The first time I saw a house finch I thought I was looking at a sparrow/cardinal hybrid. Like many song birds, this one perched in our apple tree no doubt looking for insects.

Having spotted me, he immediately took what he felt was appropriate action............

As I understand it, this bit of displaying is something birds do to mark their territory to intruders or in hopes of attracting a mate.

Here's a literal bird's eye view of a visitor whose incessant squawking often gives him away long before he comes into view...........

unlike other songbirds, the noisy Bluejay didn't come here in seach of bugs. The apple tree is lush this year and no doubt he's here to gorge himself on fresh fruit. He must have been hungry -- despite my close proximity, he refused to leave.

For the past couple of weeks this little songster had been singing its heart out, while hidden amid the apple tree foliage. Its song was pleasant, and a sound I either had not heard before or perhaps just hadn't been mindful of. Try as we might, Claudia and I were unable to get a look as it flitted from branch to branch. If we attempted to move in for a closer it would fly off into an adjoining woodlot.  

As I took its picture it began belting out the same melody we had been hearing previously....... the closest resembling photo I could find in either the Smithsonian or Audubon field guides indicated it might be a Veery thrush. Still not certain, but its sound was most pleasing to the ears.    

Buffalo News: Holder proposes drug sentencing policy reforms

Frances McClellan, the 81-year-old driver who reportedly pulled in front of a bus last Wednesday in Darien, succombed on Thursday to critical injuries suffered in the crash, according to State Police.

She was being treated for head trauma at Erie County Medical Center, where she was taken by Mercy Flight following the acccident on Route 20 at Tinkham Road.

The sole passenger on the bus, Stephen Smith, 58, of Bath, suffered a minor leg injury and was treated at the scene. Bus driver Jeremy Hill, 34, of Bath, was not injured.

A motorcyclist has crashed and is injured at 7162 Lyman Road in Bergen. Mercy medics and Bergen fire are responding. The location is between West Bergen and Beaver Meadows roads.

UPDATE 11:13 a.m.: The rider of the black Suzuki is a male who is conscious and alert but has numerous scrapes and scratches to his head and legs.

UPDATE 11:18 a.m.: One of the lanes of traffic is blocked.

UPDATE 11:36 p.m.: The patient is being transported to Strong Memorial Hospital. Someone is coming to remove the motorcycle from the roadway. The Bergen assignment is back in service.

John Bisig took this nighttime photo of the Elba Onion Festival around 8:30 while flying over in his powered parachute on Saturday.

Kayla Casper, center, is the new Elba Onion Queen. She's joined by her court, Joyce Tristan and Katie Horton.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

There was a big turn out today in Batavia for the WNY Round-Up Rally.

Every year, guests of Skyline Campground in Alexander square off against guests of Lei-Ti Campground in Bethany in a horseshoe tournament. Today was the first meeting of the two teams this year at Skyline. Next week, the tournament moves to Lei-Ti.

Featured in our shots are George Siano, of Florida, and Roy Hovey, of Rochester.

Skyline's cheering section doing the wave.

While out in Darien this afternoon, I spotted Cody Fowler and Jeremy Schulz out with a couple of old-school mini motorbikes. I snapped a couple shots of them on Tinkham Road. Fowler said he bought the two bikes a couple of weeks ago for $50. They needed some tinkering to get running, but now they're roarin'.

Dylan Maychoss, of Pembroke, and Zoe Thayer, of Pembroke, were at the Darien Lakes State Park this morning on the park's disc golf course to practice their game, getting tips from pro Paul Stephens.

Someone hitched a ride on a CXS train and the engineer called dispatch, asking that an officer be sent to where it will be stopping in a couple of minutes at the Wilkinson Road crossing in Batavia. The engineer wants to speak with the alleged scofflaw, who is said to be riding behind some semi-trailers the train is hauling.

UPDATE 2:50 p.m.: An agent for CSX is going to the State Police Barracks in Batavia to press charges against the suspect.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported at Route 237 and Warboys Road. Byron Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. There are two victims and one of them is trapped in a vehicle and extrication equipment will be needed. Mercy Flight out of Buffalo is available if needed.

UPDATE 12:17 p.m.: Mercy Flight is not needed. The vehicle is now open which had entrapped the patient.

UPDATE 12:19 p.m.: Two ambulances are requested to the scene. Fire police from Byron and South Byron are called in.

UPDATE 12:21 p.m.: Byron command requests all units en route to come in non-emergency mode.

UPDATE 12:29 p.m.: Mercy medics are back in service. One flatbed tow truck is requested.

UPDATE 12:52 p.m.: An 81-year-old male with back and shoulder pain is being transported to UMMC. All responding units are back in service.

The owner of a building on Lehigh Avenue discovered this morning that overnight about 20 windows on the south side of the structure were broken out.

Police are investigating, but suspect some kids in the neighborhood.

