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A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for parts of Genesee County until 9:15 p.m.

The thunderstorm is currently located near Pavilion, according to National Weather Service radar, and has gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail.

Minor damage to vehicles is possible.  Wind damage to powerlines and trees is possible.

The storm is also expected to hit Le Roy and Stafford.

Jennifer Moton

Jennifer "Miss B" M. Moton, 37, of Driving Park, Rochester, is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance 3rd, four counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd, and promoting prison contraband 1st. Moton was arrested following a traffic stop by Deputy Kenneth Quackenbush on a warrant based on a sealed Grand Jury indictment in Genesee County for allegedly selling crack cocaine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force.  While Morton was being processed at the jail, information was developed that resulted in a search warrant. Morton was allegedly found in possession of 41 pre-packaged bags of crack cocaine along with a bulk quantity of crack cocaine. Moton was arraigned in Genesee County Court and released on her own recognizance and arraigned in Town of Stafford court and also released on her own recognizance. 

Jennifer L. Sprague-Clark, 39, of Batavia, robbery 1st degree; criminal possession of a weapon 3rd degree, grand larceny 4th degree, coercion 3rd degree, and menacing 2nd, burglary 2nd, grand larceny 4th, and obstruction of governmental administration 2nd. Sprague-Clark is accused of fleeing on foot following a traffic stop at 10:22 a.m., June 1. A short time later she was taken into custody. She was subdued with a taser. The officer was reportedly aware of other pending charges. No information was released related to the other charges. She was arraigned in city court and ordered held on $25,000 bail, $50,000 bond, or $100,000 partially secured bond.

Arthur L. Golden, 63, of Batavia is charged with criminal contempt 1st degree; burglary 3rd degree. Golden is accused of contacting a person he was ordered not to contact. He was ordered held without bail. Previously: Law and Order: Batavia man accused of assaulting neighbor, stealing neighbor's bike

(name redacted upon request (charges dismissed)), xxxxxx, is charged with stalking 4th and harassment 2nd. xxxx is accused of stalking and harassing another person over an extended period of time. The allegations were first reported on Nov. 25 and Investigator Howard Carlson handled the case. xxxx was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released. An order of protection was issued.

Elaysia A. Mendez, 26, of Delamaine Drive, Rochester, is charged with felony DWI (three or more convictions within 15 years), aggravated unlicensed operation, driving without an interlock device, uninspected motor vehicle, forgery 2nd, criminal impersonation 2nd, and falsifying business records. Mendez was stopped at 3:22 a.m., June 11, on Route 33 in Stafford by Sgt. Mathew Clor.  She allegedly provided a false identity to Clor and signed her fingerprints at the Genesee County Jail with another person's name.  She was held pending arraignment.

Megan Danae Seymour, 32, no street address provided, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and motor vehicle lights below standards. Seymour was stopped at 1:49 a.m., June 12, on Walnut Street, Batavia, by Deputy Trevor Sherwood.

Robert Lawrence Tullar, II, 39, of Townline Road, Byron, is charged with petit larceny.  Tullar is accused of shoplifting from Walmart at 3:47 p.m., June 14. 

Zachary J. Marrow, 30, of Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief. Marrow is accused of damaging a fence belonging to a neighbor.  He was issued an appearance ticket.

Andre L. Roberts, 29, of Pavilion, is charged with trespassing. Roberts is accused of being on property at 11:25 a.m., June 7, on Ellsworth Avenue, Batavia, after being advised he was not welcome. Roberts was issued an appearance ticket.

Laura J. Reed, 30, of Le Roy, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Reed is accused of not showing up for Grand Jury after being served a subpoena on March 29. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Michael J. Elmore, 31, no residence information provided, is charged with criminal mischief 4th. Elmore is accused of slashing tires on multiple vehicles on Swan Street on March 27. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Antonio D. Callen, 31, of Selma, Ala., is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, speeding, and no headlights. Callen was stopped at 2:17 a.m., June 5, on Main Street, Batavia, by a Batavia patrol officer. Callen was released on traffic tickets.

Ajie JJ. Smith-Ezell, 27, of Rochester, is charged with assault 1st. Smith-Ezell is accused of assaulting a person at a local hotel. He was arraigned in City Court and ordered held on $10,000 bail, $20,000 bond, or $40,000 partially secured bond. An order of protection was issued.

Anthony L. Vanelli, 44, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Vanelli is accused of stealing multiple packs of pork ribs from a business on Ellicott Street at 6:38 p.m., June 4. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Erica M. Raphael, 37, of Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant. She was sentenced on a pending matter in City Court, concluding all court proceedings on the case.

