A car vs. tree accident, with injuries, is reported in the area of 47 Ellicott St. City fire and Mercy medics are responding or are on scene.

UPDATE 12:19 p.m.: One person was transported to UMMC.

A car reportedly rolled over and careened into water, of undetermined depth, just south of the Orleans County line on Route 63. Unknown injuries, but a witness reported one person trapped on the passenger side. Alabama fire and Mercy medics are responding along with mutual aid from Shelby, whose crew will be wearing water rescue gear. Mercy Flight is unavailable due to weather.

UPDATE 11:40 a.m.: About five people at the scene have been attempting to extricate two victims, who told them they had been in the water for two hours. A tow truck will try and pull the vehicle out, which is "completely upside down, only the back wheels sticking out of the water right now." Route 63 at Roberts Road will be shut down to southbound traffic.

UPDATE 11:44 p.m.: The incident is so close to the county line, but it's deemed to be just over the line in Orleans. Mercy medics from Genesee County have arrived along with Alabama fire.

UPDATE 11:50 p.m.: Both victims have been extricated and are inside the ambulance.

UPDATE 11:58 p.m.: At least one of the patients is being taken to the hospital in Medina.

UPDATE 12:06 p.m.: Dispatch is informed that Orleans County is in command of the accident scene and Alabama is assisting.

UPDATE 2:09 p.m. (by Howard): One person is dead as a result of this accident, the Orleans County Sheriff's Office has confirmed. The names of the victims have not yet been released, but the male occupant of the vehicle was pronounced dead at Medina Memorial Hospital. The female occupant is being treated at the hospital.

According to the OCSO, the vehicle was southbound on Route 63 at 11:35 a.m. when the driver apparently lost control. The vehicle crossed the center line and left the roadway on the east side of Route 63 and overturned, coming to rest in flooded swampland.

A Shelby Fire Department pumper pulled the vehicle out of the water and onto the roadway. Both occupants were extricated and transported by ground ambulance to Medina. 

The male occupant was pronounced dead at 12:31 p.m.

Deputy J.W. Halstead, OCSO, responded to the incident. He was assisted by sergeants D.W. Covis and G.T. Gunkler, and Investigator C.L. Black. State Troopers stationed at both Albion and Batavia also assisted at the scene. The incident remains under investigation by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

UPDATE 6:01 p.m.: The Orleans County Sheriff's Office has released the identities of the two people involved in the crash in the Town of Shelby. The driver of the 1998 Pontiac sedan is David M. Russo, 43, of Stafford, who died at Medina Memorial Hospital at 12:31 p.m. His female passenger was Lisa A. Stanley, 40, of Le Roy, who was treated at MMH, then transferred to Highland Hospital in Rochester. The press release from Orleans County Undersheriff Steven D. Smith concludes "While the incident remains under investigation, it’s apparent that weather and slippery road conditions were contributing factors."

Genesee County's unemployment rate held steady at 6.1 percent for November, the same as it was in October and lower than the 7.5 percent reported in November 2012.

There are a reported 1,900 local residents unemployed, compared to 2,300 a year ago.

The state's rate is reported at 6.9 percent, down a percentage point from a year ago, and the national rate is 6.6 percent.

Elsewhere in GLOW, Livingston County's at 6.4 percent, Orleans at 8.5, Wyoming at 7.1, which is a slight jump from the 6.5 percent reported the previous month.

Write-up by Joe Teresi:

T.F. Brown's and the Mancuso Family added another year to its long tradition of serving a Traditional Christmas Day Dinner to the Genesee County region. This year 320 meals were served on a cold, snowy Christmas Day.

The day started early as Rick Mancuso and his early morning crew arrived at the Restaurant just after Santa touched down at their house to prepare the restaurant for the dinner guests and ensure the dinner would be ready on time. The Batavia Lions Club assisted with serving the meal as well as providing toys to all of the children in attendance. This year the Community had an opportunity to assist in the dinner when T.F. Brown's hosted a holiday Happy Hour where customers dropped off toys for the event. The event was well attended with both the United Way of Genesee County and the Batavia Rotary making it their December meeting. A special gift for the holiday diners, was a poinsettia courtesy of Larry Delre and Delre’s Greenhouse.

In addition to the Christmas Day crew, special thanks go out to T.F. Brown’s staff including chefs Frank Yanik and Jeff Pangrazio. Also Maud Charpin in the office who handled reservations. The dinner would not be possible without the support of T.F. Brown's vendors who assisted with the Dinner, including the breadman, Jeff Condidorio. Also, thanks to all the social service providers who assisted us in getting the message out to the community.

While Christmas maybe over, the Mancuso Family looks forward to carrying on the this tradition in 2014.

Terry Irene Luczak, 63, of North Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with DWAI-Drugs and possession of a controlled substance outside of original container. Luczak's vehicle was observed allegedly driving erratically in the City of Batavia and was followed to Target, where the vehicle was reportedly seen striking a handicapped sign in the Target parking lot at 4:07 p.m., Monday. Luczak was arrested following an investigation by Deputy Andrew Hale.

Jenea Marie MacLeod, 29, of Sliker Road, Corfu, is charged with petit larceny. MacLeod is accused of shoplifting at Walmart.

Shannon Marie Denison, 30, of Main Street, Attica, is charged with petit larceny. Denison is accused of shoplifting at Kmart.

Kathleen E. Gonzalez, 51, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Gonzalez is accused of shoplifting $30.12 in merchandise from Kmart.

Washington Post: Benefits to end Saturday for long-term jobless

A nearly 24-hour search by State Police for a missing 26-year-old man from Darien ended tragically this afternoon when his body was found in a wooded area west of Route 77.

Ryan C. Bergman left his residence on Fargo Road around 3:50 p.m. yesterday in clothing inappropriate for the freezing weather.

SP Batavia responded and led a search that included local volunteer firefighters, deputies and the K-9 unit from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

The search was called off around 9 p.m. last night and started again this morning.

Today's weather conditions permitted use of the State Police helicopter to assist in the search.

At one point during the search, there was a report by a neighbor of a man running through the woods east of Fargo Road, but it was never confirmed as a possible sighting of Bergman.

Early in the afternoon, volunteer firefighters were again assembled for a search party.

Bergman's body was located at 2:30 p.m. and pronounced dead by Coroner Kristine Flanagan.

There is no foul play suspected, according to the State Police.

Assisting in the search were volunteers firefighters from Darien, Alexander, Alabama and Alden.

The cause of death has not been determined.

Previously: State Police conducting missing person search in Darien

The sixth-grade Batavia Blue Devils won the Community Youth Basketball Tournament in Rochester this past weekend.

Game summaries by Bryan Falitico:

Game 1: Starting off against the hometown team CYP in our first
game we came out sleepwalking. Strong efforts from our bigs inside on both
ends of the court we were able to fight our way back from being down 11
points. Alex Rood had six points, Andy Clark three, and Jake Humes four, with all
three having monster rebounding games we came up short in the end, losing
33-30.

Game 2 -- vs. Brighton: Building off the fire we started to play with in
the second half of the first game, we came out strong and pounded the ball
inside. Jake Humes led with 10 points, and Andy Clark had eight. The real
key to our win vs. Brighton was behind the leadership of our point guards,
who not only chipped in point wise, but also great ball protection and
finding the open man in transition. Max Rapone had four points, Bryce Reigle had six
and Luke Grammatico had four. Final score BHS 43, Brighton 34.

Game 3 -- HFL: Day 2 we were without one of our bigs inside so in order for
us to be successful other key guys needed to step up in the absence. Andy
Clark had eight points, and the White brothers, Cam and Caeden, came to play.
Cam had six points and Caeden had five, including a game-changing basket drive
that resulted in a (point) and one opportunity. He sealed the deal with the free throw.
Matt Beach and Alex Rood both came up big on the boards in Jake's absence to
help us get the win 35-30.

Game 4 -- vs. Eastside: All around contributions helped us seal the win. Big
game again from Caeden White with 11 points. Cam pitched in five points of
his own, and again Andy Clark, Alex Rood, and Matt Beach controlled the
boards, helping set up our guards to push the ball for some easy baskets. Luke
Grammatico had two points, Josh Weis had four, Bryce Reigle and Max Rapone
both had a number of great passes inside that set up our bigs for easy
baskets. Final score 37-25, tournament champions.

A State Police helicopter is involved in a missing person search off Fargo Road, Darien.

The person was reported missing yesterday. For a time yesterday, the Darien Volunteer Fire Company was involved in the search. At this point, only the State Police are involved in the search. There are multiple patrols in the area and officers on foot involved in the search.

The only description provided is a male subject.

A neighboring resident reported a little while ago seeing person running in the woods, seemingly trying to evade officers.

It's possible there may be no more information forthcoming on this case.

UPDATE 12:19 p.m. (by Billie): All available manpower from Darien Fire Department is asked to assemble in its hall at 1 p.m. to search for the missing man. In addition, a crew from Alexander fire is asked to assemble at the Darien hall to aid in the search. Alexander will also bring its Gator. All are told to dress warmly, of course.

Chief Dale Breitwieser, right, briefing volunteers on the search.

Alexander firefighters in the department's Gator.

"Destro" likes people. He likes the snow. His favorite toy is a piece of old fire hose. But don't let the puppy disposition of the 2-year-old German shepherd fool you. He's a trained police dog, capable on command of doing all the things police dogs do.

If you meet Destro, you're likely to make a new friend, but let him approach you. Just to be safe.

"He's good," said his new handler and partner in crime-fighting Deputy Chris Erion. "He gets on my nerves once in awhile and I get on his, but we're a good match. He works very well."

Yesterday was the first day on the job for the new K-9 team after Erion and Destro completed 15 weeks of K-9 police dog academy.

"We start with a brand new dog who has almost zero training and we start right from the beginning," Erion said. "That way we know how he's trained, how he learns certain things. If problems come up, we know how to correct them, so it's a lot of long classes."

The 15-week course covered training in the areas of building and open area searches, obedience, tracking, drug detection, and handler protection.

The hardest part of the training, Erion said was "just sticking to it and getting up every morning."

"I got up at 4:30 every morning to get to Canada by 7:30 and I didn't get up home (until) 6:30, 7 o'clock at night and then my kids and wife needed attention, too, so balancing all of that was a challenge."

Destro gets along well with Erion's four children, the deputy said. "And he's kind of brought new life to my old German shepherd. They run around outside and play. They get along very well."

Erion and Destro start their new career together just as the K-9 handling career of Deputy Brian Thompson comes to a close. Thompson and "Pharoah" still are available to handle calls and help with the new team's training, but in about 10 months "Pharoah" will be retired from active duty.

Erion said he's grateful to the community support to help keep the Sheriff's Office K-9 program going.

"This program is completely funded by the community and we're certainly grateful for that," Erion said. "I'm personally grateful for that. There's an expense that goes into training and maintaining the dog, and that comes from donations. Without that we wouldn't be able to support the program."

When pine trees bend with heavy snow...and trails are hard to find...the warm glow from the fireplace...brings memories to mind.                                           

I first came across this piece of verse more than forty years ago in a Leanin' Tree Christmas card. Those vintage Leanin' Tree cards beckoned to kindred spirits, especially those whose favorite haunts tended to be somewhere off the beaten path.

Some of those old cards depicted homesteads of yesteryear where kinfolk gathered to celebrate Christ's humble birth and enjoy one another's company. The artists renditions also included a variety of settings, be it a pastoral landscape or wildlife, including but not limited to, songbirds, deer, and waterfowl. There were also those which featured man's best friend, be it hunkered down in a duck blind or flushing pheasants from a swale.

Those cards captured many wilderness moments, compelling its reader to take time to see the wonder of nature and the signature handiwork of an awesome Creator.   

It can be seen in graceful symmetry...

or in beauty sublime.

