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Rochester man involved in baseball-bat attack sent to prison

By Howard B. Owens

A Rochester man is going to prison for two to four years for his part in a baseball-bat attack on three State Street residents on May 20.

Reginald Charles Sampson, 44, of 335 Flanders St., Rochester, entered a guilty plea to burglary, 3rd, and menacing, 2nd, charge July 21. He was originally charged with burglary, 2nd.

Attorney Fred Rarick told Judge Robert C. Noonan that Sampson was a candidate for a supervised probation release that would include substance abuse counseling, but Noonan said Sampson was already getting a good deal with the reduction in the burglary charge.

Sampson told Noonan, "I wish I could do everything different."

Sampson was part of a group of five individuals who busted into an apartment at 112 State St., Batavia, on May 20, swinging baseball bats. One person suffered serious, but  not life-threatening, injuries.

Batavia Police say no further arrests have been made, but the case is not closed.

A victim's statement included in Sampson's court file describes the May 20 attack.

The woman was sitting in her apartment with two men when they heard a commotion downstairs. Soon, somebody was banging at their front door. When one of her male companions opened the door, he was immediately hit by an individual swinging some object.

She described the attackers as five black males.

She recognized Sampson as someone who had punched her the night before.

"I know Reginald had a bat for sure," she said. "Reginald came over to me. I was laying on the couch. He was pointing his bat at me and he said, 'I told you, Shorty, we don't play.'"

When the other male got up and tried to leave, saying "I wasn't part of this," all five individuals started hitting him, according to the witness. She said one person picked up her crutch and hit him with it.

Sen. Gillibrand held first 'listening session' with NY farmers Wednesday

By Billie Owens

Here's a news release from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's office.

As Congress begins debate over the 2012 Farm Bill, Gillibrand -- the first New Yorker to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly 40 years -- began her statewide listening sessions on Wednesday to discuss new efforts to help New York farmers and farming communities.

Senator Gillibrand plans to focus on key areas of the Farm Bill that will have major influence on New York, including access to financing, new market opportunities, assistance for specialty crops, and investments in renewable energy.

From dairy farms to black-dirt farms, and apple orchards to vineyards, artisanal cheeses, and other specialty crops, New York farmers and communities will have a lot to gain in the next Farm Bill.

“New York is home to the hardest-working farm families and the finest locally grown produce in the world, but outdated regulations and a bad economy are hurting our farmers and farming communities across the state,” the senator said. “We need to make sure the next Farm Bill is a good deal for New York.

"I plan to take the next several months to listen to farmers and businesses in every corner of the state and discuss my ideas on how to help farmers survive and prosper in the new economy.”

More than 35,000 farms stretch across 7.1 million acres – making up one-fourth of New York State. New York’s agriculture industry generates more than $4 billion for the state’s economy.

The Rochester/Finger Lakes Region alone is home to more than 6,000 farms stretching nearly 1.5 million acres and generating more than $1 billion for the state’s economy.

The following key issues were addressed in the first listening session, which took place Wednesday in the Rochester/Finger Lakes Region.

Providing Access to Capital
Like all small businesses, family farms are struggling to secure access to the financing they need to grow or, in many cases, survive in this difficult economy. Gillibrand plans to strengthen the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program to help New York farmers develop value-added products.

She also plans to bolster the Farm Services Agency (FSA) loan program to give farmers the resources they need to purchase land, livestock, equipment, feed, seed and other supplies. Gillibrand recently helped secure an additional $39 million for FSA operating loans to help give New York farms the capital they need.

Additionally, the senator will fight to exempt New York State from the USDA’s 10,000 population criteria – the maximum population to qualify for USDA water and wastewater funding.

Many parts of New York would be ineligible for funding under the new USDA guidelines since many New York towns include villages and other municipalities, putting a town’s population over the 10,000 threshold.

Addressing the Dairy Crisis
Due to outdated dairy-pricing regulations, dairy farmers pay more to produce their products than they make from selling them.

