Stories from

Blue is missing. Blue is a 2-year-old English pointer who went missing Friday afternoon around Stannard Road, Alexander. He ran off chasing a deer and hasn't been seen by Ben and Christina since. He was last seen wearing an orange collar with an ID and a red collar with a big bell.

If you can help Blue get home to Ben and Christina call either (716) 572-2591 or (910) 382-0341.

A tractor-trailer is reportedly on its side in the area of 5437 Broadway, Bethany.

Wires are down. Fluids are leaking.

The driver is reported trapped in the cab but uninjured.

Bethany fire responding.

Pavilion and Alexander requested to shut down eastbound and westbound Route 20.

One of the five criteria for members of the Local Planning Committee to consider in selecting which projects to forward to the state as part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative is "community input." 

About 30 members of the public turned out Thursday night at City Hall for their chance to weigh in on the projects they think most deserving of a portion of the $10 million DRI prize the state awarded to Batavia in October.

Each participant received a strip of stickers, two red for their top priorities, and one each of green, blue and yellow.

A new marquee and new seats for Batavia Showtime Theaters was the crowd favorite with a total of 17 little round stickers on its project board.

The theater is owned by local businessman Ken Mistler. His other DRI project, Carr's Reborn, was also popular, getting 15 stickers, and 12 of those were red, the most of any project. 

The Healthy Living Campus received 16 stickers, with nine red.

The public market also got 16, with six red.

The Batavia Player's project, Theater 56, received 14 stickers, and six of those were red.

The complete street project for Ellicott Street received 11 stickers, four red.

Ellicott Place received 10 stickers, four red.

GO ART! rounds out the other favorites, among the 25 total projects, with eight stickers, five red.

The other four criteria for the LPC to consider are the readiness of the project, the project's consistency with establishing planning documents, the catalytic potential of the project (can it drive more development), and the ratio of grant request vs. the amount of money being put in by the project developer.

The LPC has two more meetings before sending its recommendations to the state. The next meeting will be a report from consultants who will answer questions raised about projects during the process. At the final meeting, the committee will whittle down the 25 projects to those with no more than $15 million in funding requests.

The state will take that recommended list and select projects with requests of no more than $10 million.

Press release:

Timing is everything, and now is the time to leave as executive director of YWCA of Genesee County after six and a half years, Jeanne Walton says.

“I have been fortunate to work with a lot of people and take the organization to a new level,” Walton said. “And we’re at a point where a lot of things need to be addressed and we need a person with a different skill set to work on them.”

When Walton took the position in July 2011, her goals were to work with staff to increase exposure and awareness of YWCA, its offerings and mission to empower women and families and eliminate racism.

That tall order was achieved with the addition of the Care+Crisis Helpline in 2015; a total renovation of the My Sister’s Closet thrift shop; expanding the agency’s awards event into a nationally aligned Women of Distinction function; and increased devotion to serving the needs of domestic violence victims and child care families.

“Being here has taught me a lot about the need for these services in the community. I was not aware, especially, for the need of crisis services,” Walton said. “We’ve worked hard to change things in the domestic violence department to provide services we hope will urge clients to make significant transformations in their lives.

"For the past four years we’ve really brought some significant change to the lives of people, especially those who have gone into our Safe House; some have completely turned their lives around. And the Care+Crisis Helpline has filled a huge void.”

Although some ventures have come and gone, such as the Artisans at North Street and a teen youth program, they have all been important “to the process and to our learning development,” Walton said.

She is proud of the agency’s more recent and ongoing programs and events, which have also included the Stiletto & Sneaker 5K, a Healthy Relationships course taught in local schools, peace and justice vigils, support groups and the You Engaging Success transition program for domestic violence victims.

They all prove that the agency’s vision can be interpreted in a variety of ways, she said.

“I’m appreciative of the continuous support the community has offered to me, but more importantly, to YWCA as a whole in supporting new ventures we’ve undertaken,” Walton said.  

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Board Member Roula Alkhouri said that Walton’s experience in management and business helped YWCA raise awareness about the needs of those affected by domestic violence and other related struggles.

“Her personal passion for helping others has enabled the YWCA to grow its programs and increase its outreach and funding,” Alkhouri said. “We are indebted to Jeanne’s steadfastness, commitment and vision for all the new programs that YWCA offered in our community.”

