Stories from

After some number crunching yesterday, members of the Criminal Justice Advisory Council concluded that eliminating Genesee Justice will save the county less than $100,000.

Most of Genesee Justice's budget is covered by state and federal grants, but in recent years the county's portion of the operations expense has climbed to $237,000.

To help come up with expense savings to protect Genesee Justice, according to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman -- who's a member of CJAC -- $80,000 in possible cuts have been identified by the Sheriff's Office and Genesee Justice.

That includes a voluntary 6-percent pay cut from the Genesee Justice staff.

"We thought we made a good case (for Genesee Justice at the budget hearing)," Friedman said. "We'd still like to believe (its elimination) is not going to happen."

Thirty years ago, the concepts that built Genesee Justice -- restorative justice and offender accountability -- were novel and not universally embraced by the law enforcement and thenlegal community. Now local criminal justice experts are solidly behind saving Genesee Justice.

"As we've said, this would be like a 30-year step back in history," Friedman said.

He said CJAC members are waiting for the release, sometime today or tomorrow, of County Manager Jay Gsell's revised budget proposal to see just what the cost differential will be.

The costs of moving Genesee Justice functions to probation go beyond just adding three more staff members to the Probation Department, though solid numbers are not immediately available.

Also, it's completely unclear, Friedman said, whether the grants now used to help fund Genesee Justice will follow the programs to probation.

"There were a lot of people at the meeting (Monday)," Friedman said. "Everybody reiterated what they said at the hearing -- that this is a bad idea."

The Legislature will be in conference on the proposed budget at the Old Courthouse at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

A 15-percent reduction in the Holland Land Office Museum budget could mean a serious cut in programs or hours of operations, Board President Bob Turk told the county's Human Services Committee on Monday.

"A 15-percent cut would make it really hard to keep the museum going," Turk said.

The proposed budget provides about $39,000 for operations at HLOM.

Currently, the museum is staffed by one full-time director -- currently, Interim Director Jeff Donahue -- and a part-time staff member.

The loss of more than $6,000 in funding will mean the museum will likely need to cut its part-time employee, who provides essential support, both in terms of hours of operation and fundraising programs, that help keep the museum going, Turk said.

A 7.5- to 8.5-percent budget cut would be less damaging, he said.

Legislature Chairwoman Mary Pat Hancock, who sat in on the meeting, suggested that the museum board tap into its reserves.

"I understand you have a fund reserve," Hancock said, adding that the county has sometimes had to use its reserve funds, too.

Legislature Hollis Upson, who sits on the HLOM board, said the board has generally not considered the fund balance as something to use for operational expenses, but if it could be construed as a one-time measure, perhaps they would.

"It should be considered a survival tactic in extraordinary times," said Hancock.

Turk said he wants to find ways to keep the museum open more often, including starting a lecture series and other special events.

"I feel that the museum belongs to the community and I want to draw as many people into the building as possible because it's their building," Turk said.

There was no apparent support from legislators at the Human Services meeting for decreasing HLOM's budget cut.

The county budget must be approved by Dec. 8.

Lake effect snow is forecast for at least parts of Genesee County on Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday.

Where snowfall is the heaviest, there could be up to a foot of accumulation.

The National Weather Service said the current pattern indicates lake effect snow hitting southern Genesee County, and possibly Batavia, but a slight change in wind direction could push the storm further north with Batavia getting the heaviest accumulation. Then again, a wind direction change could push the storm further south.

The Genesee County Legislature will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the 2011 budget for the final time, with decisions before them that will have consequences for the local economy and civic environment for years to come.

Top on the agenda is what becomes of Genesee Justice.

County Manager Jay Gsell's preliminary budget called for eliminating seven Genesee Justice jobs and creating three new staff positions in the Probation Department, with probation taking over most of the pioneering restorative justice program's functions.

All of the county's top justice system experts -- including District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, Sheriff Gary Maha and Public Defender Gary Horton (inset picture) -- have lobbied to save Genesee Justice.

The experts say Genesee Justice has saved the county millions of dollars because many people who might otherwise be incarcerated are carefully supervised by Genesee Justice. The loss of Genesee Justice could mean that in a few years Genesee County will need to build a new jail at a cost of up to $30 million.

County officials, however, say these are dire economic times and costs need to be cut and taxes can't be raised. The county needs to trim about $7.5 million from its initial spending plan for 2011.

For years, Genesee Justice was funded entirely by grants, but over the years some those grants have dried up and local taxpayers must pick up about $237,000 of the operational costs of Genesee Justice.

