An arrest has been made in an attempted arson reported yesterday morning on East Avenue in the City of Batavia.

The suspect broke three windows on the first floor of a residence, poured gasoline around the outside of the house, but then was unable to get the fuel to ignite, according to police.

Brian J. Sprague, 24, of Adams Street, Batavia, is charged with attempted arson 2nd and criminal mischief 3rd.

Three people were at home and in bed when they heard the windows being broken at 6 a.m., but didn't get up to investigate until nearly three hours later.

After the alleged attempt to start a fire failed, Sprague left the area, but was located later in the day.

He was arrested, arraigned and jailed without bail.

The case was investigated by detectives Kevin Czora and Todd Crossett along with City firefighters.

Reason Magazine: John Stossal column

Press release: 

September is Pediatric cancer Awareness Month and the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation is hosting  2 events to raise funds and awareness for this devastating disease. Pediatric Cancer is the number one cause of  disease-related death in children.  Forty-six children a day are diagnosed with cancer and 40,000 children undergo cancer treatment each year. There is so much to be done and so many families in need of assistance.

The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation is hosting a 5k Run /Walk for the Gold on September 27th @ 9am in Leroy, NY , registration begins at 8am.  The race begins at the Tennis Courts on Wolcott St.  $25/per participant. Go to active.com to register or to www.michaelshope.org for  mail-in registration. First 100 runners get a free T-shirt.

The Foundation is also raffling a  “DINNER FOR TEN”, which is a 5 course gourmet dinner for 10 people served in a private setting with limo service (50 mile travel radius). This is a one-of-a-kind raffle  and  is an amazing prize to win!! Winner can select a mutually agreed upon date for the dinner.  Tickets are $20/each or 3/$50. Call 585-409-3276 or 585-409-3275 for more information or if you need tickets dropped off. Go to www.michaelshope.org to see previous   winners.

Support Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month by supporting the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation.  Your assistance helps us “Lend a Hand of Hope” to families, to research efforts, and to youth in our community.

The 2nd Annual Yuengs & Wings Fest will be held from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday at T.F. Brown’s.

This event is sponsored by: Big Pauly’s Pizza, T.F. Brown’s, Main St. Pizza Company & Batavia’s Original Pizzeria.

Admission is $10 the day of the event. You'll get 3 signature wings from each of the participating vendors. Half of the admission price will be donated to a local charity. 

The accomplice in a home invasion burglary on Park Avenue on Jan. 22 -- a burglary that included the use of a handgun -- will spend the next five years in prison Judge Robert C. Noonan ruled today.

Nathaniel Davis, 18, has no prior serious criminal record and Noonan acknowledged that his testimony in the trial of Akeem Simmons probably helped put the much more experienced criminal away for 20 years.

Simmons was convicted of burglary 1st in August and sentenced last week.

Davis entered a guilty plea to a reduced charge of burglary 2nd immediately after Simmons was convicted.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman denies there was any deal with Davis to secure his testimony in the Simmons trial, but both Noonan and Public Defender Jerry Ader cited his forthright testimony as a reason for a sentence less harsh than the one given to Simmons.

Ader said he didn't want to minimize the seriousness of his client's conduct Jan. 22, but "he was threatened if he testified and knew he was facing a state sentence, but he testified anyway," Ader said. "I can't say for sure it was a linchpin in swaying the jury, but I think it was helpful. I think he came across as believable and honest, so I do think it was helpful to the prosecution in getting a conviction."

As part of the plea deal with Davis, Friedman agreed not to speak at the sentencing.

Noonan said he understands there may be some public concern over the 15 years difference in the sentence, but besides the criminal history and the testimony, Noonan said there's no doubt in his mind that Simmons was the primary mover in the decision to burglarize a house in Batavia.

Noonan expressed skepticism at the contention by Davis that he felt trapped into participating in the crime over fear of retaliation from Davis.

"You haven't had a particularly productive life," Noonan said.  "You had some difficulties that perhaps contributed to that lack of productivity, but you haven't shown any willingness to be productive and be a mainstream citizen that I can see."

Davis must also pay $4,040 in restitution.  Because there was no request for restitution from Davis before he was sentenced, the entire four grand is on Davis.

The Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force concluded an investigation into the sale and possession of heroin in and around the City of Batavia with the arrest of an Oakfield man this afternoon.

Tyler P. Schroeder, 22, of Lewiston Rd., Oakfield, has been charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance 3rd  and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance 3rd, both class B felonies.

Schroeder was picked up by law enforcement this afternoon at the Batavia bus stop on Park road as he exited a bus. Schroeder allegedly sold quantities of heroin to an agent of the Genesee County local Drug Task Force.

He was arraigned in Genesee County Court and jailed without bail.

Schroeder will re-appear in County Court tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.

Press Release

This Saturday, September 27, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and almost 4,000 of its national, tribal, and community law enforcement partners will hold the ninth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

Americans can take their expired, unneeded, or unwanted prescription drugs to one of over 5,200 collection sites across the country between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
 

Local drug take back agencies and locations include:

Pembroke Town Hall Rt. 5 at Rt. 77 Pembroke, NY – received by Genesee County Sheriff’s Deputies

Batavia Police Department Headquarters, 10 W. Main St. Batavia, NY – received by Batavia Police Officers

LeRoy Police Department Headquarters, 3 W. Main St. LeRoy, NY – received by LeRoy Police Officers
 

Only pills and other solids, like patches, can be brought to the collection sites—liquids and needles or other sharps will not be accepted.

Unused medications in homes create a public health and safety concern, because they can be accidentally ingested, stolen, misused, and abused.

While the number of Americans who currently abuse prescription drugs dropped in 2013 to 6.5 million from 6.8 million in 2012, that is still more than double the number of those using heroin, cocaine, and hallucinogens like LSD and Ecstasy combined, according to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

In addition, 22,134 Americans died in 2011 from overdoses of prescription medications, including 16,651 from narcotic painkillers, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Celebrate our 20th anniversary with us! Come and visit us at our open house being held on Saturday Sept 27th from 10am-3pm. We'll be offering: 

hospital tour
s, coupons
, free samples, raffles
, door prizes
, and lunch. For more information on State Street Animal Hospital, click here.

A two car accident at Oak and West Main street with injuries has been reported.

Several ambulances have been called to the scene to check out at least seven people with minor injuries.

Two people are being transported to UMMC with neck injuries.

UPDATE: 2:15 p.m.  According to Batavia Police, an SUV headed west on Rt. 5 with seven people inside was t-boned by a car going south on Oak street.

The two vehicles collided in the middle of the intersection. The driver of the car was not injured.

Three out of seven people in the SUV were transported to UMMC with minor neck and back injuries.

A business deep inside the Batavia Industrial Center/Harvester Center on Harvester Avenue was broken into some time over night.

The original dispatch said there was quite a mess made inside the business.

The burglar gained access by breaking a window on the south side of the building that was tucked behind an old rail tanker.

It's yet to be determined what, if anything, was stolen, said Det. Todd Crossett (pictured taking a DNA swab on the broken window).

The break in remains under investigation.

This monarch uses its proboscis to probe goldenrod for nectar. While not as numerous as in years past, the monarch butterfly still lends color and grace as it flits about the meadow.

A twelve spot skimmer takes five

Its getting to be the time of year when the tansy leaf aster rivals the goldenrod for dominant color

A leopard frog does its best to remain concealed as it moves about the meadow grass.

A red tail hawk surveys the meadow from a favorite perch......

the red tail is the apex predator during the day shift in and around this neck of the woods.  After the sun sets its another story.........

Once darkness falls there are three characters vying for top dog: the coyote, the great horned owl and, as of late, at least one fisher has been making its presence known in the vicinity of the meadow......

Though I doubt any of them have this guy high on their menu. But lets give this  little stinker some credit - he's very good at digging up destroying yellow jacket nests!

City fire is being dispatched a location on East Main Street, East Avenue near Ross Street, to investigate a report of a window being broken and gasoline being poured inside the residence.

The incident occurred at 6 a.m., but is just now being reported.

UPDATE 10:32 a.m.: A residence at 15 East Ave., Batavia, had three windows broken on the Columbia Avenue side of the structure.

Gasoline was poured into the windows and onto the ground outside.

Three people live at the residence. 

The incident occurred about 6 a.m., and residents heard the glass breaking but didn't get out of bed to investigate, according to authorities.

