Officer Ed Mileham, who joined the Batavia Police Department in 1979, cruised his last patrol today.

Mileham, an Air Force veteran, retires after 32 years of wearing a badge, a career that goes back to 1976 when he joined the Choteau Police Department in Montana. He later returned to New York and joined the Warsaw department before transferring to Batavia.

In his career, Mileham has won several awards, including Office of the Year in 2001 and 2008 from Kiwanis and GCASA's Law Enforcement Award in 2010.

Mileham served as the police department's Drug Court representative and was certified recently to serve in Veterans Court. He's also been a K-9 officer and a member of the Neighborhood Enforcement Team.

Mileham is currently chief of the Indian Falls Fire Department and plans to continue in that role.

Chief Randy Baker said, "His dedication and service to the City of Batavia will certainly be missed."

At the end of his shift today, a Genesee County Dispatcher went on air and said, "Batavia to 126, on behalf of the Genesee County dispatchers, congratulations on your retirement. It's been a pleasure working with you. Good luck in all your future endeavors."

Mileham responded, "Thank you for your 32 years of support."

"Thanks, Fast Eddy," said the dispatcher.

Another added, "Thanks 126, we'll miss you."

Batavia Police responded to an incident at Batavia High School on Thursday involving a student allegedly hitting a teacher.

The student -- who, because of his age, the police cannot release his name -- got into a confrontation with a teacher and hit her in her body. Other adults on staff got involved in restraining the student, according to Det. Todd Crossett.

The case will likely be referred to the County Attorney's office and will wind up in Family Court.

In connection with the incident a drawing by the student was found that depicted something that Crossett characterized as "an unrealistic scenario."

"It wasn't a picture that showed him using guns, or something that could be possible," Crossett said. "It showed unrealistic things. I'm not necessarily going to take it as, 'I'm going to do these things.' It wasn't a threat to anybody in the school or the school (facility)."

Because of the age of the youth, Crossett said there will be no releases from the police department on the disposition of the case. Family Court cases are closed to the public.

The public is invited to an annual information meeting at the Genesee Economic Development Center at 7 p.m., April 11.

"GCEDC officials encourage residents to attend the meeting to learn more about economic development within the community," officials say in a press release.

Mark Masse, senior VP of operations, will provide an overview of GCEDC. He will provide information on the current and future development plans. He will also discuss the current business climate in New York and regulatory issues.

There will also be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

The session will be held at 99 MedTech Drive, second floor lecture room, Room 214.

Seating capacity is limited to 100 people. Contact Rachael Millspaugh at GCEDC, (585) 343-4866, ext. 12, or rmillspaugh@gcedc.com if you would like to attend.

Pembroke and Batavia came out of the quarter finals of the regional mock trial competition and are among five teams moving on to semi-finals.

Both Pembroke and Batavia's teams finished the quarter finals with a record of 2-0. Pembroke had 110 points and Batavia, 107.

The semi-finals will be held March 28 in Geneseo.

Because Avon and Byron-Bergen tied for fourth, right down to the tiebreakers, both teams will move on to the semi-finals. Typically, only four teams compete in the semi finals.

Both teams were 1-1 with 106 points.

Warsaw came in third with a record of 1-1 and 107 points.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, who organizes and champions the mock trials locally, said schedules have been arranged so all five teams can compete.

In round one, it will be Pembroke vs. Avon, Batavia vs. Warsaw and Byron-Bergen vs. Batavia. Round two will pit Byron-Bergen against Avon, and Warsaw against Pembroke.

The final rounds will be in Warsaw on March 30.

Photo: Maura Chmielowiec, Evan Sutherland and Patrick Flynn of the Batavia team.

Previously:

• Students compete in mock trials at Genesee County Court House
• Photos: Mock trial, Notre Dame vs. Batavia

Joanna M. Morgan is indicted on charges of DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, endangering the welfare of a child and a felony count of DWI (DWI with a child in the car, or "Leandra's Law"). Morgan is accused of driving drunk with a child under 15 in the car on Dec. 12 in the Town of Le Roy.

Ricky D. Newbould is indicted on charges of felony DWI and felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Newbould is accused of driving drunk on Dec. 18 while in the Town of Elba.

Tamara L. Butler is indicted on charges of  DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st. Butler is accused of driving drunk on Aug. 7 in the Town of Oakfield.

Charles W. Wilder is indicted on charges of felony DWI and felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Wilder is accused of driving drunk on Oct. 24 in the Town of Oakfield.

