batavia

Part of Santa's busy schedule in Batavia today was a stop at Present Tense Books on Washington Avenue. Pictured with Santa are Trey, 3, Quinn, 8, Lilyanna, 3, and Gunner, 2.

Below Santa holds a great Christmas gift idea -- the board game Bataviaopoly. The game was just released and is a fundraiser for the Zonta Club of Batavia. It's available for sale at Present Tense.

Police are in the area of the Northside Deli after a caller told dispatch that a white male and a black male made threats to another person and either showed a gun or said they had one. The complainant is somewhere on Bank Street and the pair police are looking for were last seen sitting outside the deli, located at 162 Bank St.

Friday was the gala opening of the annual Wonderland of Trees at the Holland Land Office Museum.

The event features trees decorated in themes selected by their sponsors, which are local businesses, government agencies and charities.

The Wonderland Of Trees will be open at HLOM through the holiday season.

A one-vehicle rollover accident, blocking traffic, unknown injuries, is reported in the City of Batavia at West Main and River streets. Mercy medics and city fire are responding.

UPDATE 5:27 p.m.: A woman in her 50s is being transported to UMMC. A car is on its roof and a flatbed tow is called.

UPDATE 5:45 p.m.: One person was a sign-off. The city assignment is back in service.

UPDATE 6:04 p.m.: Here's a statement made to Howard at the scene about what a witness saw:

Conor Wilkes: "I was riding right behind the car when it happened. I was behind the white Toyota and the (Ford) Ranger that was in front of her made an abrupt stop. I think she was trying to change lanes at the same time. But the Ranger stopped so suddenly that when she made the turn, the front side of her car clipped the back side of the Ranger.

"I think her front tire rolled up on the rear tire of the Ranger just right and flipped the car. The Toyota wasn’t speeding. It was just a (freak) accident. Normally it would be just a quick fender-bender and everybody’d be OK, But it just happened so quick.

"As soon as I saw it happen, I pulled to the side and called 9-1-1 and got those guys going pretty quick. I put my jacket on, I got out and looked around the car and looked to see how many passengers there were, how the car was. A couple of pedestrians helped out.

"I got the keys out of the vehicle and made sure it was secure. She seemed to be alright except she was upside down. And then we just waited for fire and EMS to come and extricate her. The woman in the Ranger was just flustered and the other woman in the Toyota just seemed concerned that she was now upside down."

A field fire has been reported in the area of 9384 Shepard Road, Batavia.

Town of Batavia fire responding.

UPDATE 5:23 p.m.: The fire is out. Town of Batavia is back in service.

View Larger Map

There's a bit of myth and mystery surrounding the couple that lives at 71 Ellicott Ave., Batavia.

There's a rumor that it's "the couple who starred in L.A. Law."

Not true. Hiram Kasten has appeared in dozen of TV shows, mostly sitcoms -- and one episode of L.A. Law -- but never starred in any of them. His wife, Diana, an alumna of Alexander High School, had a theater career but spent most of the couple's 25 years in California working in information technology.

And there's the assumption that they're millionaires. 

Not true. Kasten said the couple has the same financial struggles as any other middle-class family. One reason Diana bought a house in Batavia was real estate is so much more affordable here.

"It was time for us to stop living like Bohemians," she said.

And a lot of people assume that the couple only lives in the Rowell Mansion in the summer.

Once true. True no more.

In August, Hiram and Diana Kasten loaded up a trailer and moved from Los Angeles to the closest thing to a hill in Batavia. They now plan to make Genesee County their base of operations while Hiram continues his acting career in New York City.

"I like Batavia a lot," Diana said. "It’s a nice place to come back to at this point in my life."

When Hiram met Diana more than two decades ago, he was an up-and-coming comic on the New York-New Jersey circuit and she was a young actress whose career path had finally brought her to NYC.

Back then, most of the professional comics knew each other, Hiram said. It was before cable TV and the proliferation of part-time and wannabe stand-ups. It meant something then, Hiram said, to be a comic and the girls were always around.

His act was old school. He grew up with the likes of Alan King.

"I grew up watching Ed Sullivan," Hiram said. "A comedian should dress better than the audience. If he’s a Jewish guy, he should be a tough Jewish guy. He shouldn’t be a momma’s boy. He should be tanned. He should wear cufflinks."

After graduating from college with a performing arts degree, Kasten developed his stand-up routine, but he said he always had a quick mind and could ad lib if he needed to get a crowd's attention.

