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A rollover accident with possible serious injuries is reported at the intersection of Akron and Marble roads, Pembroke. Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments are responding along with Mercy medic #4. Mutual aid from Akron Fire Department is also requested to the scene.

UPDATE 10:45 a.m.: One person is injured. An ambulance is on scene.

UPDATE 10:46 a.m.: Extrication is needed.

UPDATE 10:49 a.m.: A first responder at the scene says there are two vehicles involved and two tows will be needed. One is on its side down in a ditch; the female driver, who requires extrication, is conscious and alert.

UPDATE 10:53 a.m.: Law enforcement is on scene.

UPDATE 10:59 a.m.: Patient being transported to UMMC.

UPDATE 11 a.m.: Pembroke assignment back in service.

Michael A. Shetler is indicted for crimes which allegedly occured in the Town of Oakfield in November. In count one, he is accused of third-degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor. It is alleged that on Nov. 4 Shetler intentionally caused physical injury to another person. In count two, he is accused of fourth-degree criminal mischief, also a Class A misdemeanor, for allegedly intentionally damaging the property of another person -- a cell phone -- on Nov. 4. In count three the defendant is accused of the crime of endangering the welfare of a child, another Class A misdemeanor. It is alleged in count three that on Nov. 5 Shetler knowingly acted in a manner likely to be injurious to the physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than 17 years old. In count four, the defendant is accused of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, a Class A misdemeanor, for allegedly applying presuure on the throat or neck of a person "while in the kitchen near the door to the residence." In count five, Shetler is accused of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation on a second occasion on Nov. 5. In count six, the defendant is accused of unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor, for allegedly restraining a person on Nov. 5. In counts seven and eight, Shetler is accused of second-degree strangulation, a Class D violent felony. It is alleged in counts seven and eight, respectively, that on Nov. 7 Shetler intentionally impeded the normal breathing or blood circulation of another person by applying pressure to the throat or neck of the person, thereby causing stupor, loss of consciousness for any period of time, and/or any other physical injury or impairment while in the bedroom and again while in the bathroom of the residence. In count nine, he is accused of another count of unlawful imprisonment in the second degree for allegedly restraining a person on Nov. 7. In count 10, this man is indicted on another count of third-degree assault for allegedly intentionally injuring a person on Nov. 7. In count 11, he is accused of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation of a person on Nov. 11. In count 12, Shetler is accused of fourth-degree criminal mischief for a second time for allegedly intentionally damaging a person's cell phone on Nov. 11.

James J. Spivey is indicted for the crime of second-degree robbery, a Class C violent felony. It is alleged that on Oct. 25 in the City of Batavia that Spivey forcibly stole property when he was aided by another person who was present. In count two, he is accused of attempted second-degree assault. It is alleged in count two that in the commission, or attempted commission of a felony -- second-degree robbery -- that he or another participant attempted to cause physical injury to a person not involved in the commission of the crime. In count three the defendant is accused of second-degree attempted assault. It is alleged in count three that on Nov. 28 in the City of Batavia that with intent to injure another person, he did so by means of a dangerous instrument -- his footwear.

Lionel J. Anderson Jr. / AKA "PJ" is indicted for the crime of second-degree assault, a Class D violent felony. It is alleged that on Nov. 28 in the City of Batavia that the defendant intentionally caused physical injury to another person by means of a dangerous instrument -- "a street curb and/or a belt."

Robert C. Paris is indicted for the crime of driving while intoxicated as a Class E felony. It is alleged that on Oct. 7 Paris drove a 2000 Chevrolet on Route 63 in the Town of Batavia while in an intoxicated condition. In Special Information filed by the District Attorney, Paris is accused of having been convicted of DWI as a misdemeanor on April 27, 2016 in Batavia City Court and that conviction was within 10 years of the commission of the crime alleged in this indictment.

