Linda Jean Desnatis, 42, Main Street, Batavia, is charged with two counts of DWI with a child passenger under age 16, DWI, driving with a BAC of .10 or greater and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Following a complaint of a possible drunken driver, Desnatis's car was stopped at 7:45 p.m., Saturday, on West Main Street Road, Batavia, by Deputy Joseph Graff.

Francis T. Lacko, 29, of Johnstown, Pa., is accused of being a fugitive from justice. Lacko was arrested in Le Roy on Friday. Lacko was stopped in the Village of Le Roy after police received reports of a suspicious person going door-to-door selling magazines without a permit. Upon investigation, police found outstanding warrants for Lacko from three different states, including Pennsylvania. Among the charges faced by Lacko is fraud. Lacko was jailed without bail.

Paul Konieczny, 47, of 144 Harvester Ave., Batavia, is charged with DWI and three counts of failure to keep right. Konieczny was involved in a motor-vehicle accident at 9:20 p.m., Friday. He is accused of striking a street sign and two parked cars. The vehicles reportedly sustained significant damage. Konieczny reportedly suffered cuts on his face and was transported to UMMC by Mercy EMS.

Thomas Tyrone Gantt, 54, of Mount Hope Avenue, Rochester, was arrested at 8:04 p.m., Friday, on Clinton Street Road, Batavia, on a bench warrant out of Town of Gates Court. Gantt is accused of petit larceny.

Kerry Michael Simpson, 49, of Getman Road, Alden, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, driving left of pavement markings in a no-passing zone and speeding. Simpson was stopped at 1:33 a.m., Saturday, on Erie Street, Darien, by Deputy Jason Saile.

Thomas Z. Wilson, 19, Michael A. Albini, 19, and Patrick W. Moran, 18, all of 113 S. Swan St., Batavia, are all charged with criminal nuisance and unlawful possession of alcohol under age 21. Wilson, Albini and Moran were arrested after allegedly hosting an underage drinking party at 12:22 a.m., Saturday.

Edward M. Davis Jr., 46, of 23 Oak St., lower, Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass. Davis is accused of remaining unlawfully in the apartment of a female acquaintance.

Latoya D. Jackson, 25, of 112 State St., lower, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Jackson is accused of shoplifting $12.50 in merchandise from the Dollar Store on East Main Street.

A 17-year-old resident of State Street is charged with disorderly conduct. The youth is accused of shouting obscenities while attending a football game at Vendetta Stadium at 9:45 p.m., Friday.

Press release:

Students in Genesee Community College's new Veterinary Technology program began the fall semester with a new opportunity at the Genesee County Animal Shelter. The new cooperative agreement is already being tagged as a beneficial opportunity for all involved, especially our four-legged, furry friends.

Under the extensive oversight of GCC's vet tech program, second-year students are gaining hands-on experience by working with the staff and volunteers who run the Genesee County Animal Shelter located on West Main Street in the Town of Batavia.

Under the new agreement, GCC vet tech students aid in most facets of the shelter's daily operation including basic animal care such as feeding, cleaning, and kennel duty, as well as reception, client education, transport and record keeping. They work closely with the on-duty licensed veterinary technologist or veterinarian with direct animal care in checking vital signs, collecting and processing of blood and fecal samples, ear cleaning, administering medications, and diagnostic testing.

The students are enrolled in higher level courses, specifically, VET 234 Clinical Laboratory Techniques, VET 245 and VET 246 which covers small and large animal pathology and nursing, respectively.

"I'm ecstatic -- it is a great collaboration in a lot of different ways," Wendy Castleman, president of the Volunteers for Animals (VFA), which provides extensive support to Genesee County Animal Shelter. "There is already a very positive impact and a huge benefit to the animal and the shelter's operation as students help with the care, cleanliness, checking and testing of the animals."

The multifaceted benefit also includes the animal shelter now having access to an on-site veterinarian. GCC's full-time instructor Dr. Carolyn (Carrie) Caccamise is involved with the Animal Shelter as she oversees the teaching and learning experience of GCC students.

Genesee Community College's Veterinary Technology program trains students to aid animals and society by providing excellent care and service for animals by alleviating animal suffering and by promoting public health. Genesee students do not perform animal experiments of any kind, and the program will be visited on site by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) for accreditation review.

