Bethany

A 65-year-old Bethany resident was injured Thursday, Oct. 26, when his motorcycle was struck by a car driven by his wife on Bank Road in the Town of Middlebury.

Ronald H. Stanton was stopped on the highway facing north talking with a person in another vehicle that was parked on the shoulder.

Ellen J. Stanton, 59, failed to see her husband stopped on the road and her vehicle struck the rear of the motorcycle ejecting Stanton.

Ronald Stanton suffered head, shoulder and knee injuries. He was transported by Warsaw Ambulance to Wyoming County Hospital.

Ellen Stanton was transported to UMMC by Mercy EMS for hand and arm injuries.

None of the injuries are considered life threatening and no citations were issued.

The accident was investigated by State Police in Warsaw.

Returning to Batavia from the Genesee County Park this morning, I came across this scene on West Bethany Road. The building across the street says "West Bethany Baptist Church" on it. There's a cemetery behind it and a cemetery to the south. This building and the park-like area around it strikes me as some sort of fellowship hall for the church, but I'm not sure. Interestingly, it appears the church is in the Town of Bethany and this building is in the Town of Alexander.

This morning, bright and early, I arrived at Genesee County Park, in Bethany, for a walk in the woods, with my camera of course.

If you've never been to the park, I highly recommend it. It's another one of Genesee County's gems.

Two men were arrested today for allegedly trespassing at the Rolling Hills Asylum in the Town of Bethany, according to State Police, following an investigation of an incident that occurred on Sept. 15.

Arrested where Andrew E. Cox, 18, of Gainsville, and 18-year-old Timothy E. Rafferty, of Pike. They were cooperative during the investigation and will appear in the Town of Bethany Court at a later date, State Police said.

On Sept. 15, employees of Rolling Hills Asylum reported seeing subjects walking on property that was clearly posted. The employees were able to produce a photo of the license plate of a vehicle used by the suspects.

Rolling Hills Asylum does conduct tours of their buildings and grounds, but does so by appointment only. The property is clearly posted and an informational sign is posted at the front of the building. People are not permitted to simply walk out onto the property or into the buildings without an appointment, according to State Police, who say they are concerned about ongoing trespass complaints there.

Frank S. Smith, 18, of Lake Avenue, Perry; Zachary J. Ayres, 18, of Caswell Road, Byron; Thomas E. Hayes, 20, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia; Matthew W. Ianiro, 17, of Elm Street, Le Roy; Maria L. Martinez, 16, of Horseshoe Lake Road, Batavia; and Adrienne S. Bechtold, 16, of Vine Street, Batavia, are all charged with criminal trespass, 2nd. Smith is additionally charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of alcohol under age 21. Ayres and Hayes were charged with unlawful possession of alcohol under age 21. The suspects are accused of being inside an apartment on Walnut Street at 11:40 p.m., Tuesday, without permission of the resident, who was not home at the time.

Michael James Mead, 25, of Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Mead is accused of trying to pass a message through a third party to a person protected from contact by a court order.

Samuel Robert Thompson, 57, of Highland Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant out of Monroe County and turned over to Rochester. The reason for the underlying warrant was not released.

Lisa Marie Sequerth, 42, of West Main Street, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant for an alleged failure to pay a fine. Sequerth appeared in family court on an unrelated matter and was taken into custody for an alleged failure to pay a fine on a case in county court.

Margaret C. Henderson, 59, of Arrington Drive, Selbyville, Delaware, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding. Henderson was stopped at 7:39 p.m., Tuesday, on Route 20 in Bethany by Sgt. Greg Walker for allegedly driving 100 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Gregory Seppe, 48, of North Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with appearing in public under the influence of narcotics. Seppe was allegedly under the influence of drugs at Prestige Crossing, Batavia, at 11:25 a.m., Aug. 15. Seppe allegedly fell off his bicycle numerous times on a public roadway endangering himself and causing a public annoyance. The case was investigated by Deputy Chris Parker, assisted by Officer Eric Hill.

