A fire is reported in a lighting unit in the ceiling of Walmart on Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia.
The unit is near the deli section of the store.
Town of Batavia fire dispatched.
UPDATE 10:03 p.m.: It's an issue with a light ballast. Town of Batavia fire back in service.
A 26-year-old Le Roy resident was arrested today after allegedly failing to obey a police officer's orders when he was spotted in the area of the Le Roy Sewage Treatment Plant on Red Mill Road.
Zachary R. Reed, of Britt Road, Le Roy, is charged with one count of obstructing governmental administration.
Police responded to the plant at 2:28 p.m. to investigate a report of a man with a long gun at the facility.
A person with a gun was spotted going into the nearby woods and the police officer reportedly ordered him to come out of the woods with his hands up. According to Le Roy PD, the person did not comply with the order.
Other law enforcement agencies were summoned for backup, a K-9 patrol responded, and a perimeter was set up.
During the search, police officers obtained Reed's mobile number and called him. He agreed to come out of the woods, meeting officers on North Street, but he didn't have his gun with him.
After a search, the gun, a .22-caliber rifle, was located in an area of tall weeds.
Assisting Le Roy PD were the Sheriff's Office and State Police.
Reed was issued an appearance ticket.
A car has reportedly hit a building, the KFC, at 4216 W. Main Street Road, Batavia.
There are no injuries reported and only minor damage, but there is a report of fluids leaking.
Town of Batavia fire responding.
A subject was spotted with a long gun near Red Mill Road, Le Roy, and the police were called.
The subject reportedly did not obey police commands and moved further into the woods.
Multiple law enforcement units, including a K-9 patrol, have been dispatched.
UPDATE 4:15 p.m.: Local law enforcement has a person in custody.
Police received a report of a tall male pushing a shopping cart in the area of Ellicott Street and Liberty Street. He was reportedly pushing the cart in and out of traffic, creating a hazard, and touching himself.
A new report has come in that he's now on Central Avenue and handing items from his cart to small children.
Police are responding.
Batavia beat Edison Tech, 41, 15. It was another big game for Ray Leach, who rushed for three TDs on 171 yards. Codie Dioguardi also came up big, carrying the ball for 163 yards and a TD. Anthony Ray led the defense with seven tackles and a sack. Also adding seven tackles each were Chandler Baker and Sam Marble.
Le Roy beat Wayland-Cohocton 34-7 (game photos by David Boyce (more)). Josh Laurie was 5-9 passing for 82 yards and three TDs. Reece Tresco also got time under center and was 4-4 passing for 73 yards and a TD. Nate Flint scored twice on three receptions for 62 yards. He also carried the ball 12 times for 58 yards. Dom Filio had 94 yards on 14 carries. Laurie also carried the ball eight times for 66 yards and a TD. Ryan Boyce scored twice on four receptions for 59 yards.
Pembroke fell to C.G. Finney, 35-13 (game photos by Rick D. Franclemont). The Dragons made a game of it in the first half, going into the locker room trailing 14-7, but were dominated in the second half as Finney rang up 21 unanswered points.
Alexander moved to 6-0 with a win over Wilson, 50-26. QB P.J. Brennan completed 13 of 16 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Next up for the Trojans, C.J. Finney, also Class D and also undefeated.
Cal-Mum/Byron-Bergen beat Wellsville, 42-14.
Attica beat Oakfield-Alabama/Elba 61-0.
Geneseo 36 over York/Pavilion 12.
In a game decided by a field goal in overtime, Holley beat Notre Dame 3-0.
Press release:
I write this letter to you, your readers and your viewers because I am sickened by the comments that have been made by Donald Trump regarding women. They have also been reinforced by his surrogates who continue to defend him and his misogynistic old boys’ club. Even my opponent, Rep. Chris Collins (R), stands by his man.
There is a particular type of ugliness when women are made fun of, degraded and dismissed. However, we shouldn’t be surprised because we’ve seen it before throughout Donald Trump’s campaign. What is most disturbing though is the merry band of men and women who support him and echo his words. Some may not say it out loud, but their very support of him speaks volumes.