Senator Gillibrand has introduced legislation that would double the amount of money farmers get from the MILC program, retroactive to the low point of the crisis in March of 2009. While raising the MILC payment rate to 90 percent will not completely make up the gap between cost of production and market rates, it will certainly help prevent more New York farms from going under. 

She also introduced legislation to index the MILC rate to inflation. The MILC program payments were originally designed to help dairy farmers in their time of need, but funding levels have remained stagnant.

In the next Farm Bill, Gillibrand intends to work with New York farmers to make these improvements and overhaul the milk-pricing system and secure a fair price for producers.

Additionally, she will work to make the opaque pricing system of the dairy market more transparent. Senator Gillibrand is cosponsoring the Mandatory Price Reporting Act to reauthorize the electronic price reporting of dairy prices, helping to increase transparency and change-price reporting from monthly to weekly.

Gillibrand has also introduced legislation to make Cold Storage Inventory Reporting to the National Agriculture Statistics Service mandatory, and give the USDA the authority to audit the survey. Experts agree that reducing the influence of the thinly traded Chicago Mercantile Exchange is the best way to increase market transparency.

Expanding New Markets
Senator Gillibrand intends to expand the Market Access Program (MAP) to enable our farmers to sell more New York products worldwide. The MAP program provides funding for the creation, expansion and maintenance of foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products.

She is also planning to introduce an infrastructure provision in the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program to help farmers reach new markets.

Additionally, Gillibrand will work to secure more federal funding to promote the USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program to give New York farms more opportunities to supply schools with fresh, locally grown products.

Targeted Assistance to Specialty-crop Farmers
Specialty-crop farmers stand to gain tremendous benefit from the conservation programs in the Farm Bill. Senator Gillibrand intends to bolster the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), as well as introduce a new program, called the Conservation on Muck Soils (COMS), to provide additional assistance to New York’s specialty crop farmers.
 
Investing in New Sources of Clean, Renewable, New York Energy
New York’s agriculture industry is rich with opportunity to help lead America to a clean energy economy that can create good-paying jobs and rebuild our economy, strengthen our national security, and cut pollution.

Gillibrand plans to work for more investments in the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) that provides loans and grants for farmers and small rural businesses that build renewable energy systems, such as anaerobic digesters.

She also intends to push for greater investments in the Rural Energy Self Sufficiency Initiative, which assists with installation of integrated renewable energy systems in rural communities that make use of wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and biomass sources.

Additionally, she plans to work to secure more investments in the Biomass Research and Development Program and the Biomass Crop Assistant Program to harness more of our state’s potential to convert biomass and agricultural waste into renewable energy.

Alleged rapist enters not guilty plea

By Howard B. Owens

A former Batavia resident already in state prison on eight sex-crime-related charges entered a not-guilty plea in Genesee County Court to a 10-count indictment alleging rape in the 2nd degree.

Philip E. Kroft Jr., is accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with a girl 15 years old or younger.

Because Kroft is already serving a lengthy prison term, Judge Robert C. Noonan wondered what sort of bail status Kroft should be granted on the new charges -- Noonan has to set something in the way of bail status -- and District Attorney Lawrence Friedman didn't really have a recommendation.

"I don't think it's going to matter, your honor," Friedman said finally, kind of shrugging his shoulders, then adding, "$10,000."

"That's reasonable," Noonan said.

Kroft won't get his first parole hearing on his prior conviction until 2015.

Police say the alleged rapes in Batavia occurred in 2008.

St. James answers questions about its Bell Tower project

By Daniel Crofts

Some of our readers had questions about the Bell Tower Restoration project at St. James Episcopal Church.

After the Aug. 25 article, church officials and committee members were kind enough to answer some additional questions about the nature of the tower's condition, the cost of the project, and other issues addressed by our readers.

They submitted the following information via e-mail:

The deterioration that we’re trying to address is structural in nature. This stems from water infiltration and the use of an overly hard mortar when the Church was re-pointed in the 1950s-1960s. As you can see if you look at the Bell Tower façade, some sections of the stonework have actually fallen off and we have had to rope off the front of the building.

