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There is a possible electrical fire in a storage shed at 9 Osterhout Ave.

City fire's Engine 12 and Ladder 15 responding.

UPDATE 12:55 p.m.: City fire units back in service.

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A bit of cold and rain didn't prevent residents of the Greens of Le Roy from enjoying their annual fall festival on Sunday -- they just moved the event indoors.

From Kim Pasquale: "Many vendors brought their fall harvest along with some arts and craft vendors. The residents of The Greens truly enjoyed this special event."

Pictured above are resident Paul Emerling and his daughter Donna Mellander providing musical entertainment.

Press release:

The City of Batavia recently engaged the consulting services of CZB, a nationally recognized planning firm. CZB is assisting with the development of a Community Improvement Plan to assist the city with neighborhood and economic development revitalization efforts.

Over the summer CZB met with various stakeholders throughout the community such as volunteers, property owners, property managers, Realtors and business owners in order to better understand the challenges and demands facing Batavia. The information shared during the meetings was helpful in developing valuable strategies for promoting neighborhood revitalization, business sustainability, growth and entrepreneurship and community development.

CZB will be conducting a public meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 7 in the Board Room in City Hall to share and present a preliminary report on the housing market, downtown and Main Street, neighborhoods and possible future actions.

The presentation will be followed by an opportunity for the public to give feedback and ask questions. Feedback is crucial to the research and development of community / economic development strategies for the city.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C – Batavia) wrote to Governor Andrew Cuomo, urging action on mandate relief. The assemblyman said that the state Senate and Assembly must be convened as soon as possible to address this issue that is crushing local governments and school districts.

“As representatives of New York state, we are all shirking our duties by our inaction regarding the financial position we have put local governments in by not instituting true mandate relief,” said Hawley in his letter to the governor. “I am asking you to reconvene both houses of the Legislature immediately to begin the arduous task of reducing the burden on local governments and taxpayers.”

Jon Nelson Roblee, 36, of Linwood Road, Le Roy, is charged with menacing, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Roblee is accused of throwing a coffee pot at a victim, cutting the victim's hand, and displaying two knives at victims and threatening to kill them. Roblee was jailed on $2,000 bail.

Trevor M. Rich, 30, of 7142 Randall Road, Le Roy, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and aggravated harassment, 2nd. Rich is accused of sending threatening text messages to a female he was ordered not to contact. Rich was jailed without bail.

Steven Thomas Schum, 52, of Alleghany Road, Darien, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to signal and moved from lane unsafely. Schum was stopped at 2:25 a.m., Oct. 1, on Darien Alexander Townline Road, Alexander, by Deputy Jason Saile.

Charie Marie Oddo, 50, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Oddo is accused of stealing clothing items from Kmart.

Robert Edward Greene, 30, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Greene is accused of violating an order of protection by placing a phone call to a protected person.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing fire hydrants at about 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, in the areas of: Apollo and Treadeasy drives; Brooklyn, Roosevelt and Dewey avenues; and Industrial, River and Pearl streets.

Homes and businesses nearby may be affected. These flows 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.

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Press release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Representatives Kathy Hochul (NY-26) and Richard Hanna (NY-24) introduced a bill to help Northeast dairy farms hire legal workers, which would allow for more production of local food rather than imported food, and keep farms in business to support Upstate’s overall economy.

Hochul and Hanna introduced H.R. 3024, the Access to Agricultural Labor Act of 2011, to help farmers secure a reliable and legal workforce.

* The bill would allow foreign dairy workers to temporarily come to the United States to perform agricultural labor and services under the H-2A visa program.

* Under the program, dairy workers would be able to work in the United States for extendable periods of three years.

The H-2A program allows foreign workers to enter the U.S. for seasonal or temporary agriculture work. The program was instituted to meet a need for temporary agricultural labor without adding permanent residents to the population. Currently, dairy workers are unable to participate in the H-2A program because dairy is a year-round industry, but the need for more labor is real and urgent in Upstate New York.

