Le Roy

A suspected shoplifter at Tops Market in Le Roy is being sought by police after allegedly leaving the store with a cart chock full of stuff. He is described as a skinny white male about 6-feet tall with bad teeth wearing blue shorts and a blue shirt. A witness at the store said he saw the man flee on foot down a trail by the store.

Police are looking for a man that allegedly left the scene of an accident on Harris Road in Le Roy. He is walking and described as a heavy-set white male, 6-feet tall, wearing a striped shirt and shorts.

UPDATE 7:01 p.m.: The roadway had been closed, but is now reopened. Law enforcement is waiting for National Grid because wires were torn down.

A trailer stacked with hay is reportedly on fire at 7328 Seldon Road. Le Roy Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 6:06 p.m.: Bergen fire is requested to stand by in its hall.

UPDATE 6:18 p.m.: Bergen is called to the scene.

UPDATE 7 p.m.: The fire is out.

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) reviewed and approved four items at the organization’s July 11 board meeting. The projects would create approximately 60 new jobs, including 50 new jobs at Premiere Credit in downtown Batavia while retaining approximately 50 jobs at Leroy Plastics.

The board also approved the sale of 10 acres of land to Alpina for a future use as yet not unveiled by the company. Alpina has already surpassed its commitment to create 50 new jobs to receive benefits from the GCEDC as 55 new jobs have already been created.

Le Roy Plastics received approval for a $100,000 loan fund from the GCEDC in order to purchase a building at 59 Lake St. in Le Roy. The company is seeking to consolidate its processes from current facilities located at 15 Lent Ave. and 7835 E. Main St. The loan would have a term of seven years.

Premiere Credit, which opened operations in the city of Batavia in 2012, received a sales tax exemption of approximately $26,000 in return for an investment of $325,000 to expand the footprint of the company’s existing call center at 1 Mill St. The expansion will create an additional 50 new employees for a total workforce of 135.

Imagination Industries is constructing a 7,015-square-foot facility at 8240 Buffalo Road in the Town of Bergen. The multiuse facility will house an indoor firing range, training center, gunsmith services and a laser engraving business. The company is investing nearly $400,000 and will create 10 new jobs. 

Since this is a retail business, a public hearing was conducted on July 9 for community feedback to the project as part of the passage of new state legislation to determine if the project makes available services which would not be, but for the project, reasonably accessible to residents of the municipality where the project is located. After it was determined that the project fulfilled the new criteria, Imagination Industries received approval for sales tax and mortgage tax exemptions and a property tax abatement.

“These are all very high-quality projects that we believe will have a positive economic impact in the region,” said Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the GCEDC. “While the main function of our organization is to create new jobs, it’s also important to remember that we are here to help existing companies such as Le Roy Plastics retain jobs and keep them here for the long term.”

Jack Mayer, of Le Roy, gets his hand waxed by Lisa McCombs, owner of Wax Hands by Unique Creations, during the second day of the Oatka Festival on Sunday.

Tom McQuaig creates an airbrushed T-shirt.

Preparation for the annual Duck Derby across Oatka Creek. 

Duck racing fans.

The winner selected. We don't have information yet on who won.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

A man on a stolen motorcycle that led local law enforcement on a high-speed chase through the City of Batavia and the Village of Le Roy yesterday got away.

A witness in Avon apparently saw the rider get off the red Honda bike and get into a green car and leave.

"The odd thing is, he took the time to put the kick stand down," said Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble, Sheriff's Office.

Dibble said it's likely the rider phoned a friend to pick him up in Avon.

There's no description available of the suspect, other than he's allegedly a black male.

The chase started on Route 5 at Kelsey Road, on the west side of Batavia, where a deputy was positioned on routine traffic patrol when the bike sped past, Dibble said.

City PD joined the pursuit when it came down Main Street.

Dibble said officers were aware the Oatka Festival was taking place in Le Roy and backed off as they approached the village.

The chase came through Le Roy about 5:45 p.m. and the crowd was dispersing from the Duck Derby, which had just ended. The derby had gotten a late start because of technical difficulties.

