The Elba Central School Drama Club is presenting the musical "Hello, Dolly!" this weekend.

The show opens at 7 p.m., Friday. Additional performances are at 2 and 7 p.m., Saturday, in the school auditorium.

Tickets are $6 for students and seniors and $8 for adults. Tickets available at DailyNewsTickets.com, Roxy's Music Store, and at the door before the show.

Billy Joe Trantham, 78, of Bloomingdale Road, Alabama, is charged with forcible touching. On Feb. 18, following the investigation of a sex offense that allegedly occurred in the Town of Alabama, Trantham was arrested. He allegedly touched the intimate parts of another person without the person's consent. He was released on an appearance ticket and is to be in Alabama Town Court at 2 p.m. on March 2. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Travis DeMuth, assisted by Deputy Kevin Forsyth.

A complaint that a vehicle allegedly ran another vehicle off the road almost causing an accident, on Route 19 in Le Roy, led to a traffic stop of 32-year-old Brandon S. Beil, of 6370 Hawks Road, Pavilion by the Le Roy Police Department. The complaint was received on Saturday Feb. 18 about 7 p.m., at which time the Le Roy Police Department started looking for Beil’s vehicle and located it on Clay Street where the vehicle stop was initiated. During the stop, it was determined that Beil was allegedly intoxicated; he was uncooperative during the arrest process and allegedly struggled with the officers at the scene. Beil allegedly refused all field testing and the chemical test. Beil was charged with one count each of inadequate head lights, felony driving while intoxicated (with previous conviction within 10 Years), refusal to take the breath test, failure to keep right and resisting arrest. Beil was arraigned before the Le Roy Town Court and committed to the Genesee County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail.     

Next month, nearly a year after he was arrested and accused of menacing a police officer, Bill Thomas will find out when his jury trial on the two felony charges against him begins.

Thomas withdrew his prior guilty plea to a count of criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, today. He was also charged with menacing a police officer, a Class D violent felony.

He was arrested March 16. He will next appear in court on March 13.

In the intervening months, he's been through three attorneys, was about to start a jury trial but then entered a guilty plea on the day the trial was supposed to start, then at his first sentencing date, tried to withdraw his plea. That wasn't allowed and then again, last week, appeared for sentencing only to learn from Judge Michael Mohun that there was a procedural error by the court when his guilty plea was accepted.

Thomas was given time to confer with his attorney, his family and think over his options, which included withdrawing his plea and taking his case to a jury or sticking with his guilty plea and accepting whatever sentence Mohun might impose.

This afternoon, Mohun granted Thomas his request to withdraw his prior guilty plea.

Attorney Jamie Welch said he doesn't discuss ongoing cases and declined to say why Thomas decided to withdraw his plea.

One salient fact that came out last week at the sentencing hearing, before Mohun put a stop to it, was that even though Officer Peter Flanigan said he was threatened by Thomas while Thomas was holding a knife, there was no knife recovered on or near Thomas after he was arrested.

Four hours after the confrontation, Thomas was found to have a BAC of .22 and said he had few memories of events that early morning on State Street, but maintained he wouldn't have threatened a police officer, according to statements Welch made in court last week.

The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office filed charges Feb. 16 against Nicole K. Sullivan in relation to a one-car accident that occurred during the early morning hours of June 10.

Sullivan, 31, of Perry, is charged with: falsely reporting an incident in the third degree; unlicensed operator of a motor vehicle; aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree; operation of an unregistered motor vehicle; failure to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of change in address; no seat belt; and driving left of pavement markings.

On June 10, at approximately 2:25 a.m., an accident on Fargo Road, Stafford, was reported. When deputies arrived on the scene, they say they found a male, later identified as Zachery W. Schwartz, 20, unresponsive in the vehicle and a female, Sullivan, on the front porch at a nearby home.

At the time, Sullivan told officers that there was a third occupant, who was driving the car, and fled the scene, traveling north on Fargo Road.

Schwartz was flown via Mercy Flight 5 to Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, for extensive head injuries. Sullivan was taken via Mercy ambulance to Strong for head and leg injuries.

