batavia

Out on Creek Road is a long, tall structure the folks at WBTA affectionally call "the stick." It's where the over-the-air signal for the 73-year-old AM radio station is transmitted. Today, in our 28-degree weather, a crew installed a new FM antenna that will enable you to hear "one of America's two great radio stations" at 100.1 FM. WBTA (1490-AM) will start simulcasting on both frequencies Feb. 6. The station first went on the air Feb. 6, 1941.

Ramon E. Esparza, 25, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny, obstructing governmental administration, 2nd, and criminal mischief. Esparza is accused of stealing a purse while at a local restaurant. The call came in at 10:52 p.m., Friday. When police arrived and located Esparza, he allegedly failed to comply with an officer's instructions. There was allegedly a brief physical struggle before Esparza was taken into custody by Officer Marc Lawrence. Esparza was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Sade A. Poole, 22, of West Avenue, Medina, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Poole allegedly struck an employee of a local bar. The call came in at 1:16 a.m., Saturday.

William B. Coley, 44, of Frisbee Terrace, Holley, is charged with petit larceny. Coley is accused of stealing $764 from a misplaced wallet at a location on Park Road, Batavia, on Nov. 5. 

Dustin V. Gothard, 26, of Wolcottsville Road, Akron, is charged with petit larceny and unlawful possession of marijuana. Gothard allegedly stole a bottle of cough medication from Tops Market. Upon his arrest, he was allegedly found in possession of marijuana.

Kayleigh Jean Allen, 22, of North Byron Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and failure to signal a turn. Allen was stopped at 2:57 a.m. Dec. 21 on North Byron Road, Elba, by Deputy Eric Seppala.

Jason Scott Stanley, 22, of Judge Road, Basom, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Stanley was stopped at 11:40 p.m., Friday, on Batavia Oakfield Townline Road by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Michele Lynn Buccinna, 46, of Alleghany Road, Basom, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and two counts of speeding (77 in a 45-mph zone and 52 in a 30-mph zone). Buccinna was stopped at 1:45 a.m. Saturday on Pearl Street, Oakfield, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Antonio Lee Escobar, 19, of 156 Woodside Court, Holley, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Escobar was allegedly found in possession of marijuana after a traffic stop on a suspicious condition complaint at 10:30 p.m. Dec. 21 by Deputy Christopher Erion.

Todd Wilbur Ellinwood, 54, of South Union Street, Rochester, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, unlawful possession of marijuana, unregistered motor vehicle, uninspected motor vehicle and failure to signal. Ellinwood was stopped at 8:11 p.m. Saturday on Rochester Street, Bergen, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Martha Ruth Thorn, 34, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and lights not meeting standards. Thorn was stopped at 2:49 a.m. Sunday on Main Road, Stafford, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Karen's Yarn, Paper, Scissors, at 39 Jackson St., Batavia, won this year's window decorating contest sponsored by the Business Improvement District. The business receives a $250 cash prize.

Second place was WBTA, 113 Main St., and The Insurance Center, 50 Main St.

The judges were impressed not only with the creativity of Karen's display, but the use of paper, which is, of course, related to her business.

Here's one of the snowy owls out at the airport in a photo by Dylan Brew, of Schoen Productions.

As they have done for who knows how many years -- the couple of guys I talked to didn't seem to know -- a group of friends met in Williams Park this morning for their annual Boxing Day street hockey match.

Eric N. Ayers, 30, of Covington Street, Perry, is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 4th, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th. Ayers is accused of selling buprenorphine (suboxone) to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force in October in the City of Batavia. Ayers was arraigned and jailed without bail.

Adam W. McGill, 36, of Oak Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. McGill was stopped at 1:37 a.m. Saturday on Cedar Street, Batavia, by Officer Devon Pahuta. 

Tiffany A. Reed, 20, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Reed allegedly sent a threatening message to another person through Facebook.

Anthony P. Dibble is indicted on counts of reckless assault of a child and assault in the second degree. Dibble is accused of causing a serious physical injury to the brain of a child less than 5 years old by shaking the child or slamming or throwing the child so as to impact the child's head on a hard surface or object. He is accused of intending to cause physical injury to a person under 7 years of age and caused such an injury by biting the person. The alleged crimes were reported Aug. 11 in the Town of Bethany.

