Press release:

The City of Batavia Youth Bureau sponsored a citywide 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament on Friday, May 13. Ten teams competed in the double elimination tournament. Teams represented were Youth, Batavia Police, Batavia City Hall and Genesee County Dept. of Social Services.

The Batavia Youth Bureau is planning another tournament later this summer to continue this community event that creates interaction between youth and public servants.

Below are photos (submitted, IDs from left) of the first-, second- and third-place teams and the Youth Team playing the Batavia Police/City Hall Team.

First Place: Malachi Chenault, Trenton MaGraw, Dakota Irvin and Jordan Thomas.

Second Place: Luqman Baity, Ally Luckenbach and Alex Nesbeth.

Third Place: Anthony Garcia, Juan Claudio, Nashiem Harris (not pictured -- Jeff Redband).

(Names not provided.)

Vernon Ronald Hill, 18, of Chiefswood Road, Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada, is charged with second-degree criminal trespass. At 5:30 a.m. on Monday, May 16, Hill was allegedly found naked in a residence on Griswold Road in Stafford by the homeowner. He was arraigned in Town of Le Roy Court and jailed in lieu of $1,000 cash bail. He was due in Stafford Town Court this morning. The case was handled by Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Young.

(Submitted photo of George Mirrione when he arrived home after serving in the Gulf War.)

Press release:

Twenty-five years ago, more than 600,000 service members took part in Operation Desert Storm, at the time the largest deployment of U.S. Armed Forces since Vietnam. George Mirrione, then an Army Private First Class was attached to the 5^th Engineer Battalion(Combat) of the 24^th Infantry Division (Mechanized) was one of those who left friends and family behind to serve our nation and secure a victory for freedom.

On May 30, Mirrione, who grew up in Akron and now lives in Batavia, will march among more than 500 Gulf War veterans in the American Veterans Center’s National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C.

To mark the 25th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm and honor those who served and sacrificed, the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association and America Veterans Center have invited more than 500 Gulf War veterans to reunite at the National Memorial Day Parade. The veterans are participating thanks to the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association and its mission to honor the legacy of the Gulf War though building a monument in the nation’s capital to the 383 service members who fell during the war and honoring those who served in this pivotal moment in world history.

“While foremost our mission at the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association is to build a monument to our fallen brothers and sisters, we are also committed to honoring the many hundreds of thousands of men and women who left homes, jobs, and families to stand up for America’s values,” said Scott Stump, founder, president and CEO of the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association.

“We are so glad that veterans like George Mirrione are marching with us to teach Americans about the service and sacrifice made by all veterans of Operation Desert Storm.”

Mirrione and other veterans will follow part of the same route service members returning from the Middle East marched 25 years ago. Like their comrades of the past, Mirrione will be met with the cheers of hundreds of thousands of patriotic Americans. By honoring Gulf War veterans alongside veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and our most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the parade will cement Operation Desert Storm as one of our nation’s key battles for freedom.

In 2014, Congress passed legislation and President Barack Obama signed a law approving construction of the National Desert Storm War Memorial in Washington, D.C. Since that day, the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association has been working to build the monument and aims to raise the millions of dollars needed to support that mission.

To learn more about the Desert Storm War Memorial Association and its participation in the Memorial Day Parade, contact Fred Wellman, Public Relations chair, NDSWM Board of Directors at 202-957-2688 or fred.wellman@ndswm.org. To learn more about the American Veterans Center’s National Memorial Day Parade, visit http://www.americanveteranscenter.org/avc-events/parade/

ABOUT THE NATIONAL DESERT STORM WAR MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION:
The National Desert Storm War Memorial Association is a 501(c)3 organization with the sole mission of constructing a Desert Storm War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The association is led by a board of directors comprised of Desert Storm Veterans from all branches of the military and from across the country. You can learn more about the effort and donate to this important cause at www.ndswm.org.

Submitted photo of "Hops."

"Hops" is on the lam. She's a "chubby," double-chinned eight-pound bunny who hails from the yard at the southeast corner of Maple Street and Ganson Avenue in the City of Batavia.

Hops was last seen by her family, the Rapones, on Sunday. The 3-year-old is white with gray around her eyes and ears.

