Stories from

The Town of Oakfield is 175 years old, and to celebrate yesterday evening, town officials dressed up in 1840s-era clothes for a special town board meeting.

The Town split off from Elba and became its own town on April 11, 1842 and by coincidence, the town board had a regularly scheduled meeting for April 11, 2017.

Resident Jay Wolcott, a sixth-generation Wolcott, an original founding family (bottom photo), shared some local history and Supervisor Carol Glor called the meeting to order with a recitation of the history of the formation of the first local governing body.

Highway Superintendent Alan Dennis talked a bit about why officials decided to hold this celebration.

"As a town board, we feel history and local history are important," he said.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley, below, presented the town with an official Assembly proclamation commemorating the anniversary.

Photo: Code Enforcement Officer Mark Mikolajczyk, left, Highway Superintendent Alan Dennis, Councilman Tim Kabel, Town Clerk Melissa Haacke, Supervisor Carol Glor, Councilman Jim Veazey, Councilman Kim Wolcott and Councilman Matt Martin.

An injury is reported in an accident involving a car hitting a tree in the area of 9662 Bethany Center Road, Bethany.

Bethany fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Press release:

The north end of River Street in the City of Batavia, Genesee County, will be temporarily closed between the West Main Street intersection and the Five Star Bank northerly driveway for one day to repair pavement from the winter utility work.

Work is planned to begin in the morning and complete by the end of the day. The work will be done either Tuesday 4/18 or Wednesday 4/19 or Thursday 4/20 depending on weather conditions.

A traffic detour will be posted on West Main Street, South Main Street, and Route 98. Access to Five Star Bank and the immediate residents within the work zone will be provided over the Tonawanda Creek bridge and other Five Star driveways.

Please call the contractor at (315) 521-1212 or 9-1-1 for an immediate emergency. For all other information, you may call (585)451-6538 during normal business hours.

Because she's an older woman in frail health, 61-year-old Dawn Piasta isn't going to jail, Judge Charles Zambito told the admitted drug dealer before sentencing her today to five years probation.

One tiny slip-up while on probation, Zambito told Piasta, and she's going to state prison.

"I want to impress on you that there is going to be no leeway for you," Zambito said.

Piasta said she understood, but she's already violated the terms, by her own admission, of her pre-sentencing release from jail once.  She told a probation officer preparing her pre-sentence report that she smoked marijuana in mid-March.

Normally, Zambito said, that alone, as a violation of her plea bargain, would at a minimum have meant a jail term. But since the Genesee County Jail isn't set up to house female inmates and it would be hard to place her in a neighboring county jail given her health conditions and age, his options were limited.

Piasta has admitted to criminal possession of a controlled substance, in the fifth degree, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, in the seventh degree.

She was arrested in November, accused of selling crack cocaine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force.

Her defense attorney, Michael Locicero, lobbied for a probation-only sentence because of Piasta's age, health and the circumstances of the charges, which he attributed, at least in part, to intimidation by other people.

"She realizes the gravity and nature of what she got herself into and she's not asking to be absolved of her responsibility," Locicero said. "I ask the court to take these factors into consideration and give her a probation-only sentence."

That wasn't Zambito's plan, he said, before conferring with jail officials on the limitations of housing her for a few months. Given the issues in the community with drug abuse, he said, he thought some jail time would be more appropriate.

"I agree with the D.A.," Zambito said. "You violated the terms of your plea offer and the sentence for your felony conviction could be two-and-a-half years in state prison. I'm not going to do that. My inclination was shock probation (a term in jail followed by probation) even before the violation. I understand the possibility of intimidation, but you are the one who chose to open your home to drug users and drug dealers and start using drugs yourself."

Whether Sean Vickers, the convicted child molester, will get a new trial on charges related to several allegations he already faced in Genesee County, is still up in the air while the District Attorney's Office seeks to appeal a court ruling that threw out Vickers' conviction on some of the counts he faced locally.

Vickers is serving 20 years in state prison on his sex crime convictions in Niagara County, but some of the felony counts he was convicted on in Genesee County were dismissed after an appeals court ruled that his rights were violated because the prosecution amended the original grand jury indictments and tried him on counts other than those listed in the original indictments.