Robert R. Greiner III is indicted for the crime of driving while intoxicated as a misdemeanor. It is alleged that on June 3 in the Town of Darien that Greiner drove a 2015 Nissan while intoxicated. In count two he is indicted on DWI, per se, as a misdemeanor for allegedly having a BAC of .08 percent or more at the time. In count three the defendant is accused of the crime of unauthorized use of a vehicle in the third degree, a Class A misdemeanor. It is alleged in count three that on June 3 in the Town of Darien that Greiner drove the Nissan knowing that he did not have the owner's consent to do so.

John R. Clee is indicted for the crime of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first degree, a Class C felony. It is alleged that on July 15 in the Town of Alabama that he intended to defraud, deceive or injure another party by knowingly possessing a forged instrument -- a counterfeit $50 bill in U.S. currency.

These were the most read stories on The Batavian of 2017

• This weekend, Jason Lang lost his battle with drug addiction
• Pembroke math teacher dies in ATV accident
• Obituary: Brayden Robert Salvaterra
• Obituary: Brian D. West Jr.
• Woman from Batavia dies in rollover accident on Route 77, Alabama
• Brian West Jr., will be missed by Alexander community
• Blind School employee charged with endangering the welfare of children, by Billie Owens
• Child sex abuser found living with woman and her three kids, DA says, by Billie Owens
• Photos: Three serious injury accidents in Genesee County in one evening
• UPDATED: Teenager dies following rollover accident on West Bethany Road

A rollover accident, believed to be with no injuries, is reported in the area of 7784 Alleghany Road, Alabama.

Alabama Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Among the New Year's parties that Genesee County residents enjoyed tonight was one at Center Street Smoke House, complete with party favors, balloons, and live music.

Happy New Year!

(Photo from 1953 Golden Gloves fight "Franny Bond (left) vs. Edson Brown" from the archives of the New York Daily News.)

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

Batavia, NY --- Francis R. Bond, 86, a longtime owner, driver and trainer at Batavia Downs and Buffalo Raceway, died peacefully Tuesday morning, Dec. 26, at United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia.

“Franny” Bond was born in Buffalo on July 27, 1931. He became a Marine after leaving school and began boxing while in the service in the Armed Forces Title Fights.

He fought in the lightweight class and eventually worked into the featherweight division. The then 126-pound “fighting Marine” was described as “a game and lively scrapper who could take a hit and come back with a better one.”

Corporal Bond became one of the Marines' top boxers, winning a featherweight title in 1953 while often times fighting men from the professional ranks between service bouts and sometimes competing in higher weight classes.  

Bond continued to fight professionally in the Golden Gloves after he left the service under the name Bobby Bond and was trained by Angelo Dundee who also conditioned the likes of Muhammad Ali, George Foremen, Sugar Ray Leonard and Carmen Basilio. He competed in 15 professional fights all over the Eastern Seaboard including New York City at Madison Square Garden.

Bond first got involved in harness racing in 1966 and eventually got his trainer and driver’s licenses. He ran a small stable for the next 39 years, seeing most of his driving success in the 1970s (where he scored 135 of his 189 careers victories) and most of his training accomplishments (total of 108) between 1990 and 2000. Bond also occasionally catch-drove horses when the opportunity arose.

Bond’s last winning effort came on May 16, 1996 behind H F Harriet at Buffalo Raceway.

Bond was an entrepreneur and made a buck anyway he could. He owned a soft drink distributorship, ran the track kitchen at Batavia Downs and sold hay, straw and feed for many years while, and after, he was competing himself. He was known by everyone on the backstretch and was an affable individual his entire life.

No memorial information has been relayed. 

A minor-injury accident is blocking traffic at Lewiston Road and Veterans Memorial Drive. Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 4:28 p.m.: The accident occurred on Lewiston Road, west of Veterans Memorial Drive. A Jeep was westbound on Lewiston when it hit a patch of ice, spun around and struck a maroon minivan on its side. The collision forced the minivan off the roadway and into a tree. 

