Le Roy

Ricky A. Leach Jr. Jessica M. Ring

Ricky A. Leach Jr., 33, and Jessica M. Ring, 28, both of 1605 Green Circle, Goodletsville, Tenn., are charged with criminal possession of the precursors for methamphetamine and making methamphetamine. State Police responded to the wooded area near Target after receiving a report of suspicious activity. Leach and Ring were allegedly caught in the act of making meth. Both were jailed on $10,000 bail each.

Kiernan William Kinney, 24, of Woodstock Gardens, Batavia, is charged with sexual abuse, 1st. Kinney is accused of subjecting a 21-year-old woman to forced sexual contact.

Juan A. Roman, 36, of 17 Elm St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Roman is accused of head butting another person during an alleged incident at 2 p.m. Wednesday on Walnut Street, Batavia.

Michael D. Snyder, 41, of 13 1/2 Union St., Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Also charged, Edward T. Lette Jr., 43, of 3827 W. Main St., Batavia. Snyder and Lette are accused of stealing two 30-packs of beer from Tops. The suspects reportedly fled the store on bicycles and were apprehended minutes later by state troopers and Batavia PD officers.

Rachell Onie Soggs, 25, of West Main Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Soggs is accused of stealing $28.74 in merchandise from Walmart on Aug. 17. Soggs reportedly left the store before she could be located by authorities. Soggs was also arrested on charges of falsifying business records and criminal possession of stolen property. Soggs allegedly tried to sell stolen property at a local business.

Harold Laverne Howard, 41, of Alleghany Road, Basom, is charged with DWI, refusal to take breath test, speeding (73 mph in a 45 mph zone), failure to stop for stop sign and no plate lamp. Howard was stopped at 2:37 a.m. on Route 77, Basom, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Latoya D. Jackson, 27, of 209 Liberty St., Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon with intent to use a weapon and harassment, 2nd. These are additional charges stemming from an alleged incident Aug. 19 in which Jackson allegedly cut two people with a knife.

Six-year-old Emily Lokken of Le Roy has spent a lot of time in hospitals over the course of her young life. She's had 12 major surgeries at Golisano Children's Hospital, at Strong and at Boston Children's Hospital. She is currently awaiting a kidney transplant.

With all of that time in children's hospitals, Emily has made friends with other children being treated in the hospitals. Those children often have cancer.

Emily's mother Sarah said one evening about a year ago, Emily said she wanted to grow her hair long.

"One night sitting in her hospital room Emily out of the clear blue said, 'Mom you know what?,'" Sarah recalled. "I said, 'No, Emily, what?' She responded, 'I know that I have broken kidneys and a lot of my friends have broken blood (meaning in her world cancer) and they have to take medicine and lose their hair. I have hair and my medicine does not make it fall out. So I want to grow mine long like Rapunzel and give them some of mine. This way they can wear happy hair bows and being sick won't be so bad.' "

Yesterday, a year after she started growing her hair like Rapunzel, she had it cut so her locks could be donated to another little girl who might like bows in her hair.

Information and photos submitted by Sarah Lokken.

Robert Hinett apparently picked the wrong time and the wrong place for some flirting Friday night in Le Roy.

A passing police officer reports that at 11:30 p.m. he observed Hinett inside a convenience store on Lake Street staggering around and then go behind the counter toward the female clerk.

The officer entered the store and the clerk informed him that the man in the store seemed to be intoxicated and had tried to kiss her even as she tried to thwart his advances.

Upon further investigation, the officer determined that that 25-year-old resident of Montclair Avenue, Batavia, allegedly drove to Le Roy intoxicated.

Hinett was charged with one count of felony drunken driving and refusal to take a breath test. He was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Press release:

The Le Roy Democratic Committee held its nominating caucus on Monday Aug. 26 at the Le Roy Town Hall for the Nov. 5 general election.

The Party is proud to announce a diverse and dynamic ticket leading into the November elections.

Michael Welsh is the Party's choice for Le Roy Town Justice. Mike is married to Gail Rudgers and is a local attorney and community activist, who most recently has devoted his time and talent to the Le Roy Community Pool. He served the people of Le Roy  for 21 years on the Genesee County Legislature.

Incumbent Town Councilman Tom Stella was nominated for his second full term. Tom has served the community well on the board for six years. In addition to being the past Deputy Town Supervisor, he serves as the liaison for the Fire Commission and the liaison for the Farmland Protection Commission. He is married to wife, Deborah, and is a proud father and grandfather.

