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Press release:

The New York State Senate has completed passage of the 2013-14 State Budget. State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer (R, C, I – Amherst) has issued the following statement:

“The State Senate has finished passage of an early State Budget for the third year in a row – a first in over 30 years. The 2013-14 State Budget is a balanced, fiscally responsible plan that closes a billion dollar budget gap without tax increases.

For middle-class families, the budget provides over $1 billion in tax relief over three years to make up for the value of child tax credits eroded by inflation and ensures the continuation of the lowest personal income tax rates in 60 years.

For senior citizens, the budget fully funds the EPIC prescription drug program, providing 270,000 seniors with help in affording their prescription drugs, and delivers $912 million in property tax relief to senior homeowners as part of the Enhanced STAR program.

For every person with a utility bill – both residents and businesses – the budget will phase out the energy tax surcharge over three years, rejecting the Executive Budget proposal to extend the tax for five more years.   

Under the fiscal plan, businesses will be in a better position than last year to grow our economy and create jobs. In addition to relief from the phase out of the energy tax surcharge, the budget saves businesses almost $1 billion by reforming workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance programs. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses and manufacturers will get a reduction in taxes, too.

While I am disappointed that tax relief – for small businesses, homeowners, seniors, and middle-class families – couldn’t be greater, the budget continues to move our State in the right direction by easing the tax burden for all Western New Yorkers.”

A one-vehicle rollover accident with injuries has been reported on Route 262 at Chapel Road.

A person may be entrapped and is reportedly unresponsive.

Byron and South Byron fire along with Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 9:05 a.m. (by Billie): The victim is trapped beneath the vehicle. Mercy Flight was called, then cancelled. Fire police are shutting down traffic at routes 262 and 237. Pembroke is called to provide mutual aid, along with Elba, which is asked to bring air equipment to jack up the vehicle.

UPDATE 9:16 a.m.: Bergen is called to stand by in Byron's fire hall and Oakfield is called to stand by in Elba's.

UPDATE 9:23 a.m.: Mercy medics are back in service.

UPDATE 9:34 p.m.: Responders say they will be at the scene for quite awhile and that it "looks pretty bad" there. Bergen's standby in Byron is cancelled and South Byron will return to stand by in their own quarters.

UPDATE 9:53 a.m.: A coroner is at the scene.

UPDATE 10:02 a.m.: Fire police are shutting down traffic at Transit Road and Chapel Road.

UPDATE 11:53 a.m. (by Howard): Correction: This was a two-car accident.

An SUV southbound on Chapel T-boned a westbound pickup truck. The pickup truck rolled and the driver was ejected and became trapped under his vehicle. The IDs of the drivers have not yet been released. The driver of the SUV was not seriously injured, or not injured at all. He declined transport to a hospital. The driver of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene.

We'll add pictures from the accident scene to this post later.

UPDATE 12:15 p.m.: Route 262 is reopened. Byron and South Byron back in service.

UPDATE 3:29 p.m.: The deceased is Jeremy C. Murray, 28, originally from Hamlin, was living in Clarendon and is the father of a small boy. The name of the other driver is Terry A. Boyce, 57, lives on Lewiston Road in Alabama. Boyce was cited for failure to yield and an additional citation may be pending. Investigators do not think drugs or alcohol were factors.

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Heading back to Batavia from the fire in Darien yesterday, I passed this barn I've passed many times, but this time it seemed like a good time for a picture. This seems like a very well-preserved barn. The location is just east of Smithley Road on Route 20.

By all accounts at the fire scene today, Speedy Greco was quite a character -- he sold cars and Airstream trailers, collected antiques and raced cars.

He also had a bit of money and built himself one heck of a sturdy building at 1606 Broadway, Darien.

That strong construction made it difficult for firefighters from Darien, Corfu, Town of Batavia, Alden, Bethany, Attica, East Pembroke and Bennington to fight a fire that had climbed into the roof of Speedy's former car dealership.

The wood on the roof was at least four inches thick, possibly six inches in some places. That made it hard to vent the roof and get water onto hot spots.

The building, now owned by M & M Fabricating, Inc., was heavily damaged as a result.

M & M is a metal fabrication business.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

There were no reported injuries. The fire was reported at 2:45 p.m.

Assisting at the scene were the Sheriff's Office, City of Batavia's Fast Team, Mercy EMS and Genesee Emergency Management.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

The three Batavia men who admitted taking part in a bookmaking operation received on Tuesday pretty much the sentence Judge Robert Balbick promised them when they were last in court March 5.

The slight variation was that instead of 120 days in a weekend work program with the Sheriff's Office, the three men will work weekends in community service over the next 90 days.

