The Batavia Muckdogs, Class A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, have announced their schedule for the 2014 season. Batavia will open the 2014 season Friday, June 13, when the Auburn Doubledays host the Muckdogs at Falcon Park. Batavia opens its home schedule Saturday, June 14 when they entertain Auburn at 7:05 p.m.

The Muckdogs will host their annual Independence Day celebration on July 3 this year, as they are not home on July 4th. In addition to their Pinckney Division rivals, the Muckdogs will welcome the New York Yankees (Staten Island), Boston Red Sox (Lowell), New York Mets (Brooklyn) and the Detroit Tigers (Connecticut) farm teams to Dwyer Stadium in 2014.

Here is a month-by-month and day-by-day breakdown of Batavia’s 2014 home schedule:

Month    Home Games      Day      Home Games

June       8                         Sunday           7

July        16                       Monday           7

August    14                      Tuesday          4

                                          Wednesday    4

                                         Thursday        4

                                          Friday             6

                                         Saturday         6
    
Ticket packages, coupon books and season tickets for the 2014 season will go on sale beginning Nov. 1. They can be purchased by calling 343-5454 or in person at Dwyer Stadium, Monday thru Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For a complete schedule, visit www.muckdogs.com

Press release:

Today, cell phone distracted driving survivor advocate Jacy Good spoke at Elba High School to help students understand the consequences of using cell phones behind the wheel.

In May 2008, on the day she graduated from college, a driver distracted by his cell phone conversation ran a red light and caused a crash that killed both of Good’s parents and left her clinging to life.

“Jacy’s story is powerful and moves both students and faculty,” said Chris Salinas, principal at Elba. “It is especially important for teens to hear Jacy’s message. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and using cell phones increases crash risk. Jacy’s story helps students understand that they will be safer if they disconnect while driving.”

“My college graduation day should have been a time to celebrate,” Good said. “Instead, my entire world was shattered because of an unnecessary cell phone call. People need to understand the dangers of using a cell phone ­– handheld or hands free – while driving. Lives are at risk and poor decisions can have lifelong consequences.”

After the loss of her parents, Good joined FocusDriven – Advocates for Cell-Free Driving. FocusDriven is a survivor advocate network that supports cell phone distracted driving victims and their families. Individuals and families educate the public by sharing their personal stories. The New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee works with FocusDriven to provide Good’s presentations in schools across the state.

Those interested in having Good speak at their school should e-mail srotoolkit@dmv.ny.gov <mailto:srotoolkit@dmv.ny.gov>

Additional traffic safety information can be found at: www.safeny.ny.gov/SRO-Toolkit <http://www.safeny.ny.gov/SRO-Toolkit>

In their first competition of the year, the Batavia HS varsity cheerleading team took second place at the Brockport Spirit Fest over the weekend. Kayle Corp placed third in the individual competition. The sectional competition is Oct. 26. (Photo and information submitted by Justine Bonarigo.)

The Fiscal Times: Why a Work-Free Retirement Has Become a Myth

A season's worth of preserves along with 10 bushels of apples bought just today for canning were destroyed tonight at the Swendsen home on Akron Road, Pembroke, when a Mercury Mountaineer came roaring up the driveway of the farm and plowed through the family's dining room.

The son of Peter and Lynette Swendsen was just feet away frying up some eggs.

Lynette thanked God over and over as she talked  about the accident.

She was thankful that nobody was hurt or killed in the accident -- not her son who was minutes away from sitting at the dining room table turned into splinters by the SUV, not herself who was in the house on the phone with her mother-in-law, not her husband who was standing feet from the gravel driveway when the vehicle went rushing by, and not her younger son, who was helping bring in cows that were panicked by the loud boom of the car smashing into the house.

Even the driver, reported to be Jason M. Purdy, 34, of Tesnow Road, Alabama, suffered only minor injuries.

"I do all of my own canning and preserves," Lynette said. "We have six children, so I do all of that myself. All of our jelly was done for the year.

"It sounds crazy to be upset about it," she added, "but that kid hit that stove in our kitchen and it must weigh 1,500 pounds -- you just can't imagine  -- that alone could have killed him. It's just unbelievable he didn't die."

Everybody was lucky, said Sgt. John Szumigala, of the Sheriff's Office.

"There was nobody in the room that was completely demolished by the car," Szumigala said. "There were people close to it, but nobody in it. And nobody was in his path coming down the driveway, so everybody was very lucky."

Peter Swendsen said it looked like the SUV was doing 100 mph down his driveway.

Both Peter and Lynette described the car hitting the house as an explosion.

"It was like something you never heard in your life," Lynette said.

The vehicle came to rest on a tree stump in the back yard, with the front wheels off the ground.

"He was still trying to go," Peter said. "He still had his foot on the gas pedal."

Peter helped him get out of the Mountaineer and when the driver, according to Peter, tried to run, Peter said he "grabbed him by the shoulders and sat him to the ground."

When Lynette came out of the house, Peter was yelling at her to call 9-1-1.

"I still had the phone in my hand from my mother-in-law," Lynette said. "I was just frantic with the lady on the phone because I didn't know if anybody was hurt. I didn't even know what happened."