A snowmobile accident has been reported on a trail in the area of Summit Street Road, Pavilion, near the Le Roy town line.

A subject reportedly had an arm stuck in the machinery of the snowmobile. He is now freed and in a Pavilion fire chief vehicle with a possible broken arm.

The patient may be a child.

Pavilion fire on scene and Mercy EMS responding.

In the time the world has gone from rotary phones to smartphones, and the nation has gone from Nixon to Trump, and Adam-12 and Kojak on network TV to viewers streaming Fargo and True Detective, Gordon Dibble has lived out a career in law enforcement.

Not much has changed in 43 years, though.

Dibble said the thrill for cops is still in catching the bad guys.

"Well, you know, the best part about it, and it sounds funny, but we all get in this job to catch the bad guys," Dibble said during his retirement party Friday at the Sheriff's Office. "That's really what we're here for. So, so many times you know who's done the crime. You can't prove it. You can't get them. And that's the most frustrating part.

"But when you're actually involved in catching one of them, physically catching them, like you chase them and you know it is somebody who you know did something wrong, and you know you know, and you get to chase them and maybe physically catch them, I think that was one of the more rewarding things that a guy (in law enforcement) will do."

Dibble feels fortunate to spent his entire career with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

He was hired Jan. 6, 1973, by then-Sheriff Roy Wullich, who was six days into his new job, making Dibble his first hire. Dibble, who spent four years in Chicago going to college and getting a degree in corrections, was assigned -- like all new deputies then -- to the jail. After a year, he was transferred to road patrol. After five years on the road, he became the juvenile officer. Then, in 1996, he was put in charge of road patrol with the title of chief deputy.

For a lot of people who work in law enforcement, they call it a career after 21 years. That's how long Dibble headed up road patrol after already putting 22 years in the Sheriff's Office.

"I think that people in this line of work," Dibble said, "they're either the 20-and-out type of people and they're going to maybe go do something different or you're here, you know it, and maybe hopefully become the sheriff or the undersheriff or whatever. You know I think that those are pretty common tracks.

"I was lucky," Dibble added. "I mean, I got different things to do and not everybody gets to do that. There are a lot of great people here that don't get those opportunities because it's just a small department."

Dibble said he was also lucky to work in the kind of job where you never know what your workday is going to be like when you show up at the office. Every day is different and unpredictable. That made 43 years go by fast.

"I know when I worked in factories that clock never moved on a wall," Dibble said. "But this job, you know, days went by, weeks, and months went by, years went by like nothing," repeating with emphasis, "like nothing."

During his farewell speech, Dibble said he felt lucky to work with a lot of good people, not just in the Sheriff's Office, but with Batavia PD, Le Roy PD, State Police, the County Legislature, and other agencies that interact with local law enforcement, and even the local media.

"That's why small towns are great," Dibble said. "Everybody knows everybody and we all want to get the job done."

At the end of our interview, asked if there was anything else he wanted to add, Dibble came back to the theme that he shared during the interview and his farewell speech, how lucky he has been.

"I'm very lucky that I've worked for a great department," he said before taking a long pause, " ... with some really good people. Like I said, I'm a lucky guy. That's all."

Jail Superintendent William Zipfel, Undersheriff Gregory Walker, retired Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble, Sheriff William Sheron, Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster.

The incoming chief deputy of road patrol, Joseph Graff, and Gordan Dibble have fun changing name plates on Dibble's old office.

In what may be the last regular season meeting between Batavia and Notre Dame in boys basketball, the Blue Devils came out on top 68-45 to win The Peter Arras Memorial Basketball Tournament.

The tournament has commonly been known as the Lions Tournament, but the Lions Club of Batavia renamed it this year in memory of Pete Arras, a longtime Lions Club member and founder of the tournament.

The tournament is usually the one meeting each year between Batavia and Notre Dame, but next year, the tournament format will change to include eight teams, four each in Class A and B, and four teams in Class C and D, which is why Batavia and Notre Dame aren't likely to play each other again.

