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A 39-year-old Batavia woman accused of distributing cocaine is likely to avoid a trial and prison time, though some time in jail is still a possibility.

Denielle Mancuso, of West Main Street Road, appeared in County Court this morning on her plea-cut-off day (the last day a defendant has to accept a plea deal before the case goes to trial).

Assistant District Attorney Kevin Finnell said the plea offer of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree with a "shock-cap" probation (which means six months in jail or four months of intermittent incarceration followed by five years of probation). 

Her attorney asked that she be evaluated for judicial diversion, which Judge Charles Zambito granted. That means she will be evaluated for the program and if accepted would be instructed in conduct and procedures she would have to follow for a set period of time.

Mancuso was arrested in June following an investigation by the Local Drug Task Force and charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and one count of criminal nuisance, 1st. 

She is accused of providing cocaine (not necessarily a sale) to an agent of the task force.

She's next due in court Oct. 16. If the judicial division program isn't approved and she doesn't accept the plea offer, a trial is set for Dec. 4.

Jeri Carlton Lobur, 51, of Hoag Avenue, Akron, is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and petit larceny. Lobur is accused of using another person's vehicle in Pembroke without permission and then selling power tools that were stored in the vehicle without the owner's permission.  

Dominic Daniel Czerniak, 18, of Wyvil Avenue, Scottsville, is charged with criminal possession of a marijuana, 4th, and speeding. Czerniak was stopped at 6:18 p.m., Monday, on Main Street, Corfu, for an alleged traffic violation by Officer Richard Retzlaff. Czerniak was allegedly found in possession of more than two ounces of marijuana.

Aaron D. Swimline, 31, of Alabama, is charged with felony DWI, speeding and unlawful possession of marijuana. Swimline was stopped at 10:44 p.m. Sunday on Route 63 in the Town of Shelby by State Police.

A car vs. semi-truck accident is reported at Oak and Richmond, Batavia.

Unknown injuries.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

The roadway is blocked.

UPDATE 10:30 p.m.: A male ran from the accident heading west on Richmond Avenue. No description available.

UPDATE 10:33 p.m.: The person who fled is described as a white male with dark hair and dark clothing in his mid to late 20s.

UPDATE 11:16 p.m.: Police believe the sedan was westbound on Richmond Avenue and that it failed to yield for a red light. It struck the cab of the truck and spun so that the rear of the car struck the trailer. Sgt. Chris Camp said the driver is adamant that he was alone in the car. Witnesses told police he was the driver, but that somebody did run from the car. The driver was evaluated at the scene. He was not seriously hurt. The roadway was reopened at about 11 p.m.

In the first day of its availability, more than 100 people have downloaded our new app for iPhone and iPad. Now it's your turn.

To learn more about the app, click here.

When the Oakfield Fire Department signed up eight new members a couple of years ago and then came to the village with a request for $18,500 to buy gear for the volunteers, Mayor Jason Armbrewster started to rethink how fire services are funded in Oakfield.

"Eight new members, that should be great news," Armbrewster said. "But to us as a board, we’re like, 'How are we going to come up with $18,500?' That’s when I was like, 'Why should we be controlling that destiny? Why should new members be a hindrance to our fire department?' ”

The village held a public hearing last night -- more of a fact-finding and public feedback process -- to explore the idea of getting the village out of the fire department business and forming either a fire district or a fire protection district.

One village resident wanted to know if this idea would save residents money.

"It’s not about saving money," Armbrewster said. "It’s about providing a better service."

Trustee David Boyle pointed out the idea could help provide both better fire protection and better services through the village for residents. He said the village has already had to cut other services just to keep the fire department going.

Currently, the fire department is part of the village and the Town of Oakfield contracts with the department for fire protection outside the village, paying for it with its own fire district. The fire district is a separate tax for town residents. The town accounts for more than 50 percent of the fire department's budget.

If the village decided to go ahead with the idea, it would need to decide whether to set up a fire district, which would need to happen jointly with the town, because it would cover both the town and the village, or a fire protection district, which would cover only the village. Then both the town and the village would contract with the Oakfield Fire Department (or conceivably, some other department) for emergency services.

The struggles for the department now include replacing aging fire apparatus, maintaining the fire hall at a cost of $18,000 a year, and recruiting volunteers.

Ambrewster said in his talks with other departments where recruiting isn't as difficult, good equipment and recruiting seem to go hand-in-hand.

Dan Luker, a longtime member of the Oakfield department, said he had one simple question: Why?