Witnesses praised the work of Le Roy PD patrolman Daryl Robb, who was handling traffic control at the intersection of Wolcott and Main streets.

Robb cleared the intersection of pedestrians and kept everybody away from the street as the motorcycle sped through village.

"We saw the kid crest the hill in an instant and fly down Main Street at a conservative 95 an hour," said Le Roy resident Bud Prevost. "Several City of Batavia police cars and two Sheriff's cars were in hot in pursuit. It was a very dangerous situation when you had several hundred people milling around that intersection.

"Kudos to this young man," Prevost added. "He took control, as a good officer should, and made a lasting impression on me."

When the plate of the motorcycle was first called it, the dispatch centered received a teletype indicating the bike had been connected to felony crime. That information turned out to be inaccurate, but the motorcycle had been reported stolen out of Rochester.

"This wasn't a situation like we typically get where a motorcycle is involved in a high-speed chase and then the owner calls later and reports it stolen," Dibble said. "It was reported stolen before the chase."

Photos from Saturday's Oatka Festival Parade.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

Before the gray hair, before the jobs, the mortgages, the children, they were the boys in the band.

At age 15 and 16, from about 1967 to 1969, Geno Ceccato, Greg Deck, Andrew Martorana, Jerry Keating, Bob Baker and Tim Martin (top photo, in that order) were known in Western New York as The Middle Class and later, after a change in sound and Tim leaving the band, Faith.

The boys stayed in touch and the families always heard the stories of those glory days, but the former bandmates had nothing from that pre-digital time that showed "this is what we did."

No long ago, Martorana decided maybe a reunion was in order so there could be a little more documentation that they once were a band.

"We realized we didn’t have any kind of legacy to leave our families," Martorana said. "They would hear these stories, but there were no recordings, no videos, just a couple of snapshots here and there."

All week The Middle Class/Faith have been rehearsing in space at the Harvester Center and tomorrow they will go in the studio to record a CD.

Martorana's wife has been making a video, interviewing band members and taking snapshots to include on a DVD of this week's "reunion tour."

None of this is for any commercial/public release. It's just a family thing, a living memento that these six men were once, in fact, a band.

While Jerry, Tim and Greg all carried on with musical pursuits after the band split in 1969, Martorana, who lives in Le Roy, put away his drums, stowed his sticks and pursued a career as an electrician. Before starting to practice for the reunion, he hadn't played drums in 43 years.

After he had been practicing a while, he posted a couple of videos on YouTube of him playing and sent the link to a couple of drummer friends.

"They said, 'oh, man, you've gotta keep playing after this,' " Martorana said. "I talked with my wife and she said I should keep playing. So I'm shopping for a band."

It was Greg, he said, who made the point that the music never dies.

"You may have to relearn it, but it's always in your soul."

Steven Douglas Crandall, 50, of Driving Park, Rochester, is charged with petit larceny and trespass. Crandall allegedly stole an air conditioning unit at Walmart with a $479.08 value. Crandall is allegedly banned from all Walmart stores because of a prior shoplifting allegation. Crandall also had an warrant for his arrest out of Town of Batavia Court for a prior shoplifting charge at Kmart. Crandall was jailed on $500 bail.

Daryl R. Hamler, 19, of Wescott Road, Le Roy, is charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 4th, and speeding. Also charged with criminal possession of marijuana was Rebecca E. Cook, 19, of Caldwell Road, Groveland. Hamler and Cook were allegedly found in possession of more than two ounces of marijuana during a traffic stop by Deputy James Diehl at 12:02 a.m. on Route 19, Le Roy.

Andrew Alexander Halloran, 48, of Northwest 7 Street Road, Miami, Fla., is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, DWI, refusal to take breath test, speeding and failure to keep right. Halloran's vehicle was stopped at 11:43 p.m. Tuesday on Route 20, Darien, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Cheryl L. Behm, 53, of Alden, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely, failure to use designated lane and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Behm was stopped at 1:24 a.m. Wednesday on Main Road at Back Street in Pembroke by State Police.

Earl S. Lockhart, 20, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Lockhart is accused of stealing from Kmart.

There is a toughness, according to Jim Bonacquisti, that defines what it means to be an Oatkan Knight.

