elba

Richard John Abramski, 22, of Main Road, East Pembroke, is charged with disorderly conduct. Abramski is accused of obstructing traffic in the area of 1993 Genesee Street, East Pembroke, by standing in the drive lane, causing traffic to move to avoid hitting him. Abramski was allegedly drunk at the time. The alleged incident occurred at 11:23 p.m., Saturday.

Danny J. Torok, 23, of 12 Elm St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Torok is accused of slapping, pushing and pulling the hair of his girlfriend while holding his 4-month-old daughter. He was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Jeremy Dean Lyons, 25, of Judge Road, Oakfield, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, unsafe lane change and speeding. Lyons was stopped by Deputy Thomas Sanfratello at 5:25 p.m., June 1, at 14 Weber St., Oakfield.

Joseph Stephen Vernaccini, 34, of Clipnock Road, Stafford, is charged with DWI, failure to keep right and refusal to take breath test. Vernaccini was reportedly involved in a one-car accident 12:44 a.m., Saturday, in the area of 7000 Route 5, Le Roy. Vernaccini was jailed on $500 bail.

Justino Sanchez, 50, of West Ridge Road, Brockport, is charged with DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation, failure to keep right, improper right turn. Sanchez was stopped by Deputy James Diehl at 10:47 p.m., Friday, in the area of Route 98 and Edgerton Road, Elba. He was jailed on $1,800 bail.

A 17-year-old from Clarence was arrested by State Police in Darien at 8:05 p.m., Wednesday. She is charged with DWI, failure to keep right, crossing road hazard markings and unlawful possession of marijuana.

A 16-year-old from Williamsville was arrested by State Police at 8:05 p.m., Wednesday, in Batavia for unlawful possession of alcohol.

John J. Smalley, 47, of Oakfield, is charged with harassment and criminal mischief. Smalley was arrested by State Police at 12:50 a.m., Sunday, in the area of 7020 Macumber Road, Oakfield. No further details were released.

Accidents from the State Police blotter:

4:57 p.m., June 5, Bernd Road, Pavilion, two vehicles; Driver 1: Laurie Jean Lerkins, 33, of Le Roy; Driver 2: Heather M. Coates, 24, of Rochester. One injury reported.

4:46 p.m., June 3, Genesee Street, Pembroke, one vehicle: Driver 1: Jennifer L. Mroz, 49, of Batavia. One injury reported.

10:32 p.m., June 3, Lewiston Road, Batavia, two vehicles: Driver 1: Robert M. Laskowski, 24, of Chaffee; Driver 2: Matthew J. Quinn, 25, of Attica. No injuries reported.

A caller reported a "substantial" gas spill at the Yellow Goose station in Elba.

A first responder from the Elba Fire Department reports a "smaller gas spill."

The original call said the gas was flowing into a storm drain.  The caller said the driver who caused the spill left the station.

UPDATE 7:07 a.m.: Spill contained. Elba Fire back in service.

A youth who was wanted by local law enforcement, and allegedly led Batavia Police, State Police and Sheriff's deputies on a manhunt in the city two months ago, was sentenced to prison time for a violation of probation.

Christopher Laird, 17, originally from Elba, but has also lived in Le Roy and Batavia, failed to report for probation meetings in early 2010.

Police eventually caught up with Lair in Le Roy on April 4, two days after the manhunt, which involved a State Police helicopter.

Laird's probation was revoked. He will spend one to three years in state prison.

Jesse Adam Dispenza, 24, of Union Street, Scottsville, is charged with trespass. Dispenza is accused of trespassing on the Dolomite property in the Town of Le Roy at 6:20 p.m., Saturday.

Marissa Christine Zeiner, 19, of Sunset Circle Lane, Brockport, is charged with trespass. Zeiner is accused of trespassing on the Dolomite property in the Town of Le Roy at 6:20 p.m., Saturday.

A 17-year-old resident of Maple Avenue in Le Roy is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. The youth was allegedly found in possession of marijuana during a traffic stop by Deputy Matt Butler at 5:03 p.m., Saturday.

Ami Kadar, 64, of Albion, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Kadar was arrested this week by State Police on Maple Avenue, Elba, in connection with an alleged incident at 12:01 p.m., March 30. No further details are available.

Jorge L. Portugal-Pineda, 22, of Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, unsafe tires and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. Portugal-Pineda was arrested by State Police on Transit Road at 3:15 p.m., Monday.

Ethan R. Kitanik, 19, of Oakfield, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, and ticketed for no headlights. Kitanik was stopped by State Police on Oak Street in Oakfield at 10:55 p.m., Sunday.

An alleged knife attack that left a victim in need of more than 80 stitches on his face and hand has led to the arrest of an Elba man on an assault and weapons possession charge.

Gerardo Pineda-Sanchez, 42, of Oak Orchard Road was taken into custody by the Sheriff's Office for the alleged April 28 attack.

The victim, described as a Mexican male, was interviewed by investigators after he showed up at the UMMC emergency room. The victim was eventually transferred to ECMC where he received 65 stitches on his face and 20 on this thumb.

With the aid of ICE, the Sheriff's Office was able to identify Pineda-Sanchez as the suspect and apprehended him at his workplace without incident.

Pineda-Sanchez is being held in a federal detention facility on $10,000 bail.

A structure fire in Elba on Saturday caused an estimated $100,000 damage after a diesel engine connected to a generator apparently overheated, setting off the blaze.

A shed at 5327 Watson Road was destroyed.

The fire damaged the motor, generator, wiring and controls.

Elba Fire and Deputy Jason Saile investigated the incident.