Timothy J. Wood, 22, of 4 N. Spruce St., Batavia, is charged with two counts harassment, 2nd. Wood is accused of grabbing one person and attempting to strike another following a verbal argument at 12:30 a.m.

Wendy L. Mucher, 41, of 27 Valle Drive, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Mucher is accused of stealing merchandise valued at $86.03 from an unspecified location.

Along Maltby Road, Elba.

Bliss Road, Oakfield.

Gorton Road, Alabama.

A chimney fire has been reported at 3591 Maltby Road, Oakfield.

Oakfield Fire along with Alabama, Elba and East Pembroke were initially dispatched, but Oakfield's chief asked that all units but Oakfield be held in their halls.

I took the time to survey the GCEDC's annual report for 2009. In this report, they stated that all of the projects involved resulted in a net gain of 415 jobs. I tried to apply logic to this, but failed miserably. And the jobs I did see created, paid peanuts, which is fine for an elephant, but not a family.

Several things jumped out at me as I read this report. First, places I'm familiar with in Leroy, none of which are doing very well. Lapp Insulator had 318 jobs pre-IDA, and now has 144 FTEs (full time employees). Polymil has none. SJQ Properties, the old BOK building, has none. And R.J. Properties went from 82 FTEs to 9 FTEs after they became involved with GCEDC. Or the Creekside, which was to be open by summer 2010, sits vacant.

Jobs that were created, I'm sorry to say, are jobs at Darien Lake that pay $16,000 a year, or at Comfort Inn that pay 12,000 a year. Who could possibly survive on that amount of money? That's a month's salary for Mr. Hyde.

I also don't know how I feel about Assemblyman Hawley's insurance agency benefitting from government assistance. That seems to me to be a poor decision on both sides. To have him speak at the annual meeting with no reference to his own personal benefit seems a tad disingenuous.

While I appreciate the opportunity to view the latest report, I see nothing in there that warrants the extravagant bonuses the GCEDC gave themselves.

http://www.gcedc.com/pdf/reports/2009_OSC_Report.pdf

Kathy Hochul, on her way back to Buffalo from a day spent in Rochester, called us and asked if she could stop by The Batavian's office and introduce herself.

She spent about 15 minutes here. I didn't want to dive too deep into an interview because I'm hoping to arrange a series of interviews with all of the candidates. But a chat about how beautiful Genesee County is and what a wonderful hub Batavia makes for the rural region turned into a discussion about protecting small businesses.

It turns out that Hochul's decision to run for the board in the Town of Hamburg was driven by her frustration with an effort to bring a Walmart to town.

Her mother owned a small shop in the village and Hochul saw her struggles to keep her business going and didn't want to see Walmart do any more damage to the local businesses.

"I decided to run for office because I want to have a say in the policies that effect local businesses," she said.

As for what she could do in Congress, she said tax codes and laws that give any incentive for manufacturers to move jobs overseas need to be reviewed and repealed if necessary.

She also said it's time to revisit NAFTA.

"We need to look at the policies put in place that were intended to help our area but they backfired," Hochul said.

She said a resurgence in manufacturing jobs in Western New York would be the best way to protect locally owned stores.

"We need to make sure the small shops in our cities and villages are not boarded up," Hochul said. "These shops sustain people who live in the community."

As she's been quoted as saying already, Hochul reiterated that she's not afraid to stand up to powerful interests, including her own party if necessary.

She pointed out her public opposition to Gov. Paterson's proposal to require residents to buy new license plates for their cars, and her efforts to fight Thruway tolls.

"No entity is too big that I won't fight if it's on behalf of my residents," Hochul said.

Finally: here's an invitation for Jane Corwin, Jack Davis or David Bellavia to stop by office of The Batavian any time.

A pair of Rochester men were allegedly found in possession of $3,000 in cocaine in Batavia yesterday and charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

The Local Drug Task Force identified the men as possible cocaine dealers and investigators received a search warrant for their car.

Taken into custody were Marcial S. Borgos, 61, of Bonesteel Street, and Jose A. Torres, 52, of Ernst Street.

Task force members as well as uniformed deputies participated in the search of the car.

Investigators allegedly found more than an ounce of cocaine.

K-9 "Pharaoh" participated in the search.

Borgos and Torres were jailed without bail.

Philip M. Niccloy, 24, of 75 Summit St., Le Roy, is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, 3rd. Niccloy allegedly took a GMC truck belonging to another person without permission. That night, Niccloy was allegedly involved in a single-vehicle accident on North Street Road. He was previously charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Niccloy was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

William Gordon Schultz, 37, of Evans Street, Batavia, is charged with failure to pay a fine.

