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Don Dessert submitted this photo from the Stafford Carnival.

Melanie Case submitted this photo of fireworks after the Muckdogs' opening night game at Dwyer Stadium. I don't think I've ever seen a better photo of fireworks at Dwyer.

From our news partner, WBTA:

State Police suspect a driver may have suffered some type of medical problem causing him to crash into a concrete barrier of the Thruway at the Le Roy exit.

Troopers said the unidentified driver was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital with head injuries and chest pain.

The accident happened at 2:30 Thursday afternoon. Entrance and exit lanes were closed for more than an hour.

According to State Police, a Ford 350 pickup truck crashed into the concrete barrier that protects the toll booth. The impact bent one of the steel supports that supports the roof of the booth.

The pickup truck proceeded through the exit lane and flipped over on its roof.

(Photos submitted by Greg Luetticke-Archbell.)

Press release:

The Genesee County Libertarian Party is pleased to announce our endorsement of Lisa Whitehead to be a candidate for Batavia City Council Ward #2.

Year-over-year job growth for Genesee County was stagnant in May, according to data released by the Department of Labor.

In May of 2014 and 2015, there were 23,900 jobs locally, according to the department's count.

The unchanged non-farm jobs number comes in a month that New York State as a whole added more than 142,000 jobs, jumping from 9.133 million jobs to 9.276 million jobs.

The Rochester area added 7,100 jobs and the Buffalo region added 13,000.

Wyoming County was also flat in jobs growth for May, holding steady at 13,500 jobs. The data for Livingston and Orleans counties are included in the Monroe County data.

Terrence D. "Spaz" Butler, 33, of Swan Street, Batavia, has been arrested on a sealed indictment warrant for allegedly selling crack cocaine on two occasions.

Butler was taken into custody when located as a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Le Roy PD at midnight Saturday in the Village of Le Roy.

Butler is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.

Butler was jailed on $25,000 bail or $50,000 bond.

Mark W. McWethy, 47, of Pearl Street Road, Batavia, was arrested on warrants stemming from the alleged sale of oxycodone to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force and for allegedly possessing drugs with the intent to sell during a traffic stop on Law Street, Batavia, in August 2014.

At the time of the stop, McWethy allegedly possessed heroin, with the intent to sell, and cocaine.

He was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th.

McWethy was jailed on $25,000 bail.

Michael A. Hahn, 36, of Lincoln Avenue, Attica, was arrested on a warrant out of Town of Darien Court for allegedly selling methamphetamine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force.

He is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 5th, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th, and criminal sale of a controlled substanc, 7th.

Hahn was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Billie and I will catch a plane for San Diego in a couple of hours. We're going to visit family.

We've made arrangements to ensure there is ongoing local coverage on The Batavian while we're away. Traci Turner, our intern, will be on the job, of course, and we're working with several of our freelancers on event coverage and other stories as well as ensure we have systems in place to handle breaking news.

We return in a week. We'll try to bring some extra sunshine back.

Kurtis Dunlap, a 2012 graduate of Oakfield-Alabama High School and a journalism student at the University of Missouri's Reynolds School of Journalism, will cover the Batavia Muckdogs for The Batavian this season.

He'll cover home games and write occasional features about the team and its players.

Dunlap is studying sports journalism at Missouri.

He's the oldest of three siblings and in high school played football, basketball and baseball. For three seasons, he was a batboy for the Muckdogs. 

"Someday I hope to have my own column in a newspaper where I can share all the crazy things that pop into my head," Dunlap said.

The 2015 season opens Friday.

Press release:

The Executive Committee of the Genesee County Democratic Committee met to endorse candidates last night. They accepted the recommendations of the towns and city committees and unanimously endorsed candidates in the City of Batavia, Town of Darien, Town of Byron and the Town of Alabama. It is expected that there will be active races in the towns which ballot by Democratic Caucus.

Recommended by the City of Batavia for County Legislature was incumbent Ed DeJaneiro Jr. who was unanimously endorsed by the Executive Committee.