The stories of those tough kids, the ones who were heroes and the ones who always put in a good effort, are what Bonacquisti and research partner John Mangefrida want to capture for a book they're writing on the history of Le Roy football.

"When I talk to the old timers, the word tough keeps coming up," Bonacquisti said. "There's something about this community that the kids are just tough. When I ask people, why is that, they talk about the Irish, the Italians, the blacks, just something about the makeup of the community. Just tough, tough kids and it's still that way."

In an effort to leave no stone unturned, Bonacquisti and Mangefrida will be at the Oatka Festival this weekend in their own booth looking to talk with former players about their time in red and black.

Bonacquisti figures he already has five hours of interviews taped and has written five chapters of "A Knight's Journey," but he wants to get as many stories as he can about the people and events that shaped more than a century of football in Le Roy.

"We don't want to leave something out," he said. "There's going to be somebody who gets left out somehow, but that's why I think it's important (to hear from people)."

It's not unusual for storied high school programs to be the subject of a local history book, but Bonacquisti wants to get beyond the usual dry fare of those books -- stats, won-loss records and game recaps. "A Knight's Journey" will be about the boys who played the game and the community that they helped define -- and which helped define them.

"It's all about the kid," Bonacquisti said. "It's all about that kid when he's this tall and his dad brings him to a football game and he's thinking, 'I want to do this. I want to be a part of this.' I don't know if every community has that."

Bonacquisti said he was that kid once, and so was his dad. It's been that way for many families for many generations in Le Roy.

To pick up the game program Mangefrida puts together every year and flip through the names of players who have worn red and black through the decades, it's like a who's who of Le Roy's prominent and not so prominent familes. Antinore, Bower, Condidorio, Crocker, Lapp, Lathan, Loftus, Longhany, O'Geen, Paladino, Panepento, Pangrazio, Rider, Scott and Whiting.

On the field, the names that stand out, Bonacquisti said are Shaughnessy, Miller and Scott.

While the Shaughnessy and Millers have produced generation after generation of top Section V players, the Scott name is the only one that is draped across the balcony of a professional football stadium.

That would be the name Boomer Scott, who was a varsity fullback and defensive lineman for the Red and Black (before they were the Oatkan Knights) in 1940, '41 and '42. He was recruited by Notre Dame at a time when there were maybe seven top football programs in the nation and Notre Dame was one of them.

After college, Scott had a Canadian Football Hall of Fame career from 1949 to 1960 in Hamilton, Ontario.

It's the story of guys like Scott that the young players need to learn about, Bonacquisti said. Here was a guy right from Le Roy who not only had a great football career, but made a difference in his adopted community of Hamilton (after he retired, Scott became a successful businessman in Hamilton and eventually served one term on the city council).

The kids need to learn about Ed Walsh, too, he said.

Walsh coached in Le Roy in 1946 and 1947, with a record of 5-2 his second year.

The next year, Walsh was head coach in Manhasset on Long Island when he spotted a freshman in the hallway one day and asked him if he ever played football. The shy boy who had just moved to Manhasset from Georgia said he never had.

Walsh became that boy's mentor and the father figure he never had, and that youngster, Jim Brown, would not only go on to lead Manhasset to a 20-1 record over four seasons, averaging more than 12 yards per carry, he would become a standout athlete in lacrosse, basketball and baseball before becoming one of the all-time great running backs in nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns.

No story of Le Roy's coaches would be complete, though, without including at least the names Ray Jamalkowski and Brian Moran.

Jamalkowski ended six straight seasons of futility in what had otherwise always been a proud program and in just one season -- when the Knights went 6-1 in 1965 -- turn the program around and started a streak of winning seasons that would to go until 1979 (the year, coincidentally, when Bonacquisti was captain).

"He came from Batavia," Bonacquisti said, "and he saw in these kids that toughness and he brought it out of them."

Moran's 177-58-2 record over 23 seasons makes him somewhat of a living legend in the annals of Le Roy football, and he's not done yet. With the kids coming up through the program, Bonacquisti said Moran should be able to notch quite a few more victories in the coming years.

