Today's Deals:

South Main Country Gifts, 3356 S. Main St. Road, Batavia, N.Y.: I happened to be in South Main yesterday. Julie has a bunch of great new items in stock, and said she's adding new items to her large inventory regularly.  We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, N.Y.: Just in time for this weekend's Ramble in Jackson Street Square.  We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Sport of Kings Family Restaurant, 419 W Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: A favorite locally owned family restaurant that is open 24 hours per day, seven days a week We have a $15 gift certificate for $7.50.

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans Street, Batavia, N.Y.: From sandwiches to ribs, Delavan's has a thoroughly worthwhile menu. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies on items more than $10 and .50 cents on items below $10.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value.  People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before.  By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Ideally, the winner will arrange to stop by my office on Main Street to pick up gift certificate. Mail is an option, but it would be better to hand you the gift certificate. 

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

We also still have available these gift certificates:

Sport of Kings Family Restaurant

SOLD

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern

SOLD

South Main Country Gifts

SOLD

Center Street Smoke House

We also have these gift certificates still available:

The Enchanted Florist

Eclectic Creations

Gene Douglas Swede, 61, of 11295 Perry Road, Pavilion, is charged with harassment. Swede is accused of jumping a fence into a neighbor's yard, yelling and cussing at the neighbor and threatening to beat up the neighbor. An order of protection was issued for Swede protecting his neighbors.

Porscha Mohogani Woods, 26, of 305 Oak St., Syracuse is charged with disorderly conduct. Woods is accused of pushing Darien Lake security guards and using vulgar language while attempting to break free of the guards following an altercation at the park on July 4 at 8:11 p.m.

A 16-year-old from Rochester was issued a ticket by Sheriff's deputies in the Town of Batavia for unlawful possession of marijuana.  The youth was walking on a road in Batavia when he was allegedly found to be in possession of marijuana.

Batavia's (11-8) pitching staff combined for 13 strikeouts on the night while Auburn had two costly errors to get the Muckdogs back on the winning track after a three game slide.

Batavia's big inning came in the 4th as they scored three runs to go up 3-2.  Devin Goodwin singled and advanced to second on a throwing error and was moved to third when Alan Ahmady reached on a base hit.  Two batters later, Ryde rodriguez reached safely on a force attempt while another error allowed Goodwin to come home and Ahmady to advance to second. Another single by Niko Vazquez loaded the bases before Ivan Castro hit a two RBI base hit to center field.

Justin Edwards started the game out right on the mound going three innings with two runs, four hits, one walk and five strikeouts. Kevin Siegrist followed him to get the win in three innings with two runs, four hits, one walk and three strikeouts. After that, Josh Squatrito picked up his first hold and LaCurtis Mayes picked up his first save on the season.

Goodwin, Vazquez, Castro and Scruggs all went 2-for-4 on the night with Scruggs sending one over the fence for his third homerun on the season.

The Pinckney Division remains the same with all the top teams getting wins tonight.  Batavia sits tied in 2nd place with Williamsport one game behind Mahoning Valley.  They head to State College Tuesday to take on the Spikes who are close behind in 3rd place, just two games behind the leader.

SafeRoads.org has a searchable map of all the U.S. pinpointing fatal traffic accidents, and showing the density of such accidents.  Looking over the Genesee County area, it doesn't look like there is any one roadway or intersection that is more prone toward fatal accidents.

Lt. Eugene Jankowski, of the Batavia Police Department, participated in the 250th Anniversary re-enactment of the Siege of Fort Niagara and sent along these pictures. Jankowski is pictured above on the far right.

The Town of Batavia Fire Department is being dispatched to a reported fire the area of South Main Street Road and Wortendyke Road.

Dispatchers are recommending special equipment because the fire is reportedly deep in the woods in a logging area.

UPDATE:  So, I drove out to South Main Street Road and Wortendyke Road. Nothing to see here.  The fire is reportedly pretty deep in the woods. There's no command center or other fire equipment on the public road, nor is the fire visible, nor is there an odor of fire from the road. Moving on.

