Oakfield

An Oakfield motorcycle rider who led local law enforcement on a high speed chase early this morning faces multiple charges, including DWI and reckless driving along with four counts of speeding.

The Sheriff's Office says Gregory P. Smith, 20, of Main Street, Oakfield, reached speeds this morning of 120 to 136 mph on what a witness described as a "crotch rocket" style motorcycle, according to dispatchers.

Initially, at 6:22 a.m., deputies were dispatched to the Village of Oakfield for a report of a motorcyclist driving fast and erratically, possibly intoxicated.

The driver reportedly dumped the bike near Wilson Farms, got it back up and headed south on Route 63, which is where he was intercepted by deputies.

When deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop, Smith allegedly sped up, heading south on Route 63 into Batavia.

The suspect then continued west on West Main Street Road, through the Town of Batavia. When the driver reached Kelsey Road, he reportedly turned north and then headed west on Galloway Road. At Downey Road, he turned north and continued to Maple, where he turned back toward the village.

Smith reportedly lost control of the bike on Route 63 at Hutton Road.

He then allegedly fled on foot.

Law enforcement officers caught up with Smith in a cornfield north of the accident location and deployed a Taser to subdue him.

Smith faces the following charges: DWI; driving with a BAC of .08 or higher; reckless driving; unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle; four counts of speeding (120 in a 40 mph, 130 in a 45 mph, 120 in a 55 mph and 136 in a 30 mph); five counts of failure to stop for a stop sign; driving left of pavement markings; passing on the right; running a red light; unlicensed operation; and leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

The incident was investigated by Deputy Howard Carlson. Assisting in the incident were Deputy Lonnie Nati, Warrant Officer Eric Olson, Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello and the State Police.

In the past hour, calls for trees and utility poles down have subsided, and the wind seems to have died down a bit, but a strong wind warning remains in effect until 4 p.m.

There are about a dozen locations where power outages have been reported, most significantly in Elba, where 871 National Grid customers are without power. The power outage was reported at 8:48 a.m. and no ETA for when power will be restored.

Above, what's left of a tree that blew down on Lewiston Road in Oakfield. Below, a contractor saws off a large broken limb from a tree on Wortendyke Road, Town of Batavia, that was hanging precariously over the roadway.

A tree has fallen onto a power line, which is now on fire, at 7058 Park Ave. The pole that is attached to the power line may be broken. Oakfield Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 11:34 a.m.: The pole is sheared off in the middle. A transformer is on the ground and it's live.

UPDATE 11:35 a.m.: National Grid is notified but says it will be awhile in responding. The chief says "This should be at the top of their list."

A tree was blown onto the roadway at 6804 Lewiston Road and it was struck by a car. The driver is said to be "shaken up." The tree is completely blocking the road.

The location is between Bliss and Macomber roads. Mercy medics and Oakfield fire are en route. Fire police for traffic control are called.

UPDATE 11:23 a.m.: The tree is about five to six feet in diameter -- it's a big oak -- and the chief has called for chainsaws and loaders to cut up and haul away the wood.

UPDATE 11:38 a.m.: The driver is out of the car now.

UPDATE 12:20 p.m.: The roadway is clear and is open to traffic. Crews are back in service.

A pursuit of a motorcycle rider is in progress. It began in Oakfield, came into the city briefly and now appears headed back toward Oakfield.

The original call was for a motorcycle rider on a "crotch rocket" apparently racing through the Village of Oakfield. The original caller suspected the rider was intoxicated.

Law enforcement units responded to Oakfield but didn't get there before he refueled at Wilson Farms.

The rider was spotted southbound on Route 63. When he reached West Main Street, he turned right and headed west. He took Kelsey to Galloway, then Downey, then Maple and is now heading back into the village and then 63.

The rider has allegedly ran multiple stop signs and "almost lost it on Maple."

He just "dumped it" on southbound Route 63.

The rider took off on foot, northbound.

UPDATE 6:34 a.m.: Suspect in custody.

UPDATE 6:37 a.m.: Medics requested to the scene to evaluate the suspect from being Tased and his tumble.

UPDATE 6:42 a.m.: Suspect is denying any injuries. Taser probes need to be removed from his legs.

Raymond Allard, 27, of Fall River, Mass., is charged with rape, 2nd. Allard is accused of having sexual relations with a person under 15 years of age on April 15 in Oakfield.

Duffy L. Starks, 18, of 1 Dawson Place, Batavia, is charged with violation of probation. Starks was arrested on a warrant issued out of Batavia City Court and jailed on $2,500 bail.

Nicholas A. Antonucci, 23, of 4192 Broadway Road, Alexander, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and failure to stop for stop sign. Following a report of an erratic driver, in which the caller provided a license plate and direction of travel, Antonucci was observed by Officer Matt Fleming allegedly running a stop sign. Antonucci allegedly failed a field sobriety test. He was arrested and later released to a family member.