Gsell plans to save that money, figuring that probation can assume the key functions of Genesee Justice.

"We know what services Genesee Justice delivers and we know how it is delivered," Gsell said for a previous story. "What we're looking at is how can we deliver that same level of service to the community through the Probation Department."

Julie Smith, probation director, said her department can assume the services and still help keep down the population level of the jail.

For example, Smith said, probation handled the release-under-supervision program for 26 years before handing it off to Genesee Justice in 2006.

Maha warned, however, that in neighboring counties, where there are no programs like Genesee Justice, the counties struggle with their jail populations.

"If the jail population increases, the State Commission of Correction will come down and tell us to do something about our increased population -- like build a new jail or put on an addition," Maha said. "We'll be like our neighbors to our south who had to build a jail addition to address their jail population."

Besides Genesee Justice, the legislature needs to decide what to do with the Soil and Water Conservation District, which is facing a 15-percent expense cut.

The cut, local farm leaders say, could end many vital services Soil and Water provides to farmers, helping keep them in business in a tough economic and regulatory environment.

"(The cut) would be a real detriment to the agriculture industry in Genesee County," said Brad Rodgers, chairman of the Soil and Water board of directors. "Even level funding would hurt us."

Scott Page, president of the Genesee County Farm Bureau, believes keeping Soil and Water is critical to protecting Genesee County's economic base.

"If we hurt ag, we miss an opportunity to move forward," said Page. "The more we build off our agricultural base, the better the local economy will do."

The conference meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday will not include a public comment period, but the session at the Old Courthouse is open to the public.

Following the conference meeting, the Ways and Means Committee will convene. Final budget amendments will be voted at that time, which are recommendations for the full legislature to consider. The full legislature will vote on the final 2011 county budget Dec. 8.

A Batavia woman faces a Leandra's Law felony drunken driving charge following a reported hit-and-run accident on Farnsworth Street in Oakfield last night.

Tonya Marie Weber, 26, a School Street resident, was allegedly driving a 1992 Dodge Shadow on Farnsworth when she struck at least one parked car.

The front license plate reportedly fell off the car at the scene and the car reportedly suffered heavy front-end damage.

Within 10 minutes of the 6:44 p.m. accident, Weber's car was reportedly found at another residence in the Village of Oakfield.

Upon investigation, Deputy Joseph Graff concluded that Weber was allegedly driving the vehicle in an intoxicated condition at the time of the accident and a child under 15 years old was in the car.

Weber is charged under Leandra's Law and with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, endangering the welfare of a child, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and moving from lane unsafely.

An arraignment date was set for Dec. 20.

(Initial Report)

Batavia Police have been alerted to look for a 1992 Dodge Shadow that was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run accident in the area of 20 Farnsworth St., Oakfield.

The small sedan reportedly lost its front license plate after striking at least one car at that address.

The maroon vehicle is registered to a Batavia resident and reportedly has heavy front-end damage.

Sheriff's deputies are responding to the scene in Oakfield.

UPDATE 7:02 p.m.: Car may have been located in Oakfield.

UPDATE 7:38 p.m.: It sounds like there has been arrest.

View Larger Map

David S. Hare, 38, of 5236 Cotton Road, Silver Springs, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, criminal trespass, 2nd, and criminal mischief, 4th. Hare was charged following a report of a man entering a residence at 2:12 a.m. today in the area of Route 63 and Batavia-Stafford Townline Road, Batavia. The suspect reportedly broke the door to gain entrance to the house. He then reportedly drove from the scene. Hare was  found by Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello a short distance from the house where his car had driven off the road. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Jeffrey L. Upchurch, 46, of Butler Drive, Bristol, Tenn., is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and unsafe lane change. Upchurch was arrested following a report of a truck driver and a companion leaving Red Osier on Route 5 in Stafford at 7 p.m., Friday, after being refused service. Upchurch reportedly got into a semi-truck that didn't have a trailer. His truck reportedly hit a tree as he pulled from the parking lot. Upchurch was reportedly found driving his truck on Route 5 just west of the city line by Deputy Matt Butler. Upchurch was jailed on $2,000 bail. (Initial Report)

Jon D. Smith, 28, and Sylvia L. Smith, 25, of 5 Prune St., Batavia, are charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The Smiths were allegedly found on Thursday by officer Kevin DeFelice to be keeping their children living in substandard conditions.

Philip R. Ayala, 25, of 732 W. Bridges Ave., Auburndare, Fla., is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Ayala was charged following a traffic stop on Bank Street on Thursday by Office Marc Lawrence.