We believe that the first phase of the Bell Tower reconstruction project, which includes rebuilding the top 10 feet of the tower and the roof, will cost no more than $500,000.

After completion of this first phase, we will attempt to address the additional issues relating to the stonework façade of the Bell Tower and the remainder of the Church in a multi-phase process. While the additional costs relating to the façade repair may run twice the cost of the original phase, the additional phases will no doubt take many years to complete.

The reason the cost is so high is that the project is very labor intensive, involves heavy materials and the work involving the first phase must be done at a height of 70 to 80 feet above the ground.

Neither the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, nor the Episcopal Church of the United States are directly involved in the project. Nor under our form of church governance would we expect them to be directly involved.

Even though the building is a source of concern, it does not diminish our desire to reach out to the community to fulfill our missions. St. James’ outreach to the community comes in many forms:

- George Rupprecht Fund: This summer, over 150 girls from 84 families have received school clothing, footwear and school supplies. At Christmas, we will again help the same number of girls with Christmas gifts. Year round, we help pay for extra-curricular activities and work to assure that each girl has a comfortable bed in which to sleep at night. This year, our budget is $72,000.

- Thrift Shop: St. James expanded its shop hours in 2010 to serve the community. Apart from clothing, we sell household items, books, toys, small furniture and lots of bric-a-brac. Persons coming to the George Rupprecht Fund are often given bags of clothing and household items for free. Four times a year, we host clothing giveaways.

- Episcopal Community Services: Serves the underprivileged in the Diocese of WNY.

- Bishop Masereka Christian Foundation: Sponsors children in Uganda to assist with schooling and medical needs.

- Comfort Food Dinners: Two dinners were held at St. James this past winter. All proceeds went to local charities.

- St. James is the local meeting place for other churches in the Deanery.

- St. James donates to the local food pantry, collects school supplies for children and, each Christmas, selects a local charity to support.

- We host many programs in the church so that the community can enjoy the ambience and the musical acoustics of the building, such as the Genesee Symphony, Genesee Chorale, Go-Art! and Crossroads House.

We have made the hard decision to stay at this location because of its viability to the community. St. James would exist and function without the building, but the building needs a caretaker and we have chosen to take on that role.

The alternative would be to leave a large untended building on Main Street. If we did not try to take care of the building, we would not be very good stewards of the building or good members of the community.

For more information, please call the church at 343-6802 or visit its website.

Genesee County's first Leandra's Law sentencing delayed

By Howard B. Owens

A former Orleans County resident who was accused of driving drunk with children in her car on Dec. 29, shortly after Leandra's Law was passed, had her sentence delayed this morning, giving the probation department time to confirm her new residency in Oakfield.

Michelle M. Kasper, 20, formerly of Albion, could have become the first Genesee County resident sentenced under Leandra's Law.

Assistant District Attorney Melissa Cianfrini also raised a concern that Kasper admitted on Aug. 12 to driving while intoxicated, then during a pre-sentencing interview, Kasper said she hadn't been drinking prior to accident that led to her arrest. She told probation that she drink three energy drinks containing alcohol after the accident.

Ask to explain the contradiction, attorney Nathan Pace had a hard time explaining his client's comments, saying he didn't hear what questions she was asked by probation that led to her answer.

Kasper told Judge Robert C. Noonan that she had drinks earlier, but not immediately prior to the accident.

Noonan went ahead and agreed with a defense request to delay sentencing so that her new residency in Genesee County could be confirmed so that her sentence could include supervision.

Kasper was arrested on Dec. 29. She was the second WNY resident charged with a DWI felony under Leandra's Law, which increases the penalties for DWI with children under age 15 in the car. She was also charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana.

Police Beat: One suspect arrested from alleged fight with knives on State Street

By Howard B. Owens

Jessie J. Jones, 19, of 118 1/2 State St., Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and menacing, 2nd. Jones is accused of being involved in a fight on State Street at 10:08 a.m., Wednesday, where two men reportedly brandished knives. Police say that the other subject is known but has not been located. The police are seeking a warrant for his arrest.