Are you a Democrat who is civic minded? It is not too late to run for political office in any of the Legislative districts in Genesee County or for local town positions. The Democratic Party is still actively seeking candidates in all county offices.

Please send a letter of intent as soon as possible as petitioning deadlines are approaching. Send letters to Jennifer Keys, 43 E. Main St., Le Roy, NY 14482 or e-mail Jennifer.keys@rochester.rr.com

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today announced that the Assembly has passed a bill to authorize big game rifle hunting in Genesee County. Assembly Bill 4367-A passed the house Monday and passed the Senate earlier this year. Hawley, a longtime proponent of sportsmen and an opponent of the SAFE-Act, introduced the legislation in January.

“As an unwavering supporter of sportsmen and the Second Amendment, I am proud to announce that my legislation has overwhelmingly passed the Assembly and will be sent to the governor for his signature,” Hawley said. “Deer hunting is a mainstay here in Western New York and many families rely on venison as a viable substitute as grocery store meat prices continue to rise. The exhilaration of a young hunter getting his or her first buck cannot be replicated and I am proud to have made that possible.”

More than $2,000 in softball equipment and other items were stolen from a locked closet in the home dugout of a ball field at Le Roy High School sometime between Thursday and Monday, according to Investigator Roger Stone, Sheriff's Office.

Stone released a report indicating thieves made forced entry into the closet.

Stolen were:

• DeMarini CF6 softball bat 33/23
• Demarini CF6 softball bat 32/33
• DeMarini CF8 softball bat 33/23
• DeMarini CF7 softball bat
• DiMarini Vendetta softball bat
• Easton CXN softball bat
• Three Rawlings Coolflo softball batting helmets
• One Wilson softball helmet
• Two dozen Easton Incrediball softballs
• 3/35 packs of Wegmans bottled water
• 2/12 packs of Gatorade
• Box of assorted Nestle candy
• Three Frito-Lay assorted snack boxes

If caught, the thieves face possible charges of burglary, 3rd, criminal mischief, 3rd, and grand larceny, 4th.

Assisting in the investigation are Deputy Chad Minuto and Le Roy PD's school resource officer, Officer Eric Miller.

Tips can be phoned in to (585) 343-5000.

It turned out to be a beautiful evening for some really fine art in Jackson Square. The Centennial Celebration art and artisan show runs until 8 p.m.

Amanda Rose Hagedorn, 25, of West Hazeltine Avenue, Kenmore, is charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17 and disorderly conduct. Hagedorn allegedly voiced numerous obscenities while in a public place, BJ's Wholesale Club, at 6:22 p.m. Saturday. She was jailed on $1,000 bail. Additional charges are possible.

Kirk Arnold Thomas Jr., 30, of Woodstock Gardens, Batavia, is charged with three counts of grand larceny, 4th. Thomas is accused of stealing more than $1,000 in merchandise from Target on three separate occasions.

Duty Everett Caswell, 23, of North Main Street, Oakfield, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Caswell's vehicle was stopped in response to a complaint of an intoxicated driver on Angling Road, Pembroke, at 12:13 p.m. Monday. The traffic stop was made by Deputy Joseph Graff.

Press release from County Manager Jay Gsell:

As New York State prepares to renew or make permanent the cap on local government property tax levies, a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts highlights why local property taxes in New York State are so high.  The problem has little to do with local governments and won’t be solved by a tax cap.

The Pew Trust data show that an average state receives about 2 percent of its revenue as transfers from local governments. In New York State, the number isn’t 2 percent. It is 15. Over one-seventh of the State’s revenue comes from local governments.

As the Pew report notes “New York got more of its revenue from local funds (15 percent) than any other state. Among those states that require local governments to pay for part of the health care costs incurred by Medicaid patients within their jurisdictions, New York’s local governments make a particularly large contribution.”

