Le Roy

Two former Le Roy residents are facing possible jail sentences of up to six months in jail after entering guilty pleas today on charges related to a scuffle with law enforcement June 17, 2012.

While Elaina Mead and Donald Mead entered guilty pleas, they did not admit to any wrongdoing under terms of what's known as an Alford Plea.

The plea is intended as an admission that they would likely be convicted by a jury based on the available evidence without saying they did the actual deeds alleged under the charge.

Elaina Mead is accused of holding a knife to the chest of a Sheriff's deputy and Donald Mead is accused hitting the deputy at least six times with a heavy wooden door.

Elaina entered a guilty plea to a charge of menacing a police officer and Donald entered a guilty plea to a charge of attempted assault.

Both will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m., Dec. 4.

The alleged crimes occurred after Deputy Matthew Butler arrived at their home late that Father's Day to interview Michael Mead about an alleged violation of a court order. When he attempted to place Michael under arrest, Donald allegedly started hitting him with the door. The melee spilled into the yard and Elaina alleged exited the house with a kitchen knife. 

Le Roy Police Officer Emily Clark reportedly knocked the knife away and suffered a minor cut on her hand as a result.

Elaina initially entered a guilty plea in January but then later withdrew and asked for a new attorney. Today was the plea cutoff date imposed by Judge Robert C. Noonan for the Meads to either accept a plea deal or take the case to trial.

A 16-year-old Le Roy resident is accused of taking a 2000 Dodge Stratus on a joy ride overnight and when he allegedly failed to put it in park when he fled the car, the car rolled into a Sheriff's patrol vehicle.

Charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and unlicensed operation is Daniel Alden Faville, of West Main Street, Le Roy.

Faville was allegedly operating the car on Route 5 in the village at 3 a.m.

He reportedly pulled the vehicle onto Craigie Street, where he fled from the car on foot. The car was reportedly not put in park and it rolled into a deputy's vehicle.

Faville was reportedly found later located at his residence where he was taken into custody.

The incident was handled by deputies Frank Bordonaro and Howard Carlson and Officer Dent of Le Roy PD.

Faville was also cited for alleged no headlights, no taillights, unattended motor vehicle and inadequate exhaust.

A working house fire is reported at 6908 East Bethany - Le Roy Road. Le Roy and Pavilion fire departments are responding. Stafford is asked to stand by in their hall. Town of Batavia fire is called to shut down traffic at Route 63 and East Bethany - Le Roy Road.

UPDATE 8:08 p.m.: Stafford is called to the scene.

UPDATE 8:18 p.m.: After calling for assistance from York, Caledonia and Bergen, with a standby from Mumford, command tells responders on the road to back it down. The fire appears to be contained to a corner of the structure. They have accessed the attic and are ventilating it.

UPDATE 8:23 p.m.: There is residual heat but no active fire. York and Caledonia are told to go back in service. Bergen can continue to the scene non-emergency.

UPDATE 9 p.m.: Le Roy and Pavilion are back in service along with other responders. The fire is out. The roads are reopened.

UPDATE (by Howard): A quick response by volunteer firefighters helped contain the fire to the southeast corner of the house. The cause is undetermined at this time. A resident was fighting the fire with a garden hose when Le Roy firefighters arrived on scene. There was some smoke extension into the attic. The property is owned by Peter Paliani.

A truck fire is reported on the westbound I-490 near mile marker 2.8. Le Roy Fire Department is responding. The occupants are out of the vehicle.

UPDATE 3:08 p.m.: The scene is close to a small body of water near that mile marker, which is actually in Bergen's fire district. Le Roy is put back in service and Bergen has command. A witness indicated the fire was in the back of a pickup and that the occupants "were seen running from the scene." A Sheriff's deputy is also responding.

UPDATE 3:18 p.m.: Bergen command reports the truck has a blown transmission and that the fire department is not needed. The assignment is back in service.

Coming into last night's game, Hornell was ranked #2 in Section V football and Le Roy was ranked #3 by the New York Sports Writers Association.

That's going to change.

The 68-14 final score of the season's opening game may not tell us yet how much Hornell has slipped since last season, when its 51-game winning streak was snapped by Hoosick Falls in the state championship game, but the near flawless play of the Oatkan Knights gives us a glimpse of just how special this team might be.

"It was a great performance," said Head Coach Brian Moran. "Obviously, it's only week one so we've got to practice and get better."