Then there are people associated with Le Roy football who are best remembered not for their exploits on the gridiron, but what they did away from the field.

Today, outstanding Le Roy students receive awards named after John Armino and Gary Scott.

In 1960, Armino sacrificed his life by lying down on top of another boy on the track tracks near Buttermilk Falls to protect him from an oncoming train.

The second student to ever receive the John Armino award was Gary Scott, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968 while saving the lives of fellow soldiers.

When Bonacquisti posted about Scott on a Facebook group he set up for the book, a former student who once won the Gary Scott Award said the post prompted him to find out more about Scott.

"He sent back a reply to me about how humbled he was," Bonacquisti said. "He felt kind of bad because he didn't really look into who Gary Scott was and then he said when he saw how significant the award was and how he felt to think that his teachers thought that much of him to give him that award."

In telling these tales, Bonacquisti believes he can help preserve the tradition of what it means to be a Knight -- that toughness, but also the humility, the honor, the desire to prove oneself and showing mercy to a conquered enemy.

That tradition is one of the things that helps bind Le Roy and define Le Roy, Bonacquisti said.  There may be things that have at times pushed the community apart, but on Friday nights, football always brings them together.

"When we get those 30 kids out there, we don't care where you live," Bonacquisti said. "You could live on Mill Street or you could live on East Main Street. The best players and the toughest kids are going to play.  

"That really helps kids," he added. "Maybe they don't come from the greatest background or families, but they know they're going to get a fair shot to be part of something pretty significant if they put the work in."

Over and over, during our talk at Ron Rossi's barbershop, Bonacquisti said he only knows Le Roy football and that's the story he wants to tell.

"Are we different from any other community? I don't know," he said. "I can only judge by what we have here."

Photo: Bonacquisti, Rossi and Mangefrida.

Le Roy Police are responding to Tops Market for a larceny suspect in custody. She is alleged to have "put roast beef in her purse."

Charles Wayne O'Shea, 35, of East Main Street, Le Roy, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or higher, aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle and aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd. O'Shea was arrested twice for alleged drunken driving within a four-hour period. The second arrest came after a traffic stop at 8:36 p.m. Saturday on Route 19, Le Roy, by Deputy Chad Minuto. Minuto said he observed O'Shea driving and knew from being involved with a prior arrest of O'Shea that O'Shea allegedly did not have a valid driver's license, so he initiated a traffic stop. Upon further investigation, Minuto concluded O'Shea was allegedly driving while intoxicated. Four hours earlier, according to Minuto's report, Minuto assisted Deputy James Diehl while Diehl arrested O'Shea for allegedly driving drunk.

Selime Bela, 49, of Crimson Drive, Albion, is charged with petit larceny. Bela is accused of shoplifting $67.49 in merchandise from Kmart.

Brandon Marshall Weig, 25, of Buffalo Road, Bergen, is charged with harassment, 2nd (physical contact). The alleged incident was reported at 1:02 a.m., Friday. No further details released. Weig was also arrested on a bench warrant for alleged criminal contempt, 2nd, and disobeying a mandate.

Michael T. Dibble, 21, of Corfu, is charged with DWI. Dibble was arrested by State Police at Erie County Medical Center for allegedly driving drunk in the Town of Pembroke at 4:19 p.m., Wednesday. No further details released.

Jeremy M. Sheehan, 30, of Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Sheehan was arrested by State Police following an alleged incident reported at 1:49 a.m. Thursday in the Town of Le Roy. No further details were released.

The Sheriff's Office announced the following arrests Saturday during the Vans Warp Tour at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center.

Charles W. O’Shea, 35, of 6972 W. Main Road, Le Roy, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, and aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, after allegedly being found operating in an intoxicated condition in the campground area. 

Shalanda L. Darden, 24, of North Hampton Street, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Jed T. Jastrzemski, 18, of Rumbold Avenue, North Tonawanda, was the only person cited for alleged possession/consumption of alcohol under age 21.

A caller complained to dispatch that a neighbor appeared to be videotaping her children and the family dog. Le Roy Police are out with the alleged videotaper on Bradnell Avenue.

