Le Roy

A vehicle has reportedly smashed into a bridge support on westbound 490 at mile marker 3.1 and the Route 33A overpass. It is wedged into the support and there are a couple of children in the backseat who may need extrication. Bergen Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. Le Roy Fire Department is also standing by in quarters.

UPDATE 8:56 p.m.: Le Roy is back in service. A flatbed tow truck is called to the scene. There are no serious injuries.

UPDATE 9:02 p.m.: Bergen is put back in service.

Dale A. Swiatowy Jr., 36, of 16 Wood St., Batavia, is charged with two counts of falsely reporting an incident, 3rd. Swiatowy allegedly claimed on Dec. 20 that a man attempted to rob him near Evans Street, cutting him with a knife. On Dec. 23, Swiatowy allegedly reported being stabbed while being robbed on Liberty Street. An investigation by Batavia PD and Investigator Chris Erion of the Sheriff's Office revealed that both reports were allegedly untrue and that the wounds were self-inflicted. (Dec. 20 report; Dec 23 report)

James Russell Hughes, 52, of Oatka Trail, Le Roy, is charged with assault, 3rd. Hughes is accused of head-butting a woman during a domestic incident Jan. 2. An order of protection was issued for the woman at Hughes's arraignment.

Donna L. Richardson, 59, of 43 Main St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI and driving on a suspended registration. Richardson was stopped Thursday evening in the Village of Le Roy by Le Roy Police.

Tony R. Smith is indicted on a count of grand larceny, 3rd. Smith is accused of stealing property valued at about $31,000 from a business on Gilbert Street in Le Roy, including boxes containing brass draw lead nuts, copper draw lead terminals and aluminum blocks, between May and July 2011.

Roy K. Way is indicted on counts of felony DWI and and felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Way is accused of driving while drunk on South Pearl Street and Brooklyn Avenue in Batavia on Sept. 12.

Sara K. McCabe is indicted on a count of felony DWI, three counts of aggravated DWI (driving drunk with a child 15 or under in the car) and one count of operating a motor vehicle without a required interlock device. McCabe is accused of driving drunk with children in the car in the parking lot of McDonald's in Le Roy on Aug. 25.

In a community meeting Wednesday night to discuss an unusual outbreak of tics among female students at Le Roy High School, a state health official steadfastly refused to reveal the cause of the outbreak.

Citing not just HIPPA as a reason for keeping the diagnosis of 11 girls private, Dr. Gregory Young said that as a matter of principle he didn't want to see the girls "labeled" by what their doctor has found.

Young, from the NYS Department of Health, said the cause (or causes) isn't related to the environment; it isn't anything a person "catches"; it doesn't come from exposure to something, or from anything ingested. Nor does the cause stem from prescribed drugs or illicit drugs.

State health officials know what is behind the outbreak, but Young would not disclose it. Yet he tried to reassure parents that it's safe to send their children to school.

In all, according to Young -- though some in the audience disputed the number -- at least 11 girls have come down with the "tic manifestations" (Young cautioned against calling it a syndrome). 

The doctor's explanation, and a stone barrier he put up regarding the cause, didn't go over well with parents or students.

James Dupont Jr. spoke passionately about the need for officials to be more forthcoming about what physicians have found. Dupont complained that although Young said the cause has been diagnosed, nobody's told him what caused his daughter to develop tics.

After he spoke, he went into hallway and was mobbed by reporters.

"We all have to respect that (keeping medical information private), but I tell you what, if my daughter had a diagnosis and I knew that, as a parent, I would tell you -- because I’m not a doctor and I don’t care about HIPPA," Dupont said. "I care about getting these kids better or finding what’s causing it so it doesn’t get any worse."

Later, from the back of the auditorium, Dupont called out Young on his repeated insistance that a diagnosis has been completed for the 11 students. 

Dupont asked parents in attendance whose daughters had developed tics to raise their hands. More than a half dozen adults raised their hands. Then Dupont asked how many had been told by their daughters' doctors what caused the tics. Several said they had not been given a diagnosis.

One parent spoke up and said he was told the cause was "conversion disorder."

Young said he couldn't respond to that comment.

Conversion disorder is a neurosis usually brought on difficulties in a person's life, according to Wikipedia. It is marked by numbness, blindness, paralysis or fits. Britannica.com lists tics as a manifestation of conversion disorder.

After more questioning about conversion disorder, Thomas Wallace, from the state's mental health office, said it isn't really a diagnosis. He said it can be a symptom of other issues and that it can be found in clusters of patients.