Kasten first met Jerry Seinfeld at a comedy club in New Jersey. It was a tough crowd, he said. Kasten was jeered and heckled, but he held his ground.

Seinfeld got up and just delivered his lines in his casual, soft-spoken way.

"I was doing like Milton Berle," Hiram said. "I would do anything, drop my pants, anything to get their attention, and then Jerry goes on. This was 1979. ... slowly the crowd quiets down. They’re turning to listen to him. He’s not raising his voice. They lower their voices. He had a self assurance. People say he took a little Scientology courses. I never asked him, but I’ve never known a more fascinating mind. I mean, I’ve seen it up close.

"So he got off stage," Hiram added, "and he says, he comes off and he says to me, that will be my second of five Johnnys."

Seinfeld was already planning his conquest of the Tonight Show (with Johnny Carson).

Both Hiram and Diana had made it to 30 without getting married before they met and found they made a good match.

"I came from a small city and he came from a big city, but our values were very much the same," Diana said. "He had a great family, all of these cousins who lived in the Bronx, and I had a lot of cousins that I grew up with on both sides of my family. We both valued family, and I don't just mean immediate family, but extended family."

Hiram said he and his wife don't always agree on everything, but they agree on the big things, the important things.

"It's funny, but marriage is obviously not a barrel of laughs," Hiram said. "The word 'fun' isn’t in the contract. Read at the contract. People are divorcing. We’re not having fun any more, they say. That’s not in the contract. It’s two souls. The rabbis said, it’s two souls that become one."

After they were married, Diana told Hiram that if he wanted a career in TV, he needed to move to Los Angeles.

"If I hadn’t gotten married I would have stayed in the exact same rent-control apartment in the Bronx, descended into alcoholism and an early death," Hiram said.

It didn't take long for Hiram to establish himself in Hollywood. Over the next 25 years, he appeared in more than 30 different television shows, including Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Saved by the Bell, Without a Trace and, yes, L.A. Law.

Hiram got one shot at co-starring in a sitcom. A pilot was produced, but CBS turned it down.

There's a blueprint for sitcom success in Hollywood, Hiram said, and he just never bothered to follow it.

Before Carson retired, it was all about appearing on the Tonight Show, and if Johnny liked you, he would call you over to his desk.

If that happened, the next morning your agent's phone would be ringing and offers for starring roles in new sitcoms would come rolling in.

Drew Carey, Hiram said, struggled for years, then put on the horn-rimmed glasses, the thin tie and the white shirt and did the Tonight Show. Johnny loved the act and Carey's career was made.

"I don’t live with any regrets," Hiram said. "I knew exactly what they were doing. It’s an art. It’s the creative arts. It’s like I’m Jackson Pollack and this guy’s doing still lifes. I like ad-lib comedy. I like the Shecky Greenes and the Don Rickles. We have an act, but we play off of that. I’ve never done the same show twice."

A sitcom star used to make $2 million an episode (those days are over, Hiram said, disrupted by webisodes and reality TV), and the Kastens would have had it made if Hiram had gotten just one starring role under his belt.

But even so, he said, some of the residual checks he gets can be quite handsome (and some miniscule -- he carries around in his wallet a residual check for one cent).

Asked for a single key memory from his time in Hollywood, Hiram said it was getting to know Jerry Lewis a bit. He demurred when asked if Lewis was a friend. He just said, "he knew my name."

"Once I wrote him a note," Hiram said, "and he called me. I was in my kitchen in Los Angeles. 'Hello, Hiram, it’s Jerry Lewis.' You know, he has that voice, and I saw him at 9-years-old in the moves. That was big thrill. I could barely speak. I thought, 'Oh, I wish my mother was alive so I could call her up and tell her, 'Jerry Lewis just called me.' "

As Hollywood shifted away from paying actors and creating reality show celebrities instead, and as Hiram turned 50, he started to think it was time for a change.

Little did he know in December of 2004, his wife was putting in an offer on the Rowell Mansion. She didn't tell him about her plans to buy the property from Terry Platt until it was almost a done deal.

"She made me a martini and said, 'We now own real estate,' " Hiram said.

It would be quaint to imagine a young Diana Kisiel going past the Rowell Mansion and saying quietly to herself, "someday I'm going to live here."

Nothing, she said, could be further from the truth. Her dream house was on Creek Road, around the corner from her parents. Her aunt lived there and she would have bought it in the early 2000s if it hadn't been sold first to a local minister.