(initial report)

A possible barn fire has been reported at 5327 Watson Road, Elba.

A generator that started smoking may be the cause of the fire.

An Elba chief on scene reports smoke showing.

A plumber from Oakfield is being sent to the Elba Fire Hall. Byron asked to stand by in its hall.

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Tree branches are down in the area of 166 Summit St., completely blocking it.

At 9 Holland Ave., a tree is down and electrical wires are arcing.

Also, trees down blocking Macomber Road in Oakfield and a street in Bergen.

UPDATE 4:22 p.m.: A line is down and arcing on Route 77. Also, Batavia Fire is being dispatched to 71 S. Main St. for a tree limb on fire. A Le Roy Fire chief reports a limb down on Myrtle Street.

UPDATE 4:28 p.m.: In Le Roy, there are at least two limbs down on Myrtle, with one causing damage to a vehicle, plus one on Glibert Street. Le Roy is setting up a command post at the Fire Hall and requesting all available manpower.

UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: Fire Dispatch just notifed all fire personnel to go to various operational channels and keep radio transmissions to a minimum: "We have several emergencies to get out."

Update 4:35 p.m.: There is some sort of fire on West Bergen Road. Wires are down on Elm Street in Le Roy, also in Le Roy several tree branches and wires are down and arcing on Lake Street. There is also an incident on Washington Avenue in Batavia that has the street shut down.

UPDATE 4:38 p.m.: A tree has fallen on a house on Kibbe Avenue.

UPDATE 4:40 p.m.: There's a chain reaction of poles down and wires popping on Clipknock Road. There's also another pole down in Le Roy, but we didn't catch the location. Also several poles and wires down on Bethany Center Road.

UPDATE 4:43 p.m.: Somebody just said, "We've lost all power in the village." Not sure which village.

UPDATE 5:09 p.m.: National Grid is on scene on Erie Street in Le Roy for lines down.  Also on Oatka, a large tree is leaning on wires. Wires are intact. In Batavia, Jackson Street is blocked at Wood Street. Darien is being asked to check 9295 Colby Road for unknown wires down.

UPDATE: A tree has fallen into power lines on Vine Street.

On Wednesday, elementary students at Elba Central School got to visit with acclaimed children's author Mary Amato. She resides in Silver Springs, Maryland, and is the award-winning author of nine books for young people, as well as numerous plays, poems and articles for publications such as Muse, Cicada, The Washington Post, Parenting, and Mothering.

Elba school librarian Christine Ferris says she likes to have a different author come speak to the students every year. 

"I got interested in [Mary Amato's] books when I read The Word Eater," says Ferris. "She writes very funny books."

The visit was arranged through the BOCES "Visiting Authors" program. The program sends suggestions to schools of various authors, and makes all of the traveling and "touring" arrangements. Amato will be visiting several other area schools as well during her visit.

During the presentation at Elba, Amato spoke to the children about her career, her life, and, foremost, her experiences with writing when she was their age.

"I tell them that I was afraid of writing," says Amato. "I thought I had no ideas, no imagination. Imagination is like a muscle. The more I wrote, the better I got. It's like sports. You wouldn't expect an olympic athlete to get a triple lutz the first time. You have to keep working on it."

She says that the turning point in her writer's block was when she was 7, when her mother gave her a journal (which she is holding in the photo above).

"My mother gave me a notebook and told me to record a trip to California. I liked the fact that I could go back and relive the moments through records of it. That's when I got hooked on writing."

She suggests that aspiring young writers do the same.

"Get a little notebook and write in it. You don't have to write in it every day, just write down some of your feelings and ideas."

More information about Mary Amato and how to contact her can be found on her website, www.maryamato.com.  The website contains information about Mary, her books and how to contact her, as well as a new video blog documenting her writing process.

Those in attendance at the Elba Music Festival Friday night certainly heard a wide variety of music. The 13 acts that performed ranged from a church choir to a punk-rock band to a barbershop quintet.

Featured performers were the Elba Concert Band, the Elba Presbyterian Church Choir, Dakota Hirsch, the Elba Saxophone Quartet, James Earl, the Genesee Chorale, the Elba Jazz Ensemble, Dixie Hirsch, Scene 7, Andrew Lacey and Michaela Stewart, M.A.C., Dillon Hirsch, and the Batavia Blue Belles. 

Here are two photos from the event: the Genesee Chorale; and the Batavia Blue Belles.

Emily Rose Wells, 25, of 139 S. Main St, Apt. #1, Albion, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs and moving from lane unsafely. Wells was stopped at the Yellow Goose in Elba after a witness phoned in a complaint about an erratic driver on Route 98 in Barre. The driver allegedly struck a guardrail. The witness followed the car to Elba.

Kate Elizabeth Brozic, 26, of 671 Ogden-Parma Townline Road, Spencerport, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI (driving with a BAC of .18 or greater). Brozic was arrested after Deputy Eric Seppela was dispatched to Route 33 in Stafford to check on a vehicle parked on the roadside.

Accidents reported on the State Police blotter:

8:36 p.m., April 11, Coe Avenue, Oakfield, two vehicles; Driver 1: Christopher M. Ames, 38, of Oakfield; second car was parked. No injuries reported.

8:19 p.m, April 11, Thruway, mile marker 384.5, Stafford, one vehicle; Driver 1: Steven J. Flowers, 19, of Cheektowaga. No injuries reported.

12:23 a.m., April 12, Thruway, mile marker 380, Le Roy, one vehicle; Driver 1: Adam D. Thurman, 29, of Tonawanda. No injuries reported.

These two old barns and silo are along Route 98, probably in the Town of Batavia, near Elba.