The number of patients is not out of line with national statistics for tic manifestations among a group of 500 youngsters (in fact, in a group of 500, there should be at least 20 children with tics, based on national statistics).

What is unusual, he said, is that all of the patients are girls (boys develop tics at a 4-1 ratio over girls, according to national statics, Young said) and that they all developed the manifestations at about the same time.

Several students got up to ask questions or speak out, including a girl who said her name was Jessica.

"You think it's unethical for you not to give us the cause," Jessica said. "I think it's wrong for you not to tell us."

"If you were one of the individuals involved, you might feel differently," Young shot back.

"We're friends with these people," Jessica said. "Half of them haven't even been diagnosed yet. You're not telling us the truth because you don't really know what's going on."

Young repeated that he feels uncomfortable sharing private medical information. Later, he spoke about how he's always hated bureaucrats and he realized he was being one, but he said he simply couldn't share private medical information.

The one commonality Young said he could share was that all of the girls showed a greater manifestation during times of stress.

It's not unusual, he said, for people to manifest tics in time of stress, and there are a lot of stress factors in a young person's life. All people deal with stress differently, but it's well documented that stress can cause a number of physical reactions.

One big stresser for kids today is social media.

"There's a lot that goes on in social media today that parents don't know about, that schools don't know about," said Young, noting that the community meeting coincides with the start of the school session, and the students susceptible to tics will be under a new round of stress.

Just announcing the meeting created stress for the students involved, he said, and parents should be prepared for an increase of tic activity as reports about the meeting hit the media.

Dupont and other parents afterward said they don't believe it all boils down to stress especially since, for some of the students, the tics don't seem to become less frequent when school is out (though one mother who spoke said her daughter didn't have tics over Christmas vacation).

Among Dupont's suggestions is that a parent support group be formed. Then, perhaps, parents could share more information and find commonalities among their daughters (not all of the girls know each other or necessarily had contact with each other prior to the tic manifestations arising).

Young agreed this would be a good idea and also said that in a closed group of just the parents involved, he could speak more freely about what physicians have found.

UPDATE AND CLARIFICATION: The mention of types of drugs above wasn't meant to exclude from the meaning, as it does, that designer drugs weren't investigated as a cause. They were and subsequently ruled out as a cause. PANDAS has been ruled out as a cause. HPV vaccine has also been ruled out as a cause, according to Dr. Young. ODD or ADHD can make a child more susceptible to tics, but that isn't a cause. One thing Young intimated is that there is no one cause for all the girls.

David L. Andrews, 24, and Tyshawn T. Ferguson, 21, both of Holland Avenue, Batavia, along with Deylon A. Bovell, 20, of East Main Street, Batavia, are charged with trespass. Andrews, Ferguson and Bovell were allegedly found at College Village after being banned from the property.

Donald Eugene Cameron, 52, of York Road, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Cameron is accused of slapping another person in the head.

With parents in Le Roy still concerned about what might have caused a small number of teenage girls to develop tics, the school district has announced a public meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, where officials from various health agencies will discuss what they know at this point.

It's unclear if any definitive findings will be shared at the meeting.

According to the district's website:

The District continues to work with medical specialists, the State and County Health Departments, and the County and State Office of Mental Health during this ongoing investigation. Representatives from these organizations will be sharing the latest details about the investigation with the community.

The meeting will be held in the Jr./Sr. high school auditorium.

Today, The Batavian spoke with Dr. Jonathan Mink, chief of child neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and co-chair of the scientific advisory board of the Tourette Syndrome Association.

Mink said while he's followed coverage of the situation in Le Roy, he hasn't been directly involved. He has spoken with colleagues who have patients among the group of students displaying the tics.

The tics -- involuntary muscle movements -- have led some media reports to categorize the situation as some sort of outbreak of Tourette Syndrome.

Mink said it's highly unlikely that it's Tourette's.

While one-in-four to one-in-five children develop tics at some point in their young life, the tics usually end after a year or less. It's very unusual for teenagers to develop a new onset of tics, he said.

Less than .6 percent of children develop Tourette Syndrome, and almost never after becoming teens.

While it's possible that one or two teenage girls in Le Roy had Tourette's and developed more pronounced symptoms in high school, the chances of the six or seven girls who have reportedly developed the symptoms are incredibly slim.

Tourette Syndrome is also three or four times more likely to strike boys. It's an inherited disorder and not caused by environmental conditions.