Unlike many middle-class couples, the Kastens never took regular family vacations -- no weekends in Mexico, holidays in Aspen or trips to the Grand Canyon. Instead, when they had time off, they came to Batavia.

Hiram said they flew into Buffalo from Los Angeles at least two or three times a year.

Diana's father, Henry Kisiel, founded Pinnacle Manufacturing Company, Inc., in the 1970s for his wife, Lois Quartley Kisiel, and his three children, and today, his children share responsibility for the company. Diana is secretary, her brother, Kim, is president and brother, Kevin, is vice president. Many of Diana's extended family remain in Genesee County.

Lois Kisiel passed away two years ago.

On one trip home to see family, Diana learned that the Rowell Mansion was up for sale. With her dream home on Creek Road recently sold, she started to think about the Rowell as a possible vacation home. On the next trip, the house was still for sale, so the Kasten family took a look inside, but more as a sightseeing adventure than real estate consideration.

Diana decided that if it were still for sale when she returned in October, she would make an offer. It was, she did, and after some negotiating she learned she would close on the house Dec. 29.

That Christmas she announced the purchase to her family during a dinner at Sunny's Restaurant. Nobody, she said, believed her at first.

The Rowell Mansion was built in 1920 by E.N. Rowell, who opened a box making company in Batavia in 1888. Rowell is best known for killing the lover of his first wife in their home on Bank Street in 1893.

After shooting the naked man, Rowell told a neighbor, "I found this man in my house and I shot him. He had seduced my wife. I caught him in the act."

Rowell was charged with manslaughter and a jury found him not guilty. The case was a national sensation at the time.

The E.N. Rowell Box Factory grew into one of Batavia's largest industries and after Rowell's death in 1929, May Emke Rowell, his second wife, ran the business and lived in the mansion until her death in 1972. Their children had no interest in Batavia or the business, sold it, and the new owners closed it in 1980.

The Rowell Mansion passed through a few owners, at one point falling into a good deal of disrepair, until Diana Kasten acquired it in 2004.

She understands the home is a historical landmark, she said, and wants to see it restored to his former glory. While the exterior needs some masonry work, so far her efforts have been focused on the interior.

She's redone the electrical, removed or moved book cases that weren't original, repaired plaster and molding damage, and refurbished fixtures.

"This is all work that nobody sees so people think you're not doing anything, but that's where you're sinking the bulk of what you're doing," she said.

As part of her restoration goals, Diana is hoping there may be people in the area who have old photos of the house. She has had a particularly hard time -- she's search the library, county history office and Holland Land Office Museum -- finding pictures of the house when there was a wrought-iron fence in the front yard. She wants to restore it.

One of the "most exquisite" features of the interior, DIana said, is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese tile flooring in nearly every room. The tiles are pressurized, not baked, and have a matte rather than glossy finish. Each room is accented with a different tile color.

"Over the years people really ruined it," she said. "They didn’t take care of it."

One former owner drilled holes through the tile in the foyer, she said.

Kasten hired an expert from Buffalo to clean it and lightly sand it to bring back the original look. She also has replacement tiles Rowell left in the basement.

"We've got three rooms done," Diana said. "It's terribly expensive, but the tile is really lovely."

Meanwhile, Hiram is working on getting work in New York City. If not for Superstorm Sandy, Hiram would have been in the city signing contracts with a new agent and new manager.

Hiram said he owes it to Diana to make a go of it on the East Coast. She's meant so much to his life and career.

Diana said she has a lot of confidence in her husband.

"You don’t make a living in this business and last and preserve in this business for 40 years unless you’re talented," Diana said. "He’s extremely talented. It's amazing how he can stand on stage make people laugh by just saying what comes into this head."

Black and white film photo of the Rowell Mansion by Howard Owens, October 2011.

The Grand Jury of Genesee County has issued the following indictments:

Kevin C. Johnson is indicted on a count of failure to register change of Internet access. Johnson, a convicted sex offender, is accused of not notifying authorities within 10 calendar days of a change in Internet access accounts.

James D. Ferguson is indicated on counts of DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation. Ferguson is accused of driving drunk May 28 in Pembroke while having a revoked license due to a prior conviction in Buffalo in 2011 of driving while ability impaired.

Xzavier A. Davis is indicted on felony counts of DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation. Davis is accused of driving drunk May 13 in the Town of Darien. Davis has a prior DWI conviction in the Town of Cambria in 2012.

