Stories from

Several weeks ago, Steve Hawley traveled with his wife Crystal to visit his step-son Tim Rimmer in the Dominican Republic, where Rimmer is doing work for the Peace Corps.

It sounded like a fascinating trip, so I asked Steve if he would sit down for a video interview and talk a little bit about the trip and share some pictures.  It took me some time to get the video put together because of our move and everything else going on. 

One of the key projects Tim Rimmer is involved in is building ceramic stoves for families to cook on. The Peace Corps is seeking donations to help with the project. To donate, click here.

Gary Engle, 24, of 7549 Mechanic St., Byron, is charged with reckless endangerment. Engle is accused of shooting his .22 calibre rifle and 12-gauge shotgun in his backyard on June 13 at 3:15 without properly checking his backstop in the direction he was firing. The bullets reportedly entered the backyard of a neighbor where adults and children were present. No injuries were reported.

Jayson M. Connolly, 35, of 135 S. Main St., Apt. 10, is charged with assault in the third degree and criminal contempt in connection with three alleged incidents over a three-day period. On June 17, at about 7:30 p.m., Connolly allegedly swatted a stick from a bonfire hitting a female acquaintance with the stick and causing burn and blister on her right and left thigh area. On June 18, at about 11:45 p.m., Connolly allegedly phoned the woman in violation of an order of protection. On June 19, at about 11:45 a.m., Connolly allegedly tried to speak to the woman again in violation of the order of protection. Connolly was arrested and placed in Genesee County Jail without bail.

Jon M. Dambra, 21, of 22 Berry Grove Lane, Brockport, is charged with DWI and unlawful possession of marijuana following a traffic stop for allegedly speeding in the City of Batavia. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Jason Flansburg, 32, of 139 Woodlands Way, Brockport, was reportedly a guest at the Holiday Inn early yesterday morning when he began cussing and making loud noises at about 3:30 a.m.  Flansburg was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. He was also reportedly had some marijuana and was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Cory Jones, 26, of 5965 Main Road, Stafford, was stopped yesterday a little after midnight for an alleged traffic violation. Sheriff's deputies allegedly found him with marijuana and he was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Jerad M. Stalker, 25, of 8874 Hartshorn Road, Batavia, was stopped on Lovers Lane Road yesterday morning around 2 a.m.  He was charged with DWI, having a BAC of .08 or greater, improper parking on a road way and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Toni White, 28, of 14 S. Main St., Batavia, is charged with trespassing. The trespassing charge stems from a previous accusation of shoplifting at Wal-Mart. Following the initial charge, it was discovered that White had reportedly been banned from Wal-Mart, leading to the trespass charged on the date of the alleged shoplifting incident.

Terrance Dolan, 22, of 88 Woodcrest Blvd., Buffalo, and Sean T. Hennessy, of 41 Neuman Parkway, Buffalo, are charged with trespass in relation to events at the No Doubt concert at Darien Lake June 19 at 10:50 p.m. Dolan is accused of trying to enter a private area of the concert area and Hennessy is accused of trying to go backstage.

Andrew Paul Weick, 22, of 116 State St., Tonawanda and Paige Marie Fagan, 23, of 116 State St., Tonawanda, are accused of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana. Weick and Fagan were reportedly at the No Doubt concert at Darien Lake when they were allegedly found in possession of hydrocodone, cocaine and marijuana.

Scott D. Larnder, 32, of 3 Jerome Place, Batavia, is charged with DWI, speeding and failure to take pre-screen test.  He was reportedly stopped on Route 5 near Sanders Road in Stafford. Larnder was arraigned the morning of June 19 and released.

Caitlin E. Mahoney, 22, of 84 Walter St., Tonawanda, is charged with DWI and a BAC of .08 or more. Mahoney was reportedly stopped at the side of the road on Route 33 in the Town of Batavia when contacted by deputies. Mahoney stated she was looking for the Thruway. Upon investigation, deputies concluded Mahoney was allegedly operating a motorvehicle while intoxicated.

William Briggs, 42, of 15 Savannah St, Apt. 6H, is charged with petty larceny for allegedly shoplifting from Target.

Bridget K. Grayson, 41, 8272 Gully Road, LeRoy, is charged with felony DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater along with driving to the left of pavement markings in a no passing zone, improper turn signal, driving slow and impeding traffic and failure to notify DMV of address change. Grayson was reportedly stopped on Route 237 in Stafford on June 19 just after midnight.

