Press release:

Water valve repairs will take place Wednesday, Feb. 18th, on River Street between South Main Street and Birchwood Drive.

Water customers will be without water from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on South Main Street from River Street to the City line, to include Meadowcrest Drive, and River Street from South Main Street to Birchwood Drive.

All residents will have access to their properties during the construction. We ask that all thru traffic seek an alternate route during this time.

This valve replacement is associated with the waterline work that was completed on South Main Street over the weekend. A water valve became inoperable and requires immediate replacement.

If you should experience discolored water after the water is restored, please run your faucet until it once again becomes clear.

Thank you to all the residents and motorists in the affected area for their patience during the construction over the past few days.

Two women from Buffalo are accused of stealing enough from the Walmart in Batavia to be charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree.

Rickita Lathan, 29, and Katrina M. Jones, 46, are accused of making off with laptop computers and an undetermined amount of clothing without paying for the items during a visit to the story Friday.

They were identified as the suspects through the use of surveillance video.

Based on the evidence, State Police investigators received arrest warrants out of the Town of Batavia Court for Lathan and Jones.

Lathan was taken into custody by Cheektowaga PD and turned over to SP Batavia. She was arraigned in Town of Oakfield Court and jailed on $1,000 cash bail or $2,000 bond.

Jones was being held in the Niagara County Jail on an unrelated charge. She was transported to SP Batavia and transferred to the Genesee County Jail on $500 bail.

Besides the Class E felony charge, the duo is charged with conspiracy, 5th, a Class A misdemeanor.

A water main break is reported in the Village of Le Roy at 124 E. Main St. Le Roy fire and a public works crew are responding.

Mercy Flight WNY will host "An Irish Evening" from 5:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday March 14 at Terry Hills Golf Course Banquet Facility, located at 5122 Clinton Street Road in Batavia. This is a fund-raising event to include an Irish-themed dinner, open and cash bar, 50/50s, Chinese and silent auctions, door prizes and entertainment.

There will be an Irish sit-down dinner, and free wine and beer at the bar from 5:30-6:30. Menu is corned beef and cabbage, soup, salad and dessert. (Alternate dinners for special diets available if requested prior to March 1st.)

Tickets for the event are $35 per person -- pre-purchase only -- and can be bought online at www.mercyflight.org or by contacting Lynn O’Donnell at 716-864-5060 or lodonnell@mercyflight.org

Event organizers are currently looking for basket or silent auction donations as well as event sponsors. If you wish to help, please contact O'Donnell for further information or for pick up of the items you wish to donate.

Mercy Flight WNY is a local, independent, not-for-profit provider of emergency air medical transport. Established in 1981, Mercy Flight WNY has flown more than 23,000 patient missions. Mercy Flight WNY serves the counties of Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania out of bases in Buffalo, Batavia and Olean ready to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Mercy Flight WNY performs this lifesaving service without regard to the patient’s insurance status or ability to pay. In the last fiscal year, Mercy Flight WNY forgave over $1.5 million in care provided to uninsured or underinsured patients. Please help us to remain a "Beacon of Hope" -- when minutes matter for our community by contributing to this fund-raising event.

Smoke is reported in the basement of a duplex at 111 Ellsworth Ave. City fire is reponding. The building has been evacuated. The location is between Columbia and Manhattan avenues.

UPDATE 11:57 a.m.: "Engine 11 on location with nothing showing."

The Genesee Chorale will perform a show at 7 p.m., Feb. 20, at Northgate Free Methodist Church, south campus, built around the theme of American Bandstand.

A stage set is being built to replicate Dick Clark's old set, Pat McHanon will perform as Dick Clark, and between songs, old clips of Dick Clark interviewing some of the great artists who appeared on American Bandstand will be featured.

The musical selection will include hits by Sam Cooke, Etta James, the Everly Brothers, Dusty Springfield, Bobby Darin, Leslie Gore, the 5th Dimension, the Mamas and the Papas, Peter, Paul and Mary, Otis Redding, among others.

The Chorale is conducted by Ric Jones.

Photos are from last night's rehearsal at St. James.

Sad news for Batavia Muckdogs fans from Don Rock, head groundskeeper: He had to put down his dog, Haley, who was a familiar part of game days at Dwyer Stadium the past few years.

Rock said Haley had kidney problems.

"It was a very difficult thing for me to have to do and right now it is very rough for me, to say the least," Rock said.

We held a Flip Ad contest today. The winner is Anne Marie Starowitz, of Batavia.

Anne Marie was the eighth person to correctly identify today's secret code, which was Henry Homelius.

The prize is $25.

We have a few advertisers running Flip Ads. Telling us which ads are Flip Ads won't win you the contest (I get about one e-mail a day along those lines). To win, you must find the code hidden under an ad, which we post once a week at random times. (We forgot last week.)