It can be seen in the love of friend for friend...

Its displayed in vivid, resplendant hues...

and in the amber halo in the eyes of a faithful companion.

The outdoors and the inhabitants of the wild beckoned to the hearts of the writers and wildlife artists who created those Christmas cards of yesteryear. Perhaps they found truth in nature, a natural world in tune with its Maker, a loving God who two thousand years ago sent us a Savior.

To Howard and Billie, the staff of The Batavian and all of its readers, may the joy and wonder of Christmas be yours this holiday season!

Light smoke is reportedly coming from the basement of a home at 11 Kingsbury Ave. in the city. Batavia Fire Department is has arrived on scene and reports nothing showing from the outside, investigating.

UPDATE 12:44 p.m.: The source of the smoke is found to be a cigarette burning inside a plastic container in the basement. It is extinguished. Ladder 15 is told to continue to the scene, non-emergency mode.

A two-car accident with minor injuries is reported at Richmond Avenue and Union Street. City fire and Mercy medics are responding. Police are on scene.

UPDATE 1:01 p.m.: One patient was transported to UMMC.

Walnut Street/Route 98 has reopened.

A car fire is reported at 14 S. Main St., Batavia.

City fire is responding.

UPDATE 10:51 a.m.: City fire on scene. Fire appears to be out.

A woman reportedly fell in the parking lot of 226 Ellicott St., Batavia, and then a car rolled over her.

The woman has since stood up.

Batavia fire and Le Roy ambulance are responding (all Mercy EMS ambulances are tied up).

UPDATE 9:49 a.m.: The woman was not struck by the vehicle. City fire reports, "she more or less fell under the car." The responding ambulance (which may be Mercy EMS now) can come in non-emergency.

A car has struck a pole on Clinton Street Road in Bergen.

Injuries are reported.

Bergen fire and ambulance responding.

UPDATE 9:46 a.m.: The car is cold. This accident apparently happened some time ago and nobody is around. Bergen fire back in service.

Press release:

The City of Batavia is pleased to announce the completion of its new Web site for City residents, businesses and visitors. As part of the City’s Strategic Plan to improve public communications and access to public information, the City has developed a Web site that includes interactive ways to communicate with residents, businesses and visitors. 

New features of the Web site include online service requests designed to reduce response time by encouraging users to e-mail requests directly to the managing City department and e-news subscriptions allowing users to register to receive e-mail notifications when specific information of their interest is posted to the Web site. In addition, the public can also sign up to receive text alerts when urgent alerts, such as water line breaks or emergencies, are posted on the Web site. 

The City's new Web site provides comprehensive community information and helps the user gain an appreciation for the many positive things the City of Batavia community has to offer in a user-friendly way. The newly added Business, Residents & Visitors sections provide access to an abundance of community information and resources, while the Web site calendar allows users to view community events by department, event, public meetings or notices.

Sixth Ward Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian said, “The Batavia site is more than I expected -- it’s outstanding! Residents are now able to search the site from weather to demographics to printing the STAR exemptions and reading meeting agendas and minutes. Everything anyone needs can be found on the new site, job well done.”

Councilman-at-Large Brooks Hawley added “I'm proud of being part of a City that puts out such a modern and professional looking Web site. It is easy to navigate for residents, businesses and visitors. The pictures and information on the Web site are a great way to highlight the many wonderful aspects of the City. I encourage all residents to check out the Web site and give us feedback with the online survey."

The City's Web site address is still www.batavianewyork.com. All users are encouraged to explore the site, take the Web site survey and provide feedback. Suggestions and comments will be used to continue to improve the Web experience for all users.

A car has reportedly struck a guard rail on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 394.

Dispatchers have received multiple calls. One caller reports the car struck the guard rail head-on.

No word on possible injuries.

East Pembroke fire is responding.

UPDATE 9:29 a.m.: Mercy ambulance on scene, confirming minor injuries. The location is mile marker 394.6.

UPDATE 9:50 a.m.: East Pembroke back in service.