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A two-vehicle accident, possibly a head-on collision, is reported at Richmond Avenue and Oak Street. Injuries are reported and it is blocking traffic. City police, Mercy medics and firefighters are on scene.

UPDATE 11:26 a.m.: Richmond Avenue is shut down "up to North Lyon Street from Oak Street."

UPDATE 11:35 a.m.: This was a T-bone accident. One driver is not injured; the other complained of head and neck pain and was transported to the hospital for evaluation.

UPDATE 11:40 a.m.: Two flatbed tow trucks are called to the scene.

UPDATE 11:49 a.m.: The road is reopened.

A convicted sexual predator has been arrested and accused of sexual contact with a child.

Marlek E. Holmes, 42, of Batavia, is being held without bail after being arraigned in County Court on an 11-count grand jury indictment.

The assaults allegedly occurred in the City of Batavia and Village of Le Roy from 2010 to 2015.

He is charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault, two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, two counts of incest in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, rape in the third degree, criminal sexual abuse in the third degree and two counts of incest in the third degree.

Holmes has previously been arrested locally on charges of failure to register a change of address as a Level 3 sexual offender and of sending indecent texts to a child.

A resident at 21 Main St. in the Village of Elba reports the larceny of political signs from his front lawn. Sheriff's deputies are responding to the complaint.

The smell of something electrical burning greeted an employee upon opening the Dollar General Store on East Main Street in Batavia a few minutes ago. The worker called dispatch and city firefighters just arrived and are investigating.

UPDATE 8:54 a.m.: Command reports no sign of smoke or fire; investigation is continuing.

Watch for slick roads and sidewalks early this morning because of a bit of snow that may fall over the area, according to the National Weather Service.

The surfaces of bridges and overpasses are more likely to acquire temperatures closer to freezing, so are more likely to be slick.

The snow will change to sleet and then rain over the course of the morning.

Heather Ace was hanging out at a friend's house drinking Four Loko* the night of May 20 when her mother tried to call her and tell her that her house on Bank Street Road was on fire, according to a statement Ace gave to investigators.

When Ace didn't answer the phone, her mother sent her a text message, according to a statement by Tracy Ace, that read, "Answer your f---ing phone."

Heather answered on the next ring.

According to Heather's friend, Ashki Zajaczkowski, Heather dropped the phone and started screaming.

Zajaczkowski drove Heather to 8157 State Street Road, Batavia, where she lived with her three boys, including two fraternal twins, Micah and Michael Gard, and before Zajaczkowski would even stop the car, Heather was running from the car hysterically. 

The evening wasn't supposed to go as it did, according to the statements. Heather Ace was planning to go to the movies with Zajaczkowski and other friends, but as afternoon turned to evening, nobody really felt like heading out of town.

Ace put her two children to bed sometime between 8 and 8:30 p.m. and then headed over to a friend's house. She smoked some weed and then went to the Speedway and bought a can of Four Loko and some water before heading over to Zajaczkowski's house.

The two boys were locked in their room, with a lock on the kitchen side of the door put in place after the boys wandered out of the house over to the neighboring house, the residence of their grandparents.

When firefighters arrived that night, they also found the door leading into the apartment kitchen locked. Heather Ace said in her statement, she didn't know how the door became locked. She said she didn't lock it before leaving the house. Tracy Ace said it wasn't Heather's practice to lock the door because her husband needed access to the basement, where he stored his tools.

The cause of the fire has never been determined.

Micah and Michael died in the fire and Heather Ace has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

She appeared in Town of Batavia Court yesterday and entered a not guilty plea.

She is represented by public defender Jerry Ader, who said yesterday he had not yet had a chance to discuss the case with his client.

Photo: Previously unpublished, officers dealing with distraught people at the scene of the fire.

*Four Loko is a flavored, malted alcoholic beverage.

Cassandra Blake was jailed today on $250 bail or $500 bond for her alleged role in taking a labradoodle from the kennel where she worked, posting an ad for it on Craigslist under the alias Amy Fairview and then selling the dog, which was actually a family pet belonging to somebody else.

Sources told our news partner 13WHAM that Blake has been known to sell pets on Craigslist recently.