He said his mind wasn't made up on the proposal, but he was skeptical of the need.

"I don’t see where changing the structure of raising taxes is going to change people wanting to volunteer," Luker said.

Trustee John Igoe said he is also on the fire department board and he isn't sure the fire department will survive under the current arrangement.

Igoe, who said he will abstain on any vote on the proposal, said insolvency in a couple of years is a real possibility. 

"It comes to the point that maybe we have to look at shutting the doors because we don’t have any more money to keep the light and heat on because what we receive as a department isn't enough," Igoe said.

No decisions were reached at the meeting, but after two years of kicking the idea around, Armbrewster said a decision needs to be made soon.

"I either want to move ahead or say we’re not going to do this," Armbrewster said.

Photo: John Igoe and Jason Armbrewster.

UPDATE Sept. 26 5:15 p.m.: John Igoe's name was corrected in the story; it is not John Igor. The Batavian regrets the error.

An accident with possible injuries is reported on the Thruway in the area of mile marker 403.

Pembroke fire and Indian Fall fire along with Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 12:27 p.m.: A Mercy medic on scene has requested Mercy Flight.

UPDATE 1:34 p.m.: Mercy Flight has a three-minute ETA.

UPDATE 1:49 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne, destination not specified. Assignment back in service.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) met with United States Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta today to discuss expanding the H-2A Agricultural Visa program. This program allows agriculture employers to hire workers on a temporary basis to fill seasonal jobs. 

Under the current program, America’s agricultural employers that require year-round workers are met with challenges as it relates to finding a legal, experienced workforce. The H-2A visa program does not currently provide a category for year-round livestock workers, including dairy. Both crop and livestock farmers depend on affordable labor, yet an oversight in the H-2A program has put the latter at a disadvantage when it comes to obtaining workers.

“I’ve talked with hard-working farmers across Western New York who are struggling because they are unable to retain year-round workers,” Collins said. “Our dairy farmers especially are burdened with an H-2A program that does not allow them to hire the individuals they need to milk cows, feed livestock, and maintain the herd.” 

The agriculture industry is vital to the Western New York economy. Collins’ Congressional District includes almost 5,000 farms, which produce more than $1 billion of products sold each year.

Collins said one area of the H-2A program that needs improvement includes changing eligibility to include year-round agricultural operations such as dairy, nursery, and fresh-cut operations. The meeting with Secretary Acosta was based on the fact that the Department of Labor (USDOL) has the ability to make rule changes that would immediately amend program guidelines.  

“I urged Secretary Acosta to take action on this issue now. Western New York’s and America’s farmers can’t continue to be burdened by these ineffective rules and regulations while waiting for Congress to act,” Collins added.

Collins was joined by Members of Congress from across the United States who also discussed streamlining the H-2A application process. Recommendations presented would reduce redundancies and improve operating efficiencies.  

“I am committed to working with President Trump, Secretary Acosta and my colleagues in Congress to make the necessary reforms that are good for our agriculture industry, and in turn, good for our economy.”

A friend of the family of Lorne Brudz has set up a fundraising page to assist them following the death last week of the Batavia High School senior.

Ken Schady said his intention is "help the family with expenses, as no one plans to bury their own children and therefore have no funds put aside for such an event."

He set the fundraising page on Free Funder.

"I chose Free Funder because Go Fund Me takes 5 percent of the proceeds and I wanted to get as much money as possible to the family," he said.

The funds are designated for Lorne's mother, Colleen Brudz.

Lorne's funeral services are today.

To get to the fundraising page, click here.

Most baseball men attain their legendary status on the field. Bill Dougherty attained his sitting at a typewriter.

Dougherty was Batavia's baseball historian, digging deep into the lore and stats of how the game was played locally over the past 150 years or so. Much of his work can be found in his book, "A View from the Bleachers: Batavia Baseball."

Dougherty passed away Sunday.

"Bill Dougherty was the kind of person every community should have, a dedicated, passionate, knowledgeable, local historian," said Bill Kauffman, a friend of Dougherty's and himself a historian. "His primary interest was baseball, so his work was also responsible for Major League Baseball rewriting its record book and including the name of Vince Maney, who was the only Batavian to ever appear in a Major League Baseball game."

In 1912, Ty Cobb was suspended and the players on his Detroit Tigers team decided to go on strike. The commissioner ordered the game played so the Tigers had to hire replacement players. The shortstop that day for a game in Philadelphia was listed as Pat Meany. Dougherty was able to find the evidence and prove that Pat Meany was really Vince Maney.