A police officer said it's likely the perpetrator is somebody who knows one or more of the people who live at the residence.

Photo: A firefighter uses a meter to collect fume readings from a window sill.

Keith Olbermann: Derek Jeter Isn't The Greatest Player Ever

Route 19 in the area of Wolcott Street was closed this morning following a tractor trailer accident at 2:30 a.m. that involved three parked cars and a utility pole.

There were no injuries.

The road should reopen soon, though it is closed at the moment.

UPDATE: 2:17 p.m.  Rt. 19 has been re-opened.

Photos courtesy the Le Roy Fire Department.

Officials in Oakfield today held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new water tower serving both the village and the town.

The $3.5 million project was eight years in the making. The community replaced a 99-year-old, 125,000 gallon tank.

Building the tank was partially financed through federal grants. A bond covers $2.6 million of the expense.

The new tank holds 500,000 gallon of water.

Through use of a block grant, will soon have a new water use measurement system in place. Rather than meter readers, each water user will have a radio-read system installed from a company called Sensus that will allow instant reading of water usage, including reports, if needed, on hour-by-hour usage.  Officials will have instant access to customer usage if a customer has questions about their account.

Pictured above: Jeremy Delyser, from Clark Patterson Lee, Joyce Grazioplene, retired clerk, Rick Pastecki, former mayor, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, and Legislator (and former mayor), Ray Cianfrini.  (Note: Several more people participated in the actual ribbon cutting, but my photos from the ribbon cutting are unusable. My old, cheap wide angle lens didn't focus properly).

Assemblyman Steve Hawley checks out the interior of the new water tower.

Mayor Jason Armbrewster sent along this video taken with a camera mounted on a drone of the new tower.

It was a beautiful day, I think you'll all agree. Here's a tree and the sun on Drake Street Road, Oakfield.

Crews are repairing the rail beds at Dublin Road, Jerico Road, Beaver Meadow Road in Bergen. The crossing have been closed this week. A supervisor on Dublin Road said today that he was trying to finish up that crossing ASAP and he expected to have all of the crossings opened by Friday.

Jacquetta Simmons appeared in Genesee County Court this afternoon on the matter of restitution for her victim, Grace Suozzi, a Walmart cashier who suffered fractured facial bones and other injuries following a Christmas Eve confrontation in the store in 2011.

The upshot is the same money Simmons had been ordered to pay in February -- $100 a month -- is the same amount she will have to pony up on the 26th of every month, beginning Friday, until the restitution of $2,000 is paid.

Her attorney at the time, Earl Keys, had argued that she was not able to make the payments because she'd just been released from jail for her crime and had been unable to find work.

The judge set another restitution hearing and asked for documentation about her efforts to find employment. There's been no progress as far as Noonan could determine.

Nothing much has changed, only months have passed.

Ann Nichols, who had also been one of the attorneys representing her at trial, was with her today and told the judge she had only met with her client on the matter yesterday, and just today was provided with a list of local places where her client has applied for jobs.

(Simmons is now married but her husband's income won't factor in much. His gross earnings are $793 a month.)

Suozzi has yet to see a penny, as far as Noonan knows.

"This victim is entitled to be paid restitution," Noonan said, "and all we've gotten so far are excuses, missed court appearances, and no restitution."

Nichols said one issue that has delayed matters is an appeal of the Jan. 13 restitution order of $100 monthly by Simmons's parents. That has now been withdrawn, and they "will be able to pay $100 as soon as Friday," the attorney said.

"We are moving toward paying restitution," Nichols said.

It was also noted that a payment of $100 was supposedly made in February, and maybe a second such payment, but no receipts were offered.

Noonan said he has no knowledge of any payments being made, but if the money was indeed received by the County Probation Department there will be a record of it and the sum(s) will be deducted from the total owed.

Simmons went to court last month by herself and had only a piece of notebook paper with some hand-written notes about her work search. Noonan told her she needed detailed, documentation of her employment search and inability to find work in order for him to decide whether to lower the amount of monthly restitution. He set another hearing for this afternoon and told her she could bring an attorney with her, or not, her choice.

Keys, it was noted, has moved to Washington State, where he is working in the State Attorney General's Office.