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The Daily's correction

By Howard B. Owens

Just for the record, the Batavia Daily News has issued a correction regarding an article published yesterday about the Chris Charvella case.

Yesterday, we did a post about a quote taken out of context, thinking it was significant enough to the case to bring attention to the matter. We're glad to see the Daily found the misunderstanding of the quote relevant enough to clarify it.

UPDATE: Managing Editor Mark Graczyk has written a blog post explaining the Daily's correction policy.

Fire department asked to investigate chemical smell at UMMC building

By Howard B. Owens

Officials at UMMC  have requested the fire department to go to 127 North St., Batavia, to investigate the smell of chemicals on the second floor of the building.

UPDATE 11:36 a.m.: Tim Yaeger, emergeny services coordinator, is on scene to assist city fire. We've heard no other updates. There's no indication from radio traffic that this is a serious situation.

UPDATE 1:14 p.m.: City fire units which responded are back in service.


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Le Roy man accused of sexual abuse against a child under 13

By Howard B. Owens

Le Roy Police have arrested a 31-year-old village resident suspected of child sexual abuse.

Gregory A. Jones, of 34 Main St., Apt. #1, Le Roy, is charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, a class A-II felony.

The alleged victim is under 13 years old.

Included in the predatory sexual assault charge are accusations of a criminal sexual act, 1st, formerly known as sodomy, and coarse sexual conduct against a child, 1st.

The alleged crimes occurred over an 11-month period at his residence on Main Street.

The investigation was conducted by Det. John Condidorio and the Department of Social Services.

Jones was jailed without bail.

Assisting in the case were the Genesee County Advocacy Center, the District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Police Computer Forensic Unit.

Two people injured in accident on Reuben Road, Alabama

By Howard B. Owens

A driver who hit a car that stalled on Reuben Road, Alabama, after it ran out of gas, said that he looked down at his radio just before he came upon the car and didn't see it in time to stop.

Two people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the accident.

Jason G. Moneau, 33, of Summit Street, Batavia, was driving a 1991 Dodge sedan at 10:02 p.m., Friday, when he hit a car which had pulled to the side of the road in the area of 7415 Reuben Road.

A passenger of the parked car, Mae E. Hryhorenko, 30, was transported to UMMC.

Moneau was transported by ground ambulance to Erie County Medical Center.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Jason Diehl.

A handwritten note on the investigation report says, "traffic charges are pending."

Accident on 490 off-ramp leads to DWI charge

By Howard B. Owens

A 21-year-old Lyndonville resident is charged with DWI following a one-car accident early Tuesday morning on the I-490 off-ramp in Le Roy.

Police say Alyssa Brianne Sprague was driving too fast and moved from her lane unsafely when her 2004 Chevy sedan struck the guardrail on the off-ramp, continued onto Vallance Road, spun and struck another guardrail.

Sprague was not injured in the crash.

She was, however, charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater.

The accident occurred at 1:19 a.m. and was investigated by Deputy Frank Bordonaro.

Teenager injured when car hits deer in Darien

By Howard B. Owens

One person was injured when a car struck a deer on Bennett Road in Darien at 8:26 p.m., Monday.

Taken to UMMC with non-life-threatening injuries was 17-year-old Brittney N. Torrey.

Torrey was a passenger in a car driven by 20-year-old Matthew S. Shaffer, of Harvester Avenue, Batavia.

Neither Shaffer nor an infant in the car, Isabella A. Torrey, were injured.

No citations were issued.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Jason Diehl.

Two people injured in Monday afternoon accident in Bergen

By Howard B. Owens

Two people were injured in a crash Monday afternoon near the intersection of routes 33 and 19 when an eastbound car reportedly turned left in front of a westbound car.

The driver of the first car, Laura A. Squier, 45, of Brasser Drive, Rochester, was cited for allegedly failing to yield the right of away.

The Sheriff's Office accident report says she was injured, but does not say what hospital she was taken to.

The driver of the other car, 54-year-old Robert J. Jurewicz, of South Swan Street, Batavia, was transported to UMMC with non-life-threatening injuries.

The accident was reported at 3:47 p.m.

It was investigated by Deputy Jason Diehl.

