Le Roy

Press release:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer will sponsor a free car seat safety check from 10 a.m. to noon tomorrow at the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, 165 Park Road in Batavia.

“Every parent knows installing a car seat can be difficult," Ranzenhofer said. "Certified technicians from local police agencies will be on hand to check your child’s car seat.

"I encourage all parents, as well as grandparents, to stop by to have their child’s car seat checked this Saturday morning. Even if you may think it has already been installed properly, it never hurts to double-check."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car seats decrease the risk of fatalities in cars by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for children, ages 1 to 4 years old. An inspection of 3,500 car seats in a study found that 72 percent were not correctly installed.

The program is being held in conjunction with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Le Roy Police Department and City of Batavia Fire Department.

“Many parents don't know the importance of having their child properly secured in a car seat to prevent serious injury if involved in a car crash," said Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha. "This is a great opportunity for parents to learn how to properly install their child's car seat and there is no charge for this service."

Car seats are inspected on a first-come, first-served basis. An appointment is not necessary. Residents can contact Senator Ranzenhofer’s District Office at (716) 631-8695 for more information.

Two vehicles are reportedly on fire at 8390 E. Main Road, Le Roy -- Stella's Collision.

Chiefs from Le Roy fire are on scene. Trucks from Le Roy are responding.

Vehicles are "going good," says a chief. Both vehicles are outside the fence.

UPDATE 11:09 p.m.: National Grid requested to the scene for the power line above the area of the fire.

UPDATE 11:25 p.m.: Fire is under control.

UPDATE 11:34 p.m.: National Grid on location.

UPDATE 12:02 a.m.: Le Roy has a light tower in place.

UPDATE 12:20 a.m.: Le Roy fire is back in service.

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A grass fire is reported reported by the quarry on Gulf Road, near Circular Hill Road, in Le Roy. Le Roy Fire Department is responding.

Bob Bowcock spent much of his time at the American Legion Hall on Wednesday evening talking about the Lehigh Valley Train Derailment Site and spilled TCE at a community meeting originally billed as a joint appearance by Bowcock and Erin Brockovich.

Brockovich didn't make the trip. According to Bowcock, she developed a staph infection following a hospital visit with her pregnant daughter.

About 100 people attended the event, plus pretty much every news outlet in Batavia, Rochester and Buffalo.

Bowcock said his goal for the meeting was to empower the community with knowledge and help them seek answers for apparent environmental hazards in their community.

While he said he considers the identified dangers real and significant, he doesn't believe they are connected to the tic outbreak among mostly Le Roy High School students last year.

He also hasn't ruled out an unidentified environmental cause.

He noted that the girls who have been treated by medical doctors have gotten better and the girls who were treated by mental health doctors have gotten better.

"Why they got better, I don't know," Bowcock said. "I don't think any one scientist can articulate (why)."

The three environmental concerns for Bowcock in Le Roy are the derailment site, MTBE (an outlawed gas additive) found in water wells on Harris Road, and the natural gas wells on school property.

Bowcock made it clear, he considers the EPA's handling of the Superfund site on Gulf Road both slipshod and irresponsible.

The spill should have been remediated decades ago, he said.

"It's a situation that's not good," Bowcock said. "It's not healthy," adding, "I think the EPA should be ashamed of themselves. They need to get out here and they need to get serious."

Lehigh Valley Railroad is a multimillion-dollar holding company, Bowcock noted. There are homeowners who have seen their property values decline, potentially, because they must disclose TCE contamination below the surface of their homes. More than a dozen of them must constantly run noisy filtration systems.

The property owners, he suggested, should be compensated for their losses, possible related health problems and time, aggravation and any of their own expenses for dealing with contaminated water.

Bowcock said there should be extraction wells in the area, drawing up contaminated water and "cones of depression" to help draw the water out. The water should then be treated and the contaminates incinerated.

"Not one gallon of water has ever been treated at that site," Bowcock said.

Though it's never been statistically documented, people in the Limerock area believe just about every home within the plume area has had one or more cancer patients.

