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Press release:

Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center received the Economic Developer of the Year award by the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC) at the organization’s annual meeting on May 24th in Cooperstown. Hyde also was named vice-chair of the NYSEDC’s board of directors.

“Steve has shown strong, creative leadership in leading the ongoing transformation of Genesee County into one of the state’s most promising regions for growth,” said Brian McMahon, executive director of NYSEDC.  “Steve’s colleagues in New York’s development community especially admire his balanced approach to development. He has built a broad portfolio of success that includes high-tech development, agri-business related growth and life sciences based opportunity, and development of housing and livability-related initiatives.”

In presenting the award to Hyde the NYSEDC cited that since 2003 more than 300 economic development projects have come to Genesee County generating more than $610 million worth of capital investment and the creation of approximately 3,149 jobs.

“While I am humbled by this award and recognition, it would not have been possible without the strong collaboration between the public and private sectors in Genesee County and the dedication and hard work of my staff,” Hyde said. “I want to especially recognize the leadership of our board and our board Chairman John Andrews and Genesee County Legislature Chairwoman Mary Pat Hancock as well as all of the elected officials who represent Genesee County.”

The GCEDC also was the recipient of certificates of excellence for the organization’s electronic newsletter and Web site, and received an honorable mention for its marketing and promotional materials.

Photo: The Batavian file photo.

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On the way back from the accident on Swamp Road today, I headed down Route 262 and passed these old military vehicles flying four flags.

There were several Memorial Day observances throughout Genesee County today.  Here are photos from the Genesee County Park, Williams Park, the VA Center, the Bergen parade, the Batavia parade and the St. Jerome's ceremony.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

An unknown type fire is reported in the area of the Darien Transfer Station, 2299 Attica Road, Darien.

Darien Fire Department is dispatched.

UPDATE 8:57 p.m.: Darien back in service.

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A 4-year-old child suffered possible whiplash in a two-car accident at routes 33 and 77, in Corfu.

Corfu Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 9:07 p.m.: Corfu back in service.

A deputy is in the parking lot of Darien Lake Theme Park investigating a complaint of a dog left in the car.

"It's a very angry cattle dog who isn't going to be taken out of this car without somebody being seriously hurt," the deputy tells dispatch.

He said the windows are tinted and the owner put a blanket in the front windshield to help keep the heat out.

There was a water bowl left in the car, but it's now empty.

Although "angry," the dog is described as in good spirits and not in any distress.

Darien Lake security is going to attempt to locate the owner in the park.

UPDATE 2:52 p.m.: Security is going to keep an eye on the animal and if it shows signs of distress, contact animal control.

It's going to be hot today -- temperatures possibly in the low 90s, with humidity.

The National Weather Service is reminding people to be mindful of the heat as they're out and about for Memorial Day and take precautions to protect against heat exhaustion.

The weather service suggestions people limit strenuous activity during the hottest part of the day, be sure to stay well hydrated, and never leave children or pets in unattended vehicles.

The temperature today will likely be 20 degrees above normal for this time of the year.

A boat at 3113 Batavia Oakfield Townline Road, Oakfield, is reportedly on fire.

It is out of the water, but near a structure.

Oakfield Fire Department responding.

A tanker from Town of Batavia requested to the scene.

UPDATE 9:01 p.m.: Batavia back in service.

UPDATE 9:37 p.m.: Oakfield back in service.

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A car fire has been reported in the area of 6378 N. Bergen Road, Byron.

Byron and South Byron departments have responded.

The car is located near a structure and is described by a chief on scene as "a working car fire."

The fire was reported by a passerby and the address is approximate.

UPDATE 7:27 p.m.: Fire is out. No extension into the house.

UPDATE 8 p.m.: Byron, South Byron back in service.

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In 2011, the Sheriff's Office saw another big jump in calls for service with dispatchers handling 25,923 calls.

That's up from 21,334 in 2010.

Calls for service range from anything from a loose dog to serious motor-vehicle accidents and structure fires.

A total of 54,134 calls were placed through 9-1-1.

On the crime front, investigators dealt with 794 total cases, which resulted in 84 drug arrests (19 cases remain pending) and 30 vice arrests.

Of the investigations, 476 were felony in nature.

