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Photos: Blood Red Moon

By Howard B. Owens

Shot at 10:48 p.m., ISO 12,500, 1/160 f2.8

The shots below taken at various settings over the course of the eclipse's progression. Shooting at 200mm and then cropping tightly in Lightroom.

Notre Dame comes out on top on homecoming night

By Howard B. Owens

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish played their homecoming game under the lights Saturday night, defeating the Pembroke Dragons 34-7.

The Irish are now 4-0 on the season and alone atop the Genesee Region standings, with Attica losing this weekend to University Prep. 

Notre Dame and Attica square off Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. in Attica.

Against the Dragons, Notre Dame amassed 383 total offensive yards, with 360 coming on the ground. 

Jack Sutherland had 26 carries for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Peter Daversa added another 74 yards and a TD on 10 carries. Etan Ozborne had a rushing touchdown and 33 yards on five rushes.

Connor Logsdon was 3-6 passing for 23 yards, no TDs and no interceptions.

For Pembroke, Reid Miano was 6-12 passing for 105 yards and a TD. Jake Jasinski had 18 rushes for 21 yards. Zack Swank had four receptions for 93 yards. Zach von Kramer had Pembroke's lone TD reception.

On defense, C.J. Suozzi had six and a half tackles, Jake Weatherwax and Etan Ozborne had four apiece. Ozborne also had a sack. For Pembroke, Brian Seweryniak had seven, Dylan Miserantino six and a half, Brandon Kowalski, six, von Kramer, five and a half, and Jack Thomas, five.

At halftime, Notre Dame honored Bill Sutherland, a former head coach who won 111 games, eight GR titles and four Section V titles in 23 seasons. He's been with the school for 41 years. He's a member of the Notre Dame High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Section V Football Hall of Fame. Standing alongside Sutherland is his nephew, running back Jack Sutherland. Presenting the award is current Head Coach Rick Mancuso along with Athletic Director Mike Rapone.

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'Not my baby girl': An investigation into a paratrooper's death leads to changes

By Howard B. Owens

Photo by Howard Owens
Story by Amanda Dolasinski, 
The Fayetteville Observer
Story republished with permission

Less than four seconds after Sgt. Shaina Schmigel jumped from a C-17 as part of a nighttime airborne operation, she was being dragged behind the aircraft. She became entangled in the next jumper's suspension lines and died of severe neck injuries.

Schmigel, 21, was killed after she jumped with a T-11 parachute at Holland Drop Zone on May 30, 2014. An investigation into her death found the most glaring error was the jump master's failure to inspect the static lines of her parachute.

Schmigel was an intelligence analyst with the 37th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. She joined the Army in 2010 and had been assigned to 2nd Brigade since June 2011.

Paratroopers administered first aid when they found her on the ground, but she was declared dead at the drop zone.

Changes in airborne operations were formed from recommendations made by investigators after Schmigel's death, said Master Sgt. Patrick Malone, a spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division.

"This accident was thoroughly investigated, and the entire airborne community has implemented measures that will mitigate the probability of similar accidents happening in the future," he said. "Airborne operations are inherently high-risk, and we are committed to ensuring they are executed as safely and effectively as possible."

News of Schmigel's death has been hard to process for her mother, Karie. The two were close, and Karie had just left Fort Bragg after spending Mother's Day weekend with her daughter.

The day following Schmigel's fatal jump, Karie said she knew something wasn't right.

"I was trying to call her that day," Karie said from her home in New York. "I went to call Shaina. Voicemail, voicemail, voicemail."

Karie stepped outside her home to continue calling. That's when she said the men in uniforms pulled up.

"I'll never forget that," Karie said, sobbing. "I'm like, 'No, not my baby girl.' I knew right away."

Maj. Gen. John Nicholson, then-commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, ordered an investigation into Schmigel's death in June 2014.

The nearly 300-page investigation includes airborne operation briefings and manifests, interviews with witnesses and flight data.

Investigators said there is no evidence that the aircrew, aircraft or weather contributed to Schmigel's death, but there were several areas of negligence that needed to be addressed as safety factors, according to the report obtained by The Fayetteville Observer through the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The report found:

Following the death, the safety who failed to check Schmigel's static line was recommended to be permanently decertified from duties as a jump master. That person's name is redacted in the report.

The status of the safety was not current at the time of the airborne operation. The safety was out of compliance by five days for completing baseline certification, according to the report.

The safety also skipped the jump master briefing before the operation the day of Schmigel's death, according to the report.

Investigators made eight other recommendations to correct or improve operations and procedures surrounding airborne operations.

