Note: When the grand jury indicts individuals who have not been arrested, the indictments are sealed until the suspects are arrested and arraigned in county court. There have been a spate of recent arrests on sealed indictments. At the request of The Batavian, the District Attorney's Office today released all of the recent sealed indictments that have led to arrests. Some of these arrests have already been reported, but the indictments may contain additional relevant information.

Shawn Lardner is indicted on two counts of of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd. Lardner is accused of selling oxycodone on Dec. 14 at the intersection of Peviner Road and Route 98, Alexander. On Dec. 15, Lardner allegedly sold oxycodone at the same location.

Robert Andreasen is indicted on counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd. Andreasen is accused of possessing and selling cocaine in the parking lot of Pizza Hut/Dollar General in Batavia on Feb. 4.

Randy Wilmet is indicted on a count of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 4th. Wilmet is accused of selling hydrocodone at a location on Ross Street on May 23.

Tracey Cook is indicted on two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd. Cook is accused of selling hydrocodone at 52 Columbia Ave., Batavia, on April 4 and April 18.

Cody Bush is indicted on a count of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd and two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 4th. Bush is accused of selling oxycontin at a location on North Street, Batavia, on April 19. He is accused of selling hydrocodone at 162 Bank St., Batavia, on May 4, and of selling suboxone at 412 E. Main St., Batavia, on May 17.

After posting our pictures this morning of the Bethany Center Road bridge, we contacted some of the officials who might be able to provide information about potentially replacing the decaying structure. Here are the responses we received.

From Lori Maher, spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation:

The Bethany Center Road bridge over Route 20 in Bethany is open and safe for traffic despite its poor visual appearance. It is a candidate for future funding and will be competing for funds against other transportation needs in the seven-county area.

In a follow-up, Maher said no date for replacement has been scheduled.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley:

There are currently 2108 structurally deficient bridges in New York State, 214 in the Rochester Finger Lakes Region, with 123 bridges located in the 139th Assembly District. The Bethany Center Road bridge is slated for repair in 2015 once funding is approved. We are working diligently and directly with NYSDOT and our federal representatives to procure our equitable and fair share of funds to assure our motoring public and commerce are safe.

Daniel Aikin for Senator Michael Ranzenhofer:

Our district office has not been previously contacted about this specific bridge project, the decay and repair of the Bethany Center Road Bridge. Even though the bridge is located on a county road, the State Department of Transportation may have jurisdiction over the bridge since it crosses a state road, Route 20. Senator Ranzenhofer represented residents at the county level for many years, and he always makes an effort to assist with local infrastructure projects. As a state senator, he has been active in working with DOT officials -- both locally and in Albany -- on specific road and bridge projects. Our office has reached out to the State Department of Transportation for more information regarding this project.

From Grant Loomis, spokesman for Congressman-elect Chis Collins:

Upon taking office in January, Congressman-elect Collins will work hand-in-hand with local leaders to advocate for the necessary amount of federal matching funds to assist local communities in repairing and replacing aging infrastructure to ensure safety for the traveling public.

The Village of Corfu's newest part-time police officer made a bit of news earlier this year when his name surfaced as part of an alleged prostitution scandal involving a Buffalo-based state trooper.

Michael L. Petritz, 33, was suspended by the State Police in April and has since resigned from the force, though he's never been accused of criminal conduct.

Sgt. James Meier, Corfu police supervisor, said he completed a background check of Petritz before recommending him for the job.

"He wasn't engaged in criminal conduct," Meier said. "He was at a location he shouldn't have been at. He had no involvement with the parties whatsoever. There were never any criminal charges against him."

Petritz's suspension followed allegations of involvement with prostitution against Trooper Titus Taggart, an 18-year veteran of the State Police assigned to Troop T. Taggart was accused of organizing parties that may have included prostitutes. Taggart was eventually fired.

The only allegation against Petritz at the time was "misconduct," with no public disclosure of what that may have entailed.

Meier said he spoke to several people who knew Petritz, including supervisors, who all had good things to say about the former trooper, who, according to Meier, regularly led all of Troop T with the most citations issued.

"I personally did the checking into this guy," Meier said. "The people I talked to, especially his supervisors, said we were getting a highly trained, highly capable police officer. They all said we should be proud to have him."