An attorney for Vickers, Benjamin Nelson, appeared in County Court this morning arguing that access to papers in the possession of the DA or local law enforcement should be preserved and discoverable by his client, should the case proceed. Nelson is also supportive of the prospect of all records related to Vickers' trial and conviction being sealed because the conviction was overturned.

Assistant District Attorney Shirley Gorman argued that because one local conviction was upheld, and the appeals court ruled that the DA's Office can seek a new indictment, and since the DA's office is seeking a chance to reargue its case before the Court of Appeals, therefore Vickers' case records should not be sealed.

She also argued that Vickers, because of the case he's already been through, already knows of, and has access to, all of the prosecution and law enforcement documents he could possibly get.

Nelson said he was merely seeking the court's acknowledgment that counsel representing Vickers in the future has a right to request documents that he may not presently have seen or know about. He has no current request for specific documents, he told Judge Charles Zambito.

Nelson also raised the possibility that Vickers could seek to bar the people from further prosecution on charges related to the prior indictment because of his rights to a speedy trial and his Constitutional protection against double jeopardy. 

But Gorman said the speedy trial issue wouldn't apply because any delay is the result of Vickers' appeal and not anything the prosecution did, and that by granting the people's right to re-prosecute and dismissing the prior counts without prejudice, there is no issue of double jeopardy.

Zambito said he will review the case and arguments and provide a ruling at a later date.

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) today announced a new round of bids for site work at STAMP -- Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park -- have been released. A legal notice announcing the bids was published April 11.

The work will include: asbestos abatement and demolition of a former two-story residence at 6758 Alleghany Road; a former two-story residence at 6725 Crosby Road; a former one-story residence at 840 Crosby Road; and, two barns and removal of debris from a structure that was a former residence.

The bids will be unsealed and read at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, at the Genesee County Economic Development Center, located at 99 Medtech Drive in Batavia. Bids also can be accessed by contacting Debbie Button-Vanderwall (585-402-7511) from Clark Patterson Lee, which is the engineering firm overseeing the bidding process.

“While we will not be conducting a pre-bid meeting; those interested in submitting a bid can arrange for a site visit to see the structures,” said Mark Masse, senior vice president of operations at the GCEDC. “It also should be noted that for this specific work the Project Labor Agreement will not be applicable.”

Thomas J. Coleman, 55, of Alfred Drive, Rochester, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, and speeding. Coleman was stopped by Le Roy PD after allegedly passing a patrol car at 47 mph in a 30-mph zone on West Main Street in the village at 9:44 p.m., Friday. Coleman allegedly failed to yield to the patrol vehicle's emergency lights and struck a curb prior to pulling over. Coleman was found to allegedly have a BAC of .18 or greater.

Nicholas T. Bowden, 21, of Le Roy, is charged with four counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, and grand larceny, 4th. Bowden was arrested Monday by Le Roy PD. He allegedly possessed credit cards belonging to a relative and used the cards to make unauthorized withdrawals from an ATM machine of more than $1,000.

Every Tuesday, Troop A, State Police, put out a press release on an unsolved crime, a cold case. Today's release is about a Cheektowaga woman whose body was found in Darien:

Cold Case Tuesday: The New York State Police in Batavia continue to investigate the 39-year-old murder of Jessica Rose Lane.
  
On Nov. 25, 1977, the partially decomposed body of Jessica Rose Lane, age 66, was found by two deer hunters in a wooded area off of Alley Road in the Town of Darien, Genesee County. The victim was found fully clothed with three fractured ribs, a fractured left elbow and a fractured skull, likely caused by stabbing.
 
Lane was last seen on Nov. 11, 1977, at Williamstown Apartments in Cheektowaga.
 
The exact location of the crime has yet to be determined. However, residents below the victim’s apartment claimed to have heard two “thumps” between the hours of 4 and 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 12, 1977.
 
Lane, who resided alone, was known to keep to herself and rarely had visitors. Suspects have been developed but no arrests have been made.
 
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Investigator Ron Wilson of the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Batavia by calling 716-361-1585. Please refer to SJS # 3029541.