The caucus also nominated newcomer Kelly Carlie who is running for the second Town Board seat. Kelly, married to George and mother of three grown children with one grandchild and another on the way, is employed as a counselor at Elba Central School. She is also a small business owner and has served on the Holy Family School Board, was a former 4-H Leader and former Girl Scout leader.

Earlier in the summer Earl Funderburk garnered the Democratic endorsement for County Legislature through the petition process.

Peter McQuillen can keep his barn.

That's the upshot of a decision by the Town of Le Roy Zoning Appeals Board, which met Tuesday night to consider whether construction of the barn violated the Village of Le Roy building code.

The question was rendered moot by McQuillen's decision this week to pull a permit to build a single-family residence on his 13-acre lot off Robbins Road.

"I was prepared to debate the interpretation of the code regarding accessory structures," McQuillen said. "I was also prepared to show precedent from around town of different areas were accessory structures were allowed ... but my wife and I have been thinking about this for a better part of a year ... This was something we were going to do in the future, but we decided a few days ago to go ahead now, so I pulled an application for a permit to start building a house."

Village code says you can't build an accessory structure prior to building a primary structure.

McQuillen was initially granted a permit in July to build the barn even though he did not request a permit to build a house.

That permit, all officials agree, was issued in error. A stop-work order was issued, but McQuillen could keep building while the stop-work order was appealed.

Since McQuillen has now filed the necessary paperwork to build a house, the board found that the barn is no longer out of compliance with the code.

There's nothing in the code, said Dan Lang, who is helping with Le Roy code enforcement issues while training a new code enforcement officer, that requires construction of the primary structure start before an accessory structure.

"The only issue is that there needs to be a single-family home with a driveway from Robbins Road to the accessory structure," Lang said. "If there is, the lot is in 100-percent compliance.

The barn in question sits just feet behind a house in Presidential Acres owned by Town of Le Roy Supervisor Steve Barbeau.

Barbeau and some of his neighbors believe McQuillen decided to build the barn out of spite because Barbeau, along with his neighbor, David Boyce, opposed a patio-home development McQuillen wanted to build on his 13 acres.

Barbeau and Boyce filed a lawsuit that eventually led to McQuillen abandoning the project.

The feuding between McQuillen and Barbeau came to a head earlier this month when a tree -- Barbeau said it's the third such tree -- fell from McQuillen's property onto Barbeau's property. Words were exchanged and Barbeau allegedly pushed McQuillen down and was subsequently arrested on a harassment, 2nd, charge.

Boyce and two neighbors filed an appeal of the building permit for the barn and Attorney Alan Knauf spoke at Tuesday's meeting, even though the appeal wasn't officially considered.

"The question here is there was a permit issued in July and was it a valid permit?" Knauf said. "It was not."

Knauf said the other issue with the barn is that he believes it's a commercial structure, and therefore out of compliance with the zoning of the neighborhood. Citing an article in The Batavian, Knauf said McQuillen gave a description of his planned use for the barn that makes it a commercial structure.

McQuillen said he was misquoted.

"It is in no way a commercial structure," McQuillen said. "I live on Robbins Road. I have a barn. This is a similar situation. I will have a home and a barn on the parcel that I bought. I don't understand why I'm being grilled under such a microscope here when I'm the applicant. I don't think I'm doing anything other than apply for a permit and now I've had lawyers coming after me for 18 months."

Besides the lawsuit filed by Barbeau and Boyce, McQuillen is being sued by Carol Durney, the woman who sold McQuillen the 13-acre parcel for $13,000.

Durney claims McQuillen misrepresented some aspects of the property to convince her to lower the price, and he didn't reveal his intention to subdivide the property.

Between the lawsuits and the lost money on engineering studies for the subdivision, McQuillen said he is out tens of thousands of dollars.

Ask how much, and McQuillan said, "Honestly, I've never sat down to add it up. It would be too depressing."

NOTE: This story would have been published this morning, but just as I was finishing writing it, my computer ate it. At that point, I had to leave to cover something so I couldn't rewrite it then. I've been running around all day since then (hence no posts until now, but they're coming ... )

A tree is on fire at Frost Ridge Campground, 8101 Conlon Road, Le Roy.

Le Roy fire is responding.

Info and photos submitted by Phil Mangefrida.

We had beautiful weather for the debut of the Andrea Mangefrida Memorial Basket Raffle.

We had 140 people show up for golf and dinner or just dinner, with 21 foursomes, not to mention people who just walked in, bought raffle tickets and left. Here are some pictures.

