Alabama

The Sno-Packers Snowmobile Club thought they had all the approval they needed to build a recreational bridge over a creek in Alabama.

County officials disagree. County Manager Jay Gsell said this morning the bridge violates state law and the only option for the county is to remove it.

Department of Highway workers are tearing down the bridge today.

The bridge, which club members say took 400 man hours to build and is worth at least $40,000, spans a creek off Sour Springs Road, which is a dirt road off Roberts Road.

The club installed the bridge -- which club members largely pre-built in a garage prior to installation -- about a month ago. It's already been heavily used, according to club secretary Jane Chaddock, by fishermen, birdwatchers and hikers.

"It's nothing but a fiasco for something that was so beautiful and so much work," Chaddock said.

Doug Hagen, Genesee County snowmobile coordinator, said the club felt it had approval for construction of the bridge -- from County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens signing off on plans, to the County Legislature's Public Services Committee saying it should be built, to officials from the Town of Alabama saying they didn't oppose the construction.

Gsell said there was never any official permission given from the county and since the bridge is on the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, there needs to be more than tacit approval from the federal government for snowmobilers to ride right through the preserve.

But the main issue from a county perspective, Gsell said, is that any bridge over 5-feet long becomes county responsibility.

The county would be liable for any injuries resulting from use of the bridge should there be a problem.

And although club officials, according to Hagen, believe the bridge exceeds engineering standards for its intended use, Gsell said that's not necessarily true.

"Because the snowmobile club has actually admitted that they're going to use that bridge to put their snowmobiles on to cross that body of water, that bridge must meet state and federal guidelines as far as structural integrity, the distances, the accessibility...and that's not presently the case," Gsell said.

"The highway superintendent then, under state highway law, has to deal with the issue in terms of either removing it, which right now is our only logical option, or at some point involving some major capital project - we're talking about a couple of million dollars of replacing a bridge structure, because anything over 5 feet is the responsibility of county government. But, that doesn't mean we have to take ownership of something that people put there illegally and without anybody's permission."

According to Hagen, Sheriff's deputies are on scene at the bridge tear-down ensuring club members don't get out of hand.

Hagen said all of the material and labor to build the bridge was donated, but if he had to guess at the cost of material and construction, he would put it at $40,000.

"That bridge was built at absolutely no taxpayer expense," Hagen noted, "and now taxpayers are paying for that bridge to be ripped out."

Chaddock fought back tears while we spoke. She said people who have seen the bridge love it.

"People say it's the best bridge they've ever seen," Chaddock said. "People have said  they wanted to get married on that bridge."

UPDATE 11:43 a.m.: The bridge is gone. It was, however, removed in one piece and will be put in storage, Tim Hens said. He just returned to his office from the site, he said.

"Unfortunately, when the club put the bridge in without permission, it kind of forced our hand," Hens said. "I don't think anybody from the county wanted to remove that bridge, but it's what we had to do to protect county taxpayers from liability."

Hens said the county -- which has helped the snowmobile club raise $500,000 in grants from state and federal agencies over the past several years -- was trying to find a way to either get a bridge in place, or allow a bridge to be built, but had not been able to complete that process before the bridge went up.

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. (Billie Owens): The bridge came down easily and quickly this morning, according to the workers who remained at the scene afterward.

"It was a solid, well-built bridge, made of steel and wood," said county employee Aaron Zinkovich.

Another worker added that County Highway Superintendent Hens got verbally thrashed by snowmobile enthusiasts at the scene.

"They beat up on him pretty good - called him every name in the book," he said.

The snowmobilers wasted no time getting lawyered up. They've retained Roland R. Georger, of Damon Morey Attorneys at Law in Clarence, to advise them on the matter.

"I have a lot of investigating to do," Georger said, adding that will include looking at the permitting process.

