A panel of legislators and an audience of school board members and administrators who gathered in Pavilion on Saturday morning all seemed to agree that cuts in state aid to schools, mandates, and a restrictive property tax cap are hurting school districts.

School districts are in financial dire straights and can't continue to tap into reserves to provide the same level of services to students and their families was the general message of the discussion.

"What we would like to see, because we know the property tax cap is so low, what we would like to see in the Senate Republican Caucus, is eliminate the GA (Gap Elimination Adjustment) fully this year and add to the Foundation Aid so that we can fund our schools," said Sen. Cathy Young, who represents Cattaraugus County and is chair of the State Senate's Finance Committee.

Gap Elimination Adjustments were a prime target during the panel discussion. The program is a product of 2010-11 fiscal year when state funds were tight and Foundation Aid was being cut. While the word "gap" might imply the program was meant to replace what was being lost in Foundation Aid, for most school districts in the state, the program just meant fewer dollars to fund programs.

For the region, GA has cost school districts more than $140 million over the past five years. For the current fiscal year, those school districts are underfunded, officials say, by $21,447,597.

Meanwhile, the complicated tax cap formula limits any increase in school district revenue to .12 percent.

David Little, executive director of NYS Rural Schools, said there are districts that a year ago didn't need a voter-approved tax cap override, but this year, with the exact same budget, will need to go to voters for approval.

Until 2010-11, school districts were kept on a level playing field across the state through Foundation Aid. It's a complex formula but accounts for publication, household income, district size and cost of living to arrive at the size of an annual grant to school districts to ensure they have enough operational revenue.

Over the past five years, as the figures above indicate, Foundation Aid has been slashed drastically, and GA hasn't closed the gap.

The issue of mandate relief was raised early in the discussion by Paul Alioto, superintendent in Dansville, and several of the panel members responded.

Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer said he was on a task force that came up with a list of 51 mandates that could be targeted for elimination, but as soon as you start to dig into them one-by-one, you find each has their constituency, people who will fight tooth and nail to keep it alive.

One of his pet mandates to eliminate is one that requires a third audit of district financial records. It costs districts from $10,000 to $100,000 annually and in Ranzenhofer's view, it's unnecessary. He was able to get a bill through that exempted the state's smallest school districts, but subsequent attempts to exempt more districts have been stymied.

"We have to be able to get (a reform) through both houses," Ranzenhofer said. "It seems like common sense to me, but there is somebody in the Assembly majority who feels it is a good idea to have these audits."

Young said mandates around special needs students are particularly contentious. Many of the mandates could be shifted to a federal budget responsibility, but at the local level, people fear change. At the local level, it's often easy to see how mandated spending on even one special needs child might lead to the elimination of an advanced placement class, which creates local conflicts, but it's difficult to shift expense responsibility to the federal government.

David Little said New York's funding formula is backward compared to just about every other state in the Union. In New York, the state picks up only about 40 percent of the cost of education; in other states, the school district is on the hook for less than 40 percent and the state covers the rest of the expense.

And that's something that could be fixed easily, Little said, at least in theory, though the politics of it are much more tricky. The state mandates a pension program that is state run, but the school districts pay into the program. If the state covered pension expense, Little said, that 40/60 split would flip. It would lift a huge expense burden from school districts.

Assemblyman Bill Nojay took aim at standardized testing. He said children need a broad range of experience and the ability to think critically. The system, he said, is forcing children at a younger and younger age into silos -- "you're going to be a doctor, you're going to be an engineer ... "

He said he was in China recently and their standardized testing is even more rigorous, and people there complain about it.

"For what purpose?" Nojay said. "No matter how good the standards, we are teaching to the test, for lack of a better term, and the obsession with testing, in my judgment, and the Chinese experience, it's not good for child development. It is immensely counterproductive to the development of a society."

Assemblyman Steve Hawley said the drift in education is being driven by a progressive agenda that is hurting America in a lot of ways, and he spoke at length about increases in the minimum wage and problems with the healthcare system.

He shared a story about a call from a restaurant owner who employs 27 servers. An increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour will cost that restaurant owner an additional $105,000 a year.