Shawn A. Johnson Jr., is indicted on four counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, 1st. Johnson is accused of possessing forged $20 bills in the Town of Darien.

Robert L. Hizer is indicted on counts of felony DWI, aggravated felony DWI and robbery, 3rd. Hizer is accused of driving drunk June 23 in the Town of Le Roy while children under age 15 were in the vehicle. He is accused of, on that same date, stealing $138 and a pack of cigarettes from the Wilson Farms store at 13 Lake St., Le Roy.

Laszlo Szabo is indicted on counts of felony DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Szabo is accused of driving drunk Sept. 23 in the Town of Le Roy. Szabo has a prior DWI conviction from 2005 in the Town of Greece.

Drivers who illegally park in handicapped spaces, be warned: James Sheflin is on the job.

Sheflin started three weeks ago with Batavia PD as the city's new parking enforcement and dog control officer.

The part-time position was vacant for a few months before Sheflin's hire.

The 22-year-old Sheflin is from Le Roy, the son of a former Le Roy Fire Department chief, and is a part-time dispatcher for the Sheriff's Office.

Chief Shawn Heubusch said among the things he likes about Sheflin is that he will take on the job enthusiastically, but not over zealously.

Parking enforcement downtown is important, Heubusch said, but parking 30 minutes in a 15-minute zone is not the same as parking in a handicapped spot.

And Sheflin said that illegal parking in handicapped spots is one of his personal pet peeves.

"To me I think it’s just complete laziness when somebody who is not handicapped parks in one," Sheflin said. "That’s not acceptable to me. Those spots are there for a reason and you need a permit for a reason."

The job is a uniformed, civilian position in the department. Parking enforcement officers are responsible for patrolling the entire city limits and enforcing all parking regulations.

Part of the dog control officer's job is to ensure dogs in the city are licensed and to protect animals from inhumane treatment. The dog control officer enforces state, county and city ordinances.

Sheflin said he's a dog lover and isn't concerned about dealing with vicious dogs and wants to protect animals against mistreatment.

His ultimate goal is to become a police officer, ideally in the City of Batavia.

"It's good to get my foot in the door and prove to Chief Heubusch I can be a good employee," Sheflin said. "I figured if I come here, do a good job, it looks good on the resume, at least.”

Press release:

The seasonal Yard Waste Station hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.  The Yard Waste Station will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 22. The seasonal hours will resume on Friday, Nov. 23. The station will remain open through Dec. 8, weather permitting.

Residents are encouraged to bring yard waste debris to the Yard Waste Station.

Curbside leaf pickup will continue as weather permits or through Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Press release:

As part of MVP Health Care’s fall brand campaign, MVP asked the community “Who Inspires You?” and received more than 150 nominations and 40,000 votes in its quest to find the Ultimate Game Changer.

The contest — which was looking for people who make a significant difference in their communities by making them better, healthier places to live — concluded with an event on Saturday, Nov. 10, honoring the top 10 finalists and naming the Ultimate Game Changer.

Donald Carroll, of Batavia, NY, is the grand prize winner in the Ultimate Game Changer contest. Don, who is battling inoperable cancer of the stomach and esophagus, was not able to travel to Clifton Park for the event, but was there in spirit.

Don, who was orphaned at the age of 5, said that the kindness of family, friends and strangers deeply moved him as a child and young adult. It motivated him to “pay it forward” by sending local kids to summer camp, raising money to buy underprivileged kids toys and clothing at Christmas and funding college scholarships at Genesee Community College.

“I strongly believe all of us become who we are because of life experiences and the way we react to those experiences,” Don said in a statement read by a friend at the event. “We can pick up the ball and run with it, or we can fumble our way through life. I chose to run.”

Don and his former sixth-grade teacher, Jerry Foster, who nominated him, have each won $1,000. Jerry plans to donate his prize money to the cancer support fund established to help Don with his medical and other financial obligations.

“I nominated Don because I’ve had the opportunity to see him grow from a quiet, shy sixth-grader to a humble, compassionate man,” said Jerry, who taught Don at Oakfield-Alabama Central School in Oakfield, NY. “I know of no one who believes more in ‘paying it forward’ than Don. I have always believed in Santa. His nickname is Don.”

“All of the game changer finalists are examples of the kinds of everyday heroes MVP wanted to celebrate,” said Denise Gonick, MVP’s president of Operations. “Don’s story, especially, is wonderfully inspiring. Despite all the hardship in his life and, now, his illness, Don has never stopped giving back and paying it forward. It’s a reminder that wherever you are, whoever you are, you can make a difference.”

