Laura Del Carmen Vazquez Coronado, 38, of North Byron Road, Elba, is charged with DWI, unsafe backing, moving from lane unsafely, driving on the shoulder. Vazquez Coronado was charged following a motor-vehicle accident reported at 7:06 a.m. Thursday on North Byron Road, Elba. The accident was investigated by Deputy James Stack.

Devon Robert Peters, 23, of Franklin Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, driving a vehicle without an inspection sticker, and failure to notify DMV of an address change. Peters was stopped at 9:26 a.m. Sunday on Route 33, Bergen, by Deputy Kyle Krzemien.

Joseph Earnest Marr, 39, of Nesbitt Road, Attica, and Jenna L. Josephite, 29, of Main Street Road, Batavia, are charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Marr and Josephite are accused of using cocaine while in the presence of a 1-year-old child before driving the child from Attica to Batavia while under the influence of drugs.

Douglas Brian Uberty, 45, of North Main Street, Warsaw, is charged with unlawful surveillance, 2nd. Uberty is accused of using a mobile phone to take pictures under the clothes of a person while at Walmart.

Eastridge High School held its annual "Battle on the Ridge" cheer competition this past Saturday in Rochester. The Batavia Varsity squad finished second place in its division. 

Judges score on difficulty and execution in the following catagories: Jumps, pyramid, stunts, tumbling and cheer.

This Saturday Rochester Institute of Technology hosts the Section V competition. 

For more photos to view or purchase click here.

Curtis Foss rolled a 300 game -- his second in three weeks -- while Roger Allis posted a 300 game to highlight the list of league bowling leaders for the week of Feb. 12.

Foss, a Medina resident, finished with a 775 series in the Sneezy's Monday Night League at Oak Orchard Bowl, while Allis, also of Medina, finished with 732 in the Thursday Firefighters League at Medina Lanes.

At Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen, Caycee Landers registered 782, the highest series ever by a woman in the Genesee Region USBC (she was featured in Mike Pettinella's Pin Points column).

For more "high rollers," click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the page.

The first installment of Oakfield Historical Society’s 2018 lecture series is about the Orphan Train at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6^th. This will be held at the Town of Oakfield Community & Government Center, 3219 Drake St.,  Oakfield

By the 1850s, large eastern U.S. cities had massive numbers of orphaned children. New York City alone had an estimated 30,000 children without parents, making placement with local families virtually impossible in a city of 500,000. 

The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating about 200,000 orphaned, abandoned or homeless children.

Perennially favorite speaker Jeff Donahue is presenting this fascinating program. As always, this event is free and open to the public.

Visit www.VisitGeneseeNY.com to learn more about Genesee County's unique attractions and local events.

Earlier this week, both the boys and the girls Alpine Ski teams finished in ninth place at the sectional championships at Bristol Mountain in what Coach Matt Holman described as a deep Class A field.

For the boys, top finishers for were Brandon Bradley (33rd in Slalom, 38th in Giant Slalom), Zack Wagner (35th in SL, 43rd in GS) Alec Wagner (40th in GS), Matt Grover (41st in GS), Ryan Bowen (36th in SL, 47th in GS).

For the girls, top finishers were Aubrey Towner (30th in SL, 31st in GS) and Lily Whiting (38th in GS).

Holman said Batavia has had a ski team since 1991 and he's encouraging more students to participate.

"With the Olympics in full swing," he said, "if anyone who is a student in the Batavia Middle or High School is interested in learning more about ski racing can contact Coach Matt Holman by emailing him at mholman@bataviacsd.org."  

If you are not a Batavia City School District student and interested in ski racing, contact your school's athletic director. In the past Notre Dame High School and Elba Central Schools have been represented in the Southern Tier Race League and have trained with the Batavia Ski Team.

Article by Drew Muehlig. Photo by Dan Carnevale​.

High school graduation rates increased slightly across New York in 2017 -- to 80.2 percent, up from 79.7 percent in 2016, according to data released Wednesday by the New York State Department of Education.