He crossed the line years ago when he accused President Obama of not being a U.S. citizen. He crossed the line when he called Mexican immigrants rapists and murderers. He crossed the line when he mocked a disabled reporter. He crossed the line when he said John McCain was not a hero and that POWs were not heroes because they allowed themselves to be captured. He crossed the line when he disparaged a Gold Star family. And yet, his defenders tried to tell us how we misinterpreted or misread his statements. We waited patiently for the press and media to question him, call him out on his bigotry and prejudices, but the lies kept coming and his surrogates kept getting their sound bites.
Now the attack is on all women -- our daughters, our mothers, our grandmothers. Finally people are getting angry and saying they have crossed the line for the last time. But have they? Mr. Collins has not. In spite of the now growing list of Republicans saying they cannot support a President who says such things, Mr. Collins has said “there is no change in my support of Mr. Trump as our nominee."
This latest degradation of women should offend everyone, even Chris Collins, and it is amongst a long list of abusive behavior. I am a Mom who has a daughter. My instinct is to immediately try and shield her from these horrible comments, just as my Mother would have done for me and my grandmother before her. I ask myself, “who brought this man up? Who raises these people to hate women so?"
Mr. Trump and Mr. Collins, women are 51 percent of the population and we vote. We are married to men who respect their wives, their mothers, their daughters and they vote. We have sons and daughters whom we have brought up to be fair, open, non-prejudiced, wonderful human beings who want a better world without bullies, bigots and misogynists and they vote, too.
The time has come for all the voters in NY-27 to take a long, hard and unbiased look at the candidates and when you cast your vote I hope you take into consideration the kind of country you want to leave to your children. It has to be about issues, but it must also be about a person’s character as well. We should all keep in mind the words of Billy Graham, “when wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.”
Three people were assaulted in two separate incidents overnight in the Byron and Bergen areas, and both attacks may have been perpetrated by the same suspects, and those suspects may have been identified.
The first attack was reported at 1:42 a.m. in the parking lot of Playmates in Byron.
The victim was reportedly Elliot P. Arnold, 29. Investigators say he was jumped by two males and was left bleeding and semiconscious. He was transported to Strong with facial cuts and other injuries.
The second incident was reported at 1:52 a.m. at the 7-Eleven in Bergen.
That incident is believed to have involved the same two suspects.
Attacked were Natalie M. Mazurzak, 18, and Zachary M. Bower, 20, who were punched several times by the suspects.
No information provided on a possible motive or if robbery was involved.
The investigation is ongoing and being handled by Deputy Howard Carlson, Deputy Ryan Young, Sgt. John Baiocco and the State Police.
A hunter has reportedly fallen and broken a leg on the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama.
The hunter is located in the woods about 300 yards east of the parking lot on Casey Road.
A caller is waiting in the parking lot for responders to guide them to the hunter's location.
Alabama fire and Mercy EMS responding.
There is a report of smoke in the building at the Rolling Hills Asylum, on Bethany Center Road, Bethany.
Bethany fire and Alexander fire dispatched.
The building is evacuated.
UPDATE: We've heard nothing further on this.
Ret. Army Gen. Kenneth Chrosniak receives gifts from members of the Alexander Girls Volleyball Team prior to last night's game, which was a fundraiser to benefit cystic fibrosis research. Chrosniak's son, Christian, lost his battle against the disease last November. He is a cousin of Haley Fletcher, a member of the volleyball team. Chrosniak made the trip from Pennsylvania to attend the game played in his son's honor.
The event included a basket chance auction as well as drawing for a Hall of Fame football signed by Jim Kelly, a Matt Anderson signed jersey, a signed jersey from Sammy Watkins and a hockey stick signed by Marcus Foligno.
In the volleyball game against Pembroke, after dropping the first set 25-22, Alexander won the next three, 25-12, 25-20 and 25-17.
Bill Buckenmeyer clocked in with the best time in the YWCA's annual Stiletto & Sneaker Walk to help raise awareness and raise funds to combat domestic abuse.
Participants in the event included student-athletes from area high schools and Genesee Community College, all wearing purple as a sign of support for the victims of domestic abuse.
Press release:
The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) approved an application for Growing the Agricultural Industry Now! (GAIN!) revolving loan fund for a project in Pavilion. The Board also approved a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) extension for Empire Pipeline in the town of Oakfield at its Oct. 6 meeting.
