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While on a check-the-welfare call April 22, the handgun of a Batavia police officer discharged unexpectedly, Chief Shawn Heubusch confirmed today.

The accidental discharged is being investigated, but the good news, the chief said, is nobody was hurt.

Officers responded to a check-the-welfare call in the Grandview Terrace complex and the chief said the officers were either concerned the person they were checking on was in danger or could be a danger to others.

An officer for this reason drew his or her weapon and when the officer went to return his weapon to its holster, the Glock .40 caliber fired.

The investigation so far has not ruled out a mistaken discharge or a gun malfunction. What has been ruled out is defect with the holster.

Heubusch confirmed that buttons on the sides of officers' jackets have been known to catch on the triggers of guns, but the officer in this case was not wearing a jacket and the officer had on no other clothing that might have caught on the trigger.

The officer's name is not being released. Outside of acknowledging that the incident took place, the case is being handled as a personnel matter, which requires confidentiality for the officer involved.

This is the first accidental discharge of a weapon in the department since Heubusch became chief and he said in "just asking the guys" nobody can remember a similar prior incident.

Asked if the officers were surprised when the weapon fired, he said the officers remained calm and in control. 

"They maintained their composure," Heubusch said. "If you think about their training, they're trained to maintain their composure in an actual live fire situation. They're trained to stick with the mission until the mission is accomplished and they did a great job of ensuring the scene was secured.

"Again," he added, "we're lucky nobody was injured and the floor suffered minimal damage."

At 42 years old, Bill Taylor thinks its important to stay in shape as he gets older. He needs more energy in his physically demanding job and just generally wants to feel better.

Oakfield Fitness and Cross-Training Center, with its full range of newer equipment and 24/7 availability does the trick for him, he said.

"Everybody feels different at different parts of the day," Taylor said.

As he's gotten more serious about physical fitness, he said he has more energy and improved endurance.

"It's just all around feeling better physically, mentally, too," he said.

For anybody who doesn't have a workout routine, Taylor's advice is simple: "Get off your butt and do it. That's the best way."

Oakfield Fitness moved just a few weeks ago, going from 1,800 square feet and multiple small rooms, to three logically organized rooms in 3,600 square feet. There's a room for weight machines, a cardio room and a cross-training room.

All of the equipment is quality Life Fitness machines.

A basic gym membership is $30 a month with no other fees and no annual contract. Cross-training members pay $80 per month and have access to the cross-training room and a cross-training coach during scheduled times.

For more information, visit OakfieldFitness.com.

New York Times: Oklahoma Vows Review of Botched Execution

Unless you're a serious local history buff, the name Miss Mary Elizabeth Wood may be unfamiliar.

In China, however, especially among those who appreciate the country's public library system, Miss Wood is revered.

Her fame has brought a Chinese film crew to Batavia this week as part of their effort to create a documentary chronicling the life of the "Queen of Modern Libraries in China."

Born in Elba in 1861, Wood became the first librarian of the Richmond Memorial Library in 1889, a position she held for 10 years. The only daughter of Edward Farmer Wood and Mary Jane (Humphrey) Wood, who had seven boys, Miss Wood took a trip to China to visit her youngest brother Robert in 1899.

On that trip, she learned there was no public education system and residents had little access to all the wisdom contained in the world's books, even ones in their own language.

Wood decided to stay in Wuchang, where she eventually made 3,000 books available for borrowing at the building known as the Octagonal Pavilion.

Soon, she traveled back to the U.S. for a year of study, her first actual courses in library science, having gotten as far as she did before then on her strength as "a great reader."

While on the trip, she raised funds and secured book donations that enabled her to open in 1910 the Boone Library in Wuchang.

By the 1920s, Wood was lobbying Congress for funds to advance library science in China and through the grants received and with the help of two of her Chinese prodigies, Wood established the first school for library science in China.

Following her death of an illness in China in 1931, her body was returned to Batavia and she is buried in the Batavia Cemetery.

These pictures were taken while the film crew prepared to interview Kathy Facer, Richmond's reference and technology librarian.

Here's the Wikipedia entry on Mary Elizabeth Wood, which contains greater detail on her life and work.

