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There is an elevated risk of fire today because of dry conditions and low humidity, according to the National Weather Service.

It's been five days since rainfall and dead vegetation from last year, such as grasses and leaves, are very dry.

Humidity is expected to drop to 25 or 30 percent this afternoon.

Winds will increase from 10 to 25 mph, with gusts of 25 mph later this afternoon possible.

Conditions may approach "red flag" warning level this afternoon.

A statewide ban on open burns through May 14 remains in effect.

Lennie M. Colley, 46, of South Lyon Street, Batavia, is charged with a felony count of criminal mischief, 3rd, DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and consumption of a alcohol in a motor vehicle. Colley is accused of smashing out windows of motor vehicles at about 2:40 a.m., today, on Route 5 in Stafford. Deputy James Diehl and Sgt. Brian Frieday responded to the call and found Colley allegedly driving drunk.

Lee Ann Marchese, 51, of Alleghany Road, Alabama, is charged iwth burglary 2nd. Marchese is accused of entering a dwelling in Stafford on Tuesday and stealing property.

Dimitri Carmelo Burton, 19, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Burton is accused of shoplifting from the AT&T store on Veterans Memorial Drive. Burton was jailed on $250 bail.

The assessment of Assistant District Attorney Will Zickl is that Carlos Torres is "committed to the commerce of illegal drugs," and today Judge Robert C. Noonan said he agrees.

Noonan noted that the probation report listed the names of six children Torres is responsible for, but in what the judge called one of the most bizzare paragraphs he's ever read in a probation report, Torres admits to fathering four other children. Torres, however, apparently doesn't know their names and their mothers have left the area.

He is obligated, according to Noonan, to make child-support payments for one of those four children, but hasn't been making payments.

"You're an irresponsible criminal who deserves the maximum sentence you negotiated," Noonan said.

Torres entered a guilty plea Jan. 9 to criminal possession in the fourth degree.

He was arrested in August and found carrying cocaine, crack and heroin with an estimated street value of more than $7,000.

At the time, Sgt. Steve Mullen, lead investigator for the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force, said "The weight of the powder cocaine, along with the number of bags of both crack and heroin, on top of his $4,000 (in cash), is significant for this county."

Torres came to the attention of investigators in May 2010 when he showed up at UMMC with gunshot wounds. 

At the time, he claimed he had been walking down Indian Falls Road when a car pulled up behind him, somebody demanded his wallet, then shot him. He called a friend who drove him to the hospital.

In May 2010, Torres was on probation out of Erie County for a 2008 drug conviction.

Attorney David Widenor argued vigorously that his 37-year-old client is a sincerely changed man who has seen the error of his ways.

"He wants to be a law-abiding citizen," Widenor said. "He has a family to support. He has six children he loves and wants to care for."

The August arrest derailed an opportunity for Torres to own a legitimate business locally, Widenor said, but the attempt itself was evidence that Torres knows he needs to get his life on a legitimate path.

"He wants to get out of this lifestyle he's been in," Widenor said.

Torres spoke briefly and quietly.

"I've been with the wrong people at the wrong times," Torres said. "I let my children down, but most of all, I let myself down. I want to change that."

Noonan said immediately that he agreed with Zickl's assessment.

"You have demonstrated that you're a drug dealer," Noonan said. "That's what you do and that's how you make a living."

After Noonan pronounced sentence, Torres's girlfriend, sitting in the gallery, began to cry. Torres and the woman have a child together.

Genesee County Clerk Don Read has organized a program to help honor and reward U.S. military veterans.

It's called "Return the F.A.V.O.R." and provides registered veterans with a card that can be presented to some local merchants for discounts on goods, services and meals.

"We need to show the veterans, beyond that first day they come back and beyond Veteran's Day, how much their service has meant to Genesee County," Read said. "We would not be in the position we're in as a county, as a state, as a nation if it weren't for the veterans and the service they have put in."

The program requires veterans to visit the County Clerk's Office and present their DD214, which serves another purpose for Read, who wants to see all veterans keep copies their DD214s on file with the clerk's office for safekeeping and easy retrieval should the veteran's copy get lost.

A DD214 is a federal document that proves both honorable discharge and military service and is required for a wide range of veterans services.