The GCEDC board approved a GAIN! loan in the amount of $65,000 to Cottonwood Farms for the acquisition of milking equipment that would combine wind and solar power in one turbine in order to increase efficiency and electric energy output. The new equipment for the farm’s robotic dairy system is expected to reduce annual electricity costs by approximately $7,000 to $8,000. Cottonwood Farms LLC operates a 300-cow organic dairy farm in Pavilion.
Empire Pipeline owns and operates a compressor station and pipeline in the town of Oakfield. The GCEDC Board accepted the application and will set a public hearing for Empire Pipeline’s request to extend their PILOT agreement for 15 years.
“The GAIN revolving loan program has the opportunity to provide significant benefits to the agricultural sector in Genesee County,” said GCEDC Board Chairman Paul Battaglia. “While the program was just launched in May, the GCEDC has made a tremendous effort to get the money out to the farms, and working in our local economy.”
Through funding provided by Empire State Development, the GAIN program provides loans to qualifying businesses in Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties, all of which are in the top 10 agricultural counties in New York State.
A vehicle is reportedly rolled over in a ditch in the area of Feeder Road and Klossen Road, on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation.
Unknown injuries.
Alabama fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 7:47 a.m.: There were no occupants at the scene. The driver was subsequently located at a relative's house, reportedly uninjured. All units back in service.
The county is looking at a 2017 budget that will reduce the county's tax rate by 23 cents per thousand of assessed value, but that won't necessarily be good news for all local property owners.
What each property owner ends up paying in property taxes will depend on any changes in their individual assessed value.
If your assessed value went up, depending on the size of the increase, the reduction in tax rate could hold your county tax bill even with 2016, unless your assessment increased significantly, then your overall county tax bill could increase. If you're assessed value stayed the same or went down, your county tax bill could decrease.
The county's budget is still in an early stage draft form, but County Manager Jay Gsell told legislators yesterday that what they're looking at is a possible tax rate of $9.63 up to $9.69, and even that range is subject to change as more numbers come in.
Overall, the total assessed value of all properties in Genesee County increased by $96 million. Some of that increase relates to assessors deciding some properties are now worth more money; some of it is due to new construction and some to temporary tax exemptions, such as PILOTs granted by GCEDC, expiring.
Under the state's complex property tax cap formula, the county is limited in how much of an increase in assessed value it can capture in revenue.
Roughly speaking, based on currently available calculations, the county probably can't go with a tax rate higher than $9.69.
The current rate is $9.86 per thousand.
A rate of $9.63 to $9.69 also fits with Gsell's goal of holding county spending for 2017 pretty much on par with 2016.
The instructions to department managers has been to hold the line on spending, Gsell said.
One of the big unknowns for the county as it tries to map out expenses for 2017 is the status of the Genesee County Nursing Home. The property has been sold, but the deal can't close until the State Health Department approves a certificate of need for one wing of the home for the new owner. There seems to be little progress with the state on that front and legislators are getting antsy about the lack of resolution. The unresolved issue may require legislators to budget for that expense in 2017.
UPDATE 2:30 p.m.: The following is the result of a discussion via e-mail today with Kevin Andrews, the deputy county treasurer.
The total assessed value of all properties in Genesee County has increased by $160 million. The revised number for how much of that is taxable by the county is now about $80 million.
As for the $80 million in increased assessed value, that is because of various exemptions, such as PILOTs, but also nonprofits and government-owned property are tax exempt, so there are other programs that property owners can apply for that award tax exemptions. These include a veterans exemption for homeowners, an exemption available to farms in some circumstances, and one for seniors below certain income levels, and various municipal exemptions.
The tax rate for some residents is also affected by a state formula for equalization of rates in different towns. If a town's assessments are below market rate, the county rate is adjusted accordingly.
On that point, Andrews said, "It is tough to say for sure what the tax impact will be in those towns without looking into those in a little more detail, but my guess would be that the equalization rate didn’t go down by too much, so they probably will not see an increase in taxes in those towns with a lower tax rate (unless you are a property owner whose assessment went up due to, say, new construction), but that is just a guess."
These figures are also still subject to change.
Approximately 26 percent of the properties in the county had some sort of increase in assessed value. About $14 million of the increased assessed value is because of new construction and improvements, less losses on demolition or destruction of property (fires, etc.) and properties moving from profit to nonprofit status.