The owner also recently had a waitress and cook who fell in love and she became pregnant. The waitress did have health insurance, so the owner set her up with an appointment with a health insurance navigator. he waitress reported back that the good news was, she was going to get health insurance. The bad news was that in order to qualify, she couldn't work more than two days a week, and the child's father, a full-time cook at the restaurant, couldn't work more than three days a week.

"We've lost our way in this state with hands out instead of hands on, actually working," Hawley said. "This is not the America we grew up in. It's not the free enterprise system we all prospered under, or tried to prosper under, and that movement over the last seven years across this state is going the wrong way and it's hurting education."

The call initially came in as heavy black smoke coming from a vent at a residence at 111 Myrtle St., Le Roy, indicating a possible structure fire.

A first responder reported smoke coming from a vent for a heater and another reported smoke in the residence.

Le Roy fire and Le Roy ambulance dispatched. Bergen fire initially dispatched, but now told to stand down.

A 73-year-old man faces criminal charges following an incident during student mass at St. Joe's this morning, after the man allegedly took a student by his arm who was in line for Holy Communion and led him through it and then back to his seat in a pew.

Police did not indicate what the man's motivation might have been or what statements he may have made while inside the church, but said the man has no prior relationship with the church nor the student involved in the incident.

Daniel S. Kuczka, 73, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and criminal trespass, 3rd.

According to police, Kuczka entered the church during a private Mass for students of St. Joe's and Notre Dame. He made "inappropriate" comments to staff and was asked to leave.

During Communion, Kuczka reportedly returned to the Mass and grabbed a juvenile who was in line, saying, "Come with me."

Police were called and when patrols arrived, Kuczka was taken into custody without incident.

Police say that investigators found there was no attempt by Kuczka to remove the student from the service.

Submitted story:

WBTA Radio, Genesee County's only locally owned commercial radio station, marks its 75^th year of broadcasting this Saturday.

The station went on the air at 7 a.m.,  Thursday, Feb 6, 1941. It has been licensed as WBTA since its inception.

The first voice on the air was that of the “genial” Jerry Flynn who opened the program, “Rise and Shine,” according to an article published in the Daily News. Flynn became better known later as a sports announcer. The station's studios and offices were located on the second floor of 90 Main St. in Batavia where they remained until 1957.

WBTA studios moved several times over the years. Its next location was 22 Seaver Place, now the JCPenney store's loading dock. For several years the station occupied the second floor and later the first floor of 413 Main St. at the corner of Harvester Avenue. The station moved to 113 Main St. in 2004 when it was purchased by its present owner, HPL Communications, Inc., owned by Daniel and Debrah Fischer.

As the studios and offices moved, the station's transmission and tower site has remained on Creek Road in the Town of Batavia. In the early years, an engineer was required to be at the transmission site whenever the station was on the air. Technical improvements in the late 1950s allowed the station to be remote controlled from the studio.

The station was originally owned by three Batavia residents: Joseph Ryan, of Union Street; Edward P. Atwitter, of East Main Street and Edmund R. Gamble, of Vernon Avenue. Gamble also served as the general manager.

After the outbreak of World War II, several members of the station's staff left for military service including Gamble.

The next local owner of WBTA was William F. Brown. Brown was best known for his regular editorials on local issues. He won 16 Best Editorial awards from the New York State Broadcasters Association.

Brown expanded the station's news coverage, which was apparent in the 1971 coverage of the Attica Prison Revolt.

In February 2004, the Fischers' formed HPL Communications, purchased WBTA and moved to Genesee County.

New digital studios were built and WBTA moved to its present location at the corner of Main and Center streets, which became the name of the station's morning talk show, “Main & Center.”

From 1977 to 2000, WBTA operated an FM station that was licensed to Attica, NY. The station was sold and became WLOF, which beams Catholic programming into the Buffalo area.

Under HPL, the station launched another FM station in 2014. It is licensed under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) translator rules and allows WBTA to broadcast in stereo at 100.1 Mhz. The station also streams 100 percent of its programming on the Internet at WBTAi.com and via mobile devices with custom apps for Android and iPhone systems.