Millie Tomidy-Pepper has begun her new role as executive director and looks forward to working on agency initiatives to eliminate racism and empower women.

As a former executive director of the Mental Health Association in Genesee County, Tomidy-Pepper brings several years of experience and a background in nonprofit management, including the oversight of fiscal stability and growth, employee and facility management, advocating for clients at a national, state and local level and strategic planning to reach fiscal stability, quality service and enhanced community awareness.

She has a bachelor’s degree in organizational management and has received many awards for significant accomplishments in leadership, staff management and community involvement.

"At this time in our nation’s history, when women's rights and civil rights are being challenged every day, I cannot think of a place I would rather be working than the YWCA, an organization whose mission is to eliminate racism and empower women,” Tomidy-Pepper said. “This job is a dream come true for me."

YWCA of Genesee County’s three primary programs are Domestic Violence Crisis & Prevention Services, Children & Family Services and the 24-hour Care+Crisis Helpline.

The agency is the sole provider of domestic violence services in Genesee County and offers before and after school child care at seven sites in Genesee and Livingston counties. For more information, call (585) 343-5808.

Wayne Fuller, the voice of Batavia sports, passed away this morning at Strong Memorial Hospital after a lengthy illness.

Fuller was 70 years old.

With a perfect baritone broadcast voice, Fuller became a local legend over the decades, serving as a public address announcer for the Batavia Muckdogs as well as Batavia High School sports. He worked for WBTA at various times since 1967.

Fuller was well known for not only his talent as an announcer but also his encyclopedic knowledge of sports and pop music and his photographic memory.

"Wayne Fuller was blessed with a marvelous voice and a considerable talent, and we were blessed with Wayne Fuller," said Bill Kauffman. "For somewhere between three and four decades, he was the voice of Batavia baseball — of the Trojans, the Clippers, the Muckdogs.

"His voice perfectly fit Dwyer Stadium; Batavia baseball sounds like Wayne Fuller. I think of Wayne as the voice of Batavia, a voice that will never stop echoing."

Batavia gave Fuller a place to excel -- plenty of local sports, but also a locally owned AM radio station that gave him an outlet for sharing the pop music of the recent past that he loved and knew as well as he did baseball history.

Dan Fischer, co-owner of WBTA, said Fuller was a perfect match for the station throughout so much of the station's history.

“Wayne was a unique on-air personality," Fischer said. "He had a perfect voice for AM radio, clear and distinctive. That voice served him well for his public address work as the stadium announcer for the Muckdogs and in the gymnasium for BHS basketball.

"Wayne could weave a story in such great detail. He knew what the weather was on the day his story was set; he could tell you what song was popular on that day. He had a passion for trains and memorized schedules and could describe railroad stations along most any route.

"He was a great friend and a wonderful and talented employee who will be missed by his colleagues and fans alike.”

Fuller was dedicated to the youth of the community and loved being the voice of so many Batavia sports. Both Buddy Brasky, head coach of Batavia HS basketball, and Michael Bromley, the school's athletic director, said he will be missed.

"Wayne was a very important part of Batavia Athletics for many years," Brasky said. "As the PA announcer for the varsity boys' basketball games, he added a sense of professionalism to the games. His enthusiasm, the way he played the music, the way he introduced the players in the starting lineups, always added to the atmosphere at the games."

Fuller was a 1965 graduate of Batavia HS. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2013. Bromley also noted the press box at Dwyer Stadium is named after Fuller.

"More than that, Wayne was a friend to everyone," Bromley said. "He was a friend to many of our coaches, many of our athletes. He's going to be deeply missed. We tried to replace him for the season but there's still a big absence without him on the sidelines for basketball."

The impact Fuller had on the region goes beyond sports and broadcasting, however. He was also passionate about his longtime job with Empire Trailways.

Fuller was fascinated by bus schedules and fairs and he was instrumental in pushing bus companies across the Northeast in adopting computerized ticketing, according to his former boss Jack Barker.

"He was promoted to traffic manager in 1974 for Empire Trailways and he held that position for many years, taking care of bus schedules and fares," Barker said. "His contribution to the bus industry was exemplary. He was a friend of mine for probably over well over 50 years and he will definitely be missed."