Fire personnel conducted a thorough search on foot of the surrounding areas using FLIR Technology (thermal imaging) in an attempt to locate the unknown driver involved in the crash. The New York State Police assisted by maintaining a roving perimeter of the area. Area hospitals were also notified to call the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office if they received any potential car accident patients.

Approximately three hours after the accident was reported, Sullivan admitted to police that she and Schwartz were the only occupants in the vehicle and she was the driver.

The charges stem from the allegation that Sullivan was in fact the driver of the car at the time of the collision and she gave false information concerning the details of the incident. It is further alleged that there was not an unknown driver of the car who fled the scene as originally reported by Sullivan.

Assisting at the scene of the accident included Stafford, Batavia, and Le Roy fire departments, Genesee County Emergency Management, and Mercy medics.

For original post, click here.

About six people are said to be fighting outside the Batavia Meadows apartment complex at 4112 W. Main Street Road, near apartment B1. Law enforcement is responding.

The remains of an animal found in the basement of a former Batavia pet shop have been sent to an office of the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), according to Officer Eric Hill, spokesman for Batavia PD.

One of the things SPCA examiners will try to do is determine what kind of animal it was that was found in the basement of the former location of Neptune's Gardens.

An employee of I.D. Booth, the company that owns the building on Ellicott Street, with a store next door, reportedly found the remains in a box while cleaning out the basement to prepare the store space for a potential new tenant. That employee posted a picture of the dead animal to social media, saying it was a dog, and the dozens of people that reposted it (the post has since been removed) and media who reported on it, including The Batavian and the radio show Kimberly and Beck, didn't stop to question whether it really was a dog in the picture.

The skull was not in complete profile in the picture, so it's indistinct, but there is no clear sign that it had a snout or canine-like teeth. Also, from a picture, without anything of scale next to the remains, it's impossible to tell the actual size of the animal. 

Asked if it might not be a dog, Hill said, "Nothing has been ruled in or out at this time."

Reached last week, at a time when everybody believed the bones were the remains of a dog, Neptune's co-owner Kathy LaFarnara said she had no idea how bones from a dog could have wound up in the basement of their former store. Neptune's closed that location, with plans to open another one in a smaller space across the street, more than five months ago.

Hill said the case is open pending a report from SPCA and otherwise there is no new information to report.

Kelsey Torrey, Kristsen Danosos and Mark Ditzel were among the crew of Batavia Area Jaycees members who put out, and then took down, the U.S. flags along Main Street yesterday for President's Day.

The Jaycees are on a recruitment drive, backed by a group of past presidents and former members, said past president Tom Ditzel.

"I joined Jaycees in 1980 and made lifelong friends," Ditzel said.

Jaycees is a leadership training organization open to young men and women age 18 to 40. The Batavia Area Jaycees have a rich heritage and were instrumental in getting public support to create Genesee Community College and pushing the County Legislature for the Genesee County Park. They installed lights on the Upton Monument, put up flags on Main Street for all national holidays, and run countless other local projects around the county.  

For those interested in membership, email bajny@yahoo.com or visit the group's Facebook page.

Press release:

Eichenfeld LLC, a company based in Oakfield, will be launching a MöbileSchlägen Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on Feb. 27^th at midnight. To celebrate, Eichenfeld owners Marc Johnson, James Betters and Dan Manges invite the public to a MöbileSchlägen Launch Party on Saturday, Feb 25, 7 p.m., at Ken’s Charcoal Pits & Bar-B-Q (formerly, City Slickers Bar & Grill) located at 59 Main St., Batavia.

The traditional nail-pounding game of skill, strategy and fun, can only be played by acquiring large stumps of wood that must remain stationary in your yard or gaming venue. MöbileSchlägen has reinvented this favorite German game, made it mobile and now you can be the first to purchase the world’s only portable nail hammering game. 

Of MöbileSchlägen’s much anticipated product launch, coinventor Marc Johnson said, “We’ve spent a great deal of time proving our concept, engineering our product, and securing a full utility patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We have a deep bench of MöbileSchlägen ambassadors that have patiently waited for this moment.