The dancers are from Clann Na Cara School of Irish Dance in Buffalo.

They are, from left: Kelly Patterson, Monica Panzer, Molly Mangefrida, Xavier Patrick Dzielski, and Sarah Ziarniak

The SkyDivers are from Western, NY Skydivers.

Money raised from this event went to the Andrea Mangefrida Memorial Fund at Stepping Stones Learning Center in Irondequoit.

A big thank you to everyone who donated their time, effort, and baskets for this event.

They call it Jam at the Ridge and on Saturday night, the two acts topping the bill fulfilled the promise of that title, cranking out hot tunes and kicking up some heels.

The headliner was Jerrod Neimann, who found a crowd ready to rock after The Farm put on a show that was as much party as concert.

And there was a lot to celebrate for The Farm, with Krista Marie, a native of Alexander, playing her first big-time show in Genesee County.

The amphitheater was packed with friends and family -- so many who lined up for autographs and pictures after the set that security guards were trying to hurry the line along before Niemann took the stage.

Previously: Hometown girl brings big time act to Frost Ridge

A car versus motorcycle accident is reported at 7850 E. Main Road in Le Roy, unknown injuries. Le Roy fire and ambulance are responding along with mutual aid from Mercy medics. The location is between Circular Hill and Asbury roads.

UPDATE 2:05 p.m.: Two patients, both are up and walking around. An ambulance from Caledonia is started just in case it's needed.

UPDATE 2:14 p.m.: Byron Fire Police are requested for traffic control at Route 5 and Asbury Road.

UPDATE 2:24 p.m.: The patients are sign-offs.

UPDATE 2:34 p.m.: Le Roy command has requested Caledonia's rig back to the scene because the motorcyclist is now complaining of pain.

Press release from Le Roy PD:

A stabbing in the Village of Le Roy today has led to the arrest of two persons by the Le Roy Police Department.

The incident started about 2 a.m. when 27-year-old Nicole M. DellaPenna and her relative 24-year-old Edward D. McDonald, both of 9 South St. in Le Roy, got into a verbal altercation with multiple others in the area.

During the course of the incident, McDonald allegedly struck the window of one person's vehicle breaking same. DellaPenna then allegedly pulled out a knife out and was threatening others. The incident continued and DellaPenna allegedly advanced towards one person and stabbed the victim in the back near the shoulder blade.

The victim of the stabbing was transported to the hospital for a potentially serious but not life-threatening stab wound.

McDonald was charged with one count of misdemeanor criminal mischief in the fourth degree and issued an appearance ticket to answer the charge at a later date. DellaPenna was charged with one count each of felony assault in the second degree and misdemeanor criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. DellaPenna was arraigned and committed to the Genesee County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.

The Le Roy Police Department was assisted by the Genesee County Sheriff’s and the NYS Police.

A car versus motorcycle accident with serious injuries is reported in the area of 7959 North Road, near Conlon Road, in the Town of Le Roy. The motorcycle rider is unconscious in the middle of the roadway. Mercy Flight was heading to the scene and is now cancelled by Le Roy medics. Le Roy Fire Department is responding. Fire Police have shut down Route 19 at North Road. Law enforcement is on scene.

UPDATE 7:07 a.m.: Le Roy medics are leaving the scene; back in service.

UPDATE 7:10 a.m.: Pavilion fire is requested to fill in at Le Roy's fire hall.

UPDATE 7:57 a.m.: This is a fatal accident and the coroner is on scene.

UPDATE 8:54 a.m.: Here's a statement from Sheriff's Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble at the scene:

"Looks like the small blue car and the motorcycle were westbound on North Road. From what we understand, the driver of the small car wanted to turn around and go back the direction they were going. Looks like they slowed, maybe pulled off to the right some; motorcycle coming up behind them; looks like (the motorcyclist) saw (the car) slowing and pulling into the right; (the motorcycle was) slowing...to start to go around the vehicle.

"Small vehicle didn't see the motorcycle coming; did a U-turn and the collision took place somewhere in the center of the lane, maybe even some into the eastbound lane. Motorcycle driver, by the marks in road, looks like they started into their pass and then motorcycle layed down and motorcycle and driver slid into the side of the car -- to the left side of the car. That's about it."

The vehicle is described as possibly a tiny Smart car.

UPDATE 9:08 a.m.: Pavilion's standby is released and they are back in service.

UPDATE 9:22 a.m.: The Le Roy assignment is back in service.