The change was requested by the Sheriff's Office because of limited openings in the program.

Gregory Phillips, Brian Bordinaro and Lance Engel all declined to make statements to Balbick prior to their sentencing.

Phillps and Engel received, as requested, a "release from civil disability" from Balbick. The signed form will allow both men to pursue second careers. Phillips is attending barber school and will graduate soon.

The three men were also fined $1,000 each. They also can't gamble in any form -- online or off -- during their three years of probation. Their computers will be subject to warrantless search during probation.

All three had entered guilty pleas to a Class A misdemeanor charge of promoting gambling, 2nd, which was quite a step down from the original felony charges, especially the Class B felony charge of enterprise corruption.

There's never been a clear public answer from anybody involved in the case about why the charges were so greatly reduced.

Today, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman would only say, "there are a number of considerations that came into play, just like any case. We consider a lot of different things and when all things were considered in this case, all the things that were relevant, we felt this was the appropriate disposition."

Attorney Larry Andolina, representing Phillips, has accused the Sheriff's Office, and in particular, Sgt. Steve Mullen, at one time head of the Sheriff's major crime unit (the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force), of "mishandling the case."

Asked about Andolina's charge, Friedman said, "I'm not going to comment on anything to do with the Sheriff's Office or Sgt. Mullen or the investigation. We came to what we felt was an appropriate disposition to the case."

For the first time since the story of the bookmaking operation -- which Friedman still contends was substantial -- first broke more than a year ago, Phillips spoke with the media after his sentencing.

He didn't say much.

Asked what he thought of his sentence, he said, "I can't comment on the sentence today."

Asked if he had proof that Mullen placed bets with him, Phillips said, "Through legal and civil counsel I'm not able to comment on that right now."

Asked if the DA or the Sheriff's Office were involved in a cover up, Phillps responded, "i'm sure the DA's office and the Sheriff's Office wouldn't have done any kind of cover up. I would hope there wouldn't be any kind of cover-up in this investigation, but I'll let my attorney answer that one, too."

Asked if the case should never have had happened, Phillips said, "there will be other things brought out. I can't really comment other than (through) my legal attorney and my civil attorney. There will be other things that come out and we'll go from there."

Asked if his civil rights had been violated, Phillips said, "That will be for another jury to decide."

After the former city firefighter was reminded that this was his first opportunity to make a public comment on the case since being accused of taking illegal bets, and whether he had anything he wanted to say to the community he once served, Phillips only said, "no comment."

When asked about how the allegations against Mullen probably led to reduced changes against him, Bordinaro and Engel, again, Phillips said, "no comment."

Andolina stepped in at that point and was asked the same question.

"In the grand scheme of things, this case was resolved in a fashion like many gambling cases where the defendants have no prior record," Andolina said.

Andolina did say he believed Mullen had placed bets with one or more of the defendants.

Under repeated questioning, Andolina refused to offer up proof, however.

"I just said to you, we gave them (Friedman and Sheriff Gary Maha) the information and they have it," Andolina said.

Maha has said there was an internal affairs investigation that was terminated when Mullen retired from the Sheriff's Office.

Asked if he thought the District Attorney's Office and Sheriff's Office had handled the situation with Mullen appropriately, Andolina said he did.

"I think he commenced an investigation," Andolina said. "They're both professionals. I have no reason to believe they didn't do their jobs appropriately."

Asked if the outcome involving Mullen was sufficient, or if more should be done, such as bringing criminal charges, Andolina indicated enough is enough.

"I don't know if there's enough for a criminal case and it's over," Andolina said. "The case is over. The sentence is what the judge indicated the sentence would be. He was within his discretion to sentence in that fashion and now it's time for these people to get on with their lives."

However, Andolina did confirm that his client is looking into a civil case based on alleged civil rights violations.

Asked what the basis of the case would be, "the conduct of the Sheriff's Office," was all he would say.

Later Tuesday evening, WIVB's George Richert aired a story accusing Mullen of placing bets and a "conflict of interest" in the case. The only evidence to back the claim offered by Richert was a report by a private investigator hired by the defense who claims Mullen placed -- years before this case arose -- 47 phone calls to the bookies. No gambling records were produced to indicate that Mullen actually placed bets.

UPDATE: The Buffalo News has published a more thorough story on Mullen's alleged involvement in the case.

Photos: Top, Phillips; second, Bordinaro in blue shirt; bottom, Engel.

Police and EMS are responding to Walmart where a cashier has come into contact with a woman who may have been the victim of an assault, but doesn't know how she arrived at the Walmart in Batavia.

