Members of the Stafford Fire Department installed new officers, and honored their top responders and their immediate past chief at the department's first banquet in three years, held at the Batavia Country Club on Saturday.

Food Trucks, BYO Lawn Chair/Cooler.
Bands Appearing: Ryan & Scott, Front Porch Pickers, Ghost Riders, Howe's That, TONK (RET.), Rock-a-Bully's, KW Does Country, Guests and Friends. 
Band schedule subject to change.

Good Fan's, Good Families, Good Food, Good Music, Good Friends, Good Times!

Hosted by Committee of Area Musicians

Randall Henning left the Stafford Fire Department's annual installation dinner at Batavia Downs with a handful of hardware, having logged the most training hours for both firematic training and EMS training. Each of those categories have their own awards, and there's also an award for most combined training hours, which Henning won, with 191 total training hours in 2016.

The department responded to 271 calls on the year. Of those 22 were fire calls, 166 medical, 11 hazardous conditions, 15 service, 54 good intent and three false alarms.

With 165 answered alarms, Timothy E. Eckdahl had the most responses for the year.

Firematic officers installs: Brian Pocock -- chief, Stephanie Call -- 1st assistant chief, Christopher Bobo -- 2nd assistant chief, Timothy Eckdahl -- 3rd assistant chief, Michael Dorgam -- 4th assistant chief, Matt Hendershott -- rescue squad captain, Michael Dorgan -- rescue squad lieutenant, Ben Fox -- fire police captain, Stephen Johnson -- fire police lieutenant, and Mark Dougherty -- master mechanic.

Administrative officers: James Call -- president, Stephen Johnson -- vice president, Ashley Swartzenberg -- secretary, Stephanie Call -- treasurer. Trustees: James Call, Ron DeMena III, Timothy Eckdahl, Stan Gere and Matt Hendershott. Auditors: Dean Brooks and Randall Henning.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I- Batavia) today encouraged groups that hold raffles for fundraising and charity to write letters of support to Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Mt. Vernon), chair of the Assembly’s Racing and Wagering Committee, encouraging him to introduce legislation that would help groups like the Stafford Fire Department legally operate their raffles.

“It is gravely important to our end goal of bringing back the Stafford car raffle that local groups write letters to Assemblyman Pretlow urging him to introduce the legislation that I have written,” Hawley said. “This is the first step in getting legislation passed. We have to show Assembly leadership that there is intense grassroots support for this legislation and that thousands of non-profits and charitable organizations will be gravely impacted if this injustice isn’t corrected.”

Current gaming regulations do not allow charitable groups and non-profits to collect raffle fees using check or credit cards and do not allow the sale of tickets outside of the county which the event will be taking place. The Stafford Fire Dept. previously sold tickets nationwide for its annual car raffle and used the proceeds for charitable donations and to fund the department.

Letters to Assemblyman Pretlow should include information about the group’s previous raffles and what profits were used for. A copy should be sent as soon as possible to Pretlow’s Albany office, his district office and Hawley’s district office. If you have any questions please call Hawley’s office at 585-589-5780. Pretlow’s office addresses are below.

Assemblyman Gary Pretlow
LOB 845
Albany, NY 12248

Assemblyman Gary Pretlow
District Office
6 Gramatan Ave.
Mt. Vernon, NY 10550

Assemblyman Steve Hawley

District Office

121 N. Main St.

Albion, NY 14411 

Under our licensing agreement with the New York State Gaming Association Commission, our activities are audited just to make sure that we follow their rules and regulations.

As we understand it, there were some changes in the rules and regulations that we inadvertently did not notice. As a result, they have suspended our raffle for this year.

Therefore, we are in the process of returning all funds received in connection with this year's raffle. We are very sorry for what has happened and wish to thank all of you for your continued support over the years.

We have contacted the Gaming Commission and Stafford fire officials for more details and will provide them as able.

She had a job to do. There was no time for playing. This was serious business. 

With all the attentiveness her little 4-year-old body could muster, she reached into the bin holding the slips of paper and drew out a name. 

“She was very serious about doing her job pulling the ticket,” Yvonne Freeman, the little girl's mom, said. “Most kids, when you put them in the bin to draw the name, play with the paper, not Teaghan, she was very serious about the whole thing.”

For more than 25 years the Stafford Fire Department has raffled off a car; for more than a decade, it’s been a classic Corvette. About every other year, someone from the local area wins the grand prize. This year, Cortland Kopp, of Attica, won his choice between a 1967 cherry red Corvette convertible or $50,000 cash.

“I own a 1972 Corvette,” Kopp said, “have for 30 years. I decided to take the cash.”

The Attica corrections officer has been buying the raffle tickets since 1976. This is the first year he showed a return on his $30-a-year investment.

“After taxes I figure it’ll be about $35,000,” Kopp said. “It’s been a wild, surreal week.”

Raffle organizer and Stafford Fire Department social member Robin Krenzer reported thousands of tickets are sold for the raffle. While there is one Grand Prize winner, there are 10 winners of $1,000 each as well.