UPDATE 9:57 a.m.: The family has been notified, but the name of the victim has not yet been released.

UPDATE Noon (by Howard): The motorcycle driver is identified as Joshua J. Lowery, 26, of Brockport. The Smart car was driven by Jeffrey J. Simek, 55, of New Smyrna, Fla. The preliminary investigation indicates that Simek slowed, moving to his right and then began to initiate a U-turn. Lowery's 1998 Suzuki struck the Smart car. Lowery was pronounced dead at the scene. Simek was not injured.

The accident was reported at 6:40 a.m. Le Roy Fire Department and Le Roy Ambulance Service responded. The investigation is being conduct by Deputy Brad Mazur, Investigator William Ferrando, Sgt. Jim Meier and Deputy Eric Seppala.

One additional comment Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble made at the scene was that when Simek made his turn, if he looked down North Road, he would have been looking east directly into the sun.

Photo and information submitted by Tim Kingdon.

Expectations are high for Le Roy football this year, with players such QB Mike McMullen who started as sophomores when the Knights contended for a Section V title and now return as juniors. The group includes Tom Kelso, Kody Lampkin and John Pierce.

Here's some photos from today's practice.

The team captains were named today. The captains are Kody Lampkin, Mike McMullen, Tom Kelso and Brandon Van Grol.

McMullen wore his patriotic socks.

Mike McMullen

Tom Kelso

Lineman Anthony Paladino, who transferred from Notre Dame back to Le Roy, with head coach Brian Moran.

Center and defensive lineman Kody Lampkin

Conrado Caballero.

Tom Kelso

John Pierce

Fifteen years ago, leaders with several churches in Le Roy came together to create an after-school program for children. That was the start of the Le Roy Christian Community Project. Today, LCCP runs eight programs, including a backpack program, a free weekly community dinner and a caregivers support group.

Yesterday, County Legislator Shelly Stein presented LCCP's board of directors with a proclamation from the county commemorating the group's 15 years of service to the community.

Photo from left: Heather Zerillo, Selby Davis, director of Grace's Kitchen; Pastor Colleen O'Connor; Board Chair Dave Parton (in the back), Pastor John Partise; Sam Defazio; Vice Chair Lisa White; Board Treasurer Mary Tyler; Lauren Humphrey; Community Outreach Coordinator/Board Secretary Lois Nicholson. In the front row, Susan Wakefield, director of LCCP; Shelly Stein; Jana Pritchett, assistant director.

A group of property owners on Main Street in Le Roy have expressed an increased interest in forming a historic district, so tonight, Cynthia Howk, of the WNY Landmark Society, gave an informational presentation at the village hall.

Park of Howk's talk was to clear up myths about historical preservation designations.

The biggest myth is that getting a property on the state or national register, or a whole district, gives the government some level of control over the property.

That simply isn't true.

"I could take all of you on a bus tour right now and show you dozens of buildings that have been torn down that were on the national register," Howk said.

If your property is on the national register you can paint it whatever color you like, you can put vinyl siding on it, you can let it rot away, you can convert to a fast food restaurant -- all of the things you can do with a property that isn't registered you can do with one that is, so long as it exists with current code enforcement and zoning regulations.

Asked if there were any cons and Howk said, "I don't know of any cons. You can tear your house down if you want. You can still put siding on it. You can have the worst taste in the world and paint it red, green, purple and black. You can cut all the trees down. All of that, so long as it is in the village code."

So what's the advantage?

Tax credits when you want to repair or restore. Buildings that have received a national registration designation or are within a district are eligible for credits on contracted labor (not DYI labor) and materials.

So how is a building or district designated?

For a building, whether commercial or residential, there are pages and pages of applications to complete. The application is reviewed by a department of the state's parks service and if granted, the application is forwarded to the national park service for designation.

The process for a whole district is similar, except that 51 percent of the property owners in the proposed district must support the application and the paperwork isn't quite as detailed.

Any area or building in Genesee County with potentially historic buildings has a good shot at such a designation because the average income in all parts of Genesee County is below state average.

The main criteria is that the buildings look much like they did when first constructed and that they have some local historical significance.

"This isn't some Martha Stewart beauty contest for rich people's houses," Howk said. "Houses that go onto the national register go on because they're important to the local community."

It's also important to recognize, Howk said, that there is an important distinction between a building on the national register and a national landmark. A landmark -- such as the Eastman Mansion or the Susan B. Anthony House -- are historically important to the entire nation, not just a local community.