Carl Jeering connects with a pitch that will sail over the right-center field fence for the first-ever over-the-fence home run in Challenger Baseball history.

The sports program gives children and young people ages 5 to 21 with special needs a chance to play ball. It's a joint effort of the YMCA, Genesee ARC and a group of dedicated volunteers.

More than 60 athletes are in the league, which now has six teams. Games are played at the Batavia Minor League fields at MacArthur Park.

After the game, Batavia Minor League manager Paul Sputore was honored for his support of Challenger Baseball. Shelley Falitico, director of development for Genesee ARC, said "Challenger Baseball wouldn't be possible without Paul."

Jeering, above, is 18 and graduates from Batavia High School this week.

There was a field with horses by where I parked my truck in Stafford this afternoon. I started snapping some pictures and this horse came over to check me out.

For at least the second time today, and at least the third time in the past week, there's a general fire alarm at 400 Towers, 400 E. Main St., Batavia.

Bea, what's going on there?

UPDATE: Burnt food in West Tower.

Mercy Flight received a donation of $7,115 today from the Don Cummings Memorial Antique & Vintage Snowmobile Show, which was held May 9 in Alexander.

The donation will help defray the $300,000 cost of outfitting Mercy Flight with night goggles. The safety measure is expensive, explain Karen Bridge, community event coordinator in Batavia for Mercy Flight, because the goggles require training and modification to the helicopters' cockpits, as well as the goggles themselves.

The goggles will improve vision at night for pilots, so they can better see power lines, telephone polls and even small hills, Bridge said.

"Last year there were a lot of well publicized crashes all over the U.S., so it's a good thing to have," Bridge said.

This is the third year for the snowmobile show, which was originally known as the Alexander Antique and Vintage Snowmobile Show. The show was founded by Don Cummings, but he died shortly after last year's show. This year the show was renamed in his honor.

Pictured are, starting with the front row, left, Howard Mehne, Rita Mehne, Gail Lindsley, Bruce Lindsley, Doug Cummings, Jason Cummings and Karen Bridge; back row: Juliet Wnek, Jarred Czarnick, Dennis Czarniak, Pete Kemp and Joanne Kemp. Not pictured, John Goodridge, Ray Schumacher and Jay Cummings.

Tom Bruggman stands next to the Arctic Cat 4x4 being raffled off by the Bethany Volunteer Fire Department. Bruggman set up today at the Genesee County Airport, near the Rotary Fly-In Breakfast.  For more information about the raffle, visit the Bethany VFD Web site.

A general fire alarm has been reported at 400 Towers.

Last week we reported that Neil W. Phelps, 55, of Caledonia, was charged with reckless driving in connection with his reported operation of a tractor down Route 63 and Main Street in May, striking three vehicles and pushing one sideways down Main.

It struck me when we got the news release that we had never received the actual police accident report, which would fill in a number of details related to the accident, so I requested a copy from the Sheriff's Office.

Here's the narrative:

Vehicle 1, A large-tracked farm tractor, pulling a folded cultivator was traveling south on Route 63. At the intersection of Route 63 and Veteran's Memorial Drive, the tractor struck vehicle 2, pushing it out of the lane. The tractor continued south. At the intersection of Route 63 and Park Road, the cultivator side swiped Vehicle 3. The tractor continued on and struck vehicle 4 at the intersection of Route 63 and Route 5. The operator of vehicle 4 accelerated in an attempt to get away from tractor, striking an unknown vehicle. The tractor then struck vehicle 5, pushing it into vehicle 6. Vehicle 6 was able to accelerate away from vehicle 5. Vehicle 5 became wedged into the center of the tractor. The tractor continued on about a tenth of a mile east on Route 5, stopping in the area of Woodrow Road in the city of Batavia. The operator of the tractor was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

Vehicle 1 is a 2007 Case tractor owned by Phillip J. Call, Batavia. It was reportedly operated by Neil W. Phelps, 55, of Caledonia.

Vehicle 2, a 2003 Chevy SUV, owned and operated by Donna L. Mcauley, 43, of Oakfield.

Vehicle 3, a 2003 Jeep SUV, owned and operated by Carrie A. Monachino, 37, of Oakfield. Passenger: Charles D. Bucci, 33.