Ironically, Fuller's broadcast career almost got derailed before it started. He had been hanging around WBTA as a teenager and the station manager one night blamed him for an announcer's on-air mistake. He thought that was the end of his connection with the station.

"I got thrown out of the station by the then-program manager," Fuller told Lucine Kauffman last year during an interview for her WBTA show, Genesee Life. "His name was Bob Folkler. He thought that I had broken up the announcer one night on the radio and it was somebody else. But I got thrown out. So I thought I was done hanging around BTA.

"This was in '67. About a week later, he called me up and said, 'Wayne, could you work tonight?' So here I went into this with no training because I was already pretty well trained because I'd been hanging around so much. I knew exactly what to do. So I just sat down did it."

Jaylinn M. Oneil, 27, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal use of drug paraphernalia, 2nd, criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument, and endangering the welfare of a child. Oneil was arrested by members of the Local Drug Task Force following a search of his residence as the result of an investigation initiated by the Department of Social Services. Following arraignment, Oneil was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Timothy James Hodgins, 32, of Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and inadequate headlamps. Hodgins was stopped at 7:48 p.m. Thursday on Lewiston Road, Batavia, by Deputy Kyle Krzemien.

Andrew Charles McGiveron, 29, of Walkers Corners Road, Byron, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. McGiveron was stopped at 7:52 p.m. Feb. 2 on Clinton Street Road, Stafford, by Investigator Christopher Parker. McGiveron was allegedly found in possession of a glass pipe and a small quantity of marijuana during a traffic stop.

Paul Donald Fields Jr., 48, of Pearl Street Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .8 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and moving from lane unsafely. Fields was charged following an investigation by Deputy Travis DeMuth into a motor-vehicle accident reported at 10:46 p.m. Wednesday on Indian Falls Road, Pembroke.

Abrain D. Wright, 33, of Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Wright was stopped by State Police at 11:07 p.m. Thursday on Route 33 in Bergen.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today voted in support of the Bipartisan Budget Act that keeps the government funded through March 23 as Congress works toward finishing the Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations process.

The legislation also includes a sensible compromise on budget caps, boosts defense spending, raises the debt ceiling, and includes funding for community health centers, the opioid epidemic, infrastructure, agriculture programs, and disaster relief.

“This legislation is critical to our national security as we are giving Secretary Mattis the funding he needs to rebuild our military and keep Americans safe,” Collins said. “This bill is a big win that accomplishes many of our priorities and provides budget certainty so we can move forward on other important tasks.”

Under this agreement, Congress has ended the sequester for the next two years, providing greater certainty and a much-needed increase in funding for national defense. After eight years under President Obama, our military was left inadequately prepared to defend our country. This agreement also provides for America’s veterans by helping reduce the maintenance backlog at the Veterans Administration.

This deal increases the debt ceiling to March of 2019 so we don’t default on our nation’s obligations. The Bipartisan Budget Act includes $6 billion over two years to combat the opioid crisis and support mental health programs and boosts National Institutes of Health spending. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will be funded for 10 years, community health centers for two years and multiple Medicare payment policies also received significant extensions.

Additionally, this legislation includes provisions that are critical to farmers in New York State, including improving the Margin Protection Program (MPP) for dairy producers, which offers protection to farmers as prices in milk and feed fluctuate. The legislation also removes a $20 million cap on the Federal Crop Insurance program, which protects against natural disasters or the loss of revenue due to a decline in price, giving livestock and dairy farmers more options.

Collins added: “I am pleased that we were able to work across the aisle to keep the government open while making sure the brave men and women in uniform can succeed on the battlefield and have the resources they need when they return home."

Is Congress doing enough to control deficit spending?

Washington Examiner: Republicans repeal the Tea Party

Sports continues to become a bigger part of Genesee County's tourism economy, Kelly Rapone, tourism marketing director for the Chamber of Commerce, told members of the Ways and Means Committee during an annual update on Wednesday.

For years, since the Batavia Sports Park opened, Batavia has been home of the Empire Cup soccer showcase and this year the two-weekend event will be supplemented by a third weekend of soccer for another tournament.

