A two-car accident is reported at East Main Street and Masse Place in the City of Batavia. It is blocking traffic. Unknown injuries. City firefighters are responding.
UPDATE 1:02 p.m.: City fire back in service.
This spring, I drove by this old quarry on Golf Road in Le Roy for the first time. It was filled with green water that day and I thought, "I bet in the fall, that green water topped by autumn-colored trees looks pretty awesome." So this afternoon, driving back from Rochester, I thought of the quarry and the picture possibility. It was a bit of a let down to find the water evaporated over the summer. But with the dramatic storm clouds above, I still thought it could make a nice picture.
David Michael Johns, 46, of East Street, Gainsville, is charged with grand larceny, 4th, falsifying business records, 1st, and petit larceny. While employed at Kistner Concrete Products, 10056 East Road, Bethany, Johns allegedly loaded merchandise valued at more than $1,100 into a customer's vehicle and failed to turn in funds to the business from the transaction. Johns is accused of falsifying a packing slip and turning it over to his supervisor in an attempt to account for reportedly missing merchandise. In a separate incident, Johns is accused of loading merchandise into a customer's vehicle with a value of $150 and failing to turn funds over to the business.
Joseph James Lloyd, 40, of 100th Street, Niagara Falls, NY, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Lloyd, operating as M. Franklin Home Improvement, Inc., is accused of accepting a payment of $15,000 from a Town of Pembroke resident in October 2010 to build a garage on her property, but Lloyd allegedly failed to use any of the money towards the project.
Matthew C. Higgins, 29, of 2823 Graney Road, Caledonia, is charged with felony DWI. Higgins was taken into custody by Le Roy Police after a concerned citizen initially reported an occupied vehicle parked in the driving lane of Perry Road just south of Route 20. When the citizen approached the vehicle, the driver took off north on Perry and continued into the village. A car reportedly driven by Higgins was stopped on East Main Street in the village after allegedly failing to keep right. Higgins was jailed on $5,000 bail.
Seokjoon Suh, 25, of Batavia Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 4th. Suh is accused of possessing a collapsible baton while at College Village.
Cody James Sundown, 21, of Skye Road, Tonawanda, was turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office by the Niagara County Sheriff's Office on a bench warrant out of the Town of Pembroke for criminal mischief, 3rd. Bail was set at $750 or $5,000 bond.
Robert Lee Williams, 21, of State Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Williams is accused of violating an order of protection by going to the place of employment of the protected party. The order specifically barred Williams from going to that business location.
The driver of a sedan that smashed into a tree on Route 262 in Elba shortly after 5:30 a.m. may face a DWI charge.
Corey Hemmer, 25, of Elba, was taken by Mercy Flight to ECMC.
Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said a blood sample was taken from Hemmer and additional charges may be pending.
Hemmer is in intensive care.
Also injured where Megan Ann Gregg, 18. She is listed in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital. Strong's policy is to list anybody in intensive care as "guarded."
The third victim in the crash is Aaron Pahuta, 19. He underwent emergency surgery at ECMC this morning.
Hemmer was reportedly driving westbound on Route 262 just east of Route 98 when his Pontiac drifted off the north side of the roadway. The car struck a tree head on.
Sgt. Brian Frieday said at the scene that a passerby found the wreckage some time after the accident. Investigators were unsure at that time how much earlier the accident had occurred.
All three occupants had to be extricated and transported to hospitals by Mercy Flight.
The accident is under investigation by the Crash Management Team of the Sheriff's Office.
Elba Fire Department and Mercy EMS responded to the scene and Town of Batavia Fire Department was dispatched to provide additional extrication tools and manpower.
Note: Upon request of the Sheriff's Office, publication of photos withheld until victim notifications completed.
A one-vehicle rollover accident is reported at 7855 Fotch Road. It is blocking traffic. Unknown injuries. Mercy medics and Stafford Fire Department are responding.
UPDATE 7:06 a.m.: Injuries are reportedly minor.
A car has hit a tree on Route 262, just east of Route 98 in Elba.
Three people were in the car and one person is entrapped.
Mercy Flight is on in-air standby.
Three Mercy EMS ambulances have been dispatched.
Elba Fire Department is on scene.
