Kindergarteners at Jackson School got firsthand experience at a Thanksgiving feast today with all the trimmings. The students filed into the auditorium, some of them dressed as Native Americans and others arrived as Pilgrims on the Mayflower. Teachers then served them a lunch of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, corn and apple sauce.
Above, Colin gets his meal, and below are Julia and Cameron.
A caller to dispatchers says he and another person are sitting in a car on Gulf Road, Le Roy, in front of the Sportsman's Club, and a wire has fallen on the car.
The caller reports it as a power line.
Le Roy fire is responding.
While the caller said he didn't know how the wire came down, a first responder reports that it's a motor-vehicle accident and a utility pole is down.
Gulf Road is being shut down.
UPDATE 6:37 p.m.: The accident is believed to be without injuries. Two vehicles involved. The pole is on one vehicle. Both are heavily damaged and need flatbed tows. Power is off at a neighborhing building. Caledonia ambulance requested to the scene for what are believed to be sign-offs.
UPDATE 6:51 p.m.: All victims out of the vehicles.
UPDATE 7:52 p.m.: Le Roy highway requested to the scene to salt the road. The road is no longer blocked.
UPDATE 7:26 p.m.: Le Roy back in service. Road is open.
Faced with multiple felony charges that could have sent him to prison for up to 25 years, a Le Roy resident arrested for a home-invasion sexual assault entered a guilty plea to rape in the first degree on condition that he serve no more than 18 years.
Charles D. Johnson, 29, of 82 Gilbert St., Building #14, Apt. #6, Le Roy, was offered the deal by Assistant District Attorney Kevin Finnell prior to a scheduled evidence hearing in County Court this afternoon.
Johnson was indicted on counts of predatory sexual abuse, a Class A-II violent felony, burglary in the first degree, a Class B violent felony, and criminal possession of a weapon, a Class D felony.
He entered a guilty plea to a Class B violent felony. If convicted at trial, he would have faced 10 to 25 years in prison.
The deal reduces his possible jail sentence to eight to 18 years.
A guilty plea involves Judge Robert C. Noonan asking the defendant a series of questions. First, Noonan must ensure the defendant understands his rights and what rights he's giving up with his guilty plea. He must also make sure the defendant understands the consequences of a guilty plea.
During this process, there were some wrinkles in the case with Johnson.
First, under questioning from Noonan, Johnson said he hadn't been given adequate time to think about the plea deal offered to him by the DA's office.
That lead to a 45-minute recess so Johnson -- who was representing himself rather than having an attorney at his side -- to confer with a member of his family.
After the recess, Noonan put Johnson under oath and began to ask him questions about the events of May 9.
Johnson said he couldn't remember raping the victim.
"I don't remember anything," Johnson said. "I was too high."
Finnell said the people were prepared to accept Johnson's plea on an Alford basis, which means the defendent doesn't admit to the specifics of a crime, just that a juy would probably convict the defendant based on the people's evidence.
Among the evidence that would be offered at trial is a DNA match for Johnson that has a 1.13 quintillion probability of matching a person other than Johnson. Johnson also matches the physical description provided by the victim.
When Noonan asked Johnson if he believed there was a reasonable probability that a jury would convict him, Johnson said, "No, I do not."
This started a several minute conversation where Noonan explained to Johnson how the law worked, explaining that Noonan could only accept Johnson's guilty plea if he admitted to the factual evidence or admitted that the evidence against him was strong enough that he believed a jury would convict him.
"I can't say what a jury would do," Johnson said.
Noonan said, of course not, but "that's why I asked if you believe there is a reasonable probability that a jury would find you guilty."
Noonan asked, "have you heard the evidence and do you have reason to believe a jury would convict you?"
Johnson replied, "I have heard the evidence and I believe a jury would convict me."
Prior to today's hearing, Johnson has also been provided with all of the police reports and evidence reports in the case, and as his own attorney had a chance to personally review the case against him, according to Noonan.