UPDATE 2:06 p.m.: I found the general location of the fire.  It was a long way off from Wortendyke. I spoke with two Town of Batavia firefighters. A logging skinner skidder, a piece of heavy equipment for hauling logs, caught on fire. The machine is a total loss, they said.  Crews are currently making sure the fire is out.

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Three Great Deals Today:

T.F. Browns, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: T.F. Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. The patio is open. It's also a great place to host group events.  See the ad on the left side of the page for contact information. We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Eclectic Creations, 625 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y. (former location of Triangle Liqore Store): Is it time to buy a gift for a special teen-age girl? Try Eclectic creations, where you can find a wide range of hip and interesting gifts. This is a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Jackson St. Grill and Belladessa's Pizzeria, 9 Jackson St., Batavia., N.Y.: Today's deal is a Family Meal Deal -- one-topping large pizza, 24 wings and a 2 liter soft drink. This is a $25 value for $12.50.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value.  People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before.  By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Ideally, the winner will arrange to stop by my office on Main Street to pick up gift certificate. Mail is an option, but it would be better to hand you the gift certificate. 

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

T.F. Brown's

SOLD

Belladessa's

Eclectic Creations

BATAVIA, N.Y. -- Michael J. Wells, the third suspect in the June 18 robbery of the M&T Bank in Elba, entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment this morning.

Wells is being represented by Thomas Burns. Burns made no application for bail this morning, so Wells continues being held in Genesee County Jail without bail.

Because there was no bail hearing, none of Wells statements or his background were discussed in court.

Last week both Damone Dillon and Dennis Abrams pleaded not guilty and Judge Robert Noonan assigned each $250,000 bail and $500 bond.

UPDATE: I just spoke with Thomas Burns, who is representing Wells, and he said he is communicating with District Attorney Lawrence Friedman on the eventual disposition of the case. Burns said he agreed not to make a bail application as part of that process. "We felt compelled to honor the request as a sign of good faith in negotiations," Burns said.

Previously:

• Elba robbery defendant reportedly sterling citizen prior to alleged crime
• 'I messed up,' Elba robbery suspect texted wife while hiding from police
• Elba robbery suspects identified, arraigned and held without bail
• Alleged Elba bank robbers indicted by grand jury
• Elba robbery suspects identified, arraigned and held without bail
• Manhunt in progress near Townline and 63

One person suffered minor injuries in a two-car accident on Route 19 at East Park Street in Pavilion on Saturday when the driver of one car reportedly failed to see another car and pulled out in front of it.

David J. Reschke, 18, of 9741 Transit Road, Stafford, was driving a 1999 Chevy sedan owned by Cynthia Reschke, when he reportedly stopped at a stop sign on westbound East Park Street, and then proceeded onto Route 19.

Reschke was reportedly distracted while admiring a passing Chrysler 300.

Three witnesses reported seeing him pull out in front of the on coming car.

The other car, a 2001 Ford sedan owned by Patricia Malone of Batavia, was driven by Tyler Kilgore, 19, of 9366 Sheppard Drive, Batavia. Kilgore reportedly suffered minor injuries and as transported to UMMC.

Following the accident investigation by Deputy Mazur, Reschke was charged with unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under 21.

Jazzmyne M. Heard, 21, of 965 E. Glide St., Rochester, is charged with disorderly conduct. Heard allegedly shouted obscenities while on the sidewalk on South Main St. The alleged incident occurred Thursday at 11:45 a.m.

Megan J. Dowd, 26, of 16 Church St., Le Roy, was charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly shouting obscenities in a public place. The alleged incident occurred at 337 Bank St.

James S. Gibbs, 33, of 34 Vernon Ave., Batavia is charged with criminal contempt. Gibbs allegedly made contact with a person he was ordered not to contact.

