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This morning at UMMC there were men in funny looking suits and teens getting sprayed with water, but that doesn't mean it wasn't serious business.

Local firefighters who comprise the county's hazmat team and hospital workers came together for a decontamination drill aimed at both practicing roles should some serious chemical ever get spilled in the county, but also served as a chance for evaluators to grade and critique how emergency responders handled their roles.

Typically -- we would expect -- if there was an event that required a number of people to be decontaminated it would happen somewhere out in the county, not in the hospital's parking lot, but for drill purposes the first decontamination tent (this stage is called "gross decontamination") was set up not far from UMMC's emergency room.

Patients were brought in either standing or on gurneys and sprayed down. 

The purpose is to remove as much of whatever is on them before transport in an ambulance.

Once they arrive at the hospital, hospital staff begins find decontamination -- scrubbing down each patient.  

From there, they pass into ER where a triage team determines what treatment is needed and who gets treated first based on the severity of their medical condition.

A good description for how it went would be managed chaos.  

There were some unexpected glitches -- such as gurneys not going through one of the side doors without volunteer firefighters to lift them because of a step -- but also everybody seemed to have a clear idea of their roles and patients were moved through the chain of treatment quickly.

The Byron-Bergen students who volunteered to be patients seemed to have fun. Several of them completed the decontamination process and then went back through it again.

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It was Robert Neyland, the legendary Tennessee head coach, who first observed that the team which makes the fewest mistakes usually wins.

Neyland also said teams need to make their breaks and pounce on opportunity.

While Elba/Byron-Bergen wasn't without its own miscues in a Saturday afternoon scrap on its home field, the inability of Oakfield-Alabama to strike from the red zone on successive drives in the second quarter turned out to be a deal breaker for the Hornets.

The Lancers won the defensive battle 7-6.

Brian Palone, O-A's head coach, gave credit to the Lancers' defense, but also said mental errors by his players and a lack of execution on the details in the red zone hurt his team's chance of notching a win.

"I also have to do a better job with play calling down here at times to give us a better opportunity," Palone said. "I'll point the finger at myself  for some of the stuff we had down here in the red zone. Some of it is on them. It goes both ways, but we just didn't finish."

On one possession, with the ball inside the five, Elba/BB even gave O-A a whole new set of downs on a pass interference call, either because of a stout defense or an inability to finish, the Hornets couldn't punch it in.

The Hornets would return the favor, stopping a Lancers drive on the goal line, in the 4th quarter.

Elba/BB also had its share of turnovers and penalties to help keep points off the board.

"I'm just glad we both did have mistakes," Lancers Head Coach Mike Cintorino said. "I'm glad we're both kind of even. We've seen games and we've had games ourselves where those mistakes aren't even and it ends up being a game you give away.  It very easily could have gone the other way today.  We had some opportunities that we didn't capitalize on and our defense bailed us out. They came up big."

The way Cintorino sees the game is that two well-prepared defenses shut down a pair of powerful offenses.

"You get two offenses like this, one that really passes the ball well and one that really runs the ball well and you think it's going to be this high scoring game, but both teams did a really nice job preparing for the other offense and it turned out to be a great defensive game," Cintorino said.

Both coaches said they were proud of their defenses.

"It was a real grinder of a game that was just going to come down to who had the ball last," Palone said. "We're all really proud of the way our team held together."

O-A put points on the board first when Trent Stack pulled in an Alan Chatt nine-yard pass just over the goal line (top photo).

Being down 6-0 seemed to give the Lancer's offense a spark it lacked through the entire first half.  The combination of Garrett Chapell  to John Hochmuth seemed unbreakable as QB and tight end connected for reception after reception, including a leaping grab by Hochmuth on the sideline to secure another first down.

"Early on, John had a drop, but the best athletes I have ever coached know how to come back from adversity in a game," Cintorino said.  "He had that same idea in the Holley game where he had a drop and came back with a huge touchdown for us on the next drive."

Hochmuth had 10 receptions for 142 yards on the day, but it was Chapell who finished off the winning drive.

With the ball on the three, Chapell ran a keeper wide right and found little in the way of opposition from the Hornet's defense.

An extra point kick and the Lancers had the seven points that would prove enough to move the team to 3-1 on the season.

Chatt threw a lot of passes -- 40 on the day, and completed half of them for 259 yards, with a TD toss and an interception. Sal Schwable had five catches for 86 yards and Stack had four receptions for 65 yards.

Chapell had 13 completions on 23 attempts for 154 yards. Truax carried the ball 14 times for 61 yards. He also had 16 tackles on defense and a fumble recovery.

Trent Stack holds the ball aloft after putting the Hornets on the board first in the third quarter.

John Hochmuth with a grab on the sideline to help keep the Lancer's eventual winning drive alive.

Reice Woodward found that one pass near the sideline in the second quarter was just a bit beyond his grasp.