“We are proud of WBTA's legacy of service to Batavia and Genesee County,” Fischer said. "As a licensee of a broadcast station, we pledge to the FCC to 'serve the public interest, convenience and necessity as a public trustee.' ”

WBTA is known in the industry as a “heritage” station, Fischer added, “our listeners have grown up with us.” Over the years we have reported individual milestones: births, anniversaries and obituaries. In times of war, the station has reported on service of local men and women in uniform.

The station has broadcast hundreds of local sporting events and have followed area high school teams to regional and state championships. WBTA has been the broadcast voice of Batavia's professional baseball team, the Muckdogs.

Through affiliations with national news organizations such as ABC Radio, WBTA has provided coverage of the most notable events of the 20^th and 21^st centuries including the Pearl Harbor attack, the assassinations of the 1960s, wars in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East, the manned moon landing and the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“Radio broadcasting has certainly undergone significant changes over the past 75 years and will continue to change and evolve over the next 75 years,” Fischer said, “but I believe its basic commitment to serving the public interest will never change.”

Photo by Howard Owens. Pictured, Dan and Debbie Fischer.

Our biggest sale of the year - 50-75% OFF - 4 Hours Only! Suits, sportcoats, slacks, shirts, ties, hats, caps, scarves, gloves, outerwear & more! 

Press release:

Attention Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union Members: We have been made aware this morning, Friday, Feb. 5, that an automated call is being made to members and non-members saying that TVFCU needs their card information. This is a scam and you should hang up the phone immediately.

Please do not enter any information during these phone calls! TVFCU will never call and ask for your card number or any other private information. 

If you have given your card information during the phone call and you are a TVFCU member please call us at (585) 343-5627.  

If you are a non-TVFCU member please contact your own financial institution. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

UPDATE 1:30 p.m.: Officials at the Le Roy Federal Credit Union contacted us to report many of their members are reporting the same scam. "We've been getting many calls and walk-ins from members stating that they have been receiving these calls as well. We also advise to NEVER give out card/account numbers over the phone. If they have questions, they may call us at (585) 768-7207," says Kimberly Antinore, Member Services, Le Roy Federal Credit Union.

CIty fire and Mercy EMS are dispatched to Oak Street and North Lyon for a woman in labor reportedly delivering a baby.

UPDATE 10:07 a.m.: A police officer on scene reports the baby has been delivered.

UPDATE 10:15 a.m.: "ER go ahead." "In route with a mother and baby -- delivered in the field -- baby's fine, mom's fine. We'll see you in 10." "You're clear."

UPDATE 10:27a.m.: Batavia Police Officer Frank Klimjack said the baby's father made the delivery prior to his arrival on scene. They are all at UMMC now.

A tractor-trailer is reported in a ditch off Ellicott Street Road and Starr Road, Pavilion.

Unknown injuries.

Pavilion fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 5:25 a.m.: No injuries and no fuel leaks.

UPDATE 5:26 a.m.: Mercy EMS in service. A chief on scene reports, "tractor-trailer on its side."

UPDATE 5:43 a.m.: Pavilion is back in service. A wrecker requested to the scene. The trailer contains 24,000 pounds of food product.

A person reportedly became trapped between two railroad cars at the railroad crossing at Fargo Road, Darien.

The person is reportedly conscious and alert. It's unknown if he's still entrapped.

Darien fire, Darien ambulance and Mercy EMS responding.

A chief requests that dispatchers check on the availability of Mercy Flight.

Corfu to stand by in quarters.

UPDATE 8:35 p.m.: Deputy on scene reports an oncoming train from the other tracks. Responding units advised to use caution.

UPDATE 8:42 p.m.: The original call from CSX said the subject was trapped between the last and second-to-last car. When firefighters arrived at that location, there was no person at that location. Further conversation with CSX indicates the original information received from CSX was incorrect. The person was never trapped. The train jolted and he was knocked down. The subject may now be in the locomotive's engine compartment. All personnel are accounted for at the engine. The subject is not injured and does not need any medical attention.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today touted his support for volunteer and paid firefighters and emphasized the crucial role they play in communities across New York State. Hawley’s comments come after it was recently reported that volunteer firefighter groups save New York’s communities more than $3 billion statewide annually.

