Le Roy

Once upon a time in a small town and in a small school in Le Roy, a beautiful girl and a stately prince find true love...

The timeless story of love and romance and the triumph of a girl least likely to win the heart of a prince, comes to the stage at Le Roy Junior Senior High School.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" story will touch the hearts of young and old in this enchanting production reminding today's audience that dreams still come true.

The Le Roy musical will present the classic fairytale in a fresh and exciting way. This isn't just another Cinderella story, but a family friendly event that has surprises around every corner.

Shows are at 7 p.m., March 15, 16 and 17.

The magic wand will be waved and the audience will be dazzled by special effects, a transformation scene, fog and special lighting, and professional costumes rented or borrowed from various theaters.

In addition, the show will trickle into the audience from the stage to create an interactive element as actors and audience blend.

There will be a special gift at the door for all children, birth to third grade, who come to the musical dressed in costumes consistent with the theme of the play.

Almost 100 students make up the cast, crew and pit orchestra being directed by Jacqueline McLean. Stuart McLean is the show's vocal director. Bradley Meholick is the pit orchestra director, and Jessa Dechant is in charge of publicity and public relations.

"Even though this is a small community and small school, the talent is extremely great," McLean said. "These students have put in a lot of hard work and time and they have a fire in their bellies to present."

Senior Grace Kovach plays Cinderella. Grace's younger sister, Margaret Kovach, is the Fairy Godmother and Jayce Seely plays the Prince. Other lead roles, the King and Queen, are played by Tyler Murtha and Miranda Graham.

Sisters Grace and Margaret are excited about their experience acting together on stage.

"Grace and I are sisters, so we can take it the extra step," Margaret said. "This has made us 10 times more close than we already are."

"This is one of the greatest memories I will have of high school," said Grace, who will be graduating this year.

Jayce agrees.

"This production will be memorable because of time spent with new and old friends and the experiences we have had that don't happen everday," Jayce said.

As in any romance story, true love must be sealed with a kiss.

"My mom teases me a bit, but it's fine," Jayce said.

"After all it is just a show," Grace said.

Tickets can be purchased now and you are strongly encourage to buy them ahead of time.

• On the school's website at www.leroycsd.org
• By calling the main office at 768-8131
• At the door while available

Le Roy Junior Senior High School is at 9300 South St. Road.

Press release:

Following the announcement that Holy Family School in Le Roy had exceeded the first of three benchmarks required to keep the school open, Dr. Rosemary Henry, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Buffalo, issued this statement:

“I wish to congratulate the entire Holy Family School community for responding to last November’s call to action. By meeting their first goal, they have shown a commitment to sustaining and growing Catholic education in Genesee County.

“But much work remains to be done in order for Holy Family School to remain open beyond June. In the coming weeks, we need to see greater engagement on the part of supporters of Catholic education to ensure each individual benchmark is met,” Dr. Henry said.

As of March 2, the school had registered 70 students for the 2012-13 school year and raised $47,000, surpassing the March 1 benchmark of 40 paid registrants and $40,000 raised.

After a series of meetings last year, it appeared that Holy Family School would merge with St. Joseph School in Batavia, but upon hearing from members of the Holy Family community and local leadership, Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, bishop of Buffalo, agreed to give the community time to rally around the school in an effort to keep it open.

Two additional benchmarks must now be met:

April 15, 2012: a total of 80 paid registrants with nonrefundable deposits and an additional $40,000 on deposit. June 1, 2012:  a total of 120 paid registrants with nonrefundable deposits and an additional $45,000 on deposit.

According to a plan agreed upon and presented to the Holy Family School leadership and the local community, as well as a letter sent by Father Michael Rock, OdeM, canonical administrator of the school, to the Holy Family community on Dec. 2, 2011, meeting the benchmarks will allow Holy Family School to remain open.

“Parishioners, school supporters and alumni are encouraged to continue this impressive momentum to ensure Catholic elementary education is maintained in Le Roy,” Dr. Henry said.

A 26-year-old Le Roy resident is accused of serving a 17-year-old alcohol and then having sex with her.

The sex was allegedly not consensual.