It is also overseen by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which ensures each and every procedure is documented, follows appropriate animal protocol and that the facilities are inspected a minimum of two times a year. The program is also registered by the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets and comes under the direct jurisdiction of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA/APHIS). These governing agencies also conduct yearly inspections of facilities, review all protocols used for student learning, as well as the housing requirements for each individual species.

All animals cared for GCC students are supervised by a NYS licensed veterinarian and licensed veterinary technician, each with more than 20 years of veterinary clinical experience.

Lastly, part of the curriculum of Genesee's Veterinary Technology program includes studying the federally enacted Animal Welfare Act, wherein these rules and regulations offer the minimum standard of care. The two-year Vet Tech program at Genesee gives graduates the opportunity to become licensed veterinary technicians versed in high standards of animal care and dignity suitable for employment in many occupations that maintain the health and welfare of animals.

"GCC's program and its new agreement with Genesee County Animal Shelter aims to give our students a dynamic learning opportunity, but in doing so we are also sharing our resources with the local community and helping strengthen the extraordinary services provided by the Animal Shelter," said Kathryn Seweryniak, LVT, MS, director of the Veterinary Technology program. "Our program and this new cooperative agreement enable all of us to better help the animals in our community."

The Genesee County Animal Shelter offers an invaluable service to the community with more than 450 cats adopted last year and more than 220 dogs adopted. It is located at 3841 W. Main St. Road in Batavia and is open to the public Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.

The shelter can be reached at 343-6410. The website for Volunteers for Animals is www.vol4animals.org and it's updated regularly and features photos and profiles of both cats, dogs, kittens and puppies that are available for adoption.

For information contact GCC's Veterinary Technology Program Director Kathryn Seweryniak at 343-0055, ext. 6187, or at keseweryniak@genesee.edu.

In a service that recalled in detail the tragedy, fears and horror of Sept. 11, 2001, Pastor Marty Macdonald's Sunday morning message was really about hope.

"We have the power to hope," he said, "in something greater than ourselves."

Sept. 11, Macdonald said, wasn't something that God "allowed" to happen, nor was it, as some have said, God's revenge on a nation gone astray.

"God didn't have anything to do with it," Macdonald said. "It was the work of the enemy."

The Sunday service at City Church opened with the usual praise worship, but then shifted gears to vignettes related to 9/11 -- first, community residents recalling what that day was like, then a scene of a daughter at breakfast with her mother, unable to comprehend why 9/11 is important, so her mother opens her computer to show her newsreels from that tragic day.

On the projection screens, scenes of 9/11 played out as they did in 2001, followed by the Oval Office speech from President George W. Bush.

After the videotapes from Sept. 11, 2001, three church members portrayed different people effected by 9/11: the daughter who lost her father; the firefighter who contracted cancer from working in the rubble of the Twin Towers; and the wife of Todd Beamer, the passenger on Flight 93 who famously uttered "Let's Roll" before passengers attempted to retake the hijacked airplane.

Macdonald said that at a time when people are losing confidence in our government, it's important to remember where to place our hope.

"When you place your confidence in human beings, you will always be disappointed," Macdonald said. "But when you place your hope in a living God, you will never be disappointed."

Our world changed on Sept. 11, 2001, said Pastor Allen Werk. Things that we disagreed about on Monday, seemed unimportant on Tuesday. Things that annoyed us one day could be seen as a sign of God's grace the next day. As a nation, we came to see how important God is to our lives.

"We saw what life really meant and how fragile life could be," Werk said.

Werk delivered his sermon as part of a special 9/11 service at St. Paul Lutheran Church, which mixed patriot songs and prayer and a chance to honor first responders and military veterans (top picture).

"What we witnessed on that day of terror on our shores, when we saw people dying right in front of us, we recognized that we needed somebody who was bigger than us, more powerful than even the most powerful nation on Earth, who was on our side," Werk said.

Volunteers from at least four fire companies -- I saw Le Roy, Batavia, Stafford and South Byron while I was there -- were on hand Sunday at The Home Depot to raise a flag in honor of the 9/11 victims and give community members a chance to meet with local volunteers and learn about fire safety. Children could tour the firetrucks and receive hats and coloring books.

