Le Roy

A one-vote margin was all the difference needed to elect Michael Welsh town justice in Le Roy.

He beat Scott McCumskey 817-816, according to the Genesee County Elections Commission, which completed counting absentee ballots from last week's election.

In the other closely watched and tight race, incumbent Ed DeJanerio held onto his 21-vote margin over challenger Bob Bialkowski for a 405-372 victory.

Kenneth S. Lathrop Jr., 27, of 428 Garden City Drive, Syracuse, was arrested on a bench warrant. Lathrop was delivered to Batavia PD headquarters by a bail bondsman. Lathrop was arraigned in City Court and jailed on $5,000 bail or bond.

Steven E. Palmer, 28,of 361 Center St., Caledonia, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and disobeyng traffic control device. Palmer was stopped by Le Roy PD on Friday. He was jailed on $1,500 bail.

LaShana Tonika Jones, 39, of Audubon Parkway, Syracuse, is charged with petit larceny. Jones is accused of shoplifting $119.84 in merchandise from Walmart.

Jeffrey Keith Wahr, 45, of Crittenden Road, Alden, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Wahr was stopped at 1:36 a.m. Sunday on Sumner Road, Darien, by Sgt. Brian Frieday.

Arthur Mack Osborne, 47, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Osborne is accused of pulling another person to the floor by the person's hair and then hitting and kicking that person. A child was allegedly in the room. Osborne was jailed on $500 bail.

Zachary J. Ayres, 19, of 544 Bankside Drive, Hamlin, is accused of failure to appear on charges of petit larceny. Ayres was arrested by Officer Jason Ivison on the warrant, arraigned and jailed on $500 bail or $1,000 bond. Ayres was also charged with obstructing governmental information for allegedly providing a false name and information when previously arrested.

Katherine M. Luderman, 34, of 336 Ellicott St., lower, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant for disorderly conduct. Luderman was released after paying the remaining $50 of a fine.

A 17-year-old Hutchins Street resident is charged with falsely reporting to law enforcement an incident. The youth allegedly filed a false report of a residential burglary.

Kyle W. Nash, 26, of 219 N. Spruce Street, #76, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. No details released.

Andrew J. Duckworth, 34, of 128 Jackson St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal mischief. Duckworth was arrested following an alleged domestic incident. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Daniel T. Henning, 33, of 120 S. Swan St., upper, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Henning is accused of shoplifting from Tops. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Tammy L. Schenck, 37, 20 N. Spruce St., A12, Batavia, is charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17 years old and harassment, 2nd. No details released.

Eric R. Kelm, 32, of 25 Union Square, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and failure to use headlights with windshield wipers. Kelm was stopped at 2:32 a.m. Saturday on Summit Street, Batavia, by Officer Arick Perkins.

Trisha Riggi sent in this picture of Le Roy elementary school students who lined Wolcott Street in Le Roy to give the Oatkan-Knights a hometown send off for their big game in Rochester.

The Knights lost to Wayland Cohocton, but the whole community is proud of what they accomplished in 2013.

Le Roy’s football team came up just short as they fell in overtime to Wayland-Cohocton in the Class C championship, 14 to 8.

Head Coach Brian Moran was in search of his 14th sectional championship in 25 years, and a Section V record, 15th in school history, but it was not to be for the Oatkan Knights.

“They really worked hard and both teams were well prepared,” Moran said. “That led to a defensive struggle all day.”

The game was the definition of a defensive struggle for the majority of the game, as the game headed into the fourth quarter with a scoreless tie.

Class C Offensive Player of the Year Devon Harris entered the game averaging over 170 rushing yards per game and yet to be held under 100 all season long for Wayland-Cohocton. However, the Oatkan Knights managed to bottle him up for most of the game, holding him to 98 yards on 18 carries.

“I thought we played very well defensively against a young man who is an extremely talented athlete,” Moran said. “I thought we shut him down pretty well, but we just didn’t make plays when we needed to.”

The Eagles struck first, as quarterback C.J. Ellis found tight end Darren Becker for a 40-yard gain down to the Le Roy 15-yard line. Two plays later, Ellis found Reece Chapman for a 13-yard score. Harris would punch in the two-point conversion to give Way-Co the lead two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Le Roy wouldn’t need long to respond, as quarterback Mike McMullen found Ryan McQuillen two plays later, and he sprinted 70 yards down the sideline to put the Knights on the scoreboard. McMullen then found Nick Egeling for the two-point conversion to knot the game at eight apiece with nine minutes to play.

