Le Roy

Two youths are reportedly shooting geese in Oatka Creek with a pellet gun from the creek bank off Munson Street in Le Roy. Some birds have been killed or injured and are floating downstream. Le Roy police are responding.

A caller to dispatch has reported a "suspicious condition" in Le Roy -- two people taking random pictures of the village.

The caller said the two people have been in the village since at least 11 a.m. taking pictures all over the village of things such as buildings and street signs.

Apparently, the caller spoke with the two people and they said they were reporters from France.

That seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back and prompted the call.

A Le Roy police officer confirmed seeing people take pictures of a statue in the village and wanted to know if the photographers had been seen on private property.

No report of trespassing.

The officer will attempt to make contact, but didn't sound confident of finding criminal activity.

UPDATE 7 p.m.: The officer made contact. The photographers are from Pennsylvania and are taking pictures to post to Facebook. "Nothing suspicious," the officer reports.

A caller on Church Street, Le Roy, reported seeing a possible fire behind her residence, telling dispatchers she could see a large red glow.

Le Roy Fire responded and chiefs report finding a bonfire with people in the area.

The department's brush fire truck is responding to deal with it.

UPDATE 10:14 p.m.: One chief informs another that the people with the fire recently relocated to the area and were unaware of the open burn regulations.

UPDATE 10:20 p.m.: Fire is out. Le Roy back in service.

The family of a man who died following an accident at the Jell-O Museum in Le Roy has filed a lawsuit in federal court.

Frank P. LaMont Jr., reportedly died after his wheel chair fell through the back of the handicap access lift at the museum. The fall was three feet, but his head hit the concrete.

Named in the suit are the United States of America, the Le Roy Historical Society, The Safety and Access Co. Inc. (the company that serviced the lift) and Ikeco Inc. (the company that sold and installed the lift).

LaMont was a resident of Canandaigua Veterans Affairs Medical Center at the time of the accident in October 2010.

Sophia LaMont, his daughter, previously filed a claim for $500,000 with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The claim was denied.

(Source: Democrat & Chronicle)

Mason Dumbleton, 20, of Pavilion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, unsafe speed, unsafe lane change and unlawful possession of marijuana. Dumbleton was reportedly involved in a motor-vehicle accident on Route 20A in the Town of Perry at 10:30 p.m., Saturday. Dumbleton's vehicle reportedly left the south side of the road, struck a driveway culvert and a utility pole causing it to go airborne. The car landed on its roof. Dumbleton reportedly suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

Daniel Norman Brown, 39, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Brown is accused of placing a phone call to a person he is barred from contacting. Brown was also arrested the day before, on Sunday, and charged with harassment, 2nd. Brown was accused of grabbing a woman and pushing her down.

Enoch Ronald Cole, 61, of Lake Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Cole allegedly punched another person in the back.

Kevin James Hodge, 28, of Valley View Drive, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Hodge is accused of stealing $66.21 in merchandise from Kmart.

Kathryn Ann Tordy, 45, of Sheriden Drive, Williamsville, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, improper left turn and failure to keep right. Tordy was stopped at 12:34 a.m. Saturday on Remsen Road, Pembroke, by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Daniel Jay Balduf, 20, of Angling Road, Pembroke, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and insufficient tail lamps. Balduf was stopped at 3:35 a.m. Saturday on Angling Road by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Danielle Marie Stevens, 35, of Ford Road, Elba, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd. Stevens allegedly entered and remained unlawfully in a hotel room.

Jill Ann Fulater, 59, of Shepard Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving left of pavement markings and improper right turn. Fulater as stopped by Deputy Kevin McCarthy at 4:20 a.m. Sunday on Route 63, Batavia, following a complaint of an erratic driver.

Timothy Ryan McJury, 24, of Madison Street, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant for petit larceny. McJury was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court. McJury was arrested on a city court warrant for parking violations. McJury was jailed on $1,000 bail.

A 17-year-old resident of Warboys Road, Byron, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, speeding (75 mph in a 55 mph zone) and driving on a junior license (state Class DJ) after 9 p.m. and driving on a DJ license with two or more passengers under age 21. The youth was stopped at 1:13 a.m. Sunday on Buffalo Road, Bergen, by Deputy Timothy Weis.

