The Grinch didn't steal Christmas on Friday night during halftime of the Oakfield-Alabama vs. Pembroke basketball game. He just stole the hearts of families at the game who signed up for pictures with the famous Dr. Seuss character.
The photo session raised $134 to support O-A's varsity cheer program.
Submitted photos.
Pembroke and Oakfield-Alabama had a shootout on Friday and the Dragons pulled out a big win over the Hornets, the defending Division C2 champions, 65-59.
It was the first loss of the season for the Hornets after opening the year 3-0.
Scoring by quarter:
O-A: 17 15 14 13
Pembroke: 14 14 24 13
Scoring for Pembroke:
Scoring for O-A:
Pembroke is now 2-1.
Photos by Kristin Smith. For more photos, click here.
Six makes in six tries from the free-throw line by Cam McClinic in overtime, along with two field goals by Aiden Bellavia, helped lift the Blue Devils over Eastridge on Friday to give Batavia its second win of the season in Boys Basketball.
In all, McClinic was 12-12 on free throws in the game. He scored 16 points.
Bellavia scored 11, and Ja'Vin McFollins scored 10. He hit two three-point goals and Sawyer Siverling also hit a pair.
Batavia won 52-49.
Cordell Young scored 33 points for Eastridge.
Elba picked up its second win of the season in Girls Basketball, beating Lyndonville 64-33.
Sydney Reilly scored 19 points, Kennedy Augello scored 18, hitting five three-point goals, and Lydia Ross scored 11. Reilly also had eight assists and six steals.
The Notre Dame Lady Irish picked up wins on back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, Notre Dame beat EMHCS 70-17.
Amelia McCulley scored 26 points and Avelin Tomidy, 19. McCulley also had 10 assists and six steals.
On Saturday, the Irish beat Wheatland-Chili, 55-24. McCully scored 22 points, Sisson, 18, and Tomidy, 10. Sisson also had 11 rebounds and three steals.
Notre Dame is now 4-1 on the season.
The national chain JOANN Fabrics and Crafts is closing its Batavia store next month, according to a company representative.
It's part of a strategic move, said Shauntina Lilly, JOANN Manager of Public Relations.
"In alignment with standard brick and mortar business processes, JOANN closes stores occasionally while simultaneously investing in, and opening brand new stores to best meet the needs of our customers," she said.
The store is located in Valu Plaza, which lost its anchor tenant, Valu Home Store, in a similar cost-cutting move earlier this year.
The final day of business for JOANN is scheduled Jan. 15.
Photos by Howard Owens.
St. Paul Lutheran School on Washington Avenue in Batavia will be hostsing a Christmas show at 6:30 p.m. Friday titled "Christmas Hang-Ups," and featuring the school's students.
The program is directed by Jennifer Dunn, and lead roles will be played by the 5th and 6th-grade class, with other classes, Pre-K through 4th-grade, playing supporting roles.
Following the program, there will be a bake sale put on by FOLKS (Friends of Lutheran Kids) full of homemade donations to support the school.
Submitted information and photos.
Marsha McWilson brought down the house at Batavia Downs on Thursday night with her high-energy soul, R&B, and funk Christmas-themed variety show.
Photos by Howard Owens
City Church hosted its annual Christmas Concert on Thursday night, featuring Carlton Wilcox, Rufus McGee Jr., and Pastor Trellis Pore.
Singer Kimera Lattimore, originally scheduled for the bill, was unable to perform due to illness.
Top photo: Carlton Wilcox. Photos by Howard Owens.
Patti and Marty Macdonald, who are about to celebrate their 40th anniversary.
Rufus McGee Jr.
Ron "Tigar" Penepent has been to Las Vegas a few times. But on this trip, he had the time of his life even if he didn't win a portion of the more than $15 million pot up for grabs in the 2022 World Poker Tour World Championship.
The Batavia native won his $10,400 buy-in to the tournament and was hoping to make a deep run, but on the third day of play, he got beat by an ace on the river. Worse, he was the one holding a pair of aces.
