A car and motorcycle accident is reported at Broadway Road and Attica Road, Darien.

Minor injuries are reported.

Darien fire and ambulance responding.

UPDATE 7:02 a.m.: First responder: "Motorcyclist is up and conscious."

A car vs. motorcycle accident is reported on Cedar Street near Ellicott Street. A law enforcement officer on scene says the motorcycle rider is "up and walking around." City fire is on scene and Mercy medics are responding.

This is the fifth in a series of articles about the other communities, located east of the Rocky Mountains, that are named “Batavia.” This one is about Batavia, Wisconsin, an unincorporated collection of houses and other buildings southwest of Sheboygan in Sheboygan County.

Local historians regard 1851 as the year in which Batavia, Wis., was founded, although there appear to have been settlers beginning in 1846. They claim that the name originated from the many early settlers who came from near Batavia, N.Y. However, unlike other communities, the process by which this naming came about is not recorded.

Batavia, Wis., grew into a fair-sized village. By 1900, there were two dry good stores, one furniture store, one hardware store, a carriage and wagon factory, a hotel, a dance hall, two blacksmith shops, a tin shop, a boot and shoe store, two churches, two schools, a sawmill, a grist mill, a cheese factory, an undertaker, a seamstress, a cigar factory, an egg flume (egg-shaped water conduit), an ice house, and a butcher shop.

Over time, this Batavia shrunk to the status of a hamlet. The one remaining school, an elementary school, had recently closed as of 2013. Most of the businesses and other enterprises listed above are gone. Nevertheless, the homes are generally well kept and the residents, who now generally find employment in other communities, appear to be reasonably prosperous.

However, for the most part, Batavia, Wis., is one of those places where, if you blink, you’ll miss it. Although there are two or three side streets, the community mainly consists of a single main street. One descends a grade to a small creek, Batavia Creek, and then ascends another grade while leaving town.

A car vs. motorcycle wreck with injuries is reported at 3904 Pearl Street Road. Town of Batavia fire and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 12:59 p.m.: Mercy Flight is on ground standby at the Batavia hangar. The location of the accident is between Donohue Road and Treadeasy Avenue.

UPDATE 1:09 p.m.: Mercy medics are transporting one patient to the hangar. A second ambulance is called to the scene.

UPDATE 1:12 p.m.: The second ambulance is cancelled and the first rig will transport two patients to ECMC. Mercy Flight was cancelled.

UPDATE 2:45 p.m. (by Howard): According to Deputy Joseph Graff, it appears at this point in the investigation, that a Harley-Davidson and a Mercury Sable were both westbound on Route 33. The car slowed and proceeded to make a left-hand turn into a driveway and the motorcycle appears to have attempted to pass the car on the left. The driver of the motorcycle reportedly told deputies that the car had pulled to the shoulder before turning left. The car was turning into the driver's in-laws' residence and a neighbor said the driver had been to the residence many times. The motorcycle struck the driver's side front fender and sheared off the front bumper. It proceeded westbound into a drainage ditch on the southside of the road, struck a culvert and dislodged a piece of rebar that became caught on the bike's handlebars. The bike came to rest just inches short of a fire hydrant. The female passenger reportedly suffered a serious leg injury. The male driver reportedly asked to be a sign-off, but was transported to ECMC with his passenger as a precaution. The names of those involved have not yet been released.

A two-car accident with possible minor injuries is reported in the area of the town park in Corfu, 8813 Alleghany Road. Mercy medics are on scene and Corfu fire is responding.

A man was killed early this morning after his car crossed the center line on Route 19 near Bissell Road in Bergen and struck a pea combine head on.

Carmelo Rivera, 22, of Holley, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The accident was reported at 2:32 a.m.

Rivera was driving a 2004 Mercury Sable northbound when it crossed the center line and ran into a OXBO 9500 XP Pea Harvester.

It's possible another vehicle was in the area at the time of the crash and if so, investigators would like to interview that car's occupants. Anybody with information should call the Sheriff's Office at (585) 345-3000.

The accident is being investigated by Deputy Frank Bordonaro, Deputy Howard Carlson, Sgt. Eric Seppala and Deputy John Duyssen of the Crash Management Team.

Responding to the scene were the Bergen Volunteer Fire Department, Mercy EMS and State troopers.

Joseph Gottstine found four $1 coins in the front yard of his mother-in-law, Stacy Lynn Neureuther, Saturday afternoon. What makes them such a neat find, is three of them are silver dollars from the 1880s. One is a silver dollar from 1971.

Gottstine's metal detector tells him if the hunk of metal under the ground is likely a penny, nickel, dime, quarter or silver dollar. Neureuther's yard on Elm Street is apparently filled with coins, though Gottstine only dug out the dollars.

Neureuther is curious how the coins got there. The house was built in 1910. Could construction workers have lost them? Or did they just accumulate over time.

She looked up the value of the coins online and the 19th Century pieces may be worth about $65 apiece.  

Gottstine said he took up the hobby of metal detecting about a year ago and this is probably his most exciting find yet.

A hit-and-run accident was just reported on West Main Street, Batavia.

The suspect vehicle is a Red RAV4 last seen southbound on River Street.

Batavia PD is on scene.

UPDATE 1 a.m.: The vehicle is said to have a trailer hitch and handicap Florida plates.

UPDATE 1:02 a.m.: Correction on the RAV4. The vehicle does not have Florida plates

UPDATE 1:10 a.m.: A vehicle has been stopped at Route 33 and Dewey Avenue.

UPDATE 1:18 a.m.: Another potental matching vehicle was found at another location in the area, but there's no damage and the engine is cold. It doesn't sound like the first vehicle is considered a suspect vehicle at this time.

It would be impossible to get better conditions for an outdoor music festival than the blue skies, mild temperature and gentle breeze we experienced in Batavia on Saturday.

Two stages jammed with tunes and hundreds of music fans turned out for the annual event.

Sue Cappiello Copp and Anne Crotzer were collecting donations in support of Paul Tydelski, a local business and music booster, who has been ill.  The guitar, signed by Ramble musicians, was donated by Roxy's Music and will be given to Tydelski as a gift.

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While David Luetticke-Archbell chatted with one of the many well-wishers who stopped in his shop at Frost Ridge Campground on Saturday afternoon, he looked out the window and up the hill that traditionally has been a ski slope, but was on this sunny summer day a slip-and-slide.

Children and adults hollered as another slider managed to make it down the hill in a well-worn groove in the middle of the slide and flew over the hump at the end of the run. 

David smiled.

"I always say, 'this is a fun place,' " David said. "This is what it's all about. I look out and I see people having fun and it takes kind of some of the sting out of it. We lost some stuff, but this is why we're here, so we can have fun. We'll continue on. At least I plan to."

David and his partner Greg moved to Le Roy from San Diego in 2008 to purchase Frost Ridge and run it as a place where people could have fun.

They've built a successful business by offering personal service, great events and even live music.

It's all been jeopardized by the lawsuits of two neighboring couples and the Town of Le Roy. The suits aim to put the Luetticke-Archbells out of business.

In the stress of it all, Greg has had two heart attacks.

Then last night, they lost their home to fire. It was a home to David and Greg and their three children and dog Sadie. It contained, David said, everything that was important to them.

News of the disaster has spread among Frost Ridge supporters quickly. They've rallied to offer David and Greg both moral and monetary support.

"People have come from everywhere, even people I barely even know, have come to say we support you, we're praying for you," David said. "I've been handed two envelopes with cash in them. I have no idea who it came from, and they don't want me to know, and I'm sure there's more I don't know about."

Stacy Ward, a Frost Ridge employee, was standing nearby and said, "yes, there's more."

David, at that point, didn't know that campers had passed the hat that morning and collected $1,300 and already went shopping to buy clothing for David, Greg and their children.

He also didn't know at that point about a donation Web site that has been set up for them. So far, it's raised more than $1,600 in cash donations.

Even with the donations of money, clothing and toys David knew about this morning, he was still having a hard time taking it all in -- especially on only an hour's sleep.

"It's surreal," he said. "I'm not used to these kind of things. I don't know what to say. It's a very humbling experience."

Ernie Campoli, a seasonal camper at Frost Ridge, organized the fundraiser Saturday morning and said everybody felt it was the right thing to do.

"They're going through a tough time," Campoli said. "The town is messing with them. They just lost everything in their house, so we wanted to do something nice for them. They do nice things for everybody in the campground. We just want to show our appreciation and help out where we could."

When we spoke this afternoon, Greg was still at Strong hospital, but "screaming to get out," David said. David expected to check him out of the hospital in the afternoon. He seems to be doing well after being taken in for observation the night before because he was shaking so much after coming home to the fire just after 12:30 a.m.

Sadie is still missing.

Jim Bouton, with Genesee County Emergency Services, was at the house this morning, digging through the rubble, looking for any clues that might reveal how the fire started.

No cause has been found yet and the investigation could take days or longer.

