Local News

News Release

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) announced today that he will be hosting two free Yellow Dot programs later this week in Albion and Corfu. The programs will be conducted by both the Orleans and Genesee County Sheriff Departments with Orleans County Sheriff Randall Bower, Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron, Jr. and Undersheriff Gregory Walker expected to attend. Yellow Dot is designed to help first responders provide life-saving medical attention during that first “golden hour” after a car crash or emergency.

“Yellow Dot is truly a life-saving program,” Hawley said. “This is a free program that is especially important as road conditions become more dangerous during the winter months. Participating in the Yellow Dot Program is as easy as filling out a brief medical card and placing the yellow dot sticker on your car window. I encourage all who are available to stop by and pick up your free Yellow Dot Kit at one of these events this week or contact your local sheriff’s department.”

WHO: Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia)
Genesee County Sheriff William Sheron Jr.
Genesee County Undersheriff Gregory Walker
Orleans County Sheriff Randall Bower

WHAT: Free Yellow Dot Program

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, December 13, 12:30 p.m.
Albion Academy Apartments
South Entrance, 16 E Academy St., Albion

Thursday, December 14, 12:30 p.m.
Corfu United Presbyterian Church
63 Alleghany Rd., Corfu

The house fire was reported at 2210 Judge Road in Alabama at around quarter to nine this morning.

Seven fire companies along with the Batavia’s FAST Team were called into action.

Town of Alabama Fire Chief Gary Patnod was on scene.

“For probably the first three to four minutes on location the upstairs occupant was not accounted for. He was a past member of our department and his wife still is currently an active member. We were able to make some contacts and find out that he was indeed out and safe. Upon our arrival the downstairs tenant was already out of the apartment and had sustained some burns. EMS was arriving on location to take care of her.”

One person was transported to the Erie County Medical Center for smoke inhalation and burns and the other individual was being evaluated in an ambulance on scene.

The fire was brought under control by around 9:30 this morning.

There was report of possible animals inside and one cat was initially rescued and another was resuscitated.

A dog reportedly perished in the blaze.

At around 10:15 a.m. Town of Batavia Fire and Sheldon Fire were called to return to the scene for a fire at 2180 Judge Road.

The story provided by our news partner The Batavian.

(Photo courtesy of Rusty Freeman)

Press Release:

By Tim Bojarski, for UNY USHWA

Anyone who has ever dealt with a quarter crack can appreciate what it takes to get their horse sound and racing again. Rusty Freeman is responsible for changing the way this debilitating condition is handled, reducing down time from weeks to days and turning the process into a state of the art form over the years.

As a result of his tireless work to help the breed, the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) will present Freeman with the Innovator’s Award for contributions to the sport of harness racing in the winner’s circle at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Dec. 16) during the 10th annual “Night of Distinction” awards ceremony.

Freeman was working as a factory machinist in western New York in the late 1970’s when he was first introduced to harness racing. While visiting a friend who had trotters, he was shown why a particular horse was lame with a hoof crack and the whole thing quickly intrigued him.

He developed a way to use a Dremel tool and cut out just the part of the hoof he felt was needed, and then put a tube under the patch. That way air could still get to the sore area to aid healing and it could also be flushed with antiseptic to keep it clean.

He then researched and developed an acrylic compound he uses instead of fiberglass and combines that with Kevlar cloth to do the patches. The combination of the tube under the new patch material gives the area every opportunity to heal and grow out properly in a short amount of time.

Freeman has been plying his trade at harness tracks in New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania for almost 40 years now and many times works hand in hand with vets. As a result, hundreds of horses have been made sound quicker, allowing them to get back in the box much sooner.

Also a farrier, Freeman is an accredited member of the American Association of Professional Farriers (AAPF) and helps other professionals in the field understand and benefit from his technics.

Post time for the first race on Saturday is 6 p.m.

Winter Weather persists in the region.
Orleans and Genesee County continue under the Winter Weather Advisory until Wednesday afternoon according to The National Weather Service.
Total snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches are expected with winds peaking at 40 miles per hour.
Morning Commuters should take some extra time to deal with difficult conditions such as blowing and drifting snow.
Several counties to the south including Wyoming County are under a Lake Effect Snow Warning until Wednesday evening.
They are expected to receive a total of 10 to 15 inches of snow with up to 20 inches across the higher terrain of Chautauqua County.

City Council updated on Zombie homes initiative.
Lindsey Luft an administrative intern for Operation Keep Our Homes, a program designed to identify and reduce the number of vacant and abandoned homes in the City of Batavia presented to City Council at their meeting last night.
Luft said the problem effects the entire community.

“So it really affects the City at all levels and at every census tract, and it’s not targeted at any kind of income level. There’s about 89 zombie properties in our area. So we’re really focused on getting them up and rehabilitated.”

Luft said the initiative has just about reached its goal of connecting with 10 families facing foreclosure.
She said they are currently working with nine families one of which has already been allowed to keep their home.
Luft is graduate assistant at Brockport State College and has been serving the City since May.

Wyoming County crash claims the life of a Java resident.
State Police were called to a two vehicle fatal crash on Perry Road in Sheldon shortly before noon on Sunday.
20 year old Alex Dedoszak of Java failed to negotiate a curve while heading eastbound on Perry Road, then crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a westbound vehicle according to investigators.
Dedoszak was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other driver sustained only minor injuries and State Police continue to investigate the crash.
Dedoszak was a Class of 2016 Attica High School Graduate.

