pembroke

Mary Thompson took this picture this morning of the sunrise over the travel plaza in Pembroke.

From Operation Lifesaver:

Seventy-five people have died in New York State from collisions with trains since 2017. Nearly 125 more people statewide have been injured during that period.

Recognizing that more publicity about track safety would save lives, a partnership between railroads, Operation Lifesaver, and state and local law enforcement, and local, state and federal agencies created Rail Safety Week in the United States and Canada in 2017.

It runs Sept. 22-28. Nearly a thousand rail safety events occur throughout North America during Rail Safety Week.

In Genesee County, there will be an event billed as a "motorist safety blitz" on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the railroad crossing on Colby Road in Pembroke, south of Route 33 (Genesee Street). The sponsors are the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, CSX and Amtrak. The time frame is 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

This year, Rail Safety Week introduces a campaign called #STOPTrackTragedies featuring a daily release of videos with personal stories of people whose lives were affected by rail crossing or trespassing incidents.

Last year, about 2,100 people throughout North America were killed and seriously injured from collisions with trains. For nearly every collision death or injury could be avoided if people made better decisions around railroad tracks.

Nationally, vehicle-train collisions at highway-rail grade crossings rose 4.3 percent in 2018. New York bucked that trend with a 35 percent reduction in collisions from 2017 to 2018.

Operation Lifesaver state coordinator Phil Merens says the safety partnership that exists between railroads, Operation Lifesaver, law enforcement and other government agencies was productive in helping reduce collisions even before Rail Safety Week began two years ago.

Heavy equipment to start shaping the land east of Route 77 and south of Indian Falls Road in Pembroke into a veterans cemetery has arrived at the work site.

Notice of Public Hearing

Information from Penny Arnold:

The Pembroke Corfu District Kiwanis Club will hold their 12th Annual Car Cruise & Fall Festival tomorrow, Sept. 15, at Pembroke Town Park on Route 77 (next to the high school).

Time is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rain or shine!

Why not take a ride in the country and head over to the Pembroke Town Park (8799 Alleghany Road (Route 77)) for an afternoon of fun, and support a great cause at the same time?

There will be music, an awesome basket raffle to benefit Crossroads House, plenty of vendors, and delicious food options available -- Babz BBQ, hamburgers and hotdogs from Crossroads House, Pink Cow with breakfast sandwiches and ice cream, pizza from the wood stove, and awesome desserts.

Plus more than 200 cars are expected.

New this year is a free Kids Car Cruise for ages 8 and under, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Kids register your ride-on vehicle and get a kid's goody bag.

Cruise registration starts at 9 a.m. Preregistration fee is $10 per car; $15 day of the cruise.

For cruise info, call John at (716) 937-9918 or email him at drogicd@gmail.com

To preregister, download a car registration from the PCD Kiwanis website here.

Participants vote and trophies are awarded at 3 p.m.

Vehicle owners assume liability for vehicle damage.

Proceeds from the cruise registrations will benefit the PCD Kiwanis Kids Projects.

Unique dash plaques and goody bags are guaranteed for the first 100 cars. The big question of the day will be: what does this year's dash plaque look like? Come and see!

There will also be: a Kiwanis party package raffle; Crossroads House HUGE BASKET RAFFLE; 50/50 raffle; and more than 40 venders, many of them new vendors with very unique products.

File photos from the 2015 Car Cruise & Fall Festival.

Ryan Matthew Sharlow, 49, of Ross Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree assault, second-degree menacing with a weapon, and fourth-degree criminal mischief. At 10:42 p.m. on Aug. 28, deputies were dispatched to a residence on School Road in the Town of Stafford for a reported disturbance. Sharlow allegedly struck a victim with a blunt object, which caused physical injury, and he allegedly threatened another victim. He was arraigned in Stafford Town Court and jailed in lieu of $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond. He is due in Stafford Town Court at 1 p.m. on Sept. 10. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kenneth Quackenbush, assisted by Deputy Erik Andre.

Shannon Gene Draper, 45, of Transit Road, Pavilion, was arrested after allegedly damaging another person's property following a domestic incident at 10 p.m. on Aug. 29 on Transit Road, Pavilion. He was arraigned in Stafford Town Court and released on his own recognizance after temporary orders of protection were issued for the victims. He is due in Pavilion Town Court at 3 p.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 3). The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jordan Alejandro, assisted by Deputy James Stack.