A Batavia woman is accused of threatening employees of a business on State Street Road with a knife after they found her in the building allegedly burglarizing the establishment.

Arrested was Ann Marie Capuano, 32, of Montclair Avenue, Batavia. 

She is charged with burglary, 3rd, menacing, 3rd, criminal trespass, 3rd, possession of burglary tools and criminal mischief, 4th.

The break-in was reported at 8 a.m., Saturday.  

When deputies responded, Capuano was located leaving the area on a bicycle on State Street Road. She was stopped for questioning.

Capuano was identified as the suspect.

According to the Sheriff's Office, she threatened staff of the business with a knife when they located her in the business and requested she remain at the business until the arrival of law enforcement.

She was jailed on $5,000 bail.

The incident was investigated by Investigator James Diehl, Deputy Chris Erion, Deputy Chad Cummings, Deputy Jenna Ferrando, with assistance from Batavia PD.

K-9 Destro helped locate evidence at the scene.

Press release:

The City has completed its curbside collection of limbs and branches from the March 8 windstorm. Any resident with limbs and branches are encouraged to bring them to the Yard Waste Station on Law Street, Monday thru Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.

Crime isn't out of control in East Pembroke, but the idea of a neighborhood watch program in the hamlet is to make sure things don't get worse, said Amber Winters, one of the group's organizers.

There is crime in every neighborhood, she said, and East Pembroke isn't unique.

"It’s a pretty normal rate of crime here but that doesn’t mean we have to be OK with it," she said.

More than 150 people have joined a Facebook neighborhood watch group. The group has joined National Neighborhood Watch, a division of the National Sheriffs' Association, and is planning a meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. at the elementary school April 19.

The Sheriff's Office is fully supportive and will participate in the meeting, said Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble.

"Years ago we used to have several neighborhood watch groups in the county and they kind of died off," Dibble said. "We're very interested in neighborhoods that want to start these up.

"We’re excited to see what we can do to give this group what it needs," Dibble said.

The main purpose of neighborhood watch group is just to help neighbors get to know each other better, which helps residents identify things that are out of the ordinary.

"There are more rental properties now and people are coming in and we're looking at a lot of new faces all of the time," Winters said. "We just don't know anybody anymore and we want to connect all of the new families and the faces and the houses who don't know each other so we get to know each other."

One impetus for the group was the assault at the Arrow Mart a couple of months ago. Some community members thought, Winters said, that maybe they should do something before crime does become a serious problem in the hamlet.

"With all the car break-ins, people attacked in their homes, the assault at the Arrow Mart, we were feeling more frustrated," she said.

At the meeting on the 19th, people will be able to meet each other, but the Sheriff's Office will also be on hand to let the community know what it has available to help the group.

"We just don’t know our neighbors like we did back in the day," Dibble said. "It’s the truth. We know that."

East Pembroke residents are looking for a chance to change that.

Press release:

State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer (R-C-I, Amherst) has issued the following statement:

“I am proud to vote for a State Budget that will finally give a green light to ride-sharing services all across Western New York. For years now, Upstate New Yorkers have been left behind. Many residents have been demanding this new transportation option. It is long overdue.

“I have been leading the charge to bring transportation network companies to our community. I have cosponsored and voted for legislation in the State Senate two years in a row, and I launched a petition last December to encourage Governor Cuomo and the State Assembly to adopt this legislation. 

“Providing access to ride-sharing services will positively impact our community by creating thousands of new jobs, reducing drunk driving deaths and helping to boost small businesses and tourism spending.”
 

He also released this statement on passage of the budget:

The New York State Senate has approved the remaining bills of the 2017-18 State Budget. State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer (R-C-I, Amherst) has issued the following statement:

“Today's approval of a final budget is a victory for Western New York residents. The plan continues fiscal discipline by limiting spending growth at or below 2 percent for the seventh year in a row and rejecting Governor Cuomo's new tax-and-fee hikes. 

