Stories from

If you have a weather photo you want to share with the community, email it to howard@thebatavian.com.

The first two are from Brandi Kaplun.

From Michael Dirham at Z&M Ag & Turf in Oakfield.

Closings and cancellations for Thursday, Dec. 15:

• Message from Mark Alexander, superintendent of Oakfield-Alabama Central School District: "Due to our current and anticipated weather conditions school will be closing today. Elementary students will not be picked up and middle/high students will be bused home as soon as possible. I apologize for the late notice, but the conditions are not expected to improve."

Email closings and cancellations to howard@thebatavian.com

A T-bone accident with airbag deployment is reported on Route 262 at Jerico Road in Bergen.

Unknown injuries.

Bergen fire along with Bergen's ambulance and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 8:03 a.m.: An Oakfield chief is on scene indicating extrication will be needed, but minor injury.

Press release:

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office has issued a travel advisory for all of Genesee County. Current and forecasted weather conditions consisting of steady snow, along with strong winds, have caused whiteout conditions that have contributed to numerous motor vehicle accidents and stranded vehicles on roadways. Motorists are strongly encouraged to avoid any unnecessary travel until weather conditions subside.

Undersheriff William A. Sheron, Jr.

UPDATE: The travel advisory was lifted at 2 a.m.

A full-on winter storm has hit Genesee County with bitter cold and heavy snow.

Top photo, Jackson Street.

Send your snow storm photos to howard@thebatavian.com.

Cornell Cooperative Extension on East Main.

Jackson Street.

Email cancellations and schedule changes to howard@thebatavian.com.

• Oakfield-Alabama Central School District has canceled school and evening activities.
• The Genesee County Animal Shelter is closed this evening due to weather.
• All afternoon and evening activity is canceled with Batavia City Schools.
• St. Joe's Evening Christmas for tonight is canceled. It is rescheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 20^th at 6:30 p.m.
• Pavilion Central School District has canceled school and evening activities due to weather.

Temperatures tonight are expected to dip as low as 10 degrees, and in each of the past two winters, a group of volunteers has created a warming shelter for anyone who might need a warm bed for a night like this, but this year, shelter will be provided on a case-by-case basis.

Last year, a local church provided the shelter, but a church secretary referred us to the Salvation Army and the Salvation Army referred us to Tim Yaeger, emergency management coordinator for Genesee County.

Yaeger said he and officials at the Salvation Army discussed options and the best course -- given the low demand for beds in cold weather locally, and with limited staff available -- is to respond to requests for shelter rather than keep a shelter open all night.

If anybody finds themselves without shelter at night, they should either call emergency dispatch or go to the nearest fire hall. That will trigger officials to contact the Salvation Army to assist that person or group of people with finding a safe place for the night. 

The local Salvation Army doesn't have the staff available to specifically keep a shelter open all night, but staff is always on call and available to assist anybody with an urgent need for shelter, Yaeger said. 

During the weekdays, the Salvation Army at 529 E. Main St., Batavia, is open for anybody who needs assistance.

In the past, the shelters have been barely used, if used at all. People living in the area who may lack permanent housing seem to be able to find a friend or family member to stay with in cold weather.

There is a lake effect snow watch in effect now until 1 a.m., Thursday. Storm totals of 5 to 10 inches of snow are expected in the region. Winds will reportedly be 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph, creating blowing and drifting snow and low visibility.

Melissa R. Piazza, 27, of Central Avenue, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Piazza was allegedly found going through vehicles on Pearl Street at 1:23 a.m., Dec. 2.

Victor D. Albert, 55, of Clinton Street, Buffalo, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Albert was charged after police were called to Batavia Downs at 1:34 p.m., Sunday, to investigate an incident and Albert was allegedly found in possession of marijuana.

Joshua Micheal Bratcher, 26, of Fargo Road, Bethany, is charged with obstructing governmental administration and unlawful possession of marijuana. Bratcher was arrested after Batavia PD was dispatched to the area of 17 Central Ave. for a report of several people fighting.

Woodrow C. Horseman, 40, of South Main Street, Batavia, was arrested on two warrants. The warrants stem from charges of petit larceny and criminal trespass in two separate incidents. Horseman was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Darrell Smith, 49, of Pearl Street, Batavia, is charged with failure to pay fine. Smith turned himself in on a warrant.