Vehicle 4, a 1999 Chevy sedan, owned by Roxanne J. Munger and operated by Philip C. Munger, 33, of Oakfield. Roxanna Munger, 34, was a passenger, as was Morgan Munger, 10, and Nicholas N. Munger, 7.

Vehicle 5, a 2002 Ford sedan, owned and operated by Eugene E. Laney, 72, of Oakfield. Passenger: Darlene Kingdollar, no age available.

Vehicle 6, a 1997 Chevy sedan, owned and operated by Timothy M. Callen, 17, of Le Roy. Passengers: Aaron J. Archilla, 18, and Henri J. Burdett, 18.

The only injury listed on the report is to Kingdollar. She complained of generalized body pain and was transported to UMMC.

As or the reckless driving charge against Phelps, Chief Gordon Dibble of the Sheriff's Office offered this statement in e-mail:

The possible charges were discussed with the DA's Office.  As you know, all crimes have elements that have to be present before they can be charged. After everything was considered, Reckless Driving was the appropriate charge.

The report was prepared by Deputy C.W. Mower.

Previously:

• Medina pastor who helped stop runaway tractor on Main Street tells his story
• Charges pending in accident involving tractor on Main Street
• Tractor pushes car sideways down Main Street into the city

Two people were transported to area hospitals yesterday evening following a two-vehicle accident on Route 33 at West Bergen Road.

Robert L. Smith, 45, of 8339 Gulf Road, Le Roy, was taken to UMMC with a complaint of back pain.

Stephanie A. Howard, 23, of 12 Winston Woods, Brockport, was taken to Lakeside Memorial Hospital in Monroe County.

According to an accident report prepared by Deputy J. M. Graff of the Sheriff's Office, Smith's vehicle was southbound on West Bergen Road at 5:26 p.m. when he failed to yield at Route 33. Howard's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee struck Smith's 1999 Chevy pick-up.

The pick-up is registered to Keith D. Smith of 8339 Gulf Road, Le Roy.

The suspects who struck the M&T Bank in Elba yesterday may have thought they picked an easy mark, but they over looked a few details.

Most importantly, they didn't even know the area. They knew only one route to and from the Thruway and under estimated the response times of local law enforcement.

"They were totally out of their element," said Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster of the Sheriff's Office.

(LISTEN, MP3s: Full audio of interview with Chief Brewster, Part 1, Part 2)

They didn't even know the difference between a field and a wooded area.

"When we talked with them, it had to be explained that a field is an open area and that woods is where trees are," Brewster said.

Brewster said the suspects, once captured, were quite easy to deal with.

"They were cooperative," Brewster said. "They did tell us what was going on and why they did what they did and why they chose that location and who did what inside the bank."

At least two of the suspects have no prior record.

"I think people from outside the area naively believe that because we're out in the sticks that law enforcement isn't on the ball like they are in urban areas," Brewster said. "It turns out it was just the opposite. These guys chose a bank that was probably within two miles of the state police and sheriff's barracks."

All of the money was recovered, and the gun recovered was loaded and had a bullet in the chamber.

The quick response and eventual capture of all three suspects could send a message to other would-be criminals, Brewster said.

"The message is out there, you're probably going to get caught," Brewster said. 

(Suspect Michael J. Wells pictured)

Press Release:

The attached photos are of a suspect possibly involved in the forgery and possession of stolen checks.  These photos were taken on 06/12/09 and 06/13/09 at Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union.  Anyone with information into the identity of this individual is asked to contact Det. Kevin Czora at 345-6311, or the Batavia Police Department at 345-6350.

Today, five great meal deals:

Jackson St. Grill and Belladessa's Pizzeria, 9 Jackson St., Batavia., N.Y.: Check out the great lunch and dinner menu. Personally, I'm partial to the hamburgers. We have TWO $10 gift certificates for $5 each (two separate winners).

Sport of Kings Family Restaurant, 419 W Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: A favorite locally owned family restaurant that is open 24 hours per day, seven days a week. We have TWO $15 gift certificates for $7.50 each (two separate winners).

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, N.Y.: Have you tried the homemade Italian sausage yet? You should. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies to Delavan's and .50 each to Jackson St. and Sport of Kings.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value.  People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before.  By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Ideally, the winner will arrange to stop by my office on Main Street to pick up gift certificate. Mail is an option, but it would be better to hand you the gift certificate. 