"We anticipate a very active Kickstarter project. Our team is poised to meet the demand of our customers and we are excited with the amount of support the crowdfunding community has promised to the MöbileSchlägen project. This is the beginning of a fun run.”

The event on Saturday evwening will feature food and drink, music, swag giveaways and a chance to try MöbileSchlägen. The fun starts at 7 o'clock. If you cannot attend the launch party, please check out MöbileSchlägen’s website at www.mobileschlagen.com, once the campaign is active, just follow the provided link. This site goes live at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 27.

Photos: File photos from an event announcing MöbileSchlägen at the Carryville Inn in June. Top photo: Marc Johnson.

Previously:

• New business in Oakfield aims to expand market for old German game
• Entrepreneurs from Oakfield get front page treatment from the Wall Street Journal

Investigators are looking for help in identifying three individuals involved in a theft from Target and an attempted theft from Game Stop on Veterans Memorial Drive.

The three individuals entered Game Stop at 6:46 p.m., Feb. 15, and while two of the men distracted a store employee, a third went behind the counter and attempted to gain access to the safe. 

It was locked.

The three men then went to Target, stole a magnetic unlocking device, and then stole about $800 in Beats headphones.

They then left in a gold Honda Odyssey. No plate number could be obtained.

Investigators checked with other stores in the area but no similar incident was reported at those stores.

One suspect was wearing pink shoes and a Coca Cola jacket.

People with information that may assist investigators can call Investigator Chad Minuto at (585) 345-3000.

Press release:

Proving that a minute can matter, Tompkins Bank of Castile is launching its third round of the quarterly Community Minute Challenge. Each quarterly winner is awarded $2,500; by the end of the contest, a total of $10,000 will have been provided in much-needed funds to local not-for-profit organizations.

“The response to the Community Minute Challenge has been tremendous, and we’re thrilled to be able to help shine a light on the important services that are provided by not-for-profit organizations in our area,” said John McKenna, bank president and CEO.

The third round will begin Feb. 27 and run through March 13. The winning organization is determined by public voting on the Bank of Castile Facebook page, where visitors can watch the one-minute videos produced by participating nonprofits and then vote for their favorite. Each video explains how the nonprofit would use the awarded funds. The six organizations competing in this round are:

• Al Sigl Community of Agencies (Monroe County)
• Batavia Rotary (Genesee County)
• Focus on the Children (Livingston County)
• Genesee Amateur Hockey Association (Genesee County) 
• Villa of Hope (Monroe County) 
• Wyoming County Community Action (Wyoming County)  

To show support for the initiative and cast a vote, participants should “like” the Tompkins Bank of Castile Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TompkinsBankofCastile and click on the Community Minute Challenge app. They can then select their favorite nonprofit after watching the one-minute videos. Individuals can vote once per day during the contest period.

Launched in August 2016, the Community Minute Challenge has awarded $5,000 to date. The first-round winner was Going to the Dogs Rescue in Wyoming County, an organization dedicated to helping homeless pets find loving forever homes. The second-round winner was ARC of Genesee Orleans, a resource of choice for people with disabilities and their families in both Genesee and Orleans counties. Photos of the previous winners are available upon request. A fourth round of the Community Minute Challenge will launch later in 2017.

Press release from David Olsen, chairman:

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics...does not mean that politics won't take an interest in you.” This quote from Pericles -- who lived in Athens, Greece 2,500 years ago -- was true then and is true today in Genesee County. The 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama said in his farewell speech: “If you're disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures and run for office yourself. Show up. Dive in. Stay at it. Sometimes you'll win. Sometimes you'll lose."

Many have lost interest and faith in our political system. I won’t argue that it is perfect, nor will I say it’s fair. It’s far from either, but it is what we have and we all have access to it. It is possible for virtually anyone to run for and win a seat in our county legislature, Batavia’s city council or a town board in our county.

The Libertarian Party is the fastest growing political party in the United States. Have you had enough of the continued partisan bickering and the constant growth of government, both in cost and intrusiveness? Have you decided, as have many others that the Republicans and Democrats are not for you? Do you want to make a difference? Then contact us, we would love to hear from you and discuss any and all potential candidacies.

