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Should Abigail Hernandez be allowed to remain in the U.S.?

The Batavian: Immigration judge hears testimony in asylum hearing for Abigail Hernandez

The county’s Emergency Response Team (aka SWAT) is at a location just north of the Thruway on Lewiston Road for an unknown type of incident. 

Lewiston is closed between Veterans Memorial Drive and Galloway Road. 

The incident started at about 4:30 a.m.

Sheriff Bill Sheron said no information is being released at this time because it is an ongoing situation. 

Residents have been told to shelter in place. 

UPDATE 10:20 a.m.: Road reopened at about 10 a.m.; no further information has been released yet. 

Reader-submitted photo.

Tracy Ford reprised his role as the Rev. John Henry Yates during the Batavia Cemetary Association's annual Ghost Walk, which gives guests an opportunity to be treated to a lively lesson on Batavia's history.

This year's addition included Gregory Hallock, director of GO ART!, as Eli Fish, the former local brewer who has come to life again, so to speak, in the brewery and restaurant now occupying the former Newberry's building downtown.

Diana Buckman, also pictured below, played Nannie Hunt, whose sons Thomas and Joseph served in the Civil War, with Joseph dying in battle in 1862. She read a letter from Hunt's daughter Martha about Joseph's death.

Once again, the event was a sellout.

Batavia High School inducted its 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame honorees during a dinner at Terry Hills on Saturday evening.

Pictured above are, front row from left Coleen Tooley Oleski, Gerry Carmichael, Michelle Smith Jones, and back row from left Steve Frieday, Jon Santratello, and Rich Anderson. Below, the 1994-1995 Blue Devils hockey team.

Previously: Batavia Blue Devils Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner is next Saturday

When Larry Sharpe was last in Genesee County, speaking to the members of SCOPE, he rejected the idea that he's the spoiler candidate in New York's gubernatorial race.

He said he's got momentum, strong social media support (the mainstream media doesn't see him coming, just like Donald Trump, he said), and is drawing in not just Republican voters, but Democrats and Independents.

A Gravis Marketing poll from two weeks ago showed Sharpe drawing about 13 percent of the vote, or about 13 times more than any previous Libertarian candidate for governor.

Marc Molinaro, the Republican running for governor, Sharpe said, is the spoiler, not, this time, the Libertarian.

Asked about Sharpe's barb while in Elba on Friday, Molinaro sidestepped the question.

"Listen I don't know him," said Molinaro, who had just arrived at Oliver's Candies. "I've met him twice in my life. I'd venture to guess that most New Yorkers have just heard of him over the last year. I don't know. I'm sure there are plenty of people who want to support a Libertarian candidate and they have every right to do that. I'm not going to second-guess that. We're eating candy."

Combined, at 25 percent and 13 percent, Molinaro and Sharpe don't add up anywhere close to the 48 percent of New Yorkers who say they plan to vote for Cuomo. (Stephanie Minor, the mayor of Syracuse, is pulling 8 percent, and Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate, is at 6 percent.)

The controversy of the morning was a commitment by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to "debate" Molinaro on WCBS. Apparently, Cuomo had appeared on the show Friday and said he would clear his schedule Saturday morning to appear on air with Molinaro. Cuomo said he would phone it in.

"Listen, what was offered up this morning isn't a debate," Molinaro said. "It's a theater production."

He later added, "New Yorkers are being treated like they don't deserve or don't have any right to having two candidates come before them and answer questions. No, I'm sorry that's not a debate. It is a fraud."

The "two candidates" phrase wasn't Molinaro's statement during the short interview outside of Oliver's Candies in Elba that verbally excluded the other candidates in the race.

Pressed about his seeming exclusion of Sharpe from a debate, Molinaro said, "We've already agreed to debates that include all candidates. They need to include the Governor, too."

Molinaro was in town with Assemblyman Steve Hawley to tour small businesses, meet with small business owners, and then attend Hawley's 11th annual campaign fundraiser at Batavia Downs. The first stop was Oliver's Candies, which was celebrating Friday and Saturday the grand opening of its new production facility in Elba.

The local business tour included a stop at Post Farms, with Jeff Post, in Elba (bottom two photos), and Chapin Manufacturing in Batavia.

Molinaro said he understood how tough it is for small businesses to survive in New York.