A group of Sea Cadets are spending five days in Genesee County Park learning winter survival skills.

It's an annual event for the cadets, who hail from throughout Western New York.

The Sea Cadet program is sponsored by the U.S. Navy League and runs year-round.

Youths from 11 to 13 are called leaguers and actual cadets are age 13 through high school graduation. The program includes two weeks of basic training, monthly meetings at either Buffalo Navy Reserve Center or the Buffalo Navy Park, and annual training in a specialty. Cadets can choose any specialty the Navy offers, from firefighting to military law.

Choose to train as a Navy Seal and you will get to spend two weeks training with actual Navy Seals.

The winter survival course is designed to teach basic first aid, plus how to survive for at least a short time in winter conditions.

One of the tasks today was for cadets to build a quinzee, which is an igloo-like structure made from a mound of compacted snow that can be used as a temporary shelter if you became stranded outside during a winter storm.

Synthetic drug use hasn't hit the epidemic proportions of 2012, but with reports of related hospitalizations and law enforcement issues on the uptick, Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on the DEA to step up its enforcement efforts.

To draw attention to the issue, Schummer held a press conference this morning in the library at Batavia High School, joined by Superintendent Chris Daily, Principal Scott Wilson, GCASA Communications Director Pamela LaGrou, and Sgt. Greg Walker, head of the Local Drug Task Force.

"We gave the DEA the authority (with legislation in 2012) to ban a long list of chemical look-alikes," Schumer said. "If it's almost marijuana, or almost methamphetamine, or almost Ecstasy, or almost cocaine, and they can switch a few molecules, we told the DEA you don't need legislation to make it a Schedule 1 drug. You can ban it. The problem is, the DEA is moving much too slowly."

The DEA is battling against a worldwide network of independent chemists, small labs and distributors who are constantly reformulating their drugs. Schumer thinks the DEA can keep pace.

"The DEA has a panel of scientists, experts, keeping tabs on new drugs," Schumer said. "We would hope they can ban these before they are actually sold on the market."

Schumer came to Batavia High because of reports of four students who were hospitalized as a result of using synthetic drugs.

It's important to education young people about the dangers of these often unknown substances, school officials said.

Walker said that while opiate-based drugs remain the number one drug enforcement issue in the county, there has been a slight increase in synthetic drug usage locally.

"Like the senator said, in 2012, we did have a big influx of the synthetics and since then, it has dropped off," Walker said. "Now that Cloud 9 has come up, it's starting to come back, but we're not seeing that huge surge we saw in 2012."

Schumer said he fears a repeat of 2012 in 2015 if the DEA isn't more aggressive in its enforcement efforts.

"They've banned 20 (substances)," Schumer said. "But there are another 300 on the list. We're asking the DEA to move much more quickly. The drugs are powerful. They have severe side effects and some kids develop permanent mental problems as a result of using them."

A Batavia man is in custody in Attica after an alleged assault at the Tops Store in the Wyoming County village.

Joshua T. Pehrson, 29, of 330 Ellicott St., Batavia, is accused of choking his girlfriend while they were parked in a car outside the store. The woman, an employee of Tops, entered the store and Pehrson allegedly attacked her again when they got inside, choking her and attempting to stab her with scissors.

Employees and customers intervened and held Pehrson until Attica PD officers arrived.

He is charged attempted assault, 1st, criminal obstructing breathing, menacing, 2nd and criminal possession of a weapon, 4th.

The suspect was jailed on $25,000 bail or $50,000 bond.

Tyquawn D. Bethal, 24, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, criminal contempt, 2nd, assault, 3rd, coercion, 2nd, and criminal obstruction of breathing. Bethal was arrested following an investigation into an alleged incident reported at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at a residence on Prune Street, Batavia. The investigation stemmed from an initial report that Bethal had unwanted physical contact with a person protected from him by a court order. He was also charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Bethal was ordered held without bail.

Keith B. Besaw, 43, of Lyon Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 2nd. Besaw is accused of damaging an electric clock valued at more than $1,500 at the Genesee County Nursing Home.

Nickol RL Burnett, 24, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Burnett was arrested on a warrant during a traffic stop. He posted $300 bail and was released.

Russell L. Cocilovo, 44, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminally possessing a hypodermic instrument and driving a motor vehicle with an obstructed view. Cocilovo was stopped at 10:25 a.m. Wednesday on Bank Street by Officer Frank Klimjack.

A 17-year-old was arrested on a bench warrant for alleged failure to appear on a disorderly conduct charge. The youth was found at a local hotel and taken into custody. He posted $300 bail and was released.

