byron

Via our news partner, WBTA:

Joseph Kuzma, a 35-year-old Byron resident, has been sentenced to four months of weekend jail time for stealing hundreds of veterans markers from local cemeteries and selling the metal for scrap.

Kuzma was sentenced Thursday in County Court by Judge Robert C. Noonan.

Previously, he had pled guilty to grand larceny, 3rd.

He will be required to pay more than $17,000 in restitution.

Last fall, Kuzma hit cemeteries in Byron and Bergen and then sold the metal to a scrap yard in Rochester. 

Participating students were Andrew Sczepanski, Sean Donovan, Celeste Brownwell, Joelle Meister and Nathan McCarthy. EMS Explorer students assisting were Aurora Zinter, Maddie Wittman, Katie Simmons and Jeremy Boeff.

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A grass fire is reportedly burning its way toward a barn at 6912 Lyman Road. Byron and South Byron fire departments are responding. The location is between Coward and Beaver Meadow roads.

UPDATE 5:09 p.m.: The dispatcher says a small building and several vehicles are now involved in the fire.

UPDATE 5:13 p.m.: The dispatcher says they are on the phone with "DEC police."

A field fire is reported in the area of 6945 Byron Road. The location is between Tower Hill Road and Byron Elba TL Road. Byron and South Byron fire departments are responding.

UPDATE 7:40 p.m.: Fire is out. Byron and South Byron firefighters are back in service.

A grass fire is reported at 6369 Cole Road. South Byron Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 7:49 p.m.: South Byron #86 is on scene.

UPDATE 8:44 p.m.: Byron Fire Department also responded. The fire is out and the responders are back in service.

UPDATE: Byron Chief Durkee sent in these pictures. Durkee said Byron arrived on scene first. He said, "These pictures were of the mop up. We had about a 100-yard stretch of fire that was barrelling into the marshes of the swamplands. The DEC officer ticketed the owner. There is still a no-burn law and people just don't seem to care. If this took off we would have been in a real battle."

Four people remain hospitalized in satisfactory condition as a result of a head-on collision on Clinton Street Road, South Byron, on Monday.

Both drivers involved in the crash were cited by State Police.

Still hospitalized are: Malik Dietz, 20, of New York City, who was transported by ground ambulance with a complaint of pain in the lower leg; and Zemirah Huges, 18, of the Bronx, who had a complaint of back pain, according to Trooper Victor Morales. 

Cited, and still hospitalized, are: Gracien Ibambasi, 20, of Greece, who is charged with moving from lane unsafely and unlicensed operation; and Brittany Breedlove, 26, of Rochester, charged with aggravated unlicensed operation. 

According to the State Police investigation, Ibambasi was driving eastbound, crossed in the westbound lane, missing one vehicle then striking the car driven by Breedlove.

Also injured were: Alexis Thomas, 19, of Chili, who had facial bleeding; Macayla Brown,18, of Gates, who had minor facial bleeding; and Sade Brown, 18, who had a complaint of pain throughout her body.

All patients were taken to Strong Memorial Hospital by ground ambulance.

Hank is missing. Hank is 6 months old and escaped from home on Transit Road in Elba/Byron two days ago. If found, or with other helpful information, call (585) 297-0088 or (585) 490-3335. A reward is offered for Hank's return.

Out and about late this afternoon, I found myself in a situation that hasn't come up for a long time -- I was driving on a road in Genesee County that I've never been on. In this case, Upper Holley Road, Byron. And I saw this barn I've never seen before. I also found both batteries in my Nikon were dead, so this was actually shot with my iPhone.

Sarah Regina Orsini, 59, of Exchange Street, Rochester, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, possession of untaxed cigarettes, unlawful possession of marijuana and driving with a broken windshield. Orsini was stopped at 11:40 a.m. Sunday on Route 77, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Michelle M. Michael, 42, of West Seneca, is charged with petit larceny. Michael is accused of switching a price tag from a shirt to a more expensive jacket at Stan's Harley-Davidson and then paying for the mispriced jacket and leaving the store. The alleged switch was caught on surveillance video.

Gary Aton Williams, 54, of Lang Street, Rochester, was arrested on a warrant out of Gates related to a petit larceny charge. Williams was identified as a warrant suspect during a traffic stop at 7:38 p.m. Sunday on Route 262, Byron, by Deputy Joseph Graff. Williams as a passenger in the vehicle that was stopped for an alleged traffic violation.