Deborah Buchanan holds a 1960s era photo of the house. Her husband, Mark, joined the investigators in the rubble for a time pointing out the floor plan. His grandfather bought the farm the house was on in the 1940s and Mark lived in the house from 1949 to 1976, when he got married. He and his wife live in a house just a couple hundred yards to the west. The farm was originally owned by Fritz Conlon. It was a dairy farm until the 1960s and then a crop farm. Mark proudly pointed to the chimney and noted that it was still standing. His grandfather, a master mason, built it, he said. "It's not going to burn the house down. It was built right," he said.

A house is reportedly filling with smoke at 1033 Broadway Road, just west of Warner Road. Darien Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 6:59 p.m.: The homeowner says they contacted National Grid three hours ago to report a possible electrical problem, but never received a response. GC Dispatch is attempting to reach the power company to get an ETA.

UPDATE 7:14 p.m.: National Grid has upgraded the call, but still no ETA. A thermal imaging camera is requested.

UPDATE 7: 32 p.m.: National  Grid is on scene.

This is the fourth in a series of articles about the other communities, located east of the Rocky Mountains, that are named “Batavia.” This one is about Batavia, Illinois, an incorporated city of around 27,000 people located west of Chicago in Kane County.

The city is governed by a mayor and 14 aldermen. Batavia, Ill., in its very earliest days, was a small settlement known as “Head of the Big Woods.” It was renamed “Batavia” in 1841 by Judge Isaac Wilson when he became the postmaster. Wilson, who previously lived in West Middlebury, Wyoming County, N.Y., had immigrated to Illinois in 1835. Historians in Illinois believe he wanted to honor Batavia, N.Y., where he would have seen service as a judge.

Batavia, Ill., is a very prosperous outer suburb of Chicago. The median home value in 2008 was $329,800 which compares to only around $85,000 for Batavia, N.Y. The estimated median family income in 2008 was $103,445. One reason for its wealth is its proximity to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

There is a variety of attractions for local residents and visitors alike. For example, the Fox River flows through the center of the community and there are numerous developments, including a performance center, that capitalize on this waterway. Batavia was once billed as “the windmill capital of the world” because of the number of windmill manufacturers in the city. Today, restored examples of the windmills are on display near the Government Center. Batavia also has a museum depicting local history that is situated in a restored train station.

Wires are down and a transformer is leaking at 7520 Town Line Road, Bergen. The location is between Jerico and Pocock roads. Bergen fire is responding.

UPDATE 1:09 p.m.: A utility pole is also down.

UPDATE 1:10 p.m.: Fire Police are requested to shut down traffic on Town Line Road at Jerico and Pocock roads.

UPDATE 1:28 p.m.: National Grid is on scene.

UPDATE 2:55 p.m.: The Bergen assignment is back in service.

UPDATE 8 p.m.: Michael Lovett sent in this picture about a half hour ago and said repairs are complete and power is restored.

A garage fire is reported in the city next to the residence at 12 Montclair Ave. Engine 11 and Ladder 15 are en route.

UPDATE 12:56 p.m.: Responders report smoke showing from a detached garage.

UPDATE 12:57 p.m.: The fire has gone to a second alarm.

UPDATE 12:59 p.m.: The Fast Team is called to the scene.

UPDATE 1:01 p.m.: All off-duty city fire personnel called to the scene along with Darien Fire Department. Town of Batavia fire is asked to stand by in the town's hall.

UPDATE 1:06 p.m.: Scene command reports the fire is knocked down. Alexander's Fast Team is called to respond non-emergency.

As he stood just 100 yards from his home destroyed by an early morning fire, David Luetticke-Archbell wanted a picture made -- one that would bring in all of the scene filled with dozens and dozens of volunteer firefighters.

"I want our daughters to see this so they know that so many people came to help us," Luetticke-Archbell.

No lens offers a wide enough angle to bring it all in, but Luetticke-Archbell said he was "blown away" that so many would take their time to help others in need.

The fire may have destroyed every personal belonging of David and Greg Luetticke-Archbell, who moved to Le Roy in 2008 to purchase Frost Ridge Campground on Conlon Road.

"When we move out here, we scaled down to only what we could fit in our RV and we came and there were very few personal effects, just the things that actually had meaning because they came from a parent or a grandparent or something," David said. "There's nothing left. I keep telling the kids that it's going to be OK because we still have each other, but there's nothing else left. It's going to have to be enough."

David and Greg are parents to an 11-year-old boy and two 7-year-old girls. 

