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The intersection of Randall and Buckley roads in Stafford was the scene of a devastating car crash Monday afternoon. Three Mercy Flight helicopters were needed to transport the injured. One woman, a mother from Le Roy, remained in guarded condition this morning with a serious head injury.

Two families were involved in the collision that sent one vehicle onto its side and the other into a tree, and emergency personnel attended to seven injured, one seriously. Rachel L. Heywood, 34, of Warsaw, was traveling with her three children, Madison, 4; Andrew, 12; and Haley, 10. Heywood suffered a broken ankle and other minor injuries. Her children, too, reported minor injuries. 45-year-old Deborah S. Hughes, of Le Roy, did not fare so well. She and her two children, James, 12, and Kathryn, 15, were taken by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital. James and Kathryn were both reported to being treated for non life-threatening injuries. Deborah Hughes was in serious condition with a head injury. She was still in guarded condition at the hospital this morning.

Genesee County sheriff's deputies report that an SUV traveling on Buckley Road failed to stop for a stop sign and collided broadside with a car on Randall Road. The SUV then skidded off the road and flipped onto its side, while the car continued head on into a nearby tree. Fire departments from Stafford, Byron, Le Roy and Batavia assisted at the scene. State police were also on hand to assist.

Rachel Heywood was ticketed with failure to yield the right of way at a stop sign.

For those of you who haven't noticed, The Batavian now has its very own official speedway reporter. Racer and moto-enthusiast Chris Johnson has been kind enough to voluntarilty take occupy that position for us and get the dirt—get it?—on the local stock car scene.

Genesee Speedway will be holding its next race this Saturday, and Chris is hoping to be there with his new car, built himself. It's a modified Ford Mustang, stripped bear and fit with a roll cage. But enough of us getting in the way. Let's let Chris tell you all about it:

 Here is the first installment of my new Meet the Muckdogs segment.  Keep the feedback coming of who else you would like to here from! Enjoy!

We found this video on YouTube this morning. It's about a year old and a lot of fun.

We spotted a series of videos on YouTube courtesy of Kay MacMahon who armed herself with a camera and pretty much got in people's faces at the Ramble Music & Arts Fest last month. There are four videos in her "candid" series. They're a lot of fun at times. You can catch them all at the site. For now, here's a taste. This is the first video in the series.

Students of the Performing Arts Experience at Genesee take the stage this weekend in their production of The Nightmare Before Christmas, adapted and directed by Maryanne Arena.

Arena heads up the three-week long workshop put on by the Genesee Center for the Arts at Genesee Community College, a sort of theatre camp for kids ages 7 to 15 from all over western New York. This year's production features a cast of nearly 40 — including a couple of the camp counselors.

Showtimes are: Friday at 7:00pm and Saturday at 2:00pm. Admission to the musical is free, though pre-registration is recommended as seats fill up quickly. Call (585) 343-0055 ext.6814 or send an e-mail to boxoffice (at) genesee (dot) edu to reserve yours.

The players gathered for a dress rehearsal Wednesday. The Batavian stopped by to see how it went and chat up a few of the cast members.

Cheryl Lewis of Bliss was recently awarded the Jeanette Rankin Foundation Scholarship of $2,000, which will permit her to switch from part-time to full-time studies to obtain a degree in paralegal studies at Genesee Community College. The Batavian sat down with Cheryl earlier this week to talk about her studies, her struggle to escape an abusive relationship and her plans to give back. Cheryl was kind enough to put that experience in her own words in a follow-up letter, and since I can do no better at expressing her intentions, I've included that complete letter (see below).

"My name is Cheryl. It’s been more than twenty years since I graduated from high school. I would never have dreamed that I’d be in college today. At one time, I was filled with such dreams, such goals. I wanted to make a difference; I wanted to be successful; I wanted to be rich… I wanted it all.

"I thought I had met the man of my dreams, but I was so very wrong. I chose to be with him rather than go to college. The day I made that decision was the day I lost me. I just didn’t know it yet. I am a survivor of domestic violence. After suffering years of emotional and physical abuse I was finally able to escape. I still have the scars, but I also have my freedom.

