An "incendiary facility" on the grounds of Genesee Valley Farms is on fire, according to a caller to emergency dispatch. The address is 3520 S. Main Street Road, East Pembroke. Everyone is out of the structure. East Pembroke fire is responding along with mutual aid from Town of Batavia, Oakfield, Darien, and Alexander. Pembroke and Indian Falls are to stand by. The location is between Wortendyke Road and Lovers Lane Road.

UPDATE 4:48 p.m.: Howard at the scene reports there is a moderate amount of smoke showing but no flames. The incendiary facility is inside a small out building. Smoke appears to be coming from the eaves.

UPDATE 5:57 p.m.: Fire is knocked down. Some crews are picking up and preparing to leave.

The Farm, the Nashville-based band featuring Krista Marie, from Alexander, released a new single and video today, "Mud." I think we can be pretty sure it wasn't shot in Bethany.

A single complaint of popping sounds, possible gun fire, prompted police patrols to check the Austin Park area last night around 10 p.m., but after a "vigorous check" nothing was found to substantiate the complaint, said Chief of Police Shawn Heubusch.

The caller reported a rapid succession of pops, at least 10 of them, coming from the area of the park.

Police patrols responded and after an extensive search of the area, found no evidence of gun fire.

Heubusch said several people in the area of Austin Park were interviewed and no information was uncovered to substantiate the report.

There were no other callers reporting any sounds coming from Austin Park.

At the same time, there was a report of a loud noise on Walnut Street and a check of the area uncovered nothing significant.

Shelly Ann Fox, 33, of Fisher Park, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and driving with driver's view obstructed. Fox was arrested following the investigation by Deputy Andrew Hale at 11:35 p.m., Wednesday, into a report of an intoxicated driver in the parking lot of Tops.

Ryan Phillip Clarke, 25, of Meigs Street, Rochester, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Clarke is accused of sending text messages to a protected party, in violation of a court order.

Misty Rose Bogan, 18, of Mill Street, Binghamton, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and harassment, 2nd. Bogan was arrested on a warrant and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Aaron C. Lyons, 18, of East Main Road, Le Roy, and Anthony M. Paladino, 19, of Clay Street, Le Roy, are charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Lyons and Paladino were arrested after police were called to investigate a suspecious vehicle parked in the Machpelah Cemetery.

It was just after 9 a.m. and Claudia and I were working our way between an already growing crowd of vendors and onlookers when we spotted Batavia Police officer Frank Klimjack. He was standing in a roped off area at the base of Bristol Mountain with several men in kilts -- some bearded, some bald and all of them about the size of NFL linemen. 

They are known as the Buffalo Heavies, so-called not so much for their size but rather for the physical contests they engage in. Officially they are the Buffalo Heavies Kilted Throwers Club. traditional Celtic athletes from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Canada. Their forte is throwing and heaving weighted objects around: they throw for height, distance and, in the case of the caber (pictured above), it's not so much the distance but accuracy -- pitching the caber forward as straight as possible.  

Frank Klimjack preparing to toss the sheaf, a straw-filled burlap bag weighing 16-18 lbs.

On this day Frank and his fellow Heavies were competing in the Bristol Mountain Fall Festival and Highland Games. The Highland Games are a series of athletic contests that originated in Scotland in the 11th Century. The events are the hammer throw, sheaf toss, caber toss, weight for distance, weight for height and weight over the bar, Braemer stone and open stone. The difference between the latter two is technique and stone weight.   

In one swift motion the sheaf is pitched upward....

and over the bar. After each round the bar is raised higher. It's kind of a last man standing deal.

Frank's interest in the Highland Games began a few years ago. "I was at Olcott Beach watching members of the Niagara Athletic Club competing when their athletic director said to me, 'you look big enough -- why don't you come out and give it a try?' A couple of weeks later at another competition they lent me a kilt and I was on my way." He fared pretty well on that first outing. "About middle of the pack," he said, "at least I wasn't at the bottom."

Frank Klimjack has moved up quite nicely since that initial outing. On this day he took second place overall. Competing in only his third full season, he is currently ranked #5 in North America in the Highland Games 45 to 49 age group.

A former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, he did a stint with the New York State Park Police before finding his niche with the Batavia PD, where he has served for the last 15 years.

Kellie Klimjack, left, watching her husband's efforts.

Nick Kahanic, Klimjack's friend and fellow "Heavy," is a world-record holder in the Braemar stone and Open stone.

Here's Nick competing in the Weight for Distance. He sent the 56-pound weight 87 feet on this try.

