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Stacy McCarthy shared these photos she took in her yard yesterday of pollen-covered bees going about their business.

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New York Times: Amid Political Fight, Confusion and Fear About New York’s Health Exchange

An ongoing dispute between property owners in Le Roy reportedly became physical this morning and one of the neighbors, Stephen R. Barbeau, the Town of Le Roy supervisor, was arrested by Le Roy PD.

Barbeau, 55, of 9 Filmore St., Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd.

According Barbeau's neighbor, Pete McQuillen, Barbeau was upset because a tree on McQuillen's property fell and Barbeau believed a portion of the tree came down onto his property.

"He bull rushed me and blew me back into some stumps we'd already cut," McQuillen said.

McQuillen suffered a minor sprained shoulder and he said he will see an orthopedic specialist tomorrow about neck pain.

Barbeau said that this was the third time one of McQuillen's trees has fallen onto his property. One time, he said, the tree damaged his house. This morning when it happened again, he went onto McQuillen's property.

"It was quite heated," Barbeau said. "He got heated right back. I pushed him with my hands open on his chest and he fell to the ground."

It was Barbeau's wife who called the police, Barbeau said.

Harassment in the second degree is a violation (in other words, it's not as high as a misdemeanor).

McQuillen and Barbeau live nearby each other, but the ongoing dispute involves property McQuillen owns that is adjacent to Barbeau's. 

McQuillen had plans to build 26 single-family homes for people 55 and over on the property.

After McQuillen believed he won the right to move forward with the development, Barbeau joined in a lawsuit with neighbor David S. Boyce against the town planning board claiming the development was not properly approved. The suit eventually lead to McQuillen's plans being scuttled.

McQuillen is now building other structures on the property and that's another point of contention. McQuillen said he's doing everything within code. Barbeau said he is not.

Barbeau also accused McQuillen of storing junk on the propety and clearing away brush and trees that destroy any privacy barrier.

"He's never met a tree he doesn't like to take down," Barbeau said.

Barbeau was arraigned in Town of Le Roy Court and released on his own recognizance. Town Justice Daryl Sehm also signed an order of protection.

A Batavia man is facing 8 to 16 years in prison after guilty pleas this morning in Genesee County Court to two counts of burglary, 3rd, and one count of attempted burglary, 3rd.

Samuel G. Malone, 27, who lived on Walnut Street, but said in court this morning that he's now living at a rehab facility, was originally indicted on the attempted burglary charge as a "John Doe," because all investigators had was DNA evidence.

After Malone was convicted on a felony in another county, police were able to match his DNA to blood found on a broken window at 112 Ellicott St., Batavia, which was then the Ponderosa Steakhouse.

There was no apparent entry at the Ponderosa location and nothing was reported stolen.

But there were other burglaries in 2008, such as Clor's Meat Market, then on Pearl Street in the city, that investigators were able to link to Malone.

Malone will be sentenced Nov. 7.

The following people were arrested during the Uproar Festival at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Sunday.

Zachary T. Pabst, 19, Ryan Street, Buffalo, is charged with DWAI drugs and unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly operating a motor vehicle entering the concert parking lot while under the influence of a drug. He was also found in possession of marijuana.

Louis R. Lopez, 18, Williams Street, Cheektowaga, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

Hannah J. Eisenbaum, 19, Oak Wood Avenue, East Aurora, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and possession of alcohol under age 21 after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana and alcohol being under age 21.

Koree A. Hubbard, 19, Wellington Drive, Derby, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

Emily M. Bartlett, 20, Cambier Road, Newark, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 4th, unlawful possession of marijuana and possession of alcohol under age 21 after allegedly being found in possession of a metal knuckle knife, marijuana and alcohol being under age 21.

Alexis J. Keller, 20, Hydesville Road, Newark, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and possession of alcohol under age 21 after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana and alcohol being under age 21.

Glenn M. Shaw, 23, Meadow Drive Alden, is charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly pushing a deputy while being escorted from the venue.

James M. Anderson, 21, Haines Street, Kane, Pa., is charged with trespass after allegedly jumping a fence into the concert venue.

John T. Polak, 29, South Western Blvd., Hamburg, is charged with trespass after attempting to reentering the concert venue after being previously ejected and told not to return.

The following people were cited for alleged possession/consumption of alcohol under age 21.

Justin A. Russell, 20, Fredericka Street, North Tondawanda
David A. Daugherty, 20, Maida Drive, Spencerport

The turnout for the Uproar Festival at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center was moderate -- something over 6,000 paying customers, but those who did make their way to the venue surely weren't disappointed. There was plenty of quality music for the punk/grunge/heavy rock fan.

There were also activities and merchant booths to amuse concertgoers between acts.

While some might think all the of the action was on the main stage, the secondary change may actually have been more entertaining. The bands there were Cry to the Blind, the Chuck Shaffer Picture Show, Dead Daisies, Middle Class Rut, New Politics and Walking Papers.