And some Genesee Region schools had a lot to do with that.

Elba, Lyndonville and Pembroke high schools all boasted 97-percent graduation rates last year, while Attica (94 percent), Pavilion (93 percent), Le Roy (93 percent), Alexander (91 percent), Batavia (91 percent), Byron-Bergen (91 percent), Holley (91 percent) and Kendall (90 percent) all came in with more than 90-percent commencement numbers.

Elba saw the biggest increase in graduation rates, climbing from 89 percent in 2016.

Elba’s superintendent, Keith Palmer, attributes the results to the school’s size and the teacher-student relationship building over time.

“Given our small size and low student to staff ratio, the faculty is better able to work with students one-on-one or in small groups,” Palmer said. “This allows for knowing and responding to individual student needs as well as developing meaningful relationships.”

For a complete list of 2017 graduation rates click here. 

Information by Le Roy Coach Jay Laitenberger. Photos by Tim McArdle.

Le Roy's boys winter track and field are the 2018 Section V champions a year after missing the title by one point.

Clayton Allen finished sixth in the 1,000 meter with a career personal record after being seeded 10th.

Ryan Driscoll finished fourth in the 3,200 meter with a career personal record that was 14 seconds faster than his indoor PR and 7 seconds faster than his outdoor PR.

Maxin Mckenzie finished second in the mile before anchoring the 4 x 800 team with Clayton, Ryan, and Jacob Montoya. The boys team ran their fastest time of the season -- and the fastest time of the past two seasons.

Jordan Stephens ran an official career personal record in the 3,200.

Bryce Bordonaro threw for a personal record in the shot put to finish sixth overall after being seeded ninth and then went on to finish third in weight throw.

Tom Mellon finished fourth in the weight throw, joining Marshall Schultz with a fourth-place finish in shot put.

Ethan Roy finished third in the pole vault, while Ethan Pocock finished sixth -- both equaled their indoor personal records.

Gaven Cassidy set personal records in the 600 and 55m Hurdles on his way to a pair of second-place finishes. His 600 came up .04 away from the school record. He then finished fourth in the 300.

Athletes of the Meet:

• Gavin Luckey finished second in the triple jump with a career personal record before winning the high jump with another career personal record. He then picked up a fourth place finish in the long jump with his third personal record of the day.
• Collin Stauffer started the meet with a fourth-place finish in the 55 meter after being seeded seventh before his first-place finish and one-foot career personal record in the triple jump. He then finished third in the long jump with a near-personal record.

Seniors Gavin Luckey, Gaven Cassidy and Ethan Roy won their second title in four years as freshman members of the 2015 team.

The boys team won for the fifth time since the first indoor title in 2008, and the 10th title in Le Roy Track & Field History (boys / girls / indoor / outdoor).

• 2018 -- 1st Place
• 2017 -- 2d Place
• 2016 -- 5th Place
• 2015 -- 1st Place
• 2014 -- 1st Place
• 2013 -- 3rd Place
• 2012 -- 3rd Place
• 2011 -- 1st Place

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported at 6472 Alleghany Road, Alabama. Alabama Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. The location is between Lewiston and Casey roads.

UPDATE 11:44 a.m.: A first responder on scene says there are two vehicles, one of which was possibly parked at the time of the collision. They are "in a driveway, in a bush."

Photos by Donald Bouch.

A car has reportedly hit a tree in the area of mile marker 3.1 on Route 490 in the eastbound lane and two people have complaints of pain.

Bergen fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 12:17 a.m.: Three people involved. One is a sign-off. The other two have possible minor injuries. All responders can come in non-emergency.

A garage fire is reported at 17 Porter Ave. City fire is responding. The location is between West Main Street and Washington Avenue.

UPDATE 6:23 p.m.: Fire is out. Mercy medics responding to a victim with burns on his arm(s).

