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In Genesee County Court today, attorney Earl Key, representing Jacquetta Simmons, the 26-year-old Batavia resident accused of punching a 70-year-old Walmart employee on Christmas Eve, asked Judge Robert C. Noonan a series of specific questions about how juries are selected in his courtroom.

Key was there with co-counsel Ann Nichols and Simmons for a hearing on motions filed by the defense and as things were wrapping up, Key wanted to be sure he understood Noonan's ground rules.

The information will be important because outside of court after the hearing, Key told reporters, "I definitely intend to go to trial."

From the time Key was first retained to represent Simmons, he's said there's more to the case than has been reported in the media.

Asked to elaborate, especially in context of having now reviewed video surveillance tapes from Dec. 24, Key's only example of misinformation was that it's been reported that the victim, Walmart employee Grace Suozzi, was near the front door working as a greeter. She was actually working as a cashier that day.

Asked if the tape showed anything else, such as whether Souzzi grabbed the bag from Simmons, Key said, "I'll let that come out at trial."

Today's hearing was scheduled to cover a series of motions filed by Key, including a challenge to the constitutionality of a section of New York law that makes it a felony for a younger person to hit somebody over age 65.

This motion was supposed to be heard a week ago, but the Attorney General's Office was not notified of the challenge as required by law.

The AG's office has now been notified, but the letter did not include notice of today's scheduled hearing, so Noonan set another date, July 16, for the hearing.

Noonan said if history is any indication, the AG's office will not send a representative to the hearing, but rather write the court and inform Noonan that it opposes the challenge but reserves the right to appeal if Noonan finds the law unconstitutional.

This is at least the second time the law has been challenged by a defense attorney. The first time was in Queens, and that attorney lost his motion, but Key said he's raising two additional matters not addressed by the previous attorney.

While he declined to elaborate on the differences, Key said the main issue he is challenging is the vague language of the statute.

"It's vague in meaning and unclear," Key said. "It’s unclear if our client had to know if the alleged victim was 65 years of age. That’s the real question here."

If there is a trial, jury selection will begin Aug. 20 in county court.

The July 16 hearing will also be the last opportunity for Simmons to accept any possible or potential plea offer. If no plea agreement is reached before Simmons leaves court July 16, she will either go to trial or have to accept an unconditional plea.

Jamie Call is living the dream. After 23 years as a volunteer with the Stafford Fire Department, Call now wears the uniform of the City of Batavia Fire Department.

Call, at 41, was the second oldest member of his Utica Fire Academy class, which graduated Friday.

Call's first day on his new job was Monday.

Yes, there aren't many 41-year-old rookies in full-time, paid fire departments, acknowledged Jim Maxwell, Batavia's chief, but Maxwell said age isn't a criteria in the hiring process.

"We were very impressed during the interview process," Maxwell said. "He did very well in the oral interviews.He did very well on the physical agility test we put everybody through.

"Age?," Maxwell added, "He’s the one who had to determine that. We’re not going to discriminate by age. He’s still young enough where he’ll get his years in and go through the state retirement system, so more power to him."

Call said becoming a full-time firefighter has been a lifelong dream, but something he didn't really get serious about until a year ago.

"The fire service has meant a lot over the years and coming here it means a lot more," Call said. "I like helping people and this is the perfect job to be in that situation."

Maxwell said Call's 23 years with Stafford will be an asset to the department in two ways. First, Call has acquired some leadership skills and Call might have some different ideas on how to do things that he's picked up from the neighboring department.

"I think we’ll benefit from some of that seasoned leadership on some of the younger candidates we’ve hired over the last year," Maxwell said.

"Because we’re such a small organization I encourage people to be able to think outside of the box," Maxwell added. "If he’s bringing a different perspective from 23 years at Stafford, bringing some of that thought process here, maybe do things differently or more efficiently, then we welcome it."

Call said his biggest concern at age 41 was getting through the physical aspects of testing and training, but he found he was able to handle it all just fine.

Maxwell said all city fire candidates must complete, as part of the application process, the same physical agility course that the state requires academy graduates. It's eight different stations that must be completed in 10 minutes 20 seconds.

"It’s physically challenging," Maxwell said. "I went through it after the candidates did last week and I was, ah, I was whipped.”

Candidates also interview with a panel of six people and are required to write two essays, one on integrity and one on work ethic.

The department is looking for leaders, Maxwell said, because firefighters aren't just responsible for the safety of the community and their colleagues, they are also ambassadors for the department.

"Even though we catch people at their worst time, we need to leave them feeling good about the service we provide to them," Maxwell said.

Currently, there are 12 more candidates competing for the next opening in the department, including several more local volunteers, Maxwell said.