She's from Hornell.

UPDATE 11:38 p.m.: A vehicle possibly belonging to the woman was located in the Home Depot parking lot. A deputy is heading back to Walmart with a person located at Home Depot.

It took a tiebreaker, but Batavia High School came out on top in the 2013 GLOW-region Mock Trial Tournament.

In Monday's final round, held in Warsaw, Batavia and Pembroke each scored 110 points in two simultaneous trials.

The plaintiff sides for both teams won their respective trials, making both teams 1-1 on the evening.

Wyoming County Court Judge Michael F. Griffith presided over one trial and and attorney Michael M. Mohun presided over the second.

The tiebreaker came down to Batavia scoring 114 points in the semifinal round to 90 for Pembroke.

The case involved a lawsuit by a student who accused a technical, private college of not providing the education and opportunities promised prior to his/her enrollment.

The photos are from Mohun's courtroom with Pembroke on the plaintiff side and Batavia on defense.

For Pembroke: Ben Reiner, Brandon Kohorst and Erik Schoenecker were plaintiff attorneys and Cody Zajaczkowski, Karen Glomb and Bryan Cox were witnesses.

The defense attorneys for Batavia: Trey Abdella, Danielle Quinn, McKenzie Stevens; the witnesses: Eric DiLaura, Cara Ranalli, Katie Kesler.

Batavia advances to the regional tournament, which will be held in the Genesee County Courthouse this year. The date, yet to be determined, will be one of the last two Saturdays in April.

To purchase prints, click here.

With the approval Monday of the 2013-14 city budget comes some support for a community garden at the Youth Bureau off State Street.

The plan for this year is to create 25 raised garden beds of 4x4 to 4x12 feet for community members to rent and use to grow fruits and vegetables.

Jocelyn Sikorski, youth bureau director (photo), gave a short presentation to the City Council on the project near the end of Monday's meeting.

"We're really optimistic that we will fill this community garden this year and sell out all 25 beds," Sikorski said.

The project was actually started in the Spring of 2011 by former Youth Bureau director Deb Kerr-Rosenbeck after she realized that many of the youth served by the agency weren't eating enough fruits and vegetables at home.

With one raised bed, Kerr-Rosenbeck, with the help of the children at the bureau, planted a garden and vegetables. Some of the children had never eaten certain kinds of produce before; what was grown became part of the meals served by the agency.

When Leadership Genesee caught wind of the project, some members teamed up to help build four more raised beds in the Spring of 2012.

This year, the plan is to transform the long-unused wading pond behind the Youth Bureau building into a spot for 25 raised beds.

City residents will be able to rent a bed for $15 to $35 for the season, Sikorski said.

"Our long-term goal is to have more community gardens around the city," Sikorski said.

The city portion of the funding for the project is less than $1,000, with donations coming from members of the community.

Constructions of the beds will be part of the Day of Caring on May 8.

The city realized a nearly $91,000 profit on the sale at auction of three properties that were seized last year because of delinquent property taxes.

Back taxes on the three properties totaled $66,686 and they sold for $157,500.

The names of the buyers were not released in a memo given to the City Council prior to Monday's meeting.

The properties sold were:

• 339-341 Ellicott St. ($23,062 taxes owed, sold for $44,500)
• 10 Swan St. ($18,730 in taxes, sold for $72,000)
• 61 Oak St. ($24,894 in taxes, sold for $41,000)

This time things worked out in the city's favor, City Manager Jason Molino said. Sometimes properties at auction go for less than the unpaid taxes.

Kris Doeringer Tim Buckley

Calling it the best solution possible, the Batavia City Council voted Monday night to remove garbage collection from the tax roles, remove city responsibility for garbage collection from the municipal code, and tell residents they're now on their own for getting rid of their trash.

Letters from the city to all property owners will go out within a week or so outlining the new rules for city residents and providing them with a list of vendors for trash collection.

Starting June 1, residents will contract with their own hauler  -- or haul it themselves -- and pay their own bills.

"This will make it fair for everyone," said Councilman Kris Doeringer. "It was not fair that some people were paying more than others based on the assessment rather than on the amount of trash they produced. It was just as unfair that businesses had to pay for a service that they were not even using and others did not pay anything at all."

The trash issue has been broiling in Batavia since late last year when city staff revealed a plan to change the municipal code to require an automated tote-based system for garbage collection and open up the refuse and recycling contract to competitive bidding.

For 28 years, Genesee ARC had provided garbage collection in the city, but after ARC was the highest bidder on the new proposed contract, ARC's supporters flooded council chambers through multiple meetings demanding the proposed changes be rejected.