During the past 15 years in the Northeast, farmers have reported difficulties hiring native-born local workers. Even during the recession, farm businesses have still been unable to hire and retain local workers.

“The viability of the dairy farm industry is critical to the long-term sustainability of Western New York’s economy,” Congresswoman Hochul said.  “We need to do all we can to support these family farmers, which is why it is unfair to exclude dairy farmers from the H-2A visa program.

"They face many of the same labor shortage issues that other sectors of the agriculture community face, which is why Rep. Hanna and I are working to ensure they have the same resources available to get their jobs done.”

“Ever since I came into office, I’ve heard from our dairy farmers about the labor crisis facing their industry.  If we want to continue to have a safe and reliable food supply produced in Upstate New York, then this program will be incredibly helpful for dairy farmers,” Congressman Hanna said.

“Allowing dairy farmers access to legal and stable workforce through the H-2A visa program will keep our farms running, and it means agriculture-related businesses will continue to bolster our economy.”

Dean E. Norton, president of New York Farm Bureau, said this issue has been a high priority for several years and the three-year renewable visa would serve the dairy industry well.

“The dairy industry is the largest sector of farming in New York and is very important to the underlying agricultural services that are available throughout the state for all types of farming,” Norton said. “However, because dairy requires a year-round workforce, it has not been eligible for the H-2A program. While H-2A has many problems and inadequacies that will make it difficult to use, it is the only legal way for farmers to secure foreign labor at this time when local labor is not available.”

Among the benefits this bill will bring to Upstate New York farm business:

* It will allow for more jobs to be created and maintained;

* More food will continue to be produced locally rather than imported;

* Upstate farms will continue to be working farms and not vacant   farmland;

* Farms have a ripple effect on the economy and benefit many businesses and industries around them.

Michael Victor Blackcloud, 66, of Sackett Road, Bergen, is charged with forcible touching. Blackcloud is accused of touching the intimate part of a woman's body without her consent.

Cody A. Bush Jr., 25, of 7614 Oak Orchard Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Bush is accused of going to Jackson Elementary School and contacting a child he is ordered by Family Court not to contact.

Andrew A. Crimes, 39, of 649 E. Main St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. In violation of a court order, Crimes allegedly sent text messages and made phone calls to a woman he is ordered not to contact.

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Running back Zach Dubois helped carry Elba/Byron-Bergen to a 19-14 victory over Notre Dame.

Dubois had 152 yards on 23 carries, scoring three touchdowns.

Elba/BB (4-1) jumped out to a 12-0 first-quarter lead, with Dubois scoring on runs of three and four yards. The first TD followed a fumble by the Fighting Irish on the opening kickoff.

Sophomore Quarterback Tim McCulley was involved in both of Norte Dame's TDs, rushing three yards in the second quarter to score and tossing a third-quarter TD to Nick Taylor on a 10-yard pass play.

Dubois scored earlier in the third quarter on a 62-yard run, which proved to be the decisive score.

Tom Fowler led the Elba/BB defense with 15 tackles, including four for a loss. Alex Jasinski had five tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Cody Naylor had seven tackles and one sack.

The Lancers had 253 total yards compared to 173 for Notre Dame (4-1), however, time of possession was greatly in Notre Dame's favor, 29:59 to 18:01.

For Notre Dame, Nick Taylor had 61 yards on 16 carries. McCulley had 83 yards passing.

With Notre Dame's loss and Baker's 49-7 win over Holley, Barker is in sole possession of first place in the Genesee Region League at 5-0.

In other Genesee County football action:

Alexander fell to 0-5 with a 26-7 loss to Attica (4-1).  Lucas Phillips scored Alexander's lone TD, a 48-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Le Roy, now 3-2, scored 35 points in the second quarter on its way to a 62-26 win over Perry (1-4). Tommy McQuillen had 213 yards rushing on 18 carries, scoring six TDs. Andy Lowe completed all eight pass attempts for 136 yards and two TDs. Jeremy Poles had three receptions for 55 yards.

