A vehicle has struck a pole and the pole is down along with wires at 6867 East Bethany-Le Roy Road. Unknown injuries, but the drive is out of the vehicle. Le Roy fire and ambulance responding.
Reminder: To win you must correctly identify the secret code word. I received a half dozen e-mails this morning before we even put the contest up. Each e-mail was idenifying an existing Flip Ads. That's not how the contest is played.
When playing, remember to include your full name and address to qualify for the prize.
There won't be another code up until some time tomorrow.
Turnovers bedeviled the Lady Blue Devils in their home-game debut for the 2014-15 season as they suffered their first defeat of the campaign, losing to Mendon 54-33.
This is a better team than they they showed Tuesday night with the four returning starters, Essence Williams, Tiara Filbert, Sam Cecere and Madison McCulley.
"We've got a great group of girls," Head Coach Marty Hein said. "They're all returners. We lost one senior. Our bench is stepping into their jobs. We'll be there. It just wasn't a good night tonight."
It was a sloppy first quarter for both Mendon and Batavia, with both teams struggling to retain possession. Batavia (1-1) took a 15-10 lead. But Mendon started to find its rhythm in the second quarter, scoring 18 points and holding Batavia to nine points.
The game became lopsided in the third quarter, with Mendon scoring 15 while the Lady Blue Devils didn't knock down a single field goal and scoring its lone point on a free throw.
Batavia needs to be more aggressive on offense, Hein said, pushing the ball up the court faster on inbounds and transitions.
"When we push the ball, we're a much better team," Hein said. "In the last five minutes, we were looking ahead, running the floor and we did better. It was the same thing in Albion. We waltzed the ball up the floor, and if you're meeting good pressure, you're not getting into your offense. When we're actually running the floor, at least we're getting their defense below the foul line."
Filbert, a junior, remains the team's offensive fire power. She scored 16 points Tuesday and has 25 on the season along with 13 rebounds and nine steals.
McCully had seven points and Williams had four.
Now, Hein said, the team knows what it needs to work on.
"There's nothing wrong with a loss as long as we learn something from it," Hein said.
To purchase prints of photos, click here.
A winter storm warning for heavy snow has been issued for 4 a.m. through 6 p.m., Thursday, replacing the previous storm advisory.
Precipitation will start start tonight and change over to snowfall by the morning.
A storm total of 8 to 14 inches is predicted, with 3 to 5 inches in the morning and 4 to 6 inches Wednesday night and 1 to 3 inches Thursday.
Winds from the northwest at 10 to 20 mph.
Visibility will be reduced to a quarter of a mile at times.
A service of prayer and remembrance was held tonight at Northgate Free Methodist Church in Batavia, hosted by H.E. Turner Funeral Home.
The annual service is a chance for those who lost loved ones during the year to honor their memories.
A pair of snowy owls have returned to the Genesee County Airport. Jim Burns sent in these photos. Burns said he and other members of the Batavia Photo Club have been out photographing the pair, whom they dubbed George (above) and Martha.
Katie will be sent a check for $25.
We'll run another contest tomorrow.
Ryan J. Scopano, 27, of North Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Scopano is accused of removing two guns from a business on West Main Street Road, Batavia, some time in the early winter months of 2013. The owner didn't discover the guns missing until this weekend. Both weapons have been recovered and are in the possession of the Sheriff's Office. The investigation was conducted by Investigator Kristopher Kautz and deputies James Diehl and Joe Loftus.
Dustin L. Stump, 44, of Stafford, is charged with identity theft, 3rd, and grand larceny, 4th. Stump is accused of stealing the debit card of a family member while the person was hospitalized and withdrawing $200 without permission between Oct. 29 and Nov. 1.
A winter weather advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service for 1 a.m. Wednesday through 4 a.m. Friday, with a storm total of 7 to 13 inches of snow.
The winter weather watch is cancelled.
The storm could bring 2 to 4 inches of snow Wednesday, 1 to 3 Wednesday night, 2 to 4 inches Thursday and up to 2 inches Thursday night.
The greatest snowfall is expected across higher terrain and south of the Thruway.
Winds will be from the northwest at 15 to 25 mph.
Visibility could drop to a half mile at times.
Alexander fire is responding to a fully involved pickup truck fire on Route 20 in the area of Bowen Road.
UPDATE 8:01 a.m.: Fire's out.
UPDATE 8:21 a.m.: Alexander is clearing the scene.
