Radio traffic indicted the problem is a power line that stretches under the Thruway.

In the past hour, calls for trees and utility poles down have subsided, and the wind seems to have died down a bit, but a strong wind warning remains in effect until 4 p.m.

There are about a dozen locations where power outages have been reported, most significantly in Elba, where 871 National Grid customers are without power. The power outage was reported at 8:48 a.m. and no ETA for when power will be restored.

Above, what's left of a tree that blew down on Lewiston Road in Oakfield. Below, a contractor saws off a large broken limb from a tree on Wortendyke Road, Town of Batavia, that was hanging precariously over the roadway.

A tree is partially blocking the roadway at 4695 Barrville Road in Elba. Elba Fire Department is en route.

The Town of Elba has a new phone system, according to Supervisor Lucine Kauffman. 

The new, automated phones at Elba Town Hall required the town to change its phone numbers.

Here are the new numbers:

Town Hall main number: 585-757-2762. Callers will receive a message with the extension menu for all of the Elba Town officials and departments.

Town Hall Fax number: 585-757-9921

Town Court Fax number: 585-757-9200

The changes took effect today.

Frank James Davis, 31, of East Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Davis is accused of entering the Totem Pole Smoke Shop at 10:50 a.m., March 3, loading 15 cartons of cigarettes into a basket, then walking past cashiers and then running out of the store without paying for the cigarettes. The cigarettes are valued at $502 and the basket is valued at $10.

Davis is also accused of stealing $204 worth of Winston Lights on the same date from Arrow Hawk Smoke Shop. Davis was charged with petit larceny for that alleged crime.

Jennifer L. Coombs, 27, of 103 West Main St., Le Roy, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Coombs is accused of slashing three tires on a car in November.

Andrew Paul Dentinger, 20, of Broadway Road, Alexander, is charged with unlawful dealing with a child. Dentinger is accused of hosting an underage drinking party. Deputies responded to an address on Broadway Road, Alexander, at 12:58 a.m., Saturday to investigate the party.

David A. Burr, 23, of Elba, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. Burr is accused of intentionally damaging the front door of T.F. Brown's restaurant at 1:40 a.m., Sunday. Burr was jailed without bail.

Janie B. Burgess, 57, of 7 Maureen Drive, Rochester, is charged with DWI, unsafe turn. Burgess was stopped at 10:13 p.m., Saturday, on Oak Street by Officer Chris Camp. Burgess was jailed on $500 bail.

Daniel G. Crane, 34, of 9395 Upton Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and inadequate lights. Crane was stopped at 12:52 a.m., Sunday, on Main Street by Officer Dan Coffey.

Mark D. Hoerbelt , 42, of 152 State St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and inadequate headlights. Hoerbelt was stopped at 12:43 a.m., Friday, on West Main Street by Officer Matthew Fleming.

A 16-year-old resident of Wood Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. The youth is accused of stealing an iPod in January while at Batavia High School. The youth was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Jennifer L. Stack, 25, of 12 Oak St., is accused of failing to pay a fine. Stack was convicted in May on an unnecessary noise charge. She was released on $100 bail but allegedly failed to appear at her next court appointment.

Scott C. Brown, 22, and Ashley M. Yunke, 31, of 11 1/2 Wood St., are charged with criminal nuisance. Brown and Yunke are accused of hosting a party where people under 21 were allowed to drink. They were arrested at 12:20 a.m., Sunday. They were jailed on $500 each bail.

Amanda A. Barclay, 23, of Oakfield, is charged with false report of an incident, 3rd. The alleged incident occurred at 4:27 a.m., March 18, in the City of Batavia. Barclay was arrested by State Police on Thursday. No further details were released.

Jared C. Reese, 31, of Stafford, is charged with controlled substance not in original container and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Reese was stopped by State Police at 6:09 p.m., Thursday, on Route 33, Stafford. No further details were released.

Joanna M. Morgan is indicted on charges of DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, endangering the welfare of a child and a felony count of DWI (DWI with a child in the car, or "Leandra's Law"). Morgan is accused of driving drunk with a child under 15 in the car on Dec. 12 in the Town of Le Roy.

Ricky D. Newbould is indicted on charges of felony DWI and felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Newbould is accused of driving drunk on Dec. 18 while in the Town of Elba.

Tamara L. Butler is indicted on charges of  DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st. Butler is accused of driving drunk on Aug. 7 in the Town of Oakfield.

Charles W. Wilder is indicted on charges of felony DWI and felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Wilder is accused of driving drunk on Oct. 24 in the Town of Oakfield.

Along Maltby Road, Elba.

Bliss Road, Oakfield.

Gorton Road, Alabama.

Mercy Flight is being dispatched to a medical emergency in the area of 6400 Oak Orchard Road.

Law enforcement was on scene and requested a medical response for a laceration to the neck.

Elba Fire responded and requested Mercy Flight after arriving on scene.

The flight is coming from Buffalo and the ETA is 20 minutes.UPD

UPDATE 11 a.m.: Route 98 is closed in both directions in order to secure a landing zone for Mercy Flight, which now has a 10 minute ETA.

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: Mercy Flight is on the ground.

UPDATE 11:29 a.m.: Mercy Flight is in the air. Elba fire police working on getting Route 98 reopened.

The beat is thumping, the energy is high, and the sound is thunderous as hundreds of tiny feet stomp the floor and just as many tiny hands smack together enthusiastically. Two hundred children chant, "We will, we will, READ YOU!" in deafening unison.

Welcome to Reading Month at Elba Central School.

In past years, the students have celebrated books in more traditional ways. This year, elementary art teacher Stephanie Rudman decided to mix things up a bit by inviting children's entertainer Glenn Colton to perform for the students. Colton's hour-long show entertained both students and teachers alike with silly jokes, oldies music references, and a message that reading can be fun.

Rudman says that she had remembered Colton performing at Elba years ago, and decided to bring him back in order to add a more musical aspect to the month.

The Orchard Park-based entertainer performs in about 250 locations per year, mostly staying in the Western New York area. He has a variety of educational concerts available, featuring themes such as bullying, cyber safety, and staying drug-free. Along with writing songs, he has also authored two children's books, "Mr. Ducky Wucky -- The Wonderful Secret" and "Browser the Mouse and His Internet Adventure." 

For more information on Colton's shows and book signings, go to www.glenncolton.com

Driving back from a meeting in Alabama this afternoon, I took a turn down Malby Road and wound up passing this barn in Elba. I've passed it before, but the snow on the shingles seemed like a nice touch.