Nelson Henry Nowicki Jr., 40, of Broadway Road, Darien, is charged with forcible touching. Nowicki allegedly forcibly touched another person.

Nicholas Ryan Donahue, 21, of Caraway Lane, Spencerport, is charged with possession of unstamped cigarettes, unlawful possession of marijuana and no front plate. Donahue was stopped at 8:08 p.m. Saturday on Judge Road, Alabama, by Deputy Joseph Corona. Donahue was allegedly in possession of 1,400 untaxed cigarettes.

Joseph R. Volasquez, 18, of Byron, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. The alleged incident was reported at 11:57 p.m. Sunday in Byron. Volasquez was arrested by State Police. He was ordered held on bond. No further details released.

Justin L. Sanders, 23, of Byron-Holley Road, Byron, is charged with two counts of burglary, 2nd, and one count of grand larceny, 3rd. Larcenies were reported from a residence on Route 237, Byron, in late November through December and two burglaries occurred at a residence on Townline Road, Byron, on Jan. 13 and Jan. 20. Sanders is accused of stealing numerous items of jewelry from the homeowner where he was living. He allegedly stole more than $3,000 worth of jewelry. He allegedly stole coins, jewelry and electronics from the Townline Road residence. Sanders was previously arrested by State Police on similar charges and is being held in the Genesee County Jail. The case was investigated by Deputy John Duyssen and Deputy Joseph Graff and Investigator Kris Kautz.

Alexander L. Waide, 20, of Batavia, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, unlawful possession of marijuana and speeding. Waide was stopped by State Police on Route 98, Village of Attica. A field sobriety test was conducted. He was transported to the Warsaw barracks and evaluated by a certified Drug Recognition Expert from the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office. A urine sample was collected and sent to the crime lab for further analysis. He was released on an appearance ticket.

Gregory Richard Fitch, 33, of Woodstock Gardens, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on an aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, charge. Fitch turned himself in and posted $100 police bail.

Lewis C. Rhodes, 36, of Summit Street, Batavia, is charged with coercion, 1st, and menacing, 2nd. Rhodes was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute at 3:12 p.m., Sunday. The victim alleges that she was threatened by Rhodes with a handgun. Rhodes was ordered held without bail.

A 17-year-old resident of South Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. The youth, whose name was withheld by police, allegedly threatened another person several times over a period of two months.

Adam Daniel Smart, 32, of Washington Avenue, Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal contempt, 2nd. Smart allegedly violated a complete stay away order of protection.

Tyquawn D. Bethel, 24, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with burglary, 2nd. Bethel was arrested in relation to an alleged incident reported Feb. 11. No further details released.

James A. Hancock, 45, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Hancock allegedly pushed and shoved another person during an argument. Hancock was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Ralph A. Golding III, 50, of Buell Street, Akron, is charged with petit larceny, public lewdness and escape, 3rd. Golding allegedly stole $5 in quarters from machines at Dollar General. Golding allegedly engaged in a lewd act while in custody at Batavia PD. He also allegedly tried to escape by defeating the lock mechanism on the holding room door. He was jailed on $2,500 bail or $5,000 bond.

Justine D. McWethy, 28, of Fairway Drive, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and criminal use of drug paraphernalia, 2nd. McWethy was allegedly found in possession of heroin and glassine baggies.

Thomas E. Hansel, 31, of Oak Street, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant for alleged failure to appear on a possession of burglary tools charge. Hansel was located at Days Inn and taken into custody. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Tonya D. Smith, 29, of Oak Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a charge of operating while registration suspended or revoked. Smith was located at the Days Inn and taken into custody. Smith was jailed on $100 bail.

Joseph Michael Dispenza Jr., 21, of East Main Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant stemming from a DWI charge. Dispenza allegedly violated terms and conditions of City Court's DWI Treatment Court. Dispenza allegedly turned up at intermittent incarceration while under the influence of alcohol. He was jailed on $100,000 bail.

Michael J. Robbins, 55, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, 2nd. Robbins allegedly cashed a forged personal check at the drive-up window of the Five Start Bank on East Main Street, Batavia.