“Volunteer firefighters are one of the most necessary groups for preserving public safety in our communities,” Hawley said. “Their sacrifices and willingness to put themselves in dangerous situations at a moment’s notice is matched by very few. Running into a burning building when common sense tells you to run away speaks to their unbridled bravery and commitment to saving lives, no matter the cost.”

Hawley also spoke about ways to help support local fire departments, opportunities for citizens to become involved and serve their community, and his plans moving forward.

“With volunteer numbers decreasing as of late, we have an obligation to bolster local fire departments as much as possible and make the profession  attractive to young people. I’ve always been a supporter of the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) and its tuition reimbursement opportunities, which allow young men and women to serve as volunteer firefighters in exchange for help paying for education. I will continue to support New York’s firefighter network and champion their causes in this year’s budget negotiations.”

The City will host an informational meeting from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10, regarding the planned sewer reconstruction on Washington Avenue.

The project will go from Jefferson to Ross Street and include a small section on State Street north of Lewis Place. The project is scheduled for this summer and will replace the sewer line and include replacement of some water services. 

The "open house" meeting will be held in the Council Boardroom on the second floor at Batavia City Hall.

City staff will be available to review plans, discuss the project, listen to concerns and answer any questions you may have.

Press release from Matt Worth, director of the City's Department of Public Works:

The City has begun tree removal work on Summit Street in advance of the reconstruction project to be completed this summer.

This work will result in the removal of approximately 30 tree on Summit Street, which need to be removed as they conflict with new utilities, sidewalks or curb lines to be installed, or they are in a deteriorated condition.

This work may result in some short-term delays to the traveling public on Summit Street until the removals are complete, which is expected to take a couple of weeks.

The reconstruction of Summit Street includes the installation of approximately 60 new trees as part of the landscaping work to be completed as part of this project.

Press release:

Genesee County STOP-DWI coordinator Matt Landers announced today that Genesee County Sheriff’s Department, City of Batavia Police Department and the Village of Le Roy Police Department will participate in a special enforcement effort to crackdown on impaired driving.

The statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown efforts start on Friday, Feb. 5^th, and will end on Monday, Feb. 8^th. The Super Bowl is America’s most watched national sporting event and Super Bowl Weekend is historically a deadly period for impaired driving.

New York State Police, County Sheriffs and municipal law enforcement agencies will collaborate across the state and will be out in force in this coordinated effort to reduce the number of alcohol-related injuries and deaths.

Undersheriff William Sheron reminds us: “that unlike a football game, life has no instant replay. A bad decision made while intoxicated cannot be challenged, can’t be reviewed and can’t be reversed.”

You can help to make a difference by Having a Plan! Download our new mobile app – “Have a Plan” and you will always be able to find a safe ride home www.stopdwi.org/mobileapp

Impaired driving is completely preventable. All it takes is a little planning. If you’re hosting a Super Bowl 50 party, designate a responsible driver before the game begins. We want fans to remember that it’s a choice. So root for your favorite team; enjoy your friends and family and remember “DON’T DRIVE, GET A RIDE!"

The STOP-DWI Super Bowl Weekend Crackdown is one of many statewide enforcement initiatives promoted by the New York State STOP-DWI Association. The Statewide STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign also targets St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, 4^th of July, Labor Day Weekend, Halloween, and the national Holiday Season in December.

Highly visible, highly publicized efforts like the STOP-DWI Crackdown Campaign aim to further reduce the incidence of drunk and impaired driving.

Press release:

If you enjoy movies and watching the upcoming Academy Awards, why not learn what it takes to be a screenwriter? Or understand how the weather is predicted? Or acquire the latest tricks of the digital photography trade? You can learn all of these things and more with late-start, 12-week courses at GCC. Register now for the session which begins Feb. 16.

Students over the age of 60 can audit a course for free with space availability.

Among the dozens of GCC classes available online or onsite during the 12-week session include: (Online courses are indicated.)