Last night, Mason McFollins scored 17 points, hitting five three-point shots. He was named tournament MVP. Steve Gilebarto and Antwan Odom scored 14 apiece.

For Notre Dame, Ryan Moffet scored 11 points and Keith Szczepanski scored eight.

Besides McFollins, the all-tournament team was Liam Ward, Albion, Colin O'Hallohan, Elba, Antwan Odem and Steve Gilebarto, Batavia, and Ryan Moffet, Notre Dame.

A new feature of the tournament is a banner acknowledging all of the teams. The winning team signs the banner and will be able to display it in the school. Above, Nancy Arras, wife of Pete, signs the banner.

To purchase prints, click here.

On Friday nights, the lights are on for outdoor skating at DeWitt Recreation Area, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Batavia.

This coming Friday, Kiwanis members will be serving hot cocoa from Tim Hortons to skaters who show up between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Above, Kiwanis member Peter Guppenberger.

An odor of fuel is reported in the building of the Flying J travel plaza in Pembroke.

The building was supposed to be evacuated, but a chief on scene reports the building is not evacuated.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments responding.

UPDATE 7:41 a.m.: Newstead fire requested to the scene to help with roof access.

UPDATE 7:41 a.m.: Code enforcement also requested to the scene. Building is evacuated.

UPDATE 7:50 a.m.: Units on the road can continue response, all others can remain in quarters.

UPDATE 7:53 a.m.: A chief reports no issues found. No sign of fire. He suspects diesel fuel getting sucked in by vents was the cause.

A deal to sell property on Ellicott Street to Savarino Companies for development of Ellicott Station, which includes a restaurant, office space, and apartments, was finalized in Buffalo today.

Pier Cipollone, president of the Batavia Development Corporation, and Julie Pacatte, economic development coordinator for the BDC, were authorized earlier this week by the BDC board to finalize the property transfer.

Technically, the BDC sold Ellicott Station LLC to Ellicott Station Development LLC/Savarino Companies. Ellicott Station LLC, not the BDC or the City, was the owner of the real estate.  

The sale needed to close by Jan. 31 because of changes in the tax law would have meant loss of a $200,000 tax credit for the new owners.

Savarino is still working with 16 different entities to finalize financing for the development and has some environmental investigations yet to complete. Officials expect financing to close by mid-February.

The Buffalo-based firm is making a direct investment of about $3.5 million and will borrow approximately another $10 million or more, and local, state, and federal programs will cover another $5 million or so of the more than $18 million in project expenses.

Some of the financing is coming through the New Market Tax Credit program, which is one factor in why the financing is complicated (see prior story).

Resurgence Brewery will be the anchor tenant for the development and BDC officials expect a 2018 opening for the new restaurant.

The approximate 64,000-square-foot development will include office space and a five-story apartment complex with 51 units.

The location is the former buildings of Santy's Tire Sales and Soccio & Della Penna Construction.

The process of compiling the final list of the City of Batavia’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative award projects enters another phase next week when the 20-member Local Planning Committee reconvenes.

“We’re at a point where outlines (of prospective projects) will be given to the LPC, evaluation of the criteria will take place and summaries of project submissions will be reviewed,” said Steve Hyde, Genesee County Economic Development Center president and co-chair of the committee.

Hyde is serving as co-chair of the LPC along with Eugene Jankowski, City Council president, and Maria Figurele, executive director of CDC of Rochester,

The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at City Centre Council Chambers.

The LPC will consider projects submitted by developers as part of the $10 million DRI award that was granted to Batavia by New York State Department of State in coordination with the New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal.

Jankowski said the future of the City Centre Mall has entered into the discussions, but he considers that to be “separate and on its own track” due to a pending agreement between the City and the Mall Merchants Association.

“What we’re primarily looking for are more private projects which will go on the tax rolls,” Jankowski said.