Michael E. George, 56, of Lewiston Road, Oakfield, is charged with: aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child under age 16 as passenger -- with a prior conviction within 10 years; DWI with previous convictions; and moving from lane unsafely. At 12:03 a.m. on Sept. 1, Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore conducted a traffic stop on Route 63 in the Town of Batavia. George was subsequently arrested, arraigned in Town of Batavia Court, and jailed in lieu of $1,000 cash or $2,500 bond. He is due in Town of Batavia Court at 2 p.m. on Sept. 23.

Jordan Lee Hull, 25, of Alpine Lane, Caledonia, is charged with: aggravated driving while intoxicated with a BAC of .18 percent or more; DWI; moving from lane unsafely; leaving the scene of a property damage accident; having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle; and unsafe tire. He was arrested following the investigation of a motor-vehicle accident at 10:03 p.m. Aug. 31 on Circular Hill Road in Le Roy. He is due in Town of Le Roy Court on Sept. 16. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jared Swimline, assisted by Deputy James Stack.

Jenna Lynn Josephite, 30, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree and promoting prison contraband in the second degree. At 8:35 a.m. on Aug. 29, Genesee County correctional officers were processing Josephite after her arrest in the City of Batavia for petit larceny. It is alleged that she knowingly and unlawfully entered the Genesee County Jail while in possession of contraband -- drug paraphernalia. This was a metal smoking pipe commonly used for narcotics. She is currently under supervision of NYS Parole for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. Parole was notified and a parole detainer was issued. Josephite was transported to Batavia City Court and arraigned, then jailed in lieu of $500 cash bail or $1,000 bond. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan DeLong, assisted by Correctional Officer D. Stone and Correctional Officer Philip Mangefrida.

Jeremiah D. Welchruth, 18, of Lockport, is charged with: operating a motor vehicle while having a BAC of .08 percent or more; driving while intoxicated; and speeding. At 11:08 p.m. on Aug. 29, Welchruth was arrested on Main Road in Pembroke following a traffic stop. He was issued an appearance ticket for Sept. 19 in Pembroke Town Court. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy David Moore.

Christine Marie Hulme, 53, of Kensington Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with: driving while intoxicated; DWI -- operating a motor vehicle while having a BAC of .08 percent or more; driving left of pavement markings; and operating a motor vehicle while using a mobile phone. Hulme was arrested at 10:18 p.m. on Aug. 30 on Sumner Road in Darien. She was issued an appearance ticket for Sept. 17 in Darien Town Court. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Mathew Clor.

Bobby James Mulder, 40, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with operating a motor vehicle while having a BAC of .08 percent or more, and driving while intoxicated. He was arrested at 3:48 a.m. on Aug. 31 on Lake Street in Le Roy after an investigation into a complaint of an unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Mulder was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Le Roy Town Court on Sept. 12. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jenna Ferrando.

A one-vehicle rollover accident with injuries occurred at 403.6 on the westbound Thruway. Pembroke Fire Department is on scene, along with mutual aid from Indian Falls. NYS Police and Mercy medics are also on scene. 

East Pembroke was deployed at the Thruway entrance on standby but command put them back in service along with Mercy Flight, which was also on standby.

Extrication will be handled by Pembroke. Dickinson's en route for the tow.

No word on the injuries.

UPDATE 6:33 p.m.: This Thruway assignment is back in service.

Here's a photo sent in by reader Chris Drew of the new Pratt Road Bridge over Tonawanda Creek in Pembroke.

The Pembroke Corfu District Kiwanis Club will hold their 12^th Annual Car Cruise & Fall Festival on Sunday, Sept. 15 at Pembroke Town Park on Route 77 (next to the high school).

Rain or shine!

There will be music, an awesome basket raffle to benefit Crossroads House, plenty of vendors, and delicious lunch options available.

Why not take a ride in the country and head over to the Pembroke Town Park for an afternoon of fun, and support a great cause at the same time?

Cruise registration starts at 9 a.m. Preregistration fee is $10 per car; $15 day of the cruise. Proceeds from the cruise registrations will benefit the PCD Kiwanis Kids Projects. Unique dash plaques and goody bags are guaranteed for the first 100 cars.

Participants vote and trophies are awarded at 3 p.m.

New this year is a free Kids Car Cruise for ages 8 and under from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- kids register your ride-on vehicle and get a kid's goody bag.

For cruise info, call John at (716) 937-9918 or email him at  drogicd@gmail.com

Vehicle owners assume liability for vehicle damage.

To preregister, make your check payable to PCD Kiwanis Club, and mail to: PCD Kiwanis Club, Attn: Car Cruise Registration, 470 Sumner Road, Corfu, NY 14036.

Please include on a piece of paper: your name, address, city, state, Zip Code, phone number, email address, and the year/make/model of your vehicle.

Or download a car registration or vendor application from their website here.