The Eagles appeared to be driving again, but Egeling managed to step in front of an Ellis pass to halt the drive at Le Roy’s 30-yard line.

After failing to move the ball, Way-Co drove the ball again deep into Le Roy territory, but it was the Knights’ defense who came up big again, stopping the Eagles inches short of a first down late in the ball game.

Le Roy took possession and marched onto Wayland-Cohocton’s side of the 50-yard line, but a rare Knight turnover halted a chance at a go-ahead score as McMullen and running back Peter Privitera were unable to complete at handoff late in the game.

“It happens, it's high school football,” Moran said. “It's 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids, and you can’t worry about it. You just have to pick yourself up and keep playing.”

The Eagles would take the first offensive possession on overtime and marched inside the Le Roy 10-yard line, but the defense would initially hold strong.

Zach Fitzsimmons came up with a big sack on third down to knock Way-Co back to the 12-yard line, but Ellis would find Chapman on the exact same play as the first touchdown to put the Eagles in front 14-8.

On Le Roy’s first offensive play of overtime, McMullen found Egeling for a gain of nine yards, but the Knights were never able to pick up that final yard as McMullen was unable to connect with Pierce in the end zone on second down, and Privitera was stopped short on the final two plays of the game to give Wayland-Cohocton their first sectional championship in school history.

“We just tried to get the first down,” Moran said. “We just tried to score and hopefully get a chance to kick an extra point to win, but today it just didn’t happen.”

The Le Roy trademark rushing attack was held in check all game, as the Eagles held them to a season-low 76 yards. Privitera finished with just 30 yards on 11 carries in the final game of his superb high school career.

McMullen finished the game 10-of-22 for 165 yards and a touchdown. McQuillen caught five of those passes for 108 yards.

Le Roy’s defense played well, holding the Eagles to under 200 yards of total offense, registering four sacks and forcing three turnovers.

Ellis entered the game having thrown only one interception all game, but the Knights managed to intercept him twice on the game, and he finished 5-of-12 for 73 yards to go along with his two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Wayland-Cohocton (9-1) will go on to face the winner of the Section VI championship game next week in the Far West Regionals.

Le Roy will finish their season at 8-2 as they fell in the Class C final for the second consecutive season.

“They had a great game plan defensively,” Moran said. “We played well, but obviously they made one more play than us and congratulations to them.”

Top Photo: Reece Chapman, Wayland-Cohocton's running back, crosses the goal line for the game's first points in the fourth quarter after catching a 13-yard pass from C.J. Ellis.

Ryan McQuillen outruns the Wayland-Cohocton defense after grabbing a swing pass from QB Mike McCullen for an 80-yard TD reception to tie the score in the fourth quarter.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

#4 Le Roy Oatkan Knights (8-1) vs. #3 Wayland-Cohocton Eagles (8-1)

Class C Championship, 5 p.m. Friday at Sahlen's Stadium

Le Roy will play for a Section V record 15^th football championship when they take on Wayland-Cohocton on Friday night.

Currently the Oatkan Knights are tied with rival Caledonia-Mumford (who lost in the finals last week) and Clyde-Savannah, who won their 14th title last week, for the most championships in Section V.

It would be fitting for Le Roy to break the record, with this being Head Coach Brian Moran’s 25^th season at the helm. Moran has led the Knights to 13 of their championships, but has not brought home a trophy since 2008.

The fourth-seeded Knights made it to the Class C finals a season ago, before losing to Hornell 21-7.

This season, they will face third-seeded Wayland-Cohocton in a battle of Livingston County schools.

Le Roy has garnered a lot of recognition for their passing game this season, but it has been the running game that has carried them during their sectional run, reminding fans of classic Knights football.

After carrying Le Roy a season ago, running back Peter Privitera got off to a slow start this season, in part due to an ankle injury. However, in the last two weeks Privitera has carried the ball 48 times for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

The senior has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the last two games after failing to eclipse that mark in three of the last four games of the regular season, including a 28-yard performance in a Week 7 loss to Cal-Mum.

“Peter is just getting to 100 percent,” Moran said. “He had ankle surgery and that’s not easy to come back from, but what impresses me most about Peter is that the four or five yards he gets are tough four or five yards. That’s what Le Roy football is all about, getting tough yards when you need it.”

Last week, Coach Moran relied heavily on his senior in the second half, and when Le Roy fell behind 14-13 late in the fourth quarter, it was Privitera who reeled off a 45-yard touchdown run to put the Knights ahead for good.