The red preserves splattered against the outside wall of the house gave some of the first responders quite a start when they arrived on the scene, but they soon realized it was just jelly.

Purdy was transported to ECMC by Mercy EMS with minor injuries.

He's believed to be the same person who was reported as a possibly intoxicated driver on Akron Road prior to the accident. When a patrol arrived, the vehicle couldn't be located. A short time later, a vehicle reportedly hit a road sign on Akron Road, and then minutes later, at 7:07 p.m., the call came into emergency dispatch for a car hitting a house at 721 Akron Road.

Purdy was not the owner of the SUV. About an hour after the accident, a young woman showed up at the scene in tears. She said it was her vehicle that hit the house.

The initial investigation indicates, Szumigala said, that Purdy had permission to drive the vehicle, but he did not necessarily have permission to have taken the vehicle for as long as he appears to have taken it. 

The Swendsen's home on their organic dairy farm is situated down a long driveway -- well more than 100 yards long -- off Akron Road at a T-intersection with Marble Road. Szumigala said it appears Purdy was heading north on Marble Road and just continued straight across Akron Road into the driveway.

Peter said Purdy kept asking if he was on Akron Road after he was out of the SUV.

The incident remains under investigation and Purdy has not yet been charged with any crimes.

Lynette said Purdy said he was sorry, before he was taken away by Mercy EMS, for hitting her house. She said she was just glad he wasn't seriously hurt.

Responding to the scene were volunteer firefighters from Pembroke, East Pembroke Corfu and Darien. The accident is being investigated by deputies Kevin McCarthy and Patrick Reeves and Sgt. Szumigala and Investigator Roger Stone.

A car is on its roof in a ditch off Pike Road, Batavia, but the driver is out, walking around and not injured.

Town of Batavia fire is on scene along with law enforcement.

The accident is in the area of 3711 Pike Road.

UPDATE 9:42 p.m.: Town of Batavia fire back in service.

A minor-injury accident is reported at Gulf and Church roads in the Town of Le Roy. Law enforcement is en route. Le Roy Fire Department is on scene.

UPDATE 8:20 p.m.: The Le Roy assignment is back in service.

Two nearly simultaneous car accidents require the response of both the Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments, along with Corfu and mutual aid from Darien.

At 7:07 p.m. a car-into-house accident, with injuries, was reported at 721 Akron Road. The side porch was "completely taken out and there is substantial damage to the vehicle," according to a responder.

This may connected to a just-prior accident at 878 Gabbey Road where a car reportedly went off the road and there are injuries. The pickup truck involved is said to have fled the scene.

A responder said he was nearly hit head on by the pickup truck believed to be the same one which left the Gabbey Road incident.

Darien Fire Department is requested to aid in shoring up the residence that was struck on Akron Road, wherein one person suffered a hand laceration.

7:35 p.m.: One person is being loaded into a Mercy rig for hospital transport. The natural gas fuel provider is called to the scene since the house that was struck had its gas on at the time of impact.

7:55 p.m.: One person was taken to ECMC. National Grid was also called to the scene.

Taikoza, a group of musicians playing traditional Japanese music, with an emphasis on large drums, performed in GCC's Forum today as part of an "Experience Japan" program this quarter at the college.

Besides the music today, students and faculty could enjoy a lunch of sushi.

GCC attracts international students every year and this year, like previous years, there are a number of Japanese attending the college.

To the untrained eye, the 11 objects found in Darien last week look just like a handful of rocks, but archeologists have determined they are prehistoric artifacts. They're also a wrinkle in the county's plan to build a 21st Century emergency communications system.

The artifacts were found at the site of a planned communications tower near the Darien Fire Hall.

The county's contractor hired an Atlanta-based archeological firm to do a test dig on the site, which uncovered the artifacts.

The artifacts have not been dated nor their origin determined. They're just obviously very, very old.

Contrary to rumor, Undersheriff William Sheron said, the site is not an "Indian burial ground."

A report has been sent to the state's Office of Archeology and the county expects to receive instructions on what to do next.

Sheron noted that when Tops built a new distribution center off Genesee Street, an Indian burial ground was found and the project was delayed six months so the remains and artifacts could be properly secured.

In other words, Sheron said, the artifacts found in Darien do not necessarily mean the site can't be used for a communications tower.

The county is building three new towers as part of the $10.8 million communications upgrade project. While the county must complete phase one of the project -- under a federal mandate -- by February, the towers are all planned for phase two of the project, which isn't scheduled for completion until next summer. 

While the Sheriff's Office would like to stay on schedule, Sheron said officials recognize the find in Darien could delay construction of that tower.

"We hope it doesn't get delayed, but if there are issues that need to be addressed, we'll address them and meet whatever requirements we need to meet," Sheron said. "If it becomes cost prohibitive, we'll look for another site."

Previously:

• Sheriff's Office receives $5.4 million grant for radio system upgrade
• Grants and bond will pay for $10.8 million upgrade to emergency communications system
• It turns out, nobody currently makes scanners for the county's new emergency radio system

A two-vehicle accident with minor injuries is reported in front of Wendy's restaurant on West Main Street. City police, fire and Mercy medics are on scene.