Even two new Greek yogurt plants in Batavia won't be of much help to small dairy farmers, which are finding it harder to survive in a globalized market and stringent regulatory environment.

Dale Stein, who operates a large dairy farm in Le Roy, said his heart is with the small dairy farmer, but knows they need to make some tough choices to stay in business.

"I have great sympathy for the small dairy farmer," Stein said. "We were a small dairy farm once. My brothers and I did the milking while my father worked in the fields. He went 20 years without a day of vacation."

The Batavian spoke with Stein Thursday and asked him about a New York Times story that said small dairy farms throughout the state are struggling.

How could Robert and Fred — who produce so much more milk than their dad — end up making less money? There are a number of reasons, some obvious, others less so. Milk went from a local industry to a national one, and then it became international. The technological advances that made the Fulpers more productive also helped every other dairy farm, too, which led to ever more intense competition. But perhaps most of all, in the last decade, dairy products and cow feed became globally traded commodities. Consequently, modern farmers have effectively been forced to become fast-paced financial derivatives traders.

In other words, if a dairy farmer doesn't hedge -- buying options to bet against an increase in prices -- they can't make money. (In hedging, if prices increase, the farmer profits; if prices decline, the farmer offsets losses on product with gains on the options.)

Stein said his farm is big enough to manage the fluctuations in commodity prices, but small farmers simply can't do it.

"Margins are tiny and getting smaller each year," Stein said. "The only way to survive is to sell more product, and if the size of your herd is limited, the less you have to sell."

EPA regulations define a small dairy as 199 head of cattle or less. If a farmer wants to milk a 200th cow, the amount of equipment, technology and infrastructure required to comply with government regulations would cost at least $250,000, Stein said.

Few small farmers want to take that chance.

Especially in today's labor market with fewer qualified migrant workers available.

"It's very difficult for them to compete for labor and for land," Stein said. "We started small. My dad started with two cows. We've slowly grown our business so we can employ more people and give everybody a middle-class wage. It's not that we wanted to be big, but we had to grow to survive."

John Gould, owner of Har Go farms in Pavilion, decided to go a different direction in his effort to keep a farm going that his father bought in 1956.

It's a decision many small farmers have made to survive, according to the Times article.

As tough as it might be to grow from a small dairy farm to a large dairy farm, Gould made the equally daunting decision to switch his farm to certified organic.

Making the switch, which he began in 2005, took three years. It involved building fences (because cows would graze rather than be confined to feed lots), put in water lines and pave drive ways. It takes time for the herd to adjust to a different diet -- corn and soy raised without pesticides or herbicides -- so milk production can drop to nothing for a time. Fields that once relied on chemicals to be productive must be slowly turned back into fields that are mechanically tilled for weeds and can tolerate a few bugs.

"You've got to think those things through and plan how you're going to handle all of that," Gould said.

But Gould said he got what he wanted out of the switch to organic: A profitable and viable small dairy farm.

"It seems to have been a good decision for us," Gould said. "It's certainly a different lifestyle from the type of farming we had been accustomed to, but we continue to make very high quality milk, which is very important to us and important to our customers."

Gould is philosophical about the choice for small dairy farmers -- spend the money to comply with environmental regulations or take a loss for three years and switch to organic.

"Nothing in this business is simple or automatic," Gould said. "That's the life we chose. If we're going to be in the business, we have to make those kinds of decisions."

Small dairy farms that decide to grow would indeed help New York meet the anticipated demand for milk created by two new Greek yogurt plants in Batavia. But Stein said obstacles to growth for small dairy farmers will hold back the industry.

Even now, before Alpina and Pepsi open their plants, the local supply of milk is limited.

"Chobani (operating a Greek yogurt plant near Albany) already uses so much milk that we don't have any extra milk now in our market," Stein said.

It would help the New York dairy industry tremendously, Stein said, if it were easier for the small dairy farms to grow and help meet increased demand.

"We all want to protect the environment, but current environmental regulations are stopping growth of the dairy industry in New York," Stein said. "Pepsi's milk may well have to come out of Michigan because they have enough milk and we don't, which is a shame, because we could use the jobs."

Susan Dominus, writing for the New York Times Magazine, has produced a lengthy article looking at Mass Psychogenic Illness in Le Roy, which resulted in at least 19 people developing motion symptoms and verbal tics.