About $146,000 of the increase in assessed value is the result of market-rate adjustments.
Because of updates on numbers, Andrews now estimates that stay-even tax rate is about $9.66, or $9.67.
A car has reportedly hit a deer on Richmond Avenue, in front of the New York School School for the Blind.
The only injury reported is cuts from glass.
City fire and Mercy EMS responding.
A second person involved an attempted robbery of a smoke shop in May where the employees fought back and the suspects fled, leading to a regionwide manhunt, entered a felony guilty plea in County Court today.
Misty Dawn Souza, 26, of St. Johnsville, entered a guilty plea to the first count of a five-count grand jury indictment, for attempted robbery in the second degree.
Last week, Jeremy J. Reynolds, 34, of Johnstown, also accepted a plea deal.
The duo was arrested after the Genesee County Sheriff's Office sought leads on the suspects in a robbery of the Smoke Rings Smoke Shop on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation. The man and woman entered the shop with what appeared to be guns, but only the man tried to continue with the robbery after his partner fled. He was confronted by an employee he didn't initially know was in the store and briefly detained in a back room before managing to escape through a window, dangling from the window, held by one leg by an employee, for a time.
Without a plea agreement for Souza, the Class D violent felony carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. The plea deal caps Souza's possible sentence to three and a half years, provided she stays out of trouble between now and sentencing at 9:30 a.m., Jan. 4.
At sentencing, her attorney, Fred Rarick, will argue that Souza should receive a sentence of probation with no prison term. He said in court today that he believes he can make a convincing case.
As discussed in court today, and as Souza volunteered while sitting in a Town of Alabama courtroom following her arrest in May, Souza suffers from a series of mental health issues and is required to take multiple medications.
In court May 21, Souza was frazzled and disheveled and rambled on about her concerns, the crime itself and her mental health issues while sitting in court. She said she had been off her medication since prior to the robbery attempt.
Today, in court, she was a different person -- calm, well-spoken and polite as she answered questions from Interim Judge Micheal Pietruszka.
These factors will be part of Rarick's attempt to help Souza avoid a prison term.
Rarick will also need to make the case that the robbery attempt was really the idea of Reynolds and that Reynolds misled Souza into participating and that while she participated briefly, she fled the scene almost immediately.
Rarick will need to successfully argue that Souza does not present a danger to the community.
She has no prior criminal record -- in the Alabama court, she said she never even had a traffic ticket before. She also has no history of use or abuse of illicit drugs.
She also has five children.
Souza's mother was in court with her today. Rarick told Pietruszka that his client has been nothing but cooperative and timely in her communications and court appearances.
She is out of jail on $50,000 bond.
Pietruszka noted that it will be up to the new county judge, likely Charles Zambito, to decide on Souza's sentencing on Jan. 4.
Previously:
There was a time, Jerry Diskin remembers, when there were seven volunteer firefighters working right in the Village of Le Roy.
That was a time, many years ago, when getting volunteers to turn out for daytime alarms was never a problem, but times have changed.
Lapp Industries has downsized, no new industrial employers have sprung up, businesses are smaller in the village, and more people work in Monroe County or elsewhere, making it hard for them to respond to daytime alarms.
That has Le Roy Fire District looking at any and all potential solutions for ensuring daytime alarms bring out sufficient manpower to cover the call, said Diskin who is chairman of the Board of Commissioners.
It's not that the department doesn't have enough volunteers -- there are 67 on the rolls, said 1st Assistant Chief Tom Wood.
"We’re not hurting for manpower," Wood said. "We’re hurting for guys available in a certain time frame. If you look at our roster, we have the manpower, but like everybody else, it’s just a time frame during the day time where people are in Rochester or wherever."
There was some confusion earlier this week over a report in a fire service newsletter, based on minutes from an East Battalion meeting, that the City of Batavia Fire Department would start to "cover" for Le Roy on structure fire calls in the Le Roy District.
That was never the plan, Diskin said. There was merely a discussion at the meeting about this issue and the city's changing role on structure fire calls.
"As a district, we’re directly accountable to the taxpayers," Diskin said. "To that end, if there is something out there that’s available to us to use or pursue we have a responsibility to do that."