Tyler Steven Prescott, 16, of Ellicott Street Road, East Bethany, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. Prescott is accused of participating in destruction of property at a residence in Pavilion on Aug. 11.

(This photo from the scene was provided from reader Joel R. Murcin.)

A fully involved barn fire "with lots of smoke" is reported in Pavilion at the Schumacher's Kelkenberg's barn, thought to be located at 11338 11304 Starr Road. The location is between River and Hudson roads.

Alexander, Bethany, Town of Batavia's Fast Team, and Pavilion are responding along with units from Wyoming County. They are asked to draw water from Pearl Creek.

Bergen will stand in at Pavilion's fire hall.

UPDATE 8:31 p.m.: National Grid has been notified that there are power lines on the ground and it will respond ASAP.

UPDATE 8:45 p.m.: Fire police are asked to shut down traffic at Route 63 and Starr Road.

UPDATE 8:53 p.m.: Le Roy Fire Department is also responding as is Caledonia's.

UPDATE 8:56 p.m.: York's pumper is on scene and will be drawing water from the "first hydrant in the village," because getting an adequate water supply to fight the fire is proving problematic. The natural gas line in the barn is shut off.

UPDATE 8:58 p.m.: Monroe County is being notified they are tapping into hyrdrants. The water in the creek is said to be low, yet the amount to be had from the hydrants is also said to be limited. Now, they have enough water flow from the Hanson Aggregates mining facility. "We have plenty of it now." Warsaw crews have arrived.

UPDATE 9:06 p.m.: The top of a utility pole is on fire, directly across from where firefighters are working. Le Roy's auxiliary is called to provide cold drinks to the firefighters.

UPDATE 9:09 p.m.: They will employ the ladder brought by Warsaw to wipe out fire on one side of the barn, allowing those on the ground using hoses to concentrate on the other areas.

UPDATE 9:22 p.m.: The Town of Batavia's Fast Team is released from duty.

UPDATE 9:28 p.m.: Since the water supply from Hanson's is proving adequate, they are going to shut down the hand lines connected to fire hydrants.

UPDATE 9:58 p.m.: Cold beverages have arrived for the crews.

UPDATE 11:25 p.m. (by Howard): Fire crews are still on scene.The fire is knocked down but tankers continue to bring water to the scene to deal with what's left of the smoldering remains of the barn. Below are more pictures submitted by Joel R. Murcin. I was also out at the scene and will have a report with photos later tonight.

UPDATE 12:21 a.m.: Le Roy units returning to their hall.

Firefighters and equipment from Alexander, Bethany and Darien are heading to Wyoming County to provide mutual aid at a structure fire at 1136 Creek Road in Attica, which is off Lindsey Road.

Drivers beware -- a chihuahua likes to take his siestas in the middle of the road in Bethany. At 4596 Brown Road or close by it. This member of the toy breed must think he's the King of the Road or something.

"(According to the caller) This has been an ongoing thing where the animal will sleep in the roadway and then run away when a vehicle approaches. But the animal is hard to see and he's afraid it's going to get struck," says the dispatcher.

A Sheriff's deputy and/or an animal control officer is responding.

UPDATE 1:24 p.m.: An officer located the drowsy little brown dog and took it home, to 4586 Brown Road. No one was home so he left his business card.

I've always liked the yellow barn on Transit Road off Route 63 in East Bethany, but I don't think I've ever made a good picture of it. Perhaps this is it.

If you've driven down Transit Road in East Bethany during the past couple of weeks, you might have spotted a dragon rising out of the Earth.

Don't be afraid.

It's the artistic creation of Tom Stringham.

He started the sculpture project in 2000 and worked on it diligently for nearly two years, but then life got in the way of completing the steel and cooper mythical lizard.

A couple of weeks ago, Stringham's father encouraged Tom to get the sculpture out of the barn and put it on display, even though Stringham still needs to complete the dragon's tail.