According to Finnell, Johnson has a prior felony conviction in Erie County that Johnson claims he received inadequate representation on.
Johnson, Finnell said, entered a guilty plea in 2003 of attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th.
If Johnson can get that conviction vacated before his sentencing, the potential minimum term on the rape conviction would be five years.
Johnson admitted to breaking into the home of a woman in Le Roy and raping her in early May. He was captured two weeks later by Le Roy Police Department investigators.
As part of the plea, he is waiving all rights to an appeal.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 24.
A cold, cold night, the ground frozen, what better conditions could there be for a flag football game among middle-schoolers?
Last night Oakfield-Alabama held its Turkey Bowl. There was no trophy, just a chance for students to a unique football game -- a chance to play under the lights of the varsity football field.
The event was the brainchild of teacher Dan Gilbert and was put together with the help of James Patrick and Katie Hilchey.
"We thought something like this around Thanksgiving might promote the family feeling of a small school," Patrick said.
The 2012-13 season was a banner campaign for the Lady Devils. They won the school's first league title in girls basketball and made it to sectional finals for the first time.
But there's also some unfinished business from that championship run, according to first-year Head Coach Marty Hein.
The loss to Waterloo was ugly.
"The girls poured their hearts out in the semifinals two days before," said Hein, who was assistant coach to Bill Wade last year. "They just didn't have it in their eye that night and they know that. The girls know we didn't give 100-percent effort against Waterloo that night and that's the lesson that I hoped they learned -- give 100-percent effort all the time."
With Batavia HS moving to Class A1 and Waterloo staying in Class B, there's no hope for a rematch.
"I'm hoping to line up a scrimmage with Waterloo," Hein said. "I'd like to play Waterloo again because I don't like the taste in my mouth of how we lost in the finals."
Hein thinks with the players returning, the core of that league-leading team will be back on the court this season and they should be able to hold their own at least through the Monroe County schedule and into A2 sectionals.
The attitude is there, he said.
"They've come back with that buring desire to want to focus a little more, work a little bit harder and get back to that same spot and hopefully a little bit better," Hein said.
Senior Liz Myers and sophomores Tiara Filbert and Madison McCulley are third-year varsity players and anchor the starting line-up. Sophomore Sam Cecere, at 5' 9" tall, has made great progress playing post, Hein said.
Hein is going to be looking for a stronger defense from the girls this year.
"I want a lot more communication out of our defense this year," Hein said. "We're turning the pressure up a little bit on defense. Even if we stumble a little on offense, if we can hold our opponents to a lower number then we should still come out victorious in the end."
There will be a few changes in the team from the Wade era, but Hein has a lot of admiration for the local coaching legend.
"When the job came open (four years ago), I applied," Hein said. "Bromley (BHS athletic director) gave me a few clues about who else applied for it, and I told Mike at that point to take my name out of the hat. It was a good learning experience to be sitting behind Bill for the four years. I learned a lot."
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The main issue the Englerths have with James Pontillo, Tom Englerth Jr. said in an interview Monday, is that Pontillo has never asked their permission to be on their property to work on his building at the corner of Main Road and Morganville Road in Stafford.
"He never had permission from us as property owners," Englerth said. "One time he asked a guy that worked here (at their tenant's business), but he had no authority to give permission."
Two years ago, police were called to the location when Tom's dad, Tom Englerth Sr., complained that Pontillo and his work crew were trespassing. The same issue came up a little more than a week ago.
Pontillo started restoration work on the building two years ago after outbidding Englerth to purchase the property at auction. At the time, he was talking about opening a pizzeria downstairs, but then worked stalled as he became tied up in personal issues. First, his sister developed cancer and passed away. Then his grandmother had a stroke and later passed away. Then a sink hole developed on one of his properties in the city.
"It's just been one thing after the next," Pontillo said.
Now his permits for putting on a new roof and building a restaurant downstairs have expired. He believes town officials are going to try and deny him new permits.