Call said his family (pictured above in a photo supplied by Maxwell: wife Stephanie, daughter Samantha, and son Nicholas) has been proud and supportive of his career change. He suggested we take a look at a drawing his son placed on Call's Facebook wall (reposted below with permission) to see an example of the support he's gotten.

John A. Cabrera Jr., 22, with no permanent address, is charged with criminal mischief, petit larceny and conspiracy; Rosemary R. Waters, 26, with no permanent address, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property and conspiracy. Cabrera and Waters are accused of teaming up on a larceny at Tops Friendly Market at 7:30 p.m., Monday, when Cabrera allegedly used a rock to smash a window of a parked car and steal a purse from the front passenger seat.

Robert VanDyne, 30, of 46 South St., Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and two counts of criminal mischief, 4th. VanDyne is accused of being involved in a domestic dispute early Sunday morning in which he allegedly grabbed a female's wrist and twisted a mobile phone out of her hand and then broke the phone, preventing the woman from calling 9-1-1.

Bradley Michael Crandall, 44, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or higher and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Crandall is accused of driving drunk in the Tops parking lot in Le Roy at 7:03 p.m., Tuesday, when he allegedly struck a parked vehicle and then moved his car to another parking space.

Two cars attempting to move aside for a southbound ambulance on Route 63 on Tuesday ended up bumping each other, sending one car off the roadway and into a sign post.

One person was slightly injured in the 10:58 a.m. accident.

Katelynn M. Hale, 19, of Stafford, was in the passing lane in the area of 5769 Ellicott St. Road, Bethany, when a Mercy EMS ambulance responding to an emergency call approached from behind.

Hale pulled to the right and collided with a car driven by Rita C. Vannorman, 25, of Arkport.

Vannorman was also attempting to pull over for the emergency vehicle. Her front right bumper hit Hale's back right bumper.

Hale complained of neck pain but did not require transport to a hospital.

No citations were issued.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Joseph Graff.

In the end, David Bellavia expressed more regret for his volunteers than he did for himself.

"I’m just exhausted," Bellavia said. "I’ve been walking so many miles and...so many doors...and I’m just trying to think in my head, what could I have done more, what could I have done, but at the end of the day, I’m just so sorry to all of these volunteers who gave me so much time and effort. I just feel really bad that I let them down."

The decorated Iraq War veteran thanked several of his volunteers by name during his concession speech at the Clarion Hotel in Batavia on Tuesday night. He then pledged his support to the Republican party and the effort to defeat President Barack Obama and Rep. Kathy Hochul in November.

"I spoke to Mr. Collins and I congratulated him on his victory," Bellavia told his supporters. "I’m telling you right now, we are going to lock shields as a party. We are going to stand in the trenches shoulder to shoulder."

After a campaign in which Bellavia characterized Collins as a "country club Republican" who was out of touch with the rural voters of the GLOW counties, the natural question for Bellavia after his speech: Did you just pledge to stand behind Collins?

His answer, "We’re going to talk. I stand behind the party and the process. I don’t make any excuse for whether it’s perfect today. We lost. I have kids and it’s important that they understand that you have honor when you win and you have honor when you lose. I have no excuses. I’m a Republican. I want to see Republicans win. Chris and I will talk in the future and we’ll move forward."

If Bellavia backs Collins, it's unclear if many of his GLOW supporters will follow.

But at the Clarion on Tuesday night, one of Bellavia's volunteers clearly said she won't vote for Collins in November.

Michelle McCulloch believes Collins was at least tangentially responsible for losing her staff position with State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer.

"You’re asking a person who lost her job because Chris Collins didn’t want me helping someone else in the race," McCulloch said. "I have never tried to work against my party, but I have no use for Mr. Collins. I know what he is and he knows what he is. He will never have my vote or my family’s vote."

Asked if she would help Hochul's campaign, McCulloch said, "I’ll see how things play out. I guess I’ll listen to Kathy Hochul and see what she has to say and go from there."

McCulloch was among the volunteers Bellavia singled out for thanks during his concession speech.

"Michelle McCullough has sacrificed so very much for me and on the side of honor, principle and integrity," Bellavia said. "Your family is beautiful. Your husband is an outstanding man. I’m so sorry for what you’ve had to endure and we’re going to make it right."

Collins will now face Hochul, who won her seat in a special election in May 2011 in which she attacked Collins ally Jane Corwin for her support of the Paul Ryan Budget Plan. Within an hour of Collins declaring victory on Tuesday, the Hochul campaign sent out a press release attacking Collins on the same topic.