At one time, some scientists speculated that strep infections could cause Tourette's, but new research has proven that isn't the case, Mink said.

It's also possible for other neurological disorders to cause tics, but based on what Mink knows about the situation, the symptoms of other underlying neurological problems are not present in these cases.

As for environmental causes, that isn't likely either, Mink said.

There just isn't much scientific evidence for environmental factors causing tics.

"It's extremely unlikely that anything in the air, in the water or in the food they've eaten is the cause of tics," Mink said.

As for something the students might have ingested, such as stimulants, Mink said such a cause is also unlikely. It would take significant dosage of any drug, prescribed or not, to cause tics and then other behavioral changes would be apparent.

Which leaves one other known cause of tics: Stress.

Mink said he doesn't want to leave the impression that he is characterizing the situation in any way involving the girls in Le Roy, but people have different ways of responding to stress -- some people sweat, some develop diseases, some heart conditions, and some develop tics.

If a teenager has a propensity toward tics, elevated stress could make them more pronounced.

A tic isn't a habit, Mink said, but it's like a habit in that a person susceptible to tics might take on the tics of another person when exposed to that person.

"A person gets exposed to those symptoms and they take on those symptoms," Mink said. "It may be that the stresses of everyday life and how these girls deal with stress (that is the cause)."

It's possible, he said, that one or two girls had Tourette Syndrome, the symptoms grew more pronounced and the other girls picked up the "habits" of the girls with Tourette's. Or maybe none of them have Tourette's, but the tics got passed along like habits nonetheless.

"I don't have reason to believe there is any kind of infection that would cause an outbreak like this," Mink said near the end of our conversation. "While the cause is unclear, there is no reason to think there is any kind of public health threat."

The Town of Le Roy Planning Board has been named in a lawsuit that attempts to block construction of a senior housing development off Robbins Road.

One of the plaintiff's in the suit, Stephen Barbeau, is the newly elected town supervisor.

The owner of the planned development, Le Roy resident Pete McQuillen, thinks Le Roy residents should know that Barbeau is using town resources to fight a battle against a project that has already been approved.

"I don’t think it’s right that after the boards that have been elected or appointed have done their due diligence and made recommendations and passed resolutions that it should be fought again by the new town supervisor," McQuillen said.

The Batavian left phone messages for Barbeau on Wednesday of last week and again this afternoon. He has not returned our calls.

While it is the town's planning board that is being sued -- along with the Village of Le Roy and McQuillen -- as supervisor, Barbeau would normally be expected to have oversight over the expenditures related to a lawsuit and consult with the attorney.

In this case, McQuillen claimed, the town and village boards will need to hire outside council to represent them and the town's funds will come out of the budget Barbeau helps write and approve.

"The taxpayers shouldn't have to spend money defending a project that the town and village have already approved," McQuillen said.

The project is known as Robbins Nest Drive and is located east of Robbins Road and south of Filmore Street on the south side of the village. It will feature 26 single-family homes on 13.1 acres, walking trails and a community garden.

The single-story units will be sold to people 55 and older, with an expected asking price of from $130,000 to $160,000 each.

"There will be no maintenance outside the units," McQuillen said. "The concept is you can sell your 3,000 sq. ft. or 4,000 sq. ft. home after your children are gone and make a lateral move. It's for people who no longer want to mow lawns or shovel snow."

Among the approvals McQuillen sought was changing the zoning for the property from R-1 (single family residential) to PUD (planned unit development).

The change allows McQuillen to build smaller lots and establish a homeowners' association. Buyers will own their homes but not the lots.

The lawsuit alleges that the town and village boards didn't follow state law in granting approvals for the project.

From McQuillen's point of view, Barbeau and his co-plaintiff David S. Boyce just simply want to block all development on the property.

Barbeau and Boyce own residences on Filmore Street and the development is adjacent to their back yards.

He said that he think's that one of Barbeau's concerns is that McQuillen will use the PUD to bring in trailers or mobile homes, but McQuillen said that's not going to happen. First, because that's not what the village approved, and second, it's not what he wants.

"He doesn't want to see his property value go down and I don't blame him," said McQuillen. "But I live on Robbins Road. I'm never going to build those things."

A possible chimney fire is reported at a residence on Town Line Road in Bergen. It is between Jericho and Pocock roads. All Bergen fire equipment is called to the scene along with mutual aid from Le Roy.

UPDATE 12:18 p.m.: "There doesn't seem to be anything significant here," says the chief, and Le Roy can stand by. This incident stems from the "malfunction of a heating device. No extension into the residence," says the chief.