Some 40 merchants have signed up so far to offer discounts to veterans who show a copy of the "Return the F.A.V.O.R." card, including Delavan's, Oliver's, Settler's, Lambert's Design Jewelers, Valle Jewelers, Adam Miller Toy & Bicycles, Batavia Downs, Roc-City Total Care Care and Tire, Ken Barrett Chevrolet and Kreative Design Kitchen & Bath. (For a fill list, click here).

The card costs $3 and the program adds no extra costs to taxpayers.

Any veteran of any era with a valid DD214 is eligible to receive the card.

The Local Drug Enforcement Task Force announced the arrest of 11 people on various drug-related charges stemming from three different enforcment actions by task force members.

Curtis M. Gallagher, 27, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Gallagher was arrested following the execution of a search warrant March 30 on his vehicle and residence. Gallagher was allegedly found in possession of a quantity of marijuana and a quantity of hydrocodone along with some drug paraphernalia. Gallagher was issued an appearance ticket.

On Saturday, the task force arrested five people who were allegedly using a hotel room "for the purpose of abusing crack cocaine," according to the press release. Upon raiding the room, investigators allegedly found a quantity of crack cocaine and buprenorphine hydrochloride. Taken into custody and jailed on $1,000 bail each were Pamela A. Adamski, 28, of Walnut Street, Batavia; Jodi L. Reed, 40, of South Pearl Street Road, Oakfield; Heather J. Nadolny, 28, of East Main Street, Batavia; Nicholas J. Volpe, 40, of Edwards Street, Batavia; and, Timothy J. Walsh, 44, of Redfield Parkway, Batavia.

Over a two-day period, March 21 and March 22, members of the task force along with uniformed deputies and police officers from Batavia and Le Roy, conducted a number of traffic stops. Along with citations issued, the following people were charged with drug-related offenses:

• Nick Hawkins, 28, of Market Street, Brockport, and Seth Fisher, 24, of Asbury Road, Le Roy, were charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Alex Cordero, 24, of Avenue D, Rochester, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Phillip Ayala, 27, of Melville Street, Rochester, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Douglas Brown, 29, of East Main Street, Corfu, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Pamela A. Adamski, 28, of Walnut Street, Batavia, and Dajuandrick Gardner, 35, of East Avenue, Batavia, are both charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th.  Adamski and Gardner were allegedly found in possession of cocaine. Gardner was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Press release:

A last-minute trip to the grocery store for a package of hoagie rolls proved to be a life-changing moment for Carol Pursel of Le Roy. On the way out of store, the 57-year-old mother of two caught a glimpse of the new The Color of Money scratch-off ticket in the store’s lottery vending machine. Pursel, the officer manager at her husband’s auto repair shop in Limerock, decided to try her luck on the new ticket.

“I scratched it in my car and saw that I had a match on the Jackpot amount,” recalled Pursel. “I ignored it thinking maybe it was a mistake, but then I figured I should go back in the store and check.”

Pursel took her ticket to the Customer Service counter where they verified it was a $1,000,000 winner.

“I asked them, “So what do I do now?’ ”

Pursel matched the number 29 on the upper and lower sections of her The Color of Money scratch-off game, making the working mom the first lottery player statewide to win the $1,000,000 top prize. The $5 game went on sale March 6.

Pursel purchased her winning ticket on March 12 at the Tops Markets on West Main Street in Le Roy. She claimed it at the lottery’s Customer Service Center in Rochester on March 15.

“I put off claiming it until I had a chance to talk to my accountant to prioritize where the money will go.”

The top prize on the lottery’s The Color of Money scratch-off is paid as $50,000 a year for 20 years. Pursel will receive a net check totaling $33,090 through 2031.

“My daughter is getting married this summer, so some will go toward that,” said Pursel when asked about her plans for the prize. “It will certainly come in handy all around.”

The Genesee County Youth Bureau -- which also runs Batavia's program -- has a new director, Jocelyn Sikorski.

Sikorski, who has worked for the bureau for 13 years, most recently as program coordinator, was tops in a field of four candidates.

The Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend to the full legislature approval of her appointment, and to approve her change of status into the management tier of the county's salary structure.

Sikorski will earn $44,209 in her new position.

The Batavia High School graduate is married, lives in Genesee County, and is the mother of a 6-year-old and a 9-month-old. She also attended Genesee Community College and has a bachelor's degree, which she completed while working for the county full time.

Earlier this year, previous Director Deb Kerr-Rosenbeck retired.