Bagpipers and drummers paying tribute to disabled vets. Whenever the Buffalo Heavies compete, all proceeds raised go to OASIS (Outdoor Adventures for Sacrifice in Service) a volunteer organiziation that provides sporting experiences to disabled veterans and their families free of charge. OASIS currently offers skiing, fishing, sailing, archery, ice skating, horsemanship, golf and rowing. This day's competition raised $4,500 -- awfully good considering admission was free.

This is Lou Iannone and I would venture to guess he's the sparkplug of the Buffalo Heavies. This was our first exposure to the Highland Games and we found the camaraderie between competitors evident and the athletes engaging the crowd with friendly banter as well as answering any questions onlookers may have had.

The atmosphere was festive, the scenery fantastic and with the chair lift taking an endless number of visitors leaf-peeping to the top of the mountain, the crowd was estimated at over 7,000.

The athletes were impressive, entertaining and outgoing. It was for sure a fun outing and Claudia and I look forward to attending the Highland Games again.

Should mobile phone makers be barred from selling fully encrypted smartphones?

New York Times: F.B.I. Director Hints at Action as Cellphone Data Is Locked

A car has hit a pole on Bloomingdale Road near Tesnow Road, Alabama.

The driver has reportedly fled.

Wires are down, either on the ground or very low hanging. The pole is snapped.

No injuries are reported.

Law enforcement is in route.

Alabama fire is dispatched.

UPDATE 8:51 p.m.: Indian Falls Fire Police are asked to shut down traffic Bloomingdale Road Tesnow Road.

Little "Rascal" has been on the lam since about 4:30 p.m. yesterday. The pup was last seen near Terry Hills Golf Course on Clinton Street in Batavia. He has dark fur and eyes, as seen in this photo with his smart red "Petco" kerchief. The owner is Destiny Henning. If found, please contact her friend Jessica Hayes at jessicahayes2001@yahoo.com

A car is reported in front of Wendy's on Main Street, Batavia.

City fire responding.

Mayor Greg Rogers is taking responsibility for an alleged illegal paving of a privately owned road that connects Robbins Road with the Presidential Acres subdivision in the Village of Le Roy.

At the beginning of the month the village received a letter from Amy Kendall, an attorney representing some of the residents of Presidential Acres, notifying trustees that in the attorney's view, the village has illegally spent at least $48,000 on paving and maintaining a road owned by local developer and businessman Pete McQuillen.

At Wednesday's village board meeting, Rogers said he supported the project to go forward because he thought the village already owned the land that extended Fillmore Road to Robbins Road.

That is apparently not the case, though a village attorney is researching it further.

"This has been a very confusing, very cloudy track for the whole time, for the whole thing," Rogers said. "I did a lot of research and talked with a lot of people. We're not going to throw anybody under the bus here, except myself, because this is my bus and if it happens on my shift, it's my responsibility."

He then called on former mayor Sid Horgan to share what he recalled about the ownership of that part of Fillmore Road, and Horgan said he remembered the village board passing a resolution accepting ownership of the roadway.

"I never went out and measured it," Horgan said. "I relied on other people."

Roger Lander, who was public works director in 1991 for the village, said it was his understanding then that the roadway was planned as an eventual village road. The sewer and water connections were put in. Two houses on the corner were originally built to have their front entrance on Fillmore Road rather than Robbins Road.

The village paid to have Fillmore paved, and curbs put in, a year ago.  The village has been maintaining the road, including plowing in the winter.

Kendall calls these expenditures an unconstitutional gift of taxpayer funds to a private party. She said if the village doesn't recover the expenditures from McQuillen, then the trustees would be individually liable, under state law, for the funds.

McQuillen has built duplexes off Fillmore Road, and those duplexes are now occupied.

The attorney's letter suggests those duplexes were built illegally because Fillmore wasn't a village-owned, dedicated road.

Presidential Acres residents are already embroiled in a lawsuit against McQuillen and the village over construction of the duplexes.

While Rogers said he didn't know the land was privately owned, the attorney's letter says that Presidential Acres resident David Boyce spoke with village officials about it Oct. 23, 2013. 

The letter also states that at a May 15, 2012 planning board meeting, McQuillen said that it was "the developer's responsibility to finish the street and that's my intent," and that it was his intent "to put curbs and pavement in there this year." The letter states, "Therefore, both the developer and the village were on notice that McQuillen owned the roads and was responsible for paving them prior to dedication."

Rogers said it's his intention to make the situation right.

"By all means, I'm taking full responsibility for the whole thing," Rogers said. "My plan is to go forward and seek reimbursement from the developer. We have two houses on the street. There are people there who are citizens of Le Roy and they deserve all the services of the village. We'll try to work out some kind of negotiations with the developer to recoup what we may have put in for the road and in turn finish the road so the street can be dedicated and we can provide the residents with snow plowing and emergency services and all the things they deserve."