Englerth said he doesn't believe Pontillo will be able to pull new permits.
If work can resume, Pontillo doesn't believe he can have workers complete the new roof without getting access to the parking lot on the west side of his building, property owned by the Englerths and leased to the Stafford Trading Post.
Tom Englerth Jr. is skeptical his father will ever grant such permission at this juncture.
"He never really respected my dad," Englerth said. "My dad's a tough guy, but he's a nice guy. Once you piss him off, it's hard to gain back the respect from him."
Nothing will happen unless Pontillo can produce proof of insurance, Englerth said.
"He needs appropriate insurance and to show us proof," Englerth said. "He then needs to go to my dad and probably apologize and then ask in a nice way. Can that work? I don't know."
Pontillo believes the only permission he needs, he indicated, is from the owner of the Stafford Trading Post and he believes he's gotten that permission before. He doesn't believe he'll ever get a fair shake from Tom Englerth Sr.
Pontillo thinks Tom Englerth Sr. is still angry that he bought the building and kept Englerth from tearing it down.
Englerth Jr. confirmed that his family wanted to buy the building and they were going to offer to help pay for the historical society to move it to another location in Stafford.
"We're not trying to be jerks," Englerth said. "Since he came in there, he's only made nonsense promises, that he was going to open a restaurant, that he was going to open a pizzeria, he was going to put this place here out of business. He's done nothing for the community I don't think. I don't like to talk about people like that, but it's bullshit. It really is."
Englerth was particularly bothered by some of the comments left on The Batavian insulting his father (two name-calling comments were removed) after last week's story was posted, and he just wanted to set the record straight that his father really is a nice guy and is reasonable if treated fairly.
"We're just old-time farmers looking for what else can we do here and there to make a living," Englerth said. "We have to. Our economy is based on looking at what else you can do to succeed."
Verizon crews have been working at the scene of last night's accident all day trying to repair damage to Internet and phone equipment at the location on Route 5 in Stafford.
While electrical power has been restored to the area by National Grid, there was extensive damage done to Verizon's equipment and lines.
A spokesman for Verizon said the company has received only 15 complaints of lost service in the area, but he believes there are more customer either without Internet or phone service.
Repairs won't be completed until tomorrow at the earliest.
Two fiber cables and a copper cable needed repair, he said. The power box at the location -- Route 5 and Clipnock Road -- was also damaged and needs to be replaced.
Workers are expected to complete the installation today of a solar panel array atop the westside roof of Stan's Harley Davidson on West Saile Drive.
The total cost of the project, which covers more than 10,000 square feet of roof, is $574,000 with the cost partially financed by state and federal tax credits.
The panels will product enough electricity to run all of Stan's operations. The power generated from the panels is first shipped to National Grid. NG then sells the power back to Stan's at a reduced rate.
That should mean about a 50-percent cost savings each month for the Harley dealership.
"We won't know, probably, until the first of the year and it's up and going what it's actually doing," said owner Darryl Horzempa.
Horzempa decided to pursue the project after attending a Solarize Genesee County workshop in January hosted by the Genesee County Economic Development Center (though GCEDC was not involved in the project otherwise).
"I'm interested in recycling and things like that, so it was a natural thing to me to help take care of the environment," Horzempa said.
Rochester-based Arista Power won the contract for the solar panel installation.
Local law enforcement is asking for the public's assistance in identifying the person or persons responsible for a string of armed robberies over the past five days.
The description of the suspect in all three robberies varies only slightly in each case. He is a white male, either 5'2" to 5'6" or 5'7" and is either of slight build or weighs 200 pounds. The robber has worn a bandana in all three robberies.
In two robberies, the suspect displayed a handgun. In the third, a shotgun. In all three, the employees behind the counter were threatened.
The first was Thursday morning at the Best Western, the second Friday morning at the 7-Eleven in Oakfield, and the third, Sunday morning at the Days Inn in Batavia.