Bowcock noted that scientists have criteria for identifying "cancer clusters," but nowhere in the United States has a "cancer cluster" ever been scientifically validated. He doesn't expect that to be the case in Limerock.

"If every household in a community has a cancer patient, if that's the case, I wouldn't call it a cancer cluster," Bowcock said. "I would call it a catastrophe."

At one point during the meeting, Bowcock introduced a representative from the environmental law firm Weitz & Luxenberg. 

Brockovich has been a paid spokesperson for Weitz & Luxenberg.

Asked about any possible perception that Bowcock's community meeting might be an infomercial for Weitz & Luxenberg, Bowcock said that certainly wasn't an impression he intended to leave.

"I actually kind of went out of my way to downplay it, if anything," Bowcock said. "I didn’t allow her to speak. I introduced her only after somebody asked 'who’s the girl sitting next to you?' If the perception is we were doing an infomercial for a law firm, I wouldn’t know what we were doing an infomercial for, because there’s been no decision made that we would even litigate."

On the Harris Road issue, Bowcock noted that the DEC was out on Harris Road yesterday for the first time getting its own water samples from the possibly contaminated wells.

As for natural gas wells on Le Roy School District property, Bowcock said he didn't care what kind of extraction was being used, whether fracking or some other method, they are natural gas wells and the district needs to be fully transparent about what's going on with them.

"There are six natural gas wells on school property that need to be regulated in a format or a formula that the community is comfortable with," Bowcock said.

Bowcock did praise the district for being far more transparent in the past several months than he at one time expected and said he believed the district would do the right thing.

On any environmental issue, Bowcock stressed that while the meeting was meant to bring some sense of closure on a number of lingering questions from community members -- he said he gets daily emails from people in Le Roy -- he said he and his firm were not abandoning Le Roy.

"I will be back at your invitation and your invitation only," Bowcock told the audience near the end of the meeting. "We will fight to get that TCE removed with you and only fight with you if you fight with us."

An ATV rider was reportedly struck by a car on Day Road north of Sprague Road, Alexander, at 10:45 a.m.

Alexander Fire Department responded to the call and Mercy Flight was dispatched at 10:55 a.m. and the patient was flown to ECMC at 11:15 a.m..

No further information has been released yet.

At 11:31 a.m., a car went over a guard rail on Route 19 just south of North Road. Le Roy Fire and Le Roy Ambulance were dispatched. A Mercy Flight bird out of Canandaigua was dispatched to this call.

No further information has yet been released.

(This photo from the scene was provided from reader Joel R. Murcin.)

A fully involved barn fire "with lots of smoke" is reported in Pavilion at the Schumacher's Kelkenberg's barn, thought to be located at 11338 11304 Starr Road. The location is between River and Hudson roads.

Alexander, Bethany, Town of Batavia's Fast Team, and Pavilion are responding along with units from Wyoming County. They are asked to draw water from Pearl Creek.

Bergen will stand in at Pavilion's fire hall.

UPDATE 8:31 p.m.: National Grid has been notified that there are power lines on the ground and it will respond ASAP.

UPDATE 8:45 p.m.: Fire police are asked to shut down traffic at Route 63 and Starr Road.

UPDATE 8:53 p.m.: Le Roy Fire Department is also responding as is Caledonia's.

UPDATE 8:56 p.m.: York's pumper is on scene and will be drawing water from the "first hydrant in the village," because getting an adequate water supply to fight the fire is proving problematic. The natural gas line in the barn is shut off.

UPDATE 8:58 p.m.: Monroe County is being notified they are tapping into hyrdrants. The water in the creek is said to be low, yet the amount to be had from the hydrants is also said to be limited. Now, they have enough water flow from the Hanson Aggregates mining facility. "We have plenty of it now." Warsaw crews have arrived.

UPDATE 9:06 p.m.: The top of a utility pole is on fire, directly across from where firefighters are working. Le Roy's auxiliary is called to provide cold drinks to the firefighters.