UPDATE 12:23 p.m.: Traffic is going to be shut completely down on Town Line Road between Jericho and Pocock roads.

UPDATE 12:30 p.m.: Bergen is back in service. So is Le Roy.

A 77-year-old resident of the Royal Apartments in Le Roy remains in guarded condition tonight following an accident Friday when she was run over by her own SUV-type vehicle.

Joan F. Cole was reportedly parked and exited her vehicle at 2:20 p.m. when the car began to role. Cole attempted to re-enter the vehicle in an attempt to stop it. She couldn't get in and fell to the ground.

The vehicle's front left tire rolled over Cole's pelvic and leg area.

Cole was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital by Le Roy Ambulance.

At Strong, "guarded condition" means the patient is being cared for in the Intensive Care Unit.

Earl B. Benson, 23, of 7 Chestnut St., Apt. #4, Batavia; Joshua M. Benson, 21, of 5003 N. Byron Road, Elba; and, Tyler J. Henderson, 23, of 10 Franklin St., Batavia, are charged with menacing, 3rd, and reckless endangerment. The three men are accused of throwing beer bottles at a moving vehicle on Jackson Street at 1:11 a.m. Saturday. The men are also accused of threatening to physically harm the driver.

Eric L. Gahagan, 32, of 25 Edgewood Drive, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and aggravated harassment, 2nd. According to Batavia PD, Gahagan was arrested Saturday and charged with harassment for alleged physical contact with a woman. According to police, after his release, Gahagan sent several "unwanted" and "harassing" text messages. Gahagan was re-arrested and jailed on $1,000 bail.

Rodney L. Blackshear, 51, of 131 Swan St., Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Blackshear was stopped at 2 a.m., Sunday, on Maple Street, Batavia, by Officer Eric Bolles.

Paul C. Ficarella, 34, of 117 Bank St., Apt. #1C, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Ficarella is accused of stealing $69.15 worth of merchandise from Tops Market.

Amanda L. Spring, 28, of 3544 W. Main St., Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass. Spring is accused of entering a residence in the city without permission.

Monique L. Brairton, 21, of 18 Pleasant St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, possession of an open container and inadequate tail lamps. Brairton was stopped at 1:30 a.m. Monday on Bacon Street, Village of Le Roy, by Le Roy Police.

Shawn Joseph Scheg, 44, of Warboys Road, Byron, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to keep right, moving from lane unsafely and misuse of dealer/transport plate. Scheg was arrested following an investigation into a one-car accident at 12:44 a.m. Sunday on West Sweden Road, Bergen, by Deputy James Diehl.

Jason Ray Anderson, 30, of Oak Orchard Road, Elba, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 5th. Anderson is accused of using stolen vehicle registration paperwork to operate a vehicle.

Sean R. McMenemy, 26, of 3025 McCorkindale Road, Caledonia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 greater and making a right turn on a red light where prohibited. McMenemy was stopped at 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the municipal parking lot off Bank Street, Village of Le Roy, by Le Roy Police.

John R. Stella, 50, of 58 Myrtle St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, refusal to submit to a breath test, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and following too closely. Stella is accused of being involved in a hit-and-run accident at 8:15 p.m., Friday, at the intersection of East Bethany -- Le Roy Road and West Main Street, Le Roy. A witness reportedly followed Stella to his residence and directed police to the location of his vehicle. Le Roy Police arrested Stella. The accident investigation was conducted by the Sheriff's Office.

John P. Shipley, 36, of 25 Richmond Ave., Batavia, is charged with DWI. Shipley was reportedly found sleeping in his car with the motor running at 3:16 a.m., Jan. 5., on Vernon Avenue, by Officer Frank Klimjack.

An electrical wire is reportedly down across the roadway in the area of 26 Church St., Le Roy.

Le Roy Fire and Ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 12:22 p.m.: It's not electric. It's cable. A firefighter is clearing the road.

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A 46-year-old man released from the Ontario County jail on bail was arrested by Le Roy Police on Thursday and accused of stealing a purse Dec. 20 and using the credit cards at locations in Le Roy, Batavia and Rochester.

Charged with criminal possession, 4th, a Class E felony, is Richard A. Cooke, of 327 E. Main St., Waterloo.

Cooke has two prior felony convictions, according to Le Roy Police, and had recently posted bail in Ontario County following indictments on multiple charges unrelated to the Le Roy case.

Cooke allegedly stole a purse Dec. 20 from a business on Lake Street.