“There were only 200-something of that car made,” Krenzer said. “We will sell this vehicle and then purchase a different one for next year’s raffle.

“The last time we had a local winner was two years ago and she took the cash, too,” Krenzer said. “A man from Texas won last year and he took the car.”

While the cars are purchased yearly, this ‘67 ‘vette has an appraised value of $92,000. Additionally, organizers scour the region for a different car every year. Occasionally they are bought from individuals, other times, car dealers, they really never know what year the next model will be.

According to Krenzer, proceeds from the raffle helps to fund the department’s budget for the year. Additionally, the Stafford Fire Department donates $5,000 to Mercy Flight every year from the proceeds of the raffle.

But right now, in this moment, Kopp is living a surreal sort of life, getting ready to enjoy his new windfall.

Last evening was the annual Stafford Firemen's Carnival Parade. Here are a couple photos from the event.

For more carnival and parade photos go to Facebook: Steve Ognibene Photography

The audit found no evidence of missing funds, but said some of the lack of proper approval for expenditures could lead to unauthorized or improper expenditures.

The audit covered a 19-month period beginning with Jan. 1, 2013.

The department's revenue in 2013 was $550,130 and it spent $543,145.

While the department's treasurer maintained appropriate records and submitted monthly financial reports to the board, the treasurer did not properly receive all cash receipts.

For example, in 2014, the department collected $11,181 in cash from its annual carnival, but only $3,685 was turned over to the treasurer.

The department's president used the remaining $7,496 to pay for various carnival-related expenses, including a carnival ground cleaning service, food and supplies for a party for carnival workers and carnival set-up costs. 

"Although these expenses were supported by invoices and handwritten documents," the audit states, "the board was not given the opportunity to review and approve the payments before they were made."

The Ladies Auxiliary collected collected and deposited all of the department's banquet, hall and pavilion rental revenues into its own bank accounts, though there's no provision in the department's bylaws for this practice.

The Auxiliary collected $7,970 in banquet revenue, $2,305 for hall and pavilion rentals in 2013.

The auditors also reviewed 601 department checks with a total disbursement of $1.7 million from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014 and though financial activity was properly recorded and payments were supported, there were 131 transactions that were not properly reviewed by the board.

These expenditures totaled $394,897 and were made by the Classic Car Committee.

The bills, the board told auditors, were not always submitted prior to the appropriate board meeting.

The Comptroller's Office made four recommendations for changes, and President Dave Wallace, responded in writing with the board's plan of action to address the recommendations, and it is as follows:

• The bylaws will be changed to require checks for payment of all bills and all cash to be returned to the treasurer. Itemized bills are required for all expenditures;
• A contract will be drawn up with the Auxiliary for financial transactions;
• Committees must present their bills to the board in a timely manner;
• The department will hire an independent audit service.

Clarendon resident Charlie Snook couldn't help but look at the silver Corvette with a bit of glint in his eyes.

When he was a young man, he said, he would have taken the car, but the cash will get him and his wife to Hawaii for the first time and then take care of some recent unexpected expenses.

Snook is this year's winner of Stafford Fire Department's annual Corvette raffle, and Snook almost didn't get a ticket.

He intended to make it to Stafford on the Saturday of the carnival, but one thing led to another and he never got out of the house.

And Sunday's weather, of course, was miserable.

"Wind, mud, rain, I wasn't even going to come," Snook said. "Things like this don't happen to me. They happen to other people."

Snook and his wife bought two books of tickets and one of those tickets was the winner.

Pictured with Snook are Robin Krenzer, of the car committee, and Fire Department President Dave Wallace.

It's a beautiful car, Snook admitted, but he gladly took his check from Krenzer.

"Twenty years ago it would have been different," he said.

The total cash prize was $50,000.

The Stafford Volunteer Fire Department held its annual installation dinner and awards ceremony at the Clarion Hotel in Batavia on Saturday night.

Above, Karen Nostrant, who received the Chief's Award from Fire Chief Dave Rumsey, dedicates her award to the late 3rd Assistant Chief Paul Hendel, who died Feb. 17 at the age of 49.

Brian Breemes (pictured below with Rumsey) was named Firefighter of the Year. Breemes achieved 226.7 hours of firematic/EMS activity.

Ben Fox won the EMS Achievement Award with 154 hours.

The most EMS training hours were achieved by Chris Scopano with 170.5 hours, while Chris Bobo had most firematic training hours at 126.17.

The department has 40 active members. Total activity and training hours for the department in 2010 was 3,880.48.

The department responded to 237 calls: Fire, 39, rescue and EMS, 146, hazardous condition (no fire), 10, service calls, 2, good intention calls, 28, and false alarms, 12.

More pictures after the jump:

Tom Laird, master of ceremonies.

Chris Bobo

Bill Taylor, "Best Patient of the Year." (Taylor volunteered many times to be the "victim" in training sessions).