Michael J. Piasta, 30, 415 E. Main St., Batavia, is charged with burglary and petit larceny. Piasta was arrested on a warrant upon his release from Niagara County Jail on an unrelated charge. Piasta is accused of stealing beer from Wilson Farms on Aug. 1. (See this report, also this alleged incident.)

Rebecca J. Fili (pictured), 32, of 103 W. Main St., Building 9, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Fili allegedly entered a business on West Main Street, Le Roy, and filled a purse she was carrying with items from the store. The purse was reportedly hollowed out in order to better conceal multiple items. A total of 15 items worth $53.70 were allegedly found in the purse. An employee reportedly spotted Fili allegedly filling her purse with store items.

Darik R.M. Orbaker, 18, of 6 Forest Edge Drive, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and harassment, 2nd. Orbaker is accused of grabbing another person who had previously been granted an order of protection.

A 16-year-old, of Ivison Road, Byron, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The youth is accused of letting another person under age 16 drive his family's car. The car was allegedly occupied at the time by the driver, the defendant and two females under 17 years of age.

A 16-year-old, of South Main Street, Medina, is charged with petit larceny and unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under 21. The youth is accused of stealing a 24-ounce can of Labatt Blue Light from a vendor's cooler during the Brooks & Dunn concert at Darien Lake.

Saul Doynasday Standsblack, 32, of Parker Road, Basom, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and criminal trespass, 2nd. Standsback is accused of breaking a window and gaining entry to a trailer at 587 Council House Road on Aug. 25 at 5:15 a.m.

Lindsay Catherine Miller, 19, of 236 E. Bennington Drive, Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Miller is accused of stealing cartons of cigarettes from the Totem Pole store.

Muckdogs clinch Pinckney Division title with win in Jamestown

By Howard B. Owens

The Batavia Muckdogs are playoff bound, and not as just some wild card hopeful, but as certified champs.

Tonight in Jamestown, the Muckdogs recorded their sixth-straight win to capture the Pinckney Division crown.

The team in the smallest city in the league now has a shot at its second league championship in three years.

Andrew Moss turned in another strong outing and Jon Rodriguez homered twice, giving him 11 on the season, as the Muckdogs beat the Jammers, 10-5.

Moss went six-and-a-third innings giving up four runs, but only one was earned. Anthony Ferrara came on to record his second save.

The Muckdogs now lead Williamsport by four games and Jamestown by 4.5 in the Pinckney Division.

Rodriquez went  2-5 with two solo home runs. Nick Longmire had two hits and three RBIs. Chris Edmundson continued his hot hitting at the top of the order, with two hits and three runs scored. Yuner Castillo also had two hits.

The division champs return home Thursday night to face the Jammers again, and then play Friday at Dwyer (fireworks!) against Auburn. 

The Muckdogs have three more regular season home games, and one more on the road.

Trademark infringement suit filed against owners of Batavia Pontillo's

By Howard B. Owens

Three Monroe County businessmen who bought the former Pontillo's location on East Main Street, Batavia, and reopened the legendary location as "Pontillo's" have drawn the ire of the Rochester wing of the Pontillo's family.

Pontillo's Family Pizza, Inc., led by David Pontillo, nephew and son of the Pontillo's founders, has filed a trademark infringement suit against Batavia Pizza, LLC, owned by Thomas Masaschi, Jeffrey Reddish and Jason Teller.

The trio bought the 500 E. Main Street building and land late in 2009 from a firm that had acquired it in foreclosure. Then they reopened it as Pontillo's Pizzeria in April, hiring one of Salvatore Pontillo's son's, Sam Pontillo, to manage it.

Pontillo's Family Pizza, which overseas the operations of more than a dozen Pontillo's locations in the Rochester area, is claiming that Batavia Pizza never asked for, nor received, permission to use the Pontillo's name.

David's father, Anthony Pontillo, brother of Salvatore, filed for and received a federally registered trademark for "Pontillo's" in 1984.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for damaged business reputation, as well as all revenue and any profits of the new Batavia Pontillo's, plus any damages that might be awarded at trial, plus attorney's fees.