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

Delavan's

SOLD

Sport of Kings

SOLD

Jackson St. Grill/Belladessa's

SOLD

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman could take the case against yesterday's three Elba robbery suspects to the Grand Jury as early as Tuesday.

"It's a little early in the day to know for certain," Friendman said.

If he decides to seek an indictment, it could be returned as early as the same day. Without a grand jury indictment, the suspects are entitled to a pre-trial hearing within six days, a right each suspect could waive.

The public defender is currently meeting with the suspects and each will be assigned their own attorney, either a public defender or public-provided outside council, or they could retain private attorneys.

Friedman also praised the work of law enforcement yesterday.

"We're very pleased with the job the police agencies did in this case," Friedman said. "It was great to see it unfold. I think many times people when people come here here from other places, they think its easy to get away with ( in  a small rural county) and that's often not the case."

Meanwhile, Scott DeSmit has more details about yesterday's robbery.

Inside the bank was a terrifying scene.

Two men, both brandishing handguns, their faces masked, entered the bank.

A third man waited in the vestibule, Genesee County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said.

"The two entered the bank and jumped over the counter at two tellers," Brewster said.

The men knocked the tellers to the floor, then made them get back up to open the drawers, holding the guns to their heads, he said.

The two went through the drawers, retrieved the money and fled.

There were no customers in the bank at the time, Brewster said.

Both guns were later recovered. One was a loaded semi-automatic. The other was found to be a Crossman BB-gun, Brewster said.

Previously: Elba robbery suspects identified, arraigned and held without bail

If the fate of town/city consolidation were to be judged by one meeting, the prospects are not good, especially from the Town of Batavia perspective.

The majority of speakers Thursday night said they were town residents. They spoke passionately of their opposition to consolidation, and their statements often elicited rousing applause from the audience.

Some 60 people attended the public forum held at Batavia High School last night.

Two themes emerged: The consolidation idea is something of a referendum on the decades-ago urban renewal in Downtown Batavia; and, a strong distrust of Albany.

"Keep in mind that the decisions that are made today will effect generations to come," said Gary Diegelman, a town resident. "Decisions that were made back in the '60s are still affecting us today like urban renewal downtown."

City resident and town land owner George Galliford sounded willing to entertain the notion of consolidation, but struck many skeptical notes.

"Being a progressive sounds very good," said Galliford. "I think people like to think of themselves as progressive. As somebody mentioned earlier at one time there were some progressives in Batavia, and they did urban renewal. There aren't a lot of people around today that would necessarily say that urban renewal and being progressive was a great thing for Batavia."

Barb Galliford questioned whether the state would continue to fund the new government agencies at the levels promised right now. If the consolidation took place, state grants to the new city (if a city form of government were chosen) would increase to $790,000, making up the bulk of an anticipated $1 million in "cost savings" for the new entity.

"And the money the state is saying they're going to give us, they cut things all the time," Galliford said. "There's no guarantee we're going to receive that every single year, or that it will even increase. As far as I'm concerned, I'm definitely not for this consolidation."

"I don't know what kind of guarantees the state can give us, because I don't have a whole lot of faith in the state," George Galliford said.

"If it's not broke, don't fix it," said Rita  Towner. "My concern is, like every one else here, the state has no money. In fact the city, in the bad shape that it's in, is in better shape, I think, than the state is in."

As he has previously, Jason Molino stressed that while there are no guarantees, the state money has been very reliable in the past. Large constituencies in Buffalo, Rochester, Albany and other larger cities in the state get a far greater share of these grants and depend on it tremendously. And consolidation of local governments is a major objective for the governor and state legislature.

Some people after the meeting pointed out that there's no guarantee that the Town Board will never raise taxes either. What happens to the town, for example, if in 2018, when the current sales tax agreement with the county expires, and the county decides to no longer share that revenue. The town will be without recourse, but by state law, a city can override such a decision.

Audio Clips:

• Gary Diegelman
• Barb Galliford
• George Galliford
• Ed O'Neil
• Andy Eldridge (several people made eloquent speeches, but Andy's was especially poignant)
• Lynn Freeman, after the meeting
• Jason Molino, after the meeting
• Steve Lockwood, after the meeting

Fans and media were invited out to Dwyer Stadium this evening to meet the 2009 Batavia Muckdogs.  I spoke with manager Mark DeJohn briefly about his new team and snapped a couple of pictures of the work out, including one of DeJohn giving one of his players some instruction on glove work.