Albion Parolee jailed without bail for alleged drug dealing.
52 year old Kenneth Thompson of North Main Street Albion was arrested by members of the Orleans County Drug Task Force following an investigation into the sale of crack cocaine in and around Albion.
Task Force agents seized a quantity of crack cocaine inside his apartment on North Main that was reportedly packaged for sale.
Thompson was charged with count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance a Class B Felony
Thompson was jailed without bail and is currently on parole with additional charges pending.
He is expected in Albion Town Court tomorrow.

The Buffalo bills battled not just the Indianapolis Colts but Mother Nature as LeSean McCoy scored on a 21 yard run to secure the Bills win with 1:33 left in overtime.
McCoy had 156 yards and one touchdown while Quarterback Nathan Peterman threw for 1 td and was 5 for 10 and 57 yards while battling 25-30mph winds.
Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin says he had fun playing in the snow.

The Bills are now 7-6 on the season.

Genesee County has seemed to escape the worst of the latest Western New York lake effect snowstorm. We received under six inches of snow overnight. Plows and salt shakers have been out all night and travel conditions this morning are generally OK.
There is, however, a Winter Strom Watch in effect for Genesee and Orleans Counties from late this evening through Wednesday afternoon.

Two people are killed in the collision of a car and tractor-trailer in the town of Elba.
The crash happened just after one o’clock Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Route 98 and Lockport Road.
State Police tell us 45 year old Franca (frank-ah) Monachino (mon-ah-chee-no) of Hilton was westbound on Lockport Road, failed to yield at the intersection and struck the big rig.
Both vehicles ran off the road and hit a utility pole causing it to fall.
Both Monachino and the truck driver, 29 year old Jerry Tuttle of Kingley, Pennsylvania were pronounced dead at the scene.
Both drivers were alone in their vehicles.

A car struck a poll near the CVS pharmacy on West Main St in Batavia.
It happened just before 11 last night.
Three people were in the vehicle – no information available on injuries.
Crews are replacing that pole this morning.

A hunter was found after getting lost while hunting in the Tonawanda management wildlife area.
The Alabama Fire and sheriff’s deputies responded around 10:30yesterday morning and located the hunter within 45 minutes.
Scene Commander Bill Shutt tells WBTA News what happened

9-1-1 dispatchers stayed on the phone with the hunter until he was located.

Photo Courtesy: The Batavian

Two people are killed in the collision of a car and tractor-trailer in the town of Elba.
The crash happened just after one o’clock yesterday afternoon at the intersection of Route 98 and Lockport Road.
State Police tell us 45 year old Franca Monachino of Hilton was westbound on Lockport Road and failed to yield at the intersection.
Monachino’s Honda Civic then struck the tractor-trailer which loaded with potatoes.
Both vehicles ran off the road and hit a utility pole causing it to fall.
First responders had to wait for National Grid to turn off power before they could tend to the victims.
Both Monachino and the truck driver, 29 year old Jerry Tuttle of Kingley, Pennsylvania were pronounced dead at the scene.
Both drivers were alone in their vehicles.

Batavia City Manager  News Release

The first community meeting to gather public input on Batavia’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) will be held at City Hall, One Batavia City Centre, Batavia, NY at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 14.

Those in attendance will be provided with information on the Downtown Revitalization Initiative followed by a hands-on, interactive public workshop. The purpose of the workshop is to identify potential transformative redevelopment strategies that will provide long term community and economic benefits for Downtown Batavia. This is an opportunity for residents and businesses in the community to provide feedback and help plan the future of Downtown Batavia. The DRI Local Planning Committee would like to know what you love about Downtown Batavia, what draws you downtown today, and what amenities would bring you downtown more often.

This effort builds upon existing plans and projects, including the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan and the Batavia Opportunity Area Plan. The workshop is the first in a series of three Downtown Revitalization Initiative public participation meetings that will be held over the next four months. Future public meeting will focus on a review of the goals and strategies developed by the Downtown Revitalization Initiative Local Planning Committee as well as a review of potential projects.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST
THURSDAY…

* WHAT…Lake effect snow with slippery road conditions. Total
snow accumulations of 2 to 5 inches are expected in the most
persistent lake snows.

* WHERE…Northern Erie and Genesee counties.

* WHEN…Until 1 AM Thursday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Be prepared for reduced visibilities at
times.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

Lake effect snow will fall in relatively narrow bands. If
traveling, be prepared for rapidly changing road conditions and
visibilities.

A 16 year old resident of Oak Street has been arrested on a felony charge of assault.
Lionel Anderson Junior is accused of injuring a 13 year old during a fight on Highland Park in Batavia last Tuesday night.
Police said the 13 year old was slammed face first to the ground and struck in the face with a metal belt buckle.
There was no information released about the victim.
Anderson has been locked up on $25,000 bail. He is due back in court

Photo: Batavia Police Dept

From National Weather Service

A WINTER STORM WATCH remains in effect from late Tuesday night through late Thursday night

* WHAT…Heavy lake effect snow possible. Travel will be very
difficult at times, including the morning and evening commute
on Wednesday. Total snow accumulations of 12 to 24 inches are
possible in the most persistent lake snows.

* WHERE…Northern Erie and Genesee counties.

* WHEN…From late Tuesday night through late Thursday night.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Heavy lake effect snow may result in very
difficult travel at times, including very low visibility and
deep snow cover on roads.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

Narrow bands of heavy snow could impact portions of the region.
Localized travel problems will be possible.