The suit also seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction against Batavia Pizza prohibiting the use of the Pontillo's name by the ownership group.

The Pontillo brothers founded one of the first post-war pizzerias in the United States in Batavia in 1947, and a few years later, Anthony headed out for Rochester to start a chain of pizzerias under the same name.

According to John and Paul Pontillo, there was an agreement between families not to infringe on each other's territory so long as Pontlllo's remained a family business.

In the lawsuit, Pontillo's Family Pizza contends that contrary to an early presentation by the Monroe County businessmen, Sam Pontillo, is not a partner in Batavia Pizza, and even if he were, Pontillo's Family Pizza would not have given him permission to use the Pontillo's trade name in a re-established Batavia enterprise.

"Because of his tax problems, Pontillo's Family Pizza, Inc., will not give Mr. Sam C. Pontillo the right to use PONTILLO'S to operate a pizzeria," reads a letter dated June 18 and written by attorney Stephan B. Salai to an attorney representing Masaschi and his partners.

It was one of two letters the ownership group received from the Rochester Pontillo's demanding that Masaschi and his partners stop using the Pontillo's name.

Sam and Paul Pontillo were operating the Batavia location when mounting debts and tax bills apparently forced them to close the store in November 2008. John Pontillo had also been involved in the operation at one time, and all three brother's dispute just how the family business fell into failure.

Sam has continued to operate the Le Roy Pontillo's, though John has made attempts to acquire it.

There is a pending lawsuit filed by the estate of Elizabeth Pontillo against Sam and Paul.

Previously:

Woman suffered head injury after reportedly jumping from car Saturday night

By Howard B. Owens

A woman who reportedly got into an argument with the driver of a car on Route 77 on Saturday night suffered a head injury after jumping from the car, according to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

The initial report received by the Sheriff's Office was that Gina Schmidt, 21, was shoved from the moving car.

Investigators now believe the 21-year-old Oakfield woman jumped.

Driving the 2003 Dodge Stratus northbound on Route 77 near Route 5 at 9:25 p.m. was Derrick Jackson, 23, of Oakfield.

Schmidt was a passenger in the back seat when she reportedly jumped.

Jackson did not stop and continued driving north.

A Mercy ground ambulance transported Schmidt to ECMC.

No charges have been filed.

The investigation is being handled by Deputy Patrick Reeves, Deputy Tim Wescott and Sgt. Greg Walker. Assisting at the scene were the State Police and the Indian Falls and Pembroke fire departments.

(initial report)

Two reports of wires down in Byron

By Howard B. Owens

Byron and South Byron fire are already on scene with National Grid for a report of wires down with arcing at Tower Hill Road.

A second call of wires down with arcing has come in for Route 237 and Byron Road.

UPDATE 4:12 p.m.: Byron and South Byron back in service. Roads re-opened.

Bus driver from Kid Rock tour sentenced to 90 days in Genesee County Jail

By Howard B. Owens

A rock 'n' roll tour bus driver busted for DWI in Pembroke in July, 2009, blew his chance at a probation-only sentence by getting arrested twice on alcohol-related charges after he entered his guilty plea in May.

Joseph Devlin, 38, employed by a company charged with driving around the Kid Rock entourage, will serve 90 days in the Genesee County jail starting today.

The Florida resident was allegedly arrested in his home state for DWI -- a charge his attorney indicated was dismissed -- and on a charged related to an alleged domestic disturbance.

Attorney Jeremy Schwartz said as a result of the alleged domestic incident, Devlin entered a 12-week alcohol counseling program.

Schwartz said that when he met Devlin a year ago, he didn't believe Devlin had a drinking problem.

"For a 39-year-old who doesn't have a single arrest that's not hard to believe," Schwartz said.

Devlin lost his job after his arrest and has since started a business in Florida with his wife. Both Devlin and Schwartz asked Judge Robert C. Noonan not to send the former bus driver to jail because of the hardship it would create on his family.

Devlin and his wife have two children.

