Stories from

Joshua D. Quaintance, 21, of 31 Buffalo Road, Bergen, is charged with assault in the third degree. Quaintance and a 17-year-old companion are accused of striking another person in the head causing an injury during a July 18 incident on Richmond Avenue in Bergen. The incident was investigated by investigators Timothy Weis and Kris Kautz. Both defendants were released without bail.

Tonya Marie Weber, 25, of 52 N. Pearl St., Oakfield, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property. Weber allegedly had a pit-bull puppy that belonged to another person. She then reportedly gave the puppy away, preventing the original owner from recovering the puppy.

Cheri A. Himmerlreich, 45, of 111 Paddock Drive, Dewitt, is charged with DWI and with driving with a BAC of . 08 or greater. Himmerlreich was stopped for allegedly speeding on Route 98 in the Town of Batavia. Deputy Kevin R. McCarthy investigated and concluded that Himerlreich allegedly consumed alcohol prior to driving.

Bruce I. Fuller, 63, of 693 Sanford Road, Churchville, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property. Fuller was stopped by Batavia Police Officer T.S. Mart on Clinton Street after it was determined Fuller was driving a rental vehicle he allegedly failed to return when the rental term expired. He was remanded to Genesee County Jail on $3,000 bail.

Todd M. Kemp, 36, of 6 Lehigh Ave., Batavia, is charged with harassment. Kemp allegedly kicked and pushed a woman he knows yesterday evening. Kemp was remanded to Genesee County Jail on $750 bail. Batavia Police Officer W. C. Fenton investigated the incident.

Jacob S. Smart, 27, of 6437 Albion Road, Oakfield, is charged with DWI. Smart was spotted early Sunday morning by Sgt. Brian Frieday of the Sheriff's Office driving on Albion Road and allegedly crossing the double yellow line. Smart was also cited for failure to keep right.

Ronald Edward Johnson, 19, of 8081 Blackstreet Road, Le Roy, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance. Johnson was reportedly the passenger in a car that was stopped in the Village of Le Roy for tailgating. During the traffic stop Saturday at 12:16 p.m., Johnson was allegedly found in possession of cocaine. Deputy Brian Thompson was the arresting officer.

David John Reschke, 18, of 9741 Transit Road, Stafford, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Reschke was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation Saturday at 1:17 p.m.  Reschke was allegedly found in possession of marijuana by Deputy Brian Thompson.

Jacob William Paniski, 27, of 2306 Brewerton Road, Brewerton, is charged with petty larceny. Paniski is accused of shoplifting from the gift shop at Darien Lake Theme Park.

Sammantha Nicole Frear, 21, of 2306 Brewerton Road, Syracuse, is charged with harassment, Frear is accused of pushing a loss-prevention officer while at Darien Lake Theme Park.

Joshua J. Swimline, 26, of 1270 Main Road, Corfu, is charged with DWI with a BAC of .08 or greater, driving with a suspended registration and unlawful possession of marijuana. Swimline was stopped Thursday morning on Route 77 in Pembroke by Deputy Patrick Reeves and Deputy Bradley Mazur for allegedly driving a car with a suspended registration. Upon further investigation, Reeves and Mazur allegedly found Swimline intoxicated.

Jeanna Marie Hattaway, 22, is charged with harassment. Hattaway allegedly pushed another person during a domestic dispute. The alleged incident took place yesterday at 12:49 p.m..

Center Street Smoke House: Good, Southern, down-home cooking that will hit the spot, even if you're not from North Carolina. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Main St. Pizza Company: Main St. is popular with Batavians for a reason: Every item on the menu is expertly prepared. For Main Street, we have four $5 gift cards ($20 total) for $10.

Sport of Kings Family Restaurant, 419 W Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: A favorite locally owned family restaurant that is open 24 hours per day, seven days a week. We have a $15 gift certificate for $7.50.

Belladessa's Pizzeria, 9 Jackson St., Batavia, N.Y.: Umm, pizza and wings! We have a Family Meal Deal ($25 value), which is a large pizza, 24 wings and a 2 litre soft drink for $12.50.

