United Memorial Medical Center will host a multi-agency mass casualty incident drill today, Sept. 25, at approximately 2:30 p.m. Visitors to the hospital at 127 North St., Batavia, during this time should expect to see several emergency vehicles, first responders, and increased activity.

The Batavia Coaches Association hosts the 14th annual Batavia Blue Devil Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner tomorrow Terry Hills Restaurant and Banquet Facility.

Cost is $30 per person. Social hour begins at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6.

Tickets are available at the Athletic Director's Office at Batavia High School. For more information, call 343-2480, ext. 2003.

Below, reproductions of the plaques to be presented and hung at the school.

Paul Joseph Zicari, 59, of Candy Lane, Rochester, is charged with: aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd; operating a motor vehicle without a license; disposing of refuse on a highway; and driving a vehicle with broken glass. Zicari was stopped at 4:51 p.m. Thursday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Joseph Corona. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Jaylyn Shayquawn Strong, 20, of Porter Avenue, Batavia, is charged with: unlawful possession of marijuana; display of forged certificate without inspection; operation of uninspected motor vehicle; operation by unlicensed driver; unsafe turn. Strong was stopped at 8:40 p.m. Monday on East Main Street by Deputy Joseph Corona. Also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana was Labue Dean Jonathan Wimbush, 24, of Cherry Street, Batavia.

Reader submitted photo.

A car has reportedly struck a tree along Sweetland Road, between Transit and Roanoke roads. 

Unknown injuries. 

The vehicle may be smoking. 

Stafford fire and Mercy EMS responding. 

Le Roy Fire Department went to a report of a possible grass fire in some woods in the area of Linwood and Harris roads. They inquired if it was a controlled burn. Dispatch said there was no record of a controlled burn called in for that location. The property owner became irate and insisted that a controlled burn was called in at about 8 a.m. today.

The landowner insists no one should be on the property; he wants firefighters to leave. A deputy is called to the scene and the Department of Environmental Conservation is contacted.

UPDATE 8:04 p.m.: The chief on scene says a resolution has been reached with the farmer. Responses from a Sheriff's deputy and the DEC are cancelled.

UPDATE 8:10 p.m.: The Le Roy assignment is back in service.

Kim Pasquale, director of the Greens of Le Roy, speaks to the residents Thursday evening during a celebration of the facility's 15th anniversary.

Residents were treated to hamburgers and hot dogs from Tom Wahl's, plus cupcakes.

City fire is on scene of a smoke-in-the-residence call at 634 E. Main St., Batavia.

A Mercy ambulance is requested to the scene to evaluate a person with possible smoke inhalation.

UPDATE 7:26 p.m.: A second ambulance is on scene. Engine 15 is going back in service.

The remains of Barry Miller, who died in the line of duty while responding as a medic in a Bergen Fire Department Ambulance yesterday, was transported from the Medical Examiner in Rochester this afternoon to H.E. Turner Funeral Home in Batavia.

Funeral arrangements have been announced:

Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. both Sunday (Sept. 27, 2015) and Monday (Sept. 28, 2015) at the Bergen United Methodist Church, 27 South Lake Avenue in Bergen NY. Services with full Fire Department Honors will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Pearce Memorial Church, 4322 Buffalo Road, North Chili, New York 14514.

We're told the body of Barry Miller will be escorted back to Batavia within the hour, returning from the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office.

We don't have a specific time or route at this point, but we would expect the procession will take the 490 to Route 19, to Route 33 to East Main Street, ending at H.E. Turner Funeral Home.

If we get more solid information, we'll update this post accordingly.

Miller, a volunteer EMT with the Bergen Fire Department and a county coroner, was killed in an accident yesterday morning in the Town of Riga responding to a medical emergency. 

UPDATE 2:04 p.m.: The information above is correct. The procession, led by Bergen FD apparatus, is in route at about 30 mph and expected to reach the Bergen exit at approximately 2:30 p.m.

A retired Batavia police officer is in critical but stable condition in a hospital in Homer after being involved in a motorcycle accident.

Dennis Rider, 62, was reportedly trying to pass a dump truck that was making a left-hand turn on Route 90 when it wrecked.

The accident occurred Monday afternoon.

(Source: CNYCentral.com)

A 70-year-old woman has reportedly been attacked by two dogs that are still at large at 590 Council House Road, Basom. Alabama Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 1:36 p.m.: Responders are told to go Meadville Road, just north of Council House Road.