Cheng Huanwen, professor and university librarian, School of Information Management, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

There was probable cause to arrest John Laverne Robinson, Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble said about the case involving Robinson, a man from Brockport, and a shotgun pointed through a window on Jan. 13, 2013.

So Robinson was arrested and it's now up to the courts to determine the eventual outcome of the case.

It's been 15 months since the incident, and Robinson's arrest two weeks ago raised some interest locally about how a man some believed was just exercising his right to defend himself in his own house could be charged with a crime.

"There's no black and white on these things and there's a lot of gray area on how far you can go and whether your actions are justified," Dibble said. "The deputy looked at the circumstances and looked at the law and consulted with the District Attorney and felt there was probable cause to make an arrest and then let the courts handle it."

Police officers don't determine the guilt or innocence of a defendant, Dibble said. They make an arrest based on probable cause and then let the courts decide.

"There's always two or three sides to every story," Dibble said. "In this case, there's Mr. Crooks' account and then there is Mr. Robinson's account. In the business we're in, absent any other witnesses, it gets down to what one person says against the other and then let the courts sort it out."

Often, Dibble said, cases aren't as clear-cut as people imagine.

"In this system, some cases by their nature, are not always black and white and in the gray areas is where law enforcement and the courts often find themselves in the middle of controversy," Dibble said.

The incident last year was initially handled by the State Police, who arrested 46-year-old Michael S. Crooks, of Salmon Road, Brockport, on a charge of criminal mischief, 4th.

Last week, The Batavian reported that there was no confirmation of an arrest of Crooks because Trooper Victor Morales said there was "no record" of that arrest. Morales was not with Troop A -- he's now Troop A's spokesman -- at the time of the incident 15 months ago and because a judge ordered the criminal case against Crooks sealed, Morales could only respond that there was no record of his arrest.

After learning of the sealed case file, The Batavian confirmed the arrest and charge against Crooks by obtaining a copy of orders of protection he signed Jan. 13 and on Jan. 16, 2013. Crooks was barred for one year from contacting Robinson.

Eventually, Crooks obtained an adjudication in contemplation of a dismissal ruling from the Bergen Town Court, which is why his case is sealed.

The events leading up to the alleged gun-pointing incident began when Crooks became aware -- according to his sworn statement in the Robinson case -- that Robinson and Crooks' wife were communicating with each other. His statement doesn't say whether it was by phone calls or by text or how Robinson and Mrs. Crooks know each other.

Crooks said he told his wife to stop communicating with Robinson, but one afternoon while Mrs. Crooks was out shopping with their children, Michael Crooks went online and checked phone records and found evidence of further communication with Robinson, he wrote in his statement.

According to the statement, Crooks went over Robinson's home on North Lake Road and wanted to speak with him and ask him to stop communicating with his wife. He claimed he intended no harm to Robinson.

Robinson did not answer the door, but Crooks believed Robinson was in fact home.

Crooks said he yelled for Robinson to come out and called him a coward for not coming to the door, according to his own account of events.

Deputy Matthew Butler, in his charging document, says that Robinson told him he called 9-1-1. He said he had a shotgun. He said a dispatcher told him to yell out that he had a shotgun.

Still unsatisfied that Robinson hadn't answered the door, Crooks walked around the house and looked into a window. That's when he saw Robinson pointing a shotgun at him, he said.

He claims Robinson screamed, "get out of here or I'm going to you're (sic) your f---ing head off."

"When I saw that shotgun pointed at my face," he wrote, "I was scared to death that John was going to shoot me."

Robinson is charged with menacing in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor.

During the course of the incident on North Lake Road, Robinson's front door was damaged, according to a family member, which is the apparent reason for the criminal mischief charge against Crooks.

Asked about the right in New York for residents to protect their home and themselves, Dibble said that's true, but the law has gray areas and that's where this case falls.

"The law also says you can walk up to anybody's door and knock on the door," Dibble said. "That's part of general business law."

Dibble said a deputy investigated the case because Crooks filed a complaint. It's not known why Crooks went to the Sheriff's Office rather than the NYSP with his complaint or why troopers didn't charge Robinson back in January 2013 after the initial investigation into the case.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said his office has yet to determine how it will proceed with the case.