Dominus covers not only the personal history of some of the girls involved, but also the sociological and economic changes that have taken place in Le Roy in recent years.

In some detail in a couple of cases, Dominus reveals significant stresses in the lives of some of those afflicted -- stress factors that a few of the girls and their families still seem to dismiss as irrelevant.

Dominus summarized her findings:

A common thread emerged among the five girls I interviewed extensively: none had stable relationships with their biological fathers. And the father of a sixth girl had seen little of his high-school daughter until his concern about the tics galvanized their relationship. Another student was a foster child who switched foster homes shortly before his tics came on; yet another is in the custody of an older sibling. Another two have spotty contact with their fathers. One young woman I interviewed was close to homeless after she and her mother left her father’s trailer. They’re staying with a friend of a friend while her mother, who was laid off two times in the last year, tries to scrape together first and last month’s rent so they can get a place of their own.

Dominus also reveals that Dr. Rosario Trifiletti, who has diagnosed a mysterious and ill-defined "PANDAS-like illness," was unaware of the trauma in his patients' lives:

When I spoke to him in late February, Trifiletti told me that the girls he was treating were showing dramatic signs of improvement. Katie’s parents said they believed that she was responding well to the antibiotics; Chelsey’s family reported that the drugs are helping her as well. But another patient of Trifiletti’s said she was still fainting.

When the subject of the girls’ personal backgrounds came up — the biopsychosocial factors that might be affecting their health — Trifiletti said he had not had the time to ask them about those kinds of things. The abuse, the troubling family circumstances — much of it came as news to him. “Jeez, I didn’t realize the extent,” Trifiletti said. “These aren’t things people want to talk about. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong. It’s hard to distinguish between the drug and the placebo effect.”

Read the whole thing.

Eric Charles Zglinicki, 49, of Alleghany Road, Darien Center, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 4th. Zglinicki was allegedly found in possession of three shotguns following an investigation and search of his residence by the Genesee County Probation Department and the Sheriff's Office. Zglinicki has a prior felony conviction.

Samantha Mary Williams, 31, of Warsaw Road, Le Roy, was arrested on a bench warrant out of the Hamburg Town Court to appear on charges of resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration. Williams was turned over to the Hamburg Police Department.

Allen Skye Dockstader, 29, of Council House Road, Alabama, was arrested on a bench warrant out of Genesee County Court on a charge of violating probation following an investigation into a criminal mischief complaint.

Cody L. Osborn, 24, of 3265 State St., Caledonia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, inadequate head lights, aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and unlawful possession of marijuana. Osborn was stopped in the early hours Saturday by Le Roy Police. He was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Shawn Richard McGiveron, 23, East Main Street, Corfu, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. McGiveron is accused of violating an order of protection by calling and sending text messages to a protected person.

Once upon a time in a small town and in a small school in Le Roy, a beautiful girl and a stately prince find true love...

The timeless story of love and romance and the triumph of a girl least likely to win the heart of a prince, comes to the stage at Le Roy Junior Senior High School.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" story will touch the hearts of young and old in this enchanting production reminding today's audience that dreams still come true.

The Le Roy musical will present the classic fairytale in a fresh and exciting way. This isn't just another Cinderella story, but a family friendly event that has surprises around every corner.

Shows are at 7 p.m., March 15, 16 and 17.

The magic wand will be waved and the audience will be dazzled by special effects, a transformation scene, fog and special lighting, and professional costumes rented or borrowed from various theaters.

In addition, the show will trickle into the audience from the stage to create an interactive element as actors and audience blend.

There will be a special gift at the door for all children, birth to third grade, who come to the musical dressed in costumes consistent with the theme of the play.

Almost 100 students make up the cast, crew and pit orchestra being directed by Jacqueline McLean. Stuart McLean is the show's vocal director. Bradley Meholick is the pit orchestra director, and Jessa Dechant is in charge of publicity and public relations.

"Even though this is a small community and small school, the talent is extremely great," McLean said. "These students have put in a lot of hard work and time and they have a fire in their bellies to present."

Senior Grace Kovach plays Cinderella. Grace's younger sister, Margaret Kovach, is the Fairy Godmother and Jayce Seely plays the Prince. Other lead roles, the King and Queen, are played by Tyler Murtha and Miranda Graham.