Batavia PD and the Genesee County Sheriff's Office are cooperating in the investigation.
Chief Shawn Heubusch stressed that members of the public should not try to take matters into their own hands, but either call 9-1-1 or (585) 343-5000.
For the second time in five years, a homeless man who travels between Syracuse and Ohio has been arrested in Genesee County and accused of stealing money from local churches.
Stephen W. Quigley, 59, is charged with petit larceny.
Det. Pat Corona said Quigley admitted to the thefts.
Batavia PD opened an investigation into money missing from local church collection receptacles in January 2012.
Investigators had a description of a person using a device to remove cash from the receptacles, with the department receiving multiple reports of similar circumstances during the intervening months.
This morning, a witness to a prior alleged left spotted Quigley in Batavia.
Police located Quigley and questioned him. He allegedly admitted to larcenies from local churches on multiple occasions.
Le Roy PD arrested Quigley in June 2009 and accused him of stealing money from the candle prayer offerings of a church in Le Roy.
Quigley was jailed on $1,000 bail.
Up to six inches of snow could fall on Genesee County when a new storm front arrives in the region some time early Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service.
A winter storm watch has been issue and remains in effect until early Wednesday evening.
Forecasters say there is still some doubt as to the exact track of the storm.
Hazards include heavy snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain at times.
UPDATE 3:55 p.m.: The NWS has upgraded this event to a winter storm warning. Snow accumlations are predicted to be 6-12 inches. This will be a prolonged event that will effect driving conditions.
Patrick Raymond Krieger, 23, of Exchange Street, Akron, is charged with burglary 2nd, criminal contempt, 1st, menacing, 2nd. Krieger was arrested in the Town of Amherst after a brief foot pursuit by State Police, the Cheektowaga PD, Amherst PD and the Erie County Sheriff's Office. Krieger was turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Offices on charges stemming from an alleged incident reported in the Village of Corfu at 7:10 a.m., Friday. He was jailed on $30,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond.
Shannon L. Smith, 37, of 2 Goad Park, upper, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Smith was arrested following an investigation into a disturbance at 96 River St., Batavia.
Philip E. Wolfe, 58, of Alabama, is charged with petit larceny. Wolfe was arrested by State Police. No further details released.
Daniel T. Henning, 33, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Henning was arrested by State Police. No further details released.
A two-car accident with minor injuries is reported at 2950 Galloway Road, Batavia.
Town of Batavia fire and Mercy EMS responding.
UPDATE 10:29 a.m.: The assignment can be held to Engine 24, non-emergency. The patient is complaining of arm and back pain.
UPDATE 10:53 a.m.: The patient is a 35-year-old male who is being taken to UMMC with complaints of lower back and right hand pain.
At 4:38 p.m., Bill Schutt, Alabama fire's assistant chief, is reminded the sun sets in three minutes.
"That's what I'm worried about," he says. "It's not just light. It gets colder."
His chief is out on an island in the midst of frigid water with a hunter who became stranded in the swamps of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge on a day when temperatures dipped into the teens. One firefighter, who was with the chief, is at risk of frostbite after his boots filled with water while trying to reach the hunter.
It's too risky for the firefighters to walk out, even though they've located the hunter and he's in good health.
The hunter called for help at 2:30 in the afternoon. He started hunting at 12:30. He called for help, he said later, having spent an hour in the icy waters of the swamp tracking a deer he'd shot.
"At first the water wasn't too deep," said Colin Phillips, here from Vermont to hunt. "I was hopping from island to island out there and then it started getting deeper and deeper and I'm breaking through the ice. Finally, I reached an island and went about 50 yards and I couldn't go any further. I was exhausted."
His hands were freezing because he didn't have any gloves, but was otherwise appropriately dressed for the conditions. It was so cold that after his gun got wet it jammed with ice. He couldn't even fire a shot to alert rescuers to his location.
He was found with the help of a State Police helicopter and good tracking by Alabama Chief Gary Patnode.