Simply put, New York State has shifted over one-seventh of its costs to local governments, which must then raise property taxes to pay those bills. Rarely has the disparity between New York and other states been so clearly presented, and the mystery of high local property taxes so effectively explained.

Clearly, the problem of high property taxes in New York State will not be solved by a permanent tax cap, or rebate checks, or by Albany conjuring up false images of wasteful local governments.

A real solution depends on the State acknowledging and addressing what is shown with such elegant simplicity by the Pew Charitable Trust's analysis – that the State has shifted 15 percent of its own costs to local governments. When that local property tax subsidy of the State budget ends, so will the era of high local property taxes in New York State. Albany, the next move is up to you!            

Investigators found nothing suspicious in the death of a resident of 400 Towers whose body was discovered Friday morning and had apparently been dead for a long period of time.

Batavia PD spokesman Det. Eric Hill said there is no exact time of death for the male resident, but that he had been dead for an extended period of time before his body was found.

WBTA, our news partner, attempted to contact leadership at the Batavia Housing Authority, which runs 400 Towers, for comment on the situation, but the calls were not returned.

In response to our question about whether this sort of circumstance is rare or common, Hill said, "It’s not unusual for a person to be deceased for a while before they are found. It’s also not something that we keep records on so I couldn’t say if it happens more often at one place than another."

Hill said the name of the deceased is being withheld out of respect for the family. He did say the deceased had a number of medical conditions. 

Press release:

William Fava, Chairman of the City of Batavia Democratic Committee announced the endorsements for the 2015 Election:

• Pierluigi Cipollone, City Council, Ward 4
• Kathy Briggs, City Council, Ward 5
• Rose Mary Sformo Christian, City Council, Ward 6
• Ed DeJaniero, Legislator, District 9

The City Democratic Committee will continue to accept applicants from interested Democrats seeking to be endorsed for the remaining City Council seats in Ward 1, Ward 2 and Ward 3; and Legislator seats in District 7 and 8. The Committee is looking for civic-minded Democrats who may be interested in running for one of these vacancies. If you would like to be considered or interested in working within the committee, please forward your credentials to William Fava, Chairperson at 41 Verona Ave. Batavia, NY 14020. 

The Genesee County Conservative Party Executive Committee announced the following endorsements for the County Legislature:

• Michael Davis, District 3 (Towns of Darien and Pembroke)
• Rochelle Stein, District 5 (Town of Le Roy)
• Gregg Torrey, District 6 (Towns of Alexander, Bethany and Pavilion)
• John Deleo, District 7 (City of Batavia Wards 1 & 6)
• Marianne Clattenburg, District 8 (City of Batavia Wards 2 & 3)

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today outlined his priorities for the last scheduled week of the legislative session. He pushed for the Assembly to take up real ethics reform, including passage of a bill that would strip public officials of their pension and retirement benefits for abusing their office.

“Looking back on this year’s session, I can’t help but label it the corruption session,” Hawley said. “If the fall of two of Albany’s most powerful politicians has taught us anything, it is that we need to prevent future abuses of the public trust. I called on legislative leaders last week to pass pension forfeiture for corrupt politicians and my request has fallen on deaf ears. With only days left in Albany, let’s put integrity back into government and show our citizens we are for real when it comes to ethics reform.” 

Hawley, a small-business owner for more than four decades with years of experience in the agriculture and insurance industries, commented on the lack of pro-business initiatives during this year’s session.

“New York is certainly not open for business as the governor claims,” Hawley said. “It is no wonder that businesses continue to move out of New York State in search of less oppressive economic climates. This year’s budget brought virtually no tax or regulatory relief for our business owners and reinforced the exorbitant tax breaks given to the select few companies who participated in the START-UP NY program. This program has proven to be a dismally costly initiative, which needs to be shut down immediately to cut our losses. We still have time to bring the Small Business Full Employment Act, A.5898, to the floor for a vote and leave session having accomplished something meaningful for the thousands of family-owned small businesses across the state.”