David Richard Beedham, 43, of Randall Road, Le Roy, is charged with sexual abuse, 1st. Beedham is accused of touching the private area of a girl under age 11.

Mark Bryon Livingston, 53, of Wake Robin Terrace, West Henrietta, was arrested in Genesee County on a bench warrant for allegedly operating a car with a suspended registration.

Eric T. Weis, 28, of 9 N. Lyon St., Batavia, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Weis allegedly grabbed another person around the throat in front of three children while on MacArthur Drive. The alleged incident happened on Tuesday, Weis turned himself in on Wednesday.

Benjamin G. Evans, age unknown, of 8204 Park Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. Evans was arrested on a  bench warrant issued out of city court for alleged failure to comply with conditions set by the court. Evans was jailed on $50,000 bail.

A dryer fire is reported inside a house at 25 W. Main St. in the Village of Le Roy.

Le Roy fire is responding, along with mutual aid from Pavilion and Churchville.

Le Roy medics are also going to the scene.

Firefighters on scene in Le Roy say it is "a working fire."

UPDATE 1:12 p.m.: The fire is knocked down and crews are working to check  extentions.

UPDATE 1:13 p.m.: There's a natural gas leak inside the structure.

UPDATE 1:18 p.m.: Rochester Gas & Electric is requested to the scene.

UPDATED at 4:09 p.m. with information from State Police.

UPDATE 5:11 p.m.: Traffic now open in both directions.

Three cars and a truck hauling fuel oil were involved in an accident this morning on Route 33 at West Bergen Road.

The truck over turned and landed on a car, trapping a woman in the vehicle. By all accounts, the woman -- Rosalie Pacino, of Batavia -- was conscious and alert throughout the ordeal, though she was airlifted to Strong Memorial Hospital by Mercy Flight.

Initially, the fuel oil was described as a flowing freely from a broken spigot, but Bergen First Assistant Chief Jim Bridge described the fuel spill as only minor.

A hazmat unit was brought in to clean up the spill.

State Police investigators say that Robin F. Lewis, of Bergen, was stopped at the northbound stop sign on West Bergen Road. Mark Shaw, of Warsaw, was driving a 2006 KenWorth tractor-trailer westbound on Route 33. A 2006 Ford entered the intersection, attempted to make a left-hand turn and was struck by the truck.

The Ford then spun and struck a 2001 Ford driving by Audrey Waterman, of Bergen, which was stopped on Route 33 waiting to make a left-hand turn. The truck continued westbound, slid counter clockwise and struck a 2005 Subaru, driven by Pacino. Pacino was headed eastbound on 33. The truck rolled into a ditch trapping Pacino's car under the trailer.

Charges are pending.

Brandy Shot, of Bergen, witnessed the accident. She was driving on Route 33, heading to work in Batavia, two cars behind the accident and witnessed the entire incident.

She said a van with two girls in it was preparing to make a left hand turn on West Bergen Road and another car was making a left hand turn onto Route 33. The truck, westbound on Route 33, tried to slow and avoid the car, but hit it, spinning the car around 360 degrees. It struck the van with the two girls in it.

"When I saw those girls in the van, my heart just sank, because I'm a mother of two," Shot said. "I'm just so glad they were not even hurt at all."

The driver lost control of the truck. It jackknifed and overturned, landing on a passenger vehicle, pushing it off the road, Shot said.

When the driver got out of the truck, he found the car under his truck and told Shot that the woman in the car was conscious and alert and talking on her mobile phone.

The truck driver, according to Shot, suffered head lacerations.

The driver of the car that the truck initially hit was bleeding from her face, according to Shot.

Bridge said besides the woman airlifted by Mercy Flight, two people were transported to hospitals by ground ambulance.

Bergen Fire responded initially to the scene and units from Byron and South Byron were soon called for mutual aid. Also responding for mutual aid were Le Roy, Town of Batavia and Churchville. Pavilion responded to standby in Le Roy's hall. Genesee County Emergency Services, deputies from the Sheriff's Office as well as Mercy EMS and Bergen Ambulance were all on scene.

The accident is being investigated by Troop A of the State Police.

The scene is being cleared. The Bergen fire chief tell those remaining on scene, to "abandon their posts" because the State Police and the DEC are going to remove signs and barriers when that time comes. Jim's Service is still there.

(Initial Report)

More pictures after the jump:

Mercy Flight is being dispatched to a medical emergency in the area of 6400 Oak Orchard Road.

Law enforcement was on scene and requested a medical response for a laceration to the neck.

Elba Fire responded and requested Mercy Flight after arriving on scene.