Carrie L. Jackson, 32, of 3 Tracy Ave., Batavia, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. Jackson is accused of sending threatening text messages to a male acquaintance.

Frankie Lee Brumsted, 19, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful dealing with a child. Brumsted is accused of hosting an underage drinking party at a residence on Batavia-Bethany Townline Road.

Michael S. Colombo, 30, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Colombo was stopped by State Police at 8:26 p.m., Saturday, on Route 33 in Stafford.

Eric J. Flowers, 25, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Flowers was arrested by State Police at 4:13 p.m., Thursday. No further details provided.

A two-car accident with minor injuries has been reported in the area of 622 Genesee St., Corfu.

Darien Fire and Ambulance dispatched.

View Larger Map

The Town of Oakfield held a Majestic Lights in the Park on Sunday with 42 families lighting trees in memory of loved ones who have passed.

A multi-car accident with one possible injury has been reported in the westbound lane of the Thruway in the area of mile marker 390.1.

That's near the Batavia exit.

Town of Batavia Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 5:39 p.m.: The westbound passing lane is being shut down. Below is a map of traffic taken about 5:35 p.m. from Google Maps. Google gathers data from mobile phones with Google Maps GPS enabled to track traffic patterns. The accident is three cars with one apparent minor injury.

UPDATE 5:54 p.m.: Photo at the top from Thruway web cam.

A two-car accident with unknown injuries has been reported in the westbound lane of the Thruway in the area of mile marker 394.4.

East Pembroke Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 5:11 p.m.: There's two accidents in the area, one involving two cars mentioned above, and a three-car pileup near 395.6 in the eastbound lane. No word on injuries.

UPDATE 5:18 p.m.: No injuries at the two-car accident. There is heavy traffic moving at 20 mph or less and crews are finding it slow going to reach the scenes.

UPDATE 5:21 p.m.: At least one injury, a neck injury, reported at the three-car accident.

UPDATE 5:39 p.m.: East Pembroke, back in service.

A car is off the road in the median on the Thruway near mile marker 398.

Unknown injuries.

East Pembroke Fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:59 p.m.: No injuries. Traffic is heavily backed up in the westbound lanes. There also appears to be another car off the road in the area.

A car has struck a deer around mile marker 381 in the westbound lane of the Thruway.

The driver requests evaluation for windshield glass in the face.

Le Roy Fire and Ambulance responding.

UPDATE: Chief puts the responding engine back in service. Only minor injuries. Ambulance on scene.

A dump truck and an SUV slid off Route 63 south of Galloway Road yesterday in separate accidents that were only moments apart.

One person in the SUV reported a minor injury, but did not require transport to a hospital.

The driver of the dump truck was not injured after it slid off the snow-covered, wind-blown roadway and flipped on its side on the embankment.

Both drivers were cited for alleged violations related to their tires.

The accidents were reported at 9 a.m.

The dump truck was driven by Kevin E. Andrews, 35, of Allegheny Road, Basom. It is owned by PSI Disposal of Corfu.

The SUV was driven by Rebecca M. Lang, 21, of Bartz Drive, Alexander. She was also cited for alleged unsafe speed for conditions.

Lang's passengers included an infant and 34-year-old Charles D. Bucci.

Lang's vehicle slid off the roadway and struck the back of Andrews' overturned dump truck.

The dump truck was fully loaded at the time. No word on how long it took crews to get it upright again.

(initial report)

An Alexander couple were arrested today for allegedly engaging in a sex act in a public place.

The pair was reported to the Sheriff's Office by security personnel with a business on Veteran's Memorial Drive after they were allegedly witnessed engaged in sexual activity at 4:11 p.m.

Charged with public lewdness were Kelly Anne Brown, 34, and Karl James Hulshoff, 34, both of Broadway Road in Alexander.

Brown and Hulshoff were allegedly engaged in a sex act in a parked car in the vicinity of 4180 Veterans Memorial Drive.

They were arrested by Deputy James Diehl and released on an appearance ticket.

Here are three pictures from the a late afternoon drive through Le Roy/Bethany/Pavilion.

Above, Oakta Creek near Creek Road and Le Roy-Bethany Townline Road. Below, two barns on Le Roy-Bethany Townline Road.

Ed Minardo, director of Genesee Justice, sent along the following e-mail to help clarify Genesee Justice funding and the budget situation.

We submitted our initial 2011 budget to the County Manager which called for a total appropriation of $697,418.