"The seismic increases in the minimum wage over a short period time has cost money," Molinaro said. "The fact that property taxes continue to rise is a burden on small business owners so they get it regardless of what they're producing. But listen if you're going to visit a business it should be sweet."

Top photo: Adaiden Hyman and his mother were visiting Oliver's on Friday as a treat for his birthday; Hawley and Molinaro stopped to wish him a happy birthday.

Sen. Charles Schumer made his annual visit to Genesee County (he visits every county in the state at least once a year) to pledge to the local medical community and the citizens who depend on that medical community that he will do everything he can to restore funding for the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

The 340B program was enacted in 1992 provides qualifying hospitals -- hospitals that tend to serve more low-income patients -- with deep discounts on medications used in the treatment of cancer. The intent of the program is to allow hospitals to treat more patients and provide comprehensive services.

Dan Ireland, CEO of United Memorial Medical Center, said the program has allowed the hospital to reinvest $2 million annually into better patient care.

"To some folks, this is about money but really what it is about is the investment that's made for people, for health care, for our friends and our neighbors and our loved ones," Ireland said. "That $2 million gets reinvested in programs to help support cancer care as we talked about and the emergency room and outpatient clinics so folks can access care close to their homes in a timely manner."

He added, "This will change the lives of people if these cuts continue. It will change the lives here at the hospital will change lives throughout our communities. So I'm grateful for the support."

The cuts to WNY regional hospitals add up to millions of dollars a year, Schumer said, and he considers it critical that the funding is restored.

"I always defend our rural hospitals because people in rural areas should get the same health care as people in urban areas," Schumer said. "First, the people have to come greater distances. But second, it's not the density of population. So when you have to use one of these expensive machines, a CAT scan or an MRI, it is very expensive. If you're in Rochester or New York City, that machine can be used almost 24/7, so it can pay itself back. But here, not so, but you still want the person here to have the same CAT scan or an MRI or whatever so they get the same health care."

Not all funding was cut to UMMC. So far, it's been about $600,000 a year.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services enacted the cuts, which makes the cuts merely a matter of policy, so Schumer said he has tools to use to try and restore the funds. As minority leader, he can work to restore the funding through the budgetary process or he can pursue legislation to restore the funding.

He said his effort would receive bipartisan support because there are both Republicans and Democrats who represent rural areas and about 1,000 rural hospitals are lobbying for the funding.

"We are going to do everything we can to get 340B back to the way it was and get Noyes (a hospital in Livingston County) and UMMC and all of our hospitals the help they need."

Critics of the program -- which include pharmaceutical companies -- say that too many hospitals abused the program. Those hospitals, they say, did not use the cost savings to improve patient care. Instead, they say, they padded their bottom line.

Private oncologists have also been critical of the program, saying that it gives hospitals a subsidized, unfair price advantage in providing treatment.

"I'm trying to get lower drug prices across the board so we would try to help them as well, but because you're not getting it doesn't mean you go after somebody who is getting it," Schumer said in response to a question about the oncologists' complaint. "These are hospitals that need the help."

Before discussing the 340B program at UMMC, Schumer reflected on the upcoming World Series and explained why he hates the Red Sox. Listen (mp3).

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Sen. Schumer and Dan Ireland.

An accident with minor injuries is causing traffic to slow in the eastbound lane of the Thruway near mile marker 386.7 in Le Roy.

Two vehicles involved.

Le Roy fire on scene trying to get traffic moving again. Mercy EMS responding to evaluate patients.

Statement from Genesee County Legislature Chairman Bob Bausch:

November 6th is Election Day. On the ballot is a proposal to change the term of office for county legislators from two to four years. This proposal is widely supported and now the voters are being asked for their support.

In 1967, the voters of Genesee County approved a change in the format of county government from a Board of Supervisors to a County Legislature. The term of office for the legislators was set at two years to mirror the terms of town supervisors, village mayors, town council and village board members as well as other locally elected officials.

In the last 51 years much has changed including extending the terms for many locally elected officials from two to four years. This is due to the breadth of issues and the complexity of local government; plus ever expanding mandates from state and federal governments. During this time, county legislators’ terms have remained at two years to the detriment of the county.

A few examples of the changes in county government over the last 50-plus years would be the addition of Genesee Community College, the Public Defender Office, the Genesee County Parks, the Medicaid program, Office for the Aging, countywide water program, plus numerous other programs that were initiated locally but more often mandated by the state.