Alexander J. Kessler, of Myrtle Street, is charged with criminal sexual act, 1st, aggravated sexual abuse, 3rd, forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawfully dealing with a child.

The top charge carries a potential sentence of five to 25 years in state prison.

Le Roy Police arrested Kessler following an investigation after receiving a complaint today that Kessler supplied an underage girl with alcohol.

Following arraignment, Kessler was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Shane Scott, 17, of Forestville, Pa., William Gorton, 17, of 92 Lake St., Le Roy and a 15-year-old boy are accused of participating in a burglary. Shane and William are charged with burglary, 3rd, and attempted burglary, 2nd. They are accused of entering an apartment building Thursday on Bacon Street, Le Roy, and attempting to steal property from the apartment. The 15-year-old will be referred to Family Court. They were arraigned and released under supervision of the probation department. William was also charged with burglary, 2nd, in connection with an alleged break-in Feb. 19 on Myrtle Street. Additional arrests in the case are pending.

Katie L. Orlando, 19, of 24 Craigie St., Le Roy, is charged with coercion, 1st. Orlando is accused of going into the apartment of a person and threatening that person. Orlando allegedly later called that person on the phone and issued a threat. The alleged threats came after the victim reportedly called 9-1-1 the night before and were allegedly intended to intimidate the victim from calling 9-1-1 in the future. Orlando was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Steven Carnell McKnight, 18, of 14th Street, Buffalo, is charged with burglary, 2nd, and criminal mischief, 2nd. McKnight allegedly forced his way into a residence on Gabbey Road in Pembroke on Feb. 14 in order to steal property from the residence.

Willie F. Irvin II, 29, 12 Elm St., Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and reckless endangerment of property, and Randy Johnson, 24, of 110 Walnut St., Batavia, is charged with reckless endangerment of property. Irvin and Johnson are accused of fighting in a bar in Batavia and in the process damaging a video game and glass display case.

Casey Willowbear, 52, of Sanford Street, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Willowbear was stopped for allegedly speeding at 9:12 p.m., Wednesday, on West Main Street Road by Deputy Matthew Fleming. She was allegedly found in possession of a glass pipe containing burnt marijuana inside her vehicle.

A 17-year-old of Judge Road, Alabama, is charged with petit larceny. An employee at Wilson Farms, 25 Main St., Oakfield, observed the youth allegedly trying to leave the store with merchandise concealed under her shirt.

Paul J. Doctor, 34, of 20 Maple St., lower apt., Batavia, is charged with burglary, 2nd, burglary, 3rd, and petit larceny. Doctor is accused of entering an unoccupied residence and garage on Jackson Street and removing appliances and other property without permission of the owner. Doctor allegedly removed the property between Jan. 13 and Jan. 17.

Kevin Bruce Martin, 28, of Clinton Street, Cowlesville, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of hypodermic needles. Martin's vehicle was stopped on Lewiston Road at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 22, by Deputy Brian Thompson for allegedly having a suspended registration due to no insurance.

Jeramy Michael Farnsworth, 30, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with failure to pay child support. Farnsworth was arrested by Batavia PD on a warrant out of Genesee County Family Court and turned over to the Sheriff's Office. Following arraignment in Town of Batavia Court he was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Ronald William Ball, 46, of Pratt Road, Pembroke, is charged with two counts of criminal mischief, 4th. Ball allegedly damaged the a/c controls of another person's car during a verbal argument. Ball then allegedly went to the residence of the person and damaged the house door and door frame.

Carolyn M. Hooten, 29, and Vanessa R. Wright, 24, both of of 12 Myrtle St., Le Roy, are charged with petit larceny. Hooten and Wright are accused of shoplifting at Dollar General at 3:41 p.m., Feb. 23.

Carolyn M. Hooten, 29, of 12 Myrtle St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, unlicensed operation, operating with inadequate tail lamps and without stop lamps and failure to use turn signal. Hooten was stopped at 1:49 a.m., Saturday, on Ellicott Street by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

Mark Russell O'Gee, 57, of South Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. O'Gee is accused of grabbing another person's arm and shoving her during an argument.

Elizabeth Ann Wortman, 24, of Church Street, Le Roy, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Wortman is accused of violating an order of protection.

