Le Roy

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.

Local law enforcement agencies will host another drug take-back day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday in Batavia, Le Roy and Pembroke.

Drug take-back days are times when residents and turn in no-longer-needed prescription drugs so they can be disposed of safely.

Drugs can be disposed of with no questions asked.

The locations are at the Batavia Police Headquarters in the back parking lot, at the Le Roy Police HQ at the Village Hall, and at the Town Highway garages at Route 77 and Route 5 in Pembroke.

For people unable to make it to the designated locations during those times, both Batavia PD and Le Roy PD will accept discarded prescription drugs during normal business hours. The State Police Batavia Barracks, on West Saile Drive, also has a disposal bin in its foyer for drop off at any time.

An injury accident is reported on the westbound Thruway at mile marker 384.6. Le Roy fire and ambulance are responding.

UPDATE 3:04 p.m.: Two vehicles are involved. This is possibly "an intox" -- a driver allegedly may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A State Trooper is on scene and they are closing one lane to traffic.

Le Roy PD is dispatched to Trigon Pork to investigate a complaint of "kids playing football, being loud."

The lines just seem to get longer and longer each month Pastor John Gariboldi and a group of volunteers host a free food pantry in the parking lot off Mill Street Park in Le Roy.

People come from throughout the region to gather up as much food as they can carry, all provided by Foodlink at no cost.

And it's good food, too. Fresh apples, bread, Greek yogurt along with sweet baked goods and cases of water.

"You get everything you can fit in your arms," Gariboldi said. "There are no requirements. Even if last week you went to another pantry, it doesn't matter."

The pantry is a Godsend, said Mary, from Geneseo, who adopted her granddaughter when she was 3 months old.

Mary is raising her granddaughter with only her Social Security check to cover household expenses.

"I got complete custody of her because her mother broke her back," Mary said. "I'll be 80 in November. I'm raising her. She's 14 now and I would love to see her graduate and I'm sure the Lord is going to let me."

Gariboldi said he's had a lifelong passion for helping the poor, the homeless and people in need. He became pastor of Penuel Christian Fellowship, 10 Main St., Le Roy, 10 years ago and started praying for the opportunity to feed the poor.

He got involved with Paul Ohlson and Care-a-Van Ministries in Le Roy.

"I met the Foodlink representative there and she said there was a high need in Genesee County and I thought, 'wow, this is a God thing,' " Gariboldi said. "I said 'would you be willing to do it in Le Roy?' and she said, 'yeah.' "

The pantry started slowly this summer, but by August, the line stretched from the parking lot up to the post office on Mill Street.

Last month, more than 100 people showed up even though it was pouring rain the entire morning.

"A long line shows that it kind of sucks," said Ashley, the mother of two children, a third on the way and a husband who can't work because of disabilities. "It shows that this place is so bad that people have to come out to get free food when there's no jobs."

Government assistance just isn't enough in this economy, Ashley said.

"I get food stamps, but sometimes food stamps isn't enough when you have growing kids," Ashley said. "They eat you out of house and home. I know it's not much, but at least I've got food on the table for my kids. They're not going to go hungry."

When people have a hard time getting food, social service experts call it "food insecurity." An estimated 14.7 percent of New York's residents live in food-insecure situations and 21.3 percent of children don't necessarily know where their next meal is coming from.

According to its Web site, Rochester-based Foodlink "rescues and redistributes more than 16 million pounds of food annually to a network of 450 member agencies in a 10-county service area: Allegany, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties."

In the past four years, Foodlink has seen a 30-percent increase in the number of people it serves.

Cheryl Maxwell, a Le Roy resident who teaches nutrition for Cornell Cooperative Extension, has been coming out to the Le Roy pantry almost from the start, and she said she's seen it grow and she thinks it's an economic issue.

"The last time out, it was pouring rain and they all came out and it was just amazing, the need that I saw," Maxwell said. "Some people might have bills to pay and if they can just get this little bit of extra food it might help them pay an electric bill or something throughout the month. With the economy the way it is, that little bit of food might help them get by and pay an extra bill."

Tracy, friends with Ashley, and a Batavia resident, said she has "a houseful of children" and a grandchild with cystic fibrosis. The food bank is a big help, she said, and not just because of the free food. It's also nice to know there are still people who help others.

"Even if it's just one bag of food, that bag of food is maybe a day or two worth of meals for a family that's having a rough time right now, so it really benefits them," Tracy said. "People need it nowadays to see that there are people out there who really do care."

Pastor Gariboldi delivers a mini-sermon for volunteers followed by a short prayer minutes before the food pantry line opens.

While Pastor Gariboldi hands out donuts, his son fills cups with cider for people waiting in line.

Sarah, from York, said with she and her husband and their child on a limited income, the free food from the pantry is a big help.

Mary brings her own cart to the pantry to gather food for her and her 14-year-old granddaughter, whom she's raising on just her Social Security benefits.

Tracy, left, and Ashley.