During this same period, the county government budget has expanded from $9 to $158 million. Further complicating county finances is the state’s imposed property tax cap with severe penalties to counties if they exceed the tax cap.

The size and complexity of county government creates many challenges for legislators and a two-year term is not adequate to become an effective legislator. Many towns and villages have acknowledged this problem and voters have approved lengthening terms to four years. To become reasonably proficient on county issues is barely possible in two years as any newly elected legislator can attest.

An issue that all governments are facing is finding local candidates for public offices. During the past election cycles for the nine legislative seats, on average only one district seat was contested in either a primary or general election. There are many reasons fewer citizens choose not to seek elected office; the requirement to campaign every two years is among those reasons.

The proposal, if approved by the voters, would authorize staggered four-year terms, i.e.: four legislator districts would be up in one year, and two years later the other five districts would be up for election. This would allow better continuity on the legislature. Also, minority political parties and other interested organizations would be better able to concentrate their efforts.

The county legislature commissioned two countywide studies of the issue over the years, with bipartisan groups recommending an increase in term length to four years. Now it is up to the Genesee County voters, so please give this proposal your serious consideration. The proposal will appear on the back of the paper ballot on Election Day.

In the rain, on a muddy track, Notre Dame's offense was unable to find its groove Saturday afternoon and slowly watched its Class D quarterfinal playoff game against York/Pavilion slip away.

The Fighting Irish lost 18-0.

At this time, no stats are available.

To purchase prints as keepsakes, click here.

Jeremy Liles, owner of Oliver's Candies, with the help of his family and employees, made the company's new production facility in Elba today official with a ribbon cutting.

Oliver's hosted two days of open houses in the candy factory and the satallite candy and ice cream shop on Main Street, Elba. Liles moved production from the Main and Oak location in Batavia, so the business could expand, while keeping the store in Batavia. That store will also expand now that candy production has been moved to Elba.

Previously: Oliver's Candies to triple its manufacturing capacity by moving kitchen to Elba

Louis Buono, left, owner of the McDonald's franchise in Le Roy, is remodeling his store and in the new design there won't be room for the historical photographs he had on display before.

Most of the photos are going to the Le Roy Historial Society, but one, of Le Roy police officers with a patrol car and motorcycles, has been donated to Le Roy PD for display inside the station in the Village Hall. Accepting the donation is Officer Greg Kellogg.

Artist Christopher McGee was at GO ART! on Thursday evening for the opening of his show, "The Rhythms of Nature."

Born in Jamestown, the Clarence-based artist said this is the first time he's had a show for this series of paintings.

He began the series in 2008 while observing landscapes while on road trips throughout Western New York. 

He said, "My experience playing drums in experimental and improvisational noise bands helped me to visually express some of the more mercurial, unpredictable elements in the universe: earthquakes, meteor showers, supernovas, and black holes."

The show runs through Dec. 8.

GO ART! has two other shows on display as well:

• The Batavia Photography Club has photos on display by members through Dec. 8.
• The Traveling Ghost by Ryan Gustman is on display until Nov. 3. Gustman was diagnosed with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder and ADHD early in his life. He specializes in photographing abandoned buildings.

Batavia Players hosts its annual fundraising concert at 7:30 tonight at Harvester 56 Theater.

The cast perfoms a variety of show tunes in their production of "Stories, Songs & Just a Touch of Sin."

Tickets are $20 at the door.

Photos submitted by Pat Burk.

Kaylee Dehlinger (Center) with Jocelyn Coburn and Kathryn Fitzpatrick singing "It Won't Be Long" from "Across The Universe."

Jacqueline Morrison, Tiffany Keicher, Kristin Gelia, and Alix Young singing "I'm A Woman" from "Smokey Joe's Cafe."

Alexander put on another impressive offensive performance Friday night to advance in the Class D sectional playoffs with a 25-12 win over Red Jacket.

Chris McClinic was back after suffering a leg injury two games ago and gained 81 yards on 12 carries. He scored one TD. Ty Woods scored a TD on three carries for 35 yards. He also have five receptions for 62 yards and a TD. QB Dylan Busch was 10-16 passing for 117 yards and TD with one interception. Hayden Walton also scored a touchdown.

On defense, Jake Jasen had 18 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery. Walton had 10 tackles. Terrez Smith had four tackles and an interception.