Hornell came into the game with only two returning starters on offense, but 21 players on the squad and a history of putting together good teams. A coaches' poll ranked Hornell #1 among the smaller schools in Section V.

"Hornell is a great football program," Moran said. "When you play them, you’ve got to get ready and I thought our kids mentally came prepared to play today."

Expectations were high for a battle of two stellar programs under the Friday Night Lights of the Hartwood Park field. And when Hornell stopped the Black Knights of the Oatka on the game's first drive, who would have thought differently?

As it turned out, that was the only Le Roy possession on the night that didn't result in a touchdown.

By the end of the first quarter, Hornell's fate seemed sealed. Unable to stop the Knights on defense, and stymied on offense, the Red Raiders were down 21-0 and would amass only 21 yards of offense in the first half.

For the game, Le Roy would out gain Hornell 459 yards to 137.

Peter Privitera carried the ball across the goal line twice on his way to a 110-yard game on 18 carries. QB Mike McMullen, a junior and second-year starter, was 6 of 10 passing for 174 yards and three TDs.

"I thought Mike threw very well," Moran said.

Anthony Paladino, back with the Knights after a sojourn with Notre Dame, recorded four solo tackles, forced two fumbles and carried the ball 11 yards on a goal line push in the second quarter.

It was a thrill, Paladino said, to make a contribution in a game that makes a statement about the kind of team Le Roy is this season.

"We came out to show everyone that we’re here to play this year and we’re ready to take on anyone," Paladino said.

The lopsided victory was a measure of redemption for Le Roy's players after last year's loss to the Red Raiders 21-7 in the Section V Class C championship game.

It was a great feeling to win a big game against a tough team the first time out for the season, Privitera said.

"We were fired up," Privitera said. "We had a whole lot of energy going. Since day one we’ve been ready for this game. Buckle it up. Smashmouth football. It’s Le Roy. That’s how we play."

While Moran understands some of his players saw Friday night's game as a chance to turn the tables on Hornell, he views the game across the arc of Le Roy vs. Hornell football history -- two top-notch programs clashing on the gridiron.

"Every year's different," Moran said. "You can't really talk about from one year to the next. I kind of just look at playing a great football program in Hornell and that was the number one thing. I know in the back of some kids' minds, that (redemption) was there, to be honest with you. They had a tough loss to a good football team last year. I thought they did the things in the off season in the weight room to get themselves ready and focused. Tonight, I thought it showed."

With the game well in hand in the fourth quarter, Moran pulled many of his starters and gave his second string a chance to get some snaps.

A strong bench helps win championships and the non-starters came up big against Hornell.

Jake Henry had his first carries on varsity and gained 84 yards and scored a touchdown.

Brian Hodges took over at QB and kept the offense moving as Le Roy scored on runs by Henry and Nick Egeling.

Egeling, Henry and Chandler Winling all impressed Moran, he said, both with their second half play and their first half on defense.

"I thought our second group played very," Moran said. "We focused on that this week. We didn’t know we would get to our second group today, but they played very well and I’m impressed with that."

The Knights big offensive and defensive lines had a lot to do with Le Roy being able to dominate the way they did, Moran said.

"Obviously, you’re only as good as those two areas," Moran said. "The offensive line especially. I thought today they got off the ball very well. I thought they played together very well as a unit."

The Oatkan Knights have a lot of weapons to throw at even a good team.

"It makes it difficult on a defense when you’ve got John Pierce on one side and Ryan McQuillen on the other," Moran said. "Those guys can obviously score from anywhere on the field. You really have to think about them and that frees us up to do some things offensively."

Additional stats for the game: Tom Kelso carried the ball eight times for 43 yards and two TDs. He also had one catch for 16 yards. Pierce had two receptions for 77 yards and two TDs. McQuillen had two receptions for 51 yards and one TD.

On defense, Kody Lampkin had three tackles, two for losses and one sack and one fumble recovery. Steve Cappotelli had five tackles. Wingling had six tackles. Kelso, three tackles and Egeling had three tackles. Henry had seven tackles.

Paladino and Henry pull down Hornell's Jason Scialpa.

Privitera finds yet another big hole.

Hornell's Jake Henby brought down on a kickoff return.

Head Coach Brian Moran.

Le Roy's Marching Band always puts on a theatrical performance at halftime.

QB Mike McMullen.