This appropriation accounted for our salary and fringe benefits for employees, contractual obligations and other expenses for the operation of our offender services, victim services and the Justice for Children Advocacy Center (JFCAC).

Due to the nature of our grants, $41,890 of the appropriation included rent and utilities for our occupancy at 14 W. Main St., a County building. This is used to demonstrate the County’s share of its in-kind contribution to match grant funds, and is not an actual County expenditure.

In 2011, we are due to receive $318,119 in victim service grants through the New York State Office of Victim Services (OVS), New York State Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) and the National Children’s Alliance (NCA).

These funds exist to provide direct victim services to adults through our Comprehensive Victim Services and to the children and their families served through the JFCAC (281 total victims served). These grants have been consistently awarded to us because of the quality of service delivery to the above noted victims of crime in Genesee County.

We have excellent working relationships with the funding agencies and the dedicated professionals who work in those programs.

The receipt of these grants continues to minimize virtually all expenses to the County for these services. This includes the phenomenal work done by the JFCAC staff, contractual agents and members of the Multi-disciplinary Team to meet the needs of children who are physically and sexually abused in Genesee, Livingston, Wyoming and Orleans counties.

In 2011, we are due to receive $84,969 in offender services grants through the Office of Probation and Correctional Alternatives (OPCA) and the County STOP-DWI Program. The total number of offenders served through Community Service (419), DWI-CD Program (290) and RUS (245) was 954 in 2009. The above funding helps to offset some of our offender services, but ultimately results in the need for County funds.

For example, the Release Under Supervision Program (RUS) has been frequently recognized by Criminal Justice professionals as the critical component in keeping down our jail population. In 2009, we completed 518 bail evaluations for local Courts, which resulted in the placement of 245 defendants under our supervision in the RUS program.

This program is staffed by a full-time, exceptionally capable Case Manager, with back-up by the Assistant Director and Director of Genesee Justice. This is necessary because we provide bail evaluations within 24 hours of an offender’s placement in jail in order to expedite a review of their status for the Court.

The total grant funding for this program in 2009 was $7,700. This results in a County contribution of at least an additional $53,000, when salaries and program expenses are included. This is the reason that the Probation Department dropped this program in 2002. Probation was under no mandate to provide this service by NY State and the County was not recognizing their obligation to support the program, despite the obvious benefits to the County in reduced jail occupation. Here we are again!

To conclude, in 2011, we are scheduled to receive a total of $403,088 in grant funding for both victim and offender services. We had an initial anticipated County contribution of approximately $237,000. We have since made a considerable reduction of that amount; however, the County Manager is advising us that we must find a way to reduce our County share to ZERO for the next budget year.

We have scheduled a meeting of the Criminal Justice Advisory Council (CJAC) on Monday, Nov. 29, to determine if there may be any savings that can be derived from reducing, cutting or making more efficient use of criminal justice resources in order to provide us with the opportunity to remain in existence.

Batavia-based Christiano Cellular has been sold to a Marion, Ind.-based company, owner Roger Christiano announced today.

The new owner is Moorehead Communications, with 900 locations throughout the United States.

Christiano Cellular has locations in Batavia, Le Roy and Livingston County.

Christiano said with the sale, he's retiring.

A sale price was not announced.

The Christiano locations will be closed for a few days in early December while staff goes through orientation with the new company.

Full announcement after the jump:

Christiano Cellular, a local Verizon Authorized Wireless Retailer with locations in Genesee and Livingston counties, has been sold to Moorehead Communications, Inc., of Marion, Ind.

The announcement was made today by owner, Roger Christiano. Moorehead Communications' cellular division, known as The Cellular Connection, is the largest Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer in the Midwest with over 350 company-owned stores and over 550 owner-operated partners across the nation.

They are currently the fastest growing division in the wireless industry.

"After 20 years representing Verizon Wireless (formerly Frontier Cellular) in Batavia, LeRoy, Avon and Geneseo, I was looking for an opportunity to retire when this offer came along," Christiano said. "I appreciate being the first Rochester area agent to be approached by Moorehead Communications as they continue their expansion across New York State.

"My wife, Sharon, and I will end our career with Verizon Wireless with a feeling of accomplishment. We want to thank our employees for always going the extra mile for the customers of Verizon Wireless. And, of course, we want to thank our loyal customers for doing business with us over the years. We envision bigger and better things ahead when our existing sales staff joins forces with this dynamic new Premium Retailer."

Christiano Cellular stores will be closed for the first three or four days of December while the staff goes through orientation and training and the stores are converted to The Cellular Connection.