Michael W. Williams, 63, of Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Williams was allegedly observed by witnesses driving drunk at 7:35 p.m., May 31. Williams was located by a Batavia patrol officer and upon further investigation, arrested.  Williams allegedly failed a field sobriety test. He was issued traffic tickets and released.

Crystal A. Mounts, 45, of Batavia, was arrested on six bench warrants. She was arraigned in City Court and ordered held on bail.

A motorcycle and other vehicle have reportedly crashed head-on on Clinton Street Road near Terry Hills.

The rider is reportedly down in the roadway, with unknown injuries.

Mercy Flight is available and is on ground standby.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:48 p.m.: Stafford requested to Seven Springs Road to close traffic and Batavia PD requested to close traffic at East Avenue.

UPDATE 3:55 p.m.: Motorcyclist is alert and talking.

UPDATE 4:02 p.m.: A landing zone for Mercy Flight is being set up at Terry Hills.

UPDATE 4:04 p.m.: A person reportedly insisted on walking through the accident scene because he had a tee time.

Students at Jackson Primary School began their day today in patriotic fashion with a Flag Day ceremony that included members of the Genesee County Joint Veterans Honor Guard and Western New York National Cemetery Honor Guard.

The veterans shared some lessons about the flag.

Students sang "God Bless America" and "This Land is Your Land."

Frank Panepento, a technology teacher at Batavia Middle School, played trumpet. 

Members of the Muckdogs organization joined the celebration.

Photos and information courtesy Batavia City Schools  Top photo: Phil Gaudy and Carl Hyde fold a U.S. flag.

Jackson Primary students reciting The Pledge of Allegiance

Front row, Giavanna Shultz, Gabriella Zucchiatti, Ronan McCarthy, Janielynn Roque; back row: Maureen Notaro, Jackson principal, Carl Hyde, Jason Smith, Superintendent, Phil Gaudy, Tom Cecere

The Muckdogs kept their early-season success going on Monday night at Dwyer Stadium with a 10-7 win over Syracuse.

The Muckdogs are now 7-2 on the season and play home again on Monday.

Stats for last night's game have not been posted.

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Before Le Roy's U-16 softball game against Batavia on Monday evening, Lily Uberty received the first-ever Madison Grace Masters Peacemaker Award.

The purpose of the award is to honor Madison Master, who passed away in 2020. The Le Roy Youth Softball board created the award to secure the legacy of Master in the Le Roy athletic community. 

The MGM Peacemaker Award is given to a deserving player, as chosen by their coaches, who exemplifies:

• Commitment to the sport of softball and team.
• Model of sportsmanship in treating teammates, coaches, opposing teams, umpires and parents with the utmost respect.
• Acts as a mentor and example, embracing inclusivity and supporting teammates who may be struggling.
• Maintains a positive attitude in all aspects of practice and competition, especially in difficult situations.
• Displays the qualities of a leader where respect has been earned from teammates and coaches alike.

Uberty received a $100 gift certificate donated by Dick's Sporting Goods as well as a custom-crafted softball adorned with MGM and a red butterfly and #12, Maddie's number when she played softball.

Photos by Howard Owens

Winning Mr. Batavia in 2022 means a lot to Noah Burke. The charity he chose to support is so important to his family, he says, and the event itself was one last hurrah for the Batavia High School senior and the guys he knows so well.

"I've known all these guys pretty much my whole life," Burke said. "We've grown up together and have known each other since even before school started. It's kind of an opportunity for me and my friends to just get together and have one last big thing before we're all headed off to go on with our lives when we graduate."

Burke's win means the Juvenile Arthritis Foundation gets a $1,919 donation, or half the proceeds from the competition.

"I picked the Juvenile Arthritis Foundation because my little sister Liliana was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis when she was 10 years old," Burke said. "She has it in about 20 or something joints now. It's really been a struggle and an obstacle for me and my family to overcome with her growing up because she's been going through a lot. It's just kind of made us grow as a family and it's just great to be able to give back to the foundation for all they've done for us."

Top photo: Mr. Batavia Noah Burke and Mr. Batavia organizer Lisa Robinson.

Photos by Howard Owens

Second place, Matthew Smith, with Laurie Napoleone, of the Michael Napoleone Foundation.

Third place, Nick Grover, and Jaylene Smith-Kilner of Habitat for Humanity.

Among the expanded services being offered by Independent Living of the Genesee Region is a closet for people that were displaced and have recently found a place to live.

The closet contains donated household items to help a person get back on his or her feet.

"We basically accept (in donations) any appliances, dishes, silverware, I mean, anything that somebody who's establishing a new place would probably need," said Holly McAllister during a tour of Independent Living's "new" place in the Crickler Building on Main Street in Batavia.