UPDATE 5:52 a.m.: Two Mercy Flight helicopters requested to the scene. A landing zone will be set up at the fire department rec hall.
UPDATE 5:54 a.m.: Third Mercy Flight helicopter requested to the scene.
UPDATE 5:57 a.m.: All three occupants are trapped in the vehicle.
UPDATE 6:01 a.m.: First Mercy Flight bird on the ground. A second has been dispatched. Dispatchers are checking on availability of a third helicopter.
UPDATE 6:06 a.m.: Town of Batavia Fire's extrication equipment requested to the scene. Oakfield Fire requested to standby at Elba Fire Hall.
UPDATE 6:08 a.m.: Third helicopter in route with a 20 to 25 minute ETA.
UPDATE 6:27 a.m.: Second helicopter on the ground.
UPDATE 7:02 a.m.: All three victims have been extricated. The third helicopter is at the scene.
Greg Post, supervisor for the Town of Batavia, which currently has no town property tax, is tempted to announce a 50-percent increase in the tax levy.
For those who haven't done that kind of ciphering in a few years, 0 x 50 percent = 0.
But Post is rather irritated with Albany and the state legislature's passage of a 2-percent cap on property taxes without corresponding mandate relief.
Mandates include increases in health care costs for employees, an increase in power rates without local input, and an increase in pension benefits.
Meanwhile, many local governments are facing problems with aging infrastructure -- infrastructure that needs to be in good repair to attract jobs and retain businesses and help emergency responders get to where they need to go.
Albany, Post, said, should just butt out of local government.
"I’m perfectly capable, as is my board, of making decisions," Post said. "Whether they’re good decisions or not can be judged by the community. The community can show up here at public hearings and voice their concerns and if they don't like our decisions they can vote us out of office."
For the most part, Post said, the small towns and villages of Upstate New York are fiscally conservative and do a good job of holding down expenses. Albany, he said, has no idea how to run a town in Western New York and shouldn't even try.
But some towns have put off infrastructure repairs and their needs are getting critical.
He said he knew of one town that wanted to raise its tax levy 20 percent, which would have meant only a $20 increase in the average property tax bill.
But because of the tax cap, the board is faced with a tough decision -- take a special vote to override the cap, or not go out and get the revenue it needs for the town to survive.
Post sees the levy as a trap laid by Democrats in Albany to force conservatives in small towns in Upstate New York out of office.
Uninformed voters, he said, will likely vote out of office any official who votes to override the cap, and they will be replaced by less fiscally responsible, less experienced officials.
That's why, he said, he introduced a local law for the Town of Batavia to override the cap. Even though Post has no intention of allowing a tax increase to go through, passage of an override measure is a protest against the heavy-handedness of Albany.
He hopes it will provide cover for those jurisdictions that really do need to override the cap.
He said he plans to introduce the same measure every year that he's in office so long as Albany refuses to pass meaningful mandate relief.
On Wednesday, the town board unanimously approved a public hearing on the proposed local law. The hearing is set for Nov. 9.
Western New Yorkers should prepare for a wetter and colder than average winter.
That could mean some dramatic storms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Erie County, especially, should see colder and wetter whether, but the harsh winter could reach into Genesee County.
If the prediction is true, Genesee County will be wetter than usual. Whether that means more snow is uncertain.
For the second year in a row, a La Niña atmospheric condition will impact weather throughout the United States, according to NOAA.
That means the Southwest will be drier than normal and northern parts of the United States will be wetter than usual.
The wild card in the winter weather predictions is "Arctic oscillation."
The oscillation will effect whether parts of the country, including WNY, will be cooler or warmer than average, or just average.
NOAA says that Arctic oscillation is hard to predict and its impact on weather can't be read more than two weeks ahead of time.
Arctic oscillation, which pushes colder air into the United States, can have dramatic impacts on winter weather.
From the NOAA site:
A three-car accident with minor injuries has been reported on East Main Street at Vine Street, Batavia.
City Fire Department and Mercy EMS on scene.