Please feel free to contact me or Vice Chairman Mark Potwora at gclp.ny@gmail.com. You can also message us through our Facebook page www.facebook.com/GCLP.NY/

Press release:

Deputy Sheriff Christopher Parker of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office has been selected as the 2017 New York State Sheriffs’ Institute’s Deputy of the Year. He was nominated for the award by Sheriff William A. Sheron Jr.

This statewide award was presented at the New York State Sheriffs’ Institute’s Annual Awards Luncheon, which is annually held in Albany.

On Sept. 13, the Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center received a report of a fire in a six-apartment complex in the Town of Pavilion, Genesee County. Deputy Chris Parker was the first law enforcement officer on the scene. When he arrived, he observed a fire in apartment #6. Thick, black smoke was rolling out of the building. Deputy Parker, without regard for his own safety and without any protective breathing apparatus or gear, entered apartment #5 to check for residents.

After he cleared the ground floor of that apartment, he entered apartment #4 and cleared that as well. In doing so, he realized that the apartments were two stories, and he had not cleared the second story of apartment #5, directly next to the fire. He returned to #5 to check the upstairs. As he entered a bedroom on the second floor, he discovered an elderly man asleep in a bed. The room was filling with smoke. He woke the man and got him out of the building. Deputy Parker then continued to clear apartments as firefighters started to arrive. This effort was all captured on Parker’s body camera.

Given the fact that the man was sound asleep as smoke crept in his bedroom, Deputy Parker’s quick, fearless actions most likely saved the elderly man’s life.

“Deputy Parker’s heroic action, in which he reentered a building fully engulfed in flames, to rescue an elderly man meets the Deputy of the Year Award’s criteria perfectly,” stated the Award’s Selection Committee’s Chairman, Sheriff Ron Spike of Yates County.

“Deputy Parker put his life on the line to save the life of another. In today’s society we use the word hero pretty loosely, but not in this particular case. Deputy Parker is a hero in the true definition of the word.”

Both the boys and the girls indoor track teams for Batavia High School won Section V titles at RIT on Friday night. It was the 13th title in 15 seasons for the Lady Devils and the 5th in the last 10 tries for the boys team.

The girls team dominated throughout the meet, finishing with 124 points to 71 for second-place Pal-Mac, and featured several outstanding individual performances. Katherine Wiseley won the shot put and weight throw. Lizzie Cohen won the triple jump, the 55 hurdles, and placed second in pole vault. Claire Zickl won the 600 meter, and Maddie Moore won the 1500 race walk. Bri Bromley had a strong meet with a second-place finish in the 1000 meter and a fourth-place finish in the 1500 meter. The 1600 relay of Regan Henrici, Bri Bromley, Claire Zickl and Kiaya Franklin also won.

The boys faced a bigger challenge with U-Prep keeping things close until the final event. The final point margin for Batavia over U-Prep was 15 points, with Batavia notching 91 total points. Anthony "Butch" Ray continued his dominance in the throws by winning the shot put and the weight throw while regaining the Section V record in weight, with a throw of 62'. Eric Davis had a strong performance, winning the 55 hurdles. Campbell Andersen won the 600 meter and placed third in pole vault. Nick Neid placed second in the 1600 meter. Ian SanFratello placed second in the weight throw. The 1600 relay of Isaiah Ciociola, Jerry Reinhart, Freddie Cunningham and Campbell Andersen also placed second.  

JAYME PRIVITERA -- FIRST PLACE

RICHARD GROSS -- SECOND PLACE

KRISTEN STEPHANY -- THIRD PLACE

The Ellicott Trail Project has its logo, and it’s the work of an accomplished graphic artist from Le Roy who is no stranger to entering (and winning) competitions that are open to the public.

“I’m really excited about the fact that people will be able to see something that I created,” said Jayme Privitera, a professional graphic designer for the past decade.