The following people were arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department during the Uproar Festival concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Saturday:

James R. Larson, 24, of Revere Place, Buffalo, is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after allegedly causing a disturbance after being ejected from the venue. Larson allegedly resisted arrest by fighting with deputies.  Larson was jailed on $500 bail.

Daniel W. Krulikoski, 28, of Miller Crescent Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, is charged with trespass after allegedly entering a food stand without permission.  Krulikoski was released on $100 bail.

Michael J. Carlo, 31, of Pennington Court, Amherst, is charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly causing a disturbance in the venue parking lot by attempting to fight with other exiting patrons.

Philip A. Azzaretto, 41, of Exchange Street, Alden, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly striking another subject in the face while at the concert.

Keith A. Hinckley, 20, of West Avenue, Ext., Medina, is charged with disorderly conduct and possession of alcohol under 21 after allegedly yelling obscenities in the parking lot, causing a disturbance and found to possess an alcoholic beverage.

The following people received citations for alleged possession of alcohol under age 21:

Shelby R. Eck, 17, of County Route 31, Scio
Cecellia M. Wilson, 19, of Loring Avenue, Wellsville
Dustin M. Ford, 19, of Allen Street, Allentown
Danielle J. Armfield, 19, of Baker Street, Andover
Lindsay L. Harris, 17, of Riverside Drive, Wellsville
Rebecca A. Oliver, 17, of River Road, Phoenix
Geoff C. Hall, 20, of Drager Avenue, Syracuse
Tara M. Morabito, 16, of E. Main Street, Hamburg
Gary J. Dellaneve, 17, of Davis Road, West Falls
Julia J. Golaszewski, 20, of Center Street, East Aurora
Steven D. Jackson, 18, of Dutch Street, Wolcott
Rebecca M. Rotunno, 17, of Claremont Avenue, Tonawanda
Emily A. Dziuba, 17, of Blakeley Road, East Aurora
Joseph J. Crane, 19, of Shelby Basom Road, Medina
Brandon T. Fuller, 17, of Prospect Avenue, Medina
Gerald R. Soule Jr., 20, of East Main Street Road, Batavia
Raymond D. Wilson III, 18, of Herrick Street, Oswego
Amber L. Bonito, 20, of Drake Settlement Road, Burt
Seth P. Esskuchen, 20, of Autumn Street, Williamsville
Seth R. Reardon, 19, of Columbia Avenue, Depew
Jonathan D. Hitchcock, 20, of Otego

Kristi Queal sent in this picture from Sunday, 9/11, of her son, Deacon, who even at 2 knows how to salute a United States flag.

Corfu and Darien fire departments are responding to a fire alarm at the Presbyterian Church of Corfu, located at 63 Allegany Road.

The alarm is indicating a problem in the basement, bathroom and pantry.

UPDATE 7:48 a.m.: Darien is told to stand down. The Corfu unit is held to one unit.

UPDATE 7:50 a.m.: The chief says "It was just burnt turkey. Corfu returning, in service."

Batavia residents found a number of ways to remember Sept. 11 on Sunday.

Above, Ken Mistler hung his giant U.S. flag from the former Carr's building.

Frank Bellucci set up this display outside his Ellicott Street home. The centerpiece, a model of the Twin Towers, was built a few yeas ago for a competition by his son, Frankie, now 13.

Somebody set up these signs on West Main Street near Oak Street.

Still to come from Sunday, coverage of 9/11 services at St. Paul's Lutheran Church and City Church.

On the drive back from the steam show Saturday, I took a route down Beaver Road and then Upton. Here's a couple of the pictures I took.

The East Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department held a memorial service this morning to honor all those who perished in the events that took place on September 11, 2001. Members from the department came out early this morning to decorate the trucks, and stayed there throughout the day to have a total of six moments of silence; one at the exact time when each plane hit, and one at the time of each tower's collapse and to mark the carnage at the Pentagon. Each moment of silence began with blowing the air horn on one of the fire engines, followed by one minute of silence to honor the victims and heros of that event. 

Pictured above: Firefighters observe a moment of silence for those who lost their lives when the first tower collapsed at 8:46 a.m. Below: A memorial set up in front of antique truck, "Old Betsy."

Pictured above is Firefighter William Torres, who joined the East Pembroke Fire Department in March of this year after moving up here for a job with the Loyola Recovery Foundation. Torres worked for the New York City Fire Department for 21 years, and was on duty on September 11, 2001. He was stationed in the Bronx that day, but once the first plane hit the Trade Center at 8:46 a.m., he was immediately called in to help with the rescue efforts.