And they were, but council members were still unwilling to give up the double-digit decrease in the tax rate from dropping garbage collection as a city service.

Many ARC supports said, "if it's not broken, don't fix it," but council members, such as Doeringer, said the old system was broken and it needed to be fixed.

Council President Tim Buckley also said the old system was unfair.

"The process now is fair," Buckley said. "I spoke to a widow who lives on the Northeast side of town. She's called me a couple of times. Her assessment is up there and she puts out one bag of garbage every week. She said, 'I go by every week and I see houses with five or 10 bags out.' She said, 'why do I have to pay for that?' It's not fair for her. OK, now it's fair for her."

Doeringer, as did Councilman Pierluigi Cipollone, made it clear they thought the proposed garbage collection plan brought forth by City Manager Jason Molino was pretty good.

"The residents would have received a needed service at a reasonable cost," Cipollone said. "The city would have realized a $1.2 million savings over five years. The city could have used those funds for providing other needed services."

Cipollone cast the lone dissenting vote to change the system to an open market.

While Doeringer believes getting the city out of the garbage business both accomplishes the council's goal to reduce city expenses and is responsive to his constituents' wishes, he regrets the new system won't do much to encourage recycling.

"I was shocked to realize people didn't want a better recycling system," Doeringer said. "They didn't want a system that's more efficient and would help the environment. They didn't want a system that helps clean up the streets from the many animals getting into the garbage, and most surprising, they didn't want a system that would cost less, now and in the future."

Doeringer, Buckley, Patti Pacino, John Canale and Jim Russell all left the door open for revisiting the trash issue for the 2014-15 budget.

"I will personally monitor the system," Canale said. "I will look at what the effect is going to be and if it proves not to be effective in my opinion, then I will personally spearhead an effort to propose a new system that is fair and effective for everyone."

Press release:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer has announced that the 2013-14 State Budget will increase funding for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS), providing more than $275,000 in additional funding for infrastructure projects in Genesee County.

“For the first time in five years, more funding for local road and bridge repair projects will go directly to towns, cities and villages in Genesee County. Maintaining and improving our infrastructure is so important to our economy, while keeping drivers and their passengers safe,” Senator Ranzenhofer said.

In total, Genesee County will receive $1,674,921.93 in CHIPS funding, an increase of more than $275,581. The following is a breakdown of CHIPS funding by city, town and village:

Earlier this month, Senator Ranzenhofer joined his colleagues in a letter to the Governor and Legislative leaders, requesting an increase of at least $100 million for CHIPS funding. CHIPS funding is included in the Article VII Budget Bill for Transportation, Economic Development, and Environment. The State Senate passed the Article VII for the 2013-14 State Budget on Sunday.

The State Legislature started the CHIPS program in 1981. The CHIPS program provides funding for the repair of highways, bridges and roads operated by local governments.

The 61st Senate District encompasses: the towns of Amherst, Clarence, and Newstead and the villages of Akron and Williamsville in Erie County; all of Genesee County; and the towns of Chili and Riga, the Village of Churchville and part of the City of Rochester in Monroe County.

The death earlier this month of a Hutchins Street resident who was found in his home bleeding -- initial reports said from his neck -- has been ruled accidental, Det. Pat Corona, Batavia PD, said this morning.

Peter Ackley, 55, of 12 Hutchins St., had been released from the hospital March 12, the day before the incident, and had ongoing health issues.

Witnesses said he had been outside his house earlier that day and appeared disoriented and was helped back into his apartment. He was later found by a friend unconscious and bleeding inside his residence.

An autopsy found that ongoing medical problems apparently caused him to collapse. He fell against a household fixture, which caused his wounds.

Ackley was transported by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital where he later died.

There is no evidence, Corona said, of any foul play.

A Batavia resident arrested after leading local law enforcment on a multi-jurisdiction chase will spend three to six years in state prison following his sentencing in Genesee County Court today.

Todd Weaver, 44, of Seven Springs Road, previously admitted to a mischief charge, was also fined $1,000.

The chase began in Medina and wound onto the Tonawanda Indian Reservation where Weaver used his car to strike a Medina patrol vehicle. The patrol vehicle was disabled and the police officer lost sight of Weaver's vehicle.

Weaver was also accused of striking a mailbox on Skye Road.

His vehicle was next spotted by Batavia PD at Oak and Richmond, with Weaver then leading police on a chase that reached speeds of 50 mph through the city.

Police tried to use spike strips to stop Weaver, but he avoided them. 

He eventually ran out of gas on Clinton Street Road, Stafford.