Sikorski said she isn't planning any big changes for the youth bureau.

"I think a lot of what we’ve been able to bring into the county over the past couple of years with federal and state grants have really expanded our services," Sikorski said. "I just look to continue doing that, either through those avenues or other avenues that may come along."

Brittany Baker has been selected by the Miss New York-USA pageant to represent Genesee County in the upcoming competition, but since there is no local event to crown her Miss Genesee, Baker asked the county legislature on Wednesday to give her permission to use that title.

Members of the Ways and Means Committee didn't feel the title is theirs to bestow, but they had no objection to her being called Miss Genesee in the competition.

Baker said she was told she needed a letter of support.

"What if I am Miss New York and go on National TV," Baker said. "I think it would be a great thing if I started out as Miss Genesee."

Legislator Ray Cianfrini said that he didn't see an issue with the legislature not objecting and offering its best wishes on her effort, but since nobody really owns the name "Genesee" it wasn't the legislature's place to grant her that title.

A graduate of SUNY Brockport, where she majored in broadcast journalism, Baker is a former staff writer for the Batavia Daily News and The Batavian.

After the meeting, Baker said she's already received a good deal of support from the community for her effort -- Salon VIP did her hair; Photos by Roth took her portfolio shots; and Next Level Fitness has provided her with a gym membership.

Next, she'll be looking for sponsors to help her raise the money necessary to enter the competition.

When the Oakfield-Alabama grad goes to New York City, she'll still be a relative rookie in beauty pageant competitions.

She admitted to the legislators that she hasn't spent a lifetime preparing to be a beauty queen, to which County Manager Jay Gsell said, "What? There isn't a picture of you as a 2-year-old in a tiara?"

"If you find a picture of me as a 2-year-old, it’s out somewhere in a cornfield in Basom," Baker said.

Matthew Joseph O'Connor, 19, of Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with grand larceny, 4th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. O'Connor is accused of stealing a debit card from a friend and using it in Genesee and Monroe counties to make purchases and ATM withdrawals. At the time of his arrest, O'Connor was allegedly found in possession of a small baggie of marijuana.

Lacey M. Muntz, 28, of Maltby Road, Oakfield, is charged with petit larceny. Muntz is accused of stealing license plates from a vehicle she did not own.

Paul Uzarowski, 41, of Genesee Road, Pembroke, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC 0f .08 or greater, failure to dim headlights and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Uzarowski was stopped at 8:57 p.m. Tuesday on Route 77 in Pembroke by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

A 40-year-old Batavia man is accused of committing sexual acts on a 2-year-old over a three-month period.

James Little Jr. is being charged with three counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree.

Batavia PD released no further information on the case.

Little is scheduled to reappear in Batavia City Court on April 18.

I've taken pictures of the Richmond Mausoleum before, but while I was on Harvester Avenue today, a gorgeous early spring day, I had an idea for a different approach (at least for me) to the shot. This is the result.

Masse Gateway -- a redevelopment project partially funded by NYS grants -- has its second tenant.

Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management is building a new office -- that someday could employ 18 people -- in one of the former tractor factory buildings.

Martin G. Anderson, a director out of the Buffalo office, said Merrill Lynch has had its eye on Batavia for five years and those long-range plans are just coming to fruition.

"We know our clients in Batavia do not want to drive to Buffalo or Rochester to do business," Anderson said.

The office will initially open with 11 employees, including some brokers who were once with the old Smith Barney office in Batavia and jump shipped years ago to Merrill Lynch.

"This is going to be a bit of a homecoming for them," Anderson said.

Among them is Joshua Dent, a Bethany native who will manage the new office.

Previously, local business Creamy Creations announced it was moving to Masse Gateway.

There is 60,000 square feet available in the redevelopment project.

Merrill Lynch anticipates opening the office Aug. 1.

Top photo: Anderson and Dent with Julie Pacette, community development coordinator and Tom Mancuso, owner of Masse Gateway. Bottom photo, Mancuso, Dent and Anderson with City Manager Jason Molino during a meeting with the local media.

It was graduation day for Batavia Enclosures at the Batavia Industrial Center this morning.

The 24-year-old company is moving to its own 27,000-square-foot building, which will help better meet the needs of the growing enterprise.

Leonard Roberto founded the Batavia Enclosures in 1988 with only $6,000 in the bank.