Statement from Campaign Manager Frank Thomas:

"Chris Collins has made it a hallmark of his campaign to avoid taking positions on key issues. But one thing is clear, Mr. Collins supports Paul Ryan's budget; a plan that turns Medicare into a voucher program and makes seniors pay $6,400 more for their Medicare benefits to fund tax cuts for multimillionaires. He has even has said that it does not go far enough.

“It is time that Chris Collins comes clean with voters about his plans to take the Ryan’s budget further. What more could he do on top of decimating Medicare and protecting the super rich? We hope that now that he is the nominee he is willing to answer questions on the issues that matter most to the people of the 27th district.”

Previously: Collins landslide in Erie County sinks Bellavia in NY-27 GOP primary

PHOTO: Bellavia during his concession speech with his wife, Deanna, his children and parents (not pictured, his brother, Rand).

I imagine that by this point, anybody who cares knows that Chris Collins defeated David Bellavia in the NY-27 GOP primary. I spent the evening with the Bellavia camp at the Clarion Hotel in Batavia. I'll have pictures and quotes later.

Meanwhile, here are the available results:

With 98 percent of the precincts reporting, it's Collins 10,124 votes (60 percent) to 6,720.

Erie County dictated the outcome of the race, with Collins winning 5,889 votes to 2,094. Bellavia won every other county except Niagara.

Bellavia took Genesee County 1,105 to 683.

Wyoming County hasn't reported yet, but in Orleans and Livingston, it was Bellavia 758 to 389 and 854 to 679.

In the section of the district that covers Monroe and Ontario counties, it was Bellavia 1,048 to 586.

UPDATE: Wyoming County, Bellavia 734 to 623.

Genesee County's top cop, Sheriff Gary Maha, said Batavia's new chief of police, Shawn Heubusch, should be given a chance to show what he can do before being criticized publicly.

Heubusch has been on the job for only about a week and City Council President Tim Buckley, a retired city police officer, publicly questioned Heubusch's qualifications. Today, however, Buckley struck a different tone.

"I wish the chief the best of luck in the world and I hope he's successful," Buckley said. "That's from the bottom of my heart."

Maha had a part in the interview process and said he certainly welcomes Heubusch to the local law enforcement community and has pledged his assistance to Heubusch whenever he requests it.

"Chief Heubusch was on the Police Chief Civil Service eligible list so he is certainly qualified in that sense," Maha said in a written statement. "I say give the guy a chance and don't criticize him right from the beginning as the new Police Chief."

Buckley said, "Well, I guess that was directed at me and I think it's a fair statement."

"I may have spoken too quickly," Buckley added. "I might have more emotion about it than anything, having been in the department for 23 years."

There were three people in the department Buckley said he thought were qualified to do the job, but reiterated that he wishes the best for Heubusch.

Sources say Buckley's initial remarks were discussed in a closed door session among city council members on Monday night.

After the meeting, council members Jim Russell and Patti Pacino said Heubusch was vetted by a "highly qualified" selection committee and they support City Manager Jason Molino's decision.

"We told him to go pick someone," Russell said. "He went and picked someone, so now it’s not time to say, ‘no not that one.’ He did what he was supposed to do.  I really don’t have a problem with it."

Pacino said she believed the majority of the council feels the same way.

Councilman Kris Doeringer was unable to attend Monday's meeting and wasn't part of the closed door discussion, but he agreed that hiring Heubusch was Molino's decision and he backed it.

"Past councils voted to let Jason hire the chief," Doeringer said. "I have my confidence in him that he's hiring the right person. I don't see any problem with his hire at all, so I'm more on the side of supporting Jason and that he hired the right person."

The hiring process for chief of police is governed both by New York's civil service law and the city charter. Candidates must be qualified -- which includes taking an exam and having prior experience at a supervisory level -- and under the city charter, the final decision rests with the city manager.

As part of this process, Molino created an interview committee, which consisted of some city staff members and local community leaders, such as Maha, Bank of Castile CEO Jim Fulmer and business educator Barb Shine.

The interview committee is not required either under civil service law nor the city's charter.

Each candidate was given a phone interview and those that made it to the next round were interviewed in person, then they were brought in to see how they react to various scenarios. The candidates had 15 minutes to review a scenario and then answer a series of questions.

The candidates who continued through the process were then given a series of lengthy written scenarios and allowed 48 hours to submit written responses.

After the interview process, the interview committee took several hours over several meetings to review the candidates. 

He said Heubusch was a "consensus pick."

"It's not just me making a decision in a vacuum," Molino said. "It's a thorough review process."

Molino said he's confident about the committee's selection.

"I think Chief Heubusch is an excellent leader with great character and I look forward to working with him during these exciting times," Molino said.