"New" because Independent Living relocated from its downtown location to the Crickler building shortly before the start of the pandemic. However, the agency never had an opportunity to host an open house until now.

McAllister's job title is "taking control administrator." 

"We have a housing department so people who go to DSS or are homeless can come here for help to get housing," McAllister said. "We are independent living specialists so people can come in and get help with finding housing."

Working with people in a housing crisis is part of McAllister's job.

"I work with the consumer as part of keeping people in their homes and trying to get them help if they need it."

Independent Living is located at 319 West Main Street, Batavia.  Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone is (585) 815-8501.

Photos by Howard Owens

The office also houses a lending library.

There are also art and craft supplies available.

At the open house, the new Michael Phillips Conference Room was dedicated.  Philips is a past CEO of Independent Living who passed away from cancer.

A proposed 650-foot tall, 4.5-megawatt wind turbine proposed for Dry Bridge Road in Alexander met some opposition at a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting last week.

Some residents said it wasn't needed, they didn't want it, questioned the financial benefit to the town, and suggested it would be an eyesore.

The community-based energy project -- meaning town, village, and school district receive fees and residents get a discount on electricity -- would be constructed by Borrego Energy on property owned by Dale and Brenda Spring. Representatives of Borrego, which included Dave Strong, Brandon Smith and Mark Kenworth, explained the project.

The Spring property is 147 acres and the windmill will be on the northern portion of the property, about 1,954 feet north of Dry Bridge Road and 4,136 feet south of Route 20.

The project will disturb only 8.5 acres of the property, and it came before the ZBA because the town code prohibits wind turbines taller than 500 feet.

Strong explained that each new generation of turbines gets taller and taller, and no developer builds turbines shorter than 500 feet. The new standard is 650 feet and windmills are getting taller across the country and around the world. 

There are no dwellings or structures on the Spring property. 

"This is the smallest we could go to make a project like this work economically," Strong said. "The wind turbine towers have gotten a little bit taller every decade, not too much, but they keep getting a little bit taller." 

That's because of improved technology, he said.

"The thing that's gotten really efficient is the blades. The blades are now made of, like, carbon fiber material. They're very light. You can make them longer and longer."

The improved technology means the days of large windmill farms are coming to a close, Strong suggested.

"It's important to note that we can do one wind turbine where you used to have to do five or six," Strong said. "You'd have to spread them out and they were shorter, like the ones in Orangeville. We're way beyond those wind turbines."

The turbine will be tall
One resident questioned why "little Alexander" needed such a big windmill.

"This is is 650 feet," he said. "It is double the height of the Empire State Building. It isn't going to give us that much more joy in this community than having two Empire State Buildings stacked on top of one another. I mean, let's be honest here. This is all about money. It's all about money. 

Actually, the Empire State Building is twice as tall as the proposed windmill at 1,250 feet, not including the spire.

The height of the windmill is why a ZBA variance is required. Smith said the local code was probably written before technology pushed windmills higher and when available air traffic control made anything taller an issue for Federal Aviation Administration.

"Back when the bylaw was written, there was this idea that 500 was kind of the limit that the FAA would approve," Smith said.

The FAA will review plans for this turbine, Smith said, but he suggested it is likely to be approved.

The height is also a concern of John Volpe, who suggested Borrego's renderings of the proposed windmill are misleading, showing its proximity to a telephone pole in the foreground off Route 20.

He suggested a better comparison was his own rendering of a two-story house, 20-feet tall, next to the 650-foot tall windmill.

Environmental concerns
An environmentalist, Volpe also said there is a community of endangered plants on the Spring property that isn't addressed in documents provided by Borrego.

"I hope the zoning board will understand that this little community that's for special plants, very endangered plants, everything like this is extremely important, especially when there are only 80 other communities within the whole world," he said.

Volpe claimed that Borrego's survey for endangered plants was made on Nov. 18 when most plants are dormant.

Cory Mower paid his respects to the property owner, Spring, whose family has been in Alexander for multiple generations but said he is opposed to the proposal.

"He has his own road name, you know, but this is just ridiculous in my mind as one of the closest houses if not the closest house (to the project)," Mower said. "This is 650 feet tall.  I know for a fact there's a hawk nest not 500 feet from there and there's got to be more. There are eagles, too. There are eagles all over the place, not to mention the other animals that these things kill. I understand money. I understand where this is coming from, but I just can't have it. I mean, I can't."

There are significant environmental regulations for Borrego to navigate, Smith suggested, and the company is working close with the Department of Environmental Conservation to address environmental concerns.