Hornets QB Alan Chatt.

Hochmuth grabs for an O-A runner.

Steele Truax on a big gainer in the 4th quarter that would help put the Lancers on the two-yard line with a chance to extend the team's lead, but O-A stopped the drive and took over on downs.

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Alexander 28, Holley 0. On homecoming night, the Trojans shut down Holley and scored 28 points. The scoring started with a punt return for a TD by Sam Browne. Browne also had two receptions in the game for 110 yards and a TD.  LB Derrick Busch scored on a 20-yard dash after scooping up a blocked punt. Busch also had a 30-yard TD reception. Jared Browne made both TD tosses. Zach Shilvock was 4-4 on PATs. Tristan had 10 carries for 82 yards. Defensively, LB Tyler Laird had 8 tackles.  LB Cody Trezcieski had 7 tackles.  LB Jake Wozniak had an interception as did DB Tristan Aldinger, who now has 2 picks on the season.  Alexander is 2-1 in the GR and 2-2 on the season.

Notre Dame 28, Pembroke 18. The Fighting Irish spoiled Pembroke's homecoming by erasing a 12-7 deficit in the second half. Joe Zickl was 3-7 passing for 45 yards and a TD for Notre Dame. Jack Sutherland rushed for 74 yards on 12 carries and Peter Daversa had 47 on 18. Zickl and Jacob Weatherwax both scored on the ground. Josh Johson had a TD reception and gained 52 yards on three catches. For Pembroke, Mitch Lewter was 5 for 12 passing for 63 yards and a TD. Dakota Swimline had 81 yards on 15 carries and a TD. Cal Neurohr rushed for 77 yards on 23 attempts and scored a TD.  Swimline also had five catches for 63 yards and a TD.  On defense, Zickl had 13 tackles.

Le Roy 61, Cuba-Rushford, 13. The Oatkan Knights continued to pound its way through its regular season schedule with its fourth straight big-margin victory. Ryan McQuillen scored four touchdowns, with two on punt returns, along with a TD on the ground and one through the air. He had a total of 184 yards gained on the night.  Tom Kelso rushed for 165 yards on nine carries, including longs of 58 and 61 yards. Nick Egeling had 13 carries for 72 yards and a TD. Brian Hodges scored a TD. Mike McMullen only completed three passes on 10 attempts, but all three were for scores (42, 43 and 15 yards). Kelso had eight tackles, Egeling six, along with an incerceptions and fumble recovery. Luke Hogle had six tackles and McMullen and McQuillen had five each. McMullen also had a fumble recovery.

Batavia 31, Dansville 17. The Blue Devils improved to 3-1. Greg Mruczek 10-18 passing for 165 yds and four touchdowns. Ahdeosun Aiken had 6 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown.  Jarrett Laskett had three receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. Anthony Gallo caught three passes for 55 yards and racked up 190 yds in kick returns. James Cryer had 9 tackles. Trevor Rittersback, 8 tackles. Devon Koepp had 7 tackles. Gunner Rapone, 6 tackles. Dominick Mogavero, 5 tackles. Dansville is now 2-2.

There's one game this afternoon, Oakfield-Alabama at Elba/Bryron-Bergen.

For coverage of Geneseo at Perry last night on the Wyoming County Free Press, click here.

Alexander/Holley photos by Rick Franclemont.  Click here for more.   Pembroke/Notre Dame photos by Rick D. Fraclemont. For more pictures, click here.

Pembroke's Cal Neurohr  blocking for Mitch Lewter  after an interception

Pembroke's Dylan Miserantino tackeling Notre Dame's Peter Daversa

Pembroke's Mitch Lewter with a straight arm on Notre Dame's C.J. Suozzi

Pembroke's ake Jasinski with a tackle on Notre Dame's Jack Sutherland

Notre Dame's Jack Sutherland being pursued by Pembroke's Dakota Swimline

A car has reportedly hit a pole on West Main Street near Royal Drive, Le Roy.

Le Roy Fire with mutual aid from Pavilion dispatched along with Le Roy Ambulance.

UPDATE 11:22 p.m.: Route 5 is reopened in both directions.

Dispatchers have received a report of a motorcyclist down in the roadway at Ross Street and East Avenue, Batavia.

City Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 2:40 p.m.: The rider, who was on a  scooter, not a motorcycle, was not injured, but he was taken into custody on suspicion of DWI.  When police arrived on scene, he volunteered, an officer said, that he had never rode a motorcycle or scooter before and did not have an operator's license for a motorcycle. He reportedly told police that his bike was hit from behind, but a witness said there was no car around when he went down. The witness said he failed to negotiate the curve and laid the bike down. A city employee arrived on scene and said just minutes before he had seen the rider "flying down the sidewalk" on a nearby street.  The suspect allegedly refused to get into the back of the police cruiser following his arrest and may face a resisting arrest charge.  The scooter is registered to another person. We would anticipate having the suspects name and specific charges in Monday's Law and Order column.