Agenda minutes of the Byron-based Genesee County Snowmobile Association from Sept. 8 -- under the Old Business section -- reported that the county attorney "has told Co. Highway and Town of Alabama that the county cannot support the bridge concept because of liability. We all need to lobby Hawley and our county legislators for adopting a county law." Hagen attented the meeting along with other snowmobile group representatives.

The Sour Springs Bridge was built in the ensuing weeks.

UPDATE: Photo above by Billie Owens

UPDATE: Picture below submitted anonymously with no comment.  It looks like this would be the old bridge that was destroyed by an alleged drunken driver.

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Alabama Fire and Mercy EMS were dispatched to an Alabama location off Bloomingdale Road after OnStar contacted Genesee County Dispatch because a car indicted a right-side accident impact.

There was no air bag deployment, and the driver did not respond verbally to OnStar.

The first responder soon discovered the alarm was a malfunction in the vehicle. Alabama Fire and Mercy EMS were immediately canceled.

An electrical extension cord running through a basement window to a detached garage is the likely cause of a fire this morning at 2320 Judge Road, Alabama.

All five family members at the home escaped safely, and firefighters rescued the family's dog and cat.

Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger called the use of the extension cord "improper."

The fire caused $60,000 to $70,000 damage to the structure and contents of the home.

The extension cord ignited the window frame, and the fire climbed up the outside wall, crawling into second-floor bedroom, into the eaves and eventually into the attic. It also was just beginning to ignite a first-floor living room couch when the fire was suppressed.

It took units from Alabama and Oakfield an hour to fight the fire.

The home, owned by Jim Venzey and rented by Dave Kinney, was insured, Yaeger said.

Previously: House fire reported on Judge Road in Alabama

A house fire has been reported at 2320 Judge Road, and a second alarm has been reported.

The caller reports heavy smoke, flames and glass breaking.

Alabama, a full response from Oakfield and an Elba pumper have been requested.

UPDATE: First responder reports, nobody is in the house.

UPDATE 9:54 a.m.: A crew inside reports there was a fire in a bedroom. The fire is knocked down a this time and the crew is checking for extensions.

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A driver and his wife were injured in an accident in Alabama this afternoon when the driver allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way to another car.

The driver, Charles F. Smith, 63, of Waterloo, is in serious condition at Erie County Medical Center and his wife, June A. Smith, 58, is in stable condition.

Charles reportedly suffered internal injuries and was semi-conscious when emergency personnel arrived. June suffered an internal shoulder injury and was conscious at the scene of the accident.

According to a report by Deputy Jim Diehl, Smith was heading north on Shanks Road when he attempted to cross Bloomingdale Road into a parking lot at 383 Bloomingdale Road.

A 1999 Subaru driven by Travis J. Hanson, 18, of Akron, was eastbound on Bloomingdale Road when it collided with Smith's 1991 Buick sedan.

Neither Hanson nor his 17-year-old passenger, David R. Santamaria, were injured.

The force of the accident sent Hanson's vehicle into a car parked in the lot on Bloomingdale Road. That truck is owned by John Snell of Lancaster. Snell was not in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

An abandoned house has reportedly caught on fire at 8038 N. Pembroke Road.

Earlier today there was a report of a controlled burn. According to Dispatch, the owner of the house, who was burning brush earlier, called to say the fire had spread to the house.

East Pembroke and Alabama fire departments are being dispatched.

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A utility pole has blown down in Alabama and the fire department is being dispatched. There is a report of fire on the wires and the pole has fallen into trees. 

I thought I heard 238 Sky Road as the address, but that doesn't come up on Google Maps.  The reported address is 238 Skye Road, Alabama.

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Notre Dame moved to 4-0 tonight, but anybody who came into the Friday night showdown with Oakfield-Alabama thinking the Hornets (who entered the game with a disappointing 1-2 record) would be pushovers, they learned something about how a proud football program can rise to the challenge of a tough opponent.

The Hornets never trailed in the game until the end, with ND only pulling even twice, once at 7-7 midway through the second quarter and then at 17-17 in the final seconds of regulation time on a Matt Thompson field goal.

