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Alabama

Driver and passenger identified in accident this morning in Alabama

By Howard B. Owens

An 81-year-old passenger in a 2004 Mercury sedan suffered severe injuries this morning, according to State Police, after the vehicle went underneath the trailer on a big rig at the intersection of Route 63 and Route 77 in Alabama.

The roof of the sedan was sheared off and became lodged in the rear axel of the trailer.

The vehicle was driven by Donna L. Wolter, 69, who sustained head injuries. Her passenger was Purcil E. Buzard. Both are from Medina.

Both patients were transported by Mercy Flight to area hospitals.

State Police investigators believe Wolter failed to stop at the four-way intersection. 

The 2017 Kenworth tractor-trailer was eastbound on Lewiston Road and making a right-hand turn to head south on Alleghany Road when it was struck by the Mercury, which was on southbound Alleghany Road.

Wolter reportedly swerved to avoid hitting the cab of the truck and went under the trailer, then struck a vacant building on the southwest corner of the intersection, bounced off the building and hit a sedan stopped in the eastbound lane of Lewiston Road.

(initial report)

Possible serious injury accident reported on Route 77 in Alabama

By Howard B. Owens

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A motor-vehicle accident with possible serious injuries to reported on Route 77 at Lewiston Road, Alabama.

Alabama fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE(S)(By Billie) 9:37 a.m.: The availability of Mercy Flight is being checked. Eastbound traffic on Lewiston Road will be shut down. Mutual aid from Shelby Fire Department is requested.

UPDATE 9:45 a.m.: The address is 6655 Lewiston Road. Two Mercy Flight helicopters are heading to the scene -- #5 out of Batavia, #7 out of Buffalo.

UPDATE 9:57 a.m.: Mercy Flight 5 is on the ground. One patient is being put on board now. Another patient is in an ambulance awaiting loading onto Mercy Flight 7, which just landed. Both were said to have been extricated from a vehicle underneath the undercarriage of a tractor-trailer.

UPDATE 10:23 a.m.: Mercy Flight 7 is airborne and going to ECMC. Mercy Flight 5 is airborne and going to Strong Memorial Hospital. The State Police crash investigation team is on scene. A tractor-trailer was eastbound on Lewiston Road and at the intersection with Route 77, the trucker was making a right-hand turn to go southbound on Route 77. A Mercury sedan southbound on 77 slammed into the big rig; the impact sheared off the roof of the Mercury sedan, which is still embedded in the axles of the tractor-trailer. The damaged sedan continued and hit a building on the southwest corner of the intersection, then careened off the building, striking a sedan that was stopped at the intersection. But only the two occupants of the Mercury were injured, one seriously, the other very seriously.

UPDATE 1:11 p.m.: The intersection just reopened.

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Bidding set to open on STAMP infrastructure work

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) today announced that bids for infrastructure work at STAMP -- Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park -- have been released. A legal notice announcing the bids will be published March 20.

The GCEDC also will host a pre-bid conference on March 29 at 10 a.m. at the MedTech Centre’s Innovation Zone so that interested parties can ask questions about specifications for the bids and other relevant information, including MWBE requirements and the Project Labor Agreement (PLA).

“We are extremely aware of the fact that the funding for the infrastructure work involves taxpayer money and as such this is going to be an extremely transparent process,” said Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the GCEDC. “We fully anticipate having shovels in the ground in a couple of months.”

Clark Patterson Lee is issuing the bids and will manage construction inspection for Phase I work for water infrastructure, including enhancements to the Town of Alabama water system. The engineering firm will also be issuing bids in the near future and managing construction inspection on roadways within the STAMP site and the main entrance off of routes 63 and 77. 

The firm will review the bids for the road and water infrastructure work and make recommendations to the GCEDC Board for approval.

Woman who stole more than $300K from elderly victims having trouble paying restitution

By Howard B. Owens

A 40-year-old Batavia resident is facing multiple tax fraud, grand larceny and forgery charges following a joint investigation by the State Police and the Department of Taxation and Finance.

