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For the boys basketball team at Notre Dame, the season is over.

The Fighting Irish on Wednesday night dropped a Class D consolidation game to Prattsburgh-Avoca, 75-51.

Notre Dame's Jordan Welker led the game in scoring with 23 points.  Colin McCulley scored nine and Ryan Fitzpatrick scored seven.

For Prattsburgh, Pacey Hopkins scored 16 and Caleb Johnson scored 14.

But Notre Dame isn't done with basketball just yet this season. The girls team plays Sherman at 1 p.m., Saturday, at Rush-Henrietta for a Far West Regional Championship.

Photos by Pete Welker.

East Rochester's pesky defense managed to slow down what had been a hot Pavilion offense to start the game and the Bombers were able to pull away from the Golden Gophers for a 56-42 win in the Class C consolidation game tonight at Bloomfield High School.

The bombers converted multiple forced turnovers into points over the course of the game.

Pavilion's Lauren Kingsley led all scorers with 18 points while Samantha Lewis and Zarriah Eldridge both had 15 points for East Rochester.

For more photos from the game, click here.

A suspected shoplifter has run from Walmart and was first reported heading toward the old Kmart, ditching his loot along the way.

He's described as a white male with a blue cap and a light green jacket.

An off-duty officer spotted him running behind Pawn King.

Multiple patrol units responding.

UPDATE 12:52 p.m.: A deputy is out with the suspect in the Batavia Downs parking lot.  There has apparently been merchandise found under a pickup truck in a nearby parking lot.

UPDATE 12:55 p.m.: The suspect is in custody. Additional merchandise has been recovered in the Country Max parking lot.

For years, we've all been getting it wrong.  We've been misspelling the name of Thorp Street.

Until today, The Batavian never published a story that didn't spell the name of the Southside street between Watson and Maple, parallel Evans, as "Thorpe," with an unnecessary "e" on the tail.

It's not just us -- Google, Apple, scores of real estate-related sites, and even the Batavia Daily News, have been spelling it "Thorpe" for who knows how long.

That spelling may be traced to a mistake by a now-long-retired and unknown city worker who made a street sign for the roadway and for some unknown reason added that pesky "e."

City Manager Rachael Tabelski said she checked with Ray Tourt, superintendent of the Bureau of Maintenance, who said some years ago a city crew made a routine sign replacement while other roadway maintenance was being performed on Thorp and this apparently is when the spelling was misspelled for, perhaps, the first time.

Tourt said he isn't sure how the crew came up with "Thorpe Street."  Perhaps spell-check offered the alternative spelling.

The mistake was recently discovered and the street signs were corrected.

That doesn't change the archives of The Batavian, nor the Batavia Daily News.  In the case of The Batavian, there's no indication we've ever spelled it "Thorp" and the Daily News has one instance of "Thorp" we could find in a search of its website, which returned 95 articles from the past decade.

Records indicate the street was dedicated in 1894 as "Thorp Street." 

Before that, it was known as "Thorp's Alley."

County Historian Michael Eula said that county records indicate that local landowner David Thorp opened the alley, which ran in a southern direction from the New York Central Railroad to the former Hill Street.

City Historian Larry Barnes said in the city's Official List of the Streets" from 1912, and another from 1920, list the street as "Thorp." 

County Clerk Michael Cianfrini said a search of land records from the 19th Century produced several landowners in the area who spelled their name "Thorp" but none who spelled their name "Thorpe."

County Planning Director  Felipe Oltramari said the county's 911 database spells it "Thorp" as well, which means it is also "Thorp" in the state database. 

The County's tax records site contains the correct spelling, "Thorp," but search Google and pretty much everybody spells it "Thorpe."

"Google has it wrong as Thorpe probably because their latest StreetView imagery (Sept. 2017) shows the old street signs that say Thorpe," Oltramari said. "I submitted a request to Google, Apple, and MapQuest to change it to Thorp but may be rejected until new StreetView imagery can confirm it."

The Batavian discovered the mistake when local real estate broker Lynn Bezon placed an ad for a property at 1 Thorp that is for sale.  We wanted to correct the spelling. She corrected us.

Photo: Screenshot from Google StreetView showing the old "Thorp" street sign misspelled "Thorpe."