Privitera’s captured First Place in the competition that was set up by the Ellicott Trail Project steering committee to find a logo that best represents the proposed 4.6-mile bicycle/pedestrian path that will run from Seven Springs Road to Pearl Street Road (Route 33).

She won $100 for her logo, which will be used in many ways, such as on all-weather exterior signs, way-finding maps, stainless steel sidewalk emblems and, eventually, banners, stickers and fliers.

Richard Gross, of Wyoming, took Second Place, winning $75, while Kristen Stephany, of Warsaw, placed third, good for $25.

Members of the steering committee, led by Tom Lichtenthal, who also is serving as project manager for the Town of Batavia, made their selections on Thursday afternoon.

Lichtenthal said that 26 finalists out of the 176 submissions were considered at yesterday’s meeting. Entries came in from students and adults – from the age of 10 to 58 – from 15 communities in Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Erie, Wyoming, Niagara and Allegany counties.

Privitera said her goal was to keep the logo simple (per contest rules) and “easily recognizable, emphasizing that it was for a trail – something that keeps going.”

Two years ago, she won a statewide contest conducted by adnetworkny.com. Since 2011, she has provided graphic design for Lake Country PennySaver in Albion.

The logo will be officially unveiled at the Batavia City Council meeting on Feb. 27, Lichtenthal said.

Gross, a former ironworker and fabricator, said he does 3D modeling in his home “for fun.” He said he focused on the location of the trail and keeping the logo uncluttered.

Stephany is an adult student in her last semester at Genesee Community College where she is majoring in Graphic Arts. She said her goal was to use text that rendered “a bit of elegance and class” to the logo.

In December, Lichtenthal reported that the $1.7-million joint venture between the city and town was on schedule for completion by Thanksgiving.

The Town of Batavia is acting as lead agency for the project, which is being funded for the most part – 80 percent -- by a New York State Department of Transportation grant. The Town of Batavia and City of Batavia are contributing 10 percent each.

A Municipal Facility Grant of $250,000 will pay for a new bridge on Walnut Street, Lichtenthal said, while a portion of funds from a Genesee County Parks Department capital project will pay for a boardwalk at DeWitt Recreation Area.

Video provided by the Batavia City School District.

The forum at Batavia High School on Wednesday night was meant to discuss all aspects of the City School District's proposed $26.7 million capital improvement project, but most comments zeroed in on the future of Van Detta Stadium.

Some area residents are concerned about lights, noise, traffic, pedestrians and trash related to events at the facility.

The project, which the district has dubbed the 2020 Vision Capital Improvement Project, also had its supporters.

The project relies on money saved specifically for capital improvements and state aid, so all of the new building and upgrades can take place without any local tax increase.

Voters will be asked whether the district should move forward with the plan at a referendum vote March 2.

Jim Owen, a Redfield Parkway resident, substitute teacher, and regular at community events, praised the district for the plan.

"I just wanted to say thank you to the board and the superintendent for putting this opportunity to the voters," Owen said. "A zero-tax increase is, in my opinion, a no-brainer. When I pay a zero increase to get these benefits for today, tomorrow and the future for the children and the community, I say, thank you very much."

Among the skeptics was Councilman Bob Bialkowski, who lives in the area of the stadium. He said he has had calls from area residents about events at the current stadium and worried that changes will just make matters worse for the otherwise residential neighborhood.

“We need to teach our kids an important lesson that we care about our neighborhoods and our residential community," Bialkowski said. "I think it would be better if the vote was separated, the stadium separate from the rest of the project, but it’s too late for that.”

On the issues of light, noise, traffic and crowd control, Superintendent Chris Dailey said all of those issues are being addressed.

Lighting, for example, will use new LED lights that will not only be more energy efficient, they will be more directional so there will be less "spray" into neighboring properties.

There will continue to be security in place, including Batavia PD, to help deal with traffic, and the school will continue to emphasize to students the importance of not walking on people's lawns and leaving behind their trash.

Mike Barrett, an area resident, said he was pretty accepting of the seemingly inevitable change, but he's not happy about the prospects. There are already problems and he thinks they will just get worse.