Press release:

Join in the holiday spirit at the Annual Christmas in City Centre from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, in the Downtown Batavia City Centre.

On Friday, activities include entertainment by the Batavia Concert Band and a visit with Santa Claus.

On Saturday, visit with Santa Claus, be entertained by Center Stage and see the various animals at the Zoo Mobile.

The Batavia Business Improvement District wants to remind you to "Shop Small and Local" for the holidays. Remember, this Saturday, Nov. 24, is Small Business Saturday.

For more information call 585-344-2518 or visit www.downtownbataviany.com

Continued throughout the month of November, Dan’s Tire & Auto is making your tire buying experience plain and simple. We won’t be undersold. We will BEAT anybody’s price on comparable tires, plain and simple. For a limited time only, when you buy a new set of four tires you’ll get the following absolutely 100% free…

• Free Tire Mounting

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• Free Tire Pressure Monitoring System Reset

• Free Alignment (Not Just An Alignment Check)

• Free Road Hazard / Flat Repairs

• Free Rotations For The Life Of The Tires

We want your tire business, plain and simple. After 35 years there’s one thing we’ve learned, keep it plain and simple and everybody wins.

As an added bonus Goodyear is giving pre-paid Visa cards for up to $160 as a rebate on the purchase of four select Goodyear or Dunlop Tires. Don’t forget that you can sign up for a Goodyear Credit Card right here at Dan’s Tire & Auto. Goodyear Cards are accepted nationwide and offer 6 months with no interest.

Call us today at (585) 343-7210 for your quote or visit us online at www.danstire.com

The sentencing has been delayed for a Le Roy man who fled to South Carolina after being charged with assault in the second degree for punching and kicking another person in the head in October, 2010.

James Russell Kosiorek, 20, formerly of Myrtle Street, was scheduled to be sentenced today, but Noonan postponed his decision until a more current mental health report could be produced.

A fugitive for a year, Kosiorek was returned to Genesee County in August after a potential employer's background check turned up a warrant.

Last month, Kosiorek entered a guilty plea to the assault charge with an agreement that his bail jumping charge was also satisfied by the plea. The sentence cap is one to three years, but Noonan could impose a lesser sentence, including probation or local jail time for less than a year.

After a lengthy statement by Kosiorek, which he tried to read, but Public Defender Gary Horton had to complete after he broke down crying a couple of times, Noonan asked to speak to Horton and ADA Kevin Finnell in a sidebar.

After the private discussions, Noonan said the issue was about the apparent incomplete mental health report in the presentence report. There was no information about mental health treatment -- or not -- after 2008. Noonan said he couldn't determine an appropriate sentence without that information.

Kosiorek's statement, he said, was the product of much reflection and a sincere desire to do the right thing for his fiance and baby daughter.

"I've promised her a better life than I've had for myself," Kosiorek said. "I will make it happen for her no matter what it takes and in the proper manner."

Prior to the assault, Kosiorek had never been in trouble with the law. He said the assault was a mistake that he regrets.

According to Kosiorek, his older brother died in his arms when he was 13 and as a result he developed a negative viewpoint.

Running away after he was arrested, he said, was an immature reaction, which he regrets.

While in South Carolina, Kosiorek became a father, got a job, rented an apartment and stayed out of trouble.

"I love them both so much," he said.

He also started attending church regularly, he said, and became very devout.

While it was his ambition once to enter the military and make it a career, if a felony conviction means that's no longer possible, he said he intends to go to college and become a better person.

"I want to be somebody who does something that matters," Kosiorek said. "I know I was wrong."

A car struck a fire hydrant and broke a utility pole before leaving the scene at 10653 Alleghany Road. High tension wires were said to be hanging low to the ground, but Darien Fire Department, now on scene, says that's not the case.

The vehicle is now in the parking lot of the Darien Town Hall and law enforcement is out with it. The location of the accident is between Route 20 and Erie Road. The fire hydrant is dislodged but not leaking. The pole is upright, but sheared at the base, "somewhat attached to the ground" and will need immediate attention. The utility company has been notified and is sending out a crew right away.

