Stories from

A car has reportedly hit a tree, and injuries are reported, on Creamery Road at North Lake Road, Bergen.

Bergen fire and ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 6:58 a.m.: One occupant with a complaint of chest pain.

UPDATE 7:25 a.m.: One person transported to Strong.

Stafford held its tree-lighting ceremony tonight. After the tree lighting in Illett Park, community members gathered in St. Paul's Episcopal Church for carols, readings, cookies and cider.

Photos submitted by Amy Swanson.

The Batavia Society of Artists hung their artwork today at the Richmond Memorial Library for their annual winter show.

The show opens Monday with an opening reception Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Le Royans celebrated the arrival of the holiday season with the annual lighting by Santa of the Christmas Tree in the Wiss Hotel Park.

Royce Breslawski celebrates his win in the men's division of Le Roy Winterfest 5K this afternoon. Heather Kent, below, was the first woman to cross the finish line.

Part of the tradition of the race is for winners to dress up with holiday flair. There was also an after-party at the Creekside Inn.

No farm animals were lost in a barn fire at 8090 Black Street Road, Le Roy, this evening, though the barn was a total loss.

The fire was reported at 4:45 p.m. with flames showing and was fully involved when firefighters first arrived on scene.

Pavilion fire, along with Le Roy, Bethany and Stafford responded to the fire with medical aid backup provided by Le Roy ambulance. Emergency Service and the Sheriff's Office also assisted at the scene.

Crews were preparing to the leave the fire location at 8:30 p.m.

The fire is under investigation, but Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger said investigators are looking at a parked tractor as a possible cause.

(initial report)

A possible barn fire is reported at 8090 Black Street Road, Pavilion.

Pavilion fire and a ladder truck from Le Roy dispatched.

UPDATE 4:51 p.m.: Report of flames showing. Stafford and Bethany dispatched. Le Roy ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 5:29 p.m.: The fire is in a smaller, metal sided-barn on the property, not the large centuries-old structure also located there.

To purchase prints of photos click here.

Thank you to everybody who stopped by the WBTA/The Batavian Christmas Party at the WBTA Studios at Main and Center this evening during Christmas in the City. We had a great time.

Thank you for Dibble Family Center for the fantastic chili and grilled cheese sandwiches we served our guests.

As we announced beforehand, anybody who stopped by and showed us that they had downloaded The Batavian's app on their smartphone or tablet could enter a drawing to win $100.

Many people tonight downloaded it right on the spot.

In all, we had 60 entries.

The winner is: Amy Swanson, of Stafford.

If you haven't downloaded the app yet, please do so:

• For Android, click here
• For iOS, click here

Crews from Latham Tree Service were busy this afternoon getting the giant Christmas tree the company erects every year in the Village of Le Roy ready for Winterfest this Saturday.

John Jakubowski, workforce development consultant for the Genesee County Economic Development Center, and Chris Suozzi, VP of business development for GCEDC, visited Le Roy High School today as guests of the Business Education Alliance's Career Lunch-N-Learn Series.

Jakubowski and Suozzi talked about career opportunities in STEM (Science, Tehcnology, Engineering and Math) fields, advanced manufacturing and nanotechnologies, and what it takes for a student to enter those career paths.

"The BEA Career Lunch-N-Learn Series is a tremendous opportunity for our students to interact with professionals in different fields, and we can't thank Karyn Winters enough for her organizing efforts and partnering with us," said Principal Tim McArdle. "It is these experiences that allow our students to focus on their future and learn about the many options they have.

"Today's speakers from GCEDC gave our students a chance to learn about amazing opportunities right here in our backyard so that we can retain the talent we are developing. I really commend Mr. Suozzi and Mr. Jakubowski for their efforts in promoting the WNY STAMP and also educating our students on career advice."

The purpose of the series, McArdle said, is to expand beyond the traditional career day and expose students to information about various careers throughout the year.

"We have taken the traditional one day 'career day' and infused it in and throughout the school year," McArdle said. "Each of our teachers are tasked to host one professional to speak to their classes in an experience we call Career Chats.

"Each Career Chat speaker also stays for an after-school session in the library open to all students. Our students also participate in off-campus field trip opportunities visiting local business/industries through our Student Success Center and staff initiated opportunities."

Another resource available to students and parents is Naviance, in which counselors work with students on career and self-exploration throughout the school year both at school and at home. 

To prepare the local workforce for jobs like what is anticipated at WNY STAMP -- Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park -- the district has partnered with Byron-Bergen Central School in a Soft Skills Training program.