Dougherty was a member of the Notre Dame Sports Boosters, Society of American Baseball Research, Board of Directors of the Genesee County Baseball Club and a life member of the Stafford Volunteer Fire Department. He was a graduate of Batavia High School and Alfred State College.

"He was a great guy," Kauffman said. "He was full of energy and enthusiasm and wit and mischief and we’re really going to miss him."

Previously: 

• Batavia's rich baseball history recalled in new book by Bill Dougherty
• Kauffman and Dougherty share a few words about Baseball in Batavia

Marcos Cacho-Velaz, 37, of Depew Street, Rochester, is charged with felony DWI, unlicensed operation, 3rd, refusal to take breath test, failure to dim headlights, and drinking alcohol in motor vehicle. Cacho-Velaz was stopped at 10:28 p.m. Saturday on Alexander Road, Alexander, by Deputy Jeremy McClellan.

Rachel Lynn Crawford, 32, of North Winton Road, Rochester, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. Crawford was arrested on a warrant for allegedly driving without a license on March 7. She was arraigned in City Court, paid a fine, and was released.

      Lakara Johnson

An apparent domestic dispute led to two motor-vehicle accidents in Batavia yesterday afternoon and resulted in the arrest of a 27-year-old city resident on assault charges for allegedly trying to run over a man in the parking lot of a business on East Main Street.

Lakara D. Johnson, of Highland Park, was charged with attempted assault, 1st, unlawful imprisonment, 1st, and reckless endangerment, 1st.

The incident started when police were called to Main and Center for a two-car accident. By the time police arrived, one of the vehicles had left the scene. Officers then received a report of a second motor-vehicle involving the suspect vehicle. The driver allegedly tried to hit a male who had managed to get out of the vehicle and instead struck a picnic table at the business.

The vehicle again fled the scene and was located on Howard Street.

Johnson was located on Colorado Avenue and taken into custody.

She was arraigned in City Court and released under supervision of Genesee Justice pending further court proceedings.

Press release:

On Thursday, Sept. 28, one of the businesses in industrial park will be conducting a fire pump test. This work may result in a period of discolored water in the general area of Pearl Street, South Main Street and River Street. Residents should check to make sure water clarity has returned before resuming activities such as laundry which may be impacted.

Today, The Batavian is releasing its new mobile app for the iOS platform (iPhones and iPads). You can download it through this link from your iOS device.

This is a completely homegrown app. I decided two years ago I could no longer ignore mobile publishing.

My initial impulse was to try and raise money for development, but as that started looking really difficult, I weighed that difficulty (and spending a lot of time with an uncertain outcome) against just writing all the code myself. The actual code writing started 18 months ago. First I built all the backend (server stuff) to support the app (building the Deal of the Day program was a "getting my feet wet again in programming" exercise), then eight months ago I started building the actual app.

It was every bit as hard as I anticipated, which is why I had avoided the idea for years, especially going through two eye surgeries and now a dislocated knee.  

The future of news is mobile. It makes a lot of sense. People with smartphones and tablets always have the world with them, including their local community, and they like to check in frequently to find out what's going on. On the other hand, local news on mobile is still a specialty product, a niche. I think the website is going to be our dominant news and business promotion platform for several years yet, but I also don't want to lose out to mobile when it becomes a bigger part of how people access local news.

The people interested in mobile news, studies show, want fast, smooth access to check the latest headlines. The Batavian's new mobile app is designed to meet that need for those people looking for a fast and convenient mobile news experience. We've streamlined news delivery and what we ask in return is that those who use the app regularly pay just $2 a month for a subscription.

We also use the app to help promote local businesses. Our shoplocal.thebatavian.com local business directory is featured on the app. The directory is now only a framework for the long-term goal of creating a model for business-promotion-as-a-service for mobile and social networking, to bring local readers and local businesses together in a friendly, safe and mutually beneficial environment.

For those on Android: I don't expect to have the Android version of the app completed anytime soon. I'm guessing three months or a little longer. Most of the code that makes the iOS app is the same for Android as it is for iOS, but there are some significant differences to work through. I have some other business tasks to attend to while continuing to cover local news, so my available time for coding is limited.

Download the iOS app.

The Pembroke Dragons get a night off, get to skip a road game and they will pick up a win this Friday because Geneseo High School has forfeited its entire season over an apparent drug scandal.

This Friday's game was supposed to be Geneseo's homecoming game, too.