The flight is coming from Buffalo and the ETA is 20 minutes.UPD

UPDATE 11 a.m.: Route 98 is closed in both directions in order to secure a landing zone for Mercy Flight, which now has a 10 minute ETA.

UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: Mercy Flight is on the ground.

UPDATE 11:29 a.m.: Mercy Flight is in the air. Elba fire police working on getting Route 98 reopened.

A gas-hauling tractor-trailer and multiple vehicles have been involved in an accident on Route 33 at West Bergen Road, according to scanner reports.

A dispatch says "we believe at least three or four vehicles involved."

There are no specifics on injuries, but two ambulances have been started and Mercy Flight is on standby.

Bergen Fire Department is responding as well as multiple law enforcement units. Byron and South Byron fire asked to respond mutual aid.

The tractor-trailer has rolled with a vehicle pinned underneath.

There is fluid leaking. It's unknown if the fluid is from the tanker or side tanks.

UPDATE 7:57 a.m.: Both directions of traffic on Route 33 are shut to traffic, from West Bergen and Lyman roads. State Police have taken command of the scene. A county Hazmat team is to report to the training center on Bank St. Road in Batavia to gather equipment to go to the scene. The tractor-trailer is leaking fuel "at a pretty good rate." The triage center for victims is going to be south of the West Bergen Road/Route 33 intersection. A tanker from Churchville is called along with LeRoy. All "civilians" are going to be "removed from the scene." One victim, who is conscious and alert, is trapped in the vehicle under the truck. Extrication will be needed.

UPDATE 8:07 a.m.: Town of Batavia rescue unit is called along with Jim's Service to lift the truck so the victim can be extricated. Mercy Flight will be landing at the intersection. The leak "appears to be contained at this point."

UPDATE 8:10 a.m.: Fire police will be stationed at Griswold Road and Route 33. Stafford Fire Department is called to the scene. The tractor-trailer was hauling 9,500 gallons of fuel oil.

UPDATE 8:25 a.m.: The section of Route 33 closed to traffic has been extended from Griswold to Dublin roads.

UPDATE 8:37 a.m.: Pavilion firefighters are asked to stand in at Le Roy's fire hall.

UPDATE 8:49 a.m.: The county Highway Department in Stafford is called to the scene to provide a load of sand to absorb fuel oil in a ditch.

UPDATE 8:52 a.m.: The state has jursidiction of Route 33, so the county Highway Department may not be able to provide the sand. But officials will try to override that since this is an emergency situation. Otherwise, a state highway truck will need to be called in.

UPDATE 8:57 a.m.: A fire chief on scene says the fuel leak has been stopped and berms are in place to contain it. A state Department of Transportation truck is en route to the scene with sand. The victims trapped under the truck has been extricated.

UPDATE 9:16 a.m.: A representative from the state Department of Environmental Conservation is en route and asked about about the fuel spill and was told "There is an unknown, large amount in a ditch area."

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The beat is thumping, the energy is high, and the sound is thunderous as hundreds of tiny feet stomp the floor and just as many tiny hands smack together enthusiastically. Two hundred children chant, "We will, we will, READ YOU!" in deafening unison.

Welcome to Reading Month at Elba Central School.

In past years, the students have celebrated books in more traditional ways. This year, elementary art teacher Stephanie Rudman decided to mix things up a bit by inviting children's entertainer Glenn Colton to perform for the students. Colton's hour-long show entertained both students and teachers alike with silly jokes, oldies music references, and a message that reading can be fun.

Rudman says that she had remembered Colton performing at Elba years ago, and decided to bring him back in order to add a more musical aspect to the month.

The Orchard Park-based entertainer performs in about 250 locations per year, mostly staying in the Western New York area. He has a variety of educational concerts available, featuring themes such as bullying, cyber safety, and staying drug-free. Along with writing songs, he has also authored two children's books, "Mr. Ducky Wucky -- The Wonderful Secret" and "Browser the Mouse and His Internet Adventure." 

For more information on Colton's shows and book signings, go to www.glenncolton.com

So tonight I drove out to the Wortendyke Road to the Bontrager Auction house -- not to take pictures (but you know, I always have my camera with me) but to bid on a set of 10 Don Carmichael prints.

If you've ever been in a local business and seen a pen-and-ink drawing of a local historic building, chances are, it's a Don Carmichael print. (Lorie Longhany has also done some wonderful drawings of local buildings).

I had my heart set on winning these at auction tonight, but it turns out it wasn't meant to be.

Still, the auction was great fun and I always enjoy taking pictures.

More pictures after the jump: