The Village of Le Roy managed to cut taxes with the budget the board approved unanimously Wednesday evening.

Mayor George Brady said the village is benefiting from higher PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) revenue kicking in, which enabled the village to cut the tax rate for property owners.

Among the businesses covered by PILOT that are seeing their payments increase are Le Roy Village Green and Lapp Insulator.

The approved tax rate went from $10.87 to $10.59 per $1,000 of assessed value -- a decrease of 28 cents. If a village resident owns a house assessed at $80,000, his or her taxes will decrease by $22.40.

The village tax levy from all sources was about $20,000. The approved budget totals $1,670,620.

As far as major changes from last year, equipment expenses for the police department increased by about $32,000.

Residents questioned an increase of about $25,000 earmarked for police department overtime and Brady explained that officers were asked to help as crossing guards for schoolchildren.

Generally, residents seemed pleased with the new budget.

One man said, “You’ve done a great job I think...for what you’ve got to work with.”

A 16-year-old who was last seen at Tim Horton's restaurant in Batavia at 5 p.m., April 7, has John Dehm, youth officer for the Sheiriff's Office, concerned.

The teen has runaway in the past, but she's never dropped out of contact before, Dehm said.

"I'm a little worried about here," Dehm said. "I would like somebody to call and say we know where she is."

Even if she just pops up on Facebook, Dehm would like to know.

Sara Howard is described at 5'2", 120 lbs and was last seen wearing black jeans, black books, a dark gray sweater and a black Aeropostale jacket. She has dark brown hair usually worn in a ponytail.

Dehm said he's tried calling her and texting her but hasn't gotten any response.

Anybody with information about Sara is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 343-5000.

Jennifer Jean Fracek, 20, of Batavia-Stafford Townline Road, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Fracek was charged after College Village security contacted the Sheriff's Office with a claim that Fracek was found in possession of marijuana during a security investigation.

Press release:

Having recently learned of Hollis Upson’s decision not to seek another legislative term this fall, I have decided to pursue the Republican nomination to be the next representative for the 8th District on the Genesee County Legislature.

The 8th District represents Wards 2 and 3 in the City of Batavia. I have been a resident of the second ward for most of my adult life. Before my election to Council at Large, I served as the second ward representative on the City Council. As the current City Council President, I have committed myself to addressing the needs and challenges within the City of Batavia. If given the opportunity, I will work diligently to address those needs at the county level.

Press release:

ERIE COUNTY – Kathy Hochul, candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District, today released her third television advertisement entitled “The Fighter.”

The 30-second spot tells the story of how Kathy Hochul fought for the residents of Western New York and became the “Stop the Tolls Pioneer.”

“Voters in Erie County know Kathy as a fighter, who persistently has worked for their best interests,” said Fabien Levy, communications director for Kathy Hochul for Congress. “‘The Fighter’ will tell one of those stories to the voters of the 26th District, so they know how hard Kathy will work for them once elected to Congress.”

Press release: 

The first television ad from the Jack Davis independent campaign for Congress contrasts Jack’s record of creating good-paying American jobs with the record of both parties in Washington that support trade deals like NAFTA which encourage companies to move American jobs offshore. The spot begins airing on cable and broadcast in the Buffalo and Rochester media markets on Thursday.

The factory scenes in the commercial were shot at I Squared R Element, Inc., in Akron N.Y., the company Jack Davis founded and manages. Jack’s commitment to his country, his community and his employees led to his decision in 2009 to give his company to his employees. 

“The success of my company was made possible by the loyalty, dedication and hard work of the men and women who work here. They will own it when I retire. They don’t have to worry about the company being sold and losing their jobs,” Jack Davis says. See the attached letter from Jack Davis to his employees for details.

NAFTA passed Congress in 1994 with support from President Clinton and both political parties in Congress. After its passage, multinational companies closed U.S. plants and relocated to Mexico. Today, President Obama and the Republican leadership in Congress are pushing trade deals with Korea, Colombia and Panama. The Korea trade agreement alone will lead to 159,000 lost U.S. jobs, more imports from China and a higher trade deficit.  