Monday was Heubusch's first chance to meet city council members and members of the local media. After the meeting he chatted with reporters and said he was excited by the opportunity to serve Batavia.

"It’s a great city," Heubusch said. "The department has great resources, mainly the men. They’re the best resource the department has."

Heubusch comes from a family with deep roots in Wyoming County, where he was raised and graduated from high school (Warsaw) in 1993.

He said he knows Genesee County well because as his family was growing up, Batavia was the place to shop and do things.

"This is where we traveled to do our business," Heubusch said.

In 1997, he graduated from Rural Police Training Institute at Genesee Community College and soon after went to work for the Village of Warsaw PD for seven years before being promoted to assistant chief in 2004.

With the new job, Heubusch, who has three children ages 20, 10 and 7, saw his base salary jump from more than $55,000 in Warsaw to $70,000 in Batavia.

When asked about Buckley's comments questioning his qualifications, Heubusch said, "I don’t have any comment on this issue. This is a matter for the council to take up."

Asked if he was qualified, he said of course he is qualified.

"I wouldn’t have applied for the position if I didn't think I was qualified," he said.

Councilman Jim Russell said the best way for all of us to find out if he's qualified is to see how he does on the job.

Russell said if it was him coming into a new position under these circumstances, he would want to prove his critics wrong.

"This is an opportunity to see his character," Russell said.

"The people are going to have to make their own decisions and how they feel about the new chief by what he does," Russell added. "I think I don’t want to influence that one way or the other. I want them to see if he’s a good chief, and we’ll know it. If he’s a bad chief, we’ll know that, too."

Jacob Anthony Gilmore, 26, of Alleghany Road, Darien, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and moving from lane unsafely. Deputy Kevin McCarthy responded to a complaint at 3:57 a.m., Thursday, to a report of a vehicle in a ditch at 2180 Bennett Road, Darien, and following an investigation placed Gilmore in custody for allegedly driving drunk. Gilmore was jailed on $500 bail.

David B. Bruise Jr., 39, of Knapp Road, Akron, is charged with petit larceny and harassment, 2nd. Bruise is accused of shoplifting from Kmart. When Bruise left the store, he allegedly pushed an employee who tried to stop him from leaving. Bruise was located in the parking lot of Target and taken into custody.

Rosemary Renee Waters, 26, of Roosevelt Drive, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny, criminal trespass, 3rd, and false impersonation. Waters is accused of shoplifting at Kmart. When confronted by Kmart security and a Sheriff's deputy, Waters allegedly fled on foot. After a short pursuit, Waters was taken into custody. Waters was allegedly banned from Kmart because of a previous shoplifting complaint. While being processed on the arrest, Waters allegedly provided Deputy Howard Carlson with a false name and false date of birth.

Kyle William Nash, 24, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful imprisonment, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Nash is accused of arguing with another person, pushing that person to the floor and holding that person down for a period of time. The alleged incident occurred within close proximity to a 2-week-old infant.

The Board of Elections Web site has a complete list of polling locations in Genesee County.

The polls are open from noon to 9 p.m.

Today, there are GOP primary races for the 27th Congressional District and for senator from New York.

How closely should parents monitor their teens online activity?

New York Times: Technology parents can use to monitor online activity

A concerned Genesee County mother has helped put a child pornographer -- an Irish national living in New Jersey -- in federal prison, according to John Dehm, juvenile officer for the Sheriff's Office.

The mother contacted Dehm more than two years ago, upset because her daughter had been coerced into sending nude pictures of herself to a 14-year-old boy she met on Facebook.

Dehm decided to try and confirm the boy's identity.

The investigator was able to contact one of the 14-year-old's Facebook friends in Colorado and question him about his knowledge of the boy.

The Colorado teen was certain, he said, that the 14-year-old boy attended his school.

When Dehm checked with school officials, no children by that name were registered there.

Through his investigation, Dehm was able to determine that the suspect was an adult male posing as a teenager who'd built up clusters of online contacts on Facebook and other sites throughout the United States.

Seeing where the case was headed, Dehm contacted the FBI.

Federal investigators identified the suspect as Farrell Corrway, now 29, and began monitoring his online activity.

When Corrway announced on Facebook his intention to return to Ireland, the FBI contacted ICE and agents placed him on a watch list.

On Sept. 7, 2010 Corrway checked in for his flight in Newark and border agents pulled him aside and asked him if there was anything in his bags he would be concerned about letting them look at.

Corrway became visibly nervous, Dehm said.

Agents conducted a search of Corrway's belongings and detected several images of child pornography on an external hard drive in his possession.