Sheriff surprised by Doll verdict, doesn't believe his staff acted improperly

By Howard B. Owens

While the acquittal of Scott Doll on a promoting prison contraband charge is surprising, said Sheriff Gary Maha, he remains confident that it was Doll who brought a balloon filled with aspirin into the Genesee County Jail on May 20.

"You never know what goes on in a jury's mind," said Maha. "Who knows, maybe they felt sorry for him because he's been convicted of murder and they thought, 'what's this silly little charge?'"

The implication of the defense was that a member of the Sheriff's staff provided Doll with the powdered aspirin. It's a notion that Maha rejects, saying that all of the officers who came into contact with Doll the day he was convicted of killing Joseph Benaquist are professionals who know the regulations.

"We might have to look at the particulars and do some review," Maha said. "We might need to remind our guys to do a more thorough search of incoming inmates."

The initial report released by the Sheriff's Office said that Doll had the green balloon of white powder concealed on his body. But the only evidence introduced at trial was that the first time anybody saw a balloon was when it was sitting on a holding cell bed and Doll was already covered in white powder with more on the floor and the sink.

Maha said he was told from the beginning that the balloon was found on Scott Doll. He said he would ask his investigators about the discrepancy.

He doesn't believe, however, that any policies or procedures need to be changed. The fact that Doll wasn't convicted is more a matter, he indicted, that defense attorney Dan Killelea did a good job of creating reasonable doubt.

Maha agreed with Assistant District Attorney Robert Zickl's closing argument that if any department official was going to give Doll aspirin, why crush it up first? Why not just hand him a bunch of tablets?

"There's no possible way one of our guys gave it to him," Maha said. "That's totally ridiculous. I think he (Killelea) probably wanted to create doubt.

"As far as I know," Maha added, "we did everything right. It should have been a slam-dunk."

Inset photo: File photo of Sheriff Gary Maha.

Light pole reported down at Ellicott and Court, Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

A light pole is reportedly down at Ellicott and Court streets, Downtown Batavia.

UPDATE 3:27 p.m.: It looks like age and wind did this pole in. City crews are on scene getting it removed.

One minor injury reported in accident on Saturday

By Howard B. Owens

One person suffered minor injuries in an accident Saturday at the intersection of Park Road and Veterans Memorial Drive.

The apparent cause of the accident was one driver pulling out from a stop sign who did not see the other car approaching.

Aaron N. Holley, 16, a passenger in the second vehicle, was transported to UMMC for a report of pain.

The driver of the first vehicle, D.C. Chamberlain, 16, of Route 20A, Perry, was cited for alleged failure to yield.

The driver of the second vehicle was Allen Peters, 31, of Durham Street, Rochester.

Holley was the only reported injury.

The accident occurred at 7:32 p.m.

(initial report)

Photo: 400 Towers residents

By Howard B. Owens

This fine group of people are residents at 400 Towers. They came out today for a little lunchtime talk about The Batavian. They asked a few questions and talked about how they get their news. Bea McManis, in the back row with The Batavian sweatshirt on, organized the event and said very nice things about the site, its news and its readers.

Power outage, pole arcing in the city

By Billie Owens

It is reported that traffic lights are out on Vine, Summit and Ross at the Main Street intersection. Power is also out in that area.

A utility pole is also arcing, but is not a hazard, at Summit and Washington.

National Grid has been notified.

UPDATE 11:42 a.m.: National Grid reports 274 customers on the north and south sides of Main Street are without power.

Two-car accident at Main and Jackson, Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

There was a two-car accident at the corner of Main and Jackson, Batavia, this morning.

One person was taken to UMMC, as a precaution, with a complaint of chest pain.

Chris Charvella Case: Putting a comment in context

By Howard B. Owens

Since the Batavia Daily News is not likely to run this correction themselves, we'll run it for them.

In the Daily's story about Chris Charvella's arrest, there is this paragraph:

"Charvella responded with an additional blog, according to state police. It included the comment 'I'm going to travel around the district and puncture Republican tires.'"

There are multiple problems with this one short paragraph.

First, the context is though Charvella is responding to events in November. But the quote above is from June 2. It was not a response to anything regarding election signs in November.

Second, it is not "an additional blog." A blog is a website with multiple entries on it. A blog post is an item posted on a blog. People can comment on blog posts. These are called comments.