Jay R. Cummings, 23, of 10565 Harper Road, Darien, is charged with felony DWI. Cummings was stopped on West Main Street by Batavia police following a report of a road rage incident in the Town of Batavia.  Officers Coffey and Klimjack report Cummings was allegedly intoxicated. He is also charged with felony unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Cummings reportedly has a prior felony DWI conviction. He is held on $5,000 bail.

Ryan P. Sutton, 19, of 8290 Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with making graffiti. Batavia Police Officer Matthew Baldwin reportedly observed Sutton carving something into plastic play equipment in Pringle Park with a folding knife on Thursday night.

Stephan A. Lewis II, 29, of 541 E. Main St., is charged with petty larceny. Lewis is accused of stealing beer from Wilson Farms, 506 E. Main St.

John J. Smalley, Sr., 46, of 32 S. Main St., Oakfield, is charged with harassment. Smalley is accused of making harassing phone calls to another person. He was arrested by Batavia police officers.

Timothy Ryan McJury, 22, of 334 W. Main St., #5, is charged with petty larceny. McJury is accused of shoplifting three DVDs and a video game from Target.

Travis W. Zeidler, 29, of 502-2969 Kingsway Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, is charged with DWI and DWI with a BAC of .18 or more. Zeidler was arrested following a Sheriff's Office investigation into a reported car accident inside the parking lot of Darian Lake Theme Park. Zeidler is held on $500 bail. The incident was investigated by Deputy Jason Saile.

David J. Reschke, 18, of 9741 Transit Road, Stafford, is charged with unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under 21. Reschke was reportedly found to possess alcohol following a car accident at Route 19 and Cato Street in Pavilion on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Stephanie L. Hagen, 26, of 3259 Rose Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI. Hagen was reportedly stopped for an alleged traffic violation on Erie Road in Darien on Saturday morning about 1 a.m. She reportedly had a BAC of .08 or greater.

Ronald J. Tombari III, 21, of Pavilion, is charged with felony unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Tombari allegedly struck a parked car in Le Roy and then left the scene. Le Roy Patrolman Daryl Robb made the arrest.

Care-A-Van was busy over the holiday week-end. Even with a holiday week-end among us, we keep going forth to share the good news.

We had grocery distribution Saturday at Batavia Gardens. We fed 8 families with 23 members. We returned to Park Road Senior Apartments for Street Church on Sunday. We had 11 folks attend to hear the message given by Pastor Tom Burns of the Morganville UC of Christ. We were there last Thursday for our weekly picnic and had 29 folks attend. Check out the pile of cookies given away at the Picnic in the Park! 

Last Thurdays picnic at the apartment complex

There were folks inside and out

Care-A-Van Band sings at the Picnic at Park Road Senior Apartments

Pastor Tom Burns giving the message

Inside at street church

Ok, so with all the holiday activity, I was cauught in the traffic on the 90 waiting to get home to be with Care-A-Van on Sunday afternoon. Spent the week-end with my family in Edinboro, PA. Come to find out it was the car that was on fire that was shown on another post.

Jeanne Stack submitted this photo of a car on fire on the Thruway on Sunday at about 2 p.m. Stack said the fire occurred near Pratt Road in the Town of Batavia. She said she doesn't know what happened, but that a trooper came over to her and asked if the car was hers.  We have no further information at this time.

Batavia (9-6) tried to hang on but couldn’t match Auburn’s (6-9) six runs as the Muckdogs fell to the Doubledays 6-5.

Auburn took their first lead in the 5th inning when Kyle Gilligan led off with a double and came home to score on a Kevin Nolan single.  Batavia answered with one of their own after Jairo Martinez struck out but reached on a wild pitch.  Ivan Castro then singled before both runners were advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Beau Riportella.  Martinez then came in to score on a ground ball by Guillermo Toribio.   

But the Doubledays took a 3-1 lead right after on a two-run homerun by Bradley Glenn.  They added four more runs in the 8th to increase their lead to 6-2.