   

Elijah Coombs, left, and Mark McNutt

Press release:

Two arrests were made Oct. 15 by the Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force, which is comprised of members from the Sheriff's Office, Batavia Police NET, and Le Roy Village PD.

Elijah R. L. Coombs, 20, of Orchard Street, Oakfield, is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, a Class B felony, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, also a Class B felony.

Mark A. McNutt, 20, of Spencer Court, Batavia, is charged with: criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, a Class A misdemeanor; criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument, also a Class A misdemeanor; and unlawful possession of marijuana.

The Drug Task Force, along with uniformed Sheriff's deputies, intercepted a heroin sale that was in progress Wednesday in the parking lot of a business on Lewiston Road, Batavia. Deputies conducted a traffic stop on the vehicles involved and located additional drugs inside and on the occupants.

Coombs allegedly sold heroin. He was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and jailed on $10,000 bail.

McNutt allegedly possessed marijuana, a hypodermic instrument, and tramadol, a controlled substance. A quantity of U.S. currency was also seized. He issued an appearance ticket to be in Town of Oakfield Court on Oct. 27, then released to the Eric County Sheriff's Department for an outstanding warrant.

Press release:

Effective Monday, Oct. 20, the seasonal Yard Waste Station hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Also, leaf pick-up will tentatively start on Oct. 20.

The Yard Waste Station will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, Oct. 27. Seasonal hours will resume on Friday, Nov. 28.

The station will remain open through Dec. 6, weather permitting.

Residents are encouraged to bring yard waste debris to the Yard Waste Station.

There have been four incidents at Batavia High School so far this school year involving students, vaporizers and synthetic drugs, Principal Scott Wilson said.

That isn't an epidemic by any means, but it is a cause for concern and he thinks the local community, and particularly parents and students, should be more aware of some of the possible negative consequences of vaporizers, also known as e-cigarettes.

Wilson organized a community forum in the school's library Wednesday night to help raise awareness.

"It's a concern right now, but I don't want to be a Chicken Little and say the sky is falling," Wilson said. "I also don't want to say the problem is not there, and bury my head in the sand and cross my fingers and hope it all blows away. We have to find the right balance."

Wilson assembled a panel for the forum that included Nancy Haitz, school nurse, Nate Korzelius, teacher, Nick Burk, a teacher and coach, Jennifer Zambito, from GCASA, Rich Schauf, Batavia PD, and Tom Douglas, from the fire department.

Each shared some of their experiences or research into issues surrounding vaping and synthetic drugs.

E-cigarettes were developed as an alternative to tobacco cigarettes. They were designed to be nicotine delivery devices, but without the health consequences of cigarettes, and give smokers a device to smoke in public that is largely unregulated.

The devices were barely available a couple of years ago, and now are commonly sold in retail shops and convenience stores throughout the area.

Not much bigger than a nice ball-point pen, the devices are easy for students to conceal. They've supposedly been hidden by students in bras and spandex undergarments.  

If it were just a matter of students smoking flavored liquid with a little nicotine, that would still be a violation of school rules and not allowed, but the problem is a bit more serious than that, Wilson said.

"We have to assume at this point that the liquid contains a substance that could cause a medical emergency and I have to take a firm stand," Wilson said.

EMTs have been summoned to the school once this year after a medical emergency involving a student who reportedly inhaled synthetic marijuana through a vaporizer.

They way e-cigs entered society, there's a common misperception that they're harmless, Wilson said. 

Both he and Schauf shared stories of talking to parents who bought vaporizers for their children, as young as 13 years old, because they saw them as a safe alternative to tobacco cigarettes.

What parents don't realize is that these devices can be used to deliver other chemicals, from ground up prescription pills to a plethora of synthetic drugs that are easily obtained online.

These are often the same drugs or closely related cousins to bath salts -- the drugs that were much in the news two years ago when the country -- and our local community -- were concerned about their health effects.

Zambito described many of the same behaviors and consequences -- paranoia, hallucinations, rapid heart rates, rapid breathing, even seizures.

"Students can experience symptoms that even they themselves are scared of," Zambito said.

One of the biggest concerns, several panelists said, is the possibility of students who think taking a hit from another student's vape is no big deal, without really knowing what chemical is in the e-cigarette.

It could contain a synthetic drug and there's no way to tell from merely looking at it.

"Let that sink in for a moment," Wilson said. "They don't know what is in it because it's in a liquid. That's the real concern. We want to help kids make better choices and never just blindly take that risk."

The difficulty in finding out what chemical might have caused a medical emergency is also a problem for EMTs, said Douglas.

Too much nicotine can cause an elevated heart rate, but so can other chemicals, and that can be an important distinction, Douglas said, as just an example of what EMTs must deal with in these situations.

"We've got them grinding up prescription drugs, THC, to whatever it is they find on the Internet, Douglas said. "From the EMT end, that's what we're dealing with. We can be kind of stymied. What do we treat?"

Korzelius and Burk said they now regularly inspect bathrooms, lifting up ceiling tiles, looking for hidden vaporizers.

In the days of "smoking in the boys' room," there was always a residual odor that would help teachers track down the smokers, but that isn't the case with vaping, and teachers and administrators are struggling to keep a tab on the devices.

Wilson hopes through a public discussion of the issue parents become more aware and more vigilant, but he said teens at BHS are already starting to take the issue seriously.  

"I think most of the kids want to have a healthy, clean and positive school environment," Wilson said. "I totally believe that with all my heart, and students are stepping up and reporting, because they want, not necessarily to get kids in trouble, but keep the school free from these devices. I love that cooperation and even that peer pressure. "

Driving back from Bergen on Wednesday afternoon, this scene caught my eye, along Route 33, Stafford.

Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley just happened to be in Bergen this morning when they learned that Gov. Andrew Cuomo had signed legislation first conceived by students at Byron-Bergen School to make yogurt the official state snack.  

The two representatives who carried the bill through the legislature immediately headed over to the school to celebrate the bill's passage with the students who made it all possible.

Below, a recording of the announcement, with Principal Brian Meister.

Byron-Bergen yogurt bill announcement (mp3)

Several of the students wanted to hug Sen. Ranzenhofer when they first saw him at the school this afternoon.

 

Route 19 through the Village of Bergen is closed to all but local traffic while crews rip out the current crossing and construct a new one. The recommended alternate route is Jericho Road. Village officials only learned of the closure after CSX erected signs, and officials say that when contacted, CSX was unable to provide a timeline for how long the work will take or when the crossing will reopen.

A bit of rain didn't dampen spirits in Bergen this morning where officials dedicated a new "life trail" system in Hickory Park.

The system, made up of seven, three-sided stations with a series of exercises people can perform, is designed to give seniors in particular a chance to be active and improve their physical health.

It was funded by a $50,000 state grant, secured with the help of Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer, Assemblyman Steve Hawley and County Legislator Bob Bausch.

"We have put in place a parks master plan with a focus on fitness and wellness," said Mayor Anna Marie Barclay. "In particular, we want to give opportunities to seniors, which is our fastest growing population, an opportunity, because there are not as many opportunities for seniors as there are for other age groups. We want to encourage our seniors to come out, and not just our seniors. We invite seniors from all of the surrounding communities to come out to our park."

Ranzenhofer said he was proud to have helped bring about the project.

"I'm very excited to be here," Ranzenhofer said. "The comment about the weather, we were talking before about it being a rainy day, but it really is shining today, even though you may not see the sun. On a project like this, with your hard work, collectively, we were able to do a very good thing for the village residents, and thanks for including me."

On a unanimous vote Tuesday night, the Batavia City Council agreed to move ahead with the formation of a citizen task force to study the future of the headquarters for the Batavia Police Department.

The task force will be asked to look at options that include building a new station at one of five  different locations or remodeling the existing headquarters, which is currently in the former Brisbane Mansion on West Main Street.

The commission will be comprised of one appointee from each of the city council wards, one business owner within the Business Improvement District, one business owner outside the BID and one city resident with a financial background, for a total of nine members.

Police Chief Shawn Heubusch will be a non-voting member and attend meetings to provide feedback and guidance on local law enforcement needs and limitations related to a police station.

Interested residents can apply through the city's Web site or the city clerk's office. Council members representing wards will receive copies of the applications from residents within their wards and can provide feedback and recommendations on the candidates. The final selection will be up to council members Patti Pacino, John Deleo and Kathy Briggs.

The BID member will be selected by the director of the district, and the non-bid member will be selected by the Chamber of Commerce president.

The appointments are expected to be final by the council's November meeting.

On Tuesday, the council also approved, on a 6-3 vote, the expenditure of $100,000 for a consultant to update the city's master plan.

A master plan is a community's primary development document and sets both strategy and guidelines for growth. The city last updated its master plan in 1996.

Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian expressed concern that not all of the items in the 1996 plan were completed and that this isn't a good economic time to spend money.

"People are moving out of our community," she said. "We need to be careful what we're spending our money on."

Joining Christian in voting no were Kathy Briggs and John Deleo.