The Dead Daises are an interesting act -- kind of a super group, though most fans would readily recognize the names of band members, they've all performed on hit records. The Dead Daisies are billed on the band's Web site as a project of former Guns and Roses guitarist Slash, but performing on lead guitar in Darien on Sunday was Richard Fortus, who has also taken on lead guitar duties with Guns and Roses.

Walking Papers was another experienced, tight band that knows how to put on a live show.

Definately in the up-and-coming category is the Chuck Shaffer Picture Show. 

New Politics was entertaining, to say the least, and has a bit of an old-school British Punk vibe to their music.

On the main stage there was Circa Survive, Coheed & Cambria, Jane's Addiction and Alice in Chains.

Great performances all the way around, of course, but it was something special to see Dave Navarro (guitarist, Jane's Addiction, top photo) perform live.

You won't see photos of Alice in Chains here. The band's management insists on pre-publication approval of photos. I won't sign such an agreement. My deal is, I won't tell you what songs to play and you don't tell me what photos to shoot.

Perry Farrell, Jane's Addiction.

Adam Gilbert, drummer with the Chuck Shaffer Picture show.

Richard Fortus, lead guitar, Dead Daisies.

Middle Class Rut

Søren Hansen, guitarist, New Politics.

Anthony Green, Circa Survive.

Claudio Sanchez, Coheed & Cambria.

Claudio Sanchez, Coheed & Cambria.

Active duty service members Kyle A. Shrum and Nicole L. Woodard were married Saturday in Oakfield's Memorial Park.

Nicole's grandmother Bonnie Gendron said it's the first wedding held in the park.

The couple met at the Army's Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga., and Kyle, 19, is from VanBuren, Ark., and Nicole, 19, is from Oakfield.

UPDATE: Melissa Baker says that there was at least one more wedding in Memorial Park before this one.  That was the wedding of her sister, Tiffany Reynolds and Koree McAlister. McAllister is an active Marine and both are from Oakfield. They were married last summer in Memorial Park.

Wedding photo by Heartmade Photography. Photos and information submitted by Bonnie Gendron.

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John Bisig took this nighttime photo of the Elba Onion Festival around 8:30 while flying over in his powered parachute on Saturday.

Kayla Casper, center, is the new Elba Onion Queen. She's joined by her court, Joyce Tristan and Katie Horton.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

There was a big turn out today in Batavia for the WNY Round-Up Rally.

Every year, guests of Skyline Campground in Alexander square off against guests of Lei-Ti Campground in Bethany in a horseshoe tournament. Today was the first meeting of the two teams this year at Skyline. Next week, the tournament moves to Lei-Ti.

Featured in our shots are George Siano, of Florida, and Roy Hovey, of Rochester.

Skyline's cheering section doing the wave.

While out in Darien this afternoon, I spotted Cody Fowler and Jeremy Schulz out with a couple of old-school mini motorbikes. I snapped a couple shots of them on Tinkham Road. Fowler said he bought the two bikes a couple of weeks ago for $50. They needed some tinkering to get running, but now they're roarin'.

Dylan Maychoss, of Pembroke, and Zoe Thayer, of Pembroke, were at the Darien Lakes State Park this morning on the park's disc golf course to practice their game, getting tips from pro Paul Stephens.

The owner of a building on Lehigh Avenue discovered this morning that overnight about 20 windows on the south side of the structure were broken out.

Police are investigating, but suspect some kids in the neighborhood.

More than 100 former St. Jerome's Hospital employees got together Friday night at T.F. Brown's for old times' sake.

Betty Lupino said that for years she would run into former employees who would say, "we should get together, we should get together." But nobody was doing it, she said, "so I took the bull by the horns and called a few people."

"We're just people who worked together and we got along well and we wanted to renew old acquaintances," she said.

Pictured, from left, Maudie Kahn, Lupino, Gloria Grohs, Mike Rimmer and Don Lewis.

The 77th Elba Onion Festival kicked off Friday evening with the big opening event being the annual parade.

Here's tomorrow's list of events for the festival:

• 12Noon - Kiddie Parade (starting at Dan's Pizza)
• 12Noon - Kiddie Tractor Pull (by Memorial Statue in front)
• 12Noon - Ladies Aux. Roast Beef on Weck (inside of Rec. Hall)
• 1:00pm - Ride Special Main Events
• 5:00pm - Chicken Barbeque (inside the Rec. Hall)
• 6:00pm - Mac & Company (in the beer tent)
• 7:00pm - Crowning of the Onion Queen (by Memorial Statue in front)
• 9:00pm - Black Widow (in the beer tent)
• Midnight - Award winners of grand prize!
  Choice of 2013 Ford Mustang or $20,000 Cash!

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Eric Dibble enjoyed teaching science to high school students, but he was still drawn to a career in law enforcement even after getting his master's degree and earning multiple teaching credentials.