Ronald M. Clark, 45, of Lake Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Clark was spotted by police running east on West Main Street at around 8 p.m., Feb. 21, when police received a report of a person who stole canned fish and candy from Save-A-Lot. Clark is accused of stealing two cans of sardines and a Baby Ruth candy bar.

A one-vehicle rollover accident has been reported in the area of 7459 Randall Road, Le Roy.

The location is just west of Route 19.

Le Roy fire and ambulance in route.

Dispatchers are checking the availability of Mercy Flight.

The driver reported the accident. He's out of the car but shaken up. A law enforcement officer on scene asks that the ambulance expedite its response.

A pole is snapped and wires are hanging low.

UPDATE 11:44 p.m.: The pole is a telephone pole.

UPDATE 11:45 p.m.: No need for Mercy Flight.

UPDATE 11:48 p.m.: Roads being shut down at Randall and West Bergen and Route 19 and West Bergen.

UPDATE 11:56 p.m.: Patient being transported to Strong.

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Press release:

Los Angeles – Erin Brockovich today released the following statement regarding the EPA’s failure to ensure 235 drums of toxic waste were removed from the massive TCE spill in Le Roy, New York. The spill became the largest Superfund Site in the United States and the EPA did not know until alerted by Brockovich and her team in January of this year that the drums of hazardous waste had never been removed from the site of the 1971 train derailment that resulted in the massive TCE spill.

“The EPA clearly dropped the ball on the largest TCE Superfund Site in the country and their press release today is a feeble attempt to gloss over their abject failure in Le Roy. The Lehigh Valley Railroad derailment in 1971 was not a small event – it was a massive spill and the EPA had a responsibility to ensure that the polluter clean up the site, and remove the drums of toxic waste within 30 days of being filled. That never happened.

Instead, 235 barrels of hazardous toxic waste were allowed to sit unattended, unprotected and exposed to the elements to rust, decay and leach their toxic contents back into the environment. I’m curious to know if the EPA even reads their own press releases. On one hand, the EPA suggests they found no contamination in the barrels, but they go on to detail the contamination they did find, including TCE and cyanide.

While the EPA will try to convince the public that the levels of toxic contaminants in the barrels are low and not a concern, the sad truth is that they found any at all. And of course the levels are going to be low now after years of neglect that allowed those toxic chemicals to be reintroduced to the environment. What were those contaminant levels five years ago?

To make matters worse, the EPA didn’t even realize the barrels of hazardous material had never been disposed of properly. We actually alerted the EPA that the rotting barrels were still there in Le Roy. They had no idea.

The EPA is failing — it is not protecting people, it is not protecting the environment and we see this type of situation play out it communities across the country. Sadly, it takes citizens like me, and the people of the impacted communities, to speak up and fix problems that should have been dealt with years ago.”

A New Jersey-based doctor who has seen nine of the girls in Le Roy with movement disorders issued a new statement this morning affirming his diagnosis of a "PANDAS-like" illness.

Dr. Rosario Trifiletti said lab work from his examinations is now complete and he has found three different infections in the nine girls. The findings, he said, support his diagnosis of a "PANDAS-like" illness.

"Given the clinical and laboratory data, I find a PANDAS-like illness a very likely medical diagnosis in these children," Trifiletti said.

As for Trifilletti's definition of "PANDAS-like" illness, attempts to call his office today have resulted in busy signals.

Dr. Laszlo Mastler, medical director of the Neuro-oncology Department at the Dent Neurological Institute, said he knows of no definition in medical literature of "PANDAS-like" illness.

He said it would be up to Trifilletti to share his diagnosis with the medical community if he's discovered a new illness.

"He should publish his findings in a medical journal, which would mean a formal review to be accepted, with strict academic and scientific proof," Mechtler said.

Trifilletti said of the nine patients, five showed infection by streptococcus pyogenes and eight showed infection by mycoplasma pneumonia. Two patients also showed the presence of Lyme disease.

The press release doesn't explain how it's possible for different people with different infections to all exhibit the same symptoms.

In the same statement, Trifiletti said he remains open to the possibility of "mass psychogenic illness."