"I give a lot of credit to the Red Jacket staff and players for putting together a very good game plan and going out and executing it," said Alexander Coach Tim Sawyer. "They are very big and tough up front and they chewed up the clock at times in this game.

"We were pushed tonight. I'm proud that my kids and staff didn't blink. We stayed within our own game plan and won the game by 2 scores. But for an 8 seed to come out and fight like that, I give them a lot of credit."

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

Press release:

Pro-Trump Reform Party candidate Larry Piegza states that he is gaining a larger and larger portion of the pro-Trump voters.

"Our methodology for tracking this is simple," Piegza said, "we did a phone survey of every single Republican, Conservative and Independent that voted in a mid-term election. They explained that I am pro-Trump, pro-Second Amendment and pro-life. We then asked the voter if they would consider voting for me, the third-party candidate over Chris Collins. 

"The results were staggering. Of the people expecting to vote for a Republican this year, 73 percent stated that they would prefer to vote for me. This was validated by a follow-up poll that I showed to Howard Owens at The Batavian.

Mathematician Richard Ford reviewed the statistics and said, “The size of this sample is large enough to make the survey is significant, and close to the sentiments of the entire population from which the sample was taken. It indicates that when a Conservative voter learns that they have an acceptable alternative to Collins, the majority of them will choose the alternative."

While the 73 percent is not consistent with outside polling, the timing of published polls show that Piegza's popularity is definitely growing.  Many forecasters didn't list Piegza's vote total in August due to the fact that it wasn't statistically significant.

FiveThirtyEight.com had Piegza's numbers between 2-3 percent in September. In October, the McMurray campaign notes that 6 percent of the voters indicate they plan to vote for Piegza.

“You’ve got to consider that McMurray’s polling data might have been conducted earlier, they might be polling non-voters’ sentiment, and they obviously included the Democrats in the data,” Ford said. “Taking all of these factors into account, McMurray’s data validates the fact that pro-Trump voters are leaving Collins when they learn of Piegza.”

Another difference in predicted votes can be attributed to the fact that national websites include factors like campaign staff and available funds to inform their calculations.

"But this race is like no other," Ford said, "Collins wasn’t running six weeks ago. Piegza now has five times the available funds ($230,000) he did in his June filing. If Piegza and McMurray debate without Collins, Collins could easily find that he's the third-place candidate."

Whatever the actual polling results show, Piegza likes his chances.

"The people who are voting for me are never going to vote for Collins because many of them believe he will be serving jail time," Piegza said. "I already have enough support to cause Chris Collins to lose.

"Each day more and more people are thanking me that they can cast an ethical vote. Few people in the district want a Democrat to win, so if Chris Collins actually cared for our district, he should be telling people to vote for me.”

The family of Abigail Hernandez, the special-needs former East Rochester High School student accused of making a terroristic threat and now being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, will have to wait at least two more weeks before learning whether she will be deported.

After more than three hours of motions by attorneys and testimony by Hernandez and her stepfather yesterday, the case was not completed, and Immigration Judge Steve Connelly had other items on his calendar for the afternoon, so he scheduled closing arguments for 9 a.m., Nov. 2.

Hernandez was arrested and charged last year after creating a fake Facebook account, under the name Martin Doll, and then posting a threat to shoot fellow students at East Rochester with a shotgun.

She was brought here illegally at age 3

The 21-year-old who was brought into the country without documentation when she was 3 years old was originally charged with a felony count of making a terroristic threat. She reached a plea deal in the case and her family hoped a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false report would save her from deportation but ICE officers were in court the day she entered her guilty plea and took her into custody with the intent to deport her.

Dressed in the blue uniform of the detention facility that designates her as a low-level offender, Hernandez, or Abi as her family calls her, told Connelly she didn't need a Spanish language interpreter to understand the proceedings. She did struggle at times to comprehend what she heard or the questions asked but not because of any language barrier. Her stepfather testified later in the morning the doctors had told the family she had the cognitive ability of an 8-year-old.

Immigration attorney Hannah Vickner Hough has filed a petition for asylum in the United States, according to her statements in court yesterday, based on her client's intellectual disability. Hough contends that Hernandez has no family in Mexico who can properly care for her, that she has no knowledge of life in Mexico, that Mexico has inadequate community-based services to see to her needs, and that Hernandez would be victimized in Mexico.

Her stepfather, Flores Moya, testified  -- in testimony often interrupted by sobbing -- that he feared Mexican gang members would turn his daughter into a prostitute or kill her if she returned to Mexico.