The Ultimate Game Changer Contest invited kids age 13 and older and adults in New York and Vermont to nominate someone they felt is making a significant contribution to their local community.

Timothy E. R. Backes, 31, of Summit Street, Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd. Backes is accused of hitting another man in the face, fracturing facial bones. The incident was originally reported at 2:30 a.m., Oct. 21, to Batavia PD. Investigation revealed the alleged incident occurred at an address on West Main Street Road, Town of Batavia.

Emily R. Diamond, 34, of Lyndonville, is charged with petit larceny. Diamond is accused of stealing from Kmart. The alleged incident was reported to State Police at 4:05 p.m., Wednesday. Diamond was held in jail, no bail amount, if any, released. No further details released.

A pet sitter has been arrested by the Sheriff's Office and accused of stealing antiques from a residence in Batavia and selling them to a collectibles store in Cheektowaga.

Jodi Coe, 36, of Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road, Oakfield, is charged with burglary, 2nd, and grand larceny, 3rd.

Investigator William Ferrando arrested Coe for allegedly stealing antique items from a home where she was taking care of pets in September.

Some of the items allegedly stolen have been recovered.

Coe was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and released on her own recognizance.

A motor-vehicle accident has been reported in front of the East Pembroke Fire Hall, 2623 E. Main Road, East Pembroke.

At the same time, the fire station's fire alarm has gone off.

The car has apparently gone through the door of the fire hall and struck a fire truck.

There is a report of one injury.

East Pembroke fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:53 p.m.: The vehicle struck a center post on the building causing structural damage. Code enforcement requested to the scene.

UPDATE 3:56 p.m.: Both engines and the tanker are blocked in the building. The chief orders that as soon as the patient is extricated -- and the patient has been extricated -- that some pictures be taken and the trucks moved to another location as soon as possible.

UPDATE 4:02 p.m.: The fire chiefs will be notified in Oakfield, Indian Falls, Pembroke and Town of Batavia and crews will be assembled as they deem necessary to stand by in their quarters. One engine from the East Pembroke hall is out and available in case of fire, but that's it. Any other equipment needed to fight a fire would need to come from elsewhere.

UPDATE 4:15 p.m.: All the trucks from the East Pembroke Fire Station have been safely removed from the damaged building. But crews in other halls will remain on standby duty for the time being.

UPDATE 5:24 p.m.: The driver was eastbound on Route 5 and either fell asleep or blacked out due to a medical condition, according to Trooper Mark Catanzaro. Her car entered the west driveway, went airborne after cutting between a utility pole and the fire department sign and over an embankment, striking the post between two doors. No fire engines were damaged. The trucks are being relocated, according to Chief Don Newton, to Ron and Newt's. East Pembroke fire will be able to respond to calls from that location, but neighboring districts will also be called on mutual aid for most emergency calls. The trucks will be returned to the hall after repairs are completed, which will take one or two weeks.

Kenneth W. Cook III, 19, of 108 Oak St., Batavia, is charged with sexual misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child. Cook is accused of having sexual relations with a girl under the age of 17.

Timothy J. Petrie, 41, of Pavilion, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Petrie was arrested by State Police in relation to an incident reported Aug. 19. No further details released.

Press release:

Batavia and Le Roy Rotary Clubs are collecting relief items for the areas of New York and New Jersey devastated by Superstorm Sandy.

The Batavia club is subsidizing transportation of items to the hard-hit areas on Saturday. A team of Le Roy Rotarians led by President Samantha Vagg will take the items to an area established by Rotary clubs in the devastated area.

Donations are being coordinated through the Rotary districts in that region.

In addition, the Batavia club is donating $1,500 for relief efforts. If others wish to donate, they can -- either needed items or money. The check will be given to Samantha to take with her when the relief items are delivered on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Checks may be made out to the following:

The Walter D. Head Foundation of Rotary District 7490

c/o Calisto Bertin

Bertin Engineering

66 Glen Ave., Glen Rock, NJ 07452

This is a 501(c)3 foundation and is coordinating the cash donations to the devastated districts. Our donation will be divided among the six Rotary districts that were hardest hit in New York and New Jersey.

Town of Batavia Fire Department is on scene of a motor-vehicle accident involving a diesel fuel leak at the intersection of Clinton Street Road and Seven Springs Road.