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: Settler's has a 25-year history in Batavia of serving great, affordable breakfasts, lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies on items more than $10. The fee is 50 cents on items below $10.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value. People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before. Gift certificates cannot be combined with other offers without prior approval of the merchant. Gift certificates bought separately cannot be combined for a single purchase. By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. The winner has up to 48 hours to make arrangements to pick up the gift certificate at The Batavian office in Downtown Batavia, or, unless other arrangements are made, the gift certificate will be mailed to the address associated with the PayPal account.

Center Street Smoke House

SOLD

Sport of Kings

SOLD

Belladessa's

SOLD

Settler's

SOLD

Main St. Pizza

SOLD

Overheard on the scanner: Mother-daughter domestic. Mother took daughter's cell phone away.

Responding officer: "Let me guess, the daughter called."

And my first thought: "And we'll have fun, fun, fun until your mother takes your cell phone awaaaaay."

After back-to-back years of Genesee County residents winning the Town of Batavia Fire Department's annual Harley raffle, a Pine City man was awarded the prize in last night's drawing.

The winning ticket was pulled late in evening at the department's annual raffle party at its recreation hall and James D. Reese came up the winner.

The department also drew winning tickets for four $500 prizes and the winners were Leonard Wipf of Rochester, Dan Ferrari, of Rochester, Donald Cube of  Ithaca and Laura Debicki of Dunkirk.

Lt. Nate Fix, who headed up organization of the event, reports that even with the heavy rain, 845 people braved potential soaking to listen to 7th Heaven, who performed on a stage provided by Parise's, and dined on Clor's BBQ.

"It wasn't too bad considering the unfortunate extreme weather conditions the county experienced," Fix said. "Last year's door count was 870 people. If the weather wouldn't have been a factor, I'm confident we would have broke over 1,000 guests."

A severe thunderstorm capable of producing quarter-size hail is on its way to Batavia, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm is entering Genesee County at Darien now and is expected to reach Batavia around 2:25 p.m.

The warning is effect until 2:30 p.m.

In the midst of last night's heavy downpour, Batavia police officers were searching through the Harvester Center for alleged intruders.

A tenant in the building spotted people he didn't recognize in the complex and called police.

Three young men from outside Genesee County were taken into custody and charged with burglary.

The alleged break-in occurred at 9:30 p.m.

Arrested where:

• William F. Wernert III, 24, of 2796 Patrick Henry St., Auburn Hills, Mich
• Cory C. Pickering, 22, of 253 Morgan St., Tonawanda
• Justin S. Fay, 24 of 505 University Ave., Rochester

All three were taken to Genesee County Jail and held on $10,000 bail each.

Wernert is also charged with possession of burglary tools. He allegedly picked a lock so the trio could enter the building.

The investigating officers were Matthew Baldwin, Eric Hill, Frank Klimjack, Jason Davis and Christopher Camp.

UPDATE: Officer Wayne Fenton also assisted in the investigation. His name was inadvertently not included in the original release from the PD.

(UPDATED 6:45 a.m., July 27)

A 64-year-old man from Livonia was injured last night at the demolition derby at the Genesee County Fair, the Sheriff's Office confirmed in a news release this morning.

The victim, who was a safety worker, has been identified as 64-year-old David W. Connors. Nor has the 28-year-old driver, from Batavia, of the car that struck him.

Connors is at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester where he is in guarded condition.

The accident occurred at 8:21 p.m.

A City of Batavia ambulance was on scene immediately, as were personnel from the Stafford Fire Department and the Elba Fire Department. The victim was transported to UMMC and then transferred to Strong.

The ongoing investigation is being handled by Deputy Frank Bordonaro, Sgt. Steve Mullen, Sgt. Gregory Walker and Deputy John Duyssen of the Crash Management Team.

No other information is available at this time.

Thankfully, says Corfu resident Mickey Zanghi, she and all her neighbors are safe.  When she looked out her window Saturday evening and saw a tornado bearing down on her neighborhood, she could hardly believe her eyes.

"All I said was, 'Oh my God, there is a 'ummm' tornado," Zanghi said (pictured, lower left), "and that was it. That's all you can think was to think of your family first and take cover."

The storm struck Darien first, then tore through Corfu just a little before 5 p.m., and only minutes after the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm watch that speculated about the possibility of a tornado forming in Genesee County.

No injuries were reported as a result of the short, intense storm.