The Knights will be dealt with a tough task in stopping another tough running back on the other side of the field.

Wayland-Cohocton is led by Section V Class Player of the Year Devon Harris.

The junior running back has put up some impressive numbers this season, rushing for 1,531 yards and 29 touchdowns. Harris has also returned three kickoffs for touchdowns on the year and is a threat to score from anywhere on the field.

The Eagles also have a balanced attack, as quarterback C.J. Ellis has had an outstanding senior season.

Ellis has completed 75-percent of his passes this season for 1,023 yards, 13 touchdowns and only one interception.

Way-Co comes into this Class C title tilt outscoring opponents 88-14 in two sectional games.

Final Note: While this game will showcase two of the top running backs in Class C, it could be the passing game that decides the game.

Wayland-Cohocton’s duo of Ellis and Darren Becker was the fourth-best combination in Livingston County play, but Le Roy has their own superb tandem.

Ryan McQuillen has racked up 12 touchdowns on 25 receptions this season, and has caught a touchdown in each of the last five games.

Quarterback Mike McMullen has also tossed 25 touchdown passes this season and has thrown three or more in four games this season.

Press release:

The 29th annual Health and Humanitarian Award of Genesee County will be presented to Judith Ridley of Le Roy on Friday, Dec. 6 at an awards luncheon at Terry Hills Restaurant.  The award presented by The Jerome Foundation and United Memorial Medical Center Foundation recognizes volunteer men and women of Genesee County who have helped promote emotional, physical and spiritual well-being of the area’s residents. Nominations should reflect “ordinary people who reach far beyond themselves to the lives of those in need, bringing hope, care, and friendship, and helping build a stronger, healthier community.”

In naming Judith Ridley for this year’s award, the foundations will recognize her volunteer efforts with the Le Roy Pantry and Help Fund, the Le Roy Volunteer Ambulance, Red Cross, and Friendship Club at the Greens in Le Roy.

Ms. Ridley has been an active volunteer for the Le Roy Pantry and Help fund for 14 years, and Board president for the past five years. She coordinates volunteers, writes grants, and solicits local supermarkets and food banks for donations. In 2012 under Judith’s leadership nearly 19,000 meals were served to 357 households in the Le Roy area. Thanksgiving and Christmas were particularly busy for the Le Roy Pantry, when 100 needy families were provided meals for the holidays. In her nominating letter Dorian Ely, coordinator of Genesee County’s RSVP volunteer program, said, “Although Judy has a strong team of volunteers, the Le Roy Pantry and Help Fund works because of Judy’s exceptional organizational skills, model work ethic, collaborative style and compassion for the neediest in our community.”

Ms. Ridley has also been active in the Le Roy Volunteer Ambulance Fund for 10 years.  She keeps records for the organization, completes forms required by New York State, and other necessary duties to maintain the essential ambulance service. On average, Judith volunteers 30 to 35 hours each week.

At the Greens of Le Roy, Judith regularly helps other members of the Le Roy Friendship Club make items for Camp Good Days and Special Times and for newborns at UMMC.  Judith is also active with the American Red Cross and the First Presbyterian Church of Le Roy, where she has served in various leadership positions. In her nomination letter June Dusen, a member of the First Presbyterian Church, said, “Judy is a woman of faith; she does not judge, shows kindness and respect for all. She works quietly behind the scenes, never seeking recognition.”

The Health and Humanitarian Award luncheon is open to the public. Reservations can be made by contacting United Memorial Medical Center Foundation at 344-5300. Seating will be limited so early reservations are encouraged.

The gas tank on a passenger vehicle is reported to have fallen off in the area of Bank and North streets in Le Roy. Police responded and determined that the gas tank had been leaking "over a wide area" -- on the trip from Batavia to Le Roy. An officer is speaking with a rep from the Department of Environmental Conservation to determine what, if anything, should be done in terms of cleaning up the spill.

UPDATE 6:09 p.m.: The Le Roy assignment is back in service. The DEC determined nothing needed to be done.

Nick Alexander Hawkins, 29, of Randall Road, Le Roy, is charged with reckless endangerment, 2nd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Hawkins is accused spraying pepper spay at the driver and front seat passenger of a vehicle while on Black Street Road, Pavilion.