A former caregiver who bilked two elderly patients out of more than $308,000 from 2006 to 2011 and eventually pled guilty to four felonies, was sentenced to prison and is now free, but she's finding it difficult to pay restitution.

Heidi L. Schollard was ordered to pay $500 a month when she was sentenced to the maximum possible term in August 2012, which was concurrent sentences of two-and-a-third to seven years on three of the felony convictions and one-and-a-third to four years on the fourth.

She pled guilty to three counts of grand larceny, 3rd, which are Class D felonies, and a single count of grand larceny, 4th, a Class E felony.

She was released from prison Feb. 13 and was ordered to make her first $500 payment within 30 days of her release. She has so far failed to make any payment.

Public Defender Jerry Ader, representing Schollard in County Court yesterday, said Schollard only recently secured employment but will still find it difficult to make $500-a-month payments.

Apparently, while still in prison, Schollard petitioned the court for a modified restitution order, but that request was never acted on.

Whether the court can take action against Schollard was the point being argued in court yesterday and the reason for the hearing.

Ader's position was that based on statute since Schollard received the maximum possible prison sentence for her conviction, the County Court cannot impose new sanctions on her if she fails to meet the restitution requirements.  

Without the ability to impose new penalties, the court's only option, Ader said, is to make restitution a civil matter. The victims would need to seek restitution through civil, not criminal, courts. 

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman argued that since Schollard's sentence was concurrent and not consecutive, she didn't receive the maximum possible sentence under the law so therefore Judge Charles Zambito can take punitive action against Schollard if she fails to meet restitution demands.

Zambito said he wasn't going to rule on the issue from the bench and ordered both attorneys to file briefs in support of their positions laying out the legal arguments and case law to support their assertions.

The issue was scheduled for a further hearing at 1:30 p.m., April 10.

Woman from Batavia dies in rollover accident on Route 77, Alabama

By Howard B. Owens

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A 56-year-old woman from Batavia was killed in a single-vehicle accident in Alabama after the minivan she was riding in went off the east shoulder of Route 77, into a gully and struck a tree.

The driver of the 2003 Dodge Caravan reportedly suffered a medical event before the car left the roadway.

Coroner Karen Lang pronounced Karen Mann dead at the scene.

As a result of the accident, one person was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital by Mercy Flight and the other two people in the vehicle were transported by Mercy EMS to Strong.

Mann was a backseat passenger. 

State Police say this is still an ongoing investigation and released no further information at this time.

(initial report)

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Rollover accident with entrapment reported on Alleghany Road

By Billie Owens

A rollover accident with entrapment is reported at 6891 Alleghany Road. Alabama fire is responding.

UPDATE 2:04 p.m.: "Bystanders have pulled one subject out. Doing CPR," says a dispatcher. Mercy medics are called in emergency mode. Command at the scene asks for Shelby Fire Department to respond mutual aid. He says two people are still trapped in a van.

UPDATE 2:08 p.m.: Traffic on Route 77 will be shut down in the vicinity of the accident.

UPDATE 2:17 p.m.: Mercy Flight is responding.

UPDATE 2:18 p.m.: Shelby is on location.

UPDATE 2:38 p.m.: Mercy Flight #5 is airborne and heading to Strong Memorial Hospital with one patient onboard. A Mercy ambulance is also taking two patients to Strong. A portion of the road will remain closed for awhile.

UPDATE 3:56 p.m. (By Howard): A spokesman for NYSP confirms there is a fatality. A coroner is on scene. 

NOTE 6 p.m.: We're withholding photos from the scene until we've been informed by State Police that family notifications have been completed. Once notifications are completed, we expect NYSP to release more information.

UPDATE: Follow-up story posted.