Stafford fire requested to the scene to assist with clean up.

DEC being notified.

No injuries reported in the accident.

Press release:

Genesee Community College now offers accelerated courses to 20 students in Vietnam who are enrolled in the American Pacific Unified International School. Trustees heard about this unique global education initiative at their regular board meeting Tuesday night.

The independent college preparatory high school is located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). This effort is part of the college's Accelerated College Program (ACE) program, which has made courses available to juniors and seniors in area high schools for many years.

To date, students have participated in Statistics, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, French 201, French 202, and Principles of Business courses during their school day. They are using GCC curricula, and Genesee has certified their instructors as adjunct Genesee faculty members.

Credits earned by the Vietnamese students can be used toward Genesee degrees or transferred to most colleges and universities across the United States and even abroad. Most of the participating students would like to attend college in the United States, according to Edward J. Levinstein, associate dean of Accelerated College Enrollment Programs.

The new initiative reflects Genesee's emphasis on global outreach, and may be the first step in boosting enrollment from other new international sources, Vice President for Student and Enrollment Services Virginia M. Taylor told the board of trustees last evening.

Genesee has sponsored an extensive global education program for more than two decades, bringing lectures, demonstrations and other activities focused on cultures around the world to the college. More recently, the college has begun pilot international study programs, permitting local students to complete coursework in such locations as Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands. Last year, 130 students from two dozen different nations enrolled for classes at Genesee.

Some baccalaureate colleges and research universities offer academic coursework to students abroad, but Genesee is believed to be one of the first community colleges in the nation to begin an initiative such as this, Taylor said.

"We are very excited about the opportunities this new ACE initiative will offer students in Vietnam and hopefully other nations, as well as our own students," Taylor told trustees. "This could eventually mean greater international outreach, and many more international students traveling here to complete their degrees at Genesee."

On a related note, President James M. Sunser reported that he has been nominated for membership on the Global Education Skills Alliance Board of Directors. The alliance is a consortium of nine colleges and universities seeking to boost international study among students of the participating colleges. The alliance will recommend common curricula and transfer standards, as well as study abroad and exchange programs. Sunser would be one of two United States representatives on the board, which is expected to conduct meetings by teleconference.

Trustees endorsed Sunser's participation on the alliance board.

In other business at the meeting, trustees:

•    Heard Board Chair Maureen T. Marshall note the observance of Veterans Day. Marshall thanked all veterans for their service on behalf of the board.

•    Heard President Sunser report that Donna M. Grant has been appointed Career Services Specialist with the college's Perkins IV Grant program. She has served as an academic advisor at the Medina Campus Center since January 2011, and has served on the staff of Canisius College. She holds a B.A. degree from the University at Buffalo and a M.S. degree from Canisius College. She is a resident of Tonawanda.

•    Heard Sunser report that external reviewers completed the college's Periodic Review report, required for continuing accreditation of the college by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. He said the report was positive, and the college is awaiting the final draft from the Middle States Commission.

•    Approved revisions to the college's policies on nondiscrimination and tobacco use. Wording of the nondiscrimination policy is now consistent with wording often used throughout the SUNY system. The updated tobacco use policy prohibits all forms of tobacco use in campus facilities and within 50 feet of entrances.

•    Approved the deactivation of the college's Customer Relationship Management program. Although the degree will be discontinued in 2016 after six students complete their studies, customer relationship management coursework will continue to be fully offered as part of the college's business programs.

•    Heard Director of Computer Services Cindy M. Delmar report on Genesee's new Computer Technology Master Plan. Delmar noted that the last master plan completed more than three years ago resulted in numerous technological advances for the college. These included: a new "flexible registration" process enabling non-credit students to register and pay online; support for the college's new video and access control safety programs; and the installation of "smart" technology in virtually all Genesee Community College classrooms and labs.

The new master plan will: emphasize the college's participation in the SUNY-wide "Degree Works" initiatives, which will streamline degree planning and transfers throughout SUNY; make greater use of mobile technologies for both instruction and administration; provide more videoconferencing opportunities among the Batavia campus and six campus centers; and expand bandwidth to support the college's growing eLearning programs.

"Our priority is to continually make improvements to the technology, and our business processes," Delmar said. "This helps us maintain our reputation as a leader in technology."

NOTE: Final update to story posted at 3:19 p.m.