An eventual forensic examination of the hard drive would reveal more than 600 images, some of them quite disturbing, according to one report.

Corrway entered a guilty plea in federal court May 31 to one count of transportation of child pornography. He faces from five to 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing is set for Sept. 11.

Corrway was in the U.S. on a travel visa. It was his second trip to America, with the first as part of a 24-month cultural exchange with Ireland known as the "Walsh Visa Program."

Dehm said the case points out the need for parents to be vigilant about their children's online activity.

There are people out there, he said, who will pose as a cool, 14-year-old kid to compromise the safety of children.

Photo: Courtesy of colleague and fellow indie online publisher Jerry DeMarco, of the Cliffview Pilot.

Batavia, the heartland of the redrawn 27th Congressional District, became a hotbed of political activity today as the two candidates in the GOP primary engaged in some last minute campaigning with Buffalo TV news crews in tow.

Chris Collins stopped for lunch and handshakes at the Pok-A-Dot and David Bellavia stopped at GOP households along Naramore Drive, Batavia.

Collins and Bellavia both predicted victory and took a couple final swings at each other.

Collins on why Genesee County Republicans should vote for him rather than Bellavia:

"You need look no further than this campaign. We're spot on with the issues. We have a professional campaign, 100-percent positive, 100-percent focused and he’s taken a page out of the Barack Obama playbook -- divide and conqueror, vote against Chris Collins because he’s from Erie County. He’s insulted every resident in the county of Erie. He’s divided us just like Barack Obama, the haves, have nots, the ones, the 99s, we’re running on the issues. He’s running a negative campaign. People don’t like that."

Bellavia on Collins saying he's run a divisive campaign:

"It’s very funny, because I’m not campaigning against Erie County. I’m campaigning against him and the handful of individuals who make up the Erie County GOP machine who embarrassed the Erie County Republic Party, who have almost ruined the party in Erie County and have done nothing but embarrass us and fail us. He should have beat Mark Poloncarz handily. He didn’t. He talks about the 64 percent of Erie County in the district that voted for him, but there’s never been a menu option and now there’s another entree on the menu and he’s going to find out that a lot of people held their nose last time. It’s not about Erie County at all. It’s about Chris Collins."

At the Pok-A-Dot, after I turned off my tape recorder, Chris Collins and I discussed the likely voter turnout tomorrow. I said it would be low. Collins said that he had a deal with Genesee County GOP Chairman Richard Seibert that he wouldn't do robo calls in Genesee County if Seibert promised to get out the vote.

Collins said he had the same deal with Livingston County.

Collins repeated the statement, no robo calls if Seibert got out the vote.

This sounded like a deal between Collins and Seibert, who is officially neutral in the race (and the county GOP did not endorse a candidate).

Reached at his office, Seibert said there was no such deal.

Seibert said he had a conversation with Collins about robo calls during the Jane Corwin campaign, that people were getting as many as 16 calls a day and it didn't go over well with Genesee County voters.

"I told him that robo calls were killing us," Seibert said. "That's not what our people want or like."

Collins said he wouldn't do robo calls in Genesee County, but Seibert said there was no promise to get out votes for Collins.

The county GOP is not doing any specific get-out-the-vote effort, Seibert said. Individuals are free to support and work on behalf of either candidate and are doing so, Seibert said, but he hasn't asked any Republicans to work for either campaign.

Reached later, Collin's campaign spokesman Michael Kracker said Collins did not mean to leave the impression that Seibert promised to deliver votes for his campaign.

"Dick Seibert has been very good at remaining neutral in this race," Kracker said.

As for the predicted turn out, Seibert said he doesn't think it's going to be has big as he had hoped.

With David Bellavia being from Genesee County, he thought the Bellavia campaign would work hard to get out the vote in Genesee County, and that to counter that move, the Collins campaign would match the effort. Neither candidate, Seibert said, has put any extra emphasis on Genesee County and he's not hearing many people around the county talking about the election.

Seibert ordered enough ballots to handle a 40-percent turnout among Republican voters.

"I've got a bad feeling I ordered too many ballots," Seibert said.

State Police in Wyoming Country received a tip Friday that a woman was allegedly driving drunk with a 4-year-old in the car.

After checking the Town of Covington area, Troopers were informed the woman was heading to Top's Market in Le Roy.

Angela R. Kruse, 40, of Pavilion, was stopped at Tops and subsequently arrested.

State Police alleged Kruse was driving with a BAC of .14 and had a 4-year-old in the vehicle.

Kruse was transported to the Warsaw station for processing and the young girl was turned over to a childcare provider at the scene.