The city has always sent what's known as a Fast Team (a group of firefighters tasked with being ready to rescue firefighters who might be trapped or having difficulty exiting a burning building) to structure fires in Le Roy.
There have been a total of 11 such calls in Le Roy over the past 18 months, Wood said.
In the future, the city will be asked to send a responding engine and another volunteer company will be asked to respond as the Fast Team, on daytime calls, Wood said.
"This is just change to an engine company," Wood said. "They’re not coming here to answer our alarms, they’re coming on structure fire only. ... This has been blown way, way, way out of proportion. This is just a change in assignment for them."
The county's fire response is broken into battalions and mutual aid companies and dispatchers use what are known as run cards to dispatch the right companies in the right order to the right location.
For Le Roy, the typical structure fire has Bergen sending its ladder truck almost right away, with another ladder truck (Le Roy also has its own) if needed from either Caledonia or Town of Batavia.
The city would not likely be requested to send anything more than the Fast Team, or, now, an engine company.
"The system is designed so we don't deplete any one area," Wood said.
Both Diskin and Wood emphasized that the issue Le Roy is facing with daytime calls is a countywide problem.
Last month, for example, there were back-to-back fires in Pavilion and Le Roy on a hot day. At the Pavilion fire, it was the third time recently that Wood became scene commander, even though it was Pavilion's district, because Pavilion didn't have a chief available to respond. An Alexander firefighter responded because he worked in Pavilion, even though his department hadn't been dispatched at that point (Alexander's Fast Team was dispatched that day). Le Roy was supposed to have a mutual aid company as a fill-in at its hall, and that company did send an engine but didn't have enough manpower available when the alarm sounded for the fire on Lent Avenue.
At that call, the city's Fast Team was pressed into firefighting duty to give the hot and tired volunteers a rest.
That's all a result of diminished manpower throughout the area for daytime calls, Wood said.
"This whole daytime thing is a countywide issue," Wood said. "It’s just being brought to the foreground by us because we’re being proactive about making sure things are covered."
Diskin said it's important to note that while getting enough people out on daytime calls is a struggle, calls are still getting covered in the district.
Like the Lent Avenue fire, calls sometimes pile up and over. And for the past couple of years, there seem to be more calls for service during the day, Diskin said.
"But that happens (the rare back-to-back call)," Diskin said. "It’s just like, 'it’s only a CO alarm,' 'it’s only a smoke detector alarm,' but somebody has got to answer that. That’s all it is, but somebody has got to go and handle it."
While manpower isn't an issue, recruiting more people is one obvious answer to boost the numbers with the hope that some greater percentage of recruits increases the number of daytime responders.
It's a challenge, and part of the challenge is that firefighting training has gone from a week to now you're into 79 hours of training, and 129 if you want to be an interior firefighter.
“It’s all good training," Diskin said. "I’ve been in training all my life. The issue is, it’s a big time commitment. So you’re trying to ramp that person up to be a valuable member of your department, you’re talking 18 months."
Because of the changing landscape of employment in Le Roy, Wood said, people's lifestyles have changed. A young firefighter probably has a family and kids today and they're signed up for more activities, making parents less available to respond to fire calls.
"Parents are just traveling all the time," Wood said. "I take my brother as an example. He’s got his daughter on a travel volleyball team. He’s gone most of the summer every weekend. So there’s a guy gone. I don’t fault anybody for doing that, but that’s the way it is."
To find out more about volunteering for your area department, visit ReadyGenesee.com.
All available manpower is requested to the Le Roy Fire Hall after dispatchers received multiple calls reporting the odor of natural gas in the Village of Le Roy.
Callers are from multiple locations.
UPDATE 9:59 p.m.: Pavilion and Bergen departments requested to stand by in their halls.
The Batavia High School Girls Soccer Team will likely head into sectional play after three more regular season games with a double-digit win total for the first time in the program's history, despite a 1-0 loss to Eastridge last night at Van Detta Stadium, which dropped the team's record to 9-4.
Eastridge is now 8-4.
The game at Van Detta was a rare night game for the Lady Devils, and even rarer for a soccer game on Woodward Field.
Typically, the senior game is played under the lights at Genesee Community College, but the game was moved to Batavia's track and football complex because of ongoing construction at the college.
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