New York Premier Soccer (NYPS) is delighted to host the Le Roy Youth Soccer Summer Camp in a fun and active environment. Summer camp dates are: July 15th-19th from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., cost is $75 per player. Players will develop soccer skills through games and competitions. Camp will include 15 hours of professional soccer coaching & a NYPS camp T-shirt. Please register at: https://korrio.com/groups/leroy-youth-soccer-camp-0715-0719/

Camp location is Bunnell Park in Le Roy NY.

If interested in sending 10 or more players from a team, contact Dean James at the e-mail listed below. You do not need to be a resident of Le Roy to participate!

For more information or if you have difficulties with the registration link, please contact Dean James directly at: DJames@GlobalPremierSoccer.com

A two-car accident is blocking traffic at Route 5 near East Bethany -- Le Roy Townline Road. Le Roy fire and ambulance is responding.

UPDATE 2:15 p.m.: The road is clear and the assignment is back in service.

Stephanie G. Pelkey, 18, no permanent address, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 5th. Pelkey allegedly pawned a stolen laptop, using her NYS learner's permit for identification, at Computer and Phone Repair in Batavia.

Nicholas A. Gaudy, 21, of 11 Allen St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Gaudy is accused of stealing alcohol from Main St. Pizza Company.

Brodes J. Gibson, 52, of 13 Thorpe St., Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Gibson is accused of taking the wallet of another person on Jackson Street. The wallet allegedly contained a credit card.

Carolyn Anne Laurie, 18, of Clay Street, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Laurie is accused of shoplifting at Kmart. Also charged, Morgan Nicole Scofield, 18, of Clay Street, Le Roy.

Ronald Gregory Carney, 25, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right and moved from lane unsafely. Carney was stopped at 2:14 a.m., Saturday, on Wortendyke Road, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Ettienne Eloy Ayala, 40, of Gelson Street, Buffalo, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. Ayala was arrested on a warrant following an investigation into a complaint at Target.

Barbara Ann Likely, 55, of Jay Street, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Likely was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Deputy Joseph Corona in Bergen for an alleged traffic violation.

Jacqueline Raj Garrett, 34, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Garrett allegedly stole $39.99 in merchandise from Kmart.

Brandon J. March, 28, of Le Roy, is charged with criminal contempt. Marsh allegedly violated a court order on June 23 in Darien and was arrested by State Police. No further details released.

Kenneth M. Gray, 21, of 77 Myrtle St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and disorderly conduct. Gray was allegedly in a confrontation June 21 with Alexander A. Chandler, 21, of 25 Bacon St., Le Roy. He also allegedly drove to the Bank of America parking lot while intoxicated. Alexander was also charged with disorderly conduct.

A car in Le Roy may have hit a pole. It may have it a car. It may have hit a house. Maybe all three.

Dispatchers have received several calls.

Wires are reportedly down in the area of North and Genesee streets.

No description yet on the vehicle, but it is apparently trying to leave the area.

UPDATE 8:21 p.m.: Chief on scene says live wires down and Maple Street needs to be shut down to traffic.

UPDATE 8:22 p.m.: LPD has car stopped in the area. One pole is down and another pole has wires off of it. National Grid requested to the scene.

UPDATE 8:29 p.m.: Stella's towing service requested to the scene. The car will need to be lifted up over a guy wire.

UPDATE 8:31 p.m.: National Grid has a 25-minute ETA.

UPDATE 8:57 p.m.: Car has been removed.

Craig Russell Williams, 32, of Greenway Boulevard, Churchville, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right and moving from lane unsafely. Williams was stopped at 12:49 a.m. on Rochester Street, Bergen, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Ryan Christopher Riggi, 18, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, unlicensed operation and failure to signal. Riggi was stopped at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday on Main Street, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

The Genesee County Dispatch Center just received a complaint from a Le Roy resident displeased with a neighbor mowing the lawn at this time of night.

The dispatcher asked if is there is an ordinance about noise which might prohibit lawn mowing after a certain hour. The officer says he's not sure -- the town was looking to pass a noise ordinance which would address such an issue, but he was uncertain whether or not it passed.

Regardless, the policeman is responding to the complaint.