"This has been an unbelievable experience," Penepent said. "It was a bucket list item of mine to play in a big-stakes tournament."
A love of poker runs in the Penepent family. His father used to host regular games after hours at Ron's Shell at Main and Oak in Batavia.
"It was my father, my uncles, a bunch of good friends," Penepent said.
Penepent joined the World Poker Tour site 20 years ago, and he told his father that he would play in a big tournament one day.
Unfortunately, the elder Penepent passed away a couple of years ago so he didn't get to see "Tigar" (his nickname since he was a child) sit down at a WPT hold-em table.
About a dozen family members did travel to Vegas to support Penepent during the tournament. They've all been having a good time, he said, and now he's out of the tournament, he and his wife Patty are going to have some fun, too.
They think they will go to the shop where the TV series "Counting Cars" is filmed, as well as the bar, Vamp'd, owned by the show's star, as well as the Pawn Stars pawn shop.
As for that final hand, Penepent, who now lives just outside of Chattanooga, Tenn., isn't calling it a bad beat or even a misplayed hand.
He was on the button (the last position to bet on hand) with blinds of $1,500/$3,000. His stack was $175,000 to $200,000, about midsize at his table. To his left is an aggressive player who is by far the chip leader at Penepent's table.
When the bet gets to him, and there's been no raises, Penepent looks down at pocket aces and decides to double the blind, making the bet $6,000.
The chip leader calls and a guy on Penepent's right calls.
The flop comes jack, 10, seven.
Player to the right checks, hero checks, chip leader bets $12,000.
The guy on the right calls. The hero goes all-in.
Chip leader calls. The guy on the right calls.
Cards up. Chip leader hit two pair, jack and 10s. The guy on the right has an open-ended straight draw with a suited king and a queen (meaning either an ace or a nine gives him a straight).
If a jack or a 10 comes on the turn, or the river, the chip leader has a full house. The only card that can help the straight draw in an ace.
The turn is a deuce. Our hero's outs are now one of the three remaining deuces or one of the three remaining sevens. Otherwise, he loses and is out of the tournament.
Mr. straight draw spikes the ace on the river and rakes in a pot of some $500,000 to $600,000, and our hero is headed to the Strip to join the Vegas fun with his family.
"I played the hand the only way I could have played it," Penepent said. "If I go all in from the start, the chip leader is going to call."
He also figures he would have gotten a call from both players if he hadn't check-raised and just gone all-in when it was his turn to bet after the flop.
"I decided to slow play the aces from the start, and I still think that was the best play," Penepent said.
(The risk of playing pocket aces too aggressively is marginal hands fold, and you miss the opportunity to maximize the value of a strong starting hand. In this case, the marginal hands called -- which is what you want -- but those players were lucky enough to improve their hands with the community cards.)
Penepent does expect to be on TV when the championship is aired in five or six months. He said he was interviewed.
He had a chance to meet one of the show's stars, Vince Van Patten.
"I talked with Vince Van Patten (about the hand), and he said if he were sitting in the same seat playing the same hand, he would have played it the same way, except maybe he would have made it $9,000 (before the flop)."
Even with the fairly early tournament bust, Penepent said he wants another crack at it. He plans to play in the same satellite tournament that won him this year's seat again next year.
"I really enjoyed the experience," Penepent said. "I don't know if I'm going to get to enjoy it again, but I'm going to try."
The Batavia woman whose dog reportedly ingested narcotics, leading to her arrest and to the dog being confined to the Genesee County Animal Shelter, once again failed to appear in Batavia City Court as directed.
A motion hearing was scheduled for Thursday afternoon and Cassandra Elmore didn't make it.
Elmore's attorney, Jamie B. Welch, assistant public defender, told Judge Thomas Burns that he hasn't heard from nor been able to contact his client for weeks and did not know why she wasn't in court for the hearing.
Burns issued a warrant for her arrest but stayed it for 48 hours, giving Welch a little more time to try and track her down.