Investigators also found the airborne operations called for two safeties per door, but that's not what happened on Schmigel's flight. One "simply stood by" as the other worked, according to the report.

Another concern about the safeties was that all four safeties on the aircraft -- two on the right door, two on the left door -- were rookies, performing their first duties as safeties, according to the report.

Investigators recommended the Advanced Airborne School direct safeties be paired with a more advanced jump master. Also, no more than half of the safeties assigned to a flight can be on their first duty, according to the report.

Safeties also must inspect static lines all the way down to the curved pin protector flap, which protects the main curved pin until it is activated to release the parachute. One of the safeties told investigators that static lines were only inspected to the pack tray, not to the protector flap that covers the pin.

Investigators believe Schmigel's static line was loose and became caught under the protector flap. Since the flap did not open, the main curve pin could not deploy, therefore delaying the release from the pack tray.

A main curve pin's failure to deploy is "a single point of failure," meaning every action after the failure also will not occur, said Maj. Craig Arnold, commander of Fort Bragg's Advanced Airborne School.

After the pin deploys, the deployment bag is released, risers are stretched outward and the parachute inflates.

Jump masters had never seen a curve pin failure due to loose static lines before, and therefore didn't know it was a deficiency, Arnold said.

Arnold, who said he has reviewed the investigation into Schmigel's death, said jump masters took note of the deficiency and immediately began inspecting static lines all the way down to the curve pin protector flap.

Static lines can become loose as a jump master runs his or her fingers under them or, if paratroopers are sitting in a C-130, the paratrooper gets stuck in the netted seat, Arnold said. As a second line of defense, riggers are called to inspect the static lines after the jump master to ensure the lines are tight and not caught under the flap, Arnold said.

"Now that we have identified (the deficiency), we put proper measures in place to prevent it from happening again," Arnold said.

Another immediate change was an update by the Advanced Airborne School requiring jump masters to check the universal static lines modified three times. A memo released by the school in June 2014 includes a note in all capital letters: Do not rush the inspection of the universal static line modified in order to make time to exit paratroopers.

The airborne operation on May 30, 2014, was designed to increase jumper proficiency and increase proficiency in airfield clearance missions. The paratroopers were to be dropped onto Holland Drop Zone, practice seizing the airfield, conduct accountability of personnel and equipment, then redeploy to Fort Bragg.

The training mission began at 1 p.m. with the jump master briefing in the 37th Engineer Battalion conference room. Both safeties who worked on the right door -where Schmigel was positioned - missed the briefing, according to the report.

One of the safeties told investigators he missed the briefing because he was on a jump follow-on mission at the time and was back briefed by his commander. The other safety did not offer a reason for missing the briefing, according to the report.

Paratroopers conducted sustained airborne and mock door training at Green Ramp at 4:30 p.m. About two hours later, the paratroopers picked up their parachutes and were inspected by jump masters.

Paratroopers loaded the C-17 about 7:30 p.m. for the scheduled drop at 9:30 p.m., according to the report.

When the paratroopers stepped on the aircraft, the seat configuration didn't match the original plan, so four jumpers switched to be part of the plane's first pass rather than its second.

Schmigel was among those four.

She was initially supposed to be the 20th jumper but was moved to be the 16th jumper.

Photos taken as evidence show that Schmigel's combat equipment was rigged properly, according to the report.

When the appropriate commands were given, jumpers began to exit the aircraft. About halfway through, a gap opened, causing jumpers - including Schmigel - to "rush" the door, according to the report.

Because it was dark, the other jumpers didn't realize at the time that had been a problem.

In just two seconds from the time Schmigel jumped from the C-17, her static line became caught under the main curve pin protector flap, causing a delay in her T-11 parachute's deployment sequence. She became a towed jumper, meaning she was being dragged behind the aircraft.

Jump masters can typically tell if a paratrooper becomes towed based on the position of the static line after the jumper exits the aircraft. The static line should hit the middle of the door. If it hits near the bottom of the door, the paratrooper is likely being towed.

Once a paratrooper is towed, all jumps are ceased as safeties work to pull the jumper back into the aircraft, Arnold said. If that fails, the safeties will alert the Air Force's load master, who informs the pilots so they can move to a higher altitude and adjust their flying pattern to set up a retrieval system to pull the jumper inside the aircraft.

When Schmigel was being towed, her feet were pointing away from the aircraft and the top of her upper body was facing the direction of flight, according to the report. Her weight against the static line would have forced her to be generally facing the ground or rotating slightly to her right or left.

She would have been conscious at this time, according to the report.

About two seconds later, Schmigel became entangled in the suspension lines of the parachute of the 17th jumper.