For vendor information, call Penny at 356-3413 or email pcdkiwanis@gmail.com or visit online at www.pcdkiwanis.com

Investigators do not know why Michael N. Block, 50, of Williamsville, apparently lost control of his motorcycle at sometime before 7 p.m. last night in the area of 1027 Sliker Road but the resulting crash cost Block his life.

Block was driving a 2000 Yamaha going west on Sliker Road in Pembroke. He failed to negotiate a left-hand curve in the roadway. Block and his bike exited the road on the north shoulder and traveled through a hedgerow. Block struck several trees and lost his helmet. It was found wedged in a tree. Block came to rest in an open field.

Emergency responders were originally dispatched at 7:02 p.m. for a report of a male lying in a field unconscious. While deputies were in route dispatchers were updated by a first responder that the male had no pulse and was not breathing and that he had been involved in a motorcycle crash.

Pembroke fire, Indian Falls fire, Alabama fire, and Mercy EMS were dispatched.

When deputies arrived, CPR was in progress.

Block was pronounced dead at the scene. 

The crash is being investigated by Chief Deputy Brian Frieday, Sgt. Michael Lute, Investigator Howard Carlson, Deputy Mathew Clor, and Deputy Andrew Mullen. Accident reconstruction was completed by Sgt. James Diehl and Deputy Kyle Krzemien. Dickinson's Towing assisted at the scene.

Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

A motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene this evening an accident on Sliker Road, Pembroke.

The Sheriff's Office is investigating the accident and will release more information later.

The victim is described as a middle-aged male.

Pembroke fire and Indian Falls fire along with Mercy EMS responded to the scene.

Photo and information: Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

From Senator Charles Schumer:

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced Saturday that the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has awarded a $23,337,281 contract to a company in Victor to begin construction on Phase 1A of the Western New York National Veterans Cemetery in Pembroke.

The nation's newest veterans cemetery will be located at 1232 Indian Falls Road in the Town of Pembroke. The cemetery site was originally 132 acres, then they purchased adjoining 60-acre and 77-acre parcels, closing on those early last year. Phase 1A construction encompasses 65 acres of the cemetery's total 269 acres.

“The awarding of this $23 million contract to Ontario County-based Global Urban Enterprise clears the way for the construction of the long-sought and sorely needed Western New York National Veterans Cemetery to, at long last, get underway," Senator Schumer said.

"Making this cemetery come to reality has been and remains one of my top priorities, and I won’t stop fighting until it comes to fruition."

Phase 1A of construction will create 4,000 gravesites, including roughly 2,500 gravesites for casket interments, and 1,500 in-ground sites for cremated remains.

When it is time to complete the project, Global Urban Enterprise in Victor will partner with Syracuse-based Hueber-Breuer Construction, along with other subcontractors to do the work.

Schumer said the establishment of the Genesee County cemetery is a well-deserved opportunity to honor the more than 96,000 veterans and family members in this region who will have a proper military burial at a site close to their homes, families, and communities they served and defended.

It will be the first and only of its kind in the Buffalo-Rochester area and will save thousands of military families from having to travel more than 100 miles in some cases to visit their loved ones at what is now the closest veterans' cemetery in Bath.

“This contract and the cemetery’s construction soon getting underway helps guarantee Western New York’s military veterans will have a proper burial, at a site close to the homes, families, and the very communities they dedicated their lives to defend and serve,” Schumer said.

According to guidance provided by the VA, the first burials are expected to occur at the cemetery by November/December 2020.

Veterans with a qualifying discharge, their spouses, and eligible dependent children may be buried in a VA national cemetery. Also eligible are military personnel who die on active duty, their spouses and eligible dependents.

Burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate, and a government headstone or marker.

A person has reportedly fallen from Indian Falls off of Gilmore Road, Indian Falls.

The victim may have suffered a head injury.

Pembroke Fire, Indian Falls Fire, Emergency Management Services, and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 6:29 p.m.: East Pembroke is on standby. It sounds like first responders will try to bring the female patient up along a trail. 

UPDATE 6:31 p.m.: The patient is "top side" and East Pembroke and Emergency Management have been put back in service. The injuries do not appear to be serious.