When I left the office late this afternoon, the clouds and shafts of light cutting through them looked pretty awesome and I started thinking about what sort of picture I could make on limited time. I remembered a barn on Pearl Street Road that I've never gotten a good shot of and thought of the clouds and light behind it. So I drove out there, and I was right. It could have been a great photo. Unfortunately, the owners had parked a high lift right in front of it. That just wouldn't do. So I kept going and circled back to the city by way of Upton Road and Rose Road. On Rose, a potential advertiser called me, so I pulled over to chat -- with this flag right in front of me. "There's a possible picture," I thought.
District 1 Legislator Ed Dejaneiro spoke at the YWCA this afternoon as part of a candidates forum sponsored by Independent Living of the Genesee Region. According to James Moody, 14 candidates for city and county offices appeared at the forum. Each candidate was given a chance to make a presentation and then answer questions from the audience. The forum was not a debate. Moody said the forum gives candidates a chance to learn about the rights of people with disabilities and the needs of the community. "We feel it's important for people with disabilities to get a chance to ask candidates questions."
Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer is using his time away from Albany -- the legislature is out of session -- to meet constituents and visit local businesses.
Today, Ranzenhofer did an ag tour in Genesee County, visiting Kreher’s Organic Egg Farm in Basom, Torry Farms in Elba and Offhaus Farms in Batavia.
Above, Gordy Offhaus talks with Ranzenhofer about dairy cattle.
Moody's -- the bond-rating agency -- likes Batavia.
Maybe not as much as they could -- the city's bond rating was downgraded in 2005 from A1 to A2 and remains there -- but a series of fiscal reforms caused the agency to issue a "positive outlook" for the city.
"It should be seen as good news," City Manager Jason Molino said. "They're saying, not only have you achieved the goals you set out to do, you achieved them sooner than you expected. In 2006, the city council set out to pay back all deficits by 2012. They did it by 2010."
Not that there aren't areas of concern for Moody's.
First, the fund balance isn't as high as it should be for a fiscially healthy municipality, and the unresolved contract with the Police Benevolent Association is a cause for concern.
Those two items are prime reason the city isn't getting back, just yet, it's A1 rating.
A municipal bond rating is like a credit score for personal finances.
In 2005, Moody's knocked the city for operating defcits four out of five years, negative general fund balance, high amount of delinquent property taxes, excessive police and fire overtime and the fact that the city's largest revenue source was sales tax.
Now, Moody's is praising the city for operating surpluses in all funds the past four consecutive years, eliminating certain kinds of municipal borrowing, and making progress on equipment and infrastructure projects. Plus, Moody's notes that in 2009 the city had the first positive undesignated fund balance since 2004.
"What they're saying," Molino said, "is that here in the past we faced challenges, in the not-too-distant past, but what the city council did, what we did as a community, is achieve transformative change."
Yet another false alarm of fire at College Village prompted two Town of Batavia fire engines to the scene. They found burnt food in one of the apartments. Well, burnt meatballs actually.
"The report should include meatballs," says a responder.
"What? Meatballs?" comes the reply.
"Yes, that would be meatballs."
"How do you burn meatballs?"
(But then again, when College Village occupants have been known to burn anything burnable, why not meatballs?)
"...I shouldn't be surprised," concludes the fireman.
Congratulations to Barb King, winner of the Main St. Pizza Company NFL Challenge contest for week 6. She was randomly selected from among the 16 people who correctly predicted that Cam Newton of Carolina would throw the most interceptions. Newton tossed three picks. King wins one calzone and French fries.
All contest winners have one week to claim their prize.
A rainbow spotted off Bank Street Road, Batavia. Photo submitted by Diane Deleo.
Suicide Corners has a reputation, and as the name implies, it's not a good one.
While accidents may not be frequent where East Road crosses Route 20, when they have occurred -- at least until a few years ago -- they've been deadly.
There were fatal accidents at the intersection in June 1998, April 1999 and June 2004. One was a triple fatal and another a double fatal.
After the 2004 accidents, Bethany residents gathered 2,633 signatures asking the NYS Department of Transportation to do something about the intersection.
Their thought -- regrade Route 20.
The state's response: No physical changes to the roadway were necessary. The DOT put up bigger and brighter signs.
There hasn't been a fatal accident at the intersection since, only fender-benders, according to Tom Douglas. He said accidents have been reduced by 36 percent.