Law and Order: 78-year-old Bloomingdale Road resident accused of forcible touching

By Billie Owens

Billy Joe Trantham, 78, of Bloomingdale Road, Alabama, is charged with forcible touching. On Feb. 18, following the investigation of a sex offense that allegedly occurred in the Town of Alabama, Trantham was arrested. He allegedly touched the intimate parts of another person without the person's consent. He was released on an appearance ticket and is to be in Alabama Town Court at 2 p.m. on March 2. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Travis DeMuth, assisted by Deputy Kevin Forsyth.

A complaint that a vehicle allegedly ran another vehicle off the road almost causing an accident, on Route 19 in Le Roy, led to a traffic stop of 32-year-old Brandon S. Beil, of 6370 Hawks Road, Pavilion by the Le Roy Police Department. The complaint was received on Saturday Feb. 18 about 7 p.m., at which time the Le Roy Police Department started looking for Beil’s vehicle and located it on Clay Street where the vehicle stop was initiated. During the stop, it was determined that Beil was allegedly intoxicated; he was uncooperative during the arrest process and allegedly struggled with the officers at the scene. Beil allegedly refused all field testing and the chemical test. Beil was charged with one count each of inadequate head lights, felony driving while intoxicated (with previous conviction within 10 Years), refusal to take the breath test, failure to keep right and resisting arrest. Beil was arraigned before the Le Roy Town Court and committed to the Genesee County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail.     

On Feb. 15, the Village of Le Roy Police Department arrested 48-year-old Joseph A. Hogan, of 78 Lake St., Le Roy, charging him with one count of criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, a Class D felony. An investigation started on Feb. 2nd, when the Le Roy Police received a call about an abandoned vehicle on Genesee Street in the Village. It was learned this vehicle, a 2005 ford F-250 pickup truck valued at more than $3,000, was reported stolen the previous Saturday from the Town of Sweden, Monroe County. During the investigation it was alleged that Hogan unlawfully possessed the stolen vehicle as he was driving it in the Village then abandoned it at the Genesee Street location. Hogan was arraigned in the Town of Le Roy Court and put in Genesee County Jail without bail pending a future court appearance.

A 16-year-old who lives on Main Road in Corfu is charged with second-degree aggravated harassment following a harassment investigation at Pembroke High School at noon on Feb. 7. The defendant was arraigned in Town of Pembroke Court and is to appear in court March 2. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kyle Krzemien.

Le Roy teen charged with rape in the first degree

By Howard B. Owens

A 17-year-old resident of Le Roy has been accused of sexual intercourse with a person less than 11 years old and charged with rape in the first degree.

Leonard Edward Hahn, of South Street, was arrested by the Sheriff's Office and jailed on $25,000 cash bail or $25,000 bond. 

The alleged crime reportedly occurred on April 15, 2016 at a location in Alabama.

Law and Order: Alleged shoplifter also accused of possessing needle

By Howard B. Owens

Nicholas Sylvester Dinitto, 27, of Oak Orchard Street, Albion, is charged with petit larceny and possession of a hypodermic instrument. Dinitto is accused of shoplifting at Target. During the investigation by Deputy Andrew Hale, he was allegedly found in possession of a needle.

Jennifer Lyn Stack, 30, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with attempted criminal contempt, 2nd. Stack was arrested on a warrant out of Town of Batavia Court and jailed on $1,000 bail.

Jadon Lee Peoples, 20, of Main Street, Oakfield, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Peoples was charged following a traffic stop for allegedly speeding at 8:06 p.m. Sunday on North Main Street, Oakfield, by Deputy Jeremy McClellan.

Felicia Renee Sherrell, 36, of Bloomingdale Road, Akron, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Sherrell was charged following a call to check on the welfare of a motorist stopped at the side of the road at 8:40 p.m. Saturday on Route 77, Alabama, by Deputy Richard Schildwaster.

Nicole Marie Capretto, 33, of Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Capretto was arrested on a warrant out of City Court.

A 16-year-old of Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. The youth allegedly violated an order of protection.