Elmore hasn't consistently missed her court appearances, but she did skip an appearance in September and was subsequently arrested.
The 30-year-old Elmore has promised that once the case is cleared, we will get "the real case."
Welch was prepared to file motions on her behalf on Thursday but told Burns he would rather hold those motions until Elmore can be present in court. Burns said he also thought that is the best way to proceed.
Elmore was first arrested in July after she had taken her French Bulldog, Oddey, to veterinarians for emergency treatment. In each case, the veterinarians determined Oddey had overdosed on narcotics. Twice the veterinarians said they suspected Oddey had ingested cocaine. On one occasion, Elmore reportedly said Oddey had found white powder on the kitchen floor of her residence, then on River Street.
Since that arrest, Elmore has also been charged with criminal possession of a weapon, obstruction of governmental administration, aggravated unlicensed operation 3rd.
Two members of Volunteers for Animals waited for nearly two hours Thursday to see if Elmore appeared. After court, they said Oddey is doing well at the shelter. Oddey, however, can't find a new forever home so long as Elmore retains ownership of the dog.
At her last court appearance, on Oct. 20, Elmore said she was willing to negotiate Oddey's future. The volunteers said there have been negotiations but no resolution was reached.
Previously:
Genesee County owns and maintains all 350 or so culverts in all of the towns and villages in the county and every year, there are a few that need to be replaced.
After a few years of trying to secure funding, New York State has approved a $625,000 grant to replace a culvert on South Street Road just south of Exchange Street.
That's not only an inconvenience to residents in the area, but it's going to disrupt travel to Le Roy Sr./Jr. High School.
Laura Wadhams, assistant county engineer, presented the culvert replacement plans to the Le Roy Central School District Board of Education on Tuesday so they could have a better understanding of how and when the work will proceed and to begin the process of approval for the district to deed a tiny portion of land next to the culvert for an easement.
Construction will begin in June, just after the end of the school year, and should be completed in October.
The culvert being replaced is made of corrugated metal pipes and was installed in 1960. It won't last much longer -- meaning a possible collapse of the roadway -- and it is subject to clogging.
"We're going to realign the culvert slightly to make the stream do what water wants to do, so we don't try to force water to do something it doesn't want to do, because that doesn't end well for us," Wadhams said. "We're going to put it on a little bit of a skew, add new headwalls, and that'll actually help with a lot of the debris that gets caught up on the culvert."
The new cull will have a 10-foot span, a four-foot rise, and be 47 feet long, compared to 53 feet for the current culvert.
The county will need to acquire more land from the school district for the placement of protection measures. Wadhams said the county is asking that the district provide the land as a gift to the county, which is an item for a future school board agenda.
During construction, that area of South Street Road will be restricted to local traffic only, and access to the school will be available only from the south side.
The detour will take people down Asbury Road and Harris Road to connect with Route 5 and is approximately 4.9 miles long.
Photos provided by the County Highway Department.
The Oakfield-Alabama Hornets beat Attica in Boys Basketball on Wednesday night, 63-49.
For O-A, Noah Currier scored 18 points, Kyle Porter, 14 (hitting four three-pointers), and Colton Yasses, 11.
Photos by Kristin Smith. For more photos, click here.
A winter weather storm is heading our way, according to the National Weather Service.
A winter weather advisory is in place to start at 4 p.m. today.
A winter weather watch has been announced for Friday evening through Sunday morning.
Initially, expected mixed precipitation with snow accumulations of up to two inches and ice accumulations of around one-tenth of an inch with wind gusts up to 40 mph.
Starting Friday evening, heavy lake-effect snow is expected, with accumulations of nine inches or more in the most persistent lake-effect snow bands.
Travelers should plan for slippery road conditions with increased difficulty of travel where lake-effect snow is falling.
Reader submitted photo of tanker truck rollover in Bethany.
Two rollover accidents are reported in Alexander, one on Route 98 and another on Brookville Road.
No injuries are reported at either accident, but people are trapped in both vehicles.