"The best I can say is the Sheriff's Department did an investigation and made an arrest and that's what they do," Friedman said. "We haven't determined what the disposition might be. We didn't do the investigation. We don't do investigations. They came to the conclusion that the charge was appropriate and (Assistant DA) Kevin Finnell will look at the case. We have full discretion on what we feel is an appropriate disposition, whether not to prosecute it or to take it to trial or anything in between."

Robinson's next court appearance is 3 p.m., May 21, for arraignment on the charge.

Click here for an article about New York's "Castle Doctrine."

Driving back from Attica yesterday around 6 p.m., I stopped on Dorman Road in Alexander and took this picture.

Press release:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has announced today that the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee has approved Senate Bill No. S6695. The legislation, authored by Senator Ranzenhofer, would designate yogurt as the official State snack.

A Byron-Bergen fourth-grade class, while studying the history and government of New York State, wrote to Senator Ranzenhofer to suggest the idea for the bill.

“I am pleased to report that this bill is on the move, and New York is one step closer to designating yogurt as its official State snack,” Ranzenhofer said. “It’s not just a nutritious, delicious food. It is also a major economic driver locally and all across the State. I am hopeful that we will be able to pass this legislation so that it may become law this year.”

New York is the number one processor of yogurt in the United States. Increasing demand for milk, the primary component in yogurt, has helped to support and grow the State’s dairy industry. New York is now fifth in the nation in milk production, producing over 13 billion pounds in 2012, in part fueled by the demand from yogurt processors.

Senator Ranzenhofer introduced the legislation on Feb. 28.

A possible chimney fire is reported at 7060 Fox Road, Oakfield.

Smoke is reported in the residence.

Oakfield Fire dispatched with a tanker from Elba, a tanker and engine from Alabama, with East Pembroke to fill in at Oakfield's hall.

UPDATE 8:29 p.m.: An Oakfield chief on scene. Nothing showing at this time.

UPDATE 8:31 p.m.: Holding Elba and Alabama in quarters at this time.

UPDATE 8:44 p.m.: Alabama, Elba and East Pembroke can go back in service.

UPDATE 9 p.m.: Oakfield back in service.

UPDATE, Wednesday: Lang-Smith has been located.

Batavia PD is looking for the public's help in locating two teens who are reported runaways.

Teshawn A. Lang-Smith, 17, is a black male, 5' 5" tall and 120 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing shorts and a light colored, long-sleeved sweater. He has a tattoo of an anchor on his right forearm and a tattoo on his torso that reads "Family First." Teshawn is believed to be in the local area.

Jordon S. Thomas, 16, is a black male, 5' 7", 140 pounds, brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen at 5 p.m. yesterday. He is believed to be in the local area.

If you can assist in locating either of these individuals, contact Batavia PD by calling (585) 345-6350.

Jennifer Lynn Mohr, 41, of Manhattan Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. Mohr was arrested at the Genesee County Courts facility for allegedly possessing a controlled substance for which she lacked a prescription.

Michael R. Mullen, 50, of Oakfield, is charged with: driving while ability impaired by a combination of drugs and alcohol; driving while ability impaired by a drug; consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle; unlawful possession of marijuana; inadequate exhaust; insufficient signal; and failure to keep right. Mullen was stopped at 2:39 a.m. Sunday on Route 20A, Village of Warsaw, by Deputy Aaron Chase.

Todd Lester Fairbanks, 32, of Raymond Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a Family Court warrant. The underlying charge of the warrant was not specified.

Christopher A. Bucci, 34, of Batavia, is charged with second-degree rape (actor with person less than 18 years old), sexual abuse, 3rd, and acting in a manner injurerous to a child. Bucci was arrested by State Police in connection with an alleged incident reported Feb. 3 in the Town of Clarendon. No further details released.

Jacob R. Lavrincik, 25, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Lavrincik was arrested by State Police for an alleged petit larceny at a location on Veterans Memorial Drive. No further details released.

New York Times: Smartphones and the 4th Amendment

Crews under the supervision of Derrick Monument put in place today a total of 21 tons of polished black granite from India to serve as the new Genesee County memorial to the men and women who gave their lives in service to their country.

The dedication ceremony will be at 11 a.m., May 17, corner of Washington and Bank, Batavia.

The construction of the monument today caps a years-long effort by local veterans to replace the memorial that was displaced when UMMC added on its surgical wing.

