pembroke

One car is off the road and has hit a pole in the area of 8285 Alleghany Road, Indian Falls.

The driver is out of the car and on his feet, but has a head injury and other cuts.

Indian Falls fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE: While I was away from the computer, Mercy Flight was dispatched to this call. The scene is clear now.

The Pembroke Corfu Darien Kiwanis Fall Festival and Car Cruise took place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18 and held something for the whole family at Pembroke Town Park.

In addition to the great turn out of vehicles for the Car Cruise (more than 80 cars), there were vendors, non-profit groups, face-painting for the kids, pony rides, pumpkin patch carriage rides and a chicken barbecue by Krolick's.

More pictures from the event can be found here.

Saturday, Sept. 17, was Kutter's annual Customer Appreciation Day.

Kutter's Cheese Factory Store began operations in 1923, when Leo Kutter emigrated to the United States from Germany. The factory moved to Corfu, site of this weekend's festivities, in 1947.  

Visitors were offered samples of Yancey's Fancy's 19 varieties of cheeses, available in 29 flavors.

Brian and Heather Bailey and Christine Adamczak, who bought Kutter's from Tony and Richard Kutter in 2009, were on hand to offer visitors wine and cheese samples. Musical entertainment was provided by Finesse (a female barbershop quartet), and there was a factory tour to explain the cheese-making process.

The company is looking to expand its operations in the next two years, and if the attendance at the festivities on Saturday were any indication, Genesee County is more than ready for the expansion.

Heather and Brian Bailey with the Kutter's classic car.

"Hot Stuff" -- Yancey's Fancy's own buffalo.

Finesse, a women's barbershop quartet, featuring (from left to right): tenor Sharie Vlack (Elba), lead Peggy Watkins (Attica), baritone Beth Allen (Elba), and bass Carolyn Schultz (Oakfield).

The group is a subset of the Crossroads of Harmony Chorus, which will be holding a reunion on Oct. 17 at the Genesee County Nursing Home. For more information, contact Finesse at allenkittyzoo@gmail.com.

More pictures from the event can be found here.

Sheriff's deputies are responding to a complaint about the rider of a red and blue ATV tearing up the lawn at Pembroke Intermediate School, located at 58 Alleghany Road in Corfu.

An alleged drunken driver reportedly started a four-car accident at 2:04 p.m., Saturday, on Route 77 near Route 5 in Pembroke after she rear-ended a car in front of her.

The driver's car then continued forward -- after the first car it hit was pushed out of the way -- and struck a third car in the rear, which hit the car in front of it.

Charged with DWI was Heidi J. Berkes, 27, of North Madison Street, Rome.

Berkes was driving a 2005 Ford SUV when she came upon two cars stopped at the intersection of Route 77 and Route 5 and third car immediately in front of her slowing.

She reportedly struck a car driven by Justin C. Mahar, 19, of Rebecca Street, North Syracuse. Mahar's car was pushed off the road and then Berkes' SUV struck a car driven by Matthew F. Endres, 19, of Carrie Marie Lane, Hllton, which then struck a car driven by Michele Lillie, 39, of Buffalo Road, Erie.

Injured in the accident were Cory Delahunt, 26, a passenger in Berkes' SUV, Endres and Lillie. 

Berkes and Mahar were not injured, and the seven other passengers in the four vehicles were not injured.

Mahar was cited for alleged unlicensed operation.

The accident was investigated by Sgt. Greg Walker.

A car is reportedly on fire in the parking lot of the Pembroke Service  Area, off the Thruway.

East Pembroke Fire responding.

UPDATE 6:44 p.m.: A responder at the scene says the car fire is fully involved.

NOTE: Rick actually submitted this article yesterday morning and we neglected to put it on the home page. Apologies to Rick and the fans of Pembroke soccer.

The Pembroke Boys Varsity Soccer team started its regular season at home Tuesday with a league game against Kendall. After a slow first half where they gave up three goals, the Dragons came out strong in the second half, scoring their first goal of the season.

Sophomore Collin Lewis got the goal on an assist from Gabe Birkby. Coach Burch and the boys were very upbeat after the game, having played a very solid game against a strong opponent. The final score was 3-1. Next Dragons game is Friday 9/9 at 4:30 p.m. at Lyndonville. Go here to see more photos of the game.