In this case, Chris left a comment on a blog post. And there was nothing "additional" about it in context of current events. The comment had nothing to do with the sign issue and was not directed at Jay Grasso.

Third, the comment did not appear on Charvella's personal blog, as the story would lead you to believe. It was posted on The Batavian (something, of course, the Daily could never admit).

Fourth, it's completely out of context. Here's what Chris wrote:

Charlie, I'm going to do what any political hack worth their salt would do. Starting at midnight on November 2nd, I'm going to travel around the district and puncture Republican tires :)

Note, the emoticon at the end -- a clear signal, it's a joke, but the emoticon was not included in the Daily's quote.

UPDATE: As of 10:08 a.m., without acknowledging the error or putting the comment in context, the Daily has removed the paragraph from its story completely. It's possible, considering the timing, it may still appear in the print story.

For our previous coverage:

School bus disabled on Main Street, Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

There is a disabled school bus partially blocking traffic in a westbound lane of Main Street near Oak Street.

Police are on scene and a tow truck is on its way.

Student pilot apparently forgot to put down landing gear

By Howard B. Owens

A student pilot apparently forgot to put down the landing gear on his plane today leading to an unintentional crash landing at the Genesee County Airport this afternoon.

While the crash, reported at 12:17 p.m., caused an estimated $40,000 damage to a 2004 Cessna, there were no injuries, fire or fuel spill.

The student pilot, according to a Sheriff's Office release, was 66-year-old Michael E. Pearson, of Pittsford.

His instructor was Robert J. Roberts, 35, of Rochester.

The student and instructor were doing "touch-and-go" training at the airport this afternoon at the time of the accident.

The plane skidded 546 feet down the runway.

The investigation is continuing, conducted by Deputy Lonnie Nati and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Assisting at the scene were Genesee County Emergency Services, Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS.

(initial report)

Incidents in Le Roy and Darien

By Howard B. Owens

There's a couple of incidents going on -- amidst other heavy scanner traffic -- that I've not been able to quite nail down.

There's an apparant grass fire somewhere off Route 33, apparently in Darien's fire district.

Also, there's a car off the road in Le Roy. Their may be power lines down. A caller reports a power outage. The driver called and said he wasn't injured, but an ambulance was started. The car is in the woods.  The location sounds like "Valence Road," but I can't locate such a road anywhere in Genesee County.

UPDATE 6:14 p.m.: The fire was on a recently purchased plot of land in the area of Countyline Road and Route 33. The burn is within legal limits and the owner is planning to have more controlled burns this week.

Jury finds Scott Doll not guilty of promoting prison contraband

By Howard B. Owens

A jury of six Batavia residents took only about five minutes to reach a not guilty verdict in the promoting prison contraband trial of Scott F. Doll.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Zickl had little to say after the trial.

"I guess I don’t have a reaction," Zickl said. "This is divided up. Everybody has different jobs to do. They have their job, I have mine. Everybody does their job and this is where we wind up."

Doll's attorney, Dan Killelea, said Scott insisted from the beginning that he was not guilty.

"I think his faith in the jury system was very shaken by his conviction in the murder trial," said Killelea, who helped defend Doll in May against charges that he killed retired corrections officer Joseph Benaquist.

"I’m hoping, I’m really hoping, this restores some of his faith in the system, because it’s a system I believe in. I think it’s the best system we have, though it’s not perfect."

He also praised Zickl for putting on a thorough case and presenting a strong closing argument.

"Bob Zickl did, I believe, a tremendous job," Killelea said. "I thought his closing argument was outstanding. He had me worried. He gave the jurors a lot to work with if they were going to go that way. I hope I was able to point out some holes in the case and I’m hoping that’s what they hung their hat on."

As for the implication that a specific corrections officer supplied the aspirin to Doll, Killelea said it wasn't his intention to draw a bead on a specific individual.

"I think in light of the circumstantial nature of the prosecution’s case, I don’t think the facts led to only one conclusion -- that he was guilty -- and I’m hopeful the jury agreed with me and found reasonable doubt in other legitimate conclusions that could have been reached," Killelea said.

Doll, dressed in a prison-supplied pair of tan slacks and white shirt, showed no apparent reaction to the verdict.

Today's coverage:

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