"I don't even know if I can put it into words," said local veteran leader Jim Neider when asked what it was like to watch the monument being put in place. "We've been working on it for four and half years. We've been collecting donations for four years. It's the culmination of all those donations and all that hard work. To me, it's like Christmas."

The actual monument costs $125,000. With lighting and landscaping and other expenses, there are more expenses, but a total of $150,000 was raised for the project.

The monument contains the names of local U.S. service members who died during World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

The name plates from the old memorial are buried in a spot in front of the monument, marked by tiles that donors were able to purchase and have engraved with their own message.

Local veterans designed the monument and Derrick Monument helped complete the design and plan the construction. While the granite came from India, all of the diamond-tipped engraving was done in Vermont.

Last Saturday, crews poured 56,000 pounds of concrete to create the monument's base.

Max Rapone and Alex Rood passed by the monument on their way home from school this afternoon and stopped to take a closer look. Asked what they thought, Max gave it a thumbs up and said "awesome."

Neider and Dave Carlsen, president of Derrick Monument, agreed it's a beautiful piece of work.

Carlsen praised the work of his design staff, Jackie Earhardt and Ryan McClurg.

"Hats off to the committee for such a nice selection," Carlsen said. "We're certainly proud to be a part of it."

Top photo: Wayne Devoid, Jim Neider, Dave Carlsen, Rick Devoid, and Cassie Carlsen.

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) will consider a final resolution at its May 1 board meeting.

Liberty Pumps is planning a 100,000-square-foot expansion of its existing facility at Apple Tree Acres in Bergen, to create new spaces for production and warehouse, research and development and a new office, display, auditorium and training center. The company is investing $9.8 million for the expansion project, creating 27 new positions, and retaining 124 employees. 

Liberty Pumps has undertaken several projects in the last few years. In 2000, the company invested $3.7 million to construct and equip a 60,000-square-foot facility and in 2008 they undertook a 64,000-square-foot addition.

The GCEDC Board meeting will take place at 4 p.m. and is open to the public. Meetings are held at the Dr. Bruce A. Holm Upstate Med & Tech Park -- 99 MedTech Drive in the Town of Batavia, on the 2nd floor, across from Genesee Community College.

Not in the press release, but from another e-mail sent out by GCEDC today:

Liberty Pumps is planning a 100,000-square-foot expansion onto its existing 120,000-square-foot facility at Apple Tree Acres in Bergen. (Of that,) 81,400 square feet will be dedicated to production and warehouse, 7,600 square feet will house new research and development/ test facility space, and 11,000 square feet will hold new office, display, an auditorium and training center. ... The company has submitted an application to the GCEDC requesting assistance that includes tax savings of $377,600, a mortgage tax exemption savings of $93,750, and property tax abatement of $863,577 due to the incremental increase in assessed value.

A Batavia man has been charged with felony assault in Geneseo after a victim reportedly required 40 stiches following a fight on Bank Street in the Livingston County village.

Mitchell Freeman, 25, was arrested in Batavia.

The alleged victim was hospitalized as a result of the incident, according to Geneseo PD.

Freeman was jailed on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond.

(Via the Genesee Sun)

Strong winds are expected to hit Genesee County tomorrow, so the National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for 8 a.m. through 5 p.m.

Winds from the southeast of 25 to 35 mph are expected, with gusts up to 50 mph.

The grave marker is of a young girl on her knees hands clasped in prayer.

Elmwood Cemetery caretaker Steve Davis has been on the job for 20 years and the little headstone always reminded him of his daughter.

"My daughter, when she was little, always made a pose like that when she wanted something," Davis said. "Every time I go past that statue, if I'm trimming or working in the area, I always think of my daughter. When I came in and saw (it knocked down), it broke my heart."

The girl's praying headstone along with 28 others were knocked over by vandals sometime over the weekend.

It's the second time this month -- the first being around April 7 -- that vandals have rampaged through the cemetery knocking down headstones.

Det. Rich Schauf said the vandalism certainly has the attention of Batavia PD and patrols will be stepped up in the area.

"This is an intolerable crime," Schauf said. "Any criminal mischief isn't tolerable, but this is intolerable because of the lack of respect for the deceased. This isn't just about the police being upset. It should offend anybody with any common sense."

