Stories from

The State Trooper injured in an auto accident on the Thurway in Pembroke on Saturday has been identified as Nina Johnson.

Johnson, who was taken via Mercy Flight to ECMC, was released from the hospital Saturday evening.

The Trooper was involved in traffic control following a fatal accident on the Thurway just hours prior.

Her patrol vehicle was reportedly struck by an SUV driven by Catherine A. Manahan, 27, of Williamsville.

That accident took the life of Julie I. Stratton, 33, of Synder, whose car became disabled in the fast lane after striking a deer. A tractor-trailer then ran into her car. She was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the Buffalo News, state police have yet to decide whether to file charges against the truck driver, Thomas M. Wallace, 45, of Brook Park, Ohio.

“We’re still investigating it to see if there was some distracted driving involved,” Harris said. “We’re looking at why [Wallace] didn’t perceive the vehicle in front of him.”

State police noted that other drivers were able to avoid hitting Stratton’s disabled car in the minutes before the crash.

Stratton was married and had two sons, ages 1 and 3.

A Batavia woman who admitted this morning to defrauding the Department of Social Services out of $9,278 has until Feb. 12 to pay it all back or face up to two years in prison.

Tami Mileham made a $2,000 payment this morning.

If she makes the remainder of her scheduled payments, she's looking at much less time in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of offering a false instrument in the second degree.

Mileham admitted to making false statements on food stamp applications about a person living in her residence at the time.

Her reduced sentence could either be 60 days in jail, or 60 days of jail time staggered over four months. Otherwise, each count carries a one-year prison term and those terms could be imposed consecutively rather than concurrently.

I was really pleased with how this picture turned out and I'm glad Don Burkel has given me an excuse to re-run it.  This morning he announced the winners of the BID's Holiday Window Contest, and Valle Jewelers won.

Second prize went to Adam Miller Toy & Bicycles and third prize to Spa at Artemis.

Honorable mentions: C.L. Carr/Mistler Building, Continental School of Beauty, Floral Fantasies and WBTA.

Previously: Downtown Christmas Lights

iPhone owners in Genesee County: Rejoice. We now have the 3G network available to us.

I was pleased to notice "3G" next to the reception bars on my iPhone this morning. And then a little while ago, I got a press release from AT&T announcing the network upgrade.

The PR says enhanced cell sites are located in Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Brick House, Corfu, Darien, Elba, Leroy, Oakfield, Pavilion and Pembroke. (Brick House?)

3G is mobile broadband, meaning AT&T customers in Genesee County can now surf the Web and download e-mail a bit faster.

Now, if AT&T would just do something about the fact there is no place to buy iPhones or accessories in Genesee County.

A baby who was shaken and once described by District Attorney Lawrence Friedman as in grave condition is doing much better according to her mother.

This morning we received this e-mail from the mother (who asked that we not use her name):

I want to let everyone know the baby is doing excellent so far. She has made lots of progress. She is taking steps on her own and with help sometimes on her own holding onto to something. She is starting to use her right hand with lots of exercises. She knows the people who have been around her. She dances in her chair when she hears music. She is pretty much almost herself. With lots of prayer from people who know her and people who don't know her, she has come a long way.

Dietrich Williams is accused of shaking the baby girl and slamming the baby's head against a hard surface. He is awaiting trial on charges of assault in the first degree and reckless assault on a child. He pled not guilty to the charges in July. Williams reportedly worked with the mother in Le Roy and was acting as a sitter at the time of the alleged assault.

The mother said she's struggling because she's not working, but "all that counts is that she is getting better."

She said the baby, who will be two in March, is speaking single words and is getting therapy every day.

A Batavia man admitted today that he assaulted a Sheriff's deputy when the deputy arrested him on a failure-to-appear warrant.

The deputy was not seriously injured, by Ryan Lee Krupp, 24, who fled his Pringle Avenue residence and wasn't captured until the following day.

As part of his plea bargain, Krupp also admitted to escape in the second degree.

The two felonies make Krupp a second-time felony offender in New York. In 2005, he was convicted of burglary in the third degree.