Sisters Grace and Margaret are excited about their experience acting together on stage.

"Grace and I are sisters, so we can take it the extra step," Margaret said. "This has made us 10 times more close than we already are."

"This is one of the greatest memories I will have of high school," said Grace, who will be graduating this year.

Jayce agrees.

"This production will be memorable because of time spent with new and old friends and the experiences we have had that don't happen everday," Jayce said.

As in any romance story, true love must be sealed with a kiss.

"My mom teases me a bit, but it's fine," Jayce said.

"After all it is just a show," Grace said.

Tickets can be purchased now and you are strongly encourage to buy them ahead of time.

• On the school's website at www.leroycsd.org
• By calling the main office at 768-8131
• At the door while available

Le Roy Junior Senior High School is at 9300 South St. Road.

Press release:

Following the announcement that Holy Family School in Le Roy had exceeded the first of three benchmarks required to keep the school open, Dr. Rosemary Henry, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Buffalo, issued this statement:

“I wish to congratulate the entire Holy Family School community for responding to last November’s call to action. By meeting their first goal, they have shown a commitment to sustaining and growing Catholic education in Genesee County.

“But much work remains to be done in order for Holy Family School to remain open beyond June. In the coming weeks, we need to see greater engagement on the part of supporters of Catholic education to ensure each individual benchmark is met,” Dr. Henry said.

As of March 2, the school had registered 70 students for the 2012-13 school year and raised $47,000, surpassing the March 1 benchmark of 40 paid registrants and $40,000 raised.

After a series of meetings last year, it appeared that Holy Family School would merge with St. Joseph School in Batavia, but upon hearing from members of the Holy Family community and local leadership, Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, bishop of Buffalo, agreed to give the community time to rally around the school in an effort to keep it open.

Two additional benchmarks must now be met:

April 15, 2012: a total of 80 paid registrants with nonrefundable deposits and an additional $40,000 on deposit. June 1, 2012:  a total of 120 paid registrants with nonrefundable deposits and an additional $45,000 on deposit.

According to a plan agreed upon and presented to the Holy Family School leadership and the local community, as well as a letter sent by Father Michael Rock, OdeM, canonical administrator of the school, to the Holy Family community on Dec. 2, 2011, meeting the benchmarks will allow Holy Family School to remain open.

“Parishioners, school supporters and alumni are encouraged to continue this impressive momentum to ensure Catholic elementary education is maintained in Le Roy,” Dr. Henry said.

A 26-year-old Le Roy resident is accused of serving a 17-year-old alcohol and then having sex with her.

The sex was allegedly not consensual.

Alexander J. Kessler, of Myrtle Street, is charged with criminal sexual act, 1st, aggravated sexual abuse, 3rd, forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawfully dealing with a child.

The top charge carries a potential sentence of five to 25 years in state prison.

Le Roy Police arrested Kessler following an investigation after receiving a complaint today that Kessler supplied an underage girl with alcohol.

Following arraignment, Kessler was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Shane Scott, 17, of Forestville, Pa., William Gorton, 17, of 92 Lake St., Le Roy and a 15-year-old boy are accused of participating in a burglary. Shane and William are charged with burglary, 3rd, and attempted burglary, 2nd. They are accused of entering an apartment building Thursday on Bacon Street, Le Roy, and attempting to steal property from the apartment. The 15-year-old will be referred to Family Court. They were arraigned and released under supervision of the probation department. William was also charged with burglary, 2nd, in connection with an alleged break-in Feb. 19 on Myrtle Street. Additional arrests in the case are pending.

Katie L. Orlando, 19, of 24 Craigie St., Le Roy, is charged with coercion, 1st. Orlando is accused of going into the apartment of a person and threatening that person. Orlando allegedly later called that person on the phone and issued a threat. The alleged threats came after the victim reportedly called 9-1-1 the night before and were allegedly intended to intimidate the victim from calling 9-1-1 in the future. Orlando was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Steven Carnell McKnight, 18, of 14th Street, Buffalo, is charged with burglary, 2nd, and criminal mischief, 2nd. McKnight allegedly forced his way into a residence on Gabbey Road in Pembroke on Feb. 14 in order to steal property from the residence.