There's quite a bit the public can do to assist the police, Schauf said.

First, if young people are involved, they'll talk. They may even post pictures to social media.

"There's an old saying," Schauf said. "If three people know a secret, the only way it stays a secret is if two of them die."

The police would welcome any tips about pictures posted on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or if anybody hears anything related to the crime; tipsters should call Batavia PD.

Second, if you're out and about at 10 or 11 at night, or 2 or 3 in the morning, take a drive down Harvester or Buell.  Normally, Schauf said he wouldn't recommend calling the police just because a group of youths are out, but in this case, if they're in that area, call the police.

"Normally, just because three people are out walking doesn't mean they're going to do damage to a cemetery, but if there's anybody in the area, we're going to want to know about it," Schuaf said. "Nobody is going to say, 'I'm not going to that.' We're hypersensitive about it right now and we're going to respond."

Whatever you do, Schauf said, don't go into the cemetery. It's closed after dark, so not only would you be trespassing, you would make yourself a suspect, and if the real suspects were ever arrested, part of their defense could then be that this other person was in the cemetery as well.

Batavia PD is budgeted for a new mobile surveillance camera in 2014 specifically to deal with troubled crime areas, but Det. Kevin Czora said it will be months before the department makes the purchase.

Davis said he might bring up with the board of directors at its next meeting the idea of the cemetery investing in its own camera system. There isn't much money for such a purchase, however.

He said he has spoken with kids who come around the cemetery about helping protect the cemetery.

"When I come by after supper, there's a ton of kids here riding their bikes or whatever and I try to befriend them only because this is their cemetery along with everybody else's and I ask them to keep an eye on it," Davis said. "I don't know what the answer is -- not let people in here anymore? You can't do that. How do you keep the bad ones out? I try to tell them keep an eye out. Let me know if something is going on."

Officer Jason Davis, who took the report on this weekend's vandalism, said patrols are certainly aware of the need to increase their presence in the area, especially at night and on weekends, but it's difficult to catch the vandals in the act.

"Obviously, it's dark inside the cemetery so it's very difficult for us see in there without driving in there and when a patrol car drives in there, usually people can duck in between the shadows and it's difficult for us to see them," Officer Davis said.

The cemetery can apply to the state for compensation for grave-marker repair, but it's a long process to get the funds. The total damage at this point exceeds $1,000.

Volunteers can't be used to help repair the damage, Davis said, because of possible liability. If somebody hurt their back lifting a stone, he wouldn't want to see the cemetery sued.

This weekend's damage forms almost a straight line from the front entrance on Harvester to a hole in the fence near Buell Street.

"They use bolt cutters or something to cut the hole," Davis said. "We fixed it the first time a long time ago, but as many times as I can fix it, they break it."

Because the aggregate damage of each of the two recent incidents exceeds more than $250 each, the vandals are facing possible felony charges for tampering with a cemetery, Officer Davis said. And each headstone knocked over constitutes its own misdemeanor criminal tampering charge.

Cemetery vandalism is a decades-old problem, Davis acknowledged. Elmwood records in the 1920s and '30s record acts of vandalism, but this latest round certainly has Davis feeling weary.

"It's going to be a long summer," Davis said. "It never starts this early. Usually it's in the summertime when the kids are out of school and this year it started early, and I've never had it so close together, so I'm just afraid of what's going to happen this summer."

Davis has had a rough month. Last week his shop on Buell Street was hit by burglars. They stole more than $3,000 in tools.

A driver says he may have fallen asleep while on Route 63 in Stafford at 2:13 a.m., leading to a rollover accident.

The truck driven by Cody A. Paxton, 21, of New Providence, Pa., is owned by Norfolk Southern Railway, and it came to rest on all four wheels.

Paxton suffered minor injuries and was transported by Mercy EMS to Strong Memorial Hospital.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Joseph Graff.

Photos submitted by a reader.

Wall Street Journal: Cheerleading Gets Serious in New York

City fire is on scene at 116 Harvester Ave. for the smell of smoke in the residence.

A commander reports smoke in the residence and firefighters are investigating.

UPDATE 7:34 a.m.: The smoke has been traced to a burned-out motor in the refrigerator.

UPDATE 7:48 a.m.: City fire back in service.