pembroke

Nabbed through DNA evidence in May for a Dec. 15 break-in of a Town of Batavia home, a 19-year-old Buffalo man entered a guilty plea in Genesee County Court today and faces up to seven years in prison.

Steven Carnell McKnight, already sentenced to a prison term of one to three years for an unrelated crime in Erie County, will be sentenced Oct. 15.

McKnight will be sentenced on two charges. There's today's guilty plea on second- degree attempted burglary, plus an earlier plea to the same charge for a break-in Dec. 14 in the Town of Pembroke.

All three sentences -- Erie County, Pembroke and Batavia -- will be served concurrently.

The entire sentence range, from probation up to seven years in prison, is available to Judge Robert C. Noonan. McKnight could have been sentenced today under the plea arrangement, but there is paperwork that must be completed first.

About 20 disgruntled truckers and their rigs have clogged the parking lot of the Flying-J Travel Center in Pembroke and one of them called dispatch, demanding to speak to troopers about DOT road work. State crews are making repairs on the highway that are causing them to sit idling and they are not happy "with the whole situation." Troopers are responding to the complaint.

The travel plaza is at 8484 Alleghany Road, off the I-90, Exit 48A.

It was an accident that emergency responders acknowledge could have been much worse.

The initial call at 12:13 p.m. was for a semi-truck hitting a school bus and pushing it over on its side on Route 5 near Wortendyke Road.

Four ambulances were dispatched, Mercy Flight was put on standby and East Pembroke Chief Don Newton requested mutual aid from Batavia, Alexander, Darien and Oakfield.

"We didn’t know if the school bus was full of children or not so a lot of ambulances were dispatched as a safeguard," said Sheriff Gary Maha. "You can always turn them back."

As it turns out, most of the responding units were put back in service.

There was only one pre-K child on the bus and he did not appeared to be injured. As required by code, he was taken to UMMC for evaluation.

Both drivers were evaluated at the scene and no injuries were reported.

The Pembroke Central School District bus was eastbound on Route 5 and was stopping to make a left-hand turn into a driveway to pick up another student when it was rear-ended by the tractor-trailer.

The bus skidded forward in a semicircle and landed on its side in the front yard of a residence on the north side of Main Street Road.

The driver and child were able to walk out the rear emergency exit.

"It could have been a lot worse," Newton said. "Thankfully, there was only one child on the bus and the driver was uninjured and the child is being taken to UMMC for evaluation, but it doesn’t look like anything too serious at this time."

Maha said it was too early in the investigation to determine if the truck driver -- whose name has not yet been released -- was distracted prior to the accident.

The driver, Maha said, claims the bus driver had not activated its bus stop lights; the bus driver, Maha said, told investigators he had activated the lights.

Children on school buses are not required to wear safety belts and the child on this bus was not belted, Maha said.

The trucking company involved has requested the trucker's load be released, but state authorities have requested the trailer be impounded until Wednesday pending further investigation.

The Kiwanis Club of Corfu, Pembroke and Darien hosted a vintage auto show in Pembroke Town Park today.

The Blue Devils dropped off the list of the undefeated in Genesee County on Friday with a 30-12 loss to Livonia.

Le Roy kept its perfect record in tack with a 35-28 over Avon, while in the Genesee Region Conference, three teams sit atop the standings at 3-0 -- Elba/Byron-Bergen, Notre Dame and Attica.

Elba/BB beat Holley 27-7 with Zack DuBois rushing for 156 yards on 22 carries, scoring once. QB Zack Gillard was 7-14 for 167 yards and two TDs. He also carried the ball five times for 29 yards and a touchdown. Austin Yockel had four receptions for 141, including a 44-yard TD reception. Ryan Morse had a 10-yard TD reception. Andy Underhill made 23 tackles. Brandon Naylor had 14 tackles.

Notre Dame moved to 3-0 with a win over Alexander 36-6. Tim McCulley completed 11 passes on 20 attempts for 187 yards, including TD tosses of 14 and 35 yards to Charlie Hebert and Jared Thornton. Nick Taylor had TD runs of 26 and 89 yards. Andrew Mullen carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards. For Alexander, Dylan Scharlau had 18 carries for 117 yards and QB Nelson Burke was 8 of 17 for 128 yards, including a TD pass to 36-yard TD to Sam Browne. Burke was intercepted twice.

Pembroke dropped to 0-3 with a loss to undefeated Attica 47-0. Four turnovers by the Dragons led to four Attica TDs. Pete Thomas had 12 tackles for Pembroke and Caleb Patterson and Jared Kolmetz each recovered two fumbles.

For Batavia, in the Blue Devils 30-12 loss to Livonia, Nick Canzoneri rushed for 40 yards on eight carries, scoring once. James Soggs had 11 carries for 85 yards.

Le Roy's third win was highlighted by Peter Privitera's 181 yards on 39 carries and two touchdowns. Both Marcus Mistersaro and Dylan Johnson scored on the ground. T.J. Crye was 13-of-27 for 173 yards.

Oakfield-Alabama improved to 1-2 with a win over Finney (1-2), 20-16. Ryan Emery scored twice and carried the ball for 99 yards. Chris Nanni rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Danny Monachino and Tommy Geiss each recorded 12 tackles.

Press release:

New York State Department of Transportation is undertaking a preventative maintenance project next week to resurface portions of Route 5 and Route 77 in Pembroke, Genesee County.

The project limits on Route 77 are from the New York State Thruway to a half mile south of Route 5, and on Route 5 from the Erie County line to just east of Route 77.

Pending favorable weather conditions, the road work will begin Monday, Sept. 17 and is expected to take about five days to complete. Crews will work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Flaggers will direct traffic through the work zone, one direction at a time. Motorists are advised to allow extra time to safely proceed through the highway work zone.

For real-time travel information, call 511 or visit www.511NY.org

A 2-0 win over Attica gave the Pembroke Boys Varsity Soccer Team its first win since soccer was brought back to the school last year. The Dragons took the early lead on a goal by Austin Franclemont with Tyler Ross on the assist. The team then played a solid game in front of Morgan McGiveron, who was perfect in goal stopping all the shots he faced. The insurance goal was scored by Gabe Birkby, assisted by Collin Lewis. 

More pictures of the game can be seen here http://francletography.photoshelter.com/gallery/Pembroke-Boys-Varsity-Soccer-vs-Attica-9-11-2012/G0000bgZIx.lYVGo/C0000y8oiGr6YbrY

A motor vehicle accident with injuries has been reported on Route 77 in front of the T/A Travel Plaza.

A semi-truck is involved and the side-saddle gas tank is reportedly leaking.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments dispatched.

UPDATE 9:29 a.m.: Akron Fire requested mutual aid with a pumper. Also, ambulances requested from Akron and Darien. All Mercy EMS ambulances are tied up on calls.

UPDATE 9:33 a.m.: Three patients. No entrapment. Hazmat situation with leaking diesel fuel. All available manpower from Corfu Fire Department requested to the scene.

UPDATE 9:39 a.m.: Fuel leak of 30 to 40 gallons is contained.

UPDATE 9:45 a.m.: Darien's ambulance can stand down.

UPDATE 10:01 a.m.: Patients being transported.

UPDATE 10:15 a.m.: All units back in service. Route 77 reopened. Two patients transported by Akron to Millard Suburban and one by Mercy EMS to Children's.

A deputy is responding to a lock out at the Flying J in Pembroke. The car is sporting the Batman emblem.

Update 8:02 p.m.: "Cancel the Batman lock out." "Robin's got the key?" "Or the butler."

A convicted child molester told police, according to court documents, that he obtained six child pornography DVDs from a 53-year-old woman from Pembroke.

That accusation is contained in a statement filed in Pembroke Town Court in support of the arrest of Beverly Hensel, 53, of 8921 Alleghany Road, Pembroke. Hensel was charged with one count of possession of a sexual performance of a child following an investigation by Batavia PD.

According to James L. Little Jr., 41, formerly of Batavia, he first met Hansel in November 2007 at the Genesee House in Corfu.

"Bev knew I was having certain feelings," Little wrote in his deposition. "Bev gave me my first child porn DVD around January of 2008."

Earlier this week, Little was sentenced to 15 years in state prison followed by 20 years of release under supervision for sexually abusing a 2-year-old child in Batavia over a three month period.

Det. Kevin Czora said Little's stash of child porn DVDs were uncovered in a search of Little's residence when he was arrested for molesting the toddler. When questioned, Little named Hansel as the source of the DVDs.

"She acquired it for him," Czora said.

As far as Czora knows, he said, he isn't aware of Hensel downloading child porn prior to meeting Little, or providing child porn to any other people, or that Little had ever obtained child porn from any other source before meeting Hansel.

Czora does not believe Hansel received any compensation for the alleged child porn DVDs.

Over a two-year period, Little said he received DVDs with such titles as "X," "Gay Boys 6/3/09," "XXX July 13, 2009" and "Fun 08/27/09."

He said in September 2009 he was at Hansel's house and he saw two desktop computers in her basement.

He wrote, "She said one was hers and the other was her husband's."

During the execution of a search warrant at the Hensel residence Aug. 15, weapons were reportedly found and Frederick Hensel Jr. is being charged with four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Following a multi-agency, months-long investigation, a 53-year-old woman in Pembroke has been arrested and charged with possession of a sexual performance of a child.

Beverly Hensel, of Allegheny Road, is accused of possessing child pornography from January 2008 until December 2009.

Hensel was arraigned in Town of Pembroke Court today.

Det. Kevin Czora said Batavia PD became the lead agency because the investigation originated with a different suspect in the city, but as the investigation progressed detectives connected the case to Hansel.

The pornography allegedly possessed by Hansel was obtained over the Internet, Czora said, and Hansel did not know any of the subjects in the material.

During the execution of a search warrant at the Hansel residence Aug. 15, weapons were reportedly found and Frederick Hensel Jr. is being charged with four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Batavia PD detectives led the investigation with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, Tonawanda PD, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force.

There may be some opposition in Pembroke to placing a veterans cemetery on one of two parcels in the town, according to Bill Joyce, the new veterans services administrator for the county.

Joyce raised the issue with the Public Service Committee today during his first departmental review with the Genesee County Legislature.

He said the Town of Pembroke Planning Board may have some members concerned about taking farm land off the tax roles.

Pembroke Town Supervisor Ed Mileham confirmed this evening that he thinks there may be some opposition to converting farmland to a veterans cemetery, but said the issue hasn't come before the planning board yet.

"There's no doubt in my mind there could be some opposition because Pembroke is a farming community and they like their farm atmosphere here," Mileham said.

There's also likely to be support for the project because it will benefit the community, Mileham said.

"It would be something no other community got and we would be fortunate to get it," Mileham said. "Would we have to give something up, would we give up some tax dollars for it? Sure, but it's something a lot of communities would want to have and we've got good spots right here."

The advantages for Pembroke, Mileham said is attractive properties, close proximity to Buffalo and Rochester and easy access to the Thruway.

These are points in Pembroke's favor that Joyce, a Pembroke resident, also made and said the two locations in Pembroke under consideration make more sense than the location on the short list in Erie County, which is an industrial area.

"To me, not just because it's Genesee County, a veterans cemetary should be peaceful and serene," Joyce said.

Added Legislator Mary Pat Hancock, "and the locations I've seen are just gorgeous."

Mileham said the two locations in Pembroke under consideration by the Veterans Administration are at Indian Falls Road and Route 77, about 135 acres, and a similar-sized location at the end of Cleveland Road. 

About 50 or 60 acres of farmland would be taken out of production for the project, Mileham said.

The supervisor said the indications he's received from officials with the VA working out of Bath -- currently the closest vets cemetery to Buffalo and Rochester -- are that Indian Falls and Route 77 is a favored location.

County Manager Jay Gsell told legislators that the short list of sites has changed a couple of times as the VA came across unwilling sellers, inappropriate locations or environmental issues. Site planning experts with the VA have reduced the list now to these three possible locations.

It will take willing sellers at any one of the three locations to move the project forward.

As it is, construction is at least two-and-a-half years away.

Sarah Patricia Nichols, 29, of Pinehollow Drive, Batavia, is charged with falsely reporting an incident, 3rd. Nichols is accused of falsely reporting a larceny from her vehicle while it was parked in the Walmart parking lot. An investigation by Deputy Brad Mazur led Mazur to believe the larceny did not take place.

Patricia M. Anderson, 27, of 6281 Walkers Corners Road, Byron, is charged with petit larceny. Anderson is accused of shoplifting from the Kwik Fill 99 at Jackson and Ellicott streets. Anderson was located at a residence on Central Avenue following a complaint of the theft.

Francis Scott Smith, 18, of Lake Avenue, New York, is charged with petit larceny. Smith was taken into custody in the lobby of city court on a warrant out of Batavia Town Court. Smith was jailed on $250 bail.

Jennifer J. Maggio, 27, of Kingston Road, Leicester, is charged with petit larceny. Maggio is accused of shoplifting $95.32 in merchandise from Kmart by hiding it in her purse.

Raymond Michael Pfalzer, 41, of Brown Road, Corfu, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Pfalzer was charged in connection with an accident at Wilkinson Road and Brown Road, Batavia, at 8:20 p.m., July 22, in which he was seriously injured.

Angela A. Starling, 30, of Pembroke, is charged with disorderly conduct/fighting/violent behavior and harassment, 2nd. Starling was arrested by State Police following the report of an incident at Godfrey's Pond at 10:11 p.m., Saturday. No further details were released.

Richard Russell Vetter, 57, of Main Street, Varysburg, is charged with grand larceny and 10 counts of falsifying business records. Vetter is accused of making false metal purchase entries into business records while employed at Stanley Staba & Sons in Darien and writing himself checks in excess of $7,000.

Brian Mark Mahaney, 24, of Indian Falls Road, Pembroke, is charged with reckless endangerment. Mahaney is accused of being involved in a domestic dispute. He allegedly drove a motor vehicle eastbound on Indian Falls Road, crossed the center line into the path of a westbound vehicle. The westbound vehicle reportedly had to drive off the pavement to avoid a collision. Mahaney then allegedly followed the vehicle to a residence and threatened to fight the vehicle's occupants.

Thomas Jacob Wolcott, 26, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and harassment, 2nd. Wolcott is accused of being involved in a physical altercation with a protected person whom he was ordered not to engage in any criminal act against. He allegedly grabbed the victim by her neck and threw her about a room. Wolcott was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Steven James Scott, 21, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .10 or greater, open container and unlawful possession of marijuana. Scott was taken into custody following a report at 8:36 p.m., Tuesday, of a motorist needing assistance on Route 33 in Bergen. The motorist reportedly attempted to flag down passing cars. Upon investigation, deputies Joseph Graff and Matthew Butler identified Scott as the operator of a motor vehicle who was allegedly driving while drunk.

Triton Adam Drock, 18, of Buell Street, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse, 2nd. Drock allegedly had an ongoing relationship with a minor female. Drock is accused of acting in a manner injurious to the physical and moral welfare of a minor. Following arraignment in Darien Town Court, Drock was released on his own recognizance and issued a stay-away order for the minor female.

A prominent Rochester attorney and a former reality TV personality are in the national news today after they were arrested in Pembroke on Tuesday morning.

James Doyle, 54, of Rochester is accused of DWI, refusing a breath test, providing alcohol to a person under age 21 and patronizing a prostitute.

Alicia Guastaferro, 20, of Williamsville, is charged with criminal Impersonation, criminal possession of a controlled substance and prostitution.

At age 16, Guastaferro appeared in the reality TV series "Wife Swap," a series on the Lifetime Network that involves unhappy spouses switching families for a week.

In the episode Guastaferro appeared in, viewers learned the teenage beauty queen received a Christmas present from her parents every single day.

Doyle has made several statements to the media, including WHAM 13, denying all of the charges. He described Guastaferro as a family friend.

State Police conducted a DWI checkpoint Saturday evening on Route 5 in the Town of Pembroke.

Six people were arrested:

• Mark A. Newton, 42, of Batavia, charged with DWI
• Edith S. Williams, 48, of Buffalo, charged with possession of a controlled substance, 7th
• Christopher W. Palmer, 40, of Akron, charged with DWAI
• Armand Cummer, 54, of Amherst, charged with felony DWI
• Frederick E. Perry, 31, of Corfu, charged with DWI
• Nathan C. Swimline, 25, of Corfu, charged with DWI

A dirt-bike accident is reported 1858 Main Road in Pembroke. The location is between Boyce and Cleveland roads. A rider is down and has trouble breathing. Mercy Flight out of Buffalo is flying to the scene, described as way off the roadway, on or near the railroad bed.

UPDATE 3:13 p.m.: East Pembroke Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. The fire crews will use four-wheelers to access the site and set up the landing zone.

UPDATE 3:17 p.m.: There are two victims. One is a 15-year-old girl being taken to UMMC by Mercy medics. She has a right eye injury. The landing zone is set and the bird is three minutes out. The other patient is a male who is conscious but has a head injury.

UPDATE 3:22 p.m.: Mercy Flight will be transporting to Erie County Medical Center.

UPDATE 3:26 p.m.: Mercy Flight landed two minutes ago.

UPDATE 3:37 p.m.: Mercy Flight is headed to ECMC.

UPDATE 3:42 p.m.: East Pembroke is back in service.

A convicted criminal in Pembroke was allegedly found in possession of four handguns during the execution of a search warrant at his residence Wednesday.

Members of Local Drug Enforcement Task Force were assisting Batavia PD detectives with the search at a home on Allegheny Road when the guns were allegedly found.

The original reason for the search warrant or why it was a Batavia PD case was not released.

Charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, a Class D felony, is 59-year-old Frederick J. Hensel Jr.

Hensel has a prior criminal conviction, according to the Sheriff's Office, and did not have pistol permit.

Hensel was arraigned in Darien Town Court and jailed on $25,000 bail.

UPDATE Thursday 3:15 p.m. (by Billie): Good news -- "Pharoah," the orange tabby, has a new home with lots of love and attention and goods things just for him. He's a special boy who will surely bring special joy!

A week or so ago, Shawn Szczygiel, of Pembroke, went to a location -- we won't say where to protect the possibly innocent -- and spotted an orange tabby cat that needed a home.

A few days later, Szczygiel decided to see if the cat was still available, according to his girlfriend Sara Thayer, and discovered somehow, the cat's tail had been cut in half.

A person in a position to observe the cat told Szczygiel, "I think someone has been abusing him."

He took the cat home and he and Thayer took the cat to a vet. What the vet discovered horrified the couple.

The cat's tail was infected, but worse, the cat had been shot with BBs.

"She also mentioned that he would need X-rays -- she said it felt like he had been kicked and he might have kidney damage from it," Thayer said.

In the short time, Szczygiel and Thayer had the cat, Thayer said they fell in love with it. Like a typical orange tabby, it is friendly and loving and demands constant petting.

"She gave my boyfriend and I an estimate of the care the cat would need," Thayer said. "Unfortunately, due to financial difficulties, there was no way for us to afford it. It was heartbreaking for us to agree to this option, but the vet offered to keep it there and do the surgeries and try to find him a good home. So I signed him over, with tears in my eyes."

In signing the cat over, Thayer had to agree that the cat cold be euthanized if no home is found for it.

She's hoping somebody will see this article and agree to adopt "Pharoah."

"I would be heartbroken to find out if he did have to get put down," Thayer said.  "He was so, so, so sweet and just a beautiful cat. If I had any way at ALL to pay for the surgery, I would have kept him in a heartbeat."

Thayer is also concerned that a case of animal cruelty happened so close to home.

"I also want people to be aware of what happened here," Thayer said. "It's sickening. This cat was an angel, and according to the vet only 8 to 12 months old. I am praying that he is given to a good home and that this raises awareness of animal cruelty. He wasn't found in a city like Rochester or anything. This happened right here in Pembroke, where it's quiet and calm, seemingly."

"You never really think that cancer could reach your child," Jamie Wasieleski said.

For her, it's become more than just a thought. It's become a reality. Her son, 18-year-old Austin Heinemen, was recently diagnosed with it.

A 2012 graduate of Pembroke, he has always been a healthy kid, into sports, dirt-biking and active all year round, and was unexpectedly diagnosed with a desmoplastic small round cell tumor also known as DSRCT.

It's a rare form of childhood cancer that predominantly strikes boys and young adults. DSRCT is a soft-tissue sarcoma that is aggressive and primarily develops in the abdomen.

Treatment for DSRCT is extensive.

"He has been through six intensive chemotherapy sessions that last four days every three weeks," Wasieleski told us. "The chemo kills everything, good and bad, so between chemo sessions he's at Roswell with anything from a cut on the finger, which leads to a pretty nasty infection, to pneumonia."

On the bright side, the chemo has made a difference and as a result of the PET and CAT scans, the tumors are shrinking.

Currently, Austin is waiting for his mother's health insurance to approve him to undergo surgery in New York City. He will have the tumors removed, and then will go through a 28 day stem cell trial. Following that, he will head to Washington, D.C., for another bone marrow trial.

"His father, myself and his three sisters have tested to see if we are a match and (we are) awaiting results," Wasieleski said. "If we are not, we will be looking for matches elsewhere."

The community support has been outpouring for Austin and he's got a whole army behind him fighting the battle.

" 'Austin's Army' was created to show Austin community support and how many people care about him," Wasieleski said. "At a time like this, community support is huge."

"All the help and support by the community is awesome and well deserving for him," says long-time friend Wyatt Chittenden. "With his recent diagnosis of cancer, it was heartfelt by everyone close to Austin because everyone knows how great of a person Heineman is. He always can put a smile on your face and give you a good laugh as well as always being there for people."

Austin's Army has done many fundraisers to help including a chicken barbecue, benefit gathering, piercing drive, and most recently a Facebook promotion at City Slickers.

Anyone interested, may join the army by making a donation to Austin and Austin's Army, through the Five Star Bank in Batavia.

Photo: Austin at one of his benefits with friend Kaela McMartin, who is one of the many members of Austin's Army.