Michael Joseph Myers Jr., 56, of Roosevelt Highway, Hamlin, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, refusal to take breath test and moved from lane unsafely. Myers was stopped at 12:11 a.m., Saturday, on Route 237, Stafford, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Tanyana Reedidizie Bell, 23, of Ross Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Bell allegedly damaged property belonging to Pandora's Boxxx.

Kevin Lloyd Kenyon, 60, of Golden Pond Estates, Akron, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and inadequate headlights. Kenyon was stopped at 8:27 p.m. Friday on Lewiston Road, Batavia, by Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello.

Henry Leon Polanowski, 35, of North Pearl Street, Oakfield, is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle. Polanowski allegedly drove another person's vehicle without permission. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Andrea Nichole Kirch, 26, of Pratt Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and speeding. Kirch was stopped at 2:01 a.m. Friday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves. A 16-year-old resident of Pratt Road, Batavia, was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. 

Joseph Hur Bianchi, 33, of Northgate Manor Avenue, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and inadequate stop lamps. Bianchi was stopped at 12:05 p.m. Friday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Jenna L. Brodzinski, 31, of Rochester, is charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Brodzinski was arrested by State Police for allegedly shoplifting from Target. No further details released.

Norman M. Bialuski, 45, of Brockport, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Bialuski was stopped at 2:32 a.m. Sunday at East Main and Clinton streets, Batavia, by State Police.

A two-car accident, with one person complaining of a head injury, is reported at Byron and Walkers Corners roads. Byron, South Byron fire and Mercy medics are responding.

It was a nifty little move under the basket, a no-look reverse layup from Byron-Bergen's Abbie Kelley. The kind of play good players make.

In this case, it couldn't have come at a more opportune time. Head Coach Rick Krzewinski said it was perhaps the difference maker in the game.

The Lady Bees got to that point by allowing Notre Dame to go on an 11-0 run at the start of the third quarter to erase a 10-point lead for Byron-Bergen in the Section V Class C1 playoff game.

The reverse of fortunes had a familiar ring to the Bees, who lost a home game earlier this season to the Fighting Irish after blowing a first-half lead.

Krzewinski told his players in the locker room at the half, "looks familiar doesn't it?"

One of his girls said, "don't even talk about it."

"Oh, we're going to talk about it," Krzewinski told his team, "because we're not going to let happen what happened last time."

The Bees apparently got the message, and Kelley's nifty basket provided the spark they needed to beat back Notre Dame's momentum.

"Players make plays and that was the perfect time for it," Krzewinski said. "We got our composure back, I thought, and started hitting some shots."

That basket and a three possession change of defense to a 2-3 zone, seemed to break the rhythm of the Irish girls.

Kelley, who has 393 points on the year, did more to carry her team than drop that one score. She was the game's leading scorer with 23. Nobody else on her team was in double digits.

"Today was Bergen's day," said Irish Head Coach Dave Pero. "In the fourth quarter, Abbie Kelley took the game over. We missed way too many free throws. We probably missed 14 free throws (10, actually) and in sectional play, in any game, you can't miss 14 free throws and think you're going to struggle to win. Sometimes you'll get lucky, but the luck of the Irish wasn't with us today."

B-B's diamond defense held Notre Dame's top two scorers to totals a shave below their season PPG averages. Becca Krenzer had 12 points and Shea Norton, 11.

Emma Francis didn't hit a single three and was held to seven points for the game.

"We had the shots we wanted," Pero said. "You have days when they're not going to go in and today was one of those days. But we fought to get back in third quarter and I don't know if we ran out of gas a little bit, we might have, but I've got to take my hat off to Bergen. They played a great basketball game. They played for 32 minutes and that's why they're moving on and we're not."

The Bees had 13 days off before the game and Krzewinski said the team used that time to work on the diamond defense thinking it would be effective against Notre Dame.

"We were hoping maybe we could force some turnovers, worst case maybe slow them down," Krzewinski said. "I thought the girls worked it well and the message was, it will work if you move and they moved. We got out of it what I wanted."

It's been 2008 since Byron-Bergen beat Notre Dame in a girls basketball game, and the Irish seem to be a chief rival for just about every team they play.  The win certainly made Bees fans happy, who whooped it up in the closing seconds of the game.

"Yeah, everybody wants to beat Notre Dame, obviously,"  Krzewinski said. "Year in and year out they're a team that everybody wants to beat and to be able to do this in a sectional game just makes it really sweet. I'm so proud of the way they (his team) played and hung in there and did this. I don't even know what to say."