In 2007 the Bank of America branch on Main Street, Batavia, was robbed by a man who may have displayed a gun, and today, a federal grand jury indicted a suspect in that case.

Michael C. Makolinski, 30, is facing four federal counts of armed bank robbery, four counts of illegally entering a bank with the intent to commit a larceny while armed and four counts of armed bank larceny.

Each charged carries a penalty of 25 years in prison and a $250,000.

Besides the Nov. 7, 2007 robbery in Batavia, Makolinski is accused of robbing the Fairport Savings Bank, on Hudson Avenue, Irondequoit, on Nov 16, 2007, the First Niagara Bank, on Center Street, Lewiston, on Nov. 27, 2007, and the Evans National Bank, on Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, on Dec. 5, 2007

In each case, Makolinski is accused of brandishing what appeared to appeared to be a firearm.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Maigret, who is handling the case, stated that the Indictment is the result of an extensive investigation conducted by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and New York State Police Investigators over the last three and a half years. 

The Batavia Police Department assisted in the investigation.

The first formal donation, $1,000 from the Genesee County Bar Association, was made to Genesee Justice today.

Even though the nonprofit corporation for Genesee Justice is not yet approved by the IRS -- it's a lengthy process -- the American Baptist Church, Genesee Region, has agreed to act on behalf of Genesee Justice to accept tax-deductible donations.

Last year, about $100,000 was slashed by the Genesee County Legislature from the Genesee Justice budget. With staff taking cuts in hours and Director Ed Minardo resigning his position, the plan worked out with the legislature and the legal community was for Genesee Justice to become funded in part by new grants and donations.

"Funding is just getting very tough, hence we started this foundation to start looking for alternative means of support for this work," said Jane Schmider, president of the new Genesee Justice Foundation.

When the suggestion was made that the programs of Genesee Justice might be turned over to the Probation Department, judges and attorneys -- both prosecutors and defense -- came out in force to support Genesee Justice.

"It was in November 2010 when our organization passed a resolution overwhelmingly objecting to the merger based on the knowledge of the practitioners," said Bar Association President Durin Rogers. "The donation today continues that support."

Alan Newton, executive minister for the American Baptist Church, Genesee Region, said part of the reason the church board stepped forward to help is because restorative justice and reconciliation are a big part of the regional church's mission.

"Godly justice, respect and reconciliation," Newton said. "Those are common themes through our churches in the Genesee Region."

The Genesee Justice Foundation will need to work quickly to raise sufficient funds to save the pioneering restorative justice program, and Schmider said the board is looking at a variety of ways to raise money, including from big donors and possibly a membership program.

"I have no assurances (for 2012) other than that the plan we came up with last year was temporary," said Tiffany Szymanek, assistant director of Genesee Justice. "We know we have to come up with that money regardless. If some of that does come from the county that would be absolutely beneficial to us, but we still have to be aware that that might not happen."

To donate: Make checks payable to American Baptist Church of the Rochester/Genesee Region, with "Genesee Justice" in the note field. Mail to Genesee Justice, 14 W. Main St., Batavia, NY 14020.

Photo, from left, Jane Schmider, Alan Newton, Durin Rogers and Tiffany Szymanek.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and its national and commu­nity partners will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 30, the DEA and its partners will hold their second National Pre­scription Drug Take-Back Day at sites nationwide. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

The public can find a nearby collection site by visiting <http://www.dea.gov>, clicking on the “Got Drugs?” icon, and following the links to a database, where they enter their zip code.

Law enforcement agencies interested in operating one or more collection sites on April 30 can register with the DEA by calling the DEA Field Division office in their area.

(To see each division office’s geo­graphic area of responsibility, go to <http://www.dea.gov> and click on the “office lo­cations” link under “About Us” in the menu on the left side of the home page.)

The City of Batavia Democrat Committee is looking for interested candidates to run in the nine city races this year.

All ward city council seats are up for reelection as well as the three legislature seats that represent the city.

All city residents that are interested in submitting their name for endorsement are being asked to please send a letter requesting an interview to:

Patrick D. Burk

City of Batavia

Democratic Committee Chairman

123 N. Spruce St.

Batavia, NY 14020

Please have all requests postmarked by April 30.