A accident is reported in the area of 7402 Clinton Street Road, near Lyman Road, Bergen.
Unknown injuries.
Traffic is blocked.
Bergen fire dispatched.
UPDATE 6:12 p.m.: The first chief on scene reports minor injuries.
From Kaylee Wednt, meteorologist at The Batavian's news partner, 13WHAM:
We expect Tuesday to be mainly gray, but some breaks of limited sunshine are possible. The temperature may reach 40 degrees through the course of the day keeping any precipitation that we may see in the form of rain. A winter storm watch is in effect from 7 p.m. Tuesday through 7 a.m. Thursday. A storm system will drift north from New Jersey into New England. Snow from this system will be enhanced over Lake Ontario producing snow accumulation through Thursday morning. Tuesday night an inch or less of snowfall will accumulate on the ground. We feel that the greatest chance for any substantial accumulation will take place on Wednesday. The snow intensity may briefly increase through the afternoon. We expect to see 3-6” of snowfall throughout the course of the day. A north/northwesterly flow lake enhancement is likely, especially north of the Thruway. This may bring another 1-3” to the area Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Many areas will see storm totals between 6 and 12”. Check back for further updates on this storm system from the 13WHAM Weather Authority.
We'll play again tomorrow. A code like the one to the right will be visible under a randomly selected ad that will flip when you mouse over it.
We've received numerous e-mails just telling us which ads are currently running as flip ads -- Reed Eye and Kreative Kitchen -- but that's not how you play the game.
At an unannounced time, we'll pick an ad at random and turn it into a flip ad and put a secret code like the one in the sample in this post.
Today, we made it the first person to e-mail us. When I was a kid and radio stations did contests like this they would say a different number caller each time -- the 7th caller, the 8th caller, the 12th caller. We got enough people responding today, that should work for this contest, too, so tomorrow's flip ad will say which number person to e-mail the correct secret code will win.
Happy hunting!
Preston S. Daigler, 16, of Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road, Oakfield, is charged with resisting arrest. Daigler was wanted on a warrant out of City Court on an endangering the welfare of a child charge. He was also a reported missing person out of Orleans County. Daigler was located at his residence when the Sheriff's Office attempted to place him under arrest. Daigler jumped from a second-story window and fled into a wooded area behind his residence. Daigler was located about two hours later hiding in a dumpster at a nearby local business. He was treated at UMMC for exposure and then arraigned in Oakfield Town Court. He was jailed on $5,000 bail.
Kevin Michael Lampman, 41, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, harassment, 2nd, and aggravated family offense. Lampman is accused of trying to bite a woman in the face during an argument. There was allegedly an order of protection in place at the time of the incident. Lampman was jailed on $10,000 cash bail.
Christina AnnMarie Deluna, 34, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Deluna is accused of stealing $576.72 in merchandise from Walmart. She was located five days later at her residence and issued an appearance ticket.
John Frederick Lightfoot II, 21, of Roslyn Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant out of Lancaster for an unlawful possession of marijuana charge.
Anthony Michael Vanille, 55, of Broadway Road, Attica, is charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol and speed in excess of 55 mph. Vanille was stopped at 8:14 p.m., Saturday.
Michael John Valentino, 48, of Hilltop Court, West Seneca, is charged with DWAI (combined influence of drugs), criminal possession of a stimulant, 4th, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal use of drug paraphernalia, 2nd, criminal possession of a weapon, 4th. Valentino was stopped at 2:37 a.m. Sunday on Oak Orchard Road, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Corona. He was allegedly found in possession of methamphetamine, hydrocodone and marijuana and related paraphernalia. He also allegedly possessed a weapon at the time of his arrest.
A 17-year-old resident of Spring Road, Alexander, is charged with harassment, 2nd. The youth is accused of striking another person at Alexander High School.
Raymond Lundy Kelley, 24, of Ellsworth Avenue, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Kelley is accused of shoplifting at Walmart.
Grayson Carl Stock, 22, of Sunset Parkway, Oakfield, is charged with possession of a hypodermic instrument. Stock was allegedly found in possession of a hypodermic instrument while at a location on West Main Street, Batavia.
Jamie Lee Steinhardt, 22, of Sumner Road, Darien, is charged with petit larceny. Steinhardt is accused of shoplifting at Walmart.