Next up for Byron-Bergen, the #3 seed in the tournament, is #2 seed Gananda (16-3) at 6 p.m., Tuesday, at a location to be determined.

Pembroke, also a C1 team, lost today to East Rochester.

Oakfield-Alabama and Alexander also lost playoff games today, leaving Byron-Bergen, Batavia and Elba as the three Genesee County girls basketball teams still alive in the postseason. All three have games scheduled for Tuesday.

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Stephen J. Turkasz, 24, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Turkasz is accused of posting photos of people who are the subject of a protective order on a social media Web site, in alleged violation of the order of protection.

Malcolm A. Kea, 27, Porter Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant related to a charge of operating while registration suspended or revoked. Kea was arrested at his residence for alleged failure to appear.

Curt Thomas Randall, 27, of Swamp Road, Bergen, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Randall was stopped for an alleged traffic violation at 4:05 p.m. Wednesday on Byron Holley Road, Bryon, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Benjamin G. Evans, 26, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Evans is accused of stealing from Tops Market, Batavia. Evans was arrested by State Police.

Jasmine Jaquana Allen, 20, of Batavia-Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Allen was arrested following a complaint of marijuana smoking inside dorm rooms at College Village.

Justin Elwell Jr., 31, of Miller Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a parking between 2 and 6 a.m. ticket. Elwell turned himself in to Batavia PD. He posted $100 bail.

Adam Daniel Smart, 32, of Clinton Street Road, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on an endangering the welfare of a child charge. Smart allegedly failed to appear on for a pre-sentence interview with the Probation Department. Smart was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Jeffrey Cole Thompson, 19, of Swamp Road, Byron, is charged with unlawful possession. Thompson was charged following a traffic stop for an alleged traffic violation at 9:15 p.m. Thursday on Reed Road, Bergen, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

At a very young age, Matthew Kota, of Byron, knew exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up — a doctor. But sadly, his dreams were cut short. In memory of Matthew and his 24th birthday, the Batavia community and surrounding areas are encouraged to give the gift of life and donate blood at a special American Red Cross blood drive on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Notre Dame High School in Batavia.

The recent winter weather and widespread flu have impacted the ability of some eligible, healthy donors to give blood. Dozens of blood drives have been cancelled and thousands of donations have gone uncollected because of the storms. Despite the weather, hospital patients still need blood.

“Matthew never waited for anything to happen, he made things happen,” said Jason Kota, Matthew’s father. “He was truly one of a kind and I’ve yet to meet anyone else on this earth like him.”

Matthew enjoyed the outdoors and had a smile that would light up a room, but it was his humanitarian spirit that friends and family say was contagious. Matthew had a desire to help people, and that’s one of the reasons why he became a blood donor and also volunteered with the Red Cross. He had hoped to join the Gallon Donor Club and even though he did not achieve that goal, his family and friends are now carrying out his wishes by holding blood drives in his memory.

“Matthew was our son, a friend, leader and now our Angel,” Jason Kota said.
 
Matthew, the eldest of four children, was just 17 years old when he passed away in 2008 from complications of brain surgery. Matthew had a large arterio-venous malformation or AVM. A vein in his head was significantly larger than it should have been. Doctors believe AVM is congenital and dates to birth.

Matthew’s family and friends say hosting this blood drive is a unique way to memorialize what Matthew stood for — helping others. They are now giving back by turning their heartbreak into hope for other families in need. Matthew’s younger brother, Sean, graduated from Notre Dame High School.

Donate Blood in Memory of Matthew Kota
Saturday, Feb. 7
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Notre Dame High School
73 Union St.
Batavia

To make an appointment to donate, download the Blood Donor App, call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org

All presenting donors will receive a $5 Dunkin' Donuts card as part of the “Dunkin’ Donors Make a Difference” campaign.
The Red Cross urges healthy, eligible donors to make an appointment to give blood or platelets to help hospital patients and maintain a stable blood supply. Blood donors of all types are needed, particularly O negative, A negative and B negative and platelet donors. One blood donation can help save up to three lives.
 
How to donate blood
Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org <http://www.redcrossblood.org> or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
 
About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission.

For more information, please visit redcross.org <http://www.redcross.org> or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross <http://www.twitter.com/redcross>.