While she was being towed, Schmigel may have been struck by the pack tray from the 17th jumper, according to the report. That jumper, whose name is redacted in the report, said he or she has no memory of colliding with Schmigel.

The suspension lines from that jumper's rear risers became wrapped across her throat, according to the report. The lines lacerated her neck.

The force pulled Schmigel's head back, causing her to rotate vertically around her center of gravity. As her head was pulled back over her feet, her static line was routed over her right shoulder, according to the report.

The rotation caused her static line to come free of the main curved pin protective flap and deploy as designed.

For a fraction of a second, Schmigel was pulled toward the aircraft by her static line and away from the aircraft by the 17th jumper's suspension lines, according to the report.

Investigators used the blood patterns on Schmigel's clothing and equipment, as well as the suspension lines of the 17th jumper, to determine her laceration was caused by the jumper's suspension lines, not Schmigel's static line.

The force of the suspension lines from the jumper broke Schmigel's neck in three places and dislodged her jaw on both sides, according to the report.

Because there was no blood or abrasions on Schmigel's hands, investigators said the ordeal happened so fast she didn't have time to reach up to yank at the lines caught around her neck.

Once the jumpers landed on the drop zone, two soldiers checked each other for injuries.

"Mainly, 'Are you OK?' 'You good?,' " according to a statement from the soldier. "I was extremely tangled up in my chute and began trying to get everything off."

Simultaneously, the second soldier walked over to Schmigel. That soldier, who is only identified as a male, shook Schmigel's shoulder and noticed the injury to her neck.

He screamed for a medic, according to the report.

"I vigorously tried getting everything off so I could help with whatever was going on," according to the first soldier's statement. "I then saw an unconscious soldier laying on the ground, got close enough to see there was a serious injury on the neck of the soldier."

The second soldier said there was no pulse and it seemed the neck was broken, according to the report.

"I ran to the top of the hill we were close to and began spinning a chem light and was screaming for a medic," said the first soldier.

Schmigel's decision to join the Army surprised her mother, but nonetheless, Karie said she was supportive.

Schmigel was an intelligence analyst with the 37th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, according to officials. She joined the Army in 2010 and had been assigned to 2nd Brigade since June 2011.

Later that year, Schmigel deployed to Iraq with the brigade.

Karie said she didn't know her daughter was in Iraq until she called from the country. Schmigel said she didn't want to worry her mother, so she waited until she arrived safely to share the news of her six-month deployment.

The women would video chat regularly, but it was difficult for Karie.

"I'd see missiles. I'd see huge jets flying over," Karie said. "She'd say, 'Mom, relax.' I'd say, 'I love you, but I gotta go. I don't like this.' "

During her daughter's deployment, Karie mailed numerous care packages filled with treats from home. The beef jerky was usually a greasy mess by the time it arrived in Iraq, but Karie said her daughter enjoyed canned soup and gummy worms. She also sent paper, pens, envelopes and stamps to write home, Karie said.

Two weeks before Schmigel's death, Karie said she debated making the nearly 650-mile drive to Fort Bragg from her home in New York. She wasn't going to make the trip but decided to since she would be able to spend Mother's Day with her daughter.

"We weren't going to go see her," Karie said, remembering the plans. "But she was like, 'Mom, it's Mother's Day. I have time for leave.' "

It was the last time Karie would hold her daughter.

"I'm glad I got to see her," Karie said. "Two weeks later, I lost my daughter."

The next time Karie visited Fort Bragg was for All American Week in May 2015. A group of officers arranged to drive Karie and her family to Holland Drop Zone, where they laid yellow flowers in memory of Schmigel.

"They took us to the drop zone where they said they found her body," Karie said.

During the week, Karie said she met with some of her daughter's friends to share their memories of her. The group went to Schmigel's favorite bar, Cadillac Ranch, to line dance.

Karie danced with the friends but felt an emptiness.

"I think my daughter should have been next to me," she said. "I just miss her."

See also: Paratrooper's death prompts 82nd to implement changes to airborne operations

Previously on The Batavian:

Photos: Holland Land Office rededication ceremony

By Howard B. Owens

Assemblyman Steve Hawley presents a proclamation today to Jeff Donahue, director of the Holland Land Office Museum, during a rededication ceremony on the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Holland Land Office. 

Dr. Roger Triftshauser, a retired Navy rear admiral and former chairman of the County Legislature, gave the keynote address.

Bath beats Le Roy, 32-6

By Howard B. Owens

Le Roy and Bath entered Friday night's game at Hartwood Park with identical 3-0 records and tied for the lead in Livingston County Division I, but the game soon proved the simularities stopped there.