UPDATE 9:09 p.m.: They will employ the ladder brought by Warsaw to wipe out fire on one side of the barn, allowing those on the ground using hoses to concentrate on the other areas.

UPDATE 9:22 p.m.: The Town of Batavia's Fast Team is released from duty.

UPDATE 9:28 p.m.: Since the water supply from Hanson's is proving adequate, they are going to shut down the hand lines connected to fire hydrants.

UPDATE 9:58 p.m.: Cold beverages have arrived for the crews.

UPDATE 11:25 p.m. (by Howard): Fire crews are still on scene.The fire is knocked down but tankers continue to bring water to the scene to deal with what's left of the smoldering remains of the barn. Below are more pictures submitted by Joel R. Murcin. I was also out at the scene and will have a report with photos later tonight.

UPDATE 12:21 a.m.: Le Roy units returning to their hall.

Brett R. Doward, 26, 411 W. Hickory St., East Rochester, is charged with obstructing governmental administration, 2nd, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and possession of a controlled substance not in it original container. Following a report at 12:06 a.m., Sunday, of a disturbance on Hall Street, Batavia, Batavia PD received the description of a person allegedly involved and the vehicle he allegedly used to leave the scene. Officer Jason Ivison spotted a vehicle matching the description on Ellicott Street. The vehicle fled and pulled into a driveway on Liberty Street. Doward allegedly jumped from the vehicle and ran. After a short foot pursuit, Doward was taken into custody. Doward was released on an appearance ticket. BPD was assisted by the Sheriff's Office and State Police.

A 17-year-old resident of North Main Street, Perry, is charged with petit larceny. The youth is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.

Jeremy Dean Lyons, 27, of Judge Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, 3rd, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd and unlicensed operation. During a domestic dispute with his girlfriend, Lyons alleged damaged property and then allegedly took a vehicle without permission and drove the vehicle on a suspended license.

Jeremy Dean Lyons, 27, of Judge Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. While housed in the Genesee County Jail, Lyons allegedly violated an order of protection by contacting the protected party.

Terri Marisa Doctor, 33, of Council House Road, Basom, is charged with DWI. Doctor was taken into custody on a Town of Pembroke warrant issued in November 2012 for allegedly failing to pay a fine on a DWI convictions. Doctor was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Spencer Todd Grimes, 18, of Goodrich Street, Albion, is charged with trespass. Grimes is reportedly a former employee of Darien Lake who was accused of stealing and barred from the property. Grimes was allegedly on the property Saturday morning.

Nicholas Lamont Santos, 19, of Gillette Road, Albion, is charged with trespass. Santos is reportedly a former employee of Darien Lake who was accused of stealing and barred from the property. Santos was allegedly on the property Saturday morning.

Randy Lee Ridd, 55, of Swamp Road, Byron, is charged with grand larceny, 4th, and trespass. Ridd is accused of trespassing on the property of a business in Bergen and stealing metal plates. Also charged was Corretta Melissa Pitts, 44, of Swamp Road, Byron.

Brandon Monteleon, 20, of 57 Church St., Le Roy, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and harassment. Monteleone was arrested following an alleged disturbance on Church Street between the defendant and another individual.

Daniel S. Platt, 31, of 53 Lake St., Le Roy, is charged with criminal obstruction of breaking or blood circulation and one count of unlawful dealing with a child and harassment, 2nd. Platt is accused of placing his hands around the neck of a victim, causing difficulty breathing. He's also accused of serving alcohol to a person under age 21.

Andrea M. Gray, 34, of 14 Lake St., Apt. #2, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and reckless endangerment, 2nd. Gray reportedly had an argument with an acquaintance on Lake Street. Gray allegedly pushed the victim, causing the victim to fall backward. The victim's head struck a driveway. Gray is also accused of sitting on the victim and pulling the victim's hair. Gray was jailed on $1,000 bail.

A general fire alarm sounded at the Jell-O Gallery Museum at 23 E. Main St., Le Roy, after a child pulled the alarm and people on site don't know how to shut it off. There is no smoke or fire and the alarm company is in contact with county emergency dispatch.