Brandon Aaron Barclay, 27, of Big Tree Road, Pavilion, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Barclay allegedly violated an order of protection by having contact with a protected party.
Cassandra Ann Jimenez, 26, of Oliver Street, North Tonawanda, is charged with petit larceny. Jimenez is accused of going through the self-checkout line at Walmart, scanning several but not all of the items in her cart. She then allegedly passed the checkout area with $128.63 in unpaid items in her cart.
Morgan L. Cox Jr., 22, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Cox was allegedly involved in a domestic incident in violation of an order of protection.
A 16-year-old resident of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal diversion of prescription medication, 4th.The youth was allegedly involved in a trade of prescription medication for cigarettes at Batavia High School. Batavia PD withheld the name of the suspect. An unnamed 17-year-old resident of Highland Park, Batavia, was also arrested.
A 17-year-old resident of Williams Street, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. The youth was allegedly involved in a fight at Batavia High School. Batavia PD withheld the name of the suspect.
Amber L. Ostrander, 24, of Morrow Road, Pavilion, was arrested on warrant for alleged failure to appear. Ostrander allegedly failed to appear on a charge stemming from her arrest in August for driving on a suspended license.
Danielle M. Cravatta, 30, of Walden Creek Drive, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for allegedly issuing a bad check in November, 2013.
Gregory A. Emerson, 32, of Park Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Emerson was stopped at 1:04 a.m. Friday on Richmond Avenue, Batavia, by Officer Peter Flanagan.
The holidays have just gotten started, and Timothy J. Woodward is already overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed by generosity, that is.
Woodward is the owner and director of Gilmartin Funeral Home & Cremation Company in Batavia. He is pictured (left) along with funeral assistant Matt Meyer.
The funeral home is wrapping up its first "Stockings for Soldiers" campaign, an idea that Woodward said came from Veterans & Family Memorial Care, of which Gilmartin is the sole provider for Genesee and Wyoming counties.
Genesee and Wyoming county residents picked up stockings provided by Gilmartin at its three locations (Batavia, Attica and Perry), stuffed them with "goodies," and brought them back to be shipped out to men and women in uniform serving in all military branches and at all ranks.
Woodward had hoped to have the stockings shipped out by the weekend, but said that may not happen until Monday because of the large number of drop-offs that have occurred since the Dec. 1 deadline.
"That's great, and we don't want to discourage it," Woodward said. "But we do want to make sure that we have all of the drop-offs in so that we can ship them together."
The contents of the stockings range widely and include powdered Gatorade, non-perishable food items, toiletries, batteries, books, magazines and hard candy.
While the sum total of returned stockings have not yet been counted, Woodward said they have somewhere between 500 and 600.
"We want to say thank you very much to everyone who helped us with this enormous project," he added.
He wanted to offer a special thank-you to Tim and Linda Landers, of Byron, who donated $300 to help with the shipping cost.
"The response has been pretty overwhelming," Meyer said. "We look forward to doing it again next year."
It was a time when much of the country was still feeling the effects from the Great Depression. In rural America the contents of a hunter's game bag greatly helped add to the family larder. Water fowl bag limits were quite liberal at the time and shotgun shells nowhere near as costly as they would become. A box of birdshot cost $1.25 -- a mere farthing by today's standards.
According to the Minnesota Public Radio archives, the autumn of 1940 was unseasonably warm throughout the state. The area had experienced a real Indian Summer during October that year and November began much the same way. Because warm autumns aren't conducive to great duck hunting, the wing shooting hadn't been much to write home about -- at least not until this day.
The morning of November 11th dawned sunny with the thermometer reading 50 degrees -- almost balmy for Northern Minnesota so late in the year. The temperature would climb to near 60 degrees. For outdoorsmen it was practically shirtsleeve weather. A good number of sportsmen heading out to the backwaters of the Mississippi where it flows past Winona were dressed accordingly -- nothing more than a canvas hunting jacket over a light shirt.
In addition to the sloughs and backwaters of the upper Mississipi watershed, the river is dotted with a maze of islands where it flows past Winona, making the area ideal habitat for duck blinds. And this is where a good number of duck hunters headed that November day.
By early afternoon the sky clouded over and a wind came up. It was a light wind at first and with it came the rain -- prime conditions for hunting ducks. The temperature began to drop and sure enough, the ducks began arriving in good numbers. Big flocks numbering in the hundreds at first, but before long the ducks were funneling into the backwaters of the upper Mississippi by the thousands. After a while the rain turned to sleet and still the ducks poured into the sloughs and backwaters. The sky was black with ducks and a few geese mixed in as myriad waterfowl all across the upper Mississippi flyway were silhouetted against gray storm clouds.