Jenea M. Macleod, 31, of Akron, is charged with petit larceny, harassment, 2nd, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of criminal use of drug paraphernalia and controlled substance not in original container. Macleod was arrested by State Police after a shoplifting complaint at the Shoe Dept. Store in Batavia. Macleod is accused of stealing a $90 pair of boots. When Macleod attempted to leave the store, she allegedly struck an employee. Once stopped, a trooper allegedly observed in plain view on the floorboard some unused needles. Upon further investigation, she was allegedly found in possession of four 10 mg. oxycodone pills, a plastic baggie containing .4 grams of heroin, bath salts, a green scale and 20 small pink plastic baggies. She was jailed on $3,000 bail.

Alexander D. Koloko, 19, of Burlington, Ontario, Canada, is charged with petit larceny. Koloko allegedly stole a pack of $0.97 cigars from a local store.

Kasey Jame Wagner, 33, of Fletcher Chapel Road, Shelby, is charged with possession of a hypodermic instrument, criminal impersonation, 2nd, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, and speeding. Wagner was stopped at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday on Clinton Street Road, Stafford, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Ronald Joseph Riley, 37, of South Avenue, Medina, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and speeding. Riley was stopped at 4:61 p.m. Wednesday on Route 77, Alabama, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Joel Lawrence Curts, 31, of East Main Road, Le Roy, is charged with abandonment of animal and aggravated unlicensed operation. Curts is accused of abandoning a cat by the side of the road in the Linwood Road area of Le Roy. A witness called in a complaint, leading to the arrest of Curts. The case was investigated by deputies Chad Cummings and Michael Lute.

A 17-year-old resident of South Street, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. The youth is accused of striking another person following a verbal argument.

Eric Lee Jamalkowski, 31, of Maple Center Road, Hilton, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, and bail jumping, 2nd. Jamalkowski was being held in the Monroe County Jail on unrelated charges and was turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office on a warrant. He was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Morgan Lee Cox, 47, of Scribner Road, Pembroke, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and harassment, 2nd. Cox allegedly grabbed a woman around her neck and obstructed her breathing. He also allegedly punched and kicked her.

Press release:

The 10th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which was initiated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to reduce the availability of prescription medication in our communities and to reduce the amount which ends up in our water systems, is scheduled for this Saturday, Sept. 26, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Citizens can turn in their unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that many abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.

In the previous nine Drug Take-Back events nationwide from 2010-2014, 4,823,251 pounds, or 2,411 tons of drugs were collected.

The locations in Genesee County that will be accepting medication for safe disposal are:

1)    The Le Roy Police Department located at 3 W. Main St. in the Village of Le Roy;

2)    The Batavia Police Department located at 10 W. Main St., in the City of Batavia, in the rear parking lot;

3)    The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, which is accepting medications at the Pembroke Town Hall located at routes 5 and 77.

For further information and locations outside of Genesee County please check the DEA Web site at WWW.DEA.GOV

Reader Brian Wilson submitted this photo and noted today is the first day of Fall.

In a service led by Pastor Michael Merry, hundreds of Bergen community members and members of the county's emergency responder community gathered at the Bergen Fire Hall tonight to honor the memory of Barry Miller.

Miller, a volunteer in Bergen's ambulance service and a county coroner, died this morning when an ambulance he was in, heading to an emergency response in Riga, was involved in an accident.

UPDATE: Video story from 13WHAM.

(FIle Photo: Barry Miller as a county coroner during a DWI drill at Pavilion High School.)

One thing -- among many -- that people will remember about Barry Miller is that he was passionate about the ambulance service in the Bergen Fire Department.

He was a constant recruiter of potential medics, which is not an easy task because the training for a volunteer position is daunting -- more than 200 hours before you can test for certification.

He started one of the few successful Explorer programs for EMTs. A few years ago, when the Bergen Ambulance Service was in danger of fading away, Miller took the lead in bolstering its ranks and helping at least a half dozen people get through the classes and into service.

"If there's one positive take away from this, it's that Barry died doing what he loved," said Town Supervisor Don Cunningham, who knew Miller his entire life and became close friends with him after they both started serving on the town board. "Barry loved helping people and that is what he was doing today."

Miller grew up in Bergen, on Buffalo Street, and his father helped institute the ambulance service in the 1970s.