"My daughter and I had to live in a shelter for battered women and children for a while, but it was there that I suddenly realized that I still do have dreams. Gone was the feeling in the pit of my stomach, the kind that makes you want to cry in self-pity. I looked around me and I saw other women with not only bruises on their bodies, but also on their souls. I knew at that moment that I wanted to make a difference in the lives of these women and others like them.

"Going through the court system with all the legal formalities, I was scared and very confused. There was a lot that had to be done to obtain a restraining order. I knew others had to be just as afraid. Thus, it was my ordeal through the system that gave me the idea to attend college for the purpose of becoming a paralegal. Then I will have the resources to offer assistance to other abused women.

"My ultimate goal is to someday reopen a shelter for domestic violence victims in Wyoming County that was closed due to lack of funds. Within this shelter women and their children will be provided with a safe environment in which they can try to piece together their shattered lives. I hope to provide legal assistance, counseling, resources for finding a new place to live, and a second chance at happiness.

"Over the past two years, I have gone through a tremendous transformation. I no longer feel I am worthless and I am so very proud of getting myself and my daughter out of a dangerous situation. And I do make a difference – in the life of my child. I have an awesome responsibility in making decisions that will shape the life of a precious individual. And I am rich – in love and family. I do have it all. Or at least all I need to have.

"There have been many wonderful people who have helped me along the way. I wouldn’t be where I am now without them. Those individuals have inspired me greatly and I want to emulate them and hopefully make a difference even to just one person."

HERE ARE SOME FACTS AND STATISTICS ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:

The most common response to domestic violence – “Why doesn’t she just leave?”

Answer: Shelters are often full, and family, friends, and workplace are frequently less than supportive. Faced with rent and utility deposits, day care, health insurance, and other basic expenses, the woman may feel that she cannot support herself and her children. Moreover, in some instances, the woman may be increasing the chance of physical harm or even death if she leaves an abusive spouse.

A few statistics:
• 85-95% of all domestic violence victims are female.
• Over 500,000 women are stalked by an intimate partner each year.
• 1,232 women are killed each year by an intimate partner.

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women. What can each of us do?
• Call the police if you see or hear evidence of domestic violence.
• Speak out publicly against domestic violence.
• Take action personally when a neighbor, co-worker, a friend, or a family member is involved or being abused.
• Reach out to support someone whom you believe is a victim of domestic violence.
• Help others become informed, by inviting speakers to your church, professional organization, civic group, or workplace.
• Support domestic violence counseling programs and shelters.

If you or someone you know needs help: National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE

All of the above information and statistics were provided by Cheryl Lewis.

Today we premiere the first episode in a series that I would hope continues indefinitely. Without much deliberation, we chose Veteran's Corner as the official title — but if anyone thinks this isn't apt or not apt enough or has other ideas, please submit them before we get too far along in the series, and we'll consider renaming.

Every few weeks we hope to sit down with another veteran and just talk. There are no set topics of conversation. I don't have a list of questions. We want only for the veteran to talk about whatever is on his mind. He can talk about his time in the war. She can talk about what life was like when she got back from the war. He can talk about bagging groceries before he ever even got drafted. Whatever.

That's it.

For our first episode, we sat down with Don Nagle, a veteran of the U.S. Navy during World War II. Don told us a little about his time with the American Legion — he's the historian for the Bergen post. He also spoke a little bit about his training as a radioman for a division of the Navy's air crew, about flying over the Bermuda Triangle and about almost getting shipped to Japan for an airstrike in what may have very well been a suicide mission.

Less than one week, now, to the one and only Ramble Music and Arts Fest in Jackson Square. But for those of you who just can't wait — and I wouldn't blame you — make sure you check out the Ramble Web site, which is chock full of goodies, such as the message board for Ramblers to gather and wax nostalgic about past years or talk about how geeked up they are for this year's superstar lineup.

You can also find a list of performers, photos and videos from past Rambles, other news and... well... anything you want to know about the Fest. So go check it out.