A total of 178 arrests were made for DWI. The majority were age 21 to 40, with one arrest under age 18 and 20 people arrested between 18 and 20. Three people 60 to 69 were arrested for DWI and one person over age 70 was arrested.

The hours between midnight and 3 a.m. had the biggest DWI arrest activity, with 81 arrests. Between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., 38 people were arrested.

Saturday topped the days of the week for arrests with 64.

Of the arrestees, 146 were male and 32 were female.

Felony DWI accounted for 21 of the arrests, and 32 people were accused of having a BAC of .18 or greater.

The highest BACs recorded were .31 or higher and two suspects were charged with that level of blood alcohol.

Of the suspects given BAC tests, 28 tested .07 or lower, and 15 of those had no measurable BAC.

In all 178 tests were given and 10 were refused.

The juvenile division handled 178 investigations, including 32 dealing with runaways or missing persons, and 47 investigations for larceny and 24 for criminal mischief. There were 12 burglary investigations, two assaults, and four disorderly conducts.

Court security found quite a few weapons on people trying to enter the court, including two firearms, 604 knives,104 pairs of scissors and 27 razors.

Animal control handled 2,902 incidents, including 58 bite investigations, 454 lost animals and 10 livestock investigations. A total of 77 cats and dogs were euthanized, but 280 dogs were adopted through the shelter and 448 cats found new homes.

Genesee Justice handled 313 offender cases, and offenders performed 7,317 hours of community service. The agency supervised 433 people released from jail. There were 190 people supervised in the DWI program.

There were six fatal accidents handled by the Sheriff's Office in 2011.

Of the 1,178 total accidents reported to the Sheriff's Office, 164 involved injuries and 487 involved animals.

Alcohol was reported involved in 52 of the accidents and 521 accident-related arrests were made.

Deputies wrote traffic tickets for 4,095 suspected violations.

The office took a total of 1,931 criminal activity reports.

A PDF of the complete annual report can be downloaded by clicking here.

The Blue Devils are Class B Section V outdoor track champions for the second season in a row, crushing the competition Saturday in Marion with 131 points.

Second place Aquinas had 72 points.

Individual event winners were:

Eric Williams, pole vault with a 12-foot jump, and 400 hurdles with a new school record of 57.5 seconds.

The boys 4x100 relay was won by Brandon Stevenson, Andrew Budlong, Mitch Noble and Alex Egeli with a time of 45.18.

Damion Reeves won shot put with a throw of 45' 7".

Ty Demmer won the 3,200-meter run with time of 10:15.

T.T. Martinez won pentathlon with 2,611 points.

This is the team's 4th outdoor title, and with a title in indoor track this winter, the Blue Devils now have 18 total track championships in the program's history.

Photos and information submitted by Steve Ognibene.

Coach Nick Burk with Section V track officials.

A switchblade knife accidentally popped open after 44-year-old Batavia man was tackled during a pick-up football game Saturday at Austin Park, cutting a 13-year-old boy behind his ear.

The accident led to Michael A. Wroten, of 8 Edward St., Batavia, being charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd.

Wroten was jailed without bail following arraignment in city court.

The youth was transported to UMMC for treatment.

The charge is a Class D felony, with a sentencing range that goes up to seven years in prison.

Justin Rooney, a deputy supervisor in the Town of Newstead, announced Saturday that he will challenge incumbent Michael Ranzenhofer in the new 61st Senate District.

Appearing in his native Batavia on his second campaign stop of the day, Rooney was surrounded by local Democrats and joined by his wife, Sarah, and his children.

Rooney pledged support for school teachers and to fight unfunded mandates on local governments.

He said he would bring the same spirit of cooperation to Albany that helped the village and town governments in Newstead save taxpayers money on a consolidated court and shared services in the highway departments.

He contrasted that with votes by Ranzenhofer to hold separate state and federal primaries, costing taxpayers $50 million, and Ranzenhofer's vote to create another Senate district.

"At a time when New York is trying to decrease the number of politicians, he's voting to increase the number of politicians," Rooney said.

Rooney knocked Ranzenhofer as an Albany insider and promised that he would never become an Albany insider.

Lorie Longhany, county chair or the Democrats, said Rooney was just the person who could make a difference in Albany.