They also had a family dog, Sadie, who is missing.

David and Greg had been at the campground all day for Fourth of July and spent the evening enjoying a campfire with friends.

As they returned home at about 12:30 a.m., David said he could see the glow of a fire. He thought somebody's barn might be on fire. As they got closer he saw the fire trucks and it still didn't sink in.

"I thought, 'I hope nobody got hurt,' " David said.

Then it struck him.

"There is our home with fire on it and it’s everything that we ever had," David said. "And it’s not there anymore and I don’t know what to say."

As they pulled up, Greg rushed to the front door. He wanted to find Sadie. A Le Roy police officer stopped him from going into the burning building.

"An officer said 'no you can't, it's too dangerous,'" David said. "He was right because about that time the front of the house – it exploded. I mean you would have thought there was a bomb in there or something. I mean you ... look at this. There’s nothing left. There’s like a frame."

While the house burned, Greg began to shake uncontrollably. He was taken by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital for observation. Greg recently suffered a pair of heart attacks.

It's been a stressful few months for the campground owners. They are being sued by neighbors David and Marny Cleere and Scott and Betsy Collins as well as the Town of Le Roy. The suits allege violations of the town's zoning laws over both the very existence of the campground (which as founded by Marny and Betsy's family in the 1960s) and live music concerts held at Frost Ridge. Judge Robert C. Noonan granted a temporary injunction to the town barring amplified music at Frost Ridge pending a final decision on the lawsuits.

Le Roy Fire Chief Tom Wood was the first on scene and he said the back porch of the residence at 8005 North Road was completed engulfed in flames.

Firefighters entered the structure to pitch an offensive battle against the flames, but when a ceiling collapsed on them, they had to retreat.

An explosion inside the residence knocked down a firefighter who was outside the building. He wasn't injured in the blast.

From that point, the fire fight was defensive and crews did manage to knock the fire down before it did heavy damage to the front of the house.

"Our biggest problem here was water," Wood said. "We've got three different counties worth of tankers here shuttling water."

In all, 12 fire departments responded to the scene.

Wood said it may be possible or the David and Greg to recover some belongings from the front of the structure, but in all likelihood, it will need to be torn down.

The house was built in 1806 and David said the beams of the house are cut tree trucks that still have bark on them in places.

Frost Ridge has a history of supporting the Le Roy Fire Department.

"It definitely hits home with us," Wood said. "These guys have been great to us. They run a Fun Day for us. With everything else that's going on there, they certainly didn't need this."

UPDATE 11:26 a.m.: The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The investigation is being conducted by Deputy Frank Bordonaro, the Le Roy Fire Department and Genesee County Emergency Management. 

Assisting at the scene were Alexander, Brockport, City of Batavia, Town of Batavia, Bergen, Bethany, Byron, Caledonia, Churchville, Cuylerville, Darien, Elba, Mount Morris, Mumford, Oakfield, Perry, Scottsville, Stafford, South Byron, Pavilion and York. Mercy EMS also responded to the scene. Inmates from Wyoming Correctional Facility were also bussed in to help.

(Initial Post)

David Luetticke-Archbell receives a hug from a neighbor.

A working structure is reported at 7993 8005 North Road in Le Roy. Le Roy, Stafford and Pavilion fire departments are responding along with the city's Fast Team.

UPDATE 12:33 a.m.: A responder on scene reports "there is an exposure problem with a propane tank." A "full assignment" from Caledonia is requested along with Bergen. City's first platoon is called to its headquarters to stand by. National Grid is called in.

UPDATE 12:36 a.m.: A crew from York is called to stand by in Le Roy's fire hall.

UPDATE 12:93 a.m.: The location is just west of Conlon Road.

UPDATE 12:49 a.m.: Command tells responders to proceed to the scene from the east.

UPDATE 12:54 a.m.: A crew from the Town of Batavia is requested to stand by in Le Roy's fire hall. No word on status of the same request from York.

UPDATE 1:17 a.m.: The original address of the fire was an approximation provided by the caller. It is now reported to be 8005 North Road, which is east of Conlon Road, but just west of a creek.

UPDATE 1:20 a.m.: Crews from Alexander and Bethany are called.

UPDATE 1:24 a.m.: Elba and Darien fire departments requested to man tankers in their respective halls.

UPDATE 1:32 a.m.: Now a tanker from Oakfield is requested to fill in at Le Roy's fire hall.

UPDATE 1:35 a.m.: Oakfield is asked to instead man a tanker at its own fire hall.