He's facing three to seven years in state prison. Judge Robert Noonan will impose sentence after a pre-sentence review is completed by Genesee Justice.

In exchange for his plea on the two felonies, other charges against Krupp were satisfied, according to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman. Those charges include promotion of prison contraband, grand larceny (Friedman said a stolen credit card was found in Krupp's residence) and the charge behind the original failure to appear, possession of a forged instrument.

Previously:

• Police Beat: Suspect accused of assault on deputy faces more charges
• Police Beat: Man accused of imprisonment in Oakfield (another item is about Krupp, not the headline item)
• News roundup: Searching for chiefs (another item is about Krupp)

One driver apparently rear-ended another in a non-injury accident Sunday just after midnight.

Robert T. Long, 36, of 10 South St., Le Roy, was headed south on Route 19 when he slowed at West Bergen Road. Steven C. Kazmierczak, 25, of 61 Myrtle St., Apt. D2, Le Roy, was also southbound. Kazmierczak's car allegedly struck Long's from behind.

Kazmierczak was issued tickets for allegedly following too close, DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Kazmierczak was also cited for allegedly leaving the scene of a property-damage accident.

I'm just getting around, finally, to doing a post about the Top 10 most viewed stories for November, and since I never did it for October, those stories are listed below, as well.

November Top 10 Stories

• Jackson Street mother named third suspect in meth ring
• Some feedback - a bakery in Batavia, Chelea Dobson
• Body found outside Blockbuster in Batavia
• Two men suspected of manufacturing meth busted at house in Alabama
• Today's Poll: Do you think the proposed new state license plates are ugly or attractive?
• Child's death confirmed case of H1N1
• Attica police officer accused of trying to drag GCC student into undercover work
• Something meaningful for the Oak Street Roundabout
• Today's Poll: Do you think the GOP should purge liberals/moderates from the party?
• Genesee County election results 2009

Most popular poll for November: Were you surprised to learn about meth labs being found in Genesee?

October Top 10 Stories

• Former Democrat releases potentially damaging Christian e-mail because 'It's personal'
• Police pursue bank robbery suspect in Pavilion area
• County taking down Sour Springs bridge that took snowmobile club 400 hours to build
• Council members say Bialkowski used his own printer to provide copies of complaint
• What is wrong with Batavia?, by Mike Freeman
• Pembroke district informs parents of student who passed away Thursday
• New facility on East Main will give mentally ill a chance to live independently, by Billie Owens
• Graham Corp. cuts payroll, by Billie Owens
• Judge: Christian's Wal-Mart supervisor had habit of letting employees eat damaged items
• Search continues for Pavilion bank robber, by Billie Owens

Most popular poll for October: Today's Poll: Did the county do the right thing removing the volunteer-installed bridge on Sour Springs Road?

More and more I'm working with The Batavian's sponsors in coming up with ad campaigns that feature special information or special deals, and it's been working. The ads on the right that change with unique information on a regular basis get the most reader response. 

Those ads all represent local advertisers. They are businesses that support your community as well as support The Batavian.  It's important to me that I'm giving them the best value for the money, so I work hard to come up with good ideas at attractive ads for them.  I encourage you to be sure to take some time when you visit The Batavian to see if there are any new offers or information that might be useful to you.

This is my regular reminder that without our sponsors, there is no The Batavian.  When you support The Batavian sponsors, you are helping to support an online news site you enjoy, and supporting your local community.

Below is our list of sponsors. Please patronize these businesses and when you do, let them know you saw them on The Batavian.