Pavilion and York have become quite the area rivalry, especially in girls basketball.

On Monday night in Letchworth, it was on full display as fans filled the house and kept the noise level at maximum volume through nearly all 32 minutes of hoops to see which Class C champion will move forward in the postseason.

Last year it was York that prevented Pavilion from winning a second consecutive Section V title (Pavilion, the C2 champs this year now have two trophies from the past three seasons) after Pavilion beat York twice in the regular season.  This year, York prevailed in regular season play but on Monday, when it mattered most, the Gophers were golden, coming out on top 40-28.

They next play East Rochester to see which Class C team will represent Section V against Section VI in the Far West Regional championship game.  The game will be played Wednesday at Rush-Henrietta.

Tonight, Lauren Kingsley was dominant scoring 16 points.  Kylie Conway scored 10 points and Karlee Zinievich scored even.

Cameron J. Sokolowski, 29, of Batavia, is charged with theft of services. Sokolowski is accused of refusing to pay cab fare at 10:03 a.m., Feb. 20.  It's alleged that Sokolowski accepted a ride from a taxi driver and when he reached his destination, went inside and refused to come back out and pay the driver. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Benito A. Gay, 33, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Gay is accused of stealing beer from the cooler at the Kwik Fill on Jackson Street, Batavia, at 8 p.m., Feb. 20. He allegedly took three beers and exited the store without paying for the beer. He was arrested and issued an appearance ticket.

(name redacted upon request), 29, of Batavia, is charged with burglary 2nd and criminal contempt 1st. xxxx allegedly violated a stay-away order of protection by being inside the residence of the protected party at 1:54 p.m., Feb. 25, on Montclair Avenue. He was arraigned in City Court and ordered held on $5,000 bail, $10,000 bond, or $20,000 partially secured bond.

Angie C. Maniace, 40, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd and criminal contempt 1st. Maniace is accused of violating an order of protection and striking the protected party at 7:35 p.m., March 2 at a location on Chandler Avenue, Batavia. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Laura R. Mroz, 32, of Batavia, is charged with harassment 2nd and criminal contempt 1st. Morz is accused of violating an order of protection during a disturbance reported at 7:53 p.m., March 2. on Chandler Avenue, Batavia. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Julius L. Sanford, 29, of Buffalo, is charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument 2nd, failure to stop for a stop sign, unregistered motor vehicle, and uninsured motor vehicle. Sanford was stopped by a Batavia patrol officer on East Main Street, Batavia, at 1:14 a.m., Feb. 13. He was arraigned in City Court and released on his own recognizance. 

Derrick M. Williams, 32, of Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief 4th. Williams was arrested on a warrant stemming from an incident reported at 4:18 a.m., Sept. 25. He was arraigned in City Court and released.

Michelle D. Ulickey, 45, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Ulickey was allegedly found in possession of cocaine during a traffic stop by a Batavia patrol officer for allegedly driving with no headlights at 3:15 a.m., March 2, on East Main Street, Batavia. She was released on an appearance ticket.

Tonya M. Weber, 38, of Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant. Weber is charged with petit larceny in connection with an incident reported on Ellicott Street, Batavia, at 6:01 p.m., Dec. 7. Weber was arraigned in City Court and released under supervision.

Antwoine Kush, 19, of Rhulman Road, Lockport, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Kush allegedly violated a complete stay-away order of protection by contacting the protected party at 2 p.m., Jan. 8. Kush was issued an appearance ticket.

David Michael Milillo, 63, of Rochester, is charged with menacing 2nd. Miller is accused of displaying a pistol during a business transaction at 12:30 p.m., Sept. 2, at a location on Byron Holley Road, Byron, causing the victim to fear physical injury or death. Milillo was arrested following an investigation by Investigator Joseph Loftus and was issued an appearance ticket.

Nicholas Adam Pietrzykowski, 45, of East Road, Middlebury, is charged with DWAI/Drugs and criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Pietrzykowski was stopped at 7:25 p.m., July 25, on East Main Street, Batavia, by Deputy Nicholas Chamoun. He was arrested on March 3 following an investigation and issued an appearance ticket.