"I'm starting to freak out a little," said Polly Rapone this morning, who says she's scoured the neighborhood in search of the pet, one of six bunnies, two cats, two chocolate labs, a fish and a turtle who live at 23 Maple St..

Guy and Polly Rapone, who five children together, four school-aged, have allowed Hops -- in good weather -- to lounge and ambulate at will about their large yard, which is only fenced on two sides, while her rabbit relatives are mostly caged. She's usually content to sit at the edge of the yard with her nose twitching through the chain-link fence.

But this latest escapade, one of several over the course of her little lifetime, has Polly particularly stressed out.

For one, she's been gone longer than on her other forays and, two, well, enough is enough.

"She's going back in the cage," said Polly, with prescient hopefulness about the fate of their beloved bunny rabbit.

If you have information which might lead to the capture of Hops, please contact the Rapone family at 219-4657. No questions asked!

The County Legislature's Public Service Committee held its monthly meeting at the new terminal at the County Airport. Before the meeting, County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens gave attendees a tour of the facility.

We'll have coverage of the meeting later today.

A drive out to Le Roy today for some business took me down Asbury Road under crisp blue skies and past the landmark Mail Pouch Barn.

City fire has been dispatched to 208 South Swan St., Batavia, for a reported bonfire in the parking lot.

A two-car accident with injuries is reported at Broadway and Transit roads. Bethany Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 7:05 p.m.: Fire Police are called in for traffic control.

A semi-trailer has reportedly brought down utility lines, possibly electrical, in the area of 7233 West Main St., Le Roy.

Le Roy Fire responding.

Press release:

Horrifying. Terrible. Stressful. Horrible.

Emotions ran high as Cady Glor spoke to Byron-Bergen juniors and seniors on May 10 to share the long-lasting effects of how a drunk driver changed her life.

Glor was smitten with Chris Blake, her high school sweetheart and boyfriend of eight years. In 2014, Blake was a passenger in a vehicle and his friend behind the wheel was intoxicated. An accident occurred which put Blake into the hospital with a broken neck.

“I remember the moment my mom called me to tell me that Chris was in the hospital,” said Glor. “It was like what you see in a movie. I fell on the floor. I was screaming and crying.”

“Seeing someone lying in a hospital bed with a breathing machine, someone who was so strong, is just devastating,” added Glor. “I still see it in my nightmares today.”

Blake spent months in the hospital but was confined to a wheelchair, was a quadriplegic, and had a tracheostomy tube to help him breathe. His body deteriorated from the strong physique he once had.

Talks of Blake going home began to happen as the summer ended and Blake knew that he wanted to share his story with schools, and help students understand the impact their decisions could have. Unfortunately, Blake ended up passing away in Aug. 22, 2014, after an infection entered his blood. Glor has since taken on the task of carrying out his wish and speaking to schools.

Byron-Bergen Jr./Sr. High School Principal Patrick McGee invited Cady in to speak to students because he knew that her message would resonate with students.

“Cady is such a courageous woman,” McGee said. “She told a story that is unfortunately all too familiar in our society and did it in a way that hit home with our students. There were very few dry eyes in our auditorium.”

Glor told the students that while she doesn’t know any of them, she cares about all of them. She encouraged the students to not drive drunk, to not get into a car with someone who is drunk, and to call someone for a ride no matter what the time or circumstance.

“Knowing that his death was preventable makes it a thousand times worse,” Glor said. “He chose to get into the car with a drunk driver and he paid the ultimate price.”

The crabapple trees in Alexander are once again in bloom. We wrote last year about the fascinating history of Alexander's crabapple trees.

Susan A. Colton, 58, of Vernal Road, Attica, was arrested by the Le Roy Police Department on May 13 and charged with: driving while ability impaired by drugs, a Class A misdemeanor, and driving the wrong way (on a one-way street), a violation.

Colton was arrested following an investigation of an erratic operator traveling northbound on Warsaw Road. The vehicle which Colton allegedly operated was located a short time later at the Five Star Bank at 124 W. Main St. After a brief investigation Colton was allegedly found to be impaired by drugs.