Ralph Guy Chase Jr., 73, of Highland Drive, Dundee, is charged with possession of untaxed cigarettes. Chase was stopped for an alleged traffic violation at 8:59 p.m. Friday on Route 77, Alabama, by Deputy Richard Schildwaster and allegedly found in possession of 8,800 untaxed cigarettes.

Universal Pre-K registration underway at O-A Central School

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Children who reside in the Oakfield-Alabama Central School District and who will be 4 years old by Dec. 1, 2017 are eligible to be registered for our Universal Pre-Kindergarten program for the 2017-2018 school year. Registration packets have been mailed.

If you do not receive a packet by Feb. 3, 2017, please call the elementary office at 585-948-5211, ext. 3211, or email kfisher2@oahornets.org to request one.

Accident reported on Route 77 in Alabama

By Howard B. Owens

A motor-vehicle accident with possible injuries is reported in the area of 6758 Alleghany Road, near Ham Road, in Alabama.

Alabama fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

Akron man accused of selling drugs to undercover agent in Alabama

By Howard B. Owens
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    Jeremy Leising

An Akron resident is accused of selling fentanyl and of selling heroin on two separate occasions to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force in the Town of Alabama.

Jeremy R. Leising, 21, was a passenger of a vehicle stopped by the Erie County Sheriff's Office and when deputies learned of a warrant for Leising's arrest on a warrant out of Genesee County they took him into custody.

He was turned over the Local Drug Task Force on the warrant on charges of two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of controlled substance, 3rd.

He was jailed awaiting arraignment in Genesee County Court.

County planning begins mandated review of Ag District No. 2

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

A state-mandated 30-day public review period has begun for Agricultural Districts No. 2 in the towns of Alabama, Batavia, Byron, Elba, Oakfield and Pembroke.

The Genesee County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board announced that Agricultural District No. 2 will embark on its eight-year review with a 30-day public review period beginning on Jan. 26.

As with every eight-year review, landowners with lands in the district under review will be asked to complete a worksheet where they will be given the option to enroll or withdraw property from the district. Only entire parcels can be included or excluded.

Landowners will receive the worksheet, along with a letter, informational brochure, and map of the current district boundaries in the next couple of days. Each landowner will have until Friday, Feb. 24th of this year to mail the worksheets to the Department of Planning in the envelopes provided. This deadline also coincides with the deadline for the Annual Enrollment Period, which allows for inclusion of predominantly viable agricultural land to any of the County’s Agricultural Districts pending review by the Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board. In addition, nearby landowners that are receiving Agricultural Tax Assessments and are not part of the Agricultural Districts Program will be mailed a letter and form inviting them to join the program.

During this 30-day period, a map of the District will be on file and open to the public in the office of the Genesee County Clerk and at the Genesee County Department of Planning.Any municipality whose territory encompasses the above Agricultural District, any State Agency or any landowner within or adjacent to the District, may propose a modification of the District during this period. The District and any proposed modification will be submitted to the Genesee County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board for review. Consequently, a public hearing on the District and any proposed modifications will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 10, at the Genesee County Old Courthouse, 7 Main St., Batavia.

At the conclusion of this review, the Genesee County Legislature will vote on any modifications to the District and send the proper materials to the State Department of Agriculture and Markets for recertification. The public is encouraged to attend all open meetings.

By enrolling land in the Agricultural Districts Program, participating farmers can receive relief from nuisance claims and certain forms of local regulation. Enrollment is free and voluntary. For a free informational brochure, please contact the Genesee County Department of Planning. Phone: (585) 815-7901; fax: (585) 345-3062; email: planning@co.genesee.ny.us. Visit us on the Web at www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/planning.

GCEDC board approves the opening of bids for infrastructure at STAMP

By Howard B. Owens

What started over a decade ago as a concept to market a site for the emerging advanced manufacturing industry became a reality as the Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) approved contracts to prepare bids for infrastructure work at STAMP. The first phase of infrastructure funding is part of the $33 million allocated to STAMP --  -- Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park -- from the Buffalo Billion.