Denise Kay Kumpf, 46, of Roberts Road, Alabama, is charged with grand larceny 4th degree. Kumpf, who was a night manager at Flying J Travel Center, is accused of loading $1,000 onto a NetSpend prepaid card without placing money for it in the cash register.

Joseph D. Summers Jr., 27, of 103 West Main Street, B-3 A-6, Le Roy, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Summers was charged after children ages 2 and 3 were found wandering unattended, away from their residence, on Sept. 16.  Police allege this is the third time this year in which children under the care of Summers were found wandering unattended.

Kasiem Marquis Burks, 18, of Trina Circle, Syracuse, is charged with trespass. Burks is accused of being on College Village property after being banned from the property.

Daisha Monet Spence, 18, of Batavia Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Also charged, Naja Frances Adams, 18, of Batavia Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, and Shantina Marie Brewer, 19, of Batavia Stafford Townline Road, Batavia. Spence, Adams and Brewer are accused of shoplifting at Walmart. Allegedly the trio grabbed $441.73 in merchandise and fled the store. Their vehicle was later located by deputies Joseph Graff and Chad Minuto.

Press release:

United Memorial will host a multi-agency decontamination drill on the morning of Saturday, September 27th. Visitors to the hospital at 127 North Street, Batavia during this time should expect to see several emergency vehicles, first responders, increased activity and people wearing hazmat suits and hoods. This drill will test communication skills during a crisis across several agencies and caregivers; the effectiveness of the decontamination process; and our skill with specialized equipment. Additional staff will be brought in for the exercise and patient care will not be impacted.

The Hospital frequently performs drills to test and maintain skills needed to safely address true, large-scale emergencies. The patience and understanding of our visitors is greatly appreciated. Please contact the Community Relations office at United Memorial at (585)344-5415 or by email to contactus@ummc.org with any questions or concerns.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department together with the Fire Fighters Union – IAFF Local 896 are sponsoring the 2ndAnnual Fire Prevention Week Poster Contest.  This poster contest is open to students from grades 1 – 5. “Our hope is to get the children to discuss fire safety with their teachers and fellow students, as well as parents and guardians.” 

This poster contest can be a take home project, individual class project or an art class project.  Information has been distributed to City schools, but we wanted to include any City area home schooled children as well. 

“Our first year doing the contest was met with a great response.  We are hoping to grow this great opportunity this year.  The value is that the kids and adults get exposure to fire safety and safe practices, helping to reduce injury and death and change some habits.  We encourage all eligible students to participate.”

The 2014 Fire Prevention Week (October 5-15) theme is “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives, Test Yours Every Month.”  Ideas and more information can be found at the Fire Prevention Week website www.FPW.org

Any posters wishing to be entered need to be at the Fire Station located at 18 Evans Street in Batavia no later thanThursday, October 9, 2014 at 4pm.  Schools/groups/families may contact us via phone or email to arrange in school pick up of posters. 

Posters are to be drawn horizontally on white paper, 8 ½” x 11”.  The back of the poster must contain the students name & phone number, school & grade, and teacher’s name.

Judging of the posters will take place between October 10th – 12th.  The winner of each group will receive a ride to school on a City Fire Engine, and be invited to a special awards luncheon with their family held at the fire station in late October.  2nd and 3rd place finishers in each group will also be invited to the fire station awards luncheon.

The best of luck to the students!  Full rules are available at the City of Batavia Fire Department at 18 Evans Street in Batavia or by contacting us via phone and/or email.

Press release:

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) today announced that the Route 20 (Broadway Road) bridge over Tonawanda Creek in the town of Alexander, Genesee County, is being restricted, effective today, to vehicles weighing 6 tons or less and the shoulders are closed.

This posting is being put in place following a recent inspection and engineering analysis that revealed the bridge can no longer safely carry heavier traffic in its current condition.

NYSDOT monitors bridge safety through a thorough and rigorous inspection program. All bridges inspected are analyzed for their capacity to carry vehicular loads.

This bridge is located just east of the cloverleaf intersection with Route 98.  Electronic message boards and several other signs are being placed at key locations.

State forces will be making repairs to this structure through the weekend. The goal is to restore service on Monday, September 29.

A capital project to replace is structures is being progressed and is slated to be under construction next year in 2015.

This past weekend we told you about the visit Hall of Famer Johnny Bench paid to Batavia Downs, and we mentioned that Bench expressed an interest in seeing a Batavia Muckdog's baseball cap.

The person with Bench at the time was season ticket holder Ross Fanara. Fanara called his wife and confirmed that they in fact had a brand new Muckdog's hat at home, so she brought it to Batavia Downs and they presented it to Bench.