Geneseo Superintendent Tim Hays announced the district was scrubbing the team's season this afternoon.

"A number of players have been dismissed from the Geneseo High School Varsity Football Team," Hayes said in a statement. "These dismissals stem from serious violations of the District's Code of Conduct and Athletic Eligibility Standards.

"Due to the number of student-athletes involved and the serious nature of this incident, pursuant to our Athletic Code and New York State Public High School Athletic Association standards, the remainder of the varsity football season will be forfeited."

The Livingston County News reported today that police are investigating a report that a player brought OxyContin pills to Friday's game against Bolivar-Richburg. The player allegedly distributed the pills to teammates.

Geneseo won that game on the field 26-24 but that game will now revert to the loss column with the Geneseo Blue Devils giving up that win as well.

Pembroke moves to 5-1 on the season and next plays Attica on Oct. 6 at home.

"The Geneseo Central School District is committed to upholding the highest standards of excellence in all of our academic, extracurricular, and athletic programs," Hayes said. "We will continue to work with all of our student-athletes to ensure that their actions represent the expectations of the District and our community."

An accident with unknown injuries is reported at Alleghany Road and Lockport Road.

A pole may be down. 

Oakfield fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

A bicyclist has been hit by a car on Center Street, across from Adam Miller Toys and Bicycle.

Minor injuries reported.

City fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Photo by Alex Feig, WBTA.

A two-car accident is reported at East Main and Center Street.

Injuries are reported.

City Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 3:12 p.m.: Possible hit-and-run.  Top photo by Dan Fischer, WBTA.  Bottom photo by Lisa Ace, The Batavian.

David Alan Leach, 23, of Morganville Road, Stafford, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to stop at stop sign, and driving a motor vehicle on a sidewalk. Leach was charged following the report of a property damage accident at 12:18 a.m. Thursday at 337 Bank St., Batavia. The accident was investigated by Officer Peter Flanagan.

Brian Thomas Resch, 29, of Buffalo Road, Bergen, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, criminal possession of marijuana, 5th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. At 5:33 p.m. Saturday, the Sheriff's Office received a complaint on Buffalo Road of man who had disabled a phone to prevent a person from seeking emergency assistance. Upon investigation by deputies Ryan DeLong and Richard Schildwaster, Resch was allegedly found in possession of a quantity of marijuana and he was accused of smoking marijuana in a public place.

Derek James Wert, 35, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Wert is accused of pushing another person during an argument at noon Sept. 18 at a location on North Street, Batavia. Wert was also charged with second-degree criminal contempt related to an incident at 7:02 p.m. Wednesday in Austin Park. Wert is accused of violating an order of protection.

Markeda D. Starks, 26, of Highland Park, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant. Starks posted bail and was released.

Adam Ross Atkinson, 29, of Kent Road, Stow, Ohio, is charged with under the influence of narcotics in public. Atkinson was arrested after deputies responded to multiple calls at 6:35 p.m. Friday of a disruptive male at a convenience store in Byron.

Brian R. Barnard, 53, of Leicester, is charged with burglary, 3rd, burglary, 2nd, and criminal mischief. The alleged burglary was reported at 3:08 p.m. Thursday in Le Roy. This is a State Police case. No further information released.

Brandon A. Brott, 20, Jacey L. McGregor, 19, and Jessica H. Shepard, 26, all three of Lockport, are charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Brott, McGregor, and Shepard were arrested at 3:36 a.m. in the Town of Alabama by State Police.

State Troopers are investigating why a 47-year-old man from Hilton got out of his vehicle on the Thruway at 8:40 p.m., Saturday, and ran into traffic.

William H. Ferguson was struck and killed by a car near the exit of the Thruway in Pembroke.

The accident is being reconstructed by the State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit.

No further information was released.

(Initial Report)

Press release:

Corfu Firefighters have put into service 13 new SCBAs purchased through the federal government’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Awards.

The Corfu Fire District was successful in securing the grant through efforts of Rosalie Mangino-Crandall and her Insights Grants Development Company. She donated her time for the Corfu project which is greatly appreciated by the department. 

The newest and latest model of SCBAs replaced our outdated 1997 NFPA edition SCBAs that have been costly to repair and were at the end of their life cycle. The grant enabled the district to purchase 13 complete units and one mask integrated radio Bluetooth. The total cost of the grant is $88,400, with the district’s share of $4,209.

This will ensure our firefighters are well protected and have the latest technology available to them for the foreseeable future at a small cost to the taxpayers of the Corfu Fire District.