His attraction to law enforcement is not surprising. He comes from a law enforcement family -- his father is Gordon Dibble, the chief deputy in charge of road patrol for Genesee County.

When the younger Dibble took a job three years ago with the Batavia Police Department. It was the right decision for him at the time, he said, and he's glad he did it. 

Since then, though, he's become the father of two children and what was acceptable before he had a family is less so now.

As a young cop on the force, he's still working a lot of nights. The hours can be unpredictable. Then there is what Dibble describes as "the heaviness" of not knowing what comes next.

"It's a different world for me now than when I got hired," Dibble said.

He also still had those degrees and credentials to fall back on.

Those factors, more than anything else, led him to reconsider his career choice.

Friday was Dibble's last evening shift in Batavia blue. At the end of the night, he turned in his badge and put away his service pistol for the last time.

This fall, Officer Dibble becomes Mr. Dibble again. He will be teaching science at a school in Monroe County.

"I realized I just can't keep doing this forever," Dibble said. "It's a great job, but it wears kind of heavy on my mind. There's some stress factors that are unique to the job and the career. I personally am looking to ease my mind of those kind of things and get back to a normal lifestyle."

Chief Shawn Heubusch said Dibble will be missed.

"He's a fine young officer," Heubusch said. "It has been a pleasure to know Eric over the time I've been here. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."

If you've never met Eric Dibble, he's an instantly likable man with an obviously warm spirit and kind heart. He's also got enough backbone to be firm when he needs to be.

In other words, he's what any professional police department should want in a young officer.

And being a police officer, Dibble said, is a great career. He just decided it would be better for him and his family if earned his living in a classroom rather than on city streets.

"There was no traumatizing or sobering moment (that changed his mind)," Dibble said. "It was just a gradual, growing general heaviness, if I can explain it that way, of being in uniform, of being on call, of not knowing what the next thing is going to be. Is it going to be nothing? Is it going to be something? Is it going to be the biggest thing that ever happened in Batavia? The biggest thing that ever happened in New York State? I guess it's just one of those things where it's the not knowing that for me was heavy.

"Everybody's different," he added. "Some people thrive off that, some people don't think about it, but for me is was quite a thing, I guess."

The fact that Dibble decided to go back to teaching doesn't mean other young people shouldn't consider a career in law enforcement he said. If it's something you think you can be passionate about, he said, you should do it, but do it while you're young. His advice, get your career established before you have a family.

"This is the type of career that is a calling almost, where if you have the desire to do it, you probably should," Dibble said. "You probably should because a lot of people do and they love it and they stay with it and it's a great career.

If you're going to become a police officer, he said, you should be attracted to the career for the right reasons.

"You've got to be somebody with a good set of morals," Dibble said. "You've got to be principled and really believe in the package of a good police officer and a good police department, which should always be helping the community.

"You're a role model," he added. "You've got to care about society and want to try and make it better. You can't just do it for the action or what you see on TV, because a lot of what police do is hugely distorted on television. Those are the wrong reasons."

Perhaps not surprisingly, those are the same qualities Dibble thinks make for a good teacher.

"I've always felt strongly about the positive influence a teacher can have on a student," Dibble said. "I think I appreciate more what bad pathways people can take from school moving forward. I feel more how impressionable kids are at that age. It makes me feel that the responsibility is even greater for people who work with kids at that age."

Even in just three years, Dibble has seen a lot of changes in the police department. The most positive change he's seen, he said, is the increased emphasis on community policing.

The concept of community policing has been around for several decades. The philosophy puts an emphasis on interaction between cops on the beat and the people of the community. The idea is to get officers from out behind the wheel of their cars and only responding to calls, to walking patrols, talking to people and developing relationships.

Dibble said community policing not only gives citizens a greater sense of security, but it helps the officer, too.

"If you just handle calls and you come back to the station, it's kind of us and the world outside who call on us for help," Dibble said. "Then it's always kind of depressing, or always an issue, but if you get out in the community it does a lot of good for officers. They get a chance to mix and have these positive interactions, which offsets any negative interactions you might have."

As Dibble returns to teaching, he goes back to the classroom with a whole new set of experiences. Not too many teachers have been in the homes of arguing parents and teens, or seen firsthand the direct result of young lives that have gone off track. What Dibble has seen while on patrol in Batavia will certainly carry over into his interactions with students, he said.

"It's going to make me think about the whole package when I have my student in front of me," Dibble said. "What's going on at home, in his personal life and how is that affecting what I'm seeing in the classroom? It definitely gives me an understanding of the big picture and how it affects what a student is going through in school."

An RV is reportedly on fire in the area of mile marker 387 in the westbound lanes of the Thruway.

Town of Batavia fire dispatched.

The operator of the RV called in the fire and said they are towing a vehicle and there are five dogs inside the RV.

UPDATE 9:10 p.m.: A trooper on scene reports all dogs are out safely. The RV is not engulfed. Only wires are burning.

Workers are continuing to make progress on Oakfield's new 165-foot water tower.