Jacquetta Simmons, who last Christmas Eve socked a 70-year-old Walmart cashier in the face, will spend this holiday in state prison, Judge Robert C. Noonan ruled in Genesee County Court this morning.

Simmons was given a five-year sentence and three years post-release supervision.

Noonan's decision came at the end of a tense and emotional 90-minute hearing.

Attorneys argued over the merits of the Probation Department's pre-sentence investigation. The victim, Grace Suozzi, spoke for five minutes and told Noonan about what she had been through and the toll the assault has taken on her life. And, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman asked for the maximum sentence while Anne Nichols, representing Simmons, asked for probation.

Through it all, Simmons, now eight months pregnant, and dressed in a white sweater and black skirt, sat motionless.

Her only statement in court was brief.

"I'm truly sorry, I am, and I feel bad about what Grace and her family have endured, all the things they've been going through right now," Simmons said.

Simmons was arrested Dec. 24 at Walmart after being asked for a receipt by Walmart cashier Grace Suozzi. Simmons was with her brother, who was holding a bag of items the siblings had just purchased to help their mother prepare Christmas Eve dinner.

Simmons refused to show Suozzi the receipt and engaged in a tirade of racial and vulgar epithets.

After arguing for several minutes, Simmons grabbed the bag of merchandise and tried to leave the store. Suozzi stepped around her register and walked toward Simmons. A video played at the trial shows Simmons delivering, as Assistant District Attorney Melissa Cianfrini put it, "a roundhouse punch" to Suozzi, sending her flying across the floor.

As Simmons and her brother tried to flee, a group of citizens intervened and kept them from driving away.

Simmons was subsequently arrested and charged with two felonies and was convicted by a jury on Aug. 24 of one of those assault charges.

Suozzi suffered fractures in her face and permanent nerve damage.

While some 100 people submitted letters through the defense to the judge telling him, Noonan said, what a good person Simmons is and that she has contributed much to the community, the prosecution painted a picture of a young woman who can't accept that she did anything wrong and has shown no remorse for her assault.

"This defendant has shown no remorse, no empathy, no acceptance of responsibility," Friedman said.

The DA then recited statements Simmons has made, mostly as part of the pre-sentence investigation, such as, "It was very unfortunate that Grace was hit," and "I hold not hate or bitterness toward Grace."

When asked to describe the crime she committed, Simmons wrote, according to Friedman, "Accidentally hitting a woman over 65."

"Your honor, this vicious, unprovoked assault on an innocent victim, more than two and a half times the age of the perpetrator makes this a crime that is, I suggest, one that needs to be taken very seriously by this court," Friedman said. "That coupled with the impact this crime has had on Grace Suozzi and those who care about her, I suggest your honor, fully indicates this defendant should now be sentenced to the maximum sentence permitted by law."

Sitting in the court to support Simmons, Nichols told Noonan, were several friends, her parents and her husband. They all knew, Nichols said, that Simmons is a good person. She said Simmons is college educated, has volunteered for literacy programs, youth programs and hopes someday to open a shelter for homeless people.

"She is not the person she's been painted to be in this courtroom," Nichols said. "In this courtroom she has been painted out to be a racist, someone who has no regard for others. That is simply not the case, Judge. As the people who are in this courtroom to support her here today, and the people in the community who submitted letters will tell you, that is not Jacquetta Simmons."

A prison term for Simmons would do nobody any good, Nichols said.

"Grace has suffered something horrible," Nichols said. "She suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome. That's not going to resolve with Ms. Simmons sitting in a jail cell, nor is that going to do this community any good."

Before either Noonan or Friedman had their say, Suozzi spoke. In a five-minute statement, the petite grandmother explained the impact the assault had on her life and on her family.  She described ongoing pain and health issues, stress and distress and how her "golden years" have been taken from her.

"What she has taken away from me is irreplaceable," Suozzi said. "She took away my independence. Working at Walmart and at the Board of Elections helped me to pay my bills. She has taken my joy and replaced it with physical pain and emotional trauma.

"She felt OK to drive with a suspended license," Suozzi added. "She felt it was OK to park in a handicapped spot. She committed a horrible crime and has total disregard for laws, rules or policy, and won't even comply with a reasonable request."

At times, she said, she thought God was getting ready to take her home and so she placed all of her important documents on her dresser so everything would be ready, she said.

Suozzi said she was ashamed that Simmons claims to be a Christian but put her hand on a Bible and "lied under oath."