U.S. attorney argues asylum application should be dismissed

The government's attorney, who refused to give his name to reporters, tried to argue that the asylum application should be dismissed outright because Hernandez was time-barred from filing for asylum and that her arrest was for a serious crime.

Connelly ruled against the motion because there is no time limit on an asylum application in a case involving potential torture, and while the government can make the case that the underlying events of her guilty plea involved a serious allegation, she only admitted to a misdemeanor charge.

The hearing opened with Connelly asking Hernandez if she understood the difference between the truth and a lie. Hernandez sat silent for a long time and then said she didn't understand the question. He tried to rephrase it, and Hernandez said she didn't understand. Then he held up a pad of yellow sticky notes and said asked if she knew her colors. She did she said, and she said, "that's yellow."  

He asked her, "If I told you it was red would I be telling the truth or lying."

"Lying," she said.

Hernandez answered questions from her attorney with Connelly jumping in with questions of his own on occasion. She said she knew her grandmother brought her from Mexico to New York City when she was 3 or 4 but she didn't know how she got there.

Her family moved to Rochester when she was 7.

Both her mother and her father -- actually, stepfather -- were in the country legally and she said she had seen her mother's green card.

She didn't know if anybody had filed a petition for her to be in the country legally prior to her DACA application. She was accepted into the DACA program but her status was revoked once removal proceedings commenced.

Her grandmother returned to Mexico and lives there now, but Hernandez saw her grandmother in November 2017 in Rochester (Moya would later testify that her grandmother visited the United States on a 25-day visa in November and December of 2017).

She said she couldn't live with her grandmother because her grandmother, at 85, can't take care of her, that she can barely take care of herself. She said she doesn't know where her grandmother lives or where her aunt and uncle live in Mexico.

When asked what kind of help she might need if she lived in Mexico, she said she didn't know.

Her abilities are very limited

She has never learned to drive and has never had a bank account.

Hough asked her if she knew how to prepare meals herself. She said her mother tried to teach her to make pancakes.

Connelly asked if she knew how to make pancakes. Hernandez said she did not know how to make pancakes. Connelly asked her if she knew how to make anything. She said she did not.

"Do you know how to make eggs?"

"Yes," Hernandez said.

"What kind of eggs do you know how to make?"

Hernandez, who wore her long dark hair, with blonde streaks, in braids, tried hiding her face.

"Don't be shy," Connelly said.

"Mexican eggs."

"How do you make Mexican eggs?"

After a long silence, Hernandez said, "I don't know."

Hernandez sometimes babysits her 3-year-old sister and knows not to let her climb on the table because she might fall and hurt herself.

She's had volunteer jobs in the cafeteria at school and a local hospital washing dishes and taking out the trash but has never earned a paycheck.

After her arrest she was prescribed medicine to help her cope with her anxiety because otherwise, she throws up when she is with her attorney or in front of a judge.

The government attorney asked Hernandez several questions during cross-examination about her interaction with Rochester PD, which led to her arrest. Connelly allowed the line of questioning because the government is trying to establish that while Hernandez was convicted of only a misdemeanor, her actual crime was serious.

Though convicted on misdemeanor, crime was serious

He asked if Hernandez created a fake account by herself using the name "Martin Doll." She said she did. She didn't know why she picked that name. She also has a Facebook account under her own name. She testified she knows how to make and accept friend requests, make posts, and send messages.

She couldn't remember being asked certain questions or didn't remember certain answers in her interview with police, which related to possible statements about half the kids in school being mean to her, that she said she understood why the Parkland, Fla., shooter did what he did, and that she wanted to hurt one particular person at school.

She didn't remember telling police she wanted to cause fear among her fellow students at East Rochester.

She said she doesn't know why she wrote, "I'm coming tomorrow. I'm going to shoot all of you bitches."

She was accused of posting that comment on the Martin Doll account under a picture of East Rochester students.

When the attorney switched to questions about Hernandez obtaining her DACA status, Connelly jumped in with his own questions.

He wanted to know if she thought DACA was a good thing for her. She said it was. He asked why? She said, "so I can have a job and go to school or college." He asked if there was any other reason it was good. She said, "I don't know."

Moya, 55, then took the stand. He spoke in Spanish. The court provided an interpreter.