Following arraignment in Le Roy, Kruse was jailed on $1,000 bail.

The Wyoming County Sheriff's Office assisted in the initial investigation.

Timothy P. Brown, 37, of 10 Hutchins Place, rear, is charged with stalking, 4th. Brown is accused of repeatedly contacting a former friend after being told to stop contacting that person. Brown was allegedly texting the former friend after the former friend asked him to stop and after he was warned by police to have no further contact.

Maxwell Raymond Pfendler, 20, of South Lake Road, Pavilion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and unlawful possession of marijuana. Pfendler was stopped at 7:55 p.m. Saturday on Route 63, Batavia, for allegedly speeding by Deputy Matthew Butler.

Wayne H. Austin, 37, of Ivison Road, Byron, is charged with reckless endangerment, 2nd. Austin is accused of purposefully swerving his vehicle in the roadway at another vehicle.

Linda K. Garrettson, 55, of Wynanskill, is charged with possession or sale of unstamped cigarettes and possession and transport of 10,000 or more unstamped cigarettes; James A. Lapi, 60, of Palatine Bridge, is charged with possession and transport of 10,000 or more unstamped cigarettes. Garrettson and Lapi were arrested by State Police. Garrettson was taken into custody at the State Police Barracks in Batavia at 1:21 p.m. Friday, and Lapi was arrested on Bloomingdale Road at 10:15 a.m., Friday. Lapi was jailed on $700 bail.

David Bellavia wants to be your congressional representative because he has old-fashioned values -- honor, integrity and service.

He's a conservative Republican, but not the hardline hawk some might expect from a decorated Iraq War veteran whose book on his experiences is about to be made into a Hollywood movie.

In the GOP primary for the NY-27 congressional district, all he wants is a chance to debate his opponent, former Erie County Executive Chris Collins, because he thinks he can beat Collins on the issues.

"I want to be able to look him in the eye and say he’s not a true conservative," Bellavia said. "He can’t express these values. He doesn’t know these federal issues. And the only job he was probably most qualified for, he got voted out of office on."

Bellavia grew up in Orleans County and lives in Batavia with his wife and three children.

His top issues are jobs, agriculture, taxes and health care.

On jobs, he wants to reduce burdensome regulations, especially Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, which he said makes it harder for smaller companies to raise funding and go public.

"No medium-sized business can compete if you have to pay for all of these compliance tasks," Bellavia said.

He would also like to end inheritance tax (aka, legacy tax or death tax) because, he said, it forces families to sell businesses.

"What better way to build a community than to have a business in the family for generation after generation." Bellavia said.

He also believes multinational corporations that are keeping a large portion of their profits overseas in order to avoid taxes should be granted amnesty if they bring the billions and billions of dollars back to the United States and use it to fund research and development and create jobs.

On taxes, he considers the capital gains tax unconstitutional because it taxes a person's money twice (once as earned income, second as investment income), and the corporate tax rate should be lowered from 37 percent to 25 percent.

Taxpayers should be able to choose, he said, between paying a graduated tax with deductions -- much like our current system -- or a flat tax with no deductions.

The first $20,000 a person earns should be tax free, he said.

Related to taxes is the need to reduce spending.

"We've got to aggressively slash entitlements in this country," Bellavia said. "If we continue to use the same principles as Europe, we're gong to wind up like France, Italy, Cyprus or Greece, the list goes on."

Bellavia supports the Ryan Budget Plan, at least the part that would block-grant Medicaid to the states. He said federal education funds should be handled the same way.

"Why is federal government holding the strings on education?" Bellavia said. "Let teachers teach and give powers back to the communities to control their own destiny."

On agriculture, the first order of business is to fix the worker visa program so that dairy farmers, in particular, can hire and retain workers.

"People in the city think crops grow at waist level," Bellavia said. "Farm work is hard work and we need to help workers come here from other countries. They don't want to be citizens. They don't consider themselves workers. They think of themselves as professional farmers who want to make a living, do their jobs and take care of their families back home."

The Environmental Protection Agency, Bellavia said, is "out of control." The regulations it puts on dairy farmers add high overhead and makes it harder for dairies to grow to meet new demand.

On health care, Bellavia believes that the Supreme Court will find Obama's health plan -- the mandate for health insurance -- unconstitutional.

But, he said, there's an easy fix: competition. Allow health insurance to be sold across state lines, with people -- not employers -- choosing where they purchase insurance, and creating a system of community-based healthcare cooperatives.

He also said tort reform would help bring down healthcare costs.

On foreign policy, Bellavia fears the United States will be dealing with problems in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan for another generation or more.

"It breaks my heart," Bellavia said. "I don’t want my babies to have to experience anything like I went through."