Carrie A. Stewart is indicted on counts of burglary in the third degree, petit larceny and criminal contempt in the second degree. Stewart is accused of entering Walmart on Sept. 14 with the intent of committing a crime inside the building. Once inside Walmart, Stewart allegedly stole party supplies, books, dolls, toys, an Easy Bake Oven and a karaoke machine. She allegedly violated a court order that required her to stay away from a person at Walmart.

Robert J. Propst is indicted on counts of robbery in the first degree, two counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. On Aug. 6, Propst allegedly use force to steal property from a victim on Pearl Street, Batavia, while wielding a knife. He's accused of stealing property from the person, including a Visa credit card.

Batavia's Dominick Mogavero and Le Roy's Mike McMullen have both been named to the All-Greater Rochester Football Team for 2014.

McMullen was listed on the team as a quarterback and utility player. Mogavero, who played running back and linebacker for the Blue Devils, was named as a linebacker.

Greg Mruczek and Anthony Gallo, from Batavia, were named to the second team.

Honorable mentions went to:

On a dreary Tuesday afternoon, a reporter and an off-duty deputy, both a little jaded and cynical after years on the job, run into each other in the Target parking lot and pause to visit.

The conversation soon turns to an old, gray school bus with a spray-painted sign hanging from one side. "Tire Needed," it reads.

"Scam," one tells the other.

"Certainly," the other replies.

"You see it all the time," one says. "They'll go from town-to-town with their story and try and take advantage of people."

"They're after all of those Christmas shoppers," says the other.

On Christmas even morn, Tig and Jesus have moved their bus to the Walmart parking lot and begin to worry they won't be leaving. 

Over the previous 24 hours, three people had stopped and said they had bus tires to spare. None returned.

One person stopped and gave them $10, which would prompt Tig to later remark, "If we're running a scam, we're not very good at it."

Jesus told Tig, "We're stuck."

Tig said, "no, it's Christmas Eve. We'll have a Christmas Eve miracle."

The deputy, working an afternoon shift on the day before Christmas, happened by the Walmart parking lot and saw the bus, with its sign and decided to stop and roust the occupants.

"What's the scam?" he asks.

"No scam," Tig tells him. He shows him the tire. They chat and the deputy peppers the men with questions.

"Wait here," he tells them, and he returns to his patrol vehicle and gets on his phone.

In a bit, he comes back and tells them help is on the way. He called a local repair shop, Parmenter Tire, and it turned out Parmenter had an extra, used bus tire and a staff member available to make the change.

Jim McDonald from Parmenter showed up an hour later and made the swap.

The tire is worth at least $300. The off-hour service call would typically be at least $300. Tig and Jesus (pronounced (hay-zeus) were asked to pay nothing.

"See," said Tig, "I told you there would be a miracle."

Jeffrey L. Deats, the Batavia resident charged with the death of 6-month-old Chandler Zuchs, is showing no brain activity, according to a letter from District Attorney Lawrence Friedman asking that Deats be released from custody on his own recognizance.

The letter was filed with City Court this morning.

Friedman states that Bill Zipfel, superintendent of the Genesee County Jail, informed him that a doctor at ECMC contacted the jail following a CAT scan on Deats and found there is no brain activity in the patient.

Deats is not expected to survive.

"Zipfel also told me that guarding the defendant 24/7 is creating a terrible burden on his staff and he requested that they be relieved of their duty and the defendant be released on his own recognizance," Friedman wrote.

A felony hearing scheduled for this morning in City Court was cancelled.

Deats was arrested Wednesday following an investigation into the death the previous weekend of Baby Chandler.

Over the weekend, Deats was found hanging in his cell by bedsheets. CPR was performed and he was taken to UMMC and later transfered to ECMC.

For previous coverage of the case, click here.

Batavia's dominance of the Lion's Club Tournament at GCC came to a shocking end Tuesday night as the Blue Devils dropped an opening-round match to University Prep 59-55.

Head Coach Buddy Brasky was pretty blunt after the game. "We didn't execute our principles," he said.

U-Prep showed up with a team more skilled and more disciplined than seen in the tournament last year.

The team from the all-boys charter school in Rochester will face Notre Dame in Monday's final after the Fighting Irish crushed Albion, 74-60.

The Blue Devils win streak in the tournament goes back at least 10 years and has traditionally been the team to beat since its first tournament win 1989. The tournament was founded in 1982.