When asking for Simmons to get he maximum sentence, Suozzi said, "I pray that she too will seek and serve our Lord instead of Satan."

Following Suozzi's statement, her daughter, Teresa Wormley, spoke about the impact the attack has had on her and the entire Suozzi family. Melissa Cianfrini then read a letter from Joseph Suozzi, who is head of the FBI office in Cincinnati and was unable to attend the hearing.

Before pronouncing sentence, Noonan made a long statement, noting that prior to trial he ruled that there wasn't enough evidence presented to the grand jury to support one of the charges against Simmons for assault in the second degree.

While Simmons was tried under the statute for assault against a person age 65 or older while the assailant is more than 10 years younger, the other assault charge required proof that the defendant intended to cause serious physical injury.

Noonan didn't think that evidence was present in the grand jury transcript, but after sitting through the trial and seeing all of the evidence against Simmons, Noonan expressed some thought that Simmons may have intended serious physical injury.

"There were things not evident to the grand jury but were evident at trial, and they are astounding," Noonan said. "For one thing, the difference in size of Ms. Simmons and the size of Grace Suozzi. The defendant is two and half times the size and weight, a foot taller and 40 years younger than the victim. Boy, oh, boy, that’s a disproportionate bargaining position when it comes to an unusual display of anger."

Noonan said he can accept that Simmons is more like the person portrayed in the letters he received from supporters, and less like the portrayals in the media and court, but Dec. 24, he said, was a different matter.

“One of the factors in sentencing is considering the gravity of the act and this was a senseless, brutal act," Noonan said. "There is no other way to describe it.

"It took the jury," Noonan added, "after a fairly lengthy trial, it took the jury very little time to reject this defense ... that this was somehow an accidental pulling away of the defendant and when she was really just trying to get away and she accidently punched Grace Suozzi. That is clearly untrue. If it wasn’t clear enough through the many witnesses, it was certainly evident by watching the video over and over and over and over. It was a brutal, brutal assault."

Finally, Noonan said another key factor in sentencing is whether the defendant shows a sense of remorse.

“I think it’s kind of interesting that the defense counsel says that the defendant shows remorse because she’s sorry for something that happened to Grace," Noonan said. "Remorse is not being sorry something that happened to somebody. Remorse is being sorry for what you did. The defendant has never expressed anything close to being sorry for her own criminal conduct."

Outside of court, after the hearing, Friedman reiterated that Simmons at no point showed any remorse for her crime.

"The defense tried to characterize some things the defendant said in the pre-sentence investigation as indicating remorse, but I don’t think anything could be further from the truth," Friedman said. "She absolutely did not accept any responsibility for what she did."

Even though Friedman sought the full seven-year term Noonan could have handed down, he said he was satisfied with the results.

"Obviously, we meant what we said when we indicated that we felt a seven-year sentence was appropriate, but you know I certainly don’t question the wisdom of what Judge Noonan did," Friedman said.

Attorney Earl Key and co-counsel Nichols declined to speak with reporters after the sentencing. Key brushed past one reporter and said the case would be appealed.

Previously, Key has said Simmons did not receive a fair trial, primarily because of media coverage of the crime. Today, in her courtroom statement, Nichols said Simmons did receive a fair trial.

NOTE: The Batavian has provided the most comprehensive coverage in Western New York of this crime since it was first reported from scanner traffic Dec. 24, 2011. For our complete coverage dating back to the first report of the assault, click here.

Nicholas Adam Antonucci, 25, of Broadway Road, Alexander, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Antonucci allegedly went to his estranged girlfriend's house and had contact with her in violation of a city court order of protection. Following arraignment in Pembroke Town Court, Antonucci posted $1,500 bail at the jail and was released. Antonucci is currently out of jail on a $50,000 bond posted in Wyoming County on burglary and grand larceny charges.

Daniel C. DiLaura, 38, of 32 Brooklyn Ave., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. DiLaura was allegedly observed by employees at Tops Market placing two small items in his pockets. He then allegedly grabbed a case of beer and left the store without paying for the items.

Michael B. Rech, 41, of 28 Forest Meadows, Rochester, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, 2nd. Rech is accused of pushing and knocking down another person while Rech was holding a 3-year-old child.

Kathryn Francis Rose Long, 17, of Mechanic Street, Byron, is charged with harassment. Long is accused of grabbing a youth worker after the youth worker took away Long's mobile phone. Long allegedly grabbed the worker's purse and attempted to take it from her. Long was jailed on $500 bail.