Jacklyn M. Ganzhorn, 29, of Central Avenue, was arrested on a warrant. Ganzhorn was arrested when located on Alva Place for alleged failure to appear in court. Ganzhorn was held on a bail.

Nikki L. Stonebraker, 28, of Liberty Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant. 

Joshua A. Porter, 19, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with unnecessary noise. Porter is accused of hosting a loud party in his residence, which was reported at 12:06 a.m., Dec. 8.

Cheryl M. Lyons, 51, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant. Lyons is accused of violating terms of probation. She was arraigned and jailed.

Joey A. Evans, 26, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 5th. Evans allegedly possessed property stolen from another individual.

Jaylyn S. Strong, 21, of Holland Avenue, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, driving a vehicle without stop lamps, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, and unlicensed operator. Strong was stopped at 10:40 p.m., Dec. 1, on East Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Chad Richards.

Robert S. Sodja, 52, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Sodja was arrested on a warrant.

Harry T. Gibson, 52, of West Main Street, was arrested on a warrant. Gibson is charged with petit larceny. Gibson was sentenced in City Court to six months in jail, to run concurrent with a sentence out of Town of Batavia Court.

Bradley R. Jordan, 23, of Colby Road, Darien, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, 3rd. Jordan allegedly entered and started a vehicle that didn't belong to him at 6:55 p.m., Nov. 16, at 4 Treadeasy Ave., Batavia.

Martin F. Jones, 45, of State Street, is charged with petit larceny. Jones allegedly stole a phone from a residence on State Street at 9:30 p.m., Nov. 27.

Andrei Peter Sliker, 25, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Sliker was allegedly found in possession of cocaine and buprenorphine during at traffic stop initiated by Deputy Eric Meyer at 7:45 a.m. Dec. 23, 2015 on Route 5 in Stafford.

Amandarae L. Moore, 29, of Route 31, Albion, was arrested on a warrant. Moore is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation in the Town of Elba.

Pembroke beat Byron-Bergen in a home game for the Bees last night, 55-46.

Olivia Kohurst scored 14 points for the Lady Dragons, with six coming off a pair of three-pointers. Mackenzie Jurek had 11 and Mackenzie Johnson, who also had a pair of three-point buckets, had 10.

For Byron-Bergen, Karson Richenberg had 11 points, Dana VanValkenberg, nine, Jenna Amesburg, nine, Hailey Hubbard, eight, and Kelsey Fuller, seven. VanValkenberg and Amesburg each hit three-point shots.

Press release:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has started a new petition for residents to urge Governor Cuomo and members of the State Legislature to expand ridesharing services, such as Uber and Lyft, to Upstate New York.  The petition is available online at ranzenhofer.nysenate.gov.

“While New York City residents are able to enjoy ridesharing services, Upstate New Yorkers have been left behind. Expanding access to these transportation companies is long overdue,” Ranzenhofer said. “Working together, we can send a strong message: give the green light to ridesharing in Western New York. I encourage residents to express their support for this legislation by signing my petition.”

Currently, transportation network companies operate only in New York City.  Senator Ranzenhofer has co-sponsored (S.4580A) and voted for legislation (S.4108D) to make these transportation services available across the entire state.

“New York has repeatedly stood in the way, whether by over-regulation or outright banning, of professional services that are legal and available in most states and cities across the nation. There is no reason why residents, from Rochester to Buffalo, should be prevented from requesting an Uber when they could easily do so in Boston, Cleveland and Milwaukee,” Ranzenhofer said.
 

After a search of the woods last night in the area of Keeney Road and Quinlan Road, Le Roy, two suspects in a series of incidents were located and arrested.

The call to police started with a report to Le Roy PD of suspicious activity at the Kwik Fill in Le Roy, followed by the report of an accident on Keeney Road at about 10:13 p.m.

Two people were seen fleeing into a wooded area.

Deputy Ryan Young along with the K-9 patrol led by Livingston County Deputy Michael Wade responded and started a search. 

Also assisting were other Le Roy PD officers, local deputies, troopers and State Police aviation.

After a lengthy search, the suspects were located and identified as Haleigh I. Ogden, 18, of East Avenue, Batavia, and Giancarlo A. Miranda, 18, of Clipnock Road, Stafford.