Afghanistan, he acknowledged, is looking a lot like Vietnam, an endless drain on American resources.

The U.S. has no strategy in Afghanistan, he said, and while the news media tends to portray the enemy as the Taliban, the groups that engage the U.S. military are more diverse than that, from tribal war lords to drug runners.

"We're not there to die and sacrifice and look good for the world," Bellavia said. "The mission is not worth it if we can't defend our brothers and protect them and do what we need to to bring them home.

"Right now, these men and women do not have rules of engagement they can follow. All this administration does and all Congress does is say, 'Oh, we've dropped another bomb and killed X number of people.' "

On trade, Bellavia says, "China is our enemy," and believes China needs to be confronted over currency manipulation.

He also believes foreign goods that compete with U.S.-made goods should be taxed.

Every component needs to be made in the U.S., he said, in order to avoid extra fees.

"If every one of those boxes isn't checked, another and another VAT," Bellavia said. "You can't call it a tariff. That's a bad word. Call it a value added tax, add it on. I'd like to see a Hyundai Elantra become a $70,000 car."

If Bellavia makes it to the general election, he knows there will be huge sums of money spent on his behalf trying to defeat Kathy Hochul. While Bellavia said he will have no control over these independent expenditures, he won't stand, he said, for ads that are nothing more than mud slinging.

"I have standards and honor is important to me," Bellavia said. "I’m a father. I'm an example to my children. I’m a husband. If I have an ad where an organization is showing representative Hochul throwing an elderly woman off a cliff, you better believe the next day after that commercial airs, I will stand up and say this is completely repugnant and unnecessary.

"I can beat her," he added. "I will beat her, but I’m going to beat her the old-fashioned way. With issues. We’re going to talk to the people. I don't need to smear Mr. Collins or Mrs. Hochul. I think their records stand for themselves."

America is in a terrible mess and Chris Collins thinks he's just the man to go to Washington and try to help fix it.

He wants to put people to work, correct the trade imbalance with China and see the United States become energy independent.

"The country is at a tipping point," Collins said. "I think we’re headed in the wrong direction. Simply stated, I want to do my part to help restore the promise of the American Dream for our children and grandchildren."

Collins, who served as Erie County executive from 2008 to 2011, is being challenged in Tuesday's GOP primary for the NY-27 congressional district against David Bellavia, an Iraq War veteran and Batavia resident.

The self-made millionaire is also on the Conservative line for November's general election and limits most discussion about the race to incumbent Kathy Hochul and President Barack Obama.

Collin's vows to run the race through November, even if he loses the GOP primary.

For Collins, the main issues in the race are jobs, less spending in Washington, energy indepdence and repealing Obamacare.

On jobs, Collins says small business owners have lost confidence in the American government and until confidence is restored, they won't invest in research and development, expansion or making capital improvements.

"A lack of confidence is the wet blanket today on job creation," Collins said.

To restore confidence, Washington needs to stop spending so much money.

"We need to send the message that we will balance the budget in the next 10 years," Collins said. "I think 10 years is something we have to insist on. The idea that we can wait 30 or 40 years is complete nonsense."

On taxes, Collins said the corporate tax rate is too high. He wants it reduced to 25 percent.

"It’s currently 35," Collins said. "We certainly can’t increase it, as Obama and Hochul want to do. We have to cut the tax rate to be the same as it is around the world. We are the highest-taxed nation in the world and we wonder why jobs are going overseas? We are disincentivizing them from investing in the United States."

What Collins wants to see is a "fairer flatter" tax, with fewer deductions and no more than 25 percent on any individual or business.

On trade, Collions wants the U.S. to stand up to China.

"The key words there are China cheats," Collins said. "They cheat by manipulating their currency, which gives them, I believe, a 30-percent cost advantage over the American manufacturer. They steal our intellectual property.  And they don’t open their own markets to our manufacturers."

The response, Collins said, is tarriffs until China capitulates and trades as an equal partner with the U.S.

"I believe China needs us more than we need them," Collins said. "They need our consumers. Quite frankly, we don’t need them."

When it comes to trading with other countries, however, Collins is open to any trade that is fair and free.

"We do live in a world economy and we can’t erect barriers and say the United States is not going trade with the rest of the world," Collins said. "That’s just nonsense. We can not only compete, we can win."

On energy, Collins said the U.S. needs to stop relying on the Middle East for its oil.

"We drill more off shore," Collins said. "We drill more on federal lands. We use safe nuclear. We go after our shale gas. We can be energy independent in 10 years."