• Writing for Stage and Screen (CIN214): Learn the basic techniques of writing for the stage and screen with emphasis on structure, storytelling through dialogue and dramatic action. (Batavia Campus)
• Introduction to Meteorology (MET101): Stop blaming the weatherman and learn for yourself how to read weather maps and charts; how to observe, study and predict storm systems; and how fronts develop, as well as thunderstorms and tornadoes. (Online)
• Introduction to Digital Photography (PHO 118): Learn the fundamentals of digital imaging using cameras, scanners and new media while understanding the subject, form and interpretation of all images. (Online)
• History Courses: From World Civilizations to U.S. History – there are five sections of history classes offered in the 12-week session, online and at Batavia and Warsaw campus locations.

To apply for classes at any of Genesee Community College's seven campus locations, new students should go to http://www.genesee.edu/Admissions or call the Admissions office at 585-345-6800.

GCC is also ready to help new or continuing students with financial aid. Two GCC campus centers are offering FREE financial aid assistance on Thursday, Feb. 11, at Warsaw Campus Center, and Tuesday, March 29, at Dansville Campus Center, from 4 - 8 p.m. at each location. Anyone interested in setting up a personal appointment with GCC's Financial Aid Office in Batavia can also call 585-345-6900. Everyone is also invited to check out GCC at an upcoming Open House or Friday Visit Day at the Batavia Campus:

Batavia Campus Open Houses *

Wed., March 9, 5 - 7 p.m.

Sat., April 23, 9 a.m.- noon

Friday Visit Days

Feb. 26, 9 a.m. – noon

March 4, 9 a.m. – noon

March 11, 9 a.m. – noon

April 8, 9 a.m. – noon

April 29, 9 a.m. – noon

At GCC's Batavia Open Houses, representatives from Admissions, Financial Aid and College Village are all available to answer questions covering everything from scholarships to athletics, testing to Student Support Services, student life to studying abroad. A full Batavia campus tour is available.* Friday Visit Days are less formal but more up-tempo alternatives to Open Houses offering an introduction to admissions, details about applying to GCC and getting financial aid. You can also sit in on a First Year Experience (FYE) college class at any Friday Visit Day.

GCC campus centers are often open evenings to assist students, and welcome visitors for tours. Please check with your local campus center for hours. To contact any of GCC's seven campus locations and or the Online Office:

• Albion: 456 West Avenue / 585-589-4936

• Arcade: 25 Edward Street / 585-492-5265

• Batavia: 1 College Road / 585-345-6800

• Dansville: 31 Clara Barton St. / 585-335-7820

• Lima: 7285 Gale Road (at Route 15A) / 585-582-1226

• Medina: 11470 Maple Ridge Road / 585-798-1688

• Warsaw: 115 Linwood Ave. / 585-786-3010

• Online: www.genesee.edu/offices/online/; Call 585-343-6969; E-mail online@genesee.edu;

A plan hatched by the City, the Batavia Development Corp. and the Genesee County Economic Development Center to redirect some money generated by economic development into brownfield area cleanup received the support Wednesday of the county's Ways and Means Committee.

The committee approval means the proposal will be voted on by the full County Legislature at its next meeting.

The plan, unique in the state, called Batavia Pathway to Prosperity, will create a fund from PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments that can be used for environmental clean up on properties within the city's brownfield opportunity area, a 366-acre designation covering the city's core.

A PILOT provides a business undertaking local economic development (creating jobs, increasing the tax base, adding to local economic growth) with a break in taxes for the increase in assessed value on the property being developed. Typically, if a business puts a new building on vacant land or adds onto an existing building, the assessed value of the property will increase, which means higher property taxes paid to the city (town or village), school district and county. A PILOT reduces those taxes in exchange for payments to the taxing jurisdictions. The payments could be in the range of 70 percent of what the increase in taxes would have been without the PILOT. The property owner still pays 100 percent of the taxes on the original assessed value. PILOTs typically run for 10 years on a graduated scale, with property taxes due increasing every two years over the life of the PILOT.

The new program would redirect half of the PILOT payments from projects in the city to an investment fund (a PIF) that would be available to property owners in the future who wish to redevelopment brownfield properties and need assistance with the environmental cleanup.