"He’s really one of us," Longhany said. "He’s a rural guy who understands the rural issues. He’s going to make a great representative."

This weekend, young ball players from throughout the region are in Batavia for the annual Michael Napoleone baseball tournament.

The tournament acts as a fundraiser for the Michael Napoleone Foundation, which provides donations to cancer research, and as a memorial to Michael, who loved baseball.

Michael died in 2006 from Burkitt's lymphoma/leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer.

These pictures are from Saturday. The tournament runs through tomorrow.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

A Plattsburgh school teacher with a passion for troubled youth and for paintball has opened a game facility at the Genesee County Fairgrounds.

Jared Hogle said when there are competitions, teams will travel from all over the region -- from Syracuse, Binghamton and, of course, Rochester and Buffalo, which have a lot of tournament-level players.

"Batavia's centrally located and no more than two-and-a-half to three hours away from any of these places," Hogle said, explaining why he decided to open the facility in Batavia.

For about six years, Hogle has operated the Legacy Paintball Park at the Clinton County Fairgrounds in Plattsburgh.

"It's the third most popular sport in the world now," Hogle said. "Millions and millions of people play it. ESPN broadcasts tournaments, it's live streamed. It's the second biggest alternative sport in the United States."

But the new Batavia park isn't just for tournament players. It's open to any group -- church groups, scouts, bachelor parties, etc. -- they can all rent the facility.

Hogle also hopes the park will become a resource for local youths looking for positive activities.

"Ironically, Batavia isn't much different than Plattsburgh," Hogle said. "I drove around the streets last night and I saw kids walking around with nothing to do."

Kids with nothing to do, Hogle noted, get into trouble, but some of them also develop potentially destructive attitudes.

In Plattsburgh, Hogle has taken to bringing in bands with "positive" messages for the youth.

One band delivered a message about suicide and 150 kids at that show filled out counseling slips seeking follow-up phone calls.

"The kids are hurting, man," Hogle said. "The kids are hurting in school. We’ve had in the last month in Plattsburgh alone, we’ve had three or four people kill themselves. That’s where my passion is, to do the outreach, and if paintball can be a mediator to do that, and we can bring that positive music into the Batavia area, then that's where my passion is."

Hogle said in late summer, the paintball park will be moved to the west side of the fairgrounds, over by a wooded area, and another paintball playing area will be created in the woods.

His dream is that his business makes enough money that he can devote his full attention to it and provide more resources for youth, more positive venues for them to focus their attention on.

"I would love," he said, "if we ever make money, to put in a high ropes course up here and a rock climbing wall, get more people out and show there’s different ways to process troubled times rather just getting frustrated and getting to the point that you’re so depressed you take other matters into your hands."

Hogle anticipates the park being open during this summer's county fair and that there will be demonstrations and equipment rentals for people to try out the sport for themselves.

Contact information for Hogle can be found on his Web site.

A 31-year-old male has reportedly fallen into a campfire at a location on Snipery Road, Corfu.

The victim suffered burns on his arms and legs.

Darien fire and ambulance are responding.

UPDATE 10:46 p.m.: Mercy Flight 7 out of Buffalo being put on in-air standby.

UPDATE 10:56 p.m.: Mercy Flight is cancelled.

UPDATE 11:12 p.m.: Darien is back in service.

About a dozen volunteers associated with the Business Improvement District hit the streets of Batavia today to plant flowers in a series of terracotta planters placed at strategic locations.

The planters are part of an ongoing beautification effort for downtown and in all 14 were purchased and filled with flowers and grasses.

"When you look at Niagara on the Lake, Saratoga, any of those cities, when they have flowers, people do talk about them," said Don Burkel, executive director of BID. "They make people feel better. It also attracts people to come here. They lend a vibrancy to our community."

The planters were placed at the main intersections on Ellicott and Main, as well as some along Ellicott Street, where Burkel said the area could use a little more color.

Above, Marcia Gann and Mary Valle fill a planter at the corner of Main and Court streets.

A car-deer accident with injuries is reported at Fisher Road and Lewiston Road, Oakfield.

Oakfield fire and ambulance responding.

UPDATE 1:38 p.m.: At least one victim with cuts from glass and minor bruising where the deer hit her.

UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: Oakfield Engine 72 back in service.