(name redacted upon request), 47, of Alexander, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. xxxx allegedly violated a stay-away order on eight different locations. He was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released on his own recognizance. 

Deanna Rae Lynn Couchman, 27, of Chili Avenue, Rochester, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, failure to keep right, and failure to signal. Couchman was stopped at 3:12 a.m., March 5, on Route 33 in Bergen by Sgt. Mathew Clor. She was issued appearance tickets.

Andrew Luis Coffey, 33, of South Goodman Avenue, Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property.  Coffey was allegedly found in possession of property previously reported stolen from Kohl's Department Store at 2:32 p.m., March 1. Coffey was issued an appearance ticket.

Jonah Ty Luplow, 19, of Pearl Street Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and failure to use designated lane. Luplow was stopped at 1:44 a.m., March 6, on Bank Street Road, Batavia, by Deputy Joshua Brabon. He was issued appearance tickets.

Amanda Beth Hopkins, 42, of Bethany, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI, endangering the welfare of a child, and moving from lane unsafely. Hopkins was reportedly involved in accident at 5:15 p.m., Jan. 21, on Ellicott Street Road, Pavilion.  Her BAC was allegedly greater than .08. Their was allegedly a child in the vehicle. She was arrested on March 5 by Deputy Nicholas Chamoun.  Hopkins was issued an appearance ticket.

Sandra L. Berrios, 62, of Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Berrios was stopped by State Police at 10:58 p.m., March 5, in the Town of Batavia. She was issued an appearance ticket. No other information released.

(Name redacted upon request), 20, of Byron, is charged with petit larceny. xxxx was arrested by State Police in the Town of Batavia for an incident reported at 1:30 p.m., March 2. He was released on an appearance ticket. No other information released.

Gerald L. Arnett, 49, of Rochester, is charged with felony DWI, felony aggravated DWI, and driving without an interlock device. Arnett was stopped by State Police at 3:54 p.m., Feb. 28, in the Town of Byron. There was allegedly a child in the vehicle. He was released on an appearance ticket. No other information released.

A 61-year-old man walking in the woods off Sackett Road in Bergen during yesterday's windstorm was killed when a tree fell and struck him in the head.

Dispatchers received a report of an unresponsive male pinned under a tree at 5:58 p.m.

The victim is identified as Steven K. Reber.

Lifesaving measures were attempted at the scene by family and emergency personnel but Reber was pronounced dead at the scene.

Foul play is not suspected.

Photo by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

Nimitz is much missed in the Clark household after the one-eyed feline went missing recently.

Danielle Clark is offering a return for his return.

The grey and white kitty was last seen on Tracy Avenue in Batavia.

If you see Nimitz or know where he is, Clark can be reached at (585) 409-9833 or email bring.Nimitz.home@gmail.com

It was a busy afternoon for prospective brides and grooms at Sunday's wedding show at Batavia Downs, according to Ryan Hasenauer, marketing director for Western OTB, with more than 200 people attending the event.

There was plenty for them to see with dozens of vendors and a fashion show featuring wedding dresses from various designers.

Submitted photos.

Resurrection Parish hosted a confirmation retreat this morning at St. Mary's Church.

Candidates made coats of arms, studies in the Corporal Works of Mercy, made church collages, and presented their saint research projects via role-play style interviews among other faith-based enrichment exercises. 

Jason Smith and Ron Chrzanowski facilitated the retreat.

Candidates will be confirmed on Pentecost Sunday, June 5 at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Buffalo by Bishop Michael Fisher.

Photos and information submitted by Jason Smith.

Dispatchers and first responders are dealing with multiple calls throughout the county related to wind damage, including this big branch down on Clinton Street in the City of Batavia.

There are multiple power outages reported in Genesee County, including 816 National Grid customers without power in Stafford/Byron/Bergen. The outage is centered in Byron.

There is an outage affecting 143 customers in the northern part of the Town of Elba and into Barre. There are 109 customers without power north of North Byron Road just west of Byron Holley Road.

There is an outage for 76 customers and another for 69 customers in Alexander north of Route 20.

West of Darien Center is an outage affecting 235 customers and just north of that location, one affecting 130 customers. 

Between Basom and Oakfield, 208 customers are without power. there are smaller outages northwest of Alabama.