On foreign affairs, Collins said except in dealing directly with Al-Qaeda, he doesn't believe the U.S. should go it alone. While during the trade discussion, Collins said he was against interfering in another country's affairs, when it comes to military intervention, he said the U.S. should only participate if it's part of an organization such as NATO.

"When it comes to us being the world’s policeman, the world’s this, the world’s that, guess what -- our cupboards are bare," Collins said. "If the civilized world has a problem with Syria, if we have a problem with other countries, then that should be a joint effort, it should not be the U.S. going alone."

Asked whether the military budget should be trimmed, Collins said, it's up to the generals.

"It’s not my call," Collins said. "I would say you look to your military commanders, you say what is our mission and you look to the experts on how to achieve that mission in in the most cost-effective way, making sure they’ve got the tools they need to accomplish their mission.

"Whereas our current president has tried to micromanage the military. He’s replaced commanders in Afghanistan because they don’t agree with his policies.  I think you need to look to your experts."

Clearly, Collins dislikes Obamacare.

He said Obama wants to cut $500 billion from Medicare, which, he said, would decimate Medicare Advantage.

Also, he said, Obama would trim $350 million from reimbursements to doctors, which Collins believes will encourage doctors to stop seeing Medicare patients.

"They don’t have to take Medicare patients. So in the supply-and-demand world, if you’re busy what do you do? You usually elminate your least profitable customer," Collins said. "So the thought that the federal government can set the reimbursement rates for doctors and cut 30 percent out their income and nothing’s going to change is just nonsense. Right there and then you’ve got to get rid of Obamacare."

The healthcare reforms Collins said he would push would be tort reform and open up competition in insurance by allowing policies across state lines.

Collins also argued that modern healthcare is expensive for a reason.

"People now don’t die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and some of the other things," Collins said. "The fact of the matter is, our healthcare today is so much better,  we’re living so much longer, because of innovations in drug development, surgical procedures, stents, implantable cardiac defibrillators, neural stimulators -- they didn’t exist 10 years ago. The increase in cost is not because doctors are making a lot more money. It’s what you can get for healthcare, extending your life and curing diseases."

On Medicaid, Collins said he favors block-granting enough federal Medicaid funds to ensure poor people have basic medical care, but beyond that, it's a state issue and each state should decide what kind of Medicaid program it wants.

The problem in New York, with the state taking a bigger and bigger share of local tax dollars to support Medicaid, is a New Tork state problem, not a federal problem, Collins said.

New York, Collins said, spends three times more on Medicaid than California and Texas combined, which together have 60 million residents compared to New York's 19 million.

Previously, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos told The Batavian that the high cost of Medicaid for counties in New York was the fault of the federal government, but, Collins said, New York offers Medicaid patients every conceivable option for care, which significantly drives up the cost.

"I’m not surprised Albany would try to blame it on Washington," Collins said. "The blame belongs right where it is, in Albany."

One of his big objections to Obamacare, Collins said, is that he doesn't think the government should dictate how people live their lives.

"The thought that government should be making decisions for us is against every grain in my body," Collins said.

Asked, then, "Are you a libertarian?"

Collins said, "I have a libertarian bent, yes."

Asked, then, if he favored legalizing marijuana, Collins said, no.

"I just don’t think we should legalize drugs," Collns said.

Well, that's not letting people make decisions for themselves.

"On that piece, I suppose," Collins said. "We have to outlaw murder, too.

"The government's role is to create laws," Collins added. "If I believe in a smaller limited government, that doesn’t mean I believe in a lawless state.  Government does have a role to play in passing laws."

Collins had also previously said he believes in state's rights, so we asked him if the federal government should interfer in a state like California, which has legalized medical marijuana.

"Whether it's seat belt or motorcycle helmet laws, I do believe in what the Constitution would say on the importance of states rights. The people who live in that state should be able to decide what laws they want. The federal government has over stepped its bounds over and over again relative to state rights."

PHOTO: Submitted by the Collins campaign.

A gas line has been struck and is leaking in the back yard of 35 N. Main St., Elba.

Elba fire dispatched.

UPDATE 4:55 p.m.: Elba fire still on scene, awaiting arrival of National Fuel.

UPDATE 5:43 p.m.: Elba back in service.

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A driver involved in a rollover accident on Route 77, Alabama, on Friday said he fell asleep at the wheel.

Matthew R. Killburn, 22, of 1379 Bray Road, Arcade, was not seriously injured in the crash and did not require ambulance transport.

According to Deputy Tim Wescott's report, Killburn was northbound on Route 77 near Ledge Road at 6:15 p.m. when he fell asleep and his car traveled off the east shoulder and overturned.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

Killburn was driving a 2005 Chevy sedan.

No citations were issued.