Willie F. Irvin II, 29, 12 Elm St., Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and reckless endangerment of property, and Randy Johnson, 24, of 110 Walnut St., Batavia, is charged with reckless endangerment of property. Irvin and Johnson are accused of fighting in a bar in Batavia and in the process damaging a video game and glass display case.

Casey Willowbear, 52, of Sanford Street, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Willowbear was stopped for allegedly speeding at 9:12 p.m., Wednesday, on West Main Street Road by Deputy Matthew Fleming. She was allegedly found in possession of a glass pipe containing burnt marijuana inside her vehicle.

A 17-year-old of Judge Road, Alabama, is charged with petit larceny. An employee at Wilson Farms, 25 Main St., Oakfield, observed the youth allegedly trying to leave the store with merchandise concealed under her shirt.

Paul J. Doctor, 34, of 20 Maple St., lower apt., Batavia, is charged with burglary, 2nd, burglary, 3rd, and petit larceny. Doctor is accused of entering an unoccupied residence and garage on Jackson Street and removing appliances and other property without permission of the owner. Doctor allegedly removed the property between Jan. 13 and Jan. 17.

Kevin Bruce Martin, 28, of Clinton Street, Cowlesville, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of hypodermic needles. Martin's vehicle was stopped on Lewiston Road at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 22, by Deputy Brian Thompson for allegedly having a suspended registration due to no insurance.

Jeramy Michael Farnsworth, 30, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with failure to pay child support. Farnsworth was arrested by Batavia PD on a warrant out of Genesee County Family Court and turned over to the Sheriff's Office. Following arraignment in Town of Batavia Court he was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Ronald William Ball, 46, of Pratt Road, Pembroke, is charged with two counts of criminal mischief, 4th. Ball allegedly damaged the a/c controls of another person's car during a verbal argument. Ball then allegedly went to the residence of the person and damaged the house door and door frame.

Carolyn M. Hooten, 29, and Vanessa R. Wright, 24, both of of 12 Myrtle St., Le Roy, are charged with petit larceny. Hooten and Wright are accused of shoplifting at Dollar General at 3:41 p.m., Feb. 23.

Carolyn M. Hooten, 29, of 12 Myrtle St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, unlicensed operation, operating with inadequate tail lamps and without stop lamps and failure to use turn signal. Hooten was stopped at 1:49 a.m., Saturday, on Ellicott Street by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

Mark Russell O'Gee, 57, of South Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. O'Gee is accused of grabbing another person's arm and shoving her during an argument.

Elizabeth Ann Wortman, 24, of Church Street, Le Roy, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Wortman is accused of violating an order of protection.

Ronald M. Clark, 45, of Lake Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Clark was spotted by police running east on West Main Street at around 8 p.m., Feb. 21, when police received a report of a person who stole canned fish and candy from Save-A-Lot. Clark is accused of stealing two cans of sardines and a Baby Ruth candy bar.

A one-vehicle rollover accident has been reported in the area of 7459 Randall Road, Le Roy.

The location is just west of Route 19.

Le Roy fire and ambulance in route.

Dispatchers are checking the availability of Mercy Flight.

The driver reported the accident. He's out of the car but shaken up. A law enforcement officer on scene asks that the ambulance expedite its response.

A pole is snapped and wires are hanging low.

UPDATE 11:44 p.m.: The pole is a telephone pole.

UPDATE 11:45 p.m.: No need for Mercy Flight.

UPDATE 11:48 p.m.: Roads being shut down at Randall and West Bergen and Route 19 and West Bergen.

UPDATE 11:56 p.m.: Patient being transported to Strong.

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Press release:

Los Angeles – Erin Brockovich today released the following statement regarding the EPA’s failure to ensure 235 drums of toxic waste were removed from the massive TCE spill in Le Roy, New York. The spill became the largest Superfund Site in the United States and the EPA did not know until alerted by Brockovich and her team in January of this year that the drums of hazardous waste had never been removed from the site of the 1971 train derailment that resulted in the massive TCE spill.

“The EPA clearly dropped the ball on the largest TCE Superfund Site in the country and their press release today is a feeble attempt to gloss over their abject failure in Le Roy. The Lehigh Valley Railroad derailment in 1971 was not a small event – it was a massive spill and the EPA had a responsibility to ensure that the polluter clean up the site, and remove the drums of toxic waste within 30 days of being filled. That never happened.