In 2014, Blake was indicted in Genesee County on a grand larceny charge. Blake was accused of stealing 245 lottery tickets with a face value of $1,028, along with payouts from those tickets and other cash, from the Yellow Goose store in Pavilion.

That charge led to Blake being placed on probation, and that probation was later transferred to Monroe County.

Press release:

The Genesee County Office for the Aging is proud to partner with the Rochester Gay Alliance SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) program to bring an event to our County!

The Traveling LGBTQ Potluck & Program will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, located at 6188 Main Road in Stafford.

Meet! Greet! Eat!

All are welcome. Meet news friends.

Featured program is "Gay Pioneers."

Bring a dish to pass.

Also, Rochester Gay Alliance SAGE is looking to connect with LGBTQ veterans and people who served in the military regardless of discharge status.

Learn more about what SAGE Vets & ROC Vets can do for you!

Contact: Kimberly.Perl@co.genesee.ny.us

Press release from the city Department of Public Works:

The City of Batavia is pleased to announce that Ryan Toal, Anthony Cellino, Robert Marvin and Erich Postler have passed the necessary exam and successfully met the requirements to become licensed plumbers in the City of Batavia.

During today's annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce at Rochester Club West @ Bohn's, Chamber President Tom Turnbull recapped what has been a successful and active year for the local business group.

Turnbull ran through a long list of the Chamber's activities and accomplishments.

The chamber hosted its annual awards, a home show and several business workshops, including ones on public speaking, drugs in the workplace and tax tips. The chamber, of course, attended many ribbon cuttings for new and expanding businesses. The chamber was active in pursuing public policy issues at the local and state level. It administered a small business loan program, hosted business after-hours events, and a trip to China. 

The hot and dry summer was good for tourism, but with the monetary exchange rate weakening with Canada, there were fewer Canadian visitors to the region this year, which looks like it will translate into a 4-percent decline in tourism revenue.

Still, hotels took in about $14.5 million, which translates into about $150 million in local economic impact.

The tourism agency fostered several group visits, including youth baseball tournaments, soccer events, car clubs and even a Winnebago rally at a local RV park.

There were 15,000 visitors to the county, and 1,500 room nights booked.

Turnbull said the chamber is excited to see the new hotel at Batavia Downs open, with a ribbon cutting at 5:30 p.m., Nov. 2.

The chamber will have its own grand opening to look forward to in January at its new office building on Park Road, but staff will start moving into the new facility this week.

"We'll have a have a ribbon cutting, of course," Turnbull quipped. "We're a chamber."

The new board of directors was also introduced:

Chris Suozzi, chairman, from the Genesee County Economic Development Center
Immediate Past Chair: Hiedi Librock, Town of Batavia

The directors are:
Steven Beardsley – Tompkins Bank Of Castile 
Mary Blevins – ESL Federal Credit Union
Tim Call – Empire Tractor
Jeff Cook – Liberty Pumps
Keith Conway – Z&M, Ag and Turf
Jonathan Mager – Arctic Refrigeration Co. of Batavia
Michael Nolan – Batavia Downs Gaming
Chan Patel – Quality Inn & Suites 
Michael R Rivers – Rybak, Metzler & Grasso PLLC
Danielle Rontondo – Terry Hills Golf Course & Banquet Facility
Joseph Teresi – Tompkins Insurance Agencies Inc.
Chris Thorpe – Darien Lake Theme Park
Eric Wies – Clark Patterson Lee
Jennifer Zambito – Genesee Community College Foundation
Robert Bausch – Genesee County Legislative Liaison

This information is provided by the Genesee County Chapter of  ABATE -- American Bikers Aimed Toward Education

It's almost "Baggerween"! Instead of going house to house, get candy by going from motorcycle saddlebag to motorcycle saddlebag.

Bring your kids down to a safe well-lit place place to "trick-or-treat" from 6 to 8 p.m. on Satruday, Oct. 29, in the public parking lot behind Ken's Charcoal Pits, located at 59 Main St. in Downtown Batavia.

All motorcycles are welcome as long as the riders bring candy for the kids. Load up your ride and come on down!

Anyone who would like to serve as a Bagger to help create a fun night for local children is welcome help bag candy.