That additional tournament will mean an addition 4,000 room nights for local hotels and about $500,000 of local economic impact.

June is also booked solid with sports. In this case, baseball.

Genesee County has long been a top destination for Canadian golfers, though last season the number of golfers crossing the border dropped off because of an unfavorable exchange rate. The exchange rate still isn't good, Rapone said, but golfers started booking packages in January, which may be a sign that the Canadians have mentally adjusted to the new prices and are ready to make the trip anyway.

Music has also grown into a source of tourism dollars, Rapone said. The venues have grown from beyond just Darien Lake to include The Ridge, in Le Roy, entering its eighth season, and Batavia Downs.

The first concert series at the Downs last year was a success, so officials there are apparently planning on booking more shows this year.

It's not so much that the concerts sell out, Rapone said -- the concerts help increase casino traffic and lead to more room nights booked at the new hotel.

The hotel hit its first anniversary in October, Rapone said, and in the fourth quarter, as a result of the hotel being open, there was a bump in local tourism revenue in 2017.

Rapone said she believes Batavia Downs is looking to book more expo-type of events, which brings more people to town, more people into the casino, and leads to more nights booked at the hotel.

Students from Byron-Bergen Jr./Sr. High School who are participating in Sandy Auer's pottery classes traveled to Rochester today for the class's annual visit to the Flower City Arts Center, where they could experience throwing pottery for a first time on a pottery wheel. The students then work with Mrs. Auer one-on-one in class throwing their own pottery pieces. 

"It's a great experience for the students," Mrs. Auer said.

Photos and info provided by Byron-Bergen High School.

Photo and info submitted by Tobacco Free GLOW.

Press release:

Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death and illness in New York State. Tobacco control representatives from Tobacco-Free GLOW Julie Calvert, Brittany Bozzer, Ben Streeter and Krysta Hansen, recently met with Assemblyman Steve Hawley at the Capitol in Albany to discuss the important tobacco control work being done in the GLOW region to save lives. 

Ben Streeter and Krysta Hansen are students at Notre Dame High School.

Genesee County has an oversupply of owner-occupied housing for the extremely low-income people and not enough for market-rate renters, according to a housing study released yesterday.

There's also a shortage -- to the point of being essentially nonexistent -- of single-family, owner-occupied housing for households with incomes of $100,000 to $150,000.

Ed Flynn, a consultant with LaBella Associates, and 24-year resident of Batavia, presented the findings of the county-commissioned housing needs assessment to a gathering of local officials and residents last night at the Old Courthouse.

Other problems facing the county are a slowly declining population and an aging population.

"The demographics and the economics are changing," Flynn said. "The community must recognize that the type of community that Batavia or Genesee County was 10 years ago has completely changed. The type of households have completely changed and we have to recognize and acknowledge that economic development does matter. So in order to avoid the current projections where there is continual population decline you really need to create jobs."

The flip side to shortages in housing is there is demand. 

There is demand for middle-income, owner-occupied, single-family housing. There is demand for smaller-unit, smaller-lot, single-family housing in the city. There is demand for market-rate rental properties.

And what people say they want in their housing of the future is housing that is ADA-accessible, with sidewalks and trails and access to alternate forms of transportation and connected to amenities and services.

"Based on the survey, we got a lot of feedback," Flynn said. "People said, 'we want more than just a house. We want a community.' 

"So let's look at some small lots, areas of compact development patterns where you can walk and where there are landscaping and smaller houses. Let's look at some downtown areas or some compact development where you can do some of these high-end houses or a mixed-income housing in the downtown areas or some strategic areas in other villages and towns."

As evidence of the demand for market-rate rentals, Flynn pointed to the new apartments that have been added to the downtown housing stock over the past few years. In each case, these apartments were snapped up immediately at rates of $1,000 to $1,500 a month.

Flynn said it will be interesting to see if that trend continues with the four new apartments in the former Newberry's building go on the market, but based on the survey data, it appears the demand for that kind of housing is still present in the City of Batavia.

According to the data gathered for the report, there are 2,070 households in the county with upper-level incomes and only 889 rental units suitable to that market.

There may be additional opportunities to rehabilitate other existing structures and housing units that meet market demands but with more than 80 percent of the housing in the county more than 50 years old, there is growing demand for new housing.