The storm first touched down in Corfu at a business residents there call the Greenhouse, which is near the Pizza Pantry.

Louie Reeb was standing with some fellow members of his work crew at the Pizza Pantry and commenting on how nice it looked outside and the rain had apparently abated, but then the winds hit.

"We noticed how bright it had gotten," Reeb said. "The rain had stopped and the sun had come out so we were standing at the window and all the sudden the wind started picking up and you could see the debris flying along with it, so we just all scattered to get away from the windows. It was kind of weird. It looked so beautiful and then a minute later it had hit the house up the street and all the debris was just flying through the air."

The Pizza Pantry was unscathed in the storm, but the nearby Greenhouse was leveled.

At the town bar on Main Street, patrons were enjoying each others' company and beers on the porch when the weather suddenly turned ugly.

"We heard this huge roar, everything was swirling around, winds were blowing like crazy for about 15, 20 seconds, it rained like crazy and that as it," said Terry Paine.

In just a few short minutes, according to area officials, a rare event for Western New York -- a tornado -- ripped through Darien and Corfu, uprooting trees, knocking down power lines and and damaging homes and businesses.

"We thought it was a loud train going by, so we thought maybe it was a crash with a train, and we looked out our window and there was the tornado smack dab in front of us," Zanghi said. "There was a lot of destruction."

About 20 to 25 homes in Corfu, and another dozen in Darien, were damaged, according to officials. Most of the damage was mild to moderate, mostly caused by flying debris. Two homes in Corfu suffered more serious damage, but no homes were destroyed.

A trampoline came to rest on the roof of her house, Zanghi said.

There were some outbuildings and barns that were destroyed, officials said.

"It's very concerning that you want to make sure that none of your fellow friends or your family are involved or hurt, but the major portion of that was taken care of quickly," said Corfu Fire Chief Brian McMartin, who watched the tornado as it left Corfu from his back yard. "We did a rapid response, we did some initial assessment and that went pretty well."

Judy Levan, of the National Weather Service, described the tornado as a category 1 event (the most severe tornado is a 5) with winds up to 100 m.p.h. and a four-mile-long path about 100 yards wide.

"Those are preliminary numbers and we will be doing a fly-over tomorrow morning and we'll be able to firm up exactly what the damage path was," said Levan.

The last tornado to hit Genesee County struck in 1993 and claimed the life of a truck driver, Levan said. Paine said he remembered another tornado passing through Corfu some 20 years ago.

Previously:

• Tornado hits Corfu, power lines down, Route 33 closed
• No injuries reported after tornado touches down in Corfu
• Corfu tornado videos submitted to YouTube
• Thunderstorm watch issued, nickle-sized hail expected
• Corfu tornado: Power lines down, buildings damaged, no injuries

Video below is of the press conference later Saturday evening.  My camera is not working right, so I missed most of Tim Yaeger's opening remarks, but everything else came out OK.

UPDATE 10:54 a.m.:

We just received the links to the two tornado videos below shot by Cory Coles. They were shot with his cellphone.

The rain didn't keep nearly 600 people from showing up at the Town of Batavia Fire Department Rec Hall for the department's annual Harley raffle party.

It was raining hard while I was there, but local residents crowded under the tents, enjoyed beer and Clor's BBQ and the music of 7th Heaven.

This is the 10th year for the event, said Lt. Nate Fix, the event and raffle coordinator.

The department sold out its 2,700 raffle tickets a few days ago, Fix said.  The tickets went for $20 each. 

Entry into tonight's event was free, but there was also a 50/50 raffle, pull tabs and four $500 drawings prior to the Harley giveaway (no word yet on who won, and since the party's still going, it may not have been awarded yet).

Fix said this is the big social event of the year for the department. They lose a little money on the event (but not on the Harley raffle), but it's a great time for the community and the volunteers.

(As for my picture above: Best I could do. Nothing else came out at all. The viewfinder on my camera is broken, so it makes it very hard to operate correctly.)

Pictures submitted by Greg Crawford, a resident of Corfu.

Jay Terkel sends along this e-mail:

I was not home when the storm went past the house, but here are some pictures taken after it went . My wife said it sounded like a train coming through. The main damage was to houses to the east of us, Basically, it looks like the "tornado" came through damaging the trees in homes on the east side of Thompson Drive (we live at the west corner of Thompson and Main St.) the two homes on Main Street and the flower shop. Most of the damage is just trees, poles, wires, and windows, except a couple of sheds  at the flower shop and one house.