Henry with another big run in the fourth quarter.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Dustin C. Nicometo is indicted on a count of burglary, 3rd, and Michael A. Nicometo is indicted on two counts of burglary, 3rd, and one count of grand larceny, 3rd. Together, they are indicted on another count of burglary, 3rd, and two counts of grand larceny, 3rd. The defendants are accused of entering business properties in Le Roy and stealing electrical wiring and components.

Matthew J. Cronin is indicted on a felony count of DWI and felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Cronin is accused of driving drunk March 18 on Route 5 in the Town of Batavia. He is accused of having a prior DWI conviction in 2010 in West Seneca.

Le Roy football is built around toughness, but even the man who has toughened up a lot of boys for 25 years had trouble fighting back a tear or two after being honored by his fellow coaches and team for all those years of dedication.

Very successful years.

Head Coach Brian Moran is closing in on 200 wins and would love to see his team snag its 14th sectional title this season under his guidance.

"It's like anything else, it's not my job, it's my life," Moran said after being presented with a medallion commemorating his 25th anniversary. "I've been blessed. I've been blessed to be here. I've been blessed to part of this community, and obviously, they take their football here very seriously. They've been playing it since 1897, so I'm just happy to be a part of it. Every day, it's really just enjoyable for me."

Tomorrow, the Oatkan Knights get a chance to prove what they're made of when they face Hornell, the team that vanquished Le Roy in last season's Section V title game.

With several key players from that 8-2 team returning this season, the Knights promise to be a hard team to beat. Tomorrow, Moran said, will tell us a lot.

"Tomorrow is going to be a great indicator of where we are," Moran said. "Obviously, we're playing a great football team with a great tradition. So tomorrow, let's find out where we are. I think we're prepared and the kids have worked hard."

Game time is 7:30 p.m., and if you love the whole "Friday Night Lights" aura, Hartwood Park will be the place to be.

There is apparently water spraying around the Burger King in Le Roy after the fire sprinkler system kicked on.

Le Roy Fire is being dispatched.

UPDATE 9:48 p.m.: A dispatcher tells a Le Roy police officer, "the place is flooded."

UPDATE 9:52 p.m.: Firefighters on scene. The water's been shut off. They will use thermal cameras to check things out.

A 53-year-old Darien resident is accused of making a sexual advance two weeks ago toward a 14-year-old boy while at the Le Roy Community Pool.

Robert F. Williams, of 10933 Townline Road, Lot 18, Darien, is charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

Williams is accused of offering the boy oral sex while at the pool on Aug. 21.

Following arraignment, Williams was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Ricky A. Leach Jr., 33, and Jessica M. Ring, 28, both of 1605 Green Circle, Goodletsville, Tenn., are charged with criminal possession of the precursors for methamphetamine and making methamphetamine. State Police responded to the wooded area near Target after receiving a report of suspicious activity. Leach and Ring were allegedly caught in the act of making meth. Both were jailed on $10,000 bail each.

Kiernan William Kinney, 24, of Woodstock Gardens, Batavia, is charged with sexual abuse, 1st. Kinney is accused of subjecting a 21-year-old woman to forced sexual contact.

Juan A. Roman, 36, of 17 Elm St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Roman is accused of head butting another person during an alleged incident at 2 p.m. Wednesday on Walnut Street, Batavia.

Michael D. Snyder, 41, of 13 1/2 Union St., Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Also charged, Edward T. Lette Jr., 43, of 3827 W. Main St., Batavia. Snyder and Lette are accused of stealing two 30-packs of beer from Tops. The suspects reportedly fled the store on bicycles and were apprehended minutes later by state troopers and Batavia PD officers.

Rachell Onie Soggs, 25, of West Main Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Soggs is accused of stealing $28.74 in merchandise from Walmart on Aug. 17. Soggs reportedly left the store before she could be located by authorities. Soggs was also arrested on charges of falsifying business records and criminal possession of stolen property. Soggs allegedly tried to sell stolen property at a local business.

Harold Laverne Howard, 41, of Alleghany Road, Basom, is charged with DWI, refusal to take breath test, speeding (73 mph in a 45 mph zone), failure to stop for stop sign and no plate lamp. Howard was stopped at 2:37 a.m. on Route 77, Basom, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Latoya D. Jackson, 27, of 209 Liberty St., Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon with intent to use a weapon and harassment, 2nd. These are additional charges stemming from an alleged incident Aug. 19 in which Jackson allegedly cut two people with a knife.