Icy road conditions are reported at both locations.
Alexander Fire is dispatched to both locations.
Town of Batavia is requested to assist with extrication on Route 98. Bethany Fire requested to assist at Brookville Road.
The Brookville Road accident is a contractor's truck with tools spilled in the roadway. A heavy wrecker required.
UPDATE 9:08 a.m.: A tanker truck rollover accident is reported in the area of 5546 Broadway Road, Bethany. Unknown cargo. Bethany Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 9:17 a.m.: Route 20 is being closed at East Road. Pavilion is requested to check Route 30 east of East Road. The truck rollover is a milk truck. Route 20 is "just a sheet of ice, the whole road."
UPDATE 9:21 a.m.: Two heavy wreckers will be needed for the milk truck rollover.
UPDATE 9:23 a.m.: Alexander's Brookville assignment is back in service.
UPDATE 9:24 a.m.: On the milk truck rollover, about 2,200 pounds of milk aboard. The driver self-extricated and is uninjured. The dairy has their own heavy wreckers coming.
A motor vehicle accident with injuries is also reported at 1225 Main Road, Batavia. East Pembroke Fire dispatched. It's the second call in East Pembroke's district. The vehicle is off the road.
UPDATE 9:28 a.m.: Units responding can respond non-emergency. The occupants are reportedly out of the vehicle and have left the scene. There's also an incident Pembroke is working on the Thruway.
UPDATE 9:31 a.m.: A first responder is on Route 5 near Powers Road where two vehicles are off the road.
UPDATE 9:36 a.m.: Three vehicles involved on Route 5 at Powers Road, property damage. All three vehicles have headed further east with four ways on to get to a safer location to meet with law enforcement. There is a Thruway incident where an ambulance is requested for a neurological evaluation. There is another incident where the driver is being taken to the TA Travel Center to get him out of the elements (he's uninjured). The vehicle is well off the road, and it's not going anywhere until a wrecker gets there.
UPDATE 9:41 a.m.: A vehicle has reportedly struck a tree in the area of 3603 Lockport Road, Oakfield. Injuries are reported. Oakfield Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 9:42 a.m: A rollover accident is reported in the area of 3668 Telephone Road, Pavilion. Pavilion fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.
UPDATE 9:47 a.m.: A pickup truck fire is reported at the Ontario Service Center, 8700 Vallance Road, Le Roy. The vehicle is reportedly next to a building. Le Roy Fire and Bergen Fire dispatched.
UPDATE 9:50 a.m.: Minor injuries reported at Oakfield incident. Fire police requested to shutdown traffic. Elba requested to close traffic at Snyder Road and to respond to the accident with extrication equipment.
UPDATE 10:39 a.m.: A vehicle is off the road at Route 20 and Marsh Road, Alexander. The driver is at the fire hall, uninjured. A deputy is requested for an accident report.
UPDATE 11:07 a.m.: Bethany assignment to Route 20 is back in service. Route 20 remains closed.
The set list for tonight's (Dec. 15) Christmas Concert at City Church promises to be as diverse as it is joyful, with more than just gospel and hymns but also hip-hop, R&B, and smooth jazz celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Ryan Macdonald also promises concertgoers will enjoy engaging and energetic performers and great musicians.
"We've done (the Christmas Concert) every year now, with the exception of COVID, for about five years," Macdonald said. "It's really been a wonderful night of really coming together and celebrating."
The artists, Macdonald said, are also personal friends.
"They are not just great artists but great people," Macdonald said.
Carlton Wilcox, Rufus McGee Jr, and Trellis Pore have all performed at previous Christmas concerts. This is the Batavia debut for Kimera Lattimore (top photo).
Macdonald said he's tried to get her on the bill for years, but there was always a scheduling conflict. He said he met her in Buffalo years ago, where she is the music director and worship leader of Renovation Church. She is a national recording artist, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, rapper, vocal teacher, theologian and Elder of the gospel."