The problem in attracting new housing development, however, is the low cost of current housing.

The median single-family housing price has dropped from $115,192 in 2000 to $107,000 in 2015. Rental rates have risen only slightly, from $715 in 2000 to $724 in 2015.

The average cost of an existing housing unit is $83 per square foot. The average cost of new construction is $175 per square foot. That means an existing 1,650-square-foot house might sell for $136,950 but it would cost $288,750 (excluding developer profit and permitting fees) to build a new 1,650-square-foot house.

Without government-backed incentives, Flynn said, it will be difficult to attract developers to Genesee County to build new housing.

Those trends holding housing prices down also means owners are less likely to upgrade and improve their existing properties, whether owner-occupied or rental.

"If you have a house and you know the value is not going to change, you are probably not going to do as many updates," Flynn said.

Among the recommendations in the report is creating a countywide program to provide incentives for owners of single-family homes to rehabilitate and upgrade those units.

Over the next 20 years, there will be a demand for 4,804 additional housing units in Genesee County, according to the report.

There will be a need for 2,858 single-family units, with 1,699 on standard lots and 1,159 on small lots.  

Nearly 80 percent of the 4,804 new units will need to be rental properties, with 1,138 of those being part of multi-family complexes.

While most people, the survey found, want to live in single-family homes -- 78 percent -- there increasing interest in multi-family or small units, such as patio homes, townhouses, senior living apartments, duplexes, and apartments (89 percent).

Forty-two of the respondents said they want to move into smaller living units and 33 percent said they want lower cost housing in the future.

There is also a strong need for housing the meets the needs of people with disabilities, with 13.4 percent of the population having some sort of disability. With an aging population, that number will grow. Nearly 20 percent of the people in poverty are disabled.

For the poor, housing is often substandard or too expensive for their income levels. More than 6,800 households in the county are living with housing with problems. Examples include plumbing problems or substandard kitchen facilities. More than 20 percent of renters are paying more than one third of their income in rent and more than 20 percent are paying more than 50 percent of their income in rent.

For owner-occupied homes, there is an oversupply of extreme/very low-income units, with only 885 households qualifying at that income level and 3,355 such units in the county. 

Meanwhile, there are 15,050 households who could afford market-rate and higher owner-occupied properties but only 8,871 such units exist.

There is also demand in the low-income range -- between extremely low income and middle income -- for suitable housing.

For renters at the very low-income spectrum, there are 1,600 such households and only 565 such units available. 

Meanwhile, there is an oversupply of low-income and middle-income rental units.

"We need to consider economic development," Flynn said. "And I'm not just saying that because I like the folks at the EDC (county Economic Development Center) or other economic professionals, because if you create jobs and you create wealth you're going to create demand for housing."

Click here (PDF) for the written report.

Dealing with the state's new "Raise the Age" rule for handling 16- and 17-year-old criminal defendants is still a "work in progress," says County Manager Jay Gsell, both for the county and for the state.

And the fact that the state doesn't totally have its act together is one of the most frustrating things about the new law, Gsell said.

"This legislation has been in the works for about four or five years," Gsell said. "So why is the state so ill-prepared at this point? If this has been something that's been on their radar screen for the last four or five years, that to me is where the state, again, has has come up short."

The new law creates an "adolescent offender" (AO) class of defendant, putting 16- and 17-year-olds between youthful offenders and adult offenders. New York is one of the final two states to recognize that teenage brains -- really, human brains into the mid-20s, according to neuroscientists -- are not fully developed. Adolescents are more prone to rash and poor decisions, peer pressure, and more susceptible to not fully appreciating the consequences of their actions. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the new legislation into law in April. 

"By raising the age of criminal responsibility, this legislation will reduce crime, recidivism, and costs to the state, and help us deliver on the New York promise to advance social justice and affirm our core progressive values," Cuomo said at the time.

"Providing young people with age-appropriate facilities and rehabilitation will restore hope and promise and help them turn their lives around to build a better future for themselves, their families and for our great state."

What the law means for counties is that once a potential adolescent offender is arrested, the arresting officer must stay with the individual constantly until the youth is in an appropriate holding facility. The AO cannot come into even visual contact with an adult offender. This means special holding rooms at the courthouse.