Hyde said the mall is “a big part of the conversation, but not the only thing.”

“It’s an important one, but there is a mix of projects,” he added.

Hyde said he expects that the LPC will meet again before the end of January for a “final review” and that the “vetted list will become the crux” of recommendations that will be forwarded to the State Department.

“We make recommendations, but ultimately, the state makes the decisions,” he said, adding that final submissions are due in March.

Jankowski urged the public to take in next week’s discussion, and then share their thoughts with the LPC members afterwards.

“We need the public to get involved – both with the DRI and with the city manager search process,” he said. “There are 15,000 people here and I’m only hearing from about five or six who claim they represent the people. This is your money; we need your input.”

Members of the LPC are as follows:

-- James Sunser, Ed.D., Genesee Community College president;
-- Pier Cipollone, Batavia Development Corporation president;
-- Craig Yunker, managing member, CY Farms LLC;
-- Tammy Hathaway, president, Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council;
-- Patrick Burk, Batavia City School Board president;
-- Erik Fix, United Way of Genesee County executive director;
-- Marianne Clattenburg, Genesee County legislator;
-- Tom Turnbull, Genesee County Chamber of Commerce president;
-- John McKenna, president and CEO, Tompkins Bank of Castile;
-- Susie Ott, Commercial Insurance Team Leader, Lawley Insurance;
 -- Julia Garver, Genesee YMCA director;
-- John Riter, resident director, Merrill Lynch;
-- Peter Casey, attorney, Del Plato Casey Law Firm;
-- Matt Gray, Eli Fish Brewing Company restaurant entrepreneur;
-- Nathan Varlan, executive director, Batavia Housing Authority;
-- Paul Battaglia, Genesee County Economic Development Center chair;
-- Mary Valle, owner, Valle Jewelers;
-- Rev. Marty Macdonald, City Church;
-- John Bookmiller, owner, Java Farm Supply;
-- Dan Ireland, president, United Memorial Medical Center.

Press release:

There’s so much talk these days about how polarized we have become as a nation. People digging in and unable to hear what others are saying. Trying to turn differences of opinions into win – lose arguments.

We also may feel so resentful of people who disagree with us that we want to dominate or eliminate them. People are hurt, and we walk away shaking our heads, wondering why. But what if there was another way?

We would like to invite you to an event to talk about some of our struggles. We will be holding a community event called “Can We Talk?" on Thursday, Jan. 18^th, 7 p.m. at the YWCA, 301 North St. in Batavia.

We will be joined by Professor Barry Gan, director of the Center for Nonviolence at St. Bonaventure University, along with Gary Pudup, Upstate coordinator of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, and Eugene Jankowski, Batavia City Council president and gun rights advocate.

Professor Gan will help us experience how we can talk about issues of disagreement and work to foster understanding and common solutions in our daily interaction with others.

We encourage everyone to bring friends and family, and participate in this opportunity to make your world a more peaceful place.

Event Planning Committee:

Reverend Roula Alkhouri, Ph.D., YWCA Board Member

Reverend James Morasco, Morganville United Church of Christ

Joanne Beck, Batavia YWCA

Stating that “we’re not willing to sign it in its present form,” Batavia Town Supervisor Gregory Post said this morning that the Batavia Town Board did not take any action in connection with an amended and restated water agreement with Genesee County.

The board met on Thursday afternoon but decided not to sign off on the document, a 40-year agreement for water supply between the county and the town.

Post would not say what aspects of the agreement were deemed unacceptable.

“It is a complex issue; a work in progress,” he said.

County Manager Jay Gsell also would not elaborate, saying only that county legislators will discuss the situation next week and “continue our conversation with the Town of Batavia.”

As reported Wednesday on The Batavian, amendments to the water agreement focus on making sure municipalities are aware there is no unlimited supply of water and giving the county the flexibility it needs to increase the surcharge that municipalities pay as the demand for water increases.