Jay took this picture:

 Audio:

• Corfu resident talks about seeing tornado and damage to her street

Above, a photo I took of the press conference late this evening.

Previous:

• Tornado hits Corfu, power lines down, Route 33 closed
• No injuries reported after tornado touches down in Corfu
• Corfu tornado videos submitted to YouTube
• Thunderstorm watch issued, nickle-sized hail expected

We've heard this from enough sources to report that there was a an accident at the demolition derby in at the Genesee County Fair early this evening. An individual was taken by ground ambulance to UMMC.  Mercy Flight could not respond due to the weather.

We have heard that the Sheriff's Office is investigating the accident, so we anticipate a press release or accident report as soon as Sunday, but maybe not until Monday.

I've received requests for more information, but none is available at this time.

Below are the three Corfu torando-related videos that have appeared on YouTube so far.

Ritchie Kirkum submitted this photo, which he shot (he received as a SMS message) in East Pembroke.

UPDATE: Picture submitted by Ian Cromwell

A funnel cloud, or tornado touched down in Corfu just before 5 p.m. knocking down about 15 power polls and numerous trees.

There is some building damage, but no serious damage has been reported so far.

No injuries have been reported.

The tornado was tracked by the National Weather Service heading toward Oakfield and was expected to reach there at 5:20 p.m.

The tornado has apparently not touched down elsewhere in Genesee County by 5:35 p.m. and was moving into Orleans County (if it still exists).

There has been the smell of natural gas in the village and work crews are being dispatched to shut down utilities, with an ETA of 25 to 60 minutes.

Portions of routes 33 and 77 have been shut down.

Initial Report.

UPDATE 5:44 p.m.: Tornado warning has been cancelled.

UPDATE: Audio interviews with witnesses, unedited:

• Interview one
• Interview two
• Interview three

UPDATE: Audio interview with the Corfu Fire Chief.

UPDATE: photo submission by a reader who asked to remain anonymous

Heather Wooton submitted this photo from her backyard in Holley.

UPDATE: 10:13 p.m.  Finally back from the scene, had some dinner ... my battery died out in Corfu, so I'll be doing some more updates now.

Submitted by Beverly Hensel.

A reader submitted this photo. I've seen it on the cellphones of multiple people. It may be the most widely distributed cellphone picture of the twister. TV news crews at the scene were complaining that they couldn't use it because nobody knows who took it. We here at The Batavian are quite confident it hasn't been doctored in PhotoShop. That just seems highly unlikely, so no concern about sharing it with you.

Reports of a tornado hitting Corfu are coming in -- several power lines down along Route 33, and the road is being closed from the fire hall to Route 77.

There are numerous 911 calls coming into the dispatch center.

Trees have also been knocked down.

The tornado is moving east.

UPDATE: Eastbound Route 33 is closed and southbound Route 77 is reported completely impassable.

A funnel cloud has been spotted moving toward East Pembroke. 

Route 77 at Route 20 is being closed in both directions.

There are reports of damaged homes and cars, but no injuries reported. (UPDATE: We're also hearing now houses in the village damaged, but fire crews are shutting off utilities.)

UPDATE: The National Weather Service has just issued a tornado watch:

* TORNADO WARNING FOR... GENESEE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK... THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BATAVIA... WEST CENTRAL MONROE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK... SOUTHEASTERN ORLEANS COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...
* UNTIL 545 PM EDT
* AT 503 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF OAKFIELD...OR 9 MILES WEST OF BATAVIA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... OAKFIELD BY 520 PM EDT... BYRON BY 545 PM EDT...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT SATURDAY EVENING FOR WESTERN NEW YORK.

UPDATE 5:20 p.m. : No reports of the tornado touching down else where; it has been spotted from the Thruway.  At a location in Corfu there is the smell of natural gas. Emergency crews report that so far they've found "everybody OK."

UPDATE: 5:30 p.m.: Smell of gas at the flower shop. Also, tree limbs spotted on train tracks in the area.

Northern Genesee County is about to get hit with a severe thunderstorm capable of producing nickel-sized hail, according to the National Weather Service office in Buffalo.