But more significantly, the county will need a place to hold AO offenders who are sentenced to less than a year in jail. They cannot be placed with the general jail population. They also must be provided enhanced services and evidence-based programs. 

The county currently has no such facility.

Gsell said the county is in talks with the other GLOW counties about a possible joint facility. 

Where the state's guidelines breakdown is there is yet to be created a final document of requirements for such a facility, though New York's counties are expected to have these facilities open and running by October of this year.

"There are a lot of complications going around with this coming out, and the state itself has not done much on it in terms of draft regulations," Gsell said. "There are specialized secure detention regulations out now but we're in the month of February and they're still in the draft form."

Gsell said whether the county, or counties, build new or repurpose an existing building, it will take at least two years of planning, financing and construction to get such a facility open.

Supposedly, the state will reimburse 100 percent of the county's "eligible" expenses.

"Pardon my rampant skepticism, but I don't buy into the notion that the state will blanket cover 100 percent of all eligible expenses because they can keep changing that bar and keep moving it, which is what they've done in the past," Gsell said.

And at some point, reimbursements, based on the state's history, are likely to dry up.

"Every year this kind of funding is subject to appropriation, a.k.a., the state decides that they can't do this anymore because, as they're dealing with right now, a four billion dollar deficit in his proposed budget that in three years will grow to eight billion dollars a year. It is potentially likely that, as they have done in the past, they will tell us, 'well, you know, we had the funding at one time but we can't afford that, so counties you're back on your own again.' "

As for a potential location for a secure detention facility -- apparently, not called a juvenile hall -- Gsell threw out one possibility: the former armory on State Street in Batavia.

"It's already got that secured fencing," Gsell said. "It's already a building that is set up with a kitchen and has small living quarters, has an open area. Stranger things happen. But it's not owned by a public entity anymore. It's a private-sector building but the owner doesn't seem to have any plans."

There may also be facilities within the GLOW region that the state already owns that could be repurposed.

"The Albion Correctional Facility probably has a lot of space," Gsell said. "You know, you're the state. You're making up the rules. You're the ones that say you have the money. Spend it more wisely than just having all of us go out and start creating 57 of these little things all over the state."

The state is already repurposing a facility to house 16- and 17-year-old offenders who receive sentences longer than one year.

This demand for an AO facility comes at a time when the state is already leaning on the county about building a new jail, a project will cost as much as $52 million and the county will largely be on its own to fund.  

A new jail will cost about $285,000 per bed and will contain 125 to 175 beds.

"Our biggest consideration is, we've got to figure out what to do to pay for a new county jail, and how big it's going to be, sometime in the next four or five years," Gsell said.

The county has two committees currently working on AO-related issues, one involving several county department heads and staff members, and one involving the leaders in the county's criminal justice system.

These two committees, Gsell said, will help the county both realize what is possible, what is necessary, and, especially with the committee on the criminal justice side, guide the county away, hopefully, from potential pitfalls.

The judges can also help come up with guidelines so that some of the AOs -- an estimated seven to 10 a year -- who might otherwise get sentences of less than a year -- can be set up on programs similar to Genesee Justice or provided with electronic monitors. Such diversion programs will help save the county money.

An accident has knocked down a utility pole on Cockram Road, Byron, west of Byron-Holley Road.

The pole is completely blocking the road.

No injuries are reported.

Byron and South Byron fire departments are responding.

There have been another 100 flu cases reported in Genesee County in the past two weeks, bringing the season total to 250.

At this point in the season last year, said Public Health Director Paul Pettit, there were 53 confirmed cases.

The flu season started Sept. 1.

The local increase in flu cases is consistent with reports of more flu cases all over the country.

Pettit encourages everybody who has not been vaccinated to get vaccinated. There are reports that this year's vaccine is less effective against the most common strain of flu this season, but it does work on other strains and health officials say the vaccination will lessen the severity of symptoms.

A Le Roy fox hunter says he had to chase a woman he believes stole his hunting dog this morning at speeds that reached 60 mph on Route 33 before a state trooper arrived on scene and initiated a traffic stop. 