Amassing 361 total yards on offense, the bigger, faster, stronger Bath team took control of the game early and never let go, winning with a final of 32-6.

The Oatkan Knights are a good football team. Bath looks unstoppable.

Nick Egeling carried the ball for 119 yards on 18 rushes. Josh Laurie was four for 11 passing for 20 yards.  Dom Filio scored Le Roy's only TD and carried the ball 26 yards on five attempts. Reed Kacur had two receptions for 12 yards. On defense, Egeling had six tackles, Luke Hogle, six and Filio, four.

In other Friday Night Football:

  • Batavia defeated Edison Tech, 42-0
  • University Prep over Attica, 40-26
  • Elba/Byron-Bergen over Oakfield-Alabama, 42-18
  • Cal-Mum over York/Pavilion, 12-0

In today's action, Alexander travels to Holley. Game time is 1:30 p.m. It is homecoming for Notre Dame, so the school has rented lights for a rare night game on its home field. The Fighting Irish host the Pembroke Dragons. With Attica's loss, Notre Dame, at 3-0, sits alone atop the GR league.

Photos: UMMC stages mass casualty drill

By Howard B. Owens

UMMC's personnel practiced dealing with a mass casualty scenario today with area high school students filling in as patients. The scenario involved a collapse of bleachers at a sporting event. The primary purpose was for staff to practice triage and workflow in dealing with a large influx of patients into the emergency room (a hallway next to the actual emergency room was used to simulate the emergency room).

The command center.

Personnel in a staging area awaiting assignments if more patients come in.

'Anthrax in Autumn' gives county chance to drill on medical emergency scenario

By Howard B. Owens

More than 100 volunteers and staff practiced a mass emergency medical drill today in the Genesee Community College Forum.

Called "Anthrax in Autumn," the drill was designed by the state Health Department and is designed to test the county Health Department's ability to deal with an urgent health and welfare situation affecting a large population of people.

In this case, the hypothetical scenario involved terrorists getting access to the marketing mail distribution of a large financial institution and mass mailing anthrax to population centers in credit card solicitations. 

"There's a high likelihood that because anthrax has been used for a weapon before, it can be used again," said Kristine Voos, public information officer for the county Health Department.

While local officials knew a drill was coming, they were only provided with details of the scenario a week ago.

In a typical real-life situation, the county would expect to have 48 hours to set up the distribution center.

The federal government has numerous locations around the country where the antibiotics needed to treat anthrax are stored. Once a distribution of anthrax is detected, local officials begin to mobilize their resources and the feds deliver the antibiotics. 

Today, the drill was about anthrax, but many of the skills and routines necessary to set up the distribution center would be used in a variety of health emergency situations.

While many of the volunteer patients today were students, members of the community were invited to participate. Upon arrival, they were registered, screened and then taken to a nurse who dispensed the medication with instructions on how it's administered.

For drill purposes, patients could pick either M&Ms or Skittles as a substitute for the antibiotics.

They were then treated to a lunch of pizza.

Batavia to induct seven into Athletic Hall of Fame

By Howard B. Owens

The Batavia Coaches Association hosts the 14th annual Batavia Blue Devil Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner tomorrow Terry Hills Restaurant and Banquet Facility.

Cost is $30 per person. Social hour begins at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6.

Tickets are available at the Athletic Director's Office at Batavia High School. For more information, call 343-2480, ext. 2003.

Below, reproductions of the plaques to be presented and hung at the school.

Law and Order: Traffic stops lead to arrests

By Howard B. Owens

Paul Joseph Zicari, 59, of Candy Lane, Rochester, is charged with: aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd; operating a motor vehicle without a license; disposing of refuse on a highway; and driving a vehicle with broken glass. Zicari was stopped at 4:51 p.m. Thursday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Joseph Corona. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Jaylyn Shayquawn Strong, 20, of Porter Avenue, Batavia, is charged with: unlawful possession of marijuana; display of forged certificate without inspection; operation of uninspected motor vehicle; operation by unlicensed driver; unsafe turn. Strong was stopped at 8:40 p.m. Monday on East Main Street by Deputy Joseph Corona. Also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana was Labue Dean Jonathan Wimbush, 24, of Cherry Street, Batavia.

Vehicle reportedly hits tree on Sweetland Road

By Howard B. Owens

Reader submitted photo.

A car has reportedly struck a tree along Sweetland Road, between Transit and Roanoke roads. 

Unknown injuries. 

The vehicle may be smoking. 

Stafford fire and Mercy EMS responding. 