UPDATE 12:35 p.m.: Mercy medics transported a 46-year-old female to UMMC. She complains of lower abdominal pain. Responders are back in service.

With the encouragement of friends, her father, as well as her fiancée, Lisa Vokes decided start her own business and recently opened House of Kolor at 218 W.Main St., Batavia.

Her own full-service tattoo and piercing job shop seemed like the logical next step in her career, she said.

"I had reached a plateau and I wanted to branch out on my own," she said while creating a cover-up tattoo on the back of Brad Strzelecki.

Vokes worked locally for six years before deciding to strike out on her own, but her father was encouraging her to apply her artistic talent in body art for years before she took up the craft.

"Ever since I was young, my dad wanted me to be a tattoo artist," Vokes said. "He used to tell me he would buy me my own kit and we could sit at the kitchen table and I could tattoo him all day if I wanted to."

Vokes never took Pops up on the offer, but after she finished school, she deciding becoming a tattoo artist would be a good career choice.

"My father couldn't be prouder of me now," Vokes said.

As a young artist she loved drawing dog portraits and that quickly became one of her specialties in body art as well.

Creating meaningful tattoos for people is gratifying, Vokes said.

"It's amazing the connections you make and the people you get to meet," Vokes said.
"It's unreal.

"I love doing tattoos for people when they have meaning," Vokes added. "I've had several people who I've done memorial pieces for and they've actually gotten up and been in tears and given me a hug and said thank you. It's a great thing. People really appreciate it when you do things for them that have meaning. It's awesome."

Vokes said she's grown a lot over the past few years as a tattoo artists and appreciates the chance to do good work for people, especially when given the chance to do something unique, one-of-a-kind.

"Honestly, I really like to freehand on people now," Vokes said. "I don't like using the stencils anymore, so it's more like my art and it's going on their body forever. It's a special thing."

Vokes thinks it's important that no matter where somebody goes for ink, they make sure they like the artist, both as a person and their style, and that the parlor is following proper and safe procedures.

"It's important to find artists you like and are comfortable with and that you look at their portfolio and like their style," Vokes said. "If you're not comfortable with somebody, it's not worth going to them.

"It's going on your body for life and you want to make sure they're doing the right job," she added.

Vokes with her fiancée and business partner, D.J. Snyder.

Roger L. LaShure Sr., 46, of 3322 W. Main Road, #51, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, acting in manner injurious to a child less than 17 and harassment, 2nd. LaShure allegedly slapped a child in the face. There is reportedly an order of protection in place barring LaShure from having contact with the child.

Troy D. Schimley, 20, of 144 Main St., Attica, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Schimley is accused of sending threatening text messages to a family member in Batavia.

New York Times: Op-Ed by Joe Norcera

City fire responded to Liberty Street for a transformer arcing and National Grid has been called to the scene.

Until it's repaired, Liberty Street between Ellicott and School streets is closed.

Here's some shots from a late afternoon drive through East Pembroke, Indian Falls and Pembroke.

Above, on Stegman Road, Batavia.

Pratt Road

Little Indian Falls Road

Indian Falls Lake

Slusser Road

They called him the Bellevue Bomber because he had "one of the most devastating lefts" seen in Schenectady in a long time, but alas, in a 1947 bout billed as the "fight of the year" in Schenectady, Mike Sallee fell to Tony Barone in a five-round decision.

"Hard-hitting Barone, who was the aggressor throughout, hit Sallee almost at will and came close to ending the scrap in the first round," according to a newspaper account of the match.

Sallee -- who had notched 38 KOs as an amateur prior to meeting Barone -- began his boxing career with the Batavia Boxing Club as Micheal Saquella.

The boxer's son, Alan, came across our series on local boxers and sent us information about Sallee.

Alan doesn't know why his father fought under the name Sallee (pictured left above with two unidentified men), but he had a pretty good record. As an amateur going into the Barone fight, he had been in the ring 55 times with 44 wins. Beyond that, there isn't much available his fighting history that we can find. He's listed as club member #35 in Butch Zito's write-up on the Batavia Boxing Club, but there's no further information on him in the book.

He appears to have transferred Schtady as some point in his boxing career and hailed as a local boxer in the Schenectady papers of the period.

The pre-fight write-ups on Sallee are glowing in their appraisal of his ring prowess, but it was also clear he was in for a tough scrap with Barone.

"With both lads packing dynamite in either fist and boasting fine records, the betting is quoted as even money," wrote an unidentified sports reporter. "Plenty of dough is expected to change hands no matter who wins as both welterweights have a lot of followers."

If you come across Batavia boxing history in your family, send clips and pictures to howard@thebatavian.com.

A suspicious condition is reported at Wolcott School in the Village of Le Roy. A person is scanning the front lawn with a metal detector. Maybe there's buried treasure in the grass. Or some lost lunch money -- it adds up you know.

Le Roy Police spoke with him. No report was taken and the police just left.

Jerry Diskin sent in this picture of the Oatka Creek in Le Roy taken from the foot bridge between Mill and Church streets.