Joel Emerson delivering mail through the snow and bitter cold on Redfield Parkway.
Joe Caruso cleaning his driveway on North Spruce.
Also on North Spruce.
Craig Thurman on State Street.
Joseph Verssagi on Union while his neighbor Buck Oltman works with his own blower in the background.
The sun was out, the storm was gone, but snow was still blowing on Main Street.
A reader submitted this photo of a school bus reportedly stuck in the snow in the traffic circle at Batavia High School.
Press release:
The Genesee County Sheriff has issued a travel advisory for all of Genesee County effective immediately and continuing until further notice. While travel in the county is not banned at this time, unnecessary travel is discouraged. Heavy, blowing and drifting snow is making roads slippery and limiting visibility. Several motor-vehicle accidents have been reported with numerous vehicles going off the road.
UPDATE: The travel advisory was lifted at 9:30 a.m.
The following players were honored for their 2014 season in the New York Sportswriters Association All-State awards.
UPDATED to include Tom Kelso. who was inadvertantly left out of the original post. Apologies to the Kelso family.
A car has reportedly hit a tree on Cole Road, Le Roy.
Injuries are reported.
Le Roy fire and Le Roy ambulance dispatched.
A car has reportedly hit a tree and there are unknown injuries at 3992 South Main Street Road, near Fairway Drive, Batavia.
Town of Batavia Fire and Alexander Fire's ambulance dispatched.
UPDATE 6:11 a.m.: Law enforcement on scene reports no injuries. Alexander's ambulance is cancelled. Town of Batavia can hold all equipment in hall.
Closing and cancellations reported to us:
E-mail closings and cancellations to howard@thebatavian.com
A reader who witnessed the accident reports a westbound tractor-trailer has jackknifed on Route 5 near Bater Road, Le Roy.
The truck hit a pole and the eastbound lane is blocked.
A trooper just arrived on scene.
UPDATE 5:58 a.m.: Le Roy fire requested to shut down traffic westbound on Route 5 at Keeney Road. Stafford fire requested to shut down traffic eastbound at Buckley Road.
UPDATE 6:44 a.m.: Traffic is reopened. Stafford and Le Roy back in service.
In a special weather statement, the National Weather Service reports a heavy lake effect snow band is moving toward the western portion of Genesee County and could drop snow at a rate of three inches per hour as far east as Batavia.
Visibility will be near zero with winds gusting to 40 mph.
"Travel will be extremely difficult or even impossible due to a combination of snowfall and strong winds," warns the weather service.
UPDATE 6:17 p.m.: A medic with Mercy EMS informs dispatchers that conditions are so bad, "we won't be doing any transports to Buffalo until further notice."
A motor-vehicle accident is reported near Judge Road and Macomber Road, Oakfield.
A medic on scene reports two minor injuries and one person trapped. A second ambulance is requested to the scene.
Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 5:40 a.m.: Alabama fire requested to the scene for traffic control.
UPDATE 5:44 a.m.: A second ambulance might not be needed. Two minor injuries. "We might be able to double stack one rig," a responder tells dispatch.
From the Thruway Authority:
Parts of the New York State Thruway in Western New York will be closed due to extreme winter weather conditions. The mainline Thruway, I-90, between Exit 46 (Henrietta) and Exit 61 (Shortman Road), as well as the Niagara Section, I-190, between I-90 and Exit 16 (I-290), will be closed to tractor-trailers at 9 tonight. Starting at midnight, these same sections will be closed to all traffic. Vehicles traveling westbound on I-90 will be detoured off the roadway at Exit 46 (Henrietta) and all eastbound traffic will be detoured off at Exit 61 (Shortman Road). All vehicles traveling south on I-190 will be detoured off at Exit 16 (I-290).
The idea of solar power for county government certainly brought a gleam to the eye of members of the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, but in the end, a proposal by Solar City didn't exactly light up their lives.
The committee voted unanimously to reject a proposal that could have saved the county more than a quarter of its $500,000 annual electricity bill.
The short-term cost savings looked good, but the long-term and potentially unknown consequences seemed daunting.
Legislator and Committee Chairman Bob Bausch worried about Solar City going bankrupt, and without some sort of bond to protect the county's financial liability, taxpayers could be left holding the bag on a nine-acre solar farm the county had no ability to maintain.
"We would have to clean up their mess," Bausch said.
County Attorney Chuck Zambito said Bausch was essentially right.
"It would be their responsibility, but if they go bankrupt, there would be no way to enforce it," Zambito said.
Legislator Maryanne Clattenburg was concerned that 20 years was too long to lock the county into technology that looks good today but may quickly become obsolete. She said she was especially concerned because the company seems so dependent on government grants, which could dry up in a few years.
"When I think of my phone 20 years ago, or I think of my computer 20 years ago -- I just think it's too long of a time to be tied into one technology," Clattenburg said.
County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens expressed concern that the state, which would help finance the project, might eventually reduce the amount of compensation the county would get for hosting the solar farm.
He also noted that the county may yet need to build a new jail and the proposed location of the farm -- nine acres off West Main Street Road, Batavia, next to County Building #2, might be a prime location for a new jail. Putting a solar farm on that land would potentially drive up the cost of a new jail if the county had to purchase nine acres elsewhere.
Solar City would get use of the nine acres to generate electricity to sell to National Grid tax free, legislators noted.
County Manager Jay Gsell said the county also looked at land at the County Airport, but found FAA regulations would prohibit any possible configuration the county could use because of glare, glide path and safety zone issues.
Hens said other companies have contacted the county about solar power and in rejecting the Solar City deal, which the county had to act on by mid-February, the county keeps its options open.
The way the county treasurer and county clerk see it, the NYS Office of Comptroller didn't do a very good job of crossing its Ts and dotting its Is when it came to issuing audit reports on their offices last month.
While the reports only raised minor bookkeeping issues and found no real evidence of mismanagement, both Scott German and Don Read told the Ways and Means Committee yesterday that they were blown over by the negative audit reports.
"Essentially, the State Comptroller's Office didn't follow normal protocol," German said. "There was no entrance interview, no exit interview, and they always give 90 days to respond and have our response in the audit, and that didn't happen either."
Read said the auditor who hit his office never clarified how certain court records were being handled, just said they weren't being handled correctly.
"Everything she complained about in the audit, we do," Read said. "They said we don't keep a record of it because we don't keep it in a book. Well, we don't keep it in a book any more. We keep it in a folder, a printout. We no longer have to write in a book, get a book out. We put it on computer. That was acceptable the last time they did a court and trust fund audit. They didn't raise any issues, but this time they found fault with it."
Like the Treasurer's Office, Read wasn't given a chance to file a written response before the audit was made public.
The treasure was knocked for not notifying the state of $507 in a trust that needed to be turned over as abandoned. German said the state has changed the rules on the time frame of such notifications in the past few years, but never communicated that change to county treasurers. The lastest printed booklet from the state, which is what German's staff was using contained the incorrect information. (There is apparently a downloadable booklet that is corrected.) He said his staff now has the corrected state booklet.
Ray Cianfrini, chairman of the Legislature, said the couple of minor complaints in the audit report were really a credit to both county offices because nothing more serious was found.
German said his office is currently in the third month of what he expects to be a year-long audit, and he's sure some discrepancy or another will be found.
"I'm sure they're going to find things," German said. "They always do, but nothing major."
From six to 10 inches of lake effect snow are possible overnight with winds blowing up to 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
A lake effect snow warning has been issued.
Snow could fall at three inches an hour.
The warning is in effect from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m.
Visibility will be near zero at times.
The weather service warns travel may become nearly impossible.
UPDATE 4:15 p.m.: Here's a weather report from our news partner, 13WHAM:
Tonight expect the gusty winds to continue with sub-zero wind chills. The actual low temperature will be near 14, but will feel much colder. Late this evening an area wide snowfall will make its way toward WNY. Snow will redevelop and bring a fresh coating of 2-3” for Rochester. South and west, through Genesee and Wyoming counties, another 3-5” are likely. For this reason, we have a lake effect snow warning in place west of Rochester for Friday.
The Friday morning commute could be a challenge as a quick burst of snow will fall producing an inch or more of accumulation. With the brutally cold temperatures and blustery conditions it’s no surprise that lake snow will continue also. Genesee and Wyoming counties will see another 3-6” of accumulation. Outside of any lake effect bands, some breaks of sunshine will be possible. Bitter cold temperatures and sub-zero wind chills will persist Friday night. Another lake effect band will move through the area and although the exact placement of this snow band is still to be determined, any area that stays within persistent lake snow could see 6-10” of additional accumulation.
Saturday morning will start out with some sunny breaks. Although the sun may be shining, conditions will still be blustery with ice-cold temperatures near 18. By afternoon 3-6” of new snowfall will accumulate south and west of Rochester, bringing snow totals between 2 and 3 feet. Continue to check back for further updates on the snowfall and upcoming storm system from the 13WHAM Weather Authority.
At least two young Elba students made threats against a teacher three weeks ago, resulting in a complaint to local law enforcement, but school officials are handling the matter internally.
Contrary to media reports elsewhere, there was no attempt to either kill or sicken the teacher. It was all talk.
Following a public records request, Sheriff Gary Maha released a police report on the closed investigation, which stemmed from a person who had heard about the incident calling police.
The report indicates that school officials have been attempting to deal with a bullying problem in a fourth-grade class, and in the course of the turmoil at least two students, possibly more, discussed spreading hand sanitizer on personal items of the class's teacher.
The teacher had made it known to her students that hand sanitizer could make her seriously ill. It's not clear that exposure could be fatal.
The students seemed to believe that the hand sanitizer could be used to kill their teacher.
The students never actually spread any hand sanitizer.
Deputy Kevin McCarthy responded to the school Dec. 18 after a complaint was made about children threatening to kill their teacher.
McCarthy interviewed officials and students at the school.
The report states that students were contradictory in their statements about the threats and who made them.
A parent was also interviewed and was concerned about the alleged threats.
School officials believed two students implicated themselves in statements and those students were reportedly disciplined.
UPDATE: Here's a statement from Jerry Piwko, superintendent of Elba Central School District:
It has been widely reported that certain fourth-grade students had been discussing a way to harm a teacher in the Elba Central School District. This event has been a shock to our community and school. The District cannot comment on the specifics of this event, including discipline, as the information is protected from disclosure under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The reports in the media and on social media do not accurately reflect the entire event.
As soon as the District was made aware of the students' discussion it called in students that were thought to have knowledge of the discussions. After the students were interviewed, the District contacted the Sheriff's Department and cooperated with the Sheriff's deputies in their investigation of the matter. The Sheriff's Department concluded that no crime had been committed and the matter was turned back over to the District. The District in turn has worked with the parents and students involved to address this issue. It is important to note that no one was injured or actually placed in harm's way.
The District does not condone any of the behaviors that have been reported and is in the process of working alongside the Sheriff's Department to use this incident as a vehicle for educating the District's students regarding appropriate behaviors.
A Town of Darien justice has been tapped to become the newest member of the Genesee County Legislature.
Michael Davis, a town justice for about five years and employee of the Upstate Niagara Milk Cooperative, will replace Annie Lawrence, who resigned to become Town of Pembroke supervisor.
County Republicans selected Davis to fill the vacant seat -- which must be filled under county law by a person from the same party as the person who left the seat -- and Wednesday, the Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously to recommend the appointment to the full legislature.
The legislative vote is expected at the start of its meeting next week and Davis would be sworn into office immediately.
Before then, Davis is expected to resign as town justice.
The committee also reappointed Lori Longhany as the Democratic Party's commissioner on the Board of Elections.
Also on Wednesday, the committee approved the hiring of Ruth Spink as director of the Office for the Aging, who will replace Pamela Whitmore. Whitmore is retiring at the end of the month.
Deer in the southeast part of Genesee County have figured out that if they hide out in the county park they are not going to get shot at, which has led to an overpopulation of deer in the park, causing problems for the county's forestry management efforts.
County officials are considering -- and the discussion is still in early stages -- allowing a limited number of hunters to hunt deer in a portion of the park during bow hunting season.
"We're still working on the actual nuts-and-bolts details of the plan," said Tim Hens, county superintendent of highways. "It hasn't even been presented to the parks advisory committee yet, but I can tell you it would be very limited in nature in terms of not being through the entire park. It would be limited to specific areas of the park to avoid obvious conflicts with bicyclists and hikers and horseback riders and everything else that goes on down there. It is a multi-use park and the safety of everybody is obviously paramount."
The County Park covers about one square mile in Bethany. It was established in 1915 as the first county park in New York. The land was purchased in 1882 in order to procure cooking and heating wood for what was then the county poorhouse. Various efforts to plant trees in the park took place over the next two decades, and by 1935 nearly 170,000 tress had been planted.
The deer hunting plan is being drafted by an ad-hoc committee comprised of the parks supervisor, affiliated agencies like the Department of Environmental Conservation, wildlife and forestry experts, and members of the Genesee County Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee.
The plan would be presented to the advisory committee when completed and if the committee approves it, it would still need approval by the County Legislature.
"Speaking in very general terms, the initial concept calls for a fee-based lottery draw for hunters who will have access to limited regions within the park for limited period of time during regular bow season," Hens said. "Hunting will be bow-only. Focus will be on deer management and there will be an initial emphasis with disabled vets and youth hunts."
The hunt would likely take place for more than one season, Hens said, but whether it became a perpetual event would depend on how successful it was at knocking down the deer population in the park. Letchworth, which is significantly larger, has an annual deer hunt for the same reason, but since the county park is smaller, an annual hunt may not be necessary.
Hens said the ad-hoc committee is interested in community feedback on the proposal and there will be a public information meeting on the plan before it is presented to the Legislature.
A working chimney fire is reported 4136 Ridge Road.
Elba fire and Oakfield fire were dispatched initially.
A second tone out includes Bergen and Byron with Town of Batavia to fill in at Elba.
A chief on scene reports heavy smoke.
The residence has been evacuated.
UPDATE 9:37 p.m.: A firefighter requests a chainsaw and a thermal camera.
UPDATE 10:07 p.m.: Fire contained to chimney. Firefighters starting overhaul.
A car versus tree accident is reported in the area of 7893 Town Line Road, just west of Buffalo Street, Bergen. The driver is trapped inside and possibly has a head injury. Bergen fire and Mercy medics are responding.
UPDATE: Photo submitted by Anne Sapienza.
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