Requests can also be made by calling 343-9721.

Here's a news release from the Genesee County Treasurer's Office.

Genesee County Treasurer Scott D. German announced today that sales tax receipts to the county are up for the fourth straight quarter.

"Today's payment was the last to be received for the first quarter of 2011 and we are up 8.19 percent compared to the first quarter of 2010, or $639,588," German said.

For the first quarter, the county received $7.62 million. Of this, the county retains 50 percent, 16 percent goes to the city and 34 percent goes to the towns and villages. For 2011, the county budgeted $12.2 million of its 3 percent share of sales tax. The other 1 percent share is used to pay debt service and capital projects.

"During these very tough economic times, people seem to be spending money, even though, I'm sure some of the increase is due to the higher prices at the fuel pump," German said.

Donnie Hendrickson is indicted on charges of grand larceny, 4th, 23 counts of timber trespass, grand larceny, 3rd, and scheme to defraud, 1st. Hendrickson is accused of cutting and stealing timber from property in Le Roy between Jan. 9 and Feb. 14, 2010 with an estimated value in excess of $1,600. The timber trespass charges each stem from alleged removal of specific trees, including sugar maple, red oak trees and hickory trees. He is also accused of removing trees from property in Stafford, specifically swamp white oak and soft maple trees. He is also accused of cutting and removing timber from a property in Stafford with a value in excess of $18,000. He is also accused of fraudulently trying to acquire the trees.

David Isabell is indicted on charged of two counts of grand larceny, 4th, three counts of grand larceny, 3rd, issuing a bad check, 22 counts of timber trespass, petit larceny, theft of services and scheme to defraud, 1st. Isabell is accused of stealing timber from a property in Le Roy with a value in excess of $1,000. He's also accused of stealing $6,250 from a person in Bergen. He's also accused of stealing timber from a property in Le Roy with a value in excess of $3,000. He's accused of writing a bad check to a person in Le Roy with a value of $5,600. He's a accused of removing timber from a property in Stafford with a value in excess of $450. He's accused of removing timber from a property in Le Roy with a value in excess of $1,000 The alleged timber removed from these properties includes sugar maple, red oak, hickory and swamp white oak. The theft of services charge comes from an allegation that Isabell failed to pay for hotel rooms in Batavia. 

Randall W. McKeown is indicted on a felony charge of DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation. McKeown is accused of driving drunk on Nov. 7 while in the Town of Batavia.

Nichole L. Rushing, 24, of 113 Jackson St., Apt. #2, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Rushing is accused of allowing a person who was barred from being in the presence children into her residence with out prior court approval.

Francisco Martinez Jr., 37, of 113 Jackons St. Apt. #2, Batavia is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Martinez reportedly walked to Batavia Police headquarters to report an alleged violation of a family court order of protection involving a female acquaintance. While reporting this incident, Martinez reportedly admitted that he was living at the same address and was violating an order of protection by being there. Martinez was reportedly ordered by city court to stay away from the residence and two young children who reside there.

Lemual Morris Clawson, 28, of Eelpot Road, Naples, is charged with petit larceny. Clawson is accused of stealing video game disks from Kmart.

Last fall, the Batavia Muckdogs had the infield at Dwyer Stadium laser leveled and resodded. The field was finally ready for play today and Notre Dame faced off against Lyndonville.

Press release:

The following is a statement from Fabien Levy, director of communications for Kathy Hochul for Congress:

“Yesterday, Kathy Hochul, candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District, challenged her opponents – Republican, Jane Corwin, and Tea Party-endorsed candidate, Jack Davis – to tell the voters of the 26th District where they stand on Congressman Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget proposal that would decimate Medicare. After not responding to last week’s challenge on the budget compromise, it is not surprising to see that neither Corwin nor Davis have responded to Kathy’s challenge this week.

“This is the second week in a row that Kathy Hochul has called on her opponents to take a position on an issue currently facing Congress, but both Assembymember Jane Corwin and Jack Davis seem to be hiding out.  Instead of telling voters how they would vote on a budget that will inevitably be presented to the next Representative from the 26th District, Kathy’s opponents are keeping silent on an issue that will affect all Americans.

