Stories from

Police are responding to the 100 block of Elm Street, where a lost 6-year-old was found walking down the street crying.

UPDATE: It sounds like the child was reunited with her family.

A caller to the dispatch center reports that a telephone pole has been sheared off on Ledge Road, just east of 77, in Alabama.

"It appears to be a motor vehicle accident, but no vehicle around," according to dispatch.

Pole and wires are down on the ground.  The pole is in three different pieces.

There was a suggestion from a responder that the pole down is a result of an accident last night.

UPDATE: Alabama Fire Chief: "This is the same pole from Friday night, so I'm clear."  Notifications have already been made.

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A driver at the intersection of North Byron Road and Oak Orchard Road thought it was a four-way stop yesterday, so she proceeded across Oak Orchard Road, where her car was struck by a southbound car.

Two people suffered minor injuries in the accident. Both were transported to UMMC.

Eleanor M. Hart, 75, of 4991 Watson Road, Elba, was the driver of the second car, the one southbound on Oak Orchard. She suffered a neck injury.

One of her passengers, Burton E. Hart, 75, suffered a hip/upper leg injury.

The driver of the first vehicle, Lorraine J. Spotts, 50, of 4415 Hogmire, Avon, was uninjured in the crash.

Hart had two other passengers in her car and neither were injured: Frank Neindorf, 78, and Monica Neindorf, 72.

The accident occurred at 5:21 p.m. yesterday.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Tim Wescott.

A Pennsylvania man who was reported missing after attending a concert at Darien Lake Theme Park on Friday was found dead early Sunday morning in Sunshine Lake by scuba divers investigating his disappearance.

The death of William "Billy" Sutherland, 33, of Bradford, Pa., is not considered suspicious at this time, but the investigation continues.

Sutherland attended the Toby Keith and Trace Adkins concert Friday, but became separated from his friends. The group spent several hours looking for him, but eventually returned home.

When Sutherland did not return to Bradford Saturday, his family and friends drove back to Darien Lake to look for him and contacted the Genesee County Sheriff's Office to report him missing.

After interviews with friends and family, the Sheriff's Office concentrated its search in the parking area, especially in the area of Sunshine Lake, which is located within the parking area.

There is no word on how long the search took. His body was found by divers at 1:30 a.m..

The Sheriff's Office was assisted by the security staff of Darien Lake, the Darien Volunteer Fire Department, the Alden Fire Department's water rescue team, and the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management.

A person has been stabbed near the beer gardens at Darien Lake Theme Park.

The victim's leg was cut by the knife and the artery was hit.

UPDATE: FWIW, at Darien tonight is "Cruefest – Motley Crue with Godsmack," and it appears to be the final concert on the Darien Lake schedule for the season.

A picnic table is reportedly on fire in Bergen Park, 53 S. Lake Ave., Bergen.

There is a reported stabbing in the Country Meadows Trailer Park on Clinton Street Road. Law enforcement is on scene. Mercy EMS has been dispatched.

De-fense. De-fense. De-fense.

A crushing Notre Dame defense led the Fighting Irish to a 21-0 victory over Pembroke.

Pembroke managed only 15 yards of total offense in the first half, while Mike Pratt lead Notre Dame on offense all game, ripping some big runs while Nick Bochicchio connected with Gianni Zambito on two touchdown passes.

The Irish scored on their first possession after Pratt marched the team down the field before Bochicchio hit Zambito on a 35-yard bomb.

A missed field goal by Matt Thompson deprived Notre Dame of the chance to score a second time in the first quarter.

Thompson would redeem himself later in the came when he recovered from a bad snap to get off a great punt.

After two long runs in the second quarter, Pratt dove in from the three-yard line to put the Fighting Irish up 14-0.

In the second half, Pembroke continued to struggle on offense, putting up only a couple of first downs, and finished the game with less than 100 yards total offense.

Notre Dame's final score came in the third quarter when Bochicchio found Zambito again for a 31-yard strike.

Thanks to a reader for the info.

Mercy EMS is responding to a second call at Area 51 for a compound fracture. The first one was about two hours ago.

There was also a call out there this morning for a partially severed thumb.

At another location this afternoon, somebody had an arrow stuck in his wrist. There was also a call for a concussion at another recreation facility.

And of course, county ambulances have been getting the usual calls for older people with various health problems.