After getting the ball first in overtime, but failing to convert the opportunity into a score, OA saw the Fighting Irish preserve its undefeated season on a six-yard TD rush by Beau Ritcher.

The Hornets had every opportunity to even its record, but OA's defense was eventually worn down by a relentless Notre Dame running attack.

The Hornets scored first on a first-quarter drive keyed by a Jason Stanley 60-yard run, but ND pulled even midway through the second quarter when Mike Pratt capped a grinding Notre Dame drive with a three-yard TD rush.

As the first half drew to a close, there was a real sense that Notre Dame could lose the game. At a time when the Fighting Irish should have controlled the ball, at least well enough to preserve a tie going into half-time, ND went three-and-out with enough time on the clock for OA to push the ball into the red zone. With seconds left in the half, Jon Fisher put three points on the board allowing the Hornets to head into the locker room with a 10-7 lead.

In the third quarter, it really seemed as if OA was in charge of the game, taking the ball down on a scoring drive that was capped by a 15-yard TD pass from Tyler Tamblin to Brent Crawford.

In the fourth quarter, Notre Dame's ground game began to take a toll on OA's defense. Pratt and Ricther eat up a lot of yards, and eventually Pratt plows into the end zone on a 10-yard run to put the score at 17-14.

After an exchange of downs in the fourth quarter, ND again moves the ball into striking range, and this time Thompson puts through his field goal to tie the game at 17-17.

OA got the ball first in OT, but only managed a first down before coming up short. The OA defense fought hard, putting ND in a third-and-long situation before Pratt bulled his way to a third down. With the ball inside the 10, Notre Dame fought for yardage and managed to get the ball to the one-yard line before a penalty forced the offense back five yards. On the next play, however, Ritcher burst through the line of scrimmage and into the end zone to keep the Irish undefeated.

There are more pictures after the jump below.

Oakfield-Alabama, already off to a slow start in 2009, will have its hands full tonight when it meets undefeated Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish (3-0) has averaged 20 first-quarter points so far this season, while the Hornets are averaging only 3. Overall, Notre Dame's per-game scoring average is 26 points compared to 12.3 for the Hornets.

OA comes into the game with a 1-2 record.

"We're confident in where we're going and what we're doing right now," said OA head coach Brian Palone. "We're continuing to make progress each week. We lost a lot of experience from last year. We had only one returning player on defense. We really worked on defense this week, because the defense really struggled last week."

Alexander beat OA last week 42-17.

Notre Dame's head coach, Rick Mancuso, isn't taking the Hornets lightly, though.

"From our standpoint going into this game, Oakfield is always one of the perennial powerhouses in our league," Mancuso said. "Regardless of what their record is, like every team in our league, they work week in and week out to improve, and Oakfield is no different."

Mancuso praised the OA coaching staff and said he knows Palone will have his crew ready to play.

The Fighting Irish need to rebound, he said, from a sloppy effort last week.

"We made a lot of mental errors," Mancuso said. "Defensively, we did not play tight. We didn't play really disciplined. We need to be a more disciplined team going forward."

Norte Dame beat Barker last week 43-18. The 18 points represented the first scores against ND this season, after the team beat Pembroke 21-0 and Attica 14-0.

We'll have coverage posted by the morning. This weekend, The Batavian will also cover Alexander at Holley. Alexander comes into the game 2-1, but Holley is one of the surprises, if not THE surprise of the Genesee League so far this season. Holley is 3-0, opening a season undefeated for the first time in program history.

A car has driven off the road and into the trees in the area 1950 Roberts Road in Alabama.

Unknown injuries at this time.

UPDATE: First responder reports minor injuries.

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The approval of $1 million for Phase 2 of the Western New York Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) was granted by the Empire State Development Corporation today.