Nobody is talking about landmark status for anything in Le Roy.

There is a definite benefit to local communities that create historic districts -- they attract tourists.

"There's prestige with a historic district," Howk said. "There's such a thing as heritage tourism. Yes, there are nuts like me, and there are lots of us, who like to go to places and look at pretty buildings."

Studies show, she said, that heritage tourists stay longer and spend more money in the communities they visit, and once you have a designation, tourism magazines are more likely to write about your community.

Village Trustee Jennifer Keys attended the meeting and said she thinks that's an important point to consider.

"Any time we can get people to come into Le Roy and spend money and see how beautiful it is, that's a win," Keys said. "That's what we want to do."

According to Keys, about 50 percent of the business district property owners have already expressed interest in a historic district designation, and with that interest, a few folks on East Main Street are talking about forming an East Main district, and there is some interest on Church Street. West Main is also a potential district.

While designated structures are eligible for tax credits for repairs, and you can do what you want with your property, modifications that don't fall within preservation guidelines are not eligible for tax credit. 

About 50 village residents attended the meeting.

Information and photos submitted by Kevin Robertson.

Actress Alison Arngrim, who portrayed nasty Nellie Oleson on the '70s television series "Little House on the Prairie" recently made a visit to the residents at The Greens in LeRoy.

The Greens of LeRoy is an independent senior living community and Arngrim was in town as part of the festivities at the Genesee Country Museum's Laura Ingalls Wilder weekend.

The actress took time out of her busy schedule that weekend to give a presentation at The Greens.

"Little House on the Prairie" is a favorite of the residents and Arngrim spoke to them about working with Michael Landon, what it was like to be on a televison show, its longevity and popularity and answered any questions that the residents had.

Following her presentation, Arngrim took time to visit with the residents, take pictures and sign autographs. One resident invited the actress to her apartment afterward to show her an 1800s wheelchair, one very much like the ones used on the series.

Kim Pasquale, director of The Greens organized the visit and said that residents thoroughly enjoyed Arngrim's presentation and were thrilled that the actress stopped by while she was in town.

Michael Caputo invited me to appear on WGRZ's Sunday afternoon show, 2 Sides, which airs at noon.

We'll be talking about Corfu and Le Roy. 

If you receive the Buffalo stations on cable or DirecTV, tune in.

A caller on Gilbert Street in Le Roy complains that a man wearing "some sort of badge" knocked on her door and asked to use her bathroom. "When she denied him entrance, he started asking about the neighbors." Police will be checking the area to try and locate the man.

UPDATE 7:05 p.m.: Police located the man and spoke with him. He's one of several people canvassing that area, presumably to sell something. The solicitor said they will be leaving soon.

A woman is reportedly "covered in blood" and walking a dog in Le Roy. She was on Myrtle Street in the village and is now walking northbound on Route 19. Le Roy Police are responding.

UPDATE 12:31 p.m.: Police met up with her on Craigie Street. "You can disregard," the officer tells dispatch. "She just got through running the 5K race." The officer says she is going to speak with the caller who is "very concerned" about the woman.

The premiere of the Andrea Mangefrida Memorial Golf Tournament and Basket Raffle is Aug. 25 at the Le Roy Country Club, located at 7759 E. Main Street Road in Le Roy.

The purpose of this tournament is to replenish The Andrea Lynn Mangefrida Memorial Fund at Stepping Stones Learning Center. The fund was set up to buy teaching and recreation equipment the center.

Sign-in is 10 a.m. with the Shotgun Start at 11 a.m.

Prizes for: Closest to the Pin, Longest Drive, and Hole-in-One.

Cost is $50 per person for golf and dinner; $25 for just dinner. Doors open at 3 and dinner is served once the last golfer finishes.

There will be door prizes, basket raffles and more!

Ask about sponsoring a hole or donating a basket!

RSVP to any of the following:

• E-mail:  Andreagolf@aol.com
• Phone:  356-3541
• Facebook:  The 1st Annual Andrea Mangefrida Memorial Golf Tournament

Founded in 1994, Stepping Stones Learning Center has since grown into the leading provider and advocate for inclusive services to children in the Rochester area. The program began with two teachers serving nine children from birth to 5 years of age with and without special needs, and now serves more than 500 children birth to age 21 throughout Monroe and the surrounding counties, in half- and full-day inclusive classroom, clinic and community settings.

For more information about Stepping Stones Learning Center visit: steppingstoneslearning.com