Daniel J. Wolfe, 39, of 6 Wood St., upper, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Wolfe is accused of stealing $152 in merchandise from Save-A-Lot. Wolfe was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Kimberli A. Knickerbocker, 47, of 218 Liberty St.,Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Knickerbocker is accused of stealing money from a wallet at Save-A-Lot.

Press release:

On Saturday, Oct. 26, Batavia Police Department, Le Roy Police Department, and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office participated in the D.E.A. Sponsored, National Drug Take Back Day. In Genesee County Take Back sites were operated at the Batavia Police Department, 10 W. Main St., the LeRoy Police Department, 3 W. Main St. and the Pembroke Town Highway Barns, at routes 5 and 77.

Collected at the three sites in Genesee County was a total of 527 pounds of medications and hypodermic instruments.

The collected items have been delivered to Buffalo D. E. A. for proper disposal.

Police wish to thank the public for their enthusiastic response to this great program.  Working together we have kept these drugs from potentially being abused and from contaminating our environment.

Photo by Jeff Strollo. Photo and information submitted by Kim Yauchzee.

Le Roy Junior Youth Football won their division's championship yesterday beating Livonia 18-12 in double overtime.

One car has hit another vehicle, knocking that vehicle into the garage at 79 Clay St., Le Roy.

The garage is partially collapsed.

There are no injuries reported.

Le Roy fire is responding.

UPDATE 11:50 p.m.: A patient is being transported to UMMC. 

A possibly intoxicated female in her 20s and dressed as a mummy is reportedly going door-to-door on Hilltop Drive in Le Roy and showing people a picture of a dog on her mobile phone asking people if they lost a dog.

Le Roy PD dispatched to see if there are any mummies in the neighborhood.

UPDATE 11:48 p.m.: The mummy was DOA GOA (gone on arrival). The Le Roy patrol is back in service.

A fight with combatants using baseball bats is reported at 8719 Lake St. Road in, or near the north end of, the Village of Le Roy. Cars of possible participants are parked roadside, and a male allegedly involved, walking northbound, is now being spoken to by an officer. Other officers are speaking with other alleged participants as well.

Le Roy Christian Community Project hosted a three-on-three basketball tournament today at Le Roy Physical Therapy. Here are some shots from one of the games.

There were nine teams and about 30 players participating.

The Le Roy Oatkan Knights advanced to the Class C Sectional Semifinals with a win over Dansville, 26-12.

The Le Roy offense has traditionally been a run-based team under Head Coach Brian Moran. However with the growth of junior quarterback Mike McMullen, the Knights have become more pass-oriented this season. But Le Roy failed to get their passing game going early and we saw the return of old-fashion Knight football.

The Mustangs got off to a solid start, taking the opening kickoff 65 yards on 10 plays before Le Roy made a goal line stand to deny Dansville at the one-yard line.

After Dansville failed to capitalize on a McMullen interception, the Knights began to slowly pound away with their running game. The duo of Peter Privitera and Tom Kelso chipped away on a nine-play drive, capped off by a three-yard Privitera run to take a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Nick Egeling recovered a fumble on the Dansville 26.

This time the Knights only needed six plays for Privitera to punch in another score, this time from four yards out to go up 12-0.

Kelso carried the load early in the second half, racking up 91 of his 95 yards in the first half before Privitera came in to close out the game.

The senior bounced back after only managing 28 yards in last week’s loss against Cal-Mum. This week, Privitera ran the ball 28 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

“Peter ran hard tonight,” Moran said. “That’s good for us. It’s good to have him around this time of year.”

After Le Roy seemingly took control of the game, the Mustangs responded, taking their next drive 83 yards, which was capped off by a 53-yard hook up from Ethan Mapes to Brad Quibell on third-and-six to cut the deficit in half, 12-6.

Le Roy looked as if they would crush any momentum from the Dansville touchdown as they came out for the second half, but McMullen fumbled the snap on a fourth-down play, giving the Mustangs the ball at the Knights’ 45-yard line.

Dansville needed only four plays before Mapes found Gage Koch on a 13-yard pass to tie the game at 12 early in the third quarter.

With the passing game struggling, the Knights continued to rely on the running game. Le Roy took their next possession and ran the ball 11 consecutive times before McMullen finally found his touch, hitting Ryan McQuillen on a beautiful 28-yard touchdown catch-and-run play. Egeling then found himself on the receiving end of a McMullen pass to pick up the two-point conversion, making the score 20-12.

The fourth quarter saw both teams struggle to sustain any success on offense, with Le Roy going three-and-out on three straight possessions, and Dansville turning the ball over on two straight, including Koch racing 25 yards before fumbling the ball away at midfield with just over eight minutes to play in the game.