"We didn’t have a name, no company, no product," Roberto said. "I just believed it was something I wanted do, so I quit my job and came here to Batavia and rented 4,000 square feet. I had no equipment and no customers. That’s how we started. My faith was that it would happen and it did happen."

Batavia Enclosures makes precision-engineered cases and racks for electronic companies. The additional space will allow it to introduce new manufacturing processes, including powder coating.

Roberto said the firm, which now has four employees, will likely add four or five workers with the expansion.

Meanwhile, he and his sons have started a second business called Savage IO, which manufactures a server -- a computer that stores and serves data to other computers over a network. That's where the big opportunity lies -- in the server industry -- which he says is currently the fastest-growing industry in the world.

Savage IO is potentially a multi-multi-million dollar company, Roberto said, and much of the space of the new building is intended to accommodate growth.

BIC President Tom Mancuso presented Roberto with a certificate of graduation in a ceremony at Moonjava Cafe in the Harvester Center and congratulated Roberto on his company's growth.

Roberto thanked Bank of Castile for facilitating the purchase of the new building.

In 2011, the Batavia Police Department responded to 16,991 calls for service and logged more than 154,000 patrol miles, according to a report released by the department.

Overall, the crime rate was up slightly in 2011 over 2010, but still down from the 2009 rate.

The rate in 2011 was 35.12 (an index computed by city population). In 2010, it was 34.93, and in 2009 it was 37.20.

There were 376 criminal arrests in 2011, compared to 575 in 2010.

Calls for service in the city peaked in 2007 at 17,707 and dropped off dramatically in 2008. The number has increased each year since and was 16,581 in 2010.

The detective bureau field 479 cases and pursued 396 criminal investigations.

There were 399 larcenies reported in 2011; 95 burglaries; 12 motor vehicle thefts; 32 assaults; zero murders; and 10 rapes.

The rape total was the highest of any of the past six years.

Besides rape, there were 20 total sex crimes reported in the city, down from 25 in 2010.

DWI arrests were up from 36 in 2010 to 47 in 2011.

There were 499 motor vehicle accidents reported in the city in 2011. That's down from a recent high of 528 in 2009.

In all, police officers inititated 3,517 traffic stops in 2011 and issued tickets for 1,054 moving violations.

A total 1,413 parking tickets were written.

The full report is available as a PDF. Click here to download.

The Easter Bunny is downtown today, hanging out outside the Enchanted Florist on East Main Street.

Press release:

Batavia Downs Casino will continue to enhance education, both of the sport of harness racing as well as classroom academics, by continuing its scholarship program for its third consecutive year.

The $7,500 one mile Dash for the Cash will be held on Saturday night, Sept. 15.

Five area high school seniors from the graduating class of 2013 will participate. The schools can use any criteria they wish to pick their students. This year’s participating high schools are Batavia, Notre Dame of Batavia, Elba, Pembroke and Alexander.

Kaley Falkowski of Batavia High School with professional Jim Mulcahy alongside won the inaugural event. Last year Elizabeth Shuknecht representing Elba High School with professional Jim Graham took top honors.

Beginning in August, the five participating students will attend at least five training sessions at the track with their professional to learn the safety and skills needed to drive a racehorse. Then between the fourth and fifth live harness races on Sept. 15, they will line up behind the starting gate and compete for scholarships checks of $3,000, $2,000, $1,200, $800 and $500.

“The enthusiasm in the crowd leading up to the race is amazing and it brings an entirely different demographic to the racetrack,” said Todd Haight, general manager of live racing. “These kids train very hard and definitely come away with a better understanding of our sport.”

Again the scholarship event is co-sponsored by the horsemen, breeders and owners of Western New York through the Harness Horse Breeders of New York State, the Western New York Harness Horsemen's Association, Buffalo Raceway and Batavia Downs Casino.

Batavia Downs Casino, America's oldest lighted harness track, opens for its 66th racing season on Monday, July 23, for 72 racing dates with a new post time of 6:25 p.m. Racing will be conducted on a Sunday afternoon, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night basis in August. For more information, visit www.bataviadowns.com.

Francis Scott Smith, 18, of 2435 Angling Road, Pembroke, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, aggravated unlicensed operation, failure to dim headlights and unlicensed operator. Smith was stopped at 1:45 a.m., Sunday, on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

A 16-year-old resident of Angling Road, Pembroke, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. The youth is accused of making several threats by phone to harm another person.