National Grid has extra crews on duty to help handle the workload.

High winds are expected to continue until 7 p.m.

Photo submitted by Arielle McVay

Mike Rapone is going out as he came in, the coach of a team that won a Section V title.

He coached the 1981 champions and today, in the final Section V championship game of his career, the Fighting Irish seized the block again, this time keeping it away from cross-county rivals Elba with a 59-46 win.

The title is the 10th sectional title of Rapone's legendary career, a Section V record. It is win number 728 for Rapone, also a Section V record.

Leading the way for the champions was Colin McCulley, who scored 19 points. Jordan Welker scored 13, Ryan Fitzpatrick scored eight, Jimmy Fanara, seven, and Cody Henry, five.

For Elba, CJ Gottler scored 15 points, Zack Marsceill, 12, Scott Connor, six, and Jake Walczak and Mike Long, five each.

The Oakfield-Alabama Hornets had little trouble with Lyons at Victor Hight School on Friday on their way to a Section V Class C2 championship.

Final score: O-A 55, Lyons 29.

Kam Cusmano scored 18 points for the Hornets, with Gaige Armbrewster scoring 13 and Kaden Cusmano scoring 10.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.

Tony Pecora spent the day in front of City Hall in Downtown Batavia calling it as he sees it: "Monster Putin Free Ukraine."

He had no trouble explaining his protest:

"Well, if you really want to know the reason is because over there, they're human beings just like us," he said. "But they're losing their children. They're losing their wives. They're losing their husbands. It's a terrible, terrible thing. And people over here, I mean, I hear people blowing the horns and thanking me, and that's fine. But there's a lot of people that just don't care. It's over there, let them go, and what I got here is fine with me. You can't do that. You just can't do that because if we weren't in NATO, it might happen right here. And then what are the people going to do?

"I mean, it's a terrible situation over there. And people are getting killed for what? For this idiot that thinks -- he's a despot, a horrible, horrible person.

"This thing shouldn't be going on. It is an awful, awful thing.

"I've got four children, and they're all with me. They stand with me. One is in Minnesota. One is in Virginia. I got two in Buffalo. And they're beautiful children, and they feel the same way. And I think people should stop and think about what's going on over there. They don't realize it's a terrible, terrible situation."

When Chris Crocker first took over a liquor store location at 73 Main St., Batavia, she had a vision.

She didn't see the nearly bare shelves. She envisioned shelves stocked with some of the best wine and spirits available in the community.

Ten years later, she feels she's achieved that dream, she said, thanks to a great staff and the support of the community.

Crocker and her staff will celebrate The YNGodess Shop's 10th anniversary tomorrow (Saturday) from 5 to 7 p.m. tomorrow and the public is invited.

"It's been a lot of work a lot, a lot of passion," Crocker said. "I have a great staff. And I've been doing it all for my son, my life. It's not always been easy. We've overcome a lot of challenges and we just keep going. Let's all put our best foot forward and we'll keep being the best that we can be."

Crocker is grateful for the community support and it's always been her goal to give back to the community.  

When the pandemic hit, in those first initial weeks, home delivery of wine and spirits became a big part of the liquor business but rather than pocket those extra profits from home delivery, Crocker set the money aside to give back to the community.

"We just gave $250 to a young lady that lost her daughter," Crocker said. "We've done the lunch thing with different (police and fire) departments around. I donated 911 flags back on 911 with the victims' names on them to the various departments around. We helped buy a motorized wheelchair for a woman in Le Roy.  We figure it has come close to $20,000 that we've raised and put back into the community."

Top photo: Chris Crocker, middle, and staff members Valeria Antonetty and Jodi Fisher.

The YNGodess Shop is expressing its support for the people of Ukraine with a window display.

Two Batavia men have been arrested in Wyoming County on burglary charges, accused of stealing firearms and other property.

Antwan L. Odom, 21, and Christopher V. McClinic face four counts of burglary 2nd, a Class C violent felony.

Odom was arraigned and jailed in Wyoming County on $100,000 bail. McClinic was released under supervision.

The investigation began on Feb. 17 after a reported burglary in the Town of Covington. 

Based on tips, search warrants were executed in Batavia and firearms, other property, and related evidence were recovered.