At age 18, Miller became a volunteer firefighter and has been a member of the department ever since -- 31 years; the past 10, as assistant EMS chief.

"Barry had a passion just for the medical field," Cunningham said. "I always wondered why he didn't end up a doctor. He always gravitated toward the medical field."

His line-of-duty death has been shocking for the entire fire service community and it's been a tough day for the department, said Chuck Dodson, a former chief.

"It's really tough to put in words," Dodson said. "A bunch of members from our organization participated in the West Webster events and we had a firsthand chance to see what that organiazation went through and the grief that they had from the outside, but it still doesn't prepare you for what we're feeling today.

"It's kind of like that unreal feeling that this can't actually happen here. This is something we read about on the Internet. We read the news. You never anticipate it's going to occur here, even though it is a part of our job."

Arrangements for funeral services are not yet completed, but it will be a very large event with firefighters and other emergency personnel traveling to Bergen from all over the nation, and perhaps the world, to honor one of their own who gave his life serving his community.

Miller's death is a huge loss for the department, Chief Kevin Finucane said.

"You can't replace a Barry Miller," he said. "He was dedicated. He was very committed. You just don't replace those type of people. He was a lifer. You don't get people off the street nowadays who last that long in the volunteer fire service."

Miller was deeply involved in the community. Cunningham said anybody who lived in Bergen for any length of time knew Miller because there wasn't a community event he didn't help start, organize, volunteer for, or at least show up at.

An entreprenuer, Miller started making custom-designed business presentation furniture in his basement and eventually moved it into a larger facility on Lake Avenue in the village.

"I don't know how he had time in the day for all he did," Finucane said.

Miller will be missed by the entire community, Cunningham said, but not just as the guy who did a bit of everything and was so dedicated to his hometown, but on a deeper personal level.

"We're going to miss Barry," Cunningham said. "Beyond the fire department, beyond the community, we're all going to miss Barry."

He said he will be missed because of his "zeal for life."

"He was an idea guy," Cunningham said. "When we went out on a motorcycle ride he was always looking for a new destination, or (on town board) coming up with an idea for a new sign at our library. He thought big. He always thought big and had a great zeal for it and he was always going to give you 110 percent."

A convoy of fire trucks and police cars has converged at United Memorial Medical Center in the aftermath of the death of a Bergen ambulance volunteer crew member who died this morning in a head-on collision with a backhoe in Riga. The man, whose identity has not been released, was part of a three-member team responding to a mutual aid request for emergency medical aid.

Batavia police and fire and Sheriff's deputies will lead the convoy of Bergen fire trucks to the county line as it escorts the body of their fallen comrade to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office.

UPDATE 11:47 a.m.: Photos of the escort. An H.E. Turner van transported the deceased to Monroe County.

UPDATE 12:32 p.m.: The Batavian's news partner, 13WHAM has confirmed through sources in Monroe County that the deceased is Barry Miller, who was not only a multi-decade volunteer with the Bergen department and chief of EMS, but a county coroner. Below are photos from 13WHAM of the procession passing through the Rochester area.

UPDATE 1:24 p.m.: 

A video report from 13WHAM:

UPDATE 3 p.m.:  News release from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office:

Around 7:30 this morning deputies responded to a crash between an ambulance and a backhoe on Bovee Road, just west of Brew Road, in the Town of Riga.

On arrival deputies found a Bergen Fire Department ambulance with severe front-end damage and a Town of Riga Caterpillar backhoe in front of the ambulance. The driver of the ambulance, Zackery W. Czudak, DOB 1985, of Bergen, said they had been dispatched to a Johnson Road, Riga, residence for a medical call. While traveling east on Bovee Road he struck a backhoe which was also travelling east. Czudak said he had reduced his speed because of sun glare and patches of fog in the area.

The front passenger, EMT Barry G. Miller, DOB 1965, of Bergen, was transported to United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia where he was pronounced dead. EMT Gina B. Bliss, DOB 1963, of Bergen, who was in the rear cabin of the ambulance, was transported to the hospital with minor injuries. Zackery W. Czudak was not injured but transported to the hospital as a precaution. The driver of the backhoe was not injured.

UPDATE 4:55 p.m.: There will be a candlelight vigil in memory and honor of EMT Barry Miller tonight at 8 at the Bergen Fire Department, 10 Hunter St., in Bergen.