"She is really a great spirit, a great believer," Macdonald said. "She believes people matter. She believes humanity matters."
Her bio states that she believes, "We were all created, by the creator, to create."
The concert, Macdonald said, is intended to uplift the whole community, and all are invited.
"Our goal the whole Christmas season is the celebration of the birth of Christ, but beyond that, we're celebrating each other," Macdonald said. "The term that has really stuck with me is that we're not independent; we're interdependent. We need each other. We don't only need each other as believers, but we need the whole community."
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at City Church, 210 East Main St., Batavia. The concert is also live-streamed.
Submitted photos.
Submitted information:
Pastor Trellis Pore, multi-instrumentalist and Vocalist. A Western NY native. He started singing and playing instruments at the age of 5 with his family gospel group, The Cooper family Gospel singers. Singing traditional quartet Gospel music. Also was apart of the band Perifial Vision, and The Glorious Sons of Rochester. Currently, he leads The Trellis Cooper Band. Singing gospel music with a twist. Trellis has his own Signature series guitar with the company Mucho Guitars of Rockwall, Texas. Trellis is currently the Pastor of Shiloh Church Albion.
Submitted information:
Rufus McGee Jr., son of Bishop & Lady Rufus and Linda McGee is Rochester’s best-kept secret, however, now the secret is out! His parents began molding him at age 2 years old to become a musician. Although he began as the church drummer at 6 years old, at 11, he progressed to becoming one of the most extraordinary organists/keyboardists that anyone has ever heard.
His ability is God-given, but can also be attributed to years of absorbing gospel music passed down through the classic COGIC style of music, and the music of the church that he attended growing up in his hometown, Rochester, New York. His drive and confidence developed from the challenge to rise above mediocrity.
He is an exemplary musician, producer and the founder of RMJ Productions. He enjoys listening to George Duke, Chick Corea, Kevin Bond, Jason White, Mike Bereal and Eddie Brown.
He has recorded with: Aaron Lindsey, Kathy Bowman, Ricky Dillard, Jason Wright, Serena Young, Shirley Murdock, Eddie Balltrip, Danell Daymon and Royalty, Malcolm Williams, Amar’rae Hill True Foundation and Jerome Francis and Divine Nature.
Rufus gives every ounce of his being to excelling and finishing well! Rufus has a great passion and love for gospel music and enjoys devoting his life to giving God his all. His greatest inspiration is God. He often says, “Without God, I would be nothing.”
Submitted information:
Carlton Wilcox has been creating a standard of excellence in music that embodies, style, quality, and substance. This singer, songwriter, and accomplished bassist has been entertaining Western NY for over two decades. Resounding melodies accompanied by rich voice make this crooner one of our area’s sought talents. With gospel, smooth jazz and R&B roots, Carlton wants to spread the message of hope through music. Carlton Wilcox is also a Monroe County Deputy Sheriff, event promoter and music instructor for the City of Rochester’s ROC Music Program. Carlton Wilcox wants to make a difference in the world, one day at a time, by giving back the love and support that he has been given.
A motor vehicle accident with possible serious injuries is reported at Buckley Road and Britt Road in Stafford.
There were four children in one vehicle.
Dispatchers are checking on the availability of Mercy Flight.
Stafford Fire dispatched.
UPDATE 8:50 p.m.: Two vehicles off the road with entrapment, according to a first responder.
UPDATE 8:51 p.m.: There are four children and four adults. At least one helicopter is required. Le Roy ambulance and fire and Byron ambulance requested to the scene.
UPDATE 8:54 p.m.: Mercy Flight #8 out of Buffalo is en route.
UPDATE 9:09 p.m.: A second helicopter is requested to the scene.
UPDATE 9:11 p.m.: Mercy Flight Central is not available due to weather. No second helicopter is available.
UPDATE 9:12 p.m.: All patients are extricated.
UPDATE 9:23 p.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.
UPDATE 9:34 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne, headed toward Rochester.