“This is a watershed moment for STAMP,” said GCEDC Board Chairman Paul Battaglia. “We are finally going to start putting shovels in the ground to begin the process of building a next-generation site to bring advanced manufacturing companies to our region.”

The board approved a contract for $380,000 to the engineering firm Clark Patterson Lee to prepare bids and handle construction inspection for Phase I and Phase II work for water infrastructure, including enhancements to the Town of Alabama water system. The board approved a second contract for $165,000 to Clark Patterson Lee to prepare bids and handle construction inspection on roadways within the STAMP site and the main entrance off of Route 77. The firm will oversee the drafting, issuance and review of the various bids for the road and water infrastructure work.

“It’s one thing to say to corporate site selectors and economic development officials that you have a site for potential development as opposed to having a site that is shovel ready with road and utility infrastructure already built,” said Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the GCEDC. “Our site immediately rises to the top of the list among those making decisions about where they are going to build the next new advanced manufacturing facility.”

It is anticipated that the bidding documents for the water and roadway will work be released in mid-February with actual work to begin on site in late spring.

The GCEDC board meeting was held on Thursday, Jan. 19.

Latest version of county's Smart Growth Plan ready for legislative review

By Howard B. Owens

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Up next for the county's tri-annual update to our Smart Growth Plan is a presentation Feb. 13 to the Public Service Committee of the Genesee County Legislature.

Planning Director Felipe Oltramari and planning staff have toured the county, providing interested residents at town-hall-style meetings information and maps outlining the proposed changes to the plan.

The final such meeting was Tuesday at the community center in Oakfield and covered the proposed plan for Oakfield and Alabama.

The goal of the plan is to protect farmland from suburban-like sprawl and guide population centers toward a denser, mixed-use, more pedestrian-friendly environment.

These are the types of communities younger generations of families and workers are looking for, Oltramari said. Younger families want to have more amenities and services within walking distance of their homes and have a stronger sense of neighborhood than offered by traditional suburban development where all lots are the same size, all homes have the same floor plan and residents come home from work, pull into their garage and never say "hi" to a neighbor.

The plan for Oakfield (pdf) includes allowing development along Pearl Street out to Batavia Oakfield Townline Road.

In response to a resident's question, Oltramari suggested this area is well positioned for the kind of denser, mixed-use, walkable neighborhood many people want these days.

A resident brought up a decades-old housing development in Le Roy that is more than a mile outside of the village and noted residents just drive to Tops, and "what's wrong with that?" and Oltramari said those are the kind of developments that contribute to the decline of villages such as Le Roy.

Islands of suburban-like development tend to encourage people to move out of older villages and don't bring in new residents, he said, and then the old Victorian homes in the village become multi-unit rentals.

"What happened along with that is their downtown died," Oltramari said. "A lot of people who used to walk into the shops, a lot of families whose kids used to walk to school and go downtown are not there anymore. They’re being bussed and they’re being driven and a lot of people who live in the village are transient people. There are consequences to doing that, but when you build little neighborhoods, you tend to attract people from the outside."

The Smart Growth Plan contemplates new homes being built that fit into a hamlet's or village's character (differing lot sizes, different architectural treatments), but helps keep homes clustered around the village, which will encourage rehab of the remaining older homes.

For Alabama (pdf), growth could mean a demand for more housing, but instead of converting farmland into housing tracts, the plan is designed to grow the existing hamlet into a village.

None of this -- like any planning document -- is written into stone, Oltramari noted after Tuesday's meeting. There are processes to override the plan, but those are difficult barriers to overcome. A town's board, the county planning board and the County Legislature would all have to approve a development not fitting in the current development boundaries, and if that happened there would be legal challenges.