Douglas, who with his wife, Debbie, raised six kids in a 200-year-old house (formerly an inn with a second-story dance floor) on property abutting Suicide Corners. He and his son personally witnessed the 2004 accident, which claimed the life of an infant and two other people (inset photo from the memorial on a pole across East Road from the Douglas residence).
Now, seven years after the last fatal accident, DOT officials have apparently decided it's time to take more drastic measures to make the intersection safer.
The proposal: A $1.8 million traffic circle, a roundabout like the one on Oak Street in the City of Batavia.
If the project is approved, Tom and Debbie Douglas will lose their home. The state will seize their property through eminent domain (providing fair market value and relocation expenses).
About a quarter of the traffic circle will be on their current property, with the roadway through the area moving moved southward several dozens of feet.
Tom Douglas said not only will his family lose their home, a home with some local history, he doesn't believe the project serves any useful purpose.
"Statistically," he said, "It's not needed."
Lori Maher, public information officer for the DOT in the Genesee Region, said what the DOT is looking at is the entire history of the intersection, not just the past few years.
"That (no fatalities since 2004) doesn't mean that the problem is corrected and we should walk away from it, so we are pursuing a safety improvement program," Maher said.
But she said that doesn't mean the state will necessarily build a roundabout and that the Douglases will lose their home.
The proper corrective action is still under review and state engineers may yet determine that a roundabout is not the best solution (weighing, in fact, the serious decision of proceeding with eminent domain on the Douglas property).
The project, however, has been funded for construction to begin in the summer of 2013.
There will be public meetings and ample time for the public to provide feedback on the project, Maher said, but because fact-finding is not yet completed, no dates for those hearings have been set.
Douglas, town building inspector (Debbie is town clerk) and Bethany Town Supervisor Louis Gayton also question the wisdom of spending money on a roundabout when the Bethany Town Center Road bridge over Route 20 is in such drastic need of replacement or repair. Chunks of it regularly fall off onto Route 20.
"One of these days, somebody is going to get injured," Douglas said.
The main issue, Douglas said, isn't the traffic on Route 20. It's drivers on East Road, mostly northbound drivers, blowing through the intersection.
Douglas and others have suggested rumble strips on East Road, but both the state and the county highway department have rejected the idea as impractical.
"They think people will just drive around them," Douglas said. "But if they're driving around them, they're slowing down. It would still alert them to the intersection."
Gayton wonders if the roundabout will even improve safety.
"Trucks come through there at 60 to 65 mph," Gayton said. "Now they've got to slow down to 15 mph. I don't need to tell you what will happen."
Tim Hens, the county's highway superintendent, in an email sent Monday to county legislators obtained by Douglas, also questioned the DOT's decision.
This is not set in stone yet as it has to muster a public review process and final board adoption, but if adopted, we stand to lose funding for three bridge projects in the immediate TIP period covering 2011-14. This may only be the tip of the iceberg if new transportation reauthorization is not clear by the end of the year.
I did find it odd that they decided to keep the NEW Rt 20/East Rd (Suicide Corners) roundabout in the plan versus EXISTING bridges that are deteriorating. I know there has been loss of life at this corner, but not sure the roundabout is a popular solution with many local people.
Maher said, however, that the funding sources for bridges are different than the funding sources for intersection improvements. If an improvement -- roundabout or not -- for Suicide Corners isn't approved, then the $1.8 million slated for the project will just go to another intersection in the Genesee Region in need of improvement.
Sheriff Gary Maha, who attended a May 24 meeting with the DOT where the plan was first presented said he will leave the decision about how to improve safety to the experts, but he does know the state is increasingly using roundabouts throughout the state to improve safety on major roadways. He just visited two in Saratoga Springs.
"There's been a lot of serious accidents there over the years," Maha said. "I support anything that could improve safety in the area, certainly."
Workers have been busy the past few days chiseling out the mortar between the bricks of the First Presbyterian Church on East Main Street, Batavia, in preparation for replacing the mortar.
The project is one of many being undertaken by the church as part of a $650,000 capital improvement project, according to Pastor Roula Alkhouri.
The money was raised during a fundraising drive this spring.
Projects include renovating the fellowship hall, asbestos removal from the basement, work on the foundation and repaving the parking lot, among several other projects to help preserve the building.
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