“The voters deserve to know if Jane Corwin and Jack Davis support ending Medicare as we know it or will they join Kathy Hochul in rejecting any budget proposal that will hold our seniors responsible for burdensome costs.”

Photo and article submitted by Charm Robinson:

Jean Ianni, Linda Call and Phyllis Darling, all members of the Stafford Historical Society, gathered at the Stafford Rural Cemetary on Transit Road at 10 am on April 12, 2011 to observe the 150th Anniversary of the start of the Civil War.  The members stood at the Civil War Monument ringing bells for 150 times to represent the number of years.

The monument is known as the Soldier's Monument and was erected in 1868 to honor the soldiers from Stafford.  The monument is inscribed "Erected by the Town of Stafford in 1868, to the memory of the brave soldiers of our country who fell during the Great Rebellion".

Thirty three names are inscribed on the Soldier's Monument.

Shown in Photo: L to R: Jean Ianni, Linda Call, Phyllis Darling

A 16-year-old Batavia High School student is facing seven counts of aggravated harassment for allegedly placing calls to various local women that were either of a sexual nature, or were, in the words of Det. Todd Crossett, "disturbing and alarming."

In all, during the months-long investigation, Crossett said at least 45 women came forward with complaints about unwanted calls from the youth.

The name of the suspect has not been released by police because he's eligible for youthful offender status.

While many of the calls were made to women associated with BHS, Crossett said the alleged victims were spread throughout the community.

"I'm not 100 percent certain why he chose who he chose," Crossett said.

The first complaint came in last July, Crossett said, and at that time, he suggested to the alleged victim that she block her private numbers, but then in the coming months, more and more women came forward, especially as women started talking with each other about getting the calls.

In was in December that Crossett said he decided, "OK, we've got something here," and he started to compile evidence for a criminal case.

The seven charges are related to alleged calls going back to October.

Most of the women chose not to press charged, Crossett said, because they know the boy's family and felt the family could handle the issue.  

However, the seven women who are pressing charges wanted to ensure that an order of protection is put in place, which can only happen if criminal charges are filed.

"Also, the general consensus was that they want him to get help," Crossett said. "That really was the consensus of the women."

The youth was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released under the supervision of Genesee Justice.

Press release from Kathy Hochul's campaign:

ERIE COUNTY – Today marks the 15th anniversary of Equal Pay Day, which began in 1996 as a way to illustrate the wage gap between men and women.
 
Once elected, Kathy Hochul, candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District, promises to always fight for equal pay.

“When I first began my career as the only new female associate at a law firm, I was very much aware of the challenges women face in the workplace,” said Hochul.  “And as the mother of a young woman soon heading out into the workforce, I, like many fathers and mothers, hope their daughters' gender will not deny them equal pay for equal work.”

Kathy Hochul is the only woman in this race who supports equal pay for equal work.  In 2009 and, once again in 2010, Jane Corwin was part of the vast minority of Assemblymembers who voted against equal pay for women in New York State.

“My Republican opponent thinks she, myself, and all other women deserve to take a back seat to men when it comes to salary, I do not,” Hochul added.  “Once in Congress, I will fight to ensure women are paid equal wages for the same work they do as men.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women currently make 80 cents to every dollar men make for the same job. 

More information about Kathy Hochul can be found at www.KathyHochul.com <http://www.kathyhochul.com/> .

Background:
In 2009 and 2010, Corwin voted against a bill that made it a discriminatory practice to compensate employees of different sexes differently for work that is of comparable worth. [A2351, New York State Assembly, 4/29/09 and 4/19/10]

UPDATE: Press release from the Jane Corwin campaign:

WILLIAMSVILLE – Matthew Harakal, Communications Director for Jane Corwin for Congress, made the following statement today regarding Kathy Hochul’s latest press release: 

“It’s not surprising that career politician Kathy Hochul thinks bureaucrats are in a better position than small businesses to decide how much their workers should get paid. Jane Corwin believes that small businesses know best how to run their companies, not government bureaucrats.

“Maybe Kathy Hochul should stick to sending out promotional press releases about our local hockey team because she clearly knows nothing about running a small business or creating jobs.”