During the course of the investigation, Ogden and Miranda were identified as suspects in a burglary that occurred sometime between Dec. 8 and 9 at the Genesee County Animal Shelter. A pit bull was stolen from the shelter. 

Last night, they were found in possession of the pit bull.

Both were charged with burglary, 3rd, and jailed on $15,000 bail each.

The pit bull was returned to the animal shelter.

(initial report)

A truck that was stolen from a location on Route 77 in Darien yesterday was recovered overnight on Route 219 in Erie County, along with the trailer that was hitched to it carrying two brand new Polaris 450 four-wheelers.

But the two four-wheelers are still missing, according to Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster.

If anybody has information that may assist in the investigation, call (585) 343-5000.

Yesterday, we launched our new local business promotion site, ShopLocal.TheBatavian.com.

One of the first features we added to the site (there are more to come) is a way for you to post recommendations for your favorite local businesses. Recommendations are a great way for you to help spread the word about your favorite local businesses and encourage your friends, family members and neighbors to give these businesses a try.

If you post a recommendation on ShopLocal.TheBatavian.com in the next week, you will be entered into a drawing for a free $100 gift certificate to Valle Jewelers. In fact, it gets better: the more recommendations you post, the greater your chance of winning because you get one ticket in the drawing for every recommendation you post.

This contest will end the morning of Dec. 21. That gives you a week to post as many recommendations as you can and get as many chances as you can to win a $100 gift certificate to Valle Jewelers.

No purchase necessary. Employees of The Batavian are excluded from the drawing.

To post a recommendation, you need to register on the site. Here's the easy part: if you've already registered for Deal of the Day, just use your same email and password to sign in.

From 5 to 9 inches of snow is expected to hit the area on Wednesday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a lake effect snow watch starting Wednesday afternoon and lasting into the night.

Winds will blow at 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph, producing significant blowing and drifting snow.

Hazardous travel conditions are predicted.

The forecast confidence is rated as medium. 

"There remains some uncertainty with respect to the intensity of the lake effect snow band," the weather service said.

Deputies are looking for possible burglary suspects in an area north of Quinlan Road in Le Roy.

The suspects may have tried to flee in a vehicle and it either crashed or they abandoned it and ran into the woods.

There are reportedly two males and a female.

A neighbor has also pursued them into the woods, according to dispatchers.

A K-9 unit from Livingston County is requested to the area to assist in the search.

Press release:

During the last five seasons, The Pembroke High School Girls’ Basketball Team has focused on winning—not just league games, but the battle against breast cancer.  It’s a cause that is personal to the team and their school district because of the number of faculty and family members who have been affected by the disease.  Yet according to Senior Captain, Shelby Turner, this year’s fundraiser (7pm, Thursday, January 12th vs. Notre Dame) is particularly important as it marks the final season this group of four seniors will be able to play in the event.

“I was only in 7th grade when the first varsity team came up with the idea to host the first Shooting For A Cure! game in support of Toni Funke’s battle with breast cancer,” Turner said.  The team spent that season seeking support from the community and local businesses in hopes of funding research efforts at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in honor of Mrs. Funke.  “Although I was a young player on the modified team it was amazing to see our community come together the way they did in support of her,” Turner stated. “This fundraiser means so much to our team because it gives us an opportunity to give back to the community, especially those battling cancer. This game is our identity and we take tremendous pride in that,” Turner said.

The 2017 Shooting For A Cure! donors list numbers more than 65 merchants and individuals such as ADPRO Sports, AdWorks, the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Bisons, Carly’s Club, Chef’s, Chestnut Hill Country Club, Darien Lake, Fava Brothers Lawn Care, Insty-Prints, Maple Ridge Landscaping, M&T Bank, NFL Films, Original Pizza Logs, Party City, Perry’s Ice Cream, Target, Tops, Save-A-Lot and the YMCA to name a few.  Many of the product donations will become game night auction baskets and raffle prizes. Monies will also be raised from apparel sales and food sales with the generous support of local pizzerias and vending companies.  Additionally, online donations are being accepted at the team’s online fundraising site: (https://www.crowdrise.com/shooting4acure).