Chad A. Bernard, 37, of Ross Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 1st, and endangering the welfare of a child. Bernard was allegedly involved in a domestic incident at 11:40 a.m. Saturday on Ross Street. Bernard was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Andrew C. Webster, 21, of Gillate Road, Alexander, is charged with petit larceny. Webster is accused of shoplifting from Tops Market.

Michael R. Marchese, 24, of Park Avenue, Batavia, was arrested for alleged failure to appear on an aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, charge. Marchese was located at his residence. He posted $500 bail and was released.

It's minus two degrees in Batavia. The good news is, we're going to see a warming trend through the afternoon, all the way up to five degrees.

There are no weather alerts posted at the moment.

The photo is of the spillway on the Tonawanda Creek behind the County Courthouse from about 30 minutes ago.

Work crews took a break overnight, but were back at it at first light this morning, working to repair a water main break at South Main and River streets.

There is an issue with identifying and turning off the three valves that feed the juncture at the intersection. Once the water flow is shut down, repairs won't take long.

Previously: In the cold and wind, city crews spending a day working on South Main water line break

Through nearly 24 hours of sub-zero temperatures, crews from the city's Public Works Department have been dealing with a water main break on South Main Street near River Street.

The break itself is repaired, according to City Manager Jason Molino, but there is a valve causing a problem and crews are trying to isolate it so it can be repaired.

Residents in the area should have water flow, though the pressure might be down a bit.

"They're out there," Molino said. "They're working hard, but the weather isn't helping. You've got to give them a lot of credit. There's got to be nothing worse than working outside and getting wet in sub-zero temperatures."

There's no ETA for when repair work will be complete.

UPDATE 8:33 p.m.: Photos added. City workers were out trying to locate the troublesome valve. At the break site were contractors from Sergi Construction. Crew members confirmed they've been at this task since last night. Asked how it was going, one said, "not good." As you can see from the pictures, there's still a lot of work to be done. It's currently minus eight degrees outside.

The young man reportedly behind the wheel of a pickup truck that took out a utility pole on Law Street early this morning, causing a power outage in the area, was charged with DWI.

Joseph P. Pratt, 20, of 70 Church St., Le Roy, and a passenger were transported to an area hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

According to police, Pratt failed to negotiate a curve on Law Street in the area of 2 Law St., Batavia.

The 2010 Chevy Silverado hit the pole, which snapped in half.

Pratt was charged with DWI, speed unreasonable and prudent and refusal to take pre-screen breath test. Additional charges are pending. 

Power was restored to the area about 10:30 a.m.

(Initial Report)

UPDATE 8:40 p.m.: Photo added. National Grid crews are still on scene completing repairs to the broken pole.

A one-vehicle rollover accident is reported in the area of 1655 Lewiston Road, near Knowlesville Road, Alabama.

Passersby are attempting to help the people out of the vehicle now.

Alabama fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 2:07 p.m.: There were two occupants. One is out and they're working to get the other one out.

UPDATE 2:17 p.m.: Alabama Fire and Mercy EMS back in service.

A car has struck a utility pole in the area of 2 Law St., Batavia. 

Wires are down. Unknown injuries. 

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Bill Shea was honored Saturday night at Bethany Town Hall for his 50 years of service to the Bethany Volunteer Fire Department.

The thank you and gift of a jacket was part of an evening that included other awards, recognitions and the swearing in of firematic officers and board members.

The 2015 officers are Jeff Fluker, chief, Jeff Pietrzykowski, 1st assistant chief, Bradley Fluker, 2nd assistant chief, Jamie Fluker, captain, Jeremy Hausfelder, lieutenant, Mel Davis, EMS captain, Jim Duval, EMS lieutenant, George Larish, fire police captain.

During a memorial service at the end of the evening, members who have passed were remembered, including Louis Gayton, a former chief as well as former highway superintendent and former supervisor. Above, Jeff Fluker lights the candles on the memorial. The flowers he's holding were presented to Gayton's widow.

Jamie Fluker was named Firefighter of the Year.

LaurelLi Jackett received the Chief's Award.

More pictures after the jump:

Former Chief Ryan Morgan was recognized for his service.

Chief Fluker presented flowers to his wife as a thank you for all her support of the Fluker family of volunteers and the rest of the department.

Jeremy Haufelder received the EMS Award from Mel Davis.

Jim Duval presents Mel Davis with a plaque in recognition of her 10 years with EMS.

Gail Smith was honored for her support of the department.

Jim Duval responded to the most calls in 2014.

Yes, it's cold, and getting colder.

The overnight low is expected to be two or three degrees below zero with wind chill dropping it down to -24, then in the morning, the temperature will fall even more.

And it will snow. A couple of more inches tonight and another an inch or two tomorrow.

The winter storm warning is effect until 6 p.m., Sunday.