Six-year-old Emily Lokken of Le Roy has spent a lot of time in hospitals over the course of her young life. She's had 12 major surgeries at Golisano Children's Hospital, at Strong and at Boston Children's Hospital. She is currently awaiting a kidney transplant.

With all of that time in children's hospitals, Emily has made friends with other children being treated in the hospitals. Those children often have cancer.

Emily's mother Sarah said one evening about a year ago, Emily said she wanted to grow her hair long.

"One night sitting in her hospital room Emily out of the clear blue said, 'Mom you know what?,'" Sarah recalled. "I said, 'No, Emily, what?' She responded, 'I know that I have broken kidneys and a lot of my friends have broken blood (meaning in her world cancer) and they have to take medicine and lose their hair. I have hair and my medicine does not make it fall out. So I want to grow mine long like Rapunzel and give them some of mine. This way they can wear happy hair bows and being sick won't be so bad.' "

Yesterday, a year after she started growing her hair like Rapunzel, she had it cut so her locks could be donated to another little girl who might like bows in her hair.

Information and photos submitted by Sarah Lokken.

Robert Hinett apparently picked the wrong time and the wrong place for some flirting Friday night in Le Roy.

A passing police officer reports that at 11:30 p.m. he observed Hinett inside a convenience store on Lake Street staggering around and then go behind the counter toward the female clerk.

The officer entered the store and the clerk informed him that the man in the store seemed to be intoxicated and had tried to kiss her even as she tried to thwart his advances.

Upon further investigation, the officer determined that that 25-year-old resident of Montclair Avenue, Batavia, allegedly drove to Le Roy intoxicated.

Hinett was charged with one count of felony drunken driving and refusal to take a breath test. He was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Press release:

The Le Roy Democratic Committee held its nominating caucus on Monday Aug. 26 at the Le Roy Town Hall for the Nov. 5 general election.

The Party is proud to announce a diverse and dynamic ticket leading into the November elections.

Michael Welsh is the Party's choice for Le Roy Town Justice. Mike is married to Gail Rudgers and is a local attorney and community activist, who most recently has devoted his time and talent to the Le Roy Community Pool. He served the people of Le Roy  for 21 years on the Genesee County Legislature.

Incumbent Town Councilman Tom Stella was nominated for his second full term. Tom has served the community well on the board for six years. In addition to being the past Deputy Town Supervisor, he serves as the liaison for the Fire Commission and the liaison for the Farmland Protection Commission. He is married to wife, Deborah, and is a proud father and grandfather.

The caucus also nominated newcomer Kelly Carlie who is running for the second Town Board seat. Kelly, married to George and mother of three grown children with one grandchild and another on the way, is employed as a counselor at Elba Central School. She is also a small business owner and has served on the Holy Family School Board, was a former 4-H Leader and former Girl Scout leader.

Earlier in the summer Earl Funderburk garnered the Democratic endorsement for County Legislature through the petition process.

Peter McQuillen can keep his barn.

That's the upshot of a decision by the Town of Le Roy Zoning Appeals Board, which met Tuesday night to consider whether construction of the barn violated the Village of Le Roy building code.

The question was rendered moot by McQuillen's decision this week to pull a permit to build a single-family residence on his 13-acre lot off Robbins Road.

"I was prepared to debate the interpretation of the code regarding accessory structures," McQuillen said. "I was also prepared to show precedent from around town of different areas were accessory structures were allowed ... but my wife and I have been thinking about this for a better part of a year ... This was something we were going to do in the future, but we decided a few days ago to go ahead now, so I pulled an application for a permit to start building a house."

Village code says you can't build an accessory structure prior to building a primary structure.

McQuillen was initially granted a permit in July to build the barn even though he did not request a permit to build a house.

That permit, all officials agree, was issued in error. A stop-work order was issued, but McQuillen could keep building while the stop-work order was appealed.

Since McQuillen has now filed the necessary paperwork to build a house, the board found that the barn is no longer out of compliance with the code.

There's nothing in the code, said Dan Lang, who is helping with Le Roy code enforcement issues while training a new code enforcement officer, that requires construction of the primary structure start before an accessory structure.

"The only issue is that there needs to be a single-family home with a driveway from Robbins Road to the accessory structure," Lang said. "If there is, the lot is in 100-percent compliance.

The barn in question sits just feet behind a house in Presidential Acres owned by Town of Le Roy Supervisor Steve Barbeau.