The program is being funded through a grant from an America’s Best Communities Award that the Towns of Le Roy and Bergen won in 2015 and is coordinated with Jakubowski and Loren Penman. Seniors in both districts are exposed to four different lessons from local professionals this spring.  

"Our goal is to not have one week go by without our students having a chance to hear from a professional in the field. It is vital we maintain this important commitment for the development of our graduates."

Downtown Batavia will be filled with holiday cheer and family fun tonight as local merchants host Christmas in the City.

Main Street, from Ellicott Street to Liberty Street, will be closed to vehicle traffic starting at 7 p.m. in preparation for the Christmas in the City parade at 8:15 p.m.

The festivities start at 5 p.m. and include horse and buggy rides, music, crafts, food, and other family-oriented activities.

Stop by the WBTA studios at Main and Center for a Christmas Party co-hosted by WBTA and The Batavian. Bring your smartphone or tablet, show the staff of The Batavian our mobile app installed on your device and you can enter a drawing for a $100 prize (no purchase necessary). We’re serving chili and grilled cheese catered by Dibble Family Center. 

Download our app.

• For Android, click here
• For iOS, click here

Smoke and flames are showing in a crawl space to the attic of 1772 Genesee St., Corfu.

Corfu fire along with Darien, East Pembroke, Pembroke and the City's Fast Team dispatched.

UPDATE(S) (By Billie) 1:17 p.m.: Second platoon called to city fire headquarters. A thermal imaging camera is requested.

UPDATE 1:21 p.m.: This is a one-story wood-frame structure.

UPDATE 1:33 p.m.: Responding units on the road told to come in non-emergency mode; staging area is on the south side of the address. All available interior manpower on scene called to fight the fire.

UPDATE 1:52 p.m.: Fire is under control; doing extensive overhaul.

UPDATE 1:53 p.m.: The fire appears to have been started by a hot water heater. Flames went up the walls into the attic. Firefighters are dousing hot spots now.

A third-generation carwash operator is breathing new life into a car wash on West Main Street Road, Batavia, that has sat empty and unused for years.

Bobby Marchenese, whose family has long operated a car wash in Canandaigua, said he and his crew are replacing all of the equipment in the car wash with the latest high-tech car-washing machines.

This is the fifth location for Marchenese. Besides Canandaigua, he has locations in Tonawanda and Geneva and will soon open a location in Auburn.

"We had our eye on the market for a while," Marchenese said. "We tried to contact the previous owner several times, no response, then we noticed the for sale sign one day so we called and we were able to put a deal together."

The location operates under the brand name Auto Wash and Marchenese believes he and his team will have the facility ready for its first wash within three weeks.

The car wash will be fully automated. When vehicles pull in, a computer will profile the vehicle's height so the wash area can be adjusted. This eliminates the need to hand-prep the car for the wash. The machines themselves are variable speed with soft starts. All of the lighting is LED.

"We will have the most energy-efficient car wash out there," Marchenese said. 

The end of the wash is fully automated, too.

"With the advanced technology we’ll be using we won’t actually towel dry cars,"  Marchenese said. "We have an automated drying system at the end of the car wash after the blowers, so that will dry the vehicle as it goes through."

Photo: Greg Farkas, Ryan Schmeer, Bobby Marchenese, and Zach Letta. Letta will manage the Batavia location.

The Richmond Memorial Library hosted a Local Author Book Fair on Thursday evening with about two dozen local authors participating.

The evening included a panel discussion about writing and publishing featuring Steven Huff, JoNelle Toriseva and Bill Kauffman.

The library also hosts a monthly Writer's Group, which meets the second Wednesday of each month, 6:30 p.m.

Sean A. Semprie Jr., 25, no permanent address, is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.

Semprie allegedly sold crack cocaine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force.

He was charged under a Grand Jury indictment and extradited back to Genesee County from Augusta, Maine, where was being held on unrelated charges. 

He was jailed on $10,000 bail.

You can now get instant access to news from The Batavian on your smartphone or tablet.

Download our app.

• For Android, click here
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Come to Christmas in the City tomorrow, stop by our partners at WBTA's studios at Main and Center between 5 and 9 p.m., show us the app on your device and you will be eligible to enter a drawing for a $100 prize.

A reader provided this photo of a garbage truck the somehow got stuck in a ditch off of Route 5 near Route 77 about 2:30 p.m. A tow operator managed to pull the truck out of the ditch.