Per County Attorney Kevin Earl, the restated agreement includes a provision that the county has to give 120 days prior notice to towns and villages of a price increase and, as part of the master plan, explain why an increase is warranted.

Phone calls to Earl and Batavia Town Attorney Andrew Meier were not returned as of the posting of this story.

Investigators are unsure why a 2004 Acura TSX driven by Tracy B. Carpenter, 54, of Oakfield, crossed the center line on Route 33 in Stafford just before 12:30 p.m. today and struck a westbound semi-truck head on.

Carpenter was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Donald Coleman.

The weather was not a factor, according to the Sheriff's Office investigators. The road was dry and the sky was clear.

The accident closed Route 33 between Prole Road and Caswell Road for the entire afternoon. Stafford fire is just now clearing the scene. The Department of Environmental Conservation's spill management crew is still working to clean up a fuel spill. National Grid was on scene to replace a utility pole that was broken when the semi-truck struck it.

The 2007 Western Star was driven by Fay B. Warner, 67, of Geneseo. Warner was not injured in the accident.

The crash is being investigated by deputies Jenna Ferrando, Joseph Loftus, Chris Erion, and the Crash Reconstruction Unit. 

Stafford fire responded along with Byron fire, South Byron fire, and Bergen fire to assist at the scene and block roads. Mercy EMS also responded. State Police also assisted at the scene.

(Initial Report)

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman and his staff, including new First Assistant District Attorney Melissa Cianfrini, took their oaths of office today at the County Courthouse.

Submitted photo: Lawrence Friedman, Robert Zickl, County Clerk Michael Cianfrini, Melissa Cianfrini, Kevin Finnell, and Shirley Gorman.

An animal control officer is responding to check the welfare of two horses corraled off Main Road in Stafford that appear to be malnourished, according to a caller to dispatch.

The caller could not provide the exact address of the property but told a dispatcher it is in the area of Nilesville Road, on the north side of Main Road, and that those are the only horses in that vicinity.

A head-on collision between a semi-truck and a car is reported on Route 33 in Stafford. One person is reportedly "unresponsive." Mercy medics and Stafford fire are responding.

UPDATE 12:32 p.m.: The accident is in the area of 5882 Clinton Street Road (Route 33).

UPDATE 12:35 p.m.: There is a lot of debris in the roadway. The roadway is blocked. Bergen Fire Department is called. Extrication equipment will be needed.

UPDATE 12:38: Stafford command also requests Byron and South Byron fire departments to the scene, which is between Mill Road and Westbrook Morganville Road. Mercy Flight #7 is called in; a 15-minute ETA. "We need the extrication as soon as possible for this one patient," says a first responder.

UPDATE 12:41 p.m.: The extrication equipment is en route. Fire police are going to close the roadway near the scene.

UPDATE 12:48 p.m.: National Grid is called because the semi struck a utility pole, which is still standing but "it's damaged and it's making some noise."

UPDATE 12:56 p.m.: Stafford commands says "Just be aware this (roadway) is going to be shut down for awhile."

UPDATE 1:07 p.m.: National Grid is on scene.

UPDATE 2:21 p.m.: Genesee County Undersheriff Gregory Walker confirmed this was a fatal accident. The driver and sole occupant of an eastbound sedan was killed, Walker said, after the vehicle crossed the center line and collided head on with a westbound tractor-trailer hauling food products. The trucker was not injured. "He tried to avoid (the crash)," Walker said. "He saw it coming over the center line and tried to avoid it. He couldn't avoid it." The trucker swerved into a ditch yet there was still a head-on collision. The accident reconstruction/crash management team is taking measurements at the scene and investigating. National Grid also has to replace the broken utility pole before the roadway can be reopened. Next of kin notifications are being made and the victim's information will be released afterward. Walker said the roads are dry now and were at the time the accident occured, so icy road conditions were not a factor. "We're not sure of the reason," that the accident happened, Walker said.