Wyoming County Sheriff Gregory J. Rudolf said witnesses reported seeing a suspicious vehicle on the day of the burglaries and that Batavia PD also received anonymous that and that citizen assistance was vital to the investigation.

He issued the following statement:

“I want to thank the community and those individuals for their assistance in this investigation.  It proves public safety is truly a public venture.  The professionals of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and the Batavia Police Department likewise provided essential support as this investigation trekked out of Wyoming County.  Our own Criminal Investigations Division has labored continuously since February 17^th running down leads, applying for search warrants, gathering evidence, conducting interviews and assembling an extensive case file to bring this case to this point and that work has been commendable.  Those Investigators will continue to work this case as information develops and through its prosecution by the Wyoming County District Attorney’s Office.  Anyone with information is still asked to call the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office at:  585-786-8989 or our Confidential Tip Line at:  585-786-8965.”

There are six Genesee County basketball teams competing for a coveted Section V trophy in five boys and girls basketball games this Friday and Saturday.

Here is the schedule:

Friday:

• Notre Dame (#2) vs. Filmore (#1), 8 p.m., at Letchworth, Girls Class D1
• Oakfield-Alabama (#2) vs. Lyons (#1), 7 p.m., at Victor, Boys Class C2

Saturday:

• Alexander (#7) vs. East Rochester (#1), 3 p.m., at Rush Henrietta, Girls Class C1
• Pavilion (#1) vs. Gananda (#6), 1 pm., at Rush-Henrietta, Girls Class C2
• Notre Dame (#1) vs. Elba (#2), 11 a.m., at Letchworth, Boys Class D2

Section V officials are expected sellouts at the boys games and tickets for the boys games must be bought in advance online.

Announcement from Section V:

 “Based on input from our membership, Section V will be utilizing digital ticketing exclusively for our boys’ basketball FINALS and the games played to determine who will represent Section V at regionals in Section VI.  Our championship games will be held at high school facilities which have limited seating capacity. There will be NO on-site tickets to purchase, and all digital tickets will be pre-sale only.  Section V will ensure that each program involved in the championship games have first priority for pre-sale tickets. About 24 hours prior to any championship game, any unsold tickets will be made available to the general public to purchase digital tickets. We look forward to providing our student athletes the opportunity to play for a championship in the presence of all their friends, families, and communities. All championship games will be live streamed and available to all for viewing at no cost.”

To purchase tickets, follow this link: https://gofan.co/app/school/NYSPHSAAV

Pavilion's girls basketball team will get a third straight shot at a Section V title on Saturday after a come-from-behind win against Kendall on Wednesday.

Kendall made it tough on the Golden Gophers in the first half of the Class C2 semifinal at Honeoye Falls/Lima. 

Pavilion jumped out to an early 6-0 lead but Kendall's aggressive defense along with Pavilion's cold shooting held the team down to only five points scored over more than a 10-minute span, giving Kendall a 19-9 lead at the half.

But the Gophers came out of the locker room ready to take charge in the second half.

In the end, Pavilion came out on top 44-40.

Karlee Zinkievich scored 21 points for Pavilion. Lauren Kingsley, 14, and four blocked shots. Shea Amberger, three points along with six assists and seven rebounds. Paige Landers, five points and six rebounds.

Elizabeth Snyder led Kendall in scoring with 17 points. She also had 12 rebounds.

The Oatkan Knights season came to a disappointing end on Wednesday with a 52-48 loss to Myderse Academy in the Class B2 sectional semifinal in boys basketball.

Merritt Holly, Jr., scored 22 points for Le Roy, and Fin Shelby scored 15.

Le Roy came into the game as the #2 seed and Myderse is the #3 seed.

Photos by Ed Henry.

The Batavia Blue Devils' post-season surge came to an end Wednesday night with a 55-46 loss to Palmyra-Macedon.

Batavia (9-14) entered sectionals an underdog as the #8 seed in Class B1 but kept their season alive with wins over Livonia (the #9 seed) and #1 seeded Northstar.

On Wednesday, Javin McFollins, Mikey McKenzie, and Tanner Mountain each scored nine points, and Cam McClinic scored eight.

Photos by Erin Staley.