Colton was issued traffic tickets for the charges with a return date of June 20 at the Le Roy Town Court. Genesee County Sheriff's deputies assisted with the arrest and a driver evaluation.

Mercy Flight will be landing at Meadowbrook Golf Course, behind an address on Valle Drive, just outside the city limit, to answer a medical call. Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding to establish a landing zone and Mercy medics will be assisting the patient. The ETA for Mercy Flight #9 is about 10 5 minutes.

UPDATE 9:07 a.m.: The landing zone is established. It's south of South Main Street and "wide open except a few trees to the west. A rise in the ground is marked by a cone on its side." "We have a visual," the helicopter pilot replies.

UPDATE 9:11 a.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.

UPDATE 9:25 a.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne.

Press release:

For the first time in the program's history, the Genesee Community College Men's Lacrosse Team captured the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championship after defeating Onondaga CC 13-12 in overtime on Sunday afternoon.

The fourth-seeded Cougars snapped a seven-year streak in which OCC won the title, becoming just the third different team to be crowned national champions since 2006.

Genesee trailed 1-0 early in the first but tied it at the 11:37 mark when Pat Van Bortle scored off of an assist from Alex Henry. Jacob Bomberry followed with his first of three goals in the game just 20 seconds later and gave GCC a 2-1 lead.

OCC, the No. 2 seed, ended the opening quarter with three straight goals and took a 6-2 lead five minutes into the second to build what would be its largest lead of the afternoon.

Genesee capitalized on a man-up opportunity and ended its scoreless stretch when Van Bortle recorded his second goal with 9:14 to play in the half. Davis Prince cut the deficit to two with an unassisted goal at 6:24 and just over a minute later the Cougars were within one after Jonah Mohawk found the back of the net to make it 6-5.

The Lazers went into the half scoring back-to-back goals, including one with just six seconds left, and led 8-5 at the break.

Another man-up goal for GCC started the scoring in the second half when Van Bortle set Up Sherman Williams for his first of the game halfway through the third to cut the OCC lead down to two. The Lazers responded less than a minute later to extend their lead back to three before Williams struck again on a man-up opportunity to make it a 9-7 game.

Both teams exchanged goals to end the third as Bomberry got his second of the game for GCC and he scored again early in the fourth to get the Cougars to within one at 10-9. Williams then scored back-to-back goals at 11:24 and 10:40 and GCC held its first lead since the first quarter at 11-10.

OCC got the equalizer even strength and then scored a man-up goal with just over six minutes to play to regain the lead at 12-11. But Van Bortle wasn't done and tied it at 12 with 3:43 left in regulation and after a scoreless duration of the fourth, the game went into overtime.

Both teams held a possession early in the extra session but could not cash in, until with just 1:14 left in overtime, Van Bortle found an opportunity in front of the OCC net and scored his fourth goal of the afternoon to send GCC to its first national title.

Van Bortle, named the tournament's offensive MVP, finished with six points in the game adding a pair of assists to his four goals. Williams also tallied four goals and Bomberry finished with six points, scoring three goals and assisting on three.

Darin Eakins was named the tournament' defensive MVP and made 14 saves in net. Reed Hnidy led the GCC defense with six ground balls and caused five turnovers and Kyle Dalrymple and Mike Caternolo each collected four ground balls. Caternolo was also 10 for 27 on face-offs.

Genesee's national championship season ends with a 15-4 overall record. It is the College's second national title in school history and first since 1971 (bowling).

A porch fire is reported at 62 W. Main St., Le Roy.

A chief reports smoke showing.

Le Roy fire and Le Roy ambulance dispatched, along with Bergen's ladder truck.

UPDATE 4:35 p.m.: This turned out to be a mulch fire.

The Mental Health Association hosted a mental health and wellness fair at Blue Pearl Yoga in the former Masonic Temple on East Main Street, Batavia, today. Besides a seminar on bellying dancing, the event included a drumming circle, yoga, Reiki share, paper flower making, adult coloring and essential oils.

Modeled after Antiques Roadshow, GO ART! hosted its second annual appraisal fair today at Seymour Place. Area residents were able to bring in the rare, the antique and the unique to have experts give their best estimate of the piece's value and quality.