The building has been evacuated nonetheless and an officer on scene says a large crowd is gathered there. Le Roy Fire and Ambulance is responding.

UPDATE 1:30 p.m.: "The alarm doesn't seem to be resetting itself," says a police officer. "I'm leaving the scene, back in service." The fire department is on scene.

UPDATE 1:42 p.m.: The alarm has been reset.

The Grammy-nominated country music band "Restless Heart" performed at "Jam at the Ridge," a concert series at Le Roy's Frost Ridge Campground, around 8:30 tonight. Doranne Kelly, the band's road manager, arranged a photo shoot before the show.

Band members are, from left, Greg Jennings, Dave Innis, John Dittrich (who is from Batavia), Paul Gregg and Larry Stewart.

See the Aug. 14 article, "Grammy-nominated country band to perform in Le Roy -- one of its members is from Batavia" for previous coverage.

A fire is reported at an automotive shop at Route 5 and Linwood Road in Le Roy, which has firefighters on scene.

The fire is concentrated at the back side of the north end of the building, and "a big hole will be opened" to accommodate firefighting efforts.

According to Google Maps, the likely shop is Rider's Garage, located at 8980 Linwood Road near East Main Road (Route 5).

UPDATE 9:45 p.m.: The address is reported as 8171 Route 5, which maps as Carl McQuillen Racing Engines.

UPDATE 9:48 p.m.: Pavilion fire is requested to the scene non-emergency and Stafford is also responding.

UPDATE 9:53 p.m.: National Grid has cut power to the building.

UPDATE 10:12 p.m.: An engine from the Town of Batavia is also responding. A crew is being directed to head up into the attic to check for hot spots.

UPDATE 11:17 p.m.: A second interior crew is going to go into the attic.

Alexis Harper spent the first 11 years of her young life growing long, curly locks. From birth, Alexis never had a haircut, just trims.

Recently, the young girl from Le Roy decided 10 inches of her hair needed to go to somebody who could use it more -- a cancer patient.

According to her mother, Connie Harper, Alexis lost her grandfather to cancer 10 months ago and that inspired Alexis, who saw her grandfather lose his hair during treatment, to donate her mane.

Alexis came up with the idea entirely on her own, Harper said.

"She has no idea (as I was crying) what a good deed she did," Harper said.

Harper wanted to share her daughter's story in the hope it may inspire other young girls to donate their hair to make wigs for cancer patients.

Photos: Provided by Connie Harper.

There are three open issues Bob Bowcock wants to discuss with the Le Roy community next Wednesday, and none of the topics will involve high school girls with tics, except to say, he and his team found no environmental cause of the tics.

Bowcock, head of Integrated Resource Management, based in Claremont, Calif., was hired by environmental activist Erin Brockovich to investigate possible environmental causes for the tic outbreak in Le Roy about 10 months ago.

"We're not going to come out with a smoking gun and say, 'this is what caused it,' " Bowcock said.

If anything, he hopes to calm matters down, he said.

Bowcock will be with Brockovich at the American Legion Hall on Wednesday.

He said he felt an obligation to come back to the community to discuss what environmental and regulatory issues he and his team did uncover.

First, there is the four-mile-long, mile-wide TCE plume emanating from the Lehigh Valley Train Derailment Site on Gulf Road. While the federal Environmental Protection Agency acted quickly after all the recent attention was drawn to rusting barrels at the remediation site, he said there is no evidence the EPA is doing anything further to deal with the plume.

One of the issues the IRM team researched was whether there has been a greater number of cancer patients in Limerock and Caledonia. 

"We found two micrograms per litre of TCE in surface water in winter, and that’s bad, that's just bad," Bowcock said. "If we draw attention to that and the EPA steps it up, great, victory."

There was a study completed by the state in 2001 which showed in that ZIP code there were a couple of more lung cancer patients and a couple fewer prostrate cancer patients per capita.

The differences, Bowcock said, were insignificant.