Fanara sent over this picture of him with Bench wearing the Batavia Muckdogs hat.

Ross said, "Johnny Bench is a class act."

Emergency dispatchers have informed fire departments and local law enforcment of a widespread Time-Warner internet outage in Genesee County that is effecting some dispatch center systems.

The dispatch center remains operational.  It can still receive and dispatch emergency 9-1-1 calls.

No word on the cause or duration of the outage.

UPDATE: 7:50 p.m. phones are back up at UMMC and internet is back up in Batavia area.

UPDATE: 8:34 p.m. Genesee County dispatch operations are back to normal.

There is a combine on fire at Offhaus Farms on a Route 98, Batavia. 

Multiple fire companies on scene. 

More info TK. 

UPDATE: 8:25 p.m.  The Town of Batavia Fire Department along with Elba and Oakfield Fire departments responded to Offhaus Farms on Rt. 98 for a combine fire that sent thick black smoke into the air around the area of the thruway about 6:00p.m. this evening. 

The heavy black smoke was caused by fuel tanks and tires that caught fire.

Work crews were using the combine in a field of corn on the south side of the farm when it caught fire.

(pictures provided by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service)

UPDATE: Video of the smoke submitted by Chad Zambito.

Jen Reardon loves books and wants to encourage people to read more, so she set up a little free library in front of her house on the corner of Washington Avenue and Lewis Avenue.

She got the idea after learning about a web site called LittleFreeLibrary.org. In fact, she bought her brightly colored box from the web site. The site also tracks locations of little free libraries, and hers is the first one registered in Genesee County.

"I knew of nothing in area, at least on the map, so why not do this?" Reardon said. "I love books. I seem to always have lots of readers around me with lots of books and they're like, 'what can I do these,' so I thought we'll put them out and let people take a book, leave a book."

That's the whole concept of the little free library right there -- there's no fee, no library card to sign up for, you take a book and leave a book. Return what you take whenever you like, nor never return it if you like it that much. Just put something else in its place.

Yesterday was the first day for Reardon's little free library and quite a few people stopped and took books. Not too many have been added to the collection yet.

"Yesterday was a busy day at the little free library," Reardon said. "There was definitely more borrowing than trading, but since it's the first day, I don't think people really knew what to make of it."

Reardon already has one of the most colorful front yards in Batavia, with a cornucopia of flowers growing all spring, summer and fall. Her green, orange and purple box fits right in.

Her neighborhood is perfect for something like this, Reardon believes.

"We have all income levels within like a three block area," she said.

"I think people don't read enough and some people might not have access to books. You can always go to the library, but if you have books in your home, you're more likely to pick it up and read it, kids especially.

State Troopers hosted an ice cream social this afternoon at the New York State School for the Blind.

This is the second year troopers have brought their K-9s, patrol cars and tubs of ice cream to the school for a little hang out time with the students.

This year included an Easter Egg hunt using beeping eggs. It was a fun hunt, one trooper said, until the students hear the ice cream was ready to serve. That ended the hunt pretty quickly.

Students were able to pet the dogs and handle some police equipment and ask questions about what troopers do.

Batavia varsity basketball coach Buddy Brasky hosts his annual mini-camp starting Monday at Batavia HS.

The camp is for experienced and serious basketball players only in grades 7 through 12.

The program will emphasize offensive skill development.

The cost is $125.

It is sponsored by the Basketball Booster Club.

The sessions are two nights a week starting from 7 to 9 p.m., Sept. 29. Additional sessions are Oct. 2, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27 and 30.

For more information and to sign up, contact Coach Brasky at (585) 356-4050 or mbrasky@bataviacsd.org.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing fire hydrants on Friday September 26,  2014, at approximately 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the general area north of West Main St. and west of Bank St.  Homes and businesses nearby will be affected.  These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area.  As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored. 

The Sheriff's Office is looking for the public's assistance in locating a missing teen.

The youth reported missing is Preston Daigler, 16, of Batavia.

He was last seen Sept. 15.

Preston has blonde hair and blue eyes.  He is 5'11" and 150 pounds.

Any one with information are asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (585) 345-3000.

An arrest has been made in an attempted arson reported yesterday morning on East Avenue in the City of Batavia.

The suspect broke three windows on the first floor of a residence, poured gasoline around the outside of the house, but then was unable to get the fuel to ignite, according to police.

Brian J. Sprague, 24, of Adams Street, Batavia, is charged with attempted arson 2nd and criminal mischief 3rd.

Three people were at home and in bed when they heard the windows being broken at 6 a.m., but didn't get up to investigate until nearly three hours later.

After the alleged attempt to start a fire failed, Sprague left the area, but was located later in the day.

He was arrested, arraigned and jailed without bail.

The case was investigated by detectives Kevin Czora and Todd Crossett along with City firefighters.