Neurologists at Dent have diagnosed 15 patients from Le Roy with conversion disorder, and concluded the situation in Le Roy is a rare case of conversion disorder spreading as mass psychogenic illness.

MPI, according to Trifilletti, is a diagnosis that "can never be supported or refuted by objective findings."

Mechtler disagrees with the assertion.

"Conversion disorder can be diagnosed based on an examination," Mechtler said. "This is something I've tried to explain to the media early on. It is not a diagnosis of exclusion. Any neurologist can pick it up on an examination."

Hysterical blindness, Mechtler said, is an example of a conversion disorder that a doctor can detect on a first office visit.

As for the infections, Trifilletti doesn't explain what number of the nine patients have two or three infections, but clearly some of the nine patients he believes may have a "PANDAS-like" disease have only one infection.

In a forum posting in 2010, Trifilletti said he believes "the key to PANDAS in many cases is co-infection," meaning patients have two or three of mycoplasma, strep or Lyme.

Of the general population, 5 percent of people carry all three infections, according to Trifilletti, but not all develop PANDAS.

According to a paper Trifilletti links to in his post, research shows that up to 60 percent of 15- to 19-year-olds have a mycoplasma infection, and Trifilletti says that 20 percent of children have a strep infection.

According to Trifilletti's own writing, the presence of these infections does not mean PANDAS, and that it would take at least two infections, if not all three, to produce a "PANDAS-like" illness.

"These are just my ideas, not reality," Trifilletti writes. "But you gotta have hypotheses or there are no answers -- that's just how science works."

Mechtler said Trifilletti obviously has the confidence of the parents and, given Dent's diagnosis of conversion disorder, a treatment the patients believe in will help them get better.

"If they're getting better, that's what counts, and I'm very happy," Mechtler said. 

With news today that crews were starting to remove the drums of rock and soil from the Lehigh Valley Train Derailment site, I drove out for pictures of the activity.

Prior to leaving Batavia, I made repeated requests to move closer to the work than just the gate at the front driveway of the site. EPA spokesperson Mary Mears said no each time, telling me I could get adequate pictures from Gulf Road and the television stations were satisfied with that location. When I arrived on site, I called Mears and repeated my request, telling her the distance and vehicles in the entryway obscured much of the activity. She said she would call the site manager and pass along my request. 

My request was pretty clear and simple: Walk up the driveway, where no heavy equipment was operating and take pictures from outside the fenced area, where, again, no heavy equipment -- no equipment at all -- was operating. 

The supervisor reportedly told Mears that it would be unsafe for me to walk in for closer photographs.

I walked to three different locations along the perimeter and using a long lens, took these photos -- the best I could get under the circumstances.

Press release:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that the removal of 235 drums from the Lehigh Railroad Derailment Superfund site in Le Roy, N.Y. will begin today. The EPA reviewed the sampling results for the contents of all the drums and in all cases considers them to be non-hazardous. The drums, which contain soil and rocks generated when wells were drilled at the site, were sampled during the past month.

A December 1970 train derailment resulted in the release of liquid trichloroethene (TCE) and cyanide crystals. The material in the drums was tested for these and other contaminants. No tested contaminants were detected in materials from 203 of the drums. In 32 of the drums, some detectable concentrations of contaminants were found.

Specifically, eight drums had detectable levels of TCE only, eight others had detectable levels of cyanide only and eight drums had detectable levels of both. One drum had detectable levels of TCE and cis-1,2-dichloroethene, which is a breakdown product of TCE. The remaining seven drums primarily had detections of either common lab contaminants or contaminants typically associated with petroleum products. These contaminants include: acetone, carbon disulfide, ethylbenzene, toluene, total xylenes, methylcyclohexane, and 2-butanone (MEK). In all cases the levels of these contaminants were low and are below health-based levels.

While the EPA considers the drums non-hazardous and eligible for disposal as non-hazardous waste, the Lehigh Valley Railroad has arranged for material to be disposed of at a landfill that is permitted to accept hazardous waste. The facility set to accept the waste is EQ-Wayne Disposal, Inc., Landfill in Belleville, Mich. Drum removal from the site will begin this morning and is expected to be completed by the end of the week. The Lehigh Valley Railraod will pay the cost of disposing of the drums, not taxpayers.