Barbeau and some of his neighbors believe McQuillen decided to build the barn out of spite because Barbeau, along with his neighbor, David Boyce, opposed a patio-home development McQuillen wanted to build on his 13 acres.

Barbeau and Boyce filed a lawsuit that eventually led to McQuillen abandoning the project.

The feuding between McQuillen and Barbeau came to a head earlier this month when a tree -- Barbeau said it's the third such tree -- fell from McQuillen's property onto Barbeau's property. Words were exchanged and Barbeau allegedly pushed McQuillen down and was subsequently arrested on a harassment, 2nd, charge.

Boyce and two neighbors filed an appeal of the building permit for the barn and Attorney Alan Knauf spoke at Tuesday's meeting, even though the appeal wasn't officially considered.

"The question here is there was a permit issued in July and was it a valid permit?" Knauf said. "It was not."

Knauf said the other issue with the barn is that he believes it's a commercial structure, and therefore out of compliance with the zoning of the neighborhood. Citing an article in The Batavian, Knauf said McQuillen gave a description of his planned use for the barn that makes it a commercial structure.

McQuillen said he was misquoted.

"It is in no way a commercial structure," McQuillen said. "I live on Robbins Road. I have a barn. This is a similar situation. I will have a home and a barn on the parcel that I bought. I don't understand why I'm being grilled under such a microscope here when I'm the applicant. I don't think I'm doing anything other than apply for a permit and now I've had lawyers coming after me for 18 months."

Besides the lawsuit filed by Barbeau and Boyce, McQuillen is being sued by Carol Durney, the woman who sold McQuillen the 13-acre parcel for $13,000.

Durney claims McQuillen misrepresented some aspects of the property to convince her to lower the price, and he didn't reveal his intention to subdivide the property.

Between the lawsuits and the lost money on engineering studies for the subdivision, McQuillen said he is out tens of thousands of dollars.

Ask how much, and McQuillan said, "Honestly, I've never sat down to add it up. It would be too depressing."

NOTE: This story would have been published this morning, but just as I was finishing writing it, my computer ate it. At that point, I had to leave to cover something so I couldn't rewrite it then. I've been running around all day since then (hence no posts until now, but they're coming ... )

A tree is on fire at Frost Ridge Campground, 8101 Conlon Road, Le Roy.

Le Roy fire is responding.

Info and photos submitted by Phil Mangefrida.

We had beautiful weather for the debut of the Andrea Mangefrida Memorial Basket Raffle.

We had 140 people show up for golf and dinner or just dinner, with 21 foursomes, not to mention people who just walked in, bought raffle tickets and left. Here are some pictures.

The dancers are from Clann Na Cara School of Irish Dance in Buffalo.

They are, from left: Kelly Patterson, Monica Panzer, Molly Mangefrida, Xavier Patrick Dzielski, and Sarah Ziarniak

The SkyDivers are from Western, NY Skydivers.

Money raised from this event went to the Andrea Mangefrida Memorial Fund at Stepping Stones Learning Center in Irondequoit.

A big thank you to everyone who donated their time, effort, and baskets for this event.

They call it Jam at the Ridge and on Saturday night, the two acts topping the bill fulfilled the promise of that title, cranking out hot tunes and kicking up some heels.

The headliner was Jerrod Neimann, who found a crowd ready to rock after The Farm put on a show that was as much party as concert.

And there was a lot to celebrate for The Farm, with Krista Marie, a native of Alexander, playing her first big-time show in Genesee County.

The amphitheater was packed with friends and family -- so many who lined up for autographs and pictures after the set that security guards were trying to hurry the line along before Niemann took the stage.

Previously: Hometown girl brings big time act to Frost Ridge

A car versus motorcycle accident is reported at 7850 E. Main Road in Le Roy, unknown injuries. Le Roy fire and ambulance are responding along with mutual aid from Mercy medics. The location is between Circular Hill and Asbury roads.

UPDATE 2:05 p.m.: Two patients, both are up and walking around. An ambulance from Caledonia is started just in case it's needed.

UPDATE 2:14 p.m.: Byron Fire Police are requested for traffic control at Route 5 and Asbury Road.

UPDATE 2:24 p.m.: The patients are sign-offs.

UPDATE 2:34 p.m.: Le Roy command has requested Caledonia's rig back to the scene because the motorcyclist is now complaining of pain.