"Going to jail right now would really mess their lives up," Devlin said. "I know it’s my fault, but it would mess up what I’ve fought so hard to get going after losing my job."

Devlin said the past year has been stressful.

Noonan indicated he was initially going to impose a stiffer sentence but after reviewing the pre-sentencing report by the Probation Department, and considering the hardship on the business, he backed off giving a longer jail term.

"Somebody is going to have to tell Mr. Devlin that you are going to have to face some consequences for your alcohol conduct," Noonan said. "And that's me."

Devlin must also pay a $5,000 fine by Jan. 1.

Porn-watching truck driver who killed Erie County mother given prison term

By Howard B. Owens

A truck driver who State Police say was looking a porn while on the Thruway in Pembroke just before his rig slammed into a disabled car, killing an Erie County mother, will spend three to nine years in prison.

Ohio resident Thomas Wallace sobbed prior to his sentencing by Judge Robert C. Noonan, reading a prepared letter of apology. The husband of 33-year-old Julie Stratton, as well as other family members, also read statements.

Wallace earlier entered a guilty plea to manslaughter in the second degree.

The 45-year-old trucker was driving on little sleep and watching a pornographic movie on his laptop computer when his truck hit Stratton's car. Stratton's car had only moments earlier hit a deer, causing it to stall in the passing lane. She was on the phone with Genesee County's 9-1-1 dispatcher when her car was struck.

Meet the Muckdogs: Chris Edmonson

By Gretel Kauffman

 

The reason it's so short is that the second half of the interview had to be left out because of poor sound quality. 

Report of knife fight on State Street

By Howard B. Owens

Batavia Police are responding to a report of a fight on State Street involving two men with knives.

UPDATE 10:12 a.m.: The fight was not in progress when the first police officer arrived. One subject is still in the area, the other is walking on Willow Street. An officer is with him now near the park.

Wild ending to wild game gives Batavia fifth straight win

By Howard B. Owens

In a wild one last night, the Batavia Muckdogs won the team's fifth-straight game and extended its three-game lead over second place Williamsport by beating State College 12-11.

Batavia and the Spikes took a 9-9 tie into the 11th inning. In the top of the frame, State College scored two runs to pull ahead, but the Muckdogs put three runners across the plate in the bottom half to pull out the victory.

Wild throws doomed the Spikes in the 11th.

After the Muckdogs tied the score on a double by Geoffrey Klein, a triple by Chris Edmondson and a single by Victor Sanchez, Sanchez was able to reach second on a wild pitch.

Then things got really strange.

Audry Perez struck out swinging -- at a wild pitch. When Perez ran to first -- as a hitter can do when he strikes out but the catcher misses the ball -- catcher Miguel Mendez made the throw to first to record the out, but Sanchez, sprinting from second, didn't stop running. He scored the winning run when first baseman Gerlis Rodriguez threw the ball away.

Reliever Andy North was credited with the win.

Starter Nick McCully lasted only three-and-a-third innings, giving up 10 hits and nine runs (seven earned).

Edmundson and Sanchez each scored three runs in the game on two hits apiece.

Perez hit a grand-slam homer in the third.

The Muckdogs are in Jamestown tonight and return to Dwyer tomorrow to face the Jammers again. Jamestown is in third place in the Pinckney Division, three-and-a-half games behind Batavia.

UPDATE: Added video highlights from photographer Mike Janes.

Top Items on Batavia's List

Tourism Marketing Assistant Position The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, serving as the official tourism promotion agency for Genesee County, NY is seeking an experienced marketing professional to assist in the overall Chamber tourism and marketing initiatives for Genesee County. https://visitgeneseeny.com/about/join-our-team
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Town of Batavia Court Department is seeking a part time as needed Court Officer. Court Officers are responsible for maintaining order in the court room and court facility during proceedings. Please send resume to Town of Batavia, Attention Hiedi Librock, 3833 West Main Street Road, Batavia, NY 14020. Complete job description is available on the Town web site or at the Town Hall Application deadline is April 15, 2024.
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