Alicia M. Lyons, 31, of 17 1/2 Central Ave., Batavia, is  charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. Lyons was allegedly observed scratching the paint of a vehicle parked off of Central Avenue. Lyons was taken into custody by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Timothy Garrick Fitzgerald, 45, of Windsor Drive, North Tonowanda, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to signal lane change and moving from lane unsafely. Fitzgerald was stopped at 9:53 p.m., Friday, in the area of 4016 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Graff.

Sarah White Gilmartin, 35, of Norwalk Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, dazzling headlights and no/insufficient tail lamps. Gilmartin was stopped at 2:10 a.m., Aug. 27, on Main Road, Pembroke, by Deputy James Diehl.

Russell R. Miles, 43, of 12 Lake St., Le Roy, is charged with criminal contempt. Miles was arrested following a report of a disturbance at 12 Lake St. Miles was allegedly involved in the disturbance with a person who was the subject of a stay-away court order. Miles was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Brett A. Simcick, 27, of Keeney Road, Le Roy, is charged with felony DWI. Simcick was stopped by Le Roy Police in the early morning hours Saturday for allegedly failing to stop for a stop sign on Hilltop Drive, Village of Le Roy. Simcick was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Matthew Alvin Johnson, 28, of Prestige Crossing Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, unlawful possession of marijuana and no plate lamps. Johnson was stopped at 1:46 a.m., Sunday, on Seven Springs Road, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

The newly formed Pembroke Boys Varsity Soccer Team started its season at the Holly soccer tournament Thursday night. Playing in their very first game together, the boys played with great heart against the very powerful Holly Hawks team. Despite losing to the host team by a 5-0 score, coach Aaron Burch was very happy with the boys' effort. Go here to see more photos of the game.

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We don't have the location or time of call, but there is a grass fire in Indian Falls Alabama, on Tesnow Road.

Indian Falls, Pembroke and Alabama fire departments are on scene.

There was concern about power lines in the area and National Grid is on scene. The fire is apparently mostly knocked down at this time.

UPDATE 10:04 a.m.: Water is being shut down as a safety precaution because electrical lines just dropped on the ground.

UPDATE 10:07 a.m.: Water is flowing again.

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: Fire is actually at 369 Wright Road. It's a former U.S. National Gypsum facility, and after that Stylecraft built manufactured homes at the location. It's currently owned by Bill Eberhardt. A large pile of old railroad ties caught on fire. The fire was reported by the pilot of a private airplane. Alabama Chief Gary Patnode said the ties are from a railroad line torn out 25 years ago. He said the property owner told him he's had trouble with trespassers recently, particularly young ATV riders. Deputy Ron Meides said his report will say that a controlled burn -- there's a large section of the property that is being cleared of brush -- ignited the railroad ties. Mutual aid provided Indian Falls, Pembroke and Akron, with East Pembroke filling in at Indian Falls and Shelby filling in at Alabama. (I have one picture to post, but a weak internet signal at my current location ... will add photo to this post later.)

UPDATE 8:15 p.m.: Alabama Fire is back on scene to deal with some sort of flare up.

UPDATE 11:58 p.m.: Alabama units back in quarters.

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Photos from the JV Youth Football game 8/27/11. Pembroke was the home team.

Minis: Pembroke 8, Oakfield-Elba 0

JV: Pembroke 36, Oakfield-Elba 6

All pictures from the event are available here for readers of The Batavian.

A pickup has hit a pole near Akron Road on Route 77, Indian Falls, and power lines are reportedly down and arcing.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments dispatched.

Route 77 is being closed.

UPDATE 9:16 p.m.: It sounds like the driver ran down Phelps Road toward the trailer park.

UPDATE 9:30 p.m.:  A witness reports that somebody said there were two people in the vehicle and one of them is lying in the weeds. Because of the live wires, firefighters are unable to approach the vehicle. National Grid will be on scene soon to shut down power and responders can investigate.

UPDATE 9:38 a.m.: National Grid on scene. The immediate area of Indian Falls is about to lose all power.

UPDATE 9:40 p.m.: Power in the area has been cut. Emergency responders checking around the houses and in the tall weeds. A resident on Akron Road reported seeing a person with bare feet apparently fleeing the scene.

UPDATE 9:45 p.m.: As soon as National Grid moves the lines out of the road, Route 77 will be reopened.