Batavia rallied late in the 8th when they scored three to make it 6-5.  The inning started with back-to-back walks by Alan Ahmady and Xavier Scruggs.  Both came home the next at bat when Ryde Rodriguez hit a double down the right field line.  Rodriguez then came home himself on a sacrifice fly by Riportella.  But, the inning ended there as Toribio went down looking to end the rally.

Auburn tried to add some insurance in the top of the 9th after a lead-off triple by Lance Durham.  However, Josh Squatrito got the next two batters to ground out and Scruggs had a remarkable catch in foul territory to end the threat.

Tyler Lavigne went five innings in the start with one run, three hits, one walk and eight strikeouts.  Deryk Hooker (1-1) suffered the loss in his three innings of relief.  He ended the night allowing five runs on two hits with five walks and one strikeout.

Rodriguez and Castro were the only ones with multi-hits.  Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and one run.  Castro finished 2-for-3 with a run and a walk.

Batavia now travels to Auburn for a doubleheader tomorrow and closes the series away on Monday.

Yesterday, I was given a chance to learn all about the latest piece of equipment acquired by the Town of Batavia's volunteer fire department:  A rescue truck that will go into service in about three weeks.

It arrived at the station on Tuesday and cost the department about $460,000.

"This is a 25-year purchase," said Dan Coffey, who with Nate Fix served on the truck purchase committee and researched the needs and specifications for a new fire truck. "A lot of thought went into this purchase. We started planning this in 2005."

The truck already has 3,000 miles on it -- the mileage from Minnesota, where it was assembled, to New York, where a contractor put on many of the finishing touches, and that was by design said Deputy Chief Paul Barrett.  All of those miles got the engine broken in and gave the seller a chance to uncover any potential problems before the department took delivery.

The video contains more information on the truck and its capabilities and purpose.

Pictured above with the new Engine 24 are four members of the department who happened to be on hand yesterday, Deputy Chief Paul Barrett, firefighter Ryan Scapano, Asst. Chief Randy McIntire and firefighter Doug Smart, Jr., who is home on leave from Iraq.

The outgoing Engine 24.

The Batavia Area Jaycees hung flags along Main Street this morning. I think it's always a great sight to drive down Main and see the flag-lined street.

Patrick Weissend is leaving his post as director of the Holland Land Office Museum to become a brank manager for the Bank of Castile in Medina. Supporters of  the museum, its staff and board members gathered at the museum last night to give Pat a festive send off and to thank him for his hard work and dedication.

Batavia (9-5) went up 2-0 in the bottom of the 1st and never looked back as they shutout Jamestown (5-10) 12-0.

Devin Goodwin singled in his first at bat before Xavier Scruggs hit one out of the park to start off the night.Three two-out runs in the 3rd kept things going.  Alan Ahmady singled and was followed by a Scruggs walk.  Ryde Rodriguez placed a ball far down the first base side on a two-run triple.  He then came in when Luis De La Cruz reached on an error by the Jamestown shortstop Chase Austin.

 The Muckdogs had a big five-run 5th to cement their victory.  The inning started off with a solo homerun by Ahmady.  Scruggs and Rodriguez then singled and walked, respectively, and De La Cruz came up with a RBI base hit.  Later in the inning, Ryan Jackson walked to load the bases before D’Marcus Ingram doubled on a line drive to center to clear the bags.

Scott Schneider got the start, going an effective three innings with three hits and four strikeouts.  Eric Fornataro (2-0) followed him for the win in four innings of work with just one hit, one walk and three strikeouts.  LaCurtis Mayes shut down the Jammers in the 9th, striking out two while only allowing one walk.

Batavia moves on to face Auburn at home tomorrow night.

With the ongoing Senate stalemate, I thought it would be useful to have a detailed discussion with our representative, Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer, just to catch up on the issues and get his perspective on the situation.

I'm presenting the entire 26-minute interview unedited in four parts.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

UPDATE: Links now fixed.