Jonathan James Langenfeld, 29, of Canandagua Street, Leicester, is charged with burglary, 1st. Langenfeld is accused of entering a residence illegally and remaining there and then allegedly assaulting the new boyfriend of his estranged girlfriend.

Jon J. Reynolds, 35, of Wood Road, Bergen, is charged with stalking, 4th, and endangering the welfare of a child. Reynolds was taken into custody by State Police for an alleged incident reported at 3:41 p.m., Sunday. No further details released.

Isaac Emmaneul Simmons, 24, of Ellsworth Avenue, Batavia, is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Simmons is accused of leaving a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old in a car outside Walmart with the motor running while he went into the store.

Michael J. Raphael, 22, 4 Noonan Drive, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. At about 1 a.m., Sunday, Batavia Police were notified that a person was in the area of Center Street attempting to fight with others. When police arrived, they were told the person had walked toward the Mancuso Bowling Center. When officers checked the area, they were advised by a witness that Raphael struck a parked car causing damage to the vehicle.

Brad Hilchey, 29, 43 Oak St., Oakfield, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI and moving from lane unsafely. Hilchey was stopped at 1:06 a.m., Saturday, on West Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Frank Klimjack.

Ryan James Sundown, 30, Meadville Road, Basom, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing. Sundown is accused of trying to choke a woman during an altercation at an address on Meadville Road.

Virginia Louise Miller, 46, Colony Run, Attica, is charged with assault 3rd and menacing 2nd. Miller is accused of threatening another person with a knife and of biting that person in the arm.

Robert Paul Leiser, 42, of Lockport Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and aggravated harassment, 2nd. Leiser was arrested following an investigation into an alleged incident at 3 a.m., April 20.

Ryan S. Richards, 21, of Medina, is charged with petit larceny. Richards is accused of shoplifting $25.05 worth of merchandise from Kmart. Richards was also cited for alleged fictitious inspection sticker, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, operating without a license, switched plates and unregistered motor vehicle.

Thomas J. Torres, 48, of Albion, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI. Torres was taken into custody in the Town of Stafford at 10:35 p.m., Saturday, by State Police.

Christopher J. Nacca, 22, of Webster, and Taylor M. Shoemaker, 18, of Williamson, are charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Nacca and Shoemaker were stopped by State Police at 4:10 p.m., Friday, on Route 5 in Pembroke.

A woman driving on Hutton Road early this morning lost control of her car and it overturned after striking a utility pole guide wire.

The cause of the accident was not included in the Sheriff's Office report and no citations were issued.

The woman, Hope M. Conibear, of Gibson Street, Oakfield, was conscious and alert when extricated from the vehicle and transported by ground ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital.

Conibear was northbound on Hutton Road at 4 a.m. when her 1994 Chevy sedan crossed into the southbound lane, went off the west shoulder, striking an earthen embankment. The car continued northbound, striking the guide wire and becoming airborne. It landed on its roof on top of an old concrete bridge.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Eric Seppala.

(Initial Report)

The initial call reported a female driver either partially ejected from or underneath a vehicle which rolled over in the area of 7178 Hutton Road, Oakfield.

A first responder says there's one person trapped in the car, but appears uninjured. Another person is unaccounted for.

There are power lines down in the area, but power appears to on. National Grid requested to the scene as a precaution.

Oakfield Fire Department responding.

Mercy Flight is not available due to weather.

UPDATE 5:12 a.m.: A second ambulance requested to the scene, but apparently no more Mercy EMS rigs are available, so Medina is requested to the scene.  Mutual aid response from Town of Batavia Fire requested.

UPDATE 5:20 A.M.: Medina's response cancelled.

UPDATE 5:27 a.m.: It sounds like law enforcement thinks the driver has walked away from the accident. A search is in progress.

UPDATE 5:52 a.m.: The trapped person has been extricated. No word on the location of the driver.

UPDATE 6:41 a.m.: The road is reopened.

UPDATE 4:10 p.m.: Based on the accident report, there was only one person in the car, the driver. 

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Timothy J. Wood, 28, of 4 N. Spruce St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Wood was arrested following an investigation at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, of a 1-year-old baby being left unattended on the front porch of a residence. Wood was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Joshua L. Baltz, 35, of 29 Tracy Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, criminal mischief, 4th, and harassment, 2nd. Baltz is accused of being involved in a domestic incident on Wednesday. Baltz was jailed on $2,000 bail.

A 16-year-old resident of West Avenue, Medina, is charged with petit larceny. The youth is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.

Habibah Tywell Caldwell, 19, of Batavia-Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Caldwell is accused of trespassing at College Village after being banned from the property.

Robert Paul Leiser, 42, of Lockport Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, unlawful imprisonment and harassment, 2nd. Leiser allegedly became involved in a fight with a protected person while in the Town of Batavia. Leiser was jailed on $15,000 bail.

Benjamin Gove Evans, 22, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Evans allegedly stole property from Home Depot. Evans was located riding a bicycle on Washington Avenue and taken into custody. He was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Daniel J. Saeva, 31, of 6283 Sweetland Road, Stafford, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Saeva allegedly knocked another person down during an argument on April 10. Saeva turned himself in to Batavia Police after a warrant was issued.

Ricardo Brown, 21, of Cedar Avenue, Mount Vernon, is charged with assault, 2nd. Brown, originally from Jamaica, is a detainee at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility on Federal Drive, Batavia, where he allegedly got into a fight with another detainee. Brown allegedly kicked the other inmate in the head several times. Brown was arraigned in Batavia Town Court and returned to the detention facility.

Travis Michael Herold, 20, of Prospect Street, Attica, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Herold was taken into custody following the investigation by Deputy Jason Saile into a motor vehicle accident at 2:18 a.m. in the area of 9406 Alexander Road, Batavia.

Jason Jonathan Reed, 34, of South Pearl Street Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Reed is accused of violating an order of protection issued in Family Court by making a phone call to the protected party.

Connie Lynn King, 40, of South Main Street, Oakfield, is charged with harassment, 2nd. King is accused of punching, kicking, biting and pulling the hair of her boyfriend during an alleged domestic dispute at 12:45 a.m., Monday.

Dennis F. Walter, 53, of Clipnock Road, Stafford, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and one count of criminal possession of a criminal weapon, 4th. Walter was arrested on a warrant out of Bethany Town Court and jailed on $20,000 bail.

Raymond Edmond Allard, 27, of South Main Street, Oakfield, is charged with trespass and harassment, 2nd. Allard allegedly had physical contact with another person and then refused to leave the property when told to do so by the property owner.

Joni Mitchell's line in the song "Big Yellow Taxi" was spot on: "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

So it was last summer, when the 26th annual Labor Daze celebration had to be cancelled. The reason given was too few volunteers to put together the holiday festival.

The locals did host a small event last year at the Elroy D. Parkins Town Park (Little League Park) with hopes of improving next time around.

Now the Oakfield Betterment Committee has revived itself -- and fully aware that it's going to take a village -- and a town -- to get Labor Daze back on track -- the group is doing just that.

It has enlisted some new volunteers with fresh ideas.

So marks those calenders -- Labor Daze will be at the town park again on Sept. 4 and 5. The celebration has gotten a bit bigger, according to Town Clerk Melissa Haacke, co-chair of the new Oakfield Betterment Committee.

"Well, of course, we're going to still have food vendors and crafters like usual, but we have really expanded our kids activities for this year," Haacke said. "We have two bounce houses coming and a local family that will be bringing in animals for a petting zoo and we contacted Genesee and Orleans County 4-H groups to see if they want to bring in some animals, too."

Since horse and pony rides were popular last year, they'll be offered again. Kids can also play on the playground at the park so parents can worry less about children wandering into traffic.

"We liked the idea that we don't have to close any roads for this," Haacke said.

She gave credit to her Co-chair Kate Manges for taking initiative dring the planning phases, saying, "She really took the bull by the horns."

She explained that in an effort to "get back to their roots," members of the Betterment Committee tried to keep everything as local as possible to showcase the village and town.

To highlight the 60th anniversary of the Oakfield Lions Club, the group will be the Grand Marshal of the parade. Also, the new Oakfield Historical Museum on Maple Avenue will be open to encourage everyone to walk around and visit local businesses.

People can also expect a fireworks display, a car show, Chinese auction and some great raffle items. Prizes include $1,000 cash, a four-pack of season tickets to Darien Lake, a laptop computer from Millennium Computers, a Nook and many more items.

To donate to the Chinese auction or raffle prizes or for vendor information, call Town Clerk Melissa Haacke (948-5835, ext. 20) or e-mail celebration14125@yahoo.com.

This is the third in our series of stories about the 2010 Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented at a dinner Saturday at the Clarion Hotel.

Like many small businesses, Triple P Farms in Oakfield started with a budding business owner seeing a need and believing he could start small and grow his enterprise.

Daniel "Pudgie" Riner, 52, was raised on a farm in Byron. After his father sold the family farm to the My T Acres, Riner spent 11 years working for the Call family.

He was pretty confident he could grow things. He had just never tried growing anything in a greenhouse before.

Shortly after marrying Patti Call more than 22 years ago, he opened Triple P Farms with a single 2,000-square-foot greenhouse.

Riner was encouraged by his brother and Craig Yunker of CY Farms to start with tomato seedlings.

"They were not happy with quality of transplants that they were buying out of the south and I thought I could grow something better," Riner recalled. "They gave me an opportunity to try and that’s what started the greenhouse business."

Today, Triple P Farms is comprised of more than two acres of greenhouses and he's adding on another 25,000 square feet. Triple P annually produces more than 12 million onion and cabbage plants for local farmers.

It's that kind of growth and contribution to the local agriculture community that led the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce to select Triple P Farms as 2010 Agriculture Business of the Year.

It's an award, Riner said, he finds humbling.

He credits his employees, his customers, his vendors and other members of the agriculture community, even his bank, for making the award possible.

"I always say, one of my biggest assets is the people around me who help make it work. I have the right team around me."

After more than 22 years in business, Riner said what gives him the biggest satisfaction are his employees. He keeps five full-time employees year around and employees 15 to 20 more people during the summer months.

"It feels pretty good that you’re doing something to help people survive."

He said people like his office manager, Debbie Lynch, who has been with Triple P almost from the beginning, and his retail store manager, Scott Fisher, are the ones who really get the work done.

"I don’t know how we could do it without the key people around that make it work."

In the summer, much of Triple P's staffing increase comes from Riner hiring young people.

Riner -- whose friends started calling him "Pudgie" when he was a teen and the nickname stuck -- said he likes new hires to be juniors in high school. It's hard, physical labor, but he enjoys working with youngsters, even mentoring them right through college.

"I always tell them, If you work for me you'll figure out why you don’t want to do this for the rest of your life. Go to college and get a brain."

About 11 years ago, Riner bought a retail nursery on West Main Street in the Town of Batavia from the Riegel family.  

He renamed it Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center.

“They (the Riegel family) had a wonderful reputation and I’d like to think that we have continued that wonderful reputation of high quality plants that are locally grown. The lawn and garden store we call Pudgie's has been good to us and we try to add more and more to it every year. We have a very good customer base there."

All of the "bedding" plants sold at Pudgie's are grown at Triple P, giving gardeners a chance to buy locally grown plants from local plant experts (most of Pudgie's employees are master gardeners).

This year, Riner lost his pea-picking business as the frozen food industry has consolidated around just two harvesting companies (Riner said he's proud that his business was one of the final four out of a few dozen once upon a time), but he's already taking Triple P in a new, promising direction.

This winter, he and a partner, A.J. Wormuth, started growing cucumbers in the Triple P greenhouses to sell through area retail stores under the Fresh Harvest Farms brand.

The new line is off to a promising start and the time is right, Riner said, to expand into other winter-grown vegetables because of the strong consumer interest in locally grown produce.

"There’s a big push industry for local. The challenge is getting into the big box stores like Tops or Wegmans or Save-A-Lot, but with the impact of people pushing local, the door has opened a little more than in the past."

Riner and Patti have three children. One attends RIT, another is working on becoming a teacher and their oldest daughter lives and works in the Washington, D.C., area.

He said he and Patti keep most of their community involvement pretty low-key. They're active in Northgate Church and do what they can individually to help families and young people.

Patti supports the Cancer Society. She's twice survived cancer.

As he mentions her cancer battles, Pudgie chokes up.

“It still bugs me," he said, as his eyes moistened and his voice cracked. "You can tell. You can tell.”

Christopher Jonathan Feidner, 25, Middle Road, Gowanda, is charged with burglary, 2nd. Feidner is accused of entering the Oakfield apartment of his estranged wife without consent on two occasions in June. During the first alleged incident, Feidner reportedly stole two Xbox game consoles and two PlayStation game consoles along with their controllers. During the second alleged incident, Feidner reportedly stole two laptop computers. Feidner is currently an inmate at Collins Correctional Facility in Gowanda serving time on an unrelated felony conviction.

Tice's Rangers, a Revolutionary-era reenactment group was at the Oakfield Historical Museum, 7 Maple Ave., today for the museum's spring reopening.

Above, from left, are Bob Smith, of Batavia, John Dellapenna, of Batavia, Erick Michealsen, of Lockport, Paul Winnie, of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, Derek Lindquist, of Williamsville, Mark Houseman, of Medina, Joe Bucolo, of Lockport, Steve Kruppenbacher and Jeff Harding, of Newfane.

More pictures after the jump:

John Terry Boyce, 22, of Maple Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with unlawful imprisonment, 2nd, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, 2nd. Boyce is accused of choking his girlfriend during an argument at 10:50 a.m., Thursday. He allegedly refused to let her leave the bedroom while holding their 1-year-old son in his arms.

Matthew L. Nagle, 22, of 34 Parkway Drive, North Chili, is charged with petit larceny. Nagle is accused of shoplifting from a supermarket in Le Roy.

Jason H. Freeman, 29, of Alden, is charged with petit larceny. The alleged crime took place in Alabama at 3:57 p.m., March 16. Freeman was arrested at the Genesee County Jail by State Police. No further details released.