For info, please e-mail Jason:    roadcaptain110@gmail.com

Happy Halloween!

Cynthia May Mack, 49, of Pearl Street Road, Batavia, is charged with harassment and false personation. Following the investigation into a domestic incident at 10:07 a.m. on Oct. 21 on East Main Road, Le Roy, Mack was arrested after allegedly punching an individual in the face while in presence of law enforcment, and she allegedly provided them with a false name. She was put in jail and is due in Le Roy Town Court on Oct. 27. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Rachel Diehl.

Danielle Marie Stewart, 18, of East Main Road, Stafford, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Following the investigation at 12:23 a.m. on Oct. 25 into a suspicious condition in a parking lot on Main Road in the Town of Stafford, Stewart was allegedly found to be in possession of marijuana. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Town of Stafford Court on Nov. 15. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Eric Meyer.

Press release:

Community Action of Orleans & Genesee is accepting winter coats, hats, mittens and scarves for the upcoming winter season! Please donate only items that are clean and in good (gently used), or new condition.  

We are accepting ALL SIZES for men, women and children!

A tax deductible receipt is available upon request.

Please drop off donations at: 5073 Clinton Street Road, Batavia.

Community Action of Orleans & Genesee Inc. is a nonprofit human service agency committed to serving the needs of the financially disadvantaged. Our mission is to serve others with dignity and respect, that help people become self-sufficient. 

All donations are given away free of charge to those in need.

Genesee County's unemployment rate continues to say in the low 4-percent range, according to the latest figures from the state's Department of Labor.

The September 2016 rate was 4.2 percent, compared to 4.1 percent a year earlier. 

There are 29,000 Genesee County residents with jobs, out of a labor force of 30,400. The labor force participation a year ago was 30,200.

Total non-farm jobs in Genesee County for September was reported at 23,500. A year ago, 23,600 non-farm jobs were reported in the county.

Tyler Penepent, 22, avoided a possible 25-year term by accepting a plea deal.

Co-defendant Justin Smith also entered a plea deal previously and has already been sentenced to three years in prison.

The duo was captured because a clerk in the 7-Eleven recognized Smith and they were taken into custody within hours of the robbery. 

They were charged with robbery in the first degree after entering the store at 2:30 a.m. March 14 wearing ski masks. They confronted the clerk and demanded the code to the cash register. They took off with an undetermined amount of cash.

Via our news partner WBTA.

At 84-years-old, soon to be 85, Laura Viehdeffer is likely the oldest person to ever plead guilty to a drug sales charge.

Viehdeffer, a resident of West Main Street, Batavia, was arrested May 25 for two incidents nearly a year before when she sold hydrocodone, which she had a prescription for, to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force. She entered a guilty plea in August to one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance.

She was sentenced yesterday to five years probation by Interim Judge Michael Pietruzska.

Defense attorney Jamie Welch argued that given his client's lack of criminal record and advanced age, a conditional discharge (meaning the conviction is wiped clean if she stayed out of trouble for six months) was the most appropriate sentence.

 “This is unlike the 20-, 30- or 40-year-old defendants facing these charges,” Welch said.

Pietruzska made no comment on Welch's argument before sentencing Viehdeffer.

Viehdeffer made no statement prior to being sentenced.

Photo and info via our news partner, WBTA.

Batavia Middle School was on lockdown for a brief time this morning after a caller reported hearing a gunshot a couple of blocks from the school.

The report turned out to be unfounded and the school was quickly taken off of lockdown.

A dispatcher said a caller reported seeing 'two subjects in clown costumes' about 10 minutes ago on the overpass bridge on Route 33 near Horseshoe Lake Road.

They were on the north side of the bridge.

Law enforcement is responding.

UPDATE 5:41 a.m.: An officer states he's in the area, then asks the dispatcher "Did the clowns do anything or were they just there?" The reply is that the clowns were sitting on the railing, then began walking in separate directions. ... Only one call (on this 'issue')."

UPDATE 5:54 a.m.: Law enforcement is clearing the scene; no clowns found.

A motorcycle has reportedly struck a deer in the area of 2178 Broadway Road, Darien.

That's just west of Smithley Road.

The rider is reportedly conscious and alert.

Darien fire and Darien ambulance responding.