"This creates a fund that gives the BDC and the EDC working together and providing collective oversight the opportunity to look at broad range investment opportunities," said Steve Hyde, CEO of the GCEDC. "(The projects) still have to be for the public good, but (the property owner) can turn around and maybe do some creative financing type of things to really move some property and get them redeveloped and start to heal the poverty and blight down in our core."

Marianne Clattenberg, now a legislator but a former City Council president, said the city has needed something like this for a long time, but had other problems to solve first before something forward-looking could be brought to the table.

"We knew going in we could never do this by ourselves, that we needed partners and we needed to have everybody on board and engaged to bring the city back to where it needs to be," Clattenberg said. 

County Manager Jay Gsell said a program like this could spark a renaissance in the city.

"The need is unique and this is the kind of structural financing that gives the adroitness necessary to having this kind of money available," Gsell said.

The committee also approved a city plan to provide tax relief on so-called zombie properties. The program would provide a PILOT-like tax abatement on the increase in assessed value of a home that is currently vacant and has been vacant for some time that a person buys, renovates and then lives in. While the abatement isn't available to an investor who buys a zombie house, fixes it up and then rents it out, the abatement could be available to the next owner if that same investor fixes it up and then sells it to an owner-occupant. 

There are 50 to 60 such zombie properties in the city, not all of which can be saved, but some retain some value and could be renovated. The property must be single family, or converted to a single-family residence.

Hyde said the two programs together are the sort of thing that can spur economic development in the city's core and attract the Millennials who will be taking jobs at STAMP (Alabama's Science and Technology Manufacturing Park) to the city.

Genesee County real estate investor meeting to be held at the Clarion Hotel on Park Road in Batavia on Thursday, Feb. 11th. Networking begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by an hour-long informational class at 7 p.m. The class topics will include: "how to analyze properties for real estate investing" and "the five R's of real estate investing." This class is geared toward current or potential landlords and real estate investors, or anyone in the real estate field looking to network. For more information or questions, please call 585-576-5618.

Renovation work on the future home of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau could begin in early spring, said Chamber President Tom Turnbull.

The chamber completed the purchase of the property at 8276 Park Road, Batavia, on Friday.

A request for construction bids on the project should go out in the next couple of weeks.

The chamber anticipates spending $900,000 on the project, which involves totally renovating and reconfiguring the building into office and meeting space suitable to the needs of the chamber and tourism bureau.

The location was selected in a large part because of its proximity to the Batavia exit for the Thruway and the concentration of hotels in the area.

The chamber purchased the building for $275,000.

The cost will be reduced a bit because of significant donation to the project by U.S. Gypsum.

Ray Dunlevy, a Gypsum executive in Oakfield and a member of the Chamber's board, came forward and said Gypsum would donate all of the drywall for renovation.

Nearly every current wall will come down inside the building, and new walls will go up, so it's a significant contribution to the project.

Turnbull really doesn't know the exact value of the donation. He said maybe $4,000 to $6,000.

"Everyone I talk to, and I'm not a contractor, says, 'that's worth thousands of dollars,' " Turnbull said.

The project's architect, Ed Smart, has been in touch with the general manager for Gypsum in Oakfield, Jim Perry, and Turnbull said Perry's message to Smart was, "Just tell us what you need."

The drywall is manufactured in Aliquippa, Pa.

Turnbull said nobody asked Gypsum for a donation. Dunlevy spoke up at a meeting and made the offer.

"It shows what a good community partner they are, just stepping up," Turnbull said. "They volunteered it and it's wonderful. It's going to help the project quite a bit."

File photo.

Jackie Ann Duepenngieser, 32, of Page Road, Perry, is charged with three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, driving without an ignition interlock device, unregistered motor vehicle and unlicensed operator. Duepenngieser was stopped at 6:23 p.m. Wednesday on Griswold Circle, Le Roy, by Deputy Michael Lute. Duepenngieser was allegedly found in possession of a scheduled nartocitc that was not prescribed to her along with a quantity of cocaine and heroin. Duepenngieser was jailed on $1,000 bail or $2,000 bond.

James Russell Kosiorek, 23, of Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Kosiorek allegedly stole a DVD player from Kmart.