The team hopes Shooting For A Cure! will continue its tradition of topping the previous years’ fundraising total.  According to team member Sammi Tatarski, the event succeeds because of the format. “All of the money raised that evening goes directly to support cancer research at Roswell Park,” Tatarski said. “Playing for this team is not just about basketball, it’s about giving back to the community and showing our support for those in need any way we can.”  Tatarski added, “This game is personal to me because in 2013 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Seeing what she went through was difficult and no one wants to see a family member go through that. It inspired me to want to do whatever I could to help find a cure for this disease.  That 2013 season I was just a young kid on the JV team.  This game has had a special meaning to me ever since that day and I truly believe in what it stands for.”

Roswell Park has officially sanctioned Shooting For A Cure! as a Team Cure fundraiser and as a valuable example of the way that young people can make a difference. “We continue to be impressed by the Pembroke Girls’ Basketball Team each season. They push themselves, not only on the court, but off the court as well going above and beyond for the benefit of others.  It’s inspirational to have a group of teens who are so passionate about raising funds for cancer research at Roswell Park.  These girls continue to demonstrate an incredible amount of compassion,” said Julia Harvey, Team Cure coordinator.  “This team is special and their community is amazing.  Although the players may change each season, Shooting For A Cure! has remained constant, with the girls leading the charge, for five consecutive seasons,” Harvey added.  “To think that they’ve has raised over $40,000 in five seasons with this game is a testament to benevolence of these girls and the entire Pembroke community.” 

A new Ford F-350 pickup truck, along with a double-axle tilt trailer carrying two brand new Polaris 450 four-wheelers, was stolen sometime overnight from a location on Route 77 in Darien.

The pickup truck is white.

The only lead at this time is footprints in the snow, said Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster, Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies were dispatched at 6 a.m. to take the report, Brewster said.

People with information that may assist in the investigation are asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 343-5000.

UPDATE: A picture of the truck added. Investigators are asking that if you saw this truck with a trailer out on the road anytime after, say, 4 a.m., or maybe earlier, call the Sheriff's Office.

St. Mary's yesterday held a capacity audience for the annual Genesee Symphony Orchestra holiday show, which featured performances by Emily Helenbrook, of Alexander, and Young Artist Competition winner Amelia Snyder.

The family of conductor Shade Zajac also dedicated a new podium his grandfather made and donated to the GSO.

When it came time for the orchestra to play "Sleigh Bells," Zajac invited a young member of the audience to step onto the podium to conduct the orchestra. Shannon Campbell stepped forward (photo below provided by her mother).

The GSO's next concert is at 4 p.m., March 12, at Genesee Community College, and will feature pianist Brian Preston. Music will include Brahms, Concerto No. 1 in D Minor and Marquez, Danzon No. 2.

Serena Lynn Snyder, 31, of East Shelby Road, Oakfield, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Snyder is accused of assisting a cashier at Walmart in the theft of $1,500 from the store. Previously charged: Brittani Louise Diaz, 18, of East Shelby Road, Oakfield.

Christianna Maria Vicaretti, 26, of Silent Meadows Drive, Spencerport, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Vicaretti was allegedly found in possession of marijuana and paraphernalia during at traffic stop at 4:45 p.m. Saturday on Townline Road, Bergen, by Deputy Chris Erion.

Russell Fields Jr., of 27 W. Bergen Road, Bergen, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Fields is accused of violating an order of protection. He was jailed on $3,500 bail or $7,000 bond.

When we launched our Deal of the Day program, I shared that this was the first step toward my intention to write code, to create a series of programs that I hope will better serve local residents and local businesses.

Today, we announce the next big step along this path -- launching a new site to help promote local businesses, ShopLocal.TheBatavian.com.

I built this, no vendor, no open source software, because none of the options really did what I think a site like this should do for local businesses and local residents. What ShopLocal.TheBatavian.com is today is not what it will be a year or even two years from now. This is just the foundation, a framework. I will add more and more services and functions as time permits.

And stay tuned, in the next day or two we will announce the first in a series of contests tied into this new site.

Meanwhile, visit ShopLocal.TheBatavian.com and email me with any feedback, suggestions or errors you find: howard@thebatavian.com.

Also, if you own a local business and it's not listed, call our office at (585) 250-4118 and ask for Dawn Puleo. She can assist you.