As sunset neared, a hovercraft from Clarence Center returned from its crew's effort to reach the stranded hunter and the two firefighters.
The sticks and logs popped nearly ever single floatation tube from around the boat.
One of the crew members said that when they were about halfway to the location, the boat's stern took a nosedive into the water and that's when most of the damage was done.
The crew decided to be safe and make its way back to the shore.
"We realized, it's just a machine," he said. "It can be repaired."
As the sun's light wanes outside the command center, Jim Bouton, a coordinator with the Office of Emergency Management, learns that the weather had cleared enough for the State Police helicopter to return to the scene.
The helicopter isn't really equipped to hoist people from the ground, so the plan is for the chopper to hover right on top of the ice and pull one person at a time into the craft.
Bouton relays the plan to Schutt and looks skeptical.
"We need a plan C," he says.
A little later, scene commanders learn the helicopter from the Erie County Sheriff's Office will attempt the rescue. The two-man crew can deploy a hoist.
"I'm usually the type to remain calm and I was confident enough in our resources and our fire companies that I knew we were eventually going to get out," Patnode said after he returned safely to Casey Road. "We were already working on plans B, C and D."
When the rescue effort first started, Schutt noted, it seemed straightforward enough. Dispatchers were able to provide coordinates of the stranded hunter and he wasn't too difficult to find.
But getting him out safely proved to be harder than expected.
"The amount of water they had to go through, lightly frozen over, was the problem the hunter ran into in the first place," Schutt said. "Our firefighters could not have safely gotten back because they would have had to walk back through the water."
Alabama firefighters have all recently been through wilderness rescue training and Patnode had Thompson carrying a backpack equipped with what rescuers would need in a wilderness situation.
Except for a kit to start a fire.
"If I could have started a fire, I would have," Patnode said.
The idea of a nighttime rescue in the wilderness certainly carried an innate sense of risk.
"Any time you have a helicopter operating in the dark close to trees and people, it's definitely an elevated level of danger," said Andy Merkle, who worked the scene during most of the incident as operations manager.
His job was to keep an track of all the people and resources going in so they could be accounted for coming out.
"We want to make sure we don't come up with any more victims," Merkle said.
The first person rescued was Ryan Thompson, the firefighter with the cold feet. He was fine and was out walking around after a few minutes of rehab in an ambulance.
Thompson expressed nothing but confidence in his chief and his fellow firefighters. He said he never felt like it was a desperate situation.
"I knew it was our job and they would get us out some how," Thompson said.
Phillips was the next one brought back to the command post on Casey Road.
Upon his return, the demeanor of his brother and a friend who had been pacing the road for more than two hours went from fretful to joyous.
"You go from being absolutely terrified to utter rejoicing in the matter of two hours," said friend Matthew Laflair.
Laflair had some familiarity with the swamp area and knew what firefighters were up against.
"I know how tough it is to get back there, so to see the effort is good," Laflair said. "It's impressive to see a helicopter pulling some people out of here."
Patnode was the third person airlifted out of the swamp. He was also impressed by the effort of the Erie County pilot.
"I think he went above and beyond," Patnode said. "Maybe he went out of his comfort zone doing a night rescue like that, but he got the job done."
There were two other members of the Alabama team who got stranded in the woods. They were brought out by members of the Clarence Center Fire Department who were dressed in cold-water rescue suits.
In all, volunteers from fire departments in Genesee, Orleans, Erie and Niagara counties assisted in the rescue of Phillips.
"I owe them my life," Phillps said. "If they didn't come out and get me, I'd be dead tonight. I appreciate every second of it. They're great people."
Patnode, Thompson, Schutt, all said, "this is what we do."
So what can we say about that?
"I think you say 'Thank you,' " Schutt said. "I don't know what more you can say than that.
"These guys are out here, no paycheck," Schutt added. "They've been out here in the cold for hours, but it's something you do for your community. When you're part of a volunteer fire department, somebody calls for help, you go help. It's not something you complain about. None of these guys are going to complain about being out here cold and away from home for hours."