3 D Wine & Liquor
Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle
Affordable Floor Covering
Alex's Place
Anglican Community Church
Barrett's Batavia Marine and Sporting Supplies
Batavia Downs Casino
Blue Pearl Yoga
Bonarigo & McCutcheon
Bontrager's Auction
Carlson's Studio
Cedar St. Sales and Rentals
Center Street Smokehouse
Charles Men's Shop
Classic Home Improvements
Clor's Meat Market
The Color Salon
Country Cottage
Crazy Cheap Cars
D&R Depot Restaurant
Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern
The Enchanted Florist
Fastec Automotive
Genesee Dental Group
Genesee Feeds
Great Kutz
Herbly Wonderful
Holland Land Office Museum
House of K
The Insurance Center
Jackson St. Grill/Belladessa's
Kravings Kafe
Lamb Family Medicine
Lewis and Lewis
Main St. Pizza Company
The Mane Attraction
The Manor House
Mark Lewis Agency
Matteo & Mullen, CPA
Matty's Pizzeria
Max Pies
Movies in Motion
O'Lacy's Irish Pub
Oliver's Candies
Optique
Pauly's Pizza
Pellegrino Auto Sales
Present Tense Books
Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center
Reeb Family Moving
Roxy's Music Store
Sallome's Italian Deli
Select Collision
Sloat Tire
Small World Realty
South Main Country Store
Southside Deli
Suzanne Interiors
T.F. Brown's
Total Image Hair Salon
T-Shirts Etc.
Valle Jewelers
Vintage & Vogue Inspirations
WNY Fireplace Outlet
Wortzman Furniture

There is apparently a slick sheet of ice on Oak Street and there have already been at least two minor accidents. Police are taking measures to get drivers to slow down.

UPDATE 11:25 a.m.: I missed the start of this call, so was unclear about what part of Oak. I drove out by the Thruway first, but it wasn't there. It was just south of the bridge going over Tonawanda, just before the roundabout. The accident scene is clear now and the area has been salted.

A freezing rain advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service and will remain in effect until 1 p.m.

Precipitation is expected this morning with temperatures at or just below freezing.

The weather service is recommending caution during travel, but says an advisory means that travel should not be disrupted, nor should trees or power lines be effected.

Walking and driving may be difficult, but not impossible, according to the weather service.

The Verizon Wireless store at 8351 Lewiston Road, Batavia, has been evacuated because of the smell of natural gas inside the store.

Batavia Fire is responding.

GCASA Executive Director David Markham addresses persistent claims that agency employees are money grubbers leaching off of taxpayers.

According to Markham, most GCASA employees earn substantially less than the Genesee County's median income of $49,133. The average GCASA salary is $26,500, with 81 of GCASA's 92 employees earning less than $40,000 per year.

Markham said he has a master's degree and 41 years experience, yet earns only $74,459.32, and he turned down a $1,400 raise.

The agency is currently facing a $135,000 budget deficit.

It's a complaint I heard from Downtown Batavia merchants last winter, and a sore subject that came up at a BID meeting over the winter -- snow piled up along Main Street. Now merchants are grumbling again after the first big snow storm this year.

The big mounds make it exceptionally hard for customers to come downtown, park on Main and walk into a business. Generally, when the snow is piled up like it is, only the driver can get out of a car and then must walk a half a block or more in traffic to the nearest opening to gain access to the sidewalk -- and then walk back to the business he or she wants to enter.

Ken Mistler, who is opening a gym at Main and Jackson in a few weeks, is also concerned about the practice of city public works crews piling up snow right in the middle of the parking lot behind his building. The large pile can take up as many as 20 parking spaces, and with several popular businesses on Jackson, that doesn't leave much parking room left with convenient access to those businesses and the gym.

He said he isn't worried about his customers walking some distance to get into the gym -- they are, after all, into fitness -- but he is concerned that the additional parking his gym requires means that customers of the Jackson Street businesses will find it harder to park and face longer walks.

Those 20 or so spaces are much needed, Mistler said, so he suggested the snow be piled behind the empty Latina's market, not in the middle of the most used parking area off Jackson.

City Manager Jason Molino said the city is constantly reviewing snow plowing and removal procedures, but removal is not a priority during a storm and can only be accomplished as manpower and equipment availability dictates.

"Our first priority, when we have a snow storm like yesterday, is to make sure the thoroughfares are clean, the major arteries in the city are clear, and then the side streets and then we get into snow removal," Molino said during an interview on Friday.

At the BID meeting this summer, Board President John Roche said downtown merchants need to be vocal about letting City Hall know that they want to see snow removal become more of a priority this year.

We'll see what happens.

Hearkening back to a speech Jason Molino made at a City Council meeting in October, the city manager has asked council members to read a 74-page report from Geneva about its community-improvement efforts.