UPDATE 7 p.m.: According to Lt. Greg Ireland, City fire, a small box was on fire in the garage and the resident had it 95 percent out when firefighters arrived. A fire investigation team from City fire is investigating the cause of the fire. The resident was transported to UMMC for treatment.

A barn fire is reported at 7637 Buffalo Road, Riga. That's in the Bergen Fire District.

Bergen fire responding.

City's Fast team and Mercy EMS dispatched. Le Roy's ladder truck requested to the scene.

A chief on scene reports firefighters will execute an exterior attack only. There are some small explosions, possible fireworks.

UPDATE 6:21 p.m.: The fire is under control and hot spots are being extinguished. Mumford and Churchville also responded to the blaze.

The Workers’ Compensation Board recently adopted new guidelines for the assessment of permanent impairments. These new guidelines apply only to the assessment of permanency related to extremity injuries, not head, neck or back injuries.

They direct doctors how to determine the schedule loss of use percentage, or award, that an injured worker is due for a permanent injury to an extremity.

The Board was tasked with the job of updating these guidelines by the NYS legislature in early 2017. The intention was for the guidelines to be updated to reflect medical advances since the guidelines were first written, decades ago.

Unfortunately, the Board’s first revision to the guidelines went well beyond what anyone expected, or what could be justified simply based upon medical advancements. The Board’s proposal significantly slashed awards and changed how doctors were directed to evaluate schedule loss of use with little to no justification for these changes.

For these reasons, Dolce, Panepinto and other concerned parties, started a campaign to resist these changes. Among other things, we instituted a mass postcard campaign to let the Board know that injured workers would not stand for these changes.

Due to the support of many of you, we were successful in putting a stop to the Board’s first proposed revision to the guidelines. The new guidelines, that were recently adopted by the Board, are vastly different from the first rewrite.

While the newly adopted guidelines may result in some changes to how doctors assess schedule loss of use, they will not result in the across the board substantial reductions in permanency awards that the first revision intended.

We want to thank our clients, family and friends who assisted us in the post card campaign and in other ways. This amazing result could not have been achieved without your help.

Deputy Ryan DeLong talks about the decision-making process during stressful, emergency situations that people might encounter during a Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events class at St. Paul Lutheran Church this morning.

More than 100 people attended the class, which covered a range of emergency situations, with an emphasis on active shooters, and how people can safely and intelligently respond during such events.

For more background information on the class, click here.

If you missed the class, Frank Klimjack, a Batavia police officer, will present a class called "Do I Need A Bodyguard?" at Grace Baptist Church, 238 Vine St., Batavia, at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 25. Klimjack is a police defensive tactics instructor.

Batavia High School Indoor Track Team won the boys and girls Section V -- Class C Titles last night at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester.

This makes 31 sectional titles for the batavia track team and back-to-back indoor titles in the last two years.

Seniors Anthony Ray won both shot put and weight throw. Eric Davis won the 55 hurdles, Kiaya Franklin won the 300 and took third in the 600m. Kaitlin Ange took third in weight throw.

Juniors Emily Caccamise won the 1500m race walk, Briana Bromley won the 3000meters. Evan Bartz came in third in weight throw. Elizabeth Cohen took second in the pole vault and third in the 55 hurdles. Jalesa Smith took third in the long jump.

For more results click here: http://live.yentiming.com/#/results/meet/364

Photos submitted by Donna Tourville-Kabel.

David Fitzpatrick, the author of "Emory Upton: Misunderstood Reformer," spoke about his book and what he learned about the Civil War officer who was born and raised in Batavia while researching and writing the book.

At 10 a.m., Fitzpatrick will participate in a panel discussion with local historians at Genesee Community College in the Conable Technology Building, room T119.

Previously: New book corrects the record on Emory Upton's attitude toward the military and the Republic

A motor-vehicle accident is reported in the area of 1964 Broadway, Darien.

There are wires down with reports of power outages in the area.

A semi-truck and possibly a pickup truck are involved.