Winds could exceed 60 m.p.h.  There is a weak rotation area in the storm that could develop into a tornado, the weather service warned.

At 4:45 p.m., the storm was in the area of Alabama, 9 miles south of Medina and moving northeast at 25 m.p.h.

"If a tornado is spotted," the Weather Service statement says, "act quickly and move to a place of safety in a sturdy structure, such as a basement or small interior room.

The severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect until 9 p.m. for all of Western New York.

The Walgreens in Le Roy is now open, as we learned from a glowing piece of PR published in the Batavia Daily News.

The problem of its construction, which as is downright hostile to other businesses in the village with its parking lot and fence in front of the building, is, of course, still a problem.

And it was a problem the Le Roy Planning Board recognized back in August 2007, according to an article in the Daily News archives:

Planning Board member Jerry McCullough said he would like to see a design consistent with a small-town Main Street look, including having the store closer to the sidewalk and all the parking either behind the building or to one side and the rear.

Planning Board Chairman Robert Dawley agreed. He would like Walgreens to design a store similar to the way the Village Hall sits on its parcel, with green space between the sidewalk and building and its front setback consistent with nearby properties.

"I think it would be visually more pleasing to the community," he said. The traditional downtown look would also provide better sight lines for drivers approaching the traffic light at routes 5 and 19, he said.

I remember being told a year ago that the building would fit into the village.  I wonder whatever happened to that plan?

Meanwhile, the building is already up for sale. Asking price: $5.1 million.

The Bergen Fire Department is responding to a reported truck fire at the Sugar Creek store on Route 19 and Route 33.  The truck is reportedly unloaded.

The DOT today announced a $585,737 project to pave a portion of Route 262 in Elba and Bryon.

The contract is expected to be awarded to Hanson Aggregates New York of Jamesville.

The section will stretch from Route 98 to Route 237.

The announcement was contained in a press release that announced several projects across WNY. All of the projects will take about two weeks each, with most of the work being done before the end of the summer, but all projects completed before 2010.

Also from the press release:

The economic-recovery funds coming to New York State for transportation projects must follow the same process required for distributing all federal transportation funds. The funds are allocated to projects that are selected by the 13 regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) across the state, which are comprised of local elected officials, local transit operators and NYSDOT representatives. MPOs vote unanimously on projects for their Transportation Improvement Program, and the projects are candidates for economic-recovery funds.  These paving projects were approved by the Genesee Transportation Council to be eligible to receive ARRA funding.

Valle Jewelers, 21 Jackson St., Batavia, N.Y.: An exquisite store with quality merchandise to fit any budget. At Valle Jewelers you get exceptional customer service from a business that has been serving Batavia for three generations. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

South Main Country Gifts, 3356 S. Main St. Road, Batavia, N.Y.: Another fun place to shop. There are items for the home and gift items of great variety. The two-level store has everything from incense to garden ornaments. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, N.Y.: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. Alex's is best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $50 gift certificate for $25.

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, N.Y.: If you're looking to try a perfect neighborhood eatery, check out Delavan's. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, N.Y.: Ribs, brisket, steak, prime rib -- Center Street is a meat lover's paradise. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Picasso's Pizza, 419 W. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: A great variety of pizza, subs and salads -- and try the wings, too. We have three $5 booklets of $1 gift certificates ($15 value) for $7.50. The gift certificates can be used collectively or individually.

Eclectic Creations, 625 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y. Do you like fashionable purses? Maybe a unique watch is more your style. Eclectic Creations a variety of items that you won't find in any other local store. This is a $20 gift certificate for $8.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies on items more than $10. The fee is 50 cents on items below $10.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value. People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before. Gift certificates cannot be combined with other offers without prior approval of the merchant. Gift certificates bought separately cannot be combined for a single purchase. By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. The winner has up to 48 hours to make arrangements to pick up the gift certificate at The Batavian office in Downtown Batavia, or, unless other arrangements are made, the gift certificate will be mailed to the address associated with the PayPal account.

Valle Jewelers

SOLD

Alex's Place

SOLD

Center Street Smoke House

SOLD

Delavan's

SOLD

Picasso's

SOLD

South Main

SOLD

Eclectic Creations