UPDATE 2:40 p.m.: The driver is not injured and the vehicle is not leaking fluids. The officer who spoke with the driver is leaving the town hall parking lot and returning to the accident site.

UPDATE 2:42 p.m.: National Grid has a 20-minute ETA.

UPDATE: Photo submitted by Steven Easton.

A field fire is report in the area of North Pembroke and Galloway roads. Smoke is showing. "It's in the middle of a field. I'm not sure how we're going to get to it," says a responder on scene. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding and Alabama and Town of Batavia are providing mutual aid.

UPDATE 2:25 p.m.: The property owner is on scene and says he's burning some brush from a hedgerow. Alabama and Town of Batavia are back in service. East Pembroke will handle the assignment as need be.

The number of people working in Genesee County in October is higher than in 2011, but so is the unemployment rate, according to figures released today by the Department of Labor.

There are 30,200 people working in the county, the DOL reports, which is up from 29,700 a year ago; however, the unemployment rate year-over-year went up from 6.8 percent to 7.2 percent.

The state counts 2,300 unemployed people in the county for October 2012 and 2,200 a year ago.

There were 30,300 people employed in the county in September 2012 and the unemployment rate that month was 7.1 percent.

A car-into-tree accident, believed to be with no injuries, is reported at 6668 Warboys Road. There was air-bag deployment. Byron and South Byron fire is responding along with medics to evaluate the patient(s).

UPDATE 12:51 p.m.: There are no injuries. Responders are told to proceed in non-emergency mode.

In light of Highway Superintendent Tim Hens' statement to the county legislature yesterday that the state (using federal funds) has no immediate plans to replace the Bethany Center Road bridge over Route 20, I drove out there this morning to get some up-close pictures of the actual state of the bridge. Some readers may never get out there and may never see it.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported at 6571 W. Sweden Road. Bergen fire and Mercy medics are responding along with law enforcement. The location is between Swamp and Evans roads.

UPDATE 11:49 a.m.: A responder reports one vehicle is completely blocking traffic and fire police are called to shut down the roadway. A second vehicle involved is off the roadway.

UPDATE 12:49 p.m.: One patient was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital.

Tim Horton's is moving forward with plans for a new location in Batavia, on Lewiston Road, near West Main Street Road, and the company cleared another regulatory hurdle Monday night.

The Town of Batavia Zoning Board approved a setback variance for the restaurant building, allowing the structure to be located about 15 feet from the property line.

The current, vacant, building is 10 feet from the property line and the local zoning law requires a 30-foot setback, unless a variance is granted.

The zoning board approved the variance unanimously.

The board also completed a short-form environmental review and found that the one issue to be resolved is what traffic impact a Tim Horton's will have on the already busy intersection of Lewiston and West Main.

A couple of area residents spoke out against the proposed location saying additional traffic will make an already bad intersection all that much more dangerous.

A Department of Transportation traffic study for the proposed site has already been ordered and the town's planning board will take up that issue and any other issues at a public hearing Dec. 5.

Bob Bender, real estate project planner for Tim Horton's, said he doesn't know what the traffic study will show and didn't speculate about any findings.

There would be two ingress and egress points to the proposed location, one off of Lewiston Road and the other off West Main Street. The blueprint shows the West Main driveway in the same location as this tree.

The building will be 1,953 square feet.

A franchise owner for the location will not be announced until the project is approved, Bender said.

If the project is approved, construction would start in March or April.

The county will spend $375,000 this year to do a comprehensive review of all the bridges and culverts in Genesee County, though its unclear yet how replacement and repair of tired old bridges will be funded.

The legislature has discussed a bond issue for bridge and culvert replacement, which may be necessary because the pot of money from the state and feds for highway work is getting smaller and smaller.

More fuel-efficient cars and people driving less is putting a squeeze on gas tax revenue. At the same time, according to County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens, the cost of asphalt, concrete and steel is skyrocketing.

"It sounds kind of funny that fuel-efficient cars is a bad thing for highway funding, but the way our gas tax is set up, it’s a set amount per gallon," Hens said. "It’s 18.4 cents per gallon, that goes to our highway bridge trust fund. As vehicles become more efficient they use less gas, people drive less overall because of public transit, (so) the actual revenue generated by that set amount tax drops over time."