The Smart Growth Plan development process dates back to 2001 and was part of the agreement to bring Monroe County Water into Genesee County. The county is required to update the plan every three years in order to continue to expand the public water supply flowing from Monroe County Water.

There are future funding mechanisms dependent on abiding by the plan, and the Sierra Club is on record, Oltramari said, of claiming it is prepared to file a lawsuit if the county doesn't develop and abide by the plan to protect farmland.

For more on the Smart Growth Plan, and to view maps for each community that outline development areas, click here. The Feb. 13 meeting, likely to start at 4:30 p.m. at the Old Courthouse, is open to the public.

Genesee Tourism: Visit your local history museums -- Alabama Museum

By Genesee County Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center

The Chamber's tourism staff recently visited each of our Genesee County history museums, so that we could better share with visitors our unique history. Most of our towns and villages have preserved vast collections of local history that are waiting for you to explore. Many of the historical societies are run by volunteers, so you'll just need to call ahead to schedule a most welcomed visit.

In this video, you'll learn about the Alabama Museum in Alabama, NY. Contact Alabama Historian Joseph Cassidy at 585-813-2812 to schedule a tour.

Check back each week to learn about another local museum!

The Alabama Museum itself is a neat place as it was originally an one-room schoolhouse. When you walk into the museum, you can see the big windows and high ceilings and wonder about the children and the education that went on in the building. Through the artifacts you will discover that Alabama used to have three gun manufacturers in its small town. There was a prominent citizen named Dr. Grant Neal, whose buggy is displayed at the museum.

Part of the original Basom post office is also on display.

Some people might find the museum's vintage posters of "horse auctions" and old-time carnivals as interesting historical markers and how life was way back then. One small item that is still relevant today is a Christmas party invitation harking back to 1856 in regards to some soiree in Alabama.

Alabama Museum, 2218 Judge Road, Alabama, NY; 585-813-2812.

Visit www.VisitGeneseeNY.com to learn more...

Car difficult to find after driver crashes into field in Alabama early Saturday

By Howard B. Owens

An Oakfield resident spent a couple of cold hours in his crashed car in a field off Maple Road in Alabama early Saturday morning when a friend who went looking for him couldn't find him.

It's unclear at what point he called 9-1-1, but at that point, emergency dispatchers were able to locate him based on his mobile phone signal.

The driver's friend and State Police were already on scene when Alabama fire and Mercy EMS arrived, said Chief Gary Patnode.

The driver is identified by State Police as Jerald E. Bliemeister, 46. He was driving a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser when he suffered a medical emergency. The accident was reported at 12:20 a.m.

His car was westbound on Townline Road and he drove through the T-intersection at Maple Road and came to rest about 300 feet in a farm field. State Police said the vehicle struck a mailbox, fence and snow fence.

The car apparently became airborne at some point, Patnode said.

The ground was frozen, which made rescue operations a little easier, Patnode said.

"It was frozen enough to support a pickup, so I drove my pickup out there with a Stokes basket, so we were able to get him out," Patnode said. "We thought about calling in East Pembroke's new gator, but the medics were eager to get him out because he had been out there so long. He might have suffered a little exposure."

Bliemeister apparently suffered broken ankles but was otherwise believed to be OK.

Law and Order: Woman accused of damaging motel room door

By Howard B. Owens

Jennifer Lynn Greck, 47, of Seven Springs Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. Greck allegedly damaged a room door of a motel on West Main Street Road, Batavia, at 6:53 a.m. Saturday. The case was investigated by Deputy Jenna Ferrando.

Joshua Miguel Laureano, 26, of Cumberland Avenue, South Buffalo, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, driving while on a mobile phone, aggravated unlicensed operation and unsafe tires. Laureano was stopped at 7:07 p.m. Saturday on Bloomingdale Road, Alabama, by Deputy Eric Meyer.

Hannah Marie Zuppa, 19, of Main Road, Pembroke, is charged with two counts of petit larceny. Zuppa is accused of thefts from a location on Judge Road, Alabama.

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