The initial post on this incident by Billie Owens contains a lot of details in chronological order of how the rescue went down. If you haven't read it, read it.
Bill Schutt, communicating with dispatchers early in the incident.
Patnode, center of the picture, after being airlifted from the swamp.
Top photo, Colin Phillips escorted to an ambulance after being rescued.
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National Grid reports some 300 customers from Clinton Street Road on the west to Bater road on the East are without power and there is not yet an estimate of when power will be restored.
A small pickup hit a utility pole just before 6 p.m. at Route 5 and Clipnock Road, shearing it off at its base.
One of the main transmission lines for the area was strung to the top of the pole, a National Grid employee on scene explained later. He said when the truck struck the pole, it probably moved 10 feet, causing the line to snap out of insulators on poles up and down the line.
The plan, he said, was for crews to respond to multiple locations and isolate specific outage areas and restore power incrementally to the affected customers.
While the initial estimate for power restoration was eight to 10 hours, the worker said he'd like to keep it to under four hours.
The driver and the passenger of the truck were transported to UMMC with minor injuries. A deputy said the truck was eastbound when it crossed the center line and struck the pole on the north shoulder. He said the cause of the accident remains under investigation.
Route 5 remains close to through traffic at this hour.
UPDATE 11 a.m.: The driver is identified in a Sheriff's Office accident report as Jason C. Penn, 35, of Mix Place, Batavia. His passenger was Blake C. Lind, age 7. The truck struck a fire hydrant and two utility poles. Debris from the accident struck another vehicle, causing the windshield to shatter. The cause of the accident remains under investigation, which is being conducted by Deputy Joseph Graff. No citations have been issued. A reader reports power restored at her Stafford residence at 5 a.m.
Law local enforcement is currently searching the city for a person who robbed the Days Inn this morning.
No further details available at this time.
UPDATE 4:30 a.m.: A white male entered the Days Inn on Noonan Drive at 2:40 a.m. and pointed a shotgun at the clerk.
He got away with an undisclosed amount of cash, including a coin tray filled with coins.
The suspect left in a small sedan and headed east on Noonan into the residential neighborhood adjacent Noonan Drive.
Batavia PD and Sheriff's patrols began a search of the area as soon as the robbery was reported but have so far been unable to locate the vehicle.
The suspect is described as 5'7" and about 200 pounds, wearing a dark blue hoodie and wearing a bandana over his face.
The similarities between this robbery and two others in recent days at the Best Western in Batavia and the 7-Eleven in Oakfield are enough to suspect there is a single suspect in all three cases, said Sgt. Todd Crossett, Batavia PD.
The suspect in the previous two robberies was described as 5'2" to 5'7" and "small in stature," however given the times, the bandana and the fact guns were used in all three robberies (a handgun in the first two) suggest a possible link.
"He fits a simliar description, so the five-sevenish, I guess it really depends on the person looking at him and when you have a shotgun in your face things aren't as clear, but he is described as similar as the other ones," Crossett said.
Crossett said it's hard to say whether the suspect is a local person, but it's likely.
"It's been all in the last week, so if it wasn't somebody from the area, I don't think they would keep coming back," Crossett said. "That would probably be a good assumption."
Nobody was hurt in this morning's robbery.
People with information that could assist in the investigation can call Batavia PD at (585) 345-6035.
"If anyone has information, any friends, relatives acting suspiciously, or if you know of anything, please contact the Batavia Police Department or the Genesee County Sheriff's," Crossett said.
The Cedar Street reconstruction project is nearing completion. There's still work to be done, but the roadway has reopened.
It's starting to look a bit like Christmas downtown as businesses begin installing their holiday window displays. The Business Improvement District sponsors an annual window display contest.
Yesterday and today, Brandi Bruggman has been painting a "White Christmas" mural at Steve Hawley's insurance office.
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