“Numerous efforts are enacted to improve New York's business climate, create more jobs and further strengthen our economy. The new budget approves the most comprehensive workers' compensation reform in a decade, reducing hundreds of millions of dollars in costs for businesses, municipalities, and not-for-profits. Homeowners will benefit from a total of $3 billion in STAR property tax relief. The budget also protects last year's $4.2 billion in income tax cuts for middle-class families and tens of thousands small businesses.

“Most importantly, I am excited that ride-sharing services will finally arrive in Upstate New York. Additionally, the budget delivers our fair share of state transportation dollars, including a $1.5 billion increase to accelerate infrastructure projects and $65 million more for local road and bridge repairs.”

A reader says this dog seems to be wandering the area of Batavia Elba Townline Road, near Plum Creek Driving Range, the past few days, apparently lost.

The dog is skittish and the reader hasn't been able to get close enough to check for tags.

In a letter to his clients, an attorney for the Mall Merchants Association is trying to change the terms of an already finalized settlement agreement with the City in the long-standing legal fight over the past, present and future of the City Centre mall, said City Manager Jason Molino.

In a letter dated April 6 and provided to local media late Friday, Attorney Hugh C. Carlin said the settlement with the city was only tentative and that there were two significant issues still to be addressed.

He accused Molino of discussing the settlement with the media in violation of an agreement, but word of the settlement came not directly from Molino but was a matter of public record because it was on the City Council agenda the first week of February.

"The City has proceeded with every aspect of this matter in accordance with the settlement terms that were agreed upon by the City and merchants representatives in December," Molino said.

Molino had not seen a copy of the letter before it was provided to local media outlets.

The terms of the settlement were agreed to through an 18-month-long mediation process in which both sides ran up significant legal bills, Molino said.

"In that time frame, the merchants have changed attorneys several times, however after extensive discussions, both parties agreed to settlement terms which were outlined publicly in the city’s February presentation," Molino said.

In his letter, Carlin said there are two main factors of disagreement remaining between the city and the mall merchants. 

First, there is an issue related to easements for pedestrian and vehicle traffic for each property owner in the mall. The attorney also accused the city of using heavy-handed tactics to force a settlement by "hoarding" nine foreclosed properties and refusing to pay maintenance fees.

"During the negotiations between your representatives and the City, the issue of individual owners' rights to access their properties was not discussed," Carlin wrote. "In fact, the only restrictions on City property that were addressed related to the present contractual obligations of the City to maintain specific numbers of parking spots.

"The City now insists that, as part of any settlement, the easements be terminated," Carlin added. "The termination of the easements raises significant issues concerning your title. If the easements were terminated, your ability to refinance or transfer your parcel in the future would likely be jeopardized."

This misrepresents that facts, Molino said.

"It’s important to note that the first term agreed upon was the termination of all prior agreements, making them null and void," Molino said. "By the nature of terminating these agreements, all covenants, easements, and restrictions placed on real property associated with those agreements would be terminated as well.

"This included the concourse and city parking lots. For the merchants' attorneys to claim this issue was never discussed is simply not true as a third-party mediator, merchants' representatives and merchants' attorneys themselves all reviewed and approved the terms prior to an agreement being reached."

Carlin now says he won't support an agreement that changes the terms of easements. 

"The City's inexplicable and irrational proposal comes at a cost to the Merchant Association," Carlin wrote. "The City will give the inferior and unacceptable easement only in 'exchange' for a cost-sharing arrangement for roof repairs should the sum of those repairs exceed $650,000. As you may recall, one of the primary reasons for the merchants negotiating team reaching an agreement with regard to the settlement framework was the City's assumption of all costs relating to the roof replacement without any cap on costs."

As for the foreclosed properties, Molino said Carlin was also informed on state law regarding how the city is obligated to handle those properties.

"The merchants' attorney has been repeatedly advised that upon foreclosure of real property taxes under the Real Property Tax Law all prior rights, interests and restrictions of record are terminated in the parcel," Molino said. "Hence, under the RPTL the City has no legal obligation to pay the past or future maintenance fees on foreclosed parcels under the historic mall agreements.

"To suggest otherwise evidences a serious lack of understanding of municipal law practice and procedure. However, if the settlement agreement is executed and the concourse user fee law adopted, the City would pay future user fees on foreclosed parcels."