Senator Michael Ranzenhofer was among those who applauded the allocation to help build the Western New York Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP). He sent along this press release:

“The WNY STAMP park project allows Genesee County to compete in a 21st Century global economy. The project paves the way for technologically advanced companies that manufacture computer chips, semi-conductors and photovoltaic cells for solar power to locate in Western New York. This project would create over 9,300 jobs here in Western New York."

The WNY STAMP park has been planned as a prime mega-site, suitable for large scale advanced manufacturing projects. The 1,340 acre project, located in Alabama near the intersection of Route 77 and Judge Road, will be the second of only one other similar park in New York State. Phase II of the project allows the Genesee County Economic Development Center to complete design and engineering work.

Senator Ranzenhofer expressed appreciation to the efforts of many to move the project to the next phase.

“I would like to thank Senator Mary Lou Rath, Senator Bill Stachowski, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Assemblyman Dan Burling, Genesee County Economic Development Center President and CEO Steve Hyde and the Empire State Development Corporation for their tireless efforts to create a business-friendly environment and create jobs in Western New York."

Genesee County Economic Development Center President and CEO Steve Hyde had this to say:

“The WNY STAMP (Science, Technology, Advanced Manufacturing Park) project, located in close proximity to the NYS Thruway in the Town of Alabama, Genesee County, is a transformational regional effort which will, over the long term, help to transform Western NY’s economy from Buffalo to Rochester by growing high paying, advance manufacturing and technology oriented jobs. This...site is being developed as NY’s next generation Mega-Site similar to Luther Forest, the home of Global Foundries and AMD’s recent multi-billion investment.

"...I, along with many of the elected officials and people of Genesee County and the region, would like to thank Senator Ranzenhofer, and his predecessor Senator Rath, for all the support and hard work that has gone into helping WNY STAMP become a reality.” 

A caller to the dispatch center reports that a telephone pole has been sheared off on Ledge Road, just east of 77, in Alabama.

"It appears to be a motor vehicle accident, but no vehicle around," according to dispatch.

Pole and wires are down on the ground.  The pole is in three different pieces.

There was a suggestion from a responder that the pole down is a result of an accident last night.

UPDATE: Alabama Fire Chief: "This is the same pole from Friday night, so I'm clear."  Notifications have already been made.

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A two-family residence in the Town of Alabama was heavily damaged by an early morning fire.

The fire was reported at 4:37 a.m. at 6967 Knowlesville Road.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

All residents escaped the fire without injuries.

The front porch and a kitchen were heavily damaged in the blaze, according to a Sheriff's Office press release.

Responding to the fire were the Town of Alabama Fire Department, Oakfield, Town of Batavia, City of Batavia, East Pembroke, Indian Falls, East Shelby, City of Batavia Medic, Genesee County Emergency Management Office, State Police, Sheriff's Office and National Grid.

Harris G. Reed, 28, of 27 Perry St., Holley, is charged with petit larceny. Reed is accused of stealing a cell phone from a counter top at 11293 Lake Road, Pavilion. The alleged theft took place June 3. Reed was arrested Aug. 7. He will be arraigned in Pavilion Town Court Sept. 8.

A 17-year-old boy from Alabama has been charged with distributing indecent material to minors via a computer and endangering the welfare of a child. The youth allegedly sent nude pictures of himself to a minor female.

Jason W. Wolf, of the Town of Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, falsifying business records and 25 counts of offer to file a false instrument. The investigation by State Police is ongoing. The alleged crime was first reported Nov. 5. Wolf was arrested last week. He was released on his own recognizance. No other details were available on the SP media web site this morning.

A motorcycle driver suffered a minor head injury yesterday afternoon when he came up behind a car on Bloomingdale Road that he thought was moving, only to realize once he was upon it that it was stopped, causing him to swerve off the roadway.

Gary Newton, 63, 11909 Boncliff, Alden, was not transported to the hospital following the accident.

The driver of the other vehicle was not identified.  It was apparently stopped at Bloomingdale Road and Martin Road in Alabama to make a left-hand turn.

Deputy Timothy Wescott investigated the accident.