Batavia jumped to a quick lead to open the game and stayed just a step of ahead of the Griffins throughout much of the first half, only slipping until the final minute before the intermission to a point off the lead, 26-25.

The defensive game plan of Batavia is to hold teams to 13 or fewer points per quarter, and in the third, the Blue Devils did that, but only managed 12 points themselves.

In the final eight minutes, however, U-Prep scored 20 and Batavia's 18 wasn't enough of an answer.

"We didn't execute our principles, really, on either side of the ball as the game went on," Brasky said. "It was pretty disappointing. We had some good practices leading up to the game, but we didn't execute our fundamental principles."

Jeff Redband drained four threes and led the Blue Devils in scoring with 24 points. Jerrett Laskett and Greg Mruczek, who hit a trio of treys, including two in the closing minutes, each had 11.

For U-Prep, Jeenathan Williams scored 19 and Isaiah Brinkley and Cameron Myles had 12 apiece.

If the problem for Batavia (now 2-2) was a problem of execution, the opposite was true for Notre Dame in the nightcap.

Head Coach Mike Rapone said after the game that he's finally starting to see his team gel.

"You could see it a little bit in the second half at Attica," Rapone said. "I could see we were headed in the right direction. The first game we were OK. Oakfield, we were not good at all. With Attica I thought they are finally starting to understand.

"People don't understand it's all about understanding not only your role, but when to be in a spot and knowing that Josh is going to be here or Casey is going to be here and you've got to get there. It takes a while to get that belief. Tonight, I thought we had it."

Josh Johnson led the Irish with 27 points, all but five of those points coming in the first half when Johnson was clearly the dominant presence on the floor.

"He was getting to right spots and we were getting him the ball," Rapone said. "That's the whole combination right there. People have got to get to the spots and then we've got to find them."

Tyler Prospero came off the bench early in the game and scored 15 points, including hitting three shots from beyond the arc.

"He gave us a lift," Rapone said. "He's a good perimeter shooter.

"That's one of our strengths," he added, "our depth, our ability to run people into the game who can help us."

Looking ahead to Monday's final, Rapone knows U-Prep will present a tough challenge.

"We can't play at that frenetic pace," Rapone said. "If we play like that, it's going to be over early.  We're going to have to control the tempo, get some good shots and we've got to rebound a heck of a lot better than we did tonight."

The consolation game between Batavia and Albion is at 6:30 with the championship game to follow.

To purchase prints, click here.

New Batavia Volleyball League starting up. Seeking Intermediate Co-ed teams for the winter session starting Thursday nights January 22nd thru March 26th. Team sign-up packets available at T-Shirts Etc. 111 Main St. Batavia. Get your team in!! Contact Beth or Brian Kemp for more info: 345-1993.

Andrea M. Gray, 36, of Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, criminal mischief, 4th, criminal tampering, 3rd, coercion, 1st, and obstruction of governmental administration. During an incident first reported at 2:12 a.m. Saturday at a residence on Maple Street, Gray allegedly tore the shirt of a roommate during a fight. She then allegedly attempted to interfere with the arrest of a person accused of violating a court order by having contact with her. She allegedly attempted to coerce police officers to release the suspect by threatening to harm herself if he was not released. Gray was jailed without bail. Gray was also charged with petit larceny for allegedly taking the mobile phone of a roommate Friday and not returning it.

Russell R. Miles Jr., 46, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st. Miles was arrested following an investigation into a disturbance reported at 2:12 a.m. Saturday on Maple Street, Batavia. Miles has a previous criminal contempt conviction within the past five years. He was ordered held without bail.

Jeremiah J. Cieszynski, 27, of Warsaw, and Sally M. Sims, 24, of Warsaw, are charged with petit larceny. Cieszynski and Sims are accused of stealing clothing and sneakers valued at $125 from Kmart.

Bashard L. Joiner, 21, of Rochester, is charged with two counts of criminal trespass, 3rd. Joiner received a suspension letter from GCC on Oct. 9 and told he was not permitted on campus property. During November, Joiner was allegedly spotted several times at College Village by safety officers and video surveillance. On Dec. 10, Joiner was located in the cafeteria on campus and placed under arrest by State Police. He was jailed on $300 bail or $600 bond.

Jeannette Kathleen Moore, 44, of West Avenue, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny. Moore is accused of stealing from Kmart while employed at the store.

Katie R. Wishman, 29, of Osterhout Avenue, Batavia, is charged with assault, 2nd, criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Wishman allegedly hit another family member in the face with a mug causing an injury. This act was allegedly committed in the presence of a 3-year-old child. During the investigation, police allegedly found heroin and needles. Wishman was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Kelly A. Hasenauer, 50, of Webster Street, Batavia, is charged with falsifying business records. Hasenauer allegedly signed a fake name to a business record at UMMC's ER in an attempt to defraud.

Linda L. Snyder, 32, of Central Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Snyder allegedly threatened to fight another person at 5 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Richmond Memorial Library.

Debra Elizabeth Webster, 46, of Route 20A, Warsaw, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or higher, unlawful possession of marijuana, speeding and failure to signal. Webster was stopped at 12:23 a.m.  Friday on Noonan Drive, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

William James Johnson, 41, of Alleghany Road, Corfu, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, speeding and failure to keep right. Johnson was allegedly involved in an accident at 9:22 p.m. Saturday on Route 5, Pembroke, which was investigated by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Matthew Alan Hoye, 23, of Woodcrest Drive, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Hoye was arrested following a check of a roadside vehicle at 12:26 a.m., Saturday.

Peter James Curts, 25, of Main Street, Caledonia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and failure to stop at a stop sign. Curts was stopped at 11 p.m. Thursday on Parmalee Road, Le Roy, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Brett W. Short, 28, of Le Roy, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Short was charged by State Police following a traffic stop Friday morning in Batavia.

Arthur Robinson, 60, of Raleigh, NC, is charged with DWI in a commercial vehicle and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Robinson was stopped at 10 a.m. Sunday by State Police on Clinton Street Road, Stafford.

Following a search of a residence on Summit Street yesterday, a 29-year-old Batavia resident was arrested and accused of dealing drugs.

The residence at 136 Summit St., Batavia, was searched pursuant to a warrant related to an investigation by Albion PD into a series of thefts in that community.

Arrested by the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force was Philip R. Ayala. He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 4th, and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Criminal possession, 3rd, is charged when prosecutors believe the suspect possessed narcotics with the intent to sell the drugs.

Authorities say they recovered a quantity of crack cocaine and marijuana.

The search also yielded several items that were allegedly stolen from the Albion area.

Ayala was jailed on no bail.

The investigation is continuing and additional charges are pending.

In a statement yesterday, Albion Police Chief Roland D. Nenni III said additional arrests were expected.

Batavia PD and the Emergency Response Team assisted in the search.

These two vehicles were involved in an overnight accident on Prospect Avenue, Batavia, according to the reader who provided the pictures. The white Honda Civic was parked and the red Mercedes struck the car head-on. The driver fled. At the time the photos were sent to us early this morning, the driver was still at large. We've been unable so far this morning to obtain additional information.

UPDATE: Police say officers have yet to make contact with the driver; however, police believe they know who the driver was and charges are pending.

Press release:

As part of a 4-H club community service project, the 4-H Rustic Riders horse club members chose to donate much needed items to the Genesee County Animal Shelter instead of exchanging gifts at their holiday club meeting on Tuesday December 16th at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County.  Community service is a key component of our 4-H Youth Development Program, and provides a great opportunity for young people to give back to Genesee County.

The Rustic Riders horse club along with the Mystic Riders horse club also participated in holiday bell ringing for the Salvation Army on Saturday, December 13th at Tractor Supply in Batavia.

Genesee County 4-H is a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension that is an employer and educator recognized for valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities and provides equal program and employment opportunities.  For more information about the 4-H Youth Development Program visit: http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/4-h-youth-development.

Former local DJ Macy Paradise is returning home to perform at T.F. Brown's on Dec. 29 in a show intended to bring in donations to Genesee County's CASA (Court-Appointed Advocates Special Advocates) program.

"I'm a father first and the news of Chandler's death hit me extremely hard," Paradise said. "Unfortunately, I was a coworker of Jeff Deats at Tompkins Metal about 10 years ago so this story was extremely difficult for me as it was many others. I decided it was best to donate to CASA to hopefully prevent losing another innocent child to violence."

Paradise now lives in Fort Collins, Colo., and returns to Batavia twice a year to perform at either T.F. Brown's or City Slickers.

Showtime is 9 p.m., Friday.

Today staff from the Attica Correctional Facility made a $5,000 donation to the Men's and Women's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Residential Program at the Batava VA Center.

Photo and info provided by the VA.