John Pontillo says he has tried doing everything he can to save Pontillo's on East Main Street in Batavia.

So far, all of his offers to buy the building and the business have been rejected. He doesn't know why.

"I offered a solution that gave the family business a chance to reopen and keep it in the family," John Pontillo said this afternoon. "It could be open right now. I made an offer that would have allowed us to take care of all our creditors. Bankers looked at it and real estate people looked at it and business people looked at it and all said, 'John, this is a good offer.'

"It's very frustrating. I don't know why it was rejected."

The landmark Pontillo's, which Sam Pontillo founded in 1947, shut down in November, with a sign appearing in the parking lot saying it was closed for remodeling. It turned out, however, that the business owed more than $112,000 in back taxes.

The brothers were soon in court trying to settle estate and debt issues and who would run the business.

And the fate of Pontillo's has been tied up in court since.

"We all grew up in this business," John said. "I would like to keep it in the family."

A for-sale sign appeared on Pontillo's yesterday about 4 p.m., but John is skeptical that the business and building can be sold before creditors foreclose on the property. He fears if his offer isn't accepted before foreclosure, there will be no more Pontillo's in Batavia -- not the family business his parents nutured into a regionally renowned destination for pizza and pasta.

As local restaurateur Sean Valdes noted in a comment yesterday, "This will be a hard building to sell as a restaurant. The overhead will be a challenge."

We have a call into Sam Pontillo seeking his comment on the situation.

Billie and I stopped at D & R Depot Restaurant for dinner last night and arrived just in time to see this train going by.

Once in a while, a reader stumbles across a morning post by Joesph Langen which he titles "Conversations with Calliope" and asks us what they're about.

Langen is a writer and he uses The Batavian as a morning writing exercise to connect with his muse.

We've never put these posts on the home page. They're just a writer's journal about his writing.

But Langen has been doing it daily since almost the first day The Batavian started publishing. Now he's made a collection of his writings available for free in PDF form. Click here for home info.

He lists these 10 reasons to download the book:

1. Find out where writers get their ideas.
2. Hear what a writer does all day.
3. Listen to what writers say about being a writer.
4. I want my muse to be more helpful.
5. See how to get unstuck when you write.
6. Learn how to talk with a muse.
7. Explore what else writers need to know besides how to write.
8. Discover what keeps a writer going page after page.
9. Determine who supports a writer’s efforts.
10. Unearth the sources of writers’ inspiration.

Langen says he's now a full-time writer after 35 years as a psychologist. He recently published his first novel, "The Pastor's Inferno." His other books include on one life's lessons, "Commonsense Wisdom for Everyday Life," and a memoir about his nine years in a seminary, "Young Man of the Cloth."

C.M. Barons is a frequent commenter on The Batavian. Baron's published a novel last year, "In the Midst of."

Last month, Penguin Multimedia, a joint venture of Loren Penman of Batavia and her son, Brant, as well as Brian Gardner, shot a video promo for the novel at vintage clothing store Calista Miakoda on Ellicott Street.

The novel is available at Present Tense Books.

Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding to a reported stove fire at 4071 W. Main St. Road.

The fire is contained to the stove. There is smoke in the residence.

UPDATE: 12:17 p.m.: Fire out, but ventilation needed.

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The 25th annual Oakfield Labor Daze gets under way at noon and will feature music, food, games and local arts and crafts.

The weather is expected to be as temparate and clear as a Southern Californian afternoon today and tomorrow (chance of rain on Monday).

Highlights of the weekend:

Today

2 to 3:00 p.m.: Bed Races-Bennett Avenue

6 to 10 p.m.: Battle of the Bands-Triangle Park

Tomorrow

Noon to 3 p.m.: Chicken BBQ-Methodist Church

1:45 to 3:45 p.m.: Charlotte Ritchie

6 to p.m. Joey T & The Formula

Monday

10:30 a.m.: Labor Daze Parade on Main Street

12:15 to 1 p.m.: O-A Jazz Band at Triangle Park

1 p.m.: Pie & Ice Cream at Oakfield United Methodist Church

2:45 to 4:45 p.m.: Craig Wilkins performs Johnny Cash Music

5:30 to to 9:30 p.m.: The Trolls

The weekend closes with a fireworks show at the school after the last performance.

For a complete schedule of events, click here.