Asked for the inspiration for the project, Stringham simply said, "it's a doodle."

Stringham and his father own and operate Emerald Models, which makes design prototypes, specializing in production of sculptures for artists and restoration of sculptures. The dragon sits in front of the production facility for Emerald Models.

Jolene Janelle Goodell, 32, of Attica Road, Attica, is charged with assault, 3rd, criminal contempt, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Goodell was picked up in the City of Batavia on a warrant out of Town of Alexander Court on the listed charges. Goodell was jailed on $2,500 bail.

William Delose Hirsch, 25, of Buckman Road, Bethany, is charged with unlawful imprisonment, 2nd. Hirsch was taken into custody by County Probation on an arrest warrant out of city court.

A tree is reportedly blocking the roadway on Chaddock Road in Bethany. Bethany Fire Department. Law enforcement is responding. Didn't catch the exact address.

UPDATE 7:59 p.m.: The responder on scene reports the tree is blocking half of the roadway, on the southbound side. Workers from the state Department of Transportation are called to the scene to cut the tree with chainsaws and remove it.

Earl Edward Vattes, 38, of Jefferson Street, Wellsville, is charged with unlawful fleeing a police officer, 3rd. Vattes was taken into custody on an arrest warrant stemming from an alleged pursuit of a motorcyclist by local law enforcement Aug. 4. Vattes is accused of failure to stop for a police officer who attempted to initiate a traffic stop for an alleged traffic violation in the City of Batavia. The motorcycle operator was pursued into the Town of Bathany where Vattes is alleged to have dumped the bike and fled into a cornfield on foot. A search of the area was unsuccessful in locating the suspect and the Sheriff's Office believes Vattes has been identified as the operator of the motorcycle.

Nichole M. McKerrow, 27, of 227 Ross St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, two counts of aggravated DWI (Leandra's Law, for allegedly driving drunk with children in the car), aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, and refusal to take breath test. McKerrow is accused of being involved in a minor motor-vehicle accident. When Sgt. John Peck and Officer Kevin DeFelice arrived on scene, McKerrow was allegedly found passed out in the car. Two children, ages 3 and 5, were also allegedly in the vehicle. McKerrow was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Garth P. Hubbard, 21, of Kibbe Wilcos Road, Pitcher, is charged with public lewdness. Hubbard is accused of urinating in public at Darien Lake Theme Park.

Bernadine Doris Peet, 40, of Town Pump Circle, Rochester, is charged with DWI and speeding. Peet was allegedly caught on radar driving 56 mph in a 35 mph zone in the Village of Corfu at 10:51 p.m., Monday, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.  Peet was jailed on $2,000 bail.

Jason Michael Wagner, 33, of Alden Road, Carnegie, Pa., is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and failure obey police officer. Wagner allegedly attempted to drive around Sheriff's patrols that were directing traffic at the intersection of Route 77 and Sumner Road, Darien, at 11:29 p.m., Tuesday. Wagner was released on $200 pre-arranged bail.

A possible electrical fire in a wall is reported at a residence at 4646 Conway Road in Bethany. The owner reports an outlet is hot and he smells smoke. No flames are showing. A Bethany firefighter on scene confirms nothing is showing. Alexander is also responding, non-emergency mode.

UPDATE 3:04 p.m.: They are going to scan the wall with an infrared camera.

UPDATE 3:12 p.m.: Alexander is returning, in service.

UPDATE 3:22 p.m.: The problem has been handled. Bethany is back in service.

A motorcyclist laid his bike down Monday afternoon to avoid what he thought would be a collision with a train at a railroad crossing on Molasses Hill Road, Bethany.

Richard T. Apps, 58, of Alexander, was riding north on Molasses Hill at 1:08 p.m., at a time when a Norfolk and Southern train was stopped on the east side of the railroad crossing.

As the train started to move west, according to Deputy Joseph Graff's report, it sounded its horn and the crossing gates were activated.