Instead, 235 barrels of hazardous toxic waste were allowed to sit unattended, unprotected and exposed to the elements to rust, decay and leach their toxic contents back into the environment. I’m curious to know if the EPA even reads their own press releases. On one hand, the EPA suggests they found no contamination in the barrels, but they go on to detail the contamination they did find, including TCE and cyanide.

While the EPA will try to convince the public that the levels of toxic contaminants in the barrels are low and not a concern, the sad truth is that they found any at all. And of course the levels are going to be low now after years of neglect that allowed those toxic chemicals to be reintroduced to the environment. What were those contaminant levels five years ago?

To make matters worse, the EPA didn’t even realize the barrels of hazardous material had never been disposed of properly. We actually alerted the EPA that the rotting barrels were still there in Le Roy. They had no idea.

The EPA is failing — it is not protecting people, it is not protecting the environment and we see this type of situation play out it communities across the country. Sadly, it takes citizens like me, and the people of the impacted communities, to speak up and fix problems that should have been dealt with years ago.”

A New Jersey-based doctor who has seen nine of the girls in Le Roy with movement disorders issued a new statement this morning affirming his diagnosis of a "PANDAS-like" illness.

Dr. Rosario Trifiletti said lab work from his examinations is now complete and he has found three different infections in the nine girls. The findings, he said, support his diagnosis of a "PANDAS-like" illness.

"Given the clinical and laboratory data, I find a PANDAS-like illness a very likely medical diagnosis in these children," Trifiletti said.

As for Trifilletti's definition of "PANDAS-like" illness, attempts to call his office today have resulted in busy signals.

Dr. Laszlo Mastler, medical director of the Neuro-oncology Department at the Dent Neurological Institute, said he knows of no definition in medical literature of "PANDAS-like" illness.

He said it would be up to Trifilletti to share his diagnosis with the medical community if he's discovered a new illness.

"He should publish his findings in a medical journal, which would mean a formal review to be accepted, with strict academic and scientific proof," Mechtler said.

Trifilletti said of the nine patients, five showed infection by streptococcus pyogenes and eight showed infection by mycoplasma pneumonia. Two patients also showed the presence of Lyme disease.

The press release doesn't explain how it's possible for different people with different infections to all exhibit the same symptoms.

In the same statement, Trifiletti said he remains open to the possibility of "mass psychogenic illness."

Neurologists at Dent have diagnosed 15 patients from Le Roy with conversion disorder, and concluded the situation in Le Roy is a rare case of conversion disorder spreading as mass psychogenic illness.

MPI, according to Trifilletti, is a diagnosis that "can never be supported or refuted by objective findings."

Mechtler disagrees with the assertion.

"Conversion disorder can be diagnosed based on an examination," Mechtler said. "This is something I've tried to explain to the media early on. It is not a diagnosis of exclusion. Any neurologist can pick it up on an examination."

Hysterical blindness, Mechtler said, is an example of a conversion disorder that a doctor can detect on a first office visit.

As for the infections, Trifilletti doesn't explain what number of the nine patients have two or three infections, but clearly some of the nine patients he believes may have a "PANDAS-like" disease have only one infection.

In a forum posting in 2010, Trifilletti said he believes "the key to PANDAS in many cases is co-infection," meaning patients have two or three of mycoplasma, strep or Lyme.

Of the general population, 5 percent of people carry all three infections, according to Trifilletti, but not all develop PANDAS.

According to a paper Trifilletti links to in his post, research shows that up to 60 percent of 15- to 19-year-olds have a mycoplasma infection, and Trifilletti says that 20 percent of children have a strep infection.

According to Trifilletti's own writing, the presence of these infections does not mean PANDAS, and that it would take at least two infections, if not all three, to produce a "PANDAS-like" illness.

"These are just my ideas, not reality," Trifilletti writes. "But you gotta have hypotheses or there are no answers -- that's just how science works."

Mechtler said Trifilletti obviously has the confidence of the parents and, given Dent's diagnosis of conversion disorder, a treatment the patients believe in will help them get better.

"If they're getting better, that's what counts, and I'm very happy," Mechtler said.