Photos: Greens of Le Roy celebrates 15th anniversary

By Howard B. Owens

Kim Pasquale, director of the Greens of Le Roy, speaks to the residents Thursday evening during a celebration of the facility's 15th anniversary.

Residents were treated to hamburgers and hot dogs from Tom Wahl's, plus cupcakes.

Smoke in the residence on East Main Street, Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

City fire is on scene of a smoke-in-the-residence call at 634 E. Main St., Batavia.

A Mercy ambulance is requested to the scene to evaluate a person with possible smoke inhalation.

UPDATE 7:26 p.m.: A second ambulance is on scene. Engine 15 is going back in service.

Photos: Bergen FD escorts Barry Miller's remains to Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

The remains of Barry Miller, who died in the line of duty while responding as a medic in a Bergen Fire Department Ambulance yesterday, was transported from the Medical Examiner in Rochester this afternoon to H.E. Turner Funeral Home in Batavia.

Funeral arrangements have been announced:

Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. both Sunday (Sept. 27, 2015) and Monday (Sept. 28, 2015) at the Bergen United Methodist Church, 27 South Lake Avenue in Bergen NY. Services with full Fire Department Honors will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Pearce Memorial Church, 4322 Buffalo Road, North Chili, New York 14514.

Body of Barry Miller returning to Genesee County this afternoon

By Howard B. Owens

We're told the body of Barry Miller will be escorted back to Batavia within the hour, returning from the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office.

We don't have a specific time or route at this point, but we would expect the procession will take the 490 to Route 19, to Route 33 to East Main Street, ending at H.E. Turner Funeral Home.

If we get more solid information, we'll update this post accordingly.

Miller, a volunteer EMT with the Bergen Fire Department and a county coroner, was killed in an accident yesterday morning in the Town of Riga responding to a medical emergency. 

UPDATE 2:04 p.m.: The information above is correct. The procession, led by Bergen FD apparatus, is in route at about 30 mph and expected to reach the Bergen exit at approximately 2:30 p.m.

Retired Batavia police officer injured in motorcycle accident

By Howard B. Owens

A retired Batavia police officer is in critical but stable condition in a hospital in Homer after being involved in a motorcycle accident.

Dennis Rider, 62, was reportedly trying to pass a dump truck that was making a left-hand turn on Route 90 when it wrecked.

The accident occurred Monday afternoon.

(Source: CNYCentral.com)

Law and Order: Woman accused of stealing boots, hitting store employee, drug possession

By Howard B. Owens
    Jenea Macleod

Jenea M. Macleod, 31, of Akron, is charged with petit larceny, harassment, 2nd, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of criminal use of drug paraphernalia and controlled substance not in original container. Macleod was arrested by State Police after a shoplifting complaint at the Shoe Dept. Store in Batavia. Macleod is accused of stealing a $90 pair of boots. When Macleod attempted to leave the store, she allegedly struck an employee. Once stopped, a trooper allegedly observed in plain view on the floorboard some unused needles. Upon further investigation, she was allegedly found in possession of four 10 mg. oxycodone pills, a plastic baggie containing .4 grams of heroin, bath salts, a green scale and 20 small pink plastic baggies. She was jailed on $3,000 bail.

Alexander D. Koloko, 19, of Burlington, Ontario, Canada, is charged with petit larceny. Koloko allegedly stole a pack of $0.97 cigars from a local store.

Kasey Jame Wagner, 33, of Fletcher Chapel Road, Shelby, is charged with possession of a hypodermic instrument, criminal impersonation, 2nd, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, and speeding. Wagner was stopped at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday on Clinton Street Road, Stafford, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Ronald Joseph Riley, 37, of South Avenue, Medina, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and speeding. Riley was stopped at 4:61 p.m. Wednesday on Route 77, Alabama, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Joel Lawrence Curts, 31, of East Main Road, Le Roy, is charged with abandonment of animal and aggravated unlicensed operation. Curts is accused of abandoning a cat by the side of the road in the Linwood Road area of Le Roy. A witness called in a complaint, leading to the arrest of Curts. The case was investigated by deputies Chad Cummings and Michael Lute.

A 17-year-old resident of South Street, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. The youth is accused of striking another person following a verbal argument.

Eric Lee Jamalkowski, 31, of Maple Center Road, Hilton, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, and bail jumping, 2nd. Jamalkowski was being held in the Monroe County Jail on unrelated charges and was turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office on a warrant. He was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Morgan Lee Cox, 47, of Scribner Road, Pembroke, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and harassment, 2nd. Cox allegedly grabbed a woman around her neck and obstructed her breathing. He also allegedly punched and kicked her.

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