Apps reportedly said he saw the gates lowering and heard the horn. He said he was startled and applied his brakes.

"The motorcyclist laid the motorcycle down on its left side to avoid what he thought would be an anticipated collision," Graff wrote in his report.

Graff said Apps had a limited view of the railroad crossing due to a crest in the road and trees blocking the view to the east.

Apps suffered only minor injuries and did not require an ambulance transport to the hospital.

(Note: Rendering from Police Accident Report. Not to scale.)

A shed fire is reported at 10330 Bethany Center Road, East Bethany.

Bethany Fire Department with mutual aid from Town of Batavia responding.

UPDATE 10:41 a.m.: Homeowner appears to have put out the fire with a garden hose.

UPDATE 10:45 a.m.: Town of Batavia back in service.

UPDATE 11:05 a.m.: A Bethany tanker has gone back in service.

UPDATE 11:16 a.m.: Bethany is back in service.

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Two cars attempting to move aside for a southbound ambulance on Route 63 on Tuesday ended up bumping each other, sending one car off the roadway and into a sign post.

One person was slightly injured in the 10:58 a.m. accident.

Katelynn M. Hale, 19, of Stafford, was in the passing lane in the area of 5769 Ellicott St. Road, Bethany, when a Mercy EMS ambulance responding to an emergency call approached from behind.

Hale pulled to the right and collided with a car driven by Rita C. Vannorman, 25, of Arkport.

Vannorman was also attempting to pull over for the emergency vehicle. Her front right bumper hit Hale's back right bumper.

Hale complained of neck pain but did not require transport to a hospital.

No citations were issued.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Joseph Graff.

Valerie Ann Parker, 32, of Parker Road, Basom, is charged with assault, 3rd. Parker was reportedly involved in a verbal argument with another woman when she allegedly head-butted the woman, breaking her nose.

Shawn MIchael Twardowski, 29, of Vine Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and aggravated harassment, 2nd. Twardowski was taken into custody on a warrant out of Town of Oakfield Court and jailed on $2,500 bail.

Albert Andrew Ackerman, 47, of Silver Road, Bethany, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Ackerman is accused of grabbing, pushing and punching a woman during a domestic dispute. An order of protection was issued requiring Ackerman to stay away from the woman.

Jason Robert Sando, 45, of Walkers Corners Road, Byron, is charged with unlawful imprisonment, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Sando is accused of restricting a woman's movements and subjecting her to physical contact during a domestic dispute. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Tammy L. Price, 40, of 1526 Kingsley Road, Wyoming, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or higher, unsafe start and uninspected motor vehicle. Price was taken into custody by Le Roy PD after her vehicle was allegedly observed pulling out of a parking lot in an unsafe manner.

Joshua A. Mead, 27, of Downing Avenue, Buffalo, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and following too closely. Mead is accused driving drunk at the time he was involved in a motor-vehicle accident at 12:04 a.m. Sunday on Route 77 in Darien. Mead was taken into custody by Sgt. Greg Walker. Darien Fire Department assisted at the scene. (Initial Report)

Terrance A. Falk, 47, of West Main Street, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Falk is accused of dumping a plastic tote filled with paper over his wife's head during a domestic dispute.

Ashley Allen Wayne, 46, of Rose Circle, Hamlin, is accused of being a fugitive from justice and was cited for no seat belt. Wayne was stopped on Route 237, Byron, for allegedly not wearing a seat belt. During the stop, Deputy Chris Parker discovered Wayne was wanted on a warrant out of Pennsylvania for allegedly endangering another person. Wayne was jailed pending extradition.

Daniel Gordon Vanderwalle, 33, of Stuart Avenue, Newark, was arrested on a bench warrant. Vanderwalle is accused of not appearing on a charge of petit larceny in Town of Batavia Court.

There were several Memorial Day observances throughout Genesee County today.  Here are photos from the Genesee County Park, Williams Park, the VA Center, the Bergen parade, the Batavia parade and the St. Jerome's ceremony.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.