Molino said it is normally against city policy to discuss ongoing litigation in public, but given the nature of the misstatements by Carlin to his clients, he wanted to clarify matters.

"Unfortunately, it appears from this letter that the merchants' attorney is attempting to reverse, back down or change the agreed upon settlement terms between the City and Merchants Association," Molino said. "While this is concerning on many levels, most concerning is the merchants' attorney is preventing the City and Merchant Association settlement terms from being executed, stopping the City from moving forward with the needed capital improvements to the concourse.

"Furthermore, after having expended close to $90,000 in legal fees over the last year (over $200,000 since 2009) without a signed settlement agreement, the letter from merchants' attorney appears to be an unfortunate attempt to deflect attention and blame. Sadly, the significant expenditures forced by the merchants' attorney suit and handling have drained substantial funds from the group's budget, and away from repairs and improvements of the mall."

Despite the disagreements, both Molino and Carlin said they are hopeful the 2008 lawsuit filed by the merchants can be settled.

"We are obviously disheartened by the turn of events in this case, but will persist in efforts to remain hopeful that cooler heads will reach a settlement consistent with the terms negotiated and agreed to in December and presented to you in February," Carlin wrote. 

Molino: "Regardless of this setback, the City remains hopeful that despite the merchants' attorney's obstructions to the settlement process, the original terms negotiated in good faith between the City and Merchants Association will be executed in the near future, and the mall can be improved, adding value to the merchants' properties and open to the door to future revitalization in the City’s Downtown."

Jacob J. Russell, 21, of Walkers Corners Road, Byron, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 5th, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal possession of a weapon, 4th, unlicensed growing of cannabis, unlawful possession of marijuana. Russell was arrested Friday on a warrant by the Local Drug Task Force. He was allegedly found in possession of LSD and psilocybin mushrooms, and a quantity of processed marijuana and marijuana plants. Task force members also allegedly found two illegal knives and cash. Russell was arraigned and jailed on $7,500 bail. Additional charges are possible.

Charles "Gusto" Thigpen Williams, 38, of South Spruce Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd. Williams was arrested on a grand jury indictment for the listed charges following an investigation by the Local Drug Task Force. Williams allegedly sold crack cocaine at a location in the City of Batavia. Williams was jailed pending arraignment in City Court.

The Oakfield Museum opened for the season today and one of the new displays honors one of Oakfield's founding families, the Wolcotts.

Jay Wolcott, pictured, provided information for the display on the family's history.

Erastus Wolcott and Oliver Wolcott settled in Oakfield in 1801. Jay is the 6th generation of Wolcotts to live in Oakfield, a family that goes back 12 generations in America.

The Wolcotts over six generations in Oakfield have been farmers, business owners, and civic officials.

A two-car accident is reported in the area of 311 E. Main St., Batavia.

A first responder reports minor damage, no injuries.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

This is the winning picture in the NY-27 Congressional Art Competition, by Leah Buddenhagen, of Niagara Wheatfield Senior High School.

Buddenhagen couldn't be at the awards ceremony today at Genesee Community College because she was busy taking a college entrance exam.

Rep. Chris Collins was on hand for the awards ceremony and spent time touring the gallery and meeting individually with each of the students who were able to attend.

The were 71 pictures entered into the competition from high school students from throughout the NY-27.

The show was judged by Roz Steiner Art Gallery Director Mary Jo Whitman and GCC Associate Professor of Fine Arts Heather Jones.

Runner-up, by Maya Lake, Medina High School.

Madeline Keenan, of Batavia High School, in front of her picture, which received an honorable mention, with her family. The other honorable mention went to Zackary Dubel, Iroquois Central High School.

Press release from Assemblyman Steve Hawley:

“After a long, exhaustive budget process, we have finally come to the end of the road. I am pleased that we have increased funding to repair our roads, bridges and highways and provided resources for a slew of capital projects across upstate. Although they are not totally ideal, we have made changes to the Charitable Gaming laws which will help raffles and charity functions at thousands of churches, nonprofits and fire departments across the state.

“The restoration of library funding that was slated to be cut by the governor and securing a record high in education aid are major victories for us as well. We have also legalized ride-sharing services like Uber upstate and will provide adequate funding for the Western New York Veterans Home, which are crucial to our region.