The second issue is MTBE (a now-banned gasoline additive) found in three residential wells on Harris Road.

Bowcock said he wants to draw attention to that issue in the hopes it will lead to the municipal water line being extended to Harris Road.

Bowcock said the source for the MTBE has not been identified.

The third issue was brought out in the testing and report completed by Leader Professional Services. In June, the school district released the report from Leader saying the stack on the school's boiler system needed to be taller.

Bowcock said he will discuss any community concerns over that issue, but said the school district has shown quite a bit of cooperation with the community since February and school officials have done everything they said they were going to do.

There are three constituencies asking Brockovich and Bowcock to release information on these issues, with some home owners emailing weekly -- the people in the Limerock and Caledonia area, the residents of Harris Road, and environmental groups that have been monitoring the situation in Le Roy.

The meeting, Bowcock said, is meant to provide concerned citizens with information. While not excluding the media, no press release went out notifying the media of the meeting because he is not trying to stir up any controversy or alarm in Le Roy.

"If anything I hope to dispel all of these community issues that are still out there," Bowcock said.

The timing of the visit coincides with Brockovich and Bowcock conducting an unrelated environmental community meeting in Watertown on Thursday.

PHOTO: File Photo of Bob Bowcock

"It isn't often that someone makes it big in the music business, nor for the number of years that John Dittrich (second from left in picture) has."

So says Greg Luetticke, co-owner of Frost Ridge Campground in Le Roy, which will host the Grammy-nominated country music band "Restless Heart" at a concert on Friday, Aug. 17.

Dittrich, a native of Batavia and a 1970 Batavia High School graduate, has been with "Restless Heart" for more than 20 years as a drummer and vocalist. The other band members are, from left, Paul Gregg, Larry Stewart, Greg Jennings and Dave Innis.

"It's amazing to still be able to do what I do," Dittrich said.

He embarked on a profession in music in 1975, and has enjoyed a long and successful career that owes itself, in large part, to a Batavia City School District teacher.

"My most important influence and probably the guy I would credit with helping me in this direction was Neil Hartwick," Dittrich said.

Hartwick was the Batavia Middle School band director and the director of the jazz workshop at the high school.

"He brought in Ed Shaughnessy (of "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson") to do a concert," Dittrich said. "And when I found out that Mr. Hartwick had invited him specifically for me, that blew me away."

As a college student, Dittrich went to New York City once a month for two years to study under Shaughnessy.

"And he remembered me," he said.

As an original member of "Restless Heart," Dittrich was part of what he calls a "crossover" period in the history of country music.

"Our producer (Tim Dubois) had written some songs that were kind of in a gray area as far as the market was concerned," he said. "They were too pop for country, but not pop enough for pop."

Part of the band's success, Dittrich said, was due to the willingness of RCA Records to take a chance on them.

"There was a strong push in traditional country music at the time," he said. "But some groups did have more edgy music and enjoyed some success. RCA liked the direction of our music and they were willing to make the investment."

In addition to four Grammy nominations, "Restless Heart" has had six #1 hits and seven Country Music Association nominations. They have also been lucky to see 26 of their singles make the Billboard Country Charts. Their numerous crossover hits include the 1992 song "When She Cries."

A good 15-20 years have passed since Dittrich last returned to Genesee County. He said it will be "pretty nice" to be back for the concert, especially since some old friends and 10 family members will be in attendance.

"I hope somebody gives me a beef on weck!" he added.

The concert is part of the three-day "Jam at the Ridge." Gates will open at 4 p.m. Friday, with the concert itself starting at 4:30.

"Restless Heart" will go on at 8:30 p.m. for a performance of about 75-90 minutes. Singers Worthy Duncan and Johnny Bauer will open the show.

Here are the ticket prices:

Regular seating: $15 in advance, $20 at the gate.

Preferred seating: $22 in advance, $29 at the gate.

Preferred Plus seating: $42 in advance, $55 at the gate.

VIP seating: $79 in advance, $99 at the gate.