"We've been in close contact with them," Smith said. "As for the impact eagles, birds, =grassland birds, all those sorts of things, we've been working with them to obtain permits and understand the impacts and what we can do to mitigate. For example, bats, as we all know, aren't out in a hurricane.They're out on calm summer nights. Those times we are actually going to curtail, we're going to shut down the turbine at those low wind speeds during the summer when we know bats will be out to try to minimize as much as possible any impact in bats."

Windmills need wind
Some residents questioned whether there was enough wind in Alexander to power such a large turbine.

Yes, in summertime the wind dies down, but in spring, fall, and winter, there is ample wind, Strong said.

"Especially these modern wind turbines with very light carbon fiber blades. Believe it or not, they can make decent electricity even in really light winds," Strong said. "The other thing is, once you get up above the trees, which is one of the reasons we kind of have to go tall, that wind actually is much more consistent than it is when you're down on the ground."

The best deal possible for Alexander
Borrego is building the windmill but won't necessarily own it, Smith said. It could be sold to another company, maybe.

The cost of the project will exceed $4 million, with $3 million being spent just on the turbine.

While the local government agencies will receive fees from the project over the next 15 years, it's not going to be a windfall for the town, Strong said.  He said it's too soon in the project planning to nail down financial returns. He estimated the town will get from $250,000 to $300,000 from the project, or about $20,000 a year, plus another $8,000 in payment in lieu of taxes (that will be part of the economic development tax-incentive package that GCEDC could grant to the project).

That $28,000 is about the same amount the town, Strong indicated, had to increase its spending by this past year.

There are no state subsidies on this project. 

"Wind turbines are, they are not cheap," Strong said. "They're made to last for a long time."

With inflation and supply chain issues being what they are, it's a tough financial environment for renewable energy projects.

"(Wind companies) are actually having trouble staying profitable," Strong said. "I don't know how much money they would make (on this project). It's GE's investment and they're no dummies. I'm sure they will make enough money, but they're not making a heck of a lot of money these days. As far as a proportion of what the town will get, I will say of all wind and solar projects in the state, this is definitely the best deal per megawatt that exists."

It's good he said, because sites appropriate to a project like this are hard to find in New York. You need decent wind, a parcel big enough to be safe, and a zoning code that works for the proposed scope of the project.

"There are not many of these sites in the state, so with respect to what kind of deal the town is getting, it's the best deal going," Strong said.

Support
Among the few voices in support of the project was Don Partridge, a property owner in Alexander but a resident of Batavia, where he has three small windmills on his property. 

"My carbon footprint is zero," Partridge said.

He noted that since the 1920s, there have been telephone and utility poles up and down area roadways, but nobody ever thinks of them as unsightly.  He suggested people will adjust to the presence of a windmill in Alexander.

"I think you need to keep an open mind and how we're going to advance our environment in the future with more and more demands for electricity," Partridge said. "I am in favor of the project."

Top photo, Dave Strong and Brandon Smith.

Photos by Howard Owens

John Volpe

Talia enjoyed her visit to Harrington's Produce on Clinton Street Road in Batavia today.

Photo submitted by Paul Nichiporuk

Buck's Motorsports of Alden sponsored a Dice Run on Saturday and the run included at least one checkpoint in Genesee County -- Norton's Chizzlewood, 4309 Gilhooly Road in Alexander.

Photos submitted by Bobbi Norton.

Batavia High School's senior prom was attended by 160 students on Saturday evening at Van Detta Stadium.

There were games, a dance floor, food, photos, and a lot of happy students enjoying their big night out.

Austyn Fernandez was named Prom King, and Mackenzie Lavrey was Queen.

As part of its annual park festival, Bergen held its Main Street parade on Saturday.

Photos by Howard Owens

More photos after the jump.  Click on the headline to see more photos.

The Firing Pin in Bergen celebrated Freedom Weekend on Saturday with food, beer, raffles, a Vietnam War commemoration ceremony, along with several vendors displaying their wares.

Veterans who attended received tickets for free pizza and a beer.

A contingent from the Firing Pin also participated in the Bergen Festival Parade.

As part of PRIDE month and GLOW OUT, the Richmond Memorial Library hosted a drag queen story hour in the children's section with drag queen Chaka Khanteven.

It was a capacity audience for the event with 35 children attending and participating in a craft event after the reading.

Photos by Howard Owens.

A large diesel fuel spill is reported in the area of 258 Genesee Street, Darien.

Darien Fire and Corfu Fire dispatched.

A caller reported finding the spill.  The origin is unknown.

Dispatchers received a report of a large amount of smoke in the area of Oak and Richmond in Batavia.

A Batavia PD officer reported finding a resident on Oak burning a large amount of cardboard.

City Fire responded and a scene commander informed dispatchers, "approved containers. The homeowner was advised not to burn cardboard anymore."

City Fire is back in service.