The former Dipson Theater's sign on Main Street, Batavia, was updated today with the sign for the renamed theater: Batavia Showtime. Downtown businessman Ken Mistler purchased the theater earlier this month and is planning several renovations.

Press release:

On Friday, March 29 (Good Friday), the City of Batavia Fire & Police Departments will hold a free Child Safety Seat Check Event at Fire Headquarters (18 Evans St.) from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., rain or shine.

Nationally certified technicians will be on hand to answer questions, check recalls, and assist with making sure all seats are installed correctly. Parents should remember to bring both the car seat and the child so that proper instruction/installation can be done.

Did you know three out of four car seats aren’t used correctly? Surprised? Stop down this Friday, March 29 to our event and ensure your children are traveling safely.

For more information contact City Fire Headquarters at 345-6375.

Brian and Beth Kemp, of T-Shirts Etc., 111 Main St., Batavia, have designed a brand-new, exclusive, limited edition T-shirt for The Batavian.

We're going to offer these shirts in two stages: a free T-shirt for new members who join before 5 p.m., April 3; and, later, at a discounted rate for existing members.

Why the delay for existing members? Because technically, I need a "certificate of authority" to collect sales tax on the shirts, and it will be at least 20 days before I receive that from NYS. When The Batavian has the certificate, members will be able to buy shirts (as many as they like) for $9 each (plus tax and $5 for shipping (or avoid the shipping cost and pick up your shirts at T-Shirts Etc.). Non-members will be able to buy the shirts at that time for $20 each (plus tax and shipping).

For new members, shirts will be available for pick up (pick up only, no shipping) on or about April 17.

Once all members have had a chance to buy shirts, the offer will be discontinued and this particular shirt will no longer be available for purchase.

Use the PayPal buttons below.

Or, you can phone in your credit card number and details to (585) 250-4118 during normal business hours, Monday thru Thursday.

Or, you can mail your name, address, phone and T-shirt(s) sizes to The Batavian, 200 E. Main St., Batavia, NY 14020.

To join the club and get a T-shirt and pay by check or credit card, download this form and mail it to us. Be sure to write your shirt-size information on the form.

To learn about the club, visit the club's new Web site.

Annual membership, no recurring payment, $60

Sizes: SmallMediumLargeXLXXLXXXL

Annual membership with automatic recurring payment of $50 per year

Sizes SmallMediumLargeXLXXLXXXL

 

Weston J. Johnson, 24, of 173 Hollybrook Road, Brockport, is charged with DWI, failure to keep right and speed not reasonable and prudent. Johnson was reportedly driving northbound on Naramore Drive, Batavia, at 2:36 a.m., Sunday, when he failed to safely negotiate a curve in the roadway. Johnson's vehicle crossed the south shoulder of the roadway and became stuck in the lawn of a residence. Upon further investigation by Officer Darryle Streeter and Sgt. Dan Coffey, Johnson was found to be allegedly driving drunk. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Sarah E. Gioia, 20, of 9 Pringle Ave., upper, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Gioia allegedly threatened another person with physical injury while at Tops at 8:50 p.m., Friday.

Mark D. Tomaszewski, 50, of 4 Franklin Ave., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle and failure to use a turn signal. Tomaszewski was stopped Saturday by Le Roy PD for alleged traffic violation.

Traci Kiniko Jones, 18, of Thomas Avenue, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Jones was allegedly at College Village after being banned from the property.

Amanda Jane Slack, 25, of Strouts Road, Elba, is charged with petit larceny. Slack is accused of stealing $248.57 of merchandise from Walmart.

Bradley Richardson Hanpeter, 26, of Kiwassa Road, Saranac, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and possesion of a controlled substance not in original container. Hanpeter was stopped for an alleged traffic infraction at 6:15 p.m. Friday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrict Reeves. Hanpeter was also allegedly driving on a suspended driver's license.

Aboubaker Thiam, 18, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd. Thiam was allegedly at College Village after being banned from the property.

David B. Marsceill, 35, of Elba, is charged with menacing, 2nd, criminal mischief and criminal contempt, 1st. Marsceill was arrested by State Police on Old Ford Road, Elba, on charges related to an incident reported at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Village of Elba. Marsceill was held without bail. No further details released.

Hector G. Riguard, 31, of Rochester, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Riguard was stopped at 2:09 a.m. Sunday at Main and Lewiston, City of Batavia, by State Police.

State Police have released the names of the drivers involved in Friday's accident on Route 98, Alexander. The driver of the northbound sedan was Tianshu Liu, 25, of Rochester, and the driver of the southbound vehicle was Mary B. Meides, 45, of Darien. The name of Liu's passenger was not released. No charges are listed in the blotter item.