After going 1-for-8 passing in the first half for just 42 yards and an interception, McMullen finally found his touch.

The junior found Egeling once again, this time capitalizing on Dansville stacking the line of scrimmage expecting the Knights to pound away on the ground. The pass netted 29 yards, down to the Mustang 11-yard line.

Two plays later, the pair hooked up once again, this time on a nine-yard scoring toss to go up 26-12 with just 2:32 remaining.

“We had to make a play,” Moran said of his play selection. “We have some good athletes and obviously when they started taking that safety out of the middle of the field, we knew we had to do something to take advantage of that."

McMullen went 4-of-6 in the second half to finish 5-for-14 for 112 yards on the night.

Kelso would seal the game on defense, sacking Mapes for a loss of 17 yards.

Mapes finished 8-of-16 for 153 yards, two touchdowns and interception, while Ryan Hurlburt ran for 66 yards on 13 carries for Dansville (5-3).

Egeling had strong all-around game for the Knights, picking up 52 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Le Roy (7-1) will advance to the semifinals to face top-seeded East Rochester/Gananda after they defeated Elba/Byron-Bergen, 34-6.

In other local high school football action:

Wayne 38, Batavia 21
Batavia's Brandon Stevenson ran for 153 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, while also throwing for another. Wayne scored 32 points in the second half, after trailing 8-6 at halftime.

East Rochester/Gananda 34, Elba/Byron-Bergen 6
Steele Truax scored the Lancers' only touchdown on a 59-yard run.

Wellsville 26, Attica 25
Seventh-seeded Wellsville scored a touchdown with :43 seconds left and added a two-point conversion to oust second-seeded Attica in the Class C Semifinals.

Top photo: A Dansville player coughs up the ball during a kick-off return, leading to Le Roy's second TD score (Privitera scoring below; #20 on Dansville is not listed on the team roster).

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Law enforcement just intercepted a suspect driving a burgundy Ford Escape on southbound Route 19. The driver's mother had reported that her son stole her vehicle. She followed him in her blue Jeep Liberty. The chase went on for about 10 minutes.

"The mother's awfully excited. We're telling her to stay in the vehicle," says a dispatcher.

Jaime Lynn Killinger, 37, of West Main Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, driving while on a suspended or revoked license and improper left turn. Killinger is accused of driving a car into a ditch at 10:40 p.m., Oct. 18, on Route 5 in Le Roy, and then leaving the scene of the accident. The accident was investigated by Deputy Matthew Butler.

Jeanine Lynn Calica, 41, of South Spruce Street, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant for an alleged violation of probation. Calica is accused of failing to appear in Town of Pavilion Court on a violation of probation charge.

Paul Michael Gelardo, 28, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Gelardo is accused of not showing up for an original appearance in Batavia City Court on a CPCS charge. He was arrested by Batavia PD, turned over to the Sheriff's Office, arraigned in City Court and jailed on $1,000 bail.

Denise A. Kingsley, 30, of Silver Springs, is charged with petit larceny. Kingsley, who was arrested by State Police, is accused of stealing from Kmart.

It's not just an Internet rumor -- Dunkin' Donuts is indeed going to open a location in Le Roy.

Reached at home this evening, Le Roy's code enforcement officer Jeff Steinbrenner confirmed that a representative of the new location brought plans before the Town Planning Board Oct. 15.

He said the shop should be open by spring.

The location is between Pizzaland and Townsend Energy on West Main Street, in the Village.

The lot has been vacant for probably 30 years, said Mayor Greg Rogers. Longtime residents will remember it as the spot of the old Grove Motel.

No further information is available at this time.

A fryer fire is reported at Burger King, 134 W. Main St., Le Roy.

Le Roy fire along with Bergen fire is dispatched. Le Roy Ambulance is also dispatched.

UPDATE 8 a.m.: Law enforcement on location. Reports fire out with an extinguisher. Bergen held in quarters.

UPDATE 8:09 a.m.: Le Roy chief is requesting notifications to health department and code enforcement.

UPDATE 8:52 a.m.: Le Roy back in service. Code enforcement on scene.

A dog reportedly attacked someone in the area of 65-57 South St. in Le Roy. A dispatcher said a caller reported "some sort of disturbance," then people shouting at each other, then the alleged dog attack. Police responded and secured the canine and now an animal control officer is going to take custody of the dog.