“Despite these victories, New York City initiatives like Raise the Age, increased income taxes and SAFE Act funding, along with many political projects for downstate, have tainted our final budget. I will continue to fight against the siphoning of our resources to New York City in the months ahead and ensure we receive our fair share.”

It's almost like it's a misunderstanding that a little bit of communication might clear up.

Patricia Dieck, a resident of Batavia, is worried about maintaining health care coverage for her family, which is one reason she was participating in a protest on East Main Street this morning, across the street where Rep. Chris Collins was meeting with members of his "coffee club."

Asked later about Dieck's concerns, Collins said the issues she raised wouldn't affect her family as New York residents.

Dieck said she is worried Congress might still pass the so-called "repeal and replace" bill for the Affordable Care Act, known as the American Health Care Act, and though the bill seems to be dead, she thinks Collins should listen to her on the issue.

"I have serious concerns," Dieck said. "I have a child who is on Medicaid who depends on it. I also have a child who has a pre-existing condition. Where is he going to get health care if that goes through? He (Collins) needs to start walking in our shoes and stop thinking like a billionaire."

"None of that is true because in New York, and in every state, the commissioner of health decides on the essential benefits package," Collins said.

According to Collins, many of the objections people had to the AHCA were based on a misunderstanding about how much responsibility for deciding coverage packages still resides with the states. 

"I would say she totally misunderstands what’s going on, which is kind of a shame because in many cases, these protesters are deliberately misleading people into things that are just not so," Collins added.

It's even a misunderstanding, Collins said, that he won't listen to constituents who disagree with his positions on this and other issues.

He just won't do it in the "town hall" format protesters are asking for because he doesn't think these events are productive.

"What folks are advocating for is more of an organized protest," Collins said. "They’re not interested in a conversation of any kind. I would rather spend my time meeting with constituents one on one, have them come in the office, or speak with groups at lunches and so forth, and open it up to any kind of questions."

Dieck said she and the other protesters don't believe their opinions matter to Collins

"We just want to be heard," Dieck said. "We want a chance to have a civil conversation with Chris Collins. Many people here have sent letters, we have called him, and we get no response. We’ve asked him to do a town hall. We understand he never did town halls before, but everyone else is doing them. We want one. That’s what the constituency wants, so we’re asking him to do one."

Collins disputes that constituent communication is going unanswered or unheeded. All calls, letters, and emails are tracked, he said. Staff will cull specific letters for him to see or provide summaries of constituent communications on issues. 

"I do get individual letters that I look at," Collins said. "I do trust my staff, we’ll call them a filter of sorts, but I’m comfortable that they don’t keep things from me.

"We absolutely track what comes in over the telephone," Collins added. "We track what comes in the mail. Sometimes it’s a postcard campaign and you can get 5,000 postcards, and you just treat those as they are, but we track as best we can the mood of our constituents."

Some of the communications end up in staff scheduling meetings with Collins in his office, but he said he thinks some people misunderstand how little time he actually spends in the district. The past several weeks, for example, he's been in Washington, D.C. Now he has two weeks home to travel the district and meet with as many people as possible.

He had two events in Batavia today, among 10 events in the district this weekend, and the coffee club meeting was the only one that was a campaign fundraiser.

Asked if she or any of her fellow protesters had protested at other fundraisers elected officials might have, such as a $500 or $1,000 per plate dinner for Sen. Charles Schumer, Dieck said she felt this event was different.

"This is a $55 coffee club," Dieck said. "My husband is a Republican and he wasn’t invited. It’s an exclusive club. I don’t think he (Collins) should be doing it. I think it should be open to everybody."

Collins said it is open to everybody.

"We want as many people as we can," Collins said. "It’s what we would consider a lower dollar event at $55 and that’s a year’s membership and we do 10 or 12 of these a year and we do them all around the eight counties. This is a not small group of special invitees. If somebody wants to join our coffee club, they should. I had 50, 60 people there. They asked questions. I answered the questions. I told them what’s going on in Washington. There could be Democrats there. There can be, whatever, there."