The funding squeeze on federal highway grants has the state being more judicious about how it allocates funding, Hens said. Bridges on heavily traveled interstate highways are getting the priority, which from an engineering standpoint, Hens said, is understandable.

Some some bridges -- such as the Bethany Center Road Bridge over Route 20 -- that are in dire need of replacement are being left to decay.

The Bethany Center bridge has lost so much concrete to weather and age that rusted rebar is now visible in spots.

It was originally scheduled for replacement in 2011, but cuts in funding pushed the project to at least 2015, Hens said, and now it doesn't look like it will be replaced even then.

For the county's bridges, several -- such as South Lyon Street and Stroh Road -- have been pushed back on the replacement schedule because of fewer federal dollars and higher costs.

Still, the planned capital review project for bridges and culverts will allow engineers to inventory and inspect the county's bridges and determine their current state of possible disrepair. That work will help the county better prioritize the limited resources for bridge and culvert replacement.

The funding for the project is part of the county budget and comes from the 1-percent sales tax for capital projects.

As for the drop in fuel tax, Hens said state and federal officials have floated the idea of making the fuel tax a percentage of the overall sale so the amount paid fluctuates with the price of gas, or simply adding as much as 40 cents per gallon to the price of gas.

Hens doesn't think either idea will get much political support.

There's also the idea of using a car's black box -- all newer cars have them -- to record and report miles traveled. Drivers would then pay an additional tax when they file their tax returns with the IRS.

Hens didn't take a position on any of these ideas, he just said that's what's being discussed in Albany and Washington, D.C.

The Ghost Riders have released a new CD -- 34 songs recorded live from 2008 through 2011 at the annual Stafford Carnival Father's Day Jamboree.

The CD is available at all upcoming Ghost Rider gigs.

Billie and I always appreciate running into people around town who shower The Batavian with praise. We always love to know that people appreciate our work.

We've always asked our fans and supporters to help The Batavian thrive by supporting our advertisers, which you all have been great about doing.

Now, to help us grow, we're asking you to support The Batavian through direct financial contributions by joining The Batavian Club.

Today, 19 people signed up, which we find is a pretty great start to getting this new idea going.

For the second year in a row, the crew at High Voltage Tattoo and Piercing is hosting a tattoo and piercing marathon with proceeds benefiting local charities.

This year, all money raised during the two-day event will be donated to Don Carroll's Toys for Kids and Golisano Children's Hospital. 

You can pick from a group of pre-determined tattoos for $30 per tattoo and piercings for $20 (includes jewelry).

No appointments will be accepted during the two-day event, which is from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.

Last year, the event was only one day and the High Voltage crew worked until late into the night trying keep up with the demand.

High voltage is located at 110 W. Main St., Batavia.

Photo: Mark Fanara, owner, Kenny McCarthy, Lisa Vokes and Andrew London.

A 26-year-old Batavia man with prior arrests and already serving time in state prison was arraigned today on a sealed grand jury indictment charging him with drug dealing.

Cody Alan Bush Jr., formerly of 7614 Oak Orchard Road, Batavia, is accused of selling quantities of hydrocodone, oxycodone and suboxone to an agent of the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force.

A press release from the Sheriff's Office doesn't state the time period in which Bush allegedly made the sale to an undercover agent.

Bush is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal sale of a controlled substance, 4th.

Following arraignment in county court, bail on this arrest was set at $20,00 and Bush was returned to Lakeview Correctional Facility.

He is serving from one-and-a-third to four years for driving while impaired by drugs with a prior offense, arriving in prison Sept. 13, 2012. The conviction may stem from a May 2011 arrest of Bush for felony driving while ability impaired by drugs, felony aggravated DWI with a child in the car (Leandra's Law), felony aggravated unlicensed operation, four counts criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and unlawful possession of marijuana.

In the past couple of years, Bush has also been charged with petit larceny, criminal contempt and harassment.

The owners of Rolling Hills Asylum in East Bethany called dispatch to report that an unauthorized person or persons are inside the building and a flashlight can be seen probing the darkness. Sheriff's deputies are responding. The location is 11001 E. Bethany Road in East Bethany.