"It’s getting out of hand, and now you want to bring in more programs," Barrett said. "This is a residential area when I have complaints it’s always on a Friday night, a Saturday night and nobody can be reached. I call the police, they drive by, they wave at the people and nothing gets done. It gets worse. So when I hear about marching bands and expanded athletic events, I think, this is insane. It’s a residential area."

Brad Griffith, who also lives in the area and said he played on Woodward Field when he was in high school, said he understands the concerns, but he thinks the new stadium will benefit the community and benefit the students.

"This is going to bring business to Batavia and we all gain from this," he said. "I know some have their issues with this, but I’d rather have my kids taking part in athletics and staying out of trouble."

There was little discussion about the planned upgrades to the four schools in the district, but when there was, it was about the current and future use of a building no longer used as a schoolhouse -- Robert Morris.

One parent asked, instead of adding more classrooms to John Kennedy, why not move one grade of students over to Robert Morris.

That was considered at one point, Dailey said.

"We looked at relocating one grade over to Robert Morris and looked at the social, emotional and academic impact, as well as the financial, of moving one grade over, and it was not beneficial to the students to add one more transition to the age group," Dailey said. "That’s why we chose not to go into Robert Morris."

Currently, Robert Morris is being used by the Star Program, a day-care provider, Genesee County Mental Health Association as a satellite office to help students and the IT department and buildings and grounds may be moving in.

After Bialkowski objected during his remarks to talk of the Batavia Daily News moving its offices over to Robert Morris, Dailey said that while the Daily News had toured the building, there was no current lease offer. After the meeting, he said the Daily News looked at the building months ago and never followed up with any further discussions.

Last night 15 teams from Section V, Class C gathered at Victor High School for sectional finals. Byron-Bergen-Le Roy represented Genesee County, placing 13th overall. 

Combined Team Rankings:

1. Avon
2. Marcus Whitman
3. Dansville
4. Wayland-Cohocton
5. Bath-Haverling
6. Addison
7. Attica
8. Gananda
9. Midlakes
10. Letchworth-Perry
11. Cuba-Rushford
12. North Rose-Wolcott-Red Creek
13. Byron-Bergen-Le Roy
14. Williamson-Sodus
15. Warsaw

The Section V swimming sectionals wrap up tonight in Bath-Haverling with the Section D finals, where Genesee County will be represented by Pembroke and Alexander. 

Photos by Destin Danser Photography. Click Here to view more or purchase prints. 

County legislators are being asked to approve a $110,000 expenditure to start a feasibility study on the construction of a new county jail.

Both County Manager Jay Gsell and Sheriff William Sheron told members of the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday that the county would be better off getting out in front of the issue instead of waiting for the Corrections Commission to come down hard on the county.

"If we didn’t at least show progress, do a needs assessment, they’re going to pull the variance," Sheron said.

For at least 15 years, the jail has been operating with a variance for the number of beds in the jail, and without it, the county would have to ship some portion of its male prisoner population to other county jails, like they do now with female inmates.

“If we have to start boarding out males at $85 to $90 a day aside from our 11 this week, I believe it was, to 22 females, that starts to push our costs outside the realm of reality," Gsell said.

Legislators asked if the study would take into account the county's ability to pay for a $35 million to $42 million facility, Gsell said the cost issue wouldn't be a factor if the county did nothing and the state forced the county into building a new jail.

"If we don’t do this and let the commission drive us the way they did the last time we had to add seven people into the complement of people (at the jail) because of the posts we have versus what they wanted us to do, then shame on us because, basically, our inability to pay wouldn't really factor into it," Gsell said.

Legislator Shelly Stein asked if the study would look at what services were offered through the jail. In an era of rising addiction rates, she said it was important to her that drug treatment and mental health professionals have better access to inmates.

Gsell said a needs assessment would gather input from all interested members of the community and all of those issues could be brought to the table.

After the meeting, Sheron said the Sheriff's Office is already in the process of working with drug treatment and mental health agencies on creating treatment programs at the jail.

The process would also include discussions on a joint facility with Orleans County, which has already had variances rescinded for its jail, perhaps even bringing Wyoming County into the discussion for a three-county facility.