No stats are available on the following games:

Hornell beat Batavia 49-7; Pembroke beat Oakfield-Alabama 43-22.

Eric James Harter, 36, of Beaver Meadow Road, Bergen, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI, failure to stop for stop sign, no seat belt and speed not reasonable or prudent. Harter was charged following an investigation into a motor-vehicle accident at 6:04 p.m., Sept. 3, at the intersection of Cockram and Transit roads. Harter's vehicle hit a tree.

Eddie Lee Miles, 39, of Ellicott Street, is charged with assault, 3rd. At 5:40 p.m., Sept. 17, Miles allegedly punched another person in the face. The alleged victim suffered cuts that required stitches. 

Press release:

The Rochester Red Wings announced today that the New York Yankees Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, will play 37 of their home games at Frontier Field in 2012 while their ballpark in Scranton (PNC Field) undergoes a $40-million renovation.

Batavia’s Dwyer Stadium, home of the New York-Penn League short-season Single-A Batavia Muckdogs, who are managed and operated by Rochester Community Baseball, Inc., will host seven games.

“We are delighted to be able to bring these additional Triple-A baseball games to the fans of the Rochester and Batavia areas," said Red Wings President/CEO/COO Naomi Silver. "This expanded schedule will provide lots more opportunities for our fans to enjoy additional games during the upcoming season. We’ve put a considerable amount of time and effort into working with the Scranton ballclub to make this a reality.

“We very much appreciate the franchises in Rochester, Batavia, Syracuse, Buffalo, Lehigh Valley and Pawtucket welcoming us into their stadiums and hosting our SWB Triple-A team’s games next season. We will establish our base of operations in Rochester with more than half our home games played right there in Rochester.

New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said: "This will be a very interesting experience for our players and we’re looking forward to having our highest-level prospects playing in front of the legions of Yankees fans all across Upstate New york and into Allentown and Pawtucket. In 2013, we will return to Scranton Wilkes-Barre to a dramatically rebuilt stadium which will be our Triple-A home for a very long time."

“We are all excited about this opportunity, but we are also aware of the challenges that are ahead of us as an organization. Without a staff like we currently have in place, we wouldn’t have been able to consider this opportunity. We feel there is no better place than Frontier Field for Scranton to play,” Silver added.

The International League has approved the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees plan to play all 72 of their 2012 home games at alternate locations while renovations to PNC Field take place this off-season.

International League President Randy Mobley said: "As the title of a current article in 'Baseball America' states 'Passion Runs Deep in Rochester.' There are many baseball-loving communities in Minor League Baseball, but there is none that has supported the game for a longer period of time or loves the game any greater than in Rochester. There may not be another community or organization in Minor League Baseball that could tackle this challenge in this manner.

"The International League is grateful to both the Red Wings and Muckdogs organizations for being the cornerstone elements in establishing a home base for the Scranton/W-B Yankees games in 2012."

For the last several weeks, SWB Yankees LLC and the International League have been working diligently on a final proposal to have Scranton/Wilkes-Barre play all their home games at alternate locations in 2012.

“From an economic development standpoint it will also be a home run for our community because it will create more jobs, fill more hotel rooms, and spur on more business in our community thanks to the Yankees and visiting teams being here for those additional 37 dates," said Red Wings General Manager Dan Mason.

"This should also be an economic boom for Batavia as well as a great opportunity for Muckdogs fans to see Triple-A baseball in their own backyard for the first time ever."

Scranton, for the most part, will make Upstate NY their home away from home in 2012. In addition to the 37 home games at Frontier Field, Scranton will play six home games in Buffalo, seven in Batavia, and 10 in Syracuse.

Scranton will also play eight games in Lehigh Valley and four games in Pawtucket.

“The International league has always prided itself in helping each other out when needed," Mason said. "The Scranton/W-B club needed a place to play and we were happy to come to their assistance along with our North Division partners in Buffalo, Syracuse, Pawtucket and Lehigh Valley. This is a shining example of the spirit of cooperation within the International League."

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