More than 100 former St. Jerome's Hospital employees got together Friday night at T.F. Brown's for old times' sake.

Betty Lupino said that for years she would run into former employees who would say, "we should get together, we should get together." But nobody was doing it, she said, "so I took the bull by the horns and called a few people."

"We're just people who worked together and we got along well and we wanted to renew old acquaintances," she said.

Pictured, from left, Maudie Kahn, Lupino, Gloria Grohs, Mike Rimmer and Don Lewis.

The 77th Elba Onion Festival kicked off Friday evening with the big opening event being the annual parade.

Here's tomorrow's list of events for the festival:

• 12Noon - Kiddie Parade (starting at Dan's Pizza)
• 12Noon - Kiddie Tractor Pull (by Memorial Statue in front)
• 12Noon - Ladies Aux. Roast Beef on Weck (inside of Rec. Hall)
• 1:00pm - Ride Special Main Events
• 5:00pm - Chicken Barbeque (inside the Rec. Hall)
• 6:00pm - Mac & Company (in the beer tent)
• 7:00pm - Crowning of the Onion Queen (by Memorial Statue in front)
• 9:00pm - Black Widow (in the beer tent)
• Midnight - Award winners of grand prize!
  Choice of 2013 Ford Mustang or $20,000 Cash!

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Eric Dibble enjoyed teaching science to high school students, but he was still drawn to a career in law enforcement even after getting his master's degree and earning multiple teaching credentials.

His attraction to law enforcement is not surprising. He comes from a law enforcement family -- his father is Gordon Dibble, the chief deputy in charge of road patrol for Genesee County.

When the younger Dibble took a job three years ago with the Batavia Police Department. It was the right decision for him at the time, he said, and he's glad he did it. 

Since then, though, he's become the father of two children and what was acceptable before he had a family is less so now.

As a young cop on the force, he's still working a lot of nights. The hours can be unpredictable. Then there is what Dibble describes as "the heaviness" of not knowing what comes next.

"It's a different world for me now than when I got hired," Dibble said.

He also still had those degrees and credentials to fall back on.

Those factors, more than anything else, led him to reconsider his career choice.

Friday was Dibble's last evening shift in Batavia blue. At the end of the night, he turned in his badge and put away his service pistol for the last time.

This fall, Officer Dibble becomes Mr. Dibble again. He will be teaching science at a school in Monroe County.

"I realized I just can't keep doing this forever," Dibble said. "It's a great job, but it wears kind of heavy on my mind. There's some stress factors that are unique to the job and the career. I personally am looking to ease my mind of those kind of things and get back to a normal lifestyle."

Chief Shawn Heubusch said Dibble will be missed.

"He's a fine young officer," Heubusch said. "It has been a pleasure to know Eric over the time I've been here. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."

If you've never met Eric Dibble, he's an instantly likable man with an obviously warm spirit and kind heart. He's also got enough backbone to be firm when he needs to be.

In other words, he's what any professional police department should want in a young officer.

And being a police officer, Dibble said, is a great career. He just decided it would be better for him and his family if earned his living in a classroom rather than on city streets.

"There was no traumatizing or sobering moment (that changed his mind)," Dibble said. "It was just a gradual, growing general heaviness, if I can explain it that way, of being in uniform, of being on call, of not knowing what the next thing is going to be. Is it going to be nothing? Is it going to be something? Is it going to be the biggest thing that ever happened in Batavia? The biggest thing that ever happened in New York State? I guess it's just one of those things where it's the not knowing that for me was heavy.

"Everybody's different," he added. "Some people thrive off that, some people don't think about it, but for me is was quite a thing, I guess."

The fact that Dibble decided to go back to teaching doesn't mean other young people shouldn't consider a career in law enforcement he said. If it's something you think you can be passionate about, he said, you should do it, but do it while you're young. His advice, get your career established before you have a family.

"This is the type of career that is a calling almost, where if you have the desire to do it, you probably should," Dibble said. "You probably should because a lot of people do and they love it and they stay with it and it's a great career.

If you're going to become a police officer, he said, you should be attracted to the career for the right reasons.

"You've got to be somebody with a good set of morals," Dibble said. "You've got to be principled and really believe in the package of a good police officer and a good police department, which should always be helping the community.

"You're a role model," he added. "You've got to care about society and want to try and make it better. You can't just do it for the action or what you see on TV, because a lot of what police do is hugely distorted on television. Those are the wrong reasons."

Perhaps not surprisingly, those are the same qualities Dibble thinks make for a good teacher.

"I've always felt strongly about the positive influence a teacher can have on a student," Dibble said. "I think I appreciate more what bad pathways people can take from school moving forward. I feel more how impressionable kids are at that age. It makes me feel that the responsibility is even greater for people who work with kids at that age."

Even in just three years, Dibble has seen a lot of changes in the police department. The most positive change he's seen, he said, is the increased emphasis on community policing.