He recalls bringing a patient out of the south tower just before it fell, "We were a couple of blocks away, headed for our ambulance when the first tower collapsed. When I saw the cloud of dust, my partner and I just started running as fast as we could while pushing our patient on the stretcher." It's obvious that he was greatly affected by the events that unfolded that day, but he says they made him a stronger person.

One look at this cardinal and it's easy to see his normally prominent crest is laid flat against the back of his head. Rather than belting out his normal cheerful tune, this guy seems to be somewhat agitated..... 

Turns out he's on the attack, a bit feisty, aggressive and...

maybe even a bit territorial. Certainly hungry! Although he has a mouthful, he's eyeing a butterfly flitting past, the small white blur in the foreground.

I recall seeing a house finch for the first time and thinking that a sparrow and cardinal had crossbred.

We see the house finches quite regularly in our yard, never very far from the safety of dense cover.

This great egret is stalking the shallows of upper Stafford Marsh off Albion Road in Oakfield.

Except for the color of the stilt-like part of their legs, the great egret is nearly identical to the great white heron. The legs of the egret  are black, the white heron's are gray-green.

Like the cardinal in the first three photos, this blue jay's behavior is something I've not seen before. He's perched on the edge of an old canoe we've filled and turned into a flower garden. Normally quite noisy, this guy never made a sound although his beak was wide open the entire time. The feathers of his head, back and neck are clearly tufted, while his wing and tail feathers are fanned for promiment display. The guess here is he was either trying to attract a female or scare off an intruder.

I made two trips to the Alexander Steam Show this year, Friday night and Saturday afternoon. On Saturday, I intended just to stay for an hour to get a few photos to supplement what I snapped on Friday. I ended up staying more than two hours, which has put me behind on all my other projects and coverage. I took a lot of pictures. If you've never been to the steam show, put it on your calendar for next year. It's a great event that brings tens of thousands of people to Genesee County.

If you can't view the slide show, click here.

September 10th at Batavia Downs was an exciting night.

Five local high school members competed for a cut of $7,500 in scholarship money. The race was sponsered by Harness Horse Breeders of New York, Western NY Harness Horsemen's Association, Batavia Downs Casino and Buffalo Raceway.

Racing were:

1. Elizabeth Shuknecht, from Elba (professional Jim Graham and Horse "Betsy Ross")

2. Kendra Wall, from Notre Dame (professional Mike Pokornowski and Horse "Here Comes Wally")

3. Natalie Tuites, from Batavia (professional Jim Mulcahy and Horse "Nat from Bat")

4. Conor George, from Oakfield (professional Mike Baumeister and Horse "Curious George")

5. Wyatt Chittenden, from Pembroke (professional Dave McNeight III and Horse "Wyatt Night")

The winners were as follows:

1st: Elizabeth Shuknecht

2nd: Wyatt Chittenden

3rd: Natalie Tuites

4th: Kendra Wall

5th: Conor George

More pictures from the scholarship night and racing can be found here

The Batavia Blue Devils pulled out a victory in a wild, high-scoring game against O'Hara HS on Friday night, with Justin Washington and Brett Scheuerlein leading the way. Washington had nine catches for 151 yards and four touchdowns while Scheuerlein passed for 208 yards and four TDs. Scheurline, along with James Soggs, had 12 tackles. Scheuerlein engineered an 80-yard drive with 2:56 left in the game to secure the Batavia (1-1) win.

In a Genesee League matchup, Barker moved to 2-0 beating Pembroke (1-1) by a score of 31-13. Cody Bedard threw for 184 yards with 14 competitions and one TD.

One point down and 44 seconds left on the clock, Tim McCulley, already 0-2 on PATs, kicked a gaming-winning field goal from 32 yards out to life Notre Dame (2-0) past Holley 23-21. McCulley also passed for 116 yards on 12 completions and ran for 117 yards and scored two TDs.

Even with Tommy Manzella completing 18 of 29 passes for 205 yards, Attica proved too much for Oakfield-Alabama, delivering the Hornets their second loss of the season, 32-8. Attica is no 1-1.

 Le Roy beat Warsaw 32-0. No further details of the game are available.