In the meantime, here's another video as part of our Countdown to the Ramble. This one is of the Cheer Daddies performing (aptly) "Stormy Monday." We'll feature another video every day of the week until Saturday, when The Batavian will be on the scene at Jackson Square to shoot some of our own footage of this year's Fest. Expect to see the fruits of our labor sometime next week.

Eighty-six-year-old Louis O'Geen tells me that the "guy upstairs" took all of his friends from him, all his hunting and fishing buddies, and he's the only one left. He seems resigned to the fact, though slightly bemused by his own good fortune, if he would ever call it that. Probably not. But he isn't above getting a laugh out of it.

Louis fought in World War II. He saw the gore, the portent, the indecipherable anomaly of war up close, nose to nose with bodies chewed to the marrow and eyes sick with the madness of submerged warfare. Louis was a seaman. He joined with the Navy shortly after Pearl Harbor, left his native LeRoy and was dispatched with little haste to some of the most hairy battle theaters in the Pacific and elsewhere.

When the German U-Boats were wreaking havoc not far from Casablanca, he was there. He saw bulkheads torn to shreds. He saw the deck of his destroyer, its hawsers and rails coated two inches thick with ice. He saw the fizzle and flotsam of ships sunk like tinker toy bath boats poked underwater by the vengeful finger of a child.

"I had many close shaves," he says.

Louis almost joined up as a submariner. Almost. Until he saw the subs come up to dock, beaten and barely afloat, ambulances parked on the shore, waiting for the wounded and cracked as they were taken back from the sea that had swallowed their minds whole, often along with some of their limbs.

Ironically, though, the one episode of the war that nearly knocked out Louis O'Geen for good came after the war was already over, in the waters just off the shore of Okinawa when a typhoon tore through the Pacific in early October, 1945. (I think that typhoon was named Louise, and isn't that apt.)

Louis told me that he thought World War II would be the last war. He couldn't imagine how we could do it all over again. Then came Vietnam. Then came Iraq. He's quite fierce in his opposition to the war in Iraq. When I paid Louis a visit Monday, he showed me a drawing he made not long after he got out of the service. The drawing summed up his then and future feelings about war, feelings one can only understand when listening to Louis tell his stories. So let's do that:

Here is the next video in our Countdown to the Ramble series: West Side Blues Band performing "Runaway." See our earlier post for more about the countdown.

A little over a week ago, Rochester's Downtown Fitness Club kicked off its second Celebrity Boot Camp. From the club's Web site:

Do you think you could beat local personalities in a weight loss contest?

Here’s your chance to find out.

The Downtown Fitness Club’s Rochester Celebrity Boot Camp is a 6 week “team” weight loss contest to see which 2, 3 or 4 person team can lose the greatest percentage of body weight in the period between Monday, June 9th and Monday, July 14th.

There is a $25 donation to charity per person to enter and membership at the Downtown Fitness Club is not required (anyone who participated in the first RCBC must be a DFC member to participate again).

The team that loses the greatest percentage of body weight from their starting weight between the initial and final weigh-ins will win the title of Rochester Celebrity Boot Camp Champions.

Well, it just so happened that Batavia's favorite Rock Jock-ette was tuned into a Rochester radio station when they announced that several on-air personalities would join up, and she couldn't keep from roping in a teammate and signing up herself. We're talking, of course, about WGCC 90.7 FM DJ Robyn. But let's not take the spotlight from her. Here she is, in her own words:

Robyn's got five weeks to slim down and tone up, and you can be sure The Batavian will be there in July when Robyn hits the scales to see if she won.

Here is the next video in our Countdown to the Ramble series: Buffalo Road Show performing "That Boy." See our earlier post for more about the countdown.

Batavia's new Police Chief Randy Baker sat down with us earlier today to talk about his time with the city — he's a 27-year veteran of the department — and his plans for the future. The Batavian reported on Baker's appointment a little over a week ago.

Here is the next video in our Countdown to the Ramble series: The Ghost Riders performing "Honky Tonkin'." See our previous post for more about the countdown.

In this video we found on YouTube, this Batavia toddler seems pretty happy with the ice cream at Blondie's.