VIP seating includes front row seats, a private meet-and-greet dinner with "Restless Heart," a poster for autographing and a picture with the band.

Frost Ridge Campground is located at 8101 Conlon Road in Le Roy. For more information, call 768-4883 or go to www.frostridge.com.

Photo submitted by Greg Luetticke

A patron of Tops Market in Le Roy, who was in a cart for the handicapped, was struck by a vehicle in the parking lot and there are injuries. Le Roy fire and Mercy medics are responding. The store is located at 128 W. Main St.

UPDATE 1:48 p.m.: The patient was transported to UMMC.

Some people in Le Roy are being asked to get the word out about an appearance by Erin Brockovich on Aug. 22 at the American Legion Hall in Le Roy.

The copy of the flier above originated with Bob Bowcock of Integrated Resource Management, Inc., in Claremont, Calif.

The Batavian placed a couple of calls to Bowcock's mobile phone Monday evening for clarification and more information but only got his voice mail.

Brockovich is an attorney and environmental advocate who got involved in the conversion disorder issue in Le Roy after a group of Le Roy High School students started manifesting tic-like symptoms. She made a couple of national TV appearances on the topic.

Bowcock is the environmental consultant hired by Brockovich to visit Le Roy in January and conduct his own investigation into what may have been causing the tics. As part of his visit, Bocock brought national attention to the Lehigh Railroad spill, which showed all appearances of improper remediation by the EPA; however, Bowcock concluded the spill had not migrated toward the school.

A source warned that Brockovich's team has promised previous visits that did not materialize.

There's a car "occupied times three" doing donuts in the parking lot of a pizzeria in Le Roy. "Can you put me on the Pizza Land caper," says a Le Roy police officer, now on scene. It's located at 131 W. Main St.

UPDATE 7:42 p.m.: The driver of the car is no longer doing donuts in the parking lot of Pizza Land. The three funsters will have to find new entertainment. We assume the driver was ticketed.

A mother called dispatch to complain that her pregnant daughter's boyfriend allegedly took her daughter's pack of cigarettes, which she had purchased for her, and has since left the Le Roy residence. She'd like some justice.

In 2011, 7-Eleven, Inc., acquired the Buffalo-based Wilson Farms chain and according to an industry report, the company that pioneered the convenience store concept decided to sell three of newly purchased locations in Genesee County.

According to CSPnet.com, 7-Eleven will sell two locations in Batavia and one Le Roy.

The Batavia locations would appear to be the stores at corner of Ellicott and Cedar streets and at 189 Pearl St.

A month or so ago, 7-Eleven converted the Wilson Farm at 505 E. Main St., Batavia, to its own branded store.

It appears 7-Eleven is unloading the locations that sell gas.

"In any acquisition of an entire chain, there will inevitably be some stores that don't fit with a buyer's long-term strategic plans," said Robbie Radant, 7-Eleven vice president of mergers and acquisitions. "Such is the case with these 30 properties. While not right for our current operations, we believe they will provide great opportunities for the right buyers, as they did for Wilson Farms over the years."

UPDATED 11:01 a.m. with information on origin of the spikes.

Parents who took their children yesterday to the Wildwood Park Playground in Le Roy discovered a potentially dangerous situation when they noticed four-inch metal spikes placed at the bottom of slides.

No children were reported injured by the spikes.

A total of three spikes, partially buried in the sand, were located, according to Le Roy PD.

The spikes appear to be the type used to anchor a rubber plate for a pitcher's mound and appear to have come from a nearby baseball field, Det. John Condidorio said.

"We do believe we know the origin of the spikes," Condidorio said. "We simply don't know who removed them and placed them in such a dangerous location."

The park is located on Munson Street Extension.

The mothers checked the rest of the playground and discovered no additional foreign objects.

Le Roy PD with the assistance of Village of Le Roy DPW used metal detectors to check all of the playgrounds in Le Roy and no other dangerous objects were found.

Investigators are looking for further information related to the incident and anyone with information is asked to call 345-6350.