He said he was a legal resident of the United States for 30 years and came from the Dominican Republic. He met his wife, Abigail's mother, while working as a taxi cab driver in New York City. They lived in the Bronx and were only married eight years ago.

He is close to obtaining citizenship, he said.

Abi needs a lot of help, family fears criminals in Mexico

When he was first with his wife, he learned of Abigail's situation, both her cognitive disability and a problem with an eye that wouldn't open properly. He had seen pictures of her before he ever met her.

To help his wife, he said he paid for a "coyote" (an immigrant smuggler) to help Abigail and her grandmother cross the border illegally when Abigail was 3 years old.

He said his wife's mother, besides being elderly, has diabetes. He's not really sure how she is managing to care for herself. Her house, he said, is dilapidated and he's been sending her money to repair it. He said Abigail's uncle is an alcoholic living in Mexico City and her aunt is a single mother with four small children. He said neither could adequately care for Abigail.

He said besides school and school activities, Abigail rarely leaves the house. She likes to play video games and watch wrestling on TV.  She has friends but never socializes with them. She's afraid to leave the house on her own, even to walk to the store and get her father a soda. 

He would like her to learn to do even these little things "so she can be a normal person," he said, but that he also fears she wouldn't fair well on her own outside the house.

"She will probably never be out alone because she's not like the other girls," Moya said. "She doesn't know what the other girls know or about life on the streets like the other girls."

In Mexico, he said, things are even much worse.

"A lot of criminals turn women into prostitutes," he said. "She would allow it because she doesn't know about these things and many, many, many women are killed daily. She would not really live long in Mexico especially with the problems she has."

Hough asked Moya if he had thought of moving to Mexico if his daughter was deported. This was one of the points where he started to cry. He said he had.

It would be a difficult decision, he said.

"I have a good job with the transportation authority," he said. "I have benefits, a retirement. I own a home."

The government attorney pressed Moya on his own recent arrest. He wanted Moya to admit to an arrest for petit larceny. Moya was more interested in defending his actions.

He said he wasn't arrested but just given an appearance ticket. He said he had been in a store and took the price tag off of one doll and put it on another, not knowing there was a $1 price difference between the dolls.

"I make $500 a week," he said, "why would I steal one dollar?"

He said he did own a shotgun but that Abigail didn't have access to it. It was locked in the basement of another resident and he didn't have shotgun shells for it. He said he bought so his wife could protect herself merely by brandishing it if any bad people came to her door.

Both attorneys expect to make closing arguments Nov. 2 but Connelly left the record open in case either attorney decides in the interim to present other exhibits or call additional witnesses.

People are lining up to buy a bit of Pontillo's history -- the custom-made, red, white and green booth seats that were first installed in the restaurant 30 years ago.

Batavia's Original owner Kathy Ferrara announced her plans to sell the booth seats and she immediately received several requests from would-be purchasers. She hasn't made any commitments yet. She's waiting for the replacement booths, which will be all black, to come in next week.

"I didn’t realize it would be such a big deal to people," Ferrara said.

A number of people expressed concern that she was selling Sam and Betty's booth, the one they always sat in, but it's not for sale and will stay in the restaurant, she said.

She's only selling the ones in the larger dining room. She said she remembers when that dining room opened. She had just started working as a server for Pontillo's and the new booths were installed before even the rest of the trim of the room was completed.

The Genesee Community College Forum Players present "Bakkhai" in performances tonight and Sunday at the Stuart Steiner Theatre on the GCC Batavia campus.

The play is an adaptation by Anne Carson of “The Bacchae” by the Greek philosopher Euripedes, written more than 2,400 years ago. It's a story of based on the Greek myth of King Pentheus of Thebes and his mother, Agave, who are punished by Dionysus, the god of wine, madness, fertility, and religious ecstasy.

The play contains adult subject matter.

Tonight's performance is at 7:30 and Sunday's show is at 2 p.m.

Asbury Road between Harris Road in Le Roy and Black Street Road in Pavilion is closed for an unknown law enforcement incident. 

We have not been able to contact a member of local law enforcement who is authorized to discuss the situation. 

This portion of Asbury is closed to all traffic, including local traffic. 

Witnesses say multiple patrol vehicles in emergency mode responded to the incident.

UPDATE (By Billie) 5:34 p.m.: This was a law enforcement situation that was resolved without incident. There were no injuries and no arrests. There's no threat to public safety.