It isn't that Molino thinks the specific recommendations in the Geneva report are right for Batavia, but he's impressed by the process Geneva went through, and the effort it's putting forth at community development.

The report fits right in with everything Molino previously said about the need to improve community engagement among residents at a neighborhood level.

"It was an engaging process, a planning process where they took actual housing data, actual income data and data from residents in the community and said 'This is what the neighborhoods are made up of. Here are areas to focus on in each neighborhood to achieve some better results,'" Molino said during an interview Friday. "When you’re dealing with limited resources, I think that’s the targeted approach you have to take."

Based on the report and Molino's previous speech, the city manager is aiming to take a much broader approach to improve the quality of life in Batavia. Just throwing money at a problem or ramping up code enforcement isn't going to do the job, and he said as much Friday.

"What’s interesting is they talk about how different neighborhoods need to have different senses of identity and community building aspects of that -- you know, neighborhood pride, neighborhood identity, more so than we need to get in and inspect all these properties."

The approach Geneva is taking isn't for pansies or naysayers. It says quite clearly the city needs to become more entrepreneurial, which means risk, which means trying things that might not work, and not stop trying.

A word on success. The strategies here are not bulletproof. Not all will work the first time. Some won't work after repeated attempts, and so iteration and persistence will be required. The city must be willing to experiment and be flexible. We strongly recommend that the City of Geneva itself become entrepreneurial, that it take measured risks. In these economic times the margin for error is small, but we think the conditions in Geneva require that the city be innovative. This may mean failing in order to succeed, but learning from failure and moving forward, and always within the context of the guiding principles contained in this report.

A driver was killed in a late morning accident on the Thruway. She has been identified as Julie Stratton, 33, of Synder.

Stratton was reportedly in the westbound lane when her car struck a deer, causing her car to become disabled in the passing lane. Her car was then hit by a semi-truck.

The truck driver, Thomas M. Wallace, 45, of Brook Park, Ohio, was taken to UMMC by Mercy EMS and treated for minor injuries.

The westbound lane of the Thruway was closed for a 4.5 hours because of the accident, and reportedly a State Trooper at the scene was injured in an accident this afternoon. The State Police have not yet released information on that accident.

Initial Report.

A car has reportedly struck a tree at 9710 S. Street Road in Pavilion.

The caller reports "there are parts everywhere."

Mercy Flight is being canceled after dispatch learned that the accident victim is inside the house at the location and appears to have minor injuries.

Emergency responders are reporting icy road conditions in the area.

It wasn't a Christmas card in the mail that put a bit bigger smile on Guy Clark Jr.'s face this morning -- it was a notification from Cub Cadet that Cedar Street Sales and Rentals has been named its 2009 Region 1 Dealer of the Year.

It's the first time Cedar Street has won the award and Clark couldn't wait to spread the news.

"I'm very excited," he said.

The award recognizes both the increased sales volume of Cub Cadet products at Cedar Street, but also the extra effort Clark puts into displaying and marketing Cub Cadet products.

One of the innovations Clark introduced that drew the attention of the Cleveland, Ohio-based company is a utility vehicle test track that Clark installed at his location.

Clark started selling Cub Cadet products in 2001.

“We are happy to present Guy Clark Jr. of Cedar Street Sales and Rental with the 2009 Retailer of the Year Award for the Northeast region,” said Tom Rossman, Cub Cadet director of sales, in a prepared statement. “What makes Cub Cadet such a great organization is having dedicated retailers, like Guy Clark, who embody the Cub Cadet brand in all aspects of their business. Guy’s progressive attitude and innovative ideas have helped Cedar Street Sales and Rentals evolve in a competitive market to continually meet the demands of their customers. In 2009, Cedar Street Sales and Rentals truly set itself apart from the competition.” 

Cub Cadet divides the United States into four sales regions, so Clark is one of only four dealers in the nation recognized by Cub Cadet in 2009.

Pavilion Fire is responding to a car fire at ... the Pavilion Fire Hall.

UPDATE 3:53 p.m.:  Pavilion Chief on scene, Reports the fire appears to be out.