With the help of surveillance video and the assistance of the Monroe County Crime Analysis Center, Avon Police and the Ontario County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police and the Waterlook PD, Cook was identified as the suspect.

Further charges in Genesee County may be pending.

Following arraignment in Le Roy, Cooke was jailed without bail.

Deputies and Le Roy Police are somewhere in the area of the cemetery looking for youths who were throwing snowballs at cars.

There are footprints in the snow to help in the search.

An officer just said, "Well, somebody lost a glove so somebody is going to have a cold hand."

Late this morning, I needed to drive out to Le Roy and since it was a beautiful day, I decided to take the long way. I found myself heading north on Perry Road.

Above is a barn owned by a gentleman named Mel who once had cows, sheep and horses. Now he just has a barn. Nice man. I was happy to meet him.

Below, an old house, and last, a barn on Route 19 at the end of Perry Road.

Stephen Irvine Stone (photo), 45, of South Lake Street, Bergen is charged with sodomy, 1st, rape, 1st and criminal sexual act, 1st. Stone is accused of engaging in oral sexual conduct with a six-year-old girl in 1997 and 1998. Stone is accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl by forcible compulsion in 2004. Stone is accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl by forcible compulsion in 2008. Stone was arraigned in Le Roy Town Court and jailed on $100,000 bail.

Gene Douglas Snyder, 30, of Orchard Street, Oakfield, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Snyder is accused of subjecting another person to unwanted physical contact.

Travis Lavern Schossow, 25, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, 2nd. Schossow is accused of pushing his girlfriend into a dresser, allegedly violating a no-offense conduct order out of City of Batavia Court. Schossow is also accused of throwing a plastic cigarette case at a wall. The case reportedly bounced off a wall and struck a 12-year-old child in the neck causing a scratch. Schossow was jailed on $2,000 bail. A stay-away order was issued for the alleged victim and her child.

Le Roy resident Ed Spink has spent the past four days knocking on doors looking for his 16-year-old cocker spaniel, "Molly."

Initially, Spink feared that a young man in a black Cadillac had stopped near a car wash in Le Roy and taken the dog. But it turns out the Caddy driver was local businessman Tim Walton, who tried to capture the dog because it was running in and out of traffic on Route 5, but the dog ran into a wooded area.

Spink's father takes care of the dog on weekdays, Spink said, and had the dog when it escaped.

"She must have gotten disoriented," Spink said.

Walton, who owns Pink Gorilla Tees, on East Main Street, Batavia, was with his girlfriend, Jenna Hubbard, when they spotted the lost dog. Walton shared the following description of events:

"We were driving down Route 5 and there was traffic backed up a few cars and another couple was in the road chasing a soaked and mud-covered dog that was running back and forth in traffic. I got out to help them and the dog got away from the traffic for a few seconds."

As the other couple left, the dog proceeded to turn around again toward the road.

"I was nervous that he would run back into traffic and get hit. I had a dog bone from my puppy in the car that I used to hopefully get him to come to me as I followed him up the hill towards an apartment complex. He would turn around and start to come to me until he got within a few feet then he would turn around and jog away. It seemed like a friendly dog and I was just hoping that I could get close enough to read his tags but the dog wouldn't allow it."

Walton followed the dog all the way up the hill until he walked into the wooded area next to the complex.

"At that point there was nothing else I could do. I just wanted to make sure he was safe and wasn't likely to wander back into traffic.

Spink said somebody told him the dog was spotted yesterday near the Kwik Fill on Route 5 in Le Roy, but he still hasn't been able to find the dog.

Anybody with information on the whereabouts of Molly can call Ed at 585-797-3731.

Cynthia L. Clark, 41, of 115 Wolcott St., Le Roy, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, 3rd. Clark is accused of taking a vehicle and driving it to Rochester without the owner's permission.

Corey James Hemmer, 25, of South Main Street, Elba, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Hemmer is accused of intentionally damaging a vehicle on Maple Avenue, Elba, on Dec. 12. Hemmer was jailed on $800 bail.

Kevin Michael Waleski, 23, of Church Street, Basom, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Waleski is accused of stealing a 2001 Dodge pickup truck valued at $10,000 from a location on Lewiston Road, Oakfield. The truck was located by a passerby in a ditch off Watson Road, Elba.

Ryan M. Palmer, 29, of 37 Tracy Ave., Batavia, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs and reckless driving. Palmer was stopped at 6:42 p.m., Saturday, in Batavia, by Sgt. John Peck.