Benjamin Santiago Jr. is indicted for the crime of first-degree robbery, a Class B violent felony. It is alleged that on June 2 at an upper apartment on Ellicott Street in Batavia that Santiago forcibly stole property from another person, and in the course of the commission of the crime used or threatened the immediate use of a dangerous instrument -- a hammer. In count two, Santiago is accused of forcibly stealing property and in the commission of the crime, causing serious physical injury to a person. It is also a Class B violent felony. In count three the defendant is accused of first-degree assault, another Class B violent felony, for intentionally causing serious physical injury to another person by means of a dangerous instrument -- a hammer. In count four, Santiago is accused of grand larceny in the fourth degree, a Class E felony, for stealing a credit or debit card belonging to another person. In count five, he is accused of petit larceny, a Class A misdemeanor, for stealing U.S. currency from the same victim. In count six, he is accused of petit larceny for stealing a Fuji bicycle from a different victim that day on Bank Street in the city, which is a misdemeanor. In count seven, Santiago is accused of second-degree burglary, a Class C violent felony, for entering a dwelling on Bank Street Road in the Town of Batavia with the intent to commit a crime. In count eight, the defendant is accused of third-degree grand larceny, a Class D felony, for allegedly stealing property with a value of more than $3,000 -- a 2010 Ford F150 Lariat super cab truck -- belonging to a third victim.

Juaquin E. Davis is indicted for the crime of criminal contempt in the first degree, a Class E felony. It is alleged that on Jan. 16 in the City of Batavia that he violated an order of protection by being in the presence of the protected party. In count two his is accused of the same crime on March 18. In count three, Davis is accused of the same crime on March 18 for allegedly grabbing the protected party by the hair and pushing her up against a wall, then shoving her against a window. In Special Information filed by the District Attorney, Davis is accused of having been convicted of second-degree criminal contempt, a Class A misdemeanor, on Oct. 3 in City of Batavia Court. His conviction stems from violating an order of protection and that conviction was within five years of the crimes alleged in the current indictment.

Cody M. Landin is indicted for the crime of aggravated driving while intoxicated, a Class E felony. It is alleged that on March 20 in the Town of Stafford that Landin drove a 2008 Mazda on Route 237 while intoxicated and while a passenger age 15 or under was a passenger. In count two, he is accused DWI, also as a Class E felony, for driving that day while allegedly intoxicated. In count three, Landin is accused of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, a Class E felony, for allegedly driving while intoxicated, knowing that his NYS driver's license was suspended or revoked by authorities. In count four, he is accused of aggravated unlicensed operation in the third degree, as a misdemeanor, for driving when his license was suspended by authorities on Nov. 14. In count five, the defendant is accused of refusing to submit to a breath test, a violation of vehicle and traffic law. In Special Information filed by the District Attorney's Office, Landin is accused of having been convicted of driving while ability impaired by alcohol and drugs, as a misdemeanor, on Jan. 14 in Town of Covington Court and that conviction was within 10 years of the crimes alleged in the current indictment. The conviction forms the basis of the driver's license revocation referred to in count three of the current indictment. The DA also accused Landin of failing to pay a fine imposed for a conviction in Town of Le Roy court for an offense committed on May 15, 2018; failure to pay that fine forms the basis for the driver's license suspension on Nov. 14.

Eric C. Cleary is indicted for the crime of driving while intoxicated, as a Class E felony. It is alleged that on March 31 in the Town of Alabama that Cleary drove a 2016 Ford van on Lewiston Road while intoxicated. In count two, he is accused of first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a Class E felony, for driving that day while intoxicated and while his driver's license was suspended or revoked by authorities. In Special Information filed by the District Attorney, Cleary is accused of having been convicted for DWI, as a felony, on Nov. 23, 2010 in County of Monroe Court and that conviction is within 10 years of the crimes alleged in the current indictment. He is also accused by the DA of having been charged in Brighton Town Court of DWI, per se, on Nov. 18 of last year, and prosecution of that crime forms the suspension referred to in count two of the current indictment. Furthermore, as a result of the Nov. 18 crime, his driver's license was suspended or revoked on Dec. 19 pending the prosecution of it.

Eduardo Santiago is indicted for the crime of aggravated driving while intoxicated, per se, as a Class E felony. It is alleged that on May 19 in the Town of Pembroke that Santiago drove a 2002 Fore Ranger westward on I-90 while having a BAC of .08 percent or more and while a child age 15 or less was a passenger. In count two, he is accused of aggravated DWI, also as a Class E felony, for driving while intoxicated with a passenger age 15 or less. In count three, he is accused of speeding for driving over the maximum speed limit. In count four, he is accused of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle for driving the Ford Ranger without a driver's license.

Paula A. Cipro is indicted for the crime of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, a Class E felony. It is alleged that on March 21 that Cipro knowingly possessed stolen property while on Bank Street in the City of Batavia -- a debit card belonging to another person. In count two, she is accused of petit larceny, a Class A misdemeanor, for using the victim's debit card to make purchases at a local deli.