Elba beat Alexander 13-12 (coverage).

Photo from Pembroke's game submitted by Destin Danser (more pictures, including the option to purchase, on his website).

Press release:

At approximately 12:30 p.m. today, the Le Roy Police Department received a report of an unsupervised/suspicious duffle bag located near the U.S. Post Office on Main Street.

During the investigation, Main Street (between Bank and Wolcott streets) was closed for a short time while bomb squads from the New York State Police and the Rochester Office of the FBI responded and determined that the item was non-hazardous.

Main Street was reopened and no charges are pending. The Le Roy Fire Department assisted with traffic control during the incident.

It took six quarters of football, but the Elba Byron-Bergen Lancers finally got fired up Saturday to turn a 12-0 half-time deficit into a 13-12 victory of the Alexander Trojans.

After a blistering 32-7 loss to Barker last week, Coach Mike Cintorino said the Lancers needed a spark to turn things around, and Zack DuBois, helped by some key blocks at the line, did that in the third quarter with a 95-yard run for a score.

"Our guys came out in the second half excited to play and we had some success to get us moving in the right direction," Cintorino said. "We've been waiting, knowing that Zach is due, and he popped a big one for us today. This is exactly what our team needed today just to show us that we are as good as we were last year and now we can build on that."

Alexander, playing under new head Coach Jack Rennolds, and coming off an injury-plagued 2010 season when the team went 1-6, played a pretty dominant first half.

The Trojans converted a turnover into a touchdown when Austin Heberline punched it in from two yards out.

Patrick Crawford helped lead the next drive, including darting in on a 12-yard TD run to put Alexander up 12-0 at the half.

Alexander had 213 yards on the ground, most of it gained in the first-half of the game.

But the momentum seemed to shift in the second half, sparked, of course, by the DeBois run, but defensively the Lancers seems to come to life, making it much harder for Alexander to move the ball.

Zac Gillard helped put his team ahead with a 35-yard TD pass to Matt Ramsey with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

From there, it was just a matter of a fired-up Lancers' defense keeping the Trojans in check.

Rennolds said he saw a lot of positives in his team, especially during the first half of play.

"We played really well in the first half and I was really happy with our play, but we seemed to drop our coverage a bit in the second half," Rennolds said. "We came out a little flat and Elba came out definitely ready to play."

The Lancers move to 1-1 and Alexander is now 0-2 on the young season.

Stats:

Offensive Stats - Elba Byron Bergen
RB - Zack DuBois (So.): 24 Carries for 175 yards and 1 TD (94-yard run)
QB - Zac Gillard (Jr.): 6-10 for 79 yards and 1 TD (35 yards)
WR - Matt Ramsey (Sr.): 1 reception for 35 yards and 1 TD (35 yards)

Offensive Stats - Alexander
RB - Pat Crawford (Sr.): 3 Carries for 51 yards and 1 TD (12-yard run)
RB - Austin Heberline (Sr.): 5 Carries for 6 yards and 1 TD (2-yard run)
RB - Mark Farnsworth: 48 yards rushing
RB - Luke Phillips: 42 yards rushing
RB - David Schmeide: 22 yards
QB - Mark Farnsworth (Jr.): 3-11 for 22 yards
QB - Nelson Burke: 3 completions for 31 yards
Lineman Nick Mrucza was used on an offensive play and carried the ball for 38 yards.

Defensive Stats - Elba Byron-Bergen
Cody Naylor (Sr.): 10 tackles, 3 for a loss
Nate Jonathan (Jr.): 10 tackles, 2 for a loss

Defensive Stats - Alexander
Lucas Phillips (Sr.): Forced fumble
Austin Heberlein: 8 tackles and 4 assists
Nick Mrucza: 6 tackles
David Patrick: 5 tackles and 2 assists

Photos from this game can be purchased by clicking here.

If you can't view the slide show below, click here.

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Genesee County, including Batavia and Le Roy, from now until 1:30 p.m.

Winds could reach 60 mph with quarter-size hail and cloud-to-ground lightning.

A Dumpster fire has been reported at Darien Lake Theme Park in the area known as "the graveyard."

Darien Fire Department is responding.

Crowds are exiting the performing arts center from the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival.

Darien fire asked to respond to the back entrance. "It's the fastest way."