UPDATE 10:17 p.m.: Stafford assignment back in service. State Police is handling the investigation. Two people were seriously injured. One was transported by Mercy Flight to Strong, the other by ground ambulance (destination not confirmed). It appears an SUV t-boned a minivan, reports Alecia Kaus/Video News Service. Troopers refused to provide more information at the scene.
UPDATE 11:07 p.m.: State Police still on scene investigating. Fire police requested to the scene for traffic control.
UPDATE Dec. 15, Noon: The State Police have released the names of the drivers: Charles A. Johnson, 47, of Byron, and Danielle C. Wojtaszczyk, 34, of Le Roy. There were a total of seven people injured. No further information has been released.
Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service
A Batavia man indicted by a Genesee County Grand Jury on an attempted murder charge in what was an apparent, unprovoked attack against a stranger on Jackson Street in Batavia, entered a not guilty plea to the charge in Genesee County Court on Wednesday.
Tyshon L. Taylor, 25, dressed in an orange jail shirt and paints, sat motionless during the hearing with his head down, seeming almost disengaged from the proceedings, except to coherently respond to every question of Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini.
Taylor is accused of stabbing a person walking on Jackson Street at about 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 18. The Batavian has learned from a source who asked not to be identified that neither the victim nor Taylor had met prior to the encounter.
The victim survived the attack.
Taylor is also accused of attempted assault in the third degree for an incident reported at 11:39 p.m. Oct. 13 on Oak Street.
As is procedure following an arraignment on a Grand Jury indictment, Cianfrini set calendar dates for future appearances and motions.
A preliminary conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. Jan. 25. Defense motions are due Jan. 30. Prosecution answers are due Feb. 6. Oral arguments on motions is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Feb. 22.
Taylor is being held in the Genesee County Jail without bail.
A Batavia man was ready for sentencing on a drug-dealing-related charge on Tuesday, but Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini decided to delay sentencing after a private discussion of a legal issue with the defendant's attorney.
Attorney Fred Rarick indicated in court that it is in the best interest of his client, Tarrence Yuron Williams, 23, that he combines his sentencing with his possible acceptance of a plea offer in a gun-related charge.
Ironically, while Williams was ready to move forward with sentencing today, in October, Williams requested and received new legal counsel because he wanted to combine the two cases in the hopes of getting a better deal.
To recap:
After a late start to his case on Tuesday, there were some financial matters to resolve.
First, Finnell wanted to incorporate into Williams' original plea the forfeiture by Williams of $3,195 that Williams had on him at the time of his arrest in December 2021. That matter had not been properly recorded at the time of the original plea. Williams agreed to include the forfeiture stipulation in the record of his original guilty plea.
Second, the Sheriff's Office had requested restitution of $100. Though not discussed in court, this is typically money used by an agent of the Local Drug Task Force to make a narcotics buy -- and Rarick informed the court it was his understanding that Williams had already paid restitution.
Nobody in court had a record of the transaction, though a friend of Williams who was sitting in the gallery said he had a receipt at home for the payment.
Cianfrini called for an adjournment while Rarick went to the Public Defender's Office to obtain a receipt and Finnell went to his office to check records in his office.
Both came back to court a short time later and informed Cianfrini that both had found proof that restitution had been paid and the money had been remitted to the Sheriff's Office.
At that point, Cianfrini called Rarick and Finnell to the bench. After a lengthy private discussion, she informed Williams of her decision to continue his case so that he could have time to discuss the case further with his attorney.
She told Williams it was really in his best interest to delay sentencing.
Williams, who remains in custody, is scheduled to appear in court again at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 20.
Elba (1-1) beat Wheatland-Chili in Girls Basketball on Tuesday, 82-29.
Sydney Reilly lead the Lady Lancers with 19 points and notched a double-double, getting 10 assists. She also had eight rebounds. Reilly hit eight of nine field goal attempts and three of four three-point tries. She also had seven steals.
Mariah Ognibene scored 14 points and had eight rebounds.
Lydia Ross scored 13 points and Haile Scouten scored 12.
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