Unknown injuries.

A first responder on scene says the pole is sheared off and traffic lights are down.

Traffic is being shut down.

UPDATE 2:15 a.m.: It's a single pickup accident. The tractor-trailer clipped the lines as it was coming through, according to a law enforcement officer on scene.

UPDATE 2:20 a.m.: A fire hydrant was also sheared off. An area stone quarry delivering crushed rock needs to be notified that its trucks will need to find an alternate route for the time being due to the train derailment in Attica.

UPDATE 2:27 a.m.: DOT being notified that Route 20 will be closed for a few hours.

UPDATE 2:46 a.m.: There's a broken pole on Route 238 with a transformer on it. National Grid reports fewer than five customers affected by the power outage.

UPDATE 3 a.m.: Darien ambulance is transporting a patient to UMMC ECMC.

UPDATE 8:42 a.m.: Fire services went back in service about 6 a.m. Route 20 remains closed. Roadblocks now covered by deputies.

UPDATE 8:52 a.m.: Route 20 is reopened.

UPDATE: Carter S. Dale, of Attica, has been identified by the Sheriff's Office as the driver of the pickup truck. He has been charged with DWI, moving from lane unsafely and not wearing a seatbelt. According to the Sheriff's Office, Carter was driving a Ford F-250 that went off the north shoulder of the roadway and struck a utility pole, street light pole, and a street sign, before coming to rest. A tractor-trailer traveling through the area at the time snagged low-hanging wires. The accident was investigated by Deputy Ryan Young, Sgt. John Baiocco, and Deputy Jeremy McClellan. Assisting with the scene were Darien fire and Alexander fire, the State Police, National Grid, Monroe County Water Authority, DOT and gas and cable companies. 

Reader submitted photo.

Information from Music Theatre International and Batavia High School:

"Into the Woods" is an epic fairytale about wishes, family and the choices we make. It will be performed by the Batavia High School Production Club next month.

Book author James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the music and lyrics, take favorite storybook characters created by The Brothers Grimm and bring them together for a timeless, yet relevant, piece...and a rare modern classic. The Tony Award-winning book and score are both enchanting and touching.

The story follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King's Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. When the Baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a Witch's curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse. Everyone's wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later with disastrous results.

One of Sondheim's most popular works, "Into the Woods" is a musically sophisticated show with the opportunity to feature actors adept at dark comedy. Designers will especially enjoy highlighting the fantastical elements of this magical word.

The production was originally directed on Broadway by author Lapine and Jonathan Tunick created the orchestrations.

The BHS performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3, with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 4.

Tickets at the door are $10 for adults; $8 for students and seniors. Presale tickets are $8 for adults and $6 students and seniors. They are available at the high school's main office, 260 State St. in the City of Batavia.

Press release:

After a successful inaugural season in 2017, Batavia Girls Fastpitch Softball, also known as the Batavia Stingers, is excited to announce that they will be hosting a registration day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at Dick's Sporting Goods in Batavia.

The store is located in the Towne Center at Batavia mall on Veterans Memorial Drive.

Sign-ups will be for teams in the 10u, 12u and 15u divisions. (Sign-ups will be held alongside those for Batavia Minor League Baseball.)

Registration is open to girls who live in the City or Town of Batavia or who attend school in Batavia.

Board members and coaches will be present to answer questions. The registration fee of $75 is not due until April 1.

The 10u and 12u teams begin practice in April, with games beginning in May. The 15u season will begin in June and games will be held from July to the beginning of August.

If you are unable to attend this registration event, please email bataviagfs@gmail.com or visit the league's Facebook page (Batavia Girls Fastpitch Softball) in order to download a registration form.

Batavia Girls Fastpitch Softball welcomes players of all skill levels, including those who are new to the sport.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Coach Stan Kaus at 370-9861.

Coach Stan Kaus

Batavia Girls Fastpitch Softball

P.O. Box 209

Batavia NY 14020