The concept of community policing has been around for several decades. The philosophy puts an emphasis on interaction between cops on the beat and the people of the community. The idea is to get officers from out behind the wheel of their cars and only responding to calls, to walking patrols, talking to people and developing relationships.

Dibble said community policing not only gives citizens a greater sense of security, but it helps the officer, too.

"If you just handle calls and you come back to the station, it's kind of us and the world outside who call on us for help," Dibble said. "Then it's always kind of depressing, or always an issue, but if you get out in the community it does a lot of good for officers. They get a chance to mix and have these positive interactions, which offsets any negative interactions you might have."

As Dibble returns to teaching, he goes back to the classroom with a whole new set of experiences. Not too many teachers have been in the homes of arguing parents and teens, or seen firsthand the direct result of young lives that have gone off track. What Dibble has seen while on patrol in Batavia will certainly carry over into his interactions with students, he said.

"It's going to make me think about the whole package when I have my student in front of me," Dibble said. "What's going on at home, in his personal life and how is that affecting what I'm seeing in the classroom? It definitely gives me an understanding of the big picture and how it affects what a student is going through in school."

An RV is reportedly on fire in the area of mile marker 387 in the westbound lanes of the Thruway.

Town of Batavia fire dispatched.

The operator of the RV called in the fire and said they are towing a vehicle and there are five dogs inside the RV.

UPDATE 9:10 p.m.: A trooper on scene reports all dogs are out safely. The RV is not engulfed. Only wires are burning.

Workers are continuing to make progress on Oakfield's new 165-foot water tower.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing fire hydrants on Monday Aug. 12, from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the general area south of East Main Street and east of Jackson Street.

Homes and businesses nearby will be affected. These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area. As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored. If you do experience a discoloration of your water, run cold water for about 5 minutes or until clear.

SOOOOOOOOOOO much has been said about keeping and/or not keeping this dilapidated brick Hotel -- eyesore at the corner of Main Street and Lake Street (Routes 5 and 19) that I, along with most everyone else in town, was tired of hearing about. Finally someone with a brain made a decision and had the dump torn down.

I was away on a month's vacation, leaving Le Roy at the end of the demolition and returned to find "IT" gone completely, bulldozed smooth bringing into a great view of our beautiful, historic Presbyterian Church into full view as we approach Main Street from the north, and more. It welcomes travelers to our Village with a more formal, eye-catching sight of our little, quaint village with the charming hospitality we deserve.

You know, if some of you were, in fact, native inhabitants of our town, the Wiss would be remembered as a vibrant, elegant feature on that now-vacant corner. It housed, not only a wonderfully ornate lobby, but, what would now be considered a three-star restaurant operated by chef Theo Bunko and his wife, Heidi.....who made pastries the likes of which one would have to travel to Austria to enjoy.....but, as all things neglected, we ended up with a smelly saloon and shabby rooms for rent (until they became uninhabitable).

And...now we see there's a fully grown, green lawn to hide what stood there.....plus (due to) the initiative of the people next door on Lake Street who "dressed up" and beautified the adjacent building on the Lake Street approach to Main (thank you), it is even more appealing a welcome. It is said that there are possibly thousands of cars, trucks and motorhomes that pass east and west, south and north that encountered the pitiful condition of the first building they saw on our Main Street corner.......that observation was seemingly the best truth presented for the argument for keeping the structure for renovation. But "they" were referring to what their plan would have (or might have) looked like if we allowed the shenanigan to proceed. Everyone has a right to their ideas, no matter good or bad, but it shouldn't be pushed onto folks who do not share the same vision. If only they cared about Le Roy more than themselves and their bank accounts.

Now that we're on the way to making "pretty," I heard through the grapevine (of which small communities are famous for) that the Le Roy Hose (Fire Co.) has offered a few solid park benches to grace the empty "park." That's a beginning. There are already three planters of flowers in bloom on the sidewalk on Main Street (again somebody had a nice idea and moved on it). So all we need now is for someone to offer to purchase some potted trees and maybe a nice sculpture to finish the project. There can even be a contest to "Name the Park".....how about that?

Anyone want to be memorialized at Lake and Main streets? Here's your chance. Bob Barker used to say: "Come on down!" It's someone's turn to come forward and continue to beautify the former (I like that term) Wiss Hotel space on OUR Main Street. How 'bout it someone?

And as for the Le Roy Swimming Pool......aren't we fortunate to have REAL community minded people with a vision for the happy fulfilling life in the Town and Village of Le Roy for her citizens? They had forward thinking, added to the guts to DO IT...repair and restore something good for US Le Royans!

Bravo to everyone who sees Le Roy as our town/village and for those who believe they are the singular movers and shakers........read the citizens' minds and listen to our voices with care, please. Make some sense so that we can all benefit from smart planning and forward thinking... FOREVER GONE & AMEN!