The woman, who was in tears, the hunter said, told the trooper, according to Troop A's public information officer, Trooper James O'Callahan, that she thought she had found a lost dog and was taking the animal to State Street Animal Hospital.

The hunter, who asked not to be identified, said he was hunting on Griswold Road with the local property owner when he heard his dog bark. He walked a couple hundred yards down Griswold but the dog was nowhere in sight.

"I thought, there's no way that dog could run that fast," he said.

He went back to his truck and drove back down Griswold. Just then, he saw a sedan pulling away.  

The dog was wearing a GPS collar, he said, so he knew the dog was in the car. Pretty soon, he said, he noticed he was still behind the car, but the GPS signal was behind his location, which meant, he believes, the woman with the dog had removed the collar and thrown it out the car window.

He followed the woman down Route 33 and she was eventually stopped at Seven Springs Road.

The problem for the trooper, in deciding whether to file charges against the woman, O'Callahan said, is that the hunter didn't see the woman remove the collar and she said the dog didn't have a collar.  Though the collar was found at the location near where the dog was picked up, there isn't sufficient proof the woman removed the collar.  Without that, there's no proof of a crime, O'Callahan said.

The owner called The Batavian to clarify that the dog was not taken from a residence.

"I don't want people to think there is somebody going around taking people's dogs from their homes," he said.

(Initial Report)

      Ismael Laffosse

Ismael L. Laffosse, 31, Fisk Road, Akron, is charged with second-degree attempted assault, second-degree menacing, third-degree criminal mischief, and criminal possession of a weapon, 4th. Laffosse is accused of striking another person with a baseball bat and damaging that person's personal property. The incident was reported at 6:54 p.m., Jan. 29, at a location on Apollo Drive, Batavia. The victim suffered serious injuries but has been released from the hospital.

Armando L. Carrion-Rojas, 23, of McCall Road, Greece, is charged with criminal mischief. Carrion-Rojas is accused of breaking the driver's side mirror of his girlfriend's car at 1:50 p.m. Monday at a location in Le Roy, and of damaging a residence door after his girlfriend locked him outside the residence. He was jailed on $500 bail or $4,000 bond.

Derek James Wert, 36, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Wert allegedly contacted by electronic means a person he was ordered by a judge not to contact. Wert was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Ronald F. Ratulowski, 44, of Eleanor Place, Batavia, is charged with third-degree assault. Ratulowski was arrested on a warrant. The original incident was reported at 11 p.m. Sept. 10 at a location on Eleanor Place. No further details released.

Bonnie L. Cortright, 30, West Main Street, Batavia, was arrested on two City Court warrants. The reason for the warrants was not released. She was released on her own recognizance.

Kevin Andrew Rivera, 23, of Batavia Stafford Townline Road, Batavia, is charged with third-degree criminal mischief. Rivera allegedly broke the window of a College Village dorm room at 10:56 p.m. Monday.

Nicholas Gerald Schafer, 19, of Broadway Road, Darien, is charged with DWI, driving while impaired by drugs, driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of drugs and alcohol, and parking violation on a highway. Deputy Kyle Krzemien was dispatched at 4:17 p.m. June 30 to Batavia Elba Townline Road, Elba, to investigate a complaint of a subject passed out in a vehicle. Following an investigation, Schafer was charged.

Jeremiah D. Williams, 26, of Batavia, was arrested by State Police following a revocation of parole. He was ordered held in jail.

An 18-year-old resident of Batavia is charged with petit larceny. The defendant was arrested on Goade Park. The incident was reported at 6:17 p.m. Monday in Kendall. The arrest was made by State Police at 6:10 a.m. Tuesday. No further details released.

Katrina P. Giummo, 29, of Corfu, is charged with petit larceny. Giummo is accused of a theft reported in Corfu at 1:18 p.m. Monday. She was arrested by State Police. No further details released.

Yesterday afternoon, consultants and an investigator from the Department of Environmental Conservation were at the former Santy Tire property, an anticipated part of the Ellicott Station project, digging test pits to further define the severity and scope of environmental contamination on the property.

There is a pending application for the property for a brownfield tax credit -- one has already been granted for the Della Penna property -- for the parcel. The DEC asked for more evidence of environmental contamination.