Press release:

Los Angeles – Erin Brockovich today released a statement regarding the growing health concerns potentially caused by contamination in Le Roy, NY.

“Contrary to an erroneous news report, I want to make clear that my investigation into possible sources of environmental contamination in LeRoy, New York that may or may not be linked to the serious illnesses suffered by various members of the community is not complete. In fact, it appears the number of people in the area displaying alarming health issues that can be caused by TCE is growing.

It took the EPA 40 years to investigate the contamination from the train derailment and it will take us more than 40 days to get to the root of the problem in Le Roy. I want to further stress that we have not ruled out the TCE plume from the train derailment as a source of contamination at Le Roy High School. All existing tests are preliminary and we will announce our full and definitive test results in the weeks to come. We will not release them piecemeal.

In the meantime, we have several areas of high concern in Le Roy that we are investigating including, but not limited to, the train derailment site, the local quarry, the six fracking wells at the high school, and the MtBE contamination in local wells.

We have a lot more testing to do before we can rule anything in or out as a cause of toxic contamination in Le Roy and what may or may not be causing the very serious health problems of people and families in Le Roy. While we certainly do not want to cause a panic in the community, we do want to be thorough and get to the bottom of what is going on in Le Roy.”

A residence on Myrtle Street in Le Roy was broken into over the weekend and Le Roy Police are looking for assistance in identifying the perpetrator.

The home was burglarized between 1 and 5:30 p.m., Sunday.

The resident returned to find his front door and inside door had been forced open and items were missing from inside the apartment.

Anybody with information that might help, including seeing a person or persons lingering on Myrtle Street or in the area are asked to call the Le Roy PD at 768-2527.  

UPDATE 1:57 p.m., Feb. 21: Spay Our Strays -- S.O.S. -- the organization which is undertaking this effort, contacted The Batavian to say it has enough humane traps and transportation volunteers for next week's journey. S.O.S. is most thankful for the help!

Press release:

There is a very large feral colony in Le Roy that Volunteers for Animals S.O.S. -- Spay Our Strays -- is trapping and taking to Habitat for Cats in Henrietta for spay and neuter on Wednesday, Feb. 29. Appointments have been made for 30 cats and help is needed with trapping and transporting.

At least 40 humane traps will need to be set to catch 30 cats. If you have a trap you can lend, please contact S.O.S.  ASAP.

Trapping: Monday Feb. 27 or Tuesday Feb. 28 in Le Roy

Transporting: Wednesday Feb. 29 from Le Roy to Henrietta and then back to Le Roy.

If you are able to help by lending a trap or with transportation, contact Kathy Schwenk at 716-472-8968 or email kschwenk@rochester.rr.com

Please DO NOT call the Genesee County Animal Shelter with questions or for help.

A semi-truck is reportedly on fire at mile marker 377, east of the toll booths, on the westbound Thruway. The truck's cargo is unknown. The call came from the Thruway Authority. Le Roy Fire Department and Ambulance Service are responding.

UPDATE 9:37 a.m.: The Thruway Authority reports "the truck has moved on its way." The Le Roy assignment is back in service.

Over the past week, there have been no new patients at Dent Neurological Institute from Le Roy with any kind of movement disorder, according to Dr. Laszlo Mechtler.

During the same time period, the national media spotlight on Le Roy over what some outlets have mischaracterized as a "mysterious illness" has nearly faded away.

A search of Google News indicates there's been no national news coverage since Feb. 8.

Mechtler said the lack of new patients and decrease in coverage is no coincidence.

"Mainstream and social media have exacerbated the movement disorder,"  Mechtler said.

In the two weeks prior to Feb. 8, when much of the national media was in a frenzy over the situation in Le Roy, the number of patients tracked by Dent jumped from 12 to 20.

Dent doctors diagnosed their patients with conversion disorder, a psychogenic illness that is brought on and exacerbated by stress.

Mechtler has stated previously that of the original 11 girls seen by Dent, all had significant stress factors in their lives.

Meanwhile, the patients who have continued with Dent, according to Mechter, have shown continued improvement.

"Some have no symptoms at all," Mechtler said.