UPDATE 1:46 a.m.: Looking at the street view on Google Maps, the North Road location is right across the street from the north end of Conlon Road.

UPDATE 2:13 a.m.: According to the Town of Le Roy's 2014 final tax assessment database online, the property is owned by Gregory J. Luetticke-Archbell, who is involved in a lawsuit with two neighboring families regarding his Frost Ridge Campground summer concert series. The 2,512-square-foot house has five bedrooms, two baths, and sits on 9.73 acres. It was built in 1806 and was last purchased in May 2011 for $116,400.

UPDATE 2:45 a.m.: Here's what David Luetticke-Archbell told media at the scene:

“I’m so lucky. Oh God. We were about a block away and coming up the hill and we saw a little bit of flames and some smoke and then I realized there were fire trucks here – there were one or two – and I wasn’t sure what to think. I thought maybe it was a barn or something and then I looked up and there is our home with fire on it and it’s everything that we ever had. And it’s not there anymore and I don’t know what to say – watching them tear this thing down…

"When we moved out here, we scaled down to what we could fit in our RV and we came and there were very few personal effects, just the things that actually had meaning because they came from a parent or a grandparent or something. And there’s nothing left. Absolutely nothing. And I keep telling the kids that it’s going to be OK because we still have each other, but there’s nothing else left and it’s going to have to be enough."

They had been gone all day. When they got home, David said Greg kept calling for their dog, Sadie, to try and get her out. Greg wanted, and tried, to go inside to look for her but was stopped by a Le Roy police officer.

"...an officer said 'no you can't, it's too dangerous.' And he was right because about that time the front of the house – it exploded. I mean you would have thought there was a bomb in there or something. I mean you ... look at this. There’s nothing left. There’s like a frame."

Greg was transported to the hospital. He was visibly shaking at the time. He had a couple of heart attacks a few weeks ago and they took him to the hospital to keep an eye on him, David said, adding that the children's aunt is staying at camp and they will stay with her for "a week or two until we figure it out."

UPDATE 5 a.m.: Le Roy Fire Police told to open the roads back up.

I was driving to Centennial Park on July 4th afternoon when we got the call for the fire in Bethany, so I didn't make Picnic in the Park until things were winding down.

I did get to meet Hiawatha and her owner Brian, which was fun, and I enjoyed some great Celtic music by Gan Ainm.

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It was just a storage shed. Some straw. Some sawdust. Bedding for the animals on a farm started by Michael Adams and his family in 1979.

The family built that shed. The first one of the Adams Farm property. Talking to Michael Adams after fire reduced the structure to rubble, you could see those remembrances pass before the long gaze of his eyes.

“Everything here got built by my brother, my dad, myself, my kids, my wife, everybody that’s come along through here," Adams said. "We tried to do all the work ourselves." He paused. "I look at it and start thinking about the days we were building it and, know you. …What can you do?”

The fire at 5664 Little Canada Road, Bethany, was reported at just before 2:40 p.m., but by then it was already too late.

“We were fixing a hose in the shop and came out, just got done with it, sent the neighbor back home with it, our tenant actually, back home with the hose," Adams said. "Came around the corner and looked and seen black smoke coming out the one corner of the barn there and that’s when I called 9-1-1 and tried to get down there and see if there was anything I could do but I couldn’t even get near it. It was already hotter than hot, you know."

The Adams farm specializes in replacement heifers for dairy farms and has about 60 head of beef cattle. The farm also grows corn, soybeans and a little bit of hay, Adams said.

Bethany Assistant Chief Jeff Pietrzykowski, today's scene commander, was in the city when he got the dispatch for the fire. Pietrzykowski could see the smoke column all the way down Ellicott Street. He immediately put out a second alarm for Stafford Fire to respond as well.

The first firefighters on scene found flames leaping from the windows and the roof was already gone.

"Our top priority was keeping it from the other buildings," Pietrzykowski said. "There was heavy fire. It was almost on the ground when we got here, but we were worried it was going to spread."

With no public water in the area, tankers were needed to haul water from a nearby pond.

Mutual aid departments included Alexander, City of Batavia, Town of Batavia, Le Roy and Pavilion.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

"It’s just like everything else around here, probably way under-insured, you know," Adams said. "Maybe we can put something smaller up if possible, but just to store our bedding and whatnot -- for the cattle mostly, that’s what it’s used for."

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A motor-vehicle accident with minor injuries is reported at 7824 Lake Road, at the I-490 ramp at Route 19 -- near or at the truck stop. Le Roy fire and ambulance are called to respond.