What appeared to be dream conditions for the duck hunters was really an omen, a forebode warning. In their zeal the gunners totally misread Mother Nature's danger signal. The ducks, countless thousands of them, were seeking shelter from an imminent storm. The hunters, meanwhile, merely thought it their good fortune to be afield for a waterfowl movement such as was taking place before their very eyes. They had no clue what was bearing down on them.
Predicting the weather in those years was not the science it would one day become. If those early meteorologists had at their disposal the sophisticated weather-predicting equipment of today, they would have known a strong storm that had originated in the Pacific Northwest had barreled across the Rocky Mountains and, instead of weakening after crossing the Continental Divide as is usually the case, it tapped into an intense low-pressure system carrying plenty of rain from the Gulf of Mexico before colliding with a frigid arctic air mass from Canada. A recipe for a weather disaster was in the making.
As the temperature continued to drop, the sleet turned into snow and what had become a stiff wind began increasing in instensity, growing ever stronger. Still, the waterfowl kept coming, providing the gunners hunkered down in the cattail-lined sloughs the duck hunt of a lifetime. The bag limit at that time consisted of 10 ducks and for those who had yet to fill their quota, with so many birds on the wing, it appeared to be just a matter of time before doing so. Thus, in the excitement of the hunt, shotguns continued to boom throughout the backwaters of the upper Mississippi.
"THE WINDS OF HELL"
The time eventually came when those who had refused to abandon their duck blinds earlier would have to pay the consequences one way or another. Mother Nature was about to unleash her fury.
The wind continued to strengthen and the hunters who had yet to leave, those still in the elements, knew they had made a dire mistake. For the hunters on the river islands, blinding snow and 70-mph winds made getting back to shore next to impossible. While a scant few somehow managed to get back to shore, for most it was an exercise in futility. Without outboard motors, wooden rowboats and skiffs were no match for the whitecaps and five-foot waves that stood between them and safety. It would prove to be at best a harrowing ordeal for those stranded anywhere among that maze of islands.
By nightfall the temperature had plummeted to 2 degrees but hurricane-force winds created a windchill of minus 55. In desperation, boats, decoys and duck blinds were burned in an attempt to provide warmth. Some repeatedly walked in circles to keep their blood flowing, others struck themselves over and over, pounding themselves in the arms and torso to keep the circulation moving.
What awaited rescue personnel the next day were a series of grim, surreal scenes. Throughout the region hunters were found lying prone, some beneath their duck boats, others covered by the drifting snow. One man was found standing in waist deep water -- he was frozen solid, his arms still clinging to a tree. Raging winds had driven the river up and over what little dry land, if any, was to be found on that particular spit of land.
One teen survived only because the family's two black labs had nestled on either side of him and remained that way throughout the night. The boy's brother, father and uncle weren't so fortunate. While many froze to death, others drowned in their attempt to cross the river sloughs in low-slung duck boats that were no match for five-foot waves and 70-mph winds.
The deadly storm ravaged parts of three states and was the reason for a head-on collision between a freight train and a passenger train loaded with duck hunters. Unable to see in the white-out conditions, the passenger train's crew missed a trackside signal. On Lake Michigan three freighters and two smaller boats sank, claiming 66 lives. All told, the storm was responsible for 160 deaths. Of that total, nearly 50 of them duck hunters, the majority perished in the upper Mississippi watershed near Winona.
The cataclysmic weather phenomena which struck the Upper Midwest on Nov. 11th, 1940, has since been labeled in many ways. For some it was the Armistice Day Blizzard, others called it the Storm of the Century. One newspaper's headlines referred to it as The Winds of Hell.
However that tragic event is recalled, in the annals of waterfowling and for the family and friends of those who perished, it will no doubt be remembered as The Day the Duck Hunters Died.
A reader named Jake sent in this picture of this morning's sunrise.
From 6 to 12 inches of snow may fall on the area some time between Tuesday evening and Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Winds of 10 to 20 mph from the northwest are expected and visibility during the heavy parts of the storm are expected to drop to a half mile.
A winter storm watch is in effect.
The weather service warns of slick roads and difficult travel.
The forecast confidence is "medium."
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