UPDATE 9:48 p.m.: National Grid's website says power will be out until 11:30 p.m. State Department of Transportion requested to the scene. Chief reports, "We've got some pretty nasty holes down here."

UPDATE 9:51 p.m.: A DOT rep not expected on scene for at least an hour. He will check the roadway damage and determine whether repairs can wait until the morning.

UPDATE 10 p.m.; Indian Falls and Pembroke about to go back in service. No word on either subject reportedly in the vehicle.

UPDATE 10:03 p.m.: Mercy EMS put back in service.

Valeriya Melnichuk, a foreign exchange student who worked as an intern for Genesee Justice over the summer, will return to her home in Kyrgyzstan with a few big impressions of Batavia.

First, the people are friendly.

Also, in her time at Genesee Justice, she saw first-hand the benefits of educating drunken drivers about the dangers of DWI.

Genesee Justice also opened her eyes to ways her own country's justice system could better assist victims of crime.

And one observation that might not surprise some readers: American sure go easy on their criminals.

The 19-year-old Melnichuk is a student at American University in Central Asia. She is majoring in international and comparative politics with a minor in law.

She speaks Russian, Kyrgyz, French and English, and her English is nearly flawless.

Her first visit to Genesee County was in 2008 when she was an exchange student at Pembroke High School.

When she graduates she hopes to work in her home country on public policy, particularly as it relates to law.

The internship at Genesee Justice, she thought, would give her a perspective on how policy devised at one level of government impacts local government.

For example, the provision of Leandra's Law that requires convicted drunken drivers to install ignition interlock devices could have used a little more policy study before being implemented, Melnichuk said.

The law, while well intended, will eventually bankrupt the interlock device companies, she said, because it's too easy for drivers to claim they can't afford the devices, and if a judge agrees, the device is provided and installed at the expense of the company.

"There's too many people who get them for free," Melnichuk said. "They tell the judge they can't afford it, but they drive a nice car and they can afford to get drunk. I see the good idea in it, but they're too easy to get for free."

Two ideas that Melnichuk would like to take back to Kyrgyzstan are rooted in the restorative justice mission of Genesee Justice.

First, Melnichuk she thinks that it's a good idea to require people convicted of DWI to be educated on the dangers of DWI, to have their progress monitored and to require them to do some community service.

"It's not just letting people pay a fine or go to jail," she said. "They have to think about what they've done."

Second, she believes it's a good idea to provide a victim assistance program. Genesee Justice helps victims understand the criminal justice system, walks victims through court proceedings and ensures they get restitution.

She recalled one case this summer where a poor family in Batavia that relies strictly on bicycles for transportation, had a son's bike stolen.

Genesee Justice, while looking for a donated bike, found the stolen bike and returned it to the boy.

"That's a small thing, but it helps a lot," she said.

It's also a part of small-town life that Melnichuk, who comes from a city of one million people, came to appreciate.

In Genesee County, almost everybody knows somebody else that you know, and people are friendlier.

"It's not like my home city or New York City, where everybody is in a hurry," Melnichuk said. "Here people will smile and say hello even if they don't know you. In the city, you rush through and it's good if you still have your purse after you run through a crowd."

Still, Melnichuk is surprised at the seemingly light sentences convicted criminals get in New York.

She said maybe it's just the way she was raised -- strict parents who gave her the freedom to pursue her dreams, but required discipline, or a school system that required uniforms and wouldn't allow students to talk during class or sass teachers -- but she thinks the sentences given to convicts are pretty minimal.

"Your prisons are pretty nice," Melnichuk said. "Compared to back home, they're a lot nicer. And here, some person will commit some horrible crime and they'll get just seven years. Me, I would have given them 25 years."

With her internship nearly done, the observations made and the lesson's learned, Melnichuk is ready to return home a week from Sunday, but she said she has really enjoyed her time in Batavia.

A caller reports that several cars are parked along Waddington Road, on the south side of the Tonawanda Creek at Indian Falls.

The caller reports that anyone who got out of those cars and went to the falls, would've had to cross posted private property to get there.

A deputy has been dispatched to the area.

While that portion of the Tonawanda is county property, most of the area around the